April Fool!

Yesterday saw the usual spate of April Fools stories in the sporting media. My personal favourite came courtesy of the mighty John Beattie on the BBC Sport website under "Cheating Scots handed Wooden Spoon". It showed how Dan Parks had used a laser kicking tee during the Calcutta Cup match, blinding an England fan behind the goal and leading to the Scots being docked Six Nations points. This also featured secret footage of Scotland "captain" Al Kellock and an interview with the man himself, who played the guilty schoolboy role very well! Link here:http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/8598828.stm

Our own football teams produced a couple of beauties as well. Dumbarton claimed to have signed Arsenal Ladies' star Julie Fleeting, which would have helped a team currently reliant on donkey David Winters for goals. Meanwhile, the news out of Almondvale was that we had secured a friendly against Barcelona for the end of the season, aided by a long-term friendship between boss Gary Bollan and Thierry Henry. The financial boost was said to be "going a long way to securing Robbie Keane on a long-term loan." Stories that Keane was a big Meadowbank Thistle fan while growing up in Dublin are yet to be confirmed.

When you throw in the Guardian's story of Gordon Brown starting an election campaign showcasing his hard-man image, it's heartening to see that for just one day a year, the media can stop taking themselves so seriously!
RM