The Olympic hopeful Rob Hayles salvaged victory in the third stage of Thwaites Grand Prix five-day race in Bolton town centre yesterday. Having found Strachan for a song, there has since been an endless quest for another thirty-something bargain.After the sale of Batty a match banner read “We’ve got rid of the Crown Jewel, now let’s get rid of the Silver”. David Batty, Noel Whelan and Eric Cantona were sold for a grand total of pounds 5.7m, while Carlton Palmer, Brian Deane and Tomas Brolin cost pounds 10m between them.How far Leeds have back-peddled in the last few seasons was illustrated in the week that saw them totally outplayed at Anfield in the FA Cup and all but humiliated in the Coca-Cola Cup final. The cup runs were achieved almost entirely against lower-division opposition.The thrilling team of a few seasons ago is now just a memory. The tragedy of the Wilkinson era is that having created a side capable of sizzling football, he and the board proceeded to dismantle it.Wilkinson’s man management deficiencies will soon deprive Leeds of another world-class player with the impending departure of the demoralised Brolin, while Tony Yeboah has understandably declared he has no wish to continue his career at a “nobody” club like Leeds.

There were two surprises yesterday: Greg Rusedski dropped a set and Mark Petchey won one. When selecting Petchey as a substitite for the indisposed No 1 Tim Henman, David Lloyd, the captain, said it would give the Essex player an opportunity rid himself of the ghosts of past singles rubbers. But last night’s defeat by the Slovenian No 1, Iztok Bozic, who is ranked 216 places below him at No 419, suggests he needs an excorcist rather than a coach.
Petchey, who has defeated three top 10 players on the ATP Tour – Michael Stich, Michael Chang and Alberto Berasategui – appears to have a psychological block where Davis Cup ties are concerned. Lennox Lewis’s hopes of fighting Mike Tyson for the World Boxing Council heavyweight championship received a significant boost with a New Jersey judge’s confirmation that Tyson must meet Lewis before anyone else.

Superior Court Judge Amos Saunders turned down a request from the World Boxing Association champion, Bruce Seldon, to allow him to fight Tyson in a unification contest in July, and in so doing reaffirmed his injunction of 15 March preventing Tyson from fighting anyone but Lewis.
“I would think Don King will be getting in touch with us very quickly,” Frank Maloney, Lewis’ manager, said.Lewis, who is training for a non-title fight on Friday against Ray Mercer, and Maloney insist there will be no deal with King to allow Tyson to fight Seldon first.”I would not advise Lennox Lewis to step aside or make a deal with Don King unless it is Mike Tyson coming out of the other corner,” Maloney said.”By me stepping aside, they may come up with some plan of an attack that may cause me not to be able to face Mike Tyson in the ring,” Lewis said. Paul Gascoigne may have collected both the players’ and football writers’ footballer of the year awards in Scotland, but he would revert to his alternative role of buffoon if he was to pick up a yellow card in the Premier Division at Kilmarnock today and miss next weekend’s Tennents Scottish Cup final. To make sure he cannot do anything so stupid, and with the club’s eighth successive league title won, Gascoigne, Richard Gough, Andy Goram, Gordan Petric, John Brown and Alex Cleland are rested for the trip to Rugby Park. All of them are only one booking away from being banned for the Cup final.. Substitutes: Tonks, S Flowers, Sykes, Furness.Referee: S Cummings (Widnes) and S Ganson (St Helens)..

Despite Aston’s poor performance as a place-kicker his side now had the breathing space they needed to ensure their fourth victory of the season.Sheffield Eagles: Sovatabua; Sodje, Grimley, Garcia, Senior; Sheridan, Aston; Broadbent, Lawless, McAllister, Hay, Carr, Farrell. Substitutes: Stott, Turner, Hughes, Dixon.Castleford: J Flowers; C Smith, Goddard, Gay, Edwards; Botica, T Smith; Crooks, Russell, Sampson, Schick, Smales, Tuuta. There was little wrong with his officiating, however, as the sides sparred for a decisive advantage. Castleford made the breakthrough, Andrew Schick exchanging passes with Richard Gay to go in for a try which Botica converted.Within five minutes, Sheffield were back in front, Darren Turner, forcing his way over on an angled run soon after coming on as a substitute and Aston’s kick restored their four point lead.That margin was doubled when Aston’s chip bounced back to Jean-Marc Garcia, who did well to slip the ball out for Keith Senior to score. Diccon Edwards, seemed to have Bright Sodje covered when he took a short pass from Ryan Sheridan, but the Sheffield winger launched himself through the tackle to score.
Sheffield went further ahead when Anthony Farrell found a gap from Paul Carr’s pass, Mark Aston, who had missed with two previous efforts, adding the goal.Castleford mounted some promising attacks, especially when the clever handling of their veteran prop, Lee Crooks, was involved. They responded to Sheffield’s lead on the half-hour, Chris Smith taking Botica’s reverse pass and exploiting a gaping hole in the Sheffield defence, the provider of the pass also contributing the goal points.Last week’s Challenge Cup final referee, Stuart Cummings, was unable to resume last night’s duties in the second half after feeling unwell from a bout of ‘flu.Referees, like policemen, are getting younger, but his replacement, the 26-year-old Steve Ganson, from St Helens, looked barely old enough to be a ball boy.