Bitter-suite ending to Tom's Turnberry stay

Tom Watson was forced to endure some pretty rank indignities in his final five holes at the Open Championship last Sunday, but there was one more kick in the bunkers waiting for him when he returned for a well-earned night's rest at Turnberry.

The American veteran has a suite named after him at the resort's hotel but, in line with his dwindling status in recent years, it was recently divided into two separate rooms. And while Vijay Singh - who finished a lowly 38th in Scotland - lorded it in the bigger section of the suite, the gallant hero Watson was forced to slum it in the smaller room adjoining the Fijian.

"Vijay pays the big bucks so he gets the suite," said Watson, presumably through gritted - and possibly false - teeth.

Warne decides not to lord it with the media

He may have been immersed in the rather exclusive St John's Wood surroundings of Lord's this week but Shane Warne is still very much a man of the people. The former
leg-spinner turned poker player was on media duties for Sky but refused to change the eating habits of a lifetime. So, as the rest of the Press feasted on smoked salmon, fillet steak, a host of sumptuous salads and luxurious puddings, Warne sent a lackey down to one of the mobile burger vans for a portion of chips. You can take the man out of Australia . . .

Sterling's the name of the game for Albion

Football clubs have always been prepared to flog anything that isn't nailed down in order to raise a quick buck, but in the midst of a credit crunch it's apparently fair game to even try and sell things which can't be nailed down.

Stirling Albion are seeking to raise some much-needed revenue and oust their current chairman by selling the club's naming rights to the highest bidder.

Such practice is common in America and, bizarrely, Wales (Total Network Solutions, anyone?) but Albion would be the first Scottish club to re-christen themselves in exchange for cash.

It's all inevitable, we suppose, but how long before that plummy-voiced bloke who reads the classified football results ends up sounding like a man reciting from the Yellow Pages?

Sponsorship deal is a bad sign for Barnet

Either way, let's hope Stirling's marketing men have more success in finding sponsorship than Barnet did for last weekend's traditional curtain-raiser with Arsenal.

Fans were shocked, to put it mildly, to arrive at Underhill and be greeted by signs urging them to scurry down to their local overworked surgery and be screened for chlamydia.

We know the Bees have a reputation for inspiring infectious enthusiasm but, honestly . . .