Week in, week out: Rovers return for a second Gleneagles shot

Rovers manager Sam Allardyce rewarded his players for their impressive season by allowing them to escape to Gleneagles last week on a golfing trip.

Allardyce's squad enjoyed a few days away at around the same point last year, even though he faced criticism for giving players time off when they were embroiled in a relegation battle. But the Rovers manager had the last laugh as his team came back rejuvenated and secured survival in the Barclays Premier League.

"They enjoyed it so much last year, so they asked to do it again," said Allardyce, who remained behind in Blackburn. "They've had a long, hard season and deserve this mini-break. With this next match on a Monday, rather than boring the pants off them and bringing them in for training, which they're sick to death of anyway, we thought taking a break would be better for them. At this stage of the season a little bit of golf together is more important than training."

WOODS IN FOR A ROUGH TIME

While Blackburn's amateur golfers were enjoying themselves, the world's No 1 was having a shocker in North Carolina. Woods has never in his life missed two halfway cuts in a row, but he must fear it could happen in Florida on Friday. Two days later he might lose the world No 1 spot to his great rival Phil Mickelson as well. Both look real possibilities after the way Woods tumbled to a 79 on Friday and crashed out by eight shots.

And as he tries again at the Players Championship starting on Thursday he knows the heat is on. "Does it test you? Yes, of course it does," he said. "Is that any excuse? No, because I'm out there and I have the same opportunity as everybody else here in this field to shoot a good number. And I didn't do it."

It was only his sixth missed cut since he left the amateur ranks in 1996 and this one was accompanied by the first real heckle of his comeback.

Police escorted away a spectator who, according to a friend, had said "No red shirt for you on Sunday" as Woods left the 17th green.

WINDASS WINDS THEM UP ON SUPER SATURDAY

Former Aberdeen and Hull striker Dean Windass has inherited the title of "Chief Figure of Fun" from Chris Kamara on Sky's Super Saturday results programme, and took his buffoonery to new levels in his bulletins from Shrewsbury v Morecombe in League 2. Brimming with enthusiasm, Windass roared into the camera that there had been a goal, excitedly telling viewers to "remember the name" of the Shrews' scorer, who was... er, Tom Bradshaw. The look of total bewilderment on the faces of Jeff Stelling and his panel of pundits back in the studio was priceless as they all asked in unison: "Tom WHO?"

Can't fault Deano for his brio, but he could be reporting from another planet.