A modest haul of medals had been achieved by Shetland’s competitors at the island games by the time went to press, with once again the archery team leading the way.

Shetland’s junior inter-county squad were on course to retain the Stuart Cup in Kirkwall, with a comfortable points margin, as we went to press yesterday.

There has been moderate criticism of the inclusion in the Shetland island games football squad, announ­ced last week, of Duncan Bray and Alan Duncan.

The reason is that, although they have turned out for Ness United and Delting respectively this season, both are now based outwith the isles. Bray, especially, has played little at home since scoring the clinching second goal in the final of the 2005 tournament.

For what it’s worth, I believe that manager John Jamieson is correct to pick the best players available to him, notwithstanding where in the world they are currently plying their trade. That …

Fittingly the Champions League will see Manchester United and Barcelona, the best two teams in Europe, contesting the final.

Man Utd overcame Arsenal in the first semi-final with surprising ease, the only negative on a night of triumph the red card for Darren Fletcher, which means he misses the showpiece in Rome.

Chelsea, meanwhile, will be kicking themselves. Having lost the 2008 final on penalties, and then allowing Barcelona a crucial away goal in extra time this time round, thereby missing out yet another year despite Roman Abramovich’s lucrative input, must be hard to take for players, management and supporters …

A momentous week for football, and the subsequent bans for Rangers players Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor surely demonstrate, if any more evidence was necessary, the desperate state of the game in Scotland.

And the catalogue of events proved again that the central belt media, rather than concentrating on the malaise of the national team on the field, have an irresistable tendency to help ignite the touch paper regarding matters away from the action.

All this could have been handled so much better by almost everybody concerned, but the main point, inconceivably missed by all bar former player Andy Walker, …

Shetland is fast becoming a place noted for the longevity of its top sportsmen and women.

Cyclists Carlos Riise and Christine McLean, both on the wrong side of 40, are still performing well in events on the mainland, with the latter beginning her new season with a personal best time in a 10-mile time trial.

Distance runners Bill Adams and Ian Williamson are still pounding the roads, in rugby John Roy Nicolson still puts his body on the line while Jill Hibbert continues to defy the years on the hockey pitch. And these are just a few examples.

The sport …

News that the death knell may shortly toll for the Southern Football Association, while some­what inevitable, will still be greeted with sadness in some quarters.

For nigh on 60 years players turned out for a variety of teams in the Southern League, predomin-antly from Dunrossness, Sandwick and Cunningsburgh. And many a memorable 90 minutes ensued.

The widely-held view was that participation in such a fiercely-contested environment hindered Ness United from becoming a serious contender in the main Shetland leagues.

That was certainly true to a degree – knocking all hell out of your Ness team mate every weekend was hardly …

Celtic manager Gordon Strach­an, a man more noted for talking in riddles than rational thinking, nevertheless made a very sensible statement last week.

Managers, he said, should be given until the end of a season before being dismissed. Similar to the transfer window for players there should be a “sacking window” for those in charge.

The recent ousting of Chelsea boss Luis Philipe Scolari and Portsmouth gaffer Tony Adams, after six and three months in charge respectively, certainly lends weight to Strachan’s argument.

In the case of Chelsea the appointment of Scolari last summer was seen as a major achievement. …

Kaka refusal a boost for common sense

Surely the best news to have emerged from the football world this week is the failure by Manchester City to prize Brazilian forward Kaka away from AC Milan.

Money, it seems, does not always talk, certainly not where this star is concerned, and not everyone, as widely presumed, has their price.

City, having already captured the somewhat less-gifted Craig Bellamy at the weekend, obviously believed it could persuade one of the best players on the planet to leave one of Europe’s top teams for an English club which, despite being handed a blank …