Tiger falls early in matchplay. So much for that theory about Tiger Woods and Roger Federer hanging out together to plot global domination in their sports. The Tiger was beaten 4 & 3 in the first round of the World Matchplay Championships overnight. Looking well below the sort of form that won him his last five starts, Tiger was no match for former US PGA champion Shaun Micheel. Six of the top eight seeds lost in the first round, including Ernie Els and Australia’s Adam Scott.

More English Ashes pain. No sooner has England announced an Ashes squad with an injury cloud hanging over it than one of the few fit bowlers goes and hurts himself. Matthew Hoggard was pulled out of a vital clash between Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire because of pain in his right side as he attempted to bowl. Hospital tests were reported to have shown no major damage but then again, the same niggle wasn’t supposed to keep him out of the game this time yesterday. He’ll have further tests to try and uncover a potential abdominal strain.

Mad Monday not so mad. Another story from the US to remind us that the majority of our footballers ARE clean-living young men. San Diego Chargers linebacker Steve Foley is now suspected to have been suffering steroid rage when he was shot three times (but not fatally) by an off-duty cop after being pulled over for erratic driving. Foley, 31, turned out to be three times the legal limit and has had problems with alcohol before but criminal investigator Dan Nordell wrote: “His (Foley’s) history of aggressive and even violent contact with law enforcement indicates the possibility of more than mere alcohol involvement,” as he sought a search warrant to go looking for “the gear”.

T-ball hit by its biggest scandal so far this year. T-ball is baseball on training wheels for little kids, to help them along when they’re too small and under-developed in terms of hand-eye co-ordination to play the real thing. Which is why it’s a little surprising to read that a T-ball coach is currently being tried in an American court for offering to pay one of his eight-year-old players to injure an autistic teammate so that kid wouldn’t be able to play in a big play-off game in June last year. Mark R Downs Jr, 29, of Philadelphia, is charged with offering $US 25 to his under-ten hard man to hit the nine-year-old victim deliberately with a ball. Lordy.