WHY do footballers take the field on a bitterly cold evening wearing gloves but with their heads shaven?

Perhaps it's for the same reason that a Newcastle player is caught napping when supposedly guarding the back post on a low-key occasion in a somnolent Nou Camp stadium.

Of course, I wouldn't wish to imply that there's nothing between their ears to keep warm, but you don't see that fashion icon David Beckham shaving his head any more, do you?

In fact, we haven't seen much of Goldenballs at all recently, not even at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards, where 113,539 viewers voted him into second place on the strength of scoring from the penalty spot against Argentina.

Thank goodness the overall sanity of the British population was preserved by almost six times as many voting for Paula Radcliffe, who is taking on such celebrity status of her own that the subject of her next marathon became pressing news.

So pressing that while the rest of us were waiting for the beef to roast, Paula spent Sunday morning opening a by-pass in Bedford then rushing to a motorway service station to sign the London Marathon contract in time to announce the news at the awards ceremony that night.

The girl's certainly got stamina, and I bet she hardly ever wears gloves.

WHILE we live in hope that the North-East's long search for a golfer of real prowess could end with Michael Skelton, who plays at Hunley Hall in East Cleveland, an example of what can be achieved with real determination was provided by the son of a Bristol docker this week.

John Morgan, 24, who suffers from epilepsy and dyslexia, secured a US PGA Tour card only nine months after turning professional.

In an era when so many young sportsmen don't fulfil their potential because, financially, they don't need to, Morgan said: "My dad is 55 and has worked on the docks since he was 13. I don't want him working until he's 65 and struggling to pay off the mortgage. I don't think he knows how much I really love him and my mum. My parents have moved heaven and earth for me to be here."

Such words are all too rare these days, and let's hope that 18-year-old Skelton can keep his feet firmly in the East Cleveland boulder clay after being named in the English Golf Union's elite squad of 12.

He has had a tremendous year, culminating in winning a prestigious junior title at Sun City in South Africa, and has been selected to play in the Orange Bowl Championship in Florida this month.

Sun City, Florida - it's all a far cry from Loftus, but it's only the start of the journey.

FOR those of us who think racecards take up a disproportionate amount of space on the sports pages, it was heartening to read the words of a former Northern Echo racing correspondent, John Sexton, at the annual Derby Awards.

As president of the Horserace Writers and Photographers Association, he took the opportunity to take the whip to Peter Savill, chairman of the British Horseracing Board.

The BHB were planning to charge newspapers up to £3m for racecards, which, as Sexton pointed out, are "essentially free adverts". He added that the charge would have given editors the excuse not to carry the racecards.

"In the history of lunatic ideas this was up there with the all-time greats," added our old stable-mate.

ANOTHER racing man putting the boot in this week was Sheik Mohammed, who is said to have a few spare shekels in his back pocket.

Airing his views in the Gimcrack Speech, given by the owner of the Gimcrack Stakes winner at York, he took a swipe at racecourses who fail to provide adequate prizemoney and also described the pay and conditions of the 5,500 stable staff in this country as "appalling."

He said the Maktoum family would be willing to join a boycott of tight-fisted racecourses, which may well cause a few ripples, but stable staffs' wages are such an old chestnut that the Sheik's support is unlikely to make a shred of difference. Unless he'd like to make a contribution himself, of course.

TWENTY years ago a 19-year-old fly half named Rob Andrew sprang to prominence with a match-winning performance for Cambridge in the Varsity match.

Like the Boat Race, this over-hyped occasion at Twickenham did at least offer the consolation that there was always someone from Barnard Castle School, or Durham, or Newcastle RGS involved.

Not any more. Tuesday's clash featured players with names like Tkachuk and Nwume and there were seven players from New Zealand or South Africa in the Cambridge line-up. Yet national newspapers continue to treat the match as an important event.

Even as a rugby fan, I'd rather see the space given over to racecards