Bandage yourself up, put your clubs down, and move to Liverpool to be the next Istvan Kozma � It�s time for Sports �n� All

Another sporting week has passed by and it�s once again time for me to raise my quill, throw caution to the wind and record my observations on developments that have caught my eye. Well, enough of that, but it has been another eventful week in sport with plenty happening to keep us all enthralled.

One thing that has started to concern me of late is the apparent increase in injury numbers in many sports. Wimbledon was blighted not just by the weather but by the constant calls for the trainer, in particular for Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams. At one stage a match had to be delayed because the trainer couldn�t be called as he was already treating someone on another court. It seems that Rafael Nadal has failed to shake off a knock and is presently struggling in the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart. England�s cricket team is missing its frontline bowling attack (Harmison, Hoggard and Simon Jones) because of injury, and Michael Vaughan is famously prone to niggling problems. Add to this Michael Owen, John Terry and others in football who have spent more time on the physio�s table than on the pitch in the last year. Without wanting to sound like a prude it might be an idea to give professional athletes a bit more respite to let their bodies recover. But then with premiership footballers earning large amounts to entertain, the trend seems to be to increase the workload. It�ll be interesting to see if it reaches a point where authorities have no choice but to take action to prevent injuries.

Sergio Garcia has made an impressive start to the Open Championship at Carnoustie. Particularly good considering he made his two worst ever rounds of golf when he played there last in 1999. Cards of 89 and 83 are embarrassing for a player of his quality and no doubt he is determined to prove to people that the notoriously tricky Scottish course hasn�t got a jinx over him. While the Spanish maestro is doing his magic at the head of the field, an unknown Irishman is making waves of his own just below him. Rory McIlroy, from Holyrood in Northern Ireland, carded a three under par 68 on the first day and despite slipping up in the second round with a 75 has made the cut comfortably. I always like these stories because it made us people who just dig trenches and cut grass when we play golf feel like we could be up there challenging. We couldn�t of course and are doomed to forever fish golf balls out of various lakes as we card triple figure rounds time after time.

Football transfers are well under way as I have discussed before, but the question has to be who has made the best decision. Aston Villa have undoubtedly got a quality forward in Marlon Harewood, the jury�s still out on why Real Madrid have taken goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek from Liverpool, who was notorious for his gaffs and inconsistency. Manchester United have managed to grab a quality player in Anderson and Sunderland have risked the dodgy temperament of Kieran Richardson, which could be a good return if he can keep his mind on actually playing football (he seems to have concentration on a par with Lee Sharpe in his Man U days). Owen Hargreaves is an interesting one. Hated for ages by England fans for being �boring�, he was one of the few England players to have a good world cup and suddenly he�s loved by everyone. You�d think that if Manchester United decided he�s good enough to buy, then people should�ve loved him all along. But then they did buy Eric Djemba-Djemba.

Anyway that�s nearly everything for this week. I�ve just got enough time left on the clock to mention that the Walsall Kabaddi Tournament is happening this Saturday, weather permitting. Also there is the completely unshocking news that the person leading the Tour de France has been dropped by his team for failing to inform them of his location for drug testing � some sports are so predictable. Well, see you next time sports fans.