THE great Bill Leckie allegedly quit the Paisley Daily Express back in 1987, over the paper's refusal to put his colour piece on St Mirren's Scottish Cup win over Dundee United on the front page - with a picture of Ian Ferguson scoring that cup-winning goal. It is difficult to blame him, but, the PDE was a strange animal back then.
When I had my spell in the paper's sports hot seat, things were different and on the couple of occasions during my spell there that St Mirren won something tangible - lesson learned, we went to town.
So, I trust Paul Behan, the latest in line to run the sports desk, is girding himself for a busy Sunday night, since I have a wee feeling that the Buddies can beat Hearts tomorrow and lift the Scottish League Cup for the first time.
I made a lot of friends in Paisley; St Mirren has a hard-core of decent fully-comitted fans, some of whom - such as Chairman Stewart "The Fat Controller" Gilmour and Brian "Marc's Dad" McAusland - are actually on the board. The likes of club Commercial Manager Campbell Kennedy, the true fans who work behind the scenes for FOSMA - the Friends of St Mirren Association and the celebrity fans such as Dougie Vipond, they deserve a win.
Not that I have anything against Hearts. A cup win would look good on Gary Locke's CV and I've got a lot of time for Ryan Stevenson, but, on-balance, I'd like to see Saints win, with a Stevie Thompson winner as a bonus, then he really could consider himself as good as his idol, the one and only "Basher" Lavety.
NAIVE fool that I am, I thought maybe a season or two in the lower leagues might teach some Rangers fans humility and some Celtic fans not to fear the men in blue. But, sadly, a trawl through the internet yesterday - it was a slow day - has taught me, nothing has changed.
The two teams might be leagues apart, but,the poison is still there and, I fear, the boil will never be lanced and the puss got rid of.
I HAVE never been a Dunfermline fan. Something about the club has always grated with me, even when they put on a Premier League purvey for the press, when the club was in the First Division.
And, maybe that is the kernel of the Pars'problems. When they were feeding us hacks royally, they couldn't afford it - we knew that, perhaps the club didn't and, being hungry hacks, we ate up and said nothing.
Dunfermline Athletic has been living beyond their means for years, now, reality has bitten and, unlike the fallen Rangers, there is no economic case for making them a special case and saving the club.
It is still sad that the club might well not survive past the end of the season, in fact, might not even reach there, but, while the first domino to fall, Rangers, has been prised upright again, I don't see the same thing happening to Dunfermline, and, if (when) they go, others will surely follow.
MESSAGE TO THE HAMPDEN BLAZERS - WE'VE GOT TOO-MANY SENIOR CLUBS IN SCOTLAND, IF A FEW FALL BY THE WAY SIDE IT WILL BE NO BAD THING FOR THE LONG-TERM GOOD AND SURVIVAL OF SCOTTISH FOOTBALL.
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