I find it really interesting reading 'Local Heroes' every week and seeing the diverse range of sports which people participate in and how many local people are travelling the world to take part in various tournaments.

One good example is Thai boxer Craig Shaw who travelled from Darlington to Thailand, surprisingly enough, to take part in a prestigious international event.

Craig brought the welterweight title back with him and his next stop could be Korea to defend this.

What a smashing picture this week of last year's Northern Echo Cricketer of the Year, Anthony McMahon meeting up with cricketing legend Sir Garfield Sobers.

On first sight it might look as though they haven't got a great deal in common but the two both belong to a very elite group of sportsmen. Anthony and Sir Garfield have both scored a perfect six sixes from one over, Anthony being in the Guinness Book of Records for being the youngest player ever to do so.

And they were joined recently by Ryhope's Paul Watson who knocked up 36 runs in an over, ironically off the bowling off his former school teacher!

From a very select band of cricketers, which includes only two professionals, it's great that two of them come from the region.

Well done to the young players from Marton Under-14's football team who followed in the illustrious footsteps of such names as Michael Owen and Boro's own Stewart Downing to compete in, and win, the Pontins Blackpool International Spring Football Festival. Beating a team from the Isle of Man in the final the lads proudly bought their medals and the trophy back to Marton.

I always thought that fishing just meant dangling a rod, with a hook on the end, in some water and sitting back to enjoy the sunshine but reading fellow columnist Jeff Herbert I now realise that it is a very technical, and strongly contested, sport! Talk of bream, tench and carp and paste, pellets and poles has me baffled but an awful lot of people participate so I'm sure it all means something to them.

On 96.6tfm we'll still be on air between 12pm and 2pm every Saturday during the summer to keep up to date with all the transfer speculation and gossip and, of course, to keep ahead of events in Portugal where Euro 2004 looms ever nearer.