Golf

THE West Alliance competition for the John Panton Trophy, due to be played today at Glenbervie, has been postponed until next Tuesday. The same tee-off times will apply.

Speedway

GLASGOW captain Mick Powell will return to lead the Tigers this year.

The Australian has agreed terms with the club and is expected to sign a contract within the next few days.

Powell joins Will Beveridge and Grant MacDonald as confirmed starters in the line-up. However, Tigers still have four spaces to fill with just five weeks to go until the new season gets underway.

Edinburgh have no such problems after having declared their full line-up for 1998 last night. Blair Scott agreed terms with Monarchs chiefs and joins Peter Carr, Kenny McKinna, Kevin Little, Paul Gould, Robert Larsen, and Barry Campbell in the capital set-up.

Tennis

Steffi Graf's comeback suffered yet another setback yesterday when she pulled out of this week's Paris Open, but the problem was not the knee injury that has sidelined her for eight months.

Graf said a calf strain forced her to withdraw from the tournament, insisting it was unrelated to the knee injury which has kept her out of action since an operation in June.

The former world No.1 strained her left calf muscle practising on Sunday in Paris and returned home to Germany yesterday morning, cancelling a planned news conference about her comeback.

Tim Henman will play Spain's Felix Mantilla in the second round of the #660,000 Dubai Open should he beat Boris Becker for the first time today.

The No.6 seed Mantilla beat Karim Alami 6-4, 6-2 in a little more than an hour yesterday, but was in danger of dropping the opening set as Alami's aggressive game placed him under pressure.

Henman, the British No.2, lost his only previous meeting with Becker - in the 1996 Grand Slam Cup - in straight sets, but the German is only playing enough ATP events to stay fit for the Davis Cup.

Boxing

Leeds light-heavyweight Crawford Ashley will make his comeback with a British title defence at York Hall, Bethnal Green, on March 14.

Ashley, who underwent a Boxing Board of Control suspension after having lost the European crown to Norway's Ole Klemetsen on a second-round knockout in October, will meet Stevenage's Monty Wright in the first defence of a title he has held for more than three years.

Schools football

results. Scottish Schools' Under-14 Shield (second round): Dumfries & Galloway/Strathclyde: Grange Ac 8, St Andrew's HS (E Kilbride) 0; Barrhead HS 1, St Leonard's Sec 3; Notre Dame HS 7, Trinity HS 3; Castle Douglas HS 4, Taylor HS 6 (aet); Park Mains HS 5, Earnock HS 0; Clyde Valley HS 1, Auchinleck Ac 0; St Andrew's Sec (Glasgow) 2, Bearsden Ac 1 (aet); St Columba's (Gourock) 2, Thomas Muir HS 6, (after 1-1 draw); Claremont HS 1, Cardinal Newman HS 9; Renfrew HS 4, Blantyre HS 2; Our Lady & St Pat's 0, Holy Cross HS 6; John Street Sec 3, Airdrie Acad 4; Hamilton GS 1, St Aidan's HS 3; St Luke's HS 4, St Margaret's HS 5 (aet); Holyrood Sec 5, Lourdes Sec 1; Bellarmine Sec 5, St Michael's Ac 2; St Andrew's Ac (Paisley) 5, Williamwood HS 2.

Lothian/Borders/Central/Fife/Tayside/Grampian/Highland: Turnbull HS 1, West Calder HS 0; Broughton HS 0, Kirkland HS 1; Larbert HS 4, St Kentigern's Ac 3 (aet); Preston Lodge HS 1, Alloa Ac 0; Alva Ac 1, Dalkeith HS 0 (after 3-3 draw); Wester Hailes EC 4, Auchmuty HS 5; St David's HS 3, Queen Anne HS 5; St Columba's HS (Dunfermline) 9, St Thomas of Aquin's 0; Bo'ness Ac 4, Falkirk HS 6; Blairgowrie 4, St John's HS 4 (St John's win 5-4 pens); Lawside Ac 5, St Columba's Sec (Perth) 4; Banff Ac 4, Perth HS 2; Kincorth Ac 4, Fraserburgh Ac 2; Oldmachar Ac 2, Mintlaw Ac 1; Dingwall Ac 1, Golspie HS 2.

Basketball

Falkirk Fury want the Scottish Basketball Association to step in and force Glasgow Sports Division to switch their Scottish Cup semi-final to another venue. Glasgow have been drawn at home and intend to play the tie at their usual home court at Easterhouse Sports Centre on Sunday, March 1.

However, Falkirk coach John Bunyan says the court is too small and will handicap his team. ''It's not a fair test - they are playing on a court which is the minimum size and that cannot be in the interests of Scottish basketball,'' says Bunyan.

Boxing

ALEX Morrison's plans for a club-style promotion at the Grosvenor Hotel, Edinburgh, on March 6, are up and running. Willie ''The Mighty'' Quinn, fresh from his Scottish championship success last week in Glasgow, will top the bill.

The Tranent super-middleweight has been pencilled in to face Doncaster-based Prince Kasi Kaihau, while Grangemouth middleweight Bagio Falcone makes his pro-debut against Leeds' Marvin O'Brien in one of the supporting bouts.

O'Brien, who lost twice to Quinn in 1994, should provide an interesting test for the newcomer.

Athletics

RESULTS in North District Cross Country League: Senior Men - 1, S Pride; 2, R Arbuckle (both Keith and Dist); 3, B Law (Moray RR). Under 20 - A Beattie (Moray RR). Team - Keith and Dist AC. Boys. Under 17 - T Golabek (Blackisle). Team - BP Blackisle. Under 15 - C Poole (Blackisle). Under 13 - A Watt (Peterhead); Under 11 - S Lefevre (Nairn).

Women - 1, M Duthie (Fraserburgh). Under 17 - 1, R McLean and 1, A Campbell (both Inverness). Girls. Under 15 - L Paton (Blackisle). Under 11 - K Law (Blackisle).

CAMBUSLANG Harriers, weakened by the absence of many of their top runners who avoided the competition to rest for Saturday's national cross-country championships at Irvine, could only finish nineteenth in the national team competition at the European men's champion clubs cross-country championship at Villamoura, Portugal. Results:

1, M Mourit (Belgium) 29.41; 2, P Guerra 29.50; 3, E Henrique 30.19 (both Portugal). Scots placings - 86, D Runciman 34.27; 88, J Cowan 34.34; 93, A Robertson 34.57; 98, J Brown 35.18. Teams - 10, Cardiff (Wales); 16, Tipton (England); 17, North Belfast (N Ireland); 19, Cambuslang.

Sailing

British entry Silk Cut was still in fourth place last night as Swedish Match edged into the lead in the fifth leg of the Whitbread Round The World Race. After a slow start to the leg, the pace has quickened and Silk Cut's monohull world record for the fastest 24-hour run of 449.1 miles is now under threat.

Swedish Match had been in second position, 4.6 miles behind EF Language, but then moved ahead and took a 1.1-mile advantage.

Silk Cut trimmed its deficit to 26.1 miles behind the leader but has more than 10 miles to make up on third-placed Merit Cup.