KRIS Boyd's decision to walk out on George Burley's Scotland in the huff was not the biggest international strop of the weekend.
Step forward Kevin Kuranyi, who was so miffed at being left out of Joachim Löw's Germany team to play against Russia
that he flounced out of the stadium at half-time.
Löw, who has told Kuranyi he will never select him again, said: "Kevin spoke to me at midday after being told he would not be in the squad and he asked me if he could go home to be with his family.
"I said that was not possible as it was an important game and then the day after he would have the chance to prove himself in training. We all know the rest. We sat on the bus and waited for him, we tried to contact him but he was nowhere to be found.
"By then, for me, my decision was made."
However, Kuranyi's hissy fit is nothing compared to a famous incident from Scotland's footballing past. When Alex Miller left Steve Archibald out of his Hibs team to play Motherwell in 1990, the former Barcelona forward summoned a taxi to Fir Park and ordered the driver to take him home to Edinburgh.
McDonald can't stomach criticsSUGGESTIONS in the media in recent weeks that Scott McDonald is heavier than he should be are clearly weighing on the Celtic striker's mind.
Not content with patting his belly in dismissive fashion after scoring in Celtic's 4-0 win over Hamilton, Big Mac has been defending his waist size to the Australian press. "I didn't take too kindly to suggestions that I was overweight," he told the Melbourne Herald Sun. "It's just a load of nonsense. My weight is the same as what it was last season when I was scoring goals and I'll continue to work hard to get fitter."
Samaritan helps Wellington winGREAT Britain triathlete Chrissie Wellington retained her Ironman World Championship title, with the help of a good Samaritan.
The 31-year-old won on the Hawaiian island of Kona despite suffering a puncture while leading on the cycle leg.
When her air cartridges failed, she was left stranded by the side of the road, until fellow competitor, Rebekah Keat, came to her rescue by lending her a working cartridge. "To me, what she did epitomises everything that is good about the sport," said a grateful Wellington.
TALES FROM THE TABS
YOU COULDN'T MAKE IT UPIF CHRIS Iwelumo's miss on Saturday was an awful experience for the 51,000 supporters inside Hampden and the millions watching at home, then spare a thought for those who were listening to the Scotland-Norway match on Real Radio.
The Sun reported yesterday that DJ Ewen Cameron told listeners Iwelumo HAD scored with that second-half chance and it was 12 seconds before he realised that the striker had put his shot wide, during which time he was jumping around the studio with side-kick Alan Rough. "There are different levels of embarrassment," Cameron told the paper. "Chris is at the top... me and Roughy are just behind him.
"We fooled the nation into thinking that we were in front in a World Cup qualifier – that makes it so embarrassing."
Cameron, described by the Sun as "dozy", admitted that he didn't actually watch Iwelumo poke the shot wide of goal because he just presumed he would score. "I will let you into a secret – I didn't actually look when the cross came in." Bet you he has seen it a few times now.
The full article contains 607 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
