Signed from Hearts for pounds 350,000, McKinlay was at the centre of most of Celtic’s moves in a sustained display of entertaining and irresistible football that put the Aberdeen defence under constant pressure.This Celtic side, praised for the quality of their football this season, surpassed themselves with a demonstration of power few teams could have withstood. Philadelphia versus Colorado was also postponed.However, in the first Major League game played in March, Alex Rodriguez singled home the winning run in the 12th innings as the Seattle Mariners beat the Chicago White Sox 3-2 on Sunday night.. Football

DAVID McKINNEY
Celtic 5 Aberdeen 0Celtic did more than keep their title challenge alive, they also sent an emphatic message to Rangers that they cannot take anything for granted in the final five games of the season.The gap between the clubs was reduced to five points with the considerable bonus to Celtic of a debut goal for Jorge Cadete, their Portuguese striker. The Celtic support will consider the five-week delay in obtaining the player’s clearance worth the wait, on the evidence of his 18 minutes of action in which time he scored Celtic’s fifth goal.Yet while Cadete stole the limelight the less glamourous Tosh McKinlay, who supplied the ammunition for four of the goals, again demonstrated his value to the side. A spokesman for the city said: “We had 40 salt trucks out this morning once it started snowing, but I guess you could said it’s a cruel April Fool’s joke on Cleveland.”On the east coast, heavy rain caused further problems.

A deluge wiped out Baltimore’s game against Kansas City, where President Clinton had planned to throw out the first ball. Baseball

The Major League was regretting its earliest start to the season this century as bad weather forced the cancellation of several games.
Seven inches of snow fell in the Cleveland area during yesterday morning’s rush-hour, causing serious traffic jams and putting paid to the Indians’ game against the New York Yankees. Crew average: 13st 125/8lb.CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY: J R Elliott (Winchester College and Trinity) 13st 71/2lb; M P C Barnett (Harrogate GS and Queens’) 13st 81/2lb; N J Burfitt (Wimbledon College, Imperial College and St George’s Medical School, and Emmanuel) 13st 81/2lb; S J Dawson-Bowling (King’s Canterbury and Magdalene) 14st 12lb; E Ayer (Harvard Univ and St Edmunds) 15st 6lb; H G C Clarke (Taunton School and Trinity Hall) 13st 1lb; R M Waller (Emanuel School and Downing) 13st 1lb; J F E Ball (King’s School, Chester and Robinson) stroke 13st 3lb; K Whyman (King’s School, Chester and Peterhouse) 8st 1/2lb Crew average: 13st 113/8lb.. His instinct is to throw them in at the deep end in smooth water, and then to drive them through it towards a good performance. His crew is less fast off the start, but may have the legs for it over the second half.142ND OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE BOAT RACE (Putney to Mortlake, Saturday, 3.30pm): OXFORD UNIVERSITY: E J Bellamy (Hampton, Durham Univ and Keble) bow, 13st 3lb; D R H Clegg (Radley, University College, London and Keble) 13st 12lb; J F Hammond (Harvard Univ and New College) 13st 51/2lb; D R West (Dulwich College, King’s College, London and St Catherine’s College) 13st 3lb; B Mann (Yale Univ and Keble) 15st1/2lb; J W Howick (Dartmouth College, Concordia Univ and Keble) 13st 4lb; P A Berger (Univ of Pennsylvania and University College), 14st 131/2lb; A R A Frost (Eton College and Oriel) stroke 14st 21/2lb; T B Kristol (Harvard Univ and Oriel) 7st 71/2lb. However, this time they have had only two public matches as an eight.

It is a strong, well-drilled crew, sympathetically and cleverly stroked by James Ball. The crew has undoubted speed from the start and the question is whether it has the legs to go the whole way, especially in rough conditions.The Oxford crew races whenever the coach, Daniel Topolski, tells them to, which is almost every day. Taken over the 141 races in the past, the older, heavier crew tends to win. For 1996, Oxford is the heavier, Cambridge the older.
The crews are remarkably similar altogether, each is stroked by an undergraduate Englishman in his second year, and each is steered by a coxswain new to the course.Cambridge remain slight favourites in the Tideway imagination, but much of this is habit because the Light Blues have been substantially stronger for the past three years. 275 R Mediate 74 69 66 66; F Zoeller 66 70 72 67; K Perry 65 71 70 69; D Duval 70 66 68 71. 276 T Lehman 70 72 67 67; G Waite (NZ) 68 72 68 68; J Haas 68 68 69 71; V Singh (Fiji) 70 68 68 70; E Els (SA) 71 70 65 70. 277 L Mize 70 67 71 69; G Morgan 70 69 69 69; J Furyk 70 70 67 70; F Funk 70 69 67 71..

HUGH MATHESON

That the Oxford crew was a pound and a quarter heavier per man than Cambridge at the weigh-in yesterday will not determine which way the Beefeater Trophy goes on Saturday. He has gone close twice, losing play-offs for the 1994 US Open to Ernie Els and the 1995 US PGA to Steve Elkington.US PGA PLAYERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla) Leading final scores (US unless stated): 270 F Couples 66 72 68 64 274 C Montgomerie (GB) 71 69 66 68; T Tolles 69 64 69 72. A strict regime of healthy eating and exercise during the winter has produced a leaner and keener performer.Now all he has to do is to overcome the psychological barrier of being regarded as the best player not to have won a major. “I’m playing well enough to win anywhere, including Augusta, I know that.”Montgomerie’s chance of victory in Florida disappeared at the notorious 16th.