Smith suffered a leg injury in the collision and hobbled through last night’s encounter.Newcastle tried to compensate for their lack of inside power by launching a fusillade of three-pointers, but most missed and it was two three-pointers from Jets’ Ryan Huntley which gave the visitors a 20-10 lead. Jets closed the half with an 8-3 run to lead 48-42 and maintained a single-figure lead throughout the third quarter.TJ Walker (22 points) and Mo Robinson (21 points) carried the bulk of Eagles scoring, supported by 17 points from the Englishman Andrew Bridge .Newcastle cut Jets’ lead to 83-82 before Michael Nurse opened a seven-point lead with two “threes” and a long-range shot from Walker brought Eagles to 89-85, but no closer.. Chester Jets closed the gap to four points on the leaders Sheffield Sharks with a 103-92 BBL Championship win at the Telewest Arena last night, taking advantage of Newcastle Eagles’ extensive injury problems. He came to the post with much to recommend him and a fund of goodwill within the game The latter may be gone but the qualifications remain.. This will recommend speeding up the process, but their meek and cautious legal department is likely to advise the FA against acting with the haste that Fifa wish and Uefa practice.One aspect which will be tightened is the regulations relating to doping offences. Anyone failing or refusing a drugs test in future can expect to be suspended immediately.The FA has undergone too much recent change to benefit from further instability so it is to be hoped Palios survives.

The PFA, though they emerge with little credit, will be truculent. As for the England team, do not expect to see Palios hanging around them as his predecessor, Adam Crozier, did.Apart from minding his back, Palios’ next task is to ensure the success of the review of disciplinary procedures he has already put in place under the auspices of Brendon Batson, the former West Brom defender and PFA official. United can be expected to start using their influence in the corridors of power to unseat Palios, if they have not done so already. This is an intimidating list and it is no surprise Palios’ own future has been cast into doubt especially as there is no verdict that could satisfy most, let alone all of them.As it is, Fifa and Wada should be off his back, though Sepp Blatter, of the former, will not miss a chance to criticise the FA, and Dick Pound, of the latter, has already expressed his mystification that Ferdinand continues to play.While the verdict is said to be an independent one, which it may be – many in the FA expected a lighter sentence – Palios will be regarded as its architect by United, the PFA and the England team. The players have shown him their support in the dressing-room.

Manchester United may feel that Mark Palios, the new chief executive of the FA, has used the Rio Ferdinand affair to flex his muscles but, in truth, the governing body must regret Ferdinand’s failure to provide a test as much as the player or his club. Any ban would come into effect early next month.”The only thing that worries me is that he hasn’t had any proper training for three days,” Ferguson remarked “We gave the players a day off on Wednesday Rio wanted to come in but I told him to have the game off. Ferguson had no hesitation in including the defender in the squad which travels to London today for tomorrow’s Premiership fixture with Tottenham despite his lack of training. All you can say is that Rio has been an absolute credit to himself and to the club but, please God, let it be settled this weekend.”Thus far Ferdinand has been more Bowyer, whose performances seemed inspired by the publicity, than Woodgate, who endured a kind of physical collapse. His captain, Roy Keane, put it into words when saying yesterday: “It is hard for anyone when you are scrutinised like that. Ferguson, the main character witness on Ferdinand’s behalf, spent almost two hours inside the Reebok Stadium. Stone also had problems with his car; he had trouble finding it when leaving the stadium after giving his evidence.Before addressing the hearing, Ferguson suggested that some of the stress of the ordeal was beginning to undermine the 25-year-old.