A NORTHERN Ireland institution has been mothballed by the advent of British National Lottery. The Belfast Telegraph's long running "Spot The Ball" competition will be axed at the end of its current run, the newspaper announced recently. The competition has had a diminishing appeal" since the introduction of the Lottery.

The Margin can't understand why anyone would want to watch Mystic Meg and possibly win several million through sheer luck rather than trying to use skill and experience to work out where exactly the ball was mid-way during a hard-fought game between Crusaders and Cliftonville on a wet pitch at Solitude.