BY THE time this column 'hits the streets' the biggest multi-sport event this country has seen will be kicking off just a few miles down the road.

The Commonwealth Games has had a slightly chequered history - like Derby County and Oxford United it had to be bailed out by Robert Maxwell in the 1980s - but the last couple of events have kept it on track.

The Commonwealths may, in some people's eyes, be a poor substitute for the Olympics that Manchester wanted so desperately, but does provide a great chance to showcase the improvements.

Meanwhile, London continues to strut around the world stage posing as 'the only British city capable of hosting the Olympics.'

It doesn't help that, opposite Picadilly Station this weekend, hangs a giant banner showing images of tower bridge and the London Eye with the message 'Good Luck from London to Manchester's Commonwealth Games.' Or words to that effect.

It might as well have said 'enjoy your little party you hicks, but leave the important stuff to us big boys, we're the only ones who can handle it.'

Hmm, an interesting claim from a metropolis that can't pull together enough support to build a medium sized venue for the prestigious World Athletics Championship - and don't even start on the new Wembley fiasco or the fate of the Millennium Dome!

Perhaps the new look Manchester - with museums, art galleries and shops selling something other than meat pies and flat caps - will impress sufficiently to make a new Olympic bid viable?

The IOC has always been keen to give games to capital cities (Milan's Olympic bid suffered for much the same reason as Manchester's) but, while Manchester has succeeded in putting on a show, London has failed.

Nothing would please me more than for the closing ceremony to end with an announcement that Manchester will take on the likes of London and New York with a bid for the 2012 Olympics.

Still, we can all dream...

P So, after the best part of a century, the name of 'Lancaster Rugby Club' is to be revived.

With full respect to Heysham Atoms and the Vale of Lune who, along with various other clubs, keep both codes thriving in this area, a city like Lancaster deserves some recognition.

That Lancaster intend to play in rugby league's Summer Conference is also a bonus.

While rugby league at the top level has come in for a lot of criticism (not all of it justified) the conference is one of its undisputed success stories.

The league is expanding by half a dozen teams a year, on average, with the game taking root in areas that you would never imagine.

The days of 'Southend Invicta,' ' Scarborough Pirates' and other, often hilarious, attempts to dump an ailing professional team in an unsuitable area are, thankfully, a thing of the past.

Hopefully, Lancaster RC can be part of an exciting future.