By Dan Warren BBC Sport at the Crucible

Dott's fame has yet to stretch to Sheffield's shops

I guess it's fair to say that snooker stars can't quite match the glamorous lives of their counterparts in football or Formula One.

On a particularly cold and rain-swept Thursday morning in Yorkshire, world semi-finalist Graeme Dott was spotted by one of my diary spies entering a Sheffield greengrocers.

If it was David Beckham or Jenson Button, no doubt the grocer would have rolled out the red carpet and probably offered the illustrious star a choice of solid gold bananas or plums woven from the finest silk.

But no. The oblivious shopkeeper made the world number 13 fork out 43p of his own money to purchase two (non-gold) bananas.

Harsh.

The workmen were out in force early on Thursday, erecting a big screen in Sheffield's Peace Gardens.

But why? My contacts tell me that it's part of a big plan for a snooker-stravaganza this Bank Holiday weekend.

Watching the green baize on the big screen may not have quite the same allure as football or rugby, but it proved popular with audiences last year.

Unfortunately for the organisers, last year was rather lovely and warm, whereas the last few days have seen Sheffield shivering in an alarmingly January-esque blast of northern freezyness.

Not so much snooker, as snook-brrrrrrr! Eh!

One lucky punter could soon afford a trip to Everest

Ronnie O'Sullivan may be something of an enigma, but one punter out there in punterland has no doubt that this is the Rocket's year.

Even though the Essex Exocet was drawn against world number two Stephen Hendry in the semis, he was rather stingily priced before the match at evens to lift the crown.

So you can imagine the kerfuffle here at Crucible Diary Towers when it emerged that someone had slapped �22,000 on Ron to win.

If you have 22 grand burning a hole in your pocket you could use your loot to buy a flash sports car or head off on a round-the-world trip.

Then again, if this punter doubles his/her dosh to �44,000, they'll be able to buy a permit from the government of Nepal for seven climbers to attempt an ascent on Mount Everest*.

That's worth having.

* Source: Some people on the internet that I found