BIRTHDAYS
Cash Asmussen (horse racing) - top American flat jockey, born 1962.
Mikael Forssell (soccer) - former Leeds and Chelsea striker, now playing for HIFK in Finland, born 1981.
Ben Hilfenhaus (cricket) - former Australia Test bowler, born 1983.
Daryl Murphy (soccer) - Nottingham Forest's former Republic of Ireland striker, born 1983.
Curtis Davies (soccer) - Derby County defender, born 1985.
Paul Pogba (soccer) - Manchester United and France midfielder, born 1993.
Adrien Silva (soccer) - Leicester's Portuguese midfielder, born 1989.
ON THIS DAY
1877: Test cricket was inaugurated when James Lillywhite's touring England team met the Australians at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
1990: Playing for New Zealand against Australia at Wellington, Richard Hadlee took five wickets in an innings for the 100th time in his career.
1991: Ukrainian pole vaulter Sergey Bubka became the first man to clear 20 feet (6.1 metres) indoors.
2001: India won the second Test in Calcutta to end Australia's world-record run of 16 successive Test victories.
2012: Barcelona announced defender Eric Abidal was to undergo a liver transplant a year after he had surgery to remove a tumour.
2013: Bobs Worth, trained by Nicky Henderson and ridden by Barry Geraghty, won the Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cup.
2016: Annie Power, ridden by Ruby Walsh, won the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham.
QUICK QUIZ BLITZ
1. In which year did Andy Murray become British number one?
2. In which year did Europe pull off a notable comeback in the Ryder Cup by winning eight and tying one of the 12 singles matches on the Sunday to win the competition?
3. Who are the current holders of the NHL's Stanley Cup?
4. Aylestone Park beat Heanor Town 1-0 in the first match of which football competition this season?
5. Name the four football league teams nicknamed Rovers.
TODAY’S TV
SOCCER: Europa League, Lokomotiv Moscow v Atletico Madrid - eir Sport 1 1555 & BT Sport 2 1600, A last-16 second-leg encounter - eir Sport 1 1755, Zenit St Petersburg v RB Leipzig - BT Sport/ESPN 1800, Arsenal v AC Milan - BT Sport 2 1930, A last-16 second leg encounter - eir Sport 1 2000.
CRICKET: ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier - Sky Sports Cricket 0725 & Sky Sports Main Event 0730.
WINTER PARALYMPICS: Winter Paralympics, day seven - Channel 4 0015 (Fri).
TENNIS: WTA Tour, BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells - BT Sport 1 1800 & 0000 (Fri); ATP Tour, BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells - Sky Sports Main Event 0200 (Fri).
GOLF: PGA Tour, Arnold Palmer Invitational - Sky Sports Golf 1130 & Sky Sports Main Event 1530.
HORSE RACING: Third day of the Cheltenham Festival - ITV 1300.
DARTS: Premier League - Sky Sports Main Event & Sky Sports Action 1900.
BASKETBALL: NBA, New York Knicks v Philadelphia 76ers - BT Sport 2 2330; Portland Trail Blazers v Cleveland Cavaliers - BT Sport 2 0200 (Fri).
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EVERY weekend on www.irishnews.com/sport
Test your sporting knowledge with the Toals Bookmakers Sports Quiz on www.irishnews.com/sport
Take the quiz and share your results with friends on social media to find out who the real sporting buff is...
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QUICK QUIZ BLITZ ANSWERS
1. 2006; 2. 2012; 3. Pittsburgh Penguins; 4. The FA Cup - it was the first extra preliminary round tie; 5. Blackburn, Bristol, Doncaster, Forest Green.
