ON THIS DAY
1952: Five-time TT world motorcycling champion Joey Dunlop was born in Ballymoney, Northern Ireland. He started racing in 1969 and won a record 26 Isle of Man TT races, the first in 1977. He was killed in a road race accident in Tallinn, Estonia, in July 2000.
1964: Cassius Clay, 22, later known as Muhammad Ali, became heavyweight champion of the world as an 8-1 underdog when he stopped defending champion Sonny 'Big Bear' Liston at Miami Beach in Florida.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14m_-kALStA
The following poem was composed by a brash young Clay, (aka: The Louisville Lip) prior to the Liston fight.
Clay comes out to meet Liston and Liston starts to retreat,
if Liston goes back an inch farther he'll end up in a ringside seat.
Clay swings with his left, Clay swings with his right,
Look at young Cassius carry the fight
Liston keeps backing, but there's not enough room,
It's a matter of time till Clay lowers the boom.
Now Clay lands with a right, what a beautiful swing,
And the punch raises the Bear clean out of the ring.
Liston is still rising and the ref wears a frown,
For he can't start counting till Sonny goes down.
Now Liston is disappearing from view, the crowd is going frantic,
But radar stations have picked him up, somewhere over the Atlantic.
Who would have thought when they came to the fight?
That they'd witness the launching of a human satellite.
Yes the crowd did not dream, when they put up the money,
That they would see a total eclipse of the Sonny.
1989: Britain's Frank Bruno lost to Mike Tyson in his second attempt to win the world heavyweight title.
2007: Chelsea lifted the Carling Cup for the second time in three seasons thanks to a 2-1 victory over Arsenal. Didier Drogba scored both goals for Chelsea but the match was marred by a stoppage-time brawl that resulted in three red cards.
2009: Premiership club Sale appointed Jason Robinson as their new head coach.
2010: Wayne Bridge made himself unavailable for selection to the England national team, stating that his position in the squad was ''untenable and potentially divisive''. His decision came after newspaper allegations of a relationship between Bridge's former partner Vanessa Perroncel and England defender John Terry.
2012: Nathan Cleverly successfully defended his WBO light-heavyweight title by beating Tommy Karpency on points at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff.
2014: Bradford Bulls were docked six points by the Rugby Football League for going into administration.
BIRTHDAYS
Herb Elliott (athletics) - Australian middle-distance runner, 1960 Olympic 1500 metres champion, who was never defeated in a 1500m race from 1957 until his retirement four years later, born 1938.
Shaun Goater (soccer) - Former Manchester City and Bermuda striker, born 1970.
Park Ji-sung (soccer) - Former Manchester United and South Korea midfielder, born 1981.
Chris Baird (soccer) - Northern Ireland and Derby defender, currently on loan at Fulham, born 1982.
Flavia Pennetta (tennis) - 2015 US Open champion, born 1982.
Eduardo (soccer) - Former Croatia and Arsenal striker, now with Shakhtar Donetsk, born 1983.
Craig Mackail-Smith (soccer) - Former Scotland, Peterborough and Brighton striker, now with Luton, born 1984.
Benji Marshall (rugby league) - Former New Zealand and Wests Tigers half-back, now with St George Illawarra, born 1985.
Eugenie Bouchard (tennis) - 2014 Wimbledon runner-up, born 1994.
SPORT ON TV
Today
SNOOKER: Sporting Legends: Dennis Taylor: Dennis Taylor's momentous win against Steve Davis which resulted in him winning the 1985 World Championship - Setanta Ireland 0930.
SOCCER: Europa League, Liverpool v Augsburg - BT Sport Europe 1800, Manchester United v FC Midtjylland - BT Sport 2 1930.
RUGBY LEAGUE: Super League, Hull FC v Castleford Tigers - Sky Sports 2 1930.
RUGBY UNION: PRO12, Newport Gwent Dragons v Glasgow Warriors - BBC Two Wales 1900.
GOLF: Perth International - Sky Sports 4 0500; Honda Classic - Sky Sports 4 1900.
TENNIS: Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships - Sky Sports 2 1100; Qatar Total Open - BT Sport 1 1230; Mexican Open - Sky Sports 3 2200.
BASKETBALL: NBA, New Orleans Pelicans v Oklahoma City Thunder - BT Sport 1 0100 (Fri), Portland Trail Blazers v Houston Rockets - BT Sport 1 0330 (Fri).
DARTS: Premier League Darts - Sky Sports 1 1900.
WINTER SPORTS: Biathlon, European Championships - Eurosport 1 1000 and 1300.
Tomorrow
SOCCER: Championship: Hull v Sheffield Wednesday - Sky Sports 1 1900; Scottish Premiership, Hamilton v Celtic - BT Sport 1 1915; Primera Division, Eibar v Las Palmas - Sky Sports 5 1925; Ligue 1, Nice v Bastia - BT Sport 2 1915; A-League, Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne City - BT Sport 1 0630, Western Sydney Wanderers v Perth Glory - BT Sport 1 0830
RUGBY UNION: Six Nations, Wales v France - BBC One 1930 and S4C 1915; Super Rugby, Blues v Highlanders - Sky Sports 2 0600, Brumbies v Hurricanes - Sky Sports 2 0830, Cheetahs v Jaguares - Sky Sports 2 1655, Sunwolves v Lions - Sky Sports 2 0410 (Sat).
RUGBY LEAGUE: Super League, Hull Kingston Rovers v St Helens - Sky Sports 2 1930.
BASKETBALL: NBA, Toronto Raptors v Cleveland Cavaliers - BT Sport 1 0030 (Sat).
GOLF: Perth International - Sky Sports 4 0500; Honda Classic - Sky Sports 4 1900.
TENNIS: Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships - Sky Sports 3 1300; Qatar Total Open - BT Sport 2 1500 and 1700; Mexican Open - Sky Sports 3 0000 and 0400 (Sat).
MOTORCYCLING: World Superbikes - Eurosport 1 0115 (Sat).
SNOOKER: Gdynia Open - Eurosport 2 0830, 1200, 1300, 1630 and 1905.
WINTER SPORTS: Alpine Skiing - Eurosport 1 0815; Ski Jumping - Eurosport 1 1145.
QUICK QUIZ BLITZ
1 Neymar joined Barcelona from which Brazilian club?
2 Who is the manager of the Monaghan men's senior gaelic football team?
3 Name the men's and women's singles champions at the 2014 US Open.
4 Welsh boxer Lee Selby holds a world title in which weight division?
5 Who do Ruairi Ogs, Cushendall face in the All-Ireland senior club hurling final on March 17?
Answers: 1 Santos; 2 Malachy O'Rourke; 3 Marin Cilic and Serena Williams; 4 Featherweight; 5 Na Piarsaigh of Limerick.
