Sport

On This Day - April 15 1964: George Best made his debut for Northern Ireland

In a career with Northern Ireland that lasted from 1964 to 1977, George Best made 37 appearances, scoring nine goals  
In a career with Northern Ireland that lasted from 1964 to 1977, George Best made 37 appearances, scoring nine goals   In a career with Northern Ireland that lasted from 1964 to 1977, George Best made 37 appearances, scoring nine goals  

ON THIS DAY

1901: Snooker great Joe Davis was born. He went on to win 15 world titles, starting with the inaugural competition in 1927, up to his retirement from the championship in 1946. He also won the world professional billiards title four times. He died in 1978.

1964: George Best made his debut for Northern Ireland, helping them to a 3-2 win over Wales in Swansea.

1972: Famed boxer Arturo Gatti was born. The Italy-born brawler was involved in four 'fight of the year' scraps, two of which were against his rival and great friend Mickey Ward. Gatti died in July 2009 in mysterious circumstances.

1985: Undisputed world middleweight champion Marvin Hagler destroyed Thomas Hearns in arguably the most explosive fight in the history of boxing, stopping the 'Motor City Cobra' in the third round in Las Vegas.

1986: Viv Richards hit a Test century off only 56 balls against England on his home ground of St John's, Antigua.

1989: The FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest turned into the worst tragedy in British sporting history, with 96 fans losing their lives in the Hillsborough disaster.

2005: Former Scotland coach Ian McGeechan announced he was quitting as the Scottish Rugby Union's director of rugby to take up a similar post at Wasps.

2009: The England and Wales Cricket Board announced that former Zimbabwe captain Andy Flower had been appointed England team director.

2012: Chelsea hammered Tottenham 5-1 in the FA Cup semi-finals. They went on to beat Liverpool in the final.

2014: Aston Villa suspended assistant manager Ian Culverhouse and head of football operations Gary Karsa "pending an internal investigation". Both men were later sacked.

2016: Nicola Adams was among eight British boxers who qualified for the Rio Olympics with their performances in Samsun, Turkey.

BIRTHDAYS

John O'Keefe (GAA) - former Kerry defender and winner of seven All-Ireland SFC medals, born 1951.

Pedro Delgado (cycling) - former Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana winner, born 1960.

Manoj Prabhakar (cricket) - former Test player for India, born 1963.

Ben Clarke (rugby union) - former England and Bath back row, born 1968.

Steve Williams (rowing) - double Olympic champion in the coxless fours, born 1976.

James Foster (cricket) - Essex's former England wicketkeeper, born 1980.

Willie Mason (rugby league) - Catalans Dragons' Australian prop, born 1980.

Frank Schleck (cycling) - two-time Tour de France stage winner, born 1980.

Andres D'Alessandro (soccer) - playmaker who won 28 caps for Argentina and had a loan spell with Portsmouth in 2006, born 1981.

Albert Riera (soccer) - former Liverpool, Watford and Spain winger, born 1982.

Tom Heaton (soccer) - Burnley and England goalkeeper, born 1986.

Steven Defour (soccer) - Burnley and Belgium midfielder, born 1988.

John Guidetti (soccer) - Celta Vigo's former Manchester City and Celtic striker, born 1992.

QUICK QUIZ BLITZ

1. Which current Premier League club did West Brom manager Tony Pulis represent during his playing career?

2. Which Ulster college did Down's DJ Kane captain to Sigerson glory in 1987?

3. Who was the last non-European golfer to top the European Tour Order of Merit?

4. Which Wasps winger leads this season's Aviva Premiership try-scoring charts?

5. Name the Armagh minor who made his senior championship debut in 1993, only a month after he had spearheaded St Colman's Newry to an All-Ireland Colleges title?

(See answers at bottom)

SPORT ON TV

Saturday, April 15

SOCCER: A-League, Sydney FC v Newcastle Jets - BT Sport 2 0830, Adelaide United v Western Sydney Wanderers - BT Sport 2 1045; Serie A, Inter Milan v AC Milan - BT Sport 1 1115, Napoli v Udinese - BT Sport 2 1945; Premier League, Tottenham v Bournemouth - Sky Sports 1 1230, Southampton v Manchester City - BT Sport 1 1700; Chinese Super League, Tianjin Quanjian v Shanghai SIPG - Sky Sports 3 1230; Bundesliga, Bayer Leverkusen v Bayern Munich - BT Sport 2 1715; LaLiga, Barcelona v Real Sociedad - Sky Sports 3 1930; MLS, Orlando City v Los Angeles Galaxy – Sky Sports 5 1955, Chicago Fire v New England Revolution - Sky Sports 5 2200.

RUGBY UNION: Super Rugby, Reds v Kings - Sky Sports 2 0600, Blues v Hurricanes - Sky Sports 2 0830, Rebels v Brumbies - Sky Sports 5 1030, 2.30pm-4.45pm BBC One Wales; Guinness PRO12, Cardiff v Ospreys - BBC Two Wales 1430, Munster v Ulster - Sky Sports 3 1445, Newport Gwent Dragons v Scarlets - S4C 1700; Aviva Premiership, Worcester v Bath - BT Sport 2 1430.

MOTOR RACING: Formula One, Bahrain Grand Prix third practice session - Sky Sports F1 1245, Channel 4 1255, qualifying - Channel 4 1455, Sky Sports F1 1500, eir Sport 1 1455.

SNOOKER: World Championship - BBC Two 1000, 1630, 1900, Eurosport 1 1000, 1430, 1830, Eurosport 2 1000, 2000, BBC One 1315.

CRICKET: Indian Premier League, Kolkata Knight Riders v Sunrisers Hyderabad - Sky Sports 2 1100; Delhi Daredevils v Kings XI Punjab - Sky Sports 2 1500.

GOLF: Ladies European Tour, Lalla Meryem Cup - Sky Sports 4 1130; European Tour, Trophee Hassan II - Sky Sports 4 1430; PGA Tour, RBC Heritage - Sky Sports 4 1830.

CYCLING: Track World Championships - Eurosport 1 0530, Eurosport 2 1200, BBC Two 1200

BOXING: WBA, IBF and IBO world super-lightweight title fight from Glasgow, Ricky Burns v Julius Indongo - Sky Sports 2 1930.

HORSE RACING: From Musselburgh and Haydock Park - ITV4 1330.

BASKETBALL: NBA play-offs, Cleveland Cavaliers v Indiana Pacers - BT Sport//ESPN 2000

BASEBALL: MLB, Oakland Athletics v Houston Astros - BT Sport 1 2100, Miami Marlins v New York Mets - BT Sport 1 0000 (Sun).

Sunday, April 16

GAA: Allianz League Sunday, Michael Lyster is joined by Ken McGrath to present highlights of the National Hurling League Division semi-finals, which were Limerick v Galway and Tipperary v Wexford - RTE 2 2130.

SOCCER: A-League, Brisbane Roar v Wellington Phoenix - BT Sport 1 0800, Perth Glory v Melbourne City - BT Sport 1 1000; Ladbrokes Premiership, Ross County v Celtic - Sky Sports 2 1200; Chinese Super League, Tianjin Teda v Guangzhou Evergrande - Sky Sports 3 1230; Eredivisie, Feyenoord v FC Utrecht - Sky Sports 5 1320; Premier League, West Brom v Liverpool - Sky Sports 1 1330, Manchester United v Chelsea - Sky Sports 1 1530; Bundesliga, Werder Bremen v Hamburg - BT Sport 2 1415, Darmstadt v Schalke - BT Sport 2 1630; LaLiga, Valencia v Sevilla - Sky Sports 5 1530, Real Betis v Eibar - Sky Sports 5 1730, Granada v Celta Vigo - Sky Sports 1 1940; Ligue 1, Marseille v St Etienne - BT Sport 2 1945.

RUGBY UNION: Top 14, Montpellier v Bayonne – Sky Sports 5 1125, Toulouse v Racing - Sky Sports 3 1555; Aviva Premiership, Northampton v Saracens - BT Sport 1 1430.

MOTOR RACING: British Touring Car Championship from Donington Park - ITV4 1045; Formula One, Bahrain Grand Prix - Sky Sports F1 1530, Channel 4 1550, eir Sport 1 1555.

SNOOKER: World Championship - BBC Two 1000, 1415, Eurosport 1 1000, 1600, 1830, Eurosport 2 1000, 1900.

GOLF: Ladies European Tour, Lalla Meryem Cup - Sky Sports 4 1130; European Tour, Trophee Hassan II - Sky Sports 4 1430; PGA Tour, RBC Heritage - Sky Sports 4 1830.

CRICKET: Indian Premier League, Royal Challengers Bangalore v Rising Pune Supergiants - Sky Sports 2 1500.

CYCLING: Track World Championships - Eurosport 1 0700.

MOTOR CYCLING: British Superbikes from Brands Hatch - Eurosport 2 1430

BASKETBALL: NBA play-offs, Golden State Warriors v Portland Trail Blazers - BT Sport 1 2000.

BASEBALL: MLB, Toronto Blue Jays v Baltimore Orioles - BT Sport//ESPN 1800, Seattle Mariners v Texas Rangers - BT Sport//ESPN 2100, New York Yankees v St Louis Cardinals - BT Sport//ESPN 0100 (Mon).

QUICK QUIZ BLITZ answers: 1 Bournemouth; 2 University of Ulster, Jordanstown; 3 Ernie Els (2004); 4 Christian Wade (15); 5 Diarmaid Marsden.

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