Sport

On this day in 2004: Chelsea dismissed manager Claudio Ranieri

Claudio Ranieri was sacked by Chelsea in 2004  
Claudio Ranieri was sacked by Chelsea in 2004   Claudio Ranieri was sacked by Chelsea in 2004  

ON THIS DAY IN SPORT

1868: Parc de St Cloud was the venue for the first recorded bicycle race. It took place over two kilometres and was won by Britain's James Moore.

1959: Italian grand prix driver Andrea de Cesaris was born in Rome. De Cesaris held the record for most career starts (208) without achieving a victory. He was killed at the age of 55 in a motorcycle accident in 2014.

1965: Britain's Jim Clark became the first European to win the Indianapolis 500. He achieved an average speed of 150.69mph in his Lotus.

1980: Tony Ward set a British Lions Test record by scoring 18 points against South Africa at Cape Town.

1984: Viv Richards hit a then record one-day international score, making 189 not out for the West Indies against England at Old Trafford.

2002: The World Cup in Japan and South Korea began with first-time qualifiers Senegal causing an upset by defeating holders France 1-0 in Seoul.

2003: Rangers completed a domestic treble, beating Dundee 1-0 to add the Scottish Cup to the league title and CIS Cup won earlier in the season.

2004: Chelsea dismissed manager Claudio Ranieri despite the Italian having guided the club to the Champions League semi-finals and second place in the Premiership.

2007: Sepp Blatter was re-elected unopposed as FIFA president for a third term.

2011: Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes announced his retirement from all football. He came out of retirement in January 2012 and later penned a one-year deal to continue his United career, before retiring again at the end of the 2012/13 season.

2014: Carl Froch settled his rivalry with George Groves in brutal fashion as he knocked his bitter enemy out cold with a crunching right hand in the eighth round of their rematch to retain his WBA and IBF super-middleweight titles in front of 80,000 fans at Wembley.

2016: Rangers' lower-league nightmare was to continue for at least another year after Motherwell clinched a 3-0 victory in the second leg of their Scottish Premiership play-off final.

BIRTHDAYS

Steve Bucknor (cricket) - former Test umpire, born 1946.

Peter Winterbottom (rugby league) - former England and British and Irish Lions forward, born 1960.

Roshan Mahanama (cricket) - former Sri Lanka Test player and 1996 World Cup-winner, born 1966.

Antti Niemi (soccer) - former Finland and Fulham goalkeeper, born 1972.

Chad Campbell (golf) - three-time United States Ryder Cup player, born 1974.

Leon Haslam (motorcycling) - World Superbikes Championship racer, son of former racer Ron Haslam, born 1983.

Marco Reus (soccer) - Borussia Dortmund and Germany midfielder, born 1989..

SPORT QUIZ

1 Huddersfield's promotion means only five teams in next season's Championship have yet to play in the Premier League. Brentford, Bristol City, Burton and Millwall are four - who are the fifth?

2 Which Ladbrokes League Two team play their home games at Central Park?

3 What is Britain's most easterly racecourse?

4 What is the name of Milwaukee's Major League Baseball team?

5 In which year did Wayne Pivac take over as head coach of Scarlets?


Answers below

SPORT ON TV

Today (Wednesday, May 31)

TENNIS: French Open - Eurosport 1 & ITV4 0930; Eurosport 2 1000.

BASEBALL: MLB, Pittsburgh v Arizona - BT Sport//ESPN 1730, San Diego v Chicago Cubs - BT Sport//ESPN 2030, St Louis v Los Angeles Dodgers - BT Sport//ESPN 0100 (Thu).

SAILING: America's Cup - BT Sport 1 1800.

Tomorrow (Thursday, June 1)

SOCCER: UEFA Women's Champions League, Lyon v Paris St Germain - Eurosport 2 1930.

CRICKET: ICC Champions Trophy, England v Bangladesh - Sky Sports 2 1000.

TENNIS: French Open - Eurosport 1 & ITV4 0930.

GOLF: European Tour, Nordea Masters - Sky Sports 4 1000 and 1400; PGA Tour, The Memorial Tournament - Sky Sports 4 1930.

DARTS: World Cup of Darts - Sky Sports 1 1900.

BASKETBALL: NBA, Golden State v Cleveland - BT Sport 1 0200 (Fri).

QUIZ ANSWERS


1 Preston; 2 Cowdenbeath; 3 Yarmouth; 4 The Brewers; 5 2014.

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