ON THIS DAY
1897: Cornishman Bob Fitzsimmons beat 'Gentleman' Jim Corbett to win the world heavyweight title at Carson City, Nevada, six years after lifting the world middleweight crown.
1902: Bobby Jones, arguably the finest amateur golfer of all time, was born. Jones won the Open three times and the US Open four times. In 1930 he achieved the grand slam of major tournaments. He died on December 18, 1971.
1947: World heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano won the first of his 49 professional fights when he beat Lee Epperson.
1983: Trainer Michael Dickinson saddled the first five past the finishing post in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
2006: War Of Attrition, trained by Mouse Morris and ridden by Conor O'Dwyer, won the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup, the feature race on the final day of the 2006 Festival.
2009: Olympic bronze medallist Jo Jackson set a new world record in the 400metres freestyle at the British Gas Swimming Championships in Sheffield.
2010: Portsmouth were hit with a nine-point deduction for entering administration, all but sealing their relegation from the Barclays Premier League.
2011: Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was fined £30,000 and given a five-match touchline ban for comments made about referee Martin Atkinson following a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea.
2012: Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch during the first half of Bolton's FA Cup quarter-final at Tottenham. He remained in hospital until April 16 and retired from professional football in August.
2014: The Football Association's membership committee made a "unanimous recommendation" to its council to reject Hull City's request to change their playing name to Hull Tigers.
2016: Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter said he would take his appeal against a six-year ban from football-related activity to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. In December 2016, CAS rejected the appeal.
BIRTHDAYS
Pat Rice (soccer) - former Northern Ireland and Arsenal defender, most recently Gunners assistant manager, born 1949.
Lee Dixon (soccer) - former Arsenal and England full-back, born 1964.
Mia Hamm (soccer) - former United States international and 1999 Women's World Cup winner, capped 276 times with 158 goals, born 1972.
Aaron Baddeley (golf) - Australian player with four wins on the PGA Tour, born 1981
Steven Pienaar (soccer) - former Everton and Sunderland midfielder, born 1982.
Raul Meireles (soccer) - former Chelsea and Liverpool midfielder, born 1983.
Edin Dzeko (soccer) - former Manchester City striker, now at Roma, born 1986.
Fraser Forster (soccer) - Southampton and England goalkeeper, born 1988.
Shinji Kagawa (soccer) - Borussia Dortmund and Japan midfielder, born 1989.
Katie Ledecky (swimming) - Olympic 800m freestyle gold medallist, born 1997.
QUICK QUIZ
1. Who won the 2017 World Snooker Championship?
2. Who is the most capped international for England's rugby union side?
3. At what famous fight venue is Belfast boxer Michael Conlan fighting on St Patrick's Day 2018?
4. Which colour jersey does the King of the Mountains wear on the Tour de France?
5. Where does former Leeds and Manchester United striker Alan Smith now play?
(See quiz answers at bottom)
SPORT ON TV
Today (Saturday, March 17)
SOCCER: A-League, Wellington Phoenix v Newcastle Jets - BT Sport 1 0630, Sydney FC v Brisbane Roar - BT Sport 1 0845; FA Cup, Swansea v Tottenham - BT Sport 1 1145, Manchester United v Brighton - BT Sport 1 1930; Championship, Fulham v QPR - Sky Sports Main Event 1200, Bolton v Aston Villa - Sky Sports Main Event 1715; Premier League, Liverpool v Watford - BT Sport 1 1700; LaLiga, Real Betis v Espanyol - Sky Sports Main Event 1940.
WINTER PARALYMPICS: Winter Paralympics, day nine - Channel 4 0015 (Sun).
RUGBY UNION: Super Rugby, Highlanders v Crusaders - Sky Sports Main Event & Sky Sports Action 0630, Brumbies v Sharks - Sky Sports Main Event & Sky Sports Action 0840, Stormers v Blues - Sky Sports Action 1300; Lions v Sunwolves - Sky Sports Main Event & Sky Sports Action 1510, Jaguares v Reds - Sky Sports Action 2135, Waratahs v Rebels - Sky Sports Action 0500 (Sun); Six Nations, Italy v Scotland - ITV 1200, England v Ireland - ITV 1425, Wales v France - BBC One 1630.
RUGBY LEAGUE: Super League, Catalan Dragons v Warrington Wolves - Sky Sports Action 1710.
GOLF: PGA Tour, Arnold Palmer Invitational - Sky Sports Golf 1630 & Sky Sports Main Event 2200.
BOXING: Matt Askin v Stephen Simmons and Joe Joyce v Donnie Palmer - Channel 5 2230.
MOTOR CYCLING: MotoGP Qatar: FP3 - BT Sport 2 1000, MotoGP Qatar: Qualifying - BT Sport 2 1300.
CYCLING: Milan-San Remo - Eurosport 1 1330.
BASKETBALL: NBA, San Antonio Spurs v Minnesota Timberwolves - BT Sport 1 0030 (Sun).
Tomorrow (Sunday, March 18)
SOCCER: A-League, Melbourne Victory v Central Coast Mariners - BT Sport 2 0600; Championship, Derby v Cardiff - Sky Sports Main Event 1130; Serie A, Sampdoria v Inter Milan - BT Sport 1 1130, AC Milan v Chievo - BT Sport/ESPN 1400, Napoli v Genoa - BT Sport 1 1930; Ligue 1 Nice v Paris St Germain - BT Sport/ESPN 1200; FA Cup, Wigan v Southampton - BBC One 1315, Leicester v Chelsea - BBC One 1605; Scottish Premiership, Motherwell v Celtic - Sky Sports Main Event 1415.
CRICKET: ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier - Sky Sports Cricket 0725 & Sky Sports Main Event 0730.
WINTER PARALYMPICS: Winter Paralympics Closing Ceremony - Channel 4 0030 (Mon).
RUGBY UNION: Top 14, Castres v Brive - Sky Sports Action 1125; Toulouse v Montpellier - Sky Sports Action - 1545; Anglo-Welsh Cup final, Bath v Exeter - BT Sport 1 1430.
GOLF: PGA Tour, Arnold Palmer Invitational - Sky Sports Golf 1630 & Sky Sports Main Event 1645; LPGA, The Founders Cup - Sky Sports Golf 2200 & Sky Sports Main Event 2230.
TENNIS: WTA Tour, BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells - BT Sport 2 1800; ATP Tour, BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells - Sky Sports Main Event 2000.
MOTOR CYCLING: MotoGP: Grand Prix of Qatar - BT Sport 2 1530.
BASKETBALL: NBA, New Orleans Pelicans v Boston Celtics - BT Sport 1 2200.
QUICK QUIZ answers: 1. Mark Selby; 2. Jason Leonard; 3. Madison Square Garden; 4. Polka dot; 5. Notts County.
