Sport

On This Day- Dec 18 1973, Jim Culloty, the Kerry jockey who won who the Gold Cup and Grand National in the same season, is born

Jim Culloty and best Mate clear the last at Cheltenham on the way to winning the Gold Cup in 2003
Jim Culloty and best Mate clear the last at Cheltenham on the way to winning the Gold Cup in 2003 Jim Culloty and best Mate clear the last at Cheltenham on the way to winning the Gold Cup in 2003

SPORTING BIRTHDAYS

Gianluca Pagliuca (soccer) - former Inter Milan and Italy goalkeeper, born 1966.

Santiago Canizares (soccer) - former Valencia and Spain goalkeeper, born 1969.

Justin Edinburgh (soccer) - former Tottenham and Portsmouth defender, now manager of Leyton Orient, born 1969.

Keith Piper (cricket) - former Warwickshire wicketkeeper, born 1969.

Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (tennis) - three-time French Open winner and twice runner-up at Wimbledon, born 1971.

Jim Culloty (horse racing) - former jockey best known for riding Best Mate, born 1973.

Mamady Sidibe (soccer) - former Stoke striker, born 1979.

Usman Khawaja (cricket) - Pakistan-born Australia batsman, born 1986.

Lizzie Deignan (cycling) - London 2012 Olympic road race silver medallist, born 1988.

ON THIS DAY 

1810: Championship belts were introduced in boxing when bare-knuckle fighter Tom Cribb was given one after beating Tom Molineaux at Copthall Common. King George III presented the belt.

1971: Stan Mellor became the first National Hunt jockey to ride 1,000 winners when he partnered Ouzo to victory at Nottingham.

2005: Liverpool were beaten 1-0 by Sao Paulo in the final of the Club World Championship in Yokohama.

2005: Ding Junhui won snooker's UK Championship with a 10-6 victory over Steve Davis.

2006: England surrendered the Ashes after losing the third Test in Perth by 206 runs to hand Australia an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.

2007: Scotland rugby union head coach Frank Hadden signed a new rolling contract. He left the job on April 2, 2009.

2008: The Indian government confirmed India's cricket tour of Pakistan, scheduled for January and February 2009, had been called off as relations between the neighbouring countries continued to deteriorate following the Mumbai terror attacks.

2012: Lionel Messi agreed a new contract with Barcelona running until 2018.

2014: Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli was banned for one match, fined £25,000 and ordered to attend an education course after making racist and anti-Semitic comments on social media.

2017: Australia won the Ashes after beating England by an innings and 41 runs in the third Test at Perth to take an unassailable 3-0 series lead.

QUICK QUIZ BLITZ

1. What nationality are current Premier League top-scorers Mohamed Salah and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang?

2. Which heavyweight boxer had the nickname Iron?

3. Who do Mickey Harte's Tyrone GAA footballers face in their opening 2018 Dr McKenna cup clash?

4. Where will the 2019 World Athletics Championships be held?

5. Brothers Sam, George and Thomas Burgess play for which rugby league side?

SPORT ON TV

Today (Tuesday, December 18)

SOCCER: Carabao Cup, Leicester v Manchester City - Sky Sports Main Event 1930; Bundesliga, Borussia Monchengladbach v Nuremberg - BT Sport 1 1730, Wolfsburg v Stuttgart - BT Sport/ESPN 1930, Fortuna Dusseldorf v Borussia Dortmund - BT Sport 1 1930, Hertha Berlin v Augsburg - BT Sport 2 1930.

CRICKET: Test, New Zealand v Sri Lanka - Sky Sports Cricket 2155, Sky Sports Main Event 0000 (Weds).

DARTS: World Championship - Sky Sports Main Event 1230, Sky Sports Arena 1230 and 1900.

Tomorrow (Wednesday, December 19)

SOCCER: Carabao Cup, Arsenal v Tottenham - Sky Sports Main Event 1900; Scottish Premiership, Hibernian v Rangers - BT Sport 1 1915.

CRICKET: Big Bash League, Brisbane Heat v Adelaide Strikers - BT Sport 2 0800.

DARTS: World Championship - Sky Sports Main Event 1230, Sky Sports Arena 1230 and 1900.

BASKETBALL: NBA, Utah Jazz v Golden State Warriors - Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Action 0200 (Thurs).

Answers to quiz: 1. Egyptian and Gabonese; 2. Mike Tyson; 3. Derry; 4. Doha, Qatar; 5. South Sydney Rabbitohs.