BIRTHDAYS
Calvin Smith (athletics) - American former 100 metres world record-holder, born 1961.
Shoaib Mohammad (cricket) - former Pakistan international cricketer, born 1961.
Marco Fu (snooker) - Hong Kong's 2006 World Championship semi-finalist, born 1978.
Seol Ki-hyeon (soccer) - Former South Korea and Wolves midfielder, born 1979.
Adrian Mutu (soccer) - former Chelsea and Romania striker, born 1979.
John Utaka (soccer) - former Portsmouth and Nigeria forward, born 1982.
David Silva (soccer) - Manchester City and former Spain midfielder, born 1986.
Michael Mancienne (soccer) - former Chelsea and England Under-21 defender, now at MLS side New England Revolution, born 1988.
Aaron Cruden (rugby union) - former All Blacks fly-half, born 1989.
Josh Hazlewood (cricket) - Australian pace bowler, born 1991.
Tadhg Beirne (rugby) - Munster lock, currently playing in the Pro14 and the European Rugby Champions Cup, born 1992.
ON THIS DAY
1984: The Los Angeles Raiders won their first American Football Conference Championship by beating Seattle 30-14.
1990: Thieves broke into Cardiff's Ninian Park and stole the £50,000 takings the club amassed from an FA Cup tie with QPR.
1999: Arsenal won the race to sign Jermaine Pennant. Notts County put themselves in line for a windfall of up to £2million after selling the 15-year-old to the Gunners.
2007: The Scottish Football Association rejected Scotland manager Walter Smith's request to be relieved of his duties. Smith eventually joined Rangers, with Alex McLeish succeeding him as national team boss.
2010: Togo's team bus was attacked by gunmen as they headed to their African Nations Cup base in Angola. Three people died in the incident - the bus driver, an assistant coach and a press officer.
2012: Paul Scholes came out of retirement for Manchester United ahead of their FA Cup clash with Manchester City.
2013: League Two Bradford produced yet another shock in the Capital One Cup as they upset Aston Villa 3-1 in their semi-final first-leg clash. The Bantams, who knocked out Arsenal and Wigan en route to the last four, progressed to the final after negotiating the second leg but were soundly beaten 5-0 by Swansea at Wembley.
2014: FIFA's secretary general Jerome Valcke stated that the 2022 World Cup would not take place in June or July amid concern about staging the tournament in the fierce heat of the summer in Qatar. The world governing body later set up a taskforce to discuss the possibility of holding the tournament between November and January.
2014: Former Aston Villa, West Ham and Germany international midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger announced he was gay in an interview with German newspaper Die Zeit.
2017: Sky Bet League Two Plymouth ground out a goalless draw in the third round of the FA Cup at Anfield as the youngest team in Liverpool's history discovered they still had plenty to learn.
2018: Andy Murray underwent surgery on his right hip in a bid to return to competitive tennis for the 2018 grass-court season.
QUICK QUIZ
1. From which club did Chelsea sign Willian in 2013?
2. Who did Josh Warrington defeat to retain his IBF world featherweight title in December 2018?
3. Who was the manager when Nottingham Forest were relegated from the Premier League in 1998-99?
4. Jenson Button made his F1 debut with which team?
5. Who did Dublin beat to win the 2013 GAA All-Ireland Senior Football Championship title?
(See quiz answers at bottom)
SPORT ON TV
Today (Tuesday, January 8)
SOCCER: Carabao Cup semi-final, either Manchester City v Burton Albion, or Tottenham v Chelsea - Sky Sports Main Event 1900; French Coupe de la Ligue, TBC - BT Sport 2 1800, BT Sport 1 2000.
CRICKET: BBL, Sydney Thunder v Brisbane Heat - BT Sport 2 0800.
TENNIS: ATP, Sydney International - Eurosport 2 1000; WTA, Sydney International - BT Sport 1 0200 (Wed).
DARTS: BDO World Championships - Eurosport 1 1300 and 1900.
Tomorrow (Wednesday, January 9)
SOCCER: Carabao Cup, first leg semi-final TBC - Sky Sports Main Event 1900; French Coupe de la Ligue, TBC - BT Sport 1 2000.
CRICKET: BBL, Melbourne Stars v Perth Scorchers - BT Sport 2 0800; WBBL, Brisbane Heat v Melbourne Stars - BT Sport 2 0245 (Thurs).
TENNIS: WTA, Sydney International - BT Sport 1 0630, 0930 and 0200 (Thurs); ATP, Sydney International - Eurosport 1 0800 and 0400 (Thurs).
DARTS: BDO World Championships - Eurosport 1 1300 and 1900.
BASKETBALL: NBA, Houston Rockets v Milwaukee Bucks - Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports USA 0100 (Thurs).
QUICK QUIZ answers: 1. Anzhi Makhachkala; 2. Carl Frampton; 3. Ron Atkinson; 4. Williams; 5. Mayo
