The Irish News - Wednesday March 31 2010:
Mark Allen reached the second round of the Sanyuan Foods China Open yesterday with a convincing 5-1 win over 2006 World champion Graeme Dott.
The Antrim man fired in breaks of 102, 60 and 86 to set up a clash with another Scot, Stephen Maguire.
Current world champion John Higgins admits he must cut out the mistakes when he faces Mark Williams in the second round after a scrappy win against Fergal O'Brien.
The Scot beat the Dubliner 5-3 yesterday to set up a showdown with Williams after the Welshman beat England's Jamie Cope 5-3. Higgins did not have things all his own way in Beijing.
Having produced 74 and 50 to go 3-1 up, O'Brien clawed one back and made a fight of it until Higgins finally settled matters with a 74 in the eighth frame.
“I'm very happy to win, but there were lots of mistakes from the two of us,” Higgins said.
“If I play like that against Mark, I'll lose. The last time I played him here was in the final four years ago and I lost 10-9, so I owe him revenge. “There's always pressure on your first round game, so hopefully I'll have more confidence in my next match.”
-
Roger Black
athletics
former 400 metres star and Olympic silver medallist, born 1966.
-
Martin Atkinson
soccer
professional referee, member of the Select Group since 2005, FIFA listed from 2006 to 2018, born 1971.
-
Paul Grayson
cricket
former Essex head coach who played two one-day internationals for England, born 1971.
-
Stephen Clemence
soccer
Newcastle United first-team coach and former Tottenham, Birmingham and Leicester midfielder, son of former England goalkeeper Ray, born 1978.
-
Tal Ben Haim
soccer
Israel and Beitar Jerusalem defender, formerly with Chelsea, Manchester City, Portsmouth, Charlton, QPR and Bolton, born 1982.
-
Hashim Amla
cricket
South Africa's prolific batsman, born 1983.
-
Paddy McCarthy
soccer
former Crystal Palace defender, born 1983.
-
Eddie Johnson
soccer
retired United States striker, formerly with Fulham, born 1984.
-
Connor Wickham
soccer
Sheffield Wednesday striker on loan from Crystal Palace, formerly with Ipswich and Sunderland, born 1993.
- 1878
Jack Johnson, the first black man to win the world heavyweight boxing title, was born. Because of discrimination in the United States, he had to travel to Australia for his successful title challenge against Tommy Burns. Johnson died on June 10, 1946, aged 68.
- 1889
The world featherweight title fight between Ike Weir and Frank Murphy was stopped by police after 80 rounds. It is the longest world title contest under Queensberry Rules.
- 1928
Scotland's 'Wembley Wizards' inflicted a 5-1 defeat on England. Alex Jackson scored a hat-trick.
- 1980
Jesse Owens, the athlete who once set four world records in one day and won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, died.
- 1995
Sunderland escaped a points deduction when they were fined £2,500 by the Football League for playing unregistered player Dominic Matteo in a First Division match at Barnsley.
- 2001
Former Arsenal and England midfielder David Rocastle died at the age of 33 from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
- 2003
Peter Ridsdale resigned as chairman of debt-ridden Leeds after five years and was succeeded by Professor John McKenzie.
- 2010
Arsenal came from two goals down to claim a 2-2 draw in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners lost the second leg 4-1, with Lionel Messi scoring all four of Barca's goals.
- 2011
Sale prop Karena Wihongi was handed a four-month ban after testing positive for the banned stimulant methylhexaneamine.
- 2013
Paolo Di Canio was appointed Sunderland head coach on a two-and-a-half-year deal. He was later sacked after just 13 games in charge.
- 2014
England lost to Holland by 45 runs in their final World Twenty20 match in Chittagong.
- 2018
Darron Gibson left Sunderland by mutual consent after being charged with drink-driving.
- What is the maximum number of sets played in men's matches at Wimbledon?
- Which Italian is the only manager to lead Chelsea to a Champions League title?
- In which year did he accomplish that feat?
- Who is the highest points scorer in Super League history?
- What is the Ashes urn made of? (A) Terracotta (B) Clay (C) Porcelain
- Which country did Germany defeat to win the 2014 FIFA World Cup?
- Who is the current snooker world champion?
- How many Olympic gold medals did Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe win throughout his career? (A) Four (B) Five (C) Six
- Who has scored the most ODI runs for England?
- How many NBA championships did Phil Jackson win as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers?
- Five
- Robert Di Matteo
- 2012
- Kevin Sinfield
- (A) Terracotta
- Argentina
- Judd Trump
- (B) Five
- Eoin Morgan
- Five
Tuesday, March 31
- SOCCER
Premier League Years 2018-19 - Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League 0100; EFL Cup Final 2014: Manchester City v Sunderland - Sky Sports Football 0500; Premier League Years 1994-95 - Sky Sports Premier League 1000; Premier League Years 1995-96 - Sky Sports Premier League 1300.
- CRICKET
How the 2009 Ashes Were Won - Sky Sports Main Event 1000; How the 2013 Ashes Were Won - Sky Sports Main Event 1200; Ashes Regained: Cook's Redemption - Sky Sports Main Event 1400; Ashes Classics: 2010-11 - BT Sport 3 1500; The World Cup Through Their Eyes - Sky Sports Main Event 1900.
- MOTORSPORT
F1, 2019 Belgian Grand Prix - Sky Sports F1 1935.
- RACING
Raceday Live - Sky Sports Racing 0930; Stateside Live - Sky Sports Racing 1715.
Wednesday, April 1
- SOCCER
Premier League Years 1996-97 - Sky Sports Premier League 0100; EFL Cup Final 2015: Chelsea v Tottenham - Sky Sports Football 0500; Premier League Years 1997-98 - Sky Sports Premier League 1000; Premier League Years: Manchester United's Treble - Sky Sports Premier League 1300.
- CRICKET
Ashes Classics: 2010-11 - BT Sport 3 1500.
- MOTORSPORT
F1 2019 Season Review - Sky Sports Main Event 0900; 2019 Italian Grand Prix - Sky Sports F1 1800.
- GOLF
How the 2010 Ryder Cup Was Won - Sky Sports Golf 2200.
- BOXING
Boxing's Best of 2019 - Sky Sports Main Event 1900.
- RACING
Australian Racing - Sky Sports Racing 0200; Stateside Live 1715.