Sport

On This Day - Jan 18 2013: Lance Armstrong admitted taking banned substances, including EPO, to help win the Tour de France

Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong (left)
Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong (left) Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong (left)

ON THIS DAY

1879: England beat Wales 2-1 at the Kennington Oval in the first football international between the two nations.

1996: Romania international Ilie Dumitrescu completed his transfer from Tottenham to West Ham in a deal worth in excess of £1million.

2002: Manchester United signed Uruguayan forward Diego Forlan for £7.5million from Argentinian club Independiente.

2003: Australia batsman Darren Lehmann was banned for five one-day internationals after being found guilty of breaking the International Cricket Council's code of conduct by making racist remarks following his dismissal against Sri Lanka during the one-day VB Series in Australia.

2008: Lewis Hamilton signed a new five-year contract with McLaren.

2011: Jose Maria Olazabal was appointed captain of the Europe team for the 2012 Ryder Cup. At the event - since termed the 'Miracle at Medinah' - Europe overcame a 10-6 deficit at the start of the final day to win 14 1/2-13 1/2.

2012: Controversial centre Gavin Henson was included in Wales' 35-man provisional squad for the RBS 6 Nations, having not played for his country since 2009.

2013: Lance Armstrong admitted while speaking in an interview with Oprah Winfrey to taking banned substances, including EPO, to help win the Tour de France. He was later stripped of his seven Tour titles.

2016: Swansea announced Francesco Guidolin as the club's new head coach. The former Udinese boss was appointed to work alongside interim manager Alan Curtis until the end of the season and watched his new side beat Watford 1-0 from the Liberty Stadium stands.

BIRTHDAYS

Peter Beardsley (soccer) - former England, Newcastle, Everton and Liverpool forward, born 1961.

Richard Dunwoody (horse racing) - former top National Hunt jockey, born 1964.

Pep Guardiola (soccer) - Manchester City manager who played for Barcelona before becoming head coach at the Nou Camp and later managed Bayern Munich, born 1971.

Thor Hushovd (cycling) - former Norwegian cyclist, twice winner of the Tour de France points classification, born 1978.

Paulo Ferreira (soccer) - former Chelsea and Portugal defender, born 1979.

Robert Green (soccer) - Leeds' former QPR, West Ham and Norwich goalkeeper who won 12 caps for England, born 1980.

Riccardo Montolivo (soccer) - AC Milan and Italy midfielder, born 1985.

Johan Djourou (soccer) - former Arsenal defender, now with Hamburg, born 1987.

Angelique Kerber (tennis) - German who won both the Australian Open and US Open in 2016 and currently tops the WTA singles rankings, born 1988.

Nacho (soccer) - Real Madrid and Spain defender, born 1990.

QUICK QUIZ BLITZ

1 Which German is the only golfer to have won the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship three times?

2 Who did Angelique Kerber beat in the 2016 Australian Open final?

3 Darren Ferguson is the current manager of which League Two side?

4 Which former England cricketer has been hired to help Australia prepare for their upcoming Test tour of India?

5 How many Champions League titles did Louis van Gaal win as a manager?

(See quiz answers at bottom)

SPORT ON TV 

Today (Wednesday, January 18)

FOOTBALL: FA Cup third-round replay, Plymouth v Liverpool - BT Sport 2 1900; African Nations Cup, Gabon v Burkina Faso - Eurosport 1 1545, Cameroon v Guinea-Bissau - Eurosport 1 1845.

CRICKET: Big Bash League, Sydney Thunder v Adelaide Strikers - BT Sport 2 0830.

TENNIS: Australian Open, day three - Eurosport 1/Eurosport 2 0000.

SNOOKER: The Masters, Mark Selby v Mark Williams - BBC Two/Eurosport 2 1300, Shaun Murphy v Barry Hawkins - Eurosport 2 1845.

BASKETBALL: NBA, Golden State Warriors v Oklahoma City Thunder - BT Sport 1 0330 (Thu).

Tomorrow (Thursday, January 19)

FOOTBALL: African Nations Cup, Algeria v Tunisia - Eurosport 1 1545, Senegal v Zimbabwe - Eurosport 1 1845; Coppa Italia, Roma v Sampdoria - Sky Sports 1 1855; A-League, Melbourne City v Central Coast Mariners - BT Sport 1 0845.

CRICKET: India v England, second one-day international, - Sky Sports 2 0730.

TENNIS: Australian Open, day four - Eurosport 1/Eurosport 2 0000.

GOLF: Abu Dhabi Championship, day one - Sky Sports 4 0330: CareerBuilder Challenge, day one - Sky Sports 4 2000.

SNOOKER: The Masters, first quarter-final - BBC Two/Eurosport 2 1300, second quarter-final - Eurosport 2 1845/BBC Two 1900.

QUICK QUIZ BLITZ answers: 1 Martin Kaymer; 2 Serena Williams; 3 Doncaster; 4 Monty Panesar; 5 One - with Ajax in 1995.

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