ON THIS DAY
1901: French Davis Cup tennis star Henri Cochet was born. Cochet won four French Opens, two Wimbledon titles and one Australian Open between 1926 and 1932 and won the Davis Cup on six occasions. He died on April 1, 1987.
1935: Arsenal striker Ted Drake scored all his side's goals in a 7-1 win over Aston Villa at Villa Park.
1960: The Test match between Australia and West Indies at Brisbane ended level and was declared a tie. The tourists scored 453 and 284 while the hosts managed 505 and 232.
2003: Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein revealed Chelsea had made a bid for striker Thierry Henry, reported to be worth £40million.
2007: The Football Association confirmed the appointment of Fabio Capello as England manager.
2008: Triple Olympic champion Chris Hoy was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton was second with double Olympic gold medallist Rebecca Adlington third.
2009: Former Celtic striker Henrik Larsson was appointed coach of Swedish second division side Landskrona Bois,
see Larsson goals galore video below
2010: The Football Association of Wales announced the appointment of Gary Speed as the new Wales manager. He died in November 2011.
2011: Jockeys Greg Fairley, Paul Doe, Jimmy Quinn and Kirsty Milczarek were disqualified from racing following an investigation into alleged corruption by the British Horseracing Authority. Fairley and Doe, both of whom quit riding earlier in the year, were handed bans of 12 years each, while Milczarek was banned for two years and Quinn six months. Milczarek later won an appeal against her disqualification.
2012: The start of the 2014 Tour de France was awarded to Yorkshire, with the July 5 opening stage beginning in Leeds.
2014: All-Ireland champions St Vincent's secured back-to-back Leinster club SFC crowns for the first time in their history with a 1-12 to 0-6 victory over Offaly's Rhode at Pairc Tailteann.
2014: Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton won the 2014 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, with golfer Rory McIlroy second and athlete Jo Pavey third.
2015: Andy Farrell, Graham Rowntree and Mike Catt left their positions as England rugby union assistant coaches as new head coach Eddie Jones made the first major move of his reign.
BIRTHDAYS
Stan Smith (tennis) - 1971 US Open and 1972 Wimbledon men's singles champion, born 1946.
Chris Waddle (soccer) - former England, Newcastle, Tottenham and Marseille winger, born 1960.
Tomasz Radzinski (soccer) - former Everton, Fulham and Canada striker, born 1973.
Ben Kay (rugby union) - former Leicester second row who was part of England's World Cup-winning side in 2003, born 1975.
Paul Robinson (soccer) - Birmingham's former West Brom and Bolton left-back, born 1978.
Patty Schnyder (tennis) - Swiss professional, winner of 11 WTA Tour events, born 1978.
Michael Owen (soccer) - Former Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Stoke striker who scored 40 goals for England, born 1979.
Jean-Alain Boumsong (soccer) - former France, Newcastle and Rangers defender, born 1979.
Steve Sidwell (soccer) - Brighton's former Reading, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Fulham and Stoke midfielder, born 1982.
Chris Brunt (soccer) - West Brom and Northern Ireland midfielder, born 1984.
Sam Burgess (rugby league) - England forward who returned to South Sydney in the NRL after a spell in rugby union with Bath and England, born 1989.
QUICK QUIZ BLITZ
1. How many times did Walter Swinburn win the Epsom Derby?
2. Who is the only Kilkenny hurler to play in eight All-Ireland finals between 1998 and 2007?
3. Which three managers won the Football League Cup with two different clubs?
4. Which former All-Ireland winning Dublin footballer later played senior hurling with Kerry?
5. Which US city is home to the Bruins, Celtics and Red Sox?
(See quiz answers at bottom)
SPORT ON TV
Today (Wednesday, December 14)
SOCCER: Premier League, Crystal Palace v Man United - BT Sport 1 1915; Sky Bet Championship, Wigan v Newcastle - Sky Sports 1 1930.
BASKETBALL: NBA, Miami Heat v Indiana Pacers - BT Sport 1 0000 (Thu), San Antonio Spurs v Boston Celtics - BT Sport 1 0230 (Thu).
SNOOKER: Scottish Open - Eurosport 1 1245.
Tomorrow (Thursday, December 15)
SOCCER: League One, Coventry v Sheffield United - Sky Sports 1 1930; Serie A, Genoa v Fiorentina - eir Sport 1 1900.
AMERICAN FOOTBALL: NFL, Seattle Seahawks v Los Angeles Rams - Sky Sports 1 0030 (Fri).
BASKETBALL: NBA, Golden State Warriors v New York Knicks - BT Sport 1 0330 (Fri).
DARTS: PDC World Darts Championship - Sky Sports Darts 1900.
RUGBY UNION: European Rugby Challenge Cup, Bath v Cardiff Blues - Sky Sports 2 1900.
SKIING: Alpine Skiing, World Cup - Eurosport 1 0930; Biathlon, World Cup - Eurosport 2 1615.
SNOOKER: Scottish Open - Eurosport 1 1145.
VOLLEYBALL: Women's Volleyball NCAA Championship semi-finals - 0000 BT Sport (Fri).
Quick Quiz Blitz answers: 1. Three 2. Michael Kavanagh 3. Joe Mercer (Aston Villa & Manchester City), Ron Atkinson (Sheffield Wednesday & Aston Villa) and George Graham (Arsenal & Tottenham Hotspur). 4. Vinny Murphy 5. Boston.
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