ON THIS DAY
1882: Sir Jack Hobbs, one of England's finest cricketers, was born. In a first-class career lasting from 1905 to 1934, he scored 61,237 runs at an average of 50.65 - mostly for Surrey. He made an all-time record 197 first-class hundreds. He died on December 21, 1963.
1996: Blackburn announced the appointment of Sampdoria coach Sven-Goran Eriksson as their new manager. The Swede, who went on to manage England from 2000 to 2006, later changed his mind about a move to Ewood Park.
1997: Frank Williams, former chief designer Adrian Newey and technical director Patrick Head were cleared of manslaughter charges in Imola at the inquest into the fatal crash of Ayrton Senna in 1994.
2001: Tottenham's Les Ferdinand scored the 10,000th Premiership goal, against Fulham at White Hart Lane.
2004: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was fined £15,000 and "severely reprimanded" by the Football Association after being found guilty of improper conduct. He accused Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy of "cheating" in a television interview.
2008: Blackburn announced manager Paul Ince had been "relieved of his duties", with the club second-bottom of the Premier League.
2012: Tour de France and Olympic champion Bradley Wiggins won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award. Jessica Ennis was second, with Andy Murray in third place.
2013: Andre Villas-Boas was sacked as Tottenham manager after 18 months in charge.
2014: England slumped to an 87-run one-day international defeat against Sri Lanka in Colombo to concede a 5-2 series defeat.
BIRTHDAYS
Bobby George (darts) - former World Championship finalist, now a pundit, born 1945.
Joel Garner (cricket) - former West Indies fast bowler, born 1952.
William Perry (gridiron) - former Chicago Bears defensive lineman nicknamed 'The Refrigerator', born 1962.
Heike Drechsler (athletics) - double Olympic long jump champion for West Germany, born 1964.
Dennis Wise (soccer) - former Chelsea, Wimbledon and England midfielder, born 1966.
Donovan Bailey (athletics) - Canada's 1996 Olympic 100m champion, born 1967.
Michelle de Bruin (swimming) - Irish star who won three Olympic gold medals in 1996 but was later banned after being found guilty of tampering with a drug test, born 1969.
Craig White (cricket) - former England and Yorkshire all-rounder, now Hampshire coach, born 1969.
Sylvain Distin (soccer) - Former Everton, Manchester City, Portsmouth and Bournemouth defender, born 1977.
Trevor Immelman (golf) - South African who won the 2008 Masters, born 1979.
Paul Kerrigan (GAA) – Cork senior footballer and winner of an All-Ireland SFC medal in 2010, born 1986.
Briege Corkery (GAA) – Cork camog and footballer, who, as the winner of six All-Ireland senior camogie medals and 11 All-Ireland senior ladies football medals is the joint (with Rena Buckley, also of Cork) most successful GAA player ever, born 1986.
Mats Hummels (soccer) - Borussia Dortmund and Germany defender, born 1988.
QUICK QUIZ BLITZ
1. Who did Dylan Hartley replace as England rugby union captain?
2. From who did Manchester City sign midfielder Ilkay Gundogan?
3. Who holds the record for the fastest recorded serve in tennis?
4. How many All-Ireland semi-finals did Kieran McGeeney play in for Armagh (excluding replays)?
5. In what year did Peter Canavan first play in a National Football League final for Tyrone?
(See quiz answers at bottom)
SPORT ON TV
Today (Friday, December 16)
GAA: Off the Ball, an off-beat look at recent football developments – eir Sport 1905.
SOCCER: Championship, Norwich v Huddersfield - Sky Sports 1 1900; Scottish Premiership, Hamilton v Rangers - BT Sport 1 1915; Ligue 1, Angers v Nantes - eir Sport 1 1930, BT Sport/ESPN 1945; La Liga, Alaves v Real Betis - Sky Sports 5 1940; A-League, Newcastle Jets v Adelaide Utd - BT Sport 1 0845.
CRICKET: First Test, Australia v Pakistan - BT Sport 3 0230; Fifth Test, India v England - Sky Sports 2 0330; Ram Slam T20 Challenge final, Titans v Warriors - Sky Sports 2 1600.
DARTS: PDC World Darts Championship - Sky Sports Darts 1900.
LUGE: World Cup meeting - Eurosport 2 2230.
RUGBY UNION: European Rugby Champions Cup, Glasgow Warriors v Racing 92 - BT Sport 2 1900.
SKIING: Alpine Skiing, World Cup - Eurosport 2 0915; Biathlon, World Cup - Eurosport 2 1615.
Kyren Wilson at the table as Ronnie O'Sullivan looks ruefully on
SNOOKER: Scottish Open - Eurosport 1 1145.
Tomorrow (Saturday, December 17)
SOCCER: Premier League, Crystal Palace v Chelsea - Sky Sports 1 1130, West Brom v Manchester United - BT Sport 1 1700; Championship, Birmingham v Brighton - Sky Sports 1 1715; National League, Macclesfield v Bromley - BT Sport 1 1145; Welsh Premier League, Connah's Quay v The New Saints - S4C 1700; LaLiga, Sporting Gijon v Villarreal - Sky Sports 5 1155, Granada v Real Sociedad - Sky Sports 5 1730, Sevilla v Malaga - Sky Sports 5 1940; Serie A, AC Milan v Atalanta - eir Sport 1 1655; Bundesliga, Wolfsburg v Eintracht Frankfurt - BT Sport 2, 1730; Eredivisie, Feyenoord v Vitesse - Sky Sports 4 1835; A-League, Wellington Phoenix v Western Sydney Wanderers - BT Sport 2 0630, Melbourne City v Melbourne Victory - BT Sport 2 0845, Perth Glory v Sydney FC - BT Sport 2 1100.
AMERICAN FOOTBALL: NFL, New York Jets v Miami Dolphins - Sky Sports 1 0100 (Sun).
BASKETBALL: NBA, Oklahoma City Thunder v Phoenix Suns - BT Sport 1 2200.
CRICKET: First Test, Australia v Pakistan - BT Sport 3 0230; Fifth Test, India v England - Sky Sports 2 0345.
DARTS: PDC World Darts Championship - Sky Sports Darts 1300.
HORSE RACING: Channel 4 Racing - Channel 4 1330, eir Sport Race Day Live - eir Sport 1 1400.
UFC: Fight Night - BT Sport 2 2200.
RUGBY UNION: European Rugby Champions Cup, Bordeaux-Begles v Exeter Chiefs - Sky Sports 2 1230, Leicester v Munster - BT Sport 2 1500, Connacht v Wasps - Sky Sports 2 1700, Leinster v Northampton - BT Sport 2 1930.
SKIING: Alpine Skiing, World Cup - Eurosport 2 0915; Cross-Country Skiing,
World Cup - Eurosport 1 1000; Nordic Combined Skiing, World Cup - Eurosport 2 1245; Biathlon, World Cup - Eurosport 2 1345, Ski Jumping, World Cup - Eurosport 2 1445.
SNOOKER: Scottish Open - Eurosport 1 1245.
QUICK QUIZ BLITZ answers: 1. Chris Robshaw 2. Borussia Dortmund 3. Sam Groth (163.7mph) 4. Five 5. 1992
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