ON THIS DAY
1908: The Olympics opened at London's White City. A total of 2,036 athletes from 23 nations took part in the Games which ended with the hosts topping the medals table with 145 medals - including 56 golds.
1956: Rocky Marciano retired as the undefeated heavyweight champion of the world after 49 consecutive victories.
1989: Peter Scudamore became the first National Hunt jockey to ride 200 winners in a season.
1991: Ellery Hanley skippered Wigan to a 13-8 win over St Helens in the Challenge Cup final at Wembley and became the first man in the history of the game to captain his side to victory three years in succession.
2000: Ruud van Nistelrooy's record £18.5million transfer to Manchester United from PSV Eindhoven collapsed after the Dutch club would not agree to United's extra fitness tests on Van Nistelrooy's injured knee. The player eventually moved to Old Trafford the following year.
2006: Gareth Jenkins was appointed as Wales' new coach to replace 2005 Grand Slam-winning boss Mike Ruddock, who resigned from the post earlier in the year.
2012: Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola revealed he would leave the Catalan club at the end of the season.
BIRTHDAYS
Helmut Marko (motor racing) - Austrian former F1 driver, now an advisor at Red Bull Racing, born 1943.
Martin Chivers (soccer) - former England and Tottenham striker, born 1945.
Ari Vatanen (motor racing) - former rally world champion from Finland, born 1952.
Jeff Probyn (rugby union) - former England prop, born 1956.
Jeremy Snape (cricket) - former Leicestershire and England spinner, born 1973.
Walter Pandiani (soccer) - former Uruguay and Birmingham striker, born 1976.
Dinara Safina (tennis) - former women's world number one from Russia, born 1986.
QUICK QUIZ BLITZ
1 Who scored the only goal of the 2008 FA Cup final?
2 Aside from Andy Murray, which other player won a tennis singles medal at each of the last two Olympic Games?
3 Which Irish boxer (above left) is set to fight for an IBF bantamweight title in Belfast on June 10?
4 How many drop goals did Jannie de Beer successfully kick in South Africa's 44-21 win over England in the 1999 Rugby World Cup quarter-finals?
5 Which Colombian cyclist is the reigning Vuelta a Espana champion?
(See quiz answers at botom)
SPORT ON TV
Today (Thursday, April 27)
SOCCER: Premier League, Manchester City v Manchester United - Sky Sports 1 1900.
CRICKET: Royal London One-Day Cup, Northamptonshire Steelbacks v Warwickshire Bears - Sky Sports 2 1200; IPL, Royal Challengers Bangalore v Gujarat Lions - Sky Sports 3 1500.
RUGBY LEAGUE: Super League, Leeds v Huddersfield - Sky Sports 3 1930.
SNOOKER: World Championship - Eurosport 1 1245 and 1830, BBC Two 1300 and 1900 (also showing in Northern Ireland and Wales).
GOLF: European Tour, Volvo China Open - Sky Sports 4 0730; PGA Tour, Zurich Classic of New Orleans - Sky Sports 4 2030.
TENNIS: ATP Tour, Barcelona Open - Sky Sports 5 1000; WTA Tour, Porsche Tennis Grand Prix - BT Sport 1 1100.
DARTS: Premier League - Sky Sports 5 1900.
CYCLING: Tour of Romandy - Eurosport 2 1500.
BASKETBALL: NBA play-offs, fixture TBC - BT Sport 1 0100 (Fri).
BASEBALL: MLB, San Francisco Giants v Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox v New York Yankees - BT Sport/ESPN 2030 and 0000 (Fri).
Tomorrow (Friday, April 28)
SOCCER: Championship, Cardiff v Newcastle - Sky Sports 1 1900; Scottish Premiership, Ross County v Inverness - BT Sport 2; LaLiga, Villarreal v Sporting Gijon - Sky Sports 5 1940; Bundesliga, Bayer Leverkusen v Schalke - BT Sport/ESPN 1930.
CRICKET: Royal London One-Day Cup, Somerset v Worcestershire - Sky Sports 2 1055; IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders v Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab v Sunrisers Hyderabad - Sky Sports 3 1100 and 1500.
RUGBY LEAGUE: Super League, Hull v Warrington - Sky Sports 2 1930.
RUGBY UNION: Aviva Premiership, Harlequins v Wasps - BT Sport 1 1900; PRO12, Cardiff v Zebre - BBC Two Wales 1900; Super Rugby, Highlanders v Stormers - Sky Sports 2 0830.
MOTOR RACING: Formula One, Russian Grand Prix practice - Sky Sports F1 0845 and 1245, Channel 4 0855 and 1255, eir Sport 1 0855 and 1255.
SNOOKER: World Championship - BBC Two 1000, 1300 and 1900 (also showing in Northern Ireland and Scotland), Eurosport 1 1000, 1430 and 1830.
GOLF: European Tour, Volvo China Open - Sky Sports 4 0730; PGA Tour, Zurich Classic of New Orleans - Sky Sports 4 2030.
TENNIS: WTA Tour, Porsche Tennis Grand Prix - BT Sport 2 1300.
CYCLING: Tour de Yorkshire - ITV4 1230, Eurosport 2 1645; Tour of Romandy - Eurosport 2 1500.
HORSE RACING: Sandown - ITV3 1330.
BASKETBALL: NBA play-offs, fixture TBC - BT Sport 1 0100 (Sat).
BASEBALL: MLB, Texas Rangers v Los Angeles Angels - BT Sport/ESPN and 0100 (Sat).
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Every weekend on
[ www.irishnews.com/sportOpens in new window ]
Test your sporting knowledge with the Toals Bookmakers Sports Quiz.
Take the quiz and share your results with friends on social media to find out who the real sporting buff is.
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QUICK QUIZ BLITZ answers: 1 Kanu; 2 Juan Martin del Potro (Bronze in 2012, silver in 2016); 3 Ryan Burnett; 4 Five; 5 Nairo Quintana.
