ON THIS DAY
1888: The first matches in the newly-formed Football League were played, with Derby producing the best result by defeating Bolton 6-3.
1968: Virginia Wade defeated Billie-Jean King to capture the US Open women's title.
1969: Former Wales international Gary Speed was born. The midfielder won the 1992 league title with Leeds and won 85 caps for his country, who he then managed from December 2010 until his death in November 2011.
1998: St Louis Cardinals baseball player Mark McGwire broke Roger Maris' 37-year-old record of 61 home runs in a single season.
2008: Andy Murray was beaten 6-2 7-5 6-2 in the final of the US Open by Roger Federer.
2010: John Higgins was banned from snooker for six months and fined £75,000 after he admitted breaching rules around betting. The Scot had been suspended pending an investigation into allegations of frame-throwing. Higgins was cleared of match-fixing allegations.
2013: Serena Williams beat Victoria Azarenka 7-5 6-7 (6/8) 6-1 to successfully defender her US Open women's singles title.
2014: Sepp Blatter confirmed he would stand for a fifth term as FIFA president. The Swiss was duly re-elected in May 2015 but days later he announced his intention to resign due to the corruption scandal which had enveloped the organisation.
2016: Ryan Lochte was banned from competitive swimming for 10 months for falsely claiming he and three American team-mates were robbed at gunpoint during the Rio Olympics.
BIRTHDAYS
Graham Mourie (rugby union) - former New Zealand flanker and captain, born 1952.
Victor Ubogu (rugby union) - former Bath and England prop, born 1964.
Chris Powell (soccer) - Former Charlton and Huddersfield manager, capped five times for England, born 1969.
Markus Babbel (soccer) - former Liverpool defender and Germany international, born 1972.
Os du Randt (rugby union) - former South Africa prop, born 1972.
Chris Latham (rugby union) - former Australia winger, born 1975.
Simon Danielli (rugby union) - former Ulster and Scotland winger, born 1979.
Morten Gamst Pedersen (soccer) - Tromso and Norway midfielder formerly of Blackburn, born 1981.
Peter Whittingham (soccer) - Blackburn midfielder, born 1984.
Vitaly Petrov (motor racing) - Former Caterham and Renault Formula One driver, born 1984.
Joao Moutinho (soccer) - Portugal and Monaco midfielder, born 1986.
Gylfi Sigurdsson (soccer) - Iceland and Everton midfielder, born 1989.
Jos Buttler (cricket) - Lancashire and England batsman, born 1990.
QUICK QUIZ BLITZ
1. Who managed Mayo when they reached the 1989 All-Ireland SFC final?
2. Where will the first day/night Ashes Test be held this winter?
3. Where did Jonny Wilkinson start his professional career?
4. Leyton Orient currently play at the Matchroom Stadium, but by which name is the ground also known?
5. Who was man-of-the-match in the 1995 All-Ireland SFC final?
(See quiz answers at bottom)
SPORT ON TV
Today (Friday, September 8)
RUGBY UNION: New Zealand NPC Rugby, Manawatu v Bay of Plenty - Sky Sports Action 0840; Currie Cup, Pumas v Sharks - Sky Sports Action 1555; Aviva Premiership, Sale Sharks v Newcastle Falcons - BT Sport 2 1900; PRO14, Leinster v Cardiff Blues - BBC Two Wales 1930
CRICKET: Day two of the third Test, England v West Indies - Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Cricket 1030
CYCLING: Tour of Britain - ITV4 1030; La Vuelta - Eurosport 2 1400; Quebec Grand Prix - Eurosport 2 2100
SOCCER: Championship, Derby County v Hull City - Sky Sports Main Event 1900; Scottish Premiership, Hamilton Academical v Celtic - BT Sport 1 1915; Ligue 1, TBC - eir Sport 1 1930, BT Sport//ESPN 1945
GOLF: European Tour, European Masters - Sky Sports Golf 1030, 1430 Sky Sports Golf
TENNIS: US Open - Eurosport 1 1700, 2030
MOTORCYCLING: MotoGP San Marino, free practice session - BT Sport 2 0800; MotoGP San Marino, second free practice session - BT Sport 2 1200
BASEBALL: MLB, Boston Red Sox v Tampa Bay Rays - BT Sport 1 0000 (Sat)
Tomorrow (Saturday, September 9)
GAA: Off the Ball, an offbeat look at recent football developments – eir Sport 1 1900.
SOCCER: Premier League, Manchester City v Liverpool - Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League 1130, Stoke City v Manchester United - BT Sport 1 1700; Bundesliga 2, FC Ingolstadt 04 v FC Erzgebirge Aue - BT Sport 1 1200; Serie A, Juventus v Chievo - eir Sport 1 1655; Championship, Sheffield Wednesday v Nottingham Forest - Sky Sports Main Event 1715; LaLiga, Barcelona v Espanyol - Sky Sports Main Event 1940; MLS, New York City FC v Portland Timbers - Sky Sports Main Event 2230
RUGBY UNION: Rugby Championship, New Zealand v Argentina - Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Action 0800, Australia v South Africa - Sky Sports Action 1045; PRO14, Treviso v Ulster - BBC Two Northern Ireland 1700; PRO12, Zebre v Scarlets - S4C 1915; Top 14, Castres v Montpellier - Sky Sports Action 1940
ATHLETICS: Great North CityGames - BBC One 1315
CRICKET: Day three of the third Test, England v West Indies - Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Cricket 1000, Sky Sports Main Event 1515; CPL T20 - BT Sport 1 0130 (Sun)
CYCLING: Tour of Britain - ITV4 1015; La Vuelta - Eurosport 1 1245
GOLF: European Tour, European Masters - Sky Sports Golf 1230; Walker Cup - Sky Sports Golf 1700, 2200
MOTOR SPORT: Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters - BT Sport//ESPN 1330
MOTORCYCLING: MotoGP San Marino, third free practice session - BT Sport 2 0800; MotoGP San Marino, qualifying session - BT Sport 2 1100; MCE British Superbikes, qualifying session - Eurosport 2 1200; British Superbikes, race one - Eurosport 2 1530
TENNIS: US Open - Eurosport 1 1700, 2030
BOXING: WBC Super Flyweight title, Wisaksil Wangek v Roman Gonzalez - Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Action 0200 (Sun)
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EVERY weekend on www.irishnews.com/sport
Test your sporting knowledge with The Irish News Multi-Choice Sports Quiz on www.irishnews.com/sport
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 answers: 1. John O’Mahony 2. Adelaide 3. Newcastle Falcons 4. Brisbane Road 5. Paul Curran.
