ON THIS DAY
1883: Matthew Webb, the first man to swim the English Channel, died aged 35 while attempting to swim the rapids above Niagara Falls.
1926: The first greyhound meeting with a mechanical hare took place at Belle Vue, Manchester.
2000: Portugal midfielder Luis Figo, star of Euro 2000, became the world's most expensive footballer when he joined Real Madrid for £37million from Barcelona.
2005: Australia won the first Ashes Test at Lord's by 239 runs. England recovered to win a memorable series 2-1.
2005: Lance Armstrong won a record seventh successive Tour de France - his final Tour before his temporary retirement. He was later stripped of all his titles after evidence of his doping emerged.
2007: Freddy Shepherd stepped down as Newcastle chairman and was replaced by Chris Mort following Mike Ashley's takeover the previous month.
2009: England midfielder Steven Gerrard was found not guilty of affray by a jury at Liverpool Crown Court.
2010: Ronan Murtagh, John Clarke and Ambrose Rogers all found the net as Down hammered Sligo by 19 points in their Qualifier meeting.
2013: Former British number one Anne Keothavong announced her retirement from professional tennis aged 29 after reaching a career-high ranking of 48 four years previously.
2014: Brothers Alastair and Jonny Brownlee finished first and second for England in the Commonwealth Games men's triathlon in Glasgow.
2016: Joe Canning hit 1-8 as Galway defeated Clare 2-17 to 0-17 in their All-Ireland Hurling quarter-final.
2018: Everton completed the £40million signing of Richarlison from Watford on a five-year deal.
2018: Wolves signed Portugal midfielder Joao Moutinho from Monaco for £5million on a two-year deal.
BIRTHDAYS
Zaheer Abbas (cricket) - former Pakistan and Gloucestershire batsman, born 1947.
Jim Leighton (soccer) - former Manchester United, Aberdeen and Scotland goalkeeper, born 1958.
Kerry Dixon (soccer) - former Chelsea and England striker, born 1961.
Karl Malone (basketball) - former Utah Jazz power forward, born 1963.
Barry Bonds (baseball) - controversial former San Francisco Giants star, holder of the all-time record for home runs in Major League, born 1964.
Martin Keown (soccer) - former Arsenal and England defender, born 1966.
Steven Richardson (golf) - played in 1991 Ryder Cup, born 1966.
Dino Baggio (soccer) - former Italy midfielder who had a brief spell on loan at Blackburn in 2003, born 1971.
Daniele De Rossi (soccer) - former Roma and Italy midfielder, born 1983.
QUICK QUIZ
1. Which British football club was nicknamed the Crazy Gang?
2. Which venue will host the 2020 Ryder Cup?
3. What nationality is Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino?
4. Who is the manager of the Cork minor footballers?
5. Who scored Donegal’s late point in their draw with Kerry last weekend?
(See quiz answers at bottom)
SPORT ON TV
Today (Wednesday, July 24)
CRICKET: Test, England v Ireland - Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Cricket 1000; T20 Blast, Sussex v Hampshire - Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Cricket 1855.
CYCLING: Tour de France, stage 17 - Eurosport 1 1100, ITV4 1115.
TENNIS: WTA Tennis, the Baltic Open - BT Sport 1 1200.
DARTS: World Matchplay Darts from Winter Gardens in Blackpool - Sky Sports Action 1900, Sky Sports Main Event 2200.
BASEBALL: MLB, Tampa Bay Rays v Boston Red Sox - BT Sport//ESPN 1700.
Tomorrow (Thursday, July 25)
CRICKET: Test, England v Ireland - Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Cricket 1030; T20 Blast, Yorkshire v Lancashire - Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Cricket 1855.
CYCLING: Tour de France, stage 18 - Eurosport 1 0945, ITV4 1000.
TENNIS: WTA Tennis, the Baltic Open - BT Sport 1 1300; Palermo Open - BT Sport 2 1500.
GOLF: LPGA Tour, The Evian Championship - Sky Sports Golf 1000 & 1430; European Seniors Tour, The Senior Open Championship - Sky Sports Golf 1300 & 1730; World Golf Championships, The Fedex St Jude Invitational - Sky Sports Golf 1900, Sky Sports Main Event 2200.
DARTS: World Matchplay Darts from Winter Gardens in Blackpool - Sky Sports Action 1900.
BASEBALL: MLB, Washington Nationals v Colorado Rockies - BT Sport//ESPN 2100; Boston Red Sox v New York Yankees - BT Sport 1 0000 (Fri).
QUICK QUIZ answers: 1. Wimbledon; 2. Whistling Straits; 3. Argentinian; 4. Eamonn Murphy; 5. Michael Murphy.