BIRTHDAYS
Mike Watkinson (cricket) - former Lancashire cricket director and England all-rounder, born 1961.
Brad Faxon (golf) - two-time American Ryder Cup player, born 1961.
Graham Thorpe (cricket) - former England batsman, born 1969.
David James (soccer) - former England and Liverpool goalkeeper, born 1970.
Kanu (soccer) - former Nigeria, West Brom and Arsenal striker, born 1976.
Andy Blignaut (cricket) - former Zimbabwe international, born 1978.
Stephen Hunt (soccer) - former Reading and Republic of Ireland winger, born 1981.
Bastian Schweinsteiger (soccer) - former Germany and Manchester United midfielder, now with Chicago Fire, born 1984.
Stuart Holden (soccer) - former United States and Bolton midfielder, born 1985.
Lee Wallace (soccer) - Queens Park Rangers and Scotland left-back, born 1987.
Karen Carney (soccer) - former Chelsea Ladies and England winger, born 1987
Nemanja Matic (soccer) - Manchester United's Serbian midfielder, born 1988.
ON THIS DAY
1716: The oldest surviving sporting contest, the Doggett's Coat and Badge, for Thames scullers, was held for the first time.
1936: The 11th Olympics opened in Berlin, Germany. The Games were best remembered for Jesse Owens winning four gold medals.
1980: Sebastian Coe turned the tables on Steve Ovett to win the 1500 metres at the Moscow Olympics, after his great rival had beaten him in the 800m final six days earlier.
1989: Australia won the fourth Test at Old Trafford to become the first side to regain the Ashes on English soil since 1934.
1996: America's Michael Johnson broke the 200m world record by 0.30 seconds with a time of 19.32secs at the Olympic Games in Atlanta.
2004: Mark Palios resigned as chief executive of the Football Association.
2012: Bradley Wiggins became the first man to win the Tour de France and Olympic gold in the same year with an imperious victory in the London 2012 time-trial. The 32-year-old claimed his fourth Olympic gold and seventh medal in all, surpassing Sir Steve Redgrave with a British record haul of Games medals.
2013: Hearts were hit with a transfer embargo until February 1, 2014, as further punishment for going into administration having already being deducted 15 points. The club finished bottom of the Scottish Premiership in the 2013-14 season and were relegated.
2017: Hearts manager Ian Cathro left the club on the eve of the new season.
2018: The FA revealed its board approved a feasibility study into becoming Europe's only bid to host the 2030 World Cup in England.
2018: Everton signed left-back Lucas Digne from Barcelona on a five-year deal.
QUICK QUIZ
1. Who managed the Republic of Ireland soccer team at the 2002 World Cup?
2. Who is the highest-ranked non-European in the ATP world rankings?
3. Jonny Wilkinson represented which two clubs during a 17-year career?
4. Name the current Celtic manager?
5. Who won the 2019 Australian Grand Prix?
(See quiz answers at bottom)
SPORT ON TV
Today (Thursday, August 1)
CRICKET: England v Australia, first Ashes Test - Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports The Ashes 1000; Vitality Blast, Glamorgan v Gloucestershire - Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports The Ashes 1855.
GOLF: Women's British Open - Sky Sports Golf 1100; PGA, Wyndham Championship - Sky Sports Golf 1800, Sky Sports Main Event 1015.
HORSE RACING: Glorious Goodwood - ITV 1330.
TENNIS: WTA, Silicon Valley Classic - BT Sport 1 1900 and 0300 (Thu); Citi Open - BT Sport 2 1900 and 0200 (Thu).
BASEBALL: MLB, Oakland Athletics v Milwaukee Brewers - BT Sport/ESPN 2030.
Tomorrow (Friday, August 2)
CRICKET: England v Australia, first Ashes Test - Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports The Ashes 1000; Vitality Blast, Northamptonshire v Derbyshire - Sky Sports The Ashes 1855.
SOCCER: Sky Bet Championship, Luton v Middlesbrough - Sky Sports Main Event 1900.
GOLF: Women's British Open - Sky Sports Golf 1100; PGA, Wyndham Championship - Sky Sports Golf 1800, Sky Sports Main Event 1015.
MOTOR RACING: Formula One, Hungarian Grand Prix practice - Sky Sports F1 0945 and 1345; WRC, Rally Finland - BT Sport 1 1800.
MOTOR CYCLING: MotoGP, Czech Republic Grand Prix practice - BT Sport 2 0745; Speedway Grand Prix, Wroclaw - BT Sport 2 1800.
HORSE RACING: Glorious Goodwood - ITV 1330.
TENNIS: WTA, Silicon Valley Classic - BT Sport 1 2000 and 0300 (Thu).
BASEBALL: MLB, Chicago Cubs v Milwaukee Brewers - BT Sport/ESPN 1900; New York Yankees v Boston Red Sox - BT Sport 1 0000 (Sat).
QUICK QUIZ answers: 1. Mick McCarthy; 2. Kei Nishikori; 3. Newcastle and Toulon; 4. Neil Lennon; 5. Valtteri Bottas