PA SPORT BIRTHDAYS
Luther Blissett (soccer) – former Watford and England striker, born 1958.
Robert Lee (soccer) – former Newcastle and England midfielder, born 1966.
Christian Ziege (soccer) – former Liverpool, Tottenham and Germany defender, born 1972.
Kevin Kilbane (soccer) – former Everton, Sunderland and Republic of Ireland midfielder, born 1977.
Graeme Smith (cricket) – former South Africa captain and opening batsman, born 1981.
Gavin Henson (rugby union) – former Wales utility back, currently playing for Dragons in the PRO14, born 1982.
Shoaib Malik (cricket) – Pakistan all-rounder and former captain, born 1982.
Darren Fletcher (soccer) – Stoke and Scotland midfielder, born 1984.
Costel Pantilimon (soccer) – Nottingham Forest's Romanian goalkeeper, born 1987.
Ronda Rousey (MMA) – Former UFC bantamweight champion who won a bronze medal in judo at the 2008 Olympics, born 1987.
Dan Gosling (soccer) – Bournemouth's former Everton and Newcastle midfielder, born 1990.
ON THIS DAY IN SPORT
1915: Sir Stanley Matthews, the first footballer to be knighted, was born. He was 50 years old when he played his final league game. Sir Stanley, who played for England 54 times, died aged 85 in February 2000.
1930: Joe Bambrick created a British record when he scored six goals for Northern Ireland in their 7-0 win over Wales in Belfast.
1958: The 'Busby Babes' played their last game on British soil, winning 5-4 at Arsenal. Tommy Taylor (two), Bobby Charlton, Duncan Edwards and Dennis Viollet scored for Manchester United. Five days later the heart of the team was ripped out in the Munich air disaster.
1979: Nottingham Forest manager Brian Clough paid Birmingham £1million for Trevor Francis, the first British player to be the subject of a seven-figure transfer fee.
1981: Australia's Trevor Chappell bowled his infamous under-arm delivery to Brian McKechnie to prevent New Zealand tying the game with a final-ball six in the third match in the final of the Benson and Hedges World Series Cup. It directly led to the banning of under-arm bowling by the International Cricket Council as being not within the spirit of the game.
2007: Wales full-back Gareth Thomas was suspended for four weeks and fined £4,960 after being found guilty of misconduct by Heineken Cup organisers European Rugby Cup. The Toulouse player admitted to flicking his middle finger at Ulster supporters during a controversial Heineken Cup game the previous month and was also found guilty of attempting to jump into the crowd. The ban ruled him out of Wales' first three RBS 6 Nations games.
2009: Manchester City completed the signing of Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given from Newcastle for an undisclosed fee.
2009: The International Cricket Council decided the 2009 Champions Trophy could not be played in Pakistan as planned for security reasons. The event was ultimately moved to South Africa.
2012: Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Amir was released from Portland Prison in Dorset after serving half of a six-month sentence for his part in a spot-fixing scam.
2016: Manchester City announced that Pep Guardiola would succeed Manuel Pellegrini as manager at the end of the season.
2017: Peter Crouch became the 26th player to score 100 Premier League goals with the opener in Stoke's 1-1 draw against Everton. The former England striker marked the occasion with his 'robot' dance celebration.
2018: Mesut Ozil signed a new long-term contract at Arsenal, keeping him at the club until 2021, eight years after he first joined.
PA SPORT TV LISTINGS
Today (Friday, February 1)
SOCCER: Ladbrokes Premiership, Kilmarnock v Hearts – BT Sport 1 1915; Bundesliga, Hannover v RB Leipzig – BT Sport 2 1915.
CRICKET: Second Test, West Indies v England – Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Cricket 1330; Second Test, Australia v Sri Lanka – BT Sport 1 1115; BBL, Brisbane Heat v Perth Scorchers – BT Sport 2 0930.
RUGBY UNION: Six Nations, France v Wales – S4C 1915, BBC One 1925.
TENNIS: WTA, St Petersburg Ladies Trophy – BT Sport 1 1000.
GOLF: European Tour, The Saudi International – Sky Sports Golf 0800 and 1130; PGA Tour, Waste Management Phoenix Open – Sky Sports Golf 1430, Sky Sports Main Event 2200.
SNOOKER: German Masters – Eurosport 1 1245 and 1845.
DARTS: The Masters – eir Sport 1 and ITV4 1900.
BASKETBALL: NBA, New York Knicks v Boston Celtics – Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports USA 1230.
Tomorrow (Saturday, February 2)
SOCCER: Premier League, Tottenham v Newcastle – Sky Sports Premier League 1130, Sky Sports Main Event 1230; Cardiff v Bournemouth – BT Sport 1 1700; Championship, Leeds v Norwich – Sky Sports Main Event 1715; Bundesliga, Schalke v Borussia Monchengladbach – BT Sport 2 1715.
CRICKET: Second Test, West Indies v England – Sky Sports Cricket 1330, Sky Sports Main Event 1500 and 1930; Second Test, Australia v Sri Lanka – BT Sport 1 2315; One-day international, New Zealand v India – Sky Sports Cricket 0155 (Sun), Sky Sports Main Event 0200 (Sun); BBL, Sydney Sixers v Sydney Thunder – BT Sport 1 0745.
RUGBY UNION: Six Nations, Scotland v Italy – BBC One 1415; Ireland v England – ITV 1600.
TENNIS: WTA, St Petersburg Ladies Trophy – BT Sport 2 1100.
GOLF: European Tour, The Saudi International – Sky Sports Golf 0930, Sky Sports Main Event 1000; PGA Tour, Waste Management Phoenix Open – Sky Sports Golf 1800.
BOXING: Super-welterweight, Sergio Garcia v Ted Cheeseman – Sky Sports Main Event 2200.
HORSE RACING: Live from Sandown – ITV4 1330.
SNOOKER: German Masters – Eurosport 1 1245 and 1845.
DARTS: The Masters – ITV4 1900.
BASKETBALL: NBA, Detroit Pistons v Los Angeles Clippers – Sky Sports USA 2200, Sky Sports Main Event 2330.
PA SPORT QUIZ
1 How many Test centuries did Sir Alastair Cook record in his career?
2 Which goalkeeper announced his retirement from international football last October after winning 111 caps for Russia?
3 Ayrton Senna was born in which South American city?
4 Prior to Chris Froome's 2018 victory, how many times had the Giro d'Italia been won by a Briton?
5 What is 60 feet long, between 41 and 42 inches wide and usually made of wood?
Answers 1 33; 2 Igor Akinfeev; 3 Sao Paulo; 4 None; 5 Bowling alley.
