EVERY MORNING, TheScore.ie brings you the sport stories you need to know with your morning coffee.
1. #LEGEND Record-breaking jockey Tony McCoy last night took the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award.
He won in a landslide public vote, taking 41.98% of the ballot, with darts legend Phil Taylor coming second and athlete Jessica Ennis in third.
2. #CATS Kilkenny defender James Ryall has announced his retirement from inter-county hurling.
Though suffering from injuries for the past few seasons, the 30-year-old Graigue-Ballycallan man said he came to the decision after making an ‘honest appraisal’ of the panel, according to the Irish Examiner’s John Fogarty.
3. #HEINEKEN CUP Northampton beat Cardiff as they took control of their group while Perpignan drew 22-22 in Leicester. Glasgow will now play Toulouse in France tomorrow after that tie postponed twice over the weekend.
Edinburgh’s match against Castres will now be played behind closed doors for safety reasons tonight.
4. #PREMIER LEAGUE Manchester City fans will not boo captain Carlos Tevez tonight, manager Roberto Mancini says.
City welcome Everton to Eastlands in a game that will go ahead despite the weather, club officials say.
Mancini is considering removing the armband from the Argentine but says that fans will not give Tevez a hostile reception in what will be his first game since lodging a transfer request.
5. #ROBBIE The Irish Independent reports that Spurs will use Ireland captain Robbie Keane as a makeweight in a deal to bring Scott Parker to White Hart Lane from West Ham in January.
As the speculation ahead of the transfer window kicks up a notch however, The Sun insists that Birmingham will bid £6million to ‘pinch’ the Tallaght man from under the noses of city rivals Aston Villa.
6. #GOLF Ernie Els claimed a fifth South African Open title after his final-round six-under-par 63 helped him edge out another former champion, Retief Goosen, by a shot.
7. #BOXING Joe Ward, the AIBA World Youth champion, was celebrating a double after claiming gold and the Boxer of the Tournament award at the 20-nation Abbas Agalarov Cup in Azerbaijan this weekend.
8. #ASHES England captain Andrew Strauss is considering changes to his line-up after the tourists capitulated in the third test. The series moves to Melbourne, beginning on St Stephen’s Day.
9. #GALVINISED When, last week, we published out guide to sport programmes on TV over Christmas, we ommitted Galvinised: A year in the life of GAA contrarian Paul Galvin.
We were soon reminded by email of its inclusion in the festive schedule – and God, are we happy. The former Kerry captain appeared on the Late Late Show on Friday.
Tubridy’s notes weren’t knocked out of his hands at any stage and his mouth remained un-fish-hooked. Alas.
