FA CUP BONANZA ...
Receiving attention such as it has not enjoyed for years, the first round proper of the FA Cup begins next weekend, with coverage the venerable competition has long-deserved – and not a little innovation. This year, the Cup is split between BT Sport and the BBC. The Beeb has first dibs on a live match, with Warrington Town v Exeter City (Friday, BBC2, 7.55pm), while BT picks up Halifax Town v Bradford City (Sunday, 12pm) and Havant & Waterlooville v Preston North End (Monday 10 November, 8pm).
Eagle-eyed readers will have spotted the lack of a Saturday live fixture, not missing because of carelessness by the broadcasters. Instead, there will be eight games on the Sunday, which the BBC plans to cover in one fell swoop through a new live version of Final Score (Sunday. 1.55pm). With cameras at all the grounds, Jason Mohammad hosts a show that will dive in and out of all of the games according to the action, offering an absolute smorgasbord of FA Cup fare.
It’s a positive move and, in giving exposure to the less glamorous part of the Cup, one that genuinely fulfils the BBC charter remit. The broadcaster will do the same for the second round, but the ties next Sunday are: Gosport v Colchester; Braintree v Chesterfield; Portsmouth v Aldershot; Stevenage v Maidstone; Coventry City v Worcester City; Blyth Spartans v Altrincham; Forest Green v Scunthorpe; Norton United v Gateshead.
OLYMPIC QUALIFIERS ...
A chance to see an extraordinary young British talent in action, as well as some of the potential stars of Rio 2016, at the Weightlifting World Championships in Kazakhstan (Eurosport, from Saturday). Now, stick with me on this, because tucked away in Almaty – making big lumps of metal defy gravity – are some real contenders. Commonwealth champion and European bronze medallist Zoe Smith (58kg category, Tuesday 11 November, 1pm) is the team’s best medal chance, but joining her is Rebekah Tiler, who, at 15, won gold and two silver medals at the European Youth Championships in Poland this year. She was fourth at the Commonwealth Games, is the world’s strongest 15-year-old girl, and is a doomsday prepper to boot (69kg category, Friday 14 November, 10am).
BIG READ ...
While unlikely to have the repercussions of KP’s recent tome, if any cricketer deserves to tell his story it is Sachin Tendulkar. The Little Master, who retired last year having notched up 200 Test matches – scoring 15,921 runs with an average of 53.79 – looks back on his career from first picking up a bat 35 years ago, in Playing It My Way, out on Thursday.
RUGBY UNION REVENGE ...
Some serious business is in order for Harlequins, who open their LV= Cup campaign against Saracens on Sunday (Sky Sports 2, 12.30pm). Champions in 2013, Quins head to Allianz Park having suffered a 39-0 drubbing by their rivals in the second round of the Premiership.
SECOND LEGS ...
The Champions League resumes, with the choicest cuts being: Manchester City’s must-win tie against CSKA (Wednesday, SS5, 7.45pm); Arsenal looking to avoid having to score twice in the dying minutes against Anderlecht (Tuesday, SS5, 7.45pm); and Liverpool’s herculean task at Real Madrid (Tuesday, ITV, 7.45pm).
