Back after a year off, the world champion is ready to go into the unknown in Sheffield

Scotland's Alan McManus ended a seven-year wait for a Crucible return yesterday when the two-time World Championship semi-finalist earned his place in the main draw.

Next year's world champion will be paid a highest-ever prize of £300,000, the game's governing body has confirmed.

"Statistics are like bikinis – they show a lot, but not everything." Gavin Newsham sets out his stall on the opening page with this teaser from the baseball manager Lou Piniella, and his sideways look at sport by numbers is certainly revealing, if not displaying quite the originality of Freakonomics, the book that inspired the title.

One more 10k is all she asks, one more crack. She is 39. It’s over

Graeme Dott and Stephen Maguire both recovered from two frames down to reach the last 16 of the Bank of Beijing China Open.

Woman accused of killing her six children in fire at their home rejects accusations she was responsible for tragedy

The site of the doomed Don Valley stadium, where Olympic gold medallist Jessica Ennis began her career, could be transformed into a new sport, technology and education facility.

Villas-Boas sees the gap as Spurs win vital derby

Mark Allen retained his Haikou World Open title after beating Matthew Stevens 10-4 in the final in China yesterday.

O'Sullivan has been on sabbatical

As news broke on Friday of more snooker match-fixing charges, at the Welsh Open a more wholesome piece of history was being made: Pankaj Advani became the first Indian player to reach the quarter-finals of a ranking event.

World snooker No 8 Stephen Lee has "a case to answer", the World Professional Snooker and Billiards Association has decided after an investigation into suspicious betting. Lee, 38, insists he is innocent.