16: FA Cup fifth round. England (Hamilton). FOOTBALL 15-18: Irish Open (Limerick). 16-22: Nottingham Open CRICKET GOLF J A N U A R Y 19-20: Champions League second 13-17: Second Test – New Zealand v 1-2: Champions League quarter-final 22-25: BMW PGA Championship (Nottingham). 7-11: Fourth npower Test: England v 4-7: Omega European Masters round first legs. England (Wellington). first legs. (Wentworth). 16-22: International Open South Africa (Brit Oval). (Crans-sur-Sierre). A v i n t a g e 21: UEFA Cup third round second legs. 22-26: Third Test – New Zealand v 3: UEFA Cup quarter-final first legs. 29-Jun 1: Celtic Manor Wales Open (Eastbourne). 16: Friends Provident Trophy final 19-21: Ryder Cup (Kentucky). W h o w i l l ATHLETICS 24: Carling Cup final (Wembley). England (Napier). 5-6: FA Cup semi-finals. (Newport). 23-Jul 6: Wimbledon. (Lord’s). 25-28: Quinn Direct British Masters 5: International Cross-Country (Belfast). 8-9: Champions League quarter-final 20: NatWest International Twenty20: (The Belfry). 12: Great Edinburgh International GOLF FOOTBALL MOTORCYCLING second legs. England v South Africa (Riverside). Cross-Country. 7-10: AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am 4-5: Champions League second round 4: MotoGP (China). y e a r f o r 10: UEFA Cup quarter-final second 22: NatWest Series: England v South MOTORCYCLING b e o n t h e 26: Norwich Union International (California). second legs. 18: MotoGP (France). J U L Y legs. Africa (Headingley Carnegie). 14: MotoGP (USA). (Glasgow). 20-24: WGC-Accenture Match Play 6: UEFA Cup fourth round first legs. 28: MotoGP (Japan). (Arizona). 22-23: Champions League semi-final MOTOR RACING ATHLETICS 26: NatWest Series: England v South 8: FA Cup sixth round. first legs. Africa (Trent Bridge). BASKETBALL 12-13: UEFA Cup fourth round second 11: Turkish F1 Grand Prix. 11: Golden Gala (Rome). MOTOR RACING t o p s p o r t 13: BBL Cup Final. MOTOR RACING 24: UEFA Cup semi-final first legs. 29: NatWest Series: England v South 16-18: Italian Rally. b a l l i n 0 8 ? legs. 11-13: Norwich Union Beijing Trials 7: Belgian F1 Grand Prix. 8-10: Swedish Rally. 29-30: Champions League semi-final 25: Monaco F1 Grand Prix. Africa (Brit Oval). BOWLS 16: CIS Insurance Cup final. and UK Championships. 14: Italian F1 Grand Prix. 28-Mar 2: Mexico Rally. second legs. 29-Jun 1: Acropolis Rally (Greece). 31: NatWest Series: England v South 28: Singapore F1 Grand Prix. IF you thought 2007 was the Beaujolais 7-27: World Indoor Singles 26: France v England (Paris). 25: Norwich Union Grand Prix (London). Africa (Lord’s). FOOTBALL FANS from the home nations Nouveau of sport, then hang fire – 2008 is Championship (Hopton). RUGBYLEAGUE 30: Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final. GOLF TENNIS PARALYMPIC GAMES 10-13: The Masters (Augusta). 30-31: Scottish Championships will be looking to get their kicks from a going to make it seem like malt vinegar. 1: Start of engage Super League 5-11: German Open (Berlin). FOOTBALL 6-17: Beijing. DARTS season. GOLF 17-20: Volvo China Open (Beijing). 12-18: Masters Series (Hamburg). (Edinburgh). 2: Start of Scottish League season. variety of sources in 2008. Yes, none of the home nations have made it 1: PDC World Final. 20-23: WGC-CA Championship 24-27: BMW Asian Open (Shanghai). TENNIS to the summer’s European Championship finals, 12-18: Italian Open (Rome). CRICKET 9: Start of Barclays Premier League Failure to reach the Euro finals has 5-13: BDO World Championship (Florida). 24-27: EDS Byron Nelson and Coca-Cola Football League 8-14: Fed Cup final. prompted a good deal of soulsearching and but there is a whole host of Earth-shattering 26-Jun 8: French Open (Paris). 3: Twenty20 International: (Frimley Green). Championship (Texas). seasons. inquests among England,Wales,Northern sporting events to keep even the most International XI v Asia XI (Brit Oval). square-eyed of fanatics entertained. FOOTBALL ICEHOCKEY Ireland,Scotland the Republic of Ireland 10-14: First npower Test: England v GOLF O C T O B E R teams. If all goes to plan on the morning of August 17, 5-6: FA Cup third round. 5-6: Elite League play-off finals J U N E South Africa (Lord’s). 7-10: US PGA (Oakland Hills). 8-9: Carling Cup semi-final first legs. weekend (Nottingham). It will be left for fans to cheer on their own Paula Radcliffe, below, will cross the finish line in 18-22: Second npower Test: 28-31: Johnnie Walker Championship ATHLETICS Beijing Olympic Park with arms aloft to collect the 20-Feb 10: African Nations Cup ATHLETICS England v South Africa (Headingley (Gleneagles). club representatives instead when the action MOTORCYCLING 5: BUPA Great North Run (Tyneside). gold medal in the women’s marathon. (Ghana). 6: Bislett Games (Oslo). Carnegie). kicks offin Austria and Switzerland on 13: MotoGP (Portugal). 28-Sep 1: Deutsche Bank 26: BUPA Great South Run (Portsmouth). At stake is personal redemption, the pride of a 22-23: Carling Cup semi-final second 8: Norwich Union Grand Prix 25: England XI v Woolmer World XI Championship (Massachusetts). June 7. sporting mum, the chance to emulate Ingrid legs. MOTOR RACING (Glasgow). (Edgbaston). GOLF Among them will be Manchester United’s 26-27: FA Cup fourth round. 14: Northern Ireland National Kristiansen, who set three world records after 6: Bahrain F1 Grand Prix. 26: Twenty20 finals day (Rose Bowl). MOTORCYCLING 2-5: Dunhill Links Championship. attacking maestro Cristiano Ronaldo, below, Championships (Antrim). returning to running following the birth of her first GOLF 24-27: Jordan Rally. 30-Aug 3: Third npower Test: England 17: MotoGP (Czech Republic). 9-12: World Match Play Championship who will be lining up for Portugal as they child. XXIX 27: Spanish F1 Grand Prix. 15: Grand Prix Meeting (New York). v South Africa (Edgbaston). 31: MotoGP (San Marino). (Wentworth). seek to secure their first major football 3-6: Mercedes Championship 21-22: Spar European Cup Most of all, however, the chance to bring (Hawaii). MOTOR RACING 30-Nov 2: Volvo Masters (Valderrama). honour. SNOOKER (Annecy). CYCLING Interest will also centre on whether the Olympic glory to a nation whose athletics medal 16-20: Bob Hope Chrysler Classic OLYMPIC 19-May5: 888.com World Championship 21-22: Norwich Union National 3: Hungarian F1 Grand Prix. MOTORCYCLING (California). Swimming – 9th-21st 5-27: Tour de France. Dutch or the French can become the sum of hopes in Beijing rest almost exclusively on the (Sheffield). Championships (Bedford). 15-17: German Rally. 5: MotoGP (Australia). 24-27: Buick Invitational (California). their parts,or whether those confounded woman with a nodding gait and who, at 33, is fast GAMES 29: BUPA Great Wales Run (Cardiff). GOLF 24: European F1 Grand Prix. 19: MotoGP (Malaysia). 24-27: Qatar Masters (Doha). Boxing – 9th-24th Germans will win it again. approaching the late autumn of her career. TENNIS 3-6: European Open. 28-31: New Zealand Rally. 26: MotoGP (Valencia). Gold for Radcliffe would be a triumph for the 31-Feb 3: Dubai Desert Classic. AUGUST 8-24 Women’s Marathon – 17th 7-13: Bausch and Lomb Championships CRICKET 10-13: Barclays Scottish Open On the club stage,England can expect (Florida). 5-9: Third npower Test, England v New OLYMPICS human spirit of endeavour at what promises to be MOTOR RACING Men’s 100m Final – 18th (Glasgow). MOTOR RACING strong involvement in the latter stages of the BEIJING, CHINA 14-20: Family Circle Cup (Charleston). Zealand. 8-24: Olympic Games (Beijing). 2-5: Spanish Rally. Champions League and possibly a repeat of a brilliant Olympics. 5-20: Dakar Rally. 17-20: 137th Open Championship 21-27: Masters Series (Monte Carlo). 11: Start of Twenty20 Cup. (Royal Birkdale). RUGBY LEAGUE 12: Japanese F1 Grand Prix. last season’s three semi-finalists if the draw In truth, she constitutes Britain’s only realistic 24-27: Monte Carlo Rally. 28-May 4: BMW Open (Munich). 13: Twenty20 International: England v chance of a gold in track and field. 24-27: Deutsche Bank Players’ 30: Carnegie Challenge Cup Final 19: Chinese F1 Grand Prix. works out well. SNOOKER 23: World Club Challenge – Leeds MOTORCYCLING New Zealand (Old Trafford). 24-26: Japanese Rally. Kelly Sotherton and Jessica Ennis might Rhinos v Melbourne Storm. SWIMMING Championship of Europe (Hamburg). (Wembley). The African Nations Cup should light up a 13-20: SAGA Masters (Wembley). 9: MotoGP (Qatar). 15: NatWest Series: England v New disagree with that in the heptathlon but while 9-13: FIA World Short Course RUGBYLEAGUE few dark winter evenings before then and RUGBYUNION 30: MotoGP (Spain). Zealand (Riverside). could also provide the impetus for a back-to- Ennis is one for the future, as she proved with TENNIS Championships (Manchester). 18: NatWest Series: England v New 25: World Cup starts: England v Papua Commonwealth Games bronze in her first major 2: RBS 6 Nations - England v Wales, MOTOR RACING New Guinea (Townsville). back Premier League title success for United 14-27: Australian Open (Melbourne). Ireland v Italy. Zealand (Edgbaston). championships in Melbourne, the fact is that 16: Australian F1 Grand Prix. THE 37TH 26: Opening ceremony, followed by given the big-name players it will call away 3: RBS 6 Nations - Scotland v France. 21: NatWest Series: England v New soon-to-retire Carolina Kluft is still the event 23: Malaysian F1 Grand Prix. Australia v New Zealand (Sydney). from Arsenal and Chelsea. 9: RBS 6 Nations - Wales v Scotland, M A Y Zealand (Bristol).