Image source, Getty Images

A couple of early results to bring you from the Paris Masters ahead of the big match involving Andy Murray at around 13:00 GMT (which we'll be live-texting here on Sportsday).

Swiss third seed Stan Wawrinka is safely through to the third round after a 6-4 7-6 victory over Austrian prospect Dominic Thiem - he'll face South Africa's Kevin Anderson next. Wawrinka has already qualified for the World Tour Finals in London.

Canada's Milos Raonic, the seventh seed, is also through after a tussle with American Jack Sock: 6-3 5-7 7-6. Raonic is currently tenth in the Race to London (top nine qualify), and had he lost that match, Murray would have qualified for the Tour Finals.

As it is though, the Scot still has it all to play for!

They attract crowds in excess of 30,000, while their status as a Scottish Championship club should, in theory, restrict their overheads. Yet Rangers were reportedly only 48 hours from going into administration last week.

The club kept control of its finances only thanks to a £2m loan from Newcastle owner Mike Ashley, who has a 8.29% shareholding in the Glasgow giants.

BBC Sport Scotland's Chris McLaughlin explains why Ashley's loan was necessary and what it may mean for Rangers. Read the full story here.

Bournemouth defender Adam Smith says his side's League Cup victory over West Brom proved the Cherries have Premier League quality in their ranks.

The Championship side's 2-1 win over the top-flight opponents saw them reach the quarter-finals for the first time.

It was their fifth successive victory, and they sit fourth in the second tier.

"The football we play is Premier League standard and we have shown tonight we can compete with top-flight teams," Smith, 23, told BBC Radio Solent.

Image source, Getty Images

England flanker James Haskell says he is over a meningitis scare which required hospital treatment and will be fit to face world champions New Zealand next Saturday.

Haskell lost five kilograms in a week after being struck down with a virus at the start of the month.

"I've never been so ill in my life," he said. "They thought I had meningitis and put me in an ambulance." But he said he would be "extremely disappointed" to be overlooked for the New Zealand game on the basis of his illness.

Richard Norris:, external Paul Furlong. Horrible stick at the start of a torrid spell with QPR but turned it round to become an absolute icon.

YU HIMM FUNG:, external Jenson Button - career was finished when Honda pulled in 2008 and then his newly formed team allowed to be world champion!

Harry Partridge:, external Beckham: red card zero and most hated man in England after WC'98 to heroic England captain... and that goal against Greece!

Image source, Santi Cazorla

Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla on Twitter:, external Happy birthday to my friend @piresrobert7 best wishes!!

Former Gunners midfielder Robert Pires, who turned 40 today, is pictured above with Cazorla during their time together at Villareal in 2007. Any idea who the player in the middle is? We have our suspicions but what do you reckon?

A London-based NFL team could be worth more than £100m a year to the UK, says a Deloitte study published today.

It says the two NFL games at Wembley in 2013 brought an extra £32m to the capital, and a regular team with eight games a season could net £102m.

It comes after Oakland Raiders' British linebacker Menelik Watson told BBC World Sport he thought a London franchise was likely.

Image source, Wayne Rooney

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney on Twitter:, external Brilliant time at @edsheeran concert last night. Thanks for a great night mate.

Seems the singer/songwriter was in popular demand last night. I'm presuming Rooney's concert trip didn't land him any grief though unlike referee Mark Clattenburg. I wonder if Mark got a hug from the man himself?

Chairman Ben Robinson says Gary Rowett's ambition and achievements while manager of Burton meant it was inevitable he would join a bigger club.

Rowett, 40, was named Birmingham boss on Monday after just over two and a half years at the Pirelli Stadium.

Robinson told BBC Radio Derby: "He has been a great manager. He is an ambitious young manager and there is nothing wrong with that. He would always go when the right opportunity came along."

Arsenal have launched a bid to bring Juventus full-back Stephan Lichtsteiner to north London, according to Sky Sports Italia., external

They report the 30-year-old Swiss international could be available for nothing in the January transfer window due to his Juve contract being up in the summer.

Newcastle defender Daryl Janmaat says the players are right behind manager Alan Pardew as they bid to turn their season around after a poor start.

Dutch full-back Janmaat said: ""The manager was under a lot of pressure so it's nice that we have given him some points. I now expect the pressure to ease on him. We do not want another manager."

Newcastle take on Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in the League Cup fourth round tonight.

Image source, @LiveFight

He's long been renowned as a political heavyweight, now London Mayor Boris Johnson has strapped on the gloves and entered the ring for real. Here he is on a visit to the Fight for Peace academy in North Woolwich, London.

Dan Walker
BBC Sport

Here is Dan Walker's, external Tuesday Team News. He asked for your #FitnessXI and you duly delivered......

Image source, Getty Images

The expected thrashings may have failed to materialise in the League Cup last night, but there was one good old-fashioned trouncing - in Game Six of baseball's World Series, where the Kansas City Royals hammered the San Francisco Giants 10-0.

Rookie pitcher Yordano Ventura, 23, was the star for the the home side, throwing seven shutout innings.

The Royals win means the 162-game season comes down to one decisive game on Wednesday in Kansas City.

James Chesson:, external Emmanuel Eboue went from being subbed off moments after being brought on himself and booed to being a cult hero at Arsenal.

Evans Kutin:, external Zero to hero in 140 mins. Who?...Marouanne Fellaini that's who.

Azizur:, external Apparently the legendary Ian rush went 9 months before his first goal... Then went on to be a goal machine.

Image source, Getty Images

Time for a look back at this day in sporting history, and today we revisit one of English football's most embarrassing sagas. It was on this day 11 years ago that Rio Ferdinand was charged with misconduct by the FA after missing a drugs test.

The Manchester United defender was eventually found guilty and handed an eight-month ban, which kept him out of England's Euro 2004 campaign.

With Championship strugglers Blackpool reportedly close to appointing Lee Clark as their new manager, chairman Karl Oyston has been explaining his decision to sack Jose Riga on Monday.

The pair clashed consistently over transfer policy, but Oyston told BBC Radio Lancashire he felt the Belgian was given enough support in the market.

"When Jose arrived we had six players - we've now got mid-20," said Oyston. "Every one of those players that we brought in was his choice. The fact of the matter is we're not doing very well on the pitch and we're all equally unhappy about that."

Image source, Fifa

Out of this world or what?

The emblem for the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia was revealed on board the International Space Station.

The design was inspired by "Russia's rich artistic tradition and its history of achievement and innovation". The image of the emblem was also projected onto the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

Another manager set for Blackpool? It would seem, according to the Blackpool Gazette., external

The newspaper reports former Birmingham boss Lee Clark has been offered the Blackpool manager's job and is expected on the Fylde coast for talks this morning.

They claim the 42-year-old has agreed basic terms with Karl Oyston and his contract is currently in the hands of lawyers with the hope a deal could be sealed as early as today.

With the Seasiders rooted to the bottom of the Championship, Clark could be in for a rough ride.

Image source, Reuters

Of course, it wouldn't be like Mario Balotelli to get through an entire evening without a hint of controversy, and though the Liverpool striker was only on the pitch for fifteen minutes, he wasted no time in making the acquaintance of Swansea midfielder Jonjo Shelvey.

The two players had a heated exchange and had to be separated by team-mates at the end of the match, the Daily Mail reports., external

Balotelli, of course, had the last laugh with his crucial equaliser in Liverpool's 2-1 victory.