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Here's a decent tale.

According to Spanish football journalist Graham Hunter, Real Madrid approached former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola to take over from Rafa Benitez.

Hunter said: "It's a fact that six weeks ago they (Madrid) approached him and asked him 'would you take over?'. That underlines the fact that Pep is seen as the best appointment by every single club."

But Hunter says there was little chance of the club pulling off this coup, adding: "It says something about Madrid that they could get it so wrong, that one of the great anti-Madridistas was approached by them."

Listen to the full clip on Radio 5 live here.

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Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce has accused the Premier League of devaluing the FA Cup.

He said it was "diabolical" that top-flight clubs have Premier League fixtures the Tuesday and Wednesday after this weekend's third-round ties.

"Of course I'm going to make changes for our cup tie at Arsenal on Saturday," Allardyce said.

"We're flogging the lads. There are more and more injuries every year but it's ignored by the Premier League."

Sunderland, second from bottom in the league, are away to Arsenal in the FA Cup on Saturday (15:00 GMT) before they travel to fellow strugglers Swansea on Wednesday, 12 January.  

It's now lunch, with the hosts on 428-3 (201 behind), and that, by the way, was Amla's third Test double century and his second against England.

What have you missed to watch sport, or when have you tried to follow something at a family event?

Not sure whether to be impressed by that Stephanie or slightly horrified...

Chris Gayle's comments have widely been condemned as sexist, but he told reporters: "There wasn't anything meant to be disrespectful or offensive.

"It was a simple joke. The game was going on. Entertainment, things get out of proportion but these things happen."

Gayle's club, the Melbourne Renegades, said his comments were "completely inappropriate and disrespectful" and apologised to McLaughlin, external and to the public.

Club head, Stuart Coventry said: "We've had several discussions with Chris over the past day and he has acknowledged that his comments were out of line."

Gayle's A$10,000 fine (£4,900) will be donated to the McGrath Foundation, a breast cancer charity.

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West Indies cricketer Chris Gayle has been fined A$10,000 for "inappropriate conduct" after he asked a TV reporter on a date in a live interview.

Journalist Mel McLaughlin was reportedly left angry and upset, external after Gayle propositioned her during a sideline interview in Hobart on Monday.

"To see your eyes for the first time is nice. Hopefully we can have a drink afterwards. Don't blush baby," he said.

Gayle has said he is sorry, but that the reaction was "out of proportion".

Listen to Gayle's apology here.

Preston North End have extended the loan of Middlesbrough winger Adam Reach until the end of the season.

The 22-year-old joined Simon Grayson's side in September on a three-month loan and has scored twice in 17 appearances.

Grayson, meanwhile, has confirmed he is looking to make further additions to his squad during the transfer window.

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South Africa-England may be under way - no wickets yet but Steve Finn, bowling magnificently, has come mighty close - but that's definitely not the case in Sydney.

There was no play at all on day three of the third Test between the Aussies and the West Indies, due to heavy rain.

The whole match has been heavily affected by bad weather, with West Indies 248-7 and Australia yet to bat.

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Good news from New Zealand. 

Naomi Broady has beaten the 2008 French Open champion and former world number one Ana Ivanovic in the first round of the WTA event in Auckland.

Broady - who is 122 in the world, and had to come through three rounds of qualifying - won 7-5 6-4.

That is a fine victory indeed. Well done that girl.

What have you missed to watch a sporting event?

Excellent stuff. Keep them coming please.

No one can accuse Rafael Benitez of failing to play attacking football this season

By the way, here's the England team warming up for today's play ... by kicking a football around, obviously.

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No joy whatsoever for England in the first hour on day four, which means, a draw is increasingly on the cards.

Hashim Amla is unbeaten on 178, South Africa advancing to a very healthy 384-3.

Live text commentary here.

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Johanna Konta's year got off to a disappointing start as she was dumped out of the Shenzhen Open by qualifier Qiang Wang.

The British number one - on the back of the best season of her career - lost 6-3 3-6 6-3 to the Chinese in a match that lasted a little under two hours.

Konta, 48 in the world, returned better numbers than her opponent - ranked 110 - on serve, but failed to see off four of the five break points she gave up.

Right then, this is the point where we want you lot to get involved (hint, hint).

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Andy Murray - you might know him; dark frizzy hair, not bad at hitting a small yellow ball over a net, likes a weekend in Worthing - has announced he will leave the Australian Open early if his wife, Kim, goes into early labour with their first child.

So this is what we're asking... What family events have you missed because of sport? Or have you hidden at a wedding to watch the big game, followed the Ashes on your phone?

Let us know right this minute at #bbcsportsday and we'll publish the best.

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Two-time champion Ted Hankey went out of the BDO World Championships as he lost 3-0 to Welsh 10th seed Martin Phillips in round one at Lakeside.

Hankey, who took the title in 2000 and 2009, won only one leg in the match.

His fellow Englishman Jamie Hughes, the number four seed, beat Scotland captain Ross Montgomery 3-0.

World number three Jeffrey de Graaf lost 3-2 to fellow Dutchman Richard Veenstra and was one of three seeds to exit the tournament on Monday.

5 live Sport have 3 (that's right, three you lucky people) podcasts for you to download from Monday night's programme. 

Benitez sacked as Real Madrid manager - more from the European Football Show 

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'Villa are going to spend a lot of time in the wilderness'. 

Joey Barton, Chris Sutton and Jonathan Northcroft of the Sunday Times join Mark Chapman for the Monday Night Club.

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Tuffers and Vaughan - It was a day to say 'I was there'

Ben Stokes' innings was on a par with knocks by Brian Lara and Garry Sobers, says Michael Vaughan, but is England's exciting new generation being marketed enough to youngsters?

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A reminder that there's a big game coming later, Stoke taking on Liverpool in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final (full commentary on 5 live sport tonight).

Speaking of which, the other semi-final takes place tomorrow - Everton v Man City. And both managers are holding news conferences in a few hours time.

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We'll bring you the best of what is said - Roberto Martinez is up at 12:00 GMT, Manuel Pellegrini 45 minutes later.