Golf star Rory McIlroy is backing his fellow Northern Irishman Mark Allen to build on his thrilling opening win at the Betfred.com World Championship.

Guinness World Records has confirmed that a massive pumpkin grown in the US is officially the world’s heaviest.

World number four Ali Carter came from 4-1 down to beat Matthew Stevens in a thrilling Shanghai Masters quarter-final today.

A former long-serving US senator and at least four other people were killed when a plane crashed near a remote fishing village in Alaska today.

A man believed to have shot dead his wife, her sister and three of her children, killed himself after police forced their way into the home where he had fled.

Bath 3 Toulouse 3

WHATEVER Bath might achieve against French champions Toulouse on Sunday, sadly there is only one story in town.

BATH look set to get tough with Matt Stevens after the England star’s drugs confession left his rugby career hanging by a thread.

Former Tottenham boss Martin Jol has emerged as Hamburg’s first choice to replace Huub Stevens as coach.

MARTIN CORRY will lead England into their most important Test match since the 2003 World Cup final on Friday night, claiming: “Captaincy is not something I strive for.”

Lord Stevens and the Premier League have made it clear they have no concerns about Graeme Souness’ role in any transfers while he was manager of Newcastle.

Lord Stevens was wrong to point the finger at agents in his inquiry into Premier League transfers without hard evidence, according to former Football Association compliance officer Graham Bean.

LORD STEVENS’ long-awaited report into alleged illegal payments clears all Premier League clubs of paying or receiving bungs.

Lord Stevens’ long-awaited report into alleged illegal payments clears all Premier League clubs of paying or receiving bungs - but the report raises separate concerns about two managers and a number of agents.

Five Premier League clubs have been named by Lord Stevens in his final report into top-flight transfers.

MATT Stevens has met Nelson Mandela and performed on tv’s X Factor since he last played rugby for England.

Several illuminated electronic devices planted at bridges and other spots scared Boston, and briefly disrupted the traffic and subway service, in what turned out to be a US publicity campaign for a late-night cable television cartoon.

Senior police chiefs are investigating allegations of fraud against two football agents.

PREMIER LEAGUE clubs have been declared bung-free – at least for the time being.

Mel Stein has refuted Lord Stevens’ claim eight leading agents did not co-operate with his inquiry into transfer irregularities.

Football Association chief executive Brian Barwick has strongly defended the game’s governing body from criticism by Lord Stevens’ bungs inquiry.

Lord Stevens will today reveal the findings of his nine-month inquiry into illegal payments in football transfers.

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has backed the Lord Stevens inquiry into football corruption.

Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive Gordon Taylor believes a permanent independent body to oversee transfers would have a positive influence on the game.

Bath prop Matt Stevens looks set to miss England’s autumn Test matches after undergoing further shoulder surgery.

Snooker’s authorities came under fire again today when Joe Swail described the table as an “absolute joke” after losing to Matthew Stevens in the first round of the 888.com World Championship.

ENGLAND head coach Andy Robinson faces a potential front-row crisis for the summer tour of Australia following the loss of Matt Stevens.

England prop Matt Stevens appears to be facing a fitness fight ahead of next weekend’s RBS 6 Nations Championship clash against France in Paris.

World number four Matthew Stevens became the highest-ranked casualty of the Travis Perkins UK Championship so far when trounced 9-3 by Stuart Bingham in York today.

Ace American jockey Gary Stevens will finally retire from the saddle tomorrow night.

AL-QAIDA fanatics plotted to gun down Tony and Cherie Blair during the Golden Jubilee celebrations, former Metropolitan Police chief John Stevens claimed yesterday.

World champion Shaun Murphy was unable to fend off a spirited fightback from Neil Robertson as he crashed out in the Northern Ireland Trophy quarter-finals.

Snooker is celebrating a new star in Shaun Murphy as he became the first qualifier to win the Embassy World Championship for 26 years.

Matthew Stevens suffered another attack of Crucible jitters as outsider Shaun Murphy staged a stunning comeback in the Embassy World Championship final.

Favourite Matthew Stevens gained the early advantage over qualifier Shaun Murphy in a tense and scrappy opening session of their Embassy World Championship final in Sheffield.

The possibility of two qualifiers contesting the 2006 Embassy World Championship final still loomed large as Ian McCulloch kept pace with tournament favourite Matthew Stevens at the Crucible Theatre.

Ronnie O’Sullivan held off a superb fightback by Matthew Stevens to capture his third Irish Masters championship in Dublin tonight.

Best of enemies Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Williams will meet tomorrow for a place in the Fáilte Ireland Irish Masters final.

England boss Andy Robinson has backed rookie prop Matt Stevens to thrive when he is thrown into the Lansdowne Road bear-pit against Ireland on Sunday.

Ronnie O’Sullivan enters the fray when the televised stages of the Travis Perkins UK Championship begin in York tomorrow – against the player he claims is currently the world’s best.

American legend Gary Stevens is to leave his job as number-one jockey to Andre Fabre and return to the United States.

French photographers who took pictures of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed on the day of their fatal high-speed car crash went back to court today accused of invasion of privacy.