but even in the 705 and 805, the trio were made welcome at west bromwich albion. lbion. as you can see from the reaction here, the trio are 5till from the reaction here, the trio are still held in enormou5 affection. notjust here, but acro55 still held in enormou5 affection. notjust here, but across the footballing world. known affectionately a5 footballing world. known affectionately as the three degrees, theirs i5 affectionately as the three degrees, theirs is a lasting legacy. extremely talented footballer5 that challenge raci5m with charm and dignity. phil mackie, bbc news, west bromwich. mackenzie thorpe 5tarted his career working on the docks on the river tee5 but now he is one of the country's best known arti5t5. as part of our ‘we are middle5brough‘ 5erie5, our entertainment correspondent colin paterson went to meet him. we've got a special guest this afternoon. and this is mackenzie thorpe and he's a famous artist. back to school, mackenzie thorpe, a mile from where he grew up. so you're all going to make the transporter bridge? his art sell5 all around th

have the second instalment of the all west midlands championship play—off semifinal between west bromwich albionst brom might have advantage at home, but advantage in the tyres with aston villa, having won mic 2—1 on saturday. dwight gale, albion‘s top scorer, was sent off in the dying minutes at villa park. he is suspended and unable to play this evening. the winners will play derby cou nty evening. the winners will play derby county or leeds united in the championship play—off final at wembley, but these clubs have big questions to answer in the summer. for west brom, who will be in charge. they have a caretaker manager at the moment after the previous manager was sacked. for aston villa, hi profile players, what will happen with them next season? they have loan signings whose future is uncertain. if they do get to the premier league, it is estimated that promotion is worth £190 million to each club. that makes problems go away, and that is what these clubs are after this evening. england's cricketers are playing their third one—day international against pakistan at bristol. eoin morgan's men

they beat west bromwich albion in the first leg of their championship play—off semifinal — coming fromt—off. but not before villa had equalized and then converted a penalty to make it 2—1. meanwhile in the other semifinal first leg it's been a very long time since either derby or leeds were in the top flight. but leeds have the advantage. they're on the verge of full time at pride park and leeds are currently winning1—0 — kemar roofe the scorer. in the scottish premiership there were wins for kilmarnock, dundee and stjohnston. and inverness are through to the promotion play—off semi—finals with a 4—2 aggregate win over ayr. women's super league champions arsenal finished the season on a high — by inflicting a first league defeat on nearest rivals manchester city. the game's only scorer — emma mitchell — seemed surprised with her brilliant strike at borehamwood. mercedes continue to dominate formula one this season, with another first and second. in qualifying for tomorrow's spanish grand prix, valtteri bottas sealed a hat—trick of pole positions ahead of his team—mate lewis hamilton. b

brendon batson, laurie cunningham and cyrille regis, who were pioneers in the english game at west bromwich albion and early ‘80s. batson attended the unveiling earlier and said he was "honoured and humbled". let's get a round up of today's other sports news. tyson fury has revealed that his rematch with deontay wilder is likely to take place next spring. the rival heavyweights fought to a controversial draw when contesting wilder's wbc title in los angeles in december. wilder's agent, shelly finkel, has said that he would "probably" fight fury or anthonyjoshua next year. the entry list for the singles at wimbledon has been published — no surprise that andy murray's name does not appear. the two—time champion had effectively ruled out competing in the singles tournament this season following another hip operation in january. he could still receive a widlcard entry to the championships however he's more likely to compete in the doubles. a high—speed crash split the peloton to pieces in the final kilometre of stage ten at the giro d'italia. the incident brought down several riders including sprinter

the semi—final first legs will both be played on saturday — aston villa host west bromwich albion, andeds. in the scottish premiership, rangers have beaten hibs1—0 — despite going down to ten men late on. the winning goal was scored byjermain defoe just before half time — it was a simple finish in the end. the victory wasn't without controversy as rangers keeper allan mcgregor was sent—off for that kick with just minutes remianing. he'll now miss next week's old firm match aagainst celtic. we'll have the latest from world snooker championship final in just a moment but first lets take a look at some of the other stories around today. britain's chris lawless has won the tour de yorkshire. the team ineos rider finished second behind defending champion greg van avermaet on the final stage in leeds, but that was enough for overall victory. geraint thomas has finished third at the tour of romandy in switzerland. the briton could only finish tenth on the final time trial stage in geneva. defending champion primoz roglitch claimed his third stage win of the six—day race to retain his title. w

steve clarke's first managerialjob was at west bromwich albion, he'll know all about laurie cunninghame regis and brendon batson. huge figures in the fight against discrimination. they remain true icons in the fight against discrimination and have been credited with ‘opening the gates' for other black players to enter the sport. a statue to the three was today unveiled in west bromwich town centre — as phil mackie reports. they were three pioneers. and in an era when racism was rife, brendon batson, laurie cunningham and cyrille regis challenged attitudes with their achievements on the pitch. now they've been honoured in the town where they made their names. fans raised over £200,000 to pay for the celebration statue. sadly of the three — only one of them is still alive to see it. we were just football players, we had this label of black but we just wa nted had this label of black but we just wanted to be football players. the statute symbolises the journey black players had from that era and their resilience has paved the way for the next generation. before his death last year cyrille

before taking the top job himself at west bromwich albion, reading and then kilmarnock.y time at, knickerbocker, i'm sorry i did not win a trophy. i am telling —— at kilmarnock. i'm telling now that i take this, this is my trophy. he guided kilmarnock into europe and third place in the premiership, their highest league finish since their highest league finish since the 1960s. the buttoned up and down the 1960s. the buttoned up and down the country hope he will be just as successful as scotland manager. —— football fa ns successful as scotland manager. —— football fans up and down the country. steve clarke's three—year contract start straightaway. he is back here at the national stadium for a media conference. early next week he will name his first scotland squad for two huge euro 2020 qualifiers early next month against cyprus and belgium. he thinks scotla nd cyprus and belgium. he thinks scotland can still qualify and that isa scotland can still qualify and that is a big statement, because they are fit of anger after a lacklustre start, but he said today, we have a wome

villa beat west bromwich albion in the first leg of their championship play—off semi—final, coming fromf, but not before villa had equalised and then converted a penalty to make it 2—1. leeds narrowly beat the in—form derby county in their semi—final first leg. jack harrison's sublime curling cross fed kemar roofe, who scored the only goal at pride park. in the scottish premiership there were wins for kilmarnock, dundee and stjohnston. and inverness are through to the promotion play—off semi—finals. women's super league champions arsenal finished the season on a high by inflicting a first league defeat on nearest rivals manchester city. the game's only scorer, emma mitchell, seemed surprised with her brilliant strike at borehamwood. that's it from me, but there's much more on the bbc sport website, including how valtteri bottas sealed another pole position ahead of lewis hamilton for tomorrow's spanish grand prix. back to you. clive. that's it. you can see more on all of today's stories on the bbc news channel. but from me and the rest of the team, have a very good night. this is bbc ne

and west bromwich albion are leading their midlands rivals aston villa after dwight gayle took advantagey leg for west brom. it's approaching half—time there. later on, derby county take on leeds united in the other semifinal. mercedes told lewis hamilton there aren't many areas he can improve on after dominating final practice ahead of qualifying for the spanish grand prix. the world champion was more than half a second quicker than the ferrari of charles leclerc at the circuit de catalu nya near barcelona. hamilton's mercedes team—mate, valtteri bottas, had been on top in friday's practice, and despite this mistake, he went on to end up third. ferrari's other driver, sebastian vettel, was fourth in a session that ended early after briton george russell crashed his williams. qualifying starts at 2 o'clock. great britain face 0lympic silver medalists germany in their opening game of the ice hockey world championship in slovakia this afternoon. it is the first time in 25 years that britain have competed at the top level of the sport and they'll also face powerhouse nations the usa and can

villa are though the championship playoff final after a dramatic win on penalties against west bromwich albionxtra time. villa keeperjed steer saved two penalties. they'll play either leeds or derby, who play in the other semi final tomorrow night. the final takes place at wembley on may 27th. manchester city could be banned from the champions league for a season if they're found guilty of breaking financial rules. a ban is thought to be the preferred punishment of uefa investigators. our sports editor dan roan says city would appeal any ban that's handed down. i think it is important to stress that this is only the first stage. the chair of the panel has the final say. as a former belgian prime minister and then it goes to the adjudicatory chamber of uefa. and then maybe even the court of arbitration for sport. they have released a strongly worded statement saying they have cooperated with this investigation and provided evidence that shows they are innocent and manchester have also said that they are extremely concerned that these reports suggest that there have been leaks and that there are

but earlier aston villa got the edge on their midlands rivals west bromwich albion. remier league on offer, the championship play—offs are never short of drama. throw in the added element of a west midlands derby and this match had an extra spark. an early goal would have settled any pre—match nerves, a combination of fingertips and crossbar denied jay rodriguez and west brom that luxury. with so much at stake, pressure can affect even the most experienced players. veteran glenn whelan with a rare mistake, and west brom's player of the year dwight gayle making him pay. chances were few and far between for both sides. one moment can change a match and substitute conor hourihane provided it. four minutes later, aston villa were ahead, jack grealish brought down, penalty. a massive moment in the tie, tammy abraham calmness personified. it would get worse for west brom before full—time, gayle shown a second yellow card and sent off for this challenge. he will miss the next leg on tuesday. aston villa are a step closer to a second successive play—off final. leeds beat derb

in the other semi—final aston villa beat west bromwich albion 2—1. 0nto the scottish premiership nowmiller scored the only goal for already—relegated dundee, who ended a run of 10 straight defeats with victory at livingston. and stjohnstone secured seventh place with a comfortable victory over nearest rivals motherwell. england's matt wallace has a share of the lead of the british masters at southport going into the final round. wallace, who is chasing a fifth european tour title, had raced to a three shot lead early on the third round, but dropped his first shots of the tournament on the back nine to finish on 1a—under par overall, to leave him tied with sweden's marcus kinult. wasps are through to the netball superleague final, after a 20—point victory over loughborough lightning. the defending champions, who topped the table after the regular season, won 74—54 in front of a sell—out crowd of nearly a thousand to progress to the final, keeping their hopes fo a third successive title alive. they'll be up against manchester thunder who beat bath. and valteri bottas will start on pole

aston villa reach the championship play—off final at wembley with a penalty shootout win over west bromwich albionlineux this summer so that fans who refuse to sit can stay safe. they're the first premier league club to do so and it's part of a major redevelopment of the ground. rory mcilroy says he's ready to represent ireland at the olympics in tokyo next year. he missed out on rio. another man who says he might be going to tokyo as tiger woods. it was great in rio. roy mcllroy talking at the time saying he would not watch it. the olympics have come around very quickly, which is good news. are you ready for it? i love watching it. it is a real detriment to everything i do. how does work out for us? tokyo, a long time ahead. not great. it'll be the middle of the night.” ahead. not great. it'll be the middle of the night. i will be waking up in the exciting stuff is happening. good for breakfast. it is 30 minutes past six. would you like to see what the weather is like in london this morning. most of us don't live in london. it was another glorious sunrise. carol is at st james's park with a look

the semifinal first legs will both be played on saturday — aston villa host west bromwich albion, andbyjermain defoe just before half—time. winning goal was scored byjermain defoejust before half—time. it winning goal was scored byjermain defoe just before half—time. it was a simple finish. the game was not without controversy as rangers goalkeeper allan mcgregor was sent off as just goalkeeper allan mcgregor was sent off asjust a goalkeeper allan mcgregor was sent off as just a few minutes remaining. he will now miss next week's old firm match with celtic. the final of the world snooker championship is under way in sheffield. and its level pegging at the crucible. judd trump and john higgins are all square at four frames each after the first session. trump led 3—1 early on but higgins pegged him back. both players have compiled two centuries each. the evening session begins at 7pm and it will be live on bbc two. cricket and england are playing a one off t20 international in cardiff against pakistan, and jofra archer has impressed yet again. england are chasing pakistan's total of 173

but even in the ‘70s and ‘80s, the trio were made welcome at west bromwich albion.me for a look at the weather. here‘s... thank you, simon mccoy! the weather is looking pretty good. a lot of sunshine around today. 0ver is looking pretty good. a lot of sunshine around today. over the next few days, it is looking fairly quiet on the weather front for most of us and it is a case of warm, sunny spells. not completely clear blue skies are not completely dry, some showers in the north of the uk. but this week, you can see this as you are up and there is a lot of orange and yellow. what is that? that is the temperature of the air, you can see that in scandinavia it is relatively warm. so much of the continent enjoying someone, but not necessarily sunshine. some cloud across central parts and some rain and weather systems in the atlantic, but we are in between weather systems, which means almost in between. 0ne systems, which means almost in between. one is quipping the far north of the uk but the majority of the country, i dry day, 21 in london in the afternoon. a few show

unveiled in west bromwich, to honour three legendary footballers who broke the race barrier in the 1970s and 80s. brendon batson, laurie cunningham and cyrille regis all played for west bromwich albionnt phil mackie's there to see the statue being unveiled... tell us more about those men and why they are being honoured. the statue is called the celebration statue and it isa is called the celebration statue and it is a celebration of the iconic footballers from the 1970s and 1980s who were pioneers, they wear black footballers at a time when racism was rife in the game and in society. they had to face awful chants and tolerance, bananas thrown onto the pitch in front of them, but they won the heart is notjust of the west brom fans but of the young football fa ns brom fans but of the young football fans like myself growing up in the 19705 fans like myself growing up in the 1970s and 80s. two of them, cyrille regis and laurie cunningham went on to play for england. brendon batson, the only survivor, who is here today, because sadly royal —— laurie cunningham died very, very young and cyrille regis suddenly died last year. so brendon batson did not play for england, he played for englan

west bromwich. it's a statue of laurie cunningham, cyrille regis and brendon batson who all played for west browmich albion time a club regularly fielded black players, and brendon batson says the statue should come to symbolise the ongoing fight against prejudice. very often we do have a little giggle about sporting statues, but that's a great one. you've got your latest interview for us?|j that's a great one. you've got your latest interview for us? i have, folks, that's all you need to know, i'm not going to read this stuff! we're doing this stuff about change the game, a few weeks out from the women's world cup in france and. brea kfast women's world cup in france and. breakfast will be there, and exciting time in women's sport at the moment. among those players hoping to make an impact at the tournament is england's toni duggan. the barcelona forward missed out on a champions league winners medal at the weekend when her side were beaten by lyon but she's looking forward to putting women's football centre stage this summer. as part of the bbc‘s change the game season, i went to spain to meet her. actua