Every weekday morning TheScore.ie brings you the sports stories you need to know before that first cup of coffee.

1. #RETIRED Stephen Hendry has confirmed he will retire from snooker with immediate effect.

The 43-year-old won seven World Championships, but took the decision after a comprehensive loss to Stephen Maguire last night.

2. #PREMIER LEAGUE Liverpool’s dismal run of home form continued last night as they slumped to defeat against Fulham.

Kenny Dalglish named a much changed starting line-up and it cost him has the only goal of the game came when Martin Skrtl put the ball pas

Stoke and Everton played out a one all draw, an own-goal from ex-Red Peter Crouch ensured a point for the Toffees which solidifies their position in seventh place, above Liverpool.

Tonight, attention turns to further up the table and the battle for Champions League places. Tottenham Hotspur travel to face Bolton, who will be pleased to have Fabrice Muamba attending the game, while fifth placed Newcastle travel to sixth placed Chelsea.

3. #RUGBY We braved the weather to head down to the RDS yesterday (check out our new mic cover here if you’re into mic covers) and were we glad we did. Here’s what Sean Cronin and Devin Toner had to say in the wake of their thrilling Heineken Cup semi-final win in France at the weekend and here’s how Gordon D’Arcy reacted to his new two-year contract.

4. #DOWN AND OUT? Down have been dealt a major blow to their Championship hopes with the news that Benny Coulter is likely to be injured for the entire summer.

The instrumental forward broke his ankle while playing for his club on Monday night. The injury adds to James McCartan’s woes after Dan Gordon also suffered a worrying ankle injury last month.

In the small ball, Richie Hogan will face Cork in this weekend’s mouth-watering National Hurling League decider in Thurles this weekend. The Danesfort man suffered a couple of broken ribs and a collapsed lung recently but if fighting fit for the clash with the Rebels. One man who won’t be there sadly is the Leesiders’ goalkeeper Donal Óg Cusack; he did his Achilles during the semi-final win over Tipperary recently. Manager Jimmy Barry Murphy  reckons we’ll see him in the red and white again however.

5. #UNCLE ROY England’s FA yesterday confirmed Roy Hodgson as their next manager. The West Brom boss was a surprise choice ahead of Totenham’s Harry Redknapp. As he faced the media for the first time as the country’s top coach, he insisted he’d be aiming for a win at Euro2012 this summer.

6. #RACING Two horses lost their lives in the wake of last month’s Aintree Grand National but the circumstances could not have been foreseen or prevented, a review by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) found yesterday.

Space on the plane: Trap’s Euro 2012 goalkeeping options

Watch out Ireland, Mario Balotelli is set for Italy’s Euro campaign