Jessica Ennis-Hill announces her retirement from athletics

Sheffield athlete Jessica Ennis-Hill, who won Heptathlon gold at the London 2012 Olympics and the World Championship in 2015, has announced her retirement from athletics.

Jessica Ennis-Hill, London Anniversary Games 2016

She had already hinted at retirement after winning a silver medal at the Rio Olympics in August and says it was "one of the toughest decisions I've had to make.  I've always said I wanted to leave on a high and have no regrets,"

Sheffield Sharks record their first home win of the season

After a tough couple of opening games at home so far this season, the Sharks make it 2-3 with a 80-67 win over old rivals Manchester Giants.

 Tony Wroblicky was a steady influence at the back

 A view from the gallery of the court and bleachers

 Cardell McFarland on a fast break

 Mike Tuck shoots for two

 Kyle Odister played a big part in keeping the lead going

 Zach Gachette got a dunk near the end from a steal

 Cardell McFarland claims the last points

 MVP Tony Wroblicky - 21 points,  9 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks

Sheffield Sharks lose out at home to Plymouth Raiders

Sheffield Sharks lost their second home match of the season 66-95 to Plymouth Raiders and now are 1-3 for the start of the 2016/17 season.

John Barber returned in green to add to the defeat, playing well for his new team on a day when the Sharks just didn't get it together.

 Tony Wroblicky holds the ball up

 George Brownell runs through the Plymouth defence

 Eddy Brownell looks for a way through

 Mike Tuck goes for a long two

 Coach Atiba Lyons and the bench look on

 Shaheed Davis muscles in

 Rob Poole tries a floater

Coaches Atiba Lyons and Arierl Parrucci lead the team talk

Game Day 2 - Sheffield Sharks at Leeds Force

It's a sunny Sunday in September in Yorkshire and Sheffield Sharks have made the short trip up the M1 to Leeds Beckett University for the first away game of the season against Leeds Force.

The focus is for a quick return to winning ways.  Jordan Davis is still side-lined with a swollen ankle he went over on last weekend, so it's the same lineup as against Leicester Riders.

 Shaheed Davis makes a steal and runs away for the dunk

Tony Wroblicky muscles his way in

Half-time in a tight game, it's 38-33 to the Force

Sheffield Sharks vs Leicester Riders - photos from the opening game of the season

A tough night for the Sheffield Sharks sees them lose out 54-85 against a Leicester Riders side looking for a degree of revenge after the BBL playoff loss in May.

 Shaheed Davis wins the tip

 Tony Wroblicky shoots a 2 for the first points of the new season

 Mike Tuck in a familiar position under the basket

 Tony Wroblicky muscles his way through the Riders close defence

 Shaheed Davis runs the play

 Zach Gachette shoots

 And then pops one in

 Cardell McFarland brings the ball down the court

 Colin Sing looks to open up the Riders defence

 And then looks to shoot

  Cardell McFarland brings the ball down the court

Cardell McFarland runs past the Riders defence

 Shaheed Davis runs in to the D

 Kyle Odister looks for a way past the Riders defence

 Marko Backovic shoots a 2

 Tony Wroblicky gets some close attention

 Cardell McFarland looking for a way past the Riders defence

 Shaheed Davis with a dunk near the end of the game

Eddy Brownell looks to clear the defence

It's Friday night at the EIS, Sheffield and at half-time the score is.....

21-34 to the Sheffield Sharks against Leicester Riders.  It's been a tight game so far, a few nervous mistakes on both sides as the teams reprise their BBL playoff final match in slightly smaller circumstances.

 Tony Wroblicky gets the first points of the season, 2-0

Shaheed Davis goes for a basket

It's the start of the 2016-17 British Basketball League and in an experiment I've decided to try editing and posting some photos during the game.

This has involved hooking up the laptop to my mobile phone as the wifi (which isn't great in the first place) tends to get swamped during a game.  The process then runs something like this.  Shoot to first XQD card in the camera.  During the game tag (protect) any potential usable shots.  As half-time approaches, copy the protected files to the second XQD card.  Then use this card (with a greatly reduced number of photos) to pass them to the laptop for processing and then loading up to social media etc.

It's BBL 2016-17 and the season opener for Sheffield Sharks against Leicester Riders

Just over 4 months ago, Sheffield Sharks unexpectedly(?) beat Leicester Riders in the BBL playoff final at the O2 in London.

Tomorrow a much-changed Sharks line-up faces the first game of the season against the same opponent whose coach, Rob Paternostro, will not have wasted a moment in telling his squad how important this game is.

Captain Mike Tuck scoring against Leicester Riders at the EIS, Sheffield, October 2015

In the intervening period the Sharks have said adieu to players such as Jerrold Brooks, TJ Robinson and John Barber and recruited some height - probably some of the tallest players to play together at the EIS.  It's also the last season for the Sharks at the EIS before they move into their new home on the old Don Valley site.

Sharks dug very deep in May, showing lots of team spirit.  Come along to the EIS tomorrow night to see how the new season starts off.

For more information and ticket details, go to: http://sharksbasketball.org/