By Tim Stannard

1) Ronaldo toast of town as Madrid close in on title-win 

Cometh the hour and cometh the pecs, teeth, wrinkle-less face and Instagram obsession. 

Thursday is all about Cristiano Ronaldo after yet another goal-scoring brace bonanza in La Liga with two strikes from the Portuguese poacher to leave Real Madrid just a point from a la Liga title win. "You can tell from the way he's playing that he's in very good nick,” admitted Coach Zizou on a footballer who has now scored seven goals in the past three games to push his club to the brink in La Liga and a Champions League final. 

Images of the footballer being buried by his team-mates – and doing some hair damage in the process – are splashed across much of the Spanish sports dailies, with the declaration that Madrid are all but champions. Stay glued to beIN SPORTS over the next few days to find out whether the cat is very much in the bag or if Barcelona still have a chance of a late day denouement. 

2) Sweden game called off over match-fixing suspicions 

A story from Sweden which may be slipping under the radar but which is actually quite the big deal. 

A top-flight clash in the Swedish League set for Thursday night has been postponed due to suspicions of a match-fixing attempt. The match in question between Gothenburg and AIK was called off after claims from the Swedish Football Association that an AIK player was "offered a considerable sum" if he contributed to a defeat for his side. 

That Allsvenskan clash is one less game on the European schedules, which are a little thin on Thursday after Wednesday’s bonanza which saw Monaco win Ligue Un, Juventus clinch the Italian Cup and Huddersfield book a spot in the Championship play-off final. However, there is a game in the Premier League but it is a bit of a dead duck of a catch-up variety with Leicester City hosting Tottenham Hotspur. 

Remember that you can catch the best action from around the world along with all the news on the XTRA, every day at 7PM ET / 4PM PT.  

3) Nicky Hayden remains in serious condition in Italy 

World Superbike rider, Nicky Hayden, reportedly remains in a serious condition in an Italian hospital after a collision with a car whilst cycling on Wednesday. 

The US biking super star also known as the ‘Kentucky Kid’ has, according to reports, suffered bleeding on the brain as well as a broken leg and pelvis. The 35-year-old American has received messages of support from across the sport’s fraternity as they wait on more news of the rider’s condition. 

4) Can North America tennis make it count at Italian Open?

The Italian Open continues in tennis on Thursday with both the men’s and women’s brackets very much reaching the business ends. There is quite the North American rally for the men with four players from this side of the Pond in action in the round of 16. Milos Raonic, John Isner, Sam Querrey and Jack Sock are due on court on Thursday, with the latter facing a very stern test against the in-form rampaging Rafa Nadal. 

Matters are a little bleaker in the North American stakes with Venus Williams as the last woman standing in the WTA stakes. However, the number nine seed is currently holding fast against Johanna Konta at time of writing. The current top seed in Italy is Karolina Pliskova and is action later on Thursday. Remember that beIN SPORTS is the very happy home of the WTA and all the action is live from 5AM ET / 2AM PT. 

WHAT IS SPORTS BURST?

The life philosophy of Sports Burst is that if you are not upsetting someone, then you are not trying hard enough. SB is a daily trawl and troll through the morning's sports news to bring you fact-nuggets to make you both smile and swear. Hopefully at the same time.