2008 in sports

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Please improve this article if you can. (June 2008)

Years in sports:	2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Centuries:	20th century · 21st century · 22nd century
Decades:	1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s
Years:	2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

News by date

January

1: Motorcycling - Robbie Maddison breaks the Motorcycling long jump world record.
1: Darts - John Part wins his third world title beating qualifier Kirk Shepherd 7-2 in sets at the 2008 PDC World Darts Championship.
4: 30th Dakar Rally cancelled due to international political tension and the murder of four French tourists last 24th of December 2007.
6: Auto racing - Scuderia Ferrari unveils their 2008 Formula 1 car.
7: Auto racing - McLaren unveils their 2008 Formula 1 car.
7: College football - The LSU Tigers defeat the Ohio State Buckeyes 38-24 in the 2008 BCS National Championship Game, thus becoming the first two-time BCS National Champions. They also become the first 2-loss BCS National Champions.
19: Tennis - 2008 Australian Open, Australia's Lleyton Hewitt beats Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus in the 3rd round qualifier in a marathon 5-set match which took almost 5 hours. The match ended at 4:33am local time after the match was delayed until just before midnight, making it the latest ever finish for an Australian Open match.
20: The 2008 Africa Cup of Nations begins in Ghana.
26: Tennis - Maria Sharapova beat Serbian Ana Ivanović in the Australian Open to capture her third major.
26: The All American Football League (AAFL) held its inaugural draft.
26: Motorsport - The Palm Beach Cavallino Classic held its XVII Concorso d’Eleganza, with Enrique Senior and Malena Senior taking the most wins, and Mexican Lorenzo Zambrano was the only non-American to win an award.
27: Tennis - Novak Đoković defeats Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Australian Open to become the first new major winner since Rafael Nadal defeated Mariano Puerta in the2005 French Open final since Gustavo Kuerten. He is also the first Serbian man to win any major.
27: Auto racing - Memo Rojas, Juan Pablo Montoya,Scott Pruett and Dario Franchitti win the Rolex 24 hours of Daytona for the team TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing after a "perfect" race, in the first race of the 2008 Rolex Sportscar Series.
27: Auto racing - Pat Dean wins the first race of the SCORE Desert Series, the Laughlin Desert Challenge in his Class 1.
27: Team handball - Asian Handball Federation announced that Japanese and Korean federations will be expelled from AHF unless they will stop hosting or participating 2008 Summer Olympics qualifiers re-match. But Hassan Mustafa, President of International Handball Federation declared the announcement which AHF made is invalid because IHF is the "only body endorsing the results of the continental qualifying tournaments for Olympic Games and World Championships." AHF dropped their decision and fined $1,000 for each country on February 5.^[1]
27: Figure skating - The winners of the 2008 European Figure Skating Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, are Tomáš Verner (men's singles), Carolina Kostner (ladies singles), Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy (pairs), and Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin (ice dancing).

February

1: Gliding: - Mauricio Delfabro won the 1st FAI South American Gliding Championships and 55th National Gliding Championships of Argentina in Adolfo Gonzales Chaves in the mixed Open, 18m, 15m and Standard Class^[2], Carlos Adrover became South American Club Class Champion^[3].
3: American football – The New York Giants defeat the New England Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII, held in Glendale, Arizona at the University of Phoenix Stadium. Quarterback Eli Manning is awarded the Super Bowl MVP.
4: College basketball - Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight retires from his position at Texas Tech. He is replaced by his son Pat Knight, who had been the head coach designate since 2005.
7: Baseball Dominican Republic claimed the top 2 placed of the 2008 Caribbean Series, with Aguilas Cibaeñas taking 1st, ahead of Tigres del Licey, while Venezuela and México tied the 3rd place with the Tigres de Aragua and Yaquis de Ciudad Obregón
10: Football (soccer) - Egypt win the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations 1-0 over Cameroon. It is the sixth title in the competition for the Pharaohs.
12: Team handball - International Handball Federation decided to control Asian Men's Handball Championships 2008 in Iran, which was originally set to be supervised by the Asian Handball Federation, after accusations from many national federations in Asia that the AHF unfairly manipulates results in continental competitions, by employing biased referees and turning a blind eye to supposedly obvious infractions.^[4]
16: Boxing - Cristian Mijares defeated Jose Navarro to retain his World Boxing Council Superflyweight world championship, while Fernando Montiel defeated Martin Castillo in the same weight to retain his World Boxing Organization championship in the same weight, and Kelly Pavlik won his second world championship bout against Jermain Taylor in Las Vegas.
17: Athletics (track and field) - Viktor Rothlin, bronze medalist of marathon in 2007 World Championships won 2nd annual Tokyo Marathon by 2:07:23.
17: Basketball - Eastern Conference defeat Western Conference 134-128 in the 2008 NBA All-Star Game took place in New Orleans, LA. LeBron James is awarded the MVP.
17: Auto racing — The 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series started with the 50th annual Daytona 500 in Daytona Beach, Florida. Ryan Newman won the race.
22: Auto racing — The bitter feud between the two major U.S. open-wheel racing series, the Indy Racing League and Champ Car, ends after 14 years with the two series agreeing to unify for the 2008 season under the IRL banner.
23: Football (soccer) - South Korean men's team won East Asian Cup 2008.
23: Football (soccer) - Japanese J. League Cup winner Gamba Osaka defeated MLS champion Houston Dynamo at the final game of Pan-Pacific Championship 2008 by 6-1, won the champion title of inaugural tournament. Los Angeles Galaxy won the third place match against Sydney FC from A-league by 2-1.
23: Boxing — Wladimir Klitschko defeated WBO heavyweight champion Sultan Ibragimov at Madison Square Garden in New York City, to unify the IBF and WBO Heavyweight titles. The Klitschko-Ibragimov fight was the first heavyweight unification bout since Holyfield-Lewis in 1999.
24: Diving - The FINA Diving World Cup concluded with China taking 7 gold and 4 silver medals, Germany a gold and a silver, Russia 2 silvers, Canada with 2 bronze medals, Australia with a silver and bronze, México 2 bronze medals, USA 2 bronze medals, and Great Britain with a bronze.
24: Football (soccer) - Japan won Women's East Asian Cup 2008 by three straight wins over South Korea, North Korea, and China.

March

1: Boxing - Israel Vázquez defeated Rafael Márquez by a split decision in their third consecutive fight for the World Boxing Council Super bantamweight title, in an epic battle where Rafael knocked Israel down and then, Israel almost knocked Rafael out (and knocked him down) in the last seconds of the fight, showing they're the 2 best Superbantamweights and 2 of the best 10 Pound by Pound.
2: Alpine skiing - Austrian Matthias Lanzinger collides with a gate during a World Cup Super-G run at Kvitfjell in Norway, resulting in injuries that lead to his left leg being amputated below the knee two days later.
2: Flag Football - Six countries took part in the 9th Annual World Cup: USA, Cayman Islands, St. Croix US Virgin Islands, México & Costa Rica. Team USA rebounded after going 0-3 in round robin play to Win the World Cup Flag Football Title. Captain and QB Pat Connolly was named Tournament MVP. Team USA defeated México 7-6 in the Semis, then the Cayman Islands 13-7 for their first title since 2005. In the Open Invitation, the Gorillas of Tijuana México, won the 8-man Gold Division title by defeating Charbels of Manchester, New Hampshire 7-6 for the crown. In the 7-Man No Contact A Title game, Apocalypse of Miami, Florida defeated Texcoco (México) 32-30, while in 4-Man, Apocalypse defeated the Ticos (Costa Rica) 28-21 in the final. ^[5]
2: Bodybuilding - The Arnold Amateur Bodybuilding Championships marked the start of the elite bodybuilding season, with winners coming from New Zealand, USA, México, Brazil, Spain, and Germany. German Tarek Elsetouhi won the Overall Men's Competition, while Mexican María Segura, won the Overal Women's competition.
4: American football - Brett Favre of the Green Bay Packers announced his retirement from the NFL after 17 years.^[6]
8: Boxing - David Haye has a TKO of Enzo Maccarinelli in the second round in a unification fight for the WBC, WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles.
8: Boxing - "History in Cancún" meant the first World Heavyweight Championship bout in México, with Samuel Peter knocking Oleg Maskaev out for the World Boxing Council Heavyweight Championship. In the other fight, Nate Campbell defeated Juan Díaz after an illegal punch injured the Mexican, and he won the World Boxing Association Lightweight Title, World Boxing Organization Lightweight Title and International Boxing Federation Lightweight Title.
9: Athletics (track and field) - The first round of the 2008 IAAF Race Walking Challenge was held in Chihuahua, México, with Eder Sanchez (México) winning the 20 kilometre race ahead of Juan Manuel Molina from Spain and Erick Tysse (Norway). The female 20 kilometers were won by Kjersti Plätzer (Norway), who finished ahead of Melanie Seeger (Germany) and Ines Henriques (Portugal). The 50-kilometere Race Walk was won by Mexican Jesús Sánchez, ahead of Jesús Ángel García (Spain) and Daniel Garcia (México).
15: Boxing - Manny Pacquiao won a controversial split decision over Mexican Juan Manuel Márquez, who won for ESPN, TV Azteca, Fightnews, Maxboxing, Fox Sports, The Ring, La Crónica de Hoy ^[7], El Nuevo Diario ^[8], the Philippines TV and Yahoo!. WBC president, Jose Sulaiman, said the reason for it was that a WBO judge replaced a WBC judge. In the other fight, Steven Luevano defeated Terdsak Jandaeg to retain his WBO Featherweight title and he landed a featherweight boxing record for most jabs landed.
23: Wheelchair DanceSport - The Wheelchair Dancing World Cup, is held in Cuijk,Netherlands, with México being the best in the medal tally and also Belarus, Russia and Ukraine took gold medals as well. ^[9].
29 The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race - Oxford University beat Cambridge University to gain their third victory in five years.^[10]

April

8: Archery - The first round of the 2008 Meteksan Archery World Cup takes place at Santo Domingo, Domican Republic, with the following order in the medal tally: USA, Italy, Russian Federation, Chinese Taipei, Great Britain, Australia, South Korea, Germany, México, France and Georgia.

13: Golf - The Masters - Trevor Immelman won his first major as Tiger Woods finished second despite an off-tournament for him.

18-24: Swimming - The XII FINA Master Swimming World Championships take place in Perth, Australia.

18: Athletics (track and field) - The IAAF Race Walking Challenge took place in Beijing, China, with a victory by Jesus Angel Flores of Spain, followed by Chengliang Zhao of China and Eder Sanchez of México.

19: Motorsports - Danica Patrick won the Indy Japan 300, becoming the first female to win an IndyCar race.

19: Boxing - Joe Calzaghe, fighting for the first time in the United States, wins a 12-round split decision over Bernard Hopkins for the latter's light heavyweight crown.

20: Racquetball - American Rhonda Rajsich won the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization WPRO World Championships, defeating Cheryl Gudinas, while the semifinalists were Mexican Paola Longoria and American Kerri Wachtel.

27: Racquetball - American Jack Huczek won the International Racquetball Tour IRT Pro Nationals, defeating Rocky Carson, while the semifinalists were Mexican Álvaro Beltrán and American Jason Mannino.

27: Polo - Chile defeats Brazil in order to take the 2008 Polo World Championship in México. The host country took bronze medal over Spain.

28: Motorsport - Mexican Arturo Keller wins the 2008 Coppa d’Oro Villa d’Este in the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este with a Mercedes-Benz 540 K Autobahnkurier Coupé of 1938, while Georges Keller won the Concept car contest.

May

3: Horse racing - Big Brown wins the Kentucky Derby. Eight Belles finished second, but broke both front ankles during the post-race cool-down and was immediately euthanized.

4: Basketball - CSKA Moscow of Russia win the Euroleague, defeating Maccabi Tel Aviv 91-77 at the final of the Final Four, which held at Madrid.

17: Box lacrosse - The Buffalo Bandits of the National Lacrosse League win the Champion's Cup.

18: Ice Hockey - The Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League win the Prince of Wales Trophy.
Russia wins the gold medal by beating Canada in overtime at the IIHF World Championships.

19: Ice Hockey - The Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League win the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl.

21: Soccer - Manchester United of England wins the UEFA Champions League, defeating another English side Chelsea by penalty shootout 6-5, after a draw of 1-1 at the final.

25: Auto Racing - Scott Dixon won the Indianapolis 500.

26: Lacrosse - Syracuse University win the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship

31: Boxing - Mexican Oscar Larios defeats Colombian Feider Viloria by TKO in order to take the WBC Featherweight Interim title, while Antonio Fitch and Jesús Salgado defeated Santiago de los Santos and Alfonso Torres in Youth World Championship fights.

June

4: Ice Hockey The Detroit Red Wings win the Stanley Cup defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins 4 games to 2.
7: Tennis: Ana Ivanović defeats Dinara Safina in the final of the French Open 6-4, 6-3. Ivanović becomes the first Serbian women to win a Grand Slam and the first Serbian to hold World Number 1.
8: Tennis: Rafael Nadal defeats Roger Federer in the final of the French Open 6-1, 6-3, 6-0.
16: Golf: Tiger Woods won the U.S. Open (golf) Championship over Rocco Mediate in an eighteen hole playoff, which they were tied at even par. This forced a sudden death playoff on the seventh hole, and Tiger Woods made a par to Rocco Mediate bogey. Tiger Woods birdied the 72nd hole in regulation in order to force this playoff on Monday. This was Tiger Woods 65th PGA Tour win for his career and the fourteenth major championship of his career.
17: Basketball: The Boston Celtics won their 17th NBA title by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 4-2 games in the NBA Finals. Paul Pierce was named Finals MVP.
25: NCAA Baseball: The Fresno State Bulldogs made history by becoming the biggest underdogs to win an NCAA championship by beating the Georgia Bulldogs in the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska
29: Football (Soccer): The Spanish national football team defeated Germany 1 - 0 in the final of the 2008 UEFA European Football Championships.

July

5: Tennis: Venus Williams defeats Serena Williams in the final of The Championships, Wimbledon 7-5, 6-4.
6: Tennis: Rafael Nadal defeats Roger Federer in the final of The Championships, Wimbledon 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(8), 9-7.
12: Paragliding: Greg Blondeau won the 10th FAI European Paragliding Championship in Niš, Serbia. Ewa Wisnierska won the gold medal in the female category.^[11]
13: Powered Aerobatics: Mikhail Mamistov won the 16th FAI European Aerobatic Championships in Hradec Králové, Czech Republic^[12]^[13]
14: Baseball: Josh Hamilton sets the record for most home-runs in one round with 28 at the State Farm Home Run Derby. Hamilton beat Bobby Abreu's 24 home-runs at the 2005 Home Run Derby.
20: Gliding: Laurent Couture (World Class), Michael Buchthal (Standard Class) and Matthias Sturm (Club Class) won the gold medals in the 30th FAI World Gliding Championships in Rieti, Italy.^[14]^[15]
27: Arena Football: The Philadelphia Soul defeat the San Jose Sabercats 59-56 in Arena Bowl XXII at the New Orleans Arena. Philadelphia QB Matt D'Orazio is named Arena Bowl MVP. The Soul, co-owned by Jon Bon Jovi and Ron Jaworski, hoisted the Foster Trophy for their first AFL title.

August

16: Gliding: The winners of the 30th FAI World Gliding Championships in Lüsse are Michael Sommer (Open Class), György Gulyas (15m Class) and Olivier Darroze (18m Class).^[16]
17: Glider Aerobatics: Ferenc Tóth won the 9th FAI European Glider Aerobatic Championships in Radom.^[17]
18: Rotorcraft: Viktor Korotaev (pilot) and Nikolay Burov (co-pilot) won the 13th World Helicopter Championship in Eisenach.^[18]

Scheduled events

Baseball

July 15 - MLB All-Star Game held at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York
September 21 - The New York Yankees will play their final ever regular season game at the current Yankee Stadium against the Baltimore Orioles
September 28 - The New York Mets will play their final ever regular season game at Shea Stadium against the Florida Marlins

Basketball

Main article: 2008 in basketball

June 5 - June 19 — 2008 NBA Finals between Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers

Bowls

April 16 - April 20 - World Indoor Singles and Mixed Pairs Championship in Swansea Bowls Stadium

Curling

Main article: 2007-08 curling season

Football (Canadian)

June to November- 50th Season of the Canadian Football League

Football (Soccer)

May 31 - June 7 — Europeada 2008 in Switzerland
June 7 - June 29 — 2008 UEFA European Football Championship in Austria and Switzerland
July 7 - July 13 — VIVA World Cup 2008 in Sweden
August 8 - Beginning of the English Football League
August 16 - Beginning of the Premier League
October 30 - November 16 — Inaugural FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in New Zealand
November 20 - December 7 — 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Chile

Golf

Main article: 2008 in golf

September - 37th Ryder Cup Matches held at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.
September 1 - BH Telecom Masters on Singapore
US Open Torrey Pines Golf Course - La Jolla, California

Handball

Men's Competition

European Championship in Norway

Gold Medal: Denmark
Silver Medal: Croatia
Bronze Medal: France

Women's Competition

European Championship in Macedonia

Ice Hockey

January 1 - AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic held at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, NY
January 27 - 56th National Hockey League All-Star Game held at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia
May 2-May 18 - IIHF World Championship
June 4 - The Detroit Red Wings win the Stanley Cup defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins 4 games to 2.
October - The inaugural season of the Kontinental Hockey League

Lacrosse

July 3 -12- The International Lacrosse Federation will hold the Men's Under-19 World Lacrosse Championships in Coquitlam, British Columbia
August 6 -16 - The European Lacrosse Championships will be held in Lahti, Finland
August 24 - Major League Lacrosse championship will take place in Harvard Stadium in Boston, Massachusetts.

Motorsports

March 16 - The 2008 Formula One World Championship will begin in Melbourne, Australia
March 29 - The 2008 IndyCar Series season will begin at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
May 25 - 92nd Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
June 14-15 - The 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans will take place.
September 14 - The 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 10-race "Sprint for the Cup" begins at Loudon, New Hampshire.

Qatar will host Moto Gp's first ever Night race on March 9 Singapore will do likewise for Formula 1 on September 28

Olympics

August 8 - August 24 - Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, See 2008 Summer Olympics
September 6 - September 17 - Summer Paralympics, Beijing

Rowing

April 16 - Welsh Varsity Boat Race between Cardiff University and Swansea University [1]

Rugby Union

Main article: Rugby union in 2008

1 February - 16 March - 2008 Women's Six Nations Championship
2 February - 15 March - 2008 Six Nations Championship
6 June - 22 June - 2008 IRB Junior World Championship in Wales
5 July - 13 September - 2008 Tri Nations

Rugby League

March - October - Centenary year of the National Rugby League
October & November - 2008 Rugby League World Cup in Australia

Water Polo

2008 Men's Water Polo Olympic Qualifier, from March 2 to March 9 in Oradea, Romania

2008 Women's Water Polo Olympic Qualifier, from February 17 to February 24 in Imperia, Italy

Weightlifting

European Championships held in Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy