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.
May
June
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
Scheduled events
Baseball
Basketball
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Bowls
Curling
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Figure skating
Floorball
Football (American)
Football (Canadian)
Football (Soccer)
Golf
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Main article: 2008 in golf
Handball
Men's Competition
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Women's Competition
Ice Hockey
Lacrosse
Motorsports
Qatar will host Moto Gp's first ever Night race on March 9 Singapore will do likewise for Formula 1 on September 28
Olympics
Rowing
Rugby Union
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Rugby League
Water Polo
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Weightlifting
Deaths
January
- January 5 - John Ashley, 77, Canadian NHL referee
- January 11 - Sir Edmund Hillary, 88, New Zealand mountaineer, one of the first two climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest
- January 13 - Joe Burk, 93, American rower
- January 13 - Johnny Podres, 75, American baseball player, first World Series MVP
- January 17 - Ernie Holmes, 59, American football player
- January 19 - Don Wittman, 71, Canadian sportscaster.
February
- February 6 - Tony Rolt, 89, British racing driver
- February 11 - Torakichi Nakamura, 92, Japanese professional golfer, 1957 Canada Cup winners
- February 16 - Jerry Karl, 66, American auto racer in USAC, CART
- February 17 - Brian Harris, 72, English footballer
- February 17 – Winning Colors, 23, American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse, the last of three fillies to win the Kentucky Derby
- February 21 - Sunny Lowry, 97, British swimmer; first British woman to swim the English Channel
- February 23 - Paul Frère, 91, Belgian racing driver
March
- March 3 - Norm O'Neill, 71, Australian cricketer
- March 5 - Derek Dooley, 78, English football player, manager and chairman
- March 16 - Bill Brown, 95, Australian cricketer, member of the "Invincibles" of 1948
- March 20 - Eric Ashton, 73, English rugby league player
- March 25 - Ben Carnevale, 92, American basketball coach, member of the Basketball Hall of Fame (b. 1915)
- March 27 - Jean-Marie Balestre, 86, French motor racing administrator
April
May
- May 2 - Mike Titcomb, 75, English rugby union referee
- May 3 - Eight Belles, 3, American Thoroughbred racehorse (foaled 2005)
- May 8 - François Sterchele, 26, Belgian international football player.
- May 15 - Tommy Burns, 52, Scottish football player and manager
- May 19 - Kjell Kristian Rike, 63, Norwegian sportscaster
- May 20 - Thomas Burlison, Baron Burlison, 71, English footballer and trade unionist
- May 28 - Sven Davidson, 79, Swedish tennis player
- May 29 - Luc Bourdon, 21, hockey player
- May 30 - Boris Shakhlin, 76, Russian gymnast
June
- June 5 - Vic Wilson, 87, English cricketer
- June 6 - Dwight White, 58, American football player (b. 1949)
- June 7 - Jimmy Bonthrone, 79, Scottish football player, coach and manager
- June 7 - Jim McKay, 86, American sportscaster (b. 1921)
- June 11 - Ove Andersson, 70, Swedish rally driver
- June 12 - Derek Tapscott, 75, Welsh footballer
- June 16 - David Topliss, 58, English rugby league player and coach
- June 19 - Tim Carter, 40, English football player and coach
- June 20 - Bryan Wells, 77, English cricketer
- June 21 - Scott Kalitta, 46, American NHRA racer
- June 22 - Ron Stitfall, 82, Welsh footballer
July
- July 4 - Terrence Kiel, 28, American Football player for the San Diego Chargers (2003-2006)
- July 12 - Bobby Murcer, 62, Baseball player and broadcaster
- July 15 - Gionata Mingozzi, 23, Italian football player
- July 15 - György Kolonics, 36, Hungarian canoeist
- July 18 - George Niven, 79, Scottish footballer
- July 26 - Chas Messenger, 94, British cyclist
- July 29 - Mate Parlov, 59, Croatian boxer
August
- August 1 - Ashok Mankad, 61, Indian cricketer
- August 1 - Butch White, 72, English cricketer
- August 3 - Anton Allemann, 72, Swiss football player
- August 3 - Skip Caray, 68, American sportscaster (b. 1939)
- August 4 - Craig Jones, 23, English motorcycle racer
- August 8 - Orville Moody, 74, American golfer (b. 1933)
- August 14 - Seiji Aochi, 66, Japanese skiing jumper (b. 1942)
- August 21 - Don Fox, 72, English rugby league player
- August 22 - Gene Upshaw, 63, American football player
- August 25 - Kevin Duckworth, 44, American basketball player
- August 28 - Phil Hill, 81, American Formula One driver
- August 30 - Tommy Bolt, 92, American golfer
References
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