2003 Maui Invitational Tournament
The 2003 Maui Invitational Tournament was an early-season college basketball tournament that was played, for the 20th time, from November 24 to November 26, 2003. The tournament began in 1984, and was part of the 2003–04 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The tournament was played at the Lahaina Civic Center in Maui, Hawaii from November 24 to 26,.


2003 Mauritanian coup d'état attempt
The 2003 Mauritanian coup d'état attempt was a violent military coup attempt in Mauritania which took place on 8–9 June 2003. The coup attempt, led by Major Saleh Ould Hanenna who commanded a rebel section of the Army, resulted in two days of heavy fighting in the capital Nouakchott, before rebel soldiers were defeated by troops loyal to the President, Colonel Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya.


2003 Mauritanian coup d'état attempt
Taya subsequently won the 7 November 2003 presidential election with over 67% of the vote, amid opposition claims of electoral fraud; the second place candidate and former head of state (CMSN chairman), Colonel Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla, was arrested both immediately before and after the election, and was accused of plotting a coup.


2003 Mauritanian coup d'état attempt
Hanenna initially escaped capture, and announced the formation of a rebel group called the Knights of Change, but was eventually captured in late 2004 and sentenced to life imprisonment (instead of recommended death sentence) along with other alleged plotters in early 2005. Following the 2005 coup d'état, which deposed Taya, Hannena was released in an amnesty declared by the new military junta, the Military Council for Justice and Democracy (CMJD).


2003 Mauritanian presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Mauritania on 7 November 2003. As expected, incumbent President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya was easily re-elected against weak opposition. The opposition alleged election fraud, and Ould Taya's main challenger, former military ruler Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla (the man who Ould Taya ousted when he seized power in December 1984), was arrested both immediately before and after the vote. The elections saw two notable firsts; Aicha Bint Jeddane was the country's first female presidential candidate, and Messaoud Ould Boulkheir was the first descendant of slaves to run for the office.


2003 Mauritanian presidential election
The elections took place a few months after a violent unsuccessful coup attempt in June 2003. Ould Taya was overthrown in a coup two years later, in August 2005.


2003 McDonald's All-American Boys Game
The 2003 McDonald's All-American Boys Game was an All-star basketball game played on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 at the Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, home of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers. The game's rosters featured the best and most highly recruited high school boys graduating in 2003. The game was the 26th annual version of the McDonald's All-American Game first played in 1978.


2003 McDonald's All-American Boys Game, 2003 game
The game was telecast live by ESPN. Luol Deng, Olu Famutimi and David Padgett did not play due to injuries. LeBron James, who played wearing number 32 instead of his usual 23, since that number was retired in honor of Michael Jordan, was named the game's MVP after finishing with 27 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. James was the East team leading scorer, while Shannon Brown led the West team with 23 points. Chris Paul finished with a game-high 10 assists. Of the players who participated in this game, 5 declared for the 2003 NBA Draft and were selected: LeBron James (1st overall pick), Travis Outlaw (1st round, 23rd overall), Ndudi Ebi (1st round, 26th overall), Kendrick Perkins (1st round, 27th overall) and James Lang (2nd round, 48th overall).


2003 Meath Intermediate Football Championship
The 2003 Meath Intermediate Football Championship is the 77th edition of the Meath GAA's premier club Gaelic football tournament for intermediate graded teams in County Meath, Ireland. The tournament consists of 16 teams, with the winner going on to represent Meath in the Leinster Intermediate Club Football Championship. The championship starts with a group stage and then progresses to a knock out stage.


2003 Meath Intermediate Football Championship
This was Oldcastle's first year in this grade since 1987, after 15 years in the Senior grade since being relegated in 2002. .


2003 Meath Intermediate Football Championship
Nobber were promoted after claiming the 2002 Meath Junior Football Championship title, their first year in the intermediate grade since being relegated in the early 1990s


2003 Meath Intermediate Football Championship
In October 2003, Navan O'Mahonys claimed their 2nd ever Intermediate championship title when they defeated Carnaross 3-14 to 0-6 .


2003 Meath Intermediate Football Championship
St. Ultan's were relegated after 3 years as an Intermediate club.


2003 Meath Intermediate Football Championship, Team changes
The following teams have changed division since the 2002 championship season.


2003 Meath Intermediate Football Championship, Group stage
There are 2 groups called Group A and B. The 4 top finishers in Group A and B will qualify for the quarter finals. The 2 teams that finish last in their groups will play in a relegation play off.


2003 Meath Intermediate Football Championship, Knock-out Stage, Relegation Play Off
The two bottom finishers from the group stage qualify for the relegation final.


2003 Meath Intermediate Football Championship, Knock-out Stage, Finals
The teams in the quarter-finals are the second placed teams from each group and one group winner. The teams in the semi finals are two group winners and the quarter final winners.


2003 Meath Senior Football Championship
The 2003 Meath Senior Football Championship was the 111th edition of the Meath GAA's premier club Gaelic football tournament for senior graded teams in County Meath, Ireland, and also the 50th anniversary of the first use of the Keegan Cup, won by Navan O'Mahonys first in 1954. The tournament consists of 16 teams, with the winner going on to represent Meath in the Leinster Senior Club Football Championship. The championship starts with a group stage and then progresses to a knock out stage.


2003 Meath Senior Football Championship
Dunshaughlin were the defending champions after they defeated Trim in the previous years final, but their quest to claim 4 S.F.C. titles in succession was thwarted by Blackhall Gaels in the semi-final.


2003 Meath Senior Football Championship
This was Ballivor's first season in the top grade since 1986 after claiming the 2002 Meath Intermediate Football Championship title, their second Intermediate win, but were relegated later on in the year, spending only 1 year as a senior club.


2003 Meath Senior Football Championship
On 21 September 2003, Blackhall Gaels claimed their 12th Senior Championship title when they defeated Simonstown Gaels 2-9 to 1-9. Steven Nally lifted the Keegan Cup for the Batterstown/Kilcloon combination while Anthony Moyles claimed the 'Man of the Match' award.


2003 Meath Senior Football Championship, Team changes
The following teams have changed division since the 2002 championship season.


2003 Meath Senior Football Championship, Group stage
There are 2 groups called Group A and B. The 4 top finishers in Group A and B will qualify for the quarter finals. The 2 teams that finish last in their groups will play in a relegation play off.


2003 Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election
The 2003 Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election was held on 26 February 2003. The north-east Indian state's seventh Legislative Assembly election saw major changes with 28 sitting members and two former Chief Ministers losing their seats. The election also produced the largest representation for the national parties (Indian National Congress INC, the Nationalist Congress Party NCP and the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP) and, to that point, the smallest representation for the regional parties.


2003 Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election
No party won a majority of seats and despite more than a five percent loss in the popular vote compared to the 1998 election, the INC secured a plurality. Initially, the NCP under leader E. D. Marak attempted to form a government, but failed to secure support for a majority. Subsequently, D. D. Lapang was invited by Governor M. M. Jacob to present a majority, which was successfully achieved through the formation of the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) coalition.


2003 Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election
Made up of 42 members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), the MDA consisted of the INC, the United Democratic Party (UDP), the Meghalaya Democratic Party (MDP), the Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) and three independents. D.D. Lapang was confirmed as Chief Minister with Donkupar Roy of the UPD as Deputy Chief Minister.


2003 Meistriliiga
The 2003 Meistriliiga was the 13th season of the Meistriliiga, the top Estonian league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992.


2003 Meistriliiga, League table, Relegation play-off
Valga won 5–2 on aggregate and retained their Meistriliiga spot for the 2004 season.


2003 Meistriliiga, Results
Each team played every opponent four times, twice at home and twice on the road, for a total of 36 games.


2003 Melanesian Championships in Athletics
The 2003 Melanesian Championships in Athletics took place between April 25–27, 2003. The event was held in Lae, Papua New Guinea in conjunction with the Papua New Guinea National Athletics Championships.


2003 Melanesian Championships in Athletics
A total of 31 events were contested, 18 by men and 13 by women.


2003 Melanesian Championships in Athletics, Medal summary
Medal winners and their results were published on the Athletics Weekly webpage. Full results can be found on the Athletics Papua New Guinea webpage.


2003 Melbourne Cup
The 2003 Melbourne Cup was the 143rd running of the Melbourne Cup, a prestigious Australian Thoroughbred horse race. The race, run over 3,200 metres (1.988 mi), was held on 4 November 2003 at Melbourne's Flemington Racecourse.


2003 Melbourne Cup
It was won by Makybe Diva at the age of five, trained by David Hall and ridden by Glen Boss.


2003 Melbourne Cup, Field
This is a list of horses which ran in the 2003 Melbourne Cup.


2003 Melbourne Storm season
The 2003 Melbourne Storm season was the 6th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2003 Telstra Premiership and finished the regular season 5th  out of 15 teams, before reaching the semi-final where they were knocked out by Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. It was Craig Bellamy's first season as head coach of the club.


2003 Melbourne Storm season
Under new coach Craig Bellamy, the 2003 season for the Storm was one of regaining premiership credibility. Melbourne reached the finals for the first time since 2000 with evergreen Robbie Kearns and a confident Matt Orford showing the way.


2003 Melbourne Storm season
A disappointing exit two weeks before the Grand Final was tempered by the rise of young Queenslanders Billy Slater and Cameron Smith. Unheard of at the start of 2003, the steady hooker and dummy-half Smith gave splendid service to Orford and his forwards. He was rewarded with a place in the Maroons Origin side and was unlucky to miss the Kangaroos train-on squad.


2003 Melbourne Storm season
The silky and pacy moves of Slater in the centres and at fullback were attention getters for fans and keen judges of football talent alike. His debut season for the Storm realised a record 19 tries and talk of a big future in the game.


2003 Melbourne Storm season, Season Summary, Jerseys
Melbourne signed up a new apparel partner for the 2003 season, with Canterbury of New Zealand the new manufacturer of club jerseys. The home jersey design was unchanged from the 2001-02 jersey, but for a white collar replacing the gold. The club's clash colours was changed to a mostly white design with a purple chevron and gold thunderbolts, worn with navy shorts.


2003 Melbourne Storm season, Representative honours
This table lists all players who have played a representative match in 2003.


2003 Melbourne Storm season, Statistics
This table contains playing statistics for all Melbourne Storm players to have played in the 2003 NRL season.


2003 Melbourne Storm season, Feeder Team
Melbourne Storm reserve players again travelled to Brisbane each week to play with Queensland Cup team Norths Devils. Coached by Gary Greinke, Norths missed the finals for the first time under the affiliation with Melbourne, with Cooper Cronk winning club's player of the year award.


2003 Melbourne runaway train
On 3 February 2003, a Comeng electric multiple unit train rolled away from Broadmeadows station in Melbourne, Australia, before it ran for nearly 17 kilometres (11 mi) out of control without a driver and eventually crashed into another train about to depart Spencer Street station. Train controllers attempted several times to stop or redirect the train, but were limited in their ability to intervene, instead being forced to alter the route of other trains to avert a more serious collision.


2003 Melbourne runaway train
Eleven people on board the stationary train were injured; authorities did not know until after the crash if any passengers were on board the runaway. An investigation identified driver error as the cause of the accident, but the runaway event prompted significant debate about the role of government authorities and private operators in ensuring safety and reliability on the Melbourne rail network.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Background
Three days prior to the Melbourne crash, the Waterfall rail accident in New South Wales had killed seven people as a result of the driver entering a curve too quickly.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Background
The Broadmeadows railway line is an electrified line on the Melbourne rail network, running from the city centre to the northern suburbs. In February 2003, electric train services on the line were operated by M>Train, a subsidiary of British transport company National Express, under a franchise arrangement with the Victorian Government. The line was shared with diesel-hauled country train services operated by V/Line (then also a subsidiary of National Express) and Hoys Roadlines, and occasional freight services.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Background
Spencer Street station is one of the two main terminal stations on the Victorian rail network, and, in 2003, was the interchange for trains run by a number of operators, including M>Train, its fellow suburban operator Connex Melbourne, and country and interstate train operators V/Line, Hoys, West Coast Rail, CountryLink and Great Southern Rail. The station consisted of 14 platforms including dead-end platforms 1 to 8.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Background
Given the number of operators on the Broadmeadows line and in the central area, a complex control and signalling system was in place. Most of the Broadmeadows line was controlled by Metrol, the main suburban control centre managed by Connex, either directly or through local signal boxes along the route. Metrol was responsible for trains up to the station boundary, from where it was possible to access all 8 dead-end platforms. However, final access to platforms 1 through 6 at Spencer Street was controlled by V/Line staff at Spencer Street No.1 signal box, and platforms 7 and 8 were jointly managed by the two control centres.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Background
The electric train involved in the accident was a 3-carriage Comeng electric multiple unit, and consisted of motor car 393M, unpowered trailer 1048T, and second motor car 394M. The country train was 4 H type carriages hauled by diesel-powered N class locomotive 463.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Accident, Initial runaway
The electric train 393M-1048T-394M arrived at Broadmeadows station as train number 5859 from Flinders Street around 9.14 pm, where the service terminated. The driver of 5859 was rostered to also drive the return service to Flinders Street as train number 5264. After a short delay where he left the driving cab of 393M due to confusion about whether the train needed to be clear of the platform for a through service, the driver re-entered the cab to enter the new train number into the train's computer terminal, in order to display the correct onboard passenger information.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Accident, Initial runaway
At the same time, the signaller at Broadmeadows set the train's route for its return journey and cleared the necessary signals. The driver then isolated the train's air brake according to normal procedure, but failed to apply the park brake before once again leaving the cab of 393M to change ends.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Accident, Initial runaway
The driver walked into the station building, intending to use the staff toilet facilities before returning to the train. As he did so, the train began to roll down the very slight slope at the Broadmeadows platform back towards the city, passing the end of the platform at around 3 km/h (1.9 mph) undetected by the driver. The doors to the passenger area were open, and interior lights remained on. While the driver was inside the station building, a passenger complained to the Broadmeadows stationmaster that 5264 had departed early. The stationmaster attempted to contact the driver via the Broadmeadows signaller, but was not able to work out why the train had left the station. As he returned to the station building, the stationmaster saw the driver coming out and warned him that the train had left.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Accident, Initial runaway
The driver began to chase the train down the line but, as the train had now been rolling for some 3 minutes, he was unable to catch it, and rang the Broadmeadows signaller from a phone box on a signal post. The signaller made an emergency call to Metrol and advised them of the runaway at 9:21 p.m. Metrol immediately contacted the Broadmeadows stationmaster and asked him to monitor the closed-circuit television feed at stations under his control to provide updates on the train's progress. Next, the controllers rang the stationmaster at Essendon and asked him to switch his station from Metrol operation to local control, and to provide updates from his own CCTV feed. The train was by now travelling at a speed of more than 102 km/h (63 mph).


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Accident, Initial runaway
At 9:26 p.m., Metrol made two calls to other control centres. The first was to Electrol, the electricity control centre for the suburban railway network, asking officers to turn off power to the overhead lines in the hope that this might help slow the train. However, another stopping-all-stations train, number 5262, was ahead of the runaway and unaware of the danger; after a minute's discussion, Electrol isolated a section of power behind 5262 and ahead of the runaway.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Accident, Initial runaway
The second call was made to signallers at Spencer Street No. 1 Box, warning them that Metrol was considering routing the runaway 5264 into the station precinct. The signallers advised Metrol that all the dead-end platforms at Spencer Street were occupied, but Metrol ended the call abruptly without any clear plan of action. The later report into the accident found that the contents of the call suggested neither Metrol nor the Spencer Street staff understood the gravity of the situation at this point in time.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Accident, Initial runaway
Seconds later, the Essendon stationmaster reported that the train had passed through his station at speed, making it clear that the lack of power was not going to stop the train. Metrol officers began to realise that a rear-end collision with 5262 was likely unless immediate action was taken. Consequently, the route set for 5262 was cancelled at 9:28 p.m., causing the driver to pull up at a red signal just outside North Melbourne station.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Accident, Near miss
By the time 5264 arrived at Kensington at 9:30 p.m. it was only 113 seconds behind 5262, putting both trains in grave danger. Asking the driver of 5262 to attempt to outrun the runaway would have placed the passenger-carrying train at great risk of a derailment, meaning Metrol's only option was to divert the runaway before it could collide with 5262.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Accident, Near miss
Even then, the options open to the controllers were limited: one possible route would have sent the speeding train onto a flying junction, with the possibility of it falling onto other active lines below; another route into goods sidings was blocked by a train in the opposite direction; and diversion into the underground City Loop was prevented by both oncoming trains and the arrangement of tracks near the entrance at North Melbourne.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Accident, Near miss
Metrol officers opted to reroute 5262 from the "east suburban line" to the adjacent tracks of the "main suburban line", with the intention of immediately switching back the points so that 5264 continued on the east suburban line towards Spencer Street. The driver of 5262 was informed of the emergency and told to run through North Melbourne station as quickly as possible when the signal cleared. Had the driver of 5262 attempted to pass the red signal, the train stop device would have applied the emergency brake, trapping his train in the path of the runaway.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Accident, Near miss
At 9:30 p.m. the points were set and the signal cleared for 5262; at the same moment, the driver saw 5264 in his rear-view mirror and accelerated rapidly through the points, far beyond their design speed. As soon as officers at Metrol received an indication that the rear of the train had cleared the junction, the points were reversed for 5264. Briefly, however, it appeared that the diversion had been unsuccessful and a major collision had occurred: the signallers' indications showed the two trains on the same path, and controllers could not raise the driver of 5262 on the radio. Eventually, the driver contacted Metrol and told the controllers the runaway had sped past him and continued into North Melbourne station. Later calculations showed that disaster had been averted by less than a second.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Accident, Collision at Spencer Street
Meanwhile, Metrol officers had again contacted the Spencer Street signallers to confirm their intention to route the runaway into the dead-end platforms. Allowing the train to continue on Metrol-operated tracks was not a desirable option.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Accident, Collision at Spencer Street
The East Suburban line led to a number of routes which presented the risk of catastrophic outcomes: the empty dead-end platform 8, which had only short stop blocks that could have allowed the body of the derailed train to "spear" over the top and into the passenger area of the station; sidings beyond platform 8 which were too complicated to access in the short time-frame available; and through tracks 10, 10A and 11, which would have directed the runaway into the extremely busy area around Flinders Street station, the main suburban terminus. Dead-end platform 7 was also accessible from the East Suburban line, and was occupied only by empty carriages stabled overnight for a service the following morning, but Metrol officers did not come to know this in the short decision-making time available.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Accident, Collision at Spencer Street
A hasty agreement had been reached at 9:29 p.m. between Metrol and the Spencer Street staff that the runaway would thus be routed off the East Suburban line and onto the Country line in order to access the remainder of the dead-end platform area. All six platforms controlled by the No. 1 Box were occupied, some by empty services and others by services preparing to depart the station. The signallers had pre-set points and signals for the trains which were nearing their departure time.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Accident, Collision at Spencer Street
In order of departure, these trains were: a V/Line service to Bacchus Marsh, in platform 2; a service to Geelong in platform 4; a service to Kyneton in platform 6; and lastly The Overland, waiting in platform 1. The signallers were hopeful that The Overland would depart before the arrival of the runaway, because it was set to use the Country line out of the station. At 9:30 p.m. however, Metrol advised the No. 1 Box that the runaway was extremely close; in response, the signallers told Metrol to route it onto the East Country line instead.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Accident, Collision at Spencer Street
The points on the East Country line had been set for the departure of the Bacchus Marsh train. At 9.31, a Spencer Street signaller spotted the runaway and told Metrol "I've got him, I see him, fucking hell he's coming up hard", and urgently tried to force the points away from the Bacchus Marsh train, but was prevented by a safety timer on the signal box equipment.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Accident, Collision at Spencer Street
About 45 seconds prior to the impact, Metrol desperately attempted to contact platform staff at the station to warn them of the impending collision. However, platform staff were confused by the simultaneous arrival of a train on platform 14 and incorrectly assumed this was the runaway. As a result, no warning was made to passengers on or near the Bacchus Marsh train.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Accident, Collision at Spencer Street
The driver of the Bacchus Marsh train, Michael McCormack, did not initially realise the severity of the situation when the runaway approached, assuming that it was performing a normal shunting move; he jumped clear only at the last second when he realised that the train was well over normal speed and not going to stop.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Accident, Collision at Spencer Street
Finally, at 9:33 p.m., the runaway collided with the locomotive of the Bacchus Marsh train, at a speed of approximately 75 km/h (47 mph).


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Aftermath
Eleven passengers on the Bacchus Marsh train suffered minor injuries. Four required hospitalisation and were treated at Footscray Hospital, but all had been discharged by the following morning.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Aftermath
Victoria Police Air Wing helicopters equipped with infrared cameras were deployed throughout the night along the Broadmeadows line to search for bodies of potential victims struck by the train, but none were found.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Aftermath
Within a few days of the accident, investigations had been launched by M>Train and V/Line, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), Victoria Police and WorkSafe Victoria. Meanwhile, media speculation focused on the inability of controllers to stop the train, and the possibility that a brake fault reported on 31 January had contributed to the accident. However, the police investigation quickly ruled out criminal involvement in the accident, and the Rail Safety Regulator, an independent government body, issued immediate instructions to drivers to ensure trains were properly secured with the park brake when left unattended or during a change of ends. As questions were raised about the failure of authorities to warn passengers and staff at Spencer Street, opposition parties criticised the state government for failing to act on recommendations made following previous accidents caused by communications failures.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Aftermath
Some months after the accident, with the ATSB report and other investigations not finalised, Victorian authorities were criticised for their apparent lack of transparency, and compared unfavourably to NSW regulators responding to the Waterfall accident. Then, in mid-November, when a shunting accident at Spencer Street injured 13 people in circumstances compared by passengers and media organisations to the runaway, concerns were repeated that no findings had been made.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Aftermath
The ATSB report was released in December 2003, with the driver's failure to apply the park brake identified as the major cause of the accident. Transport Minister Peter Batchelor praised the signal and control staff who had managed to avert a collision with 5262 at North Melbourne, and said that disciplinary action against the driver of 5264 would be considered. The state government promised to implement all 22 recommendations made by the report, including the implementation of an automatic park brake activated by the isolation of the driver's controls, and improvements to Metrol systems that would provide controllers with visual indications of trains across the network.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Aftermath
The runaway train again received media coverage in 2007 when Connex – by then the sole franchisee for the metropolitan rail network and thus the operator of Metrol – conceded that no improvements had been made since the accident to Metrol's train monitoring ability. Public transport advocates and Rail, Tram and Bus Union representatives argued that the accident could have been dealt with more swiftly had Metrol been able to access more information on the train's position.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Aftermath
In May 2007, Minister for Public Transport Lynne Kosky and Director of Public Transport Jim Betts gave evidence at the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee of the Victorian Parliament that the automatic park brake had been installed across the metropolitan train fleet. However, they stated that further indications for Metrol officers would not be possible until the underlying architecture of the Metrol system was replaced.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Aftermath
In the following years, a National Transport Commission report observed that the runaway, along with the Waterfall accident, had focused political attention on the regulatory frameworks intended to govern safety on the disaggregated and privatised rail transport system. The NTC report found that the runaway incident highlighted the need for a legislation demanding independent investigation of major rail safety incidents and accidents. The Rail Safety Act 2006, which implemented a complete rail safety framework in Victoria for the first time, was prioritised and passed in direct response to the incident.


2003 Melbourne runaway train, Aftermath
Ten years later, with the ageing train control systems at Metrol still overdue for replacement, the accident was again cited as an example of the significant limitations of the existing arrangement.


2003 Melbourne thunderstorm
The 2003 Melbourne thunderstorm was a severe weather event that occurred over the city of Melbourne, Australia, and surrounding areas of Victoria, from 1 to 6 December 2003. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology called the storm a "once in 100-year event".


2003 Melbourne thunderstorm
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the storm formed at around midnight on the night of 2 December over Craigieburn, then grew in size as it moved in a south-easterly direction (the Bureau issued a severe thunderstorm warning based on their observations at 11.38 pm). The two hours from midnight to 2 am saw extremely heavy rainfall, with some areas recording more than 100 mm of rain in that time. The rapid rainfall caused flash flooding, which resulted in extensive damage to property.


2003 Melbourne thunderstorm
A number of motorists were trapped on the roofs of their cars as chest-high floodwater accumulated under the Bulleen Road Bridge on the Eastern Freeway. They were rescued by Melbourne's Metropolitan Fire Brigade using two maritime response unit boats. Severe hailstorms caused thousands of dollars of damage to cars in the suburb of Lilydale. Rail company Connex Melbourne announced that flooding and power damage at Blackburn, Surrey Hills and Boronia railway stations would cause transport delays the following day. Victoria Police arrested two people in connection with incidents of looting in Fairfield which had occurred during the height of the storms.


2003 Melilla Assembly election
The 2003 Melilla Assembly election was held on Sunday, 25 May 2003, to elect the 3rd Assembly of the Autonomous City of Melilla. All 25 seats in the Assembly were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in thirteen autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.


2003 Melilla Assembly election, Electoral system
The Assembly of Melilla was the top-tier administrative and governing body of the autonomous city of Melilla. Voting for the Assembly was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over eighteen, registered and residing in the municipality of Melilla and in full enjoyment of their political rights, as well as resident non-national European citizens and those whose country of origin allowed Spanish nationals to vote in their own elections by virtue of a treaty.


2003 Melilla Assembly election, Electoral system
The 25 members of the Assembly of Melilla were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with a threshold of 5 percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied. Parties not reaching the threshold were not taken into consideration for seat distribution.


2003 Melilla Assembly election, Electoral system
The Mayor-President was indirectly elected by the plenary assembly. A legal clause required that mayoral candidates earned the vote of an absolute majority of members, or else the candidate of the most-voted party in the assembly was to be automatically appointed to the post. In case of a tie, a toss-up would determine the appointee.


2003 Melilla Assembly election, Electoral system
The electoral law provided that parties, federations, coalitions and groupings of electors were allowed to present lists of candidates. However, groupings of electors were required to secure the signature of a determined amount of the electors registered in Melilla. Concurrently, parties and federations intending to enter in coalition to take part jointly at an election were required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within ten days of the election being called.


2003 Memorial Cup
The 2003 Memorial Cup (branded as the 2003 Mastercard Memorial Cup for sponsorship reasons) occurred May 17–25 at the Colisée Pepsi in Quebec City, Quebec. It was the 85th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). It featured the host team, the Quebec Remparts, as well as the winners of the Ontario Hockey League, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the Western Hockey League, which were the Kitchener Rangers, Hull Olympiques and the Kelowna Rockets respectively. The Kitchener Rangers won their second ever Memorial Cup, their first being in 1982. They beat the Hull Olympiques in the final, who were trying to win their first Memorial Cup since 1997 when they won it on home ice.


2003 Memorial Cup, Winning team
Andre Benoit, Jesse Boucher, Gregory Campbell, Mike Chmielewski, David Clarkson, Scott Dickie, Carlo DiRienzo, Nick Duff, T. J. Eason, Steve Eminger, Cam Fergus, Matt Grennier, George Halkidis, Thomas Harrison, Kevin Hurley, Petr Kanko, Adam Keefe, Matt Manias, Rafal Martynowski, Chad McCaffrey, Matt McCann, Paul McFarland, Evan McGrath, Nathan O'Nabigon, Mike Richards, Derek Roy (Captain), Marcus Smith. Head Coach: Peter DeBoer


2003 Memphis Tigers football team
The 2003 Memphis Tigers football team represented the University of Memphis in the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. Memphis competed as a member of the Conference USA. The team was led by head coach Tommy West. The Tigers played their home games at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.


2003 Men's African Volleyball Championship
The 2003 Men's African Volleyball Championship was held in Cairo, Egypt, from August 01 to August 06, 2003.


2003 Men's British Open Squash Championship
The 2003 British Open Championships was held at the Albert Hall, Nottingham from 28 September - 5 October 2003.David Palmer won the title defeating Peter Nicol in the final. There was a reduced field for the main draw with just four qualifying places available.


2003 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship
The 2003 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship was the ninth edition of the Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship, the quadrennial international men's field hockey championship of Europe organized by the European Hockey Federation. It was held from 1 until 13 September 2003 in Barcelona, Spain.


2003 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship
This was the last EuroHockey Nations Championship with 12 teams. The 4 teams ending 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th were relegated to the EuroHockey Nations Trophy. The 8 remaining teams played in the 2005 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship. The tournament also served as a direct qualifier for the 2004 Summer Olympics, with the winner Germany qualifying.


2003 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship
Three-time defending champions Germany won their sixth overall title by defeating the hosts Spain 5–4 in penalty strokes after the match finished 1–1 after extra time. England won the bronze medal by defeating the Netherlands 6–5 in penalty strokes after the match finished 1–1 after extra time.


2003 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship, Format
The twelve teams were be split into two groups of six teams. The top two teams advanced to the semifinals in order to determine the winner in a knockout system. The 3rd and 4th placed teams from each pool played for the 5th to 8th place, while the 5th and 6th placed teams from each pool played for the 9th to 12th place. The last four teams were relegated to the EuroHockey Nations Challenge.


2003 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship qualification
The 2003 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship qualification was the seventh and last edition of the qualifying round for the Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship. It took place from 8 July to 15 September 2002 in four different venues with 21 teams playing for seven quotas at the 2003 European Championship.


2003 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship qualification
Spain qualified directly as the hosts while Belgium, England, Germany and the Netherlands qualified by their position in the 1999 European Championship.


2003 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship qualification, Tournament 1
The first tournament was played from 8 to 14 July 2002 in Poznań, Poland with seven teams participating.


2003 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship qualification, Tournament 2
The second tournament was held in Dublin, Ireland from 8 to 14 July 2002 with eight teams participating.


2003 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship qualification, Tournament 3
The third tournament was held in Moscow, Russia from 8 to 14 July 2002 with six teams participating.


2003 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship qualification, Play-off
The play-off tournament was held in Terrassa, Spain from 13 to 15 September 2002 with three teams participating.


2003 Men's European Volleyball Championship
The 2003 Men's European Volleyball Championship was the 23rd edition of the event, organized by Europe's governing volleyball body, the Confédération Européenne de Volleyball. It was hosted in Berlin, Germany from September 5 to September 14, 2003.


2003 Men's European Volleyball Championship, Qualification
The first five from the 2001 edition of the Men's European Volleyball Championship — Serbia & Montenegro, Italy, Czech Republic, Russia, and Poland — plus hosts Germany were automatically qualified. The four group winners qualified, and the two best numbers two.


2003 Men's European Volleyball Championship qualification
The 2003 Men's European Volleyball Championship Qualification was the qualifying event for the 23rd edition of the event. The qualifying matches were played in 2002 and 2003. The top five teams from the previous champiopnship — Serbia & Montenegro, Italy, Czech Republic, Russia, and Poland — plus the host country for the 2003 championships Germany were automatically qualified. The winners of each group qualified, as did the two best second-placed teams.


2003 Men's European Water Polo Championship
The 2003 Men's European Water Polo Championship was the 26th edition of the event, organised by the Europe's governing body in aquatics, the Ligue Européenne de Natation. The event took place in the Aquatic Centre in Kranj, Slovenia from June 6 to June 15, 2003.


2003 Men's European Water Polo Championship
There were two qualification tournaments ahead of the event, held from April 9 to April 13, 2003 in Kyiv, Ukraine (with Belarus, Spain, Germany, Netherlands, France and Ukraine competing) and Bratislava, Slovakia (Greece, Slovakia, Romania, Poland, Malta and Turkey).


2003 Men's European Water Polo Championship squads
This article shows all participating team squads at the 2003 Men's European Water Polo Championship, held in Kranj, Slovenia from 6–13 June 2003.


2003 Men's Hockey Asia Cup
The 2003 Men's Hockey Asia Cup was an international field hockey tournament held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 21 to 28 September 2003. It was the sixth time that the Men's Hockey Asia Cup was held since its inception back in 1982. The winner of the tournament qualified for the 2006 Men's Hockey World Cup in Germany.


2003 Men's Hockey Asia Cup
Eight teams competed in the tournament with seven of them booking a spot via the host nation spot or by finishing in the top six of the previous tournament with the remaining spot being played between seven teams (which was won by Hong Kong). These eight teams were separated into two groups of four teams with the top two of each group qualifying through to the semi-finals while the bottom two competed for fifth place. After competing in the same group, India and Pakistan competed in the final with India taking out their first title with a 4–2 win. South Korea claimed the bronze medal after defeating Japan 4-2.


2003 Men's Hockey Asia Cup, Results
All Pool Stage times are (UTC+8). All Knock Out matches are (IST).


2003 Men's Hockey Champions Challenge
The 2003 Men's Hockey Champions Challenge took place in Johannesburg, South Africa from 19–27 July 2003.


2003 Men's Hockey Champions Challenge
Spain earned a spot at the 2004 Champions Trophy in Lahore, Pakistan after defeated Korea 7–3 in the final.


2003 Men's Hockey Champions Challenge, Umpires
Below are the 9 umpires appointed by the International Hockey Federation:


2003 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy
The 2003 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy was the 25th edition of the Hockey Champions Trophy men's field hockey tournament. It was held in Amstelveen, Netherlands from August 16–24, 2003.


2003 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy
Netherlands won their fifth title after defeated Australia 4–2 in the final.


2003 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy, Umpires
Below is the list of umpires appointed by International Hockey Federation (FIH) for this tournament:


2003 Men's Hockey Hamburg Masters
The 2003 Men's Hockey Hamburg Masters was the ninth edition of the Hamburg Masters, consisting of a series of test matches. It was held in Hamburg, Germany, from 27 to 29 June 2003, and featured four of the top nations in men's field hockey.


2003 Men's Hockey Hamburg Masters, Competition Format
The tournament featured the national teams of Argentina, India, Spain, and the hosts, Germany, competing in a round-robin format, with each team playing each other once. Three points were be awarded for a win, one for a draw, and none for a loss.


2003 Men's Hockey Hamburg Masters, Officials
The following umpires were appointed by the International Hockey Federation to officiate the tournament:


2003 Men's Hockey Hamburg Masters, Statistics, Goalscorers
There were 31 goals scored in 6 matches, for an average of 5.17 goals per match.


2003 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships
The 2003 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships was the 67th such event sanctioned by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The competition also served as qualification for division placements in the 2004 competition. Canada won the gold medal, beating Sweden 3–2 in the final.


2003 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships, Division I, Group B
France and  Kazakhstan are promoted to the 2004 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships,  Croatia and  Lithuania are demoted to Division II.


2003 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships, Division II, Group B
Belgium and  South Korea are promoted to Division I,  Iceland and  Mexico are demoted to Division III.


2003 Men's Indoor Hockey World Cup
The 2003 Men's Indoor Hockey World Cup championship was the first time this competition took place. It occurred in February 2003, in Leipzig, Germany. The host nation Germany won both the men's and women's gold medals. The Eurosport TV channel covered the event, which had good ratings despite the late schedule. The 2015 Men's Indoor Hockey World Cup was also held in Leipzig, Germany. A total of 20 million viewers watched 13 hours broadcast on Eurosport, with ten matches broadcast on live TV.


2003 Men's Indoor Hockey World Cup
This competition included several countries which are not strong competitors at the outdoor international level.


2003 Men's Indoor Hockey World Cup, Results
Herren Gruppe A» SUI-CZE 9:5» NZL-GER 0:17» RUS-CAN 3:3» CAN-SUI 5:4» CZE-NZL 10:0» GER-RUS 16:0» CAN-NZL 7:2» CZE-GER 3:6» RUS-SUI 0:7» GER-SUI 9:6» CZE-CAN 5:5» RUS-NZL 5:0» SUI-NZL 11:2» RUS-CZE 2:11» GER-CAN 11:4


2003 Men's Indoor Hockey World Cup, Results, First round, Pool B
Herren Gruppe B» NED-RSA 6:1» POL-USA 7:1» AUS-FRA 5:3» NED-POL 2:4» RSA-FRA 4:9» USA-AUS 0:4» FRA-NED 5:3» AUS-POL 3:8» RSA-USA 4:3» POL-RSA 6:2» NED-AUS 5:4» FRA-USA 6:2» RSA-AUS 4:4» USA-NED 1:11» POL-FRA 4:5


2003 Men's Indoor Hockey World Cup, Results, First round, Final
Herren FinaleHalbfinale:» POL-SUI 6:5» GER-FRA 4:2Platzierungsspiele:» NZL-USA 7:8» RUS-RSA 8:3» CZE-AUS 4:6» CAN-NED 7:8» SUI-FRA 6:8» POL-GER 1:7


2003 Men's NORCECA Volleyball Championship
The 2003 Men's NORCECA Volleyball Championship was the 18th edition of the Men's Continental Volleyball Tournament, played by eight countries from September 25 to September 30, 2003 in Culiacan, Sinaloa (Mexico).


2003 Men's Oceania Cup
The 2003 Men's Oceania Cup was the third edition of the men's field hockey tournament. It was held from 17–21 September in Christchurch and Wellington.


2003 Men's Oceania Cup
The tournament served as a qualifier for the 2004 Olympic Games.


2003 Men's Oceania Cup
Australia won the tournament for the third time, defeating New Zealand in the three–game series, 3–0.


2003 Men's Oceania Cup, Statistics, Goalscorers
There were 19 goals scored in 3 matches, for an average of 6.33 goals per match.


2003 Men's South American Hockey Championship
The 2003 Men's South American Hockey Championship was the first edition of the Men's South American Hockey Championship,  the South American championship for men's national field hockey teams, organized by the PAHF. It was held from 16 until 23 March 2003 in Santiago, Chile.


2003 Men's South American Hockey Championship
Argentina won the first edition by finishing first in the round-robin tournament. As winners, Argentina qualified for the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.


2003 Men's South American Volleyball Championship
The 2003 Men's South American Volleyball Championship was the 25th edition of the event, organised by South America's governing volleyball body, the Confederación Sudamericana de Voleibol (CSV). It was hosted in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from September 2 to September 6, 2003.


2003 Men's World Open Squash Championship
The 2003 PSA Men's World Open Squash Championship is the men's edition of the 2003 World Open, which serves as the individual world championship for squash players. The event took place in Lahore in Pakistan from 14 December to 21 December 2003. Amr Shabana won his first World Open title, defeating Thierry Lincou in the final.


2003 Men's World Team Squash Championships
The 2003 Men's World Team Squash Championships is the men's edition of the 2003 World Team Squash Championships organized by the World Squash Federation,  which serves as the world team championship for squash players. The event were held in Vienna, Austria and took place from October 19-25, 2003.


2003 Men's World Team Squash Championships, Participating teams
A total of 30 teams competed from all the five confederations: Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Oceania. For Bermuda, Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia, Slovenia and South Korea it was their first participation at a world team championship.


2003 Merapoh bus tragedy
The 2003 Merapoh bus tragedy took place on 23 November 2003 when an Ekspres Mutiara (Pearl Express) bus collided with another bus at kilometre 63 of Lipis-Merapoh Road (Federal Route ) near the Pahang-Kelantan border, Malaysia. 14 passengers were killed in this accident. Among those killed were a two-year-old girl, eight women and five men.


2003 Mercedes-Benz Cup
The 2003 Mercedes-Benz Cup was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Los Angeles Tennis Center in Los Angeles, California in the United States and was part of the International Series of the 2003 ATP Tour. The tournament ran from July 28 through August 3, 2003. Seventh-seeded Wayne Ferreira won the singles title.


2003 Mercedes-Benz Cup, Finals, Doubles
Jan-Michael Gambill /  Travis Parrott defeated  Joshua Eagle /  Sjeng Schalken 6–4, 3–6, 7–5


2003 Mercedes-Benz Cup – Doubles
Sébastien Grosjean and Nicolas Kiefer were the defending champions but lost in the quarterfinals to Kenneth Carlsen and Xavier Malisse.


2003 Mercedes-Benz Cup – Doubles
Jan-Michael Gambill and Travis Parrott won in the final 6–4, 3–6, 7–5 against Joshua Eagle and Sjeng Schalken.


2003 Mercedes-Benz Cup – Singles
Andre Agassi was the defending champion but did not compete that year.


2003 Mercedes-Benz Cup – Singles
Wayne Ferreira won in the final 6–3, 4–6, 7–5 against Lleyton Hewitt.


2003 MercedesCup
The 2003 MercedesCup was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Tennis Club Weissenhof in Stuttgart, Germany and was part of the International Series Gold of the 2003 ATP Tour. The tournament was held from 14 July until 20 July 2003. Guillermo Coria won the singles.


2003 MercedesCup, Finals, Doubles
Tomáš Cibulec /  Pavel Vízner defeated  Yevgeny Kafelnikov /  Kevin Ullyett 3–6, 6–3, 6–4


2003 MercedesCup – Doubles
Joshua Eagle and David Rikl were the defending champions but did not compete that year.


2003 MercedesCup – Doubles
Tomáš Cibulec and Pavel Vízner won in the final 3–6, 6–3, 6–4 against Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Kevin Ullyett.


2003 MercedesCup – Doubles, Seeds
Champion seeds are indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which those seeds were eliminated.


2003 MercedesCup – Singles
Mikhail Youzhny was the defending champion but lost in the quarterfinals to Guillermo Coria.


2003 MercedesCup – Singles
Coria won in the final 6–2, 6–2, 6–1 against Tommy Robredo.


2003 MercedesCup – Singles, Seeds
A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated. All sixteen seeds received a bye to the second round.


2003 Meteor Awards
The 2003 Meteor Music Awards were hosted by comedian Dara Ó Briain. It was the third edition of Ireland's national music awards. Actors Colin Farrell, Colm Meaney and Stephen Rea were among the awards presenters.


2003 Meteor Awards, Performances
There were performances on the night from the ill-fated Irish pop group Six who performed the song "After the Gold Rush", Tom Jones, The Thrills, B2K, Alabama 3, Samantha Mumba, Westlife and Sinéad O'Connor.


2003 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament
The 2003 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament took place from May 22–24, 2003. The top four regular season finishers of the league's teams met in the double-elimination tournament held at Dutchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls, New York. Le Moyne won their second tournament championship and earned the conference's automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


2003 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament, Seeding
The top four teams were seeded one through four based on their conference winning percentage. They then played a double-elimination tournament.


2003 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament, All-Tournament Team, Most Valuable Player
Ed Harper was named Tournament Most Valuable Player. Harper was an outfielder for Le Moyne.


2003 Metro Manila Film Festival
The 29th Metro Manila Film Festival was held in the Philippine International Convention Center, Pasay, Philippines, from December 25, 2003 to January 8, 2004.


2003 Metro Manila Film Festival
Maricel Soriano and Eric Quizon were chosen the Best Actress and Best Actor respectively in the 2003 Metro Manila Film Festival for playing the eldest child roles in two different films. Soriano plays the oldest of six children in Viva Films' Filipinas, while Quizon plays the eldest son who, in keeping with Chinese tradition, hires professional mourners to weep at his father's funeral, in Unitel Pictures' Crying Ladies. Hilda Koronel, cast as a 1970s bit player whose career is on the wane in Crying Ladies, was named the Best Supporting Actress, while Victor Neri won as the Best Supporting Actor for playing the activist-middle son in Filipinas.


2003 Metro Manila Film Festival, Entries
There are two batches of films in competition, the first batch was shown from December 25, while the second batch was shown on January 1, 2004.


2003 Metro Manila Film Festival, Box Office gross
Only final rankings as of January 8, 2004 were released, with the exception of the Top 4 movies.


2003 Mexican Figure Skating Championships
The 2003 Mexican Figure Skating Championships took place in Lomas Verdes. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles and ladies' singles on the senior level. The results were used to choose the Mexican teams to the 2003 World Championships and the 2003 Four Continents Championships.


2003 Mexican elections
A number of elections, both federal and local, took place in Mexico during 2003:


2003 Mexican legislative election
Legislative elections were held in Mexico on 6 July 2003. Although the National Action Party received the most votes, the Institutional Revolutionary Party won 224 of the 500 seats. Voter turnout was only 41%.


2003 Miami Dolphins season
The 2003 Miami Dolphins season was the franchise's 34th season in the National Football League, the 38th overall and third under head coach Dave Wannstedt. The Dolphins improved upon their previous season's output of 9–7, instead winning 10 games. This marked the seventh consecutive winning season for the team and fifteenth straight with a record of .500 or better, but for the second straight year they failed to clinch a playoff berth.


2003 Miami Dolphins season, Game summaries, Week 1 vs. Houston Texans
The Dolphins season got off to a rough start in their first ever meeting with the second-year Houston Texans. The Dolphins behind three Jay Fiedler touchdowns led 20-15 in the fourth, but two field goals (the first off a Fiedler interception) put the Texans up 21-20 with thirty seconds to go. Fielder was then intercepted again, ending the game in a 21-20 Miami loss, the Dolphins' first loss to a Houston NFL team since losing to the Oilers in 1991.


2003 Miami Dolphins season, Game summaries, Week 2 at New York Jets
Ricky Williams erupted to 125 rushing yards and a touchdown as Fiedler and Travis Minor added 62 more yards on the ground in Miami's first win of the season. The Dolphins held Curtis Martin to 32 yards total.


2003 Miami Dolphins season, Game summaries, Week 3 vs. Buffalo Bills
After being swept the year before the Dolphins embarrassed the Bills, limiting them to 139 yards of offense and intercepting Drew Bledsoe three times. Ricky Williams exploded to 154 rushing yards and a touchdown in the 17-7 Miami win.


2003 Miami Dolphins season, Game summaries, Week 5 at New York Giants
The Dolphins continued surging 23-10 despite being outgained 350 yards to 275. Miami intercepted Kerry Collins three times and rushed for 134 yards - 68 of them on James McKnight's 68-yard rushing touchdown. Ricky Williams scored a touchdown on 1 yard run to ice the game.


2003 Miami Dolphins season, Game summaries, Week 6 at Jacksonville Jaguars
The Dolphins returned to Jacksonville for the first time since the 2000 AFC divisional playoffs being blown out 62-7 to put up just 234 total yards, were penalized for 149 total yards, yet picked off Byron Leftwich three times and snatched two Jaguars fumbles en route to winning 24-10. Randy McMichael scored when he scooped up a fumble by teammate Obafemi Ayanbadejo from the Jaguars 2-yard line.


2003 Miami Dolphins season, Game summaries, Week 7 vs. New England Patriots
The Dolphins and Patriots were battling for first in the AFC East and the Dolphins forced two fumbles - one by Tom Brady on a quarterback sneak - and led 13-6 before Brady whipped a 24-yard touchdown to a leaping David Givens. The Dolphins drove to the New England 17 before the two-minute warning; when Ricky Williams appeared to be downed short of a first down the Patriots challenged the spot but the call stood.


2003 Miami Dolphins season, Game summaries, Week 7 vs. New England Patriots
Olindo Mare's 35-yard kick following the two-minute warning was blocked, but the Dolphins smothered the Patriots final drive (the key play came when former Patriot Terrell Buckley blew up a Kevin Faulk run for a four-yard loss). The game went to overtime and controversy ensued on the coin toss as the Patriots called tails but referee Gerald Austin, using a silver dollar that came up Lady Columbia (heads on a silver dollar) called it heads.


2003 Miami Dolphins season, Game summaries, Week 7 vs. New England Patriots
On the Dolphins ensuing drive Fiedler completed a 31-yard bomb to the left sideline to Derrius Thompson; four Ricky Williams runs for 26 yards put the ball back on the 17, the dirt portion of the field with Pro Player Stadium hosting the 2003 World Series involving the Florida Marlins. Mare's kick missed, but the Patriots had to punt; on the next Miami drive Fiedler escaped a sack and heaved a bomb that was intercepted by Tyrone Poole at the New England 18. From there Brady finished off the game on an 82-yard touchdown to Troy Brown.


2003 Miami Dolphins season, Game summaries, Week 8 at San Diego Chargers
Wildfires in California forced the Chargers to move their Monday Night game with Miami to the Cardinals' home stadium. With Brian Griese replacing Jay Fiedler at quarterback the Dolphins jumped on the struggling Chargers, scoring 24 points in the first half while sacking Drew Brees six times (once for a safety in the fourth quarter) and intercepting him three times. The Dolphins won 26-10 as the two teams combined for just 514 yards of offense.


2003 Miami Dolphins season, Game summaries, Week 9 vs. Indianapolis Colts
Former AFC East rival Indianapolis made its first trip to Miami since 2001. Following a Ricky Williams touchdown the Colts scored 16 points. An exchange of touchdown throws and a Marvin Harrison fumble were followed by a late Olindo Mare field goal with the score 23-17 Colts. Terrell Buckley of the Dolphins picked off Peyton Manning with 2:50 to go, but at 2:17 Griese was strip-sacked by Dwight Freeney and the game ended in the 23-17 Indianapolis win.


2003 Miami Dolphins season, Game summaries, Week 10 at Tennessee Titans
The Titans annihilated the Dolphins 31-7 (the Titans franchise's first win over the Dolphins since their 1991 season as the Houston Oilers) by scoring the first 31 points. Steve McNair threw for 201 yards and two touchdowns while Griese was intercepted three times. McNair and three Titans backs rushed for 101 yards while McNair and Billy Volek's combined passing yards (223) almost outdid Miami's entire yardage on offense (224).


2003 Miami Dolphins season, Game summaries, Week 11 vs. Baltimore Ravens
The two teams combined for 490 yards of offense as Anthony Wright made his debut with the Ravens. Wright was intercepted twice as the game saw just four combined field goals and went into overtime tied 6-6. In overtime Wright fumbled to Zach Thomas and from there the Dolphins drove down for the winning Mare field goal, 9-6 final.


2003 Miami Dolphins season, Game summaries, Week 12 vs. Washington Redskins
Despite an 80-yard touchdown from Brian Griese to James McKnight, the Dolphins fell behind 20-7 late in the second quarter. Following a third-quarter interception Griese was benched for Jay Fiedler with the Dolphins down 23-10, and Fiedler led two touchdown drives ending in Ricky Williams touchdowns. Brock Marion intercepted Tim Hasselbeck but the Dolphins had to punt; the Redskins botched the catch and James McKnight recovered the fumble, securing the 24-23 Dolphins win.


2003 Miami Dolphins season, Game summaries, Thanksgiving Day at Dallas Cowboys
For the third time in ten years the Cowboys, surging under first-year coach Bill Parcells, hosted the Dolphins on Thanksgiving, ten years after the infamous Leon Lett game and four years after a shutout win over Miami 20-0. The Dolphins this time made sure of the outcome; they sacked Quincy Carter five times and intercepted him three times, leading 37-14 halfway through the third quarter and winning 40-21.


2003 Miami Dolphins season, Game summaries, Week 14 at New England Patriots
All hope for the division title was buried amid a heavy snowstorm at Gillette Stadium. Neither offense could move particularly well with an Adam Vinatieri field goal the only points until halfway through the fourth quarter. Backed up to his own goalline, Jay Fiedler was intercepted by Tedy Bruschi and Bruschi walked on his knees into the endzone; the touchdown caused fans to start throwing snow into the air in celebration. After a Ty Law interception and subsequent Patriots punt Fiedler was sacked in the endzone for a safety with 1:18 to go, ending a 12-0 Patriots win.


2003 Miami Dolphins season, Game summaries, Monday Night Football vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The Dolphins returned to the warmth of Pro Player Stadium and wound up in a heated game against the surging Eagles. The two teams combined for 799 yards of offense, 317 of them on the ground with six touchdowns. The game lead tied or changed four times in the first half as Donovan McNabb ran in a touchdown and Freddie Mitchell unleashed a 25-yard score to Brian Westbrook. Jay Fiedler was picked off twice and also failed on a fourth-down attempt in the second quarter of the 34-27 Dolphins loss.


2003 Miami Dolphins season, Game summaries, Week 16 at Buffalo Bills
With all playoff hopes gone, the Dolphins traveled to Ralph Wilson Stadium and defeated the Bills 20-3 in a game where the two teams combined for just over 400 yards of offense. Drew Bledsoe was benched after a 74-yard pick-six to Terrell Buckley and being sacked six times. Jay Fiedler threw only seventeen passes with only eight completions for 46 yards.


2003 Miami Dolphins season, Game summaries, Week 17 vs. New York Jets
The season wrapped up against the 6-9 New York Jets and the resulting game turned into a tight contest. Jay Fiedler threw for 328 yards but the Jets rallied from down 20-7 by scoring fifteen points (six of them Doug Brien field goals while Dolphins punter and ex-Jet Matt Turk fumbled in the end zone for a safety and a two-point try after an Anthony Becht touchdown failed) that went unanswered until Fiedler completed three passes for 36 yards and Olindo Mare's 22-yard field goal with three seconds to go was good, ending a 23-21 Dolphins win.


2003 Miami Hurricanes baseball team
The 2003 Miami Hurricanes baseball team represented the University of Miami in the 2003 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Hurricanes played their home games at Mark Light Field. The team was coached by Jim Morris in his tenth season at Miami.


2003 Miami Hurricanes baseball team
The Hurricanes reached the College World Series, where they finished tied for fifth after recording a win against Southwest Missouri State and a pair of losses to Texas.


2003 Miami Hurricanes football team
The 2003 Miami Hurricanes football team represented the University of Miami during the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Hurricanes' 78th season of football and 13th as a member of the Big East Conference. The Hurricanes were led by third-year head coach Larry Coker and played their home games at the Orange Bowl. They finished the season 11–2 overall and 6–1 in the Big East to finish as conference co-champion. They were invited to the Orange Bowl where they defeated Florida State, 16-14.


2003 Miami RedHawks football team
The 2003 Miami RedHawks football team represented Miami University in the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. They competed in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) . The team was coached by Terry Hoeppner and played their homes game in Yager Stadium. The Redhawks finished the season with a record of 13–1 (8–0 MAC). They won the MAC for the first time since 1986 and was invited to the GMAC Bowl, where they beat Louisville 49-28.


2003 Miami RedHawks football team, After the season, Comments
Two Miami players were drafted into the National Football League: quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, left as a junior without a degree with a year of college eligibility remaining and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round, #11 overall, and guard Jacob Bell, taken by the Tennessee Titans in the fifth round, #138 overall. Roethlisberger's #11 selection was the highest ever draft pick for a player from Miami.


2003 Miami RedHawks football team, After the season, Awards
The Columbus Dispatch named Hoeppner "Ohio College Coach of the Year." The 2003 team as a whole earned the American Football Coaches Association's "Academic Achievement Honor" for achieving a graduation rate over 70%.


2003 Michigan State Spartans football team
The 2003 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Spartans play their home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. This was the first year for head coach John L. Smith, who would win Big Ten coach of the year in his debut, but would later be fired after the 2006 season.


2003 Michigan State Spartans football team
The Spartans were coming off a 4–8 season and had just let go of head coach Bobby Williams.


2003 Michigan State Spartans football team, 2004 NFL Draft
The following players were selected in the 2004 NFL Draft.


2003 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 2003 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was Lloyd Carr. The Wolverines played their home games at Michigan Stadium. The team won the first of its back to back Big Ten Championships. The team lost to the USC Trojans in 2004 Rose Bowl.


2003 Michigan Wolverines football team, Game summaries, Houston
For the third time in 12 seasons* Houston travelled to Ann Arbor for a game against Michigan. The Cougars had what was considered to be a unique offense that some analysts felt could possibly give the Michigan defense some problems. After a competitive 1st quarter, however, the Wolverines dominated the Cougars the rest of the way, winning the game in an epic beat-down, 50-3. * The other 2 games were played in Ann Arbor in 1992, and 1993. Michigan won both of them easily, 61-7, and 42-21 respectively (when you combine the scores of all 3 games, Michigan has outscored Houston, 143-31).


2003 Michigan Wolverines football team, Statistical achievements
Chris Perry was the Big Ten rushing individual statistical champion (126.8 yards per conference games and 128.8 yards per game). Perry set numerous current school records during the season including single-game attempts (51, November 1, 2003) surpassing Ron Johnson's 1967 record of 42, and single-season attempts (338) surpassing Anthony Thomas' 2000 record of 319.


2003 Michigan Wolverines football team, Statistical achievements
The team led the Big Ten in passing offense for all games (270.8 yards per game), although Michigan State won the title for conference games. They were also the Big Ten scoring statistical champions for conference games (35.8 points per game), although Minnesota was the champion for all games. They also ranked first in passing efficiency defense for both conference games (96.6) and all games (102.2). The team led the conference in total defense for conference games (286.1) and all games (316.4). The November 22 Michigan - Ohio State football rivalry game set the current conference single-game attendance record of 112,118.


2003 Michigan Wolverines football team, Statistical achievements
Braylon Edwards posted four consecutive 100-yard reception games, surpassing Desmond Howard, Carter and Marcus Knight who all had three in various seasons. Edwards would tie this record the following season, but Mario Manningham posted six in 2007 to establish the current record. John Navarre set numerous career records: pass attempts (1366) extending his own record established the prior season; completions (765), surpassing Elvis Grbac's 1992 record of 522; passing yards (9254), surpassing Grbac's 6460. Chad Henne broke each of these records during his career ending in 2007.


2003 Michigan Wolverines football team, Statistical achievements
Navarre also broke his own single-season records for pass attempts (456), completions (270) and yards (3331) set the prior season. Navarre broke Tom Brady's single-game passing yards record of 375 with a 389-yard performance on October 4 against Iowa. These single-game and single-season records still stand. The final touchdown pass of his career gave him 72, one more than Grbac for another record to be broken by Henne. Navarre established the current records for single-season yards per game (256.2), surpassing his own record of the prior year, and career yards per game (215.2), surpassing Jim Harbaugh's 175.8. He broke his own single-season 200-yard game record with 10 bringing his record setting career total to 28.


2003 Michigan Wolverines football team, Awards and honors
The individuals in the sections below earned recognition for meritorious performances.


2003 Micronesian Championships in Athletics
The 2003 Micronesian Championships in Athletics took place between April 25–26, 2003. The event was held in Koror, Palau.


2003 Micronesian Championships in Athletics
A total of 29 events were contested, 14 by men, 14 by women and 1 mixed. In addition, there was a mixed non-championship hammer throwing competition for both men and women including Australian guest athletes.


2003 Micronesian Championships in Athletics, Medal summary
Medal winners and their results were published on the Athletics Weekly webpage.


2003 Micronesian parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in the Federated States of Micronesia on 4 March 2003. As there were no political parties, all 28 candidates ran as independents. Four candidates were elected unopposed.


2003 Micronesian parliamentary election, Electoral system
At the time of the election, Congress consisted of 14 members, of which 10 were elected for two-year terms and four elected for four-year terms. The 2003 elections were for both types of seats.


2003 Mid Bedfordshire District Council election
Elections to Mid Bedfordshire District Council were held on 1 May 2003. All 53 seats were up for election. Councillors elected would serve a four-year term, expiring in 2007. The Conservative Party retained overall control of the council, winning 37 of 53 seats on the council. The Conservatives won 7 seats (5 wards) unopposed.


2003 Mid Bedfordshire District Council election, Ward Results
This election was the first with the new ward boundaries.


2003 Mid Bedfordshire District Council election, Ward Results
Figures on turnout were taken from Plymouth University's Elections Centre, which gives the number of registered voters, and the percentage turnout for each ward. The number of ballots cast for each ward was calculated from these. Percentage change in turnout is compared with the same ward in the 1999 District Council election.


2003 Mid Bedfordshire District Council election, Ward Results
The percentage of the vote for each candidate was calculated compared with the number of ballots cast in the ward. Note that in a ward with more than one seat, voters were allowed to place as many crosses on the ballot paper as seats. The percentage change for each candidate is compared with the same candidate in the 1999 District Council election.


2003 Mid Bedfordshire District Council election, Ward Results
Candidates who were members of the council before the election are marked with an asterisk.


2003 Mid Sussex District Council election
The 2003 Mid Sussex District Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Mid Sussex District Council in England. It was held on the same day as other local elections. The Conservatives won a majority of one on the council.


2003 Mid Sussex District Council election, Ward results, East Grinstead Herontye
Second seat decided on drawing of lots due to second and third place getting the same number of votes. Ian Dixon, the Liberal Democrat won therefore Edward Belsey was not elected.


2003 Mid-American Conference Baseball Tournament
The 2003 Mid-American Conference Baseball Tournament took place in May 2003. The top six regular season finishers met in the double-elimination tournament held at Gene Michael Field on the campus of Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. This was the fifteenth Mid-American Conference postseason tournament to determine a champion. Fourth seed Eastern Michigan won their third tournament championship, and first since the event resumed in 1992, to earn the conference's automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


2003 Mid-American Conference Baseball Tournament, Seeding and format
The winner of each division claimed the top two seeds, while the next four finishers based on conference winning percentage only, regardless of division, participated in the tournament. The teams played double-elimination tournament. This was the sixth year of the six team tournament.


2003 Mid-American Conference Baseball Tournament, Results
* - Indicates game required 12 innings. † - Indicates game required 10 innings.


2003 Mid-American Conference Baseball Tournament, All-Tournament Team, Most Valuable Player
Brian Bixler won the Tournament Most Valuable Player award. Bixler played for Eastern Michigan.


2003 Mid-Continent Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2003 Mid-Continent Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was held from March 9-11, 2003 at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri.


2003 Mid-Continent Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
IUPUI defeated Valparaiso in the title game, 66–64, to win their first Mid-Con/Summit League championship. The Jaguars earned an automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Tournament as the #16 seed in the Midwest region.


2003 Mid-Continent Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
All eight conference members qualified for the tournament. First round seedings were based on regular season record.


2003 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team
The 2003 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team represented Middle Tennessee State University in the 2003 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Coming off a 5–6 season the year prior, the Blue Raiders finished with a 4–8 record and a 3–3 record in the Sun Belt Conference to tie for fourth in the conference standings. They were led by head coach Andy McCollum.


2003 Midlothian Council election
Elections to Midlothian Council were held on 1 May 2003, the same day as the other Scottish local government elections and the Scottish Parliament general election. The election was the last one using the 18 single-member wards using the plurality (first past the post) system of election.


2003 Midlothian Council election
Labour retained their dominance of the council, with the Liberal Democrats forming the second largest party on the council.


2003 Midwest monkeypox outbreak
The 2003 Midwest monkeypox outbreak marked the first time monkeypox infection has appeared in the United States, and the first time in the Western Hemisphere. Beginning in May 2003, by July a total of 71 cases of human monkeypox were found in six Midwestern states including Wisconsin (39 cases), Indiana (16), Illinois (12), Kansas (1), Missouri (2), and Ohio (1). The cause of the outbreak was traced to Gambian pouched rats imported into the United States by an exotic animal importer in Texas. The rats were shipped from Texas to an Illinois distributor, who housed them with prairie dogs. No deaths were reported. No human-to-human transmission was found. All cases involved direct contact with infected prairie dogs. Electron microscopy and testing by polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry were used to confirm the causative agent was human monkeypox.


2003 Midwest monkeypox outbreak, Background
In May, 2003, a three-year-old Wisconsin resident was bitten by a prairie dog purchased from a local pet store. The child was hospitalized after developing fever of unknown origin (103°F), swollen eyes, and a red vesicular skin rash. The child's parents also developed a rash, but no other symptoms. Physicians immediately associated the symptoms with the animal bite and reported the case to the Milwaukee Health Department. Testing of both the child and the prairie dog confirmed the monkeypox virus as the causative agent.


2003 Midwest monkeypox outbreak, Background
Between May 15, 2003, when the three-year-old index patient was first diagnosed through June 20, the date of the last patient with a laboratory-confirmed case of monkeypox, a total of 71 people ranging in age from 1 to 51 were infected.


2003 Midwest monkeypox outbreak, Epidemiology
On April 9, 2003, a Texas importer received a shipment of 762 African rodents from Accra, Ghana. The shipment included Gambian pouched rats, rope squirrels, tree squirrels, African brush-tailed porcupines, dormice, and striped mice. Of the 762 rodents received, 584 (77%) were shipped to distributors in six states and Japan. The remaining 178 (23%) rodents could not be traced beyond the Texas importer due to lack of documentation.


2003 Midwest monkeypox outbreak, Epidemiology
From April 9, 2003, through June 5, 2003, 584 animals were shipped from the Texas distributor to distributors in Texas (9), New Jersey (1), Iowa (1), Japan (1), Illinois (2), Minnesota (1), and Wisconsin (1).


2003 Midwest monkeypox outbreak, Epidemiology
Illinois distributor number one received Gambian rats and dormice. This distributor housed the rodents with 200 prairie dogs. This distributor shipped prairie dogs to pet stores in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, South Carolina, and Michigan. No human cases of monkeypox were reported in Japan, Michigan, and South Carolina. Laboratory-confirmed cases occurred in  Kansas (1), Missouri (2), Indiana (16), Illinois (12), and Wisconsin (22).


2003 Midwest monkeypox outbreak, Epidemiology
Of the 200 prairie dogs housed with the Gambian rats and dormice, 94 tested positive for monkeypox virus, including prairie dogs in pet stores in Wisconsin (44 cases), Indiana (24), Illinois (19), Ohio (4), Kansas (1), Missouri (1), and one case in the eastern seaboard state of New Jersey. The Gambian rats and dormice housed with the prairie dogs at Illinois distributor number one tested positive for monkeypox virus.


2003 Midwest monkeypox outbreak, Epidemiology
The most recent incidence of monkeypox prior to the Midwest outbreak occurred in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1996-1997, with a reported 88 cases. No deaths occurred in the Midwest outbreak. This was attributed to the prompt medical care received and the standard of living in the United States, which includes soap, running water, washing machines, sterile dressing materials, and hospital use of universal precautions, including isolation, gown, mask, gloves, and handwashing.


2003 Midwest monkeypox outbreak, Transmission
No human-to-human transmission was found during this outbreak. All cases were found to be the direct result of contact with infected prairie dogs. Human-to-human transmission has been reported in Central and West Africa.


2003 Midwest monkeypox outbreak, Signs and symptoms
The onset of the illness among the patients in the United States began in early May 2003. Patients typically experienced fever, headaches, muscle aches, chills, and nonproductive coughs. This was followed 1–10 days later by the development of a generalized papular rash that developed first on the trunk, then limbs and head. The papules evolved through phases of vesiculation, pustulation, umbilication, and crusting. All patients reported direct or close contact with recently acquired prairie dogs.


2003 Midwest monkeypox outbreak, Treatment
No direct antiviral treatment for monkeypox is known, only supportive care and prevention of secondary infection. Use of universal precautions in the care of those with the disease has been shown to prevent human-to-human transmission. However, inoculation with the smallpox vaccine has shown to be effective in abating the progression of the disease in those with active infection, and in the prevention of the disease in the general population.


2003 Midwest monkeypox outbreak, Treatment, Use of smallpox vaccine
In the Midwest outbreak, the CDC issued guidance on the use of smallpox vaccine, Cidofovir, and Vaccinia immune globulin. Twenty-six residents in five states received the smallpox vaccination. This included 24 adults and two children. Among the adults vaccinated were two laboratory workers, before exposure and to 24 persons after exposure (11 health-care workers, seven household contacts, three laboratory workers, two public health veterinarians, and one work contact). One adult who was vaccinated as a child did not have a major vaccine reaction or "take" 7 days after vaccination and required revaccination.


2003 Midwest monkeypox outbreak, Treatment, Use of smallpox vaccine
No adverse reactions to the smallpox vaccine were reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System.


2003 Midwest monkeypox outbreak, Prevention
To prevent the monkeypox virus from entering into the United States again, the Centers for Disease Control  banned the importation of all African rodents. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also issued orders banning the interstate shipment of prairie dogs and all African rodents.


2003 Mieczysław Połukard Criterium of Polish Speedway Leagues Aces
The 22nd Mieczysław Połukard Criterium of Polish Speedway League Aces was the 2003 version of the Mieczysław Połukard Criterium of Polish Speedway Leagues Aces. It took place on March 28 in the Polonia Stadium in Bydgoszcz, Poland.


2003 Mieczysław Połukard Criterium of Polish Speedway Leagues Aces, Heat details
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance •  t - exclusion for touching the tapes •  x - other exclusion •  e - retired or mechanical failure •  f - fell •  ns - non-starter •  nc - non-classify


2003 Milan–San Remo
The 2003 Milan–San Remo was the 94th edition of the monument classic Milan–San Remo and was won by Italian Paolo Bettini of Quick Step-Davitamon. The race was run on March 22, 2003 and the 297 kilometres (185 mi) was covered in 6 hours, 44 minutes and 43 seconds.


2003 Military World Games
The 2003 Military World Games was an international multi-sport event for military personnel which was held in Catania, Italy from 4–11 December 2003. It was the third edition of the Military World Games, competition organised by the Conseil International du Sport Militaire. A total of 84 nations were represented at the event, with some 2800 military servicemen and women competing in the tournament. The games opening ceremony took place at the Stadio Angelo Massimino in front of 5000 spectators.


2003 Military World Games, Sports
A total of thirteen sports were contested at the 2003 Games.


2003 Miller Lite Hall of Fame Championships
The 2003 Miller Lite Hall of Fame Championships was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island in the United States and was part of the International Series of the 2003 ATP Tour. The tournament ran from July 7 through July 13, 2003.


2003 Miller Lite Hall of Fame Championships, Finals, Doubles
Jordan Kerr /  David Macpherson defeated  Julian Knowle /  Jürgen Melzer 7–6(7–4), 6–3


2003 Miller Lite Hall of Fame Championships – Doubles
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan were the defending champions but did not compete that year.


2003 Miller Lite Hall of Fame Championships – Doubles
Jordan Kerr and David Macpherson won in the final 7–6(7–4), 6–3 against Julian Knowle and Jürgen Melzer.


2003 Miller Lite Hall of Fame Championships – Singles
Taylor Dent was the defending champion but did not compete that year.


2003 Miller Lite Hall of Fame Championships – Singles
Robby Ginepri won in the final 6–4, 6–7 (3–7), 6–1 against Jürgen Melzer.


2003 Miller Lite Hall of Fame Championships – Singles, Seeds
A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated.


2003 Milton Keynes Council election
The 2003 Milton Keynes Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Milton Keynes Unitary Council in Buckinghamshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Liberal Democrats stayed in overall control of the council.


2003 Milwaukee Brewers season
The Milwaukee Brewers' 2003 season involved the Brewers' finishing 6th in the National League Central with a record of 68 wins and 94 losses.


2003 Milwaukee Brewers season, Farm system
The Brewers' farm system consisted of eight minor league affiliates in 2003. The Brewers operated a Venezuelan Summer League team as a co-op with the Cincinnati Reds.


2003 Milwaukee Mile Centennial 250
The 2003 Milwaukee Mile Centennial 250 was the sixth round of the 2003 CART World Series season, held on May 31, 2003 at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin. The race was the first night race in CART history.


2003 Milwaukee Mile Centennial 250, Qualifying results
The qualification session was rained out, so the grid was set by times from the first practice session, which was led by Alex Tagliani. The usual point for pole was not awarded.


2003 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team
The 2003 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their seventh year under head coach Glen Mason, the Golden Gophers compiled a 10–3 record and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 503 to 285. The team made an appearance in the Sun Bowl. The 2003 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team was ranked 17th in the final USA Today/AFCA Coaches poll and 20th in the final Associated Press poll. This was the most recent season in which Minnesota defeated the Wisconsin Badgers and received Paul Bunyan's Axe until 2018.


2003 Minnesota Lynx season
The 2003 WNBA season was the fifth season for the Minnesota Lynx. The Lynx reached their first WNBA Playoffs, but lost in 3 games to the Los Angeles Sparks in the opening round.


2003 Minnesota Twins season
After winning the American League Central Division in 2002, the 2003 Minnesota Twins were looking to repeat division titles for the first time since 1969 and 1970. A spark for the team was the July trade of Bobby Kielty for Shannon Stewart. Stewart provided a veteran presence at the top of the lineup that the team had previously lacked. The team met its goal of reaching the playoffs, but once again fell short in the postseason. The Twins lost in four games to the New York Yankees during the AL Division Series. 2003 would be the last year several key players played with the team.


2003 Minnesota Twins season, Regular season
Under second year manager Ron Gardenhire, The Twins did not look so good coming out of the gates going 12-14 in March and April. However, they picked it up by going 19-9 in May, improving their record to 31-23 (.574). After having another tough string of games during the middle of the season, the Twins were looking for a jump start. They got it when on July 16 they traded RF Bobby Kielty to Toronto for LF Shannon Stewart.


2003 Minnesota Twins season, Regular season
Going into the final month of the season with a record of 71-65 it looked as though the Twins may not win the division, but they finished with a stellar September going 19-7; including an 11-game winning streak. They ended up with a 90-72 (.556) record which was good enough to win the mediocre AL Central.


2003 Minnesota Twins season, Regular season
On April 21, Rick Reed set a Twins individual pitching record by giving up eleven runs (ten were earned) in a 15-1 loss to the New York Yankees.


2003 Minnesota Twins season, Regular season
On June 7 at Qualcomm Stadium, outfielder Jacque Jones hit his 20th lead-off home run as a Minnesota Twin and the total remains the Twins record. Jones' first two career homers in 1999 were lead-off home runs. Chuck Knoblauch is next in line with 14.


2003 Minnesota Twins season, Regular season
June 17:  In a 14-7 loss to the Kansas City Royals, the Twins gave up 12 runs in the sixth inning, a club high. Kenny Rogers blew a 3-1 lead allowing four runs. The final six were allowed by Michael Nakamura.


2003 Minnesota Twins season, Regular season
The lone representative of the Twins in the All-Star Game was closer Eddie Guardado; he gave up two hits and a run on eight pitches.


2003 Minnesota Twins season, Regular season
The highest paid Twin in 2003 was Brad Radke at $8,750,000; followed by Rick Reed at $8,000,000.


2003 Minnesota Twins season, Regular season
Bob Allison and Bob Casey were inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame.


2003 Minnesota Twins season, Regular season, Offense
Catcher A. J. Pierzynski enjoyed his highest career batting average (.312) in his final year with the Twins. First baseman Doug Mientkiewicz rebounded from a poor 2002 season by hitting .300—although his power numbers (11 home runs) were low for his position. Luis Rivas cemented his reputation as a mediocre hitter, batting .259 with a .308 on-base percentage. Corey Koskie saw his average go up to .292 after a dip in 2002. For the third time in four years, shortstop Cristian Guzmán led the majors in triples, this year with 14. Jacque Jones and Torii Hunter were capable hitters in the outfield, with Jones batting .304 and Hunter driving in a career high 102 runs. Stewart hit .322 in 270 at bats for the team.


2003 Minnesota Twins season, Regular season, Pitching
Brad Radke, Kenny Rogers, and Kyle Lohse filled the first three spots in the starting rotation throughout the year. All three had winning records and ERAs in the mid-fours. Joe Mays and Rick Reed each made 21 mediocre starts. The leftover starts were mostly left to Johan Santana, who made 18, establishing a foundation that would enable him to win a Cy Young Award the following year. Eric Milton was injured most of the year, and appeared in only three games.


2003 Minnesota Twins season, Regular season, Pitching
In the bullpen, Eddie Guardado was once again a reliable closer, with LaTroy Hawkins as his primary set-up man. Juan Rincón was also able to establish himself as a reliable set-up man, but the other bullpen spots were uncertain. J. C. Romero regressed in quality, with a 5.00 ERA. As one might expect, experiments with veterans such as James Baldwin, Carlos Pulido, and the ancient Jesse Orosco did not pan out.


2003 Minnesota Twins season, Regular season, Defense
The infield of Pierzynski, Mientkiewicz, Rivas, Guzman, and Koskie was reliable. Jacque Jones was solid in left, although Shannon Stewart saw time there when he was acquired for Bobby Kielty. Torii Hunter had a Gold Glove year in center field. Right field was manned by the platoon of Dustan Mohr and Bobby Kielty (the duo was dubbed "Dusty Kielmohr") until the arrival of Stewart.


2003 Minnesota Twins season, Postseason
In the American League Division Series, the Twins faced a team which fared well against them in the regular season: The New York Yankees. The Yankees won the 5-game series in four games, outscoring the Twins 16-6. Minnesota defeated the Yankees in game 1, earning a 3-1 victory at Yankee Stadium. However, the Yankees would go on to win the series; winning the next three games 4-1, 3-1, and 8-1. The Yankees eventually lost to the Florida Marlins in the World Series.


2003 Minnesota Twins season, Player stats, Batting, Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


2003 Minnesota Twins season, Player stats, Batting, Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


2003 Minnesota Twins season, Player stats, Pitching, Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games played; GS = Games Started; IP = Innings Pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned Run Average; SO = Strikeouts


2003 Minnesota Vikings season
The 2003 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 43rd in the National Football League. They finished second in the NFC North with a 9–7 record, but missed the playoffs for a third straight year. Despite gaining 6,294 yards of offense over their 16 games, by far the most in the league, the team managed just 416 points, the sixth-most in the NFL. The Vikings won their first six games of the 2003 season, then lost their next four games, after which they alternated wins and losses for the remainder of the season. Despite their 9–7 record, they finished second in the division behind the 10–6 Green Bay Packers. The Vikings were officially eliminated from postseason contention with a loss to the Arizona Cardinals on the last play of their final game.


2003 Minnesota Vikings season
Wide receiver Randy Moss led the NFL with 17 touchdown receptions, the third time in his career that he led the league in that category. After two seasons of inconsistency, rejuvenated quarterback Daunte Culpepper was voted to play in the second Pro Bowl of his career at the end of the season.


2003 Minnesota Vikings season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 17: at Arizona Cardinals
Despite still having a chance to make the playoffs by winning the NFC North, the Vikings squandered a 17-6 fourth quarter lead in the final two minutes and loss to then–3-12 Arizona Cardinals after Josh McCown threw a 28-yard pass to Nate Poole for the game-winning touchdown with no time left, and with the Packers' win over the Broncos, giving them the NFC North title, and ending the Vikings season.


2003 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team
The 2003 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team represented Mississippi State University during the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was Jackie Sherrill, who retired at the end of the season. The Bulldogs played their home games in 2003 at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi.


2003 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils football team
The 2003 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils football team represented Mississippi Valley State University during the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA football season.


2003 Mississippi general election
A general election was held in Mississippi on November 4, 2003 to elect to 4 year terms all members of the state legislature (122 representatives, 52 senators), the offices of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, State Treasurer, State Auditor, Secretary of State, Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, and Commissioner of Insurance, plus all three members of the Transportation Commission and all three members of the Public Service Commission.


2003 Mississippi general election, Results for the State Legislature
All 122 representatives and all 52 senators are elected for four-year terms with no staggering of terms. The state legislature draws up separate district map for the House of Representatives and for the Senate, usually after the U.S. Census. There are no term-limits for members of the legislature.


2003 Mississippi general election, Results for Statewide Offices
According to Article 5, Sections 140-41 of the state constitution, the governor and the other seven statewide officers are elected if they receive a majority of electoral votes and a majority of the direct total popular vote. A candidate wins an electoral vote by winning a plurality of the votes in a state house district; therefore, with there being 122 house districts, there are 122 electoral votes. When no candidate receives both majorities, the House of Representatives decides the election between the two persons receiving the highest number of popular votes.


2003 Mississippi general election, Results for Statewide Offices, Governor
Incumbent Democrat Ronnie Musgrove faced Republican challenger Haley Barbour as well as the Constitution Party's John Thomas Cripps, the Green Party's Sherman Lee Dillon, and the Reform Party's Shawn O'Hara. in 1999, Musgrove, then Lt. Gov., just barely won the gubernatorial election against Republican Mike Parker, a former U.S. Representative, with the state House of Representatives deciding the outcome due to a tie in the electoral votes (Musgrove did win 49% of the popular vote compared to 48% by Parker). Musgrove lost his re-election bid in 2003 to Barbour after a very competitive race.


2003 Mississippi general election, Results for Statewide Offices, Lieutenant Governor
Amy Tuck, elected to the office in 1999 as a Democrat, had switched to the Republican Party in December 2002 after taking positions on several issues, like re-districting, that opposed the state Democratic Party's stances. In this race, her challenger was Democratic State Senator Barbara Blackmon, who was the first black woman to run for a statewide race. Tuck defeated Blackmon by a comfortable margin.


2003 Mississippi general election, Results for Statewide Offices, Attorney General
Mike Moore, a Democrat who had served four terms starting in 1988, declined to run for re-election. Moore protégé Jim Hood faced Republican Scott Newton. Newton ran many ads attacking Hood on being soft on crime and especially criticized Hood's handling of a rape case, while Hood focused on Newton's supposed inexperience. Hood won convincingly over Newton.