2004 Roger Federer tennis season, Season accomplishments
Federer won 11 titles in 2004, which included three Grand Slam titles, three ATP Masters titles, and the Tennis Masters Cup. He was the first player to win three Grand Slam titles in a single year since Mats Wilander in 1988. Federer's win-loss record for the 2004 season was 74–6, which was the best winning percentage of any player since Ivan Lendl was 74–6 in 1986.


2004 Roger Federer tennis season, Season accomplishments
In 2016, the ATP named this season as the best in Federer's career. During that year, Federer won 91.6% of his service games, also won 34.8% of his first-serve return points and saved 72.6% of break points against.


2004 Rogers AT&T Cup – Doubles
Svetlana Kuznetsova and Martina Navratilova were the defending champions, but chose not to participate that year.


2004 Rogers AT&T Cup – Doubles
Shinobu Asagoe and Ai Sugiyama won in the final 6–0, 6–3, against Liezel Huber and Tamarine Tanasugarn.


2004 Rogers AT&T Cup – Doubles, Seeds
The top four seeds received a bye into the second round.


2004 Rogers AT&T Cup – Singles
Justine Henin-Hardenne was the defending champion, but chose not to participate that year.


2004 Rogers AT&T Cup – Singles
Amélie Mauresmo won in the final 6–1, 6–0, against Elena Likhovtseva.


2004 Rogers AT&T Cup – Singles, Seeds
The top eight seeds received a bye into the second round.


2004 Rolex Sports Car Series
The 2004 Rolex Sports Car Series season was the fifth season of the Rolex Sports Car Series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. The season involved three classes, Daytona Prototypes (DP), Grand Touring (GT), and Super Grand Sport (SGS). Twelve races were run from January 31, 2004, to October 31, 2004.


2004 Romanian Figure Skating Championships
The 2004 Romanian Figure Skating Championships were the national championships of the 2003–04 figure skating season. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles and ladies' singles. The results were used to choose the Romanian teams to the 2004 World Championships and the 2004 European Championships.


2004 Romanian general election
General elections were held in Romania on 28 November 2004, with a second round of the presidential elections on 12 December between Prime Minister Adrian Năstase of the ruling Social Democratic Party of Romania (PSD) and Bucharest Mayor Traian Băsescu of the opposition Justice and Truth Alliance (DA). Băsescu was elected President by a narrow majority of just 51.2%.


2004 Romanian general election
Following 2003 amendments to the constitution which lengthened the presidential term to five years, these were the last joint elections to the presidency and Parliament in Romania's political history thus far.


2004 Romanian general election, Campaign, Parliamentary elections
The main contenders were the left-wing alliance made up of the then incumbent Social Democratic Party of Romania (PSD) and the Romanian Humanist Party (PUR), and, on the other hand, the center-right Justice and Truth Alliance (DA; Romanian: Dreptate și adevăr) comprising the conservative-liberal National Liberal Party (PNL) and the initially social-democratic Democratic Party (PD) which later adopted a center-right Christian democratic ideology.


2004 Romanian general election, Campaign, Parliamentary elections
Other significant contenders were the Greater Romania Party (PRM) (right-wing nationalists), the ethnic Hungarian party Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), and the Union for Romanian Reconstruction (UPRR), a group of right-wing technocrats.


2004 Romanian general election, Conduct
The opposition alleged fraudulent use by the PSD of "supplementary lists", designed to help Romanians in transit to vote. Traditionally, Romanians voted with a cardboard identity card, which was stamped when they voted. Most Romanians now have laminated plastic IDs, to which a printed stamp is affixed when a person votes. However, the stamps can be easily removed. In spite of this, electoral fraud is nearly impossible to commit, as every citizen is assigned to one local voting station, the only location he/she can vote at.


2004 Romanian general election, Conduct
The opposition claimed that there were organized "electoral excursions" of PSD supporters who were bussed to various towns to vote several times. This was corroborated by several teams of journalists, who followed the buses.


2004 Romanian general election, Conduct
The government attacked the opposition by arguing that 'rumours of fraud' affect Romania's economy and its external credibility.


2004 Romanian general election, Conduct
In January 2005, the IMAS institute of statistics released an analysis of the voting results in the 16,824 precincts. In the top 1,000 precincts with the most votes on the supplementary lists, the PSD had 43% to the DA's 23%, while in the precincts with fewest votes on supplementary lists, the PSD had 30% to the DA's 34%. The same trend was true in the precincts with most void votes.


2004 Romanian general election, Results, President
Corneliu Vadim Tudor (blue) positioned himself against Traian Băsescu, without openly endorsing Adrian Năstase. Marko Bela (green) openly endorsed Adrian Năstase. Gheorghe Ciuhandu (orange) openly endorsed Traian Băsescu.


2004 Romanian general election, Results, Parliament, Senate
PNL and PD formed Justice and Truth Alliance (ADA). PUR was initially part of the National Union PSD+PUR but soon after the elections left the alliance and switched sides, becoming an ally of ADA.


2004 Romanian general election, Results, Parliament, Chamber of Deputies
PNL and PD formed Justice and Truth Alliance (ADA). PUR was initially part of the National Union PSD+PUR but soon after the elections left the alliance and switched sides, becoming an ally of ADA.


2004 Romanian general election, Aftermath
On 13 December, the PUR president Dan Voiculescu hinted that they have more in common with the DA (both have a center-right orientation) and that they might break from the PSD, but one day later said that he would remain with PSD. It has been suggested by the press that this could be result of a blackmail about his communist past. By 25 December both UDMR and PUR signed a protocol of alliance with DA (Justice and Truth), with the designated prime minister being Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu. Thus, the PSD was left in opposition while Justice and Truth Alliance (DA), the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), and the Humanist Party (PC, then Conservative Party) formed the government.


2004 Romanian local elections
Local elections were held in Romania in late May 2004, and a runoff for mayors in early June 2004.


2004 Romanian local elections
In early June elections were held, on a runoff system, for all the mayor positions in which nobody received at least 50% of the votes in late May.


2004 Ronde van Nederland
These are the results for the 44th edition of the Ronde van Nederland cycling race, which was held from August 24 to August 28, 2004. The race started in Oudenbosch and finished in Sittard-Geleen. It was won by Holland's Erik Dekker. It was the last edition of the event, which was renamed Eneco Tour for the UCI ProTour.


2004 Roscommon County Council election
An election to Roscommon County Council took place on 11 June 2004 as part of that year's Irish local elections. 26 councillors were elected from six electoral divisions by PR-STV voting for a five-year term of office.


2004 Rose Bowl
The 2004 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game held on January 1, 2004 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. It was the 90th Rose Bowl Game. The USC Trojans, champions of the Pacific-10 Conference, defeated the Michigan Wolverines, champions of the Big Ten Conference, 28-14. USC quarterback Matt Leinart was named the Rose Bowl Player of the Game.


2004 Rose Bowl
The events leading up to the 2004 Rose Bowl were the subject of controversy. Although USC was ranked #1 in both the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll, the Trojans finished #3 in the final BCS standings due to a weaker schedule and one defeat – to unranked California – during the regular season, and thus did not qualify to go the BCS National Championship Game, played in the 2004 Sugar Bowl.


2004 Rose Bowl
Meanwhile, the Oklahoma Sooners played a stronger schedule in their undefeated regular season, but lost on December 5, 2003 in the 2003 Big 12 Championship Game to the #8-ranked Kansas State Wildcats. By virtue of their dominance through the entire regular season, Oklahoma remained #1 in the final BCS rankings issued at the outset of the bowl season. Oklahoma would lose, 21-14, to the LSU Tigers, #2 in both polls and the BCS rankings, in the Sugar Bowl game.


2004 Rose Bowl, Pre-Game Activities
On October 21, 2003 – Tournament of Roses President Michael K. Riffey chose 17-year-old Megan Chinen, a senior at La Salle High School & a resident of Pasadena, California to become the 86th Rose Queen to reign over the 115th Rose Parade and the 90th Rose Bowl Game on New Year's Day.


2004 Rose Bowl, Pre-Game Activities
The game was presided over by the 2004 Tournament of Roses Royal Court and the Rose Parade Grand Marshal John Williams. Members of the court were: Princesses Stephanie Barnes, La Canada Flintridge, La Canada High School; Katherine Koch, Pasadena, John Marshall Fundamental High School; Erinne La Brie, Arcadia, Arcadia High School; Natalie Matsumoto, San Marino, San Marino High School; Christina Mills, Pasadena, La Salle High School; and Lauren Stassel, La Canada Flintridge, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy.


2004 Rose Bowl, Teams, Michigan Wolverines
Michigan opened at home in 2003 winning big over Central Michigan and Houston. A 38-0 shutout of Notre Dame propelled the Wolverines to a #3 ranking, but they lost the next week at Oregon, 31-27. Michigan bounced back to beat Indiana, but then lost another close road game at Iowa, 30-27. Michigan played next on a Friday evening, October 10, at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in a battle for the Little Brown Jug against Minnesota. Minnesota came into the game ranked #17 and Michigan was ranked #20 in one of the most highly anticipated Michigan-Minnesota matchups in years.


2004 Rose Bowl, Teams, Michigan Wolverines
Down 21 points at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Michigan put together its greatest comeback in school history to win 38-35. The Wolverines won their next four games over Illinois, #10 Purdue, #9 Michigan State, and Northwestern and rose to #5 in the rankings before their annual showdown with the Ohio State Buckeyes. In front of a record crowd of 112,118 at Michigan Stadium, the Wolverines beat the #4 ranked Buckeyes 35-21 to win the Big Ten championship outright.


2004 Rose Bowl, Teams, USC Trojans
The Trojans opened the season winning at #6 Auburn, 23-0. Their only loss of the season was a triple overtime loss at Cal, 34-31 on September 27. Later in the season, USC beat Notre Dame 45-14, scoring the most points allowed by the Irish in since 1960, and routed Arizona 45-0 in the first shutout of the Wildcats in 146 games.


2004 Rose Bowl, Game summary
Former University of Michigan coach Bo Schembechler was in attendance, and remarked, "Didn't watch it", when asked what he thought of the 2003 game and also about the Nebraska-Miami Rose Bowl in 2002. The Trojans wore a "54" sticker to commemorate Drean Rucker, an incoming freshman linebacker who drowned in July 2003. Former USC Trojans safety Troy Polamalu also was in attendance and was on the USC sideline. He was also shown embracing coach Pete Carroll at the game's end.


2004 Rose Bowl, Aftermath
LSU defeated Oklahoma 21-14 in the Sugar Bowl. The Coaches Poll chose the winner of that game, the LSU Tigers, as the BCS National Champions. The AP Poll, however, selected the Rose Bowl champion USC Trojans resulting in the first split national title since the 1997–98 season, the year before the creation of the Bowl Championship Series, and the only split title of the BCS era. The BCS ranking formula was immediately reworked and simplified to place greater emphasis on the human polls to avoid a repeat scenario.


2004 Rossendale Borough Council election
Elections to Rossendale Borough Council were held on 10 June 2004. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative party gained overall control of the council from no overall control.


2004 Royal Bank Cup
The 2004 Royal Bank Cup was the 34th Junior "A" 2004 ice hockey National Championship for the Canadian Junior A Hockey League.


2004 Royal Bank Cup
The Royal Bank Cup was competed for by the winners of the Doyle Cup, Anavet Cup, Dudley Hewitt Cup, the Fred Page Cup and a host city.


2004 Royal Bank Cup
The tournament was hosted by the Grande Prairie Storm in Grande Prairie, Alberta.


2004 Royal Bank Cup, The Playoffs, Round Robin
Note: x- denotes teams who have advanced to the semi-final.


2004 Rugby Borough Council election
Elections to Rugby Borough Council were held on 10 June 2004. One third of the council seats were up for election and the council stayed under no overall control. The number of councillors for each party after the election were Conservative 21, Labour 14, Liberal Democrat 10 and Independent 3.


2004 Rugby League National Leagues
The 2004 National Leagues ( known as the LHF Healthplan National Leagues due to sponsorship) are the second, third and fourth divisions of rugby league in the UK.


2004 Rugby League National Leagues, National League One
National League One was won by Leigh Centurions, and won promotion to the Super League after defeating runners-up Whitehaven in the play-off final. Keighley Cougars were relegated to National League Two.


2004 Rugby League National Leagues, National League Two
National League Two was won by Barrow Raiders, and were automatically promoted to National League One. York City Knights reached the play-off final, but lost to Halifax, who retained their National League One status.


2004 Rugby League National Leagues, National League Three
National League Three expanded to a 14-team league, but there was still no automatic promotion and relegation with National League Two. The league was won by Coventry Bears, who also went on to win the play-offs.


2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations
The second Rugby League Tri-Nations tournament (known as the Gillette Tri-Nations due to sponsorship) was contested between 16 October and 27 November of 2004. The format of the competition differed from the previous event in that the teams played each other twice, rather than once, prior to the final.


2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations
The tournament final of the tournament was predicted by some to be a close affair, with the British team heralded as slight favourites after finishing at the top of the league table. Instead, it was a one-sided match as Australia produced their best performance of the tournament. The game was effectively over by half-time when Australia led by 38–0.


2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations, Participating teams
Each team was to play the other three twice during the round robin tournament. The top two finishing teams would then contest the final.


2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations, Officials
One referee from each participating nation was appointed to control matches in the Tri-Nations:


2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations, Venues
The games were played at the following venues in New Zealand and England.


2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations, Results, Tournament matches
NEW ZEALAND1. Brent Webb · 2. Francis Meli · 3. Nigel Vagana · 4. Paul Whatuira · 5. Matt Utai · 6. Vinnie Anderson · 7. Thomas Leuluai · 8. Jason Cayless · 9. Louis Anderson · 10. Ruben Wiki (c) · 11. Tony Puletua · 12. Joe Galuvao · 13. Sonny Bill WilliamsInterchange:14. Motu Tony · 15. Roy Asotasi · 16. Nathan Cayless · 17. David KidwellCoach: Daniel Anderson


2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations, Results, Tournament matches
AUSTRALIA1. Anthony Minichiello · 2. Luke Rooney · 3. Shaun Berrigan · 4. Willie Tonga · 5. Matt Sing · 6. Darren Lockyer (c) · 7. Craig Gower · 8. Shane Webcke · 9. Danny Buderus · 10. Jason Ryles · 11. Willie Mason · 12. Nathan Hindmarsh · 13. Tonie CarrollInterchange:14. Craig Wing · 15. Petero Civoniceva · 16. Ben Kennedy · 17. Andrew RyanCoach: Wayne Bennett


2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations, Results, Tournament matches
AUSTRALIA1. Anthony Minichiello · 2. Luke Rooney · 3. Shaun Berrigan · 4. Willie Tonga · 5. Matt Sing · 6. Darren Lockyer (c) · 7. Craig Gower · 8. Shane Webcke · 9. Danny Buderus · 10. Jason Ryles · 11. Craig Fitzgibbon · 12. Nathan Hindmarsh · 13. Tonie CarrollInterchange:14. Craig Wing · 15. Petero Civoniceva · 16. Willie Mason · 17. Shaun TimminsCoach: Wayne Bennett


2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations, Results, Tournament matches
NEW ZEALAND1. Brent Webb · 2. Francis Meli · 3. Nigel Vagana · 4. Paul Whatuira · 5. Lesley Vainikolo · 6. Vinnie Anderson · 7. Thomas Leuluai · 8. Jason Cayless · 9. Louis Anderson · 10. Nathan Cayless · 11. Logan Swann · 12. Ruben Wiki (c) · 13. Sonny Bill WilliamsInterchange:14. Robbie Paul · 15. Roy Asotasi · 16. Paul Rauhihi · 17. David KidwellCoach: Daniel Anderson


2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations, Results, Tournament matches
AUSTRALIA1. Anthony Minichiello · 2. Luke Rooney · 3. Shaun Berrigan · 4. Willie Tonga · 5. Matt Sing · 6. Craig Gower · 7. Brett Kimmorley · 8. Shane Webcke · 9. Danny Buderus (c) · 10. Jason Ryles · 11. Andrew Ryan · 12. Nathan Hindmarsh · 13. Tonie CarrollInterchange:14. Craig Wing · 15. Petero Civoniceva · 16. Willie Mason · 17. Shaun TimminsCoach: Wayne Bennett


2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations, Results, Tournament matches
GREAT BRITAIN1. Paul Wellens · 2. Brian Carney · 3. Martin Gleeson · 4. Keith Senior · 5. Stuart Reardon · 6. Paul Sculthorpe · 7. Sean Long · 8. Stuart Fielden · 9. Terry Newton · 10. Adrian Morley · 11. Jamie Peacock · 12. Andy Farrell (c) · 13. Gareth EllisInterchange:14. Chev Walker · 15. Stephen Wild · 16. Ryan Bailey · 17. Danny McGuireCoach: Brian Noble


2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations, Results, Tournament matches
GREAT BRITAIN1. Paul Wellens · 2. Brian Carney · 3. Martin Gleeson · 4. Keith Senior · 5. Stuart Reardon · 6. Danny McGuire · 7. Sean Long · 8. Stuart Fielden · 9. Terry Newton · 10. Adrian Morley · 11. Jamie Peacock · 12. Andy Farrell (c) · 13. Paul SculthorpeInterchange:14. Gareth Ellis · 15. Ryan Bailey · 16. Paul Johnson · 17. Iestyn Harris Coach: Brian Noble


2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations, Results, Tournament matches
NEW ZEALAND1. Brent Webb · 2. Francis Meli · 3. Nigel Vagana · 4. Clinton Toopi · 5. Shontayne Hape · 6. Vinnie Anderson · 7. Thomas Leuluai · 8. Jason Cayless · 9. Louis Anderson · 10. Ruben Wiki (c) · 11. Logan Swann · 12. David Kidwell · 13. Sonny Bill WilliamsInterchange:14. Robbie Paul · 15. Nathan Cayless · 16. Paul Rauhihi · 17. Ali Lauiti'iti Coach: Daniel Anderson


2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations, Results, Tournament matches
AUSTRALIA1. Anthony Minichiello · 2. Matt Sing · 3. Shaun Berrigan · 4. Willie Tonga · 5. Luke Rooney · 6. Scott Hill · 7. Brett Kimmorley · 8. Shane Webcke · 9. Danny Buderus (c) · 10. Petero Civoniceva · 11. Craig Fitzgibbon · 12. Nathan Hindmarsh · 13. Tonie CarrollInterchange:14. Craig Wing · 15. Andrew Ryan · 16. Willie Mason · 17. Mark O'MeleyCoach: Wayne Bennett


2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations, Results, Tournament matches
GREAT BRITAIN1. Paul Wellens · 2. Brian Carney · 3. Martin Gleeson · 4. Keith Senior · 5. Stuart Reardon · 6. Iestyn Harris · 7. Danny McGuire · 8. Stuart Fielden · 9. Matt Diskin · 10. Adrian Morley · 11. Gareth Ellis · 12. Andy Farrell (c) · 13. Sean O'LoughlinInterchange:14. Mickey Higham · 15. Chev Walker · 16. Paul Johnson · 17. Danny Ward  Coach: Brian Noble


2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations, Results, Tournament matches
NEW ZEALAND1. Brent Webb · 2. Francis Meli · 3. Nigel Vagana · 4. Clinton Toopi · 5. Shontayne Hape · 6. Vinnie Anderson · 7. Thomas Leuluai · 8. Jason Cayless · 13. Louis Anderson · 10. Paul Rauhihi (c) · 11. Logan Swann · 12. Ali Lauiti'iti · 17. Wairangi KoopuInterchange:9. Dene Halatau · 15. Roy Asotasi · 16. Nathan Cayless · 19. Alex Chan Coach: Daniel Anderson


2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations, Player statistics, Non-series Tests
During the series, Australia and New Zealand both played an additional test match against France.


2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations, Player statistics, Additional Matches
A one off match was also played between an ANZAC side made up of touring Australian and New Zealand players and a Cumbria side.


2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations, Player statistics, Additional Matches
On their way back to Australia just four days after the Tri-Nations Final, the Kangaroos played a match, known as the Liberty Bell Cup against the USA at the Franklin Field in Philadelphia. Played in quarters instead of halves, and on a synthetic field that was the size of a Grid iron field, the American's shocked the Australians by racing to an 18–0 lead nearing half time and actually went into the long break with a 24–6 lead. They managed to keep their lead until late in the game when the fitness of the Australians, who had bombed numerous try scoring opportunities through the game, told and the Kangaroos overhauled the home team to win 36–24.


2004 Runnymede Borough Council election
Elections to Runnymede Council were held on 10 June 2004. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.


2004 Rushmoor Borough Council election
The 2004 Rushmoor Council election took place on 10 June 2004 to elect members of Rushmoor Borough Council in Hampshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.


2004 Rushmoor Borough Council election, Campaign
14 seats were contested in the election–a third of the council–with the Conservatives defending 9, the Liberal Democrats 3 and Labour 2. Apart from candidates from the Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Labour, Green and English Democrat parties which had stood candidates in the 2003 election, there were also 3 members of the British National Party standing in Rushmoor for the first time. They stood in 3 Farnborough wards, Fernhill, Grange and Mayfield.


2004 Rushmoor Borough Council election, Campaign
2 independent candidates also contested the election. Rosemary Possee stood as an independent in Empress ward, where she had previously served as a councillor for the Conservatives before being de-selected, challenging the official Conservative candidate Patricia Hodge. The other independent candidate, taxi driver Roger Watkins, stood in Wellington ward. Watkins was investigated by the police over claims that some signatures on his nomination form had not been made by the voters themselves; however the police concluded there was no problem and Watkins accused his rivals of dirty tricks.


2004 Rushmoor Borough Council election, Campaign
The contest in Heronwood ward also caused controversy after a leaflet from the Conservative candidate Eddie Poole accused the Liberal Democrat candidate Peter Sandy of "bully boy tactics". Sandy complained to council officials over the leaflet, which he described as a slur, but Poole said he stood by the comment.


2004 Rushmoor Borough Council election, Election result
The results saw the Conservatives remain in control of the council with 24 of the 42 seats, but the Liberal Democrats did gain 2 to hold 12 seats. One of the gains came in Manor Park where Liberal Democrat George Paparesti returned to the council 2 years after losing his seat in the 2002 election. The other gain came in Heron Wood, which had been regarded as the safest Labour seat on the council, but saw Liberal Democrat Peter Sandy win by 88 votes defeating the Labour mayor of the council Frank Rust. This meant Labour was reduced to just 5 seats on the council, with the party's candidates having finished fourth in 4 Farnborough wards.


2004 Rushmoor Borough Council election, Election result
No other seats changed parties, but there were close results in St Marks where the Conservatives held the seat by 12 votes over the Liberal Democrats and in Cove and Southwood where the Liberal Democrats held on by 38 votes over the Conservatives. Rosemary Possee failed to win re-election in Empress ward as an independent, being beaten into third place with the Conservatives holding the seat. Overall turnout in the election was 36.5% up from the 31% seen in 2003 and boosted by an 80% increase in postal votes.


2004 Rushmoor Borough Council election, Election result
The result in Heron Wood caused controversy with the defeated Labour candidate Frank Rust blaming Tony Blair's support for the Iraq War for his defeat. Meanwhile, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Aldershot Gerald Howarth criticised the winning Liberal Democrat Peter Sandy for not attending the count and said that "It’s a pretty poor show. I do not feel he will be an asset to Heronwood". Peter Sandy, who is disabled, said that he had been unable to attend the count as the battery on his wheelchair was flat and he was defended by his fellow Liberal Democrats.


2004 Russian Figure Skating Championships
The 2004 Russian Figure Skating Championships (Russian: Чемпионат России по фигурному катанию на коньках 2004) took place in Saint Petersburg from January 5 through 8th, 2004. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. The results were one of the criteria used to pick the Russian teams to the 2004 World Championships and the 2004 European Championships.


2004 Russian First Division
The Russian First Division 2004 was the 13th edition of Russian First Division. There were 22 teams.


2004 Russian Premier League
Following are the results of the 2004 Russian Premier League, the top division of Russian association football. Lokomotiv won their second Premier League title, while Krylya Sovetov finished in the top three for the first time, winning bronze. Kuban were relegated after just one season in the Premier League. They were joined by Rotor who played at the top level since the beginning of the Russian league.


2004 Russian Premier League, Teams
As in the previous season, 16 teams are playing in the 2004 season. After the 2003 season, Chernomorets Novorossiysk and Uralan Elista were relegated to the 2004 Russian First Division. They were replaced by Amkar Perm and Kuban Krasnodar, the winners and runners up of the 2003 Russian First Division.


2004 Russian Premier League, Season statistics, Top goalscorers
Goalkeepers: Sergei Ovchinnikov (30), Ruslan Nigmatullin (1). Defenders: Vadim Evseev (27 / 4), Dmitri Sennikov (26), Sergei Gurenko  (26), Gennadiy Nizhegorodov (23), Malkhaz Asatiani  (19 / 1), Oleg Pashinin  (13), Jacob Lekgetho  (6). Midfielders: Dmitri Loskov (30 / 4), Diniyar Bilyaletdinov (25 / 5), Dmitri Khokhlov (24 / 6), Marat Izmailov (18 / 2), Vladimir Maminov  (18 / 1), Francisco Lima  (15), Deividas Česnauskis  (10), Jorge Wagner  (4), Leandro  (1). Forwards: Dmitri Sychev (27 / 15), James Obiorah  (15 / 1), Ruslan Pimenov (14 / 4), Winston Parks  (13 / 1), Mikheil Ashvetia  (12), Milan Jovanović  (3), Maksim Buznikin (1). (league appearances and goals listed in brackets)


2004 Russian Premier League, Season statistics, Top goalscorers
Transferred out during the season: Maksim Buznikin (on loan to FC Rotor Volgograd).


2004 Russian Premier League, Season statistics, Top goalscorers
Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeev (26), Veniamin Mandrykin (6). Defenders: Aleksei Berezutski (27), Deividas Šemberas  (24), Sergei Ignashevich (22 / 1), Chidi Odiah  (21), Bohdan Shershun  (14), Vasili Berezutski (6). Midfielders: Sergei Semak (30 / 5), Evgeni Aldonin (30), Jiří Jarošík  (29 / 5), Rolan Gusev (28 / 4), Elvir Rahimić  (26 / 1), Yuri Zhirkov (25 / 6), Osmar Ferreyra  (13 / 2), Daniel Carvalho  (13 / 1), Miloš Krasić  (7), Juris Laizāns  (4). Forwards: Dmitri Kirichenko (26 / 9), Ivica Olić  (24 / 9), Vágner Love  (12 / 9), Denis Popov (2), Serghei Dadu  (1).


2004 Russian Premier League, Season statistics, Top goalscorers
One own goal scored by Luc Zoa  (FC Spartak Moscow).


2004 Russian Premier League, Season statistics, Top goalscorers
Transferred out during the season: Denis Popov (to FC Kuban Krasnodar).


2004 Russian Premier League, Season statistics, Top goalscorers
Goalkeepers: Aleksei Poliakov  (29), Aleksandr Makarov (1). Defenders: Aleksandr Anyukov (29 / 2), Denis Kolodin (25 / 1), Patrick Ovie  (24), Moisés  (22 / 1), Leilton  (14), Omari Tetradze (14), Rafael Schmitz  (9), Matthew Booth  (8 / 1). Midfielders: Andrei Karyaka (29 / 17), Denis Kovba  (29 / 1), Sergei Vinogradov (26 / 4), Ognjen Koroman  (26 / 1), Souza  (25 / 3), Andrey Tikhonov (23 / 4), Anton Bober (13 / 1), Dmitri Kudryashov (9), Omonigho Temile  (5), Laryea Kingston  (3). Forwards: Robertas Poškus  (18 / 9), Catanha  (11 / 1), Roni  (8 / 1).


2004 Russian Premier League, Season statistics, Top goalscorers
One own goal each scored by Aleksei Yepifanov (FC Rotor Volgograd) and Nikolay Shirshov  (FC Rostov).


2004 Russian Premier League, Season statistics, Top goalscorers
Transferred out during the season: Catanha  (free agent), Rafael Schmitz  (end of loan from  Lille).


2004 Russian Super Cup
The 2004 Russian Super Cup was the 2nd Russian Super Cup match, a football match which was contested between the 2003 Russian Premier League champion, CSKA Moscow and the winner of 2002–03 Russian Cup, Spartak Moscow. The match was held on 7 March 2004 at the Lokomotiv Stadium in Moscow, Russia. CSKA Moscow beat Spartak Moscow 3–1 in extra time, after the normal time had finished in a 1–1 draw, to win their first Russian Super Cup.


2004 Russian aircraft bombings
On the night of 24 August 2004, explosive devices were detonated on board two domestic passenger flights that had taken off from Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia, causing the destruction of both aircraft and the loss of all 90 people on board them.


2004 Russian aircraft bombings
Subsequent investigations concluded that two Chechen female suicide bombers were responsible for the bombings, which were also later claimed by the leader of the Chechen insurgency.


2004 Russian aircraft bombings, Flights
Note: All times quoted below are local times, UTC +4. All events occurred in the same time zone.


2004 Russian aircraft bombings, Flights, Volga-AviaExpress Flight 1353
The first to crash was Volga-AviaExpress Flight 1353, a Tu-134 aircraft, registered RA-65080, which had been in service since 1977. The plane was flying from Moscow to Volgograd. It left Domodedovo International Airport at 22:30 on 24 August 2004. Communication with the plane was lost at 22:56 while it was flying over Tula Oblast, 180 km south-east of Moscow. The remains of the aircraft were found on the ground several hours later. Thirty-four passengers and 9 crew members were on board the plane. All of them died in the crash. The flight recorders were recovered from the crash site.


2004 Russian aircraft bombings, Flights, Volga-AviaExpress Flight 1353
The flight data recorder showed that the plane was cruising uneventfully at 8100 metres, before indicating some type of high energy event likely originating near the right hand side of the aircraft at seat row 19. Both recorders stopped recording within 2–3 seconds of this event. This was followed by the separation of the fuselage at that location an undetermined amount of time afterward.


2004 Russian aircraft bombings, Flights, Siberia Airlines Flight 1047
Just minutes after the first crash, Siberia Airlines Flight 1047, which had left Domodedovo International Airport at 21:35 on 24 August 2004, disappeared from the radar screens and crashed. The Tu-154 aircraft, registered RA-85556, which had been in service since 1982, was flying from Moscow to Sochi. According to an unnamed government source of the Russian news agency Interfax, the plane had broadcast a hijack warning while flying over Rostov Oblast at 22:59.


2004 Russian aircraft bombings, Flights, Siberia Airlines Flight 1047
However, it was later determined that this was the aircraft's Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT), and that the crew of flight 1047 were not aware of any danger prior to the aircraft disappearing from radar. The plane disappeared from radar screens shortly after that and crashed. 38 passengers and 8 crew members were on board the plane, and there were no survivors after the crash. The debris of the aircraft was found on the morning of 25 August 2004, 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) from the work settlement of Gluboky in Kamensky District of Rostov Oblast.


2004 Russian aircraft bombings, Flights, Siberia Airlines Flight 1047
The flight recorders were also recovered in this case; the flight data recorder along with wreckage analysis suggested an almost identical high-energy event to the one seen on flight 1353 took place near the right hand side of the aircraft at seat row 25, while the aircraft was cruising at 12100 metres. The blast resulted in a rapid decompression of the cabin, damage to the elevator and rudder controls, a substantial loss of electrical power, and severe damage to the fuselage and tail components.


2004 Russian aircraft bombings, Flights, Siberia Airlines Flight 1047
The ELT was triggered half a second after the event, either by a crew member or automatically. The data recorder stopped working shortly after the explosion, but the cockpit voice recorder continued recording until impact with the ground, during which most of the crew discussions were about the loss of cabin pressure and electrical systems. The crew were caught completely off guard by the event, and there is no evidence that the crew was aware of the detonation of an explosive device on board.


2004 Russian aircraft bombings, Responsibility
The two almost simultaneous crashes caused speculations about terrorism. President Vladimir Putin immediately ordered the Federal Security Service (FSB) to investigate the crashes. On 28 August 2004, the FSB had found traces of the explosive RDX in the remains of both planes. Itar-Tass news agency reported on 30 August 2004, "without a shadow of a doubt, the FSB security service said that 'both airplanes were blown up as a result of a terrorist attack'". A little known group called the Islambouli Brigades claimed responsibility; the truth of those claims remains uncertain. The Islambouli Brigades have also claimed that five of their members were on each plane; experts are skeptical about the possibility of (and the need for) so many terrorists on board.


2004 Russian aircraft bombings, Responsibility
The subsequent investigation found that the bombs were triggered by two female Chechen suicide bombers, Grozny residents Satsita Dzhebirkhanova (Siberia Airlines Flight 1047) and Amanta Nagayeva (Volga-AviaExpress Flight 1303). Nagayeva's brother had disappeared three years earlier and the family believed he was abducted by Russian forces. Chechen field commander Shamil Basayev took responsibility for the bombings in an open letter published on the Chechen separatists' websites on 17 September 2004. He claimed that the aircraft bombings cost him US$4,000 in total. He has also denied the Islambouli Brigade's claims.


2004 Russian aircraft bombings, Responsibility
The bombings followed the Moscow metro bombing which left 41 people dead in February 2004 and preceded other deadly attacks in Russia soon afterwards: on 31 August 2004 a bomb killed 10 at a Moscow subway station, and then the Beslan hostage crisis began on 1 September 2004 which would leave over 335 people dead, many of them children.


2004 Russian aircraft bombings, Arrests and Trials
On 24 August 2004, the bombers were stopped in the airport by the police captain Mikhail Artamonov to be searched for weapons and for identification. They were accompanied by two male Chechens. The four of them arrived in Moscow on a flight from Makhachkala. According to the prosecution, Artamonov did not search them, and subsequently was charged with criminal negligence. On 30 June 2005, he was convicted of negligence and sentenced to seven years of imprisonment. An appeal was made against the sentence, and the court subsequently reduced the term to six years.


2004 Russian aircraft bombings, Arrests and Trials
According to investigators, ticket seller Armen Aratyunyan was bribed approximately €140 to sell tickets to the two women without obtaining their correct IDs. Aratyunyan also helped Dzhebirkhanova to bribe the ticket-checking clerk, Nikolai Korenkov, with €25 to get on board without the proper IDs. On 15 April 2005, Aratyunyan and Korenkov were convicted of giving and taking bribes. They were sentenced to 1.5 years in a settlement colony (settlement colony convicts have more rights and privileges than people in standard colonies).


2004 Russian aircraft bombings, Arrests and Trials
Twenty-one relatives of the deceased passengers filed a civil suit against the security company responsible for checking the passengers, ZAO East-Line Aviation Security. They demanded 3,000,000 rubles (approximately €86,600 or US$115,000) in damages per victim. The trial in that case started in Volgograd on 22 February 2007. The security company claimed that it was not liable for damages, but the persons who organized the bombings were. The court handling the civil case sent a request to the prosecutor's office to get an update on the criminal investigation. The investigation was suspended indefinitely on 26 September 2006.


2004 Russian aircraft bombings, Arrests and Trials
According to the investigator who was handling the case, the people helping the suicide bombers at the airport were killed in Chechnya, the people responsible for planning the bombings were not identified (Shamil Basayev, who claimed responsibility for organizing the bombings, was also killed), and consequently the investigation was suspended due to lack of suspects. That civil case was still in court as of December 2009. Other passengers' relatives also sued the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, S7 Airlines and two insurance companies, Ingosstrakh and OAO Afes for damages (none of the defendants acknowledge any liability).


2004 Russian aircraft bombings, Arrests and Trials
On 21 October 2007, the court in the latter case found S7 Airlines liable for damages and ruled they should pay the relative of the victim in question 250,000 rubles (approximately €7,000), which was about 10% of what the plaintiffs asked for. S7's initial appeal was rejected by the court on 27 May 2008. A new S7 appeal was successful in April 2009 and the verdict was rejected. Relatives of the passenger appealed against the decision, but their appeal was dismissed in August 2009. They plan to appeal to a higher court.


2004 Russian presidential election
The 2004 Russian presidential election was held on 14 March 2004. Incumbent President Vladimir Putin was seeking a second full four-year term. He was re-elected with 71.9% of the vote.


2004 Russian presidential election, Candidates, Registered candidates
Candidates are listed in the order they appear on the ballot paper (alphabetical order in Russian).


2004 Russian presidential election, Conduct, General assessments
Observers representing the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, cited what they called abuses of government resources, bias in the state media and instances of ballot stuffing on election day. According to the ad hoc Committee by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, "the elections were generally well administrated and reflected the consistently high public approval rating of the incumbent president but lacked elements of a genuine democratic contest."


2004 Russian presidential election, Conduct, General assessments
"While on a technical level the election was organized with professionalism, particularly on the part of the Central Election Commission (CEC), the election process overall did not adequately reflect principles necessary for a healthy democratic election process. The election process failed to meet important commitments concerning treatment of candidates by the State-controlled media on a non-discriminatory basis, equal opportunities for all candidates and secrecy of the ballot," reported observers by Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. "Localised instances of election-related abuse of official function, whilst met with an appropriately robust response by the electoral authorities in some instances, reflected a lack of democratic culture, accountability and responsibility, particularly in areas distant from the capital."


2004 Russian presidential election, Conduct, General assessments
Observers representing the Commonwealth of Independent States recognized the election as "free, democratic and fair". The head of the mission Yury Yarov assured that violations identified during the mission didn't affect "free expression of the electors' will and result of the election".


2004 Russian presidential election, Conduct, Election campaign
According to report by an ad hoc Committee by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, "The Presidential Election Law and the Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights Law provided the legal framework for the presidential elections, laying down conditions for the transparency in the organisation and conduct of the election." Criticizing the election campaign, the Committee claimed as "unreasonable hurdle" the requirement to collect 2 million signatures for submission to the CEC in support of persons seeking registration as candidates.


2004 Russian presidential election, Conduct, Election campaign
Another concern was, "The Russian Constitution stipulates that in a presidential election, if the turnout is less than 50%, a new round has to be held, with candidates registering anew. This clause raised concerns of authorities on voters turnout and a massive campaign encouraging people to participate in elections had been launched by the CEC and local authorities. In some regions, local authorities overused their power to force people to take part in the elections." The election campaign in general was "low-key and all but invisible, which could be explained by the predictability of the results of the election." Glazyev's manager reported the use of administrative resources by preventing Glazyev from campaigning in the regions; Khakamada claimed that "local authorities were instructed to hamper her meetings with voters".


2004 Russian presidential election, Conduct, Election campaign
PACE reported that despite some irregularities, "credit should be given to the election administration which ensured security and professional conduct of the voting process". PACE noted the unusually high turnout in five North Caucasus republics (more than 90%), "Mr Putin received 98.2 % of the vote in Ingushetia, 96.5 % in Kabardino-Balkaria, 94,6 % in Dagestan, 92.3% in Chechnya and 91.25% in North Ossetia. Taking into account that the general turnout of the election was only 64.39%, the election results in these regions seem to be unusually high and one-sided." Considering situation in Chechnya, the Moscow Times quoted election officials in the republic's capital, Grozny, as acknowledging that they had filled in several thousand ballots for Putin.


2004 Russian presidential election, Conduct, Media bias
The report of PACE said that "during the presidential election the International Election Observation Mission concluded that state-controlled media had displayed clear bias in favour of the incumbent in news presentation and coverage of the campaign."


2004 Russian presidential election, Conduct, Media bias
According to the report by Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE) of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe,


2004 Russian presidential election, Conduct, Media bias
Television is the main source of public information in the Russian Federation. Two State-controlled TV channels have countrywide outreach, while the most significant private TV stations are NTV and Ren TV… The State-controlled media comprehensively failed to meet its legal obligation to provide equal treatment to all candidates, displaying clear favouritism towards Mr. Putin.


2004 Russian presidential election, Conduct, Media bias
While the other candidates had access to television and other media, through free airtime and televised debates, their access to the primetime news programmes and current affairs programmes on the State-controlled broadcasters was limited… In contrast to the coverage by State-funded TV channels, private broadcasters monitored by the EOM provided more balanced coverage, with a greater diversity of views.


2004 Russian presidential election, Conduct, Media bias
In the month prior to the election, state-funded Channel One Russia dedicated more than four hours of its news coverage to Putin, with the coverage being overwhelmingly positive. In contrast, the second-most covered candidate on Channel One was Kharitonov, who received a mere 21 minutes of primetime news coverage.


2004 Russian presidential election, Conduct, Media bias
State-funded TV Russia gave Putin nearly two hours of primetime news devoted more than two hours of its primetime news coverage to Putin, with the tone of the coverage being overwhelmingly positive. In contrast, Glazeyev was given only four minutes of coverage, the tone of which ranged from negative to neutral.


2004 Russian presidential election, Conduct, Media bias
TV Centre, a television station that was controlled by the Moscow City administration, provided  an hour and 25 minutes of coverage to Putin, with the tone being overwhelmingly positive. In contrast, TV Centre gave Glazeyev a mere seven minutes of coverage, which ranged in tone from negative to neutral.


2004 Russian presidential election, Conduct, Media bias
Private broadcasters were more balanced in their television coverage. REN TV gave 35 minutes of primetime news to Mr. Putin, with 35% ofthis coverage being negative. They gave Khakamada 22 minutes ofcoverage which ranged from neutral to positive in tone. NTV gave more than 31 minutes of coverage to Mr. Putin, ranging in tone from neutral to positive. In its analytical news programs, such as Svoboda Slova andNamedni, NTV gave a relatively balanced picture of the maincontestants and the State leadership. NTV, however, did not air election debates due to Putin’s refusal to take part. Additionally, NTV did not air special broadcasts for campaign programming citing to low public interest.


2004 Russian presidential election, Conduct, Media bias
Most local television outlets provided very little coverage of the election. What coverage they did provide generally tended to be favorable of Putin.


2004 Russian presidential election, Conduct, Media bias
Many media outlets ignored key developments in the campaign's of Putin's challengers. For instance, very few media outlets (both television and print) carried news of Khakamada's campaign announcement.


2004 Russian presidential election, Conduct, Media bias
Print media displayed a variety of views, with coverage of various outlets being either strongly pro-Putin or strongly anti-Putin in bias.


2004 Russian presidential election, Conduct, Calls for boycott
A few groups, notably the Yabloko party and a number of human rights organizations, encouraged voters to boycott the election. Yabloko's leader Grigory Yavlinsky specifically called for boycotts to take place in protest of what he considered to be, “the slide of the country into authoritarianism.”


2004 Russia–Belarus energy dispute
The 2004 Russia–Belarus energy dispute was a commercial and diplomatic dispute between Russia and Belarus that escalated in January 2004. Close relations between the two countries and willingness for political integration had made it possible for Belarus to purchase gas from Russia at heavily discounted prices. In the late 1990s, Russian foreign policy shifted away from geopolitics and became more pragmatic and economical, especially after the inauguration of President Vladimir Putin. As a result, Gazprom moved to ensure the reliability of gas transits to Europe by attempting to establish control over the Belarusian transit network.


2004 Russia–Belarus energy dispute
Belarus initially agreed to sell 50% of the network, but after disagreements over price, Belarus severed the contract. Gazprom announced price rises, and after Belarus refused, Gazprom ceased to import gas to Belarus on 1 January 2004. Belarus compensated by siphoning from gas meant for transit to Europe, which on 18 February resulted in Gazprom completely shutting off the supply to Belarus. Other companies supplied Belarus on short-term contracts until June 2004, when a new contract with Gazprom was finally signed.


2004 Russia–Belarus energy dispute, Background, Economic background
Belarus is an important transit route of Russian gas to Europe, with around 20–25% of Gazprom's European exports passing through Belarusian territory. Two major pipelines run through the country: Northern Lights and Yamal-Europe. The former is used to transit Russian gas to Europe as well as for Belarusian domestic use; the latter transits gas solely for export to Europe. The Belarusian economy is heavily gas dependent—gas accounted for 59.9% of the country's energy balance in 2003. In addition, most of the electricity in the country is generated from gas.


2004 Russia–Belarus energy dispute, Background, Economic background
In 2003, Belarusian gas consumption was 16.66 billion cubic metres (588 billion cubic feet). Domestic gas production amounted to only 0.25 billion cubic metres (8.8 billion cubic feet). The rest was imported from Russia, chiefly from Gazprom. For political reasons, Belarus was able to purchase gas from Russia for Russian domestic prices, which were only a quarter of the international market price. In January, 2003, Belarus paid $34.37 per 1,000 cubic meters for its imports.


2004 Russia–Belarus energy dispute, Background, Political background
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia and Belarus enjoyed relatively good relations. Both countries strove for political integration, Russia mostly for geopolitical and Belarus chiefly for economic reasons. Russia also saw political integration as a means for eventually gaining full control over the Belarusian transit routes—thus ensuring the reliability of transit. The Belarusian leadership chose to build close relations with Russia, with the ultimate aim of formal unification. Gas price agreements between the two countries were settled politically, with the commercial side being given less attention.


2004 Russia–Belarus energy dispute, Background, Political background
The relations between the two countries began to change as a result of the 1998 Russian financial crisis. Russia no longer saw itself strong enough to sustain its aspirations of superpower status. Consequently, Russia began to attach more significance to geo-economics rather than geo-politics in its relations with CIS neighbours. This development accelerated during Vladimir Putin's presidency, when Russian foreign policy became more pragmatic and economised.


2004 Russia–Belarus energy dispute, Background, Political background
Because of domestic payment collection problems, Belarus accumulated debts for its gas imports. When disagreements over the political integration increased, Gazprom realized that the Belarusian debts would in future undermine the reliability of Belarusian transit routes. Consequently, Gazprom sought to establish a joint venture to own and operate the Belarusian transit network, to ensure uninterrupted transit of gas to Europe.


2004 Russia–Belarus energy dispute, 2004 dispute
In an intergovernmental agreement signed in April 2002, Belarus promised to sell 50% of Beltransgaz, the company owning the Belarusian transit network, to Gazprom. The agreement also stipulated that gas prices to Belarus would be the same as Russian domestic prices for the next five years. The contract did not specify the value of Beltransgaz. Belarus estimated it as $5–6 billion, while Gazprom proposed a price of $500–600 million. The Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko later suggested $2.5 billion as a lower limit, but this was rejected by Gazprom. As the political agreements that had given Belarus the right to purchase gas at Russian domestic prices were now broken, Gazprom, backed by the Russian government, now moved to abolish the price discounts.


2004 Russia–Belarus energy dispute, 2004 dispute
Gazprom stated that if an agreement was not signed until 2004, it would increase gas prices from $30/m to $50 per 1,000 cubic meters. Belarus refused, and on 1 January 2004, Gazprom stopped shipping gas via the Northern lights pipeline. Belarus was able to compensate by purchasing gas from non-Gazprom exporters such as Itera and TransNafta on short-term contracts. This continued until 18 February, when the companies refused to sign further short-term supply contracts. Since Belarus was dependent on gas for most of its heat and electricity production, the situation in the country during cold winter started to become critical.


2004 Russia–Belarus energy dispute, 2004 dispute
After deliveries stopped, Belarus started to siphon gas meant for transit to Europe from the Yamal-Europe pipeline, without Gazprom's approval. As a result, at 18:00 Moscow time on 18 February, Gazprom completely cut off supplies to the Belarusian network. Germany experienced only minor shortfalls in deliveries because of extensive storages of gas and due to most of imports coming through Ukraine; however, Poland reported more severe disruption. Supplies to Kaliningrad Oblast were also affected.


2004 Russia–Belarus energy dispute, 2004 dispute
Belarus managed to sign a new short-term contract with TransNafta at the price of $46.68 per 1,000 cubic meters, which resulted in Gazprom resuming supplies before midnight of 19 February. Similar contracts supplied Belarus until June, when Belarus finally agreed a new contract with Gazprom for delivering gas for the rest of 2004 with the price of $46.68 per 1,000 cubic meters.


2004 Russia–Belarus energy dispute, 2004 dispute
In mid-2004, political relations between Belarus and Russia started to improve, and a new agreement between Belarus and Gazprom was signed. The two sides now agreed to appoint an outside consultancy firm to define an appropriate value for the sale of Beltransgaz.


2004 Russia–Belarus energy dispute, Implications
Although the 2004 dispute further strengthened the perception that Belarus and its economy were heavily dependent on Russian gas and Gazprom, it also became clear that Belarus also possessed some important cards. In 2007, after a later dispute, Gazprom agreed to pay $2.5 billion for Beltransgaz—several times more than it was prepared to pay in 2004. The 2004 dispute also raised concerns about reliability of Gazprom's supplies to Europe, and highlighted the fact that Gazprom had not solved the issue of reliable transit.


2004 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team
The 2004 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represented Rutgers University in the 2004 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Scarlet Knights were led by fourth-year head coach Greg Schiano and played their home games at Rutgers Stadium. They were a member of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 5–7, 1–5 in Big East play to finish in a tie with Temple for last place.


2004 Ryder Cup
The 35th Ryder Cup Matches were held September 17–19, 2004, in the United States at the South Course of Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Michigan, a suburb northwest of Detroit.


2004 Ryder Cup
The European team won the competition by a margin of 181⁄2 to 91⁄2 points, The victory margin was the largest by a European team in the history of the event, and the largest by either side since 1981, when Team USA defeated Team Europe by the same score. It was also the largest margin of defeat for the USA since the competition started in 1927.


2004 Ryder Cup, Television
In the United States, live Friday coverage was provided by USA Network. Bill Macatee and Peter Kostis hosted from the 18th tower. NBC Sports presented live coverage of the Saturday and Sunday matches. Dan Hicks and Johnny Miller hosted from the 18th tower, Bob Murphy called holes, while on-course reporters were Gary Koch, Mark Rolfing, Roger Maltbie, and Ed Sneed.


2004 Ryder Cup, Format
The Ryder Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. The competition format changed slightly from used from that used from 1991 to 2002, with the order of play swapped on the second day:


2004 Ryder Cup, Format
With a total of 28 points, 141⁄2 points were required to win the Cup, and 14 points were required for the defending champion to retain the Cup. All matches were played to a maximum of 18 holes.


2004 Ryder Cup, Teams
Captains picks are shown in yellow; the world rankings and records are at the start of the 2004 Ryder Cup.


2004 Ryder Cup, Teams
As vice-captains, United States captain Hal Sutton selected Jack Burke and Steve Jones, to assist him during the tournament.


2004 Ryder Cup, Teams
As vice-captains, European captain Bernhard Langer selected Joakim Haeggman and Anders Forsbrand to assist him during the tournament.


2004 Ryder Cup, Friday's matches, Morning four-ball
U.S. captain Hal Sutton put his top pairing of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in the first match of the Ryder Cup, hoping to come out to a quick lead. The decision backfired on Sutton, as the Woods/Mickelson pairing fell behind almost from the start, eventually losing. Only a 7-foot par putt by Chris Riley on the 18th hole of his match kept Team USA from being shut out by Team Europe. Team USA never had the lead during any of the first day's four-ball matches.


2004 Ryder Cup, Friday's matches, Afternoon foursomes
The afternoon alternate-shot session was almost as good for Team Europe as the morning session. Mickelson and Woods lost an early lead in their match, leaving Woods winless in the first day of his last three Ryder Cups. Team USA picked up its first full point, but Europe ended the day with a 61⁄2–11⁄2 lead, its largest lead after the first day in Ryder Cup history.


2004 Ryder Cup, Individual player records
Each entry refers to the Win–Loss–Half record of the player.


2004 Réunionese Regional Council election
Regional Council elections were held in Réunion in 2004 as part of the French regional elections. The result was a victory for the Communist Party of Réunion–Free Dom alliance, which won 27 of the 45 seats.


2004 S.League
2004 S.League was the ninth season of Singapore's professional football league. It was won by Tampines Rovers, which was their first league title.


2004 S.League, Foreign players
Each club is allowed to have up to a maximum of 4 foreign players.


2004 SANFL Grand Final
The 2004 South Australian National Football League (SANFL) Grand Final saw the Central District Bulldogs defeat Woodville-West Torrens by 125 points to claim the club's fourth premiership victory.


2004 SANFL Grand Final
The match was played on Sunday 3 October 2004 at Football Park in front of a crowd of 24,207.


2004 SANFL season
The 2004 South Australian National Football League season was the 125th season of the top-level Australian rules football competition in South Australia.


2004 SASF season
The South Australian Soccer Federation 2004 season was the second-last season run by the SASF. The competition consisted of two divisions of twelve teams each, across the state of South Australia.


2004 SASF season, 2004 SASF Premier League
The 2004 South Australian Premier League was the penultimate season of the SASF Premier League, the top-level domestic association football competition in South Australia. It was contested by 12 teams in a single 22-round league format, each team playing each of their opponents twice.


2004 SASF season, 2004 SASF State League
The 2004 South Australian State League was the penultimate season of the SASF State League, as the second-highest domestic level association football competition in South Australia. It was contested by 12 teams in a single 22-round league format, each team playing each of their opponents twice.


2004 SASFA Season
The 2004 SASFA season was the sixth regular season of the Texas Sixman Football League.


2004 SASFA Season
The biggest change for the SFA was new commissioner Frank Rios taking over the league and renaming it to the San Antonio Sixman Football Association because of a sister league to open up in Austin, TX that subsequently fell through. 2004 was the second straight season that the league did not expand with the only change being the Outlawz went back to their original moniker the Longhorns.


2004 SASFA Season, Teams
The Seminoles and Wolf Pack both returned for their sixth consecutive seasons of SFA football. The Mean Machine, Red Raiders and Rhinos continued for their fifth seasons. The Bandits, Bucs, Longhorns(renamed from the Outlawz), Mad Dogs, Rage and Wolverines are all in their fourth year of competition. The Six-Pack entered into their third season of play.


2004 SASFA Season, Teams
The Northern Conference consisted of the Bandits, Bucs, Longhorns, Mean Machine, Six-Pack and Wolf Pack. The Southern Conference consisted of the Mad Dogs, Rage, Red Raiders, Rhinos, Seminoles and Wolverines.


2004 SASFA Season, Regular season
The sixth year of the SASFA lasted eleven weeks from January 25, 2004 to April 18, 2004.


2004 SASFA Season, Regular season, Week 1
January 22, 2004Six-Pack 28 - Seminoles 20Mad Dogs 33 - Rage 22Bandits 32 - Raiders 7Mean Machine 28 - Bucs 20Rhinos 28 - Wolf Pack 27Longhorns 41 - Wolverines 24


2004 SASFA Season, Regular season, Week 2
February 8, 2004Mean Machine 12 - Six Pack 6Bandits 41 - Seminoles 20Rage 44 - Raiders 7Mad Dogs 33 - Rhinos 30Longhorns 39 - Bucs 30Wolverines 33 - Wolf Pack 31


2004 SASFA Season, Regular season, Week 3
February 15, 2003\4Rage 46 - Seminoles 22Mad Dogs 38 - Wolverines 16Longhorns 44 - Wolf Pack 31Six Pack 39 - Bucs 32Rhinos 12 - Raiders 0Bandits 38 - Mean Machine 7


2004 SASFA Season, Regular season, Week 4
February 22, 2004Bucs 46 - Wolf Pack 7Bandits 40 - Six Pack 19Longhorns 52 - Mad Dogs 32Rage 40 - Mean Machine 14Wolverines 24 - Raiders 25Rhinos 48 - Seminoles 21


2004 SASFA Season, Regular season, Week 5
February 29, 2004Mad Dogs 53 - Wolf Pack 19Longhorns 57 - Raiders 14Bandits 53 - Bucs 6Rage 57 - Six Pack 18Wolverines 39 - Seminoles 32Rhinos 35 - Mean Machine 19


2004 SASFA Season, Regular season, Week 6
March 7, 2004Longhorns 32 - Seminoles 27Rage 28 - Bandits 14Mean Machine 25 - Wolverines 14Six Pack 16 - Rhinos 8Bucs 27 - Mad Dogs 14Raiders 31 - Wolf Pack 27


2004 SASFA Season, Regular season, Week 7
March 14, 2004Mad Dogs 52 - Raiders 20Wolf Pack 39 - Seminoles 13Rhinos 2 - Bandits 0Longhorns 32 - Mean Machine 30Six Pack 32 - Wolverines 14Bucs 2 - Rage 0


2004 SASFA Season, Regular season, Week 8
March 21, 2004Wolverines 32 - Bandits 19Longhorns 36 - Six Pack 20Bucs 27 - Raiders 19Rage 46 - Rhinos 38Mean Machine 32 - Wolf Pack 0Mad Dogs 42 - Seminoles 0


2004 SASFA Season, Regular season, Week 9
March 28, 2004Bandits 14 - Longhorns 8Rage 20 - Wolverines 18Mean Machine 18 - Mad Dogs 12Rhinos 36 - Bucs 34Raiders 21 - Seminoles 14Six Pack 12 - Wolf Pack 0


2004 SASFA Season, Regular season, Week 10
April 4, 2004Bandits 30 - Wolf Pack 0Mad Dogs 46 - Six Pack 7Rage 58 - Longhorns 28Raiders 31 - Mean Machine 26Bucs 1 - Seminoles 0Rhinos 41 - Wolverines 0


2004 SASFA Season, Regular season, Week 11
April 18, 2004Raiders 35 - Six Pack 33Rage 42 - Wolf Pack 0Bandits 44 - Mad Dogs 43Wolverines 37 - Bucs 32Longhorns 30 - Rhinos 22Mean Machine 1 - Seminoles 0


2004 SASFA Season, Playoffs
The sixth year of playoffs for the SFA consisted of the top 4 from each conference making the playoffs again.


2004 SASFA Season, Playoffs, Conference Semi-Finals
April 25, 2004Bandits 42 – Mean Machine 18Longhorns 50 - Six-Pack 18Rage 29 - Raiders 24Mad Dogs 31 - Rhinos 22


2004 SASFA Season, Playoffs, Conference Championships
May 2, 2004Bandits 36 – Longhorns 8Mad Dogs 33 – Rage 28


2004 SASFA Season, Regular Season Awards
SFA Regular Season MVP: Stacey Green - #24 RB Mad Dogs


2004 SCCA ProRally season
The 2004 SCCA ProRally Season was the 32nd and last season of the SCCA ProRally and won by Canadian Patrick Richard from British Columbia and his co-driver and sister Nathalie. Nine rounds were held from January 2004 to October 2004. It was the final season of SCCA ProRally as the series became known as Rally America from 2005.


2004 SEABA Under-18 Championship
The 2004 SEABA Under-18 Championship was the qualifying tournament for Southeast Asia Basketball Association at the 2004 FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship. The tournament was held in Lucena, Quezon, the Philippines from April 14 to April 17. Quezon Convention Center was the venue of all the games. The hosts won their third overall title by sweeping all of their assignments to earn right to represent SEABA together with the second-placer Singapore.


2004 SEABA Under-18 Championship
Indonesia was supposed to participate at the tournament but withdrew a few days before the first match was due to be played


2004 SEAT Cupra Championship
The 2004 SEAT Cupra Championship season was the second season of the SEAT Cupra Championship in car racing. It began on 24 April at Brands Hatch, and ended on 28 August at Donington Park, after twelve rounds held in England and Scotland. The championship was won by James Pickford, after he had finished fifth in the championship's inaugural season. He held off a late-season charge from Oli Wilkinson to win the championship by just five points, with ex-British Touring Car Championship driver Tom Boardman coming in third. Pickford's prize for winning the championship was to replace Robert Huff in the SEAT Sport UK team in the BTCC for the 2005 season. Pickford finished eighth in the championship, with a best result of second, three times.


2004 SEAT Cupra Championship, Teams and drivers
All entries ran the Mk1 SEAT León entered by SEAT themselves.


2004 SEAT Open
The 2004 SEAT Open was a women's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts in Kockelscheuer, Luxembourg which was part of Tier III of the 2004 WTA Tour. It was the 14th edition of the tournament and was held from 25 October until 31 October 2004. Second-seeded Alicia Molik won the singles title and earned $35,000 first-prize money.


2004 SEAT Open, Finals, Doubles
Virginia Ruano Pascual /  Paola Suárez defeated  Jill Craybas /  Marlene Weingärtner, 6–1, 6–7(1–7), 6–3


2004 SEAT Open – Doubles
Maria Sharapova and Tamarine Tanasugarn were the defending champions, but none competed this year.


2004 SEAT Open – Doubles
Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suárez won the title by defeating Jill Craybas and Marlene Weingärtner 6–1, 6–7(1–7), 6–3 in the final.


2004 SEAT Open – Singles
Kim Clijsters was the defending champion, but did not compete this year due to an injury on her left wrist.


2004 SEAT Open – Singles
Second-seeded Alicia Molik won the title by defeating Dinara Safina 6–3, 6–4 in the final.


2004 SEAT Open – Singles, Seeds
The top two seeds received a bye into the second round.


2004 SEC Championship Game
The 2004 SEC Championship Game was played on December 4, 2004, in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. The game matched SEC Western Division champion Auburn against SEC Eastern Division champion Tennessee. The game was a 38–28 victory for Auburn.


2004 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2004 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament took place on March 11–14, 2004 in Atlanta, Georgia at the Georgia Dome.


2004 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament
Kentucky won the tournament and received the SEC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by beating Florida on March 14, 2004.


2004 SEC Softball Tournament
The 2004 SEC Softball Tournament was held at the University of Alabama Softball Stadium on the campus of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama from May 13 through May 16, 2004. LSU won the tournament and earned the Southeastern Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.


2004 SLC Twenty20 Tournament
The 2004 SLC Twenty20 Tournament is the 1st season of the official Twenty20 domestic cricket competition in Sri Lanka. 15 teams in total, five representing four provinces of Sri Lanka and a Sri Lanka Schools XI team participating in the competition. The competition began on 17 August 2004, when Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club played the Police Sports Club at Colts Cricket Club Ground, Colombo.


2004 SLC Twenty20 Tournament
This season comprised eight regular matches, four quarter finals, two semi finals and a final.


2004 SVL season
The 2004 Shakey's V-League (SVL) season was the first season of the Shakey's V-League. Founded in 2004 and organized by Sports Vision Management Group, Inc. (Sports Vision). The league began as the Shakey's V-League, a women's collegiate league with teams coming from the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation (CESAFI), and among others.


2004 SVL season, Second conference
The Shakey's V-League 1st season 2nd conference started on November 28, 2004 at the PhilSports Arena, Pasig, Philippines with 7 teams competing in the conference.


2004 Saarland state election
The 2004 Saarland state election was held on 5 September 2004 to elect the members of the Landtag of Saarland. The incumbent Christian Democratic Union (CDU) government led by Minister-President Peter Müller retained its majority and continued in office.


2004 Saarland state election, Parties
The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag of Saarland.


2004 Sabah state election
The 2004 Sabah state election was held on Sunday, 21 March 2004, concurrently with the 2004 Malaysian general election. This election featured 12 new state seats increasing the total seats from 48 to 60. There was also an additional three parliament seats in Sabah following the 2003 delineation of electoral boundaries. The Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition comprehensively won this election after the only major opposition party in Sabah Parti Bersatu Sabah joined the BN coalition in 2002.


2004 Sabah state election, Results
Barisan Nasional won 59 out of 60 state seats. Out of the 59 seats won, 8 seats was won uncontested. One state seat was won by independent candidate Johan Ghani in Kuala Penyu.


2004 Sabah state election, Results
BN also won 24 out of 25 parliamentary seats in Sabah, where 9 seats was won uncontested. One parliamentary seat was won by independent candidate Chong Hon Ming in Sandakan.


2004 Saban status referendum
A status referendum was held on the island of Saba on 5 November 2004.


2004 Saban status referendum, Background
After the 1994 referendum came out in favour of maintaining and restructuring the Netherlands Antilles, the government of the Netherlands Antilles tried to restructure the Netherlands Antilles and attempted to forge closer ties between the islands, as is exemplified by the adoption of an anthem of the Netherlands Antilles in 2000. A new referendum on Sint Maarten, which was in favour of a separate status for Sint Maarten as a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, sparked a new series of referendums across the Netherlands Antilles, however.


2004 Saban status referendum, Background
86.05% of the population in Saba voted for closer links to the Netherlands; remaining a part of the Netherlands Antilles got 13.18% of the vote. Independence got less than one percent of the vote.


2004 Sacramento Monarchs season
The 2004 WNBA season was the 8th for the Sacramento Monarchs. The Monarchs went to the playoffs, where they upset the Los Angeles Sparks in three games, but fell in the conference finals to eventual champion Seattle Storm.


2004 Sacramento Monarchs season, Offseason, Dispersal Draft
Based on the Monarchs' 2003 record, they would pick 10th in the Cleveland Rockers dispersal draft. The Monarchs picked Jennifer Butler.


2004 Sacramento State Hornets football team
The 2004 Sacramento State Hornets football team represented Sacramento State University during the 2004 NCAA Division I-AA football season.


2004 Sacramento State Hornets football team
Sacramento State competed in the Big Sky Conference. The Hornets were led by second-year head coach Steve Mooshagian and played home games at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California. They finished the season with a record of three wins and eight losses (3–8, 2–5 Big Sky). Sacramento State was outscored by its opponents 190–415 for the season.


2004 Sacramento State Hornets football team, Team players in the NFL
No Sacramento State players were selected in the 2005 NFL Draft.


2004 Sacramento State Hornets football team, Team players in the NFL
The following finished their college career in 2004, were not drafted, but played in the NFL.


2004 Sacramento mayoral election
The 2004 Sacramento mayoral election was held on March 2, 2004 to elect the mayor of Sacramento, California. It saw the reelection of Heather Fargo. Since Fargo won a majority in the first round, no runoff was required.


2004 Saint Francis Cougars football team
The 2004 Saint Francis Cougars football team represented the University of Saint Francis, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the 2004 NAIA football season. They were led by head coach Kevin Donley, who served his 7th year as the first and only head coach in the history of Saint Francis football. The Cougars played their home games at Bishop John M. D'Arcy Stadium and were members of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Mideast League (MEL). The Cougars finished in 1st place in the MSFA MEL division, and they received an automatic bid to the 2004 postseason NAIA playoffs.


2004 Saint Francis Cougars football team
The 2004 Cougars finished the regular season undefeated. In the postseason playoffs, the Cougars advanced to the national championship game where they lost to the Fighting Saints of Carroll, 15-13 in double overtime.


2004 Saint Francis Cougars football team, Schedule
(13-1 overall, 7-0 conference)The 2004 season was the first of three consecutive trips to the NAIA championship game in Savannah, TN. The Cougars finished as runner-up in the nation with its 2-point loss to Carroll (MT). As a tribute to this team's success, Donley was named the NAIA National Coach of the Year for the second time.


2004 Saint Francis Red Flash football team
The 2004 Saint Francis Red Flash football team represented Saint Francis University as a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC) during the 2004 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Red Flash were led by third-year head coach Dave Opfar and played their home games at the Pine Bowl. They finished the season 3–8 overall and 1–6 in NEC play to place last.


2004 Saint Kitts and Nevis general election
General elections were held in Saint Kitts and Nevis on 24 October 2004. The result was a victory for the Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party, which received over 50% of the vote and won seven of the eleven directly-elected seats in the National Assembly.


2004 Salford City Council election
The 2004 Salford City Council election took place on 10 June 2004 to elect members of Salford City Council in England. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes having taken place since the last election in 2003. The Labour Party kept overall control of the council. Overall turnout was 35.53%.


2004 Salt Lake County mayoral election
The 2004 Salt Lake County mayoral election was held to elect the Mayor of Salt Lake County, Utah on November 2, 2004, alongside the presidential, House of Representatives, Senate and gubernatorial elections. This marked the second election to the office since the post was created in 2000.


2004 Salt Lake County mayoral election
In 2000, Nancy Workman was elected as the first county mayor. However, in June 2004, she came under investigation for hiring two county-paid employees who had worked for her daughter at the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Valley, resulting in her being placed on paid administrative leave on July 9, replaced with Deputy Mayor Alan Dayton.


2004 Salt Lake County mayoral election
Democrat Peter Corroon won the election as one of two Democrats to win the county during the election cycle, alongside gubernatorial candidate Scott Matheson Jr., while the county backed Republicans George W. Bush for President and Bob Bennett for Senator.


2004 Salt Lake County mayoral election, Candidates, Republican Party, Dropped out
Despite being placed on administrative leave, Workman still remained the Republican candidate and refused to withdraw. However, after revelations that she had paid her daughter's former boyfriend for county computer work that was never done, Salt Lake County GOP voted on October 5 to withdraw support for her, instead supporting Ivory, who until then was running as a write-in candidate. On October 12, Workman filed papers with County Clerk Sherrie Swensen to officially withdraw from the race, including a note from her physician, Philip Roberts, saying she was "disabled" and unable to continue. Swensen rejected the county GOP attempt to certify Ivory as their candidate, forcing the party to hold an emergency central committee meeting and succeeding a week before the election, despite lawsuits from Democratic Party.


2004 Salvadoran presidential election
Presidential elections were held in El Salvador on  21 March 2004. Antonio Saca of the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) party won the election with 57% of the vote, avoiding the need for a run-off on 2 May.


2004 Salvadoran presidential election, Candidates
There were also two additional candidates. However, pre-vote opinion polls consistently placed both of them far behind the two leaders:


2004 Salvadoran presidential election, Candidates
The election was monitored by 270 international observers and El Salvador's own Tribunal Supremo Electoral, an institution created in 1992 to reform and validate the country's electoral system. Some 17,000 police were on security duty during the election.


2004 Salvadoran presidential election, Foreign interference
The U.S. government under George W. Bush interfered in the elections by threatening a deterioration of the bilateral relations in case of a victory by FMLN's candidate Schafik Handal. Bush's Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Otto Reich, stated that the U.S. government was "concerned about the impact that an FMLN victory could have on the commercial, economic, and migration-related relations of the U.S. with El Salvador."


2004 Salvadoran presidential election, Results
The voter turnout of 67% was the highest in Salvadoran history. The Tribunal Supremo Electoral confirmed Saca as the winner on Monday 22 March. Handal recognized Saca's victory, but chose not to congratulate him. Saca announced his intention to seek reconciliation with the opposition FMLN, in an effort to heal old divisions from the country's violent past. Saca selected Ana Vilma de Escobar to be his vice-president. She was previously the director of the Salvadoran Social Security Institute (ISSS). The new government took office on 1 June 2004.


2004 Salzburg state election
The 2004 Salzburg state election was held on 7 March 2004 to elect the members of the Landtag of Salzburg.


2004 Salzburg state election
The result was a historic victory for the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPÖ), which became the largest party for the first time in history. The SPÖ achieved a decisive swing of over thirteen percentage points, winning 45.4% of votes cast. The Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), which had governed the state uninterrupted since 1945, fell to second place despite only small losses. Incumbent Governor Franz Schausberger did not run for re-election; rather, Wilfried Haslauer Jr. was the ÖVP's top candidate. The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) lost over half its vote share and seats to the SPÖ, while The Greens made minor gains.


2004 Salzburg state election
A coalition between the SPÖ and Greens was mathematically possible, but dismissed by the SPÖ, who had ruled out such an arrangement prior to the election. They subsequently formed a coalition with the ÖVP. Gabi Burgstaller became the first SPÖ governor of Salzburg. She became the second female state governor in Austrian history (after Waltraud Klasnic in 1996), and the first to enter office as the result of an election victory.


2004 Salzburg state election, Background
In the 1999 election, the ÖVP remained the largest party, though the SPÖ increased their vote share by five points. The FPÖ stayed level on just under 20% of votes, and the Greens narrowly retained their presence in the Landtag. The ÖVP formed a coalition with the SPÖ.


2004 Salzburg state election, Electoral system
The 36 seats of the Landtag of Salzburg are elected via open list proportional representation in a two-step process. The seats are distributed between six multi-member constituencies. For parties to receive any representation in the Landtag, they must either win at least one seat in a constituency directly, or clear a 5 percent state-wide electoral threshold. Seats are distributed in constituencies according to the Hare quota, with any remaining seats allocated using the D'Hondt method at the state level, to ensure overall proportionality between a party's vote share and its share of seats.


2004 Salzburg state election, Contesting parties
The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag.


2004 Sammarinese local elections
The 2004 Sammarinese local elections were held on 18 April to elect the mayor and the council of the municipalities of Borgo Maggiore, in San Marino, as the 2003 Sammarinese local elections was declared invalid, as the turnout quorum was not reached. Turnout in this election was 61.5%.


2004 Sammarinese local elections, Electoral system
Voters elected the mayor (Italian: capitano di castello) and the municipal council (giunta di castello) of Borgo Maggiore. The number of seats of the council was established at 10 by law. Candidates ran on lists led by a mayoral candidate. Voters elected a list and were allowed to give up to two preferential votes. Seats were allocated with the d'Hondt method if the winner had obtained at least 60% of the votes. Otherwise, six seats would have been allocated to the winning party and the rest of the seats would have been allocated using the d'Hondt method to the rest of the parties. The mayoral candidate of the winning list was proclaimed mayor.


2004 Samoa National League
The 2004 Samoa National League, or also known as the Upolo First Division, was the 16th edition of the Samoa National League, the top league of the Football Federation Samoa. Strickland Brothers Lepea won their third consecutive title.


2004 San Antonio Silver Stars season
The 2004 WNBA season was the 8th season for the San Antonio Silver Stars franchise. The team came last in the league with a 9-25 record.


2004 San Antonio Silver Stars season, Offseason, Dispersal Draft
Based on the Silver Stars' 2003 record, they would pick 3rd in the Cleveland Rockers dispersal draft. The Silver Stars picked LaToya Thomas.


2004 San Antonio Silver Stars season, Player stats
Note: GP = Games Played; REB = Rebounds; AST = Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points


2004 San Diego Chargers season
The 2004 San Diego Chargers season was the franchise's 35th season in the National Football League (NFL), its 45th overall and the third under head coach Marty Schottenheimer. The team improved on their 4–12 record in 2003 and finished the regular season 12–4, made the playoffs for the first time in nine years, and captured their first division title since the 1994 season. In the playoffs they lost in overtime to the New York Jets. At the end of the season Marty Schottenheimer was named NFL Coach of the Year.


2004 San Diego Chargers season, Offseason, NFL draft
Entering the draft, the consensus top pick was Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning. However, Manning had said prior to the draft that he did not want to play for the Chargers and would not sign with them if he was drafted. The Chargers would strike a deal with the Giants before the draft that would shape the future of both franchises. The Chargers would select Manning first overall, as they had intended to. The Giants would then draft quarterback Philip Rivers of North Carolina State, and then swap him and two 2005 draft picks for Manning.


2004 San Diego City Attorney election
The 2004 San Diego City Attorney election occurred on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. The primary election was held on Tuesday, June 2, 2004.


2004 San Diego City Attorney election
Municipal elections in California are officially non-partisan, although most members do identify a party preference. A two-round system was used for the election, starting with a primary in June followed by a runoff in November between the top-two candidates.


2004 San Diego City Council election
The 2004 San Diego City Council election occurred on November 2, 2004. The primary election was held on March 2, 2004. Four of the eight seats of the San Diego City Council were contested. This election used the boundaries created by the 2000 Redistricting Committee for the odd-numbered districts. All four incumbent council members ran for reelection in their respective districts.


2004 San Diego City Council election
Municipal elections in California are officially non-partisan, although most candidates do identify a party preference. A two-round system was used for the election, starting with a primary in March followed by a runoff in November between the top-two candidates if no candidate received a majority of the votes in the first round.


2004 San Diego City Council election, Campaign
The 2004 election used the eight district boundaries created by the 2000 Redistricting Commission for the odd numbered districts. Seats in districts 1, 3, 5, and 7 were up for election.


2004 San Diego City Council election, Results, District 1
District 1 consisted of the  communities of Black Mountain Ranch, Carmel Valley, Del Mar Mesa, La Jolla, Pacific Highlands Ranch, Rancho Peñasquitos, Torrey Highlands, Torrey Hills, Torrey Pines, and University City. Incumbent council member Scott Peters stood for reelection. Peters advanced out of the March primary with a plurality of the vote and was reelected with a majority of the vote in the November general election.


2004 San Diego City Council election, Results, District 3
District 3 consisted of the communities of Balboa Park, City Heights, Golden Hill, Hillcrest, Kensington, Normal Heights, North Park, South Park, Talmadge, and University Heights. Incumbent council member Toni Atkins stood for reelection. Atkins was reelected with a majority of the vote in the March primary.


2004 San Diego City Council election, Results, District 5
District 5 consisted of the communities of Carmel Mountain Ranch, Mira Mesa, Rancho Bernardo, Sabre Springs, Scripps Ranch, and San Pasqual. Incumbent council member Brian Maienschein ran for reelection uncontested and was therefore elected with 100 percent of the vote in the March primary.


2004 San Diego City Council election, Results, District 7
District 7 consisted of the communities of Allied Gardens,City Heights, College Area, Del Cerro, El Cerrito, Grantville, MCAS Miramar, Mission Trails Regional Park, Redwood Village – Oak Park, Rolando, San Carlos, Stonebridge Estates, and Tierrasanta. Incumbent council member Jim Madaffer stood for reelection. Madaffer was reelected with a majority of the vote in the March primary.


2004 San Diego City Council election, Deputy Mayor
The new city council was sworn in December 2004. Council member Michael Zucchet of district 2 was initially tapped to serve as deputy mayor. Zucchet briefly served as acting mayor of San Diego after the resignation of Dick Murphy. Atkins took over as acting mayor when Zucchet was forced to resign shortly thereafter due to a corruption conviction.


2004 San Diego Padres season
The 2004 San Diego Padres season was the 36th season in franchise history. It saw the club finish with a record of 87-75, the fifth most wins in franchise history. With the 87 wins, the Padres improved their win-loss record by 23 games over the 2003 season (64-98), the single largest improvement from one full season to the next in team history. The Padres also moved into their new home Petco Park, which drew a total of 3,016,752 fans to 81 home games, shattering all previous attendance marks.


2004 San Diego Padres season, Regular season, Petco Park
Petco Park is an open-air stadium in downtown San Diego, California. It opened in 2004, replacing Qualcomm Stadium as the home park of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres. Before then, the Padres shared Qualcomm Stadium with the NFL's San Diego Chargers. The stadium is named after the animal and pet supplies retailer PETCO, which is based in San Diego and paid for the naming rights.


2004 San Diego Padres 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


2004 San Diego Padres 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


2004 San Diego Padres season, Player stats, Pitching, Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


2004 San Diego Padres season, Player stats, Pitching, Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


2004 San Diego Padres season, Player stats, Pitching, Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


2004 San Diego State Aztecs football team
The 2004 San Diego State Aztecs football team represented San Diego State University in the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. They were coached by Tom Craft and played their home games at Qualcomm Stadium.


2004 San Diego Toreros football team
The 2004 San Diego Toreros football team represented the University of San Diego during the 2004 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their first year under head coach Jim Harbaugh, the Toreros compiled a 7–4 record and outscored their opponents 397 to 266.


2004 San Diego mayoral election
The 2004 San Diego mayoral election was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004 to elect the mayor for San Diego. Incumbent mayor Dick Murphy stood for reelection for a second term.


2004 San Diego mayoral election
Municipal elections in California are officially non-partisan, though some candidates do receive funding and support from various political parties. The non-partisan primary was held Tuesday, June 3, 2004. Murphy and county supervisor Ron Roberts received the most votes and advanced to the November special general election.


2004 San Diego mayoral election
After the primary San Diego City Council member Donna Frye entered the race as a write-in candidate for the November general election. Murphy was certified as winner with a narrow plurality of the votes in the general election over runner-up Frye. This result was subject to a recount and litigation before ultimately being upheld by the courts in February 2005.


2004 San Diego mayoral election, Campaign
In the March primary Dick Murphy received the most votes but not a majority, denying him the outright majority needed for an outright victory. This was the first time in twenty years that an incumbent mayor was forced to face a runoff election. San Diego County Supervisor Ron Roberts received the second most votes and advanced to the general election alongside Murphy. Roberts had also been the runner-up in the 2000 mayoral election against Murphy.


2004 San Diego mayoral election, Campaign
After the primary elections, San Diego City Council member Donna Frye announced that she would run as a write-in candidate. Frye ran a maverick campaign against Murphy and Roberts, who were both considered establishment candidates by the media. Frye was the only member of the city council to vote against the underfunding of San Diego's pension liabilities that led to the San Diego pension scandal. As mayor, Murphy had voted in favor of the underfunding.


2004 San Diego mayoral election, Recount and litigation
In the general election, Dick Murphy was certified as winner of a plurality of votes by a margin of 2,108 votes over runner-up Frye. However, news outlets uncovered 5,547 ballots that were not counted on which voters had written in Frye's name but not filled in the adjacent oval. If these votes had been counted, Frye would have been elected mayor instead of Murphy. Members of the media requested a recount indirectly on Frye's behalf, leading to allegations of bias from Murphy's lawyers.


2004 San Diego mayoral election, Recount and litigation
Attorney Fred Woocher filed a lawsuit on behalf of three voters contesting Murphy's victory due to the 5,000 uncounted ballots. On February 2, 2005, Judge Michael Brenner ruled that the unfilled ovals did not count as votes under California state law, ending the post-election litigation battle.


2004 San Diego mayoral election, Aftermath
In April 2005, only two months after the results of the election were officially upheld by the courts, Murphy announced that he would be resigning as mayor. In the face of a deepening pension scandal that he was personally involved in, Murphy stated that San Diego needed a mayor with the support of the majority of residents and a clear mandate to lead the city out of its crisis. The city held a special election to fill the vacancy at mayor.


2004 San Diego mayoral election, Aftermath
In response to Donna Frye's nearly successful write-in candidacy, the San Diego City Council amended the municipal code so that write-in candidates could not run in general elections or run-off elections. Write-ins are still permitted in primary elections and recall elections.


2004 San Francisco 49ers season
The 2004 season was the San Francisco 49ers' 55th in the National Football League, the 59th overall and their second and final under head coach Dennis Erickson, as he was fired after the season.


2004 San Francisco 49ers season
The 49ers attempted to improve on their 7–9 output from the previous season, but the 49ers finished the season at 2–14, both wins coming against division-rival Arizona Cardinals in overtime. The 49ers earned the #1 overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, where they selected quarterback Alex Smith, who would play for the team for eight seasons.


2004 San Francisco 49ers season
The season marked changes for the 49ers, who lost three key members of the 2001 team: Quarterback Jeff Garcia was released in the off-season and later signed with the Cleveland Browns, running back Garrison Hearst went to the Denver Broncos, and controversial wide receiver Terrell Owens went to the Philadelphia Eagles, where they lost to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.


2004 San Francisco 49ers season, Game Summaries, Week 1: vs. Atlanta Falcons
at San Francisco Stadium at Candlestick Point, San Francisco, CaliforniaWeather 68 °F (Partly Cloudy)Sunday, September 12, 2004


2004 San Francisco 49ers season, Game Summaries, Week 1: vs. Atlanta Falcons
The 49ers opened the season at home against the Falcons. The game was statistically dominated by the 49ers, but they were required to make a fourth quarter comeback. The 49ers had an opportunity to tie the game, but a two-point conversion pass attempt from Tim Rattay fell harmlessly to the ground. The loss had the 49ers open the season at 0–1.


2004 San Francisco 49ers season, Game Summaries, Week 1: vs. Atlanta Falcons
ATL- Alge Crumpler 15-yard pass from Michael Vick (Jay Feely kick) ATL 7-0


2004 San Francisco 49ers season, Game Summaries, Week 1: vs. Atlanta Falcons
ATL- Warrick Dunn 2-yard rush (Jay Feely kick) ATL 14-0


2004 San Francisco 49ers season, Game Summaries, Week 1: vs. Atlanta Falcons
ATL- Warrick Dunn 9-yard rush (Jay Feely kick) ATL 21-3


2004 San Francisco 49ers season, Game Summaries, Week 1: vs. Atlanta Falcons
SF- Cedrick Wilson 8-yard pass from Tim Rattay (Todd Peterson kick) ATL 21-13


2004 San Francisco 49ers season, Game Summaries, Week 1: vs. Atlanta Falcons
SF- Eric Johnson 16-yard pass from Tim Rattay (pass failed) ATL 21-19


2004 San Francisco 49ers season, Game Summaries, Week 2: at New Orleans Saints
In a high-scoring battle, in which both teams scored during all four-quarters, the Saints bested the 49ers by a three-point differential. The 49ers took an early lead with a 30-yard field goal by Todd Peterson, but after the Saints scored, the 49ers played catch-up the rest of the game. With this close loss, the 49ers dropped to 0–2 on the season.


2004 San Francisco 49ers season, Game Summaries, Week 2: at New Orleans Saints
NO- Joe Horn 8-yard pass from Aaron Brooks (John Carney kick) NO 7-3


2004 San Francisco 49ers season, Game Summaries, Week 2: at New Orleans Saints
SF- Kevan Barlow 10-yard rush (Todd Peterson kick) TIED 10-10


2004 San Francisco 49ers season, Game Summaries, Week 2: at New Orleans Saints
NO- Jerome Pathon 37-yard pass from Aaron Brooks (John Carney kick) NO 17-10


2004 San Francisco 49ers season, Game Summaries, Week 2: at New Orleans Saints
SF- Kevan Barlow 1-yard rush (Todd Peterson kick) NO 20-17


2004 San Francisco 49ers season, Game Summaries, Week 2: at New Orleans Saints
SF- Jamal Robertson 1-yard rush (Todd Peterson kick) SF 27-23


2004 San Francisco 49ers season, Game Summaries, Week 2: at New Orleans Saints
NO- Donté Stallworth 16-yard pass from Aaron Brooks (John Carney kick) NO 30-27


2004 San Francisco 49ers season, Game Summaries, Week 3: at Seattle Seahawks
The 49ers suffered a 34–0 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in week 3. It was the first shutout of a 49ers team since the Atlanta Falcons handed them a 7–0 loss in week 4 of the 1977 NFL Season (they were also shut out in week 1 that season by the Pittsburgh Steelers). This remains the longest such streak in the NFL. While the Seahawks scored several field goals and touchdowns, the 49ers could only manage nine first downs and turned the ball over four times (two interceptions and two lost fumbles). With the loss, the 49ers fell to 0–3.


2004 San Francisco 49ers season, Game Summaries, Week 3: at Seattle Seahawks
SEA – Shaun Alexander 1-yard rush (Josh Brown kick) SEA 10-0


2004 San Francisco 49ers season, Game Summaries, Week 3: at Seattle Seahawks
SEA – Shaun Alexander 3-yard pass from Matt Hasselbeck (Josh Brown kick) 17-0


2004 San Francisco 49ers season, Game Summaries, Week 3: at Seattle Seahawks
SEA – Shaun Alexander 1-yard rush (Josh Brown kick) 24-0


2004 San Francisco 49ers season, Game Summaries, Week 3: at Seattle Seahawks
SEA – Itula Mili 1-yard pass from Matt Hasselbeck (Josh Brown kick) 31-0


2004 San Francisco 49ers season, Game Summaries, Week 4: vs. St. Louis Rams
At Monster Park, San Francisco, CaliforniaWeather 62 °F (Partly Cloudy)Sunday, October 3, 2004