2004 Sri Lanka tsunami train wreck, Tsunami waves strike the crowded train
At 9:30 A.M., in the village of Peraliya, near Telwatta, the beach saw the first of the gigantic waves thrown up by the earthquake. The train came to a halt as water surged around it, and an alarm sounded to alert the population about the increase in the water level. Hundreds of locals, believing the train to be secure on the rails, climbed onto the top of the cars to avoid being swept away. Others stood behind the train, hoping it would shield them from the force of the water. The first wave flooded the carriages and caused panic amongst the passengers. Ten minutes later a huge wave picked the train up and smashed it against the trees and houses which lined the track, crushing those seeking shelter behind it.


2004 Sri Lanka tsunami train wreck, Tsunami waves strike the crowded train
The eight carriages were so packed with people that the doors could not be opened while they filled with water, drowning almost everyone inside as the water washed over the wreckage several more times. The passengers on top of the train were thrown clear of the uprooted carriages, and most drowned or were crushed by debris. Locomotive #591 Manitoba was carried 100 metres (328 feet), coming to rest in a swamp. Both engineer Janaka Fernando and assistant Sivaloganathan died at their posts. Estimates based on the state of the shoreline and a high-water mark on a nearby building place the tsunami 7.5 to 9 meters (24 to 29 feet) above sea level and 2 to 3 meters (6 to 9 feet) higher than the top of the train.


2004 Sri Lanka tsunami train wreck, Casualties
Due to the huge scale of the tsunami disaster, the local authorities were unable to cope with the devastation, and emergency services and the military were so overwhelmed that immediate rescue was not possible. In fact, the Sri Lankan authorities had no idea where the train was for several hours, until it was spotted by an army helicopter around 4:00 PM. The local emergency services were destroyed, and it was a long time before help arrived.


2004 Sri Lanka tsunami train wreck, Casualties
Dozens of people badly injured in the disaster died in the wreckage during the day, and many bodies were not retrieved for over a week. Some families descended on the area determined to find their relatives themselves. A forensic team from Colombo photographed and fingerprinted the unclaimed bodies at Batapola Hospital so the records could be stored and looked at after the bodies were buried.


2004 Sri Lanka tsunami train wreck, Casualties
According to the Sri Lankan authorities, only about 150 people on the train survived. The estimated death toll was at least 1,700 people, and probably over 2,000, although only approximately 900 bodies were recovered, as many were swept out to sea or taken away by relatives. The town of Peraliya was also destroyed, losing hundreds of citizens and all but ten buildings to the waves. Venerable Baddegama Samitha, a Buddhist monk, helped perform funeral rites along with his students. More than 200 of the bodies retrieved were not identified or claimed, and were buried three days later in a Buddhist ceremony near the torn railway line.


2004 Sri Lanka tsunami train wreck, Aftermath
The first anniversary ceremonies were held among the rebuilt town alongside the repaired railway, which still operates a Colombo-to-Galle service, employing the same guard, W. Karunatilaka, who was on the train and survived the disaster. Locomotive #591 Manitoba and two of the damaged carriages were salvaged and rebuilt. A wave was added to the locomotive's paint job as a memorial. The rebuilt locomotive and carriages returned to Peraliya on 26 December 2008, and every year since, to take part in a religious ceremony and a memorial, held to remember those who lost their lives.


2004 Sri Lankan parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Sri Lanka on 2 April 2004. The ruling United National Party of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was defeated, winning only eighty two seats in the 225-member Sri Lankan parliament. The opposition United People's Freedom Alliance won 105 seats. While this was eight seats short of an absolute majority, the Alliance was able to form a government.


2004 Sri Lankan parliamentary election
On 6 April President Chandrika Kumaratunga commissioned Mahinda Rajapaksa, a former Labour Minister, as Prime Minister.


2004 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, Parties
The United People's Freedom Alliance was formed as an alliance between President Kumaratunga's party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), and the leftist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna. Other parties that belong to the People's Alliance, such as the Communist Party of Sri Lanka, the Democratic United National Front, the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, Mahajana Eksath Peramuna and the Sri Lanka Mahajana Pakshaya, later joined UPFA.


2004 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, Parties
In the 2001 elections, the People's Alliance and Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna had fought separately. Then the JVP won 9.1% of the vote and sixteen seats. At this election it is reported than as many as thirty nine JVP members won seats as UPFA candidates.


2004 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, Parties
The runner-up in the election was the United National Front (UNF), the front led by the United National Party. In addition to the UNP, the UNF also had candidates from minor parties such as Ceylon Workers Congress.


2004 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, Parties
Other parties winning seats were the Buddhist, Sinhala nationalist outfit Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), the pro-LTTE alliance Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP). The Democratic Peoples Liberation Front (the political wing of PLOTE) lost their parliamentary representation.


2004 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, Campaign
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe's UNF government had been in limbo since October 2003, when President Kumaratunga declared a state of emergency and took three key cabinet portfolios for her party. During the campaign, she argued that Wickremasinghe had been too soft on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and promised to take a harder line. The UNF, for its part, stressed the economic gains that had been made with the ceasefire and the need to find a negotiated solution to the civil war.


2004 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, Voting
Polling booths opened at 07:00 local time and remained open until 16:00  (01:00 to 10:00 UTC). A total of 10,670 polling stations were installed to receive votes from 12.9 million eligible voters. Voter turnout was high, at around 75%.


2004 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, Voting
The backdrop to polling day was tense, with continued guerrilla activity by Tamil Tiger separatists and five politically motivated murders in the run-up to the election. However, except for a slightly lower turnout in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka and allegations of fraud in the North, the election was calm and orderly.


2004 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, Voting
Sri Lanka's Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake said that despite reported cases of electoral malpractice in certain polling stations in six electoral districts, there would be no fresh elections in these areas and the results issued by the Commission were final.


2004 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, Results
The United People's Freedom Alliance vote and seat totals are compared with the combined People's Alliance and JVP vote and seat counts at the 2001 election.


2004 Sri Lankan provincial council elections
The 2004 Sri Lankan provincial council election was held on 24 April 2004 and 10 July 2004 to elect members to seven provincial councils in Sri Lanka. No election was held in the eighth province, North Eastern, which had been governed directly by the national government since March 1990. The United People's Freedom Alliance, which was in power nationally, won all seven provinces.


2004 Sri Lankan provincial council elections, Background
In an attempt to end the Sri Lankan Civil War the Indo-Lanka Accord was signed on 29 July 1987. One of the requirements of the accord was that the Sri Lankan government to devolve powers to the provinces. Accordingly on 14 November 1987 the Sri Lankan Parliament passed the 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka and the Provincial Councils Act No 42 of 1987. On 3 February 1988 nine provincial councils were created by order. The first elections for provincial councils took place on 28 April 1988 in North Central, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, and Uva provinces. On 2 June 1988 elections were held for provincial councils for Central, Southern and Western provinces. The United National Party (UNP), which was in power nationally, won control of all seven provincial councils.


2004 Sri Lankan provincial council elections, Background
The Indo-Lanka Accord also required the merger of the Eastern and Northern provinces into one administrative unit. The accord required a referendum to be held by 31 December 1988 in the Eastern Province to decide whether the merger should be permanent. Crucially, the accord allowed the Sri Lankan president to postpone the referendum at his discretion. On September 2 and 8 1988 President Jayewardene issued proclamations enabling the Eastern and Northern provinces to be one administrative unit administered by one elected council, creating the North Eastern Province. Elections in the newly merged North Eastern Province were held on 19 November 1988. The Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front, an Indian backed paramilitary group, won control of the North Eastern provincial council.


2004 Sri Lankan provincial council elections, Background
On 1 March 1990, just as the Indian Peace Keeping Force were preparing to withdraw from Sri Lanka, Annamalai Varatharajah Perumal, Chief Minister of the North Eastern Province, moved a motion in the North Eastern Provincial Council declaring an independent Eelam. President Premadasa reacted to Permual's UDI by dissolving the provincial council and imposing direct rule on the province.


2004 Sri Lankan provincial council elections, Background
The 2nd Sri Lankan provincial council election was held in 1993 in seven provinces. The UNP retained control of six provincial councils but lost control of the largest provincial council, Western, to the opposition People's Alliance. A special election was held in Southern Province in 1994 after some UNP provincial councillors defected to the opposition. The PA won the election and took control of the Southern Provincial Council.


2004 Sri Lankan provincial council elections, Background
The 3rd Sri Lankan provincial council election was held in 1999 in seven provinces. The PA, which was now in power nationally, managed to win the majority of seats in two provinces (North Central and North Western). It was also able to form a majority administration in the other five provinces with the support of smaller parties such as the Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC) . The UNP regained control of the Central Provincial Council in 2002 after the CWC councillors crossed over to the opposition.


2004 Sri Lankan provincial council elections, Results
The United People's Freedom Alliance, the successor to the PA, won all seven provinces.


2004 Sri Lankan provincial council elections, Results, Central Province
Results of the 4th Central provincial council election held on 10 July 2004:


2004 Sri Lankan provincial council elections, Results, North Central Province
Results of the 4th North Central provincial council election held on 10 July 2004:


2004 Sri Lankan provincial council elections, Results, North Western Province
Results of the 4th North Western provincial council election held on 24 April 2004:


2004 Sri Lankan provincial council elections, Results, Sabaragamuwa Province
Results of the 4th Sabaragamuwa provincial council election held on 10 July 2004:


2004 Sri Lankan provincial council elections, Results, Southern Province
Results of the 5th Southern provincial council election held on 10 July 2004:


2004 Sri Lankan provincial council elections, Results, Uva Province
Results of the 4th Uva provincial council election held on 10 July 2004:


2004 Sri Lankan provincial council elections, Results, Western Province
Results of the 4th Western provincial council election held on 10 July 2004:


2004 St Albans City and District Council election
The 2004 St Albans City and District Council election took place on 10 June 2004 to elect members of St Albans District Council in Hertfordshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.


2004 St Albans City and District Council election, Background
After the last election in 2003 the Liberal Democrats were the largest party on the council with 23 seats, compared to 21 for the Conservatives, 13 for Labour and there was 1 independent. In April 2004 the Liberal Democrats gained a seat from the Conservatives at a by-election in Verulam, which meant they needed to gain 6 seats at the 2004 council election to take a majority on the council. St Albans was reported by national newspapers to be a council that the Liberal Democrats were hoping to win a majority on.


2004 St Albans City and District Council election, Background
18 seats were contested at the election with only Colney Heath and Sandridge wards not having elections. Candidates from the 3 main parties stood in all 18 wards apart from in Redbourn, where the Liberal Democrats did not put up a candidate to oppose the independent councillor, Tony Swendell, who was standing for re-election. Two other parties put up some candidates, 3 from the new St Albans Party and 2 from the Green Party.


2004 St Albans City and District Council election, Background
4 Conservative councillors stood down at the election, Mike Bretherton, Mike Jameson, Martin Treasure and Hazel Ward, as well as 1 from Labour, Andrew Rose and 1 Liberal Democrat, John White.


2004 St Albans City and District Council election, Election result
The results saw the Liberal Democrat make 5 gains but come up one seat short of gaining an overall majority. They gained seats in Ashley and St Peters wards from Labour, and in Marshalswick South, Park Street and Wheathampstead from the Conservatives, to have exactly half of the 58 seats on the council. This reduced the Conservatives to 17 seats and Labour to 11 seats, while independent Anthony Swendell was re-elected in Redbourn.


2004 St Albans City and District Council election, Election result
Following the election the Liberal Democrats took control of the council with all of the seats on the council cabinet after winning a vote 29 to 24, with 1 abstention, despite opposition from both Labour and the Conservatives.


2004 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election
The 2004 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 10 June 2004 to elect members of St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in Merseyside, England. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 2003 reducing the number of seats by six. The Labour Party lost overall control of the council to no overall control.


2004 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election, Background
Since the 2003 election boundary changes reduced the number of councillors from 54 to 48, while also reducing the number of wards from 18 to 16.


2004 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election, Election result
Labour lost their majority of the council, after losing 9 seats to take exactly half of the seats on the council, with 24 councillors. The Labour leader of the council, Marie Rimmer held her seat in West Park after 3 recounts, while Labour councillors Terry Hanley, Jeff Molyneux and Marlene Quinn were among those to be defeated. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats gained 3 seats to have 18 councillors and the Conservatives won 6 seats. Overall turnout at the election dropped to 40% from 48% in 2003, despite the election being held with all postal voting as in 2003.


2004 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election, Election result
Following the election Labour continued to run the council with all of the executive being Labour councillors, after an agreement between the Labour and Conservative group leaders. This saw Conservative Betty Lowe becoming the new mayor, but only after agreeing not to use her vote at full council meetings.


2004 St. George Illawarra Dragons season
The 2004 St. George Illawarra Dragons season was the 6th in the joint-venture club's history, and they competed in the 2004 NRL season. Coached by Nathan Brown and captained by Trent Barrett, they finished the 2004 Telstra Premiership 5th (out of 15 teams) at the end of the regular season. The Dragons then reached the first week of the finals when they were knocked out by the Penrith Panthers. This was the result of some major upsets which involved two of the top three ranked teams (Bulldogs and Brisbane Broncos) also losing in the first week of the finals.


2004 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals 2004 season was the team's 123rd season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 113th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 105-57 during the season, the most wins of any Cardinals team since 1944, and the first Cardinal team to win 100 or more games since 1985, and won the National League Central division by 13 games over the NL Wild-Card Champion Houston Astros.


2004 St. Louis Cardinals season
In the playoffs the Cardinals defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 3 games to 1 in the NLDS and the Astros 4 games to 3 in the NLCS to reach their first World Series since 1987. In the World Series the Cardinals faced the Boston Red Sox and were swept 4 games to 0. It was the final World Series played at Busch Memorial Stadium. Because the American League had home-field advantage as a result of winning the All-Star Game, Busch Memorial Stadium was where the Curse of the Bambino died.


2004 St. Louis Cardinals season
Catcher Mike Matheny, third baseman Scott Rolen, and outfielder Jim Edmonds won Gold Gloves this year.


2004 St. Louis Cardinals season
The 2004 St. Louis Cardinals were the first team to lose the World Series to a "Moneyball" style team roster on the side of the Red Sox.


2004 St. Louis Cardinals season, Regular season, Summary
Acquired via trade from the Colorado Rockies on August 6, 2004, Larry Walker, customarily the Rockies' number three hitter, became the Cardinals' number two hitter. The Cardinals already had Edmonds, Pujols and Rolen in the 3 through 5 spots. Walker made his Cardinals debut on August 7, playing the New York Mets, and appeared as a pinch-hitter and struck out in the seventh inning. He drew a walk from Mike Stanton in the ninth inning and scored the game-winning run on a Yadier Molina single.


2004 St. Louis Cardinals 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 St. Louis Cardinals 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 St. Louis Cardinals season, NLDS
In three playoff rounds in 2004, Walker combined to hit .293/.379/.707 with a pair of home runs in each tournament, setting a franchise record for home runs hit by a left-handed batter in one postseason. Walker made his playoff debut with the Cardinals in Game 1 of the NLDS versus the Dodgers, homering twice and scoring four runs in an 8−3 Cardinals win. He became the first Cardinal with a multi-home run game in LDS play.


2004 St. Louis Cardinals season, NLCS
In Game of the 1 National League Championship Series (NLCS) versus the Houston Astros, Walker was a home run short of hitting for the cycle. The Cardinals proceeded to take a 2–0 Series lead before losing three straight in Houston. Returning home for Game 6, the Cardinals took a 4–3 lead into the ninth inning, but Houston tied it up. Jim Edmonds hit a walk-off homer in the bottom of the 12th to win the game. The next night, Albert Pujols helped St. Louis win Game 7 to clinch the series with a game tying hit. Scott Rolen brought him home on a two-run home run. Pujols was named the series MVP.


2004 St. Louis Cardinals season, World Series
When the Cardinals reached the World Series, Tony La Russa became the sixth manager to win pennants in both leagues, following Joe McCarthy, Yogi Berra, Alvin Dark, and the managers in the 1984 World Series, Sparky Anderson and Dick Williams. La Russa had managed the Oakland Athletics to three straight pennants between 1988 and 1990 and winning the 1989 World Series. La Russa would try to join Anderson as the only men to have managed teams to World Series championships in both leagues. La Russa wore number 10 in tribute to Anderson (who wore 10 while manager of the Cincinnati Reds) and to indicate he was trying to win the team's tenth championship.


2004 St. Louis Cardinals season, World Series
The Cardinals met a what was a potent Red Sox squad fresh off four straight victories over the Yankees following an 0–3 deficit in the ALCS. A comeback in this fashion in any North American major sports league had previously occurred only in the NHL. This was the third time the two teams have faced each other in the Fall Classic, with the Cardinals winning the previous two in 1946 and 1967. The Cardinals were again without a key player for the World Series: ace pitcher Chris Carpenter, who, after going 15–5, tweaked his shoulder in September and missed the entire post-season.


2004 St. Louis Cardinals season, World Series
Making his World Series debut in Game 1, Walker collected four hits in five at bats with a home run and two doubles. His four-hit outing tied a Cardinals World Series record, becoming the seventh overall and first to so since Lou Brock in 1967, also against Boston.


2004 St. Louis Cardinals season, World Series
The Cardinals were swept by the Red Sox in four games and struggled to hit, never taking a lead at any point in the series. Pujols, Rolen, and Edmonds, the normally fearsome 3-4-5 hitters for the Cardinals, were six-for-45 with one RBI. The club batted .190 with a .562 OPS overall. Walker was one of very few exceptions, batting .357 with a 1.366 OPS. His two home runs accounted for the only two hit by the entire Cardinals team. In the 2004 postseason, Walker scored 21 percent (14 of 68) of Cardinals runs scored.


2004 St. Louis Rams season
The 2004 season was the St. Louis Rams' 67th in the National Football League and their 10th in St. Louis.


2004 St. Louis Rams season
Although the Rams’ record was good enough to qualify for the postseason, they did so without posting a winning record. Statistics site Football Outsiders calculates that the 2004 Rams were, play-for-play, the second-worst team to make the playoffs in the site's rating history (behind the 2010 Seattle Seahawks. This was also the last time the Rams made the playoffs until 2017, when the franchise returned to Los Angeles; thus, this was the team’s final playoff appearance in St. Louis.


2004 St. Louis Rams season
The season is memorable for the Rams drafting running back Steven Jackson with the 24th pick of the 2004 NFL Draft. During the season, the Rams relied less on Marshall Faulk, who was slowed by age and injuries, forcing Jackson to garner a bulk of the carries. He finished the season with 673 rushing yards despite seeing limited action.


2004 St. Louis Rams season
The Rams, in the playoffs, defeated their rival Seattle Seahawks in the Wild Card round, but their 10th season in St. Louis ended in a 47–17 blowout to the Atlanta Falcons in the Divisional round.


2004 St. Louis Rams season
For the first time this season, the Rams completed a 2–0 regular season sweep of the rival Seahawks. They would not accomplish this again until 2015.


2004 St. Petersburg Open
The 2004 St. Petersburg Open was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts at the Petersburg Sports and Concert Complex in Saint Petersburg in Russia and was part of the International Series of the 2004 ATP Tour. It was the 10th edition of the tournament wand was held from October 25 through October 31, 2004.


2004 St. Petersburg Open, Finals, Doubles
Arnaud Clément /  Michaël Llodra defeated  Dominik Hrbatý /  Jaroslav Levinský 6–3, 6–2


2004 St. Petersburg Open – Doubles
Julian Knowle and Nenad Zimonjić were the defending champions, but lost in the semifinals this year.


2004 St. Petersburg Open – Doubles
Arnaud Clément and Michaël Llodra won the title, defeating Dominik Hrbatý and Jaroslav Levinský 6–3, 6–2 in the final.


2004 St. Petersburg Open – Singles
Gustavo Kuerten was the defending champion, but did not participate this year.


2004 St. Petersburg Open – Singles
Mikhail Youzhny won the title, beating Karol Beck 6–2, 6–2 in the final.


2004 Stanford Cardinal football team
The 2004 Stanford Cardinal football team represented Stanford University in the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was led by head coach Buddy Teevens.


2004 Stanley Cup Finals
The 2004 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2003–04 season, and the culmination of the 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Western Conference champion Calgary Flames in seven games, becoming the southernmost team to win the Stanley Cup. It was Tampa Bay's first-ever appearance in the final. For Calgary, it was the team's third appearance, and first since their championship season of 1989.


2004 Stanley Cup Finals
Lightning owner William Davidson would soon become the first owner in sports history to win two championships in one year as eight days later, the other team that Davidson owned (the Detroit Pistons of the NBA) won the NBA title in five games over the Los Angeles Lakers. This was the last Stanley Cup Final played for two years, as the 2004–05 NHL lockout began three months after the end of this final, lasting over ten months and leading to the cancellation of the 2005 Final, with the league not returning to play for the Cup until 2006.


2004 Stanley Cup Finals, Paths to the Finals
Tampa Bay defeated the New York Islanders 4–1, the Montreal Canadiens 4–0 and the Philadelphia Flyers 4–3 to advance to the Finals.


2004 Stanley Cup Finals, Paths to the Finals
Calgary defeated the Western Conference's top three seeded teams, the Vancouver Canucks 4–3, the Detroit Red Wings 4–2 and the San Jose Sharks 4–2, in that order. This brought a Canadian team to the Finals for the first time in 10 years; Vancouver lost to the New York Rangers in the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals.


2004 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game one
The first game, at St. Pete Times Forum, saw the Flames win 4–1. Dave Andreychuk began the game with a record 634 career goals without a Stanley Cup Finals appearance. Calgary only got 19 shots off against the Lightning defense, but more than one-fifth found the net. Martin Gelinas got Calgary on the board early, and they extended the lead to 3–0 in the second period on goals by Jarome Iginla, his 11th of the playoffs, and Stephane Yelle. Chris Simon added the fourth and final Calgary goal after Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis scored the lone Lightning goal.


2004 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game two
Game two saw the same final score, but this time, it was Tampa Bay winning a clutch game to tie the series, 1–1, headed to Calgary. Ruslan Fedotenko's 10th goal of the postseason got the Lightning on the board first, and Tampa Bay used three third-period goals, coming from Brad Richards, Dan Boyle, and St. Louis, respectively, to blast the game open. The lone Calgary goal was scored by Ville Nieminen.


2004 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game two
These Finals would be the last until 2013 to be tied after two games. The team with home ice in games one and two held a 2-0 edge in every Final between 2006 and 2011. In 2012, the Los Angeles Kings won the first two games at New Jersey.


2004 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game three
The series shifted to the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, where Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff and the Calgary defense completely stonewalled the Tampa Bay attack, which only took 21 shots in a 3–0 Flames victory. Simon scored the first Calgary goal in the second period, and Shean Donovan and Iginla added goals to ice the game.


2004 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game four
With a chance to take a commanding 3–1 series lead, Calgary was shut out by Lightning goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, who recorded his fifth shutout of the postseason, a 29-save shutout, in a 1–0 Tampa Bay victory, with the game's lone goal being scored by Brad Richards three minutes into the game on a two-man advantage.


2004 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game four
With 4:13 left in the game, Ville Nieminen checked Vincent Lecavalier into the boards from behind, drawing a five-minute major penalty for boarding, a game misconduct penalty, and an eventual game five suspension. Meanwhile, fans at the Pengrowth Saddledome angrily booed referees Kerry Fraser and Brad Watson throughout most of the contest. They were originally also scheduled to work game six in Calgary but the league eventually decided to replace them.


2004 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game five
The series returned to Tampa Bay tied, 2–2, for a critical game five, and Calgary pulled off a 3–2 overtime victory to move within one win from the Stanley Cup. After Gelinas and St. Louis traded goals in the first period, Iginla scored for Calgary late in the second period. However, Fredrik Modin tied the game for the Lightning 37 seconds into the third period. The 2–2 score held until after 14:40 had gone by in overtime, when Oleg Saprykin's first goal since the first round won the game for the Flames.


2004 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game six
Back to Calgary for game six, each team scored two second-period goals, with Richards scoring two for the Lightning and Chris Clark and Marcus Nilson for the Flames. In the third period, there was a dispute over a Martin Gelinas redirect that appeared to have gone in off of his skate.


2004 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game six
A review from one camera angle appeared to show the puck crossing the goal line before Khabibulin's pad dragged it out, though some (including Lightning Tim Taylor) argue that the puck had not only been knocked several inches above the goal line (thus making there appear to be white ice between the puck and the goal line) in front of Khabibulin's pad, but that it was also "kicked" by Gelinas. The play was never reviewed.


2004 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game six
However, the ABC broadcast of Game 7 showed a CGI video analysis of the play, which estimated that the puck did not completely cross the line, and that the call on the ice was correct. The CGI company who did the analysis of the video was based out of Calgary. The game entered overtime with the Flames needing only a single goal to win the Stanley Cup. However, thirty-three seconds into the second overtime, St. Louis put in the game-winner for the Lightning to force a winner-take-all seventh game in Tampa.


2004 Stanley Cup Finals, Game summaries, Game seven
In a tense game seven, Fedotenko scored goals for Tampa Bay late in the first period and late in the second period for a 2–0 lead. After Conroy scored to narrow the deficit to 2–1, Calgary bombarded Khabibulin after taking only seven shots in the first two periods. After the Conroy goal, Khabibulin stopped 16 Calgary shots. The series ended as Flames center Marcus Nilson missed a last-second opportunity to force overtime. Tampa Bay won the game, 2–1, and the Stanley Cup. Tampa wouldn't win another championship until 2020.


2004 Stanley Cup Finals, Team rosters
Years indicated in boldface under the "Finals appearance" column signify that the player won the Stanley Cup in the given year.


2004 Stanley Cup Finals, Stanley Cup engraving
The 2004 Stanley Cup was presented to Lightning captain Dave Andreychuk by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman following the Lightning's 2–1 win over the Flames in game seven


2004 Stanley Cup Finals, Stanley Cup engraving
The following Lightning players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup


2004 Stanley Cup Finals, Stanley Cup engraving, Stanley Cup engraving
All 52 members were included with their full first and last names on the presentation Stanley Cup, filling the last spot on it. When the engraver Louise St. Jacques went to engrave the replica Stanley Cup, there was less space available. There was more space between each winning team on the replica Stanley Cup than on the presentation Stanley Cup. Louise decided to keep each member's name in the same order on the same line on the replica Stanley Cup, so all names were engraved with their first initial and full last name. This is another way of telling the presentation Stanley Cup from the replica Stanley Cup. (see 1984 Stanley Cup Finals and 1993 Stanley Cup Finals)


2004 Stanley Cup Finals, Broadcasting
In the United States, this was the last Stanley Cup Finals to air on ABC and the ESPN family of networks until the 2022 Finals. ESPN televised the first two games while ABC broadcast the rest of the series. Due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, which suspended play for the next season, this marked the end of ESPN’s third run and ABC’s second run as the main NHL broadcasters. NBC and OLN would pick up the rights to broadcast the NHL for the 2005–06 season. The Comcast-owned OLN would later be renamed Versus for the 2006–07 season, then re-branded as NBCSN on January 2, 2012, following Comcast's 2011 acquisition of NBC, effectively moving to the NHL on NBC banner.


2004 Stanley Cup Finals, Broadcasting
In Canada, the CBC's broadcast of game seven of the Finals drew 4.862 million viewers, making it the highest-rated NHL game on the CBC since game seven of the 1994 Final, which drew 4.957 million viewers. However, those numbers include both pre-game and post-game coverage. The game itself drew 5.560 million viewers, up from 5.404 in 1994.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs
The 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs for the National Hockey League began on April 7, 2004, following the 2003–04 regular season. The playoffs ended with the Tampa Bay Lightning winning the Stanley Cup with a seven-game series win over the Calgary Flames on June 7. It was Tampa Bay's first Stanley Cup victory. It was the Flames' third final appearance, as they came this far in 1986 and 1989, winning the latter. These playoffs ended up being the last playoff tournament until 2006 due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the following season. The 16 qualified teams, eight from each conference, played best-of-seven games for Conference Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Finals. The winner of each conference proceeded to the Stanley Cup Finals. The format was identical to the one introduced for the 1999 playoffs.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs
These playoffs marked the first time the Nashville Predators qualified, being in their sixth season in the NHL. Tampa Bay saw playoff action for the third time. This would be the last time that all eastern Canadian teams would make the playoffs together until 2013. This was the last time until 2019 that both Southern California teams, the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks, missed the playoffs.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs
The Flames tied the 1987 Philadelphia Flyers for the most games played (26) in one playoff year (later matched by the 2014 Los Angeles Kings, 2015 Tampa Bay Lightning, and 2019 St. Louis Blues). The record was subsequently broken by the Dallas Stars during the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, albeit due to a change in the playoff format.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, (1) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (8) New York Islanders
The Tampa Bay Lightning entered the playoffs as the Eastern Conference regular season and Southeast Division champions with 106 points. New York qualified as the eighth seed earning 91 points during the regular season. This was the first playoff series between these two teams. The Islanders won three of the four games in this year's regular season series.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, (1) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (8) New York Islanders
Tampa Bay defeated the Islanders in five games. Games one and two saw goaltenders Nikolai Khabibulin of the Lightning and Rick DiPietro of the Islanders trade 3–0 shutouts, with Tampa Bay winning game one and New York winning game two. In games three and four, Khabibulin shut-out the Islanders winning both games by a score of 3–0. In game five, Martin St. Louis scored the game-winner four minutes into overtime.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, (2) Boston Bruins vs. (7) Montreal Canadiens
The Boston Bruins entered the playoffs as the Northeast Division champions, earning the second seed in the Eastern Conference with 104 points. Montreal qualified as the seventh seed, earning 93 points during the regular season. This was the thirtieth playoff series between these two teams, with Montreal winning twenty-two of the twenty-nine previous series. They last met in the 2002 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, where Montreal won in six games. Boston won the season series earning seven of ten points during this year's five game regular season series.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, (2) Boston Bruins vs. (7) Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens overcame a 3–1 series deficit to eliminate the Bruins in seven games. In game one, the Bruins won a low scoring game 3–0, behind a 31-save shutout from goaltender Andrew Raycroft. In game two, Raycroft allowed one goal and Boston won the game 2–1. Montreal won game three, 3–2. The Canadiens were pushed to the brink of elimination with a 4–3 double-overtime loss in game four. Montreal won game five by a score of 5–1, scoring three third period goals to break open a close game. Montreal forced a seventh game with a 5–2 victory in game six. Montreal completed the comeback with a 2–0 victory in game seven, as goaltender Jose Theodore shut-out the Bruins making 32 saves.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, (3) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (6) New Jersey Devils
The Philadelphia Flyers entered the playoffs as the Atlantic Division champions, earning the third seed in the Eastern Conference with 101 points. New Jersey qualified as the sixth seed earning 100 points during the regular season. This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams with New Jersey winning two of the three previous series. They last met in the 2000 Eastern Conference Final where New Jersey won in seven games. Philadelphia won the season series earning seven of twelve points during this year's six game regular season series.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, (3) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (6) New Jersey Devils
Philadelphia defeated New Jersey in five games. Keith Primeau scored the game-winning goal in game one as the Flyers hung on to win by a score of 3–2. In game two Mark Recchi gave the Flyers the lead on a power-play goal in the first period, the teams traded goals in the final two periods as Philadelphia won again 3–2. New Jersey scored three times on the power-play in game three as they won the game 4–2. Goaltender Robert Esche stopped 35 shots in game four to earn a 3–0 shutout victory for the Flyers. Danny Markov scored the series winning goal at 14:37 of the third period in game five as the Flyers defeated the Devils with a 3–1 victory.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, (4) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (5) Ottawa Senators
The Toronto Maple Leafs entered the playoffs as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference with 103 points. Ottawa qualified as the fifth seed earning 102 points during the regular season. This was the fourth playoff series in five years between these two teams, and the fourth series overall, Toronto won all three previous meetings. They last met in the 2002 Eastern Conference Semifinals where Toronto won in seven games. Toronto won this year's six game regular season series earning nine of twelve points during the season.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, (4) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (5) Ottawa Senators
The Maple Leafs eliminated the Senators in seven games. In game one Ottawa scored two power-play goals 38 seconds apart in the second period to pull out a 4–2 victory. The Maple Leafs came through with 2–0 win on the strength of a 31-save shutout by Ed Belfour in game two. Toronto won game three 2–0 as Ed Belfour shutout Ottawa again. Ottawa finally scored late in the first period of game four and they would add three more goals to win the game 4–1.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, (4) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (5) Ottawa Senators
Tie Domi scored the game-winning goal in game five and Ed Belfour posted his third shutout of the series in yet another 2–0 Toronto victory. Ottawa won game six 2–1 in double-overtime as Mike Fisher scored at 1:47. In game seven Ottawa goaltender Patrick Lalime gave up two questionable goals by Joe Nieuwendyk before being pulled after the first period and replaced by backup Martin Prusek, as Toronto earned a series-clinching 4–1 win. This remains to date the Maple Leafs’ last postseason series win.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Western Conference Quarterfinals, (1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (8) Nashville Predators
The Detroit Red Wings entered the playoffs as the Presidents' Trophy winners, the Western Conference regular season and Central Division champions, with 109 points. Nashville qualified as the eighth seed earning 91 points (losing the tiebreaker to St. Louis by having fewer wins) during the regular season. This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. The Predators qualified for the playoffs for the first time since entering the league in the 1998–99 season. Nashville won the season series earning seven of twelve points during this year's six game regular season series.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Western Conference Quarterfinals, (1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (8) Nashville Predators
Detroit defeated Nashville in six games. In game one the Red Wings scored three times in the third period and posted a 3–1 victory. Mathieu Schneider scored the game-winning goal late in third period on the power-play in game two. Nashville struck twice in the first period of game three and Tomas Vokoun made 41 saves in the Predators first playoff victory in franchise history. Detroit heavily out-shot Nashville in game four as Predators' goaltender Tomas Vokoun posted a 41 save shutout in a 3–0 Nashville win.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Western Conference Quarterfinals, (1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (8) Nashville Predators
In game five, Curtis Joseph started in goal for the Red Wings, and Henrik Zetterberg scored a goal and an assist in the first six minutes of the game as the Red Wings dominated the Predators, winning 4–1. Detroit scored two goals 30 seconds apart in game six and Curtis Joseph posted a shutout as the Red Wings closed out the series with a 2–0 win.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Western Conference Quarterfinals, (2) San Jose Sharks vs. (7) St. Louis Blues
San Jose entered the playoffs as the Pacific Division champions, earning the second seed in the Western Conference with 104 points. St. Louis qualified as the seventh seed earning 91 points (winning the tiebreaker over Nashville by having more wins) during the regular season. This was the third playoff series between these two teams; they split the two previous meetings. They last met in the 2001 Western Conference Quarterfinals where St. Louis won in six games. San Jose won this year's four game regular season series earning five of eight points during the season.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Western Conference Quarterfinals, (2) San Jose Sharks vs. (7) St. Louis Blues
San Jose defeated the Blues in five games. Game one saw a defensive battle with San Jose winning the game 1–0, on the strength of a 26-save shutout from Evgeni Nabokov. Chris Osgood was equally strong in net for the Blues, but allowed a goal to Niko Dimitrakos in the first overtime. Nabokov gave up only one goal in game two, a 3–1 Sharks victory highlighted by Patrick Marleau's hat-trick. In game three the Blues used home-ice advantage to post a 4–1 victory getting a hat-trick from Mike Sillinger. The next night, in game four, saw a back-and-forth game that ultimately went to San Jose 4–3. With a chance to knock out the Blues at home in game five the Sharks did just that, winning 3–1.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Western Conference Quarterfinals, (2) San Jose Sharks vs. (7) St. Louis Blues
Shortly after the series, St. Louis left winger Mike Danton, was arrested, charged and convicted in a conspiracy to murder his agent, David Frost.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Western Conference Quarterfinals, (3) Vancouver Canucks vs. (6) Calgary Flames
The Vancouver Canucks entered the playoffs as the Northwest Division champions, earning the third seed in the Western Conference with 101 points. Calgary qualified as the sixth seed earning 94 points during the regular season. This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams with Calgary winning three of the five previous series, they last met in the 1994 Western Conference Quarterfinals, with the Canucks winning in seven games. The Flames qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1996. Vancouver won the season series earning seven of twelve points during this year's six game regular season series.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Western Conference Quarterfinals, (3) Vancouver Canucks vs. (6) Calgary Flames
The Flames eliminated the Canucks in seven games and won their first playoff series since winning the Stanley Cup in 1989. Vancouver scored four times on the power-play in game one as they took the opening game 5–3. Calgary scored two goals 50 seconds apart in the first period of game two in a 2–1 victory. In game three Dan Cloutier was injured in the first period and backup Johan Hedberg replaced him, Matt Cooke scored early in the third period as Vancouver won the game 2–1.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Western Conference Quarterfinals, (3) Vancouver Canucks vs. (6) Calgary Flames
Calgary goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff recorded a shutout in game four as the Flames won 4–0. In game five Alexander Auld became the third goaltender to play for Vancouver in the series, the Canucks lost the game 2–1. Vancouver stormed out to a 4–0 lead only to see the Flames come back to tie the game in the third period, Brendan Morrison scored 2:28 into the third overtime period in a 5–4 Vancouver victory. Jarome Iginla and Matt Cooke each scored twice in regulation in game seven, Martin Gelinas scored 1:25 into overtime as Calgary won the game 3–2.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Western Conference Quarterfinals, (4) Colorado Avalanche vs. (5) Dallas Stars
The Colorado Avalanche entered the playoffs as the fourth seed in the Western Conference with 100 points. Dallas qualified as the fifth seed earning 97 points during the regular season. This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with Dallas having won both previous series. They last met in the 2000 Western Conference Final where Dallas won in seven games. Colorado won three of the four games during this year's regular season series.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Quarterfinals, Western Conference Quarterfinals, (4) Colorado Avalanche vs. (5) Dallas Stars
The Avalanche defeated Dallas in five games. David Aebischer made 37 saves in a 3–1 Colorado victory in game one. The Avalanche scored three times on the power-play in game two winning the game by a score of 5–2. Dallas came back from a two-goal deficit in game three and won the game 4–3 in overtime on a goal by Steve Ott to climb back into the series. Dallas heavily out-shot the Avalanche in game four, but Marek Svatos won the game for Colorado 5:18 into the second overtime. After allowing the first goal in game five Colorado scored five unanswered goals to eliminate the Stars with a 5–1 victory.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (1) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (7) Montreal Canadiens
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. The teams split this year's four game regular season series.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (1) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (7) Montreal Canadiens
The Lightning swept the Canadiens. Lightning goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin recorded his fourth shutout of the post-season in a 4–0 game one victory. Vincent Lecavalier scored twice in game two as Tampa Bay won the game by a score of 3–1. Montreal was unable to hang on to a late lead in game three as Vincent Lecavalier tied the game in the final minute of regulation and Brad Richards scored 65 seconds into overtime as the Lightning won 4–3. Brad Richards scored his second game-winning goal of the series in the second period of game four as the Lightning closed out the Canadiens with a 3–1 victory.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (3) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (4) Toronto Maple Leafs
This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams with Philadelphia winning four of the five previous series. They last met in the previous year's Eastern Conference Quarterfinals where Philadelphia won in seven games. Philadelphia won three of the four games in this year's regular season series.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (3) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (4) Toronto Maple Leafs
The Flyers defeated Toronto in six games. Marcus Ragnarsson broke the tie in the second period of game one as the Flyers eventually won the game 3–1. Philadelphia scored twice with the man advantage in game two as the Flyers held on for a 2–1 victory. Toronto used three second period goals to earn a 4–1 victory in game three. Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin scored twice in game four as Toronto won 3–1. Keith Primeau recorded a hat trick and added an assist in a dominating 7–2 Flyers victory in game five.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (3) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (4) Toronto Maple Leafs
Philadelphia goaltender Robert Esche made just one save in the game while earning the victory, he was replaced by Sean Burke at the start of the second period due to injury. Toronto overcame a 2–0 third period deficit to force overtime in game six, however the comeback came up short as Jeremy Roenick scored the series-winning goal at 7:39 of the first overtime period. Toronto would not make the playoffs again until 2013.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (6) Calgary Flames
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams with Detroit winning the only previous series. They last met in the 1978 Preliminary Round where Detroit won in two games. Detroit won three of the four games during this year's regular season series.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (6) Calgary Flames
Calgary upset the Red Wings in six games. Miikka Kiprusoff made 28 saves and Marcus Nilson scored the game-winning goal 2:39 into overtime as the Flames took the opening game of the series 2–1. The Red Wings bounced back with a 5–2 victory in game two led by Steve Yzerman's two goals in the second period. Jiri Fischer tied the game halfway through the second period of game three, however Flames forward Shean Donovan scored just 40 seconds later and put the Flames up for good as Calgary registered a 3–2 victory.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (6) Calgary Flames
Mathieu Dandenault broke the tie in the third period of game four as Detroit bounced back with a 4–2 victory. During the second period of game five a shot by Red Wings defenceman Mathieu Schneider deflected off a stick and struck Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman in the left eye. Yzerman was attended to for several minutes and then helped off the ice holding a towel to his face, Yzerman did not return to the series. Calgary goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff shutout the Red Wings with a 31-save performance in a 1–0 victory.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (6) Calgary Flames
In game six, Miikka Kiprusoff continued his shutout streak against the Red Wings. With just 47 seconds left in the first overtime Flames forward Martin Gelinas scored on Curtis Joseph and Calgary won their second-straight 1–0 game. This was the Flames' second-straight overtime victory to clinch a series in this playoff year.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (2) San Jose Sharks vs. (4) Colorado Avalanche
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams with Colorado winning both previous series. They last met in the 2002 Western Conference Semifinals where Colorado won in seven games. Colorado won the season series earning five of eight points during this year's four game regular season series.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (2) San Jose Sharks vs. (4) Colorado Avalanche
San Jose defeated Colorado in six games as the Sharks advanced to the Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history. Patrick Marleau scored a hat-trick in a 5–2 Sharks victory in game one. Colorado goaltender David Aebischer was pulled in the second period after allowing five goals, he was replaced by Tommy Salo. In game two Patrick Marleau scored late in the second period to put the Sharks up for good as they defeated the Avalanche in a 4–1 victory.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (2) San Jose Sharks vs. (4) Colorado Avalanche
San Jose goaltender Evgeni Nabokov posted a 33 save shutout in game three and Vincent Damphousse scored the only goal in a 1–0 San Jose win. Joe Sakic scored the lone goal of the game 5:15 into the first overtime period in game four as Colorado extended the series with a 1–0 victory. For the second consecutive game overtime was required in game five and Joe Sakic scored the game-winning goal 1:54 into the first overtime, giving Colorado a 2–1 victory. With his second goal in game five, Joe Sakic equalled Maurice Richard for the most career playoff overtime goals with six. San Jose scored three times in just over ten minutes in the second period of game six to eliminate the Avalanche in a 3–1 win.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Finals, Eastern Conference Final, (1) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (3) Philadelphia Flyers
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams with Philadelphia winning the only previous series. They last met in the 1996 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals where Philadelphia won in six games. Tampa Bay made their first appearance in a Conference Final since entering the league in the 1992–93 season, while the Flyers last made it to the Conference Finals in 2000, losing in seven games to the New Jersey Devils. Tampa Bay won all four games in this year's regular season series.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Finals, Eastern Conference Final, (1) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (3) Philadelphia Flyers
Tampa Bay won their first conference championship defeating the Flyers in seven games. Lightning goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin made 19 saves in a 3–1 Lightning win in game one. The Flyers scored the first six goals in game two as they won easily 6–2. Tampa Bay jumped out to an early two-goal lead in game three and eventually won by a score of 4–1. Keith Primeau scored the game-winning goal shorthanded in game four as the Flyers claimed a 3–2 victory that tied the series. The Lightning scored three times on the power-play in game five as won the game 4–2.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Finals, Eastern Conference Final, (1) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (3) Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers tied the game in the dying minutes of game six on a goal by Keith Primeau that forced overtime. Simon Gagne scored at 18:18 of the first overtime period as the Flyers gained a 5–4 victory. Fredrik Modin gave the Lightning a two-goal lead in game seven and they hung on to win the game 2–1.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Final, (2) San Jose Sharks vs. (6) Calgary Flames
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams with San Jose winning the only previous series. They last met in the 1995 Western Conference Quarterfinals where San Jose won in seven games. San Jose made their first appearance in a Conference Final since entering the league in the 1991–92 season, while the Flames last made it to the Conference Finals in 1989, defeating the Chicago Blackhawks in five games. The teams split this year's four game regular season series.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Final, (2) San Jose Sharks vs. (6) Calgary Flames
The Flames eliminated the Sharks in six games and they became the first Canadian team to qualify for the Stanley Cup Finals in a decade. Calgary goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff made 49 saves and Steve Montador won game one for the Flames with a goal at 18:43 of the first overtime period, giving them a 4–3 victory. In game two Calgary scored two first-period goals and never looked back in a 4–1 victory. Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov posted a 34 save shutout and Alex Korolyuk scored two goals late in third period in a 3–0 win in game three.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Final, (2) San Jose Sharks vs. (6) Calgary Flames
The Sharks exploded for four goals in the second period of game four as they evened the series at two games apiece with a 4–2 victory. Miikka Kiprusoff shutout the Sharks in game five as the Flames won 3–0. Martin Gelinas scored his third consecutive series-winning goal for the Flames in game six giving Calgary a 3–1 victory.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Stanley Cup Finals
This was the first playoff series between these two teams. Tampa Bay made their first Finals appearance, in their twelfth season, while Calgary made their third Finals appearance. The Flames won their last appearance in the Finals defeating Montreal in six games in 1989. Tampa Bay won the only game of this year's regular season series.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Player statistics, Skaters
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Player statistics, Goaltending
These are the top five goaltenders based on either goals against average or save percentage with at least four games played.


2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Player statistics, Goaltending
GP = Games Played; W = Wins; L = Losses; SA = Shots Against; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes:seconds); Sv% = Save Percentage; SO = Shutouts


2004 Star World Championships
The 2004 Star World Championship were held in Gaeta, Italy between April 23 and May 1, 2004.


2004 Star World Championships, Results
Legend: DNC – Did not come to the starting area; DNF – Did not finish; DNS – Did not start; DSQ – Disqualified; OCS – On the course side of the starting line; RDG – Redress given;


2004 State of Origin series
The 2004 State of Origin series was the 23rd time that the annual three-game series between the Queensland and New South Wales representative rugby league football teams was contested entirely under 'state of origin' selection rules.


2004 State of Origin series
A pre-series Blues mobile phone scandal, Brad Fittler's comeback, a Golden point outcome in Game I and an extraordinary Billy Slater try showed that State of Origin's ability to create memorable football moments was as strong as ever after 25 years of the concept. The New South Wales' Game III victory saw a match-up in the respective cumulative tallies at 35 wins apiece, continuing a recurring trend where any push toward dominance by one side is soon countered by the other. The Ron McAuliffe Medal for Queensland player of the series was awarded to Steve Price.


2004 State of Origin series, Game I
New South Wales players Anthony Minichiello and Mark Gasnier were dropped following a drunken incident during the Blues' training camp when it was made public that Gasnier had left a lewd message on a female acquaintance's phone.


2004 State of Origin series, Game I
Game one featured the first ever Golden point decision in State of Origin football in the very first game where the ruling became available. With scores locked at 8-all and three minutes of extra time played, St George Illawarra Dragons player Shaun Timmins, who had returned to top-class and representative football against unlikely odds after two career-threatening knee injuries and operations, stepped up and kicked a 37-metre left-foot field goal to steal victory for New South Wales. Blues halfback Craig Gower had already missed three earlier field goal attempts, was struggling with a knee injury and was closely marked by Queensland at every kick opportunity so it was left to Timmins to create his own moment of Origin folklore.


2004 State of Origin series, Game II
Game II had plenty of hype surrounding it after Blues coach Phil Gould coaxed Brad Fittler out of representative retirement to spearhead the Blues campaign. First game hero Timmins was missing through injury as was Gower and next choice half-backs Trent Barrett and Brett Kimmorley. This left Sydney Roosters number seven Brett Finch to make his Origin debut alongside his club captain Fittler at five-eighth. Matt Orford was somewhat controversially not selected.


2004 State of Origin series, Game II
Suncorp Stadium proved to be a graveyard for the Blues thanks to one of the greatest Origin tries ever seen. 20-year-old Billy Slater, a former track work jockey who had burst onto the rugby league scene in 2003, stormed onto a Darren Lockyer grubber kick from halfway before chipping over the top of Blues fullback Anthony Minichiello, chasing, regathering and scoring in the same instant.


2004 State of Origin series, Game III
Gould gambled by making six changes to the side which had played in game II.


2004 State of Origin series, Game III
In Game III, the Blues recalled Trent Barrett to the origin squad who along with Brad Fittler led the Blues to a big win over the Maroons. The match was also the swansong for Phil Gould, New South Wales' most successful Origin coach who had commenced his coaching association with Fittler 14 years earlier at the beginning of their respective coaching and playing careers.


2004 State of Origin series, Game III
Gould called on six St George Illawarra players for Game III. Debutant centres Mark Gasnier and Matt Cooper dominated on the fringes for the Blues and the class of Fittler and Barrett led them to an emphatic 36-14 victory. Fittler scored the last try in the match in his last ever match for the Blues to the delight of his team-mates.


2004 State of the Union Address
The 2004 State of the Union Address was given by the 43rd president of the United States, George W. Bush, on Tuesday, January 20, 2004, at 9 p.m. EST, in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives to the 108th United States Congress. It was Bush's third State of the Union Address and his fourth speech to a joint session of the United States Congress. Presiding over this joint session was the House speaker, Dennis Hastert, accompanied by Dick Cheney, the vice president, in his capacity as the president of the Senate.


2004 State of the Union Address
The speech was given 28 months after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center.


2004 State of the Union Address, Topics, War on Terror
President Bush begins by saying that the greatest responsibility of the government is to protect all Americans from terroristic threats. He also  highlighted that several years had passed since the terrorist attacks on September the 11th. While several years had passed "without an attack on American soil", it did not mean that all of the danger was in the past. After September 11, attacks continued around the world in Bali, Jerusalem, Baghdad, and other major regions of the world. The President also focuses on how enemies of the United States are constantly plotting attacks of some form or another.


2004 State of the Union Address, Topics, War on Terror
The Patriot Act was mentioned as a point of emphasis for giving the United States Department of Homeland Security all of the necessary resources to find criminals and locate possible attack scenarios. One of the recurring themes of the speech was that "America is on the offensive" and is constantly on the hunt for members of Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. President Bush then proceeded to discuss how American allies helped to convince several countries to eliminate weapons of mass destruction.


2004 State of the Union Address, Topics, Troops in the Middle East
President Bush talks about the evolution of the Iraqi people since the American intervention and overthrow of Iraqi leader  Saddam Hussein. He talked about how the Iraqis have started down the road of complete independence. They slowly accepted responsibility for organizing their own security once the Americans decide to withdraw, whenever that may be. He also talks about how democracy is slowly taking shape in Iraq thanks to Americans always having a desire to do what is considered "right".


2004 State of the Union Address, Topics, Troops in the Middle East
At one point during the speech, the President gave thanks to the troops and families of troops stationed all across the world and assured that they would have every resource necessary to succeed overseas. He also reaffirmed that as long as the Middle East continued to be a place where American resentment was present, America would have a presence there, working to transform the area into one of peace towards the United States.


2004 State of the Union Address, Topics, Economy
The primary emphasis of the President's portion of his speech on the economy was geared towards the accomplishments of the American people. He thanks the American people for giving tax relief to help stimulate the economy. He also continued to use the personal pronoun "you" when talking about American successes in areas like cutting taxes for small businesses, phasing out the estate tax, and lowering taxes for all citizens who pay income taxes. He ends the economic talk by stating that the economy is always changing, as is the technology, and how new jobs and skills are needed constantly.


2004 State of the Union Address, Topics, Education
President Bush's main focus of the talks on education were the effects of the No Child Left Behind Act. He again used the pronoun "you" when talking about the recent successes in education. The President also stated that since 2001, a 36 percent increase in funding for schools took place, as well as an elevation in standards and communication between schools and parents. He followed by saying that the days of shuffling kids along without knowing if they understood what was necessary were over as a result of the No Child Left Behind Act.


2004 State of the Union Address, Topics, Other topics, Taxes
The President's discussion of taxes was centered on the fact that the tax reforms were about to expire, and unless Congress were to do something about it, taxes would jump to a higher level.


2004 State of the Union Address, Topics, Other topics, Energy
The President's discussion of energy was primarily asking Congress to pass new legislature that would modernize electricity and increase conservation.


2004 State of the Union Address, Topics, Other topics, Immigration
The President proposed a new immigration reform that consisted of giving American citizens priority in being hired for jobs. If no willing Americans could be found for the job, then they would go to foreign workers to help create an even workforce. He also states his opposition for amnesty because it would encourage more people to illegally immigrate to America and break laws.


2004 State of the Union Address, Topics, Other topics, Healthcare
President Bush talked about the rapid evolution of medical technology and how costs for healthcare with these new technologies was on the rise. He campaigned for Congress to again work together to help keep the costs of health insurance as low as possible. He stated that his primary goal for healthcare is to give all Americans the opportunity to have affordable private healthcare that tailors to their specific needs. He also focuses on the benefits of computerizing medical records and the adverse effects of a government run healthcare system.


2004 State of the Union Address, Topics, Other topics, "Right choices"
President Bush focused on the youth of the nation and them making "right choices" in life. He talked about the negative impact of children gambling away their lives with drugs  and how he wanted Congress to send extra funding to schools to use for drug testing to save lives. He also talked about how large a part of American society sports are, but yet there are a multitude of less than positive influences in professional sports. The President also wanted to increase funding to make sexual contraceptives easier to acquire for younger people. He also refers to the Defense of Marriage Act and how it needs to be adhered to help influence children more positively and for the benefit of every American citizen.


2004 State of the Union Address, Topics, Other topics, Religious institutions
The President talked about how religious charities and organizations, no matter what creed, do important charity work in communities across the country. He pointed out the fact that the government denied many of these groups of grants for charity work, but he made available large amounts of money for these groups to continue their charitable work.


2004 State of the Union Address, Democratic Party response
Democrats opposed President Bush's foreign policies. They believed that America could only go so far on its own and needed to rely on other countries to "meet common dangers". They accused the President of being too radical in going to war with Iraq, as well as dropping the cost of war on the American people by taxing them more than necessary. Democrats also supported removing troops from the Middle East, whereas President Bush wanted to leave them there to have a presence in an area seen as dangerous by the American government.


2004 State of the Union Address, Democratic Party response
Democrats also wanted to increase the inspection rate of cargo going in and out of airports and harbors across the country to increase civil liberties, something which President Bush opposed. The tax cuts that the President had made were heavily opposed by Democrats, as well. They also said that the President did not hold up his end of the deal in the No Child Left Behind Act.


2004 Stella Artois Championships
The 2004 Stella Artois Championships was a men's tennis tournament played on grass courts at the Queen's Club in London in the United Kingdom and was part of the International Series of the 2004 ATP Tour. It was the 102nd edition of the tournament and was held from 7 June until13 June 2004. First-seeded Andy Roddick won his second consecutive singles title at the event.


2004 Stella Artois Championships, Finals, Doubles
Bob Bryan /  Mike Bryan defeated  Mark Knowles /  Daniel Nestor 6–4, 6–4


2004 Stella Artois Championships – Doubles
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan won in the final 6–4, 6–4, against Knowles and Nestor.


2004 Stella Artois Championships – Singles
Andy Roddick was the defending champion and won in the final 7–6(7–4), 6–4 against Sébastien Grosjean.


2004 Stella Artois Championships – Singles, Seeds
The top eight seeds received a bye to the second round.


2004 Stevenage Borough Council election
Elections to Stevenage Council were held on 10 June 2004. One third of the council was up for election; the seats which were last contested in 2000. The Labour Party stayed in overall control of the council.


2004 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards
The 27th Stinkers Bad Movie Awards were released by the Hastings Bad Cinema Society in 2005 to honour the worst films the film industry had to offer in 2004. Alexander received the most nominations with nine. All nominees and winners, with respective percentages of votes for each category, are listed below. Dishonourable mentions are also featured for Worst Picture (37 total).


2004 Stock Car Brasil season
The 2004 Stock Car Brasil was the 27th Stock Car Brasil season. It began on March 1 at the Curitiba and ended on November 28 at Interlagos, after twelve rounds.


2004 Stock Car Brasil season, Teams and drivers
All cars used Chevrolet Astra Stock Car chassis. All drivers were Brazilian-registered, except Gabriel Furlán, who raced under Argentine racing license.


2004 Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council election
The 2004 Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 10 June 2004 to elect members of Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections. Due to demographic changes in the Borough since its formation in 1973, and in common with most other English Councils in 2004, boundary changes were implemented in time for these elections. Due to these changes, it was necessary for the whole Council to be re-elected for the first time since 1973. The Liberal Democrats held overall control of the council.


2004 Stratford-on-Avon District Council election
The 2004 Stratford-on-Avon District Council election took place on 10 June 2004 to elect members of Stratford-on-Avon District Council in Warwickshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.


2004 Stratford-on-Avon District Council election, Background
19 of the 53 seats on the council were contested in the election. The Conservatives were defending 11 of the seats and this was seen as giving the Liberal Democrats a chance at taking over control of the council, which had a one-seat Conservative majority before the election. Meanwhile, Labour had their only remaining council seat up for election in Southam ward, leading to the possibility that they could fail to be represented on the council after the election.


2004 Stratford-on-Avon District Council election, Election result
The results saw the Conservatives strengthen their majority on the council up to 7 seats. They gained 4 seats in Harbury, Southam, Stratford Guild and Hathaway and Wellesbourne wards and only suffered 1 loss to the Liberal Democrats in Studley. While the Liberal Democrats lost ground as a result, the defeat in Southam meant Labour was no longer represented on the council.


2004 Stratford-on-Avon District Council election, Election result
The Conservatives said they were pleased with the results, that saw them win almost half of the vote, and which they put down to a strong positive campaign. Overall turnout in the election was higher than the national average at 43.5%.


2004 Stroud District Council election
The 2004 Stroud Council election took place on 10 June 2004 to elect members of Stroud District Council in Gloucestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative party stayed in overall control of the council.


2004 Subway 400
The 2004 Subway 400 was a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race held on February 22, 2004, at North Carolina Speedway in Richmond County, North Carolina. The race was the second of the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season.


2004 Subway 400
Ryan Newman of Penske Racing won the pole position, while Matt Kenseth of Roush Racing won the race. The race was the final Cup race at the track due to poor attendance, as the race date was later given to Phoenix International Raceway; only 50,000 were in attendance at the 60,113 facility.


2004 Subway 400
The other Cup race at the track, the Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400, had been replaced by California Speedway after 2003.


2004 Subway 400, Qualifying
Ryan Newman, 2003's pole leader with 11, won the pole at Rockingham with a lap speed of 156.475 miles per hour (251.822 km/h) and a lap time of 23.398 seconds. Dodges were the top four fastest, with Newman, Jamie McMurray (155.379 mph (250.058 km/h)), Kasey Kahne (154.814 mph (249.149 km/h)) and Rusty Wallace (154.644 mph (248.875 km/h)).


2004 Subway 400, Qualifying
Chevrolet driver Jeff Gordon qualified fifth with a lap speed of 154.318 mph (248.351 km/h); Jeremy Mayfield (154.195 mph (248.153 km/h)), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (154.149 mph (248.079 km/h)), Jeff Green (154.117 mph (248.027 km/h)), the previous year's race winner Dale Jarrett (154.078 mph (247.965 km/h)) and Greg Biffle (154.026 mph (247.881 km/h)) rounded out the top ten. Morgan Shepherd and Andy Belmont failed to qualify after the two crashed in practice. Ryan McGlynn and Larry Gunselman also withdrew.


2004 Subway 400, Qualifying
The entry list for the race was short, which led to a group of field-fillers entering the race, including Joe Ruttman, starting in his first Cup race since 1995, Kirk Shelmerdine, who made only two Cup Series starts since 1994, Carl Long, who started twice in 2001, and Andy Hillenburg, who failed to qualify for the 2004 Daytona 500. The four drivers were considerably slower than the 37 full-time teams; in comparison to Newman's qualifying speed, Hillenburg, who started 43rd, had a speed of 146.859 mph (236.347 km/h), a 9.616 mph (15.475 km/h) differential.


2004 Subway 400, Qualifying
Hillenburg, who ran just six laps in the two practice sessions prior to the race, expressed interest in running the full race, stating, "I don't want to look like we're trying to capitalize on anything, but this is our window of opportunity. We're not here to go two laps and try to get a check. We're here to do the best we can." After the race, rumors arose whether NASCAR had requested the field-fillers to appear and complete the 43-car field with the reward of money, possibly to satisfy television contracts, NASCAR vice president Jim Hunter denied the allegations.


2004 Subway 400, Qualifying, Qualifying results
2.Jamie McMurray No.42 Texaco Havoline Dodge Chip Ganassi Racing 155.379mph


2004 Subway 400, Qualifying, Qualifying results
7.Dale Earnhardt Jr. No.8 Budweiser Chevrolet Dale Earnhardt Incorporated 154.149mph


2004 Subway 400, Qualifying, Qualifying results
11.Bobby Labonte No.18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet Joe Gibbs Racing 154.020mph


2004 Subway 400, Qualifying, Qualifying results
14.Sterling Marlin No.40 Coors Light Dodge Chip Ganassi Racing 153.942mph


2004 Subway 400, Qualifying, Qualifying results
16.Ward Burton No. 0 Netzero HiSpeed Chevrolet Haas CNC Racing 153,690mph


2004 Subway 400, Qualifying, Qualifying results
18.Ken Schrader No.49 Schwan's Home Service Dodge BAM Racing 153.413mph


2004 Subway 400, Qualifying, Qualifying results
20.Brian Vickers* No.25 GMAC Financial Services Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports 153.169mph


2004 Subway 400, Qualifying, Qualifying results
24.Tony Stewart No.20 Home Depot Chevrolet Joe Gibbs Racing 152.875mph


2004 Subway 400, Qualifying, Qualifying results
32.Kevin Harvick No.29 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing 152.220mph


2004 Subway 400, Qualifying, Qualifying results
33.Michael Waltrip No.15 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Dale Earnhardt Incorporated 152.119mph


2004 Subway 400, Qualifying, Qualifying results
34.Robby Gordon No.31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing 152.024mph


2004 Subway 400, Qualifying, Qualifying results
36.Johnny Sauter* No. 30 America Online Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing 151.283mph


2004 Subway 400, Qualifying, Qualifying results
37.Derrike Cope No.50 Arnold Development Companies Dodge Derrike Cope 151.283mph


2004 Subway 400, Qualifying, Qualifying results
38.Larry Foyt No.14 AJ Foyt Racing Dodge AJ Foyt Racing 151.221mph


2004 Subway 400, Qualifying, Qualifying results
39.John Andretti No.1 Snap-On/Nilla Chevrolet Dale Earnhardt Incorporated 150.481mph (provisional)


2004 Subway 400, Qualifying, Qualifying results
40.Joe Ruttman No.09 Phoenix Racing Dodge Phoenix Racing 145.142mph (provisional)


2004 Subway 400, Qualifying, Qualifying results
42.Carl Long No.146 Glenn Underwater Services Dodge Glenn Racing 148.739mph


2004 Subway 400, Qualifying, Qualifying results
43.Andy Hillenburg No.280 Commercial Truck & Trailer Ford Stanton Hover 146.859mph


2004 Subway 400, Race
After one lap was completed, Joe Ruttman, who started 40th and did not make any attempts to practice, was ordered to park by NASCAR for not having a pit crew and collected $54,196. NASCAR eventually admonished Phoenix Racing owner James Finch for the incident. Kirk Shelmerdine was lapped after eight minutes and finished 42nd after not reaching the minimum speeds mandated by NASCAR, and was paid $54,895. Carl Long finished 38th after barrel-rolling on the backstretch. Andy Hillenburg managed to finish the race in 34th and 17 laps down, earning $55,425.


2004 Subway 400, Race
Pole-sitter Ryan Newman led the first two laps before getting passed by Jamie McMurray, who led until the first caution flag was waved for Ken Schrader's crash in turns one and two. Jeff Gordon took the lead, leading until lap 53 when Kyle Petty crashed. McMurray and Robby Gordon exchanged the lead during the caution period, while Newman, Jeff Gordon, and Matt Kenseth swapped the lead changes during the 71-lap green flag period, with Schrader and Jimmie Johnson's accident on lap 131 bringing out another caution.


2004 Subway 400, Race
On lap 134, Kenseth claimed the lead and led for 79 consecutive laps until lap 214, when a debris caution came out. Despite Kevin Harvick briefly taking first, Kenseth regained the lead and led for 87 more laps. During those laps, on lap 265, Long collided with Joe Nemechek, flipped down the backstretch, and landed in the turn 3 apron.


2004 Subway 400, Race
With 42 laps left, Robby Gordon crashed, and McMurray eventually passed Kenseth and Kasey Kahne, but NASCAR ruled that Kenseth and Kahne were finishing their pit stops and were leaving pit road, and as the field was frozen, McMurray's pass was voided. Kenseth battled Kahne for the win, and on the final lap, defeated Kahne by .01 seconds, while McMurray finished third. McMurray's team owner Chip Ganassi confronted the NASCAR haulers about Kenseth and Kahne's wave around; Ganassi stated, "We just got robbed in front of 100,000 people."


2004 Subway 500
The 2004 Subway 500 was a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series stock car race held on October 24, 2004 at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia. Contested over 500 laps, the race was the 32nd of the 36-race 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season, and the sixth race in the 2004 Chase for the Nextel Cup.


2004 Subway 500
Pole position was won by Penske-Jasper Racing's Ryan Newman, while Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports won the race. Chip Ganassi Racing's Jamie McMurray and Newman finished second and third, respectively.


2004 Subway 500, Background
Martinsville Speedway, considered the "Paperclip" for its paper clip shape, is the shortest track on the Cup circuit at only 0.526 miles (0.847 km) long. The track's banking is 12 degrees, while the straightaways were flat.


2004 Subway 500, Background
Entering the race, Kurt Busch led the points standings with 5850 points. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (5826), Jeff Gordon (5776), Elliott Sadler (5693), and Mark Martin (5664) comprised the top five, while Tony Stewart (5646), Matt Kenseth (5635), Jimmie Johnson (5623), Ryan Newman (5579), and Jeremy Mayfield (5501) rounded out the Chase field.


2004 Subway 500, Background, Hendrick Motorsports plane crash
Before the race, a Beechcraft Super King Air carrying ten people, seven of whom were Hendrick Motorsports personnel, including John Hendrick, Rick Hendrick's brother, and his two daughters Kimberly and Jennifer; Ricky Hendrick, Rick's son and former driver; Jeff Turner, Hendrick Motorsports' general manager; Randy Dorton, Hendrick's Director of Engine Operations; Joe Jackson, an executive for Jeff Gordon's sponsor DuPont; along with Scott Lathram, a pilot for Tony Stewart, and pilots Richard Tracy and Elizabeth Morrison, crashed into nearby Bull Mountain, killing all on board. The crash occurred 27 minutes before the race began.


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying
51 cars entered the race, ten of whom had attempted less than 20 races in 2004: Ryan McGlynn (#00), Greg Sacks (#13), Kevin Lepage (#37), Carl Long (#46), Tony Raines (#51), Klaus Graf (#59), Mike Garvey (#75), Mario Gosselin (#80), Brad Teague (#94), and Chad Chaffin (#98). Travis Kvapil (#06) was later added to the list, while Raines was removed.


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying
Qualifying was held on October 22, and was postponed by 30 minutes due to rain. Ricky Rudd led the Friday practice with a lap speed of 96.293 mph (154.969 km/h), faster than the previous track record.


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying
In qualifying, Ryan Newman won the pole with a lap time of 19.513 seconds and a speed of 97.043 mph (156.176 km/h), more than 3/10th's faster than the previous record of 95.371 mph (153.485 km/h) set by Tony Stewart in 2000. for his 25th career pole.


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying
Newman's teammate Rusty Wallace qualified second with a lap speed of 96.234 mph (154.874 km/h), followed by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (96.205 mph (154.827 km/h)), Ward Burton (96.107 mph (154.669 km/h)), Kvapil (96.102 mph (154.661 km/h)), Scott Riggs (96.063 mph (154.598 km/h)), Kurt Busch (96.039 mph (154.560 km/h)), Jamie McMurray (96.039 mph (154.560 km/h)), Rudd (95.772 mph (154.130 km/h)), and Jeff Green (95.743 mph (154.083 km/h)) rounded out the top ten. The top 17 drivers broke the previous record.


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying
Jimmy Spencer (92.124 mph (148.259 km/h)), Todd Bodine (92.769 mph (149.297 km/h)), Kirk Shelmerdine (87.968 mph (141.571 km/h)), Gosselin (92.710 mph (149.202 km/h)), and Lepage (92.556 mph (148.954 km/h)) were forced to use provisionals. Graf (93.687 mph (150.775 km/h)), Garvey (93.478 mph (150.438 km/h)), Morgan Shepherd (92.159 mph (148.316 km/h)), McGlynn (91.624 mph (147.455 km/h)), Sacks (91.416 mph (147.120 km/h)), and Teague (90.503 mph (145.650 km/h)) failed to qualify. Long withdrew from qualifying and did not set a time. Lepage and Shelmerdine were forced to move to the rear of the field for engine changes.


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
2. Rusty Wallace #2 Miller Lite Dodge Penske Racing 96.234mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. #8 Budweiser Chevrolet Dale Earnhardt Incorporated 96.205mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
4. Ward Burton # 0 Netzero HiSpeed Chevrolet Haas CNC Racing 96.107mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
5. Travis Kvapil #06 Mobil 1/Jasper Engines Dodge Penske Racing 96.102mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
6. Scott Riggs * #10 Valvoline Chevrolet MBV Motorsports 96.063mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
8. Jamie McMurray #42 Texaco Havoline Dodge Chip Ganassi Racing 96.039mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
9. Ricky Rudd #21 Motorcraft/US Air Force Ford Wood Brothers Racing 95.772mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
10. Jeff Green #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge Petty Enterprises 95.743mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
11. Jeremy Mayfield #19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Evernham Motorsports 95.738mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
12. Jeff Burton # 30 America Online Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing 95.670mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
13. Tony Stewart #20 Home Depot Chevrolet Joe Gibbs Racing95.665mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
14. Brendan Gaughan * #77 Kodak/Jasper Engines Dodge Penske/Jasper Racing 95.656mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
16. Sterling Marlin #40 Coors Light Dodge Chip Ganassi Racing 95.622mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
17. Bobby Labonte #18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet Joe Gibbs Racing 95.549mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
19. Kevin Harvick #29 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing 95.218mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
20. Ken Schrader #49 Schwan's Home Service Dodge BAM Racing 95.127mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
21. Greg Biffle #16 National Guard/Subway Ford Roush Racing 95.098mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
22. Carl Edwards #99 Roush Racing Ford Roush Racing 94.912mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
23. Mark Martin # 6 Viagra Ford Roush Racing 94.799mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
24. Scott Wimmer * #22 Caterpillar Dodge Bill Davis Racing 94.784mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
26. Kyle Petty #45 Georgia Pacific/Brawny Dodge Petty Enterprises 94.756mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
28. Casey Mears #41 Target/Breast Cancer Research Foundation Dodge Chip Ganassi Racing 94.732mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
29. Joe Nemechek #01 US Army Chevrolet MB2 Motorsports 94.689mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
30. Michael Waltrip #15 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Dale Earnhardt Incorporated 94.618mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
31. Hermie Sadler #02 SCORE Motorsports Chevrolet Angela Sadler 94.604mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
32. Dale Jarrett #88 UPS Ford Robert Yates Racing 94.534mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
33. Elliott Sadler #38 M&M's Ford Robert Yates Racing 94.444mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
34. Brian Vickers * #25 GMAC Financial Services Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports 94.289mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
35. Bobby Hamilton Jr #32 Tide Chevrolet PPI Motorsports 94.040mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
36. Robby Gordon #31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing 93.975mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
37. Chad Chaffin #98 Mach One Inc Ford William Edwards 93.956mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
38. Kasey Kahne *#9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Evernham Motorsports 93.761mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
39. Jimmy Spencer #4 Lucas Oil Products Chevrolet Morgan-McClure Racing 92.124mph (provisional)


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
40. Todd Bodine #50 Arnold Development Companies Dodge Arnold Racing 92.769mph (provisional)


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
41. Kirk Shelmerdine #72 Vote for Bush Ford Kirk Shelmerdine 87.968mph (provisional)


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
42. Morgan Shepherd #89 Racing With Jesus/Red Line Oil Dodge Cindy Shepherd 92.159mph (provisional)


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
43. Kevin Lepage #37 Carter's Royal Dispos-all Dodge John Carter 92.556mph (provisional)


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
44. Klaus Graf #59 BAM Racing Dodge BAM Racing 93.687mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
46. Mario Gosselin # Hover Motorsports Ford Hover Motorsports 92.710mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
47. Ryan McGlynn #00 Buyers Choice Auto Warranties Chevrolet Raynard McGlynn 91.624mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
48. Greg Sacks #13 ARC Dehooker/Vita Coco Dodge James Wilsberg 91.416mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
49. Brad Teague #94 WW Motorsports Ford David Watson 90.503mph


2004 Subway 500, Qualifying, Full qualifying results
50. Carl Long #46 RacingMetal.com Dodge Glenn Motorsport no time


2004 Subway 500, Race
Ryan Newman led the first nine laps of the race, with Rusty Wallace claiming the lead on lap 10, leading for 33 laps. Terry Labonte then led the next eight laps, with Kasey Kahne leading for 17 laps before Labonte took the lead back. Tony Stewart took the lead on lap 90, losing it on lap 108 to Kurt Busch, who led for only the lap before Sterling Marlin took over, leading until Busch reclaimed it on lap 131.


2004 Subway 500, Race
Busch would lead for 54 laps, with Matt Kenseth briefly leading for a lap before Busch led the longest streak with 64 laps. Kevin Harvick, Wallace, and Kenseth would split the lead for the next 45 laps, Harvick leading 43 of them, followed by leading another 61 after taking the lead back from Kenseth on lap 295. After Busch led lap 356, Jamie McMurray took the lead, leading for 20 laps until Jeff Gordon led for six laps from lap 377 to 382 before McMurray reclaimed it.


2004 Subway 500, Race
Jimmie Johnson then led his first laps of the race on lap 405, relinquishing it on lap 410. McMurray (1) and Marlin (29) led the next 30 laps until Johnson took the lead on lap 440, leading for the remainder of the race. McMurray, Newman, Marlin, and Busch finished in the top five, while the top ten consisted of Jeremy Mayfield, Jeff Green, Harvick, Jeff Gordon, and Rusty Wallace.


2004 Subway 500, Race
17 cautions occurred during the race. The first was on lap 4, when Joe Nemechek and Todd Bodine crashed in turn 2. On lap 14, Brendan Gaughan, Marlin, and Mayfield were involved in an accident in turn 4, with Jimmy Spencer becoming the beneficiary and gain back a lap. On lap 21, Rudd spun out in turn 2, allowing Shelmerdine to gain back a spot. On lap 66, Robby Gordon crashed in turn 4, allowing Mario Gosselin to be the beneficiary. On lap 77, Rudd and Robby Gordon crashed in turn 4, Shelmerdine gaining another lap back.


2004 Subway 500, Race
On lap 107, Dale Jarrett, Casey Mears, Bobby Hamilton, Jr., and Kirk Shelmerdine crashed in turn 3, allowing Robby Gordon to regain a lap. On lap 184, Kyle Petty spun in turn 2, permitting Nemechek to gain back a lap. On lap 292, Carl Edwards spun in turn 2, with Jeff Gordon being the beneficiary. The first caution for debris was flown on lap 322, with Robby Gordon becoming the beneficiary. Bobby Labonte, Jeff Green, and Ken Schrader crashed in turn 4 on lap 355, Rudd winning a lap back.


2004 Subway 500, Race
Ward Burton spun in turn 2 on lap 372, though there was no beneficiary. On lap 410, Jarrett spun out in turn 3, with Petty gaining a lap back. The second debris caution flew on lap 418, Travis Kvapil being the beneficiary. On lap 451, Elliott Sadler spun out in turn 4, Burton gaining back a lap. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Petty crashed in turn 2 on lap 468, with Sadler getting a lap back. However, on lap 477, Sadler would be involved in a crash in turn 2 with Nemechek, allowing Scott Riggs to gain back a lap. The final caution occurred on lap 490, with Edwards and Robby Gordon crashing in turn 3, with Kvapil being the beneficiary again.


2004 Subway 500, Race
Due to the Hendrick Motorsports plane crash, victory lane celebrations were not held, and the grandfather clock often given to the race winner was delivered after the season ended.


2004 Sudanese coup d'état attempt
The 2004 Sudanese coup attempt was a coup d'état attempt in Sudan in March 2004 against the president Omar al-Bashir and his cabinet, inspired by opposition leaders and Hassan Al-Turabi. It ended with the arrests of army officers over the next few days. A second attempted coup was staged in September 2004.


2004 Sugar Bowl
The 2004 Nokia Sugar Bowl, the BCS National Championship Game for the 2003 college football season, was played on January 4, 2004 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The teams were the Oklahoma Sooners and the LSU Tigers. The Tigers won the BCS National Championship, their second national championship in school history, defeating the Sooners by a score of 21–14.


2004 Sugar Bowl, Set-up
BCS #2 ranked LSU came into the national championship title game 12–1, with their one loss at home to #17 Florida 19–7. Top-ranked Oklahoma (but #3 in the AP poll) was 12–1, with the lone defeat coming at a neutral site in the Big 12 Championship Game against Kansas State 35–7. There was substantial media and fan controversy as to which teams deserved to play in the National Title game.


2004 Sugar Bowl, Set-up
USC was ranked #3 in the BCS standings but #1 by both of the human polls, the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and the AP poll, which made up a portion of the BCS Standings. Southern Cal owned a record of 11–1, with its one loss coming in triple overtime at unranked Cal 34–31.


2004 Sugar Bowl, Set-up
Once the game commenced, LSU's #1 ranked defense held the country's most prolific offense, which had averaged 45.2 points and 461 yards per game, to 154 total yards (32 in the first half) and just one touchdown until midway though the fourth quarter. The Sooners' Heisman Trophy-winning QB Jason White completed only 13 of his 37 passing attempts for just 102 yards. He was also sacked seven times and intercepted twice. LSU's offense was largely supplied by freshman running back and Sugar Bowl MVP Justin Vincent, who rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown.


2004 Sugar Bowl, Set-up
As a result, LSU won their second national championship and first since 1958. The majority of the coaches voted LSU National Champions as contractually required by the BCS. There were three dissenting coaches (Ron Turner of Illinois, Mike Bellotti of Oregon and Lou Holtz of South Carolina) who voted USC #1. BCS #3 USC won the Rose Bowl against #4 ranked Michigan and was voted the National Champion in the AP Poll.


2004 Sukma Games
The 2004 Sukma Games, officially known as the 10th Sukma Games was a Malaysian multi-sport event held in Negeri Sembilan from 29 May to 6 June 2004. Sarawakian swimmer Daniel Bego and Perakian swimmer Cindy Ong were announced as Best Sportsman and Best Sportswoman of the event respectively.


2004 Sukma Games, Development and preparation
The 10th Sukma Games Organising Committee was formed to oversee the staging of the event.