2006 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The tournament was expanded to 10 teams with an additional at-large bid offered to a team judges to be the best who had neither received an automatic bid nor one of the regional at-large bids.


2006 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
Massachusetts–Dartmouth was the first NCAA tournament game for any team from ECAC Northeast.


2006 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Qualifying teams
The following teams qualified for the tournament. Automatic bids were offered to the conference tournament champion of seven different conferences. One at-large bid was available for the best non-conference champion for each region with one additional at-large bid for the best remaining team regardless of region.


2006 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The tournament featured four rounds of play. All rounds were Single-game elimination. For the three eastern Quarterfinals the teams were seeded according to their rankings. The two lowest-seeded eastern teams played a first round game while the remaining five teams received byes into Quarterfinal round. The top-seeded eastern team played the winner of the eastern first round game. For the western quarterfinal, the top-ranked team awaited the winner of a first round game between the lower-ranked teams. The higher-seeded team served as host for each game of the first round and quarterfinals.


2006 NCAA Division III football season
The 2006 NCAA Division III football season, part of the college football season organized by the NCAA at the Division III level in the United States, began in August 2006, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, in December 2006 at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia. The Mount Union Purple Raiders won their ninth Division III championship by defeating the Wisconsin–Whitewater Warhawks, 35−16. This was the second of seven straight championship games between Mount Union (3 wins) and Wisconsin–Whitewater (4 wins) and the second straight win for Mount Union.


2006 NCAA Division III football season
The Gagliardi Trophy, given to the most outstanding player in Division III football, was awarded to Josh Brehm, quarterback from Alma.


2006 NCAA Division III football season, Postseason
The 2006 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the 34th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division III college football. The championship Stagg Bowl game was held at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia for the 14th time.


2006 NCAA Division III football season, Postseason, Qualification
Twenty-one conferences met the requirements for an automatic ("Pool A") bid to the playoffs. Besides the NESCAC, which does not participate in the playoffs, five conferences had no Pool A bid. The NWC was in the first year and the PAC in the second year of the two-year waiting period, while the ACFC, UAA, and UMAC failed to meet the seven-member requirement.


2006 NCAA Division III football season, Postseason, Qualification
Schools not in Pool A conferences were eligible for Pool B. The number of Pool B bids was determined by calculating the ratio of Pool A conferences to schools in those conferences and applying that ratio to the number of Pool B schools. The 21 Pool A conferences contained 181 schools, an average of 8.6 teams per conference. Thirty-seven schools were in Pool B, enough for four bids.


2006 NCAA Division III football season, Postseason, Qualification
The remaining seven playoff spots were at-large ("Pool C") teams.


2006 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
The Consensus 2006 College Basketball All-American team, as determined by aggregating the results of four major All-American teams. To earn "consensus" status, a player must win honors from a majority of the following teams: the Associated Press, the USBWA, The Sporting News and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.


2006 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
The 2006 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament was the 37th annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate indoor volleyball. The single elimination tournament was played at Rec Hall in University Park, Pennsylvania during May 2006.


2006 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
UCLA defeated Penn State in the final match, 3–0 (30–27, 30–27, 30–27), to win their nineteenth national title. The Bruins (26–12) were coached by Al Scates. This was Scates' final title before retiring in 2012; Scates was with the Bruins for all 19 of their championships.


2006 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
UCLA's Steve Klosterman was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Klosterman, along with six other players, comprised the All Tournament Team.


2006 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament, Qualification
Until the creation of the NCAA Men's Division III Volleyball Championship in 2012, there was only a single national championship for men's volleyball. As such, all NCAA men's volleyball programs, whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III, were eligible. A total of 4 teams were invited to contest this championship.


2006 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The 2006 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 38th annual NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate water polo. Tournament matches were played at the Burns Aquatics Center at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California from December 2–3, 2006.


2006 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
California defeated USC in the final, 7–6, to win their twelfth national title. The Golden Bears (31–4) were coached by Kirk Everist.


2006 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The Most Outstanding Player of the tournament was Mark Sheredy from California. Additionally, two All-Tournament Teams were named: a First Team (with seven players including Sheredy) and a Second Team (with eight players).


2006 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The tournament's leading scorer, with 6 goals, was Juan Delgadillo from USC.


2006 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship, Qualification
Since there has only ever been one single national championship for water polo, all NCAA men's water polo programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of 4 teams were invited to contest this championship.


2006 NCAA National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 2006 NCAA National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Tournament involved eight schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of women's NCAA Division I college ice hockey. It began on March 17, 2006, and ended with the championship game on March 26. The quarterfinals were conducted at the homes of the teams considered to be higher seeds, although no seed was given for either team in two of the games. The Frozen Four was conducted in Minneapolis. A total of seven games were played.


2006 NCAA National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Tournament, Bracket
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)Note: The team in italics is the home team in the first round.


2006 NCAA Rifle Championships
The 2006 NCAA Rifle Championships were contested at the 27th annual NCAA-sanctioned competition to determine the team and individual national champions of co-ed collegiate rifle shooting in the United States.


2006 NCAA Rifle Championships
The championships were held at the Cadet Rifle Range at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.


2006 NCAA Rifle Championships
Alaska won the team championship, the Nanooks' eighth NCAA national title in rifle.


2006 NCAA Rifle Championships, Qualification
With only one national collegiate championship for rifle shooting, all NCAA rifle programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of nine teams contested this championship.


2006 NCAA Skiing Championships
The 2006 NCAA Skiing Championships were contested at the Steamboat Ski Resort on Mount Werner near Steamboat Springs, Colorado as part of the 53rd annual NCAA-sanctioned ski tournament to determine the individual and team national champions of men's and women's collegiate slalom and cross country skiing in the United States.


2006 NCAA Skiing Championships
Hosts Colorado, coached by Richard Rokos, won the team championship, the Buffaloes' fifth co-ed title and sixteenth overall.


2006 NCAA Skiing Championships, Venue
This year's NCAA skiing championships were contested at the Steamboat Ski Resort at Mount Werner in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.


2006 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship
The 2006 NCAA Women's Gymnastics championship involved 12 schools competing for the national championship of women's NCAA Division I gymnastics. It was the twenty fifth NCAA gymnastics national championship and the defending NCAA Team Champion for 2005 was Georgia. The Competition took place in Corvallis, Oregon hosted by Oregon State University. The 2006 Championship was won by Georgia, their second in a row.


2006 NCAA football bowl games
In college football, 2006 NCAA football bowl games may refer to:


2006 NECBL All-Star Game
The 2006 NECBL All-Star Game was the 13th exhibition game between all-stars from the NECBL's Northern and the Southern Divisions. The Northern All-Stars defeated the Southern All-Stars 6-2, snapping a 2-game losing streak. Cheyne Hurst of the Keene Swamp Bats was the game's MVP.


2006 NECBL season
The 2006 NECBL season was the 13th season of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. The league's Lowell, Massachusetts franchise, the Mill City All-Americans, was renamed and became the Lowell All-Americans.


2006 NECBL season
In the quarterfinal playoff rounds, Vermont defeated Holyoke 2-0(2-0,5-1), Sanford defeated Keene 2-0(3-1,14-4), Torrington defeated North Adams(3-0,7-2), and Newport Defeated Manchester 2-1(5-8,7-1,5-4). In the semifinal rounds, Vermont defeated Sanford 2-1(2-1,5-6,3-2) and Torrington defeated Newport 2-0(1-0,3-1). In game 1 of the championship round, Vermont defeated Torrington 4-3. In game 2, Vermont defeated Torrington 4-1 to win the NECBL championship.


2006 NECBL season, Media
The 2006 NECBL season was notable as it was the first in which the entire league began live, video broadcasts of all  games via Teamline. The Newport Gulls, as defending champions, had the first-ever live video webcast of a game on Opening Day, June 8, 2006. The Gulls walked off to win, 2-1, in 10 innings versus the Pittsfield Dukes.


2006 NECBL season, Media
Under new team Director of Broadcast Operations Nicholas Lima, the Gulls broadcast team pioneered the first regular, multi-camera broadcast in league history, going on to win the Rhode Island PEG Award for Best Sports Program for their coverage of the June 8 game. Following the success of the Gulls multi-camera broadcasts, other teams would attempt to emulate the Gulls' production, including the Manchester Silkworms, Torrington Twisters and Keene Swamp Bats, as it became known for being the best in the NECBL.


2006 NFL Draft
The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offered by ESPNU and, for the first time, by NFL Network. Having signed a contract with the Houston Texans on the evening before the draft, Mario Williams, a defensive end from North Carolina State, became the draft's first pick.


2006 NFL Draft
The selection surprised many commentators, who predicted that the Texans would draft Southern California running back Reggie Bush or Texas quarterback Vince Young. Ohio State produced the most first round selections (five), while Southern California produced the most overall selections (eleven). Twenty-seven compensatory and supplemental compensatory selections were distributed amongst seventeen teams; Tampa Bay, Baltimore, and Tennessee each held three compensatory picks. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season. The 255 players chosen in the draft were composed of:


2006 NFL Draft, Supplemental draft selections
For each player selected in the Supplemental Draft, the team forfeits its pick in that round in the draft of the following season.


2006 NFL Draft, Trades
In the explanations below, (PD) indicates trades completed prior to the start of the draft (i.e. Pre-Draft), while (D) denotes trades that took place during the 2006 draft.


2006 NFL Europe season
The 2006 NFL Europe season was the 14th season of the league and second to last.


2006 NFL Europe season, World Bowl XIV
Frankfurt Galaxy 22-7 Amsterdam AdmiralsSaturday, May 27, 2006 LTU arena Düsseldorf, Germany


2006 NFL season
The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League. Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006.


2006 NFL season
The season began with the reigning Super Bowl XL champion Pittsburgh Steelers defeating the Miami Dolphins 28-17 in the NFL Kickoff Game.


2006 NFL season
The NFL title was eventually won by the Indianapolis Colts, when they defeated the Chicago Bears 29–17 in Super Bowl XLI at Dolphin Stadium at Miami Gardens, Florida on February 4, 2007.


2006 NFL season, New NFL commissioner
On March 20, 2006, Paul Tagliabue announced his plans to retire as NFL commissioner. During an NFL meeting in Northbrook, Illinois, on August 8, league team owners selected Roger Goodell, the NFL's then-current chief operating officer, as the new commissioner. Tagliabue continued to serve as commissioner until Goodell officially replaced him on Friday September 1.


2006 NFL season, New NFL commissioner
Tagliabue became NFL commissioner on October 26, 1989. During his tenure, the league added four new teams; saw four franchises move (including two franchises—the Rams and Raiders—from Los Angeles, the second-largest television market in the U.S.); the construction of seventeen new stadiums; began its own in-house television specialty cable network, the NFL Network; greatly increased television rights fees with its broadcasters, including the addition of the Fox network and its NFL programming; and maintained labor peace with the players' union.


2006 NFL season, Draft
The 2006 NFL Draft was held from April 29 to 30, 2006 at New York City's Radio City Music Hall. With the first pick, the Houston Texans selected defensive end Mario Williams from North Carolina State University.


2006 NFL season, New referees
Bernie Kukar and Tom White retired. Jerome Boger and Gene Steratore were promoted to referee.


2006 NFL season, Major rule changes, Officials' uniform makeover
The 2006 season marked the debut of new officiating uniforms which are supposed to be more comfortable for officials to wear in extreme weather over the old polyester uniforms. The uniforms were designed by Reebok using a proprietary material technology to keep officials both warm and dry during the winter months of the season. On the shirt, the position and number are removed from the front pocket and the lettering and numbers on the back side were black-on-white and are smaller print and the sleeve shows the uniform number. Officials also wore full-length black pants with white stripe during the winter months to stay warm, which was criticized by media. This was the first major design overhaul since 1979, when the position name was added to the shirt, but later abbreviated in 1982.


2006 NFL season, Major rule changes, Return of "The Duke" football
For the first time since Super Bowl IV at the conclusion of the 1969 season, the official NFL game ball was known as "The Duke" in honor of Wellington Mara, whose family owns the New York Giants. Son John is the current CEO of the team. The NFL first used "The Duke" ball in honor of owner Tim Mara (Wellington's father) made a deal with Wilson Sporting Goods to become the league's official supplier of game balls, a relationship that continued into its sixty-fifth year in 2006.


2006 NFL season, Major rule changes, Return of "The Duke" football
"The Duke" ball was discontinued after the 1970 AFL–NFL merger, and the merged league began using a different standardized ball made by Wilson. The only other time that "The Duke" ball name was used was during the two "Thanksgiving Classic" games in 2004.


2006 NFL season, Major rule changes, Return of "The Duke" football
One side of the new 2006 "Duke" football featured the NFL shield logo in gold, the words "The Duke", and the NFL commissioner's signature. The obverse side has a small NFL logo above the needle bladder hole, the conference names between the hole, and the words "National Football League" in gold. As per the custom, specially branded balls were used for the first week of the 2006 season (the "Opening Kickoff") as well as for the Thanksgiving Day, conference championships, Super Bowl XLI and Pro Bowl games.


2006 NFL season, 2006 deaths, Death of Lamar Hunt
Lamar Hunt died in Dallas, Texas on December 13 from complications from prostate cancer at the age of 74. He is credited with challenging the NFL with the formation of the American Football League, which led to the subsequent merger of the two leagues.


2006 NFL season, 2006 deaths, Death of two Broncos
At 3 a.m. on January 1, 2007, Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was shot and killed in Denver, within hours after the last regular season game against the San Francisco 49ers. Less than two months after, on February 24, 2007, Broncos running back Damien Nash collapsed and died after a charity basketball game at a high school. Both players died at the age of 24.


2006 NFL season, Flexible scheduling added to regular season
This was the first season that the NFL used a "flexible-scheduling" for the last few weeks of the season, allowing the league flexibility in selecting games to air on Sunday night, in order to feature the current hottest, streaking teams. This was implemented to prevent games featuring losing teams from airing during primetime late in the season, while at the same time allowing NBC to rake in more money off of the higher ratings from surprise, playoff-potential teams that more fans would enjoy watching.


2006 NFL season, Flexible scheduling added to regular season
Under the flexible-scheduling system, all Sunday games in the affected weeks tentatively had the start times of 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, except those played in the Pacific or Mountain time zones, which will have a tentative start time of 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT (or 4:15 p.m. ET/1:15 p.m. PT if it is a doubleheader weekend). On the Tuesday 12 days before the games, the league moved one game to the primetime slot, and possibly one or more 1 p.m. slotted games to the 4 p.m. slots. During the last week of the season, the league could reschedule games as late as six days before the contests so that all of the television networks will be able to broadcast a game that has playoff implications.


2006 NFL season, Playoffs
Within each conference, the four division winners and the two wild card teams (the top two non-division winners with the best overall regular season records) qualified for the playoffs. The four division winners are seeded 1 through 4 based on their overall won-lost-tied record, and the wild card teams are seeded 5 and 6. The NFL does not use a fixed bracket playoff system, and there are no restrictions regarding teams from the same division matching up in any round.


2006 NFL season, Playoffs
In the first round, dubbed the wild-card playoffs or wild-card weekend, the third-seeded division winner hosts the sixth seed wild card, and the fourth seed hosts the fifth. The 1 and 2 seeds from each conference then receive a bye in the first round. In the second round, the divisional playoffs, the number 1 seed hosts the worst surviving seed from the first round (seed 4, 5, or 6), while the number 2 seed will play the other team (seed 3, 4, or 5).


2006 NFL season, Playoffs
The two surviving teams from each conference's divisional playoff games then meet in the respective AFC and NFC Conference Championship games, hosted by the higher seed. Although the Super Bowl, the fourth and final round of the playoffs, is played at a neutral site, the designated home team is based on an annual rotation by conference.


2006 NFL season, Milestones
The following teams and players set all-time NFL records during the regular season:


2006 NFL season, Broadcasting and ticket sales, Sellouts
Through week 11 of the season, all NFL games had been sold out, and for the 24th time, all blackout restrictions had been lifted. The streak was ended by the Jacksonville at Buffalo game in Week 12.


2006 NFL season, Broadcasting and ticket sales, Television
This was the first season that NBC held the rights to televise Sunday Night Football, becoming the beneficiaries by negotiating the new flexible-scheduling system (it also marked the network's return to carrying NFL games since the end of the 1997 season). ESPN became the new home of Monday Night Football, replacing sister network ABC, who chose to opt out of broadcasting league games. Meanwhile, CBS and Fox renewed their television contracts to the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference packages, respectively.


2006 NFL season, Broadcasting and ticket sales, Game highlights on iTunes
Starting September 18, fans were able to download highlights of their teams' games through Apple's iTunes Store. Each video costs US$1.99 each but fans have the chance of buying a "Follow Your Team season ticket" which brings every game of that team to the fan for $24.99.


2006 NFL season, Broadcasting and ticket sales, Game highlights on iTunes
Also available will be NFL GameDay, the NFL Network's comprehensive Sunday night review which features post-game reactions and game analysis, all for $1.99 a show or $19.99 for the full season.


2006 NHK Trophy
The 2006 NHK Trophy was the final event of six in the 2006–07 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Big Hat in Nagano on November 30 – December 3. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Skaters earned points toward qualifying for the 2006–07 Grand Prix Final.


2006 NHK Trophy, Results, Ladies
Mao Asada (JPN) set a world record for the combined overall total (199.52) in ladies' singles.


2006 NHK Trophy, Results, Ice dancing
Fourth-place finishers Meryl Davis / Charlie White (USA) made history in their free dance by earning level fours (the highest level of difficulty of an element) for all their elements in that dance. This was the first time a dance team has earned all level fours.


2006 NHL Entry Draft
The 2006 NHL Entry Draft was the 44th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, on June 24, 2006.


2006 NHL Entry Draft
The draft order for the first 14 picks was decided during a lottery held on April 20, 2006. The draft was televised in Canada on TSN and RDS, with the first three hours simulcasted in the United States on OLN.


2006 NHL Entry Draft
As of 2019, eleven players from the 2006 draft have been named NHL All-Stars, or to the All-Star team. Players named range from the 1st overall pick of Erik Johnson to the 180th selection, Leo Komarov.


2006 NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series season
Following are the results of the 2006 NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series season. The 2006 season would be the last time a national event would be held at National Trail Raceway near Columbus, Ohio. The event was replaced with the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk the next year. It is also the final year before the Countdown to the Championship format change.


2006 NLL season
The 2006 National Lacrosse League season was the 20th season in the history of the league, which began as the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League in 1987. The season began on December 30, 2005 and concluded with the championship game on May 13, 2006.


2006 NLL season
The defending champion Toronto Rock were once again the favourite to win the Champions' Cup, but a slow start plus a dismal performance in the semifinal game against Rochester removed the Rock from contention. The Colorado Mammoth, under first-year head coach Gary Gait, won their first title since winning the first ever title in 1987, as the Baltimore Thunder.


2006 NLL season
Highly touted Portland rookie Brodie Merrill lived up to his hype, winning both the Defensive Player of the Year and the Rookie of the Year awards. Portland continued its domination of the post-season awards with Derek Keenan, himself a former Rookie of the Year Award winner (1992 with Buffalo), winning both the Les Bartley Award for coach of the year and the GM of the Year Award, and owner Angela Batinovich winning the Executive of the Year Award.


2006 NLL season, Team movement
The season featured the debut of two expansion teams; the Edmonton Rush and the Portland LumberJax, both in the Western Division. Portland beat the expansion team odds and won its division, finishing with an 11–5 record, while Edmonton did not fare so well. The Rush finished the season 1–15, their only win coming at the hands of their provincial rivals, the Calgary Roughnecks.


2006 NLL season, Team movement
Before the 2006 season, the Anaheim Storm folded not being able to attract enough fans in their two years in Southern California moving from their original home of New Jersey after the 2003 season where, for two seasons, they were not able to attract enough fans.


2006 NLL season, Final standings, Regular season
x: Clinched playoff berth; c: Clinched playoff berth by crossing over to another division; y: Clinched division; z: Clinched best regular season record; GP: Games PlayedW: Wins; L: Losses; GB: Games back; PCT: Win percentage; Home: Record at Home; Road: Record on the Road; GF: Goals scored; GA: Goals allowedDifferential: Difference between goals scored and allowed; GF/GP: Average number of goals scored per game; GA/GP: Average number of goals allowed per gameToronto won the 3-way tiebreaker with Minnesota and Philadelphia


2006 NLL season, All-Star game
The 2006 All-Star Game was held at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario on February 25, 2006. The West Division defeated the East Division 14–13. The MVP of the game was Lewis Ratcliff of the Calgary Roughnecks, who scored 4 goals, including the game winner. This marked the second straight year that a Roughneck player was All-Star Game MVP, with Tracy Kelusky having won it in 2005.


2006 NLL season, Awards, Weekly awards
The NLL gives out awards weekly for the best overall player, best offensive player, best defensive player, and best rookie.


2006 NLL season, Awards, Monthly awards
Awards are also given out monthly for the best overall player and best rookie.


2006 NLL season, Statistics leaders
Bold numbers indicate new single-season records. Italics indicate tied single-season records.


2006 NORCECA Men's Beach Volleyball Continental Championship
The 2006 NORCECA Men’s Continental Beach Volleyball Tournament was held from April 14 to 16 2006 in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic.


2006 NPF Draft
The 2006 NPF Senior Draft is the third annual NPF Draft. It was held February 15, 2006 to assign elite college players to pro teams for 2006 season. Athletes are not allowed by the NCAA to sign professional contracts until their collegiate seasons have ended. The first selection was Texas's Cat Osterman, picked by the Connecticut Brakettes. Osterman chose not to sign with the Brakettes. The Brakettes' rights to her expired after the 2006, after which she signed with the Rockford Thunder.


2006 NPF Draft, 2006 NPF Senior Draft
Following are the 30 selections from the 2006 NPF Senior Draft:


2006 NPF Draft, 2006 NPF Senior Draft
Position key: C = Catcher; UT = Utility infielder; INF = Infielder; 1B = First base; 2B =Second base SS = Shortstop; 3B = Third base; OF = Outfielder; RF = Right field; CF = Center field; LF = Left field;  P = Pitcher; RHP = right-handed Pitcher; LHP = left-handed Pitcher; DP =Designated playerPositions are listed as combined for those who can play multiple positions.


2006 NPSL Season
The 2006 National Premier Soccer League season was the 4th season of the NPSL. The season started in May 2006, and ended with the NPSL Championship Game in August 2006.


2006 NPSL Season
Sacramento Knights finished the season as national champions, beating Princeton 56ers in the NPSL Championship game


2006 NRL Grand Final
The 2006 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding match of the NRL's 2006 Telstra Premiership season. It was played between the first-placed Melbourne Storm and the third-placed Brisbane Broncos clubs on the night of Sunday, 1 October. The 2006 grand final was the first ever to feature teams which were both from cities outside the borders of New South Wales, in this case the capitals of Queensland and Victoria, yet was played at Sydney's Telstra Stadium. It was the first time the two sides had met in a grand final.


2006 NRL Grand Final
They had played each other twice during the 2006 regular season, with Melbourne winning both times. The Storm went into the grand final as favourites, having won the minor premiership (although this was later discounted when salary cap breaches at the club were exposed in 2010). Both teams were looking to keep their perfect grand final records intact: the Broncos with 5/5 and the Storm with 1/1 heading into the game.


2006 NRL Grand Final, Background
The 2006 NRL season was the 99th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the ninth run by the National Rugby League. Fifteen clubs competed for the 2006 Telstra Premiership over the 26 rounds of the regular season. Eight of these teams qualified for the four-week finals series


2006 NRL Grand Final, Background, Brisbane Broncos
The 2006 Brisbane Broncos season was the nineteenth in the club's history. Coached by Wayne Bennett and captained by Darren Lockyer, they finished the regular season in 3rd place before going on to reach their 6th grand final.


2006 NRL Grand Final, Background, Melbourne Storm
The 2006 Melbourne Storm season was the 9th in the club's history. Coached by Craig Bellamy and captained by Cameron Smith, they won a record 20 out of 24 regular season games to finish in first place and win the minor premiership, eight points clear of the second-placed Bulldogs. The Storm then reached their 2nd grand final as match favourites.


2006 NRL Grand Final, Match details
Matt Geyer was the only remaining Melbourne Storm player from their 1999 NRL grand final winning team and the only person at the club with grand final experience. Scott Hill (who had missed the 1999 grand final with injury) was playing his 200th and final game in the NRL. By contrast, around half of the Brisbane Broncos players had premiership rings, most of them from the club's 1998 and 2000 grand final wins. A crowd of 79,609 people turned out, with Hoodoo Gurus and INXS performing before the match which was refereed by Paul Simpkins, who was overseeing his first grand final.


2006 NRL Grand Final, Match details, 1st Half
The first points of the match came from a penalty in the ninth minute. Brisbane's Shaun Berrigan, playing at hooker, tried to burrow over the Storm's try-line from dummy half but was ruled to have had the ball taken from his arms by Billy Slater in a two-man tackle. The resulting penalty kick by captain Darren Lockyer in front of the posts was a gift two points for the Broncos to take an early 2-0 lead. Three minutes later, Melbourne halfback Cooper Cronk kicked a 40/20 coming out of his side's territory.


2006 NRL Grand Final, Match details, 1st Half
Following the subsequent scrum in an attacking position, the Storm raided Brisbane's line and got the first try of the match. Scott Hill did well to evade a few attempted tackles and shoot a remarkable pass around the back of a Broncos defender and into the arms of winger Steve Turner who dived over out wide. Cameron Smith missed the conversion, leaving the score at 4-2. Brisbane then got a scrum of their own close to Melbourne's line after Turner knocked on trying to take a Lockyer bomb. Lockyer, moving across-field fed the ball back inside to Justin Hodges who went over untouched to put the ball down near the posts, affording the Broncos captain another easy kick.


2006 NRL Grand Final, Match details, 1st Half
No more points were scored in the first half and Brisbane went into the break with an 8-4 lead. Darren Lockyer was limping around in the dressing room but went on to play through the rest of the game.


2006 NRL Grand Final, Match details, 2nd Half
Eight minutes into the second half, a high tackle by Justin Hodges on Cameron Smith close to the Broncos' line resulted in a minor scuffle and a penalty to the Storm. Melbourne captain Smith decided to take the tap and attack Brisbane's line and a close-range try to Matt King resulted. The scores were then level at 8-all, with the kick to come. Smith, also the Storm's first-choice goal-kicker, was having a problem with his kicking leg so the task fell onto Matt Geyer whose conversion attempt went wide.


2006 NRL Grand Final, Match details, 2nd Half
Ten minutes later a penalty was awarded to the Broncos after a high shot from Billy Slater on Shaun Berrigan and Corey Parker's kick was successful, giving his side a two-point lead at 10-8. Following the restart kick from Melbourne, Brisbane were working the ball out of their own half and on the fifth tackle scored a brilliant Grand Final try. From dummy half Berrigan ran then passed back inside to Lockyer who gave a short ball on to Parker who did likewise for Casey McGuire.


2006 NRL Grand Final, Match details, 2nd Half
Before being tackled McGuire tossed the ball blindly back over his head and it was picked up by Lockyer who spun out of a tackle then passed it to Tonie Carroll. Without losing momentum, Carroll passed the ball on to a flying Brent Tate who raced to the corner for the try. The conversion attempt from near the sideline was missed by Parker so the Broncos led by six with seventeen minutes of play remaining.


2006 NRL Grand Final, Match details, 2nd Half
A couple of minutes later the Storm appeared to have scored their third try when a bomb by Cronk was leapt for but unsuccessfully taken by both a Brisbane and a Melbourne player. On its way down the ball was snatched from the air by King who looked to have put it down for his second try but the video referee ruled that the ball had gone forward off the Storm so it was disallowed.


2006 NRL Grand Final, Match details, 2nd Half
In the seventy-third minute, after a strong run by prop Shane Webcke (the oldest player on the field) put him in good field position, Lockyer snapped away a successful field goal. This gave the Broncos a 7-point buffer. A frustrated Melbourne side were unable to score in the remaining minutes as Brisbane ground their way towards full-time, the score 15-8 at the final siren.


2006 NRL Grand Final, Match details, Post-match
Brisbane's Shaun Berrigan, playing in his new role as hooker, received the Clive Churchill Medal for man-of-the-match. His dummy half raids and effective defence were seen as instrumental in his team's victory.


2006 NRL Grand Final, Match details, Post-match
The Broncos' victory was the club's sixth premiership in their nineteen seasons and it broke what was at the time their longest premiership drought (five years). They suffered 11 losses during the season (including those to non-finals teams the Cowboys (twice), Wests Tigers and the wooden spooners, the Rabbitohs), the most ever by a premiership-winning team. The win also enabled Brisbane to maintain their 100% victory record in Grand Finals, making it six from six. This also made Wayne Bennett the most successful Australian rugby league club coach of all time in terms of premierships won. In addition the Grand Final victory provided the perfect farewell for retiring Broncos prop-forward Shane Webcke, who left the playing field with a grand final victory in his final match. Also departing the NRL were Casey McGuire and Scott Hill, both bound for the Super League.


2006 NRL Grand Final, Match details, Post-match
2006's grand final set a new record for the second highest ever television audience in Australia for a rugby league match since the introduction of the OzTam ratings system in 2001, behind only the previous season's grand final. Melbourne's television audience for the match was higher than Sydney's.


2006 NRL Grand Final, 2007 World Club Challenge
Having won the NRL grand final, the Brisbane Broncos had earned the right to play against 2006's Super League XI Champions, St. Helens in the following February's World Club Challenge. St Helens won 18–14.


2006 NRL season
The 2006 NRL season was the 99th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the ninth run by the National Rugby League. The lineup of teams remained unchanged from the previous year, with fifteen clubs competing for the 2006 Telstra Premiership. Throughout the 26 rounds of the regular season ten teams from New South Wales (9 of them from the Sydney basin), two from Queensland and one each from Victoria, the ACT and New Zealand competed for the minor premiership. Eight of these teams qualified for the four-week finals series, with the Brisbane Broncos eventual victors over the Melbourne Storm in the grand final. Melbourne finished the regular season first so were awarded the minor premiership, but this was later revoked due to the Melbourne Storm salary cap breach.


2006 NRL season, Pre season, New Zealand Warriors salary cap breach
The salary cap for the 2006 season was A$3.366 million per club for their 25 highest-paid players. The New Zealand Warriors were investigated by the National Rugby League over alleged salary cap breaches committed by the team's previous administrators. The club admitted to inflating its salary cap to the tune of nearly $1 million during the 2005 season. The National Rugby League fined the Warriors $430,000 and ordered the team to start the season with a four premiership point deficit. It was the first time in 99 years of rugby league in Australia that a team has started a season on less than zero premiership points.


2006 NRL season, Pre season, New Zealand Warriors salary cap breach
The Warriors appealed the decision by the NRL to deduct the four competition points but accepted the financial penalty. Prior to the beginning of the season, the National Rugby League confirmed that the points penalty would stand. The penalty would prove the decisive factor in the Warriors missing the finals for the third year in succession.


2006 NRL season, Season summary
The season began on March 10 with a match between defending premiers Wests Tigers and the St George Illawarra Dragons, played at Telstra Stadium. The Melbourne Storm won 20 out of 24 regular season matches to win the minor premiership eight points clear of the Bulldogs. However, in April 2010, the Storm were retroactively stripped of their minor premiership as a result of salary cap breaches occurring over the course of the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 seasons.


2006 NRL season, Season summary, Venues
Sixteen stadiums regularly hosted National Rugby league matches, with a further six hosting  at least one match in season 2006.


2006 NRL season, Season summary, Advertising
In 2006 the NRL and their advertising agency MJW Hakuhodo stayed with the Hoodoo Gurus' "That's My Team"  soundtrack for a fourth year, producing a treatment aimed to appeal to the fundamental hope of all players and fans: that it would be ‘their team’ who would win the Grand Final.


2006 NRL season, Season summary, Advertising
Capitalising on the enthusiasm generated by the Wests Tigers triumph of 2005 in only their sixth season, the campaign line and song chorus was changed to ‘That’s My Dream’.


2006 NRL season, Season summary, Advertising
All fifteen NRL club captains featured heavily in the television and outdoor ads holding aloft the Telstra trophy. Eight young real life fans also featured in the TV commercial reflecting the origins of the game from backyard football scenes to Sydney beaches. Each was a fan of one of eight clubs who had not till then won the Telstra Premiership trophy and four different broadcast versions of the ad told the stories of their love of the game and each's dream of their own team's victory.


2006 NRL season, Season summary, Dally M Awards
The Dally M Awards were introduced in 1980 by News Limited. The most prestigious of these awards is the Dally M Medal which is awarded to the Player Of The Year. The other prestigious award is the Provans Summons Medal which is the season's best player as voted by the public. As well as honouring the player of the year the awards night also recognises the premier player in each position, the best coach, the best captain, representative player of the year and the most outstanding rookie of the season. The awards night and Player of the Year medal are named in honour of Australian former rugby league great Herbert Henry "Dally" Messenger.


2006 NRL season, Season summary, Ladder
1The Melbourne Storm were later stripped of this minor premiership due to gross salary cap breaches. 2The New Zealand Warriors were deducted 4 competition points due to gross salary cap breaches.


2006 NRL season, Finals series
The Melbourne Storm went into the finals for the first time as Minor Premiers. They had a week off after their first finals win against the Parramatta Eels 12-6 to prepare for a Preliminary Final encounter, again the St. George Illawarra Dragons which was won by the Storm 24-10, earning them a spot in the Grand Final against the Brisbane Broncos. The Broncos had surprised everyone in the previous two months. After a slight hiccup in the Qualifying Final, going down against St. George Illawarra Dragons 20-4, they came back in the next two weeks, beating the Newcastle Knights 50-6 in the Semi Final and coming from 20-6 down at halftime to win 37-20 against the Bulldogs in the Preliminary Final.


2006 NRL season results
The 2006 National Rugby League season consisted of 25 weekly regular season rounds starting on 11 March, followed by four weeks of play-offs that culminated in a grand final on 1 October.


2006 NRL season results, Regular season, Round 6
A very rare event occurred in Round 6 – a referee was injured during a match. In the 28th minute of the Newcastle vs Nth Qld match, referee Paul Simpkins blew time off and made his way off the field with an injured calf muscle. A replacement referee was organised – Tony De Las Heras, who had refereed the Jersey Flegg (third-tier competition) match earlier, was brought onto the field to take control of the rest of the match. Coincidentally, De Las Heras was the subject of the next instance a referee was injured in an NRL match, in Round 19, 2009.


2006 NRL season results, Regular season, Round 6
Also, for the first time in 8 years, first grade competitive rugby league returned to Adelaide after the Adelaide Rams were excluded from the competition after the 1998 season. The Penrith Panthers hosted the Melbourne Storm at Hindmarsh Stadium, which was won by Melbourne 40-18. However, Rugby league officials were hoping for an attendance of at least 10,000, and were disappointed with the attendance of only 7,017.


2006 NRL season results, Regular season, Round 8
Brisbane Broncos recorded their biggest comeback in the club's history when they came from 18-0 down at halftime to win 30-28 against the Canberra Raiders at Suncorp Stadium.


2006 NRL season results, Regular season, Round 13
It took 70 minutes to score a point in the St. George Illawarra Dragons and Parramatta Eels game with Parramatta's five-eighth John Morris popped over a field goal to make it 1-0 to Parramatta. But eventually St. George Illwarra found their rhythm to go out 8-1 winners.


2006 NRL season results, Finals, Week One, Fourth Qualifying Final
There was major controversy in this match when, approximately 15 minutes from full-time, Parramatta second-rower Glenn Morrison crashed over the Melbourne Storm line. With the decision sent to the Video Referee (Bill Harrigan) it appeared that Morrison deserved a Try- Benefit of the doubt. However, Harrigan ruled he had been held up by Storm fullback Billy Slater and the try was not awarded.


2006 NSW Premier League season
The 2006 NSW Premier League season was the sixth season of the revamped NSW Premier League.


2006 NSW Premier League season
The 2006 regular season began on Friday, 17 February 2006 in a match between Manly United and APIA Leichhardt Tigers. It concluded with Round 18 being played out on Sunday, 25 June 2006. The finals began on 1 July 2006, culminating with the Grand Final on 16 July 2006. The match was played at Marconi Stadium at 3pm with Sydney United FC being crowned premiers after defeating regular season champions Blacktown City Demons FC 4–0.


2006 NSW Premier League season
During the course of the season, all Premier League, Super League and Division teams were involved in the Statewide Cup, an equivalent to the English FA Cup with teams competing in a series of elimination games. Blacktown City Demons FC also won this competition defeating APIA Leichhardt Tigers 2–1 in the cup final.


2006 NSW Premier League season, Clubs
Teams promoted from Super League:(After the end of the 2004–05 season.)


2006 NSW Premier League season, Clubs
Teams relegated to Super League:(After the end of the 2004–05 season.)


2006 NSW Premier League season, Finals series
After the home and away season, the finals series began with the top four teams competing for the champions trophy. The finals series used a  Page playoff system. The winner of the finals series, Sydney United FC was crowned as the NSW Premier League champions.


2006 NSW Premier League season, Finals series
Standard cup rules – such as extra time and penalty shootouts were used to decide drawn games.


2006 NZIHL season, 2006 NZIHL Standings
W = Main Round Win = 3 pointsL = Main Round LossT = Main Round Tie = 2 pointsBP = Bonus Point = 1 point


2006 NZIHL season, 2006 Season Results
June 9, 2006 - South Auckland Swarm 5 v Canterbury Red Devils 4


2006 NZIHL season, 2006 Season Results
June 10, 2006 - West Auckland Admirals 5 v Canterbury Red Devils 3


2006 NZIHL season, 2006 Season Results
June 11, 2006 - South Auckland Swarm 3 v West Auckland Admirals 2


2006 NZIHL season, 2006 Season Results
June 30, 2006 - Southern Stampede 6 v Canterbury Red Devils 4


2006 NZIHL season, 2006 Season Results
July 1, 2006 - Southern Stampede 6 v West Auckland Admirals 3


2006 NZIHL season, 2006 Season Results
July 2, 2006 - Canterbury Red Devils 4 v West Auckland Admirals 4


2006 NZIHL season, 2006 Season Results
July 21, 2006 - Southern Stampede 7 v South Auckland Swarm 2


2006 NZIHL season, 2006 Season Results
July 22, 2006 - Canterbury Red Devils 3 v Southern Stampede 1


2006 NZIHL season, 2006 Season Results
July 23, 2006 - Canterbury Red Devils 4 v South Auckland Swarm 5


2006 NZIHL season, 2006 Season Results
August 11, 2006 - West Auckland Admirals 3 v Southern Stampede 5


2006 NZIHL season, 2006 Season Results
August 12, 2006 - South Auckland Swarm 4 v Southern Stampede 0


2006 NZIHL season, 2006 Season Results
August 13, 2006 - South Auckland Swarm 6 v West Auckland Admirals 0


2006 NZIHL season, 2006 Season Results
September 9, 2006 - South Auckland Swarm 3 v Southern Stampede 3


2006 NZIHL season, 2006 Season Results
September 10, 2006 - South Auckland Swarm 4 v Southern Stampede 5


2006 NZIHL season, 2006 NZIHL Awards
Top Points Scorer - Jeff Bonazzo - West Auckland Admirals


2006 NZIHL season, 2006 NZIHL Awards
Finals MVP -  Loren Nowland - Southern Stampede & Joshua Hay - South Auckland Swarm


2006 Nadeshiko League
Statistics of Nadeshiko.League in the 2006 season. Nippon TV Beleza won the championship.


2006 Nagorno-Karabakh constitutional referendum
A constitutional referendum was held in the unrecognised country of Nagorno-Karabakh on 10 December 2006 to approve a draft constitution, which defined Nagorno-Karabakh as a sovereign state. Azerbaijan condemned the referendum, saying it is an unconstitutional attempt to damage the peace process.


2006 Nagorno-Karabakh constitutional referendum
The constitution was approved by 99.28% of voters, with a turnout of 87%.


2006 NatWest Pro 40
The 2006 NatWest Pro 40 league season was a 40 over English county cricket competition; colloquially known as the Sunday League. Essex Eagles won the League for the fifth time.


2006 National Camogie League
The 2006 National Camogie League, the second most important elite level inter-county competition in the women's team field sport of camogie was won by Cork, who defeated Tipperary in the final, played at Thurles.


2006 National Camogie League, The Final
The final was played immediately after the Munster hurling championship match between Tipperary and Limerick. Crk settled well despite having to wait 12 minutes for their opening score. Tipperary got the better start with a Claire Grogan free after just a minute and a half. It took Cork another 10 minutes to open the scoring, when Jennifer O'Leary sent over the first of her four frees. An Emily Hayden goal gave Tipperary a 2-2 to 0-5 half time lead. Emer Dillon scored a Cork goal on the restart to level the scores and from then on Cork were in full control.


2006 National Camogie League, Division 2
The Division 2 final, known until 2005 as the National Junior League, was won by Kilkenny intermediates who defeated Dublin in the final. The Division 3 final was won by Clare who defeated Derry in the final.


2006 National Cheerleading Championship
The 2006 National Cheerleading Championship is the first season of the National Cheerleading Championship, a cheerleading competition for college and high school teams in the Philippines. It was a one-time invitational and the inaugural cheerleading event held on April 2, 2006, at the Araneta Coliseum, Araneta Center, Quezon City.


2006 National Cheerleading Championship, Participating teams
10 teams took part in the first season: 5 College teams, and 5 High School teams.


2006 National Cheerleading Championship, Competition
The cheerleading competition is divided into two divisions: the college division, and the High School division.


2006 National Football League (Ireland)
The 2006 National Football League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Allianz National Football League, was the 75th staging of the National Football League (NFL), an annual Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams of Ireland.


2006 National Football League (Ireland), Format
The top 16 teams are drawn into Divisions 1A and 1B. The other 16 teams are drawn into Divisions 2A and 2B. Each team plays all the other teams in its section once: either home or away. Teams earn 2 points for a win and 1 for a draw.


2006 National Football League (Ireland), Format
The top two teams in Divisions 2A and 2B progress to the Division 2 semi-finals and are promoted. The bottom two teams in Divisions 1A and 1B are relegated. The top two teams in Divisions 1A and 1B progress to the NFL semi-finals.


2006 National Hurling League
The 2006 National Hurling League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Allianz National Hurling League, was the 75th edition of the National Hurling League (NHL), an annual hurling competition for the GAA county teams. Kilkenny won the league, beating Limerick in the final.


2006 National Hurling League, Structure, Division 1
There are 12 teams in Division 1, divided into 1A and 1B. Each team plays all the others in its group once, earning 2 points for a win and 1 for a draw.


2006 National Hurling League, Structure, Division 2
There are 11 teams in Division 2, divided into 2A and 2B.


2006 National Hurling League, Structure, Division 3
There are 9 teams in Division 3, divided into 3A and 3B.


2006 National Hurling League, Overview, Division 1
Brian Cody won his fourth league title with Kilkenny, and the second in succession, as 'the Cats' remained the only undefeated team throughout the entire league. Limerick, who were league runners-up, also enjoyed an unbeaten run in the group stage courtesy of three wins and two drawn games with Kilkenny and Tipperary, however, they fell to Kilkenny in the final.


2006 National Hurling League, Overview, Division 1
Down at the other end of the table, the four bottom-placed teams and relegation candidates were Antrim, Down, Laois and Wexford. Laois, after losing all of their group stage games, eventually lost a play-off to Down and faced relegation for the following season.


2006 National Hurling League, Overview, Division 2
Dublin won the Division 2 title after an unbeaten run throughout the group and knock-out stages, thus returning to the top flight having been relegated the previous year. Runners-up Kerry also remained undefeated until the last day of the league when they were defeated in the final by 'the Dubs'. Going down were Roscommon who recorded only one victory in the group stage before losing to London and Wicklow in the relegation play-offs.


2006 National Hurling League, Overview, Division 3
Armagh and Longford qualified for the league final in this division with Armagh winning promotion.


2006 National Hurling League, Division 1A
Kilkenny came into the season as defending champions of the 2004 season. Offaly entered Division 1 as the promoted team.


2006 National Hurling League, Division 1A
On 30 April 2006, Kilkenny won the title following a 3-11 to 0-14 win over Limerick in the final. It was their second league title in succession and their 13th National League title overall.


2006 National Hurling League, Division 1A
Laois, who lost all of their group stage matches, were relegated from Division 1 after losing both their matches in the relegation play-offs. Dublin won Division 2 and secured promotion to the top tier.


2006 National Hurling League, Division 1A
Limerick's Mark Keane was the Division 1 top scorer with 4-50.


2006 National Hurling League, Division 2
On 30 April 2006, Dublin won the title following a 0-17 to 1-6 win over Kerry in the final. It was their first Division 2 title since 1997.


2006 National Hurling League, Division 2
Roscommon, who lost all but one of their group stage matches, were relegated from Division 2 after losing both their matches in the relegation play-offs.


2006 National Hurling League, Division 3
On 30 April 2006, Armagh won the title following a 3-10 to 1-11 win over Longford in the final. It was their first Division 3 title since 1999.


2006 National Hurling League, Division 3, Shield
On 30 April 2006, Tyrone won the title following a 3-09 to 0-10 win over Sligo in the final.


2006 National Indoor Football League season
The 2006 National Indoor Football League season was the fifth season of the National Indoor Football League (NIFL). The league champions were the Billings Outlaws, who defeated the Fayetteville Guard in Indoor Bowl VI.


2006 National Invitation Tournament
The 2006 National Invitation Tournament was the first time the tournament was planned and operated by the NCAA, taking over after 68 years under the auspices of the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association (MIBA). The 2006 NIT also saw changes made to the selection process as well as being the first time the NIT seeded the participants. The South Carolina Gamecocks won their second straight NIT title.


2006 National Invitation Tournament, Selected teams
Below are lists of the team selected for the tournament. The teams were given seeds for the first time ever.


2006 National Invitation Tournament, Bracket
Below are the four brackets of the tournament, along with the bracket of the four-team championship round.


2006 National League Championship Series
The 2006 National League Championship Series (NLCS), the second round of the 2006 National League playoffs, began on October 12 and ended on October 19; it was scheduled to begin on October 11, but was postponed a day because of inclement weather. The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the heavily favored New York Mets in seven games to advance to the 2006 World Series against the Detroit Tigers.


2006 National League Championship Series
The Cardinals and the Mets took the series to the limit, reaching the 9th inning of Game 7 tied at 1–1. The Cardinals took the lead with Yadier Molina's two-run home run off Mets reliever Aaron Heilman in the 9th to put his team ahead, 3–1. Adam Wainwright would then hold the Mets scoreless in the bottom of the 9th to give St. Louis their second pennant in three years and 17th in club history, placing them one behind the New York/San Francisco Giants and the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers for most in NL modern history (since 1903). The Cardinals were making their third consecutive appearance in the NLCS; manager Tony La Russa, who led St. Louis to the 2004 pennant and previously won AL titles with the Oakland Athletics from 1988–90, became the first manager in history to win multiple pennants in both leagues.


2006 National League Championship Series
The Mets, handicapped after season-ending injuries to Pedro Martínez and Orlando Hernández, qualified for postseason play for the first time since 2000. They defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers three games to none in the NL Division Series, while the Cardinals defeated the San Diego Padres three games to one. The Mets had home-field advantage due to their better record in the regular season (the Mets were 97–65, the Cardinals 83–78). The Mets and Cardinals previously met in the 2000 NLCS, which the Mets won in five games.


2006 National League Championship Series
The Cardinals would go on to defeat the Detroit Tigers in the World Series in five games.


2006 National League Championship Series, Summary, New York Mets vs. St. Louis Cardinals
†: Game 1 was postponed due to rain on October 11. Game 2 was subsequently pushed back a day as well. ‡: Game 5 was postponed due to rain on October 16.


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
Thursday, October 12, 2006 at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
On a game pushed back a day by rain, both pitchers pitched magnificently. Tom Glavine earned the win with seven innings of shutout baseball. The game's only runs came on a two-run homer by Carlos Beltrán off losing pitcher Jeff Weaver in the sixth following a two-out single by Paul Lo Duca. Glavine was aided by stellar defense, as the Mets turned two double plays. In the third inning, with runners on first and second, third baseman David Wright caught a line drive off the bat of David Eckstein and threw to second to double up Yadier Molina.


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
In the following inning, Juan Encarnación flied out to shallow center to Beltrán, who threw to first on the run to double up Albert Pujols, who went 0-for-3 with a walk. Left fielder Endy Chávez also made an excellent diving play on a flare hit by Ronnie Belliard. He replaced Cliff Floyd, who left in the second inning when he reaggravated his injured Achilles tendon.


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
Following the game, Albert Pujols was controversially critical of Glavine's performance, saying that the Cards would have dominated him if they were on their "A" game. His exact words were:


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
"He wasn't good. He wasn't good at all ... I think we hit the ball hard, we didn't get some breaks. I say he wasn't good at all. We just didn't get some opportunities and that's it.... [ He did the] same thing that he always does. Throw a changeup, fastball and that was it."


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
Pujols' comments drew criticism from fans, talk-show hosts, broadcasters, and even his own manager. Tony La Russa, while maintaining that Pujols made the remarks in the heat of the moment, said "It's not a good statement. Glavine deserves credit." Tom Glavine, when asked, merely said that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. His teammate Billy Wagner, on the other hand, said:


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
"I know if Albert would have said that about me, I wouldn't have been as veteraned, as seasoned about it ... I probably would have said something back. That's me. Tom is classy all the way ... Tom's done so much. Tom doesn't have to stoop to tell people how good he is ... His numbers speak for themselves. With 290 wins for somebody that has been in the league as long as he has is pretty self-explanatory ...Tommy's stature is much bigger than Pujols'. He's [got] a Hall of Fame induction coming. Albert doesn't. Albert's a great player, but you just don't know about tomorrow. In this clubhouse, Tommy is the epitome of class and great leadership. He leads by what he does in the field. He doesn't lead by what he says in the media."


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 2
Friday, October 13, 2006 at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 2
In Game 2, the Cardinals erased three deficits en route to a 9–6 victory. In the first inning, Carlos Delgado hit a three-run home run off the Cardinals' ace Chris Carpenter. Yadier Molina then drove in two runs with a bases-loaded double in the second inning off of John Maine. In the bottom of the second, Endy Chavez hit a leadoff double, moved to third on a groundout and scored on José Reyes's, but Jim Edmonds's home run after a walk tied the game in the third. Delgado's home run in the fifth put the Mets back on top 5–4.


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 2
Next inning, Cardinals reliever Josh Hancock walked Reyes, who scored on Paul Lo Duca's double, but Scott Spiezio, who started the game at third base in place of an injured Scott Rolen, had two hits and three RBIs, including a two-run triple on an 0–2 pitch in the seventh inning to tie the game at six off of Guillermo Mota. Lefty closer Billy Wagner came into the game in the top of the ninth inning.


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 2
Left fielder Chris Duncan, a lefty hitter, was due to lead off, so, Duncan was pulled in favor of So Taguchi, a right-hitting outfielder who was a better defensive option than Duncan. Taguchi homered on the ninth pitch of the at-bat to put the Cardinals ahead, 7–6. Albert Pujols doubled and moved to third on a groundout before Spiezio's RBI double and Juan Encarnación's single extended the Cardinals' lead to 9–6. Tyler Johnson and Adam Wainwright retired the Mets in order in the bottom of the ninth as the Cardinals' win tied the series 1–1.


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
Saturday, October 14, 2006 at Busch Stadium (III) in St. Louis, Missouri


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
Back in St. Louis for the next three games, St. Louis starter Jeff Suppan pitched eight innings as the Cardinals defeated the Mets, 5–0. Scott Spiezio hit a two-run triple (his second two-run triple in as many games) in the bottom of the first inning to put the Cardinals ahead, 2–0. The Cardinals loaded the bases on two walks afterward, but Mets starter Steve Trachsel struck out Yadier Molina looking to end the inning.


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
Next inning, Suppan's leadoff home run made it 3–0, who then loaded the bases on two walks and a line drive off the bat of Preston Wilson that hit Trachsel, who left with a bruised thigh. Mets reliever Darren Oliver threw a wild pitch to Jim Edmonds that let David Eckstein score before Edmonds's RBI groundout plated the last run of the game. Oliver then pitched six shutout innings. After the game, the Mets had not scored in 12 consecutive innings, making it 14 before scoring in the third inning of Game 4.


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
Sunday, October 15, 2006 at Busch Stadium (III) in St. Louis, Missouri


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
Game 4 was a pivotal game for the Mets, who were faced with a two-games-to-one deficit. They sent Óliver Pérez, a young lefty picked up at the trade deadline from the Pittsburgh Pirates, to face the Cardinals' own young starter, Anthony Reyes. In a game that would see an NLCS-record-tying seven home runs, the Cardinals grabbed an early lead in the bottom of the second on a Yadier Molina single.


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
It seemed to be a repeat of the night before, but in the top of the third the Mets hit two home runs, one being Carlos Beltrán's second of the series and sixth against the Cardinals in NLCS play, and another representing David Wright's first hit of the series and first homer of the playoffs. The lead was short-lived, as Scott Spiezio walked with one out, then scored on Juan Encarnación's two-out triple to tie the game.


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
The game would stay tied until the top of the fifth inning, when Paul Lo Duca reached on an error by Cardinals second baseman Ronnie Belliard, Beltrán managed a walk, and Carlos Delgado scored an opposite-field three-run homer, his third of the series, to make it 5–2 Mets and knock starter Brad Thompson out of the game. David Eckstein pulled the Cards back in the bottom of the fifth with a leadoff homer, but, in the top of the sixth, the Mets extended the lead.


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
José Reyes and Paul Lo Duca hit back-to-back singles off of Josh Hancock, and Beltrán walked to load the bases. Delgado then hit a ground-rule double to drive in two runs, and then Wright walked. Tyler Johnson relieved Hancock and Shawn Green singled to drive in one run and José Valentín, who, at that point, was only 3-for-20 in the playoffs, hit a bases-clearing double down the left field line to make it 11–3.


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
The Cardinals got home runs from Edmonds and Molina to make it an 11–5 game, but Mets manager Willie Randolph then pulled starter Pérez and bought in submarine pitcher Chad Bradford to try and limit the damage. Beltrán would tie the NLCS record of seven home runs with another in the seventh off of Braden Looper en route to a final score of 12–5. Beltrán also tied Babe Ruth for the all-time postseason record of seven home runs against the Cardinals, having hit four against them in the 2004 National League Championship Series while playing for the Houston Astros.


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
Tuesday, October 17, 2006 at Busch Stadium (III) in St. Louis, Missouri


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
After Game 5 was pushed back a day by rain, giving their starter now four days' normal rest instead of three days' short rest, the Mets sought a 3–2 lead in the NLCS. However, pitcher Tom Glavine could not stifle the Cardinals' offense. After the Mets jumped out to a 2–0 lead on Jose Valentin's double off of Jeff Weaver, the next half-inning Albert Pujols struck for his first home run and RBI of the series to cut the Mets' lead in half.


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
Glavine then walked Scott Rolen and allowed a single to Jim Edmonds before Ronnie Belliard tied the game with a single to left. David Eckstein singled to lead off the fifth and scored on Preston Wilson double to put the Cardinals up 3–2. St. Louis padded their lead in the sixth through a pinch-hit home run by rookie Chris Duncan off of Pedro Feliciano that made the final score 4–2, Cardinals. The win moved the Cardinals within one of their second National League pennant in three years.


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 6
Wednesday, October 18, 2006 at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 6
Facing elimination, the Mets sent John Maine to start Game 6. He allowed no runs in 5+1⁄3 innings, earning the win for the Mets. José Reyes hit a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first, giving the Mets a lead that would never be relinquished. Reyes became the first Met to lead off with a home run in the first inning of a postseason game since former outfielder Lenny Dykstra in Game 3 of the 1986 World Series against the Boston Red Sox. The Cardinals stranded several runners against Maine.


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 6
In the top of the first inning, with runners on second and third and one out, Maine struck out Jim Edmonds. After Maine hit Juan Encarnación with a pitch to load the bases, Scott Rolen flew out. In the top of the third, with a runner on second and nobody out, Maine struck out Scott Spiezio and intentionally walked Albert Pujols. Edmonds then flew out and Maine struck out Encarnación to finish the job.


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 6
Shawn Green hit an RBI single in the fourth off of starter Chris Carpenter and Paul Lo Duca added two more with an RBI hit in the seventh off of Braden Looper. Billy Wagner came on in the ninth and allowed a leadoff single to Juan Encarnación and subsequent double to Scott Rolen. After retiring the next two batters, Wagner gave up a two-RBI double to So Taguchi before retiring David Eckstein to end the game.


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 7
Thursday, October 19, 2006 at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 7
In the decisive Game 7, the Mets sent Game 4 winner Óliver Pérez to the mound against Jeff Suppan. The Mets jumped out to an early 1–0 lead when David Wright drove in Carlos Beltrán in the first with a bloop single into right field. The Cardinals tied the game in the second when Ronnie Belliard hit into a squeeze play that scored Jim Edmonds from third. In the fifth, with runners on first and second and two gone, Albert Pujols came up to the plate.


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 7
Even with Chad Bradford warming up in the bullpen, Willie Randolph decided to stay with Pérez. He got Pujols to pop out. Pérez ran into some more trouble in the sixth with a runner on and one out, when Scott Rolen hit a long fly ball to left field to create one of the greatest defensive plays in postseason history.


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 7
The ball cleared the fence, but Endy Chávez amazingly brought it back by snow-coning the ball, jumping from the edge of the warning track to snag what looked to be an certain home run. He then threw the ball to first base quickly to double off Jim Edmonds, who had rounded second on his way to third, to end the inning. He received two curtain calls from the Shea crowd. With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the sixth, José Valentín and Chávez failed to get the go-ahead run in.


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 7
With the score 1–1 in the top of the ninth, Yadier Molina, with a man on-base, hit a deep fly off Aaron Heilman in the same general direction as the one Rolen hit in the sixth. This ball was hit too high for Chávez to catch, and it gave the Cardinals a 3–1 lead, with only three outs in the bottom of the ninth separating them from a pennant.


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 7
However, the Mets would not go quietly. Rookie closer Adam Wainwright yielded singles to Valentín and Chávez to lead off the ninth. After getting a strikeout and a fly-out, Wainwright walked Paul Lo Duca to bring up Carlos Beltrán with the bases loaded. Down 0–2 to the rookie Wainwright, Beltrán looked at a curveball on the outside corner at the knees for a called strike three to end the series.


2006 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 7
This was the last playoff game played in Shea Stadium and the last postseason appearance for the Mets until 2015, six years after Citi Field opened. It is also the second time that a visiting team won a postseason series at Shea (the other being the Yankees' victory over the Mets in the 2000 World Series).


2006 National League Championship Series, Composite box
2006 NLCS (4–3): St. Louis Cardinals over New York Mets


2006 National League Championship Series, Aftermath
The Cardinals would win the World Series by defeating the heavily favored Detroit Tigers in five games. With 83 wins, the Cardinals set a record for the worst regular season win-loss total for any championship team. They would win another World Series in 2011 and make another World Series appearance in 2013 (where they lost to the Boston Red Sox). Manager Tony La Russa retired after the 2011 season, going out a champion. LaRussa would un-retire ten years later in 2021 when he became the manager of the White Sox, a team he managed from 1979-1986.


2006 National League Championship Series, Aftermath
As for the Mets, many commentators and fans had predicted that 2006 would be the beginning of a dynasty. They had dominated the National League that season, winning 97 games when no one else won more than 88, and they had a deep and young core, with Beltran, Wright, and Reyes being under 30 (the latter two being under 25). Supporting those three were Hall of Fame caliber players such as Carlos Delgado, Tom Glavine, Pedro Martínez, and Billy Wagner.


2006 National League Championship Series, Aftermath
Nonetheless, 2006 stands as the only major achievement for this group. They suffered a historic collapse at the end of the 2007 season, losing 12 of their final 17 games to blow a 7-game division lead and miss the postseason by one game. After a smaller late-season collapse the next season, they again missed the postseason by one game. Following this, they suffered through several losing seasons and ultimately would not return to the postseason until 2015, when Wright was the only Met from 2006 still on the roster.


2006 National League Championship Series, Aftermath
Manager Willie Randolph was fired in the middle of the 2008 season, Delgado played his last game in 2009, General Manager Omar Minaya was fired after 2010 (In 2017, he was brought back as a Special Assistant to then-General Manager Sandy Alderson), Beltran was dealt away at the 2011 trade deadline, and Reyes left via free agency that offseason. Reyes would eventually return to the Mets in 2016; he, along with Wright, would leave the Mets after the 2018 season - Reyes's contract was not renewed, and Wright retired as a result of spinal stenosis.


2006 National League Division Series
The 2006 National League Division Series (NLDS), the opening round of the 2006 National League playoffs, began on Tuesday, October 3, and ended on Sunday, October 8, with the champions of the three NL divisions—along with a "wild card" team—participating in two best-of-five series. They were:


2006 National League Division Series
The higher seed (in parentheses) had the home field advantage, which was determined by playing record. The Padres were awarded the Western Division title over the Dodgers due to their winning the season series against Los Angeles 13–5.


2006 National League Division Series
The Mets and the Cardinals met in the NL Championship Series, with the Cardinals becoming the National League champion and going on to defeat the American League champion Detroit Tigers in the 2006 World Series.


2006 National League Division Series, Playoff race
The NL playoff race was highly dramatic when as many as six teams entered the final weekend of the regular season fighting for the final three playoff spots. Two of three division champions were decided on the final day of the regular season.


2006 National League Division Series, Playoff race
The New York Mets began the season with high hopes of finally ending the Atlanta Braves' string of division titles. The Mets lived up to their high expectations and roared out of the gate, taking over first place in the division on the fourth day of the season and never looking back. They won seven of their first eight games, and had built up a double-digit lead in the standings by the end of June. The Mets clinched the division on September 18, and finished 12 games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies. The Braves finished third, 18 games back. However, the Mets entered the postseason without injured ace Pedro Martínez, and learned the day before Game 1 of the Division Series that projected Game 1 starter Orlando Hernández would be lost for the whole round.


2006 National League Division Series, Playoff race
The St. Louis Cardinals' run to their third consecutive Central Division championship pales in comparison to their runs in the previous two seasons. As before, the Cardinals took over the lead in the division early on, overtaking the Cincinnati Reds on June 9. It appeared as if this season would follow the established pattern as the Cardinals steadily built up their lead to as much as five and a half games and a 42–26 record on June 19.


2006 National League Division Series, Playoff race
The Cardinals began interleague play by being swept by both the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers as part of an eight-game losing streak. Despite the slump, they did not relinquish the division lead. The Reds were able to tie the Cardinals in the standings on June 30 and July 1, but the Cardinals regained sole possession of first place the following day and held onto the lead for the rest of the season despite additional losing streaks of eight and seven games.


2006 National League Division Series, Playoff race
The Cardinals' struggles largely stemmed from the numerous injuries to key players throughout the season, including Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds, David Eckstein, Chris Carpenter, Mark Mulder, and Jason Isringhausen. The title appeared to be well in hand on September 19 with leads of seven games over the Reds and eight and half games over the Houston Astros with just 13 games left to play. The Cardinals then went on another seven-game losing streak just as the Astros won seven consecutive, shrinking the Cardinals' lead to just a game and a half. The Cardinals were able to regain their composure, winning three of their next four and clinching on the final day of the season with an Astros loss to the Atlanta Braves.


2006 National League Division Series, Playoff race
The San Diego Padres' playoff run was led by their strong pitching and saw closer Trevor Hoffman overtake Lee Smith as the all-time saves leader. This season also marked the first time in Padres history that the team went to the playoffs in consecutive years. The Padres did not clinch a playoff spot until the final weekend of the regular season and finished with an identical record to the Los Angeles Dodgers, but were awarded the Western Division title due to the Padres winning the season series against the Dodgers 13–5.


2006 National League Division Series, Playoff race
The Los Angeles Dodgers' run to the playoffs was most notable for their streaky play in the second half of the season. The Dodgers started the second half by losing 13 out of 14 games and trailing the Padres by seven and a half games, in last place in the division, and behind eight teams in the wild card race.


2006 National League Division Series, Playoff race
They immediately followed that streak by winning 17 of their next 18 to put them on top of the division by three and half games, with a better record than all eight teams they had trailed in the wild card race prior to the streak. Their inconsistent play continued as they were swept by the Padres in late August as part of a four-game losing streak, only to follow that up by winning seven consecutive, then losing their next three.


2006 National League Division Series, Playoff race
The Dodgers finished the season strong by winning their final seven games, clinching a playoff berth in the final weekend over the Philadelphia Phillies and finishing tied with the Padres. The Dodgers were awarded the wild-card spot based on their 5-13 head-to-head record against San Diego, who earned the divisional championship.


2006 National League Division Series, New York vs. Los Angeles, Game 1
The game started off with Mets rookie starter John Maine on the mound as an emergency replacement for Orlando Hernández. Hernández was sidelined with a torn muscle, and ended up missing the rest of the postseason. Maine kept the Mets in the game with only one earned run in 4+1⁄3 innings pitched. This game was notable for having two runners getting tagged out at home plate in the second inning. With runners on first and second and nobody out, catcher Russell Martin hit a line drive to the wall in right field.


2006 National League Division Series, New York vs. Los Angeles, Game 1
Jeff Kent tried to tag up from second base in the event that right fielder Shawn Green caught the ball. Instead, the ball sailed over Green's head. Both Kent and J. D. Drew raced around the bases towards the plate. Green threw to cut-off man José Valentín, who relayed to Paul Lo Duca at the plate. Lo Duca was first able to tag out Kent. Drew, trying to score in desperation right behind Kent, was also tagged out at the plate. Lo Duca almost did not see Drew in time to slap the tag on.


2006 National League Division Series, New York vs. Los Angeles, Game 1
Martin would score on Marlon Anderson's double but Carlos Delgado and Cliff Floyd hit solo home runs in the fourth off of Derek Lowe. Lo Duca and Delgado singled in the sixth before scoring on David Wright's double to make it 4–1 Mets. In the seventh, Anderson hit a leadoff single off of Guillermo Mota and second baseman Valetin's error on Wilson Betemit's ground ball put runners on first and third with no outs for the Dodgers. After Julio Lugo struck out, Anderson scored on Rafael Furcal's single. After Furcal stole second, Nomar Garciaparra's two-out double tied the game,.


2006 National League Division Series, New York vs. Los Angeles, Game 1
In the bottom of the inning, reliever Brad Penny walked two with one out before Delgado's single and Wright's double scored a run each. In the ninth, closer Billy Wagner allowed a leadoff double to Betemit, who scored on Ramon Martinez's two-out double, but Garciaparra struck out to end the game as the Mets took a 1–0 series lead.


2006 National League Division Series, New York vs. Los Angeles, Game 2
Game 2 pitted Dodgers rookie Hong-Chih Kuo against Tom Glavine. In the bottom of the third, outfielder Endy Chávez hit a bunt single to lead off the inning. A wild pitch and subsequent ground out moved him to third before he scored on José Reyes's ground out. In the fifth, the Mets loaded the bases on a hit and two walks with one out off of Kuo, who was then relieved by Brett Tomko. Paul Lo Duca's sacrifice fly gave the Mets a 2–0 lead.


2006 National League Division Series, New York vs. Los Angeles, Game 2
In the sixth, the Mets loaded the bases again on two hits and an error with no outs. Mark Hendrickson relieved Tomko and got Endy Chavez to hit into a force out at home. Pinch-hitter Julio Franco's fielder's choice and Reyes's RBI single scored a run each. Wilson Betemit hit a home run in the eighth off of Aaron Heilman for the Dodgers but Wagner pitched a perfect ninth for his second save of the series. The Dodgers were hit with more bad news. Nomar Garciaparra was lost after a leg injury that would keep him off the field except for pinch-hitting duties.


2006 National League Division Series, New York vs. Los Angeles, Game 3
In Los Angeles, the Mets loaded the bases in the first with one out on a walk and two singles off of veteran starter Greg Maddux before RBI singles by David Wright, Cliff Floyd and Shawn Green put them up 3–0. In the third, Floyd singled with two outs before scoring on Green's double. In the fourth, the Dodgers loaded the bases on three singles off of Mets starter Steve Trachsel with one out before rookie first baseman James Loney, starting in place of the injured Nomar Garciaparra, drove in two with a single to center.


2006 National League Division Series, New York vs. Los Angeles, Game 3
In the fifth, Marlon Anderson singled with two outs before Jeff Kent's home run off reliever Darren Oliver tied the game at four. After allowing a single to J. D. Drew, Oliver was relieved by Chad Bradford, who allowed a single and walk to load the bases. Pedro Feliciano relieved Bradford and walked Loney to put the Dodgers up 5–4. In the top of the sixth, Shawn Green hit a leadoff double off of Jonathan Broxton. After José Valentín popped out on the infield, pinch hitter Michael Tucker drew a walk.


2006 National League Division Series, New York vs. Los Angeles, Game 3
Three consecutive bloop hits from José Reyes, Paul Lo Duca, and Carlos Beltrán scored a run each, making it 7–5 Mets. Chris Woodward doubled to lead off the eighth off of Brett Tomko and scored on Lo Duca's one-out single. After a walk, Takashi Saito relieved Tomko and an error on Carlos Delgado's ground ball made it 9–5 Mets. Aaron Heilman and Billy Wagner pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth, respectively, as the Mets swept a postseason series for the first time since the 1969 NLCS. Former Dodgers Green and Lo Duca finished with two RBI each.


2006 National League Division Series, New York vs. Los Angeles, Composite box
2006 NLDS (3–0): New York Mets over Los Angeles Dodgers


2006 National League Division Series, San Diego vs. St. Louis, Game 1
In a pitching rematch of Game 1 of the 2005 NLDS, Chris Carpenter and Jake Peavy both started strong through three innings and it appeared that the pitcher's duel that was expected the previous year would occur this time around. That changed in the fourth inning when Chris Duncan hit a leadoff single, then Albert Pujols hit a two-run home run 422 feet (129 m) into one of the deepest parts of Petco Park. Jim Edmonds then singled, moved to third on Scott Rolen's double, and scored on Juan Encarnación's sacrifice fly.


2006 National League Division Series, San Diego vs. St. Louis, Game 1
The Cardinals added to their lead on Edmonds's RBI single next inning that scored David Eckstein from third and in the sixth when Ronnie Belliard singled with one out, stole second, and scored on Yadier Molina's single to knock Peavy out of the game. Carpenter, on the other hand, continued his strong pitching performance as he pitched into the seventh inning, allowing just one run to cross the plate when Dave Roberts tripled with one out in the sixth and scored on Brian Giles's sacrifice fly. The Cardinal bullpen, which had been shaky down the stretch, pitched the final 2+2⁄3 innings of the game allowing just one hit. The Cardinals led the best-of-five series one game to none.


2006 National League Division Series, San Diego vs. St. Louis, Game 2
Cardinal starter Jeff Weaver and four relievers combined on a four-hitter to shut out the Padres 2–0. The only runs scored in the game came in the fourth when Preston Wilson hit a leadoff double and scored on a single by Albert Pujols, who reached second on Dave Roberts's throw to home. Pujols moved to third on a groundout before scoring on Jim Edmonds's RBI single. Padres starter David Wells pitched five solid innings in a losing effort.


2006 National League Division Series, San Diego vs. St. Louis, Game 3
Game 3 ended the Padres' eight-game winless streak against the Cardinals in the postseason and gave them their first postseason win since Game 6 of the 1998 NLCS. However, they left 14 runners on base. The Padres scored their runs in the third off of Jeff Suppan when he allowed a one-out double to Adrián González and walked Mike Cameron before both men scored on Russell Branyan's double to left, with Branyan reaching third on Chris Duncan's throw to home. Branyan then scored on Geoff Blum's sacrifice fly. The Cardinals scored their only run in the eighth on So Taguchi's home run off of reliever Scott Linebrink.


2006 National League Division Series, San Diego vs. St. Louis, Game 3
Game 3 of this series marked ESPN's most recent Division Series telecast to date. The network would not broadcast another postseason game again until the 2013 American League Wild Card Game.


2006 National League Division Series, San Diego vs. St. Louis, Game 4
After losing Game 3, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa decided to use Carpenter to start Game 4 in hopes of closing out the Series at home. Carpenter started off shakily, allowing back-to-back one hit singles to Brian Giles and Adrián González and walking Josh Bard to load the bases. Russell Branyan walked to force in a run before Mike Cameron's groundout scored another. Carpenter settled down and pitched six scoreless innings before being pulled in the eighth.


2006 National League Division Series, San Diego vs. St. Louis, Game 4
St. Louis answered by loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning off of Woody Williams on a single, walk and hit-by-pitch with two outs before Ronnie Belliard tied the game with a two-run single, but was tagged out at second to end the inning. The game remained tied until the seventh when Albert Pujols drew a leadoff walk and scored on Juan Encarnación's triple. Williams was replaced with Cla Meredith, who hit Belliard with a pitch before allowing an RBI single to Scott Spiezio.


2006 National League Division Series, San Diego vs. St. Louis, Game 4
Yadier Molina's single loaded the bases before Padre third baseman Branyan's throwing error to second on Carpenter's ground ball scored Belliard and kept the bases loaded. David Eckstein's sacrifice bunt scored Spiezio to give the Cardinals a 6–2 lead. Rookie pitcher Adam Wainwright pitched a scoreless ninth despite allowing two hits to close out the Series and allow the Cardinals to advance to the NLCS for the third consecutive year.


2006 National League Division Series, San Diego vs. St. Louis, Game 4
The offensive woes that plagued the Padres in the first three games continued for the Padres in Game 4. The team failed to score after the first, and went a combined 2-for-32 with runners in scoring position in the Series.


2006 National League Division Series, San Diego vs. St. Louis, Game 4
It was the final Division Series game televised by Fox, at least for the foreseeable future. This was the last playoff game for the Padres, until 2020.


2006 National League Division Series, San Diego vs. St. Louis, Composite box
2006 NLDS (3–1): St. Louis Cardinals over San Diego Padres


2006 National People's Congress
The 4th Session of the 10th National People's Congress was held in Beijing, China, in conjunction with the 2006 CPPCC. Many items were listed on the agenda for the two-week-long session of the National People's Congress. 2,937 delegates from every province, municipality, and Special Administrative Region were in attendance. The 2006 Session was chaired by Standing Committee Chairman Wu Bangguo.


2006 National People's Congress
The National People's Congress is the People's Republic of China's highest legislative body. The congress is composed of members from the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a coalition of nine parties. In practice the final vote on legislation is nearly always close to unanimous, and legislative practice has been to achieve consensus before the final vote including the approval of senior officials of the Communist Party of China and the State Council of the People's Republic of China.


2006 National People's Congress
Because of this practice, controversial items can be removed from the NPC agenda if there is serious disagreement over the contents of the legislation. This occurred this session with the Property Law of the People's Republic of China which was originally scheduled for approval this year but was dropped after objections from the Leftist party members who argued that the draft did not sufficiently protect state assets.


2006 National People's Congress
Formal issues listed for discussion include the "Three Rural Issues" from agricultural reform, cracking down on corruption, and studying the Three Represents as the guide for Chinese policy in the days ahead. Formally, Premier Wen Jiabao made the annual government report to the Congress outlining government policy and its progress from 2005. The Eleventh Five-Year Plan will undergo review. A Budget will be drafted for the following fiscal year. NPC Standing Committee Chairman Wu Bangguo will review the work of the NPC Standing Committee from last year. The Judiciary system will also make its respective reports.


2006 National People's Congress
In official Chinese news, the phrase "core of leadership" has been omitted when describing Hu Jintao. This came in stark contrast to the repetitive "unify under the core of leadership under Jiang Zemin" slogan used frequently in China during his years in power. Vice-Premier Huang Ju was absent because of health problems.


2006 National People's Congress, Wen Jiabao's government report
Premier Wen Jiabao delivered the PRC government's 2006 Working Report on the morning of March 5 at the Great Hall of the People. It was nationally televised on four CCTV channels and other networks. The report was around two hours in length. The three sections of the report outlined the government's workings in 2005, the direction the government was planning for the new year, and a brief outline of China's 11th Five-Year Plan. Agriculture and the "Three Rural Issues" policy was emphasized throughout the speech, as was the concept of "Governing for the People" (执政为民).


2006 National People's Congress, Wen Jiabao's government report
Wen heavily emphasized helping the poor and relieving the wealth gap. Wen announced that agricultural taxes levied regularly on peasants would be fully abolished in 2007. On the issue of health, Wen stressed the need to prevent an avian influenza-related epidemic, and warned people to be cautious of the outbreak and exercise common sense.


2006 National People's Congress, Wen Jiabao's government report
Many Chinese political analysts concluded that the report was thorough, detailed, thoughtful, and reached out to the people. Western media outlets were mostly neutral on the issue. It was considered to have contained fewer political overtones than in previous years. Although Wen's speech was met with frequent applause, the longest applause came during Wen's mention of the firm stance against Taiwan independence. Wen favoured peaceful re-unification, but stated that the Chinese government will not back down should Taiwanese authorities go "too far", as has been his position for the previous two years.


2006 National People's Congress, Issues discussed
Science and technology was a main issue talking point, and there was consensus that China should continue to move forward with their development. Many deputies have shown concern about the urban-rural wealth gap. Critics say women's rights issues have been ignored, noting that the marital rape bill was shot down. New legislation was passed to prevent disabled persons from being discriminated against in education.


2006 National People's Congress, Issues discussed
Noticeably, the Anti-Secession Law was not mentioned any time during the Sessions, as China wishes to present a more friendly image to the Taiwanese people, in order to promote a peaceful reunification.


2006 National Pro Fastpitch season
The 2006 National Pro Fastpitch season was the third season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for  the only professional women's fastpitch softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.


2006 National Pro Fastpitch season, Milestones and events
2004 NPF champion New York Juggernaut and the California Sunbirds (who played a partial schedule in 2005) were not on the 2006 schedule and ceased operations.


2006 National Pro Fastpitch season, Milestones and events
In September 2005, NPF announced the addition of the expansion team Philadelphia Force, owned by brothers William M. and John M. Thompson. The Force named Patriots Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania, as their home stadium. One of their first signings included 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist Natasha Watley. The Force did play at ECTB Stadium at Bicentennial Park in Allentown.


2006 National Pro Fastpitch season, Milestones and events
NPF announced that Patrick J. Linden had become their new president. An attorney, Linden has experience as counsel for the NPF owner's group.


2006 National Pro Fastpitch season, Player acquisition, College draft
The 2006 NPF Senior Draft was held 138, 2006 via conference call. Cat Osterman of Texas was selected first by the Connecticut Brakettes. Osterman opted not to sign with the Brakettes, becoming a free agent at the end of the 2006 season.


2006 National Pro Fastpitch season, Player acquisition, Notable transactions
Sarah Pauly signed her initial NPF contract, as the first player signed by the Connecticut Brakettes. In 2005 as a member of the amateur Stratford Brakettes, Pauly pitched against NPF teams.


2006 National Pro Fastpitch season, League standings
NPF's 2006 schedule was 48 games for each team, including seven four-game home series and five four-game road series. On the schedule were games against national teams from Canada, China and Chinese Taipei, as well as Denso Japan, a professional team. The USA Softball Team, World University Games Team and the Michigan Ice, a hopeful for NPF membership, were also scheduled as opponents. The results counted in the NPF's team records.


2006 National Pro Fastpitch season, NPF Championship
The 2006 NPF Championship Series was held at Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field in Stratford, Connecticut August 26 and 28. The top four teams qualified and were seeded based on the final standings. The series matched the teams up in a single-elimination bracket. The championship game was scheduled for August 27, but rain forced it to be moved to August 28.


2006 National Society of Film Critics Awards
The 41st National Society of Film Critics Awards, given on 6 January 2007, honored the best in film for 2006.


2006 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Picture
1. Pan's Labyrinth (El laberinto del fauno)2. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (Moartea domnului Lăzărescu)3. Letters from Iwo Jima


2006 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Director
1. Paul Greengrass – United 932. Guillermo del Toro – Pan's Labyrinth (El laberinto del fauno)2. Martin Scorsese – The Departed


2006 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Actor
1. Forest Whitaker – The Last King of Scotland2. Peter O'Toole – Venus3. Ryan Gosling – Half Nelson


2006 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Actress
1. Helen Mirren – The Queen2. Laura Dern – Inland Empire3. Judi Dench – Notes on a Scandal