2006 Louisville Cardinals football team, Season, Game summaries, Kansas State
The Cardinals next faced the Kansas State Wildcats on the road. The Wildcats, led by first-year head coach Ron Prince and quarterback duo Josh Freeman and Dylan Meier, were 3-0. They had the number 14th ranked defense in total yards in the nation and had not given up an offensive touchdown since their first game. However, the Cardinals first possession, a 97-yard drive that ended with Cantwell throwing a 19-yard touchdown pass, ended the streak.


2006 Louisville Cardinals football team, Season, Game summaries, Kansas State
Though the Cardinals struggled moving the ball for the rest of the half, even turning the ball over a few times, they were able to score on a field goal by Art Carmody to take a 10-0 lead to the half. In the second half, Louisville was able to score on a pair of runs to take a 24-0 lead, but Kansas State finally got on the board with a 69-yard run by Thomas Clayton. After a failed two-point conversion attempt, neither team could score again and Louisville won 24-6. Their offense, ranked first in the nation in total yards with 563 per game, was once again held for under 400 yards. With the win, the Cardinals moved to eighth in the rankings.


2006 Louisville Cardinals football team, Season, Game summaries, Middle Tennessee State
The Cardinals next went on the road to face the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, led by first-year head coach Rick Stockstill and quarterback Clint Marks. The Cardinals scored on an early field goal, but the Blue Raiders took the lead when Damon Nickson returned the ensuing kickoff 88-yards for a touchdown. After a field goal by the Blue Raiders gave them a 10-3 lead, the Cardinals opened up the scoring with two more field goals and a pair of touchdown passes by Hunter Cantwell to Mario Urrutia. At halftime the Cardinals led 23-10.


2006 Louisville Cardinals football team, Season, Game summaries, Middle Tennessee State
In the second half, Cantwell threw another touchdown and Kolby Smith and Anthony Allen both ran for touchdowns for the Cardinals. Clint Marks threw a touchdown in the fourth quarter, but it was too late for the comeback, giving the Cardinals a 44-17 win. With the win, the Cardinals moved up to seventh in the rankings.


2006 Louisville Cardinals football team, Season, Game summaries, Cincinnati
The Cardinals next started their Big East schedule playing the Cincinnati Bearcats in a homecoming game. The Bearcats, led by third-year head coach Mark Dantonio and quarterback Dustin Grutza, though struggling with a 3-3 record on the season, had played number 1 ranked Ohio State and highly ranked Virginia Tech, and had held early leads on both. Cardinal quarterback, Brian Brohm returned from his thumb injury, but struggled in the first half. The Bearcats took an early lead on a field goal and after the Cardinals tied the game, took another lead with a touchdown pass by Grutza.


2006 Louisville Cardinals football team, Season, Game summaries, Cincinnati
The Cardinals were able to score twice at the end of the half, including on a 1-yard pass by Brohm, to take a 13-10 lead to halftime. After the half, the Cardinals scored on an Anthony Allen rush and another field goal by Art Carmody to have a 23-10 lead in the fourth quarter. Grutza threw another touchdown pass with four minutes left in the game and had a chance win with another pass in the endzone, however it was knocked down by Cardinal cornerback Gavin Smart to preserve the win. The Cardinals won 23-17 and continued their 15-game home winning streak. With the win, the Cardinals moved to sixth in the nation.


2006 Louisville Cardinals football team, Season, Game summaries, Syracuse
The Cardinals next went to Syracuse to face the Orange. The Orange, led by second-year head coach Greg Robinson and quarterback Perry Patterson, were looking for their first conference win in two years. Though both teams struggled to move the ball in the first quarter, the Orange took the first lead with two field goals in the second quarter. However, just before the half, the Cardinals took the ball on an 80-yard drive that culminated in a 2-yard touchdown by Anthony Allen. With the score, the Cardinals took a 7-6 lead to the half.


2006 Louisville Cardinals football team, Season, Game summaries, Syracuse
In the third quarter the only score allowed was on a 5-yard run by Kolby Smith for the Cardinals. Later in the fourth quarter, Allen scored his second touchdown to give the Cardinals a 21-6 lead. Patterson was finally able to connect with Mike Williams for a 37-yard touchdown to bring the Orange to within 8. The Orange looked ready to attempt to tie the game when the Cardinals bobbled the ensuing kickoff and were pinned at their own 7, however, the Cardinals went on a 93-yard drive which was capped with another Smith touchdown run. With no time remaining, the Cardinals won 28-13. With the win the Cardinals moved to fifth in the nation.


2006 Louisville Cardinals football team, Season, Game summaries, West Virginia
The Cardinals next had their biggest game of the season playing the third ranked West Virginia Mountaineers, led by sixth-year head coach Rich Rodriguez and quarterback Pat White. The game was hyped to be the Big East game of the year, after the epic 2005 game, and seemed that the winner would have national title hopes with both ranked in the top-5 in the country and both tied with Rutgers for the lead in the Big East.


2006 Louisville Cardinals football team, Season, Game summaries, West Virginia
The Cardinals took an early lead with an Art Carmody field goal, but gave up a 42-yard touchdown run to Steve Slaton later in the quarter to give the Mountaineers a 7-3 lead at the end of the quarter. On their next drive, Carmody kicked another field goal for the Cardinals, and when their defense stopped the Mountaineers, the Cardinals took a lead on the next drive on an Anthony Allen touchdown. After a long kickoff return, Pat White ran for his own touchdown to give the Mountaineers the lead once again, however, Carmody kicked a third field goal before the half to give the Cardinals a 16-14 lead at halftime.


2006 Louisville Cardinals football team, Season, Game summaries, West Virginia
After both teams fumbled on their first drives to start the half, a second Slaton fumble was returned by Malik Jackson for a Cardinal touchdown. When their defense held the Mountaineers, a punt was returned 40-yards by Trent Guy for another Cardinal touchdown. White led the Mountaineers on a 92-yard drive capped by his second rushing touchdown to bring them with nine at the end of the third quarter. On the first play of the fourth quarter, though, Brohm connected with Mario Urrutia to give the Cardinals a 37-21 lead.


2006 Louisville Cardinals football team, Season, Game summaries, West Virginia
White led the Mountaineers on another drive and scored his third rushing touchdown of the day, but Allen answered for the Cardinals with his second touchdown to give them a 17-point lead with 12 minutes left in the game. After both teams had turnovers, White scored his fourth rushing touchdown with two minutes left in the game. After a failed onside kick, the Mountaineers were able to stop the Cardinals, but it was too late, as time ran out on the Mountaineer drive. The Cardinals won the game 44-34, and remained tied for the Big East Conference lead. After the game, the Mountaineers dropped to tenth in the rankings, and the Cardinals moved up to fourth.


2006 Louisville Cardinals football team, Season, Game summaries, Rutgers
The Cardinals next went to Rutgers to face the undefeated, 14th ranked Scarlet Knights, led by sixth year head coach Greg Schiano and quarterback Mike Teel. The winner of the game, which was billed as the biggest game ever at Rutgers, would take the lead in the Big East. The Cardinals took the first lead halfway through the first quarter with an Anthony Allen rushing touchdown, but Teel tied the game for the Knights on a 26-yard touchdown pass.


2006 Louisville Cardinals football team, Season, Game summaries, Rutgers
On the ensuing kickoff, however, Jajuan Spillman returned the ball 100-yards for a touchdown to give the Cardinals a 15-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. Brohm then led the Cardinals on a pair of drives that ended in a touchdown and a field goal, before Ray Rice ran for his own touchdown to close out the half, with the Cardinals ahead 25-14. In the third quarter, Rice got his second touchdown, and after the two-point conversion, the Knights were within 3.


2006 Louisville Cardinals football team, Season, Game summaries, Rutgers
After the Cardinals were unable to score on their first drive in the fourth quarter, the Knights tied the game on a Jeremy Ito field goal. Stopping the Cardinals once again, the Knights drove to the Louisville 16-yard line with 21 seconds remaining in the game. Ito attempted the winning field goal, but missed. However, the Cardinals were penalized for being offsides, and Ito's second attempt was good, giving the Knights a 28-25 win. Following the game, Rutgers was the only undefeated team in the Big East and led the conference. The Cardinals dropped to 12th in the nation and second place in the conference.


2006 Louisville Cardinals football team, Season, Game summaries, South Florida
The Cardinals next faced the South Florida Bulls, a team the Cardinals lost to in 2005. The Bulls were led by eleventh-year head coach Jim Leavitt and quarterback Matt Grothe. Though neither team could get their offenses moving early in the game, the Cardinals took the lead after a pair of drives ended with a Brohm touchdown pass and a Carmody field goal, taking a 10-0 lead into the half. In the third quarter, the Cardinals were able to score two more touchdowns on an Anthony Allen run and another Brohm pass.


2006 Louisville Cardinals football team, Season, Game summaries, South Florida
Although Grothe threw a 44-yard touchdown in the fourth and completed a two-point conversion, the Cardinals answered with another Allen rushing touchdown. The Cardinals got a 31-8 win, and, after Rutgers lost to Cincinnati, were once again in a three-way tie atop the Big East. After the win, the Cardinals moved up to eleventh in the nation.


2006 Louisville Cardinals football team, Season, Game summaries, Pittsburgh
The Cardinals next faced the Pittsburgh Panthers, led by second-year head coach Dave Wannstedt and quarterback Tyler Palko. The Cardinals opened the game with a 19-yard touchdown by Anthony Allen, but the Panthers answered with a pair of touchdowns to take the lead. Carmody's field goal, late in the first quarter, brought the Cardinals to within 4, and early in the second quarter they took the lead with a Brohm touchdown pass. The Panthers tied the game midway through the quarter, but Brohm's second touchdown pass gave the Cardinals a 24-17 lead at halftime.


2006 Louisville Cardinals football team, Season, Game summaries, Pittsburgh
The third quarter consisted of two more Cardinal touchdowns to give them a 21-point lead, which was increased early in the fourth quarter with a Carmody field goal. Palko answered for the Panthers with a 21-yard touchdown pass, but Brohm stopped any chance of a comeback with a 75-yard touchdown pass later in the quarter, giving the Cardinals a 48-24 win. After the win, the Cardinals moved to seventh in the nation.


2006 Louisville Cardinals football team, Season, Game summaries, Connecticut
The Cardinals last regular season game was against the Connecticut Huskies, led by eighth-year head coach Randy Edsall and quarterback Matt Bonislawski. The Cardinals took an early lead on an Allen touchdown run. The Huskies scored on a field goal, but the Cardinals answered with their own field goal to keep a 7-point lead. In the second quarter, after Brohm threw a long touchdown, and the Huskies answered with a Lou Allen run, the Cardinals opened scoring with another touchdown pass by Brohm and a second field goal by Carmody. The Cardinals took a 27-10 lead into halftime.


2006 Louisville Cardinals football team, Season, Game summaries, Connecticut
In the second half the Cardinals scored three times without being answered by the Huskies, including two more Brohm Touchdown passes and a second running touchdown by Anthony Allen. The Huskies finally scored again, late in the fourth quarter, on a run by Terry Cauley, however it was not enough and the Cardinals won, 48-17. With the win and Rutgers' loss to West Virginia, the Cardinals won the Big East and the conference's spot in the BCS. With the win, the Cardinals were ranked sixth in the BCS standings.


2006 Louisville Cardinals football team, Season, Game summaries, Orange Bowl
Winning the Big East, the Cardinals were invited to the Orange Bowl to face the ACC champion and No. 15 ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The Deacons were led by fifth-year head coach Jim Grobe and quarterback Riley Skinner. The Deacons took an early lead with a field goal, however the Cardinals answered with their own field goal and a touchdown in the first quarter to take a 10-3 lead to halftime. In the third quarter, Skinner tied the game on a 30-yard touchdown pass and took a three-point lead in the fourth after a 36-yard field goal. The lead didn't last long though, as the Cardinals scored a quick touchdown on a rush by Anthony Allen and another one later in the quarter on a rush by Brock Bolen. With the scores the Cardinals took a 24-13 win, their first in a BCS bowl game.


2006 Louisville Cardinals football team, Post-Season, Coaching changes
Almost a week after their victory in the Orange Bowl, head coach, Bobby Petrino, was offered and took the head coaching position with the NFL's Atlanta Falcons. Two days later, Steve Kragthorpe, former head coach for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, was hired for the position.


2006 Louisville Cardinals football team, Post-Season, Awards, Conference
After the season, the Big East media announced that seven Cardinals were named to the First Team All Big East, and four others were named to the Second Team. Included on the first team were Harry Douglas, Renardo Foster, Kurt Quarterman, George Bussey, Art Carmody, William Gay, and Amobi Okoye, who was a unanimous selection. The seven were the most in the league.


2006 Louisville Cardinals football team, Post-Season, Awards, National
After the season, head coach Bobby Petrino and quarterback Brian Brohm were each honored as a finalist and semifinalist for prestigious national awards. Before leaving, Petrino was named as a finalist for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year award, and Brian Brohm was named as a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien Award. Finally, kicker Art Carmody was honored as winner of the Lou Groza Award.


2006 Louisville Cardinals football team, Post-Season, Awards, National
Included in the honors, three players were named to an All-America team. Carmody and Amobi Okoye were both named by the AP on their second team, while Kurt Quarterman was named to the third team.


2006 Louisville Cardinals football team, Post-Season, Roster changes
In the 2007 NFL Draft, four former Cardinal starters were selected. Amobi Okoye became the highest draft pick in school history when he was selected tenth in the draft by Houston. Michael Bush, who had a medical redshirt and was eligible for another year, decided to leave, and was selected in the fourth round by Oakland. Kolby Smith and William Gay were both selected in the fifth round, Smith by Kansas City and Gay by Pittsburgh.


2006 Lowland International Rotterdam Tour
The 2006 Lowland International Rotterdam Tour was the 9th (and last) UCI Women's Road World Cup running on the Lowland International Rotterdam Tour. It was held on 5 September 2006 over a distance of 140 kilometres (87.0 miles). 112 elite female cyclists took part in the race and 79 of them finished.


2006 Lunar New Year Cup
The 2006 Carlsberg Cup was a football tournament held in Hong Kong over the first and fourth day of the Chinese New Year holiday (29 January and 1 February 2006).


2006 Lusofonia Games
The 1st Lusophone Games (Portuguese: 1.os Jogos da Lusofonia; Chinese: 第一屆葡語系運動會) were held in the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China between 7 and 15 October 2006. The 2006 Games were the first edition of this multi-sport event for Portuguese-speaking countries and territories, under the banner of ACOLOP.


2006 Lusofonia Games
The site for the opening ceremony was the Macau Stadium and the closing ceremony was held at the Macau East Asian Games Dome. The mascot for the games was a dog named Leo. The pronunciation of "Leo" in Portuguese is similar to Chinese (Lei O) and it means "Come to Macau".


2006 Lusofonia Games
Due to the high expenses, some of the participating NOCs received financial support from the International Olympic Committee and Olympic Committee of Portugal.


2006 Lusofonia Games, Sports
The 2006 Lusophone Games included 8 sports, 3 individual sports and 5 team sports. In total there were 48 events at the Games.


2006 Lusofonia Games, Delegations
When the Games started  Equatorial Guinea didn't field any athletes.


2006 MAC Championship Game
The 2006 MAC Championship Game was played on November 30, 2006 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The game featured the winner of each division of the Mid-American Conference. The game featured the Ohio Bobcats, of the East Division, and the Central Michigan Chippewas, of the West Division. The Chippewas beat the Bobcats 31–10.


2006 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2006 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament, a part of the 2005-06 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, took place from March 6–March 11, 2006 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. The March 6 first-round games were held at the higher seeds home arenas. Its winner received the Mid-American Conference's automatic bid to the 2006 NCAA Tournament. It is a single-elimination tournament with four rounds and the four highest seeds received byes in the first round. All MAC teams were invited to participate. Kent State, the MAC regular season winner, received the number one seed in the tournament.


2006 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament, Tournament, Seeds
The top two seeds of the tournament were given to division winners. Since Kent State had a better record than Northern Illinois, they were given the #1 seed, and the Huskies were given the #2 seed. The remainder of the bracket was determined by overall record. For the #3 seed, Akron and Miami were tied with a 14–4 conference record. They had also split their two regular season matches. The next tiebreaker is to determine the teams performance against ranked teams in order.


2006 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament, Tournament, Seeds
Akron was able to win one game against the Golden Flashes while Miami was unable to win one, so Akron was given the fourth seed and Miami was given the final bye in the tournament. The #5 seed was determined through a three-way tie between Ohio, Toledo, and Western Michigan. Ohio had won its matches against Western Michigan and Toledo so they were given the #5 seed. Since Toledo was able to defeat Kent State in the regular season and Western Michigan was not, they were given the #6 seed. Buffalo was seven games behind Kent State and had earned the eighth seed. Ball State was the #9 seed and the final East Division team, Bowling Green was the #10 seed. The final two teams, Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan were given the eleventh and twelfth seeds, respectively.


2006 MLB Japan All-Star Series
The 2006 MLB Japan All-Star Series was the tenth edition of the championship, a best-of-five series between the All-Star teams from Major League Baseball (MLB) and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). After the 2006 championship, the series became defunct.


2006 MLB Japan All-Star Series
MLB won the series by 5–0–0 and Ryan Howard was named MVP.


2006 MLS All-Star Game
The 2006 Major League Soccer All-Star Game was the 11th Major League Soccer All-Star Game, played on August 5, 2006, at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois between the MLS All-Stars and Chelsea. The MLS All-Stars won the match 1–0, with Dwayne De Rosario scoring the winning goal in the 70th minute. The Coach of MLS All-Stars have chosen to start the game with players mostly from his team DC United and left stars like Freddy Adu on bench even though he was expected to put them in starting 11. On the interview in Polish YouTube channel “Kanal Sportowy” Peter Nowak admitted that he said to his superiors if they want to win the game they have to allow him to use his own players from DC United, which they did and won.


2006 MLS All-Star Game, Match details
Several players originally named in the MLS All-Stars roster had to withdraw as they were due to play in the New England Revolution vs Chivas USA match on August 6; these included Ante Razov (Chivas), Shalrie Joseph and Clint Dempsey (both New England). Landon Donovan, Pablo Mastroeni and Eddie Pope also withdrew from the All-Star game through injury. Facundo Erpen, Ricardo Clark and Eddie Robinson were called up to replace them.


2006 MLS Expansion Draft
The 2006 MLS Expansion Draft, held on November 17, 2006 was a special draft for MLS expansion team Toronto FC. Toronto FC selected 10 players from a pool of players from current MLS clubs.


2006 MLS Expansion Draft, Expansion Draft
Following the draft, RSL traded a partial allocation (est. at US$ 125,000) to Toronto for Jason Kreis. Hesmer and O'Rourke were traded to Columbus for another allocation. Regan was traded to Red Bulls for forward Edson Buddle. Serioux was traded, along with Toronto's 2nd round 2007 MLS Superdraft pick to Dallas for midfielder Ronnie O'Brien. Nate Jaqua was traded to the Los Angeles Galaxy for a partial allocation. Dyachenko was later returned to D.C. for a future draft pick, Kotschau was released, and Cancela was later traded to the Colorado Rapids. Part way through the season Nagamura was later traded to Chivas USA for a 1st round 2008 MLS SuperDraft pick. This left no players from the expansion draft on the TFC roster.


2006 MLS SuperDraft
The 2006 MLS SuperDraft, held in Philadelphia on January 20, 2006, was the seventh incarnation of the annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The first selection originally belonged to Chivas USA, but they traded it to the MetroStars for the fifth overall selection and Jason Hernandez. The MetroStars then drafted Marvell Wynne. The draft was followed by the 2006 MLS Supplemental Draft.


2006 MLS SuperDraft
The draft has produced multiple United States men's national soccer team players, including Sacha Kljestan, Jozy Altidore (2nd round), and Jonathan Bornstein (4th round).


2006 MLS SuperDraft, Player selection
Any player whose name is marked with an * was contracted under the Generation Adidas program.


2006 MLS Supplemental Draft
In Major League Soccer in the United States and Canada, the 2006 MLS Supplemental Draft, held on January 26, 2006, followed the 2006 MLS SuperDraft, as teams filled out their developmental rosters.


2006 MPC Computers Bowl
The 2006 MPC Computers Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game held on December 31, 2006 at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho. The game featured tie-ins between the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) which was represented by the Miami Hurricanes and the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), represented by the Nevada Wolf Pack. The game was sponsored by the MPC Corporation which was formerly known as Micron.


2006 MPC Computers Bowl, Team comparison
Pre -season the ACC media favored Miami to win the conference but Miami posted a 6–6 record in the regular season. A brawl during the FIU game and the murder of defensive lineman Bryan Pata also marred the season. Miami fired head coach Larry Coker at the end of the season and named defensive coordinator Randy Shannon as his successor to take effect after the bowl game. The Hurricanes were ranked the third-best rushing defense in the nation, having allowed 792 yards on the ground. The Miami secondary, however, had proven somewhat porous by allowing 2,233 passing yards.


2006 MPC Computers Bowl, Team comparison
The Hurricanes offense had struggled and quarterback Kyle Wright had thrown eight touchdowns and seven interceptions. He suffered a broken thumb and was replaced late in the season by Kirby Freeman for the last three games. Freeman threw for five touchdowns and seven interceptions. On the ground, Miami gained 2,295 rushing yards.


2006 MPC Computers Bowl, Team comparison
Nevada, led by long-time head coach Chris Ault had performed according to expectations during the season, finishing the regular season 8–4. Quarterback Jeff Rowe passed for over 2,000 yards and a completion rate of 64.7%, but had also suffered 25 sacks. The Wolf Pack recorded 2,128 rushing yards, led by Robert Hubbard and Luke Lippincott. The Nevada defense recorded 19 interceptions to tie for eighth in the nation and allowed an average of 19 points per game.


2006 MPC Computers Bowl, Game summary
Miami tallied first when Kirby Freeman led a 70–yard, 13–play drive capped with a one–yard quarterback keeper. With five seconds remaining in the first quarter, Nevada recorded a safety by forcing Freeman to intentionally ground the ball. In the second quarter, Jeff Rowe connected with receiver Marko Mitchell for a 27–yard touchdown, but a two-point conversion attempt failed. In the following possession, an 80–yard, four-play Miami drive culminated with a 52–yard Freeman pass to Ryan Moore. With five seconds remaining in the half, Nevada kicker Brett Jaekle made good a 33–yard field goal attempt. Miami led at halftime, 14–11.


2006 MPC Computers Bowl, Game summary
In the third quarter, Jaekle connected on a second 31–yard field goal to equalize the score. On the first play of their next possession, Freeman completed a pass to Sam Shields for a 78–yard touchdown. In the fourth quarter, Jaekle made 44– and 40–yard field goals to close the deficit to one-point. In the final minute, defensive back Chavez Grant intercepted a pass from Jeff Rowe on the Hurricane 33–yard line to seal the victory for Miami, 21–20.


2006 MTV Europe Music Awards
The MTV Europe Music Awards 2006 were held in Copenhagen at the Bella Center. The outside stage hosted a concert that featured The Killers, Keane and Snoop Dogg.


2006 MTV Europe Music Awards
Presenters included Fat Joe, Timbaland and Moby. Notable events during the ceremony included Kanye West infamously invading the stage when Justice vs. Simian went to collect the award for the 'Best Video' category.


2006 MTV Movie Awards
The 2006 MTV Movie Awards were held on Saturday, June 3, 2006, and were hosted by Jessica Alba, with it being broadcast on June 8 on tape delay. It featured performances by Christina Aguilera, AFI and Gnarls Barkley. In addition to the below awards, MTV gave lifetime achievement awards to Jim Carrey (The MTV Generation Award) and Spike Lee (The Silver Bucket of Excellence, for Do the Right Thing). MTV held its 15th annual movie awards show on Saturday, June 3, at the Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California. It was the final time Tenth Planet Productions produced the awards, and Joel Gallen was the executive-producer and director for the 12th and final consecutive year.


2006 MTV Movie Awards
This is also the second MTV Movie Awards show to have a host win an award. The first show was in 2004 with Lindsay Lohan winning an award. The host for the MTV Movie Awards in 2006 was Jessica Alba. Christina Aguilera performed, for the first time, her lead single of her latest release Back to Basics, "Ain't No Other Man". Pre -recorded parodies include The Da Vinci Code, Mission: Impossible III, and King Kong.


2006 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2006 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on August 31, 2006, honoring the best music videos from June 11, 2005, to June 26, 2006. The show was hosted by Jack Black at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.


2006 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2006 Video Music Awards marked the first time viewers were able to vote for all performers' categories (Best Video; Best Male, Female, and Group Videos; and genre categories). Like previous years, the artistic categories (Best Direction, Best Cinematography, etc.) are still chosen by music industry professionals. The 2006 Awards also discontinued the major category Breakthrough Video.


2006 MTV Video Music Awards
The show was criticized by fans and viewers as being uninteresting or lacking substance. The award ceremony's ratings were down 28% from the 8 million viewers it averaged in 2005 and down 45% from the 10.3 million viewers it averaged in 2004.


2006 MTV Video Music Awards
Shakira and Red Hot Chili Peppers received the most nominations, with seven each. Avenged Sevenfold won Best New Artist and "I Write Sins Not Tragedies", by Panic! at the Disco, became the first video to win Video of the Year without winning a single other award since "This Note's for You" by Neil Young in 1989.


2006 MTV Video Music Awards, Awards, Video of the Year
Panic! at the Disco – "I Write Sins Not Tragedies"


2006 MTV Video Music Awards, Awards, Best R&B Video
Beyoncé (featuring Slim Thug and Bun B) – "Check on It"


2006 MTV Video Music Awards, Awards, Best Choreography in a Video
Shakira (featuring Wyclef Jean) – "Hips Don't Lie" (Choreographer: Shakira)


2006 MTV Video Music Awards, Awards, Best Special Effects in a Video
Missy Elliott – "We Run This" (Special Effects: Louis Mackall and Tonia Wallander)


2006 MTV Video Music Awards, Awards, Best Art Direction in a Video
Red Hot Chili Peppers – "Dani California" (Art Director: Justin Dragonas)


2006 MTV Video Music Awards, Awards, Best Cinematography in a Video
James Blunt – "You're Beautiful" (Director of Photography: Robbie Ryan)


2006 MTV Video Music Awards, Contests, VMA Karaoke Contest
In this contest, participants picked one of three songs and made a video of themselves singing their choice. Winners received a paid trip to the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards.


2006 MTV Video Music Awards, Contests, VMA Insider Contest
The winner selected by voters at   received a paid trip to the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards, and was allowed to interview all the stars on the red carpet.


2006 MTV Video Music Awards, Contests, "Reveal the Real You" Contest
Participants sent in a story of "a moment in their life that makes them, them." Winners received an all-expenses-paid trip to the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards, as well as the chance to win a trip to the VMAs in 2007.


2006 MTV Video Music Awards Japan
The MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2006 were hosted by Mokomichi Hayami and Masami Hisamoto at Tokyo. The 5th annual show premiered live on MTV, Saturday May 27 at Yoyogi National Gymnasium. The awards show was filmed before a live audience of 8000. The event featured live performances from the far east and the west, including Japanese acts AI, Def Tech, Kumi Koda and Remioromen, along with international acts Hoobastank, John Legend, Kelly Rowland, Rihanna and Se7en from South Korea. The event also featured a special performance by Japanese R&B superstar Ken Hirai joining forces with John Legend. The award ceremony was also marked by appearance of the "King of Pop", Michael Jackson.


2006 MTV Video Music Brazil
The 2006 MTV Video Music Brazil was hosted by Cazé Peçanha, Marcos Mion and Daniela Cicarelli and took place at the Credicard Hall. It was the last year where VMB focused on awarding music videos (like the MTV Video Music Awards); from 2007 on, VMB's categories were redefined to focus on the artists (like the MTV Europe Music Awards).


2006 Macau Grand Prix
The 2006 Macau Grand Prix (formally the 53rd Polytec Macau Grand Prix) was a motor race for Formula Three (F3) cars that was held on the streets of Macau on 19 November 2006. Unlike other races, such as the Masters of Formula 3, the 2006 Macau Grand Prix was not a part of any F3 championship, but was open to entries from all F3 championships. The race itself was made up of two races: a ten-lap qualifying race that decided the starting grid for the 15-lap main race. The 2006 race was the 53rd running of the Macau Grand Prix and the 24th for F3 cars.


2006 Macau Grand Prix
The Grand Prix was won by Raikkonen-Robertson Racing driver Mike Conway, having finished seventh in the previous day's qualification race which was won by Kamui Kobayashi of ASM Formule 3. Conway took the lead after a multi-car accident between Kobayashi, Paul di Resta and Marko Asmer on the first lap of the race and held it to claim the first victory for a British driver in the Macau Grand Prix since Darren Manning in the 1999 edition. Second place went to Richard Antinucci, competing for ASM Formule 3, while third was TOM'S driver Adrian Sutil.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Background and entry list
The Macau Grand Prix is a Formula Three (F3) race considered to be a stepping stone to higher motor racing categories such as Formula One and has been termed the territory's most prestigious international sporting event. The 2006 Macau Grand Prix was the 53rd running of the event and the 24th time it was held to F3 regulations. It took place on the 6.2 km (3.9 mi) 22-turn Guia Circuit on 19 November 2006 with three preceding days of practice and qualifying.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Background and entry list
In order to compete in Macau, drivers had to compete in a Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA)-regulated championship meeting during the calendar year, in either the FIA Formula 3 International Trophy or one of the domestic championships, with the highest-placed drivers given priority in receiving an invitation to the race. Within the 32 car grid of the event, each of the four major F3 series were represented by their respective champion. Paul di Resta, the F3 Euro Series champion, was joined in Macau by British title victor Mike Conway, Italian series winner Mauro Massironi and Japanese champion Adrian Sutil.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Background and entry list
The other F3 series champion in the entry list was James Winslow, the Asian F3 champion. He was joined by Spanish F3 Championship runner-up Roldán Rodríguez. Five Macanese drivers received invitations to take part in the Grand Prix: Rodolfo Ávila, Michael Ho, Lei Kit Meng, Lou Meng Cheong and Jo Merszei.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
Two half an hour practice sessions were held before the race on Sunday: one on Thursday morning and one on Friday morning. Kohei Hirate set the fastest time for Manor Motorsport in the opening practice session with a lap of 2 minutes, 14.887 seconds on his final attempt, 0.545 seconds faster than anybody else. His closest challenger was Roberto Streit of Prema Powerteam in second. Kazuki Nakajima placed third in the session's closing moments and Conway was fourth having led for most of the session.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
Sutil, Richard Antinucci, his American compatriot Charlie Kimball, Sebastian Vettel, Marko Asmer and Kamui Kobayashi followed in positions five through to ten. While the session passed relatively peacefully, Daisuke Ikeda was hit by another competitor and spun backwards into the barrier at Lisboa turn. Kazuya Oshima damaged the front-left wheel and suspension attached to his vehicle when he glanced a wall at R-Bend corner.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
Qualifying was divided into two 45-minute sessions; the first was held on Thursday afternoon, and the second on Friday afternoon. The fastest time set by each driver from either session counted towards his final starting position for the qualification race. The first qualifying session took place in cloudy weather and a threat of rain never materialised as the start was delayed due to multiple crashes in the Guia Race of Macau practice session. Once qualifying commenced, Asmer topped the time sheets with a 2 minutes, 13.965 seconds lap which he recorded ten minutes before its conclusion.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
He was the only driver in the field to reach 2 minutes, 13 seconds. Hirate was provisional second by gaining position during the session to lead the field before Asmer's fastest lap. Romain Grosjean and Kamui Kobayashi ran strongly for the duration of the session for third and fourth, respectively. Fábio Carbone did little to set a quick lap and was fifth on the provisional grid. Conway was the best-placed British driver in sixth. Though he entered the pit lane for a car and brake check after going off the circuit, Antinucci was seventh, Streit took eighth and Kimball ninth.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
Di Resta rounded out the top ten due to car handling difficulties and punctured his right-front tyre by driving over debris at the Melco hairpin and locked his brakes. Koudai Tsukakoshi was the fastest driver not to reach the top ten as he was almost two seconds off Asmer's pace. Following him were the Carlin duo of Maro Engel and Sébastien Buemi and the Japanese pair of Nakajima and Oshima. The German duo of Sutil and Vettel took the 16th and 17th positions.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
The British F3 International Series Rookie of the Year Oliver Jarvis had food poisoning and took 18th, followed by fellow British drivers James Jakes and Stephen Jelley. Ikeda, Yelmer Buurman, Jonathan Kennard, Rodríguez, Ho, Máximo Cortés, Ávila, Winslow, Cheong, Lei and Merszei completed the provisional grid order. Kimball caused the session's first red flag by pushing hard and crashed heavily at Fisherman's Bend corner. Kimball was unhurt and exited his car without assistance and helped clear debris. A few minutes later, Sutil ended the session two minutes early for failing to notice a warning flag notifying drivers of the slippery track surface at Fisherman's Bend and made heavy impact against a wall. Sutil was uninjured but remained in his car for several minutes for safety reasons.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
The second thirty-minute practice session opened with the provisional pole sitter Asmer being the focus of attention as he went wide at San Francisco Bend and heavily collided with a barrier leaving the corner. The next incident had Buemi damage the front-left corner of his vehicle by driving straight into a wall at Police Bend and the session was stopped with ten minutes to go when Oshima drifted into a barrier at R-Bend. In the end, Conway paced the field with a lap of 2 minutes, 13.925 seconds despite delays from slower traffic. Antinucci followed 0.075 seconds behind in second. Grosjean, Jakes, Sutil, Nakajima, Vettel, Carbone, Tsukakoshi and fellow Japanese Kobayashi were in positions three to ten.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
Kamui Kobayashi on taking pole for the 25th Macau Grand Prix held to F3 regulations.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
In the second qualifying session, Winslow and Kobayashi ran wide at the escape roads at San Francisco Bend and Lisboa corner respectively, which led to localised yellow flags being waved and prevented drivers from setting a timed lap. Conway triggered the session's first stoppage 13 minutes in when he slid and struck the end of an outside tyre barrier near the pit lane entry at Fisherman's Bend with his right-rear tyre and bent his suspension. The second red flag came soon after when Sutil crashed into the Police Bend barrier and littered debris that was removed.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
When the session resumed, Hirate improved on Asmer's time to take pole position until Kobayashi claimed it with a 2 minutes, 13.449 seconds lap. The session was halted for a third time because Kimball heavily damaged the left-hand side of his car at R-Bend. He was unhurt. Separate crashes by Grosjean and Kobayashi due to a late rain shower caused the session to end early but Kobayashi's lap was fast enough for pole position. Hirate joined Kobayashi on the grid's front row and Grosjean maintained third. Asmer could not replicate his first qualifying performance and was fourth-fastest.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
Antinucci was as high as second when he ventured onto Lisboa's escape road but fell to fifth by the session's conclusion. Di Resta qualified sixth and escaped damage to his car with a glance to the R-Bend barrier. Streit, Nakajima, Kimball and Vettel completed the top ten placings. Behind them the rest of the field consisted of Tsukakoshi, Conway, Carbone, Engel, Sutil, Jelley, Buemi, Ikoda, Jakes, Oshima, Kennard, Jarvis, Buurman, Cortés, Rodríguez, Massironi, Winslow, Ávila, Ho, Cheong, Lei and Merszei. After qualifying, Antinucci's fastest time from the session was deleted because he was adjudged to have sped under yellow flag conditions during Thursday's sole practice session and fell to 15th. Ho was penalised for the same reason and Oshima was demoted ten places on the grid for an engine change.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying, Qualifying classification
Each of the driver's fastest lap times from the two qualifying sessions are denoted in bold.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Qualifying race
The qualifying race to set the grid order for the main race started at 13:20 Macau Standard Time (UTC+08:00) on 18 November. The weather at the start of the race was bright and dry with the air temperature at 26 °C (79 °F) and the track temperature 27 °C (81 °F). On the formation lap, Hirate collided with the exit barrier at San Francisco Bend corner and damaged his car's front-right suspension.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Qualifying race
Swift work from Hirate's pit crew allowed him to take the start but his steering angle was skewed to the left and he had to hold it on the straight to control his car under braking. Kobayashi lost the lead to the fast-starting Hirat into Mandarin Bend corner but used the slipstream on the approach to Lisboa turn to retake the lead. Grosjean stalled on the grid and this created a ripple effect that prompted all drivers behind him to swerve wildly to avoid ramming into his stranded vehicle.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Qualifying race
Meanwhile, Tsukakoshi gained the most places and was third by the end of the first lap while Asmer (despite a slipping clutch) moved from fourth to second off the line. Two drivers retired in the pit lane at the end of the lap: Streit had a wheel detach from contact with a barrier lining the circuit and Engel removed his front-left wheel in a collision with the Fisherman's Bend corner wall.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Qualifying race
Kobayashi was pulling away at the front of the field and Tsukakoshi was overtaken at Lisboa corner by fellow Japanese Hirate for third place on lap three. Di Resta tried to follow through but ended up nearly getting his front wing clipped and Tsukakoshi was given some space after di Resta lost momentum from his unsuccessful pass. Kimball led a battling pack of cars until Sutil passed him and the latter ran close to di Resta. In the meantime, Nakajima set after Kimball and Conway moved to seventh position with successive passes Nakajima at Lisboa turn.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Qualifying race
On the next lap, Tsukakoshi lost two places as di Resta and Sutil moved past him. Di Resta set the race's fastest lap and held it until Conway took it with a time of 2 minutes, 13.457 seconds and came close enough to challenge Tsukakoshi while Antinucci passed Kimball. Tsukakoshi tried to come back at Sutil around the outside at Lisboa corner but was reluctant to complete the pass. Conway thought about a pass on Tsukakoshi but elected not to. Upfront, Hirate drew closer to Asmer due to a possible damaged suspension rod for the former while Vettel (driving with a damaged nose cone) went into the barrier at Faraway corner due to a brake problem while battling Kimball on lap nine.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Qualifying race
Sutil was overtaken by Tsukakoshi on the lap but could not pull away because duelling cars were close by. At the end of the lap, the recovering Grosjean passed Kennard with Buurman towing behind. Buurman and Kennard then made contact and they went into the wall at San Francisco Bend corner. Consequently, race officials waved yellow flags for the final lap to warn drivers of the wreckage and little action occurred. Jelley fell behind Buemi on the lap and hit the wall on his slowing down lap, which dislodged one of his rear wheels.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Qualifying race
Kobayashi was untroubled and won the qualification race to start from pole position in the Grand Prix itself. He was joined on the grid's front row by Asmer who successfully held off third-placed Hirate. Off the podium, di Resta was fourth, Tsukakoshi took fifth after he prevailed in his duel with sixth-placed Sutil. Conway, Nakajima, Antinucci and Kimball rounded out the top ten. Outside the top ten, Jarvis finished 11th. having moved from his starting position of 22nd. The rest of the finishing order was Buemi, Jelley, Ikeda, Grosjean, Oshima, Massironi, Cortés, Winslow, Jakes, Rodríguez, Carbone, Ho, Ávila, Cheong, Lei and Merszei.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Warm-up
A twenty-minute warm-up session was held on the morning of the main race. Di Resta drove more quickly than he had done in all the previous sessions and led the time sheets with the new fastest lap of the weekend of 2 minutes, 12.905 seconds. He was 0.076 seconds faster than his nearest challenger Buemi in second. Asmer, Grosjean, Conway, Hirate, Streit, Carbone, Nakajima and Sutil followed in the time sheets to round out the top ten fastest drivers. After the warm-up session, but before the race, Vettel incurred a ten-place grid penalty for an engine change.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Main Race
The race began on 19 November at 15:30 local time. The weather on the grid at the start was cloudy and dry with the air temperature at 25 °C (77 °F) and the track temperature was 26 °C (79 °F). Asmer made a faster start than Kobayashi and overtook him for the lead at Mandarin Bend corner. However, Kobayashi went to the inside of Asmer at Lisboa corner and di Resta attempted to go with him. Kobayashi out-braked himself and ran into a barrier leaving the turn. Di Resta locked his tyres and rammed into the back of Kobayashi's vehicle.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Main Race
Asmer had no option and was trapped on the escape road after clashing wheels with di Resta as the rest of the field passed by. These events made Conway the leader and he pulled out a one second lead over second-placed Hirate by the conclusion of the lap. The safety car was dispatched at the end of the first lap due to multiple accidents. Di Resta understeered entering Fisherman's Bend and went heavily into the wall and Ávila crashed near him at the same corner. Cortés also retired through a crash, Kimball glanced Fisherman's Bend Armco wall and Carbone made a pit stop to replace a punctured tyre.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Main Race
Nakajima lined up an overtake on Hirate and narrowly avoided going into him at Lisboa turn. Ikeda, Jelley and Kennard made pit stops under the safety car which was withdrawn at the end of lap four after all three stricken cars were extricated from the track. Conway led and pull away from Hirate to stop him from slipstreaming into Lisboa corner. Nakajima pressured Sutil and overtook him for third soon after.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Main Race
In the meantime, Conway pushed hard enough to hit a wall lightly with his front-right wheel at San Francisco Bend turn on the sixth lap but he escaped with no significant damage. Kimball caused yellow flags to be waved briefly as he skittered into the barrier and onto debris at Lisboa corner. Hirate caught Conway but the latter blocked a pass by the former for the lead. Nakajima, Sutil and Antiucci were three abreast entering Lisboa turn; Antinucci benefited the most as Nakajima took fourth from Sutil but he out-braked himself. Both ran deep into the corner as Nakajima attempted a switchback manoeuvre. On lap seven, Antinucci was close by Sutil and overtook him on the outside at Lisboa for third. He then prevented Sutil from reclaiming the position.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Main Race
Elsewhere, Jarvis' engine was failing and he fell behind Grosjean, the recovering Kobayashi and Jakes. Buemi and Nakajima became part of the battle for third as Buemi passed Nakajima after the latter grazed a wall lightly and Antinucci fended off Sutil. Soon after, Kobayashi fell out of the top twenty when he slid sideways into a barrier at Lisboa corner. On lap 12, Nakajima crashed on cold tyres at Police corner and retired.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Main Race
Yellow flags were briefly necessitated at Lisboa turn for the second time after Ikeda slid wide and allowed Jelley to pass him but they were soon withdrawn as the leaders entered the area. It took Antinucci two laps to catch Hirate and elected to move out of his slipstream for a successful overtake for third on lap 12. Hirate slowed with brake pressure issues and dropped to fourth when Sutil out-dragged him on the following lap. Tsukakoshi and Hirate retired on lap 14 due to separate accidents.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Main Race
Tsukakoshi missed the braking point for Fisherman's Bend corner and went straight into a barrier and Hirate crashed into a wall at San Francisco Bend turn. On the final lap, Streit was 200 m (660 ft) behind Vettel and attempted an overtake to the inside at Lisboa corner but both retired after colliding.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Main Race
Conway kept the lead for the rest of the race to become the first British driver to win the Macau Grand Prix since Darren Manning won the 1999 race. Antinucci was closing up to Conway in the closing laps but was impeded by a slower car in the Mountain section and slid luridly on lap fourteen which left him 1.4 seconds behind in second, and Sutil completed the podium in third. Off the podium, Buemi came fourth, Grosjean was close behind in fifth, Jakes finished sixth having moved up fourteen from his starting position and Oshima finished seventh.


2006 Macau Grand Prix, Main Race
Buurman and Engel placed eighth and ninth after starting 30th and 32nd respectively and Carbone recovered from his first lap puncture to round out the top ten. Jelley, Winslow, Asmer, Massironi, Jarvis, Kennard, Rodríguez, Ikeda, Kobayashi, Ho, Kimball, Cheong, Vettel, Streit, Merszei, Lei and Hirate were the final classified finishers. The attrition rate was low with five of the 32 entrants not finishing the race and eleven accidents occurred during it.


2006 Macau Open Badminton Championships
The 2006 Macau Open Badminton Championships was the first edition of the Macau Open Badminton Championships. It was held in the Tap Seac Multi-sports Pavilion from July 19 to July 23, 2006, and the prize money was US$120,000.


2006 Macclesfield Borough Council election
Elections to Macclesfield Borough Council were held on 4 May 2006. One third of the council was up for election. In addition there was a by-election for the High Legh ward on the same day, where Charles Oulton (Conservative) was elected unopposed. The Conservative Party kept overall control of the council with a majority of 12 seats. Overall turnout was 34.2%.


2006 Macedonian parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Macedonia on 5 July 2006. The result was a victory for the VMRO-DPMNE-led coalition, which won 45 of the 120 seats.


2006 Macedonian parliamentary election, Electoral system
The 120 seats were elected from six 20-seat constituencies by proportional representation. Seats were allocated using the d'Hondt method with an electoral threshold of 5%.


2006 Macedonian parliamentary election, Conduct
The international community sent 6,000 observers to monitor electoral procedures, as NATO and European Union officials saw the elections as a key test of Macedonian ambitions of joining both organizations after local elections in March 2005 were marred by irregularities. The campaign was marked by serious cross-political confrontations, occasionally resulting in violence, mainly between the two major ethnic Albanian parties, the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) and the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA). The situation was seen as seriously tarnishing the international reputation of the country.


2006 Macedonian parliamentary election, Conduct
As the confrontations between the ethnic Albanian parties intensified, a diplomatic offensive from Western officials took place to put an end to the irregularities. These efforts were supported by the ethnic Macedonian parties, but also by calls from the Albanian and Kosovan prime ministers. However, the situation did not improve significantly. On 22 June 2006 there were clashes between the two major ethnic Macedonian parties VMRO-DPMNE and the SDSM  in the center of Skopje.


2006 Macedonian parliamentary election, Conduct
The representatives of the EU and the United States continued with their efforts to stop the irregularities. NATO warned the Macedonian government that pre-election violence risked delays to the country's ambitions to join the military alliance. Problems within the Macedonian bloc stopped immediately, and incidents between the Albanian parties also progressively stopped. The last week of the campaign was calm, with almost no incidents. There were no major problems on election day, with only minor irregularities in the western part of the country. The counting of the votes also passed almost without any objections. The Macedonian government, the European Union and the United States dubbed the elections "a success".


2006 Macedonian parliamentary election, Results
The results showed a clear victory for the coalition led by VMRO-DPMNE, which won 45 of the 120 seats. The centre-left coalition led by the SDSM won 35 seats. The majority of Albanian votes went to the DUI–PDP coalition (17 seats), while the DPA won 11 seats. Other parties that won seats included the New Social Democratic Party (7 seats), VMRO-NP (6 seats), Democratic Renewal of Macedonia (1 seat) and the Party for European Future (1 seat).


2006 Macedonian parliamentary election, Aftermath
After unsuccessful negotiations between VMRO-DPMNE and DUI, VMRO-DPMNE  leader Nikola Gruevski decided to form a government with the DPA. After a tough negotiation process (especially between VMRO-DPMNE and NSDP), in August 2006 Gruevski announced that the new government would be composed of VMRO-DPMNE, DPA, NSDP, DOM, and PEI, with the coalition partners holding 65 of the 120 seats in parliament.


2006 Macedonian parliamentary election, Aftermath
The DUI-PDP coalition started protests throughout the Albanian-dominated parts of the country due to their exclusion from the coalition. In May 2007, the PDP accepted Gruevski's offer to join the government, and in June the PDP became a coalition partner.


2006 Mackerras federal election pendulum
The Mackerras federal election pendulum, 2006 (by Malcolm Mackerras) shows the state of the major political parties ahead of the 2007 Australian federal election. The table shows seats in the Australian House of Representatives arranged in the form of a Mackerras Pendulum based on their 2004 federal election two-party preferred result. Some seats in New South Wales and Queensland underwent a redistribution in 2006, their margins have been recalculated due to this.


2006 Mackerras federal election pendulum
MPs shown in italics are not contesting the 2007 election. Gwydir, held by John Anderson for the Nationals, was abolished in the last redistribution and is not shown. Notionally government-held seats are shown on the left, with other seats shown on the right.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing
The 2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing occurred on 30 December 2006 when a van bomb exploded in the Terminal 4 parking area at the Madrid–Barajas Airport in Spain, killing two and injuring 52. On 9 January 2007, the Basque nationalist and separatist organisation ETA claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack, one of the most powerful carried out by ETA, damaged the airport terminal and destroyed the entire parking structure. The bombing ended a nine-month ceasefire declared by the armed organisation and prompted the government to halt plans for negotiations with the organisation. Despite the attack, ETA claimed that the ceasefire was still in place and regretted the death of civilians. The organisation eventually announced the end of the ceasefire in June 2007.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing
Ordered and planned by then head of commandos Miguel Garikoitz Aspiazu Rubina alias Txeroki, the attack was carried out by the "commando Elurra", whose members were arrested in early 2008 and sentenced for the attack in May 2010. Txeroki was arrested in November 2008 and has been condemned to prison in 2011.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Background
On March 22, 2006 ETA announced a ceasefire. Following the announcement, the Spanish government led by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero on one side and the armed organisation, as well as Batasuna, a Basque nationalist party banned for its ties with ETA, on the other, engaged in talks in order to put an end to the conflict between the two sides. The Basque Nationalist Party, then in charge of the Basque Government, also took part in the conversations. Most of the Basque and Spanish political parties, as well as international institutions, welcomed the announcement, except for the main opposition party People's Party, which called on the government to continue "fighting terrorism" and reject negotiations of any kind.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Background
During the celebration of the 2006 Gudari Eguna in Aritxulegi, Gipuzkoa on September 23, three armed ETA members took part in the event and stated that the organisation would "keep on taking up arms until independence and socialism are achieved" in the Basque Country. The armed men also claimed that "the fight is not a thing of the past, it is the present and the future".


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Background
The statement was regarded by some as intended to put pressure on the talks with the Spanish government, while others saw it as a declaration of ETA's ultimate intentions, making it clear that they would not disarm until every one of their goals had been completely achieved. Despite that, Rodriguez Zapatero stated that the Spanish government would still keep its offer for talks. One of the ETA members was Mattin Sarasola, who took part in the attack.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Background
On October 24, a commando unit formed by at least five members of ETA stole around 300 revolvers and 50 pistols, as well as ammunition, from an arms warehouse in Vauvert, France, and on November 4, the Basque newspaper Gara released an ETA private document in which it warned the Spanish government that the "peace process" was "in crisis". After the bombing, the ABC newspaper reported that before the attack, ETA had reminded Rodríguez Zapatero about the 2004 Madrid train bombings as a way to pressure the Government. During the ceasefire, street violence around the Basque Country, known as kale borroka, did not stop.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Background
According to Spanish police, the decision to break the truce may have come from a more violent side of ETA, opposed to any negotiations with the Spanish government, formed by members who joined ETA after participating in the kale borroka and led by Txeroki, who was in charge of all of the organisation's commandos since 2004.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Background
Madrid has been one of the most targeted cities by ETA. Prior to the attack, 36 car bombs had gone off in the city in the previous 20 years and at least 119 people had been killed in attacks carried out by the armed organisation.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Background
Some of the most important attacks have been a bomb explosion inside a cafeteria on September 13, 1974, which killed 13 people, a triple bomb attack on July 29, 1979, that killed 7 people, a car bomb explosion on July 15, 1986, which killed 12 Civil Guards, as well as two car bombs that killed seven and six army members in 1993 and 1995, respectively.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Background
The Madrid–Barajas airport had also been the location of ETA attacks on July 29, 1979, when three civilians were killed, and on August 27, 2002, when a car bomb exploded on the second floor of the Terminal 2 parking, causing only material damage, after a warning call from the armed organisation.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Planning
In two meetings held at the Baztan valley in Navarre in the summer of 2006, Txeroki, then head of commandos, ordered fellow ETA members Mattin Sarasola, Igor Portu and Mikel San Sebastián to carry out the bombing. The three members had been born in the Navarrese town of Lesaka and were part of the "commando Elurra" (Basque: snow), previously known as "Goiztiarrak", formed in 2002. Until 2006, the commando had the only task of helping members of ETA cross the Spanish-France border and transporting explosives.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Planning
The cell was also linked with a car bomb attack against a discothèque in the town of Urdax on February 14, 2006, as well as with another attack against a discothèque in Santesteban on December 21, 2005. The leader of the commando group, Joseba Aranibar alias "Basurde" and Joseba Iturbide, who was also part of the cell, did not take part in the meetings.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Planning
During the first meeting, Txeroki gave instructions on how to carry out the attack and told the members of the commando which secondary roads they should take to arrive to the airport and avoid being caught by security forces. After the meeting, Sarasola took part in the September 23 event along with Joseba Iturbide and an unknown member of the organisation. In October, Sarasola, Portu and San Sebastián rehearsed the route to the airport twice. The first rehearsal was made with San Sebastián's personal car and the second one, on October 21, with a Volkswagen Polo rented in Irun, Gipuzkoa.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Planning
Leaving from Navarre, the commando members succeeded in parking the Volkswagen Polo in the Terminal 4 car park. After the rehearsals, they met again with Txeroki, who gave them the final instructions for the attack, including the day the attack would take place, as well as how to dress on the day of the bombing. Txeroki asked Sarasola to wear a wig, a cap, as well as a face mask on his nose. Sarasola would also have to carry a suitcase and a crutch, pretending to be lame on one of his legs.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Planning
He also asked Sarasola to buy a mobile phone with which Portu would warn of the bombing, and told them which places they should phone: the DYA headquarters, a Basque roadside assistance association, in Bilbao, Madrid's firemen and the emergency telephone number 112. Nonetheless, Portu would eventually also call a Basque emergency number.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Planning
On December 27, Portu, Sarasola and San Sebastián stole a Renault Trafic at gunpoint in the French town of Luz Ardiden and held its owner for three days in a cabin located in the Pyrenees. During that time, he was forced to send mobile messages to his mother, stating that he was all right. He was released 40 minutes after the attack. Commando leader Joseba Aranibar loaded the van with explosives, while Sarasola and San Sebastián spent the night at the cabin.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Planning
On the morning of December 29, Aranibar gave the van to Sarasola and San Sebastian. Following the route they had planned, Sarasola drove the van while San Sebastián was driving a motorbike in front of the van. Meanwhile, Portu arrived with another vehicle to a point located 50 kilometres from the airport. Portu met Sarasola and gave him the equipment he needed in order to disguise himself. At 6:51 pm, Sarasola parked the van in the unit D of the Terminal 4 car park and triggered the bomb.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Planning
He then took a taxi to the town of San Sebastián de los Reyes, where he got rid of the disguise. From there he took another taxi and met Portu, who was driving San Sebastian's motorbike. They then met San Sebastian and they all went back to Lesaka. On the next day, Portu went to the city of San Sebastián, from where he made the warning calls.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Details of the bombing, Explosion
At 07:53 am, Igor Portu used a mobile phone to call the DYA headquarters to warn them that a "powerful van bomb" would explode at 09:00. Three minutes later he called the firemen of Madrid, between 07:52 and 07:59 he phoned Gara and finally the SOS/DEIAK emergency number of San Sebastián, this time from a telephone box. Police immediately cordoned off the car park, with hundreds of people being evacuated from the terminal through jetways and gathered outside on the airport ramps.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Details of the bombing, Explosion
At 08:59 the Renault Trafic went off, destroying much of section D of the parking lot of the airport's newly built Terminal 4 and sending a massive column of smoke into the air. The terminal, designed by Antonio Lamela and Richard Rogers, had been inaugurated just a few months before, on February 5, 2006. According to reports, the van was carrying 500 to 800 kilograms (1,100 to 1,800 lb) of an unknown kind of explosive, probably a mix of ammonium nitrate and hexogen, becoming the third most powerful explosive device ever used by ETA.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Details of the bombing, Explosion
The explosion demolished almost all of the five floors of the car park and produced around 40,000 tones of debris, with the zone being compared by Spanish authorities to the World Trade Center ground zero, as well as damaging at least 1300 vehicles parked in the terminal. The terminal building was also affected.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Details of the bombing, Explosion
As a result of the explosion, two Ecuadorian citizens, Carlos Alonso Palate and Diego Armando Estacio, who were taking a nap inside their cars and did not manage to evacuate died. It took five days for the rescue teams to reach the buried bodies. 52 other people were injured, with Samur emergency services setting up a field hospital in the terminal in order to assist those injured, mainly from flying glass and damage to their ears due to the shock wave. Hospitals across Madrid received 11 people slightly injured in the blast, with only three of them remaining in the hospitals at the end of the day. The bombing represented ETA's first deadly attack since 2003.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Details of the bombing, Victims
Carlos Alonso Palate, 35, was born in the town of Ambato, in the province of Tungurahua, Ecuador. He arrived in Spain in 2002 and lived in Valencia, where he worked in a plastic factory, and was in Madrid to pick up a friend's wife who had come to spend New Year's Eve in Spain. He was buried in the small town of Picaihua on January 6. The other victim, Diego Armando Estacio, 19, was born in Machala, El Oro. He arrived in Madrid in 2001, where he worked as a construction worker, and was at the airport to pick up some of his girlfriend's relatives. He was buried in his home town on January 8.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Aftermath
After the blast, Aena immediately closed Terminal 4 and hundreds of flights were interrupted. Flights at the other three terminals were not affected. At 2:00pm, some flights started departing, while Aena asked passengers to only use public transport in order to go to the terminal. After several hours, regular air traffic resumed and by 7:00pm, 388 out of the 575 scheduled had already departed from the terminal.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Aftermath
During the following days, firemen and emergency services kept on removing debris at the scene of the blast and around 25,000 tones of it had been removed by January 21. The huge amount of debris made it difficult to rescue the bodies of the dead. The body of Carlos Alonso Palate was found inside his car on January 4, and was repatriated to Ecuador on the following day, when Diego Armando Estacio's body was found, who was sent back home on January 7. Both bodies departed from the Torrejón Air Base on planes arranged by the Spanish government, who also granted the Spanish nationality to descendants of the dead.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Aftermath
Several authorities visited the bomb site during the days after the blast. On January 3, Leader of the People's Party Mariano Rajoy visited the bomb site along with President of Madrid Esperanza Aguirre and mayor of Madrid Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón. Rodriguez Zapatero visited the scene on the following day.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Aftermath, Reaction
Minister of the Interior Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba condemned the attack and stated that "violence is incompatible with dialogue in any democracy" while Rodríguez Zapatero ordered the government to put all peace talks with ETA "on hold" and condemned the "useless and ridiculous step" that the organization had taken, although he did not announce the end of the peace process. Just a few hours earlier Rodríguez Zapatero had delivered his end of year message and had claimed that "in one year we will be better than today".


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Aftermath, Reaction
Mariano Rajoy asked the government not to negotiate with ETA once again and said he would back the government only if it concentrated on eliminating it. Other Spanish political parties, as well as the Basque government, condemned the attack, although the latter stated that they would like the peace process to continue.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Aftermath, Reaction
Spokesman for Batasuna Arnaldo Otegi refused to condemn the attack and denied that the process was damaged and considered it "just another event" of all the ones that were "blocking" the process, and accused the government of not "making any steps", referring to the situation of ETA prisoner Iñaki de Juana Chaos, who was then on a hunger strike. However, Pérez Rubalcaba announced that the process had definitely been broken.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Aftermath, Reaction
On the following day of the attack, hundreds of members of the Association of Terrorism Victims staged a protest outside the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party headquarters in Madrid, shouting slogans demanding Rodriguez Zapatero's resignation. Earlier, the association president Francisco José Alcaraz asked the government to expel the Communist Party of the Basque Homelands from all regional institutions in case they did not condemn the attack. He also stated that "civil rebellion will remain unstoppable until the terrorists and all their plans have been destroyed". The association held a bigger demonstration on January 14 in Madrid.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Aftermath, Reaction
On January 9, 2007, in a statement sent to Gara, ETA claimed responsibility for the attack and insisted that the March ceasefire was still in place despite the bombing. The organisation extended its solidarity to the "collateral damage" caused by the bombing, stating that the "objective of this armed action was not to cause victims" and condemned the fact that the airport had not been totally evacuated. ETA also accused the government of creating obstacles to a democratic process. On January 6, a demonstration in San Sebastian in favour of ETA prisoners and in support of a democratic solution to the process ended up in riots. ETA eventually announced the end of the ceasefire in another statement on June 5, 2007, and resumed its attacks.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Memorial
On the evening of the attack, a minute of silence was held across Spanish town halls. On January 14, several senior Basque politicians including Patxi Lopez gathered in Bilbao, along with the representative of the Ecuadorian people in the Basque Country, in order to pay tribute to the dead, and on January 29, hundreds of people gathered at the House of America in Madrid. Then-Ecuadorian Minister for Foreign Affairs María Fernanda Espinosa participated in the event, along with then-Spanish secretary for Ibero-America Trinidad Jiménez. On the day the car park was re-inaugurated, authorities unveiled two busts in the exact park places the victim's cars had been parked.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Reconstruction
The van had been placed in the second floor of the car park, and as a result of the blast a 90% of the building was demolished. The reconstruction of the car park started on January 21, while the damage caused inside the terminal, mainly broken windows as well as distorted structures, had already been repaired by the end of January. Works lasted six months and the car park was inaugurated again by then-Minister of Public Works Magdalena Álvarez on September 20, 2007. Many businessmen attended the event, which also paid tribute to the dead. The reconstruction had a total cost of 24.5 million euros, and 15 million more were used to compensate the damage caused to the 2,100 cars parked there at the time of the attack, as well as to repair the terminal building.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Arrest and trials
All the suspects involved in the attack were arrested during 2008. On January 7, Igor Portu and Mattin Sarasola were arrested by the Civil Guard on a road close to Arrasate, Gipuzkoa. At the time of the arrest, they both were carrying a revolver. According to reports by other terrorists, they were placed in patrol cars and were beaten by the officers guarding them. While being handcuffed behind their backs, they were taken separately to an undetermined site, where they were punched and kicked, in addition to receiving death threats.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Arrest and trials
A handcuffed Sarasola was thrown down a hillside before having a gun aimed at his head. The Ministry of Interior denied the claims of torture and attributed the injuries to the moment the terrorists resisted arrest and attempted to escape. On the following day, Pérez Rubalcaba announced that Portu and Sarasola were the perpetrators of the airport attack, after they had confessed so while being in custody. On February 16, Joseba Iturbide and Mikel San Sebastian were arrested in the French town of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Pyrénées-Atlantiques along with fellow ETA members Jose Antonio Martinez Mur and Asuncion Bengoechea. Finally, Txeroki, Spain's most wanted man at that time, was arrested in Cauterets, Hautes-Pyrénées on November 17.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Arrest and trials
On May 3, 2010 Portu, Sarasola and San Sebastián appeared at the Spanish National High Court in Madrid for their role in the attack. All of them refused to address the court, with Sarasola stating that he did not recognise that "fascist court" and said he was "not going to take part in it".


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Arrest and trials
On May 21, they were found guilty of two murders and 48 murder attempts (the final sentence stated that there were 48 wounded people), and each of them was sentenced to 1,040 years of prison, although the maximum a person can serve for a terrorism conviction under the Spanish law is 40 years.


2006 Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing, Arrest and trials, Torture trial
On October 25, 2010, 15 Civil Guards went on trial in San Sebastián in relation to the torture suffered by Portu and Sarasola. On December 30, four of them were sentenced to prison: two for four years, and the other two for two years. The rest of the officers were found not guilty and were acquitted. It was the first time since 2001 that Civil Guards had been sentenced with claims of torture against members of ETA.


2006 Magny-Cours Superbike World Championship round
The 2006 Magny-Cours Superbike World Championship round was the last round of the 2006 Superbike World Championship season. It took place on the weekend of October 6–8, 2006 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours.


2006 Maidstone Borough Council election
The 2006 Maidstone Borough Council election took place on 4 May 2006 to elect members of Maidstone Borough Council in Kent, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.


2006 Maidstone Borough Council election, Background
Before the election the Conservatives were the largest party on the council with 24 seats, compared to 20 Liberal Democrat, 8 Labour and 3 independent councillors. 18 seats were contested in the election, with the Conservatives the only party to contest every seat. Labour had 15 candidates, the Liberal Democrats 14, Green Party 6, United Kingdom Independence Party 4 and there were 3 independent candidates. Both the Liberal Democrat leader of the council, Mick Stevens, and the Labour group leader, Daniel Murphy, stood down at the election, while the Conservative and Independent group leaders, Eric Hotson and Pat Marshall, defended Staplehurst and Bearsted wards respectively.


2006 Maidstone Borough Council election, Election result
The results saw the Conservatives make the 4 gains they required to win a majority, but fall a seat short after also losing one seat. This meant the council remained under no overall control as it had been since 1983, with the Conservatives on 27 seats, the Liberal Democrats on 19, Labour 6 and there were 3 independents. Overall turnout in the election was 37.3%.


2006 Maine Black Bears football team
The 2006 Maine Black Bears football team was an American football team that represented the University of Maine as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference during the 2006 NCAA Division I FCS football season. In their 14th season under head coach Jack Cosgrove, the Black Bears compiled a 6–5 record (5–3 against conference opponents) and tied for second in the Atlantic 10's North Division. Mike DeVito, Matt King, and Ron Whitcomb were the team captains.


2006 Maine gubernatorial election
The 2006 Maine gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democrat John Baldacci was re-elected to his second term. This was the last time a Democrat won statewide office in Maine until 2018, when Janet Mills won the gubernatorial election over Republican Shawn Moody.


2006 Maine gubernatorial election
In the general election, Baldacci, Woodcock, Green Independent Party candidate Pat LaMarche, and independents Barbara Merrill and Phillip Morris Napier appeared on the ballot.


2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 77th playing of the midseason exhibition baseball game between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 11, 2006 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League. The contest was the fifth hosted by the city of Pittsburgh – tying the Cleveland Indians for the record of most times hosted by a single franchise. The game resulted in the American League defeating the National League 3–2, thus awarding the AL champion (which was eventually the Detroit Tigers) home-field advantage in the 2006 World Series.


2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Background
As with each All-Star Game since 1970, the 8 starting position players (with no designated hitter due to playing in an NL stadium) of each league were elected by fan balloting. The remaining players were selected by a players' vote, each league's team manager, and the All-Star Final Vote to add one more player to each roster. In all, 32 players were selected to each league's team, not including players who decline to play due to injuries or personal reasons.


2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Background
The game was the fourth straight All-Star Game to decide home-field advantage in the World Series. The AL entered the game on a nine-game unbeaten streak (eight wins, with one tie in 2002). Many analysts saw the disparity between the leagues as more pronounced than ever this season, particularly due to the AL's dominance during interleague play, compiling a 154–98 record, the best record for either league in the ten-year history of interleague play.


2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Rosters
Players in italics have since been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.


2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Game, Game summary
National League starting pitcher Brad Penny set the tone for the evening, striking out Ichiro Suzuki, Derek Jeter, and David Ortiz to start the game. His fastball had uncharacteristic speed, never going below 96 miles per hour, and – aside from a lone curveball – was the only pitch he threw in the first inning. American League pitcher Kenny Rogers wasn't as overpowering as Penny, but still escaped the first relatively unscathed.


2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Game, Game summary
The AL would get to Penny in the second as Vladimir Guerrero hit an opposite-field home run that just cleared the right field fence, giving the AL a 1–0 lead. The NL would respond in the bottom of the inning with David Wright hitting his own home run to left field, tying the game at 1–1.


2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Game, Game summary
Roy Halladay relieved Rogers in the bottom of the third. It was in this inning when the National League exemplified what it does best: playing small. Alfonso Soriano hit a single with one out and stole second base on Gold Glove catcher Iván Rodríguez. He tried to score on a single by Carlos Beltrán, but was thrown out at home plate by Vernon Wells. Beltran would advance to second on the throw, then steal third and score on a wild pitch by Halladay, giving the NL a 2–1 lead.


2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Game, Game summary
That lead would seem like enough for the NL for most of the evening. After Roy Oswalt relieved Penny in the third, Brandon Webb, Bronson Arroyo, Brian Fuentes, Derrick Turnbow, and Tom Gordon would each throw an inning of scoreless relief, limiting the AL to just three hits in that span. After Halladay pitched the fourth, Barry Zito, Scott Kazmir, Johan Santana, and B.J. Ryan would also each pitch an inning without giving up a run, with the only baserunner allowed on a walk by Santana, the only walk of the game.


2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Game, Game summary
Trevor Hoffman came on to try to earn the save in the ninth. After inducing two groundouts back to himself, it seemed like Hoffman, who, at the time, was second all-time in career saves, would finally send the American League to a loss in an All-Star Game for the first time in a decade. However, Paul Konerko hit a single to left past third baseman Miguel Cabrera, and was pinch-run for by José Lopez. Troy Glaus hit a ground rule double down the left field line, forcing Lopez to hold at third. While it looked like the National League received a break (as Lopez could have possibly scored the tying run if the ball stayed in play), Hoffman allowed a two-strike triple to Michael Young, who went on to win the MVP, scoring Lopez and Glaus and putting the AL up 3–2.


2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Game, Game summary
Mariano Rivera would now try to save the game for the American League. Because Lopez pinch-ran for Konerko in the top of the ninth, the American League was left without any first basemen on the roster. Glaus, in the game as a third baseman, moved to first for the bottom of the inning, a position he never played before in his career, while Lopez played third. Despite an error made by Lopez, Rivera pitched a quiet ninth to earn the save and extend the American League's unbeaten streak to ten games.


2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Home Run Derby
The Century 21 Real Estate Home Run Derby was held on the Monday before the game, July 10. Four players from each league competed to hit as many home runs in each round to advance and eventually win the contest. This year's Derby featured an important rule change: home runs in the first round would carry over into the second round.


2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Home Run Derby
In previous years, some players would hit a tremendous amount of home runs in the first round, but become tired by the second round and hit relatively fewer home runs for that round, often not enough to qualify for the finals. By allowing the home runs to carry over, a player can't necessarily be "punished" for hitting an impressive total in the first round. However, like in previous Derbies, the two finalists start over at zero for the finals.


2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Home Run Derby
In the finals, Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies defeated David Wright of the New York Mets 5–4, and hit a total of 23 home runs on the night, leading all competitors. Howard memorably hit his winning home run into a sign guaranteeing one person in the crowd 500 free round-trip flights from Southwest Airlines.


2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Home Run Derby
PNC Park is distinct for having the Allegheny River running behind the right field bleachers. As a result, several balls were hit into the river on the fly (a feat that had only been accomplished once before in the stadium's regular-season history), as well as many more bouncing off the walkway alongside the river. Many fans waited in the river in canoes hoping to retrieve a ball, a sight more reminiscent of the following year's All-Star Game and Home Run Derby site, AT&T Park.


2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Home Run Derby
For the second straight year, gold balls were utilized whenever a player had one out remaining in the round. Any home runs hit with the gold ball meant Major League Baseball and Century 21 would pledge to donate $21,000 (US) to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Easter Seals, respectively. In all, 14 gold-ball home runs were hit, constituting $294,000 raised for both charities.


2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Other events, Futures Game
The eighth annual XM Satellite Radio Futures Game was held on Sunday, July 9, showcasing the top minor league prospects from all thirty major league clubs. Game MVP Billy Butler of the Kansas City Royals farm system hit a two-run home run to help lead the United States team to an 8–5 victory over the World team.


2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Other events, Roberto Clemente ceremony
Commissioner Bud Selig presented the Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award to deceased Pittsburgh Pirates legend Roberto Clemente between the fourth and fifth innings of the All-Star Game. Clemente's widow, Vera, accepted the award. FOX play-by-play announcer Joe Buck emceed the ceremony. As a result, he called the bottom of the fourth inning from the entrance behind home plate. Buck created a little controversy when after Vera Clemente spoke what many said was a beautiful, moving speech Buck asked the fans "You guys having fun out here?!"


2006 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby
The 2006 Century 21 Home Run Derby was a 2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game event held at PNC Park, the home field of the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 10, 2006. The competition had eight competitors as usual and seven were eliminated in over three rounds. Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies defeated David Wright of the New York Mets to be crowned derby champion. A total of 87 home runs were hit in the derby.


2006 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby, Competitors
The eight competitors were Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies, David Wright of the New York Mets, Miguel Cabrera of the Florida Marlins, 2005 Home Run Derby participant David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox, Jermaine Dye of the Chicago White Sox, Lance Berkman of the Houston Astros, Miguel Tejada of the Baltimore Orioles, and Troy Glaus of the Toronto Blue Jays.


2006 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby, Rules
Any ball that is swung at must be hit over the outfield wall in fair territory to be counted as a home run. A swing and a miss is an out, but if the batter doesn't swing, no out is recorded. If there is a tie, a swing off will be held. The contestant with the most home runs gets five swings, but if there is still a tie after five swings, each contestant will be given three swings to break the tie.


2006 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby, Rules, Round One
Each contestant receives ten outs. The top four home run hitters advance to the next round.


2006 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby, Rules, Round Two
The totals from the first round carry over. Each batter again receives ten outs. The top two hitters advance to the final round.


2006 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby, Rules, Round Three
Home runs do not carry over in this round. The two batters receive ten outs. The contestant with the most home runs wins the derby.


2006 Major League Baseball draft
The 2006 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 6 and 7. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams.


2006 Major League Baseball draft, Background
Pitching accounted for 18 of the 30 selections in the first round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft, including the top choice, right-hander Luke Hochevar, who was chosen by the Kansas City Royals. The University of Tennessee product pitched for the Fort Worth Cats of the Independent League after not reaching terms with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who selected him in the sandwich round (40th overall) of the 2005 First-Year Player Draft.


2006 Major League Baseball draft, Background
Six of the first seven picks and nine of the first 12 selections were pitchers. In addition to the 18 hurlers, seven outfielders, three third basemen and two catchers made up the rest of the first round.


2006 Major League Baseball draft, Background
The first six picks were from the college ranks. University of North Carolina pitchers Andrew Miller (6th overall, Tigers) and Daniel Bard (28th, Red Sox) and University of Texas teammates Drew Stubbs (8th overall, Reds) and Kyle McCulloch (29th, White Sox) went in the first round.


2006 Major League Baseball draft, Background
Kyle Drabek, the son of longtime Major League pitcher Doug Drabek, was chosen by the Philadelphia Phillies with the 18th pick. He is currently a free agent.


2006 Major League Baseball draft, Background
Detroit's Andrew Miller became the first player from the 2006 Draft to reach the Major Leagues. He debuted in relief during a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium on August 30. He would make eight relief appearances for the Tigers during their pennant-winning season. He currently pitches in the St. Louis Cardinals organization and has also played for the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Florida Marlins, Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians.


2006 Major League Baseball draft, Background
Tim Lincecum was the first 2006 draftee to be selected to an All-Star Game. Lincecum was selected in 2008, and joined shortly thereafter by Evan Longoria, who was selected via the Final Vote. Longoria was the only one to play in the game. Longoria would later be voted Rookie of the Year. Lincecum was also the first to win a Cy Young Award (2008 and 2009) in the National League. Clayton Kershaw, 7th in the draft, went on to win the 2011, 2013 and 2014 NL Cy Young Awards, the 2014 NL MVP Award and played in the 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 All-Star Games.


2006 Major League Baseball draft, Background
Andrew Bailey, 6th round pick by the Oakland Athletics, became the 2009 American League Rookie of the Year and participated in the 2009 All-Star Game in St. Louis and 2010 All-Star Game in Anaheim as part of the Athletics. He retired after the 2017 season. Chris Coghlan, a supplemental first round pick, was the 2009 National League Rookie of the Year as a member of the Miami Marlins. As of 2017 he is currently a free agent.


2006 Major League Baseball draft, Background
Ryan Kalish, an outfielder who planned to attend the University of Virginia, was picked in the 9th round by the Boston Red Sox. His salary of $600,000 had to be approved by the Commissioner's Office, as it was well over what others drafted in that round were to receive. He signed with the Red Sox and made his major league debut in 2010.


2006 Major League Baseball draft, Background
Max Scherzer, 1st round pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks and later traded to the Detroit Tigers, won the 2013 Cy Young Award. He is now with the Washington Nationals, with whom he won the Cy Young in 2016.


2006 Major League Baseball season
The 2006 Major League Baseball season ended with the National League's St. Louis Cardinals winning the World Series with the lowest regular-season victory total (83) in a fully-played season in major league history. The Atlanta Braves failed to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 1990. Individual achievements included Barry Bonds who, despite questions surrounding his alleged steroid use and involvement in the BALCO scandal, surpassed Babe Ruth for second place on the career home runs list. The American League continued its domination at the All-Star Game by winning its fourth straight game, and ninth of the prior 10 contests (the 2002 game was a tie).


2006 Major League Baseball season, Milestones, Home Runs
The following players reached major home run milestones in 2006:


2006 Major League Lacrosse season
The 2006 Major League Lacrosse season was the sixth season of the league. The season began on May 20 and concluded with the championship game on August 27, 2006.


2006 Major League Lacrosse season, General information
The season marked the first expansion teams in the MLL. Chicago Machine, Denver Outlaws, Los Angeles Riptide and San Francisco Dragons made up the new Western Conference. The original six teams formed the Eastern Conference.


2006 Major League Lacrosse season, General information
New Jersey moved its home games to Yurcak Field and Rochester moved its home games to PAETEC Park.


2006 Major League Lacrosse season, General information
On April 21, MLL announced a trade involving six teams and 24 players and draft picks. MLL believes it to be the largest trade in sports history.


2006 Major League Lacrosse season, General information
The June 29 game between Boston at Philadelphia was called with 13:00 remaining in the fourth quarter due to a lightning storm. Boston won the game 16-5.


2006 Major League Lacrosse season, General information
The Chicago Machine became the first MLL team to go a whole season without a victory after losing in overtime to San Francisco on August 12.


2006 Major League Lacrosse season, Regular season
W = Wins, L = Losses, PTS = Points, PCT = Winning Percentage, GF = Goals For, 2ptGF = 2 point Goals For, GA = Goals Against, 2ptGA = 2 point Goals Against


2006 Major League Lacrosse season, Regular season
New Jersey finished 3rd in the East based on overall conference record (5-5) versus (4-6) for both Long Island and Rochester. Long Island finished 4th based on total points scored margin in games against Rochester (+10).


2006 Major League Lacrosse season, Playoffs
Semi FinalsAugust 25 @ Home Depot Center, Carson, CaliforniaDenver 23-14 San FranciscoPhiladelphia 17-12 Boston


2006 Major League Lacrosse season, Playoffs
Championship August 27 @ Home Depot Center, Carson, CaliforniaPhiladelphia 23-12 Denver


2006 Major League Soccer season
The 2006 Major League Soccer season was the 11th season in the history of Major League Soccer. It began on April 1, 2006, and ended with MLS Cup 2006 on November 12, 2006, at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, for the second consecutive year.


2006 Major League Soccer season, MLS Cup playoffs, Conference semifinals
New England Revolution advance 4–2 on penalties (2–2 aggregate after extra time).


2006 Major League Soccer season, MLS Cup playoffs, Conference semifinals
Colorado Rapids advance 5–4 on penalties (4–4 aggregate after extra time).


2006 Major League Soccer season, International competition
CONCACAF Champions' Cup Los Angeles GalaxyLost  Deportivo Saprissa in quarterfinals.


2006 Malagasy coup d'état attempt
An alleged coup d'état attempt occurred in Madagascar on November 18, 2006, during the lead-up to the December 3 presidential election, when retired army General Andrianafidisoa, also known as Fidy (and a previous Director General of OMNIS), declared military rule.


2006 Malagasy coup d'état attempt
According to judicial authorities, Andrianafidisoa was not allowed to run for president after failing to pay a 25 million ariary (US$11,400) deposit. Fidy had previously supported the incumbent President Marc Ravalomanana in his successful claim to the presidency in the wake of the disputed 2001 presidential election.


2006 Malagasy coup d'état attempt, Coup events
General Fidy declared military rule and set up a base near the Ivato Airport in the capital, Antananarivo. There were police reports of shooting early in the morning of November 18, and that one soldier was killed and another wounded. President Ravalomanana was returning from France during the incident and his plane was diverted from  Antananarivo to Mahajanga instead.


2006 Malagasy coup d'état attempt, Aftermath
On November 19, 2006 the government said it was searching for General Fidy, and dozens of soldiers were stationed outside his house. Secretary of State for Public Security, Lucien Victor Razakanirina, told Reuters, "We issued a wanted poster for General Fidy for an attack on state security. We went to arrest General Fidy, but he was no longer at his house. He is very mobile." Fidy told Reuters via telephone, "I am alive and I am not in hiding. Soldiers and politicians have got the message." He would not disclose his location.


2006 Malagasy coup d'état attempt, Aftermath
In a radio interview on November 20, Fidy, who had still not been captured, said that the idea that there had been a coup attempt was a misinterpretation, but acknowledged that he had called for Ravalomanana's resignation because he considered the government to be unconstitutional. On November 22, Fidy received the backing of most of the 14 presidential candidates, who said he was defending the constitution and the interests of the nation. After the elections were held on December 3, the government unsuccessfully attempted to arrest one of these candidates, Pety Rakotoniaina, although it denied that it sought to arrest him because of his support for Fidy.


2006 Malagasy coup d'état attempt, Aftermath
A $50,000 reward was offered for Fidy's arrest. Razakanirina said that Fidy was taken by surprise and captured on December 12 at a hotel, and that he did not resist. During his trial, he and his lawyers argued that he had not attempted a coup, but had instead attempted to alert Ravalomanana to the situation of the armed forces. He was sentenced to four years in prison on February 2, 2007. After the failed coup, over 20 different officials and individuals were arrested, "including two French nationals, a retired general, a former prime minister, a former candidate for the Madagascan presidential election in 2006, and a senior official of the Gendarmerie, or national police force.