2006 Belizean municipal elections, Election supervision
The elections were supervised by Stuart Leslie in his capacity as Chief Elections Officer of the Elections and Boundaries Commission. Leslie met repeatedly with media houses and political parties to make plans for the conduct of the elections and assure that voting rights would not be violated. This was Leslie's first (and only) supervisory role in an election since he assumed the post from Myrtle Palacio midway through 2005.


2006 Belizean municipal elections, Media coverage of the elections
Belize's media houses always say that politics is often the only news in Belize. The expected election proved no different. Election related stories topped all local newscasts from the announcement of the UDP Belize City 11 in October until practically the last vote had been counted, and even after that.


2006 Belizean municipal elections, Media coverage of the elections
Local news powerhouses Channel 5 and Channel 7 teamed up with, respectively, LOVE FM/RSV Media Center and KREM Radio/Television to provide coverage of the actual election day. Channel 5/LOVE FM used Channel 5's Regent Street studios while Channel 7/KREM operated from Albert Street.


2006 Belizean municipal elections, Media coverage of the elections
Election stories appeared in nearly every weekly newspaper from October to March.


2006 Belizean municipal elections, The campaign
Campaigning was, as ever, cutthroat and ruthless. No holds were barred as the 153 candidates scrambled for the over 70,000 votes available to them.


2006 Belizean municipal elections, The campaign
The UDP sought to present the PUP as heartless, corrupt, greedy and incapable of responsibility. In the case of Belize City, which the UDP had not won for over twenty years, mayoral candidate Nunez was presented as symbolizing the problems of the City and the PUP's supposed incompetence, with opponent Moya portrayed as the solution. UDP commercials typically featured poor conditions, frustrated City residents and smug PUP officials, accompanied by songs of protest, most notably Tanya Stephens' "Turn the Other Cheek". The Jamaican artist made an appearance in Belize in February for a concert and was interviewed on WAVE Radio but did not expressly support the UDP.


2006 Belizean municipal elections, The campaign
The PUP, for their part, claimed Moya and her crew were political unknowns, not ready for the responsibilities of city management. Their commercials featured singers chanting "We noh wan Zenaida/Vote for Marshall", trumpeting Nunez's experience. Another set of commercials featured Belizean entertainers making pitches to voters to support the PUP, who would be "there for you". The UDP countered this by changing the slogan to "There for Who?" and proceeded to name who the PUP were supposedly there for: their own political operatives and supporters.


2006 Belizean municipal elections, The campaign
Commercials and advertisements by both parties frequently took up TV time in the evenings and could be recognised by the preceding and ending phrase: "The following/preceding is/was a paid political announcement." Nothing escaped scrutiny; even the Party Leaders were vilified.


2006 Belizean municipal elections, The campaign
Official organ of the PUP, The Belize Times, even printed a rumour that UDP Leader Dean Barrow had resigned-one day before elections. This rumour was promptly quashed by Barrow on local TV newscasts prior to the election. Barrow had suggested he might step down from his post a few weeks earlier if the election's outcome were not favorable.


2006 Belizean municipal elections, The campaign
Attention was paid to the unusually high number of women participating in the elections. This was interpreted as a sign that Belizean women were beginning to step forward and take a more active role in politics.


2006 Belizean municipal elections, The election
Belizeans voted on March 1, 2006, from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Voter turnout was low in the morning but picked up later. When the votes were counted the results were the following (Mayors first followed by councillors):


2006 Belizean municipal elections, The election
The most surprising results came in Punta Gorda, where 5 UDP candidates were elected but not Mayoral nominee Charles Selgado; and in Benque Viejo, where the PUP's Armando Chulin sneaked on to the council by 17 votes. In the Amandala of Sunday, March 5, 2006, publisher Evan X Hyde claimed the Punta Gorda result showed the maturity of Belizean voters in selecting a bipartisan council.


2006 Belizean municipal elections, The election
A total of nineteen women were elected, easily the highest such total ever. At least one woman was elected in each municipality except for Punta Gorda, where no women were nominated.


2006 Belizean municipal elections, The election
The UDP controlled all municipal boards for the first time ever (they previously came close in 1994 by winning all the municipalities after losing Belize City in 1993) and regained Belize City for the first time since 1986. Zenaida Moya became Belize City's first female Mayor and one of two female mayors in Belizean municipalities (joining the reelected Elsa Paz in San Pedro). The Amandala termed the victory a "blowout" while The Reporter called it a "landslide".


2006 Belizean municipal elections, Aftermath
Crowds lined the streets in each municipality to welcome their new elected leaders. In Belize City, during the midst of the counting, Channel 7 cameraman Alfonso Noble and Assistant Commissioner of Police, Eastern Division, Crispin Jeffries got into a tangle when Noble and other media personnel would not leave the counting station immediately. As Noble was being forcibly removed, Jeffries was heard to threaten Noble with future harm if they ever met again. This incident eventually faded.


2006 Belizean municipal elections, Aftermath
Media across the nation began speculating whether the vote was not an indication of dissatisfaction with the PUP administration; most seemed to think it was. Most political analysts credited the UDP with smart selection, timely deduction and ruthless campaigning, whereas the PUP did not seem to put their all into the campaign, perhaps wiped out from the protests the previous year.


2006 Belizean municipal elections, Aftermath
Most of the new administrations found irregularities in accounts when they got into office; in Belize City, the Council was set back BZ$9 million in debts and loans, and outgoing Mayor David Fonseca was fingered for having misappropriated monies controlled by the Council, though he claimed it was used to assist the poor.


2006 Belizean municipal elections, Aftermath
Author Stephen Okeke has recently published the book The Psychology of Belize Politics, which attempts to explain the mechanics behind the UDP's victory at the polls.


2006 Belmont Stakes
The 2006 Belmont Stakes was the 138th running of the Belmont Stakes. The race was held on June 10, 2006, and was won by Jazil; it was his second victory in eight career starts. The winners of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes did not compete.


2006 Belmont Stakes, Pre-race
The 2006 Triple Crown series was marred by the injury of Barbaro, the brilliant winner of the Kentucky Derby, during the Preakness Stakes. In the following weeks, Barbaro had undergone surgery for a broken right ankle and was given a good chance at survival. On the day of the Belmont, the world's largest get-well card was set up for fans to sign – roughly 20,000 people did so.


2006 Belmont Stakes, Pre-race
The field for the Belmont was further weakened when Preakness winner Bernardini was not entered in the race. The colt had three races in quick succession and his connections felt he needed a break. It was the first time since 2000 that both the Derby and Preakness winners were missing from the Belmont. The last time before that had been in 1970.


2006 Belmont Stakes, Pre-race
With the absence of Barbaro and Bernardini, the race was considered wide open. Trainer Todd Pletcher had a strong hand with Kentucky Derby runner-up Bluegrass Cat and Peter Pan winner Sunriver. Bob and John, who had won the Wood Memorial earlier in the year, had trained brilliantly at Santa Anita, while Steppenwolfer had put in a "spectacular" workout at Belmont. Jazil, trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, was also given a good chance after his late-closing fourth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby despite having only won one race.


2006 Belmont Stakes, Race description
Bob and John broke well and set a quick early pace, followed closely by High Finance and Deputy Glitters. Bluegrass Cat was not far behind the early leaders, while Jazil trailed the field. The horses maintained their positions down the backstretch, then Jazil and Bluegrass Cat started to make up ground together around the far turn. The early leaders started to fall back and Jazil pulled into the lead. Bluegrass Cat could not match Jazil's pace but was clearly second best. Sunriver made up ground late to get third place.


2006 Belmont Stakes, Race description
It was the first Belmont win for all of Jazil's connections. "It is very hard to describe my feeling," said McLaughlin. "The people at Shadwell have been my biggest supporters for the last 12 years. It's great to win this race for your favorite people."


2006 Belmont Stakes, Chart
Source: EquibaseTimes: 1⁄4 – 0:23.02;  1⁄2 – 0:47.36; 3⁄4 – 1:12.14; mile – 1:37.53; 1 1⁄4 – 2:02.69;  final – 2:27.86. Fractional Splits: (:23.02) (:24.34) (:24.78) (:25.39) (:25.16) (:25.17)


2006 Beninese presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Benin on 5 March 2006. Long-term president Mathieu Kérékou, who had led the country for all but four years since 1972, was barred from running for a third term. In July 2005, Kérékou signalled that he would not seek to change the constitution, as has been done in some other African countries, so that he could run again. Kérékou's long-time rival Nicéphore Soglo was also barred from standing due to his age.


2006 Beninese presidential election
With the men who had been among the country's leading political figures since the return of democracy barred from running, the campaign had a level of openness and unpredictability not common for African presidential elections. Since no candidate won a majority, a second round was held between the two leading candidates on 19 March; Yayi Boni won the election and took office in April.


2006 Beninese presidential election, Candidates
A total of 33 candidate applications were registered with the Autonomous National Electoral Commission (CENA). In a ruling issued on 30 January 2006, the Constitutional Court accepted 26 candidacies, as the candidacies of Daniel Shalom, Vincent Emmanuel Ahounou, and Adébayo Ananie were rejected because they were deemed medically unfit for the presidency, while the candidacies of Lary Egoundoukpè and Alidou Tamama were rejected because they had not paid the deposit of five million CFA francs required of candidates. Another two candidates, Edgar Alias and Yaro Sourakatou, withdrew in favor of Boni prior to the ruling.


2006 Beninese presidential election, Candidates
The approved candidates included three serving members of Kérékou's government: Zul Kifl Salami, Antoine Dayori, and Kamarou Fassassi. Additionally, the Constitutional Court approved the candidacies of two heads of major institutions: those of Antoine Idji Kolawolé, the President of the National Assembly, and Raphiou Toukourou, the President of the Economic and Social Council.


2006 Beninese presidential election, Results
In the first round, held on 5 March, Boni, former chairman of the West African Development Bank, placed first with around 35% of the vote, and former President of the National Assembly Adrien Houngbédji of the Democratic Renewal Party placed second with around 24% of the vote. In third place was the Social Democratic Party's candidate Bruno Amoussou, a former speaker of parliament and planning minister who obtained around 16% of the vote, and in fourth place was Benin Renaissance candidate Lehady Soglo, son of former president Nicéphore Soglo, with around 8% of the vote. Boni was an independent candidate, and this was his first election; Houngbédji and Amoussou had both run for president three previous times.


2006 Beninese presidential election, Results
Shortly after results were announced in mid-March, the government set the date for the second round between Boni and Houngbédji for 19 March. The country's election commission asked for more time, but this was refused. Boni was backed for the second round by both Amoussou and Soglo. He won the second round with almost 75% of the vote and was sworn in on 6 April.


2006 Berlin Marathon
The 2006 Berlin Marathon was the 33rd edition of the Berlin Marathon. The marathon took place in Berlin, Germany, on 24 September 2006.


2006 Berlin Marathon
The men's race was won by Haile Gebrselassie in 2:05:56 hours and the women's race was won by Gete Wami in a time of 2:21:34 hours.


2006 Berlin Thunder season
The 2006 Berlin Thunder season was the eighth season for the franchise in the NFL Europe League (NFLEL). The team was led by head coach Rick Lantz in his third year, and played its home games at Olympic Stadium and Jahn-Sportpark in Berlin, Germany. They finished the regular season in sixth place with a record of two wins, seven losses and one tie.


2006 Berlin Thunder season, Honors
After the completion of the regular season, the All-NFL Europe League team was selected by the NFLEL coaching staffs, members of a media panel and fans voting online at NFLEurope.com. Overall, Berlin had three players selected. The selections were:


2006 Berlin state election
The 2006 Berlin state election was held on 17 September 2006 to elect the members of the 16th Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin. The incumbent government of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) narrowly retained a majority, though PDS suffered major losses. Mayor Klaus Wowereit continued in office.


2006 Berlin state election, Parties
The table below lists parties represented in the previous, 15th Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin.


2006 Betta Electrical 500
The 2006 Betta Electrical 500 was an endurance motor race for V8 Supercars. The race was held on 3 September 2006 at Sandown International Raceway in Victoria, Australia, and was the eighth round of the 2006 V8 Supercar Championship Series. It was the 39th in a sequence of "Sandown long distances races"  which are commonly referred to under the Sandown 500 name.


2006 Betta Electrical 500
The race was won by Jason Bright and Mark Winterbottom driving a Ford BA Falcon for Ford Performance Racing.


2006 Bhiwandi lynching
The 2006 Bhindi lynching was the murder of two police constables in Bhiwandi, Thane district, Maharashtra, India by a Muslim mob. They were killed and then burned after police had shot at a mob pelting stones causing the death of two Muslim men. The bodies of the policemen were discovered at a distance variously stated as 200 metres and 500 metres from a police outpost. An existing curfew was extended after the event, described by The Times of India as a lynching. Some reports said the constables were stabbed to death. The police constables have been identified as R.Y. Jagtap of the Bhoiwada police station and B.R. Gangurde of the Narpoli police station.


2006 Bhutan A-Division
The 2006 season of the Bhutanese A-Division was the twelfth recorded season of top-flight football in Bhutan. The league was won by Transport United, their third title in a row and only the second time a team had achieved such a hat trick since Druk Pol in 1998.


2006 Big 12 Championship Game
The 2006 Dr. Pepper Big 12 Championship Game was held on December 2, 2006, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, and pit the divisional winners from the Big 12 Conference: the Nebraska Cornhuskers, winner of the North division against the Oklahoma Sooners, winner of the South division. The  Sooners defeated the Cornhuskers, 21-7. This was the first time the two teams had ever met in the Big 12 conference championship game.


2006 Big 12 Championship Game, Regular season
The Big 12 North representative was the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The team was coached by Bill Callahan, in his third season at Nebraska. Nebraska played their home games at Memorial Stadium. Quarterback Zac Taylor in his senior year led the Huskers to an undefeated record against Big 12 North opponents. The Huskers ended the regular season with a record of 9-3 (6-2, Big 12), with losses coming to USC, Texas, and Oklahoma State.


2006 Big 12 Championship Game, Regular season
The Big 12 South representative was the Oklahoma Sooners. The team was coached by Bob Stoops, in his eighth season at Oklahoma. Oklahoma played their home games at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The Sooners ended the regular season with a record of 10-2 (7-1, Big 12), with losses coming to Oregon and Texas.


2006 Big 12 Championship Game, After the Championship game
The Sooners went on to play in the Fiesta Bowl and lose to Boise State Broncos in one of the most historic upsets in BCS and bowl game history, not only because of the winner, but the way in which Boise State used a trick play to win the game.


2006 Big 12 Championship Game, After the Championship game
Nebraska went on to lose to the Auburn Tigers in the Cotton Bowl Classic, 17 to 14.


2006 Big 12 Conference Baseball Tournament
The 2006 Big 12 Conference Baseball Tournament was held at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, OK from May 24 through May 28. Kansas won their first tournament and earned the Big 12 Conference's automatic bid to the 2006 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. This was the first year that the tournament adopted a round-robin format, with the winners of two 4-team pools facing off in a championship game.


2006 Big 12 Conference Softball Tournament
The 2006 Big 12 Conference Softball tournament was held at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, OK from May 10 through May 13, 2006. Kansas won their first conference tournament and earned the Big 12 Conference's automatic bid to the 2006 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament.


2006 Big 12 Conference Softball Tournament
Texas, Nebraska, Baylor, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Kansas received bids to the NCAA tournament. Texas would go on to play in the 2006 Women's College World Series.


2006 Big 12 Conference Women's Basketball Tournament
The 2006 Big 12 Conference Women's Basketball Championship, known for sponsorship reasons as the 2006 Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship, was the 2006 edition of the Big 12 Conference's championship tournament. The tournament was held at the Reunion Arena in Dallas from 7 March until 10 March 2006. The Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Finals were televised on the ESPN family of networks. The championship game, held on March 10, 2006, featured the number 1 seeded Oklahoma Sooners, and the number 2 seeded Baylor Bears. Oklahoma won this contest by a 72-61 score.


2006 Big 12 Conference Women's Soccer Tournament
The 2006 Big 12 Conference Women's Soccer Tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Big 12 Conference held from November 1 to 5, 2006. The 7-match tournament was held at the Blossom Athletic Center in San Antonio, TX with a combined attendance of 4,479. The 8-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The Texas Longhorns defeated the Colorado Buffaloes in the championship match to win their 1st conference tournament.


2006 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2006 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the Big 12 Conference. It was played from March 9 to 12 in Dallas, Texas at the American Airlines Center. Kansas won the tournament for the 4th time and received the conference's automatic bid to the 2006 NCAA Tournament.


2006 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament, Seeding
The Tournament consisted of a 12 team single-elimination tournament with the top 4 seeds receiving a bye.


2006 Big East Conference Baseball Tournament
The 2006 Big East Conference Baseball Tournament was held at Bright House Field in Clearwater, FL. This was the twenty second annual Big East Conference Baseball Tournament. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish won their fifth tournament championship in a row and claimed the Big East Conference's automatic bid to the 2006 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


2006 Big East Conference Baseball Tournament, Format and seeding
The Big East baseball tournament was an 8 team double elimination tournament in 2006. The top eight regular season finishers were seeded one through eight based on conference winning percentage only. The field was divided into two brackets, with the winners of each bracket meeting in a single championship game. This was the first time that eight teams were included in the field.


2006 Big East Conference Baseball Tournament, Jack Kaiser Award
Wade Corpi was the winner of the 2006 Jack Kaiser Award. Carpi was a sophomore pitcher for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.


2006 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2006 Big East Men's Basketball Championship was played from March 8 to March 11, 2006. The tournament took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was a single-elimination tournament with four rounds. Villanova and Connecticut tied for the best regular season conference record. Based on tie-breakers, Connecticut was awarded the #1 seed. The Syracuse Orange won the tournament for the second consecutive season and fifth time overall, and were awarded an automatic bid to the 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. As a 9-seed, the Orange are the lowest seeded team to win the Big East Tournament, and became the first school to win four games in the tournament. Gerry McNamara of Syracuse was given the Dave Gavitt Trophy, awarded to the tournament's most outstanding player.


2006 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament, Syracuse's Run
This tournament is best remembered for Syracuse's improbable run to the championship as a #9 seed, with McNamara pulling off excellent 3-point shooting and some improbable buzzer beaters and last-second shots to lead them. In the first game, after Devan Downey of Cincinnati stole the inbounds pass with ten seconds left and was fouled, he made one of two to put the Bearcats up two points. However, with just a half second left, McNamara made a running one-handed three-pointer to secure the victory, 74–73.


2006 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament, Syracuse's Run
After jumping out to a big lead against Connecticut in the second game, Uconn battled back for much of the game until they finally took their first lead of the game with 30 seconds to play. Incredibly, McNamara was the hero for Syracuse again, hitting a 30-foot three-pointer with 5 seconds left to send the game into overtime. The Orange went on to win 86–84, holding off the Huskies on a last-second effort. McNamara finished with thirteen assists, ten in the first half alone.


2006 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament, Syracuse's Run
They faced Georgetown in the semifinals in their attempt to become the first team to win the Big East Tournament as one of the teams forced to play on the first day, requiring four wins in a row. The Hoyas went up early, holding a fifteen-point lead at the half. McNamara sat out for ten minutes because of a nagging groin injury. Surprising everyone, McNamara came out in the second half and drained five three-pointers, including one with 45 seconds left and the Orange down four.


2006 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament, Syracuse's Run
Demetris Nichols knocked away the inbounds pass for Georgetown, allowing McNamara to take possession and rush down the floor with time running out. He passed to an open Eric Devendorf who laid the winning shot in with 1.5 seconds to go. The Orange had advanced to the finals, beating Georgetown, 58–57.


2006 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament, Syracuse's Run
After improbably winning three straight games either in overtime or by one point, they got a slightly easier win in the finals against Pittsburgh, winning 65–61. The Orange led most of the game, but midway through the second half, the Panthers had taken the lead. McNamara quickly made a three-point shot after that and Josh Wright made four clutch free throws in the final minute to secure the historic championship. Syracuse had finished just 7–9 in the Big East that year, and would have likely been left out of the NCAA tournament had they not pulled off at least two of the four wins. They would go on to lose to Texas A&M in the first round of the tournament.


2006 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament, Bracket
Note: By finishing below twelfth place during the regular season, DePaul, Providence, St. John's, and South Florida did not qualify for the tournament.


2006 Big League World Series
The 2006 Big League World Series took place from July 29-August 5 in Easley, South Carolina, United States. Thousand Oaks,  California defeated San Juan,  Puerto Rico in the championship game.


2006 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2006 Big Sky Men's Basketball Tournament was held March 4–8, with the final two rounds at the Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff, Arizona, home of regular season champion Northern Arizona.


2006 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
Second-seeded Montana defeated host Northern Arizona in the championship game, 73–60, to win their sixth Big Sky tournament title.


2006 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
Conference membership remained at eight. Similar to the previous year, the top six teams in the regular season conference standings participated in the tournament. The top two earned byes into the semifinals while the remaining four played in the quarterfinals, which were played on Saturday at the home court of the higher seed. The lowest remaining seed met the top seed in the semifinals on Tuesday.


2006 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, NCAA tournament
Montana earned the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, and no other Big Sky members were invited. Seeded twelfth in the Minneapolis regional (Midwest), the Grizzlies upset Nevada in the first round at Salt Lake City. They were stopped in the next round by Boston College.


2006 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, NCAA tournament
The Big Sky has had a berth in the NCAA tournament since 1968, and Montana was the conference's ninth and most recent team to advance.


2006 Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, NCAA tournament
Northern Arizona was invited to the 40-team NIT, but lost in the first round to Delaware State.


2006 Big South Conference Baseball Tournament
The 2006 Big South Conference Baseball Tournament  was the postseason baseball tournament for the Big South Conference, held from May 24–27, 2006 at Charles Watson Stadium, home field of Coastal Carolina in Conway, South Carolina. The top six finishers participated in the double-elimination tournament. The champion, UNC Asheville, won the title for the first time, and earned an invitation to the 2006 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


2006 Big South Conference Baseball Tournament, Format
The top six finishers from the regular season qualified for the tournament. The teams were seeded one through six based on conference winning percentage and played a double-elimination tournament.


2006 Big South Conference Baseball Tournament, All-Tournament Team, Most Valuable Player
Rob Vernon was named Tournament Most Valuable Player. Vernon was an outfielder for UNC Asheville.


2006 Big South Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2006 Big South Conference Men's Basketball Tournament took place on February 28, March 2, 4, 2011 at campus sites. The tournament was won by the Winthrop Eagles, as they defeated Liberty in the quarterfinals 93–52, High Point 77–65 in the semifinal round, and finally Coastal Carolina 51–50 in the championship game.


2006 Big South Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
The top eight eligible teams can qualify for the Big South Tournament. The seeds are judged by conference winning percentage. The winner receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Winthrop got the bid to the NCAA Tournament, and fell in the first round as the #15 seed to #2 seed Tennessee, 63–61.


2006 Big Ten Baseball Tournament
The 2006 Big Ten Conference Baseball Tournament was held at Ray Fisher Stadium on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan from May 15 through 19. The top six teams from the regular season participated in the double-elimination tournament, the twenty fifth annual tournament sponsored by the Big Ten Conference to determine the league champion. Michigan won their seventh tournament championship and earned the Big Ten Conference's automatic bid to the 2006 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


2006 Big Ten Baseball Tournament, Format and seeding
The 2006 tournament was a 6-team double-elimination tournament, with seeds determined by conference regular season winning percentage only. Illinois earned the fifth seed over Purdue by tiebreaker. As in the previous four years, the top two seeds received a single bye, with the four lower seeds playing opening round games. The top seed played the lowest seeded winner from the opening round, with the second seed playing the higher seed. Teams that lost in the opening round played an elimination game.


2006 Big Ten Baseball Tournament, All-Tournament Team, Most Outstanding Player
Adam Abraham was named Most Outstanding Player. Abraham was a pitcher for Michigan.


2006 Big Ten Conference football season
The 2006 Big Ten Conference football season was the 111th season for the Big Ten Conference. The season began on Thursday, August 31, 2012 when Northwestern played Miami (Ohio) and Minnesota played Kent State. The season concluded on January 8, 2007 when Big Ten champion Ohio State lost in the BCS National Championship Game to the Florida Gators.


2006 Big Ten Conference football season, Preseason
Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez was also the head coach of the team the previous season in 2005. After 15 years of coaching he decided to step down as head coach of the football team and chose Bret Bielema to succeed him.


2006 Big Ten Conference football season, Preseason
In June 2006 Northwestern head coach Randy Walker unexpectedly died when he suffered an apparent heart attack. Northwestern alum and linebacker coach at the time Pat Fitzgerald was named his successor. The hiring made Fitzgerald the youngest Division I-A at the time of the hiring.


2006 Big Ten Conference football season, Preseason
Following a disappointing season in which his team went 7-5 Lloyd Carr promoted defensive backs coach Ron English to defensive coordinator.


2006 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2006 Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was played between March 9 and March 12, 2006 at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was the ninth annual Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament. For the third straight year, the top two seed met in the championship game. The championship was won by Iowa Hawkeyes who defeated Ohio State to win the championship. As a result, Iowa received the Big Ten's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. This marked Iowa's second tournament championship in three appearances.


2006 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament, Seeds
All Big Ten schools played in the tournament. Teams were seeded by conference record, with a tiebreaker system used to seed teams with identical conference records. Seeding for the tournament was determined at the close of the regular conference season. The top five teams received a first round bye.


2006 Big Ten Softball Tournament
The 2006 Big Ten Conference Softball tournament was held at Sharon J. Drysdale Field on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois from May 12 through May 13, 2006. As the tournament winner, Michigan earned the Big Ten Conference's automatic bid to the 2006 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament.


2006 Big Ten Softball Tournament, Format and seeding
The 2006 tournament was an eight team single-elimination tournament. The top eight teams based on conference regular season winning percentage earned invites to the tournament.


2006 Big West Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2006 Big West Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was held March 8–11 at Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.


2006 Big West Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
Pacific defeated Long Beach State in the championship game, 78–70, to obtain the fourth Big West Conference Men's Basketball Tournament championship in school history.


2006 Big West Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The Tigers earned the conference's automatic bid to the 2006 NCAA Tournament as the #14 seed in the Minneapolis region.


2006 Big West Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
Eight of the nine teams in the conference participated, with  not qualifying. Teams were seeded based on regular season conference records. The top four seeds received byes, with the top two seeds receiving a second bye into the semifinal round.


2006 Billboard Music Awards
The 2006 Billboard Music Awards were held December 4, 2006 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The awards recognized the most popular artists and albums from 2006.


2006 Birgunj unrest
The 2006 Birganj unrest were several incidents of unrest perpetrated by Hindu groups in the Nepalese city of Birgunj on 22 May 2006 following the announcement by the Parliament of Nepal on 18 May that the country will become a secular state. The declaration lead to widespread unrest by Hindu fundamentalist groups across Nepal - the town of Birgunj was forced to close for two days.


2006 Birgunj unrest, The unrest
Hindu organizations in Nepal viewed the declaration of secular Nepal as "defamatory" and "dangerous" and told that it could provoke a "religious crusade" in the country.


2006 Birgunj unrest, The unrest
The town of Birgunj lies on the border with India and according to local journalists the people involved in the unrest in the town had the character of the Hindu nationalist rallies that take place in India. The town was closed down by an alliance of Hindu groups - with thousands taking to the streets.


2006 Birthday Honours
The Birthday Honours 2006 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 17 June 2006, to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2006.


2006 Birthday Honours
The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged firstly by the country whose ministers advised the Queen on the appointments, then by honour, with classes (Knight, Knight Grand Cross, etc.) and then divisions (Military, Civil, etc.) as appropriate.


2006 Birthday Honours (New Zealand)
The 2006 Queen's Birthday Honours in New Zealand, celebrating the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, were appointments made by the Queen in her right as Queen of New Zealand, on the advice of the New Zealand government, to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders. They were announced on 5 June 2006.


2006 Birthday Honours (New Zealand)
The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour.


2006 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes
The 2006 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes was the 82nd running of the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes. The race took place in Baltimore, Maryland on May 19, 2006, and was televised in the United States on the Bravo TV network owned by NBC. Ridden by jockey Ramon Dominguez, Regal Engagement, lost the race by two lengths to runner-up Smart N Pretty after being interfered with. Smart N Pretty was taken down and the race was awarded to Regal Engagement.


2006 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes
Approximate post time on the evening before the Preakness Stakes was 5:14 p.m. Eastern Time and the race was run for a purse of $250,000. The race was run over a fast track in a final time of 1:50.11. The Maryland Jockey Club reported total attendance of 24,554. The attendance at Pimlico Race Course that day was a record crowd for Black-Eyed Susan Stakes Day.


2006 Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council election
Elections to Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council were held in 2006 on 4 May - the same day as other local elections in the UK.


2006 Blaenau Gwent by-elections
Two by-elections were held for the constituency of Blaenau Gwent in Wales following the death of Member of Parliament and Assembly Member Peter Law on 25 April 2006. As Law was the MP and Assembly Member (AM), his death required by-elections in both the parliamentary seat and the equivalent Welsh Assembly constituency. The two elections polled on the same day, 29 June, as a by-election in Bromley and Chislehurst. A win by the Labour Party in the AM by-election would have restored their majority in the Welsh Assembly, which was lost when Law was expelled from the party.


2006 Blaenau Gwent by-elections
Law's successors won both seats: the independent Dai Davies, Law's former election agent, won the Westminster seat with a majority of about two and a half thousand. He was the first independent to hold a seat previously occupied by an independent since Sir Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend held The Wrekin in 1920. Meanwhile, Law's widow, Trish Law, was elected to her husband's former seat in the Welsh Assembly.


2006 Blaenau Gwent by-elections, Westminster by-election
The writ for the UK Parliament by-election was moved on 6 June so that it would be held on the same date as the Assembly by-election, (29 June 2006). Labour whips had reportedly pressed for the election to be held on 25 May. The movement of the writ was more complicated because Law sat as an Independent, and therefore the convention that the party of the former member moves the writ cannot apply. According to the precedent (when Dennis Canavan resigned his Parliamentary seat at Westminster as an Independent), the whip of the governing party moves the writ.


2006 Blaenau Gwent by-elections, Westminster by-election, Candidates
Maggie Jones, the Labour candidate who had been defeated by Law at the 2005 general election, was not able to stand, because she had been elevated to the House of Lords. There had been speculation about an independent candidate running with the backing of the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru, but all three parties decided to contest the election.


2006 Blaenau Gwent by-elections, Westminster by-election, Candidates
It had been reported that prior to Law's death that the Labour Party had decided against selecting their candidate for the next general election with an all-women shortlist. It was the use of such a shortlist for the 2005 general election that led to Law standing as an independent. Labour instead left the selection to the local party. The Labour candidate, Owen Smith, was chosen on 8 May. He was a former special adviser and BBC producer who worked for a pharmaceutical company. After losing this by-election, Smith went on to become MP for Pontypridd at the 2010 general election, and in 2016 launched an unsuccessful campaign to lead the Labour party, remaining in Parliament until the 2019 general election.


2006 Blaenau Gwent by-elections, Westminster by-election, Candidates
The Liberal Democrat candidate was Amy Kitcher. The Conservatives stood Margrit Williams, who worked for Sir Malcolm Rifkind. Dai Davies, Peter Law's former agent, stood as an independent with the support of the Blaenau Gwent People's Voice Group.


2006 Blaenau Gwent by-elections, Westminster by-election, Candidates
Despite contesting both the previous Assembly and Parliamentary elections, the United Kingdom Independence Party decided not to stand a candidate, instead calling for a vote for the Blaenau Gwent People's Voice Group - even though the Group does not support withdrawal from the European Union, nor the abolition of the Welsh Assembly, key UKIP policies.


2006 Blaenau Gwent by-elections, Westminster by-election, Candidates
The Conservative fifth place was their worst position in a UK mainland by-election since at least 1945.


2006 Blaenau Gwent by-elections, Welsh Assembly by-election
The Assembly by-election had to be held within twelve weeks of the vacancy arising. It was announced on 11 May 2006 that the Assembly by-election would be held on 29 June 2006.


2006 Blaenau Gwent by-elections, Welsh Assembly by-election, Candidates
Labour chose John Hopkins, who had already been selected as their 2007 Assembly election candidate, to contest the seat. John Price stood for Plaid Cymru. The Liberal Democrats fielded Steve Bard, a councillor in Abertillery. The Conservative candidate was Jonathan Burns, a Cardiff councillor. Peter Law's widow, Trish Law, stood as an independent backed by the Blaenau Gwent People's Voice Group.


2006 Blaenau Gwent by-elections, Welsh Assembly by-election, Candidates
The Green Party fought the Assembly election but did not stand at Westminster.


2006 Blaenau Gwent by-elections, Electorate and campaign timetables
The electorate for the constituency was 52,900 as quoted by the Returning Officer's Department of Blaenau Gwent Borough Council on 14 May 2006 (-0.75% on the Westminster election and -0.05% on the Assembly election). The close of nominations for the Assembly constituency was on 2 June and for the Westminster seat 14 June.


2006 Blaenau Gwent by-elections, Campaigns
On 27 April 2006, BBC News published allegations by Peter Law's widow that Law had believed he would be in line for a peerage should he decide not to stand in the 2005 general election. The Labour Party denied that a peerage was offered.


2006 Blaenau Gwent by-elections, Campaigns
Welsh Secretary Peter Hain attempted to build bridges with Law's supporters by apologising for imposing an all-women shortlist and suggesting that those expelled from the Labour Party might be able to rejoin. This apology was rejected by Dai Davies, Peter Law's agent and putative successor, as coming too late and being a cynical ploy to try to win the by-elections.


2006 Blaenau Gwent by-elections, Opinion polls
An opinion poll was conducted by GfK NOP between 24 May and 28 May, which asked 1,000 voters in the constituency how they would vote. The results were:


2006 Blaenau Gwent by-elections, 2005 UK Parliament result
The 2005 general election result was a gain for Peter Law as an independent candidate.


2006 Blaenau Gwent by-elections, 2003 Welsh Assembly constituency result
In 2003, Peter Law was re-elected as the Labour Assembly member for the Blaenau Gwent constituency. By announcing that he would stand as an Independent for the parliamentary constituency he expelled himself from the Labour Party (and the Labour Assembly grouping).


2006 Boise State Broncos football team
The 2006 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Broncos won the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) championship with an undefeated 12–0 regular-season record (8–0 in the WAC), their second unbeaten regular season in the past three years. This was also Boise State's fifth consecutive season with at least a share of the WAC title, and the fourth in that period in which they went unbeaten in conference play. They became only the second team from outside the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) to play in a BCS bowl game when they faced Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, defeating the Sooners in a dramatic thriller.


2006 Boise State Broncos football team
The Broncos completed the first undefeated and untied season in school history with a 43–42 overtime win over the Sooners. The Broncos led most of the game, but fell behind late in the fourth quarter when quarterback Jared Zabransky threw an interception that was returned for an Oklahoma touchdown. They tied the game on a 50-yard hook and lateral play that ended in a touchdown with 7 seconds left. In the overtime, Sooners star running back Adrian Peterson scored a touchdown on the first play of Oklahoma's possession.


2006 Boise State Broncos football team
Zabransky led the Broncos on a touchdown drive, capped off by a trick play in which backup receiver Vinny Peretta connected with tight end Derek Schouman on a fourth-down pass. They then gambled for the win on a two-point conversion, and tried another trick play. The Broncos ran a play very similar to the Statue of Liberty play, with Zabransky looking toward three receivers before handing the ball off behind his back to star running back Ian Johnson, who ran into the end zone untouched for the win. (The play would later be named the 2nd greatest highlight of all time in a 2008 ESPN Sportscenter poll behind Mike Eruzione's goal against the Soviets in the 1980 Miracle on Ice)


2006 Boise State Broncos football team
Due to Florida's 41–14 thrashing of previously unbeaten Ohio State in the BCS National Championship Game, the Broncos ended the season as the only undefeated team in NCAA Division I football, as no other team in Division I-AA (officially known as the "Football Championship Subdivision") finished undefeated (Three teams in lower divisions finished unbeaten: Grand Valley State in Division II, Mount Union in Division III, and Sioux Falls in NAIA.)


2006 Boise State Broncos football team
The Broncos play their home games at Bronco Stadium, most famous for its blue artificial turf surface, often referred to as the "Smurf-turf."


2006 Boise State Broncos football team, Previous season
Boise State finished the 2005 regular season with a 9–3 record. The Broncos' 7–1 conference record was good enough for a share of the title with Nevada. They ended their season with a 21-27 loss to Boston College in the MPC Computers Bowl on their home field in Boise to finish the season at 9–4. After the season, head coach Dan Hawkins left to take over the head coaching vacancy at Colorado, with offensive coordinator Chris Petersen taking his place.


2006 Boise State Broncos football team, Pre-season
The 2006 Broncos were an overwhelming favorite in the league's Preseason Media Poll to win the WAC title. They returned more starters than any other team in Division I FBS football—nine on offense and nine on defense, as well as their placekicker and punter. Among the returning starters was quarterback Jared Zabransky, whose 20 wins in the previous two seasons was the most by any returning quarterback in Division I FBS.


2006 Boise State Broncos football team, During the season
The Broncos started the season unranked in both the Coaches Poll or the AP Poll, and would not enter the polls until they had won their first three games. They steadily rose in the rankings mainly on the strength of an offense that finished the regular season second in scoring. The keys to their offense were running back Ian Johnson, who was the nation's leading scorer and second in rushing yards per game, and Zabransky, eighth in passing efficiency.


2006 Boise State Broncos football team, During the season
Due to their threats on both the ground and in the air, they were one of only two teams in the country to rush and pass for over 200 yards per game (the other being Oklahoma State). In a more obscure statistic, they led the country in percentage of fourth-down conversions, converting 15 of 19 attempts.


2006 Boise State Broncos football team, During the season
The Broncos played five bowl-bound teams during the season—Oregon State, their only opponent from one of the six BCS conferences; Utah; and conference rivals Hawaii, San Jose State, and Nevada. Four out of five of these teams won their bowl game. The only loser, Nevada, lost by one point. Notably, they put a 42-14 defeat on an Oregon State team that would later in the season end the 38-game regular-season winning streak of USC.


2006 Bolivian Constitutional Assembly election
Constitutional Assembly elections were held in Bolivia on 2 July 2006, alongside a referendum on increased regional autonomy. The ruling Movement for Socialism won 137 of the 255 seats.


2006 Bolivian regional autonomy referendum
A referendum on granting greater autonomy to the departments of Bolivia was held on 2 July 2006, alongside elections for a Constitutional Assembly. Whilst it was approved in four of the nine departments, the proposal was rejected by 58% of voters nationally.


2006 Bolivian regional autonomy referendum, Results
Do you agree, within the framework of national unity, with giving the Constituent Assembly the binding mandate to establish a regime of departmental autonomy, applicable immediately after the promulgation of the new Political Constitution of the State in the Departments where this Referendum has a majority, so that their authorities are chosen directly by the citizens and receive from the National Government executive authority, administrative power and financial resources that the Political Constitution of the State and the Laws grant them?


2006 Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council election
Elections to Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council were held on 4 May 2006. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control, with the Labour Party overtaking the Liberal Democrats as the largest party and resuming control of the council after a two-year break.


2006 Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council election
20 seats were contested, with the Labour Party winning 10 seats, the Conservatives 7 and the Liberal Democrats 3Overall turnout was 34.3%.


2006 Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council election, Council Composition
Prior to the election the composition of the council was:


2006 Bonnaroo Music Festival
The 2006 festival ran from June 15–18. The headliners for the 2006 festival included Radiohead, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Beck, and Phil Lesh and Friends. The Preservation Hall Jazz Band was featured in their own tent for three days and nights. 80,000 tickets, sold out. Radiohead's Ed O'Brien has described the band's headlining set as one of their best performances.


2006 Bonnaroo Music Festival, Superjam
Trey Anastasio (guitar), Mike Gordon (guitar), Phil Lesh (bass), Marco Benevento (organ, keyboards), Joe Russo (drums)


2006 Borujerd earthquake
The 2006 Borujerd earthquake occurred in the early morning of 31 March in the South of Borujerd with destruction in Borujerd, Silakhor and Dorood areas of the Loristan Province in western Iran. The centre of the earthquake was in Darb-e Astaneh village south of the Borujerd City. The earthquake measured 6.1 on the moment magnitude scale.


2006 Borujerd earthquake, Earthquake
This powerful earthquake shook the entire land of Loristan Province and most areas of Hamedan Province, Markazi Province and destroyed many villages in Khorramabad, Alashtar and Arak County as well. More than 180 aftershocks followed the main earthquake in April, May and June and people had to stay outside for several weeks.


2006 Borujerd earthquake, Earthquake
A lighter foreshock happened the night before, and people stayed outside overnight and this reduced the number of casualties significantly. However, the mainshock at 4:47 am on 31 March shook Borujerd, Dorud and other towns and villages on Silakhor Plain for more than 55 seconds.


2006 Borujerd earthquake, Earthquake, Damage
More than 40 major historical monuments of Borujerd were destroyed by the earthquake and 30% of the historical downtown of the city (2.7 kmª) was ruined or damaged thoroughly. Other monuments damaged by the earthquake include:


2006 Borujerd earthquake, Earthquake, Response
Apart from UN agencies e.g. UNESCO and UNICEF, there are other international agencies functioning in the field, including MSF, Caritas Italy, Operation Mercy, ACH Spain and ACT Netherlands.


2006 Bosnian general election
General elections were held in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 1 October 2006. They decided the makeup of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Presidency as well as Federal, entity, and cantonal governments. Voter turnout was 53%.


2006 Bosnian general election
The elections for the House of Representatives were divided into two; one for the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and one for Republika Srpska. In the presidential election, each of the three national communities elected a Presidency member. Bosniaks elected Haris Silajdžić, Croats elected Željko Komšić and Serbs elected Nebojša Radmanović. The Party of Democratic Action emerged as the largest party in the House of Representatives, winning 9 of the 42 seats.


2006 Bosnian general election, Background
Analysts claimed that the 2006 election would be the most important since Bosnia's independence from Yugoslavia, and the subsequent Bosnian War. With the previous government failing to agree reforms to the constitution, and Bosnian Muslim politicians continuing to threaten the abolition of the Republika Srpska and officials in Republika Srpska continuing to speak of possible secession from the country in response, the election was seen as crucial in determining the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The results were tentatively welcomed by commentators, and described as bringing "small signs of change to a Bosnia where institutional fragmentation has cemented ethnic division", with the result suggesting "a certain retreat of nationalism among the Muslim and Croat communities".


2006 Bosnian general election, Controversy
A controversy has emerged over the election of the Croatian member of Presidency. Although Željko Komšić, an ethnic Croat and member of the SDP, he was alleged by his political opponents to have received votes mainly from Bosniaks. He has been accused by his opponents that he was not the choice of Croats, but rather Bosniaks, citing that he did not win majority for Croatian representative in any of the counties/cantons with Croat majority. This is the result of the fact that in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, both Bosniak and Croat presidency members are on one ballot, letting the voter choose to vote in either category regardless of their own ethnicity.


2006 Bosnian general election, Results, Presidency
One Presidency member was elected from each of the country's three constitutional peoples: Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs.


2006 Bosnian general election, Results, House of Representatives
According to the constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the representatives from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina are allocated 28 seats, while the representatives from Republika Srpska have 14 seats. There are 42 seats in total.


2006 Bosnian general election, Results, House of Peoples
The 15 members of the House of Peoples were elected in the entities' Parliaments - 10 members by the House of Representatives of the Federal Parliament (5 Bosniaks and 5 Croats); and 5 members by the National Assembly of Republika Srpska.


2006 Bosnian general election, Entity Parliaments
On the entity level, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska elected new governments.


2006 Bosnian general election, Entity Parliaments, Republika Srpska
In the Republika Srpska, the government is made up of:


2006 Bosnian general election, Canton Parliaments
All 289 mandates in the assemblies of the Cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina were up for election; the same parties elected into the Federal Parliament were elected onto cantonal assemblies (skupština kantona/скупштина кантона in Bosnian and Serbian, sabor županije in Croatian).


2006 Boston College Eagles football team
The 2006 Boston College Eagles football team represented Boston College during the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Boston College competed as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Eagles played their home games at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, which has been their home stadium since 1957.


2006 Boston Marathon
The 2006 Boston Marathon was the 110th running of the annual marathon race in Boston, United States and was held on April 17. The elite men's race was won by Kenya's Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot in a time of 2:07:14 hours and the women's race was won in 2:23:38 by Rita Jeptoo, also of Kenya.


2006 Boston Red Sox season
The 2006 Boston Red Sox season was the 106th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished third in the American League East with a record of 86 wins and 76 losses, 11 games behind the New York Yankees.


2006 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, Season summary
The Boston Red Sox finished 11 games behind the first place team in the American League East, the New York Yankees. While part of the blame for the Red Sox demise could be the 5-game sweep at the hands of the New York Yankees from August 18 – 21, the team had a poor record the entire month of August (going just 9-21) and September (13-14). Also, they suffered extensive injuries to Jason Varitek, Manny Ramirez, Jonathan Papelbon, Jon Lester, and Keith Foulke.


2006 Boston Red Sox season, Player stats, Batting
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At Bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In; BB = Bases on Balls; SO = Strikeouts; SB = Stolen Bases


2006 Boston Red Sox season, Farm system
The Class A Greenville Drive had previously been nicknamed the Bombers.


2006 Boudouaou bombing
The 2006 Boudouaou bombing occurred on August 8, 2006 when an explosive bomb detonated against a patrol of the Algerian police in the town of Boudouaou, Boumerdès Province, Algeria injuring 3. The Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb is suspected as being responsible.


2006 Bowling Green Falcons football team
The 2006 Bowling Green Falcons football team represented Bowling Green State University in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Gregg Brandon and played their home games in Doyt Perry Stadium in Bowling Green, Ohio. It was the 88th season of play for the Falcons.


2006 Boxing World Cup
The 2006 Boxing World Cup was held in Baku, Azerbaijan from October 15 to October 22.


2006 Brabantse Pijl
The 2006 Brabantse Pijl was the 46th edition of the Brabantse Pijl cycle race and was held on 26 March 2006. The race started in Zaventem and finished in Alsemberg. The race was won by Óscar Freire.


2006 Bradford Bulls season
This article details the Bradford Bulls rugby league football club's 2006 season, the 11th season of the Super League era.


2006 Bradford Bulls season, Table
Source: . Classification: 1st on competition points; 2nd on match points difference. Competition points: for win = 2; for draw = 1; for loss = 0.


2006 Brampton municipal election
The Brampton municipal election, 2006 took place on 13 November 2006, to elect a mayor, five regional councillors and five city councillors in the city of Brampton, Ontario, Canada. It was held in conjunction with all other municipalities in Ontario. See 2006 Ontario municipal elections.


2006 Brampton municipal election
It was referred to as CityVote 2006 by the City's website.


2006 Brampton municipal election
The nomination period ended on Friday 29 September 2006; thirty candidates registered in the two weeks prior. Six candidates withdrew after this point, before the cut-off of 5 pm Monday. There was a total of 96 candidates running for political office.


2006 Brampton municipal election
Over the various days of voting, 68,186 Brampton residents cast ballots; there were 226,869 registered voters in the city at the time. This means there was a 30.8% turn-out.


2006 Brampton municipal election, Candidates, Wards 1, 5, Regional council
Long-time incumbent Elaine Moore had three people interested in replacing her as Regional Councillor; she won her re-election with a strong majority.


2006 Brampton municipal election, Candidates, Wards 1, 5, City council
Incumbent Grant Gibson had six candidates challenging his re-election; he was re-elected by over half of participating voters. Gibson had held the seat for more than a decade, as of the election day.


2006 Brampton municipal election, Candidates, Wards 1, 5, City council
Among his challengers was Stephanie Beaumier, daughter of Brampton West MP Colleen Beaumier. As he dropped out of the campaign after nomination lists were finalised, Malcolm Jones' name still appeared on the ballots. Despite no longer officially running, he took fourth place, out of seven.


2006 Brampton municipal election, Candidates, Wards 2, 6, Regional council
One of the longest sitting incumbents, Paul Palleschi had five people attempting to take him out of office. Palleschi received roughly 45% of the vote.


2006 Brampton municipal election, Candidates, Wards 2, 6, City council
Incumbent John Hutton had ten candidates challenging his re-election, the most of any riding. Due to the berth of competition, he was only re-elected with 27% support. Among the challengers was Doug Whillans, son of Ken Whillans, a former Brampton mayor. As of election day, Hutton had held the seat for 21 years.


2006 Brampton municipal election, Candidates, Wards 3, 4, Regional council
Businessman and 2005 Brampton Citizen of the Year John Sanderson beat incumbent Susan DiMarco. One of four challengers, Sanderson had previous run and lost for the same ward in 2003. With a mere 292 votes dividing them, the race between Sanderson and DiMarco was the last to be declared in all of Peel.


2006 Brampton municipal election, Candidates, Wards 3, 4, City council
Incumbent Bob Callahan easily won this race. Once an MPP, Callahan won over his nearest competitor by 33.36%.


2006 Brampton municipal election, Candidates, Wards 3, 4, City council
Babra's second-place finish was unexpected, as while he participated in a Brampton Guardian interview, he did not reply to The Toronto Star or The Brampton News/Wikinews. His email address was inactive throughout the duration of his campaign.


2006 Brampton municipal election, Candidates, Wards 7, 8, Regional council
Long-time incumbent Gael Miles easily won the election for regional councillor (Wards 7 and 8), against political newcomer John Villella.


2006 Brampton municipal election, Candidates, Wards 7, 8, City council
Incumbent Sandra Hames won with little trouble, garnering also three out of every four votes.


2006 Brampton municipal election, Candidates, Wards 9, 10, Regional council
Incumbent John Sprovieri had six candidates challenging his re-election, which he won with 44.91% support. Among the challengers is Derek Begley, son of retired regional councillor Rhoda Begley. Johal is known in the ward as a star candidate.


2006 Brampton municipal election, Candidates, Wards 9, 10, City council
Garnett Manning had five people contesting his seat, which he eventually lost to Vicky Dhillon. Manning had beat Dhillon by a slim amount in the 2003 election. At time of election, Dhillon was the Brampton—Springdale riding association president for the Liberal Party of Canada (Ontario); it is unknown if he will retain this position. Among the other candidates was Daljit Gill, a one-term Peel District School Board trustee.


2006 Brampton municipal election, Peel District School Board
The Peel District School Board runs a  about its trustees and their roles.


2006 Brampton municipal election, Peel District School Board, Wards 2, 9, 10
There is no incumbent in these wards, as one-term trustee Daljit Gill is running for city council.


2006 Brampton municipal election, Peel District School Board, Wards 7, 8
Beryl Ford is the only person elected by acclamation to any political seat in Brampton; this is her eighth term as a trustee.


2006 Brampton municipal election, Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, Wards 2, 5, 6
Debates in this ward received extremely small audiences. Eleven, then six people showed up to two separate evenings.


2006 Brands Hatch Superbike World Championship round
The 2006 Brands Hatch Superbike World Championship round was the eighth round of the 2006 Superbike World Championship season. It took place on the weekend of 4–6 August 2006 at the Brands Hatch circuit.


2006 Brantford municipal election
The 2006 Brantford municipal election was held on November 13, 2006, to elect a mayor, councillors, and school trustees in the city of Brantford, Ontario.


2006 Brasil Open
The 2006 Brasil Open was an ATP Tour men's tennis tournament held in Costa do Sauipe resort, Mata de São João, Brazil and played on outdoor clay courts. It was the sixth edition of the tournament and was held from 20 to 27 February 2006. Nicolás Massú won the singles title.


2006 Brasil Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following player received entry due to a protected ranking:


2006 Brasil Open, Champions, Doubles
Lukáš Dlouhý /  Pavel Vízner defeated  Mariusz Fyrstenberg /  Marcin Matkowski 6–1, 4–6, [10–3]


2006 Brasil Open – Doubles
František Čermák and Leoš Friedl were the defending champions, but lost in the quarterfinals to Gustavo Kuerten and André Sá.


2006 Brasil Open – Doubles
Lukáš Dlouhý and Pavel Vízner won in the final 6–1, 4–6, [10–3], against Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski.


2006 Brasil Open – Singles
Rafael Nadal was the defending champion, but chose not to participate that year.


2006 Brasil Open – Singles
Nicolás Massú won in the final 6–3, 6–4, against Alberto Martín.


2006 Brazilian Grand Prix
The 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 Grande Prêmio do Brasil 2006) was a Formula One motor race held on 22 October 2006 at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo. It was the eighteenth and final race of the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship. The race determined the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships for the season, with Fernando Alonso and Renault winning their respective championships. The race itself attracted 154 million viewers.


2006 Brazilian Grand Prix
The 71-lap race was won by local driver Felipe Massa, driving a Ferrari, with Alonso taking second in his Renault and Jenson Button third in a Honda. Massa was the first Brazilian driver to win his home Grand Prix since Ayrton Senna in 1993. Michael Schumacher, in what was expected to be his last race, finished fourth, having started tenth and suffered a puncture which dropped him to 19th.


2006 Brazilian Grand Prix
Schumacher retired from Formula One after this race, with seven Drivers' Championships to his name, although he would return in 2010 with Mercedes. His seat at Ferrari was taken by Kimi Räikkönen, whilst Alonso moved to McLaren to partner rookie Lewis Hamilton.


2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Pre-race
Following Michael Schumacher's engine failure and Fernando Alonso's victory in the previous race in Japan, Alonso was now 10 points ahead of Schumacher in the Drivers' Championship, and would therefore clinch the championship unless Schumacher won the race and Alonso failed to score a point. Felipe Massa went into the race holding third place in the championship, one point ahead of fourth place Giancarlo Fisichella, who in turn could have his fourth place taken off him as Kimi Räikkönen was 9 points behind him. The final place in the top six of the Drivers' Championship was secure, as the current occupant, Jenson Button, was 11 points behind Räikkönen and 22 points ahead of his Honda teammate, Rubens Barrichello, with a maximum of 10 points available.


2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Pre-race
In the Constructors' Championship, Renault were leading Ferrari by nine points, meaning that Renault had to score 10 points to secure the title. McLaren were safe in third place with 105 points, 81 points behind Ferrari and 27 points ahead of fourth place Honda. Meanwhile, BMW Sauber and Toyota were still competing for fifth place, with only one point between the two, but their top 6 position was secure as seventh place Red Bull Racing were 19 points behind Toyota.


2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Pre-race
Räikkönen set the fastest time during the first practice session with 1:13.764. Anthony Davidson managed to take second in his Honda, but none of the Renaults or Ferraris set a competitive time, with Renault opting just to do one installation lap apiece. Alexander Wurz and Sebastian Vettel completed the top four.


2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Pre-race
Before the race began, Michael Schumacher was given a lifetime achievement award by footballer Pelé.


2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Race, Start
At the start Felipe Massa retained his lead going into the first bend, ahead of Kimi Räikkönen and Jarno Trulli. Championship elect Fernando Alonso kept his fourth position despite a challenge around the outside of the first corner by Rubens Barrichello's Honda. Michael Schumacher had a decent start from his 10th position on the grid and was on the inside of the two BMW Saubers going into the first corner, but had to back off to avoid a collision.


2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Race, Start
His apparently much quicker Ferrari allowed him to pass both BMWs three corners later as they were slowed by Robert Kubica overtaking teammate Nick Heidfeld on the back straight. A little further behind, the two Williams-Cosworths collided as Nico Rosberg hit the back of Mark Webber's car going into turn 4. Both cars were severely damaged with Webber retiring at the end of the lap with a missing rear wing.


2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Race, Start
Rosberg in turn had another high-speed crash on the uphill main straight: he lost grip and spun  heavily into the wall, due to the damage sustained in the earlier contact with his teammate. Rosberg was unhurt but the scattered debris on the track led to the safety car being deployed to allow for the track to be cleaned. Before the safety car came out, Barrichello's Honda was overtaken on the outside into turn 1 by Giancarlo Fisichella.


2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Race, Safety car and restart
As the safety car picked up the field at the end of lap 2, Massa led Räikkönen, Trulli and Alonso with Fisichella and Michael Schumacher moving up to 5th and 6th respectively. Barrichello, Ralf Schumacher, Kubica and Button completed the top ten, Button having taken advantage of the two Williams retiring and having passed Heidfeld and Pedro de la Rosa.


2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Race, Safety car and restart
The restart took place on lap six and saw Button move past Kubica on the inside as the two crossed the line only 0.038secs apart. Michael Schumacher was also soon to attack Fisichella's Renault, forcing the Italian to protect the inside line in turns 4 and 5. On the next lap Button went past Ralf Schumacher up to 8th while Massa was pulling away comfortably from his pursuers at the front. His teammate Schumacher tried to move past Fisichella around the outside on the main straight.


2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Race, Safety car and restart
But Fisichella put up a fight, staying on the inside on the entry into the 1st corner. Schumacher aggressively cut across to the inside into the first corner, trying to force Fisichella to back off. Fisichella tried to avoid contact by moving onto the kerb, but his front wing appeared to make very light contact with the Ferrari's left rear tyre. Indeed, Schumacher's car began to slide violently in the next corner as his tyre deflated forcing the German to drive the entire lap at significantly reduced speed, and to see the entire field move past him in the process. The Ferrari team took eleven seconds to change all four tyres - taking the opportunity to add fuel as well. When Schumacher rejoined, he was only a few seconds in front of his teammate Massa thus being almost a lap down on the race leader.


2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Race, Safety car and restart
The two Ferraris proceeded to post the quickest lap times with Massa comfortably increasing his gap to Räikkönen in second, while the Toyotas hit trouble with first Ralf Schumacher and then Jarno Trulli retiring in the pits on lap 10. This meant that the order on lap 11 was: 1st Massa, 2nd Räikkönen, 3rd Alonso, 4th Fisichella, 5th Barrichello, 6th Button, 7th Kubica, 8th de la Rosa, 9th Heidfeld, 10th Scott Speed, 11th Vitantonio Liuzzi, 12th David Coulthard, 13th Takuma Sato, 14th Christijan Albers, 15th Sakon Yamamoto, 16th Robert Doornbos, 17th Tiago Monteiro and 18th and last Michael Schumacher's Ferrari.


2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Race, Safety car and restart
The race now settled into a steady pattern with the Ferraris still quickest and Alonso closing to within two seconds of Räikkönen's McLaren. Coulthard retired his Red Bull-Ferrari with mechanical problems on lap 14. The first planned pitstops took place on lap 21 with Räikkönen, Fisichella and Barrichello all coming in for fuel and tires. Fisichella's stop was slightly slower than Barrichello's, which nearly resulted in a collision as the two exited the pitlane - the Renault driver only just maintaining his position.


2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Race, Safety car and restart
They reemerged on the track 7th, 8th and 9th respectively, just behind de la Rosa and Heidfeld who had hitherto been contesting 8th place with Heidfeld quicker in the corners but unable to match the McLaren's straight-line speed. Massa closed to within a couple of seconds of lapping his teammate, setting a fastest lap of 1:12.8 before pitting on lap 23 at which point he had a 15-second gap to Alonso in second. Massa was stationary for just over 8 seconds and rejoined in third behind Button who was now in second despite having started 14th.


2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Race, Safety car and restart
Button pitted on the next lap, his 7.9 second stop allowing him to rejoin in 7th comfortably ahead of Fisichella and Barrichello. Alonso made his stop on the following lap and was able to rejoin just in front of Räikkönen but still behind de la Rosa and Heidfeld. Kubica then pitted from second position on lap 26 and dropped to 9th. His teammate followed suit on lap 27 falling behind the two Toro Rosso in the process just as Button was able to slipstream Räikkönen and outbrake him into turn one. Massa now led by 17 seconds in front of de la Rosa, who would not stop until 8 laps later. Alonso, Button and Räikkönen followed with a small gap back to Fisichella and Barrichello.


2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Race, Safety car and restart
Michael Schumacher had moved up to 13th courtesy of pitstops by the Aguris and on lap 31 he moved past Doornbos and closed on Liuzzi who had just been involved in an incident with Heidfeld, whom he had steered into just as Heidfeld was overtaking the Italian into turn 1. The BMW driver's front wing suffered some damage from the contact but he was able to carry on. Liuzzi then pitted leaving Schumacher 11th and just 3 seconds behind Heidfeld. They both advanced one position on lap 33 as Scott Speed also pitted in his Toro Rosso.


2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Race, Safety car and restart
Up front, Massa was still pulling away, now 23 seconds in front of de la Rosa, Alonso, Button and Räikkönen, who were all still very close together. De la Rosa pitted on lap 35 for his one and only pitstop (10.8s) dropping to 10th. Schumacher easily passed Heidfeld for ninth on the following lap when Heidfeld was forced into the pits again on lap 38 to have the damaged front wing replaced, dropping him out of any contention for the points.


2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Race, Safety car and restart
Barrichello was first into the pits when the second and last round of regular pitstops began on lap 46. His stop lasted 8.3 seconds. Schumacher followed on lap 47 having driven 36 laps since his first unscheduled stop. He rejoined in 8th just between Barrichello and the one-stopping de la Rosa. Fisichella did his stop (7.2s) on lap 49. Button was into the pits (7.3s) on the following lap while Schumacher effortlessly passed Barrichello on the inside on the main straight.


2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Race, Safety car and restart
Räikkönen was next man to pit, rejoining in fourth - only just behind Button, who was busy lapping Yamamoto and the Spykers. Leader Massa made his stop on lap 52 and rejoined still in front of second placed Alonso, who also kept his position after he came in two laps later (6.8s).


2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Race, Safety car and restart
Schumacher was now beginning to look threatening to the second Renault of Fisichella and this was significant for the Constructors' Championship—if the Ferraris could finish 1st and 2nd and the Renaults only 3rd and 6th, the two teams would finish equal on points but with Ferrari in front on race victories. With 15 laps to go, Schumacher was under half a second behind Fisichella as they came across the line with Räikkönen only a few seconds further in front.


2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Race, Safety car and restart
The Renault seemed able to match the Ferrari's impressive straight-line speed and Schumacher was unable to overtake as easily as he had done with other cars. A thrilling battle ensued as Fisichella defended valiantly, but on lap 62 he braked too late into Turn 1 and his Renault took to the grass, allowing Schumacher to gain in position. Fisichella was only just able to rejoin in front of Barrichello.


2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Race, Safety car and restart
Schumacher then closed on 4th placed Räikkönen who had been dropping back slightly from Button and Alonso. On lap 64, Nick Heidfeld's race was over as his BMW's rear suspension failed at the end of the main straight. Waved yellow flags in Turn 1 prevented Schumacher from overtaking Räikkönen on the usual overtaking spot, but Räikkönen made a slight mistake in the hairpin turn 10 and Schumacher pulled even with the Finn in the inferior McLaren. Schumacher was on the outside for the next turn, however, and had to back off, losing some ground in the process.


2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Race, Safety car and restart
With four laps to go, Schumacher was ready to attack again, but Räikkönen defended brilliantly against superior machinery by taking the inside line for the first turn. The following lap, Schumacher was even closer, drafting behind the McLaren on the main straight. Räikkönen tried to fend off the charging Ferrari and again took to the inside, but this time Schumacher was so much quicker he managed to pull alongside, finding just enough space between the McLaren and the pit wall. The two cars went through turn one side by side, but Räikkönen finally had to give way into turn 2 as Schumacher forced him onto the dirty line of the circuit.


2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Race, Finish and post-race
Schumacher continued to chase down Alonso and Button, setting a new fastest lap (1:12.1) on the penultimate lap, but he was unable to catch them in time and Alonso made himself and Renault champions by finishing second behind the elated Felipe Massa, who became the first Brazilian winner in São Paulo since the late Ayrton Senna in 1993. Giancarlo Fisichella finished sixth to help Renault clinch their second Constructors championship.


2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Race, Finish and post-race
After finishing the race, winner Felipe Massa stopped just after the "S do Senna" to receive a Brazilian flag from a fan, this action had broken Article 154 of the FIA Sporting Regulations, stating that "After receiving the end-of-race signal all cars must proceed on the circuit directly to the post race parc fermé without stopping, without overtaking (unless clearly necessary), without receiving any object whatsoever and without any assistance (except that of the marshals if necessary)." In practice, this should have meant Massa being punished, although the rule itself was never put in place.


2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Race, Finish and post-race
At the end-of-season FIA Gala in December 2006 the promoters of the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix received the Race Promoters' Trophy for their work in publicising the event.


2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, Friday drivers
The bottom six teams in the 2005 Constructors' Championship, plus the Super Aguri team, were entitled to run a third car in free practice on Friday. These drivers did not compete in qualifying or the race.


2006 Brazilian general election
The 2006 Brazilian presidential election was held in 2006 with two rounds of balloting in conjunction with elections to the National Congress and state governorships. As no candidate in the presidential election received more than 50% of the vote in the first round on 1 October 2006, a second-round runoff was held on 29 October 2006.


2006 Brazilian general election
Elected by a wide margin in the 2002 presidential election, incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the centre-left Workers' Party (PT) ran for reelection. During his first term in office, Lula implemented a wide array of social programs, including the Fome Zero (Zero Hunger) and Bolsa Família (Family Allowance) programs. The programs were credited for a historic 27.7% drop in the poverty rate during Lula's first term in office. Nevertheless, the Mensalão scandal, a corruption scandal that implicated politicians in the PT and other parties, briefly caused a decline in Lula's popularity in the year prior to the election. As he did in 2002, Lula would choose centre-right Vice President José Alencar of the Brazilian Republican Party (PRB) as his running mate, despite rumors he would choose a Brazilian Democratic Movement (PMDB) member. During his presidential campaign Lula performed best among working-class voters.


2006 Brazilian general election
The Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), the dominant centre-right force in Brazilian politics and the PT's main rival at the national level, chose former Governor of São Paulo Geraldo Alckmin as the party's presidential nominee. Closely affiliated with the Brazilian business establishment, Alckmin was very popular as Governor of São Paulo, a stronghold of the PSDB. During his presidential campaign Alckmin pushed for tax cuts and performed best among wealthy voters while trailing in the working-class vote to Lula. To expand his coalition, Alckmin chose Senator José Jorge of Pernambuco, a member of the centre-right Liberal Front Party (PFL), as his running mate.


2006 Brazilian general election
Though Lula was expected to win in the first round with a large majority, the President unexpectedly received 48.7% to Alckmin's 41.6%, mandating the need for a second round. This was partially attributed to a late breaking scandal in 2006 known as Dossiergate which involved PT leadership, which allowed Alckmin to surge significantly in the weeks prior to the runoff. Nonetheless, Lula won in a landslide in the second round, with Alckmin garnering a lower vote percentage than he did in the first round. In 2007, Lula would take office for the second time as President of Brazil.


2006 Brazilian general election, Background
The 2006 election was held amid a clear reorganization of the political forces of the country. After three failed attempts, Workers' Party candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was eventually elected president. The financial market feared his government would be a threat to the new-found economic stability. Lula, once considered a member of the radical left wing, implemented unorthodox neoliberal policies on the economic field, resembling the Fernando Henrique Cardoso administration, but not succumbing, however, to privatization pressures. On the social field, Lula gained notice for Fome Zero, a successful measure to eradicate extreme poverty. Cardoso was mentioned as a potential candidate in 2006.


2006 Brazilian general election, Background
The Workers' Party was, thus, deemed less socialist and more social democratic. As the party moved deeper into the centre-left spectrum, allying with centrist Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, a series of complaints were made by members of its far left factions, which accused it of betraying its ideals and founding charter. Despite the discredit of the Workers' Party among traditional leftists, they strongly supported Lula as the real left wing alternative. The Brazilian Communist Party, for instance, supported Lula on the second round, unlike its presidential candidate Heloísa Helena, informing its members of the alleged regression Geraldo Alckmin would represent if elected.


2006 Brazilian general election, Background
Two former members of the Workers' Party, Cristovam Buarque and Heloísa Helena, launched their candidacies as "alternative left" candidates for the Democratic Labour Party and the Socialism and Liberty Party, respectively. They once discussed the possibility of forming a coalition themselves. Both parties were criticised by the left on the second round for not supporting Lula.


2006 Brazilian general election, Background
The campaign for void voting reached its peak on the 2006 election, with MTV Brasil (unlike its American branch, which advocates voting initiatives like Rock the Vote among younger audiences) becoming the first TV network to officially support it


2006 Brazilian general election, Workers' Party (PT) vice presidential selection
In 2002, the ability of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as Lula, to finally get elected after three previous attempts. The choice of millionaire businessman José Alencar, then a member of the Liberal Party (PL), was partially credited as a reason for his victory. Alencar was widely-known and respected as a self-made man in industrial circles and his choice signaled that Lula was not going to transform the country into a full-fledged socialist economy.


2006 Brazilian general election, Workers' Party (PT) vice presidential selection
Nevertheless, going into the 2006 presidential election, Lula considered replacing Alencar in favor of a different running mate. Indeed, one report by Folha de S.Paulo in 2006 stated that it was "incredibly unlikely" that Alencar would be chosen again. Though Lula and Alencar became close friends in office, even being described as "brothers" in spite of their political differences, there was speculation that Lula would choose a running mate from the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB). The centrist PMDB was considered to be a kingmaker in the National Congress and Lula sought to keep the powerful party in his governing bloc.


2006 Brazilian general election, Workers' Party (PT) vice presidential selection
PMBD leaders mentioned as possible running mates for Lula include: Renan Calheiros, a Senator from Alagoas considered to be a member of the pro-Lula wing of the party; Germano Rigotto, the neoliberal Governor of Rio Grande do Sul; Jarbas Vasconcelos, the Governor of Pernambuco and critic of Lula; Helio Costa, who was serving in Lula's government as Minister of Communications at the time.


2006 Brazilian general election, Electoral system
The 2006 elections were the last marked by the now extinct "verticalization rule", that forced parties to ally on the state level with the same parties for which they were allied nationwide. This rule was introduced at the 2002 general elections by the Supreme Electoral Court.


2006 Brazilian general election, Campaign
Starting from the end of 2005, the most discussed issues about the 2006 national elections involved the country's four biggest parties: PFL, PMDB, PSDB and PT.


2006 Brazilian general election, Campaign
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) ran for reelection, but he did not confirm his candidacy until June 2006. This was regarded as a cautious move in case something major happened on the political spectrum that could harm his candidacy, especially regarding the 2005 political scandal, still under investigation.


2006 Brazilian general election, Campaign
At the end of 2005, several names were regarded in the PSDB as potential candidates for the presidential elections, such as former president Fernando Henrique Cardoso, senator Tasso Jereissati, Minas Gerais governor Aécio Neves, São Paulo governor Geraldo Alckmin and São Paulo mayor José Serra. By the beginning of 2006, Alckmin and Serra were considered the only two actual potential candidates, and the other three would choose between them (or determine a way by which the choice would be made). Geraldo Alckmin was the chosen candidate, whereas Serra is running for governor of São Paulo.


2006 Brazilian general election, Campaign
The PFL was planning the candidacy of Rio de Janeiro mayor César Maia. Another possibility was to appoint the vice-president nominee for PSDB presidential candidate. Maia initially said he would agree with the latter only if the presidential candidate was José Serra, but later accepted the possibility of the party appointing a name to run with Geraldo Alckmin, which was eventually senator José Jorge.


2006 Brazilian general election, Campaign
In the PMDB there was division. Some, including party president Michel Temer, wanted the party to have a candidate of its own for the presidential race, and scheduled primaries within the party, with two prospective candidates: former Rio de Janeiro governor Anthony Garotinho and Rio Grande do Sul governor Germano Rigotto. Another section of the party, though, wished to ally with president Lula and appoint the vice-president nominee to run with him. This "governist part" of the party was headed by senators Renan Calheiros and José Sarney. There was also a third possibility of making an alliance with PSDB. The PMDB decided not to take any part in the presidential elections and became free to make any coalition in the states.


2006 Brazilian general election, Campaign
Aside from these four parties, the smaller ones had no clear course of action. The PSOL was the first to appoint a candidate, senator Heloisa Helena.


2006 Brazilian general election, Campaign
The three main candidates were later joined by Cristóvam Buarque (PDT), Luciano Bivar (PSL), José Maria Eymael (PSDC) and Rui Costa Pimenta (PCO). Ana Maria Rangel (PRP), who also registered her candidacy, was ruled out after internal disagreements with her own party, but was able to revert the situation and regain her right to participate in the presidential race.


2006 Brazilian general election, Campaign
The first debate took part on 14 August, featuring Heloisa Helena, Cristóvam Buarque, Luciano Bivar and José Maria Eymael. Lula refused to participate, whereas Rui Costa Pimenta was not invited.


2006 Brazilian general election, Campaign
On 15 August, the official electoral programmes started being aired on television and radio. Every weekday, all candidates have a few prime-time minutes to put forward their ideas and plans. The time allocated to each one is loosely based on the number of Congress representatives each coalition has.


2006 Brazilian general election, Campaign
Also on 15 August, the Supreme Electoral Court decided to revoke the registration of the PCO candidate, Rui Costa Pimenta. The court ruling was based on the fact that the party had not presented its accounts for the 2002 general elections within the deadline specified by law. Pimenta, however, managed to retain his candidacy: the matter is pending decision.


2006 Brazilian general election, Campaign
Polls varied little in the two months prior to the election, showing Lula with over 50% of the valid votes, followed by Alckmin, Heloisa Helena, and Buarque. Nevertheless, the difference between Lula's figures and the sum of his opponents' shortened on the eve of the election.


2006 Brazilian general election, Campaign
On 28 September, the PT candidate refused to appear at a debate hosted by Globo TV. Explaining his decision in a letter addressed to the TV station, Lula claimed that all his opponents would take the opportunity to team up and attack him. Three days before the election, the last debate was expected to have a large audience.


2006 Brazilian general election, Campaign
On 1 October the first round ended with no winner. Lula led the field with 48.6 percent of the vote. Although he came just a few thousand votes short of a first-round victory, his vote share was roughly 1% less of the other candidates' combined total. This forced him into a run-off with Alckmin, who placed second.


2006 Brazilian general election, Campaign, Run-off
Despite being absent of the first-round debates, Lula faced Alckmin in four debates in the second round, each one of them aired by one of the four most important television channels in Brazil - Band, SBT, Record and two days before the election, on Globo TV.


2006 Brazilian general election, Campaign, Run-off
Since the first debate, Alckmin accused Lula of being lenient with the members of his government who had to resign after being charged in many scandals since 2005. Also he tried to underestimate the achievements the president claimed to obtain during his term, like reducing of poverty and inflation rates, claiming his results were consequence of the favorable international economic scenario and the achievements of his antecessor Fernando Henrique Cardoso, from Alckmin's party.


2006 Brazilian general election, Campaign, Run-off
Lula however claimed that despite his government is under investigation, both Cardoso and Alckmin  halted many investigations on their administrations with dubious methods.


2006 Brazilian general election, Campaign, Run-off
According to analysts, Lula dealt damage to Alckmin most when he accused him of threatening the Bolsa Família program, which attends millions of low-income Brazilian families, and questioning the privatizations done during the Cardoso government claiming that most of them were unnecessary and the state companies in question were sold for sums much lower than their true market value, like the Vale do Rio Doce, sold by R$3.3 billion at the time, but now profits this same amount in a quarter of year. Also he claimed that there would be no guarantee that other companies could be sold like state oil giant Petrobras, the country's largest and most profitable company, in case of Alckmin's victory.


2006 Brazilian general election, Campaign, Run-off
Whether the formula worked or not, the fact is Lula's poll numbers skyrocketed and in the end, he was elected for a second term as president by a 20 million vote margin, while Alckmin got fewer votes than in the first round. Despite this, Alckmin won seven states Lula had carried in 2002- Amapá, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Sao Paulo- while Lula won Alagoas, the only state to vote against him in 2002.


2006 Brazilian general election, Results, President, Voter demographics
513 seats in the Chamber of Deputies1⁄3 (27 seats) of the Senate


2006 Breeders' Cup
The 2006 Breeders' Cup World Championships was the 23rd edition of the premier event of the North American thoroughbred horse racing year. It took place on November 4 at Churchill Downs in Lexington, Kentucky. The Breeders' Cup is generally regarded as the end of the North America racing season, although a few Grade I events take place in later November and December. The 2006 Breeders' Cup results were highly influential in the Eclipse Award divisional championship voting.


2006 Breeders' Cup, Lead-up
For 2006, the total purse money offered at the Breeders' Cup increased from $14 million to $20 million. The Classic, Turf, Filly and Mare Turf, Sprint, and Juvenile Fillies all had their purses increased by $1 million. The Mile and Juvenile had their purse increased by $500,000. The purse increases made Breeders' Cup day the second richest in racing, behind Dubai World Cup day with total purses of $21 million.


2006 Breeders' Cup, Lead-up
The event was broadcast by ESPN for the first time, with Trevor Denman calling the races.


2006 Breeders' Cup, Results
The heavy favorite for the Classic was Bernardini, who had won six straight races including the Preakness Stakes, Travers and Jockey Club Gold Cup. Next choice at 6-1 was Lava Man, who had a seven race winning streak in California. The third choice was Invasor, an Argentinian-bred colt who had won the Uruguayan Triple Crown before being purchased by Shadwell Stable and moved to Dubai then America, where he won three straight Grade I races. Invasor had lost only once in his career but had not run in the three months leading up to the Classic after spiking a fever.


2006 Breeders' Cup, Results
In the Classic, Bernardini hit the lead at the top of the stretch but Invasor closed rapidly in the center of the track, eventually winning by a length. Lava Man had a troubled trip and finished seventh. Invasor was named Champion Older Horse and Horse of the Year, while Bernardini was named Champion Three-Year-Old Male.


2006 Breeders' Cup, Results
Ouija Board, who won the Filly & Mare Turf in 2004 then finished second in 2005, justified being the heavy favorite in the 2006 renewal with an "explosive" stretch run that swept her to a 2 1⁄4 length victory over Filmmaker. "I was very fortunate to have ridden her", said jockey Frankie Dettori. "She's the best filly in the world, without a doubt." The win made Ouija Board the leading money-earning female horse in history and earned her a second Eclipse Award for Champion Turf Female, despite having only the one start in America in 2006.


2006 Breeders' Cup, Results
Street Sense won the Juvenile at odds of 15-1 by a record 10 lengths, sweeping from the back of the pack to first place with a strong move on the rail. Street Sense was named Champion Two-Year-Old colt at the Eclipse Awards and would later win the Kentucky Derby in similar fashion, breaking the so-called "Juvenile Curse" by becoming the first horse to win both races.


2006 Breeders' Cup, Results
The Distaff was marred by injuries to the two favorites, Fleet Indian and Pine Island. Fleet Indian, who was later named Champion Older Female Horse, suffered a compound fracture in her left front fetlock, which was surgically repaired. Pine Island dislocated her left front ankle and had to be euthanized because of infection. Long-shot Round Pond won the race comfortably, though the celebration of her connections was muted. "I've been in that situation and nobody ever likes to see that happen," said her trainer Michael Matz, who had also been the trainer of Barbaro.


2006 Breeders' Cup, Results
The Turf was won by Irish-bred Red Rocks, who was the longest shot of four European entries after losing his previous four races. He trailed behind a fast early pace then out-kicked Better Talk Now. Favored Hurricane Run, winner of the 2005 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, finished sixth.


2006 Breeders' Cup, Results
Dreaming of Anna, Thor's Echo and Miesque's Approval, winners of the Juvenile Fillies, Sprint and Mile respectively, were also Eclipse Award winners in their respective divisions.


2006 Breeders' Cup, Results
With so many longshots winning, the Pick 6 (which excluded the two Juvenile races) paid nearly $1.5 million. The attendance was 75,132, third highest in the history of the event. The parimutuel handle was $136,726,378 (common pool), including $18,259,971 bet on track, both records.


2006 Breeders' Cup Classic
The 2006 Breeders' Cup Classic (in full, the Breeders' Cup Classic Powered by Dodge, due to sponsorship) was the 23rd running of the Breeders' Cup Classic, part of the 2006 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships program. It was run on November 4, 2006 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.