2007 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, South Carolina
Florida traveled to Columbia and renewed their budding rivalry with a win over the Gamecocks. The Gators now lead the all-time series 21–4–3, although the annual contest has become much more intense since Heisman Trophy-winning ex-Gator quarterback and championship-winning ex-Gator head coach Steve Spurrier took the reins at South Carolina for the 2005 season. Spurrier's new team upset his old team in 2005, and only a blocked last-second field goal kept him from repeating that feat in Gainesville in 2006. Florida quarterback Tim Tebow set a career-high in passing yards in the game with 304 yards.


2007 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, South Carolina
He also set a new school record for rushing touchdowns by a QB in a game with 5 breaking the old record held by ex-Florida QB Jesse Palmer. The first of these five rushing touchdowns broke the school record for most rushing touchdowns. Tebow was tied with Emmitt Smith and Buford Long with 14 rushing touchdowns in the season entering this game. This was also Florida's first game of the season without leading receiver Percy Harvin due to a sinus infection.


2007 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, Florida Atlantic
The FAU Owls traveled to Gainesville for the first meeting between the two teams. This marked the third game of the season where the Gators faced an opponent for the first time. Tim Tebow rushed for his 20th touchdown of the season in the 2nd quarter setting a new SEC record for rushing touchdowns in a season. Tebow finished last week's game with 19 total rushing touchdowns leaving him tied with Shaun Alexander, LaBrandon Toefield, and Garrison Hearst. He also became the first quarterback in Division I-FBS history to pass for at least 20 touchdowns and rush for at least 20 touchdowns in the same season. He also set a career best in passing yards with 338.


2007 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, Florida Atlantic
The record-setting day continued when Gators' wide receiver Andre Caldwell set a new school record for career receptions with 177 breaking the prior record held by Carlos Alvarez with 172. This was the second game in a row where Florida wide receiver Percy Harvin was absent with a sinus infection and migraine headaches.


2007 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, Florida State
Senior day in the Swamp saw the Gators start strong, scoring four touchdowns and a field goal on their first five possessions en route to a 45–12 victory over the in-state rival Florida State Seminoles. The Gator offense compiled 541 total yards to the Seminoles' 287, and were often able to finish drives with touchdowns while Florida State was forced to settle for field goals. One of FSU kicker Gary Cismesia's four FGs was a school record 60-yard effort on the last play of the 1st half to cut his team's deficit to 24–12 at intermission. However, the momentum was short-lived, as Florida went on a 6-play, 81-yard scoring drive without throwing a pass to open the 2nd half and cruised from then on.


2007 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, Florida State
That 3rd-quarter touchdown was the second rushing TD of the contest for Gator QB Tim Tebow and his 22nd of the year, tying the NCAA Division I-FBS record for most rushing touchdowns in a season by a quarterback. Despite suffering a fractured hand on that run, he remained in the game and threw his third touchdown pass of the game in the 4th quarter, giving him 5 total TDs in the contest and 51 for the season. With his 262 passing yards and 89 rushing, Tebow set a new school record for most yards of total offense in a season with 3,970, surpassing  Rex Grossman's 2001 total.


2007 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, Florida State
Gator RB/WR Percy Harvin did his part as well, returning from a 2-game absence to rush 16 times for a game-high 157 yards and a touchdown and catch 5 passes for another 67 yards.


2007 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, Florida State
The Gators' winning streak versus FSU grew to four games with this victory, including a 21–14 triumph in Tallahassee in 2006. Florida leads the all-time series 31-19-2. It also marked the fourth win of the season in which the Gators defeated a team led by a former national championship winning coach (Bobby Bowden, Howard Schnellenberger, Phillip Fulmer, and Steve Spurrier being those coaches).


2007 Florida Gators football team, Postseason, Michigan
The Florida Gators closed out the 2007 season against the Michigan Wolverines on New Years Day in the Capital One Bowl. This was only the second meeting between the two storied programs with the first having taken place a short five seasons ago in the Outback Bowl. Lloyd Carr coached his Wolverines for the final time with the announcement of his retirement shortly after his final regular season game against rival Ohio State.


2007 Florida Gators football team, Postseason, Michigan
Urban Meyer and the Gators were looking to carry their momentum from the second half of the season with Heisman-winning sophomore Tim Tebow into the bowl game. Coming off of two consecutive regular season losses, the Wolverines were attempting to break their four bowl game losing streak. Ironically, their last bowl game win came against the Ron Zook coached Gators following the 2002 season. This was the fifth game of the season where the Gators played a team led by a former national championship winning head coach.


2007 Florida Gators football team, Postseason, Michigan
The Gators lost the game 41–35 as Michigan barraged the Gator defense for over 500 yards of offense. Chad Henne finished his career at the University of Michigan with a victory in a bowl game, the first in five seasons, and finished with a career-high in passing yards. The newly named Michigan head coach, Rich Rodriguez, could be seen during the game along the Michigan sidelines.


2007 Florida Gators football team, Postseason, Awards and honors, National awards and honors
Tebow was the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy. He garnered 462 first-place votes and 1,957 points, 254 points ahead of the runner-up, Arkansas running back Darren McFadden. Tebow finished the regular season with the second highest passing efficiency in the nation with 177.8. Additionally, he averaged 4.3 yards per carry on the ground.


2007 Florida Marlins season
The Florida Marlins' 2007 season was the 15th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise in the National League. It would begin with the team attempting to improve on their promising 78-84 record in 2006. Despite the success of the team under manager Joe Girardi, he was fired and replaced with Fredi González.


2007 Florida Marlins season
Marlins general manager Larry Beinfest said that the team's goal from the start of the season was to compete in the playoffs. However, failed to make the playoffs for the 4th consecutive season.


2007 Florida Marlins season
The Marlins had two goals to address during the 2006 offseason: they needed a new closer because '06 closer Joe Borowski signed with the Cleveland Indians as a free agent, and the Marlins saw the need for a new center fielder. They had platooned Eric Reed, Reggie Abercrombie, Chris Aguila, Cody Ross, and Alfredo Amézaga in the position in 2006, with backup shortstop Amézaga making most of the starts at that position later in the season.


2007 Florida Marlins season
The Marlins had added some new relief pitchers since 2006, trading Chris Resop to the Los Angeles Angels for Kevin Gregg and shipping prospects Jason Vargas and Adam Bostick to the New York Mets for Henry Owens and Matt Lindstrom. Lindstrom has been a closer during his time in the minors and has a fastball that reached 100 mph on radar guns in winter league play during the 2006 offseason. The Marlins saw much competition for their closer role, with Ricky Nolasco, Renyel Pinto, Mike Koplove, Gregg, Lindstrom, and Owens all candidates for the job. In April, newly acquired Jorge Julio was named closer, but on May 13, he was traded to the Colorado Rockies for Byung-hyun Kim.


2007 Florida Marlins season
The Marlins signed center fielder Alex Sánchez to a minor league deal in the offseason, who competed for the Marlins' center field job with Reed, Abercrombie, Ross, and Amézaga. Beinfest said that the Marlins tried to trade for a proven center fielder but were asked for too much in order to get one. However, Sánchez was released at the end of spring training and the starting role was handed to rookie Alejandro De Aza.


2007 Florida Marlins season, Player stats, Batting, Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


2007 Florida Marlins season, Player stats, Batting, Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


2007 Florida Marlins season, Draft
This is a partial list. For the full draft, see here.


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team
The 2007 Florida State Seminoles football team represented Florida State University during the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Bobby Bowden and played their home games at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida. They were members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Atlantic Division.


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team
Florida State entered the 2007 season coming off a 2006 season that ended with an overall record of 7–6, which was head coach Bobby Bowden's worst since having a losing record in 1976, matching that mark in 2007. These wins were later vacated as punishment for violations of NCAA rules.


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Preseason
The Seminoles were picked by the ACC media as the preseason favorite to win the ACC's Atlantic Division.


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Preseason
Tony Carter and Myron Rolle were named to the Thorpe Watch List


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Preseason
Greg Carr, Andre Fluellen, and Myron Rolle were named to the preseason All-ACC Team


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Preseason
Everette Brown, Jackie Claude, Geno Hayes, and Myron Rolle were named to the Preseason All-ACC Second-Team by Athlon Magazine


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Preseason
Greg Carr was named to the Maxwell Award watch list


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Preseason
Andre Fluellen, Tony Carter, and Myron Rolle were named to the Bednarik Award watch list.


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Preseason
Andre Fluellen was named to the Outland Trophy watch list


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Preseason
Tony Carter was named All-ACC Second-Team by The Sporting News and Rivals.com


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Preseason, Mid-season awards
Myron Rolle was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Preseason, Mid-season awards
Gary Cismesia was named as a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Starting lineup, Defense
Associate Head Coach/ Defensive Coordinator: Mickey Andrews (24th year)Base Defense: 4–3 Multiple


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Game capsules
The records in parenthesis indicates the opposing team's record at the time Florida State played them, NOT Florida State's record.


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Game capsules, Clemson
Florida State's terrible first half on both sides of the ball lead to a 24–3 deficit. The Seminoles made adjustments at halftime and swung the momentum in their direction holding Clemson to just 46 yards in the 2nd half. FSU had 196 2nd half yards led by Running Back, Antone Smith. Drew Weatherford and the Seminole offense couldn't shake the Clemson pressure in the second-to-last drive of the game, getting to the Clemson 30-yard line, but falling short of the end zone.


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Game capsules, UAB
The Seminoles got off to another slow start. On Florida State's first drive, Drew Weatherford threw his first interception in 70-plus attempts and it was returned for a touchdown to put UAB up 7–0. The Seminoles scored 21 points in the third quarter to overcome a 17–3 deficit. They won the game, 34–24.


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Game capsules, Colorado
The game was mostly a defensive struggle. Late in the 1st quarter, Antone Smith broke away for a 36-yard touchdown run. For the rest of the game, Florida State's offense could not score, even when, at one point, their starting field position was at the Colorado 15-yard line. Instead, they had to settle for three field goals by Gary Cismesia. With 3:40 remaining in the game, Colorado scored a touchdown on a 4th-and-10 play from the Florida State 11-yard line. However, the 2-point conversion attempt failed, and the Seminoles recovered the ensuing onside kick to preserve the victory.


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Game capsules, Alabama
The game got off to another very slow start. It was another first half full of defense. In the 2nd quarter, an ineffective Drew Weatherford was pulled for Xavier Lee. After a halftime score of 0–0, Lee led a strong drive to put FSU up 7–0. After a forced fumble by Everette Brown, a toss sweep to Antone Smith put FSU up 14–0. Alabama's offense took advantage of FSU's prevent defense to score a TD to make it 14–7. Lee then hit Decody Fagg on a 75-yard pass to put FSU up 21–7. Alabama scored late to make it 21–14, but FSU recovered the onside kick, and held on for a 21–14 win.


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Game capsules, NC State
Xavier Lee, making his first start of the season at quarterback, ran 2 yards for the Seminoles' first touchdown 2:11 into the game, three plays after a 58-yard pass to Greg Carr on the game's first play. Although N.C. State (1–5, 0–3 ACC) led 10–7 in the first quarter, it was again plagued by four turnovers—boosting its number to 21 in coach Tom O'Brien's first year at the school. Michael Ray Garvin returned an interception 43 yards for a touchdown to spark Florida State's scoring.


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Game capsules, NC State
Garvin, a track All-American who finished sixth in the 100 meters at the NCAA finals and ran a leg on Florida State's championship 400-meter relay team, gave Florida State a 17–10 lead early in the third quarter with his first interception of the season. The game was delayed late in the third quarter for 49 minutes because of a lightning threat. Greg Carr caught a 40-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter to give the Seminoles a 24–10 lead.


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Game capsules, NC State
Daniel Evans was intercepted three times Saturday—once at the end of the half that killed a Wolfpack drive that had reached Florida State's 26. It was the first game against North Carolina State for former Wolfpack coach Chuck Amato, who returned to Florida State to be an assistant after getting fired by N.C. State after last season. The Seminoles snapped a string of eight straight losses against Atlantic Division rivals. N.C. State has now lost a dozen straight game against Bowl Subdivision (formerly I-A) schools.


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Game capsules, Wake Forest
Wake Forest's defense in the first half allowed two big plays that set up the Seminoles' two scoring drives, then shut them down after halftime. Wake Forest moved 80 yards in nine plays late in the third quarter to force a 14–14 tie – a drive that started when Alphonso Smith intercepted Lee in the end zone. Skinner capped the drive with a nifty play in which he faked a handoff to Adams, deked like he would roll right and instead reversed field and flipped to the wide-open tailback for a 6-yard score.


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Game capsules, Wake Forest
The Demon Deacons forced five second-half punts, intercepted two passes and allowed 105 total yards after the break – with a good chunk coming after Swank's late kick. Florida State's rushing offense never could get going, finishing with 47 yards on 24 carries. Riley Skinner's 35-yard touchdown pass to Kenneth Moore in the fourth quarter led the Demon Deacons past Florida State 24–21 and helped the sophomore quarterback improve to 2–0 against his home state school that didn't recruit him. Skinner led the Demon Deacons 82 yards in nine plays, converting three third downs during their game-winning drive.


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Game capsules, Wake Forest
The biggest came when Skinner sidestepped a pass rush, stepped forward in the pocket and found Moore, who had a step on cornerback Jamie Robinson at the goal line, for the easy score that put Wake Forest up 21–14 with 6:41 remaining. Florida State gave the ball right back to Wake Forest on the first play of its ensuing drive, when Chip Vaughn intercepted Xavier Lee's deep pass at the 26. The Demon Deacons milked the clock and set up Sam Swank's 48-yard field goal with 1:40 to play that made it a 10-point game.


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Game capsules, Wake Forest
Lee scored on a 17-yard run with 17 seconds left to draw the Seminoles within three, but Wake Forest recovered an onside kick to seal it. The defending league champs rallied in the second half to follow up last year's stunning 30–0 rout in Tallahassee by claiming the first consecutive wins over the Seminoles (4–2, 1–2) in school history.


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Game capsules, Miami
Florida State and Miami both entered this game unranked for the first time since 1977. The teams exchanged turnovers (nine total, five by FSU) and scores, keeping things close for most of the game. With 5:29 left in the fourth quarter, the Hurricanes, trailing 29–24, appeared to have lost their best chance to win when Kirby Freeman was stopped for no gain on a fourth-and-1 at the Florida State 1.


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Game capsules, Miami
But Freeman, who replaced injured Kyle Wright in the first half, drove Miami 83 yards in under two minutes to take the lead 30–29 on a 13-yard pass to Dedrick Epps with 1:15 left. FSU quarterback Xavier Lee, who was intercepted twice, then fumbled after being hit by Miami's Teraz McCray, and Colin McCarthy ran it in for the clincher. This was the first game since 2001 that was decided by more than a touchdown.


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Game capsules, Duke
Florida State led 9–0 at halftime on three field goals by Gary Cismesia. After going more than five quarters without an offensive touchdown, the Seminoles made it to the end zone six minutes into the third quarter when Parker raced 9 yards with a short sideline pass from Drew Weatherford, giving Florida State a 16–0 lead. Parker scored his second TD late in the third quarter on a 14-yard run to make the score 22–0.


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Game capsules, Duke
After Cismesia kicked his fourth field goal, Duke (1–7, 0–5 ACC) avoided a shutout when Thaddeus Lewis lofted a 3-yard pass to a wide-open Brandon King in the right front corner of the end zone with 8:07 left. Florida State (5–3, 2–3 ACC) rolled up a season-high 534 yards and 30 first downs while holding Duke to 222 yards and 9 first downs. The Blue Devils managed only 49 yards and two first downs in the first half. Patrick Robinson had an interception for the fourth straight game. Florida State ended a two-game losing streak with a 25–6 victory over Duke, handing the Blue Devils' their 22nd straight Atlantic Coast Conference loss.


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Game capsules, #2 Boston College
The game began in a frigid and soaking downpour, with wind gusts forecast at up to 50 mph as the remnants of Hurricane Noel proceeded up the East Coast. The rain had stopped by the end of the first quarter, but the winds battered the U.S. flag and played havoc with a couple of second-quarter field goal attempts. Drew Weatherford completed 29-of-45 passes for 354 yards for Florida State (6–3, 3–3), hitting Preston Parker nine times for 93 yards and a touchdown and De'Cody Fagg on six catches for 111 yards and a TD.


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Game capsules, #2 Boston College
Matt Ryan finished 25-for-53 for two touchdowns and 415 yards—his fourth career 400-yard game, tying Doug Flutie for the most in school history, but his interceptions were costly. Ryan was picked off once in the first quarter inside the Seminoles 10 by Patrick Robinson, making this his fifth consecutive game recovering an interception. Ryan also threw an interception early in the third that allowed Florida State to move into position for a 40-yard field goal that made it 10–0.


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Game capsules, #2 Boston College
Ryan led BC on a four-play, 70-yard drive over 63 seconds, hitting Ryan Purvis for 26 yards to the Florida State 30, and then Brandon Robinson for the touchdown. The teams traded field goals, then Weatherford hit Fagg on a 42-yard touchdown pass to give the Seminoles a 20–10 lead. Ryan hit Rich Gunnell on a 42-yard pass to the Florida State 6 with 7:24 left. Two plays later, including a penalty that moved the ball to the 3, Ryan hit a wide-open Purvis in the middle of the end zone to make it 20–17.


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Game capsules, #2 Boston College
BC forced a punt and got the ball back at its own 7 with 3:30 left and a chance to take the lead. Ryan moved the Eagles out to the 33 before Hayes ripped the ball free from Purvis on a pass across the middle. Geno Hayes returned Matt Ryan's third interception for a 38-yard touchdown with 1:10 to play to help Florida State beat second-ranked Boston College 27–17, ending the Eagles' run at an unbeaten season.


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Game capsules, #11 Virginia Tech
Christian Ponder had a solid showing after taking over for the injured Drew Weatherford, until the 4th quarter when he lost a fumble and threw two consecutive interceptions, which sealed the loss for the Seminoles. Emergency quarterback D'Vontrey Richardson came in for just one snap late in the 4th and was brought down in the endzone for a safety.


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Game capsules, Music City Bowl vs. Kentucky
The Seminoles entered the game without 34 players due to a various injuries, violating of team rules, and a large academic cheating scandal.


2007 Florida State Seminoles football team, Game capsules, Music City Bowl vs. Kentucky
In September 2011 it was revealed through and interview in USA Today, Bowden had been diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer in 2007.


2007 Food City 500
The 2007 Food City 500 was the fifth race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season, and was run on Sunday, March 25, 2007, at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee.


2007 Food City 500, Overview
The race was historic as this marked the competitive debut of NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow vehicle template, which was tested on February 28 at this facility, as the test was extended due to an impending rainstorm and three sessions were held in one day, including a nighttime session. Because of the success in those tests, NASCAR considered making the CoT permanent in the 2008 season. Additionally, in all CoT events, two brands will switch models, as Dodge will use the Avenger and Chevrolet will utilize the Impala brand.


2007 Food City 500, Overview
The event was the last to be run on the original concrete surface as resurfacing started following the race, using specially designed resurfacers that will lay a new concrete surface for the Sharpie 500 event in August. In addition, the 36-degree turns will be altered to progressive banking.


2007 Food City 500, Overview
The race was also the last for the Top 35 teams in the 2006 Owner's points to be "locked in" for the race. Starting with the next race, the Goody's Cool Orange 500, the current standings was used.


2007 Food City 500, Overview
Jeff Gordon won the pole. Dale Jarrett, who had used a provisional the past four races, qualified 30th. A. J. Allmendinger and Jeremy Mayfield made their season debuts after failing to qualify for the previous four races (qualifying 43rd and 23rd, respectively).


2007 Food City 500, Failed to qualify
Kevin Lepage (#37), David Reutimann (#00), Michael Waltrip (#55), Joe Nemechek (#13), Johnny Sauter (#70), and Paul Menard (#15)Withdrew: Chad Chaffin (#34)


2007 Food City 500, Failed to qualify
Of these drivers, Nemechek (who missed his first race in over five years when he was released by Travis Carter because of a lack of sponsorship in 2002) and possibly Sauter could still end up locked into the top-35 after this race, despite missing this race (both had made the previous four races, but drive for new teams with no previous owner points to fall back on). With the car owner points provision for failing to qualify, however, both the Ginn #13 and the Haas CNC #70 remained in the top 35 in owner points, which meant both teams were awarded exemptions for the next race.


2007 Food City 500, Failed to qualify
The other teams are guaranteed to be out of the top 35.


2007 Food City 500, Failed to qualify
The #37 team has now missed four of the first five points races, Reutimann and Menard have missed two races, and Waltrip has missed four straight races.


2007 Food City 500, Race Day
The race, despite the introduction of the CoT, was a typical Bristol affair, with 15 caution flags for 90 laps. Tony Stewart, starting from the fourth position, looked to have the car to beat all day. However, during a caution with 211 laps left, Stewart experienced a fuel pressure malfunction, and would finish 35th. The lead was inherited by his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Denny Hamlin. Hamlin would hold the lead until with 16 laps to go, Kyle Busch stole the lead from the sophomore in the #5 Kellogg's Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports.


2007 Food City 500, Race Day
It appeared as though Kyle would sail off with his first win of 2007, but a spin by rookie David Ragan set up a green-white-checkered finish with Hendrick Motorsports holding the first two spots. Kyle Busch was second, with teammate Jeff Gordon behind him, and the Richard Childress Racing cars of Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick behind them. That would not last long however, as on the restart, Kyle spun the tires, allowing Jeff to inch under him; however, Jeff Burton steered his #31 Chevrolet to the outside of Jeff Gordon and attempted to chase down Kyle. Jeff Burton would clear Gordon just as Kyle Busch took the white flag, and would chase down Kyle during the final lap, narrowly losing by half-a-car length at the start-finish line.


2007 Food City 500, Race Day
Busch's victory was a historic one in many ways. Not only it being the first victory for the Car of Tomorrow, but it was also the 156th win for Hendrick Motorsports, the 600th victory for Chevrolet in NASCAR, and the 61st victory for the Chevrolet Impala nameplate, the last one coming in 1964 when Wendell Scott became the first African-American to win in NASCAR. The first win for the Impala came in 1959 when Bob Welborn won in Daytona. In a post-race ceremony, former 12-time Bristol winner and current NASCAR on Fox commentator Darrell Waltrip, who dropped the green flag for this race, jack-hammered a piece of the original concrete to begin the reconstruction of the track.


2007 Football League Championship play-off Final
The 2007 Football League Championship play-off Final was an association football match which was played on 28 May 2007 at Wembley Stadium, London, between Derby County and West Bromwich Albion. The match was to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football, to the Premier League.


2007 Football League Championship play-off Final
The top two teams of the 2006–07 Football League Championship season gained automatic promotion to the Premier League, while the clubs placed from third to sixth place in the table partook in play-off semi-finals; Derby County ended the season in third position while West Bromwich Albion finished fourth. The winners of these semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2007–08 season in the Premier League. Winning the game was estimated to be worth up to £60 million to the successful team.


2007 Football League Championship play-off Final
The 2007 final, refereed by Graham Poll in his final domestic match, was watched by a crowd of nearly 75,000 people. The game was won by Derby County 1–0, with the only goal of the game coming from Stephen Pearson in the second half.


2007 Football League Championship play-off Final
Derby County ended the next season in bottom place in the Premier League, with the fewest points in the league's history, and were relegated back to the Championship. West Bromwich Albion finished the following season top of the Championship and were promoted to the Premier League.


2007 Football League Championship play-off Final, Route to the final
Derby County finished the regular 2006–07 season in third place in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system, one place and eight points ahead of West Bromwich Albion. Both therefore missed out on the two automatic places for promotion to the Premier League and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the third promoted team. Derby County finished two points behind Birmingham City (who were promoted in second place) and four behind league winners Sunderland.


2007 Football League Championship play-off Final, Route to the final
Derby County's opponents in their play-off semi-final were Southampton, with the first leg played at St Mary's Stadium on 12 May 2007. Andrew Surman put the home team into the lead early in the first half with a strike from 20 yards (18 m) but Steve Howard scored for Derby either side of half time, to secure a 2–1 win for the visitors. The second leg was played three days later at Pride Park Stadium. Darren Moore scored after three minutes for Derby but Jhon Viáfara equalised a minute later and the first half ended 1–1.


2007 Football League Championship play-off Final, Route to the final
Viáfara  scored his and Southampton's second goal in the 54th minute before an own goal from Leon Best levelled the game at 2–2. With one minute of regular time remaining, Grzegorz Rasiak scored to make it 3–2 to Southampton, and 4–4 on aggregate, sending the game into extra time. No further goals were scored so the match was decided by a penalty shoot-out. Former Derby player Iñigo Idiakez missed Southampton's fifth penalty to send Derby into the final.


2007 Football League Championship play-off Final, Route to the final
West Bromwich Albion faced Wolverhampton Wanderers, their local rivals, in the second play-off semi-final. The first leg was played at Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton on 13 May 2007. Kevin Phillips opened the scoring midway through the first half with a 20-yard (18 m) strike to put the visitors ahead but Jody Craddock equalised with a header just before half time. Seyi Olofinjana put Wolves ahead early in the second half but Phillips scored his and Albion's second two minutes later.


2007 Football League Championship play-off Final, Route to the final
Dean Kiely, the West Brom goalkeeper, made several saves in the second half before Diomansy Kamara scored in the 73rd minute, and the match ended 3–2. The second leg was played at The Hawthorns four days later. After a goalless first half, Phillips scored with a header midway through the second half. Wolves failed to score and the match ended 1–0. Albion progressed to the final 4–2 on aggregate. The second leg was the fifth meeting between the two teams during 2006–07, setting a new record for the most times that the Black Country derby has been contested in a single campaign, while Albion's four wins against their rivals was also a season record for matches between the two.


2007 Football League Championship play-off Final, Match, Background
The two teams were competing for promotion to the Premier League, the top division of the English football league system. Both clubs had been founder members of the Football League in 1888 and had spent the majority of their respective histories competing in English football's top division. During the regular season, each club had recorded a home win against the other, Derby beating Albion 2–1 at Pride Park in early November and Albion winning 1–0 at The Hawthorns a month later.


2007 Football League Championship play-off Final, Match, Background
This was West Bromwich Albion's second play-off final as they had beaten Port Vale 3–0 at the old Wembley Stadium in the 1993 Football League Second Division play-off Final. Derby had made it to the play-offs four times previously, but had qualified for the final once: they lost the 1994 Football League First Division play-off Final 2–1 against Leicester City. Kamara was the top marksman for West Bromwich Albion, with 21 goals, followed by Phillips on 19. Olofinjana was Wolves' highest scorer with 10 for the season. Winning the game was estimated to be worth up to £60 million to the successful team.


2007 Football League Championship play-off Final, Match, Background
The match was the first Championship play-off final to be held at the rebuilt Wembley Stadium. Both clubs were competing at there for the first time, though Derby County had played at the original Wembley Stadium four times and West Bromwich Albion seven times. The attendance of 74,993 was significantly higher than the 64,736 registered at the 2006 final, yet still far short of Wembley's 90,000 capacity. The Football League chairman Brian Mawhinney commented that "We could have sold the tickets but Wembley weren't able to, didn't want to, couldn't allow us to sell the tickets." Wembley Stadium however, said that empty Club Wembley seats could have been re-sold, but that they were unable to reach an agreement with the Football League on the matter. Both clubs received a ticket allocation of around 33,500, which was insufficient to meet the demands of supporters.


2007 Football League Championship play-off Final, Match, Background
The match was refereed by Graham Poll representing the Hertfordshire County Football Association. It was the last domestic match he would officiate before his retirement. Derby County made a single change to their lineup from the team who won the penalty shootout in the semi-final, with Paul Peschisolido replaced by Jon Macken. West Brom's team was unchanged from that which defeated Wolves in the semi-final. Prior to kick-off, the United Kingdom's national anthem, "God Save the Queen", was sung by Garðar Thór Cortes, and both teams were then presented to Mawhinney. Derby wore their traditional home kit of white shirts while West Bromwich Albion were in all-black.


2007 Football League Championship play-off Final, Match, First half
Derby County kicked the game off around 3 p.m., in rainy conditions. within the first minute, Kamara's shot across goal was saved by the Derby goalkeeper Stephen Bywater before being cleared. In the tenth minute, Howard won the ball in the air and passed it between two Derby defenders to Peschisolido whose shot was straight at Kiely. Two minutes later, Jason Koumas rounded three defenders and with only Bywater to beat in the Derby goal, Tyrone Mears made the tackle; penalty appeals from West Bromwich Albion were ignored by the referee Poll.


2007 Football League Championship play-off Final, Match, First half
On 18 minutes, Matt Oakley passed to Craig Fagan who advanced into the penalty area but struck his shot wide. Three minutes later, a free kick from West Brom deflected off the Derby wall and had to be gathered by Bywater. The first yellow card of the afternoon was shown in the 31st minute to Peschisolido after a foul on Paul Robinson. In the 34th minute, Derby's Seth Johnson chipped the ball forwards, Howard chested it into Jay McEveley's path, but his low shot was saved.


2007 Football League Championship play-off Final, Match, First half
Sam Sodje was then booked for a foul on Johnson before Paul McShane was shown a yellow card for a high foot on Howard. In the 41st minute, Koumas shot over the crossbar before Zoltán Gera passed to Phillips whose strike grazed the woodwork. After a minute of stoppage time, the half was brought to an end with the score 0–0.


2007 Football League Championship play-off Final, Match, Second half
No changes were made by either team during the break and West Brom kicked off the second half. Bywater made an early save from a Koumas shot before Mears was booked in the 47th minute for a foul on Kamara. In the 57th minute, Phillips passed to Koumas whose strike from 25 yards (23 m) was high and wide. Peschisolido was then replaced by Giles Barnes, before Derby's Oakley hit a first-time shot from a Fagan cross which was saved one handed by Kiely.


2007 Football League Championship play-off Final, Match, Second half
In the 61st Stephen Pearson put Derby County ahead: Barnes received the ball from Howard and played a square ball into the Albion penalty area which Pearson slid into the bottom left-hand corner of the net from 6 yards (5.5 m) to score his first goal for the club. Three minutes later, Chris Perry became the third Albion player to be booked after he fouled Barnes. Gera's long-range shot was then gathered by Bywater on the second attempt before he was substituted off for Darren Carter along with Nathan Ellington replaced by McShane in the 71st minute.


2007 Football League Championship play-off Final, Match, Second half
Bywater then saved a Robinson header from a Koumas corner. With ten minutes remaining, Sodje was taken off and replaced by Neil Clement, then Derby's Fagan was substituted for Marc Edworthy. Five minutes later, Jonathan Greening's tackle prevented Barnes from getting his shot away, then Mears took the ball from the toes of Carter. In the 87th minute, Derby made their final substitution of the game with David Jones coming on for Johnson. Four minutes of injury was indicated and a Koumas cross failed to find any of his teammates. In the final minute of the match, a mass brawl broke out after Oakley fouled Koumas, resulting in bookings for Jones, Oakley and Bywater. The resulting free kick from Clement was cleared and the match was brought to an end, Derby County winning 1–0.


2007 Football League Championship play-off Final, Post-match
Derby County manager Billy Davies said that his players "showed great courage" and added that winning promotion was "a dream come true". Davies emphasised the importance of scoring the first goal and pointed out how organised and well-prepared his team had been. Tony Mowbray, the manager of West Bromwich Albion, believed that his team were the better team in a tight match, but said that "you don't always get what you deserve."


2007 Football League Championship play-off Final, Post-match
The final was regarded as the most financially lucrative single match in world club football according to accounting firm Deloitte, who estimated that Derby's promotion would earn them in the region of £60 million. A prior agreement between the chairmen of the two clubs, Peter Gadsby and Jeremy Peace, meant that as losers, West Bromwich Albion took the entire £3 million in gate receipts from the final. The day after the match, thousands of Derby County supporters lined the streets of the city as the club's staff and players took part in an open top bus tour.


2007 Football League Championship play-off Final, Post-match
Upon their return to the top division, Derby County recorded the lowest points total since the Premier League began, thus were relegated back to the Championship. Meanwhile, West Bromwich Albion won the Championship title in 2007–08 to achieve automatic promotion to the Premier League, though they were also relegated after a single season.


2007 Football League Cup Final
The 2007 Football League Cup Final was a football match between Chelsea and Arsenal on 25 February 2007 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. It was the final match of the 2006–07 staging of the Football League Cup, and last to be staged at the Millennium Stadium. Chelsea were making their fifth League Cup final appearance to Arsenal's sixth.


2007 Football League Cup Final
Each club needed to get past four rounds to reach the final. Chelsea made comfortable progress; they scored 12 goals while conceding only one to Wycombe Wanderers in the semi-final. Arsenal fielded a relatively young team throughout the competition; their wins against fellow league opponents Liverpool in the fifth-round and Tottenham Hotspur in the semis were acclaimed by the British press. Chelsea entered the match as favourites and were undefeated against Arsenal in all competitions since 2004.


2007 Football League Cup Final
Watched by a crowd of 70,073, Arsenal took the lead in the 12th minute when Theo Walcott scored. Chelsea equalised moments later through Didier Drogba, who also scored the match winner six minutes from the end of normal time. Midway through the second half, Chelsea captain John Terry was accidentally kicked in the face after attempting to score with a diving header; he played no further part in the match having sought medical attention. Stoppage time was extended because of the incident, at which point a fracas occurred between the Arsenal and Chelsea players. Kolo Touré and Emmanuel Adebayor were dismissed for their actions, together with Chelsea's Mikel John Obi. Play came to an end in the 102nd minute.


2007 Football League Cup Final
Chelsea manager José Mourinho was delighted with his team's win and credited his opponent's performance. He felt the brawl in stoppage time was born out of Arsenal's frustration after going behind in the match; he did not want either team to be punished. Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger apologised for his players' conduct and said he had no regrets over his team selection. Both finalists were fined £100,000 each by The Football Association for their inability to control their players. Emmanuel Eboué was retrospectively banned for three matches as his punch on Wayne Bridge was missed by Howard Webb. Wenger was later found guilty of improper conduct and charged £2,500 for his comments about the linesman.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Route to the final
The Football League Cup is a football competition open to the 92 teams in the Premier League and the Football League.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Route to the final, Chelsea
Chelsea entered the competition in the third round, as one of the eight teams from the Premier League involved in European competition during the season. They were drawn against Blackburn Rovers; the match took place at Ewood Park. A goal apiece from Joe Cole and Salomon Kalou ensured a 2–0 victory.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Route to the final, Chelsea
Chelsea's opponent in the fourth round were Aston Villa. The match was played at Stamford Bridge on 8 November 2006. Frank Lampard opened the scoring for Chelsea in the 32nd minute; further goals by Andriy Shevchenko, Michael Essien and Didier Drogba in the second half secured a 4–0 win.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Route to the final, Chelsea
Newcastle United hosted Chelsea at St James' Park in the fifth round of the competition. The home team came close to scoring after the midway point of the first half; Obafemi Martins's shot towards the Chelsea goal hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced down, before the ball was cleared. In the 79th minute, Drogba – on as a substitute – scored the winning goal of the match, from a free-kick.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Route to the final, Chelsea
Wycombe Wanderers were Chelsea's opponent in the semi-final which was played over two-legs. The first leg was staged at Wycombe's home ground, Adams Park. A match preview in The Guardian noted the financial gap between the two sides: "Wycombe's most expensive player, Jermaine Easter, cost £80,000; Chelsea's squad is valued at more than £300m." In the game Wycombe started brightly, but the team were unable to convert their chances. Chelsea took the lead in the 36th minute when Wayne Bridge collected a pass from Kalou and chipped the ball over Ricardo Batista, the Wycombe goalkeeper.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Route to the final, Chelsea
Easter equalised for Wycombe with 13 minutes of the match remaining; neither side scored again and the match ended 1–1. The second leg at Stamford Bridge saw Chelsea start better of the two sides and two goals apiece from Shevchenko and Lampard meant they won 4–0 on the night, 5–1 on aggregate score to progress to the final.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Route to the final, Arsenal
Arsenal entered the competition in the third round as they participated in European football during the season. They faced West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns, where striker Jérémie Aliadière scored twice to secure a 2–0 victory for the visitors.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Route to the final, Arsenal
Arsenal travelled to Goodison Park in the fourth round of the competition to play Everton. They won the match 1–0 courtesy of a late Emmanuel Adebayor goal, which came from a corner. For much of the game Everton played with a man disadvantage as striker James McFadden was sent off in the 19th minute for dissent.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Route to the final, Arsenal
Liverpool were Arsenal's opponent in the fifth round. The match, scheduled on 19 December 2006 at Anfield, was postponed by referee Martin Atkinson because of heavy fog. Atkinson's decision infuriated the managers of both clubs, with Rafael Benítez commenting: "There were a lot of people looking forward to the game and it's really difficult to explain." The tie was rescheduled for 9 January 2007 and on the night Arsenal took the lead when Aliadière scored in the 27th minute. Robbie Fowler equalised for Liverpool six minutes later.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Route to the final, Arsenal
Later, two goals from Júlio Baptista and goal from Alex Song put Arsenal 4–1 ahead at half time. In the second half, Baptista completed his hat-trick; although Steven Gerrard and Sami Hyypiä scored to close the scoreline gap for Liverpool, Baptista added his fourth goal of the match in the 84th minute. The final score was 6–3, Liverpool's heaviest defeat at Anfield in 76 years. In his match report for The Guardian, Daniel Taylor praised Arsenal's reserve team and summarised: "The difference between the two teams was immense. Arsenal played with flair and purpose; Liverpool were dishevelled and short of leadership."


2007 Football League Cup Final, Route to the final, Arsenal
Tottenham Hotspur faced Arsenal in the semi-final which was played over two-legs. The first leg was at Tottenham's home ground, White Hart Lane. A goal from Dimitar Berbatov gave Tottenham the lead in the 12th minute and they extended their advantage after Baptista inadvertently kicked the ball into his own goal. Baptista, however, made amends in the second half, scoring twice in the space of 13 minutes to level the score at 2–2. The second leg at the Emirates Stadium saw Arsenal take the lead in the 77th minute when Adebayor scored.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Route to the final, Arsenal
Mido equalised for Tottenham, which took the match into extra time because the away goals rule was not in use in the competition. Aliadière's goal in the 105th minute restored Arsenal's lead and an own goal scored by Pascal Chimbonda ensured the home team progressed to the final, winning 3–1 after extra time, and 5–3 on aggregate.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Build-up
Chelsea, the match favourites, were appearing in their fifth League Cup final; they had previously won the competition three times in 1965, 1998 and 2005, and lost one final in 1972. By contrast Arsenal made their sixth League Cup final appearance; they had won two in 1987 and 1993 and lost three in 1968, 1969 and 1988. Both clubs had played each other in the League Cup four times, with Chelsea and Arsenal each winning on two occasions. Chelsea's biggest win against Arsenal in the competition was a 5–0 away win in November 1998. Prior to the match Arsenal's last win against Chelsea in all competitions came in February 2004.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Build-up
The relationship between both clubs had become strained, not least because of Chelsea's financial advantage; the club was owned by billionaire Roman Abramovich. The day after Chelsea announced losses of £80 million for 2005–06, Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger expressed concern over his opponent's conduct: "I have said many times that all the clubs should be balanced with their natural resources. That means they can only spend what they earn."


2007 Football League Cup Final, Build-up
Chelsea manager José Mourinho refused to respond to Wenger's comments in his UEFA Champions League pre-match press conference, but made reference to his record in the competition in contrast to his counterpart: "Many great managers in the world have never won it. The big example is not far from us; Arsène Wenger is a top manager in the world. He's a big manager in the world of football and he never did it so when I did it once, I can thank God for that. I have that."


2007 Football League Cup Final, Build-up
Wenger replied to Mourinho's comments by arguing that although plenty of managers have won the Champions League, most would not be considered greats – "What is important is that you look at their careers in 10, 15 or 20 years. What kind of quality have you brought through in your work and on how consistent a level have you done it?"


2007 Football League Cup Final, Build-up
Much was made of Arsenal's policy of using the League Cup to field youngsters. In order to explain his team selection, Wenger made an analogy between his youth players and hopefuls on The X Factor, a television programme he admired. He ruled out playing his more experienced players for the match: "We battled very hard to be in this final and it would be a reward for this team, which has risen up to every challenge."


2007 Football League Cup Final, Build-up
Mourinho did not anticipate Arsenal would make a "crazy change" to their team: "Normally, they change players but keep their philosophy, their idea of football, their system." He believed the final had the makings of a showpiece event as the competition was not a main target for both clubs; emotions therefore would not dictate matters.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Build-up
Both clubs received an allocation of approximately 30,000 tickets. The competition sponsor Carling gave up its allocation; they instead invited 200 fans of Arsenal and Chelsea to be seated in their suite. Supporters of the four semi-final clubs were invited to participate in the "Carling Cabniet"; this gave them the opportunity to have their say about the matchday experience. Ticket prices for adults were priced £36, £48, £64 and £74, with concessions for juniors and seniors. For every ticket sold, the Football League gave £1 to Children in Need; the donation came at a total of £70,000.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Build-up
Chelsea were expected to line up in a 4–4–2 formation, with Essien in central defence. They had doubts about the fitness of captain John Terry going into the final. He appeared to have damaged his ankle ligaments during the first leg of Chelsea's Champions League tie with Porto, though passed a fitness test just days after. Arsenal were expected to line up in a similar formation, with Baptista and Aliadière up front.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Build-up
Train delays caused by a "major signal failure" meant that on the day of the final over 2,000 spectators were late for kick-off. An accident on the M4 motorway trigged more chaos; this led to requests for the game to be delayed, but South Wales Police were confident they could get everyone seated in time. Network Rail later apologised for the delay.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Match
Chelsea set up in a 4–1–3–2 formation with Terry partnering Ricardo Carvalho in defence. Claude Makélélé played behind a midfield three made up of Lampard, Ballack and Essien. By contrast Arsenal lined up in a 4–4–2 formation; Abou Diaby and Theo Walcott were positioned either side of central midfielders Cesc Fàbregas and Denílson and provided width. Arsenal's starting line up – averaging 21 years – was the youngest to play in a major English cup final. Before the match commenced, the national anthem was sung by Juliette Pochin.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Match, Summary
Arsenal kicked off and started strongly, with Fàbregas dictating play in midfield. Baptista came close to scoring in the seventh minute, but for his shot to be blocked by Terry. Another shot of his three minutes later was saved by Petr Čech, who tipped the ball over the crossbar. This resulted in an Arsenal corner, which Drogba cleared. Walcott immediately collected the ball, passed it to Diaby before receiving it once more in the Chelsea penalty box.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Match, Summary
He sidefooted the ball past Čech and into the Chelsea goal to give Arsenal a 1–0 lead; it was his first goal for the club. Arsenal's tempo and the speed in which they passed the ball continued to cause Chelsea problems. Walcott in the 14th minute used his pace to get the better of defenders Bridge and Carvalho and crossed the ball to Baptista, who lost his footing.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Match, Summary
Chelsea created their first chance of the match after 18 minutes – a shot from Lampard which hit Kolo Touré. They fought back to equalise two minutes later. Ballack launched the ball to Drogba on the right-hand side of Arsenal's penalty area. Diverting his markers who attempted to set the offside trap, Drogba took the ball and shot it past Manuel Almunia's goal to score. The equaliser led to Chelsea asserting themselves in the match as the team began to build up possession.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Match, Summary
Denílson, at the midway point of the half, received the game's first yellow card for a foul on Essien; the Chelsea midfielder was later booked for a tackle on Baptista. Sticks of celery were thrown at Fàbregas before he took a corner close to stoppage time; targeting opponents with the vegetable was a Chelsea supporter's ritual going back more than two decades and originated from song.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Match, Summary
Chelsea made an attacking substitution before the start of the second half; Arjen Robben came on for Makélélé. He made an immediate impact, running past the Arsenal defence in the 48th minute, but his pass failed to reach Shevchenko. Soon after Carvalho was booked for a foul on Aliadière and conceded a free-kick at the edge of Chelsea's penalty box, though nothing came out of it. Both teams continued to fashion chances – a well worked move by Arsenal finished with Fàbregas's shooting low past Čech in goal, while Chelsea's Robben from 20 yards curled the ball wide.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Match, Summary
Lassana Diarra was shown a yellow card in the 52nd minute for his challenge on Diaby; the Arsenal midfielder managed to get past Ballack and Lampard before he was "deliberately bowled over" by his opponent. Robben earnt Chelsea a corner moments after; from it, Terry attempted a diving header and Diaby, in an attempt to clear, ended up kicking the Chelsea captain, thus knocking him out. After receiving medical attention Terry was immediately stretchered off and taken to the hospital; he was replaced by Mikel John Obi and Essien was moved to centre back.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Match, Summary
The period immediately after Terry's substitution saw few clear-cut chances, with Walcott and Drogba barely testing their respective keepers. Arsenal made two substitutions in a three-minute spell – Armand Traoré for Emmanuel Eboué and Alexander Hleb replacing the injured Diaby. In the 74th minute a shot by Lampard from 25 yards hit Almunia's crossbar. Arsenal responded with a flowing move from left to right, which resulted in a corner. Chelsea cleared and countered, forcing Almunia to save. Arsenal made their final substitution in the 80th minute, replacing Aliadière with Adebayor.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Match, Summary
With six minutes remaining of the 90, Chelsea scored the winning goal of the match. Arsenal gave away possession to Essien in midfield, who passed the ball to Robben wide on the left. He crossed the ball into the Arsenal penalty area, which reached the head of Drogba; the striker headed it in past Almunia.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Match, Summary
Shevchenko came close to scoring Chelsea's third goal of the match, but his effort hit the crossbar. Seven minutes of stoppage time were added to the match due to Terry's injury. A tussle between Touré and Mikel over shirt pulling resulted in a fracas between both sets of players. Both managers came onto the pitch in order to calm matters. Referee Howard Webb decided to send off Touré and Mikel for violent conduct and consulted with an assistant referee, before sending off Adebayor, who was alleged to have struck Bridge. Adebayor was irate and needed to be escorted off the field by Arsenal officials. The match restarted, by which point Kalou came on for Shevchenko.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Match, Summary
No further goals were scored and the full-time whistle eventually blew in the 102nd minute of play. Terry who was admitted to hospital later discharged himself and returned to the stadium to celebrate with his teammates.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Post-match and aftermath
Chelsea's victory meant they won the trophy for the sixth time. Mourinho was delighted to have won the League Cup and felt his team deserved to win on balance of play. He credited his opponents, with a sly dig: "A special word for them – they played very good. They have a great coach, great players – but football is about winning and the cup goes to us." He was disappointed by the fracas and pointed out it was born out of Arsenal's frustration, though stressed "We cannot kill a player because something happened." Mourinho took time out to praise Arsenal's medical staff for attending to Terry after his concussion and absolved Diaby from any fault.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Post-match and aftermath
Lampard described his teammate Drogba as “…special, he's the best in the world at the moment. He does it week in, week out and on the big occasions." He argued the brawl near the end of the match highlighted how much the players from both sides wanted to win. Defender Ashley Cole, who left Arsenal in acrimonious terms to join Chelsea felt his decision to move was vindicated: "I'm enjoying life, the manager's good and after six or seven months here I've already won a medal. That's why I came here."


2007 Football League Cup Final, Post-match and aftermath
Wenger apologised for his team's behaviour: "I feel we should not have reacted at all. Overall we are sorry for what happened. When you do not behave like you want to, then you have to apologise." He had no regrets over his team selection and suggested it was part of the player's learning process. Wenger said of Walcott: "…he had a very good performance and scored a great goal. That is good for us and good news for England." Gilberto Silva described Arsenal's defeat as a "sad memory" and wanted to use the loss to motivate the team for their coming matches.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Post-match and aftermath
The day after the final Arsenal and Chelsea submitted claims for wrongful dismissal of Adebayor and Mikel, respectively, to The Football Association (FA). The FA denied both appeals and clarified their penalties. Eboué was charged with violent conduct for striking Bridge, whereas Adebayor was charged for his behaviour after being sent off. Both players were suspended for three matches – one less than Mikel. Arsenal and Chelsea were charged with misconduct concerning their inability to control their players and were fined £100,000 each. Wenger criticised the FA's treatment of his players and accused the linesman of lying in his account of Adebayor's actions. This led to an investigation where Wenger was found guilty; he was later fined £2,500 and censured by the FA.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Post-match and aftermath
Journalists reviewing the match praised Arsenal's young team; some however went as far to criticise their conduct in the brawl. Henry Winter wrote in The Daily Telegraph of 26 February 2007 "…all feline grace and youthful ambition, [Arsenal] were the better team, moving the ball around exquisitely at times," while Glenn Moore of The Independent reflected "the Arsenal manager can take great consolation from the quality of his young footballers."


2007 Football League Cup Final, Post-match and aftermath
The Guardian correspondent Kevin McCarra opened his match report with the line "To Chelsea the trophy, to Arsenal the future," and felt the latter club deserved plaudits for the role they played in the final, and competition as a whole. He commended Chelsea's adversity and singled out Carvalho as an example; at fault for Arsenal's goal, the defender's performance thereafter was faultless. Matt Dickinson of The Times agreed that Arsenal had played the better football, but said their temperament was "brittle" – "[They] had lost the trophy before they lost their heads."


2007 Football League Cup Final, Post-match and aftermath
Football pundit Alan Hansen was scathing of Arsenal's behaviour and suggested their inexperience had a part to play: "When they reflect upon it, Arsenal will admit that they were largely in the wrong." He was critical of Wenger's team selection and felt the big clubs saw the competition, much like the FA Cup as an irrelevance. The violence and sendings off on the pitch led to some media outlets dubbing the match as the "Snarling Cup Final", or in the case of Winter's match report the "Carnage Cup final".


2007 Football League Cup Final, Post-match and aftermath
This was the seventh and last League Cup final to be played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, before the opening of the new Wembley Stadium, the final's traditional venue. The match was broadcast live in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports 1; the channel's coverage averaged at 2.7 million viewers, with a peak audience of 3.2 million (24.88%) at 5pm. At the time it was the biggest multichannel audience of 2007, overtaking a football match between Arsenal and Manchester United in January.


2007 Football League Cup Final, Post-match and aftermath
Chelsea's first match after the final was against Portsmouth in the Premier League. A 2–0 win ensured they remained in contention for the league, though by May finished in second place. Chelsea did however beat Manchester United to win the 2007 FA Cup Final and complete a cup double. Arsenal played Blackburn Rovers a few days after the final in a FA Cup replay. They lost the match 1–0; it was Arsenal's third defeat in all competitions which represented their worst run of form in five years.


2007 Football League One play-off Final
The 2007 Football League One play-off Final was an association football match which was played on 27 May 2007 at Wembley Stadium, London, between Yeovil Town and Blackpool to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from Football League One to the Football League Championship. The top two teams of the 2006–07 Football League One season, Scunthorpe United and Bristol City, gained automatic promotion to the Championship, while the teams placed from third to sixth in the table took part in play-offs. The winners of the play-off semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2007–08 season in the Championship. The losing semi-finalists were Nottingham Forest and Oldham Athletic.


2007 Football League One play-off Final
The match was played in front of a crowd of 59,313 and was refereed by Andy D'Urso. Blackpool dominated the early stages of the match. In the 43rd minute, Keigan Parker was fouled and Robbie Willams curled in the resulting free kick to make it 1–0 to Blackpool. Yeovil started the second half strongly, pushing a number of players high up the pitch in attack. Blackpool counter-attacked in the 52nd minute and Parker doubled their lead with a curling strike into the top-right corner of the Yeovil goal. Late in the match, Yeovil's best chance fell to Marcus Stewart whose diving header struck the ground and bounced over the Blackpool crossbar. The match finished 2–0 to Blackpool who were promoted to the second tier for the first time in 29 years.


2007 Football League One play-off Final
In their following season, Blackpool finished in 19th place in the Championship, three places above the relegation zone. Yeovil ended their next season in 18th position in League One, three places and four points ahead of the relegation places.


2007 Football League One play-off Final, Route to the final
Blackpool finished the regular 2006–07 season in third place in Football League One, the third tier of the English football league system, two places ahead of Yeovil Town. Both therefore missed out on the two automatic places for promotion to the Football League Championship and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the third promoted team. Blackpool finished two points behind Bristol City (who were promoted in second place) and eight behind league winners Scunthorpe United.


2007 Football League One play-off Final, Route to the final
Yeovil Town's opponents for their play-off semi-final were Nottingham Forest with the first match of the two-legged tie taking place at Huish Park in Yeovil on 11 May 2007. Midway through the first half, Nathan Jones fouled James Perch in the Yeovil box to concede a penalty. Kris Commons struck the spot-kick into the bottom corner of the goal to make it 1–0 to the visitors. Yeovil dominated the latter stages and pushed forward which allowed Nottingham Forest to break in the final minute of the game, when Jack Lester was brought down by Terrell Forbes to concede another penalty.


2007 Football League One play-off Final, Route to the final
Perch scored from the spot to double Forest's lead and end the first leg 2–0. The second leg took place at Nottingham Forest's City Ground a week later. Arron Davies put the visitors ahead midway through the first half but two minutes after half time, Scott Dobie equalised with a header from a Lewis McGugan corner. Alan Wright scored an own goal eight minutes from full time after the ball deflected in off him from a Jean-Paul Kalala shot which struck the Yeovil goalpost.


2007 Football League One play-off Final, Route to the final
It was followed five minutes later by a headed goal from Marcus Stewart to make it 3–1. David Prutton was sent off for Nottingham Forest in the last minute of regular time for two yellow cards and the aggregate final score of 3–3 saw the game go into extra time. Lee Morris scored in the 92nd minute before a volley from Gary Holt reduced the deficit for Forest. Davies scored his second and Yeovil's fifth with eleven minutes remaining ensuring a 5–4 aggregate victory for the club and progression to the final.


2007 Football League One play-off Final, Route to the final
Blackpool faced Oldham Athletic in the other semi-final; the first leg was held at Boundary Park in Oldham on 13 May 2007. After a goalless first half, Blackpool's Shaun Barker headed in a corner in the 52nd minute. Despite further domination from the visitors, Oldham equalised on 75 minutes with a penalty:  Michael Jackson fouled Chris Porter in the Blackpool area and Andy Liddell scored the resulting spot-kick. With three minutes remaining Wes Hoolahan scored for Blackpool to secure a 2–1 victory for his side.


2007 Football League One play-off Final, Route to the final
The second leg of the semi-final was played six days later at Bloomfield Road in Blackpool. Keith Southern opened the scoring in the 28th minute with a shot from around 23 yards (21 m) which beat Alan Blayney in the Oldham goal. Andy Morrell doubled Blackpool's lead with fifteen minutes of the match remaining after Hoolahan had won the ball from Kelvin Lomax. Matt Wolfendon then scored for Oldham in the 83rd minute to make it 2–1. Keigan Parker scored with a curling shot in the 90th minute and the match ended 3–1 to Blackpool who progressed to the final with a 5–2 aggregate win.


2007 Football League One play-off Final, Match, Background
Yeovil Town had been promoted from non-League football after they finished the 2002–03 Football Conference season as champions, and had been promoted to the third tier of English football two seasons later. This was their first appearance in the play-offs and their first match at Wembley Stadium.


2007 Football League One play-off Final, Match, Background
This was Blackpool's fifth appearance in the play-offs and their fourth final: they lost to Torquay United on penalties in the 1991 Football League Fourth Division play-off Final at the old Wembley Stadium, defeated Scunthorpe United in a penalty shootout in the following season's final and beat Leyton Orient 4–2 in the 2001 Football League Third Division play-off Final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Blackpool had played in the third tier of English football ever since.


2007 Football League One play-off Final, Match, Background
In the two regular league matches between the sides, the game at Bloomfield Road in October 2006 ended in a 1–1 draw, while Blackpool secured a 1–0 win at Huish Park the following March. Top scorers for Yeovil Town were Wayne Gray, with 12 goals (11 in the league, 1 in the League Cup) and Leon Best with 10 (all in the league). Blackpool's leading marksmen were Morrell with 19 goals (16 in the league, 3 in the FA Cup), Parker with 14 (13 in the league, 1 in the FA Cup) and Scott Vernon, also with 14 (11 in the league, 1 in the FA Cup and 2 in the League Cup).


2007 Football League One play-off Final, Match, Background
According to the Racing Post, Blackpool were clear favourites to win the match with Yeovil having been tipped at the beginning of the season to be relegated. Chris Brandon was available for Blackpool after serving out a suspension, but was not selected, while Southern returned to the team after recovering from injury. For Yeovil, captain Terry Skiverton returned from a groin injury, and was named as a substitute, while Chris Cohen and Anthony Barry awaited fitness tests.


2007 Football League One play-off Final, Match, Background
The referee for the final was Andy D'Urso from Essex. The match was broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports. Both teams adopted a 4–4–2 formation.


2007 Football League One play-off Final, Match, Summary
The match kicked off around 3 p.m. in front of a Wembley crowd of 59,313. Blackpool dominated the early stages of the match with both Robbie Williams and Claus Jørgensen having shots at the Yeovil goal. In the 40th minute, Yeovil were forced to make their first substitution of the game when Chris Cohen picked up an injury and was replaced by Jean-Paul Kalala. Three minutes later, Parker was fouled and Willams curled in the resulting free kick to make it 1–0 to Blackpool. Just before half-time, Paul Rachubka made a fingertip save to push Davies' free-kick over the Blackpool crossbar.


2007 Football League One play-off Final, Match, Summary
Neither side made any changes to their personnel during the interval and Yeovil started the second half strongly, pushing a number of players high up the pitch in attack. Blackpool exploited that with a counter-attack in the 52nd minute, when Parker doubled the lead with a curling strike into the top-right corner of the Yeovil goal. Steve Mildenhall, the Yeovil goalkeeper, then made two low saves to first deny Parker and then Morrell. Late in the match,  Yeovil's best chance fell to Stewart whose diving header struck the ground before bouncing over the Blackpool crossbar. The match finished 2–0 to Blackpool who were promoted to the second tier for the first time in 29 years.


2007 Football League One play-off Final, Post-match
The Blackpool manager Simon Grayson said he had been confident of success, despite a poor start to the season which saw them win once in eleven games, and noted "they have kept going all season and rounded it off today with a fantastic performance." His counterpart Russell Slade had experienced defeat with Grimsby Town in the 2006 Football League Two play-off Final, and described it as "a double blow" but conceded that Yeovil were "beaten by a better side".


2007 Football League One play-off Final, Post-match
He suggested that the experience would stand them in good stead: "There were some disappointing performances and it's not easy to take, but hopefully it will make me stronger and my team will come back stronger". Goal-scorer Parker called it "the best day in my career by a mile ... to come here and win at Wembley is just amazing." It was Blackpool's tenth consecutive victory, breaking a 70-year-old club record.


2007 Football League One play-off Final, Post-match
In their following season, Blackpool finished in 19th place in the Championship, three places and two points above the relegation zone. Yeovil ended their next season in 18th position in League One, three places and four points ahead of relegation.


2007 Football League Trophy Final
The 2007 Football League Trophy Final was the 24th final of the domestic football cup competition for teams from Football Leagues One and Two, the Football League Trophy. The final was played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on 1 April 2007, the last time that the final would be played in the stadium. The match was contested by Bristol Rovers and Doncaster Rovers. Doncaster won the match 3–2 with Graeme Lee scoring the winning goal twenty minutes into extra-time.


2007 Football League Two play-off Final
The 2007 Football League Two play-off Final was an association football match which was on 26 May 2007 at Wembley Stadium, London, between Bristol Rovers and Shrewsbury Town to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from Football League Two to Football League One. The top two teams of the 2006–07 Football League Two season gained automatic promotion to League One, while those placed from third to sixth in the table partook in play-off semi-finals; the winners of these semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2007–08 season in League One.


2007 Football League Two play-off Final
Bristol Rovers had reached the play-off final in their sixth season back in the fourth tier of English football, having been relegated from the Second Division (equivalent of League One) in the 2000–01 season and Shrewsbury in their third season, after their promotion from the Football Conference in the 2003–04 season. The 2007 final was watched by a crowd of 61,589 people, a record for a fixture played at the fourth tier of English football, and refereed by Mike Jones. Shrewsbury opened the scoring through Stewart Drummond who scored after three minutes from a Neil Ashton free kick.


2007 Football League Two play-off Final
Richard Walker levelled the match midway through the first half when he scored from a Ryan Green cross. Ten minutes before half-time, Walker scored his and Bristol Rovers' second goal after running clear and chipping the ball over Chris Mackenzie, the Shrewsbury Town goalkeeper. Shrewsbury were reduced to ten players when Marc Tierney was sent off near the end of the match for two yellow cards before Sammy Igoe scored into an empty goal to give Bristol Rovers a 3–1 victory and promotion to League One.


2007 Football League Two play-off Final
Shrewsbury Town ended the next season in eighteenth position, eight points above the relegation zone. Bristol Rovers finished sixteenth in League One, five points above the relegation zone, keeping their place in the third tier.


2007 Football League Two play-off Final, Route to the final
Bristol Rovers finished the regular 2006–07 season in sixth position in Football League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system, one place and one point ahead of Shrewsbury Town. Both therefore missed out on the three automatic places for promotion to Football League One and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the fourth promoted team. Bristol Rovers finished thirteen points behind Swindon Town (who were promoted in third place), sixteen behind Hartlepool United (who were promoted in second place), and seventeen behind league winners Walsall.


2007 Football League Two play-off Final, Route to the final
Shrewsbury Town faced Milton Keynes Dons in their play-off semi-final with the first match of the two-legged tie being played at Gay Meadow in Shrewsbury on 14 May 2007. In what was Shrewsbury's final game at the stadium after 97 years, Milton Keynes Dons dominated the majority of the proceedings and although the home side ended strongly, the final score was 0–0. The second leg took place four days later at the National Hockey Stadium in Milton Keynes.


2007 Football League Two play-off Final, Route to the final
After a goalless first half, Shrewsbury Town brought on Andy Cooke as a substitute at half-time and he put his side ahead in the 58th minute after running onto a pass from Danny Hall to score. With sixteen minutes remaining, Keith Andrews equalised after his initial header was saved by Scott Shearer. Cooke scored his and his side's second goal less than two minutes later and the match ended 2–1, with Shrewsbury Town progressing to the final with the same aggregate score.


2007 Football League Two play-off Final, Route to the final
Bristol Rovers went into the play-offs having won seven and drawn two of their last eleven games. Their opponents for the other play-off semi-final were Lincoln City and the first leg was held at the Memorial Stadium in Bristol on 14 May 2007. Craig Disley opened the scoring for the home side on ten minutes when headed in a cross from Rickie Lambert past Alan Marriott, the Lincoln City goalkeeper. Jeff Hughes equalised for Lincoln City in the 31st minute when he struck his free kick into the top-right corner of the Bristol Rovers goal.


2007 Football League Two play-off Final, Route to the final
Nine minutes into the second half, Richard Walker scored with a volley from Steve Elliott's free kick to give Bristol Rovers the lead which they held to win the match 2–1. The second leg was played three days later at Sincil Bank in Lincoln. Stuart Campbell scored in the third minute for Bristol Rovers with a long-range strike and Lambert volleyed past Marriott to make it 2–0 eight minutes later. Hughes scored from Jamie Forrester's cross midway through the first half to reduce Lincoln City's deficit before Walker made it 3–1 nine minutes before half time.


2007 Football League Two play-off Final, Route to the final
Mark Stallard scored for Lincoln City seven minutes later with a half-volley but a second-half Sammy Igoe goal made it 4–2 to Bristol Rovers in the 82nd minute. Sean Rigg then made it 5–2 in the 90th minute before Hughes scored his second to ensure the match ended 5–3 and Bristol Rovers progressed to the final with a 7–4 aggregate victory.


2007 Football League Two play-off Final, Match, Background
This was Bristol Rovers' fourth appearance in the play-offs and their third final, having lost 2–1 on aggregate to Port Vale in the 1989 Football League Third Division play-off Final and being defeated 2–1 by Huddersfield Town in the 1995 Football League Second Division play-off Final. They had played in the fourth tier of English football after being relegated in the 2000–01 season. Shrewsbury Town were making their first appearance in the English Football League play-offs but had earned promotion from the Football Conference in the 2003–04 season with a penalty shoot-out victory over Aldershot Town in the final.


2007 Football League Two play-off Final, Match, Background
They had played in the fourth tier of English football since then, having last featured in the third tier in the 1996–97 season. The sides had faced one another three times during the regular season: in the league, Bristol Rovers won the match 1–0 at the Memorial Stadium in August 2006 while the game at Gay Meadow the following March ended in a goalless draw. Between those matches, the sides met in the southern section semi-final of the Football League Trophy where Bristol Rovers won 1–0 at Gay Meadow.


2007 Football League Two play-off Final, Match, Background
Walker was Bristol Rovers' top scorer during the regular season with 19 goals (12 in the league, 4 in the FA Cup, 1 in the League Cup and 2 in the Football League Trophy). The leading scorer for Shrewsbury Town was Michael Symes with a total of 13 goals (9 in the league, 4 in the Football League Trophy) while Ben Davies and Cooke both had a total of 12 goals.


2007 Football League Two play-off Final, Match, Background
The Racing Post considered Bristol Rovers to be favourites to win the final, but their manager Paul Trollope urged caution, noting "We probably are favourites because of the way we have gone into the final, but it is about producing a performance that is good enough to beat Shrewsbury because you don't win anything just by being favourites and turning up".


2007 Football League Two play-off Final, Match, Background
The referee for the final was Mike Jones from Cheshire. Shrewsbury Town's Davies was unavailable after sustaining an Achilles tendon injury in the semi-final, and goalkeeper Shearer, on loan from Bristol Rovers, was ineligible to play against his own club. Luke Jones was also out injured for Shrewsbury Town, having suffered a locked knee during the warm-up preceding the final. Joe Jacobson's loan period had ended so he had returned to Cardiff City from Bristol Rovers. Both sides adopted a 4–4–2 formation for the final.


2007 Football League Two play-off Final, Match, Summary
The match kicked off around 3 p.m. on 26 May 2007 at Wembley Stadium in front of a crowd of 61,589. Three minutes into the match, Shrewsbury Town took the lead: Neil Ashton's free-kick from the right was met by Stewart Drummond  with a glancing header which sent the ball Bristol Rovers goalkeeper Steve Phillips into the bottom corner of the goal. Ashton had an opportunity to equalise after Derek Asamoah's cross was passed on by Ryan Green but failed to connect with the ball.


2007 Football League Two play-off Final, Match, Summary
In the 21st minute, Green took the ball down the right wing before crossing for Walker who struck the ball first time past Chris Mackenzie in the Shrewsbury Town goal. Asamoah then found Cooke with a cross but the Shrewsbury striker was unable to convert the chance to score. With ten minutes of the half remaining, Lewis Haldane passed the ball down the left, and after Richard Hope failed to make the interception, Walker took a controlling touch of the ball and lobbed it over MacKenzie to make it 2–1 before the interval.


2007 Football League Two play-off Final, Match, Summary
Late in the second half, Shrewsbury Town's Marc Tierney was sent off after being shown a second yellow card following a late tackle on Campbell. Two minutes into stoppage time, Shrewsbury Town won a corner for which their goalkeeper MacKenzie came up the pitch. Bristol Rovers broke from the corner and Igoe was able to run with the ball before striking it into an empty goal. The match ended 3–1 to Bristol Rovers who were promoted to League One.


2007 Football League Two play-off Final, Post-match
The attendance of 61,589 was a record for the fourth tier play-off final and it was estimated in The Guardian that more than 40,000 of the crowd were Bristol Rovers supporters. Trollope, who had featured in three play-off semi-final defeats as a player, described the victory as "the greatest day of my career." He did, however, note his belief that the two-goal margin of victory somewhat flattered his side. Walker said "I knew it was going to be the biggest game of my life ...


2007 Football League Two play-off Final, Post-match
We didn't doubt ourselves when they scored, we believed in our ability, we clawed our way back into the game and it was a fantastic thing to win." He went on to express his summer holiday plans: "I'm going to drink for six weeks". Gary Peters, the Shrewsbury Town manager, admitted "Had we had Walker on our side, it might have been different. They had two chances and took them, we had four and didn't put them away ... I think the season's caught up with us. We had four more games than anybody else."


2007 Football League Two play-off Final, Post-match
Shrewsbury Town ended the next season in 18th place, eight points above the relegation zone. Bristol Rovers finished 16th in the 2007–08 Football League One, five points above the relegation zone, keeping their place in the third tier.


2007 Football League play-offs
The Football League play-offs for the 2006–07 season were held in May 2007, with the finals taking place at Wembley Stadium in London for the first time. The play-off semi-finals will be played over two legs and will contested by the teams who finish in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place in the Football League Championship and League One and the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th placed teams in the League Two table. The winners of the semi-finals will go through to the finals, with the winner of the matches gaining promotion for the following season.


2007 Football League play-offs, Background
The Football League play-offs have been held every year since 1987. They take place for each division following the conclusion of the regular season and are contested by the four clubs finishing below the automatic promotion places.


2007 Football League play-offs, Background
In the Championship, Derby County, who were aiming to return to the top flight for the first time in 5 years, finished 2 points behind second placed Birmingham City, who in turn finished 2 points behind champions Sunderland, who returned to the top flight at the first attempt after relegation from the Premier League last season. West Bromwich Albion who were also relegated from the top flight last season, finished in fourth place in the table. Wolverhampton Wanderers who are aiming to return to the Premiership after a 3-year absence, finished in fifth place. Southampton finished 1 point behind Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion on 75 points and were looking for a place back in the Premiership after 2 seasons outside the top division.


2007 Football League play-offs, Championship, Semi-finals
Derby County 4–4 Southampton on aggregate. Derby County won 4–3 on penalties.


2007 Football West State League
Floreat Athena completed the league season undefeated, the first time that had occurred since 1990 (when Floreat also had an undefeated league season).


2007 Ford 400
The 2007 Ford 400 was a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series stock car race that was held on November 18, 2007 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida. The 267-lap race was the thirty-sixth in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, as well as the final race in the ten-race Chase for the Nextel Cup, which ended the season.


2007 Ford 400, Qualifying
With a lap of 30.545 seconds at a speed of 176.788 mph (284.513 km/h), points leader Jimmie Johnson moved one step closer to winning his second consecutive championship by winning the final pole award under Anheuser-Busch sponsorship. Johnson's main rival, teammate Jeff Gordon, started 11th, two-time Homestead winner Tony Stewart started 14th, and defending three-time winner Greg Biffle started 37th.


2007 Ford 400, Qualifying
Failed to qualify: A. J. Allmendinger (84), John Andretti (49), Joe Nemechek (78), Michael Waltrip (55), Todd Bodine (4), Burney Lamar (08, crashed in qualifying).


2007 Ford 400, Race
Matt Kenseth won the race, celebrating by doing burnouts with his race car. Jimmie Johnson finished seventh, and won the 2007 Nextel Cup championship by 77 points over Jeff Gordon, and also did burnouts with Kenseth.


2007 Fordham Rams football team
The 2007 Fordham Rams football team was an American football team that represented Fordham University during the 2007 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Fordham won the Patriot League championship, but lost in the first round of the national FCS playoffs.


2007 Fordham Rams football team
In their second year under head coach Tom Masella, the Rams compiled an 8–4 record (8–3 in the regular season). Mike Breznicky, Earl Hudnell, Mike Nardone, Sam Orah and Dominique Owens were the team captains.


2007 Fordham Rams football team
The Rams outscored opponents 348 to 298. Their 5–1 conference record was the best in the Patriot League standings.


2007 Fordham Rams football team
Fordham was unranked through most of the year, only entering the national top 25 in early November, at No. 22. The Rams were ranked No. 18 for their season-ending matchup with Bucknell, then No. 25 for the playoffs. Their final ranking was No. 20.


2007 Fordham Rams football team
Fordham played its home games at Jack Coffey Field on the university's Rose Hill campus in The Bronx, in New York City.


2007 Formula 3 Euro Series
The 2007 Formula 3 Euro Series season was the fifth championship year of Europe’s premier Formula Three series. As in previous years, the championships took place over ten rounds – each with two races – held at a variety of European circuits. Each weekend consisted of one 60-minute practice session and one qualifying session, followed by one c.110 km race and one c.80 km race. The single qualifying session was retained from 2006, with the starting order for race 2 being determined by the finishing order of race 1, with the top eight positions reversed.


2007 Formula 3 Euro Series
This season was notable for the return of Volkswagen as an F3 engine supplier. The drivers' title was won by Romain Grosjean and the teams' title was again won by ASM Formule 3. It was the fourth double title win in succession for ASM. The top four drivers in the championship would go on to race in Formula 1: Sébastien Buemi, Kamui Kobayashi and champion Grosjean all debuted in F1 in 2009 and Nico Hülkenberg in 2010.


2007 Formula 3 Euro Series, Teams and drivers, Driver changes, Additional participations
HS Technik expanded to a two-car entry from round 5 (Mugello) onwards. The second car was taken by Euan Hankey, making his Formula Three début. At the Nürburgring, Am-Holzer Rennsport replaced its Speiss-Opel engine with the new Volkswagen and RC Motorsport made a return to the championship with two Volkswagen-powered cars for Maximilian Götz and Jonathan Summerton. Though Götz finished in sixth place in the first race, neither he nor Summerton were eligible to score points. British F3 team Ultimate Motorsport made a one-off appearance in round 4 at Magny-Cours. Bas Leinders's Junior Team entered a single car for Michael Herck in the first round, but has not competed since then.


2007 Formula 3 Euro Series, Season standings, Drivers Standings
† — Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.


2007 Formula 3 Euro Series, Season standings, Rookie Cup
Rookie drivers are only eligible for the Rookie Cup title if they have not previously competed in a national or international Formula 3 championship.


2007 Formula 3 Sudamericana season
The 2007 Formula 3 Sudamericana season was the 21st Formula 3 Sudamericana season. It began on 24 March 2007, at Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo and ended on 16 December 2007 also at Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo. Brazilian driver Clemente de Faria, Jr. won the title.


2007 Formula BMW ADAC season
The 2007 Formula BMW ADAC season was a multi-event motor racing championship for open wheel, formula racing cars held across Europe. The championship featured drivers competing in 1.2 litre Formula BMW single seat race cars. The 2007 season was the tenth and the last Formula BMW ADAC season organized by BMW Motorsport and ADAC before it was merged with Formula BMW UK series into Formula BMW Europe in 2008. The season began at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben on 5 May and finished at the Hockenheimring on 14 October, after eighteen races.


2007 Formula BMW ADAC season, Championship standings, Drivers' standings
† — Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.


2007 Formula BMW UK season
The 2007 Formula BMW UK season was the fourth and final Formula BMW season based in United Kingdom whose mission was to develop talented young drivers and introduce them to auto racing using full-size cars. The series was part of the support race package for the BTCC.


2007 Formula BMW World Final
The 2007 Formula BMW World Final was the third Formula BMW World Final race and held for the second time at Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Cheste near Valencia on 23–25 November 2007. The shorter layout of the 3.099 km (1.926 mi) length was used. The race was won by Mücke Motorsport's driver Philipp Eng, who finished ahead Marco Wittmann and Jens Klingmann.


2007 Formula Nippon Championship
The 2007 Formula Nippon Championship was  contested over 9 rounds. 12 different teams, 22 different drivers competed. All teams had to use Lola chassis (Lola FN06) and use either a Mugen Honda (Mugen HF386E) or Toyota (Toyota RV8J) engine.


2007 Formula One World Championship
The 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 61st season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship, which began on 18 March and ended on 21 October after seventeen events. The Drivers' Championship was won by Ferrari driver Kimi Räikkönen by one point at the final race of the season, making Räikkönen the third Finnish driver to take the title.


2007 Formula One World Championship
An appeal by McLaren regarding the legality of some cars in the final race could have altered the championship standings, but on 16 November, the appeal was rejected by the International Court of Appeal, confirming the championship results. Räikkönen entered the final race in third position in the drivers' standings, but emerged as champion after the chequered flag, a feat first accomplished by Giuseppe Farina in 1950.


2007 Formula One World Championship
A major talking point of the season had been an espionage controversy involving Ferrari and McLaren, which led to McLaren being excluded from the Constructors' Championship. As a result, Ferrari clinched the championship at the Belgian Grand Prix.


2007 Formula One World Championship
Renault, who were the defending Constructors' Champions proved to be uncompetitive with their R27 car taking them to third in the constructors' standings (after McLaren's disqualification from second. Renault achieved one podium during the season, with Heikki Kovalainen finishing second at the rain affected 2007 Japanese Grand Prix.


2007 Formula One World Championship
The 2007 season heralded the end of the existing Concorde Agreement between the existing Formula One constructors and Bernie Ecclestone. In particular, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Honda (collectively the Grand Prix Manufacturers' Association) had a number of outstanding disagreements with the FIA and Ecclestone on financial and technical grounds. They had threatened to boycott Formula One from the 2008 season onwards and instead stage their own rival series, before signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at the 2006 Spanish Grand Prix.


2007 Formula One World Championship
This also marked the seventh and final season, since its reintroduction in 2001, in which the use of traction control was permitted in Formula One. Standardised electronic control units (ECUs) were mandated by the FIA from the 2008 season onwards, which prohibited teams from using this kind of technology.


2007 Formula One World Championship
Honda ran with an "Earth livery" on their RA107 car. It was the first time since 1968, the year in which sponsorship in the sport became widespread, that a team ran sponsor-free for an entire season. Michelin's withdrawal from F1 at the end of 2006 meant that Bridgestone was the sole tyre supplier for 2007. As of 2020, this is the last Drivers' Championship won by a Ferrari driver, and is also the last Drivers' Championship win for a Finnish driver.


2007 Formula One World Championship, Teams and drivers
The following teams and drivers participated in the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship. Drivers' cars are numbered as per the official FIA 2007 entry list. All team details are as per the Formula 1 official website, except where noted. Note that there is no car number 13, as was the historical tradition. All teams competed with tyres supplied by Bridgestone.


2007 Formula One World Championship, Teams and drivers, Driver changes
The 2005 and 2006 World Champion Fernando Alonso switched to McLaren after five years at Renault. Following the retirement of Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve, Alonso was the only driver on the grid in this season who had previously won a drivers' championship.


2007 Formula One World Championship, Teams and drivers, Driver changes
Juan Pablo Montoya, who was a McLaren driver until the aftermath of the 2006 United States Grand Prix moved to the NASCAR Cup Series for 2007, effectively ending his Formula One career, as announced on 9 July 2006.


2007 Formula One World Championship, Teams and drivers, Driver changes
On 2 August 2006, Williams announced that test and reserve driver Alexander Wurz would step up to a race seat for 2007, replacing Australian Mark Webber. On 7 August 2006, Red Bull Racing announced their 2007 driver line-up of David Coulthard and Mark Webber, displacing Christian Klien. On 7 August 2006, BMW Sauber announced that Jacques Villeneuve's contract had been terminated immediately and for the rest of the season would be replaced by test driver Robert Kubica. Kubica was later announced on 19 October 2006 to retain the race seat for the 2007 season, with Sebastian Vettel remaining as the team's test driver. On 21 December 2006 BMW Sauber announced former Jordan F1 and GP2 driver Timo Glock as their second test driver.


2007 Formula One World Championship, Teams and drivers, Driver changes
On 6 September 2006, Renault confirmed Heikki Kovalainen as the team's replacement for Fernando Alonso. On 10 September 2006, Scuderia Ferrari announced Kimi Räikkönen to replace for the retiring Michael Schumacher.


2007 Formula One World Championship, Teams and drivers, Driver changes
On 15 November 2006, Super Aguri confirmed Anthony Davidson as Sakon Yamamoto's replacement. On 24 November 2006, McLaren confirmed Lewis Hamilton as their second driver.


2007 Formula One World Championship, Teams and drivers, Driver changes
On 21 December 2006, Spyker confirmed Adrian Sutil as their first driver, replacing WTCC-bound Tiago Monteiro.