2006 Vrienden van het Platteland season
One of the main new recruits for the team was former junior rider Ellen van Dijk. In March Ellen van Dijk became University World Champion at the 2006 World University Cycling Championship in the women's road race. and finished second in the women's time trial. The other main victories for the team were Flèche Hesbignonne by Chantal Beltman and stage 2 of the Tour Féminin en Limousin by Ellen van Dijk. At the national championships Sharon van Essen finished second in the road race and Iris Slappendel won the bronze medal in the women's time trial.


2006 Vrienden van het Platteland season
At the end of the year the team ended 12th in the UCI Team's Ranking with Chantal Beltman as the best individual at the 30th place in the UCI Individual Women's Road Ranking. Van Dijk was also active on the track and won the bronze medal at the 2006 Dutch National Track Championships in the women's individual pursuit.


2006 Vrienden van het Platteland season, UCI World Ranking
The team finished 12th in the UCI ranking for teams.


2006 Vuelta Ciclista de Chile
The 29th edition of the Vuelta Ciclista de Chile was held from May 4 to May 14, 2006.


2006 Vuelta a Andalucía
The 2006 Vuelta a Andalucía was held on 12 February to 16 February 2006, the 52nd running of this road bicycle race. It started in Antequera and finished in Seville, and was won by Carlos García Quesada.


2006 Vuelta a Andalucía, Teams
Fourteen teams of up to seven riders started the race:


2006 Vuelta a Asturias
The 2006 Vuelta a Asturias was the 50th edition of the Vuelta a Asturias road cycling stage race, which was held from 16 June to 20 June 2006. The race started and finished in Oviedo. The race was won by Óscar Sevilla of the T-Mobile Team team.


2006 Vuelta a Burgos
The 2006 Vuelta a Burgos was the 28th edition of the Vuelta a Burgos road cycling stage race, which was held from 6 August to 10 August 2006. The race started in Briviesca and finished in Burgos. The race was won by Iban Mayo of the Euskaltel–Euskadi team.


2006 Vuelta a Castilla y León
The 2006 Vuelta a Castilla y León was the 21st edition of the Vuelta a Castilla y León cycle race and was held on 20 March to 24 March 2006. The race started in Valladolid and finished in Segovia. The race was won by Alexander Vinokourov.


2006 Vuelta a Castilla y León, Teams
Fifteen teams of up to eight riders started the race:


2006 Vuelta a Colombia
The 56th edition of the Vuelta a Colombia was held from August 5 to August 20, 2006.


2006 Vuelta a España
The 2006 Vuelta a España was held from 26 August to 17 September 2006, and was the 61st edition of the race. It consisted of 21 stages covering a total of 3,192 km (1,983 mi), and was won by Alexander Vinokourov of the Astana cycling team. The points classification was won by Thor Hushovd of Crédit Agricole, and the mountains classification by Egoi Martínez of Discovery Channel.


2006 Vuelta a España, Teams and riders
In addition to the 20 UCI ProTour teams, Relax-GAM have received a wild card.


2006 Vuelta a España, Final standings, Points classification
In 2006, the leader of the points classification is awarded a blue with yellow-fish-covered jersey, which is sponsored by Spain's fishing and marine industry known as FROM (or El Fondo de Regulación y Organización del Mercado de Productos de la Pesca y Cultivos Marinos).


2006 Vuelta a España, Final standings, Mountains classification
In 2006, the leader of the climbers classification (or King of the Mountains) wears the orange jersey sponsored by Ford. In recent years, the KoM wore a red jersey.


2006 Vuelta a España, Final standings, Combination classification
In 2006, the leader of the combinations classification wears the white jersey. In 2005, the rider with the lowest cumulative rank of all classifications wore a gold-green jersey.


2006 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11
Stage results and recaps of the 2006 Vuelta a España from Stage 1 to Stage 11.


2006 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 5
Stage 5, 30-08-2006: Plasencia - Estación de Esquí La Covatilla (Béjar), 178 km.


2006 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 7
Stage 7, 01-09-2006: León - Alto de El Morredero (Ponferrada), 148 km.


2006 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 9
Stage 9, 03-09-2006: A Fonsagrada - Alto de La Cobertoria, 206 km.


2006 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 10
Stage 10, 05-09-2006: Avilés - Museo de Altamira (Santillana del Mar), 190 km.


2006 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 11
Stage 11, 06-09-2006: Torrelavega (Velódromo Oscar Freire) - Burgos, 165 km.


2006 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21
Stage results and recaps of the 2006 Vuelta a España from Stage 12 to Stage 21.


2006 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 12
Stage 12, 07-09-2006: Aranda de Duero - Guadalajara, 162 km.


2006 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 15
Stage 15, 10-09-2006: Motilla del Palancar - Factoría Ford (Almussafes), 175 km.


2006 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 16
Stage 16, 12-09-2006: Almería - Observatorio Astronómico de Calar Alto, 145 km.


2006 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 18
Stage 18, 14-09-2006: Granada - Sierra de la Pandera, 153 km.


2006 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 20
Stage 20, 16-09-2006: Rivas Futura - Rivas Vaciamadrid, 28 km. (ITT)


2006 Vuelta a Murcia
The 2006 Vuelta a Murcia was the 22nd edition of the Vuelta a Murcia cycle race and was held on 1 March to 5 March 2006. The race started and finished in Murcia. The race was won by Santos González.


2006 Vuelta a Venezuela
The 43rd edition of the annual Vuelta a Venezuela was held from August 28 to September 10, 2006. The stage race started in Guasdualito, and ended in Maturín.


2006 WABA Cup
The 2006 WABA Cup was the 1st WABA Cup. Winner of the first edition of the Šibenik Jolly who won Gospić Croatia Osiguranje.


2006 WABA Super League
The West Asian Basketball Super League 2006 (WASL) was the 1st staging of the WASL League, the basketball club league of West Asia Basketball Association. The top four teams from different countries qualify for the FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2006.


2006 WAC Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2006 WAC Men's Basketball Tournament was held March 9–11 in the Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nevada. Top-seeded #21 Nevada, the host, won the title.


2006 WAFL season
The 2006 WAFL season was the 122nd season of the various incarnations of the West Australian Football League. Owing to low crowds making the city's traditional big-match venue, Subiaco Oval, uneconomic due to high overheads, the WAFL followed the AFL since 1991 by scheduling finals (except the Grand Final) at the home ground of the club higher on the ladder.


2006 WAFL season
It saw the three top clubs of 2005 – Subiaco, South Fremantle and Claremont – intensify their dominance of the competition, being five games and a large percentage ahead of the remaining six clubs and losing only four games to any of the other six clubs. The only major disappointment on-field was East Perth, who for their centenary season invested considerably in recruiting but won only one extra match vis-à-vis 2005 despite widespread expectation the Royals would be the main threat to the power clubs.


2006 WAFL season
The Royals had numerous injury problems with their recruits and coach Warren Mahoney resigned after the club lost its first seven games for its longest losing streak since 1929. West Perth after a poor pre-season comfortably took the final place in the four, and Peel Thunder, who suffered from predictions of extreme doom despite having won the past two colts premierships, doubled their 2005 win tally with some excellent football in July and August.


2006 WAFL season
Swan Districts, finalists in 2004 and 2005, began well but a horror run with injuries after May whereby they lost sole ruckman Taylan Ames, Shane Beros, Craig Callaghan and Daniel Wulf meant that after inflicting the first defeat upon Subiaco the Swans could win only one of their final eleven matches, losing many of the others in spectacular fashion.


2006 WAFL season
A record dry year helped produce a marked increase in scoring compared with the past decade, with the average score of 99.41 points per team per game as much as thirteen points higher than the previous season and the highest in the WAFL or Westar Rules since 1991.


2006 WAFL season
Included in this was a record half-time margin and the highest score in the WAFL since 1987 by South Fremantle against their struggling derby rivals, who took their second wooden spoon in three years as a dwindling support base and severe financial deficits meant the Sharks could not compete for the best players with the stronger clubs.


2006 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 9
East Perth’s strong forward give them an easy first win for 2006 under new coach Peos. Troy Wilson scores nine goals to justify his state selection, but Andrew Merrington and Ben McKinley play equally well.


2006 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 20
Debutant Callum Wilson’s five goals leads South Fremantle to a brilliant win after having trailed by fifteen points early in the second quarter.


2006 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 22
Eight goals from in-form Mark LeCras – an Eagle emergency in Brisbane when the Falcons lost to Peel – fails to add confidence because of the prospect of a permanent AFL call-up weakening the club.


2006 WAFL season, Finals, First semi-final
This was the first final ever played at Claremont Oval, and underlined the superiority of the top three with the Falcons’ heaviest defeat since 1997, despite Claremont losing Paul Medhurst to the AFL.


2006 WAFL season, Finals, Preliminary final
South Fremantle hang on when a Claremont kick on the siren does not make the distance but have problems with the availability of key players Andrew Siegert, Ashton Hams, Travis Gaspar and Daniel Gilmore.


2006 WAFL season, Finals, Grand Final
Subiaco completely dominate against a Bulldog side with Gaspar, Siegert and Gilmore under fitness clouds, kicking 15.7 (97) to 5.2 (32) after half-time.


2006 WAFL season, Notes
Their sole lower score in this period was 2.4 (16) at Lathlain Park in Round 15 of 1967, when Old Easts did not score between the first and last ten minutes of the match. Had Malseed been able to kick the goal, he would have produced Perth's first draw since the opening round of 1986, the first draw between the two clubs since 1923, and East Fremantle's first home-and-away draw since the third round of 1974. The latter two streaks remain unbroken as of 2014.


2006 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 2006 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 47th conference playoff in league history and 52nd season where a WCHA champion was crowned. The 2006 tournament played between March 10 and March 18, 2006 at five conference arenas and the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. By winning the tournament, North Dakota was awarded the Broadmoor Trophy and received the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's automatic bid to the 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament.


2006 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The first round of the postseason tournament featured a best-of-three games format. All ten conference teams participated in the tournament. Teams were seeded No. 1 through No. 10 according to their final conference standing, with a tiebreaker system used to seed teams with an identical number of points accumulated. The top five seeded teams each earned home ice and hosted one of the lower seeded teams.


2006 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The winners of the first round series advanced to the Xcel Energy Center for the WCHA Final Five, the collective name for the quarterfinal, semifinal, and championship rounds. The Final Five uses a single-elimination format. Teams were re-seeded No. 1 through No. 5 according to the final regular season conference standings, with the top three teams automatically advancing to the semifinals.


2006 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format, Conference Standings
Note: GP = Games Played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against


2006 WDF Europe Cup
The 2006 WDF Europe Cup was the 15th edition of the WDF Europe Cup darts tournament, organised by the World Darts Federation. It was held in Copenhagen, Denmark from 27–30 August.


2006 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship
The 2006 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship was a golf tournament that was played from February 22–26, 2006 at La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California. It was the eighth WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and the first of four World Golf Championships events held in 2006. It was the final time the event would be hosted at La Costa.


2006 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship
Geoff Ogilvy, the 12th seed, won his first World Golf Championships event by defeating Davis Love III 3 and 2 in the 36 hole final. He set a record by playing a total of 129 holes during the tournament, the most by anyone in the eight-year history of the event, which included four consecutive overtime matches at the start of the week. The total prize fund for the championship was $7.5 million, of which Ogilvy's share was $1.3 million.


2006 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship
Tiger Woods set the record for largest victory margin with a 9 and 8 win over Stephen Ames in the first round. Some interpreted Woods' performance as payback for Ames' comments earlier in the week in which he told the Associated Press, "anything can happen, especially where he's hitting it."


2006 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, Brackets
The Championship was a single elimination match play event. The field consisted of the top 64 players available from the Official World Golf Rankings, seeded according to the rankings. Number 6 Sergio García and number 28 Thomas Bjørn did not play opening spots for number 65 Graeme McDowell and number 67 Stephen Ames (number 66 Craig Parry did not enter).


2006 WGC-American Express Championship
The 2006 WGC-American Express Championship was a golf tournament that was contested from 28 September – 1 October 2006 at The Grove Golf Course in Hertfordshire, England. It was the seventh WGC-American Express Championship tournament, and the third of three World Golf Championships events held in 2006.


2006 WGC-American Express Championship
World number 1 Tiger Woods won the tournament with a record aggregate score of 261, to capture his fifth WGC-American Express Championship and his twelfth World Golf Championships title.


2006 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational
The 2006 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational was a golf tournament that was contested from August 24–27, 2006 over the South Course at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. It was the eighth WGC-Bridgestone Invitational tournament, and the second of four World Golf Championships events held in 2006.


2006 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational
World number 1 Tiger Woods won the tournament to retain the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and claim his 11th World Golf Championships title, which was his fifth Invitational title. He won in a playoff over Stewart Cink, who also shot a 10-under-par 270.


2006 WGC-World Cup
The 2006 World Golf Championships-Barbados World Cup took place 7–10 December at the Sandy Lane Resort and Country Club in Barbados. It was the 52nd World Cup and the seventh and last as a World Golf Championship event. 24 countries competed and each country sent two players. The prize money totaled $4,000,000 with $1,400,000 going to the winning pair. The German team of Bernhard Langer and Marcel Siem won. They defeated the Scottish team of Colin Montgomerie and Marc Warren at the first playoff hole.


2006 WGC-World Cup, Qualification and format
The leading 18 available players from different countries in the Official World Golf Ranking on 11 September 2006 qualified automatically. These 18 players then selected a player from their country to compete with them. The person they pick had to be ranked within the top 100 on the Official World Golf Ranking as of 11 September 11. If there was no other player from that country within the top 100, then the next highest ranked player would be their partner. World qualifiers were held in October 2006. Six countries earned their spot in this way, four from the Asian qualifier and two from the South American qualifier.


2006 WGC-World Cup, Qualification and format
The tournament was a 72-hole stroke play team event with each team consisting of two players. The first and third days are fourball play and the second and final days are foursomes play.


2006 WGC-World Cup, Scores
*Germany won with a par on the first playoff hole. Source


2006 WNBA All-Star Game
The 2006 WNBA All-Star Game was played on July 12, 2006 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York, home of the New York Liberty. The game was the 7th annual WNBA All-Star Game. This was the third time New York has hosted the basketball showcase, after previously hosting the 1999 and 2003 games.


2006 WNBA All-Star Game, The All-Star Game, Coaches
The coach for the Western Conference was Sacramento Monarchs coach John Whisenant. The coach for the Eastern Conference was Connecticut Sun coach Mike Thibault.


2006 WNBA All-Star Game, Other events, Three-Point Shootout
The inaugural Three-Point Shootout was held before the All-Star Game. Contestants shot 25 balls from 5 locations around the three-point line, with each shot counting for one point except for one "money ball" on each rack counting for two points.


2006 WNBA Finals
The 2006 WNBA Finals was the championship series of the 2006 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Detroit Shock, second-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference, defeated the Sacramento Monarchs, second-seeded champions of the Western Conference, three games to two in a best-of-five series. This was Detroit's second title.


2006 WNBA Finals
The Shock made their second appearance in the Finals in four years. The Monarchs appeared in the Finals for the second straight time after having won the title in 2005.


2006 WNBA Finals
Going into the series, the Shock had won one championship, as had the Monarchs. The Houston Comets hold the record with four championships won.


2006 WNBA Finals
The Shock's 23–11 record gave them home court advantage over Sacramento (21–13), but a scheduling conflict meant that the fifth and deciding game had to be moved to Joe Louis Arena in downtown Detroit.


2006 WNBA Finals, Road to the finals, Regular season series
The Shock and the Monarchs split the regular season series:


2006 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 1
Kara Lawson led a balanced attack with 22 points as the Monarchs posted an impressive 95-71 victory over the Detroit Shock in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals. Sacramento, which set a WNBA Finals record for points, field goals (35) and 3-pointers (ten), took the early edge in the best-of-five series.


2006 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 1
Cheryl Ford scored 25 points and Katie Smith added 21 for Detroit, which is seeking its second title in four years. The Shock certainly will not get there committing a Finals-record 24 turnovers as they did in Game 1.


2006 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 1
Sacramento officially took charge of the contest with an 8–0 run during the third quarter that turned a 13-point lead into a 61-40 bulge with 6:09 to play. Nicole Powell ignited the surge with a 3-pointer and Griffith made a pair of baskets before Ticha Penicheiro capped the run with a free throw.


2006 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 1
The Shock got within 76–62 midway through the fourth quarter, but Lawson came off the bench to hit three 3-pointers as the Monarchs extended their cushion to 91–71 with 2:57 remaining. Lawson finished 6-of-8 from the arc, setting a Finals record for made 3-pointers. Powell connected on 4-of-7 attempts as Sacramento finished 10-of-19 from long range.


2006 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 2
Deanna Nolan scored 21 points and Smith added 16 – all in the second half – as the Shock rebounded from a slow start to even the best-of-three series with a 73–63 victory in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals.


2006 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 2
Swin Cash collected 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists for Detroit, which gave Sacramento (5–1) its first loss of the postseason and avoided falling into an 0–2 hole.


2006 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 2
Trailing by nine at the half and 54–48 entering the final period, the Shock were on the verge of being one game away from a Finals' loss. However, after scoring the last three points of the third quarter, Detroit ran off the first eight points of the frame. A jumper by Nolan capped the spurt and gave the Shock the lead for good, 56–54, with 7:43 left.


2006 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 2
After Detroit maintained the edge over the next five minutes, Katie Smith made it 67–58 on a 3-pointer with 2:57 to go.


2006 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 3
Yolanda Griffith scored 15 points, and Nicole Powell added 14, as the Monarchs took control of the WNBA Finals with an 89–69 rout of the Detroit Shock in Game 3. Capturing its 11th consecutive home playoff victory, Sacramento improved its home record in the postseason to 12–2 (.857), the best mark in league history.


2006 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 3
On the way to claiming their first title last season, the Monarchs stole home-court advantage from the Connecticut Sun and then captured both home games to complete the series in four games. So far, that has been the same blueprint Sacramento has used to take control of this series. After setting a Finals record for points in a 95–71 victory in the opener in Detroit on Wednesday, the Monarchs dismantled the Shock to move within a win here of a second consecutive title.


2006 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 3
Despite failing to capitalize on a six-point lead entering the fourth quarter of Game 2 in a 73–63 loss, Sacramento came out fired up, using a 9–0 run at the start of the second quarter to pull ahead, 29–18, with 7:46 to play. Rookie Scholanda Dorrell sank a pair of three-pointers during the burst. Griffith, the MVP of last season's Finals, scored her team's final eight points before the half to maintain an 11-point edge at the break, 44–33.


2006 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 4
Katie Smith and Cheryl Ford carried the load to help the Detroit Shock extend the WNBA Finals to a decisive fifth game.


2006 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 4
Smith scored 22 points and Ford added 13 with 10 rebounds as the Shock avoided elimination by posting a 72–52 triumph over the defending champion Sacramento Monarchs.


2006 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 4
Rebounding from Sunday's 89–69 loss in Game 3, Detroit ended Sacramento's 11-game home playoff winning streak and will host the final game of the series on Saturday. Each of the previous league champions clinched the title on its home floor.


2006 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 5
Katie Smith scored 17 points, including two clutch jumpers in the final two minutes, as the Detroit Shock claimed their second title with a stirring 80–75 victory over the Sacramento Monarchs.


2006 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 5
The Shock, who also won the title in 2003, won the last two games of the best-of-five series and dethroned the Monarchs, who were trying to become the league's third repeat champion. Instead, Detroit joined Houston (1997–2000) and Los Angeles (2001–02) as multiple championship winners.


2006 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 5
Deanna Nolan scored 24 points and was named Finals MVP. Nolan scored 10 points in the pivotal third quarter, when the Shock held the Monarchs to nine points and took the lead for good.


2006 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 5
A 3-pointer by Nolan gave Detroit a 68–55 lead before Sacramento made a final charge, closing to 75–69 on a 3-pointer by Kristin Haynie with 2:05 remaining. Smith answered with a 3-pointer 19 seconds later.


2006 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 5
A three-point play by Haynie and 3-pointer by foul-plagued Nicole Powell pulled the Monarchs within 78–75 with 33 seconds to play. Sacramento elected not to foul but Smith foiled the strategy by draining a 15-footer with 14 seconds remaining.


2006 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 5
Smith grabbed a last-gasp shot and hurled the ball skyward in celebration. She is the all-time leading scorer in women's professional basketball history and a former WNBA scoring champion, but she never had been on a championship team – until now.


2006 WNBA Playoffs
The 2006 WNBA Playoffs was the postseason for the Women's National Basketball Association's 2006 season which ended with the Eastern Conference champion Detroit Shock defeating the Western Conference champion Sacramento Monarchs 3-2.


2006 WNBA Playoffs, Playoff qualifying, Eastern Conference
The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the East:


2006 WNBA Playoffs, Playoff qualifying, Western Conference
The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the West:


2006 WNBA Playoffs, Bracket
This was the outlook for the 2006 WNBA Playoffs. Teams in italics had home court advantage. Teams in bold advanced to the next round. Numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's original playoffs seeding in their respective conferences. Numbers to the right of each team indicate the number of games the team won in that round.


2006 WNBA draft
On November 16, 2005, the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) held an expansion draft for the Chicago Sky. It was the first expansion draft since the 2000 season, when the WNBA welcomed the Miami Sol, Portland Fire, Indiana Fever, and Seattle Storm into the league.


2006 WNBA draft
On April 5, 2006, the WNBA Draft took place at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. The draft was held in conjunction with the 2006 NCAA women's basketball tournament, which had its championship game the night before at the TD Banknorth Garden, now known as TD Garden, in Boston. This marked the first WNBA draft ever held outside New Jersey.


2006 WNBA draft
The first round of the draft was televised on ESPN2, while the second and third rounds were shown on ESPNU and NBA TV. Linda Cohn hosted the draft coverage. Four of the top six draft picks would be named to the All-Star Game in their rookie season: Seimone Augustus, Cappie Pondexter, Sophia Young, and Candice Dupree.


2006 WNBA season
The 2006 WNBA Season was the Women's National Basketball Association's tenth season. The league added one team the Chicago Sky. The Sky was the first expansion team since 2000 when the Indiana Fever, Miami Sol, Portland Fire, and the Seattle Storm came to the WNBA. On April 5 the WNBA held their draft. Seimone Augustus, guard out of Louisiana State University was the number one overall pick. She was selected by the Minnesota Lynx. Cappie Pondexter, guard out of Rutgers University went number two. She was selected by the Phoenix Mercury.


2006 WNBA season
The season started on May 20 with a game between Sacramento Monarchs and Phoenix Mercury. The game was televised by ABC. The Monarchs won the game 105–78. On July 12, The All Star Game was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The East All Stars defeated the Western All Stars 98–82. Katie Douglas of the Connecticut Sun was named MVP in the game with her 16 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists. The 2006 WNBA season concluded on August 13. Lisa Leslie of the Los Angeles Sparks won the league MVP. Mike Thibault of the Connecticut Sun was named Coach of The Year. Seimone Augustus of the Minnesota Lynx was named Rookie of the Year. The season ended with the Detroit Shock winning their second WNBA Championship.


2006 WNBL Finals
The 2006 WNBL Finals was the postseason tournament of the WNBL's 2005–06 season. The Dandenong Rangers were the two-time defending champions, but were defeated in the Grand Final by the Canberra Capitals, 68–55.


2006 WPA World Nine-ball Championship
The WPA World 9-Ball Championship 2006 was the seventeenth edition of the WPA World Nine-ball Championship and took place between 4 and 12 November 2006 at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay, Philippines. The event was to be held for the first time in the Philippines, on a two-year deal, including the 2007 WPA World Nine-ball Championship. The championships were hosted by the World Pool Billiard Association (WPA).


2006 WPA World Nine-ball Championship
Ronato Alcano won the championship with a 17–11 win in the final against Ralf Souquet of Germany. Defending champion Wu Chia-ching was defeated in the quarter-final by Alcano.


2006 WPA World Nine-ball Championship, Tournament format
The event featured 128 players, with an alternate break. The event featured a preliminary round robin format to half the field to 64; where the event changed to a knockout format.


2006 WPA World Nine-ball Championship, Preliminary round
The Preliminary round was played over three days between 4 and 7 November. There were 32 groups of 4, with the first two in each group progressing. Nine top 32 players were knocked out in this section


2006 WPA World Nine-ball Championship, Final round
The qualifying 64 players would play a knockout structure over six days. The first two rounds were competed as "race to 10", the next three rounds as "race to 11", and the final, as a "race to 17".


2006 WPSL season
The 2006 Women's Premier Soccer League season was the 10th season of the WPSL.


2006 WTA Tier I Series
The WTA Tier I Events are part of the elite tour for professional women's tennis organized by the WTA called the WTA Tour.


2006 WTA Tier I Series
The table below shows the 2006 WTA Tier I Series schedule.


2006 WTA Tour
The 2006 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the 36th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 2, 2006, and concluded on November 12, 2006 after 61 events.


2006 WTA Tour
Justine Henin-Hardenne came out as the winner in a historic three-way battle for the No. 1 ranking at the season-ending WTA Tour Championships, beating out Sharapova and Mauresmo. The Belgian successfully defended her French Open title for her fifth Grand Slam title, and became the first woman since Steffi Graf in 1993 to reach the finals of all four Grand Slams and the WTA Tour Championships. Maria Sharapova won her second Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open, to add to her Wimbledon trophy from 2004.


2006 WTA Tour
Amélie Mauresmo won her maiden Grand Slam at the Australian Open after a controversial retirement from Henin-Hardenne in the final. However, she later backed it up by winning a rematch with Henin-Hardenne in the Wimbledon final. She was the number one player in the world from March until the final event of the season.


2006 WTA Tour
Martina Hingis also made a successful return to the Tour, beginning her comeback at the Gold Coast event in January. She finished the season at No. 6 in the world and won the Tier I title at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome.


2006 WTA Tour, Summary
Shortly before the beginning of the season former No. 1 Martina Hingis announced that she would return full-time to the tour for the start of the 2006 season, having already made an unsuccessful comeback attempt at an event in 2005.


2006 WTA Tour, Summary
Amélie Mauresmo won her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open after years of questions about her nerves and mental strength. However, her victory was marred by Henin-Hardenne's controversial retirement in the final due to stomach cramps. Defending champion Serena Williams lost in the third round to Daniela Hantuchová, with some commenting on the "extra weight" that she was carrying. The loss was the beginning of a season of injury struggles for the American, which saw her at one point drop out of the top 100. In the doubles tournament, Yan Zi and Zheng Jie produced a historic win for Chinese tennis by becoming the first players to win a Grand Slam of any kind for the nation. Martina Hingis won her first mixed doubles title with Mahesh Bhupathi.


2006 WTA Tour, Summary
Following the Australian Open Kim Clijsters ascended to the No. 1 position after Lindsay Davenport lost her finalist points. She held it until March when she lost her Indian Wells champion points, allowing Mauresmo to return to the position. The Frenchwoman held it until the final event of the season. Mauresmo had continued her strong start to the season with titles in Paris and Antwerp. Elena Dementieva won her biggest career title to that point in Tokyo. Meanwhile, Henin-Hardenne and Nadia Petrova won the Middle Eastern events in Dubai and Doha.


2006 WTA Tour, Summary
Maria Sharapova picked up her first title of the season in Indian Wells, beating Dementieva in the final. Svetlana Kuznetsova then won in Miami, her first Tier I title and second biggest overall, after a difficult 2005 season where she failed to back up her breakthrough in 2004 and dropped out the top 10.


2006 WTA Tour, Summary
The clay court season saw Hingis win in Rome for the biggest title of her comeback, but overall the period was dominated by Nadia Petrova, who went on an impressive 15-match winning streak, leading to titles in Amelia Island, Charleston and Berlin, beating Henin-Hardenne in the final of the latter. Her streak led to her being considered the favourite for the French Open title, but she suffered an injury and thus bowed out in the first round. Henin-Hardenne eventually defended her title and won her fifth Grand Slam by beating Kuznetsova in the final. Czech teenager Nicole Vaidišová made headlines by reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal with victories over Amélie Mauresmo and Venus Williams. The doubles event was won by Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur, while Katarina Srebotnik took home the mixed doubles trophy with Nenad Zimonjić.


2006 WTA Tour, Summary
The third Grand Slam of the year at Wimbledon saw all top four seeds reach the semifinals for only the fifth time in 25 years. Mauresmo and Henin advanced to the final, a rematch of their Australian Open final earlier in the season, with Mauresmo triumphant once more, becoming the first Frenchwoman in 81 years to win Wimbledon. Defending champion Venus Williams fell to Jelena Janković, making this year the first since 1999 neither Williams sister featured in the Wimbledon women's singles final. Williams did however make the mixed doubles final, losing to Vera Zvonareva who won her second Grand Slam in mixed doubles, partnering Bob Bryan. Yan Zi and Zheng Jie also won their second Grand Slam titles in the women's doubles event.


2006 WTA Tour, Summary
Serena Williams, Mary Pierce, Lindsay Davenport and Nadia Petrova all returned from injuries during the summer hardcourt season. Clijsters won her fourth Stanford title, before losing to Sharapova in the final of San Diego—the Russian's first ever victory over Clijsters. Dementieva won the title in Los Angeles, beating Janković in the final. Janković's compatriot Ana Ivanovic went one further the next week in Montréal, and by winning the event over Hingis she became the U.S. Open Series champion for that year. Sharapova eventually picked up the grand prize, taking the U.S. Open title over Henin-Hardenne in the final.


2006 WTA Tour, Summary
Janković backed up her strong result in Los Angeles with her first Grand Slam semifinal. In the doubles tournament Nathalie Dechy and Vera Zvonareva won the title in only their fourth tournament as a team. Tennis legend Martina Navratilova won the mixed doubles title and then announced her retirement from professional tennis.


2006 WTA Tour, Summary
Sharapova continued her strong results following her U.S. Open title in the fall season, winning events in Zurich and Linz. Nadia Petrova won her fifth title of the season in Stuttgart, but lost to the Russian teenager Anna Chakvetadze in the Moscow final. Kuznetsova also enjoyed a successful fall, winning titles in Bali and Beijing, beating Mauresmo in the final of the latter. Kim Clijsters returned at the end of the season, having missed her title defence at the U.S. Open, and won the smaller event in Hasselt.


2006 WTA Tour, Summary
The season climaxed at the WTA Tour Championships with Mauresmo, Sharapova, Henin-Hardenne, Kuznetsova, Petrova, Clijsters, Dementieva and Hingis all qualifying for the event. The tournament saw a three-way battle for the No. 1 position between Mauresmo, Sharapova and Henin-Hardenne, which was eventually decided when Henin-Hardenne beat Sharapova in the semifinal. The Belgian went on to defeat Mauresmo in the final. In the doubles event French Open champions Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur triumphed, consolidating their position as the year-end No. 1 in women's doubles.


2006 WTA Tour, Rankings
Below are the 2006 WTA year-end rankings in both singles and doubles competition:


2006 WTA Tour Championships
The 2006 WTA Tour Championships, also known as the Sony Ericsson Championships, was a women's round robin tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts at the Madrid Arena in Madrid, Spain. It was the 36th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 31st edition of the year-end doubles championships, and was part of the 2006 WTA Tour. The tournament was held between 7 November and 12 November 2006. Fourth-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne won the singles event and earned $1,000,000 first-prize money as well as 525 ranking points. With her victory Henin-Hardenne secured her year-end No.1 ranking.


2006 WTA Tour Championships, Finals, Doubles
Lisa Raymond /  Samantha Stosur defeated  Cara Black /  Rennae Stubbs, 3–6, 6–3, 6–3.


2006 WTA Tour Championships – Doubles
The defending champions Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur retained their title by defeating Cara Black and Rennae Stubbs in a rematch of the previous year's final 3–6, 6–3, 6–3.


2006 WTA Tour Championships – Singles
The 2006 WTA Tour Championships – Singles was the singles event of the 2006 WTA Tour Championships, a season-ending tennis tournament held in November that featured the eight players who had collected the most ranking points during that year's WTA Tour season.


2006 WTA Tour Championships – Singles
Justine Henin-Hardenne won the tournament, defeating the defending champion Amélie Mauresmo 6–4, 6–3 in the final. Henin-Hardenne also secured the WTA year-end No. 1 ranking after her semifinal victory over Maria Sharapova.


2006 WTA Tour Championships – Singles, Draw, Red Group
Standings are determined by: 1) Number of wins; 2) Number of matches; 3) In two-players-ties, head-to-head records; 4) In three-players-ties, percentage of sets won, or of games won; 5) Steering Committee decision.


2006 WTA Tour Championships – Singles, Draw, Yellow Group
Standings are determined by: 1) Number of wins; 2) Number of matches; 3) In two-players-ties, head-to-head records; 4) In three-players-ties, percentage of sets won, or of games won; 5) Steering Committee decision.


2006 WWE brand extension draft
The 2006 World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) brand extension draft, also known as the 2006 ECW draft, was the fourth WWE draft that took place at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington, on May 29. The draft aired on WWE's  flagship program Raw. The draft featured ECW representative Paul Heyman receiving two total draft picks from the existing SmackDown! and Raw rosters for the newly created ECW brand.


2006 WWE brand extension draft, Background
After World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. bought all the assets of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in 2003, the company began releasing DVDs promoting the original ECW. Soon afterwards, the company promoteon shows for ECW alumni entitled, One Night Stand in 2005 and in 2006. On May 25, 2006, WWE announced the launch of a new brand, ECW, a revival of original promotion. The new brand would later debut its television show on the Sci Fi Channel on June 13, 2006.


2006 WWE brand extension draft, Aftermath
Fifteen days after the draft ECW would hold its premiere episode on June 13, 2006. Although not drafted, Tazz later defected from SmackDown! to ECW, Big Show from Raw to ECW, and Randy Orton from SmackDown! to Raw. In August 2006, after a few appearances, Kurt Angle requested and was granted his release from his WWE contract.


2006 WWE brand extension draft, Aftermath
On February 2, 2010, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon announced that ECW would air its final episode on February 16, 2010. The ECW brand was disbanded after the final show, with every ECW wrestler becoming a free agent, eligible to join either the Raw or SmackDown brands. The original brand extension would end in August 2011.


2006 Wagner Seahawks football team
The 2006 Wagner Seahawks football team represented Wagner College in the 2006 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC). The Seahawks were led by 26th-year head coach Walt Hameline and played their home games at Wagner College Stadium. Wagner finished the season 4–7 overall and 0–7 in NEC play to place eighth.


2006 Wakayama gubernatorial election
Wakayama Prefecture held a gubernatorial election on December 17, 2006.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team
The 2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team represented Wake Forest University during the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Jim Grobe, in his fifth season at the school, and played its home games at Groves Stadium (now known as BB&T Field). The Deacons finished the regular season with a 10–2 record, giving them the first 10-win season in their history, and won the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team
With a win in the conference championship game, Wake Forest's first conference championship in 36 years, they represented the ACC in the Orange Bowl. The team ended the season with an 11–3 record and a number 17 ranking in the nation. The team and its star linebacker Jon Abbate would become the subject of a 2011 feature film, The 5th Quarter.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Pre-season
After finishing 4–7 in 2005 and in a tie for fourth place in the Atlantic Division of the ACC, the Deacons were picked in the pre-season to finish last in the division by the ACC media, among others, making the Deacons' run at the ACC title largely unexpected.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Pre-season, Coaching change
After Deacons' wide receivers coach Kevin Sherman left to take an assistant coaching position at Virginia Tech, Tim Billings was hired as his replacement. Billings was touted as having 23-years of experience at the college football level, including a six-year stint as head coach of Southeast Missouri State.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Pre-season, Roster changes
Although the Deacons returned an ACC high 18 starters from the 2005 team, they lost four key starters to graduation. On defense, the only starter to leave was nose tackle, Goryal Scales. On offense, three starters graduated, including wide receiver Chris Davis, quarterback Cory Randolph, and running back and ACC Player of the Year award-winner Chris Barclay. Finally, Ray Guy Award-winning punter Ryan Plackemeier also graduated.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Pre-season, Recruiting
During recruiting, the Deacons signed 15 new players for the team, including a number of three-star recruits and Josh Adams, a top-10 ranked running back. The team added eight players on offense, six on defense and a kicker, however before the season began, tight end recruit, Dennis Godfrey, decided not to enroll to the school.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Pre-season, Award candidates
Five Demon Deacon players were named to pre-season national award watchlists:


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Pre-season, Award candidates
Along with the award candidates, six players were named as pre-season All-Americans on three lists. Andrews and Vallos on the first team and Abbate and Gattis on the second team were named so by the Sporting News, Abbate and Vallos were named on the first team by the Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook, and finally, Vallos on the third team and Abbate, Gattis, Matt Robinson, and Swank as honorable mentions by Street & Smith.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, Syracuse
In the first game of the season, the Deacons took on the Syracuse Orange. For the first half, every time the Deacons scored, like quarterback Ben Mauk's 14-yard pass to Willie Idlette, the Orange answered. The half ended with the teams tied 10–10. In the second half, despite throwing an interception early in the quarter, Mauk led the Deacons to an eventual field goal to give them a 13–10 lead in the third quarter.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, Syracuse
However, before the field goal, Mauk suffered an injury to his right arm when two Syracuse players fell on the arm as he was attempting to recover a fumble. He was replaced by Riley Skinner who only threw one pass. In the fourth quarter, on the final scoring drive, the Deacons took nearly eight minutes off the clock with their running game, and scored on a 19-yard run by De'Angelo Bryant. The Deacons won the game 20–10, but had to make a decision on their quarterback.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, Duke
With Riley Skinner given the go-ahead to take over as the starting quarterback, the Deacons had to take on visiting Duke, a team who had only won one game in 2005. Duke, however, took an early lead with a 27-yard field goal and a 47-yard touchdown pass to take a 10–0 lead at halftime. Finally answering, Skinner threw the first touchdown pass of his career, a 5-yard pass to John Tereshinski, to bring them within three. The Blue Devils kicked another field goal, this one of 39-yards to take a 13–7 lead into the fourth quarter.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, Duke
Late in the fourth, the Deacons took their first lead of the game on a 2-yard touchdown run by Micah Andrews. With a minute remaining, the Blue Devils started a drive that brought them to the Deacons 11-yard line. With six seconds remaining, they attempted a game-winning field goal, however, Chip Vaughn was able to block the attempt to give the Deacons a 14–13 win.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, @ Connecticut
On their first road game of the season, the Deacons went to face the Connecticut Huskies. They took an early lead on an interception of D.J. Hernandez by Jeremy Thompson, who returned the ball 86-yards for the touchdown. Hernandez was able to bring the Huskies back and tied the game later in the quarter on a 6-yard pass, but Micah Andrews' 6-yard run for a touchdown gave the Deacons a lead they would never relinquish.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, @ Connecticut
In the second quarter, Lou Allen's 15-yard touchdown brought the Huskies within one after a missed extra point, to have the half end with the Deacons ahead 14–13. With no score in the third quarter, the Deacons padded their lead in the fourth with a 43-yard field goal by Sam Swank and another 6-yard touchdown run, this time by Richard Belton, to give the final score of the game as 24–13. With the win, the Deacons were 3–0 for the first time in 19 years.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, @ Ole Miss
The Deacons visited Ole Miss for their fourth game, and once again relied on their running and kicking games to win a game. Despite not having Micah Andrews, De'Angelo Bryant took over for him and gave the Deacons an early lead on a 9-yard touchdown. With a 38-yard field goal by Swank, and the Rebels' only answer of a 26-yard field goal, the Deacons took a 10–3 lead into the half. In the third quarter the Deacons added two more rushing touchdowns and another field goal to pad their lead. With no score in the fourth, the Deacons won the game 27–3.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, Liberty
The Deacons next took on the Division I FCS Liberty Flames. This time winning without only relying on their running game. Skinner threw for 218 yards including a 59-yard touchdown that gave the Deacons a 27–7 lead at halftime. Although the Flames were able to score twice, the Deacons easily outscored and outplayed them, winning 34–14.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, Clemson
The No. 12 ranked Clemson Tigers next came to visit the Deacons. Although the Tigers took an early lead with a field goal, a pair of touchdown passes, one by Skinner and the other on a trick play Nate Morton to Skinner, gave the Deacons a 14–3 lead at the half. In the third quarter, a 22-yard field goal by Swank gave the Deacons a 17–3 lead that wouldn't hold. On the first play of the fourth quarter a fumble on the Deacons' 35-yard line was returned by Gaines Adams for a touchdown. Three minutes later the Tigers tied the game on a 20-yard pass and then took a lead with a 72-yard touchdown run. With a final field goal, the Tigers ended the game, winning 27–17 and breaking the Deacons' winning streak.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, @ NC State
The Deacons next visited the NC State Wolfpack. Taking an early lead with a touchdown run and a 51-yard field goal, the Wolfpack came back and scored two touchdowns to give them a 14–10 lead. However, after Swank kicked a 53-yard field goal, the Deacon defense forced a safety with a minute left in the half. Skinner was able to capitalize with a 57-yard touchdown pass to Nate Morton to take a 22–14 lead into the half.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, @ NC State
In the fourth quarter, with the Wolfpack down five after a field goal, Swank kicked another 53-yard field goal to give the Deacons an eight-point advantage. With a touchdown with five minutes remaining, the Wolfpack brought the score within two points, however failed on the two-point conversion attempt. After holding the Deacons, the Wolfpack moved to the 40-yard line before a pass intercepted by Josh Gattis ended the game. The Deacons won the game 25–23 and were 6–1 for the first time since 1979. After the game the team was ranked


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, @ North Carolina
The Deacons next visited the North Carolina Tar Heels. After a blocked punt was returned for a touchdown by the Deacons, the Tar Heels were able to tie the game with a 1-yard touchdown pass. In the second quarter, after another touchdown by the Deacons, the Tar Heels once again answered and the teams were tied 14–14 at the half. In the third quarter the Tar Heels took their first lead with a 35-yard field goal. The Deacons wouldn't answer until early in the fourth quarter on a Swank field goal.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, @ North Carolina
They took their final lead on a Skinner pass of 39-yards. Down by a touchdown, the Tar Heels drove to scoring range, however, an errant pass on the final play of the game was intercepted by Jon Abbate to seal the win for the Deacons, 24–17. With the win the team was 7–1 for only the third time in school history.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, Boston College
The No. 16 ranked Boston College Eagles next faced the Deacons. The Deacons took the lead midway through the first quarter on a 9-yard reverse by Willie Idlette. After a drive that ended on the first play of the second quarter gave the Eagles a 1-yard touchdown run, the Deacons answered later in the quarter with a 46-yard touchdown pass by Skinner. On the Eagles' next drive, quarterback Matt Ryan threw an interception in the endzone that ended their scoring chance. The half ended with the Deacons winning 14–7.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, Boston College
On the Deacons first play of the second half, after holding the Eagles on a fourth down attempt, Kevin Marion ran for an 81-yard touchdown. Ryan answered later on a 2-yard scramble to put the Eagles down 21–14 at the end of the third quarter. In the fourth, the Eagles, after missing a 40-yard field goal, forced an interception from Skinner. On their drive, however, after an 11-yard run, L.V. Whitworth fumbled the ball to end the drive.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, Boston College
On their last chance in the game, after converting a fourth down, Ryan threw a second interception in the endzone to Patrick Ghee, to seal the win for the Deacons, 21–14. The Deacons beat a ranked team for the first time in nine chances, were 8–1 for the first time since 1944, and tied a school record for wins in a season.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, @ Florida State
The Deacons next went to Tallahassee to face the Florida State Seminoles, a team the Deacons hadn't beaten in Tallahassee since 1959 and who they had lost to 14 straight games. The Deacons dominated the game, however, and had a 20–0 lead at halftime. With both Seminole quarterbacks throwing two interceptions each, one of which was returned for a 48-yard touchdown, the Deacons held the Seminoles scoreless for the first time at home since Bobby Bowden started as their coach. With a final score of 30–0, the Deacons won a school record ninth game in the season.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, Virginia Tech
The No. 19 Virginia Tech Hokies next visited the Deacons. The Hokies took an early lead on a 49-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter. After losing ACC-leading rusher Branden Ore in the first quarter, the Hokies didn't score again until after the half. The Deacons, however, couldn't take advantage, and only scored a field goal to trail 7–3 at halftime. Early in the third quarter, the Hokies scored again on a long pass of 53-yards. The Deacons answered with another field goal, but the Hokies kept an 11-point lead after their own field goal. After a fumble was returned by the Hokies for 35-yards, the Deacons never answered again. The Hokies padded their lead with a fourth-quarter field goal, to give them the win, 27–6.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, @ Maryland
The Deacons visited the Maryland Terrapins for their final game of the regular season and with a chance to win the ACC Atlantic Division. The Terrapins took a touchdown lead midway through the first quarter, however a Kevin Harris 2-yard touchdown run answered for the Deacons. The Deacons then scored two touchdowns, including a 49-yard pass from Skinner to Willie Idlette to take the lead. The Terrapins scored late in the half to bring the halftime score to 21–14 in favor of the Deacons.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, @ Maryland
In the third quarter both teams traded field goals, but another Harris touchdown run gave the Deacons another two touchdown lead. In the fourth, both teams scored short touchdowns, but the early lead was enough for the Deacons who won 38–24. With the win, the Deacons won the Atlantic Division of the ACC and advanced to the ACC Championship game against the Coastal Division champion Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, vs. Georgia Tech–ACC Championship Game
The Deacons next went to Jacksonville to face the No. 22 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the second annual ACC Championship game. Both teams' defenses dominated the game, as each held the opposing offenses to under 300 yards for the game. The Deacons defense intercepted two Reggie Ball passes to help their effort. In the first half, both teams kicked field goals to go to halftime tied at 3. Early in the fourth quarter the Yellow Jackets took another lead with a second field goal to take a 6–3 lead.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, vs. Georgia Tech–ACC Championship Game
However, the Deacons came back and kicked two more field goals, the second with three minutes remaining in the game, to win the game 9–6. The winning score was the lowest for a conference champion ever. With the win, the Deacons won their second ACC Championship and won the ACC's spot in the BCS.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Game summaries, vs. Louisville–Orange Bowl
In the Deacons' first BCS bowl game they went to the Orange Bowl to play the No. 6 Louisville Cardinals, winners of the Big East. The Deacons took an early lead with a field goal, however the Cardinals answered with their own field goal and a touchdown in the first quarter to take a 10–3 lead to halftime. In the third quarter, Skinner tied the game on a 30-yard touchdown pass and took a three-point lead in the fourth after a 36-yard field goal. The lead didn't last too long, as the Cardinals scored a quick touchdown and another one later in the quarter. With the scores the Cardinals took a 24–13 win. Even with the loss, the Deacons finished their best season in school history.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Postseason, Awards, Conference
Upon winning the conference many Deacons players and coach Jim Grobe received conference honors. Grobe was unanimously named the ACC Coach of the Year by the media. Along with Grobe's honor, Riley Skinner was singled out by the media and was named the ACC Rookie of the Year. Along with the individual awards, nine players, five on the first team, one on the second, and three honorable mention, a Wake Forest record, were named to the All-ACC team.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Postseason, Awards, National
Two players and once again Jim Grobe were honored as finalists for national awards. Zac Selmon was named as a Wuerffel Trophy finalist, Sam Swank was named as a semifinalist for both the Lou Groza Award and the Ray Guy Award, and Grobe was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year. Although none won, Grobe was named coach of the year by five other organizations, including the AP award and the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Postseason, Awards, National
Along with the award winners, six players were named by four sources to their All-America teams. Sam Swank was named to the first teams of Rivals.com, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated. Also named by Sports Illustrated were Steve Vallos also on the first team and Jon Abbate and Josh Gattis as honorable mentions. Vallos was also named by the Sporting News to their team. Finally, Jeff Griffin on the second team and Riley Skinner on the third team, were named by the Sporting News to their Freshman All-American team.


2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team, Postseason, Roster changes
Ten former starters left due to graduation or being drafted in the 2007 NFL Draft. Mauk, who had to undergo extensive reconstructive surgery on his injured throwing arm, graduated and then left to pursue a master's degree. He took advantage of an NCAA rule (later repealed and still later restored) allowing graduate students with remaining athletic eligibility to transfer and gain immediate eligibility at their new school, and finished his college career as the starting quarterback at the University of Cincinnati. Nine other players went on to the NFL, including Josh Gattis who was selected in the fifth round of the draft by Jacksonville and Steve Vallos who was selected in the seventh round by Seattle. After the season, former recruit Dennis Godfrey enrolled with the new class.


2006 Wakefield Metropolitan District Council election
The 2006 Wakefield Metropolitan District Council election took place on 4 May 2006 to elect members of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council in West Yorkshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour party kept overall control of the council.


2006 Wakefield Metropolitan District Council election, Campaign
Before the election Labour had 44 seats, the Conservatives 10, independents 6 and the Liberal Democrats 3 seats. 75 candidates stood in the election for the 21 seats that were being contested, with Labour very unlikely to lose control of the council, which was the only council in West Yorkshire they still had a majority on.


2006 Wakefield Metropolitan District Council election, Election result
The results saw the Conservatives gain 4 seats, 3 from Labour and 1 from an independent. Labour were defeated in Horbury and South Ossett, Pontefract South and Wrenthorpe and Outwood West wards, with the losses blamed by the Labour leader on national issues. The other Conservative gain came in Wakefield South where they defeated independent councillor Norman Hazell by 17 votes. Hazell was a former Conservative member who had left the party in 2001 to sit as an independent councillor. However the other independent member managed to hold his seat in Featherstone despite a strong challenge from Labour.


2006 Wales Rally GB
The 2006 Wales Rally GB was the final round of the 2006 World Rally Championship season. It took place between December 1–3, 2006.


2006 Wales rugby union tour of Argentina
The 2006 Wales rugby union tour of Argentina was a series of matches played in June 2006 in Argentina by the Wales national rugby union team.


2006 Wales rugby union tour of Argentina
Wales was managed by new coach Gareth Jenkins, nominated a month before to replace Mike Ruddock.


2006 Wales rugby union tour of Argentina, Results, First test
The first test was played in Puerto Madryn, where there is a community of Welsh descent which was originally part of the Welsh settlement in Argentina in the second half of the 19th century. Argentina after an equilibrate match. There were debuts for Wales: I. Evans, Hibbard, James Hook, and Alun-Wyn Jones


2006 Wales rugby union tour of Argentina, Results, First test
Argentina: 15.Juan Martin Hernandez, 14.Jose Nunez Piossek, 13.Gonzalo Tiesi, 12.Rafael Carballo, 11.Lucas Borges, 10.Federico Todeschini, 9.Agustin Pichot (capt. ), 8.Gonzalo Longo, 7.Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, 6.Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 5.Rimas Alvarez Kairelis, 4.Ignacio Fernadez Lobbe, 3.Martin Scelzo, 2.Mario Ledesma, 1.Rodrigo Roncero,  – replacements: 17.Marcos Ayerza, 21.Francisco Leonelli        –  No entry : 16.Pablo Gambarini, 18.Santiago Sanz, 19.Martin Schusterman, 20.Nicolas Fernandez Miranda, 22.Federico Serra MirasWales: 15.Lee Byrne, 14.Mark Jones, 13.Jamie Robinson, 12.Matthew Watkins, 11.Shane Williams, 10.Nicky Robinson, 9.Mike Phillips, 8.Alix Popham, 7.Gavin Thomas, 6.Alun-Wyn Jones, 5.Ian Evans, 4.Ian Gough, 3.Adam R. Jones, 2.Matthew Rees, 1.Duncan Jones (capt. ),  – replacements: 16.Richard Hibbard, 18.John Yapp, 19.Gareth Delve, 21.James Hook, 22.Chris Czekaj     –  No entry: 17.Rhys M. Thomas, 20.Andy Williams


2006 Wales rugby union tour of Argentina, Results, Second test
The second test was played in Buenos Aires and Argentina won more easily


2006 Wales rugby union tour of Argentina, Results, Second test
Argentina: 15.Juan Martin Hernandez, 14.Lucas Borges, 13.Gonzalo Tiesi, 12.Felipe Contepomi, 11.Francisco Leonelli, 10.Federico Todeschini, 9.Agustin Pichot (capt. ), 8.Gonzalo Longo, 7.Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, 6.Martin Durand, 5.Rimas Alvarez Kairelis, 4.Ignacio Fernadez Lobbe, 3.Martin Scelzo, 2.Mario Ledesma, 1.Rodrigo Roncero,  – replacements: 16.Pablo Gambarini, 17.Marcos Ayerza, 18.Manuel Carizza, 19.Martin Schusterman, 20.Nicolas Fernandez Miranda, 21.Jose Nunez Piossek, 22.Federico Serra Miras Wales: 15.Lee Byrne, 14.Mark Jones, 13.Jamie Robinson, 12.James Hook, 11.Shane Williams, 10.Nicky Robinson, 9.Mike Phillips, 8.Alix Popham, 7.Gavin Thomas, 6.Alun-Wyn Jones, 5.Ian Evans, 4.Ian Gough, 3.Adam R. Jones, 2.Huw Bennett, 1.Duncan Jones (capt. ),  – replacements: 16.Richard Hibbard, 17.Rhys M. Thomas, 19.Gareth Delve, 20.Andy Williams, 22.Matthew Watkins     –  No entry: 18.John Yapp, 21.Nathan Brew


2006 Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council election
The 2006 Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 4 May 2006 to elect members of Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council in the West Midlands, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.


2006 Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council election, Election result
The results saw the Conservatives retain control of the council with 34 councillors, but they lost 2 seats to Labour who moved to 19 seats. The Liberal Democrats remained on 6 seats and there remained one independent councillor.


2006 Walsh Cup
The 2006 Walsh Cup was a hurling competition played by the teams of Leinster and Ulster. 9 teams competed: 6 Leinster counties, 2 Ulster counties and one third-level college. Lower-level teams competed in the 2006 Kehoe Cup.


2006 Waltham Forest London Borough Council election
The Waltham Forest Council elections, were held on 4 May 2006 in Waltham Forest, England. The whole council was up for election for the first time since the 2002 election.


2006 Waltham Forest London Borough Council election
Waltham Forest local elections are held every four years, with the next due in 2010.


2006 Waltham Forest London Borough Council election, Eligibility
All locally registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) who were aged 18 or over on Thursday 4 May 2006 were entitled to vote in the local elections. Those who were temporarily away from their ordinary address (for example, away working, on holiday, in student accommodation or in hospital) were also entitled to vote in the local elections, although those who had moved abroad and registered as overseas electors cannot vote in the local elections.


2006 Waltham Forest London Borough Council election, Eligibility
It is possible to register to vote at more than one address (such as a university student who had a term-time address and lives at home during holidays) at the discretion of the local Electoral Register Office, but it remains an offence to vote more than once in the same local government election.


2006 Waltham Forest London Borough Council election, Results by ward
The ward results listed below are based on the changes from the 2002 elections, not taking into account any mid-term by-elections or party defections.


2006 Wandsworth London Borough Council election
The 2006 Wandsworth Council election took place on 4 May 2006 to elect members of Wandsworth London Borough Council in London, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative party stayed in overall control of the council.


2006 Wandsworth London Borough Council election
The Conservatives were always expected to hold control and the low rates of council tax in Wandsworth were used as an example by the Conservatives in neighbouring councils such as Hammersmith and Fulham. During the campaign one Labour candidate, Nick Bowes, had said that the party was being well beaten and described the campaign as being "miserable, exhausting and lonely".


2006 Washington House of Representatives election
The 2006 Washington State House elections took place on November 7, 2006. Voters in all 49 of Washington's legislative districts voted for their representatives. Washington State Senate elections were also held on November 7.


2006 Washington House of Representatives election, Election results, District 3
In 2004, Alex Wood was challenged by David Stevens and won with 61.61% of the vote.


2006 Washington House of Representatives election, Election results, District 4
In 2004, Larry Crouse was challenged by Jim Peck (D) and won with 61.55% of the vote.


2006 Washington House of Representatives election, Election results, District 4
In 2004, Lynn Schindler was challenged by Ed Foote (D) and won with 65.85% of the vote.


2006 Washington House of Representatives election, Election results, District 5
In 2004, Jay Rodne was challenged by Jeff Griffin (D) and Keith Kemp (L) and won with 52.36% of the vote.


2006 Washington House of Representatives election, Election results, District 5
In 2004, Glenn Anderson was challenged by Barbara de Michele (D) and Beau Gunderson (L) and won with 54.07% of the vote.


2006 Washington House of Representatives election, Election results, District 6
In 2004, John Serben ran against Don Barlow (D) for an open seat (vacated when Brad Benson ran for State Senate) and won with 51.90% of the vote.


2006 Washington House of Representatives election, Election results, District 6
In 2004, John Ahern was challenged by Douglas Dobbins (D) and won with 60.56% of the vote.


2006 Washington House of Representatives election, Election results, District 7
In 2004, Bob Sump was challenged by Jack Miller (D) and Dave Wordinger (L) and won with 64.12% of the vote.


2006 Washington House of Representatives election, Election results, District 7
In 2004, Joel Kretz ran against Yvette Joseph (D) for an open seat (vacated when Cathy McMorris ran for Congress) and won with 65.15% of the vote.


2006 Washington House of Representatives election, Election results, District 8
In 2004, Shirley Hankins was challenged by Rick Dillender (D) and won with 73.28% of the vote.


2006 Washington House of Representatives election, Election results, District 8
In 2004, Larry Haler was challenged by Jerad Koepp (D) and won with 69.82% of the vote.


2006 Washington House of Representatives election, Election results, District 9
Current incumbent Don Cox (R) is not seeking re-election in 2006.


2006 Washington House of Representatives election, Election results, District 13
Current incumbent Janéa Holmquist (R) is running for State Senator.


2006 Washington House of Representatives election, Election results, District 14
Current Incumbent James Clements (R) is not seeking re-election in 2006.


2006 Washington House of Representatives election, Election results, District 24
James Buck was challenged by Van de Wege in 2002, and won with 51%.


2006 Washington House of Representatives election, Election results, District 26
Current Seat 2 Representative Derek Kilmer (D) is running for the State Senate seat left open by the retirement of Bob Oke, which leaves the race for this seat an open race.


2006 Washington House of Representatives election, Election results, District 28
Current incumbent Gigi Talcott (R) is not seeking re-election in 2006.


2006 Washington House of Representatives election, Election results, District 43
Ed Murray is stepping down from his House seat to run for the State Senate.


2006 Washington House of Representatives election, Election results, District 48
Seat 2 became an open seat on March 14, 2006 when Rodney Tom announced his candidacy for the Senate, switching parties from Republican to Democrat in the process.


2006 Washington Huskies football team
The 2006 Washington Huskies football team represented the University of Washington in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by second-year head coach Tyrone Willingham, the team compiled a 5–7 record and was ninth in the Pacific-10 Conference. Home games were played on campus at Husky Stadium in Seattle.


2006 Washington Huskies football team, Background
Two years earlier in 2004, the Huskies had a dismal 1–10 season, with their lone victory over San Jose State. With three games remaining, second-year head coach Keith Gilbertson announced his resignation, effective at the end of the season. Willingham was hired in December after being dismissed from Notre Dame.


2006 Washington Huskies football team, Background
While Washington saw an overall improvement on the team in 2005, they still struggled to win games, and finished with a 2–9 record. Highlights of the season were victories over Idaho and Pac-10 foe Arizona, and holding USC to 390 yards, their lowest offensive total of the year.


2006 Washington Huskies football team, Pre-season
Redshirt freshman tailback J.R. Hasty was expected to have a big impact on the offense, but was declared academically ineligible. Senior Isaiah Stanback and sophomore Johnny Durocher competed for the starting quarterback position. Junior College transfers were Anthony Atkins (DE), Jason Wells (S), and Jordan Murchison (CB). All were expected to fill holes in the team.


2006 Washington Huskies football team, Pre-season
Washington did not appear in any pre-season rankings and was predicted to finish last in the Pac-10 media poll.


2006 Washington Huskies football team, Season, USC
In the fourth quarter, with 2 seconds left on the game clock, the Huskies moved the ball 15 yards shy of the end zone, stopping the clock by getting a first down. Before Isaiah Stanback could hike the ball, the clock ran out and they were unable to get off a final play. It was a controversial moment that many blamed on miscommunication from the officials regarding when the clock would start again.


2006 Washington Huskies football team, Season, Oregon State
Linebacker Scott White intercepted two passes in the first half, setting up two touchdowns and giving Washington a 17–10 lead by halftime. However, the Huskies struggled in the second half both offensively and defensively. Oregon State quarterback Matt Moore connected with wide receiver Sammie Stroughter to give OSU a 27–17 lead. Late in the fourth quarter, Washington quarterback Isaiah Stanback suffered a Lisfranc fracture in his right foot; the injury requires surgery and Stanback will miss the remainder of the 2006 season.


2006 Washington Huskies football team, Season, California
Back-up quarterback Carl Bonnell made his first start of the season filling in for the injured Isaiah Stanback. In his first start he threw two touchdown passes including a 40 yard hail mary pass to Marlon Wood to send the game into over time. However, Bonnell also threw five interceptions in regulation, and one in over time.


2006 Washington Huskies football team, NFL Draft
Two Huskies were selected in the 2007 NFL Draft, which lasted seven rounds (255 selections).


2006 Washington Initiative 920
Initiative 920 (I-920) was a highly controversial campaign to repeal the estate tax in the U.S. state of Washington. Washington state law directs that revenues collected from the estate tax be placed into the Education Legacy Trust account, which funds financial aid for higher education. The initiative failed, with 33.54 percent voting for and 66.46 percent against.


2006 Washington Initiative 920, Supporters
The campaign to get I-920 on the ballot was primarily bankrolled by Martin Selig, a Seattle skyscraper developer, and Dennis Falk, a wealthy former Seattle police officer. Falk's involvement has been particularly controversial. Falk leads the John Birch Society. In 1978, Falk co-chaired Save Our Moral Ethics, an unsuccessful campaign to repeal a law barring housing and employment discrimination against gays and lesbians.


2006 Washington Initiative 920, Supporters
Supporters of I-920 claim the estate tax is an unfair burden on small business. They claim that if small businesses leave Washington, support for local schools will be eroded. They also contend that the 2005 legislature's decision to renew the estate tax contradicted I-402, which was passed in 1981.


2006 Washington Initiative 920, Opponents
Criticism of I-920 has focused on two main points. First, critics argue that the estate tax is the most efficient way to raise revenue for education and that repealing the tax will compromise educational infrastructure, especially for the poor. Second, critics point out that the tax is graduated and therefore only impacts those most able to pay. They argue that the proponents of I-920 have used the rhetoric of small business interests to create tax breaks for the extremely wealthy. Family farms, for example, are completely exempt from the estate tax. Last year, the Washington Estate Tax affected only 250 of the wealthiest estates.


2006 Washington Initiative 933
Ballot Initiative 933  was a ballot initiative in the U.S. state of Washington in 2006. It concerned land use planning, and was voted down by 59% in the 2006 elections.


2006 Washington Initiative 933
The controversial initiative pitted the interests of real estate developers against environmental protection and preservation of natural resources.


2006 Washington Initiative 933
The initiative is also known as I-933, titled "Property Rights" by the Secretary of State, "The Property Fairness Initiative" by its supporters, and the "Developers Initiative" by its opponents.


2006 Washington Initiative 933, Content of the proposal
I-933 called for government agencies in the State of Washington to evaluate the effects directly on private real and personal property when implementing regulations or ordinances. It called for these government agencies to follow certain policies: either pay compensation when "damaging" property, to consider "less restrictive means," or to waive the implementation of the regulation.


2006 Washington Initiative 933, Cost
According to a study conducted by the University of Washington the initiative would have cost taxpayers an estimated $7.8 Billion during the first five years after enactment. The same study also found that "Virtually every county would likely be faced with claims, yet none have a tax revenue source in place for paying them."


2006 Washington Initiative 933, Other effects
I-933 would have impacted critical areas that are protected to prevent flooding and protect fish, wildlife and groundwater.


2006 Washington Initiative 933, Other effects
Though it was described as establishing a "pay or waive" system, I-933 did not have the power to permit waivers in most relevant cases. This would have resulted in a "stymied decision" and uncertainty for both landowners and local governments, with the result of slowing down development permits.


2006 Washington Initiative 933, Other effects
I-933 would likely have led to a greater role for federal government in the region.


2006 Washington Initiative 933, Other effects
The initiative would have had implications not only for real estate, but on intellectual property rights, water rights, motor vehicles, securities and intangible commercial assets.


2006 Washington Initiative 933, People and organizations involved, Supporters
Supporters of I-933 argued that the proposal would have protected private property owners from "excessive land-use regulations or proposed regulations that damage the use and value of private property."


2006 Washington Initiative 933, People and organizations involved, Supporters
A significant portion of the financial support for the campaign came from Americans for Limited Government, a libertarian-oriented group based in Illinois.


2006 Washington Initiative 933, People and organizations involved, Opponents
Opponents of the initiative questioned why taxpayers should have "to pay some land owners to follow laws already on the books or waive those protections for the community". I-933 required taxpayers to pay legal fees for all claims, including retroactive claims. Opponents of the proposal also pointed out that the Washington Farm Bureau represents primarily large corporations and has an established record of supporting Republican candidates with PAC money. The Association of Washington Cities argued the Initiative would have cost taxpayers 4.5 billion dollars a year in claims against municipalities.


2006 Washington Initiative 933, People and organizations involved, Opponents
Environmentalists claimed "Initiative 933 would dismantle ... (environmental) protections, making it extremely difficult to enforce the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act." Moreover, I-933 allocated no funding for the payments it required, raising fears that taxes would have been increased and/or that funding to key infrastructural programs would have been cut. Lobbyists in favor of the bill dismissed these accusations as scare tactics. On October 10, 2006, all six of Washington's living former governors joined current Gov. Christine Gregoire to oppose Initiative 933. "I-933 is an extremely vague and loophole-ridden initiative that exposes our taxpayers to great expense," said former Gov. Gary Locke.


2006 Washington Initiative 933, Precedents
I-933 was similar to Initiative 164, a 1995 bill passed by the Washington legislature and subsequently repealed by ballot initiative (referendum 48.)


2006 Washington Initiative 933, Precedents
It was also similar to Oregon Ballot Measure 37 (2004), as well as numerous 2006 initiatives promoted in other states (nearly all of which were defeated.)


2006 Washington Initiative 937
Ballot Initiative 937 (official name Initiative measure no. 937, known as I-937) is a clean energy initiative passed in the US state of Washington, appearing on the ballot in the November 2006 elections. It passed with 52 percent of the vote.


2006 Washington Initiative 937, Content of the proposal
The initiative requires large utilities to obtain 15% of their electricity from new renewable resources such as solar and wind (but excluding hydro) by 2020 with incremental steps of 3% by 2012 and 9% by 2016. It also requires that utilities undertake all cost-effective energy conservation.


2006 Washington Initiative 937, Precedents
Similar legislation has been enacted in at least 20 other states including the following. (The table is sorted by date and then by descending percentage. I-937 is included in bold.)


2006 Washington Initiative 937, Opponents
Opponents included many small co-op electrical providers (even though the initiative affects only utilities with greater than 25,000 customers) as well as the following:


2006 Washington Mystics season
The 2006 WNBA season was the ninth for the Washington Mystics. The Mystics reached the playoffs, but they were later swept in the opening round to the Connecticut Sun.


2006 Washington Nationals season
The Washington Nationals' 2006 season was the franchise's second season in Washington, D.C. and 38th season overall.


2006 Washington Nationals season
The Nationals finished last in the NL East for the third consecutive year (counting their final season in Montreal), 26 games behind the New York Mets with a 71-91 record.


2006 Washington Nationals season, Offseason
On November 4, 2005, the Nationals traded Vinny Castilla to the San Diego Padres for Brian Lawrence. On December 8, 2005, they traded Brad Wilkerson, Terrmel Sledge, and minor-leaguer Armando Galarraga to the Texas Rangers for  Alfonso Soriano. On December 24, 2005, they signed Mike Stanton – who they had traded to the Boston Red Sox late the previous season – as a free agent. On February 11, 2006, the Nationals sold Jamey Carroll to the Colorado Rockies for $300,000, and on March 31, 2006, they sold Jim Crowell to the Philadelphia Phillies.


2006 Washington Nationals season, Advertising and marketing
The Nationals' marketing slogan for the season was "Make It Your Pastime." The slogan was a reference to the common saying that baseball is "the national pastime" in the United States.


2006 Washington Nationals season, Spring training
The Nationals held their 2006 spring training in Viera, Florida, with home games played at Space Coast Stadium.


2006 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, Groundbreaking for Nationals Park
On May 4, 2006, the groundbreaking ceremony took place for the Nationals' new ballpark, Nationals Park in Southeast Washington, D.C. Principal Owner Mark D. Lerner, Managing Principal Owner Theodore N. Lerner, Principal Owner Robert K. Tanenbaum, and Principal Owner Edward L. Cohen wielded the shovels at the ceremony; public address announcer Charlie Brotman emceed the event, and former Mayor of the District of Columbia Anthony A. Williams, former Nationals Manager Frank Robinson, representatives from Major League Baseball, the District of Columbia Sports and Entertainment Commission, the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation, and Clark-Hunt-Smoot Construction, and former Washington Senators and Homestead Grays players also attended. Less than two years later, the Nationals moved to Nationals Park for the 2008 season.


2006 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, Beltway Series
During spring training in 2006, the Nationals and Orioles played each other in Washington on March 31 and in Baltimore on April 1. The first match-up of the regular-season Beltway Series rivalry took place on May 19, 2006, at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium; the Orioles won. This marked first time in 35 years that the Orioles played a regular-season game in Washington; previously, they had played the original Washington Senators of the American League annually from 1954 to 1960 and the expansion Washington Senators – which replaced the original Senators – each year from 1961 to 1971.


2006 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, Beltway Series
The two teams split the 2006 season series 3-3 with each team winning two games at home and one on the road.


2006 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, Draft
The 2006 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft took place on June 6 and 7. With their first pick – the 15th pick overall – the Nationals selected outfielder Chris Marrero. Other notable players the Nationals selected were pitcher Cole Kimball (12th round, 361st overall), pitcher Sam Dyson (19th round, 571st overall), outfielder Khris Davis (29th round, 871st overall), first baseman Tyler Moore (33rd round, 991st overall), and pitcher Brad Peacock (41st round, 1,231st overall). The Nationals had drafted Moore in 2005, but he had not signed, and he did not sign again this year. Dyson and Davis also did not sign with the Nationals.


2006 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, Attendance
The Nationals drew 2,153,056 fans at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 2006, placing them 11th in attendance for the season among the 16 National League teams.


2006 Washington Nationals season, Player stats, Batting
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases


2006 Washington Nationals season, Player stats, Pitching
Note: Pos = Position; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts


2006 Washington Redskins season
The 2006 season was the Washington Redskins' 75th in the National Football League, and the third under head coach Joe Gibbs since his return to the team in 2004.


2006 Washington Redskins season
The team had posted a 10–6 record and a postseason berth the previous season (up from 6–10 in 2004). In 2006, however, the Redskins posted only five wins and finished last in the division.


2006 Washington Redskins season
The 2006 Redskins set an NFL record for fewest takeaways in a (non-strike) NFL season, with only twelve.


2006 Washington Redskins season, Offseason
After the end of the 2005 season, the Redskins were reported to be $20 million over the salary cap. However, due to the NFL and NFL Players' Union agreement the salary cap was raised to $102 million and LaVar Arrington paying $4.4 million of his salary back, Washington managed to get under the cap.


2006 Washington Redskins season, Offseason
The Redskins released 3-time Pro Bowl linebacker LaVar Arrington and starting safeties Ryan Clark and Matt Bowen.


2006 Washington Redskins season, Offseason
The Redskins signed the following free agents: wide receiver Antwaan Randle El, defensive end Andre Carter, strong safety Adam Archuleta, and tight end Christian Fauria. They also traded draft picks for wide receiver Brandon Lloyd, quarterback Todd Collins and running back T. J. Duckett


2006 Washington Redskins season, Offseason
In the 2006 NFL Draft, the Redskins did not have a first round pick due to a 2005 trade used to acquire quarterback Jason Campbell. However, they traded up in the second round to draft linebacker Rocky McIntosh out of the University of Miami, who was slated to be the replacement for Arrington. The Redskins then used their next pick on Minnesota DT Anthony Montgomery. The rest of their picks included Northern Colorado Safety Reed Doughty, Georgia DT Kedric Golston, Arizona Guard Kili Lefotu, and Tennessee LB Kevin Simon (who was later cut).


2006 Washington Redskins season, Offseason
The Redskins finished the 2006 preseason with a record of 0–4, losing to the Cincinnati Bengals 19–3, the New York Jets 27–14, the New England Patriots 41–0 and the Baltimore Ravens 17–10. Starting running back Clinton Portis was injured in the first game of the preseason. The Redskins scored the fewest points of any team in the preseason.


2006 Washington Redskins season, Offseason
The Redskins severed long-standing ties with radio station WJFK-FM for broadcasting rights to Redskins games. The new flagship station is Triple X ESPN Radio, which consists of three simulcast frequencies that cover the greater Washington, D.C. area.


2006 Washington Redskins season, Regular season, Week 1: vs. Minnesota Vikings
The Redskins started the regular season against the Minnesota Vikings at home on September 11, in the first game of an ESPN Monday Night Football doubleheader on opening weekend. The Redskins defense allowed Minnesota quarterback Brad Johnson and the Vikings' offense to convert often on third down, and the Vikings won the game 19–16 after a failed field goal attempt by John Hall late in the fourth quarter quieted any chance of a Redskins comeback. With the loss, the Redskins were 0–1.


2006 Washington Redskins season, Regular season, Week 2: at Dallas Cowboys
The Redskins traveled to Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas to take on one of their NFC East rivals, the Dallas Cowboys in a Sunday night match-up. The Redskins trailed early, as Dallas kicker Mike Vanderjagt completed a 26-yard field goal and Drew Bledsoe completed a 4-yard TD pass to WR Patrick Crayton in the first quarter. In the second quarter, kicker John Hall would get Washington a 39-yard field goal, but Dallas responded with RB Marion Barber's 1-yard TD run.


2006 Washington Redskins season, Regular season, Week 2: at Dallas Cowboys
RB Rock Cartwright would return a kickoff 100 yards for a TD, but that would be the last time in the entire game that Redskins would score a single point. Even though there wouldn't be a single point scored in the third quarter, the Cowboys sealed the win with a 40-yard TD pass to WR Terry Glenn and a 50-yard field goal by Vanderjagt. With the loss, the Redskins dropped to 0–2.


2006 Washington Redskins season, Regular season, Week 3: at Houston Texans
The Washington Redskins defeated the Houston Texans by the score of 31–15. Washington quarterback Mark Brunell set a new NFL record for consecutive completed passes in one game by completing his first 22 pass attempts against the Texans' defense. Brunell finished 24 of 27 passes for 269 yards and one touchdown. Newly signed Redskins receiver Antwaan Randle El scored his first touchdown of the season. Clinton Portis rushed for 89 yards and two touchdowns. Ladell Betts finished with 124 rushing yards and one touchdown. With their first win of the season, the Redskins moved to 1–2.


2006 Washington Redskins season, Regular season, Week 4: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
The Redskins welcomed Byron Leftwich and the rest of the Jacksonville Jaguars to FedExField. Mark Brunell passed for 329 yards, three touchdown passes (all to WR Santana Moss), and one interception. The Redskins came up with 153 total rushing yards, as Clinton Portis led the team with 112 rushing yards and one touchdown. The defense forced one interception from Leftwich, logged four sacks, and allowed only 33 rushing yards. John Hall was 3 for 3 on field goals and extra points. The game ended in overtime when Brunell threw a 68-yard game-winning touchdown pass to Moss. With the win, the Redskins moved to 2–2.


2006 Washington Redskins season, Regular season, Week 5: at New York Giants
Mark Brunell and the Redskins marched into Giants Stadium with a victory in mind. It ended up being misery within three hours, as they lost to a team who, at the time, had a poorly rated defense. Clinton Portis rushed for 76 yards. Santana Moss caught 3 receptions for only 39 yards, while Chris Cooley beat out Santana Moss with 4 receptions for 41 yards. Total offense for the Redskins was 164 yards, while the New York Giants put up 411 yards. The Redskins defense ended up with no sacks, interceptions, or turnovers. John Hall was 1/2 on field goals with no PATs. With another loss, the Redskins dropped to 2–3.


2006 Washington Redskins season, Regular season, Week 6: vs Tennessee Titans
Hoping to rebound from their road loss to the Giants, the Redskins returned home for a Week 6 fight with the Tennessee Titans. In the first quarter, Washington trailed early as Tennessee kicker Rob Bironas kicked a 32-yard field goal. RB Clinton Portis got a 10-yard TD run to help the Redskins regain the lead. In the second quarter, the Skins increased their lead with QB Mark Brunell completing a 24-yard TD pass to TE Chris Cooley.


2006 Washington Redskins season, Regular season, Week 6: vs Tennessee Titans
However, the Titans regained the lead with Bironas nailing a 26-yard field goal and QB Vince Young completing a 3-yard TD pass to WR Brandon Jones. In the third quarter, the Redskins continued to dig themselves a huge hole, as RB Travis Henry got a 2-yard TD run. Afterwards, the Titans got a safety on a blocked punt that rolled out the back of the end zone.


2006 Washington Redskins season, Regular season, Week 6: vs Tennessee Titans
In the fourth quarter, Washington tried valiantly to fight back, as Portis got a 4-yard TD run, but in the end, Bironas got a 30-yard field goal for Tennessee and a late interception by Free Safety Lamont Thompson killed any chance of a comeback. With the loss, the Redskins fell to 2–4.


2006 Washington Redskins season, Regular season, Week 7: at Indianapolis Colts
The Redskins started the game looking to prevent Peyton Manning from overwhelming their defense, and hoping to drive the ball in a more effective manner. What was a close game at the half however quickly degenerated into a blood bath in the 3rd quarter as Peyton Manning connected on 3 touchdown passes to seal the deal. Overall, the offense again looked confused, and surprisingly it was the defense of the Redskins that ended up giving up big running plays on a regular basis. With the loss, the Redskins dropped to 2–5 for the season.


2006 Washington Redskins season, Regular season, Week 9: vs. Dallas Cowboys
Coming off their Bye Week, the Redskins avenged their Week 2 loss by defeating the Dallas Cowboys after a wild final minute of the fourth quarter which ended with a game-winning 47-yard field goal by kicker Nick Novak. With less than a minute left in the fourth quarter, Novak missed from 49 yards. With nine seconds left Dallas kicker Mike Vanderjagt's field goal was blocked by newly signed Redskins cornerback Troy Vincent, and recovered by Redskins free safety Sean Taylor, who ran the ball down to the Dallas 45-yard line as time expired.


2006 Washington Redskins season, Regular season, Week 9: vs. Dallas Cowboys
During the runback by Taylor, Dallas offensive lineman Kyle Kosier grabbed his facemask and pulled it, adding an additional fifteen yards to the play and, since the penalty was defensive in nature, extended regulation by one additional play as a period cannot end on a defensive penalty according to NFL rules. Novak then came back out to hit the game winner and give the Redskons their third win of the year.


2006 Washington Redskins season, Regular season, Week 10: at Philadelphia Eagles
In their first game against the Eagles, the Redskins lost in convincing fashion, 27–3. Although they dominated the time of possession in the first half and had several long drives, they came away with only three points. On the other hand, the Eagles had several big plays which resulted in scores, including a second half interception for a touchdown. With the loss the Redskins fell to 3–6.


2006 Washington Redskins season, Regular season, Week 10: at Philadelphia Eagles
On the Monday after this game, it was announced that quarterback Mark Brunell was being benched in favor of second-year quarterback Jason Campbell.


2006 Washington Redskins season, Regular season, Week 11: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
New starting quarterback Jason Campbell played his first game at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Only field goal points took the first half, with both teams tied at halftime 3–3. In the second half Jason Campbell threw a three-yard touchdown pass to TE Chris Cooley, then Bruce Gradkowski threw a three-yard touchdown pass intended for Galloway but instead bounced off him into Becht's hands, making the game tied in the third quarter 10–10. Though the Redskins performed fairly well in the fourth quarter, Jason Campbell throwing another touchdown pass to Yoder, the Buccaneers had already pulled ahead by ten points. The final score was 20–17, Bucs, dropping the Redskins to 3–7.


2006 Washington Redskins season, Regular season, Week 12: vs. Carolina Panthers
In his first game at home as the starter for the Redskins, Jason Campbell, again, had an encouraging game completing 11 of 23 passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns. A rather dull first half for both teams saw the scoreboard read 6–3 in favor of Carolina. In the second half Jason Campbell threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Antwaan Randle El and the Redskins took the lead at 10–6. In the fourth quarter Steve Smith scored on an 8-yard pass from Jake Delhomme to give Carolina a 13–10 lead.


2006 Washington Redskins season, Regular season, Week 12: vs. Carolina Panthers
Later in the fourth quarter Jason Campbell threw to Chris Cooley for a 66-yard touchdown giving the Redskins the lead for good. Carolina threatened near the end of the game, but a Jake Delhomme pass was intercepted in the endzone by Redskins Safety Sean Taylor. With the 17–13 victory, the Redskins record stood at 4–7.


2006 Washington Redskins season, Regular season, Week 13: vs. Atlanta Falcons
Coming off their impressive victory over the Panthers, the Redskins stayed at home a Week 13 fight with the Atlanta Falcons. In the first quarter, the Redskins started strong with RB Ladell Betts getting an 8-yard TD run, while QB Jason Campbell completed a 42-yard TD pass to WR Santana Moss. In the second quarter, the Falcons started catching up with kicker Morten Andersen's 34-yard field goal and QB Michael Vick's 16-yard TD pass to TE Alge Crumpler. In the third quarter, Washington lost its lead with Vick's 22-yard TD pass to WR Michael Jenkins for the only score of the period. In the fourth quarter, the Redskins fell when RB Jerious Norwood ran 69 yards for a touchdown. With the loss, Washington fell to 4–8.