2007 Trinity vs. Millsaps football game, Background
Millsaps brought a 5-0 conference mark into the game, Trinity a 3-1 conference record, essentially turning the regular season contest into a play-in game with the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference's automatic playoff bid on the line. A Millsaps win would secure the playoff berth for the Majors; a Trinity victory would give them control of their own destiny—if they could win their remaining conference games Millsaps would be unable to overtake them.


2007 Trinity vs. Millsaps football game, Background
Coming into the game, Trinity was ranked #19 in the country, while Millsaps was ranked #24 according to the  poll, despite the Majors one game lead in the conference standings. The previous year, Millsaps had ended Trinity's streak of 13 straight SCAC titles with a 34-12 upset over the Tigers on the same field to clinch the 2006 SCAC crown.


2007 Trinity vs. Millsaps football game, Game summary
Trinity got the ball to start the game and used four plays, culminating in a 25-yard run by Chris Baer, to score a touchdown. Millsaps was unable to get a first down and they punted back to Trinity. On the punt, Trinity's Caleb Urban fumbled the ball and Eric McCarty of the Majors recovered at the Trinity 40-yard line. The Tigers defense prevented the Majors from reaching the end zone so the Majors attempted a field goal, which was no good.


2007 Trinity vs. Millsaps football game, Game summary
The Tigers punted on their next possession and then Majors quarterback Juan Joseph's pass was intercepted by Lee Patterson at the Trinity 4-yard line. The Tigers also ended their drive when Blake Barmore's pass was intercepted by Ray Kline. Millsaps took over at the Trinity 20-yard line and four plays later scored a touchdown on a 12-yard pass from Joseph to Louis Conley. A punt by each team left Trinity with the ball and the score was tied at 7 at the end of the first quarter.


2007 Trinity vs. Millsaps football game, Game summary
In the second quarter, Trinity held the Majors scoreless and made a field goal to take a 10–7 lead into halftime. The third quarter brought a field goal by the Tigers and a touchdown by the Majors. The score was 14–13 Millsaps coming into the final quarter.


2007 Trinity vs. Millsaps football game, Game summary
Millsaps widened their lead with a 9-play 44-yard touchdown scoring drive that used 3:03 of game time. That gave them a 21–13 lead. The Tigers trimmed the lead to 21–16 with a 22-yard field goal by Peter Licalzi. The Majors answered with their own field goal to make it 24–16. Trinity drove to the Millsaps 13-yard line. On fourth down, Blake Barmore completed a pass to Riley Curry for 13 yards for a touchdown, making it 24–22. The Tigers tried to tie the game with a two-point conversion but Blake Barmore's pass attempt failed and Trinity had to kick the ball to Millsaps.


2007 Trinity vs. Millsaps football game, Game summary
Leading 24–22, Millsaps got the ball at the Trinity 43-yard line with 2:03 left in the game. They ran four straight rushing plays but were unable to run out the clock. On fourth-and-two with eight seconds left, Millsaps backup quarterback Burt Pereira ran to his left in an attempt to run out the clock; however, he went down with two seconds left, which gave Trinity possession of the ball and one final play in which to score.


2007 Trinity vs. Millsaps football game, Final play
The Tigers had time for only one snap so there was no time to move into field goal range. They needed to score a touchdown in one play, working from their own 40-yard line. Believing that 60 yards was too far away to complete a Hail Mary pass, Trinity coach Steve Mohr called for a 10-15 yard underneath route. The play they ran involved seven players and 15 laterals. The players who touched the ball for Trinity were (in order, number of touches in parentheses):


2007 Trinity vs. Millsaps football game, Final play
Here is the sequence of the play, broken down for every time the ball changed hands:


2007 Trinity vs. Millsaps football game, Final play
NCAA statistical guidelines state that the yardage on a play with multiple laterals goes to the ball carrier who had the ball the longest, or the player scoring a touchdown. This is done to simplify things for the official scorer, as opposed to having to record each independent lateral. As a result, the play-by-play record of the game officially records the play as "Blake Barmore pass complete to Shawn Thompson for 16 yards to the MSPS44, Riley Curry for 44 yards to the MSPS0, 1ST DOWN TRINITY, TOUCHDOWN, clock 00:00."


2007 Trinity vs. Millsaps football game, Final play
In the video, it is clear that several Millsaps defenders stopped playing before the play was over. On the thirteenth lateral, Tomlin was taken down but tossed a no-look pitch over his shoulder to Hooten just before his knee hit the ground. Many Millsaps fans believed the play to be over and fireworks were shot off from behind the endzone in celebration. Maddux's final lateral hit the ground and bounced into Curry's hands. It appeared as though two defenders near Curry believed the play was over at that point, and Curry scampered into the endzone untouched. Millsaps safety Michael Sims, the closest player to Curry when Curry caught the last lateral, later admitted that he turned around and started walking away, believing the game to be over.


2007 Trinity vs. Millsaps football game, Final play
The play took more than a minute of real-time to conclude and analysts have said it is the longest or possibly the longest play in college football history. ESPN said the play took 62 seconds and reports may be the longest play in college football history. The Frederick News Post said the play took 63 seconds and they also stated "it might very well be the longest play in college history."


2007 Trinity vs. Millsaps football game, Final play
NBC said "If this wasn't the most memorable game-ending play in college football history, it likely was the longest play -- by a multiple of two -- in the game's history." SouthernCollegeSports.com called it the longest play and commented "Perhaps the most amazing thing about this longest play ever is the fact that not a single flag was thrown for a rules infraction."


2007 Trinity vs. Millsaps football game, Final play
The San Antonio Express-News, San Antonio's WOAI, MSNBC, CBS Sports and The Dallas Morning News called the play the "Mississippi Miracle". The Dallas Morning News, Sports Illustrated, and ESPN used the term "Lateralpalooza".


2007 Trinity vs. Millsaps football game, Broadcast
The announcing crew for the game consisted of a five-person team with only one video camera. Jonathan Wiener, a Trinity sophomore English major from Jackson, Mississippi, had the play-by-play. Justin Thompson, (brother of Shawn Thompson, one of the play participants) of New Braunfels, Texas, was the color analyst. Bill Swint of New Braunfels, Texas, ran the video camera assisted by Butch Maddux of China Spring, Texas. The video and audio feeds were mixed and uploaded live to a streaming videocast server by Bob Edwards of Dallas, Texas. The game was broadcast live on the internet but was not otherwise televised. According to The New York Times, "Wiener kept his cool through the frenzy and described most of the details precisely as they occurred. The replay of the video with Wiener’s description has been shown on national television and has become a hit on the Internet."


2007 Trinity vs. Millsaps football game, Broadcast
As Curry scored the touchdown, Wiener shouted, "Curry scores! The game is over! The Tigers lateraled it and kept lateraling!! And the game is over! The Tigers win! The Tigers win!"


2007 Trinity vs. Millsaps football game, Analysis
With the win, the Trinity Tigers remained in contention for the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) championship as well as an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III playoffs. Millsaps would have secured a spot in the playoffs had they won. Trinity won the championship for 2007, receiving a playoff berth but was ultimately eliminated in the first round by the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.


2007 Trinity vs. Millsaps football game, Analysis
Sports analysts compared the ending to The Play, the last-second, five-lateral kickoff return during a college football game between the University of California, Berkeley Golden Bears and the Stanford University Cardinal on November 20, 1982. Jake Curtis of the San Francisco Chronicle said that the Trinity play made the play by California "look like conservative play-calling." Joe LaPointe of The New York Times called the broadcast of the play "The laterals heard round the world." The San Antonio Express-News ran a byline calling it "'The most sensational, incredible ending in all of Division III' and then some". Mike Christensen of The Clarion-Ledger, the hometown newspaper of Millsaps, called it "one of those you-had-to-see-it-to-believe-it plays". David Chancellor of San Antonio's WOAI called it "one of the greatest plays in sports history".


2007 Trinity vs. Millsaps football game, Analysis
ESPN reported, "In the digital age, even D-III games can go global in a flash. And so a slice of fame normally reserved for the semiprofessionals at the big-dollar Division I programs was bestowed upon the Tigers. That night they gathered in the lobby of their hotel near the Millsaps campus to watch, in disbelief, as they made SportsCenter."


2007 Tro-Bro Léon
The 2007 Tro-Bro Léon was the 24th edition of the Tro-Bro Léon cycle race and was held on 22 April 2007. The race was won by Saïd Haddou.


2007 Trofeo Federale
The 2007 Trofeo Federale was a four-team tournament running from September 26 to October 2, 2007. The tournament was won by La Fiorita who defeated Tre Fiori 2–1.


2007 Tropfest finalists
The Tropfest short film festival is held in Sydney, Australia each year. This is the list of 2007's short-listed films and winners.


2007 Tropfest finalists
There was controversy regarding the winning film An Imaginary Life due to similarities to the American television series Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.


2007 Trophée des Champions
The 2007 Trophée des Champions was a football match held at Stade Gerland, Lyon on 28 July 2007, that saw 2006–07 Ligue 1 champions Lyon defeat 2006–07 Coupe de France winners Sochaux 2–1 thanks to goals by Sidney Govou and Cris.


2007 Trophée Éric Bompard
The 2007 Trophée Éric Bompard was the fourth event of six in the 2007–08 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Palais omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris on November 15–18. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Skaters earned points toward qualifying for the 2007–08 Grand Prix Final. The compulsory dance was the Austrian Waltz.


2007 Trophée Éric Bompard
The competition was named after the Éric Bompard company, which became its chief sponsor in 2004.


2007 Trophée Éric Bompard, Results, Pairs
Jessica Miller / Ian Moram and Tiffany Vise / Derek Trent were both credited with throw quadruple salchow jumps in the free skating. Vise / Trent's was ratified as the first quadruple salchow jump performed in international competition.


2007 Troy Trojans football team
The 2007 Troy Trojans football team represented Troy University in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Trojans played their home games at Movie Gallery Stadium in Troy, Alabama and competed in the Sun Belt Conference. The Trojans were co-champions of the conference with Florida Atlantic, winning their second title in a row. Troy was coming off an 8–5 record in 2006.


2007 Tsuen Wan District Council election
The 2007 Tsuen Wan District Council election was held on 18 November 2007 to elect all 17 elected members to the 24-member District Council.


2007 Tucson mayoral election
The Tucson mayoral election of 2007 occurred on November 6, 2007, to elect the mayor of Tucson, Arizona, USA, and coincided with the elections to the Tucson City Council wards 1, 2 and 4. The incumbent mayor, Bob Walkup, re-elected.


2007 Tucson mayoral election, Nominations
Primaries were held for the Democratic Green, and Republican parties on September 11, 2007.


2007 Tucson mayoral election, Nominations, Democratic primary
For the Democratic Party, Michael Toney, a write-in candidate won 1,147 votes, or 22.96% of the vote. This was insufficient to capture the nomination. The party did not ultimately have a candidate in the general election.


2007 Tucson mayoral election, General election
As there was no Democratic nominee, Walkup's main challenger was the Green Party nominee Dave Croteau, who he had also previously faced in the 1999 mayoral election when Croteau ran as a write-in candidate.


2007 Tuen Mun District Council election
The 2007 Tuen Mun District Council election was held on 18 November 2007 to elect all 29 elected members to the 37-member District Council.


2007 Tulane Green Wave football team
The 2007 Tulane Green Wave football team represented Tulane University in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Green Wave played their home games at the Louisiana Superdome. They competed in the West Division of Conference USA. The team was coached by first-year head coach Bob Toledo. The team finished the season 4–8, 3–5 in C-USA - tied for third place in the West Division.


2007 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team
The 2007 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team represented the University of Tulsa in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head coach was Todd Graham, in his first year at Tulsa. They played home games at Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium in Tulsa, Oklahoma and competed in the West Division of Conference USA.


2007 Tunbridge Wells Borough Council election
The 2007 Tunbridge Wells Borough Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council in Kent, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.


2007 Tunbridge Wells Borough Council election, Election result
The results saw the Labour Party lose its last councillor, Ronnie Ooi, on the council. Ooi lost his seat in Southborough and High Brooms ward after campaigning by distancing himself from the national Labour government and calling on voters to preserve an opposition to the Conservatives on the council.


2007 Turkish Cup Final
The 2007 Turkish Cup Final was a football match between Beşiktaş J.K. and Kayseri Erciyesspor. The match was played at the İzmir Atatürk Stadium for the 2nd time in a row. Beşiktaş won 1–0 after extra time.


2007 Turkish Cup Final, Beşiktaş J.K.
As the defending Turkish Cup champions, Beşiktaş finished 2nd place in Group D, to proceed to the Quarter Finals. Beşiktaş beat Vestel Manisaspor 4-0 at home, and lost 0–2 away. In the Semi Finals Beşiktaş faced off, with one of their Istanbul rivals, Fenerbahçe S.K.. At home, Beşiktaş won 1–0. Away Beşiktaş ended the match down 1–0. In extra time though, Mert Nobre scored a goal for Beşiktaş making it 1–1. Beşiktaş continued on to the Final.


2007 Turkish Cup Final, Kayseri Erciyesspor
Kayseri Erciyesspor finished 2nd place in Group A. In the Quarter Finals they faced Galatasaray. The 1st match ended 0–0 at home, and away 1-1. Kayseri Erciyes won by away goals. In the Semi Finals, Kayseri Erciyes faced Trabzonspor. The results were a 1–0 win away and a 1–1 draw at home. Kayseri Erciyes managed to 5–4 in the penalties, and proceed to the Final.


2007 Turkish Cup Final, Final
The game ended 0–0 after 90 minutes. During extra time Bobo scored the only goal of the game. Beşiktaş won their 7th Turkish Cup, and their second in a row.


2007 Turkish Cup Final, Match details
Man of the match:Bobô (Beşiktaş)Referee:  İsmet Arzuman Assistant referees: Bahattin Duran Serkan AkarcaFourth referee: Mustafa Kamil Abitoğlu


2007 Turkish Grand Prix
The 2007 Turkish Grand Prix (officially the 2007 Formula 1 Petrol Ofisi Turkish Grand Prix) was the twelfth race of the 2007 Formula One season. Won by Felipe Massa, it was held on 26 August 2007 at the Istanbul Park in Tuzla. It was the third time a Formula One race had been held here. The two previous winners of the race were Kimi Räikkönen in 2005 and Massa in 2006, both of whom race for Ferrari in 2007.


2007 Turkish Grand Prix
It came following considerable controversy after the 2006 event, where the organisers were fined $5,000,000 for political bias, due to their choice of Mehmet Ali Talat to present the winner's trophy. Talat is President of the Turkish Cypriot state, which is not an internationally recognised government. This was seen by the governing body of Formula One as having compromised their neutrality.


2007 Turkish Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton came into the race with a 7-point lead over McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso after Hamilton's controversial victory in the 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix. McLaren led Ferrari in the constructors' championship by 19 points despite not being allowed to score points in Hungary. However, the Ferrari had looked strong in recent weeks, and their two cars ultimately dominated the race from start to finish, Massa and Räikkönen taking first and second places respectively. A late puncture dropped Hamilton to fifth place and cut his championship lead over Alonso to five points.


2007 Turkish Grand Prix
During the press conference following the race, Massa commented that "the Istanbul Park was the track where he made his career turn-around, and finally began winning races." He also praised the track as well as the city.


2007 Turkish Grand Prix, Report, Race
Felipe Massa's Ferrari led from pole from teammate Kimi Räikkönen who had jumped McLaren's Lewis Hamilton off the grid to take second place. Reigning World Champion Fernando Alonso's start from fourth was even worse than teammate Hamilton's as he fell behind both BMW Saubers of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld into sixth. However, BMW's early stopping strategy led to Alonso taking both places back after the first round of pit-stops. At the first round of stops it seemed that Räikkönen could pass Massa if he stopped later, as he did at the French Grand Prix.


2007 Turkish Grand Prix, Report, Race
However, Massa stopped after Räikkönen to retain the lead. Hamilton stopped later than both Ferraris and caught several seconds up to them, but could not pass Räikkönen for second, as he gradually fell away. Meanwhile, Kubica's strategy had not only dropped him behind Heidfeld and Alonso, but Renault's Heikki Kovalainen too. Massa stopped later than Räikkönen again at the second pit stop, and therefore retained the lead as Ferrari called the race between teammates off at this point. Hamilton may have emerged ahead of Räikkönen, but a puncture in his front tyre dropped him to fifth behind Heidfeld and Alonso.


2007 Turkish Grand Prix, Report, Race
Damage to his front wing led to Kovalainen catching him, but the Finn was unable to pass Hamilton. Kubica lost a place to Nico Rosberg through strategy finishing eighth. Massa eventually won his second consecutive Turkish Grand Prix, and his fifth Grand Prix win overall, all of which came from pole position. He had secured his eighth pole in qualifying. Mark Webber of Red Bull Racing was the only non-classified car, with a hydraulic failure. All the rest were classified including Adrian Sutil who retired with a fuel pressure problem. Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Vitantonio Liuzzi ended a run of 9 consecutive retirements stretching back to the Bahrain Grand Prix in April.


2007 Turkish Super Cup
The 2007 Turkish Super Cup was a football match between the Turkish Super League Champion, Fenerbahçe S.K., and the Turkish Cup winner, Beşiktaş J.K.. Fenerbahçe won 2-1.


2007 Turkish constitutional referendum
A constitutional referendum on electoral reform took place in Turkey on 21 October 2007. After the aborted attempt to elect the next president in May 2007, the government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan introduced substantial electoral reforms in parliament which were then passed with the votes of Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party and the opposition Motherland Party.


2007 Turkish constitutional referendum, Background
The President of Turkey, according to the 1982 constitution, was elected by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. This was due to happen in late April and early May 2007 onwards (in at most four rounds of voting to be held on 27 April 2007, 6 May 2007 and later), before Ahmet Necdet Sezer's term expired on 16 May 2007. However, the election failed after the constitutional court declared the first round of voting invalid, on the grounds that a quorum of two thirds was necessary. It was not reached because of a boycott by opposition parties.


2007 Turkish constitutional referendum, Background, Resolution
Parliament first passed the amendments on May 11, but Sezer vetoed the bill over concerns that the change could pit a president with a strong popular mandate against the prime minister and cause instability. AKP legislators, who currently choose the president in a parliamentary vote, voted 370-21 in favor of the same measure (without changing a word), which demands presidential election by the public.


2007 Turkish constitutional referendum, Background, Resolution
The President of Turkey is unable to veto a bill a second time, but he could refer it to a referendum for decision. On June 4, opposition lawmakers also said they could seek a cancellation of the vote by the Constitutional Court on the grounds of procedural flaws.


2007 Turkish constitutional referendum, Background, Constitutional Court
Sezer referred it for a referendum on 15 June 2007. However, at the same time he stated he would ask the Constitutional Court to invalidate the parliamentary vote due to procedural errors. Sezer's strong opposition reportedly comes from fears that a president with a strong popular mandate might produce a deadlock when in disagreement with the prime minister. The court ruled in early July that the reforms were indeed valid, so the referendum took place as planned.


2007 Turkish constitutional referendum, Background, Constitutional Court
Furthermore, Sezer vetoed another law, which would have made it possible to hold the constitutional referendum on 22 July 2007 instead of in October, making the reform increasingly unlikely to take place before the election.


2007 Turkish constitutional referendum, Campaign, Positions
Erdoğan claims that the position of president is political and it should be elected by the public not by the parties. "How can those who see the election of the Turkish president by popular vote as a problem for the regime ask votes from the people?" asked Erdoğan.


2007 Turkish constitutional referendum, Campaign, Positions
The Republican People's Party accused Erdoğan of acting with "a sense of vengeance" for having failed first to secure his then Gul's election to this position and now at the expense of creating a "degenerated parliamentary system", he tries to secure a new path to reach his goal. Deniz Baykal said it would mount a legal challenge to this ideology. Baykal claims that position of president in Turkey is a non-partisan, over political concerns and designed as an oversight.


2007 Turkish constitutional referendum, Campaign, Positions
Presidents job description and powers demands that the policies originated from this position should reflect a balance, which all the parties can trust [or at least agree on]. Because of this balancing act, according to Baykal, it is very important to create [he says protect] the neutral point [through reaching an agreement at the parliament among the parties] of the president and prevent domination of a single party [which might generate PM and President at the same time] and control the every mechanism of the Turkish political system.


2007 Turkish constitutional referendum, Campaign, Debates
Since the original text of the referendum question called for "all presidents starting with the 11th" to be elected by popular vote, the incumbent (eleventh) president would have had to stand down and have his election reconfirmed by popular vote; therefore, the AKP amended the text before the referendum, in a parliamentary session on 16 October 2007.


2007 Turkish constitutional referendum, Results
Sixty percent of all voters participated in the referendum. Nearly seventy percent of the participants supported the constitutional changes. The referendum saw considerable support in the eastern regions, where support reached up to the ninety percent. On the other hand, western regions generally took a more critical standing. The constitutional changes were rejected in the important provinces of İzmir and Edirne. Citizens of five other provinces — Muğla, Kırklareli, Tunceli, Tekirdağ and Aydın — also rejected the changes. Those seven regions are well known for being strongholds of the secular left, which was opposed to the changes.


2007 Turkish constitutional referendum, Opinion polls
A poll from mid-July saw a vast majority of voters in favour of the change.


2007 Turkish general election
The Turkish general election of 2007 was held on July 22, 2007 to elect 550 members to the Grand National Assembly. The election was the 22nd general election to be held in the history of the Turkish Republic and the members elected formed the 23rd Parliament of Turkey.


2007 Turkish general election
Originally scheduled for November, the elections were pulled forward after Parliament failed to elect a new president to replace Ahmet Necdet Sezer. The result was a resounding victory for the incumbent Justice and Development Party (AKP), which won 46.6% of the vote and 341 seats. The party's leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was consequently re-elected as Prime Minister of Turkey. The opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) came second with 20.9% of the vote and took 112 seats.


2007 Turkish general election
The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), which had failed to surpass the 10% election threshold in the 2002 election, re-entered parliament with 14.3% of the vote and 71 MPs. The election was fought mostly on Turkey's debate over laïcité that had been perceived to be under threat from the AKP's nomination of Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül, an Islamist politician, for the Presidency. Developments in Iraq (explained under positions on terrorism and security), secular and religious concerns, the intervention of the military in political issues, European Union membership negotiations, the United States and the Muslim world were other main issues.


2007 Turkish general election
In addition to the AKP, CHP and MHP, several Kurdish nationalist and socialist parties formed an electoral alliance named the Thousand Hope Candidates (Bin Umut Adayları) and contested the election as Independents in order to bypass the 10% threshold. The alliance, formed of the Democratic Society Party (DTP), Labour Party (EMEP), Freedom and Solidarity Party (ÖDP) and the Socialist Democracy Party (SDP), polled strongly in the south-east where there is a large Kurdish population, winning 3.81% of the national vote and 22 seats in Parliament.


2007 Turkish general election, Background
Originally due to be held in November, the election was called early after the 2007 presidential election resulted in parliamentary deadlock. The governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) had nominated former Prime Minister and serving Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül as its presidential candidate, amid huge opposition and concern over his former Islamist political background. The controversy was largely caused due to the Turkish Presidency's symbolic role in safeguarding secularism. The opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) subsequently boycotted the parliamentary process of electing a president, denying the government the 67% quorum of MPs necessary for Gül's election to be validated. As required by the constitution, a snap early general election was called for 22 July 2007.


2007 Turkish general election, Conduct
Over 42 million people were eligible to vote in the election.


2007 Turkish general election, Conduct, Minimum age
According to a recent change in election law, the minimum age for candidates for parliament was reduced from 30 to 25. But due to the fact that laws do not take effect for one year after passage, only candidates above the age of 30 were able to be elected in this election.


2007 Turkish general election, Conduct, Death threats
On 14 May A death threat was issued by the armed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to the Republican People's Party (CHP), Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), True Path Party (DYP) and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) to withdraw their candidates in the cities of Van and Hakkâri  allowing Democratic Society Party (DTP) dominance. Turkey, NATO, UN, United States and EU recognizes the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) as a  terrorist organization.


2007 Turkish general election, Conduct, Death threats
With the exception of DTP all candidates in Van and Hakkari from CHP, MHP, DYP and AKP must annul[sic] themselves and offer their support to Kurdish people. Our people must demonstrate their kurdishness in the elections. If any different approach develops, our approach will also be different. [ ...] Whoever continues the activities we mentioned here will be punished. Who ever damages our movement or our party [DTP] will not be forgiven in any way. They should know that they are facing death


2007 Turkish general election, Conduct, Parliamentary threshold
According to Turkish election laws, a party must gain at least 10% of national vote to be represented in the Grand Assembly. Ostensibly, this law is aimed at preventing a highly fragmented parliament, and yet it is also argued that this is used as a cloak to keep the Kurds from the parliament. Many parties that failed to cross this threshold in the last election will seek a return to Parliament. As the 10% threshold requirement only holds for political parties, to bypass this requirement, the Democratic Society Party decided to have its candidates run as Independents.


2007 Turkish general election, Conduct, Parliamentary threshold
On 13 May DTP announced that if they wanted to, they could lock up the elections by putting in five to ten thousand independent candidates. The next day in a statement, the Supreme Election Committee (Turkish: Yüksek Seçim Kurulu (YSK)) responded to DTP's threat by stating that there is no issue and that they would simply use "larger envelopes".


2007 Turkish general election, Conduct, Eligibility for election
Muammer Aydin, the President of the Supreme Electoral Council of Turkey, claimed that after the scrutiny of the candidates in terms of their eligibility, the election board decided that Erbakan and former DEP (Democratic Society Party) parliamentarians (Orhan Doğan, Selim Sadak and Hatip Dicle), who was jailed after being found guilty of supporting the PKK, would not be allowed to stand as candidates in the election. In a statement regarding some of the candidates in prison, DTP leader Türk said that hundreds of people support them, even though some are associated with murder cases.


2007 Turkish general election, Conduct, Eligibility for election
The Supreme Court of Appeals wrote a letter to DTP and demanded the cancellation of the candidacy of 74 founding members on the basis that they have criminal backgrounds which automatically disqualifies them from being the elected. DTP leader Türk said, "DTP took the decision to show these people as candidates  because [the] Kurdish people see Ankara, the Parliament, as the place for a solution." DTP's move to promote candidates with criminal background was perceived as building a "politics of controversy" in the country as Türk also stated that they had taken the necessary measures to fill the positions of candidates who might be rejected by the Supreme Election Board.


2007 Turkish general election, Issues
The stage of the elections were set for a fight for legitimacy in the eyes of voters between Erdoğan's government, which has been criticized as having Islamic leanings, and the country’s secular movement, supported by the Turkish military. Erdoğan, it is said, wants to divert the attention of the voters from local issues to theoretical and ideological ones by making the election a platform for the Presidential election.


2007 Turkish general election, Issues, Positions on higher education
The capacity of Turkish higher educational institutions falls short compared to the number of high school graduates. The Higher Education Council is responsible from the planning, implementation and accreditation of higher education in Turkey. The Higher Education Council limits the number of the available educational institutions based on the available educators (PhD) in the public sector. The second branch, private universities (established by vakifs) are limited by the conditions of accreditation set by the Higher Education Council.


2007 Turkish general election, Issues, Positions on higher education
Erdoğan announced that the problem lies with the "Higher Education Council". Erdoğan proposed that if his party is elected, they will change the constitution to solve this issue. Erdoğan did not give the details or the financial implications of his plan. During the same speech, Erdoğan also proposed to establish a higher educational institution in every province. Critics claim that there is at least one university in every province, and the problem is not construction of buildings but recruiting qualified professors. Erdoğan did not talk about his previous campaign issues, such as the use of the hijab (specially women's head covering) as a religious symbol in higher education which he had previously promoted based on the concept of Islamic jurisprudence.


2007 Turkish general election, Issues, Positions on the presidency
The 2007 presidential election was deadlocked in the failed negotiations on the issues surrounding the new president by the parties. The lack of this negotiation forced the Prime Minister Erdoğan and his party to declare early elections to establish a new parliament to tackle the issues of the Presidency.


2007 Turkish general election, Issues, Positions on the presidency
Erdoğan claims that the position of President is political and it should be elected by the public not by the parties. "How can those who see the election of the Turkish president by popular vote as a problem for the regime ask votes from the people?" asked Erdoğan.


2007 Turkish general election, Issues, Positions on the presidency
The Republican People’s Party accused Erdoğan of acting with "a sense of vengeance" for having failed first to secure his, then his chosen candidate, Gul's election. Now, at the expense of creating a "degenerated parliamentary system", he is trying to secure a new path to his goal. Baykal said it would mount a legal challenge to this ideology. Baykal claims that the position of president in Turkey is non-partisan, and should be above political concerns and is designed to play an oversight role.


2007 Turkish general election, Issues, Positions on the presidency
The President's job description and powers demand that the policies articulated from this office should reflect a balance within the country, and be an institution which all the parties can trust. Because of this balancing act, according to Baykal, it is very important to create [he says "protect"] the neutral point [through reaching an agreement at the parliament among the parties] as to the President, thus preventing domination of a single party [which might generate PM and President at the same time] and control every mechanism of the Turkish political system.


2007 Turkish general election, Issues, Foreign policy, Positions on terrorism and security
The PKK is a Kurdish group listed as a terrorist organization by many international organisations, however, after the post-invasion Iraq, 2003–present PKK continued to have training/propaganda camps in northern Iraq and perform attacks using these secure locations into Turkey. The status of these bases have been debated in the Turkish political system for the last two decades. During the 1990s, with the political order, Turkish military destroyed PKK bases in northern-Iraq for the short term reliefs.


2007 Turkish general election, Issues, Foreign policy, Positions on terrorism and security
Nationalist Movement Party wants the military to destroy PKK camps, and it is willing to give this order to the army anytime as camps reestablish. Erdoğan did not give this order and claimed that he is expecting the request from the military. The military claims the political goal of the military activity should be established by the Erdoğan's ruling party, before any consideration. The Democratic Society Party is against the destruction of these camps, and Ibrahim Aydogdu, the Diyarbakir branch leader of the DTP, claimed on February 18, 2007 "Any attack on Kirkuk [northern Iraq] would be tantamount to an attack on Diyarbakir in Turkey".


2007 Turkish general election, Campaign, Parties and regions
Additionally, members of the Democratic Society Party (Demokratik Toplum Partisi, DTP) stood as independents in mainly Kurdish-inhabited districts; over 600 independents contested the election in total.


2007 Turkish general election, Campaign, Parties and regions
There are 550 deputies distributed based on the count of electoral vote :


2007 Turkish general election, Campaign, Campaign issues
The general election will see the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) hoping to secure its position as the single government party. The Republican People's Party (CHP), a center-left party, will be looking forward to form a single party, or most likely a coalition government.


2007 Turkish general election, Campaign, Campaign issues
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, speaking at a parliamentary group meeting of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) on Friday, stated that they are not engaging in restricted politics but that their party is a center party that is open to all segments of society.


2007 Turkish general election, Campaign, Campaign issues, Alliances
The threshold of 10% forces minor and medium sized parties to form alliances. The first official offer came from Liberal Democratic Party who offered an alliance to nine political parties both from left and right wings, including the Motherland Party and Democratic Left Party.


2007 Turkish general election, Campaign, Campaign issues, Imports/exports
Justice and Development Party:  Erdoğan, speaking at a parliamentary group meeting of JDP, stated that they are not engaging in restricted politics [only based on religion] but that their party is a "center party" that is open to all segments of society.


2007 Turkish general election, Campaign, Campaign issues, Imports/exports
Imports: In alliance with his goal: Ankara Chamber of Industry Chairman Zafer Çağlayan, Ahmet İyimaya (from DYP), Mehmet Domaç, Associate Professor Zeynep Dağı, Professor Zafer Üskül (from SHP), Fazilet Dağcı Çığlı, Professor Yusuf Ziya İrbeç, Osman Yağmurdereli, Ertuğrul Günay (from CHP), Reha Çamuroğlu (Alevi)   and Ülkü Gökalp Güney are imported to the party.


2007 Turkish general election, Campaign, Campaign issues, Imports/exports
Exports: Before the party lists declared; the establishing member and the State Minister Abdüllatif Şener said he would not run for parliamentary elections. Bandırma deputy Turhan Çömez, declared that he will not run.


2007 Turkish general election, Campaign, Campaign issues, Imports/exports
Motherland Party: After the failed unification (alliance) there are members that quit the party.


2007 Turkish general election, Campaign, Campaign issues, Imports/exports
Exports: Nejat Arseven, Lütfullah Kayalar (to CHP), Edip Safder Gaydalı (to CHP) and Şerif Bedirhanoğlu among them.


2007 Turkish general election, Campaign, Campaign issues, Finance
Campaign finance has been an issue in Turkey, as religion-based parties were said to have taken foreign monetary support. The parties have respectively raised through membership charges:


2007 Turkish general election, Campaign, Campaign issues, Finance
The "total expenses" for each party at the end of the election was; Justice and Development Party 141.216.258 YTL, Republican People's Party, 79.874.759 YTL, Nationalist Movement Party 26.547.814 YTL, Genç Parti 23.020.688 YTL, True Path Party 30.306.255 YTL. Some of the raised money was claimed to be used as a financial bargain as Justice and Development Party handed out presents in party meetings.


2007 Turkish general election, Campaign, Debates
There were no face to face debates that brought leaders into a single medium during this campaign period. The limited argumentation between leaders were performed throughout the rallies and use of media as a communication tool.


2007 Turkish general election, Campaign, Opinion polls
1 Results do not include a 33.9% block of people polled who said they were undecided. Source:


2007 Turkish general election, Composition of the Grand National Assembly
One of the parliamentarians elected for MHP in Istanbul 3, Mehmet Cihat Özönder, died in a traffic accident on 26 July 2007. Furthermore, the election of independent DTP member Sebahat Tuncel was criticised by opponents; she was elected from prison, having been arrested in November 2006 for alleged links to the PKK.


2007 Turkish general election, Analysis
While the AKP gained votes over 2002, the resurgence of the nationalist MHP resulted in a slight net loss of 23 seats for AKP. AKP was therefore unable to obtain a two-thirds majority for the second time since the party first contested a general election in 2002. Still, with 61.8% of the seats, the AKP maintains a large outright majority in the 16th Parliament. The resurgence of the MHP gives them 71 seats to make them the third party for the 16th Parliament. Their resurgence proved far more costly for the CHP, who lost 66 seats but maintained their position as the second party in the 16th Parliament.


2007 Turkish general election, Analysis
Independents fared far better in 2007 than in 2002, earning a 5.2% share of the popular vote, up from 1% in the previous election. As a result, the number of independent MPs in the 16th Parliament (60th government) will increase from 9 to 27.


2007 Turkish motorcycle Grand Prix
The 2007 Turkish motorcycle Grand Prix was the third round of the 2007 MotoGP championship. It took place on the weekend of 20–22 April 2007 at the Istanbul Park circuit.


2007 Turkish motorcycle Grand Prix, Championship standings after the race (MotoGP)
Below are the standings for the top five riders and constructors after round three has concluded.


2007 Turkish presidential election
The 2007 Turkish presidential election refers to two attempts to elect the country's 11th president, to succeed Ahmet Necdet Sezer. The most likely candidate  for president was Abdullah Gül. Turkey's presidential office is regarded as the guardian of the country's secular system; the fact that Gül's wife wears the Islamic headscarf, as well as his own history in political Islam, turned the elections into a political crisis.


2007 Turkish presidential election
The first attempt consisted of the first rounds on 27 April and its repeat on 6 May after Turkey's constitutional court annulled the first round on 27 April. The constitutional court decided that a quorum of two-thirds was necessary, which was impossible without opposition support. Both first rounds were almost entirely boycotted by opposition MPs to disable the voting to start. Therefore, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) was unsuccessful in electing its candidate, foreign minister Abdullah Gül. AKP then called a snap election which was held on 22 July 2007.


2007 Turkish presidential election
The general elections saw it returned to government with a larger proportion of the vote. Subsequently, Gül was renominated and was finally elected in the third round of the second attempt of presidential election. The first round of this voting was on 20 August, while a second was on 24 August and a third was on 28 August. There was a quorum this time, since some opposition parties, most importantly the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), did not boycott the election.


2007 Turkish presidential election, Procedure
The presidential vote is held among MPs in parliament by secret ballot. A candidate requires a two-thirds majority (367 votes) to be elected in the first two rounds. If there is no clear winner before the third round, the winning threshold is dropped to a simple majority (276 votes). If there is still no winner, the two candidates with the most votes from the third round progress to a runoff election, where the simple majority rule still applies.


2007 Turkish presidential election, Procedure
In the event of no clear winner among the two, the Constitution states that a snap general election must be called to overcome the parliamentary deadlock. In addition, the main opposition party, CHP argued that a quorum of two-thirds was necessary while the ruling party, AKP claimed that it was not necessary. Later, the constitutional court ruled that a quorum of two-thirds was necessary.


2007 Turkish presidential election, First election attempt: April–May 2007, Candidates
Abdullah Gül, former Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Turkey from the Justice and Development Party (AKP)


2007 Turkish presidential election, First election attempt: April–May 2007, Candidates
Abdullah Gül's candidacy was announced by Erdoğan on 24 April 2007 while calling Gül as his brother. He was the official candidate of the Justice and Development Party, thus making him the strongest candidate to be the 11th president of Turkey. During his campaign, he met the leaders of parties represented in the Parliament, except Genç Party leader Cem Uzan. None of the parties said that they would vote for Gül in the elections.


2007 Turkish presidential election, First election attempt: April–May 2007, Candidates
After the Supreme Court's  rule on the election method, his chance to become the next president decreased since the support of Justice and Development Party had become not enough to get elected. On 6 May 2007, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül withdrew his candidacy after the Parliament failed to achieve a quorum for a second time.


2007 Turkish presidential election, First election attempt: April–May 2007, Candidates
Ersönmez Yarbay was another candidate from the Justice and Development Party. He announced his candidacy since he believed that there should be a second candidate in the elections. By his candidacy, he protested the election method of the president, as he alleged that Erdoğan would decide the next president on his own. However, he withdrew his candidacy before the start of presidential voting.


2007 Turkish presidential election, First election attempt: April–May 2007, Candidates, Republic Protests
On 14 April 2007, two days before the start of the nominations announcement for the presidential elections, over one million protesters marched in the centre of Ankara, chanting slogans such as "Turkey is secular, and it will remain secular", and "We do not want an imam for President" to protest against the possibility of Prime Minister Erdoğan or another member of the Justice and Development Party standing in the presidential elections. However, the only presidential candidate was a member of this party.


2007 Turkish presidential election, First election attempt: April–May 2007, Candidates, Republic Protests
A second rally was organised for 29 April 2007 opposing the candidacy of Abdullah Gül from the Justice and Development Party, which has its roots in political Islam. CNN Türk put the figure of those participating in the rally in defence of secularism at 1,370,000, the largest protest of its kind in Turkish history. The rally was broadcast live across the world. The spokesman of the meeting was Türkan Saylan.


2007 Turkish presidential election, First election attempt: April–May 2007, Candidates, Republic Protests
A third mass rally took place in the western Turkish towns of Manisa, Çanakkale, and Bodrum in defence of the secular republic. The fifth rally took place at Alsancak Gündoğdu square, İzmir. A sixth rally was in Samsun and a seventh in Denizli.


2007 Turkish presidential election, First election attempt: April–May 2007, Candidates, E-memorandum
On 12 April 2007, in a press conference of the then Chief of the Turkish General Staff General Yaşar Büyükanıt, the Armed Forces' opinion on the elections was asked. Büyükanıt answered the question stating that the new president should be loyal to republic principles not only by words but also by heart.


2007 Turkish presidential election, First election attempt: April–May 2007, Candidates, E-memorandum
On 27 April 2007, the Turkish Armed Forces issued a statement of its interests on its official website, later termed the "e-memorandum" by Ural Akbulut:


2007 Turkish presidential election, First election attempt: April–May 2007, Candidates, E-memorandum
"... The problem that emerged in the presidential election process is focused on arguments over secularism. Turkish Armed Forces are concerned about the recent situation. ... the Turkish Armed Forces are a party in those arguments, and absolute defender of secularism..."


2007 Turkish presidential election, First election attempt: April–May 2007, Candidates, E-memorandum
In response to these statements, government spokesman Cemil Çiçek made a speech. He said that 59th government was sensitive about the secular, democratic, social, and lawful state.


2007 Turkish presidential election, First election attempt: April–May 2007, Voting on 27 April and 6 May
The first round of voting took place on 27 April 2007, which resulted in Abdullah Gül, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the official candidate of the Justice and Development Party, achieving 357 votes. 361 members of the parliament were present at the elections and CHP, DYP, ANAVATAN, SHP, HYP, GP and some independent members boycotted the voting.


2007 Turkish presidential election, First election attempt: April–May 2007, Voting on 27 April and 6 May
As of 27 April and 6 May 2007, the following parties were represented in the Turkish Grand National Assembly and therefore could vote:


2007 Turkish presidential election, First election attempt: April–May 2007, Voting on 27 April and 6 May
Votes taken by Abdullah Gül was below the two-thirds of the vote needed, and so, there would be another round of voting in the following days.


2007 Turkish presidential election, First election attempt: April–May 2007, Voting on 27 April and 6 May
However, the opposition party Republican People's Party filed a claim to the Supreme Court, seeking a declaration of nullity in relation to the first round of voting.


2007 Turkish presidential election, First election attempt: April–May 2007, Voting on 27 April and 6 May
On 1 May 2007, Supreme Court ruled that if two-thirds of the votes was needed to elect the president in the 1st round, then it was also needed that two-thirds of the parliament were present at the parliament. If this was not the case, the 1st round would have to be repeated. The constitutional court ruled in favour of the Republican People's Party and declared the first round annulled. Nine of the eleven members were in favour of annulling the voting. Therefore, there was no second round on 2 May 2007 as the first round election had failed. On 3 May, Tayyip Erdoğan called for an early general election.


2007 Turkish presidential election, First election attempt: April–May 2007, Voting on 27 April and 6 May
On 6 May 2007, the first round was repeated. The boycotting continued and the voting was not started at the parliament. The repeated round resulted in the withdrawal of Abdullah Gül as the necessary number of members present was not reached yet again.


2007 Turkish presidential election, First election attempt: April–May 2007, Voting on 27 April and 6 May
On 9 May 2007, the presidential elections were postponed due to the lack of a candidate after the pullout of Abdullah Gül.


2007 Turkish presidential election, Interim period, Succession controversy
Ahmet Necdet Sezer's term expired on 16 May 2007. This would have been the date when his successor would have been sworn in if the election had succeeded. Some claimed that Ahmet Necdet Sezer should leave the position and that the parliamentary speaker should fill the office until Sezer's successor was rightfully elected; however, it was decided that Sezer would retain the post until his successor's election.


2007 Turkish presidential election, Interim period, Change of the method to popular vote
The parliament initially passed constitutional amendments for electoral reform (including election of the president by popular vote, shortening the term from seven to five years and allowing a second term) on 11 May, but Sezer vetoed the bill on 25 May over concerns that the change could pit a president with a strong popular mandate against the prime minister and cause instability. Parliament voted 370-21 to override the veto on 31 May. Sezer submitted the bill for a referendum on 15 June.


2007 Turkish presidential election, Interim period, Change of the method to popular vote
Nevertheless, the CHP and Sezer filed for a cancellation of the vote by the Constitutional Court, citing alleged procedural flaws. This was turned down by the Constitutional Court in early July. In any case, the amendments were not in effect in time to change the ongoing process, under which the newly elected parliament had the duty to elect the president within 45 days, and under which there would be snap elections if the parliament failed to elect a new president.


2007 Turkish presidential election, Interim period, The general election
The failure to select a President caused the 2007 general election to be brought forward, since the constitution states that a snap general election must be called to overcome the parliamentary deadlock, if a president is not elected. In the election, the AKP retained its majority and improved its popular vote count, but did not gain a two-thirds majority.


2007 Turkish presidential election, Second election attempt: August 2007
After the general election, the newly composed Grand National Assembly restarted the election for Sezer's successor.


2007 Turkish presidential election, Second election attempt: August 2007, Procedure
The parliament needed to gather 367 members to be present in the assembly for the election to begin. Among the members of the established session, the presidential vote is held by a secret ballot. A candidate requires a two-thirds majority (367 votes) to be elected in the first two rounds. If there is no clear winner before the third round, the winning threshold is dropped to a simple majority (276 votes). If there is still no winner, the two candidates with the most votes from the third round progress to a runoff election, where the simply majority rule still applies.


2007 Turkish presidential election, Second election attempt: August 2007, Procedure
In the event of no clear winner among the two, the Constitution states that a snap general election must be called to overcome the parliamentary deadlock.


2007 Turkish presidential election, Second election attempt: August 2007, Procedure
The parliament had scheduled the first three rounds of the election to be on 20 August, 24 August and 28 August.


2007 Turkish presidential election, Second election attempt: August 2007, Candidates
Abdullah Gül, former Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Turkey from the Justice and Development Party (AKP)


2007 Turkish presidential election, Second election attempt: August 2007, Candidates
Sabahattin Çakmakoğlu, former interior minister, defence minister and Member of Parliament from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP)


2007 Turkish presidential election, Second election attempt: August 2007, Candidates
Following the general election, there was some speculation about whether Abdullah Gül would be nominated again by his party. There were hints that the prime minister might seek a consensus candidate, but ultimately Gül was renominated by his party on 13 August,  after MHP announced its decision not to boycott the elections. Two other parties have decided to field their own candidates: The Nationalist Action Party nominated Sabahattin Çakmakoğlu on 17 August, and the Democratic Left Party nominated Hüseyin Tayfun İçli.


2007 Turkish presidential election, Second election attempt: August 2007, Candidates
The secretary general of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation, Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, was another potential consensus candidate from the Justice and Development Party, in the event that Gül was unsuccessful. İhsanoğlu was later the opposition candidate in the 2014 presidential election.


2007 Turkish presidential election, Second election attempt: August 2007, Candidates
While Gül is seen as the favorite, a controversy started after Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan's last speech. Erdoğan said "The people who say that (Gül is not my president), must renounce their citizenship" on television in reply to an article of Bekir Coşkun, a columnist known for his opposition to the ruling AKP. Many people find this anti-democratic.


2007 Turkish presidential election, Second election attempt: August 2007, Voting
After completion of the second round, Abdullah Gül was elected. The results are:


2007 Turkmen People's Council election
People's Council elections were held in Turkmenistan on 9 December 2007. The elections were only for a part of the 2,507 members of the People's Council, and all of the candidates were of the ruling Democratic Party of Turkmenistan.


2007 Turkmenistan President's Cup
NB: From the Group A, the winners proceed to the final, the runners-up to the third place match. The winners of Group B and C play each other for the spot in the final. The losers play for the third place.


2007 Turkmenistan President's Cup, Final
The 2007 Turkmenistan President’s Cup Final was played at Olympic Stadium, Ashgabat.


2007 Turkmenistan presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Turkmenistan on February 11, 2007, following the death of president-for-life Saparmurat Niyazov on 21 December 2006.


2007 Turkmenistan presidential election, Election date
After Niyazov's death on December 21, 2006, Acting President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow stated that the date for the next presidential election would be announced on December 26, 2006; he also claimed that these elections would be held "on a democratic basis that has been laid by the great leader". On December 26, 2006 the People's Council announced that the election would occur on February 11, 2007.


2007 Turkmenistan presidential election, Candidates
Six candidates were approved out of eleven contenders, all of them members of the Democratic Party:


2007 Turkmenistan presidential election, Candidates
Current authorities endorsed the Acting President. The candidate nominated by the opposition coalition (whose members are mostly in exile) (led by the Republican Party of Turkmenistan and Watan), Hudaýberdi Orazow, was not approved.


2007 Turkmenistan presidential election, Candidates
Before the elections, ITAR-TASS claimed that instead of Gurbanow, Durdy Durdyýew, the Deputy Tourism and Sports Minister, would be a candidate in the election. Later reports never mentioned him again and always gave the six candidates named above as the approved candidates, so it seems likely that Durdyýew was only one of the eleven proposed candidates.


2007 Turkmenistan presidential election, Candidates
At the start of his campaign, Berdimuhamedow promised substantial reforms such as allowing internet access for everyone and revamping the education system, but at the same time vowed to follow Niyazov's footsteps. He also said he would support small business and private ownership, noting that 61% of the economy is in private hands.


2007 Turkmenistan presidential election, Conduct
Electoral officials in Turkmenistan reported that 95% of voters voted in the election. Radio Free Europe disputes the voter turn-out figures provided by the government, and claims that the election was "neither free nor fair". The International Crisis Group has described the poll as a "blatantly falsified election".


2007 Turkmenistan presidential election, Conduct
Seeking to boost voter participation, officials warned inhabitants of Lebap Province that they would not get their monthly flour rations if they failed to vote. At the same time, first-time and elderly voters were promised "gifts" for voting. Later reports indicated that the gift consisted of the late Niyazov's ubiquitous Ruhnama.


2007 Turkmenistan presidential election, Results
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow was declared the winner of the election on February 14, receiving 89% of the vote according to official results, and was sworn in as president immediately afterwards.


2007 Turks and Caicos Islands general election
General elections were held in the Turks and Caicos Islands on 9 February 2007. The result was a victory for the ruling Progressive National Party (PNP), which won thirteen of the fifteen seats in the House of Assembly. PNP leader Michael Misick remained Premier.


2007 Turks and Caicos Islands general election, Electoral system
Constitutional changes in 2006 saw the Legislative Council renamed the House of Assembly and the number of seats increased from 13 to 15. Members were elected from single-member constituencies.


2007 Turks and Caicos Islands general election, Campaign
A total of 31 candidates contested the elections, with both the PNP and the People's Democratic Movement (PDM) running full slates of 15 candidates. The other candidate ran as an independent.


2007 Turner Prize
The 2007 Turner Prize for modern British art was awarded on 3 December 2007. It was the 22nd Turner Prize competition. There were four nominees for the 2007 prize and the winner was Mark Wallinger.


2007 Turner Prize, Turner Prize exhibition 2007
The exhibition took place in Liverpool in advance of its time as European Capital of Culture. It opened on 19 October 2007 and closed 13 January 2008.


2007 Turner Prize, Turner Prize exhibition 2007
The Turner Prize is awarded for a show by the artist in the previous year. When nominees are told of their nomination they then prepare exhibits for the Turner Prize exhibition, often at short notice. As such, the Turner Prize exhibition may not feature the works for which the artist was initially nominated by the judges. However the Turner Prize exhibition tends to be the basis on which public and press judge the artist's worthiness for nomination.


2007 Turner Prize, Turner Prize exhibition 2007, Works, artist's statements and press coverage, Zarina Bhimji
Bhimji's exhibited works were chiefly photographs of Uganda from which she was expelled:


2007 Turner Prize, Turner Prize exhibition 2007, Works, artist's statements and press coverage, Mark Wallinger (winner)
Not exhibited but regarded as the major contribution to his Turner nomination and win:


2007 Turner Prize, Turner Prize exhibition 2007, Works, artist's statements and press coverage, Mark Wallinger (winner)
The artist said:He has said that the bear in Sleeper symbolises Berlin, the title Sleeper refers to Cold War spies, and that he was inspired by a film of a fairy tale about a prince turned into a bear he saw as a child.


2007 Turner Prize, External links, Artist videos at the Tate
These videos were conducted around the time of the nominations.


2007 Tuvalu A-Division
The 2007 Tuvalu A-Division was the third season of association football competition. The league was won by Nauti FC for the second time. the league returned to the single division format from the two pool format with a play-off used in the previous season. The league, which started on 17 February,  was renamed, TNPF Soccer League.


2007 Twenty20 Cup
The 2007 Twenty20 Cup was the fifth edition of the Twenty20 Cup tournament, which ran between 22 June and 4 August 2007, and saw the Kent Spitfires win the tournament for the first time, defeating Gloucestershire Gladiators in the final by 4 wickets. The first televised match of the year was between the defending champions Leicestershire Foxes and the Yorkshire Phoenix.


2007 Twenty20 Cup
The quarter finals were held on 17 and 18 July 2007, with Finals Day taking place on 4 August 2007 at Edgbaston.


2007 Tynedale District Council election
Elections to Tynedale District Council were held for the final time on 3 May 2007. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative party kept overall control of the council. The council was abolished in 2009 when Northumberland County Council became a unitary authority.


2007 U-20 World Cup CONCACAF qualifying tournament
The 2007 CONCACAF U-20 Qualifying Tournament was held to determine the four CONCACAF entrants into the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, which was hosted by Canada. The tournament final was held in two groups of four with the top two from each group advancing. Group A was held in Panama and Group B was held in Mexico. On January 21, 2007, the United States and Panama qualified to the U-20 World Cup. On February 23, 2007, Mexico and Costa Rica achieved qualification as well.


2007 U-20 World Cup CONCACAF qualifying tournament, Group A
Panama hosted Group A. All of the matches were played at Estadio Rommel Fernández in Panama City between January 17–21.


2007 U-20 World Cup CONCACAF qualifying tournament, Group B
Mexico hosted Group B. All of the matches were played at Estadio Banorte in Culiacán, Sinaloa between February 21–25.


2007 U-20 World Cup CONCACAF qualifying tournament qualifying
This article features the 2007 U-20 World Cup CONCACAF qualifying tournament qualifying stage. Caribbean and Central American teams entered in separate tournaments. The North American team the United States automatically qualified, as well as main tournament hosts Mexico (North America) and Panama (Central America). 23 Caribbean teams entered, of which 3 qualified and 6 Central American teams entered, of which 2 qualified.


2007 U-20 World Cup CONCACAF qualifying tournament qualifying, Caribbean, First Round
Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago received a bye for this round.


2007 U-20 World Cup CONCACAF qualifying tournament qualifying, Caribbean, Final Round
Group winners qualified directly for the main tournament. Group runners-up played each other in a final play-off.


2007 U-20 World Cup CONCACAF qualifying tournament squads
Below are the rosters for the 2007 U-20 World Cup CONCACAF qualifying tournament held in Panama and Mexico from 7 January to 25 February 2007.


2007 U.S. Figure Skating Championships
The 2007 U.S. Figure Skating Championships took place between January 21 and 28 at the Spokane Arena and the Spokane Convention Center in Spokane, Washington. Skaters competed in four disciplines – men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing – across three levels: senior, junior, and novice. Medals were awarded in four colors: gold (first), silver (second), bronze (third), and pewter (fourth).


2007 U.S. Figure Skating Championships
The event was used to determine the U.S. teams for the 2007 World Championships, 2007 Four Continents Championships, and 2007 World Junior Championships.


2007 U.S. Figure Skating Championships
The event was later named the Sports Event of the Year by Sports Travel Magazine.


2007 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
The 2007 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships was a men's tennis event that was part of the ATP International Series category of the 2007 ATP Tour. It was the 39th edition of the tournament and was played on outdoor clay courts at the River Oaks Country Club in Houston, Texas, in the United States. Unseeded Ivo Karlović won the singles title and Bob and Mike Bryan won in doubles.


2007 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, Finals, Doubles
Bob Bryan /  Mike Bryan defeated  Mark Knowles /  Daniel Nestor, 7–6(7–3), 6–4


2007 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships – Doubles
Michael Kohlmann and Alexander Waske were the defending champions, but did not participate this year.


2007 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships – Doubles
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan won in the final 7–6(7–3), 6–4, against Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor.


2007 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships – Singles
Unseeded Ivo Karlović defeated Mariano Zabaleta 6-4, 6-1, to win the 2007 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships singles event. Andy Murray entered ATP Top 10 for the first time due to Tommy Haas failing to defend his previous year points.


2007 U.S. Open (golf)
The 2007 United States Open Championship was the 107th U.S. Open, held June 14–17 at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, a suburb northeast of Pittsburgh.


2007 U.S. Open (golf)
Ángel Cabrera won his first major championship, one stroke ahead of runners-up Jim Furyk and Tiger Woods, who were unable to birdie the 72nd hole to force a Monday playoff. Cabrera's victory marked the first U.S. Open won by an Argentine or a South American. It was the first of his two major titles; he won the Masters in a playoff in 2009.


2007 U.S. Open (golf)
This was the eighth U.S. Open and eleventh professional major held at Oakmont.


2007 U.S. Open (golf), History of the U.S. Open at Oakmont
The championship committee of the United States Golf Association chose Oakmont Country Club as the host for 2007 on October 2, 2001. The USGA had also recently decided to award Oakmont its 13th USGA national championship, the U.S. Amateur, only four years before the 14th national championship to be held at Oakmont. Oakmont's prestige in the golf community was irrefutable as the list of champions includes Tommy Armour (1927), Sam Parks, Jr. (1935), Ben Hogan (1953), Jack Nicklaus (1962), Johnny Miller (1973), Larry Nelson (1983), and Ernie Els (1994). Oakmont had already provided the golf world with some of the most exciting championships of golf history including Miller's record for the lowest score shot in a USGA championship, a 63 (−8) in 1973, and the dramatic Monday finish in 1994 between Els, Loren Roberts, and Colin Montgomerie.


2007 U.S. Open (golf), Preparation for the 2007 U.S. Open
The 107th U.S. Open was Oakmont's first USGA event since the U.S. Amateur in 2004. The USGA, American Golf's governing body, found setting up and preparing for the Open easier than other locations. Rob Zalzneck, the director of the 2007 Open for the USGA commented on the readiness of the course saying, "We're so far ahead with our plans and what we need to get done, Oakmont is just such an ideal situation for us. The club welcomes us with open arms, and we've had such great championships here in the past.


2007 U.S. Open (golf), Preparation for the 2007 U.S. Open
What everyone will see, though, is the unbelievable difference in the size of the event from 1994 (when Oakmont last hosted the Open) and this year." It was thought that the usual Open conditions would still exist, including the lightning fast greens and unusually high rough, as many of these features were common year round at Oakmont Country Club leading up to the Open. In fact, Oakmont's greens were so fast that the USGA directed the club to slow them down for the Open, although they were still much faster than what would be found at a normal tour event.


2007 U.S. Open (golf), Preparation for the 2007 U.S. Open
Preparation began in 2002 and 2003 and included minor renovation to the course, most notably the lengthening of the course for the world's best players, small renovations to the clubhouse, and also the deepening of Oakmont's storied bunkers. Other changes to the course since the last Open in 1994 included the addition of a bridge to connect to holes 2–8, which posed as a major problem causing player and pedestrian jams over the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The USGA recruited some 5,000 volunteers in order to insure the event progresses smoothly.


2007 U.S. Open (golf), Preparation for the 2007 U.S. Open
The event was expected to, like the last Open at Oakmont, attract record breaking sell-out crowds. Crowd control was also a major problem for the USGA and its volunteers as huge crowds filled the course during the tournament creating traffic problems. The USGA began selling tickets to the general public on June 15, 2006. The USGA was expected to sell out all of their tickets for the competitive rounds by their deadline for purchase on August 15, 2006. After the sale of all tickets for the competitive rounds, any post-deadline purchases were settled by a lottery.


2007 U.S. Open (golf), Partnership with American Express
For the first time in its history, the United States Golf Association entered into a commercial partnership. It entered into an agreement with American Express for an undisclosed amount, which allowed American Express to set up a special "Trophy Room" area at the 2007 U.S. Open for American Express cardholders. Jud Linville, president of American Express U.S. Consumer Card Services, addressed concern about the arrangement commercializing the USGA Championship, saying, “We’re not going to be slapping logos all over the place, we’re trying to broaden the appeal of the game.” Long-time American Express sponsorship recipient Tiger Woods told the media in response to the deal, “It’s a tremendous opportunity, this is two enormous brands coming together to help golf.”


2007 U.S. Open (golf), Field
About half the field each year consists of players who are fully exempt from qualifying for the U.S. Open. Below is the list of the 72 players that were fully exempt for the 2007 U.S. Open. Each player is classified according to the first category by which he qualified, but other categories are shown inparentheses:


2007 U.S. Open (golf), Field
Michael Campbell, Ernie Els (4,9,10,16), Jim Furyk (8,9,12,16), Retief Goosen (9,10,13,16), Lee Janzen, Geoff Ogilvy (8,9,16), Tiger Woods (3,4,5,9,12,16)


2007 U.S. Open (golf), Field
Paul Casey (10,16), Luke Donald (9,10,11,16), Kenneth Ferrie, Pádraig Harrington (10,16), Ryuji Imada, Colin Montgomerie (10,16), Nick O'Hern (15,16), Ian Poulter (10,16), Jeff Sluman, Steve Stricker (16)


2007 U.S. Open (golf), Field
Stephen Ames (16), Stuart Appleby (16), Chad Campbell (16), K. J. Choi (12,16), Stewart Cink (16), Joe Durant (16), Lucas Glover (16), J. J. Henry, Trevor Immelman (16), Davis Love III (16), Arron Oberholser (16), Rod Pampling (16), Tom Pernice Jr., Carl Pettersson (16), Brett Quigley, Rory Sabbatini (16), Adam Scott (12,16), David Toms (16), Brett Wetterich (16), Dean Wilson


2007 U.S. Open (golf), Field
Thomas Bjørn, Johan Edfors, Niclas Fasth (16), Sergio García (16), David Howell (16), Robert Karlsson (16), Henrik Stenson (16), Anthony Wall


2007 U.S. Open (golf), Field
Robert Allenby, Aaron Baddeley, Ángel Cabrera, Tim Clark, Chris DiMarco, Anders Hansen, José María Olazábal, Justin Rose, Charl Schwartzel, Vaughn Taylor, Scott Verplank, Lee Westwood


2007 U.S. Open (golf), Course layout
The 9th hole was previously played as a par 5; before 1962, the 1st hole was also played as a par 5.


2007 U.S. Open (golf), Round summaries, First round
In the difficult course conditions, only Nick Dougherty and Ángel Cabrera broke par during the first round. World number one Tiger Woods shot a 1-over 71, and #2 Phil Mickelson was at 74, playing with a wrist injury.


2007 U.S. Open (golf), Round summaries, Second round
Ángel Cabrera birdied the 477-yard (436 m) 9th hole (his 18th) after hitting an approach with a sand wedge to within two feet (0.6 m) to take a one-shot lead at the halfway point. The shot moved the cut line from +11 to +10, eliminating 19 players (including Phil Mickelson, who had had the longest current streak of making cuts at major championships at 30).


2007 U.S. Open (golf), Round summaries, Second round
Paul Casey shot a 66 for the low round of the day when the average score was 76.933, the highest since the final round in  2004 at Shinnecock Hills. Stephen Ames' 69 was the only other score under par for the third round. The cut was at 150 (+10) and no amateurs advanced to the weekend.


2007 U.S. Open (golf), Round summaries, Second round
Amateurs: Harrell (+11), Ramsay (+12), Kokrak (+16), Davies (+17), Kelly (+18), Kuehne (+19), Golden (+20), Condello (+22), Pettitt Jr (+23), Prugh (+23), Ureta (+23), Lee (WD).


2007 U.S. Open (golf), Round summaries, Third round
Aaron Baddeley continued his strong play with a second straight even-par round of 70, including a birdie on the 18th hole, to take a two-shot lead heading into the final round. Tiger Woods hit the first 17 greens in regulation en route to a 1-under 69, barely needing to work to save par until his only bogey on the last hole, and finished in second place two shots behind Baddeley. It was one of just two under-par rounds on the day (Steve Stricker shot a 68), and placed Woods in the final pairing on Sunday. To this point in his career, Woods had never won a major championship by coming from behind, which he would have had to do to win his third U.S. Open. Four players were one stroke behind Woods at 215 (+5).


2007 U.S. Open (golf), Round summaries, Final round
Ángel Cabrera shot a 1-under 69 to become the first Argentinian to win the U.S. Open. He entered the final round four shots behind, after shooting a disappointing 76 on Saturday. This gave him a 2:20 pm tee time on Sunday, 40 minutes ahead of the final pairing, which included Tiger Woods. After a birdie on the 15th hole, Cabrera was 3-under for the round, with a three stroke lead over Woods and a surging Jim Furyk.


2007 U.S. Open (golf), Round summaries, Final round
After bogeys on the 16th and 17th holes that reduced his lead to one, Cabrera parred the difficult 18th hole and then had to wait in the clubhouse for Furyk and Woods to finish. Both needed to birdie the 72nd hole to force a Monday playoff but neither did, giving Cabrera the victory by a single stroke. Cabrera and Anthony Kim (67) were the only players to post sub-par scores during the final round. Aaron Baddeley was the 54-hole leader, but opened with a triple bogey and shot 80 (+10). The field broke par for only eight rounds during the tournament, just two players per day on the difficult Oakmont layout, and Cabrera was the only player to break par twice.


2007 U.S. Open (golf), Round summaries, Final round
The top eight finishers at the U.S. Open were automatically invited to the 2008 Masters and the top fifteen automatically qualified for the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.


2007 U.S. Open Cup
The 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 94th edition of the USSF's annual national soccer championship, running from June through early October.


2007 U.S. Open Cup
The New England Revolution defeated FC Dallas 3–2 in the final played at Pizza Hut Park, Frisco, Texas.


2007 U.S. Open Cup
Pairings for the competition were announced on Tuesday, May 29, 2007. The 2007 tournament was the first since 2002 to not include all Major League Soccer teams. Instead, MLS had eight teams in the tournament; six  qualified automatically, while the remaining six US-based sides participated in a playoff for the final two positions. In another change for the tournament, all nine US-based USL First Division teams entered into the Cup. The Puerto Rico Islanders are not eligible for the tournament, as Puerto Rico has a soccer federation independent from US Soccer.


2007 U.S. Open Cup, Participating teams
The tournament consists of 40 teams, according to the following distribution:


2007 U.S. Open Cup, Participating teams
*Includes 8 USL Premier Development League teams and 8 USASA regional qualifiers


2007 U.S. Open Cup, Prize money
There is a total of $180,000 in prize money at stake in the 2007 version of the competition. The prize money breakdown is as follows: $100,000 to the champion, $50,000 to the runner up and $10,000 to the team advancing the deepest in the tournament from each of the Division II, Division III and amateur levels.


2007 U.S. Open Cup, Open Cup bracket
Second Round winners advance to play one of 8 MLS clubs in 16-team knockout tournament Home teams listed on top of bracket


2007 U.S. Open Cup, Schedule
Note: Scorelines use the standard U.S. convention of placing the home team on the right-hand side of box scores.


2007 U.S. Open Cup qualification
This page describes the qualification procedure for the 2007 U.S. Open Cup.


2007 U.S. Open Cup qualification, Major League Soccer
2 teams advance (1 from each bracket) to tournament Top team hosts match


2007 U.S. Open Cup qualification, USL 1st Division
All 9 US-based USL First Division teams will be entered into the Cup. The Puerto Rico Islanders are not eligible for the tournament, as Puerto Rico has a soccer federation independent from US Soccer.


2007 U.S. Open Cup qualification, USL 2nd Division
Top 6 teams in table will advance to tournamentAll regular season games through May 28 count Green indicates U.S. Open Cup berth clinched


2007 U.S. Open Cup qualification, USL Premier Development League
Winners in each division advance to tournamentAll teams play 4 designated games doubled as regular season games Green indicates U.S. Open Cup berth clinched


2007 U.S. Open Cup qualification, USASA, Region 3
Winners of groups advance to tournament All matches at Jordan Soccer Complex in Fayetteville, North Carolina Green indicates U.S. Open Cup berth clinched


2007 U.S. Open Cup qualification, USASA, Region 4
Teams that reach final advance to tournament All times in Pacific Daylight Time


2007 U.S. Open Cup qualification, USASA, Region 4, First Round
Winners of groups plus best second-place finisher advance to SemifinalGreen indicates advancement to Semifinal


2007 U.S. Open Cup qualification, USASA, Region 4, First Round Matches
* - Southern California Fusion were forced to forfeit the match (originally a 3-2 win) due to use of an illegal player


2007 U.S. Open Grand Prix
The 2007 U.S. Open Grand Prix was a badminton tournament which took place in Orange, California, United States from 27 August to 1 September 2007. It had a total purse of $50,000.


2007 U.S. Open Grand Prix, Tournament
The 2007 U.S. Open Grand Prix was the fifth tournament of the 2007 BWF Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix and also part of the U.S. Open championships which has been held since 1954. This tournament was organized by the USA Badminton and sanctioned by the BWF.


2007 U.S. Open Grand Prix, Tournament, Venue
This international tournament was held at Orange County Badminton Club in Orange, California, United States.


2007 U.S. Open Grand Prix, Tournament, Point distribution
Below is the point distribution for each phase of the tournament based on the BWF points system for the BWF Grand Prix event.


2007 U.S. Open Grand Prix, Tournament, Prize money
The total prize money for this tournament was US$50,000. Distribution of prize money was in accordance with BWF regulations.


2007 U.S. Women's Open
The 2007 U.S. Women's Open was the 62nd U.S. Women's Open, held June 28 to July 1 at the Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club in Southern Pines, North Carolina. Cristie Kerr won the first of her two major titles, two strokes ahead of runners-up Lorena Ochoa and Angela Park. The event was televised by ESPN and NBC Sports.


2007 U.S. Women's Open
Due to weather delays, the third round began on Saturday afternoon and was completed on Sunday morning. Kerr shot 66 (−5) to gain the 54-hole lead at 209 (−4), one stroke ahead of top-ranked Ochoa, Morgan Pressel, and Jiyai Shin.


2007 U.S. Women's Open
Pine Needles previously hosted the championship in 1996 and 2001; it joined Atlantic City Country Club (1948, 1965, 1975) as the only courses to host three U.S. Women's Opens.


2007 UAB Blazers football team
The 2007 UAB Blazers football team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, and was the 17th team fielded by the school. The Blazers were led by first-year head coach  Neil Callaway and played their home games at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, and competed as a member of Conference USA. The Blazers finished their twelfth season at the NCAA I-A/FBS level and their ninth affiliated with a conference with a record of 2–10 (1–7 C-USA).


2007 UAB Blazers football team, Game summaries, Michigan State
In the first game of the Neil Callaway era, the Blazers would make their first-ever trip to the state of Michigan in this 55–18 defeat by the Spartans. The Blazers would fall behind 42–0 before Swayze Waters hit a 35-yard field goal before the half. After a safety early in the third, Waters would hit a pair of long field goals (50 and 47 yards) and score the seasons' first touchdown on a 15-yard Joseph Webb reception from Sam Hunt in the fourth. For the game, the Blazers were outgained on offense 593 to 226 total yards.


2007 UAB Blazers football team, Game summaries, Florida State
On the road, the Blazers would take a 17–10 lead at the half only to give up 21 points in the third in this 34–24 defeat to the Seminoles. UAB would take the early lead on a 27-yard Swayze Waters field goal, and extend it to 10–0 on FSU's ensuing possession with Will Dunbar returning an interception 21-yards for the score. In the second, Sam Hunt would score on a 4-yard run to extend the lead to 17–3, before the Seminoles responded with a touchdown of their own in narrowing the lead to 17–10 at the half. Florida State would open the third with a pair of touchdowns to take a 24–17 lead, before UAB responded with a 16-yard Joseph Webb touchdown reception from Hunt to knot the game at 24. However, the Seminoles would close the game with 10 unanswered points to seal the 34–24 win.


2007 UAB Blazers football team, Game summaries, Alcorn State
The first win of the Callaway era would come in the seasons first home game with a 22–0 victory over the FCS Braves of Alcorn State. Swayze Waters would star in hitting 5 field goals from 42, 32, 52, 22 and 38 yards respectively. The Blazers would visit the end zone only once on a 4-yard David Sigler touchdown reception from Sam Hunt in the second quarter. For the game, Waters set a team record for most field goals in a game, tied the team record for longest Blazer field goal (52 yards) and tied the conference record for most field goals in a game.


2007 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400
The 2007 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 was the third race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. It was held on March 11, 2007 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada.


2007 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400
The race was the first at the newly refurbished track, which now has a progressive banking in the turns on the 1.5-mile D-shaped oval, a new garage area which is fan-friendly known as "The Neon Garage" named for the lighted signs through the city's gambling areas, and a new pit road that was built closer to the grandstands.


2007 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400
Kasey Kahne won the pole and Jimmie Johnson won the race, making this his third overall win at the 1.5 mile oval track.


2007 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400, Qualifying
Failed to qualify, withdrew, or driver changes:   A.J. Allmendinger (#84), Mike Bliss (#49), John Andretti (#37), Brian Vickers (#83), David Reutimann (#00), Jeremy Mayfield (#36), Brandon Whitt (#72), Kevin Lepage (#34), Michael Waltrip (#55), Ken Schrader (#47), Regan Smith (#39-WD), Derrike Cope (#74-WD)


2007 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400, Race summary
Jimmie Johnson won his third straight Nextel Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, defeating teammate Jeff Gordon by 2.795 seconds. Gordon finished in second place for the second straight time. Denny Hamlin was third, Matt Kenseth fourth and Mark Martin fifth.


2007 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400, Race summary
Martin retained his points lead after three races with 495 points, six ahead of Gordon.


2007 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400, Race summary
Because of the new asphalt concerns, NASCAR cut the size of fuel cells from 18 gallons to 13 gallons, similar to what had been used on restrictor plate tracks from October 2002 until October 2006, and also for the two 2006 races at Lowe's Motor Speedway to force more pit stops to change tires.


2007 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400, Results, Failed to qualify
The following 10 drivers failed to qualify for the race: A. J. Allmendinger‡ (#84), Mike Bliss (#49), John Andretti (#37), Brian Vickers (#83), David Reutimann‡ (#00), Jeremy Mayfield (#36), Brandon Whitt‡ (#72), Kevin Lepage (#34), Michael Waltrip (#55), and Ken Schrader (#47).


2007 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400, Results, Failed to qualify
Allmendinger, Bliss, Mayfield, and Whitt have missed all three races for which they have attempted to qualify. Waltrip has missed the last two. Reutimann had made both previous races. Vickers had missed the Daytona 500 and made the Auto Club 500. Schrader missed making a field for the first time since the November 2003 Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.


2007 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400, Results, Failed to qualify
Also of note: Regan Smith‡ was to have qualified in the #39 car, but the car was withdrawn and Smith did not make an attempt.


2007 UAW-Ford 500
The 2007 UAW-Ford 500 was the 30th stock car race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the fourth in the ten-race season-ending Chase for the Nextel Cup. It was held on October 7, 2007 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama, before a crowd of 155,000. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports won the 188-lap race starting from 34th position. His teammate Jimmie Johnson finished second and Dave Blaney was third.


2007 UAW-Ford 500
The Car of Tomorrow débuted at a superspeedway, but it was heavily criticized for its lack of visibility, and drivers raised fears of becoming airborne if hit. Michael Waltrip won the pole position by posting the fastest lap in qualifying but was passed by Blaney by the end of the first lap. The race lead changed 42 times, with Denny Hamlin leading the most laps out of anybody else (40). Johnson took the lead after driving on the outside lane on lap 183.


2007 UAW-Ford 500
Johnson led as the final lap began, but Gordon went to the outside of the track, and was bump-drafted by Tony Stewart, allowing him to claim his fifth victory of the season, his sixth at Talladega Superspeedway, the 80th of his career, and he took over from Dale Earnhardt as the driver with the most restrictor plate wins, twelve.


2007 UAW-Ford 500
The result advanced Gordon to the Drivers' Championship's lead, and his teammate Johnson (who led coming into the race) fell to second. The trio of Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart, and Kevin Harvick retained third through fifth. Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch gained one position each, and Kyle Busch fell from fourth to eighth after being caught up in a multi-car accident. Chevrolet increased their unassailable lead in the Manufacturers' Championship, while Ford, Dodge and Toyota continued to occupy the remaining three places with six races left in the season.


2007 UAW-Ford 500, Background
The UAW-Ford 500 was the 30th of 36 scheduled stock car races of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the fourth in the ten-race season-ending Chase for the Nextel Cup. It was held on October 7, 2007 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama, a superspeedway that holds NASCAR races. The standard track at the speedway is a four-turn 2.66 mi (4.28 km) long superspeedway. The track's turns are banked at 33 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 16.5 degrees. The back stretch has a two-degree banking.


2007 UAW-Ford 500, Background
Before the race, Jimmie Johnson led the Drivers' Championship with 5,506 points, with teammate Jeff Gordon second and Clint Bowyer third. Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick were fourth and fifth. Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, Jeff Burton, Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top twelve drivers competing for the 2007 Chase for the Nextel Cup. Chevrolet led the Manufacturers' Championship with 232 points, sixty ahead of Ford in second. Dodge with 147 points was 56 ahead of Toyota in fourth. Brian Vickers was the race's defending champion.


2007 UAW-Ford 500, Background
The UAW-Ford 500 marked the début of the Car of Tomorrow on a superspeedway. Teams started by using a 31/32 inch restrictor plate which was expected to increase horsepower by 75 hp (56 kW) to 80 hp (60 kW). Furthermore, the wing angle was established at 10 degrees, and the wicker height was set at 1 in (25 mm) to add drag. Further changes were determined by the performance of the cars if they reached an average speed of more than 200 mph (320 km/h).


2007 UAW-Ford 500, Background
NASCAR mandated teams to run flat side plates instead of the a curved side plate, and some cars had to make minor adjustments to pass pre-race inspection. Nextel Cup Series Director John Darby stated NASCAR changed the wording of the regulations to provide clarity and to have a starting point in controlling top speeds, "Basically, it says we're going to start out with this size of a restrictor plate, and if everything proves out OK, we'll leave it, but the ultimate restrictor-plate size won't be determined until the conclusion of final Cup practice." Drivers spent one and a half days in mid-September testing the Car of Tomorrow at the track.


2007 UAW-Ford 500, Background
There were two changes of driver heading into the race. It was announced that open-wheel driver Jacques Villeneuve would début in the No. 27 Bill Davis Racing car five weeks earlier than planned. Villeneuve planned to compete in the ARCA Re/Max and Craftsman Truck Series races at Talladega, but was granted approval to race in the Nextel Cup Series after testing of the Car of Tomorrow at the track. Villeneuve said he was delighted to debut in the Nextel Cup Series: "It's perfect.


2007 UAW-Ford 500, Background
I'm really happy that NASCAR has given me its approval so quickly, and having run Talladega with the Cup drivers, I'm really looking forward to it. It's a huge step in my learning process." Mike Wallace replaced his younger brother Kenny Wallace in the No. 88 Robert Yates Racing car while the team's regular driver Ricky Rudd continued to recover from a shoulder injury.


2007 UAW-Ford 500, Practice and qualifying
Two 60-minute practice sessions were held on the Friday before Sunday's race. Stewart set the fastest time in the first practice session with a lap of 49.118 seconds. Jeff Gordon was second-fastest. Positions three through ten were filled by Ken Schrader, Robby Gordon, Kyle Petty, Kasey Kahne, David Stremme, Martin Truex Jr., Greg Biffle, and Burton. Hamiln was forbidden by NASCAR to partake in its closing minutes because he was observed bump-drafting other cars. Darby explained that Hamlin was the most aggressive driver out of all those cautioned by NASCAR.


2007 UAW-Ford 500, Practice and qualifying
Later that day, Stewart led the second practice session with a lap of 49.347 seconds; Paul Menard was 0.045 seconds slower in second. Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Jamie McMurray, Truex, Burton, Jeff Green, Tony Raines, and Johnny Sauter were in positions three through ten. After practice, drivers complained of hindered visibility at the front of the car, due to a larger cockpit and spoiler. They felt this had the potential to cause a multi-car accident, and were worried about the possibility of getting airborne if hit by others.


2007 UAW-Ford 500, Practice and qualifying
Fifty-one cars were entered in the qualifier on Saturday afternoon, according to NASCAR's qualifying procedure, forty-three were allowed to race. Each driver ran two laps, with the starting order determined by the competitor's fastest times. Toyotas took five of the first six spots, as Michael Waltrip clinched the fourth pole position of his career, and his first since the 2005 Pocono 500, with a time of 50.648 seconds. He was joined on the grid's front row by Dave Blaney whose lap was 0.062 seconds slower. Vickers qualified in third. Fourth was Joe Nemechek, and David Reutimann fifth.


2007 UAW-Ford 500, Practice and qualifying
The next three spots on the grid was composed of drivers who were required to qualify on time or risk missing the race: Villeneuve, John Andretti, and Bobby Labonte. Kahne and Elliott Sadler completed the top ten. Of the drivers in the chase, Stewart started 11th, Truex 13th, Hamlin 18th, and Johnson 19th. The eight drivers who failed to qualify were A. J. Allmendinger, Boris Said, Scott Riggs, Sam Hornish Jr., Jeremy Mayfield, Sterling Marlin, Ward Burton and Kevin Lepage.


2007 UAW-Ford 500, Practice and qualifying
Kurt Busch and David Ragan's cars were found to be too low at the front during post-qualifying inspection, and were mandated to start at the back of the field. Afterward, Waltrip said, "I felt confident yesterday that we would make the race. Our qualifying lap was faster than what we ran in practice. If I only had to worry about my car, I would've been happier."


2007 UAW-Ford 500, Race
Live television coverage of the race on ABC began at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Around the start of the race, weather conditions were mostly sunny with the air temperature at 89 °F (32 °C); a ten percent chance of rain was forecast. A moment of silence was held in honor of former NASCAR president Bill France Jr. Frank Stark of Raceway Ministries began pre-race ceremonies with an invocation. Miss University of Alabama Stephanie Shelton performed the national anthem, and Dave Sparks, an employee of the race's sponsor, commanded the drivers to start their engines. During the pace laps, McMurray moved to the rear of the field because he changed his engine, and Casey Mears did the same for illegal adjustments to his car.


2007 UAW-Ford 500, Race
The race started at 2:21 p.m. Waltrip led the pack on the run to the first corner, but Blaney got ahead of him to take the first position at the end of the first lap. On lap two, Labonte made it three-abreast going to the finish line, and took the lead, before losing it to Vickers on the following lap. Waltrip steered right to reclaim first place on lap four, and held it for the next lap when Labonte returned to the head of the pack.


2007 UAW-Ford 500, Race
The sixth lap had Robby Gordon pushed by other cars to become the new leader, which he retained until Vickers returned to the front on lap nine. In the meantime, Hamlin moved from eighteenth to fourth. He took the lead for the first time with assistance from Andretti on lap 12. The first caution was necessitated on lap 17 as Andretti's right-front tire blew, removing one of his car's fenders, and scattering debris on the track. Most of the leaders, including Hamlin, made pit stops for fuel, tyres and car adjustments. Petty led the field for one lap before making his stop on the 20th lap, and Johnson was the leader on the next lap before doing the same.