2008 US beef protest in South Korea, MBC PD Notebook program
On 27 April 2008, MBC televised a program called "Is American Beef Really Safe from Mad Cow Disease?" The program precipitated mass demonstrations. After a complaint was received from the South Korean agriculture ministry, the Seoul central prosecutors' office formed a team of five to investigate the program's content.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, MBC PD Notebook program, Downer cows
Downer cows are animals presented for slaughter that are sick or unable to walk. One of many causes for a downer is BSE. MBC was criticised for broadcasting footage of downer cows with translated subtitles that suggested they suffered from BSE, whereas they were filmed because of animal cruelty concerns, not BSE.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, MBC PD Notebook program, Aretha Vinson
Aretha Vinson was a 21-year-old student at Virginia State University. She died on 9 April 2008 of Wernicke's encephalopathy. The MBC broadcast showed footage of Vinson's mother speaking about her daughter's illness. Translated subtitles suggested Vinson had vCJD, but that was only one initial diagnostic possibility.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, MBC PD Notebook program, Risk of US beef to South Korea
Concerns that some commentators raised about the program included, MBC's statements about a genetic vulnerability of Koreans to CJD; the US exporting cattle over 30 months old to Korea rather than selling it to the domestic market; and, the risk of contracting CJD by consuming beef products such as powdered soup base in instant noodles, cosmetics, and gelatin medication.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, Reaction to PD Notebook
Demonstrations involving tens of thousands of people began shortly after the first broadcast, and increased when MBC aired another segment two weeks later.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, Reaction to PD Notebook, Korean Communications Commission
MBC became the subject of legal action. On 12 August 2008, the Korea Communications Commission called for MBC to apologise to the public over misrepresentations made in the PD Notebook program. MBC apologised in a two-minute broadcast, conceding that six translation errors had been made and that downer cattle had been mistakenly identified as suffering from BSE.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, Reaction to PD Notebook, MBC versus Government
The government of South Korea directed its prosecutors office to investigate alleged actions of the MBC including mis-representations made by the PD Notebook program; aggravation of civil unrest; and, defamation of the minister for agriculture. In June 2009, four producers and one writer were indicted on the charges. In January 2010, the MBC staff were exonerated by judges of the Seoul central district court. The supreme court upheld the findings.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, "Candlelight" demonstrations
Some commentators argue that there is a long-held and perpetual "culture of protest" in South Korea involving groups ranging from anarchists to social reformers. Anti US beef protests began on 24 May 2008. After the MBC PD Notebook broadcast, the US beef protests in Seoul increased. A three-day demonstration held in relay took place from 5 June 2008 to 7 June 2008. Attendance peaked on the evening of 10 June 2008, (80,000 protestors in attendance) before declining. (Photographs depicting the demonstrations from "Reuters", "Getty Images" and "AFP" are published )


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, "Candlelight" demonstrations, Influence of social media
Internet and text messaging also assisted in publicising the movement. With ready access to social media, among the first to protest were teenage schoolgirls. A teenage schoolgirl holding a lit candle became the symbol of the anti-US beef protests. Comments made by some protestors had little basis in science.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, "Candlelight" demonstrations, The demonstrators
After the initial demonstration, the area in front of Seoul's city hall, as well as the adjoining streets, were occupied by demonstrators. Early in the protest, a festival like atmosphere prevailed as protesters of all walks of life, built a makeshift tent city on the lawn at Seoul Plaza. However, some massive, disruptive and sometimes aggressive demonstrations and street marches were held each night, particularly at weekends. Thus, the protest had two faces: more peaceful during the day and more violent at night. About 200 protestors required hospital treatment.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, "Candlelight" demonstrations, The demonstrators
Resulting in over 200 injuries and over 1,000 arrests, the issue had far-reaching effects, including a large outcry from groups philosophically opposed to civil disobedience. "Police estimated that 60,000 people, including 7,000 monks clad in gray Buddhist garb, gathered in front of City Hall in Seoul."


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, "Candlelight" demonstrations, Police action
On 1 June 2008, police took action to control demonstrators. Buses and shipping containers were used to halt the progress of street marches. A barrier of shipping containers were erected across Sejong-Ro to stop marchers from reaching Cheongwadae (office and residence of the president). The protestors named the barrier, "Myung-bak's Fortress" and decorated it with leaflets and large Korean flags. They photographed themselves standing on the barrier. It was dismantled several days later without conflict. Water cannons were used to suppress protestors. Some demonstrators were detained for questioning. The Amnesty International report on the human rights aspects of the demonstrations is published  The report said,


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, "Candlelight" demonstrations, Police action
The protests were for the most part peaceful and given its size and duration, both the protesters and the police showed notable organization and restraint. However, there were sporadic incidents of violence, as riot police and protesters clashed. The two main flashpoints of violence occurred on 31 May/1 June, when the police first used water cannons, tear gas, and fire extinguishers, and 28/29 June, the weekend following the government's announcement that US beef imports would resume. The decision to use water cannons and fire extinguishers contributed to the mass resignation of all 14 members of the Korean National Police Agency's human rights committee.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, "Candlelight" demonstrations, Other forms of protest
Several workers' unions went on strike to show their opposition to the beef import. One of them is the Korean Metal Workers' Union, which represents workers at 240 companies, including the country's four major automakers. On 2 July, they went on a two-hour strike to demand a new beef deal and better working conditions.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, "Candlelight" demonstrations, Other forms of protest
On 6 July, the Catholic Priests' Association for Justice, an influential religious group known for its struggle against the dictatorships, lead an outdoor Mass to lend its moral support to the protesters.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, Effects of the protests, Korean government
The approval rating of Lee fell below 20%. Prime Minister Han Seung-soo and other cabinet members submitted their resignations to President Lee. On 22 May and then again on 18 June 2008, Lee apologised for ignoring public health concerns. Lee said,


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, Effects of the protests, Korean government
I should have paid attention to what people want. Sitting on a hill near Cheongwadae on the night of 10 June, watching the candlelight vigil, I blamed myself for not serving the people better.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, Effects of the protests, Korean government
Lee also delayed the announcement of any further relaxation of beef importation rules, for example, importation of meat from cattle over 30 months of age. On 2 July 2008, Han Seung-soo, Prime Minister of South Korea bought 260,000 Korean won (roughly US$230–$260) worth of U.S. steak to eat with his family at his official residence to alleviate public worries about U.S. beef. The same amount of Korean beef would have cost approximately 800,000 Korean won (roughly $700–$800, three times more expensive than imported U.S. beef).


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, Effects of the protests, United States
On 22 June 2008, an American trade envoy headed by Susan C. Schwab, agreed with the Korean prime minister and agriculture minister to limit the export of meat to that from carcasses of cattle less than 30 months old with government certification of their age and to allow Korea to inspect a sample of U.S. slaughterhouses. The agreement also included the banning of importation to Korea of meat from cattle organs considered high risk for transmission of the BSE prion such as brains, eyes, skulls and spinal cord. Schwab said,


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, Effects of the protests, United States
We look forward to safe, affordable, high-quality American beef – the same beef enjoyed by hundreds of millions of U.S. consumers and people in countries around the world – soon arriving on Korean tables.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, Effects of the protests, United States
Tom Casey, deputy spokesman at the U.S. State Department rejected the notion that the U.S. had bullied S. Korea into removing the 2003 ban on U.S. beef imports and said,


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, Effects of the protests, United States
[The U.S. and S. Korea] have a long history of military and security cooperation. I don't think this or any other individual issues are going to change the fundamental relations (between the two countries).


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, Effects of the protests, United States
From December 2009 to December 2010 the US meat export federation (USMEF) used a 3 phase project called, "To trust". It was an image campaign, designed to increase the trust of Koreans in US beef. It depicted three women who were mothers and homemakers. One was a rancher, one a scientist and one a food safety inspector.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, Effects of the protests, Hi! Seoul festival
In 2009, a small number of demonstrators commemorated the anniversary of the 2008 protests. They forcibly occupied the Hi! Seoul Festival stage in front of the city hall in central Seoul. The police removed the protestors.


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, Effects of the protests, Commentators
Kim Dae-joong (not to be confused with former Korean President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Kim Dae-jung), a columnist at the Korea Times, wrote in his editorial piece: "It amounts to double-crossing to be really fond of America in all substantive matters, while bad-mouthing America in public protests."


2008 US beef protest in South Korea, US beef imports in South Korea
On 1 July 2008, U.S. beef imports resumed. In 2009, the US exported 141 million lbs of beef to South Korea worth $215 million. In 2017, the United States became the top beef exporter to South Korea, with a record of sending 177,445 tonnes.


2008 USA Cycling Professional Tour
The 2008 USA Cycling Professional Tour is the second year of this elite men's professional road bicycle racing series organized by USA Cycling.


2008 USA Cycling Professional Tour
Levi Leipheimer (381 points) and the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team (810 points) are the defending champion of the overall individual and team titles, respectively.


2008 USA Cycling Professional Tour, Events
The 2008 USA Cycling Professional Tour consists of the following 16 one-day races and stage races:


2008 USA Sevens
The 2008 USA Sevens competition took place on February 9 and 10 at Petco Park in San Diego, California. It was the fourth Cup trophy in the 2007-08 IRB Sevens World Series. The USA Sevens is played annually as part of the IRB Sevens World Series for international rugby sevens.


2008 USA Sevens
The top-level Cup competition was won by New Zealand, who became the first team in the history of the IRB Sevens to win the first four tournaments of a season; it was also the Kiwis' sixth consecutive tournament win overall. In the Cup semifinal against Kenya, they made history with their 35th consecutive match win in the IRB Sevens, breaking their own record set in 2001/02. They took the record to 36 with their final win over South Africa.


2008 USA Sevens
The second-level Plate was won by Fiji in a sudden-death extra time thriller against Argentina. In the Bowl final, Wales beat the hosts in another thriller, in which the USA scored a try after the final horn, but missed the conversion that would have sent the match to extra time. The remaining trophy, the Shield, went to Australia.


2008 USA Sevens
The New Zealand brewery Steinlager was the presenting sponsor for this tournament.


2008 USC Trojans football team
The 2008 USC Trojans football team (variously "Trojans" or "USC") represented the University of Southern California during the  2008 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Pete Carroll and played their home games at the Los Angeles Coliseum.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Before the season, Pre-season outlook
The Trojans finished the 2007 season with a decisive Rose Bowl victory, #2 ranking in the Coaches Poll and #3 ranking (with one first-place vote) in the AP Poll. In January 2008, immediately after the bowl season, USC was ranked at #4 by Sports Illustrated online and #5 by ESPN.com; the general opinion was that while the Trojans were facing key player departures, the losses were mitigated by the overall talent level of the program. Georgia was ranked as the early pre-season #1 team.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Before the season, Pre-season outlook
Sports Illustrated and ESPN.com soon revised their rankings to #3 and #4, respectively, after nearly all draft-eligible juniors decided to remain with the program instead of entering the NFL Draft. Going into the spring, USC ranked as the premier team in the Pac-10 Conference, taking advantage of a deep talent pool, including a number of talented running backs holding over from the previous season.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Before the season, Pre-season outlook
The Trojans' biggest question entering spring practices was who would take over the starting quarterback position from John David Booty. Junior Mark Sanchez entered spring practice as the acknowledged leader, having started three games the previous season due to an injury to Booty, winning two; however, Arkansas-transfer and former Razorback starter Mitch Mustain had the most college game experience, having started and won eight games for the 2006 Razorbacks team his freshman year while putting on an impressive performance on the scout team in the 2007 season during the NCAA-mandated waiting period.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Before the season, Pre-season outlook
Both Sanchez (2005) and Mustain (2006) were considered the top quarterback in the nation coming out of their respective high school classes. The Trojans entered spring with a number of qualified running backs, but not quite as many as in 2007.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Before the season, Pre-season outlook
Battling for the starting position were top returners Junior Stafon Johnson (673 yards) and sophomore Joe McKnight (540 yards); but challenging them would be redshirt sophomore C.J. Gable, who started five games as a freshman in 2006 and the first two of 2007 before a season-ending injury, junior Allen Bradford, as well as previously injured redshirt freshman Broderick Green and Marc Tyler. All six running backs earned Parade or USA Today All-American honors in high school, four earned both.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Before the season, Pre-season outlook
Questions remained around the wide receivers, who had struggled with consistency the previous season; all starters returned, with special attention focused on Arkansas transfer Damian Williams, who caught 19 passes for the Razorbacks in 2006 but sat out 2007 along with fellow Arkansas teammate Mustain. The offensive line was hit hard by graduation, returning only one starter. The defense lost several important players to graduation, but the linebacker corp returned key players such as Brian Cushing Rey Maualuga and Clay Matthews.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Before the season, Pre-season outlook
By the end of spring practice, the USC coaching staff announced that Sanchez would be the designated starting quarterback going into fall camp. A crowd of 22,000 watched the Trojan Huddle, USC's spring game that ends spring practices, where Sanchez, Mustain and redshirt freshman Aaron Corp all performed well against Trojan defenses; the White team defeated Cardinal, 39–36, in double overtime. With a number of talented linebackers, the Carroll and defensive coordinator Nick Holt began experimenting with using a 3-4 defense variation implementing the "Elephant Position", which features a hybrid end/linebacker position.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Before the season, Pre-season outlook
The Trojans had used Cushing in the Elephant position during the 2006 season before returning to their traditional 4-3 during the 2007 season. In the 2008 variation, the position was filled by senior Clay Matthews, a former walk-on. After spring practices finished across the nation, Sports Illustrated revised its rankings and placed USC as the #3 team, behind Georgia and Ohio State; while ESPN ranked the Trojans #4, behind Ohio State, Georgia and Oklahoma. The running back tandem of Stafon Johnson and Joe McKnight was compared to the "Thunder and Lightning" combination of LenDale White and Reggie Bush, with McKnight mentioned as a top ten Heisman Trophy contender going into the fall.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Before the season, Pre-season outlook
At the Pacific-10 Conference media day, the Trojans were the near-unanimous pre-season pick to win the conference. USC took 38 of 39 first-place votes; California, which were picked to finish fourth in the overall standings, received the other vote. This was USC's sixth year in a row as the favorite to win the conference title, the longest streak since the Trojans 18-year run from 1965 to 1982.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Before the season, Pre-season outlook
On the release of the preseason Coaches' Poll, USC was ranked #2 in the nation, behind the 2008 Georgia team: Georgia received 1438 points with 22 first-place votes while USC received 1430 points with 14 first-place votes. Meanwhile, the 2008 Ohio State team was ranked third with 1392 points but an equal number of first-place votes with 14. The preseason Associated Press (AP) Poll ranked USC #3 in the nation, behind Georgia and Ohio State. USC received 12 first-place votes and 1490 points, compared to Georgia's 22 first-place votes and 1528 points and Ohio State's 21 first-place votes and 1506 points. Both polls added to the interest in the OSU-USC game on September 13.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Before the season, Pre-season outlook
A major concern arose in the first week of fall camp, when Sanchez suffered a dislocated left kneecap while warming up for practice. Trainers were able to immediately put the kneecap back into place, but the injury sidelined Sanchez and threw his availability for the season opener at Virginia (and beyond) into question. As a result, Mustain and redshirt freshman Aaron Corp began alternating repetitions with the first team offense and competing for the possible starting spot. After missing nearly three weeks, Sanchez was cleared to play in the opener on the final day of fall camp; Corp was selected as his back-up.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Before the season, Pre-season outlook
The biggest issue facing the team entering the season was how the rebuilt offensive line would perform, though it had improved over the course of fall camp. Sanchez, Cushing, offensive lineman Jeff Byers, and senior safety Kevin Ellison were elected team captains by their teammates.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Before the season, Pre-season outlook
In the week preceding the regular season, all twelve experts polled by ESPN picked USC to win the Pac-10 conference, and three expected them to make it to the BCS National Championship Game with two expecting them to prevail. All seven experts polled by Sports Illustrated picked USC to win their conference, with three forecasting them in the Championship Game with one selecting them to prevail. Rivals.com's panel of four experts unanimously picked USC to play in the title game.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Before the season, Recruiting class, Transfers
Shane Horton, the brother of 2008 recruit Wes Horton, transferred from UNLV and would be required to sit out one season by NCAA rules.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Before the season, Recruiting class, Transfers
Junior transfer Steve Gatena, former United States Air Force Academy Class of 2008 Cadet, transferred in from UC Davis as an offensive left tackle. Gatena was required to sit out one season by NCAA rules. However, due to his academic standing as a graduate student, Gatena was granted a one time transfer exception for pursuing his academic career and played as the second string left tackle in the season opener against Virginia.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Before the season, Recruiting class, Transfers
Jordan Cameron, the uncle of Matt Leinart's son with USC basketball player Brynn Cameron, transferred in from Ventura College. A former freshman basketball player from Brigham Young University, Cameron attempted to transfer before the 2007 season to also play football as a wide receiver. However, when some of Cameron's units from Brigham Young did not transfer to USC, he needed to withdraw and attend Ventura College, missing the season but with the option to try to rejoin the team in 2008 (regardless, he would have been ineligible to play in 2007 due to NCAA transfer rules).


2008 USC Trojans football team, Before the season, Recruiting class, Departures
In addition to graduating starting senior 2007 All-Americans Sam Baker (offensive tackle), John Mackey Award-winner Fred Davis (tight end), Sedrick Ellis (nose tackle), and Keith Rivers (linebacker), as well as first team all-conference defensive end Lawrence Jackson, 2006 first team all-conference quarterback John David Booty and second team all-conference defensive back Terrell Thomas, the Trojans also lost junior All-Conference offensive guard Chilo Rachal to the 2008 NFL Draft. Pac-10 conference honorable mention offensive linemen Drew Radovich and Matt Spanos, tailback Chauncey Washington, and linebacker Thomas Williams also departed.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Before the season, Recruiting class, Offseason news
On the Monday after the 2007 UCLA–USC rivalry game, a 24–7 Trojans victory, embattled Bruins head coach Karl Dorrell was fired. His replacement was former UCLA quarterback Rick Neuheisel, who held previous head coach positions at both Colorado and Washington where he led teams to overall successful records but his departures coincided with NCAA investigations at both universities. Within a month on the job, Neuheisel attracted attention by hiring former USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow as his offensive coordinator. While with Trojans from 2001 to 2004, Chow led the offense to the 2003 and 2004 national championships and saw quarterbacks Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart win the Heisman Trophy. The hire of Chow injected a new level of drama to the rivalry that had somewhat stagnated under Dorrell.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Schedule
The Sporting News ranked the schedule as the toughest in the Pac-10; ESPN.com ranked it as the fourth toughest in the conference. ESPN.com ranked the nonconference schedule as the fifth most difficult in the nation, noting that if Virginia had a good year it would be the toughest.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Coaching staff
Nearly the entire USC coaching staff returned from the 2007 season, with the only change being a different Graduate Assistant working with the secondary.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Virginia
The Trojans opened their season by visiting the University of Virginia Cavaliers of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) under Al Groh in the first ever game between the two programs and first USC game in Virginia. Virginia went 9–4 in 2007, but off-season losses to both the NFL and unexpected issues left the Cavaliers ranked fifth-out-of-six teams in the ACC's Coastal Division in the preseason. Five UVA players were arrested during the off-season and five other players were dismissed from the team because of academic reasons.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Virginia
The game was described as possibly the biggest home opener for Virginia at Scott Stadium. Groh noted that he was pleased the game opened his team's schedule due to USC's ability and the general distraction it would otherwise pose to conference play: "It's as good a time as any in that we only wanted to play it in the first game, and they only wanted to play it in the first game." Virginia entered the game having gone 3–4 in opening games under Groh.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Virginia
Virginia will become the 34th state (plus Japan) where the Trojans have played football. USC entered the game favored by 19.5 points.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Virginia
Scoring three touchdowns in the first quarter was all USC needed to beat up on the Cavaliers at their home field. Quarterback Mark Sanchez threw for 338 yards, CJ Gable ran for 73 yards, and Ronald Johnson had 78 yards in receiving. The No. 3 Trojans got off to a good start, thanks to the Virginia turnovers.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Virginia
USC continued their undefeated streak in openers away from home under Carroll.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Ohio State
After a bye week, the Trojans hosted the Ohio State Buckeyes of the Big Ten Conference under head coach Jim Tressel. USC or Ohio State had played in five of the last six BCS title games. The non-conference game between two perennial powers had potential national championship implications for either program. A historic rivalry existed between the two teams: Between 1968 and 1984, they met six times in the Rose Bowl and determined the eventual National Champion in three of those contests. The teams had not faced one another since September 29, 1990, when Todd Marinovich led the Trojans to a 35–26 victory in Ohio Stadium in a game that was called because of a thunderstorm with 2 minutes 36 seconds to play.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Ohio State
By the end of the 2007–08 season, the game garnered interest as a possible early-season battle between top-10 teams. By the beginning of the season it was named as the most anticipated regular-season game of 2008. The winning team was assumed to have an inside track to the national title game, though, given recent trends in the title game, the loser also had a reasonable chance as well.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Ohio State
In naming it the top potentially season-defining game of 2008, Sports Illustrated highlighted a theme of credibility: Ohio State enters the game trying to move past the BCS title game losses of the previous two seasons and USC enters trying to show it remains highly competitive with its new starting quarterback and four of five new players on the offensive line. The game was also viewed as a possible Heisman Trophy showdown, primarily between Ohio State's running back Chris "Beanie" Wells and USC's Sanchez. During the preseason Pac-10 Media Day, Carroll noted that "It's games like this that make us."


2008 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Ohio State
The Buckeyes featured a combination of quarterbacks: Fifth-year senior and All-Big-Ten quarterback Todd Boeckman continued to start for the Buckeyes, however in 2008 he was supplemented by highly regarded true-freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor. The combination aimed to use Boeckman's prowess as a classic drop-back passer with Pryor's speed and ability to scramble for yards. The Trojans had particular concerns about Pryor, who had many of capabilities that made previous athletic scrambling quarterbacks, such as Dennis Dixon, Jake Locker and Vince Young, difficult for the defense to contain.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Ohio State
The Buckeyes came in with a strong defense, led by All-American and Butkus Award-winning linebacker James Laurinaitis and cornerback Malcolm Jenkins. Both linebacking corps, highlighted by the Buckeyes' Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman as well as the Trojans' Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing, were considered the best in the country. One of the major storylines entering the game surrounded the health of Ohio State's star running back, Beanie Wells. Well injured his foot in the Buckeyes' opener, and sat out the second game of the season. Early during the week of the game he was cleared to play against the Trojans; however by the Thursday his presence assessed as doubtful after he experienced soreness in his foot one day after returning to practice.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Ohio State
Although scheduled for the third week of the season, the game was the primary focus of fan and media attention for both programs. Ticket prices rose to levels from $100 to $5,000 apiece. The game received heightened attention in national sports news when USC alumnus and starting quarterback for the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals, Carson Palmer told a radio show "I cannot stand the Buckeyes and having to live in Ohio and hear those people talk about their team, it drives me absolutely nuts [. . .]


2008 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Ohio State
I just can't wait for this game to get here so they can come out to the Coliseum and experience L.A. and get an old-fashioned, Pac-10 butt-whupping." While Tressel defended Palmer's comments as those of fan, Ohio State fans were incensed. In the week before the game, Buckeyes wide receiver Ray Small stated that USC lacked the "class" of Ohio State, noting that "[A]t Ohio State, they teach you to be a better man. There, it's just all about football", further nothing that he felt that USC was "not even serious about the game." Sideline passes were in high demand, with celebrities such as Denzel Washington and Jamie Foxx in attendance.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Ohio State
USC and Ohio State opened the preseason ranked No. 2 and 3 in both the AP and Coaches Polls, swapping positions in each. After the Trojans' strong performance against Virginia, USC rose to No. 1 and Ohio State ranked No. 3 in both polls. However, after Ohio State struggled in their week 2 win against an unregarded Ohio team, they fell to No. 5 in both polls while USC remained No. 1. By game week the Trojans were considered 10-point favorites.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Oregon State
The Trojans began their Pac-10 Conference schedule on the road against the Oregon State Beavers, under head coach Mike Riley, in Corvallis, Oregon. On their previous visit to Reser Stadium, during the 2006 season, the Beavers defeated the Trojans, 33–31, in a major upset; as such, the game was mentioned in the preseason as a possible upset for the Trojans.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Oregon State
Freshman Jacquizz Rodgers (#1) ran for 186 yards and two touchdowns for OSU, USC quarterback Mark Sanchez (#6) passed for 227 yards, and Damian Williams (#18) caught 80 yards for the top ranked Trojans in an upset loss.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Oregon State
Oregon State was the only Pac-10 Conference school to have beaten USC twice during the Pete Carroll era, until Oregon and Stanford equaled the feat in 2009.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Oregon
Before the season the game was named a game of interest and the second most interesting Pac-10 game to watch after Ohio State-USC, in part due to the potential battle for the top of the conference.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Arizona State
Entering the season, Arizona State was named as a possible challenger to USC's dominance of the Pac-10.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, California
This game was mentioned as a possible upset for the Trojans.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Stanford
Before the 2007 season, Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh, in his first year with the Cardinal, garnered attention by first stating that 2007 was going to be Carroll's last year at USC, then, during the Pac-10 media day, that USC "may be the best team in the history of college football." The Cardinal then stunned the Trojans in a major upset, 24–23, ending the Trojans' 35-game home winning streak and causing a major obstacle to the Trojans national title hopes. During the 2008 Pac-10 media day, noted that the aftermath of the Cardinal's victory over USC was "water under the bridge." Given the previous season, before the season it was named as a game to watch by ESPN.com.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, UCLA
Before the season this game garnered interest in seeing how new Bruins' coach Rick Neuheisel would do in his battle to gain supremacy in Los Angeles.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, UCLA
Joe McKnight (12-yard run), Damian Williams (12-yard pass from Mark Sanchez), Stafon Johnson (2-yard run) and Patrick Turner (18-yard pass from Sanchez) scored for the Trojans. Sanchez passed for 269 yards, McKnight ran for 99 yards and Turner caught for 81 yards.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, UCLA
A fumble recovery turned into a pass reception touchdown by Kahlil Bell in the beginning of the game was all the scoring by the Bruins in this the latest cross-town rivalry game. UCLA Quarterback Kevin Craft completed 11 out of 28 passes for a total of 89 yards and had one pass intercepted.


2008 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, UCLA
Going into the game, the Trojans were set to be, at worst, co-Pac-10 Champions with Oregon State. However, after the win over UCLA and Oregon State's loss the same day, the Trojans became the Pac-10 Champions for the seventh straight year and qualified for the Rose Bowl, played on January 1, 2009. Linebacker Rey Maualuga was named Pac-10 defensive player of the year.


2008 USC Trojans football team, After the season, NFL Draft
Twelve USC players were invited to the NFL Combine. Of the twelve, Josh Pinkard applied for and was granted a sixth season of eligibility by the NCAA and opted to stay at USC for another season. Of the eleven players who attended the Combine, all were drafted by the end of the sixth round of the 2009 NFL Draft. USC topped the total number of draftees for the second consecutive season.


2008 USL W-League season
The 2008 W-League Season was the league's 14th. The regular season began on May 10, 2008, and ended on July 20.


2008 USL W-League season
Pali Blues finished the season as national champions, beating FC Indiana 2-1 in the W-League Championship game in Virginia Beach, Virginia on 2 August 2008.


2008 USL W-League season
The Pali Blues also finished with the best regular season record in the league, winning all 12 of their matches, and finishing with a +35 goal difference.


2008 USL W-League season
Atlanta Silverbacks Women's striker Sarah Steinmann was the league's top scorer, with 19 goals. FC Indiana's Laura Del Rio led the league with 13 assists, while Pali Blues goalkeeper Valerie Henderson enjoyed the best goalkeeping statistics, with a goals-against average of 0.142 per game, and posting 6 shutouts.


2008 USL W-League season, Changes from 2007 season
Three teams folded after the 2007 season: Mile High Edge, and San Diego Sunwaves. Cocoa Expos Women left the league for the WPSL.


2008 USL W-League season, Standings
Orange indicates W-League title and bye into W-League semifinals. Blue indicates division title clinchedGreen indicates playoff berth clinched


2008 USL W-League season, Playoffs, Format
Five teams each from the Central and Eastern Conferences, and two from the Western Conference, qualify for the playoffs.


2008 USL W-League season, Playoffs, Format
In the Central Conference, the second and third place teams from the Northern Division play a one-leg playoff with the winner advancing to the Conference Semifinals, where they will play the Midwest Division champion. The other semifinal will have the second place team from the Midwest Division playing the Northern Division champion.


2008 USL W-League season, Playoffs, Format
In the Eastern Conference, the second and third place teams from the Northeast Division play a one-leg playoff with the winner advancing to play the Atlantic Division champion. The other semifinal will have the second place team from the Atlantic Division playing the Northeast Division champion.


2008 USL W-League season, Playoffs, Format
The two teams in the Western Conference will play each other to advance to the W-League Semifinals.


2008 USL W-League season, Playoffs, Format
The Regular Season champion, Pali Blues, receive a bye into the W-League semifinals, with the second and third place teams from the Western Conference receiving playoff berths.


2008 USL W-League season, Playoffs, Conference Brackets
Pali captured the W-League regular season title and bye into W-League semifinals, enabling Vancouver to take their spot in the Conference Playoffs, and allowing Seattle to clinch a playoff berth.


2008 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team
The 2008 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team represented University of Santo Tomas in the 71st season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. The men's basketball tournament for the school year 2008-09 began on July 5, 2008 and the host school for the season was the University of the Philippines who were celebrating their centennial year.


2008 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team
UST finished fifth at the end of the double-round eliminations. They won six games against eight losses. Two of their games went into overtime. The first was an 86–80 win over the Adamson Falcons in the first round, and the other was a 69–74 loss to the FEU Tamaraws in the second round.


2008 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team
The Tigers' second round losses to FEU and to the De La Salle Green Archers meant that they needed to win their last two games to at least tie the UE Red Warriors to gain a playoff for the fourth and final seed heading into the final four. They were fifth in the standings at 5 wins and 7 losses, while UE was fourth with a 7–5 win-loss record. They were also hoping for the Red Warriors to lose their remaining two games for a playoff to happen.


2008 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team
The game resulted to a two-point loss for UST. The Tigers had struggled throughout the game with errors and inconsistencies. The opponent had led by 22 points at the end of three quarters. Head coach Pido Jarencio got ejected, but in a display of grit and determination, UST fought back and tried to chip away at UE's lead, resulting a 24–1 run. The Tigers who got eliminated ended up scoring 35 points in the fourth quarter.


2008 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team
Season 70 MVP Jervy Cruz was included in the Mythical team selection during the presentation of awards for Season 71. He had played the entire season while nursing a hamstring injury and even led the MVP race at the end of the double-round eliminations with 75.07 statistical points, as well as a double-double average of 19.8 points scored and 13.7 rebounds per game. He has led the league in rebounds since his first playing year in Season 69. The MVP award eventually went to Ateneo's Rabeh Al-Hussaini who was second in running with 71.14 statistical points.


2008 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team
The Growling Tigers was the season's top rebounding team with a 48.4 per game average.


2008 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team, Roster changes
The Growling Tigers have lost team captain Anthony Espiritu to graduation, as well as veteran center June Dizon and point guard Rum Perry Scott.


2008 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team, Roster changes
UST has eight new players composed of rookies, transferees and players from the Team B training pool.


2008 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team, Injuries
The Growling Tigers did not join any major preseason tournaments on two reasons: their veteran players had been busy playing for their commercial teams in the PBL in the summer; and eight of their players suffered various injures before and during the UAAP tournament.


2008 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team, UAAP Season 71 games results
Elimination games were played in a double round-robin format. All games were aired on Studio 23 & Balls.


2008 UTEP Miners football team
The 2008 UTEP Miners football team represented the University of Texas at El Paso in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head coach was Mike Price. The Miners played their home games at the Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas. UTEP averaged 37,296 fans per game, ranking 66th nationally.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Schedule
* ** Denotes the largest crowd ever for the Sun Bowl Stadium.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Buffalo
In their first trip to the state of New York, UTEP rolled up 266 yards but had three turnovers while the Bulls' Drew Willy threw four touchdown passes to help Buffalo to a 42–17 victory over the Minders. Willy complete 10-of-16 passing attempts for 221 passing yards and no interceptions. His first completion of the game broke Cliff Scott's school record for career completions. The UTEP defense surrendered 484 total yards.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Texas
This game marks the first time for the Miners to play the Texas Longhorns. Texas holds a 2–0 record against the Miners, with the most recent game occurring in 1933 when the school was known as The Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy. Besides both being in The University of Texas System the two schools also share the same alma mater, "The Eyes of Texas". While Miners' fans make a symbol called the "Pickaxe", with pinkie and thumb extended from a closed fist, the Longhorns have the Hook 'em Horns symbol.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Texas
After the Miners opened their season with a loss to the Buffalo Bulls 42–17, Miners coach Mike Price said of the upcoming game against the Longhorns, "Man, I hope they're not as good as Buffalo."


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Texas
The kickoff for the game was set for 8:00 pm local time (Mountain Time) which is an unusually late start and which translates to 9:00 pm in Austin. Sports analysts have speculated that the Miners' excitement for the game, the crowd noise, the distance traveled, and time may pose a problem for Texas. They have also compared the game to Texas' 2007 road trip to Central Florida, which was a very close win for Texas.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Texas
Longhorn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp said of the time slot, "Doesn't matter where we play, who we play or what time we play, Texas defense is gonna show up and play." The Dallas Morning News reported the game was one of the most anticipated games in UTEP history and "because season-ticket packages were available for $99, some Texas fans bought them in advance to avoid the hassle of a single-game purchase. The sales pushed UTEP to nearly 24,000 season tickets, a school record."


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Texas
The morning of the game, Las Vegas sports books favored Texas by 27 points. The weather forecast called for a gametime temperature of 83 °F (28 °C) and mostly clear skies. The attendance was 53,415, the largest crowd ever for the Sun Bowl Stadium.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Texas
UTEP got the ball to start the game and scored a field goal. Texas was not able to secure a first down and punted back to Miners, who scored another field goal to take a 6–0 lead. On their second possession, Texas drove 80 yards for a touchdown on a McCoy pass to Quan Cosby. The extra point gave Texas a 7–6 lead which they still held at the end of the first quarter.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Texas
The Longhorns scored again ten seconds into the second quarter, as McCoy threw a 12-yard touchdown to wide receiver Dan Buckner. The Miners attempted a 65-yard field goal, but it fell short and Quan Cosby returned it 65 yards. Texas put John Chiles in as quarterback on the next series, and fullback Cody Johnson scored his second rushing touchdown of the season to make the score 21–6. With four minutes to go in the half, McCoy threw a touchdown pass to tight end Blaine Irby to make the score 28–6 with the extra point. UTEP scored a touchdown with 18 seconds remaining in the half, making the score 28–13 at half-time.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Texas
Texas got the ball to start the second half and drove to the UTEP 14-yard line when McCoy threw an interception in the UTEP end zone; it was his first interception of the season. Neither team scored in the third quarter.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Texas
The Horns faked a wide receiver screen and scored on a McCoy pass to Jordan Shipley to extend the lead to 35–13. On the next Miner possession, Emmanuel Acho forced a fumble and Roddrick Muckelroy returned it for a touchdown, making the score 42–13. UTEP missed a field goal to end their next possession. Texas punted on their next possession, and then took over on downs when UTEP was unable to score on their last possession. The Horns kept the ball on the ground and ran out the clock.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, NMSU
Chase Holbrook passed for 329 yards and five touchdowns to lead New Mexico State to a 34–33 win Saturday over UTEP.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, NMSU
Holbrook connected with wide receiver Marcus Anderson on three scores, including the go-ahead touchdown with 3:12 to go in the game. Anderson finished with five catches for 70 yards.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, NMSU
Holbrook has 1,269 passing yards in three games against the Miners (0–3).


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, NMSU
With the win, NMSU (1–1) snapped a six-game losing streak, while UTEP extended its losing skid to nine games. It was the Aggies' first win in the Sun Bowl since 1994.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, NMSU
In the second quarter, NMSU went up 14–10 on a pair of passing scores from Holbrook to Anderson.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, NMSU
UTEP quarterback James Thomas II answered with a 44-yard scoring run, but NMSU went ahead 21–17 on a 27-yard touchdown reception by A.J. Harris.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, NMSU
UTEP's Jose Martinez kicked a 36-yard field goal to make it 21–20 with 3:05 remaining in the half.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, NMSU
The Aggies took a 28–27 lead into the fourth quarter, until Thomas stretched into the end zone from a yard out and put UTEP back up 33–28.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, NMSU
NMSU went ahead for good on Holbrook's final touchdown pass to Anderson. The Aggie defense forced a UTEP fumble, then stopped the Miners on a fourth-and-11 in the final minute.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, NMSU
UTEP' top two running backs were out with injuries and starting quarterback Trevor Vittatoe left the game for good with an ankle injury after the third series.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, NMSU
Thomas led UTEP with 142 yards rushing and two scores, becoming only the third Miner quarterback to eclipse the 100-yard mark since 1982.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, UCF
Trevor Vittatoe threw for 263 yards and three touchdowns to lead UTEP to a 58–13 win over Central Florida on Saturday night, halting a streak of nine consecutive losses.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, UCF
Jose Martinez kicked a 64-yard field goal for the Miners (1–3, 1–0 Conference USA).


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, UCF
Cornelius Brown, who had two interceptions and blocked a punt, led the UTEP defense as it forced UCF (1–3, 0–1) into six turnovers, including two fumbles recovered for touchdowns.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, UCF
Vittatoe's second-quarter scoring pass to Jamar Hunt gave UTEP a 17-point lead, and Martinez' 64-yarder gave the Miners a 27–7 lead at halftime.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, UCF
Rob Calabrese, making his first start for UCF, threw for 167 yards and a touchdown.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Southern Miss
Trevor Vittatoe threw four touchdown passes, including the game winner in double overtime, as UTEP defeated Southern Mississippi 40–37 on Saturday night.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Southern Miss
Vittatoe hit Chris Adams on a 7-yard touchdown pass in the second overtime, after Southern Miss' Britt Barefoot gave the Golden Eagles a 37–34 lead with a 28-yard field goal.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Southern Miss
It was the second consecutive victory for UTEP (2–3, 2–0 Conference USA) and the second straight loss for the Golden Eagles (2–3, 0–2).


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Southern Miss
Southern Miss is 0–2 in league play for the first time in the 13-year history of Conference USA.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Southern Miss
The loss overshadowed a career-high effort by Damion Fletcher, who had 34 carries for 260 yards, becoming the program's all-time leading rusher in the third quarter. He has 3,654 career yards, passing Ben Garry, who finished with 3,595.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Southern Miss
The 260-yard effort was also the second highest single-game mark in school history.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Southern Miss
Vittatoe was 24 of 41 for 263 yards and four scores.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Southern Miss
The Miners led 17–14 at halftime, thanks to a 37-yard field goal by Jose Martinez with 1:25 to go in the second quarter.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Southern Miss
Fletcher gave USM an early lead on a 1-yard scoring run five minutes into the game.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Southern Miss
Justin Estes missed a pair of short field goals for the Golden Eagles in the first half, one after Fletcher ran 56 yards to the Miners' 13.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Southern Miss
Tory Harrison also had a 1-yard scoring run for USM in the second quarter.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Southern Miss
The Miners responded with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Vittatoe to Adams and an 11-yard touchdown run by Donald Buckram in the first half.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Southern Miss
Martinez made the score 20–14 with a 34-yard field goal at the 11:33 mark of the third quarter.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Southern Miss
UTEP tried an onside kick that USM recovered at midfield. The Golden Eagles took advantage of it to take the lead with a 10-yard scoring pass from Austin Davis to Shawn Nelson.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Southern Miss
The Miners came back with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Vittatoe to Tufick Shadrawy on the first play of the fourth quarter for a 27–21 lead.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Southern Miss
But Barefoot replaced Estes in the second half, and despite missing his first attempt, kicked a pair of short field goals in the fourth quarter. The second, from 22 yards out on the final play of regulation, sent the game into overtime.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Southern Miss
The teams traded 4-yard scoring passes in the first overtime, as Vittatoe hit Terrell Jackson and USM's Austin Davis found DeAndre Brown.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Tulane
Trevor Vittatoe threw three touchdown passes as UTEP came back for a 24–21 win over Tulane on Saturday night.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Tulane
The Miners (3–3, 3–0 Conference USA) reached .500 after an 0–3 start for the first time in school history.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Tulane
Andre Anderson, who entered the game as the nation's ninth-leading rusher, carried the ball 29 times for 255 yards and two touchdowns for Tulane (2–4, 1–2).


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Tulane
UTEP took an early 7–0 lead, scoring on its opening possession for the first time this season.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Tulane
Following rushing scores of 72 and 28 yards by Anderson, UTEP tied it 14–14 in the second quarter after Daniel Palmer hauled in a low pass and scurried 8 yards to the end zone.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Tulane
Down 21–14 at halftime, UTEP inched back on a 28-yard field goal from Jose Martinez in the third quarter, then took the lead for good on a 68-yard bomb to Jeff Moturi with 4:22 remaining in the game.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Tulsa
David Johnson threw for 434 yards and five touchdowns to help lead Tulsa to a record-setting performance and a 77–35 blowout of UTEP.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Tulsa
Brennan Marion had six catches for 233 yards and three touchdowns Saturday night, setting a Conference USA record for yards per catch in a game (38.8), as Tulsa (7–0, 4–0 CUSA) strengthened its case to move into the national rankings. The Golden Hurricane hovered just outside the Associated Press poll this week.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Tulsa
UTEP (3–4, 3–1 CUSA) kept pace with Tulsa early and the game was tied 28–28 in the first quarter.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Tulsa
David Johnson connected with Marion on passes of 97 and 51 yards; Damaris Johnson returned a kickoff 94 yards for a score and A.J. Whitmore caught a 24-yard strike from David Johnson, who finished 21-for-27 with one interception.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Tulsa
UTEP quarterback Trevor Vittatoe hit Jeff Moturi with a 6-yard pass, Kris Adams with a 22-yard strike and a 1-yarder to Jamar Hunt for a score. He finished 21 of 34 for 321 yards and four touchdowns.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Tulsa
By the second quarter, Tulsa had turned up the heat, rattling Vittatoe with a variety of blitzes and holding the Miners scoreless, while the Golden Hurricane scored 28 consecutive points.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Tulsa
Tarrion Adams, who finished with 115 yards, scored two touchdown in the third quarter that gave Tulsa a 63–35 advantage and UTEP lost all fight after that.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Tulsa
Marion added a 40-yard touchdown before the quarter ended to make it 70–35.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Rice
Chase Clement threw for 372 yards and accounted for six TDs, and Rice matched its best conference record in nearly a half-century with a 49–44 win over Texas-El Paso on Saturday night.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Rice
Clement threw five TD passes and ran for a 3-yard score that gave Rice the lead for good in the second quarter. UTEP kept close, and a third touchdown pass from Trevor Vittatoe to Jeff Moturi with 1:23 left gave the Miners hope before their onside kick attempt failed.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Rice
Rice (6–3, 5–1 Conference USA) clinched bowl eligibility for the second time in three seasons. Not since 1960 have the Owls been 5–1 in conference play.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Louisiana-Lafayette
Trevor Vittatoe threw touchdown passes to each team as UTEP finished the first quarter tied 7–7 with Louisiana-Lafayette.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Louisiana-Lafayette
Gerren Blount intercepted Vittatoe and returned it 55 yards for the opening score, but UTEP answered with 1:51 left in the first quarter on Jeff Moturi's fifth touchdown reception in the last three games. It came from 16 yards out. Moturi's 20th career touchdown catch put him all alone in third on UTEP's all-time list.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Louisiana-Lafayette
By Halftime, The UTEP defense played perhaps its best half of the season, holding the Louisiana-Lafayette to three offensive points and the Miners led 16–10 at the intermission. In the Second Quarter, Trevor Vittatoe threw touchdown passes to Tufick Shadrawy and Jeff Moturi, but also threw one to the Rajin' Cajuns' Gerren Blount to open the scoring. UTEP answered with 1:51 left in the first quarter on Jeff Moturi's fifth touchdown reception in the last three games. It came from 16 yards out. Moturi's 20th career touchdown catch put him all alone in third on UTEP's all-time list. The Miners also made a goal-line stand shortly before their final touchdown of the half, which came with 51 seconds left on a 32-yard field goal.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Louisiana-Lafayette
Miners defeat Louisiana-Lafayette LAFAYETTE, La. – The UTEP football team picked up its second road win of the year on Saturday with a 37–24 victory against Louisiana-Lafayette at Cajun Field. The Miners improved to 4–5 overall with the win in the non-conference game. UTEP is 3–2 in Conference USA going into next week's Conference USA home game against SMU. The Ragin' Cajuns fell to 5–4 on the season and saw a four-game win streak come to an end. However, the loss didn't affect the team's Sun Belt Conference mark, which remained at 4–0. The win allowed UTEP to keep alive hopes of qualifying for a bowl game this season. UTEP needs two more wins in its final three games to qualify for one. After hosting SMU next week, the Miners finish the season with road trips to Houston and East Carolina.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, SMU
Trevor Vittatoe threw for 410 yards and connected with Kris Adams for three touchdowns to lead UTEP to a 36–10 victory over SMU on Saturday night.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, SMU
Vittatoe completed 21-of-31 passes, finishing his evening after just three-quarters. Adams caught five of those passes for 145 yards and the three touchdowns. It was a career-high for Vittatoe and Adams, both sophomores.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, SMU
Vittatoe connected with Adams for an 85-yard touchdown pass on UTEP's first play from scrimmage. The Miners (5–5, 4–2 Conference USA) rolled up 544 total yards and never trailed, leading 10–3 after one quarter and 26–3 at the half.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, SMU
Jose Martinez kicked five field goals in the game, connecting from 34, 48, 26, 31 and 23 yards.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, SMU
SMU (1–10, 0–7) scored its lone touchdown in the fourth quarter after trailing 36–3. Logan Turner hit Bradley Haynes with a 27-yard pass for the touchdown.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, Houston
Although meeting for the first time during the Cougars' inaugural season in 1946, the UTEP Miners had only met with the Cougars five times in history. [ 40] As Conference USA foes, the Cougars held a 2–3 all-time record against the Miners, whereas both wins came consecutively during the 2006 and 2007 meetings of the teams. Mike Price returned as the Miners' head coach this season. After a close game, where Houston lagged behind, the Cougars made a fourth quarter comeback to win the game.


2008 UTEP Miners football team, Game summaries, East Carolina
The Pirates welcome the Miners to Greenville for the first time ever. East Carolina and this Conference USA West opponent are meeting for the second time. The first meeting occurred last fall in El Paso, Texas. ECU won in overtime, 45–42 in the Sun Bowl.


2008 Uber Cup group stage
This article lists the complete results of the group stage of the 2008 Uber Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia.


2008 Uber Cup group stage, Group W, China vs. Germany
A fallen bulb from the overhead lights cause the remaining fourth and fifth match abandoned, after the discussion, China takes walkover for fourth match while Germany takes walkover for fifth match.


2008 Uber Cup knockout stage
This article lists the complete results of the knockout stage of the 2008 Uber Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia.


2008 Ukraine coal mine collapse
The 2008 Ukrainian coal mine collapse occurred at the Karl Marx Coal Mine in the city of Yenakiieve, Donetsk Oblast (province) of eastern Ukraine on June 8, 2008. The mine collapse was said to have been caused by a gas pipe explosion. The explosion occurred at a depth of about 1,750 feet (533 m). 37 miners were trapped underground at the time of the collapse, located 3,301 feet (1,006 m) below the surface of the earth. Additionally, five surface workers suffered from burns and other injuries in a blast that they described as one of the most powerful in the industry.


2008 Ukraine coal mine collapse
The workers in the mine were supposed to have been checking for safety concerns in the mine and fixing them, not mining, as the Karl Marx Coal Mine was one of 23 coal mines in the country closed for safety violations. However, a spokeswoman for the safety agency said that audio tapes prove that the miners were extracting coal that day, thus violating the ban. An investigation commission plans to have the management of the mine charged with negligence.


2008 Ukraine coal mine collapse
Rescue crews were sent down ventilation shafts, as the main shafts were blocked  because of the explosion, and two miners were rescued at some time after the collapse. One body was found in the rubble. On June 9, it was announced that 22 more miners, who had been waiting for 30 hours, were rescued by the crews, while 13 remained buried.


2008 Ukraine coal mine collapse
On June 10, an official said that there was little chance that the 12 remaining miners were alive, as 9 of them were riding up an elevator when the blast happened, sending the cage down the shaft, and the other 3 were 1,000 metres (3,281 ft) underground, where methane levels were dangerously high after the explosion. Officials were also concerned that the mine could flood. More than 30 metres (98 ft) have flooded into the mine, a report says. Little hope was expressed by officials for the twelve miners still trapped.


2008 Ukraine coal mine collapse
The Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko criticized the gas explosion and mine collapse as a failing of the government's policies and the outdatedness of the mines in the country.


2008 Ukrainian Amateur Cup
The 2008 Ukrainian Amateur Cup was the thirteenth annual season of Ukraine's football knockout competition for amateur football teams. The competition started on 6 August 2008 and concluded on 8 November 2008.


2008 Ukrainian Amateur Cup, Competition schedule
This year Luzhany, BRV-VIK V/V, Polissya Dobrianka, Irpin Horenychi, Yednist-2 Plysky, and Torpedo Mykolaiv received a bye to the second round (1/8 finals).


2008 Ukrainian Cup Final
The 2008 Ukrainian Cup Final was a football match that took place at the Metalist Stadium on May 7, 2008. The match was the 17th Ukrainian Cup Final and it was contested by Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kyiv. The 2008 Ukrainian Cup FInal was the first to be held outside of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. Shakhtar won the match 2–0 through goals from Oleksandr Gladkiy and Oleksiy Gai.


2008 Ukrainian Cup Final
The match had five red cards issued, two to Dynamo players and three to Shakhtar players. The match also had six yellow cards (Gladkiy received two), four of which were given to Shakhtar players and two to Dynamo players. This was in part because of players' violent behavior and also because referee Victor Shvetsov made several misjudgments.


2008 Ukrainian Cup Final, Road to Kharkiv
All 16 Ukrainian Premier League clubs do not have to go through qualification to get into the competition; Dynamo and Shakhtar therefore both qualified for the competition automatically.


2008 Ukrainian Cup Final, Road to Kharkiv
Dynamo had a lot of instability en route to the final. At the beginning of the season, manager Anatoliy Demyanenko resigned after рoor results to start the season. He was replaced by former Dynamo player and coach Yozhef Sabo, who later resigned from his post afterwards due to personal health problems. In November 2007, Dynamo appointed assistant coach Oleh Luzhny as interim coach, who was in charge until 8 December and managed to get Dynamo through the quarter-finals. Finally, in December 2008, the club appointed former Russia national team manager Yuriy Semin.


2008 Ukrainian Figure Skating Championships
The 2008 Ukrainian Figure Skating Championships took place between December 18 and 20, 2007 in Kyiv. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing on the senior level. The results of the national championships were used to choose the teams to the 2009 World Championships and the 2009 European Championships.


2008 Ukrainian Football Amateur League
Following are the results of the Ukrainian Football Amateur League 2008 season. Participation is restricted to the regional (Oblast) champions and/or the most regarded team by the respective regional association.


2008 Ukrainian Football Amateur League
This season competition consisted of two stages. The first stage was organized in regional principal and was played in two rounds where each team could play another at its home ground. On the first stage each group winners and the best runner-up advanced to the next part of the competition automatically, the other four runners-up were paired together to identify two more teams that were to advance. Sokil Zolochiv that won the play-off and was accepted for the finals at the end was not able to arrive to play. The second stage and the concluding was played in Chernivtsi where the teams were split in two groups and the first places were advancing to the final.


2008 Ukrainian Football Amateur League, First stage, Group B
Note: Polissya-2 Zhytomyr is the youth sport-school of the disbanded professional team Polissya Zhytomyr.


2008 Ukrainian Super Cup
The 2008 Ukrainian Super Cup became the fifth edition of Ukrainian Super Cup, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Ukrainian Top League and Ukrainian Cup competitions.


2008 Ukrainian Super Cup
The match was played at the Vorskla Stadium, Poltava, on 15 July 2008, and contested by league winner Shakhtar Donetsk and cup winner Dynamo Kyiv. Shakhtar won it 5–3 on penalties.


2008 Ukrainian political crisis
The 2008 Ukrainian political crisis started after President Viktor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc (NU-NS) withdrew from the governing coalition following a vote on a bill (4 September 2008) to limit the President's powers in which the Prime Minister's Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko (BYuT) voted with the opposition Party of Regions.


2008 Ukrainian political crisis
The bill would have required the consent of the Prime Minister for the appointment and dismissal of the Prosecutor General by the President, given the government power to appoint local heads of government if the President rejects the candidates, stripped from the President the right to reject a candidate for Prime Minister, dismiss the Defense, Interior and Foreign Ministers, and appoint a head of the State Intelligence Service.


2008 Ukrainian political crisis
President Yushchenko stated that a clear position on the 2008 Russo-Georgian War was one of the conditions under which return to talks in the Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) was possible, as well as the repeal of all the constitutional laws adopted after 3 September. Yushchenko claimed that a "de-facto coalition" was formed with 'no other aims but to conduct coup d'état and usurp power in the country'.


2008 Ukrainian political crisis
Tymoshenko stated that the real intentions behind the President's party in 'declaring war on her' was to ensure his victory in the next presidential election, although she still called for a reformation of the coalition between the two parties. She also reiterated her position on the Georgian conflict, claiming to be neutral and more in line with the European Union.


2008 Ukrainian political crisis
On 16 September, the collapse of the BYuT/NU-NS coalition was officially announced. Following the failure to re-create the coalition, the Ukrainian parliament was dissolved by president Yushchenko on 8 October 2008, giving way to the third parliamentary election in three years.


2008 Ukrainian political crisis
The crisis ended when the Orange Coalition was reformed on 9 December 2008, but including Lytvyn's Bloc after Volodymyr Lytvyn was elected as parliamentary speaker the day before.


2008 Ukrainian political crisis, Treason accusation
During the conflict between Russia and Georgia, Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko issued a decree requiring advance notice of the movements of the Russian Black Sea Fleet into and out of the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol. He also came out strongly in support of Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili, condemning Russia's invasion in Georgia during the August 2008 Russo-Georgian War. Prime Minister Tymoshenko and her Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc put forward a less critical position towards Russia and the Prime Minister herself was out of public view during much of the conflict.


2008 Ukrainian political crisis, Treason accusation
On 18 August 2008 Yushchenko's office accused Prime Minister Tymoshenko of taking a softer position as a way to win the support of Russia during the 2010 Presidential election. Andriy Kyslynskyi, the president's deputy chief of staff, said Tymoshenko's actions showed "signs of high treason and political corruption" adding that documents supporting these allegations were being handed over to prosecutors.


2008 Ukrainian political crisis, Treason accusation
Tymoshenko denied the accusations and rejected the accusation that she was soft in her support for Georgia, saying that she supported the "sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia" but she does not agree with the president’s tough stance on the Black Sea Ports and defends her position as being "in line with the European Union and not to drag Ukraine into conflicts".


2008 Ukrainian political crisis, Treason accusation
Andriy Semchenko, an MP from the Tymoshenko bloc, called on the President and the head of the President's Secretariat Viktor Baloha to apologize to the Prime Minister before there could be constructive work in the coalition. He said it was not appropriate for the President and Baloha to spread information that Tymoshenko was a traitor.


2008 Ukrainian political crisis, Coalition collapses
On 1 September 2008 Prime Minister Tymoshenko put forward draft legislation which would facilitate the procedure for impeachment, though she insisted it would not affect President Yushchenko and was meant for future presidents. When the legislation came to a vote two days later, Tymoshenko's bloc voted together with the Party of Regions and Communists to pass it. They also approved legislation limiting the powers of the President while increasing the powers of the Prime Minister. In particular the parties approved legislation which would strip the President of the right to reject a candidate for Prime Minister, dismiss the Defense, Interior and Foreign Ministers and appoint a head of the State Intelligence Service. Yushchenko promised to veto the legislation.


2008 Ukrainian political crisis, Coalition collapses
Following the vote President Yushchenko's bloc pulled out of the governing coalition saying Tymoshenko was colluding with the opposition and the President warned he would call a snap election if a new coalition was not formed within the required time. He further accused Tymoshenko of trying to set up a "dictatorship of the prime minister" and calling the parliamentary vote "a political and constitutional coup d'état." Tymoshenko rejected the allegations and said the real reason the president "declared a war against me is to ensure his victory in the next presidential elections."


2008 Ukrainian political crisis, Coalition collapses
In spite of this Tymoshenko has called for restoring the coalition between the two groups. She also defended her position on Georgia saying it was "in line with the European Union and it is not to drag Ukraine into conflicts." Parliament further increased the powers of the Prime Minister by passing legislation requiring the appointment and dismissal of the Prosecutor General by the President to receive the consent of the Prime Minister and giving the government power to appoint local heads of government if the President rejects the candidates.


2008 Ukrainian political crisis, Coalition collapses
On 8 September, Our Ukraine MP Andry Parubij claimed Tymoshenko and Regions had already reached a deal on forming a new government and were dividing up posts for a new cabinet (a claim Tynoshenko has denied). He also said that if a coalition is formed between Tymoshenko's bloc and Regions, Our Ukraine would appeal to the Constitutional Court to assess the legality of the December 2004 changes made in the constitution which, if successful, would restore wide powers held by the office of president. During the "Freedom of Speech" program on 9 September 2008 Tymoshenko said she was "categorically against" the decrees made by Yushchenko on the Russian Black Sea Fleet saying they risked provoking a response from Russia.


2008 Ukrainian political crisis, Coalition collapses
On 10 September, Tymoshenko reiterated her call for the coalition to be restored, but said she would not accept any preconditions for Our Ukraine to return. She also said at the moment they were not discussing any other coalition. Tymoshenko added that a snap poll would "destroy the normal life of the country" so it was not a way out of the crisis.


2008 Ukrainian political crisis, Coalition collapses
The same day Yan Bernazyuk, Yushchenko's liaison to the government of Tymoshenko, said representatives of the Presidential Secretariat were not allowed to attend the government session. Bernazyuk claimed the reason was because the government was discussing four issues which had a "clear Kremlin face" concerning "permits on use of mineral products without any contests, sales, and tenders." Yushchenko urged representatives and members of the regional, city and district councils to unite against the formation of a new coalition by retaining the "democratic coalition" in the local governments as well as for all other "national forces" to unite. He said the new relationship between the Tymoshenko bloc and Regions was a "serious threat for democratic choice of Ukraine" which was in danger of reconsidering "national priorities to principles of democratic governing, including the local one."


2008 Ukrainian political crisis, Coalition collapses
Officials from the Party of Regions accused Yushchenko of planning to impose direct presidential rule by dissolving the parliament without calling early elections. At the same time members of the Central Election Commission sympathetic to Yushchenko would resign prolonging the time without an acting parliament. Another claim said Yushchenko had secretly instructed the oblast governors and leaders of NGOs to request the imposition of a direct presidential rule by Yushchenko and that he would launch a military coup. Yushchenko denied planning to resolve the crisis with force saying Ukraine can resolve the crisis in a "democratic way" through dialogue.


2008 Ukrainian political crisis, Coalition collapses
On 16 September, the collapse of the BYuT/NU-NS coalition was officially announced. Yulia Tymoshenko unleashed one of her harshest attacks on Yushchenko yet, accusing the President of destroying the gains of the Orange Revolution, sinking hopes of rebuilding the coalition. "Since 2004, this president has managed to destroy everything: people's faith in the ideals of the revolution and faith in the president himself – only 5 percent still support him," she told reporters after a cabinet meeting.


2008 Ukrainian political crisis, Coalition collapses
"Unfortunately, this president will leave a legacy of shattered remnants of the 'orange' promises and democratic coalitions, of his own team and even of his friends and his own political standing." Tymoshenko also blamed Yushchenko for "everything bad that will happen in relations between Ukraine and Russia" calling for Ukraine to pursue a more "balanced" policy towards Russia. Yushchenko accused Tymoshenko and the Party of Regions of trying to create a twoparty system in parliament.


2008 Ukrainian political crisis, Coalition collapses
The two blocs joined forces in drafting and registering a new law in parliament on 17 September that would introduce a two-round election system for parliament which would likely lead to BYuT and Regions being the only parties in parliament after the next election. Viktor Yanukovich said his party did not want to initiate early elections and added "The Constitution must be changed so as to provide efficient operation of authorities."


2008 Ukrainian political crisis, Coalition collapses
Yuri Lutsenko leader of Civil Movement "People's Self-Defense" (part of the Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc) said on 17 September 2008 that the breakup of the coalition was provoked by the Secretariat of the President and that "People’s Self Defense" was categorically against it.


2008 Ukrainian political crisis, Coalition collapses
On 18 September, Yulia Tymoshenko refused to resign as prime minister as agreed under a coalition pact saying "The coalition has not collapsed.... It's the president and part of his team betraying the democratic coalition who have left it unilaterally." She also made reference to the alleged poisoning plot that almost killed President Viktor Yushchenko in 2004 by saying "The main poisoning is the poisoning with unlimited power, a serious intoxication in the presidential secretariat." Yushchenko accused Tymoshenko of not providing adequate funding for Ukraine's military and asked when she would show respect to Ukraine's soldiers.


2008 Ukrainian political crisis, Coalition collapses
President Yushchenko later said Tymoshenko was working with the Party of Regions, and the Communist Party on decisions aimed at destabilizing the country in order to establish a new political regime. Yuriy Yekhanurov, Ukraine's Defense Minister and member of Yushchenko's Our Ukraine bloc, said he and his political force would take all effort necessary to maintain the stability of the country. On 19 September Yulia Tymoshenko called the information about the existence of an informal coalition between BYuT, the Party of Regions and Communist Part of Ukraine "black political propaganda".


2008 Ukrainian political crisis, Coalition collapses
The Premier believed that the spreading of such information was aimed at changing the arrangement of political forces leading up to the Ukrainian presidential elections in 2010. She also stated: "I think that this (the creation of a coalition of a different format) can be a last resort and forced step before the dissolving of the Verkhovna Rada, the Communists have nothing to do with this".


2008 Ukrainian political crisis, Coalition collapses
On 22 September Our Ukraine issued a statement which said: "People’s Union Our Ukraine call on everybody, for who the values of independence and freedom are more important than personal or group interests, to unite around President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko, as a guarantor of the national state, and around Our Ukraine, as the only real force defending Ukrainian interests in the current Verkhovna Rada" and called on BYuT members to "put interests of nation before the interests of party leaders, to refuse being accomplices of the plot (to revise the Ukrainian Constitution and give all power to the hands of the pro-Kremlin parliamentary oligarchs), and to take part in the unification process of Ukrainian democratic forces".


2008 Ukrainian political crisis, Coalition collapses
On 26 September 2008, Tymoshenko suggested holding early parliamentary and presidential elections as a way out of the crisis. Tymoshenko said in parliament she would accept any conditions of Our Ukraine "in order to preserve Ukraine's strategic orientation, to preserve the parliament and not to throw the country into a new crisis." Talks were on track to reforge the orange coalition by early October 2008. But no coalition was formed on 8 October and in the evening of 8 October while visiting Italy President Yushchenko announced Ukraine's third general election in less than three years in a pre-recorded speech on Ukrainian television.


2008 Ukrainian political crisis, Opposition to Presidential decree
Most politicians, besides the president's closest allies, denounced the decree, with even some Yushchenko sympathisers and allies from the Presidents own party, vowing to challenge his action in the courts. On 10 October the People’s Self-Defense (PSD) leader Yuriy Lutsenko announced that all democratic forces should unite into a single democratic bloc on basis of BYuT at the snap poll. Although other PSD members disagreed and rather continued to collaborate with Our Ukraine.


2008 Ukrainian political crisis, Opposition to Presidential decree
International reactions were also negative: the European Union did hope beforehand that there will be no snap elections and Poland’s former President Aleksander Kwaśniewski, stated that by dissolving the Verkhovna Rada, Yushchenko "shot himself in the foot."


2008 Ukrainian political crisis, Opposition to Presidential decree
On 16 October, after resistance, the cabinet endorsed amendments to the 2008 national budget to finance the snap elections.


2008 Ukrainian political crisis, Opposition to Presidential decree
Proposal by (19 October) by Yulia Tymoshenko to create a "megacoalition" and by Viktor Yanukovych (23 October) to create a "anti-crisis government" in the Ukrainian Parliament and postpone the snap elections until the threat of the financial crisis of 2007–2008 had passed lead to nothing.


2008 Ukrainian political crisis, Opposition to Presidential decree
On 29 October the Ukrainian parliament (Verkhovna Rada) voted against a bill to finance the early elections. On 31 October, the Verkhovna Rada refused to include a provision on funding snap parliamentary elections into a bill on immediate anti-financial crisis measures.


2008 Ukrainian political crisis, Opposition to Presidential decree, Juridical challenge of Presidential decree
The Kyiv District Administrative Court on 11 October 2008 suspended Yushchenko's election call, responding to a lawsuit filed by BYuT MPs. Tymoshenko refused to approve funds for the election, stating that Ukraine couldn't afford an early election and that she expected parliament to refuse the necessary funds, as well. Yushchenko appealed the suspension on the basis that he had fired the judge who gave the order beforehand. Prime Minister Tymoshenko and President Yushchenko dispatched rival security forces to the appeals and Tymoshenko's supporters planned to hold a round-the-clock vigil at the court to prevent illegal action from taking place.


2008 Ukrainian political crisis, Opposition to Presidential decree, Juridical challenge of Presidential decree
The Kyiv Prosecutor's Office also launched an investigation of the judge who suspending the decree on the charge of "knowingly passing an unlawful ruling". On 13 October President Yuschenko liquidated the Kyiv District Administrative Court altogether. On 15 October, Kyiv Regional Administrative Court suspended the president decree on liquidation of the Kyiv District Administrative after the Supreme Court of Ukraine had asked Yuschenko to cancel the decree on liquidation of the Kyiv District Administrative Court. So on 15 October Yuschenko liquidated the Kyiv District Administrative Court again. On 17 October The Kyiv Central Administrative Court has overturned the ruling of the Kyiv District Administrative Court. On 28 October The Kyiv Appeal Administrative Court cancelled the suspension of Yushchenko's election decision by the Kyiv District Administrative Court.


2008 Ukrainian political crisis, End of crisis
On 22 October, President Yushchenko stated that the precise date for the early election could not be set until parliament (work in parliament was blocked by protests from 21 October till 24 October) approved finances for the poll and voted for legislation to help Ukraine through the world financial crisis. So far parliament hasn't approved funding. On 12 November 2008 Yushchenko stated in an interview published in the Warsaw daily Rzeczpospolita that the election could no longer take place this year because anti-crisis actions had to be undertaken first.


2008 Ukrainian political crisis, End of crisis
Early December 2008 there were negotiations between Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko (BYuT) and Party of Regions to form a coalition but after Volodymyr Lytvyn was elected Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada (parliament of Ukraine) 9 December 2008 he announced the creation of a coalition between his Lytvyn Bloc, BYuT and Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc (OU-PSD). After negotiations the three parties officially signed the coalition agreement on 16 December.


2008 Ulster Senior Club Football Championship
The 2008 Ulster Senior Club Football Championship was the 41st staging of the annual Ulster Senior Club Football Championship which is administered by Ulster GAA. Nine GAA county boards compete for the Séamus McFerran Cup. The championship started on 19 October 2008 and concluded with the final replay on 14 December 2008.


2008 Ulster Senior Club Football Championship
Crossmaglen Rangers won the competition, beating Ballinderry Shamrocks in the final, after a replay. Crossmaglen therefore went on to compete in the 2009 All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship.


2008 Ulster Senior Football Championship
The 2008 Ulster Senior Football Championship was the 120th installment of the annual Ulster Senior Football Championship held under the auspices of the Ulster GAA. It was won by Armagh who defeated Fermanagh in the final after a replay. This was Armagh's sixth title since the turn of the century and their 14th overall. Fermanagh were appearing in their first final since 1982.


2008 Ulster Senior Football Championship
Steven McDonnell, 2003's Player of the Year, was the top scorer, hitting 1-17 in Armagh's run to victory in Ulster. Although defeated after a replay by Down in the first round of the Ulster Championship, Tyrone emerged as victors in the 2008 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, beating Kerry in the 2008 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final.


2008 Ulster Senior Football Championship, Draw
With the usual nine teams contesting the Championship, Antrim and Cavan met in the preliminary round to reduce the field to eight. The draw, made in October 2007, also produced two big opening round clashes: Tyrone against Down and Donegal against Derry.


2008 Ulster Senior Hurling Championship
The 2008 Ulster Senior Hurling Championship was the 63rd installment of the annual Ulster Senior Hurling Championship held under the auspices of the Ulster GAA. Antrim were the defending champions and successfully claimed their ninth consecutive title, beating finalists Down.


2008 Ulster Senior Hurling Championship, Format
The draw for the Ulster championship was seeded, and took place in a staggered single elimination format. Antrim and Down received byes until the semifinal, Armagh and Derry to the quarterfinal and London and Donegal to the second round. All four other teams entered in the first round.


2008 Ulster Senior Hurling Championship, Format
This was the last year where a winning team was granted entry from the Ulster Championship to the 2008 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship proper. Antrim entered that competition through the Qualifier series. From 2009 onwards, the Ulster championship continued as a stand alone tournament


2008 Ulster Senior Hurling Championship, Format
The other Ulster teams took part in lower tier competitions, such as the 2008 Christy Ring Cup, the second tier All-Ireland hurling championship.


2008 Ulster Senior Hurling Championship, Format
The number of teams in the championship grew enormously from 2007. The entry for 2008, ten, was a record, and for many marked a first foray back into senior championship hurling. All nine historic counties of Ulster took part, in addition to London.


2008 Ulster Senior Hurling Championship, Format
In order to avoid mismatches, the draw was set so that the weaker counties were not faced with the prospect of facing regional powers Antrim or Down at an early stage; instead all the other counties took part in a series of elimination matches for the right to meet Antrim or down in the semifinal.


2008 Under-19 Cricket World Cup
The 2008 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup was held in Malaysia from 17 February 2008 to 2 March 2008. The opening ceremony took place on 15 February 2008. The final was played between South Africa and India, which India won by 12 runs by D/L Method.


2008 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, Venues
The matches took place at three locations, Kuala Lumpur, Johor and Penang. The respective venues were


2008 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, Groups
The league stage of the tournament consisted of four groups of four teams each. Each team would play once with every team in the group. The groups would be stationed at their respective venues for the group stage. The figures in brackets indicate respective seedings.


2008 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, Groups
Pakistan (1) Zimbabwe (8) New Zealand (9) Malaysia (H) (16)


2008 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, Groups
India (2) West Indies (7) South Africa (10) Papua New Guinea (15)


2008 Under-19 Cricket World Cup squads
The following players were selected to play in the 2008 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.


2008 Under-19 Cricket World Cup squads, Papua New Guinea
The following players were selected for Papua New Guinea's squad:


2008 Under-19 Cricket World Cup squads, West Indies
The following players were selected for the West Indie's squad:


2008 Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions season
The Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions began their 2008 season by defeating La New Bears 14 – 9 at Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium on March 16. There was no seasonal game scheduled between August 4 and August 26 due to 2008 Summer Olympics.


2008 United Indoor Football season
The 2008 United Indoor Football season was preceded by 2007. It was the fourth and final season of the UIF. For this year, there were 8 teams (4 teams in 2 conferences) playing a 15-game season schedule with all teams playing 14 regular season games from Saturday, March 8 to Saturday, June 14. The winning team was decided in United Bowl IV on Saturday, July 12. For the fourth-straight year, the Sioux Falls Storm became the UIF champion as they beat the Bloomington Extreme.


2008 United Indoor Football season
Following United Bowl IV, the champion played against the Intense Football League champion (the Louisiana Swashbucklers) on Saturday, August 2 and won the inaugural National Indoor Bowl. The National Indoor Bowl was popular enough to allow the two leagues (UIF and IFL) create a new league called the Indoor Football League for 2009.


2008 United Kingdom bank rescue package
A bank rescue package totalling some £500 billion (approximately $850 billion) was announced by the British government on 8 October 2008, as a response to the global financial crisis. After two unsteady weeks at the end of September, the first week of October had seen major falls in the stock market and severe worries about the stability of British banks.


2008 United Kingdom bank rescue package
The plan aimed to restore market confidence and help stabilise the British banking system, and provided for a range of what was claimed to be short-term "loans" from the taxpayer and guarantees of interbank lending, including up to £50 billion of taxpayer  investment in the banks themselves. The government also bought shares in some banks, which have since been sold back to the market at an overall profit to the taxpayer.


2008 United Kingdom bank rescue package
Subsequently, broadly similar measures were introduced by the United States and the European Union in response to the financial crisis. Some commentators noted that, although under the capitalist model inefficient private commercial enterprises should be allowed to go bust, the banks were "too big to fail".


2008 United Kingdom bank rescue package, Background
The announcement came less than 48 hours after Britain's leading share index, the FTSE100, recorded its largest single-day points fall since 1987.


2008 United Kingdom bank rescue package, The rescue plan
The plan provided for several sources of funding to be made available, to an aggregate total of £500 billion in loans and guarantees. Most simply, £200 billion was made available for short term loans through the Bank of England's Special Liquidity Scheme. Secondly, the Government supported British banks in their plan to increase their market capitalisation through the newly formed Bank Recapitalisation Fund, by £25 billion in the first instance with a further £25 billion to be called upon if needed. Thirdly, the Government temporarily underwrote any eligible lending between British banks, giving a loan guarantee of around £250 billion. However, only £400 billion of this was 'fresh money', as there was already in place a system for short term loans to the value of £100 billion.


2008 United Kingdom bank rescue package, The rescue plan
Alistair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, told the House of Commons in a statement on 8 October 2008 that the proposals were "designed to restore confidence in the banking system", and that the funding would "put the banks on a stronger footing".


2008 United Kingdom bank rescue package, The rescue plan
Prime Minister Gordon Brown suggested that the government's actions had 'led the way' for other nations to follow whilst Shadow Chancellor George Osborne stated that "This is the final chapter of the age of irresponsibility and it's absolutely extraordinary that a government has been driven by events to today's announcement"; in addition to offering opposition support for the plan.


2008 United Kingdom bank rescue package, The rescue plan
Also on the 8 October 2008 there was a strategic and co-ordinated global effort by seven central banks to calm the financial crisis, by cutting interest rates by 0.5%. The banks were all members of the OECD and included The Bank of England, The European Central Bank and the U.S Federal reserve along with central banks in China, Switzerland, Canada and Sweden.


2008 United Kingdom bank rescue package, The rescue plan, Comparison with U.S. TARP
The British rescue plan differed from the initial United States' $700bn bailout under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which was announced on 3 October and entitled the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The £50bn being invested by the UK Government saw them purchasing shares in the banks, whereas the American program was primarily devoted to the U.S. government purchasing the mortgage backed securities of the American banks which were not able to be sold in the secondary mortgage securities market.


2008 United Kingdom bank rescue package, The rescue plan, Comparison with U.S. TARP
The U.S. program required the U.S. government to take an equity interest in financial organisations selling their securities into the TARP but did not address the fundamental solvency problem faced by the banking sector; rather was aimed at tackling the immediate funding shortfall. The UK package tackled both solvency, through the £50bn recapitalisation plan, and funding, through the government guarantee for banks' debt issuances and the expansion of the Bank of England's Special Liquidity Scheme. Announced on 14 October, the U.S. subsequently undertook investments in banks through the Capital Purchase Program and the FDIC guaranteed banks' debt through the Temporary Lending Guarantee Program.


2008 United Kingdom bank rescue package, The rescue plan, Capital investment
Through the Bank Recapitalisation Fund, the government bought a combination of ordinary shares and preference shares in affected banks. The amount and proportion of the stake taken in any one bank was negotiated with the individual bank. Banks that took the rescue packages had restrictions on executive pay and dividends to existing shareholders, as well as a mandate to offer reasonable credit to homeowners and small businesses. The long-term government plan was to offset the cost of this program by receiving dividends from these shares, and in the long run, to sell the shares after a market recovery. This plan covered the possibility of underwriting new issues of shares by any participating bank. The plan has been characterised as, in effect, partial nationalisation.


2008 United Kingdom bank rescue package, The rescue plan, Capital investment
The extent to which different banks participated varied according to their needs. HSBC Group issued a statement announcing it was injecting £750 m of capital into the UK bank and therefore has "no plans to utilise the UK government's recapitalisation initiative ... [ as] the Group remains one of the most strongly capitalised and liquid banks in the world". Standard Chartered also declared its support for the scheme but its intention not to participate in the capital injection element. Barclays raised its own new capital from private investors.


2008 United Kingdom bank rescue package, The rescue plan, Capital investment
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group raised £20 billion from the Bank Recapitalisation Fund, with £5 billion in preference shares and a further £15 billion being issued as ordinary shares. HBOS and Lloyds TSB together raised £17 billion, £8.5 billion in preference shares and a further £8.5 billion issue of ordinary shares. The Fund purchased the preference shares outright, for a total £13.5 billion investment, and underwrote the issues of ordinary shares.


2008 United Kingdom bank rescue package, Participating banks
The plan was open to all UK incorporated banks and all building societies, including the following: Abbey, Barclays, Clydesdale Bank, HBOS, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide Building Society, Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Chartered Bank.


2008 United Kingdom bank rescue package, Participating banks
However, of these, Abbey, Barclays, Clydesdale, HSBC, Nationwide, and Standard Chartered chose not to receive any government money, leaving Lloyds and RBS as the only major recipients.