2008 FIRS Men's Inline Hockey World Championships, Ranking and statistics, Leading goaltenders
Only the top 5 goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played over 40% of their team's minutes are included in this list.


2008 FIRS Men's Inline Hockey World Championships, Ranking and statistics, Leading goaltenders
TOI = Time On Ice (minutes:seconds); SA = Shots Against; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; Sv% = Save Percentage; SO = Shutouts


2008 FIS Ski Jumping Grand Prix
The 2008 FIS Ski Jumping Grand Prix was the 15th Summer Grand Prix season in ski jumping on plastic. Season began on 26 July 2008 in Hinterzarten, Germany and ended on 4 October 2008 in Liberec.


2008 FIS Ski Jumping Grand Prix
Other competitive circuits this season included the World Cup and Continental Cup.


2008 FIU Golden Panthers football team
The 2008 FIU Golden Panthers football team represented Florida International University in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Mario Cristobal and played their homes games at the on-campus FIU Stadium.


2008 FIU Golden Panthers football team, Regular season
The 2008 season started off with a loss at 13th-ranked Kansas, 40–10. Following that, Iowa routed FIU, 42–0. FIU then faced its highest-ranked opponent in school history, 12th-ranked South Florida, for the inaugural game of the new FIU Stadium. Trailing 17-0 with 2:30 left in the game FIU attained a safety, and subsequently scored a touchdown. FIU lost, 17–9, but played acted as a spoiler for South Florida, with the latter falling three spots in the rankings. The game against Toledo became their first-ever out-of-conference FBS win. Against, Toledo, FIU forced four turnovers and recorded its first road win since 2005.


2008 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix
The FIVB World Grand Prix 2008 was a women's volleyball tournament in which 12 countries competed from 20 June to 12 July 2008. The finals were held in Yokohama Arena, Yokohama, Japan. Cuba, Brazil, Dominican Republic and the United States qualified for the tournament at the 2007 Women's Pan-American Cup in Colima, Mexico. Germany, Turkey, Italy, and Poland qualified through the European Qualifying Tournament in Ankara, Turkey. China, Japan, Thailand, and Kazakhstan qualified as the best four Asian teams.


2008 FIVB Volleyball World League
The 2008 FIVB Volleyball World League was the 19th edition of the annual men's international volleyball tournament, played by 16 countries from 13 June to 27 July 2008. The Final Round was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.


2008 FIVB Volleyball World League squads
This article show all participating team squads at the 2008 FIVB Volleyball World League, played by 16 countries from 13 June to 27 July 2008. The Final Round was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.


2008 FIVB Volleyball World League squads, Brazil
The following is the Brazilian roster in the 2008 FIVB Volleyball World League.


2008 FIVB Volleyball World League squads, Bulgaria
The following is the  roster in the 2008 FIVB Volleyball World League.


2008 FIVB Volleyball World League squads, China
The following is the  roster in the 2008 FIVB Volleyball World League.


2008 FIVB Volleyball World League squads, Cuba
The following is the  roster in the 2008 FIVB Volleyball World League.


2008 FIVB Volleyball World League squads, Egypt
The following is the  roster in the 2008 FIVB Volleyball World League.


2008 FIVB Volleyball World League squads, Finland
The following is the  roster in the 2008 FIVB Volleyball World League.


2008 FIVB Volleyball World League squads, France
The following is the  roster in the 2008 FIVB Volleyball World League.


2008 FIVB Volleyball World League squads, Italy
The following is the  roster in the 2008 FIVB Volleyball World League.


2008 FIVB Volleyball World League squads, Japan
The following is the  roster in the 2008 FIVB Volleyball World League.


2008 FIVB Volleyball World League squads, South Korea
The following is the  roster in the 2008 FIVB Volleyball World League.


2008 FIVB Volleyball World League squads, Poland
The following is the  roster in the 2008 FIVB Volleyball World League.


2008 FIVB Volleyball World League squads, Russia
The following is the  roster in the 2008 FIVB Volleyball World League.


2008 FIVB Volleyball World League squads, Serbia
The following is the  roster in the 2008 FIVB Volleyball World League.


2008 FIVB Volleyball World League squads, Spain
The following is the  roster in the 2008 FIVB Volleyball World League.


2008 FIVB Volleyball World League squads, United States
The following is the  roster in the 2008 FIVB Volleyball World League.


2008 FIVB Volleyball World League squads, Venezuela
The following is the  roster in the 2008 FIVB Volleyball World League.


2008 FIVB Women's World Olympic Qualification Tournament
The 2008 FIVB Women's World Olympic Qualification Tournament is a qualification tournament to determine the final four spots for the 2008 Summer Olympics. The qualifying tournament, The round-robin tournament through May 17–25 doubles up as the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament and so the best three teams plus the best Asian team (even if any of the best three teams are Asian) will book their tickets to Beijing. Hosts Japan will be joined by Thailand, Korea, Kazakhstan (best-ranked teams at the Asian Continental Championship), Serbia, Poland (best world-ranked teams from CEV), Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico (best world-ranked teams from NORCECA).


2008 FIVB Women's World Olympic Qualification Tournament, Teams
* The final place for tournament was to be decided by a Playoff between Peru and Kenya, the teams ranked second in the South American and African Qualifiers, but both teams dropped their applications. Uruguay (third in the World Rankings for South America) wasn’t ready to apply, while Egypt (third in the World Rankings among African countries) has not played in any Continental Qualification Tournaments. In these circumstances, the FIVB has chosen Puerto Rico, the best Norceca team in the World Rankings after Dominican Republic.


2008 FIVB Women's World Olympic Qualification Tournament squads
This article shows all participating team squads at the 2008 FIVB Women's World Olympic Qualification Tournament, held from May 17 to May 25, 2008.


2008 FIVB World Grand Prix squads
This article show all participating team squads at the 2008 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Grand Prix, played by twelve countries with the final round held in Yokohama Arena, Yokohama, Japan.


2008 FORU Oceania Cup
The 2008 FORU Oceania Cup was a rugby union competition for countries and territories in Oceania with national teams in the developmental band.


2008 FORU Oceania Cup
The tournament was played as a straight knockout, which was won by Niue. The Band 1 teams from Oceania teams (Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga) do not participate in the Oceania Cup.


2008 Falken Tasmania Challenge
The 2008 Falken Tasmania Challenge was the thirteenth and penultimate round of the 2008 V8 Supercar season. It was held on the weekend of the 21–23 November at the Symmons Plains Raceway in Tasmania.


2008 Family Circle Cup
The 2008 Family Circle Cup was a women's tennis Tier I event on the 2008 WTA Tour, which took place from April 14 to April 20, 2008. The event was hosted at the Family Circle Tennis Center, in Charleston, South Carolina, United States and was the second event of the clay court season, played on green clay. The total prize money offered at this tournament was US$1,340,000.


2008 Family Circle Cup
Defending champion Jelena Janković led the field as the number one seed. Maria Sharapova, Anna Chakvetadze, Elena Dementieva and eventual champion Serena Williams joined her as the other four of five top ten players in the field. Other notable names that participated were 2007 Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli and Charleston standout Patty Schnyder, a two-time runner-up at this event.


2008 Family Circle Cup, Finals, Doubles
Katarina Srebotnik /  Ai Sugiyama defeated  Edina Gallovits /  Olga Govortsova, 6–2, 6–2


2008 Family Circle Cup – Doubles
Yan Zi and Zheng Jie were the defending champions, but none competed this year.


2008 Family Circle Cup – Doubles
Katarina Srebotnik and Ai Sugiyama won the title by defeating Edina Gallovits and Olga Govortsova 6–2, 6–2 in the final.


2008 Family Circle Cup – Doubles, Seeds
The top 4 seeds receive a bye into the second round.


2008 Family Circle Cup – Singles
Jelena Janković was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Vera Zvonareva.


2008 Family Circle Cup – Singles
Serena Williams won the title, defeating Zvonareva in the final 6–4, 3–6, 6–3. This was Williams' third successive title in the 2008 season, and was the first time she had won a clay court tournament since the 2002 French Open.


2008 Family Circle Cup – Singles, Seeds
The top 8 seeds received a bye into the second round.


2008 Fareham Borough Council election
The 2008 Fareham Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Fareham Borough Council in Hampshire, England. Half of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.


2008 Fareham Borough Council election, Campaign
Before the election the Conservatives held 22 seats compared to 9 for the Liberal Democrats, with the Conservatives having run the council for the previous 9 years. Other candidates stood from the Labour Party, Green Party, United Kingdom Independence Party, British National Party and the English Democrats Party, but the election was seen as being mainly between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.


2008 Fareham Borough Council election, Campaign
Both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats pledged to improve parking in Fareham, oppose a proposed gravel extraction site and build less new houses. The Conservatives defended their record in control of the council pointing to low council tax rates, extra hours of free bus travel for pensioners and recycling at 46% of waste. However the Liberal Democrats promised to revert to weekly rubbish collection instead of the fortnightly service that was introduced in 2005, improve street cleaning and scrap a fee for calling out pest controllers.


2008 Fareham Borough Council election, Election result
The results saw no seats change hands with the Conservatives keeping control with a majority of 13. The Conservatives held 12 seats, many with increased majorities, the Liberal Democrats held 3, while Labour failed to win any seats and came last in many wards. The largest majority was in Sarisbury where the Conservatives won over 82% of the vote, while the closest results came in Stubbington and Fareham East, with the Liberal Democrats holding Fareham East by 80 votes after a recount. The only ward to see a new councillor was Titchfield where Conservative Tiffany Harper replaced Francis Devonshire, who stepped down at the election. Overall turnout in the election was 40.25%.


2008 Faroe Islands Cup
The Faroe Islands Cup 2008 was played between March 15 and June 14, 2008. It was won by EB/Streymur, who successively defended their title.


2008 Faroe Islands Cup
Only the first teams of Faroese football clubs were allowed to participate. The First Round involved only teams from second and third deild. Teams from the highest two divisions entered the competition in the Second Round.


2008 Faroe Islands Premier League
The 2008 season of the Faroe Islands Premier League was the 66th season of the Faroese top-tier football since its establishment. It started on 29 March 2008 with a match between B36 Tórshavn and ÍF Fuglafjørður. The match was won by B36 with 4–0. The last games were played on 25 October 2008. NSÍ Runavík were the defending champions.


2008 Faroe Islands Premier League, Team changes from the previous season
AB Argir and VB Vágur were relegated to 1. deild after finishing 9th and 10th in the 2007 season. They were replaced by 1. deild champions B68 Toftir and runners-up ÍF Fuglafjørður.


2008 Faroe Islands Premier League, Team changes from the previous season
Further, GÍ Gøta merged with 1. deild club Leirvík ÍF and therefore formed the club named Víkingur Gøta.


2008 Faroe Islands Premier League, Results
The schedule consisted of a total of 27 games. Each team played three games against every opponent in no particular order. At least one of the games was at home and one was away. The additional home game for every match-up was randomly assigned prior to the season.


2008 Faroese general election
General elections were held in the Faroe Islands on 19 January 2008, the latest possible date. The Self-Government Party and the Centre Party gained a seat each while  the Social Democratic Party lost a seat. The number of women went from three to seven.


2008 Faroese general election
It had been considered to amend the election law to hold the election two weeks later to pass a number of important bills before the election, but in the end the negotiations on this failed and the election was called on 2007-12-07. Prior to this election, the electoral system was changed in 2007 from a system with seven multi-member constituencies, which had some elements of mixed member proportional voting, to a system with a single constituency for the whole country in order to reduce disproportionality.


2008 Faroese general election
Prior to the election, the Social Democratic Party formed a centrist unionist government with the People's Party and the Union Party. After the elections, four days of negotiations saw a centre-left separatist government emerge; while the Social Democratic Party retained the PM's post, the strongly pro-independence Republic got the majority of ministerial posts  (including the newly created post of foreign minister). The Centre Party also participated in the new government. Among the coalition agreement points was a plan to draft a constitution for the Faroe Islands, which would be approved in a referendum to be held in 2010.


2008 Faroese general election
The coalition broke up in mid-2008, however, and a government consisting of the parties governing before the 2008 election was sworn in on 26 September 2008, with Kaj Leo Johannesen as PM instead.


2008 Fed Cup
The 2008 Fed Cup was the 46th edition of the most important competition between national teams in women's tennis.


2008 Fed Cup
The final took place at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid in Madrid, Spain, on 13–14 September. The home team, Spain, lost to the defending champion Russia, 0–4, giving Russia their fourth title in five years.


2008 Fed Cup, World Group Play-offs
The four losing teams in the World Group first round ties (France, Germany, Israel and Italy), and four winners of the World Group II ties (Argentina, Czech Republic, Japan and Ukraine) entered the draw for the World Group Play-offs.


2008 Fed Cup, World Group II
The World Group II is the second highest level of Fed Cup competition in 2008. Winners advanced to the World Group Play-offs, and losers played in the World Group II Play-offs.


2008 Fed Cup, World Group II Play-offs
The four losing teams from World Group II (Croatia, Slovakia, Belgium and Austria) played off against qualifiers from Zonal Group I. Two teams qualified from Europe/Africa Zone (Serbia and Switzerland), one team from the Asia/Oceania Zone (Uzbekistan), and one team from the Americas Zone (Colombia).


2008 Fed Cup, Europe/Africa Zone, Group III
Venue: Master Class Tennis and Fitness Club, Yerevan, Armenia (outdoor clay)


2008 Fed Cup, Rankings
The rankings were measured after the three points during the year that play took place, and were collated by combining points earned from the previous four years.


2008 Fed Cup Americas Zone
The Americas Zone was one of three zones of regional competition in the 2008 Fed Cup.


2008 Fed Cup Americas Zone, Group I
The seven teams were divided into two pools, one pool of four teams and one of three. The top team of each pool played against one other to decide which nation progresses to the World Group II Play-offs. The four nations coming third in each pool then played-off to determine which team would join the fourth-placed team from the four-team pool in being relegated down to Group II for 2009.


2008 Fed Cup Americas Zone, Group II
The thirteen teams were divided into three pools of three teams and one pool of four. The top teams of each pool played-off against one other to decide which two nations progress to the Group I.


2008 Fed Cup Americas Zone Group I – Play-offs
The Play-offs of the 2008 Fed Cup Americas Zone Group I were the final stages of the Group I Zonal Competition involving teams from the Americas. Using the positions determined in their pools, the seven teams faced off to determine their placing in the 2008 Fed Cup Americas Zone Group I. The team that ended up placing first overall advanced to World Group II Play-offs, whilst those coming in sixth and seventh were relegated down to Group II for the next year.


2008 Fed Cup Americas Zone Group I – Play-offs, Promotional Play-Offs
The top team of each pool was placed against each other in a head-to-head round. The winner of the round advanced to World Group II for next year.


2008 Fed Cup Americas Zone Group I – Play-offs, Third to Fourth Play-off
The second placed teams of each pool were placed against each other in a ties. The winner of the tie was allocated third place in the Group while the loser was allocated fourth.


2008 Fed Cup Americas Zone Group I – Play-offs, Relegation Play-Offs
Because there was one extra player in Pool A, the last-placed team of that pool ( Uruguay) was automatically relegated down to Group II. The third-placed teams of each pool were then placed against each other in a tie, where the losing team would join the Uruguayans in relegation.


2008 Fed Cup Americas Zone Group I – Pool A
Group A of the 2008 Fed Cup Americas Zone Group I was one of two pools in the Americas Zone Group I of the 2008 Fed Cup. Four teams competed in a round robin competition, with the top team and the bottom two teams proceeding to their respective sections of the play-offs: the top teams played for advancement to the World Group II Play-offs, while the bottom teams faced potential relegation to Group II.


2008 Fed Cup Americas Zone Group I – Pool B
Group B of the 2008 Fed Cup Americas Zone Group I was one of two pools in the Americas Zone Group I of the 2008 Fed Cup. Four teams competed in a round robin competition, with the top team and the bottom two teams proceeding to their respective sections of the play-offs: the top teams played for advancement to the World Group II Play-offs, while the bottom teams faced potential relegation to Group II.


2008 Fed Cup Americas Zone Group II – Play-offs
The Play-offs of the 2008 Fed Cup Americas Zone Group II were the final stages of the Group II Zonal Competition involving teams from the Americas. Using the positions determined in their pools, the thirteen teams faced off to determine their placing in the 2008 Fed Cup Americas Zone Group II. The top two teams advanced to Group I for next year.


2008 Fed Cup Americas Zone Group II – Play-offs, Promotional Play-Offs
The first placed teams of each pool were placed against each other in two head-to-head rounds. The winner of the rounds advanced to Group I for 2009.


2008 Fed Cup Americas Zone Group II – Play-offs, Fifth to Seventh Play-Offs
The second-placed teams from each pool were drawn in head-to-head rounds to find the fifth and seventh placed teams.


2008 Fed Cup Americas Zone Group II – Play-offs, Ninth and Eleventh Play-Offs
The third-placed teams from each pool were drawn in head-to-head rounds to find the ninth and eleventh placed teams.


2008 Fed Cup Americas Zone Group II – Play-offs, Thirteenth
As there was only three teams from Pools A, B and C as opposed to the four from Pool D, the last-placed team from Pool D ( Bermuda) had no equivalent to play against. Thus the Bermudians were automatically allocated thirteenth place.


2008 Fed Cup Americas Zone Group II – Pool A
Group A of the 2008 Fed Cup Americas Zone Group II was one of four pools in the Americas Zone Group II of the 2008 Fed Cup. Four teams competed in a round robin competition, with each team proceeding to their respective sections of the play-offs: the top team played for advancement to Group I.


2008 Fed Cup Americas Zone Group II – Pool B
Group B of the 2008 Fed Cup Americas Zone Group II was one of four pools in the Americas Zone Group II of the 2008 Fed Cup. Four teams competed in a round robin competition, with each team proceeding to their respective sections of the play-offs: the top team played for advancement to Group I.


2008 Fed Cup Americas Zone Group II – Pool C
Group C of the 2008 Fed Cup Americas Zone Group II was one of four pools in the Americas Zone Group II of the 2008 Fed Cup. Four teams competed in a round robin competition, with each team proceeding to their respective sections of the play-offs: the top team played for advancement to Group I.


2008 Fed Cup Americas Zone Group II – Pool D
Group D of the 2008 Fed Cup Americas Zone Group I was one of four pools in the Americas Zone Group II of the 2008 Fed Cup. Four teams competed in a round robin competition, with each team proceeding to their respective sections of the play-offs: the top team played for advancement to Group I.


2008 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone
The Asia/Oceania Zone was one of three zones of regional competition in the 2008 Fed Cup.


2008 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone, Group I
The eight teams were divided into two pools of four teams. The teams that finished first in the pools played-off to determine which team would partake in the World Group II Play-offs. The two nations coming last in the pools also played-off to determine which would be relegated to Group II for 2009.


2008 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone, Group II
The seven teams were divided into one pool of three teams and one pool of four. The top team of each pool played-off against each other to decide which nation progress to the Group I.


2008 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I – Play-offs
The Play-offs of the 2008 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I were the final stages of the Group I Zonal Competition involving teams from Asia and Oceania. Using the positions determined in their pools, the eight teams faced off to determine their placing in the 2008 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I. The top team advanced to the World Group II, and the bottom team was relegated down to the Group II for the next year.


2008 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I – Play-offs, Promotional Play-Offs
The first placed teams of each pool were placed against each other in a head-to-head round. The winner of the rounds advanced to the World Group II Play-offs, where they would get a chance to advance to the World Group II for next year.


2008 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I – Play-offs, Fifth to Sixth Play-off
The third placed teams of each pool were placed against each other in a ties. The winner of the tie was allocated fifth place in the Group while the loser was allocated sixth.


2008 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I – Play-offs, Relegation Play-Offs
The last placed teams of each pool were placed against each other in a head-to-head round. The losing team was relegated to Group II for next year.


2008 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I – Pool A
Group A of the 2008 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I was one of two pools in the Asia/Oceania Zone Group I of the 2008 Fed Cup. Four teams competed in a round robin competition, with the top team and the bottom two teams proceeding to their respective sections of the play-offs: the top teams played for advancement to the World Group II Play-offs, while the bottom teams faced potential relegation to Group II.


2008 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I – Pool B
Group B of the 2008 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I was one of two pools in the Asia/Oceania Zone Group I of the 2008 Fed Cup. Four teams competed in a round robin competition, with the top team and the bottom two teams proceeding to their respective sections of the play-offs: the top teams played for advancement to the World Group II Play-offs, while the bottom teams faced potential relegation to Group II.


2008 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group II – Play-offs
The Play-offs of the 2008 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group II were the final stage matches of the Group II Zonal Competition involving teams from Asia and Oceania. Using the positions determined in their pools, the nine teams faced off to determine their placing in the 2008 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group II. The top team advanced to Group I for the next year.


2008 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group II – Play-offs, Promotional Play-Offs
The first placed teams of each pool were placed against each other in a head-to-head round. The winner of the round advanced to Group I for 2009.


2008 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group II – Play-offs, Third to Fourth Play-Offs
The second-placed teams from each pool were drawn in head-to-head rounds to find the third and fourth placed teams.


2008 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group II – Play-offs, Fifth to Sixth Play-Offs
The third-placed teams from each pool were drawn in head-to-head rounds to find the fifth and sixth placed teams.


2008 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group II – Play-offs, Seventh
As there was only three teams from Pool A as opposed to the four from Pool B, the last-placed team from Pool B ( Sri Lanka) had no equivalent to play against. Thus the Sri Lankans were automatically allocated seventh place.


2008 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group II – Pool A
Group A of the 2008 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group II was one of two pools in the Asia/Oceania Zone Group II of the 2008 Fed Cup. Three teams competed in a round robin competition, with the teams proceeding to their respective sections of the play-offs: the top team played for advancement to the 2009 Group I.


2008 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group II – Pool B
Group B of the 2008 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group II was one of two pools in the Asia/Oceania Zone Group II of the 2008 Fed Cup. Four teams competed in a round robin competition, with the teams proceeding to their respective sections of the play-offs: the top team played for advancement to the 2009 Group I.


2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone
The Europe/Africa Zone was one of three zones of regional competition in the 2008 Fed Cup.


2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone, Group I
The fifteen teams were divided into three pools of four teams and one pool of three. The four pool winners took part in play-offs to determine the two nations advancing to the World Group II Play-offs. The nations finishing last in their pools took part in play-offs, with the two losing nations relegated to Group II in 2009.


2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone, Group II
The seven teams were divided into one pool of three teams and one of four teams. The winner of each pool played the runner-up of the other pool to determine which two nations would be promoted to Group I in 2009. The nations finishing third in their pools took part in play-offs with the losing nation relegated to Group II in 2009, along with the nation finishing fourth in the pool of four teams.


2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone, Group III
The eleven teams were divided into one pool of five teams and one pool of six. The top team of each pool progressed to Group II for 2009.


2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I – Play-offs
The play-offs of the 2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I were the final stages of the Group I zonal competition involving teams from Europe and Africa. Using the positions determined in their pools, the sixteen teams faced off to determine their placing in the 2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I. The top two teams advanced to World Group II Play-offs, and the bottom two teams were relegated down to the Europe/Africa Zone Group II for the next year.


2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I – Play-offs, Promotional play-offs
The first placed teams of each pool were placed against each other in two head-to-head rounds. The winner of the rounds advanced to the World Group II Play-offs, where they would get a chance to advance to the World Group II for next year.


2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I – Play-offs, Fifth to seventh play-off
The second placed teams of each pool were placed against each other in two ties. The winner of each tie was allocated fifth place in the Group while the losers were allocated seventh.


2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I – Play-offs, Ninth
Due to the fact that there were an odd number of teams in Pool D (three), as opposed to the four teams in the other pools, all the teams that placed third in the pools with four teams ( Luxembourg,  Denmark and  Slovenia) were allocated ninth place.


2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I – Play-offs, Relegation play-offs
The last placed teams of each pool were placed against each other in two ties. The losing team of the rounds were relegated to Group II for next year.


2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I – Pool A
Group A of the 2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I was one of four pools in the Europe/Africa Zone Group I of the 2008 Fed Cup. Four teams competed in a round robin competition, with the top team and the bottom team proceeding to their respective sections of the play-offs: the top team played for advancement to the World Group II Play-offs, while the bottom team faced potential relegation to Group II.


2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I – Pool B
Group B of the 2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I was one of four pools in the Europe/Africa Zone Group I of the 2008 Fed Cup. Four teams competed in a round robin competition, with the top team and the bottom team proceeding to their respective sections of the play-offs: the top team played for advancement to the World Group II Play-offs, while the bottom team faced potential relegation to Group II.


2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I – Pool C
Group C of the 2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I was one of four pools in the Europe/Africa Zone Group I of the 2008 Fed Cup. Four teams competed in a round robin competition, with the top team and the bottom team proceeding to their respective sections of the play-offs: the top team played for advancement to the World Group II Play-offs, while the bottom team faced potential relegation to Group II.


2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I – Pool D
Group D of the 2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I was one of four pools in the Europe/Africa Zone Group I of the 2008 Fed Cup. Four teams competed in a round robin competition, with the top team and the bottom team proceeding to their respective sections of the play-offs: the top team played for advancement to the World Group II Play-offs, while the bottom team faced potential relegation to Group II.


2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group II – Play-offs
The Play-offs of the 2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group II were the final stages of the Group II Zonal Competition involving teams from Europe and Africa. Using the positions determined in their pools, the seven teams faced off to determine their placing in the 2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group II. The top two teams advanced to Group I, and the bottom two teams were relegated down to the Group III for the next year.


2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group II – Play-offs, Promotional Play-Offs
The top two teams of each pool were placed against each other in two head-to-head rounds. The winner of the rounds advanced to Group I for next year.


2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group II – Play-offs, Relegation Play-Offs
Because there was one extra player in Pool B, the last-placed team of that pool ( Ireland) was automatically relegated down to Group III. The third-placed teams of each pool were then placed against each other in a tie, where the losing team would join the Irish in relegation.


2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group II – Pool A
Group A of the 2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group II was one of two pools in the Europe/Africa Zone Group II of the 2008 Fed Cup. Three teams competed in a round robin competition, with the top team and the bottom two teams proceeding to their respective sections of the play-offs: the top teams played for advancement to Group I, while the bottom team faced potential relegation to Group III.


2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group II – Pool B
Group B of the 2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group II was one of two pools in the Europe/Africa Zone Group II of the 2008 Fed Cup. Three teams competed in a round robin competition, with the top team and the bottom two teams proceeding to their respective sections of the play-offs: the top teams played for advancement to Group I, while the bottom team faced potential relegation to Group III.


2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group III – Pool A
Group A of the 2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group III was one of two pools in the Europe/Africa zone of the 2008 Fed Cup. Five teams competed in a round-robin competition, with the top team advancing to Group I for 2009.


2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group III – Pool B
Group B of the 2008 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group III was one of two pools in Group III of the Europe/Africa zone of the 2008 Fed Cup. Six teams competed in a round-robin competition, with the top team advancing to Group II for 2009.


2008 Fed Cup World Group
The World Group was the highest level of Fed Cup competition in 2008. Eight nations competed in a three-round knockout competition. Russia was the defending champion, and they succeeded in defending their title by defeating Spain in the final, 4–0.


2008 Fed Cup World Group II
The World Group II was the second highest level of Fed Cup competition in 2008. Winning nations advanced to the World Group Play-offs, and the losing nations were demoted to the World Group II Play-offs.


2008 Fed Cup World Group II Play-offs
The 2008 World Group II Play-offs were four ties which involved the losing nations of the World Group II and four nations from the three Zonal Group I competitions. Nations that won their play-off ties entered the 2009 World Group II, while losing nations joined their respective zonal groups.


2008 Fed Cup World Group Play-offs
The World Group Play-offs were four ties which involved the losing nations of the World Group first round and the winning nations of the World Group II. Nations that won their play-off ties entered the 2009 World Group, while losing nations joined the 2009 World Group II.


2008 FedEx Cup Playoffs
The 2008 FedEx Cup Playoffs, the series of four golf tournaments that determined the season champion on the U.S.-based PGA Tour, were held from August 21 to September 28. They consisted of four events:


2008 FedEx Cup Playoffs
These were the second FedEx Cup playoffs since their inception in 2007. After the first three events, Vijay Singh was assured of winning the 2008 FedEx Cup as long as he completed all four rounds of The Tour Championship without disqualification, which he proceeded to do. Tiger Woods, having topped the regular season points list after playing in only six events, did not play in the FedEx Cup Playoffs due to knee surgery.


2008 FedEx Cup Playoffs, The Barclays
The Barclays was played August 21–24. 144 players were eligible to play but nine did not enter: Tiger Woods (1) – knee, Luke Donald (44) – wrist, Lee Westwood (50) – personal decision, Justin Rose (78) – played KLM Open, Alex Čejka (91) – arm, Jason Bohn (96) – back, Bob Tway (119) – caddied for son Kevin in U.S. Amateur, Bob Estes (124) – getting married, Roland Thatcher (140) – wrist.


2008 FedEx Cup Playoffs, The Barclays
Of the 135 players who entered the tournament, 72 of them made the cut at 1-over par. Vijay Singh won in a playoff over Sergio García and Kevin Sutherland. The top 120 players in the points standings advanced to the Deutsche Bank Championship.


2008 FedEx Cup Playoffs, Deutsche Bank Championship
The Deutsche Bank Championship was played from August 29 to September 1. 120 players were eligible to play but five did not enter: Tiger Woods (15) – knee, Luke Donald (71) – wrist, Lee Westwood (76) and Justin Rose (103) – played the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, Alex Čejka (120) – arm.


2008 FedEx Cup Playoffs, Deutsche Bank Championship
Of the 115 players who entered the tournament, 86 of them made the 36-hole cut at −3. There was a second, 54-hole cut, that reduced the field to 72 players, again at −3. Vijay Singh, who won the first playoff event, won by shooting a tournament record −22 (262). The top 70 players in the points standings advanced to the BMW Championship.


2008 FedEx Cup Playoffs, BMW Championship
The BMW Championship was played September 4–7. 70 players were eligible to play but one, Tiger Woods (32) – knee, did not enter. There was no cut for this tournament.


2008 FedEx Cup Playoffs, BMW Championship
Camilo Villegas won by shooting −15. This was Villegas' first win on the PGA Tour. Chad Campbell withdrew after the first round to attend the birth of his first child. He earned no FedEx Cup points but at the end of the BMW Championship he was in 30th place in the standings. The top 30 players in the points standings advanced to The Tour Championship.


2008 FedEx Cup Playoffs, The Tour Championship
The Tour Championship was played September 25–28 after a two-week break for the Ryder Cup. All 30 players eligible to play did so. There was no cut for this tournament. Camilo Villegas won the tournament on the first playoff hole with Sergio García. Vijay Singh won the FedEx Cup.


2008 FedEx Cup Playoffs, Table of qualifying players
* First-time Playoffs qualifier† MDF – made cut, did not finish (i.e. cut after third round)


2008 Festival of World Cups
The Festival of World Cups was a series of rugby league World Cups held in Australia during 2008. The Festival was being staged in Australia during 2008 to coincide with their Centenary of Rugby League celebrations. The centrepiece of the Festival was the men's 2008 Rugby League World Cup. In addition to this tournament, there were also world cups being held for University, Police, Women, Defence and Wheelchair teams.


2008 Festival of World Cups
The Universities tournament officially started the Festival. Colin Love, the Rugby League World Cup 2008 Tournament Director and RLIF Chairman, stated "The festival highlights how the World Cup is embracing the Rugby League community and acknowledging its wide-ranging affiliates", adding "It’s a great opportunity to showcase the broad appeal of the game internationally".


2008 Festival of World Cups, University
The seventh University Rugby League World Cup was held in July, being the first of the six world cups to be held. The previous tournament was held in 2005 and won by New Zealand. The eight countries that took part were Australia, New Zealand, England, Greece, Scotland, Wales, France and Ireland. Australia defeated England in the final, while Greece won the plate competition.


2008 Festival of World Cups, Men
The thirteenth Rugby League World Cup was held throughout October and November. Ten teams took part. Defending Champions and hosts Australia, New Zealand, England, France and Papua New Guinea all qualified automatically, while Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Ireland and Scotland all qualified through tournaments in 2006 and 2007. The final was held at Suncorp Stadium on 22 November.


2008 Festival of World Cups, Police
The inaugural International Police Rugby League World Cup was held during November alongside the Women's Rugby League World Cup at Stockland Park. The final was held as a curtain raiser to the first semi-final of the men's World Cup at Suncorp Stadium. AMP sponsored the event with organisers hoping would go towards the formation of an International Police Rugby League Federation.


2008 Festival of World Cups, Women
The third Women's Rugby League World Cup was held at Stockland Park alongside the Police World Cup. Eight teams took part including defending champions New Zealand. The final was held at Suncorp Stadium on 15 November.


2008 Festival of World Cups, Defence
The inaugural Defence Forces World Cup was held in Sydney with the final played at the Sydney Football Stadium as a curtain raiser to the second Semi Final of the Men's tournament. Five defence forces took part, New Zealand, Australia, Great Britain, Papua New Guinea and the Cook Islands.


2008 Festival of World Cups, Wheelchair
Four teams took part in the inaugural Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup which was held at indoor venues in Sydney. The four teams were France, Australia, England and a Barbarians V. New Zealand withdrew from the tournament.


2008 Fianna Fáil leadership election
The 2008 Fianna Fáil leadership election began on 2 April 2008, when party leader and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern announced his resignation. Brian Cowen, the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance was the clear favourite to succeed him.


2008 Fianna Fáil leadership election, Outcome
On 2 April Mary Hanafin declined to comment on whether she would be standing for the leadership and Brian Lenihan had ruled himself out of the race. By 4 April all of the Fianna Fáil cabinet ministers had declared their support for the candidacy of Brian Cowen. No other candidate emerged, and Cowen was elected unopposed as the seventh leader of Fianna Fáil on 9 April 2008.


2008 Fiesta Bowl
The 2008 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl was a college football bowl game. It was part of the 2007–2008 Bowl Championship Series (BCS) of the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Played annually since 1971, first at Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona through 2006, the game was played at 8 p.m. EST on January 2, 2008, at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The game featured the fourth ranked (BCS), Big 12 champion Oklahoma Sooners hosting the ninth ranked (BCS), Big East champion West Virginia Mountaineers. West Virginia defeated Oklahoma by a score of 48–28. The contest was televised on Fox.


2008 Fiesta Bowl, Season summaries, Oklahoma
In the preseason, Oklahoma was picked by the Big 12 media to finish second in the conference. At the time, the starting quarterback had not been chosen. A little over a week before the first game, freshman quarterback Sam Bradford was announced as the starter. In his first game as a collegiate quarterback, Bradford threw for over 350 yards in the first half, he tied Heisman Trophy winner Jason White's record of 18 consecutive pass completions, and threw for five touchdowns. He came out of the game early in the 3rd quarter.


2008 Fiesta Bowl, Season summaries, Oklahoma
Since then, Bradford led the nation in passing efficiency for most of the season. With the question at quarterback answered, some felt this team could be the best in the nation, but with an unexpected loss at Colorado, the chances were slim. The Sooners continued to play strong following the loss and again rose in the polls as more teams above them also lost. Back in the #3 spot, the Sooners traveled to Lubbock, Texas to take on the Red Raiders to clinch the Big 12 South Division title.


2008 Fiesta Bowl, Season summaries, Oklahoma
However, Bradford was injured on the opening play for the Sooners as they quickly fell behind. It was 27–10 at the halftime. Oklahoma mounted a comeback in the 4th quarter but it was not enough. The Sooners lost their second game and again were knocked out of the national title picture. In their next game against Oklahoma State, in what is referred to as Bedlam, the Sooners dominated winning 49–17 and locking up their spot in the Big 12 Championship Game. In the Big 12 Championship, Oklahoma faced Missouri, then the number one ranked team in the nation. The two faced each other in the regular season in Norman, Oklahoma with the Sooners winning 41–31. The Sooner defense dominated the game and the offense pulled away in the 2nd half. Oklahoma won 38–17 to claim their 5th Big 12 Conference Championship and 41st total conference championship.


2008 Fiesta Bowl, Season summaries, West Virginia
West Virginia was picked by the Big East media to finish first in the conference and they did just that. Nationally, West Virginia was among the favorites to win a national championship from the beginning. In the preseason AP Poll, West Virginia was ranked third and received one first place vote. In the Coaches Poll, they were picked sixth. They started the season ranked higher than Oklahoma in both polls (Oklahoma was #8 in both polls).


2008 Fiesta Bowl, Season summaries, West Virginia
The Mountaineers were led on offense by quarterback Pat White and running back Steve Slaton, both juniors and both on many preseason Heisman Trophy watchlists. West Virginia hit their first stumbling block against then-#18 South Florida in late September. They rebounded with six consecutive wins including a win over the Connecticut Huskies which clinched at least a share of the Big East title for West Virginia. West Virginia only needed one more win to also clinch a spot in the national championship game.


2008 Fiesta Bowl, Season summaries, West Virginia
In their last game of the regular season, the 100th Backyard Brawl at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia, the #2 ranked Mountaineers suffered an upset when they were defeated by unranked Pittsburgh 9–13. West Virginia, who were a four touchdown favorite, played about half of the game without White after he dislocated his thumb late in the first half. The loss meant West Virginia were Co-Champs of the Big East along with Connecticut but received the bowl bid since they defeated Connecticut 66–21 the previous week.


2008 Fiesta Bowl, Selection process
Beginning with the 1998 football season, when the Bowl Championship Series began, the winner of the Big 12 Conference was contractually assigned to play in the Fiesta Bowl, unless ranked in the top two in which they would play in the national championship game. By winning the conference but not finishing ranked in the top two, Oklahoma was automatically assigned to the Fiesta Bowl. With Oklahoma guaranteed to play in the Fiesta Bowl, the bowl committee still had an at-large team to select.


2008 Fiesta Bowl, Selection process
Per the BCS selection procedure, the bowl games that lost teams to the national championship get first picks for a replacement. The Rose Bowl, after losing top ranked Ohio State, selected Illinois. Next, the Sugar Bowl selected Georgia to replace the #2 LSU Tigers. For the second selection for each bowl, per the BCS selection procedure, the game played nearest the date of the national championship had the first pick. For 2008, this was the Orange Bowl, which selected Kansas. Following the Orange Bowl's select, the Fiesta Bowl had the next pick following lastly by the Sugar Bowl.


2008 Fiesta Bowl, Selection process
The Fiesta Bowl committee had a few teams to select from including Arizona State, Hawaiʻi, and Big East champion West Virginia. The committee chose to invite West Virginia who almost made the national championship game before losing their last regular season game. John Junker, CEO of the Fiesta Bowl, said "the selection we had was very simple." If West Virginia had not been selected by the Fiesta Bowl, the Sugar Bowl would have been forced to select them, as West Virginia was guaranteed a BCS bowl berth by virtue of winning the Big East.


2008 Fiesta Bowl, Pre-game buildup
This game marked Oklahoma's fourth trip to the Fiesta Bowl. Oklahoma defeated Wyoming in 1976 before losing to Arizona State in 1982 and in overtime to Boise State in 2007. West Virginia made their second trip to the Fiesta Bowl. Their only other trip was in 1989 when they lost the national championship game to Notre Dame. This was also the fourth time these two programs have played each other, but the first time in postseason. Oklahoma defeated West Virginia in 1958, by a score of 47–14, and in 1977, by a score of 51–10. West Virginia defeated Oklahoma in 1982 by a score of 41–27. All three games were in Norman, Oklahoma.


2008 Fiesta Bowl, Pre-game buildup
On December 16, 2007 Rich Rodriguez formally announced to his football team that he would be leaving, before the 2008 Fiesta Bowl, to succeed Lloyd Carr as the University of Michigan head coach. West Virginia associate head coach Bill Stewart was named the interim football coach for the Fiesta Bowl on 2007-12-18 and was subsequently hired as the permanent coach.


2008 Fiesta Bowl, Pre-game buildup
On 2007-12-17, Stewart Mandel, a writer for Sports Illustrated, revealed that Oklahoma's athletic director, Joe Castiglione had tried to arrange for Oklahoma to face the highest ranked opponent available, which would have been Virginia Tech, in the Orange Bowl. This would have pitted the #3 team against the #4 team. Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe contacted BCS officials (which includes the 11 conference heads and the athletic director of Notre Dame) to see if this could be done. Michael Slive, then the BCS commissioner and SEC commissioner, considered the idea but it was ultimately rejected.


2008 Fiesta Bowl, Pre-game buildup
There was no word on which officials voted against the proposition. Beebe stated he did not agree with the decision, but respected the views of those against it. Castiglione stated that he hopes "at some point in time we can hear an explanation of why this wasn't possible given the fact the rules provided the opportunity if it was in everybody's best interest." Mandel said that two of his sources speculated that the commissioner "feared such a matchup might damage the legitimacy of the Ohio State-LSU title game." Slive said "there weren't such compelling circumstances as to merit a change."


2008 Fiesta Bowl, Pre-game buildup
Oklahoma missed some key players on their defense. Reggie Smith, an All-Conference cornerback, broke his big toe in the Big 12 Championship game and missed the bowl game. His backup, Lendy Holmes, was ruled academically ineligible and also missed the bowl game. Sophomore defensive tacke DeMarcus Granger was sent home after being arrested on the suspicion of shoplifting from a local mall. On the day of the game, it was reported that wide receiver Malcolm Kelly was questionable due to a deep thigh bruise. Because of the losses in the secondary, West Virginia stated they would consider passing more to take advantage of the less experienced players filling those positions.


2008 Fiesta Bowl, Pre-game buildup
Each team received an allotment of 17,500 tickets. West Virginia was unable to sell about 7,500 of those tickets and returned them to the Fiesta Bowl. Oklahoma had also not sold out its entire allotment. West Virginia blamed the lack of ticket sales on the distance from West Virginia to Arizona and that many Mountaineers fans purchased nonrefundable travel packages to New Orleans in expectations of playing for the national championship before the loss to Pittsburgh. West Virginia's returned tickets will go to local charities.


2008 Fiesta Bowl, Pre-game buildup
On the day of the game, most betting houses had the Oklahoma Sooners as a 7–8 point favorite.


2008 Fiesta Bowl, Game summary
West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton was taken out of the game early on with a hamstring injury, leaving the Mountaineers with freshman Noel Devine. West Virginia scored early with two field goals by Pat McAfee to take the lead, 6–0, into the second quarter. Sam Bradford was intercepted by Mountaineer safety Quinton Andrews early on, but the Sooners bounced back with a field goal to make it 6–3.


2008 Fiesta Bowl, Game summary
However, fullback Owen Schmitt led the Mountaineers to their first touchdown on a 57-yard run to make the score 13–3 on a play in which announcer Matt Vasgersian referred to Schmitt as a "runaway beer truck." Oklahoma returned with a field goal to make it 13–6, but West Virginia ended the first half with a pass from their star quarterback, Pat White to a wide-open Darius Reynaud for a 21-yard touchdown to make it 20–6 at halftime.


2008 Fiesta Bowl, Game summary
Oklahoma came back in the second half early with a field goal, followed by a goal line touchdown run by Chris Brown. The Sooners went for a 2-point conversion after the touchdown, but Bradford's pass was incomplete, leaving the score at 20–15. The Mountaineers answered back with a 17-yard run by Noel Devine for the touchdown to put the Mountaineers up 27–15. The Mountaineers scored again to end the third quarter, this time on a 30-yard reverse run by Darius Reynaud, to put the Mountaineers up 34–15 going into the fourth quarter.


2008 Fiesta Bowl, Game summary
The Sooners scored early again, off of a Bradford pass to Quentin Chaney, but yet again failed a 2-point conversion attempt. West Virginia continued to roll however, as White hooked up with receiver Tito Gonzales for a 79-yard touchdown pass to put the Mountaineers up 41–21. The pass is the longest offensive play in West Virginia school bowl history. Oklahoma scored again on a Bradford pass, this time to Juaquin Iglesias, but this time kicked the extra point to make the score 41–28. The Mountaineers sealed the game with six minutes left on a 65-yard touchdown run by Noel Devine, his second score of the game.


2008 Fiesta Bowl, Game summary
The West Virginia Mountaineers totaled 349 rushing yards in the victory, the most ever allowed by an Oklahoma defense in a bowl game. Pat White totaled 176 yards and two touchdowns passing while rushing for 150 yards. Noel Devine rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns on only 13 carries, while Owen Schmitt totaled 64 yards and a score on three carries. Sam Bradford recorded 242 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception passing for the Sooners. Allen Patrick rushed for 82 yards on 14 carries, while Chris Brown rushed for 50 yards and a score on 16 carries. Quentin Chaney grabbed 4 passes for 129 yards and a score while receiver Juaquin Iglesias returned seven kicks for 195 yards.


2008 Fiesta Bowl, Postgame
After the game, Stewart was rewarded by the WVU athletic department by being named the team's permanent head coach. He was given a new five-year contract. Stewart later signed former Mountaineer coaches, Steve Dunlap, David Lockwood, and Doc Holliday along with other assistant coaches. Steve Slaton, Johnny Dingle and Darius Reynaud, all who were key in the Mountaineers' success leading up to the bowl game, left early after the game for the 2008 NFL Draft.


2008 Fifth Third Bank Tennis Championships
The 2008 Fifth Third Bank Tennis Championships was a professional tennis tournament played on Hard court. It was a fourteenth edition of the tournament which was part of the 2008 ATP Challenger Series. It took place in Lexington, United States between 21 and 27 July 2008.


2008 Fifth Third Bank Tennis Championships, Singles entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2008 Fifth Third Bank Tennis Championships – Men's Doubles
Brendan Evans and Ryan Sweeting were the defending champions, but Sweeting did not compete this year. Evans teamed up with Jamie Baker and lost in quarterfinals to tournament winners Alessandro da Col and Andrea Stoppini.


2008 Fifth Third Bank Tennis Championships – Men's Doubles
Alessandro da Col and Andrea Stoppini won the title by defeating Olivier Charroin and Érik Chvojka 6–2, 2–6, [10–8] in the final.


2008 Fifth Third Bank Tennis Championships – Men's Singles
John Isner was the defending champion, but decided not to compete this year.


2008 Fifth Third Bank Tennis Championships – Men's Singles
Somdev Devvarman won the tournament, defeating Robert Kendrick in the final, 6–3, 6–3.


2008 Final Four (baseball)
The 2008 "Final Four" was an international baseball competition held in Barcelona, Spain on September 14–15, 2008. It featured 4 teams from the professional leagues in Italy and Spain.


2008 Final Four (baseball)
In the end Caffè Danesi Nettuno from Nettuno, Italy won the tournament.


2008 Final Four Women's Volleyball Cup
The 2008 Final Four Women’s Volleyball Cup was first edition of the annual Women's Volleyball Tournament, played by four countries from September 3–7, 2008 in Fortaleza, Brazil.


2008 Final Four Women's Volleyball Cup squads
This article shows all participating team squads at the 2008 Final Four Women's Volleyball Cup, held from September 3 to September 7, 2008 in Fortaleza, Brazil.


2008 Finlandia Trophy
The 2008 Finlandia Trophy was the 13th edition of an annual senior-level international figure skating competition held in Finland. It was held at the Valtti Areena in Vantaa between October 9 and 12, 2008. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, and ice dancing.


2008 Finnish Athletics Championships
The 2008 Finnish Athletics Championships were held in the Ratina Stadion in Tampere from July 24 to July 27, 2008. The event served as a qualification tournament for the 2008 Summer Olympics staged from August 15 to August 24, 2008 in Beijing, PR China.


2008 Finnish Cup
2008 Finnish Cup  (Finnish: Suomen Cup) was the 54th season of the main annual football competition in Finland. It was organized as a single-elimination knock–out tournament.


2008 Finnish Cup
Participation in the competition is voluntary. Veikkausliiga side IFK Mariehamn, for example, decided not to register for the tournament, as well as some Ykkönen teams.


2008 Finnish Cup
Depending on their position within the league system, teams entered in different rounds. Clubs with teams in Kolmonen or an inferior league, as well as Veterans and Junior teams, started the competition in the First Round. Teams from the first three levels of the Finnish league pyramid entered in the Fourth Round, with the exception of Veikkausliiga clubs Tampere United, FC Haka, FC Honka and TPS. These four teams entered in the Sixth Round because they have qualified for European competitions after the 2007 season.


2008 Finnish Cup
The tournament started on 1 April 2008 with the First Round and concluded with the Final held on 1 November 2008 at Finnair Stadium, Helsinki.


2008 Finnish Cup, First round
The draw for this round was conducted on 11 March 2008. Exactly one hundred teams were drawn into fifty matches for this round, with the remaining teams receiving a bye. Matches were played on April 1 – 10, 2008.


2008 Finnish Cup, Second round
The draw for this round was conducted on 11 March 2008. The winners of the First Round, along with the teams who received a bye, were drawn into 130 matches for this round. Matches were played between April 2 – 25, 2008.


2008 Finnish Cup, Third round
The draw for this round was conducted on 11 April 2008. The winners of the previous round participated in this round. Matches were played on April 19 – May 6, 2008.


2008 Finnish Cup, Fourth round
The draw for this round was conducted on 23 April 2008. The 65 winners of the Third Round, along with the 47 teams from the top three tiers which entered in this round, were drawn into 56 matches for this round. Matches were played on May 6 – 30, 2008.


2008 Finnish Cup, Fifth round
The draw for this round was conducted on 20 May 2008. The winners of the Fourth Round participated in this round. Matches were played between June 1 – 11, 2008.


2008 Finnish Cup, Sixth Round
The draw for this round was conducted on 12 June 2008. The 28 winners of the Fifth Round, along with the last four Veikkausliiga teams which entered in this round, were drawn into 16 matches for this round. Matches were played on June 17 and 19, 2008.


2008 Finnish Cup, Seventh Round
The draw for this round was conducted on 22 June 2008. The winners of Sixth Round participated in this round. The first six matches were played on 2 July while the other two games took place on 9 July 2008.


2008 Finnish Cup, Quarter-finals
The draw for this round was conducted on 14 July 2008. The first three matches were played on 7 August 2008. The match between Honka and Tampere United has been postponed to a later date because of the Tampere's participation in the UEFA Champions League 2008–09 qualification rounds.


2008 Finnish Figure Skating Championships
The 2008 Finnish Figure Skating Championships took place between December 7 and 9, 2007 in Rauma. Skaters competed at the senior and junior levels in the disciplines of men's singles, women's singles, and ice dancing on the levels of senior and junior. The event was used to help determine the Finnish team to the 2008 European Championships. Following the event, the Europeans team was named as: Minkkinen for the men and Korpi, Lepistö, and Vähämaa for the ladies.


2008 Finnish Figure Skating Championships
The senior compulsory dance was the Argentine Tango and the junior compulsory dance was the Blues.


2008 Finnish Figure Skating Championships, Senior results, Ladies
Jenni Vähämaa did not compete because the Junior Grand Prix Final was being held the same weekend.


2008 Finnish League Cup
The 2008 Finnish League Cup was the 12th season of Finnish second most prestigious cup tournament. The competition started on 25 January 2008 and ended with the Final held on 12 April 2008. The defending champions FC Lahti lost in the semifinals, while last year's runners-up FC Inter eventually won the tournament.


2008 Finnish League Cup
The Cup consisted of two stages. First there was group stage that involved 14 Veikkausliiga teams divided into two groups. Top 4 teams from each group entered the one-legged elimination rounds – quarterfinals, semifinals and the final.


2008 Finnish League Cup, Group stage
Every team played every other team of its group once, either home or away. The matches were played from 25 January to 24 March 2008.


2008 Finnish municipal elections
Finnish municipal election, 2008 was held in Finland on 26 October with advance voting between 15 and 21 October 2008. 10,412 municipal council seats were open for election in 332 municipalities. The number of councillors decreased by over 1,554 compared to the previous election due to the merging of several municipalities.


2008 Firestone Indy 200
The 2008 Firestone Indy 200 was the eleventh round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season. It took place on July 12, 2008, at the Nashville Superspeedway. It was the eighth and final running of the Firestone Indy 200.


2008 First Division (Gambia)
The 2008 First Division season was the 40th of the amateur competition of the first-tier football in the Gambia. The competition was governed by the Gambian Football Association (GFA) . The season began on February 24 and finished on July 13. The Real de Banjul won the tenth title after finishing with 39 points and qualified into the 2009 CAF Champions League the following season. Wallidan FC was also winner of the 2008 Gambian Cup, runner up was Samger, not even that club qualified and competed in the 2009 CAF Confederation Cup due to financial problems. It was the first season featuring twelve clubs, up from ten last season. The last two positions received relegation into the GFA League Second Division in the following season, they were the Gambia Ports Authority (GPA) and Interior FC.


2008 First Division (Gambia), Overview
The season featured a total of 132 matches and scored a total of 186, more than last season.


2008 First Division (Gambia), Overview
Real de Banjul was the defending team of the title. Wallidan scored the most numbering 25, second were Samger and the Hawks with 22.


2008 Florida Amendment 2
Florida Amendment 2 is an amendment made to the Constitution of Florida in 2008. It added Article I, Section 27 to the constitution, which defines marriage as a union only between one man and one woman, and thus bans the creation of similar unions, such as civil unions or same-sex marriage.


2008 Florida Amendment 2
Since 2014, the measure has been litigated in court and has been struck down by multiple state courts so far in several counties of southern Florida.


2008 Florida Amendment 2
Same-sex marriage became legal in Florida when the decision in the federal case Brenner v. Scott found the amendments banning same-sex marriage (including Amendment 2) to be unconstitutional.


2008 Florida Amendment 2, Text
Amendment 2 added Article I Section 27 of the Florida constitution. This states:


2008 Florida Amendment 2, Text
Inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized.


2008 Florida Amendment 2, The initiative
The amendment was proposed by means of the initiative process, and went before the voters of Florida in a referendum held on November 4, 2008. Similar proposals were put to a vote at the same time in Arizona (Proposition 102) and California (Proposition 8).


2008 Florida Amendment 2, The initiative
Proposed constitutional amendments in Florida require 611,009 signatures, including at least 8% of voters in the last presidential election and at least 8% of voters in each congressional district of Florida. The initiative was certified with 649,346 signatures and was placed on the ballot on February 2008. 60% of voters were required to pass the amendment in Florida.


2008 Florida Amendment 2, The initiative
A Quinnipiac University Polling Institute poll on September 8, 2008 showed that 55% favored the proposed amendment, while 41% oppose it. "Florida and Arizona joined 27 other states that previously approved such amendments."


2008 Florida Amendment 2, The initiative
The amendment was ultimately passed by a margin of 61.9% in favor and 38.1% opposed. In the Florida 2008 election, Barack Obama voters as a whole voted 57% against Amendment 2 while John McCain voters voted 81% in favor of the legislation. Republican Governor Charlie Crist publicly supported Amendment 2.


2008 Florida Amendment 2, The initiative
Monroe County was the only county to have a majority of the voters reject the amendment by a margin of 1,580 votes.


2008 Florida Amendment 2, Comparison to Proposition 8
A similar and more widely controversial ballot initiative in California, Proposition 8, was titled "ELIMINATES RIGHT OF SAME– SEX COUPLES TO MARRY. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT" and summarized accordingly. This description differed from the description of Florida's Amendment 2 in that it referred to a right being removed.


2008 Florida Amendment 2, Comparison to Proposition 8
Another difference between Amendment 2 and Proposition 8 was that the latter did not render domestic partnerships unlawful in California, while the text of Amendment 2 made the recognition of civil unions—or other marriage-like relationships for same-sex couples—unlawful in Florida.


2008 Florida Amendment 2, Effect of education
A study was done to see the effect of education on the votes. Controlling for other socioeconomic and political factors, for each additional 1 percent of a county's population with a bachelor of arts degree, the study concluded that there was nearly an equal 1 percent decrease in support for Amendment 2. By comparison, every 1 percent increase in a county's black population led to only two-tenths of a percentage point increase in support for Amendment 2. According to one of the study's authors, "Education is so important because it increases exposure to those who are different. Studies show very clearly that the more educated people are the more tolerant they are of differences."


2008 Florida Amendment 2, 2014 litigation
Since the beginning of 2014, several couples and plaintiffs have sued the state of Florida over the amendment, as part of a larger, concentrated effort by gay rights activists and groups encouraged by the federal Supreme Court's decisions regarding marriage made the previous year. Multiple state lawsuits against the amendment have already been successful so far, succeeding in the amendment being struck down successively in Monroe, Miami-Dade, and Broward counties. On August 5, 2014, a Palm Beach County judge issued a ruling in a case pertaining to a surviving spouse's rights in a specific estate case which resulted in the union of a widow and her deceased wife as the first ever same-sex marriage officially recognized in Florida.


2008 Florida Amendment 2, 2014 litigation
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, a Republican up for reelection in 2014 considered vulnerable due to association with Governor Rick Scott, has been a staunch defender of the amendment in court. Critics have pointed to her two previous divorces as a cause for hypocrisy when compared to her statements about the sanctity of marriage. Bondi has appealed all state court rulings thus far, which, as required by Florida law, automatically stays the rulings until the beginning of the appeal process.


2008 Florida Amendment 2, 2014 litigation
The rulings against the amendment have been welcome by gay rights groups, the activist gay community in southern Florida, both Democratic gubernatorial candidates, and it appears a majority of Floridians, as at least one recent poll by the conservative-leaning firm Quinnipiac now shows that 56% of likely voters now favor marriage equality, a near-total reversal since 2008.


2008 Florida Amendment 2, 2014 litigation
Concurrently with the lawsuits and rulings, a governor's race took place in 2014 and both leading candidates had completely opposite views on the issue of marriage. Incumbent Governor Rick Scott is opposed to marriage equality. Former governor and Democratic primary candidate Charlie Crist, who has changed parties since 2008, now supports same-sex marriage and ran on a platform that included giving same-sex couples the right to marry.


2008 Florida Atlantic Owls baseball team
The 2008 Florida Atlantic Owls baseball team will be the intercollegiate baseball team of Florida Atlantic University. It competes on the Division I level in the Sun Belt Conference. The 2008 team marked the second season of baseball to compete in the Sun Belt, after Florida Atlantic joined the conference after the 2006 season. On Thursday, April 24, 2008 Coach Kevin Cooney announced that the 2008 season would be his last season as head coach of the Owls. With his retirement announcement, Cooney will leave the Owls after 21 years as head coach. Up to this point, in 28 years of existence, Florida Atlantic baseball had had only two coaches, Steve Traylor and Kevin Cooney.


2008 Florida Atlantic Owls football team
The 2008 Florida Atlantic University Owls football team represented Florida Atlantic University in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Howard Schnellenberger and played their home games at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The Owls entered the season as defending Sun Belt Conference champions.


2008 Florida Atlantic Owls football team, Preseason
The Florida Atlantic Owls entered the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season defending their conference championship and just one year removed from their first-ever bowl appearance and victory. The record-setting 2007 team ended the season 8-5 (6-1 SBC). Quarterback Rusty Smith, a junior, returned with much hype and national recognition. The 2008 team also returned an overwhelming majority of starters from the conference champion team, as it only lost four seniors (DB Kris Bartels, OL Jarrid Smith, LB Cergile Sincere, DL Josh Pinnick).


2008 Florida Atlantic Owls football team, Preseason
In the Preseason Sun Belt Coaches' Poll, the Owls were a clear favorite to repeat as champions. FAU received 62 total points and 6 first-place votes.


2008 Florida Democratic presidential primary
The 2008 Florida Democratic presidential primary took place on January 29, 2008. Originally, the state had 185 delegates up for grabs that were to be awarded in the following way: 121 delegates were to be awarded based on the winner in each of Florida's 25 congressional districts while an additional 64 delegates were to be awarded to the statewide winner. Twenty-five unpledged delegates, known as superdelegates, were initially able to cast their votes at the Democratic National Convention.


2008 Florida Democratic presidential primary
However, the Democratic National Committee determined that the date of the Florida Democratic Primary violated the party rules and ultimately decided to sanction the state, stripping all 210 delegates and refusing to seat them at the convention. The DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee later met on May 31, 2008, and agreed to seat all of Florida's delegates with each delegate having only receive half a vote. As a result of this compromise, Florida's delegation had 105 votes at the convention.


2008 Florida Democratic presidential primary, Background
In August 2006, the Democratic National Committee adopted a proposal by its Rules and Bylaws Committee that only four states - Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina - would be permitted to hold primaries or caucuses before Super Tuesday, February 5, 2008. In the spring of 2007, the Florida Legislature (controlled by Republicans in both chambers) passed the House Bill 537 which moved the date of the state's Republican and Democratic primaries to January 29, a week before the earliest permitted date of both parties. The Florida Democratic Party tried to amend the legislation and make the date February 5; however, the Republican-controlled legislature refused.


2008 Florida Democratic presidential primary, Background
In response, the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee voted on August 25, 2007 that Florida was in violation of its rules and gave the state 30 days' notice to change the date of its primary. As Florida did not respond, the Committee stripped Florida of its delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Denver. On August 31, officials from the four approved early-voting states asked all the candidates to pledge not to campaign or participate in Florida, and all the major candidates signed the pledge. Despite the pledge, the major candidates remained on the ballot, as Florida rules do not allow candidates to remove their names without withdrawing completely from the general election.


2008 Florida Democratic presidential primary, Background
In October 2007, Democrats from Florida's congressional delegation filed a federal lawsuit against the DNC to force the recognition of its delegates; however, the suit was unsuccessful.


2008 Florida Democratic presidential primary, Delegate controversy
On January 25, 2008, Hillary Clinton advocated permitting Florida's delegates (along with similarly situated Michigan's) to be seated and vote at the Democratic National Convention despite the DNC ban, stating:


2008 Florida Democratic presidential primary, Delegate controversy
I believe our nominee will need the enthusiastic support of Democrats in these states to win the general election, and so I will ask my Democratic convention delegates to support seating the delegations from Florida and Michigan.


2008 Florida Democratic presidential primary, Delegate controversy
Clinton's supporters argued that Michigan and Florida's citizens should participate in the nomination processes, and that it would be a mistake for the Democratic Party to overlook the two huge battleground states that might be crucial in the November general election. They also argued that the Clinton campaign had not had a voice in the decision to strip Florida of its delegates.


2008 Florida Democratic presidential primary, Delegate controversy
Critics charged that changing the rules in this way was unfair and that Clinton's position was motivated purely by political expediency.


2008 Florida Democratic presidential primary, Delegate controversy
Among their arguments was that neither Clinton nor her campaign had made any public protest when Florida's punishment had first been announced in August 2007; that Clinton was adopting this position only after results from the first primaries had made it apparent that the campaign was not running the way she had expected; that Clinton, along with other candidates, had signed the pledge not to campaign or participate in Florida; and that at the time the pledge was signed, Clinton's then-campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle had proclaimed that


2008 Florida Democratic presidential primary, Delegate controversy
We believe Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina play a unique and special role in the nominating process... We believe the DNC's rules and its calendar provide the necessary structure to respect and honor that role. Thus, we will be signing the pledge to adhere to the DNC approved nominating calendar.


2008 Florida Democratic presidential primary, Candidates
Candidates Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, Dennis Kucinich, and Bill Richardson dropped out of the presidential race before the Florida primary. However, they remained on the ballot.


2008 Florida Democratic presidential primary, Campaign
Although Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John Edwards had pledged not to campaign in the state, supporters of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton conducted unofficial campaign efforts, and over 350,000 Democratic voters cast early ballots as of January 25, 2008. Mike Gravel was the only candidate to openly campaign in the state.


2008 Florida Democratic presidential primary, Campaign, Clinton fundraising visits
Two days before the January 29 election, Hillary Clinton visited Florida and held three fundraisers. On Election Day, Clinton returned to Florida and held a rally after polls closed to celebrate her victory. While these visits were permitted fundraisers, the timing raised controversy among Obama supporters.


2008 Florida Democratic presidential primary, Campaign, Obama campaign advertisement
In the run-up to Super Tuesday on February 5, the Obama campaign ran a nationwide television advertising campaign that was shown in all states, including Florida. Obama's campaign asked for the ads not to be shown in Florida, but were told by the cable networks this was not possible. The campaign then sought and received permission to run the ad from South Carolina Democratic Chairwoman Carol Fowler as at that point South Carolina had not already voted. Clinton Adviser Harold M. Ickes has claimed that this violated Obama's pledge not to campaign in the state.


2008 Florida Democratic presidential primary, Results
*As awarded by the May 31, 2008, meeting of the Rules and Bylaws Committee (RBC). * *Subsequently, some Edwards delegates switched to Obama.


2008 Florida Democratic presidential primary, Proposed revote
Shortly after February 5's Super Tuesday contests, the media and some politicians like U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) began to endorse the idea of a possible revote in Florida and Michigan. However, the cost of an all mail-in Florida Primary had been estimated at more than $4 million, a price tag that neither the DNC nor the state party was willing to pay.


2008 Florida Democratic presidential primary, Proposed revote
Governor Charlie Crist (Then Republican Florida) announced his support for another Democratic Primary, though he opposed using government funds to cover the expenses. Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Karen Thurman stated that a new contest would have had to have met three requirements: both Obama and Clinton would have to fully participate, there would have to be sufficient funding provided, and all registered Florida Democrats, including those out of state, would have to be able to participate.


2008 Florida Democratic presidential primary, Proposed revote
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean stated that he was encouraged by Governor Crist's support and that Florida Democrats could have "resubmitted a plan and run a party process to select delegates to the convention." On Friday, March 7, 2008, Newsweekreported: "A plan to raise soft money to pay for a second Florida Democratic primary -- this one by mail -- seems close to approval, according to Sen. Bill Nelson." On March 17, 2008, a letter from the Florida Democratic Party was released indicating that a revote would not occur.


2008 Florida Democratic presidential primary, Democratic National Committee Rules and Bylaws Committee
On May 31, 2008, the Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee decided to seat all of Florida's delegates according to the primary results, but to give each delegate only half a vote at the Convention.


2008 Florida Democratic presidential primary, Democratic National Committee Rules and Bylaws Committee
Before the Democratic Convention, Florida, as well as Michigan, were approved with full votes. All 210 delegates were given full voting abilities. They voted during the roll call. The majority voted for Obama, the presumptive nominee.


2008 Florida Democratic presidential primary, Analysis
Florida has the most elderly voters in the nation with a heavy percentage of Hispanic/Latino voters. According to exit polls, 66 percent of voters in the Florida Democratic Primary were white and they opted for Clinton 53-23-20 (Clinton-Obama-Edwards) along with the 12 percent of Hispanic/Latino voters who backed Clinton 59-30-8; this contrasts with the 19 percent of African American voters who supported Obama 73-25-1. Clinton won all age groups and income groups in Florida but split the vote with Obama among highly affluent voters making over $200,000.


2008 Florida Democratic presidential primary, Analysis
She also won all educational attainment groups from high school graduates to those with postgraduate studies. Self-identified Democrats, which composed 79 percent of the electorate, backed Clinton 52-35-11 along with Independents who favored her 40-30-25; Edwards won self-identified Republicans 31-27-23 (Edwards-Obama-Clinton), which composed 4 percent of the electorate. Clinton won all ideological groups except voters who identified themselves as conservative, as they opted for Obama. Regarding religion, Clinton won Protestants 49-33-15, Roman Catholics 63-22-14, Jews 58-26-13, and atheists/agnostics 40-38-18; Obama won other Christians 43-39-16 and voters who affiliated with other religions 48-39-7.


2008 Florida Democratic presidential primary, Analysis
Clinton's strongest performance was in the Miami area where she won 56-32-8 and South Florida where she won 53-29-14. She also won Central Florida by a margin of 52-30-13 and the Tampa Bay Area by a margin of 50-32-15. Obama did best in North Florida, winning 41-37-20 (Obama-Clinton-Edwards). While Edwards won a number of rural, predominantly White and conservative counties in the Florida Panhandle, Obama took in more of the vote in Pensacola and Tallahassee which enabled him to win more in the congressional districts. He also won inner-city Jacksonville and the areas outside Orlando and Tampa as well as North Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Clinton carried Orlando, Tampa, Palm Beach, Miami, Hialeah and other large urban areas in South Florida as well as the Florida Keys.


2008 Florida Democratic presidential primary, Analysis
Clinton received endorsements in Florida from U.S. Senator Bill Nelson as well as U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Fort Lauderdale.


2008 Florida Gators baseball team
The 2008 Florida Gators baseball team represented the University of Florida in the sport of baseball during the 2008 college baseball season. The Gators competed in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They played their home games at Alfred A. McKethan Stadium, on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. The team was the first at Florida coached by Kevin O'Sullivan.


2008 Florida Gators football team
The 2008 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gators competed in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and played their home games in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the university's Gainesville, Florida, campus. They were led by fourth-year head coach Urban Meyer.


2008 Florida Gators football team
After clinching the SEC East, the Gators defeated then top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide 31–20 in the SEC Championship Game to win their eighth conference title. They capped their season by defeating the Oklahoma Sooners in the BCS National Championship Game 24–14. The Gators finished the season ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll.


2008 Florida Gators football team, Before the season
Entering the season as defending national champions, the Gators went 9–4 in the 2007 in spite of a prolific offense, primarily due to a defense depleted by graduation and departures to the NFL leading to the worst defense for a Florida team since 1971, closing out the year with a 41–35 loss to Michigan in the 2008 Capital One Bowl on January 1. Quarterback Tim Tebow became the first sophomore to win the Heisman trophy.


2008 Florida Gators football team, Before the season
In the offseason, Florida coach Urban Meyer suffered the loss of assistant coaches for the first time in his tenure. Co -recruiting coordinator and safeties coach Doc Holliday left to become an assistant at his alma mater, West Virginia, running backs coach Stan Drayton took the same job with the Tennessee Volunteers, and co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Greg Mattison joined the new coaching staff of the Baltimore Ravens. Offensive coordinator Dan Mullen left to become the head coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs at the end of the 2008 season.


2008 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, Hawaii
The Florida Gators opened the season against the Hawaii Warriors. This was the first meeting between the two teams, but the two programs had become familiar with one another at the end of the 2007 college football regular season. 2007 Florida starting quarterback Tim Tebow and 2007 Hawaii starting quarterback Colt Brennan were both finalists for the Heisman Trophy where the two met in New York for the award ceremony.


2008 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, Hawaii
In the time leading up to the award presentation, the then-Hawaii head coach June Jones made comments regarding Tim Tebow and how he would fare against his own quarterback Colt Brennan in their respective offensive systems, referring to Tebow as a "system quarterback." His comments "infuriated Gators fans, who expressed their displeasure in Internet chat rooms and blogs." At the conclusion of the 2007–2008 bowl season, June Jones left Hawaii to become the head coach of SMU, leaving the opening game against Hawaii without Brennan or Jones.


2008 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, Hawaii
The game opened with the 10th highest attendance in school history with 90,575. Both teams struggled in the first quarter on offense with neither team being able to put points on the board. The second quarter featured scores by the Gators on offense, defense, and special teams. This was the first time the Gators scored in all three facets of the game since beating the Tennessee Volunteers 59–20 in the 2007 season. The first touchdown of the season came off of a Brandon James 1-yard touchdown run capping an 80-yard drive that took only 10 plays.


2008 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, Hawaii
Less than one minute later, Florida safety Major Wright picked off a pass and returned it 32 yards for the touchdown. After a defensive stop by the Gators on the ensuing Warriors' drive, special teams standout Brandon James returned a punt for a touchdown. This was his third punt return for a touchdown in his career. The final score of the half by the Gators was a 33-yard rushing touchdown by redshirt freshman Chris Rainey with 3:00 left in the first half. This drive only took two plays in 22 seconds.


2008 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, Hawaii
The second half was a mirror image of the first half for the Gators. Another 28 points was scored in the third quarter beginning with a 62-yard rushing touchdown by true freshman Jeffery Demps. The next Gator offensive possession featured the first touchdown pass of the season by Heisman-winner Tim Tebow. Tim Tebow and Louis Murphy connected on a 48-yard pass on the second play of the drive to score a touchdown only 38 seconds after having initiating the drive.


2008 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, Hawaii
Near the end of the 3rd quarter, sophomore quarterback Cam Newton stood in for Tim Tebow and put together a drive capped off with a 1-yard QB rushing TD. The final score the Gators put on the board was an interception returned for a touchdown by Gator DB Ahmad Black in his first career game as a Gator. Entering into the fourth quarter, Florida led 56–0. Hawaii was able to put 10 points on the board ending the game with a score of 56–10. Hawaii used three quarterbacks, all of whom threw for interceptions.


2008 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, Hawaii
The Gators' offense finished with 406 total yards; 255 of those coming on the ground. This was the first game since the 2006 season where Tim Tebow did not have at least two touchdowns in a game. In the previous season, he had at least one rushing touchdown and one passing touchdown in all 13 games (14 game streak dating to 2007 BCS National Championship Game). The Gators' defense forced six Hawaii turnovers and held Hawaii's offense to only 241 yards.


2008 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, Miami
The Florida Gators took on the Miami Hurricanes for the first time since the 2004 Peach Bowl where the Gators lost to Miami 27–10. This game is also the first regular season meeting between the two teams since 2003 where the then #18 Gators nearly upset the #3 Miami Hurricanes at the Orange Bowl. The last time the Gators defeated the Hurricanes was in 1985 where the Gators defeated Miami in Miami with a score of 35–23. Miami entered this game with a six-game winning streak and came in leading the series 28–25. The winner of this game receives the War Canoe Trophy. An attendance record was set with this game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium with 90,833.


2008 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, Miami
The Hurricanes received the ball to start the game with Florida deferring to the second half. Florida's defense held Miami to one net yard on their opening drive and forced a quick three and out. The resulting punt netted only 14 yards giving Florida excellent field position at the Miami 35-yard line. The Gators, led by quarterback Tim Tebow, put together a 5 play drive ending in a touchdown pass to TE Aaron Hernandez that only took 1:44 off the clock.


2008 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, Miami
Although the tempo the Gators set on their first offensive possession was quick, they were unable to score again in the first half on offense; having to punt on all four of their following first half possessions. Miami was able to put together a 42-yard drive with 16 plays consuming 8:42 of the second quarter resulting in a made 50-yard field goal. This would end up being the only points of the game Miami scored as well as the closest the Florida defense would allow Miami to get to the end zone. Florida's special teams was able to block a Miami punt attempt resulting in a safety as the ball went out of bounds with 47 seconds left in the half. This brought the halftime score to 9–3.


2008 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, Miami
The Gators received the ball in the second half and were unable to score on their opening drive. Offensive woes continued for both sides as neither team was able to score points. By the end of the third quarter, Florida's defense forced five Miami punts and allowed only one field goal. The fourth quarter had the Gators offense scoring 17 total points. A drive starting near the end of the 3rd quarter went 86 yards down the field and ended with a fourth quarter 2-yard rushing touchdown by Percy Harvin.


2008 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, Miami
After Florida's defense stopping Miami once again, Florida's offense was able to put together another long scoring drive; this one a 95-yard drive taking only 1:34 ending on a 19-yard Tim Tebow touchdown pass to Louis Murphy. The Gator defense forced three fourth quarter Miami punts, 8 total for the game, with the final score coming off of a made field goal by the Gators, bringing the final score 26–3. Florida's offense was only able to rush for 89 yards and pass for 256. Neither team had turnovers, but the Gators' defense held Miami to 140 total yards (79 passing, 61 rushing) and kept Miami out of the red zone the entire game.


2008 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, Tennessee
Florida entered the game with a three-game winning streak started during Florida head coach Urban Meyer's first season at Florida. Tennessee led the series 19-18 all-time against the Gators dating back to 1916. Coming off of an SEC East title the previous season, Tennessee opened SEC play against the Gators after having lost early to UCLA out of conference on the road. The Gators and Volunteers last met in the Swamp in 2007 where the Gators won 59–20.


2008 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, Tennessee
The previous time the two met at Neyland Stadium, the Gators were able to win by a slim one point and then went on to win the BCS National Championship. The Volunteers would be the first of four regular season teams the Gators faced that were coached by a championship-winning head coach (the other three being Les Miles of LSU, Steve Spurrier of South Carolina, and Bobby Bowden of FSU).


2008 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, Tennessee
The Gators started the game on offense at the Tennessee 44-yard line and quickly started where they left off the last time they played the Volunteers. The first possession of the game resulted in a 44-yard drive capped off with a Tim Tebow touchdown off a jump pass to TE Aaron Hernandez. Florida's defense helped get the ball back on offense when true freshman Gator CB Janoris Jenkin's forced a fumble on Tennessee's Montario Hardesty. Florida responded with a 39-yard field goal.


2008 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, Tennessee
After another failed drive for Tennessee on offense, the Volunteers punted the ball to Florida punt returner Brandon James who returned it for a touchdown. This was James' fourth punt-return for a touchdown of his career, tying the school record held by Jacquez Green. The Volunteers had their second fumble, which was recovered by Gators defensive lineman Carlos Dunlap, and led to another Florida field goal extending the lead to 20–0. Tennessee was able to drive the ball down into Florida territory—as close as the one-yard line. However, Florida's true freshman cornerback Janoris Jenkins intercepted a pass preventing any Tennessee points and shut out Tennessee in the first half.


2008 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, Tennessee
Tennessee received the ball to start the second half and quickly went three and out giving the ball back to Tim Tebow and the Gators' offense. The Gators' offense was able to put together a 47-yard drive finishing with a 15-yard Tim Tebow touchdown pass to WR Percy Harvin extending the lead to 27–0. Tennessee was able to get points on the board on the following drive. A 63-yard Tennessee drive ending with a Jonathan Crompton 1-yard TD run. The attempted 2-point conversion failed cutting Florida's lead to 21.


2008 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, Tennessee
In response, the Gators were able to take 4:49 off the clock and extend their lead with a Jonathan Phillps field goal, bringing the final score to 30–6. The Gators defense held Tennessee to only nine possessions on offense. Three of those ended with turnovers (2 fumbles, 1 interception), four ending with punts, one with a turnover on downs, and one touchdown. Although the Volunteers were able to account for more yards on offense (258 vs 243), the Gators won the turnover margin 3–0.


2008 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, Ole Miss
Florida's SEC home opener had the Gators face off against the Ole Miss Rebels. This is the first time the Gators had played the Rebels at home since their loss in 2003 against the Eli Manning-led Rebels squad. This game also concluded the home-and-home series with the SEC West opponent after the Gators won the first game in the H-H series against the Rebels last season with a score of 30–24 in which Tim Tebow set a school-record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 166 yards on 27 carries.


2008 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, Ole Miss
This was Urban Meyer's second time coaching against a Houston Nutt coached team with the first time being the Arkansas Razorbacks in the 2006 SEC Championship Game where the Gators defeated the Hogs 38–28 to go on and win the 2007 BCS National Championship. Entering this game, Urban Meyer was 21–1 at home in Gainesville and Houston Nutt was 0–3 against the Gators. Ole Miss's starting quarterback Jevan Snead, a transfer from the University of Texas, had committed to play for the Gators prior to the 2006 season before decommitting.


2008 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, Ole Miss
The game started with Ole Miss on offense, which didn't stay on the field long after a quick 3-and-out forced punt. The Gators then took over on offense and entered Ole Miss territory, where they were unable to score on their drive, which ended with a turnover on downs. Ole Miss was the first score on their ensuing 70-yard drive with a touchdown. This was the first touchdown the Gators allowed in the first quarter of a game and the first time the Gators trailed in the season.


2008 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, Ole Miss
In response, the Gators drove into Ole Miss territory where they were forced to settle for a 38-yard field goal, narrowing the lead 7–3. With just two offensive plays on Ole Miss's next possession, Florida safety Major Wright picked off a Jevan Snead pass and set up the Gators in Ole Miss territory. Tim Tebow connected with WR Percy Harvin on a 43-yard touchdown pass giving the Gators a 10–7 lead with 12:26 remaining in the second quarter. After another 3 and out by the Rebels, Florida, regained possession, but quickly turned it over.


2008 Florida Gators football team, Game summaries, Ole Miss
Tight end Aaron Hernandez of the Gators fumbled the ball at the Ole Miss 35-yard line. This was the first Gator turnover of the season. Ole Miss's offense was unable to do much the rest of the half and ended their next two possession with punts and a third with a turnover on downs. The Gators, however, were able to score another touchdown with an 81-yard drive capped off with a Tim Tebow 1-yard rushing touchdown, his first of the season. This brought the score to 17–7 at the half.