2008 Vuelta a España
Alberto Contador first gained the race lead after the race's thirteenth stage, which contained a summit finish on the Alto de El Angliru. Contador took the lead from Euskaltel–Euskadi's Egoi Martínez, who had held the race lead for four stages. Through the first nine days of racing the race leader's golden jersey had been worn by eight different riders. The day after Contador gained the lead of the race, he attacked again and won the stage, while also expanding his lead over his competitors. Contador lost about thirty seconds to his teammate Levi Leipheimer in the stage 20 individual time trial, but together he and Levi further distanced themselves from the other general classification contenders.


2008 Vuelta a España
Contador's win at the Vuelta allowed him to become the first Spaniard - and the fifth person in the history of cycling - to win all three Grand Tours in a career. At the age of 25, Contador became the youngest person to ever win all three Grand Tours. Contador was also the third cyclist to ever win the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta in the same calendar year. In addition to the general classification, Contador also won the combination classification. In the race's other classifications, Silence–Lotto's Greg Van Avermaet won the points classification and David Moncoutié of the Cofidis team won the mountains classification. Finally, Caisse d'Epargne won the team classification, which ranked each of the nineteen teams contesting the race by lowest cumulative time.


2008 Vuelta a España, Teams
A total of 19 teams were invited to participate in the 2008 Vuelta a España. Sixteen of the competing squads were UCI ProTour teams, while the other three teams were UCI Professional Continental teams. Each team sent a squad of nine riders, so the Vuelta began with a peloton of 171 cyclists. Out of the 171 riders that started this edition of the Vuelta, a total of 131 riders made it to the finish in Madrid.


2008 Vuelta a España, Teams
Team Columbia chose not participate in the race, as they withdrew their application to compete in the Vuelta in order to race the Tours of Ireland, Britain, and Missouri. While Scott–American Beef - formerly known as Saunier Duval-Scott - was excluded from the event as a result of the doping cases of Riccardo Riccò and Leonardo Piepoli in the 2008 Tour de France.


2008 Vuelta a España, Routes and Stages
This edition of the Vuelta contained three time trial events, two of which were individual and one a team event. Six stages were classified as mountain stages, while two stages were deemed intermediate stages. Ten of the stages were designated as flat stages, which meant that they were primarily flat but could contain a climb or two of a lesser category.


2008 Vuelta a España, Race overview
For details, see 2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11 and 2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21.


2008 Vuelta a España, Race overview
The 2008 Vuelta a España began with a short team time trial in Granada, a traditional city in the history of the Vuelta, having hosted a stage start or finish 39 previous times. Though Astana and Team CSC Saxo Bank were thought to be favorites to win this stage, the top team was Liquigas, which put their team leader Filippo Pozzato in the first golden jersey.


2008 Vuelta a España, Race overview
This set the stage for an extremely turbulent first week in terms of race leadership, as Alejandro Valverde, Daniele Bennati, Levi Leipheimer, Sylvain Chavanel, and Alessandro Ballan would all don the maillot oro between the race's beginning and Stage 7. All but Chavanel did this by virtue of stage wins - Chavanel, for his part, had been 2 seconds behind Leipheimer for the race lead after the Vuelta's first individual time trial (ITT), and took it the next day thanks to time bonuses in intermediate sprints.


2008 Vuelta a España, Race overview
After the first rest day came the Vuelta's longest stage, said to be the queen stage, as it had many high mountain climbs and an extremely difficult climb to the finish in Andorra. As it happened, the day the stage was run was marked by consistent rain and cold temperatures, making the stage harder still. Ballan won this stage from a breakaway and took the overall lead, but he was unable to remain in contention the next day. Leipheimer, who had been in second overall, re-assumed the overall lead. In Stage 9, Leipheimer's Astana team afforded a breakaway including Egoi Martínez sufficient time that Martínez took the overall lead, meaning that through nine stages the race lead had only been retained from one day to the next one time.


2008 Vuelta a España, Race overview
The next several stages were flat, and won by sprinters and breakaways, meaning Martínez was able to retain the overall lead for a time. Stage 13, which ended at the storied Alto de El Angliru, revealed the race's overall contenders. Alberto Contador won the stage and in so doing gained a lead over Leipheimer, Carlos Sastre, Ezequiel Mosquera, and Valverde which he would never relinquish. Contador padded this lead by winning the stage the next day, and kept it in the race's second and final ITT, where his strongest challenger was ironically his teammate Leipheimer.


2008 Vuelta a España, Race overview
The points classification was won by Belgian Silence–Lotto rider Greg Van Avermaet, who had won Stage 9 and finished in the top ten of nine other stages. The King of the Mountains went to Cofidis' David Moncoutié, also a stage winner. The summit stage finish won by Moncoutié as well as points gained by topping climbs at the head of the peloton in the Angliru stage proved to propel Moncoutié into the granate jersey.


2008 Vuelta a España, Race overview
The combination classification, an award unique to the Vuelta among the Grand Tours, was won by Contador, as his first in the General Classification, second in the points classification, and third in the King of the Mountains Classification was by far the strongest combined showing by any rider. With the overall victory, Contador became the first Spaniard and fifth rider ever to complete the career sweep of the Grand Tours.


2008 Vuelta a España, Classification Leadership
In the 2008 Vuelta a España, four different jerseys were awarded. For the general classification, calculated by adding the finishing times of the stages per cyclist, the leader received a golden jersey. This classification is considered the most important of the Vuelta a España, and the winner of the general classification is considered the winner of the Vuelta.


2008 Vuelta a España, Classification Leadership
Additionally, there was also a points classification, which awarded a blue jersey. In the points classification, cyclists received points for finishing in the top 15 in a stage. The winner got 25 points, second place 20, third 16, fourth 14, fifth 12, sixth 10, and one point per place less down the line, to a single point for fifteenth. In addition, some points could be won in intermediate sprints.


2008 Vuelta a España, Classification Leadership
There was also a mountains classification, which awarded a granate jersey. In the mountains classifications, points were won by reaching the top of a mountain before other cyclists. Each climb was categorized, with most of the climbs being either first, second, third, or fourth category. There were also two "special category" climbs (equivalent to Hors Categorie in the Tour de France), the stage finishes into Andorra and the Alto de El Angliru. "Special category" climbs paid 30 points for the first rider over the summit, then 25, 20, 16, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1. First category climbs paid 16 points for the leader, then 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1, second category climbs 10, 7, 5, 3, 2 and 1, and third category climbs 6, 4, 2 and 1.


2008 Vuelta a España, Classification Leadership
Finally, there was the combination classification. This was calculated by adding the rankings in the general, points and mountains classifications; the cyclist with the lowest combined ranking was the leader in the combination classification, and received a white jersey.


2008 Vuelta a España, Classification Leadership
There was also a classification for teams. In this classification, the times of the best three cyclists per stage were added, and the team with the lowest time was leader.


2008 Vuelta a España, Classification Leadership
The rows in the following table correspond to the jerseys awarded after that stage was run.


2008 Vuelta a España, Classification Leadership
If a cyclist leads two or more competitions at the end of a stage, he receives all those jerseys. In the next stage, he can only wear one jersey, and he wears the jersey representing leadership in the most important competition (golden first, then blue, then granate, then white). The other jerseys that the cyclists owns are worn in the next stage by the second-place (or, if needed, third or fourth-place) rider in that classification.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11
These are the individual stages of the 2008 Vuelta a España, with Stage 1 on 30 August and Stage 11 on 10 September.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 1
The 2008 Vuelta began with a short team time trial over a perfectly flat course in the city of Granada.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 1
The Italian Liquigas team was the unexpected winner of the team time trial. They finished in 8' 21", more than ten seconds clear of the supposed favorites Astana and CSC–Saxo Bank. Euskaltel–Euskadi also finished well; the Basques were eight seconds back of Liquigas at the end, for second place, despite having the best time at the intermediate time check. Filippo Pozzato donned the first golden jersey at the head of the General classification.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 2
The first regular stage of the Vuelta included its first climb, the third category hill at Las Encebras, and featured a 25 kilometer circuit in the city of Jaén before the finish. The cyclists took two laps of this circuit before the final finishing line. It was thought that it would ensure a sprint finish.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 2
Just as he had in the Tour de France earlier in the season, Alejandro Valverde won the first regular stage of the Vuelta. The successful breakaway of the day involved Jesús Rosendo, Egoi Martínez, Cyril Lemoine, and Mikhail Ignatiev. They held a maximum advantage of 4' 30" on the main field, but were caught 20 kilometers before the finish. Valverde's Caisse d'Epargne teammates successfully cracked the main field on the way into Jaén, launching attacks that kept anyone but Valverde going clear, as he did, with a 2 second advantage on the field. Thanks to that and time bonuses at the line, Valverde took the overall lead in the race.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 3
This stage was gently undulating until the third category climb up San Jerónimo, which began 26 kilometers from the finish line. It was thought that this might break up the field and keep a mass sprint from happening, which partially came true.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 3
Andalucía-Cajasur rider Manuel Ortega broke away from the main field almost immediately after the official start of the stage. Alone, he held a maximum advantage of over 15 minutes before the pack, paced by the race leader's team Caisse d'Epargne, began to draw him back. Their pace was extremely lax, slower than the slowest predicted team by the Vuelta's organizers, but eventually they did begin to reel Ortega in. Liquigas later came forward to set a faster pace, one that cracked about a third of the field on the way up the Alto de San Jerónimo climb.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 3
A breakaway led by Paolo Bettini caught Ortega with 17 kilometers to go, but Bettini's breakaway itself was caught 4 kilometers in front of the line. A bunched sprint saw Tom Boonen win the stage. With bonus seconds won for second place at the line and in intermediate sprints, Daniele Bennati became the third golden jersey wearer in as many days.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 4
This stage saw the riders leave the autonomous community of Andalusia and enter Castile-La Mancha. There were two third-category climbs along the way, but the final 60 kilometers were almost perfectly flat, and a bunched sprint finish was expected.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 4
An Andalucía-Cajasur rider again launched a solo attack that kept him out in front of the field for most of the day. For this stage, that rider was José Antonio López, who broke away at the 9 kilometer mark and attained a maximum advantage of 8' 06" as the bunch took it easy for the first two and a half hours before finally increasing their speed.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 4
The field was paced by the race leader's team Liquigas as well as the team of the man who won the stage the previous day and poised to do so again, Tom Boonen's Quick Step mates. López held on as long as he could, and was caught at the 8 kilometers to go mark. Another classic sprint finish saw the stage victory go to race leader Daniele Bennati. A crash at the 3 kilometers to go mark fractured the field and limited the riders who could contest the finish to those already at the front of the pack.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 4
While a crash within the final 3 kilometers normally affords everyone involved the same finishing time as the one attained by the group they were in upon crashing, race officials later declared that this crash took place just outside 3 kilometers from the line, and all time lost by those involved would stand as time lost.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 5
The first individual time trial of the Vuelta took place on a completely flat course in Ciudad Real. It was predicted that the winner would have an average of speed of over 50 km/h.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 5
The early time to beat was set by Manuel Quinziato of Liquigas, blowing away the times that had come before him by more than a minute. Around an hour after Quinziato's ride, a pack of General classification favorites took the course, and the first of them, Astana's Levi Leipheimer, clocked in 33 seconds better than Quinziato, and held on to win the stage as well as the next golden jersey. The only other man to beat Quinziato on the day was something of a surprise, Sylvain Chavanel of Cofidis, who is not normally known, in international competition, for his time trialling skills. The other contenders all turned in strong rides, leaving the GC tightly bunched with the Pyrenees looming.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 6
4 September 2008 – Ciudad Real to Toledo, 150 km


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 6
In what was the last stage branded as flat before the Vuelta entered the mountains, there was one third-category climb 50 kilometers before the finish. After that peak, there was a sharp descent and a flat section with two intermediate sprints before the altitude dropped again in the city of Toledo. The finish was on a slight uphill, which was thought to test the sprinters' limits in what was expected nonetheless to be a mass finish.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 6
The day's successful breakaway formed after about 7 kilometers, involving Iban Mayoz, Mikhail Ignatiev, and Volodymyr Dyudya. The team that paced the pack in efforts to bring them back was Cofidis, looking to have one solid group at the intermediate sprints later in the course so Sylvain Chavanel could make up the 2 second gap he had to race leader Levi Leipheimer.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 6
There was a big crash in the pack at the 68 kilometer mark, mostly involving riders from Silence-Lotto, Quick Step, Xacobeo-Galicia, and Bouygues Télécom, as well as Alejandro Valverde and Tom Boonen, who later called on the race doctor for some medical attention. The Cofidis-paced main field caught the break at the 108 kilometer mark, just after the one categorized climb of the day and just before the intermediate sprints. Shortly afterward, the blistering pace set by Cofidis, along with some crosswinds, led to another crash, at the 112 kilometer mark.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 6
Chavanel won the two intermediate sprints and became the new overall leader of the Vuelta on the road, thanks to the twelve bonus seconds he won with them. Numerous riders attacked on the way into Toledo and a pack led by Paolo Bettini, who won the sprint to the line, was the successful one. The field in fact fractured quite a bit - there were six large groups separated, collectively, by less than a minute at the end of the stage.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 7
6 September 2008 – Barbastro to Naturlandia-La Rabassa (Andorra), 223 km


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 7
The longest stage of the 2008 Vuelta, as well as one of the most mountainous, the first action after the rest day was a stern test for the riders. There were four categorized climbs along the way, one each in the first, second, and third categories with a special category climb at the finish in Andorra making this stage a playground for riders who like to battle gravity.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 7
This day belonged to Alessandro Ballan. He was part of a five-man group, along with Marc de Maar, Iñigo Landaluze, Gianni Meersman, and Xabier Zandio, that broke away at the 18 kilometer mark, and stayed out in front of the field all day to claim the stage win. He had other prizes awaiting him at the podium in Andorra, namely the golden jersey (giving the Vuelta its sixth different overall leader in seven stages), the red jersey, and the white jersey. He was also only 7 points shy of claiming the blue jersey. The route was marked by terrible weather, in particular rain and cold temperatures, which Ballan would later say helped him win, in that he is accustomed to such weather living in northern Italy.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 7
The lead Ballan's breakaway had over the pack grew to a maximum of just under eleven minutes before Astana, the team of GC hopefuls Levi Leipheimer and Alberto Contador, took the pace of the main field to try to reel them in. Their pace was so blisteringly fast that it cracked more than two-thirds of the field, members of which dropped as much as thirty minutes behind them. When Astana ratcheted up its speed, the breakaway did as well, as Zandio was dropped, falling minutes behind them.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 7
Ballan attacked from his group and got free at the 14 kilometers to go mark and quickly attained a lead of two minutes over the other three, staying out front to win the stage. The elite main group led by Astana caught the other members of the day's breakaway, and attacked and jockeyed for position at the finish some three minutes behind Ballan.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 8
7 September 2008 – Escaldes-Engordany (Andorra) to Plá de Beret, 151 km


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 8
This short, yet extremely mountainous, stage was thought to invite many early attacks, as the race re-entered Spain. There were three first category climbs on the course, and the finish was on a slight downhill after the Alto de Plá de Beret. This stage also featured the highest point in the 2008 Vuelta, the first-category Port de la Bonaigua, at 2,070 meters in elevation.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 8
Many riders attempted to break away from the pack from the outset, but no one was successful until an hour had been spent in the saddle and 38 kilometers covered. The five that broke free were Christophe Kern, Nikita Eskov, Juan Manuel Gárate, Sébastien Joly, and David Moncoutié. Their lead quickly rose to three minutes as Garate was the first over the first-category climb El Cantó.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 8
It held steady until the category two climb up Eviny 27 kilometers later, and then grew to a maximum of 5' 30" before Astana, again, was the team to come forward to pace the main field. Astana's sporting director Johan Bruyneel explained that this was more to keep things steady, after the race leader's team Lampre dropped off the pace, than to bring the breakaway back, since no one in it was a GC threat.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 8
The autobus formed going up the Puerto de la Bonaigua as Andreas Klöden set an extremely fast pace. Among the many riders to fall into the autobus was race leader Alessandro Ballan. In short order, Levi Leipheimer effectively became the new race leader on the road, as Ballan dropped well back of the main field, which caught every breakaway rider except Moncoutié before the summit of the Bonaigua.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 8
Though his advantage continued to shrink, Moncoutié managed to stay out front just long enough to win the stage, with the main chase group, an elite bunch of a dozen or so riders who were able to take Klöden's pace, 34 seconds back. Alejandro Valverde and Alberto Contador traded repeated attacks on the way up to Plá de Beret, gaining themselves as well as Igor Antón five potentially valuable seconds over other contenders such as Leipheimer, Carlos Sastre, and Ezequiel Mosquera. Valverde and Contador went on to don leader's jerseys after the stage, Valverde the blue points jersey and Contador the white combined classification jersey.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 9
8 September 2008 – Vielha e Mijaran to Sabiñánigo, 200 km


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 9
This stage was thought to see a winning breakaway, and did. There were four categorized climbs along the way, including the first-category Puerto de Serrablo 66 kilometers before the finish, to keep the teams of the sprinters from taking control of the race.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 9
Being faced almost immediately with the second-category Alto del Túnel and, not long after, the second-category Coll de l'Espina, no breakaway came successfully clear of the bunch for over an hour. When David Moncoutié topped l'Espina in first position, he took over the King of the Mountains lead from Alessandro Ballan. He later cemented this by topping the Puerto de Serrablo in first place as well.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 9
The race leader's team Astana again set a very fast pace at the head of the main field, such that it fractured into three large groups, with all the major GC contenders in the first group. Finally, after 60 kilometers and close to two hours in the saddle, a 12-man group broke free, attaining an advantage of close to seven minutes. The best-placed man in the breakaway, Euskaltel-Euskadi rider Egoi Martínez, threatened the overall lead of Levi Leipheimer as he was 6' 41" back at the beginning of the day.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 9
Team CSC Saxo Bank and Caisse d'Epargne tried to pull the main field along fast enough so that the time gap to the breakaway would be small enough that Leipheimer's Astana Team would have to work to keep him in gold, but the strategy didn't work. Astana eventually retook the pace and willfully let the time gap go low enough so that when all was done at the day's end, Martínez had taken enough time back to become the new holder of the golden jersey. This move was criticized the next day by several local newspapers.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 9
Eleven of the riders in the breakaway finished in Sabiñánigo together, and the sprint to the line was won by Silence-Lotto rider Greg Van Avermaet. The main field, which had consolidated to almost all other riders in the race, finished 6' 42" back (Martínez also gained bonus seconds in intermediate sprints, leading to his 11 second lead in the GC after this stage).


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 10
After the climb up and descent from the second-category Puerto de Monrepós after just 34 kilometers, this stage was almost completely flat and saw a mass sprint finish. The finishing city of Zaragoza is a traditional one in the Vuelta, having hosted stage finishes on 47 occasions. The wind that the city is known for was thought to wreak some havoc on the sprinters.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 10
This was a rather straightforward day of racing. There were a few breakaway attempts in the first hour, but none succeeded. The breakaway that did succeed involved a single rider, Milram's Matej Jurčo, who the Euskaltel team let free after 37 kilometers. His maximum advantage grew to 7' 20" before Quick Step and Rabobank, working for Tom Boonen and Óscar Freire, respectively, pulled the bunch ahead to bring him back and ensure a mass sprint finish.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 10
Jurčo took both intermediate sprints, and was briefly joined in his effort by José Antonio López as the main field neared him, but the pack became one again with 8 kilometers to the line. The bunched sprint was won by Sébastien Hinault, and the GC was unchanged by the day's results.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 11
This was branded as a transitional stage, undulating for the 78 kilometers before a gradual increase in elevation that became more steep at the 138 kilometer mark at the third-category Alto de Valmala. After a plateau there, the finish into Burgos was on a lengthy, but slight, downhill.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stages, Stage 11
This, again, was a very normal day of racing. Three riders, Serafín Martínez, Jose Antonio López, and Andriy Hryvko escaped the bunch after 35 kilometers and precisely one hour in the saddle. Their maximum advantage was 7 minutes, but the main field didn't have much trouble reeling them in, which they did 7 kilometers from the line. The majority of the field was together for a bunched sprint finish, which was won by Óscar Freire. The GC was again unchanged by the day's results.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21
These are the individual stages of the 2008 Vuelta a España, with Stage 12 on 11 September and Stage 21 on September 21.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 12
Going into the second rest day, the field faced a hilly stage, with two second and one third-category climb along the course and lots of descending. The final 40 kilometers, after the second-category Alto del Carracol, undulated very gently, so any type of finish was seen as possible.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 12
The escaping breakaway formed after 10 kilometers, involving Sébastien Hinault, Sandy Casar, and Manuel Quinziato. As the breakaway formed, Tinkoff tried to place a rider in it, but was unsuccessful. The main field was paced alternately by Caisse d'Epargne, Quick Step, and Lampre, and their pace combined with the cold and rainy weather of the day proved a tough test for many riders, dropping back from the field.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 12
An unexpected rider to crack, toward the end of the stage, was Alejandro Valverde, who finished more than 3 minutes behind the stage winner and fell out of the top ten in the GC. The rest of his Caisse d'Epargne team went back with him to try to pace him back into the front group, but they were not successful. Ezequiel Mosquera also fell out of the front group briefly, but his Xacobeo-Galicia teammates were able to get him back in there.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 12
The pace that Quick Step and Lampre set kept it so that the breakaway never attained more than 4 minutes of advantage. They were caught well before the line, with some 30 kilometers to race. A 28-man group was together with a sizeable advantage over the rest of the field in the stage's final minutes. The group had several members of the top teams in the GC, Astana and Euskaltel-Euskadi, who took the pace.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 12
Alberto Contador was the first of this group to attack for the stage win, but the victory went to Paolo Bettini, who had ironically given interviews earlier in the day describing his dissatisfaction over his team Quick Step signing Stefan Schumacher from the dissolving Gerolsteiner and vowed to ride for someone else in 2009. Contador took back three seconds on Egoi Martínez in the final sprint to the line.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 13
13 September 2008 – San Vicente de la Barquera to Alto de L'Angliru, 209 km


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 13
There were five categorized climbs on this course, including three first-category hills, but the main attraction was the special-category Alto de El Angliru at the finish, which made its fourth appearance in the Vuelta and first since 2002. This brutal climb featured gradients as high as 23% near the summit.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 13
The Euskaltel team kept several attempted breakaways in the first hour from going clear. This was not to protect the overall lead of Egoi Martínez, which was all but assured to be lost on such a stage (as Martínez was not seen as a strong enough climber in comparison with others high in the GC), but to protect the chances of victory in the Vuelta's queen stage for Igor Antón. Ironically, Antón would fail to even finish the stage, abandoning after sustaining a broken collarbone in a crash climbing Angliru.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 13
The rider that succeeded at coming clear was Christophe Kern, allowed to leave after 37 kilometers and an hour in the saddle. Shortly afterward, a two-man chase was formed, comprising Maarten Tjallingii and Matej Jurčo. With so much more looming at the finish, the main field was more than content to let these three top the third-category Alto de Ortigueiro well ahead of them. After the descent, Kern pulled up and literally waited at the side of the road for about two minutes for the other two to join him, so they could all work together.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 13
The Astana Team came forward to take the pace at the bottom of the first first-category climb of the day, the Puerto de Arnicio. The breakaway's lead at this point was 11 minutes, but it slowly and steadily fell until a 20-man group who were able to take Astana's pace caught them just after the summit of the third first-category hill, the Alto del Cordal. Domestiques from Astana and Caisse d'Epargne traded shots setting the pace up the Alto de El Angliru, going up to the finish line.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 13
As the climb neared its hardest part, 7 kilometers from the end, it was Levi Leipheimer who came forward to sacrifice himself for Alberto Contador, setting a pace that cracked everyone in the group (and caused Leipheimer himself to bonk), but left Contador free to attack for the stage win. The golden jersey came with it.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 14
14 September 2008 – Oviedo to Fuentes de Invierno, 158 km


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 14
This stage went from hilly to mountainous. There were six categorized climbs on this course, three first-category and three third-category. The three third-category hills were all in the first 35 kilometers, leaving the riders to tackle three first-category climbs over the remainder of the stage, ending nearly as high in elevation as they did the previous day at Angliru when they headed up to the ski resort Fuentes de Invierno.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 14
An eight-man group broke free of the main field after 25 kilometers, just before the third-category climb of San Tirso. A three-man chase joined them on the descent, and the eleven were away as a sustained group for much of the stage. Their maximum advantage grew to five minutes before the main field, paced mostly by Caisse d'Epargne rather than the race leader's Astana Team, started to reel them in. Their sporting director Eusebio Unzue explained that the breakaway had unexpectedly contained some high-profile riders and they needed to keep the time gap as low as possible to try to work for a stage win for Alejandro Valverde at Fuentes de Invierno.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 14
Ezequiel Mosquera made attack after attack on the way up to the summit, and only Valverde and the Astana duo of race leader Alberto Contador and teammate Levi Leipheimer were able to answer. Eventually, Valverde also fell, and the stage was contested among the other three. Contador attacked within a kilometer of the finish and Mosquera couldn't answer, giving Contador a second straight stage win. This time, he had three leader's jerseys awaiting him on the podium - the golden, the white, and the points classification blue jersey.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 14
It was later revealed that Contador and Valverde had struck a deal that they would stick together on the stage and Valverde would take the stage win while Contador retained the overall lead in the Vuelta. However, when Mosquera's attacks cracked Valverde, Contador took the opportunity for the stage win.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 15
This stage had a first, a second, and a third-category climb on it, in succession. There was as well an uncategorized hill about 10 kilometers before the finish that was thought to keep any sprinters that survived that far honest.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 15
The day's breakaway formed after a little over 50 kilometers, as several escape attempts consolidated into one 17-man breakaway. Their lead grew to a maximum of nearly 17 minutes, as the Astana-paced main field was more than content to let them go, seeing no threats in the group. José Luis Arrieta, Juan Manuel Gárate, and David Arroyo traded attacks on the way into Ponferrada, that cracked some of their breakaway mates who finished as much as seven minutes behind them, but it was Xacobeo-Galicia rider David García who won the stage, launching the decisive attack 3 kilometers from the line. The main field finished 14'23" behind the stage winner, but there were no changes to the top ten in the GC.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 16
After the first-category Alto del Acebo at the 15 kilometer mark, the riders escaped the mountains for the time being - there were no further categorized climbs in this stage or the next one. After the descent, the course didn't so much as undulate, so a bunched sprint finish was expected.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 16
The field took it very easy for the first hour. There were no breakaway attempts, and that first hour in the saddle covered just the 15 kilometers to the Alto de Acebo. On the descent, the attacks began. Jesús Rosendo, who had earlier in the Vuelta been the first leader of the King of the Mountains, and Walter Fernando Pedraza were the ones that got away, and attained a maximum advantage of 8 minutes on the main field.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 16
The field was pulled along not by the race leader's team Astana, but by Quick Step, and in particular Paolo Bettini, working to get Tom Boonen a second stage victory in this Vuelta. The teams of other prominent sprinters came forward to take the pace over from Bettini when he later needed medical attention. The catch occurred 7 kilometers from the line, and Boonen indeed won his second bunched sprint, after an early leadout headed by Bettini.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 17
An almost totally flat stage 17 was the reward for the sprinters who made it this far. There were no categorized climbs at all on this course. While there were not be any hills, it was thought that crosswinds would present a bother to the sprinters in the field.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 17
Pedro Horrillo and José Ruiz broke free of the main field after 13 kilometers. The main field kept them well within reach, and kept several other escape attempts from going clear. Horrillo and Ruiz attained a maximum advantage of over 8 minutes, but the bunch, behind the pace of Silence-Lotto and Euskaltel-Euskadi, caught them 7 kilometers from the line. Imanol Erviti tried to attack 3 kilometers from the finish, but the field caught him. The vast majority of the field finished together, and there was no significant change in the GC for the fourth day in a row.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 18
Branded as flat, this stage gradually increased in elevation to its one categorized climb, the third-category Alto de los Leones at the 39 kilometers to go mark, and then gradually decreased to the finishing town of Las Rozas. Another mass sprint finish was expected, but it did not occur.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 18
After a blisteringly fast first hour that covered nearly 50 kilometers and kept several breakaway attempts from going free, an 18-man break formed at the 56 kilometer mark. The best-placed rider in the break was Nicolas Roche, 17th overall and 19'31" behind race leader Alberto Contador. The second hour in the saddle saw the pace ease up, as Contador's Astana Team was content to let the breakaway go, since they did not figure to gain nineteen and a half minutes in such a course.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 18
The advantage grew to a maximum of 8'15" before the riders in the breakaway began attacking each other and fragmenting. The field didn't take much advantage, as they finished 7'29" behind the stage winner. Roche appeared to launch the decisive attack into Las Rozas and to be in line for the stage win, but it was Imanol Erviti, who had attacked too early and paid the price the previous day, who timed the finishing kick just right and overtook Roche in the final meters to win the stage. There was again no significant change in the GC after this stage.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 19
This stage offered one last taste of the mountains for the 2008 Vuelta before the time trial and the traditional finish in Madrid. There was a short circuit, of which the riders took 2 laps, in the finishing town of Segovia, thought to leave the type of finish up in the air.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 19
The day's breakaway formed slowly, over the course of almost ten kilometers after nearly an hour and a half in the saddle. It numbered fourteen riders, including four from Caisse d'Epargne, which boded well for Alejandro Valverde. The elite group of favorites, another thirteen strong, never let them get more than two minutes' advantage, and caught them with a third of the stage left to race. Numerous riders launched further attacks on the way into Segovia, with none coming more than ten seconds clear.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 19
Perhaps the most aggressive among them was Vasil Kiryienka, who was narrowly defeated in his spring to the line by David Arroyo. The group of GC favorites finished 11 seconds behind the stage winner, and only the bonus seconds won by Joaquim Rodríguez in intermediate sprints caused the GC to change in any way.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 20
20 September 2008 – La Granja de San Ildefonso to Alto de Navacerrada, 17 km (ITT)


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 20
This time trial was short, but was thought to still live up to the billing the race against the clock gets as the "race of truth" - it ended at the first-category Alto de Navacerrada. The last 7 kilometers of the course were all uphill.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 20
The early time to beat was set by Rubén Pérez, but, true to form, the GC contenders, strong climbers all of them, all solidly defeated Pérez's time. Carlos Sastre rode with strength and consistency, to hold off the charge of Ezequiel Mosquera and keep his podium position. Young Rabobank rider Robert Gesink slipped two spots in the GC at the end of the day, but was still in the top ten for the time trial, showing how fast, tightly bunched, and truly elite the group of riders ahead of him was.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 20
Levi Leipheimer had the best time at each intermediate time check and went on to win the stage by more than 30 seconds over his teammate and team leader Alberto Contador. Contador later took some offense to Leipheimer seemingly riding with winning the Vuelta in mind, after it had been established earlier that he (Contador) was Astana's team leader.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 20
Contador nonetheless rode a very strong time trial as well, enough to retain his golden jersey and put him on the cusp of being the youngest ever to win all three cycling Grand Tours in his career and just the third ever, and first in 27 years, to win the Vuelta and the Giro d'Italia in the same year.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 21
21 September 2008 – San Sebastián de los Reyes to Madrid, 102 km


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 21
The sprinters got the final say in one last mad dash for the line in the traditional closing city.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 21
As is tradition when the last day of a Grand Tour is a road stage, this was a straightforward day of racing with no attacking before reaching the closing city. Once on the Madrid circuit, many riders tried to break free of the pack, but none ultimately succeeded - the group was all one in the eighth and final lap. During that eighth lap, two huge crashes thinned the field considerably and limited who could challenge for the stage win. Among the riders to fall was Vuelta champion Alberto Contador.


2008 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stages, Stage 21
They took place inside 3 kilometers to the finish line, and since this was a flat stage, everyone who fell was given the same finishing time as the group they were in upon falling, which meant the entire field got the same finishing time. The stage was won by CSC's Matti Breschel.


2008 Vuelta a Murcia
The 2008 Vuelta a Murcia was the 24th edition of the Vuelta a Murcia cycle race and was held on 4 March to 8 March 2008. The race started in San Pedro del Pinatar and finished in Murcia. The race was won by Alejandro Valverde.


2008 Vuelta a Venezuela
The 45th edition of the annual Vuelta a Venezuela was held from August 25 to September 7, 2008. The stage race started in Maracaibo, and ended in Caracas.


2008 WA State Challenge Cup
Western Australian soccer clubs from the top three State-Based Divisions competed in 2008 for the WA State Challenge Cup, known that year as the Soccer Pools State Cup. This knockout competition was won by Western Knights, their second title.


2008 WA State Challenge Cup, First round
All matches were completed by 6 April 2008. A total of 32 teams took part in this stage of the competition. All 12 Clubs from the State League Premier Division and Football West State League Division 1, and 8 clubs from the Amateur Premier League (the top 8 out of 12 from the previous year's league table) entered into the competition at this stage.


2008 WA State Challenge Cup, Second round
A total of 16 teams took part in this stage of the competition. All matches were completed by 17 May 2008.


2008 WA State Challenge Cup, Quarter finals
A total of 8 teams took part in this stage of the competition. All matches in this round were completed on 21 June 2008.


2008 WA State Challenge Cup, Semi finals
A total of 4 teams took part in this stage of the competition. Both matches in this round were completed on 20 August 2008. The draw was as follows:


2008 WA State Challenge Cup, Final
The 2008 soccer Pools Cup Final was held  on 4 October 2008, and won by Western Knights, their second title.


2008 WABA Champions Cup
The WABA Champions Cup 2008 was the 11th staging of the WABA Champions Cup, the basketball club tournament of West Asia Basketball Association. The tournament was held in Mahshahr, Iran between March 9 and March 15. The top three teams from different countries qualify for the FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2008.


2008 WAC Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2008 WAC Men's Basketball Tournament, a part of the 2007-08 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, was held March 11–15 at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico.


2008 WAC Men's Basketball Tournament
Four teams finished the season at 12–4 in the conference standings, and all advanced to the semifinals. In the championship game, Boise State defeated host New Mexico State in triple overtime and received the Western Athletic Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. It was the Broncos' first NCAA appearance in fourteen years, when they won the Big Sky tournament (as a fifth-seed).


2008 WAC Men's Basketball Tournament
Boise State was seeded fourteenth in the East region and lost to Louisville in the first round.


2008 WAC Men's Basketball Tournament
Utah State made the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), but lost a road game in the first round.


2008 WAFF Championship
The 2008 WAFF Championship was the fifth West Asian Football Federation Championship, an international tournament for West Asian countries and territories. It was hosted by Iran.


2008 WAFF Championship, Draw
The draw for the competition was made on 1 July 2008 in Amman, Jordan.


2008 WAFF Women's Futsal Championship
The 2008 WAFF Women's Futsal Championship was the inaugural women's futsal championship for the West Asian Football Federation. The tournament was held in Jordan.


2008 WAFL Grand Final
The 2008 West Australian Football League (WAFL) Grand Final was the culmination of the 124th season of the premier Australian rules football league in Western Australia. It was played at Subiaco Oval on 20 September 2008 and was won by the Subiaco Football Club, who defeated the Swan Districts Football Club by 57 points.


2008 WAFL Grand Final, Background
Subiaco had dominated the 2008 season as no team in a major Australian Rules League had since Port Adelaide in the 1914 SAFL season. After twenty home-and-away games the Lions had lost just one game by the narrowest of margins to their Grand Final rivals in mid-season, with the closest any other opponent got to them being eighteen points. The Lions were targeting their third straight WAFL flag, and their fourth in just five years, all the while finishing an unprecedented seven and a half games clear of second-placed West Perth.


2008 WAFL Grand Final, Background
Swan Districts had finished fourth at the end of the season and had beat two higher ranked opponents in South Fremantle and West Perth to get to this match. The game showcased numerous young players who were to be drafted in the upcoming 2008 AFL Draft including Nic Naitanui, Chris Yarran, Clancee Pearce, Todd Banfield, Daniel Rich, Adam Cockie and Greg Broughton.


2008 WAFL Grand Final, Match Summary
Swans started the game in superb style, as they had the run of the game early, starting with West Coast-listed player Tony Notte kicking the first goal in the opening minute of the game. The underdogs continued to use the ball cleverly and take their chances throughout the opening quarter to open up a somewhat surprising sixteen point lead at quarter time.


2008 WAFL Grand Final, Match Summary
In the second term the contest was much more tight and the Lions ferocity was beginning to take its toll on Swans. At half time Subiaco held a slender four point lead.


2008 WAFL Grand Final, Match Summary
As the game progressed Swans began to break down across half forward and couldn't find their way to goal enough times to counteract a potent Lions forward set up where WAFL leading goalkicker Brad Smith kicked six goals, Mapleston four and Phil Read and Shaun Hildebrandt three each.


2008 WAFL Grand Final, Match Summary
Subiaco then went on in almost 'cruise control' to claim the Premiership.


2008 WAFL season
The 2008 WAFL season was the 124th season of the various incarnations of the West Australian Football League, and was completely dominated by Subiaco, who not only recorded their first hat-trick of premierships but achieved a dominance over the rest of the league unrivalled in a major Australian Rules league since Port Adelaide in the 1914 SAFL season. The Lions lost once to eventual Grand Final opponents Swan Districts by the narrowest possible margin, and were previously generally predicted to achieve an undefeated season, being rarely threatened in their twenty-one victories. They finished seven-and-a-half games clear of second-placed West Perth, and convincingly won the Grand Final after trailing early.


2008 WAFL season
Subiaco’s dominance overshadowed the other eight clubs, where the most notable features were the fall of 2007 finalists Claremont and East Perth to second last and last respectively, and a comeback by East Fremantle who won only two of their first eleven matches but then won eight of their last nine


2008 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 4
The Peel versus East Fremantle game produces the greatest deficit in scoring shots by a winning club in WAFL history, beating the previous record by two shots.


2008 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 5
Peel win another thriller, but this time record their first win scoring fewer goals than their opponents.


2008 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 9
The Lathlain Park match was the first senior WAFL draw in 500 matches since East Perth and Swan Districts drew at Busselton in the opening round of 2003. It was a remarkable result because the colts teams had also drawn earlier in the day.


2008 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 14
Claremont record their ninth consecutive defeat, their worst run since 1974-75, as Peel win for the first time at Claremont Oval.


2008 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 18
Peel win from a 48-point half-time deficit, the third most in WAFL history.


2008 WAFU U-20 Championship
The first WAFU Under-20 Championship took place in Nigeria. The tournament is sometimes referred to as the Ibori Cup and is contested by countries in the West Africa region.


2008 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 2008 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was played between March 14 and March 22, 2008 at five conference arenas and the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. By winning the tournament, Denver was awarded the Broadmoor Trophy and received the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament.


2008 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The first round of the postseason tournament featured a best-of-three games format. All ten conference teams participated in the tournament. Teams were seeded No. 1 through No. 10 according to their final conference standing, with a tiebreaker system used to seed teams with an identical number of points accumulated. The top five seeded teams each earned home ice and hosted one of the lower seeded teams.


2008 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The winners of the first round series advanced to the Xcel Energy Center for the WCHA Final Five, the collective name for the quarterfinal, semifinal, and championship rounds. The Final Five uses a single-elimination format. Teams were re-seeded No. 1 through No. 5 according to the final regular season conference standings, with the top three teams automatically advancing to the semifinals.


2008 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format, Conference Standings
Note: GP = Games Played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against


2008 WDF Europe Cup
The 2008 WDF Europe Cup was the 16th edition of the WDF Europe Cup darts tournament, organised by the World Darts Federation. It was held in Copenhagen, Denmark from 27–30 August.


2008 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship
The 2008 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship was a golf tournament that was played from February 20–24, 2008 over the South Course at The Gallery Golf Club at Dove Mountain in Marana, Arizona. It was the tenth WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and the first of three World Golf Championships held in 2008.


2008 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship
The purse remained at $8,000,000, one of the largest in golf. Tiger Woods won his third WGC Match Play title, and his 15th World Golf Championships event, by beating fellow American Stewart Cink 8 and 7 in the final.


2008 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, Brackets
The Championship was a single elimination match play event. The field consisted of the top 64 players available from the Official World Golf Rankings, seeded according to the rankings. Brett Wetterich (ranked 45) pulled out of the event with a shoulder injury and was replaced by J. B. Holmes (ranked 65).


2008 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, Brackets, Championship match
Yellow background for eagles. Red background for birdies. Blue background for bogeys.


2008 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational
The 2008 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational was a golf tournament that was contested from July 31 – August 3, 2008 over the South Course at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. It was the tenth WGC-Bridgestone Invitational tournament, and the third of three World Golf Championships events held in 2008.


2008 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational
Vijay Singh won the tournament, and claimed his first World Golf Championships title. He shot a 10-under par 270 to win over Stuart Appleby and Lee Westwood by one stroke.


2008 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Field
1. Playing members of the 2007 United States and International Presidents Cup teamsStuart Appleby (3,4), Woody Austin (3,4), Ángel Cabrera (3,4,5), K. J. Choi (3,4,5), Stewart Cink (2,3,4,5), Ernie Els (3,4,5), Jim Furyk (2,3,4), Lucas Glover, Retief Goosen (3,4), Charles Howell III, Trevor Immelman (3,4), Zach Johnson (2,3,4), Hunter Mahan (3,4), Phil Mickelson (2,3,4,5), Geoff Ogilvy (3,4,5), Nick O'Hern, Rory Sabbatini (3,4), Adam Scott (3,4,5), Vijay Singh (3,4), Steve Stricker (3,4,5), David Toms (2), Scott Verplank (2,3,4)


2008 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Field
2. Playing members of the 2006 United States and European Ryder Cup teamsChad Campbell, Paul Casey (3,4), Darren Clarke (5), Chris DiMarco, Sergio García (3,4,5), Pádraig Harrington (3,4,5), J. J. Henry, David Howell, Robert Karlsson (3,4), Paul McGinley, Colin Montgomerie, Henrik Stenson (3,4), Vaughn Taylor, Lee Westwood (3,4,5)


2008 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Field
3. Top 50 players from the Official World Golf Rankings two weeks prior to eventRobert Allenby (4), Stephen Ames (4,5), Aaron Baddeley (4), Tim Clark (4), Niclas Fasth (4), Richard Green (4), Søren Hansen (4,5), Trevor Immelman (4,5), Freddie Jacobson (4), Miguel Ángel Jiménez (4,5), Martin Kaymer (4,5), Anthony Kim (4,5), Justin Leonard (4,5), Graeme McDowell (4,5), Rocco Mediate (4), Sean O'Hair (4,5), Rod Pampling (4), Kenny Perry (4,5), Ian Poulter (4,5), Andrés Romero (4,5), Justin Rose (4,5), Brandt Snedeker (4), Boo Weekley (4,5), Oliver Wilson (4)


2008 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Field
4. Top 50 players from the Official World Golf Rankings one week prior to event


2008 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Field
5. Tournament winners of worldwide events since the prior year's tournament with an Official World Golf Ranking Strength of Field Rating of 115 points or moreMark Brown, Daniel Chopra, Nick Dougherty, Richard Finch, Ross Fisher, Steve Flesch, J. B. Holmes, Brendan Jones, James Kingston, Pablo Larrazábal, Peter Lonard, Steve Lowery, Craig Parry, Chez Reavie, Brett Rumford, Scott Strange, D. J. Trahan, Johnson Wagner, Steve Webster


2008 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Field
6. The winner of selected tournaments from each of the following tours:


2008 WGC-CA Championship
The 2008 WGC-CA Championship was a golf tournament that was contested from March 20–23 at Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Doral, Florida. It was the ninth WGC-CA Championship tournament, and the second of three World Golf Championships events held in 2008.


2008 WGC-CA Championship
Geoff Ogilvy won the tournament to capture his second World Golf Championships title. Tiger Woods was the 3-time defending champion but finished in 5th place.


2008 WGC-CA Championship, Field
1. Top 50 players from the Official World Golf Rankings two weeks prior to eventRobert Allenby (2,3), Stephen Ames (2), Stuart Appleby (2), Woody Austin (2,3), Aaron Baddeley (2,3), Ángel Cabrera (2,6), Mark Calcavecchia (2,3), Paul Casey (2,6), K. J. Choi (2,3,4,5), Stewart Cink (2,3,4,5), Tim Clark (2,3), Luke Donald (2), Ernie Els (2,3,6,7), Niclas Fasth (2,6), Jim Furyk (2,3), Sergio García (2,3,6), Retief Goosen (2,6), Richard Green, Søren Hansen (2,6), Charles Howell III (2,3), Trevor Immelman (2), Miguel Ángel Jiménez (2,7,8), Zach Johnson (2,3), Robert Karlsson (2), Martin Kaymer (2,7,8), Justin Leonard (2,4,5), Hunter Mahan (2,3), Phil Mickelson (2,3,4,5), Arron Oberholser (2), Geoff Ogilvy (2,3), Sean O'Hair (2,5), Nick O'Hern (2), Ian Poulter (2), Andrés Romero (2,6), Justin Rose (2,3,6), Rory Sabbatini (2,3), Adam Scott (2,3,7,8), Vijay Singh (2,3,5,7,8), Brandt Snedeker (2,3), Henrik Stenson (2,6,7,8), Richard Sterne (2,6), Steve Stricker (2,3,4,5), Toru Taniguchi (2,10), Scott Verplank (2,3), Boo Weekley (2,3), Mike Weir (2), Lee Westwood (2,6,7,8), Brett Wetterich (3), Tiger Woods (2,3,4,5)


2008 WGC-CA Championship, Field
2. Top 50 players from the Official World Golf Rankings one week prior to eventNick Dougherty (6), Shingo Katayama (10)


2008 WGC-CA Championship, Field
3. Top 30 from the final 2007 PGA Tour FedEx Cup points listJonathan Byrd, John Rollins, Heath Slocum, Camilo Villegas


2008 WGC-CA Championship, Field
4. Top 10 from the PGA Tour FedEx Cup points list two weeks prior to eventDaniel Chopra, J. B. Holmes (5), Ryuji Imada (5), D. J. Trahan


2008 WGC-CA Championship, Field
5. Top 10 from the PGA Tour FedEx Cup points list one week prior to event


2008 WGC-CA Championship, Field
6. Top 20 from the final 2007 European Tour Order of MeritAnders Hansen, Peter Hanson, Grégory Havret, Søren Kjeldsen, Colin Montgomerie, Graeme Storm


2008 WGC-CA Championship, Field
7. Top 10 from the European Tour Order of Merit two weeks prior to eventMark Brown (8), Shiv Chawrasia, Ross Fisher (8)


2008 WGC-CA Championship, Field
8. Top 10 from the European Tour Order of Merit one week prior to eventGraeme McDowell, Jeev Milkha Singh


2008 WGC-CA Championship, Field
9. Top 3 from the final 2007 Asian Tour Order of MeritAnton Haig, Liang Wenchong, Chapchai Nirat


2008 WGC-CA Championship, Field
10. Top 3 from the final 2007 Japan Golf Tour Order of MeritBrendan Jones


2008 WGC-CA Championship, Field
11. Top 3 from the final 2007 PGA Tour of Australasia Order of MeritCraig Parry, Paul Sheehan


2008 WGC-CA Championship, Field
12. Top 3 from the final 2007 Sunshine Tour Order of MeritJames Kingston, Andrew McLardy, Louis Oosthuizen


2008 WKU Hilltoppers football team
The 2008 WKU Hilltoppers football team represented Western Kentucky University (WKU) during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head coach was David Elson. WKU competed as an NCAA Division I FBS independent team in 2008 before their move to the Sun Belt Conference in 2009. The Hilltoppers played their home games at Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green, Kentucky.


2008 WNBA Finals
The 2008 WNBA Finals was the championship series of the 2008 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The  Detroit Shock, top-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference, defeated the San Antonio Silver Stars, top-seeded champions of the Western Conference, three games to none in a best-of-five series. This was Detroit's third title in six years.


2008 WNBA Finals
2008 marked the first time since switching to a five-game format that the Finals series was swept. The Shock made their fourth appearance in the Finals in six years. The Silver Stars appeared in the Finals for the first time in franchise history.


2008 WNBA Finals
Going into the series, the Shock had won two championships, tied with the Los Angeles Sparks for second most in WNBA history. The now defunct Houston Comets hold the record with four championships won.


2008 WNBA Finals
The Silver Stars' 24–10 record gave them home court advantage over Detroit (22–12). It did not matter, however, as the Shock swept the series, winning the first two games on the Silver Stars' home floor.


2008 WNBA Finals, Road to the finals, Regular season series
The San Antonio Silver Stars won both games in the regular season series:


2008 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 1
The Silver Stars' defense was able to hold Deanna Nolan to just 10 points in forty minutes of play. But they had no answer for Katie Smith (25 points, 4–8 3P-FG) or Taj McWilliams-Franklin (24 points, 65% FG).


2008 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 1
The Silver Stars, who lost to an Eastern Conference team for the first time all season after 14 wins, were led by Sophia Young's 21 points and 16 from Ann Wauters.


2008 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 1
Detroit didn't get its first lead until 2:19 into the second quarter when Smith made two free throws to go up 21–20 before the Shock outscored San Antonio 21-12 the rest of the half for the double-digit margin.


2008 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 1
The Silver Stars went cold, shooting 4-of-16 in the second quarter. San Antonio played without key reserves Helen Darling and Edwige Lawson-Wade. Darling strained her right calf and Lawson-Wade sprained her right ankle during Saturday's Game 2 victory over Los Angeles in the Western Conference semifinals.


2008 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 1
Detroit, already without All-Star forward Cheryl Ford, missed Plenette Pierson for the third time in the last five games because of a labrum tear in her right shoulder.


2008 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 2
Katie Smith scored 22 points and the Shock built a big lead in the first quarter, then hung on to beat the San Antonio Silver Stars 69–61 and go up 2–0. Deanna Nolan and Kara Braxton added 12 points each for the Shock, who led 19–2 less than 6 minutes into the game.


2008 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 2
Detroit made nine of its first 10 shots and San Antonio missed its first seven attempts, allowing the Shock to build a 10–0 lead. The Silver Stars didn't score from the floor until 5:57 into the game, when Hammon converted on a drive to the basket that made it 19–4.


2008 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 2
The Silver Stars tied the game with 3:26 left in the third quarter on a pair of free throws by Hammon, and she put San Antonio ahead 45–44 with 1:46 left in the quarter on another pair of free throws. Plenette Pierson, wearing a protective wrap on her shoulder after missing Game 1 with an injury, answered with a reverse layup for her only points of the night. Smith followed with two free throws that gave Detroit a 48–45 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Shock expanded the lead to 66–55 with 2:15 to play after Smith hit a 10-foot jumper, Taj McWilliams-Franklin scored on a 17-footer and Braxton made a layup.


2008 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 3
Detroit became the second team in league history to win a third championship. Only the Houston Comets, who won the first four (1997–2000), have more. Los Angeles (2001, 2002) is the only other team with more than one. It was a redeeming win for the Shock, who let the 2007 title slip away, losing Game 5 at The Palace of Auburn Hills to the Phoenix Mercury.


2008 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 3
Detroit swept the league's best regular-season team, winning the clincher at the Eastern Michigan University Convocation Center, a venue forced upon them because of a scheduling conflict. The Shock won their 2003 championship at The Palace and their '06 title at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena, also a substitute venue because of a logistical conflict.


2008 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 3
The game was tight for three quarters with San Antonio leading by six on several occasions. But the veteran Shock were too much to take in the fourth with the title on the line. The Shock had been one of the league's best teams for much of the year, but sputtered a bit after losing top post player Cheryl Ford to a season-ending knee injury in July.


2008 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 3
But a trade for the veteran McWilliams-Franklin over the Olympic break was just what Detroit needed. It won its last five games of the regular season and six of seven after the monthlong Olympic break and carried the momentum into the playoffs.


2008 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 3
The Shock are now considered the second dynasty of the WNBA.


2008 WNBA Playoffs
The 2008 WNBA Playoffs was the postseason for the Women's National Basketball Association's 2008 season which ended with the Eastern Conference champion Detroit Shock defeating the Western Conference champion San Antonio Silver Stars 3-0.


2008 WNBA Playoffs, Playoff qualifying, Eastern Conference
The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the East:


2008 WNBA Playoffs, Playoff qualifying, Western Conference
The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the West:


2008 WNBA Playoffs, Bracket
This was the outlook for the 2008 WNBA playoffs. Teams in italics had home court advantage. Teams in bold advanced to the next round. Numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's original playoffs seeding in their respective conferences. Numbers to the right of each team indicate the number of games the team won in that round.


2008 WNBA draft
The WNBA draft is the league's annual process for determining which Women's National Basketball Association teams receive the rights to negotiate with players entering the league. The 2008 draft was held on April 9.


2008 WNBA draft
A lottery was held on October 23, 2007. The Los Angeles Sparks received the first overall selection of the upcoming 2008 draft. The Chicago Sky received the number two selection. The Minnesota Lynx came up with the third overall selection, followed by the Atlanta Dream expansion franchise at four, the Houston Comets at number five, and the Washington Mystics at number six. Some of the top draftees were Candace Parker, Sylvia Fowles, Candice Wiggins, Crystal Langhorne, and Tasha Humphrey.


2008 WNBA draft
Top pick Candace Parker went on to become the first WNBA player to be the league's Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season. Fourth pick Alexis Hornbuckle became the first person to win a national championship in college (with the University of Tennessee) and a WNBA title (with the Detroit Shock) in the same calendar year.


2008 WNBA draft, Transactions
The Detroit Shock holds the eleventh pick in round one as part of the Katie Feenstra/Ruth Riley trade back in February 2007.


2008 WNBA draft, Transactions
The San Antonio Silver Stars holds the twenty-first pick as part of 2007 WNBA draft trade with the New York Liberty that involved Becky Hammon.


2008 WNBA season
The 2008 WNBA season was the 12th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. It was the first WNBA season with a franchise in Atlanta as the Dream were announced in late 2007.


2008 WNBA season
No WNBA All-Star Game was held due to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The regular season began with a televised (ABC) meeting between the defending champion Phoenix Mercury and the Los Angeles Sparks in Phoenix, Arizona, on May 17.


2008 WNBA season, 2007–2008 off-season, Atlanta Dream expansion draft
Atlanta held their expansion draft on February 6, 2008, when they selected one player from each of the thirteen teams in the league.


2008 WNBA season, 2007–2008 off-season, Atlanta Dream expansion draft
The Dream were then free to make trades with other teams in the league.


2008 WNBA season, 2007–2008 off-season, Draft
On October 23, 2007, the WNBA draft lottery was held. The Los Angeles Sparks received the first pick. The Chicago Sky was awarded the number two pick, followed by the Minnesota Lynx at number three, the Atlanta Dream at number four, the Houston Comets at number five and the Washington Mystics at number six.


2008 WNBA season, 2007–2008 off-season, Draft
The 2008 WNBA draft was held on April 9 in Tampa, Florida. Coverage of the first round was shown on ESPN2. Second and third round coverage was shown on NBA TV.


2008 WNBA season, Regular season, All-star game
There was no WNBA All-Star Game due to the break July 28 through August 27 for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This marks the first time since the game was started in the 1999 season that there was no All-Star contest.


2008 WNBA season, Playoffs and Finals
This was the outlook for the 2008 WNBA playoffs. Teams in italics had home court advantage. Teams in bold advanced to the next round. Numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's original playoffs seeding in their respective conferences. Numbers to the right of each team indicate the number of games the team won in that round.


2008 WNBL Finals
The 2008 WNBL Finals was the postseason tournament of the WNBL's 2007–08 season. The Canberra Capitals were the two-time defending champions but were defeated by Dandenong in the Semi Finals. The Adelaide Lightning won their fifth WNBL championship with a 92–82 win over the Sydney Uni Flames.


2008 WPA World Eight-ball Championship
The 2008 WPA World Eight-ball Championship was an eight-ball world championship, organized by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA), and held 18–25 April 2010 at the Fujairah Exhibition Centre of the Al Diar Siji Hotel in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. A total of 64 players competed in the tournament.


2008 WPA World Eight-ball Championship
The event was won by Ralf Souquet, who defeated defending champion Ronato Alcano in the final.


2008 WPA World Eight-ball Championship
The previous years runner up Dennis Orcollo lost in the semi-final in a repeat of the previous years final to Ronato Alcano 10–9. Marcus Chamat of Sweden also reached the event semi-final, losing to eventual winner Souquet.


2008 WPA World Eight-ball Championship
The event field was made up of players from various tours, as well as players from a middle east qualifying tournament.


2008 WPA World Eight-ball Championship, Tournament bracket, Preliminary Round
The following players won one match in the preliminary round, and finished between 33 and 48th


2008 WPA World Eight-ball Championship, Tournament bracket, Preliminary Round
The following players did not win a round in the preliminary tournament, and were ranked 49th to 64th.


2008 WPA World Ten-ball Championship
The WPA 10-Ball World Championship 2008 was a ten-ball pool tournament held from September 29 to October 5, 2008 at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philipinnes. The event featured a field of 128 players, competing in a double-elimination and then single-elimination tournament. The total prize fund for the event was $400,000 with $100,000 being awarded to the winner.


2008 WPA World Ten-ball Championship
The event was won by England's Darren Appleton, winning his first world championship, defeating nineteen year old Taiwanese Wu Chia-ching in the final 13–11. The event was boycotted by many top Filipino players, such as Efren Reyes, due to an issue with sponsors Raya Sports.


2008 WPA World Ten-ball Championship, Format
The 128 participating players were divided into 16 groups, in which they competed in a double elimination tournament against each other. The remaining 64 players in each group qualified for the final round played in the knockout system. The event was played under the alternating break format.


2008 WPA World Ten-ball Championship, Format, Prize money
Below was the advertised prize fund for the event. The event saw the largest amount of prize money for the event, with $400,000 being paid, and the winner's share of $100,000 won by Darren Appleton. The event was boycotted by some players due to not receiving payment from organiser's Raya sports. The event's prize money payments were delayed, with winner Appleton not receiving payment for over a month after the event. All prize money was eventually paid to players, including Appleton.


2008 WPA World Ten-ball Championship, Tournament summary
Other results: 5th through 8th: Nick Van Den Berg, Charlie Williams, Liu Haitao, Mika Immonen; 9th through 16th: Shane Van Boening, Mark Gray, Ralf Souquet, Yang Ching-shun, Jerico Banares, Marlon Manalo, Fu Che-wei, and Satoshi Kawabata.


2008 WPA World Ten-ball Championship, Tournament summary
Nineteen-year-old Wu Chia-ching defeated Filipino Demosthenes Pulpul 11–8 in the semi-finals, October 4. Using a borrowed cue stick, Wu reached the title match of the event. Pulpul, meanwhile, would go on to compete against Niels "the Terminator" Feijen of the Netherlands for 3rd place (see below for details). Earlier, Pulpul had defeated Liu Haitao (11–8) of China in the quarter-finals, while Feijen lost to Darren Appleton of England, 9–11.


2008 WPA World Ten-ball Championship, Tournament summary
Appleton squared off with Wu for the $100,000 (₱4,715,000 or UK£56,000) 1st prize on October 5, and claimed an upset victory over Wu, 13–11. He said of his win: "I've waited 16 years for this and have to enjoy the moment. I had mixed feelings and I was looking back at my disappointments in the past. I was ranked first in the world [earlier in the decade] but I have never won a world championship. I saved my best game for the finals.


2008 WPA World Ten-ball Championship, Tournament summary
I really wanted to dictate the tempo of the game, but the breaks just didn’t go my way. It was a good game. I played well this time. He was a tough player but I made fewer mistakes than him. It was a dream come true for me and I'm happy to win the title here in the Philippines. I would love to be back here."


2008 WPA World Ten-ball Championship, Tournament summary
Appleton was also quoted as saying: "Pool is an easy choice for me as a sport as I have to choose among boxing, football and pool among others. But this victory is sweeter for me and I have to dedicate this to my parents, whose relationship is in the rocks. With the $100,000 grand prize, first, I have to give some to my parents, because we had a difficult way of living."


2008 WPA World Ten-ball Championship, Tournament summary
Wu, nicknamed Taisun ("Little Genius") settled for the runner-up prize of $40,000, and remarked, "I didn't have a good break in the last game and that was crucial to me." In the third-place battle, Feijen defeated Pulpul, 11–8, and received $25,000 (₱1,178,000) to Pulpul's $15,000.


2008 WPA World Ten-ball Championship, Tournament summary
WPA president Ian Anderson announced: "This early, there's a strong clamor for the WTBC and it will definitely be back next year in Manila. It will be staged October of next year and there's also the Philippine Open to be held June 2009. I think Manila is the best place to go in hosting pool and it is living up to its billing as the pool Mecca in Asia." The event would later return in 2009.


2008 WPA World Ten-ball Championship, Knockout round
Below is the results from the knockout round. Players in bold denote match winners.


2008 WPS Bathurst 12 Hour
The 2008 WPS Bathurst 12 Hour was an endurance race for Group 3J Performance Cars and Group 3E Series Production Cars. It was the sixth Bathurst 12 Hour to be held and the second since its 2007 revival. The race was won by Rod Salmon, Damien White and Graham Alexander driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. It was the first time a Mitsubishi had won the race.


2008 WPS Bathurst 12 Hour, Class structure
The event was staged at the Mount Panorama Circuit, Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia on 10 February 2008 with cars competing in the following classes:


2008 WPS General Draft
The 2008 WPS General Draft took place on October 6, 2008. It was the first general draft held by Women's Professional Soccer to assign the WPS rights of international and domestic players to the American-based teams.


2008 WPS General Draft, Draft notes
The order was established based on a lottery done at the Board of Governors meeting on September 15, 2008 prior to the U.S. National Team allocation on September 17. The order was 1-7, 7-1, 1-7, 7-1. The WPS General Draft was open to both domestic and international players.


2008 WPS International Draft
The 2008 WPS International Draft took place on September 24, 2008. It was the first international draft held by Women's Professional Soccer to assign the WPS rights of international players to the American-based teams. For the 2009 season, teams will be able to sign 5 international players to their roster.


2008 WPS International Draft, Draft notes
Draft order was determined by weighted results from a coach's poll about the strength of each team's USWNT allocation, which had occurred earlier that month.


2008 WPS Player Allocation
The Women's Professional Soccer Player Allocation distributed 21 players from the United States women's national soccer team player pool to seven teams in the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) for the league's inaugural season.


2008 WPS Player Allocation, Process
The allocation followed a process in which the players and teams submitted their preferences to the league. A committee then reviewed the lists to provide its recommendations. The WPS Board of Governors met on September 14–15, 2008 to consult with the players, teams and league to determine the best possible dispersal for all parties with the following allocation results.


2008 WPSL season
The 2008 Women's Premier Soccer League season was the 12th season of the WPSL.


2008 WPSL season
Ajax America Women finished the season as national champions, beating Arizona Rush in the WPSL Championship game in Sacramento, California on 3 August 2008.


2008 WSBL season
The 2008 WSBL season was the 20th season of the Women's State Basketball League (SBL). The regular season began on Friday 28 March and ended on Saturday 2 August. The finals began on Friday 8 August and ended on Friday 5 September, when the Perry Lakes Hawks defeated the Willetton Tigers in the WSBL Grand Final.


2008 WSBL season, Regular season
The regular season began on Friday 28 March and ended on Saturday 2 August after 19 rounds of competition.


2008 WSBL season, Finals
The finals began on Friday 8 August and ended on Friday 5 September with the WSBL Grand Final.


2008 WTA Tier I Series
The WTA Tier I Events are part of the elite tour for professional women's tennis organised by the WTA called the WTA Tour.


2008 WTA Tier I Series, Schedule
The table below shows the 2008 WTA Tier I Series schedule.


2008 WTA Tour
The 2008 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the elite professional tennis circuit organized by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for the 2008 tennis season. The 2008 WTA Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments (supervised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF)), the WTA Tier I-IV Events, the Fed Cup (organized by the ITF), the year-end championships, and the tennis event at the Beijing Summer Olympic Games.


2008 WTA Tour
The season was characterised by its frequent changes in the No. 1 ranking, with Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Janković and Serena Williams all holding the position at one point during the season. Eventually Janković finished the season as the No. 1 player in the world despite not winning a Grand Slam tournament. She did however reach the final of the U.S. Open, and won four tournaments throughout the season.


2008 WTA Tour
Four players won the Grand Slam titles. Maria Sharapova won her third major title at the Australian Open, Ana Ivanovic won her maiden title at the French Open, Venus Williams won her seventh Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, and Serena Williams won her ninth Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open. Dinara Safina also reached her first Grand Slam final at the French Open, and won four events during the season.


2008 WTA Tour
One of the big stories of the year was the shock retirement of Justine Henin on May 14, less than two weeks before she was set to defend her French Open title. She became the first player to retire while ranked at No. 1 in the world. Henin later returned for the 2010 season.


2008 WTA Tour, Summary
Justine Henin started the season as the No. 1 ranked player in the world. Following her impressive 2007 season and victory at the warm-up tournament in Sydney, she was considered the outright favourite to win the Australian Open. However she was beaten in emphatic fashion by Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals, who then defeated Jelena Janković and Ana Ivanovic to win her third Grand Slam title. Daniela Hantuchová also reached her first Grand Slam semifinal. Sister team Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko pulled off an unexpected title run in the Women's Doubles, while Sun Tiantian teamed up with Nenad Zimonjić to win her first Grand Slam tournament of any kind in the Mixed Doubles event.


2008 WTA Tour, Summary
Sharapova continued to impress by winning the tournament in Doha, before her 18-match win streak was snapped by Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinals of Indian Wells. Kuznetsova went on to lose to Ivanovic in the final. It was then the turn of Serena Williams to build a win streak, claiming the titles in Bangalore, Miami—her fifth title at the event, tying Steffi Graf for the most singles titles at this tournament—and then Charleston. Her 17-match winning run was eventually ended in Berlin by Dinara Safina, who had already beaten Henin in that tournament, and subsequently went on to lift the title.


2008 WTA Tour, Summary
During the Rome tournament Henin announced her shock retirement from professional tennis, becoming the first player ever to retire whilst ranked at No. 1 in the world. Henin's removal from the rankings meant that then-No. 2 Maria Sharapova became the new No. 1 by default. Jelena Janković eventually won the tournament in Rome.


2008 WTA Tour, Summary
With Henin's retirement the French Open was considered to be wide open. World No. 1 Sharapova was stopped by Safina in the fourth round, who fought back from match points down to win, before doing the same against Elena Dementieva in the quarterfinals. She eventually reached her first Grand Slam final. On the other side of the draw Ana Ivanovic came through after an all-Serbian semifinal with Jelena Janković, which meant that Ivanovic would move to the No. 1 position regardless of the result in the final. She ended up beating Safina for her first Slam title. In the women's doubles tournament Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual were victorious, the first Slam for Medina Garrigues and the tenth for Ruano Pascual. Victoria Azarenka won her second Grand Slam in the mixed doubles event.


2008 WTA Tour, Summary
The third Grand Slam of the year at Wimbledon brought with it some surprises: for the first time in the Open Era none of the top four seeds managed to reach the semifinals. World No. 1 Ivanovic surrendered to Zheng Jie in the third round, who went on to become the first Chinese women to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam in singles. Tamarine Tanasugarn knocked out Janković en route to her only major quarterfinal. Sharapova was upset by Alla Kudryavtseva, and Kuznetsova lost to Agnieszka Radwańska, who had shown prior form winning the warm-up tournament in Eastbourne.


2008 WTA Tour, Summary
Serena Williams and her sister Venus Williams reached the final, the first Grand Slam final between the two since Wimbledon five years ago. Venus would defeat her sister for her fifth Wimbledon title. They also teamed up to win the doubles title, their seventh as a team. In the mixed doubles event Samantha Stosur won with Bob Bryan.


2008 WTA Tour, Summary
Ivanovic lost her No. 1 ranking in August, as fellow Serbian Jelena Janković ascended to the top position for the first time. Dinara Safina proved strong on the summer hardcourts, winning titles in Los Angeles and Montréal. She then made it to the final match at the Beijing Olympics, but lost to Dementieva, who achieved her biggest career victory with the gold medal. With Vera Zvonareva also winning the bronze medal it meant that Russia swept the podium in the singles event. Li Na almost made a strong run at home, but lost in the bronze medal match. In doubles Serena and Venus Williams won their second gold medals together, after winning at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.


2008 WTA Tour, Summary
Ivanovic regained the No. 1 position following the Olympics, and held it heading into the U.S. Open. There it was up to grabs with five women—Ivanovic, Janković, Safina, Kuznetsova, and Serena Williams—being in contention for the top spot. Ivanovic was upset in the second round by Julie Coin, one of the worst losses for a top-ranked player ever. Serena would defeat Jelena Janković in the final. By virtue of winning her eighth major title Williams ascended to the top ranking for the first time since 2002. In the doubles tournament Cara Black and Liezel Huber won their fourth Grand Slam as a team, with Black also victorious in the mixed doubles with Leander Paes.


2008 WTA Tour, Summary
The fall season saw Jelena Janković return to the No. 1 position after winning events in Beijing, Stuttgart and Moscow, and thus securing the year-end No. 1 ranking. Dinara Safina won the title in Tokyo, beating Petrova and Kuznetsova en route. Both had a solid indoor season with Petrova making the final of Stuttgart and winning Quebec, and Kuznetsova finishing runner-up in Beijing and Tokyo. Vera Zvonareva also had a strong finish to the year, reaching the final of Moscow and Linz, where she lost to Ivanovic, and the WTA Tour Championships in Doha, where she lost to Venus Williams.


2008 WTA Tour, Summary
Williams won her first title at the year-end championships. Other players at the final event were semifinalists Elena Dementieva and Jelena Janković, Dinara Safina, Serena Williams, Ana Ivanovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova, plus alternates Agnieszka Radwańska and Nadia Petrova. In the doubles event Black and Huber successfully defended the title they won in 2007.


2008 WTA Tour, Statistics, Titles information
List of players & singles titles won, last name alphabetically:


2008 WTA Tour, Awards
The winners of the 2008 WTA Awards were announced on 25 March 2009, during a special ceremony at the Sony Ericsson Open.


2008 WTA Tour Championships
The 2008 WTA Tour Championships (also known as the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships for sponsorship reasons) was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 38th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 33rd edition of the year-end doubles championships, and is part of the 2008 WTA Tour. It took place at the Khalifa International Tennis Complex in Doha, Qatar, from November 4 through November 9, 2008.


2008 WTA Tour Championships, Finals, Doubles
Cara Black /  Liezel Huber defeated  Květa Peschke /  Rennae Stubbs, 6–1, 7–5.


2008 WTA Tour Championships, Players
The top eight players and the top four doubles teams in the 2008 WTA Tour will qualify for the Championships. Two more players will also come to Doha as reserves. Should any player withdraw, they will enter the tournament.


2008 WTA Tour Championships, Players, Qualified singles players
On 30 July, Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic became the first two players to qualify for the year-end championships.


2008 WTA Tour Championships, Players, Qualified singles players
Following a surging 2007, Janković started the year at the Hopman Cup where she partnered with Novak Djokovic to reach the final, losing out to United States' Serena Williams and Mardy Fish. She reached the semifinals of the Australian Open a few weeks after falling to Maria Sharapova, the eventual champion  where she beat Serena Williams en route in the quarterfinals. In February and March, she reached a lone final at the Sony Ericsson Open losing to Serena Williams 1-6, 7-5, 3-6. She further reached two semifinals and two quarterfinals.


2008 WTA Tour Championships, Players, Qualified singles players
In the clay season, Janković won the Italian Open for the second straight year against surprise finalist Alize Cornet who was an 18-year-old qualifier. At the French Open, she reached her third straight major semifinal but fell in three grueling sets to once again the eventual champion in Ana Ivanovic, a match that decided the new World No. 1.


2008 WTA Tour Championships, Players, Qualified singles players
Jankovic then headed straight to Wimbledon where she lost to Tamarine Tanasugarn in the fourth round. Jankovic eventually became the 18th female No. 1, replacing compatriot Ivanovic on August 11. At the Beijing Olympics, she lost to eventual silver medalist Dinara Safina in the quarterfinals. At the US Open, Jankovic beat Elena Dementieva in the final four to reach her first Grand Slam final but lost to Serena Williams. In the fall season, she won three consecutive tournaments at the China Open, the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix and the Kremlin Cup justifying her return to the top spot.


2008 WTA Tour Championships, Players, Qualified singles players
Ana Ivanovic began the 2008 season by reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open where she lost to Maria Sharapova in straight sets. She then managed to win her sixth title and third Tier I title in Indian Wells, beating Jelena Jankovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinals and finals respectively. Following a mediocre pre-French Open season where she failed to defend her title in Berlin, she entered Roland Garros as the second seed and favourite.


2008 WTA Tour Championships, Players, Qualified singles players
She lived up to that expectation by winning her first Grand Slam (and her only to date) and becoming the first Serbian to reach the No. 1 spot, virtue of beating compatriot Jankovic in the semifinals. She defeated first-time Grand Slam finalist Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-3. In her first tournament as the new world No. 1 at Wimbledon, she was upset in the third round by Chinese wildcard Zheng Jie.


2008 WTA Tour Championships, Players, Qualified singles players
Following a disappointing Wimbledon campaign, she suffered an injury-marred US Open Series as she withdrew from Los Angeles and the Olympics, which Ivanovic described as "one of the worst moments in my career". She played only one tournament which was at the Rogers Cup and was eliminated in the third round. As the top seed for the US Open, she suffered for the second straight major a loss to a player ranked outside the top 100 in French qualifier Julie Coin. She returned to form in October by winning the indoor tournament in Linz as well as reach the semifinals at the Kremlin Cup.


2008 WTA Tour Championships, Players, Qualified singles players
On 4 September, Serena Williams and Dinara Safina were announced as the third and fourth qualifiers for the Championships.


2008 WTA Tour Championships, Players, Qualified singles players
Serena Williams started the year at the Hopman Cup where she teamed up with Mardy Fish to win it for the US. At the Australian Open, she made the quarterfinals losing to Jelena Jankovic.


2008 WTA Tour Championships, Players, Qualified singles players
On 18 September, Elena Dementieva became the fifth qualifier for the Championships.


2008 WTA Tour Championships, Players, Qualified singles players
On 17 October, by reaching the quarterfinals at the Kremlin Cup, Svetlana Kuznetsova was confirmed as the sixth qualifier.


2008 WTA Tour Championships, Players, Qualified singles players
On 25 October, the final two spots were taken by Vera Zvonareva and Venus Williams.


2008 WTA Tour Championships, Players, Qualified doubles teams
In doubles, team Cara Black and Liezel Huber qualified with convincing lead with more than 6,000 points, while other three teams all failed to collect even a half of that number of points, with all of them being around 2,000.


2008 WTA Tour Championships, Singles Championship Race, Singles
Players in gold have qualified for Doha. Players in brown withdrawn. The low-ranked players in blue after them would be played as alternates in Doha.


2008 WTA Tour Championships – Doubles
Cara Black and Liezel Huber were the defending champions, and won in the final 6–1, 7–5, against Květa Peschke and Rennae Stubbs.


2008 WTA Tour Championships – Singles
The 2008 WTA Tour Championships – Singles was the singles event of the 2008 WTA Tour Championships, a season-ending tennis tournament held in November that featured the eight players who had collected the most ranking points during that year's WTA Tour season.


2008 WTA Tour Championships – Singles
Justine Henin was the defending champion, but retired from the sport on May 14, 2008.


2008 WTA Tour Championships – Singles
Venus Williams won in the final 6–7(5–7), 6–0, 6–2, against Vera Zvonareva.


2008 WTA Tour Championships – Singles, Draw, White Group
Standings are determined by: 1) Number of wins; 2) Number of matches; 3) In two-players-ties, head-to-head records; 4) In three-players-ties, percentage of sets won, or of games won; 5) Steering Committee decision.


2008 WTA Tour Championships – Singles, Draw, Maroon Group
Standings are determined by: 1) Number of wins; 2) Number of matches; 3) In two-players-ties, head-to-head records; 4) In three-players-ties, percentage of sets won, or of games won; 5) Steering Committee decision.


2008 WWE draft
The 2008 World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) draft, the sixth WWE draft,  took place at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas on June 23. The draft took place live for three hours on Raw. Every WWE wrestler, announcer, commentator, and general manager were eligible to be drafted. Similar to the 2007 WWE draft, wrestlers from each brand competed in matches to win a random draft pick for their brand. Draft picks were kayfabe selected at random via a computer that was shown on the Raw titantron.


2008 WWE draft
Like the previous year, a supplemental draft took place on June 25, where draft selections were randomly conducted. The Draft featured the Raw brand randomly drafting ECW Champion Kane from the ECW brand. It also featured the ECW brand drafting WWE United States Champion Matt Hardy from the SmackDown brand. The final selection in the draft was conducted by the SmackDown brand, and they drafted WWE Champion Triple H from the Raw brand. Per pre-draft stipulations, all the three champions brought their respective titles to the brand to which they were drafted.


2008 WWE draft, Background
The draft was announced by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon on the May 26, 2008 episode of Raw. During the announcement, he stated that every WWE performer from all three brands, Raw, ECW, and SmackDown, were eligible to be drafted. On the June 16 episode of Raw, McMahon announced that his McMahon's Million Dollar Mania contest would take place on the same night as the WWE draft. During the contest, McMahon gave away one million dollars to WWE fans. McMahon telephoned fans, who had registered for the contest, at their homes and asked them for a password, which was revealed at the opening of the Raw broadcast. If their answer was correct, he awarded the fan a portion of one million dollars.


2008 WWE draft, Background
On June 24, WWE announced on its website that a supplemental draft would take place on June 25 at noon ET. The supplemental draft, like the previous year, was conducted randomly, with each brand receiving random draft selections. Wrestlers affected by the televised draft were exempt from the supplemental draft. Because professional wrestling is scripted, outcomes are usually predetermined. Unlike years past, during this draft, many employees in WWE were not told whether they were scripted to change brands.


2008 WWE draft, Background
Aside from the Million Dollar Mania contest, the draft was announced to help increase the television ratings of Raw, which had been declining since WrestleMania XXIV. Though the draft helps increase ratings, it is also used as a way to refresh the rosters and create new storylines.


2008 WWE draft, Selections
There were 28 selections conducted in the draft overall. 11 selections were conducted on television, while 17 selections occurred during the supplemental draft. The Raw brand earned five televised selections through their representatives winning five different matches, while they received six supplemental selections. In total, the Raw brand drafted 11 employees: five on television and six through the supplemental draft. The SmackDown brand earned five television selections through their representatives winning five different matches, while they received seven supplemental selections. In total, the SmackDown brand drafted 12 employees: five on television and seven through the supplemental draft.


2008 WWE draft, Selections
The ECW brand earned one televised selection through their representative winning one match, while they received four supplemental selections. In total, the ECW brand drafted five employees: one on television and four through the supplemental draft. The 28 included two commentators, two Divas, and 24 male wrestlers (two inactive wrestlers and 22 active wrestlers).


2008 WWE draft, Selections, Televised draft, Matches
During the program, representatives from the Raw, ECW and SmackDown brands were involved in matches that determined which brand received a draft pick. Overall, there were 9 matches, in which Raw won four, ECW won one, SmackDown won three and one resulted in no winner.


2008 WWE draft, Aftermath
Jim Ross, one of the draftees, was unaware he was to switch brands during the draft. After the draft, Ross was on the verge of quitting his job as a commentator for WWE, as he was angry at the fact he was leaving the Raw brand, where he had commentated for over ten years. Ross stated on his official blog that he was about to quit WWE, but he decided to continue to work for the company and make the best of working on SmackDown.