2008 North Texas Mean Green football team
The 2008 North Texas Mean Green football team represented the University of North Texas in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The season was the team's second under head coach Todd Dodge. Gary DeLoach was hired in the off-season as the new defensive coordinator replacing Ron Mendoza. The Mean Green played their home games on campus at Fouts Field in Denton, Texas.


2008 North Texas Mean Green football team, Game summaries, Kansas State
Kansas State overpowered North Texas on both sides of the ball, scoring on six of its first seven possessions to take a 42–0 lead, holding the Mean Green to 205 total yards—81 in the first half. Kansas State quarterback Josh Freeman threw for three touchdowns and rushed for another two. Quarterback Giovanni Vizza completed 16 of 29 passes for 100 yards, including the Mean Green's only touchdown of the game, a 9-yard pass to Alex Lott late in the third quarter.


2008 North Texas Mean Green football team, Game summaries, Rice
This game will be just the second meeting between both teams with the first meeting happening in 1988 when North Texas defeated Rice 33–17 in Houston.


2008 North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council election
Elections to North Tyneside Metropolitan Council took place on 1 May 2008 on the same day as other local council elections in England.


2008 North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council election
North Tyneside Council is elected "in thirds" which means one councillor from each three-member ward is elected each year with a fourth year when the mayoral election takes place.


2008 North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council election
One-third of the councillors were elected in 2008. The Conservative party gained an overall majority of one on the council after the election which previously had been under no overall control. However the directly elected mayor, John Harrison, belongs to the Labour party, meaning Labour remained in effective control of the council, as he can only be overruled by a two-thirds majority of the council.


2008 North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council election, Monkseaton North
A further by-election was held in June 2008. Details can be found here.


2008 North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council election, Preston
A further by-election was held on 24 September 2009. Details can be found here.


2008 North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council election, Tynemouth
A further by-election was held on 5 February 2009. Details can be found here.


2008 North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council election, Valley
The sitting councillor, Angela Potter, had previously defected to the Liberal Democrats from the Labour Party.


2008 North West 200 Races
The 2008 North West 200 took place on Saturday 17 May at the 8.966 mile circuit, dubbed "The Triangle", based around the towns of Coleraine, Portrush and Portstewart, in Northern Ireland. The meeting was overshadowed by the death of Northern Irish rider Robert Dunlop, the record-holder for wins at the circuit, who was killed in a practice crash on 15 May. The 47-year-old had been travelling in a group of three riders at the Mather's Cross section of the course, when his bike seized at 160 mph. He would later succumb to his injuries in a Coleraine hospital. Robert's sons Michael and William continued to race at the meeting, with Michael winning the 250cc race.


2008 North West 200 Races, Practice
John McGuinness dominated qualifying for the 250cc race, the first to be contested on race day. McGuinness went round the 8.966 mile circuit in a time of 4'57.791, the only rider to break five minutes and qualified on pole by over 3 seconds from the Hondas of Michael Dunlop and Paul Robinson. Hondas took the first eight places on the grid, with Henrik Voit's Aprilia the best non-Honda in ninth. McGuinness also dominated Superbike practice, being fastest both on Tuesday and on Thursday.


2008 North West 200 Races, Practice
Having achieved a 4'25.377 on Tuesday, he lowered that mark by over 3 seconds to a 4'22.342 on Thursday. Michael Rutter on the NW200-backed Ducati qualified 2nd on a 4'22.999, with the rest in the 4'24s or higher. This session sets the grid for both Superbike races. Steve Plater qualified on pole for the Supersport races, recording a lap of 4'33.749 on Thursday to put him half a second clear of Alastair Seeley, who qualified second, with Keith Amor qualifying 3rd, to give three different nations placed in the top three places.


2008 North West 200 Races, Practice
Amor would go two places better in the qualifying session for the Superstock race. In the fourth session, he set a time of 4'26.446, which would give him the pole by over 1.5 seconds. Seeley was second with his time of 4'28.029 coming in session three and Rutter was third, with a 4'28.138 set in session four.


2008 North West 200 Races, Practice
Michael Wilcox was the clear pacesetter in the 125cc qualifying, setting a pole lap of 5'17.528 and was on top by nearly three seconds from the Aprilia of David Lemon with the Hondas of Mark Curtin, Michael Dunlop and Chris Palmer rounding out the top five. Leo Aldersley's Yamaha was fastest in the 400cc session, which occurred at the same time as the 125cc session as those two races are contested in the one race, albeit separated on track. His 5'15.329 was almost three seconds faster than second placed qualifier and fellow Yamaha rider, Oliver Linsdell. Les Shand's Kawasaki was third, with the best Honda belonging to Manxman David Madsen-Mygdal lining up fourth.


2008 North West 200 Races, Races, Race 1; 250cc Race final standings
Fastest Lap: Michael Dunlop, 4'51.975 on lap 4 (110.549 mph; 177.911 km/h)


2008 North West 200 Races, Races, Race 2; 1000cc Superbike Race final standings
Fastest Lap: Michael Rutter, 4'20.729 on lap 5 (123.798 mph; 199.234 km/h)


2008 North West 200 Races, Races, Race 3; Supersport Race final standings
Fastest Lap and New Lap Record: Steve Plater, 4'30.792 on lap 5 (119.197 mph; 191.829 km/h)


2008 North West 200 Races, Races, Race 4; 125cc Race final standings
Fastest Lap: Chris Palmer, 5'16.672 on lap 4 (101.928 mph; 164.037 km/h)


2008 North West 200 Races, Races, Race 5; 400cc Race final standings
Fastest Lap and New Lap Record: Oliver Linsdell, 5'06.838 on lap 3 (105.194 mph; 169.293 km/h)


2008 North West 200 Races, Races, Race 6; 1000cc Superstock Race final standings
Fastest Lap and New Lap Record: Guy Martin, 4'24.682 on lap 3 (121.949 mph; 196.258 km/h)


2008 North West 200 Races, Races, Race 7; North West 200 Superbike Race
Fastest Lap: John McGuinness (lap 5) and Steve Plater (lap 6), 4'21.686 (123.345 mph; 198.505 km/h)


2008 North West 200 Races, Races, Race 8; Supersport Race
Fastest Lap: Keith Amor, 4'31.745 on lap 4 (118.779 mph; 191.156 km/h)


2008 North-West Frontier Province provincial election
Provincial elections were held in North-West Frontier Province on 18 February 2008 to elect the Provincial Assembly.


2008 Northeast Conference Baseball Tournament
The 2008 Northeast Conference Baseball Tournament began on May 22 and ended on May 24, 2008, at Bernie Robbins Stadium in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The league's top four teams competed in the double elimination tournament. Fourth-seeded Mount St. Mary's won their first tournament championship and earned the Northeast Conference's automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


2008 Northeast Conference Baseball Tournament, Seeding and format
The top four finishers were seeded one through four based on conference regular-season winning percentage.


2008 Northeast Conference Baseball Tournament, All-Tournament Team, Most Valuable Player
Josh Vittek was named Tournament Most Valuable Player. Vittek hit .458 with eight runs scored, five home runs and 12 RBI for the Tournament.


2008 Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2008 Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament took place from March 6–12, 2008 at campus sites. Mount Saint Mary's won the tournament to receive an automatic berth to the 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.


2008 Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
The top eight eligible men's basketball teams in the Northeast Conference receive a berth in the conference tournament. After the conference season, teams are seeded by conference record. The semifinals matchups will be the highest and lowest remaining seeds in one game and the other two seeds in the other game. All games are held at the home court of the higher-seeded team.


2008 Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, All-tournament team
Jean Cajou, MSMBrice Brooks, SHUMark Porter, WAGNERDrew Shubik, SHUJeremy Goode, MSM


2008 Northeast Grand Prix
The 2008 American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix was the fifth round of the 2008 American Le Mans Series season. It took place at Lime Rock Park, Connecticut on July 12, 2008. It was the first event to take place at Lime Rock since portions of the track were redesigned and the entire surface repaved.


2008 Northeast Grand Prix, Race summary
Acura scored their first overall win in the American Le Mans Series since they debuted their ARX-01 program in 2007. The #9 Highcroft Racing Acura of Scott Sharp and David Brabham managed to accomplish the feat with Brabham making a late charge and taking the overall lead in the final 90 seconds of the race, passing the #7 Penske Racing Porsche RS Spyder of Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas.


2008 Northeast Grand Prix, Race summary, Race results
Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance marked as Not Classified (NC).


2008 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team
The 2008 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team was an American football team that represented Northern Arizona University (NAU) as a member of the Big Sky Conference (Big Sky) during the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season. In their eleventh year under head coach Jerome Souers, the Lumberjacks compiled a 6–5 record (4–4 against conference opponents), outscored opponents by a total of 316 to 273, and finished fifth out of nine teams in the Big Sky.


2008 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team
On September 6, the team set a school record with 752 yards of total offense against New Mexico Highlands.


2008 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team
The team played its home games at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome, commonly known as the Walkup Skydome, in Flagstaff, Arizona.


2008 Northern Illinois Huskies football team
The 2008 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Northern Illinois competed as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Huskies were led by first-year head coach Jerry Kill.


2008 Northern Iowa Panthers football team
The 2008 Northern Iowa Panthers football team represented the University of Northern Iowa in the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The previous year's team finished first (of nine) in the Gateway Football Conference. The Gateway Football Conference was renamed the Missouri Valley Football League in June 2008. The team was coached by Mark Farley and played their home games in the UNI-Dome. On November 14, 2008 Northern Iowa won its first back-to-back conference championships since the 1995 and 1996 seasons. Northern Iowa was awarded the third seed in the 2008 FCS playoffs.


2008 Northern Ireland Trophy
The 2008 Northern Ireland Trophy was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 24 and 31 August 2008 at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland.


2008 Northern Ireland Trophy
Ronnie O'Sullivan claimed his 21st ranking tournament by defeating surprise finalist Dave Harold 9–3 in the final.


2008 Northern Ireland Trophy, Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:


2008 Northern Ireland Trophy, Qualifying
Qualifying for the tournament took place at Pontins in Prestatyn, Wales between 15 and 17 August 2008.


2008 Northern Mariana Championship
The 2008 Northern Mariana Championship was the third season of top-flight football in Northern Marianas Islands. The league was divided into two parts, the Winter League and the Fall League. The Winter League was won by Fiesta Inter Saipan, who also won the Fall League under their new name, Inter Godfather's.


2008 Northern Mariana Championship, Winter League
The winter league was played in a normal league format, each team played the others twice and the team in first place following the completion of all games won the championship.


2008 Northern Mariana Championship, Winter League, Final Standings
The precise results for the final two rounds of the league are not known, however, the top three places are known for certain:


2008 Northern Mariana Championship, Winter League, Latest known full table
After eight rounds, the last point at which a full table is available, the league standings were:


2008 Northern Mariana Championship, Winter League, Latest known full table
The scores for rounds five and nine are not known, although it is known that Inter Saipan, FC Arirang and Onwell beat Ol' Aces, Multinational and Independents respectively in round five and that Inter Saipan beat Multinational while Onwell drew with FC Aririang in round six. The result of the match between Independents and Ol' Aces in round nine is not known while none of the results in round ten are known.


2008 Northern Mariana Championship, Fall League
The Fall League consisted of a reduced number of teams, with only Inter Saipan (competing under their new name of Inter Godfather's) and Multinational FC from the Spring League choosing to compete. Wild Bill's and Pacific Telecom, who competed in the previous season also competed, with Pacific Telecom competing under the name MP United - PTI. A group stage was held to confirm who would play whom in the semi finals.


2008 Northern Mariana Championship, Fall League, Group Stage
The results of the group stage are not known, it is also not known whether teams played each other once or twice.


2008 Northern Mariana Islands Republican presidential caucuses
The 2008 Northern Mariana Islands Republican presidential caucuses took place on February 23, 2008. John McCain won all 6 pledged (and the support of 3 unpledged delegates) at the commonwealth's convention.


2008 Northern Pride RLFC season
2008 was the first competitive season for the Cairns based CRGT Northern Pride Rugby League Football Club. They competed in the QRL state competition, which in 2008 was called the Wizard Queensland Cup. 11 Clubs played 20 matches (10 home and 10 away) over 26 weeks.


2008 Northern Pride RLFC season
The Pride finished 3rd, just losing the Preliminary Final in golden point extra-time to the Souths Logan Magpies, who went on to win the 2008 Grand Final. Foundation coach was Andrew Dunemann, who had played for the Canberra Raiders, Leeds Rhinos, Halifax RLFC and South Sydney Rabbitohs, and had been Under-20s coach for the Canberra Raiders. Assistant coach was David Maiden. Foundation captain was Chris Sheppard, who had played for the North Queensland Cowboys and St. George Illawarra Dragons.


2008 Northern Pride RLFC season, 2008 Season -  CRGT Northern Pride, 2008 Player awards
Friday 26 September 2008, Pride Leagues Club, Irene Street, Mooroobool


2008 Northern Pride RLFC season, 2008 Season -  CRGT Northern Pride, Player gains
This was the first season for the Northern Pride, so all players were new signings.


2008 Northern Pride RLFC season, 2008 Season -  CRGT Northern Pride, Player gains
In Round xx the following player was signed to the Pride:


2008 Northern Pride RLFC season, 2008 Season -  CRGT Northern Pride, Player gains
In Round 10 the following players were signed to the Pride:


2008 Northern Pride RLFC season, 2008 Season -  CRGT Northern Pride, Player gains
In Round 12 the following players was signed to the Pride:


2008 Northern Pride RLFC season, 2008 Season -  CRGT Northern Pride, Player gains
In Round 16 the following players was signed to the Pride:


2008 Northern Pride RLFC season, 2008 Season -  CRGT Northern Pride, Player gains
At the start of the season attempts were made to sign players from Papua New Guinea, but problems with visas prevented them playing for the Pride:


2008 Northern Pride RLFC season, 2008 squad
Ryan Ghietti Chey Bird Drew Campbell Hezron Murgha Noel Underwood Gordon Rattler Farren Wilett Steve Sheppard Eric Warria Brett Anderson Chris Sheppard Jackson Nicolau Josh Vaughan


2008 Northern Pride RLFC season, 2008 squad
Jason Roos Alex Starmer (Prop) Greg Byrnes Ben Laity Kahu Wehi Adam Mills Warren Jensen Richie Marsters Ben Kerr Ben Vaeau Matthew Bartlett Joel Riethmuller Mark Cantoni Warren Jensen


2008 Northern Pride RLFC season, 2008 squad
Aaron Payne Ashley Graham Ben Vaeau Carl Webb Jackson Nicolau Jacob Lillyman John Williams Justin Smith Mark Henry Matthew Bartlett Matt Bowen Ray Cashmere Scott Bolton Steve Southern Ty Williams


2008 Northern Pride RLFC season, 2008 Televised Games
In 2008 games were televised by ABC TV and shown live across Queensland through the ABC1 channel at 2.00pm (AEST) on Saturday afternoons. The commentary team was Gerry Collins, Warren Boland and David Wright.


2008 Northern Territory general election
General elections were held in the Northern Territory of Australia on 9 August 2008. Of the 25 seats in the Legislative Assembly, 23 were contested; two safe Labor seats were uncontested. The incumbent centre-left Labor Party (ALP), led by Chief Minister Paul Henderson won a narrow third term victory against the opposition centre-right Country Liberal Party (CLP), led by Terry Mills. Labor suffered a massive and unexpected swing against it, to hold a one-seat majority in the new parliament.


2008 Northern Territory general election, Results
Northern Territory general election, 9 August 2008Legislative Assembly << 2005–2012 >>


2008 Northern Territory general election, Results
Arnhem and MacDonnell were won by the ALP by default as no other candidates nominated, and therefore do not contribute to votes in the above result table. The Greens ran in six of the 25 seats, averaging around 16 percent. Minister for Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage, Minister for Parks and Wildlife Len Kiely was defeated as was Minister for Sport and Recreation, Corporate and Information Services Matthew Bonson.


2008 Northern Territory general election, Background
The CLP had dominated the Legislative Assembly from its creation in 1974 until 2001, when Clare Martin led Labor to government by one seat. Four years later, Labor was reelected in a landslide that surprised even the most optimistic Labor observers, reducing the CLP to only four seats. Labor even managed to oust Opposition Leader Denis Burke in his own seat. Martin resigned in 2007, shortly after a federal intervention, and was succeeded by Education Minister Paul Henderson.


2008 Northern Territory general election, Background
In January 2008, Opposition Leader Jodeen Carney faced a challenge from her deputy, Terry Mills. Carney rebuffed a proposal to swap posts with Mills (in which she would have become deputy leader under Mills), instead calling a spill. When the vote was tied, Carney declared that a tie vote was not a vote of confidence and resigned, leaving Mills to take the leadership unopposed. Hoping to take advantage of a booming economy and the recent change in opposition leadership, Henderson opted to call an election a year before it was due.


2008 Northern Territory general election, Background
The writs were dropped only days after the gazetting of new electoral boundaries. The Electoral Commission didn't have nearly enough time to notify voters of their new electorates, and a number of Labor MPs swept into office on the back of the 2005 landslide were unable to connect with new constituents on the hustings.


2008 Northern Territory general election, Background
The CLP regained much of what it had lost in its severe beating of three years prior. Notably, it retook two seats in Palmerston that it had lost to Labor in the 2005 landslide. While the CLP won a slim majority of the two-party vote (aided by two Labor incumbents being reelected unopposed), Labor retained all but one seat in northern Darwin, allowing it to win a third term. Labor was only assured of reelection when it won Martin's old seat of Fannie Bay by a narrow 78 votes.


2008 Northern Territory general election, Retiring members
The following members did not seek another term at the election.


2008 Northern Territory general election, Candidates
Sitting members are in bold. Successful candidates are highlighted in the relevant colour.


2008 Northern Territory general election, Electoral pendulum
The following pendulum is known as the Mackerras Pendulum, invented by psephologist Malcolm Mackerras. The pendulum works by lining up all of the seats held in the Legislative Assembly according to the percentage point margin they are held by on a two-party-preferred basis. This is also known as the swing required for the seat to change hands. Given a uniform swing to the opposition or government parties, the number of seats that change hands can be predicted.


2008 Northern Territory general election, Electoral pendulum, Pre-election pendulum
Incumbent members who have become and remained an independent since the 2012 election are indicated in grey.


2008 Northern Territory general election, Electoral pendulum, Pre-election pendulum
Members listed in italics did not re-contest their seat at the election.


2008 Northumberland County Council election
Local elections to Northumberland County Council, a county council in the north east of England, were held on 1 May 2008, resulting in a council with no overall control and with Liberal Democrat members forming the largest political group on the new Council.


2008 Northwestern Wildcats football team
The 2008 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University in the Big Ten Conference during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Pat Fitzgerald, in his third season at Northwestern, was the team's head coach. The Wildcats played their homes games at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois.


2008 Northwestern Wildcats football team, Previous season
The 2007 team finished the season with a win-loss record of 6–6 and did not receive a bowl invitation.


2008 Norwegian Figure Skating Championships
The 2008 Norwegian Figure Skating Championships was held in Tønsberg from January 11 to 13, 2008. Skaters competed in the discipline of single skating. The results were used to choose the teams to the 2008 World Championships, the 2008 European Championships, the 2008 Nordic Championships, and the 2008 World Junior Championships.


2008 Norwegian First Division
The 2008 1. divisjon season (referred to as Adeccoligaen for sponsorship reasons) began on 5 April 2008 and ended on 1 November 2008.


2008 Norwegian First Division
In 2009, the number of teams in the top tier, Tippeligaen, will expand from fourteen to sixteen. Therefore, 2008 was a transitional season, in which more teams were promoted to the top flight, and less teams relegated to the 2. divisjon, than usual. Automatic promotion was awarded to the teams finishing in the top three places in the standings. Only the two teams at the bottom of the standings were relegated to the 2. divisjon, as opposed to the regular four.


2008 Norwegian First Division
The three clubs relegated from the Tippeligaen in 2007 were Odd Grenland, Start and Sandefjord. At the conclusion of the season, all three had managed to secure promotion, with Odd Grenland being confirmed as champions of the 1. divisjon after defeating Start 3–2 in the penultimate round.


2008 Norwegian First Division
Sandnes Ulf and Hødd were relegated to the 2. divisjon after finishing in fifteenth and sixteenth place respectively. It was Sandnes Ulf's first season at the second level since 1972. Nybergsund, who had never previously played at the second level, retained their spot, finishing in eighth place.


2008 Norwegian First Division
As in previous years, there was a two-legged promotion playoff at the end of the season, this time between the fourth-placed team in the 1. divisjon (Sogndal) and the thirteenth-placed team in the Tippeligaen (Aalesund). Aalesund kept their spot in the Tippeligaen, beating Sogndal 4-1 away, 3-1 at home, and 7-2 on aggregate.


2008 Norwegian First Division, Promotion play-offs
By finishing 4th, Sogndal competed in a two-legged relegation play-off against Aalesund, who finished 13th in the 2008 Tippeligaen, for the right to play in the 2009 Tippeligaen. Sogndal played at home first, decided in a draw held by the NFF. Aalesund won 7–2 on aggregate, thereby securing a new season in the Tippeligaen. Sogndal remained in the 1. divisjon.


2008 Norwegian First Division, Relegated teams
These three teams were relegated from the Tippeligaen in 2007:


2008 Norwegian First Division, Promoted teams
These four teams were promoted from the 2. divisjon in 2007:


2008 Norwegian Football Cup
The 2008 Norwegian Football Cup was the 103rd season of Norwegian annual knockout football tournament. The competition started on 10 May 2008 with the first-round games and ended on 9 November 2008 with the final. The defending champions were Lillestrøm.


2008 Norwegian Football Cup
The format of the Cup has not changed for this season what means that, unlike other European cup competitions, all teams (including Tippeligaen ones) entered the Cup in the First Round. In the First and Second Round amateur teams (or at least lower-placed at the time of the draw) were seeded and played the matches at home ground. From the Third Round until the end the draw was random.


2008 Norwegian Football Cup
The winners, Vålerenga, qualified for the third qualifying round of the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League.


2008 Norwegian Football Cup, Results, First Round
The games were played on May 10 and 12, 2008.


2008 Norwegian Football Cup, Results, Second Round
The games were played between June 3 and 8, 2008.


2008 Norwegian Football Cup, Results, Third Round
The games were played between July 1 and 9, 2008.


2008 Norwegian Football Cup, Results, Fourth Round
The games were played between July 23 and August 6, 2008.


2008 Norwegian Football Cup Final
The 2008 Norwegian Football Cup Final was the final match of the 2008 Norwegian Football Cup, the 103rd season of the Norwegian Football Cup, the premier Norwegian football cup competition organized by the Football Association of Norway (NFF). The match was played on 9 November 2008 at the Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo, and opposed two Tippeligaen sides Stabæk and Vålerenga. Vålerenga defeated Stabæk 4–1 to claim the Norwegian Cup for a fourth time in their history.


2008 Norwich City Council election
The 2008 Norwich City Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Norwich City Council in England. One third of seats were up for election. This was on the same day as other local elections.


2008 Norwich City Council election
The Green Party won the most votes across Norwich for the first time, and won a plurality of the seats up for election. This marked the first time that the Greens had won a plurality of the votes and seats in a local authority election. It is also, to date, the last time that the Greens won the most seats or votes in a Norwich City Council election.


2008 Norwich City Council election
However, as only 13 of 39 council seats were up for election, Labour remained the largest party.


2008 Norwich City Council election
The 2008 election is, to date, the last election to see any member of the Conservative Party elected to Norwich City Council.


2008 Norwich City Council election
All changes in vote share are calculated with reference to the 2004 election, the last time these seats were contested.


2008 Norwich City Council election, Election result
Changes in vote share are relative to the last time these seats were contested in 2004.


2008 Norwich City Council election, Council Composition
Prior to the election the composition of the council was:


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team
The 2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Charlie Weis and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. This was Weis's fourth season as Notre Dame's head coach, who entered the season with a 22–15 record, coming off a 3–9 season after posting back-to-back BCS seasons.


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team
The Irish started 4–1, but completed the regular season with a 6–6 record, including a 24–23 loss to Syracuse, the first time that Notre Dame had fallen to an eight-loss team. The combined 15 losses from 2007–08 marks the most losses for any two-year span. Despite speculation the university might fire Weis, it was announced shortly after the conclusion of the regular season that he would remain head coach in 2009. Notre Dame ended the season on a positive note, finally ending their NCAA record nine-game bowl losing streak by beating Hawaii 49–21. In the process, Notre Dame scored its highest point total of the season, its highest point total ever in a bowl game, and broke 8 other bowl records. The bowl win also helped Notre Dame to a 7–6 final record, its 102nd winning season in 120 years of football.


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Pre-season, Coaching changes
Despite the turmoil of the previous football season, head coach Charlie Weis did not make many changes to the coaching staff. The one major change to the staff was the addition of Jon Tenuta, former defensive coordinator of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, as the new linebackers coach and assistant head coach. Tetuna became responsible for the day-to-day operations of the team with Weis retaining responsibility only for recruiting. Tenuta's addition followed the retirement of Bill Lewis from active coaching. Other changes included reassignment of football duties.


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Pre-season, Coaching changes
Weis announced that he would be turning over control of the offense, including game day play calling, to offensive coordinator Michael Haywood. On defense, Corwin Brown switched from coaching linebackers to coaching defensive backs following Lewis' retirement. Tenuta assumed coaching the linebackers. Finally, citing the poor play on special teams, Weis made Brian Polian the sole special teams coach and announced that he would be helping Polian when needed. The previous year, all coaches had a hand in helping with special teams.


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Pre-season, Roster changes, Graduating players
Seniors tight end John Carlson, defensive end Trevor Laws, safety Tom Zbikowski and center John Sullivan were all drafted by NFL teams. Three players that were not drafted quickly signed with NFL teams as free agents following the NFL Draft: linebacker Joe Brockington, long snapper J. J. Jansen and running back Travis Thomas. Quarterbacks Darrin Bragg and Justin Gillett, defensive end Dwight Stephenson Jr., cornerback Ambrose Wooden and punter Geoff Price also graduated and exhausted their remaining eligibility. Notre Dame also had several players who graduated and decided not to apply for a fifth year of eligibility: running back Junior Jabbie, cornerback Leo Ferine and linebacker Anthony Vernaglia.


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Pre-season, Roster changes, Transfers
After the end of the spring practice session, sophomore-to-be linebacker Aaron Nagel transferred from Notre Dame to the Northwestern Wildcats. In July, wide receiver D.J. Hord announced he was transferring from Notre Dame to a yet unnamed Division I Football Championship Subdivision school, where he would have two years eligibility remaining. Once a highly touted recruit, injuries had hampered his progress and he left with 2 catches for 7 yards in his Notre Dame career.


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Pre-season, Roster changes, Transfers
It was also announced the same day that starting cornerback Darin Walls would not enroll and play football this season for undisclosed personal reasons, but would return the following spring. On August, 15, several days into fall practice, reserve wide receiver Richard Jackson announced he would be leaving Notre Dame for a school closer to his home in Florida.


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Pre-season, Roster changes, Recruiting
The Irish added 23 players to its roster with high school recruits. Included in the class were five-star wide receiver recruit Michael Floyd, five-star quarterback recruit Dayne Crist, and five-star defensive lineman Ethan Johnson. Five-star tight end Kyle Rudolph also bolstered a class that included six four star recruits on offense, and nine four star recruits on defense. The class was named No. 2 by both Rivals and Scout. Rivals revised Notre Dame's ranking to No. 1 after factoring in players recruited by other schools that did not enroll with their classmates.


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Pre-season, Award candidates
The following players were announced to award watch lists prior to the start of the 2008 season:


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Roster
Bold denotes starter(w) denotes non scholarship walk-on(a) denotes player added to roster mid-seasonPlayers who left or were dismissed from the team are struck out


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, San Diego State
Notre Dame able to put up 14 unanswered points in the 4th quarter to down San Diego State. Notre Dame stalled out multiple times throughout the game due to turnovers, but the Notre Dame defense stood up to Ryan Lindley and the Aztec offense forcing the Aztecs to fumble inside the ND 5 yard line while they were leading by 6 in the 4th quarter. The Irish only allowed 13 points through the entire game and came back in the fourth to open the season with a win.


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Michigan
Turnovers were the name of the game, as Notre Dame jumped out to a 21-point lead off of 2 early Michigan turnovers and went on to beat Michigan 35–17. Despite Michigan out-gaining the Irish 387 yards to 260 yards, Notre Dame won the turnover battle 6 to 2. Jimmy Clausen connected on touchdown passes of 10 yards and 48 yards to wide receivers Duval Kamara and Golden Tate, respectively. Michigan came to life after the 21 points, when Sam McGuffie turned a short pass from quarterback Steven Threet into a 40-yard touchdown.


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Michigan
Michigan kicker K.C. Lopata's 23 yard field goal cut the lead to 21–10. The Irish then answered with an 87-yard touchdown drive, highlighted by a 60-yard pass from Clausen to Tate, who broke three tackles before being caught at the 25 yard line. Robert Hughes scored his second rushing touchdown of the day, a 1-yard run to make it 28–10.


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Michigan
Irish linebacker Brian Smith also returned a fumble 35 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Notre Dame didn't come away completely unscathed, however, as coach Charlie Weis was knocked over on the sideline by defensive end John Ryan, who was being run out of bounds. Weis spent the remainder of the game on crutches with his left leg wrapped. It was determined during halftime that Weis had torn his ACL and his MCL. Coach Lou Holtz and the 1988 National Title team were also honored, with a statue of Coach Holtz unveiled outside of the stadium before the game.


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Purdue
Notre Dame improved to 3–1, matching its win total from a year ago with a 38–21 victory over Purdue. Jimmy Clausen threw for a career-high 275 yards and three touchdowns and Notre Dame running backs ran for 201 yards. The Irish offense improved on the 16 rushing yards gained against MSU, with starting running back Armando Allen Jr. running for a career-best 134 yards and a touchdown against the Boilermakers. After Purdue took a 7–0 lead on a Kory Sheets run, freshman cornerback Robert J. Blanton started the Irish scoring on a 47-yard interception return for a touchdown. Purdue answered back when Aaron Valentin scored on a 3-yard pass from Curtis Painter to make it 14–7. Jimmy Clausen threw his first touchdown pass to Golden Tate to tie it 14–14 heading into half-time.


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Purdue
The Irish, who hadn't scored in the third quarter in their first three games, scored on their first two possessions of the second half to open a 28–14 lead. The Boilermakers cut the lead to 28–21 four plays later when Painter threw a pass that Desmond Tardy caught at the Notre Dame 30 and raced up the left sideline for a touchdown. The Irish answered immediately, however, when Clausen threw a 30-yard TD pass to captain David Grimes on a fourth-and-7.


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Purdue
Freshman wide receiver Michael Floyd added six catches for 100 yards and freshman tight end Kyle Rudolph also had a touchdown catch. The Boilermakers fell to 1–15 at Notre Dame Stadium since 1976. The loss also left Purdue coach Joe Tiller, who is retiring after the season, with a 5–7 record against the Irish.


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Stanford
Notre Dame got off to a quick start against Stanford, scoring 3 touchdowns in the first half to hold on to beat Stanford 28–21. Jimmy Clausen threw for a career-high 347 yards, completing 73% of his passes and three touchdown passes and leading Notre Dame to its seventh straight win over the Cardinal. Stanford, however, made a game of it, scoring twice in the fourth quarter to cut Notre Dame's lead to 7. Cardinal quarterback Tavita Pritchard threw a 1-yard pass to Jim Dray and a 10-yard TD pass to Doug Baldwin with 6 minutes left in the game.


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Stanford
The Cardinal got the ball back on their own 2-yard line with 3:34 left, but could not mount a drive. They had one last chance with 8 seconds left, but fumbled the ball and defensive end Pat Kuntz recovered to end the game. Kuntz also had an interception and two sacks in the game.


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Stanford
Freshman and Sophomores again accounted for all of Notre Dame's scoring, highlighted by a second straight 100 -yard game by Michael Floyd, who had 5 catches for 115 yards and a 48-yard touchdown catch. Sophomore running back Armando Allen amassed 153 total yards, including scoring a 3-yard rushing touchdown and a 21-yard touchdown pass from Clausen. Freshman tight end Kyle Rudolph also had 5 catches for 70 yards and a touchdown. Running back Toby Gerhart had a great day running the ball for the Cardinal, compiling 104 yards on 13 carries.


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Stanford
Tavita Pritchard, however, turned the ball over 3 times, throwing interceptions to Notre Dame safeties David Bruton and Kyle McCarthy in addition to Kuntz. Before the game, Stanford offensive lineman Chris Marinelli made some controversial comments about Notre Dame (which he later apologized for), saying that "I hate it, playing [Notre Dame] up there. The field, excuse my language, the field sucks. The stadium sucks. I think the area sucks." Stanford has not won at Notre Dame stadium since 1992.


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Washington
James Aldridge ran for 84 yards and a career-high 2 touchdowns to help the Irish defeat Ty Willingham's winless Huskies 33–7. The Irish, coming off a bye week, scored touchdowns on their first two possessions of the game. On the third play from scrimmage, Jimmy Clausen connected with Michael Floyd for a 51-yard touchdown. On Notre Dame's next series, Golden Tate capped off a 9 play drive with a 21-yard rushing touchdown, the first of his career. Clausen completed 14 of 26 passes for 201 yards and interception in addition to his touchdown to Floyd. Clausen missed on 10 of his first 16 passes against a team ranked last in the nation in pass efficiency defense. Notre Dame had no problem creating offense, though, outgaining UW 238 yards to 38 yards in the first half and leading 17–0.


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Washington
On the first offensive series of the third quarter, the Irish turned to Aldridge, who scored the first of his two touchdowns to put Notre Dame up 24–0. Aldridge led a running back corps that gained 252 yards on the ground. Notre Dame also relied on a stout defense, which held Washington to 124 yards of offense after allowing an average of 368 yards on the season. Washington did not cross midfield until the 6:05 mark in the fourth quarter against ND’s second string defense. Huskie quarterback Ronnie Fouch connected with D'Andre Goodwin for a 6-yard touchdown with four minutes left in the game to avoid UW’s first shutout loss at Husky Stadium since 1976 (a 7–0 loss against Cal).


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Washington
Notre Dame’s defeat dropped Willingham to 11–32 in three-plus seasons at Washington. It was announced the next day that UW would not be renewing Willingham’s contract at the end of the season.


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Pittsburgh
In what became the longest game in Notre Dame Stadium history, the Irish came up short against the Panthers, losing 36–33 in quadruple overtime. The game looked to be a defensive struggle early, with the game tied at 3–3 with a little over four minutes remaining before half time. Late in the second quarter on 3rd down and 12, Golden Tate made a 47-yard catch of a tipped ball to get the Irish offense to the Pitt 32-yard line. Jimmy Clausen hit Michael Floyd 4 plays later to put the Irish up 10–3. With 1:27 left, Panthers quarterback Pat Bostick threw the first of his three interceptions on the day; a 43-yard interception return by Raeshon McNeil. Clausen hit Floyd again for an Irish touchdown with :04 remaining, putting ND up 17–3 at the half.


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Pittsburgh
Despite the Irish's offensive spark in the second quarter, the Panthers held Notre Dame to a mere 7 yards in the third quarter. The Panthers also answered the call on offense scoring 14 unanswered points to tie the game at 17–17. After the second Panther score, Notre Dame's offense came alive again, driving 75 yards in 12 plays and culminating in a third Clausen touchdown, this time to Golden Tate.


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Pittsburgh
The late drive by Notre Dame was for nought, however, as Pitt forced overtime when they tied the score at 24 with 2:22 left on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Bostick to Jonathan Baldwin on fourth-and-6. The Panthers ran the same play three straight times before Bostick beat Irish cornerback McNeil for the score.


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Pittsburgh
Neither team could get into the end zone in overtime, and Pitt's Connor Lee won the kicking contest. Notre Dame's kicker, Brandon Walker, who started the season by making just 1-of-7 field goals, made his first four attempts to run his consecutive made field goal streak to seven. But his 38-yard attempt narrowly missed wide left in the fourth overtime, giving Pitt the chance kick the winning field goal.


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Pittsburgh
In the defeat, Notre Dame's Michael Floyd broke the record for catches by a Notre Dame freshman, with 10 catches for 100 yards.


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Hawaii Bowl
Notre Dame beat Hawaii 49–21 in its first bowl victory since the Irish defeated Texas A&M in the 1994 Cotton Bowl Classic to end the 1993 season. Irish quarterback Jimmy Clausen broke school bowl game records after passing for 401 yards and five touchdowns, and his 84.6% completion rate was the second-best completion percentage for any player in any bowl game in NCAA history. Wide receiver Golden Tate also set Irish bowl records upon catching for 177 yards and three touchdowns. Both players were named co-MVPs of the game.


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Game summaries, Hawaii Bowl
In all, Notre Dame broke 9 bowl records in the victory. In addition to Clausen and Tate's record day, Notre Dame set bowl records in total offense (481 yards), scoring (49 points), and longest kick return (96 yards by Allen). Clausen's 69-yard connection to Tate is also a new record. The defense also had a good day for the Irish, registering 8 sacks and an interception. The victory also ties the 1978 Cotton Bowl Classic for Notre Dame's largest margin of victory in a bowl game at 28 points.


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Post season, Awards
Freshman Tight End Kyle Rudolph would earn Freshman All-America First-Team honors for his play as the starting tight end from Sporting News, CollegeFootballNews.com and Phil Steele. Rudolph set freshman school records for receptions and receiving yards logging 25 receptions for 262 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman Receiver Michael Floyd also earned all-freshman second-team honors from Sporting News, CollegeFootballNews.com, Rivals.com and Phil Steele. Offensive guard Trevor Robinson was named to the All-Freshman second team by CollegeFootballNews.com, while wide receiver Golden Tate was a sophomore honorable mention selection.


2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Post season, NFL Draft
David Bruton was the only player drafted from the team, going in the fourth round to the Denver Broncos as the 114th pick overall. Five more players would sign quickly after the draft, including David Grimes with Broncos, Pat Kuntz with the Colts, Terrail Lambert with the 49ers, and fullback Asaph Schwapp and offensive lineman Mike Turkovich with the Cowboys.


2008 Nottingham Open
The 2008 Nottingham Open (also known as the Slazenger Open for sponsorship reasons) was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 19th edition of the Nottingham Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Nottingham Tennis Centre in Nottingham, England, United Kingdom, from 16 June through 21 June 2008.


2008 Nottingham Open
The singles field was led by ATP No. 16, Rome Masters semifinalist and San Jose finalist Radek Štěpánek, Munich semifinalist Paul-Henri Mathieu, and Hamburg Masters quarterfinalist Fernando Verdasco. Among other players competing were Queen's Club quarterfinalist and Nottingham defending champion Ivo Karlović, Casablanca titlist Gilles Simon, Dmitry Tursunov, Andreas Seppi and Gaël Monfils.


2008 Nottingham Open, Tursunov's expulsion
Russian sixth seed Dmitry Tursunov was expelled from the tournament by the ATP after he stormed off the court in his doubles' first round match, dismayed at a decision from the line judge, as Simone Bolelli and Andreas Seppi led him and partner Chris Haggard 6–4, 3–1. While Tursunov was expected to receive a fine, the ATP decided to deliver a more severe punishment, withdrawing him from the singles event. His scheduled second round opponent, Thomas Johansson, was given a walkover into the quarterfinals.


2008 Nottingham Open, Finals, Doubles
Bruno Soares /  Kevin Ullyett defeated  Jeff Coetzee /  Jamie Murray, 6–2, 7–6(7–5)


2008 Nottingham Open – Doubles
Eric Butorac and Jamie Murray were the defending champions. They were both present but did not compete together. Butorac partnered with Bobby Reynolds, but lost in the first round to Murray and partner Jeff Coetzee. Murray partnered with Jeff Coetzee, but Bruno Soares and Kevin Ullyett defeated them 6–2, 7–6(7–5), in the final.


2008 Nottingham Open – Singles
Ivo Karlović was the defending champion, and won in the final 7–5, 6–7(4–7), 7–6(10–8), against Fernando Verdasco.


2008 Nova Scotia municipal elections
Municipal elections were held across the Canadian province of Nova Scotia on October 18, 2008.


2008 Novak Djokovic tennis season
The 2008 Novak Djokovic tennis season officially commenced on January 14 with the start of the 2008 Australian Open.


2008 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly summary, Grand Slam performances, Australian Open
Novak Djokovic defeated unseeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6(7–2) to win the Men's Singles tennis title at the Australian Open. It was the first Grand Slam title of Djokovic's career.


2008 Novak Djokovic tennis season, Yearly summary, Grand Slam performances, Australian Open
Djokovic became the first Serbian player to win a Grand Slam men's singles title.


2008 Novak Djokovic tennis season, All matches
This table lists all the matches of Djokovic this year, including walkovers (W/O)


2008 Nunavut general election
The 2008 Nunavut General Election was held on October 27, 2008, to return members to the 3rd Legislative Assembly of Nunavut. The election was contested across 15 of Nunavut's 19 electoral districts under the first past the post system of voting. Due to local circumstances, the election was delayed in two districts, and two districts did not hold elections as their incumbent MLAs faced no opposition and were acclaimed back into office.


2008 Nunavut general election
Ten of the 15 seats went to first-time MLAs, four of whom defeated incumbents. Premier Paul Okalik and Finance Minister Louis Tapardjuk were the only two cabinet ministers to keep their seats.


2008 Nunavut general election
The political system in Nunavut is not organized along political party lines, but instead uses a consensus government model in which the Executive Council of Nunavut is selected by the members of the Legislative Assembly at the Nunavut Leadership Forum. At the 2008 forum, held on November 14, 2008, Eva Aariak was selected as the new Premier of Nunavut.


2008 Nunavut general election, Pre-election
The election was proposed by Premier Paul Okalik on March 14, 2008. The writ period under Nunavut law may last as long as thirty five days, so the earliest date the election could have begun was September 22, 2008. Prior to the official announcement the election had been widely speculated going back to late 2007, as the Premier had been openly talking about going to the polls.


2008 Nunavut general election, Pre-election, Federal election
A portion of the writ period occurred during the 2008 Canadian federal election. This is a rare occurrence as elections on the federal and provincial, territorial level in Canada are usually timed to avoid such occurrences.


2008 Nunavut general election, Pre-election, Federal election
The last example of a concurrent federal and provincial election was the 1979 BC election and the 1979 Federal election. The voting date for those two elections was only 12 days apart.


2008 Nunavut general election, Pre-election, Election infrastructure
Sandy Kusugak, the chief electoral officer for Elections Nunavut, announced at a press conference on June 4, 2008 that Nunavut will begin voting on October 13, 2008 with special ballots being made available at returning officers. Provisions are also being established to allow paperless voting by radio and satellite phone from very remote locations. On October 20, 2008 Elections Nunavut will conduct mobile polling visiting the homes of elders and people confined to their homes by disability or house arrest. Absentee ballots for students and inmates living or incarcerated outside of the territory will be made available by registration beginning on September 22, 2008. Official advanced polling will take place on October 20, 2008.


2008 Nunavut general election, Pre-election, Issues
Prior to the election in the last sitting of the Assembly, members debated tightening up eligibility requirements for preventing persons convicted of criminal offences. The MLAs decided not to change any of the election regulations.


2008 Nunavut general election, Pre-election, Issues
A big pre-election issue in the capital city of Iqaluit developed over Inuksuk High School. The government has been debating whether to build a new high school or do a complete renovation on the existing building.


2008 Nunavut general election, Election results
Nominations for candidates to file closed on September 26, 2008. There were two candidates acclaimed among the initial 46 candidates running. Both candidates acclaimed were seasoned incumbents. Tagak Curley was acclaimed to the riding of Rankin Inlet North for the second straight election. Incumbent Keith Peterson won his second term in office after his acclamation in the Cambridge Bay electoral district.


2008 Nunavut general election, By-elections
Due to local circumstances, the election was delayed in two districts.


2008 Nunavut general election, By-elections, South Baffin
In the district of South Baffin, there were no candidates who filed by nomination day. The original writs were returned to the Commissioner and reissued for a new election to be held on November 3, 2008. The lack of candidates on election day surprised the constituency, causing former incumbent Olayuk Akesuk to muse about coming out of retirement for another term if no one else wanted to step forward. Four new candidates came forward to file nomination papers by the new nomination deadline on October 3, 2008.


2008 Nunavut general election, By-elections, Akulliq
Former Member of Parliament and Nunavut MLA Jack Anawak attempted to file nomination papers to run for election in the electoral district of Akulliq. Chief Electoral Officer Sandy Kusugak ruled that Anawak was not eligible to run for office as he had a mailing address outside of Nunavut. Anawak took Elections Nunavut to court. The judge however ruled in favour of the decision by Kusugak that Anawak had not met the twelve month resident requirement, but under the Elections Act Kusugak was required to cancel the election.


2008 Nunavut general election, By-elections, Akulliq
Although the judge ruled in favour of Kusugak's disqualification under the residency rule, Anawak's constitutional challenge was allowed to go ahead. Anawak had argued that the one-year residency rule was in violation of his charter rights. However, judge Johnson ruled that the rule did not discriminate against Anawak as an Inuk. The election was rescheduled for December 15, with nominations being open until November 14.


2008 Nunavut general election, By-elections, Akulliq
All of the original candidates, with the exception of Anawak, refiled for the by-election, as did one new candidate, Helena Malliki.


2008 Nunavut general election, By-elections, Akulliq
In the initial results, former MLA John Ningark defeated incumbent MLA Steve Mapsalak by a margin of just two votes. A judicial recount was conducted, but resulted in Ningark and Mapsalak each receiving exactly 157 votes, thus forcing a second by-election. The revote was held on March 2, 2009, and Ningark won by a margin of 193 to 179 for Mapsalak.


2008 Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council election
Elections to Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council were held on 1 May 2008. Half of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party gained control of the council from Labour. This was the first time that the British National Party had fielded candidates in the Borough for election to the Borough Council.


2008 Nürburgring Superbike World Championship round
The 2008 Nürburgring Superbike World Championship round was the seventh round of the 2008 Superbike World Championship season. It took place on the weekend of June 13–15, 2008, at the Nürburgring.


2008 Nürburgring Superleague Formula round
The 2008 Nürburgring Superleague Formula round was the second round of the inaugural Superleague Formula championship, with the races taking place on September 21, 2008. Eighteen football teams were represented on the grid, one more than at the opening round at Donington Park, with the introduction of the car representing Atlético Madrid driven by Andy Soucek. Other driver changes saw debuts for James Walker (replacing Ryan Dalziel in the Rangers F.C. car) and Antônio Pizzonia (replacing Soucek in the SC Corinthians car - with the Spaniard moving to the new Atlético Madrid car as mentioned above). The meeting saw wins for A.C. Milan and PSV Eindhoven, while Beijing Guoan extended their championship lead to 24 points.


2008 Nürburgring Superleague Formula round, Report, Qualifying
After the random draw which split the eighteen-car field into two groups, the fastest four qualifiers from each progressed into the knockout stages to decide places 1 to 8 on the grid. For the second race in succession, two drivers missed out on places in the knockout stages, despite setting a faster time than the fourth-placed qualifier in the slower group.


2008 Nürburgring Superleague Formula round, Report, Qualifying
On this occasion, Group A was the faster group, and saw Olympiacos CFP (Kasper Andersen) and for the second time Borussia Dortmund (Nelson Philippe) miss out on qualifying for the knockout stages, despite recording a time nearly two tenths of a second faster than fourth-placed Group B qualifier CR Flamengo (Tuka Rocha). Having qualified fastest in their respective groups, FC Basel 1893 (Max Wissel) and A.C. Milan (Robert Doornbos) were expected to meet in the final, but Wissel was eliminated by Galatasaray S.K. (Alessandro Pier Guidi) in the semi-final stage, after the German didn't set a time. This semi-final was also the end of the Turkish side's participation in the session, as Pier Guidi had run out of fuel in his machine, thus handing Superleague's second pole to Milan by default.


2008 Nürburgring Superleague Formula round, Report, Race 1
The race began with a rolling start, just like at Donington but this race saw the introduction of pitstops to the Superleague fray. From the start, the A.C. Milan car of Robert Doornbos got a fantastic jump and would leave Alessandro Pier Guidi's Galatasaray S.K. car behind to battle with the cars of Antônio Pizzonia (SC Corinthians) and Craig Dolby (R.S.C. Anderlecht). Dolby held second for a few yards before Pizzonia took second into turn one.


2008 Nürburgring Superleague Formula round, Report, Race 1
Pizzonia would close up rapidly to the back of Doornbos' car, nearly colliding at some points of the circuit and he led the chasers by a couple of seconds. Following them was the Borussia Dortmund car of Nelson Philippe and the FC Basel 1893 car of home driver Max Wissel. Philippe's stay in fifth was short-lived however, as an engine failure on lap three forced him to retire from the race and would not return to the track for the rest of the meeting. Doornbos began to pull away from his challengers by the time of the pitstops.


2008 Nürburgring Superleague Formula round, Report, Race 1
For the pitstops, only two mechanics per wheel are allowed. Pier Guidi was the first to pit, removing his fairly well worn set of boots off the car, with Dolby, Doornbos and the others bar Pizzonia and Yelmer Buurman's PSV Eindhoven car pitting around half-distance. When Buurman did make his stop, he stalled as he was exiting losing valuable time. He would end up 10th, with the only consolation being a fastest lap of the race. Pizzonia had an equally fraught pitstop, losing half a minute with a stall and would go on to finish 7th.


2008 Nürburgring Superleague Formula round, Report, Race 1
When all the dramas had calmed down, Doornbos held on to win by 6.631 seconds from Dolby with Pier Guidi capitalising on the errors by others to take the final podium spot. Debutant James Walker finished fourth for gers F.C. having started on row six, followed by championship leader Davide Rigon (Beijing Guoan), fellow Donington winner Borja García (Sevilla FC), Pizzonia, Tristan Gommendy's F.C. Porto machine, Wissel, Buurman and Andreas Zuber completed the finishers for Al Ain.


2008 Nürburgring Superleague Formula round, Report, Race 2
Following their first race retirement, A.S. Roma (Enrico Toccacelo) was on pole for the reverse grid race. Toccacelo led away, with the Liverpool F.C. car of Adrián Vallés tucking into second place behind the Italian, at the expense of Tuka Rocha in the CR Flamengo machine. His race would be concluded early along with Kasper Andersen (Olympiacos CFP) in a final-corner incident on lap one. Another first lap retiree was Duncan Tappy in Tottenham Hotspur's car having been hit by Zuber at the opening hairpin.


2008 Nürburgring Superleague Formula round, Report, Race 2
Again, there was drama in the pitstops with race leader Toccacelo narrowly avoiding a stray wheel from the car of Walker. Walker would also cause the series' first safety car period when he spun in the Mercedes Arena. From the restart, Toccacelo led away from Buurman, Dolby and Rigon. However, a box of neutrals exiting the opening hairpin saw those three pass the unlucky Italian driver. It would finish in that order, with Buurman holding off Dolby by 0.611 seconds. Gommendy would finish 5th followed home by Doornbos, Pier Guidi, García, Andy Soucek (Atlético Madrid), Pizzonia and again, Zuber completed the finishers. In the championship, Beijing Guoan extended their lead to 24 points over PSV Eindhoven with Sevilla a further seven points behind.


2008 Nürburgring Superleague Formula round, Results, Qualifying, Grid
* - Flamengo were given a ten-place grid penalty for disobeying flags.


2008 O'Byrne Cup
The 2008 O'Byrne Cup was a Gaelic football competition played by the teams of Leinster GAA. The competition differs from the Leinster Senior Football Championship as it also features further education colleges and the winning team does not progress to another tournament at All-Ireland level. Last years winners of the O'Byrne Cup were Dublin. The first game was between defending champions Dublin and Wicklow, Dublin won the game comfortably.


2008 O'Byrne Cup, O'Byrne Cup, First round
The eight winning teams from the first round of the O'Byrne Cup go on to qualify for the quarter finals of the tournament. The losers of the first round go on to the O'Byrne Shield quarter finals.


2008 O'Byrne Cup, O'Byrne Shield
The 8 losing first round competitors of the O'Byrne Cup went on to contest the O'Byrne shield. The final of the Shield was postponed from its original date of 9 February 2008, due to a family bereavement of one of the players, and a National Football League match between the two teams doubled as the O'Byrne Shield final. This game ended in a draw, and the decision was taken not to have a replay.


2008 OFC Champions League Final
The final of the 2007–08 OFC Champions League was played between Waitakere United of New Zealand and Kossa FC of the Solomon Islands.


2008 OFC Champions League Final
The first leg was played in the Lawson Tama Stadium, Honiara, Solomon Islands on the April 26, 2008. The home team won 3–1.


2008 OFC Champions League Final
The second leg was played in the Trusts Stadium, Waitakere City, New Zealand on the May 11, 2008. Waitakere United won 5–0, 6–3 on aggregate and advanced to the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup.


2008 OFC Champions League Final, First Match
Referee: Rakesh VarmanAssistant referees: Andrew Achari Mahit ChiliaFourth official: Lencie Fred


2008 OFC Champions League Final, Second Match
Referee: Benjamin WilliamsAssistant referees: Tevita Makasini Michael JosephFourth official: Norbert Hauata


2008 OFC Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament
The 2008 OFC Men's Olympic Football Tournament functioned as the qualifying tournament to the association football competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing for the member nations of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). The tournament consisted of a single round-robin tournament played in Fiji from 1 March to 9 March 2008. New Zealand won the tournament and qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games.


2008 OFC Nations Cup
The 2008 OFC Nations Cup was the eighth edition of the OFC Nations Cup, and the first under a new format that was introduced. It took place as a series of as a home-and-away round-robin tournament on FIFA match dates in 2007 and 2008. Doubling as the qualification tournament for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the tournament was substantially different from earlier editions: 2004 champions Australia did not compete after leaving the Oceania Football Confederation for the Asian Football Confederation, and for the first time since the 1996 OFC Nations Cup, no fixed venue was used. Unlike the 2004 OFC Nations Cup, which had featured six teams from the Oceania Football Confederation, the 2008 tournament had just four teams.


2008 OFC Nations Cup
The Cup was won by New Zealand, who as a result qualified for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa, and the World Cup qualifying play-off with the AFC 5th-placed team, Bahrain, in which New Zealand were successful.


2008 OFC Nations Cup, Participating teams
The four qualified teams for the 2008 OFC Nations Cup were:


2008 OFC Nations Cup, Goalscorers
There were 39 goals scored in 12 games, for an average of 3.25 goals per game. Players in bold advanced to the next round in qualifying.


2008 OFC Nations Cup squads
The following is a list of players used by each competing nation during the entirety of the 2008 OFC Nations Cup.


2008 OFC U-20 Championship
The 2008 OFC Under 20 Qualifying Tournament was held in Papeete, Tahiti. The tournament was won by hosts Tahiti after their final win against Fiji and a 2–2 draw between New Caledonia and New Zealand which prevented either team from qualification and was the first tournament since 1974 to be won by a nation that was not Australia or New Zealand. As champions, Tahiti qualified for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup.


2008 OFC U-20 Championship squads
Teams from New Zealand, Fiji, New Caledonia and Tahiti played in the Oceania Football Confederation under-20 tournament in 2008.


2008 OFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament
The second OFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in 2008 determined the Oceania Football Confederation's berth for the  2008 Beijing Olympic football tournament.


2008 OFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, First stage
Nine women's teams participated in the first stage, held as the 2007 South Pacific Games in Apia, Samoa. from August 25 to September 7. The winning team, Papua New Guinea, progressed to the second round to play New Zealand.


2008 OFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, Second stage
The second stage was a play-off between New Zealand and the stage 1 winner. It was apparently planned as a two match play-off, but was eventually played over just one game.


2008 OFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, Second stage
New Zealand won the match 2–0 and progressed to the Beijing Olympics.


2008 Oakland Athletics season
The Oakland Athletics' 2008 season marked their 40th year in Oakland, California. It was also the 108th season in franchise history. The team finished third in the American League West with a record of 75-86.


2008 Oakland Athletics season
The Athletics were not expected to contend for the American League West title in 2008. Despite this, the team remained near first place well into July. The Athletics fortunes peaked on July 11, when a 9-2 rout of the Angels allowed them to pull within four games of first place. The team then lost 44 of its 68 remaining games. The slide saw the Athletics finish 24.5 games behind the Angels, who clinched the division for a second consecutive year.


2008 Oakland Athletics season
The Athletics struggled at the plate for most of the season. Particularly troubling was the team's lack of power hitting; apart from Jack Cust, who hit 33 home runs, no Athletic hit more than 13. Oakland ultimately finished 11th (out of 14 American League teams) in this category. All told, the Athletics scored fewer runs (646) than any other American League team in 2008.


2008 Oakland Athletics season, Off-season, Potential free agents
Outfielder Jeff DaVanon, catcher Mike Piazza and outfielder Shannon Stewart all filed for free agency after the 2007 season. DaVanon was signed to a minor league contract by the Athletics on August 10, 2007, after being let go by the Arizona Diamondbacks less than week later. His contract was purchased on August 17, following an injury to Mark Kotsay, who was plagued with injuries in 2007. He posted a .238 batting average and no home runs in 26 games for the Athletics.


2008 Oakland Athletics season, Off-season, Potential free agents
Piazza was signed in the previous offseason to a one-year contract which began Piazza's career as a designated hitter. In early May, Piazza was placed on the disabled list after suffering an injury while sliding into third base against the Boston Red Sox. Piazza was activated from the disabled list on July 20 but saw limited action after that as Jack Cust, who the Athletics brought in as a replacement, put on a big show once he joined the team. Piazza played in a total of 83 games in 2007 and batted .275 with 8 home runs. Stewart was also signed in the previous offseason to a one-year contract after missing most of the 2006 season. Stewart played in 146 games in 2007 and led the team in batting average (.290).


2008 Oakland Athletics season, Regular season, Season summary, March
The Athletics opened the regular season on March 25 in Japan and faced the Boston Red Sox there. Before the opener, the Athletics placed starting pitcher Chad Gaudin and third baseman Eric Chavez on the 15-day disabled list and placed relief pitcher Kiko Calero on the 60-day disabled list. The Athletics were allowed to carry 25 players plus three extra inactive players in case of injury. The three extra players were pitchers Justin Duchscherer and Dana Eveland along with outfielder Carlos González. The Athletics opened with ten pitchers, two catchers, seven infielders, five outfielders, and one designated hitter.


2008 Oakland Athletics season, Regular season, Season summary, March
The pitchers were Joe Blanton, Dallas Braden, Andrew Brown, Santiago Casilla, Lenny DiNardo, Alan Embree, Keith Foulke, Rich Harden, Fernando Hernández and Huston Street. Rob Bowen and Kurt Suzuki were the two catchers while Daric Barton, Bobby Crosby, Mark Ellis, Jack Hannahan, Dan Johnson, Donnie Murphy and Mike Sweeney were the seven infielders. The five outfielders were Emil Brown, Travis Buck, Chris Denorfia, Jeff Fiorentino and Ryan Sweeney, while Jack Cust was the designated hitter.


2008 Oakland Athletics season, Regular season, Season summary, March
Joe Blanton got the nod to start the first game. The game went into extra innings and the Athletics lost 6–5 in 10. Emil Brown made a costly baserunning error in the 10th, which possibly cost the Athletics the game. Rich Harden started the second game of the two-game series and led the Athletics to a 5–1 win over the Red Sox after pitching six strong innings while giving up one run on three hits and also struck out nine.


2008 Oakland Athletics season, Player stats, Batting
Note: G = Games Played; AB = At bats; R = Runs Scored; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; BB = Walks; SO = Strikeouts; SB = Stolen bases; OBP = On-Base Percentage; SLG = Slugging Percentage


2008 Oakland Athletics season, Player stats, Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games Played; GS = Games Started; IP = Innings Pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned Run Average; BB = Walks; SO = Strikeouts


2008 Oakland Raiders season
The 2008 Oakland Raiders season was the 49th overall season of the Oakland Raiders franchise, the franchise's 39th season in the National Football League, their 14th season since their return to Oakland and the 2nd and final season under head coach Lane Kiffin. The Raiders improved upon their 4–12 record from 2007. This was also the first time in four seasons that the team did not play both contestants from the previous Super Bowl, playing the New England Patriots, but not the New York Giants. This was also the first time in five seasons the club did not finish 4th in their division but stood alone at third instead (they shared the spot with the Kansas City Chiefs the previous season).


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 1: vs. Denver Broncos
The Raiders began their 2008 campaign at home against their AFC West rival, the Denver Broncos, in the second game of Monday Night Football's doubleheader. In the first quarter, Oakland trailed early as Broncos QB Jay Cutler completed a 26-yard TD pass to WR Eddie Royal. In the second quarter, the Raiders continued to trail as kicker Matt Prater got a 26-yard field goal, while FB Michael Pittman got a 3-yard TD run.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 1: vs. Denver Broncos
In the third quarter, Oakland got even more black and blue as Cutler completed a 48-yard TD pass to WR Darrell Jackson, while Prater nailed a 43-yard field goal. In the fourth quarter, the Raiders finally got on the board as QB JaMarcus Russell completed an 8-yard TD pass to WR Ashley Lelie. Denver ended its rout with RB Selvin Young's 5-yard TD run and Pittman's 1-yard TD run. Oakland would close the game with Russell's 4-yard TD pass to WR Ronald Curry.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 1: vs. Denver Broncos
With the dismal loss, the Raiders began their season at 0–1 for the sixth straight year.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 2: at Kansas City Chiefs
Hoping to rebound from their horrendous home loss to the Broncos, the Raiders flew to Arrowhead Stadium for a Week 2 AFC West showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs. In the first quarter, Oakland came out punching as kicker Sebastian Janikowski nailed a 56-yard and a 25-yard field goal. After a scoreless second quarter, rookie RB Darren McFadden picked up his first-ever career touchdown in the third quarter on a 19-yard TD run. In the fourth quarter, the Raiders increased its lead with Janikowski getting a 40-yard field goal. The Chiefs would respond with their only score of the game as QB Tyler Thigpen completed a 2-yard TD pass to TE Tony Gonzalez (along with a two-point conversion pass to fullback Mike Cox). Oakland would close out the game with rookie RB Michael Bush getting a 32-yard TD run.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 2: at Kansas City Chiefs
Darren McFadden (21 carries for 164 yards and a touchdown) would become the first rookie Raider to run for 100 yards since Bo Jackson in 1987. Also, the Raiders' combined rushing attack would reach 300 yards for the first time since November 1987.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 2: at Kansas City Chiefs
The defense's improvement from Week 1 showed, as they limited Kansas City to 8 points, which is the lowest that Oakland ever allowed since December 28, 2002 (0 points allowed, also against Kansas City).


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 3: at Buffalo Bills
Hoping to build off their divisional road win over the Chiefs, the Raiders flew to Ralph Wilson Stadium for a Week 3 duel with the Buffalo Bills. In the first quarter, Oakland got the early lead with kicker Sebastian Janikowski getting a 23-yard and a 35-yard field goal. In the second quarter, the Bills responded with RB Marshawn Lynch getting a 14-yard TD run. The Raiders would end the half with Janikowski kicking a 32-yard field goal.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 3: at Buffalo Bills
In the third quarter, the Raiders increased its lead with QB JaMarcus Russell getting a 1-yard TD run. However, in the fourth quarter, Buffalo started to rally as Lynch got a 3-yard TD run. Oakland would respond as Russell completed an 84-yard TD pass to WR Johnnie Lee Higgins, yet the Bills got near as QB Trent Edwards completed a 14-yard TD pass to WR Roscoe Parrish. Later, Buffalo completed its rally as kicker Rian Lindell nailed the game-winning 38-yard field goal.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 3: at Buffalo Bills
After the game, Chris Mortensen of ESPN and Jay Glazer of Fox Sports both erroneously reported that Lane Kiffin would be fired the following Monday; this turned out not to be the case, as Kiffin was coaching the team during Week 4.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 4: vs. San Diego Chargers
Hoping to rebound from their road loss to the Bills, the Raiders went home for a Week 4 AFC West duel with the San Diego Chargers. In the first quarter, Oakland struck first as kicker Sebastian Janikowski got a 22-yard goal, with Safety Gibril Wilson sacking Chargers QB Philip Rivers in his endzone for a safety. In the second quarter, the Raiders increased their lead with QB JaMarcus Russell completing a 63-yard TD pass to TE Zach Miller, along with Janikowski kicking a 28-yard field goal.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 4: vs. San Diego Chargers
Just prior to halftime, Janikowski attempted to kick a 76-yard field goal, a full 13 yards longer than the NFL record and seven yards longer than the record at any level of gridiron football. Predictably, the kick fell well short, not even reaching the end zone (much less the goal posts), and the ball was picked up by Chargers cornerback Antonio Cromartie.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 4: vs. San Diego Chargers
In the third quarter, the Chargers got on the board with kicker Nate Kaeding's 28-yard field goal. In the fourth quarter, San Diego took the lead with Rivers' 9-yard TD pass to TE Antonio Gates and RB LaDainian Tomlinson's 13-yard TD run (along with a successful 2-point conversion pass from Rivers to RB Darren Sproles). Oakland tried to prevent another collapse as Janikowski got a 32-yard field goal. However, the Chargers sealed the win with Kaeding nailing a 47-yard field goal and Tomlinson getting a 41-yard TD run.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 4: vs. San Diego Chargers
With the loss, the Raiders went into their bye week at 1–3.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 4: vs. San Diego Chargers
The following Tuesday, Lane Kiffin was officially fired as head coach and was replaced by offensive line coach Tom Cable.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 6: at New Orleans Saints
Coming off their bye week, the Raiders flew to the Louisiana Superdome for a Week 6 interconference duel with the New Orleans Saints. In the first quarter, Oakland struck first as kicker Sebastian Janikowski got a 24-yard field goal. In the second quarter, the Saints took the lead as RB Reggie Bush got a 3-yard TD run, along with kicker Taylor Mehlhaff getting a 44-yard field goal. In the third quarter, the Saints increased their lead as QB Drew Brees completed an 8-yard TD pass to RB Aaron Stecker and a 15-yard TD pass to Bush. In the fourth quarter, New Orleans closed the game out with Mehlhaff nailing a 33-yard field goal, along with Brees completing a 2-yard TD pass to TE Mark Campbell.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 7: vs. New York Jets
Hoping to rebound from their road loss to the Saints, the Raiders went home for a Week 7 duel with the New York Jets. In the first quarter, Oakland trailed early as Jets kicker Jay Feely got a 40-yard field goal. The Raiders responded with kicker Sebastian Janikowski getting a 29-yard field goal. After a scoreless second quarter, Oakland took the lead as QB JaMarcus Russell completed an 8-yard TD pass to WR Javon Walker. In the fourth quarter, New York tied the game as RB Leon Washington got an 11-yard TD run. The Raiders answered with Janikowski making a 37-yard field goal. The Jets would send the game into overtime as Feely got a 52-yard field goal. In overtime, the Silver & Black prevailed as Janikowski nailed the game-winning 57-yard field goal (a franchise record).


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 8: at Baltimore Ravens
Coming off their overtime win over the Jets, the Raiders flew to M&T Bank Stadium for a Week 8 duel with the Baltimore Ravens. In the first quarter, Oakland trailed early as QB JaMarcus Russell was sacked by LB Jameel McClain in his own endzone for a safety. In the second quarter, the Raiders continued to struggle as Ravens RB Willis McGahee got a 1-yard TD run, while QB Joe Flacco completed a 70-yard TD pass to WR Demetrius Williams. The Ravens closed out the half with kicker Matt Stover getting a 38-yard field goal.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 8: at Baltimore Ravens
In the third quarter, Oakland got on the board as kicker Sebastian Janikowski got a 22-yard field goal. Baltimore would respond with Stover nailing a 30-yard field goal, yet the Raiders answered with Russell completing a 2-yard TD pass to FB Justin Griffith. In the fourth quarter, the Ravens pulled away as Flacco got a 12-yard TD run.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 9: vs. Atlanta Falcons
Hoping to rebound from their road loss to the Ravens, the Raiders went home for a Week 9 interconference duel with the Atlanta Falcons. In the first quarter, Oakland trailed early as Falcons QB Matt Ryan completed a 37-yard TD pass to WR Michael Jenkins, while RB Jerious Norwood got a 12-yard TD run. In the second quarter, the Raiders' struggles continued as Ryan hooked up with Jenkins again on a 27-yard TD pass, while kicker Jason Elam nailed a 48-yard field goal. From then on out, Atlanta would prevent Oakland from getting any kind of positive drive going and the Raiders fell to 2–6 with the shutout loss.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 9: vs. Atlanta Falcons
In the loss, Oakland was held to 77 total yards of offense (fewest since 1961), three first downs (tied for the NFL's 3rd fewest since 1970), and 14:45 time of possession (2nd lowest since 1991).


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 10: vs. Carolina Panthers
Hoping to rebound from their shutout loss to the Falcons, the Raiders stayed at home for a Week 10 interconference duel with the Carolina Panthers. With QB JaMarcus Russell recover from an injury, back-up QB Andrew Walter was given the start.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 10: vs. Carolina Panthers
In the first quarter, Oakland trailed early as Panthers QB Jake Delhomme completed a 3-yard TD pass to WR Muhsin Muhammad. In the second quarter, the Raiders continued to trail as RB DeAngelo Williams got a 69-yard TD run. In the third quarter, Oakland got on the board with kicker Sebastian Janikowski getting a 38-yard and a 45-yard field goal. In the fourth quarter, Carolina sealed the win with kicker John Kasay nailing a 32-yard field goal.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 10: vs. Carolina Panthers
With the loss, the Raiders fell to 2–7. This was also the Raiders 300th franchise loss.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 10: vs. Carolina Panthers
On a positive note, Janikowski's two field goals helped him surpass George Blanda and become the franchise's all-time career points leader with 865 points.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 11: at Miami Dolphins
Hoping to rebound from their three-game losing streak, the Raiders flew to Dolphin Stadium for a Week 11 duel with the Miami Dolphins. In the first quarter, Oakland trailed early as Dolphins WR Ted Ginn Jr. got a 40-yard TD run. In the second quarter, the Raiders responded with kicker Sebastian Janikowski getting a 21-yard field goal. In the third quarter, Oakland started to catch up as DE Jay Richardson sacked QB Chad Pennington in his own endzone for a safety. Miami would answer with RB Patrick Cobbs getting a 10-yard TD run. In the fourth quarter, the Raiders took the lead as Janikowski got a 37-yard field goal, along with WR Johnnie Lee Higgins returning a punt 93 yards for a touchdown. However, the Dolphins sealed Oakland's fate as kicker Dan Carpenter nailed a 38-yard field goal.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 12: at Denver Broncos
Trying to snap a four-game losing streak, the Raiders flew to Invesco Field at Mile High for a Week 12 AFC West rematch with the Denver Broncos. After a scoreless first quarter, Oakland drew first blood with kicker Sebastian Janikowski getting a 26-yard field goal. The Broncos would respond with kicker Matt Prater getting a 44-yard field goal. The Raiders would close out the half as WR Johnnie Lee Higgins returned a punt 89 yards for a touchdown.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 12: at Denver Broncos
In the third quarter, Denver tied the game with FB Peyton Hillis getting a 6-yard TD run. Oakland would reply with rookie RB Darren McFadden getting a 1-yard TD run. In the fourth quarter, the Raiders pulled away as QB JaMarcus Russell completed a 4-yard TD pass to former Broncos WR Ashley Lelie, while McFadden got another 1-yard TD run.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 13: vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Coming off their upset road win over the Broncos, the Raiders went home for a Week 13 AFC West rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs. In the first quarter, Oakland struck first as kicker Sebastian Janikowski got a 25-yard field goal. The Chiefs would respond with kicker Connor Barth getting a 38-yard field goal. In the second quarter, Kansas City took the lead as CB Maurice Leggett returned a fumble (who was from a trick play on a field goal attempt) 67 yards for a touchdown.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 13: vs. Kansas City Chiefs
In the third quarter, Oakland responded with RB Justin Fargas getting a 1-yard TD run. In the fourth quarter, the Chiefs replied with RB Larry Johnson getting a 2-yard TD run, along with Barth making a 27-yard field goal. The Raiders tried to come back as Janikowski nailed a 51-yard field goal, but Kansas City's defense was too much to overcome.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 14: vs. San Diego Chargers
Hoping to rebound from their home loss to the Chiefs, the Raiders flew to Qualcomm Stadium for a Week 14 AFC West rematch with the San Diego Chargers. In the first quarter, Oakland trailed early as Chargers kicker Nate Kaeding getting a 20-yard field goal, along with RB LaDainian Tomlinson getting a 3-yard TD run. The Raiders continued to trail as QB Philip Rivers completed an 8-yard TD pass to RB Darren Sproles and a 59-yard TD pass to WR Vincent Jackson, while Kaeding got a 39-yard field goal. Oakland responded with CB Justin Miller returning a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown. After a scoreless third quarter, San Diego pulled away in the fourth quarter as Rivers hooked up with Sproles again on an 18-yard TD pass.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 14: vs. San Diego Chargers
With the loss, not only did the Raiders fall to 3–10, but they also suffered their sixth-straight 10-loss season.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 16: vs. Houston Texans
Hoping to rebound from their loss to the Patriots, the Raiders stayed at home for a Week 16 duel with the Houston Texans. Oakland would get the early lead in the first quarter as quarterback JaMarcus Russell completed a 20-yard touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Chaz Schilens. The Texans would respond with fullback Vonta Leach getting a 1-yard touchdown run, yet the Raiders would answer with kicker Sebastian Janikowski getting a 33-yard and a 30-yard field goal. Houston would tie the game in the second quarter with kicker Kris Brown getting a 53-yard and a 24-yard field goal.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 16: vs. Houston Texans
Oakland would take the lead in the third quarter with wide receiver Johnnie Lee Higgins catching a 29-yard touchdown pass from Russell, followed up by an 80-yard punt return for a touchdown. The Texans tried to rally in the fourth quarter as Brown nailed a 40-yard field goal, yet the Raiders' defense would shut down any possible attempt.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 17: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
After a scoreless first quarter Oakland scored on a 3-yd TD run by second year running back Michael Bush who finished the game with 27 rushes for 177 yards. After a touchdown by both teams the Bucs scored 17 unanswered points to take a 24–14 lead in the fourth quarter but a 12-yd touchdown pass from quarterback JaMarcus Russell to wide receiver Johnnie Lee Higgins and a 67-yard run by running back Michael Bush gave the Raiders a 28–24 lead. on the Bucs next drive Jeff Garcia threw an interception to safety Rashad Baker.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 17: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
After a goal line stand by the Bucs defense the Raiders kicked a 25-yd field goal by kicker Sebastian Janikowski to give Oakland a 7-point lead. On the  next drive the first career sack by rookie defensive end Greyson Gunheims ended the game. The Raiders have ended their season on a 2-game winning streak and finish their season with a 5–11 record; the best since they also went 5–11 in 2004 and the  Raiders knocked the Buccaneers out of Playoff contention. Interim head coach Tom Cable was named permanent head coach February 4, 2009.


2008 Oakland Raiders season, Regular season results, Week 17: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Following the conclusion of the 2008 season the Oakland Raiders were identified as the 'Coach Killers' of the NFL. Following losses to the Raiders during the season, Jon Gruden of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Herm Edwards of the Kansas City Chiefs, Eric Mangini of the New York Jets and Mike Shanahan of the Denver Broncos were all let go from their respective programs. Gary Kubiak of the Houston Texans was the only head coach to lose to the Oakland Raiders in the 2008 season and keep his job.


2008 Oceania Athletics Championships
The 2008 Oceania Athletics Championships was the 9th edition of the Oceania Athletics Championships, organised under the supervision of the Oceania Athletic Association, in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands in June. Athletes competed at two age categories: Youth (U18) and open senior. New Caledonia competed as part of Oceania for the first time, having competed as a guest nation in past events. The four-day competition took place from 25 to 28 June


2008 Oceania Athletics Championships, Medal table
In medal table counted only events with 3 or more participants:


2008 Oceania Badminton Championships
The VI 2008 Oceania Badminton Championships was the 6th edition of the Oceania Badminton Championships. It was held in Nouméa, New Caledonia from 3 to 8 February 2008.


2008 Oceania Badminton Championships, Medalists, Individual event
New Zealand has won four out of five titles in the individual events. The only consolation for Australia was the men's doubles Smith and Warfe, which they won in two sets beating the New Zealand pairing of Henry Tam and Nathan Hannam. The table below gives an overview of the individual event medal winners at the 2008 Oceania Championships.


2008 Oceania Badminton Championships, Medalists, Team Event
New Zealand team won the Oceania mixed teams event after lift the Robson Shield tournament. The Men's and Women's team event was the qualifying round of the 2008 Thomas & Uber Cup. New Zealand won the men's and women's team after beat Australia with the score 3-2 in the men's team, and 3-0 in the women's team.


2008 Oceania Handball Champions Cup
The 2008 Oceania Handball Champions Cup was in New Caledonia 2–8 November 2008  with seven teams from five countries competing for the third edition of the Men Oceania Champions Cup.


2008 Oceania Handball Champions Cup
The final saw AS Dumbea from New Caledonia finally winning an Oceania Champions Cup over former champions JS Mont Dore. The third place play off saw the Wellington Falcons of New Zealand beat Tahitian side AS Faa'a. A Sydney regional team were fifth and Tahitian side AS Tohieva were sixth. HB Kafika from Wallis and Futuna rounded out the field in seventh.


2008 Oceania Handball Championship
The 2008 Oceania Handball Championship was the sixth edition of the Oceania Handball Nations Cup, which took place in Wellington, New Zealand from 7 to 10 April 2008. Entered nations were Australia, Cook Islands, New Caledonia and New Zealand. Although New Caledonia won the tournament, they are ineligible to go to the 2009 World Men's Handball Championship as they are a French colony. Australia won the right to represent Oceania by coming second.


2008 Oceania Swimming Championships
The 2008 Oceania Swimming Championships were held in New Zealand and featured competition in swimming, open water swimming and synchronized swimming. It was the 7th Oceania Swimming Championships and second time that New Zealand hosted the event after playing host to the 2000 Championships.


2008 Oceania Swimming Championships
The open water competitions were held from 3 February to 5 February near Rotorua in Lake Okataina and Lake Rotoma whilst the swimming and synchronized swimming competitions were carried out from 5 June to 8 June in Christchurch at the QEII Leisure Centre.


2008 Oceania Swimming Championships
Twelve of the 13 federated members of the Oceania Swimming Association competed with the Northern Mariana Islands the only member not to send any swimmers. Two associate members also attending, bringing the total to 14: the French overseas department New Caledonia and the USA State Hawaii.


2008 Oceania Swimming Championships, Medal Tally
The ranking sorts by the number of gold medals earned by a member federation (or associate member) of the Oceania Swimming Association. The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze medals. If, after the above, countries are still tied, equal ranking is given and they are listed alphabetically. The host country, New Zealand, is highlighted in lavender. The greatest number of medals won in each medal category, gold, silver, bronze, and total, is in boldface.


2008 Oceania Swimming Championships, Swimming
A total of 38 swimming events were contested in a 50-metre pool. To give the smaller island nations a chance against the stronger swimming nations of Australia and New Zealand the championships rules stated that in the individual events only the top two qualifiers from each country progress through to the final with the third fastest swimmer only from those countries with two swimmers qualifying for the ‘A’ final permitted to swim in the ‘B’ final. In the relay events it was one medal per country. So, for example, if New Zealand 'A' finishes first, Australia 'A' finishes second, New Zealand 'B' finishes third and New Caledonia finishes fourth, New Caledonia would be awarded the bronze medal.


2008 Oceania Swimming Championships, Records broken
During the 2008 Oceania Swimming Championships, 42 Championship Records (or Meet Records) were set. Multiple Continental and National Records were also set.


2008 Oceania Youth Athletics Championships
The 2008 Oceania Youth Athletics Championships were held at the Oleai Sports Complex in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, between June 25–28, 2008. They were held together with the 2008 Oceania Open Championships. A total of 37 events were contested, 19 by boys and 18 by girls.


2008 Oceania Youth Athletics Championships, Medal summary
Complete results can be found on the websites of the Oceania Athletics Association, and of the World Junior Athletics History.


2008 Oceania Youth Athletics Championships, Participation (unofficial)
An unofficial count yields the number of about 112 athletes from 21 countries:


2008 Oceanian Futsal Championship
The 2008 OFC Futsal Championship was the fifth edition of the main international futsal tournament of the Oceanian region. It took place in Suva, Fiji from 8 June to 14 June 2008.


2008 Oceanian Futsal Championship
The tournament also acted as a qualifying tournament for the 2008 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Brazil. The Solomon Islands won the tournament, and qualified for the World Cup.


2008 Oceanian Futsal Championship
This was the first OFC Futsal Championship tournament not to include Australia as they left the OFC to join the Asian Football Confederation in 2006.


2008 Oceanian Futsal Championship, Championship
The seven participating teams played each on a single round-robin format. The top team of the group, the Solomon Islands, won the championship and got a ticket to 2008 Futsal World Cup in Brazil.


2008 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open
The 2008 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 4th edition, for men, and 7th edition, for women, of the tournament and part of the 2008 ATP Challenger Series and the 2008 ITF Women's Circuit, offering totals of $100,000, for men, and $50,000, for women, in prize money. It took place in West Vancouver, British Columbia, between July 28 and August 3, 2008.


2008 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open, Men's singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2008 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open, Men's singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following player entered the singles main draw with a special exempt:


2008 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open, Champions, Men's doubles
Eric Butorac /  Travis Parrott def. Rik de Voest /  Ashley Fisher, 6–4, 7–6(7–3)


2008 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open, Champions, Women's doubles
Carly Gullickson /  Nicole Kriz def. Christina Fusano /  Junri Namigata, 6–7(4–7), 6–1, [10–5]


2008 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open – Men's Doubles
Rik de Voest and Ashley Fisher were the defending champions, but lost in the final 6–4, 7–6(7–3) to tournament winners Eric Butorac and Travis Parrott.


2008 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open – Men's Singles
Frédéric Niemeyer was the defending champion, but lost in second round to Peter Polansky.


2008 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open – Men's Singles
Dudi Sela won the title by defeating Kevin Kim 6–3, 6–0 in the final.


2008 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open – Women's Doubles
Stéphanie Dubois and Marie-Ève Pelletier were the defending champions, but none entered this year as both were competing in Montreal at the same week.


2008 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open – Women's Doubles
Carly Gullickson and Nicole Kriz won the title by defeating Christina Fusano and Junri Namigata 6–7(4–7), 6–1, [10–5] in the final.


2008 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open – Women's Singles
Anne Keothavong was the defending champion, but competed in Montreal at the same week.


2008 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open – Women's Singles
Urszula Radwańska won the title by defeating Julie Coin 2–6, 6–3, 7–5 in the final.


2008 Ohio Bobcats football team
The 2008 Ohio Bobcats football team represented Ohio University during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Ohio competed as a member of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Bobcats were led by Frank Solich in his fourth year as head coach.