2008 Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito season
In the domestic tournament, the club unsuccessfully defended their 2007 title, finishing as the runner-up to Deportivo Quito. The club reached a level of success in international tournaments that no other Ecuadorian club has ever achieved. LDU Quito became the first Ecuadorian club to win an international title by winning their first Copa Libertadores. The win allowed the club to participate in FIFA's annual Club World Cup, which they finished in 2nd place.


2008 Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito season
2008 marked the last season Argentine manager Edgardo Bauza will remain at the position. He would be replaced by Uruguayan Jorge Fossati, who previously led the team from 2003-2004.


2008 Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito season, Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008 Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito season, Squad, Copa Libertadores squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008 Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito season, Squad, Copa Sudamericana squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008 Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito season, Squad, Club World Cup squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008 Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito season, Competitions, Serie A
2008 was the club's 47th season in the top-flight national tournament.


2008 Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito season, Competitions, Serie A, First stage
LDU Quito qualified for the Liguilla Final with 2 bonus points.


2008 Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito season, Competitions, Serie A, Second stage
For the second stage, LDU Quito was drawn into Group B.


2008 Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito season, Competitions, Copa Libertadores
LDU Quito qualified to the 2008 Copa Libertadores as the 2007 Serie A champion. It would be their 13th participation in CONMEBOL's top continental tournament. LDU Quito was drawn into Group 8 with Argentine 2006–07 season 5th place finishers Arsenal de Sarandí, 2007 Copa do Brasil winner Fluminense FC, and Paraguayan Clausura 2007 winner Club Libertad. They were the first team in the tournament to qualify to the knock-out round.


2008 Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito season, Competitions, Copa Libertadores
LDU Quito advanced to their first Copa Libertadores finals; they were the second Ecuadorian club to do so (the first being Barcelona). Los Albos won their first Copa Libertadores by penalty shootout after a 5-5 aggregate score at the end of the second leg. Goalkeeper José Francisco Cevallos blocked three penalty kicks to secure the title for his team.


2008 Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito season, Competitions, Copa Sudamericana
LDU Quito participated in their 5th Copa Sudamericana. They qualified by finishing first in the second stage of the 2007 Serie A.


2008 Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito season, Competitions, FIFA Club World Cup
LDU Quito was the first Ecuadorian club to participate in the FIFA Club World Cup and the first non-Argentine/Brazilian club from CONMEBOL to participate. As the winner of the Copa Libertadores, they received a bye into the semifinals.


2008 Liga Indonesia Premier Division Final
The 2008 Liga Indonesia Premier Division Final was a football match which was played on 10 February 2008 at Si Jalak Harupat Stadium in Bandung. The match was supposed to take place on 9 February 2008 in Jakarta. However, due to fan riots in one of the semifinal matches, the match was postponed by a day and moved to Bandung to be played behind closed doors. Neither PSMS and Sriwijaya had made the final stage before. Sriwijaya won the match, defeating PSMS 3–1 in extra time, after the match was drawn at 1–1 at the conclusion of regular time.


2008 Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano season
The 2008 Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano was the 32nd season of Bolivia's top-flight professional football league. The season was split into two championships: the Apertura and the Clausura.


2008 Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano season, Torneo Apertura
The 2008 Campeonato Apertura Entel was the first championship of the season. It began on February 23 and ended on July 20.


2008 Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano season, Torneo Clausura
The 2008 Campeonato Clausura Entel was the second championship of the season. It began on August 3 and ended on November 3.


2008 Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano season, Torneo Play Off, First Round
As the four best losers, Oriente Petrolero, San José, Aurora, and The Strongest qualified to the Losers Round.


2008 Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano season, Torneo Play Off, Losers Round, Final
San José qualified for the semifinals as the best loser.


2008 Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano season, Torneo Play Off, Finals, Second leg
Real Potosi wins 2–0 on aggregate. Real Potosi qualified for the First Stage of the 2009 Copa Libertadores.


2008 Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano season, Relegation
The team with the worst average will be relegated to the Regional Leagues. The second-worst team will play a promotion/relegation playoff against the runner-up of the Regional Leagues.


2008 Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano season, Relegation, Promotion/relegation playoff
Real Mamoré won 4–2 on aggregate. Real Mamoré remains in the LFPB for 2009.


2008 Ligas Superiores del Peru
The 2008 Ligas Superiores, the fifth division of Peruvian football (soccer), was played by variable number teams by Ireland. The tournaments were played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The Ligas Superiores were experimental form in 2008. For the 2008, they were only four the Departmental Confederacies that have determined to adopt them: Ayacucho, Huánuco, Lambayeque and Puno.


2008 Lillestrøm SK season
The 2008 season was Lillestrøm SK's 18th season in the Tippeligaen, and their 33rd consecutive season in the top division of Norwegian football.


2008 Lillestrøm SK season, Pre-season and friendlies
The first pre-season friendly was played on January 18 vs Ham-Kam. On the dates where it was scheduled two matches on the same day, the squad was split in two, playing a match each, complemented by the reserve team.


2008 Limerick Senior Hurling Championship
The 2008 Limerick Senior Hurling Championship was the 114th staging of the Limerick Senior Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Limerick County Board in 1887.


2008 Limerick Senior Hurling Championship
On 19 October 2008, Adare won the championship after a 0-13 to 0-08 defeat of Ahane in the final. It was their fourth championship title overall and their second title in succession.


2008 Lithuanian Athletics Championships
The 85th 2008 Lithuanian Athletics Championships were held in S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium, Kaunas on 18–19 July 2008.


2008 Lithuanian nuclear power referendum
A referendum on extending the operation of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant was held in Lithuania on 12 October 2008 alongside parliamentary elections. The country's government was obliged to close down Ignalina as part of its treaty of accession to the European Union.


2008 Lithuanian nuclear power referendum
The electorate were asked to vote on the statement: "I approve of the extension of operation of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant for a technically safe period, but not longer than completion of the construction of a new nuclear power plant."


2008 Lithuanian nuclear power referendum
Although 91.4% of voters voted in favour of continuing the plant's operation, voter turnout was below the 50% threshold required to make the results valid.


2008 Lithuanian parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Lithuania on 12 October 2008, with a second round on 26 October in the constituencies where no candidate won a majority in the first round of voting. All 141 seats in the Seimas were up for election; 71 in single-seat constituencies elected by majority vote and the remaining 70 in a nationwide constituency based on proportional representation. Together with the elections, a referendum on extending the operation of Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant was held.


2008 Lithuanian parliamentary election
The elections were won by a centre-right coalition, led by Andrius Kubilius of the Homeland Union. Kubilius was appointed the Prime Minister of a coalition government together with National Resurrection Party, Liberal and Centre Union, and Liberal Movement. The coalition had 80 seats in the 141-member Tenth Seimas.


2008 Lithuanian parliamentary election
The parties that were part of coalition governments in the outgoing parliament suffered in the elections, with Social Democratic Party of Lithuania, Labour Party, New Union (Social Liberals), Liberal and Centre Union and Lithuanian Peasant Popular Union all losing seats in the Seimas, although Social Democrats increased their seat tally compared to the previous elections.


2008 Lithuanian parliamentary election
The elections were the first parliamentary elections since 1990 where no changes to the electoral law were implemented prior to the election, with the electoral system used for the 2004 elections being maintained.


2008 Lithuanian parliamentary election, Background
The 2004 parliamentary elections were held on 10 October 2004, with the run-off on 24 October. The Labour Party ended up as the largest party in the parliament, with 39 seats in the 141-member Ninth Seimas.


2008 Lithuanian parliamentary election, Background
The joint list consisting of the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania (20 seats) and New Union (Social Liberals) (11 seats) finished as runners-up, but the Social Democrats managed to form a coalition government with their leader, Algirdas Brazauskas, as the Prime Minister. The government also included the New Union, the Labour Party and the Peasants and New Democratic Party Union.


2008 Lithuanian parliamentary election, Background
The coalition did not last the full term – New Union and Labour Party left it in spring, 2006, bringing down the government of Brazauskas, who resigned and retired from politics. Gediminas Kirkilas became the new Prime Minister and the coalition (this time composed only by Social Democrats and Lithuanian Popular Peasants Union) was joined by the Civic Democratic Party (which had splintered from the Labour Party earlier in the year) and the Liberal and Centre Union. The new coalition governed in minority, with the support from opposition parties. New Union rejoined the coalition in January 2008. At the end of the term, Social Democrats were the largest parliamentary group with 38 members.


2008 Lithuanian parliamentary election, Background
Homeland Union was the largest opposition group in the parliament before the 2012 elections with 26 seats.


2008 Lithuanian parliamentary election, Electoral system
All seats in the 141-member Seimas were up for election in parallel voting, with 71 members elected in single-seat constituencies and 70 members elected by proportional representation in a single nationwide constituency. Voting in the elections was open to all citizens of Lithuania who are at least 18-years-old.


2008 Lithuanian parliamentary election, Electoral system
The first round took place on 12 October 2008. Members of the Seimas in the 71 single-seat constituencies were elected by a majority vote, with a run-off held on 26 October. The remaining 70 seats were allocated to the participating political parties using the largest remainder method, with a 5% threshold (7% for multi-party lists) to enter the parliament. Candidates took the seats allocated to their parties based on the preference lists submitted before the elections and adjusted by preference votes given by the voters.


2008 Lithuanian parliamentary election, Electoral system
To be eligible for election, candidates had to be at least 25-years-old on the election day, not under allegiance to a foreign state and permanently resident in Lithuania. Persons serving or due to serve a sentence imposed by the court 65 days before the elections were not eligible. Also, judges, citizens performing military service, and servicemen of professional military service and officials of statutory institutions and establishments could not stand for election.


2008 Lithuanian parliamentary election, Campaign
The election campaign in 2008 took place in the context of overheating economy and high inflation. Following years of breakneck economic growth, the GDP was expected to shrink the following year. Inflation in 2006 exceeded the benchmark levels that would have allowed the country to adopt euro as a currency and continued rising, exceeding 12% in 2008. Economy, inflation and the adoption of the euro were high on the campaign agenda. In addition, energy security featured prominently, with the referendum on continued operation of Ignalina nuclear power plant was to take place with the elections.


2008 Lithuanian parliamentary election, Campaign
Pre -election polls suggested that five parties would reach the 5% vote threshold to win proportionally-allocated seats in the Seimas: Homeland Union, Order and Justice, Labour Party, Social Democratic Party of Lithuania and Lithuanian Peasant Popular Union. Political advertisements on TV were banned before the elections, to reduce the influence of money in the elections, but contributing to a dull election campaign.


2008 Lithuanian parliamentary election, Campaign
Homeland Union was hoping to return to power for the first time since 2000. Its leader Andrius Kubilius promised that his government would cut income taxes (paid for by introducing a property tax), review VAT exemptions and introduce euro at an unspecified time. Homeland Union was critical of the decision to hold a referendum regarding the Ignalina power plant, but promised to negotiate with the European Commission to postpone its closure. Homeland Union performed well in the municipal elections in 2007 and was hoping to further expand its electorate by actively campaigning on social media.


2008 Lithuanian parliamentary election, Campaign
Order and Justice, led by former president Rolandas Paksas, campaigned for change, arguing that there was little difference between the two traditional largest parties, Homeland Union and Social Democrats. Paksas promised to hold a referendum whether to adopt the euro and to maintain a pragmatic relationship with Russia.


2008 Lithuanian parliamentary election, Campaign
The Labour Party had experienced upheaval since an investigation in its party finances, and its leader Viktor Uspaskich had been defeated in a bi-election. Labour campaigned on the platform of protecting small and medium enterprises in Lithuania. The party relied on its support in small towns of Lithuania.


2008 Lithuanian parliamentary election, Campaign
The Social Democrats, having led the government since 2001, were hoping to continue its run, with Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas stating that "the new government cannot be formed without the Social Democrats". As part of the campaign, he once again pledged to introduce progressive taxation in Lithuania and aim to introduce the euro between 2010 and 2012. On the other hand, the party was criticized for failing to tackle important reforms during its time in power and for failing to control budget deficits in times of economic growth.


2008 Lithuanian parliamentary election, Campaign
Other major contenders in the elections were the Lithuanian Peasant Popular Union, which had formed part of the government since 2004, the Liberal Movement, which enjoyed substantial support among students and businessmen, and the Liberal and Centre Union, led by former mayor of Vilnius, Artūras Zuokas. Newly formed National Resurrection Party, led by a businessman and a showman Arūnas Valinskas rose to prominence shortly before the elections, with many media personalities among its ranks.


2008 Lithuanian parliamentary election, Campaign
In total, 1,583 candidates and 20 electoral lists were vying for seats in the elections.


2008 Lithuanian parliamentary election, Aftermath
The elections were won by the Homeland Union, which won 45 of 141 seats and finished ahead of the field for the first time since the elections in 1996. The recently established National Resurrection Party finished second in the nationwide constituency (winning 13 out of 70 proportionally-allocated seats), surprising many analysts. Its success was attributed to protest votes against established political movements and the party's popularity among young people attracted to its celebrity members. However, the party performed with less success in the single-seat constituencies, winning only 3 additional seats.


2008 Lithuanian parliamentary election, Aftermath
Government parties performed poorly, with New Union and Peasants Popular Union even failing to clear 5% threshold for proportionally-allocated seats. Social Democrats finished fourth in the nationwide constituency, but ended up with 25 seats (only behind Homeland Union) due to a stronger performance in single-member constituencies. Social Democratic Party's leader Gediminas Kirkilas decided not to stand for leadership election in 2009.


2008 Lithuanian parliamentary election, Government formation
Hours after the end of voting in the second round, the Homeland Union, the National Resurrection Party, the Liberal Movement and the Liberal and Centre Union signed a coalition agreement. The four parties had 80 of the 141 seats in the Tenth Seimas. On 27 November 2008, Andrius Kubilius was appointed the Prime Minister of the coalition government. Arūnas Valinskas of the National Resurrection Party was elected as the Speaker of the Seimas.


2008 Little League Philippine Series
The 2008 Little League Philippine Series was held from April 5 to 13, 2008. The venue of the tournament was the Alabang Country Club in Muntinlupa. 72 teams joined in the various age divisions. This is an annual event and winners earn the right to represent Little League Philippines at the Asia Pacific Regional Tournaments to be held in June and July.


2008 Little League Philippine Series, Little League Baseball (11 to 12 Years Old)
A new tournament format was used in 2008. The new format is similar to that used in the Mexican Little League tournament. A total of 29 teams joined.


2008 Little League World Series
The 2008 Little League World Series, was held in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. It began on August 15 and ended August 24. Eight teams from the United States and eight from throughout the world competed to decide the winner of the 62nd installment of the Little League World Series. In the championship game, the United States champions from Waipi`o, Hawaii defeated the international champions from Matamoros, Mexico. This was the last iteration of the Little League World Series in which the international champions did not originate from an East Asian country until 2019.


2008 Little League World Series
Activision released a video game in advance of the event, Little League World Series Baseball 2008.


2008 Little League World Series, Results, Pool play
The top two teams in each pool moved on to their respective semifinals. The winners of each met on August 24 to play for the Little League World Championship. Teams marked in green qualified to the knockout stage.


2008 Little League World Series, Results, Pool play
Ties are broken based on records in head-to-head competition among tied teams. In the event of a three-way tie for first place, the tie is broken by calculating the ratio of runs allowed to defensive innings played for all teams involved in the tie. The team with the lowest runs-per-defensive-inning ratio is ranked first and advances. Second place is determined by the head-to-head result of the other two teams. If the three-way tie is for 2nd place, the runs-per-defensive-inning ratio rule is used. The team with the lowest run ratio advances, the other two teams are eliminated.


2008 Little League World Series, Champions path
According to the information provided at Unpage.com, the Waipio LL won 5 matches and lost 1 match to reach the LLWS. In total, their record was 16–2, their only losses coming against Central East Maui LL (from Hawaii), and Paseo Verde LL (from Nevada).


2008 Little League World Series qualification
Qualification for the 2008 Little League World Series took place in eight United States regions and eight international regions in July and August 2008.


2008 Little League World Series qualification
One change from the 2007 Qualification is the realignment of the former EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) and Transatlantic regions. Instead of the aforementioned regions (which chiefly were divided by native-born players and US/Canadian/Japanese expatriates, respectively), teams will now be entered by geography: one for Europe, another for the Middle East and Africa, with both native-born and children of expatriates on the same team from a given country.


2008 Little League World Series qualification, United States, Midwest
Note: The Dakotas are organized into a single Little League district, which was won by a South Dakota team.


2008 Little League World Series results
The results of the 2008 Little League World Series were determined between August 15 and August 24, 2008 in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. 16 teams were divided into four groups, two with four teams from the United States and two with four international teams each, playing in a round robin format. In each group, the top two teams advanced to the knockout stage. The last remaining team from the United States faced the last remaining international team for the Little League World Series Championship.


2008 Liverpool City Council election
Elections to Liverpool City Council were held on 1 May 2008. One third of the council was up for election. (30 seats plus 1 in a by-election)


2008 Liverpool City Council election, By Elections, Fazakerley, 18 February 2010
Caused by the death of Councillor Jack Spriggs (Labour, elected 1 May 2008).


2008 Liège–Bastogne–Liège
The 2008 Liège–Bastogne–Liège monument classic cycling race took place on April 27, 2008 and was won by Spaniard Alejandro Valverde of Caisse d'Epargne, beating Italian Davide Rebellin of Gerolsteiner and Luxembourger Fränk Schleck of Team CSC in a sprint finish. It was the 94th running of the Liège–Bastogne–Liège, organised by Amaury Sport Organisation and the Royal Pesant Club Liégeois.


2008 Lok Sabha vote of confidence
The United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the governing alliance in India elected in 2004, faced its first confidence vote in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of Parliament) on 22 July 2008 after the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front withdrew support over India approaching the IAEA for the Indo-US nuclear deal. The vote was so crucial that the UPA and the opposition parties summoned MPs from their sick beds and even from prison cells to take part in the vote, which was eventually won by the Government.


2008 Lok Sabha vote of confidence, Before the vote
The following list indicates the official position of the political parties before the voting.


2008 Lok Sabha vote of confidence, Before the vote
UPA and supporters: 268 MPs for the government NDA and others: 263 MPs against the government Undecided: 11 MPs Non-voting: 1 MP


2008 Lok Sabha vote of confidence, Voting
In the 543 member Lok Sabha, the UPA needed 272 votes for the government to enjoy a simple majority. The UPA won the confidence vote with 275 votes to the opposition's 256, (10 members abstained from the vote) to record a 19-vote victory.


2008 Lok Sabha vote of confidence, Abstensions
Ten members abstained from the voting despite some of them having received strict contrary instructions from their parties. Among the 10, 2 MPs followed their party decision of abstaining so as to not be seen as supporting the UPA or the BJP, Left led opposition. Those two were:


2008 Lok Sabha vote of confidence, Abstensions
The other 8 members who abstained defied their party stand. These 8 were:


2008 Lok Sabha vote of confidence, Cross voting
The 7 members of the UPA who cross-voted against the government were:


2008 Lok Sabha vote of confidence, Cross voting
Conversely, there were at least four members of the opposition who cross-voted in favour of the government proposal. These 4 were


2008 Lok Sabha vote of confidence, Allegations of bribery
Three BJP MPs – Ashok Argal (Morena), Faggan Singh Kulaste (Mandla) and Mahavir Bhagora (Salumber) amidst discussion walked towards the Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and placed two brown and black leather bags on a table. They pulled out bundles of ₹1,000 (US$14) and alleged that Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh had tried to offer them bribe to vote in favour of the government. The BJP MP Kulaste, alleged that Amar Singh and Congress leader Ahmed Patel, an aide to Sonia Gandhi tried to offer bribe of ₹90 million (US$1.3 million) to remain absent from the confidence vote.


2008 Lok Sabha vote of confidence, Allegations of bribery
Amar Singh denied the charges. Speaker Somnath Chatterjee asked the police chief of New Delhi to investigate the bribery issue. Indian news channel CNN IBN which carried out the sting operation by recording using hidden cameras agreed to share the material with Indian authorities. A joint parliamentary committee formed to investigate the issue submitted its report to the Lok Sabha on 15 December 2008, after finding no evidence for bribery against the MPs Amar Singh and Ahmad Patel, thereby exonerating them.


2008 Lok Sabha vote of confidence, Expulsions
As a result of not obeying the instructions issued by their political parties, many MPs were expelled as an aftermath of the vote.


2008 London Assembly election
An election to the Assembly of London took place on 1 May 2008, along with the 2008 London mayoral election. The Conservatives gained 2 seats, Labour  gained one seat, the Liberal Democrats lost two seats, and UKIP were wiped out. Notably, a candidate for the British National Party (BNP) was elected for the first time.


2008 London Assembly election
The Assembly is elected by the Additional Member System. Fourteen directly elected constituencies exist, all of which have, to date, only ever been won by the Conservative Party or the Labour Party. An additional eleven members are allocated by a London wide top-up vote with the proviso that parties must win at least five percent of the vote to qualify for the list seats. Prior to these elections, these seats were held by five Liberal Democrats, two Labour Party members, two Green Party members and two One Londoners.


2008 London Assembly election
The two One London members were elected as candidates for the UK Independence Party, but then joined or supported the breakaway Veritas party and subsequently left Veritas to form One London. Compared to the previous election, two separate factions of RESPECT Unity Coalition stood in 2008: Respect (George Galloway), who supported Ken Livingstone in the mayoral election, and Left List, who supported Lindsey German (RESPECT's mayoral candidate in 2004).


2008 London Assembly election, Results
† Joint-ticket Christian Party/Christian Peoples Alliance candidates standing as "Christian Choice"# Communist Party of Britain were listed on the ballot paper as "Unity for Peace and Socialism"


2008 London Assembly election, Analysis
Labour gained Brent and Harrow from Conservative (which had been the only constituency seat changing hands in 2004, having then been gained from Labour). The other 13 constituencies remained unchanged, with the two Liberal Democrat challenges, in South West against the Conservatives, and Lambeth and Southwark against Labour, both showing swings against the Liberal Democrats. The Labour-Conservative marginal, with just 1.3% majority, of Enfield and Haringey was defended by Labour with only a tiny swing to the Conservatives. Thus the Labour campaign for the London Assembly was considerably more successful than their campaign in the local elections held on the same day.


2008 London Assembly election, Analysis
The Liberal Democrat and UKIP vote shares were both very poor compared with 2004, with UKIP wiped out entirely, and the Liberal Democrats losing two members.


2008 London Assembly election, Analysis
The Labour vote share was up, but because of their capture of a FPTP seat, they did not gain any extra Additional Members against 2004. The biggest vote increase was for the Conservatives, achieving the highest ever showing of any party on the list, 34%; as a result and also due to their loss of one FPTP seat, they went from zero to three additional members. The Conservative record was subsequently surpassed by Labour in 2012 (41.1%) and 2016 (40.3%).


2008 London Assembly election, Analysis
The British National Party won their first seat on the Assembly by reaching the 5% threshold.


2008 London Assembly election, London Assembly representation
[ †] Both UKIP Assembly members had subsequently defected and formed the new One London party.


2008 London Marathon
The 2008 London Marathon was the 28th running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 13 April. The elite men's race was won by Kenya's Martin Lel in a time of 2:05:15 hours and the women's race was won by Germany's Irina Mikitenko in 2:24:14.


2008 London Marathon
In the wheelchair races, Britain's David Weir (1:33:56) and Switzerland's Sandra Graf (1:48:04) won the men's and women's divisions, respectively. Graf knocked over a minute off the course record.


2008 London Marathon
Around 120,000 people applied to enter the race: 48,630 had their applications accepted and 35,037 started the race. A total of 34,212 runners, 23,574 men and 10,638 women, finished the race.


2008 London Sevens
The London Sevens is played annually as part of the IRB Sevens World Series for international rugby sevens (seven-a-side version of rugby union). The 2008 competition took place 24 May and 25 May at Twickenham in London, England and was the seventh Cup trophy in the 2007-08 IRB Sevens World Series.


2008 London Sevens
Samoa won their first Cup of the season, defeating Fiji in the final 19-14. In a shock Plate final, New Zealand defeated South Africa 19-12. However, this result was enough to ensure that New Zealand won the overall 2007-08 Series with a round to spare. New Zealand had earlier lost to the hosts England in the Cup quarter-finals, whilst South Africa failed to score against Argentina at the same stage in the tournament. The other main surprise of the tournament was Portugal reaching the Cup competition, partly by defeating Australia in the group stages. Later on in the tournament, Australia managed a consolation victory in the Bowl, whilst Spain won the Shield.


2008 London mayoral election
The 2008 London mayoral election for the office of Mayor of London, England, was held on 1 May 2008. Conservative candidate Boris Johnson defeated incumbent Labour Ken LivingstoneIt was the third London mayoral election, the previous elections being the first election in May 2000 and the second election in June 2004.


2008 London mayoral election
Boris Johnson became the second Mayor of London and the first Conservative to hold the office since its creation in 2000. This became the first London Mayoral election in which the incumbent mayor was defeated by a challenger. The popular vote achieved by Boris Johnson remained the largest polled by winning mayoral candidate until Labour candidate, Sadiq Khan, received 1,148,716 first-preference votes in 2016. The result was the first time that the Conservatives had won control of London-wide government since 1977.


2008 London mayoral election, Candidate selection process, Conservative Party
The Conservative candidate was determined by a primary election open to the entire London electorate, originally scheduled for October 2006.


2008 London mayoral election, Candidate selection process, Conservative Party
Candidates who had applied by the 4 August deadline included Richard Barnes, London Assembly member for Ealing and Hillingdon, who withdrew in July 2007 and threw his support behind Boris Johnson; Andrew Boff, former Hillingdon and Hackney London Borough Councillor; Nicholas Boles, Policy Exchange think-tank director, who withdrew in July 2007 for health reasons; Dr Robert Frew, a cultural policy and management specialist; Victoria Borwick, Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Councillor; Warwick Lightfoot, also a Kensington and Chelsea councillor; and Lee Rotherham. Steven Norris, Conservative mayoral candidate in 2000 and 2004, ruled himself out. Broadcaster Nick Ferrari also considered seeking the nomination but eventually decided against it.


2008 London mayoral election, Candidate selection process, Conservative Party
By the 4 August 2006 deadline, however, the process was delayed for six months to allow time for further candidates to submit applications. Prospective applicants who subsequently publicly declared were Lurline Champagnie, a London Borough of Harrow councillor; Winston McKenzie, a former boxer; and disc jockey Mike Read. Read withdrew in July 2007 following a change in the voting system for Conservative candidates, giving his support to Johnson.


2008 London mayoral election, Candidate selection process, Conservative Party
In April 2007 the Conservative party confirmed it had approached former Director-General of the BBC Greg Dyke. Dyke stated he would not stand except on a joint ticket with the Liberal Democrats. The Liberal Democrats stated this would be against its party's constitution. Around this point former Conservative Prime Minister Sir John Major was considered a possible candidate, but he turned down an offer from David Cameron.


2008 London mayoral election, Candidate selection process, Conservative Party
Following media and members' criticism over the party's selection procedure, the party chairman revised the timetable requiring a candidate to be in place before the party conference at the end of September 2007. In June 2007, the party scheduled the selection process to conclude on 27 September 2007.


2008 London mayoral election, Candidate selection process, Conservative Party
On 16 July, shortly before the noon deadline for nominations, Boris Johnson confirmed he would seek the Conservative nomination. A final four of Johnson, Boff, Borwick and Lightfoot were chosen on 21 July for the primary election. On 27 September 2007, Johnson won 75% of the vote and, thus, the nomination.


2008 London mayoral election, Candidate selection process, Labour Party
On 3 May 2007, following consultations with London Labour Party members, the Labour Party selected Ken Livingstone, the incumbent mayor, as their mayoral candidate.


2008 London mayoral election, Candidate selection process, The Left List
Following a split in the Respect Party at the end of 2007, the George Galloway-led faction (also referred to as Respect Renewal) retained the rights to the use of the name in elections. The Socialist Workers Party-dominated faction put forward Lindsey German under the Left List banner. Galloway's faction did not put forward a candidate, though Galloway declared his support for Ken Livingstone.


2008 London mayoral election, Candidate selection process, English Democrats
In July 2007, the English Democrats nominated talkSPORT presenter Garry Bushell as a candidate in the 2008 election. In January 2008, Bushell stepped aside (due to work commitments) in favour of Fathers-4-Justice campaigner Matt O'Connor, who successfully stood against Andrew Constantine, a City of London Banker, in a selection contest. O'Connor was also their last London-wide list Assembly candidate. O'Connor withdrew on 25 April, after he fell out with the party over leadership, campaign funding and tactics.


2008 London mayoral election, Candidate selection process, Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats drew up a shortlist in September 2007 with a final choice made by a one member, one vote ballot of party members. Simon Hughes, the party's 2004 mayoral candidate, did not stand. The ballot was won by former police chief Brian Paddick. who defeated Chamali Fernando and Councillor Fiyaz Mughal.


2008 London mayoral election, Candidate selection process, British National Party
On 9 May 2007, the British National Party selected Richard Barnbrook, leader of the opposition on Barking & Dagenham Borough Council, and a member of the party's National Advisory Committee, to stand for election in 2008.


2008 London mayoral election, Candidate selection process, UK Independence Party
At the UK Independence Party (UKIP) 2007 party conference, Gerard Batten who was the UKIP MEP for the London region was selected to contest the London Mayoral Election.


2008 London mayoral election, Candidate selection process, UK Independence Party
In October 2006, UKIP talked of talkSPORT presenter James Whale standing against Ken Livingstone in the 2008 election. The government's media authority Ofcom told Whale that becoming Mayor would prevent him from continuing his radio show. Whale subsequently stated on his programme he would not be the UKIP candidate, but he did not rule out standing for election.


2008 London mayoral election, Candidate selection process, Green Party
On 12 March 2007 the party selected Siân Berry as its mayoral candidate after a ballot of its London members, receiving 45% of the vote. The other candidates were Shahrar Ali, Shane Collins, Katie Dawson and Terry McGrenera. Berry was also one of their Assembly candidates.


2008 London mayoral election, Candidate selection process, Winston McKenzie
In December 2007 former boxer Winston McKenzie told the BBC that he intended to stand for Mayor of London as an independent on an anti-gang crime platform, having failed to secure the Conservative nomination earlier in the year.


2008 London mayoral election, Candidate selection process, Christian Choice
On 12 February Alan Craig was selected by the Christian Choice Party to stand in the Mayoral election. The Christian Choice Party are an alliance between the Christian Party and the Christian Peoples Alliance.


2008 London mayoral election, Potential candidates who did not stand
There were a significant number of people who claimed that they were planning to stand, but did not submit valid nomination papers.


2008 London mayoral election, Potential candidates who did not stand, One London Party
The One London Party chose their leader, Damian Hockney, as candidate but on 27 March 2008 Hockney withdrew from the mayoral race. He blamed a lack of media opportunities for smaller parties such as his, and claimed the race was "a media election, fought just in the media".


2008 London mayoral election, Potential candidates who did not stand, Time Out
The London listings magazine Time Out planned to recruit a self-financing candidate to stand on a manifesto agreed by its readers. In February 2008 it confirmed that columnist Michael Hodges would be its candidate, standing on a reformist ticket. However, he decided not to stand, citing the bureaucratic legislative requirements for candidates and instead pledged to "fight on" to open the system up to ordinary Londoners to stand as independents.


2008 London mayoral election, Potential candidates who did not stand, John Bird
In March 2007 following widespread speculation that John Bird, founder of The Big Issue, would seek the Conservative nomination, he stated that he would stand as an independent, on a platform of "social inclusion". In October 2007, he withdrew from the race and instead promised to launch a new social movement around tackling poverty.


2008 London mayoral election, Potential candidates who did not stand, Others
Chris Prior planned to stand on a platform to abolish the congestion charge for the London Assembly but pulled out of the mayoral race shortly before the close of nominations.


2008 London mayoral election, Potential candidates who did not stand, Others
On 21 February 2008 Dennis Delderfield was nominated by the New Britain Party. He said he would abolish the Mayoral office and the Greater London Authority (GLA). He did not submit a valid nomination.


2008 London mayoral election, Potential candidates who did not stand, Others
John Flunder was to be the Senior Citizens Party candidate for Mayor of London but did not submit a valid nomination.


2008 London mayoral election, Potential candidates who did not stand, Others
LondonElectsYou.co.uk, a social networking site aimed at selecting a member of the public to contest the election with a £50,000 campaign budget, was set up in March 2008. The winning candidate did not submit any nomination however, with the site's founder David Smuts claiming that electoral authorities' bureaucratic obstructions failed to get them the required access to the electoral register to validate their nomination.


2008 London mayoral election, Potential candidates who did not stand, Others
In April 2007 Richard Fairbrass, the lead singer of pop band Right Said Fred, considered standing for Mayor of London on a platform of opposition to the London congestion charge. In December 2007 media reports that peace protester Brian Haw would stand for Mayor of London remained unsubstantiated.


2008 London mayoral election, Voting system
The supplementary vote system is used for all mayoral elections in England and Wales. Under this system voters express a first preference and (optionally) a second preference. If no candidate is the first choice of a majority of voters (i.e. more than 50%), the top two candidates proceed to a second round. Voters whose first choice has been eliminated have their second preferences scrutinised, in order to determine which of the remaining candidates is favoured by a majority of all voters who have expressed a preference between the two. This gives a result whereby the winning candidate has the support of a majority of votes cast (at least by those who expressed a preference among the top two).


2008 London mayoral election, Voting system, Second preference recommendations
Various parties recommended a variety of second preferences to their supporters. Labour and the Greens formed a second preference pact, urging Livingstone supporters to give their second choice vote to Berry and vice versa. Left List also encouraged their supporters to vote Livingstone second, while the BNP encouraged theirs to vote Johnson second, although Johnson stated during the campaign that he did not want the second choice votes of BNP supporters. Brian Paddick was regularly pressed through the campaign to recommend a second preference choice to Liberal Democrat voters, with Livingstone and the Labour Party keen to be chosen, but Paddick refused to make such a recommendation, revealing after the election that his second preference vote was for the Left List.


2008 London mayoral election, Voting system, Vote counting
Votes were counted using an optical scan voting system, where a computer scans the ballot papers and registers the votes. A digital image of the ballot paper was also taken so if there were problems with any of the papers, they could be examined by humans. In 2008, due to the large turnout, the counting took over 15 hours. However, if counted manually the process could - according to London Elects - take up to 3 days.


2008 London mayoral election, Voting system, Vote counting
Election observers have declared "there is insufficient evidence available to allow independent observers to state reliably whether the results declared in the May 2008 elections for the Mayor of London and the London Assembly are an accurate representation of voters’ intentions." London Elects have been unable to publish an audit of some of the software used in the count. The Open Rights Group reports that there was equipment directly connected to the counting servers to which observers had limited or no access and that the presence of error messages, bugs and system freezes indicates poor software quality.


2008 Longnan riot
The 2008 Longnan riot was a protest that turned into a riot involving thousands of people in Longnan, Gansu, People's Republic of China.


2008 Longnan riot, Cause
The state media did not explain the source of the unrest, though local residents said many protesters were angered by the government's decision to transfer its offices to a wealthier city. Residents in Longnan said the disturbances there were fueled by economic distress, unchecked corruption and a lack of transparency by the local Communist Party.


2008 Longnan riot, Riot
A crowd of about 1,000 - 2,000 people attacked a government office in northwest Gansu province, smashing cars and beating up police and officials. The crowd eventually grew to 10,000 according to some sources. Armed police officers from the provincial capital used tear gas to subdue the rioters.


2008 Longnan riot, Aftermath
Damages are estimated at more than five million yuan (US$731,000).


2008 Los Angeles Angels season
The 2008 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim season was the 48th season for the franchise. The regular season ended with the Angels winning their seventh American League West division title and setting a franchise record for single-season wins. In the postseason, they were once again defeated by the Boston Red Sox in the American League Division Series, the same team that defeated them in the 2004 and 2007 ALDS, as well as the 1986 ALCS.


2008 Los Angeles Angels season
General manager Bill Stoneman retired at the end of the 2007 season and was replaced by relative newcomer Tony Reagins. Reagins quickly made two headline roster moves, trading shortstop Orlando Cabrera to the Chicago White Sox for starting pitcher Jon Garland, and signing free agent outfielder Torii Hunter. Partway through the season the Angels traded first baseman Casey Kotchman to the Atlanta Braves for Mark Teixeira.


2008 Los Angeles Angels season
On September 10, the Angels clinched the American League West division title, their seventh in franchise history, and became the earliest team to clinch the division in its history. Three days later, closing pitcher Francisco Rodríguez broke the single-season save record with his 58th save.


2008 Los Angeles Angels season, Season, Playoffs
The Angels beat the New York Yankees 4 to 2 on September 10, 2008 and about an hour later Seattle beat Texas which clinched the division for the Angels. With the Boston Red Sox securing the AL Wild Card, the Angels would have to face their old foes in the first round of the playoffs once again. The Red Sox swept the Angels in the division series in 2007 and 2004, but failed to do so in 2008.


2008 Los Angeles Angels season, Season, Playoffs
John Lackey gave up a 2-run homer to Jason Bay in the top of the sixth letting Boston take a lead they would not relinquish. Boston went on to win 4 to 2 marking the 10th straight playoff game the Angels lost to Boston. People now refer to this as the curse of Donnie Moore.


2008 Los Angeles Angels season, Player stats, Batting, Main hitters
Includes those who qualify for the batting title. Only includes statistics obtained while playing for LAA. Casey Kotchman was traded to the Atlanta Braves for Mark Teixeira on July 28. Note: G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In


2008 Los Angeles Angels season, Player stats, Starting pitchers
Note: GS = Games Started; IP = Innings Pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned Run Average; SO = Strikeouts


2008 Los Angeles Angels season, Player stats, Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games Played; SV = Save; H = Hold


2008 Los Angeles Angels season, Playoffs, Statistics, Batting Statistics
Note: G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In


2008 Los Angeles Angels season, Playoffs, Statistics, Starting pitchers
Note: GS = Games Started; IP = Innings Pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned Run Average; SO = Strikeouts


2008 Los Angeles Angels season, Playoffs, Statistics, Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games Played; SV = Save; H = Hold


2008 Los Angeles Avengers season
The 2008 Los Angeles Avengers season was the ninth and final season for the franchise. The Avengers finished the season with a 5–11 record, and failed to make the playoffs. Two days after the final regular season game, head coach Ed Hodgkiss and two assistants were fired from the team. Also, the team folded 10 months later.


2008 Los Angeles Avengers season, Roster
Rookies in italics updated June 25, 200824 Active, 4 Inactive, 3 PS


2008 Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors election
The 2008 Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors elections were held on June 3, 2008, coinciding with the California elections, June 2008. Three of the five seats (for the Second, Fourth and Fifth Districts) of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors were contested in this election. None of the incumbents were termed out.


2008 Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors election, Results, Second District
Since Second District voters failed to elect a Supervisor by a two-thirds vote, a runoff election was held on November 4, 2008, coinciding with the 2008 United States presidential election.


2008 Los Angeles Dodgers season
The 2008 Los Angeles Dodgers season featured the Dodgers celebrating their Golden Anniversary in Southern California under new manager Joe Torre as they won the National League West for the first time since 2004, and returned to the postseason after missing the playoffs in 2007. They swept the Chicago Cubs in the NLDS to advance to the NLCS. It was their first playoff series win since 1988 when they went on to win the World Series. However, they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in five games in the NLCS.


2008 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Player stats, Batting
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; TB = Total bases; BB = Walks; SO = Strikeouts;  SB = Stolen bases; OBP = On-base percentage; SLG = Slugging; Avg. = Batting average


2008 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Player stats, Pitching
Note: G = Games Played; GS = Games Started; IP = Innings Pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned Run Average; BB = Walks; SO = Strikeouts; H = Hits; R = Runs; ER = Earned Runs


2008 Los Angeles Dodgers season, 2008 National League Division Series
The Dodgers advanced to the 2008 NLDS to play the Central Division champion Chicago Cubs. They wound up sweeping the Cubs in three games, taking the first two at Wrigley Field and then ending the series in Game 3 at home. This was the Dodgers first post season series victory since the 1988 World Series and first post season sweep since the 1963 World Series.


2008 Los Angeles Dodgers season, 2008 National League Championship Series
The Dodgers advanced to the NLCS for the first time since 1988 to play the Philadelphia Phillies, in the fourth National League Championship Series meeting between the two teams.


2008 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Major League Baseball Draft
The Dodgers selected 45 players in this draft. Of those, eleven of them would eventually play Major League baseball.


2008 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Major League Baseball Draft
The first round pick was right handed pitcher Ethan Martin from Stephens County School in Toccoa, Georgia. He was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in 2012 (along with this year's second round pick, pitcher Josh Lindblom) and made his Major league debut for the Phillies in 2013. The fourth round pick, shortstop Dee Gordon became an All-Star as the Dodgers second baseman in 2014, when he also led the league in steals.


2008 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
The 34th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, given by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), honored the best in film for 2008. Pixar's animated film WALL-E won the Best Film award and became the first-ever animated film to do so; however, the film lost the Best Animated Film award to Waltz with Bashir.


2008 Los Angeles Sparks season
The 2008 Los Angeles Sparks season was the 12th season for the Los Angeles Sparks. The Sparks returned to the postseason for the first time since 2006.


2008 Los Angeles Sparks season, Player stats
Note: GP= Games played; MIN= Minutes; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average


2008 Los Roques archipelago Transaven Let L-410 crash
On 4 January 2008, a scheduled domestic Transaven flight from Simón Bolívar International Airport to Los Roques Airport, 118 kilometres (64 nmi) north of the departure airport and over water, radioed that both engines had failed and that they were descending through 3,000 feet. The crew was going to attempt a ditching as close as possible to the Los Roques archipelago. Shortly thereafter, radio contact was lost and the plane disappeared from radar.


2008 Los Roques archipelago Transaven Let L-410 crash, Aircraft
The aircraft operating this flight was a Let L-410UVP-E3, registration YV2081, built in Czechoslovakia in 1987.


2008 Los Roques archipelago Transaven Let L-410 crash, Search
Another Transaven Let L-410 flew over the area the aircraft was thought to have crashed, but found no trace, other than a spot of liquid on the surface of the water that soon after dissipated.


2008 Los Roques archipelago Transaven Let L-410 crash, Search
Active sea and air searches were called off without finding any trace of the aircraft. On 12 January 2008, some fishermen found the body of a man 12 kilometres off the coast of Venezuela. After having performed the autopsy, the doctors determined that it was the corpse of the co-pilot, the 37-year-old Osmel Alfredo Avila Otamendi. At a short distance from the place of discovery of the corpse of the co-pilot his life vest was found.


2008 Los Roques archipelago Transaven Let L-410 crash, Search
In April 2008, a Venezuelan navy vessel, using a sonar, was able to identify the presumed wreckage of an aircraft, located approximately 300 metres deep. The wreckage was recovered, but it didn't belong to the disappeared aircraft. Subsequently, search were suspended.


2008 Los Roques archipelago Transaven Let L-410 crash, Search, Discovery of the wreckage
On 20 June 2013, more than five years after the accident, the wreckage of the aircraft was located in the sea at a depth of 970 metres (3,180 ft), nine kilometres south of Los Roques. It was discovered by the US flagship Sea Scout which was working in the area for days. The ship was looking for the wreckage of another crashed aircraft which went down five years to the day of this incident.


2008 Los Roques archipelago Transaven Let L-410 crash, Passengers and crew
The crew consisted of one Venezuelan pilot and a copilot.


2008 Los Roques archipelago Transaven Let L-410 crash, Passengers and crew
Along with them, there were four other passengers: a Swiss citizen and three Venezuelans.


2008 Losail Superbike World Championship round
The 2008 Losail Superbike World Championship round was the opening round of the 2008 Superbike World Championship season. It took place on the weekend of February 21–23, 2008 at the 5.38 km Losail International Circuit in Qatar.


2008 Louisiana Democratic presidential primary
The 2008 Louisiana Democratic presidential primary took place on February 9, 2008, and had 56 delegates at stake. The winner in each of Louisiana's seven congressional districts was awarded all of that district's delegates, totaling 37. Another 29 delegates were awarded to the statewide winner, Barack Obama. The 56 delegates represented Louisiana at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado. Ten other unpledged delegates, known as superdelegates, also attended the convention and cast their votes as well.


2008 Louisiana Democratic presidential primary, Analysis
With its heavily African American population, Barack Obama solidly defeated Hillary Clinton in Louisiana. According to exit polls, 48 percent of voters in the Louisiana Democratic Primary were African Americans and they opted for Obama by a margin of 86-13 compared to the 47 percent of white voters who backed Clinton by a margin of 58-30. Obama won all age groups and educational attainment levels in Louisiana except senior citizens aged 65 and over and those who did not complete high school. Obama won voters who identified as Democrats and those who identified as Republicans as well as Independents and all ideological groups. Regarding religion, Obama won all major denominations, including Roman Catholics, a group that often strongly backed Clinton nationwide.


2008 Louisiana Democratic presidential primary, Analysis
Obama did best in the more rural counties in Louisiana which are majority-African American. He also performed extremely well in the urban areas of New Orleans, Shreverport-Bossier City, and Lake Charles. Obama also performed extremely well in Cajun Country. Clinton did best in the areas north of New Orleans and east of Baton Rouge in the 1st Congressional District, which is among the most conservative in Louisiana and the South at large. She also performed well in rural counties in Central Louisiana and those along the Louisiana-Texas border that are majority white. John Edwards finished in third, securing only about 3.4% of the vote and no delegates.


2008 Louisiana Republican presidential caucuses and primary
The 2008 Louisiana Republican presidential caucuses were held on January 22 and the primary on February 9, 2008.


2008 Louisiana Republican presidential caucuses and primary, Background
On December 19, 2007, the Republican Party of Louisiana announced the procedures for selection of its delegates to the 2008 Republican National Convention.


2008 Louisiana Republican presidential caucuses and primary, Background
The Louisiana caucuses selected 105 delegates to the state convention on February 16 in Baton Rouge. Fifteen delegates (and 15 alternates) from each of the seven congressional districts were elected at the caucus sites. Eligibility to participate was originally restricted to those who had been registered Louisiana Republicans since November 30, 2007 and presented a photo identification, however the restriction date was changed to November 1, 2007 at the last minute. Voters were to select up to 15 candidates on a secret ballot.


2008 Louisiana Republican presidential caucuses and primary, Background
Twenty-one delegates to the 2008 RNC will be selected through the caucus process, since each district's 15 delegates to the state convention will separately select three RNC delegates and three alternates for their respective district. In addition, the state convention delegates, as a whole, will select 20 delegates and 20 alternates to the national convention as at-large delegates. Under state party rules, if there is a majority in the February 9 Louisiana primary, these 20 delegates are pledged to vote for the winner. Otherwise, these 20 will officially go to the convention uncommitted.


2008 Louisiana Republican presidential caucuses and primary, Background
The remaining six members of the RNC delegation are chosen as follows: The Louisiana GOP chair and the two Louisiana representatives on the Republican National Committee ("party delegates") have automatic spots as 2008 RNC delegates, and the other three delegates will be selected by the executive committee of the Louisiana Republican State Central Committee.


2008 Louisiana Republican presidential caucuses and primary, Background
Unlike other Republican caucuses, which feature a straw poll (or presidential preference election) prior to the election of delegates to the state convention, no preference election was conducted. All delegates elected at the caucus are "uncommitted" and considered unallocated to any candidate. However, many campaigns will distribute lists of delegates who will vote for their preferred presidential candidate. Delegates can be any Republican who has submitted the necessary paperwork and paid the $100 fee ($50 for alternate delegate). By setting up the caucus in this non-binding way, it allows Louisiana to avoid the delegate penalties that have befallen Michigan, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.


2008 Louisiana Republican presidential caucuses and primary, Caucuses
Unofficial delegate assignment results of the January 22 caucuses had been made available on the homepage of the Republican Party of Louisiana. The official results have been released, but the results only indicate which delegates garnered the most votes, and fail to match the delegates with the candidate they support. Preliminary results show John McCain winning the most committed delegates, followed by Ron Paul in second place, and Mitt Romney in third.


2008 Louisiana Republican presidential caucuses and primary, Caucuses
Ron Paul's campaign is challenging the caucus, citing multiple errors in the process, significant irregularities including the decision by the Louisiana GOP to waive the original deadline which saw Ron Paul leading in delegates pledged to him, and extending the deadline after the fact in order to give other candidates two more days to file delegates.


2008 Louisiana Republican presidential caucuses and primary, Caucuses, Locations
Republicans were assigned to one of 11 locations in the state to caucus in.


2008 Louisiana Republican presidential caucuses and primary, Caucuses, Campaign
The Louisiana caucus has not been well noticed by the media. Many media outlets outside the state focus on the February 9 primary, although that primary will select 20 delegates at most to the national convention.


2008 Louisiana Republican presidential caucuses and primary, Caucuses, Campaign
According to the state party, only Mitt Romney, John McCain, and Fred Thompson were campaigning in the state as of December 2007, although Ron Paul will visit the state the day before the caucus. Turnout is expected to be low due to the limited number of sites. Commentators have criticized the state party for the confusing system, which has admitted that the caucus is designed "for people who are politically active... not just casual voters" and that the February 9 primary is just a "beauty contest".


2008 Louisiana Republican presidential caucuses and primary, Caucuses, Campaign
The slate gaining the highest votes was a "pro-family, pro-life" slate which used the image of former President Ronald Reagan to advocate candidate who supported reduced government and a strong national defense.


2008 Louisiana Republican presidential caucuses and primary, Caucuses, Results
Ron Paul had the greatest number of delegates by the January 10 deadline, which was then extended to January 12. Ron Paul's campaign is challenging mistakes it claims were made by the Louisiana GOP, including the wrongful issuance of provisional ballots to hundreds of voters, in numbers sufficient to alter the outcome. According to a state Republican Party press release regarding the preliminary results, the order of placement of slates was Uncommitted Pro-Life, McCain, Paul, Romney, others. Note that candidates could run on more than one slate. Many of the Uncommitted Pro-Life delegates have since committed to McCain. In addition, after a recount of delegates, the provisional ballots were found not to have changed the results, with about two-thirds of the provisional ballots being cast by members of other parties.


2008 Louisiana Republican presidential caucuses and primary, Caucuses, Results
On February 1, 2008, state party chairman Roger F. Villere, Jr., congratulated the McCain campaign via e-mail for winning a majority of the delegates statewide, including receiving a majority of delegates in Congressional Districts 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7. In addition, the party executive committee and the three Louisiana superdelegates have also committed to McCain, thus giving McCain 41 delegates from Louisiana, 35 of which are from the caucus process. This assumes that no other candidate will receive more than 50% in the February 9 primary.


2008 Louisiana Republican presidential caucuses and primary, Primary
Under Louisiana Republican Party rules, since no candidate received a majority of the vote, no delegates are pledged as a result of this primary. 21 delegates have already indirectly been assigned via the Louisiana Republican caucus held on January 22. The 20 delegates elected at the state convention were formally unpledged, although an estimated 41 of Louisiana's 47 delegates were going to support John McCain, and the state party chair congratulated McCain on winning those 41 delegates, before the primary was held.


2008 Louisiana Republican presidential caucuses and primary, Primary
* Candidate dropped out of the race before the primary


2008 Louisiana Republican presidential caucuses and primary, Convention
At the state convention, held February 16, the Associated Press identified 32 McCain delegates from the caucus process, with three uncommitted and nine unavailable for comment. The AP also confirmed that the three party delegates support McCain, giving him 35 delegates from Louisiana.


2008 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team
The 2008 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team represented Louisiana Tech University as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by second-year head coach Derek Dooley, the Bulldogs played their home games at Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston, Louisiana. Dooley's Bulldogs entered the season after finishing 5–7 (4–4 WAC) in 2007. Louisiana Tech kicked off the season with a victory over Mississippi State, finished tied for second place in the WAC, and capped off the year with an Independence Bowl victory over Northern Illinois.


2008 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Before the season, T-Day spring game
On April 12, 2008, the White Team came from behind to beat the Blue Team 14–13 at Joe Aillet Stadium. Defense dominated the first half as neither team's offense could muster a score. With nine seconds remaining in the second quarter, the Blue Team's Jay Dudley blocked a Brad Oestricher field goal attempt, and Brian White recovered the ball and ran 71 yards for a touchdown. The extra point was missed, and the Blue Team went into the locker room with a 6-0 halftime lead.


2008 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Before the season, T-Day spring game
In the third quarter, the Blue Team extended their lead to 13–0 on a trick play as TE Dennis Morris tossed a touchdown pass to WR Philip Beck. Just seconds into the fourth quarter, RB William Griffin rushed for a three-yard touchdown for the White Team's first score of the game. Later in the fourth quarter, QB Ross Jenkins connected on a thirty-yard touchdown pass to WR Phillip Livas to complete the White Team's 14-13 comeback win. LB Quin Harris led the White Team with four tackles including a sack. Josh Victorian had 3.5 tackles and pulled in an interception.


2008 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Before the season, T-Day spring game
The Blue Team's D'Anthony Smith had four tackles on the day with two sacks. Shawn Simmons led the Blue Team with 8.5 tackles. LB Jay Dudley had 5.5 tackles with a sack. Brian White added an interception to go with his return for a touchdown, and safety Deon Young added another interception.


2008 Louisiana's 1st congressional district special election
Voters in Louisiana's 1st congressional district voting in a special election on May 3, 2008, elected Steve Scalise as a new member of the United States House of Representatives, replacing Representative Bobby Jindal who resigned on January 14, 2008, to become Governor of Louisiana.


2008 Louisiana's 1st congressional district special election
This election and Louisiana's 6th congressional district special election were the first Louisiana congressional elections not based on Louisiana's jungle primary since the 1970s.


2008 Louisiana's 6th congressional district special election
The February 2, 2008 resignation of Republican Richard Baker triggered a special election for Louisiana's 6th district. In anticipation of this election, party qualifying occurred before Baker's resignation. The timeline mirrored that of the 2008 special election for the 1st congressional district. The two elections were the first Louisiana congressional elections not based on Louisiana's jungle primary system since the 1970s.


2008 Louisiana's 6th congressional district special election
Democrat Don Cazayoux won the 6th district election, defeating Republican Woody Jenkins by three percentage points, as well as two independent candidates and a member of the Constitution Party. He was sworn in on May 6, switching the party affiliation of the seat. (This was the second time such a party switch occurred due to a special election during the 110th Congress.)


2008 Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns baseball team
The 2008 Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns baseball team represented the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in the 2008 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Ragin' Cajuns played their home games at M. L. Tigue Moore Field and were led by fourteenth year head coach Tony Robichaux.


2008 Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns football team
The 2008 Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns football team represented the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Louisiana–Lafayette competed as a member of the Sun Belt Conference, and played their home games at Cajun Field. The Ragin' Cajuns were led by seventh-year head coach Rickey Bustle. UL-Lafayette finished the season with a 6–6 record (Sun Belt: 5–2).


2008 Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns football team
Louisiana–Lafayette came close to an upset against 24th-ranked Illinois at home but ultimately lost, 20–17. The Ragin' Cajuns were also competitive against Kansas State, trailing by 42–37 late in that game, but Louisiana-Lafayette was hindered by ten penalties, twice as many as called against their opponent. Louisiana-Lafayette beat Arkansas State with a touchdown in the last 0:42 to play and won, 28–23. They defeated Florida International decisively, 49–20, before losing to UTEP in Lafayette. lost to Florida Atlantic after trailing, 40–7, in the final quarter. The following week, they were routed by eventual Sun Belt champions Troy, 48–3.


2008 Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns football team
UL-Lafayette won their finale against Middle Tennessee, 42–28, which gave the Cajuns their sixth win, and with it, bowl eligibility. The Ragin' Cajuns also finished second in the Sun Belt Conference with a 5–2 mark in league play. It was the third season in four years that the Cajuns became bowl eligible, but the Cajuns did not receive a bowl bid.


2008 Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns softball team
The 2008 Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns softball team represented the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in the 2008 NCAA Division I softball season. The Ragin' Cajuns played their home games at Lamson Park and were led by eighth and ninth year husband and wife head coaching duo Michael and Stefni Lotief, respectively.


2008 Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks football team
The 2008 Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks football team represented the University of Louisiana at Monroe in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Louisiana–Monroe competed as a member of the Sun Belt Conference, and played their home games at Malone Stadium. The Warhawks were led by sixth-year head coach Charlie Weatherbie. ULM finished the season with a 4–8 record (3–4).


2008 Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks football team
The Warhawks' season started with a fumble on the first play, which 10th-ranked Auburn returned for a touchdown. The Tigers eventually won that game, 34–0. The following week at Arkansas, ULM led in both the third quarter, 24–6, and fourth quarter, 27–14, but eventually lost, 28–27, after missing a 45-yard field goal attempt. Against Louisiana-Lafayette, ULM surrendered a school record of 728 yards. ULM had led Florida Atlantic, 21–10, at half time, but ultimately lost, 29–28, when the Owls scored on a 22-yard touchdown pass with 0:20 remaining to play. The next week, however, ULM upset eventual Sun Belt champions Troy, 31–30. The Warhawks were shut out by Ole Miss, 59–0, but won their season finale against Florida International, 31–27. ULM finished the season tied for fifth (second-to-last) in the Sun Belt Conference.


2008 Louisville Cardinals football team
The 2008 Louisville Cardinals football team represented the University of Louisville in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team, led by Steve Kragthorpe in his second year at the school, played their home games in Papa John's Cardinal Stadium and were in their fourth year as members of the Big East Conference.


2008 Lower Austrian state election
The 2008 Lower Austrian state election was held on 9 March 2008 to elect the members of the Landtag of Lower Austria.


2008 Lower Austrian state election
The Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) retained its majority. The major opposition party, the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), suffered substantial losses. The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) partially recovered from its 2003 losses, more than doubling its voteshare and tripling its number of seats.


2008 Lower Austrian state election, Background
The Lower Austrian constitution mandates that cabinet positions in the state government (state councillors, German: Landesräten) be allocated between parties proportionally in accordance with the share of votes won by each; this is known as Proporz. As such, the government is a perpetual coalition of all parties that qualify for at least one state councillor. After the 2003 election, the ÖVP had six councillors and the SPÖ three.


2008 Lower Austrian state election, Electoral system
The 56 seats of the Landtag of Lower Austria are elected via open list proportional representation in a two-step process. The seats are distributed between twenty-one multi-member constituencies. For parties to receive any representation in the Landtag, they must either win at least one seat in a constituency directly, or clear a 4 percent state-wide electoral threshold. Seats are distributed in constituencies according to the Hare quota, with any remaining seats allocated using the D'Hondt method at the state level, to ensure overall proportionality between a party's vote share and its share of seats.


2008 Lower Austrian state election, Contesting parties
The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag.


2008 Lower Austrian state election, Contesting parties
In addition to the parties already represented in the Landtag, five parties collected enough signatures to be placed on the ballot.


2008 Lower Austrian state election, Results, Preference votes
Alongside votes for a party, voters were able to cast a preferential votes for a candidate on the party list. The ten candidates with the most preferential votes were as follows:


2008 Lower Saxony state election
The 2008 Lower Saxony state election was held on 27 January 2008 to elect the members of the 16th Landtag of Lower Saxony. The incumbent coalition government of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Free Democratic Party (FDP) led by Minister-President Christian Wulff was re-elected with a reduced majority.


2008 Lower Saxony state election, Campaign
Lower Saxony was seen as a stronghold of the Christian Democratic Union and their leader  Christian Wulff was seen as likely to easily defeat the Social Democrats. The election in Lower Saxony took place on the same day as the 2008 Hessian state election; Wulff was seen as a more moderate leader than Roland Koch in Hesse and consequently more likely to perform better in the election. The CDU government had held spending down, introduced tuition fees for university students, while supporting the minimum wage. The Social Democrats (SPD) led their campaign with a call for a national minimum wage for all workers. The SPD leader in Lower Saxony, Wolfgang Jüttner, was little known to voters and unusually during the campaign made an attack on Wolff for his personal life.


2008 Lower Saxony state election, Parties
The table below lists parties represented in the 15th Landtag of Lower Saxony.


2008 Lower Saxony state election, Outcome
The results saw the Christian Democratic Union easily defeat the Social Democrats, despite suffering a drop in votes and seats. As a result their leader Christian Wulff was seen as having strengthened his chances of succeeding national CDU leader Angela Merkel. The 30.3% of the vote that the Social Democrats won was the worst performance by the party in Lower Saxony since the Second World War, which was described as a 'disaster' for the party. Turnout in the election was 57%.


2008 Lower Saxony state election, Outcome
The Left entered the Landtag for the first time with 7.1% of the vote, comfortably exceeding the 5% electoral threshold. Along with the election in Hesse held on the same day in which The Left also won seats, this was the first time they had achieved representation in any large state in western Germany.


2008 Lunar New Year Cup
The 2008 Lunar New Year Cup, officially known as Wing Lung Bank 2008 Lunar New Year Cup, is a football tournament held in Hong Kong on the first and fourth day of the Chinese New Year of the Year of Rat (8 January and 11 January 2008).


2008 Lunar New Year Cup, Format
The two semi-finals for the four participating teams will be held on the first day of the Chinese New Year of Rat (7 February 2008). The winning teams will enter the final and the losing teams play the third-place playoff (Both matches on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, i.e. 10 February 2008.) Draw in the semi-finals and third-place playoff would be settled by penalty shootout directly, that means no extra time would be played. For the final, a thirty-minute extra time would be played after a draw. A further draw would lead to the penalty shootout.


2008 Lyne by-election
The 2008 Lyne by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Lyne on 6 September 2008. This was triggered by the resignation of National Party MP Mark Vaile. The by-election was held on the same day as the Mayo by-election, and the Western Australian state election.


2008 Lyne by-election
The writ for the by-election was issued on 4 August, with the rolls closing on 8 August. Candidate nominations closed 14 August. The by-election was contested on the same boundaries drawn for Lyne at the 2007 federal election. At that election, the National Party won the seat over the Labor Party by a two-party preferred margin of 58.58% to 41.42%.


2008 Lyne by-election, Background
Vaile first won the seat of Lyne at the 1993 election for the Nationals in a very close contest with the Liberal candidate. In ministerial positions since 1997, he became leader of the National Party and thus Deputy Prime Minister in the Howard government from 2005. At the 2007 federal election, the opposition Labor Party defeated the incumbent Liberal-National coalition government. This marked the first change of government in over 11 years. Following the coalition election defeat, Vaile announced on 19 July 2008 his intention to resign his seat, to take effect on 30 July 2008. This followed Peter McGauran in Gippsland and former Foreign Minister Alexander Downer in Mayo.


2008 Lyne by-election, Candidates
Eight candidates contested the by-election. They are listed below in ballot order.


2008 Lyne by-election, Candidates
Neither the Labor Party nor the Liberal Party stood a candidate.


2008 Lyne by-election, Results
Oakeshott obtained a majority of votes in every polling booth, with the exception of Dyers Crossing, receiving about two-thirds of the primary vote and three-quarters of the two-candidate vote.


2008 Lyon municipal election
Municipal and mayoral elections will be held in Lyon in March 2008, at the same time as other municipal elections. The current Mayor of Lyon Gérard Collomb (PS) should have faced UMP candidate Dominique Perben and MoDem candidate Christophe Geourjon, who finally chose to join the Perben list. Azouz Begag declined to seek the MoDem nomination. Another MoDem candidate was selected by François Bayrou a month before the elections as head of the MoDem list to replace Geourjon and other defectors both to the UMP-led and the PS-led lists.


2008 Lyon municipal election
In the 2001 French municipal elections, the Socialist Gérard Collomb won the country's second largest city from the UDF. Lyon had been considered a stronghold for the centrist UDF in previous years. In 2008, former UMP Transportation Minister Dominique Perben will try to win back the city. Surprisingly, the two highly presumed candidates for the centrist MoDem and the far-right National Front, Azouz Begag and Bruno Gollnisch respectively both announced their intentions not to stand. Two nationalist right-wing parties, the MPF and the DLC (led by Charles Millon), made agreements with Dominique Perben, who inserted their candidates on his list. Subsequently, former right-wing mayor Michel Noir has openly distanced himself from Perben, most notably in a February interview with the Lyon daily Le Progrès. For the same reason, François Bayrou has decided to maintain a separate MoDem list and not to support the Perben list.


2008 Lyon municipal election
Polls indicate that Collomb has approvals nearing 90% and is favored to win an easy re-election.


2008 M-1 Challenge season
The 2008 M-1 Challenge season was the first season of mixed martial arts (MMA) fighting presented by the M-1 Global promotion.


2008 M-1 Challenge season, Final Team Standings
Russian Red Devil defeated  Holland 4-1 to claim the first M-1 Challenge.


2008 MAAC Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2008 MAAC Men's Basketball Tournament was an NCAA college basketball tournament held at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York on March 7–10, 2007, to decide the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion. On Monday, March 10 2008, top-seeded Siena defeated #2 seed Rider 74–53 in the championship game, and received the conference's automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. Siena received a #13 seed and upset #4 seed Vanderbilt 83–62, then were defeated in the second round by #12 seed Villanova 84–72.


2008 MAAC Men's Basketball Tournament, Seeds
All 10 teams in the conference participated in the Tournament. The top six teams received byes to the quarterfinals. Teams were seeded by record within the conference, with a tiebreaker system to seed teams with identical conference records.


2008 MAC Championship Game
The 2008 MAC Championship Game was played on December 5, 2008 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The game featured the winner of each division of the Mid-American Conference. The game featured the Ball State Cardinals, of the West Division, and the Buffalo Bulls, of the East Division. The Buffalo Bulls upset the #12-ranked Ball State 42–24, ending hopes of an undefeated Cardinals season.


2008 MAC Championship Game
This was not the first time these two conference rivals have met. They met 5 times previously before this big Championship Game, with Ball State leading the series 5-0. Against the odds Buffalo faced the undefeated Cardinals and came out victorious in this matchup.


2008 MAC Championship Game, Selection process
The MAC Championship Game matches up the winner of the East and West divisions of the Mid-American Conference.


2008 MAC Championship Game, Selection process
With the Buffalo Bulls having 24 upperclassmen, it made the task of knocking off the undefeated and top of the conference Ball State Cardinals more of a realistic venture.


2008 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2008 Mid-American Conference men's basketball tournament was won by the #1 seed Kent State Golden Flashes, who defeated their arch-rival and #3 seed Akron Zips 74–55 in front of 12,942 fans. Kent State center Haminn Quaintance led all scorers with 16 points and was named the tournament MVP.


2008 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament
The basketball tournament took place March 12 through March 15 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. FSN Ohio televised the quarterfinals and semifinals while ESPN2 broadcast the tournament championship nationally.


2008 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
Each of the 12 men's basketball teams in the MAC received a berth in the conference tournament. Teams were seeded by conference record with the following tie-breakers:


2008 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
The top four seeds received byes into the quarterfinals. The winners of each division were awarded the #1 and #2 seeds. The team with the best record of the two received the #1 seed.


2008 MBC Drama Awards
The 2008 MBC Drama Awards (Korean: MBC 연기대상) is a ceremony honoring the outstanding achievement in television on the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) network for the year of 2008. It was held on December 30, 2008 and hosted by Shin Dong-yup and actress Han Ji-hye.


2008 MEAC Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2008 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament took place on March 11–15, 2008 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. The championship game was televised by ESPN Classic.


2008 MLS All-Star Game
The 2008 Major League Soccer All-Star Game was the 13th annual MLS All-Star Game. The MLS All-Stars faced West Ham United of the English Premier League. The game was played on July 24, 2008, with the MLS winning 3–2. New England Revolution coach Steve Nicol coached the All-Stars. The motto for the 2008 MLS All-Star Game is "Major League Soccer Takes on the World." Chicago Fire's Cuauhtémoc Blanco was named MVP.


2008 MLS All-Star Game, Host venue
MLS Commissioner Don Garber awarded the 2008 All-Star Game to Toronto, Ontario in 2007 on the eve of the 2007 MLS All-Star Game. The game was played in the new soccer-specific stadium, BMO Field and was the first MLS All-Star Game held in Canada. BMO Field is home to the MLS' 13th franchise, Toronto FC.


2008 MLS All-Star Game, West Ham United
On April 4, 2008, the Major League Soccer website announced that Premier League club West Ham United would be the fifth international opponent for the marquee event. Founded in 1895, the east London club was originally called Thames Ironworks FC but switched to West Ham United five years later and has been playing at the Boleyn Ground since 1904. West Ham has forged a reputation of cultivating some of the England's top players, such as Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick, Rio Ferdinand, and Joe Cole, giving rise to its frequent reference as The Academy of Football.


2008 MLS All-Star Game, MLS All-Stars, Voting
Major League Soccer released an official ballot to decide the players called to represent the league in the All-Star game. A four-tier voting system determined the First XI players selected for the game. The online fan balloting program comprised 25% of the total vote, with coaches and general managers (25%), players (25%), and media (25%) combining for the remaining 75% percent of the vote. The combined vote of the four groups determined the MLS First XI.


2008 MLS All-Star Game, 2008 All-Star Game Squads, Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer and Toronto FC, hosts of the 2008 Pepsi MLS All-Star Game, unveiled the MLS All-Star First XI in a press conference aired live exclusively on MLSnet.com from BMO Field on Thursday, July 10 at 11 am ET. In addition to the First XI, Commissioner Don Garber picked two more players for the All-Star team, and coach Steve Nicol received five picks on July 15, 2008.


2008 MLS All-Star Game, 2008 All-Star Game Squads, Major League Soccer
After the U.S. U-23 Olympic Team roster was announced, three additional picks were awarded to Steve Nicol on Thursday, July 17 to replace Michael Parkhurst, Sacha Kljestan, and Robbie Rogers. The additions included 2006 MLS Rookie of the Year Jonathan Bornstein, veteran Steve Ralston, and Colombian Juan Toja, who scored a goal in last year's All-Star Game.


2008 MLS All-Star Game, 2008 All-Star Game Squads, Major League Soccer
As of July 19, 2008. Players in bold denotes First XI status. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008 MLS All-Star Game, 2008 All-Star Game Squads, West Ham United
As of May 13, 2008. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008 MLS All-Star Game, Match details
Man of the Match: Cuauhtémoc BlancoAssistant referees: Héctor Vergara Greg BarkeyFourth official: Mark Geiger


2008 MLS Cup Playoffs
The 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs were the postseason to Major League Soccer's 2008 season, and culminated with MLS Cup 2008 on November 23, 2008 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California.


2008 MLS Cup Playoffs, Format
At the 2008 season's end, the top three teams of each conference made the playoffs; in addition the clubs with the next two highest point totals, regardless of conference, were added to the playoffs. In the first round of this knockout tournament, aggregate goals over two matches determined the winners; the Conference Championships were one match each, with the winner of each conference advancing to MLS Cup. In all rounds, the tie-breaking method was two 15-minute periods of extra time, followed by penalty kicks if necessary. The away goals rule was not used.


2008 MLS Cup Playoffs, Standings, Overall standings
(SS) = Supporters Shield winner; (E1) = Eastern Conference champion; (W1) = Western Conference champion


2008 MLS Cup Playoffs, Bracket
1 The New York Red Bulls earned the eighth and final playoff berth, despite finishing fifth in the Eastern Conference. They represent the fourth seed in the Western Conference playoff bracket, as only three teams in the Western Conference qualified for the playoffs.


2008 MLS Expansion Draft
The 2008 MLS Expansion Draft took place on November 26, 2008, and was a special draft for the Major League Soccer expansion team Seattle Sounders FC. They made 10 selections from a pool of players from the other 14 MLS clubs.


2008 MLS SuperDraft
The 2008 MLS SuperDraft took place on January 18, 2008 in Baltimore, Maryland. It was the ninth annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The first selection was made by the Kansas City Wizards, after acquiring the selection from the expansion San Jose Earthquakes. It was followed by the Supplemental Draft.


2008 MLS SuperDraft, Player selection
Any player whose name is marked with an * was contracted under the Generation Adidas program.


2008 MLS Supplemental Draft
The 2008 MLS Supplemental Draft was held on January 24, 2008, six days after the 2008 MLS SuperDraft, as teams filled out their developmental rosters.


2008 MSBL season
The 2008 MSBL season was the 20th season of the Men's State Basketball League (SBL). The regular season began on Friday 28 March and ended on Saturday 2 August. The finals began on Friday 8 August and ended on Saturday 6 September, when the Goldfields Giants defeated the Willetton Tigers in the MSBL Grand Final.


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


2008 MSBL season, Finals
The finals began on Friday 8 August and ended on Saturday 6 September with the MSBL Grand Final.


2008 MTN 8
The 2008 MTN 8 kicked off on the weekend of 9 August with the first two quarterfinals being played on Saturday and Sunday, and the next round of quarterfinals were played on the weekend of the 16 and 17 August. The first leg of the semifinals took place on 23 and 24 August and the second leg on the weekend of 30 August. The finals were scheduled for 21 September, World Peach Day, but the pitch was waterlogged due to heavy rain over that week. The finals were rescheduled for two days later on 23 September at the ABSA Stadium (Kings Park) in Durban.


2008 MTN 8, Teams
The eight teams that competed in the MTN 8 Wafa Wafa knockout competition are: (listed according to their finishing position in the 2007–08 Premier Soccer League Season.


2008 MTV Europe Music Awards
The 2008 MTV EMAs (also known as the MTV Europe Music Awards) were held at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England, on 6 November 2008. It was hosted by Katy Perry. This was the second time the awards have taken place in England.


2008 MTV Movie Awards
The 2008 MTV Movie Awards was the 17th annual movie awards show and was broadcast live on Sunday, June 1, at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California. The ceremonies were hosted by Mike Myers.


2008 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2008 MTV Video Music Awards took place on September 7, 2008, live from Paramount Pictures Studios (which, like MTV, is owned by Viacom), honoring the best music videos from the previous year. Nominations for a majority of the categories were announced on the MTV program FNMTV after being selected through viewer online voting at MTV.com. The remaining, professional categories were chosen by a panel of music industry professionals. Unlike previous editions of the show, MTV announced the winners to the professional categories three days before the ceremony (September 4) via a press release, rather than on the pre-show or main show. The rest of the winners were announced during the ceremony. Comedian Russell Brand hosted the event.


2008 MTV Video Music Awards
This year's awards were a huge improvement ratings-wise, seeing a 19% rise on last year with 8.4 million viewers. It was also a 23% advance over the 5.76 million who saw the 2006 ceremony. Although ratings improved, this year's video music awards was hosted at its smallest venue of its 25-year history. Britney Spears became the main winner of the night, walking away with her first three Moonmen: Video of the Year, Best Female Video, and Best Pop Video all for "Piece of Me".


2008 MTV Video Music Awards
The Pussycat Dolls received the most nominations (6), followed by Chris Brown and Katy Perry (5).


2008 MTV Video Music Awards, Awards, Best Direction
Erykah Badu – "Honey" (Directors: Erykah Badu and Mr. Roboto)


2008 MTV Video Music Awards, Awards, Best Special Effects
Kanye West (featuring T-Pain) – "Good Life" (Special Effects: SoMe, Jonas & François)


2008 MTV Video Music Awards, Awards, Best Art Direction
Gnarls Barkley – "Run" (Art Directors: Happy Massee and Kells Jesse)


2008 MTV Video Music Awards, Awards, Best Editing
Death Cab for Cutie – "I Will Possess Your Heart" (Editors: Aaron Stewart-Ahn and Jeff Buchanan)


2008 MTV Video Music Awards, Awards, Best Cinematography
The White Stripes – "Conquest" (Director of Photography: Wyatt Troll)


2008 MTV Video Music Awards, Awards, Best UK Video
The Ting Tings – "Shut Up and Let Me Go"


2008 MTV Video Music Awards, Performances, DJ AM and Travis Barker performances
DJ AM and Travis Barker performed small interludes consisting of remixes of past hits throughout the show, as well as teaming up with Katy Perry, The Ting Tings and Lupe Fiasco to perform their own singles and MTV classics from the past 25 years.


2008 MTV Video Music Awards, Performances, DJ AM and Travis Barker performances, Remixes
DJ AM and Travis Barker also played remixes of the following songs in the lead-up to or return from commercial breaks.


2008 MTV Video Music Awards, Controversy
One of host Brand's jokes during the night centered around purity rings, specifically those worn by the Jonas Brothers. Jordin Sparks, who also wears a purity ring, began her introduction of T.I. and Rihanna by saying, "It's not bad to wear a promise ring because not everybody, guy or girl, wants to be a slut." Sparks was criticized for implying that those who do not wear purity rings or do not abstain are promiscuous.


2008 MTV Video Music Awards, Controversy
Brand later described the experience, and aftermath, during his 2009 comedy special 'Scandalous - Live At The O2'.


2008 MTV Video Music Awards, Censorship
In repeat airings all references to John McCain and George W. Bush were removed from Russell Brand's opening monologue.


2008 MTV Video Music Awards, Promotion
Several Promos were made that featured host Russell Brand and MTV regulars Britney Spears, Pete Wentz, and LL Cool J. Britney Spears' promos were given a lot of attention. The promos featured Spears and Brand in a Paramount lot ad-libbing while an elephant was positioned in the background, reference to "the elephant in the room", rumored to be her criticized 2007 VMA performance, which they refrained from discussing in the commercials.


2008 MTV Video Music Awards, Promotion
There was also a promotion that appeared on Nickelodeon, featuring the cast of iCarly.


2008 MTV Video Music Awards, Promotion
During the program, the MTV networks VH1, MTV Hits, and MTV Jams did not air their usual programming at all, instead displaying full-screen cards guiding viewers to watch the ceremony on MTV, with VH1 using a rotating "billboard" of sponsors to promote 'sneak peeks' of the live ceremony which appeared in the top-left corner with false crowd noise in the background. During the VMA commercial breaks, VH1 also carried regular advertising.


2008 MTV Video Music Awards Japan
The 2008 MTV Video Music Awards Japan were held on Saturday, May 31 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.


2008 MTV Video Music Awards Japan, Awards, Best Group Video
M-Flo Loves Emi Hinouchi, Ryohei, Emyli, Yoshika and Lisa — "Love Comes and Goes"


2008 MTV Video Music Awards Japan, Awards, Best Video From a Film
Hikaru Utada — "Beautiful World" (from Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone)


2008 MTV Video Music Brazil
The 2008 MTV Video Music Brazil was hosted by Marcos Mion and took place at the Credicard Hall. Brazilian rock band NX Zero was the big winner of the event. One of the most notable moments was British indie rock band Bloc Party's performance, during which the audience booed the band after noticing they were lip-synching and mimicking to a pre-recorded track instead of singing and playing live. 2008 VMB also had American singer Ben Harper opening the ceremony performing alone, before being joined by Brazilian singer Vanessa da Mata for a second performance.


2008 Macau Grand Prix
The 2008 Macau Grand Prix (formally the 55th Windsor Arch Macau Grand Prix) was a motor race for Formula Three cars that was held on the streets of Macau on 16 November 2008. Unlike other races, such as the Masters of Formula 3, the 2008 Macau Grand Prix was not a part of any Formula Three championship, but was open to entries from all Formula Three championships. The race itself was made up of two races: a ten-lap qualifying race that decided the starting grid for the fifteen-lap main race. The 2008 race was the 55th running of the Macau Grand Prix and the 26th for Formula Three cars.