2009 Boise State Broncos football team, Game results, Fiesta Bowl - TCU
TCU drove to the Broncos 30 yard line before Dalton was intercepted by Winston Venable to seal the win with 18 seconds to play. Brandyn Thompson was named the game's defensive MVP with 2 interceptions, 1 for a TD, and 7 tackles. Kyle Efaw was named the game's offensive MVP with 4 receptions for 75 yards and caught the pass on the fake punt. The 14 wins is the most in school history and only the second 14–0 season in NCAA history (2002 Ohio State, the winner of the 2010 BCS National Championship, Alabama, also was 14–0).


2009 Boise State Broncos football team, Game results, Fiesta Bowl - TCU
On January 7, following the National Championship game, the Broncos would finish ranked #4 in the AP and coaches poll, their highest ranking in school history to finish a season (#5 AP and #6 coaches in 2006).


2009 Boise State Broncos football team, Post-season awards, First Team All WAC
Kyle Wilson-Sr. DB- 2nd straight year on the 1st team, 2007 2nd team


2009 Boise State Broncos football team, Post-season awards, First Team All WAC
Ryan Winterswyk- Jr. DL- 2nd straight year on the 1st team


2009 Boise State Broncos football team, Records
Lowest percentage of passes intercepted, season (over 350 attempts): Kellen Moore, 0.70%


2009 Boise State Broncos football team, Records
An NCAA FBS record as of the end of 2014


2009 Boise State Broncos football team, NFL Draft
On April 22, 2010, Sr. Cornerback Kyle Wilson was selected as the 29th overall pick in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. Wilson is just the second Bronco ever taken in the first round of the draft (Ryan Clady 12th overall in 2008). Wilson grew up in Piscataway, New Jersey, which is only about 30 miles from where the Jets play their home games.


2009 Boko Haram uprising
The 2009 Boko Haram uprising was a conflict between Boko Haram, a militant Islamist group, and Nigerian security forces. Violence across several states in northeastern Nigeria resulted in more than 1,000 dead, with around 700 killed in the city of Maiduguri alone, according to one military official.


2009 Boko Haram uprising
A government inquiry later found that, while long-standing tensions existed between Boko Haram and the Nigerian Security forces, the immediate cause of the violence stemmed from a confrontation between a group of sect members and joint tax forces located at custom bridge Gamboru ward in the city of Maiduguri. The Boko Haram members were en route to bury one of their members at the Gwange cemetery. The officers, part of a special operation to suppress violence and rampant crime in Borno State, demanded that the young men comply with a law requiring motorcycle passengers to wear helmets. They refused and, in the confrontation that followed, police shot and wounded several of the men.


2009 Boko Haram uprising
According to initial media reports, the violence began on 26 July when Boko Haram launched an attack on a police station in Bauchi State. Clashes between militants and the Nigeria Police Force erupted in Kano, Yobe and Borno soon after. But President Umaru Yar’Adua disputed this version of events, claiming that government security forces had struck first.


2009 Boko Haram uprising
“I want to emphasize that this is not an inter-religious crisis and it is not the Taliban group that attacked the security agents first, no. It was as a result of a security information gathered on their intention ... to launch a major attack," he said.


2009 Boko Haram uprising
Nigerian troops surrounded the home of Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf, the founder and spiritual leader of Boko Haram since 2002, in Maiduguri on 28 July after his followers had barricaded themselves inside. On July 30, the military captured Yusuf and transferred him to the custody of the police. They summarily executed him in public outside police headquarters.


2009 Boko Haram uprising
Islam Online suggests that politics, not religion, was the cause of the violence. People such as Christian pastor George Orjih were murdered specifically because they refused to convert to Islam.


2009 Boko Haram uprising
Prior to the clashes, many local Muslim leaders and at least one military official had warned the Nigerian authorities about the Boko Haram sect. Those warnings were reportedly ignored.


2009 Boko Haram uprising, Bauchi, Bauchi State
On 26 July, more than 50 people were killed and several dozen were injured in Bauchi when a firefight erupted as a police station was attacked by 70 Nigerian Boko Haram sect members, who were armed with grenades and small arms. One government soldier and 32 Boko Haram militants were killed in the aftermath of the initial attack. The government claimed that 39 militants had been killed, and confirmed the death of a soldier. The attack was initiated by Boko Haram after their leaders were detained by the police. Security forces retaliated by raiding the neighbourhoods where the group was entrenched.


2009 Boko Haram uprising, Bauchi, Bauchi State
Isa Yuguda, State Governor of Bauchi, commented: "We have pre-empted the militants. Otherwise the situation would have been bad. I'm calling on all the people of Bauchi to be calm and be rest assured the situation has been brought under control."


2009 Boko Haram uprising, Bauchi, Bauchi State
Yuguda declared a night-time curfew, and the police maintained a visible profile. Businesses remained open in the area.


2009 Boko Haram uprising, Maiduguri, Borno State
In July 2009, media reported that 100 bodies were found beside police headquarters in Maiduguri. Hundreds of people were leaving their homes to escape the violence. A jailbreak was reported but was not immediately confirmed. Several civilian corpses lay in the city's streets; witnesses said they had been shot after being pulled from their cars. The country's army and police were both on patrol and firing at suspects.


2009 Boko Haram uprising, Maiduguri, Borno State
On 28 July, Army soldiers reportedly launched an offensive on the compound of sect leader Mohammed Yusuf and a nearby mosque used by his followers in the Borno state capital of Maiduguri. Troops shelled Mohammed Yusuf's home in the city after Yusuf's followers barricaded themselves inside. Shots rained across the city.


2009 Boko Haram uprising, Maiduguri, Borno State
On 30 July, Nigerian security forces killed 100 Boko Haram militants in fighting in Maiduguri. Security forces fought their way into a mosque occupied by militants, raking the interior with machine gun fire. Elsewhere, Military and Police forces engaged militants in house-to-house fighting. It was initially reported that Boko Haram vice-chairman Abubakar Shekau had been killed, but he was later reported alive. Nigerian policemen were also killed. After the government declared Maidguri to be secured, Nigerian forces began setting up mortar positions to shell the remaining enemy compound.


2009 Boko Haram uprising, Maiduguri, Borno State
On 30 July, Yusuf was captured by the military and handed over to the police at the police headquarters in Maiduguri. Police officers summarily executed Yusuf inside the compound in full view of public onlookers. Police officials initially claimed that either Yusuf was shot while trying to escape or died of wounds sustained during a gun battle with the military. The police also executed other Boko Haram suspects, including Yusuf's father-in-law, outside the police headquarters.


2009 Boko Haram uprising, Maiduguri, Borno State
On 2 August, a group of women and children abducted by Boko Haram were found locked in a house in Maiduguri. The military said a total of 700 people were killed in Maiduguri during the clashes. The Red Cross later said that it had taken 780 bodies from the streets of the city to be buried in mass graves.


2009 Boko Haram uprising, Potiskum, Yobe State
A gun battle lasting several hours took place in Potiskum. Boko Haram militants set a police station on fire using fuel-laden motorcycles. The police station burned to the ground, and as a result, a police officer and a fire safety officer were both killed. Police engaged the fighters and wounded several. Police arrested 23 fighters after the battle. According to Nigerian sources, 43 Boko Haram fighters were killed in a shootout near the city on 30 July.


2009 Boko Haram uprising, Wudil, Kano State
Three people were killed in an attack in Wudil, and police forces made more than 33 arrests. Wudil's senior police officer was injured.


2009 Bolesław Chrobry Tournament
The 2nd Tournament for Bolesław Chrobry Crown - First King of Poland was the 2009 version of the Bolesław Chrobry Tournament. It took place on 23 May in the Start Gniezno Stadium in Gniezno, Poland. The draw was made on 15 May in the Gniezno' Old Square. The Tournament was won by Greg Hancock who beat Adrian Miedziński and Rune Holta. The top Gniezno' rider Krzysztof Słaboń was eighth.


2009 Bolesław Chrobry Tournament, Heat details
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance •  t - exclusion for touching the tapes •  x - other exclusion •  e - retired or mechanical failure •  f - fell •  ns - non-starter •  nc - non-classify


2009 Bolivarian Games
The XVI Bolivarian Games (Spanish: Juegos Bolivarianos) were a multi-sport event held in 2009 in Sucre, Bolivia. The competitions in Sucre took place from 15–26 November. A number of Bolivian cities hosted some of the sporting events, including Cochabamba, Santa Cruz and Tarija. Also, events were held outside of Bolivia, with Guayaquil, Lima, Quito and  Salinas hosting a number of competitions. The Games were organized by the Bolivarian Sports Organization (ODEBO).


2009 Bolivarian Games
The opening ceremony took place on November 14, 2009, at the Estadio Patria in Sucre, Bolivia. The Games were officially opened by Bolivian president Evo Morales. Torch lighter was swimmer Héctor Medina. The athlete's oath was sworn by sprinter Lupita Rojas.


2009 Bolivarian Games, Deficits in Organization and Criticism
A number of organizational deficits was reported. Initially, the games were scheduled between September 12–24, 2009. On July 1, 2009, the games were postponed to the new date because of "technical problems". The construction works on the sports facilities did not proceed fast enough. The infrastructure was not yet finished even when the games were already officially opened. Some sports like cycling and baseball had to be relocated to secondary venues like Cochabamba at short notice. Other sports like athletics, billiards, fencing, table tennis, taekwondo, or volleyball were experiencing problems because of the lack of equipment.


2009 Bolivarian Games, Deficits in Organization and Criticism
Some sports like roller sports were cancelled completely. Weightlifting competitions had to start already on October 30, 2009, because the world championships would have been contemporaneously else. In equestrianism, the transfer of the horses to Bolivia could not be guaranteed. In shooting, the shotgun competitions (Clay pigeon shooting) were relocated to Lima, Perú, because the equipment and munition did not arrive in time, and they were held until December 6, 2009, ten days after the official closing ceremony of the games. As a consequence, criticism emerged, and restructuring of the games as well as far-reaching reforms were requested to guarantee their future.


2009 Bolivarian Games, Venues
Sucre, Bolivia, hosted the following competitions:athletics (Estadio Olímpico Patria), basketball (Polideportivo Garcilazo), beach volleyball (Polideportivo Garcilazo), billiards (Salón Club de la Unión), boxing (Coliseo Universitario), BMX racing (Pista de Bicicross del Complejo Deportivo Garcilazo), mountain biking (Circuito Donwhill Sagrado Corazón de Jesús), diving (piscina de la zona de El Rollo),† fencing (Polideportivo Complejo Patria), football (Estadio Patria), futsal (Complejo Deportivo Garcilazo), artistic gymnastics (Coliseo "Max Toledo"), rhythmic gymnastics (Poligimnasio Max Toledo), karate (Estadio Edgar Cojintos), racquetball (Polideportivo Complejo Patria), roller speed skating road,† roller speed skating track,† swimming (piscina de la zona de El Rollo), table tennis (Coliseo Jorge Revilla), taekwondo (Coliseo de Combates Poligimnasio Max Toledo), tennis (Complejo Deportivo La Madona), volleyball (Coliseo Jorge Revilla Aldana), water polo (piscina de la zona de El Rollo),† weightlifting (Coliseo Universitario), wrestling (Coliseo Cerrado “Edgar Cojinto”) †:  Event initially scheduled, but cancelled at short notice.


2009 Bolivarian Games, Venues
Cochabamba, Bolivia:baseball (Estadio de Laguna Alalay), track cycling (Velódromo “Mariscal Santa Cruz”), road cycling, equestrianism (Country Club Cochabamba)


2009 Bolivarian Games, Venues
Santa Cruz, Bolivia:bowling (Bolera: Cosmic Bowling), shooting (Polígono de Villa Victoria “Abraham Telchi”)


2009 Bolivarian Games, Venues
Tarija, Bolivia:canoeing (el embalse de San Jacinto), triathlon (Represa de San Jacinto)


2009 Bolivarian Games, Venues
Guayaquil, Ecuador:softball (Estadio Liga del Sur), water skiing (Samborondón Mocoli Island)† †:  Event initially scheduled, but cancelled at short notice.


2009 Bolivarian Games, Venues
Quito, Ecuador:archery (Estadio de la Universidad Politécnica), squash (Concentración Deportiva de Pichinca)


2009 Bolivarian Games, Venues
Lima, La Punta, Perú:badminton (Club Regatas), judo (Coliseo de Basquetbol del Club Regatas Lima de Chorrillos), rowing (Yacht Club de la Punta), clay pigeon shooting (Polígono Quiñónez de la Base Aérea de Las Palmas)


2009 Bolivarian Games, Participation
About 2377 athletes from 6 countries were reported to participate:


2009 Bolivarian Games, Sports
In March 2009, three disciplines were already cancelled because the requiredminimum number of member federations was not reached, namely women's futsal,artistic roller skating, and waterskiing. Moreover, 91 events in 11 sports were cancelled at short notice, among them completely the diving, water polo, and roller speed skating competitions.


2009 Bolivarian Games, Medal count
The medal count for these Games is tabulated below. This table is sorted by the number of gold medals earned by each country. The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next, and then the number of bronze medals.


2009 Bolivian constitutional referendum
A constitutional referendum was held in Bolivia on 25 January 2009, postponed from the initially planned dates of 4 May 2008 and then 7 December 2008. Drafted by the Constituent Assembly in 2007, the new constitution was approved in the referendum according to an exit poll by Ipsos Apoyo for La Razón and ATB, a Bolivian television network. Furthermore, it required early elections to be held on 6 December 2009.


2009 Bolivian constitutional referendum, History
Under President Evo Morales, the Constituent Assembly was elected on 2 July 2006. The referendum should originally have taken place on 6 August 2007, but the Assembly's validity was extended until 14 December 2007. The referendum was important for the Afro-Bolivian population and activists like Marfa Inofuentes Pérez, who lobbied for and were successful in obtaining inclusion of articles recognizing Bolivia's black population and providing legal protections for the minority group on par with other ethnic groups. On 9 December 2007, the Assembly approved the draft and on 14 December, the Assembly officially handed the constitution draft over to the National Congress.


2009 Bolivian constitutional referendum, History
The National Congress adopted the law on 28 February 2008 calling for the referendum on 4 May 2008 even though many opposition members chose to stay away during the vote. A law was also approved and signed by Morales that permitted only Congress to call departmental referendums, thereby barring the departmental referendums on autonomy that had also been called for 4 May.


2009 Bolivian constitutional referendum, History
On 7 March 2008, the National Electoral Court suspended the referendum, along with the opposition's regional referendums, saying that there was not enough time for adequate electoral preparations. Nonetheless, the government of Santa Cruz Department went ahead and held its autonomy referendum as planned, ignoring the Court's interdiction on all referendums. Beni Department and Pando Department held their referendums on 1 June 2008.


2009 Bolivian constitutional referendum, History
In a decree on 28 August 2008, Morales declared that the referendum would be held on 7 December 2008.


2009 Bolivian constitutional referendum, History
In April 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that the first term of President Evo Morales did not count towards constitutional term limits as the constitution of Bolivia had since been amended, thus allowing Evo Morales a third term.


2009 Bolivian constitutional referendum, Unrest and agreement
Following unrest in Pando, the government and the opposition held talks which resulted in a compromise reached on 20 October 2008. They agreed to hold the referendum on 25 January 2009 and early elections on 6 December 2009; Morales in turn promised he would not run again in 2014 after his likely reelection in 2009, despite the fact that he would be allowed to do so under the new constitution.


2009 Bolivian constitutional referendum, Results
President Evo Morales enacted the new constitution on 7 February 2009, saying that he had accomplished his mission to "re-found" Bolivia. He spoke in front of thousands of his supporters in the town of El Alto, located near La Paz, claiming that his opponents had "tried ceaselessly" to have him killed. He also said: "Now I want to tell you that they can drag me from the palace. They can kill me. Mission accomplished for the re-founding of the new united Bolivia". One key reform allows Morales to stand for re-election in December 2009.


2009 Bolivian dengue fever epidemic
The 2009 Bolivian dengue fever epidemic was an epidemic of dengue fever which struck Bolivia in early 2009, escalating into a national emergency by February. The BBC described it as the worst outbreak of dengue fever in the country's history. At least 18 people died and 31,000 were infected by the mosquito-transmitted arbovirus.


2009 Bolivian dengue fever epidemic
On 20 February, the Pan American Health Organization reported that eighty (80) cases of the more severe dengue hemorrhagic fever had occurred in Bolivia since January, of which 22% were fatal. Bolivia requested outside assistance and foreign aid.


2009 Bolivian dengue fever epidemic, Background
Bolivia first declared a national emergency in early February 2009, when it alerted the world about the country's worst outbreak of dengue fever in twenty-two years. By 3 February, five people had died in the east of the country and over 7,000 more were infected. Worst hit is the Santa Cruz Department, near the Paraguayan border and the Amazon. A number of military facilities, particularly in the city of Santa Cruz, were turned into temporary hospitals as the real hospitals struggled to cope with the conditions. Thousands of soldiers were mobilized to assist medical workers.


2009 Bolivian dengue fever epidemic, Background
The government then allocated funds to supply hospitals across the country; however, it was criticised in some quarters for the slowness of its actions. The infection was most widespread in the tropical eastern lowlands, where conditions led to a thriving mosquito population. Bolivia's healthcare services had difficulty in coping with the outbreak, with experts from Venezuela, Cuba, Paraguay and the World Health Organization called in to assist.


2009 Bolivian dengue fever epidemic, Mosquito transmission
Mosquitoes thrive in the high temperatures and humidity of the Bolivian lowlands and it was that region which saw the highest numbers of infected civilians. There is currently no vaccine for dengue fever. Those infected experience flu-like symptoms such as severe headaches, fevers and joint pain. 1 of 4 people infected with dengue will develop symptoms. There is no specific treatment for dengue, other than managing the symptoms. The best way to address dengue is to disrupt the mosquito's habitat. Mosquitos breed in stagnant water, i.e. open storage containers, discarded tires, and uncollected garbage.


2009 Bolivian dengue fever epidemic, Mosquito transmission
The infected are advised by medical experts to drink plenty of fluids and obtain significant rest. Dengue fever sufferers have an approximate 1% chance of progressing to the more severe dengue hemorrhagic fever. 1 of 20 individuals who become ill with dengue will develop severe dengue. Severe dengue can lead to life-threatening condition including shock, internal bleeding, or death. Other symptoms include hypothermia, vomiting, severe abdominal pain and confusion. The global average case-fatality ratio for dengue hemorrhagic fever is 5%.


2009 Bolivian general election
General elections were held in Bolivia on December 6, 2009, following a constitutional referendum held on 25 January 2009. Voters elected:


2009 Bolivian general election
The five departments which had not already done so all voted to have departmental autonomy. Eleven  municipalities voted to have indigenous autonomy, out of twelve holding such referendums. One province voted to have regional autonomy.


2009 Bolivian general election, Presidential candidates
Under the new constitution, all previous terms will not be considered for term limits. If any candidate fails to win over 50% of the vote and another candidate is within 10%, a second round will be held. It was the first time that an incumbent President will run for reelection. The presidential candidates were:


2009 Bolivian general election, Opinion polls
Polling prior to the election indicated that incumbent Evo Morales enjoyed a 55% approval rating, as well as an 18-point lead over his closest challenger Manfred Reyes Villa. As Morales was expected to cruise to reelection, the local press reported that Villa has already purchased an airplane ticket to the United States for the 7th (the day after the election).


2009 Bolivian general election, Results
Evo Morales won a convincing victory, with 64.22% of the vote. His party, Movement for Socialism, won a two-thirds majority in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.


2009 Bolivian general election, Autonomy referendums, Departments
The five departments which had not already done so all voted to become autonomous departments. Each will have to produce a statute of autonomy. They were:


2009 Bolivian general election, Autonomy referendums, Regional autonomy
The Gran Chaco Province in Tarija held a referendum on regional autonomy, which was approved by 80.4% of voters.


2009 Bolivian general election, Autonomy referendums, Municipalities
The following municipalities voted on whether to become autonomous municipalities according to the  Indigenous Originary Campesino Autonomy provisions of the 2009 Constitution. Eleven voted yes:


2009 Bologna municipal election
Municipal elections were held in Bologna on 6–7 and 21–22 June 2009. The centre-left candidate Flavio Delbono was elected mayor at the second round with 60.77% of votes.


2009 Bologna municipal election, Background
The centre-left primary elections took place on 13 and 14 December 2008. The Vice-President of Emilia-Romagna, Flavio Delbono, received 49.73% of the 24,920 votes cast in the primary; Maurizio Cevenini received 23.29%, Virginio Merola received 21.44% and Andrea Forlani received 5.1%. On 9 January 2009, Delbono announced that he would be resigning as vice-president of Emilia-Romagna and regional assessor in order to focus on his election campaign.


2009 Bologna municipal election, Background
The other candidates were Alfredo Cazzola, former owner of Virtus Bologna and Bologna F.C., who was the candidate of The People of Freedom and Northern League, and Giorgio Guazzaloca, a former mayor of Bologna.


2009 Bologna municipal election, Voting system
The voting system is used for all mayoral elections in Italy, in the city with a population higher than 15,000 inhabitants. Under this system voters express a direct choice for the mayor or an indirect choice voting for the party of the candidate's coalition. If no candidate receives 50% of votes, the top two candidates go to a second round after two weeks. This gives a result whereby the winning candidate may be able to claim majority support, although it is not guaranteed.


2009 Bologna municipal election, Voting system
The election of the City Council is based on a direct choice for the candidate with a preference vote: the candidate with the majority of the preferences is elected. The number of the seats for each party is determined proportionally.


2009 Bombardier Learjet 550
The 2009 Bombardier Learjet 550 was the sixth round of the 2009 IndyCar Series season, held on June 6, 2009 at the 1.455-mile (2.342 km) Texas Motor Speedway, in Fort Worth, Texas.


2009 Bonnaroo Music Festival
The 2009 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival was held June 11–14, 2009 at a 700-acre (2.8 km2) farm in Manchester, Tennessee, United States. There were roughly 75,000 people in attendance. The onset of Bonnaroo 2009 was punctuated by monstrous thunderstorms. Thursday night included heavy rain, lightning, strong winds and hail. A lighter storm passed over the farm on Friday. The resulting mud became a hardship for some and a plaything for others.


2009 Bonnaroo Music Festival, Lineup
The initial lineup was released on the festival's website at midnight on February 3, 2009. Phish performed a traditional 2-set headlining spot on Sunday night as well as a late night set on Friday night. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band performed Saturday.


2009 Bonnaroo Music Festival, Lineup
Down and The Ting Tings appeared on the initial lineup but were later removed.


2009 Bonnaroo Music Festival, Lineup
The previously annual Superjam did not take place, and for the first time in Bonnaroo's eight-year history, not a single The Grateful Dead member performed at the festival.


2009 Bosch Engineering 250 at VIR
The 2009 Bosch Engineering 250 at VIR was the second round of the 2009 Rolex Sports Car Series season. It took place at Virginia International Raceway on April 25, 2009.


2009 Boston Blazers season
The Boston Blazers are a lacrosse team based in Boston playing in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The 2009 season was their first season in the NLL.


2009 Boston Blazers season
The Blazers began their inaugural season by losing back-to-back games to the division rival (and eventual East division champion) New York Titans. But the Blazers surprised everybody by winning seven of their next eight games, on their way to a 10-6 record, tied with New York and Buffalo for best in the East. The Titans won the East on tie-breakers, but the Blazers finished a respectable third and made the playoffs in their first season.


2009 Boston Blazers season
In the Eastern division semi-final, the Blazers were defeated by the defending champion Buffalo Bandits 11-8.


2009 Boston Blazers season, Regular season, Conference standings
x: Clinched playoff berth; c: Clinched playoff berth by crossing over to another division; y: Clinched division; z: Clinched best regular season record; GP: Games PlayedW: Wins; L: Losses; GB: Games back; PCT: Win percentage; Home: Record at Home; Road: Record on the Road; GF: Goals scored; GA: Goals allowedDifferential: Difference between goals scored and allowed; GF/GP: Average number of goals scored per game; GA/GP: Average number of goals allowed per game


2009 Boston Blazers season, Player stats, Runners (Top 10)
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; LB = Loose Balls; PIM = Penalty Minutes


2009 Boston Blazers season, Player stats, Goaltenders
Note: GP = Games Played; MIN = Minutes; W = Wins; L = Losses; GA = Goals Against; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average


2009 Boston Blazers season, Transactions, Entry draft
The 2008 NLL Entry Draft took place on September 7, 2008. The Blazers selected the following players:


2009 Boston Cannons season
This is the 9th season for the Boston Cannons in Major League Lacrosse. The Cannons played in their home games at Harvard Stadium.


2009 Boston City Council election
Boston City Council elections were held on November 3, 2009. Eight seats (four district representatives and four at-large members) were contested in the general election, as the incumbents in districts 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 were unopposed. Seven seats (the four at-large members, and districts 1, 7, and 9) had also been contested in the preliminary election held on September 22, 2009.


2009 Boston City Council election, At-large
Councillors John R. Connolly and Stephen J. Murphy were re-elected to their at-large seats. Incumbents Michael F. Flaherty and Sam Yoon did not run for re-election as they were running for Mayor of Boston; their seats were won by Felix G. Arroyo and Ayanna Pressley. Pressley's victory made her first woman of color to be elected to the council in its history.


2009 Boston City Council election, District 6, Special election
In August 2010, Tobin resigned his seat to take a position as Vice President for City and Community Affairs at Northeastern University. The seat was filled via a special election on November 16, 2010, with the preliminary election on October 19, 2010. Matt O'Malley was elected to serve the remainder of Tobin's term, defeating James W. Hennigan III, brother of former council member Maura Hennigan.


2009 Boston City Council election, District 7, Special election
On December 1, 2010, Turner was expelled by an 11–1 vote, following his corruption conviction, making him the first councillor to be expelled in the history of the modern Boston City Council. This created a vacancy that needed to be filled by a special election, which took place on March 15, 2011, with the preliminary election on February 15, 2011. Tito Jackson was elected to serve the remainder of Turner's term.


2009 Boston College Eagles football team
The 2009 Boston College Eagles football team represented Boston College in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Eagles were led by first-year head coach Frank Spaziani. He replaced Jeff Jagodzinski who was fired after the 2008 season. The Eagles finished the season 8–5, 5–3 in ACC play and lost in the Emerald Bowl 24–13 against USC.


2009 Boston College Eagles football team, Preseason
Mobile quarterback Anthony Haney (New Jersey recruit) was injured in an early preseason practice due to a career ending arm injury


2009 Boston College Eagles football team, Preseason, Mark Herzlich
Mark Herzlich, a senior linebacker and the 2008 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, revealed on May 14 that he had been diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a cancer most commonly found in bone or soft tissue. In his statement, he indicated he was unsure what his illness would mean for his football future.


2009 Boston College Eagles football team, Season Highlights
In the Eagles 52–20 win over NC State, Sophomore RB Montel Harris set two single-game school records when he rushed for 264 yards and 5 TDs.


2009 Boston College Eagles football team, Season Highlights
On October 3, College Gameday came to Boston College for the Eagles' game against the Florida State Seminoles. During the broadcast, star LB Mark Herzlich, who was forced to miss the entire 2009 season after being diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma, publicly announced that he was cancer-free. BC went on to beat the Seminoles by a score of 28–21.


2009 Boston College Eagles football team, Season Highlights
Early in the season, Boston College won in thrilling fashion as the Eagles defeated Wake Forest 27–24 in OT. Boston College had the ball first in OT and kicked a field goal. On Wake Forest's possession, the Demon Deacons had a First and Goal from the 3 yard line. Amazingly, Isaac Johnson stripped Riley Skinner and Wes Davis recovered the ensuing fumble to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.


2009 Boston College Eagles football team, Season Highlights
True freshman Luke Kuechly was pressed into service as a weakside linebacker due to the unexpected departure of Herzlich and became a national sensation. He led the team and conference and finished second in the nation in Total Tackles with 158. Kuechly was named to the CFN All-America Team, the ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year, and the Defensive MVP of the Emerald Bowl.


2009 Boston Marathon
The 2009 Boston Marathon was the 113rd running of the annual marathon race in Boston, United States and was held on April 20. The elite men's race was won by Ethiopia's Deriba Merga in a time of 2:08:42 hours and the women's race was won by Ethiopia's Salina Kosgei in 2:32:16.


2009 Boston Pizza Cup
The 2009 Boston Pizza Cup (the Alberta men's curling championship) was held February 11-15 at the Wainwright Arena in Wainwright. Defending champion Kevin Martin won again. As winner, Martin represented Alberta and won the 2009 Tim Hortons Brier.


2009 Boston Pizza Cup, Qualification
Three teams qualify from Southern Alberta, three from Northern Alberta and two from the Peace Region. In addition, four teams have automatically qualified based on other reasons. Defending World Champion Kevin Martin qualifies as defending champion, plus Kevin Koe as the top remaining Albertan team in the CCA rankings from last season. In addition the top two teams remaining teams on the Alberta Curling Tour receive spots, that being Ted Appelman's team and Randy Ferbey's team.


2009 Boston Red Sox season
The 2009 Boston Red Sox season was the 109th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished second in the American League East with a record of 95 wins and 67 losses, eight games behind the New York Yankees, who went on to win the 2009 World Series. The Red Sox qualified for the postseason as the AL wild card, but were swept by the American League West champion Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ALDS.


2009 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season
The Red Sox opened the season with a postponement due to rain. However, on April 7, the season began at Fenway with the first pitch being thrown by Edward Kennedy, who later died in August. The Red Sox got off to a slow start, going 2–6 in the first eight games. However, the Sox won 11 straight games beginning on April 15. The win streak was Boston's longest since 2006 when they had a 12-game win streak.


2009 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season
A highlight of the streak was Jacoby Ellsbury's steal of home on April 26 to cap off a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees. They finished April with a record of 14–8 and tied with the Toronto Blue Jays for the division lead. Also, Jerry Remy, NESN color commentator, had surgery to remove a small area of cancer on his lung. While recovering he also got pneumonia. He also was suffering from fatigue and depression. These are the people who filled in for him: Dennis Eckersley, Dave Roberts, Buck Martinez, Tony Massarotti, Rance Mulliniks, Rex Hudler, Ron Coomer, Ken Rosenthal, Kevin Kennedy, Dwight Evans, Sean Casey, Jim Kaat, Gordon Edes, Bob Montgomery, Frank Viola, Sean McAdam, Brian Daubach, and Rick Dempsey.


2009 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season
The team flattened out in May, going 15–14 in the month and falling to third in the division behind the Yankees and the Blue Jays. Through the first two months of the season, slugger David Ortiz struggled, batting .185 with one home run. Additionally, pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka was placed on the disabled list after just two starts with an injury that manager Terry Francona attributed to his participation in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. Off the field, announcer Jerry Remy, of NESN television, was replaced by Dennis Eckersley beginning on May 6 as Remy began undergoing cancer treatment. Despite these struggles, the Red Sox set an American League record, tying the Major League record, on May 7 by scoring 12 runs without recording an out during the 6th inning of a game against the Cleveland Indians.


2009 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season
The Red Sox took the division lead, and improved to the second-best record in MLB, during June. Through the first half of the month, the Sox played four division leaders, the Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, and Philadelphia Phillies, winning three of the four series and sweeping both the Tigers and Yankees. By sweeping the Yankees, the Sox improved to 8–0 against the team, the best record against them since sweeping the 14-game season series against them in 1912. At the All-Star break, the Red Sox had the second best record in Major League Baseball and held a three-game lead in the division.


2009 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season
The Red Sox faltered after the All-Star break, losing five of six on the road to the Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers and batting .192 and scoring 13 runs. In response to the poor offensive performance and to make room for Jed Lowrie's return from injury, Julio Lugo was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for cash and two minor-league players were traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Adam LaRoche on July 22, and on July 25 Mark Kotsay was designated for assignment.


2009 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season
The Red Sox made a move at the trade deadline, July 31, to acquire catcher Victor Martinez from the Cleveland Indians for pitchers Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone, and Bryan Price. They also traded Adam LaRoche to the Atlanta Braves for Casey Kotchman. After winning the first eight games of the season against their rival Yankees in the first half of the season, the Red Sox lost nine of the next ten to finish the season 9–9 against them.


2009 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season
One of the stranger victories for the Sox came on August 14 against the Texas Rangers. Going into the top of the 9th inning, the home Rangers were leading 4–2. Jacoby Ellsbury drove in David Ortiz to pull within one run and Jason Varitek was left on second base with no outs. Pitcher, Clay Buchholz came in to pinch run for Varitek with no outs. Dustin Pedroia doubled, but the inexperienced, and potentially tying run, Buchholz, was thrown out at the plate as he hesitated between second and third before attempting to score.


2009 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season
All was shortly forgotten when the team scored five more runs to win 8–4. On August 21, Jacoby Ellsbury tied the record for the Red Sox single season record for stolen bases (54), in a game against the New York Yankees, a record previously held by Tommy Harper. Ellsbury then broke the record with his 55th steal on August 25, against the Chicago White Sox.


2009 Boston Red Sox season, Player stats, Batting
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases


2009 Boston Red Sox season, Player stats, Pitching
Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; HR = Home Run Allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts


2009 Boston Red Sox season, Farm system
The Class A-Advanced affiliate changed from the Lancaster JetHawks to the Salem Red Sox.


2009 Boston mayoral election
The Boston mayoral election of 2009 occurred on Tuesday, November 3, 2009, between incumbent Mayor of Boston Thomas Menino, and Michael F. Flaherty, member of the Boston City Council and former Council president. Menino was re-elected to a fifth term, the first mayor to do so in Boston history.


2009 Boston mayoral election
31% of registered voters turned out to vote in the election.


2009 Boston mayoral election
The nonpartisan municipal preliminary election was held on September 22, 2009.


2009 Boston mayoral election, Campaign
After the preliminary election, Flaherty and fellow-Councillor Sam Yoon, who had finished third, declared they had formed a ticket. If Flaherty  were victorious, he vowed to appoint Yoon deputy mayor, a position that had not existed in Boston since the administration of Kevin White, who left office in 1984. Details of the position, including salary, were never finalized.


2009 Botswana general election
General elections were held in Botswana on 16 October 2009, alongside local elections, with early voting in 26 polling stations abroad taking place 3 October. The result was a tenth successive victory for the Botswana Democratic Party, which won 45 of the 57 elected seats in the National Assembly.


2009 Botswana general election, Electoral system
The 57 directly-elected members of the National Assembly were elected in single-member constituencies. A further four members were elected from a list nominated by the President, whilst the President and Attorney General became ex officio members.


2009 Botswana general election, Campaign
The ruling BDP was suffering from internal problems leading up to the election, with President Ian Khama threatening to expel party leader and former cabinet minister Daniel Kwelagobe, who also led the rival Barata-Phathi faction within the BDP. Although Khama and Kwelagobe eventually reconciled, stability within the BDP remained in question. The BDP campaign focused on its record in government, including education, training and economic development.


2009 Botswana general election, Campaign
Botswana National Front leader Otsweletse Moupo did not contest the elections after losing the party's primary elections for his Gaborone West North seat. It was speculated that he would stand for election in Gaborone South, but Moupo ultimately declined to run. The BNF campaign centred around creating a strong civil society and improving social welfare and housing.


2009 Botswana general election, Campaign
The Botswana Congress Party (BCP) and the Botswana Alliance Movement (BAM) formed an electoral alliance and supported each other's candidates. BCP leader Gilson Saleshando stood for election in Selebi-Phikwe West, a constituency held prior to the election by BDP candidate Kavis Kario. The alliance's campaign included a pledge to stop the economic downturn.


2009 Botswana general election, Campaign
The Botswana People's Party (BPP) campaign focused on agricultural development and manufacturing, whilst the MELS Movement of Botswana (MELS) promised to fight the exploitation of the population.


2009 Botswana general election, Campaign
A total of 177 candidates contested the elections; 57 from the BDP, 48 from the BNF, 46 from the BCP-BAM alliance (42 from the BCP and 4 from the BAM), 6 from the BPP, 4 from MELS, one from the Botswana Tlhoko Tiro Organisation and 15 independents.


2009 Botswana general election, Opinion polls
Very few scientific opinion polls were taken prior to the election, preventing accurate measures of public sentiment.


2009 Botswana general election, Conduct
Early voting was planned for police and polling officers on 29 September, as they would be unable to vote on election day. However, because of a printing error at the Johannesburg-based printer that was responsible for printing the ballot papers, early voting could not proceed as planned; ballot numbers, which should be unique to counter election fraud, were sometimes repeated on the ballots for local elections. As a result Police officers and polling officers had to vote on 16 October, along with the general public. For officers stationed far away from the place they are registered to vote, this presented serious problems. The BCP threatened legal action against the Independent Electoral Commission.


2009 Botswana general election, Conduct
Election turnout was reported to be high with polling station opening times being extending to cope with large queues. Election observers stated that the overall process ran smoothly, although in some instance people had been unable to vote. The Southern African Development Community noted that the elections were "credible, peaceful, free and fair", but raised concerns about the "slow polling process".


2009 Botswana general election, Results
Nehemiah Modubule, MP for Lobatse, won re-election running as an independent, having been elected in 2004 as a BNF candidate.


2009 Botswana general election, Aftermath
The BDP held a victory rally in Gaborone on 18 October, and President Khama was sworn in for his first full term on 20 October.


2009 Botswana local elections
Local elections in Botswana were held on 16 October 2009 for the district councils of the Districts of Botswana.


2009 Botswana local elections, Results By District, Kgatleng District
There was a tie in one constituency and a by-election was on 5 December 2009. The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) candidate won, increasing their total seats from 7 to 8.


2009 Boucherville municipal election
The 2009 Boucherville municipal election was an election that was held on the 1st of November 2009 to elect Boucherville's mayor and eight councillors.


2009 Boucherville municipal election
Jean Martel and his party's eight candidates were elected. The voter turnout was 49.8%.


2009 Boucherville municipal election
The election results were made available on the website of Québec's Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.


2009 Bowling Green Falcons football team
The 2009 Bowling Green Falcons football team represented Bowling Green State University during the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Dave Clawson and  played in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. They played their home games at Doyt Perry Stadium. They finished the season 7–6, 6–2 in MAC play to finish in third place in the East Division. They were invited to the Humanitarian Bowl where they lost to Idaho.


2009 Bowling Green Falcons football team, Preseason, Coaching changes
On November 28, 2008, Athletic Director Greg Christopher announced that head coach Gregg Brandon had been fired after six seasons and 44–30 record, including a 31–18 conference record, which was the best of any MAC coach since 2003 and led the team to three bowl games (2–1) and shares of two East division championships. Christopher stated that a culmination of on and off the field events led to Brandon's dismissal, nine months after Brandon received a three-year contract extension.


2009 Bowling Green Falcons football team, Preseason, Coaching changes
The on-field problems included the Falcons 6–6 record, which was very disappointing as the Falcons were favored to win the MAC East division, and a 1–4 home record which included losses to Miami (OH) and Eastern Michigan (who finished 2–10 and 3–9 respectively) and a 40–34 double-overtime loss to eventual MAC Champion Buffalo, after the Falcons led the game by 20 points entering the fourth quarter and gave up two touchdowns within the final three minutes of the game. Off the field, eleven Falcons players found themselves in legal troubles, two of which were arrested on drug trafficking charges. The program was also stripped of nine scholarships by the NCAA because of inadequate grades on the association's Academic Progress Report. Christopher stated that Brandon's post-game tirade about the lack of student support and attendance after the Buffalo loss, did not factor into his decision to release the coach.


2009 Bowling Green Falcons football team, Preseason, Coaching changes
On December 7, 2008, the Falcons lost two valuable coaches to rival Toledo, as defensive coordinator Mike Ward and co-offensive coordinator Matt Campbell were brought to the Rockets by new head coach (and former BG assistant) Tim Beckman. The two assistants left, because they were not guaranteed contracts after Gregg Brandon was fired. Ward was a very influential tool in recruiting and a few recruits were expected to rescind their verbals to Bowling Green, because of his departure.


2009 Bowling Green Falcons football team, Preseason, Coaching changes
On December 12, 2008, athletic director Greg Christopher named Dave Clawson as the program's 17th head coach. Clawson, served the previous season with Tennessee as the Volunteers' offensive coordinator and had been the head coach at Fordham and Richmond, winning three conference championships and two Div. I-FCS Coach of the Year awards.


2009 Bowling Green Falcons football team, Preseason, Coaching changes
Others that were considered for the job included former Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Tim Beckman (now head coach at Toledo), Ohio State defensive coordinator Luke Fickell, former Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen (now head coach at the University of Florida), Louisville defensive coordinator Ron English, LSU offensive line coach Greg Studrawa, Central Michigan assistant Zach Azzani, Missouri defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus and Purdue defensive coordinator Brock Spack


2009 Bowling Green Falcons football team, Preseason, Coaching changes
On January 27, 2009, Clawson announced eight additions to his coaching staff for the upcoming season. The list included Shannon Morrison and Joe Trainer hired as co-defensive coordinators, Warren Ruggerio as offensive coordinator, John Hunter as running backs coach, John McDonnell as offensive line coach, Doug Philips as defensive ends coach, Sean Spencer as defensive tackles coach and special teams coordinator, and Clint Dowdle as director of football operations. A month after being introduced as co-defensive coordinator, Joe Trainer left the Falcons to become head coach at Rhode Island, a school that he was previously an assistant and defensive coordinator.


2009 Bowling Green Falcons football team, Preseason, Coaching changes
On February 2, 2009, quarterbacks coach Jim Hofher left the Falcons to become offensive coordinator at Delaware.


2009 Bowling Green Falcons football team, Preseason, Key losses
Clawson dismissed Senior defensive lineman Michael Ream for an undisclosed violation of team rules in April. Ream, who had been suspended in 2007 due to violating team rules, was to be the only senior on Bowling Green's defensive line. When asked about the dismissal, Clawson stated "We are disappointed that we had to take this step, but when a student-athlete makes a poor decision, he must live with the consequences of his decision."


2009 Bowling Green Falcons football team, Preseason, Key losses
The following are some of the key players (all but Ream having graduated) who will be no longer eligible to play in the 2009 season:


2009 Bowling Green Falcons football team, Game summaries, Troy
The Dave Clawson era at Bowling Green began with a home contest against the Sun Belt's Troy Trojans in the first meeting between the two schools. The game was also the first time that Bowling Green opened the season at home since 2003. The Falcons came into the game as a 7-point underdog.


2009 Bowling Green Falcons football team, Game summaries, Troy
Troy received the opening kickoff and marched 80 yards down the field on ten plays in just under two minutes, led by Troy quarterback Levi Brown, who had played under Clawson at Richmond. Troy running back DuJuan Harris finished off the drive, running the ball in from two yards out to put Troy up 7–0. The teams would trade punts on the next two drives before Bowling Green pushed the ball into Troy's territory.


2009 Bowling Green Falcons football team, Game summaries, Troy
After completing a pass on fourth and six to Troy's 25-yard line, Tyler Sheehan was intercepted by Troy defensive back Bryan Willis ending the Falcons' deepest drive of the first quarter. Troy would push their lead to 14–0 after Brown hit wide receiver Jerrel Jernigan for a 13-yard touchdown. The Falcons would answer on the following drive, as Sheehan hooked up with senior wide receiver Freddie Barnes for a 31-yard touchdown pass cutting Troy's lead to 14–7. Late in the second quarter Troy drove deep into Bowling Green's territory, but their drive stalled at the Falcons' 17-yard line after the Trojans failed to convert on fourth and one. The Falcons would run the clock out and end the half trailing 14–7


2009 Bowling Green Falcons football team, Game summaries, Troy
The Falcons would show a totally different look in the second half effectively shutting the door on the Troy's offense, including forcing a fumble and intercepting Brown twice. The Falcons scored on their second drive of the third quarter, as Sheehan found Barnes for eight yards and their second touchdown of the game. On the first play of the fourth quarter, senior defensive back Roger Williams intercepted a Levi Brown pass at Bowling Green's 29-yard line.


2009 Bowling Green Falcons football team, Game summaries, Troy
Bowling Green would take the lead on the following possession, as freshman kicker Jerry Phillips converted a 21-yard field goal making the score 17–14 in Bowling Green's favor. Bowling Green would score on its second consecutive possession, as junior runningback Willie Geter capped off a 4 play, 49 yard drive with a one-yard rush, increasing the Falcons' lead to 24–14. Bowling Green freshman defensive back Adrien Spencer sealed the win for Bowling Green after he picked Brown off on a fourth and four and took the ball back for a 64-yard interception return for a touchdown, increasing the score to 31–14.


2009 Bowling Green Falcons football team, Game summaries, Troy
During the game, Bowling Green senior wide receiver Freddie Barnes set the school record for most receptions in a game, as he collected 15 receptions for 157 yards and Clawson became the eighth consecutive coach to win their debut as the head coach at Bowling Green.


2009 Bowling Green Falcons football team, Game summaries, Missouri
The Falcons' second game of the season came on the road against the Big 12's Missouri Tigers who came into the game ranked #25th in the nation. The Falcons entered the game with a 3–1 series advantage, including a 20 – 13 victory the last time the two teams met at Faurot Field in 2001. The Falcons came into the game as a 20-point underdog and were not expected to cause the Tigers much of a threat.


2009 Bowling Green Falcons football team, Game summaries, Missouri
The Falcons would start off the game well reaching the red zone on three of their first five drives. The Falcons would strike first as Tyler Sheehan hooked up with sophomore receiver Ray Hutson on a 10-yard touchdown pass late in the first quarter to complete a 10 play, 80-yard drive and give the Falcons a 7–0 lead. On the first play of Missouri's ensuing possession, sophomore quarterback Blaine Gabbert fumbled the ball after being hit by Falcons' senior linebacker Cody Basler and the ball was recovered by junior defensive lineman Carlos Tipton at Missouri's 22-yard line.


2009 Bowling Green Falcons football team, Game summaries, Missouri
The Falcons offense would waist the opportunity, going three and out, gaining three yards and having to settle for a 37-yard field goal from freshman kicker Jerry Phillips to push the Falcons lead to 10–0 at the end of the first quarter. The Falcons would recover another fumble in Missouri's territory as senior defensive back Jahmal Brown forced Missouri junior defensive back to fumble the ball on a punt return and junior linebacker Neal Dahlman recovered the ball for the Falcons at Missouri's 18-yard line.


2009 Bowling Green Falcons football team, Game summaries, Missouri
The Falcons would waist their second possession with a short field, going three and out for four yards and settling for a 32-yard field goal from Phillips to push the lead to 13–0. The Tigers would get two field goals from sophomore kicker Grant Ressel (38, 46) to cut the Falcon lead to 13–6 at halftime.


2009 Bowling Green Falcons football team, Game summaries, Missouri
Bowling Green would keep the foot on the pedal entering the second half, taking the opening possession of the half 73 yards on 11 plays capped off with a 1-yard touchdown run from Willie Geter to push the Falcons lead to 20–6. From there, the Falcons offense would go stagnant, only gaining five first downs the rest of the game. Missouri would wear down the Falcons' defense starting with an 11 play, 87 yard drive culminating in a 27-yard touchdown pass from Gabbert to Jarred Perry to cut the Falcons' lead to 20–13.


2009 Bowling Green Falcons football team, Game summaries, Missouri
Missouri would continue to run down the Falcons scoring on their next two possessions with a 33-yard pass from Gabbert to Wes Kemp and a 1-yard run by Der Washington to give the Tigers the 27–20 lead. The Falcons would have one last chance, taking possession at their own 16-yard line. Sheehan would complete a 17-yard pass to senior receiver Chris Wright on the first play of the drive, but would only complete one of his next four passes as the Falcons turned the ball over on downs near midfield.


2009 Box Office Entertainment Awards
The 40th Guillermo Mendoza Memorial Scholarship Foundation Box Office Entertainment Awards (GMMSF-BOEA) is a part of the annual awards in the Philippines held on June 21, 2009. The award-giving body honors Filipino actors, actresses and other performers' commercial success, regardless of artistic merit, in the Philippine entertainment industry.


2009 Box Office Entertainment Awards
The yearly event is supposed to be 39th this year, but they believe that it is an unlucky number. Thus they skipped the 39th and renamed the event the 40th instead.


2009 Box Office Entertainment Awards, Winners selection
The winners are chosen from the Top 10 Philippine films of 2008, top-rating shows in Philippine television, top recording awards received by singers, and top gross receipts of concerts and performances.


2009 Box Office Entertainment Awards, Awards ceremony
On June 21, 2009 at Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Ayala Avenue in Makati, Philippines, the 40th Box Office Entertainment Awards night was held. The event was then aired on June 28 on ABS-CBN.


2009 Box Office Entertainment Awards, Multiple awards, Companies with multiple awards
The following companies received two or more awards in the television category:


2009 Brabantse Pijl
The 2009 Brabantse Pijl was the 49th edition of the Brabantse Pijl cycle race and was held on 29 March 2009. The race started in Leuven and finished in Beersel. The race was won by Anthony Geslin.


2009 Bradfield by-election
The 2009 Bradfield by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Bradfield on 5 December 2009. This was triggered as a result of the resignation of former minister and ex-Liberal Party leader Brendan Nelson. The by-election was held on the same day as the Higgins by-election.


2009 Bradfield by-election
The by-election was contested on the same boundaries drawn for Bradfield at the 2007 federal election. At that election, the Liberal Party won the seat over the Labor Party with a 63.45 per cent of the vote on a two-party-preferred basis, making it the safest metropolitan seat in Australia for the Liberals. The 2007 result was the second-closest in the seat's 60-year history (after the 1952 Bradfield by-election against an independent). The Liberal candidate has never had to go to preferences to win the seat.


2009 Bradfield by-election
The writ for the by-election was issued on 30 October, with the rolls closing on 9 November. Candidate nominations closed on 12 November, and were announced the following day. At 22 candidates, it ties with the 1992 Wills by-election for the most candidates to contest a federal lower house seat.


2009 Bradfield by-election
Both the Bradfield and Higgins by-elections were the last by-elections for the House of Representatives until the Griffith by-election held in February 2014.


2009 Bradfield by-election, Background
At the 2007 federal election, the opposition Kevin Rudd-led Labor Party defeated the incumbent John Howard-led Liberal-National coalition government. This marked the first change of government in over 11 years. Brendan Nelson had served in ministerial positions in the Howard government, before taking over the Liberal leadership from Howard after the election loss. He lost the leadership to Malcolm Turnbull less than a year later after sustained poor polling.


2009 Bradfield by-election, Background
Nelson first won the seat of Bradfield at the 1996 election.


2009 Bradfield by-election, Background
Nelson had initially indicated (16 February 2009) he would stay as the member until the next election, at which time he would retire from parliament. On 25 August 2009, however, he announced he would be resigning by late September, thus triggering a by-election. On 16 September 2009, he was appointed as Ambassador to the European Union, NATO, Belgium and Luxembourg. He officially resigned from the House on 19 October 2009.


2009 Bradfield by-election, Campaign
The Higgins and Bradfield by-election campaigns were overshadowed by Liberal infighting over Labor's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, culminating in the replacement of Malcolm Turnbull with Tony Abbott as Liberal leader. Although fairly safe on paper, some commentators including Malcolm Mackerras tipped the Greens to win in Higgins, and force the Liberals to preferences in Bradfield.


2009 Bradfield by-election, Candidates
The following table is the order and party affiliation of each candidate who has nominated to contest the seat of Bradfield on 5 December 2009.


2009 Bradfield by-election, Candidates
The Australian Labor Party did not stand a candidate. The Christian Democrats suggested that they were considering running up to eleven candidates (eleven being the number of faithful disciples). The CDP ended up fielding nine candidates.


2009 Bradfield by-election, Results
§ The combined Christian Democrats vote was 3.58 percent, an increase of 1.84 percentage points.


2009 Bradfield by-election, Aftermath
The Christian Democratic Party's lead candidate, James Whitehall, resigned from the party soon after the by-election on strong disagreement with the content of a controversial and unauthorised survey circulated by the campaign director Michael Darby. The platform of the CDP for the by-election was focused on the controversial Emissions Trading Scheme, which was supported by both the Liberal and Labor parties at the time of the by-election. Changes to the CDP platform, as suggested by the controversial survey, had not been sighted or approved by many of its candidates. Whitehall's father, the party's junior deputy president, also resigned.


2009 Bradfield by-election, Aftermath
Being the author of the survey, which included questions on whether the Government should be able to deport Muslims, and whether mosques and Islamic schools should be banned, Darby faced expulsion from the party. He was ultimately relieved of his position, and party leader, Fred Nile, offered an apology for the survey, also stating that the CDP would not run multiple candidates in any electorates in future.


2009 Bradford Bulls season
This article details the Bradford Bulls rugby league football club's 2009 season, the 14th season of the Super League era.


2009 Bradford Bulls season, Table
Source: . Classification: 1st on competition points; 2nd on match points difference. Competition points: for win = 2; for draw = 1; for loss = 0.


2009 Brandenburg state election
The 2009 Brandenburg state election was held on 27 September 2009 to elect the members of the 5th Landtag of Brandenburg. It took place on the same day as the 2009 federal election and 2009 Schleswig-Holstein state election. The incumbent government of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) led by Minister-President Matthias Platzeck took small losses, but retained a majority. However, the SPD chose to form a government with The Left rather than continue the SPD–CDU coalition.


2009 Brandenburg state election
The election saw the Free Democratic Party and The Greens re-enter the Landtag for the first time since the 1990 election, while the German People's Union lost all its seats.


2009 Brandenburg state election, Parties
The table below lists parties represented in the 4th Landtag of Brandenburg.


2009 Brands Hatch Formula Two round
The 2009 Brands Hatch Formula Two round was the fourth round of the 2009 FIA Formula Two Championship season. It was held on 18 and 19 July 2009 at Brands Hatch at Kent, United Kingdom. The first race was won by Philipp Eng, with Andy Soucek and Henry Surtees also on the podium. The second race was won by Andy Soucek, with Robert Wickens and Mikhail Aleshin also on the podium. The round was overshadowed by the fatal accident suffered by Henry Surtees in second race.


2009 Brands Hatch Formula Two round
Surtees was hit on the head by a wheel from the car of Jack Clarke after Clarke spun into the wall exiting Westfield Bend. The wheel broke its tether and bounced back across the track into the following group of cars and collided with Surtees' helmet. The car continued straight ahead into the barrier on the approach to Sheene Curve, also losing a wheel, and came to rest at the end of the curve with its remaining rear wheel still spinning. This indicated that Surtees had lost consciousness, with his foot still pressing the accelerator.


2009 Brands Hatch Formula Two round
Surtees was extricated from the car and taken to the circuit's medical centre, where he was stabilised before being transferred to the Royal London Hospital. His death was attributed to severe head injuries, inflicted by colliding with the wheelrather than the following crash with the barriers, and was announced later that day.


2009 Brasil Open
The 2009 Brasil Open was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 9th edition of the Brasil Open, and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2009 ATP Tour. It took place in Costa do Sauípe resort, Mata de São João, Brazil, from 9 February through 14 February 2009.


2009 Brasil Open
The singles line up was led by world no. 17 and defending champion Nicolás Almagro, Tommy Robredo and Albert Montañés. Other top seeds are 2009 Viña del Mar finalist José Acasuso, Marcel Granollers, Eduardo Schwank, Nicolas Devilder and Potito Starace.


2009 Brasil Open, Champions, Doubles
Marcel Granollers /  Tommy Robredo def. Lucas Arnold Ker /  Juan Mónaco 6–4, 7–5


2009 Brasil Open – Doubles
Marcelo Melo and André Sá were the defending champions, but lost in the first round to Thomaz Bellucci and Sebastián Prieto.


2009 Brasil Open – Doubles
In the final, Marcel Granollers and Tommy Robredo defeated Lucas Arnold Ker and Juan Mónaco, 6–4, 7–5.


2009 Brasil Open – Singles
Nicolás Almagro was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Frederico Gil.


2009 Brasil Open – Singles
In the final, Tommy Robredo defeated Thomaz Bellucci, 6–3, 3–6, 6–4.


2009 Brazil and Paraguay blackout
The 2009 Brazil and Paraguay blackout was a power outage that occurred throughout much of Brazil and for a short time the entirety of Paraguay, on Tuesday, November 10, to Friday, 20 November, 2009, at approximately 22:15 BST. The blackout affected an estimated 60 million people in Brazil.


2009 Brazil and Paraguay blackout, Description
Thousands of passengers were stranded as metro trains came to a halt and buses failed to cope with the volume of passengers. There were widespread reports of road accidents as street lighting and traffic lights failed. The blackout began about 22:15 on Tuesday and lasted until about 02:45 on Wednesday in São Paulo, although power was restored gradually in some places from before midnight.


2009 Brazil and Paraguay blackout, Description, Causes
Heavy rains and strong winds caused three transformers on a key high-voltage transmission line to short circuit, cutting the line and automatically causing the complete loss of 14 GW of power and the  shutdown of the Itaipu Dam for the first time in its 25-year history. The power cut, which Brazilian officials said affected 18 of the country's 26 states, brought chaos to cities including São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Campo Grande and Vitória.


2009 Brazil and Paraguay blackout, Description, Causes
Media such as Slashdot and 60 Minutes reported that the outage was the work of hackers. However, in December, 2010, WikiLeaks released a US diplomatic cable which suggested otherwise. The cable also reported that it


2009 Brazil and Paraguay blackout, Description, Causes
represented a loss of 28,000 megawatts – or 45 percent of total Brazilian consumption at that instant – of electricity and left an estimated 87 million residents without power. Scrutiny has been intense and speculation rife over the cause of the incident, in large part due to the recent announcement of Rio as the host of the 2016 summer Olympics.


2009 Brazil and Paraguay blackout, Description, Causes
and indicated that the longest outage was 6 hours, in São Paulo, and details interim reports on what failures caused the outage, and responses under consideration.


2009 Brazil and Paraguay blackout, Description, Causes
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva arranged an emergency commission to enquire into the cause of the blackout. The blackout also unleashed a political stir as the  Minister of Energy has been summoned to testify before Congress.


2009 Brazil and Paraguay blackout, Affected regions, Paraguay
The Itaipu Dam is shared with Paraguay. In the immediate aftermath of its failure, interconnecting lines to Paraguay's other large powerplant, the Yacyreta Dam (in the border with Argentina), also failed. All of the country's territory was affected by the blackout.


2009 Brazilian Grand Prix
The 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix (formally the Formula 1 Grande Prêmio Petrobras do Brasil 2009) was a Formula One motor race held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo, Brazil on 18 October 2009. It was the sixteenth race of the 2009 Formula One World Championship.


2009 Brazilian Grand Prix
The 71-lap race was won by Mark Webber, driving a Red Bull-Renault. Webber took his second victory of the season, and the second of his career, by 7.6 seconds from Robert Kubica in a BMW Sauber, with Lewis Hamilton third in a McLaren-Mercedes. Jenson Button finished fifth in his Brawn-Mercedes to secure his first and only Drivers' Championship, while Brawn GP sealed the Constructors' Championship.


2009 Brazilian Grand Prix, Background
Local favourite Felipe Massa won the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix for Ferrari as Lewis Hamilton picked up the World Championship for McLaren by overtaking Timo Glock on the last corner of the race for 5th. Massa also won the race in 2006, and was runner-up to teammate Kimi Räikkönen in 2007 as the Finn took the World Championship. The World title had been won at Interlagos for the previous 4 years, with Hamilton, Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso (twice) taking the title. Alonso has never won the Brazilian GP, however, with Juan Pablo Montoya and  Massa winning the 2005 and 2006 races respectively. Another former Brazilian Grand Prix winner lining up was Giancarlo Fisichella, who won in 2003.


2009 Brazilian Grand Prix, Background
The race has a history of home success, with Massa, Ayrton Senna, Nelson Piquet Sr, Carlos Pace and Emerson Fittipaldi winning. Rubens Barrichello aimed for his first win at Interlagos, hoping to improve on his previous best placing of 3rd in 2004. Massa had targeted a return after injuries sustained in an accident in qualifying in the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix, but this was not possible. Massa instead was given the honour of waving the chequered flag at the end of the race.


2009 Brazilian Grand Prix, Background
Championship leader Jenson Button needed to finish within four points of teammate Barrichello to seal the 2009 drivers' title. Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel needed to finish first or second in order to stay in the running for the title fight. In the constructors' standings, Brawn GP required just half a point to be declared champions, while Red Bull Racing needed to finish first and second in both Brazil and Abu Dhabi with Brawn not scoring in either round to take the title for themselves.


2009 Brazilian Grand Prix, Background
GP2 driver and Toyota test driver Kamui Kobayashi replaced Toyota's Timo Glock after tests revealed that he had cracked a vertebra in his qualifying accident at the previous race at Suzuka.


2009 Brazilian Grand Prix, Qualifying report
Qualifying was dominated by a tropical storm that would interrupt the session for over an hour, and made the session last 2 hours and 41 minutes, the  longest qualifying session in the history of F1. The first session saw the elimination of Giancarlo Fisichella, both McLaren cars and championship contender Sebastian Vettel; Nick Heidfeld joined them as the fifth and final car eliminated. The rains set in after the first session, delaying qualifying until the circuit could be declared safe. Nico Rosberg topped the timing sheets with a lap time of 1:22.828.


2009 Brazilian Grand Prix, Qualifying report
When the weather had cleared and the cars eventually re-emerged, Rosberg would once again come out on top. The session was almost immediately red-flagged with Vitantonio Liuzzi crashing heavily at the first corner. Unable to set a time, he was subsequently eliminated. Q2 also saw the elimination of championship leader Jenson Button down in fourteenth and behind Jaime Alguersuari, Kamui Kobayashi and Romain Grosjean, the three least-experienced drivers in the field.


2009 Brazilian Grand Prix, Qualifying report
For the first time since the knockout qualifying system was introduced, the third and final ten-minute session was contested by drivers from nine of the ten teams, the only exclusion being McLaren, with both Hamilton and Kovalainen having been knocked out in the first session; Williams were the only team to field two cars in the final session. Jenson Button's closest championship rival and teammate Rubens Barrichello took his first pole since the 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix, on a drying circuit with a 1:19.576, but the release of the post-qualifying car weights revealed him to be the lightest car on the grid.


2009 Brazilian Grand Prix, Qualifying report, Qualifying classification
Cars that use the KERS system are marked with "‡"


2009 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race report
The opening lap was dominated by three separate incidents. Heikki Kovalainen made contact with Sebastian Vettel coming out of the Senna 'S', and while Vettel emerged unscathed, Kovalainen ran out of road and very nearly collected Fisichella, who was forced to go the long way around. The second incident took place just two corners later when Jarno Trulli tangled with Adrian Sutil while trying to make a pass coming out of the fifth corner.


2009 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race report
Both the Toyota and the Force India were eliminated, with Sutil taking out Fernando Alonso in the process when the Renault driver was unable to avoid his out-of-control Force India, an incident which caused the deployment of the safety car. The third and final incident took place in the pit lane; after his encounter with Vettel, Heikki Kovalainen pitted, followed closely by Kimi Räikkönen, the latter having damaged his front wing after light contact with Mark Webber.


2009 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race report
Kovalainen was released from his pit while the fuel hose was still attached, taking it with him and with it, a spray of fuel. Räikkönen's exhaust ignited the spilt fuel in a fireball, but no one was injured and both drivers were able to continue once Brawn mechanics extricated the McLaren fuel hose from Kovalainen's car.


2009 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race report
Pole-sitter Barrichello controlled the first phase of the race, though Mark Webber and Robert Kubica stayed in touch, just two and a half seconds adrift. Aided by the first-lap incidents and the safety car, Button was placed ninth at the end of the first lap. He proceeded to take Grosjean around the outside at Turn 6 and then Nakajima at the first corner once green-flag conditions resumed, before being held up by debutant Kamui Kobayashi. He was heard on the team radio voicing his displeasure at the newcomer's tactics in defending his line. When he finally cleared the Toyota driver, Button was able to build a lead of three and a half seconds on him in a single lap.


2009 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race report
Barrichello was unable to sustain the pace needed to maintain his lead over Webber, and in the first round of pit stops, the home town driver was passed by the Australian before coming under fire from Robert Kubica. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton — having started seventeenth — had pitted on the first lap and removed the softer tyre compound as his team switched him to a one-stop strategy.


2009 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race report
Other incidents early in the race saw Nick Heidfeld run out of fuel after his fuel-rig malfunctioned, whilst Kobayashi's blocking tactics removed fellow countryman Kazuki Nakajima's front wing, and the Williams driver crashed heavily at the fourth corner. His teammate Nico Rosberg had succumbed to gearbox troubles a few laps earlier.


2009 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race report
The second stage of the race saw Button leading a group of four one-stopping drivers, with their ultimate success or failures having consequences on the championship standings given Barrichello's position. Both Hamilton and then Vettel successfully leap-frogged Button after Button's second stop and the Briton was caught behind Kovalainen, though a fading Rubens Barrichello was in a position such that had the race ended there and then, Button would still be declared World Champion.


2009 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race report
Button inherited sixth position when Kovalainen pitted, while Hamilton managed a pass down the inside of Barrichello into the first corner that inadvertently damaged the Brazilian's tyre, causing a puncture and forcing him to pit. He resumed in eighth, with Vettel's fourth placing meaning that, barring a dramatic turn in events, Button would be the 2009 World Champion even if he retired.


2009 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race report
Mark Webber, who had led unchallenged since the first stops, went on to win the race, with Robert Kubica securing BMW Sauber's first podium since Malaysia. Lewis Hamilton's pass on Barrichello was good enough to net him third place and see McLaren overtake Ferrari for third in the constructors' standings.


2009 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race report
Sebastian Vettel was fourth when he needed to be first or second to continue the championship fight in Abu Dhabi, while Button's fifth place from fourteenth on the grid was enough for him to secure the 2009 World Championship, becoming the tenth British champion and the first British champion to succeed another since 1969, when Jackie Stewart succeeded Graham Hill as World Champion. He also became the second driver in succession to win a World Championship by finishing fifth in Brazil whilst driving a Mercedes-powered car carrying the number 22.


2009 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race report
Button used only one  chassis over the course of the season (most drivers change chassis several times), having driven it in every practice and qualifying session and race, meaning that he won the World Championship in the oldest car on the grid. Kimi Räikkönen, Sebastien Buemi and Rubens Barrichello rounded out the minor points placings.


2009 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race report
Felipe Massa was the chequered flag waver in this Grand Prix. The podium trophies were of an unusual three-pronged design and matt-turquoise in colour. They were designed by the architect Oscar Niemeyer and were constructed of recycled plastic bottle tops, collected on site over the course of the Grand Prix weekend, and remoulded at the site's plastic recycling plant. The initiative is to highlight sponsor Petrobras' green credentials.


2009 Brazilian Grand Prix, Race report, Race classification
Cars that use the KERS system are marked with "‡"


2009 Brazilian federal budget
The 2009 Brazilian federal budget was submitted to the National Congress of Brazil by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on August 27, 2008.


2009 Brazilian federal budget, Total receipts
The total receipts for fiscal year 2009 are estimated at US$657.9 billion.


2009 Brazilian floods and mudslides
The 2009 Brazilian floods and mudslides were a severe natural disaster principally affecting five northeastern states of Brazil. As a result of heavy rains, fourteen people were reported dead over a period of one month and at least 62,600 others had been left homeless as of 2 May 2009. Nineteen people were dead by 5 May 2009, with a significant increase in homeless people being reported, estimated at 186,000. The death toll by 8 May was thirty-nine and 270,000 people were reported homeless.


2009 Brazilian floods and mudslides
The state of Santa Catarina in the South of the country has also been damaged. A total of seven states have been affected across the country. Maranhão was the worst affected state, with at least six deaths and at least 40,700 homeless people occupying shelters.


2009 Brazilian floods and mudslides
The Amazon River Basin suffered its second-heaviest flood in one hundred years during this period. These are already the worst floods Brazil has experienced in over twenty years.


2009 Brazilian floods and mudslides
Reconstruction from the floods and mudslides are expected to take 3–5 years.


2009 Brazilian floods and mudslides, Developments
Heavy rain in Brazil began in early April 2009, affecting 40,000 people. 13,000 people were immediately left homeless and there were two quick deaths in Maranhão's state capital, São Luís, both as a result of mudslides. The homeless were half in shelters and half in the care of relatives. Thirteen of the state's municipalities had declared state of emergency.


2009 Brazilian floods and mudslides, Developments
On 23 April, it was reported that the disaster had already killed three people, including a one-month-old child from Salvador, the capital of Bahia, who was suffocated by a mudslide. Over 33,000 people had been made homeless at that stage; 30,000 of these were in Maranhão and 3,400 were in the adjacent state of Bahia.


2009 Brazilian floods and mudslides, Developments
At least 3,000 people lost their homes in Santa Catarina, whilst one died. The governor of Amazonas, Eduardo Braga, initiated a state of emergency in every one of his state's sixty-two municipalities. Fourteen people were reported dead within one month and at least 62,600 others were left homeless by 2 May 2009.


2009 Brazilian floods and mudslides, Developments
Nineteen people were dead by 5 May 2009, as a sharp rise in homelessness occurred. Homeless totals have been estimated at 186,000 individuals. Images of citizens travelling around in boats and barely visible rooftops were broadcast on television. Emergency shelters were said to be "packed" with homeless people. At least six major highways were closed in Maranhão. A railway used to transport iron ore and 1,300 people each day was also shut down. The governor of the state of Piauí declared state of emergency in nineteen of the state's towns and cities, and requested help from the military in rescuing people from the floods.


2009 Brazilian floods and mudslides, Developments
By this time, over 186,000 people were homeless. The death toll by 6 May was reported at twenty-nine.


2009 Brazilian floods and mudslides, Developments
The death toll by 8 May was thirty-nine and 270,000 people were reported homeless.


2009 Brazilian floods and mudslides, Developments
By 10 May, it was being reported that over 300,000 people were homeless and 44 had been killed.


2009 Brazilian floods and mudslides, Reaction
President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, inspected the damage by air and brought food to those displaced by the disaster. He commented: "We need to look more seriously into the climate situation these days. Something is changing and we still have time to fix it." (i.e. : Mass De-Forestation?) Brazil's Health Ministrer José Gomes Temporão has promised to deliver medical supplies to Maranhão.


2009 Brazilian girl abortion case
In 2009, a 9-year-old girl was forcibly impregnated by her stepfather; the girl's mother helped her procure an abortion. The twin pregnancy was terminated. Archbishop José Sobrinho affirmed that the girl's mother and the doctors who performed the abortion had been automatically excommunicated under Canon Law. This prompted an array of national and international criticism for the Archbishop's actions. In response, the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil declared that no one was excommunicated in the case, and in an article published on L'Osservatore Romano a Vatican bioethicist rebuked the archbishop for his public statement.


2009 Brazilian girl abortion case, Law
Abortion is legal under Brazilian law in cases of pregnancies resulting from rape or in which giving birth would endanger the mother's life.


2009 Brazilian girl abortion case, Law
The 1983 Code of Canon Law says that automatic excommunication is imposed on "a person who procures a completed abortion" (Canon 1398), but not if, for instance, the act was done "by a person who was coerced by grave fear, even if only relatively grave, or due to necessity or grave inconvenience unless the act is intrinsically evil or tends to the harm of souls".


2009 Brazilian girl abortion case, The abortion
Doctors in Recife performed an abortion on the nine-year-old girl on 4 March 2009. They judged her life to be at risk because of her age and because she was pregnant with twins and weighed 80 pounds. According to Fatima Maia, the director of the hospital CISAM, if the pregnancy continued, the child could suffer a ruptured uterus and hemorrhage, and she also ran the risk of diabetes, hypertension, eclampsia and lifelong sterility. She had been raped, allegedly by her stepfather.


2009 Brazilian girl abortion case, Sobrinho's view and actions
As well as expressly denying that he had excommunicated anyone, but had only said that excommunication had been automatically incurred, Sobrinho said that "the law of God is higher than any human laws. When a human law—that is, a law enacted by human legislators—is against the law of God, that law has no value. The adults who approved, who carried out this abortion have incurred excommunication." In an interview, he added: "They took the life of an innocent. Abortion is much more serious than killing an adult.


2009 Brazilian girl abortion case, Sobrinho's view and actions
An adult may or may not be an innocent, but an unborn child is most definitely innocent. Taking that life cannot be ignored." Sobrinho explained that the rapist stepfather was not excommunicated because abortion, the taking of an innocent life, is even worse than rape. The girl was not excommunicated, because minors are exempt from excommunication. Archbishop Sobrinho and his diocese also tried to prevent the abortion by approaching the child's parents, the State Governor and the hospital where she was first admitted, after which it put off the abortion indefinitely. His lawyers then issued legal threats against the second hospital where the abortion finally took place.


2009 Brazilian girl abortion case, Government reaction
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a Catholic, criticized what he called the "conservative attitude" of the Archbishop in a case where the doctors were trying to save the girl's life, adding: "In this case, the medical profession was more right than the Church."


2009 Brazilian girl abortion case, Government reaction
Health Minister José Gomes Temporão described what he called the Catholic Church's position as "extreme, radical and inadequate". Temporão, who had frequently clashed with the Church on questions such as abortion and state distribution of free condoms, called on the participants in a national convention on women's health to acknowledge the "brilliant" work done by the medical team who performed the abortion.


2009 Brazilian girl abortion case, Church hierarchy's view, National Conference of Bishops of Brazil
The National Conference of Bishops of Brazil repudiated Sobrinho's initiative. At a press conference, Bishop Dimas Lara Barbosa, Secretary General of the Conference, said that the girl's mother was not excommunicated, since she had acted under pressure to save her daughter's life, and that there were no grounds to declare the doctors excommunicated, because (automatic) excommunication depended on each one's degree of awareness and only those who were "aware and contumacious" were excommunicated. At the press conference, a document on excommunication written by canonist Enrique Pérez Pujol, who stressed that the penalty should not be applied amid a polemic, was distributed to journalists.


2009 Brazilian girl abortion case, Church hierarchy's view, National Conference of Bishops of Brazil
Archbishop Geraldo Lyrio Rocha, President of the Conference, avoided answering a question whether Sobrinho had acted hastily in saying that automatic excommunication had occurred. He said that "at no time did he want to hurt someone who was already hurting, but only wished to draw attention to the gravity of the deed of abortion in the face of a certain permissiveness regarding the life of the unborn".


2009 Brazilian girl abortion case, Church hierarchy's view, National Conference of Bishops of Brazil
He said that Sobrinho had excommunicated no one, but had pointed out that abortion entails the possibility of excommunication, which is a measure intended to make not only an individual but the whole Church community take note of the gravity of the deed. As for the rapist, he said that a rapist "is outside of communion" and "in grave mortal sin", even though rape is not listed among the crimes that give rise to automatic excommunication. He said: "Rape is something so repugnant that the Church does not need to call attention to it. It is punished by the state justice system, which does not punish abortion so much." He said that talk of excommunication seemed to have made people forget the crime of the rapist, who needed to be punished.


2009 Brazilian girl abortion case, Church hierarchy's view, Rino Fisichella
The Holy See's non-official newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, published a front-page article on 15 March by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Academy for Life, that was highly critical of Sobrinho's action. Fisichella said that excommunication was automatic, so that focusing on it rather than on helping and supporting the child victim showed a lack of compassion that detracted from the credibility of the Church's anti-abortion teaching.


2009 Brazilian girl abortion case, Church hierarchy's view, Rino Fisichella
After reiterating the church's condemnation of abortion, he wrote that the moral situation was difficult because of the girl's young age and the risk to her life and praised those who "allowed [her] to live and will help [her] to recover hope and trust". He wrote: "The conscience of the physician finds itself alone when forced to decide the best thing to do. A choice like that of having to save a life, knowing that one puts a second at serious risk, never comes easily."


2009 Brazilian girl abortion case, Church hierarchy's view, Rino Fisichella
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith responded to press coverage of Fisichella's article calling it manipulation and exploitation. It issued a clarification that the article did not signal a change of doctrine and said that "the Church's teaching on procured abortion has not changed, nor can it change". The clergy of the Archdiocese of Olinda and Recife took issue with Fisichella, stating that the local Church had been supportive of the girl and her mother. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith ruled that Sobrinho had acted "with all pastoral solicitude". The members of the Academy gave Fisichella a vote of no confidence because of his article, and he was reassigned in the next year to the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization.


2009 Brazilian girl abortion case, Church hierarchy's view, Others
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, deplored what he called an attack on the Church in Brazil: "It is a sad case, but the real problem is that the twins conceived were two innocent persons, who had the right to live and could not be eliminated. Life must always be protected. The attack on the Brazilian church is unjustified." He added that excommunication of those who performed the abortion was just.


2009 Brazilian girl abortion case, Church hierarchy's view, Others
Bishop Jean-Michel di Falco of Gap, France, criticized what he saw as the un-Christlike nature of Sobrinho's statement. He said that bishops should act as pastors rather than executioners. As had the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil, he denied the applicability of Canon 1398 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law to the girl's mother, because such an automatic excommunication does not apply to someone who acts out of grave fear.


2009 Brazilian girl abortion case, Other reactions
On 9 March 2009, Health Minister Temporão interrupted the opening ceremony of a national medical convention on women's health in Brasília in order to compliment Dr. Olímpio Moraes, one of the doctors who carried out the abortion and who was in attendance. Participants gave Moraes a standing ovation.


2009 Brazilian girl abortion case, Other reactions
Moraes expressed gratitude to Sobrinho for the excommunication, which, he said, had drawn attention to Brazil's restrictive abortion laws. Another of the doctors involved said that he will continue attending Mass, "praying, conversing with God, and asking him to illuminate me and my colleagues in our medical team to help us take care of people in similar cases."


2009 Brazilian girl abortion case, Other reactions
The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its January 2014 assessment of the Holy See's compliance with the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, cited this Brazil case. It "urge[d] the Holy See to review its position on abortion which places obvious risks on the life and health of pregnant girls and to amend Canon 1398 relating to abortion with a view to identifying circumstances under which access to abortion services can be permitted."


2009 Brașov Challenger
The 2009 Brașov Challenger was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor red clay courts. This was the 14th edition of the tournament which was part of the 2009 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Brașov, Romania between 31 August and 6 September 2009.


2009 Brașov Challenger, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2009 Brașov Challenger, Champions, Doubles
Pere Riba /  Pablo Santos def. Simone Vagnozzi /  Uros Vico, 6–3, 6–2


2009 Brașov Challenger – Doubles
David Marrero and Daniel Muñoz-de la Nava were the defending champions, but they chose not to participate that year. Pere Riba and Pablo Santos won the final against Simone Vagnozzi and Uros Vico 6–3, 6–2.


2009 Brașov Challenger – Singles
Daniel Gimeno-Traver was the defending champion, but chose not to participate that year. Thiemo de Bakker won in the final 7–5, 6–0, against Pere Riba.


2009 Breeders' Cup
The 2009 Breeders' Cup World Championships were the 26th edition of thoroughbred racing's season ending premier event, and took place on November 6 and 7 during the Oak Tree meeting at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The event was telecast by ESPN. The Breeders' Cup is generally regarded as the end of the North America racing season, although a few Grade I events take place in later November and December.


2009 Breeders' Cup
The highlight of the weekend was Zenyatta's victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic, marking the first time a female horse had won the race. Horses from Europe and California won the majority of races.


2009 Breeders' Cup, Highlights
The Breeders' Cup Classic was the most anticipated race of the 2009 event, especially because of the decision by the connections of mare Zenyatta to enter her against male horses in the race instead of attempting to defend her title in the Ladies Classic (aka the Distaff). Zenyatta would face eight grade/group I-winning males, including horses who had won the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, Travers Stakes (in both 2008 and 2009), Jockey Club Gold Cup, Santa Anita Handicap, Pacific Classic, Arlington Million, Man o’ War, Champion Stakes, Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, Sussex Stakes, and Manhattan Handicap.


2009 Breeders' Cup, Highlights
Zenyatta ran in last for most of the race then starting making up ground on the far turn, racing on the inside to save ground. When her path along the rail was blocked, she angled sharply to switch paths to the outside, then started closing again, eventually defeating Gio Ponti by a length. She became the first female to win the Classic in its 26-year history. "I was able to cut the corner with her off the turn, and that made the difference," said jockey Mike Smith. "She started to get to them in the stretch, and the crowd started screaming. Then she started looking at the crowd, so I had to get after her a little bit, but she still won within herself."


2009 Breeders' Cup, Highlights
European horses enjoyed success with two wins on Friday (Midday in the Filly & Mare Turf and Man of Iron in the Marathon), followed by four wins on Saturday (Pounced in the Juvenile Turf, Vale of York in the Juvenile, Goldikova in the Mile, Conduit in the Turf). California-based horses won several of the remaining races, including Zenyatta in the Classic, her stablemate Life Is Sweet in the Ladies Classic, California Flag in the Turf Sprint and Dancing in Silks in the Sprint.


2009 Breeders' Cup, Highlights
The relatively poor showing by horses from the East Coast was attributed by some to the synthetic dirt surface of the main track, with which horses from the East Coast had little experience. Noted turf writer Andrew Beyer wrote, "If the Breeders' Cup is a championship race, it's the championship of California, Britain and a few scattered tracks that have installed synthetic surfaces. But it is not a championship event in the way its creators intended."


2009 Breeders' Cup, Highlights
The total handle (amount bet) at the Breeders' Cup exceeded $150 million for the first time, up by over 4% from 2008. In addition, an estimated $24.75 million was wagered through Betfair. There was one winning Pick-6 ticket on the Saturday card, which paid $1,838,305. The television ratings on ESPN were also up, particularly for the segment covering the Classic, which increased from a 1.1 rating in 2008 to a 3.1 in 2009.


2009 Breeders' Cup Classic
The 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic was the 26th running of the Breeders' Cup Classic, part of the 2009 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships program. It was run on November 7, 2009 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California with a purse of $5,000,000.


2009 Breeders' Cup Classic
For the first time in the race's history, a mare won when Zenyatta closed from last place to win by a length. The race was named the NTRA Moment of the Year.