2008–09 Australian region cyclone season, Systems, Tropical Cyclone Kirrily
On 18 April, TCWC Darwin and TCWC Jakarta reported that a weak tropical low had developed within the Arafura Sea near the Tanimbar Islands. Over the next week, the low remained weak as it moved towards the eastwards, before it turned towards the northwest during 25 April. JTWC reported the system's chances forming into a significant Tropical Cyclone within 24 hours as "poor".


2008–09 Australian region cyclone season, Systems, Tropical Cyclone Kirrily
Later on 26 April, JTWC upgraded the low's chances of forming from "poor" to "fair" and later in afternoon the low strengthened with JTWC upgrading the low from "fair" to "good" and issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert. Joint Typhoon Warning Center designated the system as Tropical Cyclone 27S later on 27 April. In the afternoon, TCWC Darwin upgraded 23U to a Category 1 tropical cyclone and designated it as Tropical Cyclone Kirrily.


2008–09 Australian region cyclone season, Systems, Tropical Cyclone Kirrily
Later that day, as it made landfall over Aru Islands, the low weakened slightly and JTWC downgraded Kirrily to tropical depression, and TCWC Darwin downgraded Kirrily to a tropical low. In the afternoon of the 27th, the JTWC again upgraded Kirrily into tropical storm. During 28 April the JTWC issued their final warning on Kirrily before the BoM downgraded the storm to a tropical low.


2008–09 Australian region cyclone season, Systems, Tropical Low 24U
On 10 May, TCWC Perth started monitoring on a tropical low over 07S 98E. The system meandered for several days, until it was last mentioned in TCWC Perth's outlooks on 18 May.


2008–09 Austrian Cup
The Austrian Cup 2008–09 (German: ÖFB-Cup, also Stiegl-Cup for sponsoring purposes) was the seventy-fifth season of Austria's nationwide football cup competition. It started on July 18, 2008 with the first game of the Preliminary Round. The final was held at the Pappelstadion, Mattersburg on 16 May 2009.


2008–09 Austrian Cup
The competition was won by Austria Vienna after beating Trenkwalder Admira 3–1 after extra time. It was the 27th Austrian Cup title for the team from Vienna, who also qualified for the third qualifying round of the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League in the process.


2008–09 Austrian Cup, Preliminary round
The Preliminary Round involved 58 amateur clubs from all regional federations, divided into smaller groups according to the Austrian federal states. Twenty-nine games were played between July 18 and August 3, 2008, with the winners advancing to the First Round.


2008–09 Austrian Cup, First round
In this round entered, together with the winners from the previous round, all twenty-two clubs from the Bundesliga and the First League, as well as the nine regional cup winners. The draw for this round was conducted on August 4, 2008. The games were played on August 14 – 17, 2008.


2008–09 Austrian Cup, Second round
The draw of the Second Round was conducted on August 19, 2008. The games were played on September 12 and 13, 2008.


2008–09 Austrian Cup, Third round
The winners of last year's competition, SV Horn, entered in this round. The draw for this round was conducted on September 14, 2008. The games were played on October 28 and 29, 2008.


2008–09 Austrian Cup, Quarterfinals
The draw for this round was conducted on November 9, 2008.


2008–09 Austrian Cup, Semifinals
The draw for this round was conducted on 8 March 2009.


2008–09 Austrian Football Bundesliga
The Austrian Football Bundesliga 2008–09 was the 97th season of top-tier football in Austria. The competition is officially called tipp3-Bundesliga powered by T-Mobile, named after the Austrian betting company tipp3 and the Austrian branch of German mobile phone company T-Mobile. The season started on 8 July 2008 with Sturm Graz beating defending champions Rapid Vienna by 3–1. The 36th and last round of matches took place on 31 May 2009.


2008–09 Austrian Football Bundesliga, Team changes from last season
Fußballclub Wacker Innsbruck were relegated after finishing the 2007–08 season in 10th and last place. They were replaced by First League champions Kapfenberger SV.


2008–09 Austrian Football Bundesliga, Results
Teams played each other four times in the league. In the first half of the season each team played every other team twice (home and away), and then did the same in the second half of the season.


2008–09 Austrian Football First League
The 2008–09 Austrian Football First League was the 35th season of second-level football in Austria, since its introduction in 1974.


2008–09 Austrian Football First League
SC Wiener Neustadt, which bought the league license of SC Schwanenstadt along with most of their players at the end of the 2007–08 season due to the latter's insolvency, won the First League championship and were promoted to the 2009–10 Bundesliga. Three teams were relegated to the Regional Leagues. SV Grödig and 1. FC Vöcklabruck sealed their fate based upon competitive criteria, while DSV Leoben did not apply for a professional license and thus were automatically demoted.


2008–09 Austrian Football First League, Schedule
Every team played each other three times. The season started on 11 July 2008 and finished on 29 May 2009. Between 29 November 2008 and 6 March 2009, no matches were played due to winter break.


2008–09 Austrian Football First League, Schedule
FC Wacker Innsbruck had been relegated from the 2007–08 Austrian Football Bundesliga. The teams promoted from the Regional Leagues had been SV Grödig (West), 1. FC Vöcklabruck (Central) and SKN St. Pölten (East).


2008–09 Austrian Hockey League season
The 2008–09 Austrian Hockey League season was the 79th season of the Austrian Hockey League, the top level of ice hockey in Austria. 10 teams participated in the league, and EC KAC won the championship.


2008–09 Austrian National League season
The 2008-09 Austrian National League season was contested by eight teams, and saw EHC Lustenau win the championship. All eight teams that participated in the regular season qualified for the playoffs.


2008–09 Ayr United F.C. season
The 2008–09 season is the 99th season of competitive football by Ayr United.


2008–09 Azadegan League
The 2008–09 Azadegan League was the 18th season of the Azadegan League and eight as the second highest division since its establishment in 1991. The season featured 22 teams from the 2007–08 Azadegan League, two new teams relegated from the 2007–08 Persian Gulf Cup: Sanat Naft and Shirin Faraz and four new teams promoted from the 2007–08 2nd Division: Aluminium Hormozgan as champions and Mehrkam Pars, Payam Mokhaberat and Petroshimi Tabriz. Sanaye Arak changed their name into Aluminium Arak. The league started on 23 October 2008 and ended on 8 June 2009. Steel Azin and Tractor Sazi won the Azadegan League title for the first time in their history. Steel Azin, Tractor Sazi and Shahin Bushehr promoted to the Persian Gulf Cup.


2008–09 Azadegan League, Attendances, Average home attendances
Updated to games played on 8 June 2009Source: Notes:Matches with spectator bans are not included in average attendancesSanat Naft and Shirin Faraz played last season in Persian Gulf CupAluminium Hormozgan, Mehrkam Pars, Payam Mokhaberat and Petroshimi Tabriz played last season in Iran 2nd Division  Sanaye Arak changed their name into Aluminium Arak


2008–09 Azerbaijan Cup
The Azerbaijan Cup 2008–09 was the 17th season of the annual cup competition in Azerbaijan. It started on 17 September 2008 with two games of Preliminary Round and ended on 23 May 2009 with the Final held at Tofik Bakhramov Stadium in Baku. Khazar Lenkoran were the defending champions. Eighteen teams compete in this year's competition.


2008–09 Azerbaijan Cup, Preliminary round
Four lower division teams, qualified for this competition due to unknown reasons, played out two participants who would join the fourteen teams of the Azerbaijan Premier League in the next round. The games were played on September 17 (first legs) and September 24, 2008 (second legs).


2008–09 Azerbaijan Cup, Round of 16
The two winners from the Preliminary Round joined fourteen Premier League teams in this round. The first legs were played on October 29 and 30, 2008. The second legs were played on November 5 and 6, 2008.


2008–09 Azerbaijan Cup, Quarterfinals
The first legs were played on February 25 while the second legs were played on March 11 and 12, 2009.


2008–09 Azerbaijan Cup, Semifinals
The first legs were played on April 29, 2009. The second legs were played on May 6, 2009.


2008–09 Azerbaijan First Division
The 2008–09 Azerbaijan First Division  is the second-level of football in Azerbaijan. The season is started on 6 September 2009 with eight teams participating in the league. NBC Salyan were the defending champions.


2008–09 Azerbaijan First Division
ABN Bärdä won the league, with Shahdag finishing as runners up. Both teams were due to be promoted to the Azerbaijan Premier League, but due to the AFFA's license policy, neither teams were.


2008–09 Azerbaijan First Division, Schedule
Each team played each other four times, twice at home and twice away, with the season started on 6 September 2008 and finished on 16 May 2009. There were no games between 7 December 2008 and 15 February 2009, due to the annual winter break.


2008–09 Azerbaijan Premier League
The 2008–09 Azerbaijan Premier League is the 17th season of Azerbaijan Premier League, the Azerbaijani professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992. Inter Baku were the defending champions, having won the previous season.


2008–09 Azerbaijan Premier League, Teams
FK Gänclärbirliyi Sumqayit and ABN Bärdä were relegated after finishing the previous season in 13th and 14th place, respectively. They were replaced by the champions of the two groups in the Azerbaijan First Division, Bakılı Baku and MOIK Baku.


2008–09 Azerbaijan Premier League, Teams
On 8 July 2008, FK Masallı withdrew their participation from the league, citing competitional and financial problems as reasons. Although it was unclear as of 21 July if the Azerbaijan Football Federation would be naming a substitute or if the championship would start with just 13 teams, shortly thereafter AFFA named FK NBC Salyan to replace Masallı in top league.


2008–09 Azerbaijan Premier League, Teams
On 31 October 2008, FK NBC Salyan changed their name to FK Mughan.


2008–09 Azerbaijan Premier League, Teams, Stadia and locations
1Karabakh played their home matches at Surakhani Stadium in Baku before moving to their current stadium on 3 May 2009.


2008–09 B Group
The 2008–09 B Group was the 54th season of the Bulgarian B Football Group, the second tier of the Bulgarian football league system. The season started on 16 August 2008 and finished on 17 June 2009 with the A Group promotion play-off between the runners-up from both divisions.


2008–09 B Group, Stadia, Locations and Results, West B Group, Teams Competing
1FC Bansko replaced FC Pirin Blagoevgrad, last season's winners of the South-West group, when it merged with another club from Blagoevgrad, which is playing the A PFG.


2008–09 B Group, Stadia, Locations and Results, East B Group, Teams Competing
1No second team from North-Eastern V group was promoted because the winners, Dobrudzha Dobrich, and Ariston Ruse, team that should have replaced it, refused to participate and will play in this season's V Group.


2008–09 B.League
The 2008–09 B.League season was the second season of B.League. The season started on 13 September 2008 and concluded on 17 February 2009.


2008–09 B.League
Abahani Ltd. were the defending champions, and they successfully defended their title.


2008–09 B.League, League System
11 teams participated in the league just like the previous year. Season started on 13 September, 2008 and ended in March 2009. Each team will play each other home & away twice. There is no promotion or relegation system. Teams participating in the league is not allowed to participate in the local league. As the clubs do not have their own stadium. Bangladesh Football Federation will distribute stadiums located in & nearby outside Dhaka. Each team will play 1 match a week. Matches will be on Friday & Saturday. Each team will have a 23-member squad which is already announced.


2008–09 B.League, League System
Winner of a match will receive 2 points, lost 0 points & if drawn, 1 point. There is no limitation for foreign player registration. But each team can play 3 foreigners at a time. The league winner will receive a large amount of prize money. The amount is not announced yet.


2008–09 B.League, Teams
12 teams were added to the league, with Fakirerpool Young Men's Club earning promotion by winning the 2007–08 Dhaka League, however the club was not invited to enter and the season started with 11 teams like the inaugural season.


2008–09 BAI Basket
The 2008–09 Season of BAI Basket (31st edition) ran from November 20, 2008 through May 16, 2009, with 12 teams playing in three different stages: in stage one (regular season) teams played a double round robin system. In stage two, the six best teams played a single round robin tournament in serie A and the last six did the same for the consolation group, serie B. Finally, in stage three (final four) the best four teams from serie A played in a round robin at four rounds for the title. The winners of the regular season and of the serie A are awarded a bonus point for the serie A and the final four, respectively.


2008–09 BAI Basket, Regular Season (November 20, 2008 - March 09, 2009
The home team is listed on the left-hand column. The rightmost column and the bottom row list the teams' home and away records respectively.


2008–09 BAI Basket, Group Stage (March 20 – April 3, 2009)
The home team is listed on the left-hand column. The rightmost column and the bottom row list the teams' home and away records respectively.


2008–09 BIBL season
The 2008-09 season is the first season of the Balkan International Basketball League. Ten teams from the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia are competing.


2008–09 BIBL season, Format, Regular season
In the regular season the teams will be divided into two groups, each containing five teams. Each team plays every other team in its group at home and away. The top 4 teams in each group advance to the playoffs. Games will be played from October 7, 2008 to February 18, 2009.


2008–09 BIBL season, Format, Quarterfinals
The top four teams in each group advance for the quarterfinals. The winner of Group A/Group B will play with the fourth placed team in Group B/Group A and the second placed team in Group A/Group B will play with the third in Group B/Group A.


2008–09 BIBL season, Format, Final four
The four remaining teams play a semifinal match and the winners of those advance to the final. The losers play in a third-place playoff.


2008–09 BIBL season, Quarterfinals
First legs were on 25 and 26 February and 6 March, second legs were held on March 3, 4 and 10th


2008–09 BYU Cougars men's basketball team
The 2008–09 BYU Cougars men's basketball team represented Brigham Young University in the 2008–09 college basketball season. This was head coach Dave Rose's fourth season at BYU. The Cougars competed in the Mountain West Conference and played their home games at the Marriott Center.


2008–09 Bahrain Classification Soccer League
This season, Bahraini Premier League will be known as the Bahrain Classification Soccer League 2008–09 and will consist of 19 teams which will play each other once. The top 10 teams will join the new Premier League in 2009–10 and the bottom 9 teams will form a new Division 2 championship.


2008–09 Bahrain Classification Soccer League
The top two sides enter the 2009 Gulf Club Champions Cup


2008–09 Bahrain Classification Soccer League, Final league table, End of season playoff
Al Hadd and Al Hala went into an end of season play-off to determine which side would stay in the Premier League for the following season. Al Hala won the game 1-0 after extra time.


2008–09 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team
The 2008–09 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team was an NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Mid-American Conference.


2008–09 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team, Roster
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.


2008–09 Baltic Basketball League
Baltic Basketball League 2008–09 was the fifth edition of Baltic Basketball League.


2008–09 Bangalore Super Division
The 2008–09 Bangalore Super Division was the eighth season of the Bangalore Super Division, the third tier of the Indian football system and the top tier of the Karnataka football system. It began on 19 February 2009 and concluded on 9 May.


2008–09 Bangalore Super Division
A total of 15 teams competed in the league. HASC emerged as champion.


2008–09 Bangladesh women's Tri-Nation Series
The 2008–09 Bangladesh women's Tri-Nation series was a cricket tournament that was held from 6 to 17 February 2009 in Bangladesh. It was a tri-nation series featuring Bangladesh women, Pakistan women and Sri Lanka women, with the second, third and the final matches played as Women's One Day Internationals (WODIs). As Bangladesh women had not received ODI status when the tournament was being held, the matches involving Bangladesh women were not played with WODI status.


2008–09 Bangladesh women's Tri-Nation Series
The WODI fixtures were originally the part of Pakistan and Sri Lanka's preparation for the 2009 Women's Cricket World Cup. Grameenphone, the country's leading mobile phone operator, earned the right to sponsor the women's tri-nation series.


2008–09 Bangladesh women's Tri-Nation Series
The hosts started their campaign disappointingly as they lost the inaugural match of the series by 7 wickets against Pakistan women. Sri Lanka women were the first team to qualify for the final, after they beat Pakistan women by 115 runs and won their three consecutive matches in the tournament.


2008–09 Bangladesh women's Tri-Nation Series
Bangladesh women won their only match of the tournament, on 13 February 2009 by 6 wickets, when they bowled out Sri Lanka women for just 67 runs, to keep the final hopes alive. However, in the following match, Pakistan women restricted Bangladesh to 94 runs in the first innings, and beat the hosts by 9 wickets to reach the final. Sri Lanka women won by 6 wickets in the final match against Pakistan, and was crowned as the champions of the tri-nation series.


2008–09 Bangladeshi cricket season
The 2008–09 Bangladeshi cricket season featured Test series between Bangladesh and New Zealand, and between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.


2008–09 Bangladeshi cricket season, Test series
New Zealand played two Test matches and three One Day Internationals in Bangladesh in October 2008, winning one Test and two ODIs. The other Test was drawn, and Bangladesh won the remaining ODI. Sri Lanka also played two Tests in Bangladesh in December 2008 and January 2009, winning both. They were also involved in a triangular ODI tournament with Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh in the final.


2008–09 Barako Bull Energy Boosters season
The 2008–09 Barako Bull Energy Boosters season is the 9th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).


2008–09 Barangay Ginebra Kings season
The 2008–09 Barangay Ginebra Kings season was the 30th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The head coach for the season was Jong Uichico, and Eric Menk, David Noel, Ronald Tubid, Jayjay Helterbrand, and Paul Artadi played the starting lineup. The Kings finished third in the Philippine Cup. The Kings also added Junjun Cabatu as afree agent–before playing for the Kings, he played for the Alaska Aces.


2008–09 Barangay Ginebra Kings season, Statistics, Philippine Cup
Player Stats as of January 29, 2008. 5:30 p.m. PHI Time


2008–09 Barnet F.C. season
The 2008–09 season saw Barnet competed in Football League Two, alongside the FA Cup, Football League Cup and Football League Trophy.


2008–09 Barnet F.C. season, Season summary
The 2008–09 season started poorly, and by late September only the three teams that had been docked points prior to the start of the season had lower league positions. After a run of thirteen games without a win in any competition Paul Fairclough announced his resignation to take up a role as director and leaving the first team duties to his assistant Ian Hendon. Fairclough would take over one last game which resulted in a 2–0 win against another relegation threatened side AFC Bournemouth. Results improved, and before the end of the season Hendon was made permanent boss on a 2-year contract.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season
The 2008–09 season of Barnsley Football Club saw the club participate in the Football League Championship.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, Preparation for 2008–09
The first signing for the new season was announced on 25 June; Canadian international striker Iain Hume in a £1.2 million switch from relegated Leicester City , the club's first seven-figure signing since 1999. On 27 June Barnsley again dipped into the transfer market to sign Argentine defensive midfielder Hugo Colace from Newell's Old Boys and French left winger come left-back Mounir El Haimour from Swiss side Neuchâtel Xamax. On 2 July, a transfer was secured for experienced central defender Darren Moore of Derby County.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, Preparation for 2008–09
The final pre-season transfer came on 8 August with a season-long loan deal for former Dutch U21 star Maceo Rigters from Blackburn Rovers. On 26 January 2009, it was confirmed that Daniel Bogdanovic had signed for Barnsley for an undisclosed fee, signing a deal until 2010. Michael Mifsud joined Barnsley on loan until the end of the season on 2 February 2009 on the same day as Andranik Teymourian and Adam Hammill joining fellow Malta teammate Daniel Bogdanovic at Oakwell.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Overview
Barnsley had a poor start to their 2008–09 season, winning only two of their first ten league matches and going for a run of five games without scoring a goal. The Reds clinched the loan signing of Derby winger Gary Teale for a month on 15 August, covering for the midfield injuries of Mounir El Haimour, Jamal Campbell-Ryce and the failure to gain international clearance for Hugo Colace.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Overview
The team received a boost the following month when Colace's work permit was finally granted, along with the return to fitness of both Heinz Muller and Anderson, who had been out injured for seven months. The club also made history in their away game at Ipswich Town on 30 September when they fielded striker Reuben Noble-Lazarus, who became the Football League's youngest ever player at 15 years and 45 days; beating a record which had stood since 1929.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Overview
The tykes achieved their second league win of the season as they came from behind with ten men to beat Doncaster Rovers 4–1 at Oakwell in a thrilling second half display. However, the disappointing away form continued with a 3–0 defeat to Crystal Palace. Fortunately, the following Tuesday, the Reds defeated Sheffield Wednesday for the first time in eight years by prevailing 2–1. A 0–0 draw with Bristol City was next, then the month was capped off in fine style with a 1–0 win over Doncaster Rovers at the Keepmoat Stadium.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Overview
The Reds began November as they had ended October, with an away win. This time Charlton yielded to the Reds. The next game, at home to Sheffield Utd was to bring mountains of controversy. The main talking point of the game was the injury to Barnsley striker Iain Hume who suffered a fractured skull and internal bleeding after being elbowed by Chris Morgan. Barnsley are pondering whether to pursue legal action against Morgan for the challenge which could have ended Hume's life as well as his career.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Overview
Barnsley defeated Watford, again coming from behind to win, before losing late on to play off candidates Preston North End F.C.. Despite this, on the live sky game, and almost blowing a 3–0 lead, Burnley were beaten at Oakwell. 3–2.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
Barnsley's new season got off to a flying start with Iain Hume scoring his first Barnsley goal just five minutes into his debut. However, two goals in as many minutes from Fitz Hall resulted in a defeat despite a battling performance from the side. Marciano van Homoet was dismissed late on for a crude challenge on Dani Parejo.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
Two penalties from Michael O'Connor and Anthony Elding were enough to see Crewe through to Round Two despite a possession barrage from the Reds throughout the game.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
The visitors put themselves in front after ten minutes here, with a strike from Freddy Eastwood. Captain Brian Howard managed an equaliser just before the break, but a second half goal from Julian Gray proved decisive. Iain Hume was sent off late on for the hosts.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
Goals from Kevin Phillips and Garry O'Connor were enough to see Birmingham to a 2–0 win at St Andrews despite a gallant performance from the Reds.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
It took seventy-one minutes, but a stunning strike from Iain Hume and a Stephen Foster header were enough to secure Barnsley's first win of the season against struggling Derby County.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
A single goal by Steve Kabba in the 86th minute sunk the Reds who had the best of the game.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
Another disappointing result for Barnsley as Cardiff left Oakwell with all three points. Peter Whittingham scored the only goal of the game following a defensive error by Darren Moore.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
Another goalless performance from the Reds should have reaped reward when Iain Hume rounded the keeper, only to shoot into the side netting. This game marked the return to fitness of Heinz Muller and Anderson, as well as being Brian Howard's last game in a Barnsley shirt before his move to Sheffield United.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
Goalless again after another frustrating day for the reds. Jon Macken missed a penalty kick in the first half.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
Goals from Jon Stead, Owen Garvan and Iván Campo heaped the pressure upon Barnsley manager Simon Davey. The main talking point of the match, however, was Reuben Noble-Lazarus who came off the bench to become the Football League's youngest ever player at 15 years and 45 days.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
Barnsley found themselves a goal down early on in this derby match thanks to a penalty from Brian Stock and down to ten men as Darren Moore was sent off early in the second half. However, a headed goal from Stephen Foster and a spectacular individual effort from Jamal Campbell-Ryce, as well as further strikes from substitute Jon Macken and Iain Hume, ended their five game goal drought and made this their second win of the season. The result also equalled the Red's best result under manager Simon Davey.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
Another poor away performance from the Reds saw Crystal Palace ease to victory in this encounter with a first-half penalty from Ben Watson, who scored another in the second half before Shefki Kuqi made it three.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
A second home derby win of the season gave the fans something to smile about here, with Iain Hume putting his side in front after just four minutes. The Reds cause was helped with the sending off of Tony McMahon thirty minutes later, and a second-half penalty which Jamal Campbell-Ryce slotted home rendering Leon Clarke's subsequent penalty a mere consolation.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
A game the Reds should have won turned into a 0–0 draw. Jon Macken and Iain Hume should both have scored but were denied by Adriano Basso.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
Barnsley completed the early season double over Donny after a 1–0 win at the Keepmoat Stadium. A 42nd-minute goal from Jon Macken was enough to give the Reds all three points.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
A second successive away win for the Reds sees them rise significantly in the table. Jon Macken open the scoring within ten minutes of play, and then scored his second on the fifteen-minute mark before Darren Moore made it three with a headed goal before half-time. Mark Hudson pulled one back for his team in the second half, but ultimately this was a deserved win for Barnsley.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
The Reds' good run came to an end at the hands of South Yorkshire rivals Sheffield United in a bad-tempered derby. James Beattie gave the Blades the lead before Ugo Ehiogu and Anderson de Silva both saw red for a tangle between the two. Beattie made it two after a controversial penalty award by the linesman, following referee Andy D'Urso's hesitation to award. Kayode Odejayi pulled one back for Barnsley, but it was too little too late. The game was marred by a serious, life-threatening injury to Barnsley striker Iain Hume. Hume suffered a fractured skull and internal bleeding after a shocking elbow by former Barnsley captain Chris Morgan.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
Barnsley came from behind to win the game against Watford. The away side took the lead through Tommy Smith, but the Reds staged a fine fightback when Miguel Mostto slammed in, and two minutes later Stephen Foster marked his first game as Club captain with a scrambled effort.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
Barnsley were beaten late on again. Richard Chaplow put Preston ahead but Jamal Campbell-Ryce responded with a shot from 20 yards. Preston weren't to be denied however and Sean St Ledger won it in the 88th minute with a deflected shot.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
In the live Sky game the Reds defeated Burnley, but made it more difficult than it should've been. Jon Macken put the Reds in front after eighteen minutes. The Reds made a lightning start to the second half with Simon Whaley deflecting in Jamal Campbell-Ryce's shot. Diego León made it three minutes later. Burnley substitute Martin Paterson made it a nervy last 20 minutes with two goals in four minutes. Reds keeper Heinz Muller made two fine stops to preserve the lead.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
In a tight contest, a first half goal from Joe Garner was all that separated the two sides here.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
After a delayed kick-off Barnsley were unable to take any points from high-flying Reading, who won the match courtesy of a second-half goal from Brynjar Gunnarsson.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
After a goalless first half, a strike from Jon Macken and a penalty from Jamal Campbell-Ryce had the reds looking comfortable until Jason Scotland pulled one back before grabbing the equaliser fifteen seconds from the final whistle.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
Barnsley were unable to pick up any points against high-flying Wolverhampton Wanderers. An early own goal from Bobby Hassell put the home side in front, and then Kevin Foley's late strike sealed the win for the Championship leaders.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
Half an hour into this match, Simon Walton was shown a red card for a professional foul and Plymouth found themselves down to ten men. Barnsley subsequently went in front when Jon Macken nodded home after Anderson headed down from a Diego León free kick, which was followed by a late penalty from Jamal Campbell-Ryce when Leon was brought down in the box.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
The Reds completed their second league double of the season with a fine win at Burnley. Jamie Cureton put the Reds in front with his first goal for the club before Chris McCann struck to equalise. With 20 minutes left, McCann diverted Jamal Campbell-Ryce's shot into his own net.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
Jamie Cureton gave the Reds an early lead with a delightful chip and after Anderson de Silva hit the bar for Barnsley, Ross Wallace equalised after a dubious free-kick award.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
Goals from Hérita Ilunga, a penalty from Mark Noble and Carlton Cole saw off the Reds who failed to re-create the antics of last season's FA Cup as they crashed out in the Third Round.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
A late header by David McGoldrick gave Southampton the win after the Reds dominated the majority of the game with chances from Jamie Cureton and Maceo Rigters going awry.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
Goals from Wes Hoolahan, returning from Barnsley Jamie Cureton, a penalty from Sammy Clingan and Darel Russell sunk the Reds as they crashed to a sickening defeat.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
Barnsley lost again as two early goals from Jon Stead gave the Reds a massive uphill task but debutant Daniel Bogdanovic gave them some hope early in the second half.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
Another defeat at Ashton Gate as goals from Gavin Williams and ex-Red Michael McIndoe gave City a comfortable win.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
A sensational goal by Jamal Campbell-Ryce gave Barnsley a historic double over Sheff Wed after the earlier win in October. The real hero though, was Bobby Hassell who made an unbelievable goal-line clearance in the dying moments to send the four thousand Reds fans home delighted.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
An appalling game at Oakwell ended 0–0 which left both sides in relegation mire.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
The Reds took the lead with a goal created in Malta, Michael Mifsud crossing for countryman Daniel Bogdanovic to glance home. Damien Delaney equalised for QPR but Anderson de Silva smashed home just before half time to seal the win.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
The Reds recent poor form against Cardiff continued as Joe Ledley and Michael Chopra fired the Bluebirds into a 2–0 lead before half time. The Reds pulled one back through Jon Macken three minutes before Andranik was sent off. Peter Whittingham sealed the points for Cardiff.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
A dull game lit up in the last ten minutes when Michael Mifsud put the Reds in front with his first goal for the club. But just three minutes later Martin Taylor equalised through hesitant defending from a free-kick.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
A solitary goal on 70 minutes by Wednesday loanee Wade Small piled the pressure on Simon Davey as the Reds sunk into the bottom three.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
Palace took the lead through Shefki Kuqi early on but goals from Jamal Campbell-Ryce, an own goal by Palace youngster Lee Hills and Michael Mifsud gave the Reds a vital three points.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
The Reds dominated much of the game against Derby but were left frustrated as they missed numerous chances to take all three points at Pride Park.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
After a goalless first half Jamal Campbell-Ryce gave the reds the lead in this battle between two strugglers. However, celebrations turned to frustrations when Campbell-Ryce missed from the penalty spot. Robert Earnshaw scored the equalizer for Forest not long after.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
Barnsley looked on course to take a point from this South Yorkshire derby, yet in the last ten minutes quick fire goals from John-Joe O'Toole and Arturo Lupoli put the blades 2–0 up. Jamal Campbell-Ryce then missed a penalty for Barnsley in the closing minutes, meaning that an injury time Daniel Bogdanovic strike proved to be a mere consolation.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
Further late disappointment at Vicarage Road, as Jon Macken gave the reads the lead on 67 minutes, only for Tommy Smith to equalize for Watford with two minutes remaining.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
Goals from Ashley Williams, Jordi Gomez and Jason Scotland gave Swansea a comfortable win at Oakwell. Daniel Bogdanovic scored a late consolation from the penalty spot.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
A Strong performance from the reds saw them take a crucial point against promotion chasing Reading.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
The reds looked like securing a vital win as Daniel Bogdanovic gave them the lead after just nine minutes. But in the final moments of the game the referee awarded a controversial penalty for a disputed handball against Rob Kozluk. Elliot Ward scored to snatch a point for Coventry.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
In their final home game of the season, Jon Macken sent the Reds on their way to a vital three points in their fight against relegation, but with six minutes remaining, Kyle Reid struck an equalizer for Wolves, earning the visitors the required point to confirm their status as the champions of the 2008/09 Coca-Cola championship.


2008–09 Barnsley F.C. season, 2008–09 Season, Short match reports
Knowing they needed only a point to secure their championship status, Barnsley fell behind at Plymouth courtesy of Gary Sawyer's header in the twelfth minute. Nonetheless, on-loan Liverpool winger Adam Hammill struck his first Red's goal to level the score ten minutes from half-time. Jamal Campbell-Ryce struck what proved to be the winner two minutes into the second half, to confirm a fourth straight season in the Coca-Cola championship.


2008–09 Barys Astana season
The 2008–09 Barys Astana season was the Kontinental Hockey League franchise's 1st season and the last season of play at the Kazakhstan Hockey Championship, in parallel.


2008–09 Barys Astana season
In 2008, Barys applied to join the newly formed Kontinental Hockey League. The league's authorities allowed Barys in, making it the first Kazakh team into the new league. The team won its first game in the KHL on September 3, 2008 abroad, defeating Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 2-1 in the shootouts. They registered their first home game eleven days later by beating defending Russian champions Salavat Yulaev Ufa 3-2, this time again in shootout. The team finished its first season with a 15th place overall in the league (5th out of 6 in the highly competitive Chernyshev division).


2008–09 Barys Astana season
The team made the playoffs and faced Ak Bars Kazan in the first round (2nd overall in the league); Kazan swept Astana three games to nothing to advance to the second round. Kevin Dallman finished the season as the league's fifth best scorer with a 28 goals and 30 assists (58 points) record; he also finished as the league's leader for shots on goal with 217. Konstantin Glazachev finished 9th overall in the league in scoring with 52 points (28 goals and 24 assists). Meanwhile, the team secured a second straight  Kazakhstan Hockey Championship title.


2008–09 Barys Astana season, Schedule and results, Kontinental Hockey League, Regular season
Win (3 points)  Overtime/shootout win (2 points)  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)  Loss (0 points)


2008–09 Barys Astana season, Schedule and results, Kazakhstan Hockey Championship, Final Round
Win (3 points)  Overtime/shootout win (2 points)  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)  Loss (0 points)


2008–09 Basketball Bundesliga
The Basketball Bundesliga 2008–09 was the 43rd season of the Basketball Bundesliga.


2008–09 Basketball League Belgium Division I
The 2008–09 Basketball League Belgium Division I, for sponsorship reasons named 2008–09 Ethias League, was the 81st season of the Basketball League Belgium, the highest professional basketball league in Belgium. Spirou Charleroi won the 2009 national title, their second straight and eight total title.


2008–09 Basketball League of Serbia
The 2008–09 Basketball League of Serbia season was the 3rd season of the highest professional basketball league in Serbia. It was also 65th national championship played by Serbian clubs inclusive of nation's previous incarnations as Yugoslavia and Serbia & Montenegro.


2008–09 Basketball League of Serbia, Regular season, Super League standings & results, Group B
P=Matches played, W=Matches won, L=Matches lost, F=Points for, A=Points against, D=Points difference, Pts=Points


2008–09 Bavarian ice hockey season
The 2008-2009 Bavarian ice hockey season started on 17 October 2008 with the first round in the Bayernliga and finished on 22 March 2009 with the second Bayernliga final, with the ERV Schweinfurt taking out the title for a third time, having previously won it in 1990 and 2000.


2008–09 Bavarian ice hockey season
Two clubs finished the season with only one loss to their name, the Bezirksliga and Landesliga champions TSV Schliersee and EHC Bayreuth, while the TSV Trostberg II was the only team not to record a win, having now not won a league game since January 2006.


2008–09 Bavarian ice hockey season, Champions
The three levels of the Bavarian league system were won by the following teams:


2008–09 Bavarian ice hockey season, Bayernliga, Group phase: Final table, Championship round
The eight teams qualified for this round were split into two groups; Group A consisted of the teams having finished 1st, 4th, 5th and 8th in the main round. Group B consisted of the 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th team. The top two teams of each group qualified for the play-off semi-finals.


2008–09 Bavarian ice hockey season, Bayernliga, Group phase: Final table, Relegation round
The eight teams qualified for this round were also split into two groups. Group A consisted of the teams having finished 9th, 12th, 13th and 16th in the main round. Group B consisted of the 10th, 11th, 14th and 15th team. The bottom two teams of each group had to enter the play-downs while the top two teams were qualified for next seasons Bayernliga.


2008–09 Bavarian ice hockey season, Bayernliga, Play-Offs
The semi-finals and the final are played in a best-of-three modus.


2008–09 Bavarian ice hockey season, Landesliga
The four regional divisions played out a home-and-away round to determine the four clubs from each league who enter the sixteen team promotion round. Split into two groups of eight, the top team of each division gains promotion to the Bayernliga. Should one or more teams from this league move up to the Oberliga without a Bavarian team being relegated from there, additional clubs from that round may gain promotion.


2008–09 Bavarian ice hockey season, Landesliga
The remaining sixteen clubs played out a relegation round with the last two team in each of the two groups being relegated to the Bezirksliga.


2008–09 Bavarian ice hockey season, Landesliga, Promotion round
Top team in each division promoted to the Bayernliga. The second placed teams may have a promotion chance if a Bavarian team is promoted from the Bayernliga to the Oberliga.


2008–09 Bavarian ice hockey season, Landesliga, Promotion round, Finals
The two division winners will play a two match series to determine the Landesliga champions while the two division runners-up will play for third place, which could also determine who will be pro moted if a third team was to move up to the Bayernliga.


2008–09 Bavarian ice hockey season, Landesliga, Relegation round
The two bottom teams in each division are relegated to the Bezirksliga.


2008–09 Bavarian ice hockey season, Bezirksliga
The four regional division played out a home-and-away round to determined the league winner. The four league champions are promoted to the Landesliga and also are qualified for the Bezirksliga championship round.


2008–09 Bavarian ice hockey season, Bezirksliga, Main round
First placed team enters championship round and is promoted to Landesliga.


2008–09 Bavarian ice hockey season, Bezirksliga, Championship round
The Bezirksliga championship was decided in a home-and-away round with the club with the best aggregate score taking out the series. All four teams are already promoted to the Landesliga.


2008–09 Bayernliga
The 2008–09 season of the Bayernliga, the fifth tier of the German football league system in the state of Bavaria at the time, was the 64th season of the league.


2008–09 Bayernliga, Overview
The league champions, SpVgg Weiden, were directly promoted to the Regionalliga Süd. It was Weiden's third Bayernliga title after 1953–54 and 1964–65 and their first promotion to Regionalliga level since the latter championship took them up for a season in 1965–66.


2008–09 Bayernliga, Overview
The bottom three clubs were directly relegated from the league while 15th placed SV Seligenporten had to enter the relegation round with the Landesliga runners-up where it successfully defended its league place. Of the relegated clubs Würzburger FV and 1. FC Schweinfurt 05 made an immediate return to the Bayernliga in the following season while Würzburger Kickers bypassed the league in 2012, earning promotion from the tier six Landesliga Bayern-Nord to the new tier four Regionalliga Bayern without playing in the Bayernliga.


2008–09 Bayernliga, Overview
Thomas Karg of VfL Frohnlach was the league's top scorer with 24 goals.


2008–09 Bayernliga, Table
The 2008–09 season saw seven new clubs in the league, FSV Erlangen-Bruck, FC Ingolstadt 04 II, VfL Frohnlach, TSV Buchbach, TSV Rain am Lech, SV Seligenporten and Würzburger Kickers, all promoted from the Landesliga Bayern, while no club had been relegated from the Regionalliga Süd to the league.


2008–09 Bayernliga, Table
For Erlangen-Bruck, Ingolstadt, Buchbach, Rain and Seligenporten it was their first-ever season in the league while Frohnlach had last played in the Bayernliga in 2007 and Würzburg in 1998.


2008–09 Bayernliga, Bayernliga promotion round
The 15th placed Bayernliga team had to face the runners-up of the three Landesligas for one more place in the Bayernliga.


2008–09 Baylor Bears basketball team
The 2008–09 Baylor Bears men's basketball team represented Baylor University in the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Scott Drew, who served his sixth year. Baylor played its home games in the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas. The  team finished the season as runner-up in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).


2008–09 Belarusian Cup
2008–09 Belarusian Cup was the eighteenth season of the Belarusian annual cup competition. Contrary to the league season, it was conducted in a fall-spring rhythm. The first games were played on 30 July 2008. Winners of the Cup qualified for the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round.


2008–09 Belarusian Cup, Preliminary round
A preliminary round was held in order to reduce the number of teams in the First Round to 32. The matches were played on 30 July 2008.


2008–09 Belarusian Cup, First round
All fourteen teams of the First League and most of Second League teams plus three more amateur teams started in this round. They were joined by three winners of Preliminary Round. The games were played on July 30, except two games with Preliminary Round winners, which were held on August 3 and August 6.


2008–09 Belarusian Cup, Round of 32
Sixteen winners of the First Round were paired against the sixteen teams of the Premier League. The games were played on 3, 4 and 7 September 2008.


2008–09 Belarusian Cup, Round of 16
The games were played as two-legged ties. The first legs were played on October 11, 12, 29 and November 4, 2008. The second legs were played on November 2 and 20, 2008.


2008–09 Belarusian Cup, Quarterfinals
The first legs were played on March 15, 2009. The second legs were played on March 21, 2009.


2008–09 Belarusian Cup, Semifinals
The first legs were played on 9 April 2009. The second legs were played on 22 April 2009.


2008–09 Belarusian Extraliga season
The 2008–09 Belarusian Extraliga season was the 17th season of the Belarusian Extraliga, the top level of ice hockey in Belarus. 14 teams participated in the league, and HK Yunost Minsk won the championship.


2008–09 Belgian Cup
The Belgian Cup 2008–09 was the 54th season of the main knockout football competition in Belgium. It is commonly named Cofidis Cup, after its sponsor Cofidis. It was won by Genk.


2008–09 Belgian Cup, Results
In the first two rounds, teams from the provincial leagues and promotion division played each other. In the third round, teams from the third division joined in. Round four was the starting point for the teams from the second division. After the fifth round, only 14 teams remained.


2008–09 Belgian Cup, Results, Round 6
Teams from the Jupiler Pro League entered the competition at this stage. Teams from the first division were seeded and couldn't meet each other, except for the newly promoted teams, Kortrijk and Tubize, who did not belong to this seeded group.


2008–09 Belgian Cup, Results, Round 6
Apart from the 18 teams directly qualified, 14 other teams had qualified through winning in the fifth round:


2008–09 Belgian Cup, Results, Round 7
The draw for the seventh round and the quarterfinals was made on November 21, 2008. The match between Cercle Brugge and Charleroi was postponed from January 13 to January 21 due to insufficient pitch conditions.


2008–09 Belgian Cup, Results, Quarter-finals, Second legs
The matches Kortrijk – KV Mechelen and Roeselare – Cercle Brugge were postponed to 17 February due to insufficient pitch conditions.


2008–09 Belgian Cup, Results, Semifinals
The semifinals were also two-legged. The draw was made on February 10, 2009.


2008–09 Belgian Elite League
The 2012-2013 Belgian Elite League was the 72nd season of the Belgian Elite League, the top flight men's rugby union league in Belgium. Kituro RC won the championship playoffs, while Dendermondse RC were relegated. In total 8 teams participated.


2008–09 Belgian First Division
The 2008–09 season of the Belgian First Division (also known as Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons) was the 106th season of top-tier football in Belgium. The regular season began on 16 August 2008 and ended on 16 May 2009. Standard Liège were the defending champions.


2008–09 Belgian First Division
On 19 April 2009, Mons were relegated after Dender beat Roeselare 3–1 and made it mathematically impossible for Mons to climb into 16th position or higher. Tubize were relegated on 3 May 2009 after a 1–1 draw at home to Anderlecht.


2008–09 Belgian First Division
The 2008–09 champions were decided in a playoff because Standard and Anderlecht finished the regular season equal on points and number of wins. Standard won the playoff by 2–1 on aggregate and thereby retained the title.


2008–09 Belgian First Division, Participating teams
The league consisted of 18 teams, the best 16 teams from last season and two promoted teams from the Second Division.


2008–09 Belgian First Division, Participating teams
The number of participants was reduced to 16 teams the season after, hence relegation was increased from two to three or four teams.


2008–09 Belgian First Division, Participating teams, Team changes from the previous season
Sint-Truidense and Brussels were relegated to the Second Division at the end of the previous season after finishing in the last two places. They were replaced by Second Division champions Kortrijk and promotion playoff winners Tubize.


2008–09 Belgian First Division, League standings, Championship playoff
Since Anderlecht and Standard were tied on both points and wins, a two-legged playoff was played in order to determine the league champions. Standard won the playoff 2–1 on aggregate and were crowned champions.


2008–09 Belgian First Division, League standings, Positions by matchday
Note: The classification was made after the weekend of each matchday, so postponed matches were only processed at the time they were played to represent the real evolution in standings. These postponed matches are:


2008–09 Belgian Hockey League season
The 2008–09 Belgian Hockey League season was the 89th season of the Belgian Hockey League, the top level of ice hockey in Belgium. Six teams participated in the league, and HYC Herentals won the championship.


2008–09 Beşiktaş J.K. season
The 2008–09 season was Beşiktaş' 105th football season. Also it was the 50th year of the Süper Lig. Beşiktaş won the domestic double of the league title and cup.


2008–09 Beşiktaş J.K. season, Players, First-team squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008–09 Beşiktaş J.K. season, Players, First-team squad
* Also holds  German citizenship. * * Also holds  Australian citizenship.


2008–09 Beşiktaş J.K. season, Players, Transfers in
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008–09 Beşiktaş J.K. season, Players, Transfers in, Transfers out
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008–09 Beşiktaş J.K. season, Players, Transfers in, Loans out
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008–09 Beşiktaş J.K. season, Turkish Cup
After finishing in the top four of the previous season's Süper Lig, Beşiktaş qualified for the group stages. Beşiktaş was placed in Group A, along with Antalyaspor, Gaziantepspor, Trabzonspor and Gaziantep B.B.. Beşiktaş finished first.


2008–09 Beşiktaş J.K. season, UEFA Cup
After finishing third in the previous season's Süper Lig, Beşiktaş qualified for the 2008–09 UEFA Cup, but was eliminated in the first round.


2008–09 Biathlon IBU Cup
The 2008–09 Biathlon IBU Cup was a multi-race tournament over a season of biathlon, organised by the International Biathlon Union. The season started on 29 November 2008 in Idre, Sweden, and ended on 14 March 2009 in Ridnaun-Val Ridanna, Italy.


2008–09 Biathlon IBU Cup, Calendar
Below is the World Cup calendar for the 2008–09 season.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup
The 2008–09 Biathlon World Cup was a multi-race tournament over a season of biathlon, organised by the International Biathlon Union. The season started on 2 December 2008 in Östersund, Sweden and ends on 29 March 2009 in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup, Calendar
Below is the World Cup calendar for the 2008–09 season.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – Individual Men
The 2008-09 Biathlon World Cup/Individual Men will start at Wednesday, December 3, 2008, in Östersund and will finish Wednesday, March 11, 2009, in Vancouver at the pre-olympic Biathlon event. Defending titlist is Vincent Defrasne of France.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – Individual Men, Competition format
The 20 kilometres (12 mi) individual race is the oldest biathlon event; the distance is skied over five laps. The biathlete shoots four times at any shooting lane, in the order of prone, standing, prone, standing, totalling 20 targets. For each missed target a fixed penalty time, usually one minute, is added to the skiing time of the biathlete. Competitors' starts are staggered, normally by 30 seconds.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – Individual Women
The 2008–09 Biathlon World Cup/Individual Women started at Thursday December 4, 2008 in Östersund and finished Wednesday March 11, 2009 in Vancouver at the pre-Olympic biathlon event. The defending titlist was Martina Beck of Germany.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – Individual Women, Competition format
The format consists of a 15 kilometre (9.3 mi) individual race and is the oldest biathlon event; the distance is skied over five laps. The biathlete shoots four times at any shooting lane, in the order of prone, standing, prone, standing, totalling 20 targets. For each missed target a fixed penalty time, usually one minute, is added to the skiing time of the biathlete. Competitors' starts are staggered, normally by 30 seconds.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – Mass start Men
The 2008-09 Biathlon World Cup/Mass start Men will start on January 11, 2009 in Oberhof and will finish on March 29, 2009 in Khanty-Mansiysk at the final event of the season. The defending titlist is Ole Einar Bjørndalen of Norway.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – Mass start Men, Competition format
In the mass start, all biathletes start at the same time; the first across the finish line wins. In this 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) competition, the distance is skied over five laps; there are four bouts of shooting (two prone, two standing, in that order) with the first shooting bout being at the lane corresponding to your bib (Bib #10 shoots at lane #10 regardless of position in race). The rest of the shooting bouts are at the lane of the position they arrived (Arrive at the lane in fifth place, shoot at lane five). As in sprint races, competitors must ski one 150 m penalty loop for each miss. Here again, to avoid unwanted congestion, World Cup Mass starts are held with only the 30 top ranking athletes on the start line (half that of the Pursuit as here all contestants start simultaneously).


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – Mass start Women
The 2008-09 Biathlon World Cup/Mass start Women will start at Sunday January 11, 2009 in Oberhof and will finish Sunday March 29, 2009 in Khanty-Mansiysk at the final event of the season. Defending titlist is Magdalena Neuner of Germany.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – Mass start Women, Competition format
In the mass start, all biathletes start at the same time and the first across the finish line wins. In this 12.5 kilometres (7.8 mi) competition, the distance is skied over five laps; there are four bouts of shooting (two prone, two standing, in that order) with the first shooting bout being at the lane corresponding to your bib (Bib #10 shoots at lane #10 regardless of position in race.) with rest of the shooting bouts being at the lane in the position they arrived (Arrive at the lane in fifth place, you shoot at lane five.). As in sprint races, competitors must ski one 150 m penalty loop for each miss. Here again, to avoid unwanted congestion, World Cup Mass starts are held with only the 30 top ranking athletes on the start line (half that of the Pursuit as here all contestants start simultaneously).


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – Pursuit Men
The 2008-09 Biathlon World Cup/Pursuit  Men started at Sunday December 7, 2008 in Östersund and will finish Saturday March 28, 2009 in Khanty-Mansiysk. Defending titlist is Ole Einar Bjørndalen of Norway.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – Pursuit Men, Competition format
In a pursuit, biathletes' starts are separated by their time differences from a previous race, most commonly a sprint. The contestant crossing the finish line first is the winner. The distance is 12.5 kilometres (7.8 mi), skied over five laps; there are four shooting bouts (two prone, two standing, in that order), and each miss means a penalty loop of 150 m. To prevent awkward and/or dangerous crowding of the skiing loops, and overcapacity at the shooting range, World Cup Pursuits are held with only the 60 top ranking biathletes after the preceding race. The biathletes shoot (on a first-come, first-served basis) at the lane corresponding to the position they arrived for all shooting bouts.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – Pursuit Women
The 2008-09 Biathlon World Cup/Pursuit Women is a biathlon competition for women. It started on Sunday December 7, 2008 in Östersund and is scheduled to finish on Saturday March 28, 2009 in Khanty-Mansiysk. The defending titlist is Sandrine Bailly of France.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – Pursuit Women, Competition format
This is a pursuit competition. The biathletes' starts are separated by their time differences from a previous race, most commonly a sprint race. The contestants ski a distance of 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) over five laps. On four of the laps, the contestants shoot at targets; each miss requires the contestant to ski a penalty loop of 150 metres (490 ft). There are two prone shooting bouts and two standing bouts, in that order. The contestant crossing the finish line first is the winner.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – Pursuit Women, Competition format
To prevent awkward and/or dangerous crowding of the skiing loops, and overcapacity at the shooting range, World Cup Pursuits are held with only the 60 top ranking biathletes after the preceding race. The biathletes shoot (on a first-come, first-served basis) at the lane corresponding to the position they arrived for all shooting bouts.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – Pursuit Women, Competition format
Points are awarded for each event, according to each contestant's finish. When all events are completed. the contestant with the highest number of points is declared the season winner.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – Relay Men
The 2008-09 Biathlon World Cup/Relay Men started on December 14, 2008 in Hochfilzen and will end on March 15, 2009 in Vancouver. Defending titlist is the Norwegian team.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – Relay Men, Competition format
The relay teams consist of four biathletes, who each ski 7.5 kilometres (4.7 mi), each leg skied over three laps, with two shooting rounds; one prone, one standing. For every round of five targets there are eight bullets available, though the last three can only be single-loaded manually one at a time from spare round holders or bullets deposited by the competitor into trays or onto the mat at the firing line. If after eight bullets there are still misses, one 150 m penalty loop must be taken for each missed target remaining.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – Relay Men, Competition format
The first-leg participants start all at the same time, and as in cross-country skiing relays, every athlete of a team must touch the team's next-leg participant to perform a valid changeover. On the first shooting stage of the first leg, the participant must shoot in the lane corresponding to their bib number (Bib #10 shoots at lane #10 regardless of position in race. ), then for the remainder of the relay, the relay team shoots at the lane in the position they arrived (Arrive at the range in 5th place, you shoot at lane five. ).


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – Relay Women
The 2008-09 Biathlon World Cup/Relay Women started on December 14, 2008 in Hochfilzen and will end on March 14, 2009 in Vancouver. Defending titlist is the German team.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – Relay Women, Competition format
The relay teams consist of four biathletes, who each ski 7.5 kilometres (4.7 mi), each leg skied over three laps, with two shooting rounds; one prone, one standing. For every round of five targets there are eight bullets available, though the last three can only be single-loaded manually one at a time from spare round holders or bullets deposited by the competitor into trays or onto the mat at the firing line. If after eight bullets there are still misses, one 150 m penalty loop must be taken for each missed target remaining.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – Relay Women, Competition format
The first-leg participants start all at the same time, and as in cross-country skiing relays, every athlete of a team must touch the team's next-leg participant to perform a valid changeover. On the first shooting stage of the first leg, the participant must shoot in the lane corresponding to their bib number (Bib #10 shoots at lane #10 regardless of position in race. ), then for the remainder of the relay, the relay team shoots at the lane in the position they arrived (Arrive at the range in 5th place, you shoot at lane five. ).


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – Sprint Men
The 2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – Sprint Men started on Saturday 6 December, 2008 in Östersund and finished on Thursday 26 March, 2009 in Khanty-Mansiysk. The defending titlist was Ole Einar Bjørndalen of Norway.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – Sprint Men
The small crystal globe winner for the category was Ole Einar Bjørndalen of Norway.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – Sprint Men, Competition format
The 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) sprint race is the third oldest biathlon event; the distance is skied over three laps. The biathlete shoots two times at any shooting lane, first prone, then standing, totalling 10 targets. For each missed target the biathlete has to complete a penalty lap of around 150 metres (490 ft). Competitors' starts are staggered, normally by 30 seconds.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – Sprint Women
The 2008-09 Biathlon World Cup/Sprint Women will start at Saturday December 6, 2008 in Östersund and will finish Thursday March 26, 2009 in Khanty-Mansiysk. Defending titlist is Magdalena Neuner of Germany.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – Sprint Women, Competition format
The 7.5 kilometres (4.7 mi) sprint race is the third oldest biathlon event; the distance is skied over three laps. The biathlete shoots two times at any shooting lane, first prone, then standing, totalling 10 targets. For each missed target the biathlete has to complete a penalty lap of around 150 metres. Competitors' starts are staggered, normally by 30 seconds.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – World Cup 1
The 2008-09 Biathlon World Cup - World Cup 1 was the opening event of the season and has been held in Östersund, Sweden. From Wednesday December 3 until Sunday December 7, 2008.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – World Cup 2
The 2008-09 Biathlon World Cup/World Cup 2 is the second event of the season and will be held in Hochfilzen, Austria. From Friday December 12 until Sunday December 14, 2008.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – World Cup 3
The 2008-09 Biathlon World Cup/World Cup 3 was the second event of the season that was held in Hochfilzen, Austria. This leg was originally planned to be held in Pokljuka, Slovenia but was set to Hochfilzen due to unfinished reconstructions. From Thursday December 18 until Sunday December 21, 2008.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – World Cup 4
The 2008-09 Biathlon World Cup/World Cup 4 has been held in Oberhof, Germany. From Wednesday January 7 until Sunday January 11, 2009.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – World Cup 5
The 2008-09 Biathlon World Cup/World Cup 5 was scheduled to be held in Ruhpolding, Germany. From Wednesday January 14 until Sunday January 18, 2009.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – World Cup 6
The 2008–09 Biathlon World Cup/World Cup 6 was held in Rasen-Antholz, Italy, from Thursday January 22 until Sunday January 25, 2009. After this leg the biathletes traveled to Pyeongchang, South Korea for the Biathlon World Championships 2009.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – World Cup 7
The 2008-09 Biathlon World Cup/World Cup 7 was held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from March 11–15, 2009.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – World Cup 8
The 2008-09 Biathlon World Cup - World Cup 8 was the eighth event of the World Cup season and was held in Trondheim, Norway, from Thursday March 19 until Sunday March 22, 2009.


2008–09 Biathlon World Cup – World Cup 9
The 2008-09 Biathlon World Cup - World Cup 9 was the nine event of the World Cup season and was held in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, from Thursday March 26 until Sunday March 29, 2009.


2008–09 Big 12 Conference men's basketball season
The 2008–09 Big 12 Conference men's basketball season marks the 13th season of Big 12 Conference basketball.


2008–09 Big 12 Conference men's basketball season, Regular season, In-season honors
Throughout the conference regular season, the Big 12 offices name a player of the week each Monday.


2008–09 Big East Conference men's basketball season
The 2008–09 Big East Conference men's basketball season was the 30th in conference history, and involved its 16 full-time member schools. Leading up to, during, and following the season, it has been widely regarded as one of the most successful seasons in Big East Conference history, fielding multiple teams that received national recognition and achieved high levels of success.


2008–09 Big East Conference men's basketball season
Louisville won the outright championship with a 16-2 record (1st). They were also champions of the Big East tournament (1st).


2008–09 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Regular season, Rankings
The Big East set a record when it placed seven teams in the preseason Associated Press poll. It set another record by placing eight teams in the December 1st ranking, and broke that record when the ninth team entered the AP Top 25 on January 5. Connecticut and North Carolina were the only two teams that did not vacate the top 5 in the AP poll all season.


2008–09 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Postseason, Big East Tournament
For the first time ever, all 16 teams in the conference would have the chance to participate in the Big East Tournament. Under this new format, the teams finishing 9 through 16 in the regular season standings played first round games, while teams 5 through 8 received a bye to the second round. The top 4 teams during the regular season received a bye to the quarterfinals. The five-round tournament spanned five consecutive days, from Tuesday, March 10, 2009, through Saturday, March 14, 2009. A low-seeded team could have theoretically played all five days if it won its games in the first four rounds, but this did not turn out to be the case.


2008–09 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Postseason, Big East Tournament
1–4 Seeding:(1) Louisville, (2) Pittsburgh, (3) Connecticut, (4) Villanova5–8 Seeding:(5) Marquette, (6) Syracuse, (7) West Virginia, (8) Providence9–16 Seeding and First Round Matchups:(16) DePaul def. (9) Cincinnati(10) Notre Dame def. (15) Rutgers(11) Seton Hall def. (14) South Florida(13) St. John's def. (12) Georgetown


2008–09 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Postseason, Big East Tournament
Second Round Matchups:(5) Marquette def. (13) St. John's(6) Syracuse def. (11) Seton Hall(7) West Virginia def. (10) Notre Dame(8) Providence def. (16) DePaul


2008–09 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Postseason, Big East Tournament
Quarterfinals Matchups:(1) Louisville def. (8) Providence(7) West Virginia def. (2) Pittsburgh(6) Syracuse def. (3) Connecticut (6 OT)(4) Villanova def. (5) Marquette


2008–09 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Postseason, Big East Tournament
Semifinals Matchups:(1) Louisville def. (4) Villanova(6) Syracuse def. (7) West Virginia (OT)


2008–09 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Postseason, Big East Tournament
The most notable game of the tournament was the third round matchup between Connecticut and Syracuse. A back-and-forth thriller between two rivals, this game lasted nearly four hours and finally ended after six overtimes, at 1:22 a.m. the following day. The game was tied at 71–71 with a second left in regulation, when Syracuse inbounded a pass the full length of the court. Guard, Eric Devendorf, sunk a 3-point shot as the clock appeared to run out, seemingly giving Syracuse the game.


2008–09 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Postseason, Big East Tournament
After a thorough review by officials using frame-by-frame slow motion, it became apparent that the ball was not completely off of Devendorf's fingertips as the clock changed from 0.1 to 0.0 seconds. The game headed to overtime. During overtime, UConn took a lead and maintained it, until Syracuse finally tied the score to force another overtime. This pattern continued for five overtimes, where in each one, UConn took and maintained a lead, only to have Syracuse tie the score before time ran out.


2008–09 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Postseason, Big East Tournament
In the sixth and final overtime, Syracuse came out and took a large lead (their first since regulation) that eventually proved insurmountable for UConn, and won the game, 127–117. The game produced a few records when it came to duration, including longest Big East game in history. A.J. Price of Connecticut, and Jonny Flynn and Eric Devendorf of Syracuse, each played over 60 minutes, with another three Connecticut players and one Syracuse player playing over 50 minutes. Between the two teams, nine players had double-figure point totals, and five UConn players had double-figure rebound totals. With over 100 points scored in the overtime periods alone, this game was dubbed an "Instant Classic" and was given the title "The Game That Wouldn't End."


2008–09 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Postseason, Big East Tournament
In the following round, Syracuse again found itself in overtime, this time against West Virginia. Syracuse came out the winner, but would lose the following night to Louisville. This was Louisville's first Big East Tournament Championship. Jonny Flynn was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, becoming only the 4th player in the 30 year history of the tournament to win the award while playing on the losing team.


2008–09 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Postseason, NCAA Tournament
The Big East posted a very strong showing in the NCAA Tournament. Though Notre Dame, Georgetown, and Providence were unable to secure at-large bids, seven conference teams were undisputedly deserving and were selected. The Big Ten and the Atlantic Coast Conference also sent seven teams each, which was one short of the record of eight that the Big East sent in 2006 and 2008. The conference set a record by earning three #1 seeds among the four available. Connecticut, Louisville, and Pittsburgh were all the top seeds in their regions, with North Carolina being the fourth.


2008–09 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Postseason, NCAA Tournament
The conference set another record by having five teams make it to the Sweet-16, and then an additional record by having four teams make it to the Elite Eight. Connecticut and Villanova each advanced to the Final Four. This was Villanova's fourth Final Four appearance (though one was vacated for violations) and first since 1985. This was UConn's third Final Four appearance, with all coming since 1999, and all happening to come from the West region. The conference finished with a combined record of 17–7.


2008–09 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Postseason, National Invitation Tournament
In the 72nd annual National Invitation Tournament, there were three Big East teams among the field of 32: Georgetown, Notre Dame, and Providence.


2008–09 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Postseason, College Basketball Invitational
In the 16-team College Basketball Invitational, the lone Big East representative was St. John's. The team earned a 4-seed in the East region, and lost their opening round game to top-seeded Richmond 75–69.


2008–09 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Awards and honors
The following players were honored with postseason awards after having been voted for by Big East Conference coaches.


2008–09 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Awards and honors
The following players were selected to the 2009 Associated Press All-America teams.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season
The 2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season marked the continuation of the annual tradition of competitive basketball among Big Ten Conference members that began in 1904. It was the 104th season of Big Ten Conference basketball play. Although during the 2008-09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season there were no Big Ten players named to any All-American teams, no coaches given any national coaching honors, and no teams that won any major preconference tournament, the season was successful for other reasons. The conference had an overall 14–8 record in postseason play with one team reaching for the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament championship game and another winning the championship of the 2009 National Invitation Tournament (NIT).


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season
The season marked the second year that all regular season and Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament games were nationally televised. It was the first season that eight member teams achieved 20 wins. During the season, the conference achieved a .781 winning percentage against non-conference opponents, which is the highest percentage since 1998–99.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season
Michigan State was the regular season champion winning the league four games. Purdue and Illinois tied for second place. Michigan State's Kalin Lucas was named Big Ten Player of the Year. Michigan State's Tom Izzo was named Coach of the Year by the coaches while Penn State's Ed Dechellis was named Coach of the Year by the media.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season
Purdue won the Big Ten Tournament by defeating Ohio State in the championship. As a result of its win, Purdue received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. In total, seven teams received bids to the NCAA Tournament: Michigan State, Purdue, Illinois, Ohio State, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. By placing 7 of its 11 teams in the tournament, it had 64% of its teams in the tournament, which outpaced all other conferences. Both Michigan State and Purdue advanced to the second weekend's Sweet Sixteen round, where Purdue lost to Connecticut. Michigan State advanced to the championship game where it lost to North Carolina 89–72.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season
The Big Ten also had two entrants in the 2009 NIT: Penn State and Northwestern with Penn State winning the tournament.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Preseason, All-Big Ten players
On October 26, the Big Ten media selected Purdue as the preseason top team. It selected Michigan State and Wisconsin as second and third respectively. However, the November 10 national AP Poll and Coaches' Poll ranked Michigan State as the highest among Big Ten teams with Purdue second and Wisconsin third in their respective preseason  2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Preseason, All-Big Ten players
The media also made preseason All-Big Ten player selections: Manny Harris, sophomore guard from Michigan, Raymar Morgan, junior forward from Michigan State, Marcus Landry, senior forward from Wisconsin, E'Twaun Moore, sophomore guard from Purdue, and Robbie Hummel, sophomore forward from Purdue, who was named Preseason Player of the Year.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Preseason, All-Big Ten players
The Los Angeles Athletic Club released its annual preseason John R. Wooden Award watch list on November 13. The list was composed of 50 student athletes who, based on 2007–08's individual performance and team records, were the early frontrunners for college basketball's most coveted trophy. These top 50 candidates were returning players. Transfers, freshmen, and medical red-shirts were not eligible for this preseason list, but were evaluated and considered for both the Midseason Top 30 list and the National Ballot. The Big Ten was represented by Purdue's Hummel, Wisconsin's Landry and Michigan State's Morgan.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Preseason, All-Big Ten players
On December 18, the Atlanta Tipoff Club released its annual early season Naismith College Player of the Year award watch list. The top-50 list included Hummel, Moore and Morgan. The watch list does not include incoming freshmen, although those student-athletes were considered in the February 2009 mid season vote.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Regular season
The Big Ten began the season anticipating competitive schedules since the conference had scheduled appearances against thirteen of the teams appearing in both of the major pre-season rankings. The conference opened its first week with a 14–0 record, while holding all 14 opponents to 65 points or less. By the end of the second week of the season the Big Ten found itself with the best non-conference record in the nation at 35–1.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Regular season
They became the first power conference (ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-10 or SEC) to have a road win against another of the conferences when Illinois bested Vanderbilt on November 20. On the same date, Michigan achieved the conference's first victory against a top five opponent since Michigan State upended Texas on December 22, 2007.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Regular season
Big Ten teams did not win any of the larger preconference tournaments: Purdue lost in overtime of the November 28 championship game of the 16-team 2008 NIT Season Tip-Off tournament, Michigan placed second in the 16-team 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer tournament on November 21, and Wisconsin was runner up in the 8-team Paradise Jam Tournament on November 24. Minnesota, was successful in the 4-team National Association of Basketball Coaches Classic with a win over Georgia State Panthers in the championship game.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Regular season
On Wednesday, December 3, The Big Ten lost to the Atlantic Coast Conference  for the 10th consecutive year in the ACC–Big Ten Challenge. The final margin was 6–5. By the end of the fourth week of the season in early December, the Big Ten had the highest percentage of teams receiving votes in the Associated Press National Rankings and had the highest non-conference strength of schedule in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI). Minnesota's 8–0 start was Tubby Smith's first.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Regular season
After five weeks, the Big Ten had the maintained its AP rankings leadership, but also took over the overall leadership in the RPI ratings. The conference's 82–19 record included only losses to teams that had advanced to the post-season the year before. Michigan State's win against Texas gave the Big Ten half of the nation's first six victories over top five teams. National Invitation Tournament defending champion, Ohio State's eighth victory gave them the nation's longest win streak at thirteen.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Regular season
Entering conference play, at 12–0 Minnesota remained one of the nine unbeaten teams in the nation, which was its best start since 1948–49. The conference had one of three winning conference records on the road against non-conference opponents at 10–8 and with 5 of its 11 teams ranked in the AP poll, it had the highest percentage of its teams ranked.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Regular season
For the first time since freshmen became eligible in 1974, Indiana started four freshmen in a conference opener on January 3 against Iowa. On January 11, Minnesota tied an NCAA record and set a conference record by making all nine of its three-point field goals. Illinois' January 14 victory over Michigan made it the thirteenth team in NCAA Division I history and second (after Indiana) in the Big Ten to achieve 1600 wins. On January 21, Northwestern snapped the third-longest home-court winning streak in the nation when it stopped Michigan State from earning its 29th straight home victory.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Regular season
John Beilein recorded his 500th win as head coach of a four-year school and 575th win overall on January 24 against Northwestern. As January ended, the conference enjoyed its fourth consecutive week as the leader in the RPI strength of schedule. On January 31, Matt Roth became the first Indiana Hoosier, first Big Ten freshman and third Big Ten player to record nine three-point shots in a single game.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Regular season
At the midpoint of the conference schedule at the beginning of February, the Big Ten had the highest Sagarin Rating central mean score. Previously, Michigan State had never won its first five conference road games since joining the Big Ten for the 1950–51 season, but during the season, they were one of the last two teams to be undefeated on the road at 7–0. Tubby Smith became the third coach in NCAA history to record 20 wins during 16 consecutive seasons. Through its 166th contest, the Big Ten, which had led the nation in average attendance for the prior 32 years, surpassed two million in attendance for the sixteenth consecutive season and eighteenth overall.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Regular season, Attendance
The big ten concluded the season with the highest attendance in the nation for the 33rd straight season with an average attendance of 12,519 fans per game/session, including regular-season games and conference tournament sessions. This surpassed the SEC, which was second with an 11,625 average. The Big Ten held seven of the top 25 places among individual institutions, while no other conference had more than four individual schools among the top 25.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Regular season, Preconference schedules, Tournaments
No Big Ten teams won any major early conference tournaments.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Regular season, In-season honors
Throughout the conference regular season, the Big Ten offices named a player of the week each Monday.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Regular season, In-season honors
On February 5, the Big Ten became one of six conferences to have multiple players selected as John R. Wooden Award 2008–09 Midseason Top 30 Candidates. Both Manny Harris and Kalin Lucas were chosen. On February 24, Hummel became the only Big Ten player included in the Naismith midseason Top 30. On February 26, Turner became the only Big Ten player selected by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association as a Top 15 finalist for the Oscar Robertson Trophy.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Regular season, Conference honors
Two sets of conference award winners were recognized by the Big Ten - one selected by league coaches and one selected by the media.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Regular season, All-Big Ten Academic team
The Big Ten Conference had 40 men's basketball letterwinners who were in at least their second academic year at their institution and who maintained a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher during the winter semester to earn Big Ten Academic All-Conference honors. Northwestern's Sterling Williams who was a graduate student with a Communication Studies major had a perfect Winter GPA. These student-athletes were eligible to be named Distinguished Scholar Awardees if they maintained a 3.7 GPA for the entire academic year.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, National awards & honors, National awards
On March 22, the Big Ten had no players among the four finalists named for the Naismith award to be announced on April 5. On March 12, Lucas was among the 25 finalists for the Wooden Award to be named on April 10.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, National awards & honors, NABC
The National Association of Basketball Coaches announced their Division I All-District teams on March 5, recognizing the nation's best men's collegiate basketball student-athletes. Selected and voted on by member coaches of the NABC, 240 student-athletes, from 24 districts were chosen. The selection on this list were then eligible for the State Farm Coaches' Division I All-America teams announced at the 2009 NABC Convention in Detroit. The following list represented the Big Ten players chosen to the list. All Big Ten schools are within District 7 for the 2008–09 season.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, National awards & honors, USBWA
On March 10, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association released its 2008–09 Men's All-District Teams, based on voting from its national membership. There were nine regions from coast to coast and a player and coach of the year were selected in each. The following enumerates all the Big Ten players selected within their respective regions.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, National awards & honors, Academic honors, CoSIDA
On February 5, 2009, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and ESPN the Magazine selected their Academic All-Americans from throughout college basketball. CoSIDA has selected Academic All American teams since 1952. To be nominated, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) at his/her current institution. Nominated athletes must have participated in at least 50 percent of the team's games at the position listed on the nomination form (where applicable).


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, National awards & honors, Academic honors, CoSIDA
No student-athlete is eligible until he has completed one full calendar year at his current institution and has reached sophomore athletic eligibility. In the cases of transfers, graduate students and two-year college graduates, the student-athlete must have completed one full calendar year at the nominating institution to be eligible. Nominees in graduate school must have a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or better both as an undergrad and in grad school. Penn State's Danny Morrissey was a District 2 first-team 2009 Academic All-District Men's Basketball Team selection. On February 25, 2009, the Big Ten had no Academic All America Men's Basketball Team selections.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, National awards & honors, Academic honors, Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award
At the conclusion of the 2008–09 academic year, the inaugural class of Big Ten Distinguished Scholars were recognized for having attained a 3.7 GPA for the academic year while earning varsity letters. Brett Finkelmeier, IND, Jamal Abu-Shamala, MINN, Sterling Williams, NU, and Mark Wohlford, PUR represented men's basketball as awardees.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, National awards & honors, Summer play
Battle, Hummel, and Turner were selected to represent the United States in the 2009 World University Games July 2–11 in Belgrade, Serbia. John Shurna was named to the United States' team for the 2009 FIBA Under-19 World Championship held July 2–12 in Auckland, New Zealand.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, National awards & honors, NBA Draft
During the 2009 NBA Draft, Mullens was chosen in the first round with the 24th overall selection by the Dallas Mavericks and Suton was selected by the Utah Jazz in the second round with the 50th overall selection.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, National awards & honors, Coaching honors
Wisconsin head basketball coach, Bo Ryan, was chosen to be the head coach for the 2009 World University Games Team by USA Basketball. Purdue head basketball coach, Matt Painter, was chosen to be one of two assistant coaches for the 2009 FIBA Under-19 World Championship Team by USA Basketball. Painter was one of ten finalists for the 2009 Henry Iba Award as named by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. Forbes named Ryan and Tom Izzo as two of the top ten coaches.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Statistical leaders
Eight of the eleven member Big Ten institutions will return at least 75 percent of their offensive production during the 2009–10 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, unless underclassmen declare for the 2009 NBA Draft. Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio State will return 90 percent of their total offensive production. The Buckeyes could return 100 percent of their scoring contingent next season. All five first-team All-Conference honorees were sophomores and are all projected to return as juniors. Overall, the Big Ten could return 80.5 percent of its offensive production from 2008 to 2009, and no team should lose more than half of its total scoring unit next year.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Statistical leaders
Players must have played in 75% of team's games to be eligible. (NCAA-wide ranking) in parenthesis for top 40 performers


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Postseason, Big Ten Tournament
#3 Purdue defeated #5 Ohio State in the 2009 Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament championship game by a 65–61 margin. The All-Big Ten Tournament team honorees were Boilermakers Robbie Hummel (Most Outstanding Player), JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore, Buckeye Evan Turner and Mike Davis of Illinois.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Postseason, NCAA Tournament
Goran Suton was the Midwest regional most outstanding player. He was joined by teammates Kalin Lucas and Travis Walton on the NCAA Tournament All-Midwest Regional team. Michigan State became the first team to play in the Final Four in their home state since Duke in 1994 and the first Big Ten team since Purdue in 1980. They were also the team with the second shortest trip (92 miles (148 km)) to the Final Four since it was bracketed in 1985.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Postseason, National Invitation Tournament
Jamelle Cornley was the most outstanding player of the tournament.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Postseason, Other tournaments
The Big Ten did not have any entrants in the other post season tournaments.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Postseason, 2009 NBA Draft
Several All Big Ten players who completed their eligibility were not drafted. Among those, Marcus Landry made it to the NBA the following season nonetheless. The following players were selected in the 2009 NBA Draft


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Postseason, 2009 NBA Draft
^ a: Goran Suton was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina and became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 2006.


2008–09 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Postseason, 2009 NBA Draft, Draft-day trades
The following trades involving drafted players were made on the day of the draft.


2008–09 Binghamton Bearcats men's basketball team
The 2008–09 Binghamton Bearcats men's basketball team represented Binghamton University during the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bearcats, led by second-year head coach Kevin Broadus, played their home games at the Binghamton University Events Center in Vestal, New York as members of the America East Conference.


2008–09 Binghamton Bearcats men's basketball team
The team finished with a record of 23–9, which tied a school record for wins in a season, and finished tied for first in America East play with a 13–3 conference record. The Bearcats clinched a share of their first America East regular season title and earned the top seed in the America East Tournament. The Bearcats defeated 9th–seeded Hartford and 4th–seeded New Hampshire, before punching their ticket to their first NCAA Tournament by beating 6th–seed UMBC in front of a sold-out Events Center.


2008–09 Binghamton Bearcats men's basketball team
The Bearcats were given the #15 seed in the East Region, where they were slated to face off against the 3–time national champion Duke. The game was nationally televised by CBS as the late night headliner, but the Bearcats historic season came to an end, as they lost 86–62. Head coach Kevin Broadus was named the conference's coach of the year for his efforts in the Bearcats run to the NCAA tournament.


2008–09 Binghamton Bearcats men's basketball team, Previous season
In Kevin Broadus' first season as Binghamton head coach, the Bearcats showed signs of improvements that they previously had not under the leadership of Al Walker. The team finished 14–16, tied for fourth in the America East with a 9–7 conference record, a 3–game improvement from the previous season. The Bearcats earned the fifth seed in the 2009 America East Men's Basketball Tournament, where they lost to fourth–seeded Vermont in the quarterfinals.


2008–09 Birmingham City F.C. season
The 2008–09 season was Birmingham City Football Club's 106th in the English football league system and their 47th in the second tier of English football. The team finished in second place in the Football League Championship to win promotion to the Premier League for the 2009–10 season.


2008–09 Birmingham City F.C. season, Pre-season
The kits were again manufactured by Umbro and bore the name of sponsors F&C Investments. The home shirt was royal blue with white sleeve trim, shorts were royal blue and socks were white. The away shirt was in a "penguin" style, white with a broad red central front panel, and was worn with white shorts and red socks. McLeish appointed former Celtic head physiotherapist Tim Williamson, Norwich City physio Peter Shaw, and British Olympic Association sports scientist Ben Rosenblatt to his backroom staff.


2008–09 Birmingham City F.C. season, Pre-season
With club captain Damien Johnson awaiting surgery on a back problem expected to keep him out for at least two months, Lee Carsley, who joined Birmingham when his contract at Everton expired, was appointed team captain in his absence. The first team's relegation from the Premier League made the reserve team ineligible for the Premier Reserve League, and the club decided not to enter any other reserve league.


2008–09 Birmingham City F.C. season, Pre-season
When the players returned for pre-season training, Franck Queudrue and Olivier Kapo failed to arrive. Queudrue claimed that he had mistaken the date, and Kapo was still in France receiving treatment on a hand injury. The club later announced that Queudrue could leave on a free transfer, and Kapo was fined. After a delay caused by Birmingham's insistence that he could only leave once the fine was paid, Kapo completed a move back to the Premier League with Wigan Athletic, where he was reunited with former Birmingham manager Steve Bruce. Young goalkeeper Artur Krysiak joined York City on loan for a month.