2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League
The 2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League was the first edition of the CONCACAF club football championship modelled after the UEFA Champions League, replacing the CONCACAF Champions' Cup, and overall the 44th edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The championship began on August 26, 2008, and it concluded May 12, 2009. Atlante of Mexico won the championship after defeating Cruz Azul, also from Mexico on aggregate at the Final. They represented CONCACAF in the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup.


2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League, Qualification
24 teams from 13 nations participated in the 2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League from the North American, Central American, and Caribbean zones. Nine of the teams came from North America, twelve from Central America, and three from the Caribbean. Below is the qualification scheme for the 2008-09 competition:


2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League, Qualification
1 New England were both the 2007 U.S. Open Cup winners and the 2007 MLS Cup runners-up, so Chivas USA  claimed USA4 as the 2007 MLS Supporters' Shield runners-up.


2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League, Qualification
2 Saprissa were both the 2007 Invierno and 2008 Verano winners, so Alajuelense has claimed CRC2 as the 2008 Verano runners-up.


2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League, Qualification
3 Luis Ángel Firpo were both the 2007 Apertura and 2008 Clausura winners, so Isidro Metapán has claimed SLV2 as the 2008 Clausura runners-up.


2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League, Qualification
4 San Francisco were both the 2007 Clausura and 2008 Apertura winners, so Tauro has claimed PAN2 as the 2008 Apertura runners-up.


2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League, Format
There was a two-legged Preliminary Round for 16 clubs, with the eight winners advancing to the Group Stage. They were joined by the other eight teams who were seeded directly into the Group Stage. The clubs involved in the Group Stage were placed into four groups of four with each team playing the others in its group in both home and away matches. The top two teams from each group will advance to the Knockout Rounds, which will consist of two-legged ties. The Final Round, to be held in late April 2009, were also two-legged. Also, unlike the previously contested CONCACAF Champions' Cup, the away goals rule is used in the CONCACAF Champions League, but does not apply after a tie goes into extra time.


2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League, Preliminary round
The draw for the Preliminary Round was held on 11 June 2008 in New York City. The first legs of the Preliminary Round were played  26–28 August 2008, while the second legs were played 2–4 September 2008.


2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League, Preliminary round
The effects of Hurricane Gustav led to the cancellation of the first leg of the Harbour View - UNAM tie, and as a result the tie was contested as a single match.


2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League, Group stage
The Group Stage draw was held on 11 June 2008 in New York City and was unveiled on 16 June 2008. Winners and runners-up of each group advance to the quarterfinals.


2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League, Championship round
The draw for the Championship Round was held on 10 December 2008. In each round, teams will play their opponent once at home and once away. The four group winners from the Group Stage will play the second leg at home in the Quarterfinals. The order of the home and away matches for the Semifinals and Finals were determined at the draw.


2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League, Championship round
In all rounds, if two teams are tied after both legs then two 15-minute halves of extra time are played. If the two teams are still tied on total goals after extra time a penalty shootout determines the winner.


2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League, Championship round, Quarterfinals
The first legs of the Quarterfinals were played from 24 February 2009 to 26 February 2009, while the second legs were played from 3 March 2009 to 5 March 2009.


2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League, Championship round, Semifinals
The first legs of the Semifinals were played on 17 March and 18 March 2009, while the second legs were played on 7 April and 8 April 2009.


2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League, Championship round, Final
The two-legged Final was played on 22 April and 12 May 2009. The second leg was originally scheduled for 29 April, but was postponed until 12 May by CONCACAF due to concerns over an outbreak of Swine Flu in Mexico.


2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League Championship Round
The 2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League Championship Round began on 24 February 2009. The draw for the Championship Round was held on 10 December 2008. In each round, teams will play their opponent once at home and once away. The four group winners from the Group Stage will play the second leg at home in the Quarterfinals. The order of the home and away matches for the Semifinals and Finals were determined in the draw.


2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League Championship Round
In all rounds, if two teams are tied after both legs the team with the most away goals is the winner. If the two teams are also tied in away goals, then two fifteen-minute halves of extra time are played. If the two teams are still tied in total goals after extra time, a penalty shootout determines the winner.


2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League Championship Round, Quarterfinals
The first legs of the Quarterfinals were played from 24 February 2009 to 26 February 2009, while the second legs were played from 3 March 2009 to 5 March 2009.


2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League Championship Round, Semifinals
The first legs of the Semifinals were played on 17 March and 18 March 2009, while the second legs were played on 7 April and 8 April 2009.


2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League Championship Round, Final
The two-legged final was played on 22 April and 12 May 2009. The second leg was originally scheduled for 29 April, but was postponed until 12 May by CONCACAF due to concerns over an outbreak of swine flu in Mexico.


2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage
The 2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage took place between 16 September 2008 and 26 November 2008.


2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage, Tie-breaking criteria
If two teams are tied on points, the following tie-breaking criteria shall be applied, in order, to determine the ranking of teams:


2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League Preliminary Round
The 2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League Preliminary Round took place between 26 August 2008 and 4 September 2008. The eight winners advanced to the Group Stage.


2008–09 CWHL season
The 2008–09 CWHL season is the second season of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). The Montreal Stars repeated as regular season champions, winning 25 of 30 games, and won CWHL Championship. Caroline Ouellette was voted the league's regular-season Most Valuable Player. Jayna Hefford won the Angela James Bowl with 69 points and was also voted the CWHL Top Forward. Becky Kellar was voted the CWHL Top Defender, Kim St-Pierre was voted the CWHL Top Goaltender, and Laura Hosier was voted the CWHL Outstanding Rookie.


2008–09 CWHL season, Final standings
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime Losses, SOL = Shootout Losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points.


2008–09 CWHL season, Clarkson Cup
Montreal Stars won the Clarkson Cup by defeating  3–1 the Minnesota Whitecaps (WWHL)


2008–09 Cal State Northridge Matadors men's basketball team
The 2008–09 Cal State Northridge Matadors men's basketball team represented California State University, Northridge in the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Matadors, led by head coach Bobby Braswell, played their home games at the Matadome in Northridge, California as members of the Big West Conference.


2008–09 Calgary Flames season
The 2008–09 Calgary Flames season was the 29th season for the Calgary Flames, and the 37th for the Flames franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flames finished second in the Northwest Division, and qualified for the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the fifth seed in the Western Conference, their fifth consecutive appearance in the post season. Their season ended when they were defeated by the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference quarter-finals.


2008–09 Calgary Flames season
The year began with the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, which saw the Flames select forward Greg Nemisz with their first round selection. The Flames made several trades during the draft, acquiring forward Mike Cammalleri from the Los Angeles Kings as part of a three-way trade that saw Calgary deal the 17th overall pick to the Anaheim Ducks. They then sent Alex Tanguay to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for the 25th overall pick, with each team adding lower round picks to the deal. The Flames signed forward Todd Bertuzzi during the off-season, a move that generated controversy amongst a fan base with which he had been previously unpopular. Calgary was also active at the trade deadline, making three deals, including a significant trade to add Olli Jokinen from the Phoenix Coyotes.


2008–09 Calgary Flames season
Jarome Iginla surpassed Theoren Fleury's franchise record of 830 points during the season, scoring his 831st point on the same night he recorded his 400th goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning as part of his second career five-point game. Iginla also scored his 400th career assist during the season, and scored his first all-star goal in his fifth appearance at the 2009 All-Star Game in Montreal. Eight players made their NHL debuts with the Flames in 2008–09.


2008–09 Calgary Flames season, Regular season
The Flames began the season with five games against divisional opposition. Despite holding leads in four of those games, Calgary won only one game, lost three in regulation, and a fourth in overtime. Goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff became the focus of the team's early struggles, as his play was argued to be a major cause of the Flames' inability to hold a lead. Calgary rebounded with a six-game winning streak, during which Kiprusoff allowed only nine goals on 152 shots.


2008–09 Calgary Flames season, Regular season
The team again struggled to win games at the start of November, losing five games in seven, including a pair of 6–1 losses to the Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks that led head coach Mike Keenan to cancel a planned mini-vacation for the players. The cancellation appeared to be a turning point in the season, as the Flames recorded a mark of 15–4–3 following the loss, including a dominating 5–2 victory over the Sharks at home. The Flames again beat the Sharks, 3–2 in San Jose, on January 15, to end the Sharks streak of 31 games without a home loss in regulation.


2008–09 Calgary Flames season, Regular season
Rookie Brett Sutter became the 8th member of the Sutter family to play in the NHL on December 23 when he made his debut against the Anaheim Ducks. The son of general manager Darryl Sutter, Brett scored a goal in his first game to help the Flames enter the Christmas break with a one-point lead on the Vancouver Canucks in the Northwest Division. Calgary expanded on that lead to five points after both Jarome Iginla and Mike Cammalleri posted career-high five-point nights in a 6–4 win over the Edmonton Oilers on New Year's Eve.


2008–09 Calgary Flames season, Regular season
The Flames lost one of their original owners early in the new year as Daryl "Doc" Seaman died January 11, 2009. Seaman had been one of the original group of six owners who brought the team to Calgary in 1980 and remained with the ownership group until his death.


2008–09 Calgary Flames season, Regular season
Iginla reached numerous personal milestones throughout the season. He recorded his 400th career assist in an early season game against Colorado. He represented the Flames at the 2009 All-Star Game, his fifth appearance, and recorded his first All-Star goal. On March 1, Iginla surpassed Theoren Fleury's franchise record of 830 career points as part of another five-point night against Tampa Bay, a game where he also scored his 400th career goal.


2008–09 Calgary Flames season, Regular season
Injuries became a serious concern for the Flames entering March, as Mark Giordano (shoulder surgery), Rene Bourque (high ankle sprain), Todd Bertuzzi (knee surgery), Brandon Prust (concussion) and Daymond Langkow (hand) were all on injured reserve to start the month. Looking to improve the team, Sutter completed two significant deals at the March 4 trade deadline, acquiring defenceman Jordan Leopold from the Colorado Avalanche and centre Olli Jokinen from the Phoenix Coyotes. The deals paid immediate dividends, as Jokinen scored twice and Leopold once in a 5–1 victory the next night against the Philadelphia Flyers allowing the Northwest Division leading Flames to move ten points ahead of the second place Canucks.


2008–09 Calgary Flames season, Regular season
The Tim Hortons Brier took over the Saddledome in early March, forcing the Flames on a season long, seven-game road trip, during which the team struggled to a 3–4 record that saw them suffer lopsided losses to the Carolina Hurricanes, Atlanta Thrashers and Toronto Maple Leafs; the Flames surrendered 27 goals in the final five games of the trip. Consequently, the Flames saw their lead for the division shrink to five points barely a week after the victory in Philadelphia. Calgary's lead fell to one point following consecutive shutout losses to the Pittsburgh Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets in late March. The Flames and Canucks ended the season in a battle for top spot, as both teams repeatedly took over the division lead heading into the final week of play.


2008–09 Calgary Flames season, Regular season
Injuries continued to batter the Flames towards the end of the regular season, as defencemen Robyn Regehr (MCL) and Cory Sarich (broken foot) were both lost in early April. The injuries led the Flames to call up rookies Matt Pelech and John Negrin, the latter of whom had just finished his junior season and had never played a professional game, to make their NHL debuts against the Minnesota Wild. The Flames were forced to play their final games of the regular season with as few as 15 skaters, below the normal 18, as the team lacked available salary cap space to call up replacements without sending other players down to their minor league affiliate in Quad City.


2008–09 Calgary Flames season, Regular season
Calgary's late season collapse ended with Vancouver winning the Northwest Division in the final weekend of the regular season following consecutive victories by the Canucks over the Flames, Los Angeles Kings and Colorado Avalanche while the Flames lost against Vancouver and Edmonton. As a result, the Flames finished the regular season second in the Northwest Division, and fifth in the Western Conference.


2008–09 Calgary Flames season, Regular season
The Flames finished the regular season having allowed the most shorthanded goals in the League, with 15.


2008–09 Calgary Flames season, Regular season, Conference standings
bold – qualified for playoffs, y – division winner, p – Presidents' Trophy winnerCE – Central Division, NW – Northwest Division, PA – Pacific Division


2008–09 Calgary Flames season, Schedule and results
Legend:  Win (2 points)  Loss (0 points)  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)


2008–09 Calgary Flames season, Playoffs
The Flames qualified for the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the fifth seed in the Western Conference, and faced the fourth seeded Chicago Blackhawks in the first round. The two teams met four times in the regular season, all of which resulted in Chicago victories. It was the fourth time the two teams met in the playoffs. Calgary defeated Chicago in 1981 and 1989, while Chicago prevailed in 1996.


2008–09 Calgary Flames season, Playoffs
The Western Conference quarter-final series opened in Chicago; the first Blackhawk playoff games in seven years. The Flames dropped the first two games, each by identical 3–2 scores. In both games, they played strong to start the games, earning 1–0 and 2–0 leads respectively before conceding the advantage. The Flames lost the first game after just 12 seconds of overtime. An angry Flames team returned to Calgary for games three and four, promising to improve their play. They won game three, 4–2, on the strength of Kiprusoff's 36-save performance in goal.


2008–09 Calgary Flames season, Playoffs
The first three games of the series were physically intense and occasionally violent, prompting the league to warn both teams to tone down both the verbal attacks they were exchanging as well as to remain within the rules when engaging in scrums after the play ended. TSN commentator Pierre McGuire, stationed between each team's benches, insisted that Iginla in particular had taken more verbal abuse than he had ever seen. A "fired up" Iginla responded with two goals and an assist in game four as the Flames tied the series with a 6–4 victory.


2008–09 Calgary Flames season, Playoffs
Iginla and the Flames were unable to maintain their momentum when the series returned to Chicago for game five. Iginla recorded only one shot, while Miikka Kiprusoff was pulled early in the second period as the Blackhawks easily won the game 5–1. Forward Andre Roy missed the fifth game after being suspended and fined $2,500 after he initiated contact with Chicago's Aaron Johnson during the warm-up prior to game four. The Flames' season came to an end in the sixth game as Nikolai Khabibulin's 43-save performance led the Hawks to a 4–1 win over the Flames. It was the first time Chicago had won a playoff series since they last defeated the Flames in 1996.


2008–09 Calgary Flames season, Playoffs
The Flames revealed the true extent of their injury situation following the loss, noting that Dion Phaneuf, who missed game six, was playing with broken ribs, while Cory Sarich was playing on a fractured ankle. With Rhett Warrener, Mark Giordano and Robyn Regehr all sidelined for the entire series, the Flames had five defencemen either out or playing hurt the entire series. In addition, Craig Conroy, Rene Bourque and Daymond Langkow were all playing despite various ailments. In spite of the Flames' injury situation, the team's fourth consecutive first round defeat led to new demands that head coach Mike Keenan be replaced as the team's head coach. Keenan was fired on May 22.


2008–09 Calgary Flames season, Player statistics, Goaltenders
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Flames. Stats reflect time with the Flames only. ‡Traded mid-seasonBold/italics denotes franchise record


2008–09 Calgary Flames season, Awards and records
Several players made their NHL debuts with the Flames in 2008–09. Adam Pardy began the season with the Flames, while Warren Peters, Brett Sutter, David Van der Gulik, Kris Chucko, John Negrin and Matt Pelech were each recalled from the Quad City Flames during the season. The latter two made their debuts on the same night, April 3, after the Flames lost three defencemen in previous games. 2007 first round pick Mikael Backlund played one game with the Flames after leaving his Swedish team before being sent to the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League.


2008–09 Calgary Flames season, Transactions
The Flames made two trades at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, sending forward Alex Tanguay to Montreal and acquiring Mike Cammalleri from Los Angeles in two separate deals. Calgary sent the 17th overall selection in the draft to the Kings, and received the 25th overall pick from the Canadiens as part of the trades.


2008–09 Calgary Flames season, Transactions
Todd Bertuzzi was signed by the Flames as a free agent on July 8, 2009. The controversial forward best known for his attack on Steve Moore in 2003–04, had previously been extremely unpopular with Flames fans. Bertuzzi, who had previously been booed by Calgary fans every time he touched the puck was greeted with loud cheers when he was introduced before the Flames' first exhibition game of the season.


2008–09 Calgary Flames season, Transactions
The trade deadline on March 4 saw the Flames emerge as one of the most active teams on the day, completing three trades. Calgary acquired defenceman Jordan Leopold from Colorado for Lawrence Nycholat, who was picked up on waivers from Vancouver one day prior and never played with Calgary, minor leaguer Ryan Wilson and a draft pick. general manager Darryl Sutter then completed what was considered the biggest deal of the day, acquiring Olli Jokinen and a third round pick from the Coyotes in exchange for Matthew Lombardi, Brandon Prust and a first round pick. The Flames then ended the day with a minor move, sending minor-league goaltender Kevin Lalande to Columbus for a fourth round pick.


2008–09 Calgary Flames season, Draft picks
The Flames entered the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa with the 17th overall selection. They dealt that pick to Los Angeles, and acquired the 25th overall selection from Montreal. With that pick, the Flames selected centre Greg Nemisz from the Ontario Hockey League's Windsor Spitfires. Listed at six-foot-three and 197 pounds, Nemisz is described as being a potential power forward who is not afraid of working hard. Calgary drafted six other players, led by second-round selection Mitch Wahl, whom the Flames project to be a potential top-six forward.


2008–09 Calgary Flames season, Farm teams, Quad City Flames
The Quad City Flames entered their second season in the American Hockey League (AHL) in 2008–09. The team was dogged throughout the season by rumours that the franchise would relocate to Abbotsford, British Columbia in 2009–10. The owners in Quad Cities acknowledged that the Flames had been considering a change, but expected the franchise would remain in Moline, Illinois. Despite these assurances, Calgary confirmed on March 11 that they had reached an agreement with the owners in Quad Cities to end their affiliation agreement after only two seasons, and announced their intent to move into Abbotsford. The proposed relocation was approved by the AHL board of governors on April 29, 2009.


2008–09 Calgary Flames season, Farm teams, Quad City Flames
On the ice, Quad City finished with a 36–31–6–7 record, fifth in the West Division, and one point shy of making the playoffs. Quad City played its final game on April 11, 2009 with a 5–3 win over the Iowa Chops. Kyle Greentree led the team in scoring, with a franchise high 76 points.


2008–09 Calgary Flames season, Farm teams, Las Vegas Wranglers
The Las Vegas Wranglers remained Calgary's ECHL affiliate for the sixth season, where they finished 2nd in the Pacific division with a 34–31–2–6 record. In the Kelly Cup playoffs, the Wranlgers defeated the Bakersfield Condors and Stockton Thunder in seven games each to reach the National Conference finals. The season came to an end against the Alaska Aces, who eliminated Las Vegas in four games.


2008–09 Calgary Flames season, Farm teams, Las Vegas Wranglers
As part of their affiliation agreement with Las Vegas, the Flames assigned four players to the Wranglers to begin the season: Gord Baldwin, Hugo Carpentier, Kevin Lalande and Dan Spang. Lalande led the team amongst goaltenders with 21 games played, recording a record of 9–8–0–3, while Glen Fisher led the team with 11 wins. Dan Riedel, acquired from the Dayton Bombers during the season led the team with 23 goals and 57 points.


2008–09 California Golden Bears men's basketball team
The 2008–09 California Golden Bears men's basketball team represented the University of California, Berkeley in the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was head coach Mike Montgomery's first season at California. The Golden Bears played their home games at Haas Pavilion and participated in the Pacific-10 Conference. The Golden Bears finished the season 22–11, 11–7 in Pac-10 play to finish in third place. They lost to USC in the quarterfinals of the Pac-10 tournament. They received an at–large bid to the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, earning a 7 seed in the West Region. They were beaten by 10 seed Maryland in the first round.


2008–09 Cambridge United F.C. season
The 2008–09 season was the 97th season in the history of Cambridge United, and the club's fourth consecutive season in the Conference National. After finishing as runners-up and losing in the play-off final during the 2007–08 season, the club were optimistic of a return to the Football League either as champions or through the play-offs.


2008–09 Cambridge United F.C. season
The club appointed little-known manager Gary Brabin to guide them through the season, who joined from Southport with relatively little managerial experience. He replaced the successful Jimmy Quinn who parted company with the club by mutual consent after lengthy talks with chairman Phillip Law.


2008–09 Cambridge United F.C. season
The club enjoyed a successful season, although they were not close to catching eventual champions Burton Albion for much of the season. However, in the final months some excellent form, together with the departure of Burton's manager Nigel Clough, saw the gap close and Cambridge could have won the title and promotion on the final day of the season had they beaten rather than drawn at home to Altrincham. As it was they finished runners-up for the second successive season and despite a memorable play-off campaign, which included beating Stevenage Borough 3–0 after extra time in the second leg at the Abbey Stadium to overturn a first-leg deficit, Cambridge lost the play-off final to Torquay United.


2008–09 Cambridge United F.C. season, Background
Cambridge United were founded in 1912 as Abbey United, named after the Abbey district of Cambridge. For many years they played amateur football until their election to the Football League in 1970. The early 1990s was Cambridge's most successful period; managed by John Beck the club won the first ever play-off final at Wembley Stadium and gained promotion from the Fourth Division before reaching two successive FA Cup quarter finals in 1990 and 1991 and winning the Third Division in 1991. The club reached the play-offs in 1992 but failed in their bid to become founder members of the Premier League. This was the club's highest final league placing to date and since then it has been in almost constant decline.


2008–09 Cambridge United F.C. season, Background
The following season the club sacked Beck and were relegated from the First Division. Further relegation followed two seasons later. United returned to Division Two but were relegated in 2002. In 2005, after 35 years in the Football League, Cambridge United were relegated into the Football Conference. This brought with it financial difficulties and the club filed for administration, coming out of it three months later after the intervention of sports minister Richard Caborn, but not before selling their Abbey Stadium home to keep the club afloat and closing the youth system.


2008–09 Cambridge United F.C. season, Background
The club's first season in the Conference National was one of stabilisation, followed by a close shave with relegation. Under the stewardship of Jimmy Quinn, the club recovered in the previous season to finish in the play-off final. However, after despite losing the 1–0 to Exeter City, the club were hoping to build on this relative success under the new management of Gary Brabin following Quinn's departure.


2008–09 Cambridge United F.C. season, Team kit
The team kit for the season was produced by Vandanel for the second season. The same kit was used as in the previous season, with a white and black away shirt, and amber and black striped home shirt. As for previous seasons, the kit had two different sponsors - local company Global Self Drive at home and Kershaw away.


2008–09 Cambridge United F.C. season, Team kit
A special edition play-off final shirt was also released and worn for that match. Produced by Vandanel, the shirt was all amber with limited black trim and sponsored by Kershaw.


2008–09 Cambridge United F.C. season, Team, First team squad
This table shows the squad as it stood at the end of the season.


2008–09 Cambridge United F.C. season, Team, 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 Cambridge United F.C. season, Team, Top scorers
Includes matched in the Conference National, FA Cup and FA Trophy. Where total goals are equal, the list is sorted in favour of league goals, and then alphabetical order.


2008–09 Campeonato Nacional da 1ª Divisão de Futsal
The 2008–09 season of the Portuguese Futsal First Division was the 19th season of top-tier futsal in Portugal and it was won by Benfica.


2008–09 Campeonato Nacional da 1ª Divisão de Futsal, Title Playoffs, Quarterfinals
1st Matches16/5/2009Sporting C.P. - A.R. Freixieiro 4-3 (1-1)F.C. Alpendorada - C.F. Belenenses 4-7 (1-2)AD Fundão - Fundação Jorge Antunes 5-1 (2-0)Instituto D. João V - S.L. Benfica 1-4 (1-3)


2008–09 Campeonato Nacional da 1ª Divisão de Futsal, Title Playoffs, Quarterfinals
2nd Matches23/5/2009A.R. Freixieiro - Sporting C.P. 7-6 (0-1)C.F. Belenenses - F.C. Alpendorada 5-2 (1-1)Fundação Jorge Antunes - AD Fundão 6-4 (3-1)S.L. Benfica - Instituto D. João V 4-2 (3-1)


2008–09 Campeonato Nacional da 1ª Divisão de Futsal, Title Playoffs, Quarterfinals
3rd Matches - If necessary24/5/2009A.R. Freixieiro - Sporting C.P. 4-3 (3-0)Fundação Jorge Antunes - AD Fundão 5-3 (2-3)


2008–09 Campeonato Nacional da 1ª Divisão de Futsal, Title Playoffs, Semifinals
1st Matches6/6/2009A.R. Freixieiro - S.L. Benfica 9-10 ap; 4-4 (4-2)C.F. Belenenses - Fundação Jorge Antunes 7-4 a2ndet; 4-4 a1stet; 3-3 (2-0)


2008–09 Campeonato Nacional da 1ª Divisão de Futsal, Title Playoffs, Semifinals
2nd Matches13/6/2009S.L. Benfica - A.R. Freixieiro 4-3 (2-2)Fundação Jorge Antunes - C.F. Belenenses 3-2 a2ndet; 2-2 a1stet; 2-2 (1-1)


2008–09 Campeonato Nacional da 1ª Divisão de Futsal, Title Playoffs, Semifinals
3rd Matches - If necessary14/6/2009Fundação Jorge Antunes - C.F. Belenenses 3-4 (1-2)


2008–09 Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio
The 2008–09 Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio season was the twenty-fourth since its establishment. The season began with the first regular season games on 12 September 2008 and ended with the play-off final on 29 May 2009.


2008–09 Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio, Venues
The teams do not have grounds of their own due to restricted space in San Marino. Each match was randomly assigned to one of the following grounds:


2008–09 Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio, Regular season, Results
All teams play twice against the teams within their own group and once against the teams from the other group.


2008–09 Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio, Play-off
The playoff was held in a double-eliminination format. Both group winners earned a bye in the first and second round.


2008–09 Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio, Play-off, Third Round
The matches were played on 15 and 16 May 2009.


2008–09 Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio, Play-off, Fourth Round
The matches were played on 19 and 20 May 2009.


2008–09 Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio, Play-off, Semifinal
The match was played on 25 May 2009 at Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle.


2008–09 Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio, Play-off, Final
The final was played on 29 May 2009 at Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle. The winners qualified for the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League 2009–10.


2008–09 Canadian network television schedule
The 2008–09 Canadian network television schedule indicates the fall prime time schedules for Canada's major English and French broadcast networks. For schedule changes after the fall launch, please consult each network's individual article.


2008–09 Canberra United W-League season
The 2008–09 season is Canberra United's first season of football (soccer) in Australia, and competed in the 2008–09 W-League season.


2008–09 Canberra United W-League season, Season
The first announcement of the club came in July 2008, coinciding with the establishment of the new W-League. The formation of the new club presented a unique situation in the league, that it was not associated with an established A-League side. In August, Canberra appointed Matildas assistant coach Robbie Hooker as coach for the inaugural season, and ACT Senator Kate Lundy as club chair. United also announced its first key signing in local Canberran and Matildas goalkeeper Lydia Williams.


2008–09 Canberra United W-League season, Season
Hooker made a number of key signings in the first registration window, also securing Caitlin Munoz, Amy Chapman, Grace Gill-McGrath, Hayley Crawford, Rhian Davies, Thea Slatyer for the inaugural season. The squad was further expanded in the lead up to the first round, signing on a number of players from the ACT and Southern NSW, and also signing Sasha McDonnell and Kara Mowbray from Queensland. The final squad presented significant strength on paper, boasting eight full internationals and a further four Young Matildas.


2008–09 Canberra United W-League season, Season
United started the season steadily, alternating losses and wins in the opening rounds - including a win over eventual Premiers Queensland Roar. Scoring came with some difficulty for the side, with four goals in their opening first five matches. Influencing this record was an injury to striker Caitlin Munoz in Round 1, keeping her sidelined for a number of weeks. Munoz's return to the side in Round 6 immediately lifted the scoring rate, contributing four goals in the last five rounds.


2008–09 Canberra United W-League season, Season
Despite early losses, Canberra were unbeaten in the last seven rounds of the competition, achieving a third placed finish with a record of four wins, four draws and two losses. Canberra's strength throughout the season has been in defence, drawn from a number of experienced players. In front of a dependable Williams in goal, a defensive backline led by Thea Slatyer and captain Ellie Brush frustrated opposition and ensured the second-best defensive record in the competition, bettered only by Premiers Queensland.


2008–09 Canberra United W-League season, Season
United won their away semi-final against Newcastle Jets, and progressed to the inaugural final, where they were defeated by Queensland Roar.


2008–09 Cardiff City F.C. season
The 2008–09 season was Cardiff City's sixth consecutive year playing in the Football League Championship and their 82nd season playing in The Football League. It was also the club's final season playing at Ninian Park, their home ground since they had entered The Football League in 1920.


2008–09 Cardiff City F.C. season, Season review, Pre-season
Cardiff began their pre-season schedule with matches against Welsh sides Merthyr Tydfil and Carmarthen Town, with squads made up of first team players and youth players. Goals from Steve Thompson, Jon Brown and youth player Sol Taylor saw a 3–1 win over Merthyr and a hat-trick from Paul Parry along with one from Rhys Kelleher and an own goal saw the other match end in a 5–0 win for Cardiff. Several days later, Cardiff flew out to Portugal to take part in the Algarve Cup, along with Middlesbrough, Celtic and Vitória de Guimarães. Before the tournament they played a warm-up match against Portuguese side Vitoria de Setubal which ended in a 1–1 draw.


2008–09 Cardiff City F.C. season, Season review, Pre-season
Their Algarve Cup tournament began with a match against Vitória de Guimarães, coming away with a 2–0 win with both goals being scored by summer signing Ross McCormack. In the second and final game of the tournament they overcame Scottish Premier League champions Celtic 1–0 with Joe Ledley scoring the only goal as Cardiff came away as the tournament winners. Returning to Britain, they played out a 1–1 draw with Swindon Town followed by a 0–0 draw with Dutch side Ajax in their first home pre-season tie. They finished their pre-season schedule with a friendly against Chasetown with a team made up of senior and youth players. The match finished 2–2 with goals from Paul Parry and trialist Wilson Oruma.


2008–09 Cardiff City F.C. season, Season review, League
Cardiff opened their season with a home tie against Southampton, the first time they had been handed a home tie on the opening day of the season for eleven years, and went on to win 2–1 after a last minute winner by Roger Johnson.


2008–09 Cardiff City F.C. season, Season review, League
Propelled by the goals of summer signing Ross McCormack, Cardiff did not suffer a defeat until their ninth league game of the season when they lost 2–1 to Birmingham City, but they bounced back quickly with a 2–1 win over Coventry City three days later and the sides form through October, three wins and two draws, saw manager Dave Jones awarded the manager of the month award.


2008–09 Cardiff City F.C. season, Season review, League
A slump in form saw three defeats in the next four games but despite the loss of form the side remained in the play-off zone. During the poor spell, former player Michael Chopra returned on loan just over a year after leaving the club in a club record £5m sale to Sunderland, converting a penalty on his debut in a 2–1 win over Crytsal Palace on 15 November.


2008–09 Cardiff City F.C. season, Season review, League
On 22 November, the second South Wales derby of the season took place, after an earlier meeting in the League Cup, with the match ending in a 2–2 draw with both sides being reduced to ten men due to red cards for Stephen McPhail and Darren Pratley. The match was the second of what would become a three-month unbeaten spell which took the side through to the end of February without defeat until they lost 1–0 to Southampton, a run which saw Cardiff rise to 4th place in the table.


2008–09 Cardiff City F.C. season, Season review, League
The following game saw Cardiff win 3–1 against Barnsley, the first time in the season they had scored more than two goals in a single game. They went on to win 3 of their 6 matches in March before meeting local rivals Swansea City for the third time during the season on 5 April. The match ended in a 2–2 draw but was overshadowed by referee Mike Dean being struck by a coin thrown from the crowd. The incident was condemned by chairman Peter Ridsdale and manager Dave Jones after the match.


2008–09 Cardiff City F.C. season, Season review, League
Three consecutive wins for the side meant that with 4 games remaining they needed two points to secure a play-off place but they only managed one point during the final four games, in a 2–2 draw with Charlton Athletic, which would lead to them finishing in seventh place, missing out on a play-off spot to Preston North End on goals scored.


2008–09 Cardiff City F.C. season, Season review, Final league standings, Player presentations
As part of the celebrations of the club's final year at Ninian Park former players and staff of the club were presented to the crowd at half-time during various home matches throughout the season. At the end of the season all the players were invited back for the final game at the ground against Ipswich Town. The date, opponent and people presented were:


2008–09 Cardiff City F.C. season, Season review, League Cup
Cardiff began their League cup campaign away to League Two side Bournemouth, coming away with a 2–1 win with both goals scored by Paul Parry in the opening twelve minutes of the match. After coming through the second round with a 2–1 home win over Milton Keynes Dons, Cardiff were handed a third round tie against local rivals Swansea City in the first South Wales derby to take place in nine years. A heated encounter saw Swansea come away with a 1–0 after a deflected free-kick, with Cardiff being reduced to ten men after Stephen McPhail saw red for two bookable offences. After the match fans from both clubs clashed with police.


2008–09 Cardiff City F.C. season, Season review, FA Cup
Entering the competition in the third round, Cardiff's first match in the FA Cup came up against fellow Championship side Reading, with goals from Ross McCormack and Joe Ledley putting Cardiff through to the next round with a 2–0 win. In the fourth round Cardiff were handed a lucrative home tie against Premier League side Arsenal. The match, taking place in a packed Ninian Park, finished in a 0–0 draw. The replay, which was originally set to be played on 3 February but was postponed due to heavy snowfall, took place on 16 February, ending in a 4–0 win for Arsenal.


2008–09 Cardiff City F.C. season, Squad at end of season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008–09 Carleton Ravens men's basketball season
The 2008-09 Carleton University Ravens men's basketball season began on August 28, 2007 with exhibition games against NCAA Division I teams, and with regular season games beginning on November 7. The season ended when the Ravens hosted the national championships at Scotiabank Place for the second time.


2008–09 Carlisle United F.C. season
For the 2008–09 season, Carlisle United F.C. competed in Football League One.


2008–09 Carolina Hurricanes season
The 2008–09 Carolina Hurricanes season was the franchise's 37th season, 30th season in the National Hockey League and 12th as the Hurricanes.


2008–09 Carolina Hurricanes season, Regular season
The Hurricanes finished the regular season having tied the Montreal Canadiens for the most power-play opportunities, with 374.


2008–09 Carolina Hurricanes season, Regular season, Divisional standings
2 points for a win, 1 for an OT or shootout loss, 0 for a loss in regulation


2008–09 Carolina Hurricanes season, Regular season, Conference standings
bold – qualified for playoffs, y – division winner, z – placed first in conference (and division)


2008–09 Carolina Hurricanes season, Regular season, Conference standings
AT – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division


2008–09 Carolina Hurricanes season, Schedule and results
Win (2 points)  Loss (0 points)  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)


2008–09 Carolina Hurricanes season, Schedule and results, Record vs. opponents
Notes: * denotes division winner; teams in bold are in the Southeast Division; teams in italics qualified for the playoffs; points refer to the points achieved by the team whom the Hurricanes played against


2008–09 Carolina Hurricanes season, Schedule and results, Record vs. opponents
= Member of the Atlantic Division   = Member of the Northeast Division   = Member of the Southeast Division   = Member of the Central Division   = Member of the Northeast Division   = Member of the Pacific Division


2008–09 Carolina Hurricanes season, Playoffs
The Carolina Hurricanes ended the 2008–09 regular season as the Eastern Conference's sixth seed, and got swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals.


2008–09 Carolina Hurricanes season, Player statistics, Goaltenders
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Hurricanes. Stats reflect season totals. ‡Traded mid-seasonBold/italics denotes franchise record


2008–09 Carolina Hurricanes season, News
On June 14, the Hurricanes agreed to an extension of their lease at the RBC Center by five years through to 2023-24.


2008–09 Carolina Hurricanes season, Draft picks
The 2008 NHL Entry Draft was in Ottawa, Ontario. The Hurricanes had the 14th overall pick


2008–09 Carolina Hurricanes season, Farm teams, American Hockey League
The Albany River Rats are the Hurricanes American Hockey League affiliate for the 2008–09 AHL season.


2008–09 Celtic F.C. season
The 2008–09 season was the 120th season of competitive football by Celtic.


2008–09 Celtic F.C. season, Overview
Celtic went into the 2008–09 season defending their Scottish Premier League title, which they won for the third consecutive time in 2007–08.


2008–09 Celtic F.C. season, Overview
They also entered the UEFA Champions League directly at the group stage, as well as taking part in the two domestic cup competitions, the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup.


2008–09 Celtic F.C. season, Overview
To prepare for the Season, Celtic took part in two Pre-Season Tournaments; the Algarve Challenge Cup in Faro, Portugal, where they finished bottom, having faced Middlesbrough and Cardiff City, and the Feyenoord Jubilee Tournament in Rotterdam, where they finished second, having faced Tottenham Hotspur and host club Feyenoord.


2008–09 Celtic F.C. season, The campaign, League campaign
The Championship flag was unfurled before Celtic's first League game, against St Mirren at Celtic Park on 10 August by Rosemary Burns, the widow of former Celtic player Tommy Burns, who had died of skin cancer at the end of season 2007–08. Celtic won the game 1–0, through a Barry Robson penalty, getting their Campaign off to a winning start.


2008–09 Celtic F.C. season, The campaign, League campaign
Celtic finished second in the SPL table at the end of the season, eventually finishing four points behind champions Rangers. This was despite at one point having built up a seven-point lead over Rangers. This lead was squandered though, Celtic dropping points to Dundee United, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Motherwell, Rangers themselves, and on two occasions to both Hibernian and Hearts.


2008–09 Celtic F.C. season, The campaign, League campaign
One day after the final league game of the season, a 0–0 draw with Hearts at Celtic Park, it was announced that Gordon Strachan would leave as manager of Celtic with immediate effect. This brought to an end Strachan's four-year spell as manager, during which he guided the club to three SPL titles, one Scottish Cup and two Scottish League Cups. He also guided the club twice into the last 16 of the Champions League, losing out to A.C. Milan and Barcelona respectively.


2008–09 Celtic F.C. season, The campaign, European campaign
Celtic, as Scottish champions, qualified directly for the UEFA Champions League, where they were the sole Scottish side as Rangers were knocked out in the second qualifying round by FBK Kaunas, meaning Celtic received all the TV money allocated to Scotland.


2008–09 Celtic F.C. season, The campaign, European campaign
Celtic were in Pot 3 for the group stage draw, which took place in Monaco on 28 August. They were drawn with Manchester United, Villarreal and Aalborg. The first game, a home tie against Aalborg, finished in a goalless draw. The next game, away to Villarreal ended in a 1–0 defeat, which was followed by a 3–0 defeat away to Manchester United. Next up, at home, Celtic drew 1–1 with Manchester United, with Scott McDonald putting Celtic in the lead in the 13th minute, only for Ryan Giggs to equalise for Manchester United in the 84th minute. A disappointing 2–1 defeat to Aalborg in Denmark saw Celtic's European aspirations end, despite having taken the lead through Barry Robson. Nonetheless, Celtic rallied to end their campaign on a high with a 2–0 victory over Villarreal at Celtic Park.


2008–09 Celtic F.C. season, The campaign, Domestic cups
Celtic entered the Scottish League Cup at the third round proper (the last 16 stage) and the Scottish Cup at the fourth round proper (the Round of 32). The club beat Livingston 4–0 in the third round of the League Cup on 23 September, and travelled to Kilmarnock on 28 October, beating them 3–1 and qualifying for the semi-finals, where they faced Dundee United at Hampden Park on 28 January. After a 0–0 draw in extra time, Celtic won a penalty shoot-out 11–10 to set up a final against Rangers on 15 March. The team won the 2009 Scottish League Cup Final 2–0 aet at Hampden, with Darren O'Dea and Aiden McGeady getting the goals.


2008–09 Celtic F.C. season, The campaign, Domestic cups
The fourth round of the Scottish Cup took place on 10 January, with Celtic beating Dundee at Celtic Park. In the fifth round, Celtic hosted Queen's Park on 7 February, beating them 2–1. In the quarter-finals, Celtic lost 1–0 at St Mirren on 7 March.


2008–09 Celtic F.C. season, Player statistics, Appearances and goals
List of squad players, including number of appearances by competition


2008–09 Celtic League
The 2008–09 Celtic League (known as the 2008–09 Magners League for sponsorship reasons) was the eighth Celtic League season and the third with Magners as title sponsor. The season began in September 2008 and ended in May 2009. Ten teams played each other on a home-and-away basis, with teams earning four points for a win, and a bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match. Losing teams also earned a bonus point if they lost by seven points or less.


2008–09 Celtic League
The ten competing teams consisted of the four Irish provinces, Munster, Leinster, Connacht and Ulster; two Scottish regions, Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors; and four Welsh regions, Cardiff Blues, Newport Gwent Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets. The Scarlets were originally known as the "Llanelli Scarlets", but renamed themselves at the start of the season, in order to reflect their regional identity.


2008–09 Celtic League
Munster were crowned champions on 30 April 2009 after the Ospreys beat the Newport Gwent Dragons 27–18 but failed to claim a bonus point.


2008–09 Celtic League, Leading scorers
Note: Flags to the left of player names indicate national team as has been defined under IRB eligibility rules, or primary nationality for players who have not yet earned international senior caps. Players may hold one or more non-IRB nationalities.


2008–09 Celtic League, Broadcast rights
Television rights for the league are split between three broadcasters, BBC Wales, S4C and Setanta Sports. BBC Wales and S4C continues to cover the Pro12.


2008–09 Central Coast Mariners FC season
The 2008–09 season was Central Coast Mariners Football Club's 4th season since the inception of the A-League.


2008–09 Central Coast Mariners FC season
Central Coast's A-League season commenced on 15 August 2008. After losing in the Grand Final in the previous season, they again made the finals series after finishing fourth, only to be eliminated by Queensland Roar.


2008–09 Central Coast Mariners FC season
The Mariners also competed in the Pre-Season Cup, where they were eliminated in the group stage.


2008–09 Central Coast Mariners FC season
In Asia, the Mariners lost in the Champions League group stage, drawing two games and losing four.


2008–09 Central Coast Mariners FC season, Players, 2008–09 A-League squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008–09 Central Coast Mariners FC season, Players, 2009 AFC Champions League squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008–09 Central Coast Mariners FC season, Players, Youth squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008–09 Central Coast Mariners FC season, Statistics, Goalscorers
Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.


2008–09 Central Coast Mariners FC season, Awards
The Mariners Medal dinner was held in early March 2009, in Tumbi Umbi:


2008–09 Central Coast Mariners W-League season
The 2008–09 season is the Central Coast Mariners' first season of soccer in Australia's new women's league, the W-League.


2008–09 Central Coast Mariners W-League season, Players
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008–09 Chamois Niortais F.C. season
The 2008–09 season was the first season that Chamois Niortais returned to the Championnat National following their relegation from Ligue 2 at the end of the previous campaign. Denis Troch was hired as the new head coach, replacing Samuel Michel. Niort won only 9 of their 38 league matches and their total of 41 points saw the team finish 17th in the Championnat National, which meant relegation to the Championnat de France amateur for the first time in the club's history in the 2008–09 season.


2008–09 Chamois Niortais F.C. season, Appearances and goals
Striker Romain Jacuzzi made the most league appearances for Niort during the 2008–09 season, missing only two matches. He was also the club's top goalscorer with 11 in all competitions. Midfielders Ronan Biger and Matías Pérez García, defenders Yannick Fischer and Mamadou Camara and forward Arnaud Gonzalez were also among the players to make over 30 first-team appearances.


2008–09 Chamois Niortais F.C. season, Coupe de France
Niort joined the 2008–09 Coupe de France in the fifth round, along with the other clubs in the Championnat National. The team's first game in the cup was a 1–0 win against Division d'Honneur side US Chauvigny thanks to an injury time goal from midfielder Johan Gastien. In the sixth round, Niort were drawn away at Championnat de France amateur 2 club ESA Brive. They took a second-half lead through Romain Jacuzzi, but the home side equalised from a penalty kick from striker Oussama Belfoul. Jacuzzi was on target again in the seventh round, scoring Niort's first in a 2–1 win away at Les Herbiers VF before Argentine midfielder Matías Pérez García netted the winning goal three minutes from time.


2008–09 Chamois Niortais F.C. season, Coupe de France
Niort were handed a fourth consecutive away tie in the eighth round, being drawn to play away at Championnat de France amateur side Quimper on 13 December 2008. Following a goalless draw after extra time, during which defender Damien Da Silva was given a straight red card, Niort progressed 4–1 in a penalty shoot-out in which goalkeeper Kévin Aubeneau saved two spot kicks. In the round of 64, the team was drawn at home to Ligue 2 outfit US Boulogne.


2008–09 Chamois Niortais F.C. season, Coupe de France
Niort scored first through Ronan Biger, but Congolese midfielder Christian Kinkela equalised for the visitors in the 86th minute to take the tie to extra time. Despite having defender Éric Cubilier sent off for a second bookable offence, Boulogne took the lead thanks to a Grégory Thil penalty following a foul by Mamadou Camara.


2008–09 Chamois Niortais F.C. season, Coupe de la Ligue
As one of the teams relegated from Ligue 2 at the end of the 2007–08 season, Niort were eligible to contest the Coupe de la Ligue and entered the competition in the first round. The team was drawn to play Créteil away at the Stade Dominique Duvauchelle on 19 August 2008. Despite leading at half time through a goal from young midfielder Yvan Kibundu, Niort were defeated 1–2 thanks to late goals from the home side.


2008–09 Championnat National
The 2008–09 Championnat National was the 16th edition of the 3rd division league. Play commenced on 1 August 2008 and ended on 29 May 2009. Vannes OC, Tours FC, and Nîmes Olympique were promoted to Ligue 2, replacing Chamois Niortais, FC Libourne-Saint-Seurin, and FC Gueugnon who were relegated from Ligue 2.


2008–09 Championnat National
Villemomble Sports, Pau FC, FC Martigues and SO Romorantin were relegated to the CFA, and promoted from the CFA were Pacy Vallée-d'Eure from Group A, Croix de Savoie Gaillard from Group B, SO Cassis Carnoux from Group C, and Aviron Bayonnais FC from Group D.


2008–09 Championnat National, Participating teams
As usual, there will be 20 teams competing in the Championnat National in the 2008–09 season.


2008–09 Championnat de France Amateur
The 2008–09 Championnat de France Amateurs season was the 11th edition of the competition since its establishment. The competition officially began 9 August 2008 and ended on 30 May 2009. The competition consists of 72 clubs spread into four parallel groups of 18.


2008–09 Championnat de France Amateur
It is open to reserve teams in France and amateur clubs in France, although only the amateur clubs are eligible for promotion to the Championnat National. The highest-placed amateur team in each pool are promoted, replaced by the four lowest-placed in the Championnat.


2008–09 Championnat de France Amateur, Standings
Note: Unlike the higher leagues, a win in the CFA is worth 4 points, with 2 points for a draw and 1 for a defeat.


2008–09 Championnat de France Amateur, Playoffs
The Championnat de France Amateurs playoffs are designated for only the professional clubs B teams playing in the league. The best finishing professional reserve club in each group will advance to the playoffs where they will face each other at a site to be determined. The semi-final opponents are determined by the best finishing place. The best finishing reserve club will be awarded the 1st seed, while the worst finishing reserve club of the four will be awarded the 4th seed.


2008–09 Champions Hockey League
The 2008–09 Champions Hockey League was the only season of the Champions Hockey League (2008–09), an IIHF-organized ice hockey tournament for the best club teams in Europe. The season was played with 12 teams from seven countries (two teams each from Russia, Czech Republic, Sweden and Finland,one team each from Switzerland, Germany and Slovakia and a 12th team from one of these three countries, determined in a qualification tournament). Every participating team was guaranteed an appearance fee of 300,000 euro and the winner received 1,000,000 euro.


2008–09 Champions Hockey League
Prize money was also be awarded for winning group stage matches (50,000 euro), for the semi-final appearance (200,000 euro) and for the other finalist (500,000 euro). In total, 10 million euros were distributed, the largest prize sum ever in a European hockey club competition. The ZSC Lions from Switzerland won the competition by beating Russia's Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the finals.


2008–09 Champions Hockey League
In December 2013, the IIHF officially announced that they had launched a new tournament with the same name, born out of the European Trophy, starting in the 2014–15 season.


2008–09 Champions Hockey League, Participating teams
The 2008–09 edition of the Champions Hockey League is played with twelve teams from Europe's top seven hockey leagues. Ten teams qualified directly for the group stage due to their performances in the domestic leagues. The field was completed with the winner of last season's Champions Cup and one team from the qualifying tournament. The tables below lists these teams together with the reasons for qualifying.


2008–09 Champions Hockey League, Participating teams, Directly qualified for group stage
Note: Because the Swedish regular-season winner (HV71) also won the play-offs, Linköpings HC as the runner-up of the regular-season will participate.


2008–09 Champions Hockey League, Participating teams, Participating in qualifying tournament
Note: Because the Slovak regular-season winner (Slovan Bratislava) also won the play-offs, HC Košice as the runner-up of the regular-season can participate in the qualifying tournament.


2008–09 Champions Hockey League, Qualifying tournament
Three teams played a qualifying tournament on 12–14 September in Nuremberg, Germany. A win was awarded 3 points, 0 points for a loss. SC Bern won the tournament and qualified as the second team from Switzerland for the group stage of the Champions Hockey League. Bern's Ramzi Abid was the top scorer of the tournament with 3 goals and 1 assist. The matches were attended by an average of 3,426 spectators.


2008–09 Champions Hockey League, Group stage
The draw for the group stage took place on Friday, 25 April 2008 in Zürich, Switzerland. The twelve teams were drawn into groups of three. Each group played a double round-robin. If the games were decided after 60 minutes, the winner was awarded 3 points and the loser 0 points. In case of a tie, both teams got 1 point and a penalty shoot-out was staged with the winner being awarded a second point. The best team of each group – the two Russian teams Ufa and Magnitogorsk, Espoo from Finland and the ZSC Lions from Switzerland – advanced to the semi-finals.


2008–09 Champions Hockey League, Group stage, Group A
Eisbären Berlin played their two home games at the new O2 World in Berlin in front of 13,000 and 13,500 spectators, respectively, a Champions Hockey League record. Magnitogorsk qualified for the semi-finals on gameday 5 after winning their first three games. Metallurg's Jan Marek was the top scorer in group A with 2 goals and 5 assists.


2008–09 Champions Hockey League, Group stage, Group B
Espoo won all 4 of their games and qualified for the semi-final after gameday 5. The top scorer in group B was Bern's Christian Dubé with 5 goals (and 0 assists).


2008–09 Champions Hockey League, Group stage, Group C
Salavat Yulaev was the first team of the 2008–09 Champions Hockey League to qualify for the semi-finals after winning their first three games. The top scorer in group C was Ufa's Alexander Radulov with 1 goal and 4 assists.


2008–09 Champions Hockey League, Group stage, Group D
The winner of group D was not decided until the final game in Prague between Slavia and the ZSC Lions. In front of 8,137 spectators, the Lions won the game 5–1 after scoring 4 goals in the last period. The group's top scorer (and the leading scorer after all group stage games) was Adrian Wichser from ZSC with 9 assists (and 0 goals).


2008–09 Champions Hockey League, Semi-finals
The semi-finals were played as two-legged matches. If a game was tied after 60 minutes, it would have been counted as a tie, without a penalty shoot-out taking place. Only if after two games the teams were level on points (i.e. one win each or two ties), a penalty shoot-out was staged to determine the series winner Home ice advantage of the second game went to the teams with the better records in the group stage.


2008–09 Champions Hockey League, Semi-finals, First Semi-final
Because both teams from Russia qualified for the semi-finals, they had to play against each other according to the tournament regulations. Salavat Yulaev won the first game in Magnitogorsk with goaltender Alexandr Eremenko stopping 36 shots. The second game in Ufa, however, was won by Metallurg. Therefore, a penalty shoot-out was staged to determine the series winner, which was won 2–0 by Magnitogorsk.


2008–09 Champions Hockey League, Semi-finals, Second Semi-final
Because the Hallenstadion in Zürich, the home arena of the ZSC Lions, was not available on the semi-final dates, the Lions were forced to play their home game at the Diners Club Arena in Rapperswil-Jona, about 25 km away from Zurich. The ZSC Lions won both their "home" game and the game in Espoo, where they were accompanied by about 600 fans from Switzerland.


2008–09 Champions Hockey League, Finals
The final was also played as a two-legged match. Home ice advantage of the second game went to the ZSC Lions which had the better record in the group stage. As in the semi-finals, the Lions were forced to play their home game in Rapperswil in an arena with only half the capacity of the Hallenstadion in Zürich. The game in the Diners Club Arena was sold out within 30 minutes, leaving many fans without a ticket for the most important game in their club's history.


2008–09 Champions Hockey League, Finals
The ZSC Lions became the first-ever Swiss team to win a major European club competition by winning the Champions Hockey League. After a 2–2 draw in Magnitogorsk, the ZSC Lions won the return game against Metallurg Magnitogorsk 5–0 to dethrone the 2008 European club champion. ZSC goaltender Ari Sulander was named Champions Hockey League MVP and was the first to hoist the Silver Stone Trophy.


2008–09 Champions Hockey League, Statistics, Scoring leaders
List shows the top skaters sorted by points, then goals. If the list exceeds 5 skaters because of a tie in points, all of the tied skaters are shown.


2008–09 Champions Hockey League, Statistics, Scoring leaders
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalties In MinutesSource:


2008–09 Champions Hockey League, Statistics, Leading goaltenders
Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played 40% of their team's minutes are included in this list.


2008–09 Champions Hockey League, Statistics, Leading goaltenders
TOI = Time On Ice (minutes:seconds); SA = Shots Against; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; Sv% = Save Percentage; SO = ShutoutsSource:


2008–09 Charlotte Bobcats season
The 2008–09 Charlotte Bobcats season was the 19th season of the NBA basketball in Charlotte in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and their 5th as the Charlotte Bobcats.


2008–09 Charlotte Bobcats season
The previous season, Charlotte finished 32–50 under coach Sam Vincent, and did not qualify for the playoffs. In response to the dismal season, co-owner and basketball operations chief Michael Jordan fired Vincent and brought in veteran coach Larry Brown. True to his reputation for turning teams around, Brown kept the young team in playoff contention well into April. They ultimately finished four games short of the first playoff appearance in their current incarnation.


2008–09 Charlotte Bobcats season, Offseason, Staff changes
Michael Jordan fired coach Sam Vincent on April 27, 2008 and subsequently signed legendary coach Larry Brown 2 days later.


2008–09 Charlton Athletic F.C. season
During the 2008–09 English football season, Charlton Athletic competed in the Football League Championship. It was their second consecutive season at this level since relegation from the Premier League at the end of the 2006–07 season.


2008–09 Charlton Athletic F.C. season, Season summary
Charlton were tipped to make a strong challenge for promotion, but it all went wrong for the Addicks and by the time manager Alan Pardew was sacked in November the club was in serious danger of a second relegation in three seasons. He was replaced with former Colchester United manager Phil Parkinson, but he was unable to save Charlton from falling into English football's third tier for the first time since 1981, coming in last place, 12 points adrift of safety.


2008–09 Charlton Athletic F.C. 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 Charlton Athletic F.C. season, Players, Left club during season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008–09 Chelsea F.C. season
The 2008–09 season was Chelsea Football Club's 95th competitive season, 17th consecutive season in the Premier League and 103rd year in existence as a football club.


2008–09 Chelsea F.C. season, Season summary
After again finishing second to Manchester United in the Premier League the previous season, Chelsea sacked their manager Avram Grant, replacing him with the Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari, who had managed the Portugal national team at UEFA Euro 2008 that lost in the quarter finals to Germany. The first few months of his management went according to plan, as Scolari's narrow 4–1–4–1 formation, using Ashley Cole and new arrival José Bosingwa as wing-backs, initially took the league by storm, leaving Chelsea top ahead of Liverpool after 13 games.


2008–09 Chelsea F.C. season, Season summary
By the end of November, however, Scolari's Chelsea began to lose their form due to exhaustion. They suffered a 3–1 defeat away to Roma in the Champions League and being eliminated from the League Cup at Stamford Bridge by Championship side Burnley on penalties. In the league, they had a 0–0 draw at home to Newcastle United, (who were later to be relegated). Chelsea lost a home league game for the first time since 2004 (and 86 matches) when they lost to Liverpool, and a second home league defeat to rivals Arsenal dropped Chelsea to second place.


2008–09 Chelsea F.C. season, Season summary
Chelsea qualified for the knock-out stages of the Champions League with a 2–1 victory against Romanian champions CFR Cluj at Stamford Bridge in the final match of the group. During the winter months, they drew against West Ham United, Fulham, Hull City and League One's Southend United in the FA Cup. Chelsea suffered defeats away to Manchester United and Liverpool, which left them in fourth place during February which would mean a Champions League place would not be certain. Long-term injuries to Michael Essien and Joe Cole marked the period while Didier Drogba was not included frequently.


2008–09 Chelsea F.C. season, Season summary
Chelsea sacked Scolari, replacing him with Russia national team manager Guus Hiddink for the remainder of the season. Hiddink's regenerative effect was immediate, with four-straight league wins, including a vital 1–0 victory away to Aston Villa in his first game in charge, moving Chelsea into the top three. Eleven wins in the team's last 13 league games, marked by a 4–1 victory over Arsenal away at the Emirates Stadium, finally secured third place in the league, and Champions League football for a seventh consecutive season.


2008–09 Chelsea F.C. season, Season summary
Although Chelsea's title challenge was already realistically over when he arrived, Hiddink led Chelsea to their fifth Champions League semi-final, knocking out Juventus and Liverpool before they were eliminated by Barcelona on away goals in the semi-final, with the performance of second leg referee Tom Henning Øvrebø proving particularly controversial. Despite the Champions League exit, the season culminated in a trip to Wembley Stadium, with Chelsea's final game of 2008–09 contested against Everton in the 2009 FA Cup Final. Chelsea won 2–1, winning the FA Cup for the fifth time in their history.


2008–09 Chelsea F.C. season, Squad, 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 Chelsea F.C. season, Squad, Reserve squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008–09 Chelsea F.C. season, Squad, Youth squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008–09 Chelsea F.C. season, Squad, UEFA Champions League squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008–09 Chelsea F.C. season, Statistics, Top scorers
Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.


2008–09 Chelsea F.C. season, Statistics, Disciplinary record
Includes all competitive matches. Players with 1 card or more included only.


2008–09 Chelsea F.C. season, Statistics, Disciplinary record
*  = 1 suspension withdrawn ** = 2 suspensions withdrawn


2008–09 Cheltenham Town F.C. season
During the 2008–09 English football season, Cheltenham Town F.C. competed in Football League One.


2008–09 Cheltenham Town F.C. season, Season summary
A 4–1 defeat at Hartlepool United saw manager Keith Downing depart by mutual consent in September. His replacement was Martin Allen, the son of former Robins manager Dennis. Allen was unable to improve results enough for Cheltenham to escape the drop.


2008–09 Cheltenham Town F.C. season, Kit
Italian company Erreà continued as Cheltenham's kit manufacturers, while Cheltenham-based plumbing company Mira Showers began sponsoring the kits. For the first time in 15 years, Cheltenham wore kits with no stripes, with Erreà instead opting for a plain red design with asymmetric white trim. The away kit was yellow with red piping.


2008–09 Cheltenham Town F.C. season, 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 Cheltenham Town F.C. season, First-team squad, Left club during season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008–09 Chester City F.C. season
In the 2008–09 season, Chester City F.C. competed in Football League Two.


2008–09 Chester City F.C. season, Season summary
In 2007–08, Chester finished the season in 22nd place, only one spot above the relegation zone, on just 47 points from the 46 matches. Chester began the 2008–09 season with a squad of only 22 players and a transfer embargo, including youth team players given professional contracts just prior to the season. However, at the start of the campaign it seemed unlikely for City to get relegated, as Rotherham United and A.F.C. Bournemouth had both been deducted 17 points for rules violations before the start of the season, and Luton Town faced a 30-point penalty.


2008–09 Chester City F.C. season, Season summary
A poor start to 2008–09 saw Davies sacked in November 2008 with the club out of all cup competitions and struggling in League Two. Mark Wright returned for his third spell as manager on a non-contract basis. Beset by an ongoing transfer embargo, Chester continued to struggle throughout the remainder of the campaign, and a 2–1 home defeat by Darlington on the final day of the season sealed Chester's demise and a return to non-league football after five years back in The Football League. Two weeks after the final match the club entered administration.


2008–09 Chicago Blackhawks season
The 2008–09 Chicago Blackhawks season was the 83rd season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on September 25, 1926. Prior to the start of the season, the Blackhawks announced that 20-year-old center Jonathan Toews would serve as the team's captain for the 2008–09 season, thus making him the 3rd-youngest player to earn that distinction in the NHL. Their regular season began on October 10, 2008, against the New York Rangers and concluded on April 12, 2009, against the rival Detroit Red Wings. The Blackhawks played in the Winter Classic, an outdoor game, against the Red Wings at Wrigley Field on January 1, 2009. The team succeeded in making the 2008–09 playoffs with a 3–1 win over Nashville on April 3 after missing the 2007–08 playoffs by three points.


2008–09 Chicago Blackhawks season, Pre-season
The Chicago Blackhawks had a busy offseason following the 2007–08 regular season. In late April, a few weeks after the season concluded, the Blackhawks announced that they were entering a three-year partnership with WGN (720 AM); they previously aired games on WSCR (670 AM). This coincided with a previous announcement that the team would air up to twenty games on WGN's TV affiliate. The club also brought back announcer Pat Foley to do the play-by-play announcing for all television broadcasts.


2008–09 Chicago Blackhawks season, Pre-season
The Blackhawks made a "huge splash" on the first day of free agency by signing defenseman Brian Campbell and goaltender Cristobal Huet. Campbell's $57.12 million contract was the largest in team history. Along with Campbell and Huet, the Blackhawks signed three other free agents, while losing three to other teams. Long-time Detroit Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman joined the organization in late July as Senior Advisor of Hockey Operations. The Hawks also added Rockford IceHogs head coach Mike Haviland as an assistant coach, and signed former Colorado Avalanche coach Joel Quenneville as a scout.


2008–09 Chicago Blackhawks season, Pre-season
On July 16, 2008, the NHL announced that the Blackhawks would host the second outdoor NHL Winter Classic on January 1, 2009, at Wrigley Field against the rival Detroit Red Wings. The game will be the 701st meeting between the two clubs, and the Blackhawks will wear uniforms similar to those they wore during the 1936–37 season.


2008–09 Chicago Blackhawks season, Pre-season
The team also announced that they intended to retire jersey number #3 in honor of defensemen Pierre Pilote and Keith Magnuson. Hockey Hall of Famer Pilote spent thirteen seasons with the Hawks, winning the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman on three occasions. Magnuson accumulated over 1,400 penalty minutes in eleven years with the team. Magnuson was the president of the Blackhawks Alumni Association before he died in an automobile accident in 2003.


2008–09 Chicago Blackhawks season, Season events
The Chicago Blackhawks opened the season against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on October 10, 2008. After winning only one of their first four games, the Blackhawks fired head coach Denis Savard. Shortly afterwards, they promoted scout Joel Quenneville as his replacement. In 147 games as coach, Savard posted a 65–66–16 record.


2008–09 Chicago Blackhawks season, Season events
In December, an anonymous Blackhawks fan submitted an email to Mike Ross of XM Radio's NHL Home Ice, which revealed that the team had interrupted their travel schedule to attend the wake of general manager Dale Tallon's father. The team voted to delay their flight to Chicago during a six-game road trip in order to travel to the wake, which was in Northern Canada. The team reached the wake on two buses, and surprised Tallon, who was unaware of the team's plans.


2008–09 Chicago Blackhawks season, Season events
Ross was shocked that no media outlets had initially reported the story, and commented, "Its amazing that such a good story can be found nowhere on the internet, and not even mentioned in the Chicago papers. Had one of the Blackhawks got into a fight and punched some drunken loser in a Toronto bar it would be plastered all over papers and the television." The story eventually garnered much attention from various media outlets in the following week, including ESPN, Yahoo! Sports and Deadspin. MSNBC's Keith Olbermann commended the team's actions, by naming them the "best persons in the world" for the week.


2008–09 Chicago Blackhawks season, Season events
On December 28, 2008, the Blackhawks set a franchise record nine consecutive wins.


2008–09 Chicago Blackhawks season, Division standings, Conference standings
bold – qualified for playoffs, y – division winner, p – Presidents' Trophy winnerCE – Central Division, NW – Northwest Division, PA – Pacific Division


2008–09 Chicago Blackhawks season, Schedule and results
Legend:  Win (2 points)  Loss (0 points)  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)


2008–09 Chicago Blackhawks season, Player statistics, Goaltenders
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Blackhawks. Stats reflect time with the Blackhawks only. ‡Traded mid-seasonBold/italics denotes franchise record


2008–09 Chicago Blackhawks season, Draft picks
The 2008 NHL Entry Draft was hosted at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, Ontario on June 20 and 21. With the eleventh pick in the first round, the Blackhawks selected Kyle Beach from the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League. The Blackhawks drafted seven players (five defensemen and two forwards) in five of the seven rounds. All of the prospects were returned to their junior or professional league by the end of training camp.


2008–09 Chicago Bulls season
The 2008–09 Chicago Bulls season is the 43rd season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA).


2008–09 Chicago Bulls season
In the playoffs, the Bulls lost to the defending NBA champions, the Boston Celtics, in seven games in the First Round. The defending champion Celtics were also taken to a seven game series the prior season in the first round against the Atlanta Hawks.


2008–09 Chicago Bulls season, Offseason
The Bulls re-signed Luol Deng to a 6-year $71 million contract on July 30, 2008. Ben Gordon signed a 1-year contract on October 2, 2008.


2008–09 Chicago Bulls season, Regular season
The Bulls were having a meager year floating under .500 and on February 18, 2009 they made their first of several trades sending Andrés Nocioni, Drew Gooden, Cedric Simmons, Michael Ruffin to the Sacramento Kings for Brad Miller and John Salmons. Then on February 19, 2009, the NBA trade deadline, the Bulls traded Larry Hughes to the New York Knicks for Tim Thomas, Jerome James, and Anthony Roberson. Later that day the Bulls made the third trade in a span of less than 24 hours sending swingman Thabo Sefolosha to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a 2009 first round pick.


2008–09 Chicago Bulls season, Regular season
The trades brought a late-season push for the Bulls, which finally clinched a playoff berth on April 10, 2009, their fourth in the last five years. Then on April 13, 2009 they clinched the 7th place in the east by beating the Detroit Pistons and remained .5 game ahead of Philadelphia 76ers for the 6th spot with one game remaining. The Bulls though lost their last game to Toronto and the 76ers beat Cleveland, who did not play most of its best players. The Bulls finished 7th even though they tied Philadelphia at 41-41. The Bulls got matched up with a Garnett-less Boston in the first round of the playoffs.


2008–09 Chicago Bulls season, Playoffs
The Bulls-Celtics series became the first playoff series in NBA history to have 4 games go into overtime.


2008–09 Chicago Bulls season, Transactions, Draft picks
The Bulls beat the odds and won the NBA Draft Lottery on May 20, 2008. The Bulls vaulted from the ninth spot to win the NBA Draft Lottery in Secaucus, NJ, and obtain the first pick in the June 26 NBA Draft. Chicago had a 1.7 percent chance of winning and were represented by Executive Vice President, Business Operations Steve Schanwald. The Heat had the best odds of securing the top selection and will pick second followed by the Timberwolves and Sonics.


2008–09 Chinese Basketball Association season
The 2008–09 CBA season was the 14th CBA season. Guangdong Southern Tigers defended their CBA title after defeating Xinjiang Flying Tigers in the Finals, four games to one.


2008–09 Chinese Basketball Association season
Tianjin Ronggang were promoted to the CBA after the team owners voted in favor of them over two other candidates, Qingdao DoubleStar and  Guangdong Fenglü. Qingdao later replaced Beijing Aoshen for their place in the CBA, when the latter failed to submit relevant files on time and lost their qualification for the season.


2008–09 Chinese Basketball Association season
Foreign players of each team could play unlimited time each game, except only 5 quarters collectively when facing Bayi Rockets. The two newly promoted teams and the bottom two teams of the last season could each have one extra Asian foreign players.


2008–09 Chinese Basketball Association season, Playoffs
Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in regular season, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. Home court advantage belongs to the team with the better regular season record; teams enjoying the home advantage are shown in italics.


2008–09 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team
The 2008–09 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team represented the University of Cincinnati during the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games in Cincinnati, Ohio at the Fifth Third Arena, which has a capacity of 13,176. They are members of the Big East Conference. The Bearcats finished the season 18–14, 8–10 in Big East play and were upset in the first round of the 2009 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament by the 16th seed DePaul.


2008–09 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team
The 2008–09 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team represented Clemson University. The head coach was Oliver Purnell. The team played its home games in Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, South Carolina. All games were produced and broadcast locally by the Clemson Tigers Sports Network.


2008–09 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team, Pre-season
On Tuesday, October 21, 2008, the NCAA suspended Freshman Catalin Baciu for the first five games of the season for his participation with a Romanian professional basketball team. The term of the suspension equals the number of games Baciu played as a 15-year-old for U Mobitelco Cluj, a club team that plays in Romania's top pro division, Divizia A. Although Baciu was not paid for his participation, NCAA rules prohibit student-athletes from playing on a professional team, regardless of whether they are employed. He played for a total of four minutes in his five games with U Mobitelco Cluj.


2008–09 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team, Pre-season
On Sunday, October 26, 2008, members of the ACC media were polled and picked Clemson to finish fifth in the conference behind North Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest and Miami respectively.


2008–09 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team, Regular season
On Sunday, November 16, 2008, The Tigers won the inaugural Charleston Classic 8-team tournament in Charleston, SC. This marks the 25th time in school history Clemson has won a regular season tournament.


2008–09 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team, Regular season
On Saturday, November 22, 2008, Clemson beat Charlotte 71–70 at Halton Arena, marking the first time ever a current member of the Atlantic Coast Conference has played at Charlotte. (Miami played during there during their time as a member of the Big East).


2008–09 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team, Regular season
On Wednesday, January 21, 2009, Clemson lost to North Carolina 94–70. This extended the NCAA record for the longest road losing streak against one opponent to 54 games. This also ended Clemson's streak of not losing back-to-back ACC games that dated back to the 2006–07 season.


2008–09 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team, Regular season
On Sunday, January 25, 2009, with a 73–59 victory over Georgia Tech, Senior guard K. C. Rivers broke the team record for most career wins as a player with 85. The previous record of 84 was co-held Cliff Hammonds and Elden Campbell.


2008–09 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team, Regular season
On Monday, February 2, 2009, EA Sports announced that Littlejohn Coliseum was one of the Top-15 toughest places to play in College Basketball. Through an online poll, Fans determined 15 finalists, whose home courts were judged to be the most difficult for opposing teams to play in. These results will form an integral part of a new game mode in the EA SPORTS NCAA Basketball videogame franchise for 2009–10.


2008–09 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team, Regular season
On Wednesday, February 4, 2009, Clemson defeated No. 3 Duke in Littlejohn Coliseum by a score of 74–47. With the win, Clemson snapped a 22-game regular season losing streak to the Blue Devils dating back to January 7, 1997. The win was also Clemson's first win over a top-5 team since a victory over No. 5 Virginia in 2002.


2008–09 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team, Regular season
The 27-point victory was Clemson's largest margin of victory against a top 25 team in history. The previous best was a 22-point victory margin on two occasions. Clemson defeated a fourth-ranked NC State team led by David Thompson at Clemson 92–70 on Feb 22, 1975 at Clemson, and defeated a 13th ranked Maryland team by 22 points, 93–71 on January 19, 1977, at Clemson.


2008–09 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team, Regular season
The defeat was also the worst suffered by Duke since the NCAA Championship game of 1990, a 103–73 victory by UNLV on April 2, 1990. The 27-point margin was the largest for Duke in an ACC regular season game since January 18, 1984, when Wake Forest defeated Duke at Winston-Salem, 97–66.


2008–09 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team, Regular season
Clemson's 10-point win over Boston College in Boston on Feb 10 was just the third ACC road win over an ACC team that finished the year with a winning record in the last 22 years. Boston College finished the ACC regular season with a 9–7 record and went to the NCAA tournament.


2008–09 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team, Regular season
On Tuesday, February 17, the EA Sports Tour visited Littlejohn Coliseum as Clemson hosted Maryland. Along with judging the game day atmosphere, the tour handed out video games, T-shirts and hosted an NCAA Basketball 09 tournament leading up to the game. After their visit, Novell Thomas, the producer of the NCAA Basketball game, wrote that "Hands down, Clemson just set the bar for all hosts of the EA SPORTS Toughest Places to Play, tour." The 29-point victory was the largest margin of victory in Clemson history over Maryland, and tied for the largest margin of victory for a Clemson team against an ACC team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Clemson defeated Florida State in 1997–98 by 29 points.


2008–09 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team, Regular season
The Tigers finished the season at 9–7, which gave them back-to-back winning seasons in the conference for the first time since the 1965–66 and 1966–67 teams did it. It is also Clemson's eleventh winning season in the conference since 1953.


2008–09 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team, Regular season
Clemson defeated five NCAA tournament teams during the regular season in Duke, Maryland, Boston College, Temple and Illinois. It is the most wins over NCAA Tournament teams in the regular season for the Clemson program since 1997–98.


2008–09 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team, Regular season
Clemson finished the regular season with a 14–0 record against non-conference teams, one of just eight Division I teams with a perfect non-conference record. The others were Pittsburgh, UConn, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Minnesota, Illinois State and Stanford.


2008–09 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team, Regular season
The Tigers won seven regular season ACC games by double digits, the most regular season league wins by 10 points or more in Clemson history. Statistically, Clemson finished the year with a +10.3 average margin of victory, third best in school history. Clemson's .688 free throw percentage was the third best for the program in the last 22 years. Clemson's .374 three-point percentage was the fourth best in school history.


2008–09 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team, Postseason, ACC tournament
Clemson entered the ACC Tournament as the No. 5 seed with a 9–7 record in the ACC Regular Season. The Tigers lost their opening game to No. 12 seed Georgia Tech 86–81 dropping their record to 3–8 all-time in the opening round of the tournament.


2008–09 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team, Postseason, NCAA tournament
Clemson was selected for the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year, joining Duke and North Carolina as the only ACC schools to make the tournament each of the last two years. It was just the third time in Clemson history that Clemson has gone to the NCAAs in consecutive years. The Tigers opened the tournament in Kansas City, Missouri, as the No. 7 seed in the South Region. Down by double digits against #10-seed Michigan in the first round, the Tigers went on a 14–0 run to make it 58–57 with just over a minute left. Clemson had a chance to tie the game with 13 seconds left, but K. C. Rivers' contested 3-pointer at the buzzer fell short. The 59–62 loss dropped Oliver Purnell to 0–5 all-time in NCAA Tournament games as a head coach.


2008–09 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team, Final season notes, Team notes
Clemson finished the season with a 23–9 record for a .719 winning percentage. This marks the fifth consecutive year that Clemson has improved its winning percentage from the previous year. Head Coach Oliver Purnell joins former Georgia Tech coach Bobby Cremins as the only coaches in ACC history to take a program to a better winning percentage in five consecutive years. Cremins did it from 1980–81 through the 1986–87 season. The team finished the year with 23 wins, tied for the fifth highest total in school history.


2008–09 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team, Final season notes, Team notes
The .719 winning percentage ranks in a tie for fourth best in school history and the best since the 1989–90 team was 24–8 for a .750 winning percentage. The 23 victories gave Clemson at least 20 wins for the third straight year, a first in Clemson history. Clemson has 72 wins over the last three years, third among ACC teams behind North Carolina and Duke.


2008–09 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team, Final season notes, Team notes
Clemson finished the year ranked 24th in the final Associated Press poll. It marks the second consecutive year Clemson has been ranked in the final AP poll, the first time in history Clemson has finished in the top 25 in any poll in consecutive years. Clemson was ranked in the AP poll for 14 consecutive weeks and in the USA Today poll for 13 consecutive weeks, the second longest streak of weeks in the top 25 in the same season in Clemson history and most since 1996–97 team was ranked in all 19 polls. Clemson reached a high ranking of No. 9 in the USA Today poll on Feb 9, the highest ranking for the program since the 1997–98 season.


2008–09 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team, Final season notes, Team notes
Clemson won 10 games away from home, including seven on the opponent's home court. The 10 wins away from home were the most since the 1996–97 team won a record 11. The seven road wins were the most since the 1986–87 team won eight on the opponent's home court. The Tigers posted a 4–4 ACC road record this year, the most ACC road wins in a season for the Clemson program since 1996–97.


2008–09 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team, Final season notes, Individual notes
Clemson's senior class of K.C. Rivers, Raymond Sykes and Jesse Yanutola finished their careers with 91 victories, a Clemson record for a four-year class. The previous record was 84. The class also had a record 33 ACC regular season wins and 12 ACC road wins. The .679 winning percentage is second best in Clemson history behind the seniors of 1979–80.


2008–09 Cleveland Cavaliers season
The 2008–09 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the 39th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). They finished the regular season with 66 wins and 16 losses, easily surpassing the previous franchise best of 57–25 from the 1988–89 and 1991–92 seasons. The Cavaliers had the fourth best team offensive rating in the NBA.


2008–09 Cleveland Cavaliers season
In the playoffs, the Cavaliers swept the Detroit Pistons in the First Round in four games, swept the Atlanta Hawks in the Semifinals in four games, before losing to the Orlando Magic in the Conference Finals in six games, despite the Cavaliers being heavily favored to the beat the Magic. The Magic would go on to lose to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals in five games. Prior to their elimination by the Magic, many had expected the Cavs to appear in the Finals, which would’ve also been LeBron James and Kobe Bryant’s first head-to-head meeting in the Finals.


2008–09 Cleveland Cavaliers season, Offseason
On June 26, 2008, the Cavaliers acquired the draft rights to forward Darnell Jackson from the Miami Heat in exchange for the lower of the Cavaliers two second-round picks in the 2009 NBA Draft. In addition, Cleveland purchased the rights to center Sasha Kaun from the Seattle SuperSonics.


2008–09 Cleveland Cavaliers season, Offseason
On August 4, 2008, the Cavaliers signed Tarence Kinsey to a one-year contract.


2008–09 Cleveland Cavaliers season, Offseason
On August 13, 2008, the Cavaliers traded Damon Jones and Joe Smith to the Milwaukee Bucks for Maurice Williams as part of a three-team, a six-player deal among the Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks and Oklahoma City.


2008–09 Cleveland Cavaliers season, Offseason
On September 5, 2008, the Cavaliers signed Lorenzen Wright to a one-year contract. Second year swingman Gabe Skinner waived to make room for the acquisition.


2008–09 Cleveland Cavaliers season, Transactions, Free agents
March 5, 2009: Acquired Joe Smith from Oklahoma City Thunder


2008–09 Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball team
The 2008–09 Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball team represents Cleveland State University in the 2008-09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by third-year head coach Gary Waters. In 2007–08, the Vikings finished 21–13 (12–6 in the Horizon League). Cleveland State had their first winning season since the 2000–2001 season when they finished 19–13 overall and 9–5 in conference play. They made their first NCAA tournament appearance since their run to the Sweet Sixteen in 1986. It was the 78th season of Cleveland State basketball.


2008–09 Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball team, Preseason
Cleveland State started the preseason by playing games in Barcelona, Spain. It was also announced that Cleveland State would once again be participating in the ESPNU Bracketbuster games. Cleveland State also made several changes to the schedule. Cleveland State added Syracuse to the schedule, along with moving the former season-opening game against John Carroll to November 10, 2008, from November 14, 2008, and making it the only exhibition game of the year. Next they moved the Oakland game originally scheduled for December 16, 2008, to November 15, 2008, where it will be the season opener.


2008–09 Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball team, Preseason
They also moved the site of the three-game CBE Classic from Ft. Myers, Florida (Florida Gulf Coast), to Miami, Florida (Florida International). That meant that Cleveland State will now play Florida International, Toledo, and Tennessee Tech from November 24, 2008 to November 26, 2008. Lastly Cleveland State added La Roche College and Notre Dame College to the schedule, which completed the home scheduling for the year. Cleveland State will play nine teams that made the postseason in total this year. Cleveland State also has no less than 15 home games this year, with 14 of them being regular-season contests.


2008–09 Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball team, Preseason
The preseason Horizon League Coaches' Poll picked the Vikings to finish first. J'Nathan Bullock and Cedric Jackson were named to the preseason all-Horizon League first team. On October 27, 2008, Cleveland State announced that head coach Gary Waters was given a contract extension through the 2012–13 season. Also on October 27, 2008, Cleveland State received its first votes of the year, with two points in the AP Top 25 poll, with a ranking of T-50.


2008–09 Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball team, Regular season
Cleveland State participated in the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic from November 24 – November 26. They won the tournament defeating Saint Leo, Toledo, and Florida International. On December 15, Cleveland State defeated #11 Syracuse at the Carrier Dome, marking the third time that the Vikings defeated a ranked opponent, and the first time it happened on the road. On February 18, 2009 Cleveland State posted its first back-to-back 20 win seasons since 1988. From 1984–1988 Cleveland State won 20 games or more each season. The February 28, 2009 contest against Butler start time was changed from a 2:00 p.m. start to a 12:00 p.m. start to accommodate an ESPN2 broadcast.