2008–09 Standard Liège season
The season also saw the club nearly qualifying for the Champions League, following two 0-0 draws against Liverpool. In the extra time, however, Dirk Kuyt scored a decisive late goal. In the UEFA Cup, where Standard dropped down to, they beat Everton in the qualifying phase, which caused Everton to pay £15 million for playmaker Marouane Fellaini, the highest ever fee paid for a Belgian player. In the UEFA Cup proper, Standard reached the Round of 32, where they were knocked out of the competition by Braga of Portugal.


2008–09 Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team
The 2008–09 Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team represented Stanford University in the 2008–09 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Cardinal were coached by Tara VanDerveer. The Cardinal are a member of the Pacific-10 Conference and attempted to win their third NCAA championship.


2008–09 Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team, Regular season
Jillian Harmon added 14 points in 16 minutes of action as the Cardinal bested a 73-point win over Long Beach State from Dec. 8, 1993 (122-49) with their fourth straight victory. Sarah Morton scored seven points to lead Washington with its worst loss in school history. The points allowed were the most ever by the Huskies, who scored their fewest points since getting 30 against Portland State on Feb. 13, 1976. It was Stanford's sixth consecutive win in the series, 10th in a row at home against the Huskies in Maples Pavilion and 10th in 11 overall dating to Jan. 4, 2004.


2008–09 Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team, Postseason, NCAA Basketball Tournament
Stanford reached the 2009 NCAA National semi-finals, losing to the eventual champion University of Connecticut (83-64). In the first two rounds in San Diego, they beat UC Santa Barbara 74-39 and San Diego State 77-49. In the Berkeley regionals, they defeated Ohio State 84-66 and Iowa State 74-53.


2008–09 State League
The 2008–09 State League was a 50-over women's cricket competition that took place in New Zealand. It ran from December 2008 to January 2009, with 6 provincial teams taking part. Canterbury Magicians beat Wellington Blaze in the final to win the competition, their third State League title in three seasons.


2008–09 State League, Competition format
Teams played in a double round-robin in a group of six, therefore playing 10 matches overall. Matches were played using a one day format with 50 overs per side. The top two in the group advanced to the final.


2008–09 State League, Competition format
The group worked on a points system with positions being based on the total points. Points were awarded as follows:


2008–09 State League, Competition format
Win: 4 pointsTie: 2 pointsLoss: 0 points. Abandoned/No Result: 2 points. Bonus Point: 1 point awarded for run rate in a match being 1.25x that of opponent.


2008–09 State League Twenty20
The 2008–09 State League Twenty20 was the second season of the women's Twenty20 cricket competition played in New Zealand. It ran from December 2008 to January 2009, with 6 provincial teams taking part. Wellington Blaze beat Canterbury Magicians in the final to win the tournament, their first Twenty20 title.


2008–09 State League Twenty20, Competition format
Teams played in a round-robin in a group of six, playing 5 matches overall. Matches were played using a Twenty20 format. The top two in the group advanced to the final.


2008–09 State League Twenty20, Competition format
The group worked on a points system with positions being based on the total points. Points were awarded as follows:


2008–09 State League Twenty20, Competition format
Win: 4 pointsTie: 2 pointsLoss: 0 points. Abandoned/No Result: 2 points.


2008–09 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks basketball team
The 2008–09 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks basketball team represented Stephen F. Austin University during the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lumberjacks were led by head coach Danny Kaspar and played their home games at the William R. Johnson Coliseum. They were members of the Southland Conference. The Lumberjacks finished the season 24–8, 13–3 in Southland play to claim the Southland regular season championship. They were champions of the Southland Conference Tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament – the first appearance in school history. As No. 14 seed in the South region, they lost in the Round of 64 to No. 3 seed Syracuse.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season
The 2008–09 season was Stoke City's first season in the Premier League and the 53rd in the top tier of English football.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season
After gaining promotion to the Premier League for the first time, Stoke were immediately tipped to go straight back down by the media. Dave Kitson became the first signing and he was followed by Seyi Olofinjana, Thomas Sørensen, Amdy Faye, Abdoulaye Faye and the returning Danny Higginbotham. Stoke started the campaign at Bolton Wanderers and were dealt a harsh reality check losing 3–1. Stoke's first home game in the Premier League produced an exciting 3–2 win over Aston Villa with Mamady Sidibé getting the winner in the 93rd minute. Stoke claimed a valuable point away at title challenges Liverpool in September and earned wins over Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion in October and November with Rory Delap's long throw-ins causing defences problems.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season
Stoke hit poor form in December failing to win a match and had to deal with an embarrassing on-field clash between teammates Ricardo Fuller and captain Andy Griffin away at West Ham United. In January Stoke brought in James Beattie and Matthew Etherington who proved to be influential signings. Beattie scored the only goal as Stoke ended a run of nine-matches without a win at the end of January against Man City. Stoke continued to improve and pulled clear of the relegation zone with important victories over Bolton, Middlesbrough and West Brom. Stoke sealed survival with a 2–1 victory away at Hull City in May 2009 and ended their first season in the Premier League in 12th position with 45 points.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Pre-season
Stoke began its preparations for the 2008–09 season with the traditional opener at Newcastle Town. City won 3–0 with goals coming from Richard Cresswell, Jon Parkin and Adam Rooney. Stoke then travelled to Austria for their pre-season training camp, where they also played two games. The first was against German side Nürnberg in Stainach, Greek forward Angelos Charisteas scored the only goal of the match. The second was against the Bahrain national team, a rare club versus country match. Stoke won 2–1 with the goals coming from Cresswell and Pericard while Ismail Abdul-Latif replied for the Arabic nation.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Pre-season
On their return to England Stoke travelled to League Two Notts County and came away with a 2–0 win thanks to a brace from Mamady Sidibé. Stoke kept their winning run going as they visited Shrewsbury Town's new stadium the New Meadow for the first time, Cresswell scoring the winning goal after 68 minutes.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Pre-season
Stoke's final away fixture saw them make the long trip down to Southampton. Stoke took the lead through new signing Dave Kitson, David McGoldrick levelled before Pericard scored from distance. Stern John pulled The Saints level again but Stoke were not to be denied as Jamie Hatch scored an own goal. Stoke's final friendly saw them take on Spanish side Osasuna in what was an entertaining 2–2 draw. Delap and Shawcross scored for city while Walter Pandiani and Javad Nekounam scored for Osasuna.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, August
Stoke began their long-awaited first match in the Premier League and first in the top-flight for 23 years away at Gary Megson's Bolton Wanderers. Manager Tony Pulis gave debuts to new signings Thomas Sørensen, Seyi Olofinjana and record £5 million man Dave Kitson. Stoke made a bright start and went close to opening the scoring through Leon Cort and Kitson. However, out of nowhere Bolton took the lead through Grétar Steinsson as his attempted cross curled in to the Stoke net.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, August
This knocked all the momentum out of Stoke and Bolton took full advantage and scored twice through Kevin Davies and Johan Elmander to put Wanderers 3–0 up at half-time. Stoke tried to get back into the game and did manage to score a consolation from Ricardo Fuller in the final few seconds of the match.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, August
Stoke's first home match in the Premier League came against Aston Villa in front of 27,500 at the Brit as Senegalese duo Abdoulaye Faye and Amdy Faye made their debuts. Both sides made a positive start and Stoke took the lead in the 30th minute when Liam Lawrence scored from the spot after Martin Laursen had brought down Rory Delap.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, August
Villa pulled level in second half through John Carew before Fuller put Stoke back in front with a quality goal, Gareth Barry's stray pass was intercepted by Delap who passed to Lawrence who fed in Fuller and the Jamaican 'swivelled' past Laursen and scored. The lead didn't last long as Stoke failed to deal with an Ashley Young free kick and Laursen made amends for his earlier errors. Stoke were not to be denied victory as in the final minute a trade mark Delap throw in was headed in by Mamady Sidibé to give Stoke a 3–2 win.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, August
Stoke next travelled to Middlesbrough for the first time since 1997. The match was an even affair until the 36th minute when Amdy Faye was sent off for a dangerous two footed tackle on Mohamed Shawky. From the resulting free kick Afonso Alves put Middlesbrough into the lead against the run of play. Boro had the chance to make sure of the win midway through the second half after Abdoulaye Faye fouled Alves in the area but Stewart Downing hit the crossbar from the resulting spot kick. Stoke then equalised after Justin Hoyte put a Lawrence cross in to his own net. However Turkish striker Tuncay beat the offside trap and gave Boro the win.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, September
For the visit of Everton there were debuts for Ibrahima Sonko and the return of Danny Higginbotham. It was also the first live televised match of the season. Stoke made the better start with Fuller testing Tim Howard early on. It was Everton though who opened the scoring though Nigerian striker Yakubu just before half time and five minutes after the restart it became 2–0 as another Nigerian, Victor Anichebe, headed in. Stoke pulled one back through a Nigerian of their own when Olofinjana volleyed in after the Everton defence failed to clear a Delap throw.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, September
City thought they had equalised moments later when Fuller went through and rounded 'keeper Howard but he was penalised for a foul on Joseph Yobo. They were level soon though as Phil Jagielka headed a Delap throw into his own net. Everton thought they should have had a penalty when Cort handled in the area but the referee, Alan Wiley deemed it outside the box which resulted in David Moyes been sent to the stands for his protest. Tim Cahill headed Everton back in front and the Toffees held out for the points.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, September
Stoke completed the Merseyside double with a trip to Anfield. Liverpool went into the match in fine form and it looked to be a very difficult task for Stoke to come away with anything. Stoke made a bad start as Steven Gerrard's free kick found the back of the net, luckily for Stoke the linesman ruled the goal out for offside. Liverpool had numerous chances to take the lead but Stoke's defence held firm and came away with an impressive 0–0 draw.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, September
Title favourites Chelsea next came the Britannia Stadium and produced a commanding performance with two goals from José Bosingwa and Nicolas Anelka. Stoke rarely troubled Chelsea 'keeper Petr Čech in what was a simple win for the away side.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, October
Steve Simonsen and Michael Tonge made their first starts of the season away at Portsmouth. Peter Crouch acrobatically fired Pompey into the lead from Jermain Defoe's cross after 24 minutes at a time when the Potters were slightly on top of the game. Ricardo Fuller forced home an equaliser just after the break, but Defoe secured all three points for the hosts just three minutes later when he beat Simonsen at his near post with a low drive.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, October
Juande Ramos's Tottenham travelled to Stoke in what turned out to be a match full of incident. The first came after 17 minutes when Gareth Bale fouled Tom Soares in the area and received a red card, Higginbotham scored from the spot after having to reset the ball four times due to strong winds. Spurs then equalised through Darren Bent before Delap gave City the lead early in the second half. Goalkeeper Sorensen was then forced off due to injury and also Vedran Corluka who collided with his own keeper Gomes.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, October
Due to these injuries 11 minutes of stoppage time would be required, Stoke had the chance to end the match when Soares was again brought down in the box but Fuller's spot kick hit both posts and Delaps rebound hit the cross bar. Spurs were reduced to nine men when Michael Dawson lunged nastily at Sidibé.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, October
Stoke made their first trip to the City of Manchester Stadium and were undone by £32 million Brazilian Robinho who scored a hat-trick. City did have their chances put were unable to beat Joe Hart.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, October
The first Tuesday night match in the Premier League came at home against Roy Keane's Sunderland who had beaten rivals Newcastle United at the weekend. It proved to be a very tight affair with both sides struggling to create clear cut chances. Stoke scored the only goal of the game when Fuller out jumped Dean Whitehead to head in another Delap throw-in.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, November
Arsenal visited the Britannia Stadium at the beginning of November and was another match full of incident. The first came after just eleven minutes when Fuller's delicate touch from a Delap long throw put City in the lead. Arsenal rarely threatened Sorensen as they struggled to deal with Stoke's greater power and strength. They conceded again from a Delap throw on 73 minutes when Olofinjana bundled the ball past Almunia. Arsenal's misery was complete when Van Persie was sent off for needlessly barging into Sorensen, leaving him requiring assistance from the physio. Gaël Clichy's deflected freekick gave the Gunners a consolation deep in stoppage time. After the match Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger accused Stoke of being overly aggressive in their play, Pulis responded to Wenger's criticism by quoting Abraham Lincoln.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, November
Stoke went to Wigan still looking for their first away win in the Premier League however the home side were full of confidence and had Egyptian striker Amr Zaki in fine form. Athletic dominated the match and managed to have 22 shots to City's 2, the combination of Sorensen and some wayward Wigan shooting Stoke managed a useful scoreless draw.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, November
Stoke then made the short trip to Manchester United in what turned out to be a poor game for City as the reigning champions scored five times without reply. Goals from Michael Carrick, Dimitar Berbatov, Danny Welbeck and two free-kicks from Cristiano Ronaldo condemned Stoke to a heavy defeat.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, November
After the heavy defeat at Old Trafford Stoke came up against Midlands rivals West Bromwich Albion. It was a poor match with few scoring opportunities but Stoke did manage to get the only goal of the game when Mamady Sidibé converted Danny Higginbotham's inch perfect centre with just five minutes remaining, to maintain City's exceptional winning record against the Baggies, and also lifted City up to 13th place in the Premier League.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, November
Surprise package Hull City arrived at the Britannia Stadium which was covered by fog. Stoke dominated most of the match and should have scored in the first half, however it was the away side who opened the scoring through Marlon King just before half time. Boaz Myhill made a number of impressive saves to keep Hull ahead but he gave away a penalty when he fouled Fuller in the area and the Jamaican made the scores level. City pressed for the winner but the Tigers held out for a 1–1 draw. One bizarre moment of the match came when Hull substitute Dean Windass was shown a yellow card by referee Keith Stroud without coming on to the pitch, after he began to warm-up to close to Delap who was preparing to take a throw-in.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, December
Michael Owen scored twice for Newcastle United in the first 25 minutes of City's next match as St James' Park. Stoke improved greatly in the second half and when Ricardo Fuller was brought off the bench the game started to change and moments later he set up Sidibé for a simple tap in. Stoke had a number of chances to pull level and the equaliser came in stoppage time when former 'Castle player Abdoulaye Faye converted a Whelan free kick to earn Stoke a 2–2 draw.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, December
Stoke drew for the third game in a row when Fulham made the trip to the Britannia, it was a poor game of football with Richard Cresswell coming the closest to opening the scoring. Sidibé suffered a serious injury after just a few minutes of the match which ruled him out until the end of February. There was an unsavory moment in the match when Fulham defender John Paintsil theatrically threw himself to the ground after minimal contact from Ricardo Fuller. Fuller branded Paintsil's actions as "disgraceful".


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, December
Over 5,000 Stoke fans travelled to Blackburn Rovers as the club put on free coach travel, Pulis named an unusual starting eleven which included back-up 'keeper Steve Simonsen, Ryan Shawcross at right-back and reserve striker Vincent Péricard starting. Rovers had new manager Sam Allardyce making his home debut and his team took control of the match early on. Sonko clumsily brought down Pedersen and Benni McCarthy made no mistake from the spot. Jason Roberts added a second before McCarthy made it 3–0 before half time. Only Steve Simonsen prevented Rovers adding more in the second half.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, December
On Boxing day Stoke took on Manchester United in what was a bad tempered affair. Carlos Tevez scored the only goal for the away side in the second half, after Andy Wilkinson had been sent off for two bookable offences.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, December
Stoke made the trip to West London for their match against West Ham still looking for their first away win. City made the best possible start when Abdoulaye Faye powerfully headed in after just 4 minutes. It became a tight game for the remainder of the first half and City went in at the break a goal up. However Carlton Cole equalized for the Hammers after some poor defending from Andy Griffin. Following West Ham's goal, Fuller argued with Griffin, before slapping the Stoke captain's face.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, December
Mike Jones gave Fuller a straight red for violent conduct and West Ham went on to win the match 2–1, Diego Tristán earning the Hammers the three points. On 1 January 2009, Tony Pulis confirmed that Fuller and Griffin had "kissed and made up" after a team meeting. Fuller said Griffin had been "very rude and disrespectful", but accepted that his actions had been worse.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, January
After their embarrassing exit to Hartlepool United in the FA Cup Stoke took on title challengers Liverpool at the Britannia Stadium. Pulis gave new signing Matthew Etherington his debut as Stoke made a bright start to the match. Firstly Delap hit the crossbar from seven yards and then Shawcross put the ball past Reina but the goal was ruled out for offside. Liverpool rarely threatened up until the final few minutes when Gerrard hit the woodwork twice, and the match finished in a 0–0 draw.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, January
James Beattie made his Stoke debut against Chelsea following his transfer from Sheffield United. Stoke suffered a blow early into the match as both Amdy Faye and Danny Higginbotham had to depart due to injury. Stoke took a surprise lead in the 60th minute when Delap broke free and beat Cech. Stoke thought they had done enough to claim victory but in the 88th minute Chelsea equalised though Juliano Belletti then Frank Lampard scored with the final kick of the game to give Stoke a bitter defeat.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, January
Stoke went in the game at Tottenham looking for their first win since the beginning of December. However any hopes of getting a result were ended in the first half as Spurs took control ruthlessly and went in at half time 3–0 in the lead. Stoke did manage to gain a consolation in the second half when Beattie scored his first goal for the club.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, January
Manchester City made the trip to the Britannia and the end of January and made a bright start with Robinho and Stephen Ireland going closest. Delap was sent off in the 38th minute when he kicked the ball at Shaun Wright-Phillips after the Man City player fouled Etherington. Stoke took the lead against the run of play in the 45th minute when Beattie out jumped Wayne Bridge and headed past Joe Hart. Man City controlled the second half but never managed to score the equaliser and Stoke gained a valuable three points.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, February
Stoke were boosted by two transfer deadline day captures with the loans of Birmingham's Stephen Kelly and Wigan's Henri Camara. Stoke suffered a major blow after just 30 minutes in the match in Wearside when Pulis had to make three substitutions all due to injury. Sunderland took the lead in the second half through a typical Kenwyne Jones header Camara then managed to hit the crossbar from just four-yard's. Etherington was sent off for needlessly tripping Danny Collins and David Healy gave Sunderland a 2–0 win.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, February
The match against Portsmouth came alive in the final 15 minutes, Kranjcar gave Pompey the lead and from the restart Stoke were awarded a penalty after Glen Johnson handled in the area. Beattie scored to bring Stoke back level, he scored again just two minutes later after he headed in a Danny Pugh cross. With Stoke set for a much needed three points Shawcross under pressure from Hreidarsson sliced the ball in his own net to give Pompey a point.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, March
Abdoulaye Faye was ruled out of the match against Aston Villa meaning that an unfamiliar back pairing of Sonko and Higginbotham started. In the first half Villa dominated and it became only a matter of time before they scored, it came on the stroke of half time through Bulgarian Stiliyan Petrov. Sorensen injured himself trying to save Petrov's goal and was replaced at half time by Simonsen. Stoke were improved second half but couldn't score the equaliser, and the game looked finished after 80 minutes as John Carew fired Villa in to a 2–0 lead.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, March
Stoke continued to push forward though and went close through Shawcross and Whelan who hit the post, Stoke did pull one back in the 88th minute when Shawcross headed in a cross from Beattie. Remarkably Stoke managed to score again in the final minute as Glenn Whelan's volley beat Brad Friedel to claim an unlikely 2–2 draw.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, March
Bolton were next opponents for Stoke and should have taken the lead through Elmander after 11 minutes. City responded in cynical fashion though and took the lead with their first chance of the game just three minutes later. Gary Megson's side failed to deal with Abdoulaye Faye's long ball forward and Whelan nipped in to head the ball through to Beattie, and he made no mistake from ten yards by easily placing the ball past the helpless Jussi Jaaskelainen. Both sides continued to create and miss chances as the game became an entertaining affair. Stoke sealed the win when Fuller took advantage of Wanderers failing to clear a Delap throw in.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, March
Stoke made the trip to Goodison Park for the first time since 1985 still looking for their first away win in the Premier League. The Toffees took control early on and goals from Brazilian Jô and Joleon Lescott gave the home side a 2–0 half-time lead. Stoke responded in the second half through a Shawcross header and came close to getting an equaliser but Marouane Fellaini made the points safe for Everton in added time.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, March
Stoke then faced Middlesbrough in a relegation clash at the Britannia Stadium. It was a scrappy encounter and with the game seemingly destined for a draw Stoke scored through Shawcross via a Delap throw to give Stoke a vital three points and leave Boro rooted in the bottom three.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, April
Stoke made the short trip to West Brom and made a flying start with Fuller scoring after just 80 seconds, Stoke went on to dominate the hosts and only Scott Carson keeping the Baggies in the match. Stoke sealed their first Premier League away win after Beattie curled his shot past Carson to seal a 2–0 victory.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, April
Relegation-threatened Newcastle United along with their new manager Alan Shearer were the next side to come to the Britannia Stadium, Newcastle struggled throughout and Stoke took the lead after 33 minutes when former Newcastle player Abdoulaye Faye powerfully headed in a Liam Lawrence corner. Stoke had a number of chances to score the second but were unable to find the net and Newcastle claimed a fortunate point with ten minutes remaining through Andy Carroll.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, April
Stoke then faced another relegation-threatened side in the form of Blackburn Rovers. The only goal came after 75 minutes when Liam Lawrence drilled the ball past Paul Robinson to send the Potters eight points above the relegation zone.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, April
Stoke made the trip to the capital to face in form Fulham; the home side took control of the match early into the match and took the lead in the 29th minute through Erik Nevland. Stoke were much improved in the second half and a number of chances to level but the match finished 1–0 to Europe-bound Fulham.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, May
West Ham were next to arrive at Stoke and became the first team to win at the Britannia Stadium in 2009. The match was a very tight affair with on the only goal being scored by a Diego Tristan free-kick after 33 minutes.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, May
A win away at Hull City would confirm survival for Stoke with two games remaining and with Phil Brown's side also looking for vital points in order to climb out of the relegation zone. It turned out to be a very entertaining match with both sides going all out for the win, it was City though who took the lead. Lawrence put in a dangerous ball which fell through to Fuller, and he pounced from 6 yards to slam the ball into the bottom corner of Boaz Myhill's goal.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, May
Hull came out fighting in the second half and brought on Geovanni, Manucho, and Bernard Mendy in an attempt to draw level. However it was Stoke who kept creating chances with Whelan's half volley hitting the crossbar. Stoke sealed their survival with a long-range goal from Liam Lawrence on 73 minutes. Hull scored a consolation through an Andy Dawson free kick in the final minute.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, May
The season's penultimate game was against Wigan Athletic at home. The match was played in a relaxed atmosphere and was an entertaining game, Stoke winning 2–0 thanks to a trademark sole goal from Fuller and a well worked goal from James Beattie.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, Premier League, May
The final game of the 2008–09 season came at Arsenal with Stoke making their first trip to the Emirates Stadium. Stoke lost 4–1 with all the goals coming in the first half. An own goal from Beattie opened the scoring for Arsenal with further goals from Abou Diaby and a brace from Robin van Persie. Stoke's goal came from a Fuller penalty after he was brought down in the area by a cynical foul by Denilson.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, FA Cup
Stoke were drawn against League One Hartlepool United in the third round of the FA Cup. Manager Pulis decided to field a largely reserve side with the likes of Andy Davies, Ibrahima Sonko, Tom Soares, Michael Tonge all getting rare run outs. However that decision backfired as Stoke were awful and Hartlepool claimed a shock 2–0 victory with goals from Michael Nelson and a wonder goal from David Foley.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, League Cup
Stoke manager Tony Pulis made a large number of changes for the game at Cheltenham to give the Stoke side a largely reserve look. It turned out to an entertaining game as Stoke opened the scoring at the beginning of the second half through a Glenn Whelan freekick. It was 2–0 three minutes later when Richard Cresswell outpaced the Cheltenham defence and rounded Robins keeper Shane Higgs. Ashley Vincent gave Cheltenham hope before Jon Parkin sealed the win for Stoke. Alex Russell scored a consolation for the home side deep in to added time.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, League Cup
Stoke took on Championship side Reading in the third round of the League Cup and took the lead through Pericard after nine minutes. James Henry pulled the Royals level from the spot before Sidibé but Stoke back in front. However Henry scored again to send the tie into extra time. There was no more goals meaning the a penalty shootout would be required, Leroy Lita missed his decisive spot kick and Stoke went through.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, League Cup
Rotherham United made it through to face City in the fourth round and posed an early threat to a largely reserve Stoke side in what was a bright opening 10 minutes by the League Two side. However City took control of the game and took the lead after 21 minutes though another Whelan freekick which left Andy Warrington with no chance of saving. Stoke sealed their place in the quarter final of the League Cup for the first time since 1978 when Danny Pugh scored his first goal for the club.


2008–09 Stoke City F.C. season, League Cup
Stoke faced Derby in the quarters and it proved to be very frustrating night for the home side as with just ten seconds remaining Rob Styles adjudged former Ram Andy Griffin to have handled the ball inside the penalty area in the 93rd minute, and Nathan Ellington stepped up to send Derby through.


2008–09 Stuttgarter Kickers season
The 2008–09 Stuttgarter Kickers season was the 109th season in the club's football history. In 2008–09 the club played in the new founded 3. Liga, the third tier of German football. The club also has taken part in the 2008–09 edition of the Wurttemberg Cup.


2008–09 Stuttgarter Kickers season, Reserve team
Kickers' reserve team finished 7th in the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg and were coached by Björn Hinck.


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


2008–09 Sunderland A.F.C. season
The 2008–09 season was the 112th season in Sunderland A.F.C. 's history and 104th in the league system of English football.


2008–09 Sunderland A.F.C. season, Background
In preparation for their Premier League campaign, Sunderland spent around £40,000,000 in the 2007–08 season. Signings included the club's record signing of Craig Gordon for £9,000,000, Michael Chopra for £5,000,000, and Kieran Richardson for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £5,500,000. Roy Keane began his managerial tenure in the Premier League with a win over Tottenham Hotspur through a last minute goal from Michael Chopra. In an attempt to bolster their goalscoring chances, Sunderland signed Kenwyne Jones from Southampton for £6,000,000.


2008–09 Sunderland A.F.C. season, Background
The club came close to their first Tyne-Wear derby victory at home in 17 years when they drew with Newcastle United. They had taken the lead before half time, but Shola Ameobi equalised an hour into the game. Michael Chopra missed the opportunity to win the game by heading the ball onto the crossbar.


2008–09 Sunderland A.F.C. season, Background
A tribute was paid to 1973 FA Cup Final goalscorer Ian Porterfield in a game against Reading. Sunderland marked the occasion by winning 2–1. A win over Aston Villa sparked a three-game winning streak, when Sunderland overcame West Ham United and Fulham to extend their lead over the relegation area. They sealed their Premier League safety in a 3–2 win over local rivals Middlesbrough through a 90th-minute goal from Daryl Murphy. They finished the season in fifteenth place, on 39 points.


2008–09 Sunderland A.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 Sunderland A.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 Super 10 season
The 2008-09 Super 10 was the top level Italian domestic rugby union club competition. It ran from September through to May, operated by the Federazione Italiana Rugby. The Super 10 is now called Top12.


2008–09 Super 10 season
The Super 10 utilised the same bonus points system as almost all other major rugby union competitions (France uses a slightly different system):


2008–09 Super 10 season, Table
The third highest placed team then competes against a team from the Celtic League for a place in the Heineken Cup. (The Magners League team is determined as the best placed team who haven't already qualified for the Heineken Cup via other means. Currently this is limited to the higher of the lowest placed Welsh and lowest placed Irish team. This is because 2 Scottish teams earn direct qualification and currently only 2 Scottish teams are fielded.)


2008–09 Super 10 season, Final Stages
The first semi-final was held on 23 May. Viadana came out on top, beating Rovigo 15-11. The next day Benetton Treviso beat Overmach Parma 15-6. The final of the Super 10 was contested on 30 May between Benetton Treviso and Arix Viadana at the Stadio Flaminio. Treviso started excellently scoring three tries in the first half. Treviso's first try was scored by Andy Vilk, a terrific run from the 10 metre line.


2008–09 Super 10 season, Final Stages
Argentine Pedro Di Santo was the next to be driven over the line from a few metres out, and the third by the fly-half Marius Goosen who caught the ball from a 22 dropout and ran straight through Viadana to score a try that should never have been one. Viadana responded with a try by Sam Cox. Viadana's full-back Garry Law missed three penalties leaving the score at 19-10 to Treviso at the halfway point. In the second half Law went from villain to hero.


2008–09 Super 10 season, Final Stages
He scored a try and a second penalty to take Viadana into the lead by one point. However Law's opposite kicker Marius Goosen was one of the heroes for Treviso. He goaled a penalty to snatch back the lead and then converted replacement Robert Barbieri's try to take Treviso to their 14th title. The final score was Treviso 29-20 Viadana.


2008–09 Super 10 season, Final Stages
For Benetton Treviso:Tries: Vilk, Di Santo, Goosen, BarbieriCons: Goosen 3Pen: Goosen


2008–09 Super League Greece
The 2008–09 Super League Greece was the 73rd season of the highest football league of Greece and the third under the name Super League. The season began on 31 August 2008 and ended on 26 April 2009. The league consisted of 16 teams. Participants were the 13 best teams from the 2007–08 season and three teams who have been promoted from Beta Ethniki. Olympiacos successfully defended their title after claiming their 37th title overall with three rounds remaining.


2008–09 Super League Greece, Play-offs
The play-offs for an additional Champions League spot were conducted in a home and away round robin format. Its participants have entered the mini-league with a number of bonus points based on their regular season record. Every team had the number of points earned by the fifth-placed team subtracted from its own number of points. The result was then divided through five and rounded to the nearest whole number to determine the number of bonus points.


2008–09 Super League Greece, Play-offs
The teams started the play-offs with the following number of points:


2008–09 Super League Greece, Play-offs
The play-off winners entered the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League. Since AEK Athens have lost the final of the 2008–09 Greek Cup to Champions League-bound Olympiacos, all three Greek Europa League spots (two via league, one via domestic cup) were allotted according to the position of the respective teams in the play-off.


2008–09 Superliga Femenina
The 2008–09 season of the female football Superliga Femenina started on 7 September 2008 and finished on 10 May 2009.


2008–09 Superliga Femenina
Rayo Vallecano won the league for the first time in its history.


2008–09 Superliga Femenina, Teams
CFF Puebla merged to Extremadura Femenino CF and was relocated to Almendralejo.


2008–09 Superliga Feminina Brasileira de Voleibol season
The 2008–09 Superliga Feminina Brasileira de Voleibol season was the 15th edition of the Championship; it began on October 29, 2008.


2008–09 Supersport Series
The 2008–09 Supersport Series was the 13th running of the Supersport Series, the premier first-class competition in South Africa, and seventh since the introduction of franchise teams. Matches were played over four days, with each team playing each other twice, home and away, in a round robin format. The series started on 2 October 2008 and was played through until 2 April 2009. Nashua Titans emerged as champions for a third Supersport Series title.


2008–09 Supersport Series, Points table, Explanation of points
Points will be allocated for each match in accordance with the system described below:


2008–09 Sussex County Football League
The 2008–09 Sussex County Football League season was the 84th in the history of Sussex County Football League a football competition in England.


2008–09 Sussex County Football League, Division One
Division One featured 17 clubs which competed in the division last season, along with three new clubs:


2008–09 Sussex County Football League, Division Two
Division Two featured 14 clubs which competed in the division last season, along with four new clubs.


2008–09 Sussex County Football League, Division Three
Division Three featured eleven clubs which competed in the division last season, along with three new clubs:


2008–09 Swansea City A.F.C. season
The 2008–09 season was Swansea City A.F.C. 's first time in the second tier of English football for 24 years. Swansea gained promotion as champions of League One by 10 points.


2008–09 Swansea City A.F.C. season, Awards, Championship Team of the Week
The following Swansea players have been selected in the official Championship team of the week.


2008–09 Swansea City A.F.C. season, Fixtures and results, The Championship
The season finished on 3 May when Swansea City played Blackpool at the Liberty Stadium.


2008–09 Swansea City A.F.C. season, Fixtures and results, League Cup
Swansea reached the Fourth round of the League Cup before losing to Championship strugglers Watford.


2008–09 Swedish Figure Skating Championships
The 2008–09 Swedish Figure Skating Championships were held at the Cloetta Center in Linköping between December 4 and 7, 2008. Because they were held in December, they were officially designated by the Swedish skating federation as the 2008 Swedish Championships, but the champions are the 2009 Swedish Champions. Senior-level (Olympic-level), junior-level, and two age-group levels of novice (Riksmästerskap (RM) and UngdomsSM (USM)) skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, and pair skating, although not every discipline was held in every level. This event was used to help choose the Swedish teams for the 2009 World Championships, the 2009 European Championships, and the 2009 World Junior Championships.


2008–09 Swindon Town F.C. season
The 2008–09 season was Swindon Town's second season in the League One since their relegation from the division in 2006. Alongside the league campaign, Swindon Town will also competed in the FA Cup, League Cup and the Football League Trophy.


2008–09 Swindon Town F.C. season, Football League One
Leicester comfortably won promotion in their first-ever season at this level, leading the table for virtually the entire season, going half the season (23 consecutive games) unbeaten and losing just 4 games in the process, Nigel Pearson brought stability to the club in becoming their first manager in five years to last an entire season as they looked to turn the corner after several years of struggle. Peterborough were runners-up, winning their second successive promotion and entering the second tier for only the second time in their history. Scunthorpe grabbed the final play-off place on the last day of the season in a winner takes all match v 7th place Tranmere Rovers and won promotion through them, making an immediate return to the Championship after being relegated the previous year.


2008–09 Swindon Town F.C. season, Football League One
Stockport went into administration before the final match of the season and so suffered a 10-point penalty; however, there was no real chance of them being relegated as a result of this penalty, barring an extremely unlikely set of results on the final day.


2008–09 Swindon Town F.C. season, Football League One
Hereford made an immediate return to League Two, finishing bottom in their first campaign at this level for thirty years. Cheltenham improved late in the season, but it proved too late to prevent relegation. Crewe suffered a late collapse and went down to League Two, having looked safe a few weeks previously, while Northampton were undone by other results going against them on the final day of the season.


2008–09 Swiss Cup
Swiss Cup 2008–09 was the 84th season of Switzerland's annual cup competition. It began on 20 September with the first games of Round 1 and ended on 20 May 2009 with the Final held at Stade de Suisse, Berne. The winners earned a place in the play-off round of the UEFA Europa League. FC Basel were the defending champions.


2008–09 Swiss Cup, Participating clubs
Nine Super League teams (FC Vaduz are from Liechtenstein and thus play in the Liechtenstein Cup 2008–09) and all sixteen Challenge League clubs entered this year's competition, as well as thirteen teams from 1. Liga and 26 teams from lower leagues (their level within the Swiss league pyramid is given in parentheses below). Teams from 1. Liga and below had to qualify through separate qualifying rounds within their leagues.


2008–09 Swiss Cup, Round 1
Teams from Super League and Challenge League were seeded in this round. In a match, the home advantage was granted to the team from the lower league, if applicable.


2008–09 Swiss Cup, Round 2
The winners of Round 1 played in this round. Teams from Super League were seeded. In a match, the home advantage was granted to the team from the lower league, if applicable.


2008–09 Swiss Cup, Round 3
The winners of Round 2 played in this round. In a match, the home advantage was granted to the team from the lower league, if applicable. Some games were postponed due to snow, and subsequently played elsewhere.


2008–09 Swiss Cup, Semi-finals
The winners of the quarter-finals played in this round. As in the previous round, matches were openly drawn, meaning that the team drawn first in a match earned the home game.


2008–09 Swiss Super League
The 2008–09 Swiss Super League was the 112th season of top-tier football in Switzerland. The competition is officially named AXPO Super League due to sponsoring purposes. It began on 18 July 2008 with a match between Young Boys Bern and reigning champions FC Basel, which the latter won by 2–1. The last matches were played in May 2009.


2008–09 Swiss Super League, Teams
FC Thun were relegated after finishing in 10th and last place in 2007–08 Swiss Super League. They were replaced by Challenge League 2007–08 champions FC Vaduz, who are the first team from Liechtenstein participating in Switzerland's top football league.


2008–09 Swiss Super League, Teams
9th placed FC St. Gallen and Challenge League runners-up AC Bellinzona competed in a two-legged relegation play-off after the end of last season. Bellinzona won 5–2 on aggregate and thus earned promotion, while St. Gallen were relegated.


2008–09 Swiss Super League, Results
Teams play each other four times in this league. In the first half of the season each team played every other team twice (home and away) and then do the same in the second half of the season.


2008–09 Swiss Super League, Relegation play-offs
FC Lucern as 9th-placed team of the Super League were played a two-legged play-off against Challenge League runners-up AC Lugano.


2008–09 Sydney FC W-League season
The 2009 season is the Sydney FC's first season of football (soccer) in Australia's new women's league, the W-League.


2008–09 Sydney FC 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 Sydney FC W-League season, Awards, Milestones
First game = 4–0 win home V Perth Glory W-LeagueLargest win = 4–0 win home V Perth Glory W-LeagueLargest loss = 3–0 loss away V Queensland Roar W-League


2008–09 Sydney FC season
The 2008–09 season is Sydney FC's fourth season of football (soccer) in Australia, and will compete in the 2008–09 A-League season.


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


2008–09 Sydney FC season, Pre-season
Sydney commenced pre-season training on 28 April 2008, and have been actively promoting the club to the Sydney community in the lead up to the season.


2008–09 Sydney FC season, Pre-season
A number of friendly matches against NSW Premier League opposition are expected to be arranged in May and June.


2008–09 Sydney FC season, Pre-season
Sydney played their first pre-season match against NSW Premier League side Blacktown City Demons at Gabbie Stadium which ended in a 0–0 draw. The match was significant in which Michael Enfield played his first game in almost a season, and fellow American Matt Taylor played his first trial game for the club. Sydney lost their 2nd trial match against Sutherland a week later losing 2–1 on artificial turf. Jacob Timpano scored Sydney's goal late in the 1st half. It was his first goal for the club after almost a year and a half on the sidelines through injury. Sydney's 3rd and final Pre-season friendly ended up a 2–0 win over Manly United, with Newly signed 17yr old Chris Payne scoring the double for the Sky Blues against his former club. It is their last Pre-season friendly before starting in the annual pre-season cup which starts later this month.


2008–09 Sydney FC season, A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup
Sydney have been drawn into Group B for the A-League Preseason Challenge Cup along with Queensland Roar, Central Coast Mariners and Wellington Phoenix.


2008–09 Sydney FC season, A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup, Fixtures
On a freezing cold night at Campbelltown Sydney came victorious against Queensland Roar 2–1. After a scoreless 1st half, Queensland scored first through their new Dutch import, before Sydney hit back minutes later through newly signed 17-year-old Chris Payne, late in the 2nd Half Alex Brosque was fouled near the penalty area and former Perth Glory midfielder Mitchell Prentice took a shot that fired into the top right corner of the net. Sydney next travel up to Gosford To play the Central Coast Mariners.


2008–09 Sydney FC season, A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup, Fixtures
Sydney played the Mariners up at Bluetongue Stadium on 27 July. Central Coast had recently been in the News with former Socceroos and Manchester United goalkeeper Mark Bosnich reportedly signing a 2-year contract. Sydney dominated the first 15 minutes until Brad Porter scored 2 minutes before half time. Sydney had several excellent chances early in the 2nd through Alex Brosque and Terry McFlynn but Bosnich denied any Sydney goal. 2 late goals for Central Coast through former Sydney player Sasho Petrovski and Nik Mrdja. Sydney had a 70th minute Steve Corica penalty stopped by Bosnich. Sydney now will hope to get through to the Pre-Season final with a win over Wellington Phoenix at WIN Stadium next Saturday Night.


2008–09 Sydney FC season, A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup, Fixtures
Sydney played Wellington at WIN stadium, needing a victory and the Central Coast Mariners beating the Queensland Roar in order to get into the Pre-Season cup final. Sydney started off well with early goals from Alex Brosque and Iain Fyfe both opening up their goal tally's for the season, and Sydney looked to have the game under control by half time. Until 15 minutes into the 2nd half Wellington got a goal back through Troy Hearfield. A last-man sliding tackle by Dez Giraldi earnt Wellington a Penalty, as well as Giraldi's marching orders.


2008–09 Sydney FC season, A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup, Fixtures
The penalty was converted past Sydney's 2nd keeper Ivan Necevski leveling the scores at 2–2. with 9 minutes to go till full-time a defensive mistake cost Sydney the game when Jacob Timpano but a terrible pass-back to Necevski and Wellington's Chinese import Leilei Gao intercepted it, and slotted the ball past a stunned Necevski. Sydney now go into the start of the 4th A-League season short on players with Alex Brosque, Dez Giraldi, Mitchell Prentice, and Simon Colosimo all out on Suspension, and John Aloisi, Brendon Santalab, and Michael Enfield all injured, as well as Mark Bridge, and Stuart Musialik out on Olyroo duties for the Beijing Olympics.


2008–09 Sydney FC season, Player details, Transfers
The later parts of the 2007–08 season saw the departure of Mark Rudan to Japanese second division side Avispa Fukuoka and the club released David Zdrilic, Ruben Zadkovich and Patrick da Silva at season's end. Ufuk Talay joined his former teammate Mark Rudan and coach Pierre Littbarski at Avispa Fukuoka the end of the season.


2008–09 Sydney FC season, Player details, Transfers
New signings for the 2008–09 season started in earnest in March with the official announcements of Simon Colosimo from Perth, Mark Bridge and Stuart Musialik from Jets and a new marquee player in John Aloisi from the Mariners reportedly with a pay packet of up to A$1.4m a season. With Aloisi joining as the marquee and other signings being under the salary cap, Sydney were unable to retain Brazilian Juninho at the club and he was unceremoniously released during the off-season.


2008–09 Sydney FC season, Player details, Transfers
Ruben Zadkovich was snatched up by Newcastle but ended up heading over to England on a reported 2-year contract with relegated Premier League team Derby County. Manly United young gun Chris Payne caught Kosmina's eye during a pre-season trial and signed the youngster on a 2-year youth contract. And in mid-July Kosmina signed Wollongong Wolves striker Dez Giraldi on an 8-week loan spell to replace the injured Brendon Santalab.


2008–09 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team
The 2008–09 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team represented Syracuse University in the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Jim Boeheim, serving for his 33rd year. The team played its home games at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. Key contributors included senior Kristof Ongenaet, juniors Eric Devendorf, Arinze Onuaku, Andy Rautins and Paul Harris, sophomores Rick Jackson and Jonny Flynn and freshman Kris Joseph.


2008–09 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team, Preseason, Roster changes
Syracuse lost its leading scorer from the previous season, forward Donté Greene, who declared for the 2008 NBA draft and was taken with the 28th overall pick by the Memphis Grizzlies. Greene was then traded to the Houston Rockets and again to the Sacramento Kings.


2008–09 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team, Preseason, Roster changes
Syracuse used Greene's scholarship to add Iowa State transfer Wesley Johnson. Johnson averaged 12.4 points per game during his sophomore season with the Cyclones, but must sit out the 2008–09 season. Syracuse will also have lacrosse recruit Kevin Drew, a walk-on.


2008–09 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team, Preseason, Roster changes
On the injury front, Syracuse returned juniors Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins. Both had suffered season ending knee injuries in the 2007–08 season and were granted medical redshirts. However, the Orange also learned before the season started that sophomore Scoop Jardine would be out for entire season after suffering a stress fracture in his left leg.


2008–09 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team, Preseason, Recruiting
Coach Boeheim was able to sign three recruits for the 2008–09 season: Kris Joseph, Mookie Jones and James Southerland. However, Southerland did not qualify with his SAT score to attend Syracuse, and returned to Notre Dame Preparatory Academy for an additional season of play.


2008–09 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team, Preseason, Preseason outlook
With returning co-Big East Rookie of The Year Jonny Flynn, the Orange was picked to finish eighth in the Big East conference by the Big East coach's poll. Flynn was also a first-team all-Big East selection. Syracuse began the season ranked No. 30 in the Associated Press poll and No. 31 in the ESPN/USA Today poll.


2008–09 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team, Preseason, Preseason outlook
Although Syracuse was coming off two-straight NIT-bound seasons, and despite not having won an NCAA tournament game in four seasons, many experts picked Syracuse as a solid choice for the NCAA Tournament.


2008–09 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team, Season, Season Recap
Syracuse started the season strong, winning the CBE Classic. In the semifinals on November 24, 2008, the Orange topped No. 17/18 Florida, 89–83. Jonny Flynn and Paul Harris led five SU players in double figures with 18 points each. In the finals on November 25, 2008, Syracuse defeated the defending champions, the No. 22/23 Kansas Jayhawks, 89–81 in overtime, to capture the CBE Classic. Jonny Flynn had 25 points, including a 3-pointer with 6.4 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime. Flynn was named MVP of the tournament.


2008–09 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team, Season, Season Recap
But the season would hit a low point on December 15, 2008 when then-No. 11 Syracuse lost to unranked Cleveland State University 72–69 as a result of a 60-foot, buzzer-beating shot by Cleveland State's Cedric Jackson.


2008–09 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team, Season, Season Recap
Syracuse would add another key non-conference win on December 20, 2008, when then-No. 11 Syracuse won a key away game against national runner-up Memphis as Syracuse's stifling zone held Memphis to just 7-for-33 shooting from 3-point land. Flynn paced the Orange with 24 points and six assists, as Syracuse was able to deal with the loss of Eric Devendorf to a suspension after he was accused of hitting a female student on Nov. 1.


2008–09 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team, Season, Season Recap
Perhaps the biggest game of the season happened on March 12–13, 2009, when then-No. 18 Syracuse and No. 4 Connecticut played the longest game in Big East history, and second longest in NCAA Division I history, as Syracuse won 127–117 in six overtimes. Flynn set a new Syracuse record by playing 67 minutes.


2008–09 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team, Season, Season Recap
Syracuse would be named a No. 3 seed for the NCAA Tournament and win games over Stephen F. Austin (59–44) and Arizona State (78–67) to advance to the Sweet 16. But the Orange would be halted by Blake Griffin and Oklahoma in an 84–71 loss. The loss would mark the final game for Devendorf, Flynn and Harris, who all left the team following the season for the professional ranks.


2008–09 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team, Season, Big East tournament
Syracuse was seeded sixth and received a bye in the first round. They reached the finals of the 2009 tournament, where they were defeated by the first-seeded Louisville Cardinals, 76–66. It was their fourteenth time making the Big East Tournament Finals, the most for any team in the conference.


2008–09 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team, Season, Big East tournament
Prior to making the finals, Syracuse's performance featured a conference record six-overtime quarterfinals game (the second longest game in NCAA history) in which they defeated third-seeded Connecticut 127–117. A day later, in the semifinals, the Orange were forced into overtime again, where they defeated West Virginia 74–69 in a single extra session.


2008–09 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team, Season, Big East tournament
Jonny Flynn was named the tournament's most outstanding player, becoming just the fourth player in Big East Tournament history to win the award as a member of the second-place team.


2008–09 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team, Season, NCAA tournament
The Orange were seeded third in the South Region, and played fourteenth-seeded Stephen F. Austin on Friday, March 20 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. The Orange won, 59–44. They faced sixth-seeded Arizona State in the second round, winning 78–67. Their season ended in the South regional semifinals when they lost 84–71 to Oklahoma.


2008–09 Syracuse Orange women's ice hockey season
The 2008–09 Syracuse Orange women's ice hockey season was the first in Syracuse history.


2008–09 Syracuse Orange women's ice hockey season, Offseason
On March 6, 2008, it was announced that the Orange would join College Hockey America. Syraucse was the fifth school to join the conference for women's hockey.


2008–09 Syracuse Orange women's ice hockey season, Offseason
Paul Flanagan, who coached the St. Lawrence Skating Saints women's ice hockey program to five NCAA Frozen Four appearances was appointed as the first coach for the Orange women's ice hockey program. Flanagan had been the 2001 ECAC and American Hockey Coaches Association Coach of the Year. For the inaugural season, Flanagan was joined by Graham Thomas, who played for Mannheim Jung Adler in Germany, and Erin O'Brien, a two-time All-American at Plattsburgh State, an NCAA Division III school for women's ice hockey.


2008–09 Syracuse Orange women's ice hockey season, Regular season
Some of the first players for the team were transfer players from other schools. Gabrielle Beaudry, transferred to the Orange from Boston  College. Cheyenne Bojeski was a transfer from rival Mercyhurst, while Julie Rising came to the Orange from Bemidji State. Lucy Schoedel and Stefany Marty were both transfers from New Hampshire Wildcats women's ice hockey.


2008–09 Syracuse Orange women's ice hockey season, Regular season
The Orange's inaugural season was in 2008–09, and the team played its first ever game on October 1, 2008. On Wednesday, October 1, 2008, Lucy Schoedel recorded 34 saves and Megan Skelly scored the first goal in Syracuse women's ice hockey history. The goal was scored nine seconds into the school's first women's hockey game at Colgate. Despite holding a 2–0 lead in the game, the Orange lost to Colgate by a score of 4–3.


2008–09 Syracuse Orange women's ice hockey season, Regular season
The following two games were against the eventual NCAA champion Wisconsin Badgers on October 2 and 3. Despite losing both games, Lucy Schoedel made seventy five saves in two games. A week later, Syracuse played in its first ever College Hockey America conference game. The Orange took on the Robert Morris Colonials. Lucy Schoedel recorded her 100th career save (and totaling 130 stops in just four games) in a 1–0 losing effort.


2008–09 Syracuse Orange women's ice hockey season, Regular season
Team captain Stefanie Marty scored her first goal for Syracuse on October 17. It was a 4–2 loss at Quinnipiac. Of note, Cheyenne Bojeski also scored her first ever goal for Syracuse. The following day, co-captains Julie Rising and Stefanie Marty would both score as Syraucse won its first ever game by a 2–0 tally.


2008–09 Syracuse Orange women's ice hockey season, Roster, Seniors
Nikki Leone and Rachel Tilford were the seniors for the Orange. Both fourth-year members factored into the last Syracuse goal scored in the regular season. It was the Orange's sixth consecutive victory, and was played at the Onondaga County War Memorial.


2008–09 Syracuse Orange women's ice hockey season, Player stats
Stefanie Marty was the leading scorer for the Orange with 22 points.


2008–09 Syrian Cup
The 2008-09 version of the Syrian Cup is the 39th edition to be played. It is the premier knockout tournament for football teams in Syria.


2008–09 Syrian Cup, First qualifying round
22 teams play a knockout tie. 11 clubs advance to the next round. Games played over two legs


2008–09 Syrian Cup, Second qualifying round
40 teams play a knockout tie. 20 clubs advance to the next round. Games played over two legs


2008–09 Syrian Cup, First round
32 teams play a knockout tie. 16 clubs advance to the next round. Games played over two legs


2008–09 Syrian Cup, First round
¹ Areeha failed to the 2nd leg, match awarded 3-0 to Al-Sholla.


2008–09 Syrian Cup, First round
² Saraqib failed to the 2nd leg, match awarded 3-0 to Al-Yaqaza.


2008–09 Syrian Cup, First round
3 Al-Jazeera failed to the 2nd leg, match awarded 3-0 to Al-Jaish.


2008–09 Syrian Cup, Round of 16
16 teams play a knockout tie. 8 clubs advance to the next round. Games played over two legs


2008–09 Syrian Cup, Round of 16
¹ Al-Sholla failed to the Round of 16, matches awarded 3-0 to Al-Taliya.


2008–09 Syrian Cup, Quarter-finals
8 teams play a knockout tie. 4 clubs advance to the next round. Games played over two legs


2008–09 Syrian Cup, Semi-finals
4 teams play a knockout tie. 2 clubs advance to the Final. Games played over two legs


2008–09 Syrian Premier League
The 2008–09 Syrian Premier League is the 38th season of the Syrian Premier League, Syria's premier football league. The season began on 10 October 2008 and finished on 12 June 2009.


2008–09 Syrian Premier League
Afrin and Al-Horriya were relegated from the previous season. Al-Wathba and Omyyah moved up from the Syrian League 1st Division.


2008–09 Syrian Premier League
At the end of the campaign, defending champions Al-Karamah were level on 52 points with Al-Ittihad and therefore were required to have a one off playoff match to determine the league champions.


2008–09 Syrian Premier League
Al-Futowa and Hutteen were relegated and would be replaced by Afrin and Al-Jazeera for the 2009–10 Syrian Premier League campaign.


2008–09 Syrian Premier League
Syrian international Mohamed Al Zeno finished the campaign as leading goalscorer with 17 goals.


2008–09 Syrian Premier League, Continental Cups, AFC Cup
Al-Karamah and Al-Majd entered the AFC Cup 2009 tournament. A tournament for second ranked Asian nations.


2008–09 Syrian Premier League, Continental Cups, AFC Cup
During the domestic Syrian league season, only the group phases of this prestigious tournament is played until the knockout rounds which will take place in the next Syrian season.


2008–09 Syrian Premier League, Continental Cups, AFC Cup
Al-Majd comfortably qualified with one game to spare to reach the knockout rounds whilst Al-Karamah had somewhat of a shaky start and after 5 games find themselves in 3rd position.


2008–09 Syrian Premier League, Continental Cups, Arab Champions League
Al-Ittihad and Al-Taliya entered the Arab Champions League but Al-Taliya found the going tough, being thumped by Raja Casablanca of Morocco in the first round.


2008–09 Syrian Premier League, Continental Cups, Arab Champions League
Al-Ittihad went one round better but  got beat by Wydad Casablanca, also of Morocco.


2008–09 Syrian Premier League, Final league standings, Playoffs
5th and 6th placed teams Al-Wathba and Al-Majd had a one match playoff at the end of the season due to both clubs finishing the regular season on 37 points. Al-Wathba won the tie 3–2 to claim 5th position in the final standings.


2008–09 Süper Lig
The 2008–09 Süper Lig (also known as Turkcell Super League due to sponsoring reasons) was the fifty-first season since its establishment. It began on 22 August 2008 and ended on 31 May 2009. Galatasaray were the defending champions.


2008–09 Süper Lig
Beşiktaş clinched the championship after winning at Denizlispor on the last matchday. The latter barely avoided relegation after finishing in a three-way tie on points with Gençlerbirliği and Konyaspor. Head-to-head comparison between those three teams eventually resulted in the demotion of Konyaspor, who joined Kocaelispor and Hacettepe on their way to the second-level First League.


2008–09 Süper Lig
Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray had to settle for fourth and fifth place, respectively, after Sivasspor came in as runners-up and Trabzonspor finished third. The final positions for the three Istanbul clubs marked the first time since the 1980–81 season that only one of them was able to finish among the top three teams in Turkish football.


2008–09 Süper Lig, Promotion and relegation from 2007–08
Çaykur Rizespor, Manisaspor and Kasımpaşa were relegated at the end of the 2007–08 season after finishing on the bottom three places of the standings. They were replaced by TFF First League champions Kocaelispor, runners-up Antalyaspor and play-off winners Eskişehirspor.


2008–09 TBHSL season
The 2008–09 Turkish Ice Hockey Super League season was the 17th season of the Turkish Ice Hockey Super League, the top level of ice hockey in Turkey. Six teams participated in the league.


2008–09 TFF First League
The 2008–09 TFF First League (also known as Bank Asya First League due to sponsoring reasons) was the second-level football league of Turkey and the 46th season since its establishment in 1963–64.


2008–09 TFF First League, Promotion Play-Offs
The Promotion Play-Offs will be played in Yenikent Asaş Stadium in Ankara. The Semi-final matches will take place on May 15. The League's third-placed team will play the sixth-placed team and the fourth-placed team will play the fifth-placed team. The winners of these matches will play on May 17 in the final match. The winner of this match will play in Turkcell Super League in the 2009–2010 season.


2008–09 TFF Third League
The standings of the teams playing in TFF 3. Lig Ranking Groups, Classifying Groups and Promotion Group in 2008–09 season are as follows. According to league regulations, if two or more teams are on equal points after the end of the season, higher number of points obtained in the matches played among the teams in question will be used to separate teams.


2008–09 TFF Third League Group 2
The TFF Third League or TFF 3. Lig is the fourth level in the Turkish football league system. The league contains 50 clubs spread out over 4 groups with 10 clubs in Stage 1 (Ranking Groups). The top two clubs from each group qualify to the Promotion Group of Stage 2.The rest of the clubs stay in their groups which are called Classifying Groups and carry over their records from Stage 1.


2008–09 TFF Third League Group 2
The tables and the results of the teams playing in TFF 3. Lig Group 2 of Ranking Groups in 2008–09 season are as follows:


2008–09 TFF Third League Promotion Group
The TFF Third League or TFF 3. Lig is the fourth level in the Turkish football league system. The top two clubs from Ranking Groups qualify to the Promotion Group of Stage 2. Promotion Group clubs start the second stage without any carryovers. Top four clubs from the Promotion Group will be promoted to TFF 2. Lig of 2009–2010 season. Top clubs from the Classifying Groups and the 5th, 6th and 7th clubs from Promotion Group qualify for the Play-off matches to determine the last two teams to be promoted to TFF 2. Lig.


2008–09 TFF Third League Promotion Group
The tables and the results of the teams playing in TFF 3. Lig Promotion Group in 2008–09 season are as follows:


2008–09 TSG 1899 Hoffenheim season
During the 2008–09 German football season, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim competed in the Bundesliga.


2008–09 TSG 1899 Hoffenheim season, Season summary
In their first ever season in the Bundesliga, Hoffenheim finished seventh.


2008–09 TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 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 TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 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 Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters season
The 2008–09 Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters season will be the 19th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).


2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning season
The 2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning season was the 17th season for the franchise in Tampa Bay. After a season of turnover in ownership, management and players, the team had a turbulent regular season. The Lightning failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs.


2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning season, Off-season
On June 3, it was announced that head coach John Tortorella would not return to the team despite having one year remaining on his contract.


2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning season, Off-season
On June 18, 2008, the NHL Board of Governors approved the sale of the Tampa Bay Lightning. The sale of the Lightning was made to movie and television producer Oren Koules. The deal depended the closing of the financial deal of US$200 million to buy the team and lease the St. Pete Times Forum. Koules, 47, played in Medicine Hat and Calgary in the Western Hockey League (WHL) in the early 1980s. In more recent years, he achieved success with the Saw movie franchise and the television sitcom Two and a Half Men. Among his business partners in the Lightning deal is former NHL player Len Barrie.


2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning season, Off-season
On June 24, the Lightning announced that Barry Melrose was hired as the team's new head coach. Melrose had not coached in the NHL since 1995 with the Los Angeles Kings. Since that time, he had served as an analyst for the ESPN networks.


2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning season, Off-season
Goaltender Marc Denis' contract was bought-out by the Lightning on June 25, almost two years to the date after his acquisition from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Denis had one year remaining on his contract.


2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning season, Off-season
The Lightning acquired the rights to left wingers Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a conditional draft pick in 2009. Malone then agreed to a seven-year contract with the Lightning two days before he was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent.


2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning season, Off-season
The Lightning acquired the rights to right wing Brian Rolston from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a conditional draft pick in 2009 or 2010. Rolston would later sign with the New Jersey Devils.


2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning season, Off-season
The whirlwind 32 days of questionable moves by new ownership came to a head on July 4 when, despite coming off a recent contract extension, Dan Boyle was traded along with Brad Lukowich to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Matt Carle (who would be traded in early November), Ty Wishart, a first-round draft pick in 2009 (which was traded in August) and a fourth round draft pick in 2010.


2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning season, Off-season
Boyle was pressured to waive his no-trade clause by Tampa Bay's ownership, who said they would otherwise place him on waivers where he would likely be claimed by the Atlanta Thrashers. Frustrated at interference in the team's hockey operations by owners Len Barrie and Oren Koules, seven days later, general manager Jay Feaster resigned, despite having three years remaining on his contract. Indeed, Brian Lawton had already taken over the position, though not officially until October 2. John Tortorella would later go on to label the new owners as "cowboys" for these and other dubious moves, a moniker that would stick with them.


2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning season, Off-season
On August 29, the Lightning acquired defenceman Andrej Meszaros from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for defenceman Filip Kuba, as well as Alexandre Picard, and a first-round pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft (obtained in the Dan Boyle deal with the San Jose Sharks). The Lightning would go on to sign Meszaros to a six-year contract worth $24 million.


2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning season, Off-season
On September 18, the Lightning announced that their new team captain would be Vincent Lecavalier.


2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning season, Preseason
The Tampa Bay Lightning will be playing five pre-season games before opening the season against the New York Rangers on October 4 in Prague. Of special note, this is the first time that Tampa Bay will be opening the season outside of North America. This will also be the first time that the Lightning will play a pre-season game outside North America, playing Eisbären Berlin in Germany on September 28. It was announced later that the Lightning would also play against Slovan Bratislava of the Slovak Extraliga on September 30.


2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning season, Regular season
The Lightning struggled on the penalty kill, finishing the regular season with the most power-play opportunities against (405) and the most power-play goals allowed (89).


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


2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning season, Regular season, Conference standings
AT – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division


2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning season, Regular season, 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 Thrashers played against


2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning season, Regular season, 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 Tampa Bay Lightning season, Playoffs
The Tampa Bay Lightning failed to qualify for the 2009 NHL playoffs.


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


2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning season, Draft picks
Tampa Bay entered the NHL Draft Lottery with a 48.8% chance of winning the lottery after stumbling to a 31–42–9 record in the regular season. The Lightning finished last in the league just four years after winning their first Stanley Cup.


2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning season, Draft picks
Tampa Bay's picks at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft  in Ottawa, Ontario.


2008–09 Taça da Liga
The 2008–09 Taça da Liga was the second edition of the Taça da Liga, also known as Carlsberg Cup due to sponsorship reasons. The first matches were played on 2 August 2008 and the final was held on 21 March 2009 at the Estádio Algarve in Faro. Present for the second time in the final of this competition, Sporting CP were once again defeated 3–2 on penalties, this time by their rivals Benfica.


2008–09 Taça da Liga, Format
After the first season, a change in the format was approved by the Portuguese League for Professional Football. The Cup began with a two-legged round between teams from Liga de Honra (2nd level). Winners were joined by the clubs classified 7th–14th from last season's Primeira Liga (1st level) plus two promoted to this season's Liga. There were six groups of three clubs each, and every team played two matches (once home and once away). Winners of the groups joined the top-six teams from the last season's Primeira Liga and there were three groups of four teams, each club playing three matches. Winners of the groups and the best second-placed club competed in the one-legged semi-finals, with the winners advancing to the final.


2008–09 Taça da Liga, Participating clubs
This is a list of clubs participating in the 2008–09 Portuguese League Cup:


2008–09 Taça da Liga, First round
The matches were played on August 2 (first legs) and August 9 and 10, 2008 (second legs).


2008–09 Taça da Liga, Second round
The matches were played from August 16 to November 5, 2008.


2008–09 Taça da Liga, Third round
The matches were played from December 14, 2008 to January 18, 2009.


2008–09 Taça da Liga, Knockout phase, Semi-finals
The semi-finals were held as one-legged matches with the two teams that had the highest number of points in the third round being given the home ground advantage. The draw was held at the LPFP headquarters on 20 January 2009, 12:30 UTC. The matches were played on 4 February 2009.


2008–09 Taça de Portugal
2008–09 Taça de Portugal was the 86th season of Portuguese football knockout tournament. The competition started on August 30, 2008 with the First Round and ended with the Final held in on May 31, 2009. The defending champions were Sporting CP.


2008–09 Taça de Portugal, First round
In this round entered teams from second (3rd level) and third division (4th level). A number of teams received a bye to the Second Round: Fátima (III), União da Madeira (III),  Abrantes (III), Lagoa (III), Torreense (III), Lusitânia dos Açores (IV), Marinhas (IV), Vila Meã (IV), Madalena (IV), Amares (IV), Mondinense (IV), Portosantense (IV), Fornos de Algodres (IV), Louletano (IV), Coimbrőes (IV), Cinfães (IV), Caldas (IV), Futebol Benfica (IV) and Académico Viseu (IV). The matches were played on August 30, 31, September 4, 6 and 7, 2008.


2008–09 Taça de Portugal, First round
1Maia were disqualified from the competition. Note : Roman numerals in brackets denote the league tier the clubs participate in during the 2008–09 season.


2008–09 Taça de Portugal, Second round
This round featured winners from the previous round, teams that received a bye in the First Round and all teams from Liga de Honra (2nd level). The matches were played on September 13 and 14, 2008.


2008–09 Taça de Portugal, Second round
1Abrantes were disqualified from the competition. Note : Roman numerals in brackets denote the league tier the clubs participate in during the 2008–09 season.


2008–09 Taça de Portugal, Third round
In this round entered winners from the previous round as well as all teams from Portuguese Liga. The matches were played on October 18 and 19, 2008.


2008–09 Taça de Portugal, Third round
Note: Roman numerals in brackets denote the league tier the clubs participate in during the 2008–09 season.


2008–09 Taça de Portugal, Fourth round
In this round entered winners from the previous round. The matches were played on November 8, 9 and 10, 2008.


2008–09 Taça de Portugal, Fourth round
Note: Roman numerals in brackets denote the league tier the clubs participate in during the 2008–09 season.


2008–09 Taça de Portugal, Fifth round
In this round entered winners from the previous round. The matches were played on December 13 and 14, 2008.


2008–09 Taça de Portugal, Fifth round
Note: Roman numerals in brackets denote the league tier the clubs participate in during the 2008–09 season.


2008–09 Taça de Portugal, Quarterfinals
The matches were played on January 28, 29 and February 17, 2009.


2008–09 Taça de Portugal, Quarterfinals
Note: Roman numerals in brackets denote the league tier the clubs participate in during the 2008–09 season.


2008–09 Taça de Portugal, Semifinals
The draw was held on February 5, 2009. The first legs were played on March 3 and 22, 2009. The second legs was played on April 22, 2009.


2008–09 Temple Owls men's basketball team
The 2008–09 Temple Owls men's basketball team represented Temple University in the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by head coach Fran Dunphy and played their home games at the Liacouras Center. The Owls are members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 22–12 and 11–5 in A-10 play. They won the 2009 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament for the second consecutive year to receive the conference's automatic bid to the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.


2008–09 Temple Owls men's basketball team
Dionte Christmas led Temple in three statistics: points per game (19.5), three-pointers completed  (107), and total steals (51); he finished second in two more: rebounds per game (5.5) and assists (28). In addition, he was an honorable mention All-American and scored 2,000 points over his college basketball career. Also graduating were two other starters: 7–0 center Sergio Olmos, who was selected as an All-A10 Tournament player, and point guard Semaj Inge.


2008–09 Temple Owls men's basketball team, Preseason
On October 28, 2008, the Owls were picked by other Atlantic 10 coaches to finish second, behind Xavier, and received 12 first place votes. Dionte Christmas was chosen to the Preseason First Team after leading the league in scoring the past two seasons. Lavoy Allen was named to the Preseason Defensive Team.


2008–09 Temple Owls men's basketball team, Season, Preconference season
Dionte Christmas scored 35 points to lead Temple past #8 Tennessee on December 13 88–72. This was Temple's first win over a top ten team since the 2006 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament, when the Owls upset #6 George Washington; John Chaney was coaching Temple at the time. The Owls started the game with an 8–0 lead and never faltered, with Tennessee only tying the score at 15 and never leading. Christmas started the second half with a three-pointer and scored three consecutive threes on a 17–6 run. For the game, he was 7-for-14 from the perimeter and 12-for-22 from the field. Sergio Olmos's 19 points were a career high, and Ryan Brooks registered a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds.


2008–09 Temple Owls men's basketball team, Season, Postseason
Temple was given a four seed in the 2009 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament; they received a bye and faced Saint Joseph's in the quarterfinals.


2008–09 Temple Owls men's basketball team, Season, Postseason
In the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, Temple was seeded eleventh in the South Regional, where they faced the sixth-seeded Arizona State Sun Devils in the first round. On March 20, 2009, behind a then career-high 22 points by Sun Devil Derek Glasser, Arizona State eliminated Temple 66–57. The Owls never had a lead, but cut the deficit to 52–49, the closest the game ever got. Temple's offense went without a field goal in the final 5:02. However, their defense held Arizona State star James Harden to nine points, less than half his season average, and 1-of-8 shooting. Dionte Christmas played all 40 minutes, shot 5-for-11 from behind the arc and scored 29 points in his final collegiate game.


2008–09 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team
The 2008–09 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee. The team was coached by Pat Summitt and the team played their home games at Thompson-Boling Arena. The Lady Vols are a member of the Southeastern Conference.


2008–09 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team, NCAA Basketball Tournament
In the opening round of the tournament they played a 26–8 Ball State Cardinals team that was making their NCAA tourney debut. Ball State would go on to win the game 71–55 making history. The Lady Volunteers had never lost in the first two rounds of the tournament, going 42–0 through the years. Tennessee also became the first defending champ to lose its opening game in the women's tourney.


2008–09 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team
The 2008–09 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee in the 2008-09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was the fourth season for Bruce Pearl as the Volunteers' head coach. The team, a member of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference, played its home games at Thompson-Boling Arena.


2008–09 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team, Preseason
The 2007–08 Volunteers finished the season 31–5 overall with a 14–2 mark in conference play. They won their first outright SEC regular season men's basketball championship in 41 years. In postseason play, the Volunteers earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The team went on to lose in the Sweet Sixteen to the Louisville Cardinals and finished ranked at #7 in the ESPN/USA Today poll.


2008–09 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team, Preseason
The Vols lost three seniors from their team during the off-season: Chris Lofton, JaJuan Smith, and Jordan Howell. Also, sophomore forward Duke Crews and sophomore point guard Ramar Smith were dismissed from the team for a combination of "violations of the University of Tennessee’s substance-abuse policy and academic shortcomings."


2008–09 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team, Preseason
On November 3, 2008, the SEC released the rosters for the preseason All-SEC first and second teams. Junior forward Tyler Smith was chosen for both SEC Player of the Year and first team All-SEC. Wayne Chism and J. P. Prince were selected for the second team All-SEC, thus tying Tennessee with LSU for the most All-SEC selections (3).


2008–09 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team, Recruiting
Bruce Pearl was able to pull together a highly ranked recruiting class for the 2008–09 season. The class included: Emmanuel Negedu, rated 13th among power forwards in the Class of 2008 by Rivals.com; Renaldo Woolridge, the 11th ranked small forward; Bobby Maze, a junior college guard averaging 20.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game; and Scotty Hopson, a McDonald's All-American and ranked 5th overall by Rivals.com. The class also includes point guard Daniel West and center Philip Jurick. Rivals.com ranked the class as 7th best in the nation.


2008–09 Terceira Divisão
The 2008–09 Terceira Divisão season was the 59th season of the competition and the 19th season of recognised fourth-tier football in Portugal.


2008–09 Terceira Divisão, Overview
The league was contested by 92 teams in 7 divisions of 10 to 14 teams.


2008–09 Tercera División
The 2008–09 Tercera División was the fourth tier of football in Spain. Play started on 30 August 2008 and ended on 28 June 2009 with the promotion play-off finals.


2008–09 Tercera División, Overview
There were 363 clubs competing in  Tercera División (Third division) in the 2008–09 season, divided into 18 regional groups, each accommodating between 20 and 21 clubs.


2008–09 Tercera División, Overview
The following clubs finished as champions of their respective groups


2008–09 Tercera División, Overview
The 18 group champion clubs participated in the Group Winners Promotion Play-off and the losers from these 9 play-off ties then proceeded to the Non-champions Promotion Play-off with clubs finishing second, third and fourth.


2008–09 Tercera División, Promotion Play-offs, Group Winners Promotion Play-off
Promoted to Segunda División B: Gimn. de Torrelavega, Unión Estepona, Villajoyosa, Varea, Espanyol B, Real Oviedo, Toledo, Palencia and Compostela.


2008–09 Tercera División, Promotion Play-offs, Non-champions Promotion Play-off
Promoted to Segunda División B: Izarra, San Roque, Alcalá, Cerro Reyes, Sporting Mahonés, Cacereño, Caravaca, Mallorca B and Mirandés.


2008–09 Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball team
The 2008–09 Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball team represents Texas A&M University in the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team is led by second-year head coach Mark Turgeon, who coached the team to a 25–11 record and an NCAA tournament appearance in his first season.


2008–09 Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball team
The Aggies went 14–1 in nonconference play, with wins over Alabama, Arizona, and LSU; the one loss was handed by Tulsa.


2008–09 Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball team, Leading into the season
Josh Carter and Bryan Davis received preseason Big 12 honorable mention. The team did not make the top 25 of the preseason AP or Coaches polls, though received votes.


2008–09 Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball team, Leading into the season
During the 2009 signing period, the Aggies signed Naji Hibbert, Khris Middleton, Kourtney Roberson, and Ray Turner, who are all listed in the Rivals.com Top 150 prospects for the class of 2009. Hibbert, a Rivals four-star, is the highest-ranked recruit at No. 88. The recruiting class placed 23rd in the Rivals' early signing period national rankings compiled on 12 November 2008. ESPN's recruiting services ranked the class 25th in November as well.


2008–09 Texas A&M Aggies women's basketball team
The 2008–09 Texas A&M Aggies women's basketball team represented Texas A&M University in NCAA Division I women's college basketball.


2008–09 Texas A&M Aggies women's basketball team, Preseason outlook
The team placed 10th and 11th in the preseason Coaches Poll and AP Poll, respectively. The Big 12 coaches picked the squad to finish 5th in the conference, behind first-place favorite Oklahoma, followed by Texas, Iowa State, and Baylor. Athlon Sports ranked the Aggies 4th in their preseason poll, while Lindy's poll placed them 11th. A Sports Illustrated writer also ranked the team 11th in her power rankings.


2008–09 Texas A&M Aggies women's basketball team, Recruiting
During the early signing period in November 2008, the Aggies signed Diamond Ashmore, Adrienne Pratcher, Kristi Bellock, and Cierra Windham. As of 20 November 2008, ESPN Hoopgurlz ranks the recruiting class 7th nationally.


2008–09 Texas A&M Aggies women's basketball team, Players, Preseason honors
The Big 12 coaches selected Tanisha Smith as the Preseason Newcomer of the Year, and Tyra White as the Preseason co-Freshman of the Year. Takia Starks also made the preseason all-Big 12 team, and Danielle Gant received honorable mention.


2008–09 Texas A&M Aggies women's basketball team, Players, Preseason honors
Sporting News included Starks in its preseason All-American first team. Starks became the first player in school history to be named a preseason first-team All-American. She also made the 25-member Wade Trophy preseason watch list and was one of the 30 John R. Wooden Award candidates.


2008–09 Texas A&M Aggies women's basketball team, Players, Preseason honors
In October 2008, Gant received the Academic Momentum Award, presented by The Scholar-Baller Program, a partner of National Consortium for Academics and Sports. The award is given to student-athletes who have "demonstrated significant academic improvement throughout their collegiate careers".


2008–09 Texas A&M Aggies women's basketball team, Players, Season accolades
Tyra White received the Big 12 Freshman of the Week honor for the week of 14–16 November. Adaora Elonu received the same honor for the week of 17–23 November, and Sydney Carter got the co-honor for the week of 24–30 November. Elonu picked up her second honor for the week of 1 December–7, and got another co-honor for the week of 15–21 December. Takia Starks received her first honor for the week of 22 December – 4 January. Danielle Gant got her first for the week of 5–11 January. After posting 11 points in a career-high 31 minutes of play against Oklahoma, and a game-high and career-high of 17 points at Kansas State, Sydney Carter grabbed the weekly honor for the week of 23 February – 1 March.


2008–09 Texas A&M Aggies women's basketball team, Players, Season accolades
Upon defeating New Mexico 83–51, the Aggies set a school record for the largest margin of victory in a home game over a ranked opponent. The previous record was 19, which was compiled in the 2007–08 home matchup against Baylor.


2008–09 Texas A&M Aggies women's basketball team, Players, Season accolades
Two players—Damitria Buchanan and Katrina Limbaha—made the 2008–09 Academic All-Big 12 women's basketball team. Both made the first team as they had a GPA greater than 3.20.


2008–09 Texas A&M Aggies women's basketball team, Players, Season accolades
Starks became the all-time leading scorer of A&M after posting 19 points in the first round of the NCAA tournament.


2008–09 Texas Longhorns men's basketball team
The 2008–09 Texas Longhorns men's basketball team represented The University of Texas at Austin in NCAA Division I intercollegiate men's basketball competition as a member of the Big 12 Conference. The 2008–09 team posted a 23–12 record, finished in fourth place in the Big 12, and reached the second round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament.


2008–09 Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball team
The 2008–09 Texas Tech Red Raiders men's basketball team represented Texas Tech University during the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team plays in the Big 12 Conference at the United Spirit Arena in Lubbock, Texas. The season marked Pat Knight's first full season as head coach.


2008–09 Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball team, Preseason, Personnel changes
Pat Knight took over the head coaching duties late in the 2007–08 season after Bob Knight resigned on February 4, 2008. This was Pat's first full season as head coach of the Red Raiders. Pat hired Bubba Jennings as an assistant coach in addition to Chris Beard and Stew Robinson.


2008–09 Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball team, Notable games and events, East Central
In the third game of the season, Texas Tech defeated Division II opponent East Central 167–115, setting a new school record for most points scored in a game. The previous record of 128 was set in the double overtime victory over Texas on February 20, 1994. The combined total of 282 points also became a new record.


2008–09 Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball team, Notable games and events, Wichita State
Texas Tech led the Wichita State Shockers 43–26 going into halftime. The lead quickly deteriorated as Wichita State went on a 12–3 run to open the second half. The Shockers eventually tied the game with about 41 seconds remaining. Mike Singletary then hit a 3-pointer with 4.1 seconds left to give the Red Raiders the win, 72–69.


2008–09 Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball team, Notable games and events, Nebraska
In a 69–82 loss to Nebraska, Knight ran onto the court to argue with officials after Texas Tech player Alan Voskuil was called for a foul. After receiving two technical fouls, Knight was ejected from the game. Once in the tunnel, Knight ran back onto the court to continue arguing. Knight was not suspended, rather receiving a public reprimand from the Big 12 Conference.


2008–09 Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball team, Notable games and events, Texas
The Red Raiders were without head coach Pat Knight against Texas after he was suspended for criticizing the officials in a game four days earlier against Texas A&M.


2008–09 Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball team, Notable games and events, Kansas
Texas Tech upset #9 Kansas 84–65 at home on senior night. Senior Alan Voskuil had a career high 35 points, going 9–14 from 3-point range and 10–17 overall. It was Kansas' worst defeat of the season and marked their third straight loss at the United Spirit Arena.


2008–09 Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball team, Notable games and events, Big 12 Tournament
The only chance the Red Raiders had at making the postseason was to win the Big 12 Tournament where the winner receives an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament. Texas Tech went into the tournament as the #11 seed after losing to Iowa State 76–78 in the last game of the regular season, thus giving Iowa State the #10 seed.


2008–09 Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball team, Notable games and events, Big 12 Tournament, Texas A&M
Texas A&M took a 29–48 lead into halftime and built it up to 21 early in the second half. In the second half, sophomore Mike Singletary scored 29 points in a row to help Texas Tech take a 79–78 lead with 39.4 seconds left in the game and eventually win 88–83. Singletary finished the game with 43 points, a career high and Big 12 Tournament record for most points in a single game. Mike Singletary's 29 consecutive points is the second longest streak in NCAA history and Texas Tech's comeback from 21 points down is a Big 12 Tournament record.


2008–09 Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball team, Notable games and events, Big 12 Tournament, Missouri
Texas Tech was able to manage a 31–31 halftime tie against #3 seed Missouri. In the second half, however, Missouri's full-court press defense allowed the Tigers to go on a 13 point run early in the second half. Mike Singletary led Texas Tech with 17 points and Missouri's DeMarre Carroll had 19 to help Missouri win 81–60.


2008–09 The Citadel Bulldogs basketball team
The 2008–09 The Citadel Bulldogs basketball team represented The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina in the 2008-09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs were led by third year head coach Ed Conroy and played their home games at McAlister Field House. They played as members of the Southern Conference, as they have since 1936.


2008–09 The Citadel Bulldogs basketball team
The Bulldogs won 20 games for just the second time in school history, and finished tied with archrival College of Charleston for second in the SoCon South Division. They also made their first postseason appearance, earning an invitation to the 2009 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, where they were eliminated in the first round by eventual champion Old Dominion.