2009 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 3: at Dallas Cowboys
Still looking for their first win of the season, the Panthers flew to Cowboys Stadium for a Week 3 Monday night duel with the Dallas Cowboys. After a scoreless first quarter, Carolina took the lead in the second quarter with quarterback Jake Delhomme's 25-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dante Rosario. The Cowboys took the lead in the third quarter with kicker Nick Folk's 24-yard field goal and running back Tashard Choice's 5-yard touchdown run. Dallas extended their lead in the fourth quarter with Folk's 19-yard field goal and cornerback Terence Newman returning Delhomme's 7th interception of the season 27 yards for a touchdown (with Choice getting the 2-point conversion run). The Panthers tried to rally, but the Cowboys' defense prevented their comeback.


2009 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 3: at Dallas Cowboys
With the loss, Carolina entered its bye week at 0–3.


2009 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 5: vs. Washington Redskins
Following their bye week, the Panthers returned to Charlotte to face the Washington Redskins. After a DeAngelo Williams fumble, the Redskins struck first blood with quarterback Jason Campbell's 10-yard touchdown pass to running back Clinton Portis. During the second quarter, linebacker Thomas Davis and defensive end Julius Peppers tackled Portis in the endzone for a safety, making the score 7–2. The Redskins responded with a 39-yard field goal by kicker Shaun Suisham.


2009 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 5: vs. Washington Redskins
During the third quarter, cornerback DeAngelo Hall intercepted quarterback Jake Delhomme's pass and took it to the one, with Clinton Portis capping it off with a touchdown run, making it 17–2. The Panthers then scored on a 17-yard touchdown catch by tight end Jeff King. In the fourth quarter, kicker John Kasay booted a 43-yard field goal, decreasing the lead to 17–12. After a botched punt return by the Redskins, Carolina scored on an 8-yard run by running back Jonathan Stewart. With the two-point conversion pass to wide receiver Steve Smith, Carolina took a 20–17 lead. After a Washington punt, the Panthers ran out the clock with an 8-yard run by Jake Delhomme.


2009 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 6: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Coming off their win over the Redskins, the Panthers flew to Raymond James Stadium for a Week 6 NFC South duel with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Carolina trailed in the first quarter as Buccaneers running back Cadillac Williams got a 20-yard touchdown run, but the Panthers tied the game in the second quarter with a 20-yard touchdown from running back DeAngelo Williams.


2009 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 6: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
In the third quarter, Carolina took the lead with quarterback Jake Delhomme's 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jeff King and running back Jonathan Stewart's 26-yard touchdown run. Tampa Bay immediately answered with a 97 yard kickoff return for a touchdown by wide receiver Sammie Stroughter. The Buccaneers tied the game in the fourth quarter as safety Tanard Jackson returned an interception 26 yards for a touchdown, but the Panthers got the last laugh as Williams got a 1-yard touchdown run.


2009 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 6: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Cornerback Dante Wesley was ejected from the game in the second quarter after ramming into Buccaneers kick returner Clifton Smith. He later received a one-game suspension.


2009 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 7: vs. Buffalo Bills
Coming off their divisional road win over the Buccaneers, the Panthers went home for a Week 7 interconference duel with the Buffalo Bills. Carolina found themselves trailing in the first quarter as Bills running back Marshawn Lynch got a 7-yard touchdown run. The Panthers responded in the second quarter as defensive tackle Hollis Thomas tackled running back Fred Jackson in his endzone for a safety.


2009 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 7: vs. Buffalo Bills
After a scoreless third quarter, Buffalo got a big play in the fourth quarter as quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick completing a 2-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Lee Evans, followed by kicker Rian Lindell nailing a 29-yard field goal. Carolina tried to recover as running back DeAngelo Williams got a 15-yard touchdown run, but the Bills sealed the win with Lindell's 22-yard field goal.


2009 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 8: at Arizona Cardinals
Hoping to rebound from their dismal home loss to the Bills, the Panthers flew to the University of Phoenix Stadium for a Week 8 duel with the Arizona Cardinals in a rematch of last year's divisional game.


2009 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 8: at Arizona Cardinals
Carolina began the scoring with a 6-yard touchdown run from running back Jonathan Stewart. The Cardinals answered with quarterback Kurt Warner completing a 14-yard touchdown pass to running back LaRod Stephens-Howling. The Panthers took a commanding lead in the second quarter as Stewart got a 10-yard touchdown run, quarterback Jake Delhomme hooked up with wide receiver Steve Smith on a 50-yard touchdown pass, and defensive end Julius Peppers returned an interception 13 yards for a touchdown.


2009 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 8: at Arizona Cardinals
In the third quarter, Arizona began to rally as Warner connected with tight end Ben Patrick on a 1-yard touchdown pass. Carolina answered in the fourth quarter with a 35-yard field goal from kicker John Kasay. The Cardinals tried to pull off a comeback as running back Tim Hightower got a 1-yard touchdown run, yet the Panthers closed out the game with Kasay's 31-yard field goal.


2009 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 8: at Arizona Cardinals
The Panthers' defense had a field day, recording 5 interceptions and a fumble recovery.


2009 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 9: at New Orleans Saints
Coming off a defensively-strong performance against the Cardinals, the Panthers flew to the Louisiana Superdome for a Week 9 NFC South duel with the undefeated New Orleans Saints. Carolina got off to a fast start in the first quarter as running back DeAngelo Williams got a 66-yard and a 7-yard touchdown run. The Saints got on the board in the second quarter as kicker John Carney made a 23-yard field goal. The Panthers came right back as kicker John Kasay nailed a 32-yard field goal, but New Orleans closed out the half as Carney booted a 25-yard field goal.


2009 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 9: at New Orleans Saints
In the third quarter, the Saints continued to hack away as running back Pierre Thomas got a 10-yard touchdown run. Carolina answered with Kasay's 25-yard field goal, but New Orleans tied the game to end the period as quarterback Drew Brees completed a 54-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Robert Meachem. Afterwards, the Saints pulled away in the fourth quarter with Carney's 40-yard field goal, followed by defensive tackle Anthony Hargrove forcing a fumble from Williams and returning it 1 yard for a touchdown.


2009 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 10: vs. Atlanta Falcons
Hoping to rebound from their tough divisional road loss to the Saints, the Panthers went home for a Week 10 NFC South rematch with the Atlanta Falcons. Carolina trailed early in the first quarter as Falcons kicker Jason Elam booted a 35-yard field goal, yet the Panthers came right as running back Jonathan Stewart got a 1-yard touchdown run. Carolina added to their lead in the second with quarterback Jake Delhomme hooking up with wide receiver Steve Smith on a 4-yard touchdown pass, yet Atlanta answered with a 1-yard touchdown run from running back Jason Snelling. The Panthers close out the first half scoring with Delhomme's 4-yard touchdown pass to Smith.


2009 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 10: vs. Atlanta Falcons
In the second half, the Falcons began to erase their deficit as Elam nailed a 24-yard field goal in the third quarter, followed by quarterback Matt Ryan completing a 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Justin Peelle. Afterwards, Carolina pulled away as Stewart got a 45-yard touchdown run.


2009 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 11: vs. Miami Dolphins
Coming off their divisional home win to the Falcons, the Panthers went home for a Week 11 Interconference duel with the Miami Dolphins. In the first quarter, Carolina got on the board first with John Kasay hitting a 29-yard field goal. In the second quarter the Dolphins replied and took the lead with Chad Henne getting a 14-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Williams, and a 1-yard touchdown run from Williams again.


2009 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 11: vs. Miami Dolphins
After a scoreless third quarter the Panthers slightly improved as John Kasay nailed a 33-yard field goal, until Miami kept it a 2-possession game when Dan Carpenter got a 37-yard field goal. The Panthers kept their hopes alive as Jake Delhomme made a 27-yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith (with a successful 2-point conversion made by DeAngelo Williams). The Dolphins pulled away as Ricky Williams made a 46-yard touchdown run. The 48-yard field goal made by John Kasay near the end of the game wasn't enough for the Panthers and that resulted in a loss.


2009 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 12: at New York Jets
With both teams coming off of tough losses, the Panthers went on the road to face the formidable defense of the New York Jets in what was on paper a close matchup. Both teams sported identical 4–6 records and were top 3 in rushing offense, while sporting similar numbers in pass defense game. Things started out well for Carolina, their first drive taking almost 6 minutes of clock to drive down into Jets territory when bad luck struck them.


2009 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 12: at New York Jets
A miscommunication between Jake Delhomme and Steve Smith resulted in a pass being fired at Smith while he wasn't looking, and it caromed off of Smith's leg into the arms of Jets' CB Darrelle Revis, who returned it 67 yards for a TD. It was the first of Delhomme's 4 INTs of the day, two each  by Revis and safety Kerry Rhodes. Rhodes' first set the Jets up in good field position, which the Jets were able to capitalize on when Thomas Jones ran the ball in for a 4-yard TD. The Panthers soon after that struggled to do anything against the Jets defense and secured only two John Kasay field goals for a 17–6 defeat.


2009 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 12: at New York Jets
The Panthers fell to 4–7 and wound up losing Jake Delhomme to a broken finger on his throwing hand.


2009 Carolina Panthers season, Regular season results, Week 15: vs. Minnesota Vikings
With the surprising win against the playoff-bound Vikings, the Panthers improved to 6–8. This marked Carolina's first Sunday Night Football home game since NBC picked up the rights in 2006.


2009 Carolina RailHawks FC season
This is a recap of the Carolina RailHawks 2009 season. The RailHawks are an American soccer team which played their third season in the USL First Division in 2009.


2009 Carolina RailHawks FC season, Players, Current roster
As of July 26, 2009Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2009 Carrera Panamericana
The 2009 edition of the Carrera Panamericana Mexican sports car racing event started in Huatulco, Oaxaca and finished in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas. This edition was composed by 7 stages. The Swedish Stig Blomqvist won this edition. Ana Goni was his co-driver.


2009 Casino Rama Curling Skins Game
The 2009 Casino Rama Curling Skins Game on TSN was held on January 10 and 11 at the Casino Rama Entertainment Centre in Rama, Ontario. The total purse for the event was CAD$ 100,000.


2009 Casino Rama Curling Skins Game
Four teams were invited to participate. They played one semi-final each on January 10, and the winners played in the final on January 11.


2009 Casino Rama Curling Skins Game
For the first time ever, a women's team participated in this event. World Women's Champion Jennifer Jones and her team were invited. They joined defending men's world champion, Kevin Martin, four time world champion Randy Ferbey and 2007 World Champion Glenn Howard.


2009 Casino Rama Curling Skins Game, Draw to the button
Team Howard won the draw to the button contest to determine seeding. This awarded them an extra $1000.


2009 Castleford Tigers season
The Castleford Tigers competed in their twelfth Super League in their 84th rugby league season. They also competed in the 2009 Challenge Cup.


2009 Castleford Tigers season, League table
Source: . Classification: 1st on competition points; 2nd on match points difference. Competition points: for win = 2; for draw = 1; for loss = 0.


2009 Catalan independence referendum in Arenys de Munt
The Arenys de Munt query on Catalonia independence was a municipal non-binding query promoted by the Moviment Arenyenc per l'Autodeterminació (Arenyenc Movement for Self-determination) held in Arenys de Munt on 13 September 2009. The query was formulated exclusively for residents of this village on the following question: Està d'acord que Catalunya esdevingui un Estat de dret, independent, democràtic i social, integrat a la Unió Europea? (Do you agree on Catalonia becoming an independent, democratic and social State of law, integrated in the European Union? ).


2009 Catalan independence referendum in Arenys de Munt
This query was the first democratic one on Catalonia independence and, despite being municipal and symbolic, had a remarkable influence on Catalan and Spanish politics.


2009 Catalan independence referendum in Arenys de Munt, Reactions in the media
The query had wide media coverage all around the world and more than 300 journalists were granted to cover it by the organizers.


2009 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix
The 2009 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix was the sixth round of the 2009 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 12–14 June 2009 at the Circuit de Catalunya. This race is known as one of the most thrilling in MotoGP history, because Valentino Rossi held off the challenge of teammate Jorge Lorenzo by overtaking him in the last corner, on the last lap, to win the race.


2009 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix, Incident
Julian Simon, a Spanish racer in the 125cc race, celebrated victory one lap early, as he was confused with the sign that his team had shown him. He thought the sign said he was first position with no laps left, when the sign actually says 'L1' which means that he had one lap remaining. Andrea Iannone stormed to the lead and won, whilst Simon could only finish fourth.


2009 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix, Championship standings after the race (MotoGP)
Below are the standings for the top five riders and constructors after round six has concluded.


2009 Catalans Dragons season
This article details the Catalans Dragons rugby league football club's 2009 season. This is their 4th season in the Super League.


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


2009 Catalunya Formula Two round
The 2009 Catalunya Formula Two round was the eighth and final round of the 2009 FIA Formula Two Championship season. It was held on 31 October and 1 November 2009 at Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló, just outside Barcelona, Spain. The first race was won by Andy Soucek, with Mikhail Aleshin and debutant Tristan Vautier also on the podium. The second race was also won by Soucek, with Nicola de Marco and Robert Wickens also on the podium. Edoardo Piscopo missed this round to participate in the first round of 2009–10 GP2 Asia Series season in Abu Dhabi. His slot was filled by Formula Palmer Audi driver Vautier. Carlos Iaconelli also missed out on the round, due to flu.


2009 Catalunya GP2 Series round
The 2009 Spanish GP2 round was a GP2 Series motor race held on May 9 and May 10, 2009 at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló, Spain. It was the first race of the 2009 GP2 Season. The race was used to support the 2009 Spanish Grand Prix


2009 Catalunya GP2 Series round, Report
The first race resulted in a one-two finish for Barwa Addax Team drivers Romain Grosjean and Vitaly Petrov, with Jérôme d'Ambrosio finishing third for DAMS.


2009 Catalunya GP2 Series round, Report
The second race was won by Edoardo Mortara for Telmex Arden International, with Romain Grosjean and Jérôme d'Ambrosio also on the podium. Mortara finished sixth in his first race, so was automatically on Pole for race 2. He wins in his first ever GP2 Weekend.


2009 Cataño oil refinery fire
The 2009 Cataño oil refinery fire was a fire that began with an explosion on October 23, 2009, and was extinguished on October 25 at the Caribbean Petroleum Corporation (CAPECO) oil refinery and oil depot in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. While the fire and subsequent explosion occurred close to the city of Cataño, it technically occurred within the borders of Bayamón, even though Cataño was more affected by fumes and evacuation. There were no fatalities, but 3 people were injured.


2009 Cataño oil refinery fire, Event
The initial explosion destroyed eleven storage tanks at the facility, but quickly spread to other nearby tanks. The tanks contained gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel. The resulting explosion was measured as equivalent to a 2.8-magnitude earthquake on the Richter magnitude scale. The tanks exploded at approximately 12:23 a.m. and could be heard in places as far away as Cidra, 11 miles away and shook windows and doors over two miles away. At some point the flames reached a height of 100 feet (30 m) above the refinery.


2009 Cataño oil refinery fire, Event
The explosion caused 30 million gallons of petroleum to be released into bodies of water and neighboring wetlands of the San Juan Bay, resulting in dead wildlife and a major health impact to the population. Environmental assessments conducted by the EPA, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources (PR DNR) found dead wildlife and both aquatic and avian species, including several legally protected species, covered in oil. Millions of dollars in damage were seen by neighboring communities. After the event, about 600 people were using shelters in Cataño, Guaynabo, and Toa Baja.


2009 Cataño oil refinery fire, Event
The five workers that were present at the plant at the moment managed to escape in time. Several drivers were injured when the explosion shattered the glass in their cars, two people suffered minor injuries at the nearby Fort Buchanan of the U.S. Army, and four other people sought help for respiratory problems.


2009 Cataño oil refinery fire, Event, Initial Response
The call came to the Puerto Rico 9-1-1 office at 12:27 am. The Puerto Rico Fire Department stations of Bayamón and Cataño responded to the call once the tanks exploded. Later, due to the seriousness of the situation, PRFD had to make the decision to urgently call fire stations island-wide. Puerto Rico Police Department closed the De Diego Expressway due to the danger of the situation and a helicopter was patrolling the area. In less than one hour, firefighters from San Juan, Bayamón, Cataño, Toa Baja, Guaynabo, Carolina and Trujillo Alto responded to the urgent call.


2009 Cataño oil refinery fire, Event, Initial Response
Other stations from other parts of Puerto Rico such as Ponce, Caguas, Arecibo, Humacao, and even Ft. Buchanan also responded to the scene. One hundred and thirty firefighters, with the support of the Puerto Rico National Guard, responded to the fire. Fifteen hundred residents were evacuated from four adjacent communities. Also, San Juan, Carolina and Bayamón city fire departments and the Luis Muñoz Marín Airport Crash and Rescue responded to the call. As a result of the smoke cloud, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration diverted plane traffic.


2009 Cataño oil refinery fire, Event, Initial Response
To avoid further explosions, firefighters attempted to chill the remaining tanks to keep them from exploding. Also, dozens of fuel trucks were being moved from the area. Due to the smoke cloud, authorities evacuated several communities downwind from it, as well as 80 people living in a secure facility for Justice Department witnesses. Governor Luis Fortuño canceled classes at nearby schools as well.


2009 Cataño oil refinery fire, Event, Local Response
Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuño declared a state of emergency, and activated the Puerto Rico National Guard to support firefighters and aid the injured. Also, schools in the San Juan Metro Area were cancelled for the day, some schools near the explosion area were closed until 4 days after the explosion due to people who were evacuated.


2009 Cataño oil refinery fire, Event, Governmental Aid
President Barack Obama separately declared a federal state of emergency in Puerto Rico, clearing the way for U.S. federal agencies to coordinate disaster relief and authorizing the use of federal funds. Fighting the fire has cost the local Puerto Rican government more than $6.4 million, as of October 25. The United States Army announced that the explosion and fire had closed nearby Fort Buchanan until further notice.


2009 Cataño oil refinery fire, Event, Governmental Aid
Authorities built a temporary pipe to San Juan Bay in order to bring seawater to extinguish the fire, but the fire was extinguished before it could be used. Fire fighting foam was supplied from the nearby United States Virgin Islands. Luis Fortuño announced on October 25 that the fire had been extinguished, and estimated the initial cost to fight the fire at $6.4 million.


2009 Cataño oil refinery fire, Investigation
On the days after the explosion, more than 60 agents from both the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were dispatched to the Caribbean Petroleum Corp. in Bayamón, just west of San Juan, to aid in the investigation, said ATF spokesman Marcial Orlando Felix. Several agents flew in from the U.S. Mainland.


2009 Cataño oil refinery fire, Investigation
The Caribbean Petroleum Corporation supplies most of Puerto Rico's oil and gasoline, which is marketed under the Gulf Oil brand name, but only 10 percent is managed from this plant. Government officials said at the time that Puerto Rico had enough fuel and diesel to last for 24 days after the disaster.


2009 Cataño oil refinery fire, Investigation
The morning after the explosion, police started investigating a graffiti found near the Minillas Tunnel in San Juan with the message: "Boom, fire, RIP, Gulf." However, the FBI later determined that they were not painted by anyone connected to the explosion.


2009 Cataño oil refinery fire, Investigation
On October 30, 2009, the director of the FBI in Puerto Rico, Luis Fraticelli, said that more than 240 investigators analyzed the explosion and did not find evidence it was intentional. Authorities continued to investigate whether negligence was involved. The next month, officials from the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board announced that a malfunctioning tank fuel gauge led to the explosion. The faulty equipment prevented workers from noticing that one of the tanks was overflowing before the fuel vapors ignited after coming into contact with electrical equipment.


2009 Cataño oil refinery fire, Aftermath
The day after the explosion, a lawsuit was filed in the Federal District Court of San Juan against Caribbean Petroleum Corporation and MAPFRE Insurance Company. MAPFRE was later removed from the lawsuit. The action was filed by lawyers John Navares, Camilo Salas, and Daniel Becnel. On December 11, 2009, a third joint lawsuit was presented against Caribbean Petroleum Corp. by 1,000 defendants seeking $500 million in damages.


2009 Cataño oil refinery fire, Aftermath
On August 2010, Caribbean Petroleum Corporation filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11. The company cited debts of $500 million to $1 billion, against assets of $100 million to $500 million, according to the filing. The filing came after the company failed to comply with  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency orders to clean the site of the explosion. Caribbean Petroleum claimed their financial situation prevented them from doing the work, and EPA took over the cleaning process.


2009 Categoría Primera A season
The 2009 Copa Mustang was the 62nd season of Colombia's top-flight football league, the Categoría Primera A. The season is divided into two championships; Torneo Apertura and Torneo Finalización. Each tournament crowned a national champion and qualified for the 2010 Copa Libertadores.


2009 Categoría Primera A season, Torneo Apertura
The Torneo Apertura began on February 6 and ended on June 28. Once Caldas won the tournament for their 3rd national title.


2009 Categoría Primera A season, Torneo Apertura, Cuadrangular semifinals
The second stage of the Torneo Apertura was a quadrangular semifinal. The eight teams qualified from the first stage were placed into two groups of four. The top-two seeded teams were placed into separate groups, while the other qualified teams were pooled into odd and even seeds and placed into separate groups. Each group played against each other in a double round-robin format. The top team from each group will play each other in the finals.


2009 Categoría Primera A season, Torneo Finalización
The Torneo Finalización began on June 10 and is scheduled to end in December.


2009 Categoría Primera A season, Torneo Finalización, Cuadrangular semifinals
The second stage of the 2009 Copa Mustang II is a quadrangular semifinal. The eight teams qualified teams from the first stage were placed into two groups of four. The top-two seeded teams were placed into separate groups, while the other qualified teams were pooled into odd and even seeds and placed into separate groups. Each group played against each other in a double round-robin format. The top team from each group will play each other in the finals.


2009 Categoría Primera A season, Relegation
Relegation was determined by an average of the points obtained in the First Stages of the past six tournaments (three seasons). For the purposes of completing the relegation table, the 2007 and 2008 numbers of the 2008 Primera B champion (Real Cartagena) will be the same as the team that finished 16th in this relegation table.


2009 Categoría Primera A season, Relegation, Relegation/promotion playoff
By finishing 17th in the relegation table, Deportivo Pereira played a playoff against the 2009 Primera B runner-up Atlético Bucaramanga. The team that accumulated the most points over two legs will play in the Primera A for the 2010 season. If there is a tie in points, goal difference would be taken into account, followed by a penalty shootout. Atlético Bucaramanga host the first leg.


2009 Categoría Primera A season, Aggregate table
The aggregate table is the sum of all points and results throughout the entire season, including Cuadrangulares and Finals. This table determined the remaining berths for the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana


2009 Categoría Primera B season
The 2009 Categoría Primera B season, officially known as the 2009 Copa Premier season for sponsorship reasons) was the 20th season since its founding as Colombia's second division football league.


2009 Categoría Primera B season, Promotion/relegation playoff
As the second worst team in the 2009 Categoría Primera A relegation table, Deportivo Pereira had to play a two-legged tie against Atlético Bucaramanga, the Primera B runners-up. As the Primera A team, Deportivo Pereira played the second leg at home. The winner competed in the Primera A for the 2009 season, while the loser competed in the Primera B.


2009 Cavan County Council election
An election to Cavan County Council took place on 5 June 2009 as part of that year's Irish local elections. 25 councillors were elected from six electoral divisions by PR-STV voting for a five-year term of office.


2009 Caversham International Tennis Tournament
The 2009 Caversham International Tennis Tournament was a professional tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the second edition of the tournament which was part of the 2009 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Saint Brélade, Jersey, Great Britain between 9 and 15 November 2009.


2009 Caversham International Tennis Tournament, ATP entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2009 Caversham International Tennis Tournament, Champions, Doubles
Frederik Nielsen /  Joseph Sirianni def. Henri Kontinen /  Jarkko Nieminen, 7–5, 3–6, [10–2]


2009 Caversham International Tennis Tournament – Doubles
Colin Fleming and Ken Skupski were the defending champions, but they lost to Henri Kontinen and Jarkko Nieminen in the final. The Finnish pair reached the final, where they lost to 4th seeds Frederik Nielsen and Joseph Sirianni 5–7, 6–3, [2–10].


2009 Caversham International Tennis Tournament – Singles
Adrian Mannarino, who was the defending champion, chose to not compete this year. Jarkko Nieminen won in the final match 4–6, 6–1, 7–5, against Stéphane Robert.


2009 Caymanian constitutional referendum
A referendum on a draft constitution was held in the Cayman Islands on 20 May 2009 alongside general elections. The new constitution was approved by 63% of voters, and by the Privy Council on 10 June.


2009 Caymanian constitutional referendum, Background
Since around 2000 the Cayman Islands had sought a new constitution, in order to cement the United Kingdom's possession of the islands. On 22 May 2008 the Caymanian government had announced the question and that it was aiming to hold the referendum in July. However, following an announcement on 27 June, the referendum was postponed until the 2009 general elections in order to give time to negotiate and agree the constitution with the UK. The negotiations took place in January and February 2009 and a consultation started in the islands on 11 February 2009.


2009 Caymanian constitutional referendum, Background
On 24 February the Legislative Assembly passed the Referendum (Constitutional Modernisation) Bill, 2009. The referendum was to be held in accordance with Article 29, paragraph 2 of the constitution, and required a majority to pass.


2009 Caymanian constitutional referendum, Results
Do you approve the draft constitution which was agreed by the Cayman Islands constitution delegation and the government of the United Kingdom on 5th February, 2009 and tabled in the Legislative Assembly of the Cayman Islands on 11th February, 2009?


2009 Caymanian general election
General elections were held in the Cayman Islands on 20 May 2009 alongside a referendum on a draft constitution. The opposition United Democratic Party defeated the incumbent People's Progressive Movement.


2009 Cellular South Cup – Doubles
Lindsay Davenport and Lisa Raymond were the defending champions, but they chose not to participate this year.


2009 Cellular South Cup – Singles
Lindsay Davenport was the defending champion, but was off the Tour indefinitely due to pregnancy.


2009 Celtic Crusaders season
The Crusaders made their début season in the Super League in 2009, in their fifth year of existence. They also competed for the 2009 Challenge Cup.


2009 Celtic Crusaders season, League table
Source: . Classification: 1st on competition points; 2nd on match points difference. Competition points: for win = 2; for draw = 1; for loss = 0.


2009 Celtic Crusaders season, Notes
^ a: Game called off due to flooded pitch. ^ b: Game rearranged to make the Leeds Rhinos available for the 2009 World Club Challenge. ^ c: Game postponed in respect to the death of Wakefield player, Leon Walker, who received a fatal injury during the reserves' game. Game rearranged to 30 May 2009.


2009 Central American Championships in Athletics
The 20th Central American Championships in Athletics were held at the Estadio Cementos Progreso in Guatemala City, Guatemala, between June 12–13, 2009.


2009 Central American Championships in Athletics
A total of 40 events were contested, 21 by men and 19 by women.


2009 Central American Championships in Athletics, Participation
A total of 163 athletes from 7 countries were reported to participate:


2009 Central American Championships in Athletics, Medal summary, Women, Note
†: Event with no points for the team rankings because of the low number of participants.


2009 Central American Championships in Athletics, Team Rankings
Guatemala won the overall team ranking and the teamranking in the men's category. Costa Rica won the team ranking in the women'scategory


2009 Central American Junior and Youth Championships in Athletics
The 2009 Central American Junior and Youth Championships in Athletics were held at the Estadio Nacional Flor Blanca "Magico Gonzalez" in San Salvador, El Salvador, between May 16–17, 2009. Organized by the Central American Isthmus Athletic Confederation (CADICA), it was the 22nd edition of the Junior (U-20) and the 17th edition of the Youth (U-18) competition. A total of 80 (including 8 exhibition) events were contested, 41 (including 2) by boys and 39 (including 6) by girls. Overall winner on points was  Guatemala.


2009 Central American Junior and Youth Championships in Athletics, Medal summary, Junior, Girls (U-20)
†: Treated as exhibition contest (no medals and no points).


2009 Central American Junior and Youth Championships in Athletics, Medal summary, Youth, Boys (U-18)
†: Treated as exhibition contest (no medals and no points).


2009 Central American Junior and Youth Championships in Athletics, Medal summary, Youth, Girls (U-18)
†: Treated as exhibition contest (no medals and no points).


2009 Central American Junior and Youth Championships in Athletics, Team trophies
The placing table for team trophy awarded to the 1st place overall team (boys and girls categories) was published.


2009 Central American Junior and Youth Championships in Athletics, Participation
A total number of 218 athletes were reported to participate in the event. Belize and Panamá did not send athletes.


2009 Central American and Caribbean Age Group Championships in Athletics
The 13th Central American and Caribbean Age Group Championships in Athletics was hosted by the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) on June 18–19, 2009. It was originally to be held in Freeport, Grand Bahama. However, it had to be relocated to Nassau, New Providence, because the reconstruction of the stadium in Freeport could not be completed in time. This is already the third time, that the event is hosted by the Bahamas, after 1987 in Nassau, New Providence and 2001 in Freeport, Grand Bahama.


2009 Central American and Caribbean Age Group Championships in Athletics, Participation
Although 20 teams were announced to participate, only 19 appeared in the listed results. Athletes from Anguilla, Honduras, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Turks and Caicos Islands did not earn a medal.


2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics
The 2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships (Spanish: XXII Campeonato CAC Atletismo) was the twenty second edition of the tournament and was held between 3 and 7 July in Havana, Cuba.


2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics, Event summary
The host country Cuba dominated the tournament, winning the most gold, silver, and bronze medals, and finishing with a total of 53 medals. Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago were joint second with two gold, five silver and seven bronze medals. Colombia, Puerto Rico and Saint Kitts and Nevis also picked up two gold medals.


2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics, Event summary
Championships records were broken in over a quarter of the athletics events, bringing a total of 11 new records. A handful of national records were also broken at the Championships.


2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics, Event summary
Three athletes won double golds: Virgil Hodge won the 200 metres and 4×100 metres relay titles, Emmanuel Callender won the 100 metres then helped the Trinidad and Tobago relay team to victory, while Yudileyvis Castillo completed a 5000 and 10,000 metres double.


2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics, Event summary
The 2009 edition of the Championships saw a number of nations win their first gold medal in the history of the competition. Shara Proctor took the long jump gold for Anguilla, Tahesia Harrigan won the British Virgin Islands' first gold in the 100 metres, and the Saint Kitts and Nevis relay team won the country's first ever gold medal in women's events.


2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics, Event summary
A number of invitational guest athletes competed at the Championships. Although each country could only have two representatives, it could also enter additional athletes. Their performances, however, were not eligible for medals at the competition. Cuba entered a number of athletes and relay teams in this way. One such competitor, Arnie David Giralt, recorded 17.46 m in the triple jump, which was ultimately better than gold medallist Alexis Copello's best jump.


2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics – Results
These are the official results of the 2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics which took place on July 3–7, 2009 in Havana, Cuba.


2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics – Results
Note: Although each country could only have two representatives, Cuba, as the host, could also enter additional athletes. Their performances, however, were not eligible for medals at the competition. Results of such athletes are given below all others.


2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics – Results, Men's results, 100 meters
Heats – July 3Wind:Heat 1: 0.0 m/s, Heat 2: +0.1 m/s, Heat 3: -0.8 m/s, Heat 4: 0.0 m/s


2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics – Results, Men's results, 200 meters
Heats – July 5Wind:Heat 1: -0.3 m/s, Heat 2: +0.5 m/s, Heat 3: -0.5 m/s, Heat 4: -0.2 m/s


2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics – Results, Men's results, 110 meters hurdles
Heats – July 3Wind:Heat 1: -0.3 m/s, Heat 2: -0.6 m/s


2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics – Results, Women's results, 100 meters
Heats – July 3Wind:Heat 1: +1.1 m/s, Heat 2: -0.5 m/s, Heat 3: +1.0 m/s


2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics – Results, Women's results, 200 meters
Heats – July 5Wind:Heat 1: -1.8 m/s, Heat 2: +0.2 m/s, Heat 3: +0.5 m/s


2009 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics – Results, Women's results, 100 meters hurdles
Heats – July 3Wind:Heat 1: -0.3 m/s, Heat 2: -0.4 m/s


2009 Central Bedfordshire Council election
Elections to Central Bedfordshire Council were held on 4 June 2009. This was the first elections to the newly formed council, with all 66 seats being up for election, elected in wards that matched the previous County Council electoral divisions, but with twice as many councillors being elected in each. All Councillors elected would serve a two year term, expiring in 2011, when ward boundaries would be reviewed. The Conservative Party won overall control of the council, managing to win 54 of 66 seats on the council.


2009 Central Bedfordshire Council election, Result
The overall turnout was 40.59% with a total of 171,328 valid votes cast.


2009 Central Coast Mariners W-League season
The 2009 season is the Central Coast Mariners' second season of football (soccer) in Australia's women's league, the W-League.


2009 Central Coast Mariners W-League season, Players
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2009 Central League Climax Series
The 2009 Central League Climax Series (CLCS) consisted of two consecutive series, Stage 1 being a best-of-three series and Stage 2 being a best-of-six with the top seed being awarded a one-win advantage. The winner of the series advanced to the 2009 Japan Series, where they competed against the 2009 Pacific League Climax Series (PLCS) winner. The top three regular-season finishers played in the two series. The CLCS began on with the first game of Stage 1 on October 17 and ended with the final game of Stage 2 on October 24.


2009 Central Michigan Chippewas football team
The 2009 Central Michigan Chippewas football team represented Central Michigan University during the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Central Michigan competed as a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) West Division. The team was coached by Butch Jones and played their home games in Kelly/Shorts Stadium. The Chippewas finished the regular season 11–2 and 8–0 in conference play, beat Ohio in the 2009 MAC Championship Game to win the MAC title and were invited to the GMAC Bowl where they defeated Sun Belt Champion Troy 44–41 in double overtime.


2009 Central Michigan Chippewas football team
At the end of the season, Jones departed Central Michigan to become the head coach of the University of Cincinnati. Steve Stripling, the defensive ends coach, became interim head coach and coached the GMAC bowl.


2009 Central Michigan Chippewas football team, Game summaries, Troy
This is the first ever meeting between these two teams.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam (women) season
The 2009 season was the fifth for the Cervélo TestTeam Women (UCI code: CWT), which started in 2005 as the Univega Pro Cycling Team.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam (women) season, Results in major races, Women's World Cup 2009
Kirsten Wild finished 3rd in the individual and the team finished 1st in the teams overall standing.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam (women) season, UCI World Ranking
The team finished 1st in the UCI ranking for teams.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season
The 2009 season for the Cervélo TestTeam, its first, began in February with the Tour of Qatar and ended in October with the Giro di Lombardia. Though they applied for UCI ProTour status after their formation, the team competed in 2009 as a UCI Professional Continental team with wildcard status. This means that although they were not automatically invited to UCI ProTour events, they were eligible to be invited. Despite not being a ProTour team, they effectively competed at the highest level available in the sport - seventeen of the twenty-four UCI World Ranking events invited the team, including all three Grand Tours.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season
The team formed for the 2009 season after their title sponsor, Cervélo, was outbid to remain the bicycle frame sponsor of Team Saxo Bank. The owners of the company wanted to remain at the highest level of pro cycling, and formed the TestTeam. The team's leader is 2008 Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre, who was one of the first riders to join the team.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season
Cervélo TestTeam established itself as a strong classics team in its first year of existence, with three victories and seven other podium finishes in the spring season. The team was also prolific in winning individual stages in stage races, while they did not have an overall win in a stage race this season.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season
The team's general manager is Thomas Campana, who the owners of Cervélo actively sought to lead the team in the weeks after its formation.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, Genesis of the new team
The founding of Cervélo TestTeam was a direct reaction to Team CSC Saxo Bank switching to Specialized. A press release issued by the team at the time they were first founded indirectly stated that Specialized had outbid them to become Saxo Bank's new supplier. Sastre and Roger Hammond were two of the first cyclists to be rumored to be joining the new team. Cervélo cofounder Gerard Vroomen has said that bicycle manufacturers have for long not gotten much out of sponsorship and supplier deals with professional teams and that their money was better spent fronting their own team.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, Genesis of the new team
He approached Sastre two days after the conclusion of the 2008 Tour de France and told him about the new team, at which time Sastre verbally indicated to Vroomen that he would join the team. The other highly prominent cyclist on the squad is former Tour de France green jersey winner Thor Hushovd, who needed a new team following the collapse of Crédit Agricole after the 2008 season, and brought a number of Crédit Agricole riders to the team after signing. Hushovd has stated that Sastre's presence on the team legitimized it in his eyes and in those of other top pro cyclists.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, Genesis of the new team
In the six months between the end of the Tour de France and the team's first training camp in Portugal in January 2009, a roster of 25 riders and an entire supporting staff was hired. The team is one of the most broadly international in professional cycling, with 13 nations represented by those 25 riders. At the first presentation of the team in Portugal, Vroomen also evoked legendary cyclist Fausto Coppi having ridden for a team sponsored by the bicycle industry (that sponsor being Bianchi Bicycles) as a motivation for sponsorship of the new team. On February 11, the team was one of thirteen assigned "Wild Card" status by the UCI, allowing the organizers of UCI ProTour events to select them to race in their event despite not having ProTour status as a team.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, One-day races, Spring classics
Right away, Cervélo established itself as a strong classics team. Hushovd won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad as he outsprinted seven others in a chasing pack that caught two leading riders, including teammate Heinrich Haussler, just before the finish. The next day, the team finished on the podium at two different events, with Simon Gerrans finishing third in a sprint finish at the Gran Premio di Lugano and Jeremy Hunt likewise third in a sprint at Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne. The team got its second victory at the Giro del Mendrisiotto two weeks later, as Ignatas Konovalovas soloed to the finish line ahead of a 12-man chase pack.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, One-day races, Spring classics
The team took two of three podium places in Milan–San Remo later in March. The race came down to its traditional closing sprint, which Haussler opened early with what seemed to be an insurmountable lead, only to be pipped for the victory by Mark Cavendish. Their speed was so great that they attained a 2-second gap over the other 32 riders in the sprint after only a few hundred meters of sprinting. Hushovd came in third. While the team was pleasantly surprised to get two podium places in the classic, Haussler himself appeared quite despondent at losing the sprint to Cavendish when talking to reporters after the race.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, One-day races, Spring classics
At the Tour of Flanders in April, Haussler took another second place, although this one more resembled a victory as it was a 29-man sprint for second a minute behind the event's winner Stijn Devolder. Hushovd returned to the podium at Paris–Roubaix, getting to the line ahead of Leif Hoste and Johan Van Summeren in third just over a minute behind Tom Boonen. Haussler also did well in this event, finishing seventh, three minutes behind Boonen. It was after this event that Haussler became the leader of the inaugural UCI World Ranking. Dominique Rollin made the podium at Scheldeprijs Vlaanderen, finishing third in a sprint behind Alessandro Petacchi and Kenny Van Hummel. In June, as the early season one-day races were coming to an end, Haussler claimed a victory in the GP Triberg-Schwarzwald, outsprinting seven breakaway companions.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, One-day races, Spring classics
In addition to their victories and numerous podiums, the team also had several close misses to that level of success. Dwars door Vlaanderen, E3 Prijs Vlaanderen, Brabantse Pijl, the Gran Premio Miguel Indurain, the Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallonne, and Liège–Bastogne–Liège all had Cervélo riders finish in the top ten. The only major race on their busy spring one-day schedule to not see a Cervélo rider finish at least this high was the Gran Premio dell'Insubria, where their best-placed rider was 13th.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, One-day races, Fall races
Gerrans picked up his first career win in a one-day race at the GP Ouest-France, outsprinting four breakaway companions for the win. The team had come to the event thinking Hushovd would be their leader, but he pulled out mid-race after feeling himself to be on poor form. The win came a day after Emma Pooley of the women's Cervélo TestTeam won the GP de Plouay-Bretagne.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, One-day races, Fall races
Roger Hammond took two other strong results in the fall season, second place at the Sparkassen Giro and fourth in Paris–Bourges. The team also sent squads to the Sparkassen Münsterland Giro, Paris–Tours, the Giro del Piemonte, and the Giro di Lombardia, with Martin Reimer in ninth at Paris–Tours their best result.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, Stage races
The first race of the season, and thus in the history of Cervélo TestTeam, was the Tour of Qatar. Though the race's general classification was won by Tom Boonen, Cervélo  was quite successful in the event as well. Roger Hammond won the second stage, into Al Khor Corniche, gaining the golden jersey as race leader in the process. It was seen at the time, and attributed by Hammond, as having been a total team effort. With four top-five finishes in the Tour of Qatar, Haussler won the event's points classification and was also the best young rider.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, Stage races
Behind Tour of Qatar winner Boonen in the event's final general classification were five Cervélo riders second through sixth, giving the team a convincing victory in the team classification. The next stage race in which the team got a victory was the Tour of California, with Hushovd winning a mass sprint finish in the third stage, after Cervélo's leadout train successfully outmaneuvered Team Columbia–High Road's. Haussler took two stage wins later in the month at the Volta ao Algarve.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, Stage races
In March, Haussler got a stage win in Paris–Nice, winning a mass sprint in Stage 2. The win briefly gave him the lead in the points classification, as he wore the green jersey in the following stage. The team next took stage wins in the Volta a Catalunya, which was concurrent to the Giro d'Italia. Hushovd, who had chosen to skip the Giro in order to better focus on the Tour de France, won the Stage 1 time trial and a mass sprint finish to Stage 6. He was notably defeated, however, in a sprint finish to Stage 5 by an unheralded rider from Team Katusha, Nikolay Trusov.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, Stage races
In August, Jeremy Hunt won a stage in Danmark Rundt, while Roger Hammond finished on the event's final podium, in third. Though the team did not win any stage in the Vuelta a Burgos, they were the only to finish with two riders (Íñigo Cuesta and Philip Deignan) in the top ten overall. After finishing second in the first stage of the Tour du Limousin, Xavier Florencio maintained his high positioning and finished on the event's final podium in third. A strong squad, headed by the team's most prolific winners Hushovd and Haussler, was sent to the Tour du Poitou-Charentes.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, Stage races
Brett Lancaster took third in the stage 3 individual time trial, to move into second overall, and held that position through the conclusion of the race. Hushovd and Haussler took back-to-back stage wins to close out the event, with Hushovd's stage 4 win coming the same day as the stage 3 time trial, just hours later. In the Tour of Missouri in September, Hushovd won the mass sprint finish to stage 3, becoming the only rider on the season to defeat Mark Cavendish in a group sprint on two occasions.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, Stage races
The victory had been achieved by a change in tactics from the previous flat stages – instead of a proper leadout, members of Hushovd's train instead made repeated attacks in the race's final two kilometers. That, along with the finish's rolling profile, gave Hushovd his winning advantage, and the stage win briefly gave him the overall race lead. Despite a surprising defeat to Philippe Gilbert in a sprint finish to the race's concluding stage, Hushovd won the Tour of Missouri's points classification. The team did not get any more stage wins on the season, but Hammond finished on the final podium at two events, the Tour of Britain and Franco-Belge.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, Stage races
The team's success was not as frequent in short stage races as it was in one-day races; they sent squads to the Tour de Langkawi, Tirreno–Adriatico, the Vuelta a Castilla y León, the Vuelta al País Vasco, the Tour de Romandie, Bayern-Rundfahrt, the Tour de Suisse, the Ster Elektrotoer, the Giro del Trentino, Tour of Austria, the Brixia Tour, and the Tour of Ireland, but did not obtain a notable result in any of them.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, Grand Tours, Giro d'Italia
The team was one of 22 to participate in the Giro d'Italia. Sastre was the team's leader in the race, with finishing on the podium his explicit goal. After mostly lying low in the race's first two weeks, with Sastre shadowing the other overall contenders to stay within striking distance, the team claimed four stage victories in the race's third week.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, Grand Tours, Giro d'Italia
Simon Gerrans won stage 14, attacking his breakaway companions (including teammate Philip Deignan, who worked for Gerrans once it was clear that the two of them wouldn't be needed to support Sastre on the stage) to reach the race's summit finish first. Two days later, Sastre won what was called the Giro's queen stage, riding away on his own from race leader Denis Menchov and a group of overall contenders to the top of Monte Petrano to win the grueling, seven-hour-plus climbing-intensive stage.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, Grand Tours, Giro d'Italia
Though the victory at the time propelled Sastre into third in the overall classification, he lost significant time two days later on the stage into Blockhaus, seeming off the form he had had going into Monte Petrano. Sastre rebounded to win the stage into Mount Vesuvius, two days after Blockhaus, with another long solo attack. The Giro's final time trial was won by Ignatas Konovalovas, while Sastre finished the race in fourth place.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, Grand Tours, Giro d'Italia
Thanks to Sastre's stage wins and high overall placing, and Gerrans' and Konovalovas' stage wins, Cervélo TestTeam was briefly the leader of the World Ranking team classification, in the standings published after the Giro.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
The team was one of 20 invited to the Tour de France. Sastre, the champion from 2008, announced that he intended to defend that title in November 2008. His status as defending champion was largely overshadowed by the intra-squad rivalry from the Astana team between Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong, and by the latter's return to the Tour for the first time in four years. Armstrong and Sastre also touched off some controversy with each other, when Armstrong called the 2008 Tour "a bit of a joke" for Sastre having won it and for Christian Vande Velde finishing fifth overall.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
Sastre claimed Armstrong needed to show more respect after that statement. Armstrong eventually apologized to Sastre for the comments, which put the spat behind them. Sastre himself had a somewhat bizarre relationship with the media during the Tour, blasting them for calling the race "boring" and for focusing, in Sastre's opinion, too much on the Contador-Armstrong rivalry, while Sastre did not seem particularly motivated to win the race. Sastre apologized four days later, saying he was in a "bad frame of mind" when he made the comments.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
On the road, Hushovd emerged as a favorite to win the green jersey for a second time (having previously won it with Crédit Agricole in 2005). He won the uphill sprint finish to Stage 6 in Barcelona after having lost out to Mark Cavendish in sprints in Stages 2 and 3. Hushovd and Cavendish quickly emerged as the top if not only contenders for the points classification title, as Hushovd claiming two intermediate sprints in Stage 8 gave him the green jersey, but only by 11 points.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
Cavendish reclaimed the jersey after his victory in Stage 11, his fourth, but Hushovd won it back after the medium-mountain Stage 13, when he finished in the yellow jersey group. The two were in a sprint for the green jersey points available for 13th place in Stage 14, after a 12-man breakaway survived to the finish line. Cavendish originally finished ahead of Hushovd, but was relegated to the last position in the peloton, 154th, for irregular sprinting, maneuvering Hushovd toward a barricade in the final 300 meters.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
In Stage 17, Hushovd staged a daring solo breakaway, after the morning's initial breakaway was caught, and stayed away over the second and third of five climbs on the course and, more importantly, got top points in two intermediate sprints. Though he lost almost 30 minutes at the finish line, the move gave him a 30-point lead in the points classification and the Stage 17 combativity award. Though he did not score again until his sixth-place finish on the Champs-Élysées, where Cavendish took his sixth stage win of the Tour, Hushovd was successful in coming away with the green jersey.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
Apart from Hushovd, the team claimed another win in Stage 13, when Haussler attacked three breakaway companions 40 kilometers from the finish line and soloed to victory more than four minutes ahead of them. It was seen as a redemption for Haussler's near misses at Milan–San Remo and the Tour of Flanders, and also garnered him the stage's combativity award. Sastre, for his part, was quiet, finishing in the top ten of a stage only once, in Stage 15. Sastre never threatened the race lead, finishing 17th overall, more than 26 minutes behind Contador as Tour champion. It is his worst Grand Tour time-wise since the 2006 Giro d'Italia, when he rode in support of Ivan Basso.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, Grand Tours, Vuelta a España
The team was one of 22 invited to the Vuelta a España. Roger Hammond contested sprints in two of the three mass-start stages held in the Netherlands, finishing third behind Gerald Ciolek in Stage 2 and seventh behind Greg Henderson in Stage 3. As the squad sent to the Vuelta lacked riders with any serious climbing prowess, the team was quiet, without so much as a top ten in a stage, until the undulating tenth stage into Murcia.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, Grand Tours, Vuelta a España
The breakaway that morning comprised 19 riders from 18 teams, four of whom stayed out front to the finish – Alexander Vinokourov, Ryder Hesjedal, Jakob Fuglsang, and Cervélo rider Simon Gerrans. They were able to contest a sprint finish among themselves, with Gerrans coming around Vinokourov's early leadout to take the win.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, Grand Tours, Vuelta a España
The win gave Gerrans stage wins in all three Grand Tours for his career (having previously won a stage in the Giro d'Italia earlier this season, and in the 2008 Tour de France while riding for Crédit Agricole), and the team stage victories in all three Grands in its first season of existence.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, Grand Tours, Vuelta a España
The eighteenth stage also featured a Cervélo win from a breakaway, but this one had additional significance. After being part of a 16-man group that escaped on the first-category Puerto de Mijares, Philip Deignan continued to shed his breakaway companions on the way to the finish line, last outsprinting Roman Kreuziger for the stage win. Deignan had begun the day 18th in the overall classification, but finishing 9' 41" ahead of the peloton on the day propelled him into ninth. It was the first Grand Tour stage win for an Irish cyclist since Stephen Roche in 1992.


2009 Cervélo TestTeam season, Grand Tours, Vuelta a España
Deignan went on to hold ninth place through the conclusion of the race, the best overall finish for an Irishman since Roche in the 1992 Giro d'Italia and Cervélo TestTeam's best-placed finisher. Deignan and Juan José Cobo were the only two of the top ten overall in the Vuelta to have won a stage in the race.


2009 Chakwal mosque bombing
The 2009 Chakwal mosque bombing occurred on 5 April 2009, in Chakwal in the Punjab province of Pakistan. An initial casualty count of 30 was reported with at least 150 injuries. The mosque was reportedly "packed" at the time of the explosion. The attack occurred during a religious congregation


2009 Chakwal mosque bombing, Background
The bombing of the Chakwal mosque came just over a week after another mosque bombing in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The attack also occurred at a minority Shia mosque.


2009 Chakwal mosque bombing, Background, Follow up
The attack came a day after eight paramilitary soldiers were killed in a suicide attack in the capital Islamabad.


2009 Chakwal mosque bombing, Attack
There was no immediate claim of responsibility though security officials said they believed the attack to be a result of a suicide bombing. The attack also came only days after Tehreek-e-Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud warned of increased attacks.


2009 Challenge Bell
The 2009 Challenge Bell was a tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 17th edition of the Challenge Bell, and was part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2009 WTA Tour. It was held at the PEPS de l'Université Laval in Quebec City, Canada, from September 14 through September 20, 2009.


2009 Challenge Bell, Entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw


2009 Challenge Bell, Champions, Doubles
Vania King /  Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová  def. Sofia Arvidsson /  Séverine Brémond Beltrame, 6–1, 6–3


2009 Challenge Bell – Doubles
Anna-Lena Grönefeld and Vania King were the defending champions, but Grönefeld decided not to participate this year.


2009 Challenge Bell – Doubles
King partnered with Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová and successfully defended her title, defeating Sofia Arvidsson and Séverine Brémond Beltrame 6–1, 6–3 in the final.


2009 Challenge Bell – Singles
Nadia Petrova was the defending champion, but she retired, due to a viral illness, in the quarterfinals against Melinda Czink.


2009 Challenge Bell – Singles
Czink went on to win her maiden WTA singles title, defeating Lucie Šafářová 4–6, 6–3, 7–5 in the final.


2009 Challenge Cup
The 2009 Challenge Cup (also known as the Carnegie Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 108th staging of the most prestigious knock-out competition in rugby league. Teams from England, Scotland, Wales, France and Russia were included in the tournament. It began in January 2009.


2009 Challenge Cup
Teams from the Co-operative Championship received byes into round three along with four teams from France, and the winner of the Russian Championship. Teams from the Super League enter in round four.


2009 Challenge Cup
Defending champions St. Helens lost in the semi-final 14 – 24 to the Huddersfield Giants who went on to lose the final 16 – 25 to the Warrington Wolves.


2009 Challenge Cup
For 2009, the early stages of the competition was revamped. As the competition has expanded, there was now a preliminary round before the first round, and teams were placed into two 'pools' for the preliminary, first and second rounds.


2009 Challenge Cup, Pools
Pool B features 16 teams, which is a mixed bag of Rugby League Conference teams (including representatives from Scotland and Wales), armed forces representative teams and University teams.


2009 Challenge Cup, Preliminary round, Pool A
All matches were due to be played on 3–4 January, however, winter weather forced the postponement of most of these fixtures due to frozen pitches. The round is divided into two pools, with several teams receiving a bye to the First Round:


2009 Challenge Cup, Preliminary round, Pool A
†: fixtures rearranged due to frozen pitches. New dates varied between teams, depending on clashes with league fixtures and weather.


2009 Challenge Cup, Preliminary round, Pool B
Pool A Byes: West Hull, Thatto Heath Crusaders, Myton Warriors, Orchard Park and Greenwood, Eastmoor Dragons, East Hull, Sharlston Rovers, Kells, Hull Isberg, East Leeds, Pilkington Recs, West Bowling, Milford Marlins, Crossfields, Waterhead, Castleford Panthers


2009 Challenge Cup, Preliminary round, Pool B
Pool B Byes: St Mary's University College, RAF, Warrington Wizards, Featherstone Lions, Hull University, Edinburgh Eagles, Northumbria University, Royal Navy


2009 Challenge Cup, Round 1
All matches played on 24–25 January. The round was divided into two pools, with the teams that received a bye in the last round entering.


2009 Challenge Cup, Round 1, Pool A
†: fixtures rearranged for 31 January due to flooded pitches.


2009 Challenge Cup, Round 2
Draw hosted by Wath Brow Hornets on 27 January, as the winners of the Cumbrian derby in the first round. Matches were played 14–15 February.


2009 Challenge Cup, Round 3
Draw was made live on BBC Radio Manchester on 17 February. All twenty Co-operative Championship teams were added into the competition in this round, as well as four teams from the French Elite One Championship, and winners of the 2008 Russian Championship, RC Lokomotiv Moscow. The matches were played on 7–8 March.


2009 Challenge Cup, Round 4
The draw for round 4 was made live on 9 March on BBC Radio 5 Live. The sixteen victorious Co-operative Championship teams from round 3 were joined by all fourteen Super League XIV teams, as well as Wath Brow Hornets, the competition's only amateur club remaining at this stage, and Lezignan, making this the Round of 32. From this point, no more teams were added to the competition.


2009 Challenge Cup, Round 5
The sixteen teams remaining after Round 4 were randomly paired against each other, in a draw held at RAF Leeming on 7 April involving AVM Chris Davison, Director of the RAF Sports Board, and Barrie McDermott, former Leeds and Great Britain and Ireland player.


2009 Challenge Cup, Round 5
All matches were played on 9–10 May. The match between Gateshead Thunder and Oldham R.L.F.C. was due to be played at the Gateshead International Stadium, since Gateshead were the home team, however the match was rearranged to be played at the Darlington Arena due to a fixture clash between a playoff match for Gateshead F.C., who share the stadium with the rugby league side, and an athletics meeting. This was the first ever professional rugby league match to be held inside County Durham.


2009 Challenge Cup, Round 5
The first match of this round was a repeat of a Super League fixture only thirteen days earlier. Wakefield Trinity took the initial lead, scoring ten points in six minutes, before Wigan levelled the game by the 24th minute. An early drop goal by Danny Brough edged Wakefield ahead by one point before Wigan scored their third try to lead 11–16 going into half time, following a successful conversion by Pat Richards. Wakefield scored their only try of the second half after 51 minutes, before Wigan scored two more tries to win the game by a margin of eleven points.


2009 Challenge Cup, Round 5
Oldham also started off taking the initial lead before losing to the Gateshead Thunder. Tommy Goulden gave the visitors a lead of six points following a successful conversion, and this gave them a 4–6 lead at half time following a Gateshead try which was unsuccessfully converted. Four tries and three goals from Gateshead after the break handed them a twenty-two-point lead, and two tries and a goal from Oldham were not enough to restore the deficit. A final Gateshead try ended the game with a firm 18-point margin in favour of Gateshead.


2009 Challenge Cup, Round 5
The first game ever to be concluded via the golden point rule was played at The Jungle. Halifax earned a ten-point lead through a try and two goals, one of which a penalty. Castleford replied with a converted try, before Halifax kicked another penalty goal to lead 6–12. The home side again scored a try, which was converted, before Halifax kicked another penalty goal before half time. Halifax scored first with a try after the break, before Castleford scored another of their own.


2009 Challenge Cup, Round 5
Another try for Halifax was countered with three Castleford tries, one of which was successfully converted to give them a 30–22 lead. Two converted Halifax tries put them into the lead by four points with ten minutes to play, but a try from Brent Sherwin on the 74th minute levelled the game at full-time. Sherwin also scored the drop goal three minutes into extra time to send Castleford through after an historic fixture.


2009 Challenge Cup, Round 5
Huddersfield won their early morning kick-off against Rochdale Hornets despite two late tries from the away side. Luke Robinson opened up the scoring on six minutes to score the first of five first-half tries for Huddersfield, to which Rochdale had no reply. Huddersfield scored again after 44 minutes to put themselves 32 points to nil ahead, before two converted Rochdale tries lowered the deficit to twenty points. Shaun Lunt finished the game off five minutes from full-time with a try that was successfully converted to provide himself with a hat-trick, and to give Huddersfield a comfortable win.


2009 Challenge Cup, Round 5
Like Oldham and Wakefield had done the day before, Featherstone Rovers took the initiative before losing to the opposition. Featherstone took a four-point lead thanks to a try which was unsuccessfully converted before Warrington scored twenty unanswered first-half points with four tries and two conversions. Chris Hicks converted his own try shortly after the break to put Warrington 4–26 into the lead before Featherstone replied with what was to be their final try. Warrington proceeded to run in five tries before full-time, all of which were converted by Hicks, to win the game by almost a half-century of points.


2009 Challenge Cup, Round 5
Salford City Reds had lost three of their previous matches prior to this round's fixture, but this did not stop eight Salford City Reds players touching down for tries as they delivered the widest winning margin of the round away to Batley. Eight tries and eight goals, seven of which made up John Wilshere's ten goal match tally, scored by Salford City Reds went unanswered as Batley went into half-time fighting a 48-point deficit. Two further converted tries from Salford City Reds, including Mark Henry's fourth try, came before Batley's only try of the afternoon, which was not converted. Luke Adamson touched down two minutes from full-time to give a winning margin of 62 in favour of Salford City Reds.


2009 Challenge Cup, Round 5
Of the four Co-operative Championship sides facing Super League opposition on the Sunday, Sheffield Eagles came closest to winning, with Hull Kingston Rovers having to regalvanise themselves to prevent a Sheffield come-from-behind victory. The Sheffield Eagles only scored one converted try in the first forty minutes compared to the Hull Kingston Rovers' four tries and three goals which had given them a sixteen-point advantage going into half time, but Sheffield struck back quickly after the break with a converted try in the 41st minute.


2009 Challenge Cup, Round 5
Sheffield scored again fifteen minutes later with a converted try to put them only four points behind, before Shaun Briscoe went over the try-line and Michael Dobson converted to restore a ten-point advantage. Sheffield scored another try to lower the gap to four points again, but a late Rovers try in the 77th minute ended the game to advance them through to the quarterfinals instead of Sheffield.


2009 Challenge Cup, Round 5
In a repeat of the 2007 Challenge Cup Final, St. Helens overcame French opposition in the outfit of the Catalans Dragons to reach the quarterfinals and maintain their four-year unbeaten cup run. Two tries within ten minutes gave an eight-point advantage to the home side before Thomas Bosc kicked a penalty to reduce the lead to 8–2. Catalans scored a converted try in the 21st minute to level game, before two tries and a goal for St Helens meant an 18–8 half time scoreline. Catalans failed to score at all in the second half, whilst to the contrary, St Helens ran in four tries, two of which were scored by Paul Wellens. All of the second half tries were converted by Sean Long to give the home side a winning margin of 34 points.


2009 Challenge Cup, Quarter finals
The sixth round of the Challenge Cup involves the eight teams who won their respective matches in the previous round. This is the final round where home field advantage is given, due to the requirement that all semi-final matches must be played at a neutral venue.


2009 Challenge Cup, Quarter finals
The draw was made live on BBC Two at the GPW Recruitment Stadium on 10 May. Chris Joynt, four times winner of the Challenge Cup with St. Helens drew the home sides, while Andy Farrell OBE, four times winner with the Wigan Warriors, drew the away sides.


2009 Challenge Cup, Quarter finals
The matches were played on 29–31 May, during the hottest weekend of the year so far temperature-wise.


2009 Challenge Cup, Quarter finals
A sunny Friday evening at the JJB Stadium provided host to the round's first match, between the Wigan Warriors and Salford City Reds. Salford City Redswere victorious in their last three games going into this match, with Wigan hoping to get back to winning ways after a defeat to Warrington at the Halliwell Jones Stadium. Both players were also missing a player, Wigan's Stuart Fielden for disciplinary reasons, and Darrell Goulding for Salford City Reds, on loan from Wigan, who was cup-tied for playing against Barrow Raiders earlier on in the competition.


2009 Challenge Cup, Quarter finals
A line break from Gareth Hock gave the home side a six-point lead after two minutes, following a successful conversion from Pat Richards. Salford City Reds replied nine minutes later with a line break of their own, eventually resulting in a try for Luke Adamson, converted by John Wilshere. It was to be the only Salford City Reds score of the match, but Wigan failed to take full control after forty minutes in only scoring one further try from Pat Richards on the wing to make the score 10–6 on the half-time hooter.


2009 Challenge Cup, Quarter finals
However, Wigan scored eighteen unanswered points in the second half, with Pat Richards kicking a goal on the 49th minute, and scoring two more tries on the 59th and 70th minute to complete his hat-trick, the latter of which was converted. Hock scored another try of his own after 76 minutes, with Richards kicking the conversion to bring his individual total for the match to twenty, booking Wigan's place in the semi-finals for the first time since 2007.


2009 Challenge Cup, Quarter finals
A Lee Briers drop goal in extra-time was all that separated Hull Kingston Rovers and Warrington Wolves at "New" Craven Park on the Saturday in a closely fought game. Both sides were in winning form, with Warrington Wolves having assembled three wins in a row, and Hull Hull Kingston Rovers having won their previous six matches. The two sides had recent history in the competition, when in 2006, Warrington Wolves were knocked-out by Hull Kingston Rovers, who were then in National League One.


2009 Challenge Cup, Quarter finals
The home side were first on the scoresheet after centre Kris Welham crossed the line in the 3rd minute. The conversion attempt was successful from Michael Dobson, before Vinnie Anderson replied for Warrington Wolves on the 17th minute to put the scores level following a Briers conversion. In spite of attacking play from both sides, the game ended at half time 6–6. Warrington Wolves seized the initiative four minutes after the break thanks to a converted Jon Clarke try, however, Hull Kingston Rovers levelled the game again five minutes later when Clint Newton crossed over the tryline.


2009 Challenge Cup, Quarter finals
The home side pressed a ten-point advantage with two 53rd and 60th minute tries from Ben Galea and Jake Webster respectively, the latter of which was the only unsuccessful conversion of the match. Warrington Wolves matched Hull Kingston Rovers with two tries of their own in five minutes from Matt King and Chris Bridge, to put them two points ahead with ten minutes left to play.


2009 Challenge Cup, Quarter finals
A penalty conceded to the side of Warrington Wolves 's left upright was kicked by Hull Kingston Rovers's Dobson three minutes from full-time to force the game into a golden point situation, the score being 24–24 at the final hooter. Hull Kingston Rovers did not gain enough territory to allow Dobson a chance at a drop goal, whilst conversely Briers missed three attempts, once to the right side facing him and twice to the left side of the uprights, before landing his fourth attempt five minutes into extra time.


2009 Challenge Cup, Quarter finals
In contrast, the match at the Gateshead International Stadium could barely have been more one-sided, with St. Helens running out eventual winners against the Gateshead Thunder. St Helens scored twice in the first five minutes, with tries from Matthew Gidley and James Roby, both conversions missed. A brief lull in the game was ended with another St Helens try after 21 minutes from fullback Paul Wellens, and this was converted by Sean Long.


2009 Challenge Cup, Quarter finals
Chris Flannery scored in the 25th minute, before a barrage of three St Helens tries in five minutes from Maurie Fa'asavalu, Kyle Eastmond and Leon Pryce respectively put the visitors 0–36 ahead following three conversions from Eastmond. Gateshead scored their solitary try before half-time when Ben McAlpine scored, and Nick Youngquest converted.


2009 Challenge Cup, Quarter finals
The second half saw thirty unanswered points from St Helens with five tries in the 51st, 54th, 57th, 64th and 72nd minutes, all of which were successively converted by Eastmond to continue St Helens' four-year unbeaten cup run, finish the score at 6–66, and end any chance of a Co-operative Championship team reaching Wembley this year.


2009 Challenge Cup, Quarter finals
The local derby between Huddersfield and Castleford was the solitary game on the Sunday, due to BBC coverage. Huddersfield were fresh from a 48-point winning margin over Wakefield Trinity from the Super League round the week before, whilst Castleford had not won a match during regular time in four games. Despite the form book, it was Castleford who gained the early advantage thanks to an aerial take from Michael Shenton following Rangi Chase's kick, before crashing over the tryline on the way back down to give Castleford a 0–4 lead after three minutes.


2009 Challenge Cup, Quarter finals
Several passages later, Kevin Brown dummied his way for a try in front of the uprights which was successfully converted by Brett Hodgson. Huddersfield had a disallowed try before Castleford kicked a penalty two minutes before half-time to make a 6–6 scoreline at the break. Huddersfield again had a try disallowed for a forward pass, before Brett Ferres scored his only try, and two Kirk Dixon goals gave the visitors a 6–14 lead after fifty minutes. Huddersfield did not concede again, and following a twenty-minute lull, scored a try thanks to Stephen Wild, which was successfully converted. Determined Castleford defending kept Huddersfield out for nine further minutes, before Danny Kirmond scored the match winning try in the 77th minute to send Huddersfield through to the semi-final stage.


2009 Challenge Cup, Semi finals
The four teams remaining play against each other for straight access into the Final. All matches in this round are played on a neutral venue. The draw was made live on BBC Two following coverage of the quarterfinal match between Huddersfield Giants and Castleford Tigers on 31 May. Only nine days after losing their Super League XIV tie at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, Wigan Warriors were drawn against the Warrington Wolves, whilst a repeat of the 2006 Challenge Cup Final was made with St. Helens versus Huddersfield Giants.


2009 Challenge Cup, Semi finals
One match is played on Saturday 8 August, the other is played the day after. The dates and venues were confirmed on 2 June, with Wigan Warriors vs Warrington Wolves being played in Widnes at the Stobart Stadium Halton on the Saturday, and St Helens vs Huddersfield being played on the Sunday at the Halliwell Jones Stadium in Warrington.


2009 Challenge Cup, Semi finals, Wigan vs Warrington
A Matt King hat-trick ended Wigan's dreams of going to Wembley in 2009, putting Warrington into their first Challenge Cup final since 1990, despite the return of Wigan's captain Sean O'Loughlin following a knee injury. The video referee declined a Warrington try from Ben Westwood on grounds of obstruction, and Wigan also had a disallowed try from winger Pat Richards, but it was Wigan who took the initiative thanks to a side-step from Phil Bailey after seven minutes; the try was successfully converted by Richards.


2009 Challenge Cup, Semi finals, Wigan vs Warrington
Two further points were added to Wigan's tally following a penalty, to give an 8–0 lead. Warrington rallied to score twenty-four unanswered points by the half-time break, with two tries from King as well as tries from Louis Anderson, Lee Briers and Michael Cooper, before King completed his hat-trick in the 48th minute to give the Wolves a 24-point lead. Sam Tomkins, in his first season of first-team rugby, started a Wigan fightback as he caught an offload from the right wing by George Carmont before grounding the ball beneath the sticks.


2009 Challenge Cup, Semi finals, Wigan vs Warrington
Chris Riley was stretchered off for concussion and whiplash after colliding with Joel Tomkins' knee, and Wigan took advantage of this with two further tries from Andy Coley and Thomas Leuluai which were both converted to reduce Wigan's arrears to six points. Briers kicked a drop goal the set afterwards to give Warrington safety, before the game was sealed with a Chris Hicks try to give the full-time score of 26–39.


2009 Challenge Cup, Semi finals, St Helens vs Huddersfield
A Francis Meli hat-trick was not enough to extend St Helens' four-year unbeaten run in the Challenge Cup with a victory in Warrington. Man of the match Brett Hodgson opened up the points tally with a try in the fifth minute, although he failed to convert it. Meli scored on the wing five minutes later to level the game following another missed conversion from Kyle Eastmond. Stephen Wild scored the only other try of the first-half following a line break from Kevin Brown, which was converted to give Huddersfield a 4–10 lead.


2009 Challenge Cup, Semi finals, St Helens vs Huddersfield
Huddersfield extended the advantage further, scoring two tries from Leroy Cudjoe and Brown in the first ten minutes of the second half, although Brett Hodgson again missed both. Meli cross the line again on the wing to bring the score to 10–18. A strong defensive performance from Huddersfield prevented another St Helens score, and Wild's second try three minutes from full-time gave the Giants a 14-point advantage. St Helens' solitary try-scorer Meli scored on the wing straight from the kick-off to complete his hat-trick, but there was not enough time for a comeback.


2009 Challenge Cup, Final
The Carnegie 2009 Challenge Cup Final was played on 29 August, eight rounds and almost eight months after the tournament started in its preliminary stages. Following tradition, the match was held in London at Wembley Stadium. The game finished with Warrington Wolves defeating the Huddersfield Giants 16–25 following two controversial disallowed tries for the Giants, which if awarded would have won them the game if at least one conversion attempt was good.


2009 Challenge Cup, Television coverage
Selected matches were televised solely by the BBC in the United Kingdom.


2009 Challenge Cup, Television coverage
2 Coverage in Northern Ireland (including analogue) was televised an hour later.


2009 Challenge Cup, Television coverage
The competition was also televised by Nine Network in Australia.


2009 Challenge Cup Final
The 2009 Carnegie Challenge Cup Final was played on 29 August 2009 at Wembley Stadium, in London between Huddersfield Giants and Warrington Wolves. It was the first Challenge Cup final since 1985–86 that any of the 'Big Four' (Bradford, Leeds, St. Helens, and Wigan) had failed to reach. It was the second final in four years for Huddersfield following their appearance in the 2006 final, but their first appearance at Wembley Stadium in forty-seven years.


2009 Challenge Cup Final
En route to the final, Warrington defeated Wigan 39–26 in their semi final at the Stobart Stadium Halton in Widnes on 8 August 2009, and on the day after Huddersfield beat holders St Helens 24–14 in Warrington's Halliwell Jones Stadium.


2009 Challenge Cup Final, Route to final
Due to the way teams at different professional levels are introduced into the tournament, the number of rounds needed to reach a Challenge Cup final depends on the team, and the league they play in. For a Super League team to reach a final, they must have played four rounds. Five rounds must have been played for a team playing in the Co-operative Championship, and for an amateur or foreign club, the number varies depending on which round they entered the competition. Because both Warrington Wolves and Huddersfield Giants are Super League clubs, they both entered the competition in the fourth round, receiving byes in the third.


2009 Challenge Cup Final, Route to final, Warrington Wolves
Warrington's cup-run started with a home tie to Championship One part-timers the York City Knights. Their last meeting in the Challenge cup in 2000 resulted in a near-whitewashing 84–1 defeat. Lee Briers replaced Michael Monaghan at scrum-half while Hicks took over kicking duties, with Martin Gleeson left out over speculation of a move to Wigan Warriors, which eventually came true. Warrington scored first thanks to a try from Simon Grix in the second minute, but York struck back immediately afterwards to take the lead with an effort from fullback; Danny Ratcliffe.


2009 Challenge Cup Final, Route to final, Warrington Wolves
Vinnie Anderson and Ben Harrison both scored tries which were converted before sloppy defence allowed Paul Hughes to score an opportunist York try midway through the first half. Warrington took a half time lead of 28–10 thanks to Ben Westwood and the first try of the season for Michael Cooper. Warrington kept a clean sheet in the second half, as they doubled their first half tally.


2009 Challenge Cup Final, Route to final, Warrington Wolves
Tries from Chris Bridge, Lee Briers, Vinnie Anderson, Louis Anderson and Paul Johnson took the game away from York, a cause not helped by the sending off of prop; Danny Ekis after 64 minutes The game finished 52–10, with Garreth Carvell returning from injury to pick up the man of the match award.


2009 Challenge Cup Final, Route to final, Warrington Wolves
Their fifth round match was a fixture away at the Featherstone Rovers' Chris Moyles Stadium in which they again scored 56 points. The game was fullback Richard Mathers' debut for the Wolves following his transfer from the Wigan Warriors in exchange for Martin Gleeson. Rovers scored first thanks to Tommy Saxton on the wing, and threatened to score another, although an interception from Hicks was returned for a 70-metre try. Monoghan then set up Mathers in support who scored the away team's second try. A deflected kick picked up by Westwood provided another Warrington try for Monaghan.


2009 Challenge Cup Final, Route to final, Warrington Wolves
Although a knock-on from Chris Riley gave the Featherstone Rovers good field position, they failed to score, and Warrington extended the lead to 8–20 at half time thanks to a try from Paul Wood. Warrington scored first after the break following some tidy passing between Monoghan and Jon Clarke, with Hicks eventually scoring the try, before the Featherstone Rovers scored their second and last try of the match through Tom Haughey. A further Warrington try from Hicks, as well as a try worked by ex-Wigan pair Mickey Higham and Mathers were followed by tries from Harrison, Riley and Bridge to end the game comprehensively in Warrington's favour, with ten tries in total being scored by the away side.


2009 Challenge Cup Final, Route to final, Warrington Wolves
On 30 May, Hull witnessed only the second ever Challenge Cup game to be decided by the golden point rule, as Hull Kingston Rovers proved a tougher outfit than both of Warrington's previous sub-Super League opponents. Hull Kingston Rovers started better, and seized the initiative after just three minutes, with Paul Cooke's long pass to Peter Fox proving an opportunity for Kris Welham. Despite multiple handling errors from Simon Grix, the home side failed to extend their lead.


2009 Challenge Cup Final, Route to final, Warrington Wolves
Two goal-line dropouts eventually lead to Vinnie Anderson crashing over the try-line on the 16th minute, in front of the post; Chris Bridge converted to level the scores 6–6, which it remained until half-time thanks to a last resort tackle from fullback Shaun Briscoe to deny Ben Harrison a try. Monaghan retreated from the match in the 31st minute, but Warrington took the lead at the start of the second half when Jon Clarke finished off a Matt King break on the wing.


2009 Challenge Cup Final, Route to final, Warrington Wolves
Hull Kingston Rovers replied with two tries of their own in five minutes, from Clint Newton, and later Ben Galea following a kick from Paul Cooke which deceived Richie Mathers. With the scores already 18–12, Rovers extended their lead further on the hour with a break that covered half the "New" Craven Park pitch from Jake Webster. Matt King plucked Lee Briers' kick into the corner for a Warrington try and Chris Bridge made the scores level with another try in the 70th minute.


2009 Challenge Cup Final, Route to final, Warrington Wolves
Bridge converted his own try to give Warrington a slender two-point lead before a penalty conceded for offside provided Michael Dobson with an opportunity to level the game again. A knock on from the resulting kick-off gave Lee Briers a chance to land a drop goal, but he sliced the ball, forcing the game into extra time. He missed two further chances, before kicking the ball between the uprights in front of the visiting Warrington fans in the 85th minute.


2009 Challenge Cup Final, Route to final, Warrington Wolves
This victory set up a semi-final date with Wigan Warriors, the most successful team in the Challenge Cup's history, at the Stobart Stadium Halton in Widnes. Despite a third minute Ben Westwood try disallowed by video referee Phil Bentham for obstruction, Warrington again fell behind before replying strongly, with Phil Bailey returning from injury to give Wigan a 6–0 lead after seven minutes, before Pat Richards scored his 1000th Wigan career point with a penalty goal to extend the lead by a further two points. Bailey was soon withdrawn with an injury to his Achilles which ended his match day.


2009 Challenge Cup Final, Route to final, Warrington Wolves
Three tries came in quick succession as Warrington struck back, with Matt King bursting through four defenders, Louis Anderson taking advantage of a mistake from Amos Roberts, and Briers weaving through the defensive line to take the scores to 18–8 following three successful conversions from Chris Bridge. Although Andy Coley was held over the try-line, Wigan's attack on the Warrington line was otherwise dull, and further tries from Michael Cooper and Matt King put the game beyond the Warriors by half-time.


2009 Challenge Cup Final, Route to final, Warrington Wolves
Warrington scored first in the second half, with Matt King gathering the high ball from Lee Briers unopposed to complete his hat-trick. A spirited Wigan fightback followed thanks to Warrington handling errors in their own half, with Sam Tomkins gathering his own kick for a try in the 55th minute, Andy Coley scoring from a Paul Prescott offload, and Thomas Leuluai defeating Richie Mathers in a one-on-one tackle. Richards' perfect kicking game reduced the margin to just six points, before a Lee Briers drop goal from thirty metres out and a Chris Hicks try put the game once again beyond Wigan's reach.


2009 Challenge Cup Final, Pre-match
The cup final curtain raiser, a match contesting the Year 7 boys Champion Schools was between Outwood Grange College of Wakefield and Castleford High School.


2009 Challenge Cup Final, Pre-match
Classical soprano Hayley Westenra was the headline pre-match entertainment, performing the cup final anthem, "Abide with Me", and the British national anthem. Supporting Westenra were the Black Dyke Band and the ACM Gospel Choir.


2009 Challenge Cup Final, Pre-match
Players from the 1975 final, played by Warrington and Widnes and including Mike Nicholas, 'Big' Jim Mills and Doug Laughton, were re-united before kick-off.


2009 Challenge Cup Final, Pre-match
The coaches for both teams were from the same part of New South Wales and had even played together for the St. George Dragons in their 1993 NSWRL season grand final loss to the Brisbane Broncos.


2009 Challenge Cup Final, Pre-match
The BBC broadcasting team included commentators Dave Woods and Jonathan Davies, presenters Clare Balding, Robbie Paul, Damian Johnson and Tanya Arnold and experts Justin Morgan and Brian Noble, the coaches of Hull Kingston Rovers and Wigan Warriors respectively.


2009 Challenge Cup Final, Match, First half
Warrington kicked off and after the game's first set of six tackles, Brett Hodgson's clearing kick was charged down by Louis Anderson who re-gathered and was tackled close to Huddersfield's try-line. Moments later, in only the second minute of the game, Richie Mathers from close range barged over between the uprights and the video referee ruled that a Huddersfield hand had not prevented him from grounding the ball on the line. Chris Bridge's straightforward conversion put the Wolves ahead 6–nil.


2009 Challenge Cup Final, Match, First half
Just on the seven-minute mark, after repeat sets attacking Warrington's line, Huddersfield's Shaun Lunt appeared to have scored a similar try, forcing his way to the line beneath the uprights to put the ball down, although it was controversially denied by the video referee, who ruled a double movement. However, in the 9th minute, the Giants were working the ball out of their own half when David Faiumu offloaded from a tackle to a flying Brett Hodgson who then drew the fullback in and passed to Lunt who outran the defence to score.


2009 Challenge Cup Final, Match, First half
Hodgson successfully kicked the extras so the scores were level at 6 all. Only about two minutes later Warrington replied with another close-range try, this time from Michael Monaghan running from dummy half and stretching out from the tackle to put the ball down. Bridge made no mistake with the conversion so the Wolves' lead was 12–6. Then in the fifteenth minute Warrington scored again, moving the ball out to the right to Chris Hicks' wing where he crossed, improving the field position for his kicker before putting the ball down.


2009 Challenge Cup Final, Match, First half
Bridges kicked the goal, pushing the Wolves' lead out to 18–6, with less than a quarter of the match played. Shortly after, Warrington appeared to have scored again when Matt King leapt for a Lee Briers bomb and came down with the ball over the line. However the video referee ruled that he'd taken the ball from a Huddersfield defender's hands in mid-air so it was disallowed.


2009 Challenge Cup Final, Match, First half
In the 24th minute, Huddersfield got repeat sets in Warrington's half and worked the ball out to the left wing where David Hodgson crossed untouched, but again the video referee disallowed the try, this time the video referee ruled that a member of the Warrington defence had been taken out. Huddersfield continued to dominate possession and field position and eventually, less than four minutes from half-time, after keeping the ball alive they scored out on the right hand side through Brett Hodgson. He missed the difficult conversion attempt so the score was 18–10 in favour of Warrington and would remain at that till the half-time siren.


2009 Challenge Cup Final, Match, Second half
After the break, the contest became quite an even arm wrestle and no points were scored until the sixtieth minute, when from about fifteen metres out from Huddersfield's line, Michael Monaghan ran from dummy half then passed from the tackle to Vinnie Anderson who hit a big gap and crashed over under the posts. The kick for Bridge was simple so the score was 24–10 in Warrington's favour. Four minutes later Huddersfield were penalised for a high tackle on Lee Briers by Scott Moore less than thirty metres from their line.


2009 Challenge Cup Final, Match, Second half
Warrington decided to take the shot at goal and Bridge missed his first kick of the day so the score remained unchanged.


2009 Challenge Cup Final, Match, Second half
The Wolves then successfully kept Huddersfield penned up in their own half, protecting their lead, until the seventy-seventh minute when the Giants got a consolation try: a Warrington mistake saw Huddersfield get a set of six in the opposition half and after keeping the ball alive and sending it through the hands out to David Hodgson on the wing, he stepped outside one defender and inside the next before reaching an arm out of the third defender's tackle to bounce the ball off the try-line.


2009 Challenge Cup Final, Match, Second half
The video referee was again called upon to award the try and Brett Hodgson's sideline conversion was successful, bringing the score to 24–16. With just over a minute remaining, Warrington were down close to Huddersfield's line when the ball went to Lee Briers who kicked a field goal, putting the final score at 25 - 16.