2008–09 Birmingham City F.C. season, Pre-season
On 9 July, Kevin Phillips signed a two-year contract with the club. Phillips had scored 24 goals for West Bromwich Albion the previous season, helping his club to promotion to the Premier League, but turned down their offer of a one-year deal in favour of a two-year contract in the Championship. Forward Marcus Bent joined from Charlton Athletic for a fee reportedly in excess of £1 million; he was on the verge of signing for Cardiff City, but changed his mind at the last minute. Birmingham also made two loan signings.


2008–09 Birmingham City F.C. season, Pre-season
AZ Alkmaar's Netherlands under-21 international midfielder Kemy Agustien joined for the season, and Ghana senior international and former Arsenal winger Quincy Owusu-Abeyie signed from Spartak Moscow, initially until January 2009. In each case there was a possibility of making the loan permanent. Attempts to sign Celtic defender Bobo Baldé fell through because of the player's wage demands, and after Derby County midfielder Stephen Pearson's medical revealed a groin problem, he refused Birmingham's offer of a loan deal instead.


2008–09 Birmingham City F.C. season, Pre-season
On the field, a different eleven played each half of a 2–2 draw with Hereford United in a behind-closed-doors training match, before Birmingham embarked on a three-match tour of Austria. They began with a 7–0 defeat of local team Kirchberg, with two goals each from Gary McSheffrey and Phillips and one from Liam Ridgewell, Garry O'Connor, and David Murphy, who converted a corner taken by the 16-year-old Jordon Mutch. O'Connor, McSheffrey and Mehdi Nafti scored as a Birmingham team including trialists Zola Matumona and Yamoudou Camara beat Czech side Viktoria Plzeň 3–1 in the second tour match. The 16-year-old Jordon Mutch played the full 90 minutes and was involved in the build-up to the first two goals. O'Connor's goalscoring form continued, and James McFadden's alert reaction to a goalkeeping error gave Birmingham a third win out of three against Nürnberg, newly relegated from the Bundesliga.


2008–09 Birmingham City F.C. season, Pre-season
Back in England, first-half goals from Cameron Jerome and Martin Taylor saw off the challenge of the lengthy trip to League Two side Gillingham with the aid of Maik Taylor's goalkeeping, and the next day, yet another O'Connor goal gave the other half of Birmingham's squad a 1–0 win at Forest Green Rovers of the Conference. A late Kevin Phillips goal secured a 3–2 win at Leicester City, before the only pre-season game at St Andrew's, against Fulham, was the only one that Birmingham failed to win. After the kickoff was delayed because of crowd congestion, Simon Davies gave the visitors a first-half lead, equalised by Sebastian Larsson after 77 minutes. A hamstring injury sustained by Radhi Jaïdi proved less serious than first appeared.


2008–09 Birmingham City F.C. season, The Championship, August–September
The new season opened on a wet and windy 9 August with the visit of Sheffield United. The game was heading for a goalless draw when substitute Kevin Phillips controlled O'Connor's headed pass, turned and scored into the bottom corner of the net in the third minute of stoppage time. It was Birmingham's first shot on target. Phillips repeated his late winner in less dramatic fashion away at former club Southampton.


2008–09 Birmingham City F.C. season, The Championship, August–September
The home side took the lead just before the interval after defensive midfielder Nafti had gone off with a torn hamstring, but O'Connor equalised soon after the break, then, within a minute of coming off the bench, Phillips was first to react to Bent's header rebounding from the crossbar. O'Connor and Phillips – this time starting the game – gave Birmingham their third win in as many games, at home to Barnsley. The unbeaten start continued with a 1–1 draw at Norwich City. Larsson took the lead against the run of play – centre-half Martin Taylor was the pick of Birmingham's players in the first half – but Darel Russell equalised just after half-time, and both McSheffrey and Phillips missed late chances to steal all three points.


2008–09 Birmingham City F.C. season, The Championship, August–September
When the league resumed after the international break, Artur Krysiak was on the bench while regular reserve goalkeeper Colin Doyle recovered from a knee operation. Nafti was sent off after 24 minutes for a two-footed lunge on James Coppinger, and at half-time, McLeish replaced Phillips with Marcus Bent to play as a lone striker; 35 seconds later, Birmingham had the lead, after Liam Ridgewell's long free kick was headed on by Bent and Cameron Jerome volleyed past the goalkeeper. Maik Taylor produced a fine save near the end to turn Darren Byfield's powerful 30-yard (27 m) shot onto the post. At half-time, a clock was unveiled in memory of Birmingham and England full-back Jeff Hall, who died of polio in 1959 aged just 29, and whose death helped to kick-start widespread public acceptance in Britain of the need for vaccination. Hall's teammates Gil Merrick and Alex Govan performed the unveiling.


2008–09 Birmingham City F.C. season, The Championship, August–September
A Louis Carey own goal and Jerome's second goal in four days gave Birmingham another three points at Bristol City, but their unbeaten start to the Championship campaign finally ended on 20 September at home to Blackpool. After Gary Taylor-Fletcher's goal, Birmingham threw everyone forward but without success. Normal service resumed at Cardiff City, where first league goals of the season for James McFadden and Quincy Owusu-Abeyie secured the win, and Quincy's second league goal was nearly enough at Derby County, but Steve Davies tied the scores in the 87th minute.


2008–09 Birmingham City F.C. season, The Championship, August–September
McLeish had said he hoped to bring in loan signings, but would not bring in players "just to make up the numbers". He was unwilling to take trialist Nigel Quashie on loan until the player had proved his fitness, and although an agreement had been made with Tottenham Hotspur to take Kevin-Prince Boateng on loan, McLeish was unable to meet the player face-to-face to assess his interest in joining the club.


2008–09 Birmingham City F.C. season, The Championship, October–November
In stoppage time of a first half described in the Sunday People as "marginally more exciting than root-canal dental treatment", at home to Queens Park Rangers, Phillips tapped in an O'Connor cutback for a win that took Birmingham top of the table. Phillips made it clear afterwards that he wanted to be in the starting eleven: "I want to start games. I'm disappointed I haven't started as many as I wanted. All I can do is score and make it as hard as possible for him [McLeish] to leave me out."


2008–09 Birmingham City F.C. season, The Championship, October–November
After the international break, Birmingham had much the worse of the visit to Burnley, but they managed to draw when McFadden's shot was parried to Jerome who scored from close range. Martin Taylor replaced Jaïdi at centre-back because of a thigh injury sustained on international duty, and Murphy injured a knee during the match, while both Damien Johnson and Kelly returned to training, and Quashie joined on loan for a month.


2008–09 Birmingham City F.C. season, The Championship, October–November
Franck Queudrue made his first start of the season at home to Crystal Palace. After twice hitting the woodwork, O'Connor scored the game's only goal when Julián Speroni parried Phillips' 94th-minute cross to his feet. In the midweek match, at home to Sheffield Wednesday, O'Connor scored twice and Wednesday's Etienne Esajas once in a four-minute spell before Phillips made the final score 3–1 from Queudrue's "inch-perfect" through ball.


2008–09 Birmingham City F.C. season, The Championship, October–November
O'Connor was injured in the warm-up, and Stuart Parnaby went off after 10 minutes of the match against Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road, giving teenage right-back Jared Wilson what would be his only competitive first-team appearance for Birmingham. Mikele Leigertwood was sent off in the first half, but despite the numerical disadvantage, Samuel Di Carmine's 25-yard (23 m) shot in the 54th minute decided the match in QPR's favour – Birmingham's first away defeat in the league – after Phillips' stoppage-time "equaliser" was disallowed for offside. By the end of the match, the rain had turned to heavy wet snow.


2008–09 Birmingham City F.C. season, The Championship, October–November
Former Birmingham record signing Clinton Morrison gave Coventry City a 1–0 win at St Andrew's. Again, a late equaliser was denied when the assistant referee ruled that Keiren Westwood saved from Queudrue before the ball crossed the line. Martin Taylor replaced Queudrue in defence and loanee Nicky Hunt kept his place at right back as James McFadden's goal earned Birmingham a point at Nottingham Forest. Queudrue returned from illness to score the winning goal at home to Charlton Athletic; Quashie was sent off for two yellow cards.


2008–09 Birmingham City F.C. season, The Championship, October–November
Second-half substitute Phillips scored twice at Swansea City to give Birmingham consecutive 3–2 wins, and, restored to the starting eleven in place of Quincy, scored again as Birmingham beat Ipswich Town. In an end-to-end match at league leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers in foggy conditions, McFadden had a goal disallowed for offside, the ball deflected off Ridgewell's shoulder against the post with Taylor beaten, Bent's lob was cleared off the line, and the left-footed midfielder Mehdi Nafti replaced the injured Hunt at right back, all before half-time. In the second half, goals from Jerome – only three minutes after coming on – and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and some last-ditch defending meant the points were shared.


2008–09 Birmingham City F.C. season, The Championship, December
According to the Guardian's reporter, "the early defending was so slack as to suggest salaries should be chopped rather than capped", as Birmingham led Watford 2–1 after 18 minutes. The visitors began the second half well—first Jaïdi headed clear from under the crossbar, then Leigh Bromby struck the bar with Taylor beaten—and in the last few minutes of the match Jerome scored Birmingham's third, Ross Jenkins's first league goal made the score 2–3, and the three points were confirmed only when the referee signalled time moments before Jaïdi's apparent handball in the penalty area. Lee Carsley's first goal for the club secured a win under Plymouth Argyle's dim floodlights, before an attacking game at Preston North End remained goalless until stoppage time, when Ridgewell failed to deal with a cross and Jon Parkin shot home.


2008–09 Birmingham City F.C. season, The Championship, December
Apart from "a moment of individual brilliance" as Phillips "nipped in to steal the loose ball and after nutmegging Ivar Ingimarsson advanced unchallenged to the edge of the area and lashed in a stinging low drive", Reading were in complete control as they replaced Birmingham in second place in the table with a 3–1 win at St Andrew's. At Ipswich Town on Boxing Day, McFadden converted Birmingham's first penalty of the season, awarded when Kemy Agustien's cross was handled, and Agustien himself came close to extending the lead with a powerful shot. In the last match of 2008, David Murphy was sent off for two yellow cards as Swansea City earned a goalless draw at St Andrew's.


2008–09 Birmingham City F.C. season, The Championship, April–May
6 April – The teams in the Championship had a 2-week break because of the World Cup Qualifiers that were to be played. On the return, Blues were to play Wolverhampton Wanderers in a 1st v 2nd place top-of-the-table game. After having Lee Carsley sent off in the 37th minute for a late tackle on Chris Iwelumo that saw him stretchered off, Blues went on to score through Cameron Jerome's third goal in as many games on the stroke of half time.


2008–09 Birmingham City F.C. season, The Championship, April–May
Striker Garry O'Connor came on to replace him and scored in the 69th minute to send Blues 2–0 up, and just two points behind Wolves in the Championship table and to distance themselves from 3rd place. It was the biggest attendance of the season at 25,935 and was also shown live on Sky Sports.


2008–09 Birmingham City F.C. season, The Championship, April–May
9 April – Defender Ulises de la Cruz leaves Birmingham City to return to Ecuador after decided not to extend his contract. He made one appearance for Birmingham, coming off the bench against Doncaster Rovers.


2008–09 Birmingham City F.C. season, The Championship, April–May
13 April – Birmingham were held 1–1 at home to Plymouth but were forced to play the majority of the game with ten men after Maik Taylor was sent off. It kept them unbeaten in eight games, winning four of them. Manager Alex McLeish said he will be appealing to the FA about the red card as it was wrongly given.


2008–09 Birmingham City F.C. season, The Championship, April–May
14 April – Liam Ridgewell had an operation on his broken left leg that went successfully. He was injured in the first half in the home game against Plymouth and was stretchered off.


2008–09 Birmingham City F.C. season, FA Cup
As do all Premier League teams, Birmingham entered the FA Cup at the third round, in which they were drawn at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers. The tie was postponed from the scheduled date because of a frozen pitch, which provoked the club into a decision to install undersoil heating. Wolves took a deserved first-half lead, but their second, soon after the interval, was courtesy of referee Howard Webb inadvertently diverted Jaïdi's pass to Wolves' Andy Keogh, who broke forward and Sam Vokes scored. Webb refused a penalty appeal for Richard Stearman's apparent foul on Marcus Bent, and Jerome struck the crossbar with a powerful shot from distance.


2008–09 Birmingham City F.C. season, Football League Cup
Birmingham were drawn to play League Two club Wycombe Wanderers at Adams Park in the first round of the League Cup. They won comfortably, with goals from Mehdi Nafti – his first for the club – Sebastian Larsson, Cameron Jerome and debutant Quincy Owusu-Abeyie. They were eliminated by fellow Championship club Southampton at St Mary's by two goals to nil. Midfielder Jordon Mutch made his debut as a half-time replacement for Gary McSheffrey to become, at 16 years 268 days, Birmingham's second-youngest debutant of all time, after Trevor Francis.


2008–09 Blackburn Rovers F.C. season
The 2008–09 season was Blackburn Rovers' 121st season as a professional club.


2008–09 Blackburn Rovers F.C. season
The close season saw the departure of manager Mark Hughes to Manchester City. He was replaced by Paul Ince, although after a poor start to the campaign, Ince was sacked and succeeded by Sam Allardyce.


2008–09 Blackburn Rovers F.C. season, First-team squad
This squad consists of all players issued with a squad number.


2008–09 Blackpool F.C. season
The 2008–09 season was Blackpool F.C. 's 101st season (98th consecutive) in the Football League. It was also their second consecutive season in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They finished sixteenth.


2008–09 Blackpool F.C. season
D. J. Campbell, on loan from Leicester City, was the club's top scorer, with nine goals overall.


2008–09 Blackpool F.C. season
Simon Grayson resigned as manager on 23 December, to become the new manager of Leeds United. His assistant, Tony Parkes, took over as caretaker manager (his seventh such appointment), until the end of the season.


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


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


2008–09 Bobsleigh World Cup
The 2008–09 Bobsleigh World Cup was a multi race tournament over a season for bobsleigh. The season started on 24 November 2008 in Winterberg and ended on 14 February 2009 in Park City, Utah. The World Cup was organised by the FIBT who also run world cups and championships in skeleton.


2008–09 Bobsleigh World Cup, Calendar, Schedule update
On the 14 November 2008, on FIBT website it was announced that the competition at the bobsleigh track in Cortina d'Ampezzo was cancelled to technical issues and the competition for 5–11 January 2009 was moved to the Königssee track in Germany.


2008–09 Bolton Wanderers F.C. season
The 2008–09 season was Bolton Wanderers 10th season in the Premier League, and their eighth consecutive season in the top division of English football and covers the period from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009. As they failed to win the 2008–09 Premier League title it was the 70th time that they have competed at the top level without winning the title, the most of any club.


2008–09 Bolton Wanderers F.C. season
The team kit for the 2008–09 season was produced by Reebok who were also the shirt sponsor. Unlike previous seasons, the new kit did not debut in the final home game of the 07–08 season. The new home kit is predominantly white with a blue upper third going over the shoulders. The new away kit is predominantly yellow with the same style over the shoulders, this time green. Due to no other club playing in a kit similar to the away design, no third choice kit was needed.


2008–09 Bolton Wanderers F.C. season, Pre-season
Bolton signed Fabrice Muamba from relegated Birmingham City for £5m and broke the club transfer fee record to sign Johan Elmander from Toulouse FC for £8.2m in a deal which saw Daniel Braaten move the other way as a makeweight. Riga Mustapha and Danny Shittu were also signed for undisclosed figures. Both Iván Campo and Stelios Giannakopoulos did not have their contracts renewed, leading Campo to write a public letter to Bolton fans on a website, expressing his regret at not being able to say goodbye to them. He would later join Ipswich Town whilst Stelios joined Hull City. Andranik Teymourian also left on a free, joining Fulham, Abdoulaye Méïté joined recently promoted West Bromwich Albion for £2m and El Hadji Diouf made good his promise that he would leave the club by joining Sunderland for £2.6m.


2008–09 Bolton Wanderers F.C. season, Pre-season
Bolton kicked off their pre-season programme by drawing 0–0 at local rivals Rochdale. Their next pre-season friendly, away to Tranmere Rovers was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. A convincing 5–0 defeat of Doncaster Rovers by a mostly first team squad was followed the next day by a mostly reserve squad beating local team Chorley 2–0. Pre -season was completed by a mini-tour of Greece, drawing 1–1 against previous UEFA Cup opponents Aris Thessaloniki before losing to AEK Athens 1–0.


2008–09 Bolton Wanderers F.C. season, Premier League
Bolton got off to a winning start in the league opener at the Reebok Stadium against newly promoted Stoke City on 16 August, Gretar Steinsson and Kevin Davies scoring before Johan Elmander scored a debut goal in a 3–1 victory.


2008–09 Bolton Wanderers F.C. season, Premier League
A week later Bolton travelled to Newcastle United but left with a 1–0 defeat. This was followed four days later by a home 2–1 Carling Cup defeat to League One side Northampton Town, a result not helped by the sending off of Gary Cahill. Bolton's first goalless draw of the season followed when West Bromwich Albion visited The Reebok.


2008–09 Bolton Wanderers F.C. season, Premier League
After an international break, Bolton returned to action by facing Fulham at Craven Cottage but performed poorly in another 2–1 defeat, Kevin Davies scoring late on. Davies scored again a week later when Arsenal visited the Reebok Stadium but it was not enough in a 3–1 defeat. A third consecutive defeat came at Premier League champions Manchester United, a converted penalty, given in controversial circumstances, one of the goals in a 2–0 defeat.


2008–09 Bolton Wanderers F.C. season, Premier League
Bolton's second victory of the season came in the live game at West Ham on 4 October, Gary Cahill and a thirty five-yard free kick from Matthew Taylor adding to Kevin Davies' fourth goal of the season. A week later the local derby against Blackburn brought Bolton their second goalless draw.


2008–09 Bolton Wanderers F.C. season, Premier League
The first reported murmurings of discontent amongst the fans against the manager followed a 2–0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur in Harry Redknapp's first game in charge of the home team on 26 October. and the team were jeered off after a last minute goal consigned them to another defeat on 29 October, 1–0 at home to Everton.


2008–09 Bolton Wanderers F.C. season, Premier League
The pressure was eased somewhat with a 2–0 derby victory over Manchester City on 2 November, a Richard Dunne own-goal adding to Ricardo Gardner's first league goal in six years. The match marked Jussi Jääskeläinen's 400th game for the club. A second successive win followed the week after, 1–0 away at Hull City and although a 2–0 followed at home to Liverpool, two more victories away at Middlesbrough and Sunderland brought the manager his first manager of the month award in the Premier League.


2008–09 Bolton Wanderers F.C. season, Premier League
Winning the award seemed to have a detrimental effect on the team as two successive defeats followed to high flying Chelsea and Aston Villa. The club's only victory of the month, 2–1 at home to Portsmouth was followed by two more defeats, a Boxing Day loss away to Liverpool and two days later at home to local rivals Wigan Athletic.


2008–09 Bolton Wanderers F.C. season, Premier League
The New Year commenced with an early FA Cup defeat away to Sunderland. A week later Bolton held out for 84 minutes before losing 1–0 away at Arsenal. Another conceded late goal at home to Manchester United, this time in the 90th minute, made it four losses in a row but the run halted in the next game, a 2–2 draw away at Blackburn Rovers, now managed by former Bolton manager Sam Allardyce, although Bolton had been two goals up with half an hour left. A similar fate almost befell the team in the next home game against Tottenham Hotspur, Darren Bent scoring twice in two minutes to cancel out early goals from Sébastien Puygrenier and Kevin Davies. However, a late Davies goal gave Bolton their first win in more than a month.


2008–09 Bolton Wanderers F.C. season, Premier League
The January transfer window saw three new players arrive and one player leave. Kevin Nolan, the team captain for three years, was sold to Newcastle United for £4,000,000. Kevin Davies replaced him as captain. Mark Davies arrived from Wolves for £1,200,000 and two loan signings, Puygrenier and Ariza Makukula arrived from Zenit St. Petersburg and Benfica respectively.


2008–09 Bolton Wanderers F.C. season, Premier League
Due to international fixtures and the club's early departure from the FA Cup, only two games were played in February, a 3–0 away defeat to Everton and a 2–1 victory over West Ham, Bolton completing a double over the London side. Kevin Davies' goal in this game gave him his best ever goal haul for the season in league games in the top flight. He would go on to score twice more and finished the season as the club's leading marksman.


2008–09 Bolton Wanderers F.C. season, Premier League
March saw four points collected, through a 1–0 victory over Newcastle United and a 1–1 draw at West Bromwich. These results bookended two successive defeats, a 2–0 away defeat to Stoke City and a 3–1 reverse to Fulham.


2008–09 Bolton Wanderers F.C. season, Premier League
In April, a 4–1 win over Middlesbrough at the Reebok Stadium at the very beginning of the month would prove to be Bolton's last victory of the season. The week after, a visit to Chelsea saw Bolton recover from four goals down to almost snatch a draw, an injury time shot by Gary Cahill being cleared off the Chelsea line. A 1–0 result at Portsmouth was then followed by four successive draws stretching into May, Aston Villa, Sunderland and Hull City taking points at the Reebok whilst a local derby at Wigan Athletic. The season finished with a 1–0 derby defeat at Manchester City


2008–09 Borussia Dortmund season
During the 2008–09 German football season, Borussia Dortmund competed in the Bundesliga.


2008–09 Borussia Dortmund season, Season summary
In Jürgen Klopp's first season in charge of Dortmund, they rose to 6th in the final table, but were 2 points shy of qualifying for the revamped UEFA Europa League. Notably, they were one of only two teams to go the league season unbeaten at home (the other being champions Wolfsburg).


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


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


2008–09 Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Cup
2008–09 Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Cup was the fourteenth season of the Bosnia and Herzegovina's annual football cup, and a ninth season of the unified competition. The competition started on September 24, 2008 with the First Round and got concluded on May 28, 2009 with the Final.


2008–09 Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Cup, First round
Thirty-two teams entered in the First Round. The draw was held on September 11 while the matches were played on September 24, 2008.


2008–09 Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Cup, Second round
The draw for the Second Round was conducted on September 23, 2008. The matches were played on October 1 (first legs) and October 8, 2008 (second legs).


2008–09 Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Cup, Quarterfinals
The draw for the Quarterfinals was conducted on October 21, 2008. The matches were played on October 29 (first legs) and November 12, 2008 (second legs).


2008–09 Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Cup, Semifinals
The matches were played on March 25 (first legs) and April 15, 2009 (second legs).


2008–09 Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Cup, Final, Second leg
Slavija 2–2 Sloboda on aggregate. Slavija won 4–3 on penalties.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season
The 2008–09 NHL season Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 85th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). Their regular season began on the road on October 9, 2008, in Denver versus the Colorado Avalanche and concluded on April 12, 2009, against the New York Islanders. The Bruins looked to improve upon the accomplishments of the 2007–08 season, which included Boston's return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since the 2003–04 season.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season
Marc Savard again led the team in scoring for the regular season, his 88 points good for ninth in the league. Tim Thomas led all goaltenders in both save percentage and goals against at season's end, while sophomore sensation David Krejci led the league in plus-minus, narrowly beating out rookie teammate Blake Wheeler.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season
The Bruins claimed their first division title since 2004 and clinched top seed in the East for the first time since 2002.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Season events
"I’m not big on going out there and making those big declarations, or comments, but I think we can go as far as we believe we can go."


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Season events
Arguably the two biggest events to occur during the Bruins' off-season were the acquisition of Montreal Canadiens forward Michael Ryder, a noted 30-goal scorer, and Blake Wheeler, a promising 21-year-old from the University of Minnesota. Twelve-year veteran Stephane Yelle was another strong addition to the roster. Added to a line-up featuring young stars such as Phil Kessel and Milan Lucic, the return of Patrice Bergeron, the improved goaltending of veteran Tim Thomas and coming off the back of an impressive post-season, expectations were high for the team.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Season events, Preseason
The Bruins pre-season saw the team compete in eight games over a two-week period. The team played two games each against the Montreal Canadiens, the New York Islanders, the Washington Capitals and the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Detroit Red Wings. Boston maintained a 3–4–1 record through the pre-season with victories against the Canadiens, Capitals and Red Wings, including an impressive 8–3 victory over arch-rivals Montreal in their first match-up.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Season events, October
On October 9, the Bruins opened their regular season against the Colorado Avalanche, at the Pepsi Center. The Bruins notched a 5–4 victory and celebrated the return of centre Patrice Bergeron, playing his first NHL game in almost a year, while Blake Wheeler scored his first NHL goal on debut. The team would go on to lose its next two games, including a shootout loss to their rivals, the Montreal Canadiens.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Season events, October
The Bruins home opener took place on October 20, with the team suffering another shootout defeat, this time to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Boston secured its first home victory of the season on October 25, against the Atlanta Thrashers in what proved to be a memorable game, with the teams switching ends at the first stoppage in play after the 10-minute mark of the period due to incorrect markings on the West End (visitors bench side) of the TD Banknorth Garden ice. Winger Milan Lucic recorded his first NHL hat trick in the game, also adding an assist in the 5–4 victory.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Season events, October
On October 27, in Edmonton in overtime and October 28 in Vancouver, Tim Thomas became the first Boston goaltender with consecutive shutouts since April 3–5, 1999 (Byron Dafoe), and only the second goaltender in NHL history to record consecutive 1–0 shutouts on the road (Florida's Craig Anderson, March 2–4, 2008).


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Season events, October
The Bruins ended October with a loss to the Calgary Flames on the road, and finished the month with a 5–3–3 record.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Season events, November–December
The Bruins opened the month of November with a 5–1 victory at home, in what proved to be a particularly physical match against the Dallas Stars. The game would prove a turning point for the team, with many players citing it as the catalyst that would see the team go on to win their next 12 games at home. One of those wins was a convincing 6–1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on November 13. This would spark a winning streak against the Canadiens similar to that of the streak that Montreal had against the Bruins in the previous season.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Season events, November–December
On November 6, in a 5–2 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Blake Wheeler recorded his first NHL hat trick, while Captain Zdeno Chara celebrated his 700th NHL game. In the return leg, on November 17, Matt Hunwick scored his first NHL goal as the Bruins once again defeated the Maple Leafs. Two days later, Marc Savard would secure his 600th NHL point with a goal and three assists in the Bruins' 7–4 win against the Buffalo Sabres. On December 18, centre David Krejci recorded his first NHL hat trick in an 8–5 win against Toronto. Phil Kessel also scored two goals in the match, his second bringing up his 100th career point.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Season events, November–December
Boston finished the month of November with an 11–1–1 record, including an 8–0–0 record at home. They would carry that form through the month of December, finishing with a remarkable 12–1–0 record and remaining undefeated at TD Garden (4–0–0). Phil Kessel maintained an 18-game point streak from November 13 to December 21, the longest such streak overall for the season and equalling Ed Olczyk's record for the longest point streak by an American-born player in NHL history. The biggest concern during this period was the loss of forward Patrice Bergeron, the young centre sustaining his second concussion in 14 months, after a heavy collision with the Carolina Hurricanes' Dennis Seidenberg. Bergeron would go on to miss the next 15 games.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Season events, January
Boston would begin 2009 in the same manner with which they ended 2008 – with a victory over the defending Eastern Conference champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins. The victory, their 10th in a row and 14th-straight at home, secured the team's longest streak since March 9–28, 1973, and catapulted the Bruins to the top spot in the NHL with 62 points, one more than the San Jose Sharks.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Season events, January
From January 12 to 29, forward Phil Kessel was sidelined with mononucleosis. On January 13, Marco Sturm was lost for the season after undergoing surgery for an injury incurred on December 18 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. On January 27, Patrice Bergeron would make his second return from concussion in as many seasons, tallying an assist in the Bruins 3–2 overtime victory against the Washington Capitals. On January 31, Tuukka Rask, recalled from the Providence Bruins, played his first game with the Bruins for the season and recorded his first NHL shutout, stopping all 35 shots in a 1–0 victory against the New York Rangers.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Season events, January, All-Star weekend
Three Bruins were assigned to the Eastern Conference for the 57th National Hockey League All-Star Game, with Zdeno Chara, Marc Savard and Tim Thomas all representing Boston as reserves. Coach Claude Julien was also named as head coach ahead of Montreal counterpart, Guy Carbonneau.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Season events, January, All-Star weekend
Over the course of the weekend, Blake Wheeler was named MVP of the YoungStars game with a four-goal performance, Zdeno Chara recorded the hardest ever shot (105.4 mph) in the SuperSkills Competition, while Chara, Savard and Thomas celebrated victory in the All-Star Game, with Savard tallying three assists while Thomas was awarded the win for his efforts in both the overtime and shootout periods.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Season events, March
On March 4, the Bruins acquired defenseman Steve Montador from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for forward Petteri Nokelainen. Later that day, the club announced the acquisition of forward Mark Recchi and a second round draft pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for defenseman Matt Lashoff and forward Martins Karsums. Three days later, on March 7, Recchi scored a pair of goals in his second outing for the Bruins, against the Chicago Blackhawks.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Season events, March
The Bruins secured their second successive playoff berth on March 21, when the Florida Panthers lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The following night, they secured the Northeast Division title with a 4–1 victory against Eastern rivals the New Jersey Devils.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Season events, April
On April 2, against the Ottawa Senators, Boston recorded their 50th win for the season, the eighth time in franchise history and first since 1992–93 that the mark had been achieved. Prior to the match, David Krejci was the recipient of NESN's Seventh Player Award, the annual award presented to the Bruin who went above and beyond the call of duty and exceed the expectations of Bruins fans during the season.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Standings, Conference standings
bold – qualified for playoffs, y – division winner, z – placed first in conference (and division)


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Standings, Conference standings
AT – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Schedule and results, Regular season
The Bruins allowed only 190 goals (excluding 6 shootout goals), the fewest among all 30 teams.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Schedule and results, Regular season
Legend:   Win (2 points)  Loss (0 points)  Overtime/Shootout Loss (1 point)


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Stanley Cup playoffs
The Bruins clinched a playoff spot for the second consecutive season, securing top seed in the Eastern Conference in the process and gaining home-ice advantage through the first three rounds.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Stanley Cup playoffs, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
Boston played the eighth-seeded Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the playoffs. Boston had previously lost to Montreal in three consecutive playoff appearances, and had not won a playoff series overall in the previous ten seasons.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Stanley Cup playoffs, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
The Bruins won the first game of the series 4–2, with goals from Phil Kessel, David Krejci and a powerplay winner from Zdeno Chara. In Game 2, Marc Savard had two goals and an assist, while Chuck Kobasew, Shane Hnidy – named as a replacement for the injured Matt Hunwick – and Michael Ryder also scored as the Bruins won 5–1. Milan Lucic was suspended for Game 3 after receiving a match penalty in the closing stages of game two for striking Montreal's Maxim Lapierre in the head with his stick.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Stanley Cup playoffs, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
Boston then travelled to Montreal for Game 3, where they secured another 4–2 victory with goals by Kessel, Ryder, Kobasew and Shawn Thornton. They completed the sweep by winning Game 4, Michael Ryder posting two goals and an assist in the 4–1 victory as the Bruins advanced to the semi-finals for the first time since the 1998–99 season. This marked only the third time that Boston had swept Montreal in the playoffs in history, and the first time since 1992. The only time Boston swept Montreal in the playoffs and closed out the series in Montreal was in 1929, and that season, Boston went on to win the Stanley Cup.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Stanley Cup playoffs, Eastern Conference Semifinals
Boston faced the Carolina Hurricanes, a franchise which carried the legacy of Boston's longtime rival the Hartford Whalers. Prior to the Bruins' first-round sweep of Montreal, their most recent playoff series victory had been against Carolina in April 1999.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Stanley Cup playoffs, Eastern Conference Semifinals
The Bruins extended their 5-game winning streak with a 4–1 victory in Game 1, but Carolina stormed back on the strength of an aggressive forecheck and excellent goaltending from Cam Ward. Ward's shutout in Game 2, and Jussi Jokinen's game-winning goals in the next two matches, pushed the Bruins to the brink of elimination. Boston recovered for consecutive wins to push the series to a pivotal seventh game, but the Hurricanes prevailed in overtime of the final contest.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Stanley Cup playoffs, Eastern Conference Semifinals
The series-winning goal was scored by Scott Walker, who earlier in the series had avoided punishment for an undefended punch to the face of former Hurricane Aaron Ward. Walker had been due for an automatic suspension, but that penalty was overturned by the NHL after a brief meeting in which he claimed to have thought Ward was prepared to fight. Ward disputed that account and publicly reprimanded the NHL for failing to follow through with a full investigation. In addition, Walker's wife received a diagnosis of cervical cancer midway through the series, lending an additional element of personal drama to his performance. After the series, Walker took public responsibility for striking Ward and expressed relief that his wife's cancer was treatable.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Player statistics, Skaters
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus-minus; PIM = Penalty minutes


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Player statistics, Goaltenders
Note: GPI = Games Played In; MIN = Minutes played; GAA = Goals Against Average; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/Shootout Losses; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots Against; GA = Goals Against; SV% = Save Percentage


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Awards and records, Milestones
The Bruins' 5–1 win against the Carolina Hurricanes, on February 17, 2009, was the 200th NHL winning game coached, for current Bruins coach Claude Julien. The Bruins' 5–4 overtime win against the Montreal Canadiens, on April 9, 2009, was the 400th NHL game coached, for current Bruins coach Claude Julien.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Awards and records, Awards
On April 4, prior to the game against the New York Rangers, the team announced its award winners for the season.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Draft picks
Boston's picks at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa, Ontario.


2008–09 Boston Bruins season, Affiliates
Johnny Boychuk was selected as a starter for Team Canada in the 2009 AHL All Star Classic. Martins Karsums was selected as a reserve for the PlanetUSA team. Both players were under two-way NHL contracts and played games with Boston during the season. In the game, Karsums, named as a late starter, scored two goals and three assists.


2008–09 Boston Celtics season
The 2008–09 Boston Celtics season was the 63rd season of the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association (NBA). They started the season as the defending NBA champions, where they defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, winning their seventeenth NBA championship, as well as marking their ninth series victory over the Lakers in the NBA Finals. The Celtics started the season 27–2, which surpassed a mark set by the 1966–67 Philadelphia 76ers for the best two-loss start in NBA history. This run also included a 19-game winning streak, which improved a Celtics franchise record set in 1981–82. However, the Celtics lost seven out of the following nine games, and eventually finished with a 62–20 record. The Celtics had the fifth best team offensive rating in the NBA.


2008–09 Boston Celtics season
The team's star power forward Kevin Garnett suffered a season-ending injury in February. Without Garnett, they lost to the Orlando Magic in the Conference Semifinals in seven games, eliminating them from the playoffs. The Magic would go on to the NBA Finals, their second NBA Finals appearance, only to lose to the Los Angeles Lakers in five games.


2008–09 Boston Celtics season, Summary, NBA Draft 2008
On June 26, the Celtics selected shooting guard J. R. Giddens with the 30th and center Semih Erden with the 60th overall picks in the 2008 NBA draft, and traded cash considerations in exchange for small forward Bill Walker, who had been selected by the Washington Wizards with the 47th overall pick. Giddens had worked out with the Celtics before the draft for three days, and received praises from head coach Doc Rivers, who thought he could fight for minutes on the team right away.


2008–09 Boston Celtics season, Summary, NBA Draft 2008
He was already familiar with future teammates Leon Powe and Kendrick Perkins, who were his teammates at the 2003 McDonald's High School All-American Game. Walker was considered a lottery pick, but suffered the third knee injury in his career during a workout at the Golden State Warriors facility on June 15. However, he remained in the draft despite the injury, and was expected to have minor surgery in July that would keep him out for three to four weeks. Erden was not expected to join the roster this season, and was seen by general manager Danny Ainge as their first-round pick in 2009.


2008–09 Boston Celtics season, Summary, Free agency
The Celtics headed into the off-season with several free agents and tried to gather a group to repeat as the NBA Champions, with a key decision on unrestricted free agent James Posey, who, in a widely anticipated move, opted out of the second and final year of his contract with the Celtics on June 30, but stated that he wanted to return to the Celtics on a new contract.


2008–09 Boston Celtics season, Summary, Free agency
P.J. Brown, who made key contributions during the 2008 NBA Playoffs, was leaning towards retirement, and the status of restricted free agent Tony Allen remained uncertain after the first-round selection of J. R. Giddens, who was seen as a possible replacement. Later it was revealed that the Celtics did not extend a qualifying offer to Allen, making him an unrestricted free agent. The Celtics also hoped to keep unrestricted free agent Eddie House, and decisions were to be made on unrestricted free agents Sam Cassell and Scot Pollard.


2008–09 Boston Celtics season, Summary, Free agency
The Celtics were interested in small forward Corey Maggette as a replacement for James Posey, but Maggette signed with the Golden State Warriors on a much higher contract than the Celtics were able to offer, which added to the urgency to re-sign Posey. On July 11, the Celtics addressed their need for a backup center by signing Patrick O'Bryant to a 2-year, $3 million contract, after he had an impressive workout with the team a week earlier, and consequently ruled out the return of Scot Pollard and P.J. Brown.


2008–09 Boston Celtics season, Summary, Free agency
Eventually, James Posey signed with the New Orleans Hornets on July 16, since the Celtics were reluctant to offer him more than a three-year deal at the mid-level exception. Compensating for the loss of Posey, the Celtics re-signed Tony Allen to a 2-year, $5 million contract, and were also able to re-sign Eddie House to a 2-year, $5.6 million contract, using the mid-level exception only on House.


2008–09 Boston Celtics season, Summary, Free agency
On August 22, the Celtics signed small forward Darius Miles, who was forced to sit out the previous two seasons due to microfracture surgery on his right knee and thought to have a career-ending injury, to a non-guaranteed contract, and expected him to fight for a roster spot at training camp. He worked out twice with the team and impressed with his health and attitude, but would sit out the first ten games of the regular season for violating the league's substance abuse policy if he made the roster.


2008–09 Boston Celtics season, Summary, Free agency
This signing ultimately put the roster up to the league maximum of 15 players, of which 14 players had fully guaranteed contracts. On September 29, the first day of training camp, Sam Cassell re-signed with the team, which put the roster one player over the maximum. On October 20, Miles was waived, a move which finalized the roster for the start of the season. On February 27, Stephon Marbury signed with the Celtics. In the following season he was offered a one year contract for the veteran's minimum for $1.3 million but declined the contract.


2008–09 Boston College Eagles men's basketball team
The 2008–09 Boston College Eagles men's basketball team represented Boston College in the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. In 2007–08, they went 14–17 (4–12 ACC). The Eagles were led by twelfth-year head coach Al Skinner, played their games at the Conte Forum, and were members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.


2008–09 Boston College Eagles men's ice hockey season
The 2008-2009 Boston College Eagles men's ice hockey team represented Boston College in the 2008-2009 college hockey season. The team was coached by Jerry York, '67, his fifteenth season behind the bench at Boston College. The Eagles played their home games at Kelley Rink on the campus of Boston College, and competed in Hockey East.


2008–09 Boston College Eagles men's ice hockey season
Boston College entered the season as defending National Champions after defeating Notre Dame in the 2008 NCAA Tournament Championship game for the program's third National Championship. The Eagles raised their 2008 title banner to the rafters of Kelley Rink in their home opener against Wisconsin on October 10, 2008.


2008–09 Boston College Eagles men's ice hockey season
The 2008-09 season was a generally poor one for the Eagles, as the team did not make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002, and failed to defend both their Hockey East Tournament and Beanpot titles from the previous year.


2008–09 Boston College Eagles men's ice hockey season
Senior Brock Bradford captained the 2008-09 team after missing most of the 2007-08 season with an arm injury.


2008–09 Boston College Eagles men's ice hockey season, Recruiting
Boston College added nine freshmen for the 2008-2009 season, including three defensemen, five forwards, and one goalie.


2008–09 Boston College Eagles men's ice hockey season, Schedule, 2008–2009 regular season
All times Eastern* = Hockey East Conference PlayBeanpot = 57th Annual Beanpot Tournament in Boston


2008–09 Botola
The 2008–09 season of the Botola, the first division of Moroccan football.


2008–09 Bowling Green Falcons men's basketball team
The 2008–09 Bowling Green Falcons men's basketball team was the 93rd collegiate basketball team fielded by Bowling Green State University and played their home games at Anderson Arena on the BGSU campus. The team looked to improve on their record after finishing 13–17 (7–9 MAC) placing 5th in the East Division (9th overall) and falling to rival Toledo in the MAC Tournament first round in coach Louis Orr's first season as head coach.


2008–09 Bowling Green Falcons men's ice hockey season
The 2008–09 Bowling Green Falcons men's ice hockey team represented Bowling Green State University in the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. Their regular season began on October 10, 2008, against RIT and concluded on February 28, 2009, against Western Michigan. Despite finishing last in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, Bowling Green advanced to the 2009 CCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament where they were eliminated two games to none by Ohio State in the opening round.


2008–09 Bowling Green Falcons men's ice hockey season, Pre-season
In May 2008, assistant coach and former Falcon player, Doug Schueller, left the team to become the head coach of the ice hockey team at Saint John's (MN), becoming the 22nd head coach in the Johnnies' history. and was replaced by another former Falcons player and graduate assistant, Dennis Williams, in July.


2008–09 Bowling Green Falcons men's ice hockey season, Pre-season
Once again in August, the hockey team lost another assistant coach, when Todd Reirden took a position as assistant coach with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League under former Bowling Green teammate Dan Bylsma and was replaced with Frank Novock who was an assistant with Wayne State University's ice hockey program before it was disbanded.


2008–09 Bowling Green Falcons men's ice hockey season, Pre-season
A month before the season, Paluch named senior defenseman Tim Maxwell and junior defenseman Kyle Page as co-captains for the upcoming season. At the CCHA media day, the Falcons were voted to finish ninth by the league's coaches with 56 points and seventh by the league's media partners with 444 points. Also at the media day, sophomore forward Jacob Cepis was named an honorable mention to the preseason all-conference team. The Falcons entered the season returning 21 letter winners, while losing six including Buffalo Sabres prospect, Derek Whitmore who scored 102 points during his four-year career with Bowling Green.


2008–09 Bowling Green Falcons men's ice hockey season, Schedule and results
° Denotes 2009 CCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament first round


2008–09 Bowling Green Falcons men's ice hockey season, Player statistics, Skaters
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes


2008–09 Bowling Green Falcons men's ice hockey season, Player statistics, Goaltenders
Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time on ice; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average; G = Goals; A = Assists; PIM = Penalty minutes


2008–09 Bradford City A.F.C. season
The 2008–09 season was the 106th season in Bradford City A.F.C. 's history, their 94th in The Football League and 96th in the league system of English football. Their 10th-place finish in 2007–08 meant it would be their second successive season in League Two.


2008–09 Bradford City A.F.C. season
This article covers a period from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009.


2008–09 Bradford City A.F.C. season, Background
Stuart McCall had been appointed Bradford City's new manager ahead of the club's 2007–08 League Two campaign. He had targeted promotion during his first season, but the club were in the bottom half of the league until after the New Year and could only finish tenth, 16 points outside the play-off spots. McCall released 13 players at the end of the season, and also lost his captain, David Wetherall, who decided to retire, and Luke Medley, who turned down a new contract in favour of a return to his home in London. McCall added four new signings: keeper Jonathan McLaughlin, midfielder Chris Brandon, Paul Arnison and defender Graeme Lee during June as he attempted to build a team to win promotion.


2008–09 Bradford City A.F.C. season, Review, Pre-season
City returned to pre-season training on 1 July 2008 with a fifth new player, after Tranmere midfielder Paul McLaren signed a two-year deal. Two weeks after pre-season training started, City played their first friendly when they lost 3–1 to Farsley Celtic, the only City goal coming from a Barry Conlon penalty. City's side included several trialists, including goalkeeper Nick Colgan, Korey Nix (brother of City midfielder Kyle) and Rory Boulding. Rory's elder brother Michael, who had also been training with City, was unable to play because of an injury.


2008–09 Bradford City A.F.C. season, Review, Pre-season
The second pre-season came three days later, when City defeated Bradford rivals Bradford Park Avenue 3–1, selecting a squad which included a number of youth team players. City's third friendly was a 2–1 defeat by another West Yorkshire non-league side, Guiseley, who featured former Bradford player David Brown on trial. City embarked on a short tour of Scotland, where they defeated Dundee 1–0 but lost 4–0 to Motherwell. During the tour, the club signed brothers Michael and Rory Boulding on free transfers. Upon their return to England, City lost their next friendly 2–1 to Burnley.


2008–09 Bradford City A.F.C. season, Review, Pre-season
Following his form in several trial games, including a string of saves against Burnley, goalkeeper Rhys Evans, who had played on loan the previous season with City, became City's latest signing on 1 August 2008. Three days later, City's next friendly resulted in a 1–0 victory against League One side Oldham Athletic. The final pre-season friendly was played behind closed doors, when City lost 2–0 to Sheffield Wednesday with a team made up of juniors and reserve players. A day before the start of the season, McCall signed defender TJ Moncur on loan from Fulham as cover at right back. The agreement gave Bradford the option to sign Moncur, who had also played seven games on loan the previous season, on a permanent contract once the loan finished on 3 January 2009.


2008–09 Bradford City A.F.C. season, Review, August
City started the season with a 2–1 victory at home to Notts County. Striker Peter Thorne, who had been Bradford's top goalscorer in the 2007–08 season and scored a hat-trick in the corresponding fixture, scored both Bradford's goals. City again lost at the first round stage of the League Cup for the third successive season, this time 4–0 to West Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield Town. Thorne, who had been rested to the substitutes' bench for the defeat at Huddersfield, returned for City's second league game when he scored both goals in a 2–0 victory at Macclesfield Town.


2008–09 Bradford City A.F.C. season, Review, August
City maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a 2–0 victory against Rochdale on 23 August 2008. It was the first time since the 2001–02 season that City had won their first three games of the season. Michael Boulding opened the scoring with his first City goal before Thorne added his fifth of the campaign. McCall stated he wanted to sign one more player before the August transfer deadline, before bringing in South African midfielder Dean Furman from his former side Rangers on loan until January. City's winning start to the league season came to an end with a defeat by Aldershot Town—the first time the two sides had met. City had taken the lead with Paul McLaren's first goal for the club, but Peter Thorne missed a penalty as City lost 3–2.


2008–09 Bradford City A.F.C. season, Review, September
City suffered a second successive defeat when they were knocked out of another cup by a rival West Yorkshire side from League One. This time it was Leeds United, who won 2–1, in the Football League Trophy in front of 20,128 fans—one of the highest crowds for the tournament. Barry Conlon scored City's goal. After two successive defeats, City returned to winning ways by defeating Port Vale 2–0 on 6 September, with goals from Bullock and Thorne.


2008–09 Bradford City A.F.C. season, Review, September
The game marked the first contest between managers Stuart McCall and Lee Sinnott since McCall was appointed City manager in May 2007, when Sinnott was also in line for the job following his form at Farsley Celtic. Thorne scored another two, as did Michael Boulding, when City added their fifth win from six league games with a 4–1 victory over Exeter City (despite being 1–0 behind at half-time) to go top of the league. City lost their unbeaten home start to the season the following week when they lost 3–1 to Bournemouth, managed by former City player Jimmy Quinn.


2008–09 Bradford City A.F.C. season, Review, September
Joe Colbeck scored City's goal, his first of the season. City suffered a second successive defeat a week later against another promotion favourite, Shrewsbury Town, 2–0. The game was marred by an injury to TJ Moncur, who collapsed after less than ten minutes after a clash of heads with Graeme Lee and had to be taken to hospital.


2008–09 Bradford City A.F.C. season, Review, October
City went a third game without victory with a 1–1 draw with Luton Town. City had been reduced to ten men when Paul Heckingbottom was sent off, but just four minutes later Barry Conlon, who had come on as a substitute only a minute earlier, gave City the lead, only for Luton to equalise seven minutes later. City recorded their first victory in four games by defeating Accrington Stanley on 11 October, despite trailing by two goals with ten minutes to go. Goals by Conlon, Michael Boulding and Thorne gave City a 3–2 victory.


2008–09 Bradford City A.F.C. season, Review, October
The roles were reversed a week later when City led Gillingham 2–0 at half-time with goals from Thorne and Colbeck; but, despite Gillingham being reduced to ten men when Mark Bentley was sent off, the game finished 2–2. Only two days later, City again fell to a late goal when they lost to Darlington 2–1, with Omar Daley scoring his first goal of the season. After recording just one victory in six matches, McCall said he wanted to bring in some loan transfers and signed Tom Clarke from Huddersfield on 23 October.


2008–09 Bradford City A.F.C. season, Review, October
He made his debut the following day as a first-half substitute against Grimsby Town after fellow defender Matthew Clarke was sent off. City were leading 1–0 at the time through an Omar Daley, and, despite being reduced to ten men, extended their advantage through former Grimsby striker Michael Boulding and a first club goal for Graeme Lee, eventually winning 3–1. Colbeck was injured during the victory over Grimsby, and so McCall signed midfielder Nicky Law, who had played ten games for City the previous season, as cover on another loan deal. The month ended with a 1–0 against fellow promotion hopefuls Bury, with Barry Conlon again coming on as substitute to score the only goal of the game.


2008–09 Bradford City A.F.C. season, Review, November
At the start of November, City extended their unbeaten run to three games, but were unable to defeat Barnet despite being ahead three times. Barry Conlon scored two of the goals in just his fourth league start of the season, with Peter Thorne scoring City's other goal in a 3–3 draw. The first round of the FA Cup saw City drawn against Milton Keynes Dons, who had won promotion to League One the previous season. However, City pulled off an upset with a 2–1 victory at stadium:mk with goals from Daley and Lee.


2008–09 Bradford City A.F.C. season, Review, November
The following week's return to league action saw City against Wycombe Wanderers, who were second in the league and had the only remaining undefeated league record in the country. A second half goal from Lewis Hunt gave Wycombe a 1–0 victory. Full back Luke O'Brien scored his first senior goal in City's next league game as City defeated Rotherham United 2–0 in their first game at the Don Valley Stadium, Rotherham's temporary home. Nicky Law's first goal of his second spell completed the scoring.


2008–09 Bradford City A.F.C. season, Review, November
A second half penalty from Conlon three days later against Chesterfield gave City back-to-back victories and their second 3–2 of the season after being 2–0 down. First half goals from Graeme Lee and Michael Boulding had started the comeback in the first half before Chesterfield were reduced to ten men when Alan Goodall was sent off for committing the foul which led to Conlon's penalty. Winger Omar Daley was injured in the game, becoming the latest midfielder to be sidelined. As a result, McCall brought into another loan transfer two days later by signing Steve Jones from Burnley for one month. Jones made his debut the following weekend as City lost 2–1 in the FA Cup second round to League One's Leyton Orient.


2008–09 Bradford City A.F.C. season, Review, December
At the start of December, Chilean striker Willy Topp was released from his contract six months early to let him find a new club. He played only two games during the 2008–09 season, both as substitute. The following day, Tom Clarke followed him out of the club, after he was recalled from his loan spell by Huddersfield caretaker manager Gerry Murphy. The first game of the month saw City extend their unbeaten run to three games with a 1–1 draw against Dagenham & Redbridge, in a game in which opposition manager John Still said they had dominated.


2008–09 Bradford City A.F.C. season, Review, December
City's unbeaten run was ended at Brentford the following week in a 2–1 defeat, with all three goals coming in the final two minutes. City's goal came from Michael Boulding, who scored for the third successive game. City failed to win for a third successive game when they drew 0–0 with Chester City. Another 0–0 draw followed as City's run without victory extended to four games in the first game of the festive period at Lincoln City. Bradford ended their run of four games without a victory by defeating Morecambe 4–0 in the final game of the season to return to the automatic promotion spots.


2008–09 Bradford City A.F.C. season, Review, January
At the start of the New Year, TJ Moncur's loan spell was cancelled and he returned to Fulham. The following day, City brought in another player on loan, with Chris O'Grady signing from Oldham Athletic for one month. City kept their fourth successive clean sheet the following day in the first game of 2009, but were again involved in a goalless draw, this time with fellow promotion-chasing side Shrewsbury Town. City's activity in the loan market continued, with Nicky Law extending his loan until the end of the season, while midfielder Luke Sharry was loaned out to Conference National side Barrow. Furman also extended his loan to the end of the season and Jones for another month.


2008–09 Bradford City A.F.C. season, Review, January
City's next scheduled game was postponed because of a frozen pitch, before they extended their unbeaten run to five games the following week with their fourth draw during that run. A second half goal from Conlon gave City a 1–1 draw with Accrington Stanley. The run was extended to three successive draws against Luton Town, although City were losing 2–0 at half-time before they recovered to 2–2. A late goal from Luton's Asa Hall looked to have given Luton the win, before Conlon scored for a second successive game, this time from a penalty, to give City a 3–3 draw.


2008–09 Bradford City A.F.C. season, Review, January
Two days after the game, City again moved into the loan market by taking Pakistani international defender Zesh Rehman for the rest of the season from Championship side QPR. Leaving the club on loan was another central defender, Mark Bower, who was signed by Luton Town for one month to cover injuries and suspensions. Rehman was given his debut the following day as City's run without defeat came to an end with a 1–0 loss to top three side Bury to drop out of the top seven for the first time in the season. However, City made amends in their final game of the month by recording their first victory of the calendar year, 2–0 against a Grimsby side which had been reduced to ten men. City's goals came from loan players Law and Jones, whose goal was his first for the club.


2008–09 Bradford City A.F.C. season, Review, February
The January transfer window closed two days later than traditionally, with City extending Jones' loan until the end of the season but deciding to allow O'Grady to return to Oldham. City had been due to play Darlington live on television the same day, but the game was postponed because of snow. When City returned to action, they recorded their first back-to-back victories since November with a 2–0 victory against fellow promotion-chasing Gillingham. It was followed up by a third successive victory without conceding, with a 1–0 victory against second placed Wycombe a week later.


2008–09 Bradford City A.F.C. season, Review, February
Jones scored for the second successive home game. The sequence of wins came to an end with the rearranged game with Darlington, which ended in a 0–0 draw. City's four games without defeat or conceding came to an end with a 4–1 defeat by Barnet, who were third from bottom in the table and without a home win in four months. It was followed up by another away defeat, this time 3–1 at Notts County, which saw City drop out of the play-off spots.


2008–09 Bradford City A.F.C. season, Review, March
City ended their three-run game without a defeat and returned to the play-off spots three days later by defeating Macclesfield Town 1–0 with a goal from Dean Furman. Four days later, City recorded their highest victory of the season with a 5–0 victory against Aldershot Town. Peter Thorne scored two goals, with Dean Furman, Barry Conlon and a last minute own goal completing City's scoring. When City returned to the road three days later, they recorded a third consecutive away defeat, this time 3–0 to fellow promotion-contenders Rochdale, with all three goals coming in the second half.


2008–09 Bradford City A.F.C. season, Review, March
The following day, Northern Ireland international winger Keith Gillespie joined City for the rest of the season after he impressed Stuart McCall during two weeks training with the club. After another defeat, the fourth successive away from home, this time 1–0 to another side chasing promotion, Exeter City, Bradford once again dropped out of the play-off places. Conlon and Clarke were disciplined by the club and missed the game with Exeter because of a non-footballing matter. When City suffered their fifth successive away defeat, this time 4–1 to Bournemouth, only three days later, Stuart McCall threatened to resign if the side missed out on a play-off place.


2008–09 Bradford City A.F.C. season, Review, March
Although Conlon played in the defeat by Bournemouth, he was sent on loan to Grimsby at the end of the week, with fellow striker Paul Mullin arriving as his replacement from Accrington Stanley on a similar deal to the end of the season. The following day, a 1–0 defeat by Port Vale was City's fourth loss in 11 games. McCall opted not to bring in any more new players by the transfer deadline, but defender Simon Ainge was allowed to move on loan to Cambridge United. City's run without a victory was extended to five with a goalless draw away at Chester, who had themselves not won in their previous 17 games.


2008–09 Bradford City A.F.C. season, Review, April
City started April by extending their number of games without a win to six with a 1–1 draw at home with league leaders Brentford. City's goal came in the final minute from Peter Thorne to rescue one point. Despite taking the lead in their subsequent game through Matt Clarke's header, City's run of form continued with a 2–1 defeat by Morecambe. City also had a goal from Thorne ruled out which would have given them a 2–0 lead.


2008–09 Brentford F.C. season
During the 2008–09 English football season, Brentford competed in Football League Two. The club finished the season as champions to win promotion to Football League One.


2008–09 Brentford F.C. season, Season summary
The 2008–09 season was Brentford's second consecutive campaign in League Two, after relegation to the fourth tier for the first time in 9 years at the end of the 2006–07 season. Manager Andy Scott, who was beginning his first full season in the job, had signed a new five-year contract in April 2008. Despite working with a "mediocre budget", he brought in 12 new players – 8 on permanent deals and four on loan. The pick of the signings were new forward Charlie MacDonald for an undisclosed fee from Southend United, central midfielder Marcus Bean from Blackpool on a free transfer and the re-signing on loan of goalkeeper Ben Hamer and central defender Alan Bennett from Reading until the end of the season.


2008–09 Brentford F.C. season, Season summary
The season began with consecutive defeats in the league and League Cup to Bury and Swansea City respectively, before an unbeaten run of 12 league matches put Brentford in the automatic promotion places. Midfielder Glenn Poole continued his good form from the previous season by scoring seven goals during the run. Two defeats in a row dropped the Bees to 9th in early November, before another unbeaten run put the club back in the automatic promotion places by 20 December. Brentford moved into second position after a 2–0 victory over Bournemouth on Boxing Day and consistently good results kept the club on the tail of leaders Wycombe Wanderers through January and early February 2009.


2008–09 Brentford F.C. season, Season summary
A 1–1 draw with Accrington Stanley on 10 February moved the Bees moved into top spot and consistently good results, aided by the goalscoring of January loan acquisition Jordan Rhodes, kept the club at the summit into mid-March. Brentford and Wycombe Wanderers faced off at Griffin Park on 14 March in front of a season-high crowd of 10,642 and the match yielded a 3–3 draw, with Aston Villa loanee Sam Williams "smashing in" late in proceedings to salvage a point for the Bees.


2008–09 Brentford F.C. season, Season summary
Three days later, a home defeat to Chesterfield was Brentford's first loss for six weeks, but the club remained at the top of the table. Despite season-ending injuries to Jordan Rhodes, Nathan Elder, top scorer Charlie MacDonald and captain Kevin O'Connor, manager Andy Scott strengthened the squad with a new front line of loanees Billy Clarke and Damian Spencer. Central defender Darren Powell, who had played alongside Scott in Brentford's previous fourth-tier championship triumph a decade earlier, returned to the club on a short-term contract.


2008–09 Brentford F.C. season, Season summary
Three draws in a row in late March and early April kept Brentford top, before a first win for over a month was achieved in "The Battle of Bournemouth" on 13 April, during which Darren Powell was sent off for fighting with teammate Karleigh Osborne. Despite missing the chance to clinch promotion after a comprehensive defeat to play-off challengers Dagenham & Redbridge on 21 April, promotion and the League Two title were sealed with a 3–1 away win over Darlington in the penultimate match of the season. Captain Kevin O'Connor and stand-in skipper Alan Bennett held the League Two championship trophy aloft after a 2–0 win over Luton Town at Griffin Park on the final day.


2008–09 Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. season
The 2008–09 season is Brighton & Hove Albion's 107th year in existence and third consecutive season in League One. Along with competing in League One, the club also participated in the FA Cup and the Football League Cup.


2008–09 Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. season
This was manager Micky Adams' first season in his second spell at the club, having previously managed Brighton from 1999 to 2001. Adams was sacked on 21 February 2009, after a poor run of form left the side in the relegation zone. Former Yeovil Town manager Russell Slade took over the reins on 6 March, and guided the side to safety on the final day of the season, after the Seagulls had been eight points adrift with six games to play.


2008–09 Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. season, Competitions, League One, Results Summary
Last updated: 31 January 2009. Source: BHAFC League One Results


2008–09 Bristol City F.C. season
During the 2008–09 English football season, Bristol City F.C. competed in the Football League Championship.


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


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


2008–09 Bristol Rovers F.C. season
During 2008 and 2009, Bristol Rovers Football Club participated in League One, The 2008–09 season covers the period from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009. It marks the 126th year of football played by Bristol Rovers F.C. and their 82nd season in The Football League.


2008–09 Bristol Rovers F.C. season, Chronological list of events
This is a list of the significant events to occur at the club during the 2007–08 season, presented in chronological order. This list does not include transfers, which are listed in the transfers section below, or match results, which are in the results section.


2008–09 Bristol Rovers F.C. season, Team kit
The team kit for the 2008–09 season is produced by Erreà. The main shirt sponsor is Cowlin Construction, a subsidiary of Balfour Beatty, and the secondary shirt sponsor is Blackthorn Cider. The home shirt features the traditional blue and white quarters in a lighter shade of blue from the previous season to match the colour of the sponsor's logo, and the away kit is green with black trim.


2008–09 Bristol Rovers F.C. season, Squad, Transfers, In
Seven players have been added to the Bristol Rovers squad since 1 July 2008, in addition to Jeff Hughes who signed at the end of the previous season. Four players were signed from other clubs – Darryl Duffy, who was signed from Swansea City for a fee in the region of £100,000, Ben Hunt, who was signed for free after having been released by West Ham United, Jo Kuffour who was signed from AFC Bournemouth and Liam Harwood who was signed from Carshalton Athletic. Three Bristol Rovers youth players were also awarded their first professional contracts by the club – Ben Swallow, James Tyrell and Joe White, who is the son of former Rovers player Steve White.


2008–09 British Basketball League season
The 2008–2009 season was the 22nd campaign in the history of the British Basketball League (BBL), which commenced on 14 September 2008 with the Cup Winners' Cup. The regular season began a week later with 12 teams competing, though a line-up change saw the Birmingham Panthers withdraw and fold during close season and the inclusion of Worthing Thunder from the English Basketball League.


2008–09 British Basketball League season
Newcastle Eagles continued their dominance of Britain's basketball scene, scooping up the League title, the Play-off crown and the BBL Trophy, beating rivals Guildford Heat 71-83 at the Guildford Spectrum. After a promising rookie season for Everton Tigers in 2007–08, the Merseyside team came of age in their sophomore year, finishing as runners-up in the League and the Play-offs whilst entering the record books for their 103-49 win in the BBL Cup Final against Plymouth Raiders, the biggest winning margin (54 points) in BBL history and lowest ever score conceded in a Final.


2008–09 British Basketball League season
This season also saw the return of the BBL All-Star game, which was played as a warm-up to the Play-off Grand Final. Two select-teams – the British All-Stars and the Rest of the World All-Stars – were pitted together using a selection of players from across the League, with the Rest of the World team narrowly winning 117-124.


2008–09 British Basketball League season, Cup Winners' Cup
The Cup Winners' Cup was contested between the winners of the BBL Cup and BBL Trophy from the previous season. Guildford were winners of the Trophy and Milton Keynes were winners of the Cup. The tournament was played over two-legs – one at each home arena – and the winner decided by a total aggregate score from both games.


2008–09 British Basketball League season, BBL Cup
Of the 12 competing teams in this season's BBL Cup, eight entered into the First Round while the top-four ranked teams from last season's Championship – Guildford Heat, Milton Keynes Lions, Newcastle Eagles and Plymouth Raiders – received byes into the Quarter-finals, where they would also receive home-court advantage.


2008–09 British Basketball League season, BBL Trophy
The First Round of the BBL Trophy uses its usually round-robin format with the 12 competing teams divided into four regionalised groups with the winner of each group then advancing to a two-legged Semi-final encounter and progress to the Final being determined by a total aggregate score.


2008–09 British Columbia pipeline bombings
The 2008–09 British Columbia pipeline bombings were a series of bombs that targeted gas pipelines owned by EnCana near the towns of Dawson Creek and Tomslake, British Columbia. The first blast occurred on October 12, 2008 and the second overnight between October 15 and October 16. The third was discovered on October 31 and a fourth was reported on January 5, 2009. The attacks brought to question the safety of the energy installations in Canada.


2008–09 British Columbia pipeline bombings, Timeline
On October 31, 2008 letters were sent to local media outlets warning oil and gas companies to leave the area saying: "We will no longer negotiate with terrorists which you are as you keep endangering our families with crazy expansion of deadly gas wells in our home lands". The Royal Canadian Mounted Police warned the companies; however no further action was taken.


2008–09 British Columbia pipeline bombings, Timeline
On October 12 an explosion occurred on a sour gas pipeline to the east of Dawson Creek British Columbia. The explosion left a 2.5 meter and 2 meter deep crater but did not rupture the pipeline. Had the explosion ruptured the pipeline, toxic gases would most likely have been released. The RCMP sent a specialized team to investigate the explosion four days later.


2008–09 British Columbia pipeline bombings, Timeline
On October 16 a second blast hit a natural gas pipeline. Workers discovered the blast site at approximately 10:00 a.m. MT off of British Columbia Highway 2. This explosion also did not rupture the pipeline but left a crater in the ground. Following the explosion the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET) were called in to assist in the investigation of the explosion.


2008–09 British Columbia pipeline bombings, Timeline
The following day RCMP called a press conference to state that they believe the public is safe despite admitting that it would be very difficult to protect the large expanse of pipeline in the area.


2008–09 British Columbia pipeline bombings, Timeline
On October 24 police arrested a person in Alberta they believe may have had something to do with the blasts.


2008–09 British Columbia pipeline bombings, Timeline
On October 31, a third bomb detonated at a natural gas wellhead in the region of Dawson Creek (12 kilometers northwest of Tomslake). Encana reported minimal damage.


2008–09 British Columbia pipeline bombings, Timeline
On January 5, 2009 a fourth blast destroyed a metering shed near the community of Tomslake.


2008–09 British Columbia pipeline bombings, Investigation
The RCMP has been quick to try to convince the public that they believe this is not an act of terrorism and simply an act of sabotage by one person or group. On October 17 RCMP spokesman Sgt. Tim Shields released the following statement: "We believe someone or a group of people have set two deliberate explosions that were intended to rupture and blow up a natural-gas pipeline".


2008–09 British Columbia pipeline bombings, Investigation
It has also been suggested that the bombings may be associated with the growing annoyance amongst the agricultural community of having pipelines crisscrossing the land. Wiebo Ludwig was arrested in connection with the pipeline bombings on January 8, 2010. He was previously convicted in 2001 of similar bombings which targeted oil and gas pipelines. After an extensive search of his farm by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, he was released without charge.


2008–09 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team
The 2008–09 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team represents the University at Buffalo in the 2008-09 college basketball season. This is head coach Reggie Witherspoon's tenth season at Buffalo.


2008–09 Buffalo Sabres season
The 2008–09 Buffalo Sabres season was the 39th season of operation for the Buffalo Sabres in the National Hockey League, their 38th season of play.


2008–09 Buffalo Sabres season, Pre-season
In their second pre-season game, the Sabres played the Montreal Canadiens in Roberval, Quebec, the 2008 winner of the Kraft Hockeyville contest. In their newly renovated arena, Roberval hosted the preseason game on Tuesday, September 23, 2008. Montreal scored the first three goals, then held off Buffalo for a 3–2 win in at Benoit-Levesque Arena.


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


2008–09 Buffalo Sabres season, Regular season, Conference standings
AT – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division


2008–09 Buffalo Sabres season, Playoffs
The Buffalo Sabres failed to qualify for the 2009 NHL Playoffs.


2008–09 Buffalo Sabres season, Player statistics, Goaltenders
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Sabres. Stats reflect time with Sabres only. ‡Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Sabres only.


2008–09 Buffalo Sabres season, Draft picks
Buffalo's picks at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa, Ontario.


2008–09 Buffalo Sabres season, Farm teams
On June 11, the Buffalo Sabres signed a three-year deal with the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League, ending a 29-year affiliation with the Rochester Americans.


2008–09 Bulgarian Cup
The 2008–09 Bulgarian Cup was the 27th official Bulgarian annual football tournament. The competition started on October 15, 2008 with the Preliminary Round and ended on May 26, 2009. The defending champions were Litex Lovech, who successfully defended their title against Pirin Blagoevgrad.


2008–09 Bulgarian Cup, Preliminary round
In this round entered 4 winners from the regional competitions as well as 3 teams from B PFG (second level) decided by random draw. There should have been 4 teams selected from B PFG, but since this year's league features only 31 team, 3 teams were chosen. The matches were played on October 15, 2008.


2008–09 Bulgarian Cup, Preliminary round
Note: Roman numerals in brackets denote the league tier the clubs participate in during the 2008–09 season.


2008–09 Bulgarian Cup, First round
In this round entered winners from the previous round together with the remaining 28 teams from B PFG. The matches were played on October 29, 2008.


2008–09 Bulgarian Cup, Second round
This round featured winners from the First Round and all 16 teams from A PFG. The matches were played on November 11, 12, 13 and 26, 2008.


2008–09 Bulgarian Cup, Third round
In this round entered winners from the Second Round. The matches were played on December 7, 2008.


2008–09 Bulgarian Hockey League season
The 2008–09 Bulgarian Hockey League season was the 57th season of the Bulgarian Hockey League, the top level of ice hockey in Bulgaria. Four teams participated in the league, and HK Slavia Sofia won the championship.


2008–09 Bundesliga
The 2008–09 Bundesliga was the 46th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. The season began on 15 August 2008 with a 2–2 draw between defending champions Bayern Munich and Hamburger SV and ended with the last matches on 23 May 2009. VfL Wolfsburg secured their first national title in the last match after a 5–1 win at home against Werder Bremen.


2008–09 Bundesliga, Changes from 2007–08, Structural changes
Starting with the 2008–09 season, two-legged relegation playoffs between the third last team of the Bundesliga and the third team of the 2. Bundesliga at the end of the regular season were re-introduced.


2008–09 Bundesliga, Changes from 2007–08, Structural changes
Due to the restructuring of European competitions, the third-placed team qualified for the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League, entering in a separate qualifying round for non-champions. The fourth-placed team and the winner of the 2008–09 DFB-Pokal qualified for the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League play-off round; the fifth-placed team qualified for the third qualifying round. The sixth-placed team did not qualify for any European competitions because the UEFA Intertoto Cup will not be continued after its final edition in 2008.


2008–09 Bundesliga, Changes from 2007–08, Promotion and relegation
1. FC Nürnberg, Hansa Rostock and MSV Duisburg finished the 2007–08 season in 16th through 18th place, respectively, and therefore were relegated to the 2. Bundesliga. They were replaced by the top three teams of 2007–08 2. Bundesliga: Borussia Mönchengladbach, 1899 Hoffenheim and 1. FC Köln, respectively.


2008–09 Bundesliga, Relegation play-offs
Energie Cottbus, as the 16th-placed team, faced third-placed 2. Bundesliga team 1. FC Nürnberg for a two-legged playoff. Nürnberg won both matches on an aggregated score of 5–0 and thus secured promotion to the 2009–10 Bundesliga, while Cottbus were relegated to the 2009–10 2. Bundesliga.


2008–09 Bundesliga, Relegation play-offs
After Energie were relegated, no teams from the former East Germany played in the Bundesliga until RB Leipzig earned promotion to the Bundesliga for 2016–17.


2008–09 Bundesliga, Champion squad
Goalkeepers:  Diego Benaglio (31); André Lenz (5)Defenders:  Andrea Barzagli (34); Marcel Schäfer (34); Alexander Madlung (24 / 3);  Jan Šimůnek (17);  Peter Pekarík (16);  Cristian Zaccardo (14 / 1);  Ricardo Costa (11 / 3);  Rodrigo Alvim (2); Daniel Reiche (1);  Sergei Karimov (1)Midfielders: Christian Gentner (34 / 4);  Josué (captain; 33);  Zvjezdan Misimović (33 / 6);  Ashkan Dejagah (27 / 3);  Makoto Hasebe (25); Sascha Riether (28 / 2); Sebastian Schindzielorz (6);  Jonathan Santana (6)Forwards:  Edin Džeko (33 / 26);  Grafite (25 / 28);  Caiuby (9 / 1);  Yoshito Ōkubo (9); Alexander Esswein (4)(league appearances and goals listed in brackets)


2008–09 Bundesliga, Champion squad
On the roster but have not played in a league match:  Marwin Hitz; Patrick Platins; Kevin Wolze


2008–09 Bundesliga, Champion squad
Transferred out during the season: Bernd Korzynietz (loan return to Arminia Bielefeld);  Jacek Krzynówek (to Hannover 96);  Vlad Munteanu (on loan to Arminia Bielefeld);  Mahir Sağlık (on loan to Karlsruher SC);  Jonathan Santana (on loan to San Lorenzo de Almagro)


2008–09 Burger King Whoppers season
The 2008–09 Burger King Whoppers season is the 7th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The team were previously known as Air21 Express in the Philippine Cup.


2008–09 Burger King Whoppers season, Philippine Cup, Statistics
Player Stats as of November 29, 2008. 10:00 p.m. PHI Time


2008–09 Burnley F.C. season
The 2008–09 season was Burnley's 9th season in the second tier of English football. They were managed by Owen Coyle – his second season since he replaced Steve Cotterill on 8 November 2007. Burnley finished fifth in the league but was able to return to the top flight of British Football, The Premier League through the Football League Championship playoffs. It was the first time the club was in the top division of English Football for 33 years.


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


2008–09 Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team
The 2008–09 Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Butler University in the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Brad Stevens, serving his 2nd year. The Bulldogs played their home games at the Hinkle Fieldhouse, which has a capacity of approximately 10,000.


2008–09 Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team
The Bulldogs won the 2009 Horizon League Men's Basketball Regular Season Championship and received an at-large bid to the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, earning a 9 seed in the South Region. They fell to 8 seed LSU .


2008–09 C.D. Motagua season
For the 2008–09 C.D. Motagua season, F.C. Motagua played in three competitions, the Apertura tournament, the Clausura, and they were also invited to the 2008 Copa Sudamericana.


2008–09 C.D. Motagua season, Apertura
The 2008–09 Apertura Motagua season was the fifty-third season of the Motagua professional football lifetime. Motagua were looking for the 12th championship. They also attended the 2008 Copa Sudamericana because of Deportivo Saprissa's withdrawal due to the match-day fixtures collide with CONCACAF Champions League's. For this season Motagua were full with families. Miguel Castillo and Fernando Castillo are brothers, Eleazar Padilla and Esdras Padilla are brothers, Rubén Antonio Rivera and José Carlos Rivera are brothers, Víctor Bernárdez, Jefferson Bernárdez and Oscar Bernárdez are cousins, Shannon Welcome and Georgie Welcome are cousins.


2008–09 C.D. Motagua season, Apertura
Jaime de la Pava replaced Ramón Maradiaga after he left to coach Guatemala national football team. Edmilson da Silva Melo was cut off the team since he received an injury that would leave him out for the rest of the tournament. On 11 September Luis Rodas and Roy Posas were cut off the team due to indecent behavior under the influence of alcohol.


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


2008–09 C.D. Motagua season, Apertura, Squad, Transfer in
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008–09 C.D. Motagua season, Apertura, Squad, Transfer out
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008–09 C.D. Motagua season, Clausura
The 2008-09 Clausura F.C. Motagua season was the fifty-fourth season of the Motagua professional football lifetime. Motagua were looking for the 12th league championship. After finishing in semifinals they were looking to become champions next year by signing big names such as Amado Guevara, Ramón Núñez, Marvin Sánchez, Banny Lozano, Javier Portillo, Leonardo Isaula, bringing back Osman Chavez and signing the internationals Mario Jardel, Guillermo Santo and Alberto Blanco. Also they will be losing important starting players, Victor Bernardez, Miguel Castillo and Fernando Castillo. The club's idol, Amado Guevara, joined on a loan because of MLS break. In order to sign more foreign players, Motagua wanted to naturalize Óscar Torlacoff and/or not enroll Nilberto da Silva because of his injury that leaves him off for half of the season.


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


2008–09 C.D. Motagua season, Clausura, Squad, Transfer in
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008–09 C.D. Motagua season, Clausura, Squad, Transfer out
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2008–09 C.D. Motagua season, 2008 Copa Sudamericana
On June 2008 CONMEBOL announced the participation of F.C. Motagua in the 2008 Copa Sudamericana as invitee. At that time Motagua was the Central American team with the best performance achieved at the 2008 CONCACAF Champions' Cup and were not taking part in the next season.


2008–09 CE Lleida Bàsquet season
The 2008–09 Plus Pujol Lleida season is their 6th season in the Adecco LEB Oro.


2008–09 CEBL
The Central European Basketball League, or CEBL for short, was a basketball tournament with Central European basketball teams.


2008–09 CEBL
In the 2008/2009 inaugural season, teams from the following five countries participated: Czech Republic, Austria, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia.


2008–09 CEBL
After the group rounds, Final Four was held in Timișoara, Romania. In the final match, Albacomp Fehervar won against BCM Elba Timișoara.


2008–09 CERH European League
The 2008–09 CERH European League was the 44th edition of the CERH European League organized by CERH. Its Final Eight was held in May 2009 in Bassano del Grappa, Italy.


2008–09 CERH European League, Group stage
In each group, teams played against each other home-and-away in a home-and-away round-robin format.


2008–09 CERH European League, Group stage
The group winners and runners-up advanced to the Final Eight.


2008–09 CERH European League, Final Eight
The Final Eight was played at PalaBassano, in Bassano del Grappa, Italy.


2008–09 CERH European League, Final Eight
Reus Deportiu finally conquered its seventh title, 37 years after their last win.


2008–09 CERS Cup
The 2008–09 CERS Cup was the 29th season of the CERS Cup, Europe's second club roller hockey competition organized by CERH. 27 teams from eight national associations qualified for the competition as a result of their respective national league placing in the previous season. Following a preliminary phase and two knockout rounds, Mataró won the tournament.


2008–09 CERS Cup, Knockout stage
The knockout stage consisted in double-legged series for the round of 16 and the quarterfinals, where the four winners would join the Final Four, that was played in Lloret de Mar.


2008–09 CEV Challenge Cup
The 2008–09 CEV Challenge Cup was the 29th edition of the European Challenge Cup volleyball club tournament, the former CEV Cup.


2008–09 CEV Challenge Cup
The Turkish club Arkas İzmir beat Polish club Jastrzębski Węgiel in the final and achieved its first CEV Challenge Cup trophy.


2008–09 CEV Champions League
The CEV Champions League is the highest level of European club volleyball in the 2008–09 season.


2008–09 CEV Champions League, Teams of the 2008–2009
The number of participants on the basis of ranking list for European Cup Competitions:


2008–09 CEV Champions League, Main Phase
24 teams will be drawn to 6 pools of 4 teams each. The 1st – 2nd ranked and four with best score  3rd teams ranked will qualify for the Play-off 1/8 finals. The 2 remaining 3rd ranked  teams and the two 4th ranked teams with the best score move to CEV Cup. The remaining 4th ranked teams are eliminated.


2008–09 CEV Champions League, Final four
O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic, 4 & 5 April 2009


2008–09 CEV Cup
The 2008–09 CEV Cup was the 37th edition of the European CEV Cup volleyball club tournament.


2008–09 CEV Cup
Lokomotiv-Belogorie Belgorod beat Panathinaikos Athens in the finale. Colombian Liberman Agamez was chosen the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.


2008–09 CEV Cup, Main phase, 16th Finals
The 16 winning teams from the 1/16 Finals will compete in the 1/8 Finals playing Home & Away matches. The losers of the 1/16 Final matches will qualify for the 3rd round in Challenge Cup.


2008–09 CEV Women's Champions League
The Women's CEV Champions League is an international volleyball club competition for elite clubs throughout Europe.


2008–09 CHL season
The 2008–09 CHL season was the 17th season of the Central Hockey League (CHL).


2008–09 CHL season, League business
The Rapid City Rush were added and two teams were created, the Austin Ice Bats and Youngstown SteelHounds.


2008–09 CHL season, Regular season, Conference standings
Note: y - clinched conference title; x - clinched playoff spot; e - eliminated from playoff contention


2008–09 CJHL season
The 2008–09 CJHL season is the 48th season of the Central Junior A Hockey League (CJHL). The eleven teams of the CJHL played 60-game schedules.


2008–09 CJHL season
In March 2009, the top teams of the league played down for the Bogart Cup, the CJHL championship. The winner of the Bogart Cup competed in the Eastern Canadian Junior "A" championship, the Fred Page Cup. If successful against the winners of the Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League and Maritime Hockey League, the champion would then move on to play in the Canadian Junior Hockey League championship, the 2009 Royal Bank Cup.


2008–09 CJHL season, Final standings
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime Losses; SL = Shootout Losses; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against; PTS = Points; x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = clinched conference title


2008–09 CJHL season, Final standings
(x-) denotes berth into playoffs, (y-) denotes elimination from playoffs, (z-) clinched division.


2008–09 CJHL season, Fred Page Cup Championship
Hosted by the Dieppe Commandos in Moncton, New Brunswick. Pembroke finished in third place.


2008–09 CJHL season, Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty Minutes


2008–09 CJHL season, Leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games Played; Mins = Minutes Played; W = Wins; L = Losses: OTL = Overtime Losses; SL = Shootout Losses; GA = Goals Allowed; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals Against Average