2009 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Major League Baseball draft
The Dodgers selected 51 players in this draft. Of those, seven of them have played Major League Baseball. They lost their first-round pick as a result of signing free agent Orlando Hudson but gained a supplemental first-round pick and a second-round pick as a compensation for losing pitcher Derek Lowe.


2009 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Major League Baseball draft
The Dodgers top pick in this draft was left-handed pitcher Aaron Miller from Baylor University. In five seasons in the minors he was 20–19 with a 4.03 ERA in 82 games (65 starts). Midway through the 2013 season, the Dodgers decided to take him off the mound and turn him into a position player. He hit 14 homers and drove in 60 RBI in 2014 in class-A as a designated hitter but retired after the  season without making it to the Majors.


2009 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Major League Baseball draft
They went the opposite direction with outfielder Blake Smith from University of California, Berkeley. Also in the 2013 season they decided to take Smith and make him into a relief pitcher. He was later traded, and eventually made it to the majors with the Chicago White Sox.


2009 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
The 35th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, given by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), honored the best in film for 2009.


2009 Los Angeles Galaxy season
The 2009 Los Angeles Galaxy season was the 14th season of the team's existence. It began on March 22, 2009 with a 2-2 home draw against D.C. United, and ended on November 22, 2009 with a loss on penalties to Real Salt Lake in the 2009 MLS Cup Final.


2009 Los Angeles Galaxy season, Squad, First-team squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2009 Los Angeles Galaxy season, Off-season, Draft
The 2009 MLS SuperDraft took place on January 15, 2009, with draft order determined by regular and post-season record.


2009 Los Angeles Galaxy season, Off-season, Draft
Players marked with an asterisk after their previous club affiliation were contracted under the Generation Adidas program.


2009 Los Angeles Galaxy season, Statistics
Statistics are from all MLS matches. Ages are as of March 19, 2009 (the date of their season opener).


2009 Los Angeles Galaxy season, Competitions, Major League Soccer, Standings
(SS) = Supporters Shield winner; (E1) = Eastern Conference champion; (W1) = Western Conference champion


2009 Los Angeles Galaxy season, Competitions, Major League Soccer, Results summary
Last updated: October 25, 2009Source: Pld = Matches played; Pts = Points; W = Matches won;  T = Matches tied;  L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference


2009 Los Angeles Sparks season
The 2009 Los Angeles Sparks season is the 13th season for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association. Lisa Leslie announced that the 2009 season would be her last. On June 5, the Sparks and Farmers Insurance Group of Companies announced a multi-year marketing partnership that includes a branded jersey sponsorship. The Farmers Insurance branded jersey will be worn by the players for the first time on June 6.


2009 Los Angeles Sparks season
As part of this alliance, the Farmers Insurance name and logo will appear on the front of the Sparks jerseys and will have considerable visibility in the Staples Center during home games. Los Angeles became only the second WNBA team to finalize such an agreement. The Sparks attempted to reach the playoffs and were successful.


2009 Los Angeles Sparks season, Offseason, Dispersal Draft
Based on the Sparks' 2008 record, they would pick 9th in the Houston Comets dispersal draft. The Sparks waived their pick.


2009 Los Angeles Sparks season, Offseason, WNBA Draft
The following are the Sparks' selections in the 2009 WNBA Draft.


2009 Los Angeles election
The 2009 elections for elected officials in Los Angeles took place on March 3, 2009, with run-off elections on May 19, 2009. The mayor, city attorney, city controller and eight out of the fifteen members of the city council were up for election.


2009 Los Angeles election, Results, City attorney
Incumbent Rocky Delgadillo could not stand for re-election due to term limits. Carmen Trutanich was elected after the run-off election on May 19, 2009.


2009 Los Angeles election, Results, City controller
Incumbent Laura N. Chick could not stand for re-election due to term limits.


2009 Los Angeles election, Results, City council
District 5Incumbent Jack Weiss was running for the city attorney post.


2009 Los Angeles mayoral election
The 2009 election for Mayor of Los Angeles took place on March 3, 2009. Incumbent mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa was re-elected overwhelming and faced no serious opponent. Since Los Angeles holds nonpartisan elections, there was no Democratic or Republican primary. Villaraigosa would have faced a run-off against second place-finisher Walter Moore had he failed to win a majority of the vote.


2009 Los Angeles mayoral election
Villaraigosa won the election despite having generally unfavorable approval ratings. He was credited with winning because more well-known and better-funded candidates, such as developer Rick Caruso, declined to run.


2009 Losail Superbike World Championship round
The 2009 Losail Superbike World Championship round was the second round of the 2009 Superbike World Championship season. It took place on the weekend of March 12–14, 2009, at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar.


2009 Lotto–Belisol Ladiesteam season
The 2009 season was the fourth for the Lotto-Belisol Ladiesteam cycling team.


2009 Lotto–Belisol Ladiesteam season, Other achievements, Dutch national record, team pursuit
Vera Koedooder, as part of the national team, broke together with Ellen van Dijk and Amy Pieters the Dutch team pursuit record three times in 2009


2009 Lotto–Belisol Ladiesteam season, Results in major races, Women's World Cup 2009
Grace Verbeke finished 9th in the individual and the team finished 7th in the teams overall standing.


2009 Lotto–Belisol Ladiesteam season, UCI World Ranking
The team finished 4th in the UCI ranking for teams.


2009 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team
The 2009 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team represented Louisiana Tech University as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by third-year head coach Derek Dooley, the Bulldogs played their home games at Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech finished the season with a record of 4–8 overall and a mark of 3–5 in conference play, tying for fifth place in the WAC.


2009 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Before the season, T-Day spring game
On April 11, 2009, the Red Team beat the White Team 21-0 at Joe Aillet Stadium with 3,042 fans in attendance. ESPN Radio's Sean Fox coached the Red Team, and Nick White, also from ESPN Radio, coached the White Team. After a scoreless first quarter, quarterback Steven Ensminger completed a 40-yard pass to tight end Dennis Morris on a trick play to put the Red Team in scoring position. Running Back Daniel Porter scored on a 2-yard touchdown run to put the Red Team up 6-0. Kicker Joel Hall connected on the extra point to make it 7-0.


2009 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team, Before the season, T-Day spring game
With 1:08 left in the first half, Ensminger completed a 68-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Cruz Williams to put the Red Team ahead 13-0. Kicker Dale Wallace converted the extra point to make the score 14-0 Red Team going into halftime. Running back Zach Booker scored on a 45-yard touchdown run with 3:28 left in the game to increase the Red Team's lead to 20-0. Hall completed the extra point to make the final score 21-0. Red Team Linebacker Adrien Cole led all tacklers with nine. Red Team Defensive lineman Ramone Randle recorded two sacks, and cornerback Olajuwon Paige recorded two interceptions for the Red Team.


2009 Louisiana interracial marriage incident
In October 2009, Keith Bardwell, a Robert, Louisiana, Justice of the Peace, refused to officiate the civil wedding of an interracial couple because of his personal views, in spite of a 1967 United States Supreme Court ruling which prohibited restrictions on interracial marriage as unconstitutional.


2009 Louisiana interracial marriage incident
The story was first publicized by newswriter Don Ellzey of the Daily Star (Hammond, Louisiana). Within a day the story was on the front page of the New Orleans Times-Picayune and was circulated by the Associated Press. Bardwell has asserted that he is not a racist and that he did not prevent the couple from obtaining a license from another justice of the peace. His action was widely criticized, and many public officials in Louisiana called for his resignation. He resigned on November 3, 2009.


2009 Louisiana interracial marriage incident, Refusal
On October 6, an interracial couple, Beth Humphrey and Terence McKay, inquired of Bardwell, the justice of the peace for the 8th Ward of Louisiana's Tangipahoa Parish, about getting a marriage license signed. His wife Beth Bardwell reportedly told them that the justice "does not do interracial marriages". Justice Bardwell referred the couple to a justice of the peace of a neighboring ward, who performed the wedding.


2009 Louisiana interracial marriage incident, Refusal
Although the news media frequently alleged that Bardwell had refused to issue a marriage license, he has emphasized that he has no authority to "issue" a marriage license and that he simply "recused" himself from officiating the ceremony. When interviewed, Bardwell said that he had refused applications to four couples over a period of 2½ years before the news of his refusals was publicized.


2009 Louisiana interracial marriage incident, Bardwell's justification
Bardwell justified his refusal to officiate interracial marriages as based on his concern for the children of such marriages, as he believes they are fully accepted neither by black nor white society. Bardwell said, he "came to the conclusion that most black society does not readily accept offspring of such relationships, and neither does white society", and, "I don't want to put children in a situation they didn’t bring on themselves. In my heart, I feel the children will later suffer." Bardwell asserted that he was not a racist. According to the reporter Tara Bennett, Bardwell was advised by an attorney to say that he was "busy" on days when he was requested to officiate interracial weddings, "but Bardwell refuses to lie and says [that] he will step down" if obliged to change his policy.


2009 Louisiana interracial marriage incident, Bardwell's justification
On October 19, Bardwell appeared on the CBS Early Show, where he was interviewed by Harry Smith. Bardwell apologized to the couple for offending them. He maintained that he did not deny the couple from being married but only recused himself from performing the ceremony. As he referred them to another justice to be married, he did not see a problem.


2009 Louisiana interracial marriage incident, Legal status of interracial marriages
State laws prohibiting interracial marriage were ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States in the 1967 case Loving v. Virginia. The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana (ACLU), via attorney Katie Schwartzman, cited that ruling and said that Bardwell knowingly violated judicial precedent by his action. Calling for Bardwell's removal, the ACLU requested that the Louisiana Judiciary Commission investigate the justice's conduct. The interracial couple filed a civil rights lawsuit with the United States Federal Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, claiming their civil rights were violated. The suit named Beth Bardwell, Keith Bardwell's wife, as co-defendant and sought a monetary settlement, including restitution for emotional distress and mental anguish. Lawyer Laura Lanier Catlett filed the suit on behalf of the plaintiffs.


2009 Louisiana interracial marriage incident, Reactions
On the day the story broke, President Barack Obama, the son of an interracial marriage, was at nearby University of New Orleans for a much-heralded "town hall meeting" concerning local recovery from the Hurricane Katrina disaster. When asked about Bardwell's statements, Bill Quigley (Legal Director for the Center for Constitutional Rights) and White House Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton said that they had reason to believe a biracial child could do well.


2009 Louisiana interracial marriage incident, Reactions
A number of state and local public officials criticized Bardwell's actions. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal called for Bardwell to be fired: Jindal's office released a statement calling Bardwell's refusal to officiate the civil wedding "a clear violation of constitutional rights and federal and state law" and urged that "[d]isciplinary action should be taken immediately—including the revoking of his license". In response during an interview, Bardwell pointed out that he was an elected official and that it was not a licensed position.


2009 Louisiana interracial marriage incident, Reactions
The Daily Star editorialized that "Bardwell's personal beliefs are his own, but his responsibility as an elected official is to provide services to the public" and called on him to resign. Front-page articles in the Daily Star reported the disavowal of Bardwell by state, parish, and municipal officials and summarized the worldwide attention to the story.


2009 Louisiana interracial marriage incident, Reactions
Bardwell, who had another five years in what he had said would be his last term as a justice of the peace, resigned his post on November 3. Bardwell's resignation was a one-sentence statement to Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne. Bardwell offered no explicit explanation and did not immediately respond to requests for elaboration.


2009 Louisiana interracial marriage incident, Lawsuit
Bardwell continued to face a federal lawsuit, which in 2010 continued with the court's determination of pertinent witnesses. In November, 2010, the lawsuit was dropped by the McKays.


2009 Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns baseball team
The 2009 Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns baseball team represented the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in the 2009 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Ragin' Cajuns played their home games at M. L. Tigue Moore Field and were led by fifteenth year head coach Tony Robichaux.


2009 Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns football team
The 2009 Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns football team represented the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Ragin' Cajuns were led by eighth year head coach Rickey Bustle and played their home games at Cajun Field. The Ragin' Cajuns finished the season with a record of 6–6 overall and 4–4 in Sun Belt Conference play.


2009 Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns football team
The 41,357 attendance at the Hebert Heymann Football Classic against Southern still holds the record for most attendance at Cajun Field


2009 Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns softball team
The 2009 Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns softball team represented the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in the 2009 NCAA Division I softball season. The Ragin' Cajuns played their home games at Lamson Park and were led by ninth and tenth year husband and wife head coaching duo Michael and Stefni Lotief, respectively.


2009 Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks football team
The 2009 Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks football team represented University of Louisiana at Monroe in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Warhawks, led by seventh-year head coach Charlie Weatherbie, played their home games at Malone Stadium. The Warhawks finished the season 6–6 and 5–3 in Sun Belt play and were bowl eligible but were not invited to a bowl game.


2009 Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks football team
Head coach Charlie Weatherbie was fired at the end of the season after seven seasons and a record of 31–51 and 24–24 in Sun Belt play.


2009 Louisville Cardinals football team
The 2009 Louisville Cardinals football team represented the University of Louisville in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cardinals were coached by Steve Kragthorpe, who was in his third season at Louisville. The Cardinals played their home games at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. The Cardinals finished the season with a record 4–8 and 1–6 in Big East play. Kragthorpe was fired at the end of the season.


2009 Louth County Council election
An election to Louth County Council took place on 5 June 2009 as part of that year's Irish local elections. 26 councillors were elected from five electoral divisions by PR-STV voting for a five-year term of office.


2009 Lunar New Year Cup
The 2009 Lunar New Year Cup is a football tournament held in Hong Kong on the first and fourth day of the Chinese New Year of the Earth Ox Year (26 January and 29 January 2009).


2009 Lunar New Year Cup, Format
The two semi-finals for the four participating teams will be held on the first day of the Chinese New Year of Ox (26 January 2009). The winning teams will enter the final and the losing teams play the third-place playoff (Both matches on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, i.e. 29 January.) Draw in the semi-finals and third-place playoff would be settled by penalty shootout directly, that means no extra time would be played. For the final, a thirty-minute extra time would be played after a draw. A further draw would lead to the penalty shootout.


2009 Luoding flood
The 2009 Luoding flood (Chinese: 罗定船步水灾) was a major flood that occurred in Luoding, Guangdong in the People's Republic of China on the week of September 17, 2009. The water level increased due to rain from Typhoon Koppu. The storm slammed into South China causing torrential rain, mudslides and an oil spill.


2009 Luoding flood, Dam flood order
The town most seriously affected was Chuanbu (船步). Some sources pointed out that the township government was ordered by Guangdong provincial authorities to flood the countryside around Chuanbu to ease the water levels at the Shandong dam. More than 100 people stormed the government offices three times, they were not allowed in. A resident said township officials refused to meet with the villagers.


2009 Luoding flood, Tolls and damages
Sources vary on the damages and tolls. Some sources listed the death toll at seven dead and six missing, while others listed three dead and four missing. More than 100,000 residents had to be evacuated and direct economic losses totaled two billion yuan.


2009 Lusofonia Games
The 2009 Lusophony Games was the 2nd Lusophony Games (Portuguese: 2.os Jogos da Lusofonia), a multi-sport event for delegations representing Portuguese-speaking National Olympic committees. It took place in Lisbon, Portugal, from 11 to 19 July 2009. The Pavilhão Atlântico acted as the main venue, staging the opening ceremonies and the majority of the sporting events.


2009 Lusofonia Games, Host decision
The organization was awarded to Portugal during the 6th ACOLOP general assembly, gathered in Macau, on 10 October 2006. José Vicente de Moura, president of the Olympic Committee of Portugal and honorary president of the ACOLOP, is also the president of the Organizing Committee for the 2009 Lusophony Games (COJOL).


2009 Lusofonia Games, Games, Sports
On 21 May 2007, during a meeting between the 2009 Games Organizing Committee (Portuguese: Comité Organizador dos Jogos da Lusofonia 2009, COJOL) and the ACOLOP (Associação dos Comités de Língua Oficial Portuguesa, English: Association of the Portuguese-Speaking Committees), a decision on which should be the ninth sport to be included in the competition program—out of a list that included badminton, canoeing, judo, swimming, and roller hockey — was delayed due to insufficient survey data from some of the ACOLOP member committees. Later that year, on 12 November the ACOLOP general assembly, gathered in Lisbon, finally decided to add judo to the official program.


2009 Lusofonia Games, Games, Sports
This edition thus featured nine sports—one more than in the inaugural games in 2006 — comprising 65 events. Three events for disabled athletes were included in the athletics competition, for a total of 68. One of those disabled athletics events is of demonstration nature and is not included in the medal ranking.


2009 Lusofonia Games, Games, Venues
Most of the competitions were held in venues within Lisbon, but other sports, like beach and indoor volleyball, were played in the neighbouring municipalities of Oeiras and Almada, respectively. The opening and closing ceremonies were held at Pavilhão Atlântico, the largest venue, where four sports took place as well.


2009 Lusofonia Games, Games, Calendar
In this table, each blue box represents an event competition, such as a qualification round or group match. The golden boxes represent days during which medal-awarding finals for a sport were held. The number indicated in each box represents the number of finals that were to be contested on that day. The sports marked with an asterisk (*) means that it has an event that is a demonstration sport and its champion does not count in the final tally.


2009 Lusofonia Games, Games, Symbols
The image and identity of the Lisbon 2009 Lusophony Games were conveyed by its official logo and mascot. The logo represents an "athlete, celebrating victory with a multicoloured ribbon, following the motto 'Union stronger than Victory', in an appeal to fair-play and unity between the athletes". The mascot, representing a youthful humanized flame, is called "Xama" (after "chama", "flame" in English) and embodies the spirit of sport, the athlete's desire to surpass own limits, the "energy and vivacity" that give "body and soul in every heat".


2009 Lusofonia Games, Medal table
Note that when each champion is counted, the results will differ from the official results, therefore the following table will not match the official one as shown on the competition's website.


2009 Luxembourg general election
General elections were held in Luxembourg on 7 June 2009, together with the 2009 election to the European Parliament. All sixty members of the Chamber of Deputies were elected for five years. The polls were topped by the Christian Social People's Party, which built upon its already high number of seats to achieve a commanding victory, with the highest vote share and number of seats of any party since 1954. Incumbent Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who is longest serving head of government in the European Union, renewed the coalition agreement with Deputy Prime Minister and Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party leader Jean Asselborn and formed the Juncker-Asselborn Ministry II, which was sworn-in on 23 July 2009.


2009 Luxembourg general election, Parties
Seven parties ran candidates in all four circonscriptions, of which, five were already represented in the Chamber of Deputies: the Christian Social People's Party (CSV), the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP), the Democratic Party (DP), the Greens, and the Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR). Two parties that were not then represented also ran: The Left and the Communist Party (KPL). In addition, the Citizens' List, which was headed by current independent deputy Aly Jaerling, ran in two constituencies.


2009 Luxembourg general election, Results, By locality
As in 2004, the CSV won pluralities in each of Luxembourg's four circonscriptions, and pluralities in nearly all of Luxembourg's communes. Only four communes didn't register pluralities for the CSV (down from seven in 2004). Wiltz in the north and Dudelange, Kayl, and Rumelange in the southern Red Lands voted for the LSAP.


2009 Luxembourg general election, Results, By locality
The CSV's performance improved most markedly in Centre, where it increased its vote from 35.5% to 38.6%. In Centre, the CSV received almost twice as many votes as the Democratic Party in, only ten years after the DP won a plurality by over 2%. It gained one extra seat in Centre, and another in Est.


2009 Luxembourg general election, Aftermath
The CSV's large margin of victory guaranteed that it would form the government once again, with Jean-Claude Juncker appointed as formateur and likely to remain as Prime Minister. Before the election, Juncker, Europe's longest-serving head of government, had told his party that he intended to step down as Minister for Finances, to be replaced by Luc Frieden. This brought into question his chairmanship of the Europe-wide Eurogroup, which he had chaired since 2005. However, he has since stated that he would remain in charge of monetary policy and relations with the European Central Bank.


2009 Luxembourg general election, Aftermath
The CSV was in a strong enough position to form a coalition with any one of three parties: LSAP (partner in the Juncker-Asselborn Ministry I), the DP (partner in the Juncker-Polfer Ministry), and the Greens (who had never previously entered the government). However, the DP and Greens had both ruled out the possibility of a coalition with the CSV, leaving only the previous coalition partners, LSAP, in the running. The CSV and LSAP formed a coalition agreement, with Juncker as Prime Minister and Jean Asselborn as Deputy Prime Minister, with the new government forming on 23 July.


2009 Lüderitz oil spill
The 2009 Lüderitz oil spill began in April 2009 off the coast of Lüderitz, Namibia. The oil spill directly affected 171 African penguins, with many more possibly threatened. The oil spill is in the area where the fishing trawler Meob Bay sank in June 2002, killing 19 seamen. The boat sank after a rope got caught in the propeller, which then detached causing water to flood into the engine room.


2009 Lüderitz oil spill
However, an inspection of the site where the vessel had sunk showed that the wreck was not the source of the oil; the source of the spill could not be found but is thought to be bunker oil that was released by a large vessel passing through Namibian waters. In terms of wildlife affected, it was the largest spill in Namibian history according to local residents of Lüderitz.


2009 M-1 Challenge season
The 2009 M-1 Challenge season was the second season of the M-1 Challenge series presented by M-1 Global. It started on February 21, 2009 and concluded on December 3, 2009. 16 teams from around the world competed in the 2009 M-1 Challenge Season, up from the 9 teams that competed in 2008. The teams typically featured top MMA prospects. The Season was won by the Russian Legion team.


2009 M-1 Challenge season, Background
M-1 Challenge is a team-based competition organized with a series of events held in different places around the world where MMA clubs compete against each other. The teams consist of five fighters, one in each of the five major MMA weight classes-  Lightweight, Welterweight, Middleweight, Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight.


2009 M-1 Challenge season, Team Results, Finals
Russian Legion defeats  USA East to claim the second M-1 Challenge (5-0)


2009 MAAC Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2009 MAAC Men's Basketball Tournament was an NCAA college basketball tournament held at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York on March 6–9, 2009, to decide the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion. The winner, Siena advanced to the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, a 65-team event to decide the national champion of Division I college basketball. Siena received a No. 9 seed and upset No. 8 seed Ohio State 74–72 in double overtime, then were defeated by No. 1 seed Louisville 72–79 in the second round.


2009 MAAC Men's Basketball Tournament, Seeds
All 10 teams in the conference participated in the Tournament. The top six teams received byes to the quarterfinals. Teams were seeded by record within the conference, with a tiebreaker system to seed teams with identical conference records.


2009 MAC Championship Game
The 2009 Marathon MAC Championship Game was a college football game played by the Central Michigan Chippewas and the Ohio Bobcats. The game, sponsored by Marathon Oil, was the final regular season contest of the 2009 college football season for the Mid-American Conference. The game was held at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, where it was moved to following the 2003 MAC Championship Game.


2009 MAC Championship Game
The Ohio Bobcats were selected to represent the East Division by virtue of a tie-breaking head-to-head victory against the Temple Owls in the final game prior to the championship game. They ended the season with a 9–3 record, including 7–1 in MAC play. The West Division is represented by Central Michigan, who had a 10–2 record prior to the game, including a perfect 8–0 in the MAC. This game was a rematch of the 2006 game, where the Chippewas came out victorious in a 31–10 decision.


2009 MAC Championship Game, Selection process
The MAC Championship Game matches the winners of the East and West divisions of the Mid-American Conference. The game began in the 1997 season when the MAC added Northern Illinois and Marshall. This expanded the league to twelve teams, and therefore the conference was able to hold a conference championship game under National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules.


2009 MAC Championship Game, Selection process
The divisional champions are selected through a lengthy tiebreaker scenario. However, the scenario wasn't required as only two teams were tied in the East Division. Temple and Ohio both ended the season with a 7–1 conference record. Ohio's win over the Temple Owls in the final game of the regular season allowed the Bobcats to advance to the Championship Game. In the West Division, only the Central Michigan Chippewas finished the game with an 8–0 conference record, and would therefore be the team chosen to represent their division.


2009 MAC Championship Game, Selection process, Central Michigan
The Central Michigan Chippewas entered the 2009 college football season after going 8–5 during the 2008 season. Although that didn't earn them a bid into the 2008 MAC Championship Game, they were able to go to the 2008 Motor City Bowl, where they would lose to the Florida Atlantic Owls in a 21–24 decision. In the MAC Preseason Media Poll, the Chippewas received 154 points, and was chosen to win the West Division of the conference.


2009 MAC Championship Game, Selection process, Central Michigan
Central Michigan began their 2009 season with a 6–19 loss to Arizona. However, in their next game against Big Ten opponent Michigan State, the Chippewas came out victorious, thanks to a game-ending field goal. In their home opener against the Braves of Alcorn State, the Chippewas had their way with a 48–0 victory, and they would end the first part of their out-of-conference season with a 2–1 record.


2009 MAC Championship Game, Selection process, Central Michigan
They began conference play with a 48–21 victory over Akron, with starting quarterback Dan LeFevour having a hand in six of the seven Chippewa touchdowns. After that they traveled to Buffalo to post a 20–13 win over the Bulls. In the first quarter of the game, LeFevour broke Byron Leftwich's previous MAC record of 939 completions in a career. After victories over Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan, the Chippewas were able to claim the Michigan MAC Trophy for 2009. After a 24–10 victory over the Bowling Green Falcons, Central Michigan held a 5–0 conference record before traveling to Boston College for their final out-of-conference match-up.


2009 MAC Championship Game, Selection process, Central Michigan
Although Central Michigan scored the first points on a 34-yard field goal, Boston College was able to contain LeFevour and the Chippewas. CMU ended up losing the contest to a final score of 10–31. The final three games on the Chippewas' schedule were three straight MAC contests, two of them held in Kelly/Shorts Stadium. The first of these three games was a high-scoring 56–28 victory over the Toledo Rockets. They followed that with a 35–3 victory over Ball State in Scheumann Stadium, and then returned home to defeat Northern Illinois in a 45–31 decision.


2009 MAC Championship Game, Selection process, Ohio
After finishing the 2008 season with a dismal 4–8 record (including 3–5 in the conference), the Bobcats were able to make a comeback, finishing this season 9–3 with a 7–1 record in the conference. In the preseason media poll, the Bobcats were selected fourth in their division, receiving only 116 votes, in comparison to Buffalo, who was selected to win their division, earning 155 points.


2009 MAC Championship Game, Selection process, Ohio
Along with the Chippewas, the Bobcats began their season with a loss, theirs coming 16–23 in the hands of UConn. However, they were able to win their next two out-of-conference games. In a contest against North Texas, the Bobcats were able come back to a 20–20 tie at the end of regulation. In the first overtime, both teams managed to score field goals, putting the game at 23–23 before the second overtime. In the second overtime, North Texas was able to score first on a 7-yard Cam Montgomery touchdown.


2009 MAC Championship Game, Selection process, Ohio
Ohio answered back on a 15-yard pass from Theo Scott, however instead of a tradition extra point attempt, Ohio went for two points, once again a pass from Scott to wide receiver Taylor Price to seal the victory. In their next game, they faced Cal Poly in Athens and came out with a 28–10 victory. The Bobcats finished their out-of-conference season against Tennessee, losing that match 23–34.


2009 MAC Championship Game, Selection process, Ohio
The Bobcats then began their MAC season against fellow East Division member Bowling Green. With two passing touchdowns and another running touchdown from Scott, Ohio was able to come out victorious with a 44–37 final score. Ohio then traveled to InfoCision Stadium, to visit the Akron Zips in their new home. They were able to upset the Zips, leaving with a 19–7 victory. After that game, they returned home to face the Miami RedHawks at Peden Stadium, and won 28–7. Their one conference loss came at the hands of Kent State, where they lost at home. The only scoring that was allowed by the Flashes was a 22-yard field goal by Matt Weller and an 87-yard punt return for a touchdown.


2009 MAC Championship Game, Selection process, Ohio
The final four games of the season proved to be a launching pad for the Bobcats heading into the championship game. In a contest at Ball State, the Bobcats scored a touchdown with three minutes remaining to put them ahead 20–17. They were also able to win on the road against Buffalo in a nationally televised contest on ESPN2. The final two games of the Bobcats season were both played at home, where they defeated Northern Illinois by a score of 38–31 and Temple with a score of 35–17. That victory against Temple also became the tiebreaker which sent Ohio to the championship game.


2009 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2009 Mid-American Conference men's basketball tournament is the post-season basketball tournament for the Mid-American Conference (MAC) 2008–2009 season. The winner of the tournament receives the MAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship tournament.


2009 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
Each of the 12 men's basketball teams in the MAC receives a berth in the conference tournament. Teams are seeded by conference record with the following tie-breakers:


2009 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
The top four seeds receive byes into the quarterfinals. The winners of each division are awarded the #1 and #2 seeds. The team with the best record of the two receives the #1 seed.


2009 MAC Women's Basketball Tournament
The 2009 Mid-American Conference women's basketball tournament is the post-season basketball tournament for the Mid-American Conference (MAC) 2008–2009 season. The winner of the tournament receives the MAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship tournament.


2009 MAC Women's Basketball Tournament, Format
Each of the 12 women's basketball teams in the MAC receive a berth in the conference tournament. Teams are seeded per division by conference record with the following tie-breakers:


2009 MAC Women's Basketball Tournament, Format
Note: Once a three-team tie has been reduced to two teams, the two-team tiebreakers go in effect. If there are multiple ties, the ties are broken from the top down (e.g. a tie for #3 will be broken before a tie for #5).


2009 MAC Women's Basketball Tournament, Format
The top two seeds in each division receive byes into the Quarterfinals.


2009 MBC Drama Awards
The 2009 MBC Drama Awards (Korean: MBC 연기대상) is a ceremony honoring the outstanding achievement in television on the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) network for the year of 2009. It was held on December 30, 2009 and hosted by actor Lee Hwi-jae and actress Park Ye-jin.


2009 MEAC Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2009 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, the culmination of the 2008–09 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men's basketball season and a part of the 2008-09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, took place from March 10–March 14, 2009, at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The tournament was broadcast on the ESPNU.


2009 MEAC Men's Basketball Tournament
The championship game matched Morgan State against Norfolk State, who made its first appearance in the MEAC championship game since it joined the league in 1997. Morgan State won 83–69, for its 2nd tournament title, the first won in 1977. As champion, Morgan State received the MEAC's automatic bid to the 2009 NCAA Tournament.


2009 MLP Nations Cup
The 2009 MLP Nations Cup was the seventh edition of the women's ice hockey tournament. It was held from January 2-6, 2009 in Ravensburg, Germany. Sweden won the tournament by defeating Canada U22 in the final.


2009 MLS All-Star Game
The 2009 Major League Soccer All-Star Game was the 14th annual MLS All-Star Game. The MLS All-Stars faced Everton of the Premier League on July 29, 2009. The match ended in a 1–1 draw at full-time and went to an immediate penalty shootout, which Everton won 4–3. Everton's Tim Howard--the United States first-choice goalkeeper and a former MetroStars player--was named MVP of the match, after making three saves during the shootout. This was the first win for an international club team in six tries against the MLS All-Stars, and remains Everton's last competitive trophy the club has won.


2009 MLS All-Star Game, Host venue
Major League Soccer announced on July 9, 2008 that Rio Tinto Stadium, the League's newest soccer-specific venue, would host the 2009 MLS All-Star Game in the summer of 2009. MLS President Mark Abbott joined Real Salt Lake Owner David W. Checketts, Utah Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr., and Sandy Mayor Tom Dolan at a press conference at the new Stadium to officially announce the event. This was the first MLS All-Star Game held in Utah.


2009 MLS All-Star Game, MLS All-Stars voting
Like the previous year, the MLS All-Star First XI was determined by an online fan voting system which accounted for 25% of the total vote, with players, coaches and general managers, and the media each holding 25% of the vote. The fan voting period opened May 13, 2009 and ended July 6, 2009. Two weeks into the fan voting period, Seattle Sounders FC players made up nine of the 11 top vote-getters, with Kasey Keller as the overall leader in total votes.


2009 MLS All-Star Game, MLS All-Stars voting
After the end of the voting period, Freddie Ljungberg received the most fan votes. The fan's first XI included Kasey Keller(Seattle), Chad Marshall (Columbus), Wilman Conde (Chicago), Geoff Cameron (Houston), Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus), Stuart Holden (Houston), Freddie Ljungberg (Seattle), Shalrie Joseph (New England), Dwayne De Rosario (Toronto), Conor Casey (Colorado), and Landon Donovan (Los Angeles). The additional seven players were chosen by head coach Dominic Kinnear of Houston and the Commissioner Don Garber.


2009 MLS All-Star Game, 2009 MLS All-Star Game Rosters, Major League Soccer
The 2009 MLS All-Star First XI was announced in a special episode of MLSnet.com Extra Time, which aired 3 p.m. ET on Monday, July 13, 2009. On the following Monday, July 20, 2009, All-Star coach Dominic Kinnear and his assistants chose five additional players, with MLS Commissioner Don Garber adding the two final players to the 18-man roster. The All-Stars are:


2009 MLS All-Star Game, 2009 MLS All-Star Game Rosters, Major League Soccer
As of July 26, 2009. Players in bold denotes First XI status. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2009 MLS All-Star Game, 2009 MLS All-Star Game Rosters, Major League Soccer
† - De Rosario was not available for the 2009 MLS All-Star game due to a Toronto FC CONCACAF Champions League game.


2009 MLS All-Star Game, 2009 MLS All-Star Game Rosters, Major League Soccer
‡ - Blanco was chosen to take the place of De Rosario, being the next-highest vote getter in the midfield position.


2009 MLS All-Star Game, 2009 MLS All-Star Game Rosters, Major League Soccer
♦ - "Commissioner's Picks", chosen by MLS Commissioner Don Garber.


2009 MLS All-Star Game, 2009 MLS All-Star Game Rosters, Major League Soccer
% - Johnson is an injury replacement for Joseph who suffered a bone bruise in his right knee.


2009 MLS All-Star Game, 2009 MLS All-Star Game Rosters, Major League Soccer
& - Soumare was a replacement for Ching, who was rested after he competed in the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup with the US national team.


2009 MLS All-Star Game, 2009 MLS All-Star Game Rosters, Major League Soccer
^ - Zach Thornton replaced Pat Onstad due to injury.


2009 MLS All-Star Game, 2009 MLS All-Star Game Rosters, Major League Soccer
The following players fell short of the MLS All-Star First XI in voting:


2009 MLS All-Star Game, 2009 MLS All-Star Game Rosters, Everton
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2009 MLS Cup Playoffs
The 2009 MLS Cup Playoffs is the postseason to Major League Soccer's 2009 season. MLS Cup 2009 concluded the season on November 22, 2009 at Qwest Field in Seattle, Washington. Real Salt Lake won the Cup in penalties over the L.A. Galaxy.


2009 MLS Cup Playoffs, Format
At the 2009 season's end, the top two teams of each conference made the playoffs; in addition the clubs with the next four highest point totals, regardless of conference, were added to the playoffs. In the first round of this knockout tournament, aggregate goals over two matches determined the winners; the Conference Championships were one match each, with the winner of each conference advancing to MLS Cup. In all rounds, the tie-breaking method was two 15-minute periods of extra time, followed by penalty kicks if necessary. The away goals rule was not used.


2009 MLS Cup Playoffs, Standings, Overall standings
(SS) = Supporters Shield winner; (E1) = Eastern Conference champion; (W1) = Western Conference champion


2009 MLS Cup Playoffs, Bracket
1 Real Salt Lake earned the eighth and final playoff berth, despite finishing fifth in the Western Conference. They represent the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff bracket, as only three teams in the Eastern Conference qualified for the playoffs.


2009 MLS Expansion Draft
The 2009 MLS Expansion Draft took place on November 25, 2009, and was a special draft for the Major League Soccer expansion team Philadelphia Union.


2009 MLS SuperDraft
The 2009 MLS SuperDraft took place on January 15, 2009 in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the tenth annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The first selection was owned by the expansion Seattle Sounders FC. Unlike previous years, the SuperDraft was not followed by the Supplemental Draft due to roster changes for the 2009 season decreasing the number of developmental spaces.


2009 MLS SuperDraft, Player selection
Any player whose name is marked with an * was contracted under the Generation Adidas program.


2009 MLS SuperDraft, 2009 Supplemental Draft Trades
In December 2008 the league decided to cancel the Supplemental Draft, which had typically been held shortly after the annual SuperDraft. Prior to the cancellation a number of trades were made involving 2009 Supplemental Draft picks. It is unknown what compensation, if any, clubs which acquired 2009 Supplemental Draft picks in trades received in lieu of the draft picks. Announced trades involving 2009 Supplemental Draft selections include:


2009 MPS Group Championships
The 2009 MPS Group Championships was a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 30th edition of the MPS Group Championships but first held in its new location, and was part of the International series of the 2009 WTA Tour. It took place at the Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, from April 6 through April 12, 2009. Caroline Wozniacki won the singles title.


2009 MPS Group Championships, Finals, Doubles
Chuang Chia-jung /  Sania Mirza defeated  Květa Peschke /  Lisa Raymond, 6–3, 4–6, [10–7]


2009 MPS Group Championships – Doubles
Bethanie Mattek and Vladimíra Uhlířová were the defending champions, but Uhlířová chose not to participate this year, and only Mattek competed this year. She played alongside Nadia Petrova but lost in the Quarterfinals to Chuang Chia-jung and Sania Mirza.


2009 MPS Group Championships – Doubles
Chuang and Mirza reached the final where they beat Květa Peschke and Lisa Raymond to win their title.


2009 MPS Group Championships – Singles
Maria Sharapova was the defending champion, but could not compete due to a long-term shoulder injury.


2009 MPS Group Championships – Singles
Caroline Wozniacki beat Aleksandra Wozniak in the final, 6–1, 6–2.


2009 MSBL season
The 2009 MSBL season was the 21st season of the Men's State Basketball League (SBL). The regular season began on Friday 13 March and ended on Saturday 18 July. The finals began on Saturday 25 July and ended on Saturday 22 August, when the Lakeside Lightning defeated the Perry Lakes Hawks in the MSBL Grand Final.


2009 MSBL season, Regular season
The regular season began on Friday 13 March and ended on Saturday 18 July after 19 rounds of competition.


2009 MSBL season, Finals
The finals began on Saturday 25 July and ended on Saturday 22 August with the MSBL Grand Final.


2009 MTN 8
The 2009 MTN 8 was the 35th time that this annual tournament took place. It was contested by the eight top teams of the Premier Soccer League table at the end of the 2008-09 season. The tournament began on 4 August 2009, and ended on 24 October 2009. Golden Arrows beat Ajax Cape Town 6 – 0, in the final at Orlando Stadium.


2009 MTN 8, Teams
The eight teams that competed in the MTN 8 Wafa Wafa knockout competition are: (listed according to their finishing position in the 2008–09 Premier Soccer League.


2009 MTN 8, Teams
The draw for the first round took place of 13 July 2009. Games will be played over 4 and 5 August 2009.


2009 MTV Europe Music Awards
The MTV Europe Music Awards 2009 took place in Berlin, Germany at the O2 World and Brandenburg Gate on 5 November 2009. The awards ceremony was presented by Katy Perry for a 2nd consecutive year. It was the fourth time that the MTV Europe Music Awards were hosted in Germany and the second time that they were hosted in Berlin, since the inaugural edition of the MTV Europe Music Awards also took place there. Thus Berlin became the first city to host the event twice.


2009 MTV Europe Music Awards
Nominations for regional awards were announced on 1 September 2009, followed by those of the main awards on September 21, 2009. Pete Wentz was the host for the 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards webcast.


2009 MTV Europe Music Awards
Though the MTV EMAs have traditionally been advertised as Europe's premiere music event, few European artists received nominations in key categories.


2009 MTV Europe Music Awards
The 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards logo and promos were designed in-house by MTV World Design Studio in Milan and Buenos Aires with additional input by Swedish graphic design company Kungen & Hertigen.


2009 MTV Movie Awards
The 2009 MTV Movie Awards were presented on Sunday, May 31, 2009, at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California. Andy Samberg served as host for the 18th annual ceremony.


2009 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, honoring the best music videos from the previous year between June 2008 to June 2009, were presented on September 13, 2009, at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and televised by MTV. The ceremony was hosted by Russell Brand.


2009 MTV Video Music Awards
Beyoncé, Green Day, and Lady Gaga were tied for the most-awarded acts of the night, winning three awards each. Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" would win the award for Video of the Year, while Beyoncé and Lady Gaga were both tied for the largest number of nominations with nine, followed by Britney Spears with seven.


2009 MTV Video Music Awards
In the aftermath of his June 2009 death, the show featured various tributes to Michael Jackson, including an opening act featuring a medley of Jackson's biggest hits and a special appearance by Janet Jackson to perform her duet "Scream", and the premiere of a trailer for the posthumous documentary film Michael Jackson's This Is It.


2009 MTV Video Music Awards
The ceremony was marred when Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift's acceptance of the award for Best Female Video, in order to proclaim that despite her victory, Beyoncé still had "one of the best videos of all time" (in reference to the aforementioned "Single Ladies"). When Beyoncé was eventually awarded Video of the Year, she acknowledged the moment when she had won her first VMA as part of Destiny's Child, and invited Swift back to the stage to finish her acceptance speech. The incident was highly publicized after the ceremony, with Rolling Stone naming it the "wildest" moment in the history of the Video Music Awards in 2013.


2009 MTV Video Music Awards
The broadcast  was seen by a total of 9 million viewers, a 17% increase over 2008, making it the most-watched VMAs since 2004.


2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Performances, House band performances
Rapper Wale and go-go band UCB served as the house band for the show, performing right before, during, and right after commercial breaks. Throughout the show they also had various special guests and performed the following songs:


2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Awards, Best Choreography
Beyoncé – "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" (Choreographers: Frank Gatson Jr. and JaQuel Knight)


2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Awards, Best Editing
Beyoncé – "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" (Editor: Jarrett Fijal)


2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Awards, Best Cinematography
Green Day – "21 Guns" (Director of Photography: Jonathan Sela)


2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Awards, Best Breakout Artist Awards
Eight local MTV VMA Best Breakout Artist Awards were awarded. The table below lists the number of bands considered in each city, the three finalist nominees selected by MTV for each VMA, and the winner in bold. The winners were featured on MTV on local cable during the live VMAs and received featured coverage on MTV and MTV2 (or MTV Tr3́s in the case of the LA contest).


2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Taylor Swift and Kanye West incident
As Taylor Swift was giving her acceptance speech for Best Female Video for "You Belong with Me", Kanye West came on stage, took the microphone from her, and said: "Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for you, I'mma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!" (West was referring to the music video for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)".) As the audience booed, West handed the microphone back to Swift, flipped off the crowd, and walked off stage.


2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Taylor Swift and Kanye West incident
West was subsequently removed from the show. Later in the show, Beyoncé won Video of the Year for "Single Ladies" and called Swift back to the stage and to let her finish her speech.


2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Taylor Swift and Kanye West incident
Various celebrities and industry figures, and prominent political figures such as U.S. President Barack Obama and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, condemned West for the verbal outburst. West apologized on his blog and during an appearance on The Jay Leno Show.


2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Taylor Swift and Kanye West incident
Emil Wilbekin, managing editor of Essence magazine, argued that West may have gone too far with his antics this time: "I think that it was not Kanye's place to speak for Beyoncé or to ruin Taylor Swift's moment... It's OK for Kanye to rattle off about himself, but I think he crossed the line when he decided to speak for other people." Ann Powers of the Los Angeles Times opined that "from one vantage point, it was a case of chivalry gone horribly wrong" as West meant to "stand up for" Beyoncé. She added that when Swift accepted Beyoncé's invitation to return to the stage, "The two women [engaged in] a quick sisterly embrace, adding another layer of meaning to an already complicated moment. Now this controversy was about women sticking up for each other, too."


2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Taylor Swift and Kanye West incident
In 2013, Rolling Stone named the incident the wildest moment in VMA history. The outburst resulted in an Internet meme which consists of images of West being superimposed onto other images with text in the style of his interruption ("X is one of the greatest Y of all time", or variants thereon, in some cases preceded by "I'm really happy for you" and/or "I'mma let you finish")."


2009 MTV Video Music Awards Japan
The MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2009 was broadcast the 8th annual awards show on Saturday, May 30, at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Saitama. Gekidan Hitori was host the ceremony.


2009 MTV Video Music Awards Japan, Awards, Best Hip-Hop Video
Teriyaki Boyz featuring Busta Rhymes and Pharrell — "Zock On!"


2009 MTV Video Music Brazil
The 2009 MTV Video Music Brazil was hosted by Marcelo Adnet and took place at the Credicard Hall. It awarded the best in Brazilian music, popular culture and internet culture in the year of 2009. Despite being a Brazilian awards show, the 2009 VMB included live performances by American rapper Ja Rule (in duet with Brazilian pop singer Wanessa) and Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand, who were also nominated in the Best International Act category (but lost to Britney Spears).


2009 MTV Video Music Brazil
The 2009 VMB had over 20 categories, the largest number in the history of the show; therefore, part of the awards were delivered in a special show named "VMB Antes" ("VMB Before"), presented some hours before the main event, including small performances by the 2009 VMB Dream Band winners (the last year where the Dream Band category was maintained; in 2010 the category was extinguished) and winners in other categories.


2009 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas
The 2009 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas was an NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS post-season college football bowl game, in which the Brigham Young Cougars defeated the Oregon State Beavers 44–20. The game was played on Tuesday, December 22, 2009, at 5 p.m. PST at 40,000-seat Sam Boyd Stadium, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in Whitney, Nevada, and was televised on ESPN.


2009 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas
BYU played in the Las Vegas Bowl for the fifth straight year. BYU had gone 2–2 against Pac-10 opponents in the last four Las Vegas Bowls. This was the ninth meeting between the two teams, although the first time they met in this bowl game. Prior to the 2009 Las Vegas Bowl, Oregon State had a 5–3 lead in the series, winning the last meeting 10–7 in 1986. This was the first postseason meeting between the two teams.


2009 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas
Bronco Mendenhall, head coach for Brigham Young, is an Oregon State alumnus and it was revealed during the broadcast that he chose Oregon State specifically because Brigham Young did not recruit him and Oregon State had a game with BYU scheduled for the 1986 season. The 2009 game was the first meeting of two ranked teams in the bowl game's history.


2009 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas, Game summary
BYU wore their alternate royal blue jerseys, and OSU wore their away white jerseys.


2009 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas, Game summary
Weather was a significant factor in the game, with wind gusts up to 50 mph at times. At one point in the game the net used to catch field goals and PAT attempts, blew into the goalpost and became lodged, causing several minutes of delays as the game officials and field workers addressed the problems. ESPN, who was providing television coverage of the game, was forced to take down its Skycam, which traverses above the field, due to safety concerns created by the high winds. Oregon State was also unable to punt very well with the wind. They had 2 punts into the wind which netted 6 yards each.


2009 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas, Game summary
BYU was led by Senior Quarterback, Max Hall who threw for 192 yards and three touchdowns on his way to being named the bowl's MVP. Harvey Unga was the leading rusher for the Cougars with 76 yards on the ground to go with one rushing touchdown. BYU was also able to shut down the highly touted Rodgers brothers of Oregon State. RB Jacquizz Rodgers who goes by the nickname of Quizz, finished the season with 1,440 yards rushing and 21 touchdowns was held to a season-low 63 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. His brother James Rodgers, who finished the season with over 1,000 yards receiving, only had 4 catches for 30 yards.


2009 Macanese legislative election
Legislative elections were held in Macau on 20 September 2009. The official campaign began on 5 September, and several candidates received warnings from the Electoral Affairs Commission for having begun campaign activities beforehand.


2009 Macanese legislative election
As in 2005, there are 29 seats, only 12 of which are elected by universal suffrage under the highest averages method. The rest are "elected" by the functional "constituencies" or appointed by the Chief Executive.


2009 Macanese legislative election, The pro-democracy lists
This year, there are four lists advocating universal suffrage and political reforms.


2009 Macanese legislative election, The pro-democracy lists
In both 2001 and 2005, the New Democratic Macau Association, also referred as the democrats by local media, received the highest number of votes. Due to the divisors (1,2,4,8,...) employed in the highest averages method, they only managed to win 2 seats on both occasions (they would have achieved 3 seats had the original d'Hondt formula been used instead). Because of this, they split into two lists, namely Associação de Próspero Macau Democrático (APMD) and Associação Novo Macau Democrático (ANMD), contesting the election with the same manifesto. Similar strategies have been used by the Democratic Party of Hong Kong in the Hong Kong legislative elections, with mixed successes. APMD is led by Antonio Ng while Au Kam San leads ANMD, which means both lists have outgoing deputies (deputados) as their leading candidates.


2009 Macanese legislative election, The pro-democracy lists
The democrats campaign for one man one vote for the CE in 2014 (with nominations from the 300-member election committee) and direct election with public nominations in 2019. For the AL, they suggest abolishing all indirectly elected seats in 2013 and the end of appointed seats by the CE in 2017.


2009 Macanese legislative election, The pro-democracy lists
Agnes Lam, a local writer and an assistant professor of the University of Macau, leads the newly formed Observatório Cívico campaigning for direct election for the chief executive (CE) in 2019 and a directly elected legislative assembly (AL) by 2023. In addition to universal suffrage, Observatório Cívico also campaigns for reforming the electoral system by introducing multiple votes. She has also spoken against self-censorship in the local media and emphasised the importance of freedom of press. Some have questioned her pro-democracy views, with her being vice president of the pro-Beijing Macao Youth Foundation.


2009 Macanese legislative election, The pro-democracy lists
Associação de Activismo para a Democracia, the most radical list of the four, concentrates on campaigning for universal suffrage for both CE and AL by 2019, but is less concerned about other issues. Their leading candidates were removed by the security during a CCAC (Comissariado Contra a Corrupção) rally for "clean election", which was represented by all 16 lists, after shouting slogans on stage. They only received 654 votes (0.52%) in 2005.


2009 Macanese legislative election, The pro-democracy lists, Ng Seng Fong's pullout
The 4th candidate of Au Kam San's list (Associação Novo Macau Democrático or ANDM), Ng Seng Fong has resigned and pulled out from the election on 16 September. A local Chinese language newspaper revealed that Ng was given a 3-year sentence in July for frauds dating back to 2005. Ng claimed that she herself did not know about the said court case and only found out about it on the internet.


2009 Macanese legislative election, The pro-democracy lists, Ng Seng Fong's pullout
It is unclear how the court case carried out without her knowledge given that she commutes from Zhuhai to Macau frequently using her BIR (Macau ID card) to go through the custom. She has now filed an appeal against the decision. The police has launched an investigation into the leaks of these reports. It is claimed that only a handful of officers have access to the said records.


2009 Macanese legislative election, The pro-Beijing lists
The pro-Beijing lists can be divided into two categories, the ones with links to the business sector (especially the gaming industry) and those with traditionalist backgrounds.


2009 Macanese legislative election, The pro-Beijing lists
This year, they turn their attention to the economic crisis which has hit the gambling industry of Macau particularly badly. União para o Desenvolvimento emphasises on the need to diversify the local economy as well as reforming labour laws. União Macau-Guangdong on the other hand campaigns for greater cooperation between Macau and mainland China. Family reunification for immigrants from mainland China is also a campaign issues for various lists.


2009 Macanese legislative election, The pro-Beijing lists
Some of the pro-Beijing lists include political reform in their manifestos. However, they do not appear to support universal suffrage in the near future. UPP for example suggests the enlargement of election committee which would continue to elect the chief executive indirectly. AACPP and Aliança P’ra Mudança go further by claiming that Macau is "not ready" for universal suffrage.


2009 Macanese legislative election, The pro-Beijing lists, Gaming industry
The gaming industry has a strong presence in the election. Casinos in Macau currently employ 50,000 people, it is therefore expected that at least four seats would go to candidates with links to the industry according to a study carried out by Hong Kong Baptist University. Angela Leong, the director of STDM is expected to be re-elected under the list Nova União para Desenvolvimento de Macau. Melinda Chan, the leading candidate for Aliança Pr'a Mudança, has also worked in the gaming and hotel industry.


2009 Macanese legislative election, The pro-Beijing lists, Gaming industry
She campaigns against raising tax rates for the casinos and insists that casinos should bare no social responsibilities. Chan Meng Kam, the owner of Golden Dragon casino, together with Ung Choi Kun are running for re-election under the list Associação dos Cidadãos Unidos de Macau. They came second in 2005, but it was later revealed that their list was linked to a vote buying case for which 7 people were sent to prison.


2009 Macanese legislative election, The pro-Beijing lists, Gaming industry
The election commission ruled that it is illegal to display campaign materials in casinos. However, the list of Angela Leong has ignored this ruling and continued to display political posters in Grand Lisboa, a casino owned by STDM.


2009 Macanese legislative election, Macanese candidates
A unified list consisting of mainly candidates with Portuguese descent (Macanese), some born in Macau and others in Portugal, contests in this legislative election, under the name Voz Plural - Gentes de Macau. The list also has Chinese members. The platform calls for the protection of the heritage of Macau in a modern context of multiculturalism. One of the main issue they campaign for is to protect rights of foreign workers in RAEM, in bid to win votes from the sizeable Philippines and Indonesian communities. Voz Plural is the only list which campaigns in roughly equal proportions in Chinese, Portuguese and English (see below).


2009 Macanese legislative election, Macanese candidates
The top two candidates of Nova Esperança, José Pereira Coutinho and Rita Santos, are both Macanese. However, unlike Voz Plural, Nova Esperança concentrates on issues of labour rights and social issues. The outgoing deputy José Pereira Coutinho has proposed, but without success, the trade union bill twice during his time in the assembly so far.


2009 Macanese legislative election, Macanese candidates
Both lists support gradual political reforms and increasing the number of directly elected deputies in AL. However, their programs are less ambitious than the pro-democracy lists. In particular, Voz Plural does not campaign for universal suffrage according to their manifesto, due to a perception that such claim is not realistic for the next 4 years, proposing instead the increase of directly elected members from 12 to 18.


2009 Macanese legislative election, Languages
There is no restriction on the choice of language used in the campaigns. Traditionally, candidates concentrate on winning votes from the Chinese majority. With the participation of Voz Plural, more efforts are being made to translate manifestos into minority languages this year. For the first time, ANMD (and APMD) will make use of its campaign air time on the Portuguese channel of TDM. União Promotora para o Progresso (UPP) also campaigns in both Chinese and Portuguese. Associação de Apoio à Comunidade e Proximidade do Povo (AACPP), Observatório Cívico and Voz Plural all campaigns in three languages (Chinese, Portuguese and English). AACPP even sends out leaflets in Braille.


2009 Macanese legislative election, Languages
The use of Portuguese became an important election issue this year. During a debate between the two leading Macanese candidates, Casimiro Pinto and José Pereira Coutinho, organised by Ponto Final, discrimination against monoglot Portuguese was discussed. Apart from Voz Plural, Aliança Pr’a Mudança also supports multilingualism. Their education policies include promoting bilingual (Chinese and Portuguese) teaching in Macau. UPP also supports bilingualism favouring stronger ties with other lusophone trading partners.


2009 Macanese legislative election, Controversies, UPP's false start
União Promotora Para o Progresso (UPP), a list associated to the Kaifong association, has breached election regulations by distributing campaign materials outside the legal campaign period (5 to 18 September). On 20 August, Au Kam San of the ANMD made an official complaint to the electoral commission after UPP distributed leaflets on the street and published campaign advertisements with pictures of the UUP candidates in a local magazine, União Geral das Associações de Moradores de Macau. The said magazine was published with subsidies from Fundação Macau. The democrats accused Fundação Macau of financing "illegal" campaigns using public funds. However, the president of the electoral commission, Vasco Fong, ruled that the actions of UUP were due to ignorance and refused to punish the list.


2009 Macanese legislative election, Controversies, Internet war
There have been reports that some candidates received malicious emails containing a virus that would delete all the data of victims' computers. Observatórico Cívico claimed that they received tens of such messages. Many rumours have been spread on various internet forums. Many accusations were made against the democrats on the CTM forums, including claims of Au Kam San's link to Falun Gong.


2009 Macanese legislative election, Controversies, Smears against Kwan Tsui Hang
Anonymous posters were displayed throughout the city making false accusations against the outgoing deputy and the leader of União Para o Desenvolvimento, Kwan Tsui Hang. The posters claimed that Kwan was against government's recent cash relief scheme and would rather allocate the funds for corruption purposes. Kwan has denied all such claims. Despite having complained to the election commission, the posters continued to appear on the streets asserting people were making the wrong choice (for electing Kwan).


2009 Macanese legislative election, Ballot and Results
There are in total 16 lists, down 2 from 2005. In one form or another, 9 lists have contested in the 2005 election. The ballot order was announced on 29 July.


2009 Macanese legislative election, Ballot and Results
The election commissioner delayed the announcement of the final results after recording a large number of spoilt votes. On the first count, there were 6,539 spoilt votes, but 5,467 of them have been validated on the recount. Melinda Chan, the leading candidate of Aliança Pr'a Mudança, immediately filed a complaint against the decision arguing that according to electoral law, a tick should be put inside the designated box for the vote to be valid.


2009 Macanese legislative election, Ballot and Results
On 28 September, the court of last repeal (o Tribunal de Última Instância) ruled in favour of Melinda Chan and concluded that only 41 of the original spoilt votes should be valid. The ruling does not change the overall outcome of the election with the 12 original elected deputies remaining elected, but there is a slight change in the "ranking" of the lists.


2009 Macanese legislative election, Ballot and Results
The strategies of the democrats paid off, they managed to increase 1 seat which means there will be 4 pro-democracy deputies (including José Pereira Coutinho) in the new assembly. The traditionalists lost one seat despite both UPP and UPD increased their number of votes. In fact, UPD received the largest number of votes as a single list and saw the largest increase in votes. For the pro-business camp, there remain 5 deputies, 4 of which from the gaming industry. Analysts pointed out that there has not been a huge change in the make up of the AL which continues to be dominated by the pro-Beijing camp.


2009 Macanese legislative election, Candidates lists and results, Geographical constituencies (12 seats)
Voting System: Closed party-list proportional representation with the Highest averages method.


2009 Macanese legislative election, Turnout
28 polling stations were open from 9am to 9pm. A total of 149,006 (59.91% of registered voters) people voted, a record high. The regional breakdowns are as follows.


2009 Macau Grand Prix
The 2009 Macau Grand Prix Formula Three was the 56th Macau Grand Prix race held on the streets of Macau on 22 November 2009. It was supported by the 2009 Guia Race of Macau. The TOM'S team were looking for their third Macau win in succession, after Oliver Jarvis and Keisuke Kunimoto won the race in the previous two years. TOM'S did start the weekend well, with Marcus Ericsson taking pole position in the combined qualifying session, but Signature dominated the rest of the weekend, with Jean-Karl Vernay taking the race victory in the qualifying race, and Edoardo Mortara taking the Macau Grand Prix itself.


2009 Macau Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
All-Japan Formula Three champion Marcus Ericsson was immediately on the pace, setting the fastest time in the first half-hour session that was held prior to the first qualifying session. Ericsson's lap was over half a second faster than has nearest rival Edoardo Mortara, with two of the three Carlin cars filling positions three and four, with Brendon Hartley just edging out Daniel Ricciardo by 0.019 seconds. Stefano Coletti and Valtteri Bottas rounded out the top six. During the session, four drivers hit the wall, including all three Fortec Motorsport cars, and the Prema Powerteam machine of Daniel Zampieri.


2009 Macau Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
Daniel Ricciardo, after impressing on his first day's running in Macau.


2009 Macau Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
The first qualifying session saw Ericsson on top once again, improving his time by over a second from the practice session; but only secured the top spot, after a late crash by Signature's Laurens Vanthoor at Police, brought out a session-ending red flag. Ricciardo was top rookie as he ended up second, less than a tenth off the Swedish teenager's time. Having been usurped by those late runs, Mortara and Hartley wound up third and fourth, ahead of the first ART Grand Prix car of Sam Bird.


2009 Macau Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
Despite his late accident, Vanthoor finished sixth, ahead of Coletti, Hitech Racing's Mika Mäki, the third Signature machine of Formula 3 Euro Series veteran Jean-Karl Vernay and Bottas, who like Vanthoor, crashed during the session. Manor Motorsport cars filled row six with Carlos Huertas just shading Roberto Merhi by just 0.027 seconds, which put them ahead of the third Carlin of Max Chilton, the Räikkönen Robertson duo of Renger van der Zande (14th) and Alexander Sims (16th), with somewhat surprisingly, Formula 3 Euro Series champion Jules Bianchi splitting the pair, in fifteenth position.


2009 Macau Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
Ericsson's team-mate Takuto Iguchi was the fastest of the Japanese trio in seventeenth, ahead of Kei Cozzolino, Wayne Boyd, Koki Saga, Jake Rosenzweig, Yuji Kunimoto (the brother of 2008 winner Keisuke) and the Kolles & Heinz Union pair of Stef Dusseldorp and Alexandre Imperatori. Rounding out the thirty runners were local favourite Michael Ho, British Formula 3 National Class champion Daniel McKenzie, the unwell Henry Arundel, Víctor García, Kevin Chen and Zampieri, who did not set a time after his crash in the earlier practice session.


2009 Macau Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
A second thirty-minute practice session was held the following day, with Mortara setting the fastest time; the only driver to break into the 2:10s. His lap of 2:10.593, was an unofficial lap record as it was the fastest lap ever recorded at the Guia Circuit. It was more than a second under Marko Asmer's official lap record, set in 2007. Eight other drivers were also under the old mark, with tenth place Bianchi just outside the record. Ricciardo continued his fine form in second, despite not improving his time after a mid-session setup change. Bottas was third ahead of Hartley, Ericsson, Bird and the rest. Apart from an accident involving Chen at Maternity, this session passed relatively peacefully.


2009 Macau Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
After topping the first qualifying session, Ericsson continued his form into second practice, recording the fastest lap in the history of the Macau Guia Circuit. His lap of 2:10.042 put him on pole position, despite hitting the barriers at Matsuya close to the end of qualifying, and damaging his rear wing. After setting the ninth-fastest time during the Thursday qualifying session, Vernay joined Ericsson on the front row after setting a time fractionally slower than his Swedish rival. Bottas lined up third, also moving up seven places from his Thursday position, and was joined on row two by Mortara.


2009 Macau Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
Ricciardo wound up in fifth position, after making an error at Lisboa which resulted in his front wing making slight contact with the barriers, and was the only other driver within a second of Ericsson's pace. The two remaining ART Grand Prix cars adorned row four with Bianchi edging out Bird, while the top ten was completed by Coletti and Mäki.


2009 Macau Grand Prix, Report, Practice and qualifying
Iguchi again finished up as the top Japanese runner in eleventh position, ahead of Hartley, who did not improve on his Thursday time and thus tumbled from row two to row six, as he recorded the thirteenth fastest time in the session. Merhi's twelfth-fastest time put him thirteenth in the classification, ahead of Sims, van der Zande, Kunimoto, Chilton and Boyd. Huertas held onto nineteenth overall, despite only being 26th in the session after suffering from engine gremlins that restricted him to just one flying lap. Rosenzweig, Cozzolino, Zampieri, García, Saga, Dusseldorp, Imperatori, Arundel, McKenzie, Ho and Chen completed the grid.


2009 Macau Grand Prix, Report, Qualification Race
Jean-Karl Vernay, after surprising himself by taking victory and a new outright lap record.


2009 Macau Grand Prix, Report, Qualification Race
After hitting the wall on countless occasions over the previous two days, Chen was withdrawn from the race due to a cracked monocoque. Thus, this left the grid at 29 for the 10-lap race, and Vernay got the jump on Ericsson away from the start-finish line, and took the lead into the first corner, but by the time the drivers had reached Lisboa, Ericsson was back in front just as the safety car came out. Further back, Bianchi rode over the rear wheel of Mortara at San Francisco, causing enough damage for the Frenchman to pit.


2009 Macau Grand Prix, Report, Qualification Race
Rosenzweig collided with the barriers at the Mandarin, which brought the safety car out for three laps. Arundel's Carlin car encountered mechanical troubles under the safety car, after some debris punctured a hole in the radiator of his Volkswagen engine. This left the order as Ericsson, Vernay, Mortara (who moved up despite his collision), Bottas, Ricciardo, Vanthoor, Bird, Coletti, Mäki and Hartley. Boyd moved up five positions at the start, as he was the biggest winner off the line.


2009 Macau Grand Prix, Report, Qualification Race
At the lap four restart, Vernay made ground up on Ericsson, and managed to slipstream past the All-Japan Formula Three champion on the run to Lisboa. Ricciardo tried a similar move on Bottas but could not manage to complete the pass, and such was his momentum loss, Vanthoor managed to slip through on the Australian into fifth position. Another Carlin driver in the wars was Hartley, as he clouted Coletti out of eighth position. Over the succeeding laps, Asmer's lap record from 2007 took a pounding as first Mortara and then Vernay took the lap record into the 2:10 bracket.


2009 Macau Grand Prix, Report, Qualification Race
However, any further progress for the record to fall was halted by a huge accident that befell Boyd on lap seven. Running in eleventh position, the young Ulsterman pulled out to pass his team-mate Mäki on the exit of the Mandarin, but clipped the car's left rear wheel at 170 mph. Boyd's Dallara became airborne and was launched into a frightening aerial somersault, landing upside down before righting itself via a hit with the retaining wall. His car rebounded across the circuit, and was luckily avoided by every one of the cars around him on track.


2009 Macau Grand Prix, Report, Qualification Race
The crash meant the last three laps of the race were completed behind the safety car, and pulled in to allow the cars to pass across the line without overtaking. This allowed Vernay to win the race, securing pole position for the main race on Sunday. Ericsson was second ahead of Mortara – once he had returned the place back to the Swede – with Bottas, Vanthoor, Ricciardo, Bird, Iguchi, Merhi and Mäki completing the top ten. Outside the top ten were van der Zande, Kunimoto, Sims, García, Chilton, Cozzolino, Dusseldorp, Saga, Huertas, Zampieri, Bianchi and Coletti after their respective collisions, Imperatori, Hartley, McKenzie and Ho rounded out the 26 classified finishers.


2009 Macau Grand Prix, Report, Warm-up
A twenty-minute warm-up session was held on the morning of the main race. Mortara again managed to squeeze out Ericsson to top the timesheets, with Coletti also being within a tenth of a second from the fastest time. Ricciardo was fourth ahead of Bottas, van der Zande, Sims, Chilton, Merhi and the qualification race winner Vernay. Ho and Boyd did not set times during the session, with the Ulsterman's Hitech Racing car looking unlikely to start the race after his accident on Saturday.


2009 Macau Grand Prix, Report, Main Race
Edoardo Mortara, on a lap record and his life-changing Macau victory.


2009 Macau Grand Prix, Report, Main Race
After his victory in the qualification race, Vernay started from pole position with Ericsson starting alongside, with Mortara and Bottas on row two. Due to damage inflicted in his spectacular accident the previous day, Boyd did not start, thus leaving the grid at 28 cars. Once again, Ericsson made an awful getaway, with Bottas and Mortara both slotting in behind a fast-starting Vernay. Into Lisboa, Ricciardo got alongside Ericsson as they battled for fourth with the Australian brushing the wall and the two continued side by side into San Francisco, with Ricciardo again nudging the wall.


2009 Macau Grand Prix, Report, Main Race
Behind them, Vanthoor left his braking far too late for Lisboa, and mounted over Chilton, which caused the teenage Briton to retire on the spot. Ricciardo's clip with the wall caused a left-rear puncture, but he managed to carry on up the hill, until he crashed at the entrance to the Solitude Esses. His car rebounded off the wall, and into direct line of the rest of the field. No less than half a dozen cars impacted with the stricken car, and blocked the track which ultimately led to a red flag, and a race suspension.


2009 Macau Grand Prix, Report, Main Race
Also taken out in the incident were the third Carlin of Hartley, the Premas of Coletti and Zampieri, the Fortecs of Rosenzweig and McKenzie, and Ho. Imperatori was also involved, returning to the pits for a lengthy period, but returned to complete three laps towards the end. Vanthoor, with a damaged front wheel after his collision with Chilton, stopped just short of the accident site, and was thus able to continue in the race.


2009 Macau Grand Prix, Report, Main Race
After a lap behind the safety car, the field were let loose again at the beginning of lap three. Vernay closed in on his Italian team-mate, slipstreaming past him on the run to the Mandarin, and doing enough to hold off Mortara into Lisboa. For the ensuing laps, Vernay was doing what he had to do to keep his team-mate, who had stepped back from GP2 to rid himself of his close defeat to Keisuke Kunimoto in the previous year's race.


2009 Macau Grand Prix, Report, Main Race
Further back, Bianchi, who had avoided the first lap incidents was quietly moving his way up the field, and was eleventh by the end of lap seven. Sims had also dropped to the tail of the field, after a move on Cozzolino failed, and he made an unscheduled trip up the Lisboa escape road. Mortara started charging back towards Vernay, and in the process, broke the Frenchman's lap record set the day before. Mortara lowered it to a lap of 2:10.732, lapping the circuit at close to 105 mph, and well under the previous record held by Marko Asmer. Cozzolino exited the race on lap eleven, crashing at Black Sands without the need for the safety car to reappear.


2009 Macau Grand Prix, Report, Main Race
The race's decisive moment also occurred on lap eleven. Coming out of the Melco Hairpin, Vernay fluffed a gear shift, and Mortara moved within half a second of him. At the line, Vernay's lead was 0.4 seconds, Mortara was in his slipstream, and the pass seemed inevitable. Sure enough, Mortara lined him up, and overtook him into Lisboa. Bird took fourth from Ericsson on the same lap, and looked set to finish behind team-mate Bottas; a far cry from his first-lap exit in 2008 after being taken out by Räikkönen Robertson Racing's Roberto Streit on the run to Mandarin.


2009 Macau Grand Prix, Report, Main Race
Mortara cruised to victory, winning by 1.1 seconds ahead of Vernay. Drama struck Bottas on the final lap, when he encountered a problem with one of his wheels. This cost him a podium, as both Bird and Ericsson managed to pass him. Merhi had been set for sixth, but hit the barriers at Lisboa on the final lap, and ended up being classified seventeenth. This promoted the second TOM'S car of Iguchi into sixth, ahead of van der Zande, Mäki, Kunimoto and Bianchi, who made the top ten at Merhi's expense, making up eleven positions in fifteen laps. Outside the top ten were García, Huertas, Vanthoor, Saga, Dusseldorp and Arundel. Missing from the list was Sims, who retired on the final lap with a misfire. He was classified behind Merhi in eighteenth and last.


2009 Macau Open Grand Prix Gold
The 2009 Macau Open Grand Prix Gold was a badminton tournament which took place at the Tap Seac Multi-sports Pavilion, Macau on 18 to 23 August 2009 and had a total purse of $120,000.


2009 Maccabi Men's Challenger
The 2009 Maccabi Men's Challenger was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was part of the 2009 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Melbourne, Australia between 23 and 29 February 2009.


2009 Maccabi Men's Challenger, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2009 Maccabi Men's Challenger, Champions, Men's doubles
Sanchai Ratiwatana /  Sonchat Ratiwatana def. Chen Ti /  Danai Udomchoke, 7–6(5), 5–7, [10–7]


2009 Maccabi Men's Challenger – Doubles
Sanchai and Sonchat Ratiwatana won the title after defeating Chen Ti and Danai Udomchoke 7–6(7–5), 5–7, [10–7] in the final.


2009 Maccabi Men's Challenger – Singles
Bernard Tomic won in the final of the first edition of these championships. He defeated his countryman Marinko Matosevic in three sets (5–7, 6–4, 6–3).


2009 Maccabiah Games
The 2009 Maccabiah Games (Hebrew: המכביה ה-18 ישראל תשס"ט), the 18th incarnation of the Maccabiah Games, were held in July 2009. According to the organizing committee these were the largest games held yet. These Games were the world's fifth-largest sporting event, behind the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, World Police and Fire Games, and Universiade. On the 13th of July, more than 6,000 Jewish athletes from all over the world joined Team Israel's 3,000 participants at the Ramat Gan Stadium in Tel Aviv District, Israel, for the opening ceremony.


2009 Maccabiah Games, History
The Maccabiah Games were first held in 1932. In 1961, they were declared a "Regional Sports Event" by, and under the auspices and supervision of, the International Olympic Committee. The Maccabiah Games are open to Jewish athletes from around the world, as well as to all Israeli athletes regardless of ethnicity or  religion. Arab Israelis have also competed in it.


2009 Maccabiah Games, Notable competitors
Greco-Roman former world champion wrestler Lindsey Durlacher was the flagbearer for the US, and Olympic pole vaulter Jillian Schwartz was one of the US banner bearers. US Olympic and world champion swimmer Jason Lezak won four gold medals (in the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 4×100m freestyle relay, and 4×100m medley relay), while setting four Maccabiah records, and was named the most outstanding male athlete of the Games. American basketball player Dan Grunfeld led the US Open Men's Basketball team, which included Bryan Cohen, to a gold medal over Israel, as college basketball coach Bruce Pearl coached the team.


2009 Maccabiah Games, Notable competitors
American swimmer Andrea Murez won nine medals (five gold and four silver), breaking all-time Maccabiah Games records while winning gold medals in four individual events: 50m freestyle (26.44); 100m freestyle (0:56.44); 200m freestyle (2:03:45); and 200m Individual Medley (2:20.74), and earned her 5th gold medal anchoring the USA 4 × 100m Freestyle Relay team, which set an all-time Maccabiah Games record (3:53:55). American Max Fried, who in 2017 became a major league baseball player with the Atlanta Braves, won a gold medal with the Team USA Juniors baseball team.


2009 Maccabiah Games, Notable competitors
American Brian L. Roberts won a silver medal in squash. Zach Test and Shawn Lipman played for the US Maccabiah rugby union team, winning a bronze medal. The American delegation arrived two weeks prior to the games to hold practice sessions at a cost of more than two and a half million dollars.


2009 Maccabiah Games, Notable competitors
Israeli champion Laetitia Beck won an individual gold medal and a team gold medal in golf at the Games. Israeli fencers who won gold medals were Tomer Or in men's foil, and Ayelet Ohayon in women's team foil.


2009 Maccabiah Games, Notable competitors
Israeli swimmers who won gold medals were Amit Ivry in the Women's 100m  butterfly (with a time of 58.50), Keren Siebner in the 4×200m freestyle and the 4×100m medley, Guy Barnea in the Men's 100m backstroke (with a time of 54.22, setting a new Maccabiah Games record and Israeli record), Gal Nevo in the 400m medley, and Alon Mandel in the 100m butterfly (setting a new Maccabiah Games record of 52.99 seconds).


2009 Maccabiah Games, Notable competitors
Israeli swimmers who won silver medals included Nimrod Shapira Bar-Or in the 100m freestyle (49.02; behind Jason Lezak, and a new Israeli record)  and Vitali  Pushkar in the 50m freestyle behind Jason Lezak. Israeli judokas Or Sasson, a future Olympic bronze medalist, and Golan Pollack, a future world championship bronze medalist, won gold medals at −100 kg and half lightweight (under 66 kg). Israeli judokas Yarden Gerbi, a future world champion and Olympic bronze medalist, and Gregory Rudelson won silver medals. Israeli gymnast Valeria Maksyuta won gold on the vault, and silver medals in the all-around and on the uneven bars.


2009 Maccabiah Games, Notable competitors
Israeli runner Maor Tiyouri was the silver medalist in the 1500m and a bronze medalist in the 800m. Israelis Timor Avitan, Tzahi Elihen, Muayan Halaili, Osher Zeitun, and Hana Nasser won a bronze medal in football.


2009 Maccabiah Games, Notable competitors
Bensiyon Songavkar played for Team India and won a silver medal in cricket. Hungarian gymnast Orsolya Nagy won a bronze medal; also a fencer, she won a bronze medal in the individual sabre event at the 2009 World Fencing Championships. Brazilian judoka and future world championship silver medalist and Olympic bronze medalist Felipe Kitadai won a bronze medal, beating Lindsey Durlacher along the way.


2009 Maccabiah Games, Notable competitors
Chess grandmaster Judit Polgár from Hungary, the number 1 rated woman in the world, was named the Maccabiah's most outstanding female athlete of the Games. Russian chess grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi, later ranked fourth in the world, won a gold medal.


2009 Maccabiah Games, Sports
The following are the 31 sports which were contested at these Games.


2009 Maccabiah Games medal table
This is the full table of the medal count of the 2009 Maccabiah Games. These rankings sort by the number of gold medals earned by a country (in this context a country is an entity represented by a National Maccabi Federation). The number of silvers is taken into consideration next, and then the number of bronze. If, after the above, countries are still tied, equal ranking is given and they are listed alphabetically.


2009 Macedonian presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Macedonia in 2009. The first round was held on 22 March, alongside local elections. As no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, a run-off round was held on 5 April 2009, which was won by Gjorge Ivanov of the center-right VMRO-DPMNE party. Incumbent President Branko Crvenkovski did not stand for re-election.


2009 Macedonian presidential election, Electoral system
The elections were held using the two-round system; a candidate required a majority of the vote in the first round of voting, with a second round held if no candidate crossed the threshold. There was also a requirement for voter turnout in the second round to be at least 40% to validate the result.


2009 Macedonian presidential election, Candidates
On 25 January 2009, the largest party in the Macedonian parliament, VMRO-DPMNE, appointed Gjorge Ivanov as the party's presidential candidate. On 26 January 2009, the biggest opposition party in the country, the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia, proposed the former Minister of Internal Affairs and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Ljubomir Frčkoski for presidential candidate. The other candidates were the independent Ljube Boškoski, New Democracy leader Imer Selmani, Nano Ružin from the Liberal Democratic Party, Agron Buxhaku of the Democratic Union for Integration and Mirushe Hoxha of the Democratic Party of Albanians, the only female candidate.


2009 Macedonian presidential election, Opinion polls
There was a poll held in January 2009, before any names of candidates for president were made official, according to which 31.2% of the Macedonian citizens would vote for the candidate to be proposed by conservative party VMRO-DPMNE while 11.4% would give their vote to the candidate of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia.


2009 Macedonian presidential election, Opinion polls
A poll from February 2009 saw Ivanov at 27%, Frčkoski at 13%, Boškoski at 10%, Selmani at 9% and other candidates together at 18%. In a run-off, Ivanov would win over Frčkoski with 36% to 21%, with a large number of undecideds, however. A poll from shortly before the election saw Ivanov leading with 23.1% before Selmani with 13.3% and Frčkoski at 9.7%; 23.9% were undecided.


2009 Macedonian presidential election, Opinion polls
A new poll, that was held one week prior to the run-off, saw Ivanov in lead with 25.4% and Frčkoski at 13.8% (that is, 69% to 31% of decided voters).


2009 Macedonian presidential election, Conduct
Nearly 7,000 Macedonian and 500 foreign observers monitored the vote at Macedonia's nearly 3,000 polling stations. A fair and democratic election has been seen as an important factor for Macedonia's induction to NATO and the European Union.


2009 Macedonian presidential election, Results
In the first round, Ivanov strongly led in front of the other candidates with 35%, with Frčkoski getting 20% and coming in second place and advancing to the run-off. New Democracy's Imer Selmani, who had been dubbed the "Macedonian Obama" for his ability to transcend the ethnic boundaries and appeal to ethnically Macedonian voters, as well, was by far the most successful candidate, gaining 15% of the vote and coming in third place, closely behind the independent Boškoski. 103 voting stations could not open due to heavy snowfall; voting was to be rescheduled there.


2009 Macedonian presidential election, Results
Some days before the second round of the elections took place, VMRO-DPMNE and the Democratic Union for Integration agreed on supporting each other on both, the local and presidential elections.


2009 Macedonian presidential election, Results
In part due to the existence of many voters in the registers who have left Macedonia years ago and live abroad, and in part due to the lack of motivation for ethnic Albanians to participate in the second round, there were fears that the minimum turnout of 40% might not be met in the second round, invalidating the election.


2009 Macedonian presidential election, Results
There was a significant number of invalid ballots in both rounds, 3.15% in the first round and even 5.87% in the runoff. According to media reports, this was due to voter apathy and disenchantment with the candidates. It is reported that there was a Facebook group "Vote for Chuck Norris" with thousands of fans. It was also reported that on thousands of ballots names like "Chuck Norris", "GOD", "Jimi Hendrix" or "George Bush" were hand-written by the voters.


2009 Mackay Cutters season
The 2009 Mackay Cutters season was the second in the club's history. Coached by Shane Muspratt and captained by Jardine Bobongie, they competed in the QRL's Wizard Cup. The club finished the season in 14th, last place, winning the wooden spoon.


2009 Mackay Cutters season, Season summary
The 2009 season started strongly for the Cutters, with three straight wins before a run of nine straight losses sunk them to the bottom of the table. A 10–34 loss to the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the final game of the regular season saw them finish last on points differential. Local junior Jardine Bobongie joined the club in 2009 and won their Player of the Year award after spending the 2008 season playing for the St George Illawarra Dragons' New South Wales Cup side. He would go on to play an influential role in their maiden premiership four years later, captaining the side in the Grand Final victory. 2009 saw the Cutters have their first Queensland Residents representative, with North Queensland Cowboys contracted prop Dayne Weston being selected in the side.


2009 Mackay Cutters season, Squad List, 2009 squad
The following players contracted to the North Queensland Cowboys played for the Cutters in 2009: Mitchell Achurch, Ben Farrar, Ben Harris, Shannon Hegarty, Antonio Kaufusi, Donald Malone, Anthony Perkins, Steve Rapira, Grant Rovelli, Anthony Watts and Dayne Weston.


2009 Magny-Cours Superbike World Championship round
The 2009 Magny-Cours Superbike World Championship round was the thirteenth round of the 2009 Superbike World Championship season. It took place on the weekend of October 2–4, 2009 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours.


2009 Magny-Cours Superbike World Championship round, Results, Supersport race classification
The Supersport race was red-flagged during the 20th lap, due to an accident occurred to Michele Pirro. The classification was based on the standings after 19 laps.


2009 Magny-Cours Superleague Formula round
The 2009 Magny-Cours Superleague Formula round was the opening round of the 2009 Superleague Formula season, with the races taking place on 28 June 2009. Liverpool F.C. and A.C. Milan shared the two race wins, with Liverpool also being the Weekend Winner after winning the six-car Super Final. The supporting events were the Euroseries 3000 and the Mitjet Series.