2009 Florida Gators softball team, Game notes, Texas A&M (NCAA Gainesville Regional - Game 3)
Florida immediately responded in the bottom of the inning. Paculba started things off with a single, and Hilberth reached on a fielder's choice in which they failed to get Paculba in time. Enea double with one out to score Paculba and move Hilberth to third. Bruder brought in Hilberth on a sacrifice fly to deep right field. Florida scored three more times in the bottom of the sixth thanks to missed assignments defensively by the Aggies. Tiffany DeFelice hit a one-out single, and Le-Net Franklin came in to pinch run for her.


2009 Florida Gators softball team, Game notes, Texas A&M (NCAA Gainesville Regional - Game 3)
Michelle Moultrie laid down a bunt that spun around the batter's box, but never went foul. The Aggie first baseman came in to cover the bunt, and no one went to cover first, so when the catcher finally picked up the ball and threw there, it rolled into right field. Moultrie stayed on first until she realized that no one was covering second anymore, and Franklin went home from third because the right fielder inexplicably held onto the ball. Hilberth singled again and stole second, putting two runners in scoring position with two outs, and both were brought home on Ali Gardiner's first hit of the weekend in the Gator's next at-bat, a 2-RBI single that put Florida ahead by the final margin, 7-1.


2009 Florida Gators softball team, Game notes, Lehigh (NCAA Gainesville Regional - Game 6)
In their regional championship game, the Gators turned yet another close game into a rout. Florida got one base runner through the first three innings (a Megan Bush walk in the third) before they made the adjustments against Lehigh pitcher Lisa Sweeney. Kristina Hilberth led off the top of the fourth with a double to left center and moved to third on Ali Gardiner's groundout to second. Francesca Enea scored Hilberth on a double to center field and Kelsey Bruder scored Enea with an RBI single to right field.


2009 Florida Gators softball team, Game notes, Lehigh (NCAA Gainesville Regional - Game 6)
In the sixth inning, the Gators put the game out of reach. With Aja Paculba on base due to a walk from Sweeney, Hilberth singled, and Gardiner grounded into a fielder's choice that moved Paculba to third. Enea walked to load the bases for Bruder, who singled, scoring Paculba and pinch runner Lauren Heil. After pinch runner Brooke Johnson was thrown out trying to steal, Corrie Brooks hit a two-run homer to clear the bases.


2009 Florida Gators softball team, Game notes, Lehigh (NCAA Gainesville Regional - Game 6)
The seventh saw lead-off pinch hitter Alicia Sisco start things off with a double to left center and advance to third on pinch hitter Kim Waleszonia's groundout to second. Paculba then hit a single to score Sisco. With two outs, Gardiner and Enea singled, loading the bases yet again for Bruder, who doubled, scoring Paculba and Gardiner. Senior pitcher Stacey Nelson pitched seven scoreless innings for her 19th shutout of the year. She also only allowed three hits, struck out seven, and walked none in a tidy, 72-pitch performance.


2009 Florida Gators softball team, Game notes, California (NCAA Gainesville Super Regional - Game 1)
Florida scored one run in each of the first two innings, which turned out to be all they needed as Stacey Nelson allowed three hits and struck out 13 batters. In the bottom of the first, Aja Paculba led off with a solo homer after fouling off several pitches. The Gators' other run came in the bottom of the second, beginning with a single from Megan Bush. Bush moved to second and then third on two sacrifice bunts from Tiffany DeFelice and Kim Waleszonia. She came home on a wild pitch from California pitcher Marissa Drewery.


2009 Florida Gators softball team, Game notes, California (NCAA Gainesville Super Regional - Game 2)
After allowing the Bears to score (unearned) in the bottom of the first inning, Florida scored two runs in the third to take the lead, 2-1. Stephanie Brombacher walked the leadoff batter, who was thrown out on Shannon Thomas's fielder's choice. Thomas stole second, then moved to third on a ground out. An error from shortstop Megan Bush allowed Samoe Kekahuma to get on base and Thomas to get home. Stacey Nelson came into the game in the third and shut down the Bears' offense, allowing 3 base runners the rest of the way.


2009 Florida Gators softball team, Game notes, California (NCAA Gainesville Super Regional - Game 2)
The two runs for Florida came in the top of the third. Bush and Tiffany DeFelice got on base via a hit by pitch and a walk. Kim Waleszonia moved both runners into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt, and Aja Paculba got the two RBIs on a double to left center. Although Kristina Hilberth followed Paculba with a single, a ground out and a strike out left them both on base.


2009 Florida Gators softball team, Game notes, Arizona (Women's College World Series - Game 4)
In Florida's opening game in the 2009 Women's College World Series, Francesca Enea and Megan Bush hit homers to give Stacey Nelson her 40th win of the season. After Nelson gave up two hits to start the game, the Wildcats could not manage another one against her. Only three more Wildcats got on base for the rest of the game, all via walk, but 12 strike outs and the flawless Gator defense left them all on first.


2009 Florida Gators softball team, Game notes, Arizona (Women's College World Series - Game 4)
In the bottom of the first, Aja Paculba led off with a walk, and Kristina Hilberth's chopper to short put two runners on with no outs when the shortstop looked to get the lead runner. After Ali Gardiner grounded into a 5-3 double play, Enea hit her school-record 18th home run of the season to put Florida up 2-0. Bush hit her solo shot to begin the second inning for the Gators' only other run of the night.


2009 Florida Gators softball team, Game notes, Michigan (Women's College World Series - Game 6)
In their second game at the WCWS, Florida's only run came off the bat of Megan Bush, who homered in the top of the sixth. The one run stood because of another outstanding pitching performance from Stacey Nelson, who allowed one hit (a single), struck out nine, and walked none in her 22nd shutout of the season. Both teams had their chances to score, but neither could convert them into runs. In the top of third, Kristina Hilberth led off with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Kim Waleszonia.


2009 Florida Gators softball team, Game notes, Michigan (Women's College World Series - Game 6)
Aja Paculba flew out to deep left for the second out, and although Tiffany DeFelice drew a two-walk, a force out at third off a fielder's choice kept Florida from scoring. In the fourth, Kelsey Bruder led off with a double, but when Bush struck out and Ali Gardiner grounded out, Bruder found herself on third with two outs. Brooks fouled out to right to end the inning.


2009 Florida Gators softball team, Game notes, Michigan (Women's College World Series - Game 6)
Michigan's scoring opportunity came in the bottom of the fourth when Bree Evans led off with a single that barely got past the glove of Bush. Angela Findlay laid down a bunt for the sacrifice, but Nelson unsuccessfully went to second, trying to get the lead runner. Amanda Chidester laid down a sacrifice bunt that moved both runners into scoring position with one out. Nelson struck out Roya St. Clair and Maggie Viefhaus for the second and third outs of the inning.


2009 Florida Gators softball team, Game notes, Michigan (Women's College World Series - Game 6)
Florida countered again in the following half inning with a one-out single from Waleszonia and a subsequent walk to Paculba. Defelice grounded out to the first baseman, but was able to moved both runners. Nikki Nemitz, who came in to relieve Jordan Taylor, intentionally walked Francesca Enea to bring up Bruder, who struck out.


2009 Florida Gators softball team, Game notes, Alabama (Women's College World Series - Game 12)
In their fifth meeting of the season with Alabama, Florida used a walk-off grand slam from Ali Gardiner to send themselves to the WCWS Championship Series. Alabama scored first, as the eventual loser had done in each of the previous meetings, when Kelley Montalvo hit an RBI single up the middle to score Jennifer Fenton from third. Fenton singled to left to lead of the third, advanced to second on a fielding error by Francesca Enea, and moved to third on a groundout. In the bottom of the fourth, Enea drew a lead off walk, and Kelsey Bruder hit a homer to give Florida the lead back.


2009 Florida Gators softball team, Game notes, Alabama (Women's College World Series - Game 12)
However, Alabama would go on a two-out rally in the top of the fifth, starting with Brittany Rogers. Rogers barely beat out an infield hit and wasted no time stealing second. She tied the game when Lauren Parker hit a singled to score her. After Montalvo singled and Charlotte Morgan walked to load the bases, Stacey Nelson hit Cassie Reilly-Boccia to bring in the runner at third. Ashley Holcombe doubled to score two more runs and give the Tide a 5-2 lead. Unfortunately for Alabama, in the bottom of seventh, Kelsi Dunne walked the lead off batter.


2009 Florida Gators softball team, Game notes, Alabama (Women's College World Series - Game 12)
Then, with one out, Enea hit a single to left center. With two outs, Megan Bush drew a five-pitch walk, loading the bases for a slumping Gardiner, who took the 2-1 pitch over the left field wall for her first career grand slam and a 6-5 Florida win. Stephanie Brombacher got the win for Florida as Nelson was pulled from the game after the fifth inning. Brombacher pitched two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out four.


2009 Florida Gators softball team, Game notes, Washington (WCWS Championship Series - Game 1)
Florida lost the first game of the Women's College World Series championship series, 8-0, to Washington in a game where the Gators never looked like the team that previously had been undefeated in the postseason. Stacey Nelson recorded only her fourth loss of the season, allowing five hits and six runs, four earned. The righty walked only two and struck out five in the outing. Danielle Lawrie recorded the win for the Huskies, striking out 12, walking three and allowing two Gator hits.


2009 Florida Gators softball team, Game notes, Washington (WCWS Championship Series - Game 1)
Corrie Brooks and Michelle Moultrie recorded the hits for the Gators, as Brooks tallied an infield single in the third and Moultrie nailed a single to left field in the sixth. Washington, on the other hand, wasted no time getting on base in the first, but the Gators squashed the Huskies’ attempts to cross the plate. Ashley Charters started the game off with a high chopper back to the mound and beat Nelson's throw to first. She then advanced to third on a Gator error on Kimi Pohlman's grounder.


2009 Florida Gators softball team, Game notes, Washington (WCWS Championship Series - Game 1)
With two runners in scoring position, Jennifer Salling grounded to sophomore second baseman Aja Paculba, who fired home to Kristina Hilberth to tag out Charter and keep the Huskies off the board. Nelson went to work, getting the next batter swinging and next to ground out to end the inning and leave runners stranded at the corners.


2009 Florida Gators softball team, Game notes, Washington (WCWS Championship Series - Game 1)
The Huskies tallied four runs in the third to take the lead. Niki Williams led off the inning with a walk and moved to second on a stolen base. Charters followed with a hard-hit single to second and Pohlman hit a chopper to Megan Bush, who looked Williams back at third, but could do nothing with the ball. With the bases loaded, Salling nailed a single up the middle, scoring Williams and Charters.


2009 Florida Gators softball team, Game notes, Washington (WCWS Championship Series - Game 1)
Kim Waleszonia fired home to try to get Charters on a close play at the plate and Hilberth then tried to catch Salling advancing to second, but the ball sailed over Bush's head and both runners were able to hustle home to give Washington a 4-0 lead. After a lead-off walk in the fifth, the Gators got the next two lead runners at second on groundouts. Lawrie singled up the middle to put runners on first and second and Morgan Stuart nailed her fourth double of the WCWS, a new record, to score her teammates.


2009 Florida Gators softball team, Game notes, Washington (WCWS Championship Series - Game 1)
Stephanie Brombacher relieved Nelson in the sixth. After recording two outs, she gave up her fifth home run of the season to Charters to plate two more Huskies and give UW an 8-0 lead. Brombacher allowed two hits, two walks and the two runs in two innings of work.


2009 Florida Gators softball team, Game notes, Washington (WCWS Championship Series - Game 2)
Stacey Nelson struck out five and allowed one walk and six hits in her fifth loss of the season. Nelson and sophomore Megan Bush were named to the WCWS All-Tournament team for their performances. Danielle Lawrie earned both win against the Gators. She struck out eight on the night and allowed seven hits and one earned run.


2009 Florida Gators softball team, Game notes, Washington (WCWS Championship Series - Game 2)
The Gators took the lead early, tallying two runs in the first to start the game. Aja Paculba led off with a triple to center field and then scored on passed ball on the very next pitch. Kristina Hilberth reached on an error by the shortstop and moved to second an infield single to third by Francesca Enea. After a double steal, both Gators moved into scoring position. Kelsey Bruder drew a walk to load the bases and Bush recorded her second sacrifice fly of the season to bring Hilberth home.


2009 Florida Gators softball team, Game notes, Washington (WCWS Championship Series - Game 2)
The Huskies evened the score in the bottom of the inning. They tallied two singles before Nelson got Jennifer Salling looking. Lawrie singles through the right side to score one and move a runner to third. A wild pitch tied the score at two apiece. Nelson forced the next two Huskies to ground out to end the inning. Washington then took the lead in the third loading the bases with only one out on an error and two singles. Morgan Stuart hit a dribbler back to the mound, which Nelson could not pick up to score Kimi Pohlman to give the Huskies a 3-2 advantage.


2009 Florida Gators softball team, Roster
The 2009 Florida Gators softball team has 7 seniors, 2 juniors, 7 sophomores, and 4 freshmen.


2009 Florida Gators softball team, Coaching staff
Head Coach: Tim Walton (4th season)Assistant Coaches: Jennifer Rocha (4th season), Jenny Gladding (3rd season)Student Coach: Mary Ratliff (1st season)Athletic Trainer: Eric KingStudent Trainer: Melissa RosenStrength & Conditioning Coordinator: Steven OrrisAcademic Counselor: Tony MeachamCommunications: Zanna OlloveProgram Coordinator: Brittany SouilliardManagers: Jessica Drew, Alex Dorsh, and Katherine Gladding


2009 Florida Gators softball team, Statistics
Key: BA = Batting Average, GP-GS = Games Played-Games Started, AB = At Bat, R = Runs Scored, H = Hits, 2B = Doubles, 3B = Triples, HR = Home Runs, RBI = Runs Batted In, Slg% = Slugging Percentage, BB = Walks, HBP = Hits By Pitch, SO = Strikeouts, OB% = On-Base Percentage, SB-Att = Stolen Bases-Attempted Stolen Bases, PO = Putouts, A = Assists, E = Errors, Fld% = Fielding Percentage


2009 Florida Gators softball team, Statistics
Key: ERA = Earned Run Average, W-L = Wins-Losses, APP-GS = Appearances-Starts, CG = Complete Games, SHO = Shutouts/Combined Shutouts, SV = Saves, IP = Innings Pitched, H = Hits Against, R = Runs Against, ER = Earned Runs Against, BB = Walks, SO = Strikeouts, 2B = Doubles Against, 3B = Triples Against, HR = Home Runs Against, AB = At-Bats, B/AVG = Opponent's Batting Average, WP = Wild Pitches, HBP = Hits By Pitch, BK = Balks


2009 Florida Marlins season
The 2009 Florida Marlins season was the 17th season for the Major League Baseball franchise. The Marlins played their home games at Sun Life Stadium. Fredi González returned for his third straight season as manager. The Marlins failed to make the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.


2009 Florida Marlins season, Regular season, April
Opening Day showcased the Marlins′ new emphasis on pitching and speed, although several home runs were hit too. New leadoff hitter Emilio Bonifacio had three stolen bases and an inside-the-park home run, going 4-for-5. A grand slam by Hanley Ramírez, and homers by Jorge Cantú and Jeremy Hermida capped a spectacular performance in a 12–6 win over the Washington Nationals. The 12 runs set a franchise record for most runs scored on Opening Day. Following an opening series sweep of Washington, the Marlins won two of three games against the New York Mets.


2009 Florida Marlins season, Regular season, April
Next, Florida had a nine-game road trip, visiting Atlanta, Washington, and Pittsburgh for three games each. The Marlins swept both the Braves and Nationals to earn a franchise-best 11—1 record to open a season. But then they stumbled in Pittsburgh, losing all three games to the Pirates. Then the Marlins returned home to meet the Phillies, and lost all three games there too. In the final game against Philadelphia, outfielder Cody Ross pitched an inning of relief, becoming the first Marlins position player to pitch since Jason Wood did so in 2007. The Marlins closed April with three straight wins on the road.


2009 Florida Marlins season, Regular season, May
The Marlins opened the month by losing the final three games of a four-game series at the Chicago Cubs. This was the beginning of one of the worst months in Marlins history going 5—20. Ricky Nolasco never returned to his 2008 form and was sent down to AAA. Worse yet, their number three starter Aníbal Sánchez got injured and the Marlins experimented with different pitchers including John Koronka, Graham Taylor, and even tried starting relievers Hayden Penn and Burke Badenhop before finally settling for Sean West. For the second time in 2009 a position player, Ross Gload pitched a hitless 9th inning in a 15—2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. After being 11—1 near the end of April the Marlins finished May with a 23—28 record.


2009 Florida Marlins season, Regular season, June
In June the Marlins slowly were able to climb back to a 40—39 record. Rookie pitcher Sean West went into the seventh inning against his childhood idol Randy Johnson and the San Francisco Giants with a no-hitter before Édgar Rentería hit a single. and Ricky Nolasco returned from the Minors and was better than ever. Hanley Ramírez started to play like an MVP, by hitting 2 grand slams in one series against the Baltimore Orioles, his second and third of the year, then continued to have RBIs for 10 straight games into July 2 for a Florida Marlins franchise record.


2009 Florida Marlins season, Regular season, July
In the beginning of July Hanley Ramírez was voted as the starting shortstop for the National League in the 2009 MLB All-Star Game. Teammate and pitcher Josh Johnson joined him but was not named a starter. At the All-Star Game, Ramírez went 0 for 3 with 3 ground balls. Johnson did not get the opportunity to pitch. Coming out of the All-Star Break, the Marlins ran in the Philadelphia Phillies with a four-game series. Since the 3rd game got rained out, they only lost all 3 games. No. 5 starter Sean West was sent to the minors and Rick VandenHurk was called up to make his 2009 Marlins debut. Also, their No. 4 starter Andrew Miller was sent down and Gaby Sánchez joined the team.


2009 Florida Marlins season, Player stats, Batting
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases


2009 Florida Marlins season, Player stats, Pitching
Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H =Hits; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed;  K = Strikeouts; ERA = Earned run average;


2009 Florida State Seminoles football team
The 2009 Florida State Seminoles football team represented Florida State University during the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team played their home games at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida. They were members of the Atlantic Coast Conference ACC).


2009 Florida State Seminoles football team
Head coach Bobby Bowden retired at the end of the 2009 season after 34 seasons at the helm for Florida State and 33 consecutive winning seasons. Offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher was named his successor.


2009 Florida State Seminoles football team, Previous season
Florida State entered the 2009 season coming off a 2008 season that ended with a 9–4 record (5–3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) and a Champs Sports Bowl victory over Wisconsin. Florida State also won a share of the ACC Atlantic Division, but due to the head-to-head record versus Boston College, the Eagles represented the Atlantic Division in the Championship Game held in Tampa.


2009 Florida State Seminoles football team, Game capsules, Jacksonville State
Pregame line: Lines are not released when an FCS team plays an FBS team.


2009 Florida Tuskers season
The 2009 Florida Tuskers season was the first season for the Florida Tuskers. In the UFL's Premiere Season, the Tuskers put together a league-best, undefeated 6–0 record. In the championship game however, they lost to the Las Vegas Locomotives in overtime.


2009 Florida Tuskers season
The Tuskers played three home games in the six game regular season. Two games were played at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, and one was played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.


2009 Florida Tuskers season
Following the conclusion of the season, quarterback Brooks Bollinger was named season MVP, and head coach Jim Haslett was given the Coach of the Year award.


2009 Florida Tuskers season, Prior to season
Jim Haslett, former NFL head coach of the New Orleans Saints and St. Louis Rams, was named head coach of the then unnamed franchise, on March 11, 2009.


2009 Florida Tuskers season, Prior to season
The team name, uniforms, and colors were unveiled on August 12, 2009. On the same day it was announced that the Tampa Bay Rays had bought interest in the team.


2009 Florida Tuskers season, Draft
The draft took place on June 19, 2009. Those selected were among participants in earlier workouts held in Orlando as well as Las Vegas. Once a player was picked by a team, his rights were held by that team should he elect to play in the UFL. With their first selection, the Tuskers picked former Arkansas nose tackle Fred Bledsoe.


2009 Florida Tuskers season, Personnel, Roster
Rookies in italicsRoster updated November 17, 200952 Active, 2 Inactive


2009 Florida Tuskers season, Game summaries, Week 1: vs. New York Sentinels
The Tuskers opened the season with a convincing 35–13 win over the New York Sentinels. Quarterback Brooks Bollinger threw for 225 yards and four touchdowns.


2009 Florida Tuskers season, Game summaries, Week 2: at Las Vegas Locomotives
On the road, Bollinger would surpass his total from a week before with 310 yards. Through the first three quarters, the Tuskers had kept the Las Vegas Locomotives from scoring, and led by 22 points. Kicker Matt Bryant connected on three field goals in the game, won by the Tuskers 29–15. With the win, the Tuskers moved into first place by themselves.


2009 Florida Tuskers season, Game summaries, Week 3: vs. California Redwoods
Back in Orlando for Week 3, the Tuskers routed the California Redwoods 34–7, and improved to 3–0 on the season. The Tusker defense held the Redwoods to only 196 yards and forced five turnovers, including four interceptions. Taye Biddle was the Tuskers' leading receiver with 133 yards on five receptions, however no touchdowns.


2009 Florida Tuskers season, Game summaries, Week 4: vs. Las Vegas Locomotives
The Tuskers traveled to their secondary home stadium for Week 4, Tropicana Field, normally known as the home to the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball. The Tuskers hosted the Locomotives, who were coming off of their bye week and facing the Tuskers in their second consecutive game. In contrast to the teams' previous game, the game was tied at 24–24 late in the 4th quarter. Matt Bryant nailed a 40-yard field goal to give the Tuskers the lead with 4:38 to play. Las Vegas would get the ball back with just under two minutes left, but Florida's defense held strong and the Tuskers remained undefeated with their fourth win of the season. With the victory, the Tuskers clinched a spot in the 2009 UFL Championship Game.


2009 Florida Tuskers season, Game summaries, Week 6: at New York Sentinels
Coming off of their bye week, the Tuskers were on the road against the Sentinels in Week 6. The game was close in the 1st half, with the Tuskers holding a slight 10–6 lead at halftime. However, the Tuskers defense kept New York out of the end zone the entire night. Also behind Brooks Bollinger's arm, throwing for 215 yards and two touchdowns, the Tuskers won 24–6, keeping the undefeated season alive at 5–0.


2009 Florida Tuskers season, Game summaries, Week 7: at California Redwoods
In Week 7, the Tuskers played their final game of the regular season in California. After both of the Tuskers' first two scores in the first quarter, they boldly attempted an onside kick and successfully recovered both. In the 1st quarter, both teams traded a field goal and a touchdown, but the Tuskers were down at halftime 24–20. After that, the Tuskers defense stood tall as they had in the previous week, only allowing a 3rd-quarter field goal in the entire 2nd half.


2009 Florida Tuskers season, Game summaries, Week 7: at California Redwoods
Still down 27–20, Brooks Bollinger put together a 67-yard drive capped off by a touchdown pass to Jayson Foster on the first play of the 4th quarter. Foster was drilled by a Redwoods defensive player immediately after making the catch, but Foster held on to the ball for the score to tie the game. Later in the 4th quarter, California moved the ball to the Tuskers' 33-yard line, but cornerback Darius Vinnett intercepted the ball for the Tuskers and returned it 58 yards to the Redwoods' 8-yard line.


2009 Florida Tuskers season, Game summaries, Week 7: at California Redwoods
A few plays later, running back Michael Pittman dove over the goal line for the touchdown, putting the Tuskers ahead 34–27. The Redwoods would punt the ball back to Florida on the ensuing drive, and with a chance to ice the game on 3rd down with only a yard needed for the 1st down, Pittman fumbled, and California came up with the ball. However, the Redwoods were unable to capitalize on the turnover, as Josh Cooper recovered his own forced fumble on Redwoods quarterback Shane Boyd, sealing the win for the Tuskers. The game was considered as one of the most entertaining of the season. The Tuskers remained undefeated at the conclusion of the regular season, finishing with a 6–0 record going into the championship game against Las Vegas.


2009 Florida Tuskers season, Championship Game
Though it was announced as the location of the championship game before the two teams clinched a spot, the Tuskers traveled back to Las Vegas to play the Locomotives at Sam Boyd Stadium, attempting to beat them for the third time in the season. It was a defensive battle through the first three quarters, until both teams' offenses came alive in the fourth quarter. Tied with 17 points each at the end of regulation, the game went to overtime, the first overtime game in league history.


2009 Florida Tuskers season, Championship Game
The Tuskers won the coin toss and received the ball first in OT, but Brooks Bollinger threw an interception deep in Tuskers territory. The Locos ran one play to line the ball in between the goal posts, and kicker Graham Gano made the game-winning field goal just inside the right upright to win the championship for Las Vegas, and end the Tuskers' chance at a perfect season.


2009 Food City 500
The 2009 Food City 500 was the fifth race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. This 500 lap, 266.5 miles (428.9 km) race took place on March 22 of that year at the 0.533 miles (0.858 km) Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee, and was telecast on Fox beginning at 1:30 PM US EDT, with radio broadcasting being handled by Performance Racing Network (terrestrial) and Sirius XM Radio (satellite) beginning at 1 PM US EDT.


2009 Food City 500
This race was the last to use the 2008 season Top 35 in owners points rule. Beginning with the next race, the Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500, each week's current standings will be used to determine automatic qualifiers for each week's race.


2009 Food City 500, Qualifying
Mark Martin won his second pole in a row. He will start alongside Ryan Newman and teammate Jimmie Johnson in third.


2009 Food City 500, Race recap
Bobby Allison, a NASCAR Cup Series driver who drove in the formative years in NASCAR, became the honorary starter for this race. He would give out the green flag and later surrendered his "duty" to the regular starter for the other flags.


2009 Food City 500, Race recap
The pundits predicted that Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch would be triumphant in the race while Mark Martin, Jamie McMurray, David Ragan and Brian Vickers didn't have much of a chance to finish the race in a respectable position.


2009 Food City 500, Race recap
Kyle Busch led 378 laps en route to his second victory of 2009. JGR teammate Denny Hamlin finished second, while Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon finished third and fourth, while Kasey Kahne rounded up the top 5. Jeff Gordon still led the points standings, and got his 4th top-10 and 3rd top-5 of the season.


2009 Foot Locker Cross Country Championships
The 2009 Foot Locker Cross Country Championships were held in San Diego, California on December 12, 2009. It was the twentieth edition of the championships, held in Balboa Park for the eighth straight year.


2009 Football League Championship play-off Final
The 2009 Football League Championship play-off Final was an association football match which was played on 25 May 2009 at Wembley Stadium, London, between Burnley and Sheffield United. The match was to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football, to the  Premier League.


2009 Football League Championship play-off Final
The top two teams of the 2008–09 Football League Championship season gained automatic promotion to the Premier League, while the clubs placed from third to sixth place in the table partook in play-off semi-finals; Sheffield United ended the season in third position while Burnley finished fifth. The winners of these semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2009–10 season in the Premier League.


2009 Football League Championship play-off Final
The 2009 final, refereed by Mike Dean, was watched by a crowd of more than 80,000 people. Burnley won 1–0, with the only goal of the game coming from Wade Elliott in the first half. Substitute Jamie Ward was sent off in the second half following two deliberate handballs, while his teammate Lee Hendrie was also dismissed after the final whistle. Victory for Burnley meant they returned to top flight football for the first time in 33 years.


2009 Football League Championship play-off Final
Burnley ended the next season in 18th place in the Premier League and were relegated back to the Championship. Sheffield United finished the following season in 8th place, five points outside the play-offs.


2009 Football League Championship play-off Final, Route to the final
Sheffield United finished the regular 2008–09 season in third place in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system, two places and four points ahead of Burnley. Both therefore missed out on the two automatic places for promotion to the Premier League and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the third promoted team. Sheffield United finished three points behind Birmingham City (who were promoted in second place) and ten behind league winners Wolverhampton Wanderers.


2009 Football League Championship play-off Final, Route to the final
Burnley faced Reading in their play-off semi-final, the first leg of which took place at Turf Moor. Reading dominated the match, but Kevin Doyle's shot was blocked on the line; he was later substituted having suffered an Achilles tendon injury. The game was decided late in the second half when Graham Alexander scored for Burnley from the penalty spot after a foul Steven Thompson by Reading's defender André Bikey. Late into injury time, Bikey was sent off for stamping on Burnley's Robbie Blake, and the match ended 1–0. The second leg, at the Madejski Stadium, was played three days later.


2009 Football League Championship play-off Final, Route to the final
Goalless at half time, with Reading limited to few chances, a 51st minute strike from 25 yards (23 m) by Martin Paterson put Burnley 1–0 up in the game and 2–0 ahead on aggregate. Seven minutes later, Thompson with a looping volley from outside the left-hand corner of the penalty box doubled Burnley's lead but despite further chances for them, no more goals were scored and the semi-final ended 3–0 on aggregate to Burnley.


2009 Football League Championship play-off Final, Route to the final
In the other play-off semi-final, Sheffield United's opponents were Preston North End, with the first leg being played at Deepdale. The home team took the lead in the first half after Sean St Ledger scored, but the tie was level soon into the second half, with a volley from Brian Howard 21 seconds after kick-off. No further goals were scored and the match ended as a 1–1 draw. The return leg at Bramall Lane was decided by a single goal: Greg Halford's 59th minute header secured a 1–0 win for United on the night, and a 2–1 aggregate victory.


2009 Football League Championship play-off Final, Match, Background
This was Burnley's first Championship play-off final, although they had won the third-tier 1994 Football League Second Division play-off Final 2–1 against Stockport County the old Wembley Stadium. Sheffield United had lost both the 1997 and 2003 Football League Second Division play-off Finals. During the regular season, Burnley had won both matches, 3–2 away in December 2008 and 1–0 at home the following April. It had been 33 years since Burnley last played top-flight football in the 1975–76 Football League First Division, while Sheffield United had been most recently relegated from the highest tier in the 2006–07 FA Premier League. Paterson was Burnley's top scorer with twelve goals in the regular season, followed by Alexander with nine, while Craig Beattie led the scoring charts for Sheffield United with twelve. This was Burnley's 61st competitive match of their season, and Paterson was ever present throughout.


2009 Football League Championship play-off Final, Match, Background
The referee for the final was Mike Dean of the Wirral District Football Association, with assistant referees Darren Cann and Mick McDonough, and Lee Probert acting as the fourth official. Dean's appointment was not without controversy: he had officiated the match in which Sheffield United were relegated from Premier League in 2007 and refereed the 2006 Football League Championship play-off Final when Kevin Blackwell, the Sheffield United manager, was in charge at Leeds United who lost the match 3–0. Blackwell described the appointment as "inexplicable" and that he was "amazed at the stupidity of it."


2009 Football League Championship play-off Final, Match, Background
He went on to say that he was "very, very angry about people who run the game not using their common sense and putting Mike Dean in what could be a very embarrassing position". Both managers had appeared at the old Wembley Stadium as players: Owen Coyle played, and scored, in Bolton Wanderers' 4–3 victory over Reading in the 1995 Football League First Division play-off Final while Blackwell featured for Boston United who lost against Wealdstone in the 1985 FA Trophy Final.


2009 Football League Championship play-off Final, Match, Background
Both managers named starting line-ups unchanged from the second legs of their semi-finals. Burnley were playing in their away kit of light blue, while Sheffield United wore their traditional home strip of red and white stripes. Before kick-off, both teams were presented to members of the military and former Conservative Member of Parliament and Football League chairman Brian Mawhinney.


2009 Football League Championship play-off Final, Match, First half
Sheffield United kicked the game off around 3 p.m. in sunny conditions front of a Wembley crowd of 80,518. After early pressure, United's Kyle Walker struck the first shot on target from 20 yards (18 m) which was saved by Burnley's goalkeeper Brian Jensen. Five minutes later, Blake's weak shot was easily saved by Paddy Kenny in the Sheffield United goal. Two minutes later, a Matthew Kilgallon free kick was blocked by the Burnley wall but not cleared, allowing Howard to shoot from the edge of the penalty area which was saved by Jensen.


2009 Football League Championship play-off Final, Match, First half
On 13 minutes, Wade Elliott took the ball around the halfway line and started a run towards the Sheffield United goal. He passed to Chris McCann who was tackled, but the ball fell to Elliott whose first-time strike from 25 yards (23 m) flew into the top-left corner of Kenny's net, making the score 1–0 to Burnley. Two minutes later, Alexander brought down Howard as he ran into the box, but the appeals of the Sheffield United players for a penalty were dismissed by Dean.


2009 Football League Championship play-off Final, Match, First half
In the 19th minute, McCann headed over the bar from inside the six-yard box while Howard's free kick two minutes later was too high. The first yellow card of the game was shown to Burnley's Clarke Carlisle after he fouled Halford. Burnley were forced to make the first substitution of the afternoon on 27 minutes after McCann failed to recover from a knee injury he sustained clearing the ball, with Joey Guðjónsson coming on to replace him. Paterson went close on 31 minutes, curling the ball just wide of Kenny's post from 20 yards (18 m). Heading towards half time, the game became patchy with neither side creating clear-cut chances, but on 45 minutes, Thompson's looping header went wide. Three minutes of additional time were played and the half ended 1–0 to Burnley.


2009 Football League Championship play-off Final, Match, Second half
Burnley kicked off the second half and three minutes in, they were awarded a corner which Michael Duff toe-poked just wide of the post. Stephen Quinn's run was brought to a halt by an Alexander tackle before Guðjónsson's tap-in attempt was cleared by United's Nick Montgomery. In the 58th minute, Sheffield United made their first substitution of the game, with David Cotterill being replaced by Jamie Ward. Eight minutes later, Walker played Thompson onside, who picked out Blake. A last-second tackle from Walker did enough to distract Blake whose shot from 8 yards (7.3 m) went wide.


2009 Football League Championship play-off Final, Match, Second half
United appealed for another penalty in the 69th minute when Walker was seemingly brought down by Christian Kalvenes, but it was not awarded. A minute later, Burnley made their second substitution with Blake, suffering from a hamstring injury, being replaced by Chris Eagles. In the 72nd minute, a break from Ward allowed him to shoot from a tight angle but Jensen deflected the strike. Burnley's final substitution was made in the 74th minute with Jay Rodriguez coming on for Thompson. A minute later, Ward was booked after a deliberate handball.


2009 Football League Championship play-off Final, Match, Second half
On 77 minutes, an Eagles pass found Paterson on the wing who cut inside to shoot, but it was blocked by Kyle Naughton. Ward was shown a second yellow card for another intentional handball in the 79th minute. Arturo Lupoli was then brought on by Sheffield United to replace Howard, before Quinn was substituted by Lee Hendrie on 85 minutes. In the last minute of regular time, Morgan and Kalvenes clashed heads and the latter was booked. The resulting free kick was struck into the wall allowing Burnley to break but they failed to score as Montgomery cleared a poor pass from Paterson. Deep into additional time, Lupoli was booked for a foul on Elliott, and the final whistle was blown, with Burnley winning the match 1–0.


2009 Football League Championship play-off Final, Post-match
Hendrie was shown a straight red card by the referee after the match ended for foul and abusive language. The Burnley manager Owen Coyle remarked "the players were magnificent. It was a great game, end-to-end. Sheffield United were brave and were coming at us even after they went down to 10 men. There's now a great adventure to look forward to. Regarding bringing in players, everybody knows our revenue. We may not have quantity but we have quality." His chairman Barry Kilby stated: "After 33 years out of the top flight, we're back.


2009 Football League Championship play-off Final, Post-match
Half the population of the town were here today, and this is for them. Owen Coyle has done a fantastic, superb job on a small budget, and I'm sure he's looking forward to pitting his wits against the Premier League managers next season". The Sheffield United manager Kevin Blackwell noted "It doesn't get any easier to take, but we have to take it on chin and move forward. But I gave my congratulations to Owen Coyle. I'm going to go home and think of what to do now."


2009 Football League Championship play-off Final, Post-match
Burnley ended the next season in 18th place in the Premier League, five points from safety and relegated back to the Championship for the 2010–11 season. Sheffield United finished the following season in 8th place, five points outside the play-offs.


2009 Football League Cup Final
The 2009 Football League Cup Final was the final match of the 2008–09 Football League Cup, the 49th season of the Football League Cup, a football competition for the 92 teams in the Premier League and The Football League. The match was played at Wembley Stadium on 1 March 2009, and was contested by Tottenham Hotspur, who won the competition in 2008, and Manchester United, who last won the competition in 2006. The two joint-top goalscorers played for each of the finalists. Roman Pavlyuchenko of Tottenham Hotspur, who scored in every match in which he played in the tournament up to the final, and Manchester United's Carlos Tevez; both players had six goals each.


2009 Football League Cup Final
Manchester United won 4–1 on penalties, after the match ended as a goalless draw in normal time. United converted all four of their penalties, while Tottenham missed two of their three. It was only the second time that the League Cup Final had been decided by a penalty shootout.


2009 Football League Cup Final
The man of the match was Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster, who became the first goalkeeper since Jerzy Dudek in 2003 to win the Alan Hardaker Award.


2009 Football League Cup Final
Retrospectively, the result of this game would have significant implications for the following season's UEFA Europa League. In winning the tournament, the qualifying spot for the League Cup went to the seventh-placed team in the Premier League by default, as Manchester United would later win the League and therefore qualified for the UEFA Champions League. Fulham, who finished seventh in the league, went on to progress to the final of the 2009–10 Europa League. Had Tottenham won the League Cup, they would have qualified in Fulham's place.


2009 Football League Cup Final, Match, Team selection
Sir Alex Ferguson promised before the game that he would give places in the Manchester United starting line-up to the young players who had played a part in getting them to the final, with Darron Gibson in the centre of midfield and Danny Welbeck up front. He also said he would make several changes from the team that drew away to Internazionale in the Champions League earlier in the week, citing the need to rotate players in the modern game. Goalkeeper Ben Foster, who had played in the fifth round against Blackburn Rovers and the second leg of the semi-final against Derby County, expressed a desire to play in the final as a way of making up for an injury-beset previous 12 months.


2009 Football League Cup Final, Match, Team selection
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp named Heurelho Gomes as his goalkeeper for the final, despite the Brazilian having made several high-profile errors, as the club's number-one 'keeper, Carlo Cudicini, was cup-tied; Cudicini was signed from Chelsea during the January transfer window and had appeared for the Blues in the League Cup earlier in the season. Defender Jonathan Woodgate, who scored the winning goal in the 2008 final, suffered a head wound in a 2–1 win over Hull City the week before the game; he declared himself fit the next day, but was ultimately left out of the squad. Striker Roman Pavlyuchenko, however, was selected for the game, despite his earlier fears that he might miss out if Redknapp opted to play Darren Bent as a lone striker; in the end, Pavlyuchenko and Bent started together up front.


2009 Football League One play-off Final
The 2009 Football League One play-off Final was an association football match which was played on 24 May 2009 at Wembley Stadium, London, between Millwall and Scunthorpe United to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from Football League One to the Football League Championship. The top two teams of the 2008–09 Football League One season, Leicester City and Peterborough United, gained automatic promotion to the Championship, while those placed from third to sixth in the table took part in play-off semi-finals. The winners of these semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2009–10 season in the Championship. The losing semi-finalists were Milton Keynes Dons and Leeds United.


2009 Football League One play-off Final
The game was played in front of 59,661 spectators and was refereed by Michael Oliver. In the 6th minute, Matt Sparrow put Scunthorpe ahead with a right-footed shot into the top-left corner of the Millwall goal from around 6 yards (5.5 m). Gary Alexander levelled the match with a long-range strike in the 37th minute. Two minutes later, he doubled his tally with a header into the bottom-left corner of the Scunthorpe goal from 12 yards (11 m). With 20 minutes remaining, Sparrow struck from around 20 yards (18 m) to restore parity at 2–2 and 15 minutes later, Martyn Woolford put Scunthorpe ahead with a left-footed strike from 12 yards (11 m). The final score was 3–2 to Scunthorpe who were promoted to the Championship.


2009 Football League One play-off Final
Scunthorpe's next season saw them finish in 20th position, two places above the relegation zone. Millwall ended their following season in third place in the table to qualify for the play-offs where they defeated Swindon Town in the final.


2009 Football League One play-off Final, Route to the final
Millwall finished the regular 2008–09 season in fifth place in Football League One, the third tier of the English football league system, one position ahead of Scunthorpe United. Both therefore missed out on the two automatic places for promotion to the Football League Championship and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the third promoted team. Millwall finished seven points behind Peterborough United (who were promoted in second place) and fourteen behind league winners Leicester City. Scunthorpe United ended the season six points behind Millwall.


2009 Football League One play-off Final, Route to the final
Scunthorpe United's opponents in their play-off semi-final were Milton Keynes Dons and the first match of the two-legged tie took place at Glanford Park in Scunthorpe on 8 May 2009. A volley from Martyn Woolford put the home side into the lead early in the match after Willy Guéret failed to properly clear a shot from Paul Hayes. Aaron Wilbraham scored the equaliser with a header in the 27th minute: no further goals were scored and the match ended 1–1. The second leg of the semi-final was held a week later at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes.


2009 Football League One play-off Final, Route to the final
Regular time ended goalless, sending the match into extra time where the closest chance fell to David Mirfin whose shot struck the Millwall goalpost. With the tie ending 1–1 on aggregate, a penalty shootout was required to decide the winners. The first six penalties were scored before Cliff Byrne missed his for Scunthorpe. Jason Puncheon's spot kick was then saved but with the next two penalties being scored, the shootout went to sudden death. Matt Sparrow and Jude Stirling both missed before the next four were scored. Ian Morris converted his side's ninth penalty and then Tore André Flo missed to give Scunthorpe a 7–6 penalty win.


2009 Football League One play-off Final, Route to the final
In the second play-off final, Millwall faced Leeds United with the first leg being played at the New Den on 9 May 2009. After a goalless first half, Neil Harris scored in the 70th minute from a Gary Alexander cross to give Millwall a one-goal lead to take into the second leg. The second leg, at Elland Road in Leeds, took place five days later. Millwall goalkeeper David Forde made a double-save from Jermaine Beckford and Fabian Delph before denying Beckford's second-half penalty after Sam Sodje was pulled back in the area by Andy Frampton.


2009 Football League One play-off Final, Route to the final
In the 53rd minute, Leeds took the lead when Luciano Becchio scored from a Ben Parker cross to level the aggregate score. Lewis Grabban then passed to Djimi Abdou who scored from close range to make it 1–1 on the day. With no further goals, Millwall won the tie 2–1 on aggregate and progressed to the final.


2009 Football League One play-off Final, Match, Background
Scunthorpe had played in League One for a single season having been relegated from the Championship in the 2007–08 season. They had featured in the play-offs six times, including four times in five years between 1988 and 1992, but had reached the final just twice. In 1992, they lost in a penalty shootout to Blackpool in the final of the fourth tier play-offs at the old Wembley Stadium before gaining promotion to the third tier with victory over Leyton Orient in the 1999 Football League Third Division play-off Final.


2009 Football League One play-off Final, Match, Background
Earlier in the season, Scunthorpe had already played at the renovated Wembley Stadium in the Football League Trophy Final, where they lost 3–2 to Luton Town after extra time. Millwall had played in League One since being relegated in the 2005–06 season. They had qualified for play-offs four times since the inception of the post-season competition but had failed to progress beyond the semi-finals on any occasion.


2009 Football League One play-off Final, Match, Background
In the two games between the sides during the regular season, Scunthorpe had won both, with a 3–2 victory at home in October 2008 and a 2–1 win at the New Den the following January. Scunthorpe's top scorer for the regular season was Gary Hooper with 28 goals (24 in the league and 4 in the FA Cup) followed by Hayes with 16 (all in the league). Alexander led the scoring charts for Millwall with 13 goals (11 in the league, 2 in the FA Cup) followed by Harris on 10 (8 in the league, 2 in the FA Cup).


2009 Football League One play-off Final, Match, Background
The referee for the match was the 23-year-old Michael Oliver. The day before the League One play-off final, his father, Clive Oliver, refereed the League Two play-off final. It was anticipated by Mikey Stafford in The Observer that around 45,000 Millwall supporters would attend the match, outnumbering their opposition fans by four-to-one. The match was broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports. Millwall were considered narrow favourites to win promotion according to bookmakers. Scunthorpe's Hooper was expected to be fit following a groin injury but Ben May was unavailable with a damaged thigh.


2009 Football League One play-off Final, Match, Summary
The match kicked off around 1 p.m. on 24 May 2009 in front of 59,661 spectators. In the 6th minute, Sparrow put Scunthorpe ahead with a right-footed shot into the top-left corner of the Millwall goal from around 6 yards (5.5 m). Four minutes later, Scunthorpe's Sam Togwell became the first player to be shown a yellow card for unsporting behaviour. On 16 minutes, Sparrow was also booked, also for unsporting behaviour. Alexander levelled the match with a long-range strike in the 37th minute. Two minutes later, Alexander doubled his tally with a header into the bottom-left corner of the Scunthorpe goal from 12 yards (11 m). The referee blew the whistle to signify half-time with the score at 2–1.


2009 Football League One play-off Final, Match, Summary
Millwall made the first substitution of the match at the interval when Abdou was replaced by Marc Laird. Nine minutes later, Scunthorpe's Togwell was substituted for Liam Trotter. In the 63rd minute, Chris Hackett came on for Grabban. With 20 minutes remaining, Sparrow struck from around 20 yards (18 m) to restore parity at 2–2. Ten minutes later, Scunthorpe's Forte came on for Hooper before Millwall's Tony Craig was shown a yellow card for unsporting behaviour. In the 85th minute, Woolford put Scunthorpe ahead with a left-footed strike from 12 yards (11 m). In the last minute Millwall made their final substitution with Paul Robinson coming on for Frampton. The referee blew for full time with the final score 3–2 to Scunthorpe who were promoted to the Championship.


2009 Football League One play-off Final, Post-match
Nigel Adkins, the winning manager and former club physiotherapist, noted: "In the end fortunes favoured us and we've got the result we needed. At the end of the day it was one game of football for the whole season ... This season I've thought this is the transition from being physio and I've put a suit on and I've felt very comfortable with it." He reflected on his club's immediate return to the second tier: "It's a fantastic achievement to bounce straight back to the Championship ... In a challenging economic climate we have tried to provide an entertaining product and we deserve to go up." Millwall's manager Kenny Jackett was gracious in defeat: "It was a 50–50 game ... Scunthorpe put their chances away, so congratulations to them."


2009 Football League One play-off Final, Post-match
Scunthorpe's next season saw them finish in 20th place, two positions above the relegation zone. Millwall ended their following season in third place in the table to qualify for the play-offs where they defeated Swindon Town in the final.


2009 Football League Trophy Final
The 2009 Football League Trophy Final was the 26th final of the domestic football cup competition for teams from Football Leagues One and Two, the Football League Trophy. The final was played at Wembley Stadium in London on 5 April 2009, the second time that the final had been staged at the stadium since it was rebuilt. The match was contested between Luton Town and Scunthorpe United. Luton won the match 3–2 with Claude Gnakpa scoring the winner five minutes into extra-time.


2009 Football League Trophy Final
Luton's victory was a single positive note in an otherwise terrible season for the club. They started the season with a 30-point deduction imposed by the Football League and Football Association for various financial irregularities, despite the fact that these misdemeanours were carried out by the club's previous owners who had not been in charge since January 2008. Despite accumulating enough points to mathematically remain in League Two, they were twelve points from safety when the final was played and were ultimately relegated out of the Football League.


2009 Football League Trophy Final
They became the first club to win the Football League Trophy and suffer relegation from the Football League in the same season. As the competition is usually only contested by teams from Leagues One and Two, it was uncertain whether Luton could defend their trophy. On 15 June 2009, Luton's request to play in the competition in 2009–10 was denied by the Football League.


2009 Football League Trophy Final, Background
Luton and Scunthorpe went into the match in vastly different positions. Scunthorpe were in the play-off positions in League One and hoping to secure both promotion to the Football League Championship and claim the Football League Trophy in the same season. Luton, on the other hand, were bottom of The Football League and facing relegation into non-League football, having been given a 30-point deduction at the beginning of the season for financial irregularities. Both teams were playing in their first Football League Trophy final.


2009 Football League Trophy Final, Match details, Protests
During the match, many of Luton's 40,000 fans unfurled flags featuring the slogans "Thanks for Sweet FA" and "The FA & Football League – Killing Small Clubs Since 1992" in protest at the actions taken against the club from the footballing authorities. Football League chairman Lord Mawhinney was widely booed, among other less savoury chants, for his part in the club's demise.


2009 Football League Trophy Final, Post-match
Luton manager Mick Harford paid tribute to his players, saying "the players knew when they came to the club that they could be non-League players next season. They put their necks on the line. Today their camaraderie, spirit and togetherness was there for all to see." He also praised the "special" Luton fans, saying "They've had it tough down the years, with [the club] being in and out of administration and having sanctions put upon them. We have the second-highest league attendance in League Two and the highest away following, and they've turned out again today."


2009 Football League Trophy Final, Post-match
Scunthorpe manager Nigel Adkins congratulated Luton on their victory but also lamented his own side's shortcomings, saying after the match "Credit to Luton. I congratulate Mick Harford, but we have to learn from this negative experience and use it in a positive way. I will make sure [the players] will remember this because it's not nice... We will draw a line under it and make sure we come back to Wembley in the play-off final – and make sure we win."


2009 Football League Trophy Final, Post-match
Luton were relegated on 13 April 2009, only a week after their Football League Trophy victory. Their relegation was confirmed when they could only manage a draw against Chesterfield, while the only club they could catch, Grimsby Town, won against Notts County. Cliff Byrne secured a place in the League One play-offs for Scunthorpe at the expense of Tranmere Rovers with a goal two minutes from the end of their final game. They returned to Wembley for the League One play-off Final and won promotion in May, beating Millwall 3–2.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final
The 2009 Football League Two play-off Final was an association football match played at Wembley Stadium on 23 May 2009, to determine the fourth and final team to gain promotion from League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system, in the 2008–09 season. Gillingham, who had finished fifth during the league season, faced Shrewsbury Town, who had finished seventh. The match was Shrewsbury's second appearance at the new Wembley Stadium and Gillingham's first, although both clubs had played at the previous stadium of the same name. The teams reached the final by defeating Rochdale and Bury respectively; the semi-final between Shrewsbury and Bury had to be decided by a penalty shoot-out.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final
The final drew a crowd of just under 54,000 and was refereed by Clive Oliver. Gillingham were the stronger team in the first half but only came close to scoring a goal once and at half-time the score was 0–0. Both teams attacked more strongly in the second half, requiring both goalkeepers to make saves, but the match remained scoreless until the last minute, when Simeon Jackson headed in Josh Wright's corner kick to give Gillingham the lead; Shrewsbury made a last-ditch attack but were unable to equalise. Gillingham thus won the match 1–0 to gain promotion back to League One one year after being relegated.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final
Post-match analysis showed that referee Oliver had wrongly awarded the corner kick from which the goal was scored, but defeated manager Paul Simpson chose not to criticise the decision in his post-match comments. Gillingham spent only one season at the higher level before being relegated back to League Two. After their Wembley defeat in 2009, Shrewsbury spent three further seasons in League Two before gaining promotion.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Route to the final
In the 2008–09 Football League season, the teams finishing in the top three positions in Football League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system, gained automatic promotion to League One. Champions Brentford, Exeter City, and Wycombe Wanderers were promoted automatically. The teams finishing between fourth and seventh inclusive competed in the play-offs for the fourth and final promotion place.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Route to the final
Gillingham finished the season in fifth place with 75 points, three points outside the automatic promotion positions; Shrewsbury Town finished two places lower with 69 points. Shrewsbury had only qualified for the play-offs by defeating Dagenham & Redbridge in the final match of the regular season, enabling them to overtake their opponents in the league table and leave them in eighth place, one point outside the play-off places. In the play-off semi-finals, Gillingham were paired with sixth-placed Rochdale and Shrewsbury with fourth-place finishers Bury.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Route to the final
Each semi-final was played on a two-legged basis, with one game at each team's home stadium and the result determined based on the aggregate score of the two games. The first leg of Gillingham's semi-final, played at Rochdale's Spotland Stadium on 7 May 2009, finished in a 0–0 draw; BBC Sport commented that "the two sides largely cancelled each other out". The first leg of the other semi-final, played on the same day at Shrewsbury's home ground, New Meadow, was decided by a late own goal from Shrewsbury's Neil Ashton, who accidentally lobbed the ball over his own goalkeeper Luke Daniels to give Bury a 1–0 win.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Route to the final
The second-leg matches took place three days later. At Gillingham's Priestfield Stadium, Simeon Jackson scored from a cross by Andy Barcham to give Gillingham the lead in the 13th minute, only for Chris Dagnall to equalise for Rochdale in the 36th minute. Jackson scored a second goal with a penalty kick in the 58th minute after John Nutter had been fouled by Rory McArdle. Gillingham thus won the match 2–1 and won their semi-final on aggregate by the same score.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Route to the final
Gillingham manager Mark Stimson was quoted as saying that reaching the final was just reward for his players' commitment throughout the season. At Bury's Gigg Lane, Shrewsbury goalkeeper Daniels saved a penalty kick by Bury's Phil Jevons and Kevin McIntyre scored a goal for the away team in the 88th minute to level the aggregate score at 1–1 and require extra time to be played. Shortly after the start of the extra period, Shrewsbury's Steve Leslie was sent off.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Route to the final
With no further goals being scored in extra time, the semi-final ended in a draw and a penalty shoot-out was required to decide which team would advance to the final. Daniels saved penalty kicks from Bury's Andy Bishop and Danny Racchi and Shrewsbury won the shoot-out and thus reached the final. Shrewsbury manager Paul Simpson singled out Daniels for praise and commented on his team's "sheer guts and determination".


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Background
The match was Gillingham's first appearance at the new Wembley Stadium, which opened in 2007, although the club had played at the previous stadium of the same name in play-off finals in 1999 and 2000. Shrewsbury had previously played at the new Wembley in the 2007 League Two play-off Final and at the original in the 1996 Football League Trophy Final. The teams had met twice during the regular season. In September, Shrewsbury defeated Gillingham 7–0 at New Meadow, the largest margin of victory achieved by any team in League Two during the season. The return match in March at Priestfield Stadium ended in a 2–2 draw. Shortly before the start of the final, sports betting organisation Sky Bet gave identical odds of 6/4 on both teams to win, with 9/4 on a draw.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Background
The match drew an attendance of 53,706, the third-largest crowd ever to watch a Gillingham match and a figure significantly higher than the 35,715 registered at the previous year's League Two play-off final. The match referee was 48-year-old Clive Oliver representing the Northumberland Football Association. His 24-year-old son Michael took charge of the League One play-off final the following day, the first time that a father and son had refereed Football League play-off finals in the same season. Pre


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Background
-match entertainment included teams from Killamarsh Junior School and Thurlby Community Primary School competing in the final of the Football Association Community Cup, a parade by members of the British armed forces, and a performance of the National Anthem led by operatic vocalist Will Martin. The guests of honour were Lord Mawhinney, the chairman of the Football League, and Mark Osikoya, Head of Marketing Assets for the League's sponsors, Coca-Cola. The match was broadcast live in the United Kingdom on the Sky Sports 1 television channel with commentary provided by Garry Birtles and Bill Leslie.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Background
Gillingham manager Stimson selected the same eleven players in his starting line-up as had started the second leg of the semi-final against Rochdale. Adam Miller, who had missed both legs of the semi-final due to injury, was fit again, but Stimson named him as one of the substitutes. Four of Gillingham's players had played at Wembley two years earlier for Stevenage Borough in the 2005 FA Trophy Final.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Background
Veteran Nicky Southall, the only member of the Gillingham squad to have played in the club's appearances at the old Wembley in 1999 and 2000, was not included in the starting line-up or among the substitutes. Shrewsbury manager Simpson made two changes from the team which had started the second leg of the semi-final against Bury, replacing David Worrall and Omer Riza with Chris Humphrey and Nick Chadwick; both Worrall and Riza dropped to the substitutes' bench.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Background
Steve Leslie was not available for selection as he was serving a suspension after being sent off against Bury and both Mike Jackson and David Hibbert had failed to recover from injuries sustained earlier in the season. Prior to the match, Jackson was Gillingham's top goalscorer with 20 goals; Shrewsbury's Grant Holt was the season's leading scorer among all League Two players with 28 goals: 20 in the league, 1 in the Football League Cup, and 7 in the Football League Trophy.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Match, First half
After the players were presented to the guests of honour, Shrewsbury kicked off the match at 3:00 pm. After less than a minute, Gillingham defender Barry Fuller was forced to hack the ball clear of his penalty area after confusion among his teammates. Gillingham were awarded three free kicks in the first five minutes; the third of these was played to Barcham in a position close to the Shrewsbury goal, but his header made only glancing contact with the ball and it went wide of the goal.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Match, First half
Moments later, Fuller challenged Shrewsbury's Ben Davies for the ball in the Gillingham penalty area and appeared to catch him on the upper body with his boot, but the referee did not penalise him for it. Early on, both teams concentrated their attacking play on the left-hand side of the pitch from their respective points of view, with Barcham and Davies featuring prominently in those areas. In the 12th minute, Davies attempted to run past Fuller, who was forced the kick the ball out of play, resulting in a throw-in for Shrewsbury.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Match, First half
The ball was quickly played out again for a second throw-in to the same team. Ashton threw the ball in to Holt, who passed it back to him, but Ashton's subsequent long ball into the penalty area evaded all his team-mates and went out for a goal kick to Gillingham. Shortly afterwards, Gillingham defender Nutter made a long run into an attacking position but his shot rebounded off the back of Shrewsbury's Graham Coughlan. Holt was again involved in an attack on the 15-minute mark but Gillingham's Garry Richards pressured him into kicking the ball out of play.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Match, First half
As the opening quarter of an hour ended, Gillingham began to dominate play, repeatedly sending the ball into the Shrewsbury penalty area from long range; goalkeeper Daniels was able to gather the ball on two occasions and on a third the defenders were able to kick it clear of the area. In the 19th minute, Chadwick was again forcefully challenged by a Gillingham player, this time Simon King, but referee Oliver ruled that no offence had been committed and allowed play to continue.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Match, First half
Gillingham gained a corner kick midway through the first half, which reached Josh Wright on the edge of the penalty area, but his shot went high over the crossbar. Gillingham continued to have the greater share of possession of the ball leading up the half-hour mark, with Shrewsbury's only attacking opportunity resulting in a free kick from McIntyre which flew high into the Gillingham penalty area but was easily caught by goalkeeper Simon Royce.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Match, First half
The first shot of the game to be on target came in the 31st minute; Gillingham's Wright took a corner kick which was met by Nutter, whose fierce shot for goal was palmed over the crossbar by Shrewsbury goalkeeper Daniels. Two minutes later, Gillingham's Richards caught Shrewsbury's Chadwick with his elbow as the two players both jumped for a high ball. Chadwick was forced to leave the pitch for a short time to receive medical attention, but was able to return.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Match, First half
Following the foul on Chadwick, Davies took a free kick from a position approximately 40 yards (37 m) from the Gillingham goal but it passed outside the left-hand goalpost. Three minutes later, Holt took a shot which went high and wide of the goal. On 39 minutes, Gillingham striker Jackson had his first goalscoring chance, but his shot was off target. Shrewsbury's Coughlan was able to close down attacking moves by Gillingham's Dennis Oli and Curtis Weston, leading Sky Sports online reporter Richard Bailey to say that the defender had been "immense" for his team.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Match, First half
With only moments remaining before the half-time break, a Gillingham throw-in was cleared by the Shrewsbury defence but fell to Wright; he hit a hard shot along the ground, but Daniels dived low to his right to make what commentator Leslie called a "really good instinctive save". At half-time the game remained goalless; Paul Fletcher of BBC Sport noted that Gillingham were the better team in the first half and that the Shrewsbury players had looked nervous and struggled to keep possession of the ball.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Match, Second half
Neither team made any substitutions during the half-time interval. Gillingham kicked off the second half, and began the second period strongly; Barcham quickly had a goalbound shot tipped away by goalkeeper Daniels. In the 49th minute, Shrewsbury's Ashton fouled Oli, resulting in a free kick to Gillingham, who sent a number of defenders forward to join the attack; Nutter took the kick but it was intercepted by Langmead, who played the ball behind the goal line for a corner kick to Gillingham. As the kick came in, Daniels was able to punch the ball clear.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Match, Second half
Shortly afterwards, Coughlan tangled with Gillingham's Weston, resulting in the referee showing both players a yellow card. Shrewsbury's Murray was also cautioned moments later, after fouling Jackson. Gillingham were struggling to retain possession of the ball and Shrewsbury had a number of attacking opportunities: Royce dived at the feet of Humphrey to gather the ball, and shortly afterwards saved a header from Chadwick. Holt became the third Shrewsbury player to be cautioned after he tripped up Gillingham's Stuart Lewis.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Match, Second half
On the one-hour mark, Gillingham goalkeeper Royce made his first significant save of the match, stopping a left-footed shot from Shrewsbury's Davies; moments later Oli attempted to set up Jackson but Shrewsbury's Coughlan intercepted the ball. In the 64th minute, Shrewsbury's Kelvin Langmead played the ball to McIntyre, but he was unable to capitalise on what reporter Bailey considered the best opportunity of the game and his header went wide of the target.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Match, Second half
Shrewsbury continued to apply pressure; Gillingham's King cut out a pass from Ashton to Chadwick and Davies had a shot saved by Royce and shortly afterwards was tackled by Richards when in an attacking position. After 73 minutes, Shrewsbury manager Simpson used the first of his three permitted substitutions, bringing on Worrall in place of Paul Murray. At this point, the pace of the game was slowing and the players were beginning to exhibit signs of fatigue. Worrall quickly received the ball and eluded a Gillingham defender but lingered on the ball for too long and the attacking opportunity passed. Shortly afterwards, Holt met a pass from Ashton with a header but Royce was first to the ball and caught it.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Match, Second half
In the 78th minute, Simpson brought on Riza as a substitute in place of Chadwick; Riza immediately got involved in the action, but was penalised for fouling Gillingham's Richards. Gillingham defender Lewis attempted to launch the next attack, but he took too long to pass to Jackson, who was caught in an offside position. Jackson was involved in several more attacks over the subsequent ten minutes, but each time the Shrewsbury defenders were able to close down the move.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Match, Second half
In the final minute of the game, Barcham tussled with a Shrewsbury defender; the ball went out of play and the referee awarded a corner kick to Gillingham. Wright took the corner and Jackson headed the ball into the goal to give Gillingham the lead. Defender Ashton, standing on the goal line, attempted to keep the ball from entering the goal but was unsuccessful. Shrewsbury launched a last-ditch attack in a bid to equalise, and Davies crossed the ball to team captain Coughlan in a potential goalscoring position, but his header went over the crossbar and Gillingham held on to claim victory.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Post-match
After the match, Gillingham captain Fuller received the winners' trophy from the guests of honour and the club's players and officials celebrated on the pitch. Despite his team having been defeated, BBC Sport's interactive Player Rater, which allowed fans to award marks out of 10 to players, rated Shrewsbury goalkeeper Daniels the man of the match.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Post-match
Post-match analysis showed that referee Oliver had wrongly awarded the corner kick from which the winning goal was scored, as the ball had last made contact with Gillingham's Barcham before going out of play, and therefore a goal kick should instead have been awarded to Shrewsbury. Paul Simpson referred to this in his post-match comments, but said that "if we look at things like that we will be clutching at straws".


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Post-match
He also conceded that "over the 90 minutes they passed the ball better than us and created the better opportunities so I have to take my hat off to them". Mark Stimson stated that he would need to improve the quality of his playing squad for the subsequent season at the higher level and highlighted the financial benefits of his team's promotion, noting that large crowds would be expected for matches in League One against Leeds United, Norwich City and Southampton.


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Post-match
Paul Doyle, writing for The Guardian, predicted that promotion would be worth an additional £1 million in revenue for the club. Two days after the final, the victorious players took part in a celebratory open-top bus parade from Rochester Castle to Priestfield Stadium. The leader of Medway Council attended the event and told the press "I think that this is a tremendous result, a tremendous fillip for the club and also for Medway as a whole".


2009 Football League Two play-off Final, Post-match
As a result of their victory, Gillingham gained promotion back to League One a year after being relegated at the end of the 2007–08 season. The team spent only one season at the higher level, however, before once again being relegated to League Two, after which manager Stimson was dismissed from his job. Shrewsbury initially challenged for promotion in the 2009–10 season but a series of bad results in the latter stages of the season meant that the team finished in mid-table, after which manager Simpson had his contract terminated. Shrewsbury spent two further seasons in League Two before gaining automatic promotion in the 2011–12 season.


2009 Football League play-offs
The Football League play-offs for the 2008–09 season were held in May 2009, with the finals taking place at Wembley Stadium in London. The play-off semi-finals were played over two legs and were contested by the teams who finished in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place in the Football League Championship and League One tables, and the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th placed teams in League Two. The semi-final winners progressed to the finals, with the winner of each match earning promotion for the following season.


2009 Football League play-offs
Burnley and Sheffield United contested the Championship play-off final, having defeated Reading and Preston North End respectively in the semi-finals. Burnley secured promotion to the Premier League with a 1–0 victory, courtesy of a goal from Wade Elliott. In the League One final, Scunthorpe United won 3–2 against Millwall; Leeds United and MK Dons were the other teams to reach the play-offs. In League Two, Gillingham won their semi-final against Rochdale and then secured promotion with a 1–0 victory against Shrewsbury, who had beaten Bury in their semi-final.


2009 Football League play-offs, Background
The Football League play-offs have been held every year since 1987. They take place for each division following the conclusion of the regular season and are contested by the four clubs finishing below the automatic promotion places.


2009 Football League play-offs, Background
In the Championship, Sheffield United, who had been relegated from the Premier League under controversial circumstances in 2007, finished 3 points behind second placed Birmingham City, who in turn had finished 7 points off the champions Wolverhampton Wanderers. Reading - who were aiming to return to the Premier League at the first attempt - were in fourth place in the table. Burnley and Preston North End were only a couple of points further back on 76 and 74 respectively. Neither of the latter had played in the Premier League before, with Preston's last spell in the top division ending in 1961. Burnley were relegated from in the top flight in 1976.


2009 Football League play-offs, League One, Semi-finals
Milton Keynes Dons 1–1 Scunthorpe United on aggregate. Scunthorpe United won 7–6 on penalties.


2009 Football League play-offs, League Two, Semi-finals
Bury 1–1 Shrewsbury Town on aggregate. Shrewsbury Town won 4–3 on penalties.


2009 Football NSW season
The Football NSW 2009 season was the top flight football competition format in New South Wales. The competition consisted of four divisions across the State of New South Wales.


2009 Football NSW season, League Tables, 2009 NSW Premier League
The 2009 NSW Premier League season was played over 22 rounds, beginning on 1 March 2009, with the regular season concluding on the 9th of August.


2009 Football NSW season, League Tables, 2009 NSW Super League
The 2009 NSW Super League season was played over 22 rounds, beginning on 24 March with the regular season concluding on 16 August 2009.


2009 Football NSW season, League Tables, 2009 NSW State League Division 1
The 2009 NSW State League Division 1 season was played over 22 rounds, beginning on 14 March with the regular season concluding on 16 August 2010.


2009 Football NSW season, League Tables, 2009 NSW State League Division 2
The 2009 NSW State League Division 2 season was played over 22 rounds, beginning on 28 March with the regular season concluding on 30 August 2009. There were 16 teams divided into two conferences, North and South. There were 14 rounds of conference games followed by 8 rounds of combined conference games. The top five teams on a combined ladder competed in the finals series.


2009 Ford 400
The 2009 Ford 400 was the thirty-sixth and final stock car race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as well as the tenth and final race of the season-ending Chase for the Sprint Cup. It was held on November 22, 2009 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, in Homestead, Florida before a crowd of 70,000 people. The 267-lap race was won by Denny Hamlin of the Joe Gibbs Racing team after starting from thirty-eighth position. Jeff Burton finished second and his teammate Kevin Harvick came in third.


2009 Ford 400
Jimmie Johnson won the pole position and maintained his lead on the first lap of the race. Many Chase for the Sprint Cup participants, including Johnson, Kurt Busch and Mark Martin, were in the top ten for most of the race, although some encountered problems in the closing laps. Kyle Busch was leading the race with forty-four laps remaining, giving the lead to Hamlin who maintained it to win the race. There were seven cautions in the race, as well as eighteen lead changes among ten different drivers.


2009 Ford 400
The race was Hamlin's fourth win in the 2009 season, and the eighth of his career. Johnson became the first driver to win four consecutive Drivers' Championships and was 141 points ahead of Mark Martin. Johnson's team owner Jeff Gordon won the Owners' Championship. Chevrolet won the Manufacturers' Championship with 262 points, fifty-five points ahead of Toyota and ninety-eight ahead of Ford. The race attracted 5.60 million television viewers.


2009 Ford 400, Background
The Ford 400 was the 36th and final race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the last of the ten-race season-ending Chase for the Sprint Cup. It was held on November 22, 2009, in Homestead, Florida, at Homestead Miami Speedway, an intermediate track that holds NASCAR races. The race was held on the standard track at Homestead Miami Speedway; a four-turn oval track that is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long. The track's turns are banked from 18 to 20 degrees, and both the front stretch (the location of the finish line) and the back stretch are banked at three degrees.


2009 Ford 400, Background
Before the final race of the season, Jimmie Johnson led the Drivers' Championship with 6,492 points; Mark Martin was second with 6,384 points, 92 points behind Johnson. A maximum of 195 points were available for the final race. Johnson could win the title if he finished 25th or higher, while Martin had to win the race and for Johnson to place 30th. Behind Johnson and Martin in the Drivers' Championship, Jeff Gordon was third with 6,323, and Kurt Busch was fourth with 6,281 points. Chevrolet had already secured the Manufacturer's Championship, and entered the race on 256 points, 58 points ahead of Toyota on 198 points, with a maximum of nine points available at the Ford 400. Carl Edwards was the race's defending champion.


2009 Ford 400, Background
In the title battle, Johnson was vying to become the first driver to win four consecutive Cup Series championships while his teammate Martin would be the oldest driver to claim the title. Johnson commented on his mindset: "I am out of emotion, There is no emotion. It's all business. It's about showing up tomorrow, putting in the best lap I can, driving the car as hard as can I on Saturday, making sure the car is set up right, and doing my job on Sunday. I am not allowing my mind to slip any.”


2009 Ford 400, Background
Martin said he had an unchanged mindset for each race in 2009 and was unworred about his championship prospects: "I'm sure that we could wind up fourth in the points, which is something no one has even considered. But I'm not thinking about that. I'm neither worried about that or Jimmie."


2009 Ford 400, Practice and qualifying
Three practice sessions were held before the Sunday race—one on Friday, and two on Saturday. The first session lasted 90 minutes, and the second 45 minutes. The final session lasted 60 minutes. In the first practice session, Kurt Busch was fastest, placing ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya in second and Clint Bowyer in third. Ryan Newman took fourth position and Joey Logano placed fifth. Tony Stewart, Edwards, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Kevin Harvick and David Reutimann rounded out the top ten fastest drivers in the session.


2009 Ford 400, Practice and qualifying
Forty-eight drivers were entered in the qualifier on Friday afternoon; due to NASCAR's qualifying procedure, forty-three were allowed to race. Each driver ran two laps, with the starting order determined by the competitor's fastest times. Johnson clinched his fourth pole position of the season, with a time of 31.049. He was joined on the grid's front row by Scott Speed. Marcos Ambrose qualified third, Martin took fourth and Stewart started fifth. Harvick, Newman, Greg Biffle, Bill Elliott and Bowyer completed the top ten fastest qualifiers.


2009 Ford 400, Practice and qualifying
Kurt Busch, one of the drivers in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, qualified twelfth, while Jeff Gordon set the twentieth fastest time. The five drivers who failed to qualify were Joe Nemechek, Dave Blaney, Mike Skinner, Max Papis and David Stremme. After the qualifier Johnson said, "I had a talk with myself to do what I could today and don't freak out if it's not as good as what Mark [Martin] ran. I kept my emotions in check and drove the car with the right touch and feel, and that comes from being relaxed, so it went well."


2009 Ford 400, Practice and qualifying
On Saturday morning, Martin was fastest in the second practice session, ahead of Denny Hamlin in second, and Johnson in third. Newman was fourth quickest, and Kyle Busch took fifth. Jeff Burton managed sixth. Biffle, Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano and Martin Truex, Jr. followed in the top ten. Of the other drivers in the Chase, Jeff Gordon finished with the seventeenth fastest time, while Stewart set the twenty-fourth fastest time. Burton paced the final practice session, with Harvick and Martin followed in second and third respectively. Truex was fourth fastest, ahead of Newman and Logano. Johnson was scored seventh, Casey Mears eighth, Brad Keselowski ninth and Hamlin tenth. The other Chase drivers, Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch were scored fifteenth and eleventh respectively.


2009 Ford 400, Race
The race, the last in the 2009 season, began at 3:15 pm Eastern Daylight Time and was televised live in the United States on ABC. Around the start of the race, weather conditions were partly cloudy with the air temperature 28 °C (82 °F). Fidel Gomez, assistant pastor of Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, began pre-race ceremonies with an invocation. Actress Anika Noni Rose performed the national anthem, and Actor Mike Rowe commanded the drivers to start their engines. During the pace laps,  Robby Gordon had to move to the back of the grid because of him changing his engine.


2009 Ford 400, Race
Johnson retained his pole position lead into the first corner, with Speed behind him. Two laps later, Harvick had moved into fourth position; Jamie McMurray, who began the race in eleventh, had moved up four positions to seventh place. By lap six, Ambrose began to reduce the lead of Johnson, and Martin got loose on the same lap but regained control of his car. On lap nine, Stewart passed Martin for fourth. One lap later, Ambrose passed Johnson to become the new race leader. On lap 13, Johnson retook the lead off Ambrose. After having made three positions early, Harvick moved up into second position by passing Ambrose. On lap 16, Ambrose's car suffered a flat tire and came into the pit road.


2009 Ford 400, Race
Earnhardt who began the race in thirty-second, had moved up nineteen positions to thirteenth by lap 24. Two laps later, Ambrose began to slow and made a pit stop three laps later to change his car's battery. On lap 33, Stewart passed Johnson to become the new race leader while Ambrose's car went into his garage. Three laps later,  Earnhardt had passed McMurray for tenth position. On lap 38, Clint Bowyer passed Martin for fourth position, as Ambrose rejoined the race four laps later. On lap 47, Kurt Busch passed Martin to claim sixth position. Three laps later, green flag pit stops began, as Matt Kenseth and Martin were the first to pit. Johnson made his pit stop one lap later.


2009 Ford 400, Race
On lap 53, Kurt Busch became the new race leader after Stewart came into his pit stall. One lap later, Kurt Busch came onto pit road and Bowyer became the new race leader. On lap 57, Harvick passed Bowyer to clinch the lead. Two laps later, Bowyer moved into second position by passing Stewart. Four laps later, Stewart reclaimed the lead after passing Harvick. On lap 64, Johnson passed Martin to move into ninth. By lap 73, Stewart had a 2.4 second lead over Harvick.


2009 Ford 400, Race
One lap later, Newman collided with the wall, falling to eleventh place, and escaped with minor damage. On the 79th lap, Truex moved into seventh after passing Jeff Gordon. Two laps later, Ambrose spun at turn four but avoided contact with the barriers, causing the first caution of the race, and the pace car came out on track. During the caution, most of the leaders made pit stops.


2009 Ford 400, Race
Stewart maintained his lead on the restart, but Harvick reclaimed the lead immediately afterward, and Stewart was passed by Bowyer for second. One lap later, Stewart dropped to sixth as he was passed by Johnson, Montoya and Kurt Busch. On lap 89, Montoya passed Kurt Busch to move into fourth position. Two laps later, Montoya moved into third position after passing Johnson. On lap 92, Montoya passed Bowyer for second,  as Burton moved into third. Three laps later, Kurt Busch moved up into sixth after passing Johnson. On lap 101, John Andretti collided with the wall, causing the second caution of the race. As with the first caution,  most of the leaders made their pit stops.


2009 Ford 400, Race
Harvick maintained his lead on the restart. Three laps later, Ambrose collided with the wall which prompted the third caution. Most of the drivers stayed on track during the caution, allowing Harvick to remain the leader on the restart. A collision involving Montoya and Stewart occurred on lap 116 and the third caution was given as a result. Harvick led on the restart, although he was passed by Kurt Busch within eleven laps. By lap 143, Kurt Busch had a 1.5 second lead over Harvick. Two laps later, Hamlin passed Harvick to claim second.


2009 Ford 400, Race
On lap 156, Montoya made rear-end contact with Stewart, sending the latter into the inside retaining barrier, and prompting the fifth caution. During the caution, all of the leaders made pit stops and Montoya was black-flagged for two laps. On lap 158, Hamlin reclaimed the lead, followed by Kurt Busch and Burton.


2009 Ford 400, Race
On lap 165, Johnson moved into seventh. Afterward, Johnson passed Jeff Gordon for sixth position. Seven laps later, Kurt Busch reclaimed the lead off Hamlin. During the 184th lap, Burton passed Hamlin for second. Ten laps later, a sixth caution came out as Robby Gordon spun sideways. All leading cars made pit stops, with Hamlin maintaining his lead until Burton passed him on the restart. By lap 205, Burton had a lead of over two seconds. On lap 217, debris was spotted on the track and the seventh and final caution was prompted. The lead drivers made their pit stops. One lap later, Michael Waltrip became the new leader, followed by Andretti. Kurt Busch regained the lead one lap later, when Waltrip and Andretti made their pit stops. Kyle Busch immediately passed Kurt Busch on the restart for the lead. One lap later, Hamlin reclaimed the lead off Kyle Busch.


2009 Ford 400, Race
On lap 229, Jeff Gordon passed Johnson for the seventh position. Seven laps later, Martin moved into twelfth. After 247 laps, Hamlin's lead over Kyle Busch was 2.3  seconds. During the 249th lap, Edwards passed Bowyer for eighth. Six laps later, Kurt Busch passed Kyle Busch for third, and Kyle Busch lost fourth place to Johnson on lap 256. Hamlin maintained the lead to win his fourth race of the 2009 season, his second in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, and the eighth of his career. Burton finished second, ahead of Harvick and Kurt Busch. Johnson, who finished fifth, became the first driver to clinch four consecutive Drivers' Championships, overtaking Cale Yarborough's streak of three successive titles from 1976 to 1978. Gordon,  Edwards, Kyle Busch, Truex and A. J. Allmendinger rounded out the top ten finishers.


2009 Ford 400, Race, Post-race
"History, boys, No one ever – ever! I don't know how to thank you guys. Thank you so much."


2009 Ford 400, Race, Post-race
Jimmie Johnson, speaking on his team radio after winning the championship.


2009 Ford 400, Race, Post-race
Hamlin appeared in victory lane to start celebrating his fourth win of the season in front of 70,000 who attended the race. Hamlin also earned $347,975 in race winnings. After winning the race, Hamlin described his disappointment by saying, "The car took off and it was game-over, Everyone's got a little fight in them, especially when they get done wrong. After our performance today, it's easy to put yesterday behind me.


2009 Ford 400, Race, Post-race
Afterward, Johnson began celebrating his fourth consecutive Sprint Cup Series championship. During the celebration, Johnson was delighted with his performance, saying, "The truth of it is, to do something that's never been done in this sport – to love the sport like I do and respect it like I do – and the greats: Petty, Earnhardt, Gordon ... to do something they've never done is so awesome. To win four championships in eight years, what this team has done ... I don't know where to start. It's unbelievable." Burton, who finished second, commended Johnson's achievements saying, "It’s hard to say he’s the best when you’re out there racing against him, but you have to put him on the list.” Martin, who finished second in points, said,


2009 Ford 400, Race, Post-race
"Our car didn't work well [Sunday], It didn't work well, and we really struggled with it. And as the sun went down, we went to the back. We came in and pitted and tried to do some work on it to try to improve it, and it didn't really improve it a whole lot, so then we were stuck with sorry track position on top of not having a great race car. We just fought and fought and fought, and actually the last adjustment perked it up, and we drove from 21st to 10th, and then right at the end a couple of the guys got the high line going and got me back."


2009 Ford 400, Race, Post-race
In the Drivers' Championship, Johnson finished first with 6,652 points, one-hundred and forty one ahead of Martin in second. Jeff Gordon followed in third with 6,473. Kurt Busch and Hamlin rounded out the top five positions with 6,446 and 6,335 points respectively. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet won with 262 points, fifty-five ahead of Toyota and ninety-eight ahead of Ford. Dodge finished fourth with 159 points. 5.60 million people watched the race on television. The race took three hours, six minutes and eighteen seconds to complete, and the margin of victory was 2.632 seconds.


2009 Fordham Rams football team
The 2009 Fordham Rams football team was an American football team that represented Fordham University as a member of the Patriot League during the 2009 NCAA Division I FCS football season. In its fourth season under head coach Tom Masella, the team compiled a 5–6 record (2–4 against conference opponents) and played its home games at Jack Coffey Field in The Bronx.


2009 Fordham Rams football team
The team was led on offense by six-foot, five-inch quarterback John Skelton. In a game against Cornell on October 17, 2009, Skelton passed for 420 yards and was responsible for six touchdown (five passing and one rushing). During the 2009 season, Skelton led the NCAA FCS in passing yards (337 yards per game) and total passing yards (3,708). He finished his Fordham career as the school's all-time leader in pass completions, passing yards, and touchdown passes; he was inducted into the Fordham Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017. Skelton went on to play in the National Football League for the Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, and Tennessee Titans.


2009 Fordham Rams football team
The team's other statistical leaders included Xavier Martin with 700 rushing yards and Jason Caldwell with 79 receptions for 1,252 yards.