2011 Asian Canoe Sprint Championships
The 2011 Asian Canoe Sprint Championships were the 14th Asian Canoe Sprint Championships and took place from October 13–16, 2011 in Azadi Lake, Tehran, Iran.


2011 Asian Canoe Sprint Championships
The event is also the continental qualification for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.


2011 Asian Challenge Cup
2011 Asian Challenge Cup (Chinese: 亞洲超級球會挑戰盃) is the annual football event held in Hong Kong in Lunar New Year. The name of this event in 2011 is changed from Lunar New Year Cup to Asian Challenge Cup.


2011 Asian Cycling Championships
The 2011 Asian Cycling Championships took place at a velodrome within the King’s 80th Birthday Sports Complex,  Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand from 9 to 19 February 2011.


2011 Asian Development Tour
The 2011 Asian Development Tour was the second season of the Asian Development Tour, a second-tier tour operated by the Asian Tour.


2011 Asian Development Tour, Order of Merit
The top three players on the Order of Merit earned Asian Tour cards for 2012.


2011 Asian Fencing Championships
The 2011 Asian Fencing Championships was held in Seoul, South Korea from 8 July to 13 July, 2011.


2011 Asian Five Nations
The 2011 Asian Five Nations, known as the 2011 HSBC Asian 5 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by the HSBC, was the 4th series of the Asian Five Nations rugby union tournament.


2011 Asian Five Nations
The 2011 Asian 5 nations consisted of the best 5 teams in Asia; Hong Kong, Japan, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates.


2011 Asian Five Nations
Sri Lanka qualified for the 2011 edition of the tournament by winning Division One of the 2010 tournament against Singapore 23–16. The United Arab Emirates also qualify with the disbanding of the Arabian Gulf rugby team, this is the first time both these teams have appeared in the top five.


2011 Asian Five Nations, Media coverage
The tournament is broadcast live in many different countries, some of which are listed below:


2011 Asian Five Nations division tournaments
The 2011 Asian Five Nations division tournaments, known as the 2011 HSBC Asian 5 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by the HSBC, refer to the divisions played within the tournament. This was the 4th series of the Asian Five Nations.


2011 Asian Five Nations division tournaments
There were five divisional teams in the 2011 version who contested for a place in the Top 5 tournament. Who ever finished last place in a division was relegated, while the winner of a division was promoted. Last place in division 1 was replaced by the winner of division 2, winner of division 3 replaced last place in division 2, winner in division 4 replaced last in division 3 and winner in division 5 replaced last in division 4.


2011 Asian Five Nations division tournaments, Teams
The teams involved, with their world rankings pre tournament, were:


2011 Asian Five Nations division tournaments, Division 1, Finals
South Korea are promoted to the 2012 Asian Five Nations.


2011 Asian Judo Championships
The 2011 Asian Judo Championships were held at UAE WJJ Federation Hall in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates from 5 April to 7 April 2011.


2011 Asian Junior Badminton Championships
The 2011 Asian Junior Badminton Championships is an Asia continental junior championships to crown the best U-19 badminton players across Asia. It was the 14th tournament of the Asian Junior Badminton Championships, and held in Lucknow, India from July 2 – 9, 2011.


2011 Asian Junior Badminton Championships, Tournament
The 2011 Asian Junior Badminton Championships organized by Badminton Asia Confederation. This tournament consists of mixed team competition, which was held from  2–5 July, as well as five individual events started from 5–9 July. Players from 19 countries participated in this competition.


2011 Asian Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championships
The 17th Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships 2011 were held in Jiangyin, India, from  20 ‐ 24 July 2011. It was organised by the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) under the authority of the Asian Table Tennis Union (ATTU).


2011 Asian Karate Championships
The 2011 Asian Karate Championships are the 10th edition of the Senior Asian Karate Championships and 11th edition of the Cadet, Junior & U21 Asian Karate Championships and were held in Haixia Sports Center, Quanzhou, China from July 21 to July 24, 2011.


2011 Asian Men's Club Volleyball Championship
The 2011 Asian Men's Club Volleyball Championship was the 12th staging of the AVC Club Championships. The tournament was held in Sriwijaya Sport Hall, Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia.


2011 Asian Men's Club Volleyball Championship, Pools composition
The teams are seeded based on their final ranking at the 2010 Asian Men's Club Volleyball Championship.


2011 Asian Men's Volleyball Championship
The 2011 Asian Men's Volleyball Championship was held from September 21 to September 29, 2011 in Azadi Sport Complex, Tehran, Iran.


2011 Asian Men's Volleyball Championship, Pools composition
The teams are seeded by addition of ranking of 2009 Asian Men's Volleyball Championship and FIVB World Rankings divided by 2.


2011 Asian Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships
The 5th Rhythmic Gymnastics Asian Championships was held in Astana, Kazakhstan from 16 – 18 June 2011.


2011 Asian Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, Results, Team
The team final was held on 16 October 2010. The team final score was the total of top 10 scores.


2011 Asian Shotgun Championships
The 2011 Asian Shotgun Championships were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia between November 21 and December 1, 2011.


2011 Asian Speed Skating Championships
The 2011 Asian Speed Skating Championships were held between 28 and 29 December 2010 at the Heilongjiang Indoor Rink in Harbin, China. The championships doubled as qualifier for the 2011 World Championships.


2011 Asian Table Tennis Championships
The 20th Asian Table Tennis Championships were held in Macau, China from 23 February to 1 March 2012. It was originally organised and hosted by the Lebanese Table Tennis Federation for 12 to 18 September 2011 with the prospective location of Jamhour Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon. However, due to security deterioration in the region, the Lebanon TTF informed Asian Table Tennis Union(ATTU) that they decided to cancel hosting the 20th ATTC.


2011 Asian Taekwondo Olympic Qualification Tournament
The 2011 Asian Qualification Tournament for London Olympic Games was held in Bangkok, Thailand from November 26 to November 27, 2011. Each country may enter maximum 2 male and 2 female divisions with only one in each division and the first three ranked athletes per weight division qualify their NOCs a place each for OlympicGames.


2011 Asian Tour
The 2011 Asian Tour was the 17th season of the modern Asian Tour, the main men's professional golf tour in Asia excluding Japan, since it was established in 1995.


2011 Asian Tour, Tournament results
The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of Asian Tour events he had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for Asian Tour members.


2011 Asian Tour, Tournament results
Only 50% of the prize money from major championships and World Golf Championships are counted towards the Order of Merit, but are not shown below.


2011 Asian Tour, Leading money winners
There is a complete list on the official site .


2011 Asian Weightlifting Championships
The 2011 Asian Weightlifting Championships were held at Tongling Municipal Stadium in Tongling, Anhui Province, China between April 13 and April 17, 2011. It was the 42nd men's and 23rd women's championship.


2011 Asian Weightlifting Championships, Medal table
Ranking by all medals: Big (Total result) and Small (Snatch and Clean & Jerk)


2011 Asian Winter Games
The 2011 Asian Winter Games (Kazakh: 2011 жылғы қысқы Азия ойындары, romanized: 2011 jılğı qısqı Azïya oyındarı) was a multi-sport event that was held in Astana and Almaty, Kazakhstan, that began on January 30, 2011, and ended on February 6, 2011. It was the first time that Kazakhstan hosted such a large event since independence from the Soviet Union. The documents for the hosting city were signed in Kuwait on March 4, 2006.


2011 Asian Winter Games, Preparation, Costs
Kazakh Minister of Sports Temirkhan Dosmukhambetov notes the 726 million USD for construction and renovation comes from the 2008 state budget. The Olympic village, on the other hand, will be financed by private investors. Overall, Kazakhstan is spending over $1.4 billion to get the area ready to host the games.


2011 Asian Winter Games, Preparation, Venues
Astana Mayor Imangali Tasmagambetov announced venues being built include a multipurpose Sports Palace which will seat up to 15,000 spectators, a ski jump complex, a biathlon stadium, and an athlete village.


2011 Asian Winter Games, Preparation, Venues
Upgrades to existing venues included modernizing the Central Stadium, the B. Sholak Sports Palace, Medeo Skating Rink, and Shimbulak Ski Resort. The ski area was increased fivefold from the current 5 km to 65 km. In 2008 a gondola lift from Medeo Skating Rink to Shymbulak Ski Resort was planned to be completed, however, only in the summer of 2010 construction really started and was under serious time pressure. The Medeo Skating rink is an outdoor rink located in the Tian Shan Mountains, about a 30-minute drive away.


2011 Asian Winter Games, Preparation, Venues
In 2008, both Medeo and Shymbulak Ski Resort were rebuilt in preparation for the Games. Vladimir Smirnov, deputy head of the national ski federation, said that the resort would soon be one of the largest in the world, which would increase the chances of a successful bid to host the Olympics.


2011 Asian Winter Games, Preparation, Infrastructures
Upgrades to the Almaty airport were finished by December 2008; transport issues are also being reviewed. Millions of KZT are being earmarked for work on main transportation corridors, overpasses, a ring road as well as investment in light rail transit between Talgar, Almaty, and Kaskelen. The plan also included purchases of city passenger buses, taxis, and possibly the construction of a subway.


2011 Asian Winter Games, Preparation, Infrastructures
Almaty also upgraded its power supply network of substations and transmission lines. Expansion and reconstruction of heating systems was also recommended. A portion also got into environmental stabilisation.


2011 Asian Winter Games, Preparation, Torch relay
The flame of the Games was officially lit at Kuwait Towers, Kuwait City on January 11, 2011. The relay officially started in Almaty on January 12, 2011 and span around the cities of Kazakhstan for 16 days before arriving at the opening ceremony on January 30, 2011.


2011 Asian Winter Games, Sports Events
Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of medal events contested in each sport.


2011 Asian Winter Games, Sports Events
Olympic sports Bobsleigh, Luge, Skeleton, Snowboarding, Curling and Nordic Combined will not be contested.


2011 Asian Winter Games, Sports Events
Bandy and Ski Orienteering were included for the first time in the Games, while curling and snowboarding was excluded from the list, ski jumping returns to the Games, after not being contested in the last Games in Changchun.


2011 Asian Winter Games, Participating NOCs
26 countries have registered to take part and they are listed below, this is an increase of 1 from the 2007 games. Bahrain, Qatar and Singapore made their debuts, while Macau and Pakistan did not compete after competing in 2007.


2011 Asian Winter Games, Calendar
In the following calendar for the 2011 Asian Winter Games, each blue box represents an event competition, such as a qualification round, on that day. The yellow boxes represent days during which medal-awarding finals for a sport were held.


2011 Asian Winter Games, Calendar
International Games Broadcast Services (IGBS), a joint venture between Host Broadcast Services and IMG Media, served as the host broadcaster of the games. The joint venture previously served as the host broadcaster of the 2006 Asian Games under the name Doha Asian Games Broadcast Services (DAGBS).


2011 Asian Winter Games, Medal table
Kazakhstan won the same number of gold medals on the first day of the competition as it did in the entire 2007 games, topping the medal table for the first time. Iran and Kyrgyzstan won their first ever Asian Winter Games medals, Iran in ski orienteering and alpine skiing and Kyrgyzstan in bandy. Eight countries won medals the most ever at an Asian Winter Games.


2011 Asian Winter Games medal table
The 2011 Asian Winter Games, officially known as the 7th Asian Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event held in Astana and Almaty, Kazakhstan, from January 30 and to February 6, 2011. A total of 991 athletes representing 26 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in these games, competing in 69 events from 11 different sports and disciplines.


2011 Asian Winter Games medal table
Athletes from 8 NOCs won at least one medal, the most ever at any Asian Winter Games and athletes from 4 of these NOCs secured at least one gold. For the first time Kazakhstan led the medal table in its Asian Games history, with 32 golds and overall 70 medals. In doing so, it also broke the record for the most golds won by a NOC at a single Asian Winter Games (the previous was 29, set by the Japan in 1986). Kazakhstan's previous best was second place in 1996 in Harbin, China, with 14 gold medals, only one behind China. Athletes from Iran and Kyrgyzstan won the first Asian Winter Games medals for their nations.


2011 Asian Winter Games medal table, Medal table
The ranking in this table is consistent with International Olympic Committee convention in its published medal tables. By default, the table is ordered by the number of gold medals the athletes from a nation have won (in this context, a nation is an entity represented by a National Olympic Committee). The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze medals. If nations are still tied, equal ranking is given; they are listed alphabetically by IOC country code.


2011 Asian Winter Games opening ceremony
The opening ceremony of the 2011 Asian Winter Games was held at the Astana Arena, in Astana, Kazakhstan. It began at 6:00 PM (UTC+06:00) on 30 January 2011 and lasted approximately three hours.


2011 Asian Winter Games opening ceremony
An estimated 30,000 were in attendance at the venue. There were an estimated 700 performers.


2011 Asian Winter Games opening ceremony, Program, Opening section
A dramatised performance based on traditional Kazakh epic poems accompanied by a group of ethnic drummers, which was followed by a volley of red fireworks began the show.


2011 Asian Winter Games opening ceremony, Program, National anthem
Members of the Kazakhstan army marched the Kazakh flag to the flagpost. The anthem was then sung by Azamat Zheltyrguzov while the flag was risen.


2011 Asian Winter Games opening ceremony, Program, Parade of Nations
Countries paraded in English alphabetical order, with Kuwait marching second-to-last (due to their suspension by the IOC) and Kazakhstan marching last as the host nation.


2011 Asian Winter Games opening ceremony, Program, Parade of Nations
Below is list of countries that are confirmed to compete and their national flagbearers during the ceremony. All the countries were given warm receptions by the crowd, however a deafening welcoming roar was given to the home team.


2011 Asian Winter Games opening ceremony, Program, Cultural Program
Included in the cultural show was the history of Kazakhstan, with a bird’s eye view from an eagle swooping over the vast plains. With dance, song and distinctive musical instruments, the props came to life – notably when water cascaded from the top of the set and lighting transformed the stage into a rough sea to rock the boat looking for new lands.


2011 Asian Winter Games opening ceremony, Program, Cultural Program
Also, "The gift packs for the visitors inside the 30,000-seat indoor football stadium included a bag of four snowball-size white sponge balls. Taking their lead from a band of tiny-tot performers dressed as flowers towards the end of the cultural show, the audience opened their packet of “snowballs” and proceeded to pelt anyone and everyone in sight"


2011 Asian Winter Games opening ceremony, Program, Cultural Program
Notable songs performed during this program, composed by Igor Krutoy include;


2011 Asian Winter Games opening ceremony, Program, Entry of the Olympic Council of Asia Flag
6 famous athletes and coaches carried the flag. They were:


2011 Asian Winter Games opening ceremony, Program, Oaths
The athletes and jury pronounced solemn oaths before the banner of the Olympic Council of Asia.


2011 Asian Winter Games opening ceremony, Program, Opening remarks/Official Opening
The mayor of Astana Imangali Tasmagambetov gave a speech. "The Asiad is being held by Kazakhstan due to the initiative of President Nursultan Nazarbayev. The victory of an athlete is the victory of the country".


2011 Asian Winter Games opening ceremony, Program, Opening remarks/Official Opening
This was followed by president of the Olympic council of Asia Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah also giving a welcoming speech. "Kazakhstan is a very respectful member of the international sport community. The Olympic Council of Asia congratulates President Nursultan Nazarbayev, the Government of Kazakhstan, mayors and people of Astana and Almaty".


2011 Asian Winter Games opening ceremony, Program, Opening remarks/Official Opening
The games were then officially opened by the president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev.


2011 Asian Winter Games opening ceremony, Program, Lighting of the Cauldron
The Olympic torch relay, which had criss-crossed the country during January, arrived at its final destination at the Astana Arena, with a group of the country's most decorated sports veterans jointly lighting the Games flame.


2011 Asian Winter Games opening ceremony, Program, Lighting of the Cauldron
This followed by Korean oprea singer Sumi Jo singing "Angels Pass Away".


2011 Asian Winter Games opening ceremony, Program, Lighting of the Cauldron
Finally, another barrage of fireworks that lit up the night sky of the Kazakhstan capital to close the show.


2011 Asian Women's Club Volleyball Championship
The 2011 Asian Women's Club Volleyball Championship was the 12th staging of the AVC Club Championships. The tournament was held in Vĩnh Phúc Gymnasium, Vĩnh Yên, Vĩnh Phúc Province, Vietnam.


2011 Asian Women's Club Volleyball Championship, Pools composition
The teams are seeded based on their final ranking at the 2010 Asian Women's Club Volleyball Championship.


2011 Asian Women's Junior Handball Championship
The 2011 Asian Women's Junior Handball Championship (11th tournament) took place in Almaty from September 14–20. It acts as the Asian qualifying tournament for the 2012 Women's Junior World Handball Championship.


2011 Asian Women's Junior Handball Championship, Draw
* Malaysia withdrew, Following this Iran replaced Malaysia in Group B to balance the number of teams in each group.


2011 Asian Women's Softball Championship
The 2011 Asian Women's Softball Championship was an international softball tournament which featured thirteen nations which was held from 20–28 September 2011 in Nantou County, Taiwan. Matches were held at the De-Hsin Baseball Stadium and Chao-Kuan Baseball Stadium. The top three teams qualified for the 2012 Women's Softball World Championship.


2011 Asian Women's Volleyball Championship
The 2011 Asian Women's Volleyball Championship was held in Taipei, Taiwan from September 15 to September 23, 2011. 14 teams entered for the tournament; Turkmenistan did not arrive in Taipei in time and lost all matches by forfeit.


2011 Asian Women's Volleyball Championship, Pools composition
The teams are seeded based on their final ranking at the 2009 Asian Women's Volleyball Championship.


2011 Asian Women's Youth Handball Championship
The 2011 Asian Women's Youth Handball Championship (4th tournament) took place in Yamaga, Japan from 23 September–28 September. It acts as the Asian qualifying tournament for the 2012 Women's Youth World Handball Championship.


2011 Asian Wrestling Championships
The 2011 Asian Wrestling Championships were held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The event took place from May 19 to May 22, 2011.


2011 Aspria Tennis Cup Trofeo City Life
The 2011 Aspria Tennis Cup Trofeo City Life was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor red clay courts. It was the sixth edition of the tournament and was part of the 2011 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Milan, Italy between 11 and 19 June 2011.


2011 Aspria Tennis Cup Trofeo City Life, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2011 Aspria Tennis Cup Trofeo City Life, Champions, Doubles
Adrián Menéndez /  Simone Vagnozzi def. Andrea Arnaboldi /  Leonardo Tavares, 0–6, 6–3, [10–5]


2011 Aspria Tennis Cup Trofeo City Life – Doubles
Daniele Bracciali and Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo were the defending champions but decided not to participate. Bracciali competed in the UNICEF Open instead.


2011 Aspria Tennis Cup Trofeo City Life – Doubles
Adrián Menéndez and Simone Vagnozzi won the tournament defeating Andrea Arnaboldi and Leonardo Tavares 0–6, 6–3, [10–5].


2011 Aspria Tennis Cup Trofeo City Life – Singles
Frederico Gil was the defending champion, but decided to compete in the Aegon International instead.


2011 Aspria Tennis Cup Trofeo City Life – Singles
Albert Ramos won the title, defeating Evgeny Korolev in the final after Korolev retired due to fatigue with Ramos leading 6–4, 3–0.


2011 Assam Legislative Assembly election
The 13th Assam Legislative Assembly election was held in two phases on 4 and 11 April 2011 to elect members from 126 constituencies in Assam, India. The result was announced on 13 May. BJP was accused of turning the anti-immigrant feeling in Assam into a Hindu-Muslim row. The election resulted in a landslide victory for the Indian National Congress and its incumbent Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi was sworn in for the third straight term. Tarun Gogoi becomes the second Chief Minister (the first was Bimala Prasad Chaliha) to be elected Chief Minister for the third consecutive term.


2011 Assen Superbike World Championship round
The 2011 Assen Superbike World Championship round was the third round of the 2011 Superbike World Championship. It took place on the weekend of April 15–17, 2011 at the TT Circuit Assen located in Assen, Netherlands.


2011 Assen Superleague Formula round
The 2011 Assen Superleague Formula round, also referred to as the 2011 Superleague Formula GP Holland, was a Superleague Formula round  held on June 5, 2011, at the TT Circuit Assen, Assen, Netherlands. It was the second ever round at the Assen circuit, following a round in 2010. It was the first round, or 'Grand Prix', of the 2011 Superleague Formula season.


2011 Assen Superleague Formula round
Fourteen cars took part, however only six sported the liveries of football clubs as per Superleague Formula tradition. The rest were branded with the colours of particular nations. Two cars from the Netherlands took part: PSV Eindhoven and Team Netherlands.


2011 Assen Superleague Formula round
Support races included the Dutch Supercar Challenge, Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup, the German Formula Three Championship and Superkart racing.


2011 Assiniboine River flood
The 2011 Assiniboine River flood was caused by above average precipitation in Western Manitoba and Saskatchewan. This was a 1 in 300 year flood that affected much of Western Manitoba. The flooding in Manitoba was expected to mostly involve the 2011 Red River Flood but instead the more severe flooding was found on the Assiniboine in the west.


2011 Assiniboine River flood, Early signs
The 2011 flood really started in the fall of 2010 with several major rainfall events and generally wet conditions. Initially, it was predicted that the flood along the Assiniboine River would be similar to the flood of 1995. During the winter of 2010–2011 the Shellmouth Reservoir was emptied in preparation, to store water for the coming spring flood. With more and more precipitation, the estimates on the flood were revised upwards.


2011 Assiniboine River flood, Early signs
The first major settlement to experience the floodwater was St. Lazare, Manitoba which was located near the confluence of the Assiniboine River and Qu'Appelle River. Dikes were built up to protect against the rising floodwater, but unfortunately some residences were not spared as their protective dikes were overwhelmed. The flood continued downstream, spilling over its banks and flooding campgrounds and fields in the flood plain. Brandon, Manitoba's second largest city, prepared well in advance of the anticipated flood building up both earthen dikes as well as sandbag/Hesco bastion dikes.


2011 Assiniboine River flood, Early signs
After a heavy snowfall on April 29 and 30 over much of the Assiniboine River watershed the crest forecast for Brandon was revised upward well above the flood of 1976. The river peaked at about 36,700 cu ft/s (1,040 m3/s),60% higher than the previous highest recorded peak of 23,000 cu ft/s (650 m3/s) in 1923. The 2011 event is estimated to be a 1 in 300-year flood.


2011 Assiniboine River flood, Early signs
Shortly thereafter a state of emergency was declared in Brandon as well as other municipalities across Manitoba. Premier Greg Selinger requested from Prime Minister Stephen Harper troops from the Canadian military to help with the flood fighting efforts. The last time the military was called in to help fight a flood in Manitoba was the 1997 Red River flood.


2011 Assiniboine River flood, Early signs
Downstream of Brandon, the Manitoba Government forecast that between 54000-56000 cu ft/s of water would enter into the Portage Diversion reservoir near Portage la Prairie. The capacity for the Portage Diversion channel, which drains into Lake Manitoba, is only approximately 25,000 cu ft/s (710 m3/s), which would mean that between 29000-31000 cu ft/s of water would flow toward communities such as Poplar Point, St. Francois Xavier, and Headingley, before joining with the Red River at The Forks. This amount of water would overwhelm the dikes downstream, along the Assiniboine River, which were only built to allow for a channel capacity of about 10,000-11,000 cu ft/s before spilling over. Otherwise breaching of dikes would occur.


2011 Assiniboine River flood, Early signs
On June 22, 2011 the city of Minot in North Dakota issued an evacuation of 12,000 residents due to the swollen Souris River that flows through the city. The Souris River starts in Saskatchewan and makes its way south across the border and then back north into Manitoba. The Souris River then eventually joins up with the Assiniboine River past Brandon which could again raise water levels on the Assiniboine due to the swollen Souris and the possibility of Lake Manitoba raising up again. Preparations are under way for the communities along the Souris to raise dikes and evacuations have begun. The province has said it will push the limits of the flood protection again.


2011 Assiniboine River flood, Intentional breach and flooding
It was determined by the Manitoba government that the capacity could be increased to 32000-34000 cu ft/s by building up the banks of the Portage Diversion, depending on hydraulic resistance on bridges along the channel. This would reduce the flows on the Assiniboine River somewhat, but still not enough for the dikes to hold.


2011 Assiniboine River flood, Intentional breach and flooding
It was also determined that a controlled release of water from the Assiniboine in the range of 2000–6000 cu ft/s should be created downstream of the Portage Diversion in order to reduce flows on the river, and divert the water into the La Salle River watershed, resulting in more manageable river levels along the Assiniboine River. The exact location decided on was at the Hoop and Holler Bend.


2011 Assiniboine River flood, Intentional breach and flooding
The controlled breach of the dike was estimated to flood approximately 225 square kilometres (87 sq mi). This option was chosen as opposed to risking an uncontrolled breach, which could release as much as 500 square kilometres (190 sq mi) with flows of up to 15,000 cu ft/s (420 m3/s), while over 800 homes would be affected by the waters. Military personnel were assigned to build flood protection in Brandon, on the Assiniboine River west of Portage la Prairie, and for residences that were at risk of flooding due to the controlled breach.


2011 Assiniboine River flood, Intentional breach and flooding
The intentional breach and overland flooding began on Saturday May, 14. The resultant flooding was very slow moving and was expected to take several days to reach the La Salle River. The waters intentionally spilled from the Assiniboine were expected to cover 185 square kilometres (71 sq mi) and flood a possible 150 homes.


2011 Assiniboine River flood, Intentional breach and flooding
The Expected crest at the Portage Reservoir was then downgraded to around 52,000 cu ft/s (1,500 m3/s), leading some engineers to question the necessity of the breach at Hoop & Holler Bend as between the Portage Diversion (34,000 cu ft/s (960 m3/s)) and the Assiniboine River Channel (up to 20,000 cu ft/s (570 m3/s)) could have handled the floodwater. The controlled breach has carried no more than 400 cu ft/s (11 m3/s) and flooding was modest.


2011 Assiniboine River flood, Effects on Lake Manitoba
With the diversion of water from the Assiniboine using the Portage Diversion into Lake Manitoba, the water level on the lake increased. Increasing the capacity of the Diversion put surrounding residences in danger of being flooded, also prompting an evacuation of Delta Beach on Lake Manitoba. Due to the increased capacity of the diversion and the duration of its use, it increased water levels on Lake Manitoba significantly, more than the 1976 Assiniboine River Flood, which resulted in approximately 1,420,000 acre-feet (1.75 km3) of water being diverted.


2011 Assiniboine River flood, Effects on Lake Manitoba
In 2011 a total of 4,768,000 acre-feet (5.881 km3)  was diverted into the lake. The Manitoba Government's projections indicated that excluding the outflows of Lake Manitoba through the Fairford River resulted in an increase of 1.22 feet (0.37 m) in the level of the lake . The Flood of 2011 surpassed these totals, causing flooding to Lake Manitoba and peaked at 817.2 feet (249.1 m) above sea level 5 feet (1.5 m) above the normal operating range . This led to flood fighting efforts shifting from the Assiniboine River to Lake Manitoba.


2011 Assiniboine River flood, Effects on Lake Manitoba
A technical review of the 2011 flood completed in October, 2013 concluded that the net effect of artificial works (Fairford River improvements and the Portage Diversion) was a rise of 0.3 feet (0.091 m) on the lake. However, the rise occurred in weeks, rather than years as would occur in natural conditions.


2011 Astana Cup
The 2011 Astana Cup was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the second edition of the tournament which was part of the 2011 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Astana, Kazakhstan between 22 and 28 August 2011.


2011 Astana Cup, ATP entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2011 Astana Cup, Champions, Doubles
Karan Rastogi /  Vishnu Vardhan def. Harri Heliövaara /  Denys Molchanov, 7–6(7–3), 2–6, [10–8]


2011 Astana Cup – Doubles
Michail Elgin and Nikolaus Moser were the defending champions but Moser decided not to participate. Elgin partnered up with Alexandre Kudryavtsev, but they were eliminated by Radu Albot and Artem Smirnov in the quarterfinals.


2011 Astana Cup – Doubles
Karan Rastogi and Vishnu Vardhan won the title. They defeated 4th seeds Harri Heliövaara and Denys Molchanov 7–6(7–3), 2–6, [10–8] in the final.


2011 Astana Cup – Singles
Igor Kunitsyn was the defending champion but decided not to participate.


2011 Astana Cup – Singles
Rainer Schüttler claimed the title. He won against Teymuraz Gabashvili 7–6(8–6), 4–6, 6–4 in the final.


2011 Astana season
The 2011 season for the Astana cycling team began in January at the Tour Down Under and ended in October at the Tour of Hainan. As a UCI ProTeam, they were automatically invited and obligated to send a squad to every event in the UCI World Tour. In a change from the 2010 season, the team's manager was Giuseppe Martinelli, replacing Yvon Sanquer. There was also a major change in ridership, as three-time Tour de France champion Alberto Contador departed for Saxo Bank–SunGard, while his doping case remains unresolved. Three Spanish domestiques followed Contador to Saxo Bank–SunGard, while two climbing talents who spent the previous season with Liquigas–Doimo, Roman Kreuziger and Robert Kišerlovski, were notable additions to the team for 2011.


2011 Astana season
Alexander Vinokourov was the team's leader alongside Kreuziger. Vinokourov stated before the season that 2011 would likely be his last year as a professional rider. He sustained a serious crash at the Tour de France. He broke his right femur and retired from the sport for a time, but he eventually went back on this decision and his decision from before the season, opting instead to return for the 2012 season.


2011 Astana season
True to their longtime identity as a stage racing team, all of Astana's 2011 victories came in stage races. They had a much lesser presence at the Grand Tours than they did when Contador rode for them, achieving just one stage win and sixth overall as their best placing, both from the Giro d'Italia. They also took stage wins at seven other races.


2011 Astana season, One-day races, Spring classics
The squad was not competitive at the first three monument races in the spring season, coming just 66th in Milan–San Remo, 35th at the Tour of Flanders, and 18th at Paris–Roubaix. Kišerlovski and Clarke took seventh places at two early-season classics, respectively the Classica Sarda and the Giro del Friuli, the latter a race run in such difficult conditions that only 25 riders finished.


2011 Astana season, One-day races, Spring classics
The team's two leaders Vinokourov and Kreuziger rode strongly at the Ardennes classics. Vinokourov took fourth in La Flèche Wallonne, six seconds back of winner Philippe Gilbert. Kreuziger was also fourth, at the fourth monument Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and also back of Gilbert as race winner. The team also sent squads to the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen – Harelbeke, Gent-Wevelgem, and the Amstel Gold Race, but finished distantly in each, 16th, 66th, and 17th respectively.


2011 Astana season, One-day races, Fall races
Gasparotto turned in a fourth place ride at Tre Valli Varesine, which matched the team's best single-day result of the season, along with the performances of Kreuziger and Vinokourov from earlier in the season. Clarke provided two of the team's highest finishes in the later-season single day races, coming fifth at the Coppa Ugo Agostoni and seventh at Vattenfall Cyclassics. Clarke also turned in a good ride at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec, finishing tenth.


2011 Astana season, One-day races, Fall races
The team also sent squads to the Clásica de San Sebastián, the GP Ouest-France, the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, the Coppa Sabatini, the Giro dell'Emilia, the GP Bruno Beghelli, the Giro di Lombardia, the Chrono des Nations, and the Japan Cup, but finished no higher than 17th in any of these races.


2011 Astana season, Stage races
Di Gregorio took the team's first win of the season, at Paris–Nice, winning a windy, rainy stage 7 into Sophia Antipolis. Vinokourov had targeted this stage, since it fell on the anniversary of the death of his friend Andrei Kivilev in the 2003 race. It was also during this stage that Kiserlovski slid and crashed on a slippery downhill, and skidded underneath a parked truck. It took several minutes to safely extricate him, and after needing eight stitches to sew up his wounds, he did not start the final stage.


2011 Astana season, Stage races
Vinokourov won stage 3 of the Tour of the Basque Country with a 4 km (2.5 mi) long solo attack. Kreuziger took his first win of the season at the Giro del Trentino, winning the fourth and final stage. He also was first over the day's last two climbs, which gave him enough points to win the mountains classification. The squad also won the teams classification.


2011 Astana season, Stage races
Later in April, the team took two wins at two concurrent events. In stage 2 at the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey, Valentin took his first win of the season in a field sprint, besting Alessandro Petacchi at the finish. The victory made the younger Iglinsky the race leader for a day before he ceded it to Colnago–CSF Inox's Manuel Belletti, winner of stage 3. Later in the race, Zeits made a fortunate breakaway which took nearly 12 minutes over the rest of the peloton.


2011 Astana season, Stage races
The result put him fourth in the overall standings, 20 seconds clear of the man in fifth, but 10 minutes ahead of the man in sixth. The next day, the Astana squad worked hard to get another breakaway containing Zeits to the finish line first, which resulted him in moving up to second overall. He retained this position to the conclusion of the race.


2011 Astana season, Stage races
At the Tour de Romandie, Vinokourov won stage 3. He, Mickaël Cherel, and Tony Martin had slipped off the front of the field when the day's principal breakaway was caught, and stayed away to allow a three-up sprint decide the winner, though they had no appreciable time gap over the fast-charging peloton at the finish. Cherel protested the results, feeling that Vinokourov's sprint had illegally impeded him, but race officials upheld the order of finish on the road.


2011 Astana season, Stage races
Vinokourov felt after this result that he was a strong contender for the overall crown, sitting 32 seconds back with an individual time trial, where pending race leader Pavel Brutt struggles, still to race. He finished the race third, losing time to race champion Cadel Evans in that time trial. He later said he was satisfied with this performance. However, at this race, Kiserlovski was revealed to have worse injuries from his Paris–Nice crash than first thought. An MRI taken after the Romandie prologue, due to the Croatian suffering from severe shoulder pain, revealed that he had a cracked vertebra.


2011 Astana season, Stage races
He abandoned the race with hopes of recovering in time for the Giro d'Italia. Vinokourov had a successful Critérium du Dauphiné. He finished second in the prologue time trial and assumed the race lead the next day on the first road race stage. He held the jersey for a second day before losing it in the stage 3 time trial, a considerably longer course than the prologue. He finished a distant 14th, having difficulty on the technical descents on the course, and slipped to fourth overall. When Janez Brajkovič faltered in stage 6, Vinokourov re-assumed a podium position, third, and kept it to the race's conclusion the next day.


2011 Astana season, Stage races
The team had a very successful Tour of Austria, a race concurrent to the Tour de France. Kessiakoff rode to a strong stage 2 win on a summit finish at Kitzbüheler Horn. On a day where the composition of the leading group changed several times over rolling terrain, Kessiakoff was the first rider to attack out of the main peloton and surpassed all riders ahead of him to finish alone atop the 1,670 m (5,480 ft) summit. A former mountain bike veteran, this solo ride was Kessiakoff's first career road win in his third year in the discipline.


2011 Astana season, Stage races
The result gave him a lead of a minute and 18 seconds in the overall standings. After most of the riders finished together on the next four stages, Kessiakoff built his lead even higher in the stage 7 time trial. He was fifth, ceding time only to riders well behind him in the overall standings, extending his lead to two and a half minutes. He easily won the race overall the next day, finishing safely in the peloton in an uncomplicated sprinters' stage.


2011 Astana season, Stage races
After Masciarelli won the youth award at the inaugural Giro di Padania, Valentin Iglinsky provided for the team's final wins of 2011 at the Tour of Hainan. In a race that actually counted toward the 2012 Asia tour standings, Iglinsky, the race's defending champion, won stage 8 and subsequently the overall crown the next day.


2011 Astana season, Stage races
The team also sent squads to the Tour Down Under, the Tour of Qatar, the Tour of Oman, the Volta ao Algarve, the Giro di Sardegna, Tirreno–Adriatico, the Volta a Catalunya, the Tour of Belgium, the Tour de Suisse, the Eneco Tour, and the Tour de l'Ain, but did not have a stage win, classification win, or podium finish in any of them.


2011 Astana season, Grand Tours, Giro d'Italia
Astana's leader for the Giro was Kreuziger. Though he had ridden six previous Grand Tours and finished in the top ten at the Tour de France twice, this was his first time riding the Giro, as his former team Liquigas–Doimo always inevitably had someone else in mind for leadership at the Italian tour. It was also the first time Kreuziger had ridden as the unquestioned leader in a Grand Tour. Both leadership and access to the Giro were central to Kreuziger's signing with Astana in the offseason. A team of experienced domestiques, along with Kiserlovski, the tenth-place finisher at the 2010 Giro d'Italia, were named to ride in support. Kreuziger's goal was to finish on the podium.


2011 Astana season, Grand Tours, Giro d'Italia
The team began the Giro with a poor team time trial, finishing 17th of 23 teams, immediately putting Kreuziger 50 seconds off the race lead. Kreuziger made each of the day's selections in stage 5, a hilly stage with numerous sectors of unpaved or 'white' roads, and finished with the race's top riders eight seconds back of the day's winner and new race leader Pieter Weening. This result moved Kreuziger up 42 places, from 70th to 18th, even though his time gap to the race leader remained close to the same.


2011 Astana season, Grand Tours, Giro d'Italia
Kreuziger took one of the time bonuses two days later on Montevergine di Mercogliano, as the race's top riders narrowly missed taking back the last breakaway rider Bart De Clercq on the Giro's first summit finish. While the Belgian won the stage, Kreuziger's third-place ride moved him further up the classification, to 14th. Kreuziger, like the rest of the field, was greatly outclassed by Alberto Contador on Mount Etna in stage 9, but despite finishing 50 seconds back he vaulted even higher in the standings, entering the top ten overall for the first time, at seventh.


2011 Astana season, Grand Tours, Giro d'Italia
He also gained the white jersey for best young rider after this stage. He held that position in stage 11, which unexpectedly became a stage for the overall classification riders despite Contador's hints that he may cede his pink jersey on this day. With Michele Scarponi's Lampre–ISD leading a strong chase, Kreuziger finished sixth on the day, amongst the race's top riders, to remain seventh overall.


2011 Astana season, Grand Tours, Giro d'Italia
Kreuziger, along with most of the race's best riders, was again out-distanced by Contador on the Grossglockner, the next summit finish. He finished sixth on the day, losing over a minute and a half. Attrition to other riders meant he actually moved up to fifth overall, though he was three and a half minutes down on Contador, a time gap unlikely to be recouped. Kreuziger faltered badly the next day on the stage ending at Monte Zoncolan.


2011 Astana season, Grand Tours, Giro d'Italia
He was a distant 16th on the day, losing three and a half minutes to stage winner Igor Antón, but more importantly losing between two and three minutes to the race's other top riders. He fell down to ninth overall as a result. He regained one position the next day with ninth place on Gardeccia, but again lost time to the race's other leading riders. This was because Ag2r–La Mondiale rider Hubert Dupont fell from his position above Kreuziger in the standings. Kreuziger finished sixth in the climbing time trial to the Nevegal, but since the climb was relatively short, time gaps among the top riders were small, and he remained eighth overall as a result.


2011 Astana season, Grand Tours, Giro d'Italia
The team took their one-stage win in stage 19. Tiralongo, perhaps Kreuziger's top support rider, attacked out of the leading group 7 km (4.3 mi), all uphill, from the finish in Macugnaga. After other riders tried to bridge up to him but never made it all the way, Contador easily made his way to the front of the race and rode beside Tiralongo for several moments. They shared a few words, and Contador patted the veteran Italian on the back as he encouraged him to take the stage win himself.


2011 Astana season, Grand Tours, Giro d'Italia
Tiralongo did so, the first race win of his 12-year career. Contador, who had ridden the last three seasons with Astana, remembered Tiralongo as a friend and a valued support rider, and wanted to do something to thank him for all his hard work done on the Spaniard's behalf. The day was also a good one for Kreuziger, as his eighth place on the day moved him up to seventh overall. Kreuziger was just 16th in the stage 21 time trial in Milan, a poor showing for him.


2011 Astana season, Grand Tours, Giro d'Italia
But since José Rujano, the man who had been directly ahead of him in the overall standings, is a vastly inferior time trialist (46th on the day), Kreuziger moved past him to finish the Giro in sixth place overall. While he did fall short of his goal to finish on the podium, Kreuziger nonetheless added another Grand Tour top ten and the best young rider jersey to his palmarès. The squad also finished as winners of the Trofeo Fast Team, the traditional team classification where the times for the team's top three riders are added each day. They finished an even ten minutes the better of Movistar Team.


2011 Astana season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
Vinokourov led the Astana squad at the Tour de France. Entering 2011, he had thought it to be his final season as an active competitor, and his main goal for the year was to wear the yellow jersey at some time during the Tour. His pursuit of yellow was strengthened by the addition of Kreuziger to the squad, riding solely in support of the veteran Kazakh. Paris–Nice stage winner Di Gregorio and Tiralongo were also named to the squad.


2011 Astana season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
The squad turned in a decent ride in the stage 2 team time trial, finishing ninth of 22 teams. The result installed Vinokourov into 27th place, 32 seconds off the race lead. Vinokourov took third in stage 4 on the Mûr-de-Bretagne, one of only ten riders to finish together at the front of the race. He moved up six places to 18th with this result. In stage 8 on Super Besse, Vinokourov and Team Sky's Juan Antonio Flecha put in an attack that constituted a clear bid to take the yellow jersey.


2011 Astana season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
Starting the day 32 seconds back of race leader Thor Hushovd, Vinokourov surged past Flecha and all remaining members of the morning breakaway other than eventual stage winner Rui Costa. He occupied second position on the road, holding a sufficient time gap that he could take the race leadership, until he was reabsorbed by the depleted front peloton and finished at the back of that group. The result did, however, move Vinokourov up to 11th.


2011 Astana season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
The team's fortunes took a dramatic turn the next day. On the same day that breakaway riders Flecha and Johnny Hoogerland were sideswiped by a car at the front of the race, Vinokourov crashed along with Jurgen Van den Broeck, Andreas Klöden, and David Zabriskie, all of whom eventually left the race due to their injuries. Vinokourov's injuries were quite clearly serious immediately – he could not walk back to the road from which he fell, needing to be held up by Di Gregorio and Grivko. He was revealed to have sustained a broken right femur.


2011 Astana season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
Fofonov also crashed, witnessing what took place from his position directly behind Vinokourov. He described that the race had been extremely fast, and the road wet, with Hushovd and a rider from Omega Pharma–Lotto taking a line around a left-hand curve that resulted in those behind taking it much too widely and falling off the road. Vinokourov was quoted as saying "I never expected such a dramatic end on the Tour de France" and said that he expected the team to fight on for a stage win.


2011 Astana season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
He had surgery in Aurillac the next day, with the scheduled recovery time for the injury ruling him out for the remainder of the season, also meaning that it would likely end his professional career. A week later, Vinokourov indeed announced his retirement from the sport, for a second time. After his first four weeks of rehabilitation went better than anticipated, Vinokourov announced that he would ride the Giro di Lombardia before retiring. Later this plan changed, to have him ride the Chrono des Nations instead, due to the lesser risk of crashing in an individual time trial than in a hilly classic. In September, Vinokourov came out of retirement altogether and announced that he would return as an active rider in 2012.


2011 Astana season, Grand Tours, Tour de France
Despite Vinokourov's hopes upon crashing out of the race that the squad would continue to be combative, they did not attain any noteworthy results over the remainder of the Tour. Grivko and Fofonov took top-ten stage placings from breakaways in stages 16 and 17, but did not come close to winning either day, finishing tenth and sixth respectively and over a minute off the winner's time both days. Vaitkus finished eighth on the Champs-Élysées stage to close out the Tour. The squad's best-placed rider in the final overall standings was Di Gregorio in 39th place, an hour and 22 minutes off Tour winner Cadel Evans' time.


2011 Astana season, Grand Tours, Vuelta a España
Kashechkin, who previously rode for Astana before being suspended following a positive doping test at the 2007 Tour de France, transferred to the team from Lampre–ISD effective at the beginning of August. His first race back with the team was the Vuelta a España, where he was to ride as squad leader. He hoped to finish in the top five.


2011 Astana season, Grand Tours, Vuelta a España
Astana turned in their strongest team time trial performance in the Vuelta, finishing fourth of the 22 teams. Kiserlovski commented after the ride that the team was well pleased with fourth place and the small time gap to the stage winners Leopard Trek. Gasparotto had high placings in stages 2 and 3, but did not come especially close to winning either, taking seventh in a field sprint and then ninth over a minute down on the back-to-back days.


2011 Astana season, Grand Tours, Vuelta a España
In the Vuelta's first summit finish the next day in the Sierra Nevada, Kessiakoff finished in the 29-rider leading peloton 11 seconds back of the stage winner, which moved him up to seventh overall. Kashechkin, on the other hand, finished in the second-to-last large group, losing 18 minutes and any chance at serious overall contention. Kessiakoff moved up to sixth the next day by finishing tenth on the Valdepeñas de Jaén climb. After two more tenth places on difficult stages, Kessiakoff's position improved to fourth overall, gaining that position on stage 9.


2011 Astana season, Grand Tours, Vuelta a España
He occupied fifth after stage 11, having slipped a bit in the stage 10 individual time trial, still leaving him to be described as the "big surprise of the Vuelta a España." After 11 stages, Kashechkin lay 107th, nearly an hour and a half behind the race leader. Team manager Martinelli stated that no pressure for a particular final placing would be put on Kessiakoff. Sporting director Aydar Mahmet expressed the team's dissatisfaction with Kashechkin publicly suggesting the expectation of a high placing when he obviously did not have the form to attain it.


2011 Astana season, Grand Tours, Vuelta a España
Kessiakoff moved into his highest overall position after stage 12, occupying third overall just nine seconds behind the race leader. Kessiakoff at last cracked on stage 14, finishing 21st two minutes off the pace on La Farrapona. He had such time in hand over the bulk of the field, however, that he slipped only to sixth overall. Kessiakoff badly cracked in the next stage, losing almost 22 minutes and falling to 26th overall. Kiserlovski then became the team's top overall rider. He took ninth on stage 18 into Noja, part of a breakaway that took over seven minutes against the race's top riders. The result installed him into 16th place overall. He ended the Vuelta in 18th, as Astana's best-placed rider. Kessiakoff's final position was 34th, and Kashechkin was 89th.


2011 Asturian regional election
The 2011 Asturian regional election was held on Sunday, 22 May 2011, to elect the 8th General Junta of the Principality of Asturias. All 45 seats in the General Junta were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.


2011 Asturian regional election
Except for the 1995-1999 legislature, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) had governed the autonomous community since the first election in 1983. However, in the 2011 election, the Asturias Forum (FAC), a split from the People's Party (PP), won the most seats despite PSOE obtaining more votes. The FAC was established on 19 January 2011 by Francisco Álvarez Cascos, former Deputy Prime Minister of Spain, after failing to be selected as PP's candidate.


2011 Asturian regional election
FAC gains came at the expense of the PP and the PSOE, but while PSOE's collapse had been predicted in early opinion polls, the PP had been widely expected to make strong gains before Cascos' split, instead scoring the worst result of its history. The Asturian Bloc (BA) had terminated its coalition with United Left (IU) and the Asturian Greens (LVA) in August 2010 and run separately, failing to win any seats. IU and the Greens maintained their coalition and retained their existing four seats.


2011 Asturian regional election
Vicente Álvarez Areces, incumbent since 1999, did not seek re-election. As in Asturias it is not allowed for parties to vote against a proposed presidential candidate (instead being forced to either abstain or vote a candidate of their own), on July 2011, the PSOE and PP announced that they would abstain in the investiture voting of Álvarez Cascos, who thus became the new President at the head of a minority administration.


2011 Asturian regional election
The resulting government, however, was not able to gather legislative support to approve its 2012 regional budget, with both PP and PSOE blocking the vote, resulting in a fresh election being held in March 2012.


2011 Asturian regional election, Overview, Background
On 7 July 2010, the President of Asturias, Vicente Álvarez Areces, announced that he would not seek re-election. Following the announcement, the General Secretary of the Asturian Socialist Federation (FSA), PSOE's regional branch, declared that he would seek the nomination to become the presidential candidate. His candidacy, supported by the FSA Executive Committee, was ratified by the PSOE Federal Committee on 23 October 2010.


2011 Asturian regional election, Overview, Background
United Left, coalition partner of the PSOE, decided that their regional General Coordinator, Jesús Sánchez Iglesias, would be its presidential candidate for a second consecutive time. His candidacy was supported by the IU Asturian Presidency in November 2010 and ratified by IU's political council in Asturias on 27 November 2010.


2011 Asturian regional election, Overview, Background
The Asturian Bloc ended its coalition with United Left and the Greens in October 2010 and contested the election in a joint electoral list with the Asturian Nationalist Unity (UNA) under the label Bloc for Asturias-UNA: Commitment for Asturias. BA's sole sitting deputy, Rafael Palacios, was their presidential candidate.


2011 Asturian regional election, Overview, Background
Oviedo city councillor Isabel Pérez-Espinosa was selected by the People's Party as its presidential candidate on 29 December 2010. This led to a split within the Asturian PP as former Deputy Prime Minister Francisco Álvarez-Cascos had been seeking the nomination. He resigned from the PP and formed the Asturias Forum, running to the election on his own.


2011 Asturian regional election, Overview, Electoral system
The General Junta of the Principality of Asturias was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Asturias, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Asturian Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a President of the Principality. Voting for the General Junta was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over eighteen, registered in Asturias and in full enjoyment of their political rights. Amendments to the electoral law in 2011 required for Asturians abroad to apply for voting before being permitted to vote, a system known as "begged" or expat vote (Spanish: Voto rogado).


2011 Asturian regional election, Overview, Electoral system
The 45 members of the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with an electoral threshold of three percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied in each constituency. Additionally, the use of the D'Hondt method might result in an effective threshold over three percent, depending on the district magnitude. Seats were allocated to constituencies, which were established by law as follows:


2011 Asturian regional election, Overview, Electoral system
Each constituency was entitled to an initial minimum of two seats, with the remaining 39 allocated among the constituencies in proportion to their populations.


2011 Asturian regional election, Overview, Electoral system
The electoral law provided that parties, federations, coalitions and groupings of electors were allowed to present lists of candidates. However, groupings of electors were required to secure the signature of at least 1 percent of the electors registered in the constituency for which they sought election. Electors were barred from signing for more than one list of candidates. Concurrently, parties and federations intending to enter in coalition to take part jointly at an election were required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within ten days of the election being called.


2011 Asturian regional election, Overview, Election date
The term of the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias expired four years after the date of its previous election. Elections to the General Junta were fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years. The previous election was held on 27 May 2007, setting the election date for the General Junta on Sunday, 22 May 2011.


2011 Asturian regional election, Overview, Election date
The President of the Principality had the prerogative to dissolve the General Junta and call a snap election, provided that no motion of no confidence was in process, no nationwide election was due and some time requirements were met: namely, that dissolution did not occur either during the first legislative session or within the legislature's last year ahead of its scheduled expiry, nor before one year had elapsed since a previous dissolution under this procedure.


2011 Asturian regional election, Overview, Election date
In the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional President within a two-month period from the first ballot, the General Junta was to be automatically dissolved and a fresh election called. Any snap election held as a result of these circumstances would not alter the period to the next ordinary election, with elected deputies merely serving out what remained of their four-year terms.


2011 Asturian regional election, Opinion polls
The table below lists voting intention estimates in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first and using the dates when the survey fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. Where the fieldwork dates are unknown, the date of publication is given instead. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed with its background shaded in the leading party's colour. If a tie ensues, this is applied to the figures with the highest percentages. The "Lead" column on the right shows the percentage-point difference between the parties with the highest percentages in a given poll. When available, seat projections are also displayed below the voting estimates in a smaller font. 23 seats were required for an absolute majority in the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias.


2011 Atlanta Beat season
The 2011 Atlanta Beat season is the club's second season in Women's Professional Soccer and their second consecutive season in the top division of women's soccer in the American soccer pyramid. Including the WUSA franchise, this is the club's sixth year of existence.


2011 Atlanta Beat season, Review and events
Prior to the beginning of the 2011 WPS season, the Atlanta Beat organization scheduled several preseason friendlies against local universities. For the preseason, the Beat played Auburn University twice, and then University of North Carolina, Georgia and Florida State. In preseason, the Beat went on an undefeated 5-0-0 run, and only conceded one goal in the process.


2011 Atlanta Beat season, Review and events
On April 9, in front of over slightly 4,000 spectators, the Beat opened their season with a 1-4 loss to Boston Breakers.


2011 Atlanta Beat season, Club, Roster
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2011 Atlanta Braves season
The 2011 Atlanta Braves season was the Braves' 46th season in Atlanta, and the 141st overall. For the first time since the 1990 season, Bobby Cox did not manage the club, having retired following the 2010 season. He was succeeded by Fredi González, the former third-base coach for the Braves between 2003 and 2006. After entering the playoffs with their first franchise Wild Card berth in 2010, the Braves attempted to return to the postseason for a second consecutive season.


2011 Atlanta Braves season
Entering the final month of the regular season with a record of 80–55 and an 8+1⁄2-game lead in the Wild Card standings, the Braves went 9–18 in September to finish the season with a record of 89–73. This September collapse caused the team to fall one game behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card race after the final scheduled game of the season, which consequently eliminated them from postseason contention. On July 12, 2016, ESPN named the 2011 Braves collapse as the 25th worst collapse in sports history.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Offseason transactions, Timeline, October 2010
October 13: The Atlanta Braves announced that Fredi González would replace long-time Braves manager Bobby Cox as manager of the team in 2011. The announcement came just two days after the 2010 Atlanta Braves were eliminated from the postseason. It was also announced that pitching coach Roger McDowell, third-base coach Brian Snitker, and bullpen coach Eddie Pérez would retain their current positions, while former hitting coach Terry Pendleton would replace Glenn Hubbard as the first-base coach. There were two newcomers to the staff, Larry Parrish, as the hitting coach, and Carlos Tosca as the bench coach. Hubbard and former bench coach Chino Cadahia were not offered positions on the new coaching staff.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Offseason transactions, Timeline, October 2010
October 19: The Atlanta Braves released left-fielder Melky Cabrera, reliever Takashi Saito, and back-up catcher J. C. Boscán in order to make room on their 40-man roster for future transactions that would come in the offseason.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Offseason transactions, Timeline, November 2010
November 2: The Braves picked up the $2.5 million options for both shortstop Alex González and All-Star utility man Omar Infante. Additionally, the Braves resigned reliever Scott Proctor to a one-year deal worth $750,000 including incentives that bring the total to $1 million. Finally, the Braves declined reliever Kyle Farnsworth's $5.25 million option and center fielder Rick Ankiel's $6 million option for the 2011 season.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Offseason transactions, Timeline, November 2010
November 3: The Braves claimed utility man Joe Mather off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals. He was later placed on outright waivers by the Braves on March 27 after underperforming in Spring training.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Offseason transactions, Timeline, November 2010
November 16: The Braves traded Omar Infante and Mike Dunn to the Florida Marlins for  Dan Uggla. In January, Uggla's contract was extended to a five-year, $62 million deal.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Offseason transactions, Timeline, December 2010
December 2: The Braves decided to non-tender the contract of Matt Diaz, effectively ending his tenure as a Brave. On the same day, the Braves agreed to terms with infielder/outfielder Eric Hinske, allowing his return in 2011.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Offseason transactions, Timeline, December 2010
December 3: The Braves agreed to a two-player trade with the White Sox, sending minor league right-handed pitcher Kyle Cofield to Chicago in exchange for right-handed relief pitcher Scott Linebrink.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Offseason transactions, Timeline, December 2010
December 10: At the Winter Meetings, the Braves agreed to a one-year deal with left-handed relief pitcher George Sherrill for the 2011 season.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Offseason transactions, Timeline, January 2011
January 13: The Braves claimed right-handed reliever Anthony Varvaro off waivers from the Seattle Mariners in order to add bullpen depth to the organization.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Offseason transactions, Timeline, January 2011
January 18: In order to avoid arbitration, the Braves offered new one-year contracts to starting pitcher Jair Jurrjens ($3.25 million), second baseman Martín Prado ($3.1 million), and relief pitchers Peter Moylan ($2 million) and Eric O'Flaherty ($895,000). These were the last four Braves players to be eligible for arbitration.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Offseason transactions, Timeline, January 2011
January 31: The Braves signed right-handed pitcher Rodrigo López to a minor league contract, which included an invite to the major league Spring training camp.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Offseason transactions, Timeline, February 2011
February 21: The Braves announced that General Manager Frank Wren had been offered a two-year contract extension, taking him through the 2013 season with the Braves.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Spring training
The 2011 Atlanta Braves played a 35-game slate that started on February 26, 2011, for the 2011 Spring training season. Pitchers and catchers were to report by February 14 with the first full-squad workout occurring February 19. For the fourteenth straight season, Champion Stadium at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista served as the Florida home for the Atlanta Braves. The last two games, on March 29–30, were played at Turner Field against the Minnesota Twins.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Spring training, Luis Salazar injury
In the first inning of the March 9 game versus the St. Louis Cardinals, Brian McCann pulled a foul ball sharply toward the Braves' dugout, striking Minor League manager Luis Salazar in the left eye. After being knocked down four stairs and falling on his head, he was airlifted to the Orlando Regional Medical Center for further treatment. Following a strong recovery from multiple facial fractures, doctors determined that Salazar's left eye could not be saved and performed an operation to have it removed on March 16. Despite this, he still plans to perform his new job as manager of the Class A Advanced Lynchburg Hillcats. During the entire ordeal, Brian McCann expressed feelings of guilt for hitting the ball and was notably shaken by the incident.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, Notable occurrences
March 31, 2011: On Opening Day versus the Washington Nationals, right-fielder Jason Heyward launched a home run in his first at-bat of the season. Combined with his first at-bat home run on Opening Day of 2010, Heyward became just the second player in major league history to hit a home run on his first at-bat in his first two Opening Day games. The other player was Kaz Matsui who did the feat in 2004 and 2005.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, Notable occurrences
April 8, 2011: In the sixth inning of the first game of the season at Turner Field, long-time Braves third-baseman Chipper Jones notched his 2,500th career hit, a single off of Antonio Bastardo. Braves long-time skipper Bobby Cox was in attendance to view the milestone. Chipper is just the ninth switch hitter to reach the 2,500 hit plateau.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, Notable occurrences
April 13, 2011: In the bottom of the ninth of a 1–5 loss to the Marlins, Chipper Jones hit a solo home run to collect the 1,500th RBI of his career. Combined with his hit milestone just five days prior, Chipper now stands with just Eddie Murray as the only switch-hitters in history to collect 2,500 hits and 1,500 RBIs in a career.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, Notable occurrences
April 25, 2011: In his third major career milestone of the month, Chipper Jones collected his 500th career double to leadoff the top of the twelfth inning against the Padres. Chipper became just the 52nd player in MLB History and only the fourth switch-hitter to reach the milestone.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, Notable occurrences
May 15, 2011: The May 15 series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies at Turner Field was the fifth annual Civil Rights Game, concluding four days of festivities in Atlanta. In a pre-game ceremony, Ernie Banks, Carlos Santana, and Morgan Freeman were honored with the Beacon of Life, Beacon of Change, and Beacon of Hope awards, respectively.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, Notable occurrences
May 17, 2011: Down to the last strike and trailing by one run in the final game of a series against the Astros, Brian McCann hit a pinch-hit home run to tie the game. Two innings later, McCann hit another home run to win the game. According to the Elias Sports Bureau,  McCann became just the second player in Major League history to hit a pinch-hit, game-tying home run in the ninth inning and then end an extra-inning game with another homer. The other player to achieve this was Jeff Heath for the Boston Braves in a 1949 win over the Reds.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, Notable occurrences
June 12, 2011: With the 4–1 win against the Astros at Minute Maid Park, the team put the Braves franchise record since inception in the National League in 1876 at 9,983 wins and 9,982 losses. This was the first time since June 4, 1923, when the overall record was 3,084 wins and losses, that the overall franchise record was over .500.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, Notable occurrences
July 7, 2011: Braves rookie closer Craig Kimbrel collected his twenty-seventh save of the season with the series-sweeping 6–3 win against the Colorado Rockies, setting a major league record for most saves by a rookie before the All-Star break. The previous record was held by Jonathan Papelbon, who had registered twenty-six saves during his rookie season in 2006. On June 3, Kimbrel broke the record for the most saves before the All-Star break by a National League rookie when he collected his seventeenth save against the Mets at Citi Field. The previous National League record holder was Yhency Brazobán, who had sixteen saves before the break for the Dodgers in 2005. Kimbrel entered the All-Star break with twenty-eight saves to set the mark for the new record.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, Notable occurrences
July 15, 2011: In the first game after the All-Star break, the Braves defeated the Washington Nationals 11–1, earning the franchise its 10,000th win since inception into the National League in 1876. They, along with the San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs, are now the only Major League franchises with ten thousand or more wins.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, Notable occurrences
July 26, 2011: Hosting the Pittsburgh Pirates for a four-game series at home, the Braves played the longest game in terms of time in franchise history. Starting at the scheduled 7:10 time in the evening, the marathon lasted six hours and thirty-nine minutes to end at 1:50 the following morning. The game, which ended with a very controversial walk-off for the Braves in the nineteenth inning, was the longest in terms of innings for the team since May 4, 1973, when a game against Philadelphia lasted twenty innings and ended in a Phillies victory.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, Notable occurrences
August 12, 2011: The Braves announced in the off-season that Bobby Cox would be inducted into the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame after having retired at the end of the 2010 season. As a part of the Braves Alumni Weekend, his number six was retired at a special luncheon and afterward an on-field ceremony was held to recognize the long-time Braves manager before the scheduled game versus the Chicago Cubs.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, Notable occurrences
August 12, 2011: Having recorded a hit in every game since July 4, Braves second-basemen Dan Uggla ran his hitting streak up to 32 games with a second-inning solo home run off Carlos Zambrano, his first of two home runs on the night and the thirteenth home run of the streak. Uggla's long hitting streak set a new Atlanta Braves record, passing Rico Carty, who established a 31-game hitting streak in 1970. The only player with a longer streak in Braves franchise history is Tommy Holmes, who reached a 37-game streak in 1945 for the Boston team.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, Notable occurrences
August 31, 2011: Closing out a 3–1 win against the Washington Nationals in front of a home crowd, Braves rookie closer Craig Kimbrel collected his 41st save of the season, setting a new major league record for most saves in a single season by a rookie closer. The previous record-holder was Neftalí Feliz, who saved forty games for the Texas Rangers during his rookie season in 2010. Kimbrel went on to finish the season with 46 saves to set the mark for the new rookie record.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, Notable occurrences
September 8, 2011: While recording a no-decision in a 2–3 loss to the Phillies, Braves rookie pitcher Brandon Beachy set the record for most strikeouts in a season by an Atlanta Braves rookie by striking out Michael Martínez and recording his 140th strikeout. The old record of 139 strikeouts was previously held by Jair Jurrjens, who achieved that number in 2008.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, Notable occurrences
September 28, 2011: Despite holding an 8+1⁄2-game lead in the Wild Card race on the first day of September, the Braves' horrible September win–loss record created a situation leading into Closing Day that almost mirrored the scenario presented on that day in 2010. The Braves again found themselves in a tie atop the Wild Card standings with just one scheduled game to play, this time with the St. Louis Cardinals. Taking on the Houston Astros in Houston on the final day, the Cardinals shutout their opponent 8–0 on a Chris Carpenter gem.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, Notable occurrences
Meanwhile, the Braves faced the Philadelphia Phillies at home to conclude their schedule. Despite a solid start by veteran Tim Hudson, the Braves fell to the Phillies 3–4 in thirteen innings, officially eliminating the team from playoff contention. It was the first time since June 8 that the Braves did not possess a portion of first place in the Wild Card standings.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, September collapse
The Braves led the National League Wild Card standings for much of the 2011 season, with the division-rival Philadelphia Phillies firmly in control of first place in the National League East. The Braves entered the final month of the regular season 25 games above .500 with a record of 80–55 and an 8+1⁄2-game lead in the Wild Card standings. The nearest team trailing them, the St. Louis Cardinals, who also trailed the National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers by 8+1⁄2 games at the time, were considered a long-shot to gain a spot in the postseason. Just days prior on August 26, the Cardinals found themselves 10+1⁄2 games behind and in third place.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, September collapse
Having swept the New York Mets in a doubleheader at Citi Field on the previous day, the Braves traveled to St. Louis on September 9 to play the Cardinals in a three-game series. Entering the series, the Braves still held a 7+1⁄2-game lead on the Cardinals in the Wild Card standings.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, September collapse
Gaining a 3–1 advantage on the Cardinals entering the bottom of the ninth inning in the first game of the series, Braves rookie and eventual Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winner Craig Kimbrel suffered his first blown save since June 8, ending a string of 25 straight converted saves and a personal scoreless innings streak of 37+2⁄3. With two outs and the bases loaded, Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols sent a ball down the right field line that scored two to tie the game at three.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, September collapse
In the bottom of the tenth, the Cardinals won on a Nick Punto line drive. The disheartening loss, which eroded the Braves' lead down to 6+1⁄2 games, proved to be a turning point for both teams. The Cardinals went on to win the last two games of the series, lowering the team's Wild Card advantage to 4+1⁄2 games with 15 games to play.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, September collapse
The Braves played decently in the subsequent homestand, going 3–3 against the Florida Marlins and New York Mets; however, the Cardinals, who went on a seven-game roadtrip to play the Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies, went 5–2 over the same stretch. With nine games to play for both teams, the Braves' lead still held at three games. The Braves exited the homestand for a three-game series in Sun Life Stadium against the Florida Marlins. In the first game of the series on September 19, the team found themselves in a quick 0–2 hole.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, September collapse
The offense rallied in the seventh inning, however, and lead the Marlins 5–4 going into the bottom of the ninth. Again closer Craig Kimbrel entered to give the team a much needed win. With two outs and no one on base, Emilio Bonifacio hit a slow grounder to Braves veteran third baseman Chipper Jones. Apparently losing the ball in the lights, Jones committed a fielding error that allowed Bonifacio to reach base.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, September collapse
Two pitches later, Omar Infante, who the Braves had traded to the Marlins in the previous offseason, hit a two-run home run to left field that gave the Marlins a 6–5 win, stunning the Braves. The club split the final two games of the series, putting them at 88–68 on the season. The Cardinals, however, took two of three from the Mets at home, shrinking the Braves' lead even further to a mere two games.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, September collapse
With just two series remaining apiece for both the Braves and Cardinals, the Braves traveled to Nationals Park to play the Washington Nationals in their final road series of the season while the Cardinals remained at Busch Stadium for their final home series of the year. Braves veteran ace Tim Hudson pitched well enough to give the Braves a win in the first game of their series, while the Cardinals struggled against Ryan Dempster and the Chicago Cubs. After the Cardinals loss, the Milwaukee Brewers officially clinched the National League Central.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, September collapse
With five games to play, the Braves' lead returned to three games. The final two games of the Nationals series proved to be an offensive struggle for the Braves, scoring only one run between the two games and losing both of them. The Cardinals, meanwhile, edged out the Cubs with one-run victories in the final two games of their series. Entering the final series of the regular season, the Braves' once mighty lead was reduced to a mere game.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, September collapse
The Braves returned home to Turner Field to host the Philadelphia Phillies, who had already clinched the National League East while the Cardinals traveled to Minute Maid Park to play the Houston Astros, a team that had already lost 104 games and was 39 games behind in the standings. Facing two Phillie aces in Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt in the first two games of the series, the Braves found little success, losing the games by scores of 2–4 and 1–7, respectively.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, September collapse
In the first game of the series in Houston, the Cardinals lost a close game in ten innings by a score of 4–5. The following game, however, resulted in a Cardinals blowout, finishing with a final score of 13–7. For the first time since June 8, the Braves had lost their lead in the Wild Card.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, September collapse
The Braves and Cardinals entered the final scheduled day of the regular season with the Wild Card standings tied between the two clubs. The situation was one familiar to the Braves, who were tied with the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card standings on the final day of the 2010 season. Starting one hour before the Cardinals-Astros game, the Braves tossed veteran ace Tim Hudson against a Phillies pitching staff that was preparing for the 2011 National League Division Series.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, September collapse
After giving up a run to the Phillies in the first inning and scoring one of their own in the bottom half, Braves second baseman Dan Uggla launched a two-run home run in the third inning that gave the Braves a 3–1 advantage. Meanwhile, the game in Houston began with the Cardinals scoring five runs in the top of the first. With veteran Cardinals' ace Chris Carpenter pitching for the Cardinals, the game was already out of reach. The Cardinals would sail to an 8–0 victory that assured at worst a tiebreaker at Busch Stadium the following night.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, September collapse
Back in Atlanta, the Phillies scored a run in the seventh to reduce the Braves' lead to one run. With the Cardinals game having already gone final, rookie closer Craig Kimbrel entered from the bullpen hoping to send the Braves to a tiebreaker game in St. Louis. After a leadoff single, Kimbrel struck out the next batter for the first out of the inning, but followed with two walks to load the bases.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, September collapse
The next batter, Chase Utley, lofted a fly ball to deep left field, scoring the runner from third on a sacrifice fly to knot the game at three apiece. After another walk, Kimbrel finally got out of the inning. The score remained tied until the thirteenth inning when the Phillies rallied for a run. With two outs and runners on first and third, Hunter Pence, who was acquired by the Phillies in a midseason trade with the Houston Astros, sent a ground ball that reached the outfield grass for a single.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, September collapse
The Braves needed a run to avoid an unfathomable ending to their season. After a leadoff strikeout, Dan Uggla reached base on a walk. Braves rookie first baseman Freddie Freeman, however, followed with a groundball double play, ending the inning, sending the Braves home, and sending the Cardinals to the National League Division Series to face the Phillies. After sweeping the Braves to allow the Cardinals into the postseason, the Phillies lost the NLDS to the Cardinals in five games. The Cardinals would go on to win the 2011 National League pennant in six games over Milwaukee in the NLCS, and the 2011 World Series in seven games over the AL Champion Texas Rangers.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, September collapse
With 27 games to play, the Braves went 9–18 in September to finish the season with a record of 89–73. The Cardinals, meanwhile, went 18–8 to finish at 90–72. Braves closer Craig Kimbrel, who had not surrendered a single earned run in July or August, carried a 4.76 ERA in September with three blown saves. After being dominant in his role for much of the season, Braves setup man Jonny Venters posted a 5.11 September ERA. These sharp declines in both relievers led many critics to question the handling of the bullpen by Braves manager Fredi González.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, September collapse
Veteran starter Derek Lowe posted a win-loss record of 0–5 in September with an ERA of 8.75. Shortly into the offseason, Lowe would be traded to the Cleveland Indians. The Braves starters lasted six or more innings only three times over the last 23 games. Over the last five games, all of which were losses for the Braves, the team managed to score only seven runs. Braves catcher Brian McCann, often regarded as the best offensive catcher in the Majors, hit only .183 with two home runs in September.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, September collapse
The offense as a whole hit for only a .235 batting average and a .300 on-base percentage in September, both second-worst in the National League. The .195 RISP average by Braves hitters was second worst in the Majors. Hitting coach Larry Parrish was fired two days following the last game of the season.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, Controversies, Roger McDowell allegation
After the April 23 game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park, Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell was accused of making homophobic statements and gestures toward a group of men who attended the game. High-profile attorney Gloria Allred staged a press conference on April 27 to announce these allegations made by Justin Quinn of Fresno, California. Quinn alleges McDowell made crude sexual gestures in the direction of three men during batting practice before the game started.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, Controversies, Roger McDowell allegation
In response to the allegations, McDowell stated that he is deeply sorry about his response to the fans in San Francisco, and apologized to everyone involved. On April 28, it was announced that the Atlanta Braves organization was conducting an investigation into the incident. In a statement, Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig said that he would take action when the results of the investigation were released.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, Controversies, Roger McDowell allegation
On April 29, McDowell was placed on administrative leave until the investigation was complete. In response, the team named minor league pitching coordinator Dave Wallace to serve as the pitching coach in the interim. On May 1, Major League Baseball levied a two-week suspension against McDowell, retroactive to April 29. McDowell was required to attend sensitivity training and personally apologize to Quinn. In response, Braves president John Schuerholz said he agreed with MLB's discipline measures.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, Controversies, Derek Lowe DUI
Around ten in the evening of the scheduled off-day on April 28, Braves starting pitcher Derek Lowe was arrested in the Buckhead area of Atlanta and charged with a DUI. The arresting officer, detecting a strong odor from Lowe's vehicle, gave Lowe a field sobriety test. He was subsequently taken to and booked in the Atlanta City Jail. Being released the following afternoon, Lowe said in a statement that he was truly sorry to his family, friends, teammates, fans, and the Braves organization and hoped that the matter would not distract the team.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Regular season, Controversies, Derek Lowe DUI
Nearly a month later on May 26, Cory Yager, the attorney for Derek Lowe, confirmed that the DUI charges have been dropped. Yager cited the reason as a lack of evidence.


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Player stats
Name = Player qualifies for batting title (batters) or ERA title (pitchers)


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Player stats, Batting
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; AVG = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


2011 Atlanta Braves season, Player stats, Pitching
Note: G = Games played; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO= Strikeouts; WHIP = Walks and hits per innings pitched; HLD = Holds


2011 Atlanta Dream season
The 2011 WNBA season is the 4th season for the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association. The Dream finished the regular season with a 20-14 record, good for third-best in the Eastern Conference. The Dream then won their second consecutive Eastern Conference Championship.


2011 Atlanta Dream season, Transactions, WNBA Draft
The following are the Dream's selections in the 2011 WNBA Draft.


2011 Atlanta Falcons season
The 2011 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's 46th season in the National Football League and the fourth under head coach Mike Smith.


2011 Atlanta Falcons season
Finishing the regular season 10–6, the Falcons clinched the #5 seed in the playoffs. Atlanta's season ended quickly as they lost 24–2 to the eventual Super Bowl XLVI champion New York Giants in the opening round.


2011 Atlanta Falcons season
This is also the first time the franchise clinched consecutive playoff berths, and the first time it won ten or more games in consecutive seasons.


2011 Atlanta Falcons season, Preseason, Schedule
The Falcons' preseason schedule was announced on April 12, 2011.


2011 Atlanta Falcons season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 1: at Chicago Bears
The Falcons started their season out on the road against the Bears. With the loss, the team fell to 0–1.


2011 Atlanta Falcons season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 2: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
For the regular season opener at home, the Falcons faced the Eagles. The win improved the team to 1–1 and also helped Starting QB Matt Ryan improve to 4–0 as a regular season starter during home openers.


2011 Atlanta Falcons season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 4: at Seattle Seahawks
First quarterTD  Tony Gonzalez 1 Yd Pass From Matt Ryan (Matt Bryant Kick) ATL 7–0Second quarter


2011 Atlanta Falcons season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 4: at Seattle Seahawks
TD 10:13 Michael Turner 21 Yd Run (Matt Bryant Kick) ATL 14–0


2011 Atlanta Falcons season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 4: at Seattle Seahawks
TD 08:46 Sidney Rice 52 Yd Pass From Tarvaris Jackson (Steven Hauschka Kick) ATL 14–7


2011 Atlanta Falcons season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 4: at Seattle Seahawks
TD 02:48 Michael Turner 1 Yd Run (Matt Bryant Kick) ATL 21–7


2011 Atlanta Falcons season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 4: at Seattle Seahawks
FG 00:25 Matt Bryant 47 Yd ATL 24–7Third quarterFG 13:40 Matt Bryant 50 Yd ATL 27–7


2011 Atlanta Falcons season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 4: at Seattle Seahawks
TD 10:01 Mike Williams 6 Yd Pass From Tarvaris Jackson (Steven Hauschka Kick) ATL 27–14


2011 Atlanta Falcons season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 4: at Seattle Seahawks
TD 03:07 Marshawn Lynch 11 Yd Run (Steven Hauschka Kick) ATL 27–21


2011 Atlanta Falcons season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 4: at Seattle Seahawks
TD 08:13 Ben Obomanu 8 Yd Pass From Tarvaris Jackson (Steven Hauschka Kick) ATL 30–28


2011 Atlanta Falcons season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 5: vs. Green Bay Packers
The Falcons went home for a week 5 duel with the undefeated Packers. This would be a rematch of last year's NFC Divisional Round. With the loss, the Falcons fell to 2–3.


2011 Atlanta Falcons season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 6: vs. Carolina Panthers
With their 3rd-straight win over the Panthers, the Falcons improved to 3–3.


2011 Atlanta Falcons season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 7: at Detroit Lions
With the win, the Falcons went into their bye week at 4–3.


2011 Atlanta Falcons season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 9: at Indianapolis Colts
With the win, the Falcons improved to 5–3 and went 2–13 overall against the Colts.


2011 Atlanta Falcons season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 16: at New Orleans Saints
With the loss, the Falcons fell to 9–6, but were able to clinch a playoff spot due to the Chicago Bears 35–21 loss to the Green Bay Packers Sunday night.


2011 Atlanta Falcons season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 17: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
With the win, the Falcons finished the season at 10–6 and captured the NFC's #5 seed.


2011 Atlanta Falcons season, Postseason, Game summaries, NFC Wild Card Playoff Game: at #4 New York Giants
The Falcons lost their Wild Card round playoff game to the New York Giants on January 8, 2012, by a score of 24–2. It is the first time in NFL playoff history that a team has scored exactly two points. The previous NFL team to score only a safety in a game was the 1993 Cincinnati Bengals in Week 15 against the New England Patriots.


2011 Atlanta Silverbacks season
The 2011 Atlanta Silverback season was the club's fifteenth year of existence, and their first year in the North American Soccer League (NASL). It's the team's first year back after a two-year hiatus from competitive play.


2011 Atlanta Silverbacks season
On January 25, the Silverbacks announced their full schedule in the NASL. The Silverbacks will host each NASL opponent twice over the course of the season.


2011 Atlanta Silverbacks season
On March 8, the Silverbacks announced three preseason games against Southern Polytechnic State University, Georgia State University and Clayton State University. All three games resulted in a scoreless tie.


2011 Atlanta Silverbacks season, Background
The 2011 season marked the Silverbacks return to American soccer following a two-year hiatus, that did not see the organization field a senior men's team throughout the 2009 and 2010 seasons.


2011 Atlanta Silverbacks season, Review
The return season was arguably an abysmal campaign for the Silverbacks, as the club lost 20 of its 28 regular season matches, drawing and winning four matches apiece. During the regular season, the Silverbacks were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention with seven weeks left in the NASL regular season. José Manuel Abundis, then the head coach, was fired following the season replaced by then-assistant coach, Alex Pineda Chacón, whom played for the Silverbacks from 2003 to 2004. The announcement came on November 7, 2011.


2011 Atlanta Silverbacks season, Club, Roster
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2011 Atlanta Tennis Championships
The 2011 Atlanta Tennis Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 24th edition of the event known that year as the Atlanta Tennis Championships and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2011 ATP World Tour. The Atlanta Tennis Championships was the first ATP stop of the 2011 US Open Series.


2011 Atlanta Tennis Championships, ATP entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2011 Atlanta Tennis Championships, Champions, Doubles
Alex Bogomolov, Jr. /  Matthew Ebden def. Matthias Bachinger /  Frank Moser, 3–6, 7–5, [10–8].


2011 Atlanta Tennis Championships – Doubles
Scott Lipsky and Rajeev Ram were the defending champions, but were defeated in the first round by wildcards Drake Bernstein and Kevin King. Alex Bogomolov, Jr. and Matthew Ebden defeated Matthias Bachinger and Frank Moser in the final, 3–6, 7–5, [10–8].


2011 Atlanta Tennis Championships – Singles
Mardy Fish was the defending champion, and in a repeat of the previous year's final, he successfully defended his title by defeating his compatriot John Isner after dropping the opening set. This time the score was 3–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–2.


2011 Atlanta Tennis Championships – Singles, Seeds
The top four seeds received a bye into the second round.


2011 Atlanta Tennis Championships – Singles Qualifying
This article displays the qualifying draw of the 2011 Atlanta Tennis Championships.


2011 Atlantic 10 Conference Baseball Tournament
The 2011 Atlantic 10 Conference Baseball Championship was held from May 25–28 at Campbell's Field in Camden, NJ. It featured the top six regular-season finishers of the conference's 13 teams. Top-seeded Charlotte defeated Richmond in the title game to win the tournament for the third time, earning the A-10's automatic bid to the 2011 NCAA Tournament.


2011 Atlantic 10 Conference Baseball Tournament, Seeding
The league's top six teams, based on winning percentage in the 24-game regular-season schedule, were seeded one through six. The top two seeds, Charlotte and Rhode Island, received byes into the second round of play in the double elimination tournament.


2011 Atlantic 10 Conference Baseball Tournament, All-Tournament Team
The following players were named to the All-Tournament Team. Charlotte's Corey Shaylor, one of four 49ers selected, was named the Most Outstanding Player.


2011 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2011 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament was played initially at campus sites for the opening round on March 8, 2011 and subsequently at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey from March 11 through March 13, 2011. It was the fifth consecutive year that the tournament is hosted in Boardwalk Hall. The Richmond Spiders won the tournament and thereby received an automatic bid to the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.