2011 Nakba Day, Border demonstrations, Egypt
At the Israeli Embassy in Cairo on May 15, thousands gathered for a demonstration. Individuals tried to break into the building, but were dispersed by Egyptian security forces using tear gas and live fire. Some 353 protesters were injured and 180 arrested. At least two of the wounded had been shot in head and chest by Egyptian forces, and at least two of those arrested were well known for their tweetss during the 2011 Egyptian revolution.


2011 Nakba Day, Border demonstrations, Israel
On 15 May, about 25 Arab-Israeli students gathered near Avivim alongside the border with Lebanon to commemorate Nakba Day. Israeli police ordered them to leave the area. A female attorney among the protesters asked why and was slapped by an Israeli police commander. The protesters said they could not leave immediately because they were waiting for their bus to arrive, and that they were attacked by security forces who fired tear gas. Israeli authorities said the group had no permit to protest and that the area had been declared a closed military zone because of the escalating border disturbances. A police statement said when they refused to leave, reasonable force was used to remove them, and eight people were arrested.


2011 Nakba Day, Border demonstrations, Jordan
In Jordan, 200 Palestinian students attempted to march towards the Israeli border, but were stopped by Jordanian security forces. Six people were injured. They were part of a larger group of 500 who were stopped at the Allenby Bridge. Jordanian authorities said a total of 25 people were injured, including 11 police officers.


2011 Nakba Day, Border demonstrations, Jordan
The political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, the Islamic Action Front, condemned police actions which they described as "shocking" stating: "We condemn the attack, which is part of government policies to impose its will on the people, and we demand an end to such policies that have harmed Jordan's image."


2011 Nakba Day, Border demonstrations, Lebanon
In Lebanon, activists had organized an event on a mountaintop in the village of Maroun al-Ras that overlooks the border with Israel. Some 30,000 people, including Palestinian refugees from various Palestinian refugee camps across Lebanon attended. After walking up the mountain to the protest site, many decided to descend the opposite side, and continued on towards the border. Lebanese Army soldiers fired into the air in a failed effort to deter them.


2011 Nakba Day, Border demonstrations, Lebanon
Crossing through a minefield that was laid by Israel during the 2006 Lebanon War, they reached the border fence, and threw stones over it, chanting for their right of return. Eleven Palestinian refugees were killed and 100 injured by gunfire before the protesters retreated. Media reported that the protesters were shot by the IDF. The IDF said most of those killed were likely shot by the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and that they had a video that established this, but would not release it on the grounds that it might cause embarrassment to the Lebanese Army.


2011 Nakba Day, Border demonstrations, Palestinian territories
On 13 May, protests took place throughout the West Bank, primarily at the weekly Friday protests against the separation fence. Near Nabi Salih, dozens of Palestinians, Israeli leftists, and foreign activists clashed with IDF forces who said they were dispersed for throwing stones. Protestors reported 10 injuries. Similar protests took place in Na'alin and Umm Salamuna, south of Bethlehem, where six were arrested and the area sealed off by the IDF. A protest was also held near Bil'in.


2011 Nakba Day, Border demonstrations, Palestinian territories
Palestinian demonstrators marched on the Qalandia checkpoint on May 15. Organizers had previously convened seminars on strategies for non-violent resistance to prepare for a march on the Qalandia checkpoint on May 15. Several of them were arrested by Palestinian Authority police in the month before the protest date. Representatives from Bi'lin, Nil'in and Nabi Salih, villages known for their grassroots weekly protests against the separation barrier, attended the protest which began at around 10:30am on May 15.


2011 Nakba Day, Border demonstrations, Palestinian territories
More than 1,000 protestors marched through the Qalandia refugee camp until they reached within 100 meters of the checkpoint, where Israeli forces used tear gas to disperse them. A standoff ensued that lasted more than seven hours between Israeli soldiers and around 100 Palestinian protesters who threw stones as Israeli troops fired tear gas and rubber bullets. Israeli undercover officers in plain clothes carrying pistols ran into the crowd from time to time and made arrests. In several incidents, Palestinians took cover behind ambulances while throwing rocks. More than 80 Palestinians, including three paramedics, were injured, and 20 were hospitalized. Dr. Sami Dar Nakhla said the IDF was using a new form of toxic tear gas that caused seizures and unconsciousness, and remarked that the last time he saw so many casualties in one day was during the Second Intifada.


2011 Nakba Day, Border demonstrations, Palestinian territories
Between 500 and 600 Palestinians marched towards the Erez crossing on the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip. IDF forces fired on the group intermittently over the course of several hours with tanks, machine guns, gas canisters, and sound bombs, killing one demonstrator and wounding more than 80. The IDF said that it fired at the legs of protestors approaching the fence. The wounded included 31 children and 3 journalists who attended the march. A group of youth under the age of 18 who approached the fence were fired upon by a tank, wounding 15.


2011 Nakba Day, Border demonstrations, Palestinian territories
A group of Palestinian women also came to the site to throw stones. Hamas, which governs the territory, reportedly asked protesters to withdraw from the border. In a separate incident, Israeli troops killed 17-year-old Khamis Salah Mesleh Habeeb in the "buffer zone" at the Israel-Gaza Strip border near the Nahal Oz crossing. The IDF said that troops opened fire on a Palestinian man they suspected of placing explosives on the Israel-Gaza Strip border fence near Nahal Oz.


2011 Nakba Day, Border demonstrations, Syria
In Syria, the demonstrations were organized by phone and Internet by Palestinian refugees, most of them university students independent of any political faction, in response to the call for a "Third Palestinian Intifada" on Facebook. Demonstrators gathered near the Israeli-Syrian ceasefire line waving Palestinian flags. The first wave of demonstrators was stopped by Syrian police, who were later overtaken when a second group arrived. About 1,000 demonstrators approached the fence, and some 300 children among them, rushed toward the fence. Some managed to breach the border and enter the Israeli side of the ceasefire line.


2011 Nakba Day, Border demonstrations, Syria
The sole Israeli military patrol present was overwhelmed and opened fire on the demonstrators, who threw stones at Israeli troops. Four demonstrators were killed and dozens injured. The dead were Palestinian refugees: Qais Abu Alheija from Houd, Bashar Ali Shahabi from Lubya, Samer Khartabeel from Tiberias, and Abadah Zaghmout from Safsaf. Two demonstrators were arrested and detained, but were returned to Syria. About a dozen Israeli soldiers injured by stone-throwing during the clashes, and suffered mild-to-moderate injuries. Among the injured was the Israeli commander, Colonel Eshkol Shukrun, who was hit in the face.


2011 Nakba Day, Border demonstrations, Syria
More than a hundred demonstrators managed to bypass the fence and enter the Arab Druze town of Majdal Shams. Arab residents of the Golan Heights, many of whom still hold Syrian citizenship, had gathered near the fence when they heard shots, and welcomed those who entered Majdal Shams, offering them food and drink. The demonstrators eventually headed back to Syria after negotiations, and police combed the area for any additional infiltrators.


2011 Nakba Day, Border demonstrations, Syria
At least one demonstrator, Hassan Hijazi, a 28-year-old Palestinian refugee, managed to hitch a ride to central Israel with Israeli and French Arab peace activists, and reached Tel Aviv by bus, even sitting alongside Israeli soldiers. After finding his old family home in Jaffa, he turned himself in at a police station, saying he had fulfilled a lifelong ambition.


2011 Nakba Day, Other Nakba Day events, Israel and the Palestinian territories
On 13 May, Palestinian residents in Jerusalem clashed with Israeli security forces, throwing stones and molotov cocktails. One demonstrator, Milad Sayyid Ayyash, was shot in the Silwan neighborhood either by Israeli security forces or a private security guard, and died in hospital the following day. About 30 demonstrators and four police officers and gendarmes were injured during the clashes, and 70 Palestinians were arrested.


2011 Nakba Day, Other Nakba Day events, Israel and the Palestinian territories
On 14 May, a funeral procession for Milad Sayyid Ayyash passed through Silwan, where some participants threw stones at Jewish homes. Palestinians also threw stones at police and vehicles sporting Israeli flags for independence day throughout east Jerusalem. Five police officers were injured by stone-throwing, and one was hospitalized. Security forces arrested 13 Palestinians. In the Arab-Israeli city of Qalansawe, residents also threw stones at police.


2011 Nakba Day, Other Nakba Day events, Israel and the Palestinian territories
At least 1,000 Arabs and Jews from across Israel attended a procession in Jaffa, marching down Jaffa's main street to a park in the Ajami neighborhood, where a rally and concert by Arab-Israeli hip-hop group DAM was held. The demonstrators waved Palestinian flags and signs, and loudly chanted pro-Palestinian, Arab nationalist, and anti-Israel slogans. There was a very small police presence, and no counter-protests. Police blocked traffic from reaching the demonstration. However, a minor incident took place prior to the demonstration when a group of protesters arrived at the promenade in Tel Aviv and left their bus while waving Palestinian flags, prompting passerby to spit on and curse them. The protesters responded with slurs and returned to the bus.


2011 Nakba Day, Other Nakba Day events, Israel and the Palestinian territories
On May 15, hundreds of Palestinians clashed with IDF and police forces at the Qalandiya checkpoint and throughout Jerusalem, with dozens hurling stones. Four police officers were lightly injured in several incidents. Three molotov cocktails were also thrown at the back gate of Hadassah Hospital at Mount Scopus. Security forces responded with crowd-control measures, and arrested 36 protesters. Several were arrested by undercover officers. Israeli authorities closed off the Old City in Jerusalem to prevent large rallies. Shop owners in the Muslim and Christian Quarters closed down their shops in observance of a strike to commemorate Nakba Day. Three Palestinians were arrested in the Old City after they threatened local business owners to participate in the strike.


2011 Nakba Day, Other Nakba Day events, Israel and the Palestinian territories
At 12pm, a 63-second siren was sounded throughout the West Bank to commemorate 63 years since the Nakba. In Ramallah's Al-Manara Square, a gathering organized by the Palestinian Authority to commemorate Nakba Day was attended by thousands of people who waved Palestinian flags and black flags, burned Israeli flags, and watched concerts. At another rally for thousands staged near the tomb of late Palestinian president Yasser Arafat, the PLO's head of refugees' affairs made a speech vowing the refugees' right of return would not be abandoned by the Palestinian leadership. At the entrance of nearby Birzeit University, Palestinian students burned tires and pelted Israeli soldiers manning the 'Atara checkpoint with stones. Israeli troops responded by firing rubber bullets and tear gas canisters, injuring 30 protesters according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.


2011 Nakba Day, Other Nakba Day events, Israel and the Palestinian territories
About 100 residents of Hebron released 200 black balloons to commemorate the Nakba in the center of the city in a rally organized by Fatah. Israeli forces dispersed the demonstrators. Ten demonstrators were injured, and a further 18 suffered from tear gas inhalation. While the demonstration was taking place, Israeli settlers from Kiryat Arba threw four molotov cocktails at a Hebron home while 30 family members and European observes were inside. In nearby Al-Fawwar refugee camp, Israeli forces clashed with Palestinian protesters, where six suffered from tear gas inhalation. Palestinians also demonstrated near the Israeli settlement bloc of Gush Etzion. Palestinian Authority security forces arrested some demonstrators, while allowing other protests to go unhindered.


2011 Nakba Day, Other Nakba Day events, Israel and the Palestinian territories
Following the events of Nakba Day, Palestinian factions in the West Bank called for a two-hour general strike to mourn demonstrators killed.


2011 Nakba Day, Other Nakba Day events, Tel Aviv truck attack
In Tel Aviv, an Israeli man was killed and 17 people were injured when Islam Issa, an Israeli-Arab truck driver from Kafr Qasim, rammed several vehicles along a 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) highway section along Bar-Lev Street. Issa was arrested and indicted.


2011 Nakba Day, Other Nakba Day events, Tel Aviv truck attack
Issa was tried in the Tel Aviv District Court on one count of murder, six counts of attempted murder, aggravated assault, and endangering human lives. On July 19, 2012, he was found guilty, with the judges ruling unanimously. On November 14, 2012, Issa was sentenced to life imprisonment and an additional 40 years. He was also ordered to pay NIS 258,000 to the family of the man killed, and an additional NIS 230,000 to the rest of the victims.


2011 Nasarawa State gubernatorial election
The 2011 Nasarawa State gubernatorial election was the 4th gubernatorial election of Nasarawa State. Held on April 26, 2011, the Congress for Progressive Change nominee Umaru Tanko Al-Makura won the election, defeating Aliyu Doma of the People's Democratic Party.


2011 Nasarawa State gubernatorial election, Results
A total of 9 candidates contested in the election. Umaru Tanko Al-Makura from the Congress for Progressive Change won the election, defeating Aliyu Doma from the People's Democratic Party. Valid votes was 674,014.


2011 Nashville mayoral election
The 2011 Nashville mayoral election took place on August 4, 2011, and elected the mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. It saw the reelection of Karl Dean, won the election outright in the first round, eliminating the need for a runoff.


2011 NatWest Women's Quadrangular Series
The NatWest Women's Quadrangular Series was a Women's One Day International series which took place in England in 2011. The top four ranked teams in the world competed: Australia, England, India and New Zealand. The tournament consisted of a round-robin group stage, in which Australia and England finished as the top two, and then a third-place play-off and a final were contested to decide the final positions. England defeated Australia by 34 runs in the final. The tournament followed a Twenty20 Quadrangular Series, with the same teams competing.


2011 NatWest Women's Quadrangular Series, Points table
Note: P = Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, BP = Bonus Points, Pts = Points, NRR = Net run rate.


2011 NatWest Women's T20 Quadrangular Series
The NatWest Women's T20 Quadrangular Series was a women's Twenty20 International series which took place in England in 2011. The top four ranked teams in the world competed: Australia, England, India and New Zealand. The tournament consisted of a round-robin group stage, in which England and Australia finished as the top two, and then a third-place play-off and a final were contested to decide the final positions. England defeated Australia by 16 runs in the final. The tournament was followed by an ODI Quadrangular Series, with the same teams competing.


2011 NatWest Women's T20 Quadrangular Series, Points table
Note: P = Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, Pts = Points, NRR = Net run rate.


2011 National Assembly for Wales election
Secretary of State for WalesRt Hon Simon Hart MP (C)


2011 National Assembly for Wales election
The 2011 National Assembly for Wales election was an election for the National Assembly. The poll was held on 5 May 2011 and decided the incumbency for all the Assembly's seats. It was the fourth election for seats in the National Assembly for Wales (previous elections having been held in 1999, 2003 and 2007), and the second election taken under the rules of the Government of Wales Act 2006.


2011 National Assembly for Wales election
The election resulted in gains for the incumbent Welsh Labour, which gained four seats compared to the previous election and now has 30 seats, exactly half of the Assembly. The party also secured a swing in its favour of over 10 percentage points. The Welsh Conservatives emerged as the largest opposition party with 14 seats, a net gain of two, but party leader Nick Bourne lost his seat. The junior party in the government coalition, the nationalist Plaid Cymru, suffered a drop in its vote and lost 4 seats. The Welsh Liberal Democrats lost significantly in the popular vote and returned five AMs, a loss of one.


2011 National Assembly for Wales election
British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens living in Wales aged eighteen or over on election day were entitled to vote. The deadline to register to vote in the election was midnight on 14 April 2011, though anyone who qualified as an anonymous elector had until midnight on 26 April 2011 to register.


2011 National Assembly for Wales election
It was held on the same day as elections for Northern Ireland's 26 local councils, the Scottish Parliament and Northern Irish Assembly elections, a number of local elections in England and the United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum.


2011 National Assembly for Wales election, Electoral method
In general elections for the National Assembly for Wales, each voter has two votes in a mixed member system. The first vote may be used to vote for a candidate to become the Assembly Member for the voter's constituency, elected by the 'first past the post' system. The second vote may be used to vote for a regional closed party list of candidates. Additional member seats are allocated from the lists by the d'Hondt method, with constituency results being taken into account in the allocation. The overall result is approximately proportional.


2011 National Assembly for Wales election, Constituency and regional summary, Constituency nominations
NB: candidates in BOLD text were the incumbent assembly members. Non incumbents are represented in italics. Members elected 2011 are highlighted with party colours.


2011 National Assembly for Wales election, Target seats for the main parties
Below are listed all the constituencies which required a swing of less than 7.5% from the 2007 result to change hands.


2011 National Assembly for Wales election, New members
23 of the members elected to the Assembly in the election were not members of the previous Assembly.


2011 National Assembly for Wales election, New members
On 17 May it was discovered that two of the newly elected AMs, John Dixon and Aled Roberts, held posts which disqualified them from election to the Assembly. Although they had formally taken their seats at the first meeting on 11 May, they were then removed from membership of Assembly. Both resigned the posts which had given rise to the disqualification.


2011 National Assembly for Wales election, New members
After taking legal advice, the Presiding Officer Rosemary Butler was told that she must formally declare their seats vacant on Friday 27 May, which would mean the candidates placed second on the list being elected unless motions were tabled to reinstate the two. Motions to reinstate Dixon and Roberts were subsequently tabled, and the Assembly Commission issued a press statement explaining the legal situation as they saw it.


2011 National Assembly for Wales election, New members
The Liberal Democrats withdrew the motion to reinstate John Dixon on 5 July 2011, after the assembly standards commissioner Gerard Elias QC made clear that he had failed to take notice of the relevant rules. On 6 July, Eluned Parrott was sworn in as an AM in his place, and the Assembly voted to readmit Aled Roberts, as evidence showed that he had been directed to out-of-date information in Welsh.


2011 National Assembly for Wales election, Retiring members
The following incumbent AMs did not offer themselves for re-election:


2011 National Camogie League
The 2011 National Camogie League was won by Wexford, their third league title in succession. The final was played on April 17, 2011 as a curtain raiser to the hurling match between Tipperary and Wexford at Semple Stadium and drew an attendance of 4,180.


2011 National Camogie League, Summary
The first National Camogie League Match ever to be televised live opened the season, an unfortunately one-sided encounter under lights in Croke Park in which Kilkenny (7-16) beat Dublin (0-5), televised by Setanta Sports. The eight teams in the first division (Offaly having been promoted since 2010) were drawn into two groups of four. Each team played one another once only. The top two in each group contested the semi-finals. Since 2006 the league is organized into four divisions, with 22 competing county teams graded into four divisions, with the strongest teams in Division 1.


2011 National Camogie League, Summary
The semi-finals were contested at Nowlan Park, Kilkenny on 3 April 201q, in which Galway won revenge for the previous year, beating Kilkenny with a last minute point from Veronica Curtin, and Wexford defeated Tipperary with first-half goals from Una Leacy, Kate Kelly and Katrina Parrock. In the final at Semple Stadium Thurles on Sunday, 17 April 2011, Wexford’s player-of-the-match Una Leacy scored three goals, one from a penalty, against |Galway. Wexford led by 1-5 to 0-6 at half-time.


2011 National Camogie League, Summary
Eleven counties in Division 2 were drawn in two groups of five and six, including the second teams of Cork, Galway, Kilkenny, Tipperary and Wexford, champions for the past two seasons. The divisional competition was marred by the withdrawal of the previous year’s third division champions, Laois. Waterford defeated Antrim by a point in the Division 2 final. Five teams contested Division 3, including the second team of Dublin with Meath topping the table and defeating Kildare by a point in a very competitive final. Four counties contested Division 4. London dropped out and Cavan re-entered the competition, but the divisional fixtures were incomplete as Carlow contesting just one of their three fixtures. Westmeath  defeated Cavan in the final.


2011 National Democratic Congress presidential primaries
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) of Ghana is the ruling party of the country. The party was formed out of the Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC) before the 1992 Ghanaian presidential elections. The party opened nominations for election for the flag bearer of the party from 3 to 10 May 2011. The party also scheduled 8 July 2011 as the date for the election. The purpose of the election will allow the party to select a flag bearer to represent the party in the 2012 Ghanaian presidential election.


2011 National Democratic Congress presidential primaries, Criteria for picking up nomination, General qualification for aspirants
The party stated that candidates had to qualify under Article (62) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana and, Article (44) of the Party’s constitution which states an aspirant had to be:


2011 National Democratic Congress presidential primaries, Electoral time table
The NEC has also, agreed on the following time table as part of arrangements for the congress;


2011 National Democratic Congress presidential primaries, Aspirants
On 2 May 2011, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings former first lady of Ghana, was the first person to pick up a form to seek the presidential nomination of the ruling party. She is wife of Jerry John Rawlings. The sitting president of the country, John Atta Mills picked up his nomination form on 5 May 2011. On Tuesday, 10 May 2011, A  (NDC), Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah (a Vice-Chairman of the NDC) became the third and last person to pick up nomination forms to contest for the leadership of the party.


2011 National Democratic Congress presidential primaries, Aspirants
Dr Spio-Garbrah, is the CEO of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) which is based in London. If he contests the July 8 elections, it would be Dr Spio-Garbrah's second attempt at becoming the leader of the NDC, he had contested and lost the 2006 presidential primaries and lost to President Mills.


2011 National Democratic Congress presidential primaries, Contestants
An aspirant becomes a contestants of the Presidential primaries upon the submission of the nomination form to the national secretariat of the party. On 30 May 2011, President John Mills submitted his nomination form making him the first candidate to contest the elections to be held on July 8, 2011.


2011 National Democratic Congress presidential primaries, Results
On July 9, President John Mills won his party's nomination as presidential candidate for the 2010 Ghanaian presidential elections. He won 2,771 (96.9%) of the total votes cast. His challenger, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, wife of Jerry Rawlings, a former president of Ghana, polled just 90 (3.1%) of the votes.


2011 National Football Challenge Cup
2011 National Football Challenge Cup was the 21st season of Pakistan National Football Challenge Cup, the main domestic cup in Pakistani football. The tournament was hosted by PMC Athletico, with the tournament commencing from 14 April 2011 and concluding on 27 April 2011.


2011 National Football Challenge Cup, Teams
The 16 teams participating in the tournament are as below:


2011 National Football Challenge Cup, Teams, Teams
(TH: Challenge Cup title holders; PPL: Pakistan Premier League winners)


2011 National Football League (Ireland)
The 2011 National Football League was a competition run by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) between February and April 2011. It was contested by 33 teams, representing the 32 counties of Ireland plus London. Cork retained the title after a 0–21 to 2–14 win against Dublin.


2011 National Football League (Ireland), Format
The 2011 the National Football League had four divisions, the top three consisting of eight teams, and Division 4 of nine. Each team played each other team in its division once, with two points awarded for a win, and one for a draw. The top two teams in each of divisions 2, 3 and 4 were promoted, and contested the finals of their respective divisions; the top two teams in Division 1 contested the 2011 NFL final. The bottom two teams in each of divisions 1, 2 and 3 were relegated.


2011 National Games of India
The 2011 National Games was held from 12 February 2011 to 26 February 2011 in Ranchi, Jharkhand, India. Services (Services Sports Control Board – SSCB), which was a combined team of the Indian Armed Forces, retained the overall title with 70 gold medals. Services were presented with the Raja Bhalendra Trophy for the champions team. The Maharashtra swimmer  Virdhawal Khade who won 12 medals including 8 golds was adjudged the best male athlete while the Delhi swimmer Richa Mishra who won 16 medals including 11 golds was adjudged the best female athlete. The best state award was won by Manipur which won 48 gold medals to finish in second place overall.


2011 National Games of India, Opening Ceremony
The opening ceremony was held at the Birsa Munda Athletics Stadium in Ranchi. The governor of Jharkhand, M. O. H. Farook had declared the Games open. Jharkhand chief minister Arjun Munda presided over the function. The games torch was lit by Indian men's hockey player Sylvanus Dung Dung. Deepika Kumari, double gold-winner at the  Commonwealth Games took the oath on behalf of the athletes.


2011 National Games of India, Opening Ceremony
A short film on folk hero Birsa Munda, arrival of mascot – the smiling deer 'Chhaua', fire dancers, a laser show highlighting five sporting icons of the state (hockey stars Jaipal Singh Munda, Samurai Tete, Sylvanus Dung Dung, archer Sanjeeva Singh and India cricket skipper MS Dhoni) were the main attractions of the opening ceremony. Popular fusion rock band- "Manthan", composed of students of IIT (ISM) Dhanbad opened the event and entertained the esteemed dignitaries. Bollywood stars Sameera Reddy,  Vivek Oberoi and Amisha Patel performed in the ceremony along with singer Sukhwinder Singh.


2011 National Games of India, Mascot
The mascot of the games is Chhaua, a deer in running motion holding the torch. Chhaua depicts the body of a human and head of a stag, symbolising both stillness and energy that characterise Jharkhand’s tribal communities. Chhaua means "little boy" in the local language. The mascot of the games, Chhaua in famous dokra-art will be presented to all the players and officials by the games committee.


2011 National Games of India, Mascot
The National Games Organising Committee (NGOC) had issued orders for the same to Jharcraft for manufacturing 14,000 mementoes that will be given to players and guests as a remembrance of their arrival in the State. During the opening ceremony of the games, the Games mascot 'Chhaua' – baby deer—made an aerial  entry into the athletics complex and ran around the stadium with the  torch with echoes of Vande Mataram.


2011 National Games of India, Sports
There are a total of 444 gold medals in 35 events in the games. The events are:-


2011 National Games of India, Venues
The 35 events in the games are held in 3 cities – Ranchi, Jamshedpur and Dhanbad, in a total of 21 venues.


2011 National Games of India, Closing ceremony
The closing ceremony of the 34th National Games was held on 26 February 2011 at the Birsa Munda Athletic stadium in Ranchi, Jharkhand. The ceremony began with a monoplane performing aerobatics and showering coloured powder on the stadium. It was followed by an Indian Air Force helicopter showering flowers on the stadium, followed by the para-jump by 12 dare devils of the IAF, who jumped from a height of 4300 feet and anded in the middle of the stadium. The games was officially closed by Suresh Kalmadi, the chairman of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).


2011 National Games of India, Closing ceremony
He ceremoniously handed over the Games flag to the Kerala officials. Kerala will host the 35th National Games in December 2012. The Jharkhand chief minister Arjun Munda was the chief guest of the event. The Union sports minister Ajay Maken was supposed to be the chief guest, withdrew from the function due to differences with Suresh Kalmadi. The cultural evening showcased the cultural heritage and folk dances from the participating states, especially Jharkhand, Punjab and Manipur and a team from Kerala displayed their local martial arts and art forms as a prelude of the next games. Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif and singer Shaan performed at the closing ceremony. A special song Vidai has been performed by the folk artists and percussionists which formed the theme of Jharkhand's cultural show". There was also a paika dance to celebrate the success of the Games.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game
The 2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game (also known as the 2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game presented by Discover) was played on January 30, 2011. The game took place at the RBC Center in Raleigh, home of the Carolina Hurricanes. Originally, the Game was supposed to be hosted by the Phoenix Coyotes, but due to ownership issues, the NHL decided to move the game. After bidding for the game reopened, it was awarded to Carolina and fulfilled a nine-year-old promise made to the franchise by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game
The 2011 version of the All-Star Game featured a break from the traditional way in which teams were organized. Instead of using conferences or player nationalities as in the past, teams were selected by captains in a fantasy draft days prior to the game. Fans still elected players to the All-Star Game, but instead of the traditional 12 starters (six for each team), they elected only six players, with the remaining 36 players involved in the game selected by the NHL. Sidney Crosby received the most votes of any player, but due to a concussion he was unable to participate in the game. The participating players voted for team captains, selecting Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings and Eric Staal of the Hurricanes.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game
Staal won the first pick in the draft and selected longtime teammate Cam Ward, while the Toronto Maple Leafs' Phil Kessel was the last player chosen. The annual SuperSkills Competition was held the night before the Game and featured Alexander Ovechkin winning his third consecutive Breakaway Challenge. In addition, Zdeno Chara broke his own SuperSkills Competition record for hardest shot at 105.9 mph (170.4 km/hr). Team Staal won the contest 33–22.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game
Team Lidstrom won the game 11–10, the 21 combined goals was the fourth highest total scored in an NHL All-Star Game. The first Penalty shot in All-Star Game history was called after Ovechkin threw his stick to break-up a Matt Duchene breakaway. Registering one goal and two assists, Patrick Sharp of the losing Team Staal won the Most Valuable Player Award. Jeff Skinner was the youngest player to ever play in an NHL All-Star Game. Shea Weber recorded four assists, making him only the second defenceman to accomplish the feat in one All-Star Game.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game
Fellow defenceman Lidstrom registered a +7 rating, the highest in an All-Star Game since 1991. Winning goaltender Tim Thomas became the first goaltender in NHL history to win three consecutive All-Star Games. This had been the first NHL All-Star Game since the 2009 season, since there wasn't one in 2010 due to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada the first time in an NHL Market.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Background
The 58th National Hockey League All-Star Game was originally scheduled to be hosted by the Phoenix Coyotes at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona. However, due to the ongoing bankruptcy case, potential ownership changes in the Coyotes organization, and the possibility of relocation, the NHL decided to reopen bidding to host the game. In the bidding process, 14 teams made bids for All-Star Games or NHL Drafts for the next three years. Out of all the bids, the NHL chose the Carolina Hurricanes to be the new host team and on April 7, 2010, the announcement was made by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Hurricanes President and General Manager Jim Rutherford.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Background
The awarding of the All-Star Game fulfilled a nine-year-old promise Bettman made to the city of Raleigh. In 2001, he promised the organization that they would host an All-Star Game if the season ticket base reached 12,000. After reaching that plateau, Bettman indicated that other community assets were still required to secure a bid. Most notably, a proper convention center for ancillary events was needed, along with a four-star hotel, which was completed in 2009 with the new Raleigh Convention Center and adjoining Raleigh Marriott City Center in downtown Raleigh.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Background
Three months after receiving the All-Star Game, the Hurricanes unveiled the logo for the 2011 game. The logo was designed with some homage to the host team and city hidden within it. The shape of the logo is similar to the Hurricanes primary logo, along with the team colors of red, black and silver. The banners at the top and bottom of the logo are inspired by the state flag of North Carolina.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Background
The NHL and the city of Raleigh also presented a three-day festival to coincide with All-Star weekend called NHL All-Star Wide Open. The festivities include a series of free concerts, headlined by the band 3 Doors Down, interactive games and attractions, special appearances, Hockey Hall of Fame trophy and memorabilia displays, pin trading and trading card zones and a street party similar to the city's own annual festival, Raleigh Wide Open. There was also a charity 5K fun run, starting and ending at RBC Center with the Carolina Hurricanes "Kids 'N Community Foundation" being the beneficiary of the raised funds.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, New format
On November 10, 2010, the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) unveiled a new format for selecting the NHL All-Star teams: the traditional conference format was replaced by a "fantasy draft." Fans voted for six players, from either conference (three forwards, two defencemen and one goaltender), and the NHL selected another 36 players, for a total of 42 players. The chosen players then appointed two captains; the NHL and NHLPA, with input from the players, named two alternate captains for each team. Each team had two forwards and one defenceman as its captain and alternates.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, New format
The captains and alternates selected their team members in a fantasy-style draft held on January 28, 2011. The first pick was determined by a coin toss, with alternating picks after the first. Teams consisted of three goaltenders, six defencemen and 12 forwards.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, New format
Although the draft rules did not dictate a strict order in which positions had to be filled, to guarantee the final picks were not constrained by having to satisfy roster composition rules, the teams' three goaltenders had to be chosen by the end of round ten, and all defencemen had to be chosen by the end of round 15. According to NHL Vice President of Hockey and Business Development Brendan Shanahan, the new format was introduced to add excitement and intrigue into all the events, while make it more fun for everyone involved.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, New format
For 2011, the NHL eliminated the YoungStars Game which had been played in the previous five All-Star weekends. However, rookies were still featured at the Super Skills Competition. A group of 12 Calder Trophy-eligible players were split into two groups of six. At the conclusion of the fantasy draft's 15th round, one rookie was selected from the 12 to choose which team his group would join for the competition.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, New format
This was the first time the traditional "East vs. West" format was not used since 2002, when the World All-Star Team defeated North America 8–5 in Los Angeles.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Uniforms
The All-Star uniforms that debuted in this game featured a unique striping pattern coming from the back of the shoulders going down the arms. As the main stripe crossed below the elbow, it, and the radiating stripes coming from it, switched from the back of the sleeves to the front. The front of the jersey also featured the player's number between the collar and the large NHL crest, an unusual placement for a uniform number. Team Staal wore white uniforms with red trim, while Team Lidstrom wore navy blue uniforms with lighter blue trim. These uniforms would return for the next All-Star Game.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, The Guardian Project
During the All-Star weekend, the NHL announced a new "superhero franchise", The Guardian Project. Created by comic book writer Stan Lee, the project featured 30 new superheroes representing the 30 NHL teams, all which were unveiled at the All-Star Game. The goal of the project was to appeal to pre-teen and teenage boys in hopes of bringing in "new audience to the NHL, while engaging the existing, established hockey fan base through a compelling tale of good vs. evil."


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Voting
One hundred players were chosen to be on the ballot for the All-Star Game (minimum of two players from each team), but fans were also given the option to write in any player who was not listed. Ballots were all digital for the fourth consecutive time, giving fans the ability to cast votes online at NHL.com and Facebook. Votes could also be cast via text messages from mobile devices and Smartphone users could vote by way of a mobile ballot feature. The NHL put no limitation on the number of votes an individual could cast.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Voting
When fan balloting ended, 14.3 million votes had been cast and the top six were named to the All-Star Game. The six top vote recipients were from only two teams, the Pittsburgh Penguins (4) and Chicago Blackhawks (2). Individually, Sidney Crosby led all players with 635,509 votes, while teammate Kris Letang was elected as a write-in candidate. The six players elected by the fans are listed below with their vote totals.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Draft
After naming the remaining All-Stars, each player voted for team captains. The players selected the 12-time All-Star, Nicklas Lidstrom, and the captain of the host Carolina Hurricanes, Eric Staal. Lidstrom was assigned the home blue uniforms while Staal received the away whites. The NHL further named their alternate captains, placing Ryan Kesler and Mike Green with Staal while Patrick Kane and Martin St. Louis joined Team Lidstrom. Prior to the draft, the NHL determined head coaches for the teams via a coin toss.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Draft
Chicago's Joel Quenneville and his assistant, Mike Haviland, were named coaches as a result of winning the Stanley Cup last year. Philadelphia Flyers Head Coach Peter Laviolette and the Vancouver Canucks' Alain Vigneault earned the distinction by having the highest winning percentage through January 8, 2011. After the coin toss, Quenneville was assigned to Team Staal, while Laviolette and Vigneault were given Team Lidstrom.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Draft
Team Staal won the first pick in the draft, and Eric Staal chose longtime teammate Cam Ward with his first pick. With the fifth pick in the draft, Team Staal selected Daniel Sedin. His twin brother Henrik was taken with the next pick by Team Lidstrom. The All-Star Game marked the first time the two have ever played against each other in an organized game. Throughout the draft, Eric Staal selected players that had a personal connection with him.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Draft
He selected his brother, Rangers defenceman Marc Staal, in the seventh round, fellow Thunder Bay native Patrick Sharp in the eighth round, and teammate Jeff Skinner in the 11th round. The last player selected was Toronto's Phil Kessel. As a reward for being the last selection, he was given a new car and $20,000 was given to the charity of his choice. Kessel stated he would put the money toward a cancer charity he became involved with in 2006 when he was battling testicular cancer.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Draft
When the time came for the rookies to decide which team they would participate in the skills competition, Taylor Hall, who won the right via a puck flip, chose Team Lidstrom for his group. All players were allowed to wear the numbers they use in their respective teams. For Team Lidstrom, Henrik Sedin and Dustin Byfuglien both wore number 33, while Brad Richards and Steven Stamkos wore number 91.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Draft
Team Staal had three pairs having same number: Patrick Sharp and Corey Perry with number 10, Daniel Sedin and Dan Boyle with number 22 and Paul Stastny and Patrik Elias with number 26. The complete team rosters are listed below with players appearing in the order in which they were chosen.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Draft, Withdrawn
Prior to the draft several players withdrew due to injury or, in the case of Jarome Iginla, family concerns.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, SuperSkills Competition
The SuperSkills competition began with the Fastest Skater competition, where the competitors skated one lap around the rink. The winner of each round earned a point for their team. The opening round was skated backwards, followed by each team's rookie representative. Then two goaltenders skated off before returning to the traditional form. Following preliminary rounds the two fastest competitors from each team faced off in a final round, where Michael Grabner defeated Taylor Hall earning two points for Team Staal. The Breakaway Challenge featured six players (three from each team) taking four shoot-out attempts.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, SuperSkills Competition
Fans voted for the winner via text message. The winner earned four points for his team. Second place was awarded three points and third received one point. Alexander Ovechkin won by a wide margin defeating second place P. K. Subban by over 17 percentage points, it was the third consecutive win in the competition by Ovechkin. Loui Eriksson finished third to round out the point earners from the competition. The Shooting Accuracy featured two players shooting targets in the four corners of the net. Winners were determined by the fastest player to hit all four targets. Daniel Sedin hit all four targets on four shots in his first round setting the overall fastest time hitting them all in just 7.3 seconds. He followed that up by hitting four in five shots during the final round to defeat the Blackhawks' Patrick Kane.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, SuperSkills Competition
Following Shooting Accuracy, both teams participated in the Skills Challenge Relay. Each team broke into two groups and went through a series of drills designed to showcase players' skills. It started with one timers, then proceeded to passing, where a single player had to complete a pass into six small nets. From there it went to the Puck Control Relay, having a participant skate through a series of cones with a puck. Another player then took on the Stick Handling drill, controlling a puck through a series of stationary pucks.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, SuperSkills Competition
The relay ended when a final player completed the Shooting Accuracy, again hitting all four targets. The two groups from Team Lidstrom finished first and third in the competition, gaining their team a total of five points. During the Hardest Shot competition reigning champion Zdeno Chara was defeated in his preliminary round match up by Shea Weber. In the final round, Chara again matched up with Weber. Chara successfully defended his title by defeating Weber with a shot registering 105.9 mph.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, SuperSkills Competition
The speed set a new SuperSkills record surpassing his own record and marking the fourth time he has won the event. Despite being down by a large margin prior to the Elimination Shootout, Team Lidstrom still had an opportunity to win the contest. Players continued to shoot provided they scored – scoring one point per goal, until only one player remained. However, the shoot-out was won by Team Staal's Corey Perry as he was the only player to score in all three of his attempts. The full results are listed below.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, SuperSkills Competition
(Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Nicklas Lidstrom, Brad Richards, Loui Eriksson, Henrik Sedin, Martin St. Louis, Matt Duchene, Jonathan Toews)


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Game play
The scoring started early in the game as Team Staal's Alexander Ovechkin scored the game's first goal in just 50 seconds into the first period. When he took his first shift Jeff Skinner officially became the youngest player to play in an All-Star game (18 years, 259 days) surpassing the mark set in 1984 by Steve Yzerman by eight days. By the time Claude Giroux scored, less than five minutes later, Team Staal had opened up a 4–0 lead.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Game play
Team Lidstrom's Marc-Andre Fleury allowed the four goals on only nine shots while his counterpart Cam Ward stopped the first four shots he faced. The tide turned a little over halfway through the first period when Anze Kopitar scored on a backhand shot. Team Lidstrom completed the first period comeback with under four minutes left in the period when Eriksson and Matt Duchene scored 23 seconds apart to tie the game at four. Team Lidstrom finished the period scoring on four of their final ten shots.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Game play
Team Staal recaptured the lead early in the second with goals by Patrick Sharp and Kris Letang. They were unable to hold the lead though as Team Lidstrom tied the game at six with a second goal from Kopitar and one by Steven Stamkos. They quickly took their first lead on a goal by Daniel Briere just 1:20 later, ending the period up 7–6.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Game play
Early in the third period Eric Staal tied the game at seven with his first goal of the game. Minutes later Duchene got a breakaway, but before he could take a shot, Ovechkin threw his stick at the puck, resulting in the first penalty shot in All-Star game history, and only the third penalty assessed during the past ten years of All-Star competition. Duchene took the shot against Henrik Lundqvist, who stopped the attempt. Kris Letang scored shortly after the penalty shot to give back the lead to Team Staal.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Game play
Briere scored a little over a minute later assisted by Weber and Henrik Sedin to re-tie the game. Weber's assist was his fourth of the game making him the second defenceman in history to record four assists in an All-Star Game (Ray Bourque, 1985). Team Lidstrom added two more goals before Rick Nash scored to cut the deficit to one. With about a minute and a half left in the game, Team Staal pulled their goaltender for the extra attacker. The decision backfired as Eriksson scored on the empty net with 1:11 remaining.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Game play
Eric Staal scored with 33.6 seconds remaining to bring his team back within one goal, but they failed to get another shot on goal before time ran out. By coming back from a four-goal deficit to win the game Team Lidstrom set the record for biggest comeback victory in All-Star history. Lidstrom finished the game with a +7 rating, the highest rating since 1991 when Adam Oates was also a +7 for the Wales Conference. Tim Thomas earned the victory becoming the first goaltender to win three straight All-Star Games. Patrick Sharp was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) after registering one goal and two assists in a losing cause for Team Staal. The combined 21 goals was the fourth highest total in NHL All-Star Game history.


2011 National Hockey League All-Star Game, Notes
A: Briere was named as a replacement for Iginla. B: Yandle was named as a replacement for Enstrom. C : Havlat was named as a replacement for Hemsky. D : Stastny was named as a replacement for Crosby. E: Skinner was named as a replacement for Malkin. F : McBain replaced Eberle on the rookie team. G: Subban was named as a replacement for Skinner who was promoted from the rookie team to the All-Star Game. H: Chara's shot was 105.9 mph (170.4 km/hr), a new record.


2011 National Hurling League
The 2011 National Hurling League (known as the Allianz Hurling League for sponsorship reasons) was the 80th season of the National Hurling League.


2011 National Hurling League, Ticket prices
In January 2011, the GAA announced a reduction in ticket prices for the 2011 National Hurling League. The decision to cut prices was announced at a Central Council meeting and will see the cost of admission to a league game in the first division of the NHL dropping from €15 to €13, with a €5 admission to lower-level hurling games.


2011 National Hurling League, Division 1
Galway came into the season as defending champions of the 2010 season. Wexford entered Division 1 as the promoted team.


2011 National Hurling League, Division 1
On 1 May 2011, Dublin won the title following a 0–22 to 1–7 win over Kilkenny in the final. It was their first league title since 1938–39 and their 3rd National League title overall.


2011 National Hurling League, Division 1
Offaly were relegated from Division 1. Limerick won Division 2 and secured promotion to the top tier.


2011 National Hurling League, Division 1
Waterford's Richie Foley was the Division 1 top scorer with 2-48.


2011 National Hurling League, Division 2
Limerick and Kerry entered Division 2 as the respective relegated and promoted teams from the 2010 season.


2011 National Hurling League, Division 2
On 30 April 2011, Limerick won the title following a 4–12 to 2–13 win over Clare in the final.


2011 National Hurling League, Division 2
Westmeath were relegated from Division 2 after losing all of their group stage matches.


2011 National Hurling League, Division 2
Antrim's Neil McManus was the Division 2 top scorer with 4-46.


2011 National Hurling League, Division 3A
Kildare and Wicklow entered Division 3A as the respective relegated and promoted teams from the 2010 season.


2011 National Hurling League, Division 3A
On 17 April 2011, Wicklow won the title following a 2–20 to 3–14 win over Derry in the final.


2011 National Hurling League, Division 3A
Armagh were relegated from Division 3A after losing all but one of their group stage matches.


2011 National Hurling League, Division 3A
Wicklow's Jonathan O'Neill was the Division 3A top scorer with 2-52.


2011 National Hurling League, Division 3B
Mayo and Monaghan entered Division 3B as the respective relegated and promoted teams from the 2010 season.


2011 National Hurling League, Division 3B
On 17 April 2011, Roscommon won the title following a 0–17 to 1–12 win over Mayo in the final.


2011 National Hurling League, Division 3B
Monaghan were relegated from Division 3B after losing all but one of their group stage matches.


2011 National Hurling League, Division 4
Tyrone entered Division 4 as the relegated team from the 2010 season.


2011 National Hurling League, Division 4
On 17 April 2011, Tyrone won the title following a 1–15 to 0–11 win over South Down in the final.


2011 National Hurling League, Division 4
Longford's Eoin Donnellan was the Division 4 top scorer with 0-40.


2011 National Invitation Tournament
The 2011 National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32 NCAA Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2011 NCAA Tournament. The 74th annual tournament began March 15 on campus sites ended on March 31 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Wichita State defeated Alabama, 66–57, to win its first NIT title.


2011 National Invitation Tournament, Participants, Automatic qualifiers
The following teams are automatic qualifiers for the 2011 NIT field; by virtue of winning their conferences' regular season championship and not qualifying for the NCAA Tournament as an "at-large" bid.


2011 National Invitation Tournament, Bracket
Played on the home court of the higher-seeded team. (except #1 Boston College & #3 Dayton in the first round)* – Denotes overtime


2011 National League Championship Series
The 2011 National League Championship Series (abbreviated NLCS) was a best-of-seven playoff pitting the winners of the 2011 National League Division Series, the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers, against each other for the National League championship and the right to be the league's representative in the 2011 World Series. The series was the 42nd NLCS in league history.


2011 National League Championship Series
The series began on October 9 to accommodate the World Series, which was scheduled to begin on October 19. TBS televised all games in the United States with Game 1 starting at 4:05pm EDT. Games 1, 2 and 6 were played at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, while the other games were played at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. By coincidence, Brian Anderson, who usually called Brewers games on Fox Sports Wisconsin during the regular season, did the play-by-play for the NLCS on TBS, along with Ron Darling and John Smoltz. Anderson filled in for regular TBS lead baseball announcer Ernie Johnson, who was tending to a son in the hospital.


2011 National League Championship Series
This was the Brewers' first-ever appearance in the NLCS, having moved to the National League in 1998. As an American League team, the Brewers made the ALCS in their pennant season of 1982, defeating the California Angels, 3–2. Thus, the Brewers became the first franchise to play in the LCS as a member of each league. The Cardinals, meanwhile, appeared in the NLCS for the first time since winning the 2006 World Series.


2011 National League Championship Series
This was a rematch of the 1982 World Series (a.k.a. the "Suds Series", with both cities associated with the brewing industry with Milwaukee’s  Miller Brewing Company, Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company, and Pabst Brewing Company and St. Louis, whose Anheuser-Busch company is namesake of the Cardinals' ballpark), which the Cardinals won, 4–3.


2011 National League Championship Series
The Cardinals would go on to defeat the Texas Rangers in seven games in the World Series.


2011 National League Championship Series
As of 2021, this is the most recent League Championship Series in either league to be played between divisional opponents. This is mainly due to current playoff format having the restriction between two divisional opponents meeting in the Division Series being removed following this season.


2011 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
Sunday, October 9, 2011 – 4:05 pm (EDT) at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin


2011 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
Game 1 would be a back-and-forth affair. The Cardinals manufactured a run in the first with a walk by Jon Jay, a single by Albert Pujols, and a two-out single from Matt Holliday. The Brewers answered with a two-run home run from Ryan Braun after a walk in the bottom half. The Cardinals would go ahead in the fourth on a David Freese three-run home run and would add on a run with a Lance Berkman single in the fifth. The Brewers came storming back in the fifth.


2011 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
The inning began with a Corey Hart single and a Jerry Hairston double. Braun then hit a ground-rule double, making the score 5–4. Prince Fielder put the Brewers ahead with a two-run home run and after Octavio Dotel relieved starter Jaime García, Yuniesky Betancourt hit another two-run home run to make it 8–5 Brewers. A Pujols double-play grounder in the seventh off of Takashi Saito would make it 8–6 (the run charged to starter Zack Greinke), but the Brewers got the run back with a Jonathan Lucroy RBI single in the bottom half off of Kyle McClellan. Francisco Rodríguez would pitch a scoreless eighth inning and John Axford would get the save in the ninth as the Brewers took Game 1, 9–6.


2011 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 2
Monday, October 10, 2011 – 8:05 pm (EDT) at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin


2011 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 2
The Cardinals' offense erupted off of Shaun Marcum in Game 2, going up 2−0 in the first on Albert Pujols's two-run home run. His two-run double in the third made it 4−0 Cardinals. Next inning, Yadier Molina hit a leadoff double and scored on Nick Punto's single. In the bottom half, Prince Fielder hit a leadoff double off of Edwin Jackson before Rickie Weeks's home run put the Brewers on the board. In the fifth, Jon Jay hit a leadoff double off of Marco Estrada, then scored on Pujols's double.


2011 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 2
Pujols moved to third on a groundout, then scored on a wild pitch. The Brewers had a chance to put the game within one run in the fifth, but Weeks grounded into a double play with the bases loaded, killing the Brewers' rally. In the seventh, Pujols hit a ground-rule double with one out, then scored on Matt Holliday's single off of Kameron Loe. After Lance Berkman singled, RBI singles by Molina, David Freese, and Nick Punto made it 11–2 Cardinals.


2011 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 2
Prince Fielder hit a solo home run for the Brewers in the eighth off of Mitchell Boggs and Freese did the same for the Cardinals in the ninth off of Chris Narveson. The Cardinals won 12–3, tying the Series at a game apiece as well as potential momentum going back to St. Louis. Pujols hit a home run, three doubles, three runs scored, and five RBIs.


2011 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
Wednesday, October 12, 2011 – 8:05 pm (EDT) at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri


2011 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
Rafael Furcal hit a leadoff single in the first inning off Yovani Gallardo, moved to second on a wild pitch and back-to-back RBI doubles by Jon Jay and Albert Pujols made it 2–0 Cardinals. Two walks loaded the bases before Yadier Molina's ground-ball double-play and David Freese's double scored a run each. Gallardo and three Milwaukee relievers held the Cardinals scoreless for the rest of the game. In the second, three consecutive leadoff singles off of Chris Carpenter put the Brewers on the board. After a fly ball moved Jerry Hairston to third, he scored on Gallardo's sacrifice fly. Next inning, Mark Kotsay's home run made it a one-run game, but Carpenter and four relievers held the Brewers scoreless for the rest of the game as the Cardinals' 4–3 win gave them a 2–1 series lead.


2011 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
Thursday, October 13, 2011 – 8:05 pm (EDT) at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri


2011 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
Brewers starter Randy Wolf kept Milwaukee from falling into a 3–1 series deficit, throwing seven stellar innings, striking out six batters, but allowed home runs to Matt Holliday in the second and Allen Craig in the third to put the Cardinals up 2–0. The Brewers scored two runs to tie the game in the fourth inning, with Jerry Hairston hitting an RBI double to score Prince Fielder, who doubled to lead off, and Yuniesky Betancourt followed with a single to score Hairston.


2011 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
The Brewers went up 3–2 in the fifth on a single by Ryan Braun off of Mitchell Boggs with the run charged to starter Kyle Lohse, and added an insurance run in the sixth on a crucial error by Ryan Theriot on George Kottaras's ground ball. Though the Cardinals had the tying run at the plate in three of the last four innings, Wolf, along with relievers Francisco Rodríguez and John Axford, shut the Cardinals down to even the series at two games apiece, guaranteeing that the series would end in Milwaukee. It was also the Brewers' first playoff win on the road since Game 1 of the 1982 World Series.


2011 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
Friday, October 14, 2011 – 8:05 pm (EDT) at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri


2011 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
The Cardinals took advantage of four Milwaukee errors to grab a 3–2 series lead. Yadier Molina's one-out RBI double with runners on first and second put them on the board in the second off of Zack Greinke. One out later, an error on Jaime Garcia's ground ball scored two more runs. Garcia's groundout with runners on second and third in the fourth made it 4−0 Cardinals. Corey Hart's RBI single in the fifth provided the only run of the game for the Brewers. The Cardinals added to their lead on Albert Pujols's RBI single in the sixth and Matt Holliday's two-run double in the eighth off of Marco Estrada. Octavio Dotel got the win in relief of García and Jason Motte earned another save with 1+1⁄3 shutout innings.


2011 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 6
Sunday, October 16, 2011 – 8:05 pm (EDT) at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin


2011 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 6
The Cardinals got off to a quick start, scoring four runs off Shaun Marcum in the first. Lance Berkman got things started with an RBI single. Eventual series MVP David Freese hit a three-run blast to extend their early lead. Marcum would last only this one inning. The Brewers got a run right back on a leadoff solo shot by Corey Hart in the bottom half of the inning off of Edwin Jackson, but the Redbirds would make it a four run game again as Rafael Furcal homered to make the score 5–1 in the second off of Chris Narveson.


2011 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 6
Milwaukee would start to claw their way back in their half of the inning, as Rickie Weeks hit a leadoff home run and Jonathan Lucroy hit a two-run home run to make the score 5–4. In the third, however, Albert Pujols led off with a solo shot of his own. They then loaded the bases on a single, double and intentional walk before Nick Punto's sacrifice fly scored a run and moved the runners up. LaTroy Hawkins relieved Narveson and allowed a two-run single to Allen Craig.


2011 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 6
In the bottom of the fourth, back-to-back doubles by Jerry Hairston and Yuniesky Betancourt off of Fernando Salas made it 9–5 Cardinals, but in the fifth, Kameron Loe allowed back-to-back leadoff singles to Matt Holliday and Freese before Yadier Molina's fielder's choice scored a run. After Punto struck out, Adron Chambers's sacrifice fly made it 11–5 Cardinals. Ryan Braun's groundout in the bottom half off of Marc Rzepczynski scored the last run for the Brewers while the Cardinals added a run in the eighth off of Francisco Rodríguez on Pujols's RBI single. In the ninth, with the score 12–6, Cardinals closer Jason Motte came on to pitch in a non-save situation. Motte struck Mark Kotsay out swinging to end the game and give St. Louis the National League Pennant.


2011 National League Championship Series, Aftermath
National League Championship Series MVP David Fresse would continue his torrid hitting in the World Series. In what is considered one of the greatest game ever played, with the Texas Rangers leading the game 7–5, and leading the series by 3 games to 2, Freese came to bat in the bottom of the ninth with two out and two men on base. With a count of one ball and two strikes, Freese hit a two-run triple off closer Neftalí Feliz just out of the reach of Nelson Cruz’s glove to tie the game and send it to extra innings.


2011 National League Championship Series, Aftermath
In the 11th inning, Freese hit a game-winning lead-off, walk-off homerun to deep center field to send the World Series to a Game 7. The Cardinals would win the next game, thus giving them their 11th World Series. For his heroics, Fresse became just the sixth player to win an LCS and World Series MVP in the same postseason.


2011 National League Championship Series, Aftermath
On December 10, 2011, it was revealed by Outside the Lines that regular-season National League MVP Ryan Braun had tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug. His initial positive test, from October 2011, had been overturned after Braun, and his legal team, waged a successful battle against the drug collector, Dino Laurenzi Jr. Laurenzi had waited to deliver the specimens to the lab, instead of delivering them right away per his instructions. Braun and his lawyers painted Laurenzi as incompetent and even insinuated that he purposefully tampered with Braun’s urine sample because he was a Chicago Cubs fan and possibly anti-Semitic.


2011 National League Championship Series, Aftermath
In July 2013, Ryan Braun finally admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs and was suspended for the remainder of the 2013 season. After admitting PED use in 2013, Braun never placed in the top-20 in MVP voting again and made just one All-Star game in the last eight years of his career.


2011 National League Championship Series, Aftermath
Game 6 was Prince Fielder’s last game as a Brewer, as he signed a free agent contract with the Detroit Tigers in the off-season. Despite just seven seasons in Milwaukee, Fielder ranks in the top 5-10 in most all-time offensive categories. To date, his 50 homerun season in 2007 is still the most in Brewers franchise history for a single-season.


2011 National League Championship Series, Aftermath
This was the start of four straight National League Championship Series appearances for the Cardinals.


2011 National League Division Series
The 2011 National League Division Series (abbreviated NLDS) were two best-of-five playoffs comprising the opening round of the Major League Baseball postseason, played to determine the participating teams in the 2011 National League Championship Series. Three divisional winners and a fourth team—a wild card—played in two series. TBS televised all games in the United States (except Game 3 of the Brewers–Diamondbacks series, which aired on TNT due to scheduling conflicts with the ALDS). The regular season finished on September 28, with the National League playoffs beginning October 1.


2011 National League Division Series
Under MLB's playoff format, no two teams from the same division were matched up in the Division Series, regardless of whether their records would normally indicate such a matchup. Home field advantage went to the team with the better regular-season record with the exception of the wild card team, which defers home field advantage regardless of record. The matchups are:


2011 National League Division Series
The Phillies and Cardinals played against each other in the postseason for the first time. The Brewers and Diamondbacks also met for the first time, having both joined the National League in 1998—Arizona as an expansion team and Milwaukee in a move from the American League after the AL expanded by adding the Tampa Bay Rays. The Brewers-Diamondbacks series was also notable as the first postseason series played between two teams in ballparks with retractable roofs.


2011 National League Division Series
This is the first time since the strike-shortened 1981 season that both National League Division Series matchups went to a deciding Game 5 (it happened to the American League in 2001).


2011 National League Division Series
The Cardinals defeated the Brewers in the NLCS and went on to win the 2011 World Series, defeating the American League champion Texas Rangers.


2011 National League Division Series, Philadelphia vs. St. Louis, Game 1
5:07 p.m. (EDT) at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania


2011 National League Division Series, Philadelphia vs. St. Louis, Game 1
The Cardinals struck first on Lance Berkman's three-run home run off Phillies' starter Roy Halladay in the first inning. The Phillies fought back on Shane Victorino's RBI single in the fourth, and Ryan Howard put Philadelphia ahead with a second-deck three-run shot in the sixth. Two batters later, Raúl Ibañez hit a two-run homer to give the Phillies a three-run lead. Ibañez's homer was the decisive blow to Cardinals' starter Kyle Lohse, who was out of the game after 5+1⁄3 innings.


2011 National League Division Series, Philadelphia vs. St. Louis, Game 1
Next inning, the Phillies loaded the bases on three singles with no outs off of Marc Rzepczynski, who was then relieved by Mitchell Boggs. After Hunter Pence hit into a force out at home, Howard's sacrifice fly followed by RBI singles by Victorino and Ibañez made it 9–3 Phillies. Next inning, Jimmy Rollins walked with two outs, then Chase Utley doubled before both men scored on Pence's single. In the top of the ninth, the Cardinals scored three runs on Adron Chambers' RBI single and Skip Schumaker's two-run double off reliever Michael Stutes, but closer Ryan Madson struck out Jon Jay and Matt Holliday to seal the win for the Phillies.


2011 National League Division Series, Philadelphia vs. St. Louis, Game 2
8:37 p.m. (EDT) at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania


2011 National League Division Series, Philadelphia vs. St. Louis, Game 2
The Phillies scored early on RBI singles by Ryan Howard and Raúl Ibañez in the first inning. Hunter Pence's single in the second scored Jimmy Rollins and gave the Phillies a 4–0 lead. With Cliff Lee on the mound, who was 7–2 in the postseason and 3–0 in the League Division Series, and Chris Carpenter, who pitched on three days' rest, was out after three innings, things did not look good for the Cardinals.


2011 National League Division Series, Philadelphia vs. St. Louis, Game 2
However, the offense started to do their work in the fourth, when Ryan Theriot, Jon Jay, and Rafael Furcal each knocked in one run for the Cardinals. Jay singled again in the sixth to tie the game and Albert Pujols' RBI single in the seventh gave the Cardinals the lead. The Cardinals' bullpen picked up where Carpenter left off, combined to throw six innings of scoreless, one-hit ball. Cardinals closer Jason Motte pitched a four-out save to seal the win.


2011 National League Division Series, Philadelphia vs. St. Louis, Game 2
This was the third consecutive postseason loss for Lee going back to the 2010 World Series.


2011 National League Division Series, Philadelphia vs. St. Louis, Game 3
5:07 p.m. (EDT) at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri


2011 National League Division Series, Philadelphia vs. St. Louis, Game 3
After six scoreless innings from both starting pitchers, the Phillies sent Ben Francisco to pinch-hit for Cole Hamels, following an intentional walk to Carlos Ruiz, and a single by Shane Victorino. Francisco homered off the second pitch from Jaime García 405 feet (123 m) over the left center wall to give the Phillies a 3–0 lead.


2011 National League Division Series, Philadelphia vs. St. Louis, Game 3
In the sixth inning, a squirrel—soon to become more famous the next day under the name "Rally Squirrel"—appeared in the outfield, causing a brief interruption in play. The incident was even immortalized in a promo for the "Legends are Born in October" ad campaign, complete with the background music set to the ads from that campaign, Tinie Tempah's "Written in the Stars."


2011 National League Division Series, Philadelphia vs. St. Louis, Game 3
In the bottom of the seventh, the Cardinals added a run with Allen Craig scoring off an RBI single by David Freese. In the bottom of the eighth, the Cardinals were able to load the bases with one out, thanks to singles by Ryan Theriot, pinch hitter Matt Holliday, and Rafael Furcal. However, the Cardinals were not able to capitalize, with Craig grounding out into an inning ending double play. In the bottom of the ninth, Pujols led off with his third double of the game. Following a flyout by Lance Berkman and a ground out by Freese (which sent Pujols to third), Yadier Molina singled to center, bringing Pujols home, and making it a one-run game. Theriot then grounded out to second to end the game, giving the Phillies a 2–1 series lead.


2011 National League Division Series, Philadelphia vs. St. Louis, Game 4
6:07 p.m. (EDT) at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri


2011 National League Division Series, Philadelphia vs. St. Louis, Game 4
Before the second-largest crowd (47,071) in Busch Stadium history, the Cardinals staved off elimination with a 5–3 home victory over the Phillies. The Phils struck first with two runs in the first inning off Edwin Jackson. Jimmy Rollins doubled and scored on a triple by Chase Utley, who came home on Hunter Pence's single to make it 2–0. The Cards cut the lead to 2–1 in the bottom half when Lance Berkman doubled in Skip Schumaker. Berkman advanced to third when Shane Victorino misplayed the ball, but was unable to score. Meanwhile, Jackson settled down after the shaky first, allowing only two hits in the next five innings. The Cards took the lead on David Freese's two-run double in the fourth, scoring Berkman and Matt Holliday to make it 3–2, Cardinals.


2011 National League Division Series, Philadelphia vs. St. Louis, Game 4
In the fifth inning, the Rally Squirrel again appeared, crossing home plate as Oswalt was delivering a pitch to Skip Schumaker. The pitch was called a ball, but Oswalt and manager Charlie Manuel argued for "no pitch", which appeal was denied by home-plate umpire Ángel Hernández. Schumaker then flied out, but the Rally Squirrel went on to become a cause célèbre in St. Louis.


2011 National League Division Series, Philadelphia vs. St. Louis, Game 4
St. Louis extended their lead to 5–2 in the sixth when Freese hit a two-run homer to the grassy area in center field. After that, the Cards' bullpen took it the rest of the way. Arthur Rhodes pitched a 1–2–3 seventh, but Fernando Salas ran into trouble in the eighth, allowing a run on a wild pitch to cut the Cardinals' lead to 5–3. The Phillies would bring the tying run to the plate in the form of St. Louis native Ryan Howard later in the inning, but Marc Rzepczynski struck out Howard to escape the jam.


2011 National League Division Series, Philadelphia vs. St. Louis, Game 4
In the bottom half, Albert Pujols batted against Brad Lidge, a pitcher whom Pujols victimized with a three-run home run in the 2005 playoffs, when Lidge was with Houston. Lidge, however, got Pujols to fly out to right. Jason Motte got the save by retiring the Phillies in order in the ninth. Center fielder Jon Jay made a sliding catch of a line drive by former Cardinal Plácido Polanco for the final out.


2011 National League Division Series, Philadelphia vs. St. Louis, Game 5
8:37 p.m. (EDT) at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania


2011 National League Division Series, Philadelphia vs. St. Louis, Game 5
The Cardinals struck first in the first inning when leadoff batter Rafael Furcal hit a triple and Skip Schumaker followed with a double, but no other runs were scored with Roy Halladay laboring through over 30 pitches in that inning. In the bottom of the fourth, the Phillies had runners at the corners with two outs. On a 3–2 count, batter Raúl Ibañez got a cutter down the middle and hit it deep to right field. The TV camera focused on the right field stands, but would move down to show Lance Berkman making the catch at the warning track.


2011 National League Division Series, Philadelphia vs. St. Louis, Game 5
Halladay was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the eighth after giving up six hits and one run, throwing 126 pitches, 87 for strikes. He walked one (intentional to Albert Pujols), striking out seven. Ryan Madson replaced Halladay in the ninth. Chris Carpenter got Ryan Howard to ground out to second, capping off a three-hit shutout. Howard tore his Achilles' tendon on that final play. This was considered the unofficial end of the Phillies mini-dynasty, which started in 2007.


2011 National League Division Series, Philadelphia vs. St. Louis, Game 5
This was only the third "winner-take-all" game in postseason history to end in a 1–0 score. (Following Game 7 of the 1962 World Series and Game 7 of the 1991 World Series.)


2011 National League Division Series, Milwaukee vs. Arizona, Game 1
Game 1 featured both teams' top winning pitchers, with the Diamondbacks' 21-game winner Ian Kennedy going against the Brewers' 17-game winner Yovani Gallardo. The Diamondbacks threatened in the 1st inning, where Willie Bloomquist was thrown out at home by Ryan Braun on a potential RBI single by Justin Upton. After that, Gallardo settled down, pitching 8 stellar innings, tying a franchise postseason record with 9 strikeouts.


2011 National League Division Series, Milwaukee vs. Arizona, Game 1
The Brewers scored first in the 4th when Braun scored on a Jerry Hariston sacrifice fly, and then scored again in the 6th when Yuniesky Betancourt tripled and was then driven in by a single by Jonathan Lucroy. In the 7th inning, with two outs, Braun doubled for the Brewers, with Prince Fielder coming up. Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson went to talk to Kennedy and allowed Kennedy to pitch to Fielder with first base open.


2011 National League Division Series, Milwaukee vs. Arizona, Game 1
This was considered by some observers an eerie case of déjà vu for Gibson, who had been in the same situation at the plate in the 1984 World Series when Goose Gossage chose to pitch to Gibson with 1st base open, and gave up a home run to Gibson. The same thing happened for Fielder, who hit the second pitch he saw from Kennedy out for a 2-run homer, giving the Brewers a comfortable 4–0 lead. Ryan Roberts broke up Gallardo's shutout with a home run in the 8th, but Brewers closer John Axford finished off the Diamondbacks in the 9th, giving the Brewers the 4–1 win and the first win of the series.


2011 National League Division Series, Milwaukee vs. Arizona, Game 2
The Brewers started Game 2 on a high note with Ryan Braun hitting a two-run homer in the first inning off of Daniel Hudson, but starter Zack Greinke, pitching on three days' rest, allowed a leadoff home run to Paul Goldschmidt in the second; In the third, Braun doubled with two outs, then scored on Prince Fielder's single before Fielder scored on Rickie Weeks's triple. Greinke gave up a solo home run to Chris Young in the fourth, then a two-run home run to Justin Upton in the fifth and left with the game in a 4–4 tie.


2011 National League Division Series, Milwaukee vs. Arizona, Game 2
In the sixth, Jerry Hairston doubled with one out. Brad Ziegler relieved Hudson and committed a balk that let Hairston move to third, then walked Yuniesky Betancourt. Hairston scored on Jonathan Lucroy's bunt single and an error put runners on second and third. After Mark Kotsay was intentionally walked to load the bases, Corey Hart's single scored a run, Nyjer Morgan's single scored two more, and Braun's single scored another to give the Brewers a 9–4 lead. The Brewers bullpen pitched scoreless ball for the last four innings in helping the team gain a 2–0 series lead.


2011 National League Division Series, Milwaukee vs. Arizona, Game 3
With support from the sellout crowd, the Diamondbacks' offense finally broke out in Game 3. The D-backs scored two runs in the first on Miguel Montero's RBI double and Paul Goldschmidt's RBI single, one in the third on Montero's RBI single, and five in the fifth on Goldschmidt's grand slam and Ryan Roberts' RBI single. Backed up by the offense, starter Josh Collmenter hurled seven innings, allowing two hits, one earned run, and two walks while striking out six. The only run for the Brewers came from Corey Hart's solo homer in the top of the third. With the 8–1 lead, relievers David Hernandez and J. J. Putz pitched the eighth and the ninth each to seal the win.


2011 National League Division Series, Milwaukee vs. Arizona, Game 4
The Diamondbacks knocked in ten runs—eight on four homers—to force a decisive Game 5.


2011 National League Division Series, Milwaukee vs. Arizona, Game 4
The Brewers scored early in the first inning on Ryan Braun's RBI double. But the D-backs fought back in the bottom half on Ryan Roberts' grand slam and Chris Young's solo homer. The Brewers scored two more runs on George Kottaras' RBI groundout in the second and Jerry Hairston, Jr.'s RBI double in the third. The D-backs answered with Collin Cowgill's two-run single in the bottom of the third. Both starters were ineffective as each pitched only three innings, but the two homers allowed by Randy Wolf made the most difference, putting the Brewers into an early 7–3 hole.


2011 National League Division Series, Milwaukee vs. Arizona, Game 4
The Brewers continued scoring on Corey Hart's sacrifice fly in the sixth and Carlos Gómez's two-run homer. But the D-backs also scored three more runs on Aaron Hill's solo home run in the sixth and Young's two-run homer, his second of the night, in the seventh. Closer J. J. Putz pitched a scoreless ninth to seal the win for the D-backs.


2011 National League Division Series, Milwaukee vs. Arizona, Game 5
The Diamondbacks struck first with Justin Upton's solo home run in the top of the third inning, but the Brewers immediately tied the game in the bottom of the fourth with a Jerry Hairston, Jr. sacrifice fly scoring Nyjer Morgan. The Brewers took the lead in the bottom of the sixth when Yuniesky Betancourt hit an RBI single scoring Ryan Braun. In the top of the ninth John Axford came in on a save situation, but blew it when Willie Bloomquist hit an RBI bunt single scoring Gerardo Parra.


2011 National League Division Series, Milwaukee vs. Arizona, Game 5
Axford was able to escape with a pair of fielder's choice outs to Upton and Henry Blanco. The game went into extra innings after David Hernandez pitched a 1–2–3 ninth. In the top of the 10th Axford pitched a 1–2–3 inning of his own, and then with J. J. Putz pitching in the bottom of the 10th, Morgan hit the walk-off RBI single scoring Carlos Gómez to give Milwaukee the victory.


2011 National League Division Series, Milwaukee vs. Arizona, Game 5
It was the Brewers' first playoff series win since beating the California Angels 3–2 in the 1982 ALCS, and also made the NLCS for the first time, having moved to the National League in 1998.


2011 National League Division Series, Milwaukee vs. Arizona, Game 5
This was only the second Game 5 of a Division Series to require extra innings, after Game 5 of the 1995 American League Division Series, which saw the Seattle Mariners defeat the New York Yankees, courtesy of The Double.


2011 National League speedway season
The 2011 season of the National League, the third tier of British speedway was contested by ten teams, with Scunthorpe & Sheffield Saints winning the play-offs to become champions.


2011 National League speedway season, Final table
PL = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; BP = Bonus Pts Pts = Total Points


2011 National League speedway season, Final table
SCORING SYSTEMHome loss by any number of points = 0Home draw = 1Home win by between 1 and 6 points = 2Home win by 7 points or more = 3Away loss by 7 points or more = 0Away loss by 6 points or less = 1Away draw = 2Away win by between 1 and 6 points = 3Away win by 7 points or more = 4


2011 National League speedway season, Play Offs
Top four teams race off in two-legged semi-finals and final to decide championship. The winner was Scunthorpe & Sheffield Saints who defeated the Mildenhall Fen Tigers in the final.


2011 National League speedway season, National League Knockout Cup
The 2011 National League Knockout Cup was the 14th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier three teams. Mildenhall Fen Tigers were the winners.


2011 National People's Congress
The 4th Session of the 11th National People's Congress held its annual meeting in March 2011 at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China. The event opened on 5 March and concluded on 14 March. The meeting was expected to approve the country's 12th Five Year Plan.


2011 National People's Congress, Work report
Chinese premier Wen Jiabao delivered the central government's work report earlier in the meeting. Wen emphasised the need to maintain economic growth and challenges such as reducing the rich poor divide, reduced environmental degradation and boost domestic consumption.


2011 National People's Congress, Work report
The premier indicated China will reduce carbon emissions over the next five years in a response to climate change and improving environmental protection.


2011 National People's Congress, Work report
At the close of the session, Premier Wen stated the government will maintain a 7 percent economic growth over the next period between 2011 and 2015 The government will focus on addressing widening rural and urban disparity, investment and consumption issues, reining in property prices and curbing inflation. Wen also striking a good balance in the economy between growth, employment and inflation so the economy can track along economic prosperity and avoid recession


2011 National People's Congress, Work report
The premier also mentioned about the fight against corruption. The areas focused will be in construction, sale of land use rights, mineral resources exploration, stated-owed property management and government procurement. The government will established a system for officials to regularly declare their income, investment, property and resident status of their family members.


2011 National People's Congress, Procurator-General's report
Procurator-General Cao Jianming reported 2,723 corrupt officials were investigated in 2010. These officials were at the county levels and higher. The prosecutors charged 1,282 fugitives with work-related crimes in 2010. It also recovered money and goods to the value of 7.4 billion yuan.


2011 National Pro Fastpitch season
The 2011 National Pro Fastpitch season was the eighth season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.


2011 National Pro Fastpitch season, Milestones and events
The Tennessee Diamonds were rebranded as the NPF Diamonds for the 2011 season. The Diamonds were a "traveling team," playing each of their five 'home stands' at five different venues, from Calgary, Alberta to Lexington, North Carolina.


2011 National Pro Fastpitch season, Milestones and events
Akron Racers named as their coach Jake Schumann, who was also with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi softball coach.


2011 National Pro Fastpitch season, Milestones and events
NPF Diamonds signed Tim Kiernan as head coach. Kiernan had previously coached professional softball with WPSL's Virginia Roadsters in 1999, NPF Tour Teams in 2001 and 2003, and the Sacramento Sunbirds in 2004.


2011 National Pro Fastpitch season, Milestones and events
The Chicago Bandits moved into their new stadium Ballpark at Rosemont. It is the first ballpark specifically built for a women's professional softball team, and its address, 27 Jennie Finch Way, pays tribute to one of their most famous players.


2011 National Pro Fastpitch season, Player acquisition, College draft
The 2011 NPF Senior Draft was held March 16, 2011, in Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. The NPF Draft was broadcast on MLB.com. NPF Diamonds selected pitcher Kelsi Dunne of Alabama as the first overall pick.


2011 National Pro Fastpitch season, NPF Championship
The 2011 NPF Championship Series was held at McMurry Park in Sulphur, Louisiana August 18–21. All four teams qualify and were seeded based on the final standings. The first seed played the fourth seed on a best-of-three series, and the second seed played the third seed in another best-of-three series. The winners played each other in a best-of-three series that determined the champion.


2011 National Pro Fastpitch season, NPF Championship
The games were broadcast on ESPN2, with color analysis by former NPF player and two-time Olympian Jennie Finch and three-time Olympian Leah O'Brien-Amico. Bernie Guenther called the play-by-play.


2011 National Soccer Hall of Fame Induction Class
These are the results for the voting for the National Soccer Hall of Fame 2011 induction class. Cobi Jones, Eddie Pope and Earnie Stewart were selected for the Player category, Bruce Murray as a Veteran and Bob Gansler as a Builder.


2011 National Soccer Hall of Fame Induction Class
The Hall of Fame inducts individuals in three categories, Player, Veteran and Builder. The Hall of Fame also selects individuals for special awards including the Colin Jose Media Award, Eddie Pearson Award and a Medal of Honor.


2011 National Soccer Hall of Fame Induction Class, Ceremony
The induction ceremony took place before an international friendly between the United States and Spain on June 4, 2011 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The five inductees were introduced on the field before a record crowd in Massachusetts along with current Hall of Fame members.


2011 National Soccer Hall of Fame Induction Class, Ceremony
After the on-field presentation an induction ceremony was held in Gillette Stadium. Each player presented a story from his soccer experience. Pope recounted his first youth national team experience. Pope's coach at the University of North Carolina, Elmar Bolowich, set up an invitation to the national team training camp, which was run by head coach Bob Gansler. Despite a surprisingly poor initial performance, Gansler allowed Pope to attend a second camp.


2011 National Soccer Hall of Fame Induction Class, Ceremony
Earnie Stewart's fear of flying was referenced in his introduction by teammate Claudio Reyna and Stewart's own address, in which he stated,


2011 National Soccer Hall of Fame Induction Class, Ceremony
I’d like to thank [legendary Dutch coach] Rinus Michels. I was going to the airport and my fear of flying was terrible, so my wife dropped me off for a flight to California. I said to myself, ‘This is it, I’m quitting, I’m never going to play for the U.S. soccer team ever again.’ I told my wife to come pick up me because I’m hanging it up. All of a sudden, I saw Rinus Michels -- and I never got a chance to tell him — he was there.


2011 National Soccer Hall of Fame Induction Class, Ceremony
At that moment, I thought, ‘If such an important person is going to step on this plane, what can happen to me?’ I step on, I called my wife again and told her : ‘Forget what I said.’ I am so very glad I decided to do that because it's been a fantastic ride.


2011 National Soccer Hall of Fame Induction Class, Ceremony
Stewart continued by referencing his departure from D.C. United on somewhat rocky terms and later his continued commitment to the U.S. National Team, despite spending most of his life in the Netherlands.


2011 National Soccer Hall of Fame Induction Class, Player
To be eligible in this category, a player must have been retired for at least three full calendar years but no more than ten. The person must have also played at least twenty games for the United States men's national soccer team or at least five seasons in an American first-division league, being selected at least once as a league all star. Voting began on February 17, 2011 and ended on March 11, 2011. Any player who was named on at least 66.7% of the ballots cast was selected for induction.


2011 National Soccer Hall of Fame Induction Class, Player
Any player who received less than 5% of the ballots was dropped from the Player eligibility list and will be placed on the Veterans eligibility list when they meet the criteria for that list. Those people eligible to vote for this category included all current and former coaches of the United States men's and women's national teams, active Major League Soccer and Women's Professional Soccer coaches with a minimum of four years tenure, select soccer administrators, designated members of the media and all Hall of Famers. Three individuals ran away with the voting, Cobi Jones, Eddie Pope and Earnie Stewart.


2011 National Soccer Hall of Fame Induction Class, Player, Eligible players
The following individuals were also declared eligible for induction in 2010, but were not among the top vote getters.


2011 National Soccer Hall of Fame Induction Class, Veteran
Eligibility for Veterans is the same as for the Player category, but the individual must have been retired for at least ten years. The voting period was the same as for the Player category.


2011 National Soccer Hall of Fame Induction Class, Builder
To be eligible, an individual must have had a major, sustained and positive impact on American soccer on a national or professional level for at least ten years and receive at least fifty percent of the votes cast. Only the person with the most votes is selected for induction.


2011 National Society of Film Critics Awards
The 46th National Society of Film Critics Awards, given on 7 January 2012, honored the best in film for 2011.


2011 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners
Film titles are listed, following the number of votes each received:


2011 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Picture
1. Melancholia (29)2. The Tree of Life (28)3. A Separation (20)


2011 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Director
1. Terrence Malick – The Tree of Life (31)2. Martin Scorsese – Hugo (29)3. Lars von Trier – Melancholia (23)


2011 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Actor
1. Brad Pitt – Moneyball and The Tree of Life (35)2. Gary Oldman – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (22)3. Jean Dujardin – The Artist (19)


2011 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Actress
1. Kirsten Dunst – Melancholia (39)2. Yoon Jeong-hee – Poetry (25)3. Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady (20)


2011 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Supporting Actor
1. Albert Brooks – Drive (38)2. Christopher Plummer – Beginners (24)3. Patton Oswalt – Young Adult (19)


2011 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Supporting Actress
1. Jessica Chastain – The Help, Take Shelter, and The Tree of Life (30)2. Jeannie Berlin – Margaret (19)3. Shailene Woodley – The Descendants (17)


2011 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Screenplay
1. Asghar Farhadi – A Separation (39)2. Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin – Moneyball (22)3. Woody Allen – Midnight in Paris (16)


2011 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Cinematography
1. Emmanuel Lubezki – The Tree of Life (76)2. Manuel Alberto Claro – Melancholia (41)3. Robert Richardson – Hugo (33)


2011 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Foreign Language Film
1. A Separation (67)2. Mysteries of Lisbon (28)3. Le Havre (22)


2011 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Non-Fiction Film
1. Cave of Forgotten Dreams (35)2. The Interrupters (26)3. Into the Abyss (18)


2011 National Superstock 600 Championship
The 2011 National Superstock 600 Championship season was the fourth season of the British National Superstock 600 Championship. The motorcycles are stock 600cc bikes, this means that not many racing modifications can be made to the bikes, to promote a close and affordable racing environment. The class is strictly for riders aged 16–25, with riders that finish the previous year in the top three of the championship are not eligible for the following season.