2012 Australian football code crowds, Attendances by Match, Single matches
These are once-off matches, that aren't part of any regular league competition.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix
The 2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix was the seventeenth and penultimate round of the 2012 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 26–28 October 2012 at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
This race was most notable for the last victory of Casey Stoner before he chose to retire, as well as his final win on home soil.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Jorge Lorenzo leads the standings with 330 points, followed by Dani Pedrosa with 307 and Casey Stoner with 213 points. Pedrosa has a 23 point deficit to Lorenzo, and if he scores three or more points in this race, he will be crowned the 2012 MotoGP world champion. Australian Kris McLaren was not able to qualify for the race in his Avintia Bluesens, therefor he did not start the race.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Home hero Casey Stoner took pole on Saturday with a time of 1:29.623. Second is Jorge Lorenzo and third is Dani Pedrosa. The second row of the grid consists out of Cal Crutchlow, Stefan Bradl and Andrea Dovizioso.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
All the riders do their usual warm-up lap, then line up on their respective grid slots. As the lights go out, Lorenzo and Pedrosa manage to pass Stoner who gets demoted to third as the pack goes into Doohan Corner (Turn 1) on the opening lap. Behind the trio, Crutchlow has not gained or lost any positions, Dovizioso took one place while Bradl lost one to the Italian. Going into the Honda Corner (Turn 4), Dani Pedrosa lunges down the inside of Lorenzo to take over the lead. The top three already has pulled a significant gap to Crutchlow by now.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Lap two starts and Stoner manages to get a great drive out of Turn 12 to go side-by-side with Lorenzo on the straight. He manages to get past going into Doohan Corner, promoting him to second. As the trio goes into the Honda Hairpin, Pedrosa loses the front of his bike and slides out of the lead, as well as the title upon acceleration. A confused and defeated Pedrosa tries to rejoin the race, but to no avail as he is dead last and a long way back to his title rival. The Yamaha pit box rushes to put on the message 'PEDROSA OUT' on the pit board.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
As lap three begins, the gap Stoner has to Lorenzo has increased, as did the gap Lorenzo has to now third place Crutchlow. Pedrosa comes into the pits to officially retire from the race.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Lap four and Stoner now sets the fastest lap of the race. Behind the duo meanwhile a battle for third emerges, consisting out of Crutchlow, Dovizioso, Bautista and Bradl.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Exiting Turn 12, Stoner has a big wobble before he starts lap five. The group of four behind Lorenzo are still bunched up but no one has made a move so far.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
On lap six, the gap Stoner has to Lorenzo is +1.750 seconds. The group of four who was fighting for third has spread out a bit by now.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Lap seven and the gap Stoner has to Lorenzo has increased to +1.983 seconds. James Ellison in the back crashed out of the race - rider is okay.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
On lap eight, no overtakes happened in the top six positions. The gaps are stable for now.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Lap nine and the gap Stoner has to Lorenzo has increased even more - it is now +3.038 seconds. Third place Crutchlow has also opened up a gap to his Tech 3 teammate Dovizioso and it's now +1.050 seconds. Backmarker Colin Edwards has also retired from the race due to technical problems.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
On lap ten, the gap Stoner has to Lorenzo is more or less stable and sits at around +3.074 seconds. In sector one, the gap has decreased slightly to +2.996. Dovizioso and Bautista meanwhile are also fighting for fourth, the Spaniard shadowing Dovizioso to find a gap. In sector two, the gap has increased again to +3.224 seconds. In sector three, the gap increases slightly once more to +3.283 seconds.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
As Stoner crosses the line to start lap eleven, the gap he has to Lorenzo is more or less stable with +3.328 seconds. Further back, Bautista is still harassing Dovizioso and even further back Karel Abraham is sandwitched between the Factory Ducati pair of Valentino Rossi in seventh and Nicky Hayden in ninth.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
On lap twelve, Bautista finally makes his move at the Honda Corner, lunging down the inside of Dovizioso and snatching away fourth. This has allowed Bradl - who was a bit further back, to immediately close the gap and join the battle.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Lap thirteen and Bradl also makes his move on Dovizioso, going up his inside at the fast Southern Loop (Turn 2) for fifth position.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
As the midfield trio of Bautista, Bradl and Dovizioso cross the line to begin lap fourteen - the halfway point of the race - the German uses his superior exit of Turn 12 to go alongside Bautista and move up into fourth before Doohan Corner. Dovizioso uses the situation to sneak up on Bautista at the Southern Loop by going up his inside and retaking fifth. However, the Italian goes slightly wide, allowing Bautista to retake the place. At the Honda Corner, Dovizioso tries again - this time successfully taking the place after he went up the inside of Bautista's San Carlo Gresini Honda. The gap Stoner has to Lorenzo meanwhile has increased to +4.127 seconds.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
On lap fifteen, the gap has decreased somewhat to +3.992 seconds. In sector 1, the gap increases to +4.133 seconds.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Lap sixteen and the midfield runners are still relatively close to each other, with Bautista right behind Dovizioso who himself is a bit further back to Bradl. Dani Pedrosa is now giving an interview for the Spanish television about what exactly happened.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
On lap seventeen, the gap Stoner has to Lorenzo has increased again and is now +4.767 seconds. Further back, the trio of Bradl, Dovizioso and Bautista are closing up again and even further back, Hayden passed Abraham for eighth place and is now behind his teammate Rossi.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Lap eighteen and the top three is still very much stable, consisting out of Stoner, Lorenzo and Crutchlow.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
On lap nineteen, the trio of Bradl, Dovizioso and Bautista are still relatively close but no one has made a move so far.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Going into lap twenty, Bautista is very close to Dovizioso and looks to make a move, but stays back for the time being. As they both go into Doohan Corner, Dovizioso runs slightly wide, causing Bautista to run wide as well.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
As lap twenty-one starts, Roberto Rolfo has retired from the race with technical problems as he is seen pushing his bike on the grass with the marshalls surrounding him. Bautista looks up the inside of Dovizioso at the start/finish straight but does not make the move going into Doohan corner. Further back, Aleix Espargaró has overtaken his Aspar teammate Randy de Puniet for tenth position after the Frenchman went wide at the Honda Corner.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
On lap twenty-two, Bautista managed to pass Dovizioso before the start/finish straight but the Italian dived down the inside at the Doohan corner and retakes fifth place as a result. Bradl starts to struggle a bit now and the two behind him close the small gap, with Bautista harassing Dovizioso all throughout the lap.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Lap twenty-three and Dovizioso has passed Bradl for fourth. Backmarker Iván Silva lets Lorenzo past without any problems as the midfield trio of Dovizioso, Bradl and Bautista are still close to each other and fighting for positions.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
On lap twenty-four, Bautista takes fifth place by going down the inside of Bradl - who was taking a wider line - at Honda Corner.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Lap twenty-five and Dovizioso and Bautista have pulled a slight gap to the now struggling Bradl. He shadows the Italian but so far refrains from making any moves.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
On lap twenty-six, the penultimate lap, Stoner passes backmarker Michele Pirro midway through Doohan Corner without any problems. Further behind, Bradl has closed up the small gap to Bautista again and even further back, Hayden starts to put some pressure on Rossi for seventh position. Bautista has now taken fourth from Dovizioso, with Bradl doing likewise after he dives down the inside of the Tech 3 rider at Turn 10. Dovizioso has lost two places in one lap


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
The final lap - lap twenty-seven - begins and Dovizioso uses his good acceleration to pass Bradl on the start/finish straight, then makes a late lunge up on the inside of Bautista to take fourth place back. Exiting the Southern Loop, Bautista's knee hit a bit of dirt on the edge of the circuit, causing him to wobble slightly. Stoner meanwhile has no problems as he calmly crosses the line to win the race - his final win of his career, as well as his sixth and final win on home soil.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Lorenzo does a big wheelie as he crosses the finish line to come home in second place, making him the 2012 MotoGP world champion. A happy Crutchlow comes home third to take his second podium of the season and the trio behind him still fight for positions, Dovizioso pulling enough of a gap to come home in a respectable fourth place. Bradl tries to attack Bautista on the last corner but isn't able to, meaning that Bautista finishes in fifth and Bradl in sixth place. The Factory Yamaha pit box meanwhile rejoices as they celebrate Lorenzo's title. Rossi finishes a distant seventh and Hayden eighth.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
During the parade lap on the way back to parc fermé, one of the Yamaha crewmembers congratulates Lorenzo with him holding a Spanish flag. Lorenzo puts his arms up in the air in jubilation as the crewmembers puts the flag behind his back. Doohan also has his own Australian flag, waving it for all the majority Australian crowd to see. He also waves at the fans as Lorenzo now holds the Spanish flag and punches the air in a joyful manner. The fans now start to invade the track as Crutchlow also rides back to parc fermé, the fans congratulating him also.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Stoner is the first one to arrive at parc fermé, being congratulated by one of his Repsol Honda crewmembers. Lorenzo is the second to arrive, doing a burnout to celebrate his second MotoGP world championship title. Some of his crewmembers hug him after he's done, the Spaniard still celebrating whilst on the bike. He then goes to his crew at the fence to celebrate with them. Crutchlow meanwhile has also arrived and is talking to his own crewmembers about the race result. Espargaró and Stoner both shake hands with the new world champion, the latter also hugging him. Lorenzo then gets interviewed by the Spanish television before posing with his team once more for the press.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
The trio make their way up to the podium but before that, Stoner has an intimate moment with his wife Adriana Tuchyna and his first child Alessandra Maria in the box. The trio then make their way onto the podium, beginning with Crutchlow, then Lorenzo and then - under a loud applause and many cheers from the crowd - Stoner. The trio stand on their respective podium places as the trophies get handed out, the crowd cheering loudly once more as Stoner receives his winners trophy.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
The Australian national anthem plays and once it stops, Lorenzo steps off the podium, much to the confusion of the other tro riders. The respective figures still hand out the champagne to Crutchlow and Stoner and the duo start spraying each other. Lorenzo meanwhile, holding the bottle in his hand, went down to celebrate with his team as he sprays them with the champagne instead. Stoner shakes hands with Crutchlow after the champagne shower has finished, then gets off the podium also.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Crutchlow - the only one still on the podium - hands his team below the bottle, then takes his helmet, drink and trophy to move it somewhere else. Lorenzo and Stoner return to the podium, the Australian throwing his kneesliders in the audience as a gift. The trio then step onto the podium for the last time for the press photo's.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, MotoGP race report
Stoner's win, Lorenzo's second place and Pedrosa's retirement change the standings once more. Lorenzo now has 350 points, an unassailable lead by now, with Pedrosa second with 307 points - a 43 point deficit - and Stoner third with 238 points, which is a deficit of 112 points.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, Moto2 race report
Marc Márquez won the Moto2 title by finishing third in his race behind winner and championship rival Pol Espargaró and the second placed Anthony West (who would eventually be removed from the results in November 2013 promoting Marquez to 2nd place).


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, Moto3 race report
Sandro Cortese won the race, ahead of Miguel Oliveira and Australian Arthur Sissis. This meant that all three riders' titles had been decided with Cortese having secured his title the previous round in Malaysia.


2012 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, Championship standings after the race (MotoGP)
Below are the standings for the top five riders and constructors after round seventeen has concluded.


2012 Austrian Darts Open
The 2012 Austrian Darts Open was the first of five PDC European Tour events on the 2012 PDC Pro Tour. The tournament took place at the Arena Nova in Wiener Neustadt near Vienna, Austria, from 27–29 April 2012. It featured a field of 64 players and £82,100 in prize money, with £15,000 going to the winner.


2012 Austrian Darts Open
Justin Pipe won the title, by defeating James Wade 6–3 in the final. Michael Smith and Simon Whitlock both threw nine-dart finishes during the tournament.


2012 Austrian Darts Open, Qualification
The top 32 players from the  automatically qualified for the event. The remaining 32 places went to players from three qualifying events - 20 from the UK Qualifier (held in Barnsley on 13 April), eight from the European Qualifier (held in Cologne on 7 April) and four from the Host Nation Qualifier (held in Eisenstadt on 31 March).


2012 Austrian Figure Skating Championships
The 2012 Austrian Figure Skating Championships (German: Österreichischen Staatsmeisterschaften im Eiskunstlauf 2011) took place between 16 and 18 December 2011 at the Graz Liebenau in Graz. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing on the senior level. The results were used to choose the Austrian teams to the 2012 World Championships and the 2012 European Championships.


2012 Auto Club 400
The 2012 Auto Club 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on March 25 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Shortened to 129 laps because of rain showers, it was the fifth race of the 2012 Sprint Cup Series season. The race was won by Tony Stewart for the Stewart-Haas Racing team. Kyle Busch finished second, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who started fourteenth, clinched third.


2012 Auto Club 400, Report, Background
Auto Club Speedway is one of six superspeedways to hold NASCAR races. The standard track at Auto Club Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2 miles (3.2 km) long. The track's turns are banked at fourteen degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at eleven degrees. The back stretch has 3 degrees of banking. The racetrack has seats for 92,100 spectators.


2012 Auto Club 400, Report, Background
Before the race, Greg Biffle was leading the Drivers' Championship with 157 points, nine points ahead of Kevin Harvick in second and twelve ahead of Matt Kenseth. Martin Truex, Jr. followed fourth with 139 points, two ahead of Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in fifth and sixth. Tony Stewart, with 130, was in the seventh position ahead of Clint Bowyer and Joey Logano. Paul Menard rounded out the first ten positions with 123 points. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Ford was first with 25 points, one ahead of Chevrolet and four ahead of Toyota. Dodge was in the fourth positions with 18 points. Kevin Harvick was the race's defending winner from 2011.


2012 Auto Club 400, Report, Practice and qualifying
Three practice sessions were held before the Sunday race—one on Friday and two on Saturday. The first session lasted 90 minutes. The Saturday morning session lasted 50 minutes, and the final practice session lasted 60 minutes. During the first practice session, Bowyer was quickest with a time of 38.896, ahead of Mark Martin and Kasey Kahne in second and third. Brad Keselowski followed in the fourth position, ahead of Hamlin in fifth.


2012 Auto Club 400, Report, Practice and qualifying
During qualifying, forty-six cars were entered, but only forty-three were able to race because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure. Hamlin clinched is tenth career pole position, with a time of 38.626. After his qualifying run, Hamlin commented, "We're four weeks in, and we've had two good weeks and two bad weeks. There's light at the end of the tunnel. I feel like this weekend we've got a little bit more speed than we had in Vegas. We're getting better, and we've got some good stuff coming with our team. We're obviously heading in the right direction." He was joined on the front row of the grid by Kyle Busch. Martin qualified third, Biffle took fourth, and Kahne started fifth. The three drivers that did not qualify were Robby Gordon, Joe Nemechek and Timmy Hill.


2012 Auto Club 400, Report, Practice and qualifying
Hamlin was quickest in the second practice session with a time of 38.706 seconds. Kenseth and Ryan Newman followed in second and third, ahead of Tony Stewart in the fourth position. Kevin Harvick was fifth, less than five-hundredths of a second quicker than Kyle Busch. Keselowski, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, and Kahne rounded out the first ten positions. During the third and final practice session, Hamlin, with a fastest time of 39.553, remained quickest. Jeff Gordon and Bowyer followed in second and third with times of 39.700 and 39.732 seconds. Jamie McMurray was fourth fastest, ahead of Kyle Busch and Johnson. Harvick, Kenseth, Martin Truex, Jr., and Stewart completed the first ten positions during the session.


2012 Auto Club 400, Report, Race
The race, the fifth in the season, began at 3:12 p.m. EDT and was televised live in the United States on Fox. The conditions on the grid were dry before the race while cloudy skies were expected. Jeff Hamilton, of Motor Racing Outreach, began pre-race ceremonies, by giving the invocation. Next, Night Ranger performed the national anthem, and the trio of Sean Hayes, Chris Diamantopoulos, Will Sass (from the film The Three Stooges) gave the command for drivers to start their engines.


2012 Auto Club 400, Report, Race
Pole position winner, Hamlin maintained the lead throughout the first lap, but was overtaken by Kyle Busch on the following lap. As the weather became worse for racing conditions, many teams adjusted their cars during the first set of green flag pit stops. On the 85th lap, Stewart claimed the lead from Kyle Busch. Shortly after, Stewart moved back into the lead ahead of Hamlin and Kyle Busch after pitting.


2012 Auto Club 400, Report, Race
The race ran 250 miles without incident, with the first caution on Lap 125 for rain. During pit stops, Stewart refused to pit, while Hamlin in the second position and a few others did. Also during the caution, Johnson, who had been in the top-ten for most of the race, began having problems with a potential oil leak, causing the smoke to run out of under the car. Afterward, the caution flag turned to a red flag, stalling the race because of the rain shower. Afterward, NASCAR decided the end the race, making Stewart the winner. Kyle Busch finished second, ahead of Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Harvick and Edwards. Biffle, Ryan Newman, Martin Truex, Jr., Kurt Busch, and Johnson rounded out the first ten positions.


2012 Auto Club 400, Report, Race
It was the first time a NASCAR race in the premiership had gone without an incident-related safety car since the October 2002 Talladega race.


2012 Auto GP World Series
The 2012 Auto GP World Series was the third year of the Auto GP series, and the fourteenth season of the former Euroseries 3000. The championship began on 11 March at Monza in Italy and finished on 23 September at Sonoma in the United States, after seven double-header rounds.


2012 Auto GP World Series
Each meeting's sprint race now lasts for a longer duration – a minimum of 90 km (55.9 mi), up from 70 km (43.5 mi) – while also introducing a mandatory pit-stop to the race. The series also introduced an overboost system that has already been used in the FIA Formula Two Championship. The points system for the second race was also amended.


2012 Auto GP World Series
Adrian Quaife-Hobbs won the opening race of the season at Monza after qualifying on pole position by 0.04 seconds. Pål Varhaug finished in second place and returnee Daniël de Jong attained his maiden podium in third. The reverse-grid second race was won by Varhaug, who left the meeting tied for the championship lead with Quaife-Hobbs. Three weeks later at Valencia, Quaife-Hobbs claimed pole again, but was unable to convert pole into another win, losing to Sergey Sirotkin, who became the youngest Auto GP winner, while Varhaug completed the podium. Quaife-Hobbs and Sirotkin continued their battle into the sprint race until an error during Sirotkin's pit-stop ended the battle early. Sirotkin recovered to finish the race in third place behind Quaife-Hobbs – who extended his championship lead with the race win – and Facu Regalia, who scored his first podium.


2012 Auto GP World Series
Two weeks later, the series' first non-European round was held in Morocco, where Sirotkin claimed his first pole position. He made a poor getaway, after being distracted by a marshal at the start. he lost many positions with Varhaug taking the lead. Varhaug was chased by Italian Formula Three champion Sergio Campana, leading until the pit-stop phase. Varhaug stalled in pit lane, losing positions to both Campana and Quaife-Hobbs, with Campana eventually taking his first series win, and the first for Team MLR71, after a close battle with Quaife-Hobbs.


2012 Auto GP World Series
Sirotkin took the lead at the start of the second race, but lost time after his pit-stop, allowing Manor MP Motorsport's Chris van der Drift through to take his first win in the series ahead of Sirotkin. Varhaug, Quaife-Hobbs and Giacomo Ricci battled over the final podium position with Varhaug taking the position on-the-road before receiving a 25-second time penalty post-race for cutting a chicane. Ricci was promoted into third place ahead of Quaife-Hobbs, while Varhaug dropped to seventh and lost ground in the championship, falling behind Sirotkin, who moved into second.


2012 Auto GP World Series, Race calendar and results
A seven-round calendar was published on 23 December 2011, with all rounds supporting World Touring Car Championship events. On 9 March 2012, it was announced that the Portuguese round moved from Estoril to Portimão.


2012 Autopolis GT 300km
The 2012 Autopolis GT 300km was the seventh round of the 2012 Super GT season. It took place on September 30, 2012.


2012 Autumn International Series
The 2012 Autumn International Series is a rugby league tri-series between England, France and Wales.


2012 Avispa Fukuoka season
The 2012 Avispa Fukuoka season sees Avispa Fukuoka return to J.League Division 2 after spending 2011 in J1. This is their non-consecutive 13th season in the second tier since 1991. Avispa Fukuoka are also competing in the 2012 Emperor's Cup.


2012 Avispa Fukuoka season, Players
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2012 Aysén protests
The 2012 Aysén protests were a series of protests that occurred in Aysén Region in central Chilean Patagonia in February 2012.


2012 Aysén protests, Protests
The protests were organized by Movimiento Social por Aysén (Social Movement for Aysén), a leftist organization grouping together 20 other organization including Workers' United Center of Chile, ANEF and Patagonia Sin Represas and local fishermen. The protests centered on demands for subsidies from the national government, even though Aysén already receives a disproportionately high (per capita) level of national subsidies and expenditures for the region. Many of the demands were considered to be contrary to the existing constitution of the country.


2012 Aysén protests, Protests
The protests paralysed air, land, and water transport not only within the region but also into and out of the central Patagonia region, effectively trapping thousands of tourists. Protesters also damaged a Chilean government air ambulance that was being used to evacuate injured people. The protests resulted in hundreds of injuries and several millions of dollars in damage to local industry, personal and commercial property, and public infrastructure. Towards the end of the protests, the national government invoked the national internal security law, which is intended to deal with acts of terrorism against the country.


2012 Aysén protests, Demands
There were also support protests for Aysén by leftist organisations in other Chilean cities like Arica, Viña del Mar, Talca, Concepción and Ancud.


2012 Azorean regional election
The Azores Regional Election (2012) (Portuguese: Eleições Regionais dos Açores, 2012) was an election held on 14 October 2012 for the legislative assembly and government of the Portuguese autonomous region of the Azores. in which the Socialist party nominee, under the leadership of Vasco Cordeiro won an absolute majority with 49% of the vote, in comparison to their direct rivals, the Social Democratic Party (led by Berta Cabral), who achieved only 33% of the vote. Voter turnout was low (although higher than in 2008) with just under 47.9% of the electorate casting their ballot on election day.


2012 Azorean regional election, Electoral system
The Azores regional parliament elects 57 members through a proportional system in which the 9 islands elect a number of MPs proportional to the number of registered voters. MPs are allocated by using the d'Hondt method. 5 members are also elected for a Compensation constituency.


2012 Azorean regional election, Background
The election was called by the President of the Republic, Aníbal Cavaco Silva after consulting with all the parties represented in the Azorean Legislative Assembly. Each of the parties had proposed different dates for these elections, with the Communists and Bloc representatives preferring 21 October 2012, while the Social Democrats favouring 7 or 14 October. The PPM  preferred 30 September, the earliest date that these elections could be undertaken, defending that "the faster the better", although also proposing 7 October, as an alternative.


2012 Azorean regional election, Background
The elections marked the end of a 16 years of consecutive Socialist mandates led by outgoing regional President Carlos Cesar, who had announced his intention not to continue to lead the Socialist Party (PS) on 8 October 2011. In his place, the PS nominated Vasco Cordeiro to represent their party during several months of pre-campaigning against their rivals the Social Democrats (PSD), under the stewardship of then incumbent mayor of Ponta Delgada, Berta Cabral. The election occurred as a culmination of a years round of campaigning that started with the nomination of Vasco Cordeiro to replace the outgoing Carlos Cesar as leader of the party.


2012 Azorean regional election, Background
In 2011, Vasco Cordeiro, who held the position of Secretário Regional da Economia (Regional Secretary for the Economy) renounced his position in the government to dedicate himself to the elections, and was replaced by Luisa Schanderl in that post. Meanwhile, Berta Cabral continued to function as the mayor (Portuguese: Presidente) of Ponta Delgada until the end of July 2012, when she renounced her position in favour of her Vice-Presidente.


2012 Azorean regional election, Background
All 57 deputies of the regional assembly, distributed among the nine islands of the archipelago, were up for renewal. On 23 August 2012, Berta Cabral indicated her parties inclination not to run against the People's Monarchist Party (PPM) on the island of Corvo, where two seats were up for grab. Citing her party's intention to defeat the Socialists using a "winning strategy", the PSD leader advised that the PSD would not run candidates against PPM leader Paulo Estevão. For his part, Estevão noted that this decision did not imply his party's unconditional support of any PSD government.


2012 Azorean regional election, Background
During the campaign, Cybermap Lda., received national and regional publicity when its managing director revealed their involvement in a project to publicize realtime election results over the internet to mobile devices, including smartphones and tablet readers. This was the first time in Portugal that election content would be developed and publicized in realtime during any election, a project that also included information on local candidates, geographic distribution and historical results.


2012 Azorean regional election, Background
On 9 October 2012, the regional public broadcaster, RTP Açores, determined that a regional debate that would bring together leaders of the 12 parties running in the elections was unfeasible. online Citing the lack of agreement between party representatives, the public broadcaster elaborated that the 90-minute two-debate model proposed (which would have two debates, one for parties with assembly representation and another with the remainder of the candidates) resulted in a formal complaint to the Commissão Nacional de Eleições (National Commission for Elections) by representatives from the PDA and MRPP. The option to have all parties in the same debate was unlikely also, since it was contrary to "fundamental basics of journalism or television communication models" and impractical.


2012 Azorean regional election, Issues
The influence of the European financial crisis, and continued latency in the Portuguese economy did not escape the election campaign. The unemployment rate in the Azores had grown to 15.6%, which was above the national rate (15.0%), and 5.9% greater than the same time in 2011. It was predicted that the unemployment rate would reach 16% by 2013. The region is heavily dependent on the public sector-driven economy, and the Government has not reduced, but actually hired more people to the Regional Secretaries (through public competition or through unemployment support programs). These activities have actually hidden the real increase in the unemployment rate, while measures to curtail the rise in public spending and implement austerity measures to reduce the debit did not occur.


2012 Azorean regional election, Issues
An undercurrent of these elections was the state of regional public finances, with the Azorean public debit exceeding 2300 million Euros as of 31 December 2011, in a report issued by the national Inspeção Geral de Finanças (General Inspection of Finances). The report indicated that this figure resulted from debits of the regional administration (427 million Euros), regional public companies (1500 million Euros) and local authories (327 million Euros). In addition to a warning about the regions "actual risk of budgetary slippage", the report also slighted future annual expenditures which would put in risk the state of the regions finances.


2012 Azorean regional election, Issues
These were, specifically, two public-private partnerships worth 1600 million Euros: the SCUT roadway concession, worth 1300 million Euros annually, and  330 million Euros for the Hospital da Terceira. The IGF concluded that "no risk requiring significant support" existed, but that unplanned costs (such as the Regional Health Plan) would require the region to "contain, freeze or reduce" incentives provided in some regional laws, in order to avoid the increase in public spending.


2012 Azorean regional election, Issues
The issue of the region's public finances also influenced continued talk of reinforcing the archipelago's autonomy following a memorandum of understanding signed between the Portuguese and (proposed by) the Azorean Regional Governments, that provided for a 10-year 135 million Euro loan.


2012 Azorean regional election, Issues
Among the requirements of this understanding, the loan was dependent on: the guarantee that the Azores followed the objectives of the Programa de Ajustamento Econónomico e Financeiro (Program for Economic and Financial Adjustment); stabilized public finances; refrain from aggravating public finances (directly or indirectly) through the remuneration of public service employees, the reduction of public servants inline with the objectives of the PAEF; a promise not to create new public-private partnerships that resulted in new financial burdens; an analysis of existing public-partnerships (within three months from the memorandum's signing) as a precondition for funding; regular monthly bulletins on the state of Regional finances, remitted to the Direção-Geral do Orçamento (Directorate-General for the Budget); full cooperation with the Inspecção-Geral de Finanças (General Inspection for Finances); among other details.


2012 Azorean regional election, Issues
Many of the parties protested that agreement was equivalent to transferring the control of the Azores to the Ministry of Finances, requesting a debate on the issue in the Regional Assembly. Berta Cabral, leader of the PSD Açores, although aligned with the national government, cited her willingness to alter the terms of the memorandum if her party was elected.


2012 Azorean regional election, Issues
This stance was criticized by both the CDS-PP and PS leaders the next day, who cited the legality of the document and the desperation on the part of the PSD (stating that the understanding did not demand anything more than what was already required by Regional Finance Laws), respectively.


2012 Azorean regional election, Issues
Nonetheless, the PS leader used his campaign to criticize the national government for policies that "brought more austerity to the Azores", citing measures by Vitor Gaspar (Minister of Finances) following the fifth intervention by the Troika (a tripartite committee led by the European Commission with the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund) delegation.


2012 Azorean regional election, Political parties
A total of 12 political parties resented lists of candidates for the regional elections in the Azores, where 225,211 electors could elect 57 deputies to the Legislative Assembly. Of these parties, some of the more prominent:


2012 Azorean regional election, Political parties
Data released by the Constitutional Courts indicated that the PS was the party with the largest budget, with almost 996,000 Euros in its war-chest, followed by the PSD, with 651,000 Euros, while the PPM was the group with the smallest budget, with only 3,000 Euros. It was anticipated that the PS would spend 261,000 Euros in its campaign; followed by the CDU, with 65,000 Euros; and the CDS-PP, with 61,000 Euros, while the PPM little more than 1,450 Euros.


2012 Azorean regional election, Political parties
The Platforma de Cidadania (the alliance between the PPM and PND), with a global budget of 48,000 Euros, dedicated the majority of their cash reserves to public relation firms and market studies (where they spent 26,000 Euros). For the PSD, which received 350,633 Euros of state subsidies, the highest expenditure item, 180,000 Euros, was devoted to purchase giveaways and other offers. For its part the PDA, the only national party with their headquarters in the Azores, expected to spend 8,000 Euros, with 5,000 Euros for posters and pamphlets in order to elect their first parliamentary seat.


2012 Azorean regional election, Political parties
On 11 September 2012, three of the smaller parties in the regional elections signed a protocol to create a parliamentary coalition around the Plataforma de Cidadnia, in order to galvanize public outrage and disinterest in the mainline candidates. The Plataforma, which included the institutional support of the PPM and PND, would have political autonomy in any legislature it was a part, following strictly the electoral program established by its constituents (who were petitioned to register online).


2012 Azorean regional election, Results
The Socialist Party won these elections, taking eight of the nine islands of the archipelago (except on the island of Graciosa), electing 31 of the 57 regional deputies. The victory marks the fifth consecutive PS government, this time led by new leader Vasco Cordeiro, which was marked specifically by the effects of the austerity program imposed by the Troika and national government. The new president-elect avoided any reference to the economic crisis in Portugal, and focusing more on the "sweet victory" over his competitors.


2012 Azorean regional election, Results
In her concession speech on the night of the PS victory, Berta Cabral assumed personal responsibility for her party's loss, and promised to maintain her position in the assembly, while failing to clarify her intentions to vacate the leadership of the PSD Açores. In the last four regional elections, the regional leaders of the PSD have been removed by its membership, following their defeats in the regional elections.


2012 Azorean regional election, Results
Speaking following the victory of the PS, Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho recognized that the national context, and in particular the austerity measures had interfered in the results (even as he praised the work by the regional deputies and parties). During the campaign Artur Lima counseled the national leader, Paulo Portas, to abandon the coalition with the PSD, while Berta Cabral announced that she would order a vote against the state budget by PSD deputies from the Azores, if the budget confirmed an increase in the IRS or IMI. Passos Coelho was the only national leader of the major parties who did not participate in the campaign, while Paulo Portas limited his interventions to a few hours in Terceira, during a CDS commission-dinner, where he did not talk of national politics and evaded journalists questions.


2012 Azorean regional election, Results
Artur Lima, following the results, indicated his belief that "we expected, [from] the work done by our MPs in Parliament, an increase that was not the case", citing his regret that "the smaller parties such as the CDS do not have the parish nor town councils...nor the equipment on the ground, and this is reflected [in the results]", adding that "the party did not feel, in the streets, it would have this result." CDS-PP national leader Paulo Portas commenting on the regional results took some responsibility for his regional party, citing the effects of the national PSD-CDS government's austerity measures as a contributing factor in the poor performance of the CDS Açores in the elections.


2012 Azorean regional election, Results
This was reaffirmed by the national Left Bloc deputy Luís Fazenda who indicated that the loss of the parties aligned with the national government, served to indicate the unpopularity of the national government's policies on austerity, reiterating that "it should make the Prime Minister rethink [his policies] because this is the first today of several defeats that [he] surely will face...".


2012 Azorean regional election, Results
Following her party's loss of one of their two seats, Zuraida Soares indicated that election resulted in a more bi-polarized concentration in the two mainline parties (PS and PSD), and that her party would continue to "criticise, combat and vote on issues proposal-by-proposal", even as she hoped that the PS government would continue to defend Azorean autonomy and minimize the effects of the Troika.


2012 Azorean regional election, Results
On the other hand, the PCTP/MRPP candidate for São Miguel Pedro Pacheco suggested that the Azorean voters "lost the opportunity to have a voice" and that vote reflected "opportunism", citing the "failure by the voter to see what is happening in the country".


2012 Azorean regional election, Results
Other parties, such as the PDA and Plataforma de Cidadania, were more congratulatory of their election successes. The Partido do Atlantico leader Rui Matos was buoyed by the parties' increase in the popular vote; Matos, who only assumed the leadership of the party within the year, guaranteed that his party would "...continue its work and would take a gamble on the year of local elections". The Plataforma de Cidadania which also did not elect a deputy, cited the David-and-Goliath situation of a new part, but suggested that "...the seed had been sowed..." for future elections. The PTP, which limited its campaigns to Terceira and São Miguel, saw its campaign as a "launching pad for future challenges", even if they did not win a seat in the legislature.


2012 Azorean regional election, Results
The 11th Regional Legislature was invested on 31 October 2012.


2012 Aéro-Service Ilyushin Il-76 crash
On 30 November 2012, an Ilyushin Il-76 freighter aircraft,  operated by the Armenian cargo airline Air Highnesses on behalf of  Congolese cargo airline Aéro-Service, crashed on landing at Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, killing all six occupants and 26 people on the ground.


2012 Aéro-Service Ilyushin Il-76 crash
The aircraft was on a domestic flight from Pointe Noire Airport to Maya-Maya Airport and was attempting to land on runway 5L in heavy rain when it clipped high trees about 1000 meters from the runway threshold, disintegrating over 500 meters. The aircraft caught fire and was destroyed, killing all five Armenian crew and an Armenian policeman present on board, as well as 26 local residents, injuring a further 14. The aircraft was initially mistakenly attributed to Trans Air Congo.


2012 Aéro-Service Ilyushin Il-76 crash, Investigation
In February 2013, the Russian Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) received the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder for analysis on behalf of the Ministry of Transport of Congo, and is  working to download the data.


2012 BB&T Atlanta Open
The 2012 BB&T Atlanta Open was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the 25th edition of the tournament which was part of the 2012 ATP World Tour. It took place at Atlantic Station in Atlanta, United States between 16 and 22 July 2012. It was the men's first event of the 2012 US Open Series.


2012 BB&T Atlanta Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2012 BB&T Atlanta Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received entry as a special exempt into the singles main draw:


2012 BB&T Atlanta Open, Doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2012 BB&T Atlanta Open, Champions, Doubles
Matthew Ebden /  Ryan Harrison defeated  Xavier Malisse /  Michael Russell, 6–3, 3–6, [10–6]


2012 BB&T Atlanta Open – Doubles
Alex Bogomolov, Jr. and Matthew Ebden were the defending champions but decided not to participate together. Bogomolov played alongside Gilles Müller but withdrew before the second round because of a shoulder injury, while Ebden partnered up with Ryan Harrison to successfully defend the title against Xavier Malisse and Michael Russell with 6–3, 3-6, [10–6] in the final.


2012 BB&T Atlanta Open – Singles
Mardy Fish was the defending champion, but had to retire in his second round match against Gilles Müller.


2012 BB&T Atlanta Open – Singles
Andy Roddick won the title, defeating Müller in the final, 1–6, 7–6(7–2), 6–2.


2012 BB&T Atlanta Open – Singles, Seeds
The top four seeds receive a bye into the second round.


2012 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award
The 2012 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, presented on 16 December, was the 59th presentation of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. Awarded annually by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the main titular award honours an individual's British sporting achievement over the past year, with the winner selected by public vote from a 12-person shortlist.


2012 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award
The winner of the 2012 award was Bradley Wiggins, the Tour de France and Olympic time trial champion. The awards ceremony was hosted at ExCeL London, which had been a venue for several sports during the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.


2012 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, Basis of nominations
Prior to 2012, a panel of thirty sports journalists each submit a list of ten contenders. From these contenders a shortlist of ten nominees is determined—currently, in the event of a tie at the end of the nomination process, a panel of six former award winners determined the nominee by a Borda count. The shortlist was announced at the beginning of December, and the winner was determined on the night of the ceremony by a public telephone vote.


2012 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, Basis of nominations
In 2011 the shortlist produced only contained male competitors, which caused media uproar. The selection process for contenders was changed for the 2012 (and future) awards as follows:


2012 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, Basis of nominations
The BBC introduced an expert panel who were asked to devise a shortlist that reflected UK sporting achievements on the national and/or international stage, represented the breadth and depth of UK sports and took into account "impact" within and beyond the sport or sporting achievement in question.


2012 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, Basis of nominations
The panel would endeavour to produce a shortlist based on reaching a consensus view. If a consensus view cannot be reached on all or some of the candidates, then they will be asked to vote for the remaining candidates.


2012 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, Basis of nominations
In 2012, following the success of the London 2012 Olympic Games, the SPOTY shortlist was expanded to 12 contenders.


2012 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, Nominees
The nominees for the 2012 award, as described by the BBC, and their share of the votes cast were as follows:


2012 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, Voting process
The winner was decided by a public vote on the night of the awards ceremony. Unlike past years the voting opened after every contender has shown a video of them achieving in their sport, not at the beginning of the show.


2012 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, Other awards
In addition to the main award as "Sports Personality of the Year", several other awards were also announced:


2012 BBL Champions Cup
The 2012 BBL Champions Cup was the seventh edition of the super cup game in German basketball, and was played on September 30, 2012. The game was played in the Brose Arena in Bamberg. Defending BBL champions Brose Baskets took on ratiopharm Ulm, that qualified as the runner-up in the BBL-Pokal last season.


2012 BBVA Compass Bowl
The 2012 BBVA Compass Bowl, the sixth edition of the game, was a post-season American college football bowl game, held on January 7, 2012, at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, as part of the 2011–12 NCAA Bowl season. The game, which was telecast at 12:00 p.m. CT on ESPN, featured the SMU Mustangs of Conference USA versus the Pittsburgh Panthers of the Big East Conference. This was Pittsburgh's second consecutive appearance in the game, and just as in the previous contest the Panthers were led by an interim head coach, Keith Patterson, after Todd Graham resigned on December 13, 2011.


2012 BBVA Compass Bowl, Teams
Pittsburgh and SMU met for the first time in 29 years in this BBVA Compass Bowl, which normally pairs a Big East conference team against a team from the Southeastern Conference. The SEC conference did not have enough bowl-eligible teams this season and the SMU football team was selected by the organizers to play in the bowl. Pittsburgh and SMU had met five times previously, the last time at the 1983 Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Day, when the Mustangs won 7–3.


2012 BC Lions season
The 2012 BC Lions season was the 55th season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 59th overall. The Lions finished the season in 1st place in the West Division for the second consecutive year with a 13–5 record. The Lions attempted to repeat as Grey Cup champions for the first time in franchise history, but lost the West Final to the Calgary Stampeders. The Lions also began the season with a new head coach for the first time since 2003, after long-time head coach Wally Buono resigned to focus on his duties as general manager.


2012 BC Lions season, Offseason, CFL Draft
The 2012 CFL Draft took place on May 3, 2012, live at 12:00 PM PDT.The Lions had four selections in the draft, after trading for another first round pick, trading away their second and fourth round picks, and forfeiting their sixth round pick. The Lions further traded up in the draft to select Jabar Westerman with the second overall pick. BC followed that with two offensive linemen (Kirby Fabien and Matt Norman) with their first and third round picks, before selecting linebacker Jordan Verdone in the fifth round.


2012 BCR Open Romania Ladies
The 2012 BCR Open Romania Ladies was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 6th edition of the tournament and was part of the 2012 ITF Women's Circuit. It took place in Bucharest, Romania between 16 and 22 July 2012.


2012 BCR Open Romania Ladies, WTA entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2012 BCR Open Romania Ladies – Doubles
Irina-Camelia Begu and Elena Bogdan were the defending champions, but they did not partner up together. Begu partnered up with Alizé Cornet and successfully defended her title defeating Elena Bogdan and Raluca Olaru in the final 6–2, 6–0.


2012 BCR Open Romania Ladies – Singles
Irina-Camelia Begu was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals against Garbiñe Muguruza.


2012 BCR Open Romania Ladies – Singles
María-Teresa Torró-Flor won the title defeating Garbiñe Muguruza in the final 6–3, 4–6, 6–4.


2012 BCS National Championship Game
The 2012 Allstate BCS National Championship Game was a postseason college football bowl game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the LSU Tigers, and determined the national champion of the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season on Monday, January 9, 2012, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The game was part of the 2011–2012 Bowl Championship Series and a rematch of regular season foes.


2012 BCS National Championship Game
Alabama beat LSU 21–0 to win their 14th national championship, marking the first shutout in a national championship game since the 1992 Orange Bowl and the first ever shutout in a BCS bowl game. The game had the third-lowest TV rating, 14.01, in the 14-year history of the BCS National Championship game.


2012 BCS National Championship Game
It was LSU's first loss in a game played in New Orleans (which is near the LSU campus in Baton Rouge) since the 1987 Sugar Bowl. From 1987 through the 2011 regular season, LSU was 4-0 in bowl games in New Orleans (three Sugar Bowls and the 2008 BCS National Championship Game) and 5-0 in the city vs. Tulane.


2012 BCS National Championship Game, Teams
LSU was selected to participate in the BCS National Championship Game after a 13–0 regular season that culminated with a 42–10 win over the University of Georgia in the 2011 SEC Championship Game. Alabama was picked as the other half of the match-up following an 11–1 campaign, with their only loss coming against LSU in overtime during the regular season. Over the following weeks, a series of upsets resulted in the Crimson Tide receiving a No. 2 ranking in the final BCS Rankings to qualify for the championship game.


2012 BCS National Championship Game, Teams
The selection of Alabama was controversial, and decried by writers such as Rick Reilly, and by fans who claimed other opponents, most prominently the Oklahoma State Cowboys (who finished second in most of the computer rankings), were more deserving of a spot in the game. The controversy lent support to the ever-increasing call for a college football playoff and supposed SEC bias, specifically with regard to Alabama. Ironically, it was the conferences whose teams finished 3rd and 4th (the Big 12 and the Pac-12) who had rejected the SEC's proposal for a 4-team playoff system in 2008.


2012 BCS National Championship Game, Teams
This game was the first time in the 14-year history of the BCS that the National Championship Game featured two teams from the same conference, let alone the same division (similar to what happened in the 2011 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament six months prior, featuring two teams from the SEC East division, although that match-up came about through a playoff).


2012 BCS National Championship Game, Teams
This was also the first time that the BCS National Championship Game was a rematch from a regular season game, although the 1996 season's Bowl Alliance National Championship game was also a rematch, when Florida defeated Florida State 52–20 for the national title in the 1997 Sugar Bowl. As a result of the matchup, the SEC's streak of producing the BCS champion was assured of extending to six straight seasons.


2012 BCS National Championship Game, Teams, Alabama
Alabama was ranked first in rushing with 219.83 yards per game and in total defense (191.25 ypg), including scoring defense (8.83), rushing (74.92 yards per game) and passing (116.33 yards per game). Key players for the Crimson Tide were RB Trent Richardson (164.67 yards per game, 1583 rushing yards), OT Barrett Jones (Outland Trophy recipient), LB Courtney Upshaw (17 tackles for losses and 8.5 sacks), and S Mark Barron (66 total tackles, 42 solos).


2012 BCS National Championship Game, Teams, LSU
LSU ranked first in the conference in scoring offense (38.46) and second in the nation in total defense (252.08 yards). The Tigers averaged 375.31 yards per game with 215.15 yards in rushing and 160.15 yards in passing. The leaders of this team were CB Tyrann Mathieu (Chuck Bednarik Award recipient), CB Morris Claiborne (Jim Thorpe Award recipient, six interceptions for 173 yards, 1 TD and 6th overall draft pick), DE Sam Montgomery (13 tackles for loss, 9 sacks for −55 yards), WR Rueben Randle (53 receptions, 917 yards, and 8 TD's) and P Brad Wing (44.14 punt average).


2012 BCS National Championship Game, Starting lineups
Selected in an NFL Draft   (number corresponds to draft round)


2012 BCS National Championship Game, Game summary
Alabama won the coin toss with a call of "tails" and elected to defer their decision to the second half.


2012 BCS National Championship Game, Game summary
The game, largely a defensive struggle, was epitomized by LSU's first possession of the game. The Tigers fumbled the ball on the opening play and ultimately ended up punting the football to Alabama after failing to gain a first down. The rest of the first half was dominated by both defenses. Alabama got within field goal range four times and kicker Jeremy Shelley made three of his attempts to give Alabama a 9–0 lead at halftime. LSU gained only one first down and was unable to cross the 50-yard line for the entire first half.


2012 BCS National Championship Game, Game summary
The second half played out much the same as the first. Alabama's defense allowed LSU to cross the 50-yard line only once and gave up only four more first downs. Alabama was able to add 6 more points from a couple of Shelley field goals and another 6 points on the game's only touchdown on a 34-yard rush by Heisman Trophy finalist Trent Richardson.


2012 BDO World Darts Championship
The 2012 Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship was the 35th BDO World Darts Championship organised by the British Darts Organisation, and the 27th staging at the Lakeside Country Club at Frimley Green. It ran from 7–15 January. Martin Adams was the defending men's champion, having won the title for the third time in the previous year's final against Dean Winstanley. The defending women's champion was Trina Gulliver, who won her ninth title in the 2011 final against Rhian Edwards.


2012 BDO World Darts Championship
Neither champion was able to defend their title as Adams lost his quarter-final against Tony O'Shea and Gulliver her semi-final against Anastasia Dobromyslova. Dobromyslova then beat Deta Hedman in the final to win her second world championship title. O'Shea was defeated by unseeded qualifier Christian Kist, who was making his début in the tournament, 7–5 in the final. It was the first time that neither champion was from Great Britain (Christian Kist from the Netherlands and Anastasia Dobromyslova from Russia), despite both losing finalists coming from England (Tony O'Shea and Deta Hedman).


2012 BDO World Darts Championship
Players from five countries including a record number of eight Dutch players took part in the tournament.


2012 BDO World Darts Championship, Format and qualifiers, Men's
The televised stages featured 32 players. The top 16 players in the WDF/BDO rankings over the 2010/11 season were seeded for the tournament.


2012 BDO World Darts Championship, Format and qualifiers, Men's
The 32 players who qualified for invitation into the first round proper of the men's singles were:


2012 BDO World Darts Championship, Format and qualifiers, Women's
The televised stages featured 8 players. The top 4 players in the WDF/BDO rankings over the 2010/11 season were seeded for the tournament.


2012 BDO World Darts Championship, Prize money
The prize money was £258,000 for the men's event and £16,000 for the women's event.


2012 BDO World Darts Championship, Prize money
There was also a shared 9 Dart Checkout prize of £52,000, along with a High Checkout prize of £3,000 per event.


2012 BDO World Darts Championship, Results bracket
The draw for the tournament was made on 7 November 2011 live on ESPN.


2012 BDO World Darts Championship, Statistics, Men
Last updated: 13 January 2011Source: Match reports from the main draw


2012 BDO World Darts Championship, Statistics, Women
Last updated: 13 January 2011Source: Match reports from the main draw


2012 BDO World Darts Championship, Broadcasting
The tournament was broadcast jointly in the UK by the BBC and ESPN. The BBC broadcast the afternoon session of the opening weekend, afternoon highlights from 9 to 13 January, the first semi final and the final. ESPN broadcast the evening session of the opening weekend, round two matches, the quarter finals, the second semi final and highlights of the final. The BBC's coverage was presented by Colin Murray with Bobby George being the pundit. ESPN's coverage was presented by Ray Stubbs and Nat Coombs. Commentary on both channels came from David Croft, Tony Green and Vassos Alexander. The tournament was also screened on Eurosport and Eurosport Asia in 99 other countries.