2012 Luzon southwest monsoon floods, August 7, City of Manila
The rain triggered several monsoon surges, which again flooded Roxas Boulevard and submerged the Quezon Boulevard Claro M. Recto Underpass in Quiapo and the Lagusnilad-Taft Avenue Underpass on Padre Burgos Street. Waist-high water flooded Manila City Hall, destroying files and documents.


2012 Luzon southwest monsoon floods, August 7, Government response
In response to the flooding, the NDRRMC allocated about ₱13 million (US$311,000) in relief funds and deployed 202 people to assist in search-and-rescue operations; however, the operations were hampered by strong currents in flooded streets. President Benigno Aquino III ordered officials to maximize efforts to rescue and aid affected residents.


2012 Luzon southwest monsoon floods, August 7, San Juan and Santa Mesa
The San Juan River flooded Santa Mesa and San Juan, including the UERM Hospital; several floors were submerged, and staff and patients experienced shortages of food and medicine. Patients were moved to the upper floors for their safety.


2012 Luzon southwest monsoon floods, August 8
On August 8, more than a million families were affected. Metro Manila and nine nearby provinces in Luzon were under a state of calamity, with some areas flooded up to the second storey; seventy to ninety percent of Metro Manila was affected by flooding. Communications were heavily affected; distress calls and text messages from thousands of Metro Manila residents and their families flooded television and radio stations, since most power and water were interrupted.


2012 Luzon southwest monsoon floods, August 8
Although a red warning was downgraded to yellow during the morning, it was upgraded to red until midnight August 9 that afternoon after another round of heavy rain; some schools extended their suspension of classes. Airports also had severe flooding, cancelling flights or diverting them to Clark International Airport in Pampanga and other airports.


2012 Luzon southwest monsoon floods, August 8
Some areas of Metro Manila were submerged up to 3 m (9.8 ft); city officials evacuated over 23,000 residents from flood-prone areas, moving them to shelters. According to a BBC News correspondent, many residents were reluctant to leave their belongings behind and some returned through floodwaters to retrieve their possessions. Officials feared that flooding could worsen as the La Mesa Dam continued to overflow.


2012 Luzon southwest monsoon floods, Aftermath
Throughout the Philippines a total of 89 people were confirmed dead, with seven listed as missing. A total of 8,428 homes were destroyed, and another 6,706 damaged. Losses throughout the country totaled at least ₱604.63 million (US$14.31 million).


2012 M-1 Challenge season
The 2012 M-1 Challenge season was the fifth season of mixed martial arts (MMA) fighting presented by the M-1 Global promotion. The first event of the year, M-1 Challenge 31, was held on March 16, 2012 at the Ice Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia.


2012 M-1 Challenge season, Event summaries, M-1 Challenge 31
M-1 Challenge 31: Oleinik vs. Monson was held on March 16, 2012 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. In the main event, Alexander Emelianenko defeated Tadas Rimkevičius officially by technical knockout at 1:52 of the second round. Reports say that the first round of the fight was fairly even, though Emelianenko was able to drop his opponent late in the round. During the second round, Rimkevičius tapped out to the punches coming from Emelianenko.


2012 M-1 Challenge season, Event summaries, M-1 Challenge 31
The M-1 Global Welterweight Championship was won by Rashid Magomedov from Yasubey Enomoto after a five round unanimous decision victory. In another featured bout, Jeff Monson faced Alexey Oleinik where Monson won a split decision victory.


2012 M-1 Challenge season, Event summaries, M-1 Challenge 32
M-1 Challenge 32 is expected to be held on May 16, 2012 in Moscow, Russia. The event will include a Lightweight Championship bout in which Daniel Weichel will attempt to defend his title against Yuri Ivlev. But Yuri is injured arm and suffered a bout on June 21


2012 M-1 Challenge season, Event summaries, M-1 Challenge 33
M-1 Challenge 33: Emelianenko vs. Magomedov was held on June 6, 2012 in Dzheyrakhsky District, Russia.


2012 M-1 Challenge season, Event summaries, M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Rizzo
On April 6, 2012, Evgeni Kogan, Director of Global operations for M-1 Global, announced that the promotion will hold an event on June 21, 2012 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. At this event, Fedor Emelianenko must face with Pedro Rizzo.


2012 M-1 Challenge season, Event summaries, M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Rizzo
On June 21, 2012 in St. Petersburg, Russia, Fedor Emelianenko faced three-time UFC heavyweight title contender Pedro Rizzo in an event promoted by M-1 Global. Prior to the bout, it was rumored that Fedor would retire after taking on Rizzo. Originally denying any possible rumors of retirement at first, Emelianenko later announced his retirement in-ring post-fight after defeating Rizzo by knockout in the first two minutes of the first round.


2012 M-1 Challenge season, Event summaries, M-1 Challenge 34
M-1 Challenge 34: Emelianenko vs. Glukhov was held on September 30, 2012 in Moscow, Russia


2012 M-1 Challenge season, Event summaries, M- 1 Challenge 35
M-1 Challenge 35: Emelianenko vs. Monson was held on November 15, 2012 in Ice Palace, Saint Petersburg, Russia.


2012 M-1 Challenge season, Event summaries, M-1 Challenge 36
M-1 Challenge 36: Garner vs. Guram II was held in December 8, 2012 in Mytishchi Arena, Mytishchi, Russia.


2012 M-League Division 1
The 2012 M*League Division 1 was the sixth season of top-flight football in Northern Marianas Islands. The league was divided into two parts, the Winter League and the Fall League. The Winter League was won by IFC Wild Bills, and the Fall League was won by Tan Holdings FC


2012 M-League Division 1, Spring League
The Spring league was played in a normal league format, each team played the others twice and the team in first place following the completion of all games won the championship.


2012 M-League Division 1, Spring League, League table
The precise results for this season was a normal league format in which each team played the others twice.


2012 M-League Division 1, Spring League, Results
The scores for rounds five and nine are not known, although it is known that Inter Saipan, FC Arirang and Onwell beat Ol' Aces, Multinational and Independents respectively in round five and that Inter Saipan beat Multinational while Onwell drew with FC Aririang in round six. The result of the match between Independents and Ol' Aces in round nine is not known while none of the results in round ten are known.


2012 M-League Division 1, Fall League
The Fall League consisted of a reduced number of teams, with only Inter Saipan (competing under their new name of Inter Godfather's) and Multinational FC from the Spring League choosing to compete. Wild Bill's and Pacific Telecom, who competed in the previous season also competed, with Pacific Telecom competing under the name MP United - PTI. A group stage was held to confirm who would play whom in the semi finals.


2012 M-League Division 1, Fall League, Group Stage
The results of the group stage are not known, it is also not known whether teams played each other once or twice.


2012 MAAC Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2012 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament took place from March 2–5, 2012 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts. The tournament will be held in Springfield through 2014. The tournament was previously held at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The winner of the tournament receives the conference's automatic bid into the 2012 NCAA Tournament.


2012 MAAC Men's Basketball Tournament
On Monday, March 5, Loyola (MD) defeated Fairfield 48–44 to clinch the title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Loyola received a #15 seed and were defeated by #2 seed Ohio State 78–59.


2012 MAAC Men's Basketball Tournament
Iona also received an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. They played in the #14 seed First Four game against BYU. BYU set a record for the largest comeback in an NCAA tournament game, as they were down by 25 points at one point and came back to beat Iona 78–72. The largest previous deficit overcome in the tournament was 22 points by Duke against Maryland in the 2001 national semifinals.


2012 MAAC Men's Soccer Tournament
The 2012 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament was the conference's 24th edition of the tournament. The tournament began on November 8 and ended on November 10.


2012 MAAC Men's Soccer Tournament
The Fairfield Stags were the defending champions. For the 2012 edition of the tournament, the field size was reduced from 10 participants to four. The winner was Niagara University.


2012 MAC Championship Game
The 2012 Marathon MAC Championship Game was an American football game held on November 30, 2012 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan between the West Division champion Northern Illinois Huskies and the East Division champion Kent State Golden Flashes to determine the Mid-American Conference (MAC) champion. This is the first time since 2003 that both teams entered the game ranked in the BCS standings, AP Poll, and Coaches' Poll.


2012 MAC Championship Game
The pre-game buildup focused primarily on the two high-powered offenses, both of which were led by strong rushing attacks. The rushing attacks differed; Northern Illinois' was led by junior quarterback Jordan Lynch, who finished fourth in the nation in rushing, while Kent State's was led by a running back tandem consisting of Dri Archer and Trayion Durham. The opening line favored Northern Illinois by seven points. After being tied at the end of regulation, the game went into two overtime periods and eventually concluded with Northern Illinois winning 44–37. The Huskies were subsequently invited to the 2013 Orange Bowl.


2012 MAC Championship Game, Potential BCS implications
Multiple media outlets speculated that if Kent State won, it could earn a BCS bowl bid. Under then-current BCS rules, the highest-ranked team from outside the six "AQ" conferences received an automatic at-large BCS bid if it was (1) in the top 16 of the final BCS rankings and (2) ranked higher than at least one champion of an AQ conference.


2012 MAC Championship Game, Potential BCS implications
Kent State had entered the weekend of November 24 ranked 23rd in the BCS standings, but after every team ranked between 15 and 21 lost that day, the Golden Flashes rose to 17th in the November 25 rankings, with Northern Illinois rising to 21st. At the same time, no team from the Big East, which had an automatic place in a BCS bowl, was in the top 25. The teams ranked immediately ahead and behind Kent State, UCLA and Texas, had to play higher-ranked teams on the road during the championship weekend.


2012 MAC Championship Game, Potential BCS implications
UCLA visited 8th ranked Stanford in the Pac-12 Championship Game, and Texas visited sixth-ranked Kansas State to end both teams' regular seasons. Because of Northern Illinois' ranking entering the game, it had not been initially thought that the Huskies would be able to jump into the top 16 with a win, even with losses by UCLA and Texas.


2012 MAC Championship Game, Potential BCS implications
Both UCLA and Texas would lose their respective games; also, Nebraska, which had entered the Big Ten Championship Game at No. 12 in the BCS, was blown out 70–31 by a Wisconsin team that entered the game at 7–5. All of this opened the door for the winner of the MAC game to enter the top 16. Northern Illinois won and vaulted to #15 in the BCS Standings, earning a spot in the 2013 Orange Bowl. The berth was the first ever for a MAC team in a BCS game, and was also the first BCS berth ever for a one-loss non-AQ team.


2012 MAC Championship Game, Potential BCS implications
Kent State was invited to the GoDaddy.com Bowl, their first bowl game appearance since the 1972 Tangerine Bowl.


2012 MAC Championship Game, Pre-game buildup, Northern Illinois, Offense
Northern Illinois finished tenth in the nation in total offense, finishing the season with 6,574 total yards. Their success can largely be attributed to their star quarterback, junior Jordan Lynch,  who achieved first-team all-MAC honors and was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Year. He finished in the top-30 nationally in passing yards, touchdowns, completion percentage, and passer rating. Perhaps Lynch's best contribution, however, was in the rushing game, where he amassed 1815 yards which was fourth in the country, and best among quarterbacks.


2012 MAC Championship Game, Pre-game buildup, Northern Illinois, Offense
Two other running backs, both juniors, made contributions in the rushing game as well: Leighton Settle and Akeem Daniels. His leading receiver was senior Martel Moore who, during the season, became the first Northern Illinois receiver to surpass 1,000 yards receiving since 2005, and led the team with 75 receptions for 1,083 yards. The Huskies' offensive line was anchored by left tackle Tyler Loos, who achieved second-team all-conference accolades.


2012 MAC Championship Game, Pre-game buildup, Northern Illinois, Defense
Coordinated by Jay Niemann, the Huskies' defense was led by linemen Alan Baxter and Sean Progar, who totaled 9.5 and 8.5 sacks respectively,  as well as defensive back Jimmie Ward, all of whom achieved all-conference honors. Northern Illinois finished tied for tenth in the country with 38 sacks on the season. In total, Northern Illinois gave up 19.9 points, ranking 21st in the country.


2012 MAC Championship Game, Pre-game buildup, Kent State, Offense
Kent State was led primarily by junior running back Dri Archer, who achieved first team all-MAC accolades. Archer, who is 5'8" (1.73 m) and 164 pounds (74 kg), totaled 1429 yards and 16 touchdowns, both of which ranked in the top-20 in the FBS. Archer was described by SBNation.com's Mike Breese as a "dynamic do-it-all performer". Kent State's other first-team all-conference performer was senior offensive guard Brian Winters. The Golden Flashes' quarterback was senior Spencer Keith, who threw 12 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in total. Their potent rushing attack had an additional member, Trayion Durham, who achieved third-team all-MAC by rushing for 1316 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns on the season. The Golden Flashes' leading receiver was also Archer. Their leading wide receiver was a freshman, Josh Boyle.


2012 MAC Championship Game, Pre-game buildup, Kent State, Defense
Despite a lackluster performance throughout the season in terms of total defense (where they finished 74th) and scoring defense (where they finished 44th), they did create the second-most turnovers in the country with 38 which trailed only Oregon. From an individual perspective, junior safety Luke Wollet led the team with four interceptions and achieved second-team all-MAC honors. For the third consecutive season, defensive lineman Roosevelt Nix achieved first-team all-conference honors. During the season, he totaled 6 sacks as well as 15 tackles for loss.


2012 MAC Championship Game, Game summary, Game notes, First quarter
Northern Illinois got the ball to start the game and, after three plays totaling three yards, were forced to punt, going three-and-out. Kent State's first drive also resulted in a three-and-out. The Huskies took over at their own 14 on the ensuing drive and managed to achieve one first down prior to having to punt. The first scoring drive occurred for the Golden Flashes on their second drive, but they were aided by Huskies' punt returner Angelo Sebastiano fumbling a Kent State punt. They took advantage of the mistake and ultimately scored on a 15-yard touchdown run by Dri Archer. After the Huskies failed to score on their next drive, Kent State capitalized again on a 37-yard field goal by Freddy Cortez. The final drive of the first quarter lasted 14 plays for 65 yards and ended in a Mathew Sims 27-yard field goal.


2012 MAC Championship Game, Game summary, Game notes, Second quarter
Kent State went three-and-out on their first drive of the second quarter. Northern Illinois' ensuing drive capitalized on their strong field position (their own 41-yard line) by executing a 6-play, 59-yard drive that culminated in a 14-yard pass from Jordan Lynch to Martel Moore that tied the game at 10. Kent State committed another miscue on their next drive, throwing an interception to Dechane Durante. Northern Illinois again capitalized, this time with a 12-play, 58-yard drive culminating with a 1-yard rush by Akeem Daniels. That drive would be the final scoring drive of the half, at which the score was Northern Illinois Huskies 17, Kent State Golden Flashes 10.


2012 MAC Championship Game, Game summary, Game notes, Third quarter
Since NIU got the ball to start the game, Kent State got it to start the second half and got the ball at their own 47 after a 28-yard return by Josh Boyle. Kent State got the ball into the red zone, but ultimately settled for a field goal which cut NIU's lead to 4 points. Northern Illinois' prolific offense continued their scoring by executing a 10-play, 75-yard drive highlighted by a 44-yard run by Lynch on a 4th and 1. Lynch would run it into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown three plays later. After the Golden Flashes went three-and-out, the Huskies scored, this time via a 29-yard field goal by Sims.


2012 MAC Championship Game, Game summary, Game notes, Fourth quarter
After Kent State turned the ball over on downs, Northern Illinois, for the first time in the second half, did not score and punted the ball away. Kent State began a comeback on their ensuing drive via a 5-yard touchdown drive Spencer Keith, making the score 27-20. Northern Illinois' next drive lasted only one play, a fumble by Jordan Lynch that was returned by Kent State defender Zack Hitchens for a touchdown. After Cortez made the extra point, the game was tied at 27. The Huskies got back on track by scoring a touchdown, a 9-yard run by Lynch, but the Golden Flashes responded with one of their own, a 19-yard pass from Keith to Tim Erjavec. At the end of regulation, the score was tied at 34.


2012 MAC Championship Game, Game summary, Game notes, Overtime
Per NCAA overtime rules, each team got the ball at their own 25-yard line for one drive. In the first overtime period, Kent State got the ball down to the NIU 5 before kicking a 33-yard field goal. Northern Illinois responded with a field goal of their own, a 40-yarder by Sims. After the first overtime, the score was tied at 37. NIU got the ball to start the second overtime, and took only two plays to score a touchdown: a 23-yard run by Akeem Daniels followed by a 2-yard run by Lynch, his third touchdown of the game. Kent State then had to score a touchdown in order to force the game to a third overtime. They were unsuccessful in doing so, however, as on 4th and 8, Keith threw an interception, thus ending the game with the Northern Illinois Huskies victorious by a score of 44-37.


2012 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2012 Mid-American Conference men's basketball tournament is the post-season basketball tournament for the Mid-American Conference (MAC) 2011–12 college basketball season. The winner of the tournament receives the MAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship tournament.


2012 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
The format for the conference tournament has been modified for this season. The new format seeds the tournament by rewarding the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds with a bye into the semifinal round, while the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds will receive a bye to the quarterfinal round. Seeding will be determined by winning percentage in conference games, regardless of division. First round games will be played on campus sites at the higher seed. The remaining rounds will be held at Quicken Loans Arena.


2012 MAC Men's Soccer Tournament
The 2012 Mid-American Conference Men's Soccer Tournament was the 20th edition of the four-team tournament. The tournament decided the Mid-American Conference champion and guaranteed representative into the 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. The tournament was aheld from November 9–11, 2012 with the higher seed hosting each match.


2012 MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships
The 2012 MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships was the 15th and final race of the 2012 IndyCar Series season. The event took place on September 15, at the 2.000-mile (3.219 km) Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. It was the first IndyCar race at this facility since 2005, the first 500-mile open-wheel race outside Indianapolis since the CART-sanctioned 2002 The 500 at Fontana, and the first 500-mile IndyCar Series race outside Indianapolis.


2012 MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships
The race, originally scheduled for 400 miles (200 laps), as was the case for the 2002–05 IndyCar races at Auto Club Speedway, reverted to the classic 500 mile, 250-lap distance used at the Ontario Motor Speedway for major races and both the six CART FedEx Championship Series races (1997–2002) and the first 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup races (1997–2010) held at Auto Club Speedway. Attendance at the event was estimated to be 25,000 to 30,000 people.


2012 MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships, Report, Qualifying
Marco Andretti took his first pole position since Milwaukee in 2008 with a two lap average speed of 216.069 mph (347.729 km/h). Over half the field incurred 10-place grid penalties for engine changes, most for an unapproved engine change – engines must clock 1850 miles before they be changed without penalty – however both championship contenders Will Power and Ryan Hunter-Reay incurred a penalty for exceeding the five engine limit for the year, both of whom fit their sixth Chevrolet engine.


2012 MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships, Classification, Race results
Points include 1 point for pole position and 2 points for most laps led.


2012 MBC Drama Awards
The 2012 MBC Drama Awards (Korean: MBC 연기대상) is a ceremony honoring the outstanding achievement in television on the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) network for the year of 2012. It was held on December 30, 2012 and hosted by actor Kim Jaewon and actress Son Dam-bi.


2012 MEAC Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2012 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament took place on March 5–10, 2012 at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Norfolk State won the tournament and received an automatic bid into the 2012 NCAA Tournament. The 2012 championship game will be televised on ESPN2 at 1:00 PM eastern on March 10. This will be the final year in Winston-Salem, as the Tournament will move to Norfolk, VA beginning in 2013.


2012 MEAC Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
With Savannah State and North Carolina Central now in the MEAC as full Division I members, the MEAC will have a new format for the 2012 tournament. The top three seeds will receive a first round bye.


2012 MFF Cup
The MFF Digicel Cup 2012 was the 2012 edition of the MFF Cup. The winner qualified for the 2013 AFC Cup.


2012 MLS All-Star Game
The 2012 Major League Soccer All-Star Game, held on July 25, 2012, was the 17th annual Major League Soccer All-Star Game, a soccer match involving all-stars from Major League Soccer. The game was played at PPL Park, now known as Subaru Park, in Chester, Pennsylvania, the first time an all-star event was played in the Philadelphia area since the 2002 NBA All-Star Game.


2012 MLS All-Star Game
The game featured the MLS All-Stars against Premier League team Chelsea, who were the FA Cup and European Champions League holders. Chelsea made their 2nd appearance in the MLS All-Star Game; the Blues were visiting side in the 2006 MLS All-Star Game at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois, losing to the MLS XI 1–0.


2012 MLS All-Star Game
Piotr Nowak, the coach of the Philadelphia Union (the All-Star Game's host), was originally announced to coach the MLS All-Stars. After Nowak was dismissed from the Union on June 13, MLS chose D.C. United coach and Pennsylvania native Ben Olsen to coach the All-Stars.


2012 MLS All-Star Game
A tracking system was worn by each player to monitor heart rate, intensity of play, speed, distance covered and other personal characteristics in real-time.


2012 MLS All-Star Game, Rosters, MLS All-Stars
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2012 MLS All-Star Game, Rosters, MLS All-Stars
♦ - Players selected by MLS Commissioner Don Garber* - Injured and unavailable for matchday** - Added as a replacement for Heath Pearce% - Promoted from the Inactive Roster to the Active Roster to fulfill Chelsea's request that the number of substitutes be increased from seven to ten. ♥ - "Inactive Roster" players voted for by other players in MLS


2012 MLS All-Star Game, Rosters, Chelsea
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2012 MLS All-Star Game, Match, Details
Volkswagen MLS All-Star MVP: Chris Pontius (MLS All-Stars)Assistant referees: (Ian Anderson) (Greg Barkey)Fourth official: (Jorge González)


2012 MLS Cup Playoffs
The 2012 MLS Cup Playoffs was the seventeenth post-season tournament culminating the Major League Soccer regular season. The tournament began on October 31, and culminated on December 1, 2012 with MLS Cup 2012, the seventeenth league championship for MLS, won by the Los Angeles Galaxy 3-1 over Houston Dynamo. It was the second year that the playoffs included ten teams, and the first playoff series since 2006 in which teams could not cross conference brackets. The top five teams in both the Eastern and Western conferences of the league earned berths, with the top three clubs in each conference earning direct byes to the conference semifinals. The fourth and fifth-place finishers of both conferences played in a single-elimination play-in match.


2012 MLS Cup Playoffs
The play-in winner played their respective conference regular season champion in the conference semifinals, which was a two-leg aggregate series, without the away goals rule enforced. For the first time in MLS Cup Playoffs history, each Conference Championship was also a two-leg aggregate series, as opposed to the traditional single elimination match. The MLS Cup championship still remain a single match, but the team with the stronger regular season record, the Los Angeles Galaxy, hosting the final at their home venue.


2012 MLS Cup Playoffs
Los Angeles Galaxy were the defending champions, having defeated Houston Dynamo 1–0 in last year's championship.


2012 MLS Cup Playoffs
Both finalists directly entered the 2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League, with the champion earning a Pot A seed. They were joined by San Jose Earthquakes, the Supporters' Shield winner, and Sporting Kansas City, the 2012 U.S. Open Cup champion. However, none of these berths were available to the league's three Canadian teams, which instead participate in the Canadian Championship for that country's single berth in the CONCACAF Champions League.


2012 MLS Cup Playoffs, Format
For 2012, the league's previous system of "wild card" qualification—which had the potential for "crossover" series in which one team could play in the other conference's bracket—was scrapped. Instead, the top five teams in each conference will qualify for the playoffs and the two conference brackets are entirely separate. The First Round of each conference is a one-off match between the 4th and 5th place teams, similar to the previous wild card system, with the 4th-place team hosting. The First Round winner advances to play the conference's top seed in the Conference Semifinals.


2012 MLS Cup Playoffs, Format
Conference Semifinals and Conference Championship series are conducted in a home-and-away aggregate-goal format. The lower-seeded team in the Conference Semifinal hosts the first game, and the higher seed hosts the second. If the teams are tied after two games, a 30-minute extra time period (divided into two 15-minute periods) will be played followed by penalty kicks, if necessary. The away goals rule or golden goal is not used.


2012 MLS Cup Playoffs, Format
In the case of ties in the First Round and MLS Cup, extra time and penalty kicks are used in the same manner as above.


2012 MLS Cup Playoffs, Qualification
(SS) = Supporters Shield winner; (W1) = Western Conference champion


2012 MLS Cup Playoffs, Qualification, Tiebreak rules
When two or more teams are tied in standings on points the following tiebreak rules apply:


2012 MLS Cup Playoffs, Schedule, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference
D.C. United won 2 – 1 on aggregate. Note: While D.C. United won the right to host the second leg as the higher seed, the order of the legs was reversed due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy. The second leg was originally scheduled for November 7 but was postponed one day due to snow.


2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft
The two-stage 2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft took place on December 7, 2012 (Stage 1) and December 14, 2012 (Stage 2). All 19 Major League Soccer clubs were eligible to participate.


2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft
The Stage 1 and Stage 2 Drafts were conducted in the same order as the traditional Waiver Draft, with clubs choosing in reverse order of their 2012 Major League Soccer season finish.


2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft
Players who were not selected in the Stage 1 draft were made available for the Stage 2 draft. Clubs that selected players in Stage 2 must negotiate a new salary with any player not under contract.


2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft
Teams also have the option of passing on their selection.


2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft, Available players
Players were required to meet age and service requirements to participate as stipulated by the terms of the MLS Collective Bargaining Agreement. Teams had to submit a list of available players to the league by December 3, 2012. The league released a list of all players available for the draft on December 5, 2012. The league released an updated list of players available for Stage 2 of the draft on December 14, 2012.


2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft, Stage One
The first stage of the 2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft took place at 3pm on December 7, 2012. All 19 Major League Soccer clubs participated.


2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft, Stage Two
The second stage of the 2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft took place on December 14, 2012. All 19 Major League Soccer clubs were eligible to participate but New York Red Bulls never joined the conference call.


2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft, Stage Two, Round 4
After all clubs had passed on the remaining players, clubs were then allowed to draft their own former players. All clubs passed on this option.


2012 MLS SuperDraft
The 2012 MLS SuperDraft was the thirteenth annual SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. It was held on January 12, 2012 at 12:00 p.m. (ET). The draft was reduced from three rounds to two with the 19 MLS clubs selecting a total of 38 players. The expansion Montreal Impact had the first overall selection.


2012 MLS SuperDraft, Selection order
The official selection order was set by Major League Soccer on October 21, 2011:


2012 MLS SuperDraft, Selection order
This selection order held for both rounds of the MLS SuperDraft. The same order was followed for the 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft, which was held on January 17, 2012.


2012 MLS SuperDraft, Selection order, Round 1
Any player marked with a * is part of the Generation Adidas program.


2012 MLS SuperDraft, Selection order, Round 2
Any player marked with an * is part of the Generation Adidas program.


2012 MLS SuperDraft, Selection order, Round 3 and round 4 trades
Prior to the reduction of the 2012 SuperDraft to two rounds, trades were made which involved SuperDraft Round 3 and Round 4 selections. These selections were converted into 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft Round 1 and Round 2 selections.


2012 MLS Supplemental Draft
The 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft was a secondary draft that was held by Major League Soccer via conference call on January 17, 2012. The draft was four rounds and all 19 MLS clubs participated.


2012 MLS Supplemental Draft, Selection Order
The official selection order was set by Major League Soccer on October 21, 2011:


2012 MLS Supplemental Draft, Selection Order
This selection order held for all four rounds of the Supplemental Draft.


2012 MLS Supplemental Draft, Note on SuperDraft Trades
MLS reduced the 2012 MLS SuperDraft from three rounds to two rounds on October 21, 2011, which in turn affected trades involving 2012 SuperDraft Round 3 and Round 4 selections. These selections became 2012 Supplemental Draft Round 1 and Round 2 selections.


2012 MSBL season
The 2012 MSBL season was the 24th season of the Men's State Basketball League (SBL). The regular season began on Friday 16 March and ended on Saturday 28 July. The finals began on Saturday 4 August and ended on Saturday 1 September, when the Cockburn Cougars defeated the East Perth Eagles in the MSBL Grand Final.


2012 MSBL season, Regular season
The regular season began on Friday 16 March and ended on Saturday 28 July after 20 rounds of competition. An additional round was added in 2012 to lighten the travel load of regional teams.


2012 MSBL season, Regular season
Due to an ineligible player taking part in SBL qualifying games, the Willetton Tigers were deemed to have forfeited three games that were won across June and July. In rounds thirteen to nineteen, the Tigers suited up a player for a total of seven games and failed to lodge a contract, player registration and proof of citizenship which are all documents required by the league before a player is eligible to play. As a result, they were dropped from a 12–13 record to 9–16 heading into the final round.


2012 MSBL season, Finals
The finals began on Saturday 4 August and ended on Saturday 1 September with the MSBL Grand Final.


2012 MTN 8
The 2012 MTN 8 was the 38th time that this annual tournament took place. It was contested by the eight top teams of the Premier Soccer League table at the end of the 2011–12 season. The tournament began on 3 August 2012.


2012 MTN 8, Teams
The eight teams that competed in the MTN 8 knockout competition are: (listed according to their finishing position in the 2011-12 Premier Soccer League season.


2012 MTN 8, Fixtures & Results, Rules for MTN8
On 28 July 2011 The PSL Executive Committee held a meeting to discuss the issue of home and away fixtures. There has been an amendment to the MTN8 rules pertaining to the issue of home and away fixtures.


2012 MTN 8, Fixtures & Results, Rules for MTN8
The approved rule reads as follows: In the first round of the competition (last 8 or quarter-finals) the clubs finishing in the top four positions of the Premier Division in the previous season will be the home clubs.


2012 MTN 8 Final
The 2012 MTN 8 Final was a football match which took place on Saturday, 22 September 2012 between SuperSport United and Moroka Swallows at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto, South Africa. The match was to decide the winner of the 2012 MTN 8 tournament.


2012 MTN 8 Final, Venue
The Orlando Stadium was announced by SAFA as the venue of the 2012 final.


2012 MTV Europe Music Awards
The 2012 MTV EMAs (also known as the MTV Europe Music Awards) were held in Frankfurt, Germany, on 11 November 2012. This was the fifth time the awards had been held in Germany, and the second time Frankfurt had been the host city. On 17 August the nominees were announced. Rihanna received eight nominations while Katy Perry and Taylor Swift received five, leading the categories.


2012 MTV Europe Music Awards
This year added new regional categories to compete in the Best Worldwide Act, as well as the Best Look category, due to the presence of the same award at the Italian TRL Awards. Taylor Swift, Han Geng, Justin Bieber and One Direction were the biggest winners taking home three awards each.


2012 MTV Movie Awards
The 2012 MTV Movie Awards were held on June 3, 2012 at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California, hosted by Russell Brand.


2012 MTV Movie Awards
The nominees were announced on May 1, and the winners were chosen by fans and a panel of MTV executives. On May 10, Russell Brand was announced to host the 2012 show.


2012 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2012 MTV Video Music Awards, hosted by Kevin Hart, took place on Thursday, September 6, 2012, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. The awards were broadcast from the Staples Center arena at L.A. Live in Downtown Los Angeles. Nominations were announced on July 31, 2012. Rihanna and Drake were the most nominated artists that year with five nominations apiece, followed by Katy Perry and Beyoncé, who received four.


2012 MTV Video Music Awards
One Direction was the biggest winner of the night winning their three nominations, including Best New Artist, and Rihanna went on to win Video of the Year. Both M.I.A. and Chris Brown won two awards each.


2012 MTV Video Music Awards
The awards ceremony, with an average of 6.1 million viewers, was the least-watched VMA show since 2007. The major factor which contributed to the drop in ratings was most likely altering the program's broadcast date to Thursday instead of Sunday, the day MTV had been using since 2004, with the exception of the 2006 ceremony. MTV also moved up the telecast to 8pm instead of 9pm, to avoid competing with President Barack Obama's speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention. This was somewhat early for MTV's targeted audience. Best Special Effects renamed Best Visual Effects.


2012 MTV Video Music Awards, Winners and nominees, Best Choreography
Chris Brown – "Turn Up the Music" (Choreographer: Anwar "Flii" Burton)


2012 MTV Video Music Awards, Winners and nominees, Best Visual Effects
Skrillex – "First of the Year (Equinox)" (Visual Effects: Deka Brothers and Tony "Truand" Datis)


2012 MTV Video Music Awards Japan
The 2012 MTV Video Music Awards Japan was held in Chiba on June 23, 2012 at the Makuhari Messe and was hosted by Japanese trio Perfume. The nominees were announced on March 21, 2012.


2012 MTV Video Music Awards Japan, Awards, Best Video from a Film
Bump of Chicken — "Good Luck" (from Always Sanchōme no Yūhi '64)


2012 MTV Video Music Brazil
The 2012 MTV Video Music Brazil, known as VMB 2012 in Brazil, was held on September 20, 2012, and yook place at the Espaço das Américas, São Paulo. It awarded the best in Brazilian music and popular culture in the year of 2012.


2012 MTV Video Music Brazil
With 'street culture' as the awards theme, the VMB 2012 overcame the previous edition as the greatest VMB ever. The event had an audience of 4000 people, and it was four hours long, one hour for the pre-show, two for the main show, and one for after-show, like the previous editions. As the 2011 Video Music Awards, the awards, for the first time, didn't have a host.


2012 MTV Video Music Brazil
For this edition, some concepts of the previous edition was maintained. It was continue to emphasize the alternative scenario of Brazilian music, but, this time, the popular one gained more space. Some popular artists returned to be indicated, like the happy rock band Restart, winner of 5 categories in 2010.


2012 MTV Video Music Brazil
The voting was also reformulated. New categories were created: Best Band, Best Female and Best Male Act. The public has regained emphasis and chose the finalists in each category until September 3. From there, the VMB academy chose the winners. The exceptions were the categories Hit of the Year and International Artist, which were exclusively by popular vote.


2012 MTV Video Music Brazil, Nominations
The nominees were revealed on July 20, 2012. The finalists were revealed on September 3. Nominees with small font weren't selected among the finalists.


2012 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas
The 2012 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas was an American college football bowl game held on December 22, 2012, at Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada, as part of the 2012–13 NCAA Bowl season. The 21st edition of the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas began at 12:30 p.m. PST and aired on ESPN. It featured the Mountain West Conference co-champion Boise State Broncos against the Washington Huskies from the Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12) and was the final game of the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season for both teams.


2012 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas
The Broncos accepted their invitation after earning a 10–2 record in the regular season, while the Huskies advanced to the game after earning a 7–5 record. Boise State kicked a 27-yard field goal with 1:16 left in the game to defeat Washington, 28–26, and win their third consecutive Maaco Bowl Las Vegas game.


2012 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas, Teams
This was the second meeting between these two teams. The all-time record is tied 1–1. The last time they played was in 2007.


2012 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas, Teams, Boise State
The two-time defending Maaco Bowl Las Vegas champions continued their recent "outsider domination" in 2012, becoming the Mountain West Co-Champions with a 7–1 conference record, sharing the title with the Fresno State Bulldogs and San Diego State Aztecs. After defeating the Nevada Wolf Pack, the Broncos accepted an invitation to their third straight Maaco Bowl Las Vegas.


2012 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas, Teams, Boise State
It was the Broncos chance to complete a Maaco Bowl Las Vegas "three-peat" (defeating the Utah Utes 26–3 in the 2010 game and also the Arizona State Sun Devils 56–24 in the 2011 game).


2012 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas, Teams, Washington
The Huskies finished at fourth place in the Pac-12 North Division with a 5–4 conference record, accepting the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas invitation at the same time Boise State did. This will be the Huskies' first Maaco Bowl Las Vegas.


2012 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas, Teams, Washington
Offensively the Huskies are led by tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins, who set school career marks for receptions (104), receiving yards (1,327) and touchdowns (12); Kasen Williams (71 receptions); and Bishop Sankey, who rushed for 1,234 yards in 2012. Desmond Trufant is ranked No.16 in the nation (second in the Pac-12) in pass defense (188.9 yards allowed per game).


2012 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas, Game summary, First quarter
Washington fumbled on its opening drive, giving Boise State the ball at Washington's 46-yard line. Taking advantage of the fumble, Boise State took a 3–0 lead on a 34-yard field goal from Michael Frisina. Washington was able to tie the game with a 26-yard field goal, but Boise State responded with a 16-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Southwick to Geraldo Boldewijn. The subsequent extra point was blocked, giving Boise State a 9–3 lead going into the second quarter.


2012 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas, Game summary, Second quarter
After exchanging punts, Boise State intercepted a pass from Washington's quarterback Keith Price. Taking advantage of the interception, Boise State was able to extend their lead 12–3 on a 30-yard field goal from Michael Frisina. Boise State further extended their lead to 18–3 on a 34-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver Chris Potter to Holden Huff (the subsequent two-point conversion failed). Washington quickly responded with a 26-yard touchdown run from Bishop Sankey to make the score 18–10. Washington further cut into Boise State's lead on a 7-yard touchdown run by Keith Price to make the score 18–17 in Boise State's favor going into halftime.


2012 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas, Game summary, Third quarter
Boise State opened the third quarter with a 15-play, 74-yard drive that took 6 minutes and 47 seconds. The drive was capped off with a 1-yard touchdown pass from Joe Southwick to Holden Huff to give Boise State a 25–17 lead. Washington was able to respond with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Keith Price to Austin Seferian-Jenkins. The Huskies were unable to convert the subsequent two-point conversion attempt, making the score 25–23 in the Broncos' favor going into the fourth quarter.


2012 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas, Game summary, Fourth quarter
Washington missed a 41-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. However, Washington's defense was able to force the Broncos to punt, giving the Huskies the ball back with 11:02 left in regulation. Washington went on a 14-play, 76-yard drive that took 6 minutes and 53 seconds. The drive was capped off with a 38-yard field goal from Travis Coons to give the Huskies their first lead of the game, 26–25. On the subsequent kickoff, Boise State's Shane Williams-Rhodes returned the ball 47-yards to Washington's 42-yard line.


2012 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas, Game summary, Fourth quarter
Taking advantage of Willams-Rhodes' kickoff return, Boise State was able to retake the lead on a 27-yard field goal from Michael Frisina with only 1:16 left in regulation. On the subsequent drive, Washington was able to drive to Boise State's side of the field. However, Boise State's Jeremy Ioane intercepted a pass from Keith Price with 14 seconds remaining in the game, giving Boise State the win and the Broncos' third consecutive victory in the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas.


2012 Mac Ice Classic
The 2012 Mac Ice Classic is being held from October 3 to 8 at the RCMP Curling Club  in Ottawa, Ontario, as part of the 2012–13 Ontario Curling Tour. The men's event is being held in a triple knockout and women's event in a round robin format. The purse for the men's event is CAD$10,500, and CAD $6,000 for the women's event.


2012 Macau Grand Prix
The 2012 Macau Grand Prix Formula Three was a motor race for Formula Three cars that was held on the streets of Macau on 18 November 2012. Unlike other races, such as the Pau Grand Prix, the 2012 Macau Grand Prix was not a part of any Formula Three championship, but was open to entries from all Formula Three championships. The race itself was made up of two races: a ten-lap qualifying race that decided the starting grid for the fifteen-lap main race. The 2012 race was the 59th running of the Macau Grand Prix, the 30th race for Formula Three cars, and was supported by the World Touring Car Championship Guia Race of Macau.


2012 Macau Grand Prix
The Grand Prix was won by Portuguese driver António Félix da Costa from pole position, having won the event's qualification race the previous afternoon. Félix da Costa led every lap of the meeting, to take Carlin's first victory in Macau since Takuma Sato won the 2001 edition of the race. Second place went to Felix Rosenqvist, competing for Mücke Motorsport, while the podium was completed by the highest-placed rookie driver, Alex Lynn for Fortec Motorsport.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Entry list and background
In order to compete at the Macau Grand Prix, drivers had to compete in any Formula Three championship race during the calendar year, rather than an FIA-regulated championship meeting like previous years. This rule was relaxed due to new sporting regulations introduced by the race's organising committee, with only Dallara's new F312 chassis being eligible to race in the event. Within the 30-car grid of the event, each of the major Formula Three series were represented by their respective champion. Defending race winner Daniel Juncadella, the Euro Series and FIA European Formula 3 champion, was joined in Macau by British champion Jack Harvey, German series winner Jimmy Eriksson and Japanese champion Ryō Hirakawa.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Entry list and background
Five drivers who mainly competed in other series outside of Formula Three in 2012 also became eligible for the Macau race meeting: GP2 Series racer Felipe Nasr and European Le Mans Series driver Alexander Sims competed in the Euro Series – at Hockenheim, and the Nürburgring respectively – to become eligible, while GP3 Series runner-up Daniel Abt competed in the German Formula Three meeting at Spa-Francorchamps to prepare for Macau.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Entry list and background
Multiple GP3 and Formula Renault 3.5 race-winner António Félix da Costa and Formula Three debutant Kevin Korjus – another Formula Renault 3.5 competitor – had to wait until their main series campaigns had concluded before sealing their eligibility; they both competed in the MotorSport Vision Formula Three Cup, a second-tier Formula Three series in the United Kingdom, in its season-ending round at Snetterton.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Entry list and background
The Macau Grand Prix is a Formula Three race considered to be a stepping stone to higher motor racing categories such as Formula One and has been termed the territory's most prestigious international sporting event. The 2012 Macau Grand Prix was the 59th running of the event and the 30th time the race was held to Formula Three regulations. It took place on the 6.2-kilometre (3.9 mi) twenty-two turn Guia Circuit on 18 November 2012 with three preceding days of practice and qualifying.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
Nasr set the fastest time for Carlin in the 45-minute first free practice session that was held – in cloudy conditions – prior to the first qualifying session, setting a lap time over two-tenths of a second quicker than anyone else at the Guia Circuit. His closest challenger was Mücke Motorsport's Felix Rosenqvist ahead of three of Nasr's Carlin teammates: Félix da Costa, Carlos Sainz Jr. and William Buller. Defending champion Juncadella was sixth for Prema Powerteam, ahead of the best-placed Macau debutant Pascal Wehrlein. Japanese series champion Hirakawa (RSS) caused the only red flag of the session by crashing heavily at R Bend, while five other drivers – all rookies with the exception of T-Sport driver Sims – also encountered incidents during the session.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
António Félix da Costa, after setting the fastest time during the first qualifying session held on Thursday.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
Qualifying was divided into two sessions, both of which were 30 minutes. One session was held on 15 November and another was held on 16 November, with the best times of each driver counting towards the starting order for the qualifying race. The first qualifying session saw Félix da Costa come out on top, by just 0.02 seconds ahead of Rosenqvist, with Sainz another thousandth of a second in arrears in third place.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
Alex Lynn, in his last appearance for Fortec Motorsport before moving to the Prema Powerteam in 2013, was best rookie in fourth place having held the lead of the session at one point, while Juncadella rounded out the top five. Nasr finished the session in sixth place ahead of Sims and Prema Powerteam's Raffaele Marciello – the winner of the other invitational Formula Three race held on a street circuit, at Pau in France – with Félix Serrallés and Wehrlein rounding out the top ten.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
Following them were Abt, Tom Blomqvist with Pipo Derani and Hannes van Asseldonk provisionally lining up on row seven. Buller, a former Formula BMW Pacific winner at Macau, was next up ahead of Harry Tincknell, Jazeman Jaafar, Harvey, Sven Müller and Korjus. Andrea Roda caused the session's only red flag by crashing at the Reservoir Bend corner. Hirakawa did not complete a lap during qualifying, as his car was still being repaired after his earlier incident during the first free practice session. For weighing incidents during free practice, Hirakawa and Andrea Roda were each given three-place grid penalties.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
Alex Lynn, after becoming the first rookie Macau pole-sitter since Kamui Kobayashi in 2006.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
In the second 45-minute practice session, Rosenqvist set a benchmark in the opening third of the session and the time ultimately held to the conclusion of it, with Juncadella and Félix da Costa marginally behind in second and third places respectively. Korjus continued his progression up the time-sheets with the fourth-fastest time, while Sainz completed the top five in the session ahead of Wehrlein, the best of the rookies.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
The session had to be stopped once due to a problem with one of the circuit's catch-fences, although Nasr brushed the wall en route to the tenth fastest time, while Yuichi Nakayama and Luís Sá Silva both crashed within the final five minutes of the session, leaving their TOM'S and Angola Racing teams with repair work to be carried out before the second qualifying session.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
The second qualifying session was delayed by 15 minutes due to an incident during qualifying for the CTM Macau Touring Car Cup race, in which 2011 Road Sport Challenge race winner Phillip Yau was killed. When the session did start, the anticipated rain showers had not materialised, and Nasr moved to the top of the time-sheets before the first of three red flags for a crash by Serrallés. For a time, track conditions were slippery due to fluids that had to be cleaned up from Serrallés' accident.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
Juncadella recorded the fastest time midway through the session, with a time just one thousandth slower than Félix da Costa's Thursday best. Félix da Costa's time was eventually beaten by Lynn, taking almost three-tenths of a second off the previous best time just prior to a second red flag after Lucas Auer crashed. The session was eventually abandoned after a third red flag with around two minutes remaining when Nasr crashed at R Bend.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
Thus, Lynn became the first rookie since Kamui Kobayashi in 2006 to take pole position at Macau, doing so by 0.278 seconds ahead of Félix da Costa, who achieved a front-row grid start for the second successive year. Juncadella moved into third place – keeping his position despite failing a fuel sample test – ahead of Rosenqvist and Sainz, with Nasr remaining sixth ahead of Tincknell, Wehrlein and Abt, who all moved up from their Thursday provisional grid slots.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying
The top ten was completed by Marciello; behind him, the top twenty qualifiers were rounded off by van Asseldonk, Derani, Harvey, Sims, Serrallés, Blomqvist, Buller, Yuichi Yamauchi, Jaafar, Müller Hirakawa and Roda's grid penalties were effectively rendered meaningless as they qualified at the rear of the grid. Korjus, Nakayama and Roda each received penalties after second qualifying; Roda was demoted ten for an engine change, while Korjus and Nakayama each dropped one spot for irregularities in the pit lane.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Practice and qualifying, Qualifying classification
Each of the driver's fastest lap times from the two qualifying sessions are denoted in bold.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Qualification Race
Race-winner António Félix da Costa reflecting on his race, and looking ahead to the Grand Prix itself.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Qualification Race
Prior to the start of the race, Serrallés started from the rear of the field due to an engine change after his qualifying crash, while Korjus failed to get away from the dummy grid on the parade lap. He did start the race, albeit, from the pit lane. On the grid, it was Rosenqvist that made the best start from the second row and managed to take the lead away from a slow-starting Lynn.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Qualification Race
Félix da Costa also moved ahead of Lynn into second place, before slipstreaming up behind Rosenqvist and was able to move ahead of him under braking for Lisboa turn. Behind, Sainz made a similar move on Juncadella for fourth place at the same corner, while later on the lap, Tincknell also made a move on Juncadella to demote the defending race-winner to sixth place. The top six drivers remained in the same order until the fourth lap, when Juncadella made it back past Tincknell. Further down the field, Nakayama became the race's first retirement by crashing out at Lisboa corner.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Qualification Race
At the front of the race, Félix da Costa was maintaining a slim lead over Rosenqvist, at around one second with Lynn a further few seconds in arrears. Sainz was leading a group of drivers in fourth place, with Juncadella, Tincknell and Wehrlein in close attendance. Juncadella set the qualification race's fastest time on the fourth lap, completing a circuit in two minutes 13.718 seconds.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Qualification Race
Ultimately, it was Félix da Costa that took victory by 1.5 seconds and pole position for the Grand Prix itself, and was joined on the front row by Rosenqvist, while Lynn completed the podium after a quiet race. Behind him, Sainz managed to hold off the others in his group to finish fourth ahead of Juncadella, Tincknell, Wehrlein, van Asseldonk, Nasr and Sims. Outside the top ten, Marciello finished eleventh ahead of Harvey, Derani, Buller, Abt, Yamauchi, Blomqvist, Jaafar, Mitchell Gilbert, Korjus, Auer, Sá Silva, Hirakawa, Dennis van de Laar and Lucas Wolf rounded out the 26 classified finishers. Joining Nakayama on the sidelines were crashers Serrallés (at Paiol on lap seven), Roda (at Lisboa on lap nine) and Müller, who also crashed on the ninth lap at Police corner.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Main Race
Weather conditions for the start of the main race were cloudy with an air temperature of 20.1 °C (68.2 °F) and a track temperature of 22.7 °C (72.9 °F). For the second day running, it was Rosenqvist that made the best start out of the front-runners, taking the lead from Félix da Costa on the run to the Mandarin corner, but Félix da Costa regained the lead under braking for Lisboa turn in a carbon-copy move to his first lap start in the qualification race.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Main Race
Behind, Sainz made a slow getaway from fourth place, while Sims stalled several rows behind him. The field made it cleanly out of Lisboa corner, before Sá Silva spun at the top of San Francisco Hill turn and nearly blocked the circuit while trying to return his car to the direction of the track. Around the next corner, Wolf became the race's first retirement as slight contact sent him into the barriers on the outside of Maternity Bend turn.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Main Race
Ultimately, the marshals had trouble extricating his car from the barriers and would eventually cause the race to be neutralised under safety car conditions; however, this did not occur for two further racing laps. Two more drivers suffered race-ending incidents during this time-frame, as van Asseldonk parked his Prema car in the Lisboa barriers on lap two while Juncadella hit the barriers at R Bend on the same lap. He was able to slowly make his way around another full lap, before retiring to the pit lane with suspension failure.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Main Race
Racing resumed at the end of the sixth lap, with Félix da Costa holding onto the lead from Rosenqvist, despite pressure all the way to Lisboa turn from the pit straight. Lynn and Wehrlein fell in behind, with Nasr completing the top five, while Derani moved past Marciello for seventh place with a move down the inside under braking for Lisboa corner and later got the better of teammate Tincknell for sixth position.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Main Race
At the front, Félix da Costa had enough of an advantage to just about negate any threat that Rosenqvist could have made with the slipstream while Lynn continued his Macau initiation with a solid third place with Wehrlein doing likewise in fourth. Down the order, Harvey was another retiree in the pit lane due to front wing damage suffered on his Carlin car.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Main Race
The top five continued in their positions as the laps were continually racked off; with two laps to go, Hirakawa crashed at R Bend and was collected by Auer and left extensive debris from the corner all the way to the start-finish line. The safety car was not called for, but yellow flags were in effect until the end through that section of the course. Da Costa recorded the fastest lap of the main race on lap 11, completing a circuit in two minutes and 13.507 seconds.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Main Race
António Félix da Costa on becoming the winner of the 30th Formula Three Macau Grand Prix.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Main Race
Sá Silva and van de Laar came to grief on the final lap under braking for Lisboa corner; the cars of the two drivers touched wheels and sent them into retirement, although both drivers were ultimately classified in 23rd and 24th respectively. But, on his third appearance in Macau, it was Félix da Costa's victory, leading at the end of each of the 25 racing laps to have been completed over the weekend, achieving Carlin's first victory in Macau since Takuma Sato triumphed in the 2001 edition.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Main Race
Rosenqvist finished second once again, 1.5 seconds in arrears, while Lynn completed the podium in a repeat of Saturday's top three placings. The race organisers played out the wrong national anthem for the winner Félix da Costa, but after several minutes, A Portuguesa, the Portuguese national anthem, played out in the former Portuguese colony. Off the podium, Wehrlein finished in fourth place ahead of Nasr, both having been distanced by the lead group during the race. Derani took sixth place, having started thirteenth, ahead of Sainz and Marciello. The top ten was rounded out by British pairing Tincknell and Buller.


2012 Macau Grand Prix, Main Race
Outside the top ten, Eriksson finished eleventh having moved up six from his start position, and finished ahead of Abt, with Korjus 13th ahead of Yamauchi, Sims, Jaafar, Blomqvist, Gilbert, Müller, Serrallés, Nakayama, Roda and the two drivers who retired in the closing stages – Sá Silva and van de Laar – rounded out the 24 classified finishers.


2012 Macau Open Grand Prix Gold
The 2012 Macau Open Grand Prix Gold was the fourteenth grand prix gold and grand prix tournament of the 2012 BWF Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix. The tournament was held in Macau Forum, Macau from November 27, until December 2, 2012 and had a total purse of $120,000.


2012 Macedonian Handball Cup
The 2012 Macedonian Handball Cup was the 20th edition of the Macedonian Handball Cup. It took place at the Boris Trajkovski Sports Center in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, between 18 and 20 May 2012. The cup was won by RK Vardar PRO for the eight time.


2012 Mackay Cutters season
The 2012 Mackay Cutters season was the fifth in the club's history. Coached by Anthony Seibold and captained by Grant Rovelli, they competed in the QRL's Intrust Super Cup. The club missed the finals for the second consecutive season, finishing eighth.


2012 Mackay Cutters season, Season summary
The Cutters welcomed former NRL players David Milne, Rohan Ahern and Jason Schirnack, and Welsh internationals Andrew Gay and Lee Williams to the club in 2012, as they looked to return to the finals. Unfortunately, despite winning more games than in 2011, success evaded the club once again, as they finished the season in eighth, missing the finals. Captain Grant Rovelli was named the club's Player of the Year, finishing as their top try scorer, and was once again selected for the Queensland Residents, captaining the side.


2012 Mackay Cutters season, Season summary
2012 would be head coach Anthony Seibold's final year at the club, as he joined the Melbourne Storm in 2013 to coach their under-20 side.


2012 Mackay Cutters season, Squad List, 2012 squad
The following players contracted to the North Queensland Cowboys played for the Cutters in 2012: Javid Bowen, Chris Grevsmuhl, Glenn Hall, Sam Hoare, Dane Hogan, Ben Jones, Tyson Martin, Michael Morgan, Mosese Pangai, Jack Rycen, Jason Taumalolo and Francis Veukiso.


2012 Madison Cash Spiel
The 2012 Madison Cash Spiel was held from November 30 to December 2 at the Madison Curling Club in Madison, Wisconsin as part of the 2012–13 World Curling Tour. The event was held in a round robin format. In the men's final, Pete Fenson won his second consecutive title and fourth title overall with a win over former teammate John Shuster. Fenson defeated Shuster in an extra end with a score of 6–5. In the women's final, Erika Brown defeated Jill Mouzar with a score of 8–7 to win her second consecutive and overall title.


2012 Magyar Kupa (men's water polo)
The 2012 Magyar Kupa, known as (Hungarian: Theodora Férfi Magyar Kupa for sponsorship reasons), is the 86th edition of the tournament.


2012 Magyar Kupa (men's water polo), Quarter-finals
Quarter-final matches were played on 29 and 30 September 2012.


2012 Magyar Kupa (men's water polo), Final four
The final four will be held on 10 and 11 November 2012 at the Komjádi Béla Sportuszoda in Budapest.


2012 Magyar Kupa Final
This is the current revision of this page, as edited by JJMC89 bot III (talk | contribs) at 16:55, 14 April 2020 (Moving Category:Association football penalty shootouts to Category:Association football penalty shoot-outs per Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Speedy). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.


2012 Magyar Kupa Final
The Magyar Kupa Final was the final match of the 2011–12 Magyar Kupa, played between MTK Budapest and Debrecen.


2012 Maharashtra local elections
Elections for Zila Parishads and Panchayat samiti were held on 7 February 2012. Municipal elections were held across various cities in Maharashtra, India on 16 February. In different cities elections results were mixed by party. The capital, Mumbai, resulted in a plurality for the Shiv Sena and the second largest city of Pune resulted in a Nationalist Congress Party plurality.


2012 Maharashtra local elections, Rules
According to the Election Commission of India's rules the day before, day of and day after the elections were a dry day in the jurisdictions that held elections.


2012 Maharashtra local elections, Parties
The parties that took part in the municipal elections were:


2012 Maidstone Borough Council election
The 2012 Maidstone Borough Council elections took place on Thursday 3 May 2012 to elect members of Maidstone Borough Council in Kent, England. One third of the council (19 seats) were scheduled for election, whilst an additional vacancy caused by the resignation of a sitting councillor was also filled in Heath ward, meaning a total of 20 of the borough’s 55 seats were elected.


2012 Maine Black Bears football team
The 2012 Maine Black Bears football team represented the University of Maine in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 20th-year head coach Jack Cosgrove and played their home games at Alfond Stadium. They are a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. They finished the season 5–6, 4–4 in CAA play to finish in seventh place.


2012 Maine Question 1
Maine Question 1 was a voter referendum on an initiated state statute that occurred November 6, 2012. The title of the citizen initiative is "An Act to Allow Marriage Licenses for Same-Sex Couples and Protect Religious Freedom". The question that appeared on the ballot was: "Do you want to allow the State of Maine to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples?"


2012 Maine Question 1, Background
In 2009, same-sex marriage legalization, "An Act To End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedom", was passed by the legislature and signed into law by Governor John Baldacci. A 2009 people's veto referendum to reject the law passed 53 to 47 percent, invalidating the law before it took effect.


2012 Maine Question 1, Background
On June 30, 2011, EqualityMaine and Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) announced plans to place a voter initiative in support of same-sex marriage on Maine's November 2012 ballot. Supporters delivered more than 105,000 petition signatures for the initiative to the Secretary of State's office on January 26, 2012, exceeding the minimum of 57,277 signatures requirement. The Secretary of State announced on February 23 that the office verified 85,216 signatures, qualifying the initiative for the November 2012 ballot.


2012 Maine Question 1, Background
Under Maine's constitution a valid initiative must be sent to the voters unless enacted in the proposed form by the Legislature at the same session during which it was presented. In March 2012, the Maine Legislature voted to indefinitely postpone the initiative without debate, effectively putting it on the November ballot.


2012 Maine Question 1, Ballot question
On June 14, 2012, Maine Secretary of State Charlie Summers, who opposed same-sex marriage, released the draft wording of the question as it would appear on the ballot, beginning a 30-day public comment period, at the end of which he had ten days to determine the wording of the question. He proposed the following wording:


2012 Maine Question 1, Ballot question
Do you favor a law allowing marriage licenses for same-sex couples, and that protects religious freedom by ensuring that no religion or clergy be required to perform such a marriage in violation of their religious beliefs?


2012 Maine Question 1, Ballot question
Opponents of the initiative claimed that latter part of the circulated question is unnecessary, as the religious freedom to refuse to perform same-sex marriages is guaranteed by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. They also criticized the wording for failing to mention redefining marriage. Supporters of the initiative said the Secretary of State's proposed wording "fails to address important parts of the initiative that will be on the ballot in November".


2012 Maine Question 1, Ballot question
Though they concede the First Amendment point made by the measure's opponents, they asked Summers, whose good faith they did not question, to restore the reference to protecting religious freedom because they claim opponents "distort the facts around what the approval of same-sex marriage will do, including the possibility that churches would lose their tax-exempt status by refusing to perform same-sex marriages."


2012 Maine Question 1, Ballot question
The final wording Summers chose is "Do you want to allow the State of Maine to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples?" Representatives of both sides of the issue stated they had no major problems with Summers' decision.


2012 Maine Question 1, Campaign
EqualityMaine and Mainers United for Marriage began the campaign for the initiative on May 15, 2012.


2012 Maine Question 1, Campaign
By June 28, Mainers United for Marriage had raised over $1 million, and 64 percent of those contributions had come from within Maine.


2012 Maine Question 1, Campaign
On July 23, the Maine ACLU and Mainers United for Marriage held a press conference to announce the formation of the group Republicans United for Marriage as part of an effort to attract more Republican support of the initiative. Fifteen Republicans appeared at the conference, including three current state legislators. One of those, Rep. Stacey Fitts of Pittsfield, had voted against the 2009 same-sex marriage law passed by the previous Legislature but stated that he has now changed his mind after discussions with gay persons that he knows and his family. Fitts also said he felt his new views were a "perfect match" with his Republican philosophy of small government. Pastor Bob Emerich, a spokesman for initiative opponents, dismissed the announcement as "insignificant" and questioned "why these people even call themselves Republicans."


2012 Maine Question 1, Campaign
President Barack Obama, through a spokesperson, endorsed the initiative on October 24.


2012 Maine Question 1, Campaign
Richard Malone, former Catholic Bishop of Portland, stated on October 25 that supporting the initiative was "unfaithful to Catholic doctrine" and that Catholics whose conscience was formed through scripture could not justify voting for any candidate or referendum that opposes the teachings of the Church. He said that Catholics for Marriage Equality did not speak for the Catholic Church.


2012 Maine Question 1, Campaign
Democratic U.S. Representatives Chellie Pingree and Mike Michaud both stated they intended to vote in favor of the referendum, while Republican U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe both stated that their policy was to not comment on state level issues. Governor Paul LePage, through his spokeswoman, also declined to offer his views on the referendum. Collins and Snowe would both state their support for same-sex marriage after the referendum.


2012 Maine Question 1, Campaign
The referendum was declared passed on November 6, 2012 by the Associated Press, and opposition group Protect Marriage Maine conceded at 1:30 am on November 7, 2012. 53% of Maine voted in favor.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses
The 2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses were held between Sunday, January 29, and Saturday, March 3, at various locations throughout the state of Maine. Presidential preference polls (straw polls) were held at the caucuses, but those polls were not binding on the choices of delegates to the Maine Republican Party convention. The caucuses chose delegates in processes separate from the straw polling.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses
The state party encouraged all municipal committees to hold their caucuses between February 4 and February 11, although each committee was free to choose a different date. The first caucus was in Waldo County on January 29 and the last one in Castine (Hancock County) on March 3. On Saturday, February 11, after 84% of precincts had completed voting, state-party officials announced results of straw polls. The results were revised in a second declaration on February 17 to include previously-missing results from several caucuses.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses
Those statewide totals still did not include the caucuses in Washington County, which had been scheduled for February 11 but postponed to February 18 by predictions of bad weather, nor did they include caucuses originally scheduled to occur between February 16 and March 3. The state Republican Party issued a third statewide compilation on February 24, adding all the February 18 caucuses (scheduled and postponed), but not those for February 16 or March 3. All three statewide totals showed former Governor Mitt Romney leading Representative Ron Paul by small margins, with other candidates well behind.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses
At the State Convention held over the weekend of May 5–6, Ron Paul won 20 out of 24 national delegates. One elected delegate, Governor Paul LePage is uncommitted. Of the three delegates qualified by the party offices they already hold, the state party chairman, Charlie Webster is also uncommitted, while the current National Committeeman and Committeewoman are committed to Mitt Romney.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, Process
Like most Republican Party caucuses, there are two components to the Maine caucuses. First, delegates are elected from among the attendees to represent them at the state convention, to be held Saturday–Sunday, May 5–6, 2012. Candidates generally provide slates of delegates to voters who are interested in supporting them, and voters can ask prospective delegates whom they support for president. Then, a straw poll, called a presidential preference ballot, is taken of the individuals in the room.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, Process
The results of this vote are transmitted to the media, which uses the information to report the opinions of Maine Republicans to the public; and to assign delegates to the candidates, although the aforementioned state convention is what determines who actually goes to the Republican National Convention. No delegates from Maine are pledged to any candidate.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, Results, Caucuses held by Saturday, February 11
As of February 11, 98 precincts (16.3%) had yet to report. Forty-seven of those precincts were in Washington County, where reports of a possible snow storm caused the caucus to be rescheduled to February 18. As of February 14, 177 towns in Maine had not reported any results. Updated results were released by the Maine GOP on February 17.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, Results, Caucuses held after February 11, Thursday, February 16
Republicans in the town of Rome (Kennebec County) held their caucus on Thursday evening, February 16. According to a post in the unofficial Daily Paul blog, 3 votes were cast for Ron Paul, 2 for Rick Santorum, and 1 each for Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, Results, Caucuses held after February 11, Saturday, February 18
As the Maine GOP caucuses continued on Saturday February 18, The Bangor Daily News and The Portland Press Herald reported the following results:


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, Results, Caucuses held after February 11, Saturday, March 3
Republicans in the town of Castine (Hancock County) held their caucus on Saturday, March 3, but presidential preferences have not yet been reported.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, Results, Caucuses held after February 11, Status of caucuses held after February 11
On Thursday, February 16, the Executive Committee of the Maine Republican Party authorized Party Chairman Charlie Webster to release a statement that concluded:


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, Results, Caucuses held after February 11, Status of caucuses held after February 11
... The results of the Washington County caucus will be reviewed at the March 10 Republican State Committee Meeting. The Executive Committee voted unanimously to recommend to the State Committee that they include the results in the final tally for the Presidential Preference Poll as their caucus had been scheduled to occur by the February 11 deadline, however it was postponed due to inclement weather.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, Results, Caucuses held after February 11, Status of caucuses held after February 11
Maine Senate President Kevin Raye stated that the final tally would be updated to include the results from Washington County, but that the State Committee would vote on March 10 to determine if the other towns who voluntarily held their caucuses after the February 11 deadline would be included.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, Results, Results as of February 24
Updated results were released by the Maine GOP on February 24. The new table does not show returns from Rome on February 16 or Castine on March 3, but does include returns from the towns listed above for February 18.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, 2012 Maine Republican State Convention
The state convention was held Saturday, May 5 and Sunday, May 6 at the Augusta Civic Center. The convention as a whole elected 15 delegates to the national convention. Delegates from Maine's two congressional districts caucused separately within the convention to elect three national-convention delegates for each district. The remaining three delegates (determined ex officio, as officers of the state party) were Charlie Webster (State Chairman), Richard A. Bennett (National Committeeman), and Jan Staples (National Committeewoman).


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, 2012 Maine Republican State Convention
Charlie Webster had not pledged to support the nomination of any presidential candidate at the national convention, whereas Jan Staples and Richard Bennett pledged to support Governor Romney's nomination. Maine Governor Paul LePage was elected to be a delegate and had not pledged to any candidate. The other 20 delegates were elected as Paul supporters.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, 2012 Maine Republican State Convention
About ten days before the convention, Charlie Webster sent an email announcing that Charles Cragin, a former state convention chairman, would also chair the 2012 convention. This was in contradiction to state law and the party's bylaws, which stated that a convention secretary and chairman are to be elected by the convention.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, 2012 Maine Republican State Convention
On Saturday, Ron Morrell, a Paul supporter, was elected Secretary of the convention, receiving 1119 of 2204 votes cast. Then another Paul supporter, Brent Tweed, was elected Chairman of the convention, narrowly defeating Charles Cragin, 1118 votes to 1114.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, 2012 Maine Republican State Convention
On Sunday, the convention amended the party platform proposed by the state platform committee, then rejected the amended platform. Therefore, the 2010 platform remained in effect as the platform for 2012. The convention elected Paul supporters as National Committeeman and National Committeewoman and to over 30 of the state committee seats.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, 2012 Maine Republican State Convention
Challenges to the rulings of the convention chairman consumed time to the extent that the Republican candidates for U.S. Senate were not able to make their scheduled speeches.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, 2012 Maine Republican State Convention
Romney supporters including Cragin and Maine Rep. Jeffrey Timberlake expressed that the proceedings were improper and that the Paul-dominated delegation would not be seated at the national convention. Peter Cianchette and Jan Staples filed a challenge with the RNC alleging improper credentialing, lax floor security, illegal voting, lack of a quorum, and violations of rules and parliamentary procedures. The delegation turned down a compromise, offered by Charlie Webster, by which the challenge would have been withdrawn if the delegates pledged to vote for Romney and agreed to let Webster or Governor LePage chair the delegation.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, 2012 Maine Republican State Convention
However, Webster did not consult Staples in composing the proposal, and Staples said she did not accept its provisions. Radio host Ray Richardson, a "close acquaintance" of LePage, reported that LePage said that he would not attend the national convention if the Maine delegation were not seated. LePage is the only one of the 21 elected delegates whose position is not being challenged.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, Caucus Controversies, Voiding of Portland's election of state delegates
The Washington Post wrote on February 12, "Party officials announced at the end of the Riverton Elementary School caucus [for Portland] that there had been a discrepancy in the final tally of state delegate ballots, and that they had received 19 more ballot sheets than they had the green index cards that voters turned in when they took their ballots." About 50 delegate candidates had given ten-second speeches for themselves, and "only a handful" had been for candidates other than Paul. That vote was to choose 73 delegates, but the overage of ballots caused the vote to be voided in accordance with party rules.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, Caucus Controversies, Missing caucus results
A controversy nicknamed "Where's Waldo?" centered around 17 towns in Waldo County holding a joint caucus whose preference ballots were tabulated and submitted on time but not included in the final preference tally by the state GOP. These votes included 43 for Paul, 41 for Santorum, 35 for Romney and 18 for Gingrich—not enough by itself to change the statewide winner, but enough to reduce Romney's margin of victory.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, Caucus Controversies, Missing caucus results
Waldo County GOP Chairman Raymond St. Onge said the results were sent to the state party on February 7 and that as of February 14 he had not received an answer from the Maine GOP as to why Waldo County's results were omitted. Members of the Waldo County GOP Committee voted "by a strong majority" on February 14 to recommend a censure of Maine Republican Party Chairman Charlie Webster for his handling of the caucuses.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, Caucus Controversies, Missing caucus results
Waterville is in Kennebec County, and its preference ballots, too, were not counted into the statewide total, despite being cast before the deadline. Ron Paul had won there with 21 of 26 votes cast.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, Caucus Controversies, Missing caucus results
On February 15, the Maine Republican Party tallied votes accidentally omitted from the results of the February 11 caucus, but Webster said they would not release the updated results publicly. Subsequently, on February 16 the Maine Republican party announced that the missing caucus results, including those of Washington County, would be tallied and the updated results posted on their website.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, Caucus Controversies, Later caucuses not counted
The postponement of the caucuses in certain precincts generated controversy due to the voting margin between Romney and Paul in the official straw poll, officials of the state party saying that the postponed caucuses would not be counted. In particular, the postponement of caucuses in Washington County was criticized by the Paul campaign given what they expected to be a good performance in the county.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, Caucus Controversies, Later caucuses not counted
John Tate, the campaign manager for Ron Paul, sent an e-mail to supporters declaring the situation an "outrage" and questioning the decision to postpone due to an expected snow storm, which turned out to be light snowfall. Paul spokesman Jesse Benton also stated the campaign was confident Paul would control the delegation from Maine at the national convention.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, Caucus Controversies, Later caucuses not counted
Maine Republican State Chairman Charlie Webster said, "Some caucuses decided not to participate in this poll and will caucus after this announcement," and "Their results will not be factored in. The absent votes will not be factored into this announcement after the fact." Ruth Summers, vice chair of the Maine GOP, made a similar statement.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, Caucus Controversies, Later caucuses not counted
Washington County GOP Chairman Chris Gardner, a Romney supporter, said he had not expected that delaying the caucuses would cause his county's preference poll to be disregarded, and said that that would be "extremely disheartening". He said, "We will proceed next Saturday. We'll have our vote and we are going to submit it to the state party for them to reconsider." He also said,"The fact of the matter is we're going to hold our vote, we're going to announce the results and the media can do its own math," and "Regardless of who wins, those votes need to be counted and that's what we're doing."


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, Caucus Controversies, Later caucuses not counted
Numerous Maine Republicans and local observers have commented on the inclusion of the preference ballots from the delayed caucuses.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, Caucus Controversies, Later caucuses not counted
In a February 12 New York Times blog entry, Nate Silver questioned whether counting the postponed caucuses could help Paul win, and he stated, "Just 113 votes total were cast in [Washington] county in 2008, and only 8 of those were for Mr. Paul." In that entry Silver linked to  of the tally of the 2008 Maine Republican preference ballots supporting his claim. However Ben Swann of Fox 19 in Cincinnati said February 17 that adding the votes from Waterville and from Waldo, Hancock, and Washington Counties, together with bigger-than-2008 turnouts in Hancock and Washington Counties, could enable Paul to win the preference poll for Maine overall.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, Caucus Controversies, Later caucuses not counted
Charlie Webster was interviewed about the controversy for over seven minutes by Boston-based radio host Howie Carr on February 13. He said the " ... county folks met with the town folks  ... and decided that for safety reasons  ... they would  ... cancel it." Webster said 113 votes were cast in Washington County in 2008 and that obviously there would not be enough votes February 18 to change the statewide outcome. He said the state committee would decide whether to count the votes from the postponed caucuses.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, Caucus Controversies, Later caucuses not counted
He said that the rules, namely the 5 pm February 11 deadline, were made known to the towns ahead of time, also that Paul was poorly advised to claim in his speech that Washington County was a Paul stronghold. Webster did not join Carr when baited to characterize Paul supporters as "almost a cult" or ones who "like pot". Webster said there was reluctance to have Paul and Romney return to campaign for the few remaining votes and indicated that the committee probably would not add the new votes to the state results.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, Caucus Controversies, Later caucuses not counted
Eric White, the Republican chairman for Hancock County, which had scheduled some of its caucuses for February 18 and later, told Ben Swann that Charlie Webster had changed the rules in the middle of the game. White said that he himself had attended no less than five state GOP meetings and that the scheduling of caucuses for February 18 had never been an issue at those meetings. Swann quoted White as saying that White first learned February 12 of the supposed February 11 deadline for counting the results of the preference poll---after Webster had announced that Romney had won and after the deadline had passed.


2012 Maine Republican presidential caucuses, Caucus Controversies, Updated tallies
USA Today reported on February 15 that Jesse Benton, Ron Paul's national campaign chairman, said Paul "isn't going to press for a recount in the Maine caucuses". Benton called a recount "irrelevant" since Paul would receive a "strong majority" of Maine's delegates. However, an email sent by the Maine GOP to county and town chairs asked for totals to be resubmitted. Errors in the original tally were attributed to issues such as emails containing tallies accidentally being sent to spam folders. The updated results, released on February 17, showed that Mitt Romney led by 239 votes; however, Charlie Webster, chairman of the Maine Republican Party, stated that no recount would take place: "There's no way to recount. These were just slips of paper that were thrown away after."


2012 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 2012 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 83rd edition of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. It was held on July 10, 2012, during the 2012 Major League Baseball season at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, home of the Kansas City Royals. This marked the third time the Mid-summer Classic had been played in Kansas City, with Kauffman Stadium (then named Royals Stadium) last hosting the event in 1973, the stadium's first year of existence. The event was also held at Municipal Stadium in 1960, when the Athletics were still based there, one of two played that season. The game was televised in the United States by Fox.


2012 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The National League shut out the American League for the sixth time in All-Star Game history. It was the third-largest margin of victory for any Mid-summer Classic. The TV ratings fell even further than the 2011 edition, earning a 6.8 rating and 12 share on Fox. The total number of viewers who watched any portion of the game was up 7 percent from the previous year, however, with 27.7 million total viewers.


2012 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Host selection
Kauffman Stadium underwent a US $250 million renovation, funded by a 0.375% sales tax increase on the residents of Jackson County, Missouri for the Harry S. Truman Sports Complex, which also houses Arrowhead Stadium, the home of the Kansas City Chiefs. The referendum passed in an election on April 4, 2006. As a result of the deal, Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig promised the area that the team would host a future All-Star Game no later than 2014. On June 16, 2010, Selig officially awarded the rights to host the game to Kansas City for the 2012 season.


2012 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Host selection
Fenway Park was also in contention for hosting the 2012 All-Star Game to celebrate that park's centennial. However Boston had most recently hosted the 1999 All-Star game.


2012 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Fan balloting, Starters
Balloting for the 2012 All-Star Game starters began online April 20 and continued through June 28. Fan voting also took place in each MLB stadium, beginning May 8 (at the latest) and ended on June 22. The top vote-getters at each position (including the designated hitter for the American League) and the top three among outfielders, were named the starters for their respective leagues. The results were announced on July 1. A record 40.2 million votes were cast, beating out the previous record from 2011 (32.5 million) by a little under eight million. Josh Hamilton was the leading vote-getter with 11,073,744 votes, shattering the record that José Bautista set the prior year with 7,454,753 votes. Buster Posey set a new NL record for votes this year with 7,621,370 votes.


2012 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Fan balloting, Final roster spot
After the rosters were revealed, a second ballot of five players per league was created for the All-Star Final Vote to determine the 34th and final player of each roster. The online balloting was conducted from Sunday afternoon, July 1, through Thursday afternoon, July 5. The winners of the All-Star Final Vote were Yu Darvish of the Texas Rangers (AL) and David Freese of the St. Louis Cardinals (NL). Chipper Jones, of the Atlanta Braves, was removed from the ballot on July 3 after he replaced Matt Kemp on the roster due to injury.


2012 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Rosters
Players in italics have since been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.


2012 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Rosters, National League
The only position player able to participate who was not used was Adam Dunn. Lance Lynn and Huston Street were the pitchers not used by the National League. For the American League, pitchers Yu Darvish, Félix Hernández (who threw 114 pitches on July 8), Jake Peavy, and Chris Perez did not enter the game.


2012 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Game summary
In the first inning, the National League scored five runs off of Justin Verlander. Melky Cabrera singled with one out, then scored on Ryan Braun's double. Two two-out walks loaded the bases before Pablo Sandoval cleared them with a triple to the right field corner. Sandoval then scored on Dan Uggla's single. In the fourth, Rafael Furcal tripled with two outs off of Matt Harrison and scored on Matt Holliday's single. Melky Cabrera's home run then capped the game's scoring.


2012 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Game summary
The AL had the bases loaded in the fifth off of Clayton Kershaw, but failed to drive in any runs and the NL won 8–0. It was the third straight season the AL lost in an All-Star game. With two hits and two RBI, Melky Cabrera was named the All-Star Game MVP and was the first Giants player to be named All-Star MVP since Bobby Bonds in the 1973 All-Star Game, which was also held in Kansas City.


2012 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Game summary, Box score
Umpires: Home Plate – Gerry Davis (crew chief); First Base – Jim Joyce; Second Base – Brian Runge; Third Base – Tony Randazzo; Left Field – Lance Barksdale; Right Field – Brian Knight Weather: Temperature: 90 °F (32 °C), clear; Wind: 11 mph, in from left field Time of Game: 2:59 Attendance: 40,933


2012 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby
The 2012 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby (known through sponsorship as the State Farm Home Run Derby) was a home run hitting contest in Major League Baseball (MLB) between four batters each from the American League and National League. The derby was held on July 9, 2012, at the site of the 2012 MLB All-Star Game, Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.


2012 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby
Prince Fielder won the derby with five home runs in the first round, eleven home runs in the second round, and twelve runs in the finals. His twelve home runs in the final round ties Robinson Canó's record for final round home runs, set in 2011. Fielder beat Toronto outfielder José Bautista in the final round, 12–7.


2012 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby, Rules
Each participant is thrown pitches by a pitcher of his choice. The hitter has the option of not swinging at a pitch without penalty. If he swings at a pitch and misses or hits the pitch anywhere but in home run territory, it is considered an out. Each player hits until he records ten outs in each round. When nine outs are reached in each round, the "gold money ball" comes into play, in which State Farm donates a certain amount of money to charities if a home run is hit. This repeats until the batter records the final out.


2012 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby, Rules
In the first two rounds, home run totals will carry over for those rounds. Should there be a tie after either of the first two rounds, a "swing-off" takes place. In a swing-off, each tied player gets five swings to hit as many home runs as possible. If after the five swings a tie still remains, players get three more swings to determine the winner; if needed, sudden-death swings continue until one player homers. Home runs hit during a first round swing-off do not count towards the player's total going into the second round. All eight players participate in the first round; the four highest totals from round one will move to the semi-finals. The players with top two totals will face off in the finals, with the scores reset from the first two rounds.


2012 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby, Robinson Canó booing controversy
Yankees' second baseman Robinson Canó was at the center of a controversy involving booing from the live Kauffman Stadium fans. Canó was the American League's captain for the Home Run Derby and was responsible for picking the other participants. In June, Canó said that the right thing to do would be to choose a player from the hosting Kansas City Royals. However, he ultimately picked Prince Fielder, José Bautista, and Mark Trumbo (who finished in first, second, and third place respectively) as the AL representatives, leaving out Billy Butler of the Royals.


2012 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby, Robinson Canó booing controversy
The fans in attendance at the Derby expressed their displeasure at the snub, and heavily jeered Canó with booing during his performance at the derby. Canó did not hit a single home run during the derby and finished in last place. Later, Canó claimed that Kansas City fans targeted his family during their jeers at the All-Star festivities.