2012 Rose Bowl, Teams, Wisconsin
Wisconsin, winning 11 games and losing 2 during the season, had the best offense in the Big Ten, scoring 80 touchdowns, 7 field goals for a total of 580 points. Wisconsin was ranked 4th in the nation in scoring (44.6 points per game) and 10th in rushing yards (237.4). The Badgers had limited opponents to just 17 points per game, 155 yards in passing and 138 yards in rushing. The team had passed for 229.5 yards per game for a total offense of 466.9 yards in total offense. Russell Wilson broke the FBS record for overall passer rating in a season.


2012 Rose of Tralee
The 2012 Rose of Tralee was the 53rd edition of the annual Irish international festival, held on 20–21 August 2012 at the Festival Dome, in Tralee, County Kerry. Dáithí Ó Sé returned as host for the third time, just a matter of weeks after marrying the 2008 New Jersey Rose, Rita Talty. 32 contestants participated in the 2012 pageant, with Nicola McEvoy, representing Luxembourg, ultimately crowned the winner. Going into the show, the Dublin and Mayo Roses were tipped as the favourites to win with McEvoy not far behind them. The background music for the event was composed by the Garda Síochána Orchestra.


2012 Rose of Tralee
The judges for the 2012 Rose of Tralee were; RTÉ's Mary Kennedy, Michael Kearney, CAO of The Carlton Hotel Group, Denise Murphy O'Sullivan, the 1991 Rose of Tralee, Paul Neeson, Retail Director of Dublin Airport Authority, Jan Dowling, Motivation Weight Management and Tom Curran, Kerry County manager.


2012 Rose of Tralee
Ireland and Munster rugby player Ronan O'Gara was present on the final night and presented the winning Rose with her sash and tiara. Irish band The Coronas also performed their song "Addicted to Progress" during the show.


2012 Rose of Tralee
2012 was the first year that the Denver Rose and the Tyrone Rose made it onto the televised Rose Selection.


2012 Rose of Tralee, Broadcasting
The 2012 Rose of Tralee was broadcast live on RTÉ One and it was also streamed live on the RTÉ website for viewers all over the globe. The show received an audience share of 45%, the first time the audience share has dipped below 50% since 2008.


2012 Rosenborg BK season
The 2012 season was Rosenborg's 22nd consecutive year in Tippeligaen, and their 45th season in the top flight of Norwegian football. It was their second and final season with Jan Jönsson as manager. They participated in the Tippeligaen, finishing 3rd. They also took part in the 2012 Norwegian Football Cup, getting eliminated by Molde at the Fourth Round stage and the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League, which they entered at the First qualifying round stage and were eliminated at the group stage.


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


2012 Rosenborg BK season, Transfers, Winter
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2012 Rosenborg BK season, Transfers, Winter
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2012 Rosenborg BK season, Transfers, Summer
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2012 Rosenborg BK season, Transfers, Summer
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2012 Rossendale Borough Council election
Elections to Rossendale Borough Council were held on 3 May 2012.


2012 Rossendale Borough Council election
Councillors elected in 2008 were defending their seats this year, with their vote share change compared to that year.


2012 Rostelecom Cup
The 2012 Rostelecom Cup was the fourth event of six in the 2012–13 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Ice Palace Megasport in Moscow on November 8–11. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Skaters earned points toward qualifying for the 2012–13 Grand Prix Final.


2012 Rostelecom Cup, Eligibility
Skaters who reached the age of 14 by July 1, 2012 were eligible to compete on the senior Grand Prix circuit.


2012 Rostelecom Cup, Eligibility
Prior to competing in a Grand Prix event, skaters were required to have earned the following scores (3/5 of the top scores at the 2012 World Championships):


2012 Rostelecom Cup, Overview
Canada's Patrick Chan led after the men's short program, followed by Russia's Konstantin Menshov and Japan's Takahiko Kozuka. Chan was also first in the free skating, with Nobunari Oda in second and Kozuka in third. Chan won the title, Kozuka finished with the silver medal, and the Czech Republic's Michal Březina took the bronze. Johnny Weir re-aggravated an injury to his anterior cruciate ligament and withdrew after the short program.


2012 Rostelecom Cup, Overview
Gracie Gold of the United States won the ladies' short program ahead of Finland's Kiira Korpi and American Agnes Zawadzki. Korpi won the free skating and her first gold medal on the Grand Prix series, with Gold and Zawadzki taking silver and bronze respectively, their first GP medals.


2012 Rostelecom Cup, Overview
Russia's Tatiana Volosozhar / Maxim Trankov won the pairs' short program ahead of teammates Vera Bazarova / Yuri Larionov and the United States' Caydee Denney / John Coughlin. The standings remained the same after the free skating.


2012 Rostelecom Cup, Overview
Canada's Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir were first in the short dance, followed by Russia's Elena Ilinykh / Nikita Katsalapov and Victoria Sinitsina / Ruslan Zhiganshin. The standing remained the same after the free dance. Virtue / Moir won gold, Ilinykh / Katsalapov the silver, and Sinitsina / Zhiganshin their first senior Grand Prix medal.


2012 Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council election
The 2012 Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 3 May 2012 to elect members of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council in South Yorkshire, England. This was on the same day as other 2012 United Kingdom local elections. The Labour Party gained five seats, and one was gained by an Independent. The British National Party lost both of the seats it was defending, and the Conservative Party only held one of its five seats, in Sitwell ward.


2012 Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council election, Ward results, Holderness ward
Hilda Jack stood in this ward as a Labour Party candidate in 2008.


2012 Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council election, Ward results, Rotherham West ward
In 2008, Caven Vines stood in this ward as an Independent candidate.


2012 Rotherham by-election
The Rotherham by-election was a by-election for the Parliament of the United Kingdom's House of Commons constituency of Rotherham. The by-election was caused by the resignation of its Member of Parliament Denis MacShane after the House of Commons Standards and Privileges Committee found that he had submitted 19 false invoices "plainly intended to deceive" the parliamentary expenses authority, an issue dating back to 2009 and a wider parliamentary expenses scandal in the UK. MacShane accepted the office of Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds on 5 November 2012, formally vacating his seat. The election took place on 29 November 2012, at the same time as by-elections in Croydon North and Middlesbrough which were caused by the deaths of the sitting MPs.


2012 Rotherham by-election, Candidates
Rotherham Borough Council released the statement of persons nominated on 14 November 2012, confirming 11 candidates for the by-election.


2012 Rotherham by-election, Candidates
The Liberal Democrats' candidate, Michael Beckett, was announced by BBC Look North on 13 November 2012. The Labour candidate Sarah Champion is chief executive of Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice in Rotherham. Ex-miner Ralph Dyson was confirmed as the candidate for the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition on 9 November 2011.


2012 Rotherham by-election, Candidates
Clint Bristow stood with no party description, but is a local organiser for the English Defence League.


2012 Rotherham by-election, Candidates
Local resident Jane Collins was the candidate for UKIP, who previously stood for the party in the 2011 Barnsley by-election where she achieved second place with 12.2% of the vote, beating both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. Marlene Guest had stood for the BNP in Rotherham previously.


2012 Rotherham by-election, Candidates
Respect confirmed their selection of Yvonne Ridley on 12 November. Ms Ridley is a broadcaster, known for being kidnapped by Taliban forces while she was working in Afghanistan for  the Sunday Express newspaper. Subsequent to being freed, she converted to Islam and has adopted a strong anti-Zionist position, saying "any Zionism in Respect would be hunted down and kicked out".


2012 Rotherham by-election, Candidates
English Democrats candidate David Wildgoose stood in the 1994 Rotherham by-election as a Liberal Democrat when Denis MacShane was first elected, coming second with nearly 30% of the vote. At the previous General Election, he stood for the English Democrats in Sheffield Hallam against the Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg.


2012 Rotherham by-election, Candidates
Simon Copley, a charity fundraiser and church leader, stood as an Independent candidate saying he offered a "moderate alternative".


2012 Rotherham by-election, Campaign
During the election campaign, social workers removed three children from foster care on behalf of the local council on the grounds that the foster parents were members of UKIP. The local council said that the children were "not indigenous white British" and that they had concerns about UKIP's stance on immigration. The decision attracted widespread criticism from across the political spectrum, including from the Labour leader Ed Miliband and Conservative Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove. The Labour Leader of Rotherham Council has also launched an inquiry.


2012 Rotherham by-election, Campaign
Leader of UKIP, Nigel Farage said that he was "appalled and upset" by the decision. He said that his party is officially constituted as a non-racist, non-sectarian, libertarian party, as defined in the party constitution. In May 2013, Rotherham council apologised and said that communication about the decision gave the incorrect impression that it related solely to the couples UKIP membership. This was incorrect, the children were removed because it was in their "best interests" though full details couldn't be given "for legal reasons". The council said it had "taken action to strengthen the way it made decisions and how it communicated information."


2012 Rotherham by-election, Result
Labour won the by-election. The result was poor for the two parties of the governing coalition with the Conservatives dropping to fifth place, while the Liberal Democrats were in eighth place, described as the worst ever performance by a major party in a by-election, although not the lowest vote share.


2012 Rotherham by-election, Result
UKIP finished in second place. Their candidate Jane Collins had previously been the only UKIP candidate to come second in any UK parliamentary election at Barnsley Central in 2011. UKIP also came second in the Middlesbrough by-election held on the same day as Rotherham. The UKIP vote share was, at 21.7%, the highest ever recorded for that party in any parliamentary election (however they had polled more votes in both the Corby by-election and in Buckingham at the 2010 general election, and their record for highest share was broken at Eastleigh three months later).


2012 Rotherham by-election, Result
The British National Party's third place was the highest ever placing for that party in a by-election, although they had polled more votes and a higher share elsewhere. Additionally the BNP result represented a decline in their vote from the 2010 general election, in what had been one of their strongest performances that year. To date, this by-election marked the final time the BNP reached the 5% threshold required to keep their deposit. For Respect, Yvonne Ridley obtained the party's third best by-election result, surpassed only by her own performance in Leicester South in 2004 (fourth with 12.7%), and George Galloway's gain of Bradford West in March 2012.


2012 Rowville Rail Study
The 2012 Rowville Rail Study studied the possibility of a rail link to Rowville, Victoria.


2012 Rowville Rail Study
The first stage of the report was released in March 2012, and found that congestion on the Glen Waverley line, Belgrave line  and Dandenong line (from Caulfield to Pakenham) would reduce if the rail link were constructed.


2012 Royal Bank Cup
The 2012 Royal Bank Cup was the 42nd Junior "A" 2012 ice hockey National Championship for the Canadian Junior Hockey League. The 2012 Royal Bank Cup marked the 42nd consecutive year a national championship has been awarded to this skill level since the breakaway of Major Junior hockey in 1970.


2012 Royal Bank Cup
The Royal Bank Cup was competed for by the winners of the Doyle Cup, Anavet Cup, Dudley Hewitt Cup, the Fred Page Cup and the host team, the Humboldt Broncos of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.


2012 Royal Bank Cup
The tournament was hosted by the Humboldt Broncos which will see the round robin begin on May 5, 2012 and have the final played on May 13, 2012. Tournament games was played at the Elgar Peterson Arena in Humboldt, Saskatchewan. Like every other year of the RBC round robin, it consisted of 5 teams in 2012.


2012 Royal Bank Cup, Format
Since the Humboldt Broncos were the 2012 SJHL regular season champions and playoff champions, the Broncos would still move on to compete for the 2012 Anavet Cup. The Broncos would turn out to be successful in the best of 7 2012 Anavet Cup series, defeating the 2012 MJHL playoff champion the Portage Terriers 4-3. Since the Humboldt Broncos are hosting the 2012 RBC, the Portage Terriers would still receive a ticket to the tournament because every year during the RBC tournament the host teams automatically play even if they missed or lost out of the playoffs early.


2012 Royal Bank Cup, Format
The Penticton Vees of the BCHL entered the tournament as BCHL and Doyle Cup champions, with a BCHL record 42-game winning streak under their belt from earlier in the year. While breaking the BCHL record, the Vees rivaled but did not surpass the nationwide Junior A records of the 1999-2000 Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats (49 games, NOJHL), 1989-90 Sudbury Cubs (48 games, NOJHL), or 1981-82 Flin Flon Bombers (46 games, NJHL).


2012 Royal Bank Cup, Final
The Penticton Vees won their second ever National Junior A Championship with a 4–3 come-from-behind victory over the Maritime Junior Hockey League's Woodstock Slammers. The Vees led 2–0, but the Slammers stormed back to take a 3–2 lead past the halfway point of the third. Soon after, the Vees scored to tie it in a game that seemed destined for overtime.


2012 Royal Bank Cup, Final
In the final eight and a half minutes of play, the Slammers took three consecutive penalties, in which the Vees scored in the final minute of the final power play with 51 seconds remaining in the game to clinch the Royal Bank Cup. During the regular season, the Vees and Slammers were both nationally ranked #1 teams for most of the season, setting up a very evenly matched final.


2012 Royal Bank Cup, Tournament, Round Robin, Results
All games at the Elgar Peterson Arena in Humboldt, SK.


2012 Royal Cup NLB Montenegro
The 2012 Royal Cup NLB Montenegro was a professional tennis tournament played on clay courts. It was the ninth edition of the tournament which was part of the 2012 ITF Women's Circuit. It took place in Podgorica, Montenegro on 17–23 September 2012.


2012 Royal Cup NLB Montenegro, WTA entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2012 Royal Cup NLB Montenegro – Doubles
Corinna Dentoni and Florencia Molinero were the defending champions, but both players chose not to participate.


2012 Royal Cup NLB Montenegro – Doubles
Nicole Clerico and Anna Zaja won the title, defeating Mailen Auroux and María Irigoyen in the final, 4–6, 6–3, [11–9].


2012 Royal Cup NLB Montenegro – Singles
Paula Ormaechea was the defending champion, but chose not to participate.


2012 Royal Cup NLB Montenegro – Singles
Renata Voráčová won the title, defeating Maria Elena Camerin in the final, 3–6, 6–2, 6–0.


2012 Royal Indian Open
The 2012 Royal Indian Open was a tournament organized for female professional tennis players, played on outdoor hard courts. The event is classified as a WTA Challenger Series tournament. It took place in Pune, India between 5 and 11 November 2012.


2012 Royal Indian Open, WTA entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2012 Royal Indian Open – Doubles
Nina Bratchikova and Oksana Kalashnikova won the title, defeating Julia Glushko and Noppawan Lertcheewakarn 6–0, 4–6, [10–8] in the final.


2012 Royal Indian Open – Singles
This was a new event in 2012. Elina Svitolina won the first title, defeating Kimiko Date-Krumm 6–2, 6–3 in the final.


2012 Royal International Horse Show
The 2012 Longines Royal International Horse Show was the 2012 edition of the Royal International Horse Show, the British official show jumping horse show at the All England Jumping Course at Hickstead. It was held as CSIO 5*.


2012 Royal International Horse Show
The 2012 edition of the Royal International Horse Show was held between 19 and 22 July 2012. Different from other years, this year Royal International Horse Show only consist of Show jumping competitions. Dressage competitions was not held because of the Equestrian competitions at the 2012 Summer Olympics just one week ahead.


2012 Royal International Horse Show, FEI Nations Cup of the United Kingdom
The 2012 FEI Nations Cup of the United Kingdom was part of the 2012 Royal International Horse Show. It was the seventh competition of the 2012 FEI Nations Cup.


2012 Royal International Horse Show, FEI Nations Cup of the United Kingdom
The 2012 FEI Nations Cup of the United Kingdom was held on Friday 20 July 2012. The competing teams were: Great Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, France, Belgium and the Switzerland.


2012 Royal International Horse Show, FEI Nations Cup of the United Kingdom
The competition was a show jumping competition with two rounds and optionally one jump-off. The height of the fences were up to 1.60 meters. The competition was endowed with 200,000 €.


2012 Royal International Horse Show, FEI Nations Cup of the United Kingdom
(grey penalties points do not count for the team result)


2012 Royal International Horse Show, The Longines King Georges V Gold Cup
The King Georges V Gold Cup, the Show jumping Grand Prix of the 2012 Royal International Horse Show, was the major show jumping competition at this event. The sponsor of this competition was Longines. It was held on Sunday 22 July 2012. The competition was a show jumping competition with one round and one jump-off, the height of the fences were up to 1.60 meters.


2012 Royal LePage OVCA Women's Fall Classic
The 2012 Royal LePage OVCA Women's Fall Classic was held from November 1 to 4 at the North Greenville Curling Club in Kemptville, Ontario as part of the 2012–13 World Curling Tour. The event was held in a triple knockout format, and the purse for the event was CAD$15,000, of which the winner, Rachel Homan, received CAD$5,000. Homan defeated Allison Nimik in the final with a score of 6–1.


2012 Royal Trophy
The 2012 Royal Trophy was the sixth edition of the Royal Trophy, a team golf event contested between teams representing Asia and Europe. It was held from 14–16 December at the Empire Hotel and Country Club in Jerudong, Brunei. After the two teams tied 8–8, Asia won a sudden-death playoff. Kim Kyung-tae and Yang Yong-eun faced Nicolas Colsaerts and Francesco Molinari in a four-ball match, with Kim's birdie giving Asia the win on the first hole.


2012 Rugby Borough Council election
Elections to Rugby Borough Council took place on Thursday 3 May 2012.


2012 Rugby Borough Council election
All 42 seats were up for election. This is because a boundary review took place and reduced the size of the council and adjusted the ward boundaries. The Conservative Party retained their majority.


2012 Rugby Borough Council election, Ward Results
Note: Because of the boundary changes and the lack of any nominal results under the new boundaries, all results are listed as holds, even when seats have de facto changed hands. Percentage results are only shown for single-seat wards.


2012 Rugby Championship
The 2012 Rugby Championship was the inaugural annual rugby union series between the national rugby union teams of New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and Argentina. For sponsorship reasons, the competition was known as The Castle Rugby Championship in South Africa, The Investec Rugby Championship in New Zealand, The Castrol Edge Rugby Championship in Australia and The Personal Rugby Championship in Argentina.


2012 Rugby Championship
The 2012 Rugby Championship kicked off on 18 August with New Zealand defeating Australia and finished on 6 October. Each team played the other twice on a home and away basis. The inaugural Championship was won by New Zealand, which was their 11th Southern Hemisphere title including the Tri Nations.


2012 Rugby Championship, Fixtures, Round 1
Touch judges:Nigel Owens (Wales)Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa)Television match official:Matt Goddard (Australia)


2012 Rugby Championship, Fixtures, Round 1
Touch judges:Jérôme Garcès (France)John Lacey (Ireland)Television match official:Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)


2012 Rugby Championship, Fixtures, Round 2
Touch judges:Alain Rolland (Ireland)Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa)Television match official:Ben Skeen (New Zealand)


2012 Rugby Championship, Fixtures, Round 2
Touch judges:Jérôme Garcès (France)John Lacey (Ireland)Television match official:Francisco Pastrana (Argentina)


2012 Rugby Championship, Fixtures, Round 3
Touch judges:George Clancy (Ireland)James Leckie (Australia)Television match official:Vinny Munro (New Zealand)


2012 Rugby Championship, Fixtures, Round 3
Touch judges:Wayne Barnes (England)Glen Jackson (New Zealand)Television match official:Matt Goddard (Australia)


2012 Rugby Championship, Fixtures, Round 4
Touch judges:Romain Poite (France)James Leckie (Australia)Television match official:Vinny Munro (New Zealand)


2012 Rugby Championship, Fixtures, Round 4
Touch judges:Nigel Owens (Wales)Glen Jackson (New Zealand)Television match official:Matt Goddard (Australia)


2012 Rugby Championship, Fixtures, Round 5
Touch judges:Romain Poite (France)Greg Garner (England)Television match official:Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)


2012 Rugby Championship, Fixtures, Round 5
Touch judges:Craig Joubert (South Africa)Pascal Gaüzère (France)Television match official:Francisco Pastrana (Argentina)


2012 Rugby Championship, Fixtures, Round 6
Touch judges:Romain Poite (France)Greg Garner (England)Television match official:Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)


2012 Rugby Championship, Fixtures, Round 6
Touch judges:Jaco Peyper (South Africa)Pascal Gaüzère (France)Television match official:Francisco Pastrana (Argentina)


2012 Rugby Championship, Warm up matches
On 4 August and 11 August, Argentina played two uncapped matches against a Stade Français team in Argentina.


2012 Rugby Championship, Squads, Summary
Note: Ages are as of 18 August 2012 – the starting date of the tournament.


2012 Rugby Championship, Squads, Argentina
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.


2012 Rugby Championship, Squads, Australia
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.


2012 Rugby Championship, Squads, New Zealand
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.


2012 Rugby Championship, Squads, South Africa
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.


2012 Rugby League Asian Cup
The 2012 Rugby League Asian Cup is the inaugural edition of the Rugby League Asian Cup which was contested by the Philippines and Thailand. The two participating teams played a single match against each other. This match was the first international held in Asia.


2012 Rugby League European Bowl, Tournament
The 2012 Bowl again comprised a single match. Czech Republic and Hungary (Magyar Bulls RLFC).


2012 Rugby Super League season
The 2012 Rugby Super League season was the seventeenth and final season of the Rugby Super League, the United States premier division of rugby union, before being replaced by the USA Rugby Elite Cup. The regular season commenced on March 10, 2012. On May 19, 2012, the regular season ended, and was followed by the playoffs, for which the top four clubs qualified.


2012 Rugby Super League season
The defending champions and premiers were the San Francisco Golden Gate. New York Athletic Club RFC won both the regular season and the playoffs.


2012 Runnymede Borough Council election
The 2012 Runnymede Borough Council election took place on 3 May 2012 to elect members of the Runnymede Borough District Council. The Conservative Party won 12 of the seats and the local Runnymede Independent Residents' Group won 2; both parties held onto their seats from the 2011 elections.


2012 Rushmoor Borough Council election
The 2012 Rushmoor Council elections took place on Thursday 3 May 2012 to elect members of Rushmoor Borough Council in Hampshire, England.


2012 Rushmoor Borough Council election
It was a very good night for the Labour Party and their Leader Cllr Keith Dibble who achieved the highest percentage vote on the night. Labour gained the three seats in the new Cherrywood ward in Farnborough. The first time Labour has had councillors in Farnborough for ten years.


2012 Rushmoor Borough Council election
The controlling Tories lost 5 seats, Labour gained 5, UKIP gained 1 and the Lib Dems lost all 4 seats.


2012 Rushmoor Borough Council election
The whole of the council was up for election following a boundary review that has reorganised the distribution of council wards throughout the borough. The council will now be composed of 13 wards, each of which will elect three members to create a council of 39 councillors.


2012 Russell Athletic Bowl
The 2012 Russell Athletic Bowl was a postseason American college football bowl game held on December 28, 2012, at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida in the United States. This was the first under the Russell Athletic moniker after eight game under Champs Sports. The 23rd edition of the Russell Athletic Bowl began at 5:30 p.m. EST and aired on ESPN. It featured the Virginia Tech Hokies from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) against the Big East Conference co-champion Rutgers Scarlet Knights, and was the final game of the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season for both teams. The Scarlet Knights accepted their invitation after achieving a 9–3 record in the regular season, while the Hokies accepted theirs after achieving a 6–6 record.


2012 Russell Athletic Bowl
This was the first Russell Athletic Bowl for both teams.


2012 Russell Athletic Bowl, Teams
This was the fifteenth meeting between these two teams. Virginia Tech leads the all-time record 12–3. The last time they played was in 2003. The teams were conference rivals in the old Big East Conference from 1991 to 2003.


2012 Russell Athletic Bowl, Teams, Virginia Tech
A disastrous season by Virginia Tech standards, the Hokies were in danger of being bowl-ineligible for the first time since 1992. However, in their final two games the Hokies defeated their rivals the Boston College Eagles as well as Commonwealth Cup rivals the Virginia Cavaliers, finishing 6–6 and becoming bowl-eligible.


2012 Russell Athletic Bowl, Teams, Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights finished in a four-way tie for the Big East title with a 5–2 conference record (holding the tiebreaker over the Syracuse Orange and Cincinnati Bearcats but behind the Louisville Cardinals. After losing to said Cardinals in their season finale, the Scarlet Knights accepted an invitation to the 2012 Russell Athletic Bowl.


2012 Russell Athletic Bowl, Game summary, First half
Rutgers scored 17 seconds into the game after Virginia Tech center Caleb Farris snapped the ball past Hokies quarterback Logan Thomas into the end zone. Thomas attempted to pick the fumbled ball up in the end zone, but lost the ball as he was tackled. Rutgers linebacker Khaseem Greene recovered the ball for a touchdown to give Rutgers a 7–0 lead. The Scarlet Knights took a 10–0 lead later in the first quarter on a 36-yard field goal from Nick Borgese.


2012 Russell Athletic Bowl, Game summary, First half
In the second quarter, the Hokies failed to cross midfield, while Rutgers drove into Virginia Tech territory twice. Rutgers was unable to score, however, turning the ball on downs on its first drive into Hokies territory and punting on its second trip. The Scarlet Knights took a 10–0 lead going into halftime.


2012 Russell Athletic Bowl, Game summary, Second half
The third quarter remained scoreless, as the two teams exchanged punts. In the fourth quarter, the Scarlet Knights were unable to extend their lead after Rutgers placekicker Nick Borgese missed a 47-yard field goal. Helped by two long passed from Hokies quarterback Logan Thomas, the Hokies were able to drive to Rutgers' 8-yard line. However, the Hokies were unable to get a touchdown and settled for a 25-yard field to make the score 10–3. On the ensuing drive, Rutgers quarterback Gary Nova was intercepted by Virginia Tech's Antone Exum. Exum returned the interception 32 yards to Rutgers 21-yard line.


2012 Russell Athletic Bowl, Game summary, Second half
Taking advantage of the good field position, the Hokies tied the game 10–10 on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Logan Thomas to Corey Fuller. Virginia Tech had a couple more attempts in the fourth quarter to win the game in regulation. The Hokies recovered a fumble at Rutgers' 29-yard line, but were forced to punt after committing penalties. After getting the ball back, the Hokies once again drove into Rutgers' territory, but were unable to get any points after missing a 51-yard field goal. The score remained tied 10–10 going into overtime.


2012 Russell Athletic Bowl, Game summary, Second half
Virginia Tech received possession first in overtime. The Hokies were able to get to Rutgers' 3-yard line thanks to a 19-yard pass from Logan Thomas to Marcus Davis. Virginia Tech was unable to score a touchdown, however, and had to settle for a 22-yard field goal to go up 13–10. The Scarlet Knights attempted to force a second overtime on a 42-yard field goal attempt from Nick Borgese. Borgese's kick missed wide right, however, sealing the victory for Virginia Tech.


2012 Russell Athletic Bowl, Game summary, Notes and records
A 2012 Russell Athletic Bowl featured a record 20 combined punts and a record low 23 combined points. The bowl victory for the Hokies also marked Virginia Tech's 12th consecutive victory over Rutgers and gave the Hokies' its 21st consecutive winning season.


2012 Russia Open Grand Prix
The 2012 Russia Open Grand Prix was the sixth grand prix gold and grand prix tournament of the 2012 BWF Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix. The tournament was held in Sports Hall Olympic, Vladivostok, Russia June 26 until July 1, 2012, and had a total purse of $50,000.


2012 Russian Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 2012 Russian Artistic Gymnastics Championships were held in Penza, Russia in March for WAG.


2012 Russian Artistic Gymnastics Championships, Medal winners
2010 world all-around champion Aliya Mustafina continued her impressive comeback at the Russian championships, leading her Moscow team to first place in the team final in Penza. .


2012 Russian Cup
The 2012 Russian Cup was held in Penza, Russia from 12–17 June 2012.


2012 Russian Cup, Medal winners
The Russian Cup — featuring team, all-around and individual events — is the last competitive chance for on-the-bubble gymnasts to prove themselves worthy of Olympian status.


2012 Russian Cup, Medal winners
Powered by superstars Aliya Mustafina and Viktoria Komova, Moscow ran away with the women's title on Wednesday, which also served as the qualification for all-around and event finals.


2012 Russian Figure Skating Championships
The 2012 Russian Figure Skating Championships (Russian: Чемпионат России по фигурному катанию на коньках 2012) was held from December 25–29, 2011 in Saransk. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.


2012 Russian Figure Skating Championships
The results were among the criteria used to select the teams sent to the 2012 World Championships, the 2012 European Championships, and the 2012 World Junior Championships.


2012 Russian Figure Skating Championships, Senior Championships
Top pairs' teams Tatiana Volosozhar / Maxim Trankov and Yuko Kavaguti / Alexander Smirnov appealed to the president of the Russian Figure Skating Federation, Alexander Gorshkov, to release them on medical grounds from participating in the championship, which is part of the selection process for the European and World Championships. Gorshkov said the pairs had earned their berths by virtue of their strong Grand Prix results and granted their exemptions from the Russian Championships. Nikolai Morozov, the coach of Grand Prix Final bronze medalist Alena Leonova, said she had also already earned her place in the team and could have missed the event but she chose to compete.


2012 Russian Figure Skating Championships, Senior Championships
Evgeni Plushenko placed first in the men's short program, with Artur Gachinski and Zhan Bush in second and third respectively. Plushenko won his ninth national title. Gachinski won silver and Voronov climbed from fifth after the short to take the bronze medal.


2012 Russian Figure Skating Championships, Senior Championships
Adelina Sotnikova won the ladies' short program, Ksenia Makarova was second, and Yulia Lipnitskaya third. Sotnikova won her third national title, Lipnitskaya won silver, and Leonova took bronze. In the free skate, Lipnitskaya earned the highest TES (technical elements score), followed by 12-year-olds Radionova and Medvedeva, who were ineligible for junior international competitions.


2012 Russian Figure Skating Championships, Senior Championships
Vera Bazarova / Yuri Larionov took the lead in the pairs' short program, with Anastasia Martiusheva / Alexei Rogonov and Ksenia Stolbova / Fedor Klimov in second and third. Bazarova / Larionov won their first national title, while Stolbova / Klimov won silver and Martiusheva / Rogonov the bronze.


2012 Russian Figure Skating Championships, Senior Championships
Ekaterina Bobrova / Dmitri Soloviev placed first in the short dance, with Elena Ilinykh / Nikita Katsalapov and Ekaterina Riazanova / Ilia Tkachenko in second and third respectively. Bobrova / Soloviev won their second national title, Ilinykh / Katsalapov won silver, and Riazanova / Tkachenko held on for the bronze although Pushkash / Guerreiro were third in the free dance. Riazanova was injured a couple of weeks before the event; she sustained a concussion and a broken nose when her partner accidentally elbowed her in practice.


2012 Russian Figure Skating Championships, Senior Championships
The team to the European Championships was named on December 28, 2011. The World Championships team was announced on February 23, 2012, but only two ladies were confirmed, with the third lady (Makarova) confirmed on March 14.


2012 Russian Figure Skating Championships, Junior Championships
The 2012 Russian Junior Championships (Russian: Первенство России 2012) were held in Novogorsk, Khimki from 5–7 February 2012.


2012 Russian Figure Skating Championships, Junior Championships
Zhan Bush won the junior men's title. He and Artur Dmitriev Jr. received Russia's two berths to the World Junior Championships.


2012 Russian Figure Skating Championships, Junior Championships
Adelina Sotnikova and Elizaveta Tuktamysheva were released from competing at the Russian Junior Championships and automatically assigned to the World Junior Championships. Yulia Lipnitskaya won the ladies' junior title, followed by Polina Shelepen and Elena Radionova. Lipnitskaya received the last available spot to Junior Worlds.


2012 Russian Figure Skating Championships, Junior Championships
Vasilisa Davankova / Andrei Deputat won the junior pairs' title while Ekaterina Petaikina / Maxim Kurdyukov were the silver medalists and Kamilla Gainetdinova / Ivan Bich the bronze medalists. Deputat was released by Ukraine to skate for Russia at the World Junior Championships, along with the other medalists. In the free skate, Gainetdinova/Bich successfully landed side-by-side (sbs) triple lutzes, receiving 6.70 points for the element, and also included a sbs triple loop, double axel sequence, receiving 5.99 points due to some negative grades of execution.


2012 Russian Figure Skating Championships, Junior Championships
Victoria Sinitsina / Ruslan Zhiganshin won gold while Alexandra Stepanova / Ivan Bukin took silver and Valeria Zenkova / Valerie Sinitsin the bronze. Along with Sinitsina / Zhiganshin and Stepanova / Bukin, Anna Yanovskaia / Sergei Mozgov were selected for Junior Worlds due to their Junior Grand Prix results.


2012 Russian Super Cup
The 2012 Russian Football Super Cup (Russian: Суперкубок России по футболу) was the 10th Russian Super Cup match, a football match which was contested between the 2011–12 Russian Premier League champion, Zenit Saint Petersburg, and the 2011–12 Russian Cup champion, Rubin Kazan.


2012 Russian Super Cup
The match was held on 14 July 2012 at the Metallurg Stadium, in Samara, Russia.


2012 Russian Women's Cup
The 2012 Russian Women's Cup was the 20th edition of the Russian women's football national cup organized by the Russian Football Union, running from 18 April to 5 May 2011. It is contested by all eight teams from the 2012 Russian Championship.


2012 Russian Women's Cup
Zvezda Perm have won the cup for the second time after 2007.


2012 Russian gubernatorial elections
Russian gubernatorial elections in 2012 took place on October 14 in Amur, Bryansk, Belgorod, Novgorod and Ryazan oblasts. The number of candidates in any region has not exceeded four.


2012 Russian gubernatorial elections
The ballots in governors’ elections in the Amur, Belgorod and Ryazan regions had four names to choose from. The ballot in the Novgorod region contains three names. Totally, 17 candidates from six political parties will compete for five governor seats. The parties represent the State Duma’s "big four" United Russia, the Communists, the Liberal-Democratic Party and A Just Russia, as well as Right Cause and Patriots of Russia. Candidates from LDPR competed in four regions, those from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation in three, Right Course and Patriots of Russia are represented in two regions, and A Just Russia in one.


2012 Russian gubernatorial elections
The Russian Interior Ministry released a statement saying "To ensure law and order and public security, over 102,000 police and interior troops, 2,800-strong staff of private security firms and 3,900 representatives of voluntary people’s squads, public formations and Cossacks will be involved during the holding of the Unified Voting Day".


2012 Russian presidential election
The 2012 Russian presidential election was held on 4 March 2012. There were five officially registered candidates: four representatives of registered parties, and one nominal independent. These Russian presidential elections were the first after the constitutional amendments in 2008. In this election, the President was elected for the first time for six years, not four as before.


2012 Russian presidential election
At the United Russia congress in Moscow on 24 September 2011, President Dmitry Medvedev proposed that his predecessor, Vladimir Putin, stand for the presidency in 2012, an offer which Putin accepted. Putin immediately offered Medvedev the opportunity to stand on the United Russia ticket in the parliamentary elections in December 2011 and become Prime Minister at the end of his presidential term. All independents had to register by 15 December 2011, and candidates nominated by parties were required to register by 18 January 2012. The final list was announced on 29 January. On 2 March, outgoing President Medvedev addressed the nation on the national television channels about the upcoming elections, inviting citizens to vote.


2012 Russian presidential election
Putin received 63.6% of the vote, securing a record third term in the Kremlin. Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe observers assessed the voting on the election day positively overall, but assessed the vote count negatively in almost one-third of polling stations due to procedural irregularities.


2012 Russian presidential election, Candidates
The following individuals submitted documents to the Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) in order to be officially registered as presidential candidates.


2012 Russian presidential election, Candidates, Registered candidates
The following candidates were successfully registered by the CEC, candidates are listed in the order they appear on the ballot paper (alphabetical order in Russian):


2012 Russian presidential election, Campaigning, Sergey Mironov
A Just Russia nominee called for a return to a socialist model of government.


2012 Russian presidential election, Campaigning, Mikhail Prokhorov
Mikhail Prokhorov conducted a tour around the country, meeting with his supporters in various cities. He was the only candidate to do so except for Putin, who visited Russia's regions as a part of his Prime Minister of Russia duties.


2012 Russian presidential election, Campaigning, Mikhail Prokhorov
If elected, Prokhorov promised to reinstate elections for Russia's governorships. He also promised to pardon Mikhail Khodorkovsky. He promised to reverse the recent constitutional amendment that had lengthened presidential terms from four years to six. He stated that he would select Alexei Kudrin to serve as his prime minister. Prokhorov promised to dismantle state control of the media and prohibit all forms of censorship and state control of major television and radio stations. He promised to dismantle large energy monopolies, including dismantling Gazprom. He also stated that he favored better relations with the European Union.


2012 Russian presidential election, Campaigning, Vladimir Putin
In the course of the 2012 presidential campaign, in order to present his manifesto, Putin published 7 articles in different Russian newspapers. In those articles, he presented his vision of the problems which Russia successfully solved in the last decade and the goals yet to be achieved. The topics of the articles were as follows: the general overview, the ethnicity issue, economic tasks, democracy and government efficiency, social policy, military and foreign policy.


2012 Russian presidential election, Campaigning, Vladimir Putin, Speeches
During the campaign Putin made a single outdoor public speech at a 100,000-strong rally of his supporters in the Luzhniki Stadium on 23 February, Russia's Defender of the Fatherland Day. In the speech, he called on the Russian people not to betray the Motherland, but to love her and to unite for the common good. He said that foreign interference in Russian affairs should not be allowed, and Russia's national sovereignty should be paramount.


2012 Russian presidential election, Campaigning, Vladimir Putin, Speeches
He compared the political situation (when there was widespread fear that the 2011–13 Russian protests could instigate a color revolution directed from abroad) with the First Fatherland War (more generally known as Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of Russia), reminding listeners that the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Borodino would be celebrated in 2012. Putin cited Lermontov's poem Borodino and ended the speech with Vyacheslav Molotov's famous Great Patriotic War slogan "The Victory Shall Be Ours!" ("Победа будет за нами! ").


2012 Russian presidential election, Campaigning, Vladimir Putin, Speeches
The BBC reported that some attendees claimed they had been ordered by their employers to take part in the rally, or paid to do so. Some said they had been told they were attending a "folk festival". After Putin spoke, popular folk band Lubeh took to the stage.


2012 Russian presidential election, Campaigning, Vladimir Zhirinovsky
Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky is a veteran of Russian politics who has participated in five presidential elections in Russia (every election since 1996). Zhirinovsky's campaign slogan for 2012 was "Vote Zhirinovsky, or things will get worse". Proshka, a donkey owned by Vladimir Zhirinovsky, became prominent during the presidential campaign, when he was filmed in an election advertisement video.


2012 Russian presidential election, Campaigning, Gennady Zyuganov
In September 2011, Gennady Zyuganov again became the CPRF's candidate for the Russian presidential election. According to Zyuganov, "a gang of folks who cannot do anything in life apart from dollars, profits and mumbling, has humiliated the country" and called for a new international alliance to "counter the aggressive policies of imperialist circles."


2012 Russian presidential election, Results
There were over 108,000,000 eligible voters and almost all 95,000 polling stations had webcams to observe the voting process. Following criticism of the vote in the December elections, 2 web cameras were dedicated to streaming the activities at each polling station, at an expense of five million dollars, i.e. about $50 per polling station.


2012 Russian presidential election, Electoral irregularities
International observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) found that although all competitors had access to the media, Putin was given clear prominence. Strict candidate registration requirements also limited "genuine competition". According to Tonino Picula, the Special Co-ordinator to lead the short-term OSCE observer mission,


2012 Russian presidential election, Electoral irregularities
There were serious problems from the very start of this election. The point of elections is that the outcome should be uncertain. This was not the case in Russia. There was no real competition and abuse of government resources ensured that the ultimate winner of the election was never in doubt.


2012 Russian presidential election, Electoral irregularities
The OCSE observers concluded that voting on the day of the election was assessed positively overall, but the "process deteriorated during the vote count which was assessed negatively in almost one-third of polling stations observed due to procedural irregularities." The OSCE called for a thorough investigation of the electoral violations and urged citizens to actively oversee future elections in order to increase confidence.


2012 Russian presidential election, Electoral irregularities
Allegations were made that Putin supporters had been driven around in coaches in order to vote for him in multiple constituencies (which is known as carousel voting). These practices were documented by video monitoring systems installed on most voting stations.


2012 Russian presidential election, Electoral irregularities
Pravda alleged that industrial plants with a continuous-cycle production have violated the law by bussing workers to polling centres. The chairman of the Moscow Election Committee Valentin Gorbunov countered the accusation saying that this was normal practice and did not constitute a violation. According to Iosif Diskin, a member of the Public Chamber of Russia, there were special observers who controlled that workers have legal absentee certificates. Information about carousel voting was, according to him, not confirmed.


2012 Russian presidential election, Electoral irregularities
Georgy Fyodorov, director of the NGO "Citizens Watch" ("Гражданский контроль"), said that statements from the monitoring group GOLOS about carousel voting in Strogino District were false, however, Citizens Watch never addressed the evidence of the electoral fraud presented by GOLOS. The level of electoral manipulation is substantial. According to GOLOS, one third of all electoral commissions had substantial irregularities at the stage of vote counting and tabulation.


2012 Russian presidential election, Electoral irregularities
Claims that Putin's share of the vote was inflated by up to 10% were dismissed by Putin in a talk with journalists: "It's possible there were irregularities, probably there were some. But they can only influence hundredths of a per cent. Well, maybe one per cent; that I can imagine. But no more." Ruža Tomašić, OSCE observer from Croatia, noted that there were no irregularities at five polling stations near Kaluga.


2012 Russian presidential election, Electoral irregularities
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation did not acknowledge the results of the election.


2012 Russian presidential election, Protests
On 11 March 2012 approximately 15,000–20,000 protesters demonstrated in Novy Arbat street against perceived fraud and Putin's rule. MP Ilya Ponomaryov, a protest coordinator, described the protesters' plans: "We must be the government's constant nightmare and build up to a crescendo of protests at the time of Putin's inauguration in early May."


2012 Russian presidential election, Protests, Inauguration
Putin was inaugurated in the Kremlin on 7 May 2012. Public protests had taken place in Moscow on 6 May with estimated 8,000-20,000 protesters taking part. 80 people were injured in confrontations with police (including over 30 policemen) and 450 arrests were made on 6 May and another 120 arrests the following day.


2012 Russian presidential election, Cost
The election cost 10.375 million roubles according to a report given by the Russian Central Election Commission. According to the report, during the campaign, budget funds have been spared.


2012 Russian regional elections
Municipal voting for mayors in Russia took place on 14 October 2012, some regional governors (in five provinces) have been elected.


2012 Russian regional elections
According to the preliminary results published on October, 15, President Vladimir Putin's loyalists won in most local election races, however, some observers (i.e. the GOLOS Association) claimed the vote was falsified and reported multiple violations nationwide.


2012 Russian regional elections
According to the President Putin, the elections were "a serious step toward strengthening Russian statehood and created the conditions for energetic, effective development."


2012 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team
The 2012 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represented  Rutgers University  in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Scarlet Knights played their home games at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, NJ as a member of the Big East Conference. This was the first season with Kyle Flood as the head coach, as former head coach Greg Schiano accepted the head coaching position for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They finished the season 9–4, 5–2 in Big East play to win the school's first ever Big East Conference football championship, sharing the conference title with Cincinnati, Louisville, and Syracuse. They were invited to the Russell Athletic Bowl where they were defeated by Virginia Tech in overtime.


2012 Ryder Cup
The 39th Ryder Cup was held September 28–30, 2012, in the United States at the Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois, a suburb northwest of Chicago. This was the first time that the Ryder Cup was held in Illinois. Europe went into the competition as the cup holders, having won in 2010 to regain it. The team captains were Davis Love III for the U.S. and José María Olazábal for Europe.


2012 Ryder Cup
At the start of the final day's play, the U.S. led 10–6 and required 41⁄2 points to win; Europe required 8 points to retain the cup and 81⁄2 to win it outright. Europe achieved one of the greatest comebacks in Ryder Cup history by winning eight and tying one of the 12 singles matches. Martin Kaymer's five-foot putt on the 18th hole to defeat Steve Stricker took the score to 14–13, allowing Europe to retain the cup with one match still in progress.


2012 Ryder Cup
Tiger Woods missed a putt on the final green and conceded the hole to Francesco Molinari, halving the final point and securing outright victory for the European team, 141⁄2–131⁄2. It was  named by European media covering the event as the "Miracle at Medinah", and is widely regarded as one of the best sporting comebacks of all time and the greatest in Ryder Cup history.


2012 Ryder Cup
The victory was Europe's second consecutive and fifth in the last six contests. European captain Olazábal dedicated the victory to his countryman Seve Ballesteros. The five-time major champion, who had scored 221⁄2 points in 37 matches and been part of four victorious European sides before captaining them to victory on home soil at Valderrama in 1997, had died of brain cancer in May 2011 at the age of 54, and in his memory, Team Europe wore navy blue and white garments – his traditional Sunday colors – on the final day. Additionally, the team's kit also bore the silhouette of Ballesteros famously celebrating his win at the 1984 Open Championship at the Old Course at St Andrews.


2012 Ryder Cup, Format
The Ryder Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. The competition format was:


2012 Ryder Cup, Format
On the first two days there were 4 foursome matches and 4 fourball matches, with the home captain choosing which were played in the morning and which in the afternoon.


2012 Ryder Cup, Format
With a total of 28 points available, 141⁄2 points are required to win the Cup, and 14 points are required for the defending champion to retain the Cup. All matches are played to a maximum of 18 holes.


2012 Ryder Cup, Course
As part of its 2012 preparations, Medinah commissioned a $1.5 million greens renovation project on their Course No. 3, led by golf course architect Rees Jones. The project included a dramatic redesign of the 15th hole.


2012 Ryder Cup, Course
The redesigned 15th offers players with a 'risk-reward' opportunity with a driveable par-four by reducing its length by 100 yards and adding a two-acre lake that borders the right side of the fairway and green. The forward tee allows the hole to be set up as short as 280 yards. The original tee area of 392 yards from the championship tees will be preserved to provide the club with flexibility in course set-up.


2012 Ryder Cup, Course
Jones, who has overseen all architectural design aspects of Medinah's three golf courses since 2000, moved the 15th green to the left (south), which made way for the creation of a new back tee for the 16th hole. The tree-lined par-four now measures 15 yards longer – playing approximately 470 yards from the championship tees.


2012 Ryder Cup, Course
The major greens renovation took place on eleven of Course No. 3's original 18 greens and its main putting green, which was rebuilt to USGA specifications. Course No. 3's other six greens were re-grassed and the 15th green rebuilt.


2012 Ryder Cup, Course
Medinah's Course No. 3 has hosted multiple major championships. The U.S. Open has been held at the course three times: 1949 (won by Cary Middlecoff), 1975 (Lou Graham), and 1990 (Hale Irwin). Tiger Woods has won both PGA Championships held at the course (1999 and 2006). Gary Player won the U.S. Senior Open in 1988.


2012 Ryder Cup, Course
Before the 2012 Ryder Cup, Europe players Lee Westwood and Sergio García criticised the course, particularly for its lack of rough, trees and other hazards. García said: "There's not a lot of thinking when you get on the tee. You can pretty much hit it nice and hard and, even if you miss, pretty much every time you'll have a shot."


2012 Ryder Cup, Course
The course measures 7,657 yards (7,002 m) off the 'gold' tees.


2012 Ryder Cup, Television
All matches were covered live in the United States. ESPN handled Friday coverage. Mike Tirico and Paul Azinger hosted from the 18th tower, with Curtis Strange and Sean McDonough calling holes, and on-course reporters Andy North and Billy Kratzert. Scott Van Pelt hosted recaps during coverage. On Saturday, Golf Channel covered the first half-hour of the morning matches with Kelly Tilghman, Brandel Chamblee and Nick Faldo.


2012 Ryder Cup, Television
NBC covered the remainder of the weekend action, with Dan Hicks and Johnny Miller hosting from the 18th tower, Gary Koch and Peter Jacobsen calling holes, and on-course reporters Mark Rolfing, Roger Maltbie, and Dottie Pepper. To bring a European perspective to the telecasts, former European Ryder Cup player Colin Montgomerie was utilized as a guest analyst by NBC on Saturday. NBC had previously used guest analysts for the Ryder Cup in 1999, 2002, and 2006


2012 Ryder Cup, Television
The matches were covered live in Europe by Sky Sports, with the BBC screening highlights later.


2012 Ryder Cup, Team qualification and selection, United States
The United States qualification rules remained the same as for 2010 and the team consisted of:


2012 Ryder Cup, Team qualification and selection, United States
The leading players on the US Ryder Cup points list were:


2012 Ryder Cup, Team qualification and selection, Europe
The European team qualification rules changed after the 2010 contest. The European Points List took precedence over the World Points List, while the captain's picks were reduced from 3 to 2 with the top 5 players in the World Points List now qualifying rather than the top 4. The team consisted of:


2012 Ryder Cup, Team qualification and selection, Europe
Only members of the European Tour could earn points in the above two lists. They could be full or affiliate members and must have also satisfied (or to be planning to satisfy) their membership obligations. Martin Laird did not become an affiliate member until 2012 and so his performances in 2011 were not counted. Carl Pettersson was not a member of the European Tour and was therefore not considered.


2012 Ryder Cup, Team qualification and selection, Europe
The leading players in the European Ryder Cup points lists were:


2012 Ryder Cup, Teams, Captains
The captains were Davis Love III for team USA and José María Olazábal for Europe.


2012 Ryder Cup, Teams, Vice-captains
Each captain selected four vice-captains to assist him during the tournament.


2012 Ryder Cup, Teams, Vice-captains
Love named the first two USA vice-captains in June 2012 and announced the other two after the PGA Championship.


2012 Ryder Cup, Teams, Vice-captains
Olazábal named three of his vice-captains on August 16. The fourth vice-captain was announced on August 25.


2012 Ryder Cup, Teams, Players
Captains picks are shown in yellow; the world rankings and records are at the start of the 2012 Ryder Cup.


2012 Ryder Cup, Friday's matches, Afternoon four-ball
Match 3 (Rose/Kaymer v. D. Johnson/Kuchar) started after Match 4 (Westwood/Colsaerts v. Woods/Stricker). The table below reflects the official order.


2012 Ryder Cup, Saturday's matches, Afternoon four-ball
Match 1 (Colsaerts/Lawrie v. D. Johnson/Kuchar) started after Match 2 (Rose/Molinari v. Watson/Simpson). The table below reflects the official order.


2012 Ryder Cup, Individual player records
Each entry refers to the Win–Loss–Half record of the player.


2012 Ryder Cup, Media reaction
In the United States, The Wall Street Journal asked how could "an extremely talented American Ryder Cup team blow a final-day lead as large as any ever blown in 85 years of Ryder Cup history", while Chicago Tribune sportswriter David Haugh described the defeat as "inexcusable" having led 10–4 at one point on Saturday afternoon. Captain Davis Love III came under scrutiny for his player selections, and USA Today centered its criticism on Tiger Woods, calling him a player the U.S. "could not rely on" and "who at times appeared to be barely here". Some American newspapers elected not to dedicate back-page columns to the event.


2012 Ryder Cup, Media reaction
The European victory was met with elation across the continent. Spain's daily sport newspaper Marca ran the headline: "This one is for you, Seve". Britain's Daily Telegraph wrote that after an unprecedented summer of sporting achievements, including the Olympic Games in London, Bradley Wiggins' victory in the Tour de France and Andy Murray's first tennis major at the US Open, the Ryder Cup was incapable of "dullness, one-sidedness, and hollow drama" despite the looming anti-climax at the start of the singles matches on the final day. In a reference to the economic crisis on the continent, The Irish Times said that German Martin Kaymer had given Europe "a massive bailout that contributed to the most unlikeliest comeback in Ryder Cup history".


2012 S.League
The 2012 S.League was the 17th season of the S-League, the top professional football league in Singapore. It is known as the Great Eastern-Yeo's S.League for sponsorship reasons.


2012 S.League
Tampines Rovers won their fourth title, finishing top of a 13-team league.


2012 S.League, Teams
Etoile FC withdrew their participation in the league to concentrate on grassroots football and youth development. DPMM FC have re-entered the league, coming back since they were suspended by FIFA in the 2009 campaign. Harimau Muda of Malaysia have also entered the fray.


2012 SAFF Women's Championship
The 2012 SAFF Women's Championship is the 2nd SAFF Women's Championship since the first one in 2010. The competition is contested by the eight South Asian women football teams. India defended their 2010 title by defeating Nepal 3–1 in the final.


2012 SAFF Women's Championship, Venue
All matches were played at the CR & FC Grounds in Colombo. The stadium has a capacity of 5,555 seats.


2012 SANFL Grand Final
The 2012 South Australian National Football League (SANFL) Grand Final saw Norwood defeat the West Adelaide by 49 points to claim the club's 28th premiership victory.


2012 SANFL Grand Final
The match was played on Sunday 7 October 2012 at Football Park in front of a crowd of 29,661.


2012 SANFL season
The 2012 South Australian National Football League season was the 133rd season of the top-level Australian rules football competition in South Australia. The season opened on Friday 23 March with a night match between Woodville-West Torrens and Port Adelaide, and concluded on Sunday 7 October with the Grand Final in which Norwood (minor premiers) won its 28th premiership by defeating West Adelaide (third at the end of the minor rounds).


2012 SANFL season
Central District, North Adelaide and Woodville-West Torrens also made the top (final) five teams and participated in the finals matches, with Central District failing to make the Grand Final for the first time since 2000. Glenelg, Port Adelaide, South Adelaide and Sturt all missed the top five, with the latter finishing last to win its 20th wooden spoon.


2012 SANFL season, Finals series, Finals Week 1 – Elimination & Qualifying Finals
Both games held as a "double header" fixture on the same day at the same ground, hence only one crowd figure.


2012 SANFL season, Finals series, Finals Week 2 – 1st & 2nd Semi Finals
Both games held as a "double header" fixture on the same day at the same ground, hence only one crowd figure.


2012 SANFL season, Club performances, SANFL Win/Loss Table
Bold – Home gameX – Did Not PlayOpponent for round listed above margin|}


2012 SAP Open
The 2012 SAP Open was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 123rd edition of the SAP Open, and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2012 ATP World Tour. It took place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, United States, from February 13 through February 19, 2012.


2012 SAP Open, Doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2012 SAP Open, Finals, Doubles
Mark Knowles /  Xavier Malisse defeated  Kevin Anderson /  Frank Moser, 6–4, 1–6, [10–5]


2012 SAP Open – Doubles
Scott Lipsky and Rajeev Ram were the defending champions but lost in the semifinals. Mark Knowles and Xavier Malisse defeated Kevin Anderson and Frank Moser 6–4, 1–6, [10–5] in the final.


2012 SAP Open – Singles
Milos Raonic defended his title, defeating unseeded Denis Istomin in straight sets in the final.


2012 SAP Open – Singles, Seeds
The first four seeds received a bye into the second round.


2012 SBS Drama Awards
The 2012 SBS Drama Awards (Korean: SBS 연기대상) is a ceremony honoring the best performances in television on the SBS network for the year 2012. It took place on December 31, 2012, at the SBS Prism Tower in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul, and was hosted by actor Lee Dong-wook and actress Jung Ryeo-won.


2012 SCO summit
The 2012 SCO summit was the 12th annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.


2012 SCO summit, Background
At the previous summit in Kazakhstan, new rules in regards to the admission of more member states were discussed, with the details expected to be clarified at this summit.


2012 SCO summit, Attending delegations
The heads of state of the six countries participated in the summit.


2012 SCO summit, Attending delegations
The Putin-led Russian delegation included: Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and five other cabinet ministers and the head of Gazprom, Viktor Zubkov, as well from other energy companies. The delegation was welcomed by Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun.


2012 SCO summit, Agenda
The agenda included discussions about the 2011-2012 Syrian uprising and criticism by the Western world of Russia and China's approach towards sanctioning the government of Syria. Host President Hu Jintao also said that the SCO would support a security paradigm that would give its member states sovereignty over what is deemed to be its own interests in accordance with individual state's conditions. It also sought to counter "interventionism."


2012 SCO summit, Agenda
Rules for the admission of further member states were expected to be issued. Turkey was considered for admission as a "dialogue partner" and Afghanistan joined as an "observer." China did not object to either states citing their status as "NATO-friendly countries." Afghanistan is already currently involved as part of the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group, which is working on reconstruction projects in the country. However, Vice Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping said the observers were unlikely to become full members as yet due to expectations for more "preparatory work," though the current members would maintain an "open attitude" towards future relations:


2012 SCO summit, Agenda
The relevant countries should work hard towards political, legal and technical preparations for [membership]. The relevant work is going on about expansion of membership. The decision should be made through consensus and consultation, and no timetable should be set. That is to say, when the conditions are ripe, the decision should be made through consensus.


2012 SCO summit, Agenda
The founding ethos for the SCO, counter-terrorism, was also expected to be high on the agenda.


2012 SCO summit, Agenda
Other issues suggested for discussion were a bigger role for SCO after NATO withdraws its forces following the War in Afghanistan (which could be enhanced by Afghanistan's acceptance as an observer) and in working towards a solution to Iran's nuclear programme, for which a statement criticising further Western sanctions would be issued. Cheng also said that a road transport agreement would be signed, while discussions would continue in order to develop a financing safeguard mechanism and an SCO development bank.


2012 SCO summit, Agenda, Non-member initiatives
India sought to work with the Uzbekistan-based Regional Counter-Terrorism Structure, participate in discussions with the other trade ministers and coordinate its own work with the SCO over reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan, more so after the announced phased withdrawal of ISAF troops from that country, in what Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the "economic and political revival of Afghanistan."


2012 SCO summit, Schedule
On 6 June, a group meeting between the six member states was scheduled in Beijing. The next day a larger meeting, business summit and a signing ceremony to conclude the summit was scheduled.


2012 SCO summit, Discussions
At the start of the summit, Hu said: "We will continue to manage regional affairs by ourselves, guarding against shocks from turbulence outside the region. We will play a bigger role in Afghanistan's peaceful reconstruction. We'll strengthen communication, co-ordination and co-operation in dealing with major international and regional issues."


2012 SCO summit, Discussions, Conclusions
Host leader Hu Jintao announced the conclusions to the summit as including:


2012 SCO summit, Discussions, Conclusions
There were also ten agreements that were signed, including the Declaration on Building a Region with Lasting Peace and Common Prosperity, the Strategic Plan for the Medium-Term Development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, as well as agreeing to unify the SCO's response to regional security threats. Hu then further told the summit delegations that "we should enhance consultations with international and regional organizations through the platform to safeguard peace, promote development and boost world multipolarization and democratization of international relations." Kyrgyzstan then took over the rotating presidency of the organisation the next day.


2012 SCO summit, Bilateral meetings
The day prior to the commencement of the summit featured Russian President Vladimir Putin and host President Hu Jintao present for the signing of bilateral cooperation agreements in the fields of energy, industry, innovation technologies and tourism, as well an agreement to deepen China-Russia relations and strategic cooperation. Putin was scheduled to meet China's chairman of the Committee of the National People's Congress Wu Bangguo, Premier Wen Jiabao, Vice President Xi Jinping and Vice Premier Li Keqiang.


2012 SCO summit, Bilateral meetings
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Putin decision to come to China as part of one of his foreign visits as president was indicative of burgeoning relations between the two countries. China's Wen Jiabao met Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev and discussed Kyrgyzstani stability and development. Wen said that the two states would work towards developing infrastructure in railways, energy and trade relations with an increase in the exchange of persons between the two countries.


2012 SCO summit, Bilateral meetings
Atambayev added that he appreciated China's support and that Kyrgyzstan was working to enhance cooperation with China in the spheres trade, transportation, energy, agriculture and security. Hu also met Kazakhstan's Nursultan Nazarbayev with him whom he pledged to enhance their "strategic partnership." Nazarbayev also met Jinping. The same pledges were made by Hu with Tajikistan's Emomali Rahmon, specifically in the sectors of energy, resources, infrastructure, agriculture and security. Rahmon also said that China National Petroleum Corporation was invited to explore for both crude oil and natural gas in Tajikistan following the signing of an agreement on 5 June. He also signed an agreement with China for a US#50 million loan for a road construction project, as well as inviting Zijin Mining Group Company Limited to explore for copper.


2012 SCO summit, Bilateral meetings
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that Afghanistan and China would sign a preliminary agreement for the "creation of a strategic partnership" and work towards deepening relations. Putin was also scheduled to meet with his Iranian and Afghani counterparts. The latter two would also hold talks with their Chinese counterpart. Indian Foreign Minister S. M. Krishna is scheduled to meet Chinese Vice-Premier Li Keqiang to discuss border issues and the incarceration of Indian nationals in China.


2012 SCO summit, Reactions
Al Jazeera asked if the budding relationship between China and Russia would be akin to a "NATO of the east."


2012 SDA Tennis Open
The 2012 SDA Tennis Open was a professional tennis tournament played on clay courts. It was the first edition of the tournament which was part of the 2012 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Bercuit, Belgium between 16 and 22 July 2012.


2012 SDA Tennis Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2012 SDA Tennis Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received entry as a special exempt into the singles main draw:


2012 SDA Tennis Open – Doubles
André Ghem and Marco Trungelliti won the title, defeating Facundo Bagnis and Pablo Galdón 6–1, 6–2 in the final.


2012 SDA Tennis Open – Singles
Thiemo de Bakker won the first edition of the tournament 6–4, 3–6, 7–5 in the final against Victor Hănescu.


2012 SEABA Cup
The 2012 SEABA Cup is the qualifying event in the SEABA for the 2012 FIBA Asia Cup. The games were held from July 3 to July 7 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The Philippines swept all of their assignments to clinch the lone spot for SEABA region.


2012 SEABA Under-18 Championship
The 2012 SEABA Under-18 Championship was the qualifying tournament for Southeast Asia Basketball Association at the 2012 FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship. The tournament was held in Singapore from June 26 to June 30. The Philippines successfully defended their title by sweeping all of their assignments to earn right to represent SEABA together with Indonesia and Singapore.


2012 SEC Championship Game
The 2012 SEC Championship Game was played on December 1, 2012, in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, and determined both the 2012 football champion of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The game featured the Georgia Bulldogs, winners of the SEC Eastern Division versus the Alabama Crimson Tide, the winner of the SEC Western Division.


2012 SEC Championship Game
Because Alabama and Georgia were both respectively ranked 2 and 3, the game was considered a de facto semifinal game, as the winner would automatically face the undefeated Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the National Championship with no vote necessary. Georgia was the designated "home" team. The game was televised by CBS Sports for the twelfth straight season. Kickoff was scheduled at 4:00 (EST). Alabama won the game 32–28 improving their record to 4–4 in the title game. Alabama's Eddie Lacy was named MVP after rushing for 181 yards and two touchdowns. The game at the time was the most watched college football game of the 2012 season (it would be surpassed by the 2013 BCS National Championship Game on January 7, 2013) with the game receiving a 10.1 share or 21.0 million viewers tuned in.


2012 SEC Championship Game, Game summary
After the first-ever scoreless first quarter in this game's history, the teams traded touchdowns in the second quarter. Alabama kicked a field goal as time expired in the first half to take a 10–7 lead.


2012 SEC Championship Game, Game summary
Georgia took the game's largest lead in the third quarter with two touchdowns, the second of which was an Alec Ogletree 55-yard return of a blocked field goal. Alabama answered with a rushing touchdown and two-point conversion by T. J. Yeldon. Eddie Lacy's second touchdown of the game put the Tide ahead as the fourth quarter began. These two Alabama running backs each finished the game with over 150 yards; they are the first duo of running backs in SEC championship history to each have even 100 yards.


2012 SEC Championship Game, Game summary
The Bulldogs once again went in front by three on their very next drive, when they took only two minutes to answer with a Todd Gurley touchdown run. Georgia's defense continued to allow Alabama yardage on the ground, but they forced an Alabama punt with 7:14 remaining, still up by three. Georgia could only keep the ball for four plays and two minutes, though, as they punted back to the Tide with 5:24 left in the game.


2012 SEC Championship Game, Game summary
Georgia's defense was "stacking the line," using an extra defender to prevent gains on the ground. Alabama took advantage: on first down with three minutes left, quarterback A. J. McCarron used play action to free up Amari Cooper for a 45-yard touchdown pass.


2012 SEC Championship Game, Game summary
The Alabama defense forced Georgia to punt with two minutes left. But, Georgia used all of their timeouts while their defense also held firm. A punt gave Georgia one last drive, starting from their own 15-yard line. It seemed as if the game was over when Dee Milliner appeared to have intercepted a pass on the fourth play of the drive. However, replay overturned the interception ruling, and Georgia again had an opportunity.


2012 SEC Championship Game, Game summary
Three more long passes brought the Bulldogs all the way to the 8-yard line with the clock winding down. With 9 seconds to play, an Aaron Murray pass toward the end zone was deflected toward Chris Conley in the field of play. Surprised to see the ball—he was not the intended receiver on the play—Conley caught the pass as he fell down in-bounds at the 5-yard line. The clock ran out before Georgia could run another play.


2012 SEC Championship Game, Notes
This was Alabama's 8th appearance in the title game. The previous seven appearances were all against the Florida Gators. This was Georgia's 5th appearance and second consecutive SEC Championship game. This was the first meeting between the schools since 2008. From 2006 to 2012, the winner of this game played in the BCS National Championship Game seven straight times with a record of 6–1 (LSU was defeated by fellow SEC member Alabama following winning the 2011 SEC Championship Game).


2012 SEC Championship Game, Notes
Their victory in this game, along with their ranking based on their season-long performance, earned Alabama a spot in the BCS National Championship Game, where they defeated Notre Dame, 42–14.


2012 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2012 Southeastern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the Southeastern Conference held from March 8–11, 2012 in New Orleans at the New Orleans Arena. The first round and quarterfinal rounds were televised through the SEC Network and the semifinals and final were broadcast nationally on ABC. This was also the first year teams were seeded #1 through #12, as the conference eliminated divisional play prior to the season, although the 2011–12 schedule was still structured based upon the divisions used from 1991–92 through 2010–11.


2012 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament
This was the last SEC tournament to have 12 teams. The addition of Missouri and Texas A&M from the Big 12 Conference had been announced prior to the season.


2012 SEC Softball Tournament
The 2012 SEC Softball Tournament was held at Rhoads Stadium on the campus of The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on May 10 through May 12, 2012. The Alabama Crimson Tide won the tournament for the 5th time in their history, and received the conference's automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament.


2012 SEC Women's Basketball Tournament
The 2012 SEC Women's Basketball Tournament took place at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee from March 1–4, 2012. The Tennessee Lady Volunteers won the tournament and received the SEC's automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament by defeating the LSU Lady Tigers 70-58 in the championship game.


2012 SK Brann season
The 2012 season was Brann's 26th consecutive year in Tippeligaen, It was Rune Skarsfjord's second full season as the club's manager. Brann competed in the Tippeligaen, finishing 6th, and the 2012 Norwegian Football Cup where they were knocked out by eventual winners IL Hødd at the semi-final stage .


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


2012 SK Brann season, Transfers, Winter
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2012 SK Brann season, Transfers, Winter
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2012 SK Brann season, Transfers, Summer
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2012 SK Brann season, Transfers, Summer
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2012 SMU Mustangs football team
The 2012 SMU Mustangs football team represented Southern Methodist University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season as members of Conference USA in the West Division. June Jones led the Mustangs in his fifth season. The Mustangs played home games in University Park, Texas (an enclave of Dallas, Texas) at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. This was SMU's last year as a member of Conference USA as they will join the Big East Conference in 2013. They finished the season 7–6, 5–3 in C-USA play to finish in second place in the West Division. They were invited to the Hawaii Bowl where they defeated Fresno State.


2012 STP 400
The 2012 STP 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on April 22, 2012 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. Contested over 267 laps, it was the eighth race of the 2012 season. Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing took his second win of the season, while Martin Truex, Jr. finished second and Jimmie Johnson finished third.


2012 STP 400, Report, Background
Kansas Speedway is one of ten  intermediate tracks to hold NASCAR races. The standard track at Kansas Speedway is a four-turn D-shaped oval track that is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long. The track's turns are banked at fifteen degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is 10.4 degrees. The back stretch, opposite of the front, is at only five degrees. The racetrack has seats for 82,000 spectators.


2012 STP 400, Report, Background
Before the race, Greg Biffle led the Drivers' Championship with 273 points, and Matt Kenseth stood in second with 254. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was third in the Drivers' Championship also with 254 points, one ahead of Martin Truex, Jr. and five ahead of Kevin Harvick in fourth and fifth. Denny Hamlin with 242 was eight ahead of Tony Stewart, as Jimmie Johnson with 233 points, was eight ahead of Ryan Newman, and fourteen in front of Clint Bowyer. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 48 points, six ahead of Ford. Toyota, with 34 points, was 30 points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third. Brad Keselowski was the race's defending race winner after winning it in 2011.


2012 STP 400, Report, Practice and qualifying
Two practice sessions were held before the race on Friday. The first session lasted 80 minutes long, while the second was 90 minutes long. Kyle Busch was quickest with a time of 31.083 seconds in the first session, over one-tenth of a second faster than Carl Edwards. Kasey Kahne was third, followed by Landon Cassill, Earnhardt, Jr., and Newman. Stewart was seventh, still within a second of Kyle Busch's time. In the second practice session, Johnson was fastest with a time of 30.865 seconds, only 0.113 seconds quicker than second-placed Mark Martin. Biffle took third place, ahead of Keselowski, Sam Hornish, Jr. and Edwards. Jeff Burton managed to be seventh quickest.


2012 STP 400, Report, Practice and qualifying
Forty-six cars were entered for qualifying, but only forty-three can race because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure. A. J. Allmendinger clinched his second pole position during his career, with a time of 30.683 seconds. He was joined on the front row of the grid by Harvick. Joey Logano qualified third, Hamlin took fourth, and Martin started fifth. Truex, Jr., Earnhardt, Jr., Bowyer, Kahne, and Hornish, Jr. rounded out the first ten positions. The three drivers who failed to qualify for the race were Tim Andrews, Jeff Green and Tony Raines, who had times of 31.820 and 31.846 seconds.


2012 STP 400, Report, Race
The race, the eighth in the season, started at 1:16 p.m. EDT and was televised live in the United States on Fox. The conditions on the grid were dry before the race and overcast skies are expected. Cole Cochran, of Kansas City Alliance Raceway Ministries, began pre-race ceremonies, by giving the invocation. Next, Jeremy Vitt performed the national anthem, and Victory Junction Gang Camp ambassadors gave the command for drivers to start their engines. During the pace laps, Logano had to move to the rear of the grid because of changing his engine.


2012 SUGO GT 300km
The 2012 SUGO GT 300km was the fourth round of the 2012 Super GT season. It took place on July 29, 2012.


2012 SVL season
The 2012 Shakey's V-League (SVL) season was the ninth season of the Shakey's V-League. There were two indoor conferences for this season.


2012 SVL season, 1st Conference
The Shakey's V-League 9th Season 1st Conference was the fifteenth conference of Shakey's V-League, a collegiate women's volleyball league in the Philippines founded in 2004. The opening ceremonies was held on April 24, 2012 at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.


2012 SVL season, Open Conference
The Shakey's V-League 9th Season Open Conference was the sixteenth conference of the Shakey's V-League, commenced on August 19, 2012 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila with four commercial clubs joining regular league teams Ateneo de Manila University and Far Eastern University.


2012 SWAC Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2012 SWAC Men's Basketball Tournament will take place March 7–10 at the Garland Special Events Center in Garland, Texas. The winner of the tournament will receive the Southwestern Athletic Conference's automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA Tournament.


2012 SWAC Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
Eight teams will qualify for the tournament. Southern and Grambling each received one-year postseason bans in men’s basketball, thus not allowed to participate in the 2012 SWAC Tournament, due to failing to meet the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate requirements. The rest of the seeds will be determined after the final games are played


2012 Saarland state election
The 2012 Saarland state election was held in on 25 March 2012 to elect the members of the Landtag of Saarland. The election was triggered by the collapse of the previous coalition government comprising the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) led by Minister-President Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Free Democratic Party (FDP), and The Greens. The CDU subsequently formed a grand coalition with the Social Democratic Party (SPD), and Kramp-Karrenbauer was re-elected as Minister-President.


2012 Saarland state election, Background
After the 2009 state election, a Jamaica coalition (CDU–FDP–Green) government took office, the first of its kind in Germany. The government collapsed on 6 January 2012 due to internal issues in the FDP. Minister-President Kramp-Karrenbauer stated that "[a] credible and reliable cooperation is no longer completely possible in this coalition." The CDU held discussions with the Social Democratic Party in an attempt to form a grand coalition, but this failed, causing early elections to be called.


2012 Saarland state election, Parties
The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag of Saarland.


2012 Saarland state election, Outcome
Having been reelected as the largest party in the Landtag, CDU was tasked with forming the government. Minister-President Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said that she was seeking to form a grand coalition with the SPD, which have 37 seats altogether. Both parties reached a coalition agreement on 24 April 2012. The CDU and SPD would control 3 ministries each. Kramp-Karrenbauer will also head the new government which will be sworn on 9 May 2012.


2012 Saarland state election, Outcome
On 9 May 2012 Kramp-Karrenbauer's new government gained the vote of confidence with 37 votes. There was 12 votes against and 2 abstentions. Her cabinet was later endorsed by the Landtag with the same number of votes.


2012 Sabha conflict
The 2012 Sabha conflict started in the aftermath of the Libyan civil war, and involved armed clashes between the Tubu and Abu Seif tribes in Sabha, a city of almost 100,000 in the region of Fezzan, Libya. It happened after February 2012 clashes in Kufra, that involved the Tubu people, too. On 27 March, Jomode Elie Getty charged the clashes as "genocide". A Paris-based Tabu official, Jomode Elie Getty, who was an official with the NTC but resigned on Tuesday, accused the NTC of siding with Arabs in attacks on Tabu tribesmen. He called for U.N. intervention.


2012 Sabha conflict
Issa Abdel Majit Monsur, the head of the Tubu tribe in Libya, announced the reactivation of the "Toubou Front for the Salvation of Libya", an opposition group that was already active during the rule of Muammar Gaddafi. He also announced the possibility of separatist activities. A ceasefire was announced, and as of 1 April the violence had stopped.


2012 Sabha conflict, Events
Late on 25 March, clashes erupted in the southern city of Sabha, between Libyan government militia in the city and Tubu tribesman, after a man from the Abu Seif tribe was killed in a dispute over a car by the Tubu. The fighting was, at first, mainly on the city outskirts. However, it then spread to the city's main streets and black plumes of smoke could be seen rising from Sabha's airport on 26 March. Initially seven people were reportedly killed and another seven wounded. However, later reports put the death toll at 20 with another 40 people wounded. The Tubu stated that the Abu Seif attacked their negotiation team outside a government building while they were en route to talk about reconciliation.


2012 Sabha conflict, Events
On 27 March, the fighting in Sabha continued and the toll was reported to had reached 49 dead, with 15 of the killed being from the Tubu and the rest from Abu Seif. Tubu militiamen had reportedly advanced into the center of the city and their snipers had taken up positions, inflicting a number of casualties.


2012 Sabha conflict, Events
On 28 March, the fighting briefly eased off with reports of a ceasefire, but quickly escalated again. By the end of the day the toll had reached more than 70 dead and 150 wounded, 40 of the dead being from the Tubu.


2012 Sabha conflict, Events
On 30 March, ceasefire was negotiated between the Council of Elders of Libya, Sabha local council and members of the Misrata militia in the southern city. According to it, Tubu tribesmen are to withdraw from all areas and recognize the authority of the national army which would take control of all security operations in the south and on the borders. In return, the Tubu will be returned all property in Libya and there will be an investigation into the conflict. Moreover, local militias would be integrated into either Army or Ministry of Interior forces. However, the fighting re-ignited the next day once again.


2012 Sabha conflict, Events
On 31 March, the Tubus, after being pushed back south of the city, launched a counter-attack in a bid to re-enter the town. 16 people were killed, eight from each side, and more than 50 wounded. The Libyan health minister announced that 147 people had been killed and 395 wounded, up to the night before, since the start of the fighting in Sabha.


2012 Sabha conflict, Events
Later that day, colonel Wanis Bu Khamadh, commander in charge of army units inside the city, said that despite the clashes, the army was able to extend its area of control throughout most of the city and area south of the Sabha. He also claimed that situation de-escalated and army was making a push in order to take under its direct control the whole Fezzan region.


2012 Sabha conflict, Events
On 2 April, Libyan Prime Minister Abdurrahim El-Keib has visited area and confirmed that fragile peace was so far holding. Meanwhile, National Transitional Council president Mustafa Abdul Jalil declared southern region encompassing cities Wadi al Shatii, Sabha, Ubari, Ghat, and Murzuq military zone where military commander, under which authority falls all armed forces in the region, was appointed by Ministry of Defence instead of regional military councils. The National Liberation Army and Ministry of Interior forces dispatched 2,000 soldiers and border guards to region with Free Libyan Air Force patrolling over the area. Meanwhile, the National Liberation Army was able to secure all areas of Sabha. El-Keib said "every Libyan is important to us. We're going to take care of them like we do take care of any other Libyan, like our brothers and sisters."


2012 Sabha conflict, Events
Despite the deployment of 2,000 soldiers under the command of Wanis Bukhamada in March, violence has continued, with Bukhamada's home in Benghazi even coming under attack in early September. On 14 September further clashes between the Tebu and a local Arab tribe left 2 head, and on 17 September there was an attempted assassination against Col. Ali Dallah Gaidi, the Head of Sebha Military Council. Gaidi's wife was killed in the attack.


2012 Sacramento Mountain Lions season
The 2012 Sacramento Mountain Lions season is the fourth season for the United Football League franchise.


2012 Sacramento Mountain Lions season, Offseason
In July, the Sacramento Mountain Lions were known to be considering a move to Raley Field, a baseball park in West Sacramento, California. The Mountain Lions, 2011's attendance leader, played their previous two seasons at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento. At a press conference at Raley Field on August 6, the move to West Sacramento was confirmed. Two games were played there before the league folded.


2012 Sacramento Mountain Lions season, Offseason
Dennis Green, who has coached the team since 2009 when they were the California Redwoods, will not be returning in 2012. On August 6, Turk Schonert was announced as the new head coach.


2012 Sacramento Mountain Lions season, Personnel, Roster
Rookies in italicsRoster updated October 5, 201253 Active, 3 Inactive


2012 Sacramento State Hornets football team
The 2012 Sacramento State Hornets football team represented California State University, Sacramento in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by sixth-year head coach Marshall Sperbeck and played their home games at Hornet Stadium. They are a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 6–5, 4–4 in Big Sky play to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place.


2012 Sacramento State Hornets football team, Schedule
Despite Northern Colorado also being a member of the Big Sky, their September 15 meeting was considered a non-conference game.


2012 Sacramento mayoral election
The 2012 Sacramento mayoral election was held on June 5, 2012 to elect the mayor of Sacramento, California. It saw the reelection of Kevin Johnson. Since Johnson won a majority in the first round, no runoff was required.


2012 Sacred Heart Pioneers football team
The 2012 Sacred Heart Pioneers football team represented Sacred Heart University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first year interim head coach Mark Nofri and played their home games at Campus Field. They are a member of the Northeast Conference. They finished the season 2–9, 1–7 in NEC play to finish in last place.


2012 Safari Sevens
The 2012 Safari Sevens are the 17th annual edition of the Safari Sevens.


2012 Safari Sevens, Tournament administration, Dates
The 2012 Safari Sevens are slated to take place between 1 and 3 June which, if true, would be a switch back to the traditional time of year after the November event of 2011.


2012 Safeway Championship
The 2012 Safeway Championship, Manitoba's men's provincial curling championship, was held from February 8 to 12 at the Credit Union Place in Dauphin, Manitoba. The winning team of Rob Fowler, will represent Manitoba at the 2012 Tim Hortons Brier in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. This will be the 88th edition of the Manitoba men's curling championships.


2012 Safeway Championship, Teams
Thirty-two teams qualify for the men's provincial championship in Manitoba. Berths 1–14 represent the rural zones, and berths 15–21 represent the Winnipeg zones. There were two separate bonspiels played earlier in the year, the Northern and Southern Bonspiels, representing the north and south; these represent berths 22 and 23. Berth 24 goes to the winner of the Brandon Bonspiel played around the same time of fall as the Northern and Southern floating bonspiels. Berth 25 goes to the prior year's Manitoban champion, assuming the team meets the requirements to represent themselves.


2012 Safeway Championship, Teams
The same goes for berths 26 and 27, which go to the Manitoba Curling Tour champion and the top Manitoban team on the Canadian Team Ranking System, respectively. Berth 27 must be declared by November 1, 2010. Numbers 28–32 are qualifiers from the MCA Bonspiel, also subject to subset rules and requirements.


2012 Safeway Championship, Teams
Once all 32 teams have been qualified, they will be seeded respectively and slotted into the draw format of 1 vs 32, 2 vs 31, and so on.


2012 Safeway Championship, Draw Brackets
32 team double knockout with playoff roundFour teams qualify each from A Event and B Event


2012 Sagan Tosu season
The 2012 Sagan Tosu season was Sagan Tosu's first season in J.League Division 1 after being promoted for J.League Division 2 in 2011. They finished the season in fifth position, narrowly missing out on an AFC Champions League spot by two points. They also participated in the J.League Cup, going out in the Group Stages, and the Emperor's Cup, where they reached the Second Round before defeat to Kamatamare Sanuki. It was their second season with Yoon Jung-hwan as their manager, and Yohei Toyoda was their top goalscorer with 16 league goals.


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


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


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