2012 Boston Red Sox season
The 2012 Boston Red Sox season was the 112th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished last in the five-team American League East with a record of 69 wins and 93 losses, 26 games behind the first-place New York Yankees. It was the first time the Red Sox finished last in their division since 1992. Under manager Bobby Valentine, the Red Sox finished with the third-lowest winning percentage in the American League.


2012 Boston Red Sox season
On the heels of a 2011 season that ended with the team losing 20 of 27 games during September, resulting in their elimination from playoff contention and the departure of manager Terry Francona, the Red Sox struggled throughout their 2012 campaign under new manager Bobby Valentine. At the All-Star break the team was 43–43, and at the end of August they had fallen to 62–71. At 66–81 on September 16, the Red Sox were mathematically eliminated from the playoff race. On September 19, the team lost their 82nd regular season game, thus clinching their first losing season since 1997.


2012 Boston Red Sox season
On September 30, the Red Sox reached the 90-loss mark, assuring them of their first season with 90 or more losses since 1966. The next day, the team suffered their 91st loss of the season, to the arch-rival Yankees, the most defeats since their 100-loss season in 1965. On October 4, a day after their final game of the season, Valentine was fired, with one year and two option years still remaining on his contract.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Spring training
The Red Sox began Spring training play at the new JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Florida, replacing City of Palms Park as their home field for Spring training.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, Opening Day
The Red Sox opened their 2012 season on April 5, 2012, against the Detroit Tigers. Tigers closer José Valverde recorded his first blown save since September 2, 2010, allowing the Red Sox to tie the game in the 9th inning, but the Tigers won, 3–2, on a game-winning single by Austin Jackson.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, April
After new closer Andrew Bailey injured his thumb days before Opening Day, the Red Sox went 1–5 over their first six games before mercifully hitting a three-game winning streak, resulting in a second consecutive undesirable start for the Red Sox after going 0–6 over their first six games in 2011. Center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury was placed on the 15-day disabled list after a shoulder injury during the home opener on April 13.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, April
During an interview aired on local television on April 15, manager Bobby Valentine ripped 3B Kevin Youkilis, saying he is not "as physically or emotionally into the game as he has been in the past". After outspoken defense of Youkilis by teammates Dustin Pedroia and Adrián González, Valentine turned on his own words, saying he "was totally behind him". After Valentine's comments, the Red Sox plunged into a 5-game losing streak.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, April
On April 20, the Red Sox celebrated 100 years at Fenway Park prior to the game against the New York Yankees with introductions of around 200 former Red Sox players, managers and coaches. Both teams wore throwback uniforms during the game similar to those used in the first major league game at Fenway Park. The Red Sox had off-white uniforms and caps, with only the words "Red Sox" in red across the chest. The Yankees' uniforms were all grey with the only printing the letters "NY" on the caps and left breast.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, April
After losing 4 consecutive games, the Red Sox took a 9–0 lead through 5 innings against the rival Yankees on April 21, but relief pitchers Vicente Padilla, Matt Albers, Franklin Morales, Alfredo Aceves, Justin Thomas, and Junichi Tazawa combined to allow 14 runs total in the 7th and 8th innings, as the Yankees prevailed by a score of 15–9, for the Red Sox' 5th consecutive loss. After the game, the Red Sox traded pitcher Michael Bowden to the Chicago Cubs for outfielder Marlon Byrd to help out their outfield after the injuries to Carl Crawford before the season and Ellsbury earlier in the season.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, April
After their losing streak, the road was kind to the Red Sox, as they amassed a six-game winning streak by sweeping the Minnesota Twins in Minneapolis and taking the first three games of a four-game series against the Chicago White Sox, including scoring 9 runs in 5 innings against Philip Humber, who had thrown a perfect game in his previous start. In the end, the Red Sox closed out April with an 11–11 record.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, May
The second month of the season did not start well for the Red Sox, as they went winless over their first five games in May. The Red Sox dropped the latter two games of a three-game series against the Oakland A's and were swept by the Baltimore Orioles in a three-game series that featured both 13- and  17-inning romps. On May 6, the Red Sox used all of their available bullpen pitchers in the lengthy 17-inning game and had to send in outfielder Darnell McDonald to pitch, ultimately leading to a 9–6 setback. On a lighter note, however, rookie third baseman Will Middlebrooks hit a grand slam in that game for his first Major League home run, and would then hit 2 home runs in the Red Sox' next game, which they won to snap their losing streak.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, May
The Red Sox finally saw some measurable success at Fenway over and just after Mothers' Day weekend, taking three games of four from the Cleveland Indians and sweeping a quick two-game series over the Seattle Mariners before embarking on another road trip. During this time, McDonald went on the Disabled List, but the Red Sox recalled OF Daniel Nava and acquired OF Scott Podsednik, who had not played a Major League game since September 9, 2010. Podsednik was initially assigned to AAA Pawtucket for the time being.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, May
On this road trip, the Red Sox went 5–3, including taking 2 out of 3 games against the Philadelphia Phillies in their first interleague series of the year and 2 out of 3 games against the division-leading Orioles. Closer Alfredo Aceves had 4 saves in the 8-game road trip. While on the road trip, outfielders Cody Ross and Ryan Sweeney were injured, but 3B Kevin Youkilis returned from the Disabled List. With Middlebrooks settled into starting at third base, the Red Sox used Youkilis at first base with Adrián González playing right field. Podsednik and Che-Hsuan Lin were promoted from the minor leagues to help out in the injury-torn outfield.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, May
On May 26, Jarrod Saltalamacchia had a pinch-hit, two-run home run off Fernando Rodney with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, to lift the Red Sox to a 3–2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. It was the first walk-off home run of Saltalamacchia's career, while Rodney suffered the first blown save of the season after opening the year with a perfect 15-for-15 in save opportunities.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, May
On May 29, the Red Sox cruised to a 6–3 win over pitcher Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers to achieve a record of 25–24, their first winning record of the season.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, June
The Red Sox entered June having finally amassed a winning record, but they soon found themselves struggling to keep it afloat. The Sox peaked at 28–25 on June 2, before slipping into a three-game setback. The Red Sox took 2 of 3 from the Toronto Blue Jays but only salvaged one game of a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, June
With a short period of divisional play now through, the Red Sox commenced with interleague play, facing off against the Washington Nationals, only to be swept by the Nats in the weekend series and yet again shoved below the .500 winning-percentage mark. Then, the Sox proceeded to try to rack up wins on the road over a six-game road voyage. They challenged the Miami Marlins, winning two of three games while visiting the new Marlins Park in Miami for the first time, and then proceeded to also take two of three games from the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, June
Back at Fenway, starting pitcher Clay Buchholz continued his domination against Miami at Fenway on June 19, racking his 8th win of the season. On June 24, the Red Sox cruised to a 9–4 victory against Atlanta at Fenway in what was to become Kevin Youkilis's last game with the Red Sox before being traded to the Chicago White Sox. Fans, aware of the trade rumors, gave Youkilis a standing ovation after he hit a triple during the game. The Red Sox received utility player Brent Lillibridge and pitcher Zach Stewart (who was assigned to AAA Pawtucket) in the trade. On June 24, 2012, the Red Sox completed interleague play for the 2012 regular season. They finished off their homestand by welcoming the Blue Jays to Fenway and winning two of three games against them.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, June
To finish off June, the Red Sox set out on a seven-game western road swing beginning with the first three games of a four-game series against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field in Seattle, having amassed a 1–2 record in the series before entering July.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, July
The BoSox opened the month of July by ending the four-game Seattle series with a victory on July 1. The club traveled down the coast to Oakland, where they were swept by the Athletics in a 3-game series from July 2–4. Although they often have an afternoon home game on the Fourth of July, the Red Sox remained on the road during the holiday this season.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, July
The Sox came home to Fenway Park to face the rival Yankees in a four-game series, which included a Saturday doubleheader created to compensate for a rained out Red Sox-Yankees game earlier in the year. The Red Sox lost 3 of 4 games against New York, dropping the Friday, Saturday afternoon, and Sunday games, and being victorious only in the Saturday night game. One bright spot for the Red Sox over the weekend was the surprising breakout performance of Pedro Ciriaco, making his debut with the Red Sox. Ciriaco amassed four hits and four RBIs in the Saturday night game, as his offensive prowess became the main storyline of the Red Sox' lone win of the series.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, July
Boston headed into the All-Star Break at exactly .500, harboring a 43–43 record. They had gone 2–6 thus far in the month of July by that time.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, July
In their first week after the All-Star Break, things began to pick up for the Red Sox, as they took 2 of 3 from the Rays at Tropicana Field. Returning home, the Red Sox faced a four-game series against the Chicago White Sox, the team to which fan favorite Kevin Youkilis had been traded from the Red Sox less than a month prior. Youkilis received a standing ovation in his first at bat returning to Fenway Park, and continued to receive strong applause and "Youk" calls as the series went on.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, July
Cody Ross exploded in this series, slamming two three-run home runs on July 18 against Chicago and again crushing another three-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth on July 19, vaulting the BoSox from a 1–0 deficit to a 3–1 victory. The Red Sox enjoyed this offensive prowess in spite of the loss of big hitter David Ortiz to the 15-day disabled list after injuring himself during a slide. Mauro Gómez took his place as designated hitter during his absence.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, July
The Red Sox soon hit another bump in the road, however, getting swept in a vital intra-divisional series with Toronto, then proceeding to lose two of three to the Rangers. The Sox fell as low as 49–51 but were able to close out July with a strong surge, salvaging the Saturday and Sunday games of a weekend series against the Yankees in the Bronx after losing the Friday contest, and then winning the first two games of a three-game home series against Detroit, such that the BoSox were able to close out July on a four-game winning streak. The Sox went 12–14 in July, making it their worst month of the season thus far, but the club remained above .500 at 53–51.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, August
The Red Sox fell into a rut yet again as they entered the season's fifth month. They opened August with four consecutive losses and by August 9 they came out victorious in only two of their last nine matchups. Beginning on August 10, the Sox began a pattern of alternating wins and losses. As of August 14, the Sox' record stood at a measly 57–60.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, August
The club as a whole was jolted by the death of Red Sox legend Johnny Pesky on Monday, August 13, 2012, at the age of 92, in hospice care in the nearby North Shore suburb of Danvers. To honor Johnny's memory, the team added a black armband to the right sleeve of their road uniform, as well as added a black patch with a white no. 6 to their home uniform. Oddly, David Ortiz, Clay Buchholz, Vicente Padilla, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia were the only Red Sox players who attended Pesky's funeral, only for most of the team to appear at a bowling event led by pitcher Josh Beckett later that night, which angered fans, press, and front office executives alike.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, August
On August 16, Buchholz pitched the second immaculate inning in franchise history, striking out all three Baltimore Orioles batters on a total of nine pitches in the sixth inning. After consecutive losses to the Orioles, the Sox recommenced their pattern of alternating wins and losses and traveled to Yankee Stadium for the second time in less than a month to take on the Bronx Bombers in a weekend series, which they lost, surrendering the Friday and Sunday games and salvaging only the Saturday contest.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, August
Returning home, the Sox were swept by the Angels and ended a losing streak at four games by triumphing over Kansas City. With playoff hopes looking dim, Red Sox office management decided to look ahead to the following season by freeing up money in the payroll by performing a salary dump trade that sent Adrián González, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, and Nick Punto to the Dodgers in exchange for James Loney and four prospects: pitchers Allen Webster and Rubby De La Rosa, infielder Ivan De Jesus Jr., and outfielder Jerry Sands. The trade was finalized on August 25, 2012.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, August
The Red Sox took three of four from Kansas City but relapsed into another large rut as they commenced a West Coast road trip by being swept by the Angels (since the Angels also won all three of their games at Fenway Park against the Sox a week earlier, the Angels completely swept the season series against Boston, 6 games to 0) and losing extravagantly to the Oakland Athletics on Friday, August 31, by a score of 20–2; the game was the worst loss for the Red Sox in 12 years, as former Red Sox Brandon Moss, George Kottaras, and Josh Reddick hit home runs against their former team. The Red Sox finished off an extremely shoddy August with a 9–20 record, only two wins more and the same number of losses as the Sox' infamous 7–20 record in their collapse of September 2011.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, September & October
The Red Sox opened September in the middle of a weekend series against Oakland, losing their first game in September, 7–1, and losing again the following day by a score of 6–2, giving Oakland the sweep. The Athletics had previously swept the Red Sox in 2012 in July. On Labor Day, the Red Sox opened up a three-game swing in Seattle with yet another loss, bringing their losing streak to a season-worst seven games.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, September & October
The Red Sox came out of the spiral with a 4–3 win against Seattle on Tuesday, September 4, but the extreme damage of the losing streak and of the Sox' August 9–20 to the team's playoff hopes had already been done. The Red Sox slipped into last place in the American League East shortly afterward after being swept by the Toronto Blue Jays in a weekend series, allowing the Jays to hop over the Red Sox up to fourth place. Boston broke yet another losing streak with a bottom-ninth victory over the rival Yankees on Tuesday, September 11, in a game wherein Jacoby Ellsbury recorded a walk-off single for the 4–3 triumph.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, September & October
Heading into a weekend series in Toronto, the Sox found some success, winning the three-game series by taking the first two games on Friday, September 14 and Saturday, September 15, resulting in the first consecutive victories for the BoSox since August 26–27. However, the very next day, on Sunday, September 16, the Sox fell to the Jays to put their record at 66–81, officially eliminating them, albeit unsurprisingly, from the playoff race for the third straight year.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, September & October
On Wednesday, September 19, the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Red Sox, 13–3 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. As a result, the Red Sox are assured of their first losing season since 1997, when they went 78–84.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, September & October
The Red Sox closed out home play with a five-game homestand at Fenway, losing four of those five games. Their last home victory of the year was a 2–1 decision against the Orioles on Sunday, September 23. Fenway hosted its final MLB game until 2013 on Wednesday, September 26, a 4–2 setback to Tampa Bay.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, September & October
Embarking on a six-game road trip to close out their season, the Red Sox secured their first 90-loss season since 1966 with a loss to Baltimore on Sunday, September 30.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, September & October
The Red Sox faced their archrival Yankees in the final series of the season and, fittingly, lost all three games, two of them by blowout scores of 10–2 and 14–2, and one in an extra-inning heartbreaker by a score of 4–3 after 12 innings.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, September & October
Their final few weeks of the 2012 season poignantly summed up the season as a whole: the Red Sox ended the season with their eighth straight loss, and lost 12 of 13 to finish out the club's most disastrous season since the 1990s.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, September & October
The 2012 season for the Red Sox was marred by injuries to key players, inconsistent play, massive unloading of players with large contracts, turmoil, and clubhouse drama featured by feuds between manager Bobby Valentine and players, feuds between Valentine and the coaching staff, and Valentine's persistent run-ins with the media.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, September & October, Firing of Bobby Valentine and Aftermath
On the final day of the season, it was announced that the Red Sox have plans to fire Bobby Valentine from his position as manager after this one season with him as manager of the club, according to "people familiar with the situation", as quoted from a CBS report on the issue.


2012 Boston Red Sox season, Regular season, September & October, Firing of Bobby Valentine and Aftermath
On Thursday, October 4, 2012, Valentine was officially fired from the position of manager of the Boston Red Sox after one season, confirming the earlier rumors. He was replaced with Toronto Blue Jays manager John Farrell on Saturday, October 20, 2012. The Red Sox proceeded to vault back into first place the following season, winning the 2013 World Series.


2012 Boundary Ford Curling Classic
The 2012 Boundary Ford Curling Classic was held from November 30 to December 3 at the Lloydminster Curling Club in Lloydminster, Alberta 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$32,000, of which the winner, Renée Sonnenbergr, received CAD$8,000. Sonnenberg defeated Casey Scheidegger in the final with a score of 10–6.


2012 Bowling Green Falcons football team
The 2012 Bowling Green Falcons football team represented Bowling Green State University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by fourth year head coach Dave Clawson and played their home games at Doyt Perry Stadium. They were a member of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 8–5, 6–2 in MAC play to finish in second place in the East Division. They were invited to the Military Bowl where they were defeated by San Jose State.


2012 Box Office Entertainment Awards
The 43rd Guillermo Mendoza Memorial Scholarship Foundation Box Office Entertainment Awards (GMMSF-BOEA) is a part of the annual awards in the Philippines held on April 29, 2012. The award-giving body honors Filipino actors, actresses and other performers' commercial success, regardless of artistic merit, in the Philippine entertainment industry.


2012 Box Office Entertainment Awards, Winners selection
On April 14, the Guillermo Mendoza Memorial Scholarship Foundation board of jurors met in the Danes Publishing House, Mindanao Avenue in Quezon City and deliberated for this year's winners. They added two new categories: the "Phenomenal Box Office Star" which will be first received by Vice Ganda for his film The Unkabogable Praybeyt Benjamin; and the "Box Office Tandem" to Vic Sotto and Ai Ai delas Alas for collaborating in Enteng Ng Ina Mo film. The former received the highest box office returns in 2011, with P332 million gross, while the latter received the highest gross during the 2011 Metro Manila Film Festival, with P237.88 gross from December 25 to January 7.


2012 Box Office Entertainment Awards, Winners selection
The winners were chosen from the Top 10 Philippine films of 2011, top-rating shows in Philippine television, top recording awards received by singers, and top gross receipts of concerts and performances.


2012 Box Office Entertainment Awards, Award ceremony
On April 29, 2012 at RCBC Plaza in Makati, Philippines, the 43rd Box Office Entertainment Awards night was held, produced by the Airtime Marketing of Tessie Celestino. The event will, then, be aired on May 6 at Sunday's Best on ABS-CBN.


2012 Box Office Entertainment Awards, Multiple awards, Companies with multiple awards
The following companies received two or more awards in the television category:


2012 Boyd Tinsley Women's Clay Court Classic
The 2012 Boyd Tinsley Women's Clay Court Classic was a professional tennis tournament played on clay courts. It was the tenth edition of the tournament which was part of the 2012 ITF Women's Circuit. It took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States between 23 and 29 April 2012.


2012 Boyd Tinsley Women's Clay Court Classic, WTA entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2012 Boyd Tinsley Women's Clay Court Classic, WTA entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received entry by a lucky loser spot:


2012 Boyd Tinsley Women's Clay Court Classic – Doubles
Sharon Fichman and Marie-Ève Pelletier were the defending champions, but Pelletier chose not to participate. Fichman partnered up with Valeria Solovieva, but lost in the semifinals to Elena Bovina and Julia Glushko.


2012 Boyd Tinsley Women's Clay Court Classic – Doubles
Maria Sanchez and Yasmin Schnack won the title, defeating Bovina and Glushko in the final, 6–2, 6–2.


2012 Boyd Tinsley Women's Clay Court Classic – Singles
Stéphanie Dubois was the defending champion, but lost to Julia Cohen in the first round.


2012 Boyd Tinsley Women's Clay Court Classic – Singles
Melanie Oudin won the title, defeating Irina Falconi in the final, 7–6(7–0), 3–6, 6–1.


2012 Boys' Youth NORCECA Volleyball Championship
The 2012 Boys' Youth NORCECA Volleyball Championship was the eighth edition of the bi-annual Volleyball Tournament, played by eight countries from July 2–7, 2012 in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. The top two teams other than Mexico qualified to the 2013 Boys Youth World Championship, Mexico had already secured a berth as Host.


2012 Boys' Youth NORCECA Volleyball Championship, Pool standing procedure
Match won 3–0: 5 points for the winner, 0 point for the loserMatch won 3–1: 4 points for the winner, 1 points for the loserMatch won 3–2: 3 points for the winner, 2 points for the loserIn case of tie, the teams were classified according to the following criteria:points ratio and sets ratio


2012 Boys' Youth South American Volleyball Championship
The 2012 Boys' Youth South American Volleyball Championship was the 18th edition of the tournament, organised by South America's governing volleyball body, the Confederación Sudamericana de Voleibol (CSV). It was held in Santiago, Chile. The top three teams qualified for the 2013 Youth World Championship.


2012 Boys' Youth South American Volleyball Championship, Competing nations
For the first time, Bolivia send a youth team to a South American Championship, making it the first time in South America 9 teams participated. The following national teams participated, teams were seeded according to how they finished in the previous edition of the tournament; teams that did not participate in the previous championship were seeded according to ranking:


2012 Boys' Youth South American Volleyball Championship, First round
The top team from each pool plus the best second place team will qualify to the semifinals.


2012 Brabantse Pijl
The 2012 Brabantse Pijl was the 52nd edition of the Brabantse Pijl cycle race and was held on 11 April 2012. The race started in Leuven and finished in Overijse. The race was won by Thomas Voeckler.


2012 Bradford Bulls season
This article details the Bradford Bulls rugby league football club's 2012 season, the seventeenth season of the Super League era.


2012 Bradford Bulls season, Season Review
Bradford Bulls announce the signing of NRL centre Keith Lulia from the Newcastle Knights on a 2-year deal. Also veteran winger Gareth Raynor signed a 1-year extension keeping him at the Bulls for the 2012 season. Raynor was later released for a severe breach of club discipline. Harlequins RL halfback Luke Gale signed a 2-year deal with Bradford making him the second new face at Odsal for 2012. Crusaders withdrew their Super League application and as a result the Bulls swooped for halfback Jarrod Sammut on a 1 Year Contract.


2012 Bradford Bulls season, Season Review
The Bulls announce that winger and top point scorer Patrick Ah Van signed a 2 Year Contract with Super League newcomers Widnes Vikings. Also another new signing was announced in the form of Aussie centre/winger Adrian Purtell from Penrith Panthers on a 3-year deal. Winger Shaun Ainscough signed a new 1 Year Deal with the Bulls while fullback Shad Royston is set to join Pia Donkeys in the French league for 2012. Bradford have promoted 18-year-old back rower Jobe Murphy to their 1st team squad for 2012.


2012 Bradford Bulls season, Season Review
Former Great Britain centre Chev Walker signed a 1-year extension to stay with the Bulls for 2012. Gareth Raynor was released from the remaining year on his contract while club captain Andy Lynch was sold to Hull F.C. for a 6 figure sum, on a 2-year contract.


2012 Bradford Bulls season, Season Review
Young promising winger Vinny Finigan signs a 1 Year Deal at the Sheffield Eagles after being frozen out of the Bulls first team by Mick Potter, however the Bulls announce they have secured a fifth signing in the form of highly rated ex-Crusaders winger Elliot Kear on a 3 Year Deal. Parramatta Eels forward Manase Manuokafoa signs a 1 Year Deal with the Bulls following Mick Potter's trip to Australia. Academy product Steve Crossley joined Dewsbury Rams on a permanent deal while youngster Cain Southernwood joins the Rams on a year-long loan.


2012 Bradford Bulls season, Season Review
Dewsbury also announce that they are playing the Bulls is a pre-season friendly on 22 January 2012 at Rams Stadium. Another pre-season game was announced for 15 January 2012 against reigning Championship winners Featherstone Rovers at Post Office Road. On the last day of October another two friendlies are announced, the first will be played on Boxing Day against Castleford Tigers at Wheldon Road while the last friendly will be on 27 or 29 January 2012 depending when the season starts, this friendly will be at the KC Stadium against Hull F.C. for Lee Radford's testimonial.


2012 Bradford Bulls season, Season Review
The Bulls go back to training and the overseas players join the 2012 Bulls squad for the first time. Bradford release their squad numbers for the 2012 season with Brett Kearney getting the number 1 shirt while Ben Jeffries will wear number 6. The new number 7 was revealed as Luke Gale. The 2012 fixtures were released and it revealed that the Bulls would start their campaign at Odsal Stadium against the Catalans Dragons and they would finish their season against the same opponent at Stade Gilbert Brutus. The 2012 Home shirt was released on the 26th.


2012 Bradford Bulls season, Season Review
Local Championship side Keighley Cougars announce another pre-season friendly against the Bulls on 27 January at Cougar Park. The Bulls travelled to Castleford Tigers on Boxing Day to play their annual friendly, however things didn't start well for the Bulls as new signing Manase Manuokafoa was injured in the warm up. Jason Crookes, Chev Walker, Bryn Hargreaves and Shaun Ainscough all scored for the Bulls with Kyle Briggs kicking 1 goal from 4 attempts, however it was not enough and Castleford won the game 28–18.


2012 Bradford Bulls season, Season Review
Gareth Raynor signed a 1-year contract with Championship winners Featherstone Rovers for the 2012 season. The Bulls announce that former player Karl Pryce has returned from the club on a 1 Year Deal from Wigan Warriors the 25-year-old can play Wing, Centre and Second Row, he was given the number 33 shirt. The friendly against Featherstone was cancelled due to a frozen pitch. The Bulls beat local Championship side Dewsbury Rams 42–16, Adrian Purtell scored a try on his debut and Luke Gale scored 2 tries, Shaun Ainscough, trialist Phil Joseph, Tom Burgess and Paul Sykes also scored.


2012 Bradford Bulls season, Season Review
Gale kicked 7 goals. It was announced on the 25th that hookers Heath L'Estrange and Matt Diskin would share the captain's armband for the 2012 season, also the 2012 Away shirt was revealed. Another big story in January was that Rugby League's governing body, the Rugby Football League (RFL) had bought the lease to Odsal Stadium for defensive reasons, they currently rent the ground to the Bulls. An Under 20's side featuring Ainscough, Danny Addy and Kyle Briggs lost 28–12 to a full strength Keighley Cougars, youngster Johnny Payne and Briggs both scored tries whilst Briggs kicked 2 goals. An under strength Bulls side travelled to the KC Stadium to play in Lee Radford's testimonial game. A full strength Hull F.C. side won 46–6 with Bradford's sole try coming from a 90m effort from Jason Crookes with Gale kicking the goal.


2012 Bradford Bulls season, Season Review
The Bulls start their 2012 campaign with a 34–12 loss to the Catalans Dragons, the Bulls were 20–0 down at halftime before tries from Jamie Langley and Elliot Kear got them on the scoreboard. Luke Gale kicked 2 goals from the touchline. Kyle Briggs was once again loaned out however this time he was sent to his former club Featherstone Rovers for the season. The return of Elliott Whitehead certainly helped lift the Bulls in defence as they put in a very huge defensive effort to beat Castleford Tigers 20–12.


2012 Bradford Bulls season, Season Review
Jarrod Sammut opened the scoring with further tries coming from Tom Burgess and Brett Kearney, Gale kicked 4 goals. The Bulls were destroyed by Challenge Cup holders Wigan Warriors, the Warriors won the game 54–16 with Jason Crookes, Sammut and Kearney scoring and Sammut kicked 2 goals after Gale was helped off the pitch. The Bulls carried on their 100% away win record with a hard-fought 36–18 victory against Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, former Wildcat Ben Jeffries kicked Wakefield to death and Elliott Whitehead scored a hat-trick, Brett Kearney scored two and Keith Lulia scored his first try for the Bulls. Sammut kicked all six goals.


2012 Bradford Bulls season, Season Review
The Bulls started off March with a very impressive performance against league leaders Warrington Wolves, the Bulls were the better side for the majority of the game with John Bateman and Manase Manuokafoa both impressing however they could not prevent a controversial 23–10 loss with Matt Diskin and Jason Crookes scoring and Jarrod Sammut kicking a goal. The Bulls staged an impressive fightback from 24–8 down to beat Hull Kingston Rovers 36–24 with Crookes grabbing his hat-trick, Karl Pryce, Diskin, Brett Kearney and Keith Lulia also scored with Sammut kicking 4 goals.


2012 Bradford Bulls season, Season Review
Bradford got their first home win against a St. Helens side struggling for form, however it was no easy task as the Bulls and Saints players ran their blood to water but the Bulls defence stood firm and they ground out a 12–8 win (their first win over Saints since 2009) with Elliott Whitehead crossing for an 8-point try after Jamie Foster kicked him and early in the second half Karl Pryce crossed for a try, returning Paul Sykes kicked 2 from 3. Youngster Elliott Whitehead signed a new 5 Year Deal to stay with the club until at least 2016.


2012 Bradford Bulls season, Season Review
After a good few games the Bulls reverted to their old ways and lost to Salford City Reds 38–18 with Kearney, Whitehead and Bryn Hargreaves scoring and the returning Sammut kicking 3 goals. The Bulls were hit with a massive financial blow when the RBS limited their overdraft leaving the Bulls with no cash, with no other option Peter Hood turned an asked the fans to help out by donating money to the club. Also Paul Sykes joined Wakefield Trinity Wildcats on a season long loan. The Bulls put up a spirited display against 2nd place Hull F.C. however despite being the better side for most of the match Hull came away with a lucky 24–18 win, Lulia, Pryce and youngster John Bateman all scored tries with Sammut kicking all 3 goals.


2012 Bradford Bulls season, Season Review
The Bulls started April off with a win against rivals Leeds Rhinos, Bradford won the game 12–4 with Jamie Langley and Ben Jeffries scoring a try each and Jarrod Sammut kicked both goals. Bradford backed up the victory over Leeds with a 38–4 win against new boys Widnes Vikings, Jeffries crossed for an early try and Michael Platt scored 2, Craig Kopczak, Adrian Purtell, Manase Manuokafoa and Keith Lulia also scored tries, Sammut kicked 4 goals and Danny Addy kicked the final goal.


2012 Bradford Bulls season, Season Review
The Bulls booked their place in the Challenge Cup 5th Round by brushing aside Championship 1 club Doncaster 72–6, Shaun Ainscough and Elliott Whitehead both scored hat-tricks, Lulia and Matt Diskin both scored 2 a piece whilst Jeffries, John Bateman and Kopczak all scored. Addy kicked 10 goals. Bradford lost 20–6 to league leaders Huddersfield Giants, the conditions were extremely poor and a depleted Bulls side battled well and defended extremely well but Danny Brough proved to be the difference. Platt scored the only Bradford try and Addy converted. Bradford were dumped out of the Challenge Cup by heavily favoured Warrington Wolves however the Bulls battled bravely before finally losing 32–16 with Purtell, Lulia and Olivier Elima all scoring and Luke Gale kicking 2 goals on his return.


2012 Bradford Bulls season, Season Review
Young hooker Adam O'Brien signs a new 5-year deal with the club. The Bulls travelled down to London Broncos and secured a hard-fought 29–22 win with Karl Pryce scoring a try and Michael Platt scoring 4. Luke Gale kicked 4 goals and a drop goal to put them 3 points clear of 9th place and on level points with Leeds Rhinos. Bradford drew against Salford City Reds 20–20 with Pryce scoring a hat-trick and Tom Burgess also scoring, Gale kicked 2 goals. The Bulls lose yet again at the Magic Weekend to rivals Leeds Rhinos 37–22, Elliott Whitehead, Ben Jeffries, Matt Diskin and Elliot Kear all scored for Bradford and Gale kicked 3 goals. Chairman Peter Hood officially stood down and his predecessor Chris Caisley took on the role.


2012 Bradford Bulls season, Season Review
Bradford kicked off June with a 46–32 win against Castleford Tigers. Keith Lulia, John Bateman and Olivier Elima all scored a try each whilst Brett Kearney scored 2 and Shaun Ainscough scored a hat-trick, Luke Gale also got on the scoresheet kicking 7 goals. Bradford suffered an embarrassing 54–0 loss at the hands of St Helens R.F.C..


2012 Bradford Bulls season, Season Review
After a week's break, due to the International Origin, the Bulls bounced back and beat fellow playoff competitors Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 34–26, Elliott Whitehead, Ainscough and Elima all scored a try each whilst Lulia scored 2, Gale kicked all 5 conversions and two penalty goals. Due to the major financial crisis at the club the Bulls officially went into administration on 26 June 2012. Bradford managed to record a phenomenal 30–22 win over league leaders Wigan Warriors at the DW Stadium, 2 tries from former Warrior Karl Pryce, and a try each for Lulia, Kearney and Whitehead won the game whilst Gale kicked all 5 goals.


2012 Bradford Bulls season, Season Review
On 2 July the administrators officially sacked the entire coaching staff including Head Coach Mick Potter, Assistants Lee St Hilaire and Francis Cummins and also Head of Youth Development Paul Medley. Bradford easily beat bottom of the table London Broncos 44–12 with Manase Manuokafoa, Elliott Whitehead, Luke Gale and Michael Platt all scored a try each whilst Brett Kearney scored 4 tries and Gale added 6 goals. The Bulls lost to arch rivals Leeds Rhinos 34–16 with Whitehead, Olivier Elima and Karl Pryce scoring tries whilst Gale kicked 2 goals. Bradford were also handed a 6-point deduction for entering administration which puts them out of the playoff places. The Bulls wrapped up July with a 50–22 loss to Warrington Wolves, Danny Addy scored 2 tries whilst Whitehead and Pryce also crossed and Gale kicked 3 goals.


2012 Bradford Bulls season, Season Review
Bradford started August with a win in a must win game after their 6-point deduction. They beat Widnes Vikings 38–26 with Michael Platt and Shaun Ainscough both scoring 2 tries each and Brett Kearney, Ben Jeffries and Heath L'Estrange all added to the total with a try each. Scrum Half Luke Gale kicked 5 goals. It was announced that youngster Tom Burgess would join his brothers Sam Burgess, Luke Burgess and George Burgess at NRL team South Sydney Rabbitohs for the 2013 season.


2012 Bradford Bulls season, Season Review
Bradford received a massive boost to their playoff hopes with a 32–26 win over 8th place Hull Kingston Rovers, this means that the Bulls go level on points with them with 3 games left to play. Jamie Langley crossed for a rare double whilst Ainscough, Jason Crookes and Elliott Whitehead also scored whilst Gale kicked 6 goals. The Bulls once again overcame the odds and beat fellow Yorkshiremen Huddersfield Giants 34–12, Ainscough scored his first try away from home and Matt Diskin, Gale, and Kearney all scored a try whilst returning Karl Pryce grabbed a double. Gale added 5 goals and put Bradford back into the playoff places.


2012 Bradford Bulls season, Season Review
It was announced that Omar Khan and MP Gerry Sutcliffe would become new owners of the Bulls after paying £150,000 to secure the ownership. Not long after the Bulls went to suffer a massive 70–6 loss to Hull F.C. with only Jason Crookes scoring a try for Bradford whilst Luke Gale kicked the goal. Ben Jeffries announced that he would be returning to Australia at the end of the season to become a miner and play part-time with the Kurri Kurri Bulldogs.


2012 Bradford Bulls season, Season Review
In addition to Jeffries leaving, former Salford player Ian Sibbit announces that he will retire at the end of the year. Second Rower Olivier Elima also announced he would leave at the end of the season to join former club Catalans Dragons on a 2-year deal, this came as no surprise as Elima had already stated he wanted to go home so his kid could go to a French school.


2012 Bradford Bulls season, Season Review
A minor departure was Craig Kopczak, he refused to have his contract transferred over to Omar Khan's Bulls so it was automatically terminated, he looks set to sign for Huddersfield Giants. The Bulls wrap up their weekly rounds with a 50–26 loss to Catalans Dragons, the loss means that they are 1 point behind 8th placed Wakefield Trinity Wildcats and this makes it the 4th year in a row that the Bulls have failed to make the playoffs.


2012 Bradford West by-election
The Bradford West by-election was a by-election in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom constituency of Bradford West, which was held on Thursday 29 March 2012. The writ for the by-election was moved and accepted on 6 March 2012.


2012 Bradford West by-election
It was unexpectedly won by George Galloway of the Respect Party who defeated the Labour Party candidate by a large margin in a result referred to by Galloway as the "Bradford Spring" (by analogy with the Arab Spring). Galloway said the election result was Bradford's "peaceful democratic uprising" version of the riots which swept through England in August 2011.


2012 Bradford West by-election
The result was such a surprise as to cause the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust to commission a report to study the campaign.


2012 Bradford West by-election, Background
On 29 February 2012, the incumbent Member of Parliament for Bradford West, Marsha Singh, announced his intention to resign due to "serious illness". His most recent contribution in the House of Commons came in October 2009. As MPs cannot officially resign from the House of Commons, Singh was appointed to the role of Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, thus disqualifying him from the House.


2012 Bradford West by-election, Background
On 6 March 2012, a motion to issue the writ for the by-election was successfully moved by Shadow Chief Whip Rosie Winterton, setting polling day as 29 March. Nominations closed at 4 pm on Wednesday 14 March.


2012 Bradford West by-election, Candidates
The Statement of Persons Nominated was released by the City of Bradford Council on 15 March.


2012 Bradford West by-election, Candidates
Former MP George Galloway confirmed on 6 March that he would stand on behalf of the Respect Party, and later that day UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage announced that their candidate was Sonja McNally, a former Green Party council candidate. On 8 March, the Liberal Democrats chose Bradford City councillor Jeanette Sunderland to be their candidate, and the Conservatives chose businesswoman and former Rotherham 2010 general election candidate Jackie Whiteley. Labour chose Imran Hussain, the Deputy Leader of Bradford City Council, to be its candidate on 11 March.


2012 Bradford West by-election, Candidates
On 9 March, the Green Party announced that their candidate would be Dawud Islam, a former Labour councillor and former Green local election candidate. The candidate for the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, Alan Hope, has contested seats on fourteen occasions, parliamentary elections and by-elections. Hope used the ballot paper description "Monster Raving Loony William Hill Party" as part of a sponsorship deal. A meeting of the Democratic Nationalists held in Burnley confirmed that Neil Craig was standing for the party as he had done at the 2010 general election.


2012 Bradford West by-election, Results
Galloway's election as MP was the first occasion that the main opposition party has lost a seat in a by-election since the May 2000 Romsey by-election (when the Conservatives lost to the Liberal Democrats). It was also among the largest swings against the incumbent party in the same time period. Respect's increase in its share of the vote, 52.8%, was also among the largest in the history of mainland British parliamentary by-elections since the introduction of universal suffrage.


2012 Bradford West by-election, Campaign
Hussain, the Labour candidate, declared that he would not attend any of the hustings with other candidates, concentrating instead on meeting the electorate. Several senior Labour politicians, including Ed Miliband, Dennis Skinner, Yvette Cooper and Ed Balls, visited the constituency to support his campaign.


2012 Bradford West by-election, Campaign
Galloway's campaign sought to capitalise on discontent with the local Labour Party and tension in the Asian community. He criticised the claimed role of baradari, an Urdu word literally meaning "brotherhood" that denotes a hierarchical system of clan politics, in corrupting the area's local politics, particularly the local Labour Party.


2012 Bradford West by-election, Campaign
He said that baradari was responsible for "second- and third-rate politicians particularly but not exclusively from the Labour Party being elected to the city council on the basis not of ability, not of ideas, not on records of experience but on whether their father came from the same village as someone else's father 50 or 60 years ago". Naweed Hussain, a campaign manager for the former Labour MP Singh over the previous three general elections, defected and became a campaign manager for Galloway, complaining that Labour had been "bypassing democracy" in the seat. Imran Hussain dismissed claims of baradari.


2012 Bradford West by-election, Campaign
The Times correspondent Michael Savage noticed that Galloway referred "heavily to his quasi-Islamic values in his campaign literature. One leaflet proclaimed that 'God KNOWS who is a Muslim and he KNOWS who is not. I, George Galloway, do not drink and never have." Galloway initially said that the photocopied leaflet in question, which did not, as electoral law requires, include the Respect logo, agent's name or address, had not been produced by him. He did however make similar comments in his campaign rally, saying 'I'm a better Pakistani than he [Mr Hussain] will ever be.


2012 Bradford West by-election, Campaign
God knows who's a Muslim and who is not. And a man that's never out of the pub shouldn't be going around telling people you should vote for him because he's a Muslim.' Galloway's election agent subsequently accepted that the leaflet had Galloway's approval. Decca Aitkenhead, in a Guardian interview published near the end of April 2012, wrote: "Contrary to every report I've read, he doesn't deny writing the leaflet himself". The Muslim Public Affairs Committee (MPACUK), which campaigned for Galloway, were involved in promoting the insinuations against Hussain over his reputed drinking of alcohol.


2012 Bradford West by-election, Campaign
In an article for The Times, the Labour MP Diane Abbott argued that the result was not one of "identity" politics: "If Muslim voters in Bradford West were going to back someone who shared their ethnic identity, they would have voted for the excellent Labour candidate, who happens to be a local Muslim councillor. Furthermore, George won heavily in every ward, including many that were not majority Muslims."


2012 Bradford West by-election, Aftermath
Respect stood a total of 12 candidates in the May 2012 local elections in Bradford, although the party had said they would stand candidates in all 30 wards. Five Respect councillors were elected.


2012 Bradford West by-election, Aftermath
The Green by-election candidate Dawud Islam defected to Respect on 3 April 2012.


2012 Brasil Open
The 2012 Brasil Open was a tennis tournament played on indoor clay courts. It was the 12th edition of the event known as the Brasil Open, and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2012 ATP World Tour. It took place from February 13 through February 19, 2012, in São Paulo, Brazil for the first time, since the previous tournaments were held in Costa do Sauípe, Brazil. The competition was also moved from an outdoor event to indoors and was played at the Complexo Desportivo Constâncio Vaz Guimarães.


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


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


2012 Brasil Open, Finals, Doubles
Eric Butorac /  Bruno Soares defeated  Michal Mertiňák /  André Sá, 3–6, 6–4, [10–8]


2012 Brasil Open – Doubles
Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares were the defending champions but decided not to participate together. Melo plays alongside Thomaz Bellucci, while Soares partners up with Eric Butorac. They met in the Quarterfinals, where Soares and Butorac advanced. They went on to win the title against Michal Mertiňák and André Sá 3–6, 6–4, [10–8] in the final.


2012 Brasil Open – Singles
Nicolás Almagro defended his title by defeating Filippo Volandri 6–3, 4–6, 6–4 in the final.


2012 Brasileiro de Marcas
The 2012 Brasileiro de Marcas season was the second season of the Brasileiro de Marcas. It begin on April 22 at the Interlagos and ended on December 2 at the Curitiba, after sixteen races. Several changes occurred in the championship. Mitsubishi entered with the 2012 version of Mitisubishi Lancer GT, Honda changed to the ninth generation Honda Civic, Chevrolet used Chevrolet Cruze which replaced the Chevrolet Astra, and Toyota became an official manufacturer on the championship with Toyota Corolla XRS.


2012 Brasileiro de Marcas
Honda driver Ricardo Mauricio won the championship. He did not win any races, but finished on the podium at ten of sixteen. Toyota won the manufacturers' championship.


2012 Brasileiro de Marcas, Race calendar and results
The provisional calendar was announced by the championship organisers on 20 November 2011, with Curitiba to host two races, include a support at the FIA WTCC Race of Brazil. On 25 May 2012, the race at Rio de Janeiro was moved to August. All races were held in Brazil.


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix
The 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 Grande Prêmio Petrobras do Brasil 2012) was a Formula One motor race that took place at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo, Brazil, on 25 November 2012. The race was the twentieth and final round of the 2012 Formula One World Championship, and marked the forty-first running of the Brazilian Grand Prix. The race was won by Jenson Button driving for McLaren, scoring the 15th and last victory of his Formula One career.


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix
It was at this race that Sebastian Vettel won the 2012 World Drivers' Championship, his third title in a row. Fernando Alonso finished second in both the race and the championship, and had the provisional championship lead at a late stage of the race, before Vettel moved up the order to have a three-point cushion. The race also marked the 306th and final one for Michael Schumacher, after he announced his retirement for the second time.


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix
It was also the last race for HRT, as they collapsed before the start of 2013, meaning that this was the last race to feature 24 drivers. This would also prove to be the last Grand Prix for Vitaly Petrov, Timo Glock, Pedro de la Rosa, Narain Karthikeyan and Bruno Senna.


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Background
The 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix marked Michael Schumacher's final race before his second retirement and was also the last race for Bruno Senna, Vitaly Petrov, Timo Glock, Pedro de la Rosa, Narain Karthikeyan and the HRT Formula 1 Team. HRT in their history did not score a point, and withdrew because of financial issues.


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Background
Tyre supplier Pirelli provided teams with early prototypes of their 2013 compounds during Friday practice for testing and review.


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Background
Pirelli brought its silver-banded hard compound tyre as the harder "prime" tyre and the white-banded medium compound tyre as the softer "option" tyre, as opposed to the previous year when they brought the medium and soft compound dry tyres.


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Background
In order to become world champion for the third time, Sebastian Vettel needed to defend a 13-point advantage over Fernando Alonso meaning the Spaniard needed at least third place even if the German failed to score. Conversely, a fourth place was sufficient for Vettel even if Alonso won.


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Free practice
During free practice on Friday and Saturday, it was Lewis Hamilton and McLaren who set the pace, closely followed by championship contender Vettel and his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber. While Hamilton topped the time sheets in both Friday sessions, Jenson Button was quickest during the third session on Saturday morning. Fernando Alonso had a difficult first free practice, trailing Vettel by 0.465 seconds, twice as much as in previous races. However, he was able to lap faster than the German on the harder compound tyres in the second session.


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Free practice
Ferrari looked stronger during the long run trials with Felipe Massa putting in the most consistently fast lap times, 0.1 seconds ahead of Hamilton. With high temperatures, tyre degradation was a concern for the teams in the paddock with Hamilton commenting that "it felt almost as though I was sliding around the track with the tyres melting".


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Qualifying
"I'm grateful to be able to put the car on the front row and to have had my last qualifying with McLaren as a one–two."


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Qualifying
After the very warm practice sessions, qualifying on Saturday was run under difficult weather conditions. Qualifying one (Q1) started on a damp track and therefore on intermediate tyres, while by Q2 the track was almost dry and slick tyres were used. In Q1 Romain Grosjean collided with the slower running HRT of Pedro de la Rosa and lost his front wing. While he succeeded in nursing the car back into the pit lane, he was unable to change his tyres and was therefore left in a disappointing 18th position on the grid.


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Qualifying
Michael Schumacher's last ever qualifying did not go well either. He took 14th position, almost half a second down on his teammate, admitting he had perhaps compromised his setup too much for an expected wet race. The McLarens were fastest all weekend and easily took the front row, with Lewis Hamilton securing his last pole position with the team. Title contenders Vettel and Alonso both struggled, taking 4th and 8th position on the grid respectively. Pastor Maldonado was handed a 10-place grid penalty for missing the weighbridge in the second part of qualifying. He dropped from sixth to 16th, moving Alonso one place up to seventh.


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Race, Pre-race
Title contender Alonso and Ferrari were hoping for damp conditions during the race, stating: "Wet races are a bit more unpredictable so we need some kind of damp race with many things happening, because we know that in normal conditions, fighting for the championship will be very difficult". Felipe Massa discounted rumours he might try to help Alonso win the title by forcing Vettel into retirement, stating "I've always been an honest person and an honest driver. And that will continue to be the case. My limit is the limit of the regulations, and I will stay true to this limit".


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Race, Race report
With only light rain just 10 minutes before the start, all teams opted to start on slick tyres. Vettel got away poorly, dropping to seventh position, while his rival Alonso moved up into fifth. Vettel and Bruno Senna collided at turn 4 in a racing incident, which saw Vettel spin while Senna ended up hitting the rear of Pérez. Vettel suffered damage to his left sidepod but was able to carry on, in 22nd position.


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Race, Race report
However, the reigning world champion began to move up the order, as there was close racing for position at the front of the field as well. Massa helped his teammate overtake Mark Webber on lap two going into the Senna-S, giving the Spaniard the crucial third position he would need to win the title. But Alonso lost the position again to the fast running Force India of Nico Hülkenberg after running wide on lap four. Maldonado crashed out on lap two, when he lost control of his car on the kerb through the inside of turn 3, and crashed into the tyre barrier on the exit of the corner.


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Race, Race report
Rain began to fall during the next few laps and the first cars made pit stops for intermediate tyres, including the two title contenders, while Button and Hülkenberg stayed out. This proved to be the right decision since the rain decreased shortly afterwards and  cars on intermediates were forced to pit for slick tyres once again. Hülkenberg continued his strong performance by overtaking Button for the lead at the end of lap 18 (their official time differential at the finish line at the end of that lap was 0.000).


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Race, Race report
With the two cars in front leading the field by almost a minute, debris on the track brought out the safety car on lap 23. At this point Alonso and Vettel were running in fourth and fifth place. At the restart on lap 29, Kamui Kobayashi took fifth position from Vettel. The damage on the Red Bull car slowed Vettel down considerably more in dry conditions, and Massa helped his teammate by overtaking the German shortly after. Meanwhile, at the front, Hamilton took second from his teammate and was able to pass Hülkenberg when the German half-spun. Hülkenberg pursued the McLaren but slid into him on lap 54, leaving Hamilton out of the race with damage to the left front suspension and himself with a drive-through penalty, handing Button the lead.


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Race, Race report
When the rain started again, Vettel was one of the first to pit for intermediates, but since his radio had failed the team was not ready for him, causing a long delay. Ferrari timed Massa's pit stop well, letting Alonso take second position from him. Vettel took sixth position from Michael Schumacher which proved sufficient to retain the title even with Alonso finishing second.


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Race, Race report
The race ended after Paul di Resta crashed on the start/finish straight shortly before the end, bringing out the safety car once again until the conclusion of the race. Caterham's Vitaly Petrov took 11th position which meant his team overtook Marussia in the Constructors' Championship. Former world champion Kimi Räikkönen had an eventful race as well, almost crashing into Vettel after the start and later trying to use an escape road only to find it to be a dead end. He later stated the way had been open 11 years prior, having made the same manoeuver at the 2001 race. He also had a close contest with the retiring Michael Schumacher, who finished seventh after recovering from an early puncture, but gave up sixth to Vettel in order to help him extend his small point advantage over Fernando Alonso in the championship.


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
"I think everything that could go wrong went wrong. As a matter of fact, though, I think we always kept believing. [ ...] I think they tried everything to make it even harder for us, not just the others but also the circumstances: as I said, with the damage on the car, losing radio, in these conditions, when communication is so crucial, stopping just a lap too early, not having the tyres ready because communication wasn't there. Where do you start, really? I think you guys had your show and we had to really fight until the end."


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
The race received widespread acclaim, with The Guardian calling it a "rollercoaster". Three-time world champions Niki Lauda and Nelson Piquet stated that they had never seen a race like it. German magazine Der Spiegel deemed the race "spectacular" and "historic" due to the record-breaking 147 successful overtaking manoeuvres carried out during the race. Reuters said that "the Brazilian weather produced a thriller to stand the test of time against some of the sport's great races". Sebastian Vettel himself called it his "toughest race ever". This race has been retrospectively noted for its dramatic nature.


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
At age 25, Vettel became the youngest triple world champion of the sport, six years younger than Ayrton Senna had been in 1991. On drawing level with Senna, Vettel commented: "To win that third title here, where one of my greatest idols, Ayrton Senna, was from, it is very difficult to imagine I join him and other great names by winning three successive titles". Red Bull's team principal Christian Horner praised his driver, saying "Sebastian has driven better than ever this season and has fought his way back into this championship, he's never given up and you saw that in today's race".


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
The Daily Mirror lauded Red Bull designer Adrian Newey for making the decision to change the engine mapping on Vettel's car after reviewing photos of the damage sustained in the first lap accident. Newey was quoted saying: "So we photographed it going past, saw huge crease in exhaust, which usually means it will soon crack and the bodywork catch fire. [ ...] So we changed the engine mapping to keep the exhaust as cool as we could, even though it meant lost performance".


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
"I didn't win the title, but I won so much respect from everybody."


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
Championship runner-up Fernando Alonso expressed pride for his team, going so far as to call the 2012 season "the best season of my career". During the podium interview with Nelson Piquet, he asserted: "Obviously we lost the championship now, but I don't think, as you said, that we lost here in Brazil, we lost in some races where we were a little bit unlucky.


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
But this is a sport, but when you do something with your heart, when you do something with 100 per cent, you have to be proud of your team, happy for them, and we will try next year." The press later pointed out Alonso's "grace after the race", contrasting him to Vettel who had criticized the competition's "dirty tricks" during his post-race press conference.


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
Speaking about his victory, Jenson Button congratulated his team, saying: "This is the perfect way to end the season. We have had ups and downs and to end on a high bodes well for 2013." His victory in this race would turn out to be his last in Formula One. It would also be McLaren's last victory until the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, won by Daniel Ricciardo.


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
Upon his second retirement from the sport, Michael Schumacher commented on the three years at Mercedes GP: "I have tried that mission to end successful. It didn't work this time but I'm quite happy to finish from here and go for a different life again."


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
Commenting on the outcome of the season, former team owner Eddie Jordan said he believed Alonso would have deserved the title more, considering the "less competitive machine". BBC columnist and former Formula One driver Jaime Alguersuari took a different viewpoint, saying the German deserved the title, having gone into the last race with "the most difficult position [...] – he had everything to lose".


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race, Controversies
Three days after the race, Ferrari announced they were contemplating filing an appeal with the FIA due to video footage allegedly showing Sebastian Vettel overtaking Jean-Éric Vergne under yellow flags. Should the allegations have proven valid, the FIA could have added 20 seconds to Vettel's finishing time, demoting him to 8th in the race result, handing the driver's title to Alonso. Just two days later however, Ferrari opted not to appeal the result after receiving additional information from the FIA. Formula One CEO Bernie Ecclestone had previously stated that he considered Ferrari's allegations "a shame" and "a joke".


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race, Controversies
After losing 10th place in the Constructors' Championship to Caterham, Marussia's director of engineering Nikolai Fomenko accused driver Charles Pic of deliberately letting Vitaly Petrov pass him due to Pic having already signed a contract with Caterham for next season. However, no actions were taken following these accusations.


2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Report, Post-race, Controversies
In August 2018, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner revealed that Sebastian Vettel felt that his teammate Mark Webber was responsible for his bad start by pushing him towards the wall in the first turn of the race.


2012 Brazilian municipal elections
The Brazilian municipal elections of 2012 took place on October 7 and on October 28 (for cities with more than 200,000 voters, where the second round is available). Over 138 million voters chose mayors, deputy mayors and city councillors for the 5,568 municipalities of Brazil. These were the first elections in which the recently registered parties Partido Pátria Livre (PPL) and Partido Social Democrático (PSD) participated; they were both recognized by the Superior Electoral Court (Tribunal Superior Eleitoral – TSE) in 2011.


2012 Brazilian municipal elections
Political parties whose candidates wished to run for the 2012 elections had to be registered at the TSE for at least one year before the election date, while candidates also had to be affiliated to a party for the same period of time. Conventions for the selection of candidates within the parties occurred between 10 and 30 June, while the registry of candidates and alliances with the Regional Electoral Courts (Tribunais Regionais Eleitorais – TREs) took place until July 5. Electoral campaign was authorized from the moment a candidacy had been registered.


2012 Brazilian municipal elections
The free electoral program (propaganda eleitoral gratuita) – two daily slots on free-to-air TV and radio for political advertising paid by the Electoral Justice fund – ran weekdays from 21 August until 4 October. According to the current Brazilian electoral law, the two-round system – should the leading candidate receive less than 50% +1 of the votes – is only available for cities with more than 200,000 voters. This includes all state capitals, with the exception of Boa Vista, Roraima and Palmas, Tocantins, plus 59 other municipalities. The free electoral program for the second round ran from 13 October until 26 October.


2012 Brazilian municipal elections
Below is a list of the cities where the runoff took place (bold denote state capitals). These cities are home to 31 725 967 of the country's total constituency of 140 646 446 registered electors; that is, 22.56% of Brazilian voters went to the polling stations on October 28.


2012 Brazilian municipal elections, Election results
The following tables' contents can also be found at the Superior Electoral Court website.


2012 Breeders' Cup
The 2012 Breeders' Cup World Championships was the 29th edition of the premier event of the North American thoroughbred horse racing year, which took place November 2 and 3 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The winners were bred in the United States except where indicated. The Breeders' Cup is generally regarded as the end of the North American racing season, although a few Grade I events take place in later November and December. The 2012 Breeders' Cup results were highly influential in the Eclipse Award divisional championship voting.


2012 Breeders' Cup, Breeders' Cup Challenge series
The Breeders' Cup Challenge provides winners of the designated races with an automatic "Win and You're In" Berth in the Breeders' Cup. Races are chosen by the Breeders' Cup organization and included key prep races in the various Breeders' Cup divisions from around the world.


2012 Breeders' Cup, Breeders' Cup Challenge series
For 2012, the series consisted of 73 races in 10 countries, 52 of which were Grade / Group One events. Forty-five horses entered in the 2012 Breeders' Cup races qualified via the challenge series, including seven of the winners. These were:


2012 Breeders' Cup, Results
The highlight of the 2012 event was generally considered to be Wise Dan's victory in the Mile, completed in an "eye-popping" 1:31.78, a new track record. Although European horses were expected to be his biggest challengers, the 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom finished second despite not having raced since February. "It really hasn't hit me yet", said Wise Dan's trainer Charles Lopresti. "It's an incredible accomplishment, but it's really just the horse. He's done things in the morning that you just don't believe, and you work all your life to have a horse like this."


2012 Breeders' Cup, Results
Game On Dude came into the Classic as the favorite after a brilliant campaign that included wins in the Hollywood Gold Cup and Awesome Again Stakes. A win would likely have earned him Horse of the Year honors but he was sluggish and finished seventh. Longshot Fort Larned won in a front running performance, just holding off Mucho Macho Man at the wire.


2012 Breeders' Cup, Results
Rosie Napravnik became just the second female jockey to win a Breeders' Cup race after guiding Shanghai Bobby to a win in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. After the early leader tired, Shanghai Bobby inherited the lead, then lost his concentration and slowed down. He's Had Enough drew even before Shanghai Bobby responded to urging from Napravnik to prevail by a head.


2012 Breeders' Cup, Results
After capturing the Marathon, Calidoscopio became both the oldest horse to ever win a Breeders' Cup race and the first one trained in South America.


2012 Breeders' Cup, Results
The biggest controversy of the 2012 Breeders' Cup related to the use of the anti-bleeding medication Furosemide (Lasix), commonly used in North America but not permitted elsewhere. To move towards international standards, the Breeders' Cup decided to eliminate the use of Lasix in the Juvenile races, with the intention of extending the ban to other races in subsequent years. However, there was considerable push back from a majority of American owners, trainers and bettors, who feared the form of American horses would be disrupted by the withdrawal of the drug. The raceday ban on Lasix would eventually be removed for the 2014 event.


2012 Breeders' Cup, Results
In the 2012 Eclipse Award voting, nine of the eleven flat racing categories were awarded to horses who won at the Breeders' Cup. Wise Dan won three Eclipse Awards (Horse of the Year, Champion Turf Male and Champion Older Male), becoming the first horse since John Henry in 1981 to do so. The other winners were Shanghai Bobby (Champion 2-year-old Male), Beholder (Champion 2-year-old Female), Royal Delta (Champion Older Female), Zagora (Champion Turf Female), Trinniberg (Champion Male Sprinter) and Groupie Doll (Champion Female Sprinter).


2012 Breeders' Cup, Results, Saturday
The Breeders' Cup races were part of a 12 race program with post time at 10:05 am PST for the first race. The post time of the first Breeders' Cup race was 11:51 am PST. The attendance was 55,123.


2012 Breeders' Cup Challenge series
The 2012 Breeders' Cup Challenge series provided winners of the designated races with an automatic "Win and You're In" Berth in the 2012 Breeders' Cup. Races were chosen by the Breeders' Cup organization and included key prep races in the various Breeders' Cup divisions from around the world.


2012 Breeders' Cup Challenge series
For 2012, the series consisted of 73 races in 10 countries, 52 of which were Grade / Group One events. Thirteen races were added to the series: the (South African) Queen’s Plate, Gran Premio 25 de Mayo, Stephen Foster Handicap, Personal Ensign, Grosser Preis von Baden, Gallant Bloom, Pilgrim, Miss Grillo, Bourbon, Royal Lodge, Middle Park, Beresford, and the Prix de la Foret.


2012 Breeders' Cup Challenge series
Forty-five horses entered in the 2012 Breeders' Cup races qualified via the challenge series, including seven of the winners. These were:


2012 Breeders' Cup Challenge series
The winners of the 2012 Breeders' Cup Challenge series races are shown below. The last column shows whether the horse was subsequently entered in the Breeders' Cup, and if so, whether they achieved a top three finish.


2012 Breeders' Cup Classic
The 2012 Breeders' Cup Classic was the 29th running of the Breeders' Cup Classic, part of the 2012 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships program. It was run on November 3, 2012 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California with a purse of $5,000,000.


2012 Breeders' Cup Classic
Fort Larned, a 9-1 longshot, won the race in frontrunning fashion, holding off a closing drive by Mucho Macho Man.


2012 Breeders' Cup Classic
The Classic is run on dirt at one mile and one-quarter (approximately 2000 m). It is run under weight-for-age conditions, with entrants carrying the following weights:


2012 Breeders' Cup Classic, Contenders
Game On Dude was the favorite for the Classic after winning the Hollywood Gold Cup and Awesome Again. Second in the 2011 Classic held at Churchill Downs, Game on Dude was expected to improve at Santa Anita, a track over which he was undefeated at the time. His frontrunning style was expected to give him a tactical advantage in a field that lacked other speed horses.


2012 Breeders' Cup Classic, Contenders
He faced a deep field that lacked star power, in part due to the injury and subsequent retirement of Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner I'll Have Another and Belmont Stakes winner Union Rags. The 12-horse field also included:


2012 Breeders' Cup Classic, Race Description
Game on Dude, who had been expected to set the pace, broke poorly and then experienced traffic problems that took him out of contention. Fort Larned went to the lead and set a brisk pace, trailed by Mucho Macho Man. Fort Larned opened up a lead of nearly three lengths moving into the far turn, then Mucho Macho Man started to close ground. With an eighth of a mile to go, Fort Larned's lead was down to a half length and his jockey Brian Hernandez, Jr. went to the whip. Fort Larned responded and maintained his lead to the finish line, completing the 1 1⁄4 miles in a solid time of 2:00.11. Flat Out was well back in third.


2012 Breeders' Cup Classic, Race Description
It was the first Breeders' Cup win for trainer Ian Wilkes, who had previously been an assistant to Hall of Famer Carl Nafzger. "We had to be there near the front and he was ready today", said Wilkes. "He had galloped great over the track. I knew we were good when he broke sharp. That's where Brian (Hernandez) won the race. We broke sharp and Game On Dude broke bad. I trust Brian because the horse trusts Brian."


2012 Breeders' Cup Classic, Race Description
On his 27th birthday, Hernandez also celebrated his first Breeders' Cup win. "It's the greatest birthday ever", said Hernandez. "I always had a lot of confidence in him. Ian (Wilkes) and I talked about the race and he told me don't take him out of his game and let him do whatever he wants to do. He has a good cruising speed and I just let him go."


2012 Breeders' Cup Classic, Race Description
Owner Janis Whitham was also Fort Larned's breeder. She and her late husband had owned the Champion race mare Bayakoa, two-time winner of the Distaff. Bayakoa was Fort Larned's grand-dam.


2012 Breeders' Cup Classic, Results
Times: 1⁄4 – 0:23.20;  1⁄2 – 0:46.50; 3⁄4 – 1:10.12; mile – 1:34.66;  final – 2:00.11. Fractional Splits: (:23.20) (:23.30) (:23.62) (:24.54) (:25.45)


2012 Brentwood Borough Council election
The 2012 Brentwood Borough Council election to the Brentwood Borough Council in Essex took place on Thursday 3 May 2012.


2012 Brickyard 400
The 2012 Crown Royal Presents the Curtiss Shaver 400 at the Brickyard, the 19th running of the event, was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on July 29, 2012 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. Contested over 160 laps, was the twentieth race of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Jimmie Johnson, of the Hendrick Motorsports racing team, won his third race of the season ahead of Kyle Busch in second. Greg Biffle finished in the third position.


2012 Brickyard 400, Report, Background
Indianapolis Motor Speedway is one of six superspeedways to hold NASCAR races; the others are Michigan International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Daytona International Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway. The standard track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a four-turn rectangular-oval track that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. The track's turns are banked at 9 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, has no banking. The back stretch, opposite of the front, also has none. The racetrack has seats for 250,000 spectators.


2012 Brickyard 400, Report, Background
Before the race, Matt Kenseth led the Drivers' Championship with 707 points, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. stood in second with 691. Greg Biffle was third in the Drivers' Championship with 667 points, eleven ahead of Jimmie Johnson and 39 ahead of Denny Hamlin in fourth and fifth. Kevin Harvick with 622 was four ahead of Tony Stewart, as Martin Truex, Jr. with 617 points, was three ahead of Clint Bowyer, and four in front of Brad Keselowski. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with135 points, 25 ahead of Toyota. Ford, with 93 points, was thirteen points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third. Paul Menard is the defending winner of the race.


2012 Brickyard 400, Report, Background
In 2011, Crown Royal announced that they would move their sponsorship from Richmond International Raceway to Indianapolis to rename the Brickyard 400 to Crown Royal "Your Hero's Name Goes Here" 400 at the Brickyard. Once the naming rights contest concluded, Curtiss Shaver, a firefighter from Troy, Alabama, was announced the winner, making the official race name for the 2012 race, the Crown Royal Curtiss Shaver 400 at the Brickyard.


2012 Brickyard 400, Report, Background
Indianapolis Motor Speedway also made changes to the garages in 2012 as part of the new format of having both a first and second tier series race at the Speedway. For the first time, the top 35 Cup teams would no longer use the traditional Gasoline Alley garages. Instead, the top teams in points would be parked in the "new" garages located on pit road used first for Formula One and later for MotoGP. NASCAR Inspection would be held in the pitside garages, and lower teams and the Nationwide Series (racing for the first time at Indianapolis) will use Gasoline Alley.


2012 Brickyard 400, Report, Practice and qualifying
Two practice sessions were held before the race on July 28, 2012. The first session was 60 minutes long, while the second was 110 minutes. Kasey Kahne was quickest with a time of 48.563 seconds in the first session, 0.478 faster than Mark Martin. Jeff Gordon was third quickest, followed by Johnson, Keselowski, and Menard. Earnhardt, Jr. was seventh, still within a second of Kahne's time. In the second and final practice session, Biffle was quickest with a time of 49.587 seconds. Carl Edwards, with a time of 49.660, was second quickest, ahead of Joey Logano, Kahne, and Kenseth. Johnson, Regan Smith, Gordon, Jeff Burton, and Hamlin completed the first ten positions.


2012 Brickyard 400, Report, Practice and qualifying
Forty-six cars were entered for qualifying, but only forty-three could qualify for the race because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure. Hamlin clinched his first pole position at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with a time of 49.244 seconds. He was joined on the front row of the grid by Edwards. Logano qualified third, Aric Almirola took fourth, and Biffle started fifth. Johnson, Kyle Busch, Menard, Gordon and Kenseth rounded out the top ten. The drivers that failed to qualify for the race were Reed Sorenson, Joe Nemechek, Michael McDowell. McDowell's time was disallowed after his car failed inspection; Mike Bliss was awarded a spot in the field.


2012 Brickyard 400, Report, Practice and qualifying
Once the qualifying session had concluded, Hamlin stated, "We knew this was the turning point of the season. From Indy until Richmond is when you start seeing who's going to fight for a championship. Everyone's got their Chase cars prepared, bringing them to the track, and that's when you want to start running good. Every year with six to seven races before the Chase, we start running all out to see where we stack up against the field. If this is any indication, we hope it's 2010 all over with except the ending."


2012 Bridgend County Borough Council election
The 2012 Bridgend Council election took place on 3 May 2012 to elect members of Bridgend County Borough Council in Wales. This was the same day as other 2012 United Kingdom local elections.


2012 Bridgend County Borough Council election, Result
With a 34.99% turnout of the electorate, the Labour Party won an additional 12 seats. This gave the Labour Group an overall majority, which they had not had for the previous eight years. However, Labour's council cabinet member, Alana Davies, lost her seat (Porthcawl East) to an Independent candidate. The Conservatives retained only the Newton seat, losing five councillors.


2012 Bridgend County Borough Council election, Result
Five out of the fifty four seats were elected unopposed.


2012 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation election
The Brihanmumbai Mahanagar Palika election, 2012 (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation election, 2012) was an election of members to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation which took place on 16 February 2012.


2012 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation election, Result
The ruling Shiv Sena-BJP-Republican Party of India (Athavale) alliance won the elections. Sunil Prabhu was elected Mayor of Mumbai.


2012 Brisbane Broncos season
The 2012 Brisbane Broncos season was the 25th in the club's history. Coached by Anthony Griffin and captained by Sam Thaiday, they competed in the NRL's 2012 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season eighth (out of sixteen) to make it into the finals. The Broncos were then knocked out of contention in the first game of the finals against the North Queensland Cowboys. So began the Broncos' longest ever premiership drought.


2012 Brisbane Broncos season, Representatives
The following players appeared in a representative match in 2012.


2012 Brisbane City Council election
Elections to Brisbane City Council were held on Saturday, 28 April 2012 to elect a councillor to each of the local government area's 26 wards and the direct election of the Lord Mayor of Brisbane.


2012 Brisbane City Council election
The election resulted in a landslide re-election of the Liberal National Party (previously represented in Queensland as the Liberal Party), increasing their representation by two wards. The incumbent Lord Mayor, Graham Quirk, was elected to his first full-term with a substantial 68.3% of the two-party-preferred vote.


2012 Brisbane City Council election, Results, Mayoral election
Campbell Newman was elected Lord Mayor of Brisbane in 2008 as the Liberal Party candidate. In 2011 he resigned as Lord Mayor to be the Liberal National Party's candidate for Premier of Queensland. Graham Quirk was elected as Lord Mayor by the Councillors on 7 April 2011.


2012 Brisbane City Council election, Results, Mayoral election
1 Rory Killen was the candidate for the Australian Sex Party, but his party affiliation was not listed on the ballot paper


2012 Brisbane City Council election, Results, Councillor elections
The Liberal National's gained the wards of Doboy and Karawatha from the Labor Party and lost the ward of Tennyson to an Independent, for a net gain of two wards and a majority of 18 wards, to their nearest competitor, Labor's at 7 wards.


2012 Brisbane City Council election, Results, Councillor elections
Wards with names listed in bold changed hands from Labor to Liberal National in the 2012 election


2012 Brisbane City Council election, Results, Councillor elections
Councillors whose names are in italics did not stand in the 2012 election for the seat they won in 2008.


2012 Brisbane City Council election, Results, Councillor elections
1 Graham Quirk was appointed Lord Mayor after the resignation of Campbell Newman in 2011. Steven Huang was appointed Councillor for MacGregor Ward in his place.


2012 Brisbane City Council election, Results, Councillor elections
2 Nicole Johnston was elected as a member of the LNP in 2008 but resigned from the party to sit as an Independent.


2012 Brisbane City Council election, Results, Councillor elections
3 Jane Prentice resigned from Council in 2010 to contest the Federal electorate of Ryan for the LNP. Julian Simmonds of the LNP was elected Councillor at a by-election in October that year.


2012 Brisbane International
The 2012 Brisbane International was a joint 2012 ATP World Tour and 2012 WTA Tour tennis tournament, played on outdoor hard courts in Brisbane, Queensland. Because of its ongoing success, the WTA decided in 2011 to upgrade the event to a Premier event. It was the 4th edition of the tournament and took place at the Queensland Tennis Centre in Tennyson. It was held from 1 to 8 January 2012 and was part of the Australian Open Series in preparation for the first Grand Slam of the year. Andy Murray and Kaia Kanepi won the singles titles.


2012 Brisbane International, ATP singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2012 Brisbane International, ATP doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2012 Brisbane International, WTA singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2012 Brisbane International, WTA doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2012 Brisbane International, Finals, Men's Doubles
Max Mirnyi /  Daniel Nestor defeated  Jürgen Melzer /  Philipp Petzschner, 6–1, 6–2


2012 Brisbane International, Finals, Women's Doubles
Nuria Llagostera Vives /  Arantxa Parra Santonja defeated  Raquel Kops-Jones /  Abigail Spears,7–6(7–2), 7–6(7–2)


2012 Brisbane International, Broadcast
The 2012 Brisbane International was, for the first time, broadcast live and in full to most states in Australia on digital channel 7Two. In previous years, the event was broadcast only on certain days and often on significant delay on Channel Seven.


2012 Brisbane International – Men's Doubles
Lukáš Dlouhý and Paul Hanley were the defending champions but decided not to participate together. Dlouhý played alongside Marcelo Melo (lost in the first round to Tommy Haas and Radek Štěpánek), while Hanley partnered up with Jamie Murray (eliminated in the Quarterfinals to Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecău).


2012 Brisbane International – Men's Doubles
First seeds Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor won the title, defeating second seeds Jürgen Melzer and Philipp Petzschner in the final.


2012 Brisbane International – Men's Singles
Robin Söderling was the defending champion, but decided not to participate this year. Andy Murray, who made his debut appearance at the tournament, beat Alexandr Dolgopolov 6–1, 6–3 to take the title.


2012 Brisbane International – Women's Doubles
Alisa Kleybanova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova were the defending champions but decided not to participate.


2012 Brisbane International – Women's Doubles
Spanish couple Nuria Llagostera Vives and Arantxa Parra Santonja won the tournament beating Americans Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears in the final,7–6(7–2), 7–6(7–2).


2012 Brisbane International – Women's Singles
Petra Kvitová was the defending champion, but she decided to play at the Hopman Cup instead.


2012 Brisbane International – Women's Singles
Kaia Kanepi won the title, defeating Daniela Hantuchová in the final 6–2, 6–1.


2012 Brisbane Lions season
This article covers the 2012 AFL season results for the Brisbane Lions.


2012 Brit Awards
The 2012 Brit Awards were held on 21 February 2012. This was the 32nd edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The award ceremony was held at The O2 Arena in London for the second time. The ceremony was presented by James Corden. Leading the nominations was Ed Sheeran with four, followed by Adele and Jessie J with three, whilst Bon Iver, Aloe Blacc, Coldplay and Florence and the Machine all had two.


2012 Brit Awards
Amy Winehouse and Whitney Houston received remembrance tributes due to their deaths in July 2011 and February 2012, respectively. Adele picked up two awards for Best British Album and British Female, whilst Sheeran also won two awards for Best British Male and British Breakthrough. Blur received an award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, the last time the award was given before the category was discontinued. The last present year in International Breakthrough Act. The statue was designed by Peter Blake.


2012 Brit Awards, Acceptance speech controversy, Adele and Blur
Adele was cut off by host James Corden during her acceptance speech for the MasterCard British Album of the Year award, causing her to "give the finger" on national television. Adele stated that the gesture was aimed at "the suits", not her fans. ITV issued an apology to the show as a spokesman for the network stated:


2012 Brit Awards, Acceptance speech controversy, Adele and Blur
The Brits is a live event. Unfortunately the programme was over-running and we had to move on. We would like to apologise to Adele for the interruption.


2012 Brit Awards, Acceptance speech controversy, Adele and Blur
I don't understand what happened but I'm upset about it. Blur get to play for 11 minutes and [Adele] gets to say thank you once.


2012 Brit Awards, Acceptance speech controversy, Adele and Blur
Due to the over-running, Blur's set was also cut off, prior to their performance of "Tender".


2012 Brit Awards, Acceptance speech controversy, Emeli Sandé
There was more controversy later on in the show when Emeli Sandé wasn't allowed to give a speech after winning the Critic's Choice Award. Sandé was said to be distressed by the bosses of the show and also angry after Adele got an apology for being cut off, whereas she did not. During the presentation of the award, previous winner Jessie J was asked to give her advice on her career instead of Sandé giving a speech. A friend of Sandé's said to the Daily Record:


2012 Brit Awards, Acceptance speech controversy, Emeli Sandé
She's had a number-one album with Our Version of Events in the UK and they're asking Jessie J what advice she has got for her.


2012 Brit Awards, Acceptance speech controversy, Emeli Sandé
A spokesman for ITV later gave an apology to Sandé, stating:


2012 Brit Awards, Acceptance speech controversy, Emeli Sandé
Because there was more music than ever before, everything got pushed back. The public love Emeli. They really support her and think she's fantastic.


2012 British Academy Scotland Awards
The 2012 British Academy Scotland Awards, were given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), Scotland (also known as BAFTA Scotland, or BAFTA in Scotland), and honoured the best Scottish film, television and animated productions, and video games released between the period of 31 August 2011 – 31 July 2012. Presented on 18 November 2012, the event was presided over by Scottish media personality Edith Bowman at the Radisson Blu Hotel, in Glasgow, Scotland.


2012 British Academy Scotland Awards
The Angels' Share received the most nominations with four, winning two for Best Actor/Actress in a Film and Best Writer, and Up There was nominated for two awards, winning both for Best Feature Film and Best Director. Television series Rab C. Nesbitt and Young James Herriot were given two nominations each, the former of which won an award for Best Actor/Actress in Television. Actor Billy Connolly received the Outstanding Contribution to Television and Film Award, a lifetime achievement award and the highest accolade BAFTA in Scotland can bestow.


2012 British Academy Scotland Awards, Winners and nominees
Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface; the nominees are listed below alphabetically and not in boldface.


2012 British Academy Scotland Awards, Special awards
Billy Connolly received the Outstanding Contribution to Television and Film Award, a lifetime achievement award, "In recognition of [his] enormous achievements as one of Scotland’s most successful talents." The awards for Special Achievement in 2012 went to Christopher Young, who produced The Inbetweeners Movie (2011), Callum Macrae, for directing the television documentary, Sri Lanka's Killing Fields, and Paul Mcguigan, director of the television series, Sherlock. Stuart Cosgrove was given the Outstanding Contribution To Broadcasting award, and Trisha Biggar collected the award for Outstanding Contribution For Craft.


2012 British Academy Scotland New Talent Awards
The 2012 British Academy Scotland New Talent Awards were held on 22 March 2012 at the Oran Mor in Glasgow. Presented by BAFTA Scotland, the accolades honour the best upcoming talent in the field of film and television in Scotland. The Nominees were announced on 12 March 2012. The ceremony was hosted by Muriel Gray.


2012 British Academy Television Awards
The 2012 British Academy Television Awards (formally known as the Arqiva British Academy Television Awards) were held on 27 May 2012 at the Royal Festival Hall in London. The nominees were announced on 24 April 2012.


2012 British Academy Television Craft Awards
The British Academy Television Craft Awards of 2012 are presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and were held on 13 May 2012 at The Brewery, London, the ceremony was hosted by Alan Davies.


2012 British Athletics Championships
The 2012 British Athletics Championships was the national championship in outdoor track and field for athletes in the United Kingdom, held from 22–24 June at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham. It was organised by UK Athletics. It served as a selection meeting for Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics.


2012 British Columbia Scotties Tournament of Hearts
The 2012 British Columbia Scotties Tournament of Hearts presented by Best Western, British Columbia's women's provincial curling championship, was held from January 23 to 29 at the North Shore Winter Club in North Vancouver, British Columbia. The winning team of Kelly Scott represented British Columbia at the 2012 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Red Deer, Alberta where they finished round robin with an 8-3 record, which was enough to finish 2nd place and clinch a spot in the playoffs. They would win the 1-2 game advance to the final, where they would lose to Alberta.


2012 British Columbia Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Qualification process
Ten teams qualified for the provincial tournament through several berths. The qualification process was as follows:


2012 British Columbia Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Qualification Rounds, Round 1
The first qualification round for the 2012 British Columbia Scotties took place from November 19 to 20, 2011 at the Creston Curling Club in Creston, British Columbia. The qualifier was held in a double knockout format, and qualified two teams for the provincial playdowns.


2012 British Columbia Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Qualification Rounds, Round 2
The second qualification round for the 2012 British Columbia Scotties took place from November 26 to 27, 2011, at the Juan de Fuca Curling Club in Victoria, British Columbia. The qualifier was held in a double knockout format, and qualified two teams for the provincial playdowns.


2012 British Columbia Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Qualification Rounds, Round 3
The third qualification round for the 2012 British Columbia Scotties took place from December 3 to 4, 2011 at the McArthur Island Curling Club in Kamloops, British Columbia. The qualifier was held in a double knockout format, and qualified two teams for the provincial playdowns.


2012 British Columbia Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Qualification Rounds, Round 4
The fourth and final qualification round for the 2012 British Columbia Scotties took place from December 16 to 18, 2011 at the Chilliwack Curling Club in Chilliwack, British Columbia. The qualifier was held in a double knockout format, and qualified two teams for the provincial playdowns.


2012 British Figure Skating Championships
The 2012 British Figure Skating Championships was held from 21 to 27 November 2011 in Sheffield. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing on the senior, junior, and novice levels. The results were among the criteria to determine the British teams for the 2012 World Championships, 2012 European Championships, and 2012 World Junior Championships Championships.


2012 British Formula 3 International Series
The 2012 Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series season is the 62nd British Formula 3 International Series season. The series, promoted by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation, began on 6 April at Oulton Park and ended on 30 September at Donington Park after 29 races held at ten meetings.


2012 British Formula 3 International Series
The first two poles of the season were claimed at Oulton Park by second-year driver Jack Harvey for the Carlin team, and he won the opening race of the year ahead of teammates Jazeman Jaafar and Carlos Sainz Jr.. In the reverse-grid second race, Fortec Motorsports' Pipo Derani scored his first win in the series, while teammate Félix Serrallés won the third race of the weekend in his first Formula Three meeting. A week later at Monza, Serralles and Sainz claimed their first poles in Formula Three.