2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series
There were 24 Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock car events, and 16 Pro Stock Motorcycle events scheduled.


2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, Schedule
1 The rules for the 4 Wide Nationals differ from other races:


2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, Schedule
2 Due to poor track conditions and rain, Final Eliminations were run on May 19.


2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, Schedule
3 Indianapolis:  The first winner in Funny Car and Pro Stock (car) is the winner of the Brainerd round that was cancelled because of weather and darkness.


2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, Schedule
4 Texas Motorplex:  Charlotte was cancelled because of rain and track conditions after the first round of Top Fuel and Funny Car had finished and half of the first round of Pro Stock (car) had concluded. Therefore, there are two full races at the Texas Motorplex for Pro Stock Motorcycle, one race and 3 1/2 rounds for Pro Stock, and one race and three rounds for the two nitro classes.


2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, Notable events
Morgan Lucas announced on October 14, 2013 that he was stepping aside from his full-time ride and announced his replacement driver, Richie Crampton.


2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, Notable events
Tommy Johnson, Jr. will now drive a funny car for Don Schumacher Racing, replacing Johnny Gray.


2014 NLL season
The 2014 National Lacrosse League season, the 28th in the history of the NLL, began on December 28, 2013 and ended on May 31, 2014, the date of Game 2 and 3 of the championship series. After finishing the regular season atop the East Division, the Rochester Knighthawks continued winning in the playoffs and took their third consecutive Champion's Cup, the first time a team has won the league title three straight years.


2014 NLL season, Final standings
x: Clinched playoff berth; c: Clinched playoff berth by crossing over to another division; y: Clinched division; z: Clinched best regular season record; GP: Games PlayedW: Wins; L: Losses; GB: Games back; PCT: Win percentage; Home: Record at Home; Road: Record on the Road; GF: Goals scored; GA: Goals allowedDifferential: Difference between goals scored and allowed; GF/GP: Average number of goals scored per game; GA/GP: Average number of goals allowed per game


2014 NLL season, Division Finals and Champion's Cup Final individual game results, East Division Finals
Saturday May 10 - Game 1 at First Niagara Center, Buffalo, New York: Buffalo Bandits 12, Rochester Knighthawks 8Saturday May 17 - Game 2 at Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York: Rochester Knighthawks 13, Buffalo Bandits 8Saturday May 17 - Game 3 at Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York: Rochester Knighthawks 2, Buffalo Bandits 1, overtimeRochester wins series, 2-1.


2014 NLL season, Division Finals and Champion's Cup Final individual game results, West Division Finals
Saturday May 10 - Game 1 at Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta: Calgary Roughnecks 12, Edmonton Rush 11, overtimeFriday May 16 - Game 2 at Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta: Edmonton Rush 15, Calgary Roughnecks 13Friday May 16 - Game 3 at Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta: Calgary Roughnecks 2, Edmonton Rush 1Calgary wins series, 2-1.


2014 NLL season, Division Finals and Champion's Cup Final individual game results, Champion's Cup
Saturday May 24 - Game 1 at Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta: Calgary Roughnecks 10, Rochester Knighthawks 7Saturday May 31 - Game 2 at Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York: Rochester Knighthawks 16, Calgary Roughnecks 10Saturday May 31 - Game 3 at Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York: Rochester Knighthawks 3, Calgary Roughnecks 2Rochester wins series, 2-1.


2014 NLL season, Awards, Annual awards
For the first time, the winners of the NLL's annual awards were not announced during the playoffs. Instead, three finalists for each award were announced during the two weeks following the final Championship game. The winners were announced at the first-ever NLL Season Awards Ceremony on September 21, 2014.


2014 NLL season, Awards, Monthly awards
Awards are given out monthly for the best overall player and best rookie.


2014 NLL season, Statistics leaders
Bold numbers indicate new single-season records. Italics indicate tied single-season records.


2014 NPCSC Decision on Hong Kong
The Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Issues Relating to the Selection of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region by Universal Suffrage and on the Method for Forming the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the Year 2016 (Chinese: 全國人民代表大會常務委員會關於香港特別行政區行政長官普選問題和2016年立法會產生辦法的決定), commonly known as the 31 August Decision (Chinese: 八三一決定; lit. '8 31 decision'), is a decision made by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC), the national legislative body of the People's Republic of China (PRC) on 31 August 2014 which set limits for the 2017 Chief Executive election and 2016 Legislative Council election in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).


2014 NPCSC Decision on Hong Kong
The decision states that a Hong Kong Chief Executive candidate has to "love the country [China] and love Hong Kong". For the 2017 Chief Executive election, a nominating committee, similar to the present Election Committee system, would be formed to nominate two to three candidates, each of whom must receive the support of more than half of the members of the nominating committee. After popular election of one of the nominated candidates, the new Chief Executive "will have to be appointed by the Central People's Government".


2014 NPCSC Decision on Hong Kong
The process of forming the 2016 Legislative Council would be unchanged, but following the new process for the election of the Chief Executive, a new system to elect the Legislative Council via universal suffrage would be developed with the approval of Beijing. The decision was deemed by the pro-democracy activists as a violation of the principle of free and fair election and led to the large-scale occupation protests which was internationally known as "Umbrella Revolution".


2014 NPCSC Decision on Hong Kong, Background
In December 2013, the Hong Kong government launched a public consultative over the electoral method of the 2017 Chief Executive election and 2016 Legislative Council election. According to the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) in 2007, the 2017 Chief Executive election "may be implemented by the method of universal suffrage".


2014 NPCSC Decision on Hong Kong, Background
After a period of consultation ran from December 2013 to May 2014, which the issues centred on whether the Chief Executive has to "love the Country and love Hong Kong" and the role of a nominating committee as stated in Hong Kong Basic Law Article 45 "the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures."


2014 NPCSC Decision on Hong Kong, Background
As early in March 2013, Qiao Xiaoyang, chairman of the Law Committee under the NPCSC, stated that Chief Executive candidates must be persons who love the country and love Hong Kong, who do not insist on confronting the central government. Observers stated that Qiao comment was to screen out candidates from the opposition pro-democracy camp. Qiao also mentioned that "the nominating committee is in fact an organisation. The nomination of Chief Executive candidates by the nominating committee is a form of organisational nomination."


2014 NPCSC Decision on Hong Kong, Background
On 22 November 2013, Li Fei, Qiao's successor as NPCSC Law Committee chairman, stated that "the Chief Executive is accountable to the central government as well as Hong Kong. This means that the post must be taken up by a person who loves the country as well as Hong Kong – anyone opposed to the central government cannot [take it]."


2014 NPCSC Decision on Hong Kong, Background
After the first consultation period ended in May, the Consultation Report was published in July 2014. Following that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying submitted the Report by the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. The public generally speculated that the NPCSC would set the framework of the electoral reform in the meeting in coming August.


2014 NPCSC Decision on Hong Kong, Provisions
On 31 August 2014, the Tenth Session of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress adopted the Decision on selecting method of the 2017 Chief Executive and 2016 Legislative Council elections:


2014 NPCSC Decision on Hong Kong, Provisions
The Decision states that "the principle that the Chief Executive has to be a person who loves the country and loves Hong Kong must be upheld." The selecting method of the Chief Executive has to be framed institutionally to maintain long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and uphold the sovereignty, security and development interests of the country.


2014 NPCSC Decision on Hong Kong, Provisions
It also states that a broadly representative nominating committee shall be formed, in which the number of members, composition and formation method of the nominating committee shall be made in accordance to the existing Election Committee formed in 2012. The nominating committee shall nominate two to three candidates, in which each candidate must have the endorsement of more than half of all the members of the nominating committee before all eligible voters can vote in the election.


2014 NPCSC Decision on Hong Kong, Provisions
The Chief Executive-elect, after being selected through universal suffrage, will have to be appointed by the Central People's Government.


2014 NPCSC Decision on Hong Kong, Provisions
The formation method and procedures for voting on bills and motions of the 5th Legislative Council will continue to apply to the 6th Legislative Council in 2016. After the election of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage, the election of all the members of the Legislative Council may be implemented by the method of universal suffrage.


2014 NPCSC Decision on Hong Kong, Reactions
The Hong Kong government welcomed the NPCSC decision. Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said that "the majority of Hong Kong citizens, namely, the 5 million qualified voters of the selection of Chief Executive in 2017, will be able to cast their votes to select the chief executive." He also said "this is the first opportunity – a very good opportunity – for Hong Kong to have one man, one vote – universal suffrage. This is something we should all feel proud of."


2014 NPCSC Decision on Hong Kong, Reactions
The Occupy Central with Love and Peace movement who had vowed to launched a massive civil obedience occupation at the city centre of Central, Hong Kong if the constitutional reform proposals did not reach the international standard of free and fair election slammed Beijing's decision as a move that stifles democracy and blocks people with different political views from running for office. "Genuine universal suffrage includes both the rights to elect and to be elected," its statement said.


2014 NPCSC Decision on Hong Kong, Reactions
"The decision of the NPC Standing Committee has deprived people with different political views of the right to run for election and be elected by imposing unreasonable restrictions, thereby perpetuating 'handpicked politics'." It said it would go on with their Occupy Central plan in the rally where several thousand people turned out opposing Beijing's plan on 31 August night. Occupy Central co-founder Benny Tai told the crowd, "our hope is that people gathered here will be dauntless civil resisters. What is our hope? Our hope is that today Hong Kong has entered a new era, an era of civil disobedience, an era of resistance."


2014 NPCSC Decision on Hong Kong, Reactions
The pan-democracy camp saw it as the method to screen out the opposition candidates as the pan-democrat candidates would not get a majority support from the nominating committee if its composition mirrors the existing Election Committee which dominated by pro-Beijing interests. The pan-democrat candidates were able to enter the Chief Executive elections by getting just one-eighth of the nomination threshold from the Election Committee. There were also some interpretations that an organisational nomination would be a breach of the Basic Law. The Democratic Party vowed to "veto this revolting proposal".


2014 NPCSC Decision on Hong Kong, Reactions
The largest student organisation Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS) and student activist group Scholarism urged university and secondary school students to boycott classes opposing the NPCSC decision and also organised public events, including street assemblies. The student movement evolved into the 79-day large-scale occupy movement internationally known as "Umbrella Revolution". The retraction of the NPCSC decision became one of the main goals of the protesters. On 28 October, the HKFS issued an open letter to the Chief Secretary Carrie Lam asking for a second round of talks. HKFS set out a prerequisite for the negotiation, that the government's report to the Chinese government must include a call for the retraction of the NPCSC's decision. The government refused the demand, stating that the political reform has to be bounded by the NPCSC decision.


2014 NPCSC Decision on Hong Kong, Reactions
In an opinion poll carried out by Chinese University of Hong Kong, only 36.1% of 802 people surveyed between 8–15 October accept NPCSC's decision but 55.6% are willing to accept if the HKSAR Government would democratise the nominating committee during the second phase of public consultation period.


2014 NPCSC Decision on Hong Kong, Aftermath
On 7 January 2015, the Hong Kong government launched a two-month public consultation after the delay due to the protests. The pan-democracy camp boycotted the consultation in protest against the NPCSC decision.


2014 NPCSC Decision on Hong Kong, Aftermath
On 31 May 2015, three top Beijing officials, Basic Law Committee chairman Li Fei, Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office director Wang Guangya and Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong director Zhang Xiaoming met with members of the Legislative Council in Shenzhen including pan-democracy legislators. The Beijing officials dashed any hope of last-minute concessions from Beijing with tough stances during the four-hour talk and the post-meeting press conference. Li also stressed that the framework set down on 31 August would govern the election of Hong Kong's leader by universal suffrage in 2017 and onwards. The pan-democrats said they would definitely veto the political reform package as the meeting with mainland officials left them with no choice.


2014 NPCSC Decision on Hong Kong, Aftermath
On 18 June 2015, the Legislative Council rejected the unmodified electoral reform proposal with 8 votes in favour, 28 against, and 33 not voting.


2014 NPCSC Decision on Hong Kong, Aftermath
The pan-democrats have been calling for the NPCSC decision to be shelved, but pro-Beijing politicians had said the decision would be still relevant after 2017. It also became one of the key issues in the 2017 Chief Executive election, in which the pro-democrats pressured the candidates to relaunch the constitutional reform without the 831 basis.


2014 NPF Draft
The 2014 NPF Draft is the eleventh annual NPF Draft. It was held March 31, 2014 8:00 PM ET in Nashville, TN at the Ford Theatre at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The first selection was Arizona State's Dallas Escobedo, picked by the Pennsylvania Rebellion.


2014 NPF Draft, The Draft
Position key: C = catcher; INF = infielder; SS = shortstop; OF = outfielder; UT = Utility infielder; P = pitcher; RHP = right-handed pitcher; LHP = left-handed pitcherPositions will be listed as combined for those who can play multiple positions.


2014 NPSL season
The 2014 National Premier Soccer League season was the 102nd season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 12th season of the NPSL. The season began in May 2014. RVA Football Club were the defending champions, having won their first NPSL title the previous season.


2014 NPSL season, Changes from 2013
The league added a new Northwest Conference in the West Region in 2014. The league also split the Great Lakes Conference into two separate conferences, Great Lakes East and Great Lakes West. The Mid-Atlantic Conference was split in two with teams from Virginia and Maryland staying within the Conference and moving to the Northeast Region (including defending Champion RVA Football Club) and the remaining teams forming the new South Atlantic Conference. The Atlantic Conference was also renamed the North Atlantic Conference. The following changes regarding team relocation, rebranding, or expansion are effective for the 2014 NPSL season:


2014 NPSL season, Standings and results, Northeast Region
The region held its annual general meeting in New York, New York, on January 19 at the New York Athletic Club. The region had a third conference for the first time, with the Mid-Atlantic Conference joining the region. The Atlantic Conference was also renamed the North Atlantic Conference.


2014 NPSL season, Standings and results, Northeast Region, North Atlantic Conference
The conference included 7 teams spread across 6 different states for the 2014 season with the addition of expansion club Greater Lowell United FC. Kabba Joof, Head Coach of Rhode Island Reds FC served as the Conference commissioner. The maximum travel distance for the season was between Seacoast United Mariners and the New York City area clubs at just over 300 miles. The Conference was called simply the Atlantic Conference in previous seasons.


2014 NPSL season, Standings and results, South Region
The region held its annual general meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 17 during the NSCAA Annual Convention. In 2014 the South Region was split between four Conferences. Prior to the season, the Mid-Atlantic Conference was split in two with some teams joining the Northeast Region – Mid-Atlantic Conference and some forming the new South Atlantic Conference.


2014 NPSL season, Standings and results, South Region, Sunshine Conference
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Puerto Rico FC did not participate in the 2014 NPSL season.


2014 NPSL season, Standings and results, South Region, Southeast Conference
In a new format for 2014, the top four teams of the Southeast Conference played for a spot in the South Region playoffs. In past years, the leader at the end of the regular season claimed the title. The host venue for the Southeast Conference Playoffs was selected through a bid process. The winner continued on to the South Region playoffs.


2014 NPSL season, Standings and results, South Region, Southeast Conference
Pensacola started the season but folded on May 29, 2014, negating 4 games already played and cancelling all future games.


2014 NPSL season, Standings and results, South Region, South Central Conference
For 2014, the South Central added six new teams, while two teams from 2013 left the Conference. The Conference was divided into North (Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Joplin, and Liverpool) and South (Fort Worth, Dallas, BCS, San Antonio) Divisions, with four teams in each division. Each team played the other three teams twice, once home and once away, and the four teams in the other division once, two home and two away, randomly selected.


2014 NPSL season, Standings and results, South Region, South Central Conference
The top two teams from each division with the most points advanced to the South Central Conference playoffs, with the first place team in the North playing the second place team in the South and the first place team in the South playing the second place team in the North. The winner of those two games played for the South Central Conference Championship.


2014 NPSL season, Standings and results, South Region, South Central Conference
A preseason tournament called the Red River Cup between Tulsa, Oklahoma City FC, Liverpool Warriors, and Fort Worth was hosted by Tulsa on May 2 and 3.


2014 NPSL season, Standings and results, South Region, South Central Conference
Playoff dates for the South Central Conference will be Friday, July 11 with the final on Sunday, July 13. The winner continued on to the South Region playoffs.


2014 NPSL season, Standings and results, Midwest Region
The region held its annual general meeting in Madison, Wisconsin, on January 11.


2014 NPSL season, Standings and results, Midwest Region
The Great Lakes Conference has been split into two conferences: Great Lakes West (Detroit, Dearborn, Lansing, Cincinnati, Westfield) and Great Lakes East (Erie, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Buffalo). Teams played a total of 14 games with a single match up against teams from the other Great Lakes Conference.


2014 NPSL season, Standings and results, Midwest Region
The Midwest Region Champion was decided by a weekend tournament among the winner of each of the three conferences, as well as one wild card team. The wild card was awarded to the remaining team from among all the conferences with the highest regular season points-per-game. Seeding for the playoff weekend was determined by points-per-game over the regular season.


2014 NPSL season, Standings and results, Midwest Region
Two semi-final matches took place on Saturday, July 19 with a final taking place on Sunday, July 20.


2014 NPSL season, Standings and results, West Region
For 2014, a new Northwest Conference was added. This brought the number of Conferences in the West Region to three. The region held its annual general meeting in San Diego, California, on January 12.


2014 NPSL season, Conference playoffs, Sunshine Conference Playoff
The Sunshine Conference played a conference playoff from July 10-12th with the top four teams in the conference participating. The entire playoffs was held at one location.


2014 NPSL season, Conference playoffs, Southeast Conference Playoff
In a new format for 2014, the top four teams of the Southeast Conference played for a spot in the South Region playoffs. The host venue for the Southeast Conference Playoffs was Finley Stadium in Chattanooga. The winner continued on to the South Region playoffs.


2014 NPSL season, Conference playoffs, South Central Conference Playoff
The top two teams from each division with the most points advanced to the South Central Conference playoffs, with the first place team in the North playing the second place team in the South and the first place team in the South playing the second place team in the North. The winner of those two games played for the South Central Conference Championship. The winner continued on to the South Region playoffs.


2014 NRL Auckland Nines
The 2014 NRL Auckland Nines (known as the Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines due to sponsorship) was the first NRL Auckland Nines tournament, contested between all sixteen teams of the National Rugby League. The draw was released on 30 October 2014. It was a two-day, nine-a-side, knockout tournament held at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. All sixteen NRL clubs and 256 players competed over the one weekend (February 15 – February 16) with AUD$2.25 million prize money split between the teams. The North Queensland Cowboys won the tournament defeating the Brisbane Broncos 16 – 7.


2014 NRL Grand Final
The 2014 NRL Grand Final was the concluding and premiership-deciding match of the 2014 NRL season. Played on the evening of Sunday 5 October 2014 at ANZ Stadium, the match was contested by the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. South Sydney won the match with a decisive 30 points to 6 victory, ending a 43-year premiership drought by claiming their 21st title. Rabbitohs forward Sam Burgess, who suffered a broken cheekbone from the game's opening tackle, was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal as the best player on ground.


2014 NRL Grand Final
The match was preceded by the 2014 National Youth Competition Grand Final and the 2014 NRL State Championship. British-American musician and songwriter Slash and American alternative rock band Train performed at the event as pre-match entertainment, and Simon Gleeson performed the Australian National anthem. The match was broadcast live throughout in Australia by the Nine Network.


2014 NRL Grand Final, Background, History
Founded in 1908, Souths had won more premierships—20—than any other club. However, they had not appeared in a Grand Final since 1971. Over the subsequent decades, the club had battled financial problems before being excluded from the National Rugby League competition ahead of the 2000 season due to a failure to meet the league's criteria for inclusion. After litigation and high-profile public campaigns, the club was readmitted into the competition for the 2002 season.


2014 NRL Grand Final, Background, History
For Canterbury, founded in 1934, the Grand Final was the club's 18th. Their most recent Grand Final appearance was a 2012 defeat to Melbourne, with their last premiership coming in 2004 against the Sydney Roosters.


2014 NRL Grand Final, Background, History
The clubs had met each other in just one previous Grand Final in 1967, with South Sydney prevailing 12-10.


2014 NRL Grand Final, Background, 2014 season
South Sydney finished the regular season in third position, before defeating Manly and the Sydney Roosters in the finals series. Canterbury finished in seventh place, and made the grand final after successive sudden-death victories over Melbourne, Manly and Penrith.


2014 NRL Grand Final, Background, 2014 season
Both sides had met each other twice during the course of the season, in rounds 7 and 25. The two teams were tied 1 apiece, with Canterbury winning the first encounter 15-14, and South Sydney winning the second encounter 21-14.


2014 NRL Grand Final, Teams
Both teams' first choice hookers were ruled out from playing in the week leading up to the Grand Final:


2014 NRL Grand Final, Match report
The first half of the match was a low-scoring affair. There was only one try—to South Sydney's Alex Johnston—while Adam Reynolds kicked a penalty goal to give Souths a 6–0 half-time lead. Canterbury equalised ten minutes into the second half through a converted try to Tony Williams. George Burgess restored Souths' lead shortly thereafter, before further tries to Kirisome Auva'a, Reynolds and Greg Inglis in the final ten minutes of the match. The final score was Souths 30, Canterbury 6.


2014 NRL Grand Final, Match report
Souths' Sam Burgess played the entire match, despite fracturing his cheekbone and eye socket in contact in the opening tackle with James Graham. He was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal, as the man of the match in the grand final. Souths player Dave Tyrrell was stretchered from the field after he was knocked out in the 68th minute following a head clash with Canterbury player James Graham.


2014 NRL Grand Final, Match report
Fullback Greg Inglis, who scored the final try of the game in the final minute of play, won his first valid premiership ring after previously featuring in the Melbourne Storm's 2007 and 2009 sides which had their premierships stripped from them due to salary cap breaches.


2014 NRL Grand Final, Entertainment
Former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash performed "Bent To Fly" from World on Fire, with the accompanying vocal track by Myles Kennedy being played over loudspeaker. The performance of the song was accompanied by a montage of the 2014 NRL season on ANZ Stadium's screens. Slash also performed the guitar riff from Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child o' Mine", before closing the set with an improvised solo.


2014 NRL Grand Final, Entertainment
Train performed as the main act, playing "Hey, Soul Sister", "Angel in Blue Jeans", and "Drops of Jupiter".


2014 NRL Grand Final, Match Officials
Shayne Hayne and Gerard Sutton were the match referees. It was Hayne's fourth grand final as he has officiated in the 2009, 2010 and 2013 grand finals. It was Sutton's first grand final as referee.


2014 NRL Grand Final, Match Officials
Steve Carrol and Jason Walsh were the touch judges, and the video referees were Bernard Sutton and Luke Phillips. The standby referee was Ben Cummins and the standby touch judge was Brett Suttor.


2014 NRL Grand Final, Records
The 2014 NRL Grand Final was the most-watched club game in the history of rugby league, with a five-city average television audience of 2.597 million, with a peak of 3.098 million viewers. Combined with 1.354 million regional viewers tuning in, the game had an average audience of 3.951 million viewers, and a national peak audience of 4.650 million viewers.


2014 NRL Grand Final, Records
The crowd of 83,833 was the largest attendance at a sporting event at Stadium Australia since its 2001 reconfiguration.


2014 NRL Grand Final, Aftermath
Souths' premiership victory qualified them for the 2015 World Club Challenge, their first ever appearance in the end of year event.


2014 NRL State Championship
The 2014 National Rugby League State Championship is a rugby league match contested by 2014 NSW Cup premiers Penrith Panthers and 2014 Queensland Cup premiers the Northern Pride. The match is the inaugural edition of the NRL State Championship, an annual championship game staged to determine the title of NRL State Champions, and challenged by the premiers of the New South Wales Cup and the Queensland Cup. The Northern Pride won the match by 8 points, winning their first NRL State Championship title.


2014 NRL State Championship
The match was played at ANZ Stadium as a curtain raiser match for the 2014 NRL Grand Final on 5 October 2014. The match was televised by the Nine Network and Fox Sports.


2014 NRL State Championship, Background
Penrith had entered the 2014 NRL State Championship by winning the 2014 New South Wales Cup Grand Final. After finishing first on the ladder during the 2014 NSW Cup season, recording only four losses out of 21 games, they entered the 2014 New South Wales Finals Series, winning all their matches including the Grand Final against the Newcastle Knights 48-12. The Northern Pride booked a place in the State Championship by winning the 2014 Queensland Cup Grand Final against the Easts Tigers 36-4. They also had recorded only four losses in their season, out of 24 in the 2014 Queensland Cup season, finishing first on the ladder. They entered the 2014 Queensland Cup Finals Series, winning against Easts in the major semi-final 8-7 and then again in the Grand Final.


2014 NRL State Championship, Background
Former Brisbane Broncos and Queensland State of Origin player Justin Hodges had endorsed the Northern Pride in a Cairns Post article before the match, stating, "They may be a Cowboys feeder team but everyone knows they are a Cairns team and a Queensland team. They are a strong side and are a classy side that is coached very well. They have been the benchmark of the Queensland competition for years so I know they’ll go well. There is only them and the Broncos under-20 from up here playing on grand final day. So I reckon everyone in Queensland will be cheering them on."


2014 NRL Under-20s season
The 2014 NRL Under-20s season (known commercially as the 2014 Holden Cup due to sponsorship from Holden) was the seventh season of the National Rugby League's Under-20s competition. For the five years from the competition's inception, between 2008 and 2012, it had been known as the Toyota Cup. Holden became Naming Rights sponsors from 2013 onwards. The draw and structure of the competition mirrored that of the 2014 NRL Telstra Premiership.


2014 NRL season
The 2014 NRL season was the 107th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 17th season of the National Rugby League in Australia and New Zealand. The season started in New Zealand, for the Auckland Nines, replacing the Rugby League All Stars Match for the year, in the pre-season. After 26 rounds of the regular season, the Sydney Roosters were again crowned minor premiers and the competition had been reduced to a top eight teams to contest the finals series. The grand final was won by  the South Sydney Rabbitohs, ending a 43-year premiership drought, winning 30-6 against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.


2014 NRL season, Teams
The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 8th consecutive year. The 2014 season also presents a record 7 teams naming co-captains. The NRL's salary cap for the clubs' top 25 players was $A6.3M for 2014.


2014 NRL season, Pre-season
The 2014 pre-season featured the inaugural Auckland Nines competition, held over a weekend at Auckland's Eden Park. Hailed a success with its large attendances, the tournament was won by North Queensland Cowboys, claiming their first piece of silverware. The following weekend the 2014 World Club Challenge was played in Sydney, the first time the match was held outside England since 1994, with the Sydney Roosters defeating the Wigan Warriors convincingly.


2014 NRL season, Pre-season
Unlike previous seasons' advertising campaigns that featured a pop song, in 2014 the NRL's You're the difference was a spoken-word piece that focused on the game's fans. The NRL's official season launch was on 26 February at the Sydney Exhibition Centre and featured Roosters captain Anthony Minichiello speaking as the face of the game.


2014 NRL season, Pre-season
In the annual pre-season Charity Shield match, the Dragons hosted the Rabbitohs but were beaten.


2014 NRL season, Regular season
The regular season commenced on Thursday, 6 March in Sydney between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Sydney Roosters. A number of themed rounds featured in the 2014 season, including Men of League Heritage Round (round 5), Women in League Round (round 10), and Indigenous Round (round 23). In addition, the NRL chose to designate round 19 as 'Rise for Alex' round in order to allow the rugby league community to show their support for Newcastle Knights player Alex McKinnon, who suffered a severe neck injury in round 3. One dollar from each ticket sold across all eight games were donated to support McKinnon's recovery, where it raised over $147,000 in total.


2014 NRL season, Regular season
For the first time in the code's 106-year history, not one player was sent off from the field during the regular season.


2014 NRL season, Regular season
Bold – Opposition's Home gameX – ByeOpponent for round listed above margin


2014 NRL season, Finals series
For the third year the NRL uses the finals system previously implemented by the ARL competition from the 1990s (also used as the AFL finals system) to decide the grand finalists from the top eight finishing teams. All but two teams retained a top-eight position to feature in this season's finals series. The Brisbane Broncos made a return after finishing 12th in 2013, whilst the Penrith Panthers made their first finals appearance since 2010 and only the second time since 2004.


2014 NRL season, Finals series
By the time of the 2014 NRL Grand final list-determining preliminary finals, the top four finishing teams remained except for the 2nd-placed Sea Eagles, who'd been replaced by the 7th-placed Bulldogs.


2014 NRL season, Regular season player statistics
The following statistics are of the conclusion of round 26.


2014 NRL season results
The 2014 NRL season consisted of 26 weekly regular season rounds starting on Thursday March 6, and concluded on Sunday October 5 with the grand final, where the South Sydney Rabbitohs ended a 43-year premiership drought by defeating the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 30-6.


2014 NRL season results, Regular season, Round 22
The North Queensland Cowboys set a new club record for largest winning margin in their 64-6 victory over Wests Tigers.


2014 NRL season results, Regular season, Round 22
The Newcastle Knights defeated the Melbourne Storm with a dramatic ending. 30-20 to the Storm at 77mins until the Knights came back at took a 32-30 point win.


2014 NRL season results, Regular season, Round 25
The Warriors' 42-0 win over the Gold Coast was the first time the Titans had been kept scoreless.


2014 NRL season results, Finals series, Preliminary Finals
2014 saw the first time since the NRL's formation in 1998 that the last four remaining teams were all from Sydney.


2014 NRW Trophy
The 2014 NRW Trophy is an international figure skating competition during the 2014–2015 season. An annual event organized by the Skating Union of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), it has been sanctioned by the Deutsche Eislauf Union and the International Skating Union since 2007.


2014 NRW Trophy
Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. The competition is held in Dortmund, Germany in two parts. The Ice Dance Trophy, in which ice dancers compete on the senior, junior, and novice levels, was held from 7–9 November 2014. The singles and pairs portion, also with senior, junior, and novice levels, was held from 26–30 November 2014.


2014 NWSL College Draft
The 2014 NWSL College Draft was held on January 17, 2014 at the NSCAA Convention in Philadelphia, PA and was open to the public.


2014 NWSL Expansion Draft
The 2014 NWSL Expansion Draft was a special draft held on January 10 by the National Women's Soccer League to allow the expansion side Houston Dash to select players. The Dash were allowed to select ten players from the existing eight NWSL teams.


2014 NWT/Yukon Scotties Tournament of Hearts
The 2014 NWT/Yukon Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Canada's territorial women's curling championship, was held from January 3 to 5 at the Yellowknife Curling Club in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The winning Sarah Koltun team represented the territories at the 2014 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Montreal.


2014 NWT/Yukon Scotties Tournament of Hearts
The event marked the first time since 2011 that teams from the Yukon participated. Both the 2012 and 2013 events were cancelled, due to the only entries coming from the Northwest Territories, making that territory's championship the qualifier for the Scotties.


2014 NWT/Yukon Scotties Tournament of Hearts
The Sarah Koltun rink from Whitehorse won the event, becoming the first team from the Yukon to win the tournament since 2000. It also marks only the second time in the last 10 years that Kerry Galusha did not win the event.


2014 NWT/Yukon Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Qualification
Two teams entered the Yukon championship, thus both qualifying. A best-of-three series was held to determine the territorial champion. Nicole Baldwin won the series, defeating Sarah Koltun (both of Whitehorse) two games to one. Three teams entered the Northwest Territories championship, which was a double round robin. Yellowknife's Kerry Galusha (3-1) and Inuvik's Melba Mitchell (2-2) qualified, while Yellowknife's Ann McKellar-Gillis (1-3) failed to do so.


2014 NZIHL season
The 2014 NZIHL Season was the ninth season of the New Zealand Ice Hockey League, the top level of ice hockey in New Zealand. Five teams participated in the league, and the Canterbury Red Devils won their fourth championship by defeating the Dunedin Thunder in the final.


2014 NZIHL season, Results
All times are local (New Zealand Standard Time - UTC+12).


2014 Nadeshiko League
The 2014 Nadeshiko League season was won by Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies, who 3 times title.


2014 Nagoya Grampus season
The 2014 Nagoya Grampus season was Nagoya Grampus' 22nd season in the J.League Division 1 and 32nd overall in the Japanese top flight. It is Akira Nishino's first season as manager after replacing Dragan Stojković in the off-season. They finished the season in 10th place, reaching the Quarter Finals  of the Emperor's Cup whilst failing to progress from the group stages of the J.League Cup.


2014 Nagoya Grampus season, Squad
As of 6 February 2014Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2014 Nagoya Grampus season, Squad, Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2014 Nagoya Grampus season, Transfers, Winter
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2014 Nagoya Grampus season, Transfers, Winter
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2014 Nagoya Grampus season, Transfers, Summer
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2014 Nagoya Grampus season, Transfers, Summer
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2014 Nagrada Ljubljane TT
The 2014 Nagrada Ljubljane TT is a one-day women's time trial race held in Slovenia on 6 June 2014. The race had a UCI rating of 1.2.


2014 Nairobi bus bombings
On 4 May 2014, two improvised explosive devices exploded on buses in Nairobi, Kenya, killing three people and injuring sixty-two. Both of the bombs exploded northeast of Nairobi on the Thika Road, an eight-lane controlled-access highway, and detonated 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) apart. Twenty of the wounded were in critical condition after the blast.


2014 Nairobi bus bombings, Background
In October 2011, Kenya deployed soldiers in a coordinated operation with the Somali military against the Al-Shabaab militant group in southern Somalia. Al-Shabaab vowed to launch attacks in Kenya in retaliation. In April 2014, Kenyan authorities announced a security operation, after several terrorist attacks.


2014 Nairobi bus bombings, Background
On 3 May 2014, three people were killed and fifteen injured when a hand grenade was detonated inside a bus in Mombasa, Kenya. In another incident which occurred on the same day, an improvised explosive device was deposited within a bag on a beach. The bag was noticed, and no casualties were reported after "people took cover".


2014 Nairobi bus bombings, Attack
On 4 May 2014, when the 45-seater buses were "packed with commuters", two bombs exploded on different buses around 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) apart. The explosions occurred outside Safari Park hotel, and in an underpass next To TRM Mall. According to Kenya's National Disaster Operations Centre, twenty of the injured people were in a critical condition after the blast. Photos showed that one bus had a large hole in the side, and the other had its doors and windows blown off. The majority of casualties were women and children.


2014 Nairobi bus bombings, Attack
Members of DPS-TRU (Diplomatic Protective Services - Tactical Response Unit) and DPS-K9 (Explosive Detection Unit) that were at the TRM mall at the time of explosion, raced and assisted the wounded, scanned and secured the bus for evidence as well ordered public to keep away from the bus as there was possibility of secondary explosive device. About 30-40 min later they handover it to GSU (General Service Unit) which arrived to the scene.


2014 Nairobi bus bombings, Initial responses
Reports differed over the nature of the explosive devices, with some saying the "homemade explosive devices" were grenades. Initial casualty reports were of two dead and twenty-seven wounded, but that number increased as time progressed. No group or individual came forward to claim responsibility for the attacks. However, the Kenyan government blamed Al-Shabaab for the incidents.


2014 Nairobi bus bombings, Reactions
Kenyan Vice President William Ruto stated that "security agencies are in pursuit of the perpetrators of this heinous and cowardly act", while Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said that "the terrorists will be treated as the vicious criminals they are".


2014 Naiste Meistriliiga
The 2014 Naiste Meistriliiga was the 22nd season of women's league football in Estonia.


2014 Naiste Meistriliiga
The league was won by Pärnu JK, its 5th consecutive title and 10th overall. By winning, Pärnu qualified to 2015–16 UEFA Women's Champions League.


2014 Naiste Meistriliiga, League clubs
The following clubs are competing in Naiste Meistriliiga during the 2015 season:


2014 Naiste Meistriliiga, Format
The 6 teams played each other twice, for a total of ten matches. The top four teams qualified for the championship round, in which they played each other twice more, for a total of 16 matches.


2014 Naisten Liiga
The 2014 Naisten Liiga, part of the 2014 Finnish football season, was the 8th season of Naisten Liiga since its establishment in 2007. The season started on 22 March 2014 and ended on 18 October 2014. Åland United were the defending champions, having won their 2nd Finnish championship in 2013.


2014 Naisten Liiga
The season featured 10 teams. After 18 matches played, the league was divided to Championship Group of six and Relegation Group of four. The Champion, PK-35 Vantaa, qualified for the first qualifying round of the 2015–16 UEFA Women's Champions League and ONS was relegated to the Naisten Ykkönen for the 2015 season. FC Ilves was promoted.


2014 Naisten Liiga, Teams
Merilappi United was promoted in 2013 for their first season in the Finnish women's premier division.


2014 Namibian general election
General elections were held in Namibia on 28 November 2014, although early voting took place in foreign polling stations and for seagoing personnel on 14 November. The elections were the first on the African continent to use electronic voting.


2014 Namibian general election
A total of nine candidates ran for the presidency, whilst 16 political parties contested the National Assembly elections. Hage Geingob of the ruling SWAPO party, won the presidential elections with 87% of the vote. SWAPO also won the National Assembly elections, taking 80% of the vote.


2014 Namibian general election, Presidential election, Candidates
Originally, incumbent President Pohamba predicted that twenty-two candidates would contest the presidential election. In the end, only nine political parties submitted presidential candidates.


2014 Namibian general election, Presidential election, SWAPO
In 2008, the SWAPO Central Committee produced a policy document stating that the party's candidate would be chosen for each election among the top four Committee members. In March 2011 SWAPO declared that whoever was the party's vice-president following the forthcoming party elections would also be the party's candidate in 2014 for president. Some high-level party members, particularly Kazenambo Kazenambo, advocated that SWAPO choose a non-Ovambo candidate, as the first two Presidents, Sam Nujoma and Pohamba, were from the Ovambo people. Others advocated the selection of a woman. SWAPO indicated that the candidate would be chosen democratically in the 2012 party election.


2014 Namibian general election, Presidential election, SWAPO
SWAPO was viewed as the clear favorite going into the election.


2014 Namibian general election, Parliamentary election
SWAPO announced a gender equality system where women would fill half of their seats in parliament. The party also embraced what it called a "zebra system", whereby if a minister was a woman, the deputy minister would be a man, and vice versa. Because there were more male SWAPO MPs than female MPs, SWAPO put forward plans to expand parliament to remove the risk of male MPs losing their seats as a result of this gender policy. These changes to the constitution were approved a month prior to the election against the votes of opposition parties, as SWAPO had a two-thirds majority in Parliament. Since then, instead of 78 seats (72 elected, 6 appointed) there 104 seats in the National Assembly (96 elected, 8 appointed).


2014 Nanjing Youth Wushu Tournament
The 2014 Nanjing Youth Wushu Tournament was a wushu competition which was held from August 22 to 24, 2014 at the Gaochun Gymnasium in Nanjing, China. The name "Nanjing Youth Wushu Tournament" was used to specify that wushu was only an invitational sport at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics and not an official event.


2014 Nanjing Youth Wushu Tournament
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) gave the International Wushu Federation (IWUF)  an opportunity to host a wushu competition alongside the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China which was known as the 2008 Beijing Wushu Tournament. This was done as a special circumstance and so wushu did not have official demonstration sport status. In 2014 as part of the Summer Youth Olympics, wushu was featured as an official demonstration event, but medals earned at this tournament did not contribute to the Olympic medal table.


2014 Nanjing Youth Wushu Tournament
Wushu was also part of the Nanjing Sports Lab which was a promotional event for non-Olympic sports. Taolu athletes from around the world took part in this event which featured performances and teaching sessions. The Nanjing Sports Lab was held at the Yuzui Wetland Park.


2014 Nanjing Youth Wushu Tournament, Qualification
Athletes qualified at the 2014 World Junior Wushu Championships which was held in March. Invitation to the 2014 Nanjing Youth Wushu Tournament was exclusively for select athletes between the ages of 16 and 18, or Group A athletes. All taolu athletes had to perform routines from the IWUF 3rd set of compulsory routines which were created in 2012.


2014 Nanjing Youth Wushu Tournament, Medal summary
Nations are ranked according to the similar proceedings of the World Wushu Championships and World Junior Wushu Championships, which follow normal procedures for Olympic events. Countries are ranked by number of gold medals earned, followed by number of silver medals earned, followed by number of bronze medals earned. National federations which did not earn a medal are not shown in the table below.


2014 Nantes attack
On 22 December 2014, Sébastien Sarron ran over ten pedestrians in his white van at the Christmas market of the French city of Nantes, before attempting suicide by stabbing himself. Ten people, including the suspect, suffered non-fatal injuries; one person, a man by the name of Virgile Porcher, was pronounced clinically dead the following day.


2014 Nantes attack
The attack came a day after a similar automotive attack on pedestrians in Dijon, as well as two days after a stabbing attack inside a police station in Joué-lès-Tours. Although the three attacks were treated as unrelated, the Government of France deployed 300 soldiers onto the nation's streets to heighten security afterwards.


2014 Nantes attack
In 2016, the Financial Times described this attack, the 21 December 2014 Dijon attack, and the 20 December 2014 Tours police station stabbing as "the first ISIS-linked attacks" in France.


2014 Nantes attack, Suspect
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said that the attacker in Nantes was "unbalanced". There were initial reports that the attacker had shouted Allahu Akbar ("God is Great"), however, police stated that a notebook in his van contained "incoherent suicidal phrases", and his fear of being murdered by the secret services. A test found 1.80 g of alcohol per litre of blood, four times the maximum legal rate.


2014 Nantes attack, Suspect
The driver was Sébastien Sarron, a 38-years-old farmer from Berneuil near Saintes, Charente-Maritime,After tending his wounds, he was transferred to a psychiatric hospital on 31 December. In January 2015 he was transferred to prison. He was described as a loner, an alcoholic and paranoiac, but was declared by a psychiatrist as responsible enough to be tried. He hanged himself in his isolation cell at the Nantes-Carquefou prison on the early morning of 13 April 2016.


2014 Nantes attack, Motivation
The Financial Times described in a July 2016 piece this attack, the 21 December 2014 Dijon attack, and the 20 December 2014 Tours police station stabbing as "the first ISIS-linked attacks" in France. According to The Globe and Mail, the attack was "apparently inspired by a video" circulated by ISIL calling on French Muslims to attack non-Muslims using vehicles. According to David C. Rapoport of the University of California, Los Angeles, these three attacks can be understood in the context of the rise of the Islamic State in Syria.


2014 Nantes attack, Motivation
"In September 2014, after the U.S. organized its airstrikes, the Islamic State’s chief spokesman called on Muslims in Western countries to find an infidel and ‘smash his head with a rock’, poison him, run him over with a car or ‘destroy his crops’. Two months later a video released in French contained virtually the same message, and a series of strange 'lone wolf' attacks followed on three consecutive days, the perpetrators declaring “'God is Great' in Arabic. Three policemen were stabbed in Joué-lès-Tours, and vehicles were used to run over eleven pedestrians in Dijon and ten in Nantes."


2014 Nantes attack, Reaction
Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet announced an investigation into the Nantes attack, saying "I wouldn't say it was a terrorist attack. I would call it a deliberate act".


2014 Nantes attack, Reaction
François Hollande, the President of France, ordered an emergency cabinet meeting as a result of the attack in Nantes.


2014 Nantes attack, Reaction
Manuel Valls, the Prime Minister of France, aimed to reassure the French public that their concerns over the incidents would be listened to by the government.


2014 Nanumaga by-election
A by-election was held in the Nanumaga constituency in Tuvalu on 14 January 2014. It followed the seat being declared vacant because of the ill-health of the incumbent Opposition MP Dr. Falesa Pitoi, on health grounds.


2014 Nanumaga by-election, Context
Dr. Pitoi, a dentist, had served as one of the two MPs for Nanumaga since 2006, and had been appointed Minister for Education, Youth and Sport in Prime Minister Willy Telavi's government on 24 December 2010. In January 2013, he was taken seriously ill while on an official visit to Cuba. He was hospitalised, and later travelled to New Zealand for further treatment. His prolonged absence from Parliament contributed to the Telavi government losing its parliamentary majority; Pitoi and the rest of Cabinet were voted out of office by Parliament on 2 August. Though still absent from the country, Pitoi was now officially an Opposition MP to the new government led by Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga.


2014 Nanumaga by-election, Context
In December 2013, Governor-General Sir Iakoba Italeli declared Pitoi's seat vacant in accordance with Section 99 (2) of the Tuvalu Constitution following a medical report on his health; he had now been away from the country for eleven months. Consequently, a by-election was announced to replace him. Monise Laafai retained the other Nanumaga seat, for which he had been elected in 2010.


2014 Nanumaga by-election, Context
The Sopoaga government hoped to win Pitoi's vacant seat from the Opposition, which would grant the government a two thirds majority in Parliament, and enable it in particular to elect a new Speaker, replacing Sir Kamuta Latasi, whom Sopoaga accused of being partisan.


2014 Nanumaga by-election, Candidates
Three candidates stood in the by-election: former Speaker, former deputy Prime Minister and former MP for Nanumaga Otinielu Tausi; Halo Tuavai, also a former Nanumaga MP; and Pai Teatu.


2014 Nanumaga by-election, Result and consequences
The by-election for the vacancy in the Nanumaga electorate occurred on 14 January 2014. Otinielu Tausi was the successful candidate. He did not immediately announce whether he supported the government or opposition, but eventually opted to join Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga's parliamentary majority, providing the Prime Minister with a two thirds majority in the Parliament. On 4 March 2014, Tausi was elected Speaker.


2014 Nanumea by-election
A by-election was held in the Nanumea constituency in Tuvalu on 19 September 2014. It followed the resignation of the incumbent, Willy Telavi, in August.


2014 Nanumea by-election, Context
Willy Telavi had been Prime Minister of Tuvalu until August 2013, when he had been ousted in a parliamentary vote of no confidence, having lost his majority. He was absent for much of the parliamentary year that followed, tending to his sick wife in Hawaii, and reportedly resigned because of the need to remain at his wife's side.


2014 Nanumea by-election, Context
Nanumea is a two-seat constituency. The other seat, held by Finance Minister Maatia Toafa, is not affected by the by-election. Telavi sat on the Opposition benches, and prior to the by-election Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga's government had a two-thirds majority in Parliament. The outcome of the by-election therefore did not affect the government's majority.


2014 Nanumea by-election, Result
Satini Tulaga Manuella was the successful candidate. The former USP Senior Accountant and president of the Tuvalu National Private Sector Organization (TNPSO) supports the government of Enele Sopoaga. There were only two candidates, and the results were as follows:


2014 Nanumea by-election, 2010 election
In the 2010 general election, the results had been as follows.


2014 Napa Valley Challenger
The 2014 Napa Valley Challenger was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the second edition of the tournament which was part of the 2014 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Napa, California, United States, between 22 and 28 September 2014.


2014 Napa Valley Challenger, Singles main draw entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2014 Napa Valley Challenger – Doubles
Bobby Reynolds and John-Patrick Smith were the defending champions, but Reynolds chose not to participate. Smith partnered with Adam Hubble and lost in the quarterfinals to Alex Kuznetsov and Nils Langer.


2014 Napa Valley Challenger – Doubles
Peter Polansky and Adil Shamasdin won the title, defeating Bradley Klahn and Tim Smyczek 7–6(7–0), 6–1 in the final.


2014 Napa Valley Challenger – Singles
The 2014 Napa Valley Challenger, also known as the ATP Challenger Napa, was a tennis tournament held in Napa, California. It was first held in 2013, and was played on outdoor hard courts.


2014 Napa Valley Challenger – Singles
In 2014, Donald Young was the defending champion, but chose not to compete.


2014 Napa Valley Challenger – Singles
Sam Querrey won the title by defeating Tim Smyczek 6–3, 6–1 in the final.


2014 Nashville Venom season
The 2014 Nashville Venom season was the first season as a professional indoor football franchise and their first in the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL). The Venom were of eight teams competing in the PIFL for the 2014 season.


2014 Nashville Venom season
In November 2012, it was announced that the Venom would be the eighth and final team of the Professional Indoor Football League for the 2014 season. Unlike other teams in the American Conference of the new PIFL, the Venom were an entirely new team, not a continuation of a franchise in the former Southern Indoor Football. A few days after being introduced it was announced by Managing Partner Jeff Knight that Billy Back would be the first coach in Venom history. The Venom began their inaugural season on March 29, 2014, in Huntsville, Alabama against the Alabama Hammers.


2014 Nashville Venom season
Their first home game was on April 5, against the Harrisburg Stampede. The Venom finished the regular season 10-2, the best record in the league, and won the American Conference regular season title. Their nine All-PIFL selected players were the most of any team. In the American Conference Championship Game, the Venom defeated the Columbus Lions 44-39 to advance to PIFL Cup III. On July 12, 2014, the Venom won their first PIFL Cup Championship, defeating the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks 64-43.


2014 National Camogie League
The 2014 National Camogie League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Irish Daily Star National Camogie League commenced in February 2014 and was won by Kilkenny.


2014 National Coalition Party leadership election
The National Coalition Party leadership election, 2014 was held in Lahti, Finland on June 14, 2014 to elect the new chair of the National Coalition Party. Incumbent party chair and Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen did not run for re-election because he was to be appointed a European Commissioner.


2014 National Coalition Party leadership election
Alexander Stubb, the Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade, won the leadership election. Paula Risikko, the Minister of Social Affairs and Health, finished second and Jan Vapaavuori, the Minister of Economic Affairs, finished third. On June 24, Stubb was appointed Prime Minister of Finland. At the same time, Risikko was appointed Minister of Transportation and Local Government and Vapaavuori continued as Minister of Economic Affairs.


2014 National Conference, Nigeria
The 2014 National Conference was inaugurated by the Nigerian President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan on 17 March 2014 in Abuja, Nigeria. There were about 492 delegates that represented a cross-section of Nigerians including the professional bodies group. The Conference was headed by retired Chief Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi. Following a plenary session that lasted for weeks, the Conference was broken into 20 committees that included Public Finance and Revenue among others. Mr Johnson Oludeinde Oluata FCNA is among the delegates, he represents Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) in the professional bodies group  Meanwhile, all 20 committees have submitted their reports to be deliberated upon at the next plenary session.


2014 National Conference, Nigeria
Principal OfficersChairman, Justice Idris Kutigi (rtd),Vice Chairman Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi Secretary Dr Valerie Azinge.


2014 National Conference, Nigeria
Main Committees:Devolution of Power Committee,Political Restructuring and Forms of Government National Security; Environment;Politics and Governance; Law, Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Reform. Social Welfare; Transportation; Agriculture; Society, Labour and Sports;Public Service;Electoral Matters, Foreign Policy and Diaspora Matters,Land Tenure Matters and National Boundary. Trade and Investment Committee,Energy; Religion; Public Finance and Revenue Generation, Science, Technology and DevelopmentImmigration


2014 National Football Challenge Cup
The 2014 National Football Challenge Cup was 24th season of domestic cup tournament in Pakistani football. It was sponsored by National Bank of Pakistan, and known as NBP National Football Challenge Cup. 12 teams participated in the tournament.


2014 National Football Challenge Cup
National Bank were the defending champions, but were eliminated in quarter-finals by Karachi Port Trust.


2014 National Football Challenge Cup
Pakistan Airforce won their first title after defeating KESC 2–1 in the finals.


2014 National Football Challenge Cup, Teams
The 21 teams participating in the tournament are as below:


2014 National Football League (Ireland)
The 2014 National Football League known for sponsorship reasons as the Allianz National Football League was the 83rd staging of the National Football League (NFL), an annual Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams of Ireland. The League began on Saturday 1 February 2014. Thirty-one Gaelic football county teams from the island of Ireland, plus London, participated.


2014 National Football League (Ireland)
Dublin won their second title in a row and eleventh in total after a 3-19 to 1-10 win against Derry in the final on 27 April at Croke Park.


2014 National Football League (Ireland), Format, League structure
The 2014 format of the National Football League was a system of four divisions of eight teams. Each team played every other team in its division once, either home or away. 2 points were awarded for a win and 1 for a draw.


2014 National Football League (Ireland), Format, Tie-breaker
If only two teams were level on league points -


2014 National Football League (Ireland), Format, Tie-breaker
If three or more teams were level on league points, points difference was used to rank the teams.


2014 National Football League (Ireland), Format, Finals, promotions and relegations
The top four teams in Division 1 contested the 2014 NFL semi-finals (first played fourth and second played third) and final. The top two teams in divisions 2, 3 and 4 were promoted, and contested the finals of their respective divisions. The bottom two teams in divisions 1, 2 and 3 were relegated.


2014 National Football League (Ireland), Division 1, Table
Compete in Division 1 semi-finals  Automatic relegation to Division 2


2014 National Football League (Ireland), Division 2, Table
Compete in Division 2 final  Automatic relegation to Division 3


2014 National Football League (Ireland), Division 2, Table
1Donegal are placed ahead of Monaghan because they won the head-to-head game between the teams (2-11 to 0-10).


2014 National Football League (Ireland), Division 2, Table
2Galway are placed ahead of Armagh because they won the head-to-head game between the teams (2-14 to 1-13).


2014 National Football League (Ireland), Division 3, Table
Compete in Division 3 final  Automatic relegation to Division 4


2014 National Football League (Ireland), Division 3, Table
1Sligo stay up due to their head to head record v Longford.


2014 National Football League (Ireland), Division 4, Table
Compete in Division 4 final and automatic promotion to Division 3


2014 National Football League (Ireland), Division 4, Table
1Tipperary are placed ahead of Clare because they won the head-to-head game between the teams (3-09 to 0-14).


2014 National Football League (Ireland), Division 4, Table
2London are placed ahead of Carlow because they had a superior scoring difference; the head-to-head game between the teams was a draw (2-07 to 0-13).


2014 National Hurling League
The 2014 National Hurling League was the 83rd staging of the National Hurling League. The league began on 15 February. The divisional stage of the competition finished on 23 March.


2014 National Hurling League
In the final played on 4 May at Semple Stadium, Kilkenny defeated Tipperary by 2-25 1-27 with TJ Reid getting the winning point in the last minute of extra-time. Tipperary had led by 1-11 to 1-9 at half time, the Tipperary goal coming from John O'Dwyer when he connected with Noel McGrath's sideline cut to touch the ball to the net from the edge of the square. The game finished in a draw at 2-17 to 1-20 after 70 minutes with injury time points for Tipperary from Shane Bourke and Kieran Bergin sending the game to extra time. Both goals for Kilkenny came from penalties and both scored by TJ Reid and the sides were level 11 times.


2014 National Hurling League, Tickets
The GAA announced in January 2014 that tickets purchased before the day of the games would cost €10, a reduction of €3 from previous seasons, whereas the cost of entry on the day of the game would be raised to €15.


2014 National Intelligence Organisation scandal in Turkey
The 2014 National Intelligence Organisation scandal (Turkish: MİT tırları skandalı "The scandal of the NIO rigs"), is a military political scandal regarding the role of Turkish National Intelligence Organisation (MİT) in supplying weapons to neighboring Syria during the Syrian Civil War.


2014 National Intelligence Organisation scandal in Turkey
The scandal broke out on 1 January 2014, when an anonymous call was made to the Adana Attorney General, claiming that a number of lorries were on their way to Syria carrying weapons on both days. Despite the Turkish Gendarmerie conducting a search on 19 January, their search was cut short by the Governor of Adana Hüseyin Avni Coş, who claimed that the lorries belonged to the National Intelligence Organisation (MİT). The prosecutor who ordered the search, as well many of the Gendarmerie soldiers who conducted it, were all removed from their posts and some faced legal investigation.


2014 National Intelligence Organisation scandal in Turkey
The government, then led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, first claimed that the cargo of the lorries were a 'national secret', but later claimed that the lorries were carrying food and medical supplies to the Turkmen population in Syria. Many critics of the government alleged that the lorries were in fact supplying arms to rebel groups fighting in the Syrian Civil War.


2014 National Intelligence Organisation scandal in Turkey
On 29 May 2015, the newspaper Cumhuriyet released footage of the search, confirming that the lorries were in fact carrying weapons, with the title "Here are the weapons Erdoğan denied" (İşte Erdoğan'ın yok dediği silahlar). The government subsequently faced calls to resign while an investigation began into Cumhuriyet for releasing the footage. A legal complaint against Erdoğan was made by Republican People's Party (CHP) Member of Parliament Hüseyin Aygün, who accused him of high treason for supplying weapons to enemies of the Turkish state.


2014 National Intelligence Organisation scandal in Turkey
A ban was placed on the footage of the lorries, which emerged to have transported 1,000 mortar shells, 1,000 rifled artillery shells, 50,000 machine gun rounds and 30,000 rifle bullets to what was alleged to be Al Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Syria, but according to later academic study was the Free Syrian Army and rebel Syrian Turkmen.


2014 National Intelligence Organisation scandal in Turkey
On June 2, 2015, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sued Can Dündar, the editor of Cumhuriyet, and requested 2 aggravated life sentences plus 42 years of imprisonment. He and Cumhuriyet's Ankara representative Erdem Gül was arrested on November 26, 2015. After 92 days in prison, Dündar and Gül were released on February 26, 2016 after the Constitutional Court of Turkey decided that their detention was an "undue deprivation of liberty".


2014 National Intelligence Organisation scandal in Turkey
On May 6, 2016, Can Dündar was sentenced to imprisonment for five years and 10 months for "leaking secret information of the state". Dündar subsequently fled to Germany in June 2016 to avoid imprisonment. An arrest warrant for him was issued on October 31, 2016.


2014 National Intelligence Organisation scandal in Turkey
On 2019, 22 of the 54 suspects involved in the seizure were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 2 to 20 years for acting on the instructions of a terrorist organization, FETÖ. As well as obtaining and exposing the secret documents of the state.


2014 National Intelligence Organisation scandal in Turkey
On December 23, 2020, Can Dündar was sentenced in absentia to 27 years and six months in prison for espionage and aiding an armed terrorist organisation (FETÖ).


2014 National Intelligence Organisation scandal in Turkey, Events, 1 January: Hatay
On 1 January 2014, a soldier from the Turkish gendarmerie reported that several lorries were transporting weapons to Syria. In response, the Adana Prosecutor Aziz Takçı requested the police to conduct a search on the lorries. With the alleged influence of Adana Governor Hüseyin Avni Coş, the police officially recorded the cargo of the lorries as 'humanitarian aid', with soldiers not being permitted to attend to the scene.


2014 National Intelligence Organisation scandal in Turkey, Events, 19 January: Adana
With a similar tip-off occurring on 19 January, the prosecution requested the head of Adana's Gendarmerie, Colonel Özkan Çokay to conduct the search on lorries in Adana again allegedly carrying weapons to Syria. The prosecution also threatened to begin legal investigations into soldiers who disobeyed Çokay's command. With 125 gendarmes, the lorries were stopped and searched, with Governor Coş soon becoming aware of the situation and arriving at the search area. Having obtained an emergency command to stop the search, Coş claimed that the lorries belonged to the National Intelligence Organisation (MİT). Çokay refused and demanded that the MİT send a command to stop the search itself, causing a rise in tensions between the gendarmerie, MİT personnel and other police officers who arrived later on.


2014 National Intelligence Organisation scandal in Turkey, Aftermath, Legal investigations
The Turkish state TV and radio regulator RTÜK issued a ban on both written and visual reporting in regards to the situation, on the grounds that legal investigations had begun into the search. In January 2015, the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) took the decision to begin disciplinary investigations into five prosecutors involved in giving the order to search the lorries, suspending them from their positions for three months. These included the Adana Attorney General at the time of the scandal, Süleyman Bağrıyanık, and the acting Attorney General Ahmet Karaca.


2014 National Intelligence Organisation scandal in Turkey, Aftermath, Legal investigations
Prosecutor Aziz Takçı was also among those who were subject to a disciplinary investigation, having been initially removed from his post on 24 January 2014. On 8 May 2014, 13 soldiers who had stopped the lorries in Adana were put on trial, with the prosecution calling for life imprisonment.


2014 National Intelligence Organisation scandal in Turkey, Aftermath, Legal investigations
34 gendarmerie soldiers who were involved in searching the lorries were arrested in April 2015 on suspicion of 'illegal bugging, espionage, invasion of privacy, the perversion of justice on personal beliefs, forgery of official documents, setting up, leading and being part of a terrorist organisation, attempting to obstruct and to bring down the Turkish government'. The anonymous caller who had tipped off the Adana Attorney General about the lorries was identified as a gendarme in Hatay, who was arrested in Diyarbakır on 26 February 2015. In December 2020, Turkish court sentenced 27 people with prison for stopping the trucks.


2014 National Intelligence Organisation scandal in Turkey, Aftermath, Government response
The legal investigations into soldiers and prosecutors involved in stopping and searching the lorries were heavily criticised by the opposition, who claimed that the government was attempting to cover up the real cargo of the trucks. The legal crackdown on the personnel involved also raised questions about judicial impartiality, with many claiming that the ordeal showed that the government was directly in control of the judiciary.


2014 National Intelligence Organisation scandal in Turkey, Aftermath, Government response
The government initially claimed that the cargo in the lorries was a 'national secret'. Shortly after, the government claimed that the lorries were supplying food and medical aid to the Turkmen population in Syria, who had been subject to a humanitarian crisis as a result of the Syrian Civil War. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accused the prosecutor who ordered the search of being affiliated with Fetullah Gülen and his Cemaat Movement, while Customs Minister Hayati Yazıcı claimed that only rifles for sporting purposes were included in the cargo.


2014 National Intelligence Organisation scandal in Turkey, Aftermath, Government response
With the lorries in Hatay being prevented from being searched, the police allegedly recorded the cargo to be 'humanitarian aid'. The Turkmens, however, claimed that they had not received any humanitarian aid from Turkey. The opposition CHP claimed that the lorries had been carrying weapons and accused the government of lying. The CHP's allegations turned out to be true on 29 May 2015, when footage of the search was leaked showing the lorries to have been carrying arms within their cargo.


2014 National Intelligence Organisation scandal in Turkey, Possible motives
The opposition and media critics of the government have both accused the government of supplying arms to rebel groups in Syria, with critics identifying Al Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) as possible recipients. However, more moderate opposition groups such as the Free Syrian Army could have also been the recipients of the weapons. Critics who accuse the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government of supplying arms to Al Qaeda or ISIL point to the AKP's Islamist roots as a possible motive, as well as the government's strong opposition to Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.


2014 National Intelligence Organisation scandal in Turkey, Possible motives
The opposition CHP, which alleged that the search in Adana proved that the lorries were carrying arms into Syria, accused the government of funding these terrorist organisations. It was also alleged that documents revealing that the true recipients of the lorries' cargo was in fact Al Qaeda and ISIL. The AKP government have been accused of financially supporting ISIL before.


2014 National Intelligence Organisation scandal in Turkey, May 2015 revelations
On 29 May 2015, footage recorded during the searches conducted in Adana were released to the newspaper Cumhuriyet. The footage showed that the lorries were in fact carrying arms, amongst humanitarian aid that appeared to have been placed strategically to hide transported weaponry. The revelations occurred just over a week before the June 2015 general election.


2014 National Intelligence Organisation scandal in Turkey, May 2015 revelations, Domestic reactions
In response to the revelations, the government faced calls to resign, while an investigation began into Cumhuriyet regarding the release of the footage. A legal complaint against Erdoğan was made by Republican People's Party (CHP) Member of Parliament Hüseyin Aygün, who accused him of high treason for supplying weapons to enemies of the Turkish state. Investigations began into journalist Can Dündar for writing an article about the footage. The Socialist Party of Refoundation issued a statement accusing Erdoğan, Davutoğlu and former MİT undersecretary Hakan Fidan of war crimes.


2014 National Invitation Tournament
The 2014 National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32 NCAA Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. The annual tournament started on campus sites for the first 3 rounds, with the Final 4 and Championship game being held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The tournament began on Tuesday, March 18 and ended on Thursday, April 3. Minnesota won this tournament after being the 3rd Big Ten team in a row to make the NIT Finals (the two previous years a Big Ten team had lost the final game).


2014 National Invitation Tournament, Participants, Automatic qualifiers
The following teams earned automatic berths into the 2014 NIT field having won their respective conference's regular season championship, but failing to win their conference tournament.


2014 National Invitation Tournament, Participants, Automatic qualifiers
Southern from the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) was the league regular season champion and lost in their conference tournament but is ineligible for the NIT due to Academic Progress Rate (APR) sanctions. No team from the SWAC received an NIT autobid.


2014 National Invitation Tournament, Participants, Automatic qualifiers
Arizona (Pac-12), Cincinnati (American), Kansas (Big 12), Michigan (Big Ten), Saint Louis (Atlantic 10), San Diego State (Mountain West) and Villanova (Big East) received automatic bids to the NIT, but did not accept them as they were selected as at-large teams in the 2014 NCAA Tournament.


2014 National Invitation Tournament, Bracket
*#2 Illinois played at #7 Boston University and at #3 Clemson due to State Farm Center renovations.


2014 National Invitation Tournament, Media
ESPN has exclusive television rights to all NIT games. They aired every single game across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3. Since 2011 Westwood One has held exclusive radio rights to the semifinals and championship. In 2014, John Tautges and Kelly Tripucka called these games for Westwood One.


2014 National Lacrosse League Entry Draft
The 2014 National Lacrosse League Entry Draft was the 27th annual meeting of the National Lacrosse League (NLL) franchises to select newly eligible box lacrosse players to the leagues rosters. It was hosted by the Toronto Rock at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre on September 22, 2014. A total off 55 players were selected in the draft with the Edmonton Rush selecting first overall for the first time in three years. The draft was also televised online on YouTube.


2014 National Lacrosse League Entry Draft, Overview
The following is the breakdown of the 55 players selected by Box Lacrosse positions:


2014 National Lacrosse League Entry Draft, Determination of draft order
The draft order is based generally on each team's record from the previous season, with teams which qualified for the postseason selecting after those which failed to make the playoffs.


2014 National League Championship Series
The 2014 National League Championship Series was a best-of-seven playoff pitting the St. Louis Cardinals against the San Francisco Giants for the National League pennant and the right to play in the 2014 World Series. The series was the 45th NLCS in league history with Fox airing Game 1 and Fox Sports 1 airing Games 2–5 in the United States. Game 1 was simulcast on Fox Sports 1 and was hosted by Kevin Burkhardt, Gabe Kapler and C.J. Nitkowski, who offered sabermetric analysis of the game.


2014 National League Championship Series
To reach the 2014 NLCS, the Cardinals (Central Division champions, 90–72) defeated the Dodgers (West Division champions, 94–68) in the NLDS, 3 games to 1. The Giants (Wild Card, 88–74) defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NL Wild Card Game and then defeated the Nationals (East Division champions, 96–66) in the NLDS, 3 games to 1.


2014 National League Championship Series
This was the fourth time the two teams have met in the postseason (1987 NLCS, 2002 NLCS, and 2012 NLCS). The Cardinals, by virtue of being a division winner, had the home field advantage. The Giants clinched their third pennant within a five-year span, with NLCS wins in 2010 and 2012.


2014 National League Championship Series
The Giants would go on to defeat the Kansas City Royals in the World Series in seven games, winning their third World Series championship in five years.


2014 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
Madison Bumgarner and the Giants bullpen pitched a shutout and limited the Cardinals to only 4 hits. The Giants scored first in the top of the second off Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright. With the bases loaded, Travis Ishikawa hit a bloop single to left to drive in the first run of the game. The Giants took a 2–0 lead when Gregor Blanco reached safely on a Matt Carpenter error. The Giants tacked on a third run in the top of the third on a Brandon Belt sacrifice fly.


2014 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 1
The Cardinals threatened to score in the bottom of the seventh, with runners at second and third with two outs. Bumgarner appeared to balk when he stepped off the mound while facing Tony Cruz, but no balk was called by the umpires. Bumgarner recovered to strike out Cruz and got two more outs in the eighth before giving way to Sergio Romo who retired Matt Holliday to end the eighth. Santiago Casilla pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to close out a 3–0 victory for the Giants.


2014 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 2
Game 2 was a back-and-forth affair that ended on a Kolten Wong walk-off home run in the ninth inning to give the Cardinals a 5–4 win. The Cardinals struck first when Matt Carpenter hit a home run off Jake Peavy in the bottom of the third. Randal Grichuk's bases-loaded singled in the fourth made it 2–0. The Giants cut the lead in half when Joaquín Árias pinch-hit for Peavy in the top of the fifth and scored Brandon Belt on an RBI groundout. In the sixth, the Giants tied it up on a Pablo Sandoval double and Hunter Pence single.


2014 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 2
The Giants took the lead in the top of the seventh on an RBI single from Gregor Blanco off Cardinals reliever Carlos Martínez. The Cardinals tied it back up in the bottom of the seventh on a pinch-hit home run from Oscar Taveras off Jean Machi. In the bottom of the eighth, Matt Adams gave the Cardinals a 4–3 lead on another home run, this time off Hunter Strickland. The Cardinals brought in closer Trevor Rosenthal in the top of the ninth, but he could not hold the lead.


2014 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 2
With one out, Andrew Susac singled and Matt Duffy came on as a pinch runner. Juan Pérez singled to put runners at first and second. After Blanco lined out, Joe Panik worked a walk, with ball four coming on a wild pitch that allowed Duffy to score the tying run from second base. The Cardinals were able to escape the inning without further damage. With the game tied 4–4 in the bottom of the ninth, Wong lined the second pitch from Sergio Romo over the right field wall for the walk-off home run, the Cardinals' fourth home run of the game.


2014 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
As the series shifted to San Francisco, the Giants took a 2–1 series lead after Cardinals reliever Randy Choate's wild throw on a bunt in the bottom of the 10th inning allowed Brandon Crawford to score the winning run. The Giants got to Cardinals starter John Lackey in the bottom the first. With two outs, Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval both singled, and Posey scored when Hunter Pence hit a double to right field. With runners at second and third, the Cardinals intentionally walked Brandon Belt to load the bases.


2014 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
Travis Ishikawa hit a deep drive to right-center that was nearly a grand slam but was blown back towards the outfield due to a strong wind blowing in from right field. Ishikawa's double scored all three runners to give the Giants an early 4–0 lead. Lackey settled down to keep the Giants scoreless after that, allowing the Cardinals to chip away at the Giants' lead. A Kolten Wong triple in the top of the fourth off Giants starter Tim Hudson knocked in two runs to cut the Giants lead in half.


2014 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 3
The Cardinals cut the lead to 4–3 with a Jhonny Peralta RBI single in the sixth. Randal Grichuk's home run in the top of the seventh tied the game at 4–4. As the bullpens took over, the game remained tied until the bottom of the tenth inning when Choate issued a leadoff walk to Crawford and a single to Juan Pérez. After Gregor Blanco attempted to bunt the runners over, Choate threw wildly to first base, allowing Crawford to score the winning run.


2014 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
The Cardinals struck first in the top of the first on Matt Adams's RBI single off of Ryan Vogelsong with two on, but the Giants tied the game in the bottom of the inning on Buster Posey's sacrifice fly off of Shelby Miller with runners on first and third. The Cardinals retook the lead in the second when Kolten Wong hit a leadoff double and scored on A.J. Pierzynski's single. In the third with runners on first and third with no outs, Jhonny Peralta's double play scored Matt Holliday before Wong's home run made it 4–1 Cardinals.


2014 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 4
Yusmeiro Petit came on in relief for the Giants and pitched three scoreless innings. In the bottom of the third, Posey's single scored Joaquin Arias from third with two outs and after a walk, Posey scored on Hunter Pence's single. In the bottom of the sixth, with runners on second and third with one out off of Marco Gonzales, Gregor Blanco's fielder's choice and Joe Panik's groundout scored a run each, then Posey's RBI single off of Seth Maness gave the Giants a 6–4 lead. Five Giants relievers combined to get the final nine outs and give the Giants a 3–1 series lead.


2014 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
Game 5 was a rematch of Game 1 starters Madison Bumgarner and Adam Wainwright. The Cardinals got to Bumgarner first, scoring a run after two walks and a Jon Jay double in the top of the third. The Giants responded in the bottom of the third when Joe Panik hit a two-run home run to right field, the Giants' first home run since Brandon Belt's game winner in Game 2 of the NLDS, a drought that lasted six games and 242 plate appearances.


2014 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
The Giants' lead didn't last long, as Bumgarner gave up home runs to Matt Adams and Tony Cruz in the top of the fourth. Both starters settled down as Bumgarner retired the final 13 batters he faced, and Wainwright retired his final 10 straight. The Cardinals carried a 3–2 lead into the eighth inning and brought in Pat Neshek to hold the lead. Pinch hitter Michael Morse knocked a home run to left to tie the game at 3–3. Neshek retired the next three batters. In the top of the ninth, Santiago Casilla gave up a single and two walks, leading manager Bruce Bochy to bring in Jeremy Affeldt, who retired Oscar Taveras (in what would be his final at-bat before his death 10 days later in a car accident) to escape the jam.


2014 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
In the bottom of the ninth, the Cardinals brought in Michael Wacha, who put two runners on before giving up a 3-run walk-off home run to Travis Ishikawa that clinched the pennant for the Giants, sending San Francisco to its third World Series appearance in five seasons. Ishikawa's home run was the first to send a National League team to the World Series since Giants' Bobby Thomson's Shot Heard 'Round the World in 1951.


2014 National League Championship Series, Game summaries, Game 5
Ishikawa's home run was the first ever to end an NLCS and the fourth to end any LCS, after Chris Chambliss (1976 ALCS), Aaron Boone (2003 ALCS), and Magglio Ordonez (2006 ALCS). All previous pennant winners on a walk off home run, including Thomson's, lost the World Series. It was the first walk off of any kind to end the NLCS since an RBI single by San Francisco Giant center fielder Kenny Lofton in Game 5 of the 2002 NLCS.


2014 National League Championship Series, Composite line score
2014 NLCS (4–1): San Francisco Giants over St. Louis Cardinals


2014 National League Championship Series, Aftermath
On October 26th, 2014, tragedy befell the St. Louis Cardinals and Major League Baseball when Oscar Taveras and his girlfriend, Edilia Arvelo, died in a car accident in the Dominican Republic shortly after the Cardinals were eliminated from the playoffs. Taveras was just 24 years old.


2014 National League Championship Series, Aftermath
The Giants would ride Madison Bumgarner’s clutch pitching to their third World Series in five seasons, in what was considered one of the best individual pitching performances in postseason history. Bumgarner would be the seventh player to win a LCS and World Series MVP in the same postseason, and just the fourth pitcher, joining the Orel Hershiser in 1988,  Livan Hernandez in 1997, and Cole Hamels in 2008.


2014 National League Championship Series, Aftermath
The 2014 National League Championship Series was an end of an era of sorts for the Cardinals and Giants. The Giants had won NL pennants in 2010, 2012, and 2014 (and the World Series in each of these years), while the Cardinals won pennants in 2011 and 2013 (St. Louis would win the World Series in 2011). The Cardinals dedicated the 2015 season to Taveras after his tragic death and they posted the best record in the National League. However, they were upset by the rival Cubs in the National League Division Series.


2014 National League Championship Series, Aftermath
The Cardinals did not make the postseason again until 2019. In 2016, the Giants made the playoffs again as a wildcard, but lost to the eventual World Champion Cubs in the National League Division Series. The Giants did not return to the post-season until 2021. By then, they had a new president of baseball operations (Farhan Zaidi) and a new manager (Gabe Kapler).


2014 National League Championship Series, Aftermath
In the NHL, and in the equivalent to a NLCS (the NHL's Western Conference Finals), the St. Louis Blues beat the San Jose Sharks in six games, on the way to winning their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. It was the first time the city of St. Louis beat a Bay Area based team in the postseason since the 1987 NL Championship Series between the Cardinals and Giants.


2014 National League Division Series
The 2014 National League Division Series was two best-of-five-game series to determine the participating teams in the 2014 National League Championship Series. The Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Dodgers, and St. Louis Cardinals (seeded 1–3 based on record, respectively) and San Francisco Giants—played in two series. Fox Sports 1 carried most of the games, with two of the games on MLB Network.


2014 National League Division Series
The Giants would go on to defeat the Cardinals in the NLCS, then win the 2014 World Series, defeating the American League champion Kansas City Royals.


2014 National League Division Series, Washington vs. San Francisco
This was the first postseason meeting between the Nationals and Giants.


2014 National League Division Series, Washington vs. San Francisco, Game 1
The Giants opened the series with Jake Peavy on the mound to counter Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg. Joe Panik put the Giants on the board in the third inning with an RBI single and Brandon Belt followed suit in the fourth to support Peavy, who didn't allow a hit until the bottom of the fifth inning. The first signs of trouble for the Giants came in the bottom of the sixth when, after a leadoff double from former Giant Nate Schierholtz and a two-out walk to Jayson Werth, Peavy was taken out of the game.


2014 National League Division Series, Washington vs. San Francisco, Game 1
Javier López came into the game only to surrender a walk to Adam LaRoche. With the bases loaded, Hunter Strickland came on to make just his tenth overall Major League appearance and struck out Ian Desmond to end the threat. The Giants added a third run when Panik tripled to lead off the seventh, and Buster Posey singled to knock him in. This run was to prove crucial, as when Strickland came out in the bottom half of the inning, he allowed home runs to both Bryce Harper and Asdrúbal Cabrera to make it a one-run game. Jeremy Affeldt finished off the Nationals in the seventh, and Sergio Romo pitched a scoreless eighth, before Santiago Casilla retired the side in order for the save, as the Giants held on to win by a score of 3–2.


2014 National League Division Series, Washington vs. San Francisco, Game 2
Game 2 of the Division Series between the Nationals and the Giants lasted a record 18 innings, with the Giants winning 2–1. It was the longest postseason game in Major League Baseball history to date, both by duration (6 hours 23 minutes) and innings played (18), exceeding the previous innings-played mark by 2⁄3 of a half-inning (Game 4 of the 2005 NLDS ended when the home team scored with one out in the bottom of the 18th inning).


2014 National League Division Series, Washington vs. San Francisco, Game 2
Coincidentally, Adam LaRoche of the Nationals and Tim Hudson of the Giants both played in the 2005 game as Atlanta Braves, becoming the only two players to play in both 18 inning games. Game 3 of the 2018 World Series, which lasted 7 hours 20 minutes, has since surpassed this game by duration, although both contests share the 18-inning mark.


2014 National League Division Series, Washington vs. San Francisco, Game 2
Hudson struck out eight Nationals and conceded one run in 7+1⁄3 innings of work, but was bettered by Nationals starter Jordan Zimmermann who came an out shy of recording a three-hit shutout, just six days after throwing a no-hitter on the last day of the regular season. Zimmermann retired 20 Giants in a row before walking Joe Panik with two outs in the ninth and being removed from the game. The Giants continued to rally in the ninth when Buster Posey singled on the first pitch from closer Drew Storen, and Pablo Sandoval drove in Panik with a double.


2014 National League Division Series, Washington vs. San Francisco, Game 2
Posey was thrown out at home plate on the same play, and manager Bruce Bochy called for a video review but it was unsuccessful and it ended the inning. Sergio Romo retired the side in the bottom half and the game went to extra innings, tied 1–1. Entering the game in the 12th inning, Giants pitcher Yusmeiro Petit became just the seventh pitcher to throw six or more shutout innings of relief in a playoff game, as neither team could break the deadlock.


2014 National League Division Series, Washington vs. San Francisco, Game 2
Brandon Belt finally broke the tie, launching a home run into the second deck in right field to lead off the 18th inning off of Tanner Roark. As the clock struck midnight, Hunter Strickland finished off the game to earn the save and a 2–0 series advantage for the Giants. The win marked the tenth consecutive postseason victory for the Giants, a streak extending back to the 2012 National League Championship Series.


2014 National League Division Series, Washington vs. San Francisco, Game 2
By allowing one run in the third and subsequently never allowing another one for the rest of the game, the Giants' pitching staff combined for a new postseason record 15 consecutive scoreless innings in a single game, breaking Babe Ruth's 13 scoreless innings in Game 2 of the 1916 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers.


2014 National League Division Series, Washington vs. San Francisco, Game 3
Hoping to avoid a sweep, the Nationals sent Doug Fister to the mound in Game 3. Opposing him was Madison Bumgarner who had thrown a complete game shutout in the NL Wild Card game. Both pitchers threw six scoreless innings, but in the top of the seventh, Ian Desmond and Bryce Harper opened up the inning with back-to-back singles.


2014 National League Division Series, Washington vs. San Francisco, Game 3
Wilson Ramos attempted to bunt the runners over, but Bumgarner's throw to get the force out at third went past Pablo Sandoval and down the left field line, allowing both Desmond and Harper to score, with Ramos ending up at second on the error. Asdrúbal Cabrera singled in Ramos and the Nationals had a 3–0 lead. The score remained 3–0 until the ninth when Harper led off the inning with a home run to stretch the lead to 4–0.