December 2008 in sports

December 31, 2008 (Wednesday)

American football

NCAA Bowl Games:
- Armed Forces Bowl: Houston 34, Air Force 28
- Sun Bowl: Oregon State 3, (20) Pittsburgh 0
- Music City Bowl: Vanderbilt 16, (24) Boston College 14
  - Vandy wins in front of their hometown fans 53 years to the day after the Commodores' last bowl win.
- Insight Bowl: Kansas 42, Minnesota 21
- Chick-fil-A Bowl: LSU 38, (14) Georgia Tech 3
NFL News:
- New England Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo is named 2008 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Cricket

Sri Lanka in Bangladesh:
- 1st Test in Dhaka, day 5:
  - Sri Lanka 293 and 405/6d; Bangladesh 178 and 413 (Mohammad Ashraful 101, Shakib Al Hasan 96). Sri Lanka win by 107 runs and lead 2-match series 1–0.
West Indies in New Zealand:
- 1st ODI in Queenstown:
  - West Indies 129/5 (Ramnaresh Sarwan 38, Tim Southee 2/33). No result as rain stopped play. Five-match series tied at 0–0.

Ice hockey

World Junior Championships in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
(teams in bold advance to the semifinals, teams in italics advance to the quarterfinals)
- Group A (at Scotiabank Place):
  - Czech Republic 10–2 Kazakhstan
  - Canada 7–4 United States
  - Idle: Germany
- Group B (at the Ottawa Civic Centre):
  - Sweden 5–0 Russia
  - Slovakia 3–2 Finland (SO)
  - Idle: Latvia

Winter sports

Cross-country skiing

Tour de Ski, stage 4 in Nové Město, Czech Republic:
- 15 km classic men: (1) Axel Teichmann 39 min 03.7 sec (2) Martin Johnsrud Sundby 39:08.7 (3) Nikolay Chebotko 39:14.2
  - Overall standings (after four of seven stages): (1) Dario Cologna 1 hr 24:36.9 (2) Vassili Rotchev 1 hr 24:53.2 (3) Teichmann 1 hr 24:53.4
- 10 km classic women: (1) Virpi Kuitunen 24 min 45.4 sec (2) Aino-Kaisa Saarinen at 37.6 sec (3) Marit Bjørgen 49.9
  - Overall standings (after four of seven stages): (1) Kuitunen 57:49.3 (2) Saarinen at 5.6 sec (3) Bjørgen 23.0

December 30, 2008 (Tuesday)

American football

NCAA Bowl Games:
- Humanitarian Bowl: Maryland 42, Nevada 35
- Texas Bowl: Rice 38, Western Michigan 14
  - The Owls pick up their first bowl win since 1954, and complete their first 10-win season since 1949.
- Holiday Bowl: (17) Oregon 42, (12) Oklahoma State 31
NFL News:
- Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan is named 2008 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
- The Denver Broncos fire head coach Mike Shanahan.

Cricket

South Africa in Australia:
- 2nd Test in Melbourne, day 5:
  - Australia 394 and 247; South Africa 459 and 183/1 (Graeme Smith 75, Nathan Hauritz 1/41). South Africa win by 9 wickets and lead three-match series 2–0 and becomes the first South African team to win a Test series in Australia.
Sri Lanka in Bangladesh:
- 1st Test in Dhaka, day 4:
  - Sri Lanka 293 and 405/6d (Mahela Jayawardene 166); Bangladesh 178 and 254/5 (Mohammad Ashraful 70*). Bangladesh require another 267 runs with 5 wickets remaining.

Ice hockey

World Junior Championships in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Group A (at Scotiabank Place):
  - Czech Republic 6–0 Germany
  - United States 12–0 Kazakhstan
- Group B (at the Ottawa Civic Centre):
  - Russia 8–1 Slovakia
  - Finland 5–1 Latvia

December 29, 2008 (Monday)

American football

NCAA Bowl Games:
- PapaJohns.com Bowl: Rutgers 29, North Carolina State 23
- Alamo Bowl: (20) Missouri 30, (23) Northwestern 23 (OT)
NFL News:
- Detroit Lions head coach Rod Marinelli is fired following the team's 0–16 season.
- Eric Mangini is fired as New York Jets' head coach after his team missed the playoffs.
- Romeo Crennel is fired as Cleveland Browns head coach.

Cricket

South Africa in Australia:
- 2nd Test in Melbourne, day 4:
  - Australia 394 and 247 (Ricky Ponting 99, Dale Steyn 5/67); South Africa 459 and 30/0. South Africa require another 153 runs with 10 wickets remaining.

Ice hockey

World Junior Championships in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Group A (at Scotiabank Place):
  - Germany 1–5 Canada
- Group B (at the Ottawa Civic Centre):
  - Latvia 1–10 Sweden

Football (soccer)

News:
- Liverpool midfielder and team captain Steven Gerrard is arrested on charges of assault after being involved in a fight at a pub following a match against Newcastle United.

Winter sports

Alpine skiing

Women's World Cup in Semmering, Austria:
- Slalom: (1) Maria Riesch 1 minute 55.97 seconds (2) Tanja Poutiainen 1:56.18 (3) Lindsey Vonn 1:56.69
  - Overall World Cup standings (after 12 races): (1) Vonn 530 pts (2) Riesch 507 (3) Poutiainen 498

Cross-country skiing

Tour de Ski, stage 3 in Prague, Czech Republic:
- 1 km sprint freestyle men: (1) Tor Arne Hetland (2) Vassili Rotchev (3) Jean Marc Gaillard
  - Overall standings: (1) Dario Cologna 45:01.4 (2) Rotchev +15.4 (3) Gaillard +18.1
- 1 km sprint freestyle women: (1) Arianna Follis (2) Aino-Kaisa Saarinen (3) Petra Majdič
  - Overall standings: (1) Follis 32:23.9 (2) Saarinen +8.0 (3) Marit Bjørgen +13.1

Ski jumping

Four Hills Tournament:
- World Cup in Oberstdorf, Germany:
- Individual 137 m hill: (1) Simon Ammann 286.4 pts (136.5/134.0 metres) (2) Wolfgang Loitzl 285.2 (135.0/134.0) (3) Dimitry Vassiliev 284.4 (134.5/136.0)
  - Overall World Cup standings (after 8 of 28 events): (1) Ammann 685 points (2) Gregor Schlierenzauer 560 (3) Loitzl 439

December 28, 2008 (Sunday)

American football

National Football League Week 17:
(Teams that have made playoffs are in boldface)
- Carolina Panthers 33, New Orleans Saints 31
  - The Panthers win the NFC South title and earn a first-round bye in the NFC playoffs.
- Houston Texans 31, Chicago Bears 24
  - The Bears loss knocks them out of the playoffs.
- Pittsburgh Steelers 31, Cleveland Browns 0
  - A pyrrhic victory for the Steelers as Ben Roethlisberger is knocked out of the game with a concussion.
- Green Bay Packers 31, Detroit Lions 21
  - The Lions earn the first 0–16 season in NFL history.
- Cincinnati Bengals 16, Kansas City Chiefs 6
- New England Patriots 13, Buffalo Bills 0
  - The Pats win, but are eliminated from the playoffs when the Dolphins and Ravens both win.
- Minnesota Vikings 20, New York Giants 19
  - The Vikings win the NFC North on a Ryan Longwell walk-off 50-yard field goal, and will host Philadelphia next Sunday.
- Oakland Raiders 31, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24
  - The Bucs are eliminated.
- Atlanta Falcons 31, St. Louis Rams 27
  - The Falcons will play in Glendale next Saturday against the Cardinals.
- Indianapolis Colts 23, Tennessee Titans 0
- Philadelphia Eagles 44, Dallas Cowboys 6
  - The Eagles earn the last NFC wild card berth thanks to sloppy play by Dallas, with five turnovers leading to 24 Eagles points.
- Baltimore Ravens 27, Jacksonville Jaguars 7
  - The Ravens clinch the last AFC wild card spot.
- Miami Dolphins 24, New York Jets 17
  - The Dolphins win the AFC East, and will host Baltimore next Sunday.
- Arizona Cardinals 34, Seattle Seahawks 21
- San Francisco 49ers 27, Washington Redskins 24
- San Diego Chargers 52, Denver Broncos 21
  - The Chargers win the AFC West title and will host the Colts next Saturday in a wild card game.
NCAA Bowl Games:
- Independence Bowl: Louisiana Tech 17, Northern Illinois 10

Cricket

South Africa in Australia:
- 2nd Test in Melbourne, day 3:
  - Australia 394 and 4/0; South Africa 459 (Jean-Paul Duminy 166, Dale Steyn 76, Peter Siddle 4/81). Australia trail by 61 runs with 10 second innings wickets remaining.
Sri Lanka in Bangladesh:
- 1st Test in Dhaka, day 3:
  - Sri Lanka 293 (Thilan Samaraweera 90) and 291/4 (Mahela Jayawardene 129*); Bangladesh 178. Sri Lanka lead by 406 runs with 6 wickets remaining.
West Indies in New Zealand:
- 2nd T20I in Hamilton:
  - New Zealand 191/9 (Jesse Ryder 62, Brendan McCullum 59, Chris Gayle 2/27); West Indies 155/7 (Ramnaresh Sarwan 53, Jeetan Patel 2/12). New Zealand win by 36 runs; two-match series tied 1–1.

Football (soccer)

ASEAN Championship:
- Finals, second leg:
  - Vietnam 1–1 Thailand, Vietnam win the championship 3–2 on aggregate

Ice hockey

World Junior Championships in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Group A (at Scotiabank Place):
  - Kazakhstan 0–15 Canada
  - United States 4–3 Czech Republic
- Group B (at the Ottawa Civic Centre):
  - Russia 5–2 Finland
  - Sweden 3–1 Slovakia

Winter sports

Alpine skiing

Men's World Cup in Bormio, Italy:
- Downhill: (1) Christof Innerhofer 2:03.55 (2) Klaus Kroll 2:03.87 (3) Michael Walchhofer 2:04.50
  - Overall World Cup standings (after 14 races): (1) Aksel Lund Svindal 444 pts (2) Benjamin Raich 393 (3) Didier Cuche 379
Women's World Cup in Semmering, Austria:
- Giant slalom: (1) Kathrin Zettel 2:10.90 (1:06.30+1:04.60) (2) Manuela Mölgg 2:11.27 (1:06.09+1:05.18) (3) Lara Gut 2:11.45 (1:07.36+1:04.09)
  - Overall World Cup standings (after 11 races): (1) Lindsey Vonn 470 pts (2) Tanja Poutiainen 418 (3) Maria Riesch 407

Cross-country skiing

Tour de Ski, stage 2 in Oberhof, Germany:
- 10 km pursuit classic women: (1) Virpi Kuitunen 23 min 56.7 sec, (2) Marit Bjørgen at 3.9 sec, (3) Aino-Kaisa Saarinen 6.2
  - Overall standings: (1) Kuitunen 30:23.2, (2) Bjørgen at 2.2 sec, (3) Justyna Kowalczyk 6.2
- 15 km pursuit classic men: (1) Dario Cologna 43:05.1 (2) Axel Teichmann at 5.6 (3) Sami Jauhojärvi 26.6
  - Overall standings: (1) Cologna 43:05.1, (2) Teichmann +4.8 (3) Devon Kershaw +26.4

Nordic combined

World Cup in Oberhof, Germany:
- 10 km Gundersen: (1) Anssi Koivuranta 27:22.2 (2nd in ski jump) (2) Todd Lodwick at 6.9 (3rd) (3) Jason Lamy-Chappuis 14.8 (7th)
  - Overall standings (after eight of 24 rounds): (1) Koivuranta 543 points (2) Magnus Moan 396 (3) Bill Demong 367

December 27, 2008 (Saturday)

American football

NCAA Bowl Games
- Meineke Car Care Bowl: West Virginia 31, North Carolina 30
  - Mountaineers quarterback Pat White wins his fourth straight bowl game for WVU.
- Champs Sports Bowl: Florida State 42, Wisconsin 14
- Emerald Bowl: California 24, Miami (FL) 17

Cricket

South Africa in Australia:
- 2nd Test in Melbourne, day 2:
  - Australia 394 (Ricky Ponting 101, Michael Clarke 88*, Dale Steyn 5/87); South Africa 198/7 (Graeme Smith 62, Peter Siddle 3/24). South Africa trail by 196 runs with three first innings wickets remaining.
Sri Lanka in Bangladesh:
- 1st Test in Dhaka, day 2:
  - Sri Lanka 293 (Thilan Samaraweera 90, Shakib Al Hasan 5/70); Bangladesh 177/9 (Imrul Kayes 33, Muttiah Muralitharan 5/48). Bangladesh trail by 116 runs with one first innings wicket remaining.

Ice hockey

World Junior Championships in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Group A (at Scotiabank Place):
  - Kazakhstan 0–9 Germany
- Group B (at the Ottawa Civic Centre):
  - Slovakia 7–2 Latvia

Winter sports

Cross-country skiing

Tour de Ski, stage 1 in Oberhof, Germany:
- 2.8 km freestyle women: (1) Claudia Nystad 6 minutes 17.2 seconds, (2) Arianna Follis at 1.1 seconds, (3) Justyna Kowalczyk 2.3, Petra Majdič same time
- 3.7 km freestyle men: (1) Axel Teichmann 7:11.8, (2) Dario Cologna at 8.2 sec, (3) Petter Northug 13.0

Nordic combined

World Cup in Oberhof, Germany:
- 10 km Gundersen: (1) Magnus Moan 25:22.8 (7th in ski jump) (2) Todd Lowick at 0.3 (4) (3) Anssi Koivuranta 0.4 (1)
  - Overall World Cup standings (after 7 out of 24 races): (1) Koivuranta 443 points (2) Moan 351 (3) Björn Kircheisen 339

December 26, 2008 (Friday)

December 25, 2008 (Thursday)

Basketball

NBA Christmas Day Games:
- Orlando Magic 88, New Orleans Hornets 68
  - Chris Paul's streak of 108 consecutive games with a steal was broken.
- San Antonio Spurs 91, Phoenix Suns 90
  - Roger Mason hits a walk-off three-pointer to win the game for the Spurs.
- Los Angeles Lakers 92, Boston Celtics 83
  - The Celtics' 19-game winning streak ends and Lakers coach Phil Jackson becomes the fastest coach to the 1,000-win mark.
- Cleveland Cavaliers 93, Washington Wizards 89
- Dallas Mavericks 102, Portland Trail Blazers 94

December 24, 2008 (Wednesday)

American football

NCAA Bowl Games:
- 2008 Hawaiʻi Bowl: Notre Dame 49, Hawaiʻi 21
  - The Irish break a nine-game bowl losing streak thanks to Jimmy Clausen's 401 yards of passing and five touchdowns.

Football (soccer)

ASEAN Championship:
- Finals, first leg:
  - Thailand 1–2 Vietnam

December 23, 2008 (Tuesday)

American football

NCAA Bowl Games:
- Poinsettia Bowl: (11) TCU 17, (9) Boise State 16
  - The Horned Frogs spoil the Broncos' bid for a perfect season.

Baseball

News: ESPN reports that free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira has signed an eight-year deal with the New York Yankees for US $180 million, subject to passing a physical.

Cricket

England in India:
- 2nd Test in Mohali, day 5:
  - India 453 and 251/7 declared (Gautam Gambhir 97, Monty Panesar 1/44); England 302 and 64/1 (Ian Bell 24*, Ishant Sharma 1/7). Match drawn, India win the two match series 1–0.
West Indies in New Zealand:
- 2nd Test in Napier, day 5:
  - West Indies 307 and 375 (Chris Gayle 197, Jeetan Patel 5/110); New Zealand 371 and 220/5 (Jesse Ryder 59*, Jerome Taylor 2/67). Match drawn, two match series drawn 0–0.

Football (soccer)

Argentine league:
- Apertura play-off:
  - Boca Juniors 0–1 Tigre
    - Boca wins the championship despite their loss by better goals-difference.

December 22, 2008 (Monday)

American football

National Football League Week 16 Monday Night Football:
- Chicago Bears 20, Green Bay Packers 17 (OT)
  - The Bears block a potential game-winning field goal attempt by Mason Crosby with 18 seconds left in regulation, and Robbie Gould's 38-yarder in overtime keeps the Bears alive for a playoff berth.

Cricket

England in India:
- 2nd Test in Mohali, day 4:
  - India 453 (Gautam Gambhir 179) and 134/4 (Gambhir 44*); England 302 (Kevin Pietersen 144). India lead by 285 runs with 6 wickets remaining.
West Indies in New Zealand:
- 2nd Test in Napier, day 4:
  - West Indies 307 (Shivnarine Chanderpaul 126) and 278/7 (Chris Gayle 146*); New Zealand 371 (Tim McIntosh 136). West Indies lead by 214 runs with 3 wickets remaining.

Winter sports

Alpine skiing

Men's World Cup in Alta Badia, Italy:
- Slalom: (1) Ivica Kostelić 1:39.83 (49.26 + 50.57), (2) Jean-Baptiste Grange 1:40.03 (49.79 + 50.24), (3) Benjamin Raich 1:40.63 (49.83 + 50.80)
  - World Cup overall standings (after 13 races): (1) Aksel Lund Svindal 430pts, (2) Raich 393, (3) Grange 366

December 21, 2008 (Sunday)

American football

National Football League Week 16:
(teams in boldface are in the playoffs; teams in italics are eliminated)
- New England Patriots 47, Arizona Cardinals 7
- Cincinnati Bengals 14, Cleveland Browns 0
- Miami Dolphins 38, Kansas City Chiefs 31
  - The Dolphins keep their playoff hopes alive with a win in Arrowhead Stadium.
- New Orleans Saints 42, Detroit Lions 7
  - The Lions' 15th straight loss sets a new record for futility at the start of a season and clinches the first pick in the 2009 NFL Draft.
- Tennessee Titans 31, Pittsburgh Steelers 14
  - The Titans clinch home field advantage in the AFC playoffs.
- San Diego Chargers 41, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24
  - The Chargers stay in contention for the AFC West title.
- San Francisco 49ers 17, St. Louis Rams 16
- Buffalo Bills 30, Denver Broncos 23
  - The Broncos' loss and the Chargers win set up a winner-take-all game for the AFC West title next Sunday in San Diego.
- Oakland Raiders 27, Houston Texans 16
- Seattle Seahawks 13, New York Jets 3
  - Mike Holmgren wins his last home game as the Seahawks' coach.
- Atlanta Falcons 24, Minnesota Vikings 17
  - The win gives the Falcons a playoff spot.
- Washington Redskins 10, Philadelphia Eagles 3
- New York Giants 34, Carolina Panthers 28 (OT)
  - The Giants clinch home-field advantage in the playoffs after a Brandon Jacobs touchdown in overtime.
NCAA Bowl Games:
- New Orleans Bowl: Southern Mississippi 31, Troy 28 (OT)

Badminton

Super Series Masters Finals in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia:
- Men's singles: Lee Chong Wei (1) bt Peter Gade (4) 21–8 21–16
- Men's doubles: Koo Kien Kiat/Tan Boon Heong (6) bt Jung Jae Sung/Lee Yong Dae (3) 21–18 21–14
- Women's singles: Zhou Mi (1) bt Wang Chen (3) 21–14 21–18
- Women's doubles: Chin Eei Hui/Wong Pei Tty (1) bt Vita Marissa/Lilyana Natsir (2) 21–15 22–20
- Mixed doubles: Thomas Laybourn/Kamilia Rytter (2) bt Nova Widianto/Lilyana Natsir (1) 21–19 18–21 22–20

Cricket

South Africa in Australia:
- 1st Test in Perth, day 5:
  - Australia 375 and 319; South Africa 281 and 414/4 (Graeme Smith 108, AB de Villiers 106*, Mitchell Johnson 3/98). South Africa win by six wickets and lead the 3-match series 1–0.
England in India:
- 2nd Test in Mohali, day 3:
  - India 453; England 282/6. England trail by 171 runs with 4 wickets remaining in the 1st innings.
West Indies in New Zealand:
- 2nd Test in Napier, day 3:
  - West Indies 307 and 62/2 (Chris Gayle 36*); New Zealand 371 (Tim McIntosh 136, Fidel Edwards 7/87). West Indies trail by two runs with eight second innings wickets remaining.

Football (soccer)

FIFA Club World Cup in Japan:
- Match for third place:
  - Pachuca 0–1 Gamba Osaka
- Final:
  - LDU Quito 0–1 Manchester United
    - Wayne Rooney scores for United in the 73rd minute.
ASEAN Championship:
(first leg result in parentheses)
- Semifinals, second leg:
  - Singapore 0(0)–1(0) Vietnam

Golf

European Tour:
- South African Open Championship in Paarl, South Africa:
  - Winner: Richard Sterne 274 (−14)^PO
Men's unofficial events:
- Chevron World Challenge in Thousand Oaks, California:
  - Vijay Singh wins.

Snooker

UK Championship in Telford, United Kingdom:
- Final: Shaun Murphy def. Marco Fu 10–9

Winter sports

Alpine skiing

Women's World Cup in St. Moritz, Switzerland:
- Downhill: cancelled
Men's World Cup in Alta Badia, Italy:
- Giant slalom: (1) Daniel Albrecht 2:32.71 (1:15.33 + 1:17.38) (2) Ivica Kostelić 2:32.83 (1:16.62 + 1:16.21) (3) Hannes Reichelt 2:33.04 (1:16.79 + 1:16.25)
  - Overall standings (after 12 races): (1) Aksel Lund Svindal 430 (2) Didier Cuche 334 (3) Benjamin Raich 333

Biathlon

World Cup 3 in Hochfilzen, Austria:
- Men's 4 x 7.5 km relay: (1) Austria 1:21:23.18 0+1 0+4 (2) Sweden 1:22:34.33 +1:11.2 0+3 1+9 (3) France 1:22:39.44 +1:16.3 0+2 0+3
- Women's 4 x 6 km relay: (1) Russia 1 hr 14 min 00.3 sec, (2) Germany at 1:43.4, (3) France 2:13.8

Bobsleigh

World Cup 4 in Cesana Pariol, Italy: cancelled

Cross-country skiing

World Cup in Düsseldorf, Germany:
- Team sprint freestyle men: (1) Norway 17:37.0 (2) Sweden 17:37.0 (3) Russia 17:37.7
- Team sprint freestyle women: (1) Russia 9:35.5 (2) Norway 9:35.7 (3) Germany 9:37.3

Nordic combined

World Cup in Ramsau am Dachstein, Austria:
- 10 km Gundersen: (1) Björn Kircheisen 23:43.3 (10th after ski jump leg) (2) Bill Demong at 0.3 (7) (3) Jason Lamy-Chappuis 0.5 (9)
  - Overall World Cup standings (after six of 24 events): (1) Anssi Koivuranta 383 points (2) Kircheisen 299 (3) Demong 290

Skeleton

World Cup 4 in Cesana Pariol, Italy: cancelled

Ski jumping

World Cup in Engelberg, Switzerland:
- Individual 137 m hill: (1) Gregor Schlierenzauer 264.1 pts (133.5 m + 133.5 m) (2) Wolfgang Loitzl 262.4 (132.5+133.0) (3) Simon Amman 260.0 (131.5+136.0)
  - Overall World Cup standings (after seven of 28 events): (1) Amman 585 (2) Schlierenzauer 510 (3) Loitzl 359

Snowboarding

World Cup in Arosa, Switzerland:
- Parallel slalom men: (1) Siegfried Grabner (2) Roland Fischnaller (3) Zan Kosir
- Parallel slalom women: (1) Heidi Neururer (2) Michelle Gorgone (3) Isabella Laboeck

December 20, 2008 (Saturday)

American football

National Football League Week 16 Saturday Night Football:
- Baltimore Ravens 33, Dallas Cowboys 24
  - A celebration of the last game played at Texas Stadium is ruined by two late touchdown runs by Willis McGahee (77 yards) and Le'Ron McClain (82 yards) for the Ravens.
College football:
- NCAA Bowl Games:
  - EagleBank Bowl: Wake Forest 29, Navy 19
  - New Mexico Bowl: Colorado State 40, Fresno State 35
  - St. Petersburg Bowl: South Florida 41, Memphis 14
  - Las Vegas Bowl: Arizona 31, (16) Brigham Young 21
- NCAA Division III Final at Salem, Virginia:
  - Mount Union 31, Wisconsin-Whitewater 26
    - The Purple Raiders win for the third time in four consecutive D-III finals against the Warhawks, taking a 21–7 lead in the first quarter and never looking back. Mount Union's Nate Kmic becomes the first player in NCAA history to rush for over 8,000 yards in his career.

Cricket

South Africa in Australia:
- 1st Test in Perth, day 4:
  - Australia 375 and 319; South Africa 281 and 227/3. South Africa require another 187 runs with 7 wickets remaining.
England in India:
- 2nd Test in Mohali, day 2:
  - India 453 (Gautam Gambhir 179, Rahul Dravid 136)
West Indies in New Zealand:
- 2nd Test in Napier, day 2:
  - West Indies 307 (Shivnarine Chanderpaul 126*, Iain O'Brien 6/75); New Zealand 145/2 (Tim McIntosh 62*, Fidel Edwards 2/26). New Zealand trail by 162 runs with 8 wickets remaining in the first innings.
    - Fidel Edwards took his 100th Test wicket when he dismissed Daniel Flynn in New Zealand's first innings.

Football (soccer)

ASEAN Championship:
(first leg result in parentheses)
- Semifinals, second leg:
  - Thailand 2(1)–1(0) Indonesia
Argentine league:
- Apertura play-off:
  - Boca Juniors 3–1 San Lorenzo
    - A goal by Cristian Manuel Chávez in injury time for Boca means they can lose to Tigre by one goal margin on Tuesday and still win the championship.

Volleyball

Penn State wins their second consecutive NCAA women's championship, defeating Stanford 3–0. The Nittany Lions finish the season 38–0, only losing two sets total.

Winter sports

Alpine skiing

Men's World Cup in Val Gardena, Italy:
- Downhill: (1) Michael Walchhofer 1:50.57 (2) Bode Miller 1:50.95 (3) Manuel Osborne-Paradis 1:51.11
  - Overall World Cup standings (after 11 races): (1) Aksel Lund Svindal 398 pts (2) Carlo Janka 315 (3) Benjamin Raich 297
Women's World Cup in St. Moritz, Switzerland:
- Super giant slalom: (1) Lara Gut 57.38 (2) Fabienne Suter 58.01 (3) Nadia Fanchini 58.25
  - Overall World Cup standings (after 10 races): (1) Lindsey Vonn 438 pts (2) Tanja Poutiainen 400 (3) Maria Riesch 378

Biathlon

World Cup 3 in Hochfilzen, Austria:
- Men's 10 km sprint: (1) Lars Berger 25:23.1 0 penalty (2) Alexander Os at 37.9 1 (3) Dmitri Yaroshenko 39.8 0
  - Overall World Cup standings (after seven races): (1) Emil Hegle Svendsen 299 points (2) Tomasz Sikora 289 (3) Michael Greis 281
- Women's 7.5 km sprint: (1) Svetlana Sleptsova 23 min 21.8 sec 1 penalty (2) Ekaterina Iourieva at 2.7 s 0 (3) Vita Semerenko 16.6 0
  - Overall World Cup standings (after seven events): (1) Sleptsova 327 points (2) Martina Beck 278 (3) Iourieva 277

Bobsleigh

World Cup 4 in Cesana Pariol, Italy: cancelled

Cross-country skiing

World Cup in Düsseldorf, Germany:
- 1.6 km sprint freestyle men: (1) Ola Vigen Hattestad (2) Tor Arne Hetland (3) Fabio Pasini
  - Overall standings (after seven out of 33 races): (1) Hattestad 300 points (2) Dario Cologna 208 (3) Hetland 191
- 0.8 km sprint freestyle women: (1) Petra Majdič (2) Natalia Matveeva (3) Maiken Caspersen Falla
  - Overall standings (after seven out of 33 races): (1) Aino-Kaisa Saarinen 397 points (2) Majdic 389 (3) Marit Bjørgen 280

Freestyle skiing

World Cup in Adventure Mountain, China:
- Aerials men: (1) Alexei Grishin 249.25 (2) Li Ke 244.52 (3) Warren Shouldice 238.90
- Aerials women: (1) Zhao Shanshan 201.63 (2) Li Nina 192.81 (3) Lydia Lassila 179.06

Nordic combined

World Cup in Ramsau am Dachstein, Austria:
- 10 km Gundersen: (1) Bill Demong 25:59.4 (2nd after ski-jump leg) (2) Björn Kircheisen at 28.3 (6) (3) Jan Schmid 37.3 (8)
  - Overall World Cup standings (after five out of 24 races): (1) Anssi Koivuranta 333 points (2) Magnus Moan 211 (3) Demong 210

Ski jumping

World Cup in Engelberg, Switzerland:
- Individual 137 m hill: (1) Simon Ammann 275.4 points (138.5 m/137.0 m) (2) Wolfgang Loitzl 273.2 (134.0/137.5) (3) Gregor Schlierenzauer 265.7 (135.0/134.0)
  - World Cup overall standings (after six of 28 events): (1) Ammann 525 points (2) Schlierenzauer 410 (3) Loitzl 279

Snowboarding

World Cup in Arosa, Switzerland:
- Snowboardcross men: (1) Seth Wescott (2) Markus Schairer (3) David Speiser
- Snowboardcross women: (1) Sandra Frei (2) Helene Olafsen (3) Nelly Moenne Loccoz

December 19, 2008 (Friday)

American college football

NCAA Division I FCS Final in Chattanooga, Tennessee:
- Richmond 24, Montana 7
  - The Spiders win their school's first national championship in any sport.

Cricket

South Africa in Australia:
- 1st Test in Perth, day 3:
  - Australia 375 and 228/7 (Brad Haddin 39*, Jacques Kallis 2/19); South Africa 281 (Jacques Kallis 63, Mitchell Johnson 8/61). Australia lead by 322 runs with 3 second innings wickets remaining.
England in India:
- 2nd Test in Mohali, day 1:
  - India 179/1 (Gautam Gambhir 106*, Stuart Broad 1/45).
West Indies in New Zealand:
- 2nd Test in Napier, day 1:
  - West Indies 258/6 (Shivnarine Chanderpaul 100*, Daniel Vettori 2/58).

Winter sports

Alpine skiing

Men's World Cup in Val Gardena, Italy:
- Super giant slalom: (1) Werner Heel 1:35.04 (2) Didier Défago 1:35.47 (3) Patrik Järbyn 1:35.49
  - Overall World Cup standings (10 events): (1) Aksel Lund Svindal 398 pts (2) Carlo Janka 315 (3) Benjamin Raich 297
Women's World Cup in St. Moritz, Switzerland:
- Combined: (1) Anja Pärson 1:41.87 (57.84 + 44.03) (2) Nicole Hosp 1:42.99 (59.07 + 43.92) (3) Fabienne Suter 1:43.47 (58.35 + 45.12)
  - Overall World Cup standings (9 events): (1) Lindsey Vonn 438 (2) Tanja Poutiainen 400 (3) Maria Riesch 378

Freestyle skiing

World Cup in Adventure Mountain, China:
- Aerials women: (1) Lydia Lassila 92.88 (2) Jacqui Cooper 89.14 (3) Veronika Bauer 88.83
- Aerials men: cancelled

Skeleton

World Cup 4 in Cesana Pariol, Italy: cancelled

December 18, 2008 (Thursday)

American football

National Football League Week 16 Thursday Night Football:
- Indianapolis Colts 31, Jacksonville Jaguars 24.
  - The Colts will be the fifth seed in the AFC playoffs with this win.

Basketball

Euroleague, week 8:
(teams in bold advance to the Top 16; teams with ~~strike~~ are eliminated)
- Group A:
  - ~~Le Mans~~ 73–87 Maccabi Tel Aviv
    - Maccabi punch their ticket to the Top 16.
  - Unicaja Málaga 72–68 ~~Air Avellino~~
    - Málaga's win secures them, as well as Cibona, a Top 16 berth and eliminates Avellino.
- Group B:
  - Žalgiris Kaunas 79–68 Asseco Prokom Sopot
    - Žalgiris stay alive in the Top 16 race, taking the tiebreaker from Prokom.
- Group C:
  - ALBA Berlin 68–73 TAU Cerámica
    - TAU also punch their Top 16 ticket.
  - Lottomatica Roma 74–69 ~~Union Olimpija Ljubljana~~ (OT)
    - Roma advance to the Top 16, while Ljubljana are eliminated.
- Group D:
  - Panionios 64–78 Efes Pilsen

Cricket

South Africa in Australia:
- 1st Test in Perth, day 2:
  - Australia 375 (Simon Katich 83, Makhaya Ntini 4/72); South Africa 243/8 (Jacques Kallis 63, AB de Villiers 63, Mitchell Johnson 7/42). South Africa trail by 132 runs with 2 wickets remaining in the first innings.

Football (soccer)

FIFA Club World Cup in Japan:
- Semifinal 2:
  - Gamba Osaka 3–5 Manchester United
- Match for fifth place:
  - Al-Ahly 0–1 Adelaide United
UEFA Cup group stage, matchday 5:
(teams in bold advance to the last-32 round; teams with ~~strike~~ are eliminated)
- Group A:
  - Paris Saint-Germain 4–0 Twente
  - ~~Racing Santander~~ 3–1 Manchester City
  - Idle: ~~Schalke 04~~
    - Final standings: Man City 7 points, Twente 6, PSG 5, Racing 5, Schalke 4
- Group B:
  - Olympiacos 4–0 ~~Hertha BSC~~
  - ~~Benfica~~ 0–1 Metalist Kharkiv
  - Idle: Galatasaray
    - Final standings: Metalist 10 points, Galatasaray 9, Olympiacos 6, Hertha 2, Benfica 1
- Group C:
  - Sampdoria 1–0 ~~Sevilla~~
  - Stuttgart 3–0 Standard Liège
  - Idle: ~~Partizan Belgrade~~
    - Final standings: Standard 9 points, Stuttgart 7, Sampdoria 7, Sevilla 6, Partizan 0
- Group D:
  - NEC 2–0 Udinese
  - Tottenham Hotspur 2–2 ~~Spartak Moscow~~
  - Idle: ~~Dinamo Zagreb~~
    - Final standings: Udinese 9 points, Spurs 7, NEC 6, Spartak 4, Dinamo 3

Winter sports

Biathlon

World Cup 3 in Hochfilzen, Austria:
- Men's 20 km individual: (1) Maxim Tchoudov 56 mins 00.3 secs (1 penalty) (2) Ivan Tcherezov at 47.6 (2) (3) Björn Ferry 48.5 (1)
  - Overall World Cup standings (after six races): (1) Emil Hegle Svendsen 299 points (2) Tomasz Sikora 255 (3) Michael Greis 243
- Women's 15 km individual: (1) Albina Akhatova 50 mins 03.0 secs (0 penalties) (2) Éva Tófalvi at 17.5 (0) (3) Svetlana Sleptsova 49.9 (2)
  - Overall World Cup standings (after six races): (1) Sleptsova 267 points (2) Martina Beck 251 (3) Ekaterina Iourieva 223

Freestyle skiing

World Cup in Meribel, France:
- Moguls men: (1) Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau (2) Alexandre Bilodeau (3) Anthony Benna
- Moguls women: (1) Hannah Kearney (2) Jennifer Heil (3) Nikola Sudova

December 17, 2008 (Wednesday)

Basketball

Euroleague, week 8:
(teams in bold advance to the Top 16; teams with ~~strike~~ are eliminated)
- Group A:
  - Olympiacos 93–64 Cibona Zagreb
- Group B:
  - Regal FC Barcelona 87–61 Montepaschi Siena
    - Barcelona improve to a league-best 7–1 record.
  - Panathinaikos Athens 83–69 SLUC Nancy
    - Panathinaikos secure their place in the Top 16.
- Group C:
  - Fenerbahçe Ülker 89–63 DKV Joventut
- Group D:
  - CSKA Moscow 78–82 Real Madrid
  - AJ Milano 73–59 Partizan Belgrade

Cricket

South Africa in Australia:
- 1st Test in Perth, day 1:
  - Australia 341/9 (Simon Katich 83)

Football (soccer)

FIFA Club World Cup in Japan:
- Semifinal 1:
  - Pachuca 0–2 LDU Quito
UEFA Cup group stage, matchday 5:
(teams in bold advance to the last-32 round; teams with ~~strike~~ are eliminated)
- Group E:
  - ~~Portsmouth~~ 3–0 ~~Heerenveen~~
  - Milan 2–2 Wolfsburg
  - Idle: Braga
    - Final standings: Wolfsburg 10 pts, Milan 8, Braga 6, Portsmouth 4, Heerenveen 0.
- Group F:
  - Hamburg 3–1 Aston Villa
  - Ajax 2–2 ~~Slavia Prague~~
  - Idle: ~~Žilina~~
    - Final standings: Hamburg 9 pts, Ajax 7, Aston Villa 6, Žilina 4, Slavia Prague 2.
- Group G:
  - ~~Club Brugge~~ 0–1 Copenhagen
  - Saint-Étienne 2–2 Valencia
  - Idle: ~~Rosenborg~~
    - Final standings: St. Étienne 8 pts, Valencia 6, Copenhagen 5, Brugge 3, Rosenborg 2.
- Group H:
  - Deportivo 1–0 ~~Nancy~~
  - ~~Feyenoord~~ 0–1 Lech Poznań
  - Idle: CSKA Moscow
    - Final standings: CSKA 12 pts, Deportivo 7, Poznań 5, Nancy 4, Feyenoord 0.
ASEAN Championship:
- Semifinals, first leg:
  - Vietnam 0–0 Singapore
Argentine league:
- Apertura play off:
  - San Lorenzo 2–1 Tigre

December 16, 2008 (Tuesday)

Football (soccer)

ASEAN Championship:
- Semifinals, first leg:
  - Indonesia 0–1 Thailand

December 15, 2008 (Monday)

American football

National Football League Week 15 Monday Night Football:
- Philadelphia Eagles 30, Cleveland Browns 10
The Arena Football League votes to suspend operations, cancelling its 2009 season.

Basketball

NBA:
- With their 100–91 win over the Utah Jazz, the Boston Celtics become the third team in NBA history to win 23 of its first 25 games.
- The Sacramento Kings fire Reggie Theus, making him the sixth head coach to be fired this season. Assistant Kenny Natt is named his interim replacement.

Cricket

England in India:
- 1st Test in Chennai, day 5:
  - England 316 and 311/9 dec; India 241 and 387/4 (Sachin Tendulkar 103*). India win by 6 wickets.
West Indies in New Zealand:
- 1st Test in Dunedin, day 5:
  - Play abandoned due to rain. New Zealand 365 and 44/2; West Indies 340. Match drawn.

December 14, 2008 (Sunday)

American football

National Football League Week 15:
(teams in bold clinched a playoff berth; teams in italics are eliminated)
- New York Jets 31, Buffalo Bills 27
  - The Bills are eliminated from playoff contention.
- Indianapolis Colts 31, Detroit Lions 21
  - The Lions drop to 0–14, the third team ever to lose the first 14 games of a season (1976 Buccaneers, 1980 Saints).
- Jacksonville Jaguars 20, Green Bay Packers 16
  - The Packers are eliminated with the loss.
- San Diego Chargers 22, Kansas City Chiefs 21
- Miami Dolphins 14, San Francisco 49ers 9
- Seattle Seahawks 23, St. Louis Rams 20
- Atlanta Falcons 13, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10 (OT)
  - Atlanta's win eliminated the New Orleans Saints from playoff contention.
- Houston Texans 13, Tennessee Titans 12
  - The Texans' win prevents Tennessee from getting home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs for this week.
- Cincinnati Bengals 20, Washington Redskins 13
- Minnesota Vikings 35, Arizona Cardinals 14
- Carolina Panthers 30, Denver Broncos 10
- New England Patriots 49, Oakland Raiders 26
- Pittsburgh Steelers 13, Baltimore Ravens 9
  - The win gives the Steelers the AFC North title and a first-round playoff bye, and sets up a showdown with the Titans for AFC playoff home field advantage next Sunday.
- Dallas Cowboys 20, New York Giants 8
  - The Giants loss now sets up a showdown with Carolina for home field advantage in the NFC playoffs next week.

Cricket

England in India:
- 1st Test in Chennai, day 4:
  - England 316 and 311/9 dec (Andrew Strauss 108, Paul Collingwood 108, Zaheer Khan 3/40); India 241 and 131/1 (Virender Sehwag 83). India need 256 runs to win with nine wickets in hand.
West Indies in New Zealand:
- 1st Test in Dunedin, day 4:
  - New Zealand 365 and 44/2 (Tim McIntosh 24*, Daren Powell 2/17); West Indies 340 (Jerome Taylor 106, Daniel Vettori 6/56). New Zealand lead by 69 runs with 8 second innings wickets remaining.

Football (soccer)

FIFA Club World Cup in Japan:
- Quarterfinal 2:
  - Adelaide United 0–1 Gamba Osaka
    - Gamba Osaka will play Manchester United in the semifinals.
Caribbean Championship in Jamaica:
- Third Place Playoff:
  - Cuba 0–0 Guadeloupe
    - Guadeloupe wins 5–4 in penalty shootout.
- Final:
  - Grenada 0–2 Jamaica
    - Luton Shelton scores twice from the penalty spot for The Reggae Boyz.
Argentine league:
- The Apertura ends with 3-way tie between San Lorenzo, Tigre and Boca Juniors, that requires a triangular play-off series, beginning on Wednesday.

Golf

European Tour:
- Alfred Dunhill Championship in Mpumalanga, South Africa
  - Winner: Richard Sterne 271 (−17)
Men's unofficial events:
- Merrill Lynch Shootout in Naples, Florida:
  - Winners: Kenny Perry & Scott Hoch

Gymnastics

Artistic Gymnastics World Cup Final in Madrid, Spain:
- Men:
  - Vault: (1) Thomas Bouhail 16.225 (2) Jeffrey Wammes 16.150 (3) Anton Golotsutskov 16.075 (3) Isaak Botella Perez 16.075
  - Parallel bars: (1) Yann Cucherat 15.775 (1) Feng Zhe 15.775 (3) Valeriy Goncharov 15.675
  - Horizontal bars: (1) Epke Zonderland 16.175 (2) Philippe Rizzo 15.825 (3) Hiroyuki Tomita 15.325
- Women:
  - Beam: (1) Lauren Mitchell 15.250 (2) Yulia Lozhechko 15.200 (3) Li Shanshan 15.150
  - Floor: (1) Cheng Fei 15.375 (2) Jiang Yuyan 15.225 (3) Sandra Izbaşa 15.000

Handball

European Women's Championship in Macedonia:
- Bronze match:
  - Germany 21–24 Russia
- Final:
  - Spain 21–34 Norway
    - Norway wins the European title for the third successive time.

Rugby union

Heineken Cup Pool stage, week 4:
- Pool 2:
  - London Wasps 19–11 Edinburgh Rugby
- Pool 3:
  - Perpignan 26–20 Leicester Tigers
    - Dan Carter, on his half-season "sabbatical" from the All Blacks, makes a successful Northern Hemisphere club debut, scoring 16 points to lead Perpignan to the win.
- Pool 5:
  - Glasgow Warriors 19–25 Bath

Swimming

European Short Course Championships in Rijeka, Croatia:
- Women:
  - 400 m individual medley: (1) Mireia Belmonte García 4:25.06 (WR) (2) Alessia Filippi 4:26.06 (3) Francesca Segat 4:27.12
  - 200 m freestyle: (1) Federica Pellegrini 1:51.85 (WR) (2) Femke Heemskerk 1:53.79 (3) Daria Belyakina 1:53.85
  - 100 m breaststroke: (1) Valentina Artemyeva 1:05.02 (2) Sophie de Ronchi 1:05.43 (3) Mirna Jukić 1:05.64
  - 100 m butterfly: (1) Jeanette Ottesen 56.70 CR (2) Diane Bui Duyet 56.83 (3) Eszter Dara 56.88
  - 200 m backstroke: (1) Alexandra Putra 2:02.48 (2) Alexianne Castel 2:03.10 (3) Elizabeth Simmonds 2:03.12
  - 50 m freestyle: (1) Marleen Veldhuis 23.55 CR (2) Hinkelien Schreuder 23.72 (3) Jeanette Ottesen 24.05
- Men:
  - 200 m breaststroke: (1) Hugues Duboscq 2:04.59 (European Record) (2) Edoardo Giorgetti 2:04.98 (3) Igor Borysik 2:05.47
  - 100 m individual medley: (1) Peter Mankoč 51.97 (European Record) (2) Christian Galenda 52.29 (3) James Goddard 52.36
  - 200 m freestyle: (1) Danila Izotov 1:43.09 (2) Dominik Meichtry 1:43.11 (3) Massimiliano Rosolino 1:43.52
  - 100 m backstroke: (1) Stanislav Donets 49.32 (WR) (2) Aschwin Wildeboer 49.61 (3) Helge Meeuw 50.89
  - 50 m butterfly: (1) Amaury Leveaux 22.23 (2) Milorad Čavić 22.36 (3) Rafael Muñoz 22.46
  - 4x50 m freestyle: (1) France (Alain Bernard, Fabien Gilot, Amaury Leveaux, Frédérick Bousquet) 1:20.77 (WR) (2) Italy (Alessandro Calvi, Marco Orsi, Mattia Nalesso, Filippo Magnini) 1:23.37 (3) Croatia (Duje Draganja, Alexei Puninski, Bruno Barbic, Mario Todorovic) 1:23.68

Winter sports

Alpine skiing

Men's World Cup in Val-d'Isère, France:
- Slalom: cancelled
Women's World Cup in La Molina, Spain:
- Slalom: (1) Maria Riesch 1:52.98 (2) Lindsey Vonn 1:54.46 (3) Kathrin Zettel 1:55.34
  - Overall World Cup standings: (1) Vonn 438 (2) Tanja Poutiainen 400 (3) Riesch 328

Biathlon

World Cup 2 in Hochfilzen, Austria:
(shooting penalties in brackets)
- Men's 4 x 7.5 km relay: (1) Russia (Nikolay Kruglov, Ivan Tcherezov, Maxim Maksimov, Maxim Tchoudov) 1 hr 24 min 22.9 sec (1), (2) Austria at 1 min 48.1 sec (2), (3) Ukraine 2:38.6 (3)
- Women's 4 x 6 km relay: (1) Russia (Svetlana Sleptsova, Olga Medvedtseva, Ekaterina Iourieva, Albina Akhatova) 1:10:49.58 (6) (2) Norway 1:12:44.35 +1:54.8 (9) (3) France 1:12:46.41 +1:56.9 (9)

Bobsleigh

World Cup 3 in Igls, Austria:
- Four-man: (1) Russia (Alexandr Zubkov, Roman Oreshnikov, Dmitry Trunenkov, Dmitriy Stepushkin) 1:42.34 (2) United States (Steven Holcomb, Justin Olsen, Steve Mesler, Curtis Tomasevicz) 1:42.48 (3) Russia (Dmitry Abramovitch, Philippe Egorov, Andrey Jurkov, Petr Moiseev) 1:42.54
  - World Cup standings: (1) Zubkov 645 (2) André Lange 603 (3) Holcomb 578

Cross-country skiing

World Cup in Davos, Switzerland:
- Sprint freestyle women: (1) Petra Majdič (2) Celine Brun-Lie (3) Marit Bjørgen
  - Overall World Cup standings: (1) Aino-Kaisa Saarinen 397 (2) Majdic 289 (3) Bjoergen 280
- Sprint freestyle men: (1) Ola Vigen Hattestad (2) Johan Kjoelstad (3) Renato Pasini
  - Overall World Cup standings: (1) Dario Alonzo Cologna 208 (2) Hattestad 200 (3) Johan Olsson 186

Luge

World Cup 3 in Winterberg, Germany:
- Women: (1) Natalie Geisenberger (2) Tatjana Hüfner (3) Anke Wischnewski
  - World Cup standings: (1) Hüfner 285 (2) Geisenberger 245 (3) Wischnewski 210

Ski jumping

World Cup in Pragelato, Italy:
- Individual 140 m hill: (1) Fumihisa Yumoto 114.8 pts (126.0 m) (2) Simon Ammann 113.6 (124.5) (3) Johan Remen Evensen 110.3 (123.5)
  - World Cup standings (after five events): (1) Ammann 425 (2) Gregor Schlierenzauer 350 (3) Ville Larinto 205

Snowboarding

World Cup in Limone Piemonte, Italy:
- Men's parallel GS: (1) Matthew Morison (2) Sylvain Dufour (3) Jasey Jay Anderson
- Women's parallel GS: (1) Doris Guenther (2) Kimiko Zakreski (3) Anke Karstens

Speed skating

World Cup 5 in Nagano, Japan:
- 500 m women:
- 500 m men:
- 1000 m women:
- 1000 m men:
- 100 m women:
- 100 m men:

December 13, 2008 (Saturday)

American college football

2008 Heisman Trophy:
- With three underclassman quarterbacks as the finalists, Oklahoma's Sam Bradford becomes the second sophomore to win the prestigious award. Last year's winner, Tim Tebow of Florida, had the most first place votes, but lost four of the six regions to Bradford and finished third in total votes behind runnerup Colt McCoy of Texas.
NCAA Division I FCS semifinal at Cedar Falls, Iowa:
- Richmond 21, Northern Iowa 20
  - Trailing 20–7 in the fourth quarter, the Spiders come back to score the winning touchdown and extra point with 14 seconds remaining.
NCAA Division II Championship at Florence, Alabama:
- Minnesota-Duluth 21, Northwest Missouri State 14
  - The Bulldogs win their first national title in football, while the Bearcats lose in the title game for the fourth straight year, with each loss being by a touchdown or less.

Basketball

National Basketball Association news: The Philadelphia 76ers become the league's fifth team to fire their head coach this season, axing Maurice Cheeks after a 9–14 start, even though the Sixers had extended his contract twice in the past year. Assistant general manager Tony DiLeo will be Cheeks' interim replacement.

Cricket

England in India:
- 1st Test in Chennai, day 3:
  - England 316 and 172/3 (Andrew Strauss 73*); India 241 (MS Dhoni 53). England lead by 247 runs with 7 wickets remaining.
West Indies in New Zealand:
- 1st Test in Dunedin, day 3:
  - New Zealand 365 (Daniel Flynn 95, Chris Gayle 3/42); West Indies 39/0 (Chris Gayle 29*). West Indies trail by 326 runs with 10 wickets remaining in the 1st innings.

Football (soccer)

FIFA Club World Cup in Japan:
- Quarterfinal 1:
  - Al-Ahly 2–4(AET) Pachuca
    - Pachuca comes back from 0–2 down to win in extra-time, and will meet LDU Quito in the semifinals.

Gymnastics

Artistic Gymnastics World Cup Final in Madrid, Spain:
- Men:
  - Floor: (1) Diego Hypólito 16.125 (2) Kōhei Uchimura 15.900 (3) Alexander Shatilov 15.500
  - Pommel horse: (1) Zhang Hongtao 16.375 (2) Krisztián Berki 16.100 (3) Prashanth Sellathurai 16.025
  - Rings: (1) Olexander Vorobyov 16.275 (2) Yordan Yovchev 16.150 (3) Yuri van Gelder 16.075
- Women:
  - Vault: (1) Cheng Fei 15.050 (2) Ariella Kaeslin 14.912 (3) Aagje Vanwalleghem 14.425
  - Uneven bars: (1) He Kexin 16.250 (2) Jiang Yuyan 15.700 (3) Koko Tsurumi 15.250

Handball

European Women's Championship in Macedonia
- 5th/6th placement match:
  - Romania 36–33(OT) Croatia
- Semifinals:
  - Spain 32–29 Germany
  - Norway 24–18 Russia

Rugby union

Heineken Cup Pool stage, week 4:
- Pool 1:
  - Munster (Ireland) 23–13 Clermont
  - Montauban 16–12 Sale Sharks
- Pool 3:
  - Benetton Treviso 16–36 Ospreys
- Pool 4:
  - Harlequins 19–17 Stade Français
- Pool 5:
  - Newport Gwent Dragons 13–26 Toulouse
- Pool 6:
  - Biarritz 6–10 Cardiff Blues 13:35
  - Gloucester 48–5 Calvisano

Swimming

European Short Course Championships in Rijeka, Croatia:
- Men:
  - 1500 m freestyle: (1) Federico Colbertaldo 14:24.21 (2) Vitaly Romanovich 14:29.64 (3) Samuel Pizzetti 14:31.60
  - 200 m butterfly: (1) Nikolay Skvortsov 1:50.60 (WR) (2) Dinko Jukić 1:52.31 (3) Maxim Ganikhin 1:52.32
  - 100 m freestyle: (1) Amaury Leveaux 44.94 (WR) (2) Fabien Gilot 45.84 (3) Filippo Magnini 46.62
  - 50 m breaststroke: (1) Matjaž Markič 26.47 CR (2) Aleksander Hetland 26.64 (3) Emil Tahirovič 26.66
- Women:
  - 400 m freestyle: (1) Coralie Balmy 3:56.39 (2) Camille Muffat 3:57.48 (3) Alessia Filippi 3:59.35
  - 100 m individual medley: (1) Hanna-Maria Seppälä 59.24 CR (2) Evelyn Verrasztó 59.49 (3) Francesca Segat 59.61
  - 50 m backstroke: (1) Sanja Jovanović 26.23 (WR) (2) Kateryna Zubkova 26.65 (3) Elena Gemo 26.77
  - 4x50 m medley relay: (1) Netherlands (Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Moniek Nijhuis, Hinkelien Schreuder, Marleen Veldhuis) 1:45.73 (WR) (2) Germany (Daniela Samulski, Janne Schaefer, Lena Kalla, Petra Dallmann) 1:46.84 (3) Italy (Elena Gemo, Roberta Panara, Silvia di Pietro, Federica Pellegrini) 1:47.05

Winter sports

Alpine skiing

Men's World Cup in Val-d'Isère, France:
- Giant slalom: (1) Carlo Janka (2) Massimiliano Blardone (3) Gauthier de Tessières
  - Overall World Cup standings: (1) Aksel Lund Svindal 395 (2) Benjamin Raich 293 (3) Janka 291
Women's World Cup in La Molina, Spain:
- Giant slalom: (1) Tanja Poutiainen (2) Manuela Mölgg (3) Nicole Hosp

Biathlon

World Cup 2 in Hochfilzen, Austria:
(shooting penalties in brackets)
- Men's 12.5 km pursuit: (1) Emil Hegle Svendsen 35 min 46.3 sec (3), (2) Ole Einar Bjørndalen at 9.4 sec (2), (3) Tomasz Sikora 12 (3)
  - Overall World Cup standings (after five events): (1) Svendsen 276 pts, (2) Sikora 234, (3) Michael Greis 200
- Women's 10 km pursuit: (1) Martina Beck 33 min 41.2 sec (1), (2) Svetlana Sleptsova at 18.3 (4), (3) Simone Hauswald 19.2 (5)
  - Overall World Cup standings (after five events): (1) Beck 224 pts, (2) Sleptsova 219, (3) Tora Berger 206

Bobsleigh

World Cup 3 in Igls, Austria:
- Two-man: (1) Thomas Florschütz / Marc Kühne 1:44.62 (2) Beat Hefti / Thomas Lamparter 1:44.70 +0.08 (3) Steven Holcomb / Justin Olsen 1:44.75 +0.13
  - World Cup standings (three races): (1) Hefti 635 (2) André Lange 627 (3) Matthias Höpfner 568

Cross-country skiing

World Cup in Davos, Switzerland:
- Women's 10 km classic: (1) Virpi Kuitunen 29 min 51.0 sec, (2) Aino-Kaisa Saarinen at 18 seconds, (3) Marit Bjørgen 46.7
  - Overall World Cup standings (after five of 33 events): (1) Saarinen 365 pts, (2) Kuitunen 269, (3) Justyna Kowalczyk 227
- Men's 15 km classic: (1) Johan Olsson 40:10.0 (2) Axel Teichmann 40:20.5 +10.50 (3) Sami Jauhojärvi 40:38.5 +28.50

Curling

European Championships in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden:
(All times CET)
- Men:
  - Final: Norway 6–7 Scotland
    - David Murdoch's team repeats its win over Thomas Ulsrud last year.
  - World challenge 2: Sweden 6–1 Finland
  - World challenge 3: Sweden 5–7 Finland
    - Finland qualify to 2009 World Championship.
- Women:
  - Final: Switzerland 5–4 Sweden
    - Mirjam Ott wins her second European title and denies Anette Norberg her 8th championship.
  - World challenge 2: England 7–4 Norway
  - World challenge 3: England 9–10 Norway
    - Norway qualify to 2009 World Championship.

Figure skating

Grand Prix:
- Grand Prix Final and Junior Grand Prix Final in Goyang, South Korea:
  - Junior ice dance:
    - (1) Madison Chock / Greg Zuerlein 131.15 (2) Madison Hubbell / Keiffer Hubbell 124.68 (3) Ekaterina Riazanova / Jonathan Guerreiro 124.30
  - Junior ladies:
    - (1) Becky Bereswill 146.69 (2) Yukiko Fujisawa 145.92 (3) Alexe Gilles 144.49
  - Senior ice dance:
    - Final standings (free dance in brackets): (1) Isabelle Delobel/Olivier Schoenfelder 156.10 (95.75) (2) Oksana Domnina/Maxim Shabalin 152.95 (93.62) (3) Meryl Davis/Charlie White 148.04 (92.15)
  - Senior men:
    - Final standings (free skating in brackets): (1) Jeremy Abbott 237.72 (159.46) (2) Takahiko Kozuka 224.63 (140.73) (3) Johnny Weir 215.50 (143.00)
  - Senior ladies:
    - Final standings (free skating in brackets): (1) Mao Asada 188.55 (123.17) (2) Kim Yuna 186.35 (120.41) (3) Carolina Kostner 168.01 (112.13)
  - Senior pairs:
    - Final standings (free skating in brackets): (1) Pang Qing/Tong Jian 191.49 (125.25) (2) Zhang Dan/Zhang Hao 188.22 (119.88) (3) Aliona Savchenko/Robin Szolkowy 185.09 (114.95)

Luge

World Cup 3 in Winterberg, Germany:
- Men: (1) Armin Zöggeler (2) David Möller (3) Johannes Ludwig
  - World Cup standings: (1) Zöggeler 255 (2) Möller 240 (3) Andi Langenhan 180
- Doubles: (1) Christian Oberstolz / Patrick Gruber (2) Markus Schiegl / Tobias Schiegl (3) Patric Leitner / Alexander Resch
  - World Cup standings: (1) Oberstolz/Gruber 260 (2) Andreas Linger/Wolfgang Linger 220 (3) Schiegl/Schiegl 201

Skeleton

World Cup 3 in Igls, Austria:
- Men: (1) Frank Rommel 1:46.01 (2) Aleksandr Tretyakov 1:46.26 +0.25 (3) Martins Dukurs 1:46.38 +0.37
  - World Cup standings: (1) Dukurs 610 (2) Florian Grassl 593 (3) Tretyakov 572

Ski jumping

World Cup in Pragelato, Italy:
- Individual 140 m hill: (1) Simon Ammann 284.3 points (139.5/144.0 m) (2) Gregor Schlierenzauer 282.6 (137.5/139.5 m) (3) Ville Larinto 259.2 (131.5/135.0 m)
  - World Cup standings (after four of 28 events): (1) Ammann 345 points (2) Schlierenzauer 300 (3) Larinto 205

Speed skating

World Cup 5 in Nagano, Japan:
- 500 m women:
- 500 m men:
- 1000 m women:
- 1000 m men:

December 12, 2008 (Friday)

American college football

NCAA Division I FCS semifinal at Harrisonburg, Virginia:
- Montana 35, James Madison 27
  - The top-ranked FCS team is upset at home.

Cricket

England in India:
- 1st Test in Chennai, day 2:
  - England 316; India 155/6. India trail by 161 runs with 4 wickets remaining in the 1st innings.
West Indies in New Zealand:
- 1st Test in Dunedin, day 2:
  - No play due to rain.

Rugby union

Heineken Cup Pool stage, week 4:
- Pool 2:
  - Castres 18–15 (Ireland) Leinster
- Pool 4:
  - Scarlets 16–16 (Ireland) Ulster

Swimming

European Short Course Championships in Rijeka, Croatia:
- Women:
  - 800 m freestyle: (1) Alessia Filippi 8:04.53 (WR) (2) Coralie Balmy 8:05.32 (3) Lotte Friis 8:09.91
  - 200 m breaststroke: (1) Alena Alekseeva 2:19.93 (2) Mirna Jukić 2:20.48 (3) Patrizia Humplik 2:21.68
  - 100 m freestyle: (1) Marleen Veldhuis 51.95 (2) Jeanette Ottesen 52.08 (3) Ranomi Kromowidjojo 52.22
  - 100 m backstroke: (1) Sanja Jovanovic 58.87 (2) Kateryna Zubkova 57.01 (3) Laure Manaudou 57.16
  - 50 m butterfly: (1) Hinkelien Schreuder 25.21 (2) Jeanette Ottesen 25.54 (3) Diane Bui Duyet 25.55
  - 4X50 m freestyle relay: (1) Netherlands 1:33.80 (Hinkelien Schreuder, Inge Dekker, Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Marleen Veldhuis) (2) Sweden 1:38.00 (Petra Granlund, Claire Hedenskog, Sarah Sjoestroem, Lovissa Ericsson) (3) Germany 1:38.06 (Dorothea Brandt, Petra Dallmann, Lisa Vitting, Daniela Schreiber)
- Men:
  - 400 m medley: (1) Dinko Jukić 4:03.01 (2) Gergő Kis 4:03.81 (3) Lukasz Wojt 4:05.13
  - 100 m breaststroke: (1) Igor Borysik 57.33 (2) Hugues Duboscq 57.64 (3) James Gibson 57.91
  - 100 m butterfly: (1) Milorad Čavić 49.19 (European record) (2) Rafael Muñoz Pérez 49.74 (3) Nikolay Skvortsov 49.98
  - 50 m backstroke: (1) Stanislas Donets 23.22 (2) Aschwin Wildeboer 23.28 (3) Ľuboš Križko 23.47

Winter sports

Alpine skiing

Men's World Cup in Val-d'Isère, France:
- Super combined: (1) Benjamin Raich 2:02.48 (2) Jean-Baptiste Grange 2:02.82 (3) Marcel Hirscher 2:03.17
  - Overall World Cup standings (8 events): (1) Aksel Lund Svindal 345 pts (2) Raich 293 (3) Grange 231

Biathlon

World Cup 2 in Hochfilzen, Austria:
- Men's 10 km sprint: (1) Emil Hegle Svendsen 26 min08.1 sec (0 penalty) (2) Ivan Scherezov at 26.3 (1) (3) Alexander Os 32.9 (2)
  - Overall World Cup standings (4 races): (1) Svendsen 216 points (2) Tomasz Sikora 186 (3) Michael Greis 164
- Women's 7.5 km sprint: (1) Simone Hauswald 23 min 04.3 sec (0 penalty) (2) Svetlana Sleptsova at 14.1 (2) (3) Andrea Henkel 18.3 (1)
  - Overall World Cup standings (4 races): (1) Ekaterina Urieva 169 points (2) Tora Berger 166 (3) Sleptsova 165

Bobsleigh

World Cup 3 in Igls, Austria:
- Two-Woman: (1) Helen Upperton / Heather Moyse 1:49.07 (2) Shauna Rohbock / Valerie Fleming 1:49.21 (3) Sandra Kiriasis / Romy Logsch 1:49.23
  - World Cup standings (3 races): (1) Upperton 642 (2) Kiriasis 635 (3) Cathleen Martini 594

Curling

European Championships in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden:
- Men:
  - Semifinal: Germany 2–7 Scotland
    - David Murdoch's Scotland will meet Thomas Ulsrud's Norway in a rematch of last year's final.
  - Division B semifinal: Italy 6–4 Hungary
  - Division B final: Finland 9–2 Italy
  - World challenge 1: Sweden 5–6 Finland
    - Finland takes the lead in the best-of-3 series.
- Women:
  - Semifinal: Sweden 8–7 Denmark
    - Swedish skip Anette Norberg scores 4 points in the 9th end to advance for her 10th European final, where she'll meet old rival Mirjam Ott's Swiss team, that beat the Swedes twice in this championship.
  - Division B semifinal: Finland 7–5 Hungary
  - Division B final: Norway 9–3 Finland
  - World challenge 1: England 1–10 Norway
    - Norway takes the lead in the best-of-3 series.

Figure skating

Grand Prix:
- Grand Prix Final and Junior Grand Prix Final in Goyang, South Korea:
  - Junior pairs: (1) Lubov Iliushechkina / Nodari Maisuradze 149.38 (2) Zhang Yue / Wang Lei 137.92 (3) Ksenia Krasilnikova / Konstantin Bezmaternikh 137.22
  - Junior men: (1) Florent Amodio 199.58 (2) Armin Mahbanoozadeh 193.48 (3) Richard Dornbush 183.93
  - Senior ice dance – original dance: (1) Isabelle Delobel/Olivier Schoenfelder 60.35, (2) Oksana Domnina/Maxim Shabalin 59.33, (3) Federica Faiella/Massimo Scali 57.89
  - Senior men – short program: (1) Takahiko Kozuka 83.90, (2) Jeremy Abbott 78.26, (3) Brian Joubert 74.55
  - Senior ladies – short program: (1) Kim Yuna 65.94 (2) Mao Asada 65.38 (3) Yukari Nakano 62.08
  - Senior pairs – short program: (1) Aliona Savchenko/Robin Szolkowy 70.14 (2) Zhang Dan/Zhang Hao 68.34 (3) Pang Qing/Tong Jian 66.24

Skeleton

World Cup 3 in Igls, Austria:
- Women: (1) Shelley Rudman 1:49.75 (2) Kerstin Szymkowiak 1:49.83 (3) Svetlana Trunova 1:50.00
  - World Cup standings: (1) Szymkowiak 630 (2) Anja Huber 586 3 Katie Uhlaender 568

December 11, 2008 (Thursday)

American football

National Football League Week 15 Thursday Night Football:
- Chicago Bears 27, New Orleans Saints 24 (OT)
  - The Bears (8–6) stay in contention for a play-off berth; the Saints were eliminated from contention with the loss.

Basketball

Euroleague, week 7:
(teams in bold advance to the Top-16 round)
- Group A:
  - Air Avellino 72–86 Maccabi Tel Aviv
    - Maccabi (4–3) need one more win or Avellino (2–5) loss to qualify to the Top-16. As a result of Maccabi's win, Olympiacos (5–2) qualifies to the Top-16 and Le Mans (0–7) is eliminated.
- Group B:
  - SLUC Nancy 78–70 Asseco Prokom Sopot
    - Nancy gets level with Sopot in 4th place on 2–5, but the Polish team hold the advantage in a tie-break due to their 29-points victory in week 2.
  - Panathinaikos Athens 76–87 Regal FC Barcelona
    - Panathinaikos (5–2) need one more win or either Sopot or Nancy loss to qualify to the Top-16.
- Group C:
  - DKV Joventut 97–93 Lottomatica Roma
    - Joventut (4–3) denies Roma (5–2) a chance to clinch a berth in Top-16.
- Group D:
  - Real Madrid 68–67 Partizan Belgrade

Cricket

England in India:
- 1st Test in Chennai, day 1:
  - England 229/5 (Andrew Strauss 123)
West Indies in New Zealand:
- 1st Test in Dunedin, day 1:
  - New Zealand 226/4 (Daniel Flynn 95, Chris Gayle 3/42)

Football (soccer)

FIFA Club World Cup in Japan:
- Play-off:
  - Adelaide United 2–1 Waitakere United
    - Adelaide United will play Gamba Osaka in the quarterfinal
Caribbean Championship in Jamaica:
(local time, UTC−5)
- Semi-finals:
  - Cuba 2–2 (AET) Grenada
    - Grenada win 6–5 in penalty shootout.
  - Jamaica 2–0 Guadeloupe

Handball

European Women's Championship in Macedonia
(teams in bold advance to the semifinals)
- Group I in Ohrid:
  - Hungary 21–23 Spain
  - Denmark 25–30 Ukraine
  - Romania 31–37 Norway
    - Final standings: Norway 9 pts, Spain, Romania 6, Hungary, Ukraine, Denmark 3.
- Group II in Skopje:
  - Sweden 24–29 Croatia
  - Russia 22–27 Germany
  - Belarus 24–29 Macedonia
    - Final standings: Germany 9 pts, Russia 7, Croatia, Macedonia, Sweden 4, Belarus 2.

Swimming

European Short Course Championships in Rijeka, Croatia:
- Men:
  - 400 m freestyle: (1) Paul Biedermann 3:37.73 (2) Massimiliano Rosolino 3:39.33 (3) Mads Glæsner 3:39.77
  - 200 m backstroke: (1) Stanislav Donets & Aschwin Wildeboer 1:49.22 (3) Pierre Roger 1:52.26
  - 200 m individual medley: (1) James Goddard 1:53.46, (2) Vytautas Janušaitis 1:54.51, (3) Alan Cabello Forns 1:55.70
  - 50 m freestyle: (1) Amaury Leveaux 20.63 sec, (2) Frédérick Bousquet 20.69, (3) Duje Draganja & Evgeny Lagunov 21.15
    - Leveaux sets a world record of 20.48 sec in semi-final.
  - 4 x 50 m medley relay: (1) Italy (Mirco Di Tora, Alessandro Terrin, Marco Belotti, Filippo Magnini) 1:32.91 (world record), (2) Germany (Thomas Rupprath, Marco Koch, Johannes Dietrich, Steffen Deibler) & Russia (Stanislav Donets, Sergei Geybel, Evgeny Korotyshkin, Evgeny Lagunov) 1:33.31
    - Russia set a world record of 1:33.77 in a heat earlier on Thursday.
- Women:
  - 200 m individual medley: (1) Francesca Segat 2 min 7.03 sec (European record), (2) Evelyn Verrasztó 2:07.93, (3) Sophie de Ronchi 2:08.10
  - 200 m butterfly: (1) Petra Granlund 2 min 4.27 sec, (2) Aurore Mongel 2:04.73, (3) Jemma Lowe 2:04.78
  - 50 m breaststroke: (1) Valentina Artemyeva 29.96 sec, (2) Janne Schaefer 30.37, (3) Moniek Nijhuis 30.45

Winter sports

Curling

European Championships in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden:
(All times CET)
- Men:
  - Play-off:
    - (1) Germany 7–9 (2) Norway
      - Norway advance to the final; Germany go to the semifinal.
    - (3) Scotland 6–2 (4) Switzerland
      - Scotland go to the semifinal.
  - Division B play-off:
    - Italy 3–8 Finland
      - Finland advance to the final; Italy go to the semifinal.
    - Hungary 9–8 Netherlands
      - Hungary go to the semifinal.
- Women:
  - Round 9:
    (teams in bold qualify to the play-off)
    - Netherlands 3–8 Switzerland
    - Scotland 9–4 England
    - Germany 6–4 Russia
    - Denmark 5–4 Czech Republic
    - Italy 2–9 Sweden
      - Final standings: Switzerland, Sweden 7–2, Denmark, Germany 6–3, Italy, Scotland 5–4, Russia 4–5, Netherlands, England 2–7, Czech Republic 1–8.
        Top seven teams qualify to 2009 World Championship.
  - Tie break for 8th place:
    - Netherlands 6–7 England
      - England will play against the winner of division B for a berth in 2009 World Championship.
  - Play-off:
    - (1) Switzerland 8–4 (2) Sweden
      - Switzerland advance to the final; Sweden go to the semifinal.
    - (3) Denmark 8–7 (4) Germany
      - Denmark go to the semifinal.
  - Division B play-off:
    - Finland 6–10 Norway
      - Norway advance to the final; Finland go to the semifinal.
    - Hungary 6–4 Poland
      - Hungary go to the semifinal.

Figure skating

Grand Prix:
- Grand Prix Final and Junior Grand Prix Final in Goyang, South Korea:
  - Junior ice dance – original dance: (1) Madison Chock / Greg Zuerlein 51.84 (2) Ekaterina Riazanova / Jonathan Guerreiro 50.85 (3) Alisa Agafonova / Dmitri Dun 49.45
  - Junior men – short program: (1) Florent Amodio 68.20 (2) Armin Mahbanoozadeh 67.05 (3) Richard Dornbush 66.50
  - Junior pairs – short program: (1) Lubov Iliushechkina / Nodari Maisuradze 56.88 (2) Ksenia Krasilnikova / Konstantin Bezmaternikh 51.54 (3) Anastasia Martiusheva / Alexei Rogonov 50.60
  - Junior ladies – short program: (1) Alexe Gilles 54.24 (2) Kanako Murakami 51.04 (3) Angela Maxwell 48.84

December 10, 2008 (Wednesday)

Baseball

According to reports from ESPN.com, CC Sabathia has signed a seven-year, US $160 million deal with the New York Yankees. The deal, averaging out to nearly $23 million/year, will make Sabathia the highest paid pitcher in baseball history.

Basketball

Euroleague, week 7:
(teams in bold advance to the Top-16 round)
- Group A:
  - Cibona Zagreb 89–70 Le Mans
    - Le Mans' losing streak stretches to 7 games. They will be eliminated from Top-16 if Maccabi wins on Thursday.
  - Unicaja Málaga 60–56 Olympiacos
    - Cibona and Unicaja get level with Olympiacos on 5–2.
- Group B:
  - Montepaschi Siena 100–93 Žalgiris Kaunas
    - Siena improve to 6–1; Žalgiris remain winless, and will be eliminated if they lose to Sopot next week.
- Group C:
  - TAU Cerámica 101–69 Union Olimpija Ljubljana
- Group D:
  - CSKA Moscow 93–61 Panionios
    - CSKA (6–1) secures a berth in the Top-16.
  - Efes Pilsen 74–67 AJ Milano

Football (soccer)

UEFA Champions League group stage, matchday 6:
(teams in bold advance to the last-16 round; teams in italics go to UEFA Cup last-32 round; teams with ~~strike~~ are eliminated from all European Cups)
- Group E:
  - Manchester United 2–2 Aalborg BK
  - ~~Celtic~~ 2–0 Villarreal
- Group F:
  - ~~Steaua~~ 0–1 Fiorentina
  - Lyon 2–3 Bayern
- Group G:
  - Porto 2–0 Arsenal
  - Dynamo Kyiv 1–0 ~~Fenerbahçe~~
- Group H:
  - Juventus 0–0 ~~BATE Borisov~~
  - Real Madrid 3–0 Zenit St. Petersburg

Handball

European Women's Championship in Macedonia
(teams in bold advance to the semifinals; teams with ~~strike~~ are eliminated)
- Group I in Ohrid:
  - Romania 40–32 ~~Ukraine~~
  - ~~Hungary~~ 20–34 Norway
  - ~~Denmark~~ 26–23 Spain
    - Norway secures a semifinal berth as a result of Spain's loss.
- Group II in Skopje:
  - Russia 24–21 ~~Croatia~~
    - Russia secures a semifinal berth.
  - ~~Sweden~~ 24–23 ~~Macedonia~~
  - ~~Belarus~~ 28–28 Germany

Ice hockey

Champions Hockey League Semifinals, first leg:
- Metallurg Magnitogorsk 1–2 Salavat Yulaev Ufa
- ZSC Lions 6–3 Espoo Blues

Winter sports

Curling

European Championships in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden:
(teams in bold qualify to the play-off)
- Men:
  - Round 8:
    - Switzerland 7–4 Norway
      - Switzerland secures at least a tie for fourth place.
    - France 5–6 Scotland
      - Scotland secures a play-off berth and eliminates France.
    - Spain 2–9 Czech Republic
      - The Czechs win their 4th game in a row and remain in contention for a play-off berth.
    - Germany 10–2 Sweden
      - Germany secures at least a tie for first place, while Sweden is eliminated.
    - Ireland 5–11 Denmark
      - Denmark stay in contention for a play-off berth.
      - Standings with one round remaining: Germany 7–1, Norway, Scotland 6–2, Switzerland 5–3, Czech Republic, Denmark 4–4.
  - Round 9:
    - France 5–3 Czech Republic
    - Germany 5–7 Denmark
    - Norway 7–6 Sweden
    - Scotland 13–2 Ireland
    - Switzerland 14–4 Spain
      - Switzerland secures a play-off berth.
      - Final standings: Germany, Norway, Scotland 7–2, Switzerland 6–3, Denmark 5–4, Czech Republic, France 4–5, Sweden 3–6, Ireland, Spain 1–8.
        Top seven teams qualify to 2009 World Championship. Sweden will play against the winner of division B for another berth.
- Women:
  - Round 8:
    - Scotland 6–9 Germany
    - Switzerland 7–4 Sweden
      - Both teams secure at least a tie for a play-off berth.
    - Denmark 7–5 England
    - Netherlands 5–7 Italy
    - Russia 10–9 Czech Republic
      - Russia wins in 11 ends and stays in contention for a play-off berth.
      - Standings with one round remaining: Sweden, Switzerland 6–2, Denmark, Germany, Italy 5–3, Russia, Scotland 4–4.

December 9, 2008 (Tuesday)

Baseball

Francisco Rodríguez, who earned a record 62 saves for the Los Angeles Angels in 2008, signs a three-year, US$37 million deal to join the New York Mets.

Basketball

Euroleague, week 7:
- Group C:
  - ALBA Berlin 72–63 Fenerbahçe Ülker
    - Both teams are level in 4th place on 3–4, with identical head-to-heat record since Fenerbahçe won their first encounter 82–73.

Football (soccer)

UEFA Champions League group stage, matchday 6:
(teams in bold advance to the last-16 round; teams in italics go to UEFA Cup last-32 round; teams with ~~strike~~ are eliminated from all European Cups)
- Group A:
  - Chelsea 2–1 ~~CFR Cluj~~
  - Roma 2–0 Bordeaux
- Group B:
  - Panathinaikos 1–0 ~~Anorthosis~~
  - Werder Bremen 2–1 Internazionale
- Group C:
  - ~~Basel~~ 0–1 Sporting CP
  - Barcelona 2–3 Shakhtar Donetsk
- Group D:
  - ~~PSV Eindhoven~~ 1–3 Liverpool
  - Marseille 0–0 Atlético Madrid
News: Bernd Schuster resigns as coach of Real Madrid. Juande Ramos is appointed as new coach, four days before the El Clásico against arch rival Barcelona.

Handball

European Women's Championship in Macedonia
- Group I in Ohrid:
  - Hungary 26–24 Ukraine
  - Romania 18–26 Spain
  - Denmark 19–31 Norway
    - Standings after 3 matches: Norway 5 points, Spain & Romania 4.

Winter sports

Curling

European Championships in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden:
(teams in bold qualify to the play-off)
- Men:
  - Round 7:
    - Spain 1–8 Sweden
    - Ireland 4–9 Norway
    - Scotland 7–4 Denmark
    - Czech Republic 8–7 Switzerland
    - Germany 5–4 France
      - Leaders after 7 rounds (2 remaining): Germany, Norway 6–1, Scotland 5–2, Switzerland 4–3
- Women:
  - Round 6:
    - Switzerland 9–4 Russia
    - Italy 9–7 Scotland
    - England 8–3 Czech Republic
    - Germany 13–4 Sweden
      - First defeat for Sweden.
    - Netherlands 3–7 Denmark
  - Round 7:
    - Italy 7–8 Czech Republic
    - Germany 6–7 Denmark
    - Russia 5–8 Sweden
    - Scotland 10–3 Netherlands
    - Switzerland 12–1 England
      - Leaders after 7 rounds (2 remaining): Sweden 6–1, Switzerland 5–2, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Scotland 4–3

December 8, 2008 (Monday)

American football

National Football League Week 14 Monday Night Football:
- Carolina Panthers 38, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23
  - The Panthers take over first place in the NFC South on the ground as DeAngelo Williams runs for 186 yards and Jonathan Stewart for 115, with each scoring two rushing touchdowns.

Baseball

Baseball Hall of Fame balloting:
- For the fourth consecutive election in which post-World War II players were considered, the Veterans Committee fails to elect a single player, with no player gaining more than 39 of the 48 votes required for election.
- However, in the first election specifically for players whose careers began before World War II, second baseman Joe Gordon, best known for his years with the New York Yankees in the late 1930s and early 1940s, is elected by a special panel of the Veterans Committee.
Other news:
- Greg Maddux, whose 355 wins are eighth among all Major League Baseball pitchers and second to Warren Spahn among those who pitched entirely in the post-1920 live-ball era, announces his retirement.

Basketball

NBA news: The Minnesota Timberwolves fire head coach Randy Wittman. Kevin McHale is named Wittman's replacement in an effective demotion, as McHale had been the T-Wolves' vice president of basketball operations and had the final say on all player personnel decisions. Wittman is the fourth head coach axed this season, the most in league history before Christmas.

Football (soccer)

Caribbean Championship in Jamaica:
- Group I:
  - Cuba 0–1 Haiti
  - Antigua and Barbuda 2–2 Guadeloupe
    - Cuba and Guadeloupe advance to the semifinals and qualify to 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup

Cricket

England in India:
- News: The English team arrive to Chennai for the first Test due to start there on Thursday, after it was decided on Sunday night at the team's training camp in Abu Dhabi to continue the tour.

Handball

European Women's Championship in Macedonia
- Group II in Skopje:
  - Belarus 35–43 Croatia
  - Sweden 22–33 Germany
    - Germany advance to the semifinal
  - Russia 43–24 Macedonia

Winter sports

Curling

European Championships in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden:
- Men:
  - Round 5:
    - Czech Republic 6–3 Ireland
    - Spain 4–11 Germany
    - France 10–7 Switzerland
    - Sweden 4–8 Scotland
    - Denmark 4–9 Norway
  - Round 6:
    - Denmark 6–3 France
    - Sweden 4–9 Czech Republic
    - Ireland 3–10 Germany
    - Spain 5–6 Norway
    - Scotland 6–5 Switzerland
      - Leaders after 6 rounds: Germany, Norway 5–1, Scotland, Switzerland 4–2, Denmark, France 3–3
- Women:
  - Round 4:
    - Denmark 6–5 Italy
    - Sweden 6–3 Czech Republic
    - Netherlands 3–6 Germany
    - England 2–9 Russia
    - Scotland 4–7 Switzerland
  - Round 5:
    - England 1–10 Sweden
    - Netherlands 6–9 Russia
    - Scotland 9–5 Denmark
    - Czech Republic 3–5 Switzerland
    - Germany 5–6 Italy
      - Leaders after 5 rounds: Sweden 5–0, Germany, Italy, Russia, Scotland, Switzerland 3–2

December 7, 2008 (Sunday)

American football

National Football League Week 14:
- New Orleans Saints 29, Atlanta Falcons 25
- Indianapolis Colts 35, Cincinnati Bengals 3
- Tennessee Titans 28, Cleveland Browns 9
  - The Titans clinch the AFC South division and a first round bye.
- Houston Texans 24, Green Bay Packers 21
- Chicago Bears 23, Jacksonville Jaguars 10
- Minnesota Vikings 20, Detroit Lions 16
  - The Lions losing streak stretches to 13 games.
- Philadelphia Eagles 20, New York Giants 14
  - Despite their defeat, the Giants clinch the NFC East as a result of Dallas' loss.
- Denver Broncos 24, Kansas City Chiefs 17
- Miami Dolphins 16, Buffalo Bills 3, at Toronto, Ontario
  - This was the first NFL regular season game to be played in Canada.
- New England Patriots 24, Seattle Seahawks 21
- San Francisco 49ers 24, New York Jets 14
- Pittsburgh Steelers 20, Dallas Cowboys 13
  - The Steelers make a 17–0 run in the fourth quarter to score their 10th win.
- Arizona Cardinals 34, St. Louis Rams 10
  - The Cardinals clinch the NFC West title and guarantee a home game in the playoffs for the first time in the franchise history since 1947, when they played the championship at Comiskey Park.
- Baltimore Ravens 24, Washington Redskins 10
NCAA Bowl Championship Series:
- Oklahoma and Florida are ranked 1–2 in the final BCS standings and will meet January 8 in the National Championship Game in Miami Gardens, Florida.
  Other BCS games: (BCS ranking in parentheses)
  - Rose Bowl: (8) Penn State vs. (5) Southern California
  - Orange Bowl: (19) Virginia Tech vs. (12) Cincinnati
  - Sugar Bowl: (6) Utah vs. (4) Alabama
  - Fiesta Bowl: (10) Ohio State vs. (3) Texas

Auto racing

V8 Supercars:
- NRMA Motoring & Services Grand Finale at Sydney, Australia:
  - (1) Garth Tander (2) Craig Lowndes (3) Rick Kelly
- Final standings: (1) Jamie Whincup 3332 (2) Mark Winterbottom 3079 (3) Tander 3048
WRC:
- Rally GB:
  - (1) Sébastien Loeb 2:43:19.6 (2) Jari-Matti Latvala 2:43:22.3 (3) Dani Sordo 2:44:30.2
- Final standings: (1) Loeb 122 (2) Mikko Hirvonen 103 (3) Sordo 65

Football (soccer)

U-20 Women's World Cup in Chile:
- Third Place Playoff: France 3–5 Germany
- Final: North Korea 1–2 United States
  - Goals by Sydney Leroux, the tournament's top scorer, and Alex Morgan, give the title to USA, who reverse the score in the U-17 Final last month.
Caribbean Championship in Jamaica:
- Group J:
  - Grenada 4–2 Barbados
  - Jamaica 1–1 Trinidad and Tobago
    - Jamaica and Grenada advance to the semifinals and qualify to 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup

Golf

LPGA Qualifying School in Daytona Beach, Florida:
- Former NCAA champion Stacy Lewis finishes as top scorer for the five-round event. Among the 19 other golfers to earn full playing privileges on the 2009 LPGA Tour is Michelle Wie, who finishes in a tie for seventh.
Father/Son Challenge in Champions Gate, Florida:
- Winners: Larry Nelson and Drew Nelson

Handball

European Women's Championship in Macedonia
(teams in bold advance to the main round)
- Group A in Skopje:
  - France 26–29 Hungary
  - Denmark 25–27 Romania
- Group B in Ohrid:
  - Spain 24–24 Ukraine
  - Norway 34–19 Portugal

Rugby union

Heineken Cup Pool stage, week 3:
- Pool 1:
  - Clermont 25–19 (Ireland) Munster
- Pool 5:
  - Bath 35–31 Glasgow Warriors

Winter sports

Alpine skiing

Men's World Cup in Avon, Colorado, United States:
- Giant slalom: (1) Benjamin Raich 2 mins, 24.61 secs (2) Ted Ligety 2:24.62 (3) Aksel Lund Svindal 2:24.71
  - Overall World Cup standings (after 7 races): (1) Svindal 345 pts, (2) Hermann Maier 216, (3) Didier Défago 198
Women's World Cup in Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada:
- Super giant slalom: (1) Nadia Fanchini 1 min, 20.97 secs, (2) Fabienne Suter and Andrea Fischbacher 1:21.25
  - Overall World Cup standings (after 6 races): (1) Lindsey Vonn 358 points, (2) Tanja Poutiainen 260, (3) Maria Riesch 202

Biathlon

World Cup 1 in Östersund, Sweden:
- Men's 12.5 km pursuit: (1) Tomasz Sikora 34:55.5 (3 penalties) (2) Ole Einar Bjørndalen at 2.5 (3) (3) Emil Hegle Svendsen 4.9 (3)
  - Overall World Cup standings (after three races): (1) Svendsen 156 points (2) Sikora 143 (3) Michael Greis 130
- Women's 10 km pursuit: (1) Martina Beck 32:42.4 (0 penalties) (2) Ekaterina Iourieva at 2.6 (0) (3) Svetlana Sleptsova 29.2 (3)
  - Overall World Cup standings (after three races): (1) Kati Wilhelm 135 points (2) Beck 128 (3) Tora Berger 128

Bobsleigh

World Cup 2 in Altenberg, Germany
- Four-man: (1) Karl Angerer 56.58 (2) André Lange and Alexandr Zubkov 56.77

Cross-country skiing

World Cup in La Clusaz, France
- Men's 4x10 km relay: (1) Norway 1:39:01.0 (2) Sweden 1:39:03.2 +02.20 (3) France 1:39:07.6 +06.60
- Women's 4x5 km relay: (1) Finland 1:00:46.3 (2) Sweden 1:01:19.7 +33.39 (3) Norway 1:01:20.8 +34.50

Curling

European Championships in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden:
- Men:
  - Round 3:
    - Sweden 8–6 Denmark
    - Norway 10–3 France
    - Czech Republic 0–9 Scotland
    - Switzerland 8–3 Germany
    - Spain 7–4 Ireland
  - Round 4:
    - Norway 6–5 Scotland
    - Denmark 7–8 Switzerland
    - Sweden 10–4 Ireland
    - France 10–5 Spain
    - Czech Republic 4–9 Germany
- Women:
  - Round 3:
    - Czech Republic 6–7 Netherlands
    - England 8–3 Germany
    - Italy 7–4 Switzerland
    - Sweden 9–8 Scotland
    - Denmark 8–1 Russia

Luge

World Cup 2 in Sigulda, Latvia
- Men: (1) Albert Demtschenko (2) Armin Zöggeler (3) David Möller

Nordic combined

World Cup in Trondheim, Norway:
(position after jump competition in brackets)
- 10 km Gundersen: (1) (1) Anssi Koivuranta 24 mins 41.9 secs (2) (3) Björn Kircheisen at 25.9 (3) (9) Jason Lamy-Chappuis 34.6
  - World Cup standings (after 4 of 24 events): (1) Koivuranta 320 points (2) Magnus Moan 196 (3) Ronny Ackermann 193

Short track speed skating

World Cup 4 in Nagano, Japan

Ski jumping

World Cup in Trondheim, Norway:
- Individual 131 m hill: (1) Simon Ammann 280.2 points (140/135 m), (2) Matti Hautamaeki 278.3 (137/135 m), (3) Gregor Schlierenzauer 274.8 (134.5/135 m)
  - World Cup standings (after three of 34 rounds): (1) Ammann 245 pts, (2) Schlierenzauer 220, (3) Ville Larinto 145

Speed skating

World Cup 4 in Changchun, China:
Men's 100 m: (1) Yuya Oikawa 9.45 (2) Lee Kang-Seok 9.61 (3) Yu Fengtong 9.89
Men's 500 m (2): (1) Dmitry Lobkov 35.07 (2) Yu Fengtong 35.09 +0.02 (3) Keiichiro Nagashima 35.20 +0.13
Men's 1000 m (2): (1) Simon Kuipers 1:09.83 (2) Shani Davis 1:09.99 +0.16 (3) Stefan Groothuis 1:10.01 +0.18
Women's 100 m: (1) Jenny Wolf 10.23 (2) Xing Aihua 10.27 (3) Lee Sang-hwa KOR 10.67
Women's 500 m (2): (1) Jenny Wolf 37.98 (2) Annette Gerritsen 38.52 +0.54 (3) Lee Sang-hwa 38.56 +0.58
Women's 1000 m (2): (1) Laurine van Riessen 1:17.25 (2) Kristina Groves 1:17.80 +0.55 (3) Shannon Rempel 1:18.27 +1.02

December 6, 2008 (Saturday)

American college football

NCAA Top 25:
(BCS Ranking in parentheses)
- SEC Championship Game in Atlanta:
  - (4) Florida 31, (1) Alabama 20
    - The Gators stop the Crimson Tide's winning streak, and will probably get a berth in the National Championship Game, while Alabama could go to the Sugar Bowl.
- Big 12 Championship Game in Kansas City:
  - (2) Oklahoma 62, (20) Missouri 21
    - The Sooners, who hit the 60-point mark for the fifth straight week, are likely to get the top spot in the rankings and play in the Championship Game.
- (5) Southern California 28, UCLA 7
  - The Trojans clinch the Pac-10 Championship and a return trip to the Rose Bowl on January 1 to meet Penn State.
- (13) Cincinnati 29, Hawaiʻi 24
  - Down 24–10, the Bearcats use their defense to come back and win.
- ACC Championship Game in Tampa:
  - (25) Virginia Tech 30, (17) Boston College 12
    - The Hokies will play in the 2009 Orange Bowl, most likely against the Bearcats.
- (23) Pittsburgh 34, UConn 10
In other notable D-I FBS games:
- Conference USA Championship Game:
  - East Carolina 27, Tulsa 24
    - The Pirates win their first league title since 1976 and the trip to the Liberty Bowl against an SEC team, later determined to be Kentucky, on January 2.
- Troy 35, Arkansas State 9
  - The Trojans win the Sun Belt Championship outright, and with it a trip to the New Orleans Bowl to meet Southern Miss.
- Army–Navy Game in Philadelphia:
  - Navy 34, Army 0
    - The Midshipmen win the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy for the sixth consecutive year and beat the Black Knights for the seventh time in a row in the biggest shutout in the series since 1973.
- As a result of Alabama and Ball State losses in their conference championship games, Utah and Boise State remain the only two teams with undefeated records going into the bowl post-season.
In the NCAA Division I Football Championship:
- Richmond 33, Appalachian State 13
  - The Mountaineers' run of three consecutive FCS championships ends in the quarterfinals, with the Spiders taking advantage of five second-half interceptions of ASU quarterback Armanti Edwards.
Minnesota-Duluth and Northwest Missouri State University advance to the 2008 NCAA Division II National Football Championship game after defeating California University of Pennsylvania and University of North Alabama in the semifinals.

Auto racing

V8 Supercars:
- NRMA Motoring & Services Grand Finale at Sydney, Australia:
  - Jamie Whincup secures his first V8 Supercars championship after winning the first of three races held over two days.

Boxing

The Dream Match at the MGM Grand Garden, Las Vegas, Nevada:
- Manny Pacquiao wins with a ninth-round TKO of Oscar De La Hoya as "The Golden Boy" refuses to answer the bell after the eighth round.
- Juan Manuel López KOs Sergio Medina in the first round to retain the junior featherweight title.
- Victor Ortíz KOs Jeff Resto in the second round.

Football (soccer)

Caribbean Championship in Jamaica:
- Group I:
  - Cuba 3–0 Antigua and Barbuda
    - Cuba advance to the semifinal and qualify to 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup
  - Haiti 2–3 Guadeloupe

Handball

European Women's Championship in Macedonia
(teams in bold advance to the main round)
- Group C in Ohrid:
  - Russia 19–19 Sweden
  - Austria 21–31 Belarus
- Group D in Skopje:
  - Germany 32–27 Croatia
  - Macedonia 31–30 Serbia

Rugby union

Heineken Cup Pool stage, week 3:
- Pool 2:
  - Leinster (Ireland) 33–3 Castres
- Pool 3:
  - Ospreys 68–8 Treviso
  - Leicester Tigers 38–27 Perpignan
- Pool 4:
  - Stade Français 10–15 Harlequins
    - Quins win in front of a hostile crowd of 76,569 at Stade de France, the largest ever to attend a Heineken Cup pool match.
- Pool 5:
  - Toulouse 26–7 Newport Gwent Dragons
- Pool 6:
  - Calvisano 17–40 Gloucester
Sevens World Series:
- South Africa Sevens in George:
  - Cup Final: New Zealand 7–12 South Africa

Winter sports

Alpine skiing

Men's World Cup in Avon, Colorado, United States:
- Super giant slalom: (1) Aksel Lund Svindal 1 min 13.05 secs, (2) Hermann Maier 1:13.50, (3) Michael Walchhofer 1:13.63
Women's World Cup in Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada:
- Downhill: cancelled

Biathlon

World Cup 1 in Östersund, Sweden:
- Men's 10 km sprint: (1) Emil Hegle Svendsen 25 min 42.3 sec (1 penalty) (2) Tomasz Sikora at 12.7 (1) (3) Simon Fourcade 28.1 (0)
- Women's 7.5 km sprint: (1) Wang Chunli 22 min 48.1 sec (0) (2) Tora Berger 22:49.5 +1.4 (0) (3) Magdalena Neuner 22:52.9 +4.8 (0)

Bobsleigh

World Cup 2 in Altenberg, Germany:
- Two-man: (1) André Lange / Kevin Kuske 1:52.60 (2) Steven Holcomb / Justin Olsen 1:52.85 (+0.25) (3) Beat Hefti / Thomas Lamparter 1:53.11 (+0.51)
- Two-woman: (1) Sandra Kiriasis / Berit Wiacker 1:55.71 (2) Cathleen Martini / Janine Tischer 1:55.73 (+0.02) (3) Shauna Rohbock / Elana Meyers 1:56.12 (+0.41)

Cross-country skiing

World Cup in La Clusaz, France:
- Men's 30 km freestyle mass start: (1) Petter Northug 1 hr 19 min 26.5 sec (2) Dario Cologna 1:19:26.8 (3) Alexander Legkov 1:19:28.5
- Women's 15 km freestyle mass start: (1) Kristin Størmer Steira 42:56.0 (2) Aino-Kaisa Saarinen 43:09.0 (3) Therese Johaug 43:10.0

Curling

European Championships in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden:
- Men:
  - Round 1:
    - Scotland 3–6 Germany
    - Switzerland 8–4 Sweden
    - Denmark 13–1 Spain
    - Ireland 6–5 France
    - Norway 9–1 Czech Republic
  - Round 2:
    - Ireland 5–10 Switzerland
    - Scotland 13–1 Spain
    - Germany 12–8 Norway
    - Denmark 10–3 Czech Republic
    - France 8–3 Sweden
- Women:
  - Round 1:
    - Sweden 8–2 Denmark
    - Russia 8–7 Italy
    - Czech Republic 3–10 Scotland
    - Switzerland 6–7 Germany
    - England 6–7 Netherlands
  - Round 2:
    - Russia 4–9 Scotland
    - Denmark 5–10 Switzerland
    - Sweden 12–2 Netherlands
    - Italy 9–6 England
    - Czech Republic 3–7 Germany

Luge

World Cup 2 in Sigulda, Latvia:
- Women: (1) Tatjana Hüfner (2) Natalia Yakushenko (3) Anke Wischnewski
- Doubles: (1) Christian Oberstolz / Patrick Gruber (2) Andreas Linger / Wolfgang Linger (3) Peter Penz / Georg Fischler

Nordic combined

World Cup in Trondheim, Norway:
- 10 km Gundersen: (1) Magnus Moan (2) Jason Lamy-Chappuis (3) Anssi Koivuranta

Short track speed skating

World Cup 4 in Nagano, Japan:
- Women's 1500 m: (1) Kim Min-jung 2:21.238 (2) Shin Sae-Bom 2:21.369 (3) Allison Baver 2:22.046
- Women's 1000 m: (1) Wang Meng 1:30.790 (2) Liu Qiuhong 1:30.976 (3) Yang Shin-Young 1:31.098
- Men's 1500 m: (1) Lee Jung-Su 2:16.242 (2) Sung Si-Bak 2:16.478 (3) François-Louis Tremblay 2:17.073
- Men's 1000 m: (1) Lee Ho-Suk 1:29.171 (2) Kwak Yoon-Gy 1:29.516 (3) Charles Hamelin 1:29.519

Ski jumping

World Cup in Trondheim, Norway:
- Individual 131 m hill: (1) Gregor Schlierenzauer 285.7 points (140.0/135.0 m), (2) Ville Larinto 278.9 (138.5/138.0 m), (3) Anders Jacobsen 278.8 (134.0/138.0 m)

Snowboarding

World Cup in Grenoble, France:
- Men's Big Air: (1) Mathieu Crepel (2) Stefan Gimpl (3) Jaakko Ruha

Speed skating

World Cup 4 in Changchun, China:
- Men's 500 m (1): (1) Yu Fengtong 34.97 sec (2) Keiichiro Nagashima 35.08 +0.11 (3) Lee Kyou-Hyuk 35.27 +0.30
- Men's 1000 m (1): (1) Lee Kyou-Hyuk 1 min 9.68 sec (2) Stefan Groothuis 1:10.15 +0.47 (3) Shani Davis 1:10.32 +0.64
- Women's 500 m (1): (1) Jenny Wolf 38.09 sec (2) Lee Sang-hwa 38.71 +0.62 (3) Annette Gerritsen 38.86 +0.77
- Women's 1000 m (1): (1) Kristina Groves 1 min 18.18 sec (2) Shannon Rempel 1:18.20 +0.02 (3) Laurine van Riessen 1:18.48 +0.30

December 5, 2008 (Friday)

American football

NCAA Top 25:
- MAC Championship Game in Detroit:
  - Buffalo 42, (12) Ball State 24
    - The Bulls shock the previously unbeaten Cardinals and will go to Toronto for the International Bowl, the first bowl game in their history.
News:
- Former NFL star O. J. Simpson is sentenced to a maximum of 33 years in prison, with the possibility of parole after 9 years, after being convicted of kidnapping and robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers in Las Vegas.

Cricket

England in India:
- News: The England cricket team is training in Abu Dhabi, while ECB officials and a security advisor inspect the security conditions in Chennai and Mohali, the cities scheduled to host the two Test matches. The delegation is due to report its findings to the team on Sunday, and then a decision should be made whether the tour will continue with the first Test in Chennai next Thursday.

Football (soccer)

Caribbean Championship in Jamaica:
- Group J:
  - Barbados 1–2 Trinidad and Tobago
  - Jamaica 4–0 Grenada

Handball

European Women's Championship in Macedonia
(teams in bold advance to the main round)
- Group A in Skopje:
  - Romania 30–25 France
  - Denmark 26–26 Hungary
- Group B in Ohrid:
  - Spain 29–24 Portugal
  - Ukraine 20–33 Norway

Rugby union

Heineken Cup Pool stage, week 3:
- Pool 1:
  - Sale Sharks 36–6 Montauban
- Pool 2:
  - Edinburtgh 16–25 London Wasps
- Pool 4:
  - Ulster (Ireland) 26–16 Scarlets
- Pool 6:
  - Cardiff Blues 21–17 Biarritz

Winter sports

Alpine skiing

Men's World Cup in Avon, Colorado, United States:
- Downhill: (1) Aksel Lund Svindal 1 min 43.85 secs (2) Marco Buechel 1:43.91 (3) Erik Guay 1:44.20
Women's World Cup in Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada:
- Downhill: (1) Lindsey Vonn 1 min 26.10 secs (2) Nadia Fanchini 1:26.71 (3) Maria Riesch 1:26.79

Skeleton

World Cup 2 in Altenberg, Germany:
- Men: (1) Frank Rommel 1:57.41 (2) Martins Dukurs 1:57.53 (3) Sandro Stielicke 1:57.77
- Women: (1) Anja Huber 1:59.82 (2) Kerstin Szymkowiak 1:59.95 (3) Maya Pedersen 2:00.81

December 4, 2008 (Thursday)

American football

National Football League Week 14 Thursday Night Football:
- San Diego Chargers 34, Oakland Raiders 7
  - The win keeps the Chargers in contention for the AFC West Division title or wild card playoff berth, while the Raiders are eliminated.

Basketball

Euroleague, week 6:
(teams in bold advance to the top-16 round)
- Group A:
  - Maccabi Tel Aviv 88–83 Cibona Zagreb
    - Cibona's second loss in succession means Olympiacos (5–1) have sole possession of first place in this group.
- Group B:
  - Regal FC Barcelona 91–68 SLUC Nancy
    - Barça and Montepaschi Siena (both 5–1) are the first clubs that secure qualification to the Top 16 stage.
  - Žalgiris Kaunas 69–80 Panathinaikos Athens
    - With this win over winless Žalgiris Panathinaikos becomes the fifth team that reaches 300 wins in Euroleague history, following Real Madrid, CSKA Moscow, Maccabi Tel Aviv and FC Barcelona. Panathinaikos (5–1) still need another win or a Nancy loss to advance.
- Group C:
  - Fenerbahçe Ülker 69–81 TAU Cerámica
  - Union Olimpija Ljubljana 65–86 DKV Joventut
  - Lottomatica Roma 70–64 ALBA Berlin
    - Roma (5–1) lead the group ahead of TAU (4–2)

Football (soccer)

UEFA Cup group stage, matchday 4:
(teams in bold advance to the last-32 round; teams with ~~strike~~ are eliminated)
- Group E:
  - Wolfsburg 3–2 ~~Portsmouth~~
  - ~~Heerenveen~~ 1–2 Braga
  - Idle: Milan
- Group F:
  - ~~Slavia Prague~~ 0–2 Hamburg
  - Aston Villa 1–2 ~~Žilina~~
  - Idle: Ajax Amsterdam
- Group G:
  - Valencia 1–1 Club Brugge
  - Copenhagen 1–1 ~~Rosenborg~~
  - Idle: Saint-Étienne
- Group H:
  - Lech Poznań 1–1 Deportivo La Coruña
  - Nancy 3–4 CSKA Moscow
    - CSKA secure first place in the group behind a hat-trick from Vágner Love.
  - Idle: ~~Feyenoord~~
U-20 Women's World Cup in Chile:
- Semifinals:
  - France 1–2 North Korea
    - Ri Ye Gyong's winning goal 3 minutes into injury time puts North Korea one match away from defending its title.
  - United States 1–0 Germany
    - Sydney Leroux's fifth goal in the tournament sets up a repeat of the recent U-17 Women's World Cup Final.
Caribbean Championship in Jamaica:
- Group I:
  - Guadeloupe 1–2 Cuba
  - Haiti 1–1 Antigua and Barbuda

Handball

European Women's Championship in Macedonia:
(All times CET; teams in bold advance to the main round)
- Group C in Ohrid:
  - Austria 10–24 Sweden
  - Belarus 25–29 Russia
- Group D in Skopje:
  - Serbia 31–32 Germany
  - Macedonia 31–29 Croatia

Winter sports

Biathlon

World Cup 1 in Östersund, Sweden:
- Women's 15 km individual: (1) Helena Jonsson 45:05.1 (0+0+0+0) (2) Kati Wilhelm 45:44.8 (1+0+0+0) Ekaterina Iourieva 46:15.4 (0+0+1+0)

December 3, 2008 (Wednesday)

American college football

Louisiana-Lafayette 42, Middle Tennessee 28
- With the win, the Ragin' Cajuns become bowl eligible, and will win the Sun Belt championship and a trip to the New Orleans Bowl if Troy loses to Arkansas State on Saturday.
News:
- Tommy Tuberville resigns as Auburn head coach.
- Notre Dame announces Charlie Weis will stay on as head coach at least through the 2009 season.

Basketball

Euroleague, week 6:
- Group A:
  - Olympiacos 91–66 Air Avellino
  - Le Mans 55–87 Unicaja Málaga
    - Olympiacos improve to 5–1, while Le Mans remain winless
- Group B:
  - Asseco Prokom Sopot 71–83 Montepaschi Siena
    - Siena also improve to 5–1
- Group D:
  - Panionios 68–66 Real Madrid
  - Partizan Belgrade 83–77 Efes Pilsen
  - AJ Milano 80–79 CSKA Moscow
    - CSKA suffer its first defeat.
NBA news: The Toronto Raptors fire Sam Mitchell as head coach, making him the league's third head coach axed this season. His interim replacement is assistant Jay Triano, the first Canadian coach in NBA history.

Football (soccer)

Copa Sudamericana final, second leg:
(first leg result in parentheses)
- Internacional 1(1)–1(0) Estudiantes
  - Nilmar's goal 6 minutes from the end of extra time gives Internacional a 2–1 win on aggregate
UEFA Cup group stage, matchday 4:
(teams in bold advance to the last-32 round; teams with ~~strike~~ are eliminated)
- Group A:
  - Twente Enschede 2–1 Schalke 04
  - Manchester City 0–0 Paris Saint-Germain
  - Idle: Racing Santander
- Group B:
  - Hertha Berlin 0–1 Galatasaray
  - Metalist Kharkiv 1–0 Olympiacos Piraeus
  - Idle: Benfica
- Group C:
  - Sevilla 3–0 ~~Partizan Belgrade~~
  - Standard Liège 3–0 Sampdoria
  - Idle: Stuttgart
- Group D:
  - Spartak Moscow 1–2 NEC Nijmegen
  - Udinese 2–1 Dinamo Zagreb
  - Idle: Tottenham Hotspur
Caribbean Championship in Jamaica:
- Group J:
  - Trinidad and Tobago 1–2 Grenada
  - Jamaica 2–1 Barbados

Handball

European Women's Championship in Macedonia:
- Group A in Skopje:
  - Hungary 21–27 Romania
  - France 23–24 Denmark
- Group B in Ohrid:
  - Portugal 24–38 Ukraine
  - Norway 21–21 Spain

Ice hockey

Champions Hockey League:
- Group stage, matchday 6:
  (teams in bold advance to the semifinals)
  - Group A: Eisbären Berlin 2–1 Metallurg Magnitogorsk
  - Group B: HV71 0–6 Espoo Blues
  - Group C: Salavat Yulaev Ufa 8–2 HC Slovan Bratislava
  - Group D: HC Slavia Praha 1–5 ZSC Lions

Rugby union

End of year tests:
- Barbarians 11–18 Australia in London

Winter sports

Biathlon

World Cup 1 in Östersund, Sweden:
- Men's 20 km individual: (1) Michael Greis 58:52.5 (0+1+0+0) (2) Alexander Os 59:43.0 (0+0+0+2) (3) Emil Hegle Svendsen 59:47.5 (0+2+0+0)

December 2, 2008 (Tuesday)

American football

NFL news:
- The New York Giants suspend Plaxico Burress for the remainder of the season, a day after he was charged with felony weapons possession stemming from an incident in which he accidentally shot himself.

Handball

European Women's Championship in Macedonia:
- Group C in Ohrid:
  - Sweden 21–21 Belarus
  - Russia 31–22 Austria
- Group D in Skopje:
  - Croatia 30–26 Serbia
  - Germany 25–22 Macedonia

December 1, 2008 (Monday)

American football

National Football League Week 13 Monday Night Football:
- - Houston Texans 30, Jacksonville Jaguars 17
- News:
  - New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress is charged with two felony counts of weapons possession, three days after accidentally shooting himself in the right thigh at a Manhattan nightclub.
College football news:
- Tennessee names Lane Kiffin head coach of the Volunteers.
- Dabo Swinney will become permanent head coach of the Clemson Tigers.

Cricket

New Zealand in Australia:
- 2nd Test in Adelaide, day 4:
  - New Zealand 270 (98.3 overs) & 203 (74.1 overs); Australia 535 (157.4 overs). Australia win by an innings and 62 runs and win the series 2–0.

Football (soccer)

U-20 Women's World Cup in Chile:
- Quarterfinals:
  - Japan 1–2 North Korea
    - Defending champion North Korea win the all-Asian battle and earn a semifinal match against France.
  - Brazil 2–3 Germany
    - Twins Sylvie and Nicole Banecki score a goal each for Germany, that eliminate the reigning bronze medallists and will next play USA in a repeat of 2002 and 2004 semifinals. On the previous two occasions, the winner went on to win the title.

References

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Deaths

Current sporting seasons

Basketball 2008–09

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December 31, 2008 (Wednesday)

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December 29, 2008 (Monday)

December 28, 2008 (Sunday)

December 27, 2008 (Saturday)

December 26, 2008 (Friday)

December 25, 2008 (Thursday)

December 24, 2008 (Wednesday)

December 23, 2008 (Tuesday)

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