2006 IN SPORTS

Athletics (track and field)

::''For an extensive coverage see 2006 in athletics (track and field)''

Track

★ May 12 — Justin Gatlin equals the 100m world record. During a race in Doha, Qatar, Gatlin reached a time of 9.77 seconds, equalling Asafa Powell's time. Gatlin was initially given a time of 9.76, which would be a new record, but few days later the time was corrected to 9.77

★ June 11 — Asafa Powell equalled the 100m world record once again, as he ran the distance in 9.77 seconds at Gateshead, England.

★ August 18 — Asafa Powell runs the 100m in a record-equalling 9.77 seconds for a third time, this time in Zürich, Switzerland.

Marathon

International Races

★ March 19 — Commonwealth Games Marathon, Melbourne, Australia

★
★ Men's Winner: Samson Ramadhani (TAN) 2:11:29

★
★ Women's Winner: Kerryn McCann (AUS) 2:30:54

★ April 9 — Rotterdam Marathon, Netherlands

★
★ Men's Winner: Sammy Korir (KEN) 2:06:38

★
★ Women's Winner: Mindaye Gishu (ETH) 2:28:30

★ April 17 — Boston Marathon, United States

★
★ Men's Winner: Robert Cheruiyot (KEN) 2:07:14

★
★ Women's Winner: Rita Jeptoo (KEN) 2:23:38

★ April 23 — Enschede Marathon, Netherlands

★
★ Men's Winner: Sammy Rotich (KEN) 2:12:05

★
★ Women's Winner: Petra van Tongeren (NED) 3:19:13

★ April 23 — London Marathon, United Kingdom

★
★ Men's Winner: Felix Limo (KEN) 2:06:39

★
★ Women's Winner: Deena Kastor (USA) 2:19:36

★ August 12 — European Championships Marathon, Gothenburg, Sweden

★
★ Women's Winner: Ulrike Maisch (GER) 2:30:01

★ August 13 — European Championships Marathon, Gothenburg, Sweden

★
★ Men's Winner: Stefano Baldini (ITA) 2:11:32

★ September 24 — Berlin Marathon, Germany

★
★ Men's Winner: Haile Gebreselassie (ETH) 2:05:56

★
★ Women's Winner: Gete Wami (ETH) 2:21:34

★ October 8 — Eindhoven Marathon, Netherlands

★
★ Men's Winner: Philip Singoei (KEN) 2:08:18

★
★ Women's Winner: Agnes Hijman (NED) 2:54:36

★ October 15 — Amsterdam Marathon, Netherlands

★
★ Men's Winner: Solomon Bushendich (KEN) 2:08:52

★
★ Women's Winner: Rose Cheruiyot (KEN) 2:28:26

★ November 5 — New York City Marathon, United States

★
★ Men's Winner: Marilson dos Santos (BRA) 2:09:58

★
★ Women's Winner: Jelena Prokopcuka (LAT) 2:25:05

★ December 3 — Fukuoka Marathon, Japan

★
★ Men's Winner: Haile Gebreselassie (ETH) 2:06:52

National Champions

★ April 9 — Debrecen, Hungary

★
★ Men's Winner: Gergely Rezessy — 2:24:30

★
★ Women's Winner: Petra Teveli — 2:43:06

★ April 9 — Rotterdam, Netherlands

★
★ Men's Winner: Kamiel Maase — 2:10:44

★
★ Women's Winner: Kristyna Loonen — 2:43:13

★ April 23 — London, England

★
★ Men's Winner: Peter Riley — 2:14:31

★
★ Women's Winner: Mara Yamauchi — 2:25:13

★ May 28 — Ottawa, Canada

★
★ Men's Winner: Charles Bedley — 2:27:58

★
★ Women's Winner: Lyudmila Korchagina — 2:29:42

★ July 2 — Brisbane, Australia

★
★ Men's Winner: Lee Troop — 2:14:13

★
★ Women's Winner: Jennifer Gillard — 2:41:06

★ September 23 — Joutseno, Finland

★
★ Men's Winner: Yrjö Pesonen — 2:23:19

★
★ Women's Winner: Hanna Jantunen — 2:45:07

Auto Racing

; FIA World Championship

★ Formula One - ''Main article: 2006 Formula One season''. Champion : Fernando Alonso

★ World Rally Championship - ''Main article: 2006 World Rally Championship season''. Champion : Sébastien Loeb

★ World Touring Car Championship - ''Main article: 2006 World Touring Car Championship season''. Champion : Andy Priaulx
; Others

★ Recaro Formula 3 Cup - champion Ho-Pin Tung

★ Indy Racing League — ''Main article: 2006 in IRL''

★
★ March 26: Paul Dana is killed and Ed Carpenter is injured in an accident during the final practice before the Toyota Indy 300. Dana's teammates, Buddy Rice and Danica Patrick, withdraw from the race following the crash.

★
★ Indianapolis 500 — Won by Sam Hornish, Jr..

★
★ Champion: Sam Hornish, Jr.

★ V8 Supercar - ''Main Article: 2006 V8 Supercar Season''

★
★ Rick Kelly narrowly won the championship in controversial circumstances from Craig Lowndes.

★
★ Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup won the Bathurst 1000, while Jason Bright and Mark Winterbottom won the Sandown 500.

★
★ Ford won the manufacturer title with seven round victories to Holden's six. The Toll HSV Dealer Team won the team's title with its drivers placed 1st and 4th.

★
★ The season was marred by the deaths of racing legend Peter Brock in a road rally in Western Australia, and Development Series driver Mark Porter in an accident in a Bathurst 1000 support event.

★ Nascar — ''Main articles: 2006 in NASCAR, 2006 in NASCAR Busch Series, 2006 in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series''

★
★ Daytona 500 — Won by Jimmie Johnson in the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet.

★
★ UAW Ford 500 — Won by Brian Vickers in the #25 Ditech Chevrolet

★
★ Allstate 400 at the Brickyard — Won by Jimmie Johnson in the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet.

★
★ Champion: Jimmie Johnson

★ Renault Megane Eurocup - champion Jaap van Lagen of The Netherlands.

Baseball

Main articles: 2006 in baseball

★ March 20: Japan wins the first World Baseball Classic, defeating Cuba 10-6 in the championship game.

★ May 28 - Barry Bonds hits his 715th career home run in a 6-3 home loss to the Colorado Rockies, passing Babe Ruth for second place on the career list and setting a new record for left-handed hitters.

★ July 11 - The American League wins the MLB All-Star Game by a score of 3-2 on Michael Young's game-winning 2-run triple in the 9th inning.

★ October 14 - The Detroit Tigers sweep the Oakland Athletics in the American League Championship Series and advance to their first World Series since 1984.

★ October 27 - The St. Louis Cardinals win the 2006 World Series 4-1 in Game 5. The St. Louis Cardinals (10 wins) advance to 2nd place for most World Series wins after the New York Yankees(26).

Basketball

Main articles: 2006 in basketball

College basketball

Men's

★ March 30: The University of South Carolina wins its second straight NIT title, defeating the University of Michigan 76-64.

★ April 3: The University of Florida wins its first ever NCAA title, defeating UCLA 73-57.George Mason a 11 seed makes it to the final four

Women's

★ April 4: The University of Maryland wins its first ever NCAA women's title, defeating Duke 78-75 in overtime.

Professional competitions

Americas

★ National Basketball Association (United States and Canada)

★
★ January 22: Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant scores 81 points in a win over the Toronto Raptors, becoming only the second player in league history to score at least 80 points in one game. It was the second highest individual point total in NBA history (Second only to Wilt Chamberlain's 100 point performance).

★
★ June 20: Miami Heat defeat the Dallas Mavericks in 6 games in the NBA Finals series. Finals MVP Dwyane Wade rallied four consecutive 35-point games to come back from a two games to none deficit and win four straight.

Asia-Pacific

★ Chinese Basketball Association - Guangdong Southern Tigers defeat Bayi Rockets (4-1) in finals.

★ National Basketball League (Australia) - Melbourne Tigers defeat the Sydney Kings 3-0 in best-of-five final series

★ Philippine Basketball Association

★
★ February 19: Red Bull Barako defeats the Purefoods Chunkee Giants, 4 games to 2 in the Fiesta Conference Finals.

★
★ July 21: The Purefoods Chunkee Giants defeats Red Bull Barako, 4 games to 2 in the Philippine Cup Finals.

Europe

★ Euroleague - April 30: Russian power CSKA Moscow dethrones the two-time defending Euroleague champions Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel) 73-69 at Sazka Arena in Prague. This is CSKA's fifth title in the competition, but first since 1971. Third place goes to TAU Cerámica, which defeated FC Barcelona 87-82 in an all-Spanish affair.

★ Adriatic League (former Yugoslavia) - April 23: FMP (Serbia) defeat Partizan (Serbia) 73-72 in the final.

★ Croatian League - June 9: Cibona defeat Zadar 2-1 in the best-of-three finals.

★ LNB - Pro A (France) - June 18: Le Mans defeat Nancy 93-88 in the Pro A Final.

★ HEBA (Greece) - June 7: Panathinaikos complete a 3-0 sweep of Olympiakos in the HEBA finals.

★ Super League (Israel) - June 8: Maccabi Tel Aviv defeat Hapoel Jerusalem 96-66 in the Super League Final.

★ Lega Basket A (Italy) - June 20: Benetton Treviso defeat Climamio Bologna 3-1 in the best-of-five Lega A finals.

★ LKL (Lithuania) - May 27: Lietuvos Rytas complete a 4-0 sweep of Žalgiris in the LKL finals.

★ PLK (Poland) - May 19: Prokom Trefl Sopot complete a 4-1 win over Anwil Włocławek in the PLK finals.

★ Super League (Russia) - May 27: CSKA Moscow complete a 3-0 sweep of Khimki in the Super League finals.

★ Superleague (Serbia and Montenegro) - June 18: Partizan (Serbia) complete a 3-0 sweep of Red Star Belgrade (Serbia) in the Superleague finals. Due to disturbances between Red Star supporters and police in Game 2, the last game is held at an empty Pionir Hall, and any other games would also have been played behind closed doors.

★ ACB (Spain)

★
★ February 19: TAU Cerámica lift the Copa del Rey with an 85-80 win over Pamesa Valencia.

★
★ June 21: Unicaja Málaga complete a 3-0 sweep of TAU Cerámica in the ACB finals.

★ TBL (Turkey) - June 7: In what would turn out to be their last game as an independent club, Ülker complete a 4-0 finals sweep of crosstown rival Efes Pilsen. During the offseason, Ülker merges with the basketball section of Fenerbahçe, creating Fenerbahçe Ülker.

FIBA tournaments

★ 2006 FIBA World Championship - September 3: Spain win the gold medal 70-47 over Greece.

★ 2006 FIBA World Championship for Women - September 23: Australia win the gold medal 91-74 over Russia.

Boxing

★ January 7 – Carlos Manuel Baldomir upsets Zab Judah by unanimous decision and is crowned world welterweight champion by the WBC.

★ March 3 – Welshman Joe Calzaghe defeats American Jeff Lacy by landslide unanimous decision for the WBO-IBF super middleweight title unification. Calzaghe's stellar performance propelled him to #9 in Ring Magazine's pound for pound list.

★ March 25 – Edwin Valero's record streak of 18 consecutive first-round knockouts ends when Genaro Trazancos survives until the second round.

★ April 1 – Sergei Liakhovich wins the WBO world heavyweight title from Lamon Brewster by unanimous decision.

★ April 8 – Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeats Zab Judah by unanimous decision to win the IBF welterweight title. A mini-riot ensued as Roger Mayweather, Floyd's uncle and trainer, runs into the ring retaliating to a low blow and rabbit punch by Judah. The fight resumed and Mayweather won by decision.

★ April 22 – Wladimir Klitschko wins the IBF world heavyweight title from Chris Byrd by TKO in round 7.

★ April 29 – Acelino Freitas defeats Zahir Raheem for the vacant WBO lightweight title by split decision.

★ May 6 – Oscar de la Hoya returns from a 20-month break and defeats Ricardo Mayorga for the WBC super welterweight title.

★ May 20 – Marco Antonio Barrera defeats Rocky Juarez by split decision. Juarez was very competitive throughout the fight breaking Barrera's nose in the early rounds. The fight was originally announced as a draw until it was later revealed that there were two scorecard tabilation errors.

★ June 10 – Bernard Hopkins defeats Antonio Tarver by unanimous to take the light heavyweight world championship.

★ June 17 – Winky Wright and Jermain Taylor fight ends in a draw for the undisputed middleweight championship of the world in Memphis, Tennessee

★ July 13 to 23 – '36th European Amateur Boxing Championships' held in Plovdiv, Bulgaria

★
★ ''Light Flyweight (– 48 kg):'' David Ayrapetyan (Russia)

★
★ ''Flyweight (– 51 kg):'' Georgi Balakshin (Russia)

★
★ ''Bantamweight (– 54 kg):'' Detelin Dalakliev (Bulgaria)

★
★ ''Featherweight (– 57 kg):'' Albert Selimov (Russia)

★
★ ''Lightweight (– 60 kg):'' Hrachik Javakhyan (Armenia)

★
★ ''Light Welterweight (– 64 kg):'' Boris Georgiev (Bulgaria)

★
★ ''Welterweight (– 69 kg):'' Andrey Balanov (Russia)

★
★ ''Middleweight (– 75 kg):'' Matvey Korobov (Russia)

★
★ ''Light Heavyweight (– 81 kg):'' Artur Beterbiyev (Russia)

★
★ ''Heavyweight (– 91 kg):'' Denis Poyatsika (Ukraine)

★
★ ''Super Heavyweight (+ 91 kg):'' Islam Timurziev (Russia)

★ August 12 – Oleg Maskaev knocks out Hasim Rahman in the 12th round to win the WBC Heavyweight title.

★ November 4 Floyd Mayweather Jr. becomes the WBC and linear Welterweight champion after he defeats Carlos Baldomir by unanimous decision.

★ November 11 Wladimir Klitschko defends his IBF heavyweight title by defeating American contender Calvin Brock winning by a stunning knockout in the seventh round.

★ November 18 Manny Pacquiao wins by technical knockout in his third and rubber match against Erik Morales

★ December 9 Jermain Taylor defends his middleweight title as he defeats Kassim Ouma

Cricket

Main articles: 2006 in cricket

''See also International cricket in 2005-06, 2005-06 Australian cricket season and 2005-06 West Indian cricket season''

Curling

:Main articles: 2005-06 curling season

★ Olympic champions:

★
★ Men's: Canada (Brad Gushue, Mark Nichols, Russ Howard, Jamie Korab, Mike Adam)

★
★ Women's: Sweden (Anette Norberg, Eva Lund, Cathrine Lindahl, Anna Svärd, Ulrika Bergman)

★ World champions:

★
★ Men's: Scotland (David Murdoch, Ewan MacDonald, Warwick Smith, Euan Byers, Peter Smith)

★
★ Women's: Sweden (Anette Norberg, Eva Lund, Cathrine Lindahl, Anna Svärd, Ulrika Bergman)

Cycling

UCI ProTour

''See 2006 UCI ProTour for road bicycle racing events
:The 2006 Tour de France was won by Floyd Landis of the USA, but he is expected to be stripped of the title after failing a drugs test.

UCI Mountain Bike World Cup

''See Mountain Bike World Cup 2006 for mountain bike racing events''
===Cyclo-cross===

★ UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Zeddam, Netherlands (January 28–29)

★
★ 'Men's Competition'

★ #Gold – Erwin Vervecken

★ #Silver – Bart Wellens

★ #Bronze – Francis Mourey

★
★ 'Women's Competition'

★ #Gold – Marianne Vos

★ #Silver – Hanka Kupfernagel

★ #Bronze – Daphny van den Brand

Figure skating

World Figure Skating Championships

Held in Calgary, Canada

★ Men's singles

★ #Stéphane Lambiel

★ #Brian Joubert

★ #Evan Lysacek

★ Ladies' singles

★ #Kimmie Meissner

★ #Fumie Suguri

★ #Sasha Cohen

★ Pair skating

★ #Pang Qing / Tong Jian

★ #Zhang Dan / Zhang Hao

★ #Maria Petrova / Alexei Tikhonov

★ Ice dancing

★ #Albena Denkova / Maxim Staviski

★ #Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon

★ #Tanith Belbin / Benjamin Agosto

Football (American)

BCS Bowl Games

Main articles: NCAA football bowl games, 2006-07

'Day'	'Score'	'Winner'	'Loser'	'Event'
January 2	34 - 20	Ohio State	Notre Dame	Fiesta Bowl
January 2	38 - 35	West Virginia	Georgia	Sugar Bowl
January 3	26 - 23 (3 OT)	Penn State	Florida State	Orange Bowl
January 4	41 - 38	Texas Longhorns	USC Trojans	Rose Bowl (National Championship Game)

NFL Playoffs

Main articles: NFL playoffs, 2005-06

★ February 5: The Pittsburgh Steelers win Super Bowl XL at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, defeating the Seattle Seahawks 21-10.

★ MVP of Super Bowl XL was Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward.

Pro Football Hall of Fame

★ Reggie White, Troy Aikman, John Madden, Warren Moon, Harry Carson, and Rayfield Wright are elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Football (soccer)

::''For an extensive coverage see 2006 in football (soccer)''

Events

★ January 1 - Australia officially leaves the Oceania Football Confederation and joins the Asian Football Confederation.

International tournaments

★ 2006 African Cup of Nations - Egypt

★ 2006 FIFA World Cup - Italy

★ UEFA Champions League 2005-06 - FC Barcelona

Major national championships

★ Argentina Primera División - Boca Juniors (Clausura)

★ Brazil Campeonato Brasileiro - São Paulo FC

★ England Premiership - Chelsea

★ France Ligue 1 - Lyon

★ Germany Bundesliga - Bayern Munich

★ Italy Serie A - Inter Milan awarded title after initial winners Juventus were stripped of the title due to involvement in the 2006 Serie A match fixing scandal.

★ Spain La Liga - FC Barcelona

★ Portugal Liga - FC Porto

Gaelic Athletic Association

Gliding

World Gliding Championships

★ Eskilstuna, Sweden

★
★ Open Class Winner: Michael Sommer, Germany; Glider: Alexander Schleicher ASW 22 BLE

★
★ 18-metre Class Winner: Phil Jones, UK; Glider: Schempp-Hirth Ventus-2cxt

★
★ 15-metre Class Winner: Janusz Centka, Poland; Glider: SZD 56 Diana

★
★ Standard Class Winner: Leigh Wells, UK; Glider: Rolladen-Schneider LS8

★ Vinon-sur-Verdon, France

★
★ Club Class Winner: Sebastian Kawa, Poland; Glider: SZD-48-3M Brawo

★
★ World Class Winner: Christophe Ruch, France; Glider: PZL PW-5

Golf

Main articles: 2006 in golf

'Men's major championships'

★ 6-9 April: The Masters — Phil Mickelson wins by two shots to claim his second green jacket and third major victory.

★ 15-18 June: U.S. Open — Geoff Ogilvy wins his first major, defeating Phil Mickelson and two others by one shot after a historic collapse by Mickelson, who had led by two shots going into the final two holes.

★ 20-23 July: The Open Championship (British Open) — Tiger Woods wins by two shots to become the first golfer to defend the Claret Jug since Tom Watson in 1983-84.

★ 17-20 August: PGA Championship — Tiger Woods wins his third Wanamaker Trophy (and first since 2000) by five shots over second place Shaun Micheel.
'Tour money list / order of merit winners':

★ PGA Tour - Tiger Woods with $9,941,563 from 15 events played. Full money list

★ European Tour - Padraig Harrington with €2,489,337. Current order of merit

★ Japan Golf Tour - Shingo Katayama with 178,402,190 Yen. Current money list

★ Asian Tour - Jeev Milkha Singh with $591,884. Current order of merit

★ PGA Tour of Australasia - Nick O'Hern with AUS$583,820. Current order of merit

★ Sunshine Tour - Charl Schwartzel of South Africa topped the 2005-6 Order of Merit with earnings of 1,207,459.70. South African Rand. full list.
'Team event'

★ 22-24 September: Team Europe wins the Ryder Cup for the third straight time, defeating Team USA 18½–9½.
'LPGA majors'

★ 30 March - 2 April: Kraft Nabisco Championship - Australia's Karrie Webb defeats 18, 36 and 54 hole leader Lorena Ochoa in a playoff to claim her seventh major championship. Ochoa had shot a 62 in the first round, setting a tournament record and equalling the record low score in an LPGA major.

★ 8-11 June: LPGA Championship - Se Ri Pak defeats Karrie Webb in a playoff to claim her third LPGA Championship and fifth major title.

★ 29 June - 2 July: U.S. Women's Open - Annika Sörenstam defeats Pat Hurst by four shots in an 18-hole playoff to claim her third title in this event and 10th major.

★ 3-6 August: Weetabix Women's British Open American Sherri Steinhauer claims her third title in this event, her first since it has been recognized as a major by the LPGA, by a three-stroke margin.
'Awards'

★ PGA Tour Player of the Year: Tiger Woods wins for a record eighth time in ten full seasons on Tour

★ PGA Tour leading money winner: Tiger Woods

★ PGA Tour rookie of the year: Trevor Immelman

Ice hockey

Main articles: 2006 in ice hockey

★ 17 February: The Swedish women's ice hockey team defeats the United States in the semifinal round in the 2006 Olympic games. This marks the first time that either the United States or Canada has lost to anyone other than each other.

★ 26 February: Sweden defeats Finland 3-2 to capture the men's gold medal at the 2006 Olympic games.

★ 19 June: 'Stanley Cup Finals' The Carolina Hurricanes defeat the Edmonton Oilers 4 games to 3 to win the Stanley Cup

Ice skating

Long track speed skating

★ European Championships, Hamar, Norway:

★
★ Men allround: Enrico Fabris, Italy 151.523 points (36.75–1:47.57–6:24.33–13:29.69)

★
★ Ladies allround: Claudia Pechstein, Germany 163.159 points (39.60–1:58.04–4:08.47–7:08.02)

★ World Sprint Championships, Heerenveen, Netherlands:

★
★ Men: Joey Cheek, United States 139.990 points (35.19–1:09.25–35.09–1:10.17)

★
★ Ladies: Svetlana Zhurova, Russia 153.625 points (38.35–1:17.20–38.28–1:16.79)

★ World Allround Championships, Calgary, Canada:

★
★ Men: Shani Davis, United States 145.742 points (35.17–1:42.68–6:10.49–13:05.94)

★
★ Ladies: Cindy Klassen, Canada 154.580 points (37.51–1:51.85–3:53.34–6:48.97)

Lacrosse

★ Championships

★
★ 'International Lacrosse Federation - World Lacrosse Championship' - Canada over the United States, 15–10, in London, Ontario, breaking a 28-year US winning streak, and being the last game of lacrosse legend Gary Gait's spectacular career. It also gave Gait every major lacrosse championship possible.

★
★ National Lacrosse League - Champion's Cup - 'Colorado Mammoth' over the Buffalo Bandits, 16–9, in the HSBC Arena, Buffalo, New York

★
★ Canadian Junior A - Minto Cup - 'Peterborough Lakers' (OLA) over the Six Nations Arrows (OLA), 9–5

★
★ Canadian Senior A - Mann Cup - 'Peterborough Lakers' (MSL) over the Victoria Shamrocks (WLA), 4 games to 1, in the Peterborough Memorial Centre, Peterborough, Ontario

★
★ Major League Lacrosse - Steinfeld Cup - 'Philadelphia Barrage' over the Denver Outlaws, 23–12, in The Home Depot Center, Carson, California

★ September - Lacrosse is first played in France

★
★ September - At the Decathlon sport convention lacrosse was presented and the foundation of the first lacrosse team in France laid down

★
★ Mid-October - The first practice for 10–15 year olds takes place in Paris

★
★ A group of 20–25 year olds run regular weekly practices

Olympics

:''See: 2006 Winter Olympics''

Rugby league

Main articles: Rugby league in 2006

★ Bradford Bulls win the World Club Challenge.

★ Queensland defeat New South Wales in the 2006 Rugby League State of Origin series.

★ Brisbane Broncos win the 2006 NRL premiership.

★ St Helens RFC win the Super League XI Grand Final.

★ Australia defeat New Zealand defeat New Zealand 16-12 in the 7th minute of extra time to claim the 2006 Rugby League Tri-Nations.

★ Darren Lockyer, wins the 2006 NRL premiership, 2006 State of Origin series and the 2006 Tri-Nations as captain of all three winning sides. He also claimed the Golden Boot for top international player of the year.

★ Fiji and Tonga become the first two teams to qualify for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.

Rugby union

★ France win the 2006 Six Nations Championship

★ Sale Sharks win the Guinness Premiership

★ London Wasps win the 2005-06 Powergen Cup

★ Biarritz win the Top 14

★ Ulster win the Celtic League

★ New Zealand win gold at the Rugby Sevens event at the 2006 Commonwealth Games

★ Munster win the 2005-06 Heineken Cup

★ The Crusaders win the Super 14 final in foggy conditions.

★ Fiji win the 2005-06 World Sevens Series, becoming the first team other than New Zealand to win the overall crown in the seven-year history of the World Sevens Series.

★ The All Blacks win the 2006 Tri Nations Series

★ The Blue Bulls and the Free State Cheetahs share the Currie Cup in Bloemfontein after the Final went into extra time. Final Score 28 - 28

Ski jumping

★ Four Hills Tournament: Janne Ahonen and Jakub Janda are joint winners, for the first time in the tournament's 54-year history.

★ Ski-flying World Championships:

★
★ Gold: Roar Ljøkelsøy, Norway 788.0 points (Distances in metres: 202.5–207.5–190–207.5)

★
★ Silver: Andreas Widhölzl, Austria 762.4 points (205–182.5–191–208.5)

★
★ Bronze: Thomas Morgenstern, Austria 752.2 points (195.5–195.5–182–210)

South Asian Games

''see'': 2006 South Asian Games

Swimming

International Tournaments

★ Eighth World Short Course Championships, held in Shanghai, China (April 5 – 9)

★
★ Australia wins the most medals (24), and the most gold medals (12)

★ 28th European LC Championships in Budapest, Hungary (July 31 – August 6)

★
★ Italy and France win the most medals (15), Russia the most gold medals (7)

★ First FINA Youth World Swimming Championships in Rio de Janeiro (August 22 – August 27)

★
★ Italy wins 17 medals (including 8 golds), United States wins 14 (5 golds)

Records

★ August 12 — Roland Schoeman breaks the short course world record in the men's 50m freestyle (short course) in Hamburg, Germany, and becomes the first man to swim the distance under 21 seconds, with a time of '20:98' seconds.

★ August 28 — In Hobart, Tasmania, Australian swimmer Libby Lenton betters Natalie Coughlin's world record in the women's 100m butterfly (short course) from 56:39 to '55:95'.

Tennis

Main articles: 2006 in tennis

Australian Open

★ 16 January to 29 January. See 2006 Australian Open for details.

★
★ Men's Singles: Roger Federer of Switzerland d. Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, 5-7, 7-5, 6-0, 6-2.

★
★ Women's Singles: Amélie Mauresmo of France d. Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium, 6-1, 2-0 ret.

French Open

★ 28 May to 11 June. See 2006 French Open for details.

★
★ Men's Singles: Rafael Nadal of Spain d. Roger Federer of Switzerland, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-3.

★
★ Women's Singles: Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium d. Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, 6-4, 6-4.

Wimbledon

★ 26 June to 9 July. See 2006 Wimbledon for details.

★
★ Men's Singles: Roger Federer of Switzerland d. Rafael Nadal of Spain, 6-0, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (2), 6-3.

★
★ Women's Singles: Amélie Mauresmo of France d. Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

US Open

★ See 2006 US Open for details.

★
★ Men's Singles: Roger Federer of Switzerland d. Andy Roddick of the United States, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.

★
★ Women's Singles: Maria Sharapova of Russia d. Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium, 6-4, 6-4.

News

★ Andre Agassi retired after the U.S. Open.

Volleyball

★ Men's World Championship in several cities in Japan

★
★ Gold Medal: Brazil

★
★ Silver Medal: Poland

★
★ Bronze Medal: Bulgaria

★ Women's World Championship in several cities in Japan

★
★ Gold Medal: Russia

★
★ Silver Medal: Brazil

★
★ Bronze Medal: Serbia

Awards

★ Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year: Tiger Woods, PGA golf

★ Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year: Lorena Ochoa, LPGA golf

Deaths

January

★ January 4 — Steve Rogers, 51, Australian rugby league player and CEO of the Cronulla Sharks

★ January 4 — Nel van Vliet, 79, Dutch breaststroke swimmer

★ January 5 — Rod Dedeaux, 91, American college baseball coach

★ January 8 — Elson Becerra, 27, Colombian football (soccer) player

★ January 9 — Jack Snow, 62, American football player

★ January 10— Dave Brown,52,American football player

★ January 11 — Eric Namesnik, 35, American swimmer

★ January 19 — Geoff Rabone 84, New Zealand cricketer

★ January 19 — Tom Nugent, 92, American college football coach and sportscaster; inventor of the I formation

★ January 22 — Alec Coxon, 90, English cricketer

February

★ February 1 — Dick Brooks, 63, American NASCAR driver

★ February 3 — Johnny Vaught, 96, American college football coach

★ February 9 — Ron Greenwood, 84, English football (soccer) player and manager

★ February 16 — Ernie Stautner, 80, German-American football player

★ February 17 — Roy Chapman, 79, American racehorse owner (Smarty Jones)

★ February 20 — Curt Gowdy, 86, American sports broadcaster

★ February 23 — Telmo Zarraonaindía, 85, Spanish footballer

★ February 28 — James Ronald "Bunkie" Blackburn, 69, American NASCAR driver

March

★ March 1 — Peter Osgood, 59, English football (soccer) player

★ March 4 — Roman Ogaza, 53, Polish football (soccer) player

★ March 6 — Kirby Puckett, 45, American baseball player (Minnesota Twins)

★ March 8 — Teresa Ciepły, 68, Polish sprinter and hurdler (b. 1937)

★ March 11 — Bernie Geoffrion, 75, Canadian ice hockey player

★ March 11 — Jesús Miguel Rollán, 37, Spanish water polo goalkeeper

★ March 12 — Jonatan Johansson, 26, Swedish snowboarder

★ March 15 — Red Storey, 88, Canadian pro football player and ice hockey referee

★ March 17 — Ray Meyer, 92, American college basketball coach

★ March 26 — Paul Dana, 30, American Indy Racing League Driver

★ March 29 — Bob Veith, 81, American racing driver

April

★ April 6 — Maggie Dixon, 28, American women's college basketball coach (Army)

★ April 12 — Shekhar Mehta, 60, Kenyan rally driver

★ April 23 — Tue Bjørn Thomsen, 33, Danish boxer (b. 1972)

May

★ May 3 — Earl Woods, 72, father of golfer Tiger Woods (b. 1932)

★ May 11 — Floyd Patterson, 71, American heavyweight boxing champion (b. 1935)

★ May 17 — Mieczysław Nowak, 69, Polish weightlifter (b. 1936)

★ May 22 — Spencer Clark, 19, American NASCAR driver

★ May 26 — Ted Schroeder, 84, American tennis player

★ May 28 — Umberto Masetti, 80, Italian motorcycle racing champion

★ May 29 — Johnny Servoz-Gavin, 64, French Formula One driver

June

★ June 3 — Doug Serrurier, 85, South African Formula One driver

★ June 5 — Eric Gregg, 55, National League umpire

★ June 7 — John Tenta, 42, professional wrestler

★ June 12 — Dennis Shepherd, 79, South African boxer (b. 1926)

July

★ July 29 — Guido Daccò, 63, Italian racing driver

★ July 30 — Al Balding, 82, first Canadian golfer to win on the PGA Tour

August

★ August 3 — Kenneth Richmond, 80, British wrestler (b. 1926)

★ August 5 — Susan Butcher, 51, American sled dog musher, four-time Iditarod winner (b. 1954)

★ August 13 — Al Hostak, 90, American-born middleweight boxer (b. 1916)

★ August 13 — Payao Pooltarat, 48, Thai boxer (b. 1957)

★ August 15 — Faas Wilkes, 82, Dutch football (soccer) player (b. 1923)

★ August 25 — John Blankenstein, 57, Dutch football (soccer) referee (b. 1949)

★ August 30 — Stefan Blaho, 21, Slovakian ice hockey player (b. 1985)

September

★ September 2 — Bob Mathias, 75, American decathlete (b. 1930)

★ September 4 — Giacinto Facchetti, 64, Italian footballer (b. 1942)

★ September 8 — Peter Brock, 61, Australia racecar driver (b. 1945)

★ September 15 — Brunon Bendig, 67, Polish boxer (b. 1938)

★ September 18 — Floyd Curry, 81, NHL player (b. 1925)

★ September 19 — Roy Schuiten, 55, Dutch cyclist (b. 1950)

★ September 26 — Byron Nelson, 94, American PGA golfer (b. 1912)

★ September 29 — Walter Hadlee, 91, New Zealand cricketer (b. 1915)

October

★ October 3 — Peter Norman, 64, Australian athlete (b. 1942)

★ October 6 — Puck Brouwer, 75, Dutch athlete (b. 1930)

★ October 6 — Buck O'Neil, 94, American baseball player and manager (b. 1911)

★ October 8 — Mark Porter, 31, V8 Supercar driver (b. 1975

★ October 11 — Cory Lidle, 34, American baseball player (b. 1972)

★ October 12 — Johnny Callison, 67, American baseball player (b. 1939)

★ October 14 — Chun Wei Cheung, 34, Dutch rowing cox (b. 1972)

★ October 16 — Trebisonda Valla, 90, Italian female athlete (b. 1916)

★ October 27 — Joe Niekro, 61, American baseball player (b. 1944)

★ October 28 — Red Auerbach, 89, American basketball coach and executive (b. 1917)

★ October 28 — Trevor Berbick, 51, Jamaican boxer (b. 1955)

November

★ November 4 — Sergi López Segú, 39, Spanish football player (b. 1967)

★ November 5 — Pietro Rava, 90, Italian football player (b. 1916)

★ November 5 — Bobby Shearer, 74, Scottish football player (b. 1932)

★ November 6 — Francisco Fernández-Ochoa, 56, Spanish alpine skier (b. 1950)

★ November 6 — George Gardner, 64, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1942)

★ November 7 — Johnny Sain, 89, American baseball player (b. 1917)

★ November 17 — Ferenc Puskás, 79, Hungarian soccer player (b. 1927)

★ November 17 — Bo Schembechler, 77, American college football coach (b. 1929)

★ November 23 — Willie Pep, 84, American featherweight boxer (b. 1922)

★ November 24 — Jack Ferrante, 90, American football player (b. 1916)

★ November 26 — Isaac Gálvez, 31, Spanish cyclist (b. 1975)

★ November 28 — Max Merkel, 87, Austrian soccer player and manager (b. 1918)

December

★ December 7 — Kevin Berry, 61, Australian butterfly swimmer (b. 1945)

★ December 12 — Paul Arizin, 78, American basketball player (b. 1928)

★ December 13 — Lamar Hunt, 74, American sports executive (b. 1932)

★ December 15 — Clay Regazzoni, 67, Swiss Formula One driver (b. 1939)

★ December 16 — Cecil Travis, 93, American baseball player (b. 1913)

★ December 21 — Scobie Breasley, 92, Australian jockey (b. 1914)

★ December 31 — Yaacov Hodorov, 79, Israeli football goalkeeper (b. 1927)

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