2006 in sports

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Years in sports

2006 in sports

2006 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

American football[]

  • Super Bowl XL – the Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC) won 21–10 over the Seattle Seahawks (NFC)
    • Location: Ford Field
    • Attendance: 68,206
    • MVP: Hines Ward, WR (Pittsburgh)
  • Rose Bowl (2005 season):
    • The Texas Longhorns won 41–38 over the Southern California Trojans to win the BCS National Championship
  • March 14 - former San Diego Chargers quarterback Drew Brees signs a 6-year, $60 million deal with the New Orleans Saints after the Miami Dolphins were suggested by medical staff to not sign Brees due to a career-threatening shoulder injury he suffered at the end of the 2005 season. After Brees had immediate success and broke several records in New Orleans, this signing is believed by many as the greatest free agency signing in NFL history, tied with the Denver Broncos’ signing of Peyton Manning in 2012.
  • August 19 - Barrow High School[1] played the first organized football game in the Arctic against Delta Junction High School.[2]
  • MVP of Super Bowl XL is Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward.
  • Reggie White, Troy Aikman, John Madden, Warren Moon, Harry Carson, and Rayfield Wright are elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Association football[]

Main article: 2006 in association football

International competitions

Domestic competitions

  • 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

Athletics[]

Main article: 2006 in athletics (track and field)
  • March – 2006 Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne
  • May 12 – Justin Gatlin equals Asafa Powell's 100 m world record time of 9.77 seconds in Doha, Qatar. Gatlin was initially given a time of 9.76, which would have been a new record, but a few days later the time was corrected to 9.77
  • June 11 – Asafa Powell equals the 100 m world record once again, as he ran the distance in 9.77 seconds at Gateshead, England
  • August 18 – Asafa Powell runs the 100 m in a record-equalling 9.77 seconds for a third time, this time in Zürich
  • August – 2006 European Championships in Athletics held in Gothenburg, Swedeno

Baseball[]

Main article: 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 – 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 – Detroit Tigers sweep the Oakland Athletics in the American League Championship Series and advance to their first World Series since 1984.
  • October 27 – 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 (27).

Basketball[]

Main article: 2006 in basketball
  • Miami Heat defeat the Dallas Mavericks in 6 games in the NBA Finals series for Miami's first-ever NBA World Championship. Finals MVP Dwyane Wade rallied four consecutive 35-point games to come back from a two games to none deficit and win four straight.
  • University of Florida wins its first ever NCAA title, defeating UCLA 73–57. George Mason, an 11 seed, makes it to the final four
  • University of Maryland wins its first ever NCAA women's title, defeating Duke 77–75 in overtime.
  • 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).
  • 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
  • Euroleague – 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.
  • The Detroit Shock stunned the 2005 WNBA Champion Sacramento Monarchs in 5 games in the 2006 WNBA Finals.

Bowling[]

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

Canadian football[]

  • November 19 – The BC Lions win the 94th Grey Cup game, defeating the Montreal Alouettes 25–14 at Canad Inns Stadium in Winnipeg.

Cricket[]

Main article: 2006 in cricket

Curling[]

Cycling[]

Figure skating[]

  • World Figure Skating Championships held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Gaelic Athletic Association[]

Gliding[]

  • World Gliding Championships held at Eskilstuna, Sweden
    • Open Class Winner: Michael Sommer, Germany; Glider: Alexander Schleicher ASW 22 BLE

Golf[]

Men's professional

  • Masters Tournament – Phil Mickelson
  • U.S. Open – Geoff Ogilvy
  • British Open – Tiger Woods
  • PGA Championship – Tiger Woods
  • PGA Tour money leader – Tiger Woods with $9,941,563

Men's amateur

Women's professional

Team event

  • Team Europe wins the Ryder Cup for the third straight time, defeating Team USA 18½–9½.

Handball[]

Horse racing[]

Steeplechases

Flat races

Ice hockey[]

  • February 17 – Swedish women's ice hockey team defeats the United States in the semi-final 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.
  • February 26 – Sweden defeats Finland 3–2 to capture the men's gold medal at the 2006 Olympic games.
  • April 8 – Wisconsin Badgers defeat the Boston College Eagles for the NCAA National Championship.
  • Stanley Cup Finals – Carolina Hurricanes defeat the Edmonton Oilers 4 games to 3 to win the Stanley Cup

Lacrosse[]

Mixed martial arts[]

The following is a list of major noteworthy MMA events during 2006 in chronological order.

Date Event Alternate Name/s Location Attendance PPV Buyrate Notes
January 16 UFC Ultimate Fight Night 3 Ultimate Fight Night 3 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, USA 1,008 N/A N/A
February 4 UFC 57: Liddell vs. Couture 3 N/A United States Las Vegas, Nevada, USA 11,000 400,000 N/A
February 4 N/A England London, England N/A N/A N/A
February 26 Pride 31: Unbreakable Pride 31: Dreamers Japan Saitama, Japan N/A N/A N/A
March 4 UFC 58: USA vs Canada N/A United States Las Vegas, Nevada, USA 9,569 300,000 This was the first UFC event to hold a lightweight fight since UFC 49.
March 10 Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Gracie N/A United States San Jose, California, USA 18,265 N/A Strikeforce's first MMA event, after 20 years of kickboxing promotion.

The event featured Frank Shamrock in his first fight since March 2003.

March 15 K-1 Hero's 4 N/A Japan Tokyo, Japan N/A N/A N/A
April 2 Pride Bushido 10 N/A Japan Tokyo, Japan N/A N/A N/A
April 6 UFC Ultimate Fight Night 4 Ultimate Fight Night 4 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, USA 843 N/A N/A
April 15 UFC 59: Reality Check N/A United States Anaheim, California, USA 13,814 425,000 N/A
April 22 N/A England London, England N/A N/A N/A
April 29 IFL: Legends Championship 2006 N/A United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA N/A N/A IFL's first event; Start of 2006 IFL Season 1.
May 3 K-1 Hero's 5 N/A Japan Tokyo, Japan N/A N/A N/A
May 5 Pride Total Elimination Absolute N/A Japan Osaka, Japan N/A N/A Opening round to Pride GP 2006 openweight tournament.
May 27 UFC 60: Hughes vs. Gracie N/A United States Los Angeles, California, USA 14,765 620,000 The event featured Royce Gracie's return to the UFC since April 1995.
June 3 IFL: Championship 2006 N/A United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA N/A N/A End of 2006 IFL Season 1.
June 4 Pride Bushido Survival 2006 Pride Bushido 11
Pride Bushido Survival 		Japan Saitama, Japan N/A N/A Opening round to Pride GP 2006 welterweight tournament.
June 9 Strikeforce: Revenge N/A United States San Jose, California, USA 10,374 N/A This event featured Alistair Overeem's American debut.

Prior to this Overeem fought exclusively in Europe and Japan since 1999.

June 24 The Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale N/A United States Las Vegas, Nevada, USA N/A N/A Randy "The Natural" Couture was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame at this event.
June 28 UFC Ultimate Fight Night 5 Ultimate Fight Night 5 United States Las Vegas, Nevada, USA 606 N/A N/A
July 1 Pride Critical Countdown Absolute N/A Japan Saitama, Japan N/A N/A Quarterfinals to Pride GP 2006 openweight tournament.
July 1 N/A England London, England N/A N/A N/A
July 8 UFC 61: Bitter Rivals N/A United States Las Vegas, Nevada, USA 11,167 775,000 N/A
July 22 WFA: King of the Streets N/A United States Los Angeles, California, USA N/A N/A WFA's last event.

The event featured Bas Rutten's only fight after retiring in 1999.

August 5 K-1 Hero's 6 N/A Japan Tokyo, Japan N/A N/A N/A
August 17 UFC Fight Night 6 N/A United States Las Vegas, Nevada, USA N/A N/A N/A
August 26 UFC 62: Liddell vs. Sobral N/A United States Las Vegas, Nevada, USA 9,859 500,000 N/A
August 26 Pride Bushido 12 Pride Bushido Survival 2nd Round Japan Nagoya, Japan N/A N/A Quarterfinals to Pride GP 2006 welterweight tournament.
September 9 IFL: Portland N/A United States Portland, Oregon, USA N/A N/A Start of 2006 IFL Season 2.
September 10 Pride Final Conflict Absolute N/A Japan Saitama, Japan N/A N/A Semifinals and final to Pride GP 2006 openweight tournament.

Mirko Filipović becomes the Pride 2006 openweight Grand Prix champion.

September 23 IFL: Gracie vs. Miletich N/A United States Moline, Illinois, USA N/A N/A N/A
September 23 UFC 63: Hughes vs. Penn N/A United States Anaheim, California, USA 12,604 400,000 N/A
September 30 N/A England London, England N/A N/A N/A
October 7 Strikeforce: Tank vs. Buentello N/A United States Fresno, California, USA 4,437 N/A N/A
October 9 K-1 Hero's 7 N/A Japan Yokohama, Japan N/A N/A N/A
October 10 Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter UFC Fight Night 6.5 United States Hollywood, Florida, USA 3,510 N/A This event featured a third fight between, Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock.

The show was aired on Spike TV and received 5.7 million viewers.

October 14 UFC 64: Unstoppable N/A United States Las Vegas, Nevada, USA 10,173 300,000 N/A
October 21 Pride 32: The Real Deal N/A United States Las Vegas, Nevada, USA 11,727 40,000 This was the first Pride FC event held in the USA.
November 2 IFL: World Championship Semifinals N/A United States Portland, Oregon, USA N/A N/A N/A
November 5 Pride Bushido 13 Pride Bushido Survival Finals Japan Yokohama, Japan N/A N/A Semifinals and final to Pride GP 2006 welterweight tournament.

Kazuo Misaki becomes the Pride 2006 welterweight Grand Prix champion.

November 11 The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale N/A United States Las Vegas, Nevada, USA N/A N/A N/A
November 11 K-1 Hero's Lithuania 2006 N/A Lithuania Lithuania N/A N/A N/A
November 18 UFC 65: Bad Intentions N/A United States Sacramento, California, USA 14,666 500,000 N/A
December 8 Strikeforce: Triple Threat N/A United States San Jose, California, USA 8,701 N/A This event featured one of the first major women's MMA bouts.

Between Gina Carano and Elaina Maxwell.

December 13 UFC Fight Night: Sanchez vs Riggs UFC Fight Night 7 United States San Diego, California, USA N/A N/A N/A
December 29 IFL: Championship Final N/A United States Uncasville, Connecticut, USA N/A N/A End of 2006 IFL Season 2.
December 30 UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz 2 N/A United States Paradise, Nevada, USA 13,761 1,050,000 This is the first MMA event to receive over a million PPV buys.
December 31 Pride Shockwave 2006 N/A Japan Saitama, Japan 48,709 N/A N/A
December 31 K-1 PREMIUM 2006 Dynamite!! N/A Japan Osaka, Japan 51,930 N/A Event featured ten K-1 Hero's MMA bouts and four K-1 kickboxing bouts.

Motorsport[]

Main articles: 2006 in motorsport and List of 2006 motorsport champions

Radiosport[]

  • 13th Amateur Radio Direction Finding World Championship held in Primorsko, Bulgaria.

Rugby league[]

The Brisbane Broncos won the 2006 NRL Premiership.
Main article: 2006 in rugby league
  • February 3 at Galpharm Stadium, Huddersfield – 2006 World Club Challenge match is won by the Bradford Bulls 30–10 over the Wests Tigers before 19,207
  • March 18 at Canberra Stadium, Canberra – record for most points scored in Australian premiership history is broken with 102 scored in the Newcastle Knights' 70–32 win over the Canberra Raiders
  • May 5 at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane – 2006 ANZAC Day Test is won by Australia 50–12 against New Zealand before 44,191
  • July 5 at Telstra Dome, Melbourne – 2006 State of Origin is won by Queensland in the third and deciding match against New South Wales 16–14 before 54,833
  • August 26 at Twickenham Stadium, London – 2006 Challenge Cup tournament culminates in St Helens R.F.C.'s 42–12 win over Huddersfield Giants in the final before 65,187
  • October 1 at Telstra Stadium, Sydney – 2006 NRL premiership culminates in the Brisbane Broncos' 15–8 win over the Melbourne Storm in the Grand Final before 79,609
  • October 14 at Old Trafford, Manchester – Super League XI culminates in St Helens R.F.C.'s 26–4 win over Hull F.C. in the Grand Final before 72,582
  • November 25 at Aussie Stadium, Sydney – 2006 Tri-nations tournament culminates in Australia's 16–12 win over New Zealand in the final before 27,325

Rugby union[]

  • 112th Six Nations Championship series is won by France
  • Sale Sharks win the Guinness Premiership
  • London Wasps win the 2005-06 Powergen Cup
  • Biarritz win the Top 14
  • Ulster win the Celtic League
  • Munster win the 2005-06 Heineken Cup
  • The Crusaders win the Super 14 final in foggy conditions.
  • 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 and was drawn 28–28

Ski jumping[]

  • Four Hills Tournament – Janne Ahonen and Jakub Janda are joint winners, the first time in the tournament's 54-year history that it has been shared

Ski mountaineering[]

Speed skating[]

Swimming[]

  • 8th World Short Course Championships held in Shanghai
    • Australia wins the most medals (24) and the most gold medals (12)
  • 28th European LC Championships held in Budapest
    • Italy and France win the most medals (15); Russia the most gold medals (7)
  • August 12 – Roland Schoeman breaks the short course world record in the men's 50m freestyle (short course) at Hamburg with a time of 20:98 seconds.
  • August 28 – at 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[]

  • Australian Open
    • Men's Final: Roger Federer (Switzerland) defeats Marcos Baghdatis (Cyprus)
    • Women's Final: Amélie Mauresmo (France) defeats Justine Henin-Hardenne (Belgium)
  • French Open
    • Men's Final: Rafael Nadal (Spain) defeats Roger Federer (Switzerland)
    • Women's Final: Justine Henin-Hardenne (Belgium) defeats Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia)
  • Wimbledon Championships
    • Men's Final: Roger Federer (Switzerland) defeats Rafael Nadal (Spain)
    • Women's Final: Amélie Mauresmo (France) defeats Justine Henin-Hardenne (Belgium)
  • US Open
    • Men's Final: Roger Federer (Switzerland) defeats Andy Roddick (USA)
    • Women's Final: Maria Sharapova (Russia) defeats Justine Henin-Hardenne (Belgium)

Triathlon[]

Volleyball[]

Water polo[]

Weightlifting[]

World University Championships[]

Multi-sport events[]

Awards[]

  • Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Tiger Woods, PGA golf
  • Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Lorena Ochoa, LPGA golf

References[]

  1. ^ Barrow High School Archived July 26, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Playing in Barrow is all kinds of cool to Delta Archived October 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
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