January 2006 in sports

31 January 2006 (Tuesday)
  • Football: 2006 African Cup of Nations
    • Group D: Nigeria 2–1 Senegal Nigeria finishes with a perfect record in the group. Senegal backs into the quarterfinals thanks to Zimbabwe's win over Ghana.
    • Group D: Ghana 1–2 Zimbabwe
  • NCAA Men's College Basketball:
    • (1) UConn 80, (9) Pittsburgh 76: The homestanding Huskies, behind 22 points from Rudy Gay, win a physical matchup against the Panthers.
    • (6) Illinois 66, Wisconsin 51: For the second straight year, the Fighting Illini go to the Badgers' fortress home court, Kohl Center, and come away with a win. The Illini get 16 points from Dee Brown and Rich McBride, and take command of the game with a 19–0 run late in the first half. They also take sole possession of the Big Ten lead.
    • Creighton 63, (25) Northern Iowa 55: The Panthers go into Omaha as a ranked team for the first time, but leave the same way as they have every year since 1996—losing to the Bluejays.

30 January 2006 (Monday)
  • Football:
    • 2006 African Cup of Nations
      • Group C: Tunisia 0–3 Guinea Guinea makes 3 wins out of 3 in a surprise defeat of the title holders. Both countries progress to the quarter-finals.
      • Group C: Zambia 1–0 South Africa
    • FA Cup: In the fifth round draw, Manchester United and Liverpool will meet on the weekend of February 18.
  • NCAA College Basketball: AP Polls
    • Men's: UConn, Duke, and Memphis remain in the top three spots. In other highlights:
      • George Washington rises to #10, their first top-10 ranking since 1956.
      • Northern Iowa enters the rankings for the first time ever, at #25.
    • Women's: As expected, North Carolina earns its first #1 ranking in history. Duke remains #2. Other highlights:
      • Tennessee drops to #5 after losses to Duke and Kentucky.
      • Kentucky enters the poll for the first time since 1993, at #21. This is also the first time since 1990 that Kentucky's women have been ranked and their men have not.
      • St. John's enters the poll at #25 after an even longer absence, since 1984.

29 January 2006 (Sunday)

28 January 2006 (Saturday)

27 January 2006 (Friday)
  • Football
    • 2006 African Cup of Nations
    • FA Premier League 2005-06
    • Euro 2008
      • The draw for the qualifying rounds for the UEFA Championships was held in Montreux, Switzerland, with defending champion Greece slotted in Group C. The top two teams from the seven pools will join co-hosts Austria and Switzerland in the summer of 2008 for the final round.

26 January 2006 (Thursday)
Both winners advance to the knockout phase.

25 January 2006 (Wednesday)

24 January 2006 (Tuesday)

23 January 2006 (Monday)
  • Auto racing
    • Toyota announces its will enter the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series for the 2007 season; its Camry will be the first car from marking the first time since the late 1950s that a car from a manufacturer operating principally abroad since the late 1950s. Toyota Press Release on NASCAR.com
    • In addition, NASCAR announces the phasing in of its "Car of Tomorrow" program starting with the short tracks and road courses during the 2007 season. The program will be fully implemented by 2009.
  • Football: 2006 African Cup of Nations
  • NCAA College Basketball:
    • Men's: (12) Pittsburgh 80, (25) Syracuse 67: The Panthers, behind a career-high 32 points from guard Carl Krauser, bounce back at home from their first loss of the season. The Orange lose their third game in eight days, all to teams ranked 12th or better.
    • Women's: (2) Duke 75, (1) Tennessee 53: In front of a sellout crowd of Cameron Crazies, five Blue Devils score in double figures during their rout of the Lady Vols.

22 January 2006 (Sunday)

21 January 2006 (Saturday)
  • Football: 2006 African Cup of Nations
  • NCAA Men's College Basketball:
    • St. John's 55, (9) Pittsburgh 50: On a day when the Red Storm honored ten of their all-time greats at halftime, Lamont Hamilton matches his career high with 24 points and leads them to an upset of the previously unbeaten Panthers. (ESPN) This leaves two unbeaten teams in men's Division I basketball...
    • Georgetown 87, (1) Duke 84 ...make that one. The Blue Devils' normally vaunted defense fails to show up at the MCI Center, as the Hoyas shoot 61 percent from the field, build a double-digit lead well into the second half, and survive a Duke comeback. Brandon Bowman leads the Hoyas with 23 points. J. J. Redick scores 41 in a losing effort, but Shelden Williams only scores 4 for the Blue Devils. (ESPN) This left only one team unbeaten...
    • Tennessee 80, (2) Florida 76: ...until later that day, when Chris Lofton's 29 points lead the Volunteers to a home upset of the Gators. Even with all three unbeatens going down, one could argue that none of them were the biggest upset of the day...
    • North Dakota State 62, (15) Wisconsin 55: ... rather, this may be. The Bison, in their first year playing a full Division I schedule, shock the Badgers at their normal fortress home court, the Kohl Center. The Badgers shoot 22.2% from the field.
    • (3) UConn 71, (15) Louisville 58: With the top two teams going down, the Huskies avoided the upset bug on the Cardinals' home floor, thanks to Maurice Williams' 15 points and Rudy Gay's 12 points. When the new polls are released on Monday (January 23), Connecticut will likely rise to number one (which they did).
    • (11) Michigan State 85, (23) Iowa 55: Maurice Ager, Paul Davis, and Shannon Brown score 25, 19, and 17 respectively to lead the Spartans to the most lopsided win in their series against the Hawkeyes.
    • (12) West Virginia 60, (18) UCLA 56: Behind Mike Gansey's 24 points, the Mountaineers go to Pauley Pavilion, build a 20-point lead early in the second half, and survive a ferocious Bruins comeback, despite scoring only one field goal (a key Gansey three-pointer) in the final 14:43.
    • Houston coach Tom Penders collapses before half-time during the team's 82–79 loss to UAB and is given a technical foul. Penders recovers and coaches during the second half, blaming his collapse on a heart condition. Conference USA officials refuse to rescind the technical foul, and were disciplined several days later. aol.com
  • Boxing:
    • Manny Pacquiao defeats Erik Morales by a tenth-round knockout in the first ever boxing undercard at the Wynn Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, avenging an earlier defeat to Morales. In the evening's only world title bout, Martín Castillo retained his World Boxing Association Super Flyweight title, after recovering from a first round knockdown, by a twelve-round split decision in his rematch with former world champion Alexander Muñoz. DailyNews.com

20 January 2006 (Friday)

19 January 2006 (Thursday)

18 January 2006 (Wednesday)

17 January 2006 (Tuesday)

January 16, 2006 (Monday)

15 January 2006 (Sunday)

14 January 2006 (Saturday)

13 January 2006 (Friday)
  • NBA: Philadelphia 76ers 125, Boston Celtics 124 (3 OT): In the longest game in the NBA this season (three overtimes and three hours, 43 minutes playing time), Kyle Korver sent the game into a third overtime with a buzzer-beating three-point basket and Chris Webber, who failed to call a time out with seconds remaining in that overtime period, in a reversal of the incident in the 1993 NCAA Championship Game while at Michigan against North Carolina, hit two free throws to give the home team the win.
  • NHL: The Montreal Canadiens fire Claude Julien as head coach and name general manager Bob Gainey as his interim replacement.
  • Ski jumping: During the first day of the two-day individual event at the Ski Flying World Championships in the Kulm jump in Styria, the defending champion Roar Ljøkelsøy of Norway leaps 207.5 metres in the second jump to take a lead of 22.8 points over second-placed Thomas Morgenstern. The start was initially delayed for an hour due to windy conditions. (AP)

12 January 2006 (Thursday)

11 January 2006 (Wednesday)
  • Golf: New television contracts beginning in 2007 will have NBC, CBS and The Golf Channel televising PGA Tour events except for the four majors. The over-the-air networks will have six-year contracts, while The Golf Channel, owned by Comcast, will have a fifteen-year pact. NBC cable partner USA Network along with Disney's ABC and ESPN were shut out in the negotiations, with the Disney duo walking away.
  • NFL: Southern California's two leading running backs, known as "Thunder and Lightning", are both leaving school, as LenDale White announces that he will forgo his senior season for the Trojans and enter the NFL draft. His backfield teammate, Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush, did the same Thursday (January 12), and is expected to be the number one pick overall by the Houston Texans.

10 January 2006 (Tuesday)

9 January 2006 (Monday)
  • Paris Dakar Rally: Australian KTM motorcycle rider Andy Caldecott, 41, dies in Mauritania during the ninth stage of the rally, becoming the 23rd competitor to die during the event. Caldecott suffered fatal neck injuries during a crash, but the causes of the crash are not known. (ABC.net)

8 January 2006 (Sunday)

7 January 2006 (Saturday)

6 January 2006 (Friday)
  • NFL:
    • Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Brad Childress was named as the new head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, five days after the firing of Mike Tice.
    • The New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs have made a deal that will allow Herman Edwards to become the Chiefs' new coach in exchange for sending the Jets a fourth-round draft pick as compensation. On Sunday (January 8), an agreement was in place for a four-year contract between the Chiefs and Edwards.
  • Ski jumping:
    • Four Hills Tournament: Janne Ahonen wins the fourth and final event of the Tournament at Bischofshofen 2.0 points ahead of Czech Jakub Janda, and the two finish level on overall points with 1,081.5 and share the title for the first time in the tournament's 54-year history. Ahonen was 1.0 points behind Janda after the first jump, but the Finn jumped 141.5 metres in the second jump, 2.5 metres longer than Janda. This was Ahonen's fourth Four Hills overall win, to equal a record set by Jens Weißflog in 1991.'(Reuters Canada)

5 January 2006 (Thursday)
  • NCAA Men's College Basketball
    • (3) Villanova 76, (8) Louisville 67: In a matchup of top ten teams, the unbeaten Wildcats, and the 1-loss Cardinals, 'Nova is able to pour on more offense in both halves and win by nine, forcing Louisville to lose their first Big East game ever and go to 11–2. Randy Foye has 24 points and the Wildcats improve to 10–0, their best start since the 1960s.
    • (6) Illinois 60, (7) Michigan State 50: In another Top 10 matchup and another chance for an unbeaten team to fall, Dee Brown comes up with 34 points to lead the Fighting Illini to victory over Tom Izzo and the Spartans. Brown was 12-for-22 from the field on a night that some think proved that he can lead the Illini to another final. Illinois improves the best record in the country to 15–0, while MSU falls to 12–3, having played a very tough schedule thus far.
  • Ice hockey: 2006 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships: Canada beats Russia 5–0 in the gold medal game to win their second straight World Junior Title. Canada coach Brent Sutter becomes 12–0 at the Juniors, becoming the winningest Canadian coach in history. However, the game was not without controversy, as a Russian goal was disallowed in the second period that would have made the score 2–1. Meanwhile, the heavily favored Americans lost to Finland 4–2 in the bronze medal game. (TSN.ca)

4 January 2006 (Wednesday)
  • NCAA College Football: Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game
    • Rose Bowl Game presented by citi: (2) Texas 41, (1) Southern California 38: The Big 12 champion Longhorns win their first national championship since 1970. Longhorns QB Vince Young, runner up to the Trojans' Reggie Bush in the Heisman Trophy balloting, runs for 200 of his game-record 467 total offensive yards, including the game-winning touchdown with a 9-yard dash on 4th and 5 with 19 seconds left. The Longhorns win their 20th straight game, while the Trojans lose for the first time in 35 games, handing Matt Leinart his second – and final – collegiate loss.
  • Indy Racing League: With over two months left until the IndyCar Series season opener on March 26 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, Toyota announces they will not supply engines for the series this year, leaving Honda as the IRL's lone engine supplier. So far, sixteen cars have been confirmed to be taking part in the upcoming season.'(Autoweek)
  • Figure skating: Michelle Kwan will skip the United States Figure Skating championships in St. Louis, Missouri, this month and will instead petition to join the team in Turin, Italy for the XX Olympic Winter Games due to a right groin injury she suffered while practicing. Though the petition would be successful, Michelle would be forced to retire from figure skating on the second day of the Olympics, due to that groin injury.
  • Ski jumping:

3 January 2006 (Tuesday)
  • NCAA Men's College Basketball: Marquette 94, (2) UConn 79: Steve Novak's 41 points led the Golden Eagles to a home court upset of the second-ranked Huskies in their Big East debut.
  • NFL: Another head coach was dismissed as Norv Turner was given the pink slip by the Oakland Raiders.
  • NCAA College Football: Bowl Championship Series
    • FedEx Orange Bowl: Penn State 26, Florida State 23 (3 OT): Freshman placekicker Kevin Kelly ended the longest BCS game ever with a walkoff 29-yard field goal at 12:59 AM US EST to lead the Big Ten co-champion Nittany Lions to a victory over the ACC champion Seminoles as Joe Paterno won his 21st bowl game, his first over Bobby Bowden in their first meeting since the 1990 Blockbuster Bowl. During the post-game trophy ceremony, JoePa, ever with the dry humor about the long night, asked an Orange Bowl official "How long have we been here, three months?"

2 January 2006 (Monday)
  • NCAA College Football
    • Non-BCS Games
      • AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic: Alabama 13, Texas Tech 10: A 46-yard field goal by Jamie Christensen as time expires gives the SEC's Crimson Tide the win over the Big 12's Red Raiders, the first walkoff score since Joe Montana led Notre Dame to a comeback win over Houston in the 1979 game.
      • Outback Bowl: Florida 31, Iowa 24: The SEC Gators withstand a fourth-quarter rally by the Hawkeyes from the Big Ten thanks to a blown call of offsides on an on-side kick by Iowa late in the game when replays showed no member of the kickoff team actually crossed the thirty-five yard line after the ball was kicked. The Gators recovered the ensuing attempt, and ran out the clock.
      • Toyota Gator Bowl: Virginia Tech 35, Louisville 24: The ACC's Hokies, former members of the Big East, come back from a 24–21 deficit to beat the latter conference's Cardinals.
      • Capital One Bowl: Wisconsin 24, Auburn 10: The Big Ten wins its first bowl game of the year in Barry Alvarez' last game as head coach over the SEC Tigers.
    • Bowl Championship Series

1 January 2006 (Sunday)
  • NFL Week 17: The NFL Playoff picture was finally set in stone on the first day of the New Year.
    • Indianapolis Colts 17, Arizona Cardinals 13: In Tony Dungy's first game since his son James' death, Indianapolis wins despite resting its star players and the Cards' Neil Rackers breaks the NFL record for field goals in a season with his 40th. An apparent touchdown that would have given the Cards a lead late in the fourth quarter by Cards' QB Josh McCown on fourth and goal from the Colts one was overturned by the replay official as the replay showed that McCown fumbling the ball before crossing the goal line.
    • Cleveland Browns 20, Baltimore Ravens 16: Antonio Bryant catches nine passes for 123 yards and a touchdown and Dennis Northcutt provides the winning score on a punt return. Ravens' DB Deion Sanders played in his final NFL game, announcing his retirement after the game.
    • New York Jets 30, Buffalo Bills 26: Justin Miller returns a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the Jets' fourth win of the season, their worst since the 1–15 record posted by Rich Kotite in 1996, and will select fourth in the 2006 NFL Draft April 29 in New York City. The win sent coach Herman Edwards out on a high note, as he would become the Kansas City Chiefs' new head coach a week later in exchange for the Chiefs' fourth-round pick in said draft.
    • Carolina Panthers 44 Atlanta Falcons 11: DeShawn Foster outrushes the entire Falcons team (165 yards compared to the Falcons' team total of 26), and Jake Delhomme throws two touchdown passes — one of them to Steve Smith, who was the NFL's receiving leader with 1,563 yards — as the Panthers clinch a playoff spot. Smith ties Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald for the most passes caught with 103 during the regular season.
    • Kansas City Chiefs 37, Cincinnati Bengals 3: The Chiefs put up 537 total yards on the Bengals, including 201 on the ground from Larry Johnson, but miss out on the playoffs due to the Steelers' win. After the game, Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil announced his second — and likely permanent — retirement.
    • Pittsburgh Steelers 35, Detroit Lions 31: Pittsburgh clinches the final AFC playoff spot as Jerome Bettis rushes for three touchdowns in what likely could be his final game at Heinz Field.
    • Miami Dolphins 28, New England Patriots 26: While most of the Patriots starters — including the league's leading passer, Tom Brady with 4,110 total yards — were resting or played in limited action before next week's playoff game with Jacksonville, Doug Flutie capped off his career by making the NFL's first successful drop kick since Ray McLain did for the Chicago Bears on December 21, 1941, during their 37–9 NFL Championship Game victory over the New York Giants. According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame's website, the kick was also the first successful drop kick in a regular season game since Earl "Dutch" Clark did it in 1937 for the Detroit Lions.
    • Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27, New Orleans Saints 13: Dewayne White's late fumble return for a touchdown clinches the NFC South division title for Tampa Bay. Meanwhile, the Saints will pick second at the draft, and also sacked coach Jim Haslett due a power struggle the following day.
    • Green Bay Packers 23, Seattle Seahawks 17: Shaun Alexander sets a new league record with his 28th touchdown of the season while winning the NFL's rushing title with 1,880 yards. Meanwhile, Brett Favre throws a touchdown pass — the 396th of his career — in what is likely to be his final game. The Pack will hold the fifth selection in the draft, but will have a new coach as Mike Sherman was dismissed the following day.
    • San Francisco 49ers 20, Houston Texans 17 (OT): The 49ers' Joe Nedney kicks a 33-yard field goal with 3:52 left in overtime, giving the Texans the first choice in the 2006 NFL Draft, while the Niners will pick sixth. The Texans would fire coach Dom Capers the next day.
    • Jacksonville Jaguars 40, Tennessee Titans 13: Backup quarterback Quinn Gray throws two touchdowns for the Jaguars, who rest several starters, while the Titans will select third in the draft thanks to a strength of schedule tiebreaker.
    • Minnesota Vikings 34, Chicago Bears 10: In Mike Tice's last game as Vikings head coach, he goes out a winner thanks to two Brad Johnson touchdown passes while Da Bears rested many of their regulars. Tice was informed by new Vikings owner Zygi Wilf that he was fired one hour following the contest.
    • Washington Redskins 31, Philadelphia Eagles 20: The Redskins victory clinches the final playoff spot in the NFC as Clinton Portis rushes for 124 yards and two touchdowns. The Eagles also made history — in a double negative way — by becoming the first team since the 2002 expansion to go unbeaten (6–0) in divisional play one year (in 2004) to going winless (0–6) the next year and the first in history to do just that.
    • St. Louis Rams 20, Dallas Cowboys 10: Any playoff drama for Dallas was sucked out with the Redskins' victory, and it showed in the second half for the Cowboys, who blew a 10–7 halftime lead. The game was ESPN's final Sunday Night Football telecast after nineteen seasons, the last eight as a full-season package. NBC will take over the package starting with the 2006 season, renaming the games "Football Night in America." Mike Martz and his interim replacement, Joe Vitt, were fired as Rams' coaches the following day, and Cowboys' coach Bill Parcells, who had been reported ready to step down signed a two-year contract extension that Friday (January 6).
  • Ski jumping:
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