Browse through this sports timeline and see how sport changed over time. Notice that sport as a competitive form of recreation was and still is closely connected to gambling. Sports betting evolved with sport and still has influence on it. Sports betting became part of sport.

References are numbered in [brackets], which are listed here. A number after the dot gives the page in the source.

Last updated: 2008 October 2.

2008 January 1 At the Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo, New York, the first regular-season outdoor NHL hockey game in the US is held. 71217 fans watch the 2008 Winter Classic, in which the Buffalo Sabres play the Pittsburgh Penguins, running into overtime, and ending with a shoot-out with the Penguins winning. [49.69] January 14 The Board of Control for Cricket in India sells broadcasting rights to the Indian Premier league for US$1 billion. [138.72] January 19 Death of Don Wittman, of cancer, age 71; Canadian sports broadcaster for 47 years. [52.77] January 24 The Board of Control for Cricket in India announces it has sold eight ten-year franchises in the Indian Premier League for a total of US$723 million. [138.72] February 3 In Glendale, Arizona, the NFL's Super Bowl XLII is played. The New York Giants beat the previously undefeated New England Patriots with a 17-14 victory. Most Valuable Player is Giants' Quarterback Eli Manning. [35] February 4 Texas Tech University basketball coach Bob Knight resigns. He has coached for 42 years, presiding over 902 winning games, a record among US men's college basketball coaches. [35] February 10 In Honolulu, Hawaii, the NFL Pro Bowl game is held. NFC beats AFC 42 to 30. Most Valuable Player award goes to Adrian Peterson. [35] February 17 In Daytona, Florida, the 50th NASCAR Daytona 500 race is held. Winner is Ryan Newman of Penske Racing. [35] March 16 In the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, Tiger Woods sinks a 24-foot putt on the 18th hole to win with 10 under par. [57] March 25 The American Major League Baseball Season opens, with the Boston Red Sox beating Oakland Athletics 6-5 in Japan. [139.83] April 2 Liam Tancock of Exeter, England, sets new world record 50m backstroke of 24.47 seconds, at Pond's Forge, Sheffield, England. [57] April 5 In Miami, Florida, American Serena Williams defeats Serbia's Jelena Jankovic 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 to win the Sony Ericsson Open for the fifth time. [57] April 7 In San Antonio, Texas, the Kansas Jayhawks defeat the Memphis Tigers 75-68 in overtime to win their first NCAA basketball national championship in 20 years. [35] April 13 In Augusta, Georgia, the final round of the U.S. Masters golf tournament is held. Trevor Immelman wins by three shots over Tiger Woods, with a score of 75, the first South African to win the U.S. Masters in 30 years. [35] April 17 In Tokyo, Japan, a high school regional baseball game is halted in the second inning, after one team had scored 66 runs. The coach of the losing team asked for the game to end to spare his pitcher's arm, with over 250 pitches already thrown. [35] April 21 Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya wins his fourth Boston Marathon, with a time of 2:07:46. In the Woman's Marathon, Dire Tune of Ethiopia finishes in 2:25:25, beating Alevtina Bittimirova by two seconds, in the closest finish in the history of the race. Each winner earned a prize of US$150,000, the biggest in major marathon history. [105] In Montreal, Quebec, Canada, a riot following the Montreal Canadiens' Game 7 win over the Boston Bruins breaks out on Ste-Catherine Street West, resulting in sixteen police cruisers torched a dozen stores vandalized, and sixteen arrests. [105] April 22 John Smoltz of the Atlanta Braves becomes the 16th Major League Baseball pitcher to record 3000 career strikeouts. [105] May 3 At Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, USA, the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby is held. Race favorite Big Brown wins by nearly five lengths. Second place finisher Eight Belles broke both front ankles, and was immediately euthanized. Race attendance was 157,770, the second-largest in history of the race. [105] May 4 The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Montreal Canadiens 6-4 in Game 5 of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs, eliminating Montreal and Canada's last hope for the Cup this season. A Canadian team has not won the Cup in 15 years. [105] The Dallas Stars advance to the next round by defeating the San Jose Sharks 2-1 in Game six of Stanley Cup playoffs, in the 8th longest game in NHL history, with four overtime periods. [105] Real Madrid wins a record 21st Spanish soccer league title, defeating Osasuna 2-1. [105] The Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the New York Rangers 3-2 to win the Eastern Conference in Game 5 of their Stanley Cup series. [105] May 14 In Manchester, England, the final game of the UEFA Cup of soccer is held. Russia's Zenit St. Petersburg defeats Scotland's Glasgow Rangers 2-0. [105] May 16 In Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, the semifinals of the men's world hockey tournament is held. Russia defeats Finland 4-0, advancing to the final on May 18. [105] In Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, the semifinals of the men's world hockey tournament is held. Canada beats Sweden 5-4 to advance to the final against Russia. [105] May 17 Portsmouth defeats Cardiff City 1-0 to win the FA Cup at Wembley, England. This is the first cup win for Portsmouth since 1939. [57] In Baltimore, Maryland, USA, the 133rd running of the Preakness Stakes is held. The undefeated 3-year-old Big Brown wins by 5 1/4 lengths, ridden by Kent Desormeaux. [105] In Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, the runoff of the men's world hockey tournament (IIHF) is held. Finland defeats Sweden 4-0 for the bronze medal. [105] May 18 In Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, the final game of the men's world hockey tournament (IIHF) is held. Russia beats Canada 5-4 in overtime for the gold medal. [105] The Pittsburgh Penguins beat state NHL rivals Philadelphia Flyers 6-0 in Game 5 to advance to the Stanley Cup final. [105] May 19 The Detroit Red Wings defeat the Dallas Stars 4-1 in Game six to advance to the NHL Stanley Cup final game. [105] May 20 Mike Piazza of the Oakland Athletics retires at age 39 from Major League Baseball. Piazza was a 12-time all-star catcher, with 427 career home runs. [105] May 25 In Indianapolis, Indiana, the 89th running of the Indianapolis 500 race is held. Winner is Scott Dixon of Target Chip Ganassi Racing. [105] May 29 The Los Angeles Lakers advance to the NBA finals by beating the San Antonio Spurs 100-92 in Game Five. [35] May 30 The Boston Celtics advance to the NBA finals with their 89-81 Game 6 win over the Detroit Pistons. [105] May 31 Usain Bolt of Jamaica sets a world record of 9.72 seconds in the 100-metre sprint at the Reebok Grand Prix at Icahn Stadium in New York. [105] June 4 The Detroit Red Wings win the NHL's Stanley Cup in a 3-2 Game Six win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. [35] June 7 Serbia's Ana Ivanovic wins the French Open tennis championship, defeating Dinara Safina of Russia, 6-4, 6-3. Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay and Luis Home of Peru defeat Canada's Daniel Nestor and Serbia's Nenad Zimonjic 6-2, 6-3, winning the men's doubles championship. [105] June 8 Spain's Rafael Nadal wins his fourth consecutive French Open tennis championship in Paris by beating rival Roger Federer in straight sets 6-1, 6-3, 6-0. [105] June 9 In Maryland, USA, 19-year-old Yani Tseng of Taiwan wins the LPGA Championship. [57] Ken Griffey Jr becomes the sixth major league player to hit 600 career home runs. [35] June 16 In France, the 24 Hours of Le Mans race concludes. Audi scores its fifth straight victory, with drivers Allan McNish of Scotland, Rinaldo Capello of Italy, and Tom Kristensen of Denmark. This is a record eighth victory for Kristensen. [57] Tiger Woods wins the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego, California. This is Woods' 14th major and third U.S. Open. [105] June 17 The Boston Celtics win a record 17th NBA championship by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 131-92 in Game Six. [35] June 23 Seattle Mariners' pitcher Felix Hernandez become the first American League pitcher to hit a grand slam home run in 37 years. [35] June 29 Spain wins the Euro 2008 soccer championship defeating Germany 1-0. [57] July 3 The NBA's Seattle SuperSonics basketball team announces they will move to Oklahoma City next season. [35] July 4 At the U.S. Olympic swimming trials in Omaha, Nebraska, American swimmer Michael Phelps sets a world record in the 200-metre individual medley at 1:54.8. [105] July 5 Venus Williams beats her sister Serena 7-5 6-4, capturing her fifth Wimbledon tennis title. [57] Daniel Nestor of Canada and teammate Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia win the Wimbeldon doubles tennis match, defeating Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden and Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-3. [105] July 6 Rafael Nadal beats Roger Federer 6-4 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-7 (8-10) 9-7 in men's singles tennis to win his first Wimbledon title. [57] July 11 Russia's Yelena Isinbayeva breaks her own world record in the women's pole vault at Rome's Golden Gala meet, jumping 5.03 metres. [105] July 15 The American League takes a 4-3 victory over the National League in the 79th All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium in New York. The 15th inning game was the longest-ever All-Star game, lasting four hours and 50 minutes. [35] July 27 Carlos Sastre wins the Tour de France bicycle race in France. [105] Rafael Nadal wins his second Rogers Cup tennis championship in Toronto, Ontario, Canada with a 6-3, 6-2 win over German Nicolas Kiefer in the final. In the men's doubles final, Toronto's Daniel Nestor and partner Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia defeat the American pairing of Bob and Mike Bryan 6-2, 4-6, 10-6. [105] Relief pitcher Rich "Goose" Gossage and former manager Dick Williams are inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. [35] July 28 The NBA's Golden State Warriors re-sign centre Andris Biedrins to a six-year, US$62-million US contract. [105] July 29 Russia's Yelena Isinbayeva breaks her own pole vault world record, clearing 5.04m at the Super Grand Prix meeting in Monaco. [57] August 8 (8:08 PM) In Beijing, China, the 2008 Summer Olympics open. An estimated one billion people worldwide watch the opening ceremonies on TV. [57] August 10 At the Beijing Olympics, American swimmer Michael Phelps wins the 400-metre individual medley in a world-record 4:03.84. Stephanie Rice of Australia wins the women's 400-metre individual medley in a world record time of 4:29.45. [105] Ireland's Padraig Harrington wins the PGA Championship at Michigan's Oakland Hills, shooting a 277 total. [105] August 11 Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe breaks the world record in the semifinals of the women's 100-metre backstroke at 58.77 seconds at the Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. [105] August 12 Michael Phelps wins Olympic gold in 200-metre freestyle swimming, becoming only the fifth person to win nine career Olympic gold medals. His win also set a new world record time of 1.42.96. [35] Togo wins its first ever Olympic medal, bronze in the men's single kayak slalom won by Benjamin Boukpeti. [57] August 13 At the Beijing Olympics, American swimmer Michael Phelps wins his 10th and 11th career gold medals, in men's 200-metre butterfly and 4x200 freestyle relay in world record 6:58.56). Phelps is now the record holder of most career Olympic gold medals. [35] [105] At the Beijing Olympics, Stephanie Rice of Australia wins gold in the women's 200-metre individual medley in world record 2:08.45. [105] At the Beijing Olympics, Federica Pellegrini of Italy wins gold in the women's 200-metre freestyle in world record 1:54.82. [105] August 15 At the Beijing Olympics, American Michael Phelps won his sixth gold and his sixth world record in the 200 meters individual medley. American Ryan Lochte wins gold in the Olympic men's 200-metre backstroke in a world-record 1:53.94. [35] [105] August 16 At the Beijing Olympics, Jamaica's Usain Bolt wins the men's 100 metres in world record time of 9.69 seconds. American Michael Phelps equals Mark Spitz's 36-year record of winning seven golds in one Olympic games, winning the 100m butterfly. Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry, wins the women's 200 backstroke, in a world record time. Britain's Rebecca Adlington also breaks a world record to take gold in the women's 800 freestyle. [35] August 17 Michael Phelps wins his record eighth gold medal of the Beijing Games, in the 4x100 medley relay, in record time of 3:29.34. Phelps now holds the record for most gold medals at an Olympics event. [105] August 20 Jamaica's Usain Bolt wins the 200m sprint at the Beijing Olympic Games in new world record time of 19.30 seconds. [57] August 22 Usain Bolt captures a third gold medal and a third world record at the Beijing Olympic Games, as Jamaica wins the men's 4x100m relay gold in world record of 37.10 seconds. [57] August 24 In Beijing, China, the 29th Olympic Games close, with the Olympic flag being handed to London mayor Boris Johnson, for the 2012 Games in England. [57] September 7 Serena Williams captures her third U.S. Open womens tennis title, beating Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 7-5. [105] September 8 Roger Federer wins a fifth straight US Open mens tennis title, defeating Andy Murray 6-2, 7-5, 6-2, in one hour 51 minutes at Flushing Meadows. [57] September 11 Asian broadcaster ESPN Star Sports pays nearly US$1 billion for the commercial and marketing rights to the inaugural Twenty20 Champions League of cricket for the next ten years. [57] September 19 Major League Baseball's instant replay system produces its first reversal when Tampa Bay Rays' Carlos Pena had a two-run double changed to a three-run homer during the fourth inning against the Minnesota Twins. The initial umpire call was based on fan interference, which the video replay showed was not the case. [105] September 21 The United States claims the 2008 Ryder Cup golf trophy with a 16.5-11.5 victory over Europe. [57] Jose Molina hits the last home run in the 85-year history of Yankee Stadium in New York, to give the New York Yankees a 7-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles. The stadium will be demolished, replaced by a new US$1.3 billion Yankee Stadium across the way from the exisiting facility. [105]