December 2008 in Sports History

Events in Sport

Football Awards

Dec 2 Ballon d'Or: Manchester United's Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo wins his first award as best football player in the world; Barcelona forward Lionel Messi 2nd, Liverpool striker Fernando Torres 3rd

Sports History

Dec 5 Former NFL star O.J. Simpson is sentenced to 33 years in prison for kidnapping and armed robbery

Dec 6 17th SEC Championship Game: #2 Florida beats #1 Alabama, 31-20
Dec 6 4th ACC Championship Game: Virginia Tech beats #18 Boston College, 30-12
Dec 6 13th Big 12 Championship Game: #4 Oklahoma beats #19 Missouri, 62-21
Dec 15 74th Heisman Trophy Award: Sam Bradford, Oklahoma (QB)

NBA Record

Dec 25 Phil Jackson becomes the sixth coach in NBA history to win 1,000 games as his LA Lakers beat Boston Celtics, 92-83 at the Staples Center, Los Angeles

Dec 28 Detroit Lions crash to a 31-21 loss to Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field; first team in NFL history to go winless in a 16-game season

Sports History

Dec 30 NFL head coach Mike Shanahan is fired by the Denver Broncos

Deaths in Sport

Dec 2 (Edward) "Ted" Rogers, Canadian entrepreneur (Rogers Communications), MLB team owner (Toronto Blue Jays), and philanthropist, dies of congestive heart failure at 75
Dec 9 Ibrahim Dossey, Ghanaian football player (b. 1972)
Dec 13 John Drake, New Zealand rugby union footballer (b. 1959)
Dec 17 Dave Smith, American baseball player (b. 1955)