Jan 11 - Marion Jones, the former US Olympic track gold medallist, was sentenced to six mon0ths in prison for lying to investigators about doping and her role in a check-fraud scam.

Jan 19 - Australia's world record-equalling run of 16 successive Test cricket victories since December 2005 is ended by India's 72-run in the third Test at Perth. Australia had equalled their own record streak from 1999-2001.

Jan 26 - Maria Sharapova won the Australian Open, beating Ana Ivanovic 7-5, 6-3 for her third Grand Slam singles title. Sharapova won the title without dropping a set, including wins over three of the top-four ranked players.

Jan 27 - Novak Djokovic fended off unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (2) in the Australian Open final, earning his first Grand Slam title.

Jan 28 - India drew the fourth Test in Adelaide and Australia finished with a 2-1 series victory in the 96th and last Test for wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, who retired with a world record 416 dismissals.

Feb 3 - In one of American football's biggest shockers, the New York Giants shattered New England's unbeaten season with a last-minute 17-14 win, the Patriots' first defeat in more than a year.

Feb 10 - Egypt won a record fifth African Cup of Nations by beating Ivory Coast 4-2 on penalties after a goal-less final after extra time in Cairo.

Feb 10 - Yelena Soboleva broke her own indoor world record in the 1,500 metres at the Russian indoor championships. Soboleva finished in 3:58.05, shaving 0.23 seconds off the mark she set at the Russian nationals on February 12, 2006.

Feb 16 - Russia's Yelena Isinbayeva broke her own indoor world record in the women's pole vault in a meet held in Donetsk, Ukraine. Isinbayeva cleared 4.95 meters, to improve her previous record of 4.93 that was set last year at the same event.

Feb 24 - Tiger Woods enjoyed a record-breaking victory in the Accenture Match Play Championship. Woods won his fifth straight tournament and captured his 15th World Golf Championship, holding all three world titles for the first time. Woods overwhelmed Stewart Cink with 14 birdies in 29 holes for an 8-and-7 victory, the largest margin in the final in the 10-year history of this tournament.

Feb 27 - LeBron James scored 26 points to become the youngest player in NBA history to reach the 10,000-point milestone at 23 years and 59 days, more than a year younger than Kobe Bryant was when he hit the milestone in 2003 (24 years, 193 days).

March 9 - Yelena Soboleva broke her own world record in winning the 1,500 metres at the world indoor championships in Valencia, Spain. The Russian finished in 3:57.71 to shave 0.34 seconds off her former mark set on February 10.

March 26 - England wins their first overseas cricket series in three years when they beat New Zealand by 121 runs in Napier in the third Test for a 2-1 series victory from 1-0 down.

March 29 - Curlin rolled to a record-setting 7 3/4-length victory in the $6 million Dubai World Cup, the world's richest race. Curlin became the fourth horse to win the Breeders' Cup Classic and then take the World Cup the following year.

April 6 - West Indies won the second Test by six wickets in Trinidad to square the series and deny Sri Lanka a maiden series victory in the Caribbean.

April 6 - Lorena Ochoa continued her dominance of women's golf with a five-shot victory in the Kraft Nabisco Championship. She finished at 11-under 277, beating Suzann Pettersen and Annika Sorenstam.

April 7 - Pat Riley, one of the most successful NBA coaches of all time, Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing and Adrian Dantley were selected to Basketball's Hall of Fame.

April 13 - Trevor Immelman handled the wind and pressure of Augusta National far better than anyone chasing him to win the Masters, the first South African in a green jacket in 30 years. A two-putt par on the final hole gave him a 3-over 75, matching the highest final round by a Masters champion. Even so, it was good enough for a three-shot victory over Tiger Woods.

April 13 - Martin Lel of Kenya won his second straight London Marathon and third in four years in a course record 2:05:15. Irina Mikitenko won the women's race in only her second attempt at the distance.

April 20 - Lorena Ochoa became the first US LPGA Tour player in 45 years to win four tournaments in consecutive weeks. Ochoa shot a 3-under 69 in the final round of the Ginn Open and beat rookie Yani Tseng by three strokes for her fifth victory in six starts this year.

April 21 - Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya won the Boston Marathon in 2:07:46 to become the fourth man to win the race four times. Dire Tune outkicked Alevtina Biktimirova after a back-and-forth last mile to win by two seconds in the closest finish in the history of the women's race. Tune, who finished in 2:25:25, was the first Ethiopian woman to win since Fatuma Roba won three straight from 1997-99.

May 3 - Big Brown, ridden by Kent Desormeaux, defied history with his 4 3/4-length victory in the Kentucky Derby. Big Brown became the first horse since the filly Regret in 1915 to win the Derby off just three career starts and the second to win from post position No 20.

May 11 - Manchester United win a second straight English Premier League title on the last day of the season, two points clear of Chelsea. It's United's 10th league title in the last 16 seasons.

May 14 - Justine Henin retired from tennis, an abrupt ending to a short and successful career in which she won seven Grand Slam singles titles and leaves while ranked No 1. The 25-year-old Belgian is the first woman to retire from tennis while atop the WTA rankings.

May 17 - Big Brown, ridden by Kent Desormeaux, charged to the lead turning for home and then cruised to win the Preakness Stakes, still perfect and squarely pointed toward US thoroughbred racing's first Triple Crown in 30 years. The colt, named for UPS, won by 5 1/4 lengths over Macho Again.

May 21 - Manchester United wins their third Champions League title, beating Chelsea 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the first all-English final. Edwin van der Sar block's Nicolas Anelka's spot kick for the clincher at Moscow.

June 7 - Da' Tara spoiled Big Brown's bid for a Triple Crown by winning the Belmont Stakes. Da' Tara, a 38-1 longshot ridden by Alan Garcia, won by 5 1/4 lengths over Denis of Cork. Big Brown, the 1-4 favourite, was eased up in the home straight by jockey Kent Desormeaux, finishing so far behind at the end that his margin of defeat wasn't even charted.

June 8 - England defeats New Zealand by an innings and 9 runs inside four days at Trent Bridge to win the three-Test series 2-0.

June 12 - Cuba's Dayron Robles broke the world record in the 110-metre hurdles at the Golden Spike meet in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Robles was timed in 12.87 seconds, finishing 0.01 seconds ahead of the mark set two years earlier by Liu Xiang, China's Olympic and world champion.

June 16 - Tiger Woods made one last improbable escape and won the US Open in a 19-hole playoff over Rocco Mediate, his 14th career major. One shot behind after a collapse no one saw coming, Woods birdied the 18th hole to force sudden death at Torrey Pines. The extra hole was enough to doom Mediate, trying to become the oldest US Open champion at 45 years, six months. Mediate missed a par putt and Woods only needed a two-putt par to win the US Open for the third time.

June 16 - West Indies, chasing a world record 475 to win, falls short by 86 runs in the third Test at Barbados, handing Australia a 2-0 series win and the Frank Worrell Trophy.

June 17 - The Boston Celtics won their 17th NBA title with a stunning 131-92 blowout over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6. Kevin Garnett scored 26 points with 14 rebounds, Ray Allen scored 26 and Paul Pierce, the finals MVP, added 17. The Celtics, a 24-win team a year ago, wrapped up their first crown since 1986.

June 29 - Spain ends 44 years without a major title by winning the European Championship, outclassing Germany 1-0 in the final. Fernando Torres lifts Xavi's pass over Germany goalie Jens Lehmann in the 33rd minute at Vienna.

July 5 - Venus Williams won her fifth Wimbledon singles title, beating younger sister Serena Williams 7-5, 6-4 in the final. Defending champion Venus is 5-2 in Wimbledon finals, losing only to Serena in 2002 and '03. The win at the All England Club gave Venus her seventh major title. The match was the seventh Grand Slam final between the American sisters, with Serena leading 5-2. They are now 8-8 overall.

July 6 - Rafael Nadal ended Roger Federer's bid to become the first man since the 1880s to win a sixth consecutive championship at the All England Club. Two points from victory, the No 1-ranked Federer couldn't pull it out, instead succumbing to No 2 Nadal 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7 in a 4-hour, 48-minute test of wills that was the longest men's final in Wimbledon history - and quite possibly the greatest. Nadal, the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win Wimbledon and the French Open in the same year, stopped Federer's streaks of 40 victories in a row at the All England Club, and a record 65 in a row on grass.

July 15 - Athletics coach Trevor Graham, involved with the likes of Marion Jones, Justin Gatlin and Trevor Montgomery, received a lifetime ban from the US Anti-Doping Agency for helping his athletes obtain performance-enhancing drugs.

July 29 - Russia's Yelena Isinbayeva broke her own world record in the women's pole vault with a leap of 5.04 metres. The record came at the Monaco Grand Prix on her third and final attempt at the height. Her previous record of 5.03 that was set in Rome on July 11.

Aug 2 - South Africa earned their first series win in England since 1965, as captain Graeme Smith, with an unbeaten 154, led the Proteas to a five-wicket win with the highest fourth-innings total at Edgbaston (283-5) for an unassailable 2-0 lead in the third of four Tests.

Aug 10 - In Beijing, Michael Phelps began his long march toward eight gold medals by winning the 400-metre individual medley in 4:03.84 - smashing his own world record. Stephanie Rice of Australia won the gold in the women's 400-metre individual medley in a world record time of 4:29.45.

Aug 11 - Sri Lanka won their first series against India since 2001 in the decisive third test at Colombo. Sri Lanka, who have not lost a home series to India since 1993, won by eight wickets and the series 2-1 thanks to 47 wickets between newcomer Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan.

Aug 16 - In Beijing, Michael Phelps touched the wall a hundredth of a second ahead of Serbia's Milorad Cavic to win the 100-metre butterfly. The win gave Phelps his seventh gold medal of the Beijing Games, tying Mark Spitz's performance in the 1972 Munich Games. Usain Bolt of Jamaica ran the 100-metre dash in a stunning world-record time of 9.69 seconds for a blowout win that he started celebrating a good 10 strides before the finish line.

Aug 17 - At the Summer Olympics, Michael Phelps and three teammates won the 400-metre medley relay for Phelps' eighth gold medal, eclipsing Mark Spitz's seven-gold performance at the 1972 Munich Games. Of his five individual races and three relays, Phelps set world records in seven and an Olympic record in the eighth. Rafael Nadal defeated Fernando Gonzalez of Chile to win the men's tennis singles. Elena Dementieva defeated fellow Russian Dinara Safina to win women's singles. Shelly-Ann Fraser led a Jamaican sweep of the women's 100 metres track event that featured a dead heat for second, giving her teammates, Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart, a silver medal apiece.

Aug 18 - In Beijing, Angelo Taylor became the first 400-metre hurdler since Edwin Moses to win gold medals eight years apart. He led the first sweep of the event since the US did it in 1960. Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia broke her own world record in winning a second consecutive Olympic pole vault gold medal. Already assured victory over rival Jenn Stuczynski of the United States, Isinbayeva set the mark of 5.05 metres on her third and final attempt.

Aug 18 - A day after winning an Olympic gold medal in Beijing, Rafael Nadal officially unseated Roger Federer to become the world's No 1 tennis player when the ATP rankings came out.

Aug 20 - In Beijing, Usain Bolt of Jamaica broke the world record by winning the 200 meters in 19.30 seconds, becoming the first man since Carl Lewis in 1984 to sweep the 100 and 200 gold medals at an Olympics. Bolt is the first man to break the world marks in both sprints at an Olympics - a feat that neither Lewis nor Jesse Owens accomplished. He beat the record of 19.32 set by Michael Johnson at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Aug 21 - LaShawn Merritt upset defending champion Jeremy Wariner to lead a US sweep of the 400 metres track event. The US men and women both dropped the baton in the Olympic 400-metre relays and failed to advance out of the first round. The US women's football team won the gold medal by beating Brazil 1-0 in extra time. Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown easily won the 200 metres to cap the first sweep of all four men's and women's Olympic sprints in 20 years.

Aug 22 - Usain Bolt helped Jamaica win the 400-metre relay final in 37.10 seconds for his third gold medal and third world record of the Olympics. Bolt became only the fourth man, and the first since Carl Lewis in 1984, to win all three Olympic sprint events. Bryan Clay of the United States won the decathlon.

Aug 23 - In Beijing, Sanya Richards anchored the United States to a gold medal in the women's 4x400-metre relay track event. Jeremy Wariner ran the anchor leg as America won the men's 4x400-metre relay in an Olympic record time. Led by Lisa Leslie, the US women's basketball team beat Australia 92-65 to win a fourth straight gold medal.

Aug 24 - On the final day of the Beijing Games, Kobe Bryant hit two 3-pointers in a big fourth quarter to help the United States defeat Spain 118-107 and win the gold medal for the first time since 2000. Samuel Wanjiru pulled away over the final few kilometres to become the first Kenyan to win the Olympic marathon - and he did it an Olympic record time of 2:06:32.

Sept 7 - Serena Williams outlasted Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 7-5 to win her third US Open and ninth Grand Slam title.

Sept 8 - Roger Federer salvaged his 2008 season by easily beating Andy Murray 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 to win his fifth consecutive US Open and 13th major title overall. Federer is the first man since Bill Tilden in the 1920s to win the tournament that many times in a row.

Sept 28 - Haile Gebrselassie smashed his marathon world record by 27 seconds in winning Berlin in 2:03:59. He shattered the mark he set in Berlin last year and became the first man to win the race three times. Irina Mikitenko of Germany won the women's race in 2:19:19, the seventh fastest time for a woman.

Oct 5 - The Detroit Shock won their third WNBA title in six seasons, beating the San Antonio Silver Stars 76-60 in Game 3.

Oct 17 - Sachin Tendulkar broke Brian Lara record for most Test runs en route to his 50th half century, and became the first player to pass 12,000 runs on the first day of the second Test against Australia at Mohali.

Nov 1 - The Stanford Superstars, a West Indies all-star side, crushed England by 10 wickets in the first of five annual winner-take-all $20 million Twenty20 cricket matches bankrolled by American billionaire Allen Stanford in Antigua.

Nov 2 - Britain's Lewis Hamilton becomes the youngest - and first black - Formula One world champion when he makes a pass on the last corner of the last lap to finish fifth in the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix and beat home race winner Felipe Massa by one point in the final standings. Ferrari claimed its seventh constructors' title in nine years.

Nov 4 - Diego Maradona became coach of Argentina with little coaching experience and many skeptics among his countrymen. He replaced Alfio Basile, who resigned last month. Maradona won his first and last assignment of 2008, 1-0 against Scotland.

Nov 10 - India regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after four years with their first series win over Australia in eight years. India bowled Australia for 209 on the last day at Nagpur to win the fourth Test by 172 runs. Australia failed to win a Test in a series for the first time in nearly seven years.

Nov 24 - Spain clinched an improbable, come-from-behind Davis Cup victory over Argentina. Fernando Verdasco won 6-3, 6-7 (3), 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 against Jose Acasuso at Mar del Plata as Spain rallied from one point down for its third Davis Cup title against the overwhelming favourites, despite losing top-ranked Rafael Nadal to injury before the final.

Dec 21 - Ten-man Manchester United edge Liga de Quito 1-0 on a late Wayne Rooney goal to win their second Club World Cup in Yokohama, Japan.

Dec 23 - India, thanks to the fourth-highest total in Test history in Chennai, won the two-Test series against England 1-0 after the second Test in Mohali ended in a draw.

Dec 25 - The Los Angeles Lakers beat Boston 92-83 to end the Celtics' team-record winning streak at 19 games. Lakers coach Phil Jackson reached 1,000 victories. Jackson, the sixth coach to reach 1,000, has a career record of 1,000-423 with Chicago and the Lakers.