March 2009 in sports

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Deaths in March[edit]

Current sporting seasons[edit]

Australian rules football 2009[edit]

Australian Football League

Auto racing 2009[edit]

Basketball 2008–09[edit]

Cricket 2008–09[edit]

Football (soccer)[edit]

Golf 2009[edit]

Ice hockey 2008–09[edit]

Motorcycle racing 2009[edit]

Rugby league 2009[edit]

Rugby union 2008–09[edit]

Days of the month[edit]

March 31, 2009 (Tuesday)[edit]

Basketball[edit]

Euroleague Quarterfinals:
- Game 3 of best-of-5 series:
  - TAU Cerámica 69–62 Regal FC Barcelona. TAU leads series 2–1.
  - Real Madrid 71–63 Olympiacos Piraeus. Olympiacos leads series 2–1.
  - Montepaschi Siena 53–72 Panathinaikos Athens. Panathinaikos leads series 2–1.
  - Partizan Igokea 56–67 CSKA Moscow. CSKA wins series 3–0.
    - CSKA advance to the Final Four for the seventh straight season.
NCAA Division I Women's Tournament
- Regional Finals (seeding in parentheses):
  - Trenton region in Trenton, New Jersey:
    - (1) Connecticut 83, (6) Arizona State 64
  - Oklahoma City region in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma:
    - (1) Oklahoma 74, (6) Purdue 68
National Invitation Tournament:
- Final Four in New York:
  - Semifinals:
    - Baylor 76, San Diego State 62
    - Penn State 67, Notre Dame 59
CollegeInsider.com Tournament:
- Championship game in Peoria, Illinois:
  - Old Dominion 66, Bradley 62
NBA:
- The Denver Nuggets clinch a playoff berth with 111–104 win over the New York Knicks.
- The San Antonio Spurs also clinch a playoff berth despite losing 95–96 to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Football (soccer)[edit]

2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying:
- CONMEBOL (South America), matchday 12:
  - Venezuela 2–0 Colombia
Friendly internationals:
- South Africa 0–2 Portugal in Lausanne, Switzerland
- Angola 0–2 Morocco

March 30, 2009 (Monday)[edit]

Basketball[edit]

NCAA Division I Women's Tournament
- Regional Finals (seeding in parentheses, all times EDT):
  - Raleigh region in Raleigh, North Carolina:
    - (3) Louisville 77, (1) Maryland 60
  - Berkeley region in Berkeley, California:
    - (2) Stanford 74, (4) Iowa State 53
College Basketball Invitational:
- Championship best-of-3 series, game 1 in Corvallis, Oregon:
  - Oregon State 75, UTEP 69

Cricket[edit]

India in New Zealand:
- 2nd Test in Napier, day 5:
  - New Zealand 619/9d; India 305 and 476/4 (f/o, Gautam Gambhir 137, V.V.S. Laxman 124*). Match drawn, India lead 3-match series 1–0.

March 29, 2009 (Sunday)[edit]

Auto racing[edit]

Formula One:
- Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, Australia:
  - (1) Jenson Button (2) Rubens Barrichello (3) Lewis Hamilton
    - Brawn GP take first and second in their first ever race, with Button becoming the first driver since Juan Manuel Fangio at the French Grand Prix in 1954 to win from pole in a first drive for a brand new team.
    - Jarno Trulli finished third in the race, but was given a 25-second penalty post-race for passing Hamilton under the stabilised safety car conditions, in which the race finished.
Sprint Cup Series:
- Goody's Cool Orange 500 in Ridgeway, Virginia:
  - (1) Jimmie Johnson (2) Denny Hamlin (3) Tony Stewart
    - Drivers' standings (after 6 races): (1) Jeff Gordon 959 points (2) Clint Bowyer −89 (3) Kurt Busch −132
V8 Supercars:
- Sprint Gas V8 Supercars Manufacturers Challenge in Melbourne:
  - (1) Craig Lowndes (2) Mark Winterbottom (3) Will Davison

Basketball[edit]

NCAA Division I Men's Tournament:
- Regional Finals (seeding in parentheses):
  - Midwest region in Indianapolis, Indiana:
    - (2) Michigan State 64, (1) Louisville 52
  - South region in Memphis, Tennessee:
    - (1) North Carolina 72, (2) Oklahoma 60
  - Final Four matchups:
    - Michigan State vs. Connecticut
    - North Carolina vs. Villanova
NCAA Division I Women's Tournament
- Regional semifinals (seeding in parentheses):
  - Trenton region in Trenton, New Jersey:
    - (1) Connecticut 77, (4) California 53
    - (6) Arizona State 84, (2) Texas A&M 69
  - Oklahoma City region in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma:
    - (6) Purdue 67, (7) Rutgers 61
    - (1) Oklahoma 70, (4) Pittsburgh 59
      - Sooners center Courtney Paris becomes the first player in U.S. college basketball history—regardless of governing body, division or gender—with 2,500 points and 2,000 rebounds in her career.
NBA:
- The Los Angeles Lakers secure the #1 seed in the Western Conference and home advantage in the first three rounds of the playoffs despite losing 76–86 to the Atlanta Hawks, as their nearest rivals, the San Antonio Spurs, lose 86–90 to the New Orleans Hornets.

Cricket[edit]

India in New Zealand:
- 2nd Test in Napier, day 4:
  - New Zealand 619/9d; India 305 and 252/2 (f/o, Gautam Gambhir 102*). India trail by 62 runs with 8 wickets remaining.
England in West Indies:
- 4th ODI in Bridgetown, Barbados:
  - West Indies 239/9 (50 ov); England 136/1 (18.3/20 ov). England win by 9 wickets (D/L method), 5-match series level 2–2.
Australia in South Africa:
- 2nd Twenty20 in Centurion:
  - South Africa 156/5 (20/20 ov); Australia 139/8 (20/20 ov). South Africa win by 17 runs and win 2-match series 2–0.

Cycling[edit]

Track World Championships in Pruszków, Poland:
- Women's keirin: Guo Shuang Clara Sanchez Willy Kanis
- Men's omnium: Leigh Howard 19 pts Zachary Bell 21 Tim Veldt 24
- Women's points race 25 km: Giorgia Bronzini 18 pts Yumari González 15 Elizabeth Armitstead 13
- Men's sprint:
  - Final: Grégory Baugé beat Azizul Hasni Awang 2–1
  - Bronze medal race: Kévin Sireau beat Shane Perkins 2–0

Football (soccer)[edit]

2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying:
- COMNEBOL (South America), matchday 11:
  - Ecuador 1–1 Brazil
  - Peru 1–3 Chile
    - Standings after 11 of 18 rounds: Paraguay 23 pts, Argentina, Chile 19, Brazil 18, Uruguay 16, Colombia 14, Ecuador 13, Venezuela 10, Bolivia 9, Peru 7.
- CAF (Africa) third round, matchday 1:
  - Group 2:
    - Mozambique 0–0 Nigeria
  - Group 3:
    - Egypt 1–1 Zambia
  - Group 4:
    - Ghana 1–0 Benin
  - Group 5:
    - Ivory Coast 5–0 Malawi
      - 22 spectators die and more than a hundred are injured in a stampede after a wall collapse in Félix Houphouët-Boigny Stadium shortly before the kick-off.^[1]

Golf[edit]

PGA Tour:
- Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Florida:
  - Winner: Tiger Woods 275 (−5)
    - Woods wins his first title since his comeback from injury and sixth title at this tournament.
European Tour:
- Open de Andalucia in Andalusia, Spain:
  - Winner: Søren Kjeldsen 274 (−14)
LPGA Tour:
- Phoenix LPGA International in Phoenix, Arizona:
  - Winner: Karrie Webb 274 (−14)

Ice hockey[edit]

NHL:
- The Detroit Red Wings clinch the Central Division title as their nearest rivals, the Chicago Blackhawks, lose 0–4 to the Vancouver Canucks.

Rowing[edit]

155th University Boat Race on the River Thames, London:
- Oxford University Boat Club (Michal Plotkowiak, Colin Smith, Alex Hearne, Ben Harrison, Sjoerd Hamburger, Tom Solesbury, George Bridgewater, Ante Kušurin, Colin Groshong) 17:00 beat Cambridge University Boat Club (Rob Weitemeyer, Henry Pelly, Ryan Monaghan, Peter Marsland, Deaglan McEachern, Hardy Cubasch, Tom Ransley, Silas Stafford, Rebecca Dowbiggin) by 12 secs (3½ lengths)
  - The Dark Blues' win reduces Cambridge's overall lead to 79 against 75, with one dead heat.

Rugby union[edit]

Sevens World Series:
- Hong Kong Sevens in Hong Kong
  - Final: South Africa 24–26 Fiji

Winter sports[edit]

Biathlon[edit]

World Cup 9 in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia:
- 15 km mass start men: (1) Simon Eder 37min 14.4sec (0 penalties) (2) Dominik Landertinger at 12.1 (1) (3) Ole Einar Bjørndalen 17.0 (3)
  - Final overall World Cup standings (after 26 events): (1) Bjørndalen 1080 points (2) Tomasz Sikora 870 (3) Emil Hegle Svendsen 844
  - Final World Cup mass-start standings (after five events): (1) Landertinger 208 points (2) Bjørndalen 199 (3) Christoph Sumann 197
- 12.5 km mass start women: (1) Simone Hauswald 36:54.6 (1 penalty) (2) Helena Jonsson at 15.1 (0) (3) Andrea Henkel 26.9 (3)... 6. Kati Wilhelm 1:20.3 (2)
  - Final overall World Cup standings (after 26 events): (1) Jonsson 952 points (2) Wilhelm 952 (3) Tora Berger 894
    - Jonsson wins the title because she won 4 races against 3 wins for Wilhelm.
  - Final World Cup mass-start standings (after five events): (1) Jonsson 210 points (2) Wilhelm 186 (3) Hauswald 174

Curling[edit]

World Women's Championship in Gangneung, South Korea: (seeding in parentheses)
- Final:
  - (1) China 8–6 (4) Sweden
- Bronze medal game:
  - (2) Denmark 7–6 (3) Canada

March 28, 2009 (Saturday)[edit]

Athletics[edit]

World Cross Country Championships in Amman, Jordan:
- Senior men – 12 km: Gebregziabher Gebremariam 35:02 Moses Kipsiro 35:04 Zersenay Tadese 35:04
  - Teams: Kenya 28 Ethiopia 28 Eritrea 50
- Senior women – 8 km: Florence Jebet Kiplagat 26:13 Linet Chepkwemoi Masai 26:16 Meselech Melkamu 26:19
  - Teams: Kenya 14 Ethiopia 28 Portugal 72

Basketball[edit]

NCAA Division I Men's Tournament:
- Regional Finals (seeding in parentheses):
  - West region in Glendale, Arizona:
    - (1) Connecticut 82, (3) Missouri 75
  - East region in Boston, Massachusetts:
    - (3) Villanova 78, (1) Pittsburgh 76
NCAA Division I Women's Tournament
- Regional semifinals (seeding in parentheses):
  - Raleigh region in Raleigh, North Carolina:
    - (3) Louisville 56, (2) Baylor 39
    - (1) Maryland 78, (4) Vanderbilt 74
  - Berkeley region in Berkeley, California:
    - (4) Iowa State 69, (9) Michigan State 68
    - (2) Stanford 84, (3) Ohio State 66

Cricket[edit]

India in New Zealand:
- 2nd Test in Napier, day 3:
  - New Zealand 619/9d; India 305 and 47/1 (f/o). India trail by 267 runs with 9 wickets remaining.

Cycling[edit]

Track World Championships in Pruszków, Poland:
- Women's omnium: Josephine Tomic 26 Tara Whitten 27 Yvonne Hijgenaar 27
- Women's Sprint:
  - Final: Victoria Pendleton bt Willy Kanis 2–1
  - Bronze medal race: Simona Krupeckaitė bt Olga Panarina 2–0
- Men's madison 50 km: Denmark (Michael Mørkøv, Alex Rasmussen) Australia (Leigh Howard, Cameron Meyer) Czech Republic (Martin Bláha, Jiří Hochmann)

Football (soccer)[edit]

2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying:
- UEFA (Europe):
  - Group 1:
    - Malta 0–3 Denmark
    - Albania 0–1 Hungary
    - Portugal 0–0 Sweden
      - Denmark and Hungary lead the group on 10 points.
  - Group 2:
    - Luxembourg 0–4 Latvia
    - Moldova 0–2 Switzerland
    - Israel 1–1 Greece
      - Greece and Switzerland share the lead on 10 points, with Israel one point behind.
  - Group 3:
    - Northern Ireland 3–2 Poland
    - Slovenia 0–0 Czech Republic
      - Northern Ireland goes to the top of the group on 10 points from 6 games, followed by Slovakia on 9 points from 4 games.
  - Group 4:
    - Russia 2–0 Azerbaijan
    - Wales 0–2 Finland
    - Germany 4–0 Liechtenstein
      - Germany lead the group on 13 points, Russia second on 9 points and a game in hand.
  - Group 5:
    - Armenia 2–2 Estonia
    - Belgium 2–4 Bosnia and Herzegovina
    - Spain 1–0 Turkey
      - Spain lead the group with perfect record of 15 points from 5 games.
  - Group 7:
    - Romania 2–3 Serbia
    - Lithuania 0–1 France
      - Serbia on top with 12 points, followed by Lithuania on 9 points.
  - Group 8:
    - Cyprus 2–1 Georgia
    - Montenegro 0–2 Italy
    - Republic of Ireland 1–1 Bulgaria
      - Italy takes sole possession of first place on 13 points, 2 points ahead of Ireland.
  - Group 9:
    - Netherlands 3–0 Scotland
      - Netherlands maintains its perfect record with 12 points from 4 games.
- COMNEBOL (South America), matchday 11:
  - Uruguay 2–0 Paraguay
  - Argentina 4–0 Venezuela
  - Colombia 2–0 Bolivia
    - Argentina win its first official match with Diego Maradona as coach, and leap over Brazil into second place on 19 points, 4 points befind leader Paraguay. Uruguay goes into fourth place on 16 pts. Colombia in sixth place on 14 pts.
- CONCACAF (North-Central America) fourth round, matchday 2:
  - Trinidad and Tobago 1–1 Honduras
    - The Soca Warriors salvage a point at home courtesy of a Khaleem Hyland goal in the 90th minute.
  - Mexico 2–0 Costa Rica
    - Mexico gets level with Costa Rica in second place on 3 points.
  - El Salvador 2–2 United States
    - Team USA comes back from a 2–0 deficit in San Salvador behind goals from Jozy Altidore and Frankie Hejduk, and takes sole possession of first place in the hexagonal with 4 points from 2 matches.
- AFC (Asia) fourth round, matchday 6:
  - Group A:
    - Japan 1–0 Bahrain
      - Japan goes to the top of the group, with 11 points from 5 games, ahead of Australia with 10 pts from 4 games.
    - Uzbekistan 4–0 Qatar
      - Uzbekistan gets level with Bahrain and Qatar on 5 points
  - Group B:
    - North Korea 2–0 United Arab Emirates
      - North Korea goes to the top of the group with 10 points from 5 games, ahead of South Korea with 8 points from 4 games.
    - Iran 1–2 Saudi Arabia
      - Saudi Arabia replace Iran in third place on 7 points.
- CAF (Africa) third round, matchday 1:
  - Group 1:
    - Togo 1–0 Cameroon
    - Morocco 1–2 Gabon
  - Group 2:
    - Kenya 1–2 Tunisia
  - Group 3:
    - Rwanda 0–0 Algeria
  - Group 4:
    - Sudan 1–1 Mali
  - Group 5:
    - Burkina Faso 4–2 Guinea
Friendly internationals:
- England 4–0 Slovakia
  - David Beckham comes in as substitute for his 109th cap, a record for an English outfield player.
- South Africa 2–1 Norway
- South Korea 2–1 Iraq
OFC Champions League Group stage, matchday 6:
- Group B: Koloale FC Honiara 1–0 Ba F.C.
  - Koloale advance to the final.

Winter sports[edit]

Biathlon[edit]

World Cup 9 in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia:
- 12.5 km pursuit men: (1) Emil Hegle Svendsen 33mins 03.3secs (2 penalties) (2) Ole Einar Bjørndalen at 0.1 (2) (3) Christoph Sumann 23.8 (2)
  - Overall World Cup standings (after 25 of 26 events): (1) Bjørndalen 1032 points (champion) (2) Tomasz Sikora 863 (3) Svendsen 818
  - Final World Cup pursuit standings (after seven events): (1) Bjørndalen 342 (2) Svendsen 308 (3) Sikora 276
- 10 km pursuit women: (1) Magdalena Neuner 27min 53.0sec (2 penalties) (2) Michela Ponza at 28.8 (0) (3) Marie Dorin 30.5 (1)
  - Overall World Cup standings (after 25 of 26 events): (1) Helena Jonsson 915 points (2) Kati Wilhelm 915 (3) Neuner 878
  - Final World Cup pursuit standings (after seven events): (1) Wilhelm 272 points (2) Tora Berger 246 (3) Martina Beck 244

Curling[edit]

World Women's Championship in Gangneung, South Korea: (seeding in parentheses)
- Playoffs:
  - (3) Canada 4–5 (4) Sweden (11 ends)
    - Sweden will play against Denmark in the semifinal, Canada will play for bronze medal.
- Semifinal:
  - (2) Denmark 6–7 (4) Sweden
    - Sweden advance to the final against China, Denmark will play for bronze medal against Canada.

Figure skating[edit]

World Championships in Los Angeles, United States:
- Ladies: Kim Yuna 207.71 Joannie Rochette 191.29 Miki Ando 190.38
  - Kim becomes the first ever World champion in figure skating from Korea, and the first woman to score over 200 points. Rochette is the first Canadian woman to win a medal in 21 years.

March 27, 2009 (Friday)[edit]

Basketball[edit]

NCAA Division I Men's Tournament:
- Regional semifinals (seeding in parentheses):
  - Midwest region in Indianapolis, Indiana:
    - (1) Louisville 103, (12) Arizona 64
    - (2) Michigan State 67, (3) Kansas 62
  - South region in Memphis, Tennessee:
    - (2) Oklahoma 84, (3) Syracuse 71
    - (1) North Carolina 98, (4) Gonzaga 77

Cricket[edit]

India in New Zealand:
- 2nd Test in Napier, day 2:
  - New Zealand 619/9d (Jesse Ryder 201, Brendon McCullum 115); India 79/3. India trail by 540 runs with 7 wickets remaining in the 1st innings.
England in West Indies:
- 3rd ODI in Bridgetown, Barbados:
  - England 117 (41.3/44 ov); West Indies 117/2 (14.4/44 ov, Chris Gayle 80). West Indies win by 8 wickets (D/L method), lead 5-match series 2–1.
Australia in South Africa:
- 1st Twenty20 in Johannesburg:
  - Australia 166/7 (20/20 ov, David Hussey 88*); South Africa 168/6 (19.2/20 ov). South Africa win by 4 wickets with 4 balls remaining, lead 2-match series 1–0.

Cycling[edit]

Track World Championships in Pruszków, Poland:
- Men's 1 km time trial: Stefan Nimke 1:00.666 Taylor Phinney 1:01.611 Mohd Rizal Tisin 1:01.658
- Women's scratch 10 km: Yumari González Valdinieso Lizzie Armitstead Belinda Goss
- Men's team pursuit:
  - Final: Denmark (Casper Jørgensen, Jens-Erik Madsen, Michael Mørkøv, Alex Rasmussen) 3min 58.246 bt Australia (Jack Bobridge, Rohan Dennis, Leigh Howard, Cameron Meyer) 3:58.863
  - Bronze medal race: New Zealand (Westley Gough, Peter Latham, Marc Ryan, Jesse Sergent) 4:00.248 bt Great Britain (Jonathan Bellis, Steven Burke, Ed Clancy, Peter Kennaugh) 4:01.838

Winter sports[edit]

Biathlon[edit]

World Cup 9 in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia:
- 7.5 km sprint women: (1) Tina Bachmann 20min 49.8sec (0 penalties) (2) Simone Hauswald at 3.7s (0) (3) Anna Carin Olofsson-Zidek 19.3 (0)
  - Overall World Cup standings (after 24 of 26 events): (1) Helena Jonsson 904 points (2) Kati Wilhelm 893 (3) Magdalena Neuner 832
  - Final World Cup sprint standings (after 10 events): (1) Jonsson 372 points (2) Neuner 358 (3) Tora Berger 352

Curling[edit]

World Women's Championship in Gangneung, South Korea: (seeding in parentheses)
- Playoffs:
  - (1) China 6–3 (2) Denmark
    - China advance to the final, Denmark will play against Canada/Sweden winner

Figure skating[edit]

World Championships in Los Angeles, United States:
- Ladies' short program: (1) Kim Yuna 76.12 (2) Joannie Rochette 67.90 (3) Mao Asada 66.06
- Ice dance: Oksana Domnina / Maxim Shabalin 206.30 Tanith Belbin / Benjamin Agosto 205.08 Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir 200.40

March 26, 2009 (Thursday)[edit]

Basketball[edit]

Euroleague Quarterfinals:
- Game 2 of best-of-5 series:
  - CSKA Moscow 77–50 Partizan Igokea. CSKA leads series 2–0.
  - Olympiacos Piraeus 79–73 Real Madrid. Olympiacos leads series 2–0.
  - Regal FC Barcelona 85–62 TAU Cerámica. Series tied 1–1.
  - Panathinaikos Athens 79–84 Montepaschi Siena. Series tied 1–1.
NCAA Division I Men's Tournament:
- Regional semifinals (seeding in parentheses):
  - West region in Glendale, Arizona:
    - (1) Connecticut 72, (5) Purdue 60
    - (3) Missouri 102, (2) Memphis 91
  - East region in Boston, Massachusetts:
    - (1) Pittsburgh 60, (4) Xavier 55
    - (3) Villanova 77, (2) Duke 54

Cricket[edit]

India in New Zealand:
- 2nd Test in Napier, day 1:
  - New Zealand 351/4 (Ross Taylor 151, Jesse Ryder 137*)

Cycling[edit]

Track World Championships in Pruszków, Poland:
- Men's scratch 15 km: Morgan Kneisky Angel Colla Andreas Müller
- Women's team sprint:
  - Final: Australia (Anna Meares, Kaarle McCulloch) 33.149sec bt Great Britain (Shanaze Reade, Victoria Pendleton) 33.380
  - Bronze medal race: Lithuania (Gintarė Gaivenytė, Simona Krupeckaitė) 33.495 bt France (Sandie Clair, Clara Sanchez) 33.638
- Men's individual pursuit:
  - Final: Taylor Phinney 4min 15.160sec bt Jack Bobridge 4:17.419
  - Bronze medal race: Dominique Cornu 4:19.197 bt Volodymyr Dyudya 4:19.786
- Women's team pursuit:
  - Final: Great Britain (Wendy Houvenaghel, Joanna Rowsell, Lizzie Armitstead) 3:25.147 bt New Zealand (Lauren Ellis, Jaime Nielsen, Alison Shanks) 3:26.023
  - Bronze medal race: Australia (Ashlee Ankudinoff, Sarah Kent, Josephine Tomic) 3:27.719 bt Netherlands (Vera Koedooder, Amy Pieters, Ellen van Dijk) 3:30.893
- Men's keirin: Maximilian Levy François Pervis Teun Mulder

Winter sports[edit]

Biathlon[edit]

World Cup 9 in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia:
- 10 km sprint men: (1) Arnd Peiffer 25min 51.1sec (0 penalties) (2) Ole Einar Bjørndalen at 23.1s (1) (3) Christoph Sumann 27.3 (0)
  - World Cup overall standings (after 24 of 26 events): (1) Bjørndalen 978 points (2) Tomasz Sikora 854 (3) Emil Hegle Svendsen & Maxim Tchoudov 758
    - Bjørndalen secure his sixth overall World Cup title.
  - Final World Cup sprint standings (after 10 events): (1) Bjørndalen 372 points (2) Sikora 337 (3) Svendsen 318

Curling[edit]

World Women's Championship in Gangneung, South Korea:
(teams in bold advance to the playoff, teams in italics play in tiebreaker)
- Draw 15:
  - Sweden 7–8 China
  - Scotland 7–6 United States
  - Italy 5–8 Canada
    - Canada secure a playoff berth.
  - South Korea 8–10 Russia
    - Standings after 15 draws: China 9–1, Canada 8–2, Denmark 7–2, Sweden 6–4, Switzerland 5–4, Russia, Scotland 5–5, Germany 4–5.
- Draw 16:
  - Denmark 6–2 Scotland
    - Denmark secure a playoff berth, while Scotland is eliminated
  - Norway 2–11 Sweden
    - Sweden secure at least a tiebreaker place.
  - Germany 9–6 South Korea
  - Switzerland 8–5 Italy
    - Switzerland remain in contention for a tiebreaker.
    - Standings after 16 draws: China 9–1, Canada, Denmark 8–2, Sweden 7–4, Switzerland 6–4.
- Draw 17:
  - Russia 6–8 Germany
  - Canada 10–7 Switzerland
    - Switzerland's loss means Sweden advance to the playoff.
  - United States 3–9 Denmark
  - China 7–2 Norway
    - Final standings: China 10–1, Denmark, Canada 9–2, Sweden 7–4, Switzerland, Germany 6–5, Russia, Scotland 5–6, USA 4–7, Korea 3–8, Norway, Italy 1–10.

Figure skating[edit]

World Championships in Los Angeles, United States:
- Ice dance standings after original dance: (1) Oksana Domnina – Maxim Shabalin 105.45 (2) Tanith Belbin – Benjamin Agosto 104.81 (3) Tessa Virtue – Scott Moir 100.42
- Men: Evan Lysacek 242.23 Patrick Chan 237.58 Brian Joubert 235.97

March 25, 2009 (Wednesday)[edit]

Basketball[edit]

NBA:
- The Orlando Magic clinch the Southeast Division title and at least a #4 seed in the playoff with an 84–82 win over the Boston Celtics.
- The Atlanta Hawks clinch a playoff berth despite a 92–102 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

Cycling[edit]

Track World Championships in Pruszków, Poland:
- Women's 500 m time trial: Simona Krupeckaitė 33.296 (WR) Anna Meares 33.796 Victoria Pendleton 34.102
- Men's points race 40 km: Cameron Meyer 24 points Daniel Kreutzfeldt 22 Chris Newton 21
- Women's individual pursuit:
  - Final: Alison Shanks 3:29.807 def. Wendy Houvenaghel 3:32.174
  - Bronze medal race: Vilija Sereikaitė 3:33.583 def. Joanna Rowsell 3:35.209
- Men's team sprint:
  - Final: France (Grégory Baugé, Mickaël Bourgain, Kévin Sireau) 43.512 def. Great Britain (Matthew Crampton, Jason Kenny, Jamie Staff) 43.869
  - Bronze medal race: Germany (René Enders, Robert Förstemann, Stefan Nimke) 43.912 def. Australia (Daniel Ellis, Shane Perkins, Scott Sunderland) 43.986

Football (soccer)[edit]

Copa Libertadores group stage:
- Group 7:
  - Aurora 1–2 Grêmio

Ice hockey[edit]

NHL:
- The New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals clinch playoff berths as a result of Florida Panthers 3–5 loss to Buffalo Sabres.

Winter sports[edit]

Curling[edit]

World Women's Championship in Gangneung, South Korea:
- Draw 12:
  - South Korea 6–7 Canada
  - Italy 6–7 Russia (11 ends)
  - Scotland 3–4 China (11 ends)
  - Sweden 5–10 United States
- Draw 13:
  - United States 2–8 Switzerland
  - China 8–2 Germany
  - Russia 7–2 Norway
  - Canada 5–7 Denmark
- Draw 14:
  - Norway 8–6 Italy
  - Denmark 4–7 South Korea
  - Switzerland 6–8 Sweden
  - Germany 7–6 Scotland (11 ends)
- Standings after 14 draws (teams in bold advance to the playoffs, teams in italics secure at least a tie breaker, teams in ~~strike~~ are eliminated): China 8–1, Canada, Denmark 7–2, Sweden 6–3, Switzerland 5–4, Germany, Russia, Scotland, USA 4–5, ~~Korea~~ 3–6, ~~Italy~~, ~~Norway~~ 1–8.

Figure skating[edit]

World Championships in Los Angeles, United States:
- Men's short program: (1) Brian Joubert 84.40 (2) Evan Lysacek 82.70 (3) Patrick Chan 82.55
- Pairs: Aliona Savchenko/Robin Szolkowy 203.48 Zhang Dan/Zhang Hao 186.52 Yuko Kavaguti/Alexander Smirnov 186.39

March 24, 2009 (Tuesday)[edit]

Basketball[edit]

Euroleague Quarterfinals:
- Game 1 of best-of-5 series:
  - CSKA Moscow 56–47 Partizan Igokea. CSKA leads series 1–0.
  - Panathinaikos Athens 90–85 Montepaschi Siena. Panathinaikos leads series 1–0.
  - Olympiacos Piraeus 88–79 Real Madrid. Olympiacos leads series 1–0.
  - Regal FC Barcelona 75–84 TAU Cerámica. TAU leads series 1–0.
NCAA Division I Women's Tournament:
- Second round (seeding in parentheses):
  - Trenton Region:
    - (1) Connecticut 87, (8) Florida 59
    - (2) Texas A&M 73, (10) Minnesota 42
  - Berkeley Region:
    - (9) Michigan State 63, (1) Duke 49
    - (4) Iowa State 71, (12) Ball State 57
  - Raleigh Region:
    - (1) Maryland 71, (9) Utah 56
    - (3) Louisville 62, (6) LSU 52
    - (2) Baylor 60, (7) South Dakota State 58
  - Oklahoma City Region:
    - (1) Oklahoma 69, (9) Georgia Tech 50

Cricket[edit]

News:
- The Board of Control for Cricket in India announces that the second season of the Indian Premier League will be moved to South Africa due to security concerns. (Cricinfo)

Winter sports[edit]

Curling[edit]

World Women's Championship in Gangneung, South Korea:
- Draw 9:
  - China 8–5 Denmark
  - United States 12–7 Norway
  - Canada 8–7 Germany
  - Russia 4–8 Switzerland
- Draw 10:
  - Germany 10–1 Sweden
  - Switzerland 5–7 Scotland
  - Denmark 7–4 Italy
  - Norway 8–9 South Korea
- Draw 11:
  - Scotland 4–6 Russia
  - South Korea 2–9 United States
  - Sweden 7–4 Canada
  - Italy 3–9 China
- Standings after 11 draws: Canada, China, Denmark 6–1, Sweden 5–2, Scotland, Switzerland 4–3, Germany, USA 3–4, Korea, Russia 2–5, Italy 1–6, Norway 0–7.

Figure skating[edit]

World Championships in Los Angeles, United States:
- Compulsory Dance: (1) Oksana Domnina / Maxim Shabalin 40.77 (2) Tanith Belbin / Benjamin Agosto 39.65 (3) Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir 39.37
- Pairs Short Program: (1) Aliona Savchenko / Robin Szolkowy 72.30 (2) Yuko Kavaguti / Alexander Smirnov 68.94 (3) Dan Zhang / Hao Zhang 67.42

March 23, 2009 (Monday)[edit]

Baseball[edit]

World Baseball Classic:
- Final in Los Angeles, California, United States:
  - South Korea 3–5 Japan (10 innings)
    - Ichiro Suzuki hits a two-run single in the top of the 10th, and Yu Darvish closes the door on South Korea as Japan successfully defends its 2006 title. Japan's Daisuke Matsuzaka is named MVP for the second time in two Classics.

Basketball[edit]

NCAA Division I Women's Tournament:
- Second round (seeding in parentheses):
  - Trenton region:
    - (6) Arizona State 63, (3) Florida State 58
    - (4) California 99, (5) Virginia 73
  - Berkeley region:
    - (3) Ohio State 64, (11) Mississippi State 58
    - (2) Stanford 77, (10) San Diego State 49
  - Raleigh region:
    - (4) Vanderbilt 74, (5) Kansas State 61
  - Oklahoma City region:
    - (6) Purdue 85, (3) North Carolina 70
    - (7) Rutgers 80, (2) Auburn 52
    - (4) Pittsburgh 65, (12) Gonzaga 60

Winter sports[edit]

Curling[edit]

World Women's Championship in Gangneung, South Korea:
- Draw 6:
  - Switzerland 7–6 South Korea
  - Germany 8–1 Italy
  - Norway 7–8 Scotland (11 ends)
  - Denmark 7–6 Sweden (11 ends)
- Draw 7:
  - Italy 9–6 United States
  - South Korea 6–7 China
  - Sweden 9–3 Russia
  - Scotland 3–9 Canada
- Draw 8:
  - Canada 8–5 Norway
  - Russia 4–7 Denmark
  - China 8–7 Switzerland
  - United States 7–6 Germany
- Standings after 8 draws: Canada, Denmark 5–0, China, Sweden 4–1, Scotland, Switzerland 3–2, Germany 2–3, Italy, South Korea, Russia, USA 1–4, Norway 0–5.

March 22, 2009 (Sunday)[edit]

Athletics[edit]

Tokyo Marathon:
- Men: (1) Salim Kipsang 2hr 10min 27sec (2) Kazuhiro Maeda 2:11:01 (3) Kensuke Takahashi 2:11:25
- Women: (1) Mizuho Nasukawa 2:25:38 (2) Yukari Sahaku 2:28:55 (3) Reiko Tosa 2:29:19

Auto racing[edit]

Sprint Cup Series:
- Food City 500 in Bristol, Tennessee
  - (1) Kyle Busch (2) Denny Hamlin (3) Jimmie Johnson
    - Drivers' standings (after 5 races): (1) Jeff Gordon 794 points (2) Kurt Busch −76 (3) Clint Bowyer −79
V8 Supercars:
- Clipsal 500 in Adelaide
  - Round 2: (1) Jamie Whincup (2) Will Davison (3) Garth Tander
  - Standings (after 2 of 26 races): (1) Whincup 300 (2) W. Davison 267 (3) Lee Holdsworth 249
WTCC:
- HSBC Race of Mexico in Puebla, Mexico:
  - Round 3: (1) Rickard Rydell (2) Augusto Farfus (3) Andy Priaulx
  - Round 4: (1) Yvan Muller (2) Priaulx (3) Rydell
    - Drivers' standings (after 4 of 24 events): (1) Muller & Rydell 30 points (3) Farfus 20

Baseball[edit]

World Baseball Classic:
- Semifinals in Los Angeles, California, United States:
  - United States 4–9 Japan

Basketball[edit]

NCAA Division I Men's Tournament:
- Second round (seeding in parentheses):
  - Midwest region:
    - (1) Louisville 79, (9) Siena 72 in Dayton, Ohio
    - (12) Arizona 71, (13) Cleveland State 57 in Miami, Florida
    - (3) Kansas 60, (11) Dayton 43 in Minneapolis, Minnesota
    - (2) Michigan State 74, (10) USC 69 in Minneapolis, Minnesota
  - West region:
    - (3) Missouri 83, (6) Marquette 79 in Boise, Idaho
  - East region:
    - (1) Pittsburgh 84, (8) Oklahoma State 76 in Dayton, Ohio
    - (4) Xavier 60, (5) Wisconsin 49 in Boise, Idaho
  - South region:
    - (3) Syracuse 78, (6) Arizona State 67 in Miami, Florida
NCAA Division I Women's Tournament:
- First round (seeding in parentheses):
  - Trenton Region:
    - (1) Connecticut 104, (16) Vermont 65
    - (8) Florida 70, (9) Temple 57
    - (10) Minnesota 79, (7) Notre Dame 71
    - (2) Texas A&M 80, (15) Evansville 45
  - Berkeley Region:
    - (1) Duke 83, (16) Austin Peay 42
    - (9) Michigan State 60, (8) Middle Tennessee 59
    - (4) Iowa State 85, (13) East Tennessee State 53
    - (12) Ball State 71, (5) Tennessee 55
      - The Cardinals inflict on the two-time defending champion Lady Vols their first loss in the first or second round in school history. Tennessee also becomes the first ever defending champion to lose in the first round.
  - Raleigh Region:
    - (1) Maryland 82, (16) Dartmouth 53
    - (9) Utah 60, (8) Villanova 30
    - (6) LSU 69, (11) UW-Green Bay 59
    - (3) Louisville 62, (14) Liberty 42
    - (7) South Dakota State 90, (10) TCU 55
    - (2) Baylor 87, (15) Texas-San Antonio 82 (OT)
  - Oklahoma City Region:
    - (1) Oklahoma 76, (16) Prairie View 47
    - (9) Georgia Tech 76, (8) Iowa 62

Cricket[edit]

Australia in South Africa:
- 3rd Test in Cape Town, day 4:
  - Australia 209 & 422 (Mitchell Johnson 123*); South Africa 651. South Africa win by an innings and 20 runs; Australia win 3-match series 2–1.
    - South Africa inflict an innings defeat on Australia for the first time since India inflicted an innings & 219 runs defeat in March 1998. However, Australia had already won the series.
England in West Indies:
- 2nd ODI in Providence, Guyana:
  - West Indies 264/8 (50 ov); England 243 (48.2 ov). West Indies win by 21 runs, 5-match series level 1–1.
Women's World Cup in Australia:
- Final:
  - New Zealand 166 (47.2 ov); England 167/6 (46.1 ov) in North Sydney. England win by 4 wickets and wins the title for the third time. Claire Taylor was named player of the tournament.

Golf[edit]

PGA Tour:
- Transitions Championship in Palm Harbor, Florida:
  - Winner: Retief Goosen 276 (−8)
European Tour:
- Madeira Island Open in Madeira, Portugal:
  - Winner: Estanislao Goya 278 (−6)
LPGA Tour:
- MasterCard Classic in Mexico City, Mexico:
  - Winner: Pat Hurst 206 (−10)

Ice hockey[edit]

NHL:
- The Boston Bruins clinch the Northeast Division title and the first playoff berth in the Eastern Conference with 4–1 win over the New Jersey Devils.

Tennis[edit]

ATP Tour and WTA Tour:
- BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, United States:
  - Men's final: Rafael Nadal def.