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when was the last time anyone was on the moon	Al-Qamar "But if they see a sign they turn away and say 'Continuous sorcery!'" A number of reports concerning this incident are contained in canonical hadith books, traced back to various Companions. According to those who downplay the miraculous, on the other hand, it foreshadows the inevitable Day of Judgment that will divide those who believe from those who disbelieve—those who are destined to Paradise and those who are destined to Hell. Because this Meccan sura’s primary theme centers around the fate of those who disbelieve, the symbolic use of the moon is meant to warn the disbelievers of their impending fate in the first verse, as “the hour draws near; the moon is split”. Additionally, the crescent moon acts as a vital symbol of Islam and thus, in this instance, may denote the importance of the emerging religion, as lunar cycles determine the structure of the Islamic calendar. Sura 54 is wholly Meccan, as its verses “demonstrate complex reference and demanding grammatical connections to surrounding verses”. Indeed, it is a mixture of exclamatory statements and rhetorical questions directed towards Muhammad, which is yet another reference to the sura’s Meccan nature. That God directly addresses Muhammad with personal pronouns, “you” and “your” and differentiates the unbelieving audience from His personal addresses to Muhammad with “they” and “them” strongly indicates that Islam was still in the development phase and that God did not yet have a particularized audience to address. Instead, God merely warns Muhammad of the possible responses that will result from his efforts to spread His message and the resultant punishment that He will inflict upon those who refuse to believe. Officially, this sura is believed to be the thirty-seventh sura revealed to Muhammad, as the Egyptian chronology indicates. Nöldeke, however, numbers this sura as the forty-ninth chronological sura. The difference in numerical order is, perhaps, due to the difference in Meccan and Medinan suras within each edition. For instance, the Egyptian chronology indicates that there are eighty-eight Meccan suras and twenty-six Medinan suras; whereas Noldeke’s chronology divides the Meccan period into three, with forty-eight in the first, twenty-one in the second, and twenty-one in the third in addition to twenty four Medinan suras. This sura clearly directs its message toward the unbelievers in Mecca. Indeed, it covers themes of rejection, truth, and punishment, all of which are addressed in stories of previous peoples. The stories of the people of Noah, the people of ‘Ad, the people of Thamud, the people of Lot, and the people of Pharaoh represent times during which a people refused to believe the word of the above messengers; consequently, they suffered God’s wrath. Each unit follows a similar pattern: first, God describes the peoples’ refusal to believe and the resultant punishment for refusing to accept His warnings. As Carl Ernst writes in "How to Read the Qur’an", suras from the middle to late Meccan period follow a “tripartite division,” in which one observes a “ring structure, beginning and ending with parallel sections” of divine praise, heavy threats for the unbelievers, and staunch affirmations of the revelation. These parts bookend a somewhat larger middle section, which is “typically a narrative of prophecy and struggle.” Thus, this Meccan sura seems to connect the early Meccan period with the later, as traces of the shorter, more affirmative suras can be found in particular verses, which resemble “powerful oath formulations” and generate fear in those who may not fully accept the Islamic faith. Within the parallel sections of the ring-like structure of this sura are narratives of the critical choices that Muhammad’s audience will face—whether to act as did the previous peoples and to reject Muhammad’s message and endure unbearable consequences, or to accept God as “the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy,” and to live eternally “among Gardens and rivers”. Such a choice acts as a testament to God’s omnipotence and utter omniscience. God,is all-knowing, as the sura both begins and ends with a warning that “everything is recorded” and “everything they do is noted in their records: every action, great or small is recorded”. The first eight verses distinctly refer to events on the Day of Judgment, especially the fates of the disbelievers on that “hard day”, with the exception of the splitting of the moon, since that was a still-unexplained celestial event witnessed by many of the Companions in or around Mecca, and the characteristic rejection of such miraculous events as sorcery by the unbelievers. The first verse in particular uses “the Hour" ("as-saa’a") to refer the end times and is in fact used in 46 instances throughout the Qur'an to make mention of the hour (likely a symbolic temporal period) when Allah will judge humankind and punish the unbelievers. This first section is marked by its apocryphal tone and its introduction of the themes of disbelief and failure to heed warnings, which echo through the remainder of the sura. The middle section of this Qur'anic sura, which Ernst marks from verse 9 to 42, relates to prior Hebrew and Arab oral traditions to remind the audience of previous instances where the word of Allah was not heeded and stern consequences resulted. The first of the five examples is the story of Noah, whose rejection by his own people is relatable to the situation Muhammad found himself in early in his prophetic career. According to the Qur'an, men referred to both Noah and Muhammad as crazy or "majnoon"—the same Arabic word is used in both of these references. There are four more examples of rejected prophets in the middle section of sura 54, wherein the stories of ‘Ad, Thamud, Lot, and Pharaoh are mentioned to reiterate the lesson that those who fail to heed Allah’s warnings through His messengers will be punished. (The stories of ‘Ad and Thamud come from Arab folklore and the Qur’an briefly describes the wrath that both of these peoples incurred because of their disbelief.) Take note that the five Hebrew/Arab stories are told in a manner that assumes the audience has a working knowledge of the myth prior to its telling in the Qur’an. Unlike the Old Testament, these stories are neither told in their entirety, nor are they told in a chronological narrative. Instead, key points of the story are mentioned in order to bring out an important faith-based lesson from the story, with the assumption that the audience already understands the underlying narrative. For example, the story of Pharaoh only takes up two verses in which there is only space to mention that a warning came to his people, they rejected the signs, and Allah “overcame them with the seizing of the Mighty, the Powerful.” Something else to note about this middle section is how many times the Qur'an references itself. In fact, it does so four times in the same context, at the end of the first four “disbeliever” examples. Each of these four lines (54:17,22,32,40) reads: “We have made it easy to learn lessons from the Qur’an: will anyone take heed?” Some versions interpret this line to say: “And certainly We have made the Qur’an easy to remember, but is there anyone who will mind?” The difference here is important because of the connotation of the Arabic word "dhikr", which can refer to lessons, the act of remembering, memorization, recalling, and many other meanings that come from the same root, which is used over 200 times in the Qur'an. This aya could be referring to the lessons of faith and morality and the ease with which they can be gleaned from the Qur'an, as a book. However, it could also be using the word "qur’an" here to refer to its more literal Arabic meaning—which is “recitation”—rather than referring to the book itself. There is no doubt that this is an occasion where the Qur'an is self-referential, but it is interesting that in other sections of the Qur'an (12:2, 15:1), the word "qur’an", itself, seems to refer to the word of Allah as it is recited, which includes vowels (thus clarifying much of the meaning). (It is important to note that the Qur'an in its earliest written forms lacked most vowels and the written consonants served as a reminder for those reciting the Qur'an.) Thus, the verse could mean that the suras are easily remembered because of their poetic and song-like form in their spoken versions: their rhyming schemes, cadences, and robust structure. According to the scripture, Allah then asks (rhetorically) who will take on the task of remembering or internalizing these words. The purpose of the middle section of this Sura, then, is to draw attention to examples from the past of unbelievers and their punishments, challenging the people of Muhammad’s time to finally heed and recognize Allah’s Prophet. The final section of the sura (54:43-55) returns to an apocryphal tone, warning of the evils that will befall the unbelievers in the end time. Again, “the Hour” is used twice in these final ayat to mention the Day of Judgment. At that time, those who are guilty are said to be dragged into the fires of Hell ("saqar"), as Allah knows that the fate every group of disbelievers is the same—their time is limited. The last section closes the “ring” by reverting the narrative back to the introductory section, wherein we read of visual images of the Day of Judgment. Plus, consistent with Ernst’s notions, the sura ends with a “flourishing” couplet that details the rewards of the “dutiful” in the afterlife, seated with “a most powerful king.” The constant repetition in this sura is particularly relevant, as it contributes to the overall development of God’s character. In his many rhetorical questions such as, “We have made it easy to learn lessons from the Qur’an: will anyone take heed?” and the final question directed towards Muhammad, “Are your disbelievers any better than these?” Firstly, the constant repetition of the Qur'anic lessons question establishes God as merciful and fair in his punishment, as He ensures that He gave the unbelievers full warning and clear direction; however, they chose not to follow His commands and are thus deserving of their respective punishments. As the sura ends, however, God asserts his ability to inflict punishment upon the disbelievers: “when We ordain something it happens at once, in the blink of an eye; We have destroyed the likes of you in the past. Will anyone take heed?”. With this final rhetorical question, God instead establishes the breadth of His power, as He highlights the utter immediacy with which He could rid the earth of the unbelievers. However, He ensures that His omnipotence will benefit the righteous, as they will live “secure in the presence of an all-powerful Sovereign”. It is narrated that Muhammad al-Baqir, when asked about verse [54:42]... but they rejected all Our signs..., replied that "signs refer to all the successors of the Prophets". . Al-Qamar Sūrat al-Qamar (, "The Moon") is the 54th sura of the Quran with 55 ayat. Some verses refer to the Splitting of the moon. "Qamar" (), meaning "'Moon" in Arabic, is also a common name among Muslims. "Al-Qamar", meaning "moon" in Arabic, is an important title for sura 54. The first verse is traditionally thought to refer to a miracle performed by the Prophet Muhammad in the Meccan phase of his career, in which he showed the moon split in two in response to a challenge from his opponents. The disbelieving response
when was the last time anyone was on the moon	"Keith Moon" during the early 1960s. After playing with a local band, the Beachcombers, he joined the Who in 1964 before they recorded their first single. Moon remained with the band during their rise to fame, and was quickly recognised for his drumming style, which emphasised tom-toms, cymbal crashes, and drum fills. Throughout Moon's tenure with the Who his drum kit steadily grew in size, and along with Ginger Baker, Moon has been credited as one of the earliest rock drummers to regularly employ double bass drums in his setup. He occasionally collaborated with other musicians and later appeared in films, but considered playing in the Who his primary occupation and remained a member of the band until his death. In addition to his talent as a drummer, however, Moon developed a reputation for smashing his kit on stage and destroying hotel rooms on tour. He was fascinated by blowing up toilets with cherry bombs or dynamite, and by destroying television sets. Moon enjoyed touring and socialising, and became bored and restless when the Who were inactive. His 21st birthday party in Flint, Michigan, has been cited as a notorious example of decadent behaviour by rock groups. Moon suffered a number of setbacks during the 1970s, most notably the accidental death of chauffeur Neil Boland and the breakdown of his marriage. He became addicted to alcohol, particularly brandy and champagne, and acquired a reputation for decadence and dark humour; his nickname was "Moon the Loon." After moving to Los Angeles with personal assistant Peter "Dougal" Butler during the mid-1970s, Moon recorded his only solo album, the poorly received "Two Sides of the Moon". While touring with the Who, on several occasions he passed out on stage and was hospitalised. By their final tour with him in 1976, and particularly during production of "The Kids Are Alright" and "Who Are You", the drummer's deterioration was evident. Moon moved back to London in 1978, dying in September of that year from an overdose of Heminevrin, a drug intended to treat or prevent symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. Keith John Moon was born to Alfred Charles (Alf) and Kathleen Winifred (Kit) Moon on 23 August 1946 at Central Middlesex Hospital in northwest London, and grew up in Wembley. He was hyperactive as a boy, with a restless imagination and a particular fondness for "The Goon Show" and music. Moon attended Alperton Secondary Modern School after failing his eleven plus exam, which precluded his attending a grammar school. His art teacher said in a report: "Retarded artistically. Idiotic in other respects". His music teacher wrote that Moon "has great ability, but must guard against a tendency to show off." Moon joined his local Sea Cadet Corps band at the age of twelve on the bugle, but found the instrument too difficult to learn and decided to take up drums instead. He was interested in practical jokes and home science kits, with a particular fondness for explosions. On his way home from school, Moon would often go to Macari's Music Studio on Ealing Road to practise on the drums there, learning his basic skills on the instrument. He left school at age fourteen, around Easter in 1961. Moon then enrolled at Harrow Technical College; this led to a job as a radio repairman, enabling him to buy his first drum kit. Moon took lessons from one of the loudest contemporary drummers, Screaming Lord Sutch's Carlo Little, at 10 shillings per lesson. Moon's early style was influenced by jazz, American surf music and rhythm and blues, exemplified by noted Los Angeles studio drummer Hal Blaine. His favourite musicians were jazz artists, particularly Gene Krupa (whose flamboyant style he subsequently copied). Moon also admired Elvis Presley's original drummer DJ Fontana, the Shadows' original drummer Tony Meehan and the Pretty Things' Viv Prince. He also enjoyed singing, with a particular interest in Motown. Moon idolised the Beach Boys; Roger Daltrey later said that given the opportunity, Moon would have left to play for the California band even at the peak of the Who's fame. During this time Moon joined his first serious band: the Escorts, replacing his best friend Gerry Evans. In December 1962 he joined the Beachcombers, a semi-professional London cover band playing hits by groups such as the Shadows. During his time in the group Moon incorporated theatrical tricks into his act, including "shooting" the group's lead singer with a starter pistol. The Beachcombers all had day jobs; Moon, who worked in the sales department at British Gypsum, had the keenest interest in turning professional. In April 1964, at age 17, he auditioned for the Who as a replacement for Doug Sandom. The Beachcombers continued as a local cover band after his departure. A commonly cited story of how Moon joined the Who is that he appeared at a show shortly after Sandom's departure, where a session drummer was used. Dressed in ginger clothes and with his hair dyed ginger (future bandmate Pete Townshend later described him as a "ginger vision"), he claimed to his would-be bandmates that he could play better; he played in the set's second half, nearly demolishing the drum kit in the process. In the words of the drummer, "they said go ahead, and I got behind this other guy's drums and did one song-'Road Runner.' I'd several drinks to get me courage up and when I got onstage I went arrgggGhhhh on the drums, broke the bass drum pedal and two skins, and got off. I figured that was it. I was scared to death. Afterwards I was sitting at the bar and Pete came over. He said: 'You ... come 'ere.' I said, mild as you please: 'Yes, yes?' And Roger, who was the spokesman then, said: 'What are you doing next Monday?' I said: 'Nothing.' I was working during the day, selling plaster. He said: 'You'll have to give up work ... there's this gig on Monday. If you want to come, we'll pick you up in the van.' I said: 'Right.' And that was it." Moon later claimed that he was never formally invited to join the Who permanently; when Ringo Starr asked how he had joined the band, he said he had "just been filling in for the last fifteen years." Moon's arrival in the Who changed the dynamics of the group. Sandom had generally been the peacemaker as Daltrey and Townshend feuded between themselves, but because of Moon's temperament the group now had four members frequently in conflict. "We used to fight regularly," remembered Moon in later years. "John [Entwistle] and I used to have fights – it wasn't very serious, it was more of an emotional spur-of-the moment thing." Moon also clashed with Daltrey and Townshend: "We really have absolutely nothing in common apart from music," he said in a later interview. Although Townshend described him as a "completely different person to anyone I've ever met," the pair had a rapport in the early years and enjoyed practical jokes and improvised comedy. Moon's drumming style affected the band's musical structure; although Entwistle initially found Moon's lack of conventional timekeeping problematic, it created an original sound. Moon was particularly fond of touring, since it was his only chance to regularly socialise with his bandmates, and was generally restless and bored when not playing live. This later carried over to other aspects of his life, as he acted them out (according to journalist and Who biographer Dave Marsh) "as if his life were one long tour." These antics earned him the nickname "Moon the Loon." Moon's style of drumming was considered unique by his bandmates, although they sometimes found his unconventional playing frustrating; Entwistle noted that he tended to play faster or slower according to his mood. "He wouldn't play across his kit," he later added. "He'd play zig-zag. That's why he had two sets of tom-toms. He'd move his arms forward like a skier." Daltrey said that Moon "just instinctively put drum fills in places that other people would never have thought of putting them." Who biographer John Atkins wrote that the group's early test sessions for Pye Records in 1964 show that "they seemed to have understood just how important was ... Moon's contribution." Contemporary critics questioned his ability to keep time, with biographer Tony Fletcher suggesting that the timing on "Tommy" was "all over the place." Who producer Jon Astley said, "You didn't think he was keeping time, but he was." Early recordings of Moon's drumming sound tinny and disorganised; it was not until the recording of "Who's Next," with Glyn Johns' no-nonsense production techniques and the need to keep time to a synthesizer track, that he began developing more discipline in the studio. Fletcher considers the drumming on this album to be the best of Moon's career. Unlike contemporary rock drummers such as Ginger Baker and John Bonham, Moon hated drum solos and refused to play them in concert. At a Madison Square Garden show on 10 June 1974, Townshend and Entwistle decided to spontaneously stop playing during "Wasp Man" to listen to Moon's drum solo. Moon continued briefly and then stopped, shouting "Drum solos are boring!" However, in 1977, he made a guest appearance in a Led Zeppelin concert, joining John Bonham for his "Moby Dick" drum solo. The concert was bootlegged as "For Badgeholders Only". Although not an especially gifted vocalist, Moon was enthusiastic about singing and wanted to sing lead with the rest of the group. While the other three members handled most of the onstage vocals, Moon would attempt to sing backup (particularly on "I Can't Explain"). He provided humorous commentary during song announcements, although sound engineer Bob Pridden preferred to mute his vocal microphone on the mixing desk whenever possible. Moon's knack for making his bandmates laugh around the microphone led them to banish him from the studio when vocals were being recorded; this led to a game in which Moon would sneak in to join the singing. At the end of "Happy Jack," Townshend can be heard saying "I saw ya!" to Moon as he tries to sneak into the studio. The drummer's interest in surf music and his desire to sing lead spawned lead vocals on several early tracks, including "Bucket T" and "Barbara Ann" ("Ready Steady Who" EP, 1966) and high backing vocals on other songs, such as "Pictures of Lily." Moon's performance on "Bell Boy" ("Quadrophenia," 1973) saw him abandon "serious" vocal performances to sing in character, which gave him (in Fletcher's words) "full licence to live up to his reputation as a lecherous drunk"; it was "exactly the kind of performance the Who needed from him to bring them back down to earth." Moon composed "I Need You" (which he also sang), the instrumental "Cobwebs and Strange" (from the album "A Quick One," 1966), the single B-sides "In The City" (co-written with Entwistle) and "Girl's Eyes" (from "The Who Sell Out" sessions featured on "Thirty Years of Maximum R&B" and a 1995 re-release of "The Who Sell Out"), "Dogs Part Two" (1969), "Tommy's Holiday Camp" (1969) and "Waspman" (1972). Moon also co-composed "The Ox" (an instrumental from their debut album, "My Generation") with Townshend, Entwistle and keyboardist Nicky Hopkins. The setting for "Tommy's Holiday Camp" (from "Tommy") was credited to Moon; the song was primarily written by Townshend and, although there is a misconception that Moon sings on it, the album version is Townshend's demo. The drummer produced the violin solo on "Baba O'Riley." Moon sat in on congas with East of Eden at the Lyceum, and afterwards suggested to violinist Dave Arbus that he play on the track. Moon played a four, then a five-piece drum kit during his early career. Throughout much of 1964 and 1965 his setups consisted of Ludwig drums and Zildjian cymbals. Moon began to endorse Premier Drums in late 1965, and he remained a loyal customer of the company. His first Premier kit was in red sparkle and featured two high toms. In 1966 he moved to an even larger kit, but without the customary hi-hat—at the time Moon preferred keeping backbeats with ride and crash cymbals. His new larger configuration was notable for the presence of two bass drums. Moon, along with Ginger Baker, has been credited as one of the early pioneers of double bass drumming in rock. Moon's Red Sparkle Premier setup from this time consisted of two bass drums, three mounted toms, two floor toms and a Ludwig Supraphonic 400 snare. His cymbals consisted of two Paiste Giant Beat crashes and one ride. This kit was not used at the Who's performance at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival. From 1967 to 1969 Moon used the "Pictures of Lily" drum kit (named for its artwork), which had two bass drums, two floor toms and three mounted toms. In recognition of his loyalty to the company, Premier reissued the kit in 2006 as the "Spirit of Lily." By 1970 Moon had begun to use timbales, gongs and timpani, and these were included in his setup for the rest of his career. In 1973 Premier's marketing manager, Eddie Haynes, began consulting with Moon about specific requirements. At one point, Moon asked Premier to make a white kit with gold-plated fittings. When Haynes said that it would be prohibitively expensive, Moon replied: "Dear boy, do exactly as you feel it should be, but that's the way I want it." The kit was eventually fitted with copper fittings and later given to a young Zak Starkey. At an early show at the Railway Tavern in Harrow, Townshend smashed his guitar after accidentally breaking it. When the audience demanded he do it again, Moon kicked over his drum kit. Subsequent live sets culminated in what the band later described as "auto-destructive art," in which band members (particularly Moon and Townshend) elaborately destroyed their equipment. Moon developed a habit of kicking over his drums, claiming that he did so in exasperation at an audience's indifference. Townshend later said, "A set of skins is about $300 [then £96] and after every show he'd just go bang, bang, bang and then kick the whole thing over." In May 1966, Moon discovered that the Beach Boys' Bruce Johnston was visiting London. After the pair socialised for a few days, Moon and Entwistle brought Johnston to the set of "Ready Steady Go!", which made them late for a show with the Who that evening. During the finale of "My Generation," an altercation broke out on stage between Moon and Townshend which was reported on the front page of the "New Musical Express" the following week. Moon and Entwistle left the Who for a week (with Moon hoping to join the Animals or the Nashville Teens), but they changed their minds and returned. On the Who's early US package tour at the RKO Theatre in New York in March and April 1967 Moon performed five shows a day, kicking over his drum kit after every show. Later that year, during their appearance on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour", he bribed a stagehand to load gunpowder into one of his bass drums; the stagehand used about ten times the standard amount. During the finale of "My Generation," he kicked the drum off the riser and set off the charge. The intensity of the explosion singed Townshend's hair and embedded a piece of cymbal in Moon's arm. A clip of the incident became the opening scene for the film "The Kids Are Alright". Although Moon was known for kicking over his drum kit, Haynes claimed that it was done carefully and the kit rarely needed repairs. However, stands and foot pedals were frequently replaced; the drummer "would go through them like a knife through butter." While Moon generally said he was only interested in working with the Who, he participated in outside musical projects. In 1966 he worked with Yardbirds guitarist Jeff Beck, pianist Nicky Hopkins and future Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones on the instrumental "Beck's Bolero," which was the B-side to "Hi Ho Silver Lining" and appeared on the album "Truth". Moon also played timpani on another track, a cover of Jerome Kern's "Ol' Man River." He was credited on the album as "You Know Who." Moon may have inspired the name for Led Zeppelin. When he briefly considered leaving the Who in 1966, he spoke with Entwistle and Page about forming a supergroup. Moon (or Entwistle) remarked that a particular suggestion had gone down like a "lead zeppelin" (a play on "lead balloon"). Although the supergroup was never formed, Page remembered the phrase and later adapted it as the name of his new band. The Beatles became friends with Moon, leading to occasional collaborations. In 1967, he contributed backing vocals to "All You Need Is Love." On 15 December 1969, Moon joined John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band for a live performance at the Lyceum Theatre in London for a UNICEF charity concert. In 1972 the performance was released as a companion disc to Lennon and Ono's album, "Some Time in New York City". Moon's friendship with Entwistle led to an appearance on "Smash Your Head Against the Wall", Entwistle's first solo album and the first by a member of the Who. Moon did not play drums on the album; Jerry Shirley did, with Moon providing percussion. "Rolling Stone's" John Hoegel appreciated Entwistle's decision not to let Moon drum, saying that it distanced his album from the familiar sound of the Who. Moon became involved in solo work when he moved to Los Angeles during the mid-1970s. In 1974, Track Records-MCA released a Moon solo single covering the Beach Boys' "Don't Worry, Baby" and "Teenage Idol." The next year he released his only solo album, entitled "Two Sides of the Moon". Although it featured Moon on vocals, he played drums on only three tracks; most of the drumming was left to others (including Ringo Starr, session musicians Curly Smith and Jim Keltner and actor-musician Miguel Ferrer). The album was received poorly by critics. "NME's" Roy Carr wrote, "Moonie, if you didn't have talent, I wouldn't care; but you have, which is why I'm not about to accept "Two Sides of the Moon"." Dave Marsh, reviewing the album in "Rolling Stone", wrote: "There isn't any legitimate reason for this album's existence." During one of his few televised solo drum performances (for ABC's "Wide World"), Moon played a five-minute drum solo dressed as a cat on transparent acrylic drums filled with water and goldfish. When asked by an audience member what would happen to the kit, he joked that "even the best drummers get hungry." His performance was not appreciated by animal lovers, several of whom called the station with complaints. In the 2007 documentary film, "", Daltrey and Townshend reminisced about Moon's talent for dressing as (and embodying) a variety of characters. They remembered his dream of getting out of music and becoming a Hollywood film actor, although Daltrey did not think Moon had the patience and work ethic required by a professional actor. Who manager Bill Curbishley agreed that Moon "wasn't disciplined enough to actually turn up or commit to doing the stuff." Nevertheless, the drummer landed several acting roles. His first was in 1971, a cameo in Frank Zappa's "200 Motels" as a nun afraid of dying from a drug overdose. Although it only took 13 days to film, fellow cast member Howard Kaylan remembers Moon spending off-camera time at the Kensington Garden Hotel bar instead of sleeping. Moon's next film role was J.D. Clover, drummer for the fictional Stray Cats at a holiday camp during the early days of British rock 'n' roll, in 1973's "That'll Be the Day". He reprised the role for the film's 1974 sequel, "Stardust", and played Uncle Ernie in Ken Russell's 1975 film adaptation of "Tommy". Moon's last film appearance was in 1978's "Sextette" with Starr and Alice Cooper. This was the last film to star Mae West. Moon led a destructive lifestyle. During the Who's early days he began taking amphetamines, and in a "New Musical Express" interview said his favourite food was "French Blues." He spent his share of the band's income quickly, and was a regular at London clubs such as the Speakeasy and the Bag O' Nails; the combination of pills and alcohol escalated into alcoholism and drug addiction later in his life. "[We] went through the same stages everybody goes through – the bloody drug corridor," he later reflected. "Drinking suited the group a lot better." According to Townshend, Moon began destroying hotel rooms when the Who stayed at the Berlin Hilton on tour in late 1966. In addition to hotel rooms, Moon destroyed friends' homes and even his own, throwing furniture from upper-storey windows and lighting fires. Andrew Neill and Matthew Kent estimated that his destruction of hotel toilets and plumbing cost as much as £300,000 ($500,000). These acts, often fuelled by drugs and alcohol, were Moon's way of demonstrating his eccentricity; he enjoyed shocking the public with them. Longtime friend and personal assistant Butler observed, "He was trying to make people laugh and be Mr Funny, he wanted people to love him and enjoy him, but he would go so far. Like a train ride you couldn't stop." In a limousine on the way to the airport Moon insisted they return to their hotel, saying "I forgot something." At the hotel he ran back to his room, grabbed the television and threw it out the window into the swimming pool below. He then jumped back into the limo, saying "I nearly forgot." Fletcher argues that The Who's lengthy break between the end of their 1972 European tour and the beginning of the "Quadrophenia" sessions devastated Moon's health, as without the rigours of lengthy shows and regular touring that had previously kept him in shape, his hard-partying lifestyle took a greater toll on his body. He did not keep a drum kit or practise at Tara, and began to deteriorate physically as a result of his lifestyle. Around the same time he became a severe alcoholic, starting the day with drinks and changing from the "lovable boozer" he presented himself as to a "boorish drunk". David Puttnam recalled, "The drinking went from being a joke to being a problem. On "That'll Be the Day" it was social drinking. By the time "Stardust" came round it was hard drinking." Moon's favourite stunt was to flush powerful explosives down toilets. According to Fletcher, Moon's toilet pyrotechnics began in 1965 when he purchased a case of 500 cherry bombs. He moved from cherry bombs to M-80 fireworks to sticks of dynamite, which became his explosive of choice. "All that porcelain flying through the air was quite unforgettable," Moon remembered. "I never realised dynamite was so powerful. I'd been used to penny bangers before." He quickly developed a reputation for destroying bathrooms and blowing up toilets. The destruction mesmerised him, and enhanced his public image as rock's premier hell-raiser. Tony Fletcher wrote that "no toilet in a hotel or changing room was safe" until Moon had exhausted his supply of explosives. Pete Townshend walked into the bathroom of Moon's hotel room and noticed the toilet had disappeared, with only the S-bend remaining. The drummer explained that since a cherry bomb was about to explode, he had thrown it down the loo and showed Townshend the case of cherry bombs. "And of course from that moment on," the guitarist remembered, "we got thrown out of every hotel we ever stayed in." Entwistle recalled being close to Moon on tour: "I suppose we were two of a kind"... We shared a room on the road and got up to no good." Consequently, both were often involved in blowing up toilets. In a 1981 "Los Angeles Times" interview he admitted, "A lot of times when Keith was blowing up toilets I was standing behind him with the matches." In Alabama, Moon and Entwistle loaded a toilet with cherry bombs after being denied room service. According to Entwistle, "That toilet was just dust all over the walls by the time we checked out. The management brought our suitcases down to the gig and said: 'Don't come back ... '" A hotel manager called Moon in his room and asked him to lower the volume on his cassette recorder because it made "too much noise." In response the drummer asked him up to his room, excused himself to go to the bathroom, put a lit stick of dynamite in the toilet and shut the bathroom door. Upon returning, he asked the manager to stay for a moment, as he wanted to explain something. Following the explosion, Moon turned the recorder back on and said, "That, dear boy, was noise. This is the 'Oo." On 23 August 1967, on tour opening for Herman's Hermits, Moon celebrated what he said was his 21st birthday (although it was thought at the time to be his 20th) at a Holiday Inn in Flint, Michigan. Entwistle later said, "He decided that if it was a publicised fact that it was his 21st birthday, he would be able to drink." The drummer immediately began drinking upon his arrival in Flint. The Who spent the afternoon visiting local radio stations with Nancy Lewis (then the band's publicist), and Moon posed for a photo outside the hotel in front of a "Happy Birthday Keith" sign put up by the hotel management. According to Lewis, Moon was drunk by the time the band went onstage at Atwood Stadium. Returning to the hotel, Moon started a food fight and soon cake began flying through the air. The drummer knocked out part of his front tooth; at the hospital, doctors could not give him an anaesthetic (due to his inebriation) before removing the remainder of the tooth. Back at the hotel a mêlée erupted; fire extinguishers were set off, guests (and objects) thrown into the swimming pool and a piano reportedly destroyed. The chaos ended only when police arrived with guns drawn. A furious Holiday Inn management presented the groups with a bill for $24,000, which was reportedly settled by Herman's Hermits tour manager Edd McCann. Townshend claimed that the Who were banned for life from all of the hotel's properties, but Fletcher wrote that they stayed at a Holiday Inn in Rochester, New York a week later. He also disputed a widely held belief that Moon drove a Lincoln Continental into the hotel's swimming pool, as claimed by the drummer in a 1972 "Rolling Stone" interview. Moon's lifestyle began to undermine his health and reliability. During the 1973 Quadrophenia tour, at the Who's debut US date at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California, Moon ingested a mixture of tranquillisers and brandy. During the concert, Moon passed out on his drum kit during "Won't Get Fooled Again." The band stopped playing, and a group of roadies carried Moon offstage. They gave him a shower and an injection of cortisone, sending him back onstage after a thirty-minute delay. Moon passed out again during "Magic Bus," and was again removed from the stage. The band continued without him for several songs before Townshend asked, "Can anyone play the drums? – I mean somebody good?" A drummer in the audience, Scot Halpin, came up and played the rest of the show. During the opening date of the band's March 1976 US tour at the Boston Garden, Moon passed out over his drum kit after two numbers and the show was rescheduled. The next evening Moon systematically destroyed everything in his hotel room, cut himself doing so and passed out. He was discovered by manager Bill Curbishley, who took him to a hospital, telling him "I'm gonna get the doctor to get you nice and fit, so you're back within two days. Because I want to break your fucking jaw ... You have fucked this band around so many times and I'm not having it any more." Doctors told Curbishley that if he had not intervened, Moon would have bled to death. Marsh suggested that at this point Daltrey and Entwistle seriously considered firing Moon, but decided that doing so would make his life worse. Entwistle has said that Moon and the Who reached their live peak in 1975–76. At the end of the 1976 US tour in Miami that August, the drummer, delirious, was treated in Hollywood Memorial Hospital for eight days. The group was concerned that he would be unable to complete the last leg of the tour, which ended at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto on 21 October (Moon's last public show). During the band's recording sabbatical between 1976 and 1978, Moon gained a considerable amount of weight. By the time of the Who's invitation-only show at the Gaumont State Cinema on 15 December 1977 for "The Kids are Alright", Moon was visibly overweight and had difficulty sustaining a solid performance. After recording "Who Are You", Townshend refused to follow the album with a tour unless Moon stopped drinking, and said that if Moon's playing did not improve he would be fired. Daltrey later denied threatening to fire him, but said that by this time the drummer was out of control. Because the Who's early stage act relied on smashing instruments, and owing to Moon's enthusiasm for damaging hotels, the group were in debt for much of the 1960s; Entwistle estimated they lost about £150,000. Even when the group became relatively financially stable after "Tommy", Moon continued to rack up debts. He bought a number of cars and gadgets, and flirted with bankruptcy. Moon's recklessness with money reduced his profit from the group's 1975 UK tour to £47.35 (). Before the 1998 release of Tony Fletcher's "Dear Boy: The Life of Keith Moon", Moon's date of birth was presumed to be 23 August 1947. This erroneous date appeared in several otherwise-reliable sources, including the Townshend-authorised biography "Before I Get Old: The Story of The Who". The incorrect date had been supplied by Moon in interviews before it was corrected by Fletcher to 1946. Moon's first serious relationship was with Kim Kerrigan, whom he started dating in January 1965 after she saw the Who play at Le Disque a Go! Go! in Bournemouth. By the end of the year, she discovered she was pregnant; her parents, who were furious, met with the Moons to discuss their options and she moved into the Moon family home in Wembley. They were married on 17 March 1966 at Brent Registry Office, and their daughter Amanda was born on 12 July. The marriage (and child) were kept secret from the press until May 1968. Moon was occasionally violent towards Kim: "if we went out after I had Mandy," she later said, "if someone talked to me, he'd lose it. We'd go home and he'd start a fight with me." He loved Amanda, but his absences due to touring and fondness for practical jokes made their relationship uneasy when she was very young. "He had no idea how to be a father," Kim said. "He was too much of a child himself." From 1971 to 1975 Moon owned Tara, a home in Chertsey where he initially lived with his wife and daughter. The Moons entertained extravagantly at home, and owned a number of cars. Jack McCullogh, then working for Track Records (The Who's label), recalls Moon ordering him to purchase a milk float to store in the garage at Tara. In 1973 Kim, convinced that neither she nor anyone else could moderate Keith's behaviour, left her husband and took Amanda; she sued for divorce in 1975 and later married Faces keyboard player Ian McLagan. Marsh believes that Moon never truly recovered from the loss of his family. Butler agrees; despite his relationship with Annette Walter-Lax, he believes that Kim was the only woman Moon loved. McLagan commented that Moon "couldn't handle it." Moon would harass them with phone calls, and on one occasion before Kim sued for divorce, he invited McLagan for a drink at a Richmond pub and sent several "heavies" to break into McLagan's home on Fife Road and look for Kim, forcing her to hide in a walk-in closet. She died in a car accident in Austin, Texas, on 2 August 2006. In 1975 Moon began a relationship with Swedish model Annette Walter-Lax, who later said that Moon was "so sweet when he was sober, that I was just living with him in the hope that he would kick all this craziness." She begged Malibu neighbour Larry Hagman to check Moon into a clinic to dry out (as he had attempted to do before), but when doctors recorded Moon's chemical intake at breakfast – a bottle of champagne, Courvoisier and amphetamines – they concluded that there was no hope for his rehabilitation. Moon enjoyed being the life of the party. Bill Curbishley remembered that "he wouldn't walk into any room and just listen. He was an attention seeker and he had to have it." Early in the Who's career, Moon got to know the Beatles. He would join them at clubs, forming a particularly close friendship with Ringo Starr. Moon later became friends with Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band members Vivian Stanshall and "Legs" Larry Smith, and the trio would drink and play practical jokes together. Smith remembers one occasion where he and Moon tore apart a pair of trousers, with an accomplice later looking for one-legged trousers. In the early 1970s Moon helped Stanshall with his "Radio Flashes" radio show for BBC Radio 1, filling in for the vacationing John Peel (see Rawlinson End Radio Flashes). Subsequently, in 1973, Moon himself filled in for John Peel in "A Touch of the Moon", a series of four programmes produced by John Walters. Guitarist Joe Walsh enjoyed socialising with Moon. In an interview with "Guitar World" magazine, he recalled that the drummer "taught me how to break things." In 1974, Moon struck up a friendship with actor Oliver Reed while working on the film version of "Tommy". Although Reed matched Moon drink for drink, he appeared on set the next morning ready to perform; Moon, on the other hand, would cost several hours of filming time. Reed later said that Moon "showed me the way to insanity." Peter "Dougal" Butler began working for the Who in 1967, becoming Moon's personal assistant the following year to help him stay out of trouble. He remembers managers Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp saying, "We trust you with Keith but if you ever want any time off, for a holiday or some sort of rest, let us know and we'll pay for it." Butler never took them up on the offer. He followed Moon when the drummer relocated to Los Angeles, but felt that the drug culture prevalent at the time was bad for Moon: "My job was to have eyes in the back of my head." Townshend agreed, saying that by 1975 Butler had "no influence over him whatsoever." Although he was a loyal companion to Moon, the lifestyle eventually became too much for him; he phoned Curbishley, saying that they needed to move back to England or one of them might die. Butler quit in 1978, and later wrote of his experiences in a book entitled "Full Moon: The Amazing Rock and Roll Life of Keith Moon". On 4 January 1970 Moon accidentally killed his friend, driver and bodyguard, Neil Boland, outside the Red Lion pub in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Pub patrons had begun to attack his Bentley and Moon, drunk, began driving to escape them. During the fracas, he hit Boland. After an investigation, the coroner ruled Boland's death an accident and Moon received an absolute discharge after being charged with a number of offences. Those close to Moon said that he was haunted by Boland's death for the rest of his life. According to Pamela Des Barres, Moon had nightmares (which woke them both) about the incident and said he had no right to be alive. In mid-1978 Moon moved into Flat 12, 9 Curzon Place (later Curzon Square), Shepherd Market, Mayfair, London, renting from Harry Nilsson. Cass Elliot had died there four years earlier, at the age of 32; Nilsson was concerned about letting the flat to Moon, believing it was cursed. Townshend disagreed, assuring him that "lightning wouldn't strike the same place twice". After moving in, Moon began a prescribed course of Heminevrin (clomethiazole, a sedative) to alleviate his alcohol withdrawal symptoms. He wanted to get sober, but due to his fear of psychiatric hospitals he wanted to do it at home. Clomethiazole is discouraged for unsupervised detoxification because of its addictive potential, its tendency to induce tolerance, and its risk of death when mixed with alcohol. The pills were prescribed by Geoffrey Dymond, a physician who was unaware of Moon's lifestyle. Dymond prescribed a bottle of 100 pills, instructing him to take one pill when he felt a craving for alcohol but not more than three pills per day. By September 1978 Moon was having difficulty playing the drums, according to roadie Dave "Cy" Langston. After seeing Moon in the studio trying to overdub drums for "The Kids Are Alright", he said, "After two or three hours, he got more and more sluggish, he could barely hold a drum stick." On 6 September, Moon and Walter-Lax were guests of Paul and Linda McCartney at a preview of a film, "The Buddy Holly Story". After dining with the McCartneys at Peppermint Park in Covent Garden, Moon and Walter-Lax returned to their flat. He watched a film ("The Abominable Dr. Phibes"), and asked Walter-Lax to cook him steak and eggs. When she objected, Moon replied, "If you don't like it, you can fuck off!" These were his last words. Moon then took 32 clomethiazole tablets. When Walter-Lax checked on him the following afternoon, she discovered he was dead. Curbishley phoned the flat at around 5 pm looking for Moon, and Dymond gave him the news. Curbishley told Townshend, who informed the rest of the band. Entwistle was giving an interview to French journalists when he was interrupted by a phone call with the news of Moon's death. Trying to tactfully and quickly end the interview, he broke down and wept when the journalist asked him about the Who's future plans. Moon's death came shortly after the release of "Who Are You". On the album cover, he is straddling a chair to hide his weight gain; the words "Not to be taken away" are on the back of the chair. Police determined that there were 32 clomethiazole pills in Moon's system. Six were digested, sufficient to cause his death; the other 26 were undigested when he died. Max Glatt, an authority on alcoholism, wrote in "The Sunday Times" that Moon should never have been given the drug. Moon was cremated on 13 September 1978 at Golders Green Crematorium in London, and his ashes were scattered in its Gardens of Remembrance. Townshend convinced Daltrey and Entwistle to carry on touring as The Who, although he later said that it was his means of coping with Moon's death and "completely irrational, bordering on insane". AllMusic's Bruce Eder said, "When Keith Moon died, the Who carried on and were far more competent and reliable musically, but that wasn't what sold rock records." In November 1978, Faces drummer Kenney Jones joined the Who. Townshend later said that Jones "was one of the few British drummers who could fill Keith's shoes"; Daltrey was less enthusiastic, saying that Jones "wasn't the right style". Keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick, who had rehearsed with Moon earlier in the year, joined the live band as an unofficial member. Jones left the Who in 1988, and drummer Simon Phillips (who praised Moon's ability to drum over the backing track of "Baba O'Riley") toured with the band the following year. Since 1996, the Who's drummer has been Ringo Starr's son Zak Starkey, who had been given a drum kit by Moon (whom he called "Uncle Keith"). Starkey had previously toured in 1994 with Roger Daltrey. The London 2012 Summer Olympic Committee contacted Curbishley about Moon performing at the games, 34 years after his death. In an interview with "The Times" Curbishley quipped, "I emailed back saying Keith now resides in Golders Green Crematorium, having lived up to the Who's anthemic line 'I hope I die before I get old' ... If they have a round table, some glasses and candles, we might contact him." Moon's drumming has been praised by critics. Author Nick Talevski described him as "the greatest drummer in rock," adding that "he was to the drums what Jimi Hendrix was to the guitar." Holly George-Warren, editor and author of "The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: The First 25 Years", said: "With the death of Keith Moon in 1978, rock arguably lost its single greatest drummer." According to Eder, "Moon, with his manic, lunatic side, and his life of excessive drinking, partying, and other indulgences, probably represented the youthful, zany side of rock & roll, as well as its self-destructive side, better than anyone else on the planet." "The New Book of Rock Lists" ranked Moon No. 1 on its list of "50 Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Drummers," and he was ranked No. 2 on the 2011 "Rolling Stone" "Best Drummers of All Time" readers' poll. In 2016, the same magazine ranked him No. 2 in their list of the 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time, behind John Bonham. Adam Budofsky, editor of "Drummer" magazine, said that Moon's performances on "Who's Next" and "Quadrophenia" "represent a perfect balance of technique and passion" and "there's been no drummer who's touched his unique slant on rock and rhythm since." Several rock drummers, including Neil Peart and Dave Grohl, have cited Moon as an influence. The Jam paid homage to Moon on the second single from their third album, "Down in the Tube Station at Midnight"; the B-side of the single is a Who cover ("So Sad About Us"), and the back cover of the record has a photo of Moon's face. The Jam's single was released about a month after Moon's death. Animal, one of Jim Henson's Muppet characters, may have been based on Keith Moon due to their similar hair, eyebrows, personality and drumming style. Jazz drummer Elvin Jones praised Moon's work during "Underture", as integral to the song's effect. "God bless his beautiful heart ..." Ozzy Osbourne told "Sounds" a month after the drummer's death. "People will be talking about Keith Moon 'til they die, man. Someone somewhere will say, 'Remember Keith Moon?' Who will remember Joe Bloggs who got killed in a car crash? No one. He's dead, so what? He didn't do anything to talk of." Clem Burke of Blondie has said "Early on all I cared about was Keith Moon and the Who. When I was about eleven or twelve, my favourite part of drum lessons was the last ten minutes, when I'd get to sit at the drumset and play along to my favourite record. I'd bring in 'My Generation'. At the end of the song, the drums go nuts. 'My Generation' was a turning point for me because before that it was all the Charlie Watts and Ringo type of thing." In 1998 Tony Fletcher published a biography of Moon, "Dear Boy: The Life of Keith Moon", in the United Kingdom. The phrase "Dear Boy" became a catchphrase of Moon's when, influenced by Kit Lambert, he began affecting a pompous English accent. In 2000, the book was released in the US as "Moon (The Life and Death of a Rock Legend)". "Q Magazine" called the book "horrific and terrific reading", and "Record Collector" said it was "one of rock's great biographies." In 2008, English Heritage declined an application for Moon to be awarded a blue plaque. Speaking to "The Guardian", Christopher Frayling said they "decided that bad behaviour and overdosing on various substances wasn't a sufficient qualification." The UK's Heritage Foundation disagreed with the decision, presenting a plaque which was unveiled on 9 March 2009. Daltrey, Townshend, Robin Gibb and Moon's mother Kit were present at the ceremony. Keith Moon Keith John Moon (23 August 1946 – 7 September 1978) was an English drummer for the rock band the Who. He was noted for his unique style and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour. His drumming continues to be praised by critics and musicians. He was posthumously inducted into the "Modern Drummer"
when was the last time anyone was on the moon	"Delos D. Harriman" of his life, Harriman decides to clandestinely arrange to go to the Moon himself. Harriman meets two spacemen, Captain James (Mac) McIntyre and Engineer Charles (Charlie) Cummings, who are down on their luck and giving rocketship rides at county fairs. He secretly hires them and pays to have an old orbital ship purchased and upgraded for a flight to the Moon. To finance this, he liquidates his financial holdings without explanation. His actions cause his nieces and nephews to take him to court for a competency hearing. Harriman fails to show up for the hearing and joins the two spacemen as they prepare the ship at a secret desert location. A deputy marshal locates them, but is knocked out by Charlie Cummings. As he comes to he sees them making a hurried departure in the modified ship. The spacemen give the old man his last wish. He barely survives the trip, and dies shortly after landing. Charlie buries Harriman's space-suited body on the surface of the Moon and scrawls his epitaph on the tag from an oxygen bottle. It is Robert Louis Stevenson's "Requiem", which is inscribed on his own headstone in Samoa. <poem>Under the wide and starry sky, Dig the grave and let me lie: Glad did I live and gladly die, And I laid me down with a will! This be the verse you grave for me: Here he lies where he longed to be; Home is the sailor, home from sea, And the hunter home from the hill.</poem> Charlie and Mac then abandon the ship and begin the thirty-mile trip to Luna City. In the later publication, "The Man Who Sold the Moon", Harriman is in his prime. Determined to carry out his vision of a private-venture rocket to the Moon, he buys, bullies, finagles, and deceives anyone who stands in his way. His partners, who respect his successes if not his methods, think of him as the last of the old robber barons, or perhaps the first of the new ones. At the end of that story, published later than its sequel, he is left behind as the first colonization team leaves for the Moon. Harriman is long married, but his marriage takes second place to his business. When raising money for his venture, he warns Mrs. Harriman that they may close down their extensive underground apartments (built for safety during the so-called "Crazy Years") and live only in the above ground parts of the house. He also warns her that she may have to relearn the art of running a house without servants. Heinlein's last novel, "To Sail Beyond the Sunset", consists of the memoirs of Maureen Johnson, mother of Lazarus Long, and thus includes considerable detail about the twentieth century of Lazarus's home timeline. We learn that Maureen was involved in Harriman's Moon project as the mistress of his partner George Strong, a director of Harriman's corporation, and a last-minute benefactor. While the character only appears in the three Heinlein works, the name "Harriman" appears throughout Heinlein's "Future History" stories, in the names of various foundations and trusts founded by the character. Heinlein's choice of the name 'Harriman' may be in reference, or very loosely inspired by, E.H. Harriman (the railroad baron) or Averell Harriman (businessman and diplomat). The Harriman family was particularly well-known at the time of Heinlein's writing, with Averill Harriman having held several high profile government positions during World War II. Delos D. Harriman Delos David Harriman, known as D.D. Harriman, is a character in the fiction of science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein. He is an entrepreneurial businessman who masterminded
when was the last time anyone was on the moon	"Warren Moon" the Oilers. Over his 17 NFL seasons, Moon was named to nine Pro Bowls and made seven playoff appearances. Following ten seasons with the Oilers, he had brief multiple-year stints with the Vikings, Seahawks, and Chiefs before retiring at age 44. At the time of his retirement, Moon held several all-time professional gridiron football passing records. He was less successful in the NFL postseason, never advancing beyond the division round of the playoffs, although he won five Grey Cups in the CFL. Moon was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006, becoming the first African-American quarterback and the first undrafted quarterback to receive the honor. Born in Los Angeles, California, Moon was the middle child amongst six sisters. His father, Harold, was a laborer and died of liver disease when Moon was seven years old. His mother, Pat, was a nurse, and Warren learned to cook, sew, iron and housekeep to help take care of the family. He decided early on that he could play only one sport in high school because he had to work the rest of the year to help the family. He chose to play football as a quarterback since he found that he could throw a football longer, harder, and straighter than anyone he knew. He enrolled at Alexander Hamilton High School, using the address of one of his mother's friends to gain the advantages of a better academic and athletic reputation than his neighborhood high school could offer. He had little playing time until his junior year, when he took over as varsity starting quarterback. In his senior season in 1973, they reached the city playoffs, and Moon was named to the all-city team. Moon attended two-year West Los Angeles College, and was a record-setting quarterback as a freshman in 1974, but only a handful of four-year colleges showed interest in signing him. Offensive coordinator Dick Scesniak of the University of Washington in Seattle, however, was eager to sign the rifle-armed Moon. Adamant that he play quarterback, Moon considered himself to be perhaps a slightly above-average athlete who lacked either the size, speed, or strength to play other positions. Under new head coach Don James, Washington was in Moon's first two seasons as a starter, but as a senior in 1977, he led the Huskies to the Pac-8 title and a upset win in the Rose Bowl over Michigan. Moon was named the game's Most Valuable Player on the strength of two short touchdown runs and a third-quarter 28-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Robert "Spider" Gaines. Despite his collegiate success, Moon went unselected in the twelve-round NFL Draft. With no takers in the NFL, he turned to the Canadian Football League. Moon signed with the Edmonton Eskimos, where he and Tom Wilkinson shared signal-calling duties and helped lead the Eskimos to a record five consecutive Grey Cup victories in 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, and 1982. Moon won the offensive Grey Cup Most Valuable Player award in the 1980 and 1982 games, and became the first professional quarterback to pass for 5,000 yards in a season by reaching exactly 5,000 yards in 1982. In his final CFL season of 1983, he threw for a league record 5,648 yards and won the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award. In his six years in the CFL, Moon amassed 1,369 completions on 2,382 attempts (57.4 completion percentage) for 21,228 yards and 144 touchdown passes. He also led his team to victory in 9 of 10 postseason games. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Eskimos' Wall of Honour. In 2006, he was ranked fifth on a list of the greatest 50 CFL players presented by Canadian sports network TSN. Moon's decision to enter the NFL touched off a bidding war for his services, won by the Houston Oilers, led by Hugh Campbell, his head coach for his first five seasons in Edmonton. Gifford Nielsen—the starting quarterback in 1983—retired after Moon joined the team, stating that Moon becoming the starter was inevitable. Moon had a difficult adjustment period, but threw for a franchise-record 3,338 yards in his first season in 1984, but Campbell was just at the helm and did not finish the 1985 season. When new head coach Jerry Glanville found ways to best use Moon's strong arm in 1986, the team began having success. In the strike-marred 1987 season, the Oilers posted a record, their first winning season since 1980. In his first postseason game in the NFL, Moon passed for 237 yards and a touchdown in the Oilers' overtime win over the Seattle Seahawks in the wildcard round of the playoffs. Prior to the 1989 season, Moon signed a five-year, $10-million contract extension, which made him the highest-paid player in the NFL at that time. In 1990, Moon led the league with 4,689 passing yards. He also led the league in attempts (584), completions (362), and touchdowns (33), and tied Dan Marino's record with nine 300-yard games in a season. That included throwing for 527 yards against Kansas City on December 16, 1990, the second-most passing yards ever in a single game. The following year, he again led the league in passing yards, with 4,690. At the same time, he joined Marino and Dan Fouts as the only quarterbacks to post back-to-back 4,000-yard seasons. Moon also established new NFL records that season with 655 attempts and 404 completions. In 1992, Moon played only eleven games due to injuries, but the Oilers still managed to achieve a 10–6 record, including a victory over the Buffalo Bills, in the final game of the season. Two weeks later, the Oilers faced the Bills again in the first round of the AFC playoffs. Aided by Moon's 222 passing yards and four touchdowns in the first half, Houston built up a halftime lead and increased it to when Buffalo quarterback Frank Reich's first pass of the third quarter was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. The Bills stormed back with five unanswered second-half touchdowns to take a lead with time running out in the final period. Moon managed to lead the Oilers on a last-second field goal drive to tie the game at 38 and force overtime, but threw an interception in the extra period that set up Buffalo kicker Steve Christie's game-winning field goal. The Bills' rally from a 32-point deficit was the largest comeback victory in NFL history and is now known in NFL lore simply as the Comeback. Moon finished the game with 36 completions for 371 yards and four touchdowns, with two interceptions. His 36 completions was an NFL postseason record. The 1993 season was the Oilers' best with Moon, but was his last with the team. Houston went and won the AFC Central division crown, but lost to Joe Montana and the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round of the playoffs. Moon set a franchise record with Houston for wins with 70, which stood until Steve McNair broke it in 2004, long after the team had become the Tennessee Titans. He also left the Oilers as the franchise leader in passing touchdowns, passing yards, pass attempts, and pass completions, all of which still stand today. Moon was traded to the Minnesota Vikings after the season, where he passed for over 4,200 yards in each of his first two seasons, but missed half of the 1996 season with a broken collarbone. The Vikings' starting quarterback job was given to Brad Johnson and Moon was released after he refused to take a $3.8-million pay cut to serve as Johnson's backup. Moon then signed with the Seattle Seahawks as a free agent, made the Pro Bowl, and was named Pro Bowl MVP. After a two-year stint in the Pacific Northwest, an aging Moon signed as a free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs as a backup in 1999. He played in only three games in two years with the Chiefs and announced his retirement at age 44 in January 2001. Combining his NFL and CFL stats, Moon's numbers are nearly unmatched in professional football annals: 5,357 completions in 9,205 attempts for 70,553 yards and 435 touchdowns. Even if his Canadian Football League statistics are discounted, Moon's NFL career numbers are still exceptional: 3,988 completions for 49,325 yards, 291 touchdown passes, 1,736 yards rushing, and 22 rushing touchdowns. Warren Moon also held individual NFL lifetime records for most fumbles recovered (56) and most fumbles made (162), but this was surpassed by Brett Favre in 2010. Moon was in the top five all-time when he retired for passing yards, passing touchdowns, pass attempts, and pass completions. Moon was named to 9 Pro Bowl games (1988–1995, 1997). He works as a broadcaster for the Seattle Seahawks on both TV and radio. On radio, he is a play-by-play announcer with former Seattle Seahawks receiver Steve Raible. He was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006, becoming both the first Canadian Football Hall of Fame player, first undrafted quarterback, and first African-American quarterback honored; he was elected in his first year of eligibility. The Tennessee Titans retired his number at halftime on October 1, 2006 vs the Dallas Cowboys. Moon won his first Super Bowl ring in 2014 as a broadcaster for the Seattle Seahawks. Moon has mentored Cam Newton, the first overall pick of the 2011 NFL Draft, alluding to their common experiences as prominent African-American quarterbacks. He was suspended indefinitely from his sportscaster position after he was sued, in December 2017, for sexual harassment. Warren Moon remains statistically one of the best players ever for the Oilers/Titans franchise. 's NFL off-season, Moon still held at least 37 Titans franchise records, including: Moon married Felicia Hendricks, whom he had known since they were 16 years old, in 1981. In 1994, a former Vikings cheerleader accused Moon of sexually harassing her and the case was settled out of court. In 1995, Moon was arrested after an incident with his wife at their home. Moon was acquitted after his wife testified that she initiated violence and that he was trying to restrain her. They divorced in 2001. They have four children together, including a daughter, Blair, who was a member of Tulane's women's volleyball team. Moon has been married to Mandy Ritter since 2005. Moon appeared in the film "Any Given Sunday" in a cameo role as a head coach from New York. In 2007, Moon was arrested for suspicion of DUI in Kirkland, a suburb of Seattle. The charges were reduced to first-degree negligent driving after Moon registered breath-alcohol levels below 0.07 at the police station. Moon pleaded guilty to the negligent driving charge, and was sentenced to 40 hours of community service. Warren Moon Harold Warren Moon (born November 18, 1956) is a former American and Canadian football quarterback
when was the last time anyone was on the moon	"Profile (comics)" committee strikes too soon and the plot reinvigurates a broken Moon Knight. In a later occasion, Moon Knight has leaned on the Profile for help in finding his sidekick-turned-enemy Midnight. The Profile has attempted to further curry favor with Marc Spector by giving him advice on how to win back his girlfriend Marlene. He also aided Moon Knight by providing information that terrified a SHIELD psychologist into approving Spector's registration as a superhero, but later he bailed one of the Whyos out of jail and the gang member was soon seen in the employ of Norman Osborn. During the "Dark Reign" storyline where he is brought by The Hood (in the presence of Norman Osborn) to help him in the hunting of Marc Spector. During the "Shadowland" storyline, Daredevil (who had just became the leader of the Hand) hires Profile to fight Moon Knight. He is assisted in this task by a second avatar of Khonshu. It turns out that the second avatar of Khonshu that's helping Profile is actually Moon Knight's brother Randall Spector in the alias of Shadow Knight. The Profile is able to divine people's backgrounds and identify character traits and preferences simply by looking at them. This allows him to accurately predict their reactions to a variety of situations. "Moon Knight" (Vol. 4) #4 suggested that he may be a mutant and confirms that he is not immune to his own powers. In an interview regarding Marvel's "Shadowland" crossover, writer Greg Hurwitz characterized the nature of the Profile's powers as that of "... a brilliant, on-the-spot psychologist who can profile anyone he looks at...". However, in the Heroic Age: Villains special, he was implied to perhaps indeed be a mutant with the ability "...to see anyone's needs, wants, and desires...". His true status has yet to be confirmed at this time. The Profile's power manifests as almost-psychedelic art and words surrounding a person, identifying their secrets, idiosyncrasies and other traits similar to a virtual-reality interface. His eyes seemed to be physically identifiable as "mutated" in his original appearance, but have since not been shown as such. Although his powers are useful against humans, mutants, science experiments, and technology-powered superheroes, the Profile's accuracy is seriously compromised by genuine supernatural influence, such as that of Moon Knight's patron Khonshu. When Marc Spector donned his Moon Knight vestments, The Profile was stricken with fear when looking at him, but could read him like a book when in his civilian attire/identity. Profile (comics) The Profile is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Charlie Huston and penciler David Finch, and first appeared in "Moon Knight" (Vol. 3) #2 (July 2006) in the second chapter of "The Bottom." In "The Bottom", The Profile has been hired by The New Committee to assist them in their plans to turn Moon Knight into their personal assassin. Detached and somewhat amoral, he seems dismissive of Moon Knight as a hero. His plan was
when was the last time anyone was on the moon	"Mythological anecdotes of Ganesha" Other incidents are touched on in the texts, but to a far lesser extent. History about the birth of Ganesha are found in the later Puranas, composed from about 600 CE onwards. References to Ganesha in the earlier Puranas, such as the Vayu and Brahmanda Purnasa are considered to be later interpolations made during the 7th to 10th centuries. While Ganesha is popularly considered to be the son of Shiva and Parvati, the Puranic myths relate several different versions of his birth. These include versions in which he is created by Shiva, by Parvati, by Shiva and Parvati, or in a mysterious manner that is later discovered by Shiva and Parvati. The family includes his brother Skanda, kartikeya. Regional differences dictate the order of their births. In North India, Skanda is generally said to be the elder brother while in the South, Ganesha is considered the first born. Prior to the emergence of Ganesha, Skanda had a long and glorious history as an important martial deity from about 500 BCE to about 600 CE, when his worship declined significantly in North India. The period of this decline is concurrent with the rise of Ganesha. Several stories relate episodes of sibling rivalry between Ganesha and Skanda and may reflect historical tensions between the respective sects. Once there was a competition between Ganesha and his brother as to see who could circumambulate the three worlds faster and hence win the fruit of knowledge. Skanda went off on a journey to cover the three worlds while Ganesha simply circumambulated his parents. When asked why he did so, he answered that his parents Shiva and Parvati constituted the three worlds and was thus given the fruit of knowledge. Hindu mythology presents many stories, which explain how Ganesha obtained his elephant or "gaja" head. Often, the origin of this particular attribute is to be found in the same anecdotes which tell about his birth. The stories also reveal the origins of the enormous popularity of his cult. Devotees sometimes interpret his elephant head as indicating intelligence, discriminative power, fidelity, or other attributes thought to be had by elephants. The large elephant ears are said to denote wisdom and the ability to listen to people who seek help. Ganesha was born from saint to protect parvati The most well-known story is probably the one taken from the "Shiva Purana". The goddess Parvati had started preparing for a bath. As she didn’t want to be disturbed during her bath and since Nandi was not at Kailash to keep guard of the door, Parvati took the turmeric paste (for bathing) from her body and made a form of a boy and breathed life into him. This boy was instructed by Parvati to guard the door and to not let anyone in until she finished her bath. After Shiva had come out of his meditation, he wanted to go and see Parvati but found himself being stopped by this strange boy. Shiva tried to reason with the boy saying that he was Parvati's husband but the boy did not listen and was determined to not let Shiva enter until his mother Parvati finished her bath. The boy's behavior surprised Shiva. Sensing that this was no ordinary boy, the usually peaceful Shiva decided he would have to fight the boy and in his divine fury severed the boy's head with his Trishul thereby killing him instantly. When Parvati learned of this, she was so enraged and insulted that she decided to destroy the entire Creation. At her call, she summoned all of her ferocious multi-armed forms, the Yoginis arose from her body and threatened to destroy all. Lord Brahma, being the Creator, naturally had his issues with this, and pleaded that she reconsider her drastic plan. She said she would, but only if two conditions were met: one, that the boy be brought back to life, and two, that he be forever worshipped before all the other gods. Shiva, having cooled down by this time, agreed to Parvati’s conditions. He sent his Shiva-dutas out with orders to bring back the head of the first creature that is lying dead with its head facing North. The Shiva-dutas soon returned with the head of a strong and powerful elephant Gajasura which Lord Brahma placed onto boy's body. Breathing new life into him, he was declared as Gajanana and gave him the status of being foremost among the gods, and leader of all the ganas (classes of beings), Ganapati. Once, there existed an Asura (demon) with all the characteristics of an elephant, called Gajasura, who was undergoing a penitence (tapas). Shiva, satisfied by this austerity, decided to grant him, as a reward, whatever gift he desired. The demon wished that he could emanate fire continually from his own body so that no one could ever dare to approach him. The Lord granted him his request. Gajasura continued his penitence and Shiva, who appeared in front of him from time to time, asked him once again what he desired. The demon responded: "I desire that You inhabit my stomach." Shiva agreed. Parvati sought him everywhere without results. As a last recourse, she went to her brother Vishnu, asking him to find her husband. He, who knows everything, reassured her: "Don't worry, dear sister, your husband is Bhola Shankara and promptly grants to his devotees whatever they ask of him, without regard for the consequences; for this reason, I think he has gotten himself into some trouble. I will find out what has happened." Then Vishnu, the omniscient director of the cosmic game, staged a small comedy. He transformed Nandi (the bull of Shiva) into a dancing bull and conducted him in front of Gajasura, assuming, at the same time, the appearance of a flutist. The enchanting performance of the bull sent the demon into ecstasies, and he asked the flutist to tell him what he desired. The musical Vishnu responded: "Can you give me that which I ask?" Gajasura replied: "Who do you take me for? I can immediately give you whatever you ask." The flutist then said: "If that's so, liberate Shiva from your stomach." Gajasura understood then that this must have been no other than Vishnu himself, the only one who could have known that secret and he threw himself at his feet. Having agreed to liberate Shiva, Gajasura asks him for two last gifts: "I have been blessed by you with many gifts; my last requests are that everyone should remember me adoring my head and you should wear my skin." A lesser known story from the "Brahma Vaivarta Purana" narrates a different version of Ganesha's birth. On the insistence of Shiva, Parvati fasted for a year ("punyaka vrata") to propitiate Vishnu so that he would grant her a son. Vishnu, after the completion of the sacrifice, announced that he would incarnate himself as her son in every kalpa (eon). Accordingly, Ganesha was born to Parvati as a charming infant. This event was celebrated with great enthusiasm and all the gods were invited to take a look at the baby. However Shani (Saturn), the son of Surya, hesitated to look at the baby since Shani was cursed with the gaze of destruction. However Parvati insisted that he look at the baby, which Shani did, and immediately the infant's head fell off. Seeing Shiva and Parvati grief-stricken, Vishnu mounted on Garuda, his divine eagle, and rushed to the banks of the "Pushpa-Bhadra" river, from where he brought back the head of a young elephant. The head of the elephant was joined with the headless body of Parvati's son, thus reviving him. The infant was named Ganesha and all the Gods blessed Ganesha and wished Him power and prosperity. Another tale of Ganesha's birth relates to an incident in which Shiva slew Aditya(Lord sun), the son of a sage. Shiva restored life to the dead boy, but this could not pacify the outraged sage Kashyapa, who was one of the seven great Rishis. Kashyap cursed Shiva and declared that Shiva's son would lose his head. When this happened, the head of Indra's elephant was used to replace it. Still another tale states that on one occasion, Parvati's used bath-water was thrown into the Ganges, and this water was drunk by the elephant-headed Goddess Malini, who gave birth to a baby with four arms and five elephant heads. The river goddess Ganga claimed him as her son, but Shiva declared him to be Parvati's son, reduced his five heads to one and enthroned him as the "controller of obstacles" (Vignesha). There are various anecdotes which explain how Ganesha broke off one of his tusks. Devotees sometimes say that his single tusk indicates his ability to overcome all forms of dualism. In India, an elephant with one tusk is sometimes called a "Ganesh". In the first part of the epic poem "Mahabharata", it is written that the sage Vyasa () asked Ganesha to transcribe the poem as he dictated it to him. Ganesha agreed, but only on the condition that Vyasa recite the poem uninterrupted, without pausing. The sage, in his turn, posed the condition that Ganesha would not only have to write, but would have to understand everything that he heard before writing it down. In this way, Vyasa might recuperate a bit from his continuous talking by simply reciting a difficult verse which Ganesha could not understand. The dictation began, but in the rush of writing Ganesha's feather pen broke. He broke off a tusk and used it as a pen so that the transcription could proceed without interruption, permitting him to keep his word. This is the single passage in which Ganesha appears in that epic. The story is not accepted as part of the original text by the editors of the critical edition of the "Mahabharata", where the twenty-line story is relegated to a footnote to an appendix. Ganesha's association with mental agility and learning is probably one reason he is shown as scribe for Vyasa's dictation of the Mahabharata in this interpolation to the text. Brown dates the story as 8th century CE, and Moriz Winternitz concludes that it was known as early as c. 900 CE but he maintains that it had not yet been added to the Mahabharata some 150 years later. Winternitz also drew attention to the fact that a distinctive feature of Southern manuscripts of the Mahabharata is their omission of this Ganesha legend. One day, Parashurama, an avatar of Vishnu, went to pay a visit to Shiva, but along the way he was blocked by Ganesha. Parashurama hurled himself at Ganesha with his axe and Ganesha (knowing that this axe was given to him by Shiva) allowed himself, out of respect for his father, to be struck and lost his tusk as a result. This story is heavily referenced in the 2017 game "", in which the protagonist goes on a quest to retrieve Ganesha's tusk. After coming back from the feast at Kubera's palace, Ganapati was riding on his mouse Dinka on the way home. It was a full moon that night. As he was riding, Dinka saw a snake and ran behind a bush. Ganapati fell to the ground and his stomach broke open. Ganapati started to put the food back in his stomach. The moon god saw him and started laughing loudly. Angered by this, Ganapati pronounced a curse on the moon god: "You shall be always black and never be seen by anyone". Frightened by the curse, the moon god started pleading for mercy. Ganapati said "Ok, but you shall be changing from new moon to full moon. Also if anyone sees the moon on my birthday, he or she shall not attain moksha (liberation)." The moon god kept quiet. After Ganapati had finished putting the food in his stomach, he took the snake and tied it around his belly. Then he continued going back home. There once took place a great competition between the Devas to decide who among them should be the head of the Gana (the troops of semi-gods at the service of Shiva). The competitors were required to circle the world as fast as possible and return to the Feet of Parvati. The gods took off, each on his or her own vehicle, and even Ganesha participated with enthusiasm in the race; but he was extremely heavy and was riding on Dinka, a mouse! Naturally, his pace was remarkably slow and this was a great disadvantage. He had not yet made much headway when there appeared before him the sage Narada (son of Brahma), who asked him where he was going. Ganesha was very annoyed and went into a rage because it was considered unlucky to encounter a solitary Brahmin just at the beginning of a voyage. Notwithstanding the fact that Narada was the greatest of Brahmins, son of Brahma himself, this was still a bad omen. Moreover, it wasn't considered a good sign to be asked where one was heading when one was already on the way to some destination; therefore, Ganesha felt doubly unfortunate. Nonetheless, the great Brahmin succeeded in calming his fury. Ganesha explained to him the motives for his sadness and his terrible desire to win. Narada consoled and exhorted him not to despair; he said that for a child, the whole world was embodied within the mother, so all Ganesha had to do was to circle his Parvati and he would defeat those who had more speed but less understanding. Ganesha returned to his mother, who asked him how he was able to finish the race so quickly. Ganesha told him of his encounter with Narada and of the Brahmin's counsel. Parvati, satisfied with this response, pronounced her son the winner and, from that moment on, he was acclaimed with the name of "Ganapati" (conductor of the celestial armies) and "Vinayaka" (lord of all beings). One anecdote, taken from the Purana, narrates that the treasurer of Svarga (paradise) and god of wealth, Kubera, went one day to Mount Kailash in order to receive the darshan (vision) of Shiva. Since he was extremely vain, he invited Shiva to a feast in his fabulous city, "Alakapuri", so that he could show off to him all of his wealth. Shiva smiled and said to him: "I cannot come, but you can invite my son Ganesha. But I warn you that he is a voracious eater." Unperturbed, Kubera felt confident that he could satisfy even the most insatiable appetite, like that of Ganesha, with his opulence. He took the little son of Shiva with him into his great city. There, he offered him a ceremonial bath and dressed him in sumptuous clothing. After these initial rites, the great banquet began. While the servants of Kubera were working themselves to the bone in order to bring the portions, the little Ganesha just continued to eat and eat and eat. His appetite did not decrease even after he had devoured the servings which were destined for the other guests. There was not even time to substitute one plate with another because Ganesha had already devoured everything, and with gestures of impatience, continued waiting for more food. Having devoured everything which had been prepared, Ganesha began eating the decorations, the tableware, the furniture, the chandelier. Terrified, Kubera prostrated himself in front of the little omnivorous one and supplicated him to spare him, at least, the rest of the palace. "I am hungry. If you don't give me something else to eat, I will eat you as well!", he said to Kubera. Desperate, Kubera rushed to mount Kailasa to ask Shiva to remedy the situation. The Lord then gave him a handful of roasted rice, saying that something as simple as a handful of roasted rice would satiate Ganesha, if it were offered with humility and love. Ganesha had swallowed up almost the entire city when Kubera finally arrived and humbly gave him the rice. With that, Ganesha was finally satisfied and calmed. Mythological anecdotes of Ganesha There are many anecdotes of Ganesha. Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. He is worshipped as the lord of beginnings and as the lord of removing obstacles, the patron of arts
when was the last time anyone was on the moon	"Moon Tiger" and is spending her last remaining moments in and out of consciousness thinking of writing a history of the world with her life as a blueprint. Her first, primordial recollections are of a father that died in World War I, and of the summer of 1920, when she was 10 and competing with her 11-year-old brother Gordon for fossils. Claudia and Gordon are, at times throughout their lives, rivals, lovers, and best friends to each other. When the two are in their late teens they begin an incestuous relationship and find it hard to relate to almost any other person their own age. Soon, however, their college careers and other events allow both to open up to the outside world, and look outward for companionship. At the outset of World War II, Gordon, a would-be economist, is sent to India, whereas Claudia sets aside her studies in history to become a war correspondent. Independent and enterprising, Claudia talks her way into a correspondent's post in Cairo, where she meets Tom Southern, a captain of an English armoured tank division, who sweeps her off her feet. Tom and Claudia fall in love during several long weekends together while he is on leave from the front. But their future together is never to materialize: shortly after their time together, the English are called to defend Egypt from Erwin Rommel's offensive at the First Battle of El Alamein, and Tom is declared missing. Later on, Claudia receives news that he has been killed. Shortly after Tom's death, Claudia finds out she is pregnant, and decides that she will have the child, even though she would have to raise it alone. It isn't to be: Claudia miscarries, and is never told whether the child she had carried was a boy or a girl. That uncertainty, along with her fear that Tom died a horrible and painful death, will haunt her for the rest of her life. After the War, Claudia and Gordon reunite, but the encounter is more friendly than passionate. Each of them has obviously been changed by the War, but they are both sparse on actual details during their conversations. Gordon marries a girl named Sylvia, whom Claudia finds insipid and boring. Claudia meanwhile met Jasper, a well connected young man with whom she goes on to have an on-and-off, rather stormy relationship, and one that Gordon openly disapproves of. In 1948 Claudia finds herself pregnant again, this time by Jasper, and while she has no intention of marrying him, she decides to have the child, Lisa. While Claudia loves Lisa, she finds she has little patience and time to care for a child, and so Lisa ultimately ends up being raised by her maternal and paternal grandmothers, who share her custody and dictate her upbringing. Not surprisingly, Lisa grows up sullen and indifferent to Claudia, and marries a respectable (boring) man at a young age. After reading an article Claudia has written condemning the Soviet invasion, a Hungarian functionary who becomes implicated in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution contacts Claudia out of the blue. Knowing that he will soon be imprisoned, the functionary decides to ask Claudia to make sure that his son Laszlo, who is in England at art college, does not attempt to return to Hungary. Claudia becomes a sort of surrogate mother to Laszlo, whom she grows to love and admire over the years, recognizing that he is drastically different from anyone else she knows: an open, painfully honest, sensitive, self-destructive artist. Claudia writes several popular history books, earning accolades from the public and occasional scorn from academic historians. She also briefly becomes a consultant for a movie based on her history of the Spanish invasion of Mexico, which leads to a personal scandal when she is in a car accident with the star of the movie, and the press suspects there is more to the relationship than just friendship. The event earns scorn from Jasper, who refuses to see her when she is in the hospital. Gordon, on the other hand, visits her to let her know that she is not alone. Later in life, Claudia decides to travel to Egypt alone but finds it much changed. Yet the desert brings back powerful memories of her intense love for Tom Southern and enduring pain at his death, a pain she is still unable to share with anyone else even after all the years that have passed. Shortly thereafter, Gordon dies, and leaves a gaping void in Claudia's life. A few years later, when she is diagnosed with cancer, and knowing her own death is imminent, she apologizes to Lisa for having been a cold and distant mother. Lisa accepts the apology, but is not sure how to feel about it: it is the most unlikely thing Claudia (who to Lisa seemed to revel in being an almost omnipotent figure) has ever done for Lisa. Soon after the War, Tom's sister Jennifer reads an article Claudia wrote about her experiences in Egypt, realizes she is the "C." Tom had often referred to in letters home, and mails Claudia his wartime diary. Soon before she dies, Claudia asks Laszlo to fetch Tom's diary for her. Reading over the short entries in Tom's diary, many of which refer to his love for her, Claudia allows herself to reflect on her grief for Tom, her sorrow at having been left behind, and the course her life might have taken had he survived. She comes to peace with the fact that she too will soon become a set of imperfect memories of those who knew her. The next day, Claudia dies. Moon Tiger Moon Tiger is a 1987 novel by Penelope Lively which spans the time before, during and after World War II. The novel won the 1987 Booker Prize. It is written from multiple points of view and moves backward and forward through time. It begins as the story of a woman who, on her deathbed, decides to write a history of
when was the last time anyone was on the moon	"Big moon peyotism" soon spread all over the Indian Territory while its native people were searching for spiritual help. Peyotism at this point, was a spiritual path that was soon to be taken in Indian Territory. Around 1890, the Caddo, Deleware and Quapaw tribes became the first practitioners of peyote. Black Wolf, a practitioner from the Caddo tribe, brought the religion of little moon peyotism to the Osage people. Black Wolf had intrigued enough of the tribe that his peyote prayers and rituals had truth and value, so the people sent him to heal a sick person in their tribe. His prayers and rituals could not save their life, so peyotism was not being spread for a while. After the native people's dry spell towards peyotism, it returned to the Osage tribe around 1898 John Wilson, a Caddo-Delaware, also known as Moonhead, is credited with the birth of this religion around the year 1890. He was asked to build a Peyote altar to conduct Big Moon rituals for Tall Chief, the Quapaw chief. While Wilson was visiting Osage territory, an Osage man who had attended a Peyote meeting beforehand, had asked Wilson to share his new revelations about big moon peyotism and its rules with a group of Osage people. Wilson agreed and met with them. This religion was adopted by Witchita, Deleware, Quapaw, Shawnee, Oklahoma Seneca-Cayuga, but no tribe converted the Osage. The Osage are the only current practitioners in the religion to this day. The Chief of the Osage people, Black Dog, was left without a tribe because his was won over by the big moon peyotism worshippers. In the two weeks that John Wilson experimented with peyote for religious and spiritual reasons, he was repeatedly submerged in spirit into the sky, being shown essential figures in the sky that symbolized the events of Christ, along with positions of the Spiritual forces such as the moon, sun and fire and their relative positions. He was also shown the empty grave of Christ while in this estate. He states that peyote told him to forever take its "road" by continually consuming peyote, in order to reach a higher enlightenment. The Osage were the most significant converts to this religion. John Wilson was responsible for the Osage people becoming such believers and followers. Wilson was traveling to Anadarko, Oklahoma,Osage Nation). While traveling he visited with Tall Chief, who was the chief of the Quapaw tribe. Wilson was later convinced to bring the knowledge of his new religion to these people. After explaining his realization about how the mixed elements of Christian, Caddo, and Deleware religious symbols and linking the consumption of peyote with Caddo and Deleware rituals, was the efficient way to heaven. With the mass conversion of the Osage, a proper church for big moon peyotism was constructed. Previous to the ceremony, multiple ritual preparations are performed. At dawn the Roadmen, or the ceremony conductors, gather to collect their instruments and to perform some ceremonial prayers and singing. Then before noon, the peyote and ritual instruments are taken are taken to the church, where the sacred fire is lit by flint and steel, and the objects that hold ritual use are arranged on the cloth of the altar. After the rituals have taken place, the tribe members will rest for a meal at noon. The fire stays maintained for the whole afternoon. This is a prerequisite to the actual service. Traditionally, the service begins at dark. The attendees enter the church and their assigned seatings while a prayer is being shared by one of the roadmen, following with a statement of the purpose of the meeting. The only person who is allowed to speak and smoke at this time are the roadmen. After this, the passing of sage and peyote is arranged, and the meeting officially begins when the roadmen sing four different Starting Songs. After this, the Drum Chief is the next one to sing, who follows in a full round of drumming for each person. Next, the roadmen and the drum chief stand in the center of the altar while being given words of respect and love while being fanned. The fire plays a significant role in the ceremony, for it gets maintained throughout the ceremony by the Firemen. Towards the end, there comes time for some reflection and for anyone with any needs to come forward and ask for something. The Tobacco boss rolls another ceremonial cigarette, while a roadman offers a prayer to his participants. Water is offered to anyone who is thirsty after their spiritual experience. This ritual presumes in singing, with incorporated fanning of the fireman in need. The ceremony continues to stay like this until morning, where a ceremony called "greeting the sun" is taken place if it is a clear morning. When the ceremony is beginning to wrap up, each participant holds the ritual instruments, blessing themselves with it. After this, the attendees gather again for rounds of ceremonial singing until it hits noon. The attendees understand that when the fireman begins to sing the Dinner Songs, it is now time for them to wash up for a ceremonial dinner. After washing up and cleansing in cedar smoke, the guests re-enter the church and meet with family and guests that did not attend the ceremony. Big moon peyotism Big moon peyotism was introduced as a variant of the Peyote Religion in the 1880s that
when was the last time anyone was on the moon	"Death in a Tenured Position" Harvard University. Although Janet is excited, many of her male colleagues seem to be dissatisfied with Janet's recent award. Soon after her award, Janet's old friend Kate Fansler comes to work at Harvard and is able to give support to her friend. While there Kate encounters her old friend Moon Mandelbaum, Janet's ex-husband, and meets other professors in the English Department. Kate learns through her new colleagues that Janet is not fitting in well at the university. In fact, many people find Janet to strange and unlikable. After an incident when Janet was found in a bathtub, presumably drunk, Janet becomes embarrassed and both Moon and Kate notice the change in her mood. As her friend, Kate hopes that this situation does not harm Janet's credibility at the university, although she finds that many of the professors no longer care for Janet. Although Kate defends Janet, it is no use. Many people ridicule Janet and seem to have no desire to get to know her better. One day while Kate is in her office, she received a phone call from Professor Clarkville (another member of the English department). Clarkville explained to Kate that he has found Janet dead in the men's restroom. Immediately the question is "Was Janet killed by a fellow professor"? Kate seemed skeptical of this idea because she knew that other than not being liked, no one had anything to gain from Janet's death. Kate decided that she is going to investigate this peculiar death. One of the first few pieces she learned is that Janet death was caused from cyanide and Janet's body was moved to the men's restroom after her death; but where and when she actually died is still a mystery to Kate and the police. Kate then visits Professor Clarkville to further discuss the situation. To her surprise, Clarkville explains that he did not know of Janet much before finding her in the men's restroom. He also says that he did not think that Janet should have come to Harvard. Immediately Kate becomes very leery of Clarkville and his confessions to Kate. Back at her office, Kate is contemplating all the different circumstances surrounding Janet's death. While she is working, she receives a phone call from Moon. Moon tells Kate he is in jail under the charges of murder for Janet's death but assures Kate he is not responsible for what happened. Moon reveals that he did have possession of cyanide long ago but tells Kate that it is locked away in a safe back in Minneapolis. Kate now has three suspects for Janet's death: Clarkville, Moon, and Luellen May (a fellow professor who found Janet passed out in the bathtub at a party). After a visit from Janet's brother and a tour of Janet's old apartment, Kate begins to put some ideas together about what really happened to Janet. Kate then visits with Clarkville once more to discuss his finding of Janet's body. In the meeting, Clarkville explains that the last time anyone had seen Janet alive was in the department meeting. During the meeting, Janet had become hysterical about an issue that caused a lot of tension in the room. Kate then gets Clarkville to admit to moving Janet's body to the men's room for her to be 'discovered'. Clarkville explains that he had originally found Janet in the chairman's office dead and decided to move her to a restroom (the men's room was the closest) and reported finding her there. Kate then is granted access to Janet's office at the university and finds a poem that she believes is the biggest clue to Janet's death. Kate finally rules that Janet's death was a suicide. She reveals that she stole the cyanide from Moon and after the amount of stress and tension she had endured at the university, she decided to end her own life. Kate Fansler Janet Mandelbaum Moon Mandelbaum Professor Clarkville John Cunningham Sylvia One of the major themes in the novel is feminism and discrimination against women. Carolyn Gold Heilbrun herself was a professor in the English department at Columbia and she says that she experienced many instances of discrimination during her career. The book itself shows Janet's own struggle with discrimination as a female professor. Heilbrun is notable for writing themes about feminism in her novels. This one shows feminism through her character Kate Fansler. Kate is a successful and independent professor and amateur detective. Kate can be found as the main character in other books by Heilbrun. There are fourteen other mystery novels in the Kate Fansler mystery series. Death in a Tenured Position Death in a Tenured Position, winner of the Nero Award, is a mystery novel that is part of the Kate Fansler series written by Carolyn Gold Heilbrun under the pen name Amanda
when was the last time anyone was on the moon	"Pink Moon" Drake on vocals, acoustic guitar and a brief piano riff overdubbed onto the title track. Released two years before Drake's death in November 1974, at the age of twenty-six, the lyrical content of "Pink Moon" has often been attributed to Drake's ongoing battle with depression. The songs are shorter than on his previous albums, with a total album running time of just over twenty-eight minutes. "Pink Moon", like Drake's previous studio albums, did not sell well during his lifetime, but has since garnered significant critical acclaim. Nick Drake's first two albums with Island Records, "Five Leaves Left" (1969) and "Bryter Layter" (1971), had sold poorly, and combined with Drake's reluctance to perform live or engage in album promotion, Island was not confident of another album from Drake. Additionally, Drake had isolated himself in his London apartment and was suffering from depression. In 1971 he saw a psychiatrist and was prescribed antidepressants which he was reluctant to take due to the stigma associated with depression and his fears concerning the medication's interaction with marijuana, which he smoked regularly. Although critics often associate Drake's music, and especially the perceived melancholy of "Pink Moon", with his depression, Cally Calloman of Bryter Music, which manages Drake's estate, remembers it differently: "Nick was incapable of writing and recording while he was suffering from periods of depression. He was not depressed during the writing or recording of "Pink Moon" and was immensely proud of the album." After facing disappointment with various aspects of his first two albums, Drake sought a more organic sound with "Pink Moon". Drake appeared to have made a decision before recording his third album that it would be as plain as possible and free of the numerous guest musicians that had been employed on "Bryter Layter". In his autobiography Joe Boyd, producer of Drake's first two albums, remembered that as they were finishing the recording of "Bryter Layter" Drake had told him that he wanted to make his next record alone, and in his only interview, published in "Sounds" magazine in March 1971, Drake told interviewer Jerry Gilbert that "for the next [album] I had the idea of just doing something with John Wood, the engineer at Sound Techniques". After a brief hiatus in Spain spent at a villa belonging to Island Records' head, Chris Blackwell, Drake returned to London refreshed, and in October 1971 approached record engineer and producer John Wood. Wood had worked with Drake on his previous two albums and was one of the few people Drake felt he could trust. Wood has worked with other artists such as Fairport Convention, Cat Stevens, and Pink Floyd, and he often worked in partnership with record producer Joe Boyd. Boyd produced Drake's first two albums with Wood acting as sound engineer. Although Wood primarily focused on the engineering of an album, he often contributed as a producer. When Drake reached out to Wood in 1971 expressing his interest in recording another album, the ensuing process was significantly pared down compared to Drake's other two albums. The album was recorded at Sound Techniques studio in London in late October 1971 with just Drake and Wood present. The studio was booked during the day, so Drake and Wood arrived around 11:00 p.m. and simply and quietly recorded half the songs. The next night, they did the same. In only two late night sessions, with just his voice and acoustic guitar, Drake created what is considered by many to be one of the "most influential folk albums of all time". Contrary to popular legend that Drake dropped the album off in a plastic bag at Island Records' reception and then left without anyone realising, Drake delivered the master tapes of "Pink Moon" to Chris Blackwell at Island. In an interview for the Nick Drake fanzine "Pynk Moon" in 1996, Island's press officer David Sandison recalled that Drake's arrival at the record company had certainly not gone unnoticed, although there had been no indication that he was delivering them a new album: The tapes of the "Pink Moon" session also included Drake's recording of "Plaisir d'amour" (translated from French as "The Pleasure of Love"), a classical French love song written in 1784 by Jean-Paul-Égide Martini. Although "Plaisir d'amour" was on the track listing of the "Pink Moon" master tape box as the first track of Side Two, when the tapes were presented they included a note in reference to the song which read, "Spare title – Do not use", so the song didn't make it onto the album. The recording was less than a minute long, featured guitar with no vocals, and was eventually included as a hidden track on UK editions of the Nick Drake compilation "A Treasury" (2004). Had "Plaisir d'amour" been included on the "Pink Moon" album, it would have been the only song on any of his albums that Nick Drake did not write himself. Keith Morris was the photographer who took Drake's photo for the cover of "Five Leaves Left" and he was commissioned to photograph Drake for the cover of "Pink Moon". However, the photos were not used as Drake's rapidly deteriorating appearance, hunched figure and blank expression were not considered good selling points. Island's creative director Annie Sullivan, who oversaw the shoot, recalled the difficulty in making a decision around the cover of the LP: "I remember going to talk to [Nick], and he just sat there, hunched up, and even though he didn't speak, I knew the album was called "Pink Moon", and I can't remember how he conveyed it, whether he wrote it down ... he wanted a pink moon. He couldn't tell me what he wanted, but I had 'pink moon' to go on." Island picked a piece of surrealist Dalí-esque art by Michael Trevithick, who was incidentally a friend of Drake's sister Gabrielle. Although Drake was not outspoken in his opinion on the cover art of "Pink Moon", many close to him felt that he approved. David Sandison stated that he found the original framed artwork for "Pink Moon" in among the debris of the basement room that Island later allocated to him as his office, and he took it home and hung it on the wall of his house for several years, before eventually presenting it to Drake's parents. An undated photo of Drake's music room at his parents' house in Tanworth-in-Arden shows what appears to be the artwork hanging on the wall. Island Records launched an unusual promotional campaign for the initial release of "Pink Moon". They spent the entire promotional budget on full-page advertisements in all major music magazines the month of the record's release. "Pink Moon" received more attention from the UK music press than Drake's first two albums had, but most critical reviews were still brief. Jerry Gilbert of "Sounds", who had conducted the only known interview with Drake the previous year and who had been his biggest champion up to this point, expressed his disappointment with the album and his frustration at Drake's apparent lack of motivation, saying, "The album consists entirely of Nick's guitar, voice and piano and features all the usual characteristics without ever matching up to "Bryter Layter". One has to accept that Nick's songs necessarily require further augmentation, for whilst his own accompaniments are good the songs are not sufficiently strong to stand up without any embroidery at all. 'Things Behind the Sun' makes it, so does 'Parasite' – but maybe it's time Mr. Drake stopped acting so mysteriously and started getting something properly organised for himself." In "Melody Maker" Mark Plummer appreciated the music, but was distracted by Drake's growing ascetic mythology: "His music is so personal and shyly presented both lyrically and in his confined guitar and piano playing that neither does nor doesn't come over ... The more you listen to Drake though, the more compelling his music becomes – but all the time it hides from you. On 'Things Behind the Sun', he sings to me, embarrassed and shy. Perhaps one should play his albums with the sound off and just look at the cover and make the music in your head reciting his words from inside the cover to your own rhythmic heart rhymes ... It could be that Nick Drake does not exist at all." Referring to Drake's recorded output, Fred Dellar noted in "Hi-Fi News & Record Review" that "the LPs hardly sell, thanks partly to Nick's reluctance to play promotional concerts and one is left with the feeling that his only ambition is to play the lead in the Howard Hughes story should anyone ever decide to make it as a musical. In the meantime, he employs his deliciously smokey voice in making these intimate, late-night sounds that I find myself playing time and time again." In the London edition of "Time Out" Al Clark observed that Drake "writes striking and evocative songs and always has done, but most of the magic is in the delivery: a smoky, palpitating voice, reminiscent of the jazzier Donovan, gliding wistful words over the chord changes and creating moments of perfect stillness". Clark stated that "several of the more substantial songs are very lovely", but concluded presciently, "Sadly, and despite Island's efforts to rectify the situation, Nick Drake is likely to remain in the shadows, the private troubadour of those who have been fortunate enough to catch an earful of his exquisite 3am introversions". By the time of the album's reissues on compact disc in the 1990s and 2000s, Drake's fame and critical standing had improved considerably, and legacy reviews of the album were overwhelmingly favourable. Martin Aston of "Q" noted in 1990 that "the mood is even more remote [than Drake's first two albums] with – finally – a defeated strain in both throat and words, but several of his most elegant melodies". John Harris's review of the 2000 reissue in the same magazine was more positive still, claiming that "many hold up "Pink Moon" as Nick Drake's best album" and saying, "The motivation of success had evaporated and Drake made a record so singular and uncompromising that, superficially, it beggars belief ... The truth is that "Pink Moon"s excellence shines through, irrespective of the endless speculation [regarding Drake's state of mind during the making of the record and subsequent death]. Few records have ever sounded so intimate, or embodied the eternal human ailment known as Melancholy with such grace and assurance." In "Mojo" Rob Chapman claimed that ""Pink Moon" is his masterpiece and the Robert Johnson comparisons are fully deserved". Critic and author Ian MacDonald, a contemporary of Drake's at Cambridge University, stated in "Uncut" that "what remains clear is that this is one of the premium singer-songwriter albums, nearly every one of its 11 tracks a timeless classic". "Rolling Stone"s Anthony DeCurtis observed that "by the time of these sessions, Drake had retreated so deeply into his own internal world that it is difficult to say what the songs are 'about'. His lyrics are so compressed as to be kind of folkloric haikus, almost childishly simple in their structure and elemental in their imagery. His voice conveys, in its moans and breathy whispers, an alluring sensuality, but he sings as if he were viewing his life from a great, unbridgeable distance. That element of detachment is chilling. To reinforce it, messages of isolation gradually float to the surface of the songs' spare, eloquent melodies." Three years later in the same magazine James Hunter said of the 2003 North American reissue, "The album unleashes a dramatic starkness and some breathtakingly pretty music". AllMusic's Ned Raggett wrote in his retrospective review that ""Pink Moon" more than anything else is the record that made Drake the cult figure he remains. Specifically, "Pink Moon" is the bleakest of [all his records]; that the likes of Belle and Sebastian are fans of Drake may be clear enough, but it's doubtful they could ever achieve the calm, focused anguish of this album, as harrowing as it is attractive ... Drake's elegant melancholia avoiding sounding pretentious in the least thanks to his continued embrace of simple, tender vocalizing. Meanwhile, the sheer majesty of his guitar playing – consider the opening notes of 'Road' or 'Parasite' – makes for a breathless wonder to behold." Reviewing "Pink Moon" as part of the 2014 box set "Tuck Box", Jayson Greene of "Pitchfork" noted, "A 'pink moon' is a baleful symbol, a sign of impending death or calamity ... On paper, this sentiment reads like vindictive rage, but on record, it sounds contemplative. Drake's voice never conveyed palpable anger or sadness; he had a slight, gentle voice and upper-class accent, the product of his upbringing, clipped and clean, and his guitar, as always, rang out with a crystalline purity. His music is so consoling that the darkness at its heart is not always accessible. It's almost impossible to hear the emotional abandon in "Pink Moon", then, without the taste of his first two albums lingering on your mouth. It's only then that the bone-dry resonance of the guitars registers as slightly alarming, and the backdrop of silence suggests both the purity of Drake's vision and also something darker: like someone who has dropped out of the world, mumbling prophecies ... There is a stillness to Nick Drake's music that bewitches anyone who gets near enough, and "Pink Moon" is its purest expression. It remains the Nick Drake record most people begin with, and for good reason." In 2003, the album was ranked number 320 on "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. In 2012, that ranking was revised to number 321. In the UK "Pink Moon" was placed at number 48 in the "Melody Maker" "All Time Top 100 Albums" in 2000, and at number 126 in "Uncut"s "200 Greatest Albums of All Time" in 2016. The first notable cover versions of Nick Drake songs were released in 1992, when Lucinda Williams covered "Which Will" on her album "Sweet Old World", and alternative rock band Sebadoh covered "Pink Moon" on their EP "Sebadoh vs Helmet". On 11 November 1999 Volkswagen announced that it was debuting, for the first time, a television advertisement on the internet. The campaign, named "Milky Way", featured the Volkswagen Cabriolet with the title track of "Pink Moon" as the soundtrack. Ron Lawner, Chief Creative Officer of Arnold Communications stated in the press release, "The song is very special. It's an old song by a guy named Nick Drake. It's called 'Pink Moon' and is actually a very good introduction to Nick Drake if you're not familiar with him. It's very transporting. And to us seemed very fitting for a beautiful drive in the country on a very special night." The Volkswagen Cabriolet commercial, directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris and filmed by Lance Acord, led to a large increase in record sales, and a number-five placing for "Pink Moon" in Amazon.com's sales chart. The VW and "Pink Moon" pairing marked a new step in advertising. Bethany Klein, a professor in the Department of Media and Communication at the University of Central England states, "The role of 'Pink Moon' in the success of "Milky Way" was interesting, in that it both added to the artistry of the commercial and was also protected by the visual artistry of the spot: because the ad 'worked' (it was an aesthetic success) the usual negative discourse surrounding the use of popular music in advertising was, if not stopped, at least reduced and accompanied by positive appraisals ... The linking together of the ad being a 'watershed' and being 'nicely done' is no coincidence; it is because the ad is so well executed and so aesthetically successful that the industry and the public reassessed the use of music in advertising around this example." In 2001, Volkswagen honored the music and advertising pairings they had made over the years by giving all new Volkswagen Cabrio buyers a compilation CD which featured "Pink Moon" as the first track. U.S. sales of Nick Drake's Pink Moon album rose from 6,000 copies, prior to the song's use in the Cabrio commercial, to 74,000 copies in 2000, according to Palm, which distributes Drake's music through Hannibal Records. As of 2004 it has sold 329,000 copies in United States. All songs written and composed by Nick Drake. All personnel credits adapted from the album's liner notes. Pink Moon Pink Moon is the third and final studio album by the English folk musician Nick Drake, released in the UK by Island Records on 25 February 1972. It was the only one of Drake's studio albums to be released in North America during his lifetime: the only previous release there had been a 1971 compilation simply entitled "Nick Drake" featuring tracks from both his first two albums, which were not released in
when was the last time anyone was on the moon	Uta-awase the pastimes of the Heian court. The items matched might be , , sweet flag or iris roots, flowers, or poems. The last took on new seriousness at the end of the ninth century with the , the source of over fifty poems in the Kokinshū. The twenty-eight line diary of the devotes two of its lines to the musical accompaniments, gagaku and saibara, and four to the costumes worn by the former emperor, other participants and the attendants who carried in the , the trays with low miniature "sand-bar beach" coastal landscapes used in "mono-awase". At the end of the contest, the poems were arranged around the "suhama", those about mist being placed in the hills, those on the bush-warbler upon a blossoming bough, those on the cuckoo upon sprigs of unohana, and the remainder onto braziers hanging from miniature cormorant-fishing boats. Elements common to "uta-awase" were a sponsor; two sides of , the Left and the Right, the former having precedence, and usually the poets; a series of in which a poem from each side was matched; a who declared or , and might add ; and the provision of , whether handed out at the beginning or distributed in advance. In general, anything that might introduce a discordant tone was avoided, while the evolving rules were 'largely prohibitive rather than prescriptive', admissible vocabulary largely limited to that of the Kokinshū, with words from the Man'yōshū liable to be judged archaism. Use of a phrase such as "harugasumi", 'in the spring haze', when the topic was the autumnal 'first geese' could provoke much hilarity. The number of rounds varied by the occasion; of 1201 was the longest of all recorded "uta-awase". The judge was usually a poet of renown. During the "Teijiin Poetry Contest" the former emperor served as judge, and when one of his own offerings was matched against a superior poem by Ki no Tsurayuki, commented 'how can an imperial poem lose?', awarding himself a draw. Fujiwara Shunzei served as judge some twenty-one times. During the of 1192, he awarded victory to a poem with the line 'fields of grass', observing its reference to a previous work and commenting 'it is shocking for anyone to write poetry without knowing "Genji". Judging another contest he wrote how, upon recital, there must be 'allure ("en") and profundity (yūgen) ... an aura of its own that hovers about the poem much as a veil of haze among cherry blossoms, the belling of a stag before the autumn moon, the scent of springtime in the plum blossom, or the autumn rain in the crimson leaves upon the peak'. are illustrated records of actual poetry contests or depictions of imaginary contests such as between the Thirty-six Poetry Immortals. The fourteenth-century depicts a group of craftsmen who held a poetry contest in emulation of those of the nobility. With a sutra transcriber as judge, a physician, blacksmith, sword polisher, shrine maiden and fisherman competed against a master of Yin and Yang, court carpenter, founder, gambler and merchant, each composing two poems on the themes of the moon and love. , practised by the likes of poet-priest Saigyō, was a development in which the contestant 'played a kind of poetic chess with himself', selecting the topics, writing all the poems, and submitting the results to a judge for comment. is a satirical work of the early fifteenth century in which the Twelve Animals of the Zodiac hold a poetry competition on the themes of the moon and love; other animals headed by a stag and a badger gate-crash the gathering and the badger causes so much outrage that he barely escapes alive; disgraced, he retreats to a cave where he writes poems with a brush made of his own hair. Uta-awase , poetry contests or "waka" matches, are a distinctive feature of the Japanese literary landscape from the Heian period. Significant to the development of Japanese poetics, the origin of group composition such as "renga", and a stimulus to approaching "waka" as a unified sequence and not only as individual units, the lasting importance of the poetic output of these occasions may be measured also from their contribution to the imperial anthologies: 92
when was the last time anyone was on the moon	"Ice (Johnson novel)" of water ice at that location. (Observation data from the 1994 unmanned spacecraft "Clementine" has indicated the existence of subsurface water ice mixed with lunar soil, as confirmed by "Lunar Prospector" and subsequent missions, but exposed water ice on the moon's surface has not been recognized by the scientific community.) There the crew tests an experimental heavy Lunar rover, launched to their location earlier by a Saturn 1B and delivered to the Moon using a stand-alone LM descent stage called the "LM Truck." (Both of these vehicles might have been actually used on the Moon, according to Johnson, had not Project Apollo been cut short.) All goes well until the astronauts are ready to lift off to return to the orbiting Apollo CSM. Unfortunately, their LM ascent engine fails to fire. Repeated attempts to restart that engine—the only part of the LM system without a backup—all end in failure. Finding themselves stranded, the mission commander and LM pilot say goodbye to their wives. The commander peremptorily orders his CM pilot, in orbit around the Moon, to return home. He and the LM pilot then abandon the LM and strike out on their own, driving their rover to the limit of its remaining driving range "to see what we can see." In their last message to Earth, they ask their colleague and Capsule Communicator to help their returning crewmate understand that he must not blame himself for their deaths. Before their oxygen runs out entirely, they find a vast and incredible Out-of-place artifact that might save their lives - or kill them. It is an ancient, abandoned, but fully functioning Lunar base - which they find immediately before the last seconds of their air run out. The base contains technology far beyond the reach of human science and engineering, best exemplified in the "war room" that they find immediately upon entry. This leads the two men to argue whether extrasolar visitors built it. LM Pilot Charlie Shepherd, a fundamentalist Christian, refuses to admit the possibility, because the Bible contains no warrant for it. Both men agree, however, that whoever the base builders are (or were) would be able to conquer Earth easily, had they chosen to attack—though why they never did attack remains a mystery. The two men soon find EVA suits that are one-third again as tall as human EVA suits are. Shortly thereafter, they find many members of the base crew—dead of various acts of violence, and in at least one case, a suicide. The suicide's living quarters contains multiple artworks depicting various scenes of torture, indicating that the base builders were a thoroughly evil people whose mania for causing suffering is incomprehensible. Subsequently, Mission Commander Gary Lucas vanishes into an apparent journey into the past—specifically to the builders' home world. His friend, left on the base, searches it in vain for his friend, not realizing that his friend has entered a machine that can simulate events stored in its historical memory, based on input from a base-wide and planet-wide surveillance system. Shepherd finds a means of sustenance, and then finds a hangar—which turns out to be empty. Angered and desperate, Shepherd activates all the base' systems in the war room, except for one system that refuses to activate. In the process, he activates the base computer system, which regards him as non-human and starts broadcasting a distress signal to Earth. That signal will turn out to be the salvation of the two astronauts—because Congress, on the point of cancelling Project Apollo completely, reverses itself and authorizes Apollo 20 in direct response to the signal, which clearly is coming "from the Marlow Basin." They cannot read the message, but—at least subconsciously—they realize that its activation after the men of Apollo 19 were supposed to have died cannot be coincidental. Gary Lucas has many perilous adventures in the "home world" simulation, which he accepts as entirely real. They begin with his rescue of a woman being assaulted, and continue with his capture by men bent on offering him as a human sacrifice and by his rescue by the woman's husband and brother-in-law. In gratitude, Lucas offers to join the workforce that is now applying the finishing touches to a vast granary that his hosts have been building and stocking. Meanwhile, Shepherd tries again to activate the last war-room system—and realizes, too late, that he has in fact started a self-destruct sequence. One by one, various base systems—gravity, climate control, and ultimately the food dispensary—begin to shut down. Lucas is injured during the storehouse construction project and, after the householders have an apparent argument concerning him, is given a sedative. He awakes to find himself in an empty house and steps outside in time to hear the roar of an onrushing wall of water, which lifts the storehouse off its foundations (incredibly, without damaging it) and threatens to sweep Lucas to his death. But then Lucas finds himself back on the base, in time to watch its crew destroy one another in mutiny, mayhem, murder, human sacrifice, and the eventual suicide of the base commander, who is the crew's last survivor. Following this, Lucas experiences an attack of vertigo. In fact the simulator machine has run its program, sounds three piercing alarm tones, and ejects him into the waiting arms of Shepherd just as the crew of "Apollo 20" arrive to rescue them. That rescue is just in time—because after "Apollo 20" completes trans-Earth injection, the self-destruct sequence runs its course, and the base destroys itself, apparently in a thermonuclear detonation. Back on Earth, the mission commander studies the Bible—and realizes that he actually witnessed the Noachic Flood and even ate at Noah's table. Also, the base builders never attacked Earth, because they were from Earth originally—from Antediluvian Earth. He and Shepherd further realize that God has entrusted him with a warning, which he must convey to anyone who will listen. The novel ends when it shifts to somewhere on the surface of Mars, where another base similar to the one found on the Moon, ominously activates by itself. History of Project Apollo, Bible history (specifically of Noah and the Great Flood that bears his name), speculation on the nature of Antediluvian civilization, the utility of prayer, and the Providential nature of God. "Ice" highlights the Christianity of many Apollo astronauts (one of them wrote the foreword to this work). It touches on several themes at once: the history of Project Apollo, how the nation would have handled what would have been an appallingly demoralizing disaster, the possibility of extraterrestrial visitation of the earth in modern or ancient times, and speculation about the Flood. "Ice" attracted little notice beyond the Christian readership to which Johnson directed it, and it is now out-of-print. She had intended a sequel to this novel, titled "Fire", based on a similar encounter on the planet Mars. But at last report, the publisher canceled that project. "Ice" was a finalist for the Christy Award for the best futuristic Christian novel of 2002. It lost to "Time Lottery". The other finalist in the category was "The Fifth Man", a novel about a fictional mission to Mars. In various scenes, this novel re-creates an entire J-mission profile, including a launch sequence for an equally fictional "Apollo 20" mission flown with the stated objective of reclaiming the astronauts' remains using the Skylab Rescue CSM for the mission, rather than leave dead astronauts' bodies in space, something that has never happened in the history of manned spaceflight. (The Soyuz 1 and Soyuz 11 capsules returned their cosmonauts' bodies to Earth while Challenger and Columbia disintegrated, leaving scattered remains.) Johnson clearly demonstrates extensive knowledge of Project Apollo mission hardware and systems, from the Saturn V down to the EVA suits that Apollo astronauts wore. A number of actual persons appear in fictional scenes, including CBS News Managing Editor Walter Cronkite, Flight Director Gene Kranz, and astronauts Jim Lovell, James Irwin and Donald K. Slayton. The novel references the precision landing made by astronaut Pete Conrad during "Apollo 12" and to the nearly disastrous "Apollo 13". (It also features a foreword from astronaut Charles Duke and a cover painting by astronaut Alan Bean.) In addition, "Ice" lays out a theory of how the Moon came to be the pockmarked, meteor-scarred body that we know today and of how the Biblical Flood took place. Ice (Johnson novel) Ice is a Christian science fiction novel
when was the last time anyone was on the moon	"The Great Merchant" discovering a talent in business and commerce, she later became one of the most successful female merchants on the island. When Jeju was struck by a deadly famine in 1795 (the 19th year of King Jeongjo, Kim sold all her assets and donated approximately 90% of her money (approximated to be in today's currency) to save millions of lives. Kim was later praised by numerous scholars and philosophers, which was notable given her background as a gisaeng and the fact that she saved the people of Jeju Island, a place that was considered a place of exile at the time. Kim's heroic deeds were documented in "Jeongjo Sillok" (""The Annals of King Jeongjo"") in 1796, and was even featured as a folktale called "Mandeok-jeon" (""The Story of Man-deok""). In 1978, a memorial was created for Kim Man-deok on Jeju Island, and annually Jeju Island presents the "Man-deok Award" to two outstanding women in philanthropy. The drama features Kim's life and achievements, along with her ongoing rivalry with fellow merchants during the Joseon Dynasty. Kim Man-deok was born into the noble class—her mother was a haenyeo of Jeju Island; her father was a high-ranking government official who met Kim's mother during the time he was exiled on Jeju Island. Kim's biological mother, Yi Eun Hong, does not tell her father, Kim Eung Ryul, about her pregnancy, as he and his clan could be punished by execution for inappropriate conduct during his exile. At birth, Kim is named Yi Hong. Her mother dies soon after her birth, leaving her daughter a flute that would one day help her reconnect to her father. Kim is adopted by Madame Kim, a former palace lady, but who is known to Kim as "Hal-mae" (translated as "Granny"). Managing a training center in Hanyang for orphaned children, Hal-mae teaches the children marketplace skills and trades necessary for them to become successful in the future. During her time with the training center, Kim meets Jung Hong Soo, the son of high-ranking politician, Lord Jung Do-woong. Ill-fated circumstances causes Granny, Dong Ah, and Kim (who is now 12 years old) to run for their lives, forcing them to leave Hanyang and head to Jeju Island. In the process, they find the need to separate but agree to meet in Jeju. Kim is the first to arrive on Jeju Island. Dong Ah finds her, but the two are soon in trouble and they find themselves jailed after an altercation with young Kang Yoo-ji, the later Foreman of West Gate Market Brokers. To keep Dong Ah from undergoing torture, Kim is tricked into agreeing to become the foster daughter of the head gisaeng on Jeju Island. Rather than leave Kim, Dong Ah agrees to become her servant and protector. Seven years later, Hal-mae finally arrives on Jeju Island and is reunited with Kim and Dong Ah. While Hal-mae tries to get Kim removed from the gisaeng registry, she finds that Kim's gisaeng foster mother and the Assistant Magistrate killed Yi Eun Hong, Kim's mother. To avoid public exposure of their misdeeds, they plot to frame Hal-mae and Kim as if the two were trying to escape the island. Hal-mae learns of the plot and in the process of finding Kim, the two are "caught". Hal-mae is confined in jail, while Kim is sent to the transitory wards (or quarantine camp) for epidemics as punishment. After being rescued from the camp, Kim begins to take care of those in the camp who are suffering from illness. During this time, Kim's father visits the island and discovers the birth of his daughter. Although he cannot publicly acknowledge her as his daughter, he gives her written documentation of her birth registry and bestows upon her the name, Kim Man-deok. Later, Kim reestablishes East Gate Market Brokers,going into the business of importing and exporting goods between Jeju Island and the Korean mainland, and begins the process of restoring business ethics in Jeju. Kim's former childhood friend, Oh Moon-seon feels a sense of inferiority and underhandedly competes with her as head of West Gate Market Brokers. Man-deok's high standards and business ethics cause her business to thrive, while Madame Oh's jealousy and resentment of Kim, as well as her greed for wealth and power, eventually lead to her demise. Transcending her lowly status as a gisaeng, as well as the restraints of her birthplace (Jeju Island was considered to be a remote place of exile during that time period), Kim Man-deok becomes the most successful female merchant of the Joseon Dynasty and one of the richest people on Jeju Island. A severe famine strikes Jeju Island in 1795, obliterating one-third of its population. Man-deok sells all her assets to help feed the starving people of her island, saving countless lives. In 1796, Kim travels to Hanyang (modern day, Seoul) to meet King Jeongjo, who bestows upon her the honorary title and position, Female Physician of the Palace Dispensary, as reward for her benevolous deeds. Madam Oh Moon-seon tells the abalone divers to leave West Gate Market Brokers and removes Kang Yoo-ji as Foreman. She will give Lord Jung Do-woong 50% of the silk store's income because they botched up the abalone contract. Kim Man-deok returns the jade ring, a symbol of friendship, to Moon-seon, saying thought Moon-seon would change from the time she manipulated Hwasoon, Daebang Kang's wife, to get him kicked out. Jeju island receives news that the tribute ship bound for Hanyang capsized, the goods were buried at sea, and the ship was being repaired at Gangjin, but the whole island will be in trouble if they don't send the goods in time for the royal wedding and the new Queen's coronation. The Magistrate gathers the goods again. Although West Gate is the only market broker with a ship, Man-deok proposes that East Gate Market Brokers enter the open bidding to win the tribute goods transport contract and lease a private merchant ship with full disclosure of operating expenses and precise profit sharing. Yoo-ji plans for the ship he owns to get the contract, so he puts pressure on merchants to not deal with East Gate, which pleases Moon-seon. Having no luck renting a ship, Man-deok hears of a gambling addict, a Captain Hwang, who has lost all ships but one. She rents his ship for 50 nyangs and has him sign a letter of intent; she agrees to give him 200 nyangs for deposit the next day. Hwang's ship is in Haenam and he needs money to bring it to Jeju. Moon-seon decides to appeal to Lord Jung for help in regaining commercial dominance. The gamblers beat Hwang. Moon-seon gives them the Man-deok's jade ring to show Man-deok when she comes looking for Hwang. Jung Hong-soo joins the Board of Punishments as Assistant Section Chief. The doctor advises Madam Oh that wearing a girdle is making the fetus weak and suggests she stop wearing it, but she is non-committal. Madam Oh Moon-seon tells Kim Man-deok that she bought Captain Hwang's ship. Man-deok threatens to turn Hwang over to the authorities for violating contract. Moon-seon tells Kang Yoo-ji of East Gate Market Brokers' plan to bring back Hwang's ship. To obtain a ship for sailing to Haenam, Dong-ah promises a merchant that he'll double his offer and use the merchant's ships to transport tribute goods. At the dock Yoo-ji attacks East Gate's staff and Man-deok discovers that Yoo-ji shoots and arrow into Dong-ah's arm. Yoo-ji threatens to take the company from Moon-seon not to play him again, as she knew Man-deok would be at the docks when she sent him. He is determined to get Man-deok back and bring down East Gate. Senior Foreman Go Seok-joo and Granny reprimand Man-deok for sending Dong-ah and Deok-pal to find a ship before consulting the Senior Foreman. He plans to return Hwang's ship lease contract because the bid for the tribute goods transport contract was too difficult for East Gate, on top of the new medical bills. Man-deok is convinced that East Gate needs the tribute goods transport contract to build strength and security. She vows to go to Haenam even if no one else will do so, regardless of Granny's warning that she was once framed for trying to leave the island. When Dong-ah hears her commitment and persuades Senior Foreman Go to let the staff go to Haenam. Junior Foreman Kim Pan-sool reports the plans to Moon-seon, who orders him to make the trip and prevent East Gate from getting the ship. When he discovers that Man-deok has dressed as a sailor, he insists that she travel with the crew composed of Dong-ah, Mangwan, Yoo Bong, Deok-pal, Pan-sool and herself. Moon-seon finds out that Man-deok is on board. Senior Foreman Go and Granny realize that Man-deok violated her departure prohibition order and make up a ruse that Man-deok is away from the East Gate compound on an errand to collect medicinal herbs. Chok-sae promises her famous millet wine for buttering up a certain Skipper Jang in Haenam. When the staff of East Gate arrive, the crew refuse to give up the ship because they were not paid by Hwang. Man-deok negotiates the crew's pay out of Hwang's rental fee that would be provided every time Hwang's ship was chosen as the tribute transport vessel if they get the transport contract. Chok-sae's millet wine persuades Jang. Pan-sool sabotages a ship line, but Dong-ah sees him on board. While sailing back to Jeju, Jang realizes that Man-deok is a woman pretending to be a sailor. He is angry about the bad luck of having a woman on board. The sabotaged rope gives way and wooden rigging hits Jang on the head. Later Dong-ah catches Pan-sool in saying that the rope snapped, but Pan-sool could not have seen what caused the rigging to fall. Jang is blinded by the accident, but he still captains the ship to Jeju by letting Man-deok and the East Gate staff be his eyes. Man-deok apologizes for dressing as a sailor and is willing to leave the ship by canoe if her presence still aggravates him. Knowing that Man-deok is on board, Moon-seon tricks Yoo-ji into asking Assistant Magistrate Choi Nam-gu to inspect the ship immediately upon arrival in order to reveal Man-deok's attempted escape. As the ship nears Jeju, Dong-ah sees government officials waiting at the dock. Kang Yoo-ji discovers that Assistant Magistrate Choi Nam-gu is not merely inspecting the ship, but searching for Kim Man-deok on board; however, he does not discover her. Dong-ah tells Granny that Man-deok was left at Woodo. He informs her of his suspicions that Junior Foreman Kim Pan-sool cut the rigging line, but Granny does not want him to suspect someone without proof. Moon-seon invites Granny to work for West Gate, but Granny refuses. Moon-seon warns that anyone who refuses her will pay dearly for it. Madam Oh Moon-seon rebukes Pan-sool for his failure, but he begs for another chance. His next mission is to make Senior Foreman Go Seok-joo turn against Granny and stop listening to her, as she outshines him as the person who makes East Gate Shipping Company successful. Pan-sool tells Senior Foreman Go that people say Granny is more capable than him and reminds him of the way Kang Kye-man was mocked for being in Granny's shadows in Hanyang. When Granny informs Senior Foreman Go that she made a sale of deer antlers, he says that the product was spoken for by another merchant. She admits her mistake, but he instructs her to confer with him before making decisions in the future. When Pan-sool mentions Moon-seon's talk of Granny as the real authority of East Gate, Granny advises to not listen to the cunning, manipulative girl. Pan-sool convinces Senior Foreman Go that East Gate must win the tribute goods transport contract without Granny's help. They want to lower the crew's wages to enter a more competitive bid and still make a profit. The sailors are angry that the company is reneging on the money promised by Man-deok to repay their six months' wages owed by Captain Hwang. When Granny brings food for the crew, a sailor recognizes her from Samgae Docks in Hanyang. Senior Foreman Go admonishes her for not asking permission before preparing food. The crew threatens Man-deok that they will report her to the authorities for fraud if she breaks their agreement since the Foremen would forfeit the bid if they refuse to lower their wages. When Man-deok asks Senior Foreman Go to honor her promises made to the crew, she asks for authority to make adjustments that would leave no one short changed, but Senior Foreman Go won't make concessions. East Gate will bid at 98,000 nyangs. The cost of renting the ship is 37,000 nyangs, equal to the labor cost. The only way to submit a competitive bid is to pay the crew nothing. Granny advises Man-deok to let the Foremen handle the bid. At the last minute Man-deok suggests an idea to Senior Foreman Go, saying both sides must make concession. He gives her authority to negotiate and requires her to get everyone's signature in order to bid on the contract. Man-deok asks the ship's crew to become partners with East Gate for the transport contract, which would require three years of their labor, but equal sharing in earnings. The Magistrate the contract submitted by West Gate Market Brokers and Man-deok's new contract submitted by East Gate. He finds both companies equally qualified and awards the contract with the lowest bid. West Gate bids at 67,000 nyangs, even though it is a 100,000 nyang job, which means they'll get no profits. East Gate bids at 60,000 nyangs and wins the contract. When East Gate is accused by West Gate of fraud, Man-deok reveals that the oarsmen won't be paid a wage because they are business partners, not hired hands. Lord Jung Do-woong is humiliated by East Gate winning the contract and finds Moon-seon is of no use to him. Anticipating his rejection, she finds loan shark Mu Maeng-dal who made a loan to Hwang with the new tribute ship as collateral. Under her instruction, Mu goes to East Gate to collect on the money owed by Hwang and offers East Gate to buy the 300,000-nyang ship for 150,000 nyangs to cover the 100,000- nyang loan and 50,000 nyangs interest; he offers to loan money to East Gate. Man-deok realizes that the interest on Hwang's loan is exorbitant. Unbeknownst to East Gate, Moon-seon promises to pay Mu the remaining 150,000 nyangs for the ship. Senior Foreman Go agrees to buy the ship, and Granny has Dong-ah follow Mu. Moon-seon visits Lord Jung to discuss former palace matron Madam Kim who discovered that Lord Jung had tampered with the King's food. Lord Jung thought Kang Kye-man had gotten her killed twenty years ago, but Moon-seon knows that Madam Kim now works for East Gate. Myo Hyang tells Moon-seon that anyone selling Jeju black cows on the black market will get in big trouble because the black cows are sacred for consumption only by the royal family and the hides are only for use at royal funerals. Madam Oh Moon-seon tells Lord Jung Do-woong that she will plant black cow hid on East Gate Market Brokers' transport vessel. She wants Lord Jung to make sure that Man-deok's father, Kim Eung-ryul, inspects the vessel and finds the contraband. Moon-seon tells Kang Yoo-ji to sneak the black cow hide onto East Gate's ship, implicating East Gate Market Brokers but not hurting his "precious Man-deok." Junior Foreman Kim Pan-sool helps Yoo-ji by convincing East Gate's watchmen to take a nap while he watches the ship. A watchman who was away to relieve his bladder sees Pan-sool and Yoo-ji. Jung Hong-soo sees Moon-seon leaving his father's office and tells him it does not look good for him to repeatedly visit with merchants. At Hanyang Harbor Inspector Kim discovers the black cow hide hidden under boxes of tangerines. Lord Jung orders an investigation on suspected illegal trade and tampering with the King's food. Hong-soo questions why the tribute transport vessel would be used for illegal trade and suspects a conspiracy against the company running the vessel, since the tribute goods transport service is lucrative and the ship was not guarded by state guards. He recommends investigating only the limited people who had resources to acquire the contraband. Inspector Kim vows that the Bureau of Commerce Control will interrogate the smugglers and the attempt against the royal family. Hong-soo suspects his father is involved in assigning Inspector Kim to the investigation. Assistant Magistrate Choi Nam-gu arrests both foremen of East Gate and tortures Senior Foreman Go Seok-joo. A black cow rancher is interrogated and admits to releasing black cow goods without permission from the Magistrate's office because a man claiming to be the senior foreman of East Gate said it was urgent and promised to bring the release order later. Man-deok appeals to the Magistrate to stop the torture and investigate because Senior Foreman Go would never get involved in illegal trading and only a few have access to black cows, a rare commodity. Senior Foreman Go apologizes to Granny for his lack of prudence and asks her to take care of East Gate. Man-deok talks with the rancher. He couldn't see the man in the dark who requested the black cow products, and he won't provide her a description of him. Junior Foreman Kim Pan-sool is released by the Magistrate and brings East Gate news that Senior Foreman Go will be exiled. Granny and Man-deok decide to investigate Pan-sool's whereabouts the night the before the ship departed. On Moon-seon's orders, Mu Maeng-dal goes to East Gate to collect repayment of his loan. He shows the loan agreement that left open the date for repayment and orders the staff to leave the property since Senior Chairman Go is in custody and unable to make his payment. News spreads of Senior Foreman Go's death. Granny demands that Mu allow them to have proper mourning observance by bringing his body back to East Gate. Moon-seon pays her respects and invites Granny and Man-deok to work for her. Man-deok rebuffs Moon-seon's friendship. Moon-seon overhears how fond the island's people are of Man-deok. During the funeral procession, Pan-sool sneaks into Man-deok's quarters and steals the paper that proves she is Inspector Kim's daughter. The inspector sees Pan-sool. Moon-seon spreads a rumor that Inspector Kim rushed to Jeju when he found out East Gate was in trouble. She wants the islanders to think that East Gate used powerful connections to get contracts. She assigns the gisaeng Yoha to tell Assistant Magistrate Choi, who tries to intimidate the inspector. Mu takes East Gate's merchandise to the market for liquidation and orders them to leave the compound. He refuses to extend the loan to Man-deok. Granny gives Pan-sool the task of finding new jobs for the staff. When the staff member admits that he saw Pan-sool letting men on the ship with goods, he follows Moon-seon's orders and fingers Yoo-ji. Confronted by Man-deok, Yoo-ji confirms his role. He suggests that she has lost her home, so she should let him take care of her, but she rebuffs him. Kang vows that wherever she goes will end up like East Gate. The Great Merchant The Great Merchant (; lit. Merchant Kim Man-deok) is a 2010 South Korean historical drama starring Lee Mi-yeon, Han Jae-suk, Park Sol-mi, Ha Seok-jin, and Go Doo-shim. It aired on KBS1 from March 6 to June 13, 2010 on Saturdays and Sundays at 20:40 for 30 episodes. The series follows the life of Kim Man-deok (1739-1812). Kim was born on Jeju Island. Adopted by the head of a gisaeng house at the age of 12, she became a government gisaeng
when was the last time anyone was on the moon	"Fiasco (novel)" time Lem was emigrating from Poland due to the introduction of martial law. Lem stated that this was the only occasion he wrote something upon publisher's request, accepting an advance for a nonexistent novel. At a base on Saturn's moon Titan, a young spaceship pilot Parvis sets out in a strider (a mecha-like machine) to find several missing people, among them Pirx (the spaceman appearing in Lem's "Tales of Pirx the Pilot"). Parvis ventures to the dangerous geyser region, where the others were lost. Unfortunately, he suffers an accident. Seeing no way to get out of the machine and return to safety, he triggers a built-in cryogenic device. An expedition is sent to a distant star in order to make first contact with a civilization that may have been detected. It is set more than a century after the prologue, when a starship is built in Titan's orbit. This future society is described as globally unified and peaceful with high regard for success. During starship preparations, the geyser region is cleared, and the frozen bodies are discovered. They are exhumed and taken aboard, to be awakened, if possible, during the voyage. However, only one of them can be revived (or more precisely, pieced together from the organs of several of them) with a high likelihood of success. The identity of the man is unclear; it has been narrowed to two men (whose last names begin with 'P'). It is never revealed whether he is in fact Pirx or Parvis (and he seems to have amnesia). In his new life, he adopts the name Tempe. The explorer spaceship "Eurydika" (Eurydice) first travels to a black hole near the Beta Harpiae to perform maneuvers to minimize the effects of time dilation. Before closing on the event horizon, the Eurydice launches the "Hermes", a smaller explorer ship, which continues on to Beta Harpiae. Closing in on the planet Quinta which exhibits signs of harboring intelligent life, the crew of the Hermes attempts to establish contact with the denizens of the planet, who, contrary to the expectations of the mission's crewmen, are strangely unwilling to communicate. The crew reaches the conclusion that there is a Cold War-like state on the planet's surface, halting the locals' industrial development. They try to force the aliens to engage contact by means of an event impossible to hide by the aliens' governments: staging the implosion of their moon. Surprisingly, just before impact, several of the deployed rockets are destroyed by missiles of the Quintans, undermining the symmetry of the implosion which causes fragments of the moon to be thrown clear, some impacting the planet's surface. However, even this cataclysm does not drive the locals to open up to their alien visitors, so the crewmen deploy a device working as a giant lens or laser, capable of displaying images (but also concentrating beams to the point of being a powerful weapon) and following a suggestion by Tempe, show the Quintans a "fairy tale" by projecting a cartoon onto Quinta's clouds. At last, the Quintans contact the "Hermes" and make arrangements for a meeting. The humans do not trust the Quintans, so to gauge the Quintans' intentions they send a smaller replica of the "Hermes" — which is destroyed shortly before landing. The humans retaliate by firing their laser on the ice ring around the planet, shattering it and sending chunks falling on the planet. Finally, the Quintans are forced to receive an 'ambassador', who is again Tempe; the Quintans are warned that the projecting device will be used to destroy the planet if the man should fail to report back his continued safety. After landing, Tempe discovers that there is no trace of anyone at the landing site. After investigating a peculiar structure nearby, he scouts around and finds a strange-looking mound, which he opens with a small shovel. To his horror, he notices that in his distracted state he has allowed the allotted time to run out without signaling his crewmates above. As the planet is engulfed by fiery destruction at the hands of those who were sent to establish contact with its denizens, Tempe finally realizes what the Quintans are: the mounds. However, he has no time to share his discovery with the others. The book is the fourth in Lem's series of pessimistic first contact scenarios, after "Eden", "Solaris" and" The Invincible". It deals with the Fermi paradox and the concept of otherness. Lem describes an alien species that is much more 'alien' than those imagined by most other science fiction authors. He is also critical of human nature, describing how the crew's desire to force contact by any means makes the failure of the mission inevitable. According to critic Paul Delany: Fiasco (novel) Fiasco () is a science fiction novel by Polish author Stanisław Lem,
when was the last time anyone was on the moon	"Ottawa Fringe Festival" Arts Court to provide refreshment and a location for mingling with the artists. Most Fringe performances are plays, and most last an hour or less. Since 2009, a limited number of 90-minute spots have been available. The content of the plays varies since acceptance to the festival is by lottery, and the shows are not juried. Because Ottawa is a bilingual city, both English and French productions are presented at the Fringe, though a small number of productions in past years have been bilingual. Each patron must purchase a $3 Fringe Pin, which grants entry for the duration of the festival. Most performances are ticketed events, and require the purchase of a ticket on top of the Fringe Pin. Visitors aren't permitted entrance to ticketed performance unless their wearing a Fringe Pin. Tickets generally cost $12. For those attending multiple shows, discounted admission is available in the form of five- and ten-show passes, for $45 and $99 respectively. In keeping with the core mandate of the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals, one hundred percent of the proceeds from ticket sales go to the performers. The Fringe seeks to minimize its impact on the artistic decisions of its performers. Thus the festival allocates its limited stage time by lottery, with a certain percentage put aside for local, Canadian, and international troupes. Each winning troupe will get to perform its show in the same venue at different times, from a little after noon to midnight, over several days. The rotation of time slots helps to even out the audience-dampening effects of performing late at night or when most people are at work. Since anyone able to meet an application fee can apply to perform at the Fringe, and berths are awarded by lottery, the quality of the shows can vary widely. The Ottawa Fringe has spawned at least one international success. Ottawa playwright and actor Pierre Brault's one person show, "Blood on the Moon," tells of the trial, (perhaps wrongful) conviction, and execution of Patrick J. Whelan for D'Arcy McGee's murder. After its successful Fringe run, Brault performed "Blood on the Moon" at the National Arts Centre, toured the show across Canada, and even brought it to Ireland. Ottawa Fringe Festival The Ottawa Fringe Festival is an annual fringe theatre festival in Ottawa. The festival was inaugurated in 1997. The festival takes place for ten days each June. Performances are held indoors
when was the last time anyone was on the moon	Solarquest ran a successful Kickstarter campaign (Nov. 8 - Dec. 25, 2016) to fund his new release of SolarQuest, expected to enter production in 2017. This "Deluxe Edition" will include more up-to-date astronomical data, a magnetic Fuel Tank Card (preventing the accidental movement of its metal markers), modernized graphics, and enhanced gameplay. Players travel through the solar system acquiring properties, charging rent, and building fuel stations within individual planetary systems. The winner is the player who builds the greatest financial empire and "survives the perils of space travel to become the last player on the board," according to the 1986 "SolarQuest" rules. A journey around the Sun encompasses: Players roll dice and travel along a blue flight path from planet to planet. There are also Red Shift cards directing players to specific destinations (e.g. Advance to Mars). Players can buy planets and moons, and trade with one another to acquire monopolies. They can also build fuel stations on these bodies, and charge fees for refueling. Each planet has a deed card with instructions on rent and fuel costs. Research labs and space docks are similar to the utilities in "Monopoly". Federation stations cannot be owned, but offer an opportunity to collect cash and purchase spare fuel stations. There are also 16 black dots, representing planets' gravity, and 17 blue dots, representing floating in space. Altogether, the board has a total of 91 spaces (compared to "Monopoly"'s 40). The color groups are: Players have to watch their fuel level carefully since getting stranded with no way to refuel means the loss of the game. Fuel is only used when leaving a planet or moon. According to the rules, "This occurs because the ship must escape the gravitational pull of the planet or moon." Thus, fuel is not used when leaving a manmade satellite or an empty space. It is always good to have spare fuel stations on hand. If a player runs out of fuel after landing on a planet that has no fuel station, he can force the sale of the property, build a fuel station, and replenish his fuel tank. A suggested variation is that players who are close enough to each other can fire lasers. A roll of doubles damages the ship, allowing the aggressor to charge for repairs. A roll of double sixes completely destroys the opposing ship, knocking them out of the game. A Red Shift card is drawn when a player rolls doubles. These are similar to the Chance or Community Chest cards in "Monopoly". The 36 Red Shift cards consist of: The rules also provide for an "Advanced Play" variant known as "Strategic Solarquest" in which Red Shift cards are only drawn if double sixes are rolled. If another set of doubles is rolled (e.g. 1-1, 2-2, etc.) the player collects 100 federons, moves the number of spaces corresponding to the pips on the dice, and then has the option of either landing on that space or "bypassing" it and rolling again. Bypassing it means that the player does not pay rent, expend fuel when leaving the space, or do the other usual things associated with landing; instead, he continues his turn, rolling the dice and moving again from the bypassed space. Lasers can be fired when bypassing. In "Strategic Solarquest", the players' mobility is diminished because most Red Shift cards cause the player to jump around the board to a different location. This can be good or bad – good, if the player is trying to continue orbiting a planet, buying up properties; bad, if the player ends up paying high rents because he is stuck in orbit around a planet whose moons are mostly owned by another player. "Solarquest" is a relatively complex game, with 48 properties available for purchase (compared to "Monopoly"'s 28), and the additional considerations of fuel and lasers. The player's path is not as linear as in "Monopoly", since it is possible to continue travelling around a planet for several orbits before finally escaping its gravity. Still, the basic concepts are the same, and experience shows it is easy to learn for anyone who has played "Monopoly". Like "Monopoly", this game can theoretically go on indefinitely as cash accumulates and it becomes difficult to force bankruptcy. "SolarQuest" was first published by Valen Brost Game Company in 1985, and then by Golden/Western Publishing Company in 1987 with minor rule revisions. For instance, in the 1985 edition, refueling on earth cost $25 per hydron; the 1987 rules provided, "If you land on Earth you may also refuel for free as a welcome home gift from the Federation." Another example is that the 1985 rules allowed the player to collect $500 for passing on Earth and $1,000 for landing on Earth; the 1987 rules provided that "Every time you land on or pass Earth you collect $500 Federons from the bank." In 1994, the game and puzzle division of Western Publishing was purchased by Hasbro (parent company of Parker Brothers, the makers of Monopoly) who were then controlling 80% of the U.S. board game market, and they chose to market a Star Wars Monopoly edition instead of SolarQuest. The Monopoly brand was thus strengthened, while SolarQuest was effectively blocked from the board game market. In 1995, Universal Games released an "Apollo 13" edition featuring artwork from the 1995 Universal Pictures film "Apollo 13". Some differences between the 1995 edition and earlier versions include: A highly simplified spinoff was published in 1997 by Valen Brost Game Co called "Spaceopoly". This game has secret mission cards, similar to "Risk", specifying an assignment that the player can complete to win the game. The rules contain quirky provisions; for example, the last sentence of the rule on laser battles reads: "If an opponent fires a laser at your ship and rolls 12 (i.e., double sixes), your ship is totally disabled and you are out of the game. Your attacker wins all of your money and property. Exception: If you hold the 'Invented a new force field' mission card you survive the attack and automatically win the game!" No computerized versions have been authorized for development by Valen Brost. Solarquest SolarQuest is a space-age real estate trading board game published in 1985 and developed by Valen Brost, who conceived the idea in 1976. The game is patterned after "Monopoly", but it replaces pewter tokens with rocket ships and hotels with metallic fuel stations. Players travel around the sun acquiring monopolies of planets, moons, and man-made space structures. They seek to knock their opponents out of the game through bankruptcy, as well as optional laser blasts and dwindling
when was the last time anyone was on the moon	"Warriors: Omen of the Stars" part of a prophecy, have special powers. The arc's themes deal with forbidden love and the effect that being different can have on relationships. Though the "Warriors" series has appeared on the "New York Times" Bestseller List, none of the novels in "Warriors: Omen of the Stars" has won a significant literary award. In the United States, hardcover and e-book formats for "The Fourth Apprentice" were published on 24 November 2009, "Fading Echoes" on 6 April 2010, "Night Whispers" on 23 November 2010, "Sign of the Moon" on 5 April 2011, "The Forgotten Warrior" on 22 November 2011, and "The Last Hope" on 3 April 2012. The first four books were also released on those days in an audiobook format, read by Kathleen McInerney. Paperback editions of each were released on 21 December 2010, 5 April 2011, 27 December 2011, 3 April 2012, 26 December 2012, and 2 April 2013, respectively. Release in Canada generally preceded release in the United States by a few days. "The Fourth Apprentice" was released in hardcover on 24 November 2009 (same as the United States) and paperback on 13 December 2010. "Fading Echoes" was released in hardcover on 15 May 2010 and paperback on 5 April 2011. "Night Whispers" was released in hardcover on 19 November 2010 and paperback on 19 December 2011. "Sign of the Moon" was released in hardcover on 5 April 2011 (same as the United States) and paperback on 26 March 2012. "The Forgotten Warrior" was released in hardcover on 22 November 2011 (same as the United States) and 13 December 2012. "The Last Hope" was released in hardcover on 26 March 2012 and in paperback on 25 March 2013. "The Fourth Apprentice" takes place approximately six months after the end of "Sunrise", during the summer, when the four Clans are suffering due to a drought. In ThunderClan, sisters Dovekit and Ivykit become apprentices with Lionblaze as Dovepaw's mentor and Cinderheart as Ivypaw's. While out in the forest, Dovepaw speaks of seeing brown animals (beavers) up the river building a dam, causing the drought, but no other cat believes her. Lionblaze realizes that Dovepaw is one of the Three foretold in the prophecy "There will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws", of which he and his brother Jayfeather are also a part. They each have a special power, and he realizes that Dovepaw's is the ability to see and hear things very far away, i.e., clairvoyance. Lionblaze plans to travel up the stream and find a way to unblock it and bring the water back, a journey that would include a patrol from each Clan, and ThunderClan leader Firestar agrees, sending Lionblaze and Dovepaw to represent ThunderClan. After an initial failed attack on the beaver dam, in which RiverClan warrior Rippletail is killed, the patrol succeeds in destroying the dam with the help of a few housecats encountered during their journey. Meanwhile, back in ThunderClan, when the warrior Poppyfrost secretly leaves camp to visit the Moonpool, a sacred location for the Clans' medicine cats, ThunderClan medicine cat Jayfeather follows her there. Upon arriving at the Moonpool, Jayfeather is attacked by his half-brother, WindClan warrior Breezepelt, who had also followed Poppyfrost to the Moonpool. The spirit of another cat, unknown to Jayfeather (Brokenstar), aids Breezepelt in the attack, but the spirit of Poppyfrost's sister Honeyfern comes to Jayfeather's aid and chases them away. Jayfeather tells Lionblaze about the tom that aided Breezepelt, and Lionblaze confesses to meeting Tigerstar, the antagonist from the original "Warriors" series, in his dreams in the past. They realize that Breezepelt must have been recruited by Tigerstar to help fight in a war between StarClan and the Dark Forest. The spirit of Hawkfrost, Tigerstar's son, begins to visit Ivypaw in her dreams and teaches her battle moves, pretending he is from StarClan. Ivypaw, still jealous that Dovepaw is keeping secrets from her, decides not to tell anyone about Hawkfrost's training. The spirit of Tigerstar tells Ivypaw that giving a strip of territory to ShadowClan to avoid future conflicts has endangered ThunderClan. Ivypaw believes Tigerstar and tells Firestar that she had a dream from StarClan of ShadowClan invading because they believe that Firestar is too weak to keep his own territory. Firestar and the senior warriors decide to attack ShadowClan preemptively. During the battle, Lionblaze accidentally kills ShadowClan deputy Russetfur after she takes Firestar's seventh life. Jayfeather discovers upon unintentionally entering Ivypaw's dream that Ivypaw and Tigerheart are receiving training from the cats in the Dark Forest. Lionblaze and Cinderheart decide to do an early border patrol and run into ShadowClan medicine cat apprentice Flametail, who is angry with Lionblaze for killing Russetfur in "Fading Echoes". Dovepaw later uses her power to listen in on Lionblaze and Jayfeather, who are discussing Ivypaw's training in the Dark Forest, then confronts Ivypaw about this. Ivypaw denies that it is wrong. Dovepaw wants to try to stop her from going, but Jayfeather tells her to leave Ivypaw alone for the time being. Blackstar, leader of ShadowClan, asks Flametail and his mentor, Littlecloud, whether StarClan sent them a sign regarding the battle or not. When they reveal that there was no sign, Blackstar asks Littlecloud to go to the Moonpool to speak with StarClan. When Flametail arrives at the Moonpool, the spirit of Raggedstar, a former ShadowClan leader, tells him that ShadowClan must stand alone and not trust any allies. In the Dark Forest, Ivypaw overhears Tigerstar telling Tigerheart during a training session that if Tigerheart cannot beat those "ThunderClan weaklings", he is nothing. Ivypaw, realizing that Tigerstar lied to her, flees. She then agrees to act as a spy on the Dark Forest for Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Dovepaw. Flametail falls through the ice on the frozen lake while playing a game with other apprentices and begins to drown. Jayfeather attempts to save Flametail until the spirit of Rock, an ancient cat from before the Clans, appears and tells Jayfeather that it is Flametail's time to die. Jayfeather lets go of Flametail, who drowns. Jayfeather, Dovewing, Foxleap, and Squirrelflight visit the Tribe of Rushing Water when Jayfeather receives a dream from the ancient cat Rock, who insists he go to the mountains without telling him the purpose. While there, Jayfeather is sent back in time as his previous incarnation, Jay's Wing, to convince the Tribe's ancestors to stay in the mountains after journeying from the lake at Jayfeather/Jay's Wing's urging in "Long Shadows". Realizing that the ancient Tribe has not yet gained a connection with their ancestors' spirits, he appoints the Tribe's first Teller of the Pointed Stones (also called Stoneteller, a role similar to Clan leader and medicine cat combined). He appoints Half Moon, then returns to the present day, where he appoints Crag Where Eagles Nest as the Stoneteller of modern times to resolve a crisis due to the current Stoneteller dying of old age without a successor. New ThunderClan apprentices Cherrypaw and Molepaw have a run-in with a fox, but an unknown cat saves them. Lionblaze investigates, finding Sol, a loner first introduced in "Eclipse" who previously predicted an eclipse that briefly convinced ShadowClan to lose faith in StarClan. Sol says that he saved the apprentices and is welcomed by some, but not trusted by others. When Sol disappears, Dovewing and Ivypool follow him into the tunnels and discover that he is trying to cause a battle between ThunderClan and WindClan. While Dovewing and Ivypool are spying on Sol and WindClan in the tunnels, WindClan warrior Owlwhisker almost discovers them, but Hollyleaf, who had not died in the tunnel collapse in "Sunrise" and instead lived in the tunnels in self-imposed exile, leads them to safety. Before she can re-enter the tunnels, Lionblaze arrives and convinces her to return to ThunderClan. Dovewing and Ivypool reveal that Sol is planning an attack on ThunderClan and that Hollyleaf actually saved the apprentices from the fox. In preparation, Hollyleaf teaches ThunderClan battle skills useful in the tunnels. When WindClan attacks through the tunnels, ThunderClan repels the attack, being more experienced in underground combat due to Hollyleaf's training. Jayfeather receives a prophecy informing him that there is actually a fourth cat in the prophecy. Jayfeather believes it may be Mothwing, medicine cat of RiverClan, divisions in StarClan and the medicine cats, due to the accusation that Jayfeather murdered Flametail in "Night Whispers", makes it difficult to speak to Mothwing. Jayfeather is granted safe passage, however, and Mothwing shows him a reed that has been smoldering for days, even after heavy rainfall. Jayfeather takes this as an omen to find the spirit of Flametail, although the divisions in StarClan make it difficult. When he finds Flametail, he convinces Flametail to reveal the truth: that he had drowned and was not killed by Jayfeather. This revelation resolves the divisions among the medicine cats, who then unite StarClan in preparation for the final battle with the Dark Forest. Former ThunderClan leader Bluestar tells Jayfeather that the fourth cat is Firestar. The final battle between the Clans and the Dark Forest then begins, with both StarClan and Dark Forest cats taking on corporeal forms. It's not long before the battle begins spin out of control. The battle ends when Firestar kills Tigerstar's spirit, but he dies immediately afterward and loses his last life. Reviews for the series were generally positive. A reviewer for "Booklist" suggested that fans of the series would enjoy "The Fourth Apprentice" and called Dovepaw a "reluctant heroine". A reviewer for "Horn Book Guide" praised the dramatic adventures and fight scenes. It was also noted that "Fading Echoes" explores how having special abilities can affect relationships. A reviewer for "Booklist" called "Sign of the Moon" a "bridge book", but praised Hunter for the quality of the novel and allowing readers to "get to know a few of the multitudinous cast" better. One criticism of the series came from both Beth L. Meister and Kitty Flynn writing for "Horn Book Guide", who noted in multiple reviews for books in the series that new readers would have difficulty getting into the story due to the amount of required background information and numerous characters. However, they rated all six books four out of a six-point scale in which a rating of one is the highest. Meister also commented that themes often revolve around forbidden interClan romances. Warriors: Omen of the Stars Warriors: Omen of the Stars is the fourth arc in the "Warriors" juvenile fantasy novel series about Feral cats who live in clans. It comprises six novels published by HarperCollins from 2009 to 2012: "The Fourth Apprentice", "Fading Echoes", "Night Whispers", "Sign of the Moon", "The Forgotten Warrior", and "The Last Hope". The novels were written by Erin Hunter, a pseudonym that refers to authors Kate Cary,
when was the last time anyone was on the moon	"Radar Men from the Moon" the Moon Menace. The odd naming choice of the serial's main hero, "Commando Cody," was possibly an attempt by Republic to make young audiences think they were seeing another adventure of Commander Corry, the hero of the popular ABC TV and radio series "Space Patrol" (1950–1955). There is, however, no surviving evidence that this was a consideration by anyone at Republic. Commando Cody (George Wallace) is a civilian researcher and inventor with a number of employees. He uses a streamlined helmet and a sonic-powered rocket backpack attached to a leather flying jacket. Cody also uses a rocket ship capable of reaching the Moon. When the U. S. finds itself under attack from a mysterious force that can wipe out entire military bases and industrial complexes, Cody surmises (correctly) that the Earth is coming under attack from our own Moon. He then flies his rocket ship there and confronts the Moon's dictator, Retik (Roy Barcroft), who boldly announces his plans to both conquer Earth and then move the Moon's entire population here using spaceships. During the next 11 serial chapters, Cody, now back on Earth, and his associates Joan (Aline Towne), Ted (William Bakewell) and Dick (Gayle Kellogg) battle an elusive lunar agent named Krog (Peter Brocco) and his gang of human henchmen led by Graber (Clayton Moore) and Daly (Bob Stevenson), who use Lunarium-powered ray cannons to disrupt defense forces and weaken public morale. After a second trip to the Moon, in which he captures a sample ray cannon for duplication in his lab, Cody tracks Retik's minions to their hideout where Krog is killed by one of his own devices, and Graber and Daly subsequently die in an over-the-cliff car chase. Retik flies to Earth to take personal charge of his collapsing operations but is blasted out of the sky by one of his own ray weapons. "Radar Men from the Moon" was budgeted at $172,840, although the final negative cost was $185,702 (a $12,862, or 7.4%, overspend); it was the most expensive Republic serial of 1952. It was filmed between October 17 and November 6, 1951 under the working title "Planet Men from Mars"; the serial's production number was 1932. However those numbers are interpreted, in practice the budget for this serial was so tight that a stunt double was not always used for lead actor George Wallace. His nose was broken by accident while filming an energetic fight scene with actor Clayton Moore. Wallace was also suspended in mid-air, lying on a board with the rocket suit's jacket closed around it, in front of a rear projection screen for the in-studio shot flying sequences. Wallace performed his own stunt flying take-offs by jumping onto a springboard that would send him up and over the camera rig set-up. This serial is heavily padded with rocket-suit effects footage first filmed for the earlier "King of the Rocket Men", to which some believe this was a pseudo-sequel. A repainted Juggernaut vehicle from the much-earlier "Undersea Kingdom" serial is also reused here as Retik's lunar tank. All spaceship footage was filmed new for the serial. "Radar Men from the Moon" shows outer space as brightly lit and the characters walking on the Moon in normal Earth gravity and daylight without pressure suits. His laboratory building is actually a Republic Pictures office building with a prop "Cody Laboratories" sign. Two different aerodynamic helmets were used with the Commando Cody rocket backpack, with the lighter weight version being used only in the stunt sequences; the single-hinged visors of both helmets were always getting stuck open or closed. "Radar Men from the Moon"'s official release date is January 9, 1952, although this is actually the date the sixth chapter was made available to U. S. film exchanges. Republic's next new serial, "Zombies of the Stratosphere", which also used some of the Cody flying suit and spaceship footage seen here, followed in the summer and began as a sequel to "Radar Men": for unspecified reasons, Republic changed the character names of Cody and Joan at the last minute. In between these two serials, Republic had begun filming on its first attempt at a TV series, "", but stopped production of that after the first three episodes were filmed to begin work on "Zombies of the Stratosphere". After that serial was finished, Republic resumed filming of 9 more episodes of the Cody TV series, but then, after it was completed, released it also as a theatrical serial instead of to TV. This serial was re-released on September 30, 1957 between Republic's re-releases of the similar "Zorro's Black Whip" and "Son of Zorro". Previously, the final original Republic serial was "King of the Carnival" released two years earlier in 1955. "Radar Men from the Moon" was one of 26 Republic serials syndicated for television in 1966 as 100 minute TV feature films under their Century 66 package marketing name; the title given the TV-movie was "Retik the Moon Menace". In 1979 Firesign Theatre used segments of this and other serials in their made-for-TV parody comedy movie, "J-Men Forever". In 1989 the serial regained notoriety as the first shorts shown by the cult series "Mystery Science Theater 3000". The first eight-and-a-half chapters of this Commando Cody serial were lampooned before their main feature-of-the-week (only half of the ninth installment was shown, with the in-show excuse being "the film broke"). In his 1984 book "In the Nick of Time" author William C. Cline dismissed the serial as a "quickie". Because of a failure to renew copyright, "Radar Men" lapsed into the Public Domain in 1979. Radar Men from the Moon Radar Men from the Moon is a 1952 black-and-white Republic Pictures' 12-chapter movie serial, the first Commando Cody serial starring newcomer George Wallace as Cody, Aline Towne as his sidekick Joan Gilbert, and serial veteran Roy Barcroft as the evil Retik, the Ruler of the Moon. The director was Fred C. Brannon, with a screenplay by Ronald Davidson, and special effects by the Lydecker brothers. This serial recycles the
when was the last time anyone was on the moon	"New Moon on Monday" not chart well in Australia and Scandinavia, territories where its predecessor, "Union of the Snake", had been a big hit. This trend was reversed with the next single, "The Reflex", which became a worldwide number-one hit. In a retrospective review, "New Moon on Monday" was praised by Allmusic journalist Donald A. Guarisco, who wrote: "The music holds the unusual lyrics together by wedding effervescent verse melodies that bounce high and low to a triumphant-sounding chorus with a rousing feel." The music video for "New Moon on Monday" was filmed by director Brian Grant during the morning of December 7, 1983, in the village of Noyers in France. It has a loosely sketched storyline in which the band appear as members of an underground rebellion called "La Luna" (the name is one of the few connections between the video's content and the song lyrics), organizing a revolt against a modern (1980s-era computers are used) oppressive militaristic regime, apparently in France. "We set out to make a little movie," recalled Grant. "I'm not sure we succeeded." He was not the first choice to shoot the video, as Russell Mulcahy, director of many of the band's other videos, was unavailable. Several versions of this video exist. The longest is a 17-minute "movie version" which includes an extended introduction before the song starts (including a scene of dialogue between Simon Le Bon and the story's female lead, played by Patricia Barzyk, winner of the Miss France title in 1980; a brief snippet of "Union of the Snake" is also heard on a radio), and is set to an extended remix of the song. A shorter version, with a spoken French-dialogue intro, was originally submitted to MTV, who then later requested an even shorter version without the prologue. Yet another version was produced for the "Dancing on the Valentine" video collection, showing blue-lit scenes of the band members in front of a full-moon backdrop. All but one of the versions were included as easter eggs on the 2004 DVD compilation "Greatest". Both Andy Taylor and Nick Rhodes say this is the band's least favourite video. "Everybody ... hates it, particularly the dreadful scene at the end where we all dance together," Taylor wrote in his memoirs. "Even today, I cringe and leave the room if anyone plays [it]." He recalls that they were miserable since their Christmas holiday had been cut short to shoot the video, and spent most of the day on the dark and cold set drinking, to the point that he was "half cut" by the time the last scenes were shot. "It's one of the few times I've seen Nick dance." "New Moon on Monday" was backed with a remix of the instrumental "Tiger Tiger" done by Ian Little. The original version of the instrumental was found on the "Seven and the Ragged Tiger" album. The release was rounded out by an extended version of the title track. Aside from the single, "New Moon on Monday" appears on: Albums: Videos: Duran Duran are: Other: New Moon on Monday "New Moon on Monday" is the tenth single by the English new wave band Duran Duran, released on 23 January 1984 in the United Kingdom. The second single to be taken from the band's third album "Seven and the Ragged Tiger" (1983), the song was another success, reaching the top-ten on both the UK and US charts. On 11 February 1984, the single reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart and on 17 March, it reached number ten on the US "Billboard" Hot 100, after entering on 14 January 1984 at number
when was the last time anyone was on the moon	"Apollo 11 in popular culture" of America (U.S.) acknowledged the immense success of Apollo 11 with a national day of celebration on Monday, July 21, 1969. All but emergency and essential employees were allowed a paid day off from work, in both government and the private sector. Coincidentally, the last time this had happened was the national day of mourning on Monday, November 25, 1963, to observe the state funeral of President John F. Kennedy, who had set the political goal to put a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s. A replica of the footprint left by Neil Armstrong is located at Tranquillity Park in Houston, Texas. The park was dedicated in 1979, a decade after the first moon landing. The Apollo 11 Cave in Namibia was named after the flight upon its successful return to Earth. On September 16, 1962, the date Armstrong's selection as an astronaut was announced, his parents were flown to New York to appear on the television game show "I've Got a Secret". After their secret was guessed, host Garry Moore commented "Wouldn't it be something if your son were the first man on the moon?" The episode has been shown on Game Show Network although Armstrong himself never saw it until his biographer brought him a copy of the tape. The Australian movie, "The Dish" (2000), tells the (slightly fictionalised) story of how the images of the moon-walk were received by the radio telescope at Parkes Observatory, New South Wales. The mission has been depicted in multiple films, including the television movies "Apollo 11" (1996) and "Moonshot" (2009). Portions of the Apollo 11 mission are dramatized in the HBO mini-series "From the Earth to the Moon" episode entitled "Mare Tranquilitatis". In that episode, Michael Collins made the following suggestion as to what Armstrong should say upon stepping onto the lunar surface: "If you had any balls, you'd say 'Oh, my God, what is that thing?' then scream and cut your mic." In the British sitcom "My Hero", the son of George and Janet chooses the name Apollo 11 (or Ollie for short) for himself because "It shows a link between two worlds," his father George being an alien on the show. In the American animated television series "Exosquad", the Able Squad briefly visits Tranquility Base during and after the Battle for the Moon. The opening scenes of the 1996 movie "Independence Day" show an alien mothership passing low over the Apollo 11 landing site. The tidal forces of its passing erases the famous bootprint left on the soft lunar surface. The 2008 computer animated film "Fly Me to the Moon" is centered on a fictional story of three flies that stow away on the Saturn V rocket and manage to land on the moon. Footage of the landing was famously used to introduce viewers to MTV, serving as its top and bottom of the hour ident during the cable channel's early years. MTV producers Alan Goodman and Fred Seibert used this public domain footage as a conceit, associating MTV with the most famous moment in world television history. MTV also pays tribute to the classic ID by handing out astronaut statuettes (or "Moonmen") at its annual Video Music Awards. The Apollo 11 landing site is featured in the "Futurama" episode "The Series Has Landed", with Fry and Leela sheltering from the lunar night in the Apollo 11 lunar module (which, according to a plaque, has been returned there by the "Historical Sticklers Society"). The Apollo 11 mission is used as part of the main story line in "". The movie described the mission, indeed the reason for the Apollo program's existence, as a means to investigate a meteor crash on the dark side of the moon, which turns out to be the Ark, the space vessel carrying one of the Autobots, Sentinel Prime. Buzz Aldrin has a brief cameo in the film, playing himself. The Apollo 11 mission, and more specifically the moment Neil Armstrong stepped onto the Moon's surface, plays a crucial role in the "Doctor Who" episode "Day of the Moon". The Doctor is shown altering wiring inside the Command Module on the launch pad, and video of the mission launch is also shown, the purpose being to put a short clip of a post-hypnotic suggestion into the most watched piece of footage in history to help the human race defend themselves from the Silence, 'memory-proof' aliens. In the 2012 film "Men in Black 3", Apollo 11 was used by Agent K to carry the Arc Net (a shield that protects Earth from Alien invasion) to space. The three astronauts see the Men in Black fighting the alien villain from the cockpit, but Aldrin realizes that if they report it over the radio to Mission Control the launch will be aborted and they might never be sent to the Moon. Armstrong nonchalantly responds to Aldrin that "I didn't see anything", and simply doesn't report it. Collins apparently agreed as well. As a result, the Men in Black never realized the astronauts saw them and thus never wiped their memories with their neutralizers as is standard protocol, implying that the astronauts always remembered what happened and just never told anyone. In the 2011-2012 show in the Kamen Rider Series, "Kamen Rider Fourze", the Apollo 11 landing plays a crucial role in the flashback of the series antagonist Mitsuaki Gamou as he resolved to become an astronaut and achieve his dream to meet the alien race called the Presenters. In the "Apollo 13" film based off the real mission, Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, Fred Haise, Ken Mattingly, Pete Conrad, Marilyn Lovell gather in the Lovell household to watch the moonwalk as Neil Armstrong stepped off onto the surface of the Moon; also, later in the movie, as the crew is about to enter the night side of the Moon, Haise points out that they're passing over the Mare Tranquillitatis and he refers to it as "Neil and Buzz's old neighborhood" and shoots some footage of a mountain Lovell had dubbed Mount Marilyn after his wife. Armstrong and Aldrin are asked to distract Lovell's mother as she watches news reports of her son's endangered mission. In an episode of the 2016 computer animated TV show "Ready Jet Go!", Jet, Shawn and Sidney and Mindy and Jet's mother Celery Propulsion and father Carrot Propulsion re-enact the Apollo 11 mission with Jet, Shawn and Sidney as the Apollo 11 astronauts and Jet's father Carrot Propulsion and Mindy as Mission Control. Shawn acts as Neil Armstrong in the re-enactment of the mission. The Apollo 11 mission appears in the season 1 episode "Space Race" of the NBC series "Timeless". In the episode, Lucy, Wyatt, and Rufus travel to the day of the mission on July 20, 1969, to stop Garcia Flynn from interfering with the mission. After Flynn's helper, Anthony Bruhl, launches a modern-day virus against NASA, which prevents the staff from communicating with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, Rufus and Lucy get help from Mathematician Katherine Johnson to stop the virus and Flynn before it is too late. "The Apollo Eleven" is used as the name of a group of astronauts turned superhero in the Astro City comic book series. One of the questions in the original American Trivial Pursuit game asked for the headline of "The New York Times" on July 21, 1969. The answer was "Men Walk On Moon". In the game "Lego Marvel Super Heroes" the "Human Torch" said "That's one small step for man, and one giant climb on a "HYDRA" rocket" as a reference and joke to "Apollo 11". In the backstory of the Touhou Project games, "Apollo 11" was mistaken for an act of invasion by the Moon's resident Lunarians, leading to the Lunar War. In the moon mission of "", there is an Apollo 11 Lunar Lander as well as a US flag in the eastern side of the map close to the Soviet starting area. The upper stage of the lunar lander is still attached, which could only happen if the astronauts never left the Moon. In the video game "Kerbal Space Program", there is a monument dedicated to Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Mun (the game's analogue of the Moon) at the exact coordinates where Apollo 11 landed in 1969 as an easter egg. Soon after the mission a conspiracy theory arose that the landing was a hoax but this notion is widely discounted by historians and scientists. It may have gained more popularity after the movie "Capricorn One" (1978) portrayed a fictional NASA attempt to fake a landing on Mars. An urban legend suggests that they were being 'watched' while on the Moon and had seen alien vehicles in space. This grew in popularity after the book "Somebody Else Is on the Moon" was published. Aldrin did spot an unidentified object travelling relative to them late in the third day of the mission. After learning from Mission Control that it couldn't be the S-IVB stage, since that was away, they concluded that it was most likely one of four panels that had linked the spacecraft and the upper stage. Later popular accounts often described this as a "UFO sighting" or claimed the widely reported incident had been "covered up." At age 76, astronaut Buzz Aldrin said in a television documentary, "There was something out there, close enough to be observed, and what could it be?... Now, obviously the three of us weren't going to blurt out, 'Hey, Houston, we've got something moving alongside of us and we don't know what it is', you know?... We knew that those transmissions would be heard by all sorts of people and somebody might have demanded we turn back because of aliens or whatever the reason is." They may have seen the Luna 15 spacecraft which the Soviet Union had launched at about the same time as Apollo 11. There is a humorous and ribald urban legend that when Armstrong was a child, the wife of a neighbor named Gorsky, when asked by her husband to perform oral sex, had ridiculed him by saying "...when the kid next door walks on the moon!" and then decades later whilst walking on the moon Armstrong supposedly said "Good luck, Mr. Gorsky". In 1995 Armstrong said he first heard the story in California when comedian Buddy Hackett told it as a joke. It was humorously referenced at the opening scene of "Watchmen". "Good Luck Mr Gorsky" is the title of a track on the 1996 album "The It Girl" by Britpop band Sleeper. Apollo 11 in popular culture The Apollo 11 mission was the first human spaceflight mission to land on the Moon. The mission's wide effect on popular culture was anticipated and since then there have been a number of portrayals in
who wrote he ain't heavy he's my brother lyrics	"You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet (Bachman–Turner Overdrive song)" follow-up single, "Roll on Down the Highway", was also a minor UK hit. The lyrics for the song tell of the singer meeting a "devil woman" who gives him love. The chorus of the song includes the song's famous stutter and speaks of her looking at him with big brown eyes and [saying] 'You ain't seen nothin' yet. B-, b-, b-, baby, you just ain't seen na, na, nothin yet. Here's somethin' that you're never gonna forget. B-, b-, b-, baby, you just ain't seen na, na, nothin yet.' "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" was written by Randy Bachman. In "The Rolling Stone Record Guide", writer Dave Marsh called the song "a direct steal from The Who", but "an imaginative one." The chords of the chorus riff are very similar to the ones used by The Who in their song "Baba O'Riley", and also, the stuttering vocal is reminiscent of "My Generation". Randy insists that the song was performed as a joke for his brother, Gary, who had a stutter, with no intention of sounding like "My Generation". They only intended to record it once with the stutter and send the only recording to Gary. Randy developed the song while recording BTO's third album, "Not Fragile" (1974). It began as an instrumental piece inspired by the rhythm guitar of Dave Mason. Randy says "it was basically just an instrumental and I was fooling around... I wrote the lyrics, out of the blue, and stuttered them through." The band typically used the song as a "work track" in the studio to get the amplifiers and microphones set properly. But when winding up production for the album, Charlie Fach of Mercury Records said the eight tracks they had lacked the "magic" that would make a hit single. Some band members asked Randy, "what about the work track?" Randy reluctantly mentioned that he had this ninth song, but didn't intend to use it on a record. He said, "We have this one song, but it's a joke. I'm laughing at the end. I sang it on the first take. It's sharp, it's flat, I'm stuttering to do this thing for my brother." Fach asked to hear it, and they played the recording for him. Fach smiled and said "That's the track. It's got a brightness to it. It kind of floats a foot higher than the other songs when you listen to it." Bachman agreed to rearrange the album sequence so the song could be added, but only if he could re-record the vocals first, without the stutter. Fach agreed, but Bachman says "I tried to sing it normal, but I sounded like Frank Sinatra. It didn't fit." Fach said to leave it as it was, with the stutter. While not originally intended to be a single, "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" was becoming a hit as an album cut. Radio stations all over the USA were giving it a great deal of airplay, as "Not Fragile" (1974) was soaring up the album charts. So much so that Bachman was embarrassed because he thought it was a stupid song, just something that he wrote as a joke. With no singles yet released from the "Not Fragile" album, Fach would regularly call Randy with airplay reports, asking for permission to release "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet". Bachman said, "And I refused for three weeks. I was producer, so I had final say on what went out. I woke up one day and asked myself, 'Why am I stopping this?' Some of my favorite records are really dumb things like 'Louie, Louie'...so I said to Charlie, 'O.K., release it. I bet it does nothing.'" "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" debuted at number 65 on September 21, 1974 and shot to the top of the Hot 100 seven weeks later. It was the only US number 1 single in BTO's history. (While in The Guess Who, Randy had penned only one other chart-topper, "American Woman", which hit number 1 in 1970.) "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" also holds the record for falling farthest on the chart before returning to the Top 10. After falling to number 34 two weeks after being in the number 1 spot, it jumped back to number 8 for two weeks, largely because of interest in the flip side, an instrumental called "Free Wheelin'". The song is not listed in Billboard's Top 100 singles of 1974 despite having reached number 1 within the time period covered by the chart, and is listed as the number 98 song of 1975. Its absence from the 1974 list and low placing on the 1975 list is due to its rapid ascent to number 1 and rapid descent from number 1 before re-peaking at number 8 meaning its chart points were not focused within either the 1974 or 1975 chart periods. In Canada, the single also reached number 1 and won the 1976 Juno Award for best-selling single. In the UK it reached number 2, kept off the top of the charts by "Lonely This Christmas" by Mud. It was later introduced to a new generation of fans in the UK when a remixed version was used as the theme tune to the ITV network's coverage of Formula One grand prix motor racing between 2003 and 2005, resulting in increased radio airplay for the original song in the UK during that period. Finnish band Moogetmoogs released a cover version of "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" (re-titled "Kolmen minuutin muna") as the second single from their 1991 album "Kadonnut levy" (""The Lost Record""), with a cover version of The Contours song "Do You Love Me" (retitled "Klu klu (mua rakastatko)?") as its B-side. Released in 1991, the single started to receive significant airplay and media attention beginning in November and hit number 1 on the Finnish charts in February 1992. The Finnish lyrics were written by lead singer Moog Konttinen; "Kolmen minuutin muna" translates to "three-minute egg" but can be interpreted as a euphemism for premature ejaculation too. Burton Cummings, Randy Bachman's former bandmate in the Guess Who, did a jazzy version on his first solo record. Figures on a Beach scored a minor hit in 1989 with their version of the song. It has also been covered by ApologetiX (1999), Yo La Tengo (2006), The Disco Boys (2006) and Dutch band Oôs Joôs who retitled it "Bier En Zwere Sjek" (2008). You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet (Bachman–Turner Overdrive song) "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" is a rock song written by Randy Bachman and first performed by Bachman–Turner Overdrive (BTO) for the album "Not Fragile" (1974). It
who wrote he ain't heavy he's my brother lyrics	"He Ain't Heavy, He's My Uncle" because of Raquel's pregnancy, and a spate of recent muggings on the estate, Del Boy decides that it is time to become a two-car family again. He purchases a 1977 Ford Capri Ghia from Boycie. Unbeknownst to Del, the car was a trade-in on the verge of being sent to be crushed before Boycie changed his mind. Rodney is unimpressed with the vehicle, who secretly refers to it as the "Pratmobile". Rodney attempts to look for another full-time job, though Raquel and Del remind him that his prospects are bleak, due to him being unregistered for income tax and National Insurance for ten years. However to raise his spirits, Del reinstates Rodney back into "Trotters Independent Traders". That night, at the "Nag's Head", Albert play dominoes with his friend and rival, Knock-Knock, with the both of them battling for the affections of Dora. The Trotters also notice a gang of skinheads in the background. Two hours later, back at Nelson Mandela House, Del tells Raquel that he bought the Capri Ghia to drive her everywhere safely. Just then, Rodney rushes in and tells them that Albert's been mugged, and his money and pocket watch have been stolen. Later, Albert, now sporting a black eye, is laid out on the settee. Del wants to get his hands on the muggers, but Raquel tells him to leave it to the police. Cassandra enters, and Albert tells her the story. In the kitchen, Cassandra and Rodney talk about Rodney's future with T.I.T. Co, and Cassandra leaves after believing that Rodney is becoming more like Del. A week has passed since Albert's mugging, and he still has not left the flat. When looking through his old treasure chest of memories, he shows Del and Raquel a photograph of where he and Grandad were born: Tobacco Road, which is now demolished. Rodney enters the flat, and he and Del talk about the doctor wanting Albert to try and return to normal life. Albert enters, and Del yells at him to get over his fear of going outside. The next morning, Albert runs away from home and leaves a note to his family: "I won't get under your feet any more. Your loving uncle, Albert." Raquel suggests that the Trotter brothers go out and look for Albert. Rodney takes the van, while Del takes the Capri Ghia - Rodney accidentally revealing that he calls the Capri the "Pratmobile". The Trotter brothers spend all day driving around London looking for Albert, including searching the Seaman's Mission and . Eventually, they find their uncle at a yuppy housing development that used to be Tobacco Road. Del and Rodney apologise to Albert for yelling at him the previous night. Albert tells them how he first came to Tobacco Road at the age of 15 and got a job on a trampsteamer. He laments the fact that the old neighbourhood has been torn down for the housing development, while Del thinks of it as a huge improvement and starts to wax lyrical about what he plans to do when he can afford to move there. Rodney takes Albert home in the van, leaving Del alone to stare dreamily across the waters. Back at the flat, Albert has regained his confidence. Just then, Knock-Knock rings the doorbell; Albert answers it and tries to escape to his bedroom. Del speaks to Knock-Knock instead, and returns with Albert's pocket watch, which is what Knock-Knock wanted to return. Del has found out the truth: Albert was not mugged, he and Knock-Knock had had a fight over Marlene's mother, and Knock-Knock had knocked Albert out, and had also hit him in the eye. Albert also lost all of his money at dominoes to Knock-Knock, so to avoid embarrassment made up the mugging story. Rodney enters and tells everyone that the skinheads were actually undercover police officers who had been placed on the estate following the recent muggings, and a biker gang was arrested for assaulting them. Del's heart sinks and he admits that he asked them to do it as a favour, since he knows their leader, and believed that they were responsible for mugging Albert. As they discuss the possible repercussions by fellow gangs, Albert confidently boasts about how he will beat them all. In a rage, Del attempts to hit Albert, but Rodney restrains him. He Ain't Heavy, He's My Uncle "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Uncle" is an episode of the BBC sitcom "Only Fools and Horses". It was the fifth episode of series 7, and was first broadcast on 27 January 1991. The title of the episode is derived from the song "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother". In the episode, Uncle Albert comes home claiming to have been mugged and, thinking he's become a burden, decides to leave Nelson Mandela
who wrote he ain't heavy he's my brother lyrics	"Body Count (album)" "Body Count" is well known for the inclusion of the controversial song "Cop Killer", which was the subject of much criticism from various political figures, although many defended the song on the basis of the group's right to freedom of speech. Ice-T eventually chose to remove the song from the album, although it continues to be performed live. It was voted the 31st best album of the year in "The Village Voice"s Pazz & Jop critics poll, and is believed to have helped pave the way for the mainstream success of the rap metal genre, although the album itself does not feature rapping in any of its songs. Ice-T formed Body Count out of this interest. The band comprised musicians Ice-T had known from Crenshaw High School. Ice-T states that "I knew we didn't want to form an R&B group. [...] Where am I gonna get the rage and the anger to attack something with that? [...] We knew Body Count had to be a rock band. The name alone negates the band from being R&B." Ice-T co-wrote the band's music and lyrics with lead guitarist Ernie C, and took on the duties of lead vocalist. Ice-T states that "I knew I couldn't sing, but then I thought, 'Who "can" sing in rock 'n' roll?'" Aside from Ice-T and Ernie C, the original line-up consisted of Mooseman on bass, Beatmaster V on drums and D-Roc on rhythm guitar. According to Ice-T, "We named the group Body Count because every Sunday night in L.A., I'd watch the news, and the newscasters would tally up the youths killed in gang homicides that week and then just segue to sports. 'Is that all I am,' I thought, 'a body count?'" Ice-T introduced the band at Lollapalooza in 1991, devoting half of his set to his hip hop songs, and half to Body Count songs, increasing his appeal with both alternative rock fans and middle-class teenagers. Many considered the Body Count performances to be the highlight of the tour. The group made its first album appearance on Ice-T's 1991 solo album "O.G. Original Gangster". The song "Body Count" was preceded by a staged interview in which the performer referred to the group as a "black hardcore band," stating that "as far as I'm concerned, music is music. I don't look at it as rock, R & B, or all that kind of stuff. I just look at it as music. [...] I do what I like and I happen to like rock 'n' roll, and I feel sorry for anybody who only listens to one form of music." Recording sessions for the group's self-titled debut took place from September to December 1991. The album was released on March 31, 1992, on compact disc, vinyl, and audio cassette. Ice-T states that "Body Count" was intentionally different from his solo hip hop albums in that "An Ice T album has intelligence, and at times it has ignorance. Sometimes it has anger, sometimes it has questions. But "Body Count" was intended to reflect straight anger. It was supposed to be the voice of the angry brother, without answers. [...] If you took a kid and you put him in jail with a microphone and asked him how he feels, you'd get "Body Count": 'Fuck that. Fuck school. Fuck the police.' You wouldn't get intelligence or compassion. You'd get raw anger." From the album, "There Goes The Neighborhood" was released as a single, while "Body Count's in the House" was featured in the film "Universal Soldier". Ernie C and Ice-T conceived the album with the dark, ominous tone and Satanic lyrical themes of Black Sabbath in mind. However, Ice-T felt that basing his lyrics in reality would be scarier than the fantasy basis in Black Sabbath's lyrics; the inner artwork depicts a man with a gun pointed at the viewer's face. Ice-T states, "To us "that" was the devil [...] what's more scary than [...] some gangster with a gun pointed at you?" Ice-T defined the resulting mix of heavy metal and reality-based lyrics as "a rock album with a rap mentality." The album's musical style is primarily described as speed metal, thrash metal and heavy metal. Jon Pareles of "The New York Times" wrote that with "Body Count", Ice-T "has recognized a kinship between his gangster raps and post-punk, hard-core rock, both of which break taboos to titillate fans. But where rap's core audience is presumably in the inner city, hard-core appeals mostly to suburbanites seeking more gritty thrills than they can get from Nintendo or the local mall." Despite Ice-T's attempts to differentiate "Body Count" from his work in the hip hop genre, the press focused on the group's rap image. Ice-T felt that politicians had intentionally referred to the song "Cop Killer" as rap to provoke negative criticism. "There is absolutely no way to listen to the song 'Cop Killer' and call it a rap record. It's so far from rap. But, politically, they know by saying the word "rap" they can get a lot of people who think, 'Rap-black-rap-black-ghetto,' and don't like it. You say the word "rock", people say, 'Oh, but I like Jefferson Airplane, I like Fleetwood Mac — that's rock.' They don't want to use the word rock & roll to describe this song." "Body Count" has since been credited for pioneering the rap metal genre popularized by groups such as Rage Against the Machine and Limp Bizkit, although Ice-T does not rap on any of the album's tracks. Ernie C stated that "A lot of rappers want to be in a rock band, but it has to be done sincerely. You can't just get anybody on guitar and expect it to work. [...] [We] really loved the music we were doing, and it showed." Like Ice-T's gangsta rap albums, "Body Count"'s material focused on various social and political issues, with songs focusing on topics ranging from police brutality to drug abuse. According to Ernie C, "Everybody writes about whatever they learned growing up, and we were no exception. Like The Beach Boys sing about the beach, we sing about the way we grew up." Ice-T states that ""Body Count" was an angry record. It was meant to be a protest record. I put my anger in it, while lacing it with dark humor." The spoken introduction, "Smoked Pork" features Ice-T taking on the roles of a gangster pretending to be seemingly stranded motorist and a police officer who refuses to aid. The track begins with Mooseman and Ice-T driving their car towards a police car, and then Ice-T asks for the gun Mooseman has and tells Mooseman to stay in the car, much to Mooseman's chagrin, as Mooseman wanted to kill the cop in this round. Ice-T then walks up to the policeman, pretending to be a stranded motorist, asking for help, but the policeman refuses, saying: "Nah, that's not my job! My job's not to help your fuckin' ass out!", then telling him that "my job is eatin' these doughnuts". When the officer recognizes Ice-T, gunshots are heard. The final voice on the track is Ice-T confirming his identity. In the lyrics of "KKK Bitch," Ice-T describes a sexual encounter with a woman who he soon learns is the daughter of the Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. The lyrics go on to describe a scenario in which members of Body Count "crash" a Klan meeting to "get buck wild with the white freaks". Ice-T makes humorous reference to "[falling] in love with Tipper Gore's two 12-year-old nieces", and ponders the possibility of the Grand Wizard coming after him "when his grandson's named little Ice-T." In "The Ice Opinion: Who Gives a Fuck?", Ice-T wrote that "'KKK Bitch' was ironic because the sentiments were true. We'd play Ku Klux Klan areas in the South and the girls would always come backstage and tell us how their brothers and fathers didn't like black folks. [...] We knew that 'KKK Bitch' would totally piss off the Ku Klux Klan. There's humor in the song, but it fucks with them. It's on a punk tip." "Voodoo" describes a fictional encounter between Ice-T and an old woman with a voodoo doll. "The Winner Loses" describes the downfall of a crack cocaine user. "There Goes the Neighborhood" is a sarcastic response to critics of Body Count, sung from the point of view of a racist white rocker who wonders "Don't they know rock's just for whites? / Don't they know the rules? / Those niggers are too hardcore / This shit ain't cool." For the song's music video, the word "nigger" was replaced with the phrase "black boys". The music video ends with a black musician implanting an electric guitar into the ground and setting it on fire. The final image is similar to that of a burning cross. "Evil Dick" focuses on male promiscuity. Its lyrics describe a married man who is led to seek strange women after his "evil dick" tells him "Don't sleep alone, don't sleep alone." "Momma's Gotta Die Tonight" follows the account of a black teenager who murders and dismembers his racist mother after she reacts negatively when he brings a white girl home. In "The Ice Opinion: Who Gives a Fuck?", Ice-T wrote that the song's lyrics are metaphorical, explaining that "Whoever is still perpetuating racism has got to die, not necessarily physically, but they have to kill off that part of their brain. From now on, consider it dead. The entire attitude is dead." Ice-T referred to the album's final track, "Cop Killer" as a protest song, stating that the song is "[sung] in the first person as a character who is fed up with police brutality." The song was written in 1990, and had been performed live several times, including at Lollapalooza, before it had been recorded in a studio. The album version mentions then-Los Angeles police chief Daryl Gates and the black motorist Rodney King, whose beating by LAPD officers was recorded on videotape. In "The Ice Opinion: Who Gives a Fuck?", Ice-T wrote that the song "[is] a warning, not a threat—to authority that says, 'Yo, police: We're human beings. Treat us accordingly.'" In an interview for "Rolling Stone", Ice-T stated that "We just celebrated the fourth of July, which is really just national Fuck the Police Day [...] I bet that during the Revolutionary War, there were songs similar to mine." Initial copies of the album were shipped out in black body bags, a promotional device that drew minor criticism. The album debuted at No. 32 on "Billboard"'s Top 50 albums, peaking at No. 26 on the "Billboard" 200. By January 29, 1993, the album sold 480,000 copies, according to "Variety". However, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, "Body Count" was certified gold for sale shipments in excess of 500,000 copies, with a certification date back to August 4, 1992. In a positive review for "The Village Voice", music critic Robert Christgau said Ice-T "takes rap's art-ain't-life defense over the top" on a heavy metal album which utilizes and parodies "the style's whiteskin privilege". He wrote that the music is "flat-out hard rock, short on soloistic intricacy and fancy structures", but that it is set apart from other metal by Ice-T, who "describes racism in language metalheads can understand, kills several policemen, and cuts his mama into little pieces because she tells him to hate white people. This can be a very funny record." Greg Kot, writing in the "Chicago Tribune", felt the lyrics on some songs are pathologically flawed and off-putting, but the band's take on metal styles is impressive and, "on the stereotype-bashing 'There Goes the Neighborhood,' the humor, message and music coalesce brilliantly". Don Kaye of "Kerrang!" called "Body Count" a "noisy, relentless musical attack". In a less enthusiastic review for "Rolling Stone", J. D. Considine wrote that "messages" are less important here than "the sort of sonic intensity parental groups fear even more than four-letter words," while AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine called the album "a surprisingly tepid affair" partly because "all of Ice-T's half-sung/half-shouted lyrics fall far short of the standard he established on his hip-hop albums." In the Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of prominent critics published by "The Village Voice", "Body Count" was voted the 31st best album of 1992. Christgau, the poll's supervisor, ranked it 22nd on his own year-end list. In 2017, "Rolling Stone" listed the album at No. 90 on its list of the 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time. The album was originally set to be distributed under the title "Cop Killer", named for the song of the same name, which criticizes violent police officers. During the production of the album, Warner Bros. executives were aware of the potential controversy that the album and song could cause, but supported it. At a Time-Warner shareholders' meeting, actor Charlton Heston stood and read lyrics from the song "KKK Bitch" to an astonished audience and demanded that the company take action. Sire responded by changing the title to "Body Count", but did not remove the song. In an article for the "Washington Post", Tipper Gore condemned Ice-T for songs like "Cop Killer," writing that "Cultural economics were a poor excuse for the South's continuation of slavery. Ice-T's financial success cannot excuse the vileness of his message [...] Hitler's anti-Semitism sold in Nazi Germany. That didn't make it right." The Dallas Police Association and the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas launched a campaign to force Warner Bros. Records to withdraw the album. CLEAT called for a boycott of all products by Time-Warner in order to secure the removal of the song and album from stores. Within a week, they were joined by police organizations across the United States. Ice-T asserted that the song was written from the point of view of a fictional character, and told reporters that "I ain't never killed no cop. I felt like it a lot of times. But I never did it. If you believe that I'm a cop killer, you believe David Bowie is an astronaut," in reference to Bowie's song "Space Oddity". The National Black Police Association opposed the boycott of Time-Warner and the attacks on "Cop Killer," identifying police brutality as the cause of much anti-police sentiment and proposed the creation of independent civilian review boards "to scrutinize the actions of our law enforcement officers" as a way of ending the provocations that caused artists such as Body Count "to respond to actions of police brutality and abuse through their music. [...] Many individuals of the law enforcement profession do not want anyone to scrutinize their actions, but want to scrutinize the actions of others." Critics argued that the song could cause crime and violence. Others defended the album on the basis of the group's right to freedom of speech, and cited the fact that Ice-T had portrayed a police officer in the film "New Jack City". Ice-T is quoted as saying that "I didn't need people to come in and really back me on the First Amendment. I needed people to come in and say 'Ice-T has grounds to make this record.' I have the right to make it because the cops are killing my people. So fuck the First Amendment, let's deal with the fact that I have the right to make it." Over the next month, controversy against the band grew. Vice President Dan Quayle branded "Cop Killer" as being "obscene," and President George H.W. Bush publicly denounced any record company that would release such a product. "Body Count" was removed from the shelves of a retail store in Greensboro, North Carolina after local police had told the management that they would no longer respond to any emergency calls at the store if they continued to sell the album. In July 1992, the New Zealand Police Commissioner unsuccessfully attempted to prevent an Ice-T concert in Auckland, arguing that "Anyone who comes to this country preaching in obscene terms the killing of police, should not be welcome here," before taking Body Count and Warner Bros. Records to the Indecent Publications Tribunal, in an effort to get it banned under New Zealand's Indecent Publications Act. This was the first time in 20 years that a sound recording had come before the censorship body, and the first ever case involving popular music. After reviewing the various submissions, and listening carefully to the album, the Tribunal found the song "Cop Killer" to be "not exhortatory," saw the album as displaying "an honest purpose," and found Body Count not indecent. The controversy escalated to the point where death threats were sent to Time-Warner executives, and stockholders threatened to pull out of the company. Finally, Ice-T decided to remove "Cop Killer" from the album of his own volition, a decision which was met by criticism from other artists who derided Ice-T for "caving in to external pressure." In an interview, Ice-T stated that "I didn't want my band to get pigeon-holed as that's the only reason that record sold. It just got outta hand and I was just tired of hearing it. I said, 'fuck it,' I mean they're saying we did it for money, and we didn't. I'd gave the record away, ya know, let's move on, let's get back to real issues, not a record, but the cops that are out there killing people." "Cop Killer" was replaced by a new version of "Freedom of Speech," a song from Ice-T's 1989 solo album "The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech...Just Watch What You Say". The song was re-edited and remixed to give it a more rock-oriented sound, using a looped sample from the Jimi Hendrix song "Foxy Lady." Alongside the album's reissue, Warner Bros. issued "Cop Killer" as a single. Ice-T left Warner Bros. Records the following year because of disputes over his solo album "Home Invasion", taking Body Count with him. The studio version of "Cop Killer" has not been re-released, although a live version of the song appears on Body Count's 2005 release "Live in L.A." According to Ernie C, the controversy over the song "still lingers for us, even now. I'll try to book clubs and the guy I'm talking to will mention it and I'll think to myself 'Man, that was 17 years ago.' But I meet a lot of bands who ask me about it, too, and I'm real respected by other artists for it. But it's a love/hate thing. Ice gets it too, even though he plays a cop on TV now on "Law & Order SVU"." In Australia, the track listings on copies of the new version of the album sold there ended at track 16, omitting "Freedom of Speech" (or "Cop Killer" and its spoken word intro, "Out in the Parking Lot"). This was likely because the track "Freedom of Speech" refers to the speech protections of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which Australia does not have an equivalent to in its own Constitution, thus the track is not as relevant to Australian audiences. Body Count (album) Body Count is the eponymous debut studio album by American crossover thrash band Body Count, released on March 31,
who wrote he ain't heavy he's my brother lyrics	"99 Problems" and an aggressor. The song reached number 30 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. The track was produced by Rick Rubin, his first hip hop production in many years. Rubin provided Jay-Z with a guitar riff and stripped-down beat that were once his trademarks. In creating the track Rubin used some classic 1980s sample staples such as "The Big Beat" by Billy Squier, "Long Red" by Mountain, and "Get Me Back On Time" by Wilson Pickett. The title and chorus are derived from Ice-T's "99 Problems" from his 1993 album "Home Invasion". The song featured Brother Marquis of 2 Live Crew. The original song was more profane and describes a wide range of sexual conquests. Ice-T would re-record his version of the song with the Rubin/Jay-Z guitar riff for Body Count's 2014 album "Manslaughter" in order to "reclaim" the hook from being mis-attributed to Jay-Z. Portions of Ice-T's original lyrics were similarly quoted in a song by fellow rapper Trick Daddy on a track also titled "99 Problems" from his 2001 album "Thugs Are Us." Jay-Z begins his third verse directly quoting lines from Bun B's opening verse off the track "Touched" from the UGK album "Ridin' Dirty". The song has been one of the most discussed songs of the decade. The second verse, describing Jay-Z's traffic stop, has received much more attention than the rest of the song. The second verse was based on an actual experience of Jay-Z in the 1990s in New Jersey. Jay-Z wrote that in 1994 he was pulled over by police while carrying cocaine in a secret compartment in his sunroof. Jay-Z refused to let the police search the car and the police called for the drug sniffing dogs. However, the dogs never showed up and the police had to let Jay-Z go. Moments after he drove away, he wrote that he saw a police car with the dogs drive by. Jay-Z's contention that he was pulled over for being black was later confirmed to have been common practice by the New Jersey police. In a discussion at the Celeste Bartos Forum at the New York Public Libraryl, Jay-Z described the second verse as representing a contest of wills between the car's driver who is "all the way in the wrong" for carrying illegal drugs, and a racist police officer who pulls over a driver not for any infraction but for being African-American. "Both guys are used to getting their way" and thus reluctant to back down, Jay-Z notes, and the driver "knows a bit about the law because he's used to breaking it" and asserts his legal rights. In 2011 Southwestern Law School Professor Caleb Mason wrote an article with a line-by-line analysis of the second verse of the song from a legal perspective referencing the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, citing it as a useful tool for teaching law students search and seizure law involving search warrants, "Terry" stops, racial profiling, the exclusionary rule, and the motor vehicle exception. Mason writes that some of Jay-Z's lyrics are legally accurate and describe prudent behavior (e.g., identifying when police ask for consent to search, specifically asking if one is under arrest, and complying with the police order to stop rather than fleeing which would certainly result in a search of the car and might authorize police to use lethal force to stop a high speed chase). However, Mason also notes the song lyrics are legally incorrect in indicating that a driver can refuse an order to exit the car and that police would need a warrant to search a locked glove compartment or trunk (in fact, police would need probable cause to search a car). In 2012, Professor Emir Crowne of the University of Windsor's, Faculty of Law wrote the Canadian Response to Professor Mason's article. In it, he concludes that Jay-Z's lyrics may be legally correct under Canadian Law. While the song's meaning is widely debated, the chorus "If you're having girl problems, I feel bad for you son/I've got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one" was defined in Jay-Z's book, "Decoded", as referring to something different in each verse. In verse two, it refers to a police dog. President Obama quipped, in his humorous monologue at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on April 27, 2013: "Some things are beyond my control. For example, this whole controversy about Jay-Z going to Cuba - it's unbelievable. I've got 99 problems and now Jay-Z is one." The song garnered widespread acclaim. The song came in at #2 on "Rolling Stone"s top 100 songs of the '00s. On the updated list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, the song was added and came in at #172. The song was listed at #14 on Pitchfork Media's top 500 songs of the 2000s (decade) and in October 2011, "NME" placed it at number 24 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". Jack White has hailed the song, describing it as "the story of America ... in a nutshell, [it's] the story of all the struggles in America, black or white, [and of] class systems". The song won Best Rap Solo Performance at the 47th Grammy Awards. In 2008, the song was memorably covered by Barry Chuckle of British children's comedy duo The Chuckle Brothers as part of BBC Radio 1's Scott Mills show. Mills described the cover as "superior, in essence, to the original". On January 21, 2009, Jay-Z performed the song as part of his set at the Staff Ball, the last official event of Barack Obama's inauguration. The ball was exclusively for 4,000 staffers who had worked on Obama's campaign. Jay-Z tweaked the lyrics to suit the historic atmosphere, and the crowd sang along: "I got 99 problems but a Bush ain't one", replacing "bitch" with the name of the former President. At a rally for President Barack Obama in November 2012 Jay-Z changed the lyrics of the song to "If you having world problems I feel bad for you son / I got 99 problems but Mitt ain't one." Eminem referenced the lyrics in his song "So Much Better" track, part of "The Marshall Mathers LP 2" album, with "I got 99 problems and a bitch ain't one/ She's all 99 of 'em; I need a machine gun". Danger Mouse famously remixed this song with samples from "Helter Skelter" by The Beatles as part of his oft-bootlegged album "The Grey Album". The track was also remixed with Linkin Park for the EP "Collision Course", being mixed with the Linkin Park songs "Points of Authority" and "One Step Closer". The thrash metal group Body Count combined the lyrics of Ice-T's "99 Problems" with the guitar riff from Jay-Z's "99 Problems" for the song "99 Problems BC" on the album "Manslaughter". Big Sean referenced the lyrics in Drake's "All Me" with the line "I got 99 problems, getting rich ain't one". Iggy Azalea referenced the lyrics in Ariana Grande's "Problem" with the line "I got 99 problems but you won't be one". In 2009, fellow rapper and collaborator Kid Cudi, referenced the song in the opening verse of his song "" with the line "I got 99 problems and they all bitches". The singer Hugo recorded a bluegrass cover of the song in 2011. There have been several remixes of the track including versions by The Prodigy and Linkin Park. In particular, Jay-Z had been quoted as saying that The Prodigy remix is one of his favorites by keeping the main guitar riff but heavier and darker which in turn was the inspiration for The Prodigy track 'Spitfire' written by Liam Howlett and released in 2005. The music video premiered in April 2004 and was directed by Mark Romanek. It received praises from critics such as Armond White, and was nominated for four MVPA awards in 2005, of which it won three. It also won the MTV Video Music Awards for Best Rap Video, Best Director, Best Editing and Best Cinematography, as well as gaining nominations for Video of the Year and Best Male Video. It was criticized, however, by the Humane Society of the United States for scenes in the video that glorified dog fighting. The video accompanied "The Black Album" which, at the time, was to be Jay-Z's final release. Jay-Z has stated that he wanted the video to be as auto-biographical as the rest of the album. The goal for the video was to create a portrait of where Jay-Z grew up. In a conversation with the video's director, Jay-Z stated that he wanted the video to "make a pissy wall look like art". The job of directing this video was originally intended for Quentin Tarantino, however Rick Rubin suggested that Jay-Z offer the job to Mark Romanek. Due to the research and influence of Romanek and the videos cinematographer, Joaquin Baca Asay, the video borrows visual characteristics from many New York street photographers and black and white photographs (Martin Dixon and Eugene Richards to name a few). The video is shot entirely on black-and-white film. It consists mainly of scenes filmed in close proximity to Jay-Z's childhood home, The Marcy Houses in Bedford Stuyvesant. These include: A-Side B-Side A-Side B-Side 99 Problems "99 Problems" is the third single released by American rapper Jay-Z in 2004 from "The Black Album". The chorus hook "I got 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one" is taken from the Ice-T single "99 Problems" from the album "Home Invasion" (1993). The hook was coined during a conversation between Ice-T & Brother Marquis of Miami-based 2 Live Crew. Marquis later used
who wrote he ain't heavy he's my brother lyrics	"Peter Howarth" Theatre's to critical acclaim. He later cooperated with a band called "Reflections of a Rock and Roll Tour" formed by Moody Blues drummer Gordy Marshall and Moody Blues/Hollies keyboard player Paul Bliss. In 2005 he replaced Carl Wayne as a vocalist in The Hollies. In 1999 Carl Wayne had stepped in when the band's original singer Allan Clarke retired. In addition to providing main vocals on the Hollies' classic hits in live shows, Howarth is well known for his solo acoustic versions of "Here I Go Again", the Bruce Springsteen song "Sandy", and "I Can't Tell the Bottom From the Top". In 2014 he performed "He Ain't Heavy - He's My Brother" at Goodison Park to mark 25 years since the football disaster in Hillsborough. Peter Howarth co-wrote the West End musical, "Robin, Prince of Sherwood", with 10cc guitarist Rick Fenn, which was commissioned and produced by Bill Kenwright. He also wrote songs with Fenn under the name 'Circle of 4'. They published a CD album called "and still I fly..." featuring 12 original songs. He sang backing vocals on the AOR album by Giant: "Last of the Runaways", released in 1989. The single "I'll see you in my dreams" reached 20 on the US Hot 100. In 2012 Howarth recorded "Last goodbye" with Michael J. Mullins with whom he had worked backing Cliff Richard. Howarth provides lead vocals on The Hollies' two most-recent studio albums, "Staying Power" (2006), and "Then, Now, Always" (2009/2010) and the live album "We Got The Tunes" in 2013. Howarth was featured with live recorded versions of the Hollies' hit "The Baby" and the 2009 song "I Would Fly", and the studio version of the song "Then, Now, Always" on the Top 30 charting album, "Midas Touch", in 2010. In 2014 he was featured with three songs on the Hollies' 3-CD box "50 at Fifty". One of these was a new song, "Skylarks", which he composed with Hollies drummer Bobby Elliott and Steve Lee Vickers. Howarth fronted The Hollies on their concert DVD, "Special Live Edition", featuring live clips from the Sports Palais, Antwerp and the Café de Paris, London. Three studio films from Shepperton Studios were also included. (Modern English, 2007) "I would fly", "She'd kill for me", "The Air That I Breathe" and "He Ain't Heavy - He's My Brother" were filmed for QVC TV in 2010. He also wrote and/or arranged 8 tracks on his 2014 CD album "Evermore". Some of them have been performed on Christian TV programs. In 2014, he wrote and performed a duet alongside actress Jenny Seagrove called The Main Chance, as part of a cause for the Mane Chance Sanctuary which Seagrove founded. Peter Howarth Peter Howarth (born 3 May 1960 in Blackpool, Lancashire, England) is a musician, who is the lead singer of the English band, The Hollies, which he joined in October 2004. He also has a career as solo artist and used to be a backing singer. In 2014 he released the CD album
who wrote he ain't heavy he's my brother lyrics	"He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" person only three times, they managed to collaborate on the song. In 1884, James Wells, Moderator of the United Free Church of Scotland, in his book "The Parables of Jesus" tells the story of a little girl carrying a big baby boy. Seeing her struggling, someone asked if she wasn't tired. With surprise she replied: "No, he's not heavy; he's my brother." In a 1918 publication by Ralph Waldo Trine titled "The Higher Powers of Mind and Spirit", he relates the following anecdote: "Do you know that incident in connection with the little Scottish girl? She was trudging along, carrying as best she could a boy younger, but it seemed almost as big as she herself, when one remarked to her how heavy he must be for her to carry, when instantly came the reply: 'He's na heavy. He's mi brither.'" The first editor of "Kiwanis" magazine, Roe Fulkerson, published a column in September 1924 carrying the title "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", the first use of the phrase exactly as it is rendered in the song title. In the 1940s, the words, adapted as "He ain't heavy, Father, he's my brother", were taken as a slogan for Boys Town children's home by founder Father Edward Flanagan. The Hollies' recording, which featured Elton John on piano, was released in the UK on 1 September 1969 and on 1 December 1969 in the US. It reached No. 3 in the UK and No. 7 in the US. The song, paired with rarity "Carrie", was re-released in late 1988 in the UK following its use in a television advertisement for Miller Lite beer. It reached the No. 1 spot in the UK chart for two weeks in September 1988. Neil Diamond's version of the song, recorded for his "Tap Root Manuscript" album, went to No. 20 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart in late 1970. The Osmonds covered the song on their 1970 album, "Osmonds", as well as on the B-side of their chart-topper "One Bad Apple". The song is a staple at their concerts. Olivia Newton-John included the song on her 1975 album "Clearly Love", and it was released as the B-side of the single "Let It Shine" in January 1976. The single went to number one on the US Easy Listening (adult contemporary) chart and number thirty on the "Billboard" Hot 100. The Neil Diamond version entered at #68 on the Hot 100 on 7 November 1970 (UNI Records, 55264, length 4:09). The flip side was "Free Life". The song appears on the Neil Diamond album "Tap Root Manuscript", which was released November 1970. The song was played by KGB-AM radio, San Diego, California, in late 1970, prior to the then-new Walk for Mankind, in dedication to those who would be walking for donations that day. Bill Medley recorded a version for the soundtrack of the film "Rambo III". It was released as a single in the UK and peaked at #25, being in the chart the same time as the Hollies' version in 1988. In 2012, a version of the song was recorded, and was released on 17 December 2012, by musicians and celebrities going under the name The Justice Collective, for various charities associated with the Hillsborough disaster. The song went on to take the coveted Christmas number one position for 2012 on the UK Singles Chart, beating "The X Factor" winner James Arthur, who was number one the previous week. After the News International phone hacking scandal, members of The Farm along with Pete Wylie and Mick Jones of The Clash performed at an anti-"The Sun" concert at the Liverpool Olympia in September 2011. Following this they formed The Justice Tonight Band and toured the United Kingdom and Europe for the next year in order to raise awareness of the Hillsborough Justice Campaign. Initially, the idea was to re-release the 2009 single "The Fields of Anfield Road" by The Liverpool Collective featuring The Kop Choir; however, this idea was rejected by Peter Hooton as only a relatively small number of people would buy it. Inspired by Everton's Hillsborough tribute on 17 September 2012, the song was played at Goodison Park prior to their match against Newcastle United. It was then decided that a re-recording of this song by various artists including The Justice Tonight Band would be released as the charity single. Keith Mullen of The Farm recruited Guy Chambers to produce the single and with Chambers offering free use of his Sleeper Studios to record the song. On 25 October 2012, Steve Rotheram, Guy Chambers and Kenny Dalglish announced plans of the single to be recorded by various artists such as Robbie Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, Paloma Faith, Beverley Knight, Melanie Chisholm, Holly Johnson, Mick Jones, Glen Campbell, Peter Hooton, Chris Sharrock, Glenn Tilbrook, Ren Harvieu, Dave McCabe, Paul Heaton, Hollie Cook, Jon McClure, John Power, Gerry Marsden, and two original members of The Hollies, Bobby Elliott and Tony Hicks. Another version by an unknown vocalist was used in the early 1990s by the New Zealand Police in a televised public service announcement. He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" is a ballad written by Bobby Scott and Bob Russell. Originally recorded by Kelly Gordon in 1969, the song became a worldwide hit for The Hollies later that year and again for Neil Diamond in 1970. It has been recorded by
who wrote he ain't heavy he's my brother lyrics	"Orange Blossom Special (album)" Rouse, who Cash later met during a show in Miami, Florida. Cash's recording is unusual in his repertoire for featuring a tenor saxophone solo by Boots Randolph, an instrument (and musician) rarely spotlighted on Cash's recordings. The album also contains three covers of Bob Dylan songs, that he gave Cash after a concert in Newport, Rhode Island. "It Ain't Me Babe", "Don't Think Twice, it's Alright" and "Mama, You've Been on My Mind". The last one was only recorded by Dylan as a demo, but it was first released in an album by Cash. Cash had previously borrowed the melody of "Don't Think Twice" for his recording "Understand Your Man." Released on February 1965, the album reached number three in "Billboard"'s Country albums as well as forty-nine in pop albums respectively. The single "Orange Blossom Special" peaked number three on "Billboard"s Hot Country Singles and the duet with June Carter "It Ain't Me Babe" peaked number four in Hot Country Singles. Following the recording of the concept album "", Cash recorded 'Orange Blossom Special' between August 27 and December 20, 1964. The recordings included a series of country and folk standards such as Lefty Frizzell's, "The Long Black Veil", Tillman Franks' "When It's Springtime in Alaska (It's Forty Below)", A.P. Carter's "Wildwood Flower", Jester Hairston's "Amen", and Frederick Weatherly's Danny Boy. Due to the acclaim that the cover of the song "Orange Blossom Special" received from the audiences that attended live concerts of Cash, a single of the song was released previous to the album, in February 1965 reaching number three in the "Billboard singles". During the mid 1960s, the authorship of the song was not widely known. Cash asked Maybelle Carter during the recording session about the original author, Carter stated that the song was written by Ervin T. Rouse and his brother Gordon. Carter also told Cash that the songwriter resided in Florida. Cash called Florida disk jockey Jim Brooker, who told him that he lived with the Seminoles on the Everglades. In order to locate him, Brooker announced on air during his radio show, that if Rouse was listening to call the station to give him the phone number of Cash. Rouse called the station and contacted Cash who told him that he would be soon in Miami, Florida for a scheduled concert. During an intermission of the show in Miami, a man approached Cash backstage claiming to be Ervin Rouse. Cash recalled hearing the name but he could not remember who Rouse was. After clarifying that he had written a few songs, he remarked that one he co-wrote with his brother, named "The Special", was particularly successful. Cash recognized that he was talking about Orange Blossom Special. Cash believed the man, who actually was Rouse, that he had traveled from his house in the everglades in a custom-made swamp buggy to the house of his sister in Miami, where he borrowed her bicycle to ride ten miles to be at the concert. Cash invited the man to perform the song with him in the concert, receiving the acclaim of the audience. Later Rouse stated: "The Special belongs to everybody by now, I guess, but it used to be my best number" Cash's back-cover album notes for "Orange Blossom Special" are devoted to describing his meeting with Rouse. Complementary to the standards, the album also featured covers of Bob Dylan. Cash had met Dylan briefly backstage during one of his performances at The Gaslight Cafe, but they talked extensively after a show in Newport, Rhode Island. Cash and Dylan traded songs in a motel, where Joan Baez wrote for Cash the lyrics of "It Ain't Me Babe" and "Mama, You've Been on My Mind". The first song was originally released in Dylan's "Another Side of Bob Dylan", but the second was only recorded as a demo by Dylan. In addition "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" was included. To publicize both of their artists, Columbia Records released the single "It Ain't Me Babe" with the liner: "A new song from Bob Dylan on a new single sung by Johnny Cash". The album was released on February 1965, it reached number three in "Billboard"'s Country albums and forty-nine in pop albums respectively. The single "Orange Blossom Special" peaked number three on "Billboard"s Hot Country Singles as well as eighty in the Hot 100. The duet with June Carter "It Ain't Me Babe" peaked number four in Hot Country Singles and number fifty-eight in the Hot 100. Billboard wrote: "Cash is in fine form here and he has been coupled with a great selection of material. Cash displays a sense of drama and wit". Meanwhile, "Western Folklore" also praised the album as well as the recognition of the original author of the title song: "Johnny Cash offers an interesting collection of songs, partially reflecting the Folk Song Revival's influence, in Orange Blossom Special. While the album is good, the notes are even better for they give information previously unreported on the title tune of the album and its credited composer, Ervin Rouse." AllMusic later wrote about the album: "Even if the best and most popular of the songs on this 1965 album are the ones most likely to show up on greatest-hits compilations, it certainly rates as one of Cash's finer non-greatest-hits releases". The song "Orange Blossom Special" later became a regular part of Cash's concerts, with Cash performing both harmonica parts himself, usually with a dual-harmonica technique. During a performance included on his "At Folsom Prison" live album, Cash jokes that the song requires him to "change harmonicas faster than kiss[ing] a duck". Singles - Billboard (North America) Orange Blossom Special (album) Orange Blossom Special is the 21st album released by musician Johnny Cash on Columbia Records in 1965. The recordings include country and folk standards, such as "The Long Black Veil", "When It's Springtime in Alaska", "Danny Boy" and "Wildwood Flower". The song that gave the title to the album was "Orange Blossom Special", released previous to
who wrote he ain't heavy he's my brother lyrics	"Annette Tucker" 1962. However, she aimed to become a songwriter rather than a singer. The following year, she introduced herself to the Four Star music company on Sunset Boulevard with some songs she had written. They were impressed, and teamed her with another aspiring songwriter, Nancie Mantz. The first song they wrote together, "She's Somethin' Else", was recorded by Freddy Cannon and released as a single in 1965. The same year, she co-wrote, with Mantz and another Four Star writer, Jill Jones, "A Coming Generation", which became the B-side of The Knickerbockers' hit, "Lies"; she also co-wrote their follow-up, "High On Love", with Linda and Keith Colley. In 1966, she and Mantz wrote "I Ain't No Miracle Worker", which was recorded by garage band the Brogues. An Italian version, with rewritten lyrics as "Un ragazzo di strada", a number one hit record in Italy. I Corvi. Both the English and Italian versions were later recorded by other bands, including the Chocolate Watchband. In 1966, Tucker came up with the title "I Had Too Much To Dream", and wrote the song with Mantz. Tucker said: "The Prunes were an unknown group who I hired to play at a surprise party I gave for my husband. I thought they were a very creative and talented group. A cousin of my husband's brought them to Dave Hassinger, and he came to me asking for material. I played him 'Too Much To Dream' and he loved it and had all sorts of great ideas for it. When that became a hit he only wanted to use the songs that I had a part of." After "I Had Too Much To Dream" became a hit, Tucker co-wrote many of the tracks recorded by the Electric Prunes on their first two albums, mostly with Mantz although she wrote the follow-up single "Get Me To The World On Time" with Jill Jones. According to Tucker, "Nancie and I were told to write different types of songs for the Prunes [first] album. So that is what we did... It was a great feeling to have eight songs on the album." Tucker also wrote or co-wrote "I Get Carried Away" by Tom Jones (written with Mantz and Keith Colley) she has a gold album for. "I Love What You Did With The Love I Gave You" by Sonny and Cher (written with Linda Laurie), also another gold album . "Feelin' Kinda Sunday" by Nancy and Frank Sinatra (written with Nino Tempo and Kathy Wakefield), "Green Light" by The American Breed, a chart record "Your Kind of Lovin'" by Rick Nelson (written with Jill Jones), and "Love Songs Are Getting Harder To Sing" by Maureen McGovern another chart record (written with Hod David, James Serrett and Arthur Hamilton), among others. Many of her songs have been used in TV shows and movies; "Feelin Kinda Sunday", was selected for a State Farm commercial on Fox's Sunday NFL football games. After Tucker and Mantz left Four Star, they spent some time at Shapiro, Bernstein & Co., before Mantz left the music business. Tucker and Kathy Wakefield were then contracted to Jobete Music where they wrote songs for The Jackson 5,"Someone's Standing in My Love Light", and "If You Want Heaven". They later worked at Tamerlane Music at Warner Brothers and then Wakefield and Tucker were with Don Costa Most of her song now are with Sony/ATV In the 1970s, Tucker taught songwriting skills at ASCAP workshops and at the University of California, Los Angeles, and other colleges. In 1997 she won first place in the American Jewish Song Festival for the lyrics she wrote for Aaron Kaplan’s music on a song titled "We’re Coming Home", which was chosen out of 1,000 songs that were submitted from all over the world. She wrote a weekly reviewer's column for "Songwriter" magazine, and read and reviewed scripts for the Papazian-Hersh entertainment company. She also wrote songs for commercials for Westfield shopping center and comedy songs for Premiere Radio. She has produced two pilots for syndication, including a children's musical for which she wrote the music and lyrics, and wrote six songs for a documentary on Michel Legrand in 2012. She has also written lyrics for a Broadway show, and with Aaron Kaplan wrote the song for the video "Got To Be You And Me", performed by the children's group Heart to Heart. In November 2014 Tucker released the Christmas song "Who Put The Merry In Merry Christmas", with an accompanying video and has written a Christmas song Everyday Is Christmas When I'm With you which was put out as a work for hire on Venus Moon Records. Ms Tucker is currently writing with some new writers in the country field and still teaching songwriting privately and reviewing lyrics from publishers that they send to get her opinion on. Annette Tucker Annette May Tucker is an American songwriter, who found success in the 1960s as co-writer of songs for The Electric Prunes ("I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)", "Get Me to the World on Time"), The Brogues ("I Ain't No Miracle Worker"), The Knickerbockers ("A Coming Generation"), Nancy and Frank Sinatra ("Feelin' Kinda Sunday") and others. Tucker was born in Los Angeles. In 1961, as an aspiring songwriter, she met musician and songwriter Al Hazan, and together they wrote "Stick Around", which Tucker recorded. It was released as a single by Piper Records in Los Angeles
who wrote he ain't heavy he's my brother lyrics	"James Lord Pierpont" Hollis Street Unitarian Church in Boston, an abolitionist and a poet. Robert Fulghum confused James with his father in the book "It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It" (1989); erroneously attributing the authorship of "Jingle Bells" to the Rev. John Pierpont. James' mother was Mary Sheldon Lord, the daughter of Lynde Lord, Jr. (1762–1813), and Mary Lyman. James was the uncle of the financier and banker John Pierpont Morgan. John and Mary Pierpont had six children. In 1832, James was sent to a boarding school in New Hampshire. He wrote a letter to his mother about riding in a sleigh through the December snow. In 1836, James ran away to sea aboard a whaling ship called "The Shark". He then served in the US Navy until the age of 21. By 1845, he returned to New England where his father was the pastor of a Unitarian congregation in Troy, New York. James married Millicent Cowee, the daughter of Farwell Cowee and Abigail Merriam, in the late 1840s, and they settled in Medford, where they had three children. His father, Rev. John Pierpont, assumed a position as minister of a Unitarian congregation in Medford, Massachusetts in 1849. In 1849, James Pierpont left his wife and children with his father in Massachusetts to open a business in San Francisco during the California Gold Rush. He also worked as a photographer. His business failed after his goods burned in a fire. In 1856, Millicent died, and after James' brother, the Rev. John Pierpont, Jr. (1819–1879), accepted a post with the Savannah, Georgia, Unitarian congregation, James followed, taking a post as the organist and music director of the church. To support himself, he also gave organ and singing lessons. The organ is presently in the possession of Florida State University[citation needed]. On March 27, 1852, James Pierpont published his composition "The Returned Californian", based on his experiences in San Francisco, published in Boston by E. H. Wade of 197 Washington Street. "The Returned Californian" was originally sung by S. C. Howard, of Ordway's Aeloians, and was written expressly for Ordway's Aeolians "by James Pierpont Esq." and was arranged by John Pond Ordway (1824–1880). The song describes Pierpont's experiences during the California Gold Rush and the failure of his San Francisco business: "Oh! I'm going far away from my Creditors just now, I ain't the tin to pay 'em and they're kicking up a row." The U.S. Library of Congress possesses a copy of the original sheet music for the song. The lyrics to "The Returned Californian" are as follows: <poem>Oh, I'm going far away from my Creditors just now, I ain't the tin to pay 'em and they're kicking up a row; I ain't one of those lucky ones that works for 'Uncle Sam,' There's no chance for speculation and the mines ain't worth a ('d--') Copper. There's my tailor vowing vengeance and he swears he'll give me Fitts, And Sheriff's running after me with pockets full of writs; And which ever way I turn, I am sure to meet a dun, So I guess the best thing I can do, is just to cut and run. Oh! I wish those 'tarnel critters that wrote home about the gold Were in the place the Scriptures say 'is never very cold;' For they told about the heaps of dust and lumps so mighty big, But they never said a single word how hard they were to dig. So I went up to the mines and I helped to turn a stream, And got trusted on the strength of that delusive golden dream; But when we got to digging we found 'twas all a sham, And we who dam'd the rivers by our creditors were damn'd. Oh! I'm going far away but I don't know where I'll go, I oughter travel homeward but they'll laugh at me I know; For I told 'em when I started I was bound to make a pile, But if they could only see mine now I rather guess they'd smile. If of these United States I was the President, No man that owed another should ever pay a cent; And he who dunn'd another should be banished far away, And attention to the pretty girls is all a man should pay.</poem> In 1853, Pierpont had published new compositions in Boston, among them "Kitty Crow", dedicated to W. W. McKim, and "The Colored Coquette", a minstrel song published by Oliver Ditson. "The Coquette" and an arrangement for guitar entitled "The Coquet" were also published that year. Pierpont also published an arrangement entitled "The Universal Medley". In 1854, Pierpont composed the songs "Geraldine" and "Ring the Bell, Fanny" for George Kunkle's Nightingale Opera Troupe. He also copyrighted the song "To the Loved Ones at Home" in 1854 and "Poor Elsie", a ballad, written and arranged expressly for Campbell's Minstrels, who were rivals to Christy's Minstrels. In 1855, he composed "The Starlight Serenade", published by Miller and Beacham in Baltimore. Pierpont also composed "I Mourn For My Old Cottage Home". In 1857, Pierpont had another successful hit song composition with a song written in collaboration with lyricist Marshall S. Pike, "The Little White Cottage" or "Gentle Nettie Moore", published by Oliver Ditson and Company, and copyrighted on September 16, 1857. The songwriting credit appeared as: "Poetry by Marshall S. Pike, Esq.", the "Melody by G. S. P.", and "Chorus and Piano Accompaniment by J. S. [sic] Pierpont". Pierpont's name occasionally appeared incorrectly as "J. S. Pierpont". Jamie Keena, a balladeer and authority on 19th century music, who plays the guitar, banjo, fife, hammered dulcimer, and concertina, has recorded several Pierpont compositions from this period. The Pierpont compositions that were performed by Keena included "Ring the Bell, Fanny" (1854), "Quitman Town March", and "Wait, Lady, Wait", as well as three Confederacy songs written in the 1860s, "Our Battle Flag", "We Conquer or Die" (1861), and "Strike for the South" (1863). Pierpont published several ballads, polkas, such as "The Know Nothing Polka", published by E. H. Wade in 1854, and minstrel songs. Minstrel songs were popular in the 1850s and continued to be popular into the 20th century in the U.S. The lyrics to all minstrel songs reflect and mirror the endemic racism and racial stereotypes inherent in American society and culture. Minstrel songs and the minstrel genre exploited racial stereotypes and racially stereotypical language. The minstrel genre, however, was only a representation of the wider societal racism in the United States. In August 1857, James married Eliza Jane Purse, daughter of Savannah's mayor, Thomas Purse. She soon gave birth to the first of their children, Lillie. Pierpont's children by his first marriage remained in Massachusetts with their grandfather. In August 1857, his song "The One Horse Open Sleigh" was published by Oliver Ditson and Company of 277 Washington Street in Boston dedicated to John P. Ordway. The song was copyrighted on September 16, 1857. The song was originally performed in a Sunday school concert on Thanksgiving in Savannah, Georgia, although it has been claimed that Pierpont wrote it in Medford, Massachusetts in 1850. In 1859, it was re-released with the title "Jingle Bells, or The One Horse Open Sleigh". The song was not a hit either time. The popularity of the song, however, grew with the passage of time to the point where it became one of the most popular and recognizable songs of the Christmas holiday. The original lyrics to "The One Horse Open Sleigh" as written by James Lord Pierpont in 1857 are as follows: <poem>Dashing thro' the snow, In a one-horse open sleigh, O'er the hills we go, Laughing all the way; Bells on bob tail ring, Making spirits bright, Oh what sport to ride and sing A sleighing song to night. Jingle bells, Jingle bells, Jingle all the way; Oh! what joy it is to ride In a one horse open sleigh. Jingle bells, Jingle bells, Jingle all the way; Oh! what joy it is to ride In a one horse open sleigh. A day or two ago, I thought I'd take a ride, And soon Miss Fannie Bright Was seated by my side, The horse was lean and lank; Misfortune seemed his lot, He got into a drifted bank, And we, we got upsot. A day or two ago, The story I must tell I went out on the snow And on my back I fell; A gent was riding by In a one-horse open sleigh, He laughed as there I sprawling lie, But quickly drove away. Now the ground is white Go it while you're young, Take the girls to night And sing this sleighing song; Just get a bob tailed bay Two forty as his speed. Hitch him to an open sleigh And crack, you'll take the lead. </poem> Later arrangements of the song made minor alterations to the lyrics and introduced a new chorus melody (the original chorus melody is now better known for its association with a slightly later piece, Benjamin Hanby's "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas"). In this slightly modified form, "Jingle Bells" became one of the most popular and most recognizable songs ever written. In 1859, the Unitarian Church in Savannah had closed because of its abolitionist position, which was unpopular in the South. By 1860, the Rev. John Pierpont, Jr. had returned to the North. James, however, stayed in Savannah with his second wife Eliza Jane, and at the beginning of the Civil War, joined the Lamar Rangers, which became part of the Fifth Georgia Cavalry of the Confederacy. Records indicate that he served as a company clerk. He also wrote music for the Confederacy when it seceded from the Union, including "Our Battle Flag", "Strike for the South" and "We Conquer or Die". His father also saw military service as a chaplain with the Union Army stationed in Washington, D.C. and later worked for the U.S. Treasury Department. Pierpont and his father were on opposite sides during the Civil War. After the war, James moved his family to Valdosta, Georgia, where he taught music. According to Savannah author Margaret DeBolt and researcher Milton J. Rahn, Pierpont's son, Maynard Boardman, was born in Valdosta. The 1870 Lowndes County Census listed: "Pierpont, James 48, Eliza J. 38, Lillie 16, Thomas 8, Josiah 5, and Maynard B. 4." If Lillie is 16 in 1870, she was born in about 1854. In 1869, Pierpont moved to Quitman, Georgia. There he was the organist in the Presbyterian Church, gave private piano lessons and taught at the Quitman Academy, retiring as the head of the Musical Department. In 1880, Pierpont's son, Dr. Juriah Pierpont, M.D., renewed the copyright on "Jingle Bells" but he never made much money from it. It took considerable effort to keep his father's name permanently attached to the song after the copyright expired. More information about Dr. Pierpont can be found at Pensacola Medical Heritage on St. John's Historic Cemetery web page. Pierpont spent his final days at his son's home in Winter Haven, Florida, where he died on August 5, 1893. At his request, he was buried in Laurel Grove Cemetery in Savannah beside his brother-in-law Thomas who had been killed in the First Battle of Bull Run. James Pierpont's other compositions include: Bob Dylan based his song "Nettie Moore" on the "Modern Times" (2006) album on "Gentle Nettie Moore". The structure of the chorus and the first two lines ("Oh, I miss you Nettie Moore / And my happiness is o'er") of Bob Dylan's "Nettie Moore" are the same as those of "The Little White Cottage, or Gentle Nettie Moore", the ballad published in 1857 in Boston, by Marshall S. Pike (poetry), G.S.P. (melody) and James S. Pierpont (chorus and piano accompaniment). The Sons of the Pioneers with Roy Rogers recorded "Gentle Nettie Moore" in August 1934 for Standard Radio in Los Angeles and released it as a 33 RPM radio disc, EE Master 1720. The recording was reissued on the CD #4 of the 5 CD set Songs Of The Prairies - The Standard Transcriptions - Part. 1 - 1934-1935 on Bear Family, BCD 15710 EI, 1998, Germany. The songwriting credit on this collection is listed as: "Gentle Nettie Moore" (Marshall S. Pike/James Pierpont). James Lord Pierpont James Lord Pierpont (April 25, 1822 – August 5, 1893) was a New England-born songwriter, arranger, organist, and composer, best known for writing and composing "Jingle Bells" in 1857, originally entitled "The One Horse Open Sleigh". He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and died in Winter Haven, Florida. His composition "Jingle Bells" has become synonymous with the Christmas holiday and is
who wrote he ain't heavy he's my brother lyrics	"Paid in Full (album)" the Crowd", and "Paid in Full". "Paid in Full" is credited as a benchmark album of golden age hip hop. Rakim's rapping, which pioneered the use of internal rhymes in hip hop, set a higher standard of lyricism in the genre and served as a template for future rappers. The album's heavy sampling by Eric B. became influential in hip hop production. The record has sold over a million copies and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it platinum in 1995. In 2003, the album was ranked number 228 on "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Eric B. and Rakim met in 1985 after Eric B. looked for a rapper to complement his turntable work at the New York City radio station WBLS. After Rakim responded to Eric B.'s search for "New York's top MC", Eric B.'s friend and roommate Marley Marl allowed him to use his home studio. The first track they recorded, "Eric B. Is President", was released as a single on the independent Zakia Records in 1986. After Def Jam Recordings founder Russell Simmons heard the single, the duo were signed to Island Records and began recording the album in Manhattan's Power Play Studios in early 1987. Rakim wrote his songs in approximately one hour while listening to the beat. He then recorded his vocals in the booth by reading his lyrics from a paper. In 2006, Rakim revealed, "When I hear my first album today I hear myself reading my rhymes but I'm my worst critic." The duo completed the album in one week. They have said that they worked in 48-hour shifts and recorded in single takes to complete the album within budget. In a 2008 interview with AllHipHop, Eric B. stated, "[T]o sit here and say we put together this calculated album to be a great album would be a lie. We were just doing records that felt good." The album's success led to a contract with Uni Records and MCA Records, where they released their second album, "Follow the Leader" (1988). Eric B. and Rakim are credited as officially producing "Paid in Full". Although Marley Marl claimed to have produced two tracks ("My Melody" and "Eric B. Is President"), Eric B. has argued that Marley Marl was only an engineer. In 2003, Eric B. alleged the duo had not been fully paid for their work, and filed a lawsuit against the Island Def Jam Music Group, Lyor Cohen, and Russell Simmons. The album cover featured a photo of Eric B. and Rakim wearing custom-made Gucci "knock-ups" by Harlem tailor Dapper Dan. Rakim's rhyming deviated from the simple rhyme patterns of early 1980s hip hop. His free-rhythm style ignored bar lines and had earned comparisons to Thelonious Monk. "The New York Times" Ben Ratliff wrote that Rakim's "unblustery rapping developed the form beyond the flat-footed rhythms of schoolyard rhymes". While many rappers developed their technique through improvisation, Rakim was one of the first to demonstrate advantages of a writerly style, as with for instance his pioneering use of internal rhyme. Unlike previous rappers such as LL Cool J and Run-D.M.C. who delivered their vocals with high energy, Rakim employed a relaxed, stoic delivery. According to MTV, "We'd been used to MCs like Run and DMC, Chuck D and KRS-One leaping on the mic shouting with energy and irreverence, but Rakim took a methodical approach to his microphone fiending. He had a slow flow, and every line was blunt, mesmeric." Rakim's relaxed delivery resulted from his jazz influences; he had played the saxophone and was a John Coltrane fan. His subject matter often covered his own rapping skills and lyrical superiority over other rappers. AllMusic editor Steve Huey characterized Rakim for his "complex internal rhymes, literate imagery, velvet-smooth flow, and unpredictable, off-the-beat rhythms." "Pitchfork" writer Jess Harvell described his rapping as "authoritative, burnished, [and] possessing an unflappable sense of rhythm". "Paid in Full", which contains gritty, heavy, and dark beats, marked the beginning of heavy sampling in hip hop records. Of the album's ten tracks, three are instrumentals. As a disc jockey, Eric B. had reinstated the art of live turntable mixing. His soul-filled sampling became influential in future hip hop production. Music critic Robert Christgau noted that Eric B. had incorporated "touches of horn or whistle deep in the mix" of his sampled percussion and scratches. "Eric B. Is President" was released as the first single with "My Melody" as the B-side. It peaked at number 48 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and number forty on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales. The track sparked debate on the legality of unauthorized sampling when James Brown sued to prevent the duo's use of his music. PopMatters' Mark Anthony Neal called it "the most danceable hip-hop recording" of 1986. According to Touré of "The New York Times", "It is Rakim's verbal dexterity as well as his calm, deep voice and dark tone that has made this song a rap classic: 'I came in the door/ I said it before/ I'll never let the mic magnetize me no more/ But it's bitin' me/ Fightin' me/ Invitin' me to rhyme/ I can't hold it back/ I'm looking for the line/ Takin' off my coat/ Clearin' my throat/ The rhyme will be kickin' it/ Til I hit my last note.'" The second single, "I Ain't No Joke", peaked at number 38 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks. Described as one of the album's "monumental singles", Michael Di Bella wrote in the "All Music Guide to Rock" that "Rakim grabs the listener by the throat and illustrates his mastery of the rhyming craft". The third single, "I Know You Got Soul", peaked at number 39 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, number 34 on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales, and number 64 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks. The track's production contains "digitized cymbal crashes, breathing sounds, and a bumping bass line." The song popularized James Brown samples in hip hop songs. The British band <nowiki>M\|A\|R\|R\|S</nowiki> sampled the line, "Pump up the volume", on their number one UK single, "Pump Up the Volume". "Rolling Stone" ranked it at number 386 on "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". The fourth single, "Move the Crowd", peaked at number three on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart and number 25 on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales. The track's B-side, "Paid in Full", was released as a single in 1987 and later remixed by the production duo Coldcut. The remix used several vocal samples, most prominently "Im Nin'Alu" by Israeli singer Ofra Haza. In 2008, the song was ranked at number 24 on VH1's "100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs". In a contemporary review for "The Washington Post", Mark Jenkins highlighted the single "Eric B. Is President" but was unimpressed by the rest of "Paid in Full": "Its beats are monotonous, and the attempts to take 'jazz and the quiet storm' and 'convert into hip-hop form' fall flat." Robert Christgau from "The Village Voice" said it has "four groundbreaking masterworks" in "I Ain't No Joke", "I Know You Got Soul", "Paid in Full", and "Eric B. Is President", but was less enthusiastic about the other six songs: "They're pure, innovative, in-your-face—no doubt. But they're also turntablism with spoken decoration, of small use to anyone who hasn't internalized the 'real' hip hop aesthetic." In the newspaper's annual Pazz & Jop critics poll, it was named the 27th best album of 1987. "Paid in Full" was released during what became known as the golden age hip hop era. In "The Rolling Stone Album Guide" (2004), Sasha Frere-Jones called it "one of hip-hop's perfect records", while Alex Ogg considered it to be the duo's magnum opus in his book "The Men Behind Def Jam". Rakim's rapping on the album set a blueprint for future rappers and helped secure East Coast hip hop's reputation for innovative lyrical technique. Author William Cobb stated in "To the Break of Dawn" that his rapping had "stepped outside" of the preceding era of old school hip hop and that while the vocabulary and lyrical dexterity of newer rappers had improved, it was "nowhere near what Rakim introduced to the genre". "The New York Times" Dimitri Ehrlich, who described the album as "an artistic and commercial benchmark", credited Rakim for helping "give birth to a musical genre" and leading "a quiet musical revolution, introducing a soft-spoken rapping style". Allmusic's Steve Huey declared "Paid in Full" one of hip-hop's most influential albums and "essential listening" for those interested in the genre's "basic musical foundations". MTV ranked it at number one in "The Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time", stating it raised the standards of hip-hop "both sonically and poetically" and described it as "captivating, profound, innovative and instantly influential". The album is broken down track-by-track by Rakim in Brian Coleman's book "Check the Technique". In 2003, "Rolling Stone" listed "Paid in Full" at number 228 on "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", calling it "Ice-grilled, laid-back, diamond-sharp: Rakim is a front-runner in the race for Best Rapper Ever, and this album is a big reason why." Similarly, "Blender" magazine included the album in its "500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die". "Time" magazine listed it as one of the eighteen albums of the 1980s in its "All-TIME 100" albums; editor Alan Light acknowledged the record changed the "sound, flow, and potential" of hip hop and that if Rakim is "the greatest MC of all time, as many argue, this album is the evidence". Jess Harvell of "Pitchfork" complimented Rakim for an "endless display of pure skill" and described the album as "laidback and funky", but believed it contained "too much filler to get a free 'classic' pass". "Pitchfork" placed "Paid in Full" at number fifty-two in its "Top 100 Albums of the 1980s"; editor Sam Chennault wrote that Rakim inspired a generation of MCs and "defined what it meant to be a hip-hop lyricist". Slant Magazine listed the album at #32 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s" saying "For his part, Rakim didn't need to rely on macho jargon and trite gangsterisms for his self-aggrandizing sermons; he would simply reel off line after line of spellbinding wordplay, influencing an entire decade of tongue-twisting MCs in the process." Rakim is credited with influencing rappers including the Wu-Tang Clan, Jay-Z, 50 Cent, and Nas, who cited "Paid in Full" as one of his favorite albums. 50 Cent told "NME" that "Paid in Full" was the first album he bought: "I used to get my grandmother's tape recorder – the one she used to tape church services – and record hip-hop off the radio. And, with Eric B. & Rakim, I think that was the first moment where I felt like, 'I've got to own this. This is crucial.'" On July 11, 1995, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album platinum. As of December 1997, it has sold over a million copies. All songs written and produced by Eric B. & Rakim. Adapted from AllMusic. Paid in Full (album) Paid in Full is the debut album of American hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, released on July 7, 1987, by Island-subsidiary label 4th & B'way Records. The duo recorded the album at hip hop producer Marley Marl's home studio and Power Play Studios in New York
who wrote he ain't heavy he's my brother lyrics	"Ain't Nothin' Like Me" Hop Albums chart, selling about 98,000 copies in its first week, while marking his highest-charting album since "My Name Is Joe", which reached the same position of both charts. In 2003, Joe released his fifth studio album "And Then". Produced by Joe's labelmate R. Kelly along with Roy "Royalty" Hamilton, Kevin "Shekspere" Briggs, Carvin & Ivan, and others, the album reached number 26 on the US "Billboard" 200 albums chart, selling 121,000 copies in its first week of release. It produced the R&B top thirty single "More & More" and "Ride wit U" and was eventually certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Soon after, Joe started work on his sixth full-length album. Aiming for a new direction, while maintaining the romantic, gospel-influenced R&B style mixed in hip-hop elements, the singer collaborated with a different range of writers and producers to create the bulk of the album, including Bryan Michael Cox, Cool & Dre, Sean Garrett, The Smith Brothers, and Tim & Bob. Although he co-wrote five songs on the album, Joe decided to leave most of the writing and producing to his collaborators: “I look at what the record ultimately needs [...]It’s about making a great record, not about how many songs I have on the album. A lot of artists get into writing too much, and the album starts to sound the same. I like working with several different producers who can bring their own sound to the record. It gives the album more variety and dimension.” The singer named “If I Was Your Man” and “It’s Me” as two of his favorite songs on the album; both tracks were written by the Norwegian duo Stargate. Commenting on their work, Joe elaborated, that "it was a blast working with [them]. They are doing something great for R&B, creating strong midtempo and uptempo songs and tracks. There’s normally a lot of slow ballads in R&B, but they bring in more uptempo grooves and sounds.” Upon release, "Ain't Nothin' Like Me" received generally positive reviews from music critics. Andy Kellman from Allmusic gave the album four stars out of five and wrote that "contemporary as ever, Joe seeks production and songwriting assistance from a number of ubiquitous heavyweights and up-and-comers [...] While a very basic name, a lack of flashiness, and sizeable gaps of inactivity have only gotten in the way of his popularity, Joe has maintained relevant and reliable since he debuted." Mark Edward Nero, writing for About.com, felt that with "Ain't Nothin' Like Me" the singer "doesn't vary much from the tone and image he established for himself on previous albums; there's the same emotional ballads, the same sexy bedroom music, the same obligatory guest appearances by rappers. Joe's approach on the album seems to be if it ain't broke, don't fix it. And the approach works; "Ain't Nothing Like Me" is a solid, if unspectacular, album that should be appealing to the women and men who are fans of Joe's earlier work." He rated the album three and a half stars out of five. Laura Checkoway from "Vibe" felt that the "album, though heavy on cheese, is surprisingly pleasant, especially as there is a deficit right now of true grown-man R&B. Joe stays young with A-list production and rap cameos. Less empathic "Entertainment Weekly"s Simon Vozick-Levinson wrote that the "album is most entertaining when New York City MCs like Nas and Papoose drop by for lively guest spots. Joe's solo ballads, however, make the disc's title seem like a cruel joke: His voice is consistently easy on the ears, sure, but contemporary R&B is full of also-rans who sound exactly like him." "People" magazine wrote that "the title of Joe's latest CD seems to attest to his singular abilities as a loveman. But on these slow jams and hip-hoppish midtempo numbers he doesn't sound much different from fellow R&B Romeos like R. Kelly ("Go Hard"), Brian McKnight ("Feel for You") and Usher ("Let's Just Do It")." The magazine rated the album two out of four stars. DJ Booth gave it four spins. Following its release, it debuted at number two on the US "Billboard" 200 and on top of the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart, selling about 98,000 copies in its first week. It marked his highest-charting album since "My Name Is Joe", which reached the same position of both charts. As of July 11, 2007, it has sold 224,823 copies in the United States. Ain't Nothin' Like Me Ain't Nothin' Like Me is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Joe, released by Jive Records after several delays on April 24, 2007 in the United States. The singer worked with several producers on the album, including Bryan Michael Cox, Tim & Bob, Cool & Dre, The Underdogs, and Sean Garrett; rappers Papoose,
who wrote he ain't heavy he's my brother lyrics	"Sparks (band)" including the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and the United States, they have enjoyed a cult following since their first releases. During the late 1970s, when in collaboration with Giorgio Moroder (and Telex subsequently), Sparks reinvented themselves as a new wave/synth-pop band, and abandoned the traditional rock band line-up. Their frequently changing styles and visual presentations have kept the band at the forefront of modern, artful pop music. The 2002 release of "Lil' Beethoven", their "genre-defying opus", as well as the more recent albums "Hello Young Lovers" (2006, their 20th studio album), "Exotic Creatures of the Deep" (2008), and their latest fantasy musical "The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman" (2009–2010) have brought Sparks renewed critical and commercial success, and seen them continue to "steer clear of pop conventions." The band also released an album with Scottish indie rock band Franz Ferdinand, as the supergroup FFS, titled "FFS", released in 2015. Sparks are best known for the songs "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us", which reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart in 1974; the disco hit "The Number One Song in Heaven" in 1979; "When I'm With You" which topped the French Singles Chart in 1980; the single "I Predict", which provided Sparks' first appearance on the "Billboard" Hot 100, reaching No. 60 in May 1982; the 1983 single "Cool Places" with the Go-Go's rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Jane Wiedlin, and "When Do I Get to Sing 'My Way'" which topped the German and European charts in 1994/95 and was the top airplay record in Germany for 1994. In 2017 Sparks released "Hippopotamus", which entered the UK Albums Chart at no. 7, marking Sparks' first UK top-ten appearance in over 40 years. Brothers Ron and Russell Mael grew up in Pacific Palisades, in western Los Angeles County, California, during the "Golden Age" of the LA club scene, with the Doors, Love and the Standells regularly playing the Whisky a Go Go on Sunset Strip and the Beach Boys playing the afternoon event Teenage Fair. Both Ron and Russell Mael are seen in the audience during the Ronettes' section of the concert film "The Big T.N.T. Show", filmed in 1966. Both attended UCLA, Ron studying cinema and graphic art, Russell theatre arts and filmmaking. Detesting the folk music scene, which they considered "cerebral and sedate and we had no time for that", they developed a particular taste in English bands of the time such as the Who, Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd, the Kinks and the Move, which led to their description of themselves as "Anglophiles". The very first recordings they make as the band "The Urban Renewal Project", on January 14, 1967 at the Fidelity Recording Studios in Hollywood. On that day, they record four songs with married couple Fred and Ronna Frank. Fred was Ron's (or Ronnie as he was known then) best friend and the latter was best man at Fred and Ronna's wedding. The songs were pressed on two acetates and have never been released, apart from the track "Computer Girl", which was included on cd with the Japanese semi-biography from 2006. Both the handling of the music instruments and the vocals by Russell indicate that The Urban Renewal Project was still at a very rudimentary stage. The other three songs were "The Windmill", "A Quick Thought" and "As You Like It". Of all four songs, "Computer Girl" was the least traditional. Forming Halfnelson in 1968, they soon came to the attention of producer Todd Rundgren, at whose urging Albert Grossman signed the band to his Bearsville record label. Their eponymous debut album – with the line-up consisting of college friend Earle Mankey on guitar, Mankey's brother James on bass, Harley Feinstein on drums and Rundgren producing – sold poorly, but after switching labels to Warner Bros. Records and renaming themselves Sparks, a play on the Marx Brothers, the re-issued debut spawned the minor regional hit "Wonder Girl". Their follow-up album, A Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing, led to a tour of the United Kingdom, including a residency at the Marquee Club in London, These London appearances helped them to secure a significant cult following. Relocating to England in 1973 with a new manager, John Hewlett, founder of John's Children, and a deal from Island Records, thanks in part to the exposure garnered by their BBC Two "Whistle Test" performance, they placed an ad in music weekly "Melody Maker" ("Wanted bass player for Sparks. Must be beard free and exciting") and through this hired Martin Gordon. With Adrian Fisher on guitar and Norman "Dinky" Diamond on drums, in the midst of power cuts and a threatened vinyl shortage, they recorded their breakthrough "Kimono My House" in 1974, scoring a No. 2 hit with the single "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us", despite Elton John betting producer Muff Winwood that the song would not break into the charts. Sparks became a UK teen sensation appearing on the cover of "Melody Maker", "Record Mirror" and countless other pop magazines in the UK and Europe. Hits such as "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us", "Amateur Hour" and "Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth" led to many appearances on the BBC's flagship music show "Top of the Pops". Russell's hyperactive movements were in sharp contrast to the keyboard-bound, soberly dressed Ron's expressionless squint and Charlie Chaplin-esque moustache. Gordon and Fisher were later replaced by Trevor White and Ian Hampton. In 1975, the revised band returned to the US to tour supporting the "Kimono" and "Propaganda" albums which had gained strong cult attention in New York City, Cleveland, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles primarily from FM radio play and a national TV appearance on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert. Flo & Eddie were the supporting act. Influential 1970s progressive FM radio station powerhouse WMMS in Cleveland and its famed DJs such as Kid Leo initially championed the band in America. Sparks also performed on American Bandstand in 1975 with host Dick Clark mugging with Ron and on countless other TV shows in the US and abroad post 1977. The follow-up albums, Propaganda and "Indiscreet", the latter produced by Tony Visconti, were similarly successful and produced the hit singles "Looks, Looks, Looks", "Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth" and "Something for the Girl with Everything". 1976 saw the Maels return home to LA. Concerned that their music may have become stale, they changed to a more "American" sound and recorded "Big Beat" with Rupert Holmes and Jeffrey Lesser on production, followed by "Introducing Sparks"; both were mostly recorded with session musicians. This new "West Coast" sound yielded such songs as "Nothing to Do", "Everybody's Stupid", and "Throw Her Away (and Get a New One)". In 1976, Sparks made one of their first forays into the movie business, making a cameo appearance in the disaster-suspense film "Rollercoaster", after Kiss turned down the roles. They performed the songs "Fill 'Er Up" and "Big Boy." By 1977 the brothers found themselves at a crossroads. They had tired of the rock band format and were determined to take their music in a more electronic direction. They also expressed admiration for Giorgio Moroder to a German journalist who turned out to be a friend of his. As a result, they teamed up with Moroder and created "No. 1 in Heaven", an album which would not only redefine the Sparks sound and challenge the concept of what is meant by a band but also become a major influence on emerging electronic pop artists. It spawned two singles in the top-fifteen UK chart: "The Number One Song in Heaven" and "Beat The Clock". The follow-up in 1980, "Terminal Jive", had a hit single in France, "When I'm With You", which led to the Maels' staying in the country for a year promoting the album, Russell being sufficiently fluent in French. The single also hit the Top 20 in Australia, reaching No. 14. Then, Sparks was finding the electronic equipment they had adopted for their new sound too cumbersome to tour with and they returned to the more traditional band format for their next three releases. "Whomp That Sucker", "Angst in My Pants" (two tracks from which appear later in the 1983 movie "Valley Girl") and "In Outer Space". They finally broke into the US singles chart with "Cool Places" from 1983's "In Outer Space". The track was a collaboration with the Go-Go's rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Jane Wiedlin, who, at one time, ran her own Sparks fan club, and its success was in part thanks to Los Angeles' KROQ-FM radio station, which hailed them as local heroes. In 1984, the Maels wrote and performed several original songs on the soundtrack for the black comedy teen film "Bad Manners" (aka: "Growing Pains"), including the film's title song, "Bad Manners". In 1988, they scored a hit single in France and in Europe with "Singing in the Shower", sung in duet with Rita Mitsouko: the single was produced by Tony Visconti. Beginning in the late 1980s, Sparks attempted to make the Japanese manga "Mai, the Psychic Girl" into a musical, with interest from Tim Burton and Carolco Pictures, who purchased the film rights in August 1991. Carolco hoped Burton would start production in 1992, but he chose to work on "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Ed Wood" for Touchstone Pictures. The option on the film rights eventually expired, and Burton dropped out. Francis Ford Coppola later developed the property in the late 1990s. In June 2000, Sony Pictures Entertainment started on a different project with Kirk Wong attached to direct. By February 2001, a script had been written by Lisa Addario and Joey Syracuse for Sony's Columbia Pictures. The release of "The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman", a radio musical by Sparks, in August 2009, was informed by the six years the band spent trying to get their "Mai, the Psychic Girl" produced. The album generated new interest, and gained a "second wind", vocalist Russell Mael explained. "The music is all ready and we are hoping that this still might see the light of day." On May 18, 2010, Burton expressed renewed interest in adapting the property. In 1993, Ron and Russell returned with the single "National Crime Awareness Week," their first release since the 1988 album "Interior Design". The song was produced by the Scottish dance band Finitribe. In 1994, the Maels released "Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins", providing the hit singles "When Do I Get to Sing 'My Way'" and "When I Kiss You (I Hear Charlie Parker Playing)". In Germany, "When Do I Get to Sing My Way" was the No. 1 airplay song for 1994 as well as being hailed critically for its poignant lyrics and touching melody. The band toured in support of the album with percussionist Christi Haydon playing drums. Haydon also appeared in the videos for "When Do I Get to Sing 'My Way'" and "When I Kiss You (I Hear Charlie Parker Playing)," which were both directed by Sophie Muller. 1997 saw the release of "Plagiarism", an album of cover versions of their own songs featuring collaborations with Faith No More, Erasure and Jimmy Somerville. Half of the album was recorded by Tony Visconti in London with the other half recorded by the brothers in their own purpose-built studio in LA, surrounded by busts of Elvis. In 1998 they recorded the soundtrack for the action film "Knock Off", starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, directed by the acclaimed Hong Kong-based producer/director Tsui Hark (who had appeared on his own tribute song by the band on the album "Gratuitous Sax and Senseless Violins"). "Balls", released in 2000, again put the band in a context of electronic instrumentation with some of Ron's most striking and perceptive lyrics. With the release of "Balls" the band toured the UK, Germany, Japan and Australia. After "Balls", the band resurfaced in 2002 with the release of the album which has been described as their "genre-defying opus". "Lil' Beethoven", featuring quasi-classical arrangements strings and choirs. "Lil' Beethoven" led to renewed interest in the band. "Record Collector" magazine named the album as one of its "Best New Albums of 2002", describing it as "... possibly the most exciting and interesting release ever from such a long established act" and later in 2003 saying "... it really does feel like one of the best albums ever made." A UK and European tour had the band playing the entire album each night in the first half of the show, with fan favourites making up the second. The line-up now included former Faith No More guitarist Dean Menta in addition to Tammy Glover on drums. Long-time fan Morrissey invited Sparks to perform at the 2004 Meltdown Festival, of which he was curator. They performed their breakthrough "Kimono My House" album, followed by "Lil Beethoven", both in their entirety. Also in this period, the duo appeared in the music video for the Darkness' Justin Hawkins's cover of "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us", in which Ron and Russell play the referee and MC at a darts match between Hawkins and darts champion Phil Taylor. This version of "This Town" reached No. 6 in the UK charts. Sparks would later release "Lil' Beethoven"'s closing track "Suburban Homeboy" as a single. February 2006 saw the release of "Hello Young Lovers", their twentieth studio album. The album is regarded as carrying on where "Lil' Beethoven" left off, being described as "... cynical, intelligent and very, very funny", it has met with considerable acclaim. Sparks lead off the album with the striking tune that the BBC deemed too provocative in its title to play, "Dick Around." The song is a multi-section, multi-mood, highly layered track that many felt should have been a UK smash hit had the BBC not misinterpreted the title of the song as being other than it was. The brothers tend to be dismissive of the latest trends in popular music, seeing most current bands as lacking musical ambition and experimental drive. Indeed, the predictable trends in much of modern rock, as they see it, served as inspiration for their latest album. However, they have expressed admiration for Eminem and Morrissey. The pair appeared in the season 6 finale of the US TV show "Gilmore Girls", performing "Perfume" from the album "Hello Young Lovers". They released a live DVD of a September 2006 show at The Forum as well as a long-awaited CD release of their previously unavailable 1977 album "Introducing Sparks". The track "Perfume" was featured in a Dolce & Gabbana TV commercial in 2009. On May 12, 2008, Sparks released the single "Good Morning", taken from the album "Exotic Creatures of the Deep". May and June 2008 saw the 21-night "Sparks Spectacular" in London, where they played each of their albums in chronological order during the first twenty nights, and premiered their new album on the twenty-first concert on June 13, 2008. Each night, they performed an album in its entirety followed by a rare track – many of the songs had never been performed live before. The band asked their fans to visit their website and vote for the track that they'd most like to hear the band perform during the second half of the 21st concert after the premiere of "Exotic Creatures of the Deep", though Russell admitted that he and Ron would probably influence the poll a little. Fans who bought a "Golden Ticket" (which allowed entry into all 21 gigs) also received a poster signed by the band and a CD single entitled "Islington N1", a reference to the postal address of the venue for the first 20 gigs. The song "Islington N1" was later made available in the box set edition of their "New Music For Amnesiacs" career spanning box set. In 2009 the band played two consecutive nights at The Forum on 20 and 21 March. They played "Exotic Creatures of the Deep" in its entirety at both gigs, followed by "Kimono My House" in its entirety on the first night and "No. 1 in Heaven" in its entirety on the second night. Valentine's Day evening 2009 saw Sparks perform the same show featuring their "Exotic Creatures of the Deep" and "Kimono My House" albums played in their entirety before a sold-out hometown crowd at Royce Hall at the Mael Bros. alma mater in Los Angeles, UCLA. Ron and Russell appeared as interview subjects in the 2009 documentary "The Magnificent Tati", discussing their involvement during the early 1980s in "Confusion", a proposed Jacques Tati movie for which a screenplay was written but never shot (due to Tati's death). On August 14, 2009, the band premiered the radio musical "The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman", commissioned by the Swedish public radio (SR) and featuring the Mael brothers themselves and Swedish actors Elin Klinga and Jonas Malmsjö, both of whom worked with Bergman in his lifetime. The musical, partly in English, partly in Swedish, tells the story of Bergman's relocation to Hollywood after his breakthrough with "Smiles of a Summer Night" (1956), and the surreal and discomforting encounter with the movie capital. On October 28, 2009, the UK's BBC Radio 6 Music held a similar event in London whereby the musical was played in its entirety before a live audience at the BBC Broadcasting House in London and later to be broadcast with a Q&A with the Maels. In interviews for Swedish newspapers, the band said they hoped to be able to theatrically stage the musical as well as turn the musical into a feature film. Amongst the filmmakers cited as undertaking "The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman" with the Mael Brothers is Canadian avant-garde director Guy Maddin. On June 25, 2011 as part of the Los Angeles Film Festival, Sparks presented the World Premiere live performance of "The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman". Canadian film director Guy Maddin provided directions based on the screenplay, with Ron and Russell reprising their recorded roles on stage. The role of Ingmar Bergman was performed by Finnish movie actor Peter Franzén and American actress Ann Magnuson portrayed the role of Greta Garbo. The show was held at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood. The group showcased at the film festival in their quest for funding for the feature film version. The performance garnered glowing reviews from journals such as The Huffington Post, the LA Times, the LA Weekly, and LA Record. In 2010, Sparks remixed Yoko Ono's song "Give Me Something". In July they contributed a remix of sorts to singer Katie Melua's single, A Happy Place, calling it "Sparks VS. Melua." September 2 marked the debut of the new theme songs that Ron and Russell have composed and recorded for NPR radio's Bookworm show, broadcast in Los Angeles on station KCRW. The two songs mark the first time in 21 years that the Bookworm show has used a new theme song, these being commissioned by show host and Sparks fan Michael Silverblatt. The compositions were entitled, ""Where Would We Be Without Books?"" and ""I Am A Bookworm."" For the encore of what may have been the final live date ever in America for Faith No More on December 1 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, Ron and Russell Mael were invited by Mike Patton and Co. to perform the Sparks' classic hit "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us." They reprised the song that also appears as a collaboration with Faith No More on Sparks' 1997 album "Plagiarism" and had also been released as a single. In 2012 Ron and Russell collaborated with singer Gemma Ray who released a limited 12-inch single titled "Gemma Ray Sings Sparks (with Sparks)," which included Ray's covers of Sparks' ""How Do I Get To Carnegie Hall"" and ""Eaten by the Monster of Love."" Though the songs were covers sung by Ray, they were arranged and produced by the Maels. In October, Ron and Russell performed for the first time ever as a duo, with no band. The 18-city European tour titled "Two Hands One Mouth" began in Lithuania and followed in Latvia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, the UK and Ireland. The final UK concert of the tour was at the sold-out Barbican Centre in London. The tour then took the group to Japan with concerts in Tokyo and Osaka in January 2013. In April 2013, the show was presented for the first time in the US with two performances at the Coachella Festival. A short US tour with shows in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, and Philadelphia followed. In May 2013 Ron and Russell played the show in Paris, France, which coincided with their visit to the Cannes Film Festival. In Paris they were joined on stage by Catherine Ringer from Les Rita Mitsouko to sing on their 1989 collaboration ""Singing in The Shower."" Sparks first live album, "" was released in 2013. It contains concert recordings gathered from various cities during the October 2012 European tour. In Fall Ron and Russell continued touring in the duo format for a second round. The tour was titled "The Revenge of Two Hands One Mouth." The two-and-a-half-month tour started with shows in the US and Canada. Sparks played in Los Angeles (The Fonda Theatre), New York City (Webster Hall), Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, Mountain Oasis Electronic Summit in Asheville, Atlanta, Boston, Washington D.C. (), Toronto, Montreal, Chicago, and Pontiac. The tour then continued to Europe, where they played three nights at Union Chapel in London (where Thurston Moore (ex-Sonic Youth joined them to play guitar on ""This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us"" on one of the nights), as well as additional shows in the UK, Switzerland, France, Spain, and Sweden. Both "Two Hands One Mouth" and "The Revenge of Two Hands One Mouth" tours were critically well received. In 2013 they contributed a song and brief voice part to the Guy Maddin movie "The Forbidden Room". In February 2014 it was announced the Sparks (Ron and Russell) are working on material with Franz Ferdinand. 2014 marked the 40th Anniversary of Sparks' most popular and most influential album, "Kimono My House". They performed the album in its entirety at the Barbican Centre in London on 19 and 20 December. The album was performed with the 35-piece Heritage Orchestra. The show included a second half consisting of songs from Sparks' entire career, that were also orchestrated for the show. The first night sold out within the first few hours. On the second night, they announced that they had completed the recording of their new album. Ron and Russell took the "Kimono My House" celebrations to Los Angeles as they performed the album on two consecutive nights with a 38-piece orchestra at the United Artists Theatre at Ace Hotel Los Angeles on Valentine's Day 14 February and on 15 February 2015. The orchestra was conducted by Suzie Katayama. Both shows sold out and they received glowing reviews. Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand joined them on stage for duet with Russell on the song ""When Do I Get To Sing 'My Way'"" on both nights and it was then announced that Sparks and FF had joined forces to form a new, then yet-to-be-revealed band and to record an album. In the fall of 2015 the title track from "Angst in My Pants" was used in a commercial for men's underwear by retailer Tommy John. The ad was titled "The Big Adjustment" and depicted men, from various walks of life, attempting to secretly adjust their ill-fitting underwear to humorous effect. On March 9, 2015, it was announced that the band had formed a supergroup with Franz Ferdinand under the name FFS. A short teaser of the FFS song, "The Power Couple", was released on the group's YouTube channel. The alternative meaning behind the bands name "Franz Ferdinand / Sparks" was confirmed with a clip of the musicians playing "Chinese Whispers." It was also confirmed that the band would be releasing a studio album in 2015 with producer John Congleton and that the band would be touring in the summer. On April 1, it was announced that the group's new album would be titled "FFS" and that it would be released on June 8 in the UK and on June 9 in the US. They are featured on the Beck album Song Reader doing an ethereal rendition of his song "Why Did You Make Me Care." Recently, they performed at the Glastonbury Festival John Peel Stage on 28 June 2015. On March 24, 2017, Sparks performed at the BBC Radio 6 Music Festival in Glasgow, Scotland, prior to the release of a new studio album, "Hippopotamus" due out in September. The band, consisting of the Mael brothers with 5 other musicians, kicked off their 2017 tour in Copenhagen on August, 7. "Hippopotamus" was both a critical and commercial success, peaking at number 7 in the UK Albums chart. Sparks' musical style has varied dramatically with Russell Mael's distinctive wide-ranging voice (in particular his far reaching falsetto) and Ron Mael's intricate and rhythmic keyboard playing style being the common thread throughout their forty-year career. In the beginning they attempted to emulate the sound of their English idols, such as the Who, Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd and the Kinks, sometimes even pretending to be an English band while on the LA club circuit. They relocated to England during the glam rock era where, despite cutting an odd figure on this scene, they found success with their polished brand of intricate pop tunes and convoluted lyrics. Early albums such as "Kimono My House" combined glam rock with elements of bubblegum pop and baroque music. By the second half of the decade, they were concerned that the sound they had developed while based in England was in danger of becoming stale; they returned to LA, determined to adopt a more "West Coast" sound. This they achieved with producer Rupert Holmes on "Big Beat" and (sans Holmes) on "Introducing Sparks". The band were not satisfied with the results, which they felt lacked personality, perhaps because of the reliance on session musicians. This led to the most dramatic change of style the band would attempt, when they teamed up with Giorgio Moroder, dropped the rock-group format altogether and produced the disco record "No. 1 in Heaven" which relied on synthesizers. This album is regarded as a landmark in the development of electronic music and greatly influenced bands which would emerge in the following years. They soon returned to a more traditional line-up, which remained until 1988's "Interior Design". There then followed a long hiatus until 1994's "Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins", which was a foray into the techno dance world, which they had helped to spawn back in the late 1970s. In 2002, the band switched to a classically influenced art pop style with the release of their album "Lil' Beethoven", replacing the beat-driven synthpop of their previous albums with complex orchestral arrangements. The band acknowledged this change in style on the album's opening track "The Rhythm Thief". Lyrically, the band's style has been described as coming from "the school of Cole Porter, favouring caustic wit over trivial personal problems, ... achingly clever lyrics seesaw between superficial gloss, profound sentiment and the incomprehensibly bizarre." Repeated lyrical motifs have become a distinct feature on recent albums. On "My Baby's Taking Me Home" off "Lil' Beethoven" (2002), the song title is repeated 104 times, with no other words being used, other than a spoken interlude. Similarly, on the same album, "Your Call Is Very Important To Us", uses a corporation style call-hold message: "Your call is very important to us. Please hold" which is then sung with some additional words: "At first she said your call is very important to us, then she said please, please hold." The only other lyrics in the song are "Red light", "Green light", "I'm Getting Mixed Signals" and "Sorry, I'm Going To Have To Put You Back On Hold". These elements are layered with a simple piano line to create a highly textured effect. The vocal sound on the single "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us" was criticised as being "stylised". This may be because the song was written without any regard for the vocal style of Russell Mael. Songwriter Ron Mael has explained: "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us" was written in A, and by God it'll be sung in A. I just feel that if you're coming up with most of the music, then you have an idea where it's going to go. And no singer is gonna get in my way. Russell Mael has claimed in reply: When he wrote "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us", Ron could only play it in that key. It was so much work to transpose the song and one of us had to budge, so I made the adjustment to fit in. My voice ain't a "rock" voice. It's not soulful, in the traditional rock way; It's not about "guts". It's untrained, unschooled, I never questioned why I was singing high. It just happened, dictated by the songs. Ron has always written Sparks' lyrics and never transposed them into a rock key for me to sing. He always packed each line with words and I had to sing them as they were. Sparks have influenced many later genres including synth pop, new wave, post-punk, and alternative music, influencing a wide range of singers and bands including New Order, Depeche Mode, The Smiths, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Sonic Youth, Nirvana and Björk. Peter Hook of New Order cited Giorgio Moroder's production on "The Number One Song in Heaven" as a major influence when his band changed of musical style to produce electro/dance rock songs like "Temptation" in 1982. New Order also delivered an extended live version of "When I'm With You" that same year in Milano. When they started playing music, singer Dave Gahan. and composer Martin Gore, of Depeche Mode cited them as one of their favorite bands. Gore also later covered "Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth" on his "Counterfeit e.p." in 1989. Other early electronic acts like the Human League, and Erasure, also mentioned the group. Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran stated about "This Town ain't...": "There was something about them that was very different. I was immediately fascinated with that song." Sparks were also namechecked by indie pop band The Smiths. Their singer Morrissey named "Kimono my House" as one of "his favourite LPs of all time". Smiths' guitarist and composer Johnny Marr said : "There’s nothing better than commerciality crossed with an interesting mind" and named "This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both Of Us" as an instance, qualifying it as one of these "Trojan singles". Siouxsie and the Banshees recorded a version of the first Sparks' success as the opening song of their covers album "Through the Looking Glass". Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth also included this Sparks' single in his list of all-time favorite songs. Thurston Moore would later perform the song with Sparks during their "Revenge of Two Hands, One Mouth" Tour at Union Chapel in London in 2013. Joey Ramone also mentioned his liking for their records, as did later the group They Might Be Giants. According to Kurt Cobain's biographer Christopher Sandford, the Nirvana singer gave "specific references" when recording their first album "Bleach": "the guitar part in "Love Buzz" was lifted from Sparks’ "Kimono My House"". Björk talked about "Kimono my House" as one of the records that changed her life. "[Sparks] were exotic [...], [they] were the most refreshing thing in my life" when she was eight. "I loved the way Russell Mael sung like a geisha, and that they were into wearing geisha clothes, as I was really into Japanese people". Faith No More also mentioned the group and their performances. Their keyboard player Roddy Bottum said: "I saw Sparks play on American Bandstand in 1975. My sister and I went out and immediately bought "Indiscreet". In 2004, Franz Ferdinand singer Alex Kapranos published an article in the NME titled, "why I love the Sparks". He said about their music: "It's only after a few listens you really can get into it [...] Then your really fall in love and bands change your life. Now I can't imagine life without them"." Sparks were also namechecked by the likes of Def Leppard, Ween, Will Sheff of Okkervil River, Mark Burgess of the Chameleons, Cait Brennan, and Justice. In 1980, Paul McCartney also gave a nod to the group in the clip of his "Coming Up" single in which he appeared mimicking Ron Mael on keyboards. In 2012, British synth-pop band Spray released the song "Sparks Called and They Want Their Ideas Back". In June 2018, Edgar Wright announced he is making a documentary on the cult pop-rock band Sparks. He had covered the band's concert in London in May at 02 Forum Kentish Town. This concert will also be a part of the documentary. Sparks (band) Sparks is an American pop and rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1972 by brothers Ron (keyboards) and Russell Mael (vocals). The duo formed in 1968 under the name Halfnelson. Known for their quirky approach to songwriting, Sparks' music is often accompanied by intelligent, sophisticated, and acerbic lyrics, and an idiosyncratic, theatrical stage presence, typified in the contrast between Russell's animated, hyperactive frontman antics and Ron's deadpan scowling. They are also noted for Russell Mael's distinctive wide-ranging voice and Ron Mael's intricate and rhythmic keyboard playing style. While
who wrote he ain't heavy he's my brother lyrics	"Cherry Pie (Warrant song)" time, "MTV's Triumphs and Tragedies", listed the song's video as one of the worst. "Cherry Pie" was not originally planned to be put on the album, and lead guitarist Joey Allen has stated that the album was originally going to be called "Quality You Can Taste" (frontman Jani Lane recalled this differently, stating that the title was supposed to be "Uncle Tom's Cabin"). The president of Columbia Records, Don Ienner, wanted a rock anthem, so he called frontman Jani Lane (according to Lane, he wanted a "Love in an Elevator" type song), who wrote the song in about fifteen minutes. Allen stated that "the whole marketing and everything for that record changed. It was definitely driven by the label and not the band." The song was written down on a pizza box which is now on display in the Hard Rock Cafe in Destin, Florida, part of the Destin Commons. The guitar solo was played by C.C. DeVille as a favor to Lane, who was a long-time friend. Many of the band members felt that "Cherry Pie" is not one of the better songs on the album, and see the song as a double-edged sword: it brought them fame, but many of their other songs are overshadowed by the major hit. On VH1's "HEAVY: The Story Of Metal" episode 3: "Looks That Kill," Lane expressed his regret for writing the song, stating that "I could shoot myself in the fucking head for writing that song." However, he later clarified that he had been under personal stress at the time of the VH1 interview, and had no ill feelings towards his association with the song: The lyrics appear to contain many metaphorical and blatant references to sex, such as "Well, swingin' on the front porch/Swingin' on the lawn/Swingin' where we want/'Cause there ain't nobody home", and "Swingin' in there/'cause she wanted me to feed her/So I mixed up the batter/And she licked the beater". Some say the lyrics are a man bragging about his sexual exploits with a woman who is very attractive and who is the object of desire of many men. However, near the end of the song, the woman's father accidentally walks in on the pair having sex in the bathroom and immediately declares that their relationship must end: "Swing in the bathroom/Swingin' on the floor/Swingin' so hard/We forgot to lock the door/In walks her daddy/Standin' six foot four/He said you ain't gonna swing/With my daughter no more." The song title itself is also thought by many to be another blatant reference to sex. Here, both "cherry" and "pie" may be used sexually, as "cherry" can mean a virgin (as used in the context "pop her cherry" meaning "to take her virginity", specifically when breaking the hymen during sex), and "pie" is slang for vulva. The video for "Cherry Pie" received heavy airplay on MTV and other music video stations. It featured the members of Warrant and a scantily clad woman (model Bobbie Brown) who is seen dancing throughout the video while the band members perform and make tongue-in-cheek references to the song's lyrics (for example, when the line referencing baseball is sung, Brown appears in a form-fitting baseball uniform, complete with a bat), all against a white background. Canadian cable-TV music network, "MuchMusic" refused to air the "Cherry Pie" video on the grounds that it was "offensively sexist". Brown became involved with Lane soon after the video was filmed, and married him in 1991. "Cherry Pie" was re-visited by the band in 1999 on their "Greatest & Latest" album and was released as a promo and later iTunes single and was also released on several mixed compilation albums. In 2004, Lane recorded an acoustic version of "Cherry Pie", which featured on the second "VH1 Classic Metal Mania: Stripped" compilation. Cherry Pie (Warrant song) "Cherry Pie" is a song by the American rock band Warrant. It was released in September 1990 as the lead single from the album of the same name. The song became a Top Ten hit on the "Billboard" Hot 100, reaching number 10 and also reached number 19 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks. The song has been cited by many as a "rock anthem".
who wrote he ain't heavy he's my brother lyrics	"Flower Boy" acclaim from critics and debuted at number two on the US "Billboard" 200. It was named among the best albums of 2017 by multiple publications and was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards. With "Flower Boy", Tyler decided to take a more personal approach compared to his previous album, "Cherry Bomb", stating "For "Cherry Bomb" I purposely was like, I don't want to get personal at all. Like, I'm just going to make songs. And in this one I was like alright, let me write down every feeling." Tyler felt that the general response to "Cherry Bomb" was poor and he wanted to deliver an album that succeeded it well. The official title was originally thought to be "Scum Fuck Flower Boy" but was later confirmed simply as "Flower Boy" shortly prior to release. Tyler noted the works of Max Martin, Pharrell Williams and Justin Timberlake as musical inspirations for the album. Recording began in late 2015. Like previous releases, the album was produced by Tyler himself. He decided to keep his rap verses short and to-the-point to give guest artists and instrumentation more of a focal point. Many songs on the album featured guitar playing by Austin Feinstein. The beat used on the song "I Ain't Got Time!" was initially made for Kanye West during recording sessions for West's seventh studio album "The Life of Pablo". After West declined it, the beat was sent to rapper Nicki Minaj who, after a month, also turned it down. "Glitter" was written for Justin Bieber; Tyler kept it after Bieber did not return any of his calls. "See You Again" was written for former One Direction member Zayn Malik but was later kept after Malik rejected the song twice. "Who Dat Boy" was rejected by rapper Schoolboy Q. Correlating with the album's title, Tyler has noted flowers as a recurring theme of the album. Andy Kellman of AllMusic describes the overall lyrical content of the album as Tyler's "least vulgar release" compared to the shock value lyrics in his previous projects. The album's opening track, "Foreword", is described by Scott Glaysher of "XXL" as an open letter to the fans and the nation, citing the lines "How many raps can I write 'til I get me a chain?/How many chains can I wear 'til I'm considered a slave?/How many slaves can it be until Nat Turner arise?/How many riots can it be 'til them Black lives matter?" "Where This Flower Blooms" refers back to his times before fame and money in the first line. Tyler says "Let's take it back to them days/Counting sheep on Sadie Hannah's floor" which refers to the time before and during the release of his debut mixtape "Bastard" when he lived in his grandmother's house. "Sometimes..." is a short track which includes an unidentified male stating that he wants to hear the song about him, hinting that following song, "See You Again", is about Tyler's male lover. "See You Again" is described as a "positively kaleidoscopic love song" about an unidentified person. Jesse Fairfax of "HipHopDX" describes "Who Dat Boy" as a "raucous jam that sounds like a score to a horror film", while Zachary Hoskins of "Slant Magazine" compared the song to Kanye West's song "Freestyle 4" from "The Life of Pablo". "Pothole" is described as a "low-profile standout" that features vehicular metaphors; potholes are used as a metaphor for being stuck in life. Calum Slingerland of "Exclaim!" describes "Garden Shed" featuring "psychedelic guitar licks and synths [that] build up a ballad featuring Estelle vocals, as liberation is encouraged before noisy feedback makes way for a confessional verse". Slingerland proclaimed the song is "one of [Tyler's] most powerful recorded moments to date", and also picked out the references to sexuality. Zachary Hoskins of "Slant Magazine" describes "Garden Shed" as a "woozy trapped-in-the-closet metaphor". Kevin Lozano of "Pitchfork" spoke on the song "Boredom", stating "[Tyler's] range is kaleidoscopic, and the neo-soul sound he started to shape on "Wolf" is in full flower" and "large parts of the song is an exercise for him to flex his production skills". Calum Slingerland of "Exclaim!" identifies the reference to River Phoenix on "I Ain't Got Time!". Tyler raps "Passenger a white boy, look like River Phoenix". This may also be a reference to the music video of "Who Dat Boy" in which Tyler is in a car with a River Phoenix lookalike sitting in the passenger seat. "I Ain't Got Time!" contains lines that were considered comparable to Eminem's "outlandish statements" throughout his career. "The A.V. Club" comments on the sampling on "I Ain't Got Time!", saying that it turns an "accordion into a fun-house mirror, warped and disorienting". The song "I Ain't Got Time!" contains the lyrics "I've been kissing white boys since 2004". The song "Garden Shed" also contains subtle references to sexuality with the lyrics "That was real love I was in/Ain't no reason to pretend" and "All my friends was lost/They couldn't read the signs/I didn't want to talk/I tell 'em my location and they ain't want to walk". This led many to speculate that Tyler was "coming out of the closet" as either bisexual or homosexual. This was especially interesting because his lyrics in previous albums were considered homophobic and led to him being banned from entering the United Kingdom for three to five years in 2015. Tyler had previously hinted towards his sexuality status a few years prior, once tweeting "I TRIED TO COME OUT THE DAMN CLOSET LIKE FOUR DAYS AGO AND NO ONE CARED HAHAHHAHAHA". Vanessa Okoth-Obbo of "Pitchfork" described "911 / Mr. Lonely" as "look[ing] at the overarching theme of loneliness, on two contrasting, but equally intriguing beats" and stated that the song "represents a further maturation in sound, and apparently his problems too". "November" is a nostalgic track in which Tyler reminisces about times gone. Ana Clara Ribeiro of Medium described the song as "[Tyler]'s desire to be taken back to November" and "drives the listener to think of their personal November memories too". Hiba Argane of "Affinity Magazine" analyzed the song "Glitter", stating that it "possesses a repetitive quality, but you can almost feel a crescendo in the content". The final track, "Enjoy Right Now, Today", is an instrumental that features backing vocals from Pharrell Williams. The album title, tracklist and release date was announced by Tyler, the Creator on July 6, 2017 via social media. Two covers were unveiled upon announcement, the main cover designed by Michigan-born artist Eric White and the alternative cover designed by Tyler himself. The album leaked 11 days before the announced release date of July 21. After a one-week countdown on Twitter and Instagram, Tyler, the Creator released a music video, titled "Who Dat Boy", to his official YouTube channel on June 29, 2017. The album's lead single, "Who Dat Boy" / "911", containing two songs: "Who Dat Boy" and "911 / Mr. Lonely" was released on June 30, 2017. The single peaked at number 87 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100. The album's second single, "Boredom", was released on July 11, 2017. The album's third single, "I Ain't Got Time!", was released on July 19, 2017. The album's fourth single, "See You Again", was released on August 29, 2017, to rhythmic and urban contemporary radio. "Flower Boy" received widespread acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 84, based on 18 reviews. Andy Kellman of AllMusic gave a positive review, stating "While most of these songs are rife with anxiety and isolation, the open-hearted lyricism and wide-scoped productions, put together by an artist in peak form, make them immensely engrossing. Frank Ocean, Pharrell Williams, Kali Uchis, Syd, and Estelle are among 11 supporting cast members, not one of whom is inessential to the whole." "Flower Boy" was named "Best New Music", with "Pitchfork" reviewer Sheldon Pearce calls it "Tyler's most sincere and most accomplished album, he gets to the essence of what he's been chiseling at: the angst of a missed connection, the pain of unrequited love, and navigating youthful ennui." In his review, Andy Gill of "The Independent" states, ""Flower Boy" presents a surprisingly sensitive, thoughtful, even pleasant personality." Jesse Fairfax of "HipHopDX" gave the album a 4.5 out of 5, stating "Clocking in at 47 minutes, the album is both Tyler, the Creator's shortest and most cohesive album to date and is full of introspective admissions that logically line up with his public character." Renato Pagnani of "The A.V. Club" said, ""Flower Boy" is the first time he's been equally as forthcoming in his actual music. His flow has tightened up, and for a man whose voice basically destined him for rap stardom, he's become even better at stretching his booming baritone into novel shapes, employing a plethora of flows." Scott Glaysher of "XXL" praised the album saying, "These days, there aren't many rap albums that can service as a deeply digested work of art as well as music for easy listening, yet Tyler, The Creator fills both lanes well. He manages to find the happy medium on "Flower Boy" and translates it to his best album yet." Jamie Milton "NME" writes the album is "Backed by a supporting cast of R&B superstars and bright newcomers, it's a record of long, lazy summers; sitting back and staring at the clouds." Lewis Lister of "Clash" said, "Previously it felt like as though these two sides have been difficult to reconcile on record; the abrasive would often be at odds with the tranquil, particularly on last studio album "Cherry Bomb". On "Flower Boy", though, Tyler has perfected his marriage of the two." Paul Lester of "The Guardian" wrote: "If anything, "Flower Boy" captures Tyler at his least tormented and twisted; it is an album of exquisitely arranged, melodious synth-rap, wistful and reflective, heavy on the heavenly. It's not all dreamy—watch out for the occasional profane pothole—but largely this is the work of an evolved artist and mature person." Austin Reed of "Pretty Much Amazing" said, ""Flower Boy" has elevated Tyler closer to the line. An unexpected move to be sure, but no less impressive whatsoever." In a mixed review, "Consequence of Sound"s Kelly McClure stated: "It's more of the same. It seems to be needing something more. An extra spark of interest." "Flower Boy" debuted at number two on the US "Billboard" 200 with 106,000 album-equivalent units of which 70,000 were pure album sales. All tracks produced by Tyler, the Creator. Notes Sample credits Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. Flower Boy Flower Boy (alternatively titled Scum Fuck Flower Boy) is the fourth studio album by American rapper Tyler, the Creator. The album was released on July 21, 2017,
who wrote he ain't heavy he's my brother lyrics	"This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us" and instead used only the one in the title. The original working title of the song was "Too Hot to Handle". An acoustic version of the song was recorded in 1985 for the B-side of the "Change" single. In 1997, Sparks recorded two new versions of the song for their album "Plagiarism". The first was an orchestral reworking arranged and conducted by Tony Visconti which reinstated a verse producer Muff Winwood had cut from the original. The other was as a collaboration with Faith No More, which was released as a single and reached number 40 in the British singles chart. Winwood used distinctive Western movie-style gunshots on the recording after a suggestion from engineer Dave Hutchins. Hutchins added the sound effect after he felt the recorded track 'was missing something', sourcing the gunshots from a BBC sound effects LP 'borrowed' from his previous workplace at the corporation. It has been claimed that Winwood bet with his friend Elton John that the song would become a top-five hit in the UK charts and that Elton John, saying it would not, lost the bet. In his Sparks biography "Talent is an Asset", however, Daryl Easlea reports that this was a "great tale" propagated by the Mael brothers that is contradicted by Winwood himself – in fact, Winwood said that, unsure of how commercial the track would be, he played it to Elton John, who told him, "Listen, I'll bet you a hundred quid that that makes the Top 3". Winwood's wife agreed, and his doubts were allayed. Original release (1974) Sparks Vs. Faith No More (1997) The vocal sound on the single has been criticised as being "stylised". This may be because the song was written without any regard for the vocal style of Russell Mael. Songwriter Ron Mael has explained: "This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both of Us" was written in A, and by God it'll be sung in A. I just feel that if you're coming up with most of the music, then you have an idea where it's going to go. And no singer is gonna get in my way. Russell Mael has claimed in reply: When he wrote "This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both of Us", Ron could only play it in that key. It was so much work to transpose the song and one of us had to budge, so I made the adjustment to fit in. My voice ain't a "rock" voice. It's not soulful, in the traditional rock way; It's not about "guts". It's untrained, unschooled, I never questioned why I was singing high. It just happened, dictated by the songs. Ron has always written Sparks' lyrics and never transposed them into a rock key for me to sing. He always packed each line with words and I had to sing them as they were. When the track was first recorded, the crew all felt that there was 'something missing', but could not decide what it was. Then engineer Dave Hutchins had an idea, raided the BBC (for whom he had previously worked) and added the distinctive gunshot effect. Winwood loved and approved the change, and the gunshot is now the signature of the song. The song appears in a dream sequence in an episode of the British sitcom "Green Wing". The original track is mimed by two of the characters, Dr. "Mac" Macartney and Dr. Alan Statham, pretending to be Russell Mael and Ron Mael respectively. The original Sparks version of the song is heard in the 2010 movie "Kick-Ass". The song is used in episode 5 of the episodic video game series 2017’s Telltale’s Guardians of the Galaxy. This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us" is a song written by Ron Mael of the American pop group Sparks. It is the opening track on their 1974 album "Kimono My House", and was the lead single from the album, reaching number 2 in the UK singles chart. The original idea for the song was that after each verse Russell Mael would sing a movie dialogue cliché, one of which was "This town ain't big enough for the both of us".
who wrote he ain't heavy he's my brother lyrics	"Ain't No Sunshine" 100 chart. "Billboard" ranked it as the No. 23 song for 1971. The song also appears on the original soundtrack album for the film "When We Were Kings" (1997), and in FX's (2016) of the anthology limited series "American Crime Story", which focuses on the 1994 murder trial of O. J. Simpson. The song reached the Top 40 again in 2009, sung by Kris Allen in the 8th season of "American Idol". Withers was inspired to write this song after watching the 1962 movie "Days of Wine and Roses". He explained, in reference to the characters played by Lee Remick and Jack Lemmon, "They were both alcoholics who were alternately weak and strong. It's like going back for seconds on rat poison. Sometimes you miss things that weren't particularly good for you. It's just something that crossed my mind from watching that movie, and probably something else that happened in my life that I'm not aware of." For the song's third verse, Withers had intended to write more lyrics instead of repeating the phrase "I know" 26 times, but then followed the advice of the other musicians to leave it that way: "I was this factory worker puttering around," Withers said. "So when they said to leave it like that, I left it." Withers, then thirty-one years old, was working at a factory making toilet seats for 747s at the time he wrote the song. On the American Top 40 program of November 6, 1976, Casey Kasem reported that when the song went gold, the record company presented Withers with a golden toilet, marking the start of his new career. "Ain't No Sunshine" was the first of Withers' three gold records in the U.S. The song was originally released as the B-side to another song called "Harlem". Disc jockeys played "Ain't No Sunshine" as the single instead, and it became a huge hit, the first for Withers. "Harlem" was subsequently covered by The 5th Dimension, which was featured on their Soul and Inspiration album and released as a single. Withers performed the song on "The Old Grey Whistle Test". "Ain't No Sunshine" is ranked 285th on "Rolling Stone"<nowiki>'s</nowiki> list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song won the Grammy for Best R&B Song in 1972. In 1971 singer Michael Jackson recorded a cover version of Bill Withers' song for his debut album "Got to Be There" (released in early 1972). In the UK the song was released as the third (and final) single from the album (after the two singles "Got to Be There" and "Rockin' Robin", a cover of Bobby Day's 1958 song). (The song "I Wanna Be Where You Are", which was released as the third single in the US, was on the B-side.) It was a hit, peaking in the UK Singles Chart at number 8 for 3 weeks in September 1972. "The Boris Gardiner Happening" recorded a version of "Ain't No Sunshine" in 1973 with Paul Douglas singing lead, and Boris Gardiner playing bass guitar, for the album "Is What's Happening". In November 1991, Australian pop band Rockmelons, (featuring vocalist Deni Hines) released a version as the lead single from their second studio album, "Form 1 Planet" (1992). The song peaked at number 5 and was certified Gold in Australia. In 1999, South African male choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, (featuring vocalist Des'ree) released a version as a single from their studio album, "In Harmony" (1999). The single peaked at number 42 in the UK. In 2013, heavy metal band Black Label Society covered the song on their album "Unblackened" under the title "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone". Their version was subsequently released as a single, which peaked at No. 42 on the Canadian Rock Chart. Ain't No Sunshine "Ain't No Sunshine" is a song by Bill Withers from his 1971 album "Just As I Am," produced by Booker T. Jones. The record featured musicians Donald "Duck" Dunn on bass guitar, Al Jackson, Jr. on drums and Stephen Stills on guitar. String arrangements were done by Booker T. Jones, and recorded in Memphis by engineer Terry Manning. The song is in the key of A minor. The song was released as a
who wrote he ain't heavy he's my brother lyrics	"Jim Steinman" His most successful chart singles include Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart", Air Supply's "Making Love Out of Nothing at All", Meat Loaf's "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)", the Sisters of Mercy's "This Corrosion" and "More", Barry Manilow's "Read 'Em and Weep" (originally released by Meat Loaf), Celine Dion's cover of "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" (originally released by Steinman's project Pandora's Box, and later by Meat Loaf and Marion Raven) and Boyzone's "No Matter What". The album "Bad for Good" was released in his own name in 1981. Steinman was born in New York City. He graduated from George W. Hewlett High School in 1965 and received his bachelor's degree from Amherst College in 1969. According to longtime manager David Sonenberg, Steinman had serious cardiac health problems around 2004, but has been in good health since. Responding to an interviewer's asserting that his songs are tragic, Steinman says that he has "never been stomped on literally. Figuratively, I am stomped on every day ... anyway, that is the way I feel sometimes. I've never had my heart broken the way you are talking about. I've never been dumped... but probably because I don't allow myself to be dumped." In March 1968, Steinman contributed music for an Amherst College adaptation of Bertolt Brecht's "A Man's a Man". In May 1968, he directed an Amherst production of Michael McClure's "The Beard". Over the summer of 1968, he contributed music for an adaptation of Brecht's "Baal" by the Island Theater Workshop on Martha's Vineyard. As a senior at Amherst College in Massachusetts, Jim wrote the book, music and lyrics for "The Dream Engine" (April 1969), a musical that was used to fulfil the requirements for an independent study course. The story of "The Dream Engine", set in the distant future, is about a young boy named Baal who, along with his rebel fellows, doesn't accept the restraints and limits of their society. Baal is the leader of a group of wild boys called The Tribe, whose mortal enemies are Max and Emily, the parents of the Girl, a young woman with whom Baal has fallen in love. Steinman himself played Baal in the original production, which was staged in April 1969. Fellow Amherst College student Barry Keating was director. Several parts of songs from this show resemble parts of songs Steinman later released. For example, the words "turn around bright eyes" from "Total Eclipse of the Heart" can be heard in the song called "The Formation of the Tribe" in Steinman's manuscript of the show. Steinman said in an interview that Joseph Papp, founder of the New York Shakespeare Festival, saw the play and was so impressed he signed it up during intermission. He wanted to bring it to New York (either Broadway or Central Park), but balked when his Amherst faculty advisor explained to Papp that, contrary to Papp's published claim, Steinman was never threatened with "near-expulsion" from the college. Nonetheless, Steinman worked under Papp after his years at Amherst College. In 1971, Steinman provided music for a puppet show called "Ubu". The show, put on by puppeteer and filmmaker Demian, was an adaptation of "Ubu on the Hill", an 1888 play by Alfred Jarry. In 1972, Steinman worked with college friend Barry Keating on a musical called "Rhinegold" at the Mercer Arts Center, based on Richard Wagner's opera "Das Rheingold". Steinman wrote the music and Keating wrote the lyrics. In 1973, Steinman's song "Happy Ending" appeared on the album "Food of Love", sung by Yvonne Elliman. This was the first commercially released recording of a song written by Steinman. That same year, Steinman wrote music and lyrics for a musical called "More Than You Deserve" (1973). One of the actors cast in this show was Marvin Lee Aday, who went by the name Meat Loaf, with whom Steinman later collaborated. A song from this show, called "More Than You Deserve" would later be recorded by Meat Loaf for the album "Dead Ringer". In 1975, while working for Joseph Papp at the New York Shakespeare Festival, Steinman contributed music and lyrics to Thomas Babe's "Kid Champion", which starred Christopher Walken. In 1976, there was a minor one-month run of a musical called "The Confidence Man". It was based loosely on the novel by the same title by Herman Melville. The book and lyrics were written by Ray Errol Fox, the music by Steinman. Ray Fox described the 1976 production as "a capsule version of the show." In 1986, a more elaborate production of the show with added songs was held at Queens College in New York City. It was directed by Susan Einhorn and performed by Queen's College students. Orchestrations were by Steven Margoshes, a frequent Steinman collaborator. One song from "The Confidence Man", "Milady", was recorded by Barry Manilow, but never released. The melody of that song later appeared in "Tanz der Vampire" as the melody of "Für Sarah" (for Sarah). Some music from this show later appeared in the hit song "Making Love Out of Nothing at All", and in the score of the film "A Small Circle of Friends". A cast album of the songs from "The Confidence Man", produced by Jeff Olmstead, was released in 2003. A cabaret show featuring songs from "The Confidence Man" was presented in 1977 at the Manhattan Theatre Club, where Steinman had previously written music for another cabaret show called "Bloodshot Wine". In 1977, a brief workshop was held for a work-in-progress musical called "Neverland". It was based loosely on "Peter Pan" by J. M. Barrie. While preparing the show, Steinman and Meat Loaf, who were touring with the National Lampoon show, felt that three songs were "exceptional" and Steinman began to develop them as part of a seven-song set they wanted to record as an album. The three songs were "Bat Out of Hell", "Heaven Can Wait" and "The Formation of the Pack", which was retitled "All Revved Up With No Place to Go." The show also contained Steinman's "Bolero" (a.k.a. "Great Bolero's of Fire") which was later used at many live shows featuring Steinman work. Steinman and Meat Loaf had immense difficulty finding a record company willing to sign them. According to Meat Loaf's autobiography, the band spent most of 1975, and two and a half years, auditioning "Bat Out of Hell" and being rejected. CBS executive Clive Davis even claimed that Steinman knew nothing about writing, or rock music in general. Recording started in 1976 in Bearsville, near Woodstock. After numerous further rejections, the album was released by Cleveland International Records in October 1977. The album was an immediate success in Australia and the United Kingdom, and later in the United States. Reports vary as to how many copies of the album have been sold, but in 2007, Cleveland International Records founder Steve Popovich said that it was around 40 million copies. The highest-charting song from the album was "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad", which reached No. 11 on the Billboard Charts. In 1979, the Freeway Records label made a 2-L.P. compilation album called "L.A. Radio". It was not commercially released, but promo copies were distributed. It included a spoken word segment called "Shadows on the Freeway", written and recited by Steinman. It later appeared on the 1981 album "Dead Ringer" with a new title, "Nocturnal Pleasure". Parts of it can also be heard at the beginning of the 1989 music video, directed by Ken Russell, for the first release of the song "It's All Coming Back to Me Now". Steinman wrote the theme music for the 1979 National Lampoon sitcom "Delta House". Sean Kelly and Tony Hendra wrote the lyrics. Michael Simmons sang the lead vocal. The music from this later appeared on the song "Dead Ringer for Love". In 1980, the film "A Small Circle of Friends" was released. It had an orchestral score composed by Steinman, and orchestrated by his frequent collaborator Steve Margoshes. The motifs of this orchestral score match the melodies of numerous songs Steinman later released, including "Total Eclipse of the Heart", "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" and "Für Sarah" from "Tanz der Vampire". Early in the production of a follow-up album to "Bat Out of Hell", Meat Loaf developed vocal problems and was unable to continue on the project. Steinman proceeded with the album, released as "Bad for Good" in 1981. Most songs are sung by Steinman himself. Three of the songs are sung by Rory Dodd, who did not receive a clear indication for his work in the album's credits, and Karla DeVito sings a duet part on one song. Steinman was this time credited as co-producer with Todd Rundgren for all but one track. Steinman was credited as co-producer with Jimmy Iovine for the song "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through". Meat Loaf again recorded songs by Steinman on the album "Dead Ringer" (1981). All of the songs on the album were written by Steinman. The highest charting song on this album was "Dead Ringer for Love", a duet with the uncredited Cher, and the album reached No. 1 on the album charts in the United Kingdom. Steinman is credited as music producer of every selection on Bonnie Tyler's album "Faster Than the Speed of Night" (1983). Steinman also wrote and composed two of the songs on the album: "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and "Faster Than the Speed of Night", the album's title selection. For a period in 1983, two songs written and produced by Steinman held the top two positions on the Billboard singles chart, with "Total Eclipse of the Heart" at number one, and "Making Love Out of Nothing at All", performed by Air Supply, at number two. The second of those appeared on Air Supply's 1983 compilation albums "Greatest Hits" and "Making Love... The Very Best of Air Supply". On the inner cover of the album, Steinman is also credited with being the "seductive female voice" speaking the words "I'd do anything for love, but I wont do that" on the song "Getting so Excited", the same words that would later become the title of a hit single Steinman wrote for Meat Loaf which was released ten years later. Barry Manilow's compilation album "Greatest Hits Vol. II" (1983) included the song "Read 'Em and Weep", written, composed, and produced by Steinman. It had appeared on Meat Loaf's "Dead Ringer" album in 1981, but with a slightly different lyric. The song stayed at No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary Chart for eight consecutive weeks. In 1983, Ian Hunter released his album "All of the Good Ones Are Taken." On the title selection, "All of the Good Ones Are Taken", Steinman is credited with "assistance". Rory Dodd and Eric Troyer, two singers who often sang on Steinman's studio work, were credited with "additional background vocals." In 1984, the film "Streets of Fire" was released. The soundtrack included two songs written, composed, and produced by Steinman. They are "Tonight Is What It Means to Be Young" and "Nowhere Fast." The performance of these two songs is credited to "Fire Incorporated", which was a reference to an assembly of studio musicians and singers hired for these two songs. The voices heard on these songs include those of Rory Dodd, Holly Sherwood and Laurie Sargent. Steinman is credited for producing all the selections on Billy Squier's album "Signs of Life" (1984), and Barbra Streisand's album of the same year, "Emotion," featured "Left in the Dark", which Steinman wrote, composed and produced. The song had previously appeared on "Bad for Good." The soundtrack for the 1984 film "Footloose" included the song "Holding Out for a Hero", performed by Bonnie Tyler. Steinman produced the selection and is credited with composing the music, and Dean Pitchford, who had written the film itself directly for the screen, for writing the lyrics. The song was a hit single, the soundtrack album was successful, and the film was successful. Some of the music from this song was adapted from the music used for the song "Stark Raving Love" from the album "Bad for Good." In 1984, Steinman was hired by and worked briefly with the rock band Def Leppard on some tracks that were intended for a Def Leppard album. However, Steinman was fired, and the recording work he made with the band was not released. The next album Def Leppard released after this, "Hysteria", was produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. In 1985, Steinman wrote, composed, and produced a theme song for WWF performer Hulk Hogan. It was released in 1985 on an album called "The Wrestling Album". The selection was recorded during the recording sessions for "Secret Dreams And Forbidden Fire," an album that Bonnie Tyler was then recording, and which Steinman also produced. The selection has no lead vocals, and it matches much of the non-vocal parts of the track of "Ravishing" that appeared on "Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire". The track was also heard as the theme music on the animated television show "Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling." Steinman produced the track "Love Can Make You Cry", written by Michael Kehr, Don Kehr and Ian Hunter, for the soundtrack album for the 1986 film "Iron Eagle." This was a modified version of the original recording of the same song, which had appeared on Urgent's 1985 album "Cast The First Stone." The original recording had been produced by Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson. According to Steinman in an interview, Andrew Lloyd Webber approached him to write lyrics for "The Phantom of the Opera" because Lloyd Webber felt that his "dark obsessive side" fit in with the project. However, Steinman declined in order to fulfill his commitments to a Bonnie Tyler album. In 1986, the album "Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire" was released. Bonnie Tyler sang lead vocals, and Steinman produced all the selections on the album. Four of the songs on the album were written and/or composed by Steinman. One, "Holding Out for a Hero", was the same track from the "Footloose" soundtrack. The other three were "Ravishing", "Rebel Without a Clue" and "Loving You's a Dirty Job but Somebody's Gotta Do It", a duet with Todd Rundgren. This album was the first time Steinman worked with Steven Rinkoff, who was a recording engineer on this album. Since this album, the two have been co-producers and regular professional partners on Steinman's work. In 1987, the Sisters of Mercy released their second album "Floodland". The track "This Corrosion" was produced by Steinman, and the track "Dominion/Mother Russia" was co-produced by Steinman, along with Larry Alexander and Andrew Eldritch. The soundtrack album for the 1989 film "Rude Awakening" included two tracks produced by Steinman. One was the song "Rude Awakening", with lead vocals by Bill Medley and was written by Rick Rose and Paul Rothchild. The other, "Darling Be Home Soon," which featured lead vocals by Phoebe Snow, had been written, composed and originated by John Sebastian. In 1989, the album "Original Sin" was released. The album artist name is Pandora's Box. Pandora's Box referred to a group assembled by Steinman, including, officially, four female singers and Steinman himself. The official four female singers were Ellen Foley, Elaine Caswell, Gina Taylor and Deliria Wilde (with Holly Sherwood doing lead vocals on "Good Girls Go to Heaven"). Sales in Europe were low. The album was successful and reached No. 1 on the album charts in South Africa. It was not released at all in North America. Years later, it was reissued and became available all over the world on compact disc. "Original Sin" included the original recording of "It's All Coming Back to Me Now", sung by Elaine Caswell. Two songs from this album "It Just Won't Quit" and "Good Girls Go to Heaven (Bad Girls Go Everywhere)" were re-recorded and released on "". With Andrew Eldritch, Steinman co-wrote and co-produced the track "More" for the album "Vision Thing" (1990) by the group the Sisters of Mercy. Around 1992, Steinman worked with the punk band Iron Prostate, which featured guitarist and writer George Tabb. The group reportedly dissolved while working with Steinman on what was to be their second album. Tabb's website has shared a recording of the song "Bring Me The Head of Jerry Garcia", with Steinman credited as executive producer. The song's lyric says of Jerry Garcia, "he plays guitar like diarrhea". After a series of financial and legal disputes during the 1980s, Steinman and Meat Loaf met at the singer's house in Connecticut at Christmas 1989 or 1990 and sang "Bat out of Hell" on piano. Steinman says that "working together again seemed like the cool thing to do." In 1993, the album "" was released. Steinman wrote all the songs, and was credited as producer and arranger. Steven Rinkoff was, as usual, credited as co-producer, and others received co-producer credits. The album was very successful, reaching the peak position on album charts in many countries. The album had three top 40 singles, with "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" reaching the peak position on pop singles charts in 28 countries. The other top 40 singles from this album were "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" and "Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer than They Are". "Original Sin", the eponymous song on the 1989 Pandora's Box album, featured on the soundtrack album for the film "The Shadow" (1994). The lyric on this release was slightly different from that heard on the original release of this song. Steinman also produced this version, with lead vocals by Taylor Dayne. In 1995, the band Watershed released the album "Twister". Steinman was executive producer for the album, and Steinman's partner Steven Rinkoff was producer for all but one track of it. The album consisted of songs written by the band members. In 1995, Bonnie Tyler released the album "Free Spirit", featuring two tracks produced and written by Steinman. They were dance versions of the past hits "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" and "Making Love Out of Nothing at All". Steinman, along with Brothers in Rhythm and David James, with Steven Rinkoff as associate producer and engineer, co-produced the song "Never Forget". It was written by Gary Barlow, for the British group Take That. It was released on the album "Nobody Else" (1995) and reached the No. 1 position on the UK singles chart. Like many Steinman/Rinkoff productions, it featured programming and keyboard work by Jeff Bova. Celine Dion's album "Falling Into You" (1996) included the song "It's All Coming Back to Me Now", written and produced by Steinman. He also produced, but not authored, two other songs on the album: "River Deep, Mountain High" and "Call the Man". "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" reached No. 2 on the Billboard charts and won Steinman the award for BMI song of the year. That award is given for the song, out of all those represented in the BMI catalog, that receives the most radio airplay in a particular year. This album as a whole won two 1997 Grammy Awards, for Best Pop Album and for Album of the Year. Steinman also produced the track "Us", written by Billy Pace, for Dion's album "Let's Talk About Love" (1997). Steinman's production team prepared a recording of the Steinman/Black song "Is Nothing Sacred" for that album, but it was removed shortly before the album's release. A recording of Dion singing the song was leaked and has been shared on fan websites. Steinman produced two tracks for films in the late 1990s. He produced "In the Dark of the Night", written by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, for the soundtrack album of the film "Anastasia" (1997). He also produced "I Want to Spend My Lifetime Loving You" (music by James Horner, lyric by Will Jennings) for the film "The Mask of Zorro" (1998). Lead vocals were a duet between Tina Arena and Marc Anthony, and the track also appeared on Tina Arena's album "In Deep" (1997). Steinman provided lyrics for Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical "Whistle Down the Wind", which opened in Washington, D.C. in December 1996. However, it received poor reviews and the Broadway run, scheduled for the following April, was cancelled. A reworked and more successful West End production opened at the Aldwych Theatre on July 1, 1998. In addition to a full-length cast album for the London production, an album was released of well-known performers singing pop versions of the songs from the show. This album was produced by Steinman, as usual with Steven Rinkoff. One track, "No Matter What" performed by Boyzone, reached the peak position on the pop charts in many countries. The same track appeared on a Boyzone album and their greatest hits album. As of 2009, Boyzone's 1998 recording of "No Matter What" is the most recent new song or project written at least in part by Steinman, or to contain any new work of his at all, to achieve major, chart topping success. The track "Whistle Down the Wind", performed by Tina Arena, from the same album, also had some chart success. "Tanz der Vampire" ("Dance of the Vampires"), opened in Vienna, Austria on October 4, 1997. The show was adapted from Roman Polanski's movie "The Fearless Vampire Killers" (1967), and initially directed by Polanski himself. It won six International musical awards, at the International Musical Award Germany (IMAGE 1998), in Düsseldorf. There have also been translated productions of "Tanz der Vampire" in Estonia, Poland, Finland, Hungary and Japan. Many of the various productions of "Tanz der Vampire" have had cast recordings released, some of them produced by Steinman, along with other co-producers. Like much of Steinman's work, the show includes adaptation (or, recycling) of material Steinman had released before. This includes the song "Total Eclipse of the Heart", the melody of "Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer than They Are", and many other parts of earlier works. Ten previously released Steinman songs were included on the 2-disc compilation album "The Very Best of Meat Loaf" (1998). The included recording of the song "Life Is a Lemon and I Want My Money Back" was a new remix made by Steinman's production team. The compilation also included three new recordings of songs co-written by Steinman, all three of which he produced. They include the hybrid track "Home By Now/No Matter What" and "A Kiss Is a Terrible Thing to Waste" from "Whistle Down the Wind". Also included is the song "Is Nothing Sacred", on which Steinman wrote music for Don Black's lyrics. In 2001, the box set "Andrew Lloyd Webber: Now & Forever" was released. It included a recording, produced by Steinman and Andrew Lloyd Webber, and also co-produced by Steven Rinkoff and Nigel Wright, of the Steinman/Webber song "A Kiss Is a Terrible Thing to Waste", from "Whistle Down the Wind". It was credited to The Metal Philharmonic Orchestra, which was an unrealized performance project idea. Kyle Gordon, a.k.a. "Scarpia", a singer on many demo recordings for Steinman, sang the lead vocal. Around 2001, Steinman was working with singer Karine Hannah. Plans to make an album with her were eventually abandoned. Demo recordings of Hannah singing four songs by Steinman were leaked to fans and have since been available on numerous fan sites. The songs on these demos are "Safe Sex", "Making Love Out of Nothing at All", "Is Nothing Sacred" and "Braver Than We Are". Steinman also recorded her voice on a demo of "Catwoman's Song", which recycled parts of the Steinman/Eldritch song "More". This demo was part of Steinman's preparations for the unrealized "Batman: The Musical". He shared it with fans through a website. In 2002, Russell Watson released the album "Encore". It included the Steinman/Black song "Is Nothing Sacred". Steinman had originally worked on his production of this song with Watson on lead vocals. Composed by Michael Reed and Steinman, with a script by Warner Brown, "Garbo – the Musical", about the life of the late screen idol Greta Garbo, opened in Sweden to poor reviews in 2002. Preparation for a stage musical based on the Batman comic book series began early in the decade, with Steinman working on the music and lyrics. In August 2002, the "New York Post" reported that Warner Bros. signed Tim Burton to direct. According to an unnamed source Burton was attracted to the project because it was as dark as his 1989 film "Batman" rather than "the goofy, campy turn the franchise took with "Batman Forever" and "Batman and Robin", both of which were directed by Joel Schumacher.". Steinman said about Burton and the project, "It's more like his first two movies than any of the other movies. It's very dark and gothic, but really wildly funny. It was my dream that he do this." However, Warner Bros. cancelled its plans to cast and stage the show. Steinman has since shared some of the song demos from the show via the Dream Pollution website. The Dream Engine has, according to its website and MySpace page, also worked on recordings of some of the songs that were in the show. Steinman was executive producer for the 2003 MTV television film "Wuthering Heights". He has cited Brontë's novel, which had inspired "It's All Coming Back to Me Now", as one of his favorites. A limited-release six-track soundtrack CD was sold through MTV, on Steinman and Rinkoff's Ravenous Records label. Jim Steinman is credited as producer for the album and most of its tracks, and Steven Rinkoff is credited with recording, mixing and co-production. That album includes a simple recording of the Steinman/Eldritch song "More" with actors Mike Vogel and Erika Christensen performing lead vocals. It also includes the first-ever release of the song "If It Ain't Broke (Break It)", written by Steinman, with lead vocals by Mike Vogel. The album also has a version of "The Future Ain't What It Used to Be" by Jim Steinman with lead vocals from Erika Christensen. In 2002, the Opera Babes released the album "Beyond Imagination". Steinman produced the track "Vittoria!", adapted from the Giuseppe Verdi opera "Aida". Steven Rinkoff was credited with co-production, recording and mixing. Like many Steinman productions, it includes work by electronic-music arranger and programmer Jeff Bova. Steinman was also credited as arranger, along with Jeff Bova and Jon Cohen. In 2004, the film "Shrek 2" was released, along with a soundtrack album. The album has two dance covers of the Steinman/Pitchford song "Holding Out for a Hero", one with vocals by Jennifer Saunders and the other credited to Frou Frou. In 2005, The Everly Brothers released a limited edition album called "". This album included the song "A Kiss Is a Terrible Thing to Waste", written and produced by Steinman. The recording on that album was made in 1987, during the recording sessions that ended up being the 1989 album "Some Hearts". However, the Steinman song was not released until 2005. This song is different from the song with the same title in "Whistle Down the Wind". The two songs with this title share only a few words and no music in common, with the Everly Brothers version containing musical motifs recycled from the Steinman song "Out of the Frying Pan (And Into the Fire)". A demo recording of this song, with Rory Dodd singing lead vocals, has for many years been in circulation among fan websites. A separate and very different show from "Tanz der Vampire", "Dance of the Vampires" opened on Broadway on October 16, 2002. After the original director left the show, it was directed by John Rando, who joined very shortly before the opening. The book was written by David Ives and was notable for the large number of jokes, many of which had a silly or vulgar quality to them. Whereas Tanz had been a "sung-through" musical with no breaks in the music (like an opera), "Dance of the Vampires" was a humorous spoken play with songs inserted at some parts. The reviews tended to be very negative. It closed on January 25, 2003 after 61 preview and 56 regular performances. Financially, it was very unsuccessful, and lost roughly $17 million. Steinman did not attend the opening night to show his disgust with the show. In his blog, Steinman also described the show as "DOTV, which you guys know I hated & was disgusted by, & was FIRED by my manager, acting as producer!" The manager he was referring to was David Sonenberg, who was one of the producers of the show and Steinman's longtime manager. During the concerts in his "Hair of the Dog" tour, Meat Loaf told the audience that he and Steinman would be releasing a new album. Later, Meat Loaf said that "lawyers worked for over a year putting together a contract for Steinman to do "Bat Out of Hell III". It was one of the best producer's contracts in the history of the record business." According to Meat Loaf, the composer had suffered some health setbacks, including a heart attack. Ultimately, according to the singer, Steinman was not well enough to work on such an intense project. However, Steinman's manager refuted this version, saying that Steinman's "health is excellent" and although he had some "meaningful health problems about four years ago... he's been totally healthy the last couple of years... that's not the reason he didn't participate in ["Bat III"]". Produced by Desmond Child, "" was released in October 2006. It has fourteen songs, seven of which were written by Steinman; five of these were covers of songs already released on other albums. The other two were adapted from Steinman's demos of songs that were intended for musical theater projects. Steinman's demo of "In the Land of the Pig, the Butcher is King", with Rob Evan singing lead vocal, was part of the preparations for the unrealized "Batman: The Musical" project. Steinman's demo of "Cry to Heaven", with Kyle Gordon singing lead vocal, was intended for the possibility that Steinman would provide songs for a musical based on the film "Cry-Baby". "Cry-Baby" has since been staged, but without any work from Steinman. In 2006, the album's title became the subject of a legal battle between Steinman and Meat Loaf. Steinman had registered a trademark on the title "Bat Out of Hell" in 1995, and sought to prevent Meat Loaf from using the title. Meat Loaf sought to cancel Steinman's trademark and use the title. Aside from the trademark case, he sued Steinman and longtime manager David Sonenberg for $50 million each, for a total of $100 million. An out-of-court settlement was reached, ending the legal cases, allowing Meat Loaf to use the title for this album, and allowing Meat Loaf to release his recordings of the songs "In the Land of the Pig the Butcher Is King" and "Cry to Heaven". The agreement allowed Steinman to use the title "Jim Steinman's Bat Out of Hell" for a musical theatre project based on the songs from "Bat Out of Hell". This project is announced for opening on February 17, 2017 in Manchester. In 2006, Westlife released "The Love Album". It contained a cover of "Total Eclipse of the Heart", produced by Steve Mac. A remix with an added intro, presumably done by Steinman, Rinkoff, and Bova, has leaked and been in circulation among fan sites. First publicly presented in early 2006, Steinman and Steven Rinkoff created a music performance group called The Dream Engine. The group has worked on studio recordings and held live shows in New York City. It also performed at an award show in Atlanta, Georgia. The people in this project were the first ever to publicly perform the songs "What Part of My Body Hurts the Most", "We're Still the Children We Once Were", "Speaking in Tongues", "Not Allowed to Love" and "(It Hurts) Only When I Feel". The last of those songs is partly adapted from "If It Ain't Broke (Break It)". This project was also the first to perform a revised and politicized lyric to "Braver Than We Are". With the new lyric, the song has alternatively been called "An American Elegy" and "God's Gone A.W.O.L.". According to Steinman's blog, this project was "guided" by Steven Rinkoff. This project has not performed or been active in public since 2006. In January 2012, it was announced that Steinman is working with Terry Jones of Monty Python fame on a heavy metal version of "The Nutcracker". In February of the same year, it was announced that he would be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame on June 14. On April 10, 2012, Amherst College announced that Steinman would receive an honorary degree at the college's 191st commencement on May 20. However, honorary degrees are awarded only in person, and Steinman "had to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances". On April 17, 2013, the college announced that Steinman would speak at a "conversation" on campus that will be open to the public on May 25, and would receive an honorary degree, a doctorate of humane letters, at the college's 192nd commencement on May 26. In April 2013, Meat Loaf said that he and Steinman will collaborate on three new songs to be included on Meat Loaf's album "Braver Than We Are", which was (at the time) to be released in 2015. Meat Loaf's album "Braver Than We Are" was published on September 9, 2016 in Europe and on September 16, 2016 in North America. It contains ten songs composed by Steinman, both covers and new compositions. In February 2017, Steinman's "Bat Out of Hell The Musical", based on the hit 1977 album "Bat Out of Hell", opened for previews at the Manchester Opera House in Manchester, England, before officially premiering at the same venue, then continuing on to the London Coliseum in June. The musical has since gone on to Toronto, before finishing in January 2018 to make a return to London in 2018, this time the Dominion Theatre and as well as gearing up for a German version of the show, which is also to be launched in Autumn 2018 in Oberhausen's Metronom Theatre. Steinman has also set an American tour to take place starting in late 2018 through 2019. Jim Steinman
who wrote he ain't heavy he's my brother lyrics	"Tony Hicks" local rivals The Hollies needed a replacement for their guitarist Vic Steele in February 1963, Hicks was approached to join the band. Although initially reluctant, he was finally convinced to join after listening to The Hollies through the air vent of the Twisted Wheel in Manchester. They had secured a test recording session with EMI's Parlophone label for staff producer Ron Richards, which Hicks duly attended as their new guitarist in April 1963 and which resulted in a recording contract with Parlophone. The Hollies soon became one of the most successful bands in Britain; they had a distinctive, breezy pop style built around the three-part harmony of Hicks (lower harmony) and bandmates Allan Clarke (lead vocals) and Graham Nash (high harmony). Hicks contributed his first solo composition for the group ("When I'm Not There") to an EP release in 1964 and co-wrote a B-side ("Keep Off That Friend of Mine") with drummer Bobby Elliott that year. Hicks then joined Clarke and Nash as the group's in-house songwriting team, who from 1964 to mid-1966 wrote as "Chester Mann" and "L. Ransford" before adopting the Clarke-Hicks-Nash banner. By the mid-1960s the threesome had become responsible for writing most of their songs, including singles hits such as "Stop! Stop! Stop!", "On A Carousel", "Carrie Anne" and "King Midas in Reverse". Hicks rarely sang lead vocals on Hollies songs, but was featured on "Look Through Any Window" (1965), and sang verse leads on "Too Much Monkey Business" (1964), "Carrie Anne" (a song he began for the band in Stavanger, Norway in 1967) and "Open Up Your Eyes" (1968). Hicks took solo lead vocals on his song "Pegasus" (1967), the Clarke-Sylvester-penned "Look at Life" (1969), his "Born A Man" (1973), "Hillsborough" (1989) and Bobby Elliott's "Then, Now, Always (Dolphin Days)" (2009). In 1966, with contributions from fellow Hollies Clarke and Nash, Hicks contributed guitar work alongside Yardbirds guitarist and session musician Jimmy Page to the Everly Brothers' album "Two Yanks in England" (which included cover versions of a number of Hollies songs co-written by Hicks). In the 1960s, with Nash performing few guitar duties except for the occasional rhythm part and acoustic work, Hicks became an integral part of the Hollies sound. Apart from contributing distinctive lead-guitar parts, he could be relied on to add unusual instrumentation to their sessions—such as the banjo which was a key component of their hit "Stop! Stop! Stop!", Greek-type ("Tell Me to My Face") and fuzz guitar ("Have You Ever Loved Somebody"). When no original material was available, Hicks discovered demos of Hollies hits "Just One Look" (UK No. 2 in 1964), "I Can't Let Go" (UK No. 2 in 1966) and "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" (UK No. 3 in 1969) (which became one of their biggest hits). Hicks suggested the band do an album of Bob Dylan songs in late 1968; Nash disagreed, one of the reasons for his exit from the band (although he had already sung with David Crosby and Stephen Stills in the US). The Hollies replaced Nash with Terry Sylvester and "Hollies Sing Dylan" (1969) was No. 3 in the UK album charts, although it failed to chart in the US. This was one of the first "tribute albums" devoted to a single artist by a vocal group. After Nash's December 1968 departure from the group Hicks began to write more solo songs, which were used as either B-sides or album tracks (such as "Cos You Like To Love Me" and "Don't Give Up Easily" in 1969 and "Dandelion Wine" in 1970). He wrote much of The Hollies' 1970 album "'Confessions of The Mind", including "Too Young To Be Married" (a No. 1 single in Australia and New Zealand). Hicks also co-wrote songs with UK singer Kenny Lynch—for The Hollies, such as "What A Life I've Led", "Look What We've Got", "Promised Land", the US hit single "Long Dark Road" (all 1971) and "Blue in the Morning" (1972) and "Faded Images", recorded by Cilla Black on her 1971 album "Images". He co-wrote Hollies songs between 1974 and 1978 with Allan Clarke and Terry Sylvester. In 1974, Hicks produced the eponymous group album "Taggett" on EMI Records in the UK. In 1990, Hicks co-wrote "Naomi" for The Hollies with his son Paul. In 1993 he added new guitar parts and harmony vocals (with Clarke and Nash) to an "alternate" version of "Peggy Sue Got Married" by Buddy Holly (credited to "Buddy Holly and The Hollies"), which led off the "Not Fade Away" tribute album to Holly by various artists. The Hollies continued to have hits beyond the 1970s, including a UK chart hit with the medley "Holliedaze" in 1981, a US Top 30 hit cover of "Stop! In the Name of Love" in 1983, a UK No. 1 single in 1988 (a re-issue of "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother"), and in 1993 "The Woman I Love". The group still performs and records today; however, with the retirement of Allan Clarke in 1999, only Hicks and drummer Bobby Elliott remain from the band's 1960s heyday. In 2010, The Hollies (who had already won an Ivor Novello Award in 1995 for outstanding contribution to British popular music and were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2006) were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Hicks and Elliott were absent from the induction ceremony because of UK touring commitments with the current Hollies band, but both were included as part of the award-winning line-up. Tony Hicks is still an active member of The Hollies as they continue to do concerts mostly in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. He is currently the lead guitarist (and other various string instruments) and does vocals. Hicks has been married to Jane Dawton since 1974. Hicks' son, Paul Hicks, worked as an award-winning sound engineer at Abbey Road Studios, and assisted on mixes of several vintage Hollies recordings. Paul Hicks also worked on projects by Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison, as well as several of The Beatles remastering projects – notably the "Anthology" and "Let It Be... Naked" albums, and the mono versions of The Beatles back catalogue on Compact Disc. Paul, along with pal Dhani Harrison, is a member of the band thenewno2, whose music was featured in the 2013 movie, "Beautiful Creatures". Tony Hicks Anthony Christopher Hicks (born 16 December 1945) is an English guitarist and singer who has been a member of the British pop group The Hollies since 1963, and as such was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. Hicks first had
who wrote he ain't heavy he's my brother lyrics	"Draw the Line (Aerosmith album)" began to take its toll. ""Draw the Line" was untogether because we weren't a cohesive unit anymore," guitarist Joe Perry admitted in the Stephen Davis band memoir "Walk This Way". "We were drug addicts dabbling in music, rather than musicians dabbling in drugs. Although the LP would sell well more than a million copies in fewer than six weeks after its release, in 2014 Perry would refer to it as "the beginning of the end" and "the decay of our artistry..." According to Steven Tyler's autobiography "Does the Noise In My Head Bother You", manager David Krebs suggested that the band record its next album at an estate near Armonk, New York called the Cenacle, "away from the temptation of drugs." The plan failed miserably, however, with Tyler recalling, "Drugs can be imported, David...we have our resources. Dealers deliver! Hiding us away in a three-hundred room former convent was a prescription for total lunacy." Largely due to their drug consumption, both Tyler and Perry were not as involved in the writing and recording as they had been on previous albums. According to Perry: A lot of people had input into that record because Steven and I had stopped giving a fuck. "Draw the Line," "I Want To Know Why," and "Get It Up" were the only things Steven and I wrote together. Tom, Joey and Steven came up with "Kings and Queens," and Brad played rhythm and lead. Brad and Steven wrote "The Hand That Feeds," which I didn't even play on because I'd stayed in bed the day they recorded it and Brad played great on it anyway. Producer Jack Douglas, who had started producing the band with "Get Your Wings" in 1974, expressed similar feelings about the apathy that permeated the recording sessions: So I started "Draw the Line", and for a while gave it my all. But because they were half-hearted about the record, I was too. Steven wasn't writing at all. The lyrics to "Critical Mass" came from a dream I had at the Cenacle. I never expected Steven to record it, but he didn't have anything else, so he used my lyrics as written. Same with "Kings and Queens." Steven and I wrote the lyrics together, which was like pulling teeth. For his part, Tyler has maintained that it was the band's lethargy, not his, that slowed his progress, because "I wasn't Patti Smith writing poetry. I write exactly to the music, and when the music ain't coming, neither were the lyrics." However, Tyler confessed to Alan di Perna of "Guitar World" in April 1997, "What I specifically remember was not being present in the studio because I was so stoned. In the past, I always had to be there and hear every note that was going down - who was playing what and were they out of tune...I just didn't care anymore." Tyler's condition is evident in some of his lyrics, such as the line "pass me the vial and cross your fingers that it don't take time." In the VH1 "Behind the Music" episode on the group Douglas states, "People were shooting, bullets were flying. It was insane. People, drugs and guns. You know, they don't go together," with drummer Joey Kramer adding, "I don't know if we did any of those sessions, or made any of that record, straight." In his autobiography Rocks, Perry admits that he had misplaced a cookie tin full of demos for the band that he had prepared in his basement studio, irritating Douglas, but they were eventually found by Perry's wife Elyssa: Relations deteriorated further when Perry presented "Bright Light Fright" to the band and they "didn't like it. I said, 'Do you want to do it or not?' They said no." Perry, who has stated the song was inspired by the Sex Pistols, sang the song himself on the LP. (He had shared lead vocal duties with Tyler on "Combination" from their previous album "Rocks".) Of "Draw the Line," Tyler later recalled, "Joe had this lick on a six-string bass that was so definitive, the song just about wrote itself. It reached down my neck and grabbed the lyrics out of my throat." The song encompasses many of the typical things Aerosmith is known for, including the strong rhythm backbeat and the back-and-forth interplay between guitarists Perry and Brad Whitford. The song slows down before building to a climax showcasing Tyler's trademark scream. The B-side of some versions of "Draw the Line," "Chip Away the Stone", was not on the LP but eventually surfaced on the compilation album "Gems". It was written by Richard Supa, received a fair amount of radio airplay after the release of "Gems" and found its way into Aerosmith's live setlists for a while. Kramer explained in 1997 that "Kings and Queens," the LP's second single, was a "typical session at the Cenacle. It was recorded in the chapel with the pews out, the drums on the altar. Jack was in the confessional, hitting the snare drum by himself." In his memoir, Tyler writes that the song's lyrics were inspired by a "medieval fantasy" that featured "a stoned-out rock star in his tattered satin rags lying on the ancient stone floor of a castle - slightly mad, but still capable of conjuring up a revolutionary album that would astound the ears of the ones who heard it and make the critics cringe." Jack Douglas plays the mandolin on the track, which was also used as a B-side to Aerosmith's version of the Beatles' "Come Together," released to promote the "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" film and soundtrack. "Get It Up" features Karen Lawrence, singer of the band L.A. Jets, on the chorus. David Krebs later stated that he felt Tyler's lyrics on songs like "Get It Up" did not help the album's standing among Aerosmith fans: "The essence of Aerosmith had always been a positive and very macho sexuality, total unashamed, a little sleazy... They "didn't" want to hear lyrics like 'Get It Up,' which repeated over and over again, "Can't" get it up'...The negative lyrics were a big problem." "Get It Up" was released as the album's third single but failed to break into the singles chart. The song is noted for its usage of slide guitar and was played occasionally by the band during the Aerosmith Express Tour from 1977–1978 in support of the "Draw the Line" album. The band did not have enough original material to cover the running time for a single album so they recorded two blues classics: Otis Rush's "All Your Love" and Kokomo Arnold's "Milk Cow Blues." ("All Your Love" did not make "Draw the Line", but would later turn up on the band's box set "Pandora's Box".) Contemporary reviews were quite negative. Billy Altman of "Rolling Stone" called the LP "a truly horrendous record, chaotic to the point of malfunction and with an almost impenetrably dense sound adding to the confusion." Robert Christgau considered the album the product of a band "out of gas". Retrospective reviews are more positive. "Kerrang!" magazine listed the album at No. 37 among the "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time" for its "high energy", although it never touches heavy metal as a genre, concluding with the comment "sleaze was never so classy." According to Greg Prato of AllMusic, "the band shies away from studio experimenting and dabbling in different styles," returning "to simple, straight-ahead hard rock" and releasing "the last true studio album from Aerosmith's original lineup for nearly a decade." Another AllMusic reviewer stated that, "although some fans see "Draw the Line" as the beginning of a decline for Aerosmith, it still offers up some strong hard-rock tunes. One of its best moments is the title track, one of the group's most relentless rockers." In a review for Ultimate Classic Rock, Sterling Whitaker cited "Get It Up" as an example of a track that "should-have-been-great-but-not-quite," saying that it "featured important elements of the classic Aerosmith sound, but somehow didn't catch fire." "Draw the Line" went platinum its first month of release, peaking at No. 11 on the US "Billboard" 200 chart, eventually being certified 2x multi-platinum nearly a decade later. Even so, it marks the band's first slowdown in album sales of their 70s era, after their initial rise with the albums "Toys in the Attic" and "Rocks". Draw the Line (Aerosmith album) Draw the
who wrote he ain't heavy he's my brother lyrics	"Ain't No Other Man" style and deemed it a standout on "Back to Basics". Commercially, the track peaked at number six on the US "Billboard" Hot 100, and reached the top five of record charts of several countries including Australia, Italy, New Zealand, and United Kingdom. The music video for "Ain't No Other Man" was directed by Bryan Barber. The video jumps back in time and depicts Aguilera as her then newly established alter ego Baby Jane. The visual was praised for the "mature" image that Aguilera adopted. "Ain't No Other Man" won a Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) award (2008), as well as the Grammy award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards (2006). The song's video received four nominations at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards, including Video of the Year. The song was certified platinum by the RIAA for shipments of one million copies. Following the release of her fourth studio album, "Stripped" (2002), and several collaborations, Aguilera decided to incorporate elements of 1930s and 1940s musical styles in her follow-up album project. She commented that she wished to evolve as an artist and a visionary in between production of the records. Aguilera sent letters to various producers that she hoped could help her with the direction she was taking for the project, encouraging them to experiment, re-invent and create a modern soul feel. The final product, her fifth album "Back to Basics", comprises two discs. For the first half disc, Aguilera collaborated with "more beat-driven" producers including DJ Premier and Mark Ronson, who incorporated musical samples into many of the recordings. She described it as "kind of a throwback with elements of jazz, blues and soul music combined with a modern-day twist, like hard-hitting beats". The contents of the second disc were written and produced solely by Linda Perry, Aguilera's longtime collaborator. Aguilera had first collaborated with DJ Premier after hearing his jazz-influenced work with Gang Starr. She revealed that she was impressed, and she also wanted to make jazz-influenced materials. Aguilera stated that she was unsure if DJ Premier would accept the offer, having been his first time working with pop music. Premier later agreed and commented, "I was surprised I got that call 'cause of our differences in the audiences we hit, but I'm always up for challenges and trying something new ... She described what her album is about and then she sent me some CDs of what type of stuff's been inspiring her to make the record, and it happened to be a lot of stuff that I grew up on in the early '70s, 'cause I'm 40. Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Marvin Gaye, Esther Williams, all kinds of different things. Once I saw that's the vibe she wanted, I still had to make it sound like the way my beats thump and stuff but still give her the atmosphere she's trying to bring out on the singing side." While writing "Ain't No Other Man", Aguilera drew inspiration from her husband Jordan Bratman, whom she wedded in 2005. DJ Premier described the track as a "sassy" and "old-Aretha [Franklin] 'Respect'" recording. He further commented that its pace was "too fast", "like 130 beats per minute" and different from his earlier projects. Though lyrics had yet to be written, Aguilera was "in love" with the "high energy" track when she first heard it. Consequentially, she chose to service "Ain't No Other Man" as the lead single from "Back to Basics". "Ain't No Other Man" was written and produced by Aguilera, DJ Premier, and Charles Roane, with additional songwriting provided by Harold Beatty and Kara DioGuardi. It is a pop, R&B and funk song with elements of old-school soul, blues and jazz. Thus, the song is a mixture of old-school and contemporary materials, according to Aguilera herself. The track contains a brass sample from "Hippy Skippy Moon Strut" by Dave Cortez & The Moon People, and a vocal sample "The Cissy's Thang" by The Soul Seven. Its instrumentation incorporates keyboards, guitar, drums, percussion, and horns. The arrangement of the instruments on "Ain't No Other Man" was described as "raw" and "ass-shaking". Several critics complimented the mixture between old and modern materials; Jody Rosen from "Entertainment Weekly" claimed that the jazzy melody from the track suited Aguilera perfectly, while Dorian Lyskey of "The Guardian" deemed the melody of "Ain't No Other Man" "fun" and "crispy". Although the sheet music shows "Ain't No Other Man" in the key of F minor, the recording suggests it is approximately in F♯ minor, perhaps due to a speed discrepancy. The song has a moderate fast tempo of 132 beats per minute. Aguilera's vocal range on the track spans from A to F#. Dorian Lyskey of "The Guardian" noted that the beats of the song are "brassy" and have the same "aerobic oomph" as Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love", while Jody Rosen from "Entertainment Weekly" deemed the track "exhilarating". According to Aguilera; lyrically, "Ain't No Other Man" is not a love song, but actually intertwines with the events that she experienced in real life. The song seems to be about Aguilera's husband, Jordan Bratman, but is really simply about feeling good. During an interview with MTV News, Aguilera said of the song, "I wanted to make it light and easy for people to dance to and sing along to... Lyrically, I just got married, so it's about someone in particular, but it's all about feeling good and not taking anything too seriously". In 2011, American publishing company TufAmeria sued Sony Music for the brass sample of Dave Cortez & The Moon People's "Hippy Skippy Moon Strut" (1968), which is based on "I’ll Be a Happy Man" by The Latin Blues Band featuring Luis Aviles. According to a federal lawsuit filed in New York, TufAmerica purchased the exclusive rights to the track in 2004; nevertheless, Sony Music made a deal with Codigo Music and Clyde Otis Music Group to acquire the sample. "Ain't No Other Man" received generally positive reviews from music critics. At the 2007 Grammy Awards, "Ain't No Other Man" earned Aguilera a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. The song also earned a BMI Award in 2008. "The Village Voice"s Pazz & Jop annual critics' poll voted "Ain't No Other Man" as the third best single of 2006. The song placed at number 32 on "Pitchfork"s list of The Top 100 Tracks of 2006. "Rolling Stone" ranked "Ain't No Other Man" at number 18 on their list of 2006's best songs. "Ain't No Other Man" debuted at number 19 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 during the week of June 24, 2006. In the following week, it raised to number 13. On July 8, 2006, "Ain't No Other Man" reached number 9 on the chart. In its fourth week charting, the song reached number six, which became its peak. It became Aguilera's first top-ten hit on the chart since "Beautiful" (2002). At the end of 2006, "Billboard" ranked "Ain't No Other Man" the 32nd most successful hit of the year. On the "Billboard" Pop Songs chart, the track peaked at number eight and remained there for a total of 20 weeks. The song was a major hit on the US dance market, peaking atop the Hot Dance Club Songs chart. "Ain't No Other Man" was recognized as the eighth best-charting single on the Hot Dance Club Songs of 2006 by "Billboard". On August 15, 2006, the track was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipping more than one million digital download copies in the country. It was also certified gold for 500,000 master ringtones sold in the region. As of August 2014, "Ain't No Other Man" has sold 1,783,000 copies in the United States alone. In Canada, the song peaked at number four on the Canadian Hot 100 and was certified platinum by Canadian Recording Industry Association for 80,000 digital sales. It was also certified gold for selling 20,000 ringtones in the country. In the United Kingdom, "Ain't No Other Man" debuted at number 18 on the UK Singles Chart during the week of July 29, 2006. In the following week, the song jumped to number two, just behind Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" featuring Wyclef Jean. The song also gained chart success in countries around Europe, peaking at number two in Norway, number three in Hungary (both Rádiós Top 100 chart and Single Top 100 chart) and Ireland, number four in Slovakia, number five in Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy and Switzerland, number seven in Austria, and number ten in Belgium (Flanders). Throughout Europe, "Ain't No Other Man" peaked at number three on the European Hot 100 Singles chart. The song was certified gold in Denmark by IFPI Denmark for shipping more than 7,500 copies there. On the Australian Singles Chart, "Ain't No Other Man" debuted at number six on August 13, 2006 and remained on its peak for two weeks. In 2006, the song stayed on the chart for a total of 16 weeks. On January 14, 2007, the track re-entered the chart at number 46. Due to the commercial success in Australia, "Ain't No Other Man" was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipping 35,000 copies in the country. In New Zealand, the single peaked at number five on the New Zealand Singles Chart. The accompanying music video for "Ain't No Other Man" was directed by Bryan Barber and choreographed by Jeri Slaughter. After seeing a trailer of Barber's film project, "Idlewild", Aguilera wanted to make a video directed by him, explained: "It intrigued me that this man, Bryan Barber, had been very locked into and had surrounded himself with this whole world of the '20s and '30s era, and it made me think that he could understand what I'm trying to do conceptually. I needed to get the right director who shared my vision". At first Aguilera planned to make a black-and-white video and shot it in her living room for Barber and Slaughter. "I had acted out the entire video in my living room. I used my fireplace as a makeshift stage and the staircase as the pool table where I would stand", said Aguilera. According to Barber, Aguilera was very involved in the making of the videot. The whole team seemed like they were doing a movie more than a music video. On June 21, 2006, the music video for "Ain't No Other Man" was premiered on MTV's "Total Request Live". Throughout the music video, Aguilera portrays her alter ego Baby Jane, a nickname that Nelly once gave her. The narrative scenes are punctuated by shots of two trombonists playing the Dave Cortez brass sample in unison. The video depicts a mix of styles from the 1920s, as well as modern. The video begins with a car (white Rolls-Royce Phantom), with a license plate reading "Baby Jane", stopped in front of a club on a dark street in California. In front of the bar, a man is smoking a cigarette. The melody of Aguilera's song "I Got Trouble", is played in the background, as if over a radio with transmission noise. Aguilera steps out of the car in high heels, wearing a classic outfit with a hat. After the car door is closed, the song begins. In the club, Aguilera starts dancing with her male and female dancers while singing the song. On the first chorus, Aguilera is in a dressing room, wearing a camisole and fur-trimmed silk dressing-gown, making up with the help of her dancers, and receiving flowers from a stranger. During the second verse, Aguilera appears in a red 1960s-style outfit and listens to music with silver spangled headphones while a gramophone plays. While singing the second chorus, Aguilera is in front of photographers; she continues to sing in an inter-cut scene, wearing silver and gold outfits, one trimmed with fur. In the next sequence, Aguilera wears a white and black outfit with a black-sequined beret, and continues dancing through the chorus. At the bridge, she walks through the bar and finds her lover. She pushes him down on a chair and pushes him away across the polished dance-floor. She is then lifted onto the billiard table and continues to sing while the chandelier above her head begins to explode and spark fireworks. At the chorus she appears in a sparkling silver dress and makes the whole club come alive in a riot of dancing. There is a brief funk outro. As the video ends, with the club now empty of customers, Aguilera gently sings "I Got Trouble" again, lying on the piano while the people in the club watch her. Jody Rosen for "Entertainment Weekly" noted, "She's revamped [...] her look, sporting an Andrews Sister bouffant and jazz-age togs in the video". Michael Slezak, another editor from "Entertainment Weekly", wrote that Aguilera "rocks seven classy-sexy looks in just under five minutes, each more flawless than the one before it (especially that final silver dress and gizzorgeously wild mane)". Its choreography was also praised, "[it] is at once modern and totally in keeping with the whole Cotton Club vibe brought to life", "and just as important, Christina looks like she's having a blast throughout". Jenny Eliscu of "Rolling Stone" praised the video, calling it one of the best clips from the album. James Montgomery from MTV News wrote: "Aguilera kicked off her Back to Basics reinvention with this appropriately anachronistic clip, where she vamps through Prohibition-era Harlem". The music video was nominated for four MTV Video Music Awards in 2006, they are: Video of the Year, Best Female Video, Best Pop Video and Best Choreography; however, the video did not win any of them. To promote "Ain't No Other Man" and "Back to Basics", Aguilera performed the song on a number of shows and venues. On June 8, 2006, Aguilera performed "Ain't No Other Man" for the first time at the 2006 MTV Movie Awards, which was held at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California. MTV praised the performance, calling her vocals during the show "vibrant". On July 20, 2006, Aguilera performed the track at the Koko jazz club in London, which was held in front of 1,500 fans and invited guests. The 40-minute concert comprised songs from the then-upcoming "Back to Basics" and other songs, including "Lady Marmalade" (2001) and "Beautiful" (2002). MTV UK was positive toward the performance, wrote, "The gig reflected the jazz club mood of Christina's new album, with a swinging brass-heavy backing band and fit dancers bounding sexily around the stage". During the "Late Show with David Letterman" on August 16, 2006, Aguilera also performed the track live. On January 20, 2007, Aguilera performed "Ain't No Other Man" at the 2007 NRJ Music Awards in Cannes, France. On February 18, 2007, Aguilera performed "Ain't No Other Man" and "Candyman" during the halftime show of the 2007 NBA All-Star Game in Las Vegas. Aguilera performed "Fighter", "Hurt" and "Ain't No Other Man" at the 2007 Muz-TV Awards on June 1, 2007. "Ain't No Other Man" was later performed during the worldwide Back to Basics Tour (2006–2007). It was selected as the show's opener. The performance was supported by a nine-piece band and eight back-up dancers. The tour was preceded by newspapers headlines that flashed across a big screen, such as, "Christina goes from 'dirrty' to demure" and "Christina cleans up her act". The performance is included on the video release "" (2008). On November 23, 2008, while supporting her compilation album "", Aguilera performed a medley of her six hits, including "Ain't No Other Man", at the American Music Awards of 2008 held at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California. On May 5, 2010, while promoting her sixth studio album, "Bionic", Aguilera performed all of her hits on "VH1 Storytellers", including "Ain't No Other Man". On October 24, 2010, Aguilera was invited to the "Justin Timberlake & Friends" benefit show at Las Vegas. There, she performed "Beautiful", "Fighter" and "Ain't No Other Man". At the show beginning, Timberlake declared that Aguilera is "the best vocalist of my generation", "no contest". "Ain't No Other Man" has been covered on several occasions. Credits are taken from the liner notes of "Ain't No Other Man" CD single. Ain't No Other Man "Ain't No Other Man" is a song by American singer Christina Aguilera from her fifth studio album, "Back to Basics" (2006). Aguilera co-wrote the song with Charles Martin Roane, Kara DioGuardi, Harold Beatty, and producer DJ Premier. "Ain't No Other Man" is a pop, R&B and funk song that incorporates elements of soul, blues and jazz music. Lyrically, the song was inspired by her marriage to Jordan Bratman in 2005. The song was released on June 6, 2006 as the album's lead single. It received generally favorable reviews
how many seasons of the bastard executioner are there	"The Bastard Executioner" path of a different man. Later in life, Wilkin lives as a married peasant farmer, awaiting the birth of a child. His new life of peace is shattered by the unbearable taxes assessed on the peasants by none other than "Baron" Erik Ventris, the man who had betrayed Wilkin. Pressured by his fellow villagers, Wilkin leads a raid on the Baron's tax collector, which leads Ventris to the revenge killing and burning of all the women and children in Brattle's village. Brattle's raiders seek battle with the Baron ending in the death of Ventris and the massacre of the Baron's troops. Revenge, however, is not complete, as the raiders want all the soldiers who slaughtered their kin to die by the sword. Brattle assumes the identity of a journeyman punisher (executioner), injected into the plot just moments before the Baron's death. Brattle, aka Gawain Maddox, enters Castle Ventris with the intent of identifying the remaining murderers so his fellow raiders can exact revenge. Castle intrigue traps Brattle in his new alias and disdainful profession. Brattle must lead this double life while trying to determine whether this new path is the one the apparition has chosen for him, or if he has been led astray. The plot partially involves the fallout from the Madog ap Llywelyn Welsh rebellion. "The Bastard Executioner", the first pilot for Imagine TV with FX Network, stemmed from an idea by Grazer: "I find the executioner to be an incredibly fascinating and provocative character", he said. "He deals with the highest order and the lowest order in the culture. It's about as morally complex a profession as you can imagine". Grazer pitched the idea to 20th Television chairmen Dana Walden and Gary Newman. The two, along with Fox21 president Bert Salke, suggested Sutter as writer. After meeting with Grazer and taking some time to contemplate the idea, Sutter built a whole world around it, and the pitch was taken to FX. Sutter explained the writing process and obstacles for the show on his vlog: "It's sort of fun of jumping into completely different world, completely different time, completely different vernacular, it's a toughest thing for me right now with the pilot is the story is all broken on my board here but you know trying to find different rhythms of speech and vernacular". Sutter held his fans hostage who were eagerly waiting for his new project. "I'm not writing it on period speech just because there's no actual recording of what that vernacular sounded like with intonation and everything." The series was announced in December 2013. Sutter began writing the scripts once the last episode of "Sons of Anarchy" had wrapped up in late 2014. Katey Sagal is "definitely...involved" in the series. Paris Barclay, who directed 15 episodes of "Sons of Anarchy", directed the pilot and was executive producer. Charles Murray, a writer/co-executive producer of the last two seasons of "Sons of Anarchy", was a writer/co-executive producer on the series. Nichole Beattie was another "Sons of Anarchy" alumna on the staff of writers. She has also written extensively for AMC's "The Walking Dead" and "Rubicon". The series was filmed in Wales, United Kingdom, and featured a mostly British cast. Barclay left for the UK on January 2 to work on casting and location matters. Sutter stayed in the US to finalize the script. He joined Barclay a few days later in the United Kingdom. The draft of the pilot script was sent to the studio executives at FX on the 7th of January. During mid-January Sutter and Barclay visited several possible shooting locations in Wales, including Caerphilly Castle and Fforest Fawr. Filming began on 23, 2015. The show's producers spent 10 months considering locations in Wales with the help of the Welsh Government’s Wales Screen service, which encourages film and television productions to use locations, crews, and facilities throughout Wales. The project was one of the first major productions to move into Pinewood Studios' new facility in Cardiff. The set for the series, in the form of a medieval village with a small castle, was constructed to the west of Cardiff at Dragon International Film Studios in Llanilid. On May 22, 2015,"The Bastard Executioner" was picked up for a 10-episode series for fall launch. On November 18, 2015, FX and Sutter announced that Sutter had cancelled the series. Reviews for "The Bastard Executioner" were polarized, with praise being directed toward the action sequences, writing and acting, and criticism toward the pacing, limited development, and excessive violence. It holds a rating of 49% (rotten) on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes based on 53 critics. The website's consensus reads: "Kurt Sutter's "The Bastard Executioner" doesn't want for dark thrills, but it unfortunately has more enthusiasm for brutality and gore than necessary narrative focus." Out of 37 reviews in Metacritic, the show holds a rating of 55. The Bastard Executioner The Bastard Executioner is an American historical fiction drama television series, created by Kurt Sutter and aired on FX from September 15, 2015, to November 17, 2015. On November 18, 2015, Sutter announced that FX had cancelled the series after one season. Set in early 14th century Wales, Wilkin Brattle, a Welsh knight in the army of King Edward I of England is betrayed by an Englishman who has a lust for power and who leaves him for dead. When he is near death, a child apparition implores Brattle
how many seasons of the bastard executioner are there	"Ross O'Hennessy" was born into a working class Welsh family but by the age 16 knew he wanted to spend his time acting. At the age of 18 he left Wales and moved to London to chase his career. He was accepted into the National Youth Theatre, where he was tutored by actor Hakeem Kae-Kazim and performed in "Maggie May", "The Tempest" and "Macbeth in London". From these plays Ross won a scholarship from Sir John Mills and "The Stage" newspaper which enabled him to attend a three-year acting course at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. O'Hennessy picked up a career in the theatre and gained his first appearance at Chichester Festival Theatre in a play called "The Visit" in which he acted opposite Hollywood actress Lauren Bacall which was directed by Terry Hands. With such a big production came a lot of attention for Ross and so he was asked the join The Royal Shakespeare Company where he performed in "As You Like It" directed by Steven Pimlott, "Three Hours After Marriage" directed by Richard Cottrell and "Troilus and Cressida" directed by Ian Judge. O'Hennessy very quickly moved into the world of television and film with his first television appearance being as Cpl Dando on "Soldier Soldier" in 1995 to 1997. He continued to work as a typical television jobbing actor until he got his big break in 2011 playing the role of Bruce Maverick in "Hollyoaks Later". He was asked to play the role of Commander Quattrone in "Da Vinci's Demons". having played this powerful role in such a big budget production allowed O'Hennessy to move into performances like Rattle Shirt - The Lord of Bones in "Game of Thrones". Ross has completed work in 2015 on the BBC Musketeers and has begun working on Kurt Sutter's new show all about the medieval times. O'Hennessy plays Sir Locke in this new FX production called "The Bastard Executioner". Ross O'Hennessy is an active supporter of the arts and took part in a charity campaign to save his local theatre where he first started acting at the age of 15. Ross hosted a 'Game of Thrones' event where he came to auction Game of Thrones memorabilia and photos. He hosted a charity signing plus a question and answer session. The theatre was successful in its campaign and the Blackwood Little theatre was saved. Ross O'Hennessy made his first fan based personal appearance at the Wrexham Comic Con event in November 2015. Ross O'Hennessy Ross O'Hennessy (born 1974) is a Welsh actor. He is best known for his role of Lord of Bones in Game of Thrones", "Da Vinci's Demons", The Musketeers, and playing the blood thirsty Role of Sir Locke in Kurt Sutter's new international television series "The Bastard Executioner". In 2015, he replaced Edward Dogliani as Lord of Bones in Season 5 of the HBO series "Game of Thrones". Since appearing in "Game of Thrones" Ross O'Hennessy has been cast to play the vicious character of Carnage Cliff in the
how many seasons of the bastard executioner are there	"Carly Wray" Weiner, before going on to write two additional episodes in the show's final seasons, "Waterloo" and "The Milk and Honey Route". After her work on "Mad Men", Wray joined the staff of the first season of "Constantine", a David Goyer production for NBC, based on the long-running Hellblazer comic. Freelance film and television critic Logan Dalton praised Wray's writing in the mid-season finale, saying that she "connect[ed] many of the dots for the 'Rising Darkness' and end[ed] the episode on a note that will make viewers want to tune in when the show returns". Wray returned to cable after "Constantine"s cancellation, writing episodes of Kurt Sutter's "The Bastard Executioner" for FX, and the David Fincher series "Mindhunter", a Netflix drama based on the works of legendary FBI profiler John Douglas. She then became a co-producer on the third and final season of "The Leftovers" and a producer on the second season of "Westworld" on HBO. On May 4, 2017, HBO announced that Wray is one of four writers working on a potential pilot for a "Game of Thrones" spin-off. In addition to Wray, Max Borenstein, Jane Goldman, and Brian Helgeland are also working on potential pilots. Wray has been working and communicating with George R. R. Martin, the author of "A Song of Ice and Fire", the series of novels upon which the original series is based. Upon the announcement, Indiewire critic Ben Travers praised the idea of Wray as a writer for the ongoing adaptations: "Wray can nudge the franchise in a new direction, since "Game of Thrones" has been a boys' club for most of its journey thus far. Bringing in a female perspective is a great idea, especially with so many female characters to explore in a spin-off — and especially with a candidate like Wray readying a script." Current "Game of Thrones" showrunners D. B. Weiss and David Benioff would also be executive producers for whichever project is picked up by HBO. In 2018, Wray sold a feature film script based on the New York "Times" article "The Incarcerated Women Who Fight California's Wildfires" by Jamie Lowe, with Margot Robbie's Lucky Chap producing. She also began work on "You Know You Want This," an anthology series based on Kristen Roupenian's short stories, for HBO. Wray is currently Co-Executive Producer on Damon Lindelof's upcoming "Watchmen" adaptation. She lives with her husband in Los Angeles, California. Carly Wray
how many seasons of the bastard executioner are there	"Masters of Evil" debuted in "Avengers" #222 and were created by Jim Shooter, Steve Grant, and Greg LaRocque. The fourth version of the Masters of Evil debuted in "Avengers" #270 and were created by Roger Stern, John Buscema, and Tom Palmer. The fifth version of the Masters of Evil debuted in "Guardians of the Galaxy" #28 and were created by Jim Valentino, Herb Trimpe, and Steve Montano. The sixth version of the Masters of Evil debuted in "The Incredible Hulk" #449, written by Peter David and drawn by Mike Deodato, although they were actually created by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley. The seventh version of the Masters of Evil debuted in "Thunderbolts" #3 and were created by Kurt Busiek, Mark Bagley, and Vince Russell. The eighth version of the Masters of Evil debuted in "Secret Avengers" #21.1 and were created by Rick Remender, Patrick Zircher and Andy Troy. The ninth version of the Masters of Evil debuted in "Thunderbolts" #10 and were created by Jim Zub, Jon Malin, Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley. The original Masters of Evil (consisting of existing Marvel Comics supervillains Black Knight, Melter, and Radioactive Man) was gathered by former Nazi scientist Baron Heinrich Zemo. Despite attempting to capture the Avengers with Adhesive X and spreading it over the city, the Avengers find an antidote with the help of Paste-Pot Pete, give it to the Masters in secret (causing them to accidentally free people), and then send most of the members to jail. Zemo is tricked into opening a container filled with tear gas inside his helicopter, but escapes anyway. Baron Zemo leads the team in his revenge on Captain America and the Avengers. The team had been joined by the Enchantress and the Executioner, whom Zemo found in their exile to Earth that was imposed on them by Odin for attacking Thor. The Enchantress hypnotizes Thor into attacking the Avengers but Iron Man breaks him out of the trance. Meanwhile, Captain America has been lured to South America to fight Zemo. After defeating Zemo, Captain America returns on Zemo's helicopter and stops Zemo from shooting the Avenger. However the Enchantress casts a spell which gets the helicopter to the rooftop she and the Executioner are on. The Executioner knocks Captain America out by striking his shoulder, and takes him out of the helicopter, after which they all try to escape. The Masters are sent to another dimension in a Space Warp generated by Thor. Two issues later the Enchantress returns them to Earth using a spell. Simon Williams is given superhuman strength with an ionic ray, though he is told he will die in a week unless given an antidote Zemo has. He captures the Wasp and lures the Avengers into a trap, but sacrifices himself to save the Avengers. Immortus appears and offers to help the Masters by defeating the Avengers. He succeeds in sending Captain America to the Tower of London in 1760. The Masters attack the Avengers, but Captain America manages to return. The Enchantress, sensing defeat, sends the villains back in time to before they met Immortus. In a later issue, Zemo kidnaps Rick Jones with an attractor beam and has the Enchantress and Executioner release the Black Knight and Melter (the Radioactive Man having been deported back to China). They attack the other Avengers, forcing Captain America to go alone to Zemo's kingdom to rescue Rick. The Executioner tells the Avengers that a battle in the city would hurt many people, meaning they should surrender. Captain America blinds Zemo with his shield and Zemo dies when he accidentally triggers a rock slide. Black Knight and Melter are then captured after Thor transports them to another dimension with different scientific laws, meaning their weapons rebound. The Enchantress and Executioner escape by running away before the transportation happened. The second version, organized by the robot Ultron (under the Crimson Cowl alias), consisted of the second Black Knight (who joined with the intention of betrayal), Klaw, Melter, Radioactive Man and Whirlwind. This incarnation made one more appearance. Ultron used this incarnation to blackmail New York. Criminal scientist Egghead organized a third version, consisting of Moonstone, the original Scorpion, Tiger Shark and longtime member Whirlwind. After the team's defeat, Egghead kept only Moonstone and Tiger Shark; Scorpion and Whirlwind were replaced with the Beetle, Shocker, and veteran Radioactive Man. Egghead uses this incarnation to assist him in making technological breakthroughs. A fourth version was formed by Baron Helmut Zemo. This team uses over a dozen villains, consisting of Absorbing Man, Blackout, Black Mamba, Fixer, Goliath, Grey Gargoyle, Mister Hyde, Moonstone, Screaming Mimi, Tiger Shark, Titania, Whirlwind, the Wrecking Crew (Bulldozer, Piledriver, Thunderball and Wrecker), and Yellowjacket, created with the goal of overwhelming the Avengers with sheer raw power where others had attempted to match the current line-up. The villains storm Avengers Mansion in a multi-issue storyline titled "Avengers Under Siege". A flashback later revealed that Augustus Roman's family had died during the fight between the Avengers and the Masters of Evil. The sixth incarnation was again assembled by Baron Helmut Zemo, and posed as superheroes known as the Thunderbolts. In addition to Zemo, the team consisted of the Beetle, Fixer, Goliath, Moonstone, and Screaming Mimi. All eventually became heroes and renounced their criminal ways, though Zemo, Fixer, and Moonstone all returned to villainy some time later. Baron Helmut Zemo created an eleventh incarnation consisting of Whiplash, Man-Killer, Klaw, Tiger Shark, and the Wrecking Crew, all of whom had been members of previous incarnations of the Masters of Evil. Baron Zemo sent them out to persuade Atlas of the Thunderbolts, the former Goliath of Zemo's earlier incarnation of the Masters of Evil, to rejoin. Atlas resisted and only an unexpected reappearance of the Thunderbolt Jolt interrupted the Masters' plan. The Masters then went after Winter Soldier, who was then leading the Thunderbolts, and captured him. Zemo and the Masters then assaulted the Thunderbolts in their base, capturing several of them. During the "Opening Salvo" part of the "Secret Empire" storyline, Baron Zemo has Kobik send Bucky back through time to WWII and another battle with the Thunderbolts in which Man-Killer was apparently killed by Kobik. Upon Atlas, Fixer, and Moonstone joining the Masters of Evil, they worked to reassemble Kobik. As Erik Selvig hordes the fragments that he has, kisses them, and commits suicide, the Kobik-reprogrammed Captain America persuaded Baron Zemo to have the Masters of Evil join Hydra's "Army of Evil." Baron Zemo did just that and also made the Masters of Evil as part of the Army of Evil. The Masters of Evil assisted the Army of Evil in causing havoc in protest for what happened at Pleasant Hill. The fifth incarnation was organized by Doctor Octopus, but bore little resemblance to previous incarnations. Its roster included Absorbing Man, Gargantua, Jackhammer, Oddball, Powderkeg, Puff Adder, Shocker, Titania, and Yellowjacket. The Guardians of the Galaxy, a superhero group from an alternate timeline, defeated the villains. The seventh incarnation was recruited by Crimson Cowl (Justine Hammer). This version consisted first of the third Cyclone, Flying Tiger, Klaw, Man-Killer and Tiger Shark and later expanded to include Aqueduct, Bison, Blackwing, Boomerang, Cardinal, Constrictor, Dragonfly, the second Eel, Icemaster, Joystick, Lodestone, Man-Ape, Quicksand, Scorcher, , Shockwave, Slyde, , and . The eighth incarnation led by Crimson Cowl consisted of Black Mamba, Cardinal, Cyclone, Gypsy Moth, Hydro-Man, Machinesmith, and Man-Killer. Both versions of Crimson Cowl's Masters of Evil sought to master and control Earth's superhuman mercenaries. They even tried to get the Thunderbolts to join them. Max Fury of the Shadow Council forms a ninth incarnation of the Masters of Evil consisting of Princess Python, Vengeance, and Whiplash. They were discovered by the Secret Avengers during a mission run by Captain America and Hawkeye. Max Fury later recruits Black Talon, Brothers Grimm, Carrion, Constrictor, Crossfire, Diablo, Firebrand, Griffin, Killer Shrike, Lady Stilt-Man, Pink Pearl, and Squid to join the Shadow Council's Masters of Evil. Max Fury and the Masters of Evil capture John Steele after he attempts to escape Bagalia (a country that the Shadow Council established) with the Serpent Crown and the Crown of Thorns. In order for the Masters of Evil to obtain the Crown of Wolves for the Shadow Council, Max Fury hired Taskmaster to retrieve it. Taskmaster demands more money for the job and he hid in the Hole (a bar located in an underground city in Bagalia). Upon claiming the Crown of Wolves, Max Fury was unable to harness its power because he is a Life Model Decoy. When Taskmaster donned the Crown of Wolves, he was unable to control the powers of the Abyss. Under the control of the Abyss, the Masters of Evil and the other people in Bagalia make their move. The Secret Avengers fight to keep the people under control of the Abyss from leaving Bagalia and invading other countries to spread the possession to other people. While possessed by the Abyss, Taskmaster used its power to take control of the villains and have them board an airplane out of Bagalia to spread the campaign of the Abyss. While the others fight the possessed villains and other people, Venom uses his symbiote to break the Crowns and capture Taskmaster. When the second incarnation of the Secret Avengers raid Bagalia to free Taskmaster, they have to fight through the Masters of Evil. During this time, it is shown that a duplicate of Bi-Beast, Madcap, Ringer and a number of other supervillains have joined the Masters of Evil. The Masters of Evil are featured in "Avengers Undercover" as part of the second wave of comics that are part of the "Marvel NOW!" event. Following the death of Max Fury, Baron Helmut Zemo had been sworn in as the new leader of the Masters of Evil. He is shown to have Madame Masque as his right-hand woman, has Constrictor as his bodyguard, and Daimon Hellstrom is in their company as their magic expert. Anachronism, Cammi, Chase Stein, Death Locket, Hazmat, and Nico Minoru teleport to Bagalia in disguise and locate Cullen Bloodstone at the Hole (a Bagalian bar that is owned by Arcade). After a fight with the villains there, Cullen reveals that he has become a member of the Masters of Evil having been accepted by them. Constrictor and Madam Masque arrange for Cullen to teleport the group to a nearby swanky party at Massacrer Casino hosted by Arcade so that they can get revenge on him once and for all. Baron Zemo, Madame Masque, Constrictor and Daimon Hellstrom watch as the young heroes try to avoid being killed as Arcade has arranged the party at Massacrer Casino as the testing grounds for his newest version of "Murderworld": fancy parties at Casino where the rich and powerful can try and kill each other to prove their supremacy. After Arcade was killed, Baron Zemo, Madame Masque, Constructor, and Daimon Hellstrom begin plotting their next move regarding the heroes. After the young heroes are apprehended during a S.H.I.E.L.D. raid on Bagalia, Daimon Hellstrom later teleports the S.H.I.E.L.D. lair back to Bagalia where Baron Zemo offers the group a chance to join the Masters of Evil. Baron Zemo instructs Constrictor, Daimon Hellstrom, and Madame Masque to take a portion of the Murderworld survivors and take them into Bagalia City. While the other young heroes take up Baron Zemo's offer to join the Masters of Evil (with a plan to take the group down from within), Cammi is the only one to decline. Baron Zemo hears that she is the only one not joining and says that they will respect her choice. Cammi flies away only to be caught by Constrictor and brutally slammed into a rock wall. Bleeding and semi-conscious from the surprise attack, Cammi lays under Constrictor as he says "The man gave you a choice. You picked wrong." While the Shadow Council had their version, Lightmaster assembles a more traditional lineup (tenth incarnation) when he and his henchmen, the Wrecking Crew, run afoul of the Superior Spider-Man (Otto Octavius' mind in Spider-Man's body) and his Superior Six while attacking Alchemax and attempting to steal its technology during a plot to blackmail New York City for money. Besides the Wrecking Crew, this roster includes Absorbing Man, Titania, Mister Hyde, Whirlwind and the original Blackout. During the "Dark Reign" storyline, a young version of the team - controlled by criminal mastermind Norman Osborn debuts in the limited series "Dark Reign: Young Avengers". A group calling themselves the Bastards of Evil debuted in the 2010 "Heroic Age" storyline. All members claim to be the children of super-villains who were discarded and disavowed by their parents. They include Aftershock (the daughter of Electro), Warhead (the son of Radioactive Man), Mortar (the daughter of Grey Gargoyle), Singularity (the son of Graviton) and Ember (the son of Pyro). It was later revealed that the Bastards are led by a child genius known as Superior (who claims to be the son of the Leader). It was also revealed that the Bastards were actually normal teenagers who were mutated by exposure to radiation by Superior as well as given false memory implants. The surviving Bastards are held in The Raft after their capture. In the "Heroes Reborn" reality, the Masters of Evil consisted of Black Knight, Klaw, Melter, Radioactive Man, and Whirlwind After Klaw left the team, Crimson Dynamo and Titanium Man joined the Masters of Evil. Black Knight tries to gain an "audience" with Doctor Doom only for he, Crimson Dynamo, and Titanium Man to be killed by the Doombots. Whirlwind retires to start a new life. In "Marvel Adventures", the Masters of Evil appear and consists of Baron Helmut Zemo, Abomination, Leader, and Ultron. There is also a later team called the New Masters of Evil. The group consists of Egghead, Man-Bull, Melter, and Whirlwind. Masters of Evil The Masters of Evil is a name for a number of fictional supervillain teams appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first version of the team appeared in "The Avengers" #6 (July 1964), with the lineup continually changing over the years. The first version of the Masters of Evil debuted in "The Avengers" #6 and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The second version of the Masters of Evil debuted in "Avengers" #54 and were created by Roy Thomas, John Buscema, and George Tuska. The third version of
how many seasons of the bastard executioner are there	"Battle of the Bastards" Targaryen defeats the Masters in Meereen and begins making new alliances. "Battle of the Bastards" was praised as one of the series' best episodes, with several reviewers calling it a "masterpiece". Critics described the battle in the North as "terrifying, gripping and exhilarating" and Daenerys's reunion with her dragons at the beginning of the episode as "thrilling". Its eponymous battle took 25 days to film and required 500 extras, 600 crew members and 70 horses. In the United States, the episode had a viewership of 7.66 million in its initial broadcast. It earned "Game of Thrones" several Primetime Emmy Awards (including Outstanding Directing and Outstanding Writing); the episode was Kit Harington's choice to support his nomination for the Outstanding Supporting Actor. Sapochnik also won the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series for the episode. This episode marks the final appearance of Art Parkinson and Iwan Rheon. Daenerys Targaryen and Tyrion Lannister discuss dealing with the slaver fleet. Daenerys, Tyrion, Missandei and Grey Worm meet with the Masters, who offer to let Daenerys return to Westeros in return for keeping Missandei and the Unsullied and killing the dragons. She counters that the meeting was called to discuss the Masters' surrender and rides Drogon into the bay with Rhaegal and Viserion and burns the fleet. Missandei tells the Masters that Daenerys has ordered one of them to die as punishment for their crimes. Although they offer the lowborn Yezzan, Grey Worm kills the other two masters instead and Tyrion tells Yezzan to warn the other masters of Daenerys's power. Daario Naharis leads the Dothraki to slaughter the Sons of the Harpy, who are massacring freedmen outside the city. Daenerys and Tyrion meet with Theon and Yara Greyjoy, who offer Daenerys their fleet of ships in exchange for help in overthrowing Euron and recognizing Yara's claim to the Iron Islands. Daenerys agrees to assist them if the Ironborn will stop reaving the mainland; Yara reluctantly agrees. Jon Snow, Sansa Stark, Tormund Giantsbane and Davos Seaworth meet with Ramsay Bolton and his advisers before the battle. Ramsay offers to pardon Jon for breaking his Night's Watch vows if he hands Sansa over. Jon offers to settle their dispute with single combat; Ramsay refuses, saying that he may be unable to defeat Jon but the Bolton army can beat the Stark loyalists. When Smalljon Umber proves that Rickon Stark is captured by presenting Shaggydog's head, Sansa tells Ramsay that he will die the next day and rides off. Ramsay gloats that he has been starving his hounds in anticipation of feeding them Jon and his advisers. After Jon discusses the battle plan with Tormund and Davos, Sansa criticizes him for attacking without gathering more men and predicts that Ramsay will defeat them. Jon insists that the army is the largest one possible. When Jon asks Melisandre not to resurrect him if he dies in battle, she says that it is up to the Lord of Light. Davos and Tormund discuss their time serving Stannis and Mance and acknowledge that they may have served the wrong king all along. Davos discovers the pyre where Shireen and the wooden stag he carved for her were burned. The armies gather outside Winterfell the next morning. Ramsay brings Rickon out and has him run to Jon while firing arrows at him. Jon rushes to intercept Rickon but just before escaping, Rickon is killed by an arrow. Jon charges at Ramsay, who orders the Bolton archers to fire and his cavalry to charge; Davos orders the Stark force to shield Jon. The battle leaves hundreds of Bolton and Stark soldiers dead from hand-to-hand combat and from Bolton arrows, creating a wall of corpses. The Bolton infantry forms a circle around the Stark forces. Although the giant Wun Wun kills some Bolton soldiers, Tormund panics and sends the Wildlings towards the wall of bodies and Smalljon's forces, who easily cut them down. Jon is trampled by the Wildlings but struggles to his feet. The Stark forces appear doomed when a horn sounds in the distance as Petyr Baelish and Sansa arrive with the Knights of the Vale, whose cavalry sideswipe and easily smash the remainder of the Bolton army; Tormund kills Smalljon in the chaos. Ramsay retreats to Winterfell, followed by Jon, Wun Wun and Tormund. Wun Wun breaks down Winterfell's gates and the Stark loyalists overwhelm the remnants of the Bolton garrison. A mortally wounded Wun Wun is finished off by Ramsay, who tells Jon that he has reconsidered the offer of single combat. Jon blocks Ramsay's arrows with a shield, overpowers and begins to beat Ramsay to death, stopping when he sees Sansa and ordering him imprisoned, leaving Winterfell once more in the hands of House Stark. Bolton banners are torn down off the walls and battlements of Winterfell to be replaced by the Stark direwolf. Sansa visits Ramsay after he is placed in the kennels with his hounds and despite Ramsay's insistence that his hounds will not turn on him, Sansa calmly reminds him that they have been purposefully starved and, having correctly predicted they would turn on him, walks away smiling as they devour him face-first. "Battle of the Bastards" was written by the series' creators, David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. Elements of the episode are based on the sixth novel in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, "The Winds of Winter", which author George R. R. Martin hoped to complete before the sixth season aired. In an "Inside the Episode" segment published by HBO shortly after the episode aired, Benioff and Weiss said that the final battle was primarily inspired by the Battle of Cannae and the American Civil War. According to Weiss, "We went back to the Roman fight against the Carthaginians in the Battle of Cannae where the Romans got caught in an encirclement by Hannibal and just slaughtered to the man. We used that as our model". Benioff said, "The 'Battle of the Bastards' becomes incredibly compact. All these men, all these combatants, crammed into this incredibly tight space on the battlefield. You read accounts of the battles in the Civil War where the bodies were piled so thick it was actually an obstruction on the battlefield". Episode director Miguel Sapochnik said in an interview that the Battle of Agincourt was the original inspiration but the concept was adapted to fit budgetary constraints. Weiss said that they wanted to depict a full-fledged battle, "From the beginning we knew that one thing we'd never had on the show was a true medieval pitched battle where two sides bring all the forces they can into play in some battlefield that's somehow negotiated or agreed upon and they go at each other until one of them wins and the other one loses. This is a staple of human history, and we started to look through film samples of it. There really wasn't one that both made you feel what it was like to be there on the ground and gave you a sense of the geography of the battle." According to Benioff, they also wanted to demonstrate the role luck plays in battle, "Just to feel the kind of randomness of it where there's arrows falling from everywhere, people are getting killed, people are getting trampled by horses, and so much of it is just luck. Jon Snow is a very skilled combatant, but part of the reason he survives this battle is just he gets lucky". In the "Inside the Episode" featurette Benioff said about Daenerys Targaryen's transformation during the series, "I think Dany's been becoming a Targaryen ever since the beginning of Season 1". According to Weiss, "She's not her father and she's not insane and she's not a sadist, but there's a Targaryen ruthlessness that comes with even the good Targaryens". Benioff concluded, "If you're one of the lords of Westeros or one of her potential opponents in the wars to come and you get word of what happened here in Meereen, you have to be pretty nervous because this is an unprecedented threat. You've got a woman who has somehow formed an alliance where she has a Dothraki horde, a legion of Unsullied, she's got the mercenary army of the Second Sons, and she has three dragons who are now pretty close to full grown. So if she can make it all the way across the Narrow Sea and get to Westeros, who's going to stand in her way?" "Battle of the Bastards" was the final episode for actor Iwan Rheon, who had played Ramsay Bolton since "Game of Thrones" third season. His first appearance was in "Dark Wings, Dark Words", as a then-unnamed "boy" who helps a captured Theon Greyjoy. Before he was cast as Ramsay, Rheon auditioned for the role of Jon Snow. In an interview, he described learning about his character's fate: "I had received half the scripts, five episodes, then I got the call. They joked, 'Isn't it great Ramsay ends up on the Iron Throne?' As soon as they said that I said, 'He's dead, isn't he?' It's cool. I've had four lovely seasons here. It's been great to be involved with such an amazing show. I think it's kind of right he goes down. Because what else is he going to do after this? He's done so many things. It's justified and it's the right thing to do. It's the right path. He's reached his peak. It's nice for the audience that he goes out on this high, if you will." In that interview, Kit Harington talked about Rheon: "I love Iwan's work. He's an incredibly detailed actor who's created a character who's remarkable and despicable." "Battle of the Bastards" was also the last episode for recurring character Rickon Stark (Art Parkinson), who had appeared since the series premiere episode "Winter Is Coming". In an IGN interview, Parkinson said that he was tipped off about his character's death: "Whenever I was told that I was coming back for Season 6, before they sent me through the scripts and stuff, they sent me through a ring just to say, 'Listen, so that you don't get a shock whenever you read the scripts, just know that you die this season. He continued, "Whenever I came back, I was excited to come back, and the scenes all seemed pretty amazing. I was so happy to re-embrace the character." According to Parkinson, he was sorry that Rickon would die but his manner of death was a compensation: "It was a cool death, and it was always going to be a good death, so at the same time, I was pretty happy." Another character departure was Smalljon Umber, played by Dean S. Jagger. In an interview, Jagger talked about his casting: "I prayed for it. When I heard I got the part my knees buckled. It was a life-changing moment." Before becoming a professional actor, Jagger dug trenches and worked at a mattress factory to pay his way through acting school and was a professional rollerblader. Ian Whyte also made his last appearance in "Battle of the Bastards" as the giant, Wun Wun; he had played Gregor Clegane during the show's second season. Special-effects supervisor Joe Bauer said about Whyte's casting as Wun Wun, "We wanted a large performer because somebody who would be 14, 15 feet tall would have more weight and mass to move around, and a person who's a normal size would have a very difficult time pulling that off". "Battle of the Bastards" was directed by Miguel Sapochnik, who had directed the fifth-season episodes "The Gift" and "Hardhome". In an "Entertainment Weekly" interview before the episode aired, Sapochnik said he was brought on board by Benioff and Weiss after his previous-season success; "Hardhome" won several awards, including Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. About how the episode should be shot, he said: "Every battle on "Thrones" is unique. I think that's why Benioff and Weiss keep doing them. In the case of 'Battle of the Bastards' – or 'BOB' as we affectionately called it in production – David and Dan wanted to do a thing of spectacle, a strategic pitchfield battle they hadn't had the resources to do back in season 1 or 2. I was particularly interested in depicting both the horror of war and the role of luck in battle." Benioff called Sapochnik's work on the episode some of the best in the series' history. It took 25 days to film, requiring 500 extras, 600 crew members and 70 horses. Benioff described the difficulty of coordinating horses in battle scenes, which is why they are rarely used except in "big budget war films". Weiss added, "Miguel's really outdone himself. Fully fleshed out medieval battles require a tremendous amount of resources and choreography to get them right. It feels like we're doing something fresh that you don't see on TV and movies very often." Four camera crews were used for the battle scene. The 500 extras were largely the Snow and Bolton armies as Wildlings, archers, swordsmen and spearmen. Each army was trained separately to create off-screen rivalry between the two groups, and visual effects were used to expand the army to thousands. Kristofer Hivju, who plays Tormund Giantsbane, said about the intensity of filming the scenes: "It was pretty intense, actually. When you have 20 people running around getting squeezed together, and you're trying to chop at another bearded guy with a sword, you are not out of danger. You're laying down in the mud, and one wrong step, you won't have a face anymore. It was very intense, and Miguel insisted on making it that muddy and messy. War is not beautiful. Sometimes you see action sequences where battles seem organized. I know that from how the Vikings fought. It's not beautiful. It's hard. It's hard work. We had to shoot moment-to-moment, chronologically. We would shoot one sequence 80 times per day." In an interview after the episode aired, Sapochnik detailed the process of filming the battle and called Akira Kurosawa's "Ran" an inspiration in shooting the scenes: "I watched every pitch field battle I could find (footage of real ones too), looking for patterns — for what works, what doesn't, what takes you out of the moment, what keeps you locked in. Interestingly one of the things I noticed is that staging of these battles through the years has changed dramatically. Back in the day you'd see these huge aerial shots of horse charges and there were two big differences. First, it was all real — no CGI or digital replication. And second, often when the horses would go down, you can kind of tell they got really hurt. Nowadays you'd never get away with that, and nor would you want to." Asked about the greatest challenge in filming the battle, Sapochnik said: "Every time we charge the horses it takes 25 minutes to reset all the fake snow on the field and rub out the horseshoe prints. So how many times can we afford to charge the horses each day knowing we need to give time for a reset that's 10 times longer than the actual shot? Another thing was how to make 500 extras look like 8,000 when you are shooting in a field where there's just nowhere to hide your shortfall. It becomes a bit like a bonkers math equation. And finally: How do you get these guys riled up enough to run at each other and get covered in mud and stand in the rain and then run at each other again and again for 25 days, 10 hours a day, without them just telling you to piss off?" In an interview, he said that the single most difficult thing he was asked to depict was "having 3,000 horses running at each other, especially after we discovered that horses cannot touch each other. It’s illegal — it’s a very valid rule about protecting the horses. So the very thing we were trying to do was not allowed. And we only had 70 horses ... [The solution was] you would have one guy run into the frame, and then the horse rider would pull the horse, which means make the horse fall and lie down on its side. Later we would digitally superimpose another C.G.I. horse and make it seem like it had impacted the live one." According to the director, the scene was filmed on privately owned land in Saintfield, Northern Ireland, and they had only 12 days to shoot. After reading the script Sapochnik came up with a 48-day shooting schedule, which was whittled down to 25 days. The CGI of Ghost, Jon Snow's direwolf, in the episode presented difficulties; he was "in there in spades originally, but it's also an incredibly time consuming and expensive character to bring to life. Ultimately we had to choose between Wun Wun and the direwolf, so the dog bit the dust." Sapochnik said that a crucial scene was filmed off-script. After three days of rain, unable to finish filming as scripted, he suggested a scene in which Jon Snow was trampled and nearly buried alive by bodies; the director described the character pushing his way out as "rebirthing." In an interview about the "rebirthing" scene, Kit Harington said that it intended to mirror the Daenerys Targaryen scene at the end of the third-season episode "Mhysa" when Daenerys is held up by freed Yunkai slaves; in "Battle of the Bastards", Jon Snow emerges from the crushing crowd of the battle: "When the crush starts happening, he slows down, and there's that thing of peace where he thinks: 'I could just stay here and let it all end.' And then something drives him to fight up, and that moment when he comes up and grasps for breath, he is reborn again, which I found weirdly reflective of the scene where Dany is held aloft at the end of season three." "Battle of the Bastards" was the first episode in which Kit Harington and Iwan Rheon filmed scenes together and met on-screen. Rheon said that he had always wanted to film scenes with Jon Snow: "Anyone who has asked me, 'Who would you like Ramsay to meet?' My answer has always been, 'Jon Snow.' He's the antithesis of Ramsay. They're almost a yin and a yang. They both come from such a similar place yet they're so different. And even though they're enemies, they've both risen so far as bastards, which is almost incomprehensible, and now they're both here facing each other. They couldn't be any more different, yet more similar." In an interview, Harington talked about the fight scene with Rheon: "I actually did punch Iwan in the face twice by accident, which he took really well. He was really nice about it." According to Rheon, "The way I see it, if you don't get hit a couple of times doing that, you're not doing it properly." For the Daenerys scene at the beginning of the episode where the three dragons burn part of the Masters' fleet, Sapochnik credited VFX supervisor Joe Bauer and producer Steve Kullback for post-production work: "For this sequence David and Dan said that what they wanted to see was a 'demonstration' of what's to come. So I tried to approach it in the most elegant, epic, big-movie way I could." The director tried to design the shots with relative realism, inspired by footage of World War II Supermarine Spitfires in action. He based the dragon shots on wildlife footage, allowing them to break the frame: "These things should be so big and fast it's hard to keep up with them." To insert Emilia Clarke (as Daenerys Targaryen) into the scene, she rode a "multi-directional, computer-controlled hydraulic gimbal device shaped like the upper shoulders of the dragon"; Clarke was filmed separately in Belfast, Northern Ireland. "Battle of the Bastards" featured the first meeting of Daenerys Targaryen and Yara and Theon Greyjoy, and Yara's first meeting with Tyrion Lannister. Gemma Whelan, who plays Yara, talked about filming the scene: "Oh my goodness – I was so excited when I saw that I had a scene with those two [Daenerys and Tyrion]." About the dynamic between the two women, Whelan said: "It's clear as the scene plays out that Yara quite likes Dany. We share a lot of little looks and there's some playful language in how we talk to one another – Dany asks if the Iron Islands ever had a queen, and Yara says, 'No more than Westeros.' They recognize the girl-power undertow between the two of them." "Battle of the Bastards" was watched by 7.66 million American households in its initial telecast on HBO, slightly more than the previous week's rating (7.60 million viewers) for "No One". The episode competed with game seven of the 2016 NBA Finals. It had a 3.9 rating in the 18–49 demographic, the highest-rated show on cable television that night. In the United Kingdom, the episode was seen by 2.450 million viewers on Sky Atlantic (the channel's highest-rated broadcast that week) and had 0.118 million timeshift viewers. "Battle of the Bastards" was praised as one of the series' best episodes by critics and viewers, with Matt Fowler of IGN calling it a "masterpiece." Critics cited the size and scope of the battle in the North and Daenerys's scene with her dragons at the beginning of the episode. It has a 98% rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes from 50 reviews, with an average score of 9.2 out of 10. According to the site consensus, "'Battle of the Bastards' delivered one of the greatest battle sequences in the show's history, and some savagely satisfying vengeance as well." IGN's Matt Fowler wrote in his review, "At this point, it seems like the pattern when it comes to the ninth episode of a given season of "Game of Thrones" is tragic death, amazing battle, tragic death, amazing battle, and so on. And this being Season 6, it was time to land on a phenomenal clash of swords and shields - and 'Battle of the Bastards' certainly delivered." He continued, ""Game of Thrones" did not disappoint when it came to this season's great northern battle, as Jon and Sansa's differences were spectacularly highlighted in a savagely strong war chapter that saw House Stark overcome huge odds to reclaim their home. Plus, Daenerys got to soar, as her dragons quickly stopped a violent siege with fury and fire." Fowler gave the episode a top score of 10. Jeremy Egner of "The New York Times" also praised the episode: "As directed by Miguel Sapochnik, who also oversaw last season's terrific 'Hardhome' episode, the lengthy sequence was terrifying, gripping and exhilarating, sometimes all at once, a sweeping display of all the different ways one can die on the battlefield." Egner called Ramsay's death an episode highlight ("Ramsay Bolton's demise was arguably the most eagerly anticipated death ever on "Game of Thrones" and the show handled it with flair, dispatching him in a poetic, canine-fueled fashion that was no less satisfying for being telegraphed early on"), and concluded about Daenerys's scene: "Daenerys Stormborn had a few words for the slave masters who launched their attack last week. Those words included 'surrender or die' and 'thanks for the ships', as we saw another thrilling action sequence that I believe reunited the dragon triplets for the first time since they were quite young." Myles McNutt of "The A.V. Club" wrote in his review, "This battle works as a climactic moment for "Game of Thrones" as a cultural event, selling us on the scale and ambition of the producers and their production teams, all who should be commended for the accomplishments from a technical perspective." According to James Hibberd of "Entertainment Weekly", "Was this the show's best episode? It's hard to immediately process that question. Maybe? Probably. It's almost certainly the most exciting hour and had the most jaw-dropping battle sequence we've seen yet on TV." Ed Power of "The Daily Telegraph" discussed the episode's refreshing strong-women theme: ""Game of Thrones" has been justly criticised for employing young actresses as wobbly-wobbly window dressing and, though the toplessness has been dialed back this season, it's still very much a calling card. However there are reasons for suspecting that the series is attempting to make amends – by arguing that Westeros would be far better off with women in charge. Even as Sansa was turning the tide at Winterfell, in Meereen, Daenerys and Yara Greyjoy were striking up a lady bromance – and seemingly rock-solid alliance – for the ages." Laura Prudom of "Variety" agreed: "After seasons of criticism over the show's misogyny (sometimes earned, sometimes not), it's thrilling to see an episode like 'Battle of the Bastards', where women like Dany, Sansa and Yara — and emasculated men (either figuratively or literally) like Tyrion and Theon — break the gears of war and the familiar patterns of violence by attempting to 'leave the world better than we found it', despite the examples set by the evil white cisgendered men who came before them." According to Sarah Larson of "The New Yorker", "Sansa watches calmly, then smiles. You've come a long way, baby. Or she's become a monster, and so have I. The women of Westeros are on the warpath." The episode received a record six Primetime Emmy Awards, including awards for writing and direction. "Battle of the Bastards" has been nominated for 32 awards and has won 19. Battle of the Bastards "Battle of the Bastards" is the ninth and penultimate episode of the sixth season of HBO's fantasy television series "Game of Thrones" and its 59th episode overall. It was written by series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by Miguel
how many seasons of the bastard executioner are there	"Richard Brake" The Academy of the Science of Acting and Directing, Sam Kogan. He also studied acting in New York City at the Michael Chekhov Studio under Beatrice Straight. In 1993, he made his screen acting debut as a reporter on an episode of the British comedy series "Jeeves and Wooster". In 1994, Brake and actress Rachel Weisz both made their film debuts in the science-fiction horror film "Death Machine", which starred Brad Dourif. Following supporting roles in a few low-budget films, Brake did not appear in a single film until six years later when he landed his first role by a major film distributor in Anthony Minghella's civil war film "Cold Mountain". Brake played the leader of a group of Union foragers who attempts to rape the young widow Sara, played by Natalie Portman. The film was released on Christmas Day 2003 and was a critical and commercial success, receiving seven Academy Award nominations. In 2005, Brake finally achieved recognition from mainstream audiences in Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins", where he plays Joe Chill, the man responsible for murdering the parents of Bruce Wayne. The film was released on June 15, 2005 to critical acclaim and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, losing to "Memoirs of a Geisha". Brake appeared as the warped and perverted space Marine Dean Portman in "Doom", with Karl Urban and Dwayne Johnson. He appeared as a hostile American man in Steven Spielberg's "Munich", a cinematic retelling of the Munich massacre in the midst of the 1972 Summer Olympics. The film received positive reviews and was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, losing to "Crash". In 2006, Brake made a cameo appearance in the music video for Muse's "Knights of Cydonia", playing a villainous sheriff in a strange futuristic western. Brake played released convict Bobby DeWitt in Brian De Palma's "The Black Dahlia", a fictional account of the murder of actress Elizabeth Short. Despite being a critical and commercial failure, the film received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, losing to "Pan's Labyrinth". In 2007, he had a supporting role in "Hannibal Rising", which was based on the 2006 novel of the same name by Thomas Harris. He played Enrikas Dortlich, one of the war criminals who murders Mischa Lecter, the younger sister of psychiatrist-turned-cannibalistic killer Hannibal Lecter. In 2008, he played ex-Marine Prior in the horror film "Outpost". In 2009, following a guest appearance on the crime drama "Cold Case" and a supporting role as the titular character in "Perkins' 14", he appeared in Rob Zombie's "Halloween II", the sequel to his remake of "Halloween". He plays Gary Scott, a sleazy and perverted coroner who is brutally decapitated by Michael Myers following a car crash that kills his co-worker. Brake garnered the role based on a personal recommendation to Zombie from actor Sid Haig. Brake made a cameo in the thriller "Cuckoo", which premiered at the Cambridge Film Festival on September 25, 2009. In 2010, he co-starred with Idris Elba in the psychological thriller "Legacy", which premiered at the Glasgow Film Festival on February 28, 2010. In 2011, he co-starred with Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson in the romantic drama "Water for Elephants", which was based on Sara Gruen's 2006 novel of the same name. The film was released on April 22, 2011 to positive reviews. Brake played Harry Green in the horror film "The Incident", where he doesn't have any spoken dialogue throughout the film. The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2011, where it was nominated for the Midnight Madness Award. In 2013, he had supporting roles in the action thriller "The Numbers Station" starring John Cusack and Malin Åkerman, and Ridley Scott's crime thriller "The Counselor", starring Michael Fassbender and Penélope Cruz. Brake made a cameo in the superhero film "", the sequel to "Thor". The film became the biggest commercial success for Brake's career, earning $644.6 million dollars at the box office worldwide. Brake had a recurring role as mobster Terry Mandel on Frank Darabont's neo-noir crime drama "Mob City". In 2014, he made guest appearances on the crime drama "Crossing Lines" and the action thriller series "", both roles he played were international criminals wanted for murder. From 2014 to 2015, Brake portrayed the Night King on the HBO fantasy series "Game of Thrones", appearing in the show's fourth and fifth seasons, most notably in the fifth season episode "Hardhome", which received seven Emmy nominations. Brake co-starred with Colin Firth and Samuel L. Jackson in the action comedy "", where he plays an unnamed man who interrogates Taron Egerton's character as part of his training to become a spy for the intelligence agency Kingsman. He made a cameo as a bar patron in the semi-biographical drama "Set Fire to the Stars", which premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on June 23, 2014. In 2015, he appeared on the FX historical fiction drama "The Bastard Executioner" as Baron Edwin Pryce. Due to scheduling conflicts with "The Bastard Executioner", Brake was unable to reprise as The Night King for the sixth season of "Game of Thrones" and was replaced by Vladimir Furdik, one of the shows main stunt performers. Brake guest-starred on an episode of "Grimm" as a hunter with a penchant for severing a foot from his victims. He co-starred with Melissa McCarthy and Jason Statham in the action comedy "Spy", where he played a Chechen terrorist in pursuit of a nuclear weapon. The film was universally praised and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. Throughout 2016, Brake made guest appearances on several award-winning television shows such as "Hawaii Five-0" and "Peaky Blinders". He also had a recurring role as Russian mobster Vlad on the Showtime series "Ray Donovan". In 2016, he starred as the main antagonist Doom-Head in Rob Zombie's slasher horror film "31". The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2016. Despite mixed reviews from critics, Brake received enormous praise for his performance and was nominated for the Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Supporting Actor, losing to Stephen Lang for "Don't Breathe". In 2017, Brake appeared as Medved in "Bitter Harvest" and as Tarasov in "The Death of Stalin", both films focused on Soviet revolutionary and dictator Joseph Stalin. While the former was panned by critics, the latter received widespread praise. Brake had a recurring role on the crime thriller series "Absentia" as Conrad Harlow, a wealthy banker who is released from prison after the FBI agent who was hunting him down for the murders of several women is found alive. In 2018, he landed his first lead role as tattoo artist Bob Reid in the psychological horror-thriller "Perfect Skin", which premiered at Frightfest London on August 25, 2018. Brake's performance was critically acclaimed and regarded as the best of his career. Brake co-starred with Nicolas Cage and Andrea Riseborough in the horror film "Mandy", which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2018. Brake appeared as Rex in the western film "The Sisters Brothers", which starred John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix as the titular characters. The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2018, where Jacques Audiard won the Silver Lion for Best Director. He is to star with Blake Lively and Sterling K. Brown in the thriller film "The Rhythm Section", which will be released on February 22, 2019. Brake and his ex-wife Rachel have two sons; Ryan (born 1999) and Henry (born August 20, 2002). After meeting actor Eddie Marsan at the Academy of the Science of Acting and Directing, the two became close friends. He is the godfather of Marsan's children. Richard Brake Richard Colin
how many seasons of the bastard executioner are there	"Judge, Jury, Executioner" Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus)'s gun and harass a walker, which will ultimately initiate grave consequences for the group. "Judge, Jury, Executioner" was directed by Greg Nicotero and written by Angela Kang. It explores themes of declining morality and humanity during a catastrophic event. The episode features the death of Dale, who was severely injured during an attack by a walker. It also marks changes in the character development of Carl, who evolves into a desensitized character who loses his naivete to the world around him. "Judge, Jury, Executioner" features recurring appearances from several actors and actresses including Lauren Cohan (Maggie Greene), Emily Kinney (Beth Greene), Scott Wilson (Hershel Greene), Michael Zegen (Randall Culver) and IronE Singleton (T-Dog). Commentators praised the episode, citing its character development and concluding scene as episode highlights. Upon airing, "Judge, Jury, Executioner" attained 6.771 million viewers and a 3.5 rating in the 18-49 demographic, according to Nielsen ratings. It became the highest-rated cable telecast of the day, as well as the highest-rated cable program of the week. This episode marks the final appearance of Jeffrey DeMunn (Dale Horvath). Daryl (Norman Reedus) beats and interrogates Randall (Michael Zegen) in the barn. Randall admits he comes from a larger group of men, who had once found and raped two girls in front of their father. The group agrees that Randall is an imminent threat, and Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) believes he should be executed but waits until sunset. Dale (Jeffrey DeMunn) finds most of the group agree with Rick's decision, and attempts to change their minds by appealing to their humanity, civilization and morality. Most agree with Rick's choice for various reasons, but Shane (Jon Bernthal) agrees to support Dale should he be able to convince the others to change their minds. As the day progresses, Rick's son Carl (Chandler Riggs) becomes restless and sneaks into the barn to observe Randall; Randall tries to convince Carl to release him. Shane discovers Carl's presence and scolds him. Outside, Carol (Melissa McBride) attempts to cheer Carl up by reminding him Sophia is in heaven, but he lashes out at her, disgusted seeing Carol calm about losing her daughter. Carl ends up taking a gun from Daryl's stash and heading into the nearby swamp alone. He finds a walker half-stuck in mud, and taunts it by throwing rocks at it and then moves in close to shoot it in the head. The walker suddenly frees one of its legs and lurches forward; Carl panics and drops the gun before running back to camp, not telling anyone what happened. Meanwhile, Beth (Emily Kinney) has since recovered from her earlier suicide attempt. When Glenn (Steven Yeun) comes to check on her condition, Hershel (Scott Wilson) gives him a family heirloom representing his approval of Glenn's relationship with his daughter Maggie (Lauren Cohan). At sunset, the group discusses Randall's fate, and Dale's arguments have failed to sway the group, and he storms out. Rick, Shane, and Daryl return to the barn and Rick prepares to shoot Randall when Carl runs in and urges his father to do it. Rick is horrified and stops the execution, much to Shane's annoyance. Dale walks alone in the fields to cool off when he comes across a cow that has had its stomach gutted. Realizing the danger, he is about to head back when a walker attacks him. The group races towards his screams, and Daryl quickly dispatches the walker; Carl realizes it is the walker he found in the swamp. Hershel finds Dale's injures are too severe and he will not survive. The group agrees to euthanize Dale, but Rick himself cannot take the shot. Daryl takes the revolver and ends Dale's suffering. "Judge, Jury, Executioner" was directed by Greg Nicotero and written by Angela Kang. The episode became Nicotero's first directing credit for a full-length television episode of the series; he had previously conceived and directed the six-part web series "". As part of a promotional campaign, cast member Norman Reedus participated in a live chat on "Entertainment Weekly" coinciding with the airing of "Judge, Jury, Executioner". This episode addresses the death of Dale Horvath, who is attacked and ripped open by a walker. Jeffrey DeMunn was "furious" about the firing of longtime friend Frank Darabont, who developed and previously acted as showrunner for the series, and asked to be let go from the show. In a 2018 interview with "The Plain Dealer", DeMunn said, "I spent a week not being able to take a full breath. And then I realized, 'Oh, I can quit.' So I called them and said, 'It's a zombie show. Kill me. I don't want to do this anymore.' It was an immense relief to me." Since writer Robert Kirkman felt that Dale epitomized a character of morality and humanity, much of "Judge, Jury, Executioner" explores themes related to the declining morality of individuals during a catastrophic event. Kirkman proclaimed that Dale's death was a momentous occasion, ultimately marking a turning point for future development of "The Walking Dead". "Dale's character has been the heart and soul of the show," he iterated. "He's definitely the moral compass. He’s the guy that, more so than anyone, has been warning people to be careful how you let this world change you and monitoring what lengths people are going to survive. His loss is going to mean a great deal for all the characters in the show and is definitely going to represent a turn to a darker space. His death means a lot." Kirkman added that it was difficult to release DeMunn from the cast. He stated: "It’s heartbreaking to lose Jeffrey DeMunn. He's really given us a lot, these last two seasons on the show. It's been amazing to work with him and get to know him and he’s an awesome dude and we’re definitely going to miss him." In contrast to his role in the television series, Dale's comic book counterpart is among the longest surviving characters in the series, and he enters into a sexual relationship with Andrea. Kirkman asserted that it was necessary for writers to distance the development of Dale's television character from that in the comic: "I have talked many times how much I like the difference between the comics and the show. There are going to be big plot lines that we may not necessarily get to, like the romance between Dale and Andrea. If you think you really want to read that story line, that's available in the comics, and I highly recommend you pick those up. The show is always going to be a different animal and the decision to kill Dale off was a big one and it wasn't one that was made lightly." As a visibly distraught Rick hesitates to shoot Dale, Daryl takes the gun and inevitably shoots Dale in the head. Lesley Goldberg of "The Hollywood Reporter" suggested that producers were subtly building up prior to the moment. Kirkman felt this marked Daryl's place in the group and was closure for the deceased Sophia Peletier, whose death caused Daryl to pull away from interacting with the group. Kirkman iterated that such actions were the testaments of his "putting everything on the line and opening himself up in a way he had never done before because his childhood was so messed up."; "So when he found out she was dead and in the barn all the time, that's why he retreated and separated himself from the group. It was because he allowed himself to care and it just backfired on him in a big way. He didn't want to be a part of the group and have those emotions and care about these people. So he's been distancing himself from them up until this point, and now he's seeing that these people need him and that he can fill a role and in being that harsh distant guy, you can do the things that no one else wants to do. He wants to step in and take that burden away from Rick for a moment. Rick is the one who stepped up and shot Sophia. Daryl saw that and because of his pain over the loss of Sophia he couldn't do that. But when he sees Rick hesitate to do the same thing with Dale he knows: this is my moment, this is where I can prove my worth, and he steps in and does what he needs to do." In "Judge, Jury, Executioner", Carl evolves into a desensitized character and ultimately relinquishes his naïveté to the world around him. Although "Entertainment Weekly" writer Clark Collis drew parallels to a serial killer, Kirkman suggested this was an initiative to give more screen time to the character. He avouched that Carl was "one of the most fun characters to tell stories about in this world." He continued: "It's true of the comic and it's true of the show. Over time, we’re going to start to see more and more of this kid. What's awesome about that is, think about what it would be like to grow up in this world. It's one thing to have everything you know taken away from you and have to deal with this s—y world you now have to live in. But to have barely even really recognized what the world is and how it works and what to expect and then to be thrust into this apocalyptic threat and to grow up and mature with these kinds of situations. It's going to make him grow up weird, is what I like to say." "Judge, Jury, Executioner" was originally broadcast on March 4, 2012 in the United States on AMC. Upon airing, the episode garnered 6.771 million viewers and a 3.5 rating in the 18-49 demographic, according to Nielsen ratings. This indicates that 3.5% of people from the demographic viewed the episode. It became the highest-rated cable telecast of the day, attaining significantly higher ratings than that of "Storage Wars" on A&E Television and "Real Housewives of Atlanta" on Bravo. Similarly, the episode outperformed all cable television programs during the week dated March 4. Total viewership and ratings declined moderately from the previous installment, "18 Miles Out", which obtained 7.04 million viewers and a 3.8 rating in the 18-49 demographic. "Judge, Jury, Executioner" was lauded by television critics. Mark A. Perigard of the "Boston Herald" called it an "incredible episode"; ""Walking Dead" again proves it is one of the best dramas on TV and almost makes me feel good about paying my cable bill." Writing for the "San Antonio Express-News", Rene Guzman opined that it "delivers all that messy drama in spades with a true gut-wrenching end to one of the series’ core characters". Wetpaint's Molly Friedman stated that in "Judge, Jury, Executioner", the audience "finally had a reason to shed some tears and remember just how much we care about the original gang of apocalyptic misfits". Kevin Yeoman of "The Christian Science Monitor" and E! Online journalist Tierney Bricker concluded that the episode managed to effectively surprise the audience, while Cyriaque Lamar of io9 declared that "Judge, Jury, Executioner" was inferior to its predecessor by writing that it "served up a bunch of quasi-entertaining scenes of people arguing and capped them off with one of the most accidentally funny closers ever committed to basic cable". In his B+ review, Zack Handlen of "The A.V. Club" said that the episode continued the series' path of a more focused and central direction. Josh Jackson of "Paste" was intrigued with the series' exploration of morality during an apocalyptic event in "Judge, Jury, Executioner". Eric Goldman of IGN was much more pessimistic about the episode than the general consensus. In his 6.5 out of 10 rating review, he called it "especially dull" when compared to the previous installment. Dale's death was adulated by commentators, who affirmed that it was a gruesome and emotional scene. Scott Meslow of "The Atlantic" suggested that because of his death, "The Walking Dead" embraced a more dark and sinister philosophy. He asserted, "Taken broadly, his death marks the death of a certain morality on the show, and the embrace of a philosophy that's something crueler and darker. Dale, unlike any of the other survivors, maintained his humanity to the very end of his waking life—but even he couldn't choose not to come back as something amoral and inhuman. In a world that seems utterly incapable of getting better, it's a none-too-reassuring sign that things will almost certainly get worse." Gina McIntyre of "Los Angeles Times" echoed synonymous thoughts: "It's left to Daryl to shoot the man to end his suffering, which is profoundly too bad. Without Dale to raise all those nagging concerns about doing what's right, zombie apocalypse or no zombie apocalypse, I fear for the future of this walker-infested world." Handlen and "Calgary Herald" Kimberly Potts thought that it was among the shocking moments in the series, while Friedman expressed that she was "riveted by the awesome attack [...] and filled with sadness, as the original gang watched their friend die a slow and painful death". Handlen remarked: "It’s a shocking scene, partially for its straight-forward gore, and partially for the astonished, uncomprehending expression on Dale’s face. [...] This, right here, is the kind of sequence the show needs. There’s too little sense of danger right now." Verne Gay of "Newsday" described the sequence as "violent", and ultimately summated that DeMunn's absence will be felt as the show progresses. However, Lamar professed that the writers should have written off Dale in a more respectable way; "That wasn't the way to off the show's most annoyingly sane character. Dale's redeeming quality was his ability to guilt everybody into paying lip service to rule of law; his weakness was his naïveté. Having an escaping Randall kill him would've offered some poetic symmetry. I'm not going to miss this character, but he deserved a better send-off." "Time" journalist Nate Rawlings drew allusions from Dale's attack to the episode title, commenting that "when the lone zombie we see in this episode tears open Dale’s stomach, spilling the contents of his body onto the cold ground, we’re reminded that the walkers are the judges, they’re the jury, and this particular one was a most brutal executioner." Although he was shocked by the sequence, Goldman assailed the earlier development of Dale in the episode, opining that he was obnoxious. Handlen felt that the character development of Carl Grimes was more stable than similar developments in the episode; "Using Carl to both resolve the episode’s plot, and making him semi-responsible for Dale’s death, has a satisfying neatness, and serves as a reminder that for all their talk, Rick and the group have no idea what impact their choices will make." Likewise, Jackson and Ryan Rigley of MTV noticed the darker transition of the character; "Carl's moral compass has greatly shifted since being shot and seeing the walking corpse of his friend, Sophia," asserted Rigley. Jackson concluded that it was one of the episode highlights, writing, "He awakened from his coma talking about the beautiful doe, but ever since the dead body of Sophia limped its way out of that barn door, he's become colder and harder. When Carol sees him at Sophia’s gravesite, she tries to comfort him with talk of heaven, and he calls her an idiot. He's looking to emulate the men leading the group—the different kinds of toughness displayed by his father, Shane and Daryl. And he finds the chance to test his own bravery, playing near a zombie stuck in the mud by the creek, keeping the discovery to himself." Jackson commented on Carl's reaction to the death of Dale, saying that despite a gradual change to a dark nature, he "realizes [...] that he's still very much a kid". Judge, Jury, Executioner "Judge, Jury, Executioner" is the eleventh episode of the second season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series "The Walking Dead". It originally aired on AMC in the United States on March 4, 2012. In this episode, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his group opt to execute Randall (Michael Zegen), much to the frustration of Dale Horvath (Jeffrey DeMunn). Dale fears that the group
how many seasons of the bastard executioner are there	"Colonial American bastardy laws" by England. Although the laws differed initially in their creation and enforcement, by late eighteenth century, the New England colonies and the colony of Pennsylvania had altered their laws pertaining to bastardy to be mirror images of the laws in effect in England. A bastard is defined as a "(child) born out of wedlock or of adultery, illegitimate." In other words, a bastard is any child that is born from the result of a sexual encounter between a man and a woman who are not married. However, bastards may also be born to a couple that involved a married man or woman and an unmarried man or woman. In these cases, people had committed adultery. In the eyes of the law, any child conceived by a couple that was not legally married was a bastard child. Bastard children were also known as illegitimate children, meaning that they legally had no standing in society. English and colonial America also had laws governing sexual activity between individuals. If two people had sexual intercourse without being married, then they had committed the crime of fornication. Typically, fornication and bastardy laws went hand in hand, as in most instances a case of bastardy did not exist without individuals having committed fornication. Regardless of conception, a bastard child fell under the governing rules of the land’s bastardy laws. After a bastard child’s birth, a trial for fornication or adultery usually followed. In England, churches saw a bastard child as the probable outcome for any case of fornication or adultery. Depending on location, bastardy laws appeared differently as each individual colony had separate rules on the subject. However, each colonial law regarding fornication, adultery, and bastardy took shape from the old English common law. Common law refers to decisions that apply throughout a region. A judge or magistrate normally comes to a decision on a particular case, then that decision becomes the basis for future decisions on similar cases. In England, evidence of common law existed as early as the tenth century. By 1135, most of the legal language used in legal decisions had appeared within the country. By the mid 1070s ecclesiastical courts heard cases that involved bastardy. Bastard children, according to English common law, were "filius nullius", which meant that they were no one’s child. They could not make any claim on their parents for support nor was anyone indebted by law to take care of them. In public opinion, bastards had extremely low social standing. Depending on the social and economic status of a bastard’s parents, the bastard’s situation could be drastically different. The bastards of wealthy and influential figures were in many cases taken care of by their birth mothers and given financial support by their fathers. The bastard children of lower families had to rely on relations for survival. The worst cases, the "fatherless poor," lived off the charity of monasteries and municipalities that could lead aid. The monastery provided food and shelter, while the municipality handled the money that pious people gave to the poor. Towns also raised money for the poor. In 1531, the first statute in England regarding bastardy came into existence. This law, known as Henry VIII’s Old Poor Law, defined who bastards were, and what their treatment was. Bastards were defined as a "Fatherless Poor Man’s Child." Around 1531 in London, Christ’s Hospital was built with specific instructions to provide care for bastard children. Under Tudor rule, bastards were the responsibility of the community as they were no one’s child yet still required care. By 1574, the large amount of bastard children began to overload the monasteries and municipalities that were responsible for them. In that year, another statute regarding bastards allowed justices to issue bastardy orders that ordered that the reputed father of the bastard child pay the parish for care of the child. Thus began a new common law precedent that required that the father of a bastard child, once legally determined, be financially responsible for their child. Further Poor Law decrees came in 1563, 1572, 1576, 1579, and 1601. Within the new rules municipalities gained the power to raise poor rates, select Collectors for the Poor and Guardians of the Poor, and to stop any illicit action within the governing body of a charitable organization. While under common law, bastard children still held the "filii nullius" label, but they often became "children of the parish" or "children of the borough," as those institutions became the ones responsible for the children’s well being. Further Acts of 1575 and 1609 declared that the mother of any bastard child would face corporal punishment or be placed in an English "House of Correction." Under English common law, the burden of taking care of any illegitimate child frequently fell on a church or the community in which the bastard lived. Only near the beginning of the seventeenth century did fathers of bastard children really start having to be responsible for the illegitimate children. English common law focused strongly on the legal issues surrounding bastard children, and thus created bastardy rules on those principles. In the New England colonies and the colony of Pennsylvania, the old English common law earned respect and a place in establishing the rules of the colonies, but the colonists added new elements to their new legal system. During the seventeenth century, when settlers started establishing permanent settlements in North America, decisions concerning how the new legal system would work needed to be decided. The people who established the New England colonies came to the new world so that they could create a new society that fashioned itself on the rules and teachings of their religion. The Puritans who founded the colonies of Connecticut and Massachusetts created many rules that had basis in the Puritan faith. However, differences occurred within each colony as to the application of the law. For example, laws created in Massachusetts or Connecticut differed from laws created in Pennsylvania. Some of the differences in the rules within colonies came from the fact that different groups with different ideological backgrounds founded each colony. The Puritans founded the New England colonies, while the Quakers led by William Penn founded the colony of Pennsylvania. Due to the strong religious background of these colonies, colonists sought changes and improvements to the English common law. In many situations, the colonists would use a particular aspect of common law to build the foundation of a legal principle, but the details, such as the wording, implementation, and enforcement of said law fell to the colonists. The colonists did not want a carbon copy of English common law, as many of them left England and Europe in dispute of those laws, nor did the colonists decide upon a single, unified set of laws to govern the colonies as a large group. The colonies sought the means to create a legal system that looked out for each individual colony’s interests. If English common law coincided with what the colonists wanted, then the law remained unaltered. However, if the common law did not represent all of what the colonists wanted, they sought the freedom to change laws to something that best suited them. Married women during colonial times in America fell under the English governance rule of feme covert. This meant that a married woman had no separate legal identity from that of her husband. A woman's wages, children, clothes, inheritances, and even her body fell under control of her husband. Despite the feme covert status, women still had dealings with the legal system in colonial America. In the colony of Connecticut, women, because of the Puritan influence within the colony, still affected the law and courtroom decisions. Women contributed to court cases, as they were witnesses, litigants, and criminal defendants. This was not the case in all colonies in North America, but serves as proof that although women did not have nearly as many rights as their male counterparts, they still played a role in deciding how cases, including bastardy, were ruled. Men and women had equal roles in creating a situation where bastardy laws had to be enforced. All cases of bastardy heard before colonial courts were the direct result of an act of adultery or fornication. Early in colonial history, men took more of the responsibility for an act of fornication or a bastardy charge. Women before the courts claimed that they engaged in sexual activity with men and explained to the courtroom that if somehow they ended up pregnant as a result that the man would marry them, thus preventing the birth of a bastard child. A child being born out of wedlock automatically resulted in a trial to determine who the father was and who and how the bastard would be cared for. To catch fornicators, one had to either find the couple committing the act, or the couple had to immediately confess their sin. Someone finding a pair engaged in fornication was rare. Thus, many times court cases relied on confessions to bring about charges in a case of bastardy. By 1668 in the Massachusetts colony and others, the government enforced the practice of having midwives interrogate women during childbirth. It was believed that women endured so much anguish during childbirth that they would not lie and truthfully confess to their sin of fornication and reveal who the baby’s father was. Either the pregnant women would willingly tell someone that she had a bastard son, and then she would name the father or a midwife would ask the mother to tell whether or not her child was legitimate. Bastardy cases in the colonies involved women of high, low, and middle standing, similarly to England. Once a bastard child was born, women could not deny a charge of adultery, or more common a charge of fornication. The baby was undeniable proof that an illicit sexual act took place. Where the courts did have trouble was in determining who the father of the bastard was. While the courts believed women to be truthful during their childbirth confession, they were not always entirely. A woman could name a man who was later revealed to not be the baby’s father. Such situations resulted in disputed paternity suits. In some cases, men asked women to deny their involvement and charge another man. While the courts initially relied on confessions to make judgments in bastardy cases, as it became apparent that the confessions could be dishonest, the courts gradually came to trust evidence-based claims more so than testimony-based claims. In the latter half of the eighteenth century, this trend reflected a growing shift in colonial courts as a movement away from more faith-based rules and towards law grounded more in English common law. In the 1650s, when the colonial courts reached a verdict in cases of adultery or fornication, the guilty parties had to pay fines ranging from forty shillings to ten pounds and were publicly struck with a whip six to fifteen times. By the 1680s, the fine usually amounted to forty shillings or ten blows of the whip. These punishments became standard procedure by 1692. From 1639-1666, in Connecticut, if a father did not willingly come forward to acknowledge his illegitimate child, the mother of the bastard received a public whipping. The thought was that the male would not stand idly by and watch the mother of his child receive such a harsh punishment and public humiliation. Not all individuals who committed acts of fornication and bastardy ended up in front of a court. To avoid the penalties and shame of having a bastard child, men and women took different steps to avoid pregnancy while engaging in sexual behavior. Over the eighteenth century, many colonial courts practiced greater regulation of women's sexuality and focused fornication prosecutions almost entirely on women. In colonial times, it was difficult to hide a pre-marital pregnancy. Even during cases of disputed paternity, one irrefutable fact was that a baby had been born and legally had no father. Men could avoid the label of “father” if the pregnant woman chose to hide or conceal the truth from her midwife or the courts. Trying to avoid the bastardy or fornication laws seemed the easiest thing to do in order to avoid the stigmas attached to being guilty of fornication and bastardy. Both parents or each parent individually could flee the region. The reputed father had the option of arranging a private settlement with the mother to avoid publicly being a bastard's father. Abortions, concealing births, tricked marriages, and bribery were used to help conceal crimes of bastardy. Other methods of preventing bastardy existed, but not widely used. Birth control existed within colonial America, but due to a lack of understanding of human anatomy, attempts at preventing pregnancy during this time often failed. "Coitus interruptus", which meant that the male withdrew before ejaculating, was not a useful method of birth control. Nor were barrier methods of contraception. Condoms existed, but males used them to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. People during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries did not understand that condoms had other uses, such as a method to prevent pregnancy. Males and females also made promises of abstinence, but that also did not always work as it should. To avoid bastardy, the couple had the option of engaging in infanticide, the purposeful murder of a baby. Typically, parents who engaged in infanticide used it as an absolute last resort to cover up a pre-marital pregnancy. In Pennsylvania, infanticide, defined legally, was concealing the death of a bastard child. There were laws in place against infanticide in each colony. However, establishing that infanticide took place proved difficult. Instances such as a child being born stillborn or the jury of a court understanding a single mothers plight made cases of infanticide tough to prosecute. Options did exist for colonists to attempt to escape from bastardy and fornication charges, although many of those choices lead to less than desirable outcomes. Bastardy laws existed both in English common law and within the laws of the colonies. Colonial law, though, tried to establish a balance between common law and religious faith. As time passed, the legal precedents shifted, and the religious themes and tones within the law disappeared in favor of more legal terminology. By the late eighteenth century, bastardy cases became exclusive to courts, and heard by judges and juries. Statutes in the colonies, similarly to in England, held that the reputed father, once determined, had to contribute financially to the bastard child. As the law evolved, from 1690–1740, the burden of proof in any case changed from witness testimony to evidence presented in court. As the eighteenth century progressed, more and more faith aspects of law creation and enforcement began to fade away from court decision in the New England and Pennsylvania Colonies. The establishment of a basic system for regulating bastardy cases came in 1705, and went largely unchanged until 1828. This system essentially put into official writing the implementation and enforcement of bastardy laws that had existed prior to 1705. The bastardy case needed presentation before the court, the paternity needed a decision, and then child support was given to the appropriate figures. The legal precedents created here faced evolution as the situation in colonial America changed. As true in England as rural towns gave way to urban cities, laws such as bastardy needed to be refined to fit the conditions of the colonies. As cities grew, the responsibility for bastards shifted from being solely the mother’s responsibility to being the community’s ward as well. The almshouse, a place for bastards to go and receive care opened in Philadelphia in 1767. Its goal was to provide assistance for mothers and bastards without parents. Other groups, such as the Overseers of the Poor, came into prominence in the 1760s in Philadelphia. Overseers of the Poor functioned as the colonial version of England’s Guardians of the Poor. The Overseers of the Poor’s job included providing aid for those in need, including bastard children. Situations where the mother and father of the bastard could provide financial support and shelter for their bastard child were ideal; it often did not prove to be the case. Someone else needed to be responsible for bastards and others in need. Closely resembling England’s Guardians of the Poor, groups such as the Overseers of the Poor’s job included making sure fathers paid financial support to mothers or the ones in charge of the bastard child. Through the 1760s and the 1770s, the Overseers of the Poor regulated bastardy. The courts made decisions on bastardy cases, and left the enforcement of any ruling given to the Overseers of the Poor. By 1767, the Overseers of the Poor documented all cases of bastardy that they dealt with, thus making sure that no bastard child or other individual in need went unnoticed. The Overseers of the Poor’s primary goal was to regulate child support, not hand out punishments for sexual crimes committed by the parents. That task still fell on the courts to take care of, but by the end of the eighteenth century, the courts had all but stopped prosecuting sexual behavior crimes. The weekly support payment for bastard children in the time shortly before the Revolutionary War broke out was approximately three shillings, or roughly seven pounds and sixteen shillings per year. The father was not legally obligated to give any financial compensation to the mother, only the bastard child. That amount was hardly enough to adequately take care of a child, but it still provided mothers and the Overseers of the Poor a monetary amount to work with. If the amounts collected by the Overseers of the Poor turned out to not be enough, mothers and bastard children had the option of going to the almshouse, although many did not unless the situation was dire. The situation in colonial America had finished its transformation from a more faith based legal system to one that copied many aspects of English common law. More changes were to come to the colonies, as all thirteen colonies waged a war against England for independence known as the Revolutionary War. Having won their freedom, the colonies then had to decide how they wanted to proceed in establishing their own country under their own laws. From 1776 on, the laws created in the early seventeenth century were going to face even more changes as the country grew and new legal precedents were established. Colonial American bastardy laws Colonial America bastardy laws refer to laws, statutes, or other legal precedents set forth by the colonies in North America. This page
how many seasons of the bastard executioner are there	"Arthur Howe Holdsworth" They were leaders in the trade with Newfoundland and with Portugal, where they owned estates. Their interests extended into trade with the Baltic, the West Indies and America. "The family continued to prosper," according to David K. Brown in his book "The Way of the Ship in the Midst of the Sea", "helped in 1725 by the award of 'The Waters of the Dart' from the Duchy of Cornwall in 1725 which entitled them to levy tolls on all goods landed between Salcombe and Torbay, a rich perquisite which lasted until 1860. The Holdsworths and their relations held most of the important posts in and around Dartmouth: Freemen, Mayors, Governor of the Castle since 1725, Rector of Stokenham and Brixham, etc. The family home was Widdicombe House, near Torcross, built in 1785 and enlarged in 1820. They also owned Brooke Hall, Dartmouth." He was from a Devon mercantile and trading family, the son of Arthur Holdsworth, a Member of Parliament in Devonshire, prominent shipowner and merchant. The son, Arthur Howe Holdsworth Holdsworth, was an active businessman with interests in shipping and an inventor with many patents to his name, most relating to shipbuilding and boats. He was a shareholder in the Bristol and Exeter Railway and was a prime force behind Devon's expansive shipping interests.. He resided at Widdecombe House and Mount Galpin in Dartmouth located near Kingsbridge within the Stokenham Priory estate, owned by the Holdsworth family for many years. He served as the last Governor of Dartmouth. In 1809 he was Governor of Dartmouth Castle, a position held by his father Arthur from 1760 to 1777. He was elected member of Parliament for Dartmouth in 1802, holding the seat until December 1819, when he vacated it in favour of Charles Milner Ricketts, a cousin of Lord Liverpool. He returned to the seat in 1829, but was defeated by John Seale in 1832, after the Reform Act partially disenfranchised the constituency. Following Holdsworth's stinging defeat for his Parliamentary seat in 1832 by Sir John Henry Seale, 1st Baronet, whose family had challenged the Holdsworth family's hold on the Corporation, all the Holdsworth family members left Dartmouth. The acrimony between the Holdsworths and their Seale family adversaries even forced the move of the 1839 marriage between Holdsworth's daughter Catherine Henrietta Elizabeth Holdsworth and civil engineer William Froude from Dartmouth, where the Holdsworths had long worshipped, to the Brixham parish church instead. At his death in 1860, Holdsworth left an enormous estate. Arthur Howe Holdsworth in 1807 married Catherine Henrietta Eastabrooke (1789-1878), daughter of John Eastabrooke and his wife Catherine Henrietta, widow of Robert Carr. His middle name was a tribute to the British Admiral Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, a family friend who served as one of two members of Parliament from Dartmouth from 1757 to 1782, overlapping the service in Parliament of Arthur Howe (1780–1786). The Holdsworth family later intermarried with other prominent West Country families, including the St. Aubyns of St. Michael's Mount, Cornwall, the Bastard family of Devon (whose members Edmund Bastard, Edmund Pollexfen Bastard and John Bastard sat with him for Dartmouth) and others. Arthur Howe's Holdsworth's eldest son Arthur Bastard Eastabrook Holdsworth lived at Widdicombe House after the death of his father. Arthur Bastard Eastbrook Holdsworth's daughter Alice Mary married Edmund St. Aubyn at Dartmouth, Devon, in 1847; his daughter Georgina married in 1868 at Stokenham, Devon, Thomas Levett-Prinsep, eldest son of Thomas Levett-Prinsep JP of Croxall Hall, Derbyshire. They had one son. Arthur Howe Holdsworth Arthur Howe Holdsworth (1780–1860) of Mount Galpin in the parish of Townstal and of Widecombe in the parish of
how many seasons of the bastard executioner are there	"Protect Ya Neck" underground buzz, Wu-Tang signed with Loud Records and released it with "Method Man" on its B-side. That single sold 10,000 copies. The album version of the song (even the 'explicit' versions of the album) is edited to scratch out all profanity, save for repeated use of the word "nigga". On the original recording version of the song, Inspectah Deck's verse came second, but RZA changed it to first in the order. The original beat was totally different, and all Wu-members were in a different order. RZA just said "I just need y'all voices" and Wu entered the studio the next morning and RZA arranged everything, including the karate chops. The person who rings into a radio station at the start of the song was from an interview Wu did. Wu did the interview on a radio station ("Virginia or Maryland, WPGC, I think" Inspectah Deck says), different segments of the same interview are placed at different parts of the album. Rapper Grand Daddy I.U. noted the swipe that GZA took at him on the song. Prior to the formation of the Wu-Tang Clan, GZA was originally known as The Genius - who, along with Grand Daddy I.U. - was signed to Cold Chillin' Records. GZA's verse was directed at his former label for lack of promotion over his debut "Words from the Genius" in favor of the former's debut album "Smooth Assassin". Aside from the swipes at his former label, he also took a few swipes at I.U., to which he discussed in 2006: ""I was wearing the suit and tie shit back then on some old time gangster shit. He had that other shit like, ‘˜Girl come do me.’ I guess they wasn’t feeling that shit so they chose to push me harder than they pushed him. That ain’t my fault what the fuck are you mad at me for? So you know how that shit is. He ain’t gonna come to my face and say nothing so later on he put that shit in his little rhyme or whatever throwing a subliminal jab. That shit is neither here nor there"." "Protect Ya Neck" is featured on greatest hits compilations such as "The RZA Hits", "" and "Legend of the Wu-Tang Clan", which contains an uncensored version known as the "Bloody Version". On Wu-Tang Clan's third album, "The W", an alternate version named "Protect Ya Neck (The Jump Off)" can be found. It features new Wu-Tang member Cappadonna and Masta Killa in place of the then-incarcerated Ol' Dirty Bastard. "Protect Ya Neck" has been featured in video games "" and "Skate 2". The chime that opens the song is from the kung fu movie "Executioners from Shaolin". The "Protect Ya Neck/Method Man" single made The Source's 100 Best Singles list. In September 2010 Pitchfork Media included the song at number 5 on their "Top 200 Tracks of the 90s". It has also been featured in the final episode of superhero web television series "The Defenders" during a fight scene between all four Defenders and The Hand. The music video shows each Wu-Tang rapper in black and white rapping individually with their entourage in the background. As each rapper starts his verse, their rap aliases are shown on the screen. Many of these aliases are spelled incorrectly or never used on official releases such as Ghostface Killah being shown as "Ghost Face Killer" and GZA as the Jizah. In the video, occasionally clips of Wu-Tang as a full group in color are flashed for a couple seconds. It features a cameo appearance from a then-unknown Cappadonna during Raekwon and Method Man's scenes. Protect Ya Neck "Protect Ya Neck" is the debut single by hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. The song is from the group's critically acclaimed debut album "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)". It is produced by RZA (then known as Prince Rakeem) and features eight of the original nine Wu-Tang members. "Protect Ya Neck" was the first Wu-Tang song bringing together the original four members and four others (excluding Masta Killa, who had not yet joined). It was originally released in 1992 as part of the "Protect Ya Neck"/"After the Laughter Comes Tears" single by Wu-Tang Records. When it
how many seasons of the bastard executioner are there	"Slasher (TV series)" Sudbury, Parry Sound, and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. On May 1, 2017, "Slasher" began filming a second season in Orangeville, Ontario, Canada. The licensing rights for the second season were acquired by Netflix. The season was released as a "Netflix Original" title in various countries on October 17, 2017. The second season titled "Slasher: Guilty Party" is centered on a group of former summer camp counselors who return to an isolated campground in order to bury their sins of the past, before being targeted, one by one, by an unknown killer. The series has been renewed for a third season. "Slasher" employs a season-long anthology format, with an overarching mystery storyline that will be resolved upon the season's conclusion. Aaron Martin, the series' creator/producer, acknowledged gaining inspiration for the format from "American Horror Story", stating that, should "Slasher" have subsequent seasons, the "AHS" style of self-contained storylines would be used along with, ideally, the reliance on as many actors from previous seasons as possible to portray brand new roles. Martin aims to tell "a modern-day monster story" in "Slasher", combining three of his favorite genres: The contemporary murder mystery (a la "Broadchurch"), the works of Agatha Christie (one of Martin's favorite crime writers), and the classic slasher films with which he grew up. In terms of the latter, Martin has specifically cited the influences of "Halloween" and "It Follows" in "Slasher"s use of a mysterious singular embodiment that is responsible for a series of killings. Not wanting to have the show's killer be "a mythological creature" (as he feels the killers in most slasher films do not have much mystery surrounding them), Martin also uses elements of the traditional whodunit in "Slasher": The show's characters, many of whom have mysterious backgrounds — and their own reasons for possibly being the killer — are featured, explored, and eliminated from consideration, one by one (either through death or the natural deductive process), until the "all too human" killer and his/her motivations are revealed. "Slasher"s 8-episode first season centers around Sarah Bennett who, with husband Dylan, moves back to the town of her birth, Waterbury (a fictional town in Canada), and into her parents' former home. It was in that house on Halloween Night 1988 where both of her parents, Bryan and Rachel, were murdered. Rachel was pregnant with Sarah at the time of her murder, with police discovering the killer holding Rachel's newborn baby after the slayings. Sarah's return to Waterbury is greeted with the start of a series of copycat murders, all appearing to be at the hands of "The Executioner". Seeking insight on her sightings of "The Executioner" and the slayings he or she has committed, Sarah has paid visits to her parents' imprisoned murderer, Tom Winston. Tom suggests to Sarah that though most of Waterbury's residents project a veneer of friendship, innocence, and self-righteousness, many of them harbor dark secrets, including her late parents. During these conversations, Tom expresses thoughts on what is a common theme of "Slasher"s first season — the seven deadly sins. Gaining information from Sarah on the victims' backgrounds and the nature of their deaths, Tom provides suggestions as to what sin the victims may have violated; Sarah would begin to employ this approach herself without Tom's assistance in later episodes. Just as Tom declared himself "the Lord's messenger" in a 1988 police interrogation video after murdering Sarah's parents (seen in Episode 1), he believes in the present day that the new Executioner has become a self-appointed deliverer of "Biblical" punishment towards those he or she believes have committed one of the seven deadly sins in their past, employing methods that are apropos to the individual natures of the deadly sins. Future victim Alison Sutherland would get The Executioner to admit this in their Episode 5 interview: Alison asks why The Executioner would be as much a sinner as everyone else and violate one of God's commandments to not kill; The Executioner counters that God only commanded not to murder the innocent, and that his/her victims are not innocent. Tom has suggested to Sarah, in Episode 3, that The Executioner him/herself has committed a deadly sin of their own, being blinded by pride ("the greatest of sins"). The police chief is found harboring Ariel, a missing teenager that he kidnapped, and a child they had together, in a enclosed locked room in his basement. Sarah's grandmother accidentally put her best friend in a coma by dropping a cinder block on her head (in fact, she was aiming for the girl sitting next to her best friend; the boy who had gotten Sarah's grandmother pregnant as a teenager was taking this girl to their high school prom). Bryan and Rachel (Sarah's parents) were cuckolding multiple men and video taping them into service to support them, including Tom Winston. Tom decided to kill Bryan and Rachel after falling in love with Rachel and being blackmailed, but saved Sarah after Rachel told him Sarah was actually his and not her husband's. Eventually, it's revealed that the deputy Cam is the Executioner, suffering under an abusive mother whom he pushed down the stairs, killing her. Cam's father, the town pastor, discovered that Cam was the Executioner, and Cam killed him as well. After finding her father's body parts in his home, Sarah kills Cam with a machete. "Slasher"s 8-episode second season centers around a horrific secret that a group of former summer camp counselors have buried long ago. Due to a changing circumstance, they must return to their resort in the dead of winter to retrieve the body of Talvinder, whom they murdered while they were camp counsellors, five years earlier. They get surprised when they can't find the body at the campsite. Later, the group start dying one by one at the hands of a mysterious person wearing a parka, which also alerts the second group of counselors at the resort. Eventually, it's revealed that Judith is the killer, and another character, Wren, is actually Owen "Wren" Turnbull, her son who committed suicide after being framed for Talvinder's murder, and is a figment of Judith's imagination. Owen wrote a letter to his mother, asking her to get justice for him before hanging himself. Judith killed several members of the commune for their complicity after the fact, as Antoine discovered Talvinder's body and hid it to avoid jeopardizing a real estate deal. Dawn and Keira are the only ones to escape her wrath and the former finally turns herself in for her crime during the epilogue. Judith can be seen watching them along with the hallucination of Owen, who says they'll be waiting for Dawn after she is released from prison. Aaron Martin was inspired to write "Slasher" after his work on the first season of the medical series "Saving Hope", including his writing of two "Hope" episodes where, in his words, "people got chopped up." Martin would write the first episode of "Slasher" as a spec script, with two intentions for doing so: To offer it to prospective studios, and to show a writing style that was different from his previous work (e.g. "Saving Hope", "", "Being Erica"). Though the script did not receive immediate interest, Shaftesbury Films would discover and option it to prospective broadcasters. The script would land at Canadian premium network Super Channel, who, their interest piqued in part by "Slasher"s fixed-end format, would order it as a series. The now-defunct American network Chiller, which specializes in the horror/thriller genre, would join in production sometime after Super Channel; "Slasher" would be Chiller's first (and only) foray into original scripted series content. Production on "Slasher"s 8-episode first season was announced on July 28, 2015, with filming taking place between then and October 2015. Three Northern Ontario municipalities — the cities of Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie and the town of Parry Sound — would stand in for the show's fictitious location, the town of Waterbury. A first trailer for the series would be released on November 26, 2015. Unlike most TV series that film their episodes in order, "Slasher", under the direction of Craig David Wallace, was shot as if it were a "super-sized" movie: Scenes from multiple episodes were shot at the same time, with the availability of locations and cast being factored in. The out-of-order schedule allowed the actors to know of their characters' fates, especially those who had to film their death scenes one day but return later to film earlier scenes as necessary. As an example of this, Martin cited Mark Ghanimé's first day on set, when his character, Justin Faysal, was laid out in a casket for a scene early in "Slasher"s third episode (Justin's death, which took place in Episode 2, would be filmed later on). On May 1, 2017, "Slasher" began filming a second season in Orangeville, Ontario, Canada. Shaftesbury Films confirmed that the series will not be returning to Super Channel or Chiller for a second season. However, Netflix acquired the rights to the second season. The second season was released via Netflix on October 17, 2017. "Slasher" has received positive reviews. "Zap2it" called the series "a whole lot of fun" and "something for everyone," praising the series' anthology nature, its cast of characters, storyline, plot twists, bloody violence, and even the series-within-the-series "Falcon Husbandry" (shown as a favorite of Robin and Justin's in Episode 2). "Bloody Disgusting" awarded the show four skulls out of five, praising Katie McGrath as a great "protagonist and possible final girl" and the series' decision to feature an adult cast, rather than teenagers, with well-developed characters and a "decidedly classic" presentation. On the occasion of "Slasher"s Super Channel premiere, "The Globe and Mail"s John Doyle, while remarking that it "is no masterpiece of horror, nor was it meant to be," called the show "very well-crafted," praising its "exceptional cast" and tight pacing, and noting fans of gory horror will appreciate its bloody scenes. On May 25, 2016, the entire first season of "Slasher" became available to stream instantly on Netflix US. On October 17, 2017, the full second season of "Slasher" became available to stream on Netflix in various countries. The second season began airing in the United Kingdom via Pick-TV. Slasher
how many seasons of the bastard executioner are there	"Mikhail Matveyev (NKVD officer)" from his new occupation. From 1927 onwards Matveyev was back with the successor organisations, the OGPU and NKVD, as an executioner in the Leningrad Region. On 28 November 1936, together with two other future Sandarmokh executioners (A.P. Polikarpov and P.D. Shalygin)—and the notorious V.M. Blokhin—Captain Matveyev received the Order of the Red Banner for his "struggle to secure the socialist system", viz. they acted as executioners of those supposed to be its enemies. Matveyev was personally involved in the shooting of the prisoners of the "lost Solovki transport" between 27 October and 3 November 1937, who included many members of Ukraine's Executed Renaissance. The Sandarmokh killing field was only found in July 1997 after lengthy searches and at first it was not known how many thousands had been shot and buried there. The identity of the 1,111 prisoners brought from the Solovki "special" prison in the White Sea was first established in the summer of 1996. Their deaths were followed over the next 13 months by those of a further 3,500 inhabitants of Karelia and 4,500 workers from the White Sea Canal, leading to a total of 9,500 killings, with the bodies buried in 236 communal pits. The executions were part of the Great Purge that ran from 1936 to 1938. On 20 December 1937, Captain Mikhail Matveyev was given a commemorative gift, a radiogram and a set of gramophone records, for his "selfless work in the struggle against counter-revolution", i.e. his work at Sandarmokh between 27 October and 10 November that year. On 11 March 1939 he was himself arrested on the orders of the new head of the NKVD Lavrenty Beria and sentenced to 10 years in a corrective labour camp. (On hearing this news, his fellow executioner Alexander Polikarpov shot himself.) Matveyev was not deprived of his awards and medals, however, and soon his sentence was reduced to three years, which he served in a camp in the Vologda Region. Released early when Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, during the Leningrad Blockade Matveyev was made komendant (chief executioner) of the NKVD internal prison in the city. He later received the highest Soviet award, the Order of Lenin, for his work in those years. He retired in December 1949. Certain of those involved in selecting, escorting and then shooting the Solovki transport were questioned and investigated after Stalin's death as part of the process of rehabilitating their victims. Like Matveyev, Major Pyotr Raevsky (1892-1967) was also arrested in 1939. He was accused of being "one of the leaders of a counter-revolutionary, insurgent organisation among the convicts on Solovki" and was sentenced in 1941 to 8 years in the camps. There he was employed as head of the solitary confinement unit in the punishment block. Released in 1947, Raevsky was rehabiliated in 1957 and re-admitted to the Communist Party. In the early 1960s, he was subjected to internal Party discipline for his active part in the Solovki executions. No such investigation troubled Matveyev's later years and he died, a State pensioner, in 1971. Mikhail Matveyev (NKVD officer) Mikhail Rodionovich Matveyev (1892-1971) (Михаил Родионович Матвеев) was a senior NKVD executioner, sent to begin the mass shootings at Sandarmokh in Karelia in the late 1930s. After completing two years of education at a village school, the young Matveyev moved to St Petersburg where he held various occupations: he was a doorman at an apartment block, for instance, before becoming in 1913 an assistant to a metal-worker at the Vulcan works. Following the 1917 February Revolution he joined the Bolsheviks and soon was serving as a Cheka executioner. In 1923
how many seasons of the bastard executioner are there	"Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things" to linger at Vaes Dothrak. The episode ends with Eddard's wife Catelyn arresting Tyrion Lannister on suspicion of attempting to murder her son Bran. The title comes from the original book, spoken by Tyrion after he provides Bran Stark with a saddle design that will allow him to ride despite his paraplegia: "I have a tender spot in my heart for cripples and bastards and broken things." Critical reaction to the episode was mostly positive, with critics citing the Night's Watch scenes at the Wall as highlights, as well as Michelle Fairley's performance as Catelyn Stark in the final scene of the episode with Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister. In the United States, the episode achieved a viewership of 2.5 million in its initial broadcast. Lord Eddard Stark begins quietly inquiring into the death of Jon Arryn, the previous Hand of the King, who had long served as the Kingdom's chief administrative nobleman. Questioning Grand Maester Pycelle, who tended Jon Arryn in his final days, Stark learns that Arryn's last words were "the seed is strong" and that he was reading a book titled "The Lineages and Histories of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms". Helped by Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish and his net of informers, Eddard follows up on two more clues regarding the last days of his predecessor. He questions a smith's apprentice whom Jon Arryn had visited in his last days and, due to his resemblance to King Robert, Stark deduces that the boy is the king's bastard. Eddard also plans to question Jon Arryn's former squire, but the recently knighted young man is killed while jousting at the tournament held in Eddard's honor. The knight responsible for his untimely end is Ser Gregor Clegane, also known as "The Mountain" due to his towering size. He is a Lannister bannerman and is the older brother of "The Hound" Sandor Clegane. Baelish tells Sansa the secret of the Clegane brothers: as children, Gregor brutally burned his brother's face, thus explaining the Hound's scars. Khal Drogo's khalasar arrives at the city of Vaes Dothrak. Viserys Targaryen impatiently waits for the army Drogo agreed to lend him, the bride price offered for his sister Daenerys, to reconquer the Seven Kingdoms. When Viserys misinterprets Daenerys's invitation to dinner as an order, he becomes angry and strikes her. For the first time, Daenerys fights back, hitting her astounded brother and promising that if he raises a hand against her again, his hands will be cut off. Later, the banished knight Jorah Mormont tells her that Viserys would not be a good leader for the invasion of Westeros and, despite what Viserys believes, the people of the Seven Kingdoms do not care who rules them as long as they are ruled well. Daenerys agrees that Viserys could not conquer the Seven Kingdoms even if Khal Drogo gave him an entire army. The Night's Watch receives Samwell Tarly, a fat, fearful and clumsy recruit who rapidly becomes the focus of bullying by master-at-arms Ser Alliser Thorne. Sam later explains to Jon that his father forced him to "take the Black" and forsake his inheritance because he considered Sam unworthy, threatening to kill Sam and pass his death off as a hunting accident if he refused. Jon Snow defends Sam and convinces the rest of the recruits not to harm him, much to Thorne's rage. Thorne defends his treatment as essential, since life north of the Wall is very harsh especially during winter, warning Jon and Sam to toughen up or they will have no chance of survival. Tyrion stops at Winterfell as he is returning to King's Landing after his visit to the Wall. He gets a cold welcome from Robb Stark, acting Lord of Winterfell in his father Eddard's absence. Robb suspects the Lannisters are behind his younger brother Bran's fall and the subsequent assassination attempt. Despite the cold reception, Tyrion shows the now crippled Bran an act of kindness by giving him blueprints for a saddle that will allow him to ride again despite his paralysis. Before he leaves Winterfell, Tyrion has a talk with Theon Greyjoy, a ward of House Stark, and mocks him regarding how the Greyjoys and their land, the Iron Islands, attempted a failed rebellion against King Robert, calling Theon a "hostage" to the Stark family. Further south, Tyrion and his small retinue stop to spend the night at the Inn at the Crossroads. There he recognizes Lady Catelyn Stark in disguise. With her identity revealed, she requests help from her father's bannermen present at the inn to seize Tyrion to face trial for Bran's attempted murder. "Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things" is the first episode of the series that was not written by the show's creators and executive producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. The script was authored by writer Bryan Cogman, based on George R. R. Martin's original work. Cogman worked on the "Game of Thrones" pilot as a writing assistant and was contracted for the full series as script-editor and the unofficial "keeper of the mythos" for the show, entrusted with the task of writing the series bible outlining character and background information, and making sure that the world-building remained consistent. In this capacity, he was approached by Benioff and Weiss, who asked him to write a treatment for the fourth episode. Believing it was only an exercise that would be completely rewritten by another professional writer, he completed the script that ended up being episode four. The chapters of the book covered in this episode are Bran IV (less the first few pages that were included in the previous episode), Eddard V, Jon IV, Eddard VI, Catelyn V, Sansa II, Daenerys IV (chapters 25–30 and 37). Among the scenes created for the show, there are the conversations between Theon and Tyrion, Sansa and Septa Mordane, Doreah and Viserys, Jory Cassel and Jaime, Jon and Samwell and Eddard Stark and Cersei. The character of Alliser Thorne is given some more depth by justifying his harshness towards the new recruits, and a more subdued version of Bran's dream is included. During the bathtub scene in which Viserys recalls the old Targaryen dragons, he lists names taken from the books (Balerion, Meraxes and Vhagar) and others invented for the show. Among them a dragon called Vermithrax is mentioned, which is an homage to Vermithrax Pejorative from the 1981 film "Dragonslayer". Author George R. R. Martin once ranked the film the fifth best fantasy movie of all time, and called "Vermithrax" "the best dragon ever put on film," and the one with "the coolest dragon name as well." This episode introduces the character of Samwell Tarly, a new recruit of the Night's Watch and a self-described coward. John Bradley was cast in the part, the actor's first professional appearance after graduating from the Manchester Metropolitan School of Theatre. The scene used in the auditions belonged to "Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things," with Sam explaining to Jon how his father forced him to take the black. According to author and executive producer George R. R. Martin, Bradley delivered "a heartbreaking performance." Australian actor Conan Stevens, whose official website lists his height as 214 cm (7' 1/4"), first appears as the gigantic knight Gregor Clegane, known as "the Mountain." Stevens had sought to join the production since HBO started developing "Game of Thrones". Since the character of Gregor Clegane, the role he believed he was most fitted for, did not appear in the pilot, he auditioned for the role of Khal Drogo instead in the hopes of getting noticed by the casting team. Although that role went to Jason Momoa, Stevens was chosen for the part of Gregor. Other recurring roles making their first appearance in the episode include Dominic Carter as commander of the City Watch Janos Slynt, Jerome Flynn as the mercenary ("sellsword") Bronn, and Joe Dempsie as the smith's apprentice Gendry. The character of Gendry was made older for the series than he appears in the books. The book of lineages Ned receives from Pycelle was prepared by Bryan Cogman, who in addition to writing episode four also served as the show's "lore master" and authored the historical background content included in the first season's DVD and Blu-ray release. Cogman wrote two pages worth of text detailing the lineage of four noble houses. The text concerning house Umber was shown in "Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things," and the Baratheon text appears in episode six, "A Golden Crown." Cogman also wrote text for the houses of Targaryen and Royce, but the corresponding scenes were removed from the final script for episode four. Cogman said that he drew on the novels and the fan-created website "Wiki of Ice and Fire" for reference, and invented what could not be sourced, including even some Internet fan message board names as in-jokes. The episode was shot at Belfast's studio The Paint Hall, including interior shots of King's Landing, and on location throughout Northern Ireland: The scenes taking place at the grounds of Castle Black continued to be filmed at the large exterior set built on the abandoned quarry of Magheramorne, the grounds of the ruined Shane's Castle were used as the location of the tournament, and the area known as the Sandy Brae, at the foot of the Mourne Mountains, was used for the entrance to Vaes Dothrak. Much of this episode was filmed early in the production; an Eddard and Arya scene from this episode was filmed on the very first day of shooting. "Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things"'s first airing was seen by 2.5 million viewers, a slight increase from the previous episode's 2.4 million. Including the repeat, the night's viewers totalled 3.1 million, which was also in line with the previous week's ratings. In the UK, the viewership increased significantly, rising to 628,000 viewers from 510,000 the previous week. "Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things" was received positively by critics. Todd VanDerWerff from "The A.V. Club" gave it an A-, and Maureen Ryan from AOL TV rated it with a 70 out of 100. VanDerWerff stated this was his favorite episode of the show so far, "an hour that simultaneously feels more propulsive and more relaxed than the last three." He admitted that the better part of it was given to exposition, with many monologues by the characters to expose their motivations and background. In his opinion, though, it was done skillfully and efficiently. IGN's Matt Fowler wrote that it was another great, exposition-heavy episode and that the best and most natural scene happened between Viserys and Doreah in the bath. Out of the different storylines, many critics singled out the scenes on the Wall as the best. Myles McNutt from Cultural Learnings wrote that "Jon Snow’s time at the Wall is maybe my favorite central location of those introduced early in the series, and it is in large part due to the work done in this episode," The closing scene was praised by HitFix's Alan Sepinwall, highlighting Michelle Fairley's acting as Catelyn gathers allies to arrest Tyrion. Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things "Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things" is the fourth episode of the HBO medieval fantasy television series "Game of Thrones", which first aired on May 8, 2011. It was written by Bryan Cogman and directed by Brian Kirk. In this episode Lord Eddard Stark, the new Hand of the King, investigates the sudden death of his predecessor.
how many seasons of the bastard executioner are there	"Kyle Rees" was his role in the 2014 critically acclaimed film "Pride" that gave him international fame. His character, Carl, is pivotal to turning the entire mind frame of a small Welsh town, and in doing so opens doors for two very different communities to come together. In 2015 he played the role of Calo Caine in FX Network's medieval drama series "The Bastard Executioner", written by Kurt Sutter. Kyle Rees Kyle Rees (born 9 July 1988, Port Talbot, Wales) is a Welsh actor, best known for playing the role of Carl in the BAFTA-award winning movie, "Pride". Rees had a love
how many seasons of the bastard executioner are there	"Tyranny (video game)" in Kyros' power structure. As a Fatebinder, the player must travel the world to help restore order after Kyros' victory, and make decisions on how to handle the various factions of survivors, which can affect what companions, spells, and abilities the player may select from. "Tyranny" takes place on Terratus, a high fantasy world where technology is transitioning from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. The Overlord Kyros, a god-like being of immeasurable power, is close to completing their over-400-year-long campaign to conquer Terratus and impose order, having already overtaken much of the land through force or intimidation. As part of Kyros' public persona, Kyros has remained unseen, leaving their subjects unsure if Kyros is male or female, a team, a title handed down in a dynasty, or a multi-headed beast. Beneath Kyros are the Archons, men and women imbued with strange and unique magical powers, made seemingly immortal by Kyros. Archons rule over regions, districts, armies, or individual groups on Kyros' behalf. Archons in "Tyranny" include executioner Bleden Mark, Archon of Shadows, the plague-spreading Pox, Archon of Ruin, the mighty Cairn, Archon of Stone, and Tunon the Adjudicator, Archon of Justice and creator of the Fatebinders. Fatebinders are high ranked agents in Kyros' forces, tasked to travel the world to restore order, reduce conflict, and maintain Kyros' rule, serving as judge, jury, and executioner. "Tyranny" takes place in the 431st year of Kyros' self-devised calendar in the region of the Tiers, the final major area to be conquered . There is a rebellion brewing due to infighting between Kyros' two main forces in the Tiers, the elite and disciplined Disfavored led by Graven Ashe, Archon of War, and the chaotic and barbarian Scarlet Chorus led by the Voices of Nerat, Archon of Secrets. The player takes the role of a Fatebinder, tasked by Kyros to quell the rebellion or be destroyed along with everyone else in Vendrien's Well. During the Fatebinder's quest, they can recruit a number of companions including: the mage Sirin, Archon of Song, the uncompromising Barik of the Stone Shields, the fierce warrior Verse, the sage Lantry, the water mage Eb, and the humanoid, feral beast woman Kills-in-Shadow. The world of Tyranny also features a number of colossal ruins from a previous, unknown civilization. These include the Oldwalls, magically attuned spans of walls that run for hundreds of miles, and the Spires, monolithic towers that reach higher into the sky than most mountains. For reasons unknown, Kyros forbids entry to these structures on pain of death. The game begins several years after the conquest of the Tiers, the last major region that resisted Kyros' rule. A new rebellion has risen in the Tiers kingdom of Apex, in the region of Vendrien's Well, and Kyros has grown angry with her armies' failure to quell it. The Fatebinder is dispatched to Vendrien's Well to resolve the bickering generals' disputes and end the siege of the rebel fortress, or every living thing in that region will be destroyed by one of Kyros' Edicts, a form of magical superweapon and one of the few ways Kyros directly enforces order throughout the realm. Working together with Graven Ashe, Archon of War and leader of the Disfavored, and the Voices of Nerat, Archon of Secrets and leader of the Scarlet Chorus, the Fatebinder fights their way through the rebel forces to reach their fortress of Ascension Hall. When the time comes to assault the fortress, however, the feud between the two Archons climaxes - after the Fatebinder chooses one of the two armies to lead the assault, the other declares war on the opposing army in outrage. Despite this sudden conflict, the Fatebinder penetrates Ascension Hall and ends the siege with the help of their chosen army. Alternatively the Fatebinder could have secretly allied themselves with the rebels and betrayed both Archons. However, after fulfilling the terms of the Edict and ending the siege, the diffused magic alters the Fatebinder in unforeseen ways. The Fatebinder finds themselves absorbing the power of Kyros' Edict and transported to the summit of the Mountain Spire, the monolithic ancient tower at the centre of Ascension Hall and one of many Spires that dot the Tiers and Northern Empire. The Fatebinder is the first person in recorded history to do so, causing much debate in Imperial and Tiersman circles. Meanwhile the feud between Ashe and Nerat boils over into a fullscale civil war, the 'War of Archons', with the Disfavored and Scarlet Chorus battling for control of the Tiers. Tunon summons the Fatebinder to his court in the Bastard City to account for their actions and tasks them with investigating both Archons for treason, as this civil war has jeopardized the pacification of the region. Allying themselves with one of the armies in the war, or neither and following their own path or fighting for the rebels, the Fatebinder sets out to discover the nature of their newfound power and their connection with the Spires, claiming new Spires and growing in power along the way. In the process of aiding in the war effort for either side, or acting to help the people of the Tiers or advance their own power, the Fatebinder finds themselves ending the three remaining Edicts of Kyros in the Tiers and absorbing their power. By killing the newborn Regent of Stalwart, or exploiting an ancient legal loophole renouncing her claims to the throne, the Fatebinder ends the Edict of Storms that had ravaged the Blade Grave. By destroying or claiming for themselves the Silent Archive of the Sages from the Burning Library, the Fatebinder ends the Edict of Fire. By killing the petrified Archon of Stone, Cairn, either by releasing his power in a pulse that made the land unlivable or by a safer method, the Fatebinder ends the Edict of Stone in the Stone Sea. Once these have been completed, enemy forces attack the Fatebinder's original Spire at Vendrien's Well. In order to defeat the enemy, the Fatebinder channels their new power into the resonator atop the Spire, casting their own Edict without Kyros - implying that Kyros' own power may have originated from the Spires. The Fatebinder's Edict breaks the enemy army, but new threats emerge. The fact that anyone other than the Overlord could cast an Edict spreads fear and awe across the world and the Fatebinder is now officially recognized by Kyros as an Archon - some ever whisper the possibility of a new Overlord. Kyros decrees that only one Archon in the Tiers may rule the territory and orders them to fight to the death or swear loyalty. Additionally, Tunon summons the Fatebinder to court once more, Bleden Mark, Archon of Shadows, makes plans to assassinate the Fatebinder, and Kyros silently dispatches additional armies under Pox, Archon of Ruin, to wipe out the remaining combatants. The Fatebinder can kill Ashe, Nerat and Bleden Mark individually or travel at once to Tunon's court to face justice. At the court the Fatebinder must first present their evidence for the guilt of one or both of the Archons - a guilty verdict results in their execution by Bleden Mark, if he still lives. The second court case is the Fatebinders, pleading the case for their treasonous actions in the Tiers. If the player successfully argues their case Tunon will declare the Fatebinder a greater servant of law and order than Kyros and pledge his fealty. Bleden Mark, if he still lives and has not been turned to the Fatebinder's cause, then attempts to kill the Fatebinder in Kyros' name. If the Fatebinder fails to convince Tunon, both he and Mark (if still alive) must be fought and killed. With all opposition in the Tiers defeated or in their service, it is uncovered that Kyros is sending another army to retake the Tiers from whatever Archon is left and the Fatebinder must either surrender or retaliate by casting an Edict on Kyros' capital. If the Fatebinder casts the edict then Imperial Throne is devastated and thousands begin to doubt the Empire's power and flock to the Fatebinder's banner as a new Overlord. Pox's armies are given the order to retreat - a first for Kyros - and reinforce order as rebellions arise at home. If the Fatebinder surrenders and declares their loyalty for Kyros then Kyros accepts the surrender and pulls the armies back, allowing the Fatebinder to rule over the tiers as an Archon for the time being. The Fatebinder ponders on the future of the Tiers and the Empire as the game ends. "Tyranny" is a computer role-playing game (RPG) using isometric user interface similar to Obsidian's "Pillars of Eternity". Players take the role of the Fatebinder. The game opens in a board game-like Conquest mode that ties in with the character creation process. During Conquest mode, the player makes decisions on how the world was conquered by Kyros and the Fatebinder's role in that. These decisions affect the state of the game's world and how various non-playable characters (NPC) react to the Fatebinder, particularly the various factions with which the Fatebinder can become allies or foes. The Fatebinder character is class-less, instead allowing the player to define the character's strength and weaknesses through a skill-based system that is based on how frequent they use certain skills. The Fatebinder may gain NPC companions over the course of the game. The Fatebinder has abilities in combat that can be influenced by which factions the character is aligned with, as well as combination attacks with companion NPCs. The player is able to craft magic spells for the Fatebinder; each spell starts with a core attribute representing its elemental power such as fire or ice, and its appearance in use such as a directed bolt or a wide-range cone. From there, the player can add accents that affect the strength, range, and other factors of the spell. Each added accent costs lore (points earned in the game), thus limiting how powerful the crafted spell can be. Decisions made by the player both at character creation and later in the game affect the game's world, making some conversation tree choices critical. For example, a certain decision may cause a magical fissure to open through the center of one of the towns, killing some NPCs and forcing the other NPCs to relocate to a neighboring town, altering the NPCs' attitude towards the Fatebinder and what quests may be available. Due to the importance of these decisions, the player earns experience points for conversations as they would for participating in battles. "Tyranny" contains a number of options to adjust the difficulty of the game, in response to players' concerns from "Pillars of Eternity". The key concepts of "Tyranny" started with ideas in Obsidian Entertainment for a role-playing game called "Fury" that they attempted to pitch in 2006, according to Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart. "Fury" would have featured a land ravaged by a "magical apocalypse". Obsidian refined this idea for a new game "Defiance" that they started pitching in 2009, which now featured a land where evil had already won. Several ideas from "Defiance" were used to craft a new concept for "Stormlands", a game the studio successfully pitched to Microsoft as a potential launch title for the Xbox One in 2012. Urquhart noted that "Stormlands" bore more resemblance to "Fury" than "Defiance" at this point. However, due to uncertainty in the video game market at that time, the game was canceled, and Obsidian was forced to release 30 of its employees and put the studio at serious financial instability; however, the studio held onto the rights for "Stormlands". Obsidian was able to recover financially through the Kickstarter-backed role-playing game, "Pillars of Eternity", which allowed them to return to the concepts from "Fury", "Defiance" and "Stormlands" and build out a new title, "Tyranny". Urquhart stated that, with "Tyranny", they refined the "Defiance" idea more to make sure that the player was clearly aware that evil has won and having their character being part of that conquest. Game director Brian Heins said they wanted to avoid the "moustache-twiddling" type of villainy in the game's concept, instead to allow the player to find a way for a villainous character to still become the hero of their own story. The developers also desired to make decisions made by the player have important ramifications, such as if the player opted to play as a "good" character acting against Kyros that they would find they would quickly make a lot of enemies by those decisions. "Tyranny" uses a modified version of the Unity engine used as the basis of "Pillars of Eternity". Heins said that since most of the technical issues of graphics and rendering were also solved with "Pillars", they were free to flesh out "a different type of [role-playing game]". "Tyranny" uses a skill-based growth system rather than a class-based one as with "Pillars". Heins said that they wanted to allow players to find ways to play a character they wanted instead of forced into a defined class. They also wanted to make sure that players could work to revamp characters mid-way through the game without penalty, avoiding the situation where a player may have built out a character that is difficult to use to progress into the late-game. Veteran designer Chris Avellone, who left Obsidian in June 2015, had worked on the early development of "Tyranny", according to Heins; Heins noted that "Some of the concepts of this [intellectual property] were constructed by Chris, some of the characters have the same names he gave them and the same ideas." Much of the game involves making human non-player-characters suffer under the Fatebinder's orders; according to director Brian Heins, the team was prepared to handle the type of depictions of these acts, as many had worked on "", which had similar levels of crude and vulgar humor. "Tyranny" was announced at the 2016 Game Developers Conference in March 2016, and was exhibited in a playable demonstration form at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2016 that June; the E3 demo included the same battle though presented from three different scenarios based on the choices the player would have made earlier in the game, as to demonstrate how these choices affected combat and gameplay. "Tyranny" has been released on Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux systems on November 10, 2016. In addition to the standard game, there are two special editions: the Archon edition includes the game's soundtrack and other digital art assets, while the Overlord edition further includes a digital artbook and collector's guide. "Tyranny" received positive reviews upon its release; it is currently listed on Metacritic with a score of 81/100 based on 67 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Praise was given to the game's deeper exploration of evil than other narratives, as well as its world building and mysteries. Criticisms were leveled at its combat AI, and the abrupt end to the story. Tyranny (video game) Tyranny is a role-playing video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by
how many seasons of the bastard executioner are there	"Royal bastard" The stereotypical royal bastard is Edmund in Shakespeare's "King Lear", intelligent, but villainous. Edmund says of his legitimate half brother Edgar: Unlike medieval royalty, the Romans were more concerned with continuity of family name than with bloodline. If a man recognized a child as his, this was accepted by law, and the issue of who the biological father was did not arise. If a child was not recognized, he or she could be exposed or brought up as a slave. For example, Emperor Claudius initially accepted a girl as his daughter, but later rejected her and had her exposed. Emperors often adopted their successors. There are no recorded examples of aristocrats in classical times accusing other aristocrats of being illegitimate, as was common among in later periods. Caesarion was possibly the bastard of Julius Caesar by Cleopatra, which would also make him Caesar's only known child besides Julia. A book published in February 2011 claimed that Albert II of Belgium has an illegitimate half-sister named Ingeborg Verdun, the daughter of King Leopold III and Austrian-Belgian ice skater Liselotte Landbeck. Older bastards founded important family branches, as reported in the "Trophées de Brabant: tome 1"(): In Anglo-Saxon times, the descendants of kings were called aethelings, whether legitimate or not. When the office of king became vacant, a Witan would meet to name a successor from among the aethelings. Papal legates visited the court of Offa of Mercia in 786 and decreed that an English king "must not be begotten in adultery or incest" and that "he who was not born of a legitimate marriage" could not succeed to the throne. It is likely that there was no succession rule regarding bastards prior to this decree. All the same, Athelstan, bastard of Edward the Elder, succeeded as king in 924. English monarch William the Conqueror was also a bastard. Gervais of Blois, a bastard of King Stephen, was abbot of Westminster. Henry I had 21 to 25 bastards, including Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester, Sybilla of Normandy (wife of King Alexander I of Scotland) Maud FitzRoy (wife of Conan III, Duke of Brittany), Constance or Maud FitzRoy, Mabel FitzRoy, Alice FitzRoy, Gilbert FitzRoy, and Emma. "It might be permissible to wonder how it was that Henry I managed to keep track of all his illegitimate children, but there is no doubt that he did so," wrote historian Given-Wilson. Henry II had several bastards, most notably Geoffrey, Archbishop of York and William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury (who inherited his earldom from his wife's father, William of Salisbury). William's mother was Ida de Tosny, while Geoffrey's may have been called Ykenai. Richard the Lionheart had at least one illegitimate child: Philip of Cognac, who died young (possibly in battle). He features as Philip the Bastard in Shakespeare's "King John". John had at least five children with mistresses during his first marriage to Isabelle of Gloucester, and two of those mistresses are known to have been noblewomen. He had several others, 13 or more in total, including Joan, Lady of Wales (wife of Llywelyn the Great) and Richard FitzRoy. Edward IV had at least five illegitimate children, including Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle (later Lord Deputy of Calais) by his mistress Elizabeth Lucy. Perkin Warbeck closely resembled Edward IV and claimed to be his son Richard of Shrewsbury; it has been theorised that Perkin was one of Edward's bastards. Richard III justified his accession to the throne by claiming that the children of Edward IV were the product of an invalid marriage. Richard III had at least two illegitimate children: John of Gloucester (Captain of Calais for a time) and Katherine, first wife of William Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke. Sir Roland de Velville was, in one account, the illegitimate son of Henry VII and "a Breton lady." Henry VIII had one acknowledged royal bastard, Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset. As he had many mistresses, six other people are also put forward by historians as possibly being Henry's illegitimate children, including the mercenary Thomas Stukley, the poet Richard Edwardes and two of Mary Boleyn's children. His daughter Elizabeth was also considered illegitimate, as Henry had married her mother, Anne Boleyn, while still married to Queen Catherine. Máel Coluim mac Alaxandair ("fl". 1124–1134) was an illegitimate son of Alexander I of Scotland (r. 1107–1124) who unsuccessfully claimed his throne. William the Lion (r. 1165–1214) had at least 6 bastards, including Isabella Mac William. Alexander II's (r. 1214–1249) bastard daughter Marjorie married Alan Durward. Robert the Bruce (r. 1306–1329) had maybe six illegitimate children, including Robert Bruce, Lord of Liddesdale. Robert II (r. 1371–1390) had 13+ illegitimate children, including Thomas Stewart, later Bishop of St Andrews. Robert III (r. 1390–1406) at least two illegitimate children, including John, ancestor of the Shaw Stewart baronets. James II (r. 1437–1460) had a bastard son, John Stewart, Lord of Sticks (d. 1523). James IV (r. 1488–1513) had at least 5 illegitimate children with his mistresses, including Alexander Stewart, Archbishop of St Andrews, James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray and Lady Janet Stewart, "la Belle Écossaise". James V (r. 1513–1542) had at least 9 illegitimate children with his mistresses, including Lady Jean Stewart (by Elizabeth Bethune), Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney (by Euphemia Elphinstone) and James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray (by Margaret Erskine). Charles II fathered at least 20 illegitimate children, of whom he acknowledged 14. The most famous of these was James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, his son by Lucy Walter. After Charles' death, Monmouth led a rebellion against his uncle James II. When Nell Gwynn brought her first child to Charles, she told it, 'Come hither you little Bastard and speak to your father!'. Charles then named the child "Beauclerk" and bestowed the title "Earl of Burford". James II and VII had 13 bastards, George I had 3 illegitimate children by his mistress, Melusine von der Schulenburg, Duchess of Kendal, including Melusina von der Schulenburg, Countess of Walsingham. William IV had 11 bastards. They used the surname "FitzClarence", because he was duke of Clarence. When Victoria became queen, she banned royal bastards from court as "ghosts best forgotten." Since then, the issue has been shrouded in secrecy and any subsequent bastards have gone unacknowledged. In recent years, there has been significant public attention given to the modern descendants of illegitimate British royalty. Referring to such people as "royal bastards" has become common, although they are generally neither royal nor bastards. For example, the term is used by the hereditary society "Descendants of the Illegitimate Sons and Daughters of the Kings of Britain." The society offered to admit Queen Elizabeth II, noting that she is a descendant of Henry I's illegitimate daughter Constance and has two other illegitimate ancestors. PBS produced a show called "Lost Royals" that tracked down such descendants. Anthony, bastard of Burgundy was the natural son of Philip the Good of Burgundy. He was known as "le grand bâtard" (the great bastard). He was legitimized by King Charles VIII in 1485. Henri IV had many mistresses and bastards. The children of Gabrielle d'Estrées are notable because the King may have signed a wedding agreement with their mother before her unexpected death in 1599. Louis XIV had many mistresses and bastards. Madame de Maintenon was their governess. "The bastards", as they were called, were compared to mules, unnatural hybrids who should not reproduce. "No issue should come of such species," the king once said. Louis, nonetheless, found appropriate spouses for his bastards. As bastards were considered impure, their mothers might attempt to purify them through pious behavior. Louise de La Vallière had six children by Louis XIV, including Marie Anne de Bourbon (1666–1739) and Louis de Bourbon (1667–1683). She repented by joining a Carmelite convent. There she wore a belt of iron spikes that cut into her flesh. Church leaders denounced Madame de Montespan, Louis' best-known mistress, who had seven children by him. In 1675, Father Lécuyer refused to give her absolution. "Is this the Madame that scandalises all France?" he asked. "Go abandon your shocking life and then come throw yourself at the feet of the ministers of Jesus Christ." The king's efforts to legitimize his bastards showed his, "Olympian disdain for public opinion," according to one modern author. The edict of Marly, issued in July 1714, granted two of Louis' sons by Montespan the right to succeed to the French throne. This hugely unpopular decision led to a political crisis called the "bastard distortion" in 1714–1715. It was reversed by the Parliament of Paris in July 1717, after Louis had died. Like his great-grandfather, Louis XV had many mistresses and bastards, but contrary to him, he never legitimized any of them. Prince Albert II of Monaco has two illegitimate children, Jazmin Grace Grimaldi and Alexandre Coste. In 2003, Leandro Ruiz Moragas, an illegitimate son of King Alfonso XIII's, gained the right to call himself a prince. Royal bastard A royal bastard is a child of a reigning monarch born out
how many seasons of the bastard executioner are there	Jallaad in love with Koyal and wants to marry her. Koyal too falls in love with him. When the time comes for finalizing their marriage, a man comes forward alleging that the Police Inspector is not who he claims to be, but a man who is a bastard, born out of an unknown biological father. This leads to the postponement of the marriage, and the Inspector questioning Prasad and his wife as to who he really is and who his father was. Prasad starts recounting his mother, Gayetri's, life, the fact that Amavas drugged her (Gayetri) and had sex with her, but refuses to acknowledge her after he winning a local election, a man who was selected by a shady politician to lure the innocent public to vote for him — so that he can plunder the nation to no end. Watch as this story takes you back in time, showing the greed and avarice that can encompass even the simplest of men — making him turn into a demon. Mithun Chakraborty is playing a dual role in this movie. Jallaad Jallad (English: "Executioner") is a 1995 Indian Hindi-language action film, directed by T. L. V. Prasad, released on 15 September
how many seasons of the bastard executioner are there	"Ashoka's Hell" veneer of beauty and deep inside the exclusive mansion, however, chambers were constructed filled with sadistic and cruel instruments of torture—including furnaces used to melt the metals that were to be poured on prisoners. The narrative states the chamber's architect drew inspiration from the five tortures of the Buddhist hell. The "Ashokavadana" describes the torture chamber in such terrifying detail that it spawned a belief that Ashoka—in his quest to perfect its sinister design—had visited hell itself. Through a pact made between Ashoka and the official executioner of the torture chamber anyone entering the palace, even by chance as a visitor, was not allowed to come out alive. According to the narrations of "Ashokavadana", Emperor Ashoka, prior to his conversion to Buddhism, was a fierce and sadistic ruler, known as "Ashoka the Fierce", or Chandashoka (Ashoka the Cruel), who sent his minions on a quest to find a vicious man to work as his official executioner. After some searching, Ashoka's men found a suitable candidate by the name of Girika who was so vicious that he killed his own parents because they did not want him to become Ashoka's executioner. Girika was introduced to Ashoka who soon appointed him as the official executioner of his Empire. According to legend, Girika persuaded Ashoka to design the torture chamber based on the suffering endured by people reborn in Buddhist hell. The "Ashokavadana" documents a long list of torture acts Girika designed and planned to force upon his prisoners including "prying open their mouths with an iron and pouring boiling copper down their throats". Innocent persons were not exempt from such treatment. In the narrative of "Ashokavadana", Ashoka asked Girika to disguise the torture chamber as a beautiful and "enticing" palace full of amenities such as exclusive baths and to decorate it with flowers, fruit trees and many ornaments. The palatial torture chamber was artfully designed to make people long to just look at it, and even attract them to enter, and was referred to as the "beautiful gaol". According to the mythology, beneath the veneer of beauty, inside the exclusive mansion, torture chambers were constructed which were full of the most sadistic and cruel instruments of torture including furnaces producing molten metal for pouring on the prisoners. In the narrative, Ashoka made a pact with Girika that he would never allow anyone who entered the palace to exit alive, including Ashoka himself. The torture chamber was so terrifying, that Emperor Ashoka was thought to have visited hell so that he could perfect its evil design. In the "Biographical Sutra of Emperor Ashoka" the palace is described by the sentence: 'Emperor Ashoka constructed a hell'. "Ashokavadana" refers to Girika as Chandagirika or Girika the Cruel. It appears that Girika overheard a Buddhist monk recite the "Balapanditasutta" which contains vivid descriptions of the five tortures of hell, such as: He got his ideas of how to torture prisoners from there. The text describes Girika's attitude toward punishment as follows: "Such are the five great agonies, Girika reflected, and he began to inflict these same tortures on people in his prison". In addition, the "Balapanditasutta" compares the King's torture methods to the tortures of hell. The "Ashokavadana" further mentions that sometime later a Buddhist monk by the name of Samudra happened to visit the palace and upon entering he was informed by Girika that he would be tortured to death, and was subsequently led into the torture chamber. His torturers, however, failed to injure him and he appeared able to neutralise their torture methods by realising that the suffering of the other prisoners is part of the Buddhist dogma of suffering and attaining arhatship. A particular narration detailed how Samudra, while tortured in a cauldron full of boiling water, human blood, bone marrow and excrement, caused the contents of the cauldron to cool down and then sat meditating cross-legged on a lotus sprouting from the fluid. The narrative further describes that when Ashoka heard of these miracles, he was overcome with curiosity and decided to enter the chamber to verify for himself the veracity of the stories. After arriving there he witnessed Samudra levitating with half his body on fire and the other half raining water. Intrigued he asked Samudra to identify himself. Samudra replied that he was a disciple of Buddha and adherent to the Dharma. Samudra then chastised Ashoka for having built the torture chamber and further instructed him to build 84,000 stupas according to Buddha's prophecy, and to guarantee the security of all beings. To those demands, Ashoka acquiesced. Further, he confessed to his crimes and accepted Buddha and the Dharma. The "Ashokavadana" describes the events leading to the demolition of Ashoka's torture chamber. According to the text, the torture chamber had become the site and the reason for his conversion to Buddhism. Girika, as the resident executioner of the chamber, however, reminded Ashoka of his pledge to kill anyone entering the chamber including Ashoka himself. Ashoka then questioned Girika as to who entered the torture palace first during their visit to see Samudra's miracles. Girika was then forced to admit that it was he who entered first. Upon the executioner's confession, Ashoka ordered him burnt alive and also ordered the demolition of the torture palace. According to the "Ashokavadana", "the beautiful jail was then torn down and a guarantee of security was extended to all beings". From that point on, Ashoka became known as "Ashoka the Pious". Buddhist monk Xuanzang in his writings mentions that in the 7th century AD he had visited the place where Ashoka's torture chamber once was and that it was, even at that time, referred to in Hindu tradition as "Ashoka's Hell". Xuanzang also claimed that he saw the column identifying the location of Ashoka's Hell. In[India, the palace is known as "Ashoka's Hell" and its location near Pataliputra became a popular destination for pilgrims. In the 5th century, Faxian, also a Buddhist monk, reports visiting it and his account of the story of the palace differs slightly from that of Xuanzang's. In the 1890s, British explorer Laurence Waddell, while in Patna, established that Agam Kuan, which means the "unfathomable well", was part of Ashoka's Hell as reported also by the two Chinese monks. Ashoka's Hell Ashoka's Hell was, according to legend, an elaborate torture chamber disguised as a beautiful palace full of amenities such as exclusive baths and decorated with flowers, fruit trees and ornaments. It was built by Emperor Ashoka (304–232 BCE) in Pataliputra (modern-day Patna, India), the capital city of the Maurya Empire. The torture palace's legend is detailed in the "Ashokavadana", the
how many seasons of the bastard executioner are there	Llanharan are its historic town square, Llanharan House and Church of St Julius and Aaron. On the outskirts of Llanharan, overlooking the village, sits Llanharan House. It was built in 1750 by Rees Powell and stayed with the Powell family until 1795 upon which it was purchased by Richard Hoare Jenkins. Hoare Jenkins was a High Sheriff of Glamorgan and he was involved in the suppression of the Merthyr Rising of 1831, and is recorded as stating he found the execution of Dic Penderyn as the most difficult of his civic duties. Around 1800 some major improvements were made to the house with the addition of a three-storey circular stair hall which includes a dramatic geometrical staircase. Following the death of Hoare Jenkins in 1856 the house and the estate was passed to a Colonel John Blandy-Jenkins. Following his death in 1915 Colonel Blandy-Jenkins's wife kept the house until 1953. Llanharan house has a strong historical connection with fox hunting. This Welsh pack was named "The Llanharan" and was established by Richard Hoare Jenkins in 1805, though the pack was renamed the Llangeinor during the period when Mr John Blandy Jenkins was the squire. The Llangeinor is now based in Coity near Bridgend. Llanharan House is a Grade II listed building. The local parish church is the Church of St Julius and Aaron whose interior was redesigned in its present form by neo-gothic architect John Prichard around 1856, with work completed by 1859. The restoration work was financed by the Jenkins family of Llanharan House. Llanharan Town square consists of several historical stone buildings situated by the local river the Ewenny Fach. Llanharan town square is dominated by a public house called The High Corner which dates back to roughly 1700. Outside the High Corner is an original red telephone box. Prior to the British Industrial Revolution, Llanharan was a small agricultural village, and this was reflected in the 1851 census where a population of 330 people living in 62 buildings was recorded. In 1850 the South Wales Railway had opened a station in Llanharan making it a strategic location for surrounding industries. Later employment came from the nearby iron mines in Llanharry and Pontyclun. Towards the end of the 19th century an additional 80 houses had been built and Llanharan had a population of over a thousand. With the discovery of coal an attempt to sink two mine shafts began between 1870 and 1873, but the work was eventually abandoned as the pit was too wet and inclined. In the early 1880s, in a different location to the first sinking attempt, the first deep mine in Llanharan was opened, the Meiros Colliery. The Meiros was listed in 1888 as owned by the Llanharan Welsh Estate of Cardiff; employing 228 men. The Meiros shaft was 200 yards deep and it mined the No. 3 seam (Rhondda). Meiros Collieries Ltd took over the colliery in 1913, and in 1915 the colliery underwent considerable modernisation. At its peak in 1923, the colliery was employing 622 men. The Meiros Colliery closed in the 1930s. The Powell Duffryn Company restarted the sinking of the original steam coal seams abandoned in the early 1880s in 1922. This was named the Llanharan Colliery and consisted of two pits, Llanharan North and South pits which in 1945 employed a total of 855 and 775 men respectively. Output form the colliery was at its highest in the early and mid-1950s, producing over 234,000 tons of coal in 1952. From 1959 production began to fall sharply, and in 1962 Llanharan Colliery was closed down. From 1900 until the Powell Duffryn's Llanharn colliery closed in 1962, the area westward along the Bridgend Road became the commercial heart of a relatively flourishing mining village that survived even the depression years. Since the 1970s the residents of Llanharan have become more reliant on commuting to work as local employment reduces. Local amenities have also closed over the years including Llanharan's cinema, railway station and library. In 2015 a new source of work came with the building of a set for the filming of the medieval drama The Bastard Executioner. In 1997 Llanharan rugby ground was used in the box office smash film Up 'n' Under which is a 1998 film adaptation of the John Godber play of the same title. There are two Primary Schools presently serving the community of Llanharan, they are Dolau Primary School and Llanharan Primary School. Llanharan is served by many buses and also Llanharan railway station, which reopened in December 2007 after 43 years of closure. The main road running through Llanharan is the A473 Bridgend Road, linking Bridgend to its west and Talbot Green to its east. The village hosts a Rugby Football team, Llanharan Rugby Football Club, who play in the Welsh Rugby Union Championship Division. The club formed in 1891 and was awarded membership to the WRU in 1919. Llanharan RFC play in black shirts and shorts with three light blue horizontal hoops across the chest. Their nickname, the "Black and Blues", is taken from their colours. Their home ground is named The Dairyfield, and there is also another pitch available to the clubs disposal, The Welfare Ground. Group matches for the 1991 Women's Rugby World Cup were played at The Dairyfield. As of the 2009 season, The Dairy Field in Llanharan has been the home field of the South Wales Warriors American Football team. The Warriors play in the Western Conference of Division Two of the British American Football Association National Leagues, the primary American Football league of the United Kingdom. It is thought that the breed of dog, the Welsh Springer Spaniel, either found its origins or was historically successfully bred in Llanharan. Some breeders speak of the “Llanharan Spot”, if one describes the red point in the middle on the head of the Welsh. The Llanharan Spaniel makes up part of the Llanharan RFC club badge. Llanharan Llanharan () is a village and community in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf,
how many seasons of the bastard executioner are there	"Bastards of the Party" depicting LAPD gang hot spots of 1972. The account in Davis' book fueled Sloan to ask questions of how the gangs got started, only to receive speculation and more questions from his fellow gang-members. Sloan decided to research the subject himself. The title of the movie, "Bastards of the Party" comes from a passage in "City of Quartz" that reads: "As even "The [Los Angeles] Times" recognized, the decimation of the Panthers led directly to a recrudescence of gangs in the early 1970s. ‘Crippin,’ the most extraordinary new gang phenomenon was a bastard offspring of the Panthers’ former charisma, filling the void left by the LAPD SWAT teams." The documentary appeared at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival and at the 2006 Hollywood Black Film Festival. The television premiere aired on February 6, 2007 on HBO. Over 90 percent of the documentary was shot in 1996. "Bastards of the Party" explores various influences on California African-American gang culture. The starting point is the crisis of black leadership that marked the end of the Civil Rights Movement, particularly the government-instigated rivalry between the Black Panther Party and the Us Organization. Movements based on collective action gave way to individualism inspired by heroes of blaxploitation films like "Super Fly". In this atmosphere, Raymond Washington created the concept of a gang of the new generation that went from "the cradle to the grave" and was joined by Stanley "Tookie" Williams in the formation of the Crips. The collapse of domestic industry left black youth with few opportunities to escape from gang activity, which became a money-making operation based around the illegal drug trade. Tupac Shakur's song, "So Many Tears", is played at the end portion of the documentary. Bastards of the Party Bastards of the Party is a 2005 documentary film produced by Alex
when did the eagles win last super bowl	"Super Bowl XXXIX" Super Bowl LII), team since the 1997–1998 Denver Broncos to win consecutive Super Bowls. New England also became the second team after the Dallas Cowboys to win three Super Bowls in four years. The Eagles were making their second Super Bowl appearance after posting a 13–3 regular season record. The game was close throughout, with the teams battling to a 14–14 tie by the end of the third quarter. The Patriots then scored 10 points in the 4th quarter with Corey Dillon's 2-yard touchdown run and Adam Vinatieri's 22-yard field goal. The Eagles then cut their deficit to 24–21, with quarterback Donovan McNabb's 30-yard touchdown pass to receiver Greg Lewis, with 1:48 remaining in the game but could not sustain the comeback. Overall, New England forced four turnovers, while Patriots wide receiver Deion Branch was named Super Bowl MVP for recording 133 receiving yards and tied the Super Bowl record with 11 catches. To avoid the possibility of an incident similar to the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show during the previous year, the league selected Paul McCartney as a "safe" choice to perform during Super Bowl XXXIX's halftime. The broadcast of the game on Fox was watched by an estimated 86 million viewers. NFL owners voted to award Super Bowl XXXIX to Jacksonville during their November 1, 2000 meeting held in Atlanta. New England finished the regular season with a record of 14–2, bested only by the Steelers' 15–1 mark, and ranking 7th in yards gained (5,773) and fourth in points scored (437). The Patriots' major acquisition prior to the season was veteran running back Corey Dillon, who joined the team after playing 7 seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals. In his first 6 seasons in the league, Dillon averaged over 1,250 rushing yards per year, including setting a single-game rushing record (278 yards, but has since been broken) against the Denver Broncos on October 22, 2000. In 2003, however, injuries, conflicts with the Bengals' management and coaching staff, and other off-field problems limited him to just 541 yards during the season. By the end of the 2003 season, Dillon had lost his starting job to running back Rudi Johnson, and thus demanded to be traded. Dillon became a significant offensive weapon for the 2004 Patriots, recording 1,635 rushing yards (franchise record) and 12 touchdowns, both career highs, and was named to the Pro Bowl for the fourth time in his career. He also caught 15 passes for 103 yards and another touchdown. His contributions helped lead the team to break the NFL record for the most consecutive regular season victories (18), the record for the most consecutive overall victories (21) and earned the second best regular season record during the year at 14–2. The team's only losses during the year were to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who ended up with the league's best regular season record at 15–1, and a 29–28 loss to the Miami Dolphins on ABC's Monday Night Football. Another weapon in the Patriots' offensive backfield was running back Kevin Faulk, who rushed for 255 yards, recorded 26 receptions for 248 yards, returned 20 punts for 113 yards, returned 4 kickoffs for 73 yards, and scored 3 total touchdowns. Fullback Patrick Pass also emerged as a big contributor, rushing for 141 yards, catching 28 passes for 215 yards, and gaining another 115 yards on kickoff returns. Pro Bowl quarterback Tom Brady remained at the helm of the Patriots offense, completing 288 out of 474 (60.8 percent) of his passes for 3,692 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. Although wide receiver Deion Branch, New England's major deep threat, missed most of the season because of injuries, he did record 35 receptions for 454 yards and 4 touchdowns. Wide receiver David Givens ended up being the team's leading receiver with 56 catches for 874 yards and 3 touchdowns. Wide receiver David Patten also contributed with 44 receptions for 800 yards and 7 touchdowns, and tight end Daniel Graham had 30 receptions for 364 yards and 7 touchdowns. On special teams, pro bowl kicker Adam Vinatieri had the best season of his career, leading the NFL in field goals made (31), field goal percentage (93.9) and scoring (141 points) On defense, the Patriots were plagued by injuries, especially in their secondary. Defensive backs Tyrone Poole and Ty Law suffered season-ending injuries, while safety Eugene Wilson, who led the team with 4 interceptions, missed several games. In order to compensate for the losses, the following players were promoted to starters: With their patchwork secondary, the Patriots ranked just 17th in passing yards allowed (3,400) and 22nd in completions allowed (315). However, they did rank 7th in interceptions (20) and 10th in fewest passing touchdowns allowed (18). Most importantly, New England continued to win despite the injuries. Brown actually turned out to be very effective playing as a defensive back, ranking second on the team with 3 interceptions. Safety Rodney Harrison was also an impact player, leading the team with 138 tackles while also recording 3 sacks and 2 interceptions. Up front, the Patriots' defensive line was anchored by Pro Bowler Richard Seymour, who recorded 5 sacks and 1 fumble recovery. New England also still had their trio of impact veteran linebackers: Pro Bowler Tedy Bruschi (122 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 3 interceptions, and 70 return yards), Willie McGinest (9.5 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, and 1 interception), and Mike Vrabel (71 tackles and 5.5 sacks), along with Ted Johnson. Vrabel also frequently played at the tight end position during offensive plays near the opponent's goal line, recording 2 touchdown receptions. The Eagles gained the 2004 NFC Super Bowl berth after 3 consecutive defeats in the NFC Championship Game to the St. Louis Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (who won Super Bowl XXXVII that year), and Carolina Panthers, respectively. The Eagles hired Andy Reid as their head coach in 1999 following two straight losing seasons. That same year, they used their first-round pick in the NFL draft (the second overall) to select quarterback Donovan McNabb. Although they finished the 1999 regular season with a 5–11 record, they became a playoff team in 2000, with McNabb throwing for 3,365 yards and 21 touchdowns while also rushing for 629 yards and another 6 touchdowns. The Eagles achieved the best regular season record in the conference during the combined 2001, 2002, and 2003 seasons with a total of 35 wins out of 48 games, but lost the NFC Championship Game in each of those 3 years. Prior to the 2004 season, the Eagles traded for wide receiver Terrell Owens to be the impact player to help get them to the Super Bowl. Owens joined the team after 8 seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. McNabb had the best season of his career in 2004, completing 300 out of 469 (64 percent) passes for 3,875 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions, making him the first quarterback to ever throw for more than 30 touchdowns and fewer than 10 interceptions in a season. He also rushed for 220 yards and 3 touchdowns. Wide receiver Todd Pinkston was also a reliable target, recording 36 catches for 676 yards. Philadelphia's running game was not as strong as their passing attack, ranking just 24th in the league in rushing yards (1,639). Running back Brian Westbrook led the team with 812 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns, however he also led all NFL running backs in receiving with 73 receptions for 706 yards and 6 touchdowns. Veteran running back Dorsey Levens was also a big contributor with 410 rushing yards. The Eagles' offensive line was led by Pro Bowl tackles Tra Thomas and Jon Runyan and center Hank Fraley. Three of their four starters in the defensive secondary were named to the Pro Bowl: Cornerback Lito Sheppard (1 sack, 5 interceptions, 172 return yards and 2 touchdowns), safety Michael Lewis (88 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 1 sack, and 1 interception) and safety Brian Dawkins (3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, and 4 interceptions for 40 return yards), while their fourth starter, cornerback Sheldon Brown, also enjoyed a solid year (89 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 2 interceptions). Their defensive line was anchored by Pro Bowl defensive tackle Corey Simon (5.5 sacks) and defensive ends Jevon Kearse (7.5 sacks, Pro Bowl) and Derrick Burgess. Pro Bowl middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, who only started 9 games, recorded 69 tackles and 1 sack. The Eagles started the 2004 regular season with seven straight wins before suffering a loss to the 15-1 Steelers. After that, they finished the season with a 13–3 record. Their only other 2 losses were in their last 2 games of the season, when they decided to rest all of their starters because they had already clinched the NFC #1 seed, and thus home-field advantage in the playoffs. However, during a December 19, 12–7 win over the Dallas Cowboys, Owens was seriously injured on a "horse-collar tackle" by Cowboys defensive back Roy Williams and had to miss the rest of the regular season and the playoffs. Despite the loss of Owens, the Eagles beat the Minnesota Vikings, 27–14, and the Atlanta Falcons, 27–10, in the playoffs with relative ease. McNabb recorded 21 out of 33 completions for 286 yards and two touchdowns, while receiver Freddie Mitchell scored two touchdowns in the victory over the Vikings. Although Minnesota quarterback Daunte Culpepper threw for 316 yards, the Eagles defense recorded 2 interceptions, 2 sacks, and a forced fumble. McNabb then completed 17 out of 26 passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns in the win over the Falcons. The Eagles defense held dual-threat quarterback Michael Vick to only 136 passing yards, 26 rushing yards, and no touchdowns, while also recording an interception, 4 sacks, and a forced fumble on Vick. McNabb had an average passer rating of 111.3 in the two games, with 466 passing yards, 35 rushing yards, 4 touchdowns, and no turnovers. Safety Brian Dawkins was also an important player, recording a sack and a forced fumble against the Vikings, followed by an interception and a forced fumble against the Falcons in the NFC Championship Game. Meanwhile, the Patriots defeated the Indianapolis Colts, 20–3, holding the league's highest scoring team with 522 total points to just one field goal, Indianapolis' lowest point total since their opening game of the 2003 season. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning threw for 4,557 yards during the regular season, and set NFL records for most touchdown passes in a regular season (49) and highest quarterback rating (121.4). The Patriots then defeated the first seeded Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship Game, 41–27. Although Pittsburgh had beaten New England, 34–20, during the regular season and led the league in fewest total yards allowed, they could not stop the Patriots. Brady threw for 207 yards and 2 touchdowns; Dillon rushed for 73 yards and a touchdown; and Branch, who was coming off of his injuries, recorded 4 receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown, along with 37 rushing yards and another touchdown on 2 carries. Owens was cleared to play in Super Bowl XXXIX, defying doctors orders by playing on his injured ankle containing 2 screws and a metal plate. The other major story was the Patriots' potential loss of both their offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator at the end of the season, and how it might affect the team in 2005. On December 12, 2004, about a month and a half before the game, New England offensive coordinator Charlie Weis signed a contract to become the head coach of Notre Dame starting in the 2005 season. Due to injuries at the tight end spot, the Eagles were forced to sign Jeff Thomason, a former tight end who was working construction at the time, to a one-game contract for the Super Bowl. Thomason saw time during several plays, although never had a ball thrown his way. This was his third Super Bowl, playing in two with the Green Bay Packers during Andy Reid's days as a Packer assistant. With this appearance the Patriots became the 8th team to make it to the Super Bowl for the 5th time. They joined the Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins, Washington Redskins, and Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders. They would be joined by the Green Bay Packers in 2011 and the New York Giants in 2012. The Eagles were trying to win their first NFL title since 1960 and the first championship for the city of Philadelphia since Moses Malone's "fo', fi', fo'" during the 76ers run to the NBA Championship. With President George W. Bush being inaugurated for a second time in January, the Eagles were also trying to end a losing streak—teams in the city of Philadelphia had lost six straight championships during presidential inauguration years, beginning with the 76ers loss in . The streak included the Eagles in Super Bowl XV in 1981. 1989 was not included in that streak, but 1977, 1981, 1985 (Flyers), 1993 (Phillies), 1997 (Flyers), and 2001 (76ers) were. The game was televised in the United States by Fox, with play-by-play announcer Joe Buck and color commentators Cris Collinsworth and Troy Aikman. Pam Oliver (Patriots sideline) and Chris Myers (Eagles sideline) served as sideline reporters. This marked the first time since Super Bowl I that none of the network commentators had ever called a Super Bowl game before (although Collinsworth had worked three prior Super Bowl telecasts as a pregame analyst). This was also the last game that Collinsworth broadcast as a member of the "Fox NFL" team, as he chose to return to NBC in the following off-season. James Brown hosted all the events with help from his fellow "Fox NFL Sunday" cast members Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, and Jimmy Johnson. Jillian Barberie served as weather and entertainment reporter. Following the game, Fox aired a special episode of "The Simpsons" ("Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass") and the series premiere of "American Dad!" ("Pilot"), except in Philadelphia and Boston, where local newscasts delayed the premieres by an hour. Before the game, performances came from the Black Eyed Peas, Earth Wind & Fire, Charlie Daniels, John Fogerty, and Gretchen Wilson. Shortly before kickoff, Alicia Keys sang "America the Beautiful," paying tribute to Ray Charles, who died in June 2004. The combined choirs of the U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Air Force Academy, and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy (including members of The Idlers) sang the national anthem accompanied by the U.S. Army Herald Trumpets. This was the first time in more than 30 years that all four service academies sang together—the last time was at the second inauguration of President Richard Nixon in 1973. The traditional military missing man formation flyby was this year performed by a pair of F/A-18 Super Hornets from VFA-106 at NAS Oceana and a pair of the Air Force's newest fighters, the F-22 Raptor, flying from Tyndall AFB, the training base for the Raptor. The earlier military flyby during the veterans' salute was conducted by 2 T-6 Texan trainers and a B-25 Mitchell bomber. The coin toss ceremony featured youth football players from Jacksonville: Tyler Callahan, Tyler Deal, Lawrence McCauley, and Jacob Santana; and New Orleans NFL Junior Player Development coach Tamaris Jackson. They were billed as the first non-celebrities to participate in the coin toss. For the third straight year, each team took the field "en masse," following a tradition the Patriots had started in Super Bowl XXXVI. In prerecorded video segments, Andover, Massachusetts native Michael Chiklis introduced the Patriots, and Philadelphia-born Will Smith introduced the Eagles. Paul McCartney performed during the halftime show; his selection by the NFL, the show's producers, Don Mischer Productions, and the show's sponsor, Ameriquest Mortgage, was considered to be a "safe" choice, as it avoided the possibility for an incident similar to that which sparked the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy the previous year. McCartney's set consisted of these songs: Taking the concept a step further, for the first time, a theme was tied to the event: Building Bridges, as symbolized by the theme logo, represented by the Main Street Bridge, one of the seven bridges that crosses over the St. Johns River in the host city, and according to the League, symbolized the bridging of a nation under the NFL football umbrella. The theme was also used by Jacksonville-area nonprofit Fresh Ministries in a major event entitled "Bridges of Peace," featuring city officials asking the people to unite for the Super Bowl and heal the wounds of segregation. Former Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton appeared in support of their bipartisan effort to raise money for relief of the December 26, 2004 tsunami in southeast Asia through the USA Freedom Corps, an action which former President Bush described as "transcending politics." On the first drive of the game, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb fumbled while being sacked by New England linebacker Willie McGinest, and the Patriots recovered the ball at Philadelphia's 34-yard line. Eagles' coach Andy Reid's instant replay challenge overruled the fumble; officials ruled that McNabb had been down by contact before the ball came out of his hands. Later in the quarter after each team had punted twice, McNabb completed a 30-yard pass to Terrell Owens, with a roughing the passer penalty adding 9 yards, moving the ball inside the Patriots 20-yard line. However, linebacker Mike Vrabel sacked McNabb for a 16-yard loss on the next play. On the following play, the Eagles once again appeared to turn the ball over: McNabb's pass was intercepted in the end zone by Patriots defensive back Asante Samuel, but it was nullified by an illegal contact penalty on linebacker Roman Phifer, moving the ball back inside the 20 and giving the Eagles a first down. However, McNabb's second chance was wasted as he threw an interception to safety Rodney Harrison on the next play. This was Donovan McNabb's first red zone interception of the season. The Eagles defense then forced New England to a three-and-out on their ensuing possession, and Philadelphia got great field position by receiving the punt at the Patriots 45-yard line. But once again, they gave up another turnover: tight end L. J. Smith lost a fumble while being tackled by defensive back Randall Gay, and Eugene Wilson recovered the ball at the 38. The Eagles defense once again forced New England to punt, and got the ball back at their own 19-yard line. Aided by a pair of completions from McNabb to wide receiver Todd Pinkston for gains of 17 and 40 yards, the Eagles drove 81 yards in nine plays and scored on McNabb's six-yard touchdown pass to Tight End LJ Smith, taking a 7–0 lead with 9:55 left in the second quarter. It was the first time New England trailed during the entire postseason. On their ensuing drive, the Patriots moved the ball to the Eagles four-yard line, mainly on plays by running back Corey Dillon, who caught two screen passes for 29 yards and rushed for 25. But quarterback Tom Brady fumbled the ball on a fake handoff Play-action pass and Philadelphia defender Darwin Walker recovered it. However, the Eagles could not take advantage of the turnover and had to punt after 3 plays. Eagles punter Dirk Johnson's punt went just 29 yards, giving the Patriots the ball at Philadelphia's 37-yard line. The Patriots then drove 37 yards to score on Brady's 4-yard pass to receiver David Givens with 1:10 remaining in the period, tying the game 7–7 by halftime. It was only the second halftime tie in Super Bowl history and the first time both of the game's first two quarters ended tied. On the opening drive of the second half, Patriots wide receiver Deion Branch caught 4 passes for 71 yards on a drive that ended with Brady's 2-yard touchdown pass to Vrabel, who lined up at the tight end spot on the play. The Eagles later tied the game with 3:39 left in the third period with a 74-yard, 10-play drive that was capped by McNabb's 10-yard touchdown pass to running back Brian Westbrook. For the first time in Super Bowl history, the game was tied going into the fourth quarter. Early in the final period, the Patriots put together a 9-play, 66-yard scoring drive that was keyed by 3 plays from running back Kevin Faulk, who caught 2 passes for 27 combined yards and rushed once for 12. Dillon capped off the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to give the Patriots a 21–14 lead. Then after forcing another Eagles punt, Branch made a spectacular catch, taking the ball out of the hands of cornerback Sheldon Brown. The 19 yard gain, and a roughing-the-passer penalty on Philadelphia defensive lineman Corey Simon on the same play, set up kicker Adam Vinatieri's 22-yard field goal with 8:43 left in the game to increase the score 24–14 in favor of New England. In all three Patriots' Super Bowl wins in the decade, they held a double digit lead in the 4th quarter. The Eagles responded with a long McNabb completion to Owens. However, after reaching the New England 36-yard line, McNabb fired a pass over the head of Dorsey Levens, where Tedy Bruschi was waiting to intercept it at the Patriots 24-yard line. At this point, there was only 7:20 to play in the game, with the Patriots still up by 10 points. The Eagles did force New England to punt, and got the ball back at their own 21-yard line, but with 5:40 left in the game. The Eagles then drove 79 yards in 13 plays, however they used a full huddle for the entire drive. McNabb's 30-yard touchdown pass to receiver Greg Lewis cut the deficit to 24-21. Because the Eagles used a full huddle, the drive consumed 3:52 of the clock, and only 1:48 remained in the game by the time Lewis scored. Because of this, many sportswriters later criticized the Eagles for not immediately going to a no-huddle offense at the start of the possession. Anecdotal reports later came out alleging that McNabb was suffering from dry-heaves, and teammates Jon Ritchie and Lito Sheppard have gone on record years later that McNabb was suffering from dry-heaves or vomiting, though no video evidence exists and the stories have not been confirmed. Hank Fraley said in an interview the day after the game that McNabb was "almost puking" due to two large hits from Tedy Bruschi and Jarvis Green on back-to-back plays.<ref name="B/R vomit"></ref> McNabb himself denies that he was vomiting or dry-heaving during the final drive, and Brian Westbrook later claimed that McNabb was merely "coughing." The Eagles failed to recover their ensuing onside kick attempt, with Christian Fauria catching the ball cleanly and sliding down to seal possession for New England. The Patriots then played it safe by running the ball 3 times and forcing Philadelphia to use all of its timeouts. New England punter Josh Miller then pinned the Eagles back at their own 4-yard line with just 46 seconds left in the game. Philadelphia then tried one last desperate drive to win or tie the game. But on first down, McNabb was pressured into making a rushed pass to Westbrook at the line of scrimmage. Instead of dropping the pass to stop the clock, Westbrook made the mistake of catching the ball and was immediately tackled for no gain, keeping the clock running and forcing the Eagles to run back to the line of scrimmage for their next play with no huddle. On second down, McNabb threw an incomplete pass intended for Owens. Finally on third down, McNabb threw a pass that deflected off of the outstretched fingertips of Smith and into the arms of Harrison for an interception with nine seconds left. Tom Brady took a knee to run out the clock, clinching the 3rd Super Bowl title in 4 years for the Patriots, and in the eyes of many establishing themselves as a dynasty. McNabb completed 30 out of 51 passes for 357 yards and 3 touchdowns, but threw 3 interceptions and was sacked four times. McNabb's 357 yards are tied with Joe Montana for the seventh most in Super Bowl history and third most of any quarterback, as Tom Brady holds both the top and number 2 spot, with 505 yards in Super Bowl LII and 468 yards in Super Bowl LI. Westbrook was the Eagles leading rusher with 44 yards, while also catching 6 passes for 70 yards and a touchdown and returning 3 punts for 19 yards. Pinkston caught 4 passes for 82 yards, while Owens was the Eagles' top receiver with 9 catches for 122 yards, however neither of them scored a touchdown. Brady completed 23 out of 33 passes for 236 yards and 2 touchdowns. Dillon was the top rusher of the game with 75 yards and a touchdown, and had 3 catches for 31 yards. Running back Kevin Faulk contributed 38 rushing yards and 27 receiving yards. Branch's Super Bowl record 11 catches tied Cincinnati Bengals' Dan Ross in Super Bowl XVI and San Francisco 49ers' Jerry Rice in Super Bowl XXIII. Coincidentally, all three would later be traded to the Seattle Seahawks: Ross in 1985, Rice in 2004 and Branch in 2006. Branch's combined 21 catches in Super Bowls XXXVIII and XXXIX are the most in back-to-back Super Bowls. Branch also became the third offensive player ever to win Super Bowl MVP honors without scoring a touchdown or throwing a touchdown pass. The other two players were Joe Namath in Super Bowl III and Fred Biletnikoff in Super Bowl XI. Branch and Terrell Owens each had 100 yards receiving, marking the third time in Super Bowl history, one player from each team had over 100 yards in a Super Bowl. Michael Irvin and Andre Reed were the first in Super Bowl XXVII, and Branch and Muhsin Muhammad the second a year earlier in Super Bowl XXXVIII. Branch also became the fourth player to have at least 100 yards receiving in back-to-back Super Bowls, joining John Stallworth, Jerry Rice and Antonio Freeman. Also, Mike Vrabel and David Givens became just the 14th and 15th players to score a touchdown in consecutive Super Bowls. Vrabel is the most surprising person on this list because he is a linebacker and he scored his on offense. They also became just the 7th and 8th players to catch a touchdown in back-to-back Super Bowls. With the victory, Tom Brady became just the fourth quarterback to win at least three Super Bowls, along with Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana and Troy Aikman. Brady also became the fourth quarterback to throw a touchdown pass in three different Super Bowls. Other quarterbacks to do it were Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana and John Elway, with Kurt Warner later accomplishing the feat during Super Bowl XLIII and Peyton Manning in Super Bowl XLVIII. The Patriots joined the Dallas Cowboys as the only teams in NFL history to win three Super Bowls in a span of four years. The Patriots' Super Bowl win was the third championship for Boston-area sports teams in 12 months, following the Patriots winning Super Bowl XXXVIII the year before and the Red Sox winning the World Series–first in 86 years–three months earlier. This marked the first time since 1989–1990 in the San Francisco Bay Area that the same market has had 2 Super Bowl and World Series winners in 12 months. The Patriots would later appear in Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI, losing both to Eli Manning's New York Giants, before winning Super Bowl XLIX against the Seattle Seahawks, 28–24, ten years later and Super Bowl LI against the Atlanta Falcons, 34-28, two years later. The latest Super Bowl win for the Patriots makes it ten titles among the four Boston teams (5 by the Patriots, 3 by the Red Sox, and one each by the Celtics and Bruins) since 2002. With the Eagles’ loss, the city of Philadelphia’s sports championship drought continued (no Philly-based pro sports team since the 1983 Sixers won the NBA title) until the Phillies won the 2008 World Series. The Eagles did not return to the Super Bowl until 2017, also with a 13-3 record, when they beat the Falcons and Vikings in the reverse order that they did in the 2004-05 playoffs. They exacted revenge on New England in Super Bowl LII, edging them 41–33. This is the last time that a team has won back-to-back Super Bowls, with the Patriots losing their second playoff game a year later and then, for the next eight years, every team either losing their first playoff game or missing them altogether. The streak was broken in 2014 when the Seahawks defeated the Panthers and ultimately advanced to the Super Bowl, only to lose to a Patriots goal line stand. The next year, the Patriots, having faltered down the stretch, entered those playoffs as the second seed behind the Broncos, who then defeated New England in the AFC Title Game that year en route to a title of their own in Super Bowl 50. Two years later, the Patriots, defending champions themselves from Super Bowl LI, returned to repeat their title only to lose the aforementioned Super Bowl LII. Sources: NFL.com Super Bowl XXXIX, Super Bowl XXXIX Play Finder NE, Super Bowl XXXIX Play Finder Phi Completions/attempts Carries Long gain Receptions Times targeted Source: As usual, the television coverage of this year's Super Bowl was the showcase for the most expensive commercials in television—both to produce and to buy airtime (at the rate of $2.4 million US for 30 seconds). One ad that drew the ire of many—including the NFL—was for the internet domain provider Go Daddy, which tweaked the controversial halftime of the previous year's game with a mock censorship hearing featuring a comely woman, Nikki Cappelli (played by WWE Wrestler Candice Michelle), having a "wardrobe malfunction". Fox pulled the second airing of the ad, scheduled for the two-minute warning of the fourth quarter, along with a five-second plug, and it was replaced with a promo for "The Simpsons". The Scottsdale, Arizona-based World Wide Web domain registration company got a refund on the second ad. Another popular ad was made by the NFL. It featured players who were not in the Super Bowl, headlined by Pittsburgh Steelers rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger being at a beach resort, depressed he did not make it in. Joe Montana comforted Roethlisberger, and soon both Montana and Roethlisberger joined many other players in different locations in an off-key yet rousing edition of "Tomorrow" from the musical "Annie". The commercial ended with the tagline: "Tomorrow, we're all undefeated again." Roethlisberger went on to lead the Steelers to victory in Super Bowl XL the very next season. The top ad, as chosen by the USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter was for Anheuser-Busch's Bud Light featuring a timid skydiver making his first jump getting enticed with a six-pack of the product. This ad was ranked second on ADBOWL. The highest ranked commercial by ADBOWL was Anheuser-Busch's "Applause." For the first time since the campaign started in Super Bowl XXI, no "I'm going to Disney World!" ad aired following Super Bowl XXXIX. Each member of the Patriots received a payment of $68,000 for winning the game. The Eagles each received $36,500. When adjusted for inflation, the Patriots salary was actually less than the $15,000 paid to members of the Green Bay Packers for winning Super Bowl I in 1967. That amount of money in 1967 equated to approximately $85,000 in 2005. Super Bowl XXXIX Super Bowl XXXIX was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2004
when did the eagles win last super bowl	"2017 Philadelphia Eagles season" New York Giants in Week 15 helped the Eagles clinch a first-round bye for the first time in 13 years, and a Christmas Night home win over the Oakland Raiders allowed the Eagles to clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs for the first time since 2004. The Eagles defeated the Atlanta Falcons 15–10 in the Divisional Round and routed the Minnesota Vikings 38–7 in the NFC Championship. The win against the Falcons in the divisional round was their first playoff win since 2008. The Eagles were the first No. 1 seed in the playoffs since 1980 to be an underdog in the Divisional Round, as well as in the Conference Championship. In total, six Eagles players were selected for the Pro Bowl, including four first-time recipients. However, none of them participated due to preparations for Super Bowl LII. The Eagles defeated the New England Patriots by a score of 41–33 in Super Bowl LII for their first Super Bowl victory in franchise history. It was also their fourth NFL Championship, and their first league title since 1960. This was the second time the Eagles and Patriots battled in a Super Bowl; when they met in Super Bowl XXXIX, the Patriots won 24–21. Backup quarterback Nick Foles was named Super Bowl MVP and became the first backup to receive this award since his opponent, Tom Brady, did in Super Bowl XXXVI. The Eagles defeated both Super Bowl teams from the previous NFL season (the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons) in the playoffs. They also defeated both teams who had beaten them in their only two previous Super Bowl appearances. They defeated the Oakland Raiders in the regular season, who beat them in Super Bowl XV and the Patriots in the Super Bowl, who previously beat them in Super Bowl XXXIX. Notes The Eagles began their 2017 season on the road against the Washington Redskins and won 30-17. However, the team lost the following week to the Kansas City Chiefs in Doug Pederson's return to face his mentor and the team's former coach, Andy Reid. Then the Eagles went on a nine-game win streak which consisted of dominant home wins over the Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears. However, their win streak came to an end at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks in Week 13 by a score of 24-10 in Seattle. But the team bounced back and won 43-35 over the Los Angeles Rams, which gave them the NFC East title, but Carson Wentz tore his ACL in that game, causing Nick Foles to finish off the win and become starter for the rest of the season. In his first start against the New York Giants, the Eagles trailed 20-7 but Foles threw four touchdowns for a close 34-29 win over the Giants to help the Eagles take a first-round bye in the 2017 postseason. Foles then began to struggle in Week 16 against the Oakland Raiders, throwing a touchdown and an interception and missing his receivers; as a result, the Eagles defense and special teams had to carry the offensive line for a 19-10 win on a cold Christmas night to seal home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. The Eagles went on to lose a meaningless Week 17 game to the Dallas Cowboys in a shutout score of 6-0 in Nate Sudfeld's debut as an Eagle, but they finished with a record of 13-3, tying their 2004 season for that record. Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. The Eagles kicked off the 2017 season on the road against the Redskins. The Eagles started off with two TD passes from Carson Wentz to give them a 13–0 lead. (Kicker Caleb Sturgis missed an extra point after the 2nd TD.) However, the Redskins came back with a Ryan Kerrigan pick six and a TD pass from Kirk Cousins to RB Chris Thompson to give them a 14–13 lead late in second quarter. The lead was very short lived, however, as the Eagles responded with a field goal to give them a 16–14 lead at the half. The third quarter only consisted of field goals. The Eagles led 22–17 at the end of the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Kirk Cousins fumbled the ball which Eagles' DE Fletcher Cox recovered for a TD to seal an Eagles victory. This was the Eagles first win against the Redskins since September 2014, ending a five-game losing streak to their division rival. This was also the Eagles first win at FedExField since 2013. With the win, the Eagles started 1–0 for the sixth time in their last seven season openers. In Week 2, Doug Pederson faced off for the first time against his mentor, Andy Reid, as the Eagles traveled to Arrowhead Stadium to take on the Kansas City Chiefs. In a surprisingly defensive dominated game, the Chiefs led 6–3 at halftime, following a missed field goal to close out the first half by Eagles rookie kicker Jake Elliott. The Eagles took a 10–6 lead in the third quarter, with Carson Wentz finding his new wide receiver, Alshon Jeffery for their first touchdown connection of the year. Chiefs rookie running back Kareem Hunt answered with a 53-yard touchdown run, and fourth quarter touchdowns by Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Hunt opened up the lead to 27–13 with just over 2 minutes remaining in the game. Wentz led the Eagles on a scoring drive, finding Nelson Agholor in the back of the end zone with 8 seconds left in the game. The Eagles recovered the ensuing onside kick, but a Hail Mary pass to end the game fell incomplete. Eagles running back LeGarrette Blount had 1 carry for zero yards in the game, and Pederson received heat post game for not running the ball enough. The Eagles fell to 1–1 on the season. Heading into this game, there were many questions on the run game especially on Legarrette Blount as well as the offensive line who have struggled through the first two games. Plus, the Eagles were dealing with injuries on defense to S Rodney McLeod, CB Ronald Darby and backup S Corey Graham leaving Malcolm Jenkins and Chris Maragos the only healthy safeties. Despite all of the setbacks, The Eagles hosted the 0–2 Giants who have only scored 13 points through the first 2 weeks of the season. Both teams started off in slow fashion, with no first quarter points. A LeGarrette Blount 1 yard touchdown run in the second quarter were the only points of the first half, after the Eagles stopped the Giants from reaching the end zone from 1 yard out to close out the first half. Coming out in the third quarter with a 7–0 lead, the Eagles added the only points of the third quarter with Carson Wentz finding tight end Zach Ertz for a 3-yard touchdown. The Eagles defense (who were playing a solid game) broke down in the fourth quarter allowing the Giants to score 21 unanswered points to start the fourth quarter, as quarterback Eli Manning found his all pro wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. twice for touchdowns, and second year wide receiver Sterling Shepard once for a 77-yard touchdown. Fletcher Cox left the game with a calf injury. Eagles rookie running back Corey Clement ran for a 15-yard touchdown to tie the score at 21. After exchanging field goals, Wentz and the Eagles offense took over, looking to move into field goal range. Wentz connected with Alshon Jeffery for a 17-yard pass, setting up a Jake Elliott 61 yard field goal attempt with 1 second remaining. Elliott converted on the 61 yard attempt, the longest in Eagles franchise history as time expired. Wentz was quietly efficient in the game, completing 21 of 31 attempts for 176 yards and one touchdown despite playing behind a struggling offensive line. The win came at an expense, as running back Darren Sproles was ruled out for the remainder of the season with a broken arm and torn ACL, both of which occurred on the same play. Despite this injury, the Eagles ran the ball efficiently through most of the game. With the close win, the Eagles advanced to 2–1 tying the Cowboys and the Redskins for first place in the NFC East while the Giants fell to 0–3 in the basement of the division. The Eagles travelled to the west coast to take on the Los Angeles Chargers. Many Eagle fans invaded StubHub Center making it an unofficial home game for the Eagles (This would later be dubbed Lincoln Financial Field west by fans on Twitter). The Eagles jumped out to a 7–0 lead early, after Chris Long forced a fumble to set up an 8-yard touchdown pass from Carson Wentz to Alshon Jeffery. The Eagles would score on their first 5 drives of the game. Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers found Tyrell Williams for a 75-yard touchdown pass, trimming the lead to 13–7 midway through the 2nd quarter. The Eagles responded with a field goal to extend the lead. But, Chargers kicker Younghoe Koo kicked a field goal the change the scoreboard to 16–10 before halftime. The Eagles were up 19–17 when running back Wendell Smallwood ran for a three-yard touchdown, increasing the lead to 26–17. A touchdown drive capped off by Philip Rivers finding second year tight end Hunter Henry with 6:44 left in the game made the score 26–24. Riding LeGarrette Blount and his 136 yards, which included a 68-yard run, the Eagles were able to grind out the remaining time on the clock and hold on for their second close win in a row. The Eagles were overall efficient on offense. The defense played well despite giving up big plays and allowing Philip Rivers to throw 347 yards. With the win, the Eagles advanced to 3–1 maintaining a narrow 1 game lead in the NFC East. The Eagles scored early and often in this game, for their first blowout win of the season. Carson Wentz found tight ends Trey Burton and Zach Ertz for early touchdowns, and later connected with wide receiver Torrey Smith for a 59-yard touchdown to finish the first quarter. Following Smith's touchdown, the Eagles unveiled their baseball home run celebration for the first time all season. The closest the Cardinals came was in the second quarter when they trailed 21–7 following a John Brown 13 yard touchdown. In the mid third quarter, on 3rd and 19, Wentz found wide receiver Nelson Agholor for a 72-yard touchdown pass, on which Agholor juked rookie safety Budda Baker and finished the play with the Nestea Plunge. The final score was 34–7, and Wentz threw for four touchdowns, including three first quarter TD passes. Coming off a 34–7 drubbing of the Arizona Cardinals, the Eagles (4–1) travelled to take on the Carolina Panthers (4–1). The Eagles drove into Panthers territory on their first possession of the game, but a Julius Peppers strip sack against Halapoulivaati Vaitai, who was filling in for a concussed Lane Johnson. The Panthers led 10–3, with their only TD coming from a 16-yard touchdown run from quarterback Cam Newton. Late in the second quarter, rookie cornerback Rasul Douglas intercepted Cam Newton deep in Panthers territory, leading to a Zach Ertz 1 yard touchdown reception. The Eagles opened up the second half with another Zach Ertz touchdown, a 17-yard strike from Carson Wentz. Leading 21–16 after three quarters, the Eagles opened up the fourth quarter with Carson Wentz hooking up with wide receiver Nelson Agholor for a 24-yard touchdown. Cam Newton led the Panthers on a long touchdown drive, trimming the score to 28–23. A late interception by cornerback Jalen Mills and a fourth down stop by the Eagles defense sealed the Eagles fifth victory of the season, and proved they were a legitimate contender in the NFC. Following the 28–23 victory on Thursday Night Football against the Panthers, the Eagles returned home for the next 3 games and were once again in a prime time matchup; this time, a Monday Night matchup against the Washington Redskins. The Eagles started off the game in sluggish fashion, and after being backed up over 20 yards due to penalties on their first drive of the game, Carson Wentz threw his 4th interception of the season. After exchanging field goals, Redskins running back Chris Thompson caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kirk Cousins. Wentz and the Eagles responded with an offensive outburst to end the first half. Wentz found rookie wide receiver Mack Hollins for a 64-yard touchdown, and later found tight end Zach Ertz for a four-yard strike to end the first half. The Eagles increased their lead to 24–10 early in the third quarter, with Wentz finding rookie running back Corey Clement on a beautiful throw in the corner of the end zone. The Redskins responded at the end of the third, with Kirk Cousins finding tight end Jordan Reed for a five-yard touchdown. Once again, Wentz led the Eagles down the field, capping of the drive with a 10-yard touchdown to Nelson Agholor. A Jake Elliott field goal later in the quarter opened the lead to 34–17, and the Eagles went on to win 34–24. Wentz once again was in MVP form, completing 17/25 attempts for 268 yards and 4 TDs. However, the win came at a cost, as future Hall of Fame left tackle Jason Peters was lost for the season with a torn ACL, and starting middle linebacker Jordan Hicks was also lost for the season with a ruptured achilles. With the win, the Eagles improved to 6-1 and swept the Skins for the first time since 2013. The Eagles looked to win their 6th game in a row against the winless 49ers. The Eagles got off to a slow start, only leading 3–0 after the first quarter. Late in the second quarter, the Eagles blew the game open. Carson Wentz found tight end Zach Ertz for a 1-yard touchdown in the back of the end zone off of a bootleg pass, and Jalen Mills intercepted rookie QB C.J. Beathard and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown. The 49ers appeared to have some life in the third quarter, following a Carson Wentz interception, leading to a Matt Breida 22 yard touchdown reception. However, the Eagles responded, with Wentz connecting with Alshon Jeffery for a 53-yard touchdown, putting the game out of reach. The Eagles went on to win 33–10 and advanced to 7–1 on the season. Despite the win, the Eagles played a sloppy game in a rainy afternoon at the Linc. Heading into the game, there was a lot of hype surrounding new Eagles running back Jay Ajayi who was traded prior to the NFL trade deadline. The Eagles looked to improve to 8–1 for the first time since 2004 as they took on the Denver Broncos. The Broncos named Brock Osweiler as their starting quarterback, replacing Trevor Siemian. The Broncos took their only lead of the game on an opening drive that resulted with a Brandon McManus 53 yard field goal. Despite missing tight end Zach Ertz who was out with a hamstring injury, the Eagles offense didn't miss a beat. On their opening drive of the game, Carson Wentz faked a handoff to newly acquired running back Jay Ajayi, and found Alshon Jeffery wide open for a 32-yard touchdown down the right sideline. Later in the first quarter, slot cornerback Patrick Robinson picked off Brock Osweiler on an intended pass to Demaryius Thomas, setting up a Corey Clement 15 yard touchdown reception, on a screen pass. The Eagles responded to another Brandon McManus field goal with a 27-yard touchdown connection between Wentz and tight end Trey Burton. Following McManus' third field goal of the first half, Jay Ajayi found the end zone for the first time with the Eagles, with a 46-yard touchdown run to close the first half. The Eagles led 31–9 at half time, and following a third quarter touchdown run by Corey Clement and touchdown reception by Alshon Jeffery, the Eagles led 44–9. The final score was 51–23, which was virtually a mirror of their last meeting in 2013, and Corey Clement finished the day with three touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving). With the win, the Eagles went into the bye week with the best start since 2004. They had also surpassed their win total from last season where they only got 7 wins. Furthermore; this was the third largest victory at Lincoln Financial Field since the 54–11 win over the Bears in 2013 and the largest victory in the Doug Pederson era. The Eagles travelled to Dallas to take on the Cowboys, who were missing RB Ezekiel Elliott (Suspension), LT Tyron Smith (Groin), and LB Sean Lee (Hamstring). In a game that the Eagles were expected to dominate, the Eagles started off slow in the first half with Dallas leading 9–7 at halftime. Kicker Jake Elliott was ruled out for the game with a concussion, forcing the Eagles to use backup linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill for kickoffs, and to go for two point conversions. The Eagles converted three of four two point conversions, as their touchdowns came on the ground from both Kenjon Barner and Corey Clement, and through the air, with Carson Wentz finding Torrey Smith for an 11-yard TD and Alshon Jeffery for a 17-yard TD on fourth down. Late in the fourth quarter, rookie defensive end Derek Barnett notched his 2nd sack of the game, a strip sack of Dak Prescott, leading to a Nigel Bradham 37 yard scoop and score. The Eagles harassed Dak Prescott all game, sacking him 4 times, intercepting him three times, and forcing one fumble. With this win, the Eagles improved to 9–1 and improved their lead in the NFC East. With the Eagles heading into this game at 9–1, they looked to take down the 3–7 Chicago Bears. The Eagles blew out the Bears with a final score of 31–3 and improved to 10–1 on the season. The Eagles held the Bears to no first downs in the first half, and led 24–0 at halftime. Zach Ertz became the first Eagles receiver of 2017 to record at least 100 receiving yards in a game, catching 10 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown. Alshon Jeffery had 5 receptions for 52 yards and a touchdown. Nelson Agholor added 3 receptions for 32 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown, and recovered a Jay Ajayi fumble for a touchdown late in the game. Carson Wentz continued his MVP campaign, completing 23 of 36 passes, for 227 yards, and 3 touchdowns. The Eagles defense stymied Mitchell Trubisky and the Bears offense, holding running back Jordan Howard to 6 yards on 7 rushes. Malcolm Jenkins and Corey Graham each added one interception. The Eagles struggled throughout this game with penalties and scoring blows that led them losing 24-10 to the Seattle Seahawks. With the loss, the Eagles snapped their 9-game winning streak, lost to Seattle for the fourth time since 2008 and fell to 10-2. The loss dropped them to a tie with the Minnesota Vikings for top seed in the NFC. The 10-2 Eagles bounced back from last week's heartbreaking 24-10 loss to Seattle, and for the first time since 2013, the Eagles clinched the NFC East title. However, Carson Wentz suffered an apparent knee injury while trying to dive for a touchdown late in the third quarter. He did throw a touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery before being ruled out for the game's remainder. The Eagles were already without Darren Sproles, Jason Peters and Jordan Hicks for the rest of the year. Nick Foles would come in and replace Wentz. This was also the first matchup of the Jared Goff-Carson Wentz rivalry. Trailing by two in the final seconds, the Rams attempted a last second comeback through lateral passes, but to no avail as a pass was fumbled with no time left on the clock, and returned by Brandon Graham for one more touchdown to add six to their lead. With the win, the Eagles advanced to 11-2 and clinched the NFC East. They also got back the #1 seed thanks to a Vikings loss to the Panthers earlier in the day. The day after the game, Wentz was revealed to have torn his ACL, officially ending his season and making Nick Foles the starting quarterback for the rest of the season. The Philadelphia Eagles headed into Week 15 of the 2017 NFL Season at 11-2. With them clinching the NFC East in Week 14 in a win against the Rams, the Eagles were now fighting for the 1st seed in the NFC playoffs, home-field advantage, and a first-round bye. This was the first week that the Eagles played without MVP-candidate, Carson Wentz after he went down with a torn ACL in Week 14 which ended his season. Backup quarterback, Nick Foles led the Eagles offense for his first time since 2014. The Eagles quickly fell behind 6-0 in the first few minutes of the 1st as Eli Manning and the New York Giants marched down the field and scored on their opening possession. The Eagles responded with a 3-yard pass from Nick Foles to Alshon Jeffery and went up 7-6. Towards the end of the 1st, the Giants scored again with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Tavarres King to put them up 13-7. In the beginning of the second quarter, the Giants continued to show dominance as Eli Manning threw a 67-yard touchdown pass to put the Giants up 20-7. Nick Foles and the offense would eventually close the gap to bring the Eagles within two points at halftime with the Giants leading 23-21. The Eagles would eventually take the lead off of a 28-yard field goal from Jake Elliot to put them up 24-23. In the middle of the fourth, Nelson Agholor caught a 10-yard pass from Nick Foles which gave the Eagles a 31-23 lead. The Giants responded with a score of their own, a 57-yard touchdown pass to Tavarres King which cut the Eagles lead to 31-29 after a failed attempt at a tying 2-point conversion. In the fourth, Jake Elliott hit a 20-yard field goal to put the Eagles up 34-29. The Eagles won the game 34-29 on a last minute defensive stop in their own territory. With this win, the Eagles improved to a league-best 12-2 and clinched a first-round bye for the first time since 2004. Despite the win, the defense played a terrible game against a woeful Giants team that has been decimated with injuries since the two teams met in Week 3. NFL Christmas Games This game prove to be the opposite of the previous game as the defense and special teams had to carry the team to a 19-10 win over the Oakland Raiders. The Eagles start off solid with a Nick Foles TD pass to Jay Ajayi to put them up 7-0, but coming in the second quarter, Derek Carr threw a 36-yard pass to Amari Cooper to tie things up at 7. Jake Elliott missed a 33-yard field goal thus leaving the game tied at 7 at halftime. In the third quarter the Raiders take a 10-7 lead with a Giorgio Tavecchio kick, but the Eagles responded later with a Jake Elliott field goal to tie the game up at 10 after a turnover and pick battle. Defensive efforts and poor offense by both teams caused them to trade punts going into the fourth quarter. Tavecchio missed a 48-yarder and Derek Carr threw another pick, which leads to Jake Elliott nailing a 48-yarder of his own to put the Eagles up 13-10. With only 3 seconds left, the Raiders try to lateral the ball, but end up fumbling it, and Derek Barnett ran it in to the end zone as time expires to put up six more points, making the final score 19-10. With the win the Eagles would improve to 13-2 on the season and clinch the No.1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the NFC Playoffs. Despite the achievements, the offense played poorly. The defense stepped up after the Amari Cooper touchdown. In a meaningless Week 17 game for both teams and in a mirror image of last year's season finale, the 13-2 Eagles rested several of their starters while playing others briefly. Nick Foles stayed in for one quarter, struggling to a stat line of 4 completions in 11 attempts, for 39 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Third-string quarterback Nate Sudfeld replaced Foles for the remaining three quarters, throwing 19 completions in 23 attempts, for 134 yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions. Dak Prescott's 20 yard touchdown pass to Brice Butler early in the fourth quarter was the only score all game and the Cowboys prevailed 6-0. With the loss, the Eagles dropped to 13-3 and were unable to set a franchise record for most wins in a 16-game season (the 2017 Eagles tied the 2004 team with 13 wins). Despite only playing for a quarter, Foles played poorly for the second straight week. This wound up questioning many Eagle fans and sportswriters about how they would perform in the playoffs: setting the stage for the underdogs. The Eagles entered their first playoff game as the first No.1 seeded team since the 1970 Colts to be an underdog in the playoffs. The Eagles relied on their defense to stop the 6th seeded Atlanta Falcons on their drives to prevail a 15-10 win to advance to the NFC Championship Game. In that game, against the top-ranked Minnesota Vikings defense, Nick Foles and the Eagles offense dominated drive after drive and came for 4 touchdowns and the defense bothered the Vikings all night as the Eagles destroyed the Vikings 38-7 to advance to Super Bowl LII in a Super Bowl XXXIX rematch with the New England Patriots. Foles had his best performance since Week 15, and his third best as an Eagles player, throwing for 352 yards and 4 touchdowns. The Eagles defeated the Patriots 41-33 to win their first Super Bowl title in franchise history, and their first championship since 1960. During the game, a trick play, known as the Philly Special was called where three players combined for a touchdown at 4th-and-Goal before halftime. Nick Foles was name the Super Bowl MVP, the first backup player or quarterback to earn this award. Foles was 28-of-43 of his passes, threw for 373 yards, 3 touchdowns, an interception and even caught a score. The Philadelphia Eagles entered their first playoff game since 2013 as the first ever number one seed underdog in the divisional round. Following a theme set in the last two games of the regular season, the Eagles relied heavily on their defense, surrendering just 10 points to a strong Falcons offense. The definitive moment of the game came up on the Falcons' final drive when the Eagles defense thwarted 4 Falcons scoring attempts. On 4th & Goal from the two yard line, Matt Ryan threw an incomplete pass to Julio Jones, essentially sealing a 15-10 win for the Eagles. Against many analyst predictions, the top seeded Philadelphia Eagles advanced to the NFC Championship game. The Eagles were once again underdogs going into the NFC Championship Game, this time to the second-seeded Minnesota Vikings, who were coming off a notable playoff victory in the Divisional Round. This was the Eagles first NFC Championship appearance since the 2008–09 NFL playoffs. Though the Eagles allowed a Vikings touchdown on the opening drive, it was the Vikings only score. Case Keenum's pick-six to Patrick Robinson changed the game, as the rest of the game represented total domination from Nick Foles and the Eagles' offense, who racked up 456 total yards and 38 unanswered points. With a blowout win against one of the league's top defenses, the Eagles advanced to their third Super Bowl. The Philadelphia Eagles entered Super Bowl LII as a 5.5 point underdog to the defending champions; the New England Patriots. This was also their first appearance in 13 years, with their last Super Bowl berth happening in 2005 (Super Bowl XXXIX), which also happened to be against the New England Patriots. In the first quarter, the Eagles managed to score first when Jake Elliott kicked a 25-yard field goal to make the score 3–0. However, the Pats would then tie the game up at 3–3 when Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 26-yard field goal. The Eagles retook the lead when Nick Foles found Alshon Jeffery on a 34-yard pass (with a failed PAT) to make it 9–3 to close out the quarter. The Eagles increased their lead in the second quarter when LeGarrette Blount ran for a 21-yard touchdown (with a failed 2-point conversion) to make it 15–3. The Pats however managed to score twice when Gotskowski kicked a 45-yard field goal followed up by James White running for a 26-yard touchdown (with a failed PAT) to make it 15–6 and then 15–12. A trick play saw Foles score a receiving touchdown off a 1-yard pass from tight end Trey Burton to make it 22–12 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Pats drew closer when Tom Brady found Rob Gronkowski on a 5-yard pass to make it 22–19. However, the Eagles managed to pull away again when Foles found Corey Clement on a 22-yard pass to make it 29–19. The Pats closed out the quarter by getting close again when Brady found Chris Hogan on a 26-yard pass to make the score 29–26. In the fourth quarter, the Eagles moved further ahead when Elliott kicked a 42-yard field goal to make the score 32–26. The Pats would finally take the lead when Brady found Gronkowski again on a 5-yard pass to make the score 33–32. The Eagles would respond with a 14-play, 75 yard drive when Foles found Zach Ertz on an 11-yard pass (with a failed 2-point conversion), giving the Eagles the lead 38–33. On the Patriots' following possession, with 2:16 to play, Tom Brady was sacked by Brandon Graham and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Derek Barnett at the Patriots' 31 yard line. The Eagles would increase their lead on Elliott's 46-yard field goal to make it 41–33. With seconds left, the Pats were able to advance the ball down to midfield. With under 10 seconds remaining, Brady tried for a Hail Mary pass that could have sent the game into overtime with a touchdown and successful 2-point conversion. However, Gronkowski would be blanketed in the end zone by Eagles defenders causing the pass to fall incomplete, sealing the game and the Patriots' last hopes. The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Patriots by a score of 41–33. Nick Foles also was named Super Bowl MVP after the game. With this win, the Eagles finally won their first Super Bowl, and their first NFL title since 1960. A Super Bowl victory parade took place four days later on February 8. 2017 Philadelphia Eagles season The 2017 Philadelphia Eagles season was the franchise's 85th season in the National Football League, the 15th playing their home games at Lincoln Financial Field, and the second under head coach Doug Pederson. The Eagles improved their 7–9 record
when did the eagles win last super bowl	"Sports-related curses" of the greatest controversies in sports history. The curse will supposedly only be lifted when the championship is returned to Pottsville and to the correct shade of red team; this can only be met by overturning the original ruling, as Pottsville no longer has an NFL team and is too small to ever receive another one (with a metropolitan area roughly half the population of Green Bay, the league's smallest), making it impossible for the long-defunct Maroons to win another title. The Cardinals team holds the record for the longest championship drought, with their most recent championship coming in 1947, which is also the longest drought in American professional sports; the 1947 team was notable for having two of its members die during their playing careers within a year of each other, with Jeff Burkett dying in a plane crash following appendix surgery during the season and Stan Mauldin dying of a heart attack after a game the following season. Arizona also lost Super Bowl XLIII to another Pennsylvania team: the Pittsburgh Steelers (whose founder Art Rooney supported Pottsville's claim to the title). The franchise also leads the NFL in the total number of losses (730 through the 2017 season). George Halas, owner of the Chicago Bears, hired a cheerleading squad in 1977 known as the Honey Bears. When he died in 1983, he left the team to his daughter, Virginia Halas McCaskey. Virginia McCaskey did not like the cheerleaders at all because she saw them as "sex objects", and tried to have them disbanded, but the Honey Bears had a contract through the 1985 season. The Bears lost only one regular season game that year and won Super Bowl XX, but the Honey Bears contract was not renewed. In spite of repeated attempts to bring back the Honey Bears, the idea has been killed by the organization as long as the McCaskey family owns it, and the Bears have not won the Super Bowl since then. The last time the Bears appeared in the Super Bowl was Super Bowl XLI. They were defeated by the Indianapolis Colts by a score of 29–17. Since then, the Bears have only made one playoff appearance, in 2010, when they lost the NFC Championship to the rival Green Bay Packers at home. In 1958, the Detroit Lions traded Bobby Layne to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Layne responded to the trade by supposedly saying that the Lions would "not win for 50 years". This story has been disputed as being a hoax, particularly because the quote was never published at the time. Still, for the next 50 years after the trade, the Lions accumulated the worst winning percentage of any team in the NFL. They are still one of only two franchises that have been in the NFL since 1970 that have not played in a Super Bowl (the other team is the Cleveland Browns, but because of the Browns' three-year franchise suspension after the 1995 season due to its controversial relocation to Baltimore, the Lions' streak is longer). The Lions postseason record in this time was 1–10 in ten appearances, their lone playoff win coming against Dallas following the 1991 season. In the last year of the supposed curse, in 2008, Detroit finished 0–16, the first team to lose every game of a 16-game season. When the Pittsburgh Steelers won their fifth Super Bowl championship in 2006, they won it at Ford Field, the Lions' current home. Prior to 1999, every annual installment of the "Madden NFL" video game franchise primarily featured John Madden on its cover. In 1999, Electronic Arts selected San Francisco 49ers running back Garrison Hearst to appear on the PAL version's cover, and has since featured one of the league's top players on every annual installment despite Madden's opposition. While appearing on the cover has become an honor akin to appearing on the Wheaties box, much like the "Sports Illustrated" cover jinx, certain players who appeared on the "Madden" video game box art have experienced a decline in performance, usually due to an injury. When asked about the "Madden Curse", Chris Erb, then director of marketing for EA Sports, commented, "I don't know that we believe in the curse. The players don't believe in the curse." This alleged curse supposedly prevented the Philadelphia Eagles franchise from winning a Super Bowl game. The origin of this curse dates back to 1960, when the Eagles defeated Vince Lombardi and the Green Bay Packers in the 1960 NFL Championship Game. This would be the only playoff loss in Lombardi's coaching career. Following Lombardi's death in 1970, the league honored his legacy by naming the Super Bowl trophy after him. This renaming, combined with the Eagles inability to win another championship after their 1960 victory, led some Eagles fans to believe the franchise was cursed by Vince Lombardi; that beating Lombardi meant never winning the trophy named after him. The Eagles broke the alleged curse in 2018 by defeating the New England Patriots by a score of 41–33 in Super Bowl LII. The Super Bowl curse or Super Bowl hangover is a phrase referring to one of three things that occur in the National Football League (NFL): Super Bowl participant clubs that follow up with lower-than-expected performance the following year; NFL teams that do not repeat as Super Bowl champions; and host teams of the Super Bowl that do not play the game on their own home fields. The phrase has been used to explain both why losing teams may post below-average winning percentages in the following year and why Super Bowl champions seldom return to the title game the following year. The term has been used since at least 1992, when "The Washington Post" commented that "the Super Bowl Curse has thrown everything it's got at the Washington Redskins. The Jinx that has bedeviled defending champs for 15 years has never been in better form". The phenomenon is attributed by football commentator and former NFL manager Charley Casserly to such elements as "a shorter offseason, contract issues, [and] more demand for your players' time". Casserly also notes that "once the season starts, you become the biggest game on everybody's schedule." Alleged curse notwithstanding, multiple teams have indeed repeated as Super Bowl champions, including the Pittsburgh Steelers twice in the 1970s, the Dallas Cowboys in the 1990s, and the New England Patriots in the 2000s (decade), and there are multiple cases of teams reaching the conference championship or further up to four times in a row: the 1990s Cowboys and Buffalo Bills and the 2000s Philadelphia Eagles being three recent examples. The Phoenix Suns in their 51 years of play have yet to win the NBA Championship, even with their 9 Western Conference Finals appearances and 2 NBA Finals appearances no Suns team has been able to bring the NBA Title to the city of Phoenix. Suns and NBA fans alike have cited the alleged "Curse of the Coin Flip" as the reason why the Suns cannot win the title. The story goes that during the 1969 NBA Draft the 2 worst teams of the previous season, the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks were both tied to earn a 1st round draft pick. It was decided that a coin toss was needed to determine which team gets the pick, the Suns lost the coin flip. With their 1st round pick the Bucks picked future Hall of Fame star, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, which sparked 5 decades and counting of bad luck for the Phoenix Suns. The Colombian football team América de Cali was under a curse since 1948. There was a discussion that year, in a meeting held by team owners, about moving América into the professional league. Benjamín Urrea, one of the owners, was opposed to the idea, so he said famously "They can do whatever they want with the team, but I swear to God they will never be champions". He left the room, while the other owners laughed at him, and he never returned to the team. The team had to wait for 31 years to get its first professional title, in 1979. In 1980, journalist Rafael Medina and singer Antonio del Vivar performed an exorcising ritual on América's home field, to help the team to overcome the curse in the Copa Libertadores, the tournament that decides which team is the South American champion. After that performance, the team went to win five straight national titles, but, notwithstanding the seven more national championships that the team has obtained since then, some fans still believe the curse is alive, as América de Cali is famous for not having been able to win this South American title. The team has been four times the runner-up in Copa Libertadores, three of them in a row – 1985, 1986 and 1987. The last of the sequence was especially painful to the fans, as the team lost the title in the last minute of overtime in the third match, when the tie would award them the title due to goal difference, leading a Colombian narrator to a dramatic narration of the goal. América de Cali is known as The Red Devils because the shield of the team sports a devil, with horns, tail and trident, which lead to some players masking their own shield with tape to overcome the curse, apparently to no avail. During Gabriel Ochoa's twelve-year tenure as coach, the crest was removed from the uniform for personal religious reasons and, after returning to the uniforms, it was removed again in 1992. In 2010 the crest with the devil was revived and the team went into severe financial problems that moved the Colombian football authorities to ask the team to pay its debts if they wanted to play during the 2011 season, the first of the five seasons they were to spend in relegation. The team returned to the first division for the 2017 season. In a story told in Johnny Warren's 2002 autobiography, "Sheilas, Wogs and Poofters", during a trip to play against Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in the 1970 Mexico World Cup qualifiers in Mozambique, members of the Australia national soccer team (nicknamed the "Socceroos"), including Warren, consulted a witch doctor preceding their game. The witch doctor buried bones near the goal-posts and cursed the opposition, and Australia went on to beat Rhodesia 3–1 in the decider. However, the move backfired when the players could not come up with the £1000 demanded by the witch doctor as payment, and he subsequently cursed the team. Subsequently, the Socceroos failed to beat Israel and did not qualify. Whilst the curse is used as an explanation for failing to qualify for the World Cup for 32 years, including in the last match in the 1994, 1998 and 2002 qualifications, the curse is used in particular reference to the failure to qualify for the 1998 World Cup by drawing on aggregate against Iran, despite leading 2–0 in the second half of the final match of qualification. The curse was supposedly lifted by John Safran during episode 7 of his 2004 TV series "John Safran vs God". After reading the story in Warren's book, Safran travelled to Mozambique and hired a new witch doctor to channel the original to reverse the curse. The following year, the Socceroos not only qualified for the 2006 World Cup, but reached the second round before being beaten by Italy in Kaiserslautern. The Socceroos have since qualified for the 2010, 2014 and 2018 World Cups. Australia did appear in the 1974 FIFA World Cup after the supposed curse had been placed. However, they failed to score a goal in any of their three opening round matches, and were eliminated. Béla Guttmann, a former Hungarian footballer and then manager, joined Benfica in 1959 and coached the Portuguese club to two Primeira Liga titles, one Portuguese Cup and two European Cups. In 1962, after his second European Cup title, he asked for a pay rise but had his request turned down despite the great success he achieved at the Lisbon club, also having his contract terminated. Then, he cursed the club declaring: "Not in a hundred years from now will Benfica ever be European champion." Benfica has appeared in five European Cup finals and three UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League finals since 1962 and lost all eight matches. English football side Birmingham City F.C. played 100 years under an alleged curse from 1906 to 2006. As the legend goes, the club moved from nearby Muntz Street into its current location at St Andrew's, building the stadium on land that was being used by the Romani people. After they were forced to move, the angry Romani people put a 100-year hex on the stadium. Throughout the years many Birmingham City managers would try to remove the curse but with little success. Former manager Ron Saunders tried to banish the curse in the 1980s by placing crucifixes on floodlights and painting the bottom of his players' boots red. Another manager, Barry Fry, in charge from 1993 to 1996, urinated in all four corners of the pitch after a clairvoyant said it would break the spell. On Boxing Day 2006 the curse was finally lifted and on that day Birmingham City celebrated a 2–1 win over Queens Park Rangers F.C.. Just over four years after the alleged curse ended, Birmingham City finally won the first major final in their history – beating Arsenal 2–1 to win the League Cup at Wembley. English football side Derby County were placed under a curse by a group of Romani Gypsies who were forced to move from a camp so that they could build their stadium, the Baseball Ground. The curse was that Derby County would never win the FA Cup. This mirrors the curse placed on Birmingham City F.C.. Despite reaching six FA Cup semi-finals between 1896 and 1903, including three finals, they never managed to win the trophy. The next time they reached the final was in 1946 against Charlton Athletic. In the buildup to the final, a representative from the club went to meet with Gypsies in an attempt to lift the curse. During the match, with the score tied at 1-1, the ball burst. It has since been seen by fans of the club as the moment the curse was lifted. Derby County went on to win the match 4–1. Scottish football side Hibernian endured a 114-year wait to win their third Scottish Cup, eventually doing so against Rangers in the 2016 final. Prior to this success, Hibs had lost an agonising ten straight Scottish Cup finals in a drought stretching back to 1902. Hibernian's hoodoo was made all the more noteworthy by their relative success in other major Scottish footballing honours - the Leith side won four league titles and three league cups whilst remaining fruitless in their search for Scottish Cup glory. In spite of remaining a prominent force within Scottish football and building notoriously excellent sides such as the Famous Five and Turnbull's Tornadoes, Hibs were for so long unable to lift the oldest trophy in world football. Some Hibs fans attributed the absence of Scottish Cup success to a curse which a gypsy woman allegedly placed upon the club during the chairmanship of Harry Swan. Whilst renovation works were being carried out at Hibernian's Easter Road stadium in the 1950s, a harp crest – which had been displayed on the South Stand symbolising Hibernian's founding Irish roots – was removed and subsequently did not reappear when work had finished. During the 2015-16 season, Hibs' modern day badge (which includes the harp) was placed upon the facade of the West Stand at Easter Road. Less than eight months after the harp had been reinstated onto the walls of Easter Road, Hibernian were once again Scottish Cup winners after more than a century in the making. Origins of the curse began during the final of the Mexican League winter tournament in 1997, contested between Cruz Azul and Club León in a two-legged match. At the time they were the 3rd and 4th teams with the most league championships in Mexico respectively. Both teams were tied until the last moments of the second leg when Leon's goalkeeper Ángel Comizzo kicked Cruz Azul's star striker Carlos Hermosillo in the face, causing Hermosillo to bleed profusely inside the penalty area, leading to a foul and a penalty kick in Cruz Azul's favor. As the penalty was given, the referee asked Hermosillo to wipe the blood from his face, but Hermosillo ignored him and took the penalty kick, scoring a late winner. Cruz Azul became league champion for the 8th time in club history, but fans believed that both teams were cursed by the blood. Leon was then relegated to an inferior league in 2002 but since 2012 they were promoted back to the now-renamed Liga MX (formerly "Primera División") and would later become back-to-back league champions after defeating Club América in the 2013 Apertura playoffs, breaking their part of the curse. On the other hand, Cruz Azul has lost several finals in the Mexican league, the CONCACAF Champions League, and the Copa Libertadores, many of them at the last minute, which has their part in the curse hold true. Although Cruz Azul won the 2013 Clausura edition of the Copa MX and the CONCACAF Champions League in 2014, the club has yet to win their first league championship since 1997. Their multiple losses and inability to win any league championship has rival club fans bestow Cruz Azul with the mock title ""Sub-Campeonísimos"" (literally "the most high of runner ups".) Additionally, the term "'Cruzazulear'" (to pull off a Cruz Azul) was coined to describe whenever the team (or any team in general) loses in a humiliating fashion. <ref> Sports-related curses A sports-related curse is a superstitious belief in the effective action of some power or evil, that is used to explain the failures or misfortunes of specific sports teams, players, or even cities. Teams, players, and cities often cite a "curse" for many
when did the eagles win last super bowl	"History of the Philadelphia Eagles" Hall of Famer, Greasy Neale. In 1931, Philadelphia's NFL franchise, the Frankford Yellow Jackets, who had won the NFL Championship in 1926, went bankrupt and ceased operations midway through the season. After more than a year searching for a suitable replacement, the NFL granted an expansion franchise to a syndicate headed by former University of Pennsylvania teammates Lud Wray and Bert Bell. In exchange for an entry fee of $2,500, the Bell-Wray group was awarded the assets of the failed Yellow Jackets organization. Drawing inspiration from the insignia of the centerpiece of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, specifically the National Recovery Act's "blue eagle," Bell and Wray named the new franchise the Philadelphia Eagles, with Bell as president and general manager and Wray as head coach. Neither the Eagles nor the NFL officially regard the two franchises as the same, citing the aforementioned period of dormancy. The Eagles simply inherited the NFL rights to the Philadelphia area. Further, Wray and Bell assembled an almost entirely new team; only a single player from the 1931 Yellow Jackets ended up with the 1933 Eagles. The new team played its first game on October 15, 1933, against the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds in New York City. They lost the game 56-0. The Eagles struggled over the course of their first decade, never winning more than four games. Their best finish was in their second season, 1934, when they finished tied for third in the East. For the most part, the Eagles' early rosters were composed of former Penn, Temple and Villanova players who put in a few years before going on to other things. In 1935, Bell proposed an annual college draft to equalize talent across the league. The draft was a revolutionary concept in professional sports. Having teams select players in inverse order of their finish in the standings, a practice still followed today, strove to increase fan interest by guaranteeing that even the worst teams would have the opportunity for annual infusions of the best college talent. Between 1927 (the year the NFL changed from a sprawling Midwestern-based association to a narrower, major-market league) and 1934, a triopoly of three teams (the Chicago Bears, New York Giants and Green Bay Packers) had won all but one title since 1927 (the lone exception being the Providence Steam Roller of 1928). Having finished last in the standings, the Eagles had the first pick in the 1936 draft, an opportunity they used to select University of Chicago's Heisman Trophy-winning back, Jay Berwanger. They then traded his rights to the Chicago Bears. Berwanger, who had no interest in playing professional football, elected to go to medical school instead. The Eagles' first major recruiting success would come in 1939, with the signing of Texas Christian's All-America quarterback, Davey O'Brien; O'Brien proceeded to shatter numerous existing single-season NFL passing records in his rookie season. That year, the Eagles participated in the first televised football game, against the Brooklyn Dodgers, at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn (losing the game 23-14). The 1940s would prove a tumultuous and ultimately triumphant decade for the young club. In 1940, the team moved from Philadelphia Municipal Stadium to Shibe Park. Lud Wray's half-interest in the team was purchased by Art Rooney, who had just sold the Pittsburgh Steelers to Alexis Thompson. Soon thereafter, Bell/Rooney and Thompson swapped franchises, but not teams. Bell/Rooney's entire Eagles' corporate organization, including most of the players, moved to Pittsburgh (The Steelers' corporate name remained "Philadelphia Football Club, Inc." until 1945) and Thompson's Steelers moved to Philadelphia, leaving only the team nicknames in their original cities. Since NFL franchises are territorial rights distinct from individual corporate entities, the NFL does not consider this a franchise move and considers the current Philadelphia Eagles as a single unbroken entity from 1933. After assuming ownership, Thompson promptly hired Greasy Neale as the team's head coach. In its first years under Neale, the team continued to struggle. In 1943, when manpower shortages stemming from World War II made it impossible to fill the roster, the team temporarily merged with the Steelers to form a team popularly known as the "Steagles." The merger, never intended as a permanent arrangement, was dissolved at the end of the 1943 season. This season saw the team's first winning season in its 11-year history, with a finish of 5-4-1. In 1944, however, the Eagles finally experienced good fortune, as they made their finest draft pick to date: running back Steve Van Buren. At last, the team's fortunes were about to change. Led by Van Buren and Neale, the Eagles became a serious competitor for the first time. They had their first winning season as a separate team in 1944. After two more second-place finishes (in 1945 and 1946), the Eagles reached the NFL title game for the first time in 1947. Van Buren, end Pete Pihos, and Bosh Pritchard fought valiantly, but the young team fell to the Chicago Cardinals 28-21 at Chicago's Comiskey Park. Undeterred, the young squad rebounded and returned to face the Cardinals once more in the 1948 championship. With home-field advantage (and a blinding snowstorm) on their side, the Eagles won their first NFL Championship 7-0. Due to the severity of the weather, few fans were on hand to witness the joyous occasion. That would not be the case the following season, however, when the Eagles returned to the NFL championship game for the third consecutive year and won in dominating fashion in front of a large crowd in Los Angeles, beating the Los Angeles Rams 14-0. In Thompson's final draft, Chuck Bednarik was selected as the first overall pick in the 1949 NFL Draft. An All-American lineman/linebacker from the University of Pennsylvania, Bednarik would go on to become one of the greatest and most beloved players in Eagles history. The 1949 season also saw the sale of the team by Thompson to a syndicate of 100 buyers, known as the "Happy Hundred", each of whom paid a fee of $3,000 for their share of the team. While the leader of the "Happy Hundred" was noted Philadelphia businessman James P. Clark, one unsung investor was Leonard Tose, a name that would eventually become very familiar to Eagles fans. With the turn of the decade came another turn in team fortunes. The Eagles were slated to open the 1950 season against the AAFC champion Cleveland Browns, who had just (with the other AAFC franchises) joined the NFL. The Eagles were expected to make short work of the Browns, who were widely reckoned at the time as the dominant team in a lesser league. However, the Browns lit up the Eagles' vaunted defense for 487 total yards, including 246 passing yards, in a 35-10 rout. The Eagles never really recovered, and finished 6-6. Neale retired after the season and was replaced by Bo McMillin. Two games into the season, McMillin was forced to retire due to terminal stomach cancer. Wayne Millner finished out the season before being replaced by Jim Trimble. While the remnants of the great 1940s teams managed to stay competitive for the first few years of the decade, and while younger players like Bobby Walston and Sonny Jurgensen occasionally provided infusions of talent, the team lacked the stuff of true greatness for most of the 1950s. The Eagles considered trying to purchase Temple Stadium in 1952 when the team was unhappy with their lease at Shibe Park. Temple University claimed the property to have been appraised for $1 million and said they were uninterested in selling. In 1958, however, the franchise took key steps to improve, hiring Buck Shaw as Head Coach and acquiring Norm Van Brocklin in a trade with the Los Angeles Rams. That year also saw the team move from Connie Mack Stadium (formerly Shibe Park) to Franklin Field, and attendance doubled. The 1959 squad showed real flashes of talent, and finished in second place in the Eastern Division. 1960 remains the most celebrated year in Eagle history. Shaw, Van Brocklin and Chuck Bednarik (each in his last season before retirement) led a team more notable for its grit than its talent (one observer later quipped that the team had "nothing but a championship") to its first division title since 1949. The team was aided by their two Pro Bowl receivers, WR Tommy McDonald (who would later pen a short autobiography titled "They Pay Me to Catch Footballs") and TE Pete Retzlaff. On December 26, 1960, one of the coldest days in recorded Philadelphia history, the Eagles faced Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers in the NFL title game and dealt the mighty Lombardi the sole championship game loss of his storied career. Bednarik lined up at center on offense and at linebacker on defense. Fittingly, the game ended as Bednarik tackled a struggling Jim Taylor and refused to allow him to stand until the last seconds had ticked away. Flush with excitement from the 17-13 victory, with the talented Jurgensen poised to take the reins of the offense, the future looked promising. That promise, however, proved illusory. In 1961, the Eagles finished just a half-game behind the New York Giants for first place in the Eastern Conference standings with a 10-4 record. Despite the on-the-field success, however, the franchise was in turmoil. Van Brocklin had come to Philadelphia and agreed to play through 1960 with the tacit understanding that, upon his retirement as a player, he would succeed Shaw as head coach. Ownership, however, opted to promote assistant Nick Skorich instead, and Van Brocklin quit the organization in a fit of pique, instead becoming head coach of the expansion Minnesota Vikings. In 1962, the bottom dropped out as the team was decimated by injury, managed only three wins and were embarrassed at home 49-0 by the Packers. The off-field chaos would continue through 1963, as the remaining 65 shareholders out of the original Happy Hundred sold the team to Jerry Wolman, a 36-year-old millionaire Washington developer who outbid local bidders for the team, paying an unprecedented $5,505,000 for control of the club. In 1964, Wolman hired former Cardinals and Washington Redskins coach Joe Kuharich to a 15-year contract. Many people have heavily criticized Kuharich as a coach, as they say he wasted top-tier talent such as that of Jurgensen, Timmy Brown, Ollie Matson and Ben Hawkins and effectively ran the franchise into the ground. At Kuharich’s insistence, Jurgensen was traded to the Washington Redskins for Norm Snead in 1964: Jurgensen would go on to a Hall of Fame career while Snead, although serviceable, lacked the talent to lift the team out of mediocrity. By 1968, fans were in full revolt. Chants of “Joe must go” echoed through the increasingly empty bleachers of Franklin Field. Adding insult to injury, the Eagles managed to eke out meaningless wins in two of the last three games of the season, costing the franchise the first pick in the draft, and with it the opportunity to add O. J. Simpson to the roster. (With the second pick, the Eagles chose Leroy Keyes, who played only four years in an Eagles uniform.) The last game of 1968, played on December 15, helped cement the rowdy reputation of Philadelphia fans when some of them booed and threw snowballs at an actor playing Santa Claus. By 1969, Wolman had lost most of his fortune and was bankrupt, leaving the franchise under the administration of a federal bankruptcy court. At the end of the bankruptcy proceedings, the Eagles were sold to Leonard Tose, the self-made trucking millionaire and original member of the Happy Hundred. Tose's first official act was to fire Kuharich. With an earned reputation as a fast-living high-flier, Tose infused the organization with some much-needed panache. Initially, however, he ran the team with more enthusiasm than ability, as was exemplified by his choice to replace Kuharich, the hapless Jerry Williams. Tose also selected former Eagles great Pete Retzlaff as General Manager. In 1971, the Eagles moved from Franklin Field to brand-new Veterans Stadium. In its first season, the “Vet” was widely acclaimed as a triumph of ultra-modern sports engineering, a consensus that would be short-lived. Equally short-lived was Williams’s tenure as head coach: after a 3-10-1 record in 1970 and three consecutive blowout losses to Cincinnati, Dallas and San Francisco to open the 1971 season, Williams was fired and replaced by assistant Ed Khayat, a defensive lineman on the Eagles' 1960 NFL championship team. Williams and Khayat were hampered by Retzlaff's decision to trade longtime starting quarterback Norm Snead to the Minnesota Vikings in early 1971, leaving the Eagles a choice between journeyman Pete Liske and the raw Rick Arrington. Khayat lost his first two games, but won six of the final nine in 1971 thanks to the exploits of the defense, led by All-Pro safety Bill Bradley, who led the NFL in interceptions (11) and interception return yardage (248). The team regressed in 1972, and Khayat was released after the Eagles finished 2-11-1. The two wins (both on the road) proved to be surprises, however. Philadelphia beat Kansas City (which had the best record in the AFC a year before) 21-20 and Houston 18-17 on six field goals by kicker Tom Dempsey. The latter game became known as the "Johnny Rodgers Bowl", because the loser would finish with the worst record in the league and obtain the #1 draft pick of 1973, which was then assumed to be Nebraska wingback Johnny Rodgers. The Oilers ultimately got the #1 pick, which instead turned out to be University of Tampa defensive end John Matuszak (who would end up facing Philadelphia in the Super Bowl several years later). With the second pick, the Eagles selected USC tight end Charle Young. Khayat was replaced by offensive guru Mike McCormick, who, aided by the skills of Roman Gabriel and towering young receiver Harold Carmichael, managed to infuse a bit of vitality into a previously moribund offense. New general manager Jim Murray also began to add talent on the defensive side of the line, most notably through the addition of future Pro Bowl linebacker Bill Bergey. Overall, however, the team was still mired in mediocrity. McCormick was fired after a 4-10 1975 season, and replaced by a college coach unknown to most Philadelphians. That coach would become one of the most beloved names in Philadelphia sports history: Dick Vermeil. Vermeil faced numerous obstacles as he attempted to rejuvenate a franchise that had not seriously contended in well over a decade. Despite the team’s young talent and Gabriel’s occasional flashes of brilliance, the Eagles finished 1976 with the same result—a 4-10 record—as in 1975. 1977, however, saw the first seeds of hope begin to sprout. Rifle-armed quarterback Ron Jaworski was obtained by trade with the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for popular tight end Charlie Young. The defense, led by Bergey and defensive coordinator Marion Campbell, began earning a reputation as one of the hardest hitting in the league. By the next year, the Eagles had fully taken Vermeil’s enthusiastic attitude, and made the playoffs for the first time since 1960. Young running back Wilbert Montgomery became the first Eagle since Steve Van Buren to exceed 1,000 yards in a single season. (1978 also bore witness to one of the greatest, and unquestionably most surreal moment in Eagles history: "The Miracle at the Meadowlands," when Herman Edwards returned a late-game fumble by Giants' quarterback Joe Pisarcik for a touchdown with 20 seconds left, resulting in a 19-17 Eagles victory - the Eagles would later edge into the playoffs that year with a 9-7 season.) By 1979, in which the Eagles tied for first place with an 11-5 record and Wilbert Montgomery shattered club rushing records with a total of 1,512 yards, the Eagles were poised to join the NFL elite. In 1980, the team, led by coach Dick Vermeil, quarterback Ron Jaworski, running back Wilbert Montgomery, wide receiver Harold Carmichael, and linebacker Bill Bergey, dominated the NFC, facing its chief nemesis, the Dallas Cowboys, in the NFC Championship. The game was played in cold conditions in front of the Birds' faithful fans at Veterans Stadium. Led by an incredible rushing performance from Montgomery, whose long cutback TD run in the first half is surely one of the most memorable plays in Eagles history, and a gutsy performance from fullback Leroy Harris, who scored the Eagles' only other TD that day, the Birds earned a berth in Super Bowl XV with a 20-7 victory. The Eagles traveled to New Orleans for Super Bowl XV and were heavy favorites to knock off the Oakland Raiders, who were merely a wild card team. Things did not go the Eagles' way, beginning with the disastrous decision by Tose to bring comedian Don Rickles into the pregame locker room to lighten the mood. Jaworski's first pass was intercepted by Rod Martin, setting up an Oakland touchdown. Later in the first quarter, a potential game-tying 40-yard touchdown pass to Rodney Parker was nullified by an illegal motion penalty. The final score was 27-10. Veteran journeyman quarterback Jim Plunkett was named the game's MVP. In a bizarre coincidence, Joe Kuharich died on the same day. The Eagles got off to a great start in the 1981 season, winning their first six games. They eventually ended up 10-6 and earned a wild card berth. However, they were unable to repeat as NFC champs when they were knocked out in the wild card round by the New York Giants, 27-21. After the Eagles finished 3-6 in the strike-shortened 1982 season, Vermeil quit the team, citing "burnout." He was replaced by defensive coordinator Marion Campbell, aka "the Swamp Fox." Campbell had helped to popularize the "bend-don't-break" defensive strategy in the 1970s. Under Campbell, however, the team struggled, although his stewardship was notable in that it saw the arrival of all-time football greats Reggie White and Randall Cunningham. The 1983-85 seasons would see the Eagles go 5-11, 6-9-1, and 7-9, respectively. Campbell's reign of error ended in 1986, when Buddy Ryan was named head coach. Immediately infusing the team with his tough, hard-as-nails attitude, the Eagles quickly became known for their tough defense and tougher personalities. Ryan began rejuvenating the team by releasing several aging players, including Ron Jaworski. Randall Cunningham took his place, and despite a 5-10-1 season, he began showing considerable promise. 1987 saw another strike, reducing the season by one game. The substitutes who were filling in for the strikers turned in a poor performance, being crushed 41-22 by the Dallas Cowboys. After the strike ended, the regular Eagles team won a 37-20 revenge game against Dallas. The season record was 7-8, three games having been played by substitutes. The Eagles would reach the playoffs in 1988, but lost to the Chicago Bears 20-12 in what became known as the "Fog Bowl", due to the weather conditions during the game. The following two years would see playoff appearances as well, but the team could not make it past the first round. This failure was greatly frustrating to many Eagles fans, as the team was commonly acknowledged as among the most talented in the NFL. On offense, the Eagles were led by quarterback Cunningham, one of the most exciting players of his generation; tight end Keith Jackson; and running back Keith Byars. The defense is commonly acknowledged as among the greatest in league history, and as the best never to win a championship. The two 1989 matches with Dallas were known as the Bounty Bowls. Both were won easily by the Eagles (the Cowboys finished 1-15 that year), and were marked by Ryan insulting new Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson, putting a "bounty" on their kicker, and for Eagles fans throwing snowballs on the season ender. On November 12, 1990, during a "Monday Night Football" game at the Vet, the Eagles crushed the Washington Redskins by a score of 28-14, with the defense scoring three of the team's four touchdowns. More lopsided than its score would indicate, the game quickly acquired the sobriquet "the Body Bag Game", attesting to the physical damage inflicted by the tougher Eagles squad. The Eagles knocked out the starting Washington quarterback, and then seriously injured his replacement as well. Running back Brian Mitchell, who would later be signed by the Eagles, was forced to play quarterback for the Redskins. Unfortunately, the Redskins returned to Veterans stadium in the first round of the playoffs and defeated the Eagles 20-6, ending their season. Buddy Ryan was fired at the end of the season. Despite his tough talk, the Eagles failed to win a playoff game in the five years he had been head coach. In 1991, the Eagles became the first NFL team since 1975 to rank first in the league in both rushing and passing yardage allowed, but competing in a strong division were unable to reach the playoffs despite a 10-6 record. Along with White, notable defensive stars included Jerome Brown, Clyde Simmons, Seth Joyner, Eric Allen, Wes Hopkins, and Andre Waters. With Ryan's firing by Norman Braman, Ryan's former Offensive Coordinator, Rich Kotite, took the helm of the franchise. Although Cunningham suffered a season-ending ACL tear in the season opener, the Eagles still made a respectable showing, missing the playoffs on a tiebreaker. In 1992, Kotite led the Eagles back into the postseason with an 11-5 record. In the Wild Card Round, the Eagles soundly defeated the New Orleans Saints by a final score of 36-20. The Eagles were eliminated by Dallas in the next round (34-10). At the end of the season, DE Reggie White would leave the team through free agency. In the 1992 NFL Off-season, DT Jerome Brown died in a high-speed automobile crash on June 25. In 1993 and 1994, Kotite's Eagles would fall apart after initially promising starts, and missed the playoffs in each season, going 8-8 and 7-9. By this point, Braman had become unpopular among most local fans and a polarizing presence in the front office. Under rising scrutiny and deflating optimism, he sold the team to current owner Jeffrey Lurie. Almost Lurie's first act was to fire Kotite. Lurie's choice to replace Kotite was San Francisco 49ers Defensive Coordinator Ray Rhodes, who successfully lobbied 49ers star Ricky Watters to join the team as a free agent. In 1995, Rhodes's first season, the Eagles got off to a slow start by losing 3 out their first 4 games: they subsequently rebounded, finishing with a 10-6 record and a playoff spot. In the Wild Card Round, the Eagles played at home and overwhelmed the Detroit Lions 58-37, with 31 of Philadelphia's points coming in the second quarter alone. Despite this dominating performance, yet again, the Eagles were eliminated in the next round by the Cowboys (30-11). Ironically, this would be Randall Cunningham's last game as an Eagle. Cunningham would score the only touchdown of the game and the last Eagles post season touchdown for six years. 1995 was perhaps most notable in that it signaled the end of Cunningham's tenure as starting quarterback. Rhodes benched Cunningham in favor of Rodney Peete, leading to friction between the two. Before the benching, news reports circulated that Lurie and Rhodes tried to trade Cunningham to the Arizona Cardinals. However, no such trade was executed and Cunningham retired shortly after the season. In 1996, the Eagles donned new uniforms featuring a darker shade of green. They got off to a good start, winning three of their first four games. However, a week-5 Monday night game at Veterans Stadium against the hated Cowboys would witness a season-ending knee injury to Peete and the loss of the team's momentum, and the transition to an offense led by Ty Detmer and Watters. While Detmer played well and Watters rushed for 1,411 yards, the season followed an all-too-familiar pattern: 10-6 record, and early elimination (a 14-0 shutout by the 49ers) in the playoffs. The continued early playoff exits led to fans and local media blaming the high priced free agent signings (Irving Fryar, Watters, Troy Vincent, and Guy McIntyre) for not stepping up in big games, most notably the postseason. Rhodes gradually deteriorated under the stress of the job, and players were beginning to grow tired of his brash demeanor and often autocratic coaching style. After an up-and-down 6-9-1 campaign in 1997, the bottom fell out in 1998. The Eagles suffered a 3-13 record—the worst in franchise history. They were ranked dead last in numerous offensive statistics. Home game attendance was declining, a quarterback controversy was deteriorating an already rudderless locker room, and the players had all but tuned out the embattled coaching staff. Left with little choice after a disastrous season, fan revolt and sagging team morale, Lurie fired Rhodes. Resurgence would come under the leadership of new head coach Andy Reid, who began by drafting Syracuse QB Donovan McNabb with the #2 pick in the 1999 draft (the Eagles would have had the #1 pick, but it was awarded to the rebooted Cleveland Browns). Despite clearing up roster space for new talent by releasing unpopular, aging veterans (such as Watters and Irving Fryar), Reid was still a virtual unknown at the time of his selection as head coach, and his appointment was met with considerable skepticism in Philadelphia. McNabb was also not considered a good choice to draft by Eagles fans. When he was drafted, many Eagles fans booed the selection, believing that the Eagles should draft Ricky Williams. The choices proved wise, however: with Reid leading the way and McNabb emerging as one of the game's great players. However, 1999 was a rebuilding year and so the Eagles only won five games and game attendance was still looking stale as two home games were not sold out - resulting in local TV blackouts- while the other 6 were only sold out due to several small business owners purchasing the remainder of the unsold tickets to spare TV viewers. The Week 5 game, on Sunday, October 10, 1999, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, saw Dallas WR Michael Irvin suffer a career-ending spinal injury where Eagles fans stood up and cheered as he lay on the field. Even the TV commentators expressed their disgust at this behavior. The 2000 season saw the team go 11-5, reaching the playoffs as a wildcard which rejuvenated the fan base and optimism. After brushing aside the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21-3, the Eagles moved to the second round of the playoffs, only to lose a 20-10 game against the Giants. The 2000 regular season opener in Dallas (September 3), became known in NFL lore as the "Pickle Juice Game". Kickoff temperature in Texas Stadium was 109 degrees Fahrenheit and soared to nearly 120, making it the hottest game in league history, beating a previous record set during the 1997 Cowboys-Cardinals match in Arizona. The nickname came about because a certain Eagles trainer had been preparing for the projected high temperatures by having the players drink the juice from jars of dill pickles in order to retain body moisture and stave off cramps and heat exhaustion. The experiment proved a success as the Cowboys lost the game 44-14 and had multiple players benched for inability to handle the brutal temperatures (the Eagles had no players benched). The game also had significance because it marked the beginning of Philadelphia's domination of the NFC East and the end of the Cowboys' dominance. After compiling an 11-5 record in 2001, the Eagles reached the playoffs again, this time at the top of their division. In a near-rerun of the previous year, they disposed of the Buccaneers in a 31-9 game. In the second round, the Eagles defeated the Bears 33-19 at Soldier Field. Reaching the NFC Championship game, they were unable to stop the St. Louis Rams, who defeated them 29-24 Despite injuries, McNabb led the Eagles to a 12-4 season in 2002. Once again, they reached the NFC Championship, but lost at home 27-10 to the eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the last game at Veterans Stadium. The 2003 team lost its first two games, both at their new home. In the opening game of the 2003 season, the Eagles were shut out 17-0 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first regular-season game ever played at Lincoln Financial Field. Once again, the team went 12-4 for the season. By reaching the conference championship game in the same year as this defeat, they became the first team in modern history to get that far in the postseason after having been shut out at home in its first game. They achieved that distinction despite getting only five touchdown catches all year from their wide receivers, which tied the league low since the regular-season schedule was lengthened to its present 16 games in 1978 (this record would be broken in 2004 when the New York Giants' wide receivers caught only two touchdown passes). The Eagle receivers even went through both September and October without a TD catch — the last time an NFL team had done that was in 1945. The Eagles actively pursued premier wide receiver Terrell Owens, and acquired him in a controversial three-way deal with the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers, on March 16, 2004. Owens would often feud with McNabb, and was released by the Eagles after the 2005 season. The 2004 season began with a bang as Owens caught three touchdown passes from McNabb in their season opener against the New York Giants. Owens would end up with exactly 1,200 receiving yards and 14 touchdown receptions, although his season ended prematurely with an ankle injury on December 19, 2005 against the Dallas Cowboys. Their 12-7 victory in this game gave them home field advantage throughout the conference playoffs for the third year in a row. [This distinction also includes a "bye" in the first round (also known as the Wild Card Round) of the playoffs, which the top two teams in each conference receive.] The Eagles tied a record by clinching the NFC East division crown (their fourth straight such title) after only their eleventh game of the season, matching the mark set by the 1985 Chicago Bears and the 1997 San Francisco 49ers. Their final two regular-season games thus rendered meaningless, the Eagles sat out most of their first-string players in these games and lost them both, yet still finished with a 13-3 record, their best 16-game season ever. McNabb had his finest season to date, passing for 3,875 yards and 31 touchdowns, with only eight interceptions. This made him the first quarterback in NFL history to throw 30 or more TD passes and fewer than 10 interceptions in a single regular season. They then began their playoff run with the Divisional round at home against the sixth-seeded Minnesota Vikings. The Eagles led from the start and never looked back, as McNabb led a very efficient passing attack (21 of 33 for 286 yards and 2 TDs), Brian Westbrook dominated on the ground with 70 rushing yards, and Freddie Mitchell performed very well on the receiving corps (5 receptions for 65 yards and a TD), as Philadelphia won 27-14, setting up their fourth-straight NFC Championship appearance. The Eagles' futility in Conference Championship games had become notorious. In 2002, the Eagles had fallen in the NFC Championship Game against the Rams in St. Louis, 29-24. In 2003, the Eagles hosted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Veterans Stadium and were widely viewed as the overwhelming favorites—this view no doubt accentuated by the expected emotional boost that many anticipated would power the team, given that the game was to be the last at "the Vet." After a promising start, however, the game slipped away, and the ensuing 27-10 loss devastated a fan base that had already become too accustomed to disappointment. In 2004, a banged-up Eagles squad managed to overcome numerous injuries, particularly to its defense, to reach the NFC Championship for the third year in a row, only to suffer a heartbreaking 14-3 loss against the Carolina Panthers. On January 23, 2005, the Eagles reached a fourth consecutive conference championship game (the first time this happened in the salary cap era of the NFL). At long last, the Eagles justified the hopes of their long-suffering fan base, defeating Michael Vick's much-hyped Atlanta Falcons, 27-10, sending them to their first Super Bowl in 24 years. The victory sent the city of Philadelphia into wild celebrations. With two Super Bowl wins under their belt, the defending champion New England Patriots were heavily favored. McNabb had a great game with 357 yards and three touchdowns, but he also threw three interceptions. Terell Owens returned despite his injury, and caught 122 yards on 9 catches. The game was a defensive struggle through the third quarter, but in the fourth, the Patriots took the lead, with the Eagles trailing ten points. The early game struggle left everyone exhausted, and for his best efforts, McNabb scored one touchdown, but could not get the team within field goal range on the final drive. He was picked off in the closing seconds of the game. The final score was 24-21, and the Patriots had won their third Super Bowl in four years. The defending NFC Champions did not fare well the next year. The 2005 season began in a strange and erratic fashion with a 14-10 road loss to the Atlanta Falcons on "Monday Night Football", a game in which Donovan McNabb suffered a chest bruise. In addition, Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter was ejected prior to kick-off for getting involved in an altercation with Falcons cornerback Kevin Mathis. In the Week 2 home opener in Philadelphia, the Eagles defeated the San Francisco 49ers in a rout 42-3; however, McNabb was diagnosed with a sports hernia following the game. Weeks 3 and 4 saw the Eagles struggle somewhat but still manage to defeat the Oakland Raiders (23-20) and mount a stunning comeback from an 18-point deficit to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium (37-31). In week 5, the Eagles were manhandled by the Dallas Cowboys in Texas Stadium, losing by 23 points (33-10). Following a bye week, the Eagles pulled off a miraculous 20-17 win against the San Diego Chargers when cornerback Matt Ware returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Fans hoped the play would “wake up” the Eagles and save the season similar to Brian Westbrook's fourth quarter punt return against the New York Giants in 2003. However, in the next week, the Eagles were unable to stop the running and passing attack of the Denver Broncos, losing 49-21. Week after week, Andy Reid had come under criticism for the Eagles' lack of dedication to a running game and overworking an injured Donovan McNabb, who was on pace to break the records for all-time passing attempts and completions. The Eagles had also allowed themselves to get behind in the first quarters of games, only to end up fighting from behind in the remaining quarters. Some analysts speculated the Eagles' problems were due to not finding replacements for former defensive linemen Corey Simon and Derrick Burgess, poor pass rush, poor special teams, and the contract disputes with Brian Westbrook and Terrell Owens, along with Owens' virtually weekly controversies. They had also been hindered by injuries to McNabb, Correll Buckhalter, Todd Pinkston, Lito Sheppard, Dirk Johnson, and David Akers. On November 4, 2005, on ESPN, Terrell Owens criticized the Eagles front office for not recognizing his 100th touchdown catch. He also agreed with Michael Irvin's statement that the Eagles would be undefeated had Brett Favre been the quarterback. Despite Owens's apology the next day to the front office (but not to McNabb), he was suspended indefinitely. There were also reports that he got into a fist fight with Hugh Douglas and challenged other players in the locker room which contributed to his suspension. At Andy Reid's press conference after the Washington loss, he announced T.O. would no longer be playing this year for the Eagles due to conduct detrimental to the team. Things only got worse for the Eagles. They lost a Sunday night match-up to their division rival, the Washington Redskins 17-10. Then, when they went home and played a rematch with their much-hated rival, the Cowboys, on "Monday Night Football", a late game interception by Roy Williams sealed their doom. Not only did they lose 21-20, but the already suffering Donovan McNabb got shoved to the ground, worsening his sports hernia and ending his season. On November 20, former Detroit quarterback Mike McMahon was named the Eagles starter. However, his wild gun passing didn't do much to phase the Giants, as the Eagles went down again 27-17. Then, on November 21 Donovan McNabb announced that he would undergo surgery for his sports hernia. The Eagles would finish the season without at least eight of their projected starters heading into the season, including Pinkston, Hank Fraley, Dirk Johnson, and Pro Bowlers McNabb, Brian Westbrook, Lito Sheppard, Tra Thomas, and the exiled Owens. Their next-to-last win of the season came a week later against the injury-ravaged Green Bay Packers 19-14. At a home game on December 5, on Monday Night Football, the Eagles retired #92, which had belonged to the late Reggie White. Unfortunately, they got shut out by the NFC West and eventual NFC champion Seattle Seahawks 42-0. Afterwards, they lost to the Giants at home 26-2. Their last win of the season came on the road against the St. Louis Rams 17-16. Then they lost their last two games of the season to the Arizona Cardinals on the road 27-21 and then at home to the wild card Washington Redskins 31-20. They ended their 2005 season at 6-10, which marked the first time since 1999 that the Eagles failed to make the playoffs. After expectations of a return to the Super Bowl, it appeared the Eagles would have to retool in the 2006 off-season to make another run for the Vince Lombardi Trophy. In 2006, the Eagles started off hot, beating the Houston Texans in Houston 24-10. And they kept the streak going, jumping to a 24-7 lead against the Giants before losing 30-24 in overtime. They won their next two games easily, beating the 49ers in San Francisco and then returning home to limit Brett Favre's Packers to three field goals. The Birds' 3-1 record set the stage for Terrell Owens' return to Philadelphia. Owens return to Philadelphia was being promoted by Fox as the "game of the year". The game had more at stake, because the winner would take the lead in the NFC East. Owens received boos and jokes about his accidental overdose from a sell-out crowd. Lito Sheppard's game-winning interception for a touchdown sealed the game for the Eagles, 38-24. McNabb's season was already considered one of the finest in Eagles history and his career. After the win against Owens' Cowboys, they faced the upstart New Orleans Saints, with critics claiming the winner would be the NFC favorite. The Eagles ended up losing 27-24 on a last second field goal. The next week at Tampa, the Eagles would once again lose on a last second field goal. This time the field goal was an improbable 62 yarder by Matt Bryant - the second longest in NFL History. One week before their bye, the Eagles faced the Jacksonville Jaguars and failed to score a touchdown in a 13-6 loss. After their bye, they routed the Redskins, which not only kept Reid/McNabb perfect after the bye week, it put them back on track after three consecutive losses. The Birds were on a roll going into their match with Vince Young's Titans, but were dominated throughout the game, losing 31-13. The bigger loss however was Donovan McNabb - who suffered a season ending injury for the second straight year. With Donovan McNabb going down to injury, the Eagles called on Jeff Garcia to lead the team. The move was a highly unpopular one, because fans believed A.J. Feeley was their best bet. After falling to Peyton Manning's Indianapolis Colts, the Eagles' record stood at 5-6, and they did not appear to be in playoff contention. However, Garcia led the team to an improbable five-game winning streak, which included a three-game NFC East road trip and a Christmas showdown in Dallas. The Eagles finished the season 10-6, but lost the tie-breaker to the Saints, meaning they would be the third seed. The Eagles won their home wild card game against the Giants 23-20, on a David Akers' field goal. The game officially sent Tiki Barber into retirement. Their divisional playoff game was a Week 6 rematch against the Saints. The Eagles lost by the same score as in the regular season: 27-24. Andy Reid made the controversial decision to punt with less than two minutes remaining. 2007 marked the Eagles' 75th season. The Eagles drafted quarterback Kevin Kolb from Houston, signaling a possible life beyond Mcnabb. McNabb delivered average performances, and missed three games due to an injury. The team only achieved an 8-8 record and missed the playoffs. The beginning of 2008 presented a good opportunity for the Eagles. Donovan McNabb got a good start to the season, Brian Westbrook ran for many touchdowns, and rookie receiver DeSean Jackson became an important figure in the Eagles' passing game. However, the Eagles went against the 1-8 Bengals in Week 10 and McNabb played horribly, throwing consistent interceptions and leading the Eagles to a ten-point deficit at the half. Despite being able to score those ten points, the game went into overtime. A Bengals missed field goal led to Eagles ball, but McNabb's 'Hail Mary' was deflected with seconds left in overtime, and the game ended in a 13-13 tie, the first since 2002. McNabb then sparked controversy by admitting that he was unaware that an NFL game could end in a tie. Against Baltimore, things were even worse. At halftime, due to bad performance, McNabb was benched. However, the Eagles needed him, and it would show. His backup, Kevin Kolb, managed to get the Eagles to the Baltimore two-yard line; he then threw an interception in the end zone that was returned by Ed Reed for a record 107-yard touchdown. By this time, it was obvious that the Eagles needed a good quarterback for the next week's match-up against the Arizona Cardinals, who for the first time in several decades seemed poised to win their division. The game was scheduled for Thanksgiving night, and the decision was eventually made to start Donovan McNabb, but if he played like he did in the last couple of weeks, he would probably be benched for the season. But McNabb surprised everyone and lead the Eagles to what was perhaps one of the greatest games in franchise history, a 48-21 blowout in which McNabb threw for four touchdowns. The Eagles went on a three-game win streak following up the Cardinals victory with wins over the Giants and Browns. The Eagles then lost to a mediocre at best Redskins team, 10-3 and putting their post season prospects in serious doubt. However, getting the help that they needed earlier in the day, the Eagles were able to run over the Dallas Cowboys 44-6 on December 28, 2008 and advanced to the playoffs. The Eagles then defeated the Minnesota Vikings 26-14 in the first round of the playoffs on January 4, 2009. They defeated their division rival and the defending Super Bowl champions the New York Giants 23-11 in the NFC Divisional Round to advance to their fifth NFC Championship game in nine years. For the third time in a decade, an all-Pennsylvania Super Bowl seemed possible, as the Pittsburgh Steelers won the AFC Championship against the Baltimore Ravens. However, the Eagles lost 32-25 to the Arizona Cardinals. In August, the team stirred up controversy by signing ex-Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, who had recently been released from prison for federal dogfighting charges. On the regular season opener against Carolina, McNabb sustained a broken rib and sat out the next two games, with Kevin Kolb taking his place as starter. Afterwards, Philadelphia endured a bad loss to New Orleans, but then beat Kansas City the following week. McNabb returned, and Vick also began playing (as he had been barred from the first two games). He got off to a slow start and was used sparingly for much of the season. After a 13-9 loss in Oakland, the Eagles defeated the Redskins 27-17 on "Monday Night Football". During this game, running back Brian Westbrook suffered a severe concussion and was knocked unconscious. He returned to play in the Week 10 game against San Diego, but was felled by a second concussion. Afterwards, Philadelphia went on a five-game winning streak and clinching a playoff berth after defeating the Broncos in Week 16, which marked Brian Westbrook's return to action after an absence of five weeks. However, the season ended with a whimper, as they were shut out by a resurgent Cowboys squad the following week. This put Dallas at the top of the NFC East and giving the Eagles a wild card spot. The two teams then had to play again the following week, but Philadelphia went down to defeat a second time, the score being 34-14. On January 11, 2010, General Manager Tom Heckert was hired by the Cleveland Browns in the same role. He was replaced by Howie Roseman, who was promoted from Vice President of Player Personnel. On February 23, 2010 the Eagles released starting running back Brian Westbrook, Eagles' all-time leader in yards from scrimmage with 9,785 yards. A bigger surprise came on Easter Sunday, when the team traded quarterback Donovan McNabb to their division rival Washington Redskins for a second-round (37th overall) pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, and a third- or fourth-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. Kevin Kolb was named team's starting quarterback. The Kolb era did not begin on a positive note as the Eagles donned their throwback kelly green jerseys and hosted the Green Bay Packers in their opening game as both teams performed poorly in the first half, although that was partially because of weather conditions and damaged turf in Lincoln Financial Field. Kolb was thrown to the ground by Packers linebacker Clay Matthews and was forced to sit out the game after it was determined that he suffered a concussion. Five other Packers and Eagles players were also injured in the game. Michael Vick replaced Kolb, but the Packers ended up winning the game, 27-20, the Packers' first win in Philadelphia since 1962 and their first-ever win on Lincoln Financial Field. With Vick taking over as starter, the Eagles traveled and defeated the Detroit Lions 35-32 in week 2 with Vick's impressive performance in the team's offense. Although Kolb was presumed to be the starter after he recovered from injury, Andy Reid named Vick as the starting quarterback instead. The team then traveled to Jacksonville. Vick scored four touchdowns (three passing and one rushing) and no interceptions in a 28-3 rout of the Jaguars. Week 4 saw the return of McNabb to Philadelphia. He was generally given a warm reception, and the Redskins got a touchdown early in the first quarter. After that, both offenses sputtered and the Eagles had to settle for two field goals. But things rapidly fell apart when Vick was injured late in the first quarter with chest and rib injuries he suffered when two Redskins defensive backs crushed him from both sides while running near to the endzone. Kolb was once again brought out as starter, but delivered an uninspired performance. He did manage a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, but it was too little too late. A two-point conversion attempt after the touchdown failed, and Washington won 16-12. Afterward, Vick was diagnosed with cracked cartilage and forced to sit out at least one game. With Kolb starting, the Eagles headed to San Francisco for a "Sunday Night Football" match against the 0-4 49ers. Kolb passed for 253 yards and one touchdown to lead his team to a 27-24 victory. Philadelphia won its first home game in week 6 by overpowering the Falcons 31-17. Kolb continued to improve, passing for 326 yards, three touchdown passes, and one interception. However, he was not able to sustain this momentum in the week 8 game against Tennessee, throwing two interceptions and only one touchdown. The Eagles lost 37-19 to enter their bye week at 4-3, and once again Vick was brought out as starter prior to hosting Indianapolis in week 10. This game proved an intense, highly physical contest as Vick scored two touchdowns (one passing and one rushing) and Philadelphia overcame stubborn resistance by the Colts to win 27-24. Afterwards, the Eagles headed to Washington, where, for the second year in a row, they faced the Redskins on "Monday Night Football". Philadelphia quickly marched out to two touchdowns in the first quarter, putting them up at 14-0 within five minutes. By the second quarter, they had scored another two, leading by 28 points. Four more touchdowns followed in a 59-28 blowout of Washington. All in all, there were eight (four passing, three rushing, and one interception return), six of which were from Michael Vick, who had 333 passing and 80 rushing yards for one of the finest performances of his career. For the third season in a row, the Eagles traveled to Chicago, a team that Michael Vick had a career 0-4 record against. This time would be no different as the Bears' defense slowed him down to win 31-26. Vick also threw his first interception of the season. The Eagles rebounded with a Thursday game against Houston. Despite winning 34-24, Philadelphia's defense turned in a relatively mediocre performance, which may have had to do with the fact that the team had played four games in a 17-day stretch. On Sunday Night in Week 14, the Eagles headed to Dallas for a game with their arch-rivals. However, the Cowboys were a considerably weaker team than when they defeated Philadelphia three times in 2009. Their QB Tony Romo was out of commission from an injury, they had had their head coach Wade Phillips fired halfway through the season, and they were barely clinging to life at 4-9. Michael Vick delivered an average performance, although one of the game's highlights was a 90-yard TD pass to DeSean Jackson. Although Andy Reid had gained a reputation as a pass-happy coach, the Eagles' scoring was mainly based on run plays and long field goals. Despite a close game, they prevailed 30-27 and eliminated Dallas from playoff contention. In Week 15, the Eagles beat New York in a shocking upset by overcoming a 21-point deficit in the second half. In the closing seconds of the game, DeSean Jackson returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown to win 38-31. This became known as the "Miracle at the New Meadowlands". After locking up their first division title in four years, the Eagles played a surprisingly bad game against Minnesota and lost. The team lost a meaningless season ender against Dallas before preparing to host Green Bay again in the wild card round of the playoffs. Despite playing the Packers hard, Philadelphia's first home playoff game since 2006 ended in defeat 21-16 as Vick threw a hail mary interception in the closing minute of the 4th quarter. Pro bowler David Akers, who had one of the best seasons ever by a kicker, also contributed to the loss having a rare poor game going 1 for 3, missing from 34 & 41 yards. The off-season was marred by a lockout that began in March after the NFL's collective bargaining agreement expired, making practices, trades, and free agency impossible. During the draft, the Eagles did comparatively little. After the lockout ended in July, the team embarked on a rash of high-profile FA signings, including Raiders CB Nnamdi Asomugha, Dolphins RB Ronnie Brown, Giants WR Steve Smith, Packers TE Donald Lee, Titans DE Jason Babin, Packers DT Cullen Jenkins, and Cardinals CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Meanwhile, Kevin Kolb, displeased at losing the starting QB job to Michael Vick in 2010, was traded to Arizona for Cromartie. Replacing him as 2nd-stringer was ex-Titans QB Vince Young. Vince Young made a lot of hype by calling Philadelphia the "Dream Team". Although the Eagles won their 2011 opener in St. Louis, the Dream Team failed to deliver as Michael Vick fell victim to injuries and turnovers. The Eagles lost four straight games. With Vince Young taking over, Philadelphia beat the Washington Redskins at last in Week 6. In Week 8, Vick returned to help crush the Cowboys at home 34-7. After further losses to Chicago and Arizona, the Eagles beat the New York Giants and then fell to New England and Seattle before winning their final four matches and finishing 8-8. The Eagles entered 2012 with strong hopes after winning their last 4 games of last season. When the team started 3-1, including a 24-23 victory over the eventual Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens, the fans were thinking playoffs, even Super Bowl. However, these hopes came to a crashing halt as the team lost their next 8 and 11 of their next 12 to finish 4-12, their worst record since 1998. The Eagles proceeded to fire Andy Reid, the longest-tenured and winningest coach in team history. Reid would later join the Kansas City Chiefs as head coach. After the firing of Andy Reid, Chip Kelly was named head coach of the Eagles on January 16, 2013 after a successful four-year reign manning the sidelines at the University of Oregon. Kelly was known for his up tempo approach to football which helped him make the University of Oregon a premier college organization. Many questioned if his methods would work in the NFL, and was met with skepticism by the fans of Philadelphia. In his first season in professional football, Kelly produced a 10-6 record and an NFC East championship, becoming just the second head coach in league history to win a division title in his first season in the NFL. During the start of the season Michael Vick got injured, and backup Nick Foles took over. Nick Foles would become the surprise of the NFL as he would end the season with 27 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions with one game in which he threw for 7 touchdowns in one game, tying an NFL record. Along the way, the Eagles set a plethora of team records, including points (442), total net yards (6,676), touchdowns (53), passing yards (4,406) and fewest turnovers (19). The Eagles also set an NFL record with 99 plays of 20+ yards and became the first team since the 1991 Buffalo Bills to lead the league in rushing while ranking last in time of possession. Individually, RB LeSean McCoy set the franchise record for rushing yards and scrimmage yards in a season in 2013, while QB Nick Foles had the 3rd best QB rating in NFL history in 2013. However, they would not make it far as they were defeated by the New Orleans Saints in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. In 2014 a lot of expectations were set on the team after what seemed like a successful first year for Chip Kelly. However, Nick Foles didn't perform as well as he did in 2013. His 2014 season would end during Week 9 where he broke his collarbone. Mark Sanchez would take over for the rest of the season for the Eagles. They would collapse from their 9-3 record near the end of the season to go 10-6 again, but miss the playoffs due to losing their division to the Dallas Cowboys. With the 2015 season, Chip Kelly was given full control which he used to revamp the roster into something he preferred. The new quarterback of the Eagles was Sam Bradford. Many changes were made with the offense to better fit Chip Kelly's fast paced offense. The new roster didn't work out as the Eagles would go 7-9, and miss the playoffs. Near the end of the season Chip Kelly was fired. After Chip Kelly, Doug Pederson was announced head coach on January 18, 2016, his first NFL head coaching job. The Eagles traded up for the second overall draft pick and chose North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz in the 2016 NFL Draft. The season started off well for the Eagles when they went 3-0 to start the season (Doug Pederson would become the first head coach in franchise history to win their first three games). However, the lack of weapons for Carson Wentz and his lack of experience would catch up to them as the Eagles would go 4-9 in their final 13 games, and end the season 7-9 again and miss the playoffs. During the offseason, a lot of changes were made in the receiving corps and running back position to help Wentz. This would end up working as the Eagles would soar to the top of the NFL with a 13-3 record which gave them their first NFC East Championship since 2013, and gave them a first round bye for the first time since the 2004 season which was the last time they last went to the Super Bowl. Carson Wentz improved drastically during the season in which he threw for 33 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions. His potential MVP season came to an end though during Week 14 against the Los Angeles Rams where he tore his ACL, and would be out for the rest of the year. Nick Foles who returned to the Eagles after having short stints with the Rams (then St. Louis Rams) and Chiefs (where Andy Reid was coaching) would take over. His shaky performances during the end of the regular season made the team become underdogs during the playoffs despite being the number one seed. The Eagles would beat the Atlanta Falcons 15-10 in the Divisional Round which was their first playoff win since the 2008 season, to face the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship. The game would end up being a surprising blowout with the Eagles dominating the Vikings 38-7 to go to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 2004 season. The Eagles would face Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in a rematch of Super Bowl XXXIX at Super Bowl LII. The Eagles would end up winning the game 41-33 to give the Eagles their first Super Bowl Championship and their first championship since the 1960 season before the NFL-AFL merger. Nick Foles would be named Super Bowl MVP. The Eagles came back from a successful 2017 season hoping to become the first repeat Super Bowl victors since the New England Patriots during their 2003 and 2004 season. Before the season started many injuries plagued the team including their quarterback Carson Wentz who was still recovering from an ACL injury. Nick Foles would be the starting quarterback to begin the season and helped win the team their opening game against the Atlanta Falcons 18-12. History of the Philadelphia Eagles The history of the Philadelphia Eagles begins in 1933. In their history, the Eagles have appeared in the Super Bowl three times, losing in their first two appearances but winning the third, in 2018. They won three NFL Championships, the precursor to the Super Bowl, in four appearances. The beginning era of the Eagles
when did the eagles win last super bowl	"Eli Manning" Giants franchise records for most passing yards, touchdown passes, and completed passes in a career. He led the Giants to victory in Super Bowls XLII and XLVI, defeating the New England Patriots in both games. Manning was named Most Valuable Player in each Super Bowl, becoming one of five players to have multiple Super Bowl MVP awards (Bart Starr and Terry Bradshaw also have two, Joe Montana three and Tom Brady four). Manning started 210 straight games from 2004 to 2017, the second-longest consecutive starts streak by a quarterback in NFL history. He is the seventh all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns. Though lacking his brother's regular season consistency and high-caliber performances, Manning is known for his two improbable Super Bowl winning postseason runs. Manning attended and played high school football at Isidore Newman School. During his years with the Rebels at Ole Miss, Manning set or tied 45 single-game, season, and career records. His career numbers include 10,119 passing yards (fifth on the SEC career list), 81 touchdown passes (third on the SEC career list), and a passer rating of 137.7 (tied for sixth on the SEC career list). He led the Rebels to a 10-3 record and a 31–28 SBC Cotton Bowl Classic victory over the Oklahoma State Cowboys in 2003. He was invited to play in the 2004 Senior Bowl, but chose not to play. As his senior year came to a close, Manning won many awards including the Maxwell Award as the nation's best all-around player, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame Scholar-Athlete Award, the Sporting News Radio Socrates Award, and the SEC Most Valuable Player Award. He was also a candidate for the 2003 Heisman Trophy, finishing third in the voting after winning quarterback Jason White of the University of Oklahoma and University of Pittsburgh wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. Manning graduated from the University of Mississippi with a degree in marketing and a GPA of 3.44. The San Diego Chargers originally held the rights to the first overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft due to their 4-12 record in 2003. With Manning being the most coveted player in the draft, it appeared that the Chargers' intentions were to draft him first overall. However, Manning (echoed by his father) stated publicly that he would refuse to play for the Chargers if drafted by them. The Chargers selected him with the first pick overall nonetheless as the team had a deal in place with the New York Giants, whereby the Giants would draft and then trade Philip Rivers and draft picks (used to select linebacker Shawne Merriman and placekicker Nate Kaeding) to the Chargers for Manning. He signed a six-year, $45 million contract with the New York Giants. Manning was one of four quarterbacks taken in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft along with Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers, and J. P. Losman. Manning, Roethlisberger, and Rivers have all been voted to the Pro Bowl since becoming starters. Until 2013, Roethlisberger and Manning had not produced a season with a losing record (although each had an 8-8 season), and Roethlisberger and Manning have each won two Super Bowls. They have been compared favorably to the Quarterback class of 1983, which included Hall of Fame quarterbacks Dan Marino, John Elway, and Jim Kelly. Manning made his NFL debut in Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles. He came into the game toward the end the fourth quarter in relief of Kurt Warner. He finished the 31–17 loss 3-of-9 for 66 yards. Manning made his first career regular season start against the Atlanta Falcons at Giants Stadium on November 21, 2004. In his fourth start, against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on December 12, 2004, he ended the day with a 0.0 passer rating and was benched in the second half in favor of Warner, but remained the Giants starter through the end of the season. Following 2004, Warner left the Giants, and Manning was named the starter for 2005. Manning led the Giants to a 2-0 record with victories against the Cardinals and Saints, before traveling to the West Coast for a test in San Diego. Chargers fans did not forget the snub, and on September 25, 2005 when Manning and the Giants made their first trip to San Diego for a game since that draft day, the crowd booed Manning loudly every time he touched the ball. San Diego defeated the Giants, 45–23, but Manning displayed what may have been his most impressive performance of his young career, going 24-of-41 for 352 yards and two touchdowns. Following his performance at San Diego, Manning returned home to throw for almost 300 yards and a career-high four touchdowns against the St. Louis Rams at Giants Stadium in a 44–24 romp. Two games later, he led a last-minute drive against the Denver Broncos to secure a 24-23 victory for the Giants. The drive culminated in a two-yard touchdown to Amani Toomer with five seconds remaining. Two weeks later, Manning overcame a weak first half at San Francisco to help his team secure their first official road victory of the season, 24–6. Despite a poor performance at home against the Minnesota Vikings, throwing four interceptions, he again led his team back to tie the game in the final minutes before the Vikings won on a late field goal. Manning finished among the top five quarterbacks in both passing yards and touchdown passes, while leading an offense that finished third in the NFL in scoring with a total of 422 points. It was the most points the Giants scored in a single season since 1963. The Giants won the NFC East with an 11–5 record and advanced to the postseason as the #4-seed. In the Wild Card Round against the Carolina Panthers, Manning was 10-of-18 for 113 yards and three interceptions in the 23–0 loss. Manning's second full season was reminiscent of his 2005 season. He started off playing well and completed over 65 percent of his passes through the first four games. However, he struggled in the second half of the season and his production diminished towards the end of the regular season. After losing a tough game to his brother Peyton and the Colts on opening day, Manning and the Giants rebounded from a 24-7 4th-quarter deficit en route to a 30-24 overtime victory over the division rival Eagles in Week 2. Manning threw for a career-high 371 yards in the win with three touchdowns including a game-winning pass to Plaxico Burress in overtime to earn NFC Offensive Player of the Week. Following a poor performance against Seattle the next week, Manning and the Giants responded by winning five straight games including wins over the Redskins, Cowboys, and Falcons to push their record to 6-2. Following this winning streak, key injuries including one to receiver Amani Toomer pushed Manning and the Giants into a downward slide. Playing against the Chicago Bears, Manning started well, but the Giants' offense was derailed by the loss of left tackle Luke Petitgout to a broken leg. Manning was held to only 141 yards passing with two interceptions. Petigout's loss left a gaping hole at the crucial left tackle position, and Manning was unable to repeat his first half success. Manning struggled the next week at Jacksonville and the week after that, a costly interception helped to culminate a huge collapse at Tennessee, with the Giants seeing a 21-point fourth quarter lead simply evaporate. Manning improved the following week, throwing for 270 yards and two touchdowns, but the Giants lost again. Finally regaining momentum, Manning threw three touchdowns in a win at Carolina, but then he stumbled badly in the final three games. He threw two interceptions against the Eagles and tallied only 73 passing yards in a game against the Saints. Although the Giants battled back to 8-8 the following week at Washington, Manning completed only 12 of 26 passes for 101 yards and one touchdown. The Giants qualified for the postseason as the #6-seed and met the Eagles. Although he did significantly better in this game than the 2005 playoff game against the Carolina Panthers, completing 16 of 27 passes and two touchdowns, the Giants lost on a last-second field goal by the Eagles. For the year, Manning threw for 3,244 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions. He completed 57.7 percent of his passes, a five-point improvement from 2005, but he again struggled badly in the second half of the season. Manning finished the season with a quarterback efficiency rating of 77.0 (18th in the league) with 6.2 yards per attempt. Manning trained in the Meadowlands with offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride and new quarterbacks coach Chris Palmer prior to the 2007 regular season. For the first time ever, Plaxico Burress and Jeremy Shockey practiced in the off-season with Manning to perfect their timing and chemistry rather than training alone in Miami as they did in previous years. Manning opened the 2007 season with an outstanding personal performance against the Dallas Cowboys, completing 28 of 41 passing attempts for 312 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception, but suffered a shoulder sprain and was removed from the game late in the second half. Although he did play against Green Bay in week two while throwing for 211 yards with one touchdown, the Giants defense performed poorly again and the team dropped to 0-2 with Green Bay winning, 35-13. In week three, Manning got a come-from-behind victory as the Giants defense improved, pitching a shutout in the second half and stopping the Washington Redskins on a fourth and goal situation, winning the game 24-17. The Giants defense then shut down the Philadelphia Eagles with an NFL record-tying 12 sacks, holding the Eagles offense to one field goal. The Giants won with a score of 16-3. The following week, Manning overcame a dismal first half to throw for two second-half scores in a 35-24 win over their in-city rivals, the New York Jets. Following two straight home victories, Manning and the Giants obtained their fourth consecutive victory with a 31-10 defeat of the Atlanta Falcons in the Georgia Dome on "Monday Night Football". Manning performed well, completing 27 of 39 passes for 303 yards along with a pair of touchdowns while giving away two interceptions. Behind a dominant defensive effort, the Giants improved to 5-2 the next week with a 33-15 win over the San Francisco 49ers. Manning played well again, throwing for two touchdowns in the effort. In week eight of the season, the Giants played a road game against the Miami Dolphins on October 28, 2007, in London's Wembley Stadium. Manning only threw for 59 yards in the rain and mud, but he scored the Giants' only touchdown on a 10-yard run. This touchdown was the first in an NFL regular season game that was played outside of North America. The Giants defeated the Dolphins, 13–10, bringing the Giants to a 6–2 record at the mid-way point of the 2007 season. After losing to their division rivals the Dallas Cowboys in week 9, New York Giants co-owner John Mara publicly questioned Manning's ability to lead the New York Giants in 2007 but more importantly in the future: After a week of criticism in the New York media and being outplayed by Tony Romo, Manning had a bounce-back victory versus their conference wildcard competitors the Detroit Lions. Manning managed to throw for 283 yards and one touchdown but most importantly, no interceptions in a critical road game. The following week in a 41-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Manning threw four interceptions and had three of them returned for touchdowns. He continued to struggle until the last game of the season, against the 15-0 New England Patriots. With a playoff spot secured, the Giants could have rested their starters for the playoffs, but they instead chose to keep in the regulars and attempt to stop New England's quest for an undefeated regular season. The Giants lost 38-35, with Manning completing 22 of 32 passes for 252 yards, with four touchdowns and one interception. The Giants entered the playoffs as the #5-seed. On January 6, 2008, Manning went 20-of-27 for 185 yards playing on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The underdog Giants won 24-14, and Manning had two touchdown passes. On January 13, 2008, Manning led the Giants to an upset victory over the heavily favored Dallas Cowboys, the number one seed in the NFC. For the third straight game, Manning played well, completing 12 of 18 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. The Giants were the first team to beat an NFC number one seed in the divisional round since the start of the 12-team format in 1990. This victory secured an NFC Championship berth against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, January 20, 2008. In the NFC Championship, the Giants beat the Packers in overtime, with a score of 23-20. The dramatic victory secured Manning and the Giants a trip to Super Bowl XLII. This was the first Super Bowl appearance for the New York Giants since Super Bowl XXXV in 2001, and their first Super Bowl victory since Super Bowl XXV. In front of a record-setting American television audience and on the strength of a late fourth-quarter drive led by Manning, the Giants beat the 12.5 point-favored, undefeated New England Patriots 17–14. Trailing 14-10 with 2:42 remaining, Manning led the Giants 83 yards on a game-winning touchdown drive. On a crucial third-and-5 at the Giants' 44-yard line, Manning connected with David Tyree on a play in which he avoided several near-sacks and Tyree caught the ball off his helmet for a large gain. Four plays later, Plaxico Burress caught a 13-yard touchdown pass with just 35 seconds remaining for the winning margin. Manning became only the second quarterback in NFL history to throw two go-ahead fourth-quarter touchdowns in a Super Bowl (Joe Montana being the first). Manning also became the first quarterback to throw a last-minute, championship-winning touchdown in the NFL title game (including the pre-Super Bowl era) when a field goal would not at least tie the game. Following the Giants' monumental victory, Manning and the coaching staff spoke briefly with President George W. Bush. Manning was named the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XLII. He and his brother Peyton are the only brother combination to play at quarterback in the Super Bowl and the only set of brothers to win Super Bowl MVP, doing so in successive years. For winning Super Bowl MVP, he was given his choice of any 2008 model Cadillac, and Manning chose an Escalade Hybrid. The Wednesday following the Super Bowl he appeared on the "Late Show with David Letterman". Manning and the Giants opened the 2008 season with a win over their division rivals, the Washington Redskins, 16–7. "It was a great opening to the season", said Manning, who completed 19 passes of 35 for 216 yards, and had one rushing touchdown and one interception. "There was a lot of emotion, a lot of excitement. You could feel it in the crowd." In the Giants' second game of the year against the St. Louis Rams, they won again, 41–13, behind a stellar Manning performance. Manning finished the game with 20 completions, 260 yards passing and threw three touchdowns to three different receivers. The victory also marked the team's fourth straight victory over the Rams. The following week, Manning rallied the Giants to more fourth quarter magic, overcoming a late deficit to throw the go-ahead touchdown pass to tight end Kevin Boss, and then in overtime, throwing a clutch 31-yard pass to Amani Toomer in the Giants' 26–23 win over Cincinnati. The fourth week of the season saw the Giants score on each of their first six possessions and dominate the Seattle Seahawks, 44–6. Manning threw for two touchdowns, completing 19 of 25 passes for 267 yards as the Giants totaled 523 yards on offense, their most since 2002. Following a poor team performance in a 35–14 loss at Cleveland, Manning and the Giants responded with a 29–17 win over the 49ers and battled to a hard earned 21–14 win over the Steelers at Pittsburgh's Heinz Field. Manning completed 19 of 32 passes for 199 yards and one touchdown in the crucial win, which pushed the Giants to a 6–1 record. The following week, the Giants beat the Dallas Cowboys at home 35-14 to get to 7–1 at the midway point of the regular season. Manning threw three touchdowns in the game. New York improved to 8–1 with a 36–31 win at Philadelphia. Manning threw two touchdowns in the victory, but the crucial play occurred in the third quarter. With the Giants trailing by four, Manning appeared to make an illegal forward pass to tight end Boss. After review, it was determined that the pass was legal. The Giants scored a touchdown two plays later. Week nine pitted the Giants in a battle with the visiting Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens had come into the game with the league's third-ranked defense; nevertheless, Manning led the Giants to a decisive 30–10 victory, improving to 9–1, which included a 200-yard rushing effort by running backs Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw. Two weeks later, the Giants faced the Redskins at Washington in their second encounter in the season. Manning threw his first 300-yard game of the season going 21-of-34 with an interception and a 40-yard touchdown pass to Toomer. The Giants beat the Redskins 23–7. In November, Manning was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Month. For the month, Manning threw for 1,036 yards and ten touchdowns, and compiled a 94.9 passer rating while leading the Giants to a perfect 5–0 record. Manning was named to his first Pro Bowl on December 16, making him the first Giants quarterback to earn the honor since Phil Simms in 1993. In week 15, Manning and the Giants visited Texas Stadium, where Tony Romo battled through a lower back contusion and connected with nine different receivers, finishing 20-of-30 for 244 yards and two touchdowns leading the Dallas Cowboys to a 20-8 victory. In week 16 against the Carolina Panthers with NFC homefield advantage on the line, Manning had a passing day of 17 of 27 for 181 yards and no interceptions. Manning led the Giants back from deficits of 21–10 and 28–20 to tie the game with just over three minutes left, including a bullet pass to Domenik Hixon for a key two-point conversion to tie the game at 28. The game was played in freezing conditions. After becoming the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a 12–4 record, the Giants had a first playoff round bye week and home field advantage through the rest of the playoffs. In the divisional round, they faced their archrival Philadelphia Eagles at Giants Stadium with its signature windy conditions. Philadelphia went on to win the game 23–11. Manning completed 15 out of 29 passes for 169 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. On August 5, 2009, he signed a six-year US$97.5million contract extension. Manning and the Giants opened the 2009 season with a win over their division rivals the Washington Redskins, 23-16. Manning played well completing 20 of 29 passing attempts for 256, one touchdown and one interception. Manning and the Giants traveled to Dallas to play the Cowboys in the opening of their new Cowboys Stadium on "Sunday Night Football". Manning played outstanding completing 25 of 38 passing attempts for 330 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions which resulted in a 33-31 win for the Giants on a last second field goal. In week three Manning and the Giants played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where he completed 14 of 24 passes for 161 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions and as the Giants had a big lead he was taken from the game at the start of the second quarter, the Giants ended up winning 24-0. In Week 4, the Giants played the Kansas City Chiefs. Manning was playing well up until the start of the fourth quarter when on a play action fake Manning injured his heel while passing downfield to Steve Smith. He stayed in for the next play completing a 54-yard touchdown to Hakeem Nicks. It was discovered that Manning had plantar fasciitis (inflammation of connective tissue within the soles of the feet) and there was speculation he would not play against the Oakland Raiders in Week 5. However, in Week 5, Manning played well, completing eight of ten passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns with the Giants winning 44-7. This was the first time in his career that Manning had a posted a perfect passer rating. After this five-game winning streak, the Giants fell to a four-game losing streak, losing to the New Orleans Saints, the Arizona Cardinals, the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Diego Chargers before winning again after a bye week on week 11 when they played the Atlanta Falcons, winning 34-31 in overtime. Against the Falcons, Manning posted a career-high 384 passing yards with three touchdowns and one interception. On Thanksgiving, the Giants traveled to Denver to play the Denver Broncos where they lost 26-6. Manning completed 24 of 40 passes for 230 yards, with no touchdowns and an interception. In week 14 they played their divisional rivals, the Eagles, and lost 45-38, where it was a close game from the start. Manning passed for a career-high 391 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions but was not able to win the game. Next week, on Monday Night Football, Manning and the Giants dominated the Redskins, winning the game 45-12. The next week, in the final game in Giants Stadium, Manning and the Giants embarrassed themselves, losing 41-9 against the Carolina Panthers and repeated that feat the next week on the road against the Minnesota Vikings in the final regular season game, losing 44-7 while down 38 points in the 4th quarter. After the games, Manning apologized to the fans for the team's performance. The Giants finished the 2009 season with an 8–8 record and missed the playoffs. Manning ended the 2009 season with career highs including 4,021 passing yards, 27 touchdowns, a 62.3 completion percentage rating, and a passer rating of 93.1. On August 16 during a preseason game against the New York Jets, Manning was hit by Brandon Jacobs, then by Calvin Pace, which knocked off his helmet, then went face first into Jim Leonhard's face mask. As a result, Manning had a large gash that needed 12 stitches. Manning left the game. The Giants ended the 2010 NFL season with a 10-6 record with losses coming against the Indianapolis Colts, the Tennessee Titans, the Dallas Cowboys, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers. Manning led the Giants to a 17-14 win in the last game of the season against the Washington Redskins, however, because of Green Bay Packers 10-3 win over the Chicago Bears, the Giants did not make the playoffs. The Packers went on to win Super Bowl XLV. He ended the season with 4,002 yards, a career-high 31 touchdowns, but also a career-high 25 interceptions, which marked the most by a quarterback in the 2010 season, and a 62.5 completion percentage. In August 2011, Manning generated mild controversy in the sports media during a radio interview on "The Michael Kay Show". When asked by host Michael Kay whether he was an elite "Top 10, Top 5" quarterback in the same class as Tom Brady, he responded: Manning received criticism for the quote for trying to inflate his own status and skills, with critics pointing out his past inconsistent stats, including his 25 interceptions in the previous season, as evidence contradicting his claims. However, Manning also received support for his comments from Giants coach Tom Coughlin and teammates such as wide receiver Hakeem Nicks. Later in the season, Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan commented on the quote, agreeing with Manning that he was an elite quarterback "for sure." The Giants opened the 2011 season with a slow start, losing to the rival Washington Redskins 14-28 in an emotional game for both fanbases on the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Manning completed 18 of 32 passes for 268 yards but threw a costly interception in the third quarter to linebacker Ryan Kerrigan, who returned it for a touchdown and swung the momentum of the game. However, the Giants would recover and win their next three games, including over the arch-rival Philadelphia Eagles, where he had 254 passing yards and four touchdowns in the 29–16 victory to earn NFC Offensive Player of the Week. During this streak, Manning improved, throwing for eight touchdowns and one interception. After a 6-2 start, including a 24-20 last-minute comeback by Manning over the New England Patriots that evoked comparisons to Super Bowl XLII, the Giants entered a tough stretch of their schedule, facing off against the San Francisco 49ers, the New Orleans Saints, and the Green Bay Packers, the respective eventual NFC West, South, and North champions. The Giants would lose all three games as well as falling to the Philadelphia Eagles at home, leading them into a 4-game skid and once again putting their postseason hopes in jeopardy. However, unlike the previous three seasons, the Giants would finish strong, winning three of their last four games. This included a key win over their crosstown rival New York Jets as well as a sweep of their fellow division rival Dallas Cowboys. In the final regular season game against the Cowboys, Manning threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns, giving the Giants the win, the NFC East title, and a playoff berth for the first time in three years. He earned a Pro Bowl nomination for his performance in the 2011 season. The Giants entered the 2011 postseason as underdogs, with the lowest winning record of any NFC team. However, Manning and his team would once again demonstrate their endurance and durability late in the year. The Giants first easily routed the Atlanta Falcons 24-2 in the Wild Card round and then stunned the defending Super Bowl champions and top-seeded Green Bay Packers to advance to the NFC Championship Game. In the win, Manning completed 21 out of 33 attempts and threw three touchdowns and one interception. The following week, the Giants avenged their regular season loss to the San Francisco 49ers with a dramatic 20-17 overtime win in the NFC Championship Game. In the game, Manning set franchise playoff records with 32 completions on 52 attempts, good enough for 316 yards and two touchdowns despite being sacked a franchise-record-tying six times. This victory secured Manning and the Giants a second trip in five years to the Super Bowl, setting up a highly anticipated Super Bowl XLII rematch against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. The Giants also made history as the first Super Bowl team ever team outscored in the regular season (394 points scored, 400 points allowed). In the most-watched program in the history of United States television, Manning once again led the Giants to an upset victory over the 2½ point favored Patriots 21-17, his second Super Bowl win and the fourth overall for the franchise. While trailing the Patriots 15-17 in the final minutes, Manning led the Giants 88 yards down the field to a touchdown that many observers described as "accidental.". With just over a minute of time left in the game, the Giants called a running play and Manning handed off the ball to Ahmad Bradshaw with the hopes of stopping short of the goal line and forcing the Patriots to use their final time out, thus allowing the Giants to run out the clock. The Patriots, in turn, did not attempt to tackle Bradshaw in his run, and he then fell over the goal line despite making an attempt to stop. However, the remaining time was not enough for Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to lead a comeback and the Giants held onto the lead to win. Manning was again named the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XLVI, becoming the third quarterback in a row to win the award. The Giants also became the first team ever with fewer than ten wins in a 16-game regular season to win the Super Bowl. Manning also became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 4,900+ yards and win a Super Bowl in the same season. The Giants were the first team with a running game ranked last (32nd) and a defense ranked as low as 27th to win a Super Bowl. For winning the Super Bowl, Manning and the Giants received a victory parade in Manhattan and were honored with symbolic keys to the city by mayor Michael Bloomberg. He was ranked 31st by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2012. The Giants would endure a disappointing season following up their Super Bowl run in 2011. Manning led the Giants to a 6-2 record to begin their season, including a career-best 510 yards in a Week 2 win over Tampa Bay (second only to Phil Simms' 513 in 1985 for the franchise record), overcoming three interceptions and a fumble. However, Manning averaged an anemic 204 yards per game and 74.3 passer rating over games 8-15, including his lowest rating in five years (38.9) in a 0-34 loss to Atlanta in Game 14. He ended the 2012 season on a high note, throwing a career-high five touchdown passes while completing 13 of 21 pass attempts and passing for 208 yards with no interceptions, in a 42-7 Giants win over the Philadelphia Eagles. He finished the season with 26 touchdown passes, 15 interceptions, and 3,948 passing yards. As was typical for this phase of his career (2012–16), Manning was exceptionally well-protected by his offensive line; he was sacked just 19 times for a league-lowest 3.4% of passing plays. Although the Giants did not qualify for the playoffs with a 9–7 season, Manning was selected to his third Pro Bowl as a second alternate. Manning led the Giants to start off the season with an 0-6 record, the worst regular season start since 1976. He threw 12 interceptions in his first five games. Manning fell to 0-3 against his older brother, Peyton in Week 2's 41-23 loss to the Denver Broncos. He was 28 of 39 for 362 yards, but was intercepted four times. Manning's four interceptions tied his career high and was the fourth time he threw four picks in a game. The game between Peyton and Eli was the final professional meeting of the two brothers. In Week 15, Manning threw a career-high five interceptions in a 23-0 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Manning ended the season with a career-high 27 interceptions. The Giants finished the season 7-9, their first losing record since Manning's rookie year. Manning passed Phil Simms to become the franchise's all-time leader in yards passing. Simms, who played 14 seasons with the Giants, finished his career with 33,462 yards in the air. He was ranked 43rd by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2014. After an 0-2 start, the Giants won three straight games but subsequently lost their next seven games including a 16-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in a game where Manning threw five interceptions, which tied his career high. The Giants won three of their last four games to end the season with a 6–10 record. Manning finished the season with 30 touchdown passes, 14 interceptions, and 4,410 passing yards. A few days before the Giants' regular season opener against the Dallas Cowboys, Manning signed a four-year, US$84million extension with the Giants. In Week 5, he had a franchise-record 41 completions for 441 passing yards, three touchdowns, and one interception in a 30–27 victory over the San Francisco 49ers to earn NFC Offensive Player of the Week. Through six games, he led the Giants to a 3-3 record and a tie for first place in the NFC East. In Week 8, Manning threw a career-high six touchdowns and 350 yards, but the Giants lost to the New Orleans Saints, 52-49. In Week 14, in a 31–24 victory over the Miami Dolphins, he was 27-of-31 for 337 passing yards and four touchdowns to earn NFC Offensive Player of the Week. After starting the season 5-5, Giants fell to 1-5 the rest of the way to finish 6-10 for the second straight season. Manning finished the 2015 season with career highs in touchdown passes (35), completions (387), attempts (618), and passer rating (93.6). His 35 touchdowns were one shy of tying Y. A. Tittle for most in a single season in franchise history and ranked second among quarterbacks that year. Manning also threw 4,432 yards in 2015, second most in his career. On January 22, 2016, Manning was selected to his fourth career Pro Bowl, replacing Ben Roethlisberger. Manning's fourth Pro Bowl berth ties Fran Tarkenton for most Pro Bowl selections by a New York Giants quarterback in franchise history. He was ranked 47th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016. In the 2016 season opener against their divisional rival Dallas Cowboys on September 11, Manning threw 3 touchdowns and 1 interception for 207 yards, as the Giants would hang on to win 20–19. On October 16, in a victory over the Baltimore Ravens, Manning threw for three touchdowns, reaching a career total of 302 touchdown passes and passing John Elway for seventh all time. Coming off a bye week and on a two-game winning streak, beating the Ravens and the Los Angeles Rams, Manning threw a season high four touchdowns as the Giants would halt a last-second game-winning drive by the Eagles to win 28-23. In a Week 16 loss against the Eagles on December 22, Manning set a career-high of 63 pass attempts in a single game, while throwing one touchdown and three interceptions, surpassing Peyton Manning's record of 21 games with 3+ interceptions with 22. Despite the loss, though, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the New Orleans Saints later that week 31-24, giving the Giants their first playoff berth since last winning Super Bowl XLVI in the 2011 season. By defeating the rival Redskins in the final week of the NFL season on New Year's Day and, therefore, knocking the Redskins out of playoff contention and bringing their season record to 11-5 (their first winning season since 2012), Manning and the Giants faced the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau Field in the Wild Card Round of the NFL playoffs, as Manning completed 23 of 44 of his passes for 299 yards, while throwing for a touchdown. Manning was back to his playoff self in the game, but was let down by numerous drops by Odell Beckham Jr. and other star playmakers. The Packers would eventually rout the Giants 38-13, ending the Giants season. Manning finished the season throwing 26 touchdowns, 16 interceptions, and threw for over 4,000 yards with an 86.0 passer rating. Overall, the Giants offense was lackluster for most of the season, constantly plagued by poor performance at the Tight End and Offensive Tackle position, with the only bright spot being wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. On February 4, 2017, Manning and Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald both won the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, making it the first time since the 2006 season that two players were co-winners of this award (Drew Brees and LaDainian Tomlinson). Manning started the 2017 off with a 19–3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on "NBC Sunday Night Football". In the game, he had 220 passing yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions, but the offense struggled to sustain consistent success. Despite solid performances from Manning, the Giants dropped the next four games to start the season with a 0–5 record, with the last three games of that stretch being lost by a combined 10 points. The Giants broke their losing streak with a 23–10 victory over the Denver Broncos. The success was short-lived as the Giants lost the next game to the Seattle Seahawks by a score of 24–7. During Week 9 against the Los Angeles Rams, Manning finished with 220 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception as the Giants lost by a score of 51–17. During the Rams game, he became the seventh quarterback to reach 50,000 passing yards. On November 28, after a 2–9 start to the season, it was announced that Manning would be benched and replaced by Geno Smith in Week 13, ending Manning's streak of 210 consecutive regular season games started. The streak was second all-time for quarterbacks behind Brett Favre's 297. Head coach Ben McAdoo also gave Manning the option of starting to keep the streak going but Manning declined, stating that "My feeling is that if you are going to play the other guys, play them. Starting just to keep the streak going and knowing you won't finish the game and have a chance to win it is pointless to me, and it tarnishes the streak." The move was met with severe backlash from former Giants players and coaches. On December 5, two days after the Week 13 game, Manning was renamed the starter after McAdoo was terminated as head coach. During Week 15 against the Eagles, Manning finished with 434 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, and an interception. The Giants lost 29–34, allowing the Eagles to clinch a first-round bye. On December 24, against the Arizona Cardinals, Manning passed John Elway to take sole possession of sixth place on the NFL's all-time passing yard list. Manning started the regular season finale against the Washington Redskins. In the 18–10 victory, he had 132 passing yards, one touchdown, and one interception as the Giants ended their disappointing season with a 3–13 record. Following speculation that Manning would be shown the door, new Giants head coach Pat Shurmur put these rumors aside by saying "I think what's important is we have a guy (Manning) here who has helped this organization win Super Bowls. He's an outstanding player and I'm really looking forward to working with him." After two losses to the start the season, Manning and the Giants defeated the Houston Texans 27–22. Manning was efficient going 25-of-29 for 297 passing yards and two touchdowns. The Giants lost the next five consecutive games, with Manning leading the leagues in sacks for most of that stretch despite an improved running game from rookie Saquon Barkley. Manning had 399 yards passing in the fourth of these losses (Game 7 against the Atlanta Falcons), but was sacked seven times and threw two interceptions in Game 8. Manning rebounded with three touchdowns and no interceptions in the following week's victory over San Francisco, and a remarkable 17 completions on 18 attempts for two touchdowns in a win the following week over Tampa Bay. Manning was born in New Orleans, the youngest of three boys for Olivia (née Williams) and NFL quarterback Elisha Archibald "Archie" Manning III, both natives of Mississippi. He is a member of Sigma Nu fraternity as was his father, and he was named Sigma Nu Athlete of the Year in 2001 and 2003. In 2007, he proposed to Abby McGrew of Nashville, Tennessee. McGrew studied fashion in New York City, and has been with Manning since their days at the University of Mississippi. The couple wed in a private ceremony held in San José del Cabo, Mexico on April 19, 2008. Manning and Abby have three daughters. They reside, during the season, in Hoboken, New Jersey. Eli and Peyton Manning volunteered in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The Mannings assisted in the delivery of of water, Gatorade, baby formula, pumice, and pillows to the people of New Orleans. After touring the University of Mississippi Medical Center's Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children, he undertook a five-year campaign in 2007 to raise US$2.5million for the construction of "The Eli Manning Children's Clinics" at the children's hospital. Manning said in 2007, "I am humbled by the work they do and am honored to make this five-year commitment to help raise funds to build this state-of-the-art clinic that will serve Mississippi families for years to come." His father, Archie Manning, has also raised funds for Katrina relief efforts. In 2009, Eli, Peyton, and Archie Manning co-authored a children's book entitled "Family Huddle", which describes in simple text and pictures how the three Manning brothers played football as young boys (Scholastic Press; illustrations by Jim Madsen). In 2010, Eli Manning appeared in a commercial to raise awareness for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, in wake of the catastrophe. Since 2008, Manning has been the host of Guiding Eyes for the Blind's Golf Classic, the oldest and largest charity golf event in Westchester County, New York. Guiding Eyes is a nonprofit guide dog school serving the blind and visually impaired from around the world, as well as children on the autism spectrum. He is a former member of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. Eli Manning Elisha Nelson Manning IV (born January 3, 1981) is an American football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Mississippi from 2000 to 2003. He was drafted as the first overall pick
when did the eagles win last super bowl	"Dallas Cowboys" The Cowboys' streak of 190 consecutive sold-out regular and post-season games (home and away) began in 2002. The franchise has made it to the Super Bowl eight times, tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos for second most Super Bowl appearances in history, just behind the New England Patriots record ten Super Bowl appearances. This has also corresponded to eight NFC championships, most in the NFC. The Cowboys have won five of those Super Bowl appearances, tying them with their NFC rivals, the San Francisco 49ers, and the AFC's Patriots; all three are second to Pittsburgh's record six Super Bowl championships. The Cowboys are the only NFL team to record 20 straight winning seasons (1966–85), in which they missed the playoffs only twice (1974 and 1984), an NFL record that remains unchallenged. In 2015, the Dallas Cowboys became the first sports team to be valued at $4 billion, making it the most valuable sports team in the world, according to "Forbes". The Cowboys also generated $620 million in revenue in 2014, a record for a U.S. sports team. In 2018 they also became the first NFL franchise to be valued at $5 billion and making Forbes' list as the most valued NFL team for the 12th straight year. Prior to the formation of the Dallas Cowboys, there had not been an NFL team south of Washington, D.C. since the Dallas Texans folded in 1952. Oilman Clint Murchison Jr. had been trying to get an NFL expansion team in Dallas (as was Lamar Hunt – who ended up with an AFL franchise), but George Preston Marshall, owner of the Washington Redskins, had a monopoly in the South. Murchison had tried to purchase the Washington Redskins from Marshall in 1958. An agreement was struck, but as the deal was about to be finalized, Marshall called for a change in terms. This infuriated Murchison and he called off the deal. Marshall then opposed any franchise for Murchison in Dallas. Since NFL expansion needed unanimous approval from team owners at that time, Marshall's position would prevent Murchison from joining the league. Marshall had a falling out with the Redskins band leader Barnee Breeskin. Breeskin had written the music to the Redskins fight song "Hail to the Redskins" and Marshall's wife had penned the lyrics. Breeskin owned the rights to the song and was aware of Murchison's plight to get an NFL franchise. Angry with Marshall, Breeskin approached Murchison's attorney to sell him the rights to the song before the expansion vote in 1959. Murchison purchased "Hail to the Redskins" for $2,500. Before the vote to award franchises in 1959, Murchison revealed to Marshall that he owned the song and Marshall could not play it during games. After a few Marshall expletives, Murchison gave the rights to "Hail to the Redskins" to Marshall for his vote, the lone one against Murchison getting a franchise at that time, and a rivalry was born. From 1970 through 1979, the Cowboys won 105 regular season games, more than any other NFL franchise during that span. In addition, they appeared in 5 and won two Super Bowls, at the end of the 1971 and 1977 regular seasons. Danny White became the Cowboys' starting quarterback in 1980 after quarterback Roger Staubach retired. Despite going to 12–4 in 1980, the Cowboys came into the playoffs as a Wild Card team. In the opening round of the 1980–81 NFL playoffs they avenged their elimination from the prior year's playoffs by defeating the Rams. In the Divisional Round they squeaked by the Atlanta Falcons 30–27. For the NFC Championship they were pitted against division rival Philadelphia, the team that won the division during the regular season. The Eagles captured their first conference championship and Super Bowl berth by winning 20–7. 1981 brought another division championship for the Cowboys. They entered the 1981-82 NFL playoffs as the number 2 seed. Their first game of the postseason saw them blowout and shutout Tampa Bay 38–0. For the Conference Title game they were pitted against the San Francisco 49ers, the number 1 seed. Despite having a late 4th quarter 27–21 lead, they would lose to the 49ers 28–27. 49ers quarterback Joe Montana led his team to an 89-yard game-winning touchdown drive connecting to Dwight Clark in a play known as The Catch. The 1982 season was shortened after a player strike. With a 6–3 record Dallas made it to the playoffs for the 8th consecutive season. As the number 2 seed for the 1982–83 NFL playoffs they eliminated the Buccaneers 30–17 in the Wild Card round and dispatched the Packers 37–26 in the Divisional round to advance to their 3rd consecutive Conference championship game. 3 times was not a charm for the Cowboys as they fell 31–17 to division rival and eventual Super Bowl XVII champions Redskins. For the 1983 season the Cowboys went 12–4 and made it once again to the playoffs but were defeated at home in the Wild Card by the Rams 24–17. Prior to the 1984 season, H.R. "Bum" Bright purchased the Dallas Cowboys from Clint Murchison Jr. Dallas posted a 9–7 record that season but missed the playoffs for the first time in 10 seasons. After going 10–6 in 1985 and winning a division title, the Cowboys were blown out in the Divisional round at home to the Rams 20–0. Hard times came for the organization as they went 7–9 in 1986, 7–8 in 1987, and 3–13 in 1988. During this time period Bright became disenchanted with the team. During the Savings and Loan crisis, the team and Mr. Bright's Savings and Loan were taken over by the FSLIC. During an embarrassing home loss to Atlanta in 1987, Bright told the media that he was "horrified" at coach Tom Landry's play calling. The FSLIC forced Mr. Bright to sell the Cowboys to Jerry Jones on February 25, 1989. Jones immediately fired Tom Landry, the only head coach in franchise history, replacing him with University of Miami head coach Jimmy Johnson, who was also Jerry Jones' teammate in University of Arkansas as a fellow defensive lineman and Michael Irvin was under his tutelage in college. With the first pick in the draft, the Cowboys selected UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman. Later that same year, they would trade veteran running back Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings for five veteran players and eight draft choices. Although the Cowboys finished the 1989 season with a 1–15 record, their worst in almost 30 years, "The Trade" later allowed Dallas to draft a number of impact players to rebuild the team. Johnson quickly returned the Cowboys to the NFL's elite. Skillful drafts added fullback Daryl Johnston and center Mark Stepnoski in 1989, running back Emmitt Smith in 1990, defensive tackle Russell Maryland and offensive tackle Erik Williams in 1991, and safety Darren Woodson in 1992. The young talent joined holdovers from the Landry era such as wide receiver Michael Irvin, guard Nate Newton, linebacker Ken Norton Jr., and offensive lineman Mark Tuinei, defensive lineman Jim Jeffcoat, and veteran pickups such as tight end Jay Novacek and defensive end Charles Haley. Things started to look up for the franchise in 1990. On Week 1 Dallas won their first home game since September 1988 when they defeated the San Diego Chargers 17–14. They went 2–7 in their next 9 games but won 4 of their last 6 games to finish the season with a 4th place 7–9 record. Coming into 1991 the Cowboys replaced offensive coordinator Dave Shula with Norv Turner; the Cowboys raced to a 6–5 start, then defeated the previously-unbeaten Redskins despite injury to Troy Aikman. Backup Steve Beuerlein took over and the Cowboys finished 11–5. In the Wild Card round they defeated the Bears 17–13 for the Cowboys first playoff win since 1982. In the Divisional round their season ended in a 38–6 playoff rout by the Lions. In 1992 Dallas set a team record for regular season wins with a 13–3 mark. They started off the season by defeating the defending Super Bowl champion Redskins 23–10. Going into the playoffs as the number 2 seed they had a first round bye before facing division rival the Philadelphia Eagles. The Cowboys won that game 34–10 to advance to the NFC Conference Championship game for the first time in 10 years. They were pitted against the San Francisco 49ers, the number 1 seed. On January 17, 1993 the Cowboys went to Candlestick Park and defeated the 49ers 30–20 to clinch their first Super Bowl berth since 1978. Dallas defeated the Buffalo Bills 52–17 in Super Bowl XXVII, during which they forced a record nine turnovers. Johnson became the first coach to claim a national championship in college football and a Super Bowl victory in professional football. Despite starting the 1993 season 0–2, they again defeated the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVIII, 30–13 (becoming the first team in NFL history to win a Super Bowl after starting 0–2). Dallas finished the regular season 12–4 as the number 1 seed of the NFC. They defeated the Green Bay Packers 27–17 in the divisional round. In the NFC Conference Championship, Dallas beat the 49ers in Dallas, 38–21. Dallas sent a then-NFL record 11 players to the Pro Bowl in 1993: Aikman, safety Thomas Everett, Irvin, Johnston, Maryland, Newton, Norton, Novacek, Smith, Stepnoski and Williams. Only weeks after Super Bowl XXVIII, however, friction between Johnson and Jones culminated in Johnson stunning the football world by announcing his resignation. Jones then hired former University of Oklahoma head coach Barry Switzer to replace Johnson. The Cowboys finished 12–4 in 1994. They once again clinched a first round bye and defeated Green Bay 35–9 in the Divisional Round. They missed the Super Bowl, however, after losing to the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game, 38–28. Prior to the start of 1995 season Jerry Jones lured All-Pro cornerback Deion Sanders away from San Francisco. Dallas started the season 4–0 including shutting out their division rival New York Giants 35–0 at Giants Stadium to open their season. Emmitt Smith set an NFL record with 25 rushing touchdowns that season. They ended the season 12–4 and went into the playoffs as the number 1 seed. In the Divisional round they dispatched their division rival Eagles 30–11 to advance to their 4th consecutive NFC Conference Championship Game, in which they defeated Green Bay, 38–27. In Super Bowl XXX the Cowboys defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 27–17 at Sun Devil Stadium for their fifth Super Bowl championship. Switzer joined Johnson as the only coaches to win a college football national championship and a Super Bowl. The glory days of the Cowboys were again beginning to dim as free agency, age, and injuries began taking their toll. Star receiver Michael Irvin was suspended by the league for the first five games of 1996 following a drug-related arrest; he came back after the Cowboys started the season 2–3. They finished the regular season with a 10–6 record, won the NFC East title, and entered the playoffs as the number 3 seed in the NFC. They defeated Minnesota 40–15 in the Wild Card round but were eliminated in the Divisional round of the playoffs 26–17 by the Carolina Panthers. The Cowboys went 6–10 in 1997 (including losing their last 6 games of the season), with discipline and off-field problems becoming major distractions. As a result, Switzer resigned as head coach in January 1998 and former Steelers offensive coordinator Chan Gailey was hired to take his place. Gailey led the team to two playoff appearances with a 10–6 record in 1998 and an NFC East championship, but the Cowboys were defeated in the playoffs by the Arizona Cardinals 20–7. In 1999 Dallas went 8–8 (during which Irvin suffered a career-ending spinal injury in a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles) ending in another playoff loss (this time to the Minnesota Vikings 27–10). Gailey was fired and became the first Cowboys coach who did not take the team to a Super Bowl. Defensive coordinator Dave Campo was promoted to head coach for the 2000 season. Prior to the season starting cornerback Deion Sanders was released after 5 seasons with the team. He later signed with division rival Washington. In Week 1, they were blown out 41–14 by Philadelphia. That game was very costly when veteran quarterback Troy Aikman suffered a serious concussion which ultimately ended his career. Longtime NFL QB Randall Cunningham filled in for Aikman for the rest of the season at QB. The Cowboys finished the season in 4th place with a 5–11 record. The only highlights of 2000 were Emmitt Smith having his 10th consecutive 1,000 yard rushing season and a season sweep over the Redskins. 2001 was another hard year in Dallas. Prior to the season starting Aikman was released from the team and he retired due to the concussions he had received. Jerry Jones signed Tony Banks as a QB. Banks had been a starter for half of the season the previous year for the Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens before being benched. Jones also drafted QB Quincy Carter in the second round of that year's draft, but Banks was released during the preseason. Ryan Leaf, Anthony Wright, and Clint Stoerner all competed for the quarterback position that season. Dallas again finished at 5–11, last place in the NFC East. They did sweep the Redskins for the 4th consecutive season. Prior to the 2002 season Dallas drafted safety Roy Williams with the 8th overall pick. The season started out low as the Cowboys lost to the expansion Houston Texans 19–10 on Week 1. By far the highlight of 2002 was on October 28, when during a home game against the Seattle Seahawks, Emmitt Smith broke the all-time NFL rushing record previously held by Walter Payton. Their Thanksgiving Day win over the Redskins was their 10th consecutive win against Washington. However, that was their final win of 2002: Dallas lost their next 4 games to finish with another last place 5–11 record. The losing streak was punctuated with a Week 17 20–14 loss against Washington. That game was Smith's last game as a Cowboys player: he was released during the offseason. Campo was immediately fired as head coach at the conclusion of the season. Jones then lured Bill Parcells out of retirement to coach the Cowboys. The Cowboys became the surprise team of the 2003 season getting off to a hot 7–2 season, but went 3–4 for the rest of the season. They were able to win the division with a 10–6 record but lost in the Wild Card round to eventual conference champion Carolina Panthers 29–10. In 2004 Dallas was unable to replicate their 2003 success, and ended 6–10. Quincy Carter was released during the preseason and was replaced at QB by Vinny Testaverde. Dallas got off to a hot 7–3 start for the 2005 season but ended the season in 3rd place with a 9–7 record. Prior to the season starting the Cowboys signed veteran Drew Bledsoe as a quarterback. 2006 was an interesting year for the Cowboys. Prior to the season Dallas signed free agent wide receiver Terrell Owens who was talented yet controversial. The Cowboys started the season 3–2. During a week 7 matchup against the Giants, Bledsoe, who had been struggling since the start of the season, was pulled from the game and was replaced by backup Tony Romo. Romo was unable to salvage that game and Dallas lost 38–22. However, Romo was named the starter for team and went 5–1 in his first 6 games. Dallas ended the season with a 9–7 2nd-place finish. They were able to clinch the number 5 playoff seed. They traveled to play Seattle where the Seahawks won 21–20. After the season Parcells retired and was replaced as head coach by Wade Phillips. Dallas started off the 2007 season with a bang. They began the season with a 12–1 start, including winning their first five games. Their only loss during that time span came against New England, who went undefeated that season. Despite dropping two of their last three regular season games, the Cowboys clinched their first number 1 NFC seed in 12 years, which also granted them a first round bye and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Cowboys lost in the divisional round 21–17 to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants. In the tumultuous 2008 season, the Cowboys started off strong, going 3–0 for the second straight year, en route to a 4–1 start. However, things soon went downhill from there, after quarterback Tony Romo suffered a broken pinkie in an overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals. With Brad Johnson and Brooks Bollinger playing as backups, Dallas went 1–2 during a three-game stretch. Romo's return showed promise, as Dallas went 3–0. However, injuries mounted during the season with the team losing several starters for the year, such as Kyle Kosier, Felix Jones, safety Roy Williams and punter Mat McBriar, and several other starters playing with injuries. Entering December, the 8–4 Cowboys underperformed, finishing 1–3. They failed to make the playoffs after losing at Philadelphia in the final regular season game which saw the Eagles reach the playoffs instead. On May 2, 2009, the Dallas Cowboys' practice facility collapsed during a wind storm. The collapse left twelve Cowboys players and coaches injured. The most serious injuries were special teams coach Joe DeCamillis, who suffered fractured cervical vertebrae and had surgery to stabilize fractured vertebrae in his neck, and Rich Behm, the team's 33-year-old scouting assistant, who was permanently paralyzed from the waist down after his spine was severed. The 2009 season started on a positive with a road win against Tampa Bay, but fortunes quickly changed as Dallas fell to a 2–2 start. In week five, with starting wide receiver Roy Williams sidelined by injury, receiver Miles Austin got his first start of the season and had a record setting day (250 yards receiving and 2 touchdowns) to help lead Dallas to an overtime win over Kansas City. Following their bye week, Dallas went on a three-game winning streak including wins over Atlanta and NFC East division rival Philadelphia. Despite entering December with a record of 8–3, Dallas lost its slim grip on 1st place in the division with losses to the New York Giants and San Diego. Talks of past December collapses resurfaced, and another collapse in 2009 seemed validated. However, the Dallas team surged in the final three weeks of the season with a 24–17 victory at the Superdome, ending New Orleans' previously unbeaten season in week 15. For the first time in franchise history, Dallas posted back-to-back shutouts when they beat division rivals Washington (17–0) and Philadelphia (24–0) to end the season. In the process, the Cowboys clinched their second NFC East title in three years as well as the third seed in the NFC Playoffs. Six days later, in the wild-card round of the playoffs, Dallas played the Eagles in a rematch of week 17. The Cowboys defeated the Eagles for the first Cowboys' post-season win since the 1996 season, ending a streak of six consecutive NFL post-season losses. Dallas ended their playoff run after a hard divisional playoff loss to the Minnesota Vikings. After beginning the 2010 season at 1–7, Phillips was fired as head coach and was replaced by offensive coordinator Jason Garrett as the interim head coach. The Cowboys finished the season 6–10. With the 9th pick of the 1st round of the 2011 draft, the Cowboys selected USC tackle Tyron Smith. To start the 2011 season the Cowboys played the New York Jets on a Sunday night primetime game in New York, on September 11, 2011. The Cowboys held the lead through most of the game, until a fumble, blocked punt, and interception led to the Jets coming back to win the game. In week 2 Dallas traveled to San Francisco to play the 49ers. In the middle of the 2nd quarter, while the Cowboys trailed 10–7, Tony Romo suffered a rib injury and was replaced by Jon Kitna. Kitna threw 1 Touchdown and 2 interceptions until Romo returned in the 3rd quarter as Dallas trailed 17–7. Romo then threw 3 touchdown passes to Miles Austin as the Cowboys rallied to send the game into overtime. On the Cowboys opening possession after 49ers punt, Romo found WR Jesse Holley on a 78-yard pass, which set up the game-winning field goal by rookie kicker Dan Bailey. Dallas ended the season 8–8. They were in a position to win the NFC East but lost to the Giants in a Week 17 primetime Sunday Night game on NBC which allowed New York to win the division. The Giants would go on to win Super Bowl XLVI. The Cowboys started off the 2012 season on a high note by defeating the defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants 24–17 on the opening night of the season. They would hover around the .500 mark for the majority of the season. They lost a close Week 6 game to eventual Super Bowl XXVII Champion Baltimore Ravens 31–29 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. Going into Week 17 they found themselves once again one win away from winning the division. Standing in their way was the Redskins who had beat them on Thanksgiving at AT&T Stadium and whom were also one win away from their first division title since 1999. Led by Robert Griffin III the Redskins defeated the Cowboys at home 28-18. Dallas once again finished the season 8–8. In the 2013 season Dallas started off by defeating the Giants for the second straight year this time 36–31. It was the first time since AT&T Stadium had opened back in 2009 that the Cowboys were able to defeat New York at home. The win was punctuated by Brandon Carr returning an Eli Manning interception to a touchdown late in the 4th quarter. For the third straight year Dallas once again found themselves stuck in the .500 area. In Week 5, they lost a shootout to eventual AFC Champion Denver Broncos 51–48. They battled it out with Philadelphia for control of the division throughout the season. In December however they lost 2 crucial back to back games to Chicago and Green Bay. They were very successful in division games having a 5–0 division record heading into another Week 17 showdown for the NFC East crown against the Eagles. That included beating Washington 24–23 on Week 16 thanks to late game heroics of Tony Romo. However Romo received a severe back injury in that game which prematurely ended his season. The Cowboys called upon backup QB Kyle Orton to lead them into battle on the final week of the season. Orton was unsuccessful who threw a game ending interception to the Eagles which allowed Philly to win 24–22. Dallas ended the year at 8–8 for the third year in a row. The only difference of this 8–8 ending compared to the others was that Dallas ended the season in second place compared to the 2 previous 3rd-place finishes. To start off the 2014 season Dallas began by losing to San Francisco 28–17. After that they went on a 6-game winning streak. The highlight of this streak was defeating the Seahawks at CenturyLink Field 30–23. In Week 8, the Redskins won in overtime 20–17, and Romo injured his back again. He missed next week, a home loss to the Arizona Cardinals 28–17 with backup QB Brandon Weeden. Romo returned in Week 9 to lead a 31–17 victory of the Jacksonville Jaguars which was played at Wembley Stadium in London, England as part of the NFL International Series. Dallas played their traditional Thanksgiving home game against division rival Philadelphia. Both teams were vying for first place in the division with identical 8–3 records. The Eagles got off to a fast start and the Cowboys were unable to catch up, losing 33–10. They would rebound the next week when they defeated Chicago 41–28. Week 15 was a rematch against 1st place Philadelphia. This time it was the Cowboys who got off to a fast start going up 21–0. Then the Eagles put up 24 points but Dallas came back to win 38–27 to go into first place for the first time in the season and improve to 10–4. Going into their Week 16 matchup at home against Indianapolis, Dallas was in a position to clinch their first division title since 2009 by defeating the Colts 42-7 and the Eagles losing that week to the Redskins. They became the 2014 NFC East Champions, eliminating the Eagles from the playoffs. Dallas ended the regular season with a 12–4 record and an 8–0 away record when they won on the road against Washington 44–17. On January 4, 2015, the Cowboys, as the number 3 seed, hosted the number 6 seed Detroit Lions in the wild card round of the NFL playoffs. In the game, the Lions got off to a hot start, going up 14–0 in the first quarter. Dallas initially struggled on both sides of the ball. However, towards the end of the second quarter Romo threw a 76-yard touchdown pass to Terrance Williams. Matt Prater of the Lions would kick a field goal before halftime to go up 17–7. Dallas came out swinging to start the second half by picking off Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford on the first play of the third quarter. However, the Cowboys failed to capitalize on the turnover, as Dan Bailey missed a field goal during Dallas's ensuing drive. Detroit then kicked another field goal to make the score 20–7. A DeMarco Murray touchdown later in that quarter closed the gap to 20–14. A 51-yard Bailey field goal almost 3 minutes into the fourth quarter trimmed the Cowboys' deficit to 3. The Lions got the ball back and started driving down the field. On 3rd down-and-1 of that Lions drive, Stafford threw a 17-yard pass intended for Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew, but the ball hit Cowboys linebacker Anthony Hitchens in the back a fraction of a second before he ran into Pettigrew. The play was initially flagged as defensive pass interference against Hitchens. However, the penalty was then nullified by the officiating crew. The Cowboys got the ball back on their 41-yard line and had a successful 59-yard drive which was capped off by an 8-yard touchdown pass from Romo to Williams to give the Cowboys their first lead of the game at 24–20. The Lions got the ball back with less than 2:30 to play in regulation. Stafford fumbled the ball at the 2 minute mark. The fumble was recovered by Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, who then fumbled the ball which was recovered by the Lions. Lawrence would redeem himself by sacking Stafford on a 4th down-and-3 play. The sack led to Stafford fumbling the ball again, which Lawrence recovered to seal the game for the Cowboys, who won 24–20. This was the first time in franchise playoff history that Dallas had been down by 10 or more points at halftime and rallied to win the game. The following week, the Cowboys traveled to Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin to play the Packers in the divisional round. Despite having a 14–7 halftime lead, the Cowboys fell to the Packers 26–21, thus ending their season. The season ended on an overturned call of a completed catch by Dez Bryant. The catch was challenged by the Packers, and the referees overturned the call because of the "Calvin Johnson rule." During the 2015 offseason the Cowboys allowed running back DeMarco Murray to become a free agent. Murray signed with the division rival Philadelphia Eagles. On July 15 wide receiver Dez Bryant signed a 5-year, $70 million contract. At home against the New York Giants, Dallas won 27–26. Dez Bryant left the game early with a fractured bone in his foot. On the road against the Philadelphia Eagles, Romo suffered a broken left collarbone, the same one he injured in 2010, and Brandon Weeden replaced him. Dallas won 20–10 to begin the season 2–0, but then went on a seven-game losing streak. Dallas finished the season 4–12 and last in their division. After a preseason injury to Tony Romo, rookie quarterback Dak Prescott was slated as the starting quarterback, as Romo was expected to be out 6–8 weeks. In game 1 against the New York Giants, Dallas lost 20–19. After this loss, Dallas would go on an eleven-game winning streak. After much speculation leading to a potential quarterback controversy, Romo made an announcement that Prescott has earned the right to take over as Cowboys quarterback. In game 10, Romo suited up for the first time this season and was the backup quarterback. Dallas defeated the Baltimore Ravens to win their 9th straight game, breaking a franchise record of 8 straight games set in 1977. It also marked rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott breaking Tony Dorsett's single season rushing record for a Cowboys rookie. Prescott also tied an NFL rookie record held by Russell Wilson and Dan Marino by throwing multiple touchdowns in 5 straight games. Dallas finished 13–3, tying their best 16-game regular season record. While Dallas defeated Green Bay at Lambeau Field in week 6, the Packers would win at AT&T Stadium in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs on a last-second field goal, ending their season. Dak Prescott was named NFL Rookie of the Year in the NFL honors on February 4, 2017, and Ezekiel Elliott led the league in rushing yards. Both Prescott and Elliott made the 2017 Pro Bowl. This is the first time the Cowboys sent two rookies to the Pro Bowl. 2017 was the first season since 2002 without quarterback Tony Romo, who retired on April 4 after 14 seasons with the Cowboys. The season also featured second-year running back Ezekiel Elliott being suspended for 6 games after violating the league's conduct policy. The suspension was to begin at the start of the year but was pushed back to November. The Cowboys finished the year at 9-7 without making the playoffs. Following the season Dez Bryant was released after eight seasons in Dallas and Jason Witten retired after 15 seasons, ending an era. The Dallas Cowboys' 2017 season was the subject of the third season of Amazon's sports documentary series "All or Nothing". The series is produced by NFL Films. The Dallas Cowboys' blue star logo, representative of Texas as "The Lone Star State", is one of the most well-known team logos in professional sports. The blue star originally was a solid shape until a white line and blue border was added in 1964. The logo has remained the same since. Today, the blue star has been extended to not only the Dallas Cowboys, but owner Jerry Jones' AFL team, the Dallas Desperados that have a similar logo based on the Cowboys. The blue star also is used on other entries like an imaging facility and storage facility. The Dallas Cowboys' white home jersey has royal blue (PMS 287 C) solid socks, numbers, lettering, and two stripes on the sleeves outlined in black. The home pants are a common metallic silver-green color (PMS 8280 C) that help bring out the blue in the uniform. The navy (PMS 289 C) road jerseys (nicknamed the "Stars and Stripes" jersey) have white lettering and numbers with navy pinstripes. A white/gray/white stripe are on each sleeve as well as the collared V-neck, and a Cowboys star logo is placed upon the stripes. A "Cowboys" chest crest is directly under the NFL shield. The away pants are a pearlish metallic-silver color (PMS 8180 C) and like the home pants, enhance the navy in the uniforms. The team uses a serifed font for the lettered player surnames on the jersey nameplates. The team's helmets are also a unique silver with a tint of blue known as "Metallic Silver Blue" (PMS 8240 C) and have a blue/white/blue vertical stripe placed upon the center of the crown. The Cowboys also include a unique, if subtle, feature on the back of the helmet: a blue strip of Dymo tape with the player's name embossed, placed on the white portion of the stripe at the back of the helmet. When the Dallas Cowboys franchise debuted in 1960, the team's uniform included a white helmet adorned with a simple blue star and a blue-white-blue stripe down the center crown. The team donned blue jerseys with white sleeves and a small blue star on each shoulder for home games and the negative opposite for away games. Their socks also had two horizontal white stripes overlapping the blue. In 1964 the Cowboys opted for a simpler look (adopting essentially the team's current uniform) by changing their jersey/socks to one solid color with three horizontal stripes on the sleeves; the white jersey featured royal blue stripes with a narrow black border, the royal blue jersey white stripes with the same black outline. The star-shouldered jerseys were eliminated; "TV" numbers appeared just above the jersey stripes. The new helmet was silverblue, with a blue-white-blue tri-stripe down the center (the middle white stripe was thicker). The blue "lone star" logo was retained, but with a white border setting it off from the silver/blue. The new pants were silver/blue, with a blue-white-blue tri-stripe. In 1964 the NFL allowed teams to wear white jerseys at home; several teams did so, and the Cowboys have worn white at home ever since, except on certain "throwback" days. In 1966, the team modified the jerseys, which now featured only two sleeve stripes, slightly wider; the socks followed the same pattern. In 1967 the "lone star" helmet decal added a blue outline to the white-bordered star, giving the logo a bigger, bolder look. The logo and this version of the uniform has seen little change to the present day. The only notable changes in the last 40 years were: During the 1976 season, the blue-white-blue stripe on the crown of the helmets were temporarily changed to red-white-blue to commemorate the United States' bicentennial anniversary. In 1994, the NFL celebrated their 75th Anniversary, and the Dallas Cowboys celebrated their back-to-back Super Bowl titles by unveiling a white "Double-Star" jersey on Thanksgiving Day. This jersey was used for special occasions and was worn throughout the 1994–1995 playoffs. During the same season, the Cowboys also wore their 1960–63 road jersey with a silver helmet for one game as part of a league-wide "throwback" policy. During the 1995 season, the team wore the navy "Double-Star" jersey for games at Washington and Philadelphia and permanently switched to solid color socks (royal blue for the white uniform, and navy blue for the dark uniform). The navy "Double-Star" jersey was not seen again until the NFL's "Classic Throwback Weekend" on Thanksgiving Day 2001–2003. In 2004, the Cowboys resurrected their original 1960–1963 uniform on Thanksgiving Day. This uniform became the team's alternate or "third jersey" and was usually worn at least once a year, primarily Thanksgiving Day. Two exceptions were when the Cowboys wore their normal white uniforms on Thanksgiving in 2007 and 2008. While the team didn't wear the throwback uniform exactly on Thanksgiving Day in those two years, Dallas wore them on a date around Thanksgiving for those two years. In 2007 Dallas wore the throwback uniform on November 29, 2007 against the Green Bay Packers. In 2008 Dallas wore the throwback uniform on November 23, 2008 against the San Francisco 49ers. The team went back to wearing this uniform at home on Thanksgiving Day in 2009 while their opponent was the Oakland Raiders who wore their AFL Legacy Weekend throwbacks. Dallas wore this alternate uniform on October 11, 2009 as part of one of the NFL's AFL Legacy Weekends when they traveled to Kansas City to play the Chiefs who were sporting their AFL Dallas Texans' uniforms. This created a rare game in which neither team wore a white jersey and the first time the Cowboys wore the alternative uniform as a visiting team. The 1960–1963 uniform may also be used on other special occasion. Other instances include the 2005 Monday Night game against the Washington Redskins when the team inducted Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irving into the Cowboys Ring of Honor, and the 2006 Christmas Day game against the Philadelphia Eagles. In 2013, the NFL issued a new helmet rule stating that players will no longer be allowed to use alternate helmets due to the league's enhanced concussion awareness. This caused the Cowboys' white 1960s throwback helmets to become non-compliant. The team instead decided to wear their normal blue jerseys at home for Thanksgiving, which has since become an annual tradition. In 2017, the team initially announced that they will wear blue jerseys at home on a more regular basis, only to rescind soon after. In 2015, the Cowboys released their Color Rush uniform, featuring a variation of the 1990s "Double Star" alternates with white pants and socks. The uniform was first used in a Thanksgiving game against the Carolina Panthers and in subsequent "Thursday Night Football" games during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. The Cowboys also unveiled a navy uniform-white pants combination which was first used on December 10, 2017 against the Giants. In 1964, Tex Schramm started the tradition of the Cowboys wearing their white jersey at home, contrary to an unofficial rule that teams should wear colored jerseys at home. Schramm did this because he wanted fans to see a variety of opponents' colors at home games. Since then, a number of other teams have worn their white uniforms at home, including the Miami Dolphins. According to Mike McCord, the Cowboys' equipment director, one of the reasons why the Cowboys started wearing white at home was because of the intense heat during Cowboys' home games at Texas Stadium. Throughout the years, the Cowboys' blue jersey has been popularly viewed to be "jinxed" because the team often seemed to lose when they wore them. This purported curse drew attention after the team lost Super Bowl V with the blue jerseys. However, the roots of the curse likely date back earlier to the 1968 divisional playoffs, when the blue-shirted Cowboys were upset by the Cleveland Browns in what turned out to be Don Meredith's final game with the Cowboys. Dallas's lone victory in a conference championship or Super Bowl wearing the blue jerseys was in the 1978 NFC Championship game against the Los Angeles Rams. Since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger, league rules were changed to allow the Super Bowl home team to pick their choice of jersey. Most of the time, Dallas will wear their blue jerseys when they visit Washington, Philadelphia (sometimes), Miami, or one of the handful of other teams that traditionally wear their white jerseys at home during the first half of the season due to the hot climates in their respective cities or other means. Occasionally opposing teams will wear their white jerseys at home to try to invoke the curse, such as when the Philadelphia Eagles hosted the Cowboys in the 1980 NFC Championship Game, as well as their November 4, 2007 meeting. Various other teams followed suit in the 1980s. Although Dallas has made several tweaks to their blue jerseys over the years, Schramm said he did not believe in the curse. Since the league began allowing teams to use an alternate jersey, the Cowboys' alternates have been primarily blue versions of past jerseys and the Cowboys have generally had success when wearing these blue alternates. With the implementation of the 2013 NFL helmet rule for alternate jerseys, the team decided instead to wear their regular blue jerseys for their Thanksgiving game, something they have not done at home since Schramm started the white-jersey-at-home tradition. With the Cowboys traditionally hosting Thanksgiving Day games, separate practice uniforms have been used for these games in recent years. Through the 2000 season, the Cowboys continued the usual practice of wearing white at home. In 2001, the Cowboys wore blue at home for the first time in years with was an older design of the blue jersey. Dallas would lose the game, but again wore the older blue jersey at home on Thanksgiving the next year and won. With the 2002 victory, it seems an exception to the theory of the blue jersey jinx is invoked on Thanksgiving. Thus, the Cowboys continued wearing blue at home on Thanksgiving from 2003–2006, however it was always an older-styled alternate blue jersey. In 2007 and 2008, the Cowboys returned to wearing white at home for their Thanksgiving game. Since 2009, the Cowboys returned to wearing blue at home on Thanksgiving only. (From 2009–2012, the team again decided to go with an older-styled blue uniform as they had in previous years on Thanksgiving, and since 2013 have worn the newer-styled blue jersey.) In the 2015 season, the Cowboys wore their Color Rush variation of the 1990s "Double Star" jerseys for a Thanksgiving game against the Carolina Panthers. The Cotton Bowl is a stadium which opened in 1932 and became known as "The House That Doak Built" due to the immense crowds that former SMU running back Doak Walker drew to the stadium during his college career in the late 1940s. Originally known as the Fair Park Bowl, it is located in Fair Park, site of the State Fair of Texas. Concerts or other events using a stage allow the playing field to be used for additional spectators. The Cotton Bowl was the longtime home of the annual Cotton Bowl Classic college football bowl game, for which the stadium is named. (Beginning with the January 2010 game, the Cotton Bowl Classic has been played at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.) The Dallas Cowboys called the Cotton Bowl home for 11 years, from the team's formation in 1960 until 1971, when the Cowboys moved to Texas Stadium. It is the only Cowboys stadium within the Dallas city limits. The Cowboys hosted the Green Bay Packers for the 1966 NFL Championship at the Cotton Bowl. For the majority of the franchise's history the Cowboys played their home games at Texas Stadium. Just outside the city of Dallas, the stadium was located in Irving, Texas. The stadium opened on October 24, 1971, at a cost of $35 million and with a seating capacity of 65,675. The stadium was famous for its hole-in-the-roof dome. The roof's worn paint had become so unsightly in the early 2000s that it was repainted in the summer of 2006 by the City of Irving. It was the first time the famed roof was repainted since Texas Stadium opened. The roof was structurally independent from the stadium it covered. The Cowboys lost their final game at Texas Stadium to the Baltimore Ravens, 33–24, on December 20, 2008. After Cowboys Stadium was opened in 2009, the Cowboys turned over the facility to the City of Irving. In 2009, it was replaced as home of the Cowboys by Cowboys Stadium, which officially opened on May 27, 2009 in Arlington, Texas. Texas Stadium was demolished by implosion on April 11, 2010. AT&T Stadium, previously named Cowboys Stadium, is a domed stadium with a retractable roof in Arlington, Texas. After failed negotiations to build a new stadium on the site of the Cotton Bowl, Jerry Jones along with the city of Arlington, Texas a suburb of Fort Worth, funded the stadium at a cost of $1.3 billion. The stadium is located in Tarrant County, the first time the Cowboys will call a stadium home outside of Dallas County. It was completed on May 29, 2009 and seats 80,000, but is expandable to seat up to 100,000. AT&T Stadium is the largest domed stadium in the world. A highlight of AT&T Stadium is its gigantic, center-hung high-definition television screen, the largest in the world. The , scoreboard surpasses the screen that opened in 2009 at the renovated Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City as the world's largest. At the debut pre-season game of Cowboys Stadium, a punt by Tennessee Titans kicker, A. J. Trapasso, hit the 2,100 in. screen above the field. The punt deflected and was ruled in-play until Titans coach Jeff Fisher informed the officials that the punt struck the scoreboard. (Many believe Trapasso was trying to hit the suspended scoreboard, based on replays and the angle of the kick.) The scoreboard is, however, within the regulation of the NFL guidelines — hanging approximately five feet above the minimum height. No punts hit the scoreboard during the entire 2009 regular season during an actual game. Also, on August 22, 2009, the day after AJ Trapasso hit the screen, many fans touring the facility noted that half of the field was removed with large cranes re-positioning the screen. According to some fans, a tour guide explained that Jerry Jones invited a few professional soccer players to drop kick soccer balls to try to hit the screen. Once he observed them hitting it consistently he had the screen moved up another 10 feet. The first regular season home game of the 2009 season was against the New York Giants. A league record-setting 105,121 fans showed up to fill Cowboys Stadium for the game before which the traditional "blue star" at the 50-yard line was unveiled for the first time; however, the Cowboys lost in the final seconds, 33–31. The Cowboys got their first regular season home win on September 28, 2009. They beat the Carolina Panthers 21–7 with 90,588 in attendance. The game was televised on ESPN's "Monday Night Football" and marked a record 42nd win for the Cowboys on "Monday Night Football". On July 25, 2013, the Cowboys announced that AT&T will take over the naming rights for the stadium. Dallas Cowboys training camp locations: The NFC East, composed of the Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins and New York Giants, is one of the least-changed divisions of the original six formed in the wake of the NFL-AFL merger (its only major changes being the relocation of the Cardinals franchise from St. Louis to Arizona and its subsequent move to the NFC West in the league's 2002 realignment). Three of the four teams have been division rivals since the Cowboys' entry into the NFL. As such, the Cowboys have some of the longest and fiercest rivalries in the sport. The Redskins and Dallas Cowboys enjoy what has been called by "Sports Illustrated" the top NFL rivalry of all time and "one of the greatest in sports." Some sources trace the enmity to before the Cowboys were even formed, due to a longstanding disagreement between Redskins owner George Preston Marshall and Cowboys founder Clint Murchison Jr. over the creation of a new football team in the South, due to Preston's TV monopoly in that region. The two teams' storied on-field rivalry goes back to 1960 when the two clubs first played each other, resulting in a 26–14 Washington victory. Since that time, the two teams have met in 116 regular season contests and two NFC Championships. Dallas leads the regular season all-time series 70–42–2, and the Redskins lead the all-time playoff series 2–0. The Cowboys currently have a 14–7 advantage over the Redskins at FedEx Field. Some notable moments in the rivalry include Washington's victory over Dallas in the 1982 NFC Championship and the latter's 1989 win over the Redskins for their only victory that season. The last Cowboys game with Tom Landry as coach was a win over Washington on December 11, 1988. In the 2010s, the Redskins have struggled to consistently compete for the Division title, but still play the Cowboys particularly tough, posting an impressive upset victory against Dallas in 2014, despite being outclassed by the Cowboys in the overall standings. The competition with Philadelphia has been particularly intense since the late 1970s, when the long-moribund Eagles returned to contention. In January 1981, the two teams faced off in the NFC Championship, with Philadelphia winning 20–7. A series of other factors heightened tensions during the 1980s and 1990s, including several provocative actions by Philadelphia fans and Eagles head coach Buddy Ryan. Among these were the 1989 "Bounty Bowls", in which Ryan allegedly placed a bounty on Dallas kicker Luis Zendejas and Veterans Stadium fans pelted the Cowboys with snowballs and other debris. A 1999 game at Philadelphia saw Eagles fans cheering as Michael Irvin lay motionless and possibly paralyzed on the field. In 2008 the rivalry became more intense when in the last game of the year in which both teams could clinch a playoff spot with a victory, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Cowboys 44–6. The following season, the Cowboys avenged that defeat by beating the Eagles three times: twice during the regular season to claim the title as NFC East champions and once more in a wild-card playoff game by a combined score of 78–30, including a 24–0 shutout in week 17. That three-game sweep was Dallas' first over any opponent and the longest winning streak against the Eagles since 1992–1995 when Dallas won seven straight matches against Philadelphia. During the 2013 season Dallas won the first meeting 17–3 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. They would meet again in Week 17 at AT&T Stadium with the winner clinching the 2013 NFC East title. The Cowboys came into the game at a disadvantage with starting quarterback Tony Romo out with a season ending back injury which put backup Kyle Orton as the starter. It was a tight game with the Eagles up 24–22 with less than 2 minutes to go in regulation. Orton got the ball and started driving down the field when he was intercepted by the Eagles defense, which ended the game and the Cowboys season. In 2014, the Cowboys and Eagles both won against each other on the road, with Philadelphia posting a dominant 33–10 win on Thanksgiving Day in Dallas, and Dallas returning the favor two weeks later by defeating the Eagles 38–27 in Philadelphia. The second game between these rivals clenched a playoff spot for Dallas and led to formerly first place Philadelphia missing out on the post-season. Dallas leads the regular season all-time series 63–50. The first game ever played between the Giants and Cowboys was a 31–31 tie on December 4, 1960. Dallas logged its first win in the series on October 29, 1961 and New York's first was on November 11, 1962. Among the more notable moments in the rivalry was the Giants' defeat of Dallas in the 2007 playoffs en route to their victory in Super Bowl XLII and winning the first regular season game played at Cowboys Stadium in 2009. Dallas currently leads the all-time series 65–46–2. The two teams met in the first regular season game the Cowboys ever played in 1960 (a 35–28 loss to the Steelers), the first-ever regular season victory for the expansion Cowboys in 1961, and would later meet in three Super Bowls, all of them closely contested events. The Steelers-Cowboys is to date the Super Bowl matchup with the most contests. The Steelers won Super Bowl X and Super Bowl XIII; both games were decided in the final seconds, first on a last-second throw by Roger Staubach, then as a fourth-quarter rally by Dallas fell short on an onside kick. The Cowboys won Super Bowl XXX in January 1996. It is said that the rivalry was fueled in the 1970s due to the stark contrast of the teams: the Cowboys, being more of a "flashy" team with Roger Staubach's aerial attack and the "flex" Doomsday Defense; while the Steelers were more of a "blue-collar" team with a strong running game and the 1970s-esque Steel Curtain defense, a contrast that still exists today. In addition, both teams have national fan bases rivaled by few NFL teams, and both come from areas with a strong following for football at all levels. Dallas leads the all-time series 16–13 including the playoffs. The bitter rivalry between the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers has been going on since the 1970s. The NFL Top 10 ranked this rivalry to be the tenth best in the history of the NFL. San Francisco has played Dallas in seven postseason games. The Cowboys defeated the 49ers in the 1970 and 1971 NFC Championship games, and again in the 1972 Divisional Playoff Game. The 1981 NFC Championship Game in San Francisco, which saw the 49ers' Joe Montana complete a game-winning pass to Dwight Clark in the final minute (now known as The Catch) is one of the most famous games in NFL history. The rivalry became even more intense during the 1992–1994 seasons. San Francisco and Dallas faced each other in the NFC Championship Game three separate times. Dallas won the first two match-ups, and San Francisco won the third. In each of these pivotal match-ups, the game's victor went on to win the Super Bowl. Both the Cowboys and the 49ers (and the New England Patriots) are second all time in Super Bowl victories to the Pittsburgh Steelers with five each. The 49ers-Cowboys rivalry is also part of the larger cultural rivalry between California and Texas. The 49ers lead the series all-time series with a record of 15–13–1. The Cowboys–Packers rivalry is rivalry between the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers. It is one of the best known intra-conference rivalry games in the NFL. The two teams do not play every year; instead, they play once every three years due to the NFL's rotating division schedules, or if the two teams finish in the same place in their respective divisions, they would play the ensuing season. The rivalry has also resulted in notable playoff games. The all time regular seasons series record is 15–13 in favor of the Packers, and the postseason series is tied 4–4. Unlike many NFL teams, the Cowboys do not retire jersey numbers of past standouts as a matter of policy. Instead, the team has a "Ring of Honor", which is on permanent display encircling the field. Originally at Texas Stadium, the ring is now on display at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The first inductee was Bob Lilly in 1975 and by 2005, the ring contained 17 names, all former Dallas players except for one head coach and one general manager/president. Although the team does not officially retire jersey numbers, some are kept "unofficially inactive", so it is uncommon to find any current players wearing the number of one of the "Ring of Honor" inductees. For instance, the jersey numbers of inductees Aikman (8), Staubach (12), Hayes and Smith (22), Irvin (88), and Lilly (74) were not worn during the 2008 season. For the 2010 season, number 88 was issued to rookie Dez Bryant. The Ring of Honor has been a source of controversy over the years. Tex Schramm was believed to be a "one-man committee" in choosing inductees and many former Cowboys players and fans felt that Schramm deliberately excluded linebacker Lee Roy Jordan because of a bitter contract dispute the two had during Jordan's playing days. When Jerry Jones bought the team he inherited Schramm's Ring of Honor "power" and immediately inducted Jordan. Jones also has sparked controversy regarding his decisions in handling the "Ring of Honor". For four years he was unsuccessful in convincing Tom Landry to accept induction. Meanwhile, he refused to induct Tex Schramm (even after Schramm's induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame). In 1993, thanks in part to the efforts of Roger Staubach as an intermediary, Landry accepted induction and had a ceremony on the day of that year's Cowboys-Giants game (Landry had played and coached for the Giants). In 2003, Jones finally chose to induct Tex Schramm. Schramm and Jones held a joint press conference at Texas Stadium announcing the induction. Unfortunately, Schramm did not live to see his ceremonial induction at the Cowboys-Eagles game that fall. Some of the more recent inductees were Troy Aikman, all-time NFL leading rusher Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin, known as "The Triplets". The Cowboys waited until Smith had retired as a player before inducting Aikman and Irvin, so all three could be inducted together, which occurred during halftime at a Monday Night Football home game against the arch-rival Washington Redskins on September 19, 2005. The most recent inductees are defensive end Charles Haley, offensive lineman Larry Allen, and wide receiver Drew Pearson, who were inducted into the Ring of Honor during halftime of the Cowboys' game vs. the Seattle Seahawks on November 6, 2011, and safety Darren Woodson, who was inducted on November 1, 2015. , the Cowboys' flagship radio station is KRLD-FM. Brad Sham is the team's longtime play-by-play voice. Working alongside him is former Cowboy quarterback Babe Laufenberg, who returned in 2007 after a one-year absence to replace former safety Charlie Waters. The Cowboys, who retain rights to all announcers, chose not to renew Laufenberg's contract in 2006 and brought in Waters. However, Laufenberg did work as the analyst on the "Blue Star Network", which televises Cowboys preseason games not shown on national networks. The anchor station is KTVT, the CBS owned and operated station in Dallas. Previous stations which aired Cowboys games included KVIL-FM, KRLD, and KLUV-FM. Kristi Scales is the sideline reporter on the radio broadcasts. During his tenure as Cowboys coach, Tom Landry co-hosted his own coach's show with late veteran sportscaster Frank Glieber and later with Brad Sham. Landry's show was famous for his analysis of raw game footage and for him and his co-host making their NFL "predictions" at the end of each show. Glieber is one of the original voices of the Cowboys Radio Network, along with Bill Mercer, famous for calling the "Ice Bowl" of 1967 and both Super Bowl V and VI. Mercer is perhaps best known as the ringside commentator of World Class Championship Wrestling in the 1980s. Upon Mercer's departure, Verne Lundquist joined the network, and became their play-by-play announcer by 1977, serving eight years in that capacity before handing those chores permanently over to Brad Sham, who joined the network in 1977 as the color analyst and occasional fill-in for Lundquist. Longtime WFAA-TV sports anchor Dale Hansen was the Cowboys color analyst with Brad Sham as the play-by-play announcer from 1985–1996. Dave Garrett served as the Cowboys' play-by-play announcer from 1995–97, when Brad Sham left the team and joined the Texas Rangers' radio network team as well as broadcast Sunday Night Football on Westwood One. Seeking to expand its radio broadcasting scope nationally, the Cowboys began a five-year partnership with Compass Media Networks on February 2, 2011. The result was the America's Team Radio Network, a supplement to the franchise's regional one. Beginning with the 2011 season, Kevin Burkhardt and Danny White handled the broadcasts, with Jerry Recco as the studio host. Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in
when did the eagles win last super bowl	"History of the Pittsburgh Steelers" has held a controlling interest in the club for almost its entire history. Since its founding the team has captured six league championships and competed in more than a thousand games. In the Steelers became the first NFL team to capture six Super Bowl titles. Currently the club is fourth in total NFL Championships behind the Packers (13), Bears (9), and Giants (8). Eighteen Steelers players, coaches or administrators have been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Art Rooney, who was born and raised in the Pittsburgh area, was an exceptional all-around athlete. Rooney was recruited to play football for Notre Dame, baseball for the Boston Red Sox; and invited to join the 1920 Olympic boxing team. His love of sports would lead to his becoming an organizer and promoter. This included the Hope-Harvey Football Club, a semi-professional American football team which he founded as a teenager. "In a way, I guess that was the start of the Steelers. It grew from that", Rooney said. The name "Hope-Harvey" was derived from the Hope Fire House, located in the heart of the Pittsburgh's North Side, which served as the team's locker room, and Dr. Harvey, a local physician, who was a sponsor and unofficial team doctor. The Hope-Harvey Majestics competed against other semi-pro or "sandlot" teams; a collection would be raised from the fans in attendance which would be split amongst the players. In addition to being the team's manager and coach, Art Rooney at times played quarterback for the team, which also included his younger brothers, Dan and Jim. Behind the Rooney boys, these teams met a fair amount of success, including at least two Western Pennsylvania Senior Independent Football Conference titles in the early 1930s. The Hope-Harvey club, which would later come to be known as "Majestic Radio" (when they gained a sponsor) and later the "James P. Rooneys" (to promote the state legislative campaign of the team's quarterback, and Art Rooney's brother, Jimmy Rooney), played most of their home games at Exposition Park in Pittsburgh. These Steeler precursors were composed primarily of players from the local colleges: Pitt, Duquesne and Carnegie Tech, all of which were major college programs of the day. Although football was popular in Pittsburgh at the time, the city had no fully professional teams due to Pennsylvania's puritanical blue laws, which prohibited athletic competition on Sundays because it was the Sabbath. The teams of the National Football League, which was founded in 1920, played primarily on Sunday to avoid conflicts with college football games which were played on Saturday. In May 1933, in anticipation of the repeal of some of Pennsylvania's restrictive laws in the fall of that year, Rooney applied for a franchise with the NFL. His request was granted on May 19, 1933, and the Pittsburgh Professional Football Club, Inc. joined the NFL in exchange for a US$2,500 franchise fee (roughly $ in today's dollars). The new team was known as the Pirates in reference to their baseball club landlords at Forbes Field. Before settling on Forbes, Rooney considered playing at Greenlee Field, which housed the city's Negro League baseball club. Since the blue laws were not repealed until November's general election, the team was forced to play its first four home games on Wednesday nights. Rooney's new team was a study in frustration for many years. Between 1933 and 1971, they posted a winning record only eight times, and made the playoffs just once, in 1947, when they were shut out by Philadelphia. In the early years of the franchise, the Pirates were not Rooney's only (or even his primary) focus. Even the office off the lobby of the Fort Pitt Hotel from which he ran the team was shared with the Rooney-McGinley Boxing Club, which promoted fights. He also spent a good amount of his time and energy handicapping and placing bets on horse racing, a lifelong hobby. Rooney once won an estimated $250,000 to $300,000 ($ to $ million today) in a single 1936 day of betting. It actually was highly likely that the purchase of the Pittsburgh Steelers was made with horse race gamblings. However, this is becoming an urban legend with the NFL trying to clear their name of such shady early beginnings. What can safely be said is that Rooney's gambling winnings did help keep the football franchise afloat, because while Rooney fared well off the field, the Pirates struggled on it. Rooney said of those lean years, "In those days, nobody got wealthy in sports. You had two thrills. One came Sunday, trying to win the game. The next came Monday, trying to make the payroll." Although he strove to field a winning team, Rooney spent a good deal of energy simply trying to keep the franchise in business through its early seasons. During the 1930s, while America was in the depths of the Great Depression, the Pirates were a financial drain on Rooney. Rooney claimed that the team lost nearly $10,000 in ($ today). Bidding wars for players made it difficult for less established clubs to compete with the more seasoned Giants, Bears and Packers. In 1935, Rooney proposed a restriction on the number of players that could be signed by teams that finished at the top of the league. These ideas eventually lead to the creation of the NFL Draft, which first came into being in 1936. The Pirates' first uniforms were gold with black stripes and were adorned with the city crest. This color scheme was inspired by Pittsburgh's city flag. The stripes were created with felt overlays, and as such they had functional as well as aesthetic value in that they allowed the ball carrier to hold the ball more securely. Rooney hired Forrest "Jap" Douds as player-coach. Douds was a three-time All-American and local legend as a player at Washington & Jefferson College, and had been an All-Pro in the NFL. Pittsburgh's inaugural game, against the New York Giants was a 23–2 defeat in front of a crowd of about 20,000. The franchise's first ever points came off a safety which resulted when Pirates center John "Cap" Oehler blocked a punt through the end zone. Rooney wrote of the game, "The Giants won. Our team looks terrible. The fans didn't get their money's worth." The Pittsburgh Pirates notched their first victory a week later, defeating the Chicago Cardinals 14–13, in front of about 5,000 fans. The team scored its first ever touchdown when Martin "Butch" Kottler returned an interception 99 yards. The other hero that day was Mose Kelsch, who at 36 years of age was the oldest player in the NFL – four years older even than team owner Rooney. Kelsch, a holdover from the sandlot Majestics, kicked the extra point that was the margin of victory. In their sixth game the Pirates set an NFL record the franchise still shares by combining with the Cincinnati Reds to punt 31 times in a scoreless tie. The Bears and Packers matched the mark in a game played on the same day, but it has never been surpassed. The total attendance for their five home games in the inaugural season was around 57,000. To put that number into perspective, that year's Pitt-Duquesne college matchup was watched by around 60,000 fans. The team finished their initial season with a 3–6–2 record, after which Coach Douds was not retained as coach, though he stayed with the team two more years as a player. Rooney pursued Heartley "Hunk" Anderson, who had recently stepped down as head coach at Notre Dame, to replace Douds. After being rebuffed by Anderson in favor of a similar position at North Carolina State, Rooney went after Earle "Greasy" Neale. It speaks to the stature of the professional game relative to college football that Neale turned down the Pirates' offer in order to take an assistant coaching position at Yale University. Neale would later coach the Philadelphia Eagles to two NFL championships and earn a spot in the Hall of Fame. Luby DiMeolo, who had been rumored as the leading candidate for the Pirates coaching job prior to the team's first season, was eventually hired to replace Douds. He had been captain of the 1929 Pittsburgh Panthers football team on which Jimmy Rooney also starred. DiMeolo hired Jimmy Rooney as an assistant. Following a disappointing 2–10 season in , DiMeolo was dismissed. Rooney attempted to lure football legend Red Grange, who had just retired as a player, to coach the team the following year. Grange eventually declined the offer in favor of an assistant coaching position with the Chicago Bears. Rooney settled instead on Duquesne coach Joe Bach. Bach was notable as one of Notre Dame's "seven mules", who blocked for the team's famed "Four Horsemen". In Bach's first season the team improved on the previous years two wins, but they still were not very competitive at 4–8. In his second season with the Pirates in , Bach had his team in contention for the NFL's Eastern Division title with a 6–3 record through nine games. However, the season fell apart with losses in the final three games. Rooney and Bach each blamed the other for the collapse. Although Rooney and Bach had an agreement for Bach to remain with the club in , Bach decided instead to take the head job at Niagara University, for which Rooney released him from his verbal commitment. Rooney later expressed regret for letting Bach leave. The Bach era (such as it was) gave way to that of Johnny "Blood" McNally who took over as player-coach in . McNally was an eleven-year NFL veteran who had played for the Pirates in . He was one of the game's most colorful characters, and Rooney hired him with an eye toward increasing ticket sales. After a 2–0 start, the team lost its next five games, finishing at 4–7. The next season saw the arrival of the franchise's first superstar, Byron "Whizzer" White. The Pirates selected White, the All-America quarterback from the University of Colorado, with the fourth overall selection of the 1938 NFL Draft and offered him an unheard of salary of $15,000 (around $ today) to join the team. White declined the generous offer, in order to continue his education through a Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University. However, when he was able to arrange to defer his start at Oxford until January, he reconsidered and signed the deal. In addition to the league-high salary, the terms of the deal also included a share of the gate at exhibition games for White, who earned a total of $15,800 (around $ today). In comparison, McNally who served as both coach and player earned just $3,500 (roughly $ today). The big contract Rooney gave White angered several of his fellow owners. The arrival of White led to much optimism in Pittsburgh – McNally stated that, "We had calculated on a championship without him, and since we have him it looks like we can't miss." White did not disappoint: he led the league in rushing with 567 yards on 152 attempts. However, the team was unable to capitalize on White's performance compiling a record of just two wins against nine losses, including a season-ending string of six straight defeats. After the season, White sailed on to England and never again played for the Pirates. White would go on to become one of the longest serving justices in the history of the U.S. Supreme Court. After seeing the disappointing results of paying big money for a star player, in Rooney determined to pursue a star coach. He offered the head coaching job to Jock Sutherland, who was a legendary football coach and "national hero". Sutherland had just stepped down as head coach at the University of Pittsburgh. The offer was to have been in excess of the $13,000 annual salary (roughly $ today) Sutherland earned at Pitt. When Sutherland spurned the offer (due most likely to the disdain in which he held the professional game) McNally was retained as the Pirates' coach, although he announced his retirement as a player. The 1939 season started just as the previous season had ended: with a string of losses. After the third straight loss (which stretched the two season run of failure to nine games), McNally resigned as coach. Despite compiling a coaching record with the Pirates of just 6–19, Johnny "Blood" McNally would enter the Hall of Fame in 1963. McNally was replaced by Walt Kiesling, who had been McNally's assistant coach for the previous two seasons. Their seventh season less than half played, the Pirates had just hired their fifth head coach. Kiesling was unable to salvage the season; the team ended 1939 with a worst yet mark of 1–9–1. The season's lone win came in the season's final game against the Philadelphia Eagles, with whom the Steelers shared the league cellar – the Eagles compiled an identical 1–9–1 record with their season's sole bright spot being an earlier triumph over the Steelers. The victory broke a winless streak that had extended to nearly fourteen months. Through the 1930s, the Pirates never finished higher than second place in their division, or with a record better than .500. In early 1940, Rooney decided that he had had enough of the copycat Pirates moniker. He worked with the "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette" to run a contest to find a new name for the team. Former coach Joe Bach led the panel which selected the name Steelers from amongst the The new name paid homage to the city's largest industry of It is unclear who deserves credit for suggesting the name (which was already being used by at least one local high school team), but it appears there were a total of twenty-one winners, and each received a pair of season tickets to the 1940 season, a prize with a value of about five dollars ($ today). Among them were Joe Santoni, a local restaurateur, who received a pair of season tickets as a prize, and Margaret Elizabeth the girlfriend (and eventual wife) of the team's business manager, The first entrant who suggested "Steelers" was Arnold Goldberg, who was sports editor for the "Evening Standard" of Other suggestions were Wahoos, Condors, Pioneers, Triangles, Bridgers, Buckaroos, and Yankees, along with such steel-centric possibilities as the Millers, Vulcans, Tubers, Smokers, Rollers, Ingots, and Puddlers. Kiesling continued as coach in . The Steelers started the season at 1–0–2 before falling at home by a score of 10–3 to a Brooklyn Dodgers squad coached by local hero Jock Sutherland. It was the legendary coach's first professional victory after leaving Duquesne University in 1939. He had assumed the head job for the Dodgers that year after spurning a similar offer from the Pirates/Steelers the previous season. The loss to the Dodgers began a six-game losing streak, before the team traded wins with the Philadelphia Eagles to cap a 2–7–2 season in which they scored a total of just 60 points. Rooney had finally seen enough. Over eight years, the team had compiled a record of 24–62–5 and had lost around $100,000 ($ million today). He was also concerned about the availability of players in the coming seasons due to the ongoing war in Europe and the specter of a military draft. After turning down several earlier offers to relocate or sell the team, in December 1940, Rooney sold the Steelers to Alexis Thompson. Thompson was a 26-year-old, Yale-educated heir to a steel fortune and an entrepreneur living in New York. He had aggressively pursued Rooney to sell the franchise for several months prior to the transaction. The purchase price was reported to be $160,000 ($ million today). This price is less than the $225,000 ($ million today) the Detroit Lions had previously sold for, but the Lions had won an NFL championship. The transaction was completed and announced on the same day that the Chicago Bears pummeled the Washington Redskins by a score of 73–0 in the most lopsided NFL championship game of all time. Rooney immediately took half of the windfall and invested it in a 50% interest in the Philadelphia Eagles, which were owned by his friend, Bert Bell. It was Bell who had conducted all of the negotiations with Thompson leading up to the sale of the Steelers. Thompson had earlier offered to purchase Bell's franchise. In an unusual twist Rooney, Bell and Thompson pooled the rosters of the two squads and conducted essentially a mini-draft to distribute the talent. The 51 players which were signed to the Steelers and Eagles at the end of the 1940 season were shuffled between the two teams. In this transaction, the Rooney/Bell team added eleven players from the Steelers: ends George Platukis, Walt Kichefski and John Klumb; tackles Clark Goff and Ted Doyle; guards Carl Nery and Jack Sanders; and backs Boyd Brumbaugh, John Noppenberg, George Kiick and Rocco Pirro. In exchange, Thompson's team gained seven players: ends Joe Carter and Herschel Ramsey, tackles Phil Ragazzo and Clem Woltman, guard Ted Schmitt, and backs Joe Bukant and Foster Watkins, all of whom had played for Bell's 1940 Eagles the prior year. Thompson hired Greasy Neale, whom Rooney had earlier pursued to coach the Pirates, to conduct this player swap as well as to assist him with the draft which took place the day after the deal with Rooney was finalized. Once he was released from his contract with Yale, Neale became head coach of Thompson's team. In January 1941, Thompson renamed his new squad the Iron Men. Despite the fact he now was half-owner of the Eagles, Rooney had no intention of leaving Pittsburgh. It was thought that Thompson preferred to move his new team to be nearer his New York home, perhaps to Boston, which had been without an NFL team since the Redskins relocated to Washington in 1937. If Thompson had moved the team away from Pittsburgh, Rooney and Bell hatched a plan that would have seen their team split its home games between the two Pennsylvania cities. However, the other league owners blocked both moves. By early 1941, Rooney was beginning to regret his decision to sell the team he had founded. When he saw that Thompson had not yet established a local office for his team, as he had announced he would do by March 1, Rooney made an offer. He and Bell would trade territories with Thompson. This would put Thompson in Philadelphia, which was much closer to his New York base. It would also ensure that Rooney's team would stay in his hometown. On April 3, 1941, Thompson accepted the deal and Rooney and Bell's Eagles went to Pittsburgh, where they became the Steelers, while Thompson's Iron Men moved to Philadelphia, where they took on the Eagles moniker. This was described at the time as "one of the most unusual swaps in sports history". In fact, though the Pittsburgh team played as the Steelers, they operated under the name the "Philadelphia Eagles Football Club, Inc." for the next several years. Because the entire strange turn of events all took place during the off-season and the Steelers never actually missed a game in Pittsburgh, the NFL considers the Rooney reign unbroken. The transaction, which amounted in the end to Bell selling the Eagles and purchasing half-interest in the Steelers, has been termed the "Pennsylvania Polka". Rooney and Bell conducted a coaching search seeking "one of the top men of the profession." Among the men interviewed was Pete Cawthon who had recently left Texas Tech after a successful 12-year stint. Bell and Rooney also considered Aldo "Buff" Donelli, who was the head man for Duquesne University's football team. In the end, Bell, who had coached the Eagles to five straight losing seasons, named himself head coach of the team. This move was made in part because the owners were hesitant to offer a binding contract to a coach due to the specter of the country possibly entering the war. Kiesling, who had led the Steelers the previous season, was retained as Bell's assistant. The Steelers began the season with two straight losses, after which Rooney tried to convince Bell to step down as coach. Bell agreed to do so only if Rooney could convince Buff Donelli to take over the reins. Donelli, however, already held the head coaching position at Duquesne University, for which he was under contract for another full season. Donelli and Rooney worked out a deal with the Duquesne administrators whereby Donelli retained his position as head coach at Duquesne, with the intent of coaching the Steelers in his "spare moments". He would accomplish this by coaching the pro team in the morning and the college team in the afternoon; he would spend Saturday on the sidelines for the Dukes and Sunday with the Steelers. This was a highly unusual situation, and it did not sit well with new NFL commissioner Elmer Layden (for whom Donelli had played when Layden was the coach at Duquesne). Layden was convinced that it was "impossible, physically and mentally, to direct two major football teams at the same time." Donelli stepped down as coach at Duquesne to assuage Layden. However, he retained the title of athletic director at the school and his schedule changed little, if at all. He continued to attend all of Duquesne's practices and games and continued to be acknowledged as the coach, if not in title. Donelli replaced the single-wing offense the Steelers had employed since their founding with his "wing-T", which was a variation on the T formation. He coached the Steelers to five straight losses, even while his college team flourished. In early November Donelli faced a dilemma: Duquesne was scheduled to play Saint Mary's College of California on the same weekend the Steelers had a contest in Philadelphia. Layden ordered Donelli to appear on the sidelines in Philly. Donelli chose to stick with the undefeated college squad, and stepped down as head coach of the winless Steelers. The Steelers' coaching position was once more handed over to Kiesling. In Kiesling's second game of this second stint as the Steelers' leader, he led the team to a victory over Jock Sutherland's Brooklyn Dodgers. This would be the only victory in a 1–9–1 season, which matched the team's worst record to date. In a small bright spot, this was the franchise's first campaign in which they were never shut out. Perhaps the most enduring event of the 1941 season was an off-hand remark that Rooney made to a reporter during the team's training camp. Rooney was visiting camp and quipped to a reporter, "They look like the Steelers to me—in green jerseys." This was taken as a reference to the club's poor performance throughout its existence. The remark would morph into the slogan "Same Old Steelers," which would be applied by fans as a sort of unofficial team motto throughout the team's consistent struggles over the subsequent thirty years. Within weeks of the end of the 1941 season, America would enter World War II, which would have a huge impact on the nation, but also on the NFL and its teams. Although the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 had instituted conscription in late 1940, the NFL was not significantly impacted until after the United States joined the war following Pearl Harbor attack in December 1941. Rooney and Bell lobbied to delay the 1942 NFL Draft due to the uncertainty of the war situation, but they were overruled by their fellow owners. The Steelers had the first overall selection, due to their last-place showing the previous season. They made Virginia halfback "Bullet" Bill Dudley the first pick. They then rounded out the draft by choosing as many married players as possible with an eye toward the likelihood those players could avoid the military draft, at least for the upcoming season. The team lost several players who had filled key roles the previous year to the military, including quarterbacks Johnny Patrick and Rocco Pirro, leading runner Art Jones and budding tackle Joe Coomer. The team's first-round pick, Bill Dudley, intended as well to join the military rather than play football, but when he enlisted in September 1942 there was such a backlog of recruits that his induction was delayed by a few months. This gave him the opportunity to sign with the Steelers for $5,000 ($ today). After a slow start, in which they lost their first two games, the 1942 squad then won seven of their next eight contests. They fell to the Green Bay Packers in their final game to cap a 7–4 season. They finished in second place in the Eastern Division behind the Washington Redskins, who went on to capture the league title. It was the first winning record the club had recorded in its ten-year history. Dudley became the second Steeler to lead the league in rushing with 696 yards on 162 attempts. The "triple-threat" back also tallied 35 passes for 438 yards and 18 punts and was runner-up to Green Bay's Don Hutson for the Joe F. Carr Trophy which is awarded to the league's most valuable player. At the annual league meeting held on the weekend of the 1942 NFL Championship Game, the league's owners discussed canceling the upcoming 1943 season due to concerns of player availability due to the war. Instead they chose to delay the decision, along with the college draft, until the following April. At the April meeting roster sizes were reduced from 33 to 25 players. Additionally, the Cleveland Rams announced that they would suspend operations for the season since the team's two top executives were serving in the military. The Steelers' roster continued to be decimated throughout the off-season. By late May, they were down to just five players under contract who would be available to play in the upcoming season. Rooney and Bell reached out to Alexis Thompson's Philadelphia Eagles to discuss the possibility of combining the two squads. A proposal to combine was submitted to the league and was slated for discussion at league meetings in mid-June. At the confab the Chicago Bears and Chicago Cardinals sprung a similar request of their own. The league owners voted down the two mergers on the basis that by combining resources the merged clubs would gain an unfair advantage. Rooney and Bell then lobbied the Chicago clubs to withdraw their request, which they eventually agreed to do. After a contentious debate the owners then voted by a narrow 5–4 margin to allow the Steelers and Eagles to merge operations for the upcoming season and retain their players thereafter. Although the combined team was officially the Eagles and would have no city designation, it became known familiarly as the Phil-Pitt "Steagles". The club split its home dates between the two cities with four games played in Philadelphia and two in Pittsburgh. Walt Kiesling shared coaching duties with Eagles coach Greasy Neale and the club adopted the T formation which had been used very effectively by the Chicago Bears for the past several seasons. Many of the Steagles players were classified 4-F by the Selective Service, meaning they were judged as unfit for military service. Common ailments were ulcers, perforated eardrums and poor eyesight or hearing. Co-coaches Neale and Kiesling disliked each other immensely. In order to avoid coaching together, they split coaching responsibility along the lines of offense and defense. This accommodation presaged the rise of the modern offensive and defensive coordinator positions that are near universal in the modern game. The team ended the season with a 5–4–1 record which was the first winning record in the Eagles' history, and just the second the Steelers had enjoyed. They missed the playoffs and disbanded into separate franchises immediately upon the season's end. In 1944 they merged with the Chicago Cardinals and were known as "Card-Pitt" and informally known as the "Car-Pitts" or "Carpets." They went winless through the season. The Steelers went solo again for the 1945 season and went 2–8. Dudley was back from the war by the 1946 season and became league MVP. The rest of team did no better as the Steelers stumbled down the stretch and finished 5–5–1. The Steelers made the playoffs for the first time in 1947, tying for first place in the division at 8–4 with the Philadelphia Eagles. This forced a tie-breaking playoff game at Forbes Field, which the Steelers lost 21–0. Because of the Steelers and Eagles being placed in different conferences after the 1970 merger between the NFL and the AFL, the game marks the only time that the two major Pennsylvania cities have played each other in the NFL playoffs. Quarterback Johnny Clement actually finished second in the league in rushing yardage with 670. That would be Pittsburgh's last playoff game for 25 years. In the 1948 off season, coach Jock Sutherland died. The team struggled through the season (one quarterback, Ray Evans, threw 17 interceptions to only five touchdowns) and finished 4–8. The team once again faded down the stretch in 1949 after a strong start, ending with a 6–5–1 record. That was followed up in 1950 with a 6–6 season, and consecutive losing seasons in 1951 (4–7–1) and 1952 (5–7). After a 6–6 season in 1953 and 5–7 season in 1954, the Steelers drafted Johnny Unitas in 1955. Cut by the Steelers in training camp, Unitas later resurfaced as a Super Bowl hero – with the Baltimore Colts. Pittsburgh suffered through yet two more losing seasons before a 6–6 campaign in 1957 in the first season for coach Buddy Parker. 1957 saw one other highlight, the hiring of the NFL's first African American coach, Lowell Perry as the Steelers receivers coach. Early in the 1958 season the Steelers traded for quarterback Bobby Layne, who led the Detroit Lions to two NFL championships. The results were immediate, with the Steelers posting a winning record (7–4–1) for the first time in nine years – though they were still two games out of a playoff spot. 1958 also saw the first Steelers home games at Pitt Stadium, although their primary venue continued to be Forbes Field. The Steelers finished above .500 again with a 6–5–1 record in 1959. After a 5–6–1 season in 1960, Rudy Bukich took over the starting QB job during the 1961 season, but fared no better. Pittsburgh finished 6–8. The Steelers introduced the famous "astroid" logo, based on that of the Steelmark used by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), in time for the 1962 season. Bobby Layne returned to the full-time starting quarterback position, and running back John Henry Johnson had the best season of his career with 1,141 yards (second in the NFL). Pittsburgh shored up on defense too, picking up Clendon Thomas from the Los Angeles Rams; he led the team with seven interceptions. Ernie Stautner anchored the defensive line. The Steelers had their best season yet, finishing 9–5. This was good for second place in the division, and a spot in the Playoff Bowl, which matched up the No. 2 teams in the NFL's two divisions. The Steelers lost that game, 17–10, to the Detroit Lions. Ed Brown became quarterback in time for the 1963 season after Layne retired. Pittsburgh finished 7–4–3, but in a hotly contested Eastern Division, that only allowed the Steelers a 4th-place showing. Ernie Stautner retired after the season. 1963 also resulted in a change of venue for the Steelers, who split their home schedule between Forbes Field and Pitt Stadium, moving exclusively to Pitt in 1964. The next few years were total disasters for the Steelers. Another 1,000-yard season for John Henry Johnson was the only bright spot in a lackluster 1964 season that ended in a 5–9 record. Another retirement stung the team, this one of coach Buddy Parker. The wheels totally fell off in 1965, when the team finished at a league-worst 2–12. Over the next four years, the Steelers never finished higher than 5–8–1 (1966), with the team using eight quarterbacks between 1965 and 1969. Indicative of the Steelers' struggles is the fact that Western Pennsylvania has long been an area producing fine quarterbacks, but the Steelers had never managed to keep them. Unitas was a native of Pittsburgh, making his later success even more jarring to Steeler fans. George Blanda came from the Pittsburgh area, but the Steelers never signed him. The nearby town of Beaver Falls produced Babe Parilli and later Joe Namath, who became stars in the American Football League. The Steelers never signed the Beaver Falls natives, either. They did sign another future Hall-of-Famer, Ohio native Len Dawson, but would let him go as well, before he began a great career with the Kansas City Chiefs. Jack Kemp, a Los Angeles native, was also on the Steelers' roster before being cut. Like Blanda, Parilli, Namath, and Dawson, he became a star in the AFL in the 1960s, as the Steelers went downhill until finally drafting and signing Louisiana native Terry Bradshaw in 1970. By the time Western Pennsylvania had also produced future Hall-of-Famers Joe Montana, Dan Marino and Jim Kelly, Bradshaw and his teammates had long since turned the Steelers from a laughingstock into one of the NFL's most successful and beloved franchises. The Steelers' luck began to take a turn for the better with the hiring of coach Chuck Noll in early 1969, though he too won only a single game in his inaugural season (their worst since 1941), defeating the Detroit Lions in the season opener before losing the next 13 games. Joe Paterno had turned down the job before it was offered to Noll. The team's luck also continued when they won a coin toss with the Chicago Bears after the 1969 season (both teams went 1–13 in the 1969 season, with the Bears' lone win coming at the Steelers' expense) to gain the rights to draft Louisiana Tech superstar Terry Bradshaw with the first selection in the 1970 NFL Draft. As poor as the 1969 season was, it turned out to be a springboard for one of the most successful decades any NFL team has ever had. Noll's most remarkable talent was in his draft selections, taking "Mean" Joe Greene in 1969, Terry Bradshaw and Mel Blount in 1970, Jack Ham in 1971, Franco Harris in 1972, and Mike Webster, Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, and Jack Lambert in 1974. According to the NFL Network 1974 is the best draft class in the history of the NFL with Webster, Swann, Stallworth, & Lambert all in the Hall of Fame, and all four won four Super Bowl Championships. This group of players formed the base of one of the greatest teams in NFL history. 1970 was a turning point year for the Steelers. The team, along with the Cleveland Browns (with whom the intense "Turnpike Rivalry" developed) and the Baltimore Colts, joined the former American Football League (AFL) teams in the new American Football Conference (AFC), following the AFL–NFL merger that year. The team also received a $3 million relocation fee, which was a windfall for them; for years they rarely had enough to build a true contending team. The Steelers moved into Three Rivers Stadium, and Terry Bradshaw, picked first overall in the draft, started at quarterback. Myron Cope, thought by many as a Pittsburgh institution, entered the broadcast booth for a 35-year career as a Steelers radio commentator. The initial results, though an improvement over the late 1960s, were still unimpressive. Pittsburgh lost its season opener against the Oilers and Terry Bradshaw struggled for much of the season, being sacked for a safety in each of his first three games and throwing 24 interceptions on the way to a 5–9 record. The local media subjected him to harsh criticism for a long time. In 1971, Bradshaw threw 22 interceptions during a 6–8 season. 1972, however, was the breakthrough year, and the beginning of an NFL dynasty. Rookie Franco Harris joined the team and ran for 1,055 yards and scored 11 touchdowns. Pittsburgh finished 11–3, first place in the AFC Central, and made the playoffs for the first time since 1947. Their first playoff game, against the Oakland Raiders, at Three Rivers Stadium, featured one of the best-known plays in league history: the Immaculate Reception. On 4th down from the Pittsburgh 40-yard line with 22 seconds left and trailing 7–6, Bradshaw threw a pass intended for John "Frenchy" Fuqua. Raiders defensive back Jack Tatum knocked it away, but it was scooped up at ankle-height before hitting the turf by Franco Harris, who took it into the end zone for the winning touchdown and a 13–7 victory. In the AFC Championship the following week, the Steelers lost 21-17 to the "perfect" Miami Dolphins, who finished the season 17–0. It was a disappointing finish, but it started a run of eight straight playoff appearances. Arguably the most defining and memorable play in the history of the NFL, the Immaculate Reception thrust the Steelers into its glory years of the '70s. After an 8–1 start in 1973, a losing streak late in the season cost the Steelers several home games during the playoffs, and they lost a tiebreaker to the Cincinnati Bengals for first place in the division at 10–4. The Steelers traveled to Oakland for the first round of the playoffs and lost 33–14. The Steelers selected the nucleus of the "Steel Curtain" defense in the 1974 draft. This allowed the team to reach the top for the first time. Terry Bradshaw was benched for poor performance early in the season and replaced as starter by Joe Gilliam, but eventually was reinstated after Gilliam did no better. The Steelers finished 10–3–1 and walked away with the division title, with "Mean" Joe Greene winning Defensive Player of the Year honors. After defeating Buffalo Bills and Oakland Raiders with relative ease in the AFC playoffs, the Steelers met the Minnesota Vikings in New Orleans for Super Bowl IX. The game was a defensive struggle: the only scoring in the first half was a safety scored by the Steelers when Minnesota quarterback Fran Tarkenton was sacked in the end zone. In the second half, the Steelers scored a touchdown after a fumbled kickoff and clinched it with a late Larry Brown touchdown. The Steelers won 16–6, and had finally earned a championship after 42 years of futility. The team had an even better 1975 season. Pittsburgh ran off an 11-game winning streak and gave up more than twenty points in only two games. Mel Blount was named AFC Defensive Player of the Year, Franco Harris had 1,246 rushing yards (second behind O.J. Simpson), and Lynn Swann caught 11 touchdown passes. Terry Bradshaw delivered a much better performance than in his previous seasons, with 2,055 passing yards, 18 TDs, and only nine interceptions. The Steelers finished 12–2, best in the AFC. In the playoffs, Pittsburgh defeated the Baltimore Colts 28–10 in the first round, and survived a late scare from the Oakland Raiders (and a concussion by Swann) to win 16–10 in the AFC Championship. The Steelers made their second straight Super Bowl, this one against the Dallas Cowboys in Miami. Down 10–7 in the fourth quarter, Roy Gerela kicked two field goals and Bradshaw threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Swann to put Pittsburgh in the lead for good. After the Cowboys came back with a touchdown of their own, Roger Staubach threw a last-second interception that sealed a 21–17 win for the Steelers. Lynn Swann had returned from his injuries and racked up four receptions for 161 yards and a TD in the Super Bowl, earning him the title of game MVP. The two-time defending champions got off to a rough start in 1976, losing four of their first five games. The team regrouped and, based on their powerful defense, won their last nine regular season games, five of which were shutouts. For the third consecutive year, a Steelers player (this time Jack Lambert) won the AFC Defensive Player of the Year award. Pittsburgh finished 10–4 and blew out the Colts 40–14 in the divisional playoffs. In the AFC Championship, an injury-plagued Steeler team lost 24–7 to their perennial playoff nemeses and eventual Super Bowl champions, the Raiders. Pittsburgh's 1977 season was a relative disappointment. Bradshaw threw more interceptions than touchdowns, fullback Rocky Bleier had only half as productive a season as he did in 1976, and the famed Steel Curtain defense gave up nearly twice as many points. The team still won the division at 9–5, but lost 34–21 to the Denver Broncos in the divisional playoff. The Steelers kicked off with controversy, when during a post-draft mini camp they were caught wearing shoulder pads in violation of league rules. They would lose a draft pick the following year for the infraction. Pittsburgh posted a 14–2 regular season record, best in the NFL. In the playoffs, the Steelers blew away the Denver Broncos and Houston Oilers by a combined score of 67–15 en route to Super Bowl XIII. That game, a rematch with the Cowboys, is considered by many to be one of the greatest Super Bowls of all time. Bradshaw threw four touchdowns, but the Cowboys never were out of it, thanks in part to a fumble recovery for a touchdown by Mike Hegman. After Swann and Harris scored touchdowns 19 seconds apart in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys countered with scores of their own by Billy Joe Dupree and Butch Johnson to pull within four points with 22 seconds left. The Steelers recovered the onside kick and pulled off a 35–31 win. Terry Bradshaw was named game MVP. The 1979 season was the last season of the dynasty. Bradshaw threw for over 3,700 yards and 26 touchdowns and John Stallworth had 1183 yards receiving. The Steelers finished 12–4, once again tops in the AFC Central. In the playoffs they defeated the Dolphins 34–14 and the Oilers 27–13, to meet the Los Angeles Rams in their fourth Super Bowl. The Rams had a number of ex-Steelers staff members, and thus knew all of their opponent's plays, audibles. and hand signs. With this knowledge, they played the Steelers hard for three quarters. Bradshaw threw three interceptions, but also had two long touchdown passes in the second half (one to Swann and one to Stallworth). The Rams couldn't recover and Pittsburgh won 31–19. The team's success in this era led to the expansion of its fanbase beyond its geographic region. Today, Pittsburgh remains among the league leaders in merchandise sales, and draws fans from across the country to its games. This loyal fan following is sometimes called "Steeler Nation" (predating the similarly popular '70s powerhouse, the Oakland Raiders "Raider Nation") [Birth of a Nation: Capturing The Identity of a Region. byline, John Mehno], the term was coined by NFL Films as the producers studied the phenomenon of fans swarming Three Rivers from all directions and pronounced them the 'Steeler Nation'. They are known for employing the "terrible towel" (a bright yellow cloth) as its unofficial symbol (created by Myron Cope), and as a rallying sign during Steelers' games. The Steelers were hit with the retirements of all their key players from the Super Bowl years, with Rocky Bleier after the 1980 season, "Mean Joe" Greene and L. C. Greenwood after the 1981 season, Lynn Swann and Jack Ham after 1982, Terry Bradshaw and Mel Blount after 1983, Jack Lambert and Franco Harris after 1984 and John Stallworth after 1987. "One for the thumb in '81" was the rallying cry of the Steelers during the 1980 season as they began their quest for a fifth Super Bowl Ring. It was not so. Hard luck, age, injuries, and an off year by Terry Bradshaw left the Steelers with a 9–7 record, missing the playoffs. This marked the end of the dynasty. They finished the 1981 season with an 8–8 record. Major changes were made to the Steelers during the next season, including coach Chuck Noll's installment of a 3–4 defense to deal with the league's new pass-oriented rules changes and the departure of Joe Greene and L. C. Greenwood. Pittsburgh managed a 6–3 record nonetheless in 1982 (which was shortened due to a players' strike) and made it to the playoffs for the first time since 1979. In the playoffs they lost when Kellen Winslow caught two touchdowns in the 4th quarter of their first playoff game, a 31–28 loss to the San Diego Chargers. Bradshaw was sidelined with an elbow injury for most of the 1983 season (his last), with Cliff Stoudt picking up the reins behind center. Franco Harris ran for 1,007 yards in his last season in Pittsburgh (he wound up with the Seattle Seahawks for his final year), and Keith Willis recorded a career-best 13 sacks. The streaky Steelers lost four of their last five regular season games, but their 10–6 record was still good for a division title. The Steelers closed the regular season with an emotional victory against the New York Jets in the last football game ever played at Shea Stadium. Bradshaw, returning from injury, led the Steelers to the lead with two touchdown passes. He left the game in the first half after hearing a "pop" in his elbow when making his final pass, a touchdown. The Steelers made another quick first-round playoff exit, a 38–10 embarrassment against the Los Angeles Raiders. 1984 was supposed to be a rebuilding year. Mark Malone and David Woodley split quarterbacking duties, with Frank Pollard taking over at running back and Offensive Rookie of the Year Louis Lipps shining at wide receiver. The Steelers' 9–7 record won them another division title. Among the nine victories, the Steelers handed San Francisco its only loss of the season, en route to an impressive 18 win season and Super Bowl championship. In the divisional playoff against the Denver Broncos, the Steelers came back in the fourth quarter to win 24–17, but they lost the AFC Championship to Dan Marino (the Pittsburgh native whom the Steelers passed up in the 1983 Draft) and the Dolphins, 45–28. Despite career seasons from Lipps and Pollard, the Steelers' 1985 campaign collapsed in December, with them losing four of their last five to finish at 7–9. In 1986, Malone took over the QB job by himself and Earnest Jackson (who came off back-to-back 1000-yard seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles) was added to the offensive backfield, but the team fared no better, at 6–10. An 8–7 record in 1987 was not enough to save Malone's job in Pittsburgh. Bubby Brister became the Steelers' new starting quarterback. The 1988 season was the worst for the Steelers in twenty years, with a 5–11 record. Mike Webster was cut during the offseason. The 1989 team also got rough start, but won five of their last six to finish 9–7, enough for a wild card playoff spot. In the wild-card playoff game against the Houston Oilers, the Steelers staged a desperate fourth-quarter comeback to win 26–23 in overtime on a 50-yard field goal by Gary Anderson. The game cost Houston coach Jerry Glanville his job. However, in their divisional game against the Denver Broncos, it was John Elway who staged the last-minute comeback and the Steelers went home with a 24–23 loss. Defensive back Rod Woodson, in his third season, made the first of seven consecutive Pro Bowls. The Steelers finished 9–7 in 1990 led by the No. 1 defense in the NFL in terms of yards allowed. The defense was led by the secondary (mainly the superb Rod Woodson) which was particularly effective limiting opposing passers to just 9 touchdown passes while intercepting 19 (the Steelers intercepted 24 total as a team). The 1990 season ended with another disappointment however as the Steelers lost twice in three weeks to the Cincinnati Bengals, and lost the season's final game on the road to the Houston Oilers to miss out on the playoffs. The 1991 season saw rookie quarterback Neil O'Donnell show some flashes of brilliance, but the rest of the team faltered and the Steelers finished 7–9. Chuck Noll, the Steelers' coach since , retired at the end of the season. Noll was replaced by Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Bill Cowher, a native of the Pittsburgh suburb of Crafton. Cowher led the Steelers to the playoffs in each of his first six seasons as coach, a feat that had only previously been accomplished by legendary coach Paul Brown of the Cleveland Browns. Cowher made an immediate impact in the 1992 season, as did third-year running back Barry Foster whose 1,690 yards was second in the NFL behind Emmitt Smith. Woodson recorded six sacks, a career-high. The Steelers' 11–5 record won them the AFC Central title and a first-round playoff bye. Their hopes, however, came to a crashing end against the surging Buffalo Bills, in a 24–3 loss. The Steelers collapsed near the end of the 1993 season, starting 6–3 but finishing 9–7. They clinched the final playoff spot at 9–7, and travelled to Arrowhead Stadium to face the Kansas City Chiefs in the wild card round. Leading 24–17 with two minutes left, the Steelers defense gave up a Joe Montana fourth-down touchdown pass to little-known Tim Barnett to tie the game. In overtime, the Chiefs won on a Nick Lowery field goal. The 1994 season brought back memories of the 1970s Steeler teams. Barry Foster was joined in the backfield by rookie Bam Morris, and together they gained almost 1,700 rushing yards. The "Steel Curtain" defense made a resurgence, with Kevin Greene responsible for 14 sacks and Greg Lloyd tacking on 10 more. The Steelers' 12–4 record clinched them home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. In the divisional playoff Pittsburgh walloped the Cleveland Browns 29–9, and were heavily favored in the conference championship against the San Diego Chargers. The Steelers seemed to dominate when the numbers were crunched: O'Donnell passed for 349 yards to Stan Humphries' 165, and had a nearly 2–1 edge in time of possession. But they gave up a 13–3 lead in the 3rd quarter when Alfred Pupunu and Tony Martin caught touchdowns of 43 yards each, and it was the Chargers who advanced to Super Bowl XXIX, by the score of 17–13. The 1994 Steelers finished their disappointing season three yards away from their first Super Bowl appearance since 1980 as an O'Donnell pass to Foster was batted down. This play epitomized the Steelers' season – incomplete. AFC Championship collapses, unfortunately for the Steelers, would become a hallmark of the Cowher era. The Steelers' 1995 campaign was no less dominant. Foster left the team, but Erric Pegram (picked up from the Atlanta Falcons) made up for it with an 800-yard season. Yancey Thigpen amassed 1,307 receiving yards and Willie Williams had seven interceptions. The Steelers' 11–5 record once again won them the division and a first-round bye. As in 1994, the Steelers dominated in the divisional playoff (a 40–21 win over the Buffalo Bills), but the cinderella Indianapolis Colts put up a fight in the AFC championship. There were four lead changes, the last when Bam Morris scored a one-yard touchdown with 1:34 remaining. Colts quarterback Jim Harbaugh threw a "hail mary" that was dropped by Aaron Bailey in the end zone. The Steelers narrowly won, 20–16, and went on to play the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX. The Cowboys, a team that thought themselves to be just as dominant in the 1990s as the Steelers were in the 1970s heyday, jumped to a quick 13–0 lead. Pittsburgh showed some signs of life, such as a Yancey Thigpen touchdown before halftime, and a surprise onside kick recovery that led to a Bam Morris touchdown run narrowing the score to 20–17, late in the 4th quarter. The Steeler defense quickly forced Dallas into punting the ball back to the Steeler offense and Neil O'Donnell threw his second and worst interception of the game, similar to his first, halting the Steelers come from behind win. Both interceptions gave Dallas easy touchdown situations. O'Donnell's three interceptions contributed heavily to the Steelers' 27–17 loss. Super Bowl XXX was O'Donnell's last game as a Steeler, as he signed with the New York Jets as a free agent in the offseason. Pittsburgh had drafted Kordell Stewart in 1995, but he remained a backup through the 1996 season. Mike Tomczak received the starting duties. The Steelers also traded for running back Jerome Bettis from the St. Louis Rams, who ran for 1,400 yards in his first year in the Steel City. A late-season decline was hurting the Steelers Super Bowl chances, but their 10–6 record still won them the division. Pittsburgh won their wild-card playoff game handily (42–14 over the Colts), but lost just as handily, 28–3, to the New England Patriots in the divisional playoff. Stewart was given the starting quarterback job in 1997 after Tomczak failed to impress. Stewart did impress fans, however, in his first full season: 3,000 passing yards and 21 touchdowns. Bettis had another 1,000-yard rushing season, and Thigpen had 1,000 yards receiving to boot. The Steelers once again won the AFC Central, but their 11–5 record also gave them a first-round playoff bye. They narrowly won a 7–6 defensive struggle against the Patriots in the divisional playoff, setting the stage for an AFC Championship showdown at Three Rivers Stadium against the Denver Broncos. Kordell Stewart scored early, going for 33 yards with one of his well-known scrambles, but the Broncos exploded in the second quarter (aided by two questionable interference calls). A late Steelers comeback was squashed and the eventual Super Bowl champion Broncos went on to win 24–21. It looked like the Steelers would be back in the playoffs for most of the 1998 regular season, going 7–4 in their first eleven games. But two losses to the Cincinnati Bengals and a loss on Thanksgiving to the Detroit Lions kept the Steelers out of the playoffs. The Thanksgiving game against the Detroit Lions in 1998 is most known for the infamous coin flip call before overtime. The game was tied 16–16 at the end of regulation when the referee told team captain Jerome Bettis to call "heads" or "tails" as he flipped the coin in the air. Bettis stammered while making the call, and referee (Phil Luckett) stated "the Steelers called heads; it's tails." This caused an uproar from Bettis and the Steelers, as replays seemed to show that Bettis clearly called "tails." Contrary to many press reports, Luckett did not make a mistake in this incident. A week after the game, the tape was enhanced by local Pittsburgh TV station KDKA-TV and Bettis is clearly heard saying "hea-tails." A sideline microphone enhancement also clearly had Bettis telling Coach Bill Cowher that (Bettis) had said "hea-tails." The Steelers never got to touch the ball again and went on to lose 19–16. They would lose their next four games and would end up finishing 7–9. The Steelers fell into turmoil in 1999. Stewart was benched partway through the season and Tomczak was given back his starting job. Pittsburgh's mostly new receiving corps (including future star Hines Ward) showed their inexperience at times, and the team finished 6–10, their worst showing in eleven years. It has become an article of faith among NFL pundits that the Steelers do not have a bad team two years in a row—they have never lost 10 or more in consecutive years since the 1970 AFL-NFL Merger. In the 2000 season, the last one at Three Rivers Stadium, Kent Graham was given a chance to start at quarterback. His below average play and nagging injuries early in the season gave Kordell Stewart another chance to reclaim the starting quarterback role. The Steelers started to improve by teamwork alone. Jerome Bettis had a 1,341-yard season. Rookie wide receiver Plaxico Burress joined the team to complement Hines Ward. Linebacker Jason Gildon, the team's only Pro Bowler, had a career-best 13.5 sacks. Up and coming linebacker Joey Porter posted 10.5 sacks as the team finished back above .500 with a 9–7 record. The defense did not allow a touchdown in 20 consecutive quarters during one stretch, just two shy of the NFL record set by the 1976 Steelers, also known as the Steel Curtain. After a hard-fought season, exacerbated by a 0–3 start, the Steelers failed to make the playoffs for the third consecutive season under Bill Cowher. The Steelers did win their final game at Three Rivers Stadium by defeating the Washington Redskins 24–3, ending the season with a 9–7 record. In an unusual move, the NFL formally apologized to the team three times for missed or blown calls in games against Cleveland, Tennessee, and Philadelphia that may have contributed to the team's losses. The Steelers opened Heinz Field in the 2001 season. Both Ward and Burress had 1,000-yard receiving seasons, and linebacker Kendrell Bell was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Bettis had to sit out the last five games of the regular season and start of the playoffs with a knee injury, but Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala and Amos Zereoué ably filled in. The Steelers' 13–3 record got them home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Zereoue, filling in for Bettis, scored two touchdowns in the divisional playoff against the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens, which the Steelers won 27–10. Pittsburgh then hosted its fourth AFC championship game in eight years, this one against the New England Patriots. Optimism was high as Bettis made his return. The Patriots jumped out to a big lead thanks to two special teams touchdowns, but the Steelers tried a third-quarter comeback with rushing touchdowns by Bettis and Zereoue. Kordell Stewart's final two drives both ended in interceptions, however, and the eventual Super Bowl champion Patriots won the game 24–17. Stewart's inability to win big games and tendency to throw interceptions cost him the starting job once again early in the 2002 season. Journeyman Tommy Maddox, who won the XFL MVP after the league's only season, became the starting quarterback. Maddox lost only three games as the Steelers finished 10–5–1, tops in the new AFC North division. (Stewart, who made a short comeback after Maddox was injured later in the year, was cut and later resurfaced with the Chicago Bears.) They faced their longtime rivals, the Cleveland Browns, in the wild card playoff game. The Steelers were down 24–7 in the third quarter, but Maddox led them on a wild comeback. Jerame Tuman, Hines Ward, and Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala all scored fourth-quarter touchdowns to win the game 36–33. The divisional playoff against the Tennessee Titans was just as dramatic. Hines Ward tied the game early in the fourth quarter with a 21-yard touchdown, and the game eventually went to overtime. Tennessee won the toss and Titans kicker Joe Nedney lined up for a field goal, which he made. But the Steelers called timeout so the field goal did not count. Nedney's second try went wide right, but the Steelers were called for running into the kicker on Dewayne Washington. The third try was good and officially counted as the game winner, but over protests by Bill Cowher who thought he called another timeout first. The 34–31 loss was another disappointing end to the season for the Steelers. 2003 was an overall disappointment. Due to injuries on the offensive line, and Maddox's previous success in the passing game, the Steelers strayed from their typical run-heavy offense. However, Maddox threw only 18 touchdowns to 17 interceptions, causing fans to wonder if the previous season was a fluke. Jerome Bettis and Plaxico Burress both failed to reach 1,000 yards. The Steelers collapsed to 6–10. In the 2004 draft, the Steelers took quarterback Ben Roethlisberger from Miami University (Ohio) in the first round. Maddox kept the starting job until he was injured in the second game of the season, in Baltimore, against the Ravens. Roethlisberger was pushed into action and immediately wowed fans. "Big Ben" did not lose a game during the entire regular season, setting a record for most consecutive games won with a rookie quarterback to start a career. Included were back-to-back convincing wins over the New England Patriots (breaking their record 21-game winning streak) and eventual NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles. By the end of the season, Roethlisberger and the rest of the Steelers were starting to show signs of wear, but they still escaped with victories every time. The Steelers completed the 2004 regular season with the best record in the NFL at 15–1, which is also their best 16-game season. After 2003's failed attempt to focus on the passing game, the 2004 team returned to the typical Steelers formula, a run-heavy offense (61/39 run-pass ratio) and a strong defense. The team's dominant running game, featuring Jerome Bettis and Duce Staley (acquired prior to the season in free agency), was bolstered by an efficient and often explosive passing attack led by Roethlisberger and receivers Burress, Ward, and Antwaan Randle El. The defense, one of the league's best, was anchored by Pro Bowl linebackers James Farrior and Joey Porter and Pro Bowl safety Troy Polamalu. Only three previous teams (The '84 49ers, the '85 Bears, & the '98 Vikings) had a 15-win season, with the Steelers being the first AFC team to accomplish this feat. As a result of this dominant season, the Steelers received home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. Their divisional playoff game was against the Wild Card New York Jets. Roethlisberger threw two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown by Reggie Tongue, but a Hines Ward touchdown catch tied the game at 17–17 in the fourth quarter. Jets kicker Doug Brien had two chances to win the game with a field goal in the final two minutes of regulation, but one kick hit the crossbar, while the other went wide left. Jeff Reed kicked a field goal 11:04 into the extra period to win the game, 20–17. The Steelers were back in the AFC Championship, once again in Pittsburgh, for a rematch with the Patriots. New England went out to a big lead early after two first-quarter turnovers by the Steelers. In the second quarter, Rodney Harrison intercepted Roethlisberger (who had three picks overall) and returned it for a touchdown. The Steelers showed some signs of life in the third quarter, but it was not enough. The Patriots, another dynasty team that has been compared with the 1970s Steelers, won 41–27. This defeat marked the fourth time in ten years that the Steelers had lost the conference title game at home under Bill Cowher. Despite losing Plaxico Burress to free agency (he ended up with the New York Giants), the Steelers took some steps to ensure a return to the postseason. They first selected TE Heath Miller from the University of Virginia in the 2005 NFL Draft. Other picks included Florida State CB Bryant McFadden, Northwestern University OG Trai Essex, Georgia University WR Fred Gibson, and Temple University LB Rian Wallance. In 2005, the Steelers hoped to make another post-season run. Injuries to Jerome Bettis and Duce Staley caused Willie Parker to become the Steelers' starter at running back, and he acquitted himself very well in two convincing wins against the Tennessee Titans (34–7) and Houston Texans (27–7) to open the season. In the next game, however, the visiting New England Patriots handed Ben Roethlisberger his first regular-season loss as the Steelers lost the much-hyped rematch of the 2004 AFC Championship Game 23–20. Two weeks later, Pittsburgh came back to defeat the throwback-clad San Diego Chargers 24–22 on a 40-yard field goal by Jeff Reed. The victory proved costly as Roethlisberger suffered an injury when he was hit on his left knee by the helmet of Chargers rookie lineman Luis Castillo. So Tommy Maddox was named starter for their home game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Steelers struggled throughout the game, as Maddox threw two interceptions through regulation, but they managed to tie at 17 going into OT. Maddox threw an interception to Jags DB Rashean Mathis, who returned it 41 yards for a touchdown, as the Steelers fell, 23–17. Maddox's off-field arguments with head coach Bill Cowher cost him his No. 1 back-up spot. Roethlisberger was able to play in their next road game against their division rival, the Cincinnati Bengals. Despite winning 27–13, his left knee needed surgery. Roethlisberger fought through a lot of pain in the Steelers' 20–19 Monday Night victory over the Baltimore Ravens but reaggravated his knee injuries. Charlie Batch was named the starter, and he provided victories over the struggling Green Bay Packers (20–10 on the road), and against their rust belt rival, the Cleveland Browns (34–21 at home), where during the game, wide receiver Hines Ward set the Steelers record for most career receptions (543), breaking John Stallworth's mark of 537. Batch broke his hand, which sent him to the sidelines. Tommy Maddox was given the start for their road game against the Ravens, but again, he showed his inefficiency, as the Steelers fell in overtime 16–13. After Roethlisberger's return, the Steelers lost their first two games against the then-undefeated Indianapolis Colts (26–7 on the road) and at home against the resurgent Bengals (38–31), but recovered to win the last four regular-season games (21–9 vs. Bears, 18–3 @ Vikings, 41–0 @ Browns, and 35–21 vs. Lions) to clinch the sixth and last seed in the AFC playoffs. During the last game of the regular season in Pittsburgh, the Steelers fans gave Jerome Bettis a standing ovation when he was taken out of the game in the fourth quarter by Bill Cowher. It was the last game in Pittsburgh for Bettis, as he announced his retirement after the Steelers' ultimate victory in Super Bowl XL. Bettis finished the game with 41 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns, and gave the team a boost after the Lions had taken a 14–7 first quarter lead. On Sunday, January 8, 2006, the Steelers traveled to Paul Brown Stadium for their Wild Card match-up against the Cincinnati Bengals. On the Bengals' second offensive play, Bengal quarterback Carson Palmer launched a 66-yard completion – the longest in Bengals' playoff history – to receiver Chris Henry while Steelers defensive tackle Kimo von Oelhoffen tried to sack him. Many Bengals fans believed von Oelhoffen's hit to Palmer's leg, striking his left knee from the side and was carted off the field, was intentional. A magnetic resonance imaging test revealed that both Palmer's anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments were torn by von Oelhoffen's contact, which also caused cartilage and meniscus damage. Von Oelhoffen's hit did not generate a defensive penalty because Bengals guard Eric Steinbach pushed von Oelhoffen into Palmer. Backup quarterback Jon Kitna filled in for Palmer and threw 1 touchdown pass and two interceptions. Despite trailing after the first quarter, the Steelers came within three points, trailing 17–14 at the half. Eventually, they shut out the Bengals in the second half and scored 17 points to win, 31–17. On Sunday, January 15, the Steelers traveled to the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana where they faced the No. 1 seeded Colts, and defeated them 21–18 in spite of a highly improbable fourth quarter—including a controversial call reversal that turned a crucial Troy Polamalu interception into an incomplete pass—which found the suddenly revitalized Colts offense with a chance to turn the game around. After recovering an unlikely Jerome Bettis fumble on the Colts 1 with just over a minute remaining, Colts cornerback Nick Harper sped downfield toward what would have been a game-winning touchdown, only to be tripped up by Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in a shoe-string tackle. This heads-up play probably prevented a game-winning touchdown for the Colts. The Steelers defense held their ground on the ensuing Colts drive, leaving the Colts with just one last chance to tie and send the game into overtime. But Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt, one of the most accurate kickers in NFL history, missed a 46-yard field goal attempt—wide right—with :18 left in the fourth quarter. The game was the first time in NFL history that a sixth seed (Pittsburgh) defeated a first seed (Indianapolis Colts) in the playoffs. It also marked the first time that a sixth seed would get to play in a Conference Championship game. On Sunday January 22, 2006, the Steelers won their 6th AFC Championship at INVESCO Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado when they beat the Denver Broncos 34–17. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger completed a 21 out of 29 passes, 2 of which were touchdowns. He also ran for another touchdown as he led the team to victory. It marked the 1st time since the 1985–'86 New England Patriots and the second time in NFL history that a Wild Card team would get to the Super Bowl after winning the Wild Card Round, the Divisional Round, and the Conference Championship on the road. It also marked the first time that a sixth-seeded team would get to play in the Super Bowl. In the Steelers' first trip to the Super Bowl since the 1995 season, they defeated the Seattle Seahawks 21–10 in Super Bowl XL on February 5, 2006, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The game had been hyped as a homecoming for Detroit native Jerome Bettis. Records were set for longest run from scrimmage (75 yards for touchdown by Willie Parker of the Steelers), longest interception return (76 yards by Seahawks CB Kelly Herndon), and the first touchdown pass by a wide receiver (thrown by Antwaan Randle El to Hines Ward on a reverse). The Steelers become the first 6th-seeded team, since the NFL changed to a 12-team playoff format in 1990, to go to the Super Bowl and win. Their playoff campaign included defeating the first (Indianapolis), second (Denver), and third (Cincinnati) seeded AFC teams en route to the Super Bowl victory against the first seeded Seahawks from the NFC. Also, they are the first NFL team to win 9 road games. Roethlisberger became the youngest QB to win a Super Bowl. They successfully tied with the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys for the most Super Bowl titles with five. The 2006 Pittsburgh Steelers season began with the team trying to improve on their 11–5 record from 2005 and trying to defend their Super Bowl XL championship. They finished the season 8–8 and did not make it to the playoffs. Hoping to end their season on a high note, the Steelers flew to Paul Brown Stadium for an AFC North rematch with the Cincinnati Bengals. After a scoreless first quarter, Pittsburgh drew first blood in the second quarter with RB Willie Parker getting a 1-yard TD run. Afterwards, the Bengals would manage to salvage a 34-yard field goal by kicker Shayne Graham. After a scoreless third quarter, Cincinnati took the lead by getting a Willie Parker fumble and ending it with QB Carson Palmer completing a 66-yard TD pass to WR Chris Henry. Parker managed to make amends with another 1-yard TD run. However, the Bengals went back into the lead with Palmer completing a 5-yard TD pass to TE Tony Stewart. The Steelers would manage to tie the game late in the game with kicker Jeff Reed nailing a 35-yard field goal. Cincinnati quickly managed to get into field goal range, but Graham's 39-yard field goal went wide right. In overtime, Pittsburgh took advantage and won with QB Ben Roethlisberger's 67-yard TD pass to rookie WR Santonio Holmes. With the win, not only did the Steelers end their season at 8–8, but they also wiped out any hope that the Bengals had of reaching the playoffs. The 2007 Pittsburgh Steelers season saw the team improve upon their 8–8 record from 2006, finish with a record of 10–6, and win the AFC North Division. The season marked the 75th anniversary of the Steelers franchise.The Steelers' 2007 schedule included two notable playoff rematches. The Steelers played the New England Patriots December 9 for the first time in the regular season since 2005, when they lost at home on a last-second Adam Vinatieri field goal 23–20. The 34–13 loss was also the Steelers' first visit to Foxboro, Massachusetts since 2002. The Steelers defeated the Seattle Seahawks 21–0 in week 5 on October 7, the teams' first meeting since the Steelers' 21–10 victory in Super Bowl XL 20 months earlier. The week 5 match was the Steelers' and Seahawks' first meeting in Pittsburgh since 1999 as well as the Seahawks' first-ever visit to Heinz Field. Another notable game occurred December 20 when the Steelers defeated the St. Louis Rams, 41–24, for their first-ever road win over the Cleveland/Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams (1–9–1). It was the two teams' first-ever meeting in St. Louis, a city the Steelers last visited in 1979 (a 24–21 win over the then-St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Memorial Stadium). Six players from the Steelers were selected to play in the 2007 Pro Bowl. Two started, two were selected to the reserve squad, and two did not play due to injury. Entering the 2008 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers lost Alan Faneca, after his contract expired and he signed with the New York Jets. The Steelers also signed quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to an eight-year, $102 million contract, the largest in franchise history. The Steelers also drafted Rashard Mendenhall, running back from Illinois, with the 23rd overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft as well as top wide receiver prospect Limas Sweed of Texas with the 53rd overall pick. With injury to Willie Parker and uncertainty about his future production, Mendenhall was drafted to be the next Steelers running back of the future. The regular season went well with the team winning twelve games and losing four, all to strong opponents, with their only losses going to the Philadelphia Eagles, the New York Giants, the Indianapolis Colts, and the Tennessee Titans (who had the best record in the league). The team thus earned a first-round bye and home advantage through the playoffs. James Harrison was voted as the 2008 AP Defensive Player of the Year with a monstrous regular season performance with 16 sacks (fourth in league) and 7 forced fumbles (first in the league). Troy Polamalu also had a great season, gaining seven interceptions which was tied for second in the league, trailing only Ed Reed of the Baltimore Ravens who had 9. Beating San Diego in the divisional round, they faced their AFC North rival Baltimore in the conference championship and soundly defeated them. Thus, the Steelers made it to their seventh Super Bowl. Their opponent was the Arizona Cardinals, a team that had not appeared in any league championship since 1948. Super Bowl XLIII was played on February 1, 2009 at the Buccaneers' Raymond James Stadium. By halftime, the Steelers were ahead at 17–7. Arizona's effort was hampered by penalties, in particular three personal fouls, but they managed to get ahead after WR Larry Fitzgerald scored a 63-yard touchdown, bringing the score to 23–20. But Pittsburgh's Santonio Holmes was able to convert a 6-yard TD in the final two minutes. With that, the game ended 27–23 and the Steelers gained their sixth championship, becoming the first team to win six Super Bowls since the start of the Super Bowl era. The defending champions began the 2009 campaign in good form, winning six of their first eight matches. However, a major loss came as the Steelers lost Troy Polamalu in Week 1 against the Tennessee Titans. Troy came back in Week 6 against the Browns and played until Week 10 against the Bengals when he reinjured himself in the game. This effectively ended the rest of Troy's season. But starting in Week 10, things crumbled as Pittsburgh dropped five in a row, including losses to Kansas City and Oakland, two of the league's weakest teams. The ultimate disaster came in Week 14, when an unprepared, injury-compromised Steelers team lost to the 1–11 Cleveland Browns for the first time since 2003. Pittsburgh managed to snap its losing streak in the next game, where they beat Green Bay by one point with Ben Roethlisberger throwing a career-best 504 passing yards. They then won against Baltimore the following week, and on the season ender defeated Miami to finish 9–7. However, the Ravens' victory over Oakland later that day kept Pittsburgh from the playoffs. Throughout the season, the Steelers struggled harshly on special teams, giving up four kickoff return touchdowns. The Steelers sent 4 players to the Pro Bowl: Tight end Heath Miller (76 receptions, 789 receiving yards, and 6 touchdowns), nose tackle Casey Hampton (43 tackles/23 solo, and 2 sacks), and linebackers James Harrison (79 tackles/60 solo, 10 sacks, and 5 forced fumbles) and LaMarr Woodley (62 tackles/50 solo, 13 sacks, and 1 forced fumble). The 2010 off-season proved a disaster for the Steelers as Ben Roethlisberger was accused of unwelcome sexual advances on a woman he met in a bar. Although no charges were filed, the woman and her group of friends were seen by people that were there, following Roethlisberger and friends from bar to bar. Interesting to note the woman was 20 years old and was served alcoholic drinks at the bars in question. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended him for six games for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy. However, on September 6, his suspension was reduced to four games. Roethlisberger was also barred from attending the team's games and could only practice with free agents during this period. Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch would fill in as the starting QB. Despite dire predictions, the Steelers hosted Atlanta on the season opener and won in overtime 15–9. They then traveled to Tennessee and knocked out their former division rival 19–11 in an outstanding defensive game. In Week 3, the Steelers beat Tampa Bay 38–13 before losing their first divisional match against Baltimore 17–14. Roethlisberger meanwhile prepared to make his comeback as the team entered its bye week prior to hosting Cleveland in Week 6. He was given a standing ovation by Steelers fans and delivered a fine 28–10 win over the Browns. The Steelers then beat the Dolphins 23–22 before losing to the Saints 20–10. Next week, Pittsburgh played on Monday Night in Cincinnati, where they held off a Bengals comeback to win 27–21. The Steelers then lost on their own turf to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots 39–26. Pittsburgh would then win 4 in a row, 35–3 vs. Oakland, 19–16 in OT at Buffalo, 13–10 at Baltimore, and 23–7 vs. Cincinnati. The streak ended Week 15 in a 22–17 home loss to the New York Jets. Pittsburgh would then win their last 2 games by a combined score of 68–12, beating Carolina 27–3, and then finishing out at Cleveland, 41–9. The Steelers made it through the season finishing 12–4, winning the AFC North division, and winning the AFC's No. 2 seed in the playoffs. In their first postseason game at home against Baltimore, the Steelers fell behind at halftime 21–7. Pittsburgh made a second half rally and beat the Ravens 31–24. They then defeated the Jets 24–19 in the AFC Championship to earn the right to go to Super Bowl XLV. Against the Green Bay Packers in the Super Bowl, the Steelers fell behind 21–3, but fought back to make the score 21–17. A Rashard Mendenhall fumble at the start of the 4th quarter proved costly as Green Bay would score to make it 28–17. Pittsburgh would score a TD on a 25-yard pass to Mike Wallace and make the 2-point conversion to make it 28–25. Green Bay took time off the clock on their next drive which they capped off with a Field Goal to make it 31–25. Pittsburgh could not score on their final drive, and would end up losing the game. Though it was a disappointing end, the Steelers' season was considered to be highly successful, as they defied many predictions that they would lose their significance in their division. They also tied the Dallas Cowboys for most Super bowl appearances with eight. The Steelers began 2011 very badly by losing 35–7 to their arch-rival Baltimore in a terribly-botched game with three Roethlisberger interceptions and 7 turnovers. Afterwards, they avenged themselves by shutting out Seattle 24–0. Next Pittsburgh fought a hard battle with the Peyton Manning-less Colts in Indianapolis and managed to squeak past them with a last second Shaun Suisham field goal 23–20. With injuries piling up, the Steelers came out flat against Houston and lost 17–10 in Week 4. Ben Roethlisberger was sidelined with a foot injury and Charlie Batch scheduled to start in Week 5 against Tennessee, however Roethlisberger played and threw for 5 touchdowns in a 38–17 win. After easily winning that game, he returned to action as Pittsburgh beat Jacksonville at home 17–13 and then won in Arizona 32–20 for their first encounter since Super Bowl XLIII. The Steelers set a franchise record in the latter half of the game as Roethlisberger threw a 95-yard TD pass to Mike Wallace. The next week, Pittsburgh returned home to face Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. In a spectacular defensive effort, in which Pittsburgh held Brady to a season-low 198 yards passing, the Steelers beat the Patriots 25–17. Then after a disappointing home loss to Baltimore, the Steelers went to Cincinnati and won their first AFC North division battle of the year, 24–17. After a bye, the Steelers came out flat once again in Kansas City, but managed to beat the Chiefs 13–9. They regrouped and routed the Bengals at home 35–7 the following week. The Steelers traveled to Denver at 12-4 to face the 8-8 Broncos, who'd lost their last three games (by a combined score of 88-40). The Broncos behind Tim Tebow raced to a 20-6 halftime lead but despite an interception Ben Roethlisberger led the Steelers to tie the game 23-23 following a Willis McGahee fumble. The Steelers got the ball back in the final 1:37 but Roethlisberger was sacked twice and also penalized for delay of game; the game thus went into overtime. On the opening play of overtime the Steelers lined ten men at the line of scrimmage, leaving the field behind them all but uncovered; Tebow lofted a pass caught by Demaryius Thomas and Thomas outran two Steelers defenders for the winning touchdown. Pittsburgh's division rivals are the Cleveland Browns, the Baltimore Ravens, and the Cincinnati Bengals. At current, Pittsburgh has a winning record against all three. Many Pittsburgh natives and fans also consider the New England Patriots, the Dallas Cowboys, the Oakland Raiders, and the Denver Broncos to be the team's primary rivals. Pittsburgh and Cleveland have been in the same division and have met at least twice a year since 1950 (in years that the Brown franchise has been active). The Steelers hold a 2–0 post season record against the Browns. The Browns handed the Steelers the worst defeat in their history, 51–0 in Week 1 in 1989. The Raiders were frequent opponents of the Steelers during the 1970s playoffs, with Pittsburgh facing the Raiders five consecutive times in the playoffs (1972 (Steelers win), 1973 (L), 1974 (W), 1975 (W), 1976 (L)) that decade. This gave the two teams an unusual familiarity with the other despite being in separate divisions in that decade. The Raiders and Steelers have met one additional time in the playoffs (1983 (L)) for a current record of 3-3 in the postseason. Pittsburgh and Dallas first met in 1960 (the two actually met in the Cowboys' first game as a franchise, with the Steelers winning 35–28), and have faced each other in the Super Bowl on three occasions (X (W), XIII (W), XXX (L)) with Pittsburgh leading the series 2–1. In the 1970s, Pittsburgh and Dallas were both renowned for stifling defenses named "The Steel Curtain" and "The Doomsday Defense" respectively. Pittsburgh became the first team to achieve three Super Bowl wins when it defeated Dallas in Super Bowl XIII, and the first team to achieve four Super Bowl victories a year later when they defeated the Rams. Dallas defeated the Steelers in Super Bowl XXX to become the second team behind San Francisco to win five Super Bowl Championships. Ten years later, Pittsburgh would join Dallas and San Francisco to become the third team to reach that milestone when they defeated the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL. Three years later, the Steelers would become the first team to win a sixth Super Bowl, achieving that milestone in the 2008–09 season. They played against the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, with a 27–23 comeback victory. The Broncos have competed in seven playoff games against the Steelers, the most of any team against the Steelers. The record as of the end of the 2013 season, is 3-4 in favor of Denver. The rivalry with the New England Patriots is relatively recent. The two clubs met thirteen times 1972–95 with the Steelers winning ten, including five in a row. But in 1996 the two met in the playoffs for the first time and the rivalry changed, as the Patriots defeated the Steelers 28–3 in the AFC Divisional Playoffs in January 1997. The next year the Steelers edged New England in overtime 24–21 and won in the divisional round 7–6. Since then, however, the Patriots have won five of seven regular-season meetings and two AFC Championship Game matchups, both at Heinz Field. 2004 was the most recent season the two teams met twice in the season; Pittsburgh ended New England's 21-game winning streak in a 34–20 rout and surged to a 15–1 regular season, but in the AFC Championship the Steelers were crushed 41–27 by the Patriots. History of the Pittsburgh Steelers This article details the history of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers are an American football franchise representing Pittsburgh. They are the seventh-oldest club in the National Football
when did the eagles win last super bowl	"The Lombardi Curse" had not won another league championship since, including having never won the Super Bowl since the game started being played annually in 1966. They appeared in Super Bowl XV in the 1980 season and Super Bowl XXXIX in the 2004 season, but lost both times. In 1970, the Super Bowl trophy was officially named the Vince Lombardi trophy when the league decided to honor Lombardi by naming the trophy after him following his death in 1970. This renaming of the Super Bowl trophy combined with the Eagles inability to win the championship game has led some Eagles fans to believe that the franchise is cursed by Vince Lombardi; that beating Lombardi meant never winning the trophy named after him. The Eagles defeated the New England Patriots by a score of 41 to 33 in Super Bowl LII at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota on February 4, 2018, ending the alleged curse. In 1958, the Philadelphia Eagles offered and nearly hired Vince Lombardi to be their head coach after having served as the offensive coordinator for the New York Giants, but after some discussion he refused it in the end. The Eagles were reportedly not happy with his decision. The Eagles hired Buck Shaw as their head coach later that offseason. After spending an additional season with the Giants, Lombardi would go on to become head coach for the Green Bay Packers in 1959. On December 26, 1960, the Eagles defeated Lombardi and the Packers 17–13 in the 1960 NFL Championship Game. While the Eagles organization celebrated the victory over the man who had turned them down two years earlier, Lombardi did not take the loss kindly, and it is said that the loss is what drove him for the rest of his coaching career. He took the blame for the loss and reportedly told his team after the game that "We'll never lose another championship". Lombardi would fulfill his promise, as the Packers went 9–0 with Lombardi in the playoffs since that defeat, winning five championships which included the first two Super Bowls. Meanwhile, the Eagles did not win another championship for 57 years, the third longest active title drought among all NFL franchises after the Arizona Cardinals and Detroit Lions. In 1970, Lombardi passed away following a battle with cancer, and the league decided to honor him by naming the Super Bowl trophy after him. While there are no reports that Lombardi has said anything that would suggest he placed a curse on the Eagles, some Eagles fans believed the franchise was cursed to never win the Super Bowl for as long as the game's trophy was named after the man they handed his lone playoff defeat to. The Lombardi Curse The Lombardi Curse was an alleged sports-related curse that supposedly prevented the National Football League (NFL)'s Philadelphia Eagles franchise from winning the Super Bowl for as long as the game's trophy is named after Vince Lombardi. Its origin is traced to the Eagles upsetting the Green Bay
when did the eagles win last super bowl	"Super Bowl XV" the end of the crisis. The Raiders were making their third Super Bowl appearance after posting an 11–5 regular season record, but losing a tiebreaker to the AFC West division winner San Diego Chargers. Oakland then advanced to the Super Bowl with playoff victories over the Houston Oilers, Cleveland Browns, and San Diego. The Eagles were making their first Super Bowl appearance after posting a 12–4 regular season record and postseason victories over the Minnesota Vikings and the Dallas Cowboys. Aided by two touchdown passes from quarterback Jim Plunkett, the Raiders jumped out to a 14–0 lead in the first quarter of Super Bowl XV, from which the Eagles never recovered. Oakland linebacker Rod Martin also intercepted Philadelphia quarterback Ron Jaworski three times for a Super Bowl record. Plunkett was named the Super Bowl MVP after completing 13 of 21 passes for 261 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for 9 yards. Plunkett was also the second Heisman Trophy winner to be named Super Bowl MVP after Roger Staubach in Super Bowl VI. The NFL awarded Super Bowl XV to New Orleans on March 13, 1979 at the owners meetings in Honolulu. Super Bowl XV was the climax of Plunkett's revival as an NFL starting quarterback. The 1970 Heisman Trophy winner was drafted by the New England Patriots and was later named the 1971 NFL Rookie of the Year. But Plunkett suffered through five losing seasons with the Patriots and two uneven seasons with the San Francisco 49ers before being released as a free agent before the 1978 season. Plunkett was signed by Oakland to be their backup quarterback, and thus he did not see much playing time, throwing no passes in 1978 and just 15 passes in 1979. But after the Raiders started the 1980 season with a 2–3 record, starter Dan Pastorini broke his leg and suddenly Plunkett was thrust into the starting role. The 33-year-old Plunkett got off to a bad start, throwing 5 interceptions in a 31–17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs after relieving Pastorini. However, he recovered and led the Raiders to victory in 9 of their last 11 games in the season, qualifying for the playoffs as a wild card team. Plunkett made 165 out of 320 pass completions for 2,299 yards, 18 touchdown passes, and was intercepted 15 times. He also contributed 141 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground. The Raiders' main offensive deep threat was wide receiver Cliff Branch (44 receptions, 858 yards, 7 touchdowns), while wide receiver Bob Chandler contributed 49 receptions for 786 yards and 10 touchdowns. Running back Mark van Eeghen was the team's top rusher with 838 yards and 5 touchdowns, while also catching 29 passes for 259 yards. Halfback Kenny King rushed for 761 yards and catching 22 passes for 145 yards. The Raiders also had an outstanding offensive line led by two future Hall of Famers, tackle Art Shell and guard Gene Upshaw. Upshaw became the first player to play in three Super Bowls with the same team in three different decades. He also played in Super Bowls II (1967) and XI (1976). Oakland's defense, anchored by defensive end John Matuszak, was punishing. Defensive back Lester Hayes led the league in interceptions (13) and interception return yards (273), and was the league's Defensive Player of the Year. The Raiders also had a trio of great linebackers: future Hall of Famer Ted Hendricks, Pro Bowler Rod Martin (3 Interceptions), and standout rookie Matt Millen. The Raiders were led by head coach Tom Flores, the first Hispanic coach to win a Super Bowl. In 1980, under head coach Dick Vermeil, the Philadelphia Eagles, who had not played in a league championship since their 1960 NFL championship, advanced to their first ever Super Bowl. The Eagles were led by quarterback Ron Jaworski, who completed 257 out of 451 passes for 3,529 yards during the regular season, including 27 touchdowns and only 12 interceptions. Another key player on the Eagles offense was halfback Wilbert Montgomery, who was widely considered one of the top running backs in the NFL and had rushed for over 1,200 yards in each of the last two seasons. Injuries during the 1980 regular season had limited him to just 778 yards, but he proved he was fully recovered in the postseason by rushing for 194 yards in the NFC title game. Montgomery was also a superb receiver out of the backfield, recording 50 receptions for 407 yards. The other main deep threats on offense, wide receivers Harold Carmichael and Charlie Smith, along with tight end Keith Krepfle, combined for 125 receptions, 2,090 yards, and 16 touchdowns. The Eagles' defense led the league in fewest points allowed during the regular season (222). Nose tackle Charlie Johnson anchored the line, and even managed to record 3 interceptions. Defensive end Claude Humphrey led the team in sacks with 14.5. Linebackers Jerry Robinson and Bill Bergey excelled at both stopping the run and pass coverage. Philadelphia also had a fine secondary, led by veteran defensive backs Herman Edwards (3 interceptions) and Brenard Wilson (6 interceptions), along with rookie Roynell Young (4 interceptions). The Eagles' defense was a major factor in their hard fought 10–7 victory over the Raiders in the regular season; they sacked Plunkett 8 times. The Eagles advanced through the playoffs, defeating the Minnesota Vikings, 31–16, and the Dallas Cowboys, 20–7. Meanwhile, Plunkett and the Raiders defeated the Houston Oilers 27–7, the Cleveland Browns 14–12 (on a play known as Red Right 88), and the San Diego Chargers 34–27. In doing so, Oakland became the third wild card team to advance to the Super Bowl, and the first wild card team to win three postseason rounds since the NFL expanded to a 10-team playoff format in 1978. Hayes had a spectacular performance in the playoffs, adding 5 more interceptions to give him a total of 18 picks in 19 games. In the days before the game, most sports writers were speculating over whether, if the Raiders won, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle would present the Vince Lombardi Trophy to the team's owner Al Davis. Prior to the season, the league declined to approve the Raiders' proposal to move from the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles. In response, Davis sued the NFL for violating antitrust laws. The conflict caused much friction between Rozelle and Davis. (The Raiders would eventually win the lawsuit, allowing the team to move to Los Angeles before the 1982 season.) Oakland became the first team to avenge a regular-season loss in the Super Bowl. The Eagles defeated the Raiders 10–7 on November 23 at Veterans Stadium. This game marked the first Super Bowl where both teams used the 3–4 defensive formation as their base defense. The Raiders were the first team to use the 3–4 in the Super Bowl in Super Bowl XI against the Minnesota Vikings, although the Miami Dolphins used a version of the 3–4 ("53 defense") in Super Bowl VI, Super Bowl VII and Super Bowl VIII. The 3–4 would be used by at least one team in every Super Bowl between Super Bowl XV and game XXVIII. The Raiders became the first team to appear in a Super Bowl in three different decades (1960s, 1970s and 1980s), having previously played in Super Bowls II and XI. The game was broadcast in the United States by NBC, with Dick Enberg handling the play-by-play duties (Enberg's first Super Bowl in that role) and Merlin Olsen serving as color analyst. (John Brodie and Len Dawson, in a separate broadcast booth, also provided occasional analysis during the game.) Bryant Gumbel and Mike Adamle of "NFL '80" anchored the pregame, halftime, and postgame coverage. Also taking part on NBC's coverage of the game were Pete Axthelm and Bob Trumpy. Like the game two years before, NBC used the same custom, synthesizer-heavy theme in place of their regular music. This game would also be the first Super Bowl to air with closed captioning for the hearing impaired. "CHiPs" was broadcast after the game, representing the Super Bowl lead-out program. Toward the end of NBC's coverage, a montage of the game, the arrival of the hostages following their release, and the inauguration of Ronald Reagan as the 40th President of the United States aired to the tune of "Celebration" by Kool & the Gang. This Super Bowl is featured on "NFL's Greatest Games" under the title ""The Cinderella Super Bowl"". The pregame festivities honored the end of the Iran hostage crisis (which was announced 5 days before the game), which featured a performance by the Southern University band. A large yellow bow long and wide was attached to the outside of the Superdome, while miniature bows were given to fans. Singer, actress, and dancer Helen O'Connell later sang the national anthem. The coin toss ceremony featured Marie Lombardi, the widow of Pro Football Hall of Fame Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi. The halftime show, featuring singers and dancers, was a "Mardi Gras Festival", with a performance from "Up With People". Oakland linebacker Rod Martin intercepted Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski's first pass of the game and returned it 17 yards to Philadelphia's 30-yard line, setting up Jim Plunkett's 2-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Cliff Branch seven plays later. After each team punted once, Jaworski threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Rodney Parker, but the score was nullified by an illegal motion penalty on wide receiver Harold Carmichael, and the Eagles ended up being forced to punt. The Raiders later scored another touchdown with about a minute left in the quarter. On third down from the Oakland 20-yard line, Plunkett threw the ball to running back Kenny King at the 39-yard line as he was scrambling around in the backfield to avoid being sacked. King caught the pass as it carried just over the outstretched arms of defensive back Herman Edwards and took off to the end zone for a Super Bowl record 80-yard touchdown reception. The Raiders led 14-0 and tied the Miami Dolphins' record (which still stands) for the largest Super Bowl lead (14 points) at the end of the first quarter, set in Super Bowl VIII. The Eagles managed to respond on their next drive, with Jaworski completing passes to tight end John Spagnola and Wilbert Montgomery for gains of 22 and 25 yards on a 61-yard drive that ended with a 30-yard field goal by Tony Franklin, making the score 14–3 five minutes into the second quarter. Then with less than 4 minutes left in the period, the Raiders reached the Eagles 27-yard line, only to have kicker Chris Bahr miss a 45-yard field goal. The Eagles then drove 62 yards to Oakland's 11-yard line. On third down, Parker got ahead of defensive back Odis McKinney and was open on a route into the end zone, but Jaworski overthrew him and the pass was incomplete. Then with just 54 seconds left in the half, Franklin attempted a 28-yard field goal, but Raiders linebacker Ted Hendricks extended his 6'7" frame at the line and blocked the kick. The Raiders then took the opening kickoff of the second half and scored quickly. Plunkett completed a 13-yard pass to King and a 32-yard completion to receiver Bob Chandler to move the ball to Philadelphia's 33-yard line. Then after a 4-yard run by running back Mark van Eeghen, Plunkett threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Branch, increasing Oakland's lead to 21–3. The Eagles responded by driving 56 yards to the Raiders 34-yard line, but on third down and 3, Jaworski threw his second interception of the game to Martin. Oakland subsequently drove 40 yards and scored with Bahr's 46-yard field goal, increasing their lead to 24–3. The Eagles finally managed to score a touchdown that counted early in the fourth quarter to cut their deficit to 24–10. Starting from their own 12-yard line, a 43-yard reception by receiver Charlie Smith sparked an 88-yard, 12-play drive that was capped by Jaworski's 8-yard touchdown pass to tight end Keith Krepfle. But on their ensuing drive, Oakland marched from their own 11 to the Eagles 17-yard line. Philadelphia kept the Raiders out of the end zone, but Bahr kicked his second field goal, increasing Oakland's lead to 27–10. Oakland's defense then dominated the rest the game, forcing two turnovers on Philadelphia's last 2 possessions of the game to prevent any chance of a comeback. On the Eagles' next drive, Jaworski fumbled a snap and Oakland lineman Willie Jones recovered it. Following a Raiders punt, Martin recorded a Super Bowl record third interception, and the Raiders ran out the clock to win the game. Cliff Branch's two touchdown catches tied a Super Bowl record. Only Max McGee in Super Bowl I and John Stallworth in Super Bowl XIII caught two touchdowns prior to this. Jaworski finished the game with more completions (18) and yards (291) than Plunkett, but completed just 18 of 38 attempts and was intercepted 3 times. Van Eeghen was the top rusher of the game with 75 yards. King was the top receiver with 93 yards and a touchdown off of just 2 receptions. Eagles running back Wilbert Montgomery led Philadelphia in rushing and receiving with 44 rushing yards and 6 receptions for 91 yards. The Eagles' loss came hours after former head coach Joe Kuharich had died. After the game, the expected heated confrontation between Rozelle and Davis was actually very civil. As Rozelle presented the Lombardi Trophy to Davis, he praised Plunkett, head coach Tom Flores, the players, and the entire Raiders organization for being the first wild card team to win the Super Bowl. Davis thanked Rozelle, then proceeded to also praise the team. Oakland became only the second wild card team to make it to the Super Bowl and the first to come away victorious. The Super Bowl IV champion Kansas City Chiefs are often thought of as a "wild-card team," but they were not; during 1969, the season before the 1970 AFL-NFL Merger, the second-place finishers in both divisions of the American Football League qualified for the playoffs. Flores became the first person to be a member of a Super Bowl winning team as a player and head coach. He was a member of the Chiefs in Super Bowl IV, but did not play in the game. Sources: NFL.com Super Bowl XV, Super Bowl XV Play Finder Oak, Super Bowl XV Play Finder Phi, Super Bowl XV Play by Play Completions/attempts Carries Long gain Receptions Times targeted The following records were set in Super Bowl XV, according to the official NFL.com boxscore and the ProFootball reference.com game summary. Source: Dooley, Graf, Kelleher and Veteri wore #7 at their respective officiating positions during 1979-81 (except Dooley was promoted to Referee for 1981, wearing #19), but Kelleher had priority on the number for the Super Bowl, due to his seniority. Kelleher and Veteri became the third and fourth officials to work four Super Bowls, joining Jack Fette and Stan Javie. Specific General Super Bowl XV Super Bowl XV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Oakland Raiders and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1980 season. The Raiders defeated the Eagles by the score of 27–10, becoming the first wild card playoff team to win a Super Bowl. The game was played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on January 25, 1981, five days after the Iran hostage crisis ended. The
when did the eagles win last super bowl	"Philadelphia Eagles" Philadelphia. Bell, Chuck Bednarik, Bob Brown, Brian Dawkins, Reggie White, Steve Van Buren, Tommy McDonald, Greasy Neale, Pete Pihos, Sonny Jurgensen, Terrell Owens, and Norm Van Brocklin have been inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The team has an intense rivalry with the New York Giants. This rivalry is the oldest in the NFC East and is among the oldest in the NFL. It was ranked by NFL Network as the number one rivalry of all-time and "Sports Illustrated" ranks it amongst the Top 10 NFL rivalries of all-time at number four, and according to ESPN, it is one of the fiercest and most well-known rivalries in the American football community. They also have a bitter rivalry with the Dallas Cowboys, which has become more high-profile since the 1960s, as well as a historic rivalry with the Washington Redskins. Their rivalry with the Pittsburgh Steelers is another bitter rivalry, roughly dating back to 1933, that mostly arises from the two teams' statuses as being from opposite ends of the same state. The team consistently ranks among the best in the league in attendance and has sold out every game since the 1999 season. In a "Sports Illustrated" poll of 321 NFL players, Eagles fans were selected the most intimidating fans in the NFL. Midway through the 1931 season, the Frankford Yellow Jackets went bankrupt and were forced to cease operations. After more than a year of searching for a suitable replacement, the NFL granted an expansion franchise to a syndicate headed by Bert Bell and Lud Wray and awarded them the franchise rights of the failed Yellow Jackets organization. The Bell-Wray group had to pay an entry fee of $3,500 (equal to $ today) and assumed a total debt of $11,000 that was owed to three other NFL franchises. Drawing inspiration from the Blue Eagle insignia of the National Recovery Administration—the centerpiece of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal—Bell and Wray named the new franchise the Philadelphia Eagles. Neither the Eagles nor the NFL officially regard the two franchises as the same, citing the aforementioned period of dormancy. Furthermore, almost no Yellow Jackets players were on the Eagles' first roster. The Eagles, along with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the now-defunct Cincinnati Reds, joined the NFL as expansion teams. In 1937, the Eagles moved to Shibe Park (renamed Connie Mack Stadium in 1954) and played their home games at the stadium through 1957, except for the 1941 season, which was played at Municipal Stadium, where they had played from 1936 to 1939. To accommodate football at Shibe Park during the winter, management set up stands in right field, parallel to 20th Street. Some 20 feet high, these "east stands" had 22 rows of seats. The goalposts stood along the first base line and in left field. The uncovered east stands enlarged capacity of Shibe Park to over 39,000, but the Eagles rarely drew more than 25 to 30,000. The Eagles struggled over the course of their first decade, enduring repeated losing seasons. In December 1940, Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney sold his franchise to Alexis Thompson for $160,000 and then used half of the proceeds to buy a half interest in the Eagles from Bell, his longtime friend. Soon after, Bell and Rooney traded the Eagles franchise to Thompson and moved it to Pittsburgh (as the "Steelers"), while Thompson moved the Steelers franchise to Philadelphia (as the "Eagles"). In 1943, when manpower shortages stemming from World War II made it impossible to fill the roster, the team merged with the Pittsburgh Steelers forming the "Phil-Pitt Eagles" and were known as the "Steagles." (The merger, never intended as a permanent arrangement, was dissolved at the end of the 1943 season.) By the late 1940s, head coach Earle "Greasy" Neale and running back Steve Van Buren led the team to three consecutive NFL Championship Games, winning two of them in 1948 and 1949. Those two championships mark the Eagles as the only NFL team ever to win back-to-back championships by shutouts, defeating the Chicago Cardinals, 7–0, in 1948—in a blizzard—and the Los Angeles Rams, 14–0, in 1949. After the 1957 season, the Eagles moved from Connie Mack Stadium to Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania. Franklin Field would seat over 60,000 for the Eagles, whereas Connie Mack had a capacity of 39,000. The stadium switched from grass to AstroTurf in 1969. It was the first NFL stadium to use artificial turf. In 1960, the Eagles won their third NFL championship, under the leadership of future Pro Football Hall of Famers Norm Van Brocklin and Chuck Bednarik; the head coach was Buck Shaw. The 1960 Eagles, by a score of 17–13, became the only team to defeat Vince Lombardi and his Green Bay Packers in the playoffs. The Eagles had a decent 1961 season and then fell on hard times in 1962. Jerry Wolman, after consulting his longtime friend Brandon Sturrock, bought the franchise in 1963 from the "Happy Hundred", a group of investors who owned the team from 1949 to 1963, for $5,505,000 (equal to $ today). In 1969, Leonard Tose bought the Eagles from Wolman for $16,155,000 (equal to $ today), then a record for a professional sports franchise. Tose's first official act was to fire Coach Joe Kuharich after a disappointing 24–41–1 record during his five-year reign. He followed this by naming former Eagles receiving great Pete Retzlaff as General Manager and Jerry Williams as coach. With the merger of the NFL and AFL in 1970, the Eagles were placed in the NFC East Division with their archrivals the New York Giants, the Washington Redskins, and the Dallas Cowboys. Their heated rivalry with the Giants is the oldest of the NFC East rivalries, dating all the way back to 1933 and is often named as one of the best rivalries in the NFL. In , Dick Vermeil was hired from UCLA to coach the Eagles, who had only one winning season from 1962 to 1975. Starting in 1978, head coach Dick Vermeil and quarterback Ron Jaworski led the team to four consecutive playoff appearances. Vermeil's 1980 team won their first NFC East title. They were matched up against their hated rival the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship game, which they won 20–7. However, the Eagles lost to the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XV in 1981. The following year, the Eagles were eliminated in the wildcard round at home against the New York Giants. In the aftermath of the disappointing and strike-shortened season of 1982, head coach Dick Vermeil resigned, claiming that he was "burned out". Vermeil was replaced by defensive coordinator Marion Campbell. In January 1983, Tose announced that his daughter, Susan Fletcher, the Eagles' vice president and legal counsel, would eventually succeed him as primary owner of the Eagles. Then in 1984, rumors were circulating that Leonard Tose was thinking about moving the team to Phoenix, Arizona due to financial reasons. In 1985, Tose was forced to sell the Eagles to Norman Braman and Ed Leibowitz, highly successful automobile dealers from Florida, for a reported $65 million (equal to $ today) to pay off his more than $25 million (equal to $ today) in gambling debts at Atlantic City casinos. Philadelphia football struggled through the Marion Campbell years of the mid-1980s and was marked by a malaise in fan participation. However, in the 1985 Supplemental draft, the Eagles acquired the rights to Memphis Showboats' elite pass rusher Reggie White. In 1986, the arrival of head coach Buddy Ryan and his fiery attitude rejuvenated team performance and ignited the fan base, but the Eagles failed to win a playoff game during Ryan's tenure. Possibly the worst of these losses was the so-called Fog Bowl in 1988 against the Chicago Bears, which happened to be Ryan's former team that he helped lead to a Super Bowl XX victory as defensive coordinator. Ryan was fired on January 7, 1991, after an upset home playoff loss to the Redskins. Offensive coordinator Rich Kotite was promoted to head coach three days later. After All Pro defensive tackle Jerome Brown was killed in an automobile accident, the team and fanbase became dedicated to "bring it home for Jerome" in the 1992 season. Kotite did lead the Eagles to a playoff victory against the New Orleans Saints during the 1992 season, but they lost all-time sacks leader Reggie White to free agency in the offseason. Kotie's contract was not renewed after a disappointing 1994 season in which the Eagles went 7–9, losing their last seven games after starting the season 7–2. From 1988 to 1996, the Eagles qualified for the playoffs during six out of those nine seasons, but they won the NFC East only once, in 1988. Among the team's offensive stars during that period were quarterback Randall Cunningham, tight end Keith Jackson, and running back Herschel Walker. But the "Gang Green" defense is possibly what defined the team, led by Reggie White, Jerome Brown, Clyde Simmons, Seth Joyner, Wes Hopkins, Mike Golic, Byron Evans, Eric Allen, Andre Waters and Mark McMillian. Jeffrey Lurie bought the Eagles on May 6, 1994 from then-owner Norman Braman for an estimated $185 million. The club is now estimated to be the 17th most valuable sports team, worth $1.314 billion, as valuated in 2014 by Forbes. In Lurie's first season as owner, the team only had 7 wins, but that was followed by a 10-win season in 1995. Besides the 10 wins and a playoff berth, 1996 was an eventful year. The uniforms changed from the classic shade of Kelly Green to a darker midnight green, quarterback Randall Cunningham left after 11 seasons, and future fan favorite 13-year starter Brian Dawkins was drafted in the 2nd round. After slipping to 6–9–1, and then to 3–13, head coach Ray Rhodes was fired after four seasons. In 1999, the Eagles hired head coach Andy Reid and drafted quarterback Donovan McNabb. From 1999 until 2004, the team continually improved, going from 5–11 in 1999, returning to the playoffs in with an 11–5 record in 2000, being eliminated in the divisional round. Moreover, the Eagles played in four straight NFC Championship Games between 2001 and 2004. In 2001, the Eagles stayed at 11–5, beating the Buccaneers and Bears to advance to the NFC championship, where they lost to the St. Louis Rams. In 2002, the Eagles drafted running back Brian Westbrook, got the 1st round bye with the 2nd seed in the NFC with a 12–4 record, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers got their revenge in the Championship and eliminated the Eagles. In 2003, they won the NFC's first seed, but Westbrook went down in Week 17, culminating in a loss to the Carolina Panthers in their 3rd straight NFC Championship. In 2004, the Philadelphia Eagles had their best season since 1960, going 13–1 before resting their starters and losing their next 2, clinching the number one seed for the second year in a row. McNabb set career highs, completing 64% of his passes for 3,875 yards, though he didn't play all 16 games. McNabb became the first quarterback ever to throw more than 30 touchdowns and fewer than 10 interceptions in a season. His success could be attributed to the fact that he had a reliable receiver, Terrell Owens, who got 1,200 yards and 14 touchdowns in 14 games. After defeating the Minnesota Vikings and Atlanta Falcons, the Eagles advanced to Super Bowl XXXIX, where they dueled the New England Patriots. Although McNabb threw 3 touchdown passes and 357 yards in the game, and the score was tied 14–14 going into the fourth quarter, the Patriots outscored the Eagles and scored ten straight points. McNabb completed a 30-yard touchdown pass, and the Eagles defense held the Patriots to a 3 and out, but a crucial interception with 46 seconds left on the clock secured their fate. The Patriots won 24–21. The team took a step back in 2005 with a 6–10 record. McNabb had played with a sports hernia and a broken thumb, starting 4–2 but losing three in a row, before McNabb finally succumbs to injury and is out for the rest of the season. For obnoxious behavior and a feud with McNabb, Owens was suspended after 7 games, eventually being cut. In 2006, the team lost McNabb 10 games in and went into turmoil, but Westbrook stepped up, and the Eagles earned their fifth NFC East title under coach Reid, with a 10–6 record and a win in the wild card round, but they finished .500 in 2007. In 2008, the team won their 500th game, and they also drafted DeSean Jackson, a receiving threat when paired with McNabb. On January 11, 2009, the team defeated the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants 23–11 en route to their sixth NFC Championship Game. In the NFC Championship, the Eagles made a rally, going from 24–6 at halftime to 25–24 with three minutes left in the fourth quarter, but they lost to the Arizona Cardinals by a score of 32–25 after quarterback Kurt Warner scored a last minute touchdown. On August 13, 2009, the Eagles signed quarterback Michael Vick. On December 6, 2009, Andy Reid became only the fifth coach in NFL history to win 100 or more games with a single team in a single decade (the other four are Tom Landry, Don Shula, Tony Dungy, and Bill Belichick, all Super Bowl winners). McNabb finally had a complete receiving corps, between first round draft pick Jeremy Maclin, DeSean Jackson's 1,000 yard season, and Brent Celek ranking among the top 5 tight ends in the league. Without Brian Dawkins, defensive end Trent Cole stepped up and became the dominant force on defense with 12 sacks, earning him his second trip to the Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors. In 2009, the Eagles started 5–4, and then won six straight games. After a shutout against the Dallas Cowboys in week 17, the Eagles missed the first-round bye, but with a record of 11–5, they were the NFC's sixth seed. In their , the Eagles played against their divisional foes for the second consecutive week, losing 34–14 to hand Dallas their first of two playoff wins since . On March 5, 2010, Brian Westbrook was cut from the Eagles after eight seasons with the team. On April 4, 2010, the team traded long-time starting quarterback Donovan McNabb to the Washington Redskins in exchange for a second round draft pick. Kevin Kolb was immediately named the starter, but after suffering a concussion in week 1 against the Packers, Vick took over as the starter. Vick led the Eagles to its sixth NFC East division title in ten seasons. With a record of 10–6 the Eagles clinched the third seed. In the wild card round, the Eagles lost 21–16 to eventual Super Bowl XLV champion Green Bay Packers. The 2011 season for the Eagles was a major disappointment, as they only managed to finish 8–8 and miss the playoffs. In 2012, the Eagles started off winning three out of their four first games, but lost their next eight, and were eliminated from the playoff hunt. They only won one out of their last four games. After a loss to the New York Giants on December 30, 2012, longtime head coach Andy Reid was fired after fourteen seasons with the team. On January 16, 2013, the Eagles brought in University of Oregon head coach Chip Kelly to succeed Reid as head coach after a 4–12 season. The Philadelphia Eagles named Michael Vick starting quarterback going into the 2013 season with much promise running Chip Kelly's fast-paced spread offense. The 2013 season proved to be more successful for the Eagles. A hamstring injury took Michael Vick out after a 1–3 start, but his backup Nick Foles led the team to a 10–6 regular season record, and its seventh NFC East title in 13 seasons. Before throwing his first interception in Week 14, Foles threw 19 touchdowns, which was just one shy of the all-time NFL record of consecutive touchdowns without an interception to start a season, set earlier in the season by Peyton Manning. Foles also tied Manning for most touchdown passes in a single-game with seven against the Oakland Raiders which also made him the youngest player in NFL history to throw that many touchdowns in a game. Foles finished the regular season with 27 touchdown passes and only 2 interceptions, giving him the then-best TD-INT ratio in NFL history. (That record was later broken by Tom Brady, in the 2016 season.) He also finished with a 119.0 passer rating, third highest in league history behind only Aaron Rodgers in 2011 and Peyton Manning in 2004. He was also only the second quarterback in NFL history to have a game in which he topped 400 passing yards and a perfect passer rating. LeSean McCoy finished his Pro Bowl season as the league's top rusher with 1,607 rushing yards (also a franchise record) and 2,146 total yards from scrimmage, also best in the NFL. As a whole, the Eagles offense scored 51 touchdowns, most in franchise history passing the previous season high set back in 1948. The Eagles opened the 2014 season winning their first three games and making NFL history as the only team ever to trail by ten or more points in their first three games and come back to win. Nick Foles struggled with turnovers, but ultimately did well and led the Eagles to a 6–2 record, before breaking his collarbone, resulting in his job getting taken over by Mark Sanchez, who outplayed Foles despite facing more playoff teams. The Eagles held the divisional title from week one to week 15 against the Cowboys. After going 9–3 with their crucial win over Dallas, the Eagles lost their next 3, and a week after losing the NFC East title, they lost an upset against the 3–11 Redskins and were eliminated from playoff contention with the Cowboys' win over the Indianapolis Colts. Following the 2014 season, Chip Kelly was given total control and made some controversial moves. He traded LeSean McCoy, who had become the team's all-time leading rusher after the 2014 season, for linebacker Kiko Alonso, a player Kelly coached at Oregon who had missed the entire 2014 season. He also cut ten-year veteran and starter, Trent Cole, who was still a consistent threat on defense and was second only to legend Reggie White on the Eagles all-time sack list. He also made a trade where the highly successful Nick Foles was traded for Sam Bradford, who had missed the entire 2014 season with an ACL tear. Kelly tried to re-sign Jeremy Maclin, who had stepped up as the team's leading wide receiver, but he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs instead. However, the Eagles also acquired league leading rusher DeMarco Murray, which not only helped the Eagles, but hurt their rivals, the Dallas Cowboys. They also obtained Super Bowl champion Byron Maxwell, who left the Seattle Seahawks in free agency to sign a six-year, $63 million contract. The first two games of the season were disastrous, as they started 0–2. Bradford had a 2–4 TD-INT ratio, Maxwell was constantly beaten by Falcons receiver Julio Jones, and Murray was held to 11 yards on 21 carries. After Murray was injured, Ryan Mathews rushed for over 100 yards in a Week 3 win against the New York Jets. Kelly made Murray the unquestioned starter and although Murray's play improved over the season, he never regained his dominant form and was held to a career low 3.6 yards per carry average. On December 29, 2015, with one game left in the season, head coach Chip Kelly was released by the Eagles after a 6–9 record. Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur was named Interim Coach for the final game against the rival New York Giants, which Shurmur won 35–30. Former player and current running backs coach Duce Staley was the first coach to be interviewed for the opening head coaching job on January 2, 2016. The Eagles hired Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson as their next head coach on January 18, 2016. Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said in a statement: Pederson had been with the Chiefs for the preceding three years after spending the four seasons previous to those with the Eagles. He served as a quality control assistant for the Eagles in 2009 and 2010 before being promoted to quarterbacks coach for the 2011 and 2012 seasons. He was praised for his work with Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith over the preceding few seasons, particularly 2015, as the Chiefs moved into the top 10 in scoring offense. At the end of the 2015 season, the Eagles had the 13th pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. They traded Byron Maxwell, Kiko Alonso, and their pick to the Miami Dolphins for the #8 pick. Later, they traded the #8 pick, their third-round pick, their fourth-round pick, a 2017 first-round pick, and a 2018 second-round pick to the Cleveland Browns for the #2 pick and a 2017 fourth-round pick. They used the #2 pick to draft North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz. On September 3, 2016, the Eagles traded starting quarterback Sam Bradford to the Minnesota Vikings, who had lost Teddy Bridgewater for the season, for a 2017 first-round pick and a 2018 fourth-round pick. Following the trade, the Eagles named Wentz the starting quarterback for Week 1 of the 2016 season. First-time head coach Pederson led the Eagles to a 3–0 start to the season. His rookie quarterback started with 5 touchdowns, no interceptions and over 255 yards per game. The Week 4 bye took a toll on the Eagles, and they lost four out of the next five games, including a loss to every rival team in their division. They also lost right tackle Lane Johnson to a 10-game suspension following the Week 5 loss against the Lions which damaged Carson Wentz's hot start. In those four games, their average margin of loss was just under 5 points. Pederson and the Eagles won only three of their last seven games. Although Wentz started off the season well, the 6–5 quarterback finished with a TD–INT ratio of 8:7. The rookie head coach and rookie quarterback tandem led the Eagles to a 7–9 record, last in the division. During the following offseason, the team made several acquisitions on the offensive side of the ball. The Eagles either traded or released notable players from the Chip Kelly era like Ryan Mathews, Matt Tobin, Allen Barbre, Jordan Matthews and Marcus Smith II. They signed more notable players to improve its wide receiver corps that have struggled the last two seasons like Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith, as well as two-time Super Bowl champion LeGarrette Blount. They also added veterans on defense such as Patrick Robinson, Chris Long, Corey Graham, Tim Jernigan and Ronald Darby. The team addressed its defense mostly in the draft, using its top three picks on defensive players. The Eagles drafted Derek Barnett with the 14th overall pick. They opened the season on the road versus the Washington Redskins and won the game 30–17. The team lost to the Kansas City Chiefs the following week, 27–20, in Pederson's return to face Andy Reid. The Eagles then won six consecutive games, including a road victory against the Carolina Panthers, 28–23. On the morning of October 31, 2017, just before the NFL trade deadline, the Eagles sent a fourth-round pick to the Dolphins for star running back Jay Ajayi. The move immediately paid dividends for the Eagles heading into their next game versus the Denver Broncos, as Ajayi rushed for 77 yards on just eight attempts including a 46-yard touchdown near the end of the second quarter. The Eagles scored 51 points against the league's best defense, and entered their bye week with the best record in the league (8–1). Coming off of the bye week, Philadelphia defeated their bitter enemies, the Dallas Cowboys, 37–9 and then routed the Chicago Bears 31–3. The Eagles nine game win streak was snapped after a 24–10 against the Seahawks at CenturyLink Field. However, the Eagles bounced back in Week 14 road win versus the Los Angeles Rams. Carson Wentz left the game in the third quarter with a knee injury with a torn ACL, and backup Nick Foles would once again take over as starting quarterback. Foles' first start was a comeback from a 20–7 deficit against the New York Giants as he scored four touchdowns and won the game 34–29. Foles struggled in the last two games of the season against the Oakland Raiders and the Cowboys, and threw a touchdown and two interceptions in that span. Despite this, the Eagles clinched home-field advantage after the win against Oakland in week 16. In the playoffs, the Eagles opened as underdogs, the first time in history that a number 1 seed has opened up the postseason as an underdog. Foles would lead the Eagles past the Atlanta Falcons in the Divisional Round 15–10. In the NFC Championship, the Eagles annihilated the Minnesota Vikings 38–7, giving the nickname "Minneapolis Massacre", mocking the Minneapolis Miracle from their previous playoff victory. Foles had his best game since week 15 and threw for 352 passing yards and three touchdowns. The Eagles traveled to Minneapolis to compete in Super Bowl LII, their third attempt at a title, against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in a rematch of Super Bowl XXXIX from 2005. With Foles at the helm, Philadelphia started off the game strong, leading the Patriots 22–12 at halftime. New England's only lead was by one point in the fourth quarter, 33–32. The Eagles rallied back and scored an 11-yard touchdown to tight end Zach Ertz. The last score of the game was a 46-yard field goal by Jake Elliott to make the final score 41–33. The franchise won their first Super Bowl ever and their first championship since 1960. Foles won Super Bowl MVP going 28 out of 43 with 373 passing yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. Foles became the first backup quarterback to start and win a Super Bowl since his opponent Tom Brady won as the backup for Drew Bledsoe in 2002's Super Bowl XXXVI. One of the NFL's oldest, this rivalry began on October 15, 1933 when the Giants defeated the newly founded Eagles 56–0. The all-time series is tied at 86–86–2. Three of the best known comebacks against the Giants are labeled as "Miracle In The Meadowlands – Herm Edwards", "Miracle In The Meadowlands II – Brian Westbrook" and "Miracle In The New Meadowlands – DeSean Jackson". The Cowboys have been one of the Eagles' biggest rivals. The Eagles won the first game in this rivalry 27–25 on September 30, 1960. Dallas leads the all-time series 63–51–0. They have been close in recent years, with Dallas winning 12 games from 2006 to the present while the Eagles have also won 12. There is much hostility between the two teams' fan bases, with incidents such as the 1989 Bounty Bowl. The rivalry has even spilled over into Draft Weekend, with Cowboys legend Drew Pearson and Eagles legend David Akers exchanging insults at the opposing franchise in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Not as big as the rivalries between the Giants and Cowboys, that with division rivals Washington Redskins is still fierce. It started in 1934 when the Washington Redskins were first known as the Boston Redskins; the Redskins defeated the Eagles 6–0, and lead the all-time series 85–76–6. The rivalry has been very even since 2010 overall. However, the Eagles swept the Redskins during the 2017 season for the first time since the 2013 season. The Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers are both located in Pennsylvania and began play in 1933. From that season, through 1966, this was a major rivalry for both teams as both were part of the same division. In 1967, they were placed in separate divisions but remained in the same conference for three years. In 1970, the Steelers (along with the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Colts) moved to the American Football Conference while the Eagles stayed with the rest of the old-line NFL teams in the National Football Conference. As a result, the Eagles and Steelers no longer played each other every year; instead, they are scheduled to meet once every four years in the regular season, the most recent meeting being in 2016 at Lincoln Financial Field, with the Eagles winning 34–3. The Steelers have lost nine straight games on the road against the Eagles dating back to 1966, which was also the start of the Super Bowl era. The Eagles lead the all-time series 47–28–3. For several decades, the Eagles' colors were kelly green, silver, and white. In 1954, the Eagles, along with the Baltimore Colts, became the second team ever in the NFL to put a logo on their helmets, with silver wings on a kelly green helmet. In 1969, the team wore two helmet versions: Kelly green with white wings in road games, and white with kelly green wings at home. From 1970 to '73, they wore the white helmets with Kelly green wings exclusively before switching back to Kelly green helmets with silver wings. By 1974, Joseph A. Scirrotto Jr. designed the silver wings took on a white outline, and this style on a kelly green helmet became standard for over two decades. From 1948 to 1995, the team logo was an eagle in flight carrying a football in its claws, although from '69–72, the eagle took on a more stylized look. As the design was similar to the "Apollo 11" emblem, and its moon-landing craft was dubbed "Eagle", players wore the flight's mission patch on their jerseys during 1969. In 1973, the team's name was added below the eagle, returning to its pre-1969 look. However, both the logo and uniforms were radically altered in 1996. The primary kelly green color was changed to a darker shade, officially described as "midnight green." Silver was practically abandoned, as uniform pants moved to either white or midnight green. The traditional helmet wings were changed to a primarily white color, with silver and black accents. The team's logo combination (the eagle and club name lettering) also changed in 1996, with the eagle itself limited to a white (bald eagle) head, drawn in a less realistic, more cartoon-based style, and the lettering changing from calligraphic to block letters. Since the 1996 alterations, the team has made only minor alterations, mostly relating to jersey/pant combinations worn during specific games. For example, in 1997, against the San Francisco 49ers, the team wore midnight green jerseys and pants for the first of only two occasions in team history. The second occasion was in 2002, during the final regular season game at Veterans Stadium, a win over the division-rival Washington Redskins. A year later, in the first two games of the 2003 season (both home losses to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots), the Eagles wore white jerseys with white pants. Since 2003, the white jerseys along with white pants have been worn during preseason games. The 2003 season also saw the first (though only subtle) change to the 1996-style uniform. On both white and green jerseys, black shadows and silver trim were added to both the green and white numbering. The stripe on the pants changed from black-green-black to black-silver-green on the white pants, and from a solid black stripe to one stripe of black, another of silver, with one small white stripe in between for the midnight blue pants. The 2003 season also saw the team debut black alternate jerseys, with a green (instead of black) shadow on white numbers, and silver trim. These black jerseys have been worn for two selected home games each season (usually the first home game after bye week and the season finale). In the 2003 and 2004 regular season home finales, the team wore the green road pants with the black alternate jerseys, but lost each game. Since then, the Eagles have only worn the black jerseys with the white pants. However, due to the special 75th anniversary uniforms serving as the "alternates" for one game in 2007, the Eagles could not wear the alternate black jersey that season per league rules (alternate uniforms are permitted twice per season but only one can be used). The black jerseys with white pants, however, re-appeared for the 2008 Thanksgiving night game against the Arizona Cardinals. The black jerseys were most recently used in a December 21, 2016 game against the New York Giants, in which they won 24-19. From 2006 to 2013, the Eagles have only worn the alternate black jerseys once a season and for the last November home game, but did not use them in 2007, 2010, and 2011. For the 2007 and 2010 seasons, the Eagles used throwback uniforms in place of the black alternates for their anniversary to commemorate past teams. The team also started wearing black shoes exclusively in 2004. Since 2014, the Eagles have worn the black jersey twice per season. In 2016, they wore the black jersey three times. To celebrate the team's 75th anniversary, the 2007 uniforms featured a 75th-season logo patch on the left shoulder. In addition, the team wore "throwback" jerseys in a 2007 game against the Detroit Lions. The yellow and blue jerseys, the same colors found on Philadelphia's city flag, are based on those worn by the Philadelphia Eagles in the team's inaugural season, and were the same colors used by the former Frankford Yellow Jackets franchise prior to their suspension of operations in 1931. The Eagles beat Detroit, 56–21. The Eagles wear their white jerseys at home for preseason games and daytime games in the first half of the regular season from September to mid-October when the temperature is warmer. In night contests in the first half of the regular season, the Eagles do not need to wear white at home since the temperature is cooler. However, there have been exceptions, such as the home opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2003 and the Washington Redskins in 2007 that were played at night. In late October or beginning in November, the Eagles start to wear their colors at home (although they have done it earlier before), be it the midnight green jerseys or a third jersey. On one occasion the Eagles wore white at home after October in a meeting against the Dallas Cowboys on November 4, 2007 to make the Cowboys wear their road blue jerseys. Since moving to Lincoln Financial Field in 2003, the Eagles have worn white at home for at least their home opener, with the exceptions for the 2010 home opener ("see next paragraph"), the 2011 home opener against the New York Giants, the 2016 home opener against the Cleveland Browns, and the 2017 home opener against the Giants. In the 2010 season against the Green Bay Packers, on September 12, 2010, the Eagles wore uniforms similar to the ones that were worn by the 1960 championship team in honor the 50th anniversary of that team. In weeks 4 and 6 of the 2010 season, the Eagles wore their white jerseys in a match-up against the Washington Redskins and Atlanta Falcons respectively before reverting to their midnight green jerseys for the rest of their home games. For the 2011 season, the Eagles did not wear white for any of their home games. For the 2012 season Nike took over from Reebok as the NFL's official apparel licensee, but the Eagles decided that they would not be adopting Nike's "Elite 51" uniform technology. Aside from the Nike logo replacing the Reebok logo, the only other change is the league-wide revision of the NFL shield on the uniform (replacing the NFL Equipment logo), other than that the uniforms essentially remain unchanged. The Eagles also revived their black alternate jersey. For the 2013 season, the Eagles started to wear white pants, as an alternate to their green pants, with their white jerseys, in the regular season. For the 2014 season the Eagles have officially adopted the "Elite 51″ style uniform from Nike. Recently the team has discussed bringing back the "Kelly Green" uniforms similar to the uniforms worn in the 1960 NFL Championship season and which were last worn in the 2010 season opener vs. Green Bay. Traditionally kelly green, silver and white had been the official team color until 1996 season when it switched to the current "Midnight Green" uniforms. But due to the NFL rules and restrictions having a team go through a waiting period before any major uniform changes and alterations can be made, it would most likely be quite some time before any uniform changes are officially made. In Week 6 of 2014 against the New York Giants, the team introduced black pants to complement their black jerseys, giving them a blackout uniform set, the Eagles won the game 27–0. The victory was their first shutout in 18 years. The blackout uniform was most recently worn in a Week 16 victory, 19-10, against the Raiders in 2017. The Eagles are 6–3 in their blackout uniforms: winning three times against the Giants and once against each of the Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos, and Oakland Raiders, and losing against the Seattle Seahawks, Arizona Cardinals, and Green Bay Packers. The Eagles previously held their preseason training camp from the end of July through mid-August each year at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley. With the addition of head coach Chip Kelly, the Eagles in 2013, moved their training camp to the NovaCare Complex in Philadelphia. Training camps were previously held at Chestnut Hill Academy in 1935, Saint Joseph's University in 1939 and 1943, Saranac Lake from 1946 to 1948, Hershey from 1951 to 1967, Albright College from 1968 to 1972, Widener University from 1973 to 1979, and West Chester University from 1980 to 1995. This fight song is heard during Eagles' home games after touchdowns and before the team is introduced prior to kickoff. Although the method may vary, studies that attempt to rank the 32 fan bases in the NFL consistently place Eagles fans among the best in the league, noting their "unmatched fervor." Eagles fans have numerous dedicated web communities, ranking the Eagles just behind the Phillies as the dominant Philadelphia sports presence on the web. The American City Business Journals, which conducts a regular study to determine the most loyal fans in the NFL, evaluates fans based primarily on attendance-related factors, and ranked Eagles fans third in both 1999 and 2006. The 2006 study called the fans "incredibly loyal", noting that they filled 99.8% of the seats in the stadium over the previous decade. "Forbes" placed the Eagles fans first in its 2008 survey, which was based on the correlation between team performance and fan attendance. ESPN.com placed Eagles fans fourth in the league in its 2008 survey, citing the connection between the team's performance and the mood of the city. The last home game which was blacked out on television in the Philadelphia market as a result of not being sold out was against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, September 12, 1999, which was Andy Reid's first home game as new head coach of the Eagles. The studies note that—win or lose—Eagles fans can be counted on to pack their stadium. As of August 2008, the team had sold out 71 consecutive games, and 70,000 were on the team's waiting list for season tickets. Despite finishing with a 6–10 record in the 2005 season, the Eagles ranked second in the NFL in merchandise sales, and single-game tickets for the next season were sold out minutes after phone and Internet lines opened. Eagles fans have also been known to chant the famous, "E-A-G-L-E-S – Eagles!" at Flyers, Phillies, and 76ers games when the team is getting blown out late in a game and a loss is inevitable, signifying their displeasure with the given team's performance, and that they are instead putting their hope into the Eagles. Along with their fierce devotion, Eagles fans have a reputation for bad behavior and sports-related violence, especially when the team plays its rivals. In "If Football's a Religion, Why Don't We Have a Prayer?", Jereé Longman described the fans of the 700 Level of Veterans Stadium as having a reputation for "hostile taunting, fighting, public urination and general strangeness." So many incidents occurred at a 1997 game against the 49ers that at the following home game, Judge Seamus McCaffery began presiding over a temporary courtroom at the stadium; 20 suspects came before him that day. Fan behavior improved after the team's move to Lincoln Financial Field, and "Eagles Court" ended in December 2003. The team also has its own cheerleading squad, which performs a variety of dance moves for the fans and the Eagles on the sideline. The squad also releases a swimsuit calendar each year, and is the first squad in the league to release the calendar on the Android and iOS mobile systems. Notes: In 1987, the Eagles Honor Roll was established. Every Eagles player who had by then been elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame was among the inaugural induction class. By 2012, the Honor Roll had been retitled as the Eagles Hall of Fame. Players are considered for induction three years after their retirement from the NFL, and there have been 41 inductees into the Eagles Hall of Fame as of 2015. Source:pro-football-reference.com Eagles Franchise Page + = min. 500 attempts, # = min. 100 attempts, ∗ = minimum 15 attempts, ∗ = minimum 15 attempts, # = min. 100 attempts, + = min. 500 attempts ∗ = minimum 4 receptions, # = min. 20 receptions, + = min. 200 receptions From 2008 through 2010, Eagles games were broadcast on both rock-formatted WYSP and sports-talk Sports Radio 610 WIP, as both stations are owned and operated by CBS Radio. In 2011, CBS dropped the music on WYSP, renaming it WIP-FM and making it a full simulcast of WIP. Later, 610 AM became a CBS Sports Radio national broadcast, and 94 WIP was broadcast on WIP FM. The Eagles extended their broadcasting contract with WIP-FM through 2024. Merrill Reese, who joined the Eagles in 1976, is the play-by-play announcer, and former Eagles wide receiver Mike Quick, who replaced the offense lineman Stan Walters beginning in 1998, is the color analyst. The post game show, which has consisted of many Philadelphia sports personalities, as of the 2014 season is hosted by Kevin Riley, a former Eagles linebacker and special-teamer, and Rob Ellis. Riley was the former post-game host for the show on 94 WYSP before the WIP change over; Rob Ellis hosts a weekly show nightly from 6–10 on 94.1 WIP-FM. No announcement was made prior to the start of preseason regarding who would be the host(s) for 2015. In 2015, the preseason games are being televised on WCAU, the local NBC owned and operated station. Television announcers for these preseason games were not announced prior to the start of preseason. During the regular season, games are governed by the NFL's master broadcasting contract with FOX, CBS, NBC, and ESPN. Most games can be seen on FOX-owned WTXF-TV. When hosting an AFC team, those games can be seen on CBS-owned KYW-TV. In the book "", the character Captain Oliver Wendell "Spearchucker" Jones fictionally played for the Philadelphia Eagles, though in the movie this was changed to San Francisco. The 1976 draw was the subject of the movie "Invincible". The movie stars Mark Wahlberg as Vince Papale, a 30-year-old bartender and part-time school teacher, and also a diehard Eagles fan who became an Eagles player. The film differs slightly from true events as the selection process was invitation only, and Papale had at least some previous playing experience. The film "Silver Linings Playbook" highlights the 2008 Philadelphia Eagles season. The film was critically acclaimed and nominated for several awards including 8 Academy Awards. In the 1978 Academy Award-winning movie "The Deer Hunter", the Eagles are referenced when Nick talks to Stan in the bar, saying: "Hey, I got a hundred bucks says the Eagles never cross the fifty in the next half and Oakland wins by 20!" Stan responds; "And I got an extra twenty says the Eagles' quarterback wears a dress!" The award-winning comedy series "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" starring Danny DeVito makes several references to the Philadelphia Eagles, most notably Season 3, Episode 2 – "The Gang Gets Invincible," the title being a reference to the Wahlberg film. Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football franchise based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. They are Super Bowl champions, having won Super Bowl LII; their first Super Bowl in franchise history, and their fourth NFL title overall, after winning the Championship Game in 1948, 1949, and 1960.
when did the eagles win last super bowl	"Philly Special" throw and catch a touchdown. Eagles coach Doug Pederson's decision to attempt to score a touchdown rather than attempt a field goal on the play helped put the Eagles in a better position to defeat the New England Patriots, which they subsequently did, 41–33. The victory was the Eagles' first championship in 57 years. Many analysts have since called the play one of the gutsiest play-calls in Super Bowl history. It was described by NFL Films as "a play that the Eagles had never called before, run on 4th down by an undrafted rookie running back pitching the football to a third-string tight end who had never attempted an NFL pass before, throwing to a backup quarterback who had never caught an NFL (or college) pass before, [pulled off] on the biggest stage for football." A play identical to the Philly Special had been successfully run at the college level on a two-point conversion attempt in 2012 by Clemson with Andre Ellington, DeAndre Hopkins and Tajh Boyd all involved against Georgia Tech. In 2016, the play was run in the NFL by the Chicago Bears against the Minnesota Vikings, at U.S. Bank Stadium, the same stadium in which the Philly Special also took place. Like Clemson, the Bears' attempt, led by Matt Barkley, Jeremy Langford and Cameron Meredith, was a success as they scored a touchdown on the play. Eagles receiver Alshon Jeffery, who was a member of the Bears at the time, stated his team's wide receivers coach Mike Groh, a former Bears coach in the same position, introduced the play to Doug Pederson. Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich considered using it against the Vikings in the NFC Championship Game before Super Bowl LII, but relented due to the lopsided score. The Patriots also pulled off a version of the Philly Special against the Eagles in 2015. Tom Brady wandered out of the pocket and the ball was snapped to James White. White then pitched the ball to Danny Amendola who connected with Brady for a 36-yard pass. Nick Foles had played as a tight end in high school during his sophomore year. After the Super Bowl, he stated that the last time he had caught a pass for a touchdown was when he was in high school. Trey Burton, at his high school, had been a first team all-state quarterback during his junior and senior years. During his freshman year at the University of Florida, he scored six touchdowns in a single game, breaking the team record set by Tim Tebow. Foles' experience as quarterback and tight end was at Westlake High near Austin, Texas. Sam Ehlinger, who would go on to start as quarterback at the University of Texas, also played at Westlake and ran this same play during his junior year on November 28, 2015. Soon after the Super Bowl finished, Ehlinger tweeted a video of his high school touchdown catch, saying "It's a Westlake thing." During the second quarter, the Patriots had attempted a trick play with quarterback Tom Brady running a pattern as a receiver. The ball was thrown on target by Danny Amendola, but it slipped through Brady's hands. The drive ended after the next play with the Eagles taking possession. During Philadelphia's drive previous to their attempt at a trick play at the end of the second quarter, Nick Foles' pass was intercepted by Patriots defensive back Duron Harmon. The Patriots, led by Tom Brady, drove down the field and scored on a James White 26 yard touchdown run to cut the Eagles lead to 3. After a Kenjon Barner kick return to the 30 yard line and two plays for 7 yards, the Eagles were faced with 3rd and 3. Nick Foles was able to find Corey Clement on a wheel route for 55 yards, which set up first-and-goal, but the Eagles' drive stalled, which brought up fourth-and-goal. Foles lined up in the shotgun formation, but moved up to the right side of the offensive line behind right tackle Lane Johnson and yelled "kill, kill", followed by "Lane, Lane." Foles then stayed on the right side of the offensive line and the ball was snapped to running back Corey Clement. Clement then ran left and flipped the ball to Trey Burton, to complete a reverse to the right side of the field. Finally, Burton threw the ball to Foles, who ran a route to the right corner of the end zone and made the catch for a Philadelphia touchdown. After the extra-point was successfully kicked by Jake Elliott, the Eagles went up 22–12, maintaining the score into halftime. All three players who touched the ball on this play began the season as backups. Corey Clement was a third-string running back, Trey Burton was a third string tight-end and Nick Foles began the season as the backup quarterback to Carson Wentz. Many designs of this play following the Super Bowl have TE Zach Ertz blocking in a different location. Before the play was called, NBC broadcaster Cris Collinsworth expressed his shock on-air that the Eagles would go for it, as he said, "This is an unbelievable call...This is like going for an onside kick. This could decide the game." Al Michaels made the call with Collinsworth for NBC. Michaels' call: Eagles broadcasters Merrill Reese and Mike Quick made the call for 94.1 WIP, the team's flagship station. Reese's call: Following the play, Patriots fans questioned if it was legal. According to the NFL Rulebook, the "offensive team must have at least seven players on line" and defines that a non-snapper player is on the line if the player's helmet "break[s] a vertical plane that passes through the beltline of the snapper." However, when looking back at the play, they argued that Eagles' wide-receiver Alshon Jeffery wasn't on the line of scrimmage, but rather slightly off it. Therefore, they argued, the Eagles had only six players on the line of scrimmage instead of the required seven. Fox Sports rules expert and former NFL referee Mike Pereira even said "...They lined up wrong...Not only that, [but] it’s a trick play. And if you’re going to run a trick-type play, then you have to be lined up properly...It’s kind of one of those [penalties] that has no effect on the play. I get it. But they didn’t line up properly. And it really should’ve been called." However, before the snap, Jeffery pointed to the down judge several times, asking if he was lined up correctly and got a head nod in return each time, indicating he was properly aligned. This practice is typical at all levels of the sport for confirming proper alignment before a play. The Eagles went on to win Super Bowl LII, 41–33. It was the team's first NFL championship since 1960, and first ever Super Bowl win. After the game, coach Doug Pederson told reporters "We call [the play] the Philly special..." Pederson also noted that the play came from “...[looking] at different plays around the league and the collegiate ranks, and things that over the years that might fit what we do. We found this one that fit, and we’ve been working on it for the last couple of weeks and tonight was the night.” Two days after the game, Showtime's "Inside the NFL" released footage with audio between Coach Doug Pederson and Nick Foles. It showed Nick Foles suggesting the Philly Special, saying "You want Philly Philly?", and Pederson responding, after a thoughtful pause, by saying “Yeah, let’s do it." On February 20, ESPN's Darren Rovell announced that the Philadelphia Eagles had filed for a trademark for the term "Philly Special." If the team wins the rights, they would most likely use the term for apparel and other paraphernalia. Seven other groups, including Yuengling, also filed for the trademark. Yuengling later retracted their file for the trademark. At the NFL Owners Meetings in Orlando, Doug Pederson said that the play is being unofficially retired for at least the next season due to other teams' awareness of the play. On June 14, 2018, the Eagles received their Super Bowl rings. The bezel of the ring contained 127 diamonds, which is the total from the numbers of the jerseys of the three players who handled the ball after the snap on the Philly Special—Corey Clement (30), Trey Burton (88) and Nick Foles (9). In September 2018, a statue commemorating the Philly Special, showing the moment of discussion between Nick Foles and Doug Pederson, was unveiled at Lincoln Financial Field. On September 6, 2018, during the first game of the 2018 season, the Eagles ran a similar trick play against the Atlanta Falcons successfully, gaining a first down. Despite the Philly Special being occasionally called "Philly Philly" due to the conversation Foles and Pederson had regarding calling that play, Pederson indicated the play in the Falcons-Eagles game is called "Philly Philly." It is notable that in Super Bowl LII, the Patriots ran a play that was essentially identical, albeit not successful, to the Philly Philly play the Eagles ran against the Falcons. On September 20, 2018, the Cleveland Browns ran the play successfully for a two-point conversion against the New York Jets. RB Duke Johnson took the snap and handed the ball off to WR Jarvis Landry, who threw a pass to QB Baker Mayfield. As Landry is left-handed, the play was run to the left side of the field, rather than the right side. This play has earned nicknames "Baker Special" after Mayfield, "Cleveland Special," and the "Dilly Special" in reference to Bud Light's "Dilly Dilly" ad campaign. This play tied the game that the Browns went on to win, ending a 19-game winless streak. Bud Light placed "victory fridges" in several Cleveland-area taverns that unlocked upon the Browns winning. Philly Special The Philly Special (also known as Philly Philly) was an American football trick play between Philadelphia Eagles players Corey Clement, Trey Burton and Nick Foles on fourth-down-and-goal toward the end of the second quarter of Super Bowl LII on February 4, 2018. On the play, quarterback Foles moved up to behind his offensive line and the ball was directly snapped to running back Clement. Clement went on to pitch
when did the eagles win last super bowl	"2018 Philadelphia Eagles season" who had been injured late in the 2017 season, returned as a starter in Week 3. The Eagles struggled through the first 10 games of the season to a 4–6 record, with inconsistent play and multiple injuries to players such as safety Rodney McLeod and running back Jay Ajayi. With a 21–17 loss to the Panthers in Week 7, the Eagles failed to improve or match their record from the previous season. With a 48–7 loss to New Orleans in Week 11, the Eagles set a new record for the largest loss by a defending Super Bowl champion. The Eagles proceeded to win back to back division games over the Giants and the Redskins to move to 6–6 and climb back to the playoff hunt, before falling 23–29 to the Cowboys in overtime and dropping to a 6–7 record. The following week, they upset the Rams 30–23 to move to 7–7 and keep their playoff hopes alive. The Eagles played in their first NFL Kickoff Game and their first game at London's Wembley Stadium in franchise history. Draft trades The Eagles had a disappointing preseason. The starting offense during their exhibitions looked nowhere like their Super Bowl counterparts. Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles had an awful preseason struggling in games versus the Patriots and Browns. Many injuries occurred while some from the previous season affected the starting offense's play. Many questioned how they would fare out after a lousy preseason showing. On January 11, the NFL announced that the Eagles will play the Jacksonville Jaguars in one of the London Games at Wembley Stadium in London, England, with the Jaguars serving as the home team. It will be the Eagles' first appearance in the International Series. The game will occur during Week 8 (October 28), and will be televised in the United States. The exact date, along with network and kickoff time, were announced in conjunction with the release of the regular season schedule. Notes NFL Kickoff Game The Eagles kicked off the 2018 season hosting Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons in a rematch of last year's Divisional Round. The Falcons struggles in the red zone continued as they were stopped on fourth and goal on their first drive. The Eagles however had struggles of their own being held scoreless until midway through the second when Jake Elliott kicked a 26-yard field goal to tie the game. The Falcons responded with a Matt Bryant field goal to take a 6-3 lead at the half. The Eagles offense finally found life midway through the third in a remake of the Philly Special with the reigning Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles catching a pass from Nelson Agholor on a trick play. A 1-yard TD run by Jay Ajayi gave the Eagles their first lead of the night. A couple of drives later, the Eagles defense came up big again with a Rasul Douglas interception that ended a potential scoring drive for the Falcons. However, Foles (Who struggled for most of the game) return the favor after throwing an interception to Deion Jones. Atlanta took advantage and scored on a 9-yard TD run by Tevin Coleman to give them a 12-10 lead (Bryant missed the extra point). The Eagles scored with under 3 minutes left on an 11-yard TD run by Ajayi and converted a two-point conversion to take a 6-point, 18-12 lead. Ryan and the Falcons had one more shot to win the game but in a repeat of last year's playoff matchup, the game came down to the final play with the Eagles stopping the Falcons on 5 consecutive plays, with the last being an incomplete pass from Matt Ryan to Julio Jones. The Eagles won a nailbiter and open the season with a 1-0 record for the 7th time in their last 9 openers dating back to 2010. Despite the defense's outstanding game, the offense struggled mightily. Nick Foles finished 19/34 for just 117 yards and the latter interception. Atlanta and Philadelphia combined for 26 penalties by the end of regulation. The Eagles defense struggled throughout most of the game as Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 400+ and 4 TDS for the second consecutive week. The Eagles late comeback attempt fell short after the Bucs offense converted on a 3rd and 3 aided by a penalty en route to a 27-21 loss. Cornerback Jalen Mills was heavily criticized on social media after his poor performance which included allowing a 75 TD to DeSean Jackson on the first play of regulation. The loss dropped the Eagles to 1-1. Carson Wentz made his 2018 debut returning from a torn ACL he had suffered during Week 14 of the 2017 season. The Eagles offense struggled after the first drive, but the defense played well, holding Colts quarterback Andrew Luck to under 100 passing yards until late in the fourth quarter. Wentz led the offense to an 11-minute drive in the fourth quarter (aided by penalties) which resulted in running back Wendell Smallwood rushing for a touchdown to take the lead with 3 minutes left. The Colts got into the red zone but failed to score or at least get a first down. The final play came down to Jacoby Brissett attempting a Hail Mary that ended up barricaded in the end zone. The win earned the Eagles a 2-1 record, tying with the Redskins for first in the NFC East. The Eagles played sparingly well for the first 3 quarters holding the Titans to just a field goal. Wentz threw for 2 TDs including one to Alshon Jeffery who made his 2018 debut after an offseason surgery which kept him out for the first 3 weeks. However, the Eagles broke down completely in the fourth allowing Marcus Mariota and the Titans to comeback and take a 20-17 late in the fourth. A 42 punt return by DeAndre Carter set up a 30-yard field goal by Jake Elliott tied the game leading to overtime. Elliott kicked a 37 yarder to give the Eagles the lead in overtime. The defense was unable to stop the Titans offense allowing a 4th and 15 conversion. The drive ended with Mariota throwing a 10-yard TD to Corey Davis. The loss proved to be humiliating for the Eagles. Wentz in his 2nd game back went 33/50 for 348 yards and 2 TDs. A defense decimated by injuries were once again criticized heavily for the loss. The loss dropped the Eagles to 2-2 tied for 2nd place with the Cowboys. In a rematch of last year's Conference Championship game, the Eagles dropped their second straight game of the season to the Minnesota Vikings 23-21. With this loss, the Eagles matched their loss total from 2017. There were multiple plays that proved critical to the outcome; such as a highly questionable, touchdown-drive-sustaining, roughing-the-passer call on Michael Bennett at the end of the first half and a third-quarter Jay Ajayi fumble near the goal line. The loss dropped the Eagles to 2-3, still tied for 2nd place since Dallas lost later to the Texans in overtime. What was considered a must win game, the Eagles looked dominant and never looked back. The game started off with linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill intercepting Eli Manning setting up a Wentz TD pass to Alshon Jeffery. The Giants responded with a field goal making it 7-3. Later in the first, a Corey Clement 1 yard TD run put the Eagles up 14-3 The Eagles shut down the Giants for the most part in the first half leading 24-6 by half time. All the Giants mustered was a 50-yard TD run by rookie Saquon Barkley. The Eagles mostly burned out time in the fourth adding more points with an Elliott 30 yard field goal to make it 34-13. The Eagles offense resembled their Super Bowl winning offense while the defense stepped up and shut down Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. However, Barkley had 130 rushing yards and a TD. With this win, the Eagles had increased their record to 3-3 and have now won 4 straight games over the Giants dating back to December 2016. However the Eagles remained tied 2nd place in the division since the Cowboys and Redskins won their games. After a big road win, the Eagles came back to square off Cam Newton and the Panthers. The Eagles again looked poised to win but in a much similar narrative to their Week 4 loss in Tennessee, the Eagles broke down in the fourth quarter allowing the Panthers to score 21 unanswered points. The offense were shut down and did not respond to Cam Newton's 3 TDs. The Eagles had one more shot to win after a defensive pass interference penalty moved them deep in Panthers territory,but didn't convert on a fourth down sealing yet another loss with a blown lead. The loss dropped the Eagles to 3-4 and 3rd in the NFC East. It also allowed the Redskins to take a two-game lead in the division after they beat the Cowboys later that evening. NFL London Games This marked the Eagles first appearance in the NFL International Series in London as they faced the Jacksonville Jaguars who were also struggling after a strong 2017 campaign. After 2 turnovers on their first two processions, the Eagles offense played well. Wentz had another strong game after facing criticism after last week, throwing for 3 TDs. Rookie tight end Dallas Goedert scored a TD for the second straight week and his 3rd in his career. The defense managed to stop the Jaguars on their last drive to prevent a game winning drive. The Eagles sealed the win on their last drive converting two key 2nd downs which helped them milk out the clock. With the close win, the Eagles headed into their bye week with a 4-4 record. During their bye week, the Eagles traded a 2019 third round pick to the Detroit Lions for WR Golden Tate at the NFL Trade Deadline. The Eagles also gained better position in the NFC East with the Redskins and Cowboys both losing their games. The Eagles returned home for a crucial Sunday Night game against their bitter rivals the Dallas Cowboys who have struggled with a dismal 3-5 record. Despite the Eagles being predicted to dominate, they struggled in the first half trailing 13-3 at the half, and never once led. After finding a spark on offense, the defense struggled to contain the Cowboys. A last second desperation drive ended up falling short of the end zone. With this loss, they not only dropped them to 4-5 and third in the NFC East, but it also raised many concerns on whether the team were still contenders. It also hurt their NFC position now standing at the brink of playoff contention just 9 months after winning the Super Bowl. Furthermore, this loss marked the first time since 2013 they lost 3 straight games at home. The Eagles loss to the Saints by 41 points is the biggest defeat for a defending Super Bowl Champion. In addition, this was their worst loss since their 42-0 defeat to the Seahawks in 2005 and was the most lopsided loss in the Doug Pederson era. For the first time since 2006, the Eagles would play back to back games against all 3 of their NFC East opponents; beginning with a home match with the NY Giants. They would do just that and win with a score 25-22 after Jake Elliott kicked a game-winning field goal despite falling behind 19-3 in the second quarter. With this win, the All-Time series is tied 86-86-2. Furthermore, the Eagles have now won 5 straight games over the Giants dating back to December 2016: and extended their home win streak against the Giants to 5 games (dating back to October 2014). The Eagles also snapped a 3-game home losing streak and move to 5-6, only a game behind the Cowboys and Redskins. With this win, the Eagles now evened their record at 6-6. They've now won 3 straight games over the Redskins dating back to 2017. Also with this win they won back to back games for the first time this season. With the loss, the Eagles fell to 6–7, and they were swept by the Cowboys for the first time since 2012. With the win, the Eagles climb back to 7-7, and keep their playoff hopes alive. They entered the game as 13.5 point underdogs. Nick Foles once again came into LA and beat the Rams after taking over for an injured Carson Wentz, similar to 2017. 2018 Philadelphia Eagles season The National Football League 2018 Philadelphia
when did the eagles win last super bowl	"2012 New York Giants season" winning record until 2016. On February 10, Giants quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan was hired as the new offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Sullivan was with the Giants since the beginning of Tom Coughlin's tenure as head coach of the Giants, serving as the wide receivers coach from 2004–2009 and as quarterbacks coach from 2010–2011. No replacement has been announced yet. The Giants offensive staff suffered another loss three days later (February 13) when assistant offensive line coach Jack Bicknell, Jr. was hired by the Kansas City Chiefs to be their offensive line coach. Bicknell was with the Giants the past three seasons. NOTES: NFL Kickoff game With their Super Bowl XLVI title to defend, the Giants began its 2012 campaign at home in the Annual Kickoff Game against their NFC East foe, the Dallas Cowboys. After a scoreless first quarter, New York struck first in the second quarter with a 22-yard field goal from kicker Lawrence Tynes. The Cowboys would close out the half with quarterback Tony Romo completing a 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Kevin Ogletree. Dallas added onto its lead in the third quarter as Romo completed a 40-yard touchdown to Ogletree. New York struck back with running back Ahmad Bradshaw's 10-yard touchdown run, but the Cowboys answered with kicker Dan Bailey making a 33-yard field goal. Dallas came right back in the fourth quarter with Romo completing a 34-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Miles Austin. The Giants tried to rally as Super Bowl XLVI MVP quarterback Eli Manning completed a 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Martellus Bennett, but the Cowboys' offense ran out the clock and preserved the win. With the loss, New York began its season at 0–1 and became the first defending Super Bowl Champion team to lose a regular season opener since the Broncos in 1999. After a season-opening home loss to the Cowboys, the Giants were looking to win their first game of the season. Although Tampa Bay led the Giants 24–13 at halftime, the Giants rallied in the fourth quarter to score 25 points and win their first game, improving to a 1–1 home record and a 1–1 overall record. A mild controversy erupted on the Giants' final kneel in the closing seconds of the game when Tampa Bay head coach Greg Schiano ordered his defensive linemen to blitz Giants' quarterback Eli Manning, presumably in the hope that this would lead to a forced fumble and subsequent touchdown to steal the victory. However, this did not happen. The Giants' first road game came against a Carolina Panthers team led by second-year quarterback Cam Newton. It was both teams' only Thursday Night Football appearance of the season. The Giants had no trouble with the Panthers, leading 20–0 at halftime and 36–7 at the end of the game. With the win, the Giants improved to 2–1 and reclaimed a share of the NFC East title with the Philadelphia Eagles, who they would play the following week. The Giants traveled to Philadelphia for a Sunday Night Football showdown against the Eagles. After a defensive first quarter in which neither offense scored any points, the Eagles took a 7–3 lead into halftime. The Giants came back with two touchdowns in the second half, but ultimately lost by two points after a failed long field goal by Lawrence Tynes in the closing seconds of the game. With the loss, the Giants fell to 2–2, the Eagles claimed sole possession of the NFC East title, and the Giants record against the Eagles worsened to 1–8 in their last nine meetings, dating back to the 2008 NFL Season. After a disappointing loss to the Eagles, the Giants returned home for an afternoon game against the Cleveland Browns. Led by rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden, the Browns quickly amassed a 14–0 lead early in the first quarter. However, the Giants retook the lead before halftime and did not sacrifice it again. With the win, the Giants improved to 3–2 and began what would ultimately be a four-game winning streak throughout October. The Giants traveled to San Francisco for a rematch of last season's NFC Championship game, in which the Giants won in overtime to advance to Super Bowl XLVI. The San Francisco 49ers were looking to avenge their playoff loss against the Giants, and had just come off back-to-back landslide victories against the Jets and Bills. However, the Giants defense allowed only one field goal and the Giants ultimately won the game 26–3, sending the 49ers to their first and only home loss of the season. With the win, the Giants improved to 4–2. Also, with the Eagles' loss to the Lions earlier in the day, the Giants gained sole possession of first place in the NFC East. The Giants returned home for another divisional battle, this time against the Washington Redskins. Washington had swept the Giants last year, and drafted quarterback Robert Griffin III with the second overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. The Redskins took a three-point lead late in the game, but a 77-yard touchdown pass from Manning to Victor Cruz in the last minutes of the game allowed the Giants to claim the victory. With the win, the Giants improved to 5–2 and won their first NFC East game of the season. The Giants visited the Dallas Cowboys, where they hoped to avenge their Week 1 home loss. Although the Giants quickly amassed a 23-point lead, the Cowboys responded with 24 unanswered points to take the lead in the 3rd quarter. The Giants ultimately scored a pair of field goals and held on to win 29–24. With the win, the Giants improved to 6–2 and continued to be unwelcome visitors at Cowboys Stadium, where they are now 4–0. The game, who's viewing area consisted of much of the northeast coast of the United States, was frequently interrupted by updates on the approach of Hurricane Sandy – a storm that was expected to directly impact the northeast United States that night and the following day. At the time of this game, northern New Jersey (and, indeed, a vast majority of the BosWash area) was recovering from the widespread damage and power outages caused by Hurricane Sandy. Played just days after the storm made landfall on the east coast, the blackouts and flooding even affected the visiting Steelers' travel schedule, and the team would be forced to fly into the area on the morning of the contest as opposed to the usual day beforehand. Both teams traded possessions through the first quarter before Steelers' wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger three minutes into the second period. A Shaun Suisham extra point gave the Steelers a 7–0 lead. The hometown Giants answered, tying up the game with a 1-yard run by Andre Brown. Shortly after, with around five minutes remaining in the half, New York's Osi Umenyiora was able to knock the ball from Roethlisberger's hand as the quarterback was attempting a pass. Giants linebacker Michael Boley took full advantage of the turnover, scooping up the fumble and giving the Giants a 14–7 lead on a 70-yard touchdown return. The Steelers were able to put together a final drive of the half, and a 30-yard field goal by Shaun Suisham narrowed the Giants' lead to four points at the half. Seven minutes into the third quarter, Giants' kicker Lawrence Tynes extended the home team's lead by three via a 50-yard field goal. With a minute to go in the period, Tynes would successfully convert a 23-yard attempt and give the Giants a ten-point lead with a quarter to play. A 51-yard touchdown pass from Roethlisberger to Mike Wallace would cut into the Giants' lead less than a minute into the fourth. New York would fail to accumulate any further points in the contest and, despite a botched fake field goal attempt by the Steelers, a 1-yard touchdown run by Pittsburgh back Isaac Redman gave the Steelers the lead and, eventually, the win. With the loss, the Giants fell to 6–3. The Giants travelled to a cloudy Cincinnati to face the Bengals. The Bengals, who were in the midst of a losing streak, came out strong and handily defeated the Giants 31–13. With the loss, the Giants fell to 6–4 and entered their bye week. The Giants hosted the Packers on Sunday Night Football, as quarterbacks Eli Manning and Aaron Rodgers faced each other for the fourth time in three seasons. Although the Packers were expected to avenge their playoff loss from last season, the Giants took a 31–10 lead into halftime and ultimately won the game 38–10, snapping a two-game losing streak and improving to a 7–4 record. Coming off a huge victory over the Packers, the Giants traveled to Washington for their only Monday Night Football appearance of the season. Although the Giants led at halftime, the Redskins scored a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to take a one-point lead. The Giants' offense failed to score any points and the Redskins held on to win 17–16. With the loss, the Giants fell to 7–5 and 2–3 within the NFC East. Coincidentally, the Giants lost to the Redskins last December after a statement victory on Sunday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys. The Giants returned home to face Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints, in a game that would turn out to be a breakout game for rookie David Wilson. The first-round draft pick (32nd overall) rushed for a touchdown on a kickoff return and ran for two more scores in a huge win over the Saints. The Giants won 52–27, handing the Saints their eighth loss of the season. With the win, the Giants improved to 8–5 and secured their eighth consecutive non-losing season. The Giants traveled to Atlanta to visit the Falcons in their third and final rematch of last season's playoffs. The game took place only two days after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, just an hour's drive from the Giants' practice facility. The Giants honored the victims by wearing "SHES" decals on their helmets, and wide receiver Victor Cruz played in honor of six-year-old Jack Pinto, one of the victims. The Giants ultimately lost 34–0 and fell to 8–6 overall. However, the loss did not eliminate them from either playoff contention or the NFC East title. The embarrassing loss was one of three shutouts on the same day, the other two being the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs. The Giants visited Baltimore, where they were defeated by the Ravens 33–14. With the loss, the Giants fell to 8–7 and were eliminated from contention for the NFC East title. The Giants can still obtain a wild-card berth with a victory against the Eagles and Week 17 victories by the Packers, Lions and Redskins. Despite the win, The Giants were eliminated from playoff contention due to the Bears 26–24 victory over the Lions. Also this marks the first time since 2006 that the Giants started this season 6–2 and finished 2–6 ending with a record of 8–8, although the Giants made the playoffs that year in 2006 as a Wild Card Contender, but only this time around they started off 6–2, wind up finishing 3–5 but fail to make the playoffs this season finishing 9–7, and thereby became the eighth consecutive team to be dethroned from their World Championship. However, they took their current trend against their longtime rivals to 2–8 in the last 10 games between the teams. Stats correct through week 14. 2012 New York Giants season The New York Giants season was the franchise's 88th season in the National Football League, the ninth under head coach Tom Coughlin and the third playing their home games at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Giants began the 2012 season as defending Super Bowl Champions for the fourth time in their history, by virtue of their 21–17 victory in Super Bowl XLVI over the New England Patriots.
when did the eagles win last super bowl	"Curse of Billy Penn" City Hall stands a statue of William Penn, the city founder and original proprietor of the then-British colony of Pennsylvania (meaning "Penn's Woods"). For years, a "gentlemen's agreement" stated that the Philadelphia Art Commission would approve no building in the city which would rise above this statue. This ended in March 1987, when a modern steel-and-glass skyscraper, One Liberty Place, opened three blocks away. One Liberty Place is taller than City Hall by 397 feet (121 m), rising 945 feet (288 m) in height compared to the height of Penn's hat on City Hall, 547 feet (167 m). Its sister skyscraper, Two Liberty Place, at 848 ft (258 m), followed in 1990. Philadelphia sports teams had enjoyed a run of success. Major League Baseball's Phillies won the 1980 World Series and the 1983 National League pennant; the National Hockey League's Flyers won back-to-back Stanley Cups in and , and appeared in the finals in , , , and ; the National Football League's Eagles appeared in Super Bowl XV following the 1980 season, losing to the Oakland Raiders; and the National Basketball Association's 76ers swept the 1983 NBA Finals, as well as making the finals in , , and . Before 1980, the Phillies had appeared in only two other World Series, in and , and the Eagles had won no NFC conference championships since the 1966 agreement that had created the Super Bowl, while the 76ers won NBA titles in both Philadelphia and in their previous incarnation, the Syracuse Nationals. The Villanova Wildcats won the 1985 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball tournament, in one of the most famous upsets in sports history. Construction on One Liberty Place began in 1985, two years after the last championship season in Philadelphia. In the 1980 season, all four teams reached the championship round of their respective leagues. Ultimately, only the Phillies would win a championship that year. opened, Philadelphia's franchises began a pattern of failures to win a world championship. The Flyers lost the Stanley Cup Finals twice, in to the Edmonton Oilers in seven games (although the Oilers were heavily favored), two months after One Liberty Place opened, and in , in a four-game sweep by the Detroit Red Wings which was considered a collapse as the Flyers had home-ice advantage and had dominated the previous three playoff series en route to meeting the Red Wings. The Phillies upset the Atlanta Braves to win the NLCS, but then lost the 1993 World Series in six games to the Toronto Blue Jays, with the Series ending on Joe Carter's walkoff 3-run home run. The 76ers lost the 2001 NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers in five games, although the defending champion Lakers were favored despite the Sixers having league MVP Allen Iverson. The Eagles lost three straight NFC Championship games from the 2001 through 2003 seasons, before reaching Super Bowl XXXIX after the 2004 season, only to lose to the New England Patriots by three points. In fact, the only years that Philadelphia's franchises reached their league's championship round after One Liberty Place opened were years that U.S. presidents were inaugurated, except for the Flyers in 1987, and losses during such years date back to the 76ers loss in . When the Flyers played for the 2010 Stanley Cup, "The Ottawa Citizen" reported that the main reason for that lengthy championship drought was because the only years the city's teams played for championships during that time were years presidents were inaugurated. The city's teams had lost championships during such years, beginning with the 76ers themselves in . The exceptions were the Phillies in and the Flyers in . In addition, losses in semifinal rounds had occurred eight times since the opening of One Liberty Place. Five of these semi-final eliminations were by the Flyers, in 1989, 1995, 2000, 2004 and 2008. The 2000 team was one win away from a Stanley Cup Finals appearance, after leading the eventual champion New Jersey Devils 3-1 before losing three straight (including Games 5 and 7 at home), the 2004 team lost Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals to the eventual champion Tampa Bay Lightning, and the 2008 team lost to their cross-state rival Pittsburgh Penguins in five games. The Eagles accounted for the other three conference-final losses; they lost the NFC Championship Game (the winner of which meets the winner of the AFC's corresponding game in the Super Bowl) three years in a row from to , thus becoming the first NFL team to do this in either conference since the Dallas Cowboys of –, losing the last two at home after posting the best record in the NFC. No other team in NFL history had lost back-to-back conference title games at home since the NFL began its practice in 1975 of awarding home-field advantage in postseason play based on regular-season record. The Eagles lost the 2001 NFC Championship game on the road to the St. Louis Rams 29-24, the 2002 NFC Championship game at home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-10, and the 2003 NFC Championship game to the Carolina Panthers 14-3. The Rams and Panthers would both lose to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI and Super Bowl XXXVIII, while the Buccaneers won Super Bowl XXXVII over the Oakland Raiders. During the period of the alleged Curse of Billy Penn, Philadelphia sports fans were infamous for rude and unsportsmanlike behavior. Fans pelted national TV broadcasters with snowballs, ice, and beer during a Cowboys-Eagles game in 1989 known as "Bounty Bowl II". On Nov. 10, 1997, an Eagles fan shot a flare gun across the field into the stands during a nationally televised Monday night game against the San Francisco 49ers. In 1999, "Sports Illustrated" blamed the fans' behavior on their teams' longtime poor quality of play, as seen in the 40-year championship drought for the Eagles and the 76ers' 1972-1973 season, which was the worst in NBA history at 9-73. The curse was also said to include Bensalem-Township-based thoroughbred racehorse Smarty Jones, who saw his bid for horse racing's Triple Crown disappear when he finished second in the 2004 Belmont Stakes behind 36-1 longshot Birdstone after victories in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. The curse has also been blamed for the death of the thoroughbred horse Barbaro, who was owned and bred by a couple from West Grove, Pennsylvania, a borough right outside Philadelphia. Though Barbaro won the 2006 Kentucky Derby, his leg was dramatically shattered two weeks later during the 2006 Preakness Stake, leading to the horse's death. Although the curse was not generally considered as extending to college sports, two Philadelphia-area college basketball teams, the St. Joseph's Hawks (in Philadelphia) and the Villanova Wildcats (in Villanova), which had successful seasons in 2004 and 2006, respectively, failed to reach the Final Four of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Both were eliminated in the fourth-round Elite Eight matches, with St. Joe's, first seed in the East Regional, losing in a close match to Oklahoma State, and Villanova, first seed in the Minneapolis Regional, falling to eventual NCAA-champion Florida. Villanova won the national championship in 1985, two years before the Liberty Place opening. A third Philadelphia-area team, the Temple Owls (in Philadelphia) has also lost five times in the Elite Eight (1988, 1991, 1993, 1999, 2001). Villanova ended the college basketball drought for the Philadelphia teams with a national championship in 2016 and 2018. The curse, however, was apparently not extended to professional teams outside the four major sports. The then–Philadelphia Wings of the NLL (indoor lacrosse winter league) won six titles between 1989 and 2001, before moving in 2014, and the now-defunct Philadelphia Barrage of the MLL (outdoor summer lacrosse league) won three championships (2004, 2006, and 2007). The AHL's Philadelphia Phantoms, the Flyers' top minor-league affiliate from 1996 to 2009, won the Calder Cup championship in 1998 and 2005. Additionally, the Philadelphia KiXX of the MISL won their league's championship in 2002 and 2007. The AFL's Philadelphia Soul won ArenaBowl XXII in 2008 and ArenaBowl XXIX in 2016. The Philadelphia Freedoms, a tennis team in the World Team Tennis league, also won titles in 2001 and 2006. One exception was the Philadelphia Charge, a women's soccer team in the now-defunct WUSA, which did not win a championship during the three years the WUSA existed, from 2001 to 2003. In spite of the Curse, when Philadelphia sports teams have reached their league's championship round, Penn's statue has sometimes been decorated to support that team's success. For example, after the Phillies won the 1993 National League pennant, Penn was fitted with an oversized red Phillies baseball cap; when the Flyers went to the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals, the city adorned Penn with an orange-torso-with-white-shoulders Flyers jersey (at the time, the combination was the Flyers' road jersey). When the Sixers faced the Lakers in the 2001 NBA Finals, Penn's statue was not decorated. Pat Croce, president and part-owner of the Sixers, said he would have "decked out" the statue had the Sixers won but not before. Penn's statue was also left untouched when the Eagles went to Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005. On June 18, 2007, ironworkers helped raise the final beam in the construction of the Comcast Center at 17th Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard in downtown Philadelphia. In an attempt to end the curse, workers John Joyce and Dan Ginion attached a small figurine of William Penn to the beam, along with the traditional American flag and small evergreen tree. After the first William Penn figurine was stolen, it was replaced with a smaller 4-inch figure. On October 29, 2008, the Philadelphia Phillies won the 2008 World Series in five games against the Tampa Bay Rays, ending the alleged Curse. It was the first major league professional sports title for the city of Philadelphia since the 1983 NBA Championship. During the TV coverage of parade which occurred two days later, Comcast aired an ad congratulating the Phillies which featured the small figurine of William Penn standing at the top of the Comcast Center. On Monday, November 27, 2017, the day of the "topping out" of the new tallest building in Philadelphia the Comcast Technology Center, ironworkers once again placed a new William Penn figurine atop the building's highest beam in hopes to ward off the curse. On February 4, 2018, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII 41-33 to win their first Super Bowl in team history, and first championship since the 1960 NFL Championship. Curse of Billy Penn The Curse of Billy Penn was a curse used to explain the failure of major professional sports teams based in Philadelphia to win championships since the March 1987 construction of the One Liberty Place skyscraper, which exceeded the height of William Penn's statue atop
when did the eagles win last super bowl	"NFL Kickoff Game" The Kickoff Game was introduced in the 2002 season. From 2004 onward, the defending Super Bowl champion has played in the kickoff game every year, and hosted the game in all but one year (2013 being the lone exception, in which the champion played on the road because of a parking conflict). The Kickoff Game was introduced in the 2002 season, under the leadership of then–NFL marketing executive John Collins and then–NFL Senior Vice President of Special Events Jim Steeg. It was conceived as an effort to boost economic recovery in the New York and Washington areas in the wake of 9/11. It was considered a success, increasing NFL sponsorships by $1.9 billion over the next 14 months. ESPN televised the first game. In order to do so, ESPN eliminated its traditional late-October Thursday night game (held the weekend of Games 1 and 2 of the World Series), and replaced it with the opening night kickoff game. Because of the success of the first game, the rights to televise both the Kickoff Game and the pregame concert were transferred immediately after the season to ABC as part of their "Monday Night Football" package. In 2006, NBC acquired the television rights to the Kickoff Game as part of their "Sunday Night Football" package. The concept of the NFL champion playing in an opening game was not altogether new, however. From 1934 to 1976, the first game of the pre-season was the Chicago All-Star Game, an exhibition match featuring the previous season's NFL champions against an all-rookie team of college all-stars held annually in Soldier Field in Chicago. After the merger of the NFL with the All-America Football Conference in 1949, the opening game of the 1950 NFL season was a Saturday night showcase game between the NFL champion Philadelphia Eagles and the AAFC champion Cleveland Browns. Billed as the "World Series of Pro Football" the game matched the four-time champion Browns against the two-time champion Eagles and with an attendance of 71,000 was one of the largest pro football crowds to that date. With the advent of "Monday Night Football" in 1970 it became common for the Super Bowl champion to appear in a "showcase" game the first weekend of the season. This was the case in 1978–1979, 1983, 1987–1988, 1990–1993, 1996–2000, and 2002–2003. Defending Super Bowl champions are 12–3 in the Kickoff Game. The New York Giants, Baltimore Ravens, and New England Patriots are the only three defending Super Bowl champions to have lost. The Giants are also the only home team to have lost in the Kickoff Game twice—once in the very first edition of the contest, when the defending Super Bowl winner was not yet a regular participant, and again in 2012. 2003: The game's popularity and success saw it move to ABC as part of the "Monday Night Football" package. In order for the kickoff game to fit into the schedule, ABC dropped the "Monday Night Football" game held in the last week of the NFL season. This game had become increasingly unpopular because it often lacked playoff significance, and because of the (undesirable) possibility that a team playing on Monday night in week 17 might have to play a playoff game the following Saturday. In return, ESPN (which, like ABC, is owned by Disney) received a week 17 Saturday night game. While defending Super Bowl champions Tampa Bay were not selected for the Thursday night game, they did play a nationally-televised game at Philadelphia four nights later on "MNF". Instead, the Washington Redskins defeated the New York Jets 16–13. 2004: The tradition began that the kickoff game would be hosted by the defending Super Bowl champions. After the "wardrobe malfunction" incident at Super Bowl XXXVIII, the NFL initially canceled future plans for concerts in conjunction with the NFL Kickoff game. Later in the year, however, the decision was reversed, and instead a 10-second broadcast delay was put in place. 2006: With the change in television contracts, the Kickoff Game was moved to NBC, who held the rights to "Sunday Night Football". The game opposite the first weekend of World Series games was once again removed to compensate. (The Monday night game at the end of the season, however, was not revived. Instead, after an impromptu experiment in 2005, a Monday night doubleheader was scheduled for the same weekend as the kickoff game.) 2008: The league and NBC agreed to move up the opening kickoff of the kickoff game, to 7:00 p.m., in order for coverage of the Republican National Convention to not compete with the game. That game featured the Redskins and Giants. The game was also be the first to be carried by Internet television in the United States, as were all "Sunday Night Football" games in the 2008 season. 2010: The Saints, winners of Super Bowl XLIV, hosted the kickoff game at the Superdome against the Vikings, a rematch of the previous season's NFC Championship Game. There was consideration of a match-up against the Steelers (to create a contest between the last two Super Bowl champions) but it did not come to fruition due to various logistical reasons. 2011: The Packers hosted the 2011 Kickoff Game after winning Super Bowl XLV. They defeated the New Orleans Saints, a match-up of the winners of the two previous Super Bowls, the first time this has occurred. The Saints are only the second team to have played in two consecutive kickoff games, and the first to do so not by winning two consecutive Super Bowls. In the third quarter, the Packers' Randall Cobb returned a kickoff 108 yards for a touchdown, tying the NFL record for the longest such return. 2012: Similar to the situation in 2008, the NFL was faced with the prospect of having to compete with a national political convention, this time the Democratic National Convention. Instead of moving the kickoff to 7:00 p.m. like in 2008, or even opening up the season on a Thursday like in past years, the league instead decided to move the 2012 Kickoff Game one day earlier to Wednesday, September 5. The New York Giants, winner of Super Bowl XLVI, hosted their rivals, the Dallas Cowboys. 2013: After winning Super Bowl XLVII, the Baltimore Ravens were to have hosted the 2013 Kickoff Game on September 5. However, this was on the same day as a home game for the Baltimore Orioles, whose stadium, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, shares parking with the Ravens' M&T Bank Stadium. (The Orioles could not move their game to the afternoon, because they and their opponent were playing night games in other cities the preceding day.) The Ravens instead played on the road against the Denver Broncos in a rematch of the previous season's AFC Divisional Playoff game. During this game, Peyton Manning became one of only six players to have thrown seven touchdowns in a single game. He added to this feat by doing it without throwing an interception, something that has only been done once before by Y. A. Tittle during the 1962 NFL season. The Ravens also had the most points scored against them in franchise history. They also suffered the biggest margin of defeat by a defending Super Bowl champion on opening day in NFL history. 2015: The New England Patriots, after winning Super Bowl XLIX, hosted the 2015 Kickoff Game on September 10 at Gillette Stadium, with the Pittsburgh Steelers as their opponent. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was originally not going to play due to his four-game suspension as a result of his involvement in the Deflategate scandal, but a court threw out the suspension on September 3, 2015 and ordered the league to let him play. It also marked the first time NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell did not attend a Kickoff Game, stating that he did not want to be a distraction. 2016: The Denver Broncos hosted the 2016 Kickoff Game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High against the Carolina Panthers on September 8, in a Super Bowl 50 rematch. (As the Republican and Democratic conventions were both scheduled for July 2016, there was no scheduling conflict with them as there was in 2008 and 2012, nor were there conflicts with any other sports team in Denver that night.) The Broncos debuted Trevor Siemian as their new starting quarterback after both quarterbacks who started games in 2015 left the team; Peyton Manning (who played the entirety of Super Bowl 50) retired and Brock Osweiler left as a free agent. 2017: The defending Super Bowl LI champions, the New England Patriots, hosted the Kansas City Chiefs for the 2017 Kickoff Game at Gillette Stadium. Goodell visited Gillette Stadium for the Kickoff Game, having been absent from the venue since the 2014 season. 2018: The defending Super Bowl LII champions, the Philadelphia Eagles hosted the Atlanta Falcons for the 2018 Kickoff Game at Lincoln Financial Field, in a rematch of their 2017 Divisional Playoff Game. "Winning team labeled in bold." <nowiki></nowiki> – Game was not yet hosted by the defending Super Bowl champions.<br> <nowiki></nowiki> – Game played on a Wednesday instead of the usual Thursday.<br> <nowiki></nowiki> – Defending Super Bowl champions played on the road because of parking conflicts with the MLB.<br> <nowiki>**</nowiki> – Game played between 2 Super Bowl champions.<br> NFL Kickoff Game The National Football League Kickoff game, along with related festivities, marks the official start of the National Football League (NFL) regular season. A single game is held, preceded by a concert and other ceremonies. This first game of the season is usually scheduled for the Thursday following Labor Day and since 2004, it was
when did the eagles win last super bowl	"New York Giants" is the only one of that group still existing, as well as the league's longest-established team in the Northeastern United States. The team ranks third among all NFL franchises with eight NFL championship titles: four in the pre–Super Bowl era (1927, 1934, 1938, 1956) and four since the advent of the Super Bowl (XXI (1986), XXV (1990), XLII (2007), and XLVI (2011)), along with more championship appearances than any other team, with 19 overall appearances. Their championship tally is surpassed only by the Green Bay Packers (13) and Chicago Bears (9). Throughout their history, the Giants have featured 28 Hall of Fame players, including NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) award winners Mel Hein, Frank Gifford, Y. A. Tittle, and Lawrence Taylor. To distinguish themselves from the professional baseball team of the same name, the football team was incorporated as the "New York National League Football Company, Inc." in 1929 and changed to "New York Football Giants, Inc." in 1937. While the baseball team moved to San Francisco after the 1957 season, the football team continues to use "New York Football Giants, Inc." as its legal corporate name, and is often referred to by fans and sportscasters as the "New York Football Giants". The team has also acquired several nicknames, including "Big Blue", the "G-Men", and the "Jints", an intentionally mangled contraction seen frequently in the "New York Post" and "New York Daily News", originating from the baseball team when they were based in New York. Additionally, the team as a whole is occasionally referred to as the "Big Blue Wrecking Crew", even though this moniker primarily and originally refers to the Giants defensive unit during the 80s and early 90s (and before that to the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball teams of the late 1970s and early 1980s). The team's heated rivalry with the Philadelphia Eagles is the oldest of the NFC East rivalries, dating all the way back to 1933, and has been called the best rivalry in the NFL in the 21st century. The Giants played their first game as an away game against All New Britain in New Britain, Connecticut, on October 4, 1925. They defeated New Britain 26–0 in front of a crowd of 10,000. The Giants were successful in their first season, finishing with an 8–4 record. In its third season, the team finished with the best record in the league at 11–1–1 and was awarded the NFL title. After a disappointing fourth season (1928) owner Mara bought the entire squad of the Detroit Wolverines, principally to acquire star quarterback Benny Friedman, and merged the two teams under the Giants name. In 1930, there were still many who questioned the quality of the professional game, claiming the college "amateurs" played with more intensity than professionals. In December 1930, the Giants played a team of Notre Dame All Stars at the Polo Grounds to raise money for the unemployed of New York City. It was also an opportunity to establish the skill and prestige of the pro game. Knute Rockne reassembled his Four Horsemen along with the stars of his 1924 Championship squad and told them to score early, then defend. Rockne, like much of the public, thought little of pro football and expected an easy win. But from the beginning it was a one-way contest, with Friedman running for two Giant touchdowns and Hap Moran passing for another. Notre Dame failed to score. When it was all over, Coach Rockne told his team, "That was the greatest football machine I ever saw. I am glad none of you got hurt." The game raised $100,000 for the homeless, and is often credited with establishing the legitimacy of the professional game for those who were critical. It also was the last game the legendary Rockne ever coached; he was killed in an airplane crash on March 31, 1931. In a 14-year span from 1933 to 1947, the Giants qualified to play in the NFL championship game 8 times, winning twice. During this period the Giants were led by Hall of Fame coach Steve Owen, and Hall of Fame players Mel Hein, Red Badgro and Tuffy Leemans. The period also featured the 1944 Giants, which are ranked as the #1 defensive team in NFL history, "...a truly awesome unit". They gave up only 7.5 points per game (a record that still stands) and shut out five of their 10 opponents, though they lost 14-7 to the Green Bay Packers in the 1944 NFL Championship Game. The famous "Sneakers Game" was played in this era where the Giants defeated the Chicago Bears on an icy field in the 1934 NFL Championship Game, while wearing sneakers for better traction. The Giants played the Detroit Lions to a scoreless tie on November 7, 1943. To this day, no NFL game played since then has ended in a scoreless tie. The Giants were particularly successful from the latter half of the 1930s until the United States entry into World War II. They added their third NFL championship in 1938 with a 23–17 win over the Green Bay Packers. They did not win another league title until 1956, the first year the team began playing at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. Aided by a number of future Pro Football Hall of Fame players such as running back Frank Gifford, linebacker Sam Huff, and offensive tackle Roosevelt Brown, as well as all-pro running back Alex Webster. The Giants' 1956 championship team not only included players who would eventually find their way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but a Hall of Fame coaching staff, as well. Head coach Jim Lee Howell's staff had Vince Lombardi coaching the offense and Tom Landry coaching the defense. From 1958 to 1963, the Giants played in the NFL Championship Game five times, but failed to win. Most significantly, the Giants played the Colts in the 1958 NFL Championship Game, which is considered a event in the history of the NFL. The game, which the Giants lost in overtime 23–17, is often called "The Greatest Game Ever Played" and is considered one of the most important events in furthering the NFL's popularity. The following year, they lost the championship to the Colts again, giving up a 9-7 4th quarter lead en route to a 31–16 loss. Both the 1961 and 1962 championship game matched the Giants up against the Green Bay Packers, with the Giants losing both 37-0 and 16-7 respectively. In 1963, led by league MVP quarterback Y. A. Tittle, who threw a then-NFL record 36 touchdown passes, the Giants advanced to the NFL Championship Game, where they lost to the Bears 14–10 for their third consecutive championship loss, as well as their fifth loss in the title game in 6 years. From 1964 to 1978, the Giants registered only two winning seasons and no playoff appearances. With players, such as Tittle and Gifford approaching their mid 30s, the team declined rapidly, finishing 2–10–2 in 1964. They rebounded with a 7–7 record in 1965, before compiling a league-worst 1–12–1 record, and allowing more than 500 points on defense in 1966. During the 1969 preseason, the Giants lost their first meeting with the New York Jets, 37–14, in front of 70,874 fans at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut. Following the game, Wellington Mara fired coach Allie Sherman, and replaced him with former Giants fullback Alex Webster. In 1967, the team acquired quarterback Fran Tarkenton from the Minnesota Vikings. Despite having several respectable seasons with Tarkenton at quarterback, including a 7–7 finish in 1967 and 9–5 in 1970, the Giants traded him back to the Vikings after a 4–10 finish in 1971 . Tarkenton would go on to lead the Vikings to three Super Bowls and earn a place in the Hall of Fame, while the Giants suffered through one of the worst stretches in their history, winning only 23 games from 1973 to 1979. Before the 1976 season, the Giants tried to revive a weak offense by replacing retired RB Ron Johnson with future Hall of Fame fullback Larry Csonka, but Csonka was often injured and ineffective during his 3 years in New York. The 1977 season featured a roster that included three rookie quarterbacks. The Giants were allowed to play their home games at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut in 1973 and 1974, and at Shea Stadium (home of the Mets and Jets) in 1975, due to the renovation of Yankee Stadium. They finally moved into their own dedicated state-of-the-art stadium in 1976, when they moved into Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey. One of the low points during this period was the play known as the "Miracle at the Meadowlands", which occurred in 1978. With the Giants trying to kill the clock and secure a win against the Philadelphia Eagles, offensive coordinator, Bob Gibson, chose to call a running play. This resulted in "The Fumble" by QB Joe Pisarcik that was returned for a game-winning touchdown by the Eagles' Herman Edwards. The Giants' front office operations were complicated by a long-standing feud between Wellington Mara and his nephew, Tim Mara. Jack Mara had died in 1965, leaving his share of the club to his son Tim. Wellington and Tim's personal styles and their visions for the club clashed, and eventually they stopped talking to each other. Commissioner Rozelle intervened and appointed a neutral general manager, George Young, allowing the club to operate more smoothly. The feud became moot on February 20, 1991, when Tim Mara sold his shares in the club to Preston Robert Tisch. In 1979, the Giants began the steps that would, in time, return them to the pinnacle of the NFL. These included the drafting of quarterback Phil Simms in 1979, and linebacker Lawrence Taylor in 1981. In 1981, Taylor won the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards and the Giants made the playoffs for the first time since 1963. One of the few bright spots during this time was the team's excellent linebackers, who were known as the Crunch Bunch. After the strike-shortened 1982 season, in which they finished 4–5, head coach Ray Perkins resigned to take over the same position at the University of Alabama. In a change that would prove crucial in the coming years, he was replaced by the team's defensive coordinator, Bill Parcells. In 1983, Bill Parcells was promoted to head coach from defensive coordinator. One of his first moves was to change his starting quarterback, sitting the injury-prone and struggling Phil Simms (who had missed the entire 1982 season with an injury) and electing instead to go with Scott Brunner, who had gone 4-5 as the starter in place of Simms in the strike-shortened previous season. Parcells went as far as to demote Simms to the third string position, promoting Jeff Rutledge over Simms to be Brunner's backup. Parcells later said the move was a mistake and one he "nearly paid for dearly" as the team finished with a 3–12–1 record and his job security was called into question. In the offseason the Giants released Brunner and named Simms the starter. The move paid off as the team won nine games and returned to the playoffs. After beating the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card Round, the Giants prepared for a showdown against top-seeded San Francisco. The 49ers defeated the Giants 21–10 in the Divisional Round. The 1985 Giants compiled a 10–6 record and avenged their loss against San Francisco by beating them in the Wild Card round 17–3. However, they again lost in the Divisional Round, this time to the eventual Super Bowl champion Bears, by a score of 21–0. However, the following season would end with the Giants winning their first Super Bowl championship. After 9–7 and 10–6 finishes in 1984 and 1985 respectively, the Giants compiled a 14–2 record in 1986 led by league MVP and Defensive Player of the Year Lawrence Taylor and the Big Blue Wrecking Crew defense. As of 2017, this is the Giants' best regular season record since the NFL began playing 16-game seasons in 1978. After clinching the top seed in the NFC, the Giants defeated the 49ers 49–3 in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs and the Redskins 17–0 in the NFC championship game, advancing to their first Super Bowl, Super Bowl XXI, against the Denver Broncos at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Led by MVP Simms who completed 22 of 25 passes for a Super Bowl record 88% completion percentage, they defeated the Broncos 39–20, to win their first championship since 1956. In addition to Phil Simms and Lawrence Taylor, the team was led during this period by head coach Bill Parcells, tight end Mark Bavaro, running back Joe Morris, and Hall of Fame linebacker Harry Carson. The Giants struggled to a 6–9 record in the strike-marred 1987 season, due largely to a decline in the running game, as Morris managed only 658 yards behind an injury-riddled offensive line. The early portion of the 1988 season was marred by a scandal involving Lawrence Taylor. Taylor had abused cocaine and was suspended for the first four games of the season for his second violation of the league's substance abuse policy. Despite the controversy, the Giants finished 10–6, and Taylor recorded 15.5 sacks after his return from the suspension. They surged to a 12–4 record in 1989, but lost to the Los Angeles Rams in their opening playoff game when Flipper Anderson caught a 47-yard touchdown pass to give the Rams a 19–13 overtime win. In 1990, the Giants went 13–3 and, at the time, set an NFL record for fewest turnovers in a season (14). They defeated the San Francisco 49ers, who were attempting to win the Super Bowl for an unprecedented third straight year, 15–13 at San Francisco and then defeated the Buffalo Bills 20–19 in Super Bowl XXV. Following the 1990 season, Parcells resigned as head coach and was replaced by the team's offensive-line coach Ray Handley. Handley served as coach for two disappointing seasons (1991 and 1992), which saw the Giants fall from Super Bowl champions to an 8–8 record in 1991 and a 6–10 record in 1992. He was fired following the 1992 season, and replaced by former Denver Broncos' coach Dan Reeves. In the early 1990s, Simms and Taylor, two of the stars of the 1980s, played out the last seasons of their careers with steadily declining production. The Giants experienced a resurgent season with Reeves at the helm in 1993 however, and Simms and Taylor ended their careers as members of a playoff team. The Giants initially struggled in the post Simms/Taylor era. After starting 3–7 in 1994, the Giants won their final six games to finish 9–7 but missed the playoffs. Quarterback Dave Brown received heavy criticism throughout the season. Brown performed poorly the following two seasons, and the Giants struggled to 5–11 and 6–10 records. Reeves was fired following the 1996 season. In 1997, the Giants named Jim Fassel, who had spent the previous season as offensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals, as their 16th head coach. Fassel named Danny Kanell the team's starting quarterback. The Giants finished the 1997 season with a record of 10–5–1 and qualified for the playoffs for the first time in four years. However, they lost in the Wild Card round to the Vikings at home. The following year, the Giants began the season 4–8 before rallying to finish the season 8–8. One of the notable games of that season was a win over the eventual Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos in week 15, giving the Broncos their first loss of the season after starting 13–0. Before the 1999 season, the Giants signed ex-Carolina Panthers quarterback Kerry Collins. Collins was the first-ever draft choice of the expansion Carolina Panthers in 1995, and led the Panthers to the NFC Championship game in his second season. However, problems with alcohol, conflicts with his teammates and questions about his character led to his release from the Panthers. The Giants finished the season with a 7–9 record, Fassel's first losing season as head coach. In 2000, the Giants were looking to make the playoffs for the first time in three seasons. The Giants started the season 7–2, but suffered back-to-back home losses to St. Louis and Detroit to make their record 7–4 and call their playoff prospects into question. At a press conference following the Giants' loss to Detroit, Fassel guaranteed that "this team is going to the playoffs". The Giants responded, winning the rest of their regular season games to finish the season 12–4 and clinch the top seed in the NFC. In the Divisional Round, the Giants beat the Philadelphia Eagles 20–10 at home to qualify for the NFC Championship Game, in which they defeated the Minnesota Vikings 41–0. They advanced to play the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV. Though the Giants went into halftime down only 10–0, the Ravens dominated the second half. Their defense harassed Kerry Collins all game long, resulting in Collins completing only 15 of 39 passes for 112 yards and 4 interceptions. The Ravens won the game 34–7. After a disappointing 7–9 record in 2001, the Giants finished the 2002 season with a record of 10–6, qualifying for the playoffs as a wild card. This set up a meeting with the San Francisco 49ers in Candlestick Park in the Wild Card round. The Giants built up a sizable lead throughout the game, and led 38–14 with 4:27 left in the third quarter. However, San Francisco rallied to win the game by one point, with the final score of 39–38. After a dismal 2003 season in which the Giants finished with a 4–12 record, Jim Fassel was released by the Giants. His head coaching record with the Giants during this time was 58–53–1. In 2004, three years after their last Super Bowl appearance, Fassel was replaced by Tom Coughlin. Although Collins had several solid seasons as the Giants quarterback, he experienced his share of struggles. In 2004, the Giants completed a draft day trade for University of Mississippi quarterback Eli Manning. Manning became the team's starting quarterback in the middle of the 2004 season, taking over for Kurt Warner. During the three-year period from 2004 to 2006, Tom Coughlin's Giants compiled a 25–23 regular season record and two appearances in the Wild Card Round — both losses (to the Carolina Panthers in 2005 and to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2006.) and spawned intense media scrutiny concerning the direction of the team. During this period in their history, standout players included defensive end Michael Strahan, who set the NFL single season record in sacks in 2001, and running back Tiki Barber, who set a team record for rushing yards in a season in 2005. Barber retired at the end of the 2006 season. Going into 2007, the Giants had made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. In 2007, the Giants became the third NFL franchise to win at least 600 games when they defeated the Atlanta Falcons 31–10 on "Monday Night Football". For the 2007 season, the NFL scheduled the Giants' road game against the Miami Dolphins on October 28 in London's Wembley Stadium; this was the first NFL regular-season game to be played outside of North America. The Giants defeated the Dolphins, 13–10. The Giants finished 10–6, and became NFC Champions after defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys, and Green Bay Packers in the NFC Playoffs. They set a record for most consecutive road wins in a single season with 10 (a streak which ended with a loss to the Cleveland Browns during week 6 of the 2008 season). The Patriots (18–0) entered the Super Bowl undefeated and were 12 point favorites going into game weekend. The Giants defeated the Patriots 17–14 in Super Bowl XLII, aided by the famous "Manning to Tyree" pass. On this famous play, Manning escaped the grip of several Patriots defensive linemen, stepped up in the pocket, and heaved the ball down the middle of the field to a double covered David Tyree. With Rodney Harrison, a Patriots defensive back, all over Tyree, David managed to hold on to the ball by holding it on his helmet until he fell to the ground. This catch set up a Manning to Plaxico Burress touchdown pass in the back of the end zone to put the Giants in the lead. It was the third biggest upset by betting line in Super Bowl history (the Baltimore Colts were favored by 17 over the New York Jets in Super Bowl III, and the St. Louis Rams were favored by 14 over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI). Co-owner John Mara described it as "the greatest victory in the history of this franchise, without question". The Giants began the 2008 NFL season with a record of 11–1, but lost three of their last four regular season games partially due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound to wide receiver Plaxico Burress. However, the Giants still won the NFC East with a record of 12–4, and clinched the number one seed in the NFC after beating the Carolina Panthers for home field advantage and a first-round bye. In the Divisional Round of the playoffs, the Giants lost 23–11 to the Philadelphia Eagles at home. In 2009, the Giants opened a new training complex, the Timex Performance Center, also located in the Meadowlands. After starting 5–0 in the 2009 season, New York lost to the likewise undefeated New Orleans Saints at the Superdome 48–27, beginning a four-game losing streak, in which they lost to the Arizona Cardinals 24–17, the San Diego Chargers 21–20 and the Philadelphia Eagles 40–17. The streak was broken with a 34–31 overtime victory against the Falcons. On Thanksgiving night, they lost to the Denver Broncos 26–6. The Giants next beat the division leading Cowboys. A week later, with a record of 7–5, they lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, 45–38. On December 27, the Giants lost to the Carolina Panthers 41–9 in their final game at Giants Stadium, and were eliminated from playoff eligibility. The Giants finished the season 8–8. Following the season, the Giants fired first-year defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan, and replaced him with the former Buffalo Bills interim head coach, Perry Fewell. The Giants defense finished 13th overall under Sheridan, giving up 324.9 yards per game, and the final two losses of the season against Carolina and Minnesota, in which the Giants gave up 85 points, ultimately led to the firing. In 2010, the Giants moved from Giants Stadium into MetLife Stadium, then known as the "New Meadowlands Stadium". They won against the Panthers in the very first game at the New Meadowlands, but then lost to the Colts in the second "Manning Bowl", so-called due to Eli Manning's brother Peyton playing for the Colts. The Giants dropped one game to the Tennessee Titans before going on a five-game winning streak, beating the Bears, Houston Texans, Lions, Cowboys, and Seattle Seahawks. Before long, the Giants were 6–2, but lost two straight to division foes: to the Cowboys 33–20 at home, and to the Eagles on the road, putting the G-Men in 2nd place in the NFC East at 6–4. In first place was the Eagles, but at December 19 they were both tied for first place at 8–4, setting up a match for first place. The Giants were at home, and led 24–3 over the Eagles at halftime. The score was 31–10 with 5:40 left in the game, but Michael Vick led the Eagles to three touchdown drives to tie the game up at 31 with 40 seconds left. After a Giants three-and-outs, Matt Dodge punted the ball to DeSean Jackson, who returned it for a touchdown, concluding the Giants' epic collapse. The next game, the Giants lost to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers 45–17, and at 9–6, they faced the Redskins. They had to win and have the Packers lose in order to get into the playoffs. The Giants won 17–14, but the Packers beat the Bears 10–3, so the Giants missed out on the playoffs again, ending a collapse in which the Giants went 4–4 in their last eight games. During the 2011 preseason, the Giants lost Kevin Boss, Steve Smith, Rich Seubert, Keith Bulluck, Derek Hagan, and Pro Bowl center Shaun O'Hara to free agency. However, the season also saw the emergence of second-year wide receiver Victor Cruz and second-year tight end Jake Ballard. The Giants opened their season with a 28–14 loss to the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field on the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. However, the Giants secured a 6–2 record by the midpoint of the season, including road victories over the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots. The latter victory ended the Patriots' NFL record home-game winning streak, after a touchdown pass from Manning to Jake Ballard with 15 seconds left in the game. However, the Giants then suffered a four-game losing streak, including road losses against the resurgent San Francisco 49ers and the New Orleans Saints and home losses to the Eagles and the then-undefeated Green Bay Packers, to make their record 6–6 entering December. The Giants broke their losing streak with a tightly contested 37–34 road victory over the Cowboys on December 11, but lost at home to the Washington Redskins the following week to make their record 7–7 with a Christmas Eve showdown against their crosstown rival New York Jets the following week. The Giants won, 29–14, and knocked the Eagles out of playoff contention, to set up a Week 17 home game against the Cowboys in which the winner would clinch the NFC East while the loser would be eliminated from playoff contention. The game was flexed into Sunday Night Football. The Giants defeated the Cowboys, 31–14, and clinched the NFC East title and the fourth seed in the playoffs. Wide receiver Victor Cruz finished the regular season with 1,536 receiving yards, breaking the Giants franchise record previously held by Amani Toomer. On January 8, 2012 in the first round of the playoffs the Giants defeated the Atlanta Falcons 24–2. After giving up an early safety in the first half, QB Eli Manning threw for three consecutive touchdowns. RBs Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs combined for 172 yards rushing, a season-high for the Giants. With the victory, the Giants advanced to the second round against the top-ranked Green Bay Packers. On January 15, 2012, the Giants defeated the Green Bay Packers 37–20. Eli Manning threw for 330 yards and 3 touchdowns, two of which to wide receiver Hakeem Nicks. This earned the Giants a spot in the NFC Championship Game on January 22, 2012, against the San Francisco 49ers. They won this game 20–17, in overtime, with Tynes scoring the winning field goal as he did four years earlier in the same game against the Packers. The New York Giants won Super Bowl XLVI against the New England Patriots with a score of 21–17. The winning touchdown was preceded by a 38-yard reception by receiver Mario Manningham. As in Super Bowl XLII, Eli Manning was Super Bowl MVP, defeating the New England Patriots for a second time in the Super Bowl. Ahmad Bradshaw scored the game-winning touchdown by falling into the end zone. The Patriots were allowing Bradshaw to get the touchdown so they would get the ball with some time remaining. When Eli Manning handed the ball to Bradshaw, he told him not to score. Bradshaw was about to fall down at the 1-yard line but his momentum carried him in, thus the "reluctant touchdown." As was the case in each of their four previous Super Bowl appearances, the Giants trailed at halftime. They are the only team in NFL history to have more than two second half, come-from-behind, Super Bowl victories (4). The Pittsburgh Steelers, who accomplished the feat in Super Bowl X and Super Bowl XIV, are the only other team to do it more than once. The Giants began the 2012 season with a home loss to the Cowboys, but rebounded to finish October with a 6–2 record and on a four-game winning streak that included a 26–3 road victory against the eventual NFC champion San Francisco 49ers. Following the arrival of Hurricane Sandy in the Northeastern United States, the Giants lost back-to-back games against the Steelers and Bengals to fall to 6–4. Despite impressive blowout home victories over the Packers, Saints and Eagles, the Giants finished the season 9–7 and out of the playoffs. The Redskins won the division with a 10–6 record, only to lose to the Seahawks 24–14 in Wild Card Weekend. QB Eli Manning, DE Jason Pierre-Paul, WR Victor Cruz, and G Chris Snee represented the Giants at the Pro Bowl. The 2013 New York Giants season began with hope that the Giants could become the first team to play in the Super Bowl in their home stadium, as MetLife Stadium was scheduled to host Super Bowl XLVIII that February. However, the Giants' playoff hopes took a massive hit when they lost the first six games of the season. They rebounded to win the next four games in a row to improve to 4–6, but lost a critical home game to the Cowboys on a last-minute field goal. They finished the season 7–9 and with a losing record for the first time since 2004. The Giants drafted rookie wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. in the 2014 NFL Draft, who would later go on to win the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award. However, the Giants missed the playoffs for a third straight season, finishing with a 6–10 record. The 2015 New York Giants season was another disappointing campaign, as the Giants showcased a struggling defense and several late-game collapses. The Giants finished the season with a 6–10 record and missed the playoffs. On January 14, 2016, the Giants announced that Ben McAdoo would become the team's head coach. He replaced Tom Coughlin, who had resigned the previous week. The Giants turned it around in 2016, ending their five-year playoff drought. The Giants later lost to the Green Bay Packers 38–13 in the Wild Card round. After having high expectations due to their 11–5 record in 2016, the Giants had an unexpected 0–5 start to the season, before pulling a massive upset versus the Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High for their first win of the season. However, during the Week 5 game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Odell Beckham Jr. fractured his fibula, an injury that ended his season. During the same game, the Giants also lost wide receivers Brandon Marshall and Dwayne Harris to season-ending injuries. The season was also marred by suspensions of Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Janoris Jenkins. The Giants finished the 2017 season with a 3–13 record, marking the first time since 1983 in which the Giants finished the regular season with three or less wins. The Giants earned the second overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft with the second lowest winning percentage during the 2017 season, and used it to pick Saquon Barkley from Penn State. On December 9, 2018, the Giants became the first team in NFL history to win 100 regular season games against an opponent. The Giants have won a total of eight League Championships: 1927, 1934, 1938, 1956, 1986, 1990, 2007 and 2011. The first four of those championships came in the pre-Super Bowl era. New York's eight championships put them third among all active and defunct NFL teams, trailing only the Green Bay Packers (13) and the Chicago Bears (9). Before the Super Bowl was instituted, the Giants won four officially recognized NFL championships. The Giants have won four Super Bowls, tied with Green Bay for the fifth most behind only Dallas, San Francisco and New England (all with 5), and Pittsburgh (6). The Giants have won five NFC Championship Games, including two in overtime in 2007 and 2011. With over 80 years of team history, the Giants have used numerous uniforms and logos, while maintaining a consistent identity. The Giants' logos include several incarnations of a giant quarterback preparing to throw a football, a lowercase "ny", and stylized versions of the team nickname. Giants' jerseys are traditionally blue or red (or white with blue or red accents), and their pants alternate between white and gray. Currently, the Giants wear home jerseys that are solid blue with white block numbering, white pants with five thin blue/gray/red/gray/blue stripes on the pant legs, and solid blue socks. For this they gained their most renowned nickname, "Big Blue". For road uniforms, they wear a white jersey with red block numbering and red "Northwestern" stripes on the sleeves, gray pants with three thin non-contiguous red/blue/red stripes on the pant legs, and solid red socks. The Giants' current helmet is metallic blue with white block numbers, which are frontally mounted and base mounted on either side of a red stripe running down the center or frontally mounted and base mounted on the red center stripe itself. The Giants, along with the Pittsburgh Steelers, are one of only two teams in the National Football League to have the players' uniform numbers on both the front and back of the helmets. The helmet is adorned on both sides with the stylized white lower case "ny" logo and features a gray facemask. The home uniforms are generally similar to the design used from 1966 to 1974, but with some slight elements from the 1956–1961 uniforms. The road uniforms are essentially a modernization of the design used from 1956 to 1961. Additionally, the Giants had a third jersey until the 2009 season, which recalled the Giants' solid red home jerseys from the early 1950s: a solid red alternate with white block numbers. These jerseys were used a total of four times, but have since been retired. They were used once in 2004 against the Philadelphia Eagles and in three consecutive years – 2005, 2006, and 2007 – against the Dallas Cowboys. The Giants have had a long and, at times, turbulent financial history. The team was founded by Tim Mara with an investment of US$500 in 1925 and became one of the first teams in the then five-year-old NFL. To differentiate themselves from the baseball team of the same name, they took the name "New York Football Giants", which they still use as their legal corporate name. Although the Giants were successful on the field in their initial seasons, their financial status was a different story. Overshadowed by baseball, boxing, and college football, professional football was not a popular sport in 1925. The Giants were in dire financial straits until the 11th game of the season when Red Grange and the Chicago Bears came to town, attracting over 73,000 fans. This gave the Giants a much needed influx of revenue, and perhaps altered the history of the franchise. The following year, Grange and his agent formed a rival league and stationed a competing team, led by Grange, in New York. Though the Giants lost $50,000 that season, the rival league folded and was subsumed into the NFL. Following the 1930 season, Mara transferred ownership of the team over to his two sons to insulate the team from creditors, and by 1946, he had given over complete control of the team to them. Jack, the older son, controlled the business aspects, while Wellington controlled the on-field operations. After their initial struggles the Giants financial status stabilized, and they led the league in attendance several times in the 1930s and 1940s. By the early 1960s, the Giants had firmly established themselves as one of the league's biggest attractions. However, rather than continuing to receive their higher share of the league television revenue, the Mara sons pushed for equal sharing of revenue for the benefit of the entire league. Revenue sharing is still practiced in the NFL today, and is credited with strengthening the league. After their struggles in the latter half of the 1960s and the entire 1970s, the Giants hired an outsider, George Young, to run the football operations for the first time in franchise history. The Giants' on-field product and business aspects improved rapidly following the move. In 1991, Tim Mara, grandson of the founder, was struggling with cancer and sold his half of the team to Bob Tisch for a reported $80 million. This marked the first time in franchise history the team had not been solely owned by the Mara family. In 2005, Wellington Mara, who had been with the team since its inception in 1925 when he worked as a ball boy, died at the age of 89. His death was followed two weeks later by the death of Tisch. In 2015, Wellington's widow and Giants co-owner Ann died due to complications from a head injury suffered in a fall. She was 85 years old. In 2010, MetLife Stadium opened, replacing Giants Stadium. The new stadium is a 50/50 partnership between the Giants and Jets, and while the stadium is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority on paper, the two teams jointly built the stadium using private funds, and administer it jointly through New Meadowlands Stadium Corporation. The Giants had previously planned a $300 million renovation to the Meadowlands, before deciding in favor of the new stadium which was originally estimated to cost approximately $600 million, before rising to an estimated cost of one billion dollars. One advantage gained by owning the stadium is that the teams saved considerable money in tax payments. The teams leased the land from the state at a cost of $6.3 million per year. The state paid for all utilities, including the $30 million needed to install them. The Giants are owned and operated by John Mara and Steve Tisch. "Forbes" magazine estimated the value of the team in 2012 to be $1.3 billion. This ranks the New York Giants as the fourth most valuable franchise in the NFL and the ninth most valuable professional sports franchise in the world. The value has steadily increased from $288 million in 1998, to their current value. The magazine estimated their revenue in 2006 at $182 million, of which $46 million came from gate receipts. Operating income was $26.9 million, and player salary was $102 million. Current major sponsors include Gatorade, Anheuser Busch, Toyota, and Verizon Wireless. Recent former sponsors include Miller Brewing and North Fork Bank. Luxury suites, retail and game day concessions at the new stadium are provisioned and operated by global hospitality giant Delaware North. The team's average ticket price is $72. The Giants draw their fans from the New York metropolitan area. Since their move to New Jersey in 1976, fans from each state have claimed the team as their own. In January 1987, shortly before the team won Super Bowl XXI, then New York City mayor Ed Koch labeled the team "foreigners" and said they were not entitled to a ticker-tape parade in New York City. On February 5, 2008, the city, under mayor Michael Bloomberg, threw a ticker tape parade in honor of the Giants' Super Bowl XLII victory at the Canyon of Heroes in lower Manhattan. New York City held another ticker tape parade on February 7, 2012, in honor of the Giants' Super Bowl XLVI victory. According to a team spokesman, in 2001, 52 percent of the Giants' season ticket-holders lived in New Jersey. Most of the remaining ticket holders lived in New York State with some coming from other states. Through the lean years of the 1960s and 1970s the Giants, in spite of a 17-year-long playoff drought, still accumulated a 20-year-long waiting list for season tickets. It has been estimated that the Giants have a waiting list of 135,000 people, the largest of any North American professional sports franchise. The rivalry between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles is one of the oldest in the NFL, dating back to 1933. The two teams have frequently fought for playoff contention, NFC East titles, and respect. While the Giants have dominated this rivalry throughout most of its history, the series began to even in the 1980s, with the series lead to the Eagles 22–21 through the 1990s and 2000s. The Giants lead the series 84–82–2. The two teams have met four times in the postseason, with each team winning two games. Three of those four playoff meetings were held in the 2000s decade. New York City and Philadelphia have a strong geographic rivalry, as seen in other professional sports such as the Mets-Phillies rivalry in Major League Baseball, and the Flyers-Rangers and Devils-Flyers rivalries in the National Hockey League. The Giants have an old and storied rivalry with the Redskins, dating back to 1932. While this rivalry is typically given less significance than the rivalries with the Eagles and Cowboys, there have been periods of great competition between the two. In the 1980s the Giants and Redskins clashed as both struggled against each other for division titles and even Super Bowl Championships. Most notable among these is the 1986 NFC Championship game in which the Giants defeated the Redskins 17–0 to earn their first ever trip to the Super Bowl. Wellington Mara always felt this was the Giants oldest and truest rival, and after passing away in 2005, the Giants honored their longtime owner by defeating the Redskins 36–0 at home. The Giants lead this series 100–68–4. The Giants 100 wins against the Redskins are the most wins against another franchise in NFL history. The Giants have maintained a fierce divisional rivalry with the Dallas Cowboys since the Cowboys first began play in 1960. The two teams have a combined nine Super Bowl victories between them, and have played many games in which the NFC East title was at stake. The rivalry is unique among professional sports as it is the only divisional rivalry between sports teams from New York City and Dallas, partially due to the large distance between the two cities. The Cowboys lead the regular season series 64–45–2, while the Giants hold the lone playoff victory between the two teams, held at the conclusion of the 2007 season. Despite never being in the same division, the Giants and 49ers have developed a heated rivalry over the years. The two teams have met eight times in the playoffs (including two NFC Championship Games, both won by New York) since 1982, which is the most of any two teams in that span. The overall series is tied 16–16, as is the postseason series, 4–4. The Giants and Jets for many years had the only intracity rivalry in the NFL, made even more unusual by sharing a stadium. They have met annually in the preseason since 1969. Since 2011, this meeting has been known as the "MetLife Bowl", after the naming sponsor of the teams' stadium. Regular season matchups between the teams occur once every four years, as they follow the NFL scheduling formula for interconference games. Since the two teams play each other so infrequently in the regular season, some, including players on both teams, have questioned whether the Giants and Jets have a real rivalry. A memorable regular season game was in 1988, when the Giants faced off against the Jets in the last game of the season, needing a victory to make the playoffs. The Jets played spoiler, however, beating the Giants 27–21 and ruining the latter's playoff hopes. A different scenario unfolded during the penultimate regular season game of 2011 as the "visiting" Giants defeated the Jets 29–14. The victory simultaneously helped eliminate the Jets from playoff contention and propel the Giants to their own playoff run and eventual win in Super Bowl XLVI. The Giants lead the overall regular season series 8–5 and have won five of the past six meetings. In the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Giants boast the second-most enshrined members with 29. Tim Mara, Mel Hein, Pete Henry, Cal Hubbard and Jim Thorpe were a part of the original class of inductees in 1963, while Defensive End Michael Strahan, the most recent Giant inducted, was a part of the Class of 2014. Numerous members, including Larry Csonka, Ray Flaherty, Joe Guyon, Pete Henry, Arnie Herber, Cal Hubbard, Tom Landry, Don Maynard, Hugh McElhenny, and Jim Thorpe were at one time associated with the New York Giants, but they were inducted largely based on their careers with other teams. The New York Giants unveiled their own Ring of Honor on October 3, 2010 during halftime of their . John Mara had long wished to create a Giants Ring of Honor and Hall of Fame to honor Giants who helped the franchise achieve each of their championships, and the building of MetLife Stadium resulted in the realization of that ambition. The organization had an inaugural induction class of 30 including players, coaches, owners and executives that have had a great impact on the organization. While the entire list of inductees was not revealed until the actual induction, the organization did confirm about a week before the ceremony that Phil Simms, Bill Parcells, Michael Strahan, Tiki Barber, Frank Gifford and Pete Gogolak would all be inducted. As of 2010, the Giants' flagship radio station is WFAN, with games simulcast on WFAN-FM as of November 2012. Beginning in 2012, the Giants became WFAN's top priority during the entire football season; prior to that, games that conflicted with late season New York Mets baseball games in September and early October were moved to other CBS Radio owned stations. This arrangement only lasted for 2012, and the Mets received priority again in 2013. WFAN acquired the rights to New York Yankees games for 2014, and thus the Giants' schedule will be in conflict with them for the foreseeable future. When there is an overlap, Giants games are carried by WFAN's sister station, WCBS-AM. Bob Papa on play-by-play and Carl Banks on color commentary are the Giants' radio broadcast team, with Howard Cross as the sideline reporter. When Papa is unavailable to call games Chris Carrino, WFAN's lead broadcaster for the Brooklyn Nets, substitutes for him. Games are carried over the New York Giants Radio Network over various stations in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and (as of 2010) Mississippi. Preseason telecasts not seen nationally air in the area on WNBC, with WWOR-TV serving as an overflow station for when WNBC is airing other programming such as the Summer Olympic Games. Papa and Banks call these games on television, with studio host Paul Dottino as Papa's substitute. WPIX-TV or WABC-TV will also air any Giants broadcast that is carried by ESPN, as per the local carriage rules (WABC-TV corporate parent, The Walt Disney Company, holds an 80% majority ownership stake in ESPN, and has a right of first refusal for these telecasts). Thursday Night Football games exclusive to NFL Network are carried locally by the producing network's O&O, either WCBS-TV, WNBC or WNYW (as is the case for 2018). The Giants' public address announcer at MetLife Stadium is Jim Hall, who for years was Bob Sheppard's substitute at Yankee Stadium due to their very similar voices. Hall took over the Giants PA job after Sheppard elected to leave the position in 2005 to focus solely on his Yankee Stadium duties. WFAN has produced the Giants' radio broadcasts since 1995, but has not always aired them on the station. For 1995, then-Giants flagship WOR continued to carry the games as they had for the previous two seasons. In 1996 the games were simulcast on WFAN and WOR, which caused some conflict as at the time, WFAN was the radio flagship of the New York Jets as well. To remedy the situation, beginning the next year WFAN moved the Giants' radio broadcasts to the FM dial and sister station WNEW-FM, where they remained until the end of the 1999 season. In 2000 WFAN lost the Jets' radio contract to WABC and the Giants moved back to WFAN where they have been ever since. The Giants' longtime radio home was WNEW, where games aired from the mid-1950s until 1993 when the station was bought by Bloomberg L.P. and changed its format. Marty Glickman teamed with Al DeRogatis for a long stretch beginning in the early 1960s on WNEW. Chip Cipolla and later Sam Huff joined Glickman after DeRogatis left to join Curt Gowdy on NBC. After the WNEW split, games began airing on WOR. Glickman moved to the crosstown Jets in 1973 and was succeeded by Marv Albert. Jim Gordon succeeded Albert in 1977, beginning an 18-year tenure as the Giants' play-by-play voice. Meanwhile, Dick Lynch took over as color analyst in 1976 and continued in that role through 2007, with his last game being Super Bowl XLII, and retired following the season due to his advancing leukemia, which took his life in September 2008. Eventually Gordon and Lynch were joined by Karl Nelson, a former lineman for the Giants. Gordon and Nelson were fired after the 1994 season, after which Papa took over the play-by-play (after being studio host) and led a two-man booth with Lynch. Dave Jennings joined the broadcast team in 2002 following his firing by the Jets, with whom he had worked since his 1987 retirement from the NFL. Jennings was moved to the pregame show after the 2006 season and was replaced by Carl Banks, leaving broadcasting altogether in 2008 due to his ongoing battle with Parkinson's disease that he lost in 2013. After WFAN began airing games Richard Neer served as pregame and postgame host. He was replaced by Sid Rosenberg, who was in turn fired by the station due to troubles and replaced by Chris Carlin. Carlin left in 2008 to focus full-time on his duties as SNY studio host and Rutgers athletics radio voice and was replaced by WWOR sports reporter and former WFAN host Russ Salzberg, who cohosted with Roman Oben after Jennings left. WEPN Giants beat reporter Paul Dottino was hired by WFAN to host the pregame show for 2009 and continues to be a part of the program. Anita Marks has hosted the pre- and post- game shows since 2010, co-hosting with Dottino for home games and Oben for away games. The Giants were carried on the DuMont Network, then CBS (New York's Channel 2) in the early TV days of the NFL, when home games were blacked out within a 75-mile radius of New York City. Chris Schenkel was their play-by-play announcer in that early era when each team was assigned its own network voice on its regional telecasts. At the time, there were few if any true national telecasts until the NFL championship game, which was carried by NBC. Schenkel was joined by Jim McKay, later Johnny Lujack through the 1950s and the early 1960s. As Giants players retired to the broadcast booth in the early and 1960s, first Pat Summerall, then Frank Gifford took the color analyst slot next to Schenkel. As the 1970 merger of the NFL and AFL approached, CBS moved to a more generic announcer approach and Schenkel was off the broadcasts. Giants regular-season Sunday telecasts moved to Fox when that network took over NFC telecasts in 1994 and are carried locally by WNYW. WCBS-TV and WPIX were previously home to Giants preseason telecasts in the 1990s, with WPIX serving as the Giants' (and Jets') long time preseason home. After the NFC rights were lost by CBS, the Giants followed the conference's broadcast rights to WNYW. WWOR became the Giants' flagship TV station in the late '90s, and stayed so up until WNBC took over rights in 2005. When the Giants first moved to WNYW, Mike Breen was their preseason play-by-play man. Sam Rosen was the television voice for some time afterward, except for two years when Curt Menefee (then of WNYW) was the voice. When the games moved to WWOR, Rosen regained the position and held it until 2004. Former Giant receiver Phil McConkey became the early season analyst after his retirement and stayed in the booth for many years. New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based
when did the eagles win last super bowl	"History of the Dallas Cowboys" the South to the AFL, the NFL awarded Dallas a franchise, but not until after the 1960 college draft had been held. As a result, the NFL's first ever expansion team played its inaugural season without the benefit of a college draft. Originally, the formation of an NFL expansion team in Texas was met with strong opposition by Washington Redskins owner, George Preston Marshall. This was no surprise, because despite being located in the nation's capital, Marshall's Redskins had enjoyed a monopoly as the only NFL team to represent the American South for several decades. This came as little surprise to would-be team owners, Clint Murchison Jr. and Bedford Wynne, so to ensure the birth of their expansion team, the men bought the rights to the Redskins fight song, "Hail to the Redskins" and threatened to refuse to allow Washington to play the song at games. Needing the song, which had become a staple for his "professional football team of Dixie", Marshall changed his mind, and the city of Dallas was granted an NFL franchise on January 28, 1960. This early confrontation between the two franchises helped to trigger what became one of the more heated National Football League rivalries, which continues to this day. The team was first known as the Dallas Steers, then the Dallas Rangers. On March 19, 1960, the organization announced that the team name was the Cowboys to avoid confusion with the American Association Dallas Rangers baseball team. The founding investors of the Dallas Cowboys were Clint Murchison, Jr. (45%), John D. Murchison (45%), along with minority shareholders, Toddie Lee and Bedford Wynne (Director and Secretary) (5%) and William R. Hawn (5%). The new owners subsequently hired Tex Schramm as general manager, Gil Brandt as player personnel director, and Tom Landry as head coach. The Cowboys began play in 1960, and played their home games a few miles east of Downtown Dallas at the Cotton Bowl. For their first three seasons, they shared this stadium with the Dallas Texans (now the Kansas City Chiefs franchise), who began play in the American Football League that same year. The 1960 Cowboys finished their inaugural campaign 0-11-1 with a roster largely made up of sub-par players (many well past their prime). The following year, the Cowboys made their first college draft selection, taking TCU Horned Frogs defensive tackle Bob Lilly with the 13th pick in the draft (although the Cowboys finished with the league's worst record in 1960, the first overall selection in the 1961 draft was given to the expansion team Minnesota Vikings). The 1961 season also saw the Cowboys pick up their first victory in franchise history, a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first game of the season. The Cowboys had played the Steelers in their first ever regular season game only the year before. The Cowboys finished their second campaign with an overall 4-9-1 record. In 1962, Dallas improved slightly, going 5-8-1. After the season, the Cowboys became the sole professional football franchise in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, as the AFL's Dallas Texans, despite winning the 1962 AFL championship by a score of 20–17 in double overtime, moved to Kansas City and became the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs eventually joined the NFL as part of the 1970 AFL–NFL merger. In 1963, Dallas fell back to 4–10. In 1964, they posted another 5-8-1 campaign. During this period, the Cowboys had the misfortune of being associated as the city where President Kennedy was assassinated. The Cowboys success later in the decade, largely contributed to restoring civic pride in Dallas after the assassination. During the early and mid-1960s, the Cowboys gradually built a contender. Quarterback Don Meredith was acquired in 1960, running back Don Perkins, linebacker Chuck Howley and Lilly were acquired in 1961, linebacker Lee Roy Jordan in 1963, cornerback Mel Renfro in 1964, and wide receiver Bob Hayes and running back Dan Reeves in 1965. In 1965, the Cowboys went 7–7, achieving a .500 record for the first time. In 1966, the Cowboys posted their first winning season, finishing atop the Eastern Conference with a 10-3-1 record. Dallas sent eight players to the Pro Bowl, including Howley, Meredith, Perkins, and future Pro Football Hall of Fame members Hayes, Lilly, and Renfro. In their first-ever postseason appearance, the Cowboys faced the Green Bay Packers in the 1966 NFL Championship Game, with a trip to the first ever Super Bowl on the line. Green Bay defeated Dallas in a 34–27 thriller by stopping the Cowboys on a goal line stand with 28 seconds remaining and went on to win Super Bowl I 35-10 against the Kansas City Chiefs. Despite this disappointment, 1966 marked the start of an NFL-record-setting eight consecutive postseason appearances for the Cowboys. (Dallas later broke its own record with nine consecutive trips to the playoffs between 1975 and 1983, a record that was tied by the Indianapolis Colts when they reached the playoffs every year from 2002 to 2010, inclusive.) It was also the beginning of a still NFL record streak of 20 consecutive winning seasons that extended through 1985. In 1967, the Cowboys finished with a 9–5 record and had their first playoff victory, a 52–14 rout of the Cleveland Browns. They went on to face the Packers in the 1967 NFL Championship game, a rematch of the 1966 NFL championship game, with the winner advancing to Super Bowl II. The game, which happened on December 31, 1967, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, turned out to be the coldest NFL game in history (about -13° F with a -40° wind chill). The Cowboys lost 21–17 on a one-yard quarterback sneak by Packers quarterback Bart Starr with 16 seconds remaining. The game later became known as the "Ice Bowl." Green Bay went on to win the Super Bowl again, this time against the Oakland Raiders. Dallas remained one of the NFL's top teams for the remainder of the 1960s, easily winning their division in 1968 (with a 12–2 record) and in 1969 (with an 11–2–1 mark). Each season, however, ended with a disappointing, decisive loss to the Cleveland Browns. The Browns in turn lost in the NFL championship game to the Baltimore Colts and Minnesota Vikings in the 1968 and 1969 seasons respectively. The 1968 Colts and 1969 Vikings subsequently lost Super Bowl III and Super Bowl IV to the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs, respectively. Repeated failures to achieve their ultimate goal earned the Cowboys the nickname "Next Year's Champions" and a reputation for not being able to "win the big one." Peter Gent, a wide receiver with Dallas from 1964 to 1968, later wrote a book called "North Dallas Forty" based on his observations and experiences with the team. The book was later made into a movie of the same name in 1979. The book and movie depicted many of the team's players as carousing, drug-abusing partiers callously used by the team and then tossed aside when they became too injured to continue playing productively. In 1969, ground was broken on a new stadium for the Cowboys to replace the Cotton Bowl. Texas Stadium in Irving, a Dallas suburb, was completed during the 1971 season. At the end of the decade, the historians Robert A. Calvert, Donald E. Chipman, and Randolph Campbell wrote "The Dallas Cowboys and the NFL", an inside study of the organization and financing of the team. A reviewer describes the Cowboys as a vital cog of "an industry that occupies an important segment of American time and attention . . . a sophisticated industry that has worked out complex statistics to select the best thrower of a forward pass. . . . [and] has reformed television habits . . . " In the 1970s, the NFL underwent many changes as it absorbed the AFL and became a unified league, but the Cowboys also underwent many changes. Meredith and Perkins retired in 1969 and new players were joining the organization, like Cliff Harris, and Pro Football Hall of Famers Rayfield Wright, Mike Ditka, Herb Adderley and Roger Staubach. Led by quarterback Craig Morton, the Cowboys had a 10–4 season in 1970. A 38-0 shutout by the Cardinals was the low point of the year, but the team recovered to make it to the playoffs. They defeated Detroit 5–0 in the lowest-scoring playoff game in NFL history and then defeated San Francisco 17–10 in the first-ever NFC Championship Game to qualify for their first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history, a mistake-filled Super Bowl V, where they lost 16–13 to the Baltimore Colts courtesy of a field goal by Colts' kicker Jim O'Brien with five seconds remaining in the contest. Despite the loss, linebacker Chuck Howley was named the Super Bowl MVP, the first and only time in Super Bowl history that the game's MVP did not come from the winning team. The Cowboys moved from the Cotton Bowl to Texas Stadium in week six of the 1971 season. Although the first game in their new home was a 44–21 victory over New England, Dallas stumbled out of the gate by going 4–3 in the first half of the season, including losses to the mediocre New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears. Landry named Staubach as the permanent starting quarterback to start the second half of the season, and Dallas was off and running. The Cowboys won their last seven regular season games before dispatching of the Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs to return to the Super Bowl. In Super Bowl VI, behind an MVP performance from Staubach and a then Super Bowl record 252 yards rushing, the Cowboys crushed the upstart Miami Dolphins, 24-3, to finally bury the "Next Year's Champions" stigma. That game remains the only Super Bowl to date where one of the teams involved did not score a touchdown. The Cowboys rushed for 252 yards, while holding the Dolphins, who went 17-0 in 1972, to 185 total yards. The 1972 season was another winning one for the Cowboys, but their 10–4 record was only good for them to make the playoffs as a wild-card team. In the divisional playoffs they faced the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers had a 28–13 lead and seemed to have avenged their playoff losses to Dallas in the two previous seasons. But after Landry benched Morton, Staubach threw two touchdown passes with less than two minutes remaining—including the game-winner to Ron Sellers—for a miraculous 30-28 Dallas win, the first of several dramatic comebacks led by Staubach during the 1970s. However, they were defeated by their archrival Washington Redskins 26–3 in the NFC Championship Game. The Cowboys were now beginning to grow in popularity not just in Dallas, but nationwide. Their televised appearances on Thanksgiving Day games beginning in 1966 helped bring the Cowboys to a nationwide audience. Under Coach Landry, the so-called "Doomsday Defense" became a powerful and dominating force in the NFL and their offense was also exciting to watch. Dallas had also established itself as the most innovative franchise off the field. It was the first to use computers in scouting, the first to have a modern cheerleading squad performing sophisticated choreographed routines, and the first to broadcast games in Spanish. General manager Schramm became the most powerful GM in the NFL; it was he who pushed the league to adopt changes such as relocating the goal posts to the back of the end zone and (after the 1974 season) the use of instant replay. While Pittsburgh won more Super Bowls in the 1970s, Dallas emerged as the "glamour" team of the decade. The 1979 film "North Dallas Forty", based on a book written by former Cowboys wide receiver Peter Gent, presented a veiled portrayal of the team's on-and-off field culture during this time. In 1973, Dallas finished 10–4 and won the NFC East. In the playoffs, they defeated the Los Angeles Rams 27–16 before losing in the NFC Championship Game to the Minnesota Vikings, 27-10. The Cowboys faltered slightly in 1974, finishing 8–6 and missing the playoffs for the first time in nine years. Bob Lilly retired following the season, capping his 14-year Hall of Fame career. After missing the playoffs in 1974, the team drafted well the following year, adding defensive lineman Randy White (a future Hall of Fame member) and linebacker Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson. The fresh influx of talent helped the Cowboys back to the playoffs in 1975 as a wild card, where they beat the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams to advance to Super Bowl X, where they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-17. In 1976, the team went 11–3, winning the NFC East. However, they were quickly eliminated from the playoffs with a 14–12 loss to the Rams. The Cowboys began the 1977 season 8-0 before losing in consecutive weeks to the St. Louis Cardinals in a Monday night home game and the Steelers in Pittsburgh. After the losses, however, the Cowboys won their final four regular season games. Dallas had both the #1 defense and #1 offense in the NFL. In the postseason, the Cowboys routed the Chicago Bears 37-7 and Minnesota Vikings 23-6 before defeating the Denver Broncos 27-10 in Super Bowl XII in New Orleans. As a testament to Doomsday's dominance in the hard-hitting game, defensive linemen Randy White and Harvey Martin were named co-Super Bowl MVPs, the first and only time multiple players have received the award. After a slow start in 1978, Dallas won its final six regular season games to finish the season at 12–4. After an unexpectedly close divisional playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons at Texas Stadium, the Cowboys traveled to Los Angeles and shut out the Rams in the NFC Championship Game 28–0 to return to the Super Bowl. In Super Bowl XIII, Dallas faced the Steelers at the Orange Bowl in Miami. The Steelers outlasted the Cowboys 35–31, despite a furious comeback that saw Dallas score two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter; the game was not decided until the final 22 seconds, when a Dallas onside kick failed. Bob Ryan, an NFL films editor, dubbed the Cowboys "America's Team" following this season, a nickname that has earned derision from non-Cowboys fans but has stuck through both good times and bad. Dallas finished the 1979 season 11-5. The team slumped in November, but rallied to win its next two games. This set the stage for the regular season finale against Washington, with the winner capturing the NFC East title and the loser missing the playoffs. In the game, Texas Stadium fans were treated to one of Staubach's greatest comebacks – which also was his last. The Cowboys trailed 17–0, but then scored three touchdowns to take the lead. Led by running back John Riggins, the Redskins came back to build a 34–21 lead, but the Cowboys scored 2 touchdowns in the final five minutes – including a Staubach touchdown pass to Tony Hill with less than a minute remaining – for an amazing 35–34 victory. The season ended with a whimper, however, as two weeks later, the underdog Rams traveled to Dallas and upset the Cowboys 21–19 in the divisional round of the playoffs. The Cowboys had a chance to win in the final two minutes after the Rams scored their final touchdown, but the Rams' defense stopped Staubach from making a miracle comeback like the kinds that he had become famous for. The Rams went on to win the NFC Championship Game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-0 and reach Super Bowl XIV, which they lost to the defending champion, Pittsburgh, by a score of 31-19. This game marked the end of an era, as repeated concussions compelled Staubach to announce his retirement a few months later in an emotional press conference at Texas Stadium. All told, from 1970 through 1979, the Cowboys won 105 regular season games, more than any other NFL franchise during that span. Danny White became the Cowboys' starting quarterback in 1980. Without Staubach, not much was expected of the Cowboys, but they surprised everyone with a 12–4 regular season. Philadelphia also finished 12–4, but got the division title on a close tiebreaker. The Cowboys won the wildcard game at home against the Rams, then White engineered a late comeback to win the divisional playoff game in Atlanta. Dallas faced the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game, but suffered a highly embarrassing 20–7 loss to their division rival in Veterans Stadium. Dallas started the 1981 season 4-0, and captured the NFC East crown with another 12–4 record. Dallas dismantled the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the divisional playoff 38–0. They then traveled to San Francisco to face the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. It was one of the most famous finishes in NFL history. Dallas led 27–21 with just under five minutes to play in the fourth quarter and appeared to be headed to their sixth Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. However, San Francisco quarterback Joe Montana led a long 49er drive that was capped by a Joe Montana touchdown pass to Dwight Clark with 51 seconds remaining. Dallas was not finished just yet, needing only a field goal to win. A White completion to Drew Pearson moved the ball into 49er territory and almost went for a touchdown. Two plays later, though, White fumbled after being hit, and San Francisco recovered to seal their 28–27 victory. San Francisco went on to win Super Bowl XVI. Clark's leaping grab in the end zone came to be famous as "The Catch", and represented a changing of the guard in the NFC from the dominant Cowboys teams of the 1970s to the dominant 49ers teams of the 1980s. Dallas finished the strike-shortened 1982 season with a record of 6–3. The Cowboys held a one-game lead over the Redskins with two games to play in the regular season, but fell at home to Philadelphia, then lost a Monday night match in Minnesota (a game best known for Tony Dorsett's NFL record 99-yard touchdown run). Dallas played two home games in the unusual postseason "Super Bowl Tournament", defeating Tampa Bay and Green Bay. In the NFC Championship Game, Washington defeated Dallas 31–17 at RFK Stadium. This finished a remarkable run that saw the Cowboys play in 10 of 13 conference championship games. The Cowboys opened the 1983 season in impressive fashion, erasing a 23–3 deficit at Washington to defeat the Super Bowl champion Redskins 31-30, then winning their next six games. When Dallas and Washington squared off again in Week 15 at Texas Stadium, both teams had 12–2 records. However, the Redskins beat the Cowboys handily in that game, and Dallas subsequently lost its next two games to end its season (a rout by the 49ers in the regular season finale and an upset home loss to the Rams in the wild card playoff game). Change and controversy marked the Cowboys' 1984 season (its 25th, which Schramm commemorated as the "Silver Season"). Despite leading Dallas to the playoffs in each of his four seasons as starting quarterback, Danny White began to draw criticism for "not being able to win the big game", and several players privately expressed their preference for backup quarterback Gary Hogeboom. Landry decided to start Hogeboom, and while Dallas started the season 4–1, Hogeboom's inconsistency eventually led to White regaining the starting job. It was not enough, though. The Cowboys suffered an embarrassing Week 12 loss to the winless Bills in Buffalo, and needing a win in their final two games to secure a playoff spot, lost both. Dallas finished the 1984 season 9–7, and missed the postseason for the first time in a decade. An important off-field change also took place in 1984. Clint Murchison, in dire financial straits because of a collapse in oil prices, sold the Cowboys to Dallas oilman H.R. "Bum" Bright in May. Bright's ownership coincided with a decline in the Cowboys' fortunes. The 1985 season saw a somewhat uneven string of wins and losses, the worst being in Week 11 when they were annihilated 44–0 by the unstoppable Chicago Bears, the team's first shutout since 1970. With a 10–6 record, the Cowboys won the division, but were blanked by the Rams 20–0 in the playoffs. This was the franchise's final winning season and postseason appearance with Tom Landry as coach. The 1986 campaign started optimistically, with highly regarded offensive coordinator Paul Hackett and Heisman Trophy-winning Herschel Walker having joined the team. The Cowboys ran their record to 6–2, but White's wrist was broken in a mid-season loss to the Giants, and the team only managed to win one of its final seven games. Dallas finished with a 7–9 record, ending the franchise's streak of 20 consecutive winning seasons that had dated back to its first-ever winning season in 1966. To this date, no other NFL team has successfully matched this feat. Dallas started the 1987 season 1-1 before NFL players went on strike and management responded by hiring replacement players. Schramm, having anticipated the strike, assembled one of the better replacement teams, which was soon bolstered by several starters who crossed the picket line (including Dorsett, Danny White, and Randy White). However, the "Counterfeit Cowboys" suffered an embarrassing home loss to a Redskins team composed entirely of replacement players, and once the strike ended, Dallas' regular squad lost six of its next eight games to finish 7–8. The Cowboys went into a free-fall in 1988. After starting the season 2–2, a last-second loss in New Orleans started a 10-game Cowboy losing streak. Among the few bright spots in the season were the team's first-round draft pick, wide receiver Michael Irvin (whom Schramm had predicted would spur the team's "return from the dead"), and a Week 15 victory against the Redskins in Washington, Tom Landry's last. Bright sold the Cowboys to Arkansas businessman Jerry Jones on February 25, 1989. Jones' first act as owner was to fire Tom Landry, who was until then the only head coach the franchise had ever known. Tom Landry's abrupt termination attracted considerable criticism. He admitted to becoming more forgetful with play calling and clock management as he passed his 60th birthday, and to being a bit unwilling to adapt his offense for the NFL of the 1980s, although he was not totally to blame for the Cowboys' problems, which included years of poor drafts. Schramm, Brandt, and other longtime personnel were soon gone as well. Jones replaced Landry with University of Miami head coach Jimmy Johnson. With the worst record of 1988, Dallas gained the #1 draft pick for 1989, UCLA QB Troy Aikman (Tom Landry had expressed interest in Aikman just before being fired). After Dallas opened the 1989 season 0–5, Johnson traded away Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings for five veteran players and eight draft choices. (A total of 18 players or draft choices were involved in what was the largest trade in NFL history at the time.) The Cowboys finished the 1989 season with a 1–15 record, their worst record since the team's inception. Rookie quarterback Steve Walsh, starting in place of an injured Aikman, led the team to its lone victory in a midseason Sunday night game in Washington. The two games with Philadelphia in 1989 (which became known as the Bounty Bowls) were marked by particularly strong hostility between the staff and fans of both teams. Eagles coach Buddy Ryan insulted Jimmy Johnson, saying that he did nothing in his tenure at the University of Miami except run the score up on bad teams and also made fun of his weight. Ryan reputedly wanted his players to injure Cowboys kicker Roger Ruzek, who had been cut from the Eagles early in the season, and in the season-ender in Philadelphia, the Cowboys were pelted with snowballs. Dallas's 1-15 season of 1989 gave them the league's worst record for the second consecutive year. However, they did not get the #1 draft pick again, as they had forfeited their first round pick the previous year when they took Steve Walsh in the Supplemental Draft. Johnson quickly returned the Cowboys to the NFL's elite with a series of skillful drafts. Having picked Aikman, fullback Daryl Johnston and center Mark Stepnoski in 1989, Johnson added running back Emmitt Smith in 1990, defensive tackle Russell Maryland and offensive tackle Erik Williams in 1991, and safety Darren Woodson in 1992. The young talent joined holdovers from the Landry era such as wide receiver Michael Irvin, guard Nate Newton, linebacker Ken Norton, Jr., and offensive lineman Mark Tuinei, and veteran pickups such as tight end Jay Novacek and defensive end Charles Haley. In 1990, the Cowboys finished 7–9, with Smith being named NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year and Johnson earning Coach of the Year honors. In 1991, Dallas finished with an 11–5 record, making the playoffs for the first time since 1985. The Cowboys beat the Chicago Bears 17-13 in the wild card round. In the divisional round, they faced the Lions, who had beaten them earlier in the season. Detroit went in for a repeat performance, dismembering the Cowboys 38–6 for their first, and to date only, postseason victory since 1957. The 1991 Cowboys also became the first team to feature the league leaders in rushing yards (Smith) and receiving yards (Irvin). The 1991 season also marked Dallas's return to Monday Night Football after an absence of two years. In 1992, the Cowboys finished with a 13–3 record (second best in the league), boasted the league's #1 defense, reached their peak in popularity (many road fans were cheering for the Cowboys), and finally avenged their 1981 NFC Championship Game loss to San Francisco by defeating the 49ers in the conference title game, 30–20, in a muddy Candlestick Park. The Cowboys went on to crush the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVII, 52–17, forcing a Super Bowl record 9 turnovers. QB Troy Aikman was named MVP after completing 73.3% of his passes for 273 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions for a passer rating of 140.7, and even out rushed Bills running back Thurman Thomas 28 yards to 19 yards. Emmitt Smith rushed for 108 yards, and became the first NFL rushing champion to win a Super Bowl in the same season. Coach Johnson became the first coach to claim a National Championship in college football and a Super Bowl victory in professional football. The following season, the Cowboys finished with a 12–4 record in the regular season. They again defeated the 49ers in the NFC Championship, this time by a score of 38–21 at Texas Stadium, and again defeated the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl, this time by a score of 30–13. The Cowboys sent an NFL record 11 players to the Pro Bowl: Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, Thomas Everett, Daryl Johnston, Russell Maryland, Nate Newton, Ken Norton Jr, Jay Novacek, Mark Stepnoski and Erik Williams. Emmitt Smith won his third rushing title despite missing the first two games of the season, which the Cowboys went 0–2 in, over a contract dispute, and was named both NFL and Super Bowl MVP. Smith is one of only six players to win both the NFL MVP award and Super Bowl MVP award in the same season, and is the only one of those six players who was not a quarterback. Only weeks after Super Bowl XXVIII, however, friction between Johnson and Jones culminated in Johnson stunning the football world by announcing his resignation. The next day Jones hired former University of Oklahoma head coach Barry Switzer to replace Johnson. Norton and guard Kevin Gogan departed via free agency, but Dallas drafted offensive lineman Larry Allen, who became a mainstay on the line for the next decade. In 1994, the Cowboys played before the largest crowd to ever attend an NFL game when 112,376 in Mexico City turned out for a preseason match against the Houston Oilers. The Cowboys cruised to another NFC East title in 1994. They finished the regular season 12–4, with their four losses coming by a combined 20 points. The team suffered key injuries, however, when Erik Williams was lost for the year after a mid-season auto accident and Emmitt Smith was hobbled for the final month with a pulled hamstring. Dallas advanced to the NFC Championship Game, where they faced San Francisco for the third consecutive year. Dallas fell behind 21–0 in the first quarter, and despite a valiant comeback, the 49ers held on to win 38–28, thus denying the Cowboys their chance of winning a record three consecutive Super Bowls. In 1995, Jones made a huge free agent splash by signing All-Pro corner Deion Sanders away from San Francisco. Dallas posted another two catch touchdown regular season record and NFC East crown. Emmitt Smith won his Third rushing title and scored a then NFL record 25 rushing touchdowns. After crushing the Eagles 30-11 in the divisional playoffs, the Cowboys earned their 8th NFC Championship title by defeating the Green Bay Packers 38–27 at Texas Stadium. The Cowboys then topped the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX 27–17, avenging two four-point losses to Pittsburgh in Super Bowls X and XIII. Coach Switzer followed Johnson to become the second coach to claim a National Championship in college football and a Super Bowl victory in professional football. Only one other coach, Pete Carroll, has since accomplished this feat. The Cowboys have not been back to the NFC Conference Championship game since. Injuries and off-field incidents deviled the 1996 Cowboys. Novacek, possibly Aikman's most trusted target, suffered an off-season back injury that ended his career. Irvin was convicted of narcotics possession and suspended for the first five games of the season. In December defensive tackle Leon Lett was given a one-year suspension for failing a narcotics test. Late in the season Irvin and Williams drew national attention when they were accused of assaulting a Dallas woman, although the allegations were later recanted. Haley and Emmitt Smith were also plagued by injuries during the season. Yet Dallas still managed to earn its fifth consecutive NFC East title with a 10–6 record. The Cowboys thumped the Vikings 40-15 in the first round of the playoffs, then traveled to Carolina, where they lost to the upstart Panthers 26-17 after Irvin and Sanders left the game with injuries. Preseason pundits again put the Cowboys at the top of the NFC in 1997. However, Dallas finished the season with a disappointing 6–10 record as continued discipline and off-field problems became major distractions. Switzer was arrested during the preseason after a handgun was found in his luggage at an airport metal detector. The team collapsed down the stretch, losing its final 5 games. Switzer resigned as head coach in January 1998 and was replaced by former Steelers offensive coordinator Chan Gailey. After missing the playoffs in 1997, Gailey led the team to a 10–6 record in 1998 as Dallas became the first NFC East team to sweep the division. The Cowboys suffered a humiliating first-round playoff exit, however, when the Arizona Cardinals defeated them at Texas Stadium 20–7 for their first postseason victory in half a century. Jones raised hopes in the off-season, though, signing fleet-footed wide receiver Raghib "Rocket" Ismail. The Cowboys started the 1999 campaign in impressive fashion, erasing a 21-point deficit in Washington on opening day for a 41–35 overtime victory. In their fourth game of the season, however, Dallas lost Irvin to a neck injury that ended his career. Darryl Johnston also suffered a career-ending injury early in the season, and Aikman, Allen, Sanders and cornerback Kevin Smith missed time as well. Dallas sputtered to an 8–8 finish in 1999. They gained a wild-card berth in their final regular season game, but lost in Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs, 27-10. Key players were now grumbling about Gailey, and Jones fired him in January 2000. Defensive coordinator Dave Campo was promoted to head coach, but he could only post three consecutive 5–11 seasons. Instability plagued the quarterback position after several concussions; the first suffered on opening day against the Eagles (known as the "Pickle Juice Game" because Eagle players drank pickle juice at halftime Source), finally ended Aikman's career late in the 2000 season; five different quarterbacks started between 2001 and 2002. The lowest point of the Campo era was an embarrassing and humiliating loss on opening night of the 2002 season to the brand-new Houston Texans. One of the only highlights of this era occurred on October 27, 2002, when running back Emmitt Smith broke Walter Payton's all-time career yardage rushing record during a 17-14 home loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Many fans and media blamed Jerry Jones for the team's ills, noting that he refused to hire a strong coach, preferring to hire coaches who did not want to be involved with personnel duties so that Jones himself could manage them. However, Jones proved them wrong in 2003 by luring Bill Parcells out of retirement to coach the Cowboys. The Cowboys became the surprise team of the 2003 season, posting a 10–6 record and a playoff berth by leading the NFL in sacks, turnovers and having the best overall defense in the NFL. However, they lost to the eventual conference champion Carolina Panthers in the Wild Card round, 29-10. However, the 2004 season was one of turmoil. Injuries and persistent penalty problems plagued the Cowboys, who were shaken early in training camp when starting quarterback Quincy Carter was suddenly released, allegedly for drug use. 40-year-old veteran Vinny Testaverde, recently brought in by former coach Parcells to be the back-up, became the starter. They had only a 3–5 record at midseason, but injured rookie running back Julius Jones returned in late November, and in consecutive games logged two of the best single-game performances in franchise history. Dallas went 1–3 down the stretch, though, finishing the season 6–10. In November 2004, a vote was passed by the City of Arlington in Tarrant County to build a new stadium adjacent to the existing Ameriquest Field in Arlington. The team began playing at the new site in 2009 after thirty-eight years playing in the city of Irving, and forty-nine years in Dallas County. The Cowboys improved their defense before the 2005 season, adding DeMarcus Ware, Marcus Spears, Kevin Burnett, and Chris Canty through the draft. Parcells hoped to jumpstart the team's transition from the traditional 4–3 defense, which had been the Cowboys' base defense for the past 20 years, to his preferred 3–4 defense, which he believes favors the talents of the current lineup (speed and athleticism over power). Jerry Jones also added a number of veterans, including nose tackle Jason Ferguson and cornerback Anthony Henry via free agency. On offense, the Cowboys tried to upgrade their passing game by signing free agent quarterback Drew Bledsoe. Bledsoe had a solid year and gave the Cowboys stability at the QB position, which had been lacking since Troy Aikman's retirement 5 years earlier. The Cowboys endured an up-and-down 2005 season. Entering Thanksgiving the Cowboys had a 7–3 record, Dallas finished the season 2–4 and missed the playoffs. An injury to kicker Billy Cundiff led to inconsistency at that position, and costly misses contributed to close losses against Seattle and Denver. Shortly before the regular season finale, the Cowboys learned that they had been eliminated from the playoff chase, and turned in a listless performances against the St Louis Rams on Sunday Night Football to finish the season 9–7, 3rd place in the NFC East. The Cowboys entered the season with high hopes but got off to a mediocre 3–2 start before an important "Monday Night Football" game against division rivals, the New York Giants. The Cowboys suffered a tough 36–22 loss despite "a changing of guard" at the QB position from Drew Bledsoe to Tony Romo. With the next three games on the road, speculation grew that the Giants could run away with the division for a second straight year. Romo won his first game as a starter the following week against the Carolina Panthers with an outstanding 4th quarter comeback to win (35–14). The Cowboys' chance to challenge the Giants seemingly fizzled when they lost to the Washington Redskins at FedExField on a last second field goal (the "Hand of God" game) However, the Giants entered a slump, and Tony Romo impressed the media as a quarterback, revitalizing the Cowboys with a 27–10 win over the Cardinals, a well-earned (21–14) victory over the previously unbeaten Colts, and a thorough routing of Tampa Bay (38–10) on Thanksgiving Day. During that home game, Romo solidified his position as QB and quieted any remaining skeptics by completing 22-of-29 passes for 306 yards and five touchdowns (tying a franchise record). Furthermore, the Cowboys took a two-game lead of the NFC East by beating the Giants in a Week 13 rematch. The success of the new quarterback surprised much of the nation and helped Romo receive much air-time on sports shows. The Cowboys then self-destructed in the last four games of the season, losing to the Saints in a battle for second-best record in the league, to the Philadelphia Eagles in a game that would have earned them the division championship if they had won, and to the 2–13 Detroit Lions in a game where Tony Romo's four fumbles cast significant doubt on his ability to successfully lead his team in the playoffs. The Cowboys played a wild card matchup at Seattle to start the playoffs. Leading 20–13 with 6:42 left in the game with the ball at their own 1-yard line, Romo threw a short pass to Terry Glenn where he fumbled it and it went out of bounds in the endzone resulting in a safety. The Seahawks got the ball back and Matt Hasselbeck threw a touchdown to Jerramy Stevens to take a 21–20 lead after missing the two-point conversion. With 1:19 left in the game, the Cowboys had a chance win the game on a 19-yard field goal, but the hold was fumbled by Romo, who continued to serve as field goal holder even after ascending to the starting quarterback's role (the backup quarterback is traditionally the holder on field goals). He picked up the loose ball and tried to run it to the 1-yard line for a first down, but was tackled at the 2. As the game came to a close, the Cowboys managed to get the ball back with two seconds left, but Romo's hail mary pass attempt to the endzone fell incomplete. On January 22, at the conclusion of the Cowboys' season, head coach Bill Parcells retired. On February 8, after a replacement search that included Mike Singletary, Jason Garrett, Jim Caldwell, Ron Rivera and Norv Turner, San Diego defensive coordinator Wade Phillips was hired as the new head coach. Jerry Jones eventually hired Garrett as offensive coordinator (even before hiring Phillips). Phillips has since hired his son Wes Phillips, and former linebacker Dat Nguyen to his new list of assistant coaches. During the 2007 offseason, the Cowboys signed offensive lineman Leonard Davis and quarterback Brad Johnson to back up Tony Romo and have also resigned center Andre Gurode and kicker Martin Gramatica. They have also released two players; quarterback Drew Bledsoe and tight end Ryan Hannam. Tony Romo also received a $67.5 million contract for six years with the Dallas Cowboys on October 30, 2007, making Romo the third highest paid quarterback in the NFL, after Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts and Carson Palmer of the Cincinnati Bengals. The Cowboys tied a franchise record in 2007 with by winning 13 regular season games, a feat that had been accomplished 15 years earlier by their 1992 Super Bowl winning squad. Terrell Owens had arguably the most productive year in his career and franchise history. He tied the franchise record for most scoring receptions in a single game (four). When Owens caught a touchdown pass in Week 16 against the Panthers, he set the franchise record for most touchdown receptions in a single season (15). Tony Romo set team records in Touchdowns (36) and Passing Yards (4,211) in one season. After receiving the top NFC playoff seed, and getting a first-round bye, they lost to the Giants in the divisional round of the playoffs to end one of the most exciting seasons of the decade. In week 5 against the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football, the Cowboys turned the ball over six times, including five interceptions thrown by Romo. Despite having a -5 turnover margin, the Cowboys managed to defeat the Bills. Trailing 24–22 in the final moments of the game, Dallas sent rookie kicker Nick Folk out to attempt a potential 53-yard game winner. His first kick sailed through the uprights, but didn't count because Buffalo called a timeout immediately before the snap. Folk had to attempt the kick a second time, and hammered it through the goalposts again to finish a dramatic victory. The season produced some of the team's most memorable games of the decade as well. In Week 9, tight end Jason Witten, who already had a reputation as a tough and intense player, caught a 25-yard pass from Romo. Immediately after the catch, two Eagles delivered a hit that knocked Witten's helmet off. Unfazed by the contact, Witten ran another 30 yards without a helmet. When he was finally dragged down at the Eagles' 6, he walked to the sideline with a bloody nose. Thanks to their dramatic victory over the Bills in Week 5, Dallas started with a 5–0 record. They were the last team in the NFC to remain undefeated up to that point heading into their next game against the 5-0 New England Patriots. The Patriots won 48–27, handing the Cowboys their first loss of the season, and remained undefeated until they lost that season's Super Bowl. Besides the loss to the Patriots in Week 6, their only other losses came in Weeks 15 and 17 against their division rivals Philadelphia and Washington. When wide receiver Terrell Owens went down with an ankle injury against the Panthers in Week 16, and missed Week 17 against the Redskins, the offense became stagnant. Another highlight of that season was a Week 13 match with Green Bay, which Dallas won 37–27, that was reminiscent of the 1990s Cowboys-Packers duels. Like the Cowboys, the Packers finished the regular season 13–3, but Dallas got the #1 seed due to a better conference record and head to head win. This gave them both a first-round bye and home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. However, they lost their first playoff game to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants, a team that they had defeated in their two regular-season matchups. Dallas was the first number one seed in the NFC to lose in the divisional round since 1990. Meanwhile, the Giants went on to topple Green Bay in the NFC Championship and upset the 18-0 New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. A record thirteen members of the Cowboys were named to the Pro Bowl, while five were named All-Pro by the Associated Press. The Cowboys began the 2008 season by defeating the Cleveland Browns 28-10, Coming off their commanding road win over the Browns, the Cowboys played their Week 2 home opener under the MNF spotlight. In the last MNF game at Texas Stadium, Dallas dueled with their NFC East foe, the Philadelphia Eagles. In the first quarter, the Cowboys trailed early as Eagles kicker David Akers got a 34-yard field goal. Dallas answered in their first possession with QB Tony Romo completing a 72-yard TD pass to WR Terrell Owens In a game that had 9 lead changes, it also set different point records, including most first half points in MNF history (54) and most combined points in the rivalry's history (78). Dallas held on to win 41–37. After starting 4–1 the Cowboys flew to the University of Phoenix Stadium for a Week 6 Sunday Night Football showdown with the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals returned the opening kick return for a touchdown but Dallas tied the game 7–7 at halftime. With only 3:17 left in the 4th quarter Tony Romo completed a 70-yard pass to Marion Barber III and the kicker Nick Folk hit a 52-yard field goal as time expired to send the game into overtime. In overtime the Cowboys punter Mat McBriar had a punt blocked and returned for a touchdown also in overtime QB Tony Romo broke his right pinkie finger. In the week following the game Tony Romo was listed as questionable, and then missed three games. In addition, Matt McBriar and Sam Hurd were placed in injured reserve, and Felix Jones was listed as out for 2–3 weeks with a hamstring injury. Furthermore, Adam (Pacman) Jones was suspended by the NFL for a minimum of 4 weeks after an altercation with his bodyguard. Lastly The Cowboys traded for WR Roy Williams with the Detroit Lions, in exchange for their first, third, and sixth-round picks. After the bye week, they won another four game, Dallas finished the season 1–3, losing its final game in Texas Stadium to the Baltimore Ravens 33–24 followed by a disastrous 44–6 loss to Philadelphia. With a 9–7 record, the team finished third in the division and failed to qualify for the playoffs. After the season ended, highly controversial and productive receiver Terrell Owens was released after receiving a $34 million extension the previous June that was supposed to allow him to retire a Cowboy. Jones said he released Owens because of production and "In this particular case, we have an outstanding player in Roy Williams, and it was a significant factor in the decision I made to release Terrell." In three seasons with the Cowboys, Owens had 235 receptions for 3,587 yards and 38 touchdowns, but his numbers declined last season, when he had 69 receptions for 1,052 yards and 10 touchdowns. The 2009 season marked the 50th season of play for the Cowboys. In May of that year, the new Cowboys Stadium was completed in Arlington, Texas. It was widely criticized for its appearance, cost (over $1 billion) and high energy use. The first game played in the team's new home was a preseason match with the Tennessee Titans on August 21, and the first regular season one was a three-point loss to the Giants on September 20. By Week 9, the Cowboys stood at 6–2 after defeating their archrival Eagles in Philadelphia. Then followed a loss to the Packers, and victories over Washington and Oakland, the latter being on Thanksgiving. The team then fell to the Giants a second time, and lost at home to the Chargers. By this point, the Cowboys' playoff chances were doubtful, and the old talk of the "December curse" reappeared. The next game was a surprise upset of the 13-0 New Orleans Saints, followed by a shutout of Washington. Combined with Giants defeats, the Cowboys now found themselves guaranteed a wild card spot at the minimum. On January 3, they hosted the Eagles, who had won their last five games. Philadelphia's offense completely folded, and the team suffered a 24–0 shutout, making this the first time in franchise history that Dallas blanked two consecutive opponents. This gave them the division title and the #3 NFC seed, but also gave their opponent a wild card, which meant that they had to play in Dallas again the following week. The rematch saw the Eagles score 17 points, but their defense, which had been considered one of the NFL's best a few weeks earlier, again performed poorly and the Cowboys put up 34 points, to beat them for the third time in one season. Having won their first playoff game since 1996, the Cowboys traveled to the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome to face Brett Favre and the Vikings. Their season quickly ended after Minnesota scored four touchdowns and limited them to a single field goal. Linebacker Keith Brooking criticized the last touchdown pass of the game, arguing that it served no purpose other than to run up the score in a game the Vikings already had won. The Cowboys opened 2010 in Washington against a revitalized Redskins team that now featured Donovan McNabb (traded from the Eagles in April) and former Broncos coach Mike Shanahan. Although neither team performed well, Dallas lost unexpectedly when on the last play of the game Tony Romo threw a pass into the end zone that was nullified by a holding penalty. The Redskins thus won 13–10. In Week 2, Dallas fell to the Bears 27–20 in their second straight home opener loss. This was also the team's first 0–2 start since 2001. Desperate to win, they headed to Houston for the third "Battle of Texas" with the Texans (the first and second were in 2002 and 2006) and beat them 27–13. After coming back from their bye week, the Cowboys suffered another home embarrassment, this time against Tennessee. Dallas's fortunes continued to slide in Week 6 as they lost to Minnesota 24–21. Things steadily got worse the next week as Tony Romo was knocked out with a fractured collarbone while playing the Giants on MNF. Filling in for him was 38-year-old QB Jon Kitna, who hadn't started in two years. Although rusty, he managed two touchdown passes and the Cowboys scored 35 points. But their division rival edged them out 41–35 to win in Cowboys Stadium for the second straight year. By Week 8, the Cowboys found themselves at 1–6 after losing at home to Jacksonville after four Jon Kitna interceptions. After a disastrous 45–7 loss in Green Bay, Wade Phillips was fired (thus breaking Jerry Jones's policy of not changing head coaches during the season) and replaced by offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. Now largely eliminated from playoff contention, the Cowboys headed to the Meadowlands for a rematch with New York. This time things were different as Jon Kitna passed for 327 yards and three touchdowns. An all-around better performance by the team allowed them to win 33–20. After beating Detroit at home, the Cowboys lost a close Thanksgiving game to New Orleans. They next defeated the Colts in Indianapolis 38–35 on an OT field goal to retain faint playoff hopes. However, a home loss to Philadelphia mathematically eliminated them from playoff contention. Week 15 saw them beat the hapless Redskins 33–30. The Cowboys then lost a meaningless game in Arizona and followed that with a meaningless win over the Eagles to end their season at 6–10. After going 5–3 as interim head coach during the last eight games of the previous season, Jason Garrett took the head coaching position full-time. With Tony Romo back in action, the Cowboys headed to the Meadowlands to take on the Jets for a Sunday Night game commemorating the 10-year anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. An early Dallas lead soon led to a 24–24 tie, but Romo threw an interception in the 4th quarter that allowed New York to get into the red zone and score a game-winning field goal. The next week, the Cowboys headed to San Francisco and won 27–24 after Romo made a valiant overtime comeback effort despite playing through a painful rib injury. Despite this and a punctured lung, Romo started in Week 3 as the Cowboys hosted Washington on MNF. They won 18–16 in a bizarre game with six field goals from rookie kicker Dan Bailey. Dallas's offense struggled the entire night with Romo handicapped by pain, multiple dropped passes, and several botched snaps from rookie center Kevin Kowalski. They went 1–3 in the month of October including an embarrassing Week 7 34-7 loss by the division rival Eagles. They turned things around by going undefeated in November. That run included a Week 10 44-7 blowout over Buffalo. Week 11 was a 27-24 OT victory over the Redskins on the road. They entered December with a 7–4 record vying for first place of their division with the Giants, whom the Cowboys were yet to play. After losing in OT against Arizona in Week 13, they headed to a Sunday Night primetime game against the Giants. Despite leading New York 34–22 with less than 6 minutes to play, the Cowboys lost 37–34 after a game-tying field goal by Dan Bailey was blocked by Jason Pierre-Paul. They rebounded by the next week by defeating Tampa Bay 31–15. Week 16 brought another loss to Philadelphia. Despite entering Week 17 with an 8–7 record, Dallas was in a position to win the division. However, so was their final regular season opponent the New York Giants. However, Dallas lost 31–14 to finish the season 8–8 while New York won Super Bowl XLVI. The Cowboys started the 2012 season on a high note by defeating defending Super Bowl Champion the New York Giants 24–17. They were unable to capitalize on their momentum as they dropped 3 out of their next 4 games. One of those losses was a tight 31–29 game to eventual Super Bowl XLVII Champions the Baltimore Ravens. They entered their annual Thanksgiving home game with a 5–5 record. Their opponent on Turkey Day this year was upstart division rival Washington whom was being led by rookie QB Robert Griffin III. The Redskins got off to a quick start leading 21–3 at halftime. Dallas fought back in the second half but it wasn't enough which led to 38–31 loss. The Cowboys won their next 3 games before losing on Week 16 to New Orleans. Going into Week 17 they were once again one win away from winning their division but so were their opponents that week the Redskins. The game was tight throughout. With less than 3 minutes to go, Dallas was down 21–18 but had the ball and were starting to drive down the field. Their playoff hopes were destroyed after Tony Romo threw a game ending interception. Dallas lost 28–18, ending their season with an 8–8 record and placing in 3rd in the NFC East for the second straight year. For the second straight year Dallas opened the season by defeating their division rival New York Giants 36–31. This win was punctuated after Giants QB Eli Manning threw an interception to Brandon Carr whom returned it for a touchdown. This was the first time Dallas had defeated New York at AT&T Stadium which had opened in 2009. Just like the previous year, the Cowboys lost 3 of their next 4 games. The 3rd loss of that run including a shootout to eventual AFC Champions the Denver Broncos 51–48. Numbers wise Tony Romo had an excellent day throwing for over 500 yards with 5 touchdowns. However, late in the 4th quarter with the game tied at 48 he threw an interception to Danny Trevathan which set up the Broncos winning field goal. They rebounded in Week 6 by decisively defeating division rival Washington 31–16 whom has dashed the Cowboys playoff hopes the previous season with a Week 17 win over Dallas. Week 7 brought another division game, this time against the Eagles in Philadelphia. Dallas was firing on all cylinders that day winning 17–3. However, the next week they lost to Detroit in a tight 31–30 loss to end the month of October. They went 3–1 in the month of November which included another win over the Giants. Their sole loss that month was a Week 10 49-17 blowout loss to the Saints in New Orleans. They began December with 2 crucial losses to Chicago and Green Bay. The Week 15 loss to the Packers at home was especially bitter since Dallas had a 26–3 halftime lead but lost 37–36. Talk of the annual "December Curse" was in full affect. They came into their Week 16 division matchup in Washington with a 7–7 record but still in the hunt with the Eagles for the NFC East crown. In the game vs the Redskins they started the 4th quarter down 23–14. They battled back to win 24–23. The win was highlighted by a 4th and goal touchdown pass from Romo to DeMarco Murray from the 12yd line with 1:15 left. However, Romo received a serious back injury during the 4th quarter. While he was able to finish the game, the injury prematurely ended his season. For the 3rd consecutive year Dallas entered Week 17 one win away from the division title along with their opponents the Eagles. Dallas came into the game with a 5–0 division record. With Romo out backup QB Kyle Orton started. With less than 2 minutes left and being down 24–22, Orton threw a game-ending interception. Dallas finished 8–8 for the third straight year, but this time they finished in 2nd place in their division instead of in 3rd place in their division. After starting 2014 with an embarrassing 28–17 loss to San Francisco, Dallas went on a roll, winning their next 6 games. It was their longest winning streak since 2007. The highlight of this streak was defeating the defending Super Bowl XLVIII Champion Seahawks 30–23 in Seattle. The Seahawks' loss in that game was only their 2nd home loss in the past three seasons. The streak was ended by their division rival Redskins in overtime 20–17. However, Romo once again injured his back. He was out the next game against Arizona where backup Brandon Weeden started. The Cardinals won 28–17. Romo returned in Week 10 as Dallas played in London, England for the first time ever against Jacksonville in NFL International Series. The Cowboys beat the Jaguars 31–17. Dallas entered their annual Thanksgiving home game with an 8–3, identical with their opponents the Eagles. Philadelphia got off to a fast start and Dallas was never able to catch up. The Eagles won 33–10. They rebounded the next week over the Bears in Chicago 41–28 for win number 9 to clinch their first winning season since 2009. Week 15 was a rematch against the Eagles this time in Philadelphia. This time Dallas got off to a hot start going up 21–0. However, Philadelphia then scored 24 unanswered points. Dallas came back with a 78-yard drive capped with a DeMarco Murray touchdown. The next Eagles drive ended with Mark Sanchez getting intercepted by Dallas defender J.J. Wilcox. Dallas took full advantage of that, with Dez Bryant scoring his third touchdown of the evening, the most in one game in his career. The Eagles had two more turnovers, including another Sanchez interception to end the game. Dallas won 38–27 to take over first place. Week 16 started with Eagles losing to the Redskins, meaning the Cowboys could clinch their division if they were able to beat the Colts. They responded by blowing out Indianapolis 42–7 to win their first division title since 2009. Their final regular-season game was on the road vs Washington, where the Cowboys won 44–17 to finish the season at 12–4, the Number 3 NFC Seed, and undefeated in away games. They also finished December 4–0 which was huge for Dallas after they had struggled in the month of December during recent years. In the Wild Card round of the 2014–15 NFL playoffs Dallas as the number 3 seed hosted the number 6 seed Detroit Lions. The Lions got off to a hot start going up 14–0 in the first quarter. Dallas initially struggled on both sides of the ball. However, in towards the end of the 2nd quarter Romo connected to Terrance Williams for a 76yd touchdown pass. The Lions hit a field goal before halftime to go up 17–7. Dallas came out swinging to start the second half by picking off Detroit QB Matthew Stafford on the first play of the 3rd quarter. Dan Bailey missed a field goal during Dallas's ensuing drive. Detroit then kicked another field goal to make the score 20–7. A DeMarco Murray touchdown later in that quarter closed the gap to 20–14. A 51-yard Dallas field goal almost 3 minutes into the 4th quarter put Dallas down by 3. The Lions got the ball back and started driving down the field. A 3rd and 1 pass 17 yard pass from Stafford to Lions TE Brandon Pettigrew was initially flagged as defensive pass interference against Dallas defender Anthony Hitchens. The penalty was then nullified by the officiating crew. Dallas got the ball back on their 41yd line and had a successful 59yd drive which was capped off by a 8yd touchdown pass from Romo to Williams to give Dallas its first lead of the game 24–20. The Lions got the ball back with less than 2 and 1/2 minutes to play. Stafford fumbled the ball at the 2-minute mark and was picked up by Dallas defender DeMarcus Lawrence who then fumbled the ball which gave the Lions the ball back. Lawrence redeemed himself by sacking Stafford on a 4th and 3 play which lead to Stafford fumbling the ball again which Lawrence recovered to end the game. Dallas won 24–20. This was the first time in franchise playoff history that Dallas had been down by 10+ points at halftime to come back and win the game. They traveled to Green Bay for the divisional round to face the Packers. It was the first Cowboys-Packers postseason matchup at Lambeau Field since the Ice Bowl. There was a lot of hype in the week leading up to the game, as during the regular season, Green Bay had gone 8–0 at home while Dallas had gone 8–0 on the road. At halftime Dallas had a 14–10 and went up 21–13 in the 3rd quarter. However, the Packers came back to take a 26–21 lead in the 4th quarter. With less than 5 minutes in the game on a 4th and 3 play Romo threw a 30 pass to Bryant to put them at the 1yd line. However, Packers head coach Mike McCarthy challenged the catch and the ruling was overturned. The explanation given was that Bryant didn't maintain control of the ball as he came down with it. The ball was turned over to Green Bay on downs and the Packers ran the clock out to win the game, thus ending the Cowboys season. Two days after the game, Dallas head coach Jason Garrett signed a 5-year, $30 million contract along with defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli, who signed a 3-year contract. Marinelli was largely credited for greatly improving the Dallas defense, which was one of the worst-ranked defenses the previous year under Monte Kiffin. After their successful 2014 season, Dallas began the season with high expectations. During Week 1, Tony Romo managed to led the team to an astonishing comeback against the New York Giants, despite the loss of Dez Bryant. The next week against Philadelphia, Tony Romo was taken out with a collarbone injury, but Dallas won 20-10 to give them a 2-0 start. Romo missed the next seven games, and the Cowboys lost all of those games to drop to 2-7. Romo finally returned in Week 11 to lead the Cowboys to a victory against Miami, but in the Cowboys' next game on Thanksgiving, Tony Romo injured his collarbone again and was ruled out for the rest of the season, and the team was slaughtered by the then-undefeated Carolina Panthers, dropping their record to 3-8. In the next game on Monday Night Football, Dallas defeated Washington 19-16, which proved to be their last win of the season and their only win without Romo as starter. In Week 14, Dallas lost handily against Green Bay. In Week 15, the Cowboys were eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to the New York Jets in a Saturday night edition of Thursday Night Football. After that, the Cowboys lost to Buffalo 16-6 and then lost against Washington 34-23 to finish the regular season with a record of 4-12 and a last place finish in the NFC East. The Cowboys went 3-1 with Romo as the starting quarterback, but they were 1-11 in all of their other games. The Cowboys drafted running back Ezekiel Elliott from Ohio State in the first round and quarterback Dak Prescott from Mississippi State in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft. During a preseason game against the Seahawks, Tony Romo suffered a back injury, allowing Prescott to become starter for the 2016 season, though Romo played in one series in Week 17 at Philadelphia. With Prescott's stellar play, along with Elliott's running game, the Dak and Zeke-led Cowboys finished with a 13-3 record, earning them a first-round bye in the playoffs. But Dallas' promising season ended in heartbreak as they lost 34-31 to Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. After the season, Romo retired after 14 seasons with the Cowboys. Prescott was named Offensive Rookie of the year. 2017 was a tulmultous year for the Cowboys. In August the NFL announced that star running back Ezekiel Elliott would be suspended the first 6 games of the year for violating the league's Personal Conduct Policy stemming from accusations of domestic abuse from an ex-girlfriend in 2016. Elliott maintained his innocence and was never criminally charged. The suspension was on and off again through the first two months of the season due to him attempting to appeal this decision. The Cowboys started the season by defeating the Giants 19-3, ending New York's 3 game winning streak against them. During Week 2 they were embarrased by the Broncos losing 42-17 in Denver. They bounced back in Week 3 winning on the road against the Cardinals 28-17. They returned home for a 2 game homestand and lost both games, first to the Rams 35-30 then to Green Bay 35-31. After a Week 6 bye they returned to form by blowing out the 49ers on the road 40-10. Week 8 was a division game vs the Redskins at FedEx Field. Dallas won that game 33-19 to win their 5th consecutive game at Washington. In Week 9 the Kansas City Chiefs came to AT&T Stadium for the first time ever boasting a 6-2 record. The Dallas defense became the first team that season to pick off KC quarterback Alex Smith en route to a 28-17 win. It was the Cowboys 3rd straight win which brought them to 5-3. It was after this game that Elliot's suspension came into effect. Dallas would lose their next 3 games in embarrassing fashion to the Falcons, division leading Philadelphia, & on Thanksgiving to the Los Angeles Chargers. On Week 13 they hosted the Redskins in a game many picked Washington to win. Dallas showed their season was from over by defeating the Redskins 38-14. Former Washington Running back Alfred Morris rushed for 127 yards with 1 touchdown against his former team. Dez Bryant caught a touchdown which made him the Cowboys all time leader in receiving touchdowns. Week 14 was another division game this one at MetLife Stadium vs the Giants. New York had an early 10-3 lead but the Cowboys bounced back to win 30-10. Week 15 was a primetime on NBC Sunday Night Football vs the Oakland Raiders. Dallas had a late 20-17 when a defensive pass interference against them put the Raiders in the red zone with less than a minute left. Oakland QB Derek Carr tried rushing in a potential game winning TD but Cowboys safety Jeff Heath caused Carr to fumble the ball before the ball crossed the endzone to force a touchback and seal a Dallas victory. Elliott returned from suspension on Week 16 which was a home game vs Seattle. Despite this the Seahawks prevailed 21-12 to eliminate the Cowboys from playoff contention. Their season ended on a 6-0 win against the Eagles to finish with a 9-7 second place record. Philadelphia would go onto win Super Bowl LII. January 1, 1967, NFL Championship Game vs.Green Bay Packers December 31, 1967, NFL Championship Game at Green Bay Packers January 17, 1971, Super Bowl V vs. Baltimore Colts December 23, 1972, at San Francisco 49ers, 1972 NFC Divisional Playoff Game November 28, 1974, vs. Washington Redskins December 28, 1975, at Minnesota Vikings, 1975 NFC Divisional Playoff Game December 16, 1979, vs. Washington Redskins January 4, 1981, at Atlanta Falcons, 1980 NFC Divisional Playoff Game January 3, 1983, at Minnesota Vikings September 5, 1983, at Washington Redskins January 31, 1993, vs. Buffalo Bills, Super Bowl XXVII November 25, 1993, vs. Miami Dolphins January 2, 1994, at New York Giants November 18, 1996, vs. Green Bay Packers September 12, 1999, at Washington Redskins September 24, 2000, vs. San Francisco 49ers September 19, 2005, vs. Washington Redskins January 6, 2007, at Seattle Seahawks, NFC wild card playoff game, "The Bobble" October 8, 2007, vs. Buffalo Bills. December 19, 2009, vs. New Orleans Saints. December 23, 2013, vs. Washington Redskins October 12, 2014, vs. Seattle Seahawks The Dallas Cowboys team/franchise has been "first" in the record books for a whole host of accomplishments, a few of which include: History of the Dallas Cowboys This article contains an in-depth explanation of the history of the Dallas Cowboys, a professional American football team that competes in the National Football League
when did the eagles win last super bowl	"Doug Pederson" England Patriots]]. He was also a backup to [[Dan Marino]] as a member of the [[Miami Dolphins]], and a starting quarterback for the Eagles and [[Cleveland Browns]]. In his second season as the Eagles' head coach, Pederson won [[Super Bowl LII]] (also against the Patriots), marking the first [[Super Bowl]] title in franchise history. He also became just the fourth person, after [[Mike Ditka]], [[Tom Flores]] and [[Tony Dungy]] to win a Super Bowl as both a player and head coach. Pederson was born in Bellingham, Washington, in 1968. He attended [[Ferndale High School (Washington)\|Ferndale High School]] in nearby [[Ferndale, Washington]], and was an All-State selection in [[high school football\|football]], [[basketball]], and [[baseball]]. After high school he graduated from [[University of Louisiana at Monroe\|Northeast Louisiana University]], where he was quarterback from 1987 through 1990. He still holds multiple passing records at the school. Pederson originally signed as a [[rookie]] [[free agent]] by the [[Miami Dolphins]] on May 1, [[1991 NFL season\|1991]], out of [[Northeast Louisiana University]] (now [[Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks football\|University of Louisiana at Monroe]]) in [[Monroe, Louisiana]]. He was waived on August 17, 1991, before the start of the regular season. After spending the 1991 season as a free agent, the [[New York/New Jersey Knights]] of the [[World League of American Football]] (WLAF) drafted him in the fifth round for the first pool of draft-eligible players on February 4, 1992. The second pool, which was drafted from on February 20, consisted of players allocated by NFL teams to the league. He was the backup quarterback to [[Reggie Slack]] with the Knights from March to May 1992. After the WLAF season finished, he was re-signed by the Dolphins on June 2, 1992. Pederson spent 1992 training camp with the Dolphins, before being released during final roster cuts again. He was subsequently re-signed to the team's [[practice squad]], where he practiced on the [[scout team]] until he was waived on October 8, 1992. He was re-signed by the Dolphins after the season on March 3, 1993. After his third training camp with the Dolphins, he was waived again on August 31, 1993. For the second consecutive season, Pederson was re-signed to the team's practice squad, on September 1, 1993. [[Dan Marino]], the Dolphins' starting quarterback since 1983, ruptured his [[Achilles' tendon]] in a week 6 game against the [[1993 Cleveland Browns season\|Cleveland Browns]] on October 10, 1993, forcing backup [[Scott Mitchell (quarterback)\|Scott Mitchell]] to replace him. Pederson replaced Marino on the active roster, and served as Mitchell's backup for the next four games. Pederson made his NFL debut on October 24, 1993, in a week 8 game against the [[1993 Indianapolis Colts season\|Indianapolis Colts]]. He helped head coach [[Don Shula]] win his NFL-record 325th victory as a coach when Mitchell suffered a separated shoulder in a week 11 game against the [[1993 Philadelphia Eagles season\|Philadelphia Eagles]] on November 14, 1993. In that record breaking game for Coach Shula, Pederson entered in the 3rd quarter of the game and went 3 for 6 for 34 yards, and completed several crucial 3rd downs. Pederson was able to steer the Dolphins to the win. Pederson also served as the backup to recently acquired [[Steve DeBerg]] for the three games Mitchell missed with injury. He briefly entered a week 14 game against the [[1993 New York Giants season\|New York Giants]] while DeBerg was receiving stitches on his face. Mitchell returned as the Dolphins' starter after week 15, and Pederson was released in favor of backup DeBerg and third-string quarterback [[Hugh Millen]] on December 16, 1993. Pederson re-signed with the Dolphins on April 16, 1994, after the season ended. He spent the entire [[1994 NFL season\|1994 season]] on the Dolphins' active roster as the third-string quarterback behind Marino and [[Bernie Kosar]]. On February 15, 1995, Pederson was selected by the [[Carolina Panthers]] in the twenty-second round of the [[1995 NFL Expansion Draft\|NFL Expansion Draft]], after being placed on the Dolphins' available players list on January 19, but was released on May 24, 1995. He returned to the World League after his release, playing with [[Rhein Fire]]. Pederson re-signed with the Dolphins again in June 1995. After competing with [[Dan McGwire]] throughout training camp, Pederson was waived on August 22, 1995. Marino suffered a knee injury during a week 6 game, so Pederson was re-signed on October 10 to serve as the third quarterback behind Kosar and McGwire for the next two games. He was released again after Marino returned for week 9 on October 24. Pederson worked out for the [[Green Bay Packers]] following week 10 in 1995, due to a season-ending injury suffered by backup [[Ty Detmer]] and a minor injury sustained by starter [[Brett Favre]]. Third-string quarterback [[T. J. Rubley]] was forced to play in week 10 and threw a game-ending interception after calling an audible, going against head coach [[Mike Holmgren]]'s playcall. The Packers signed [[Bob Gagliano]] to serve as the third-stringer quarterback for weeks 11 and 12. Pederson replaced Gagliano as the third-string quarterback when he signed with the Packers on November 22, 1995. The Packers claimed [[Jim McMahon]] off waivers from the Browns to serve as Favre's backup ahead of Pederson and Rubley on November 29, 1995. Rubley was waived on December 13, leaving McMahon and Pederson as Favre's backups. Favre did not miss any games, so Pederson did not see any game action for the Packers in 1995. Pederson served as the third quarterback behind Favre and McMahon in 1996, playing in one game but recorded no statistics. He received a [[Super Bowl ring]] following the Packers' win over the Patriots in [[Super Bowl XXXI]]. He re-signed with the Packers with a two-year contract on February 20, 1997. Pederson was again the third quarterback throughout 1997, backing up Favre and [[Steve Bono]]. Pederson beat out [[Rick Mirer]] for the backup job to Favre, as well as the primary [[Holder (gridiron football)\|placekick holder]] job, in 1998. In a week 5 loss to the [[1998 Minnesota Vikings season\|Minnesota Vikings]], Pederson replaced Favre in the last five minutes of a blowout game, and threw two touchdowns in his place. However, Pederson suffered a broken jaw that knocked him out for the team's next four games. Pederson signed a three-year, $4.5 million contract with the [[Philadelphia Eagles]] on February 18, 1999, to become the team's starting quarterback under new head coach [[Andy Reid]], who was Pederson's [[quarterbacks coach]] in Green Bay from 1997–1998. The Eagles drafted [[Donovan McNabb]] with the second overall pick in the [[1999 NFL Draft]] in April 1999, and Reid said Pederson would remain the starter until McNabb was ready to play. In his nine starts for the Eagles, Pederson had a 2–7 record, a 51.6% completion rate, 1,168 passing yards, six touchdowns, and nine interceptions. In his first career start, a week 1 game against the [[1999 Arizona Cardinals season\|Arizona Cardinals]], Pederson threw two touchdowns in the first quarter to help give the Eagles a 21–0 lead. The Cardinals came back, however, and won the game on a field goal as time expired, 25–24. Pederson went 12-for-25 for 91 yards and two touchdowns in the game. McNabb replaced Pederson, who suffered a bruised throwing shoulder, after one half in a week 2 loss to the [[1999 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season\|Tampa Bay Buccaneers]], in which Pederson went 12-of-19 for 100 yards and an interception. Pederson started a week 3 shutout loss (26–0) to the [[1999 Buffalo Bills season\|Buffalo Bills]], going 14-of-26 for 137 yards and two lost fumbles, before being replaced by McNabb again in the fourth quarter. In a week 4 loss to the [[1999 New York Giants season\|New York Giants]], Pederson went 6-for-15 for 75 yards and two interceptions before being replaced by McNabb after halftime. Pederson's first NFL win came in week 5 in a game against the [[1999 Dallas Cowboys season\|Dallas Cowboys]]. He played the entire game, going 11-of-29 for 145 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Pederson played the entirety of the next three games, posting a 1–2 record while throwing three touchdowns and three interceptions. In his final start as an Eagle, Pederson was benched at halftime of a week 9 game against the [[2017 Carolina Panthers season\|Carolina Panthers]] after going 3-of-9 for 28 yards and being down 23–0. He did not see game action at quarterback again until a week 14 game against the Cowboys in which McNabb suffered an injury in the fourth quarter. Pederson went 8-for-12 for 108 yards and a touchdown in the loss, and [[Koy Detmer]] received the start ahead of him in week 15 with McNabb still injured. After spending the next season's training camp with the team, the Eagles released Pederson on August 28, 2000. Pederson considered retirement after being released by the Eagles, but instead signed a two-year contract with the [[Cleveland Browns]] on September 2, 2000. The Browns' backup, Ty Detmer, suffered a season-ending injury, and the Browns needed a backup quarterback to starter [[Tim Couch]]. This was the second time in Pederson's career that he was signed to replace an injured Ty Detmer. Pederson started as the third quarterback behind Couch and [[Spergon Wynn]], until Couch suffered a season-ending injury in week 7. Pederson started the next six games, posting a 1–5 record. In a week 13 game against the [[2000 Baltimore Ravens season\|Baltimore Ravens]], he was knocked out of the game with bruised ribs and replaced with Wynn. Wynn started the next week against the [[2000 Jacksonville Jaguars season\|Jacksonville Jaguars]], but he suffered a season-ending injury and Pederson replaced him. Pederson returned for the final two games of the season, losing both, including a 35–24 loss to his former team, the Eagles, and a 24–0 shutout loss to the [[2000 Tennessee Titans season\|Tennessee Titans]]. Pederson was released after the season on February 22, 2001. The Packers re-signed Pederson to a one-year contract on March 13, 2001, to replace backup [[Matt Hasselbeck]], who was traded to the [[Seattle Seahawks]]. Pederson was the primary backup to Favre for the entire 2001 season, and was the primary placekick holder in every game. He was re-signed to a one-year, $650,000 contract with the Packers on April 2, 2002. Pederson again was the backup quarterback and primary holder in all 16 games in 2002. In a week 7 game against the [[2002 Washington Redskins season\|Washington Redskins]], Favre suffered a sprained knee and Pederson took most of the snaps in the second half, going 9-for-15 for 78 yards to help win the game 30–9. Pederson also played in games against the Miami Dolphins, [[2002 Detroit Lions season\|Detroit Lions]], and [[2002 New York Jets season\|New York Jets]]. He re-signed with the Packers to a one-year, $750,000 contract on April 29, 2003. For the third consecutive season, Pederson backed up Favre in all 16 games and held placekicks. He completed both of his passes during the regular season for a total of 16 yards. The Packers re-signed Pederson to a one-year contract on April 28, 2004. Tim Couch was signed to compete for the backup quarterback job, but lost out to Pederson and was released on September 5, 2004. In a week 3 game against the [[2004 Indianapolis Colts season\|Indianapolis Colts]], Pederson replaced Favre in a blowout loss and went 4-of-6 for 34 yards and an interception. The next week, a week 4 game against the [[2004 New York Giants season\|New York Giants]], Favre sustained a [[concussion]] in the third quarter, and Pederson replaced him at quarterback. Pederson went 7-of-17 for 86 yards and an interception in the loss before he suffered a hit to his side in the third quarter that resulted in a cracked bone in his back, a torn muscle in his side, and a broken rib. He stayed in the game up until the last snap, when he was replaced by third-string quarterback [[Craig Nall]]. Pederson was placed on [[injured reserve]] on October 7, ending his season. He retired in March 2005 to become a head coach at [[Calvary Baptist Academy]]. After his retirement, Pederson was hired as head football coach of [[Calvary Baptist Academy]], a private Christian high school in [[Shreveport, Louisiana]]. Calvary was going into its second year as a program when Pederson signed on in March 2005. Pederson was the head coach at Calvary for four years, and held a 33–7 record in the regular season and an 8–3 record in the post-season. The Cavaliers were in the state playoffs all four years with Pederson as head coach. In his first season in 2005, the Cavaliers went 5–6 and lost in the first round of the state playoffs. In 2007, he led the Cavaliers to the semi-finals and to their first district title. On January 29, 2009, Pederson was hired as the offensive quality control coach for the [[Philadelphia Eagles]], reuniting him with his former head coach, Andy Reid. He was promoted to quarterbacks coach on February 8, 2011, replacing [[James Urban]], who was promoted to assistant offensive coordinator. On January 11, 2013, Pederson followed Andy Reid to the [[Kansas City Chiefs]] to serve as offensive coordinator. On January 18, 2016, Pederson was hired as head coach of the Eagles replacing [[Chip Kelly]]. Despite having [[Sam Bradford]] on the roster as the starting quarterback, the Eagles drafted [[Carson Wentz]] with the second overall pick in [[2016 NFL Draft\|2016]]. Right before the [[2016 NFL season\|2016 season]] began, Bradford was traded to the [[Minnesota Vikings]] and Wentz was named the starting quarterback as a [[rookie]]. Pederson and Wentz won their first three NFL games together, but finished the season 7–9, missing the playoffs. Pederson's second season was much more successful as he led the Eagles to a 13-3 record, winning them the NFC East division championship and allotting them home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Wentz, who was having a career year and was considered a front runner for league MVP, tore his ACL in Week 14, leaving backup [[Nick Foles]] with the starting job for the remainder of the year. Despite becoming major playoff underdogs due to the loss of Wentz, Foles filled in admirably as the starter, allowing Philadelphia to make it to [[Super Bowl LII]], their first Super Bowl appearance since the 2004 season. Eventual Super Bowl MVP Foles led the team in a 41-33 win over the [[New England Patriots]], giving them their first Lombardi Trophy in franchise history and their first league championship since 1960. On May 3, 2018, it was reported the Philadelphia Eagles picked up Pederson's 5th year option, allowing him to coach the team through 2020. NFL head coaches under whom Pederson has served: Assistant coaches under Pederson who have become NFL head coaches: Pederson was born to Teri (née Boykin) and Gordon "Gordy" Pederson (1939–2016) on January 31, 1968, in [[Bellingham, Washington]]. A devout [[Christianity\|Christian]], Pederson and his wife Jeannie have three sons. Pederson lives in [[Moorestown, New Jersey]]. [[Category:1968 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:American football quarterbacks]] [[Category:Cleveland Browns players]] [[Category:Green Bay Packers players]] [[Category:High school football coaches in the United States]] [[Category:Kansas City Chiefs coaches]] [[Category:Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks football players]] [[Category:Miami Dolphins players]] [[Category:New York/New Jersey Knights players]] [[Category:People from Moorestown, New Jersey]] [[Category:Philadelphia Eagles head coaches]] [[Category:Philadelphia Eagles players]] [[Category:Players of American football from Washington (state)]] [[Category:Rhein Fire players]] [[Category:Sportspeople from Bellingham, Washington]] [[Category:Super Bowl champions]] [[Category:Super Bowl-winning head coaches]] [[Category:American people of Swedish descent]] Doug Pederson Douglas Irving Pederson (born January 31, 1968) is an American football coach and former player who is currently the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles of the [[National Football delivering the [[Philadelphia Eagles]] their first Super Bowl win in franchise history in Super Bowl LII. He served as the [[offensive coordinator]] of the
when did the eagles win last super bowl	"History of the New York Giants (1979–93)" 1990s. Led by a run-oriented offense and a defense nicknamed the "Big Blue Wrecking Crew", the team qualified for the postseason six times in 10 seasons from 1981 to 1990. During that period, they won Super Bowl XXI (1987) and Super Bowl XXV (1991). The period encompasses the careers of quarterback Phil Simms and linebacker Lawrence Taylor, two of the most accomplished players in team history. Simms was drafted to little fanfare from tiny Morehead State University in 1979, and struggled in his initial seasons before becoming a Pro Bowl quarterback. Taylor was the second selection in the 1981 NFL Draft and, in contrast to Simms, was an immediate success, winning the league's Defensive Player of the Year Award as a rookie. The team's success in this period was aided by head coach Bill Parcells, running back Joe Morris, and Hall of Fame linebacker Harry Carson. Following the 1990 season and a victory in Super Bowl XXV, Parcells resigned as coach and was replaced by the team's offensive coordinator, Ray Handley. Handley served as coach for two mediocre seasons (1991–92), in which the Giants went from Super Bowl champions to a 6–10 record. He was fired following the 1992 season and replaced by former Denver Broncos coach Dan Reeves. In the early 1990s, Simms and Taylor played out the last years of their career with steadily declining production. In 1993, however, the Giants experienced a resurgent season with Reeves at the helm, and Simms and Taylor ended their careers as members of a winning team. The Giants made the decision to hire a General Manager for the first time in team history following the 1978 season. However, disagreements during the search caused severe friction and discord between owners Wellington and Tim Mara. At one point they had tried to hire Jan Van Duser, a league executive, but he declined the offer due to the ownership squabbles. Finally, the Maras asked NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle to step in with a recommendation. Rozelle recommended George Young, who worked in personnel for the Miami Dolphins and had been an assistant coach for the Baltimore Colts. Rozelle had discussed the hiring before hand with former Giants Frank Gifford and Tom Scott, who recommended hiring Young. They had already recommended Young to Wellington and his son John, but felt if Rozelle presented the recommendation as his own idea the brothers would be more likely to accept the pick. Young was hired and he was instrumental in turning around the fortunes of the franchise. "Oh, there is no question he helped save the franchise", John Mara later said. "It looked like a no-win situation. He came in and overhauled everything we did in a more professional way." Despite the hiring and subsequent success, the rift between the Maras lasted for several years and, at one point a partition had to be put between the two in the owner's box. One of Young's first actions was to hire Ray Perkins as head coach. Perkins was an offensive assistant coach on the Dallas Cowboys under Hall of Fame coach Tom Landry. In his first draft, Young drafted quarterback Phil Simms from Morehead State University with the seventh overall draft pick to the surprise of many. Simms had never played on a winning team at Morehead State, and acknowledged after he was drafted that "[m]ost people have never heard of me." Young was certain of the choice though saying, "[o]nce in a while you get a chance to get a guy with a great arm and great potential and you'd darn sight better take it." Simms was unhappy with the selection, and had other teams which he favored playing on over the Giants. The Giants lost their first five games of the season with Joe Pisarcik starting at quarterback. Simms came on in relief of Pisarcik in the fifth game and started the next four, all of which the Giants won. They lost five out of their last seven however, finishing 6–10 for the year. They fell to 4–12 in 1980. Simms play was inconsistent, as he combined for 28 touchdowns against 33 interceptions while completing 48.8% of his passes over his first two seasons. With the second overall draft pick in the 1981 draft, the Giants selected Lawrence Taylor, linebacker out of the University of North Carolina. Taylor impressed right from the start; in training camp his teammates took to calling him Superman and jokingly suggested that his locker should be replaced with a phone booth. The impact that Taylor had on the Giants' defense was immediate, and predicated the defense's transformation from allowing 425 points in 1980 to 257 in 1981. He was named 1981's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and NFL Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press, becoming to date the only rookie to ever win the Defensive Player of the Year award. His arrival raised the Giants linebacker corps—which already included Brad Van Pelt and future Hall of Famer Harry Carson—into one of the league's best: the Crunch Bunch. The Giants started the 1981 season 5–3; but lost their next three games to fall to 5–6. Further complicating matters, Simms went down with a separated shoulder in the November 15th loss to the Washington Redskins. He was replaced by Scott Brunner. However, with Brunner leading the team, the Giants beat the defending conference champion Philadelphia Eagles 20–10 before losing to the San Francisco 49ers 17–10. They defeated the Los Angeles Rams 10–7 and the St. Louis Cardinals 20–10 setting up a season finale against the Dallas Cowboys, in which a win, along with a New York Jets victory over the Green Bay Packers the next day, would clinch a playoff spot for the Giants. Wearing their white jerseys at home (so as to force the Cowboys to wear their "unlucky" blue jerseys) the Giants won the game 13–10 in overtime on a Joe Danelo field goal. The Jets defeated the Packers, clinching the Giants' their first playoff berth since 1963. The Giants defeated the Eagles on the road 27–21 in the Wild Card round for their first playoff win since 1958 and first ever road post season win, but then lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion 49ers 38–24. The Giants were unable to build on their success in 1982, due in part to the 1982 NFL Players Strike which reduced the schedule to 9 games, and also to Ray Perkins' mid-season announcement that he was leaving the team at season's end to coach at the University of Alabama. The Giants lost their first two games before the strike and their first game upon returning. In New York's second game (against Green Bay on "Monday Night Football") Carson recorded 25 tackles; 20 solo and 5 assists. They then won their next three games against the Detroit Lions, the Houston Oilers, and Philadelphia to even their record at 3–3. Perkins then announced that he was leaving to coach the University of Alabama in place of the retiring Bear Bryant after the season. The team's defensive coordinator, Bill Parcells, was chosen to replace him after a series of informal discussions with Young, during which Parcells did not know he was being interviewed for the position. Parcells named Bill Belichick the team's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach before the season. Belichick would later coach the New England Patriots to four Super Bowl titles. Simms, who had been unable to stabilize the quarterback situation up to that point, missed the entire season with a knee injury suffered in a preseason game against the New York Jets. Young described Perkins announcement as "a setback", and said "it slowed us down, interrupted our continuity." Lawrence Taylor however, remained a bright spot, again winning the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award. Parcells first year proved difficult. In his first major decision as head coach, he decided to bench Simms in favor of Brunner based on what he had done in the 1981 season after Simms was injured. At first it appeared that Parcells' decision was justified, especially after a 27–3 victory over the Green Bay Packers gave the Giants a 2–2 record after 4 games. However, the Giants collapsed from there. The team went winless in their next seven games, losing six and garnering a tie with the St. Louis Cardinals, before defeating the Philadelphia Eagles to end the streak. The Giants then lost their remaining games to finish with a 3-12-1 record, including a 1-6-1 division record and a 1-7 home record (their only win was the game against the Packers; they defeated the Eagles at Veterans Stadium and their first win came at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium against the Falcons). Brunner had a subpar season, completing just 49.2% of his passes and throwing 9 touchdowns against 22 interceptions. Parcells ignored fans' protests and stuck with Brunner, although third stringer Jeff Rutledge saw considerable action. Finally, in a week six game against the Eagles, he brought Simms back to thunderous fan applause, only to see him suffer a season-ending hand injury. This was Simms fourth serious injury in as many seasons. The Giants' poor play caused 51,589 no–shows for the December 4 game in Giants Stadium. One of the few bright spots was rookie placekicker Ali Haji-Sheikh, who set an NFL record with 35 field goals in 42 attempts. The season was a disastrous one for Parcells, who dealt with both personal and professional heartbreak. Both of his parents died during the year and toward the end of the season, rumors began to circulate that the first year Giants coach would be fired and former University of Miami coach Howard Schnellenberger, who went on to win the school's first of an eventual four national championships in eight years, would take over. Parcells did have some supporters, one of whom was Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder; on the December 11, 1983 edition of "The NFL Today" Snyder spoke of the troubles Parcells inherited from his predecessor Perkins. The Giants elected to stick with Parcells after Schnellenberger elected to take a job in the United States Football League. After the season, the Giants were involved in a fight for his services of Taylor with the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League. Generals owner Donald Trump had given Taylor a $1 million interest-free, 25-year loan on December 14, 1983, with the provision that he would begin playing in the USFL in 1988. Taylor immediately regretted the decision. The Giants, who were eager to keep Taylor, took part in negotiating his way out of it. To free Taylor from the contract, the Giants had to pay Trump $750,000 over the next five seasons for Trump to release Taylor's rights, and give Taylor a new six-year, $6.2-million-dollar contract. Parcells instituted numerous changes before the 1984 season. He changed half of the roster, getting rid of players he deemed problematic, overhauled the team's strength training program, and trained the players harder to make them more resistant to injury. The Giants had a problem with players abusing drugs in the early 1980s, and Parcells decided he had to take a stand. He estimates that he released 20–30 players due to drug use in his first three years as head coach, some after giving them second chances. He would often call their mothers to tell them of the players habits in an attempt to get them off drugs, and several times he recounts crying along with players as he released them. Simms won the starting job back for the season, and Brunner was released. Parcells announced the decision by saying, "[h]e gives us our best chance to win right now." Simms responded by throwing for 4,044 yards, making him the first Giant to reach 4,000 yards passing in a season. The Giants had a resurgent season, highlighted by a midseason stretch where they won five of six against opponents such as the defending conference champion Redskins, the Dallas Cowboys and their new co–tenants at Giants Stadium, the Jets. With two games left the Giants had a 9–5 record and a chance to win their first divisional title in 21 years. Yet despite the fact that they lost those final two games to finish 9–7, the Giants still made the playoffs as a Wild Card. In the first round, they defeated the Los Angeles Rams 16-13 in Anaheim before losing, 21–10, to the eventual Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers. Standout performers included Rob Carpenter and Joe Morris, who split running back duties, combining for over 1,300 yards and 11 touchdowns. Four receivers had over 30 catches on the year, including tight end Zeke Mowatt and receiver Bobby Johnson who tied for the team lead with 48 catches each. Phil McConkey returned punts and kickoffs. Parcells installed five new starters on defense, including Leonard Marshall at defensive end and Jim Burt at nose tackle, and the team's first round pick was used to draft Michigan State linebacker Carl Banks, who would become a key member of the Giants' linebacking corps for the next several seasons. The Giants started out the 1985 season 3–1. They then lost to the Cowboys 30–29 in one of the first Sunday night national TV games, and to the Cincinnati Bengals 35–30, despite 513 yards passing from Simms, to drop to .500. They rallied to win their next 4 in a row, and alternated wins and losses the rest of the season to finish 10–6, and in a three–way tie for 1st. Though the Giants lost the division to the Cowboys on a tiebreaker, they still made the playoffs as a Wild Card. For the third straight time the Giants won their first round Wild Card playoff game, this time playing at home (the first Giants home playoff game since 1962), 17–3 over the defending champion 49ers. In the divisional playoffs they were defeated by the eventual Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears 21–0. After the loss Parcells promised Carson and defensive end George Martin, two of the team's longest tenured players, that next year's team would win a Super Bowl for them. Many of the players that would play key roles on the Giants Super Bowl teams emerged in 1985. Joe Morris, known as "Little Joe" for his diminutive stature (Morris stood 5 ft 7 in and weighed 195 pounds), emerged as the main running threat on the Giants, rushing for 1,336 yards, scoring 21 touchdowns and making the Pro Bowl. Second year receiver Lionel Manuel led the Giants with 49 catches, and tight end Mark Bavaro had 37 catches in his first season. Simms again threw every pass for the Giants that season, passing for over 3,800 yards, and 22 touchdowns. Taylor, Marshall, and Martin combined for 38.5 sacks. The Giants entered the 1986 season as one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl. They had their first test in the opening week "Monday Night Football" game against the defending Eastern Division champion Dallas Cowboys. They lost 31–28 at Texas Stadium, when Herschel Walker scored on a 10 yard run with 76 seconds left. The Giants, however, won their next five in a row and 14 of their last 15, to finish the season 14–2. The turning point of the season came in a game against the Minnesota Vikings in November. Trailing Minnesota 20–19 late in the fourth quarter in the Metrodome, Phil Simms completed a desperate fourth and 17 pass to Bobby Johnson for a first down. The completion led to Raul Allegre's fifth field goal and an important Giants victory. The following week, veteran defensive end George Martin intercepted a pass from Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway and returned it 78 yards for a touchdown. Then in the final two minutes of the game, Simms hit fan–favorite Phil McConkey for a 46-yard pass. This led to another game-winning kick from Allegre as the Giants defeated Denver 19-16. In a Monday night encounter at San Francisco the next week, the Giants overcame a 17–0 halftime deficit to Joe Montana's 49ers en route to a 21–17 victory. In the win, Simms threw for nearly 400 yards and wide receiver Stacy Robinson made an acrobatic catch at the goalline to set up the winning touchdown. Another important play also occurred during that "Monday Night Football" game. Here is a description of the play taken from a Monday Night Football broadcast in 2005: "On Dec. 1 1986, New York Giants tight end Mark Bavaro cements his reputation as one of the toughest men in the NFL. With the Giants trailing, Bavaro catches an innocent pass from Phil Simms over the middle. It takes nearly seven 49ers defenders to finally drag him down, some of which are carried for almost 20 yards, including future Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott. Bavaro's inspiring play jump starts the Giants, who win the game and eventually the Super Bowl." The defense set the tone for these Giants, allowing only 236 points, second fewest in the NFL. Lawrence Taylor was the standard bearer, and set a single–season team record with 20.5 sacks. In addition to winning an unprecedented third Defensive Player of the Year Award, Taylor was named NFL MVP by the Associated Press, becoming only the second defensive player to win the award. On offense, Joe Morris had another standout season in 1986, rushing for 1,516 yards, scoring 14 touchdowns and making his 2nd straight Pro Bowl. Also making the Pro Bowl were Bavaro, who caught 66 passes for 1,001 yards, Carson, Jim Burt, Leonard Marshall, and Brad Benson, giving the Giants seven representatives. For Taylor and Carson the Pro Bowl berths marked their sixth straight selections. Having won their first divisional title in 23 years, the Giants hosted the 49ers in the Divisional Playoffs and won easily, 49-3. The Giants then shut out the Redskins 17–0 in the NFC Championship Game at Giants Stadium. At the end of the game, mindful of how loyal and supportive their fans had been through some very lean years, the Giants flashed a message on the stadium message board thanking "the best fans in the world". The Giants went on to play the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXI in front of 101,063 fans at the Rose Bowl. After falling behind 10–9 at halftime, the Giants defeated the Broncos 39–20. A turning point of the game came on the first possession of the second half. The Giants received the second half kickoff, and led a short drive that stalled at their own 47-yard line. On fourth and one, the Giants lined up in a punt formation before shifting to a traditional set. Second string quarterback Jeff Rutledge then ran a quarterback sneak for a first down. The Giants scored on the drive, and built a 39–13 lead before a late touchdown by the Broncos made the final score 39–20. Quarterback Phil Simms was named MVP after completing 22 of 25 (88%) of his passes—a Super Bowl record. It was these 1986 Giants that popularized the football tradition of dousing the head coach with a cooler of Gatorade near the end of a victorious game. This originally started in 1985 when Jim Burt, incensed by what he thought was mistreatment he received in practice the week leading up to a game, exacted revenge on Bill Parcells by dumping a cooler of Gatorade on him after the Giants won that week's game. Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson later picked up on the ploy and would often sneak up on Coach Parcells near the end of games to dump the remaining Gatorade over his head. The dousing was a big hit with fans, and the Gatorade dumping would continue on throughout the season after each win, with Taylor, Carson, and several other players (Burt had since ceased doing it) concocting increasingly elaborate, sneaky and playful ruses, so as to at least attempt to keep the inevitable dousing a surprise. The 1987 season was a disappointment for the Giants. They lost their first two games of the season before the 1987 NFL Players Strike. As opposed to the players strike five years previous, NFL owners made a decision to go forward with replacement players. Unlike other teams such as the Washington Redskins and Houston Oilers, who made specific and elaborate plans to deal with the replacement games, the Giants made no plans. This resulted in the Giants losing all three replacement games, putting their record at 0–5 before the strike was over and the regular players returned. Though the Giants went a respectable 6–4 over their final 10 games, they were out of the playoffs at 6–9. A particular disappointment was the running game, which due to injuries to the offensive line (including tackle Karl Nelson missing the entire season due to Hodgkin's disease) struggled all season. Standouts included tight end Mark Bavaro, who led the team in catches with 55, and three of the Giants linebackers making the Pro Bowl—Taylor, Carl Banks (who was voted the team's MVP by the players), and Carson. The Giants 1988 season got off to a rough start due to an offseason scandal involving Lawrence Taylor. Taylor had abused cocaine which violated the NFL's substance abuse policy and was suspended for the first four games of the season. Taylor's over the edge lifestyle was becoming an increasing concern for fans and team officials. This was especially true given the eventual career paths of talented players like Hollywood Henderson and Dexter Manley whose drug problems derailed their careers. However, after his return Taylor played at his normal All-Pro level, recording 15.5 sacks in 12 games. The intense worry and scrutiny would prove to be for naught, as for the rest of his career Taylor passed his drug tests and avoided suspension. The Giants struggled to start the season. Taylor's absence, combined with a difficult early season schedule had them alternating wins and losses through their first six games. However, with Taylor back and playing well they were able to take full advantage of their remaining easier games (due to their last–place schedule from the year before), winning their next four games against the Cowboys, the Atlanta Falcons, and the Detroit Lions twice. After two straight losses, including a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, they won their next three contests to set up a win-or-go-home game against the New York Jets in the season finale. The Jets game was technically a "road" game, and though the Jets were playing for little other than pride and a winning season, they defeated the Giants 27–21. In the game quarterback Ken O'Brien found Al Toon in the corner of the endzone in the final minute to give the Jets a victory. When the 49ers got blown out by the Rams 38–16 in the night game, the Giants were left outside of the postseason despite going 10–6. Season highlights included Joe Morris, in what would be his last year with the Giants, rushing for 1,083 yards, and the emergence of wide receiver Lionel Manuel, who led the team with 65 catches and 1,029 yards receiving. After missing the playoffs in 1988, the Giants started the 1989 season 8–1 and did not allow more than 24 points in any game. After suffering through a 1–3 stretch, including a 31–10 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Anaheim, the Giants rallied to win their final three games to secure the second best record in the NFC at 12–4. The division clinching season finale was highlighted by kick returner Dave Meggett's first career punt return for a touchdown. Though many people predicted an NFC Championship showdown between the Giants and the 49ers, the Giants lost their divisional playoff game to the Rams 19–13 in overtime. The highlight of the game was wide receiver Flipper Anderson's catch of the game-winning touchdown pass over cornerback Mark Collins. After he caught the pass, Anderson raced down the sideline, through the end zone, and into the tunnel that led to the locker rooms, silencing the crowd. During the 1989 season, 11–year veteran Ottis Anderson, a Plan B Free Agent, emerged as the Giants new featured running back. His style of power running was an ideal fit for Parcells' offensive strategy and he ran for 1,023 yards and caught 28 passes. Dave Meggett also emerged as a threat on third downs and special teams, catching 34 passes for 531 yards and making the Pro Bowl. Although the Giants had one of the most successful seasons in franchise history in 1990, the season had a difficult beginning as Taylor held out of training camp, demanding a new contract with a salary of $2 million per year. Talks reached September with no progress. As the season approached Taylor received $2,500 dollars a day in fines for not reporting. Taylor signed a contract just four days before the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles. Despite barely practicing since the previous season, he started and finished with three sacks and a forced fumble. They won their first 10 games, setting a franchise record for best start to a season. In those 10 wins the Giants did not allow more than 20 points in any game, and allowed 7 points or less 5 times. The San Francisco 49ers also got off to a strong start, matching the Giants with their own 10–0 start. As their Week 13 "Monday Night Football" matchup approached, it became increasingly possible that it would become the first matchup of 11–0 teams in NFL history. However, the Giants lost their next game, 31–13 to the Philadelphia Eagles, and the 49ers also lost their next game. The game drew high ratings nonetheless. The Giants held the 49ers west coast offense to seven points. But scored only three, in suffering their second straight loss. The Giants rallied and won the following week against the Minnesota Vikings before facing the Buffalo Bills in their regular season home finale. Despite holding the Bills' powerful offense to 17 points, the Giants lost 17–13, for their third loss in four games. To compound the team's problems, Phil Simms suffered a broken foot that put him on the sidelines for the rest of the season. His replacement, Jeff Hostetler, had been with the team since 1984, but had thrown just 68 passes coming into the season. To secure a first round bye, the Giants needed to beat two of the NFL's worst teams, the Phoenix Cardinals and New England Patriots on the road. The Giants won the Cardiinals game 24–21. Their game against the Patriots was a de facto home game, as many Giants fans made the trip up to Foxborough to sell the stadium out. The Patriots, who came in 1-14 and on a 13-game losing streak in a scandal-plagued season, played the Giants better than expected, but missed a field goal that proved the difference as the Giants held on for a 13-10 win. The win secured a 13-3 record, and the playoff bye as the NFC's second seed. The team discipline Parcells installed was exemplified by the Giants setting the record for fewest turnovers in a season with 14 (this is still the NFL record as of 2007). The Giants defeated the Chicago Bears 31–3 in the divisional playoff round, setting up a rematch with the 49ers in San Francisco for the NFC Championship and a Super Bowl berth. As they had in Week 12, the Giants defense held San Francisco's offense in check, limiting San Francisco to one touchdown and two field goals. The 49ers defense also held the Giants' offense in check, limiting the Giants to four Matt Bahr field goals through the midway point of the fourth of quarter. In the game's waning moments Erik Howard caused a Roger Craig fumble, and Lawrence Taylor recovered it. The Giants drove down the field and got into field goal range for Bahr. On the game's last play, Bahr hit a 42–yard field goal to give the Giants the NFC title, 15–13, over the two-time defending Super Bowl champions. Bahr set an NFC Championship Game record with his fifth field goal of the day. The win set up another rematch for the Giants, this time in the Super Bowl against the Buffalo Bills. Throughout the 1990 season, the Bills' emergence as a championship caliber team had been one of the largest storylines. The Bills had a cutting edge, no-huddle offense, led by head coach Marv Levy, quarterback Jim Kelly, running back Thurman Thomas, wide receiver Andre Reed and an offensive line led by Kent Hull. They had also recorded a 13–3 record during the 1990 season, culminating with a 51–3 victory over the Los Angeles Raiders in the AFC Championship game. Heading into the game the Bills were installed as seven point favorites. Super Bowl XXV took place amidst a background of war and patriotism in front of 73,813 fans at Tampa Stadium, in Tampa, Florida. The Persian Gulf War had begun less than two weeks previous and the nation rallied around the Super Bowl as a symbol of America. Adding to the patriotism was Whitney Houston's stirring rendition of the National Anthem, which became known as one of the greatest renditions in Super Bowl history. The game lived up to the stirring Anthem, as it went down as the most competitive Super Bowl in history. The Giants got off to a quick 3–0 lead. However, the Bills scored the next 12 points, on a field goal, a touchdown by backup running back Don Smith, and a safety after Jeff Hostetler was sacked in the end zone by Bruce Smith, to give the Bills a 12–3 lead. The Giants then ran a drive that took almost 8 minutes, and culminated in a 14-yard touchdown pass from Hostetler to Stephen Baker making the score 12–10 at halftime. The Giants received the second half kickoff and mounted a record-setting drive. The opening drive ran for over 9 minutes (a Super Bowl record) and culminated in a 1-yard touchdown run by Ottis Anderson, giving the Giants a 17–12 lead. The signature play of the drive came on a third down play, when Giants receiver Mark Ingram appeared about to be tackled well short of a first down. However, Ingram evaded several tacklers, and dragged one defender just enough to get the Giants the first down, and kept the drive alive. By this time, the Giants strategy to handle the Bills offense had become clear: keep them off the field. Indeed, the Giants two touchdown drives consumed over 17 minutes. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Thurman Thomas ran for a 31-yard touchdown that put the Bills back in front, 19–17. A few possessions later, the Giants drove down to the Bills 4 yard line, but were unable to score and had to settle for a 21-yard field goal by Matt Bahr that gave the Giants a 20–19 lead. Both teams exchanged possessions before the Bills began one final drive. The Bills drove down to the Giants 30-yard line to set up what would be a potentially game-winning 47-yard field goal attempt by Scott Norwood. Just before the kick, ABC showed a graphic indicating that, on grass that season, Norwood had made just 3–of–7 field goals from at least 40 yards. A few moments later, in what became the game's signature moment, Norwood's attempt missed wide right, and the Giants won their second Super Bowl, 20–19. The Giants set a Super Bowl record for time of possession with a mark of 40:33, and Ottis Anderson was named MVP of the game after rushing for 102 yards and a touchdown. The 1990 season and Super Bowl win marked the end of an era for the Giants. Parcells had grown restless as coach of the Giants and yearned for complete control of the team. Knowing that he would not get that opportunity with George Young as GM, Parcells decided in the spring of 1991 to leave the Giants for a career in broadcasting. There was also an ownership change in what had been one of the most stable front offices in professional sports. In February 1991, after being diagnosed with cancer, Tim Mara sold his 50% interest in the team to Bob Tisch for a reported $80 million. The sale was worked out before the Super Bowl but not announced until afterwords, to avoid distracting the team. It marked the first time since their inception in 1925 that the Giants had not been wholly owned and controlled by the Mara family. Following the departure of Parcells and Belichick—whom many people saw as the likely successor to Parcells—the surprise replacement of Parcells was offensive coordinator Ray Handley. Belichick left to coach the Cleveland Browns when it became clear he was not regarded as head coaching material by Young. He later coached New England to five Super Bowl victories, and said that he deems not being considered for the Giants head coaching position one of the biggest disappointments of his career. Handley was a somewhat reluctant coach, whose approach stood in stark contrast to the passionate and emotional style employed by Parcells. As with Parcells eight years previous, one of Handley's first major decisions as head coach involved replacing Phil Simms as the starting quarterback. Jeff Hostetler, who had led the Giants to a win in the Super Bowl, was named as the team's Opening Day starting quarterback. Though the Giants won their opening game in an NFC Championship Game rematch against the San Francisco 49ers 16–14, they lost three out of their next four games to drop to 2–3. Though they rallied to a record of 7-5 after a dramatic 21-14 win at Tampa Bay in week 13 and were in the hunt for a post-season spot, the Giants lost their next three behind Phil Simms who reclaimed his starting position when Hostetler went down with a broken back. Hostetler threw five touchdowns in his 12 starts, while Simms threw eight in his four starts. The excitement that had surrounded the Giants the previous year was gone. One of the few promising young players to emerge during the year was second–year running back Rodney Hampton, who led the Giants in rushing with 1,059 yards, while also catching 43 passes. The season was also marked by the decline of Lawrence Taylor. Although Taylor still finished with a respectable 7 sacks, 1991 marked the first time in his career he was not elected to the Pro Bowl. Throughout the 1991 season it was clear that the team's defense, which had led the league in points allowed in 1990, was declining. This deterioration continued in 1992, when the team finished 26th in the league in points allowed. The Giants started 1-3 with Simms at the helm, rallied behind Hostetler to take four of their next five to get to 5-4, but lost their next five after Taylor and then Hostetler joined Simms on the injured list. Six losses out of their last seven games meant a 6–10 record, their first double digit loss season since 1983. The team's pass rush, in particular, struggled after Taylor missed the last six games with a torn Achilles tendon. Handley, who had become unpopular with both players and fans, was fired after the end of the regular season. Handley was replaced by Dan Reeves, the successful former head coach of the Denver Broncos who led the Broncos to three Super Bowls in four years, one against the Giants. After his dismissal from the Broncos, Reeves took the unusual step of lobbying heavily for the job. Especially after being publicly rebuffed by a number of candidates, George Young was pleased that someone with Reeves's credentials wanted the job, and Reeves was hired as Giants head coach. He had been a finalist along with Perkins for the team's head coaching position in 1979, but Young went with Perkins at the time because he felt he knew him better from their days together with the Baltimore Colts. The impact Reeves had was immediate. As Bill Parcells had done before in 1984, Reeves named Phil Simms the starting quarterback and released Hostetler. They won their first three games, and five of their first six. The defense was back to its Parcells-era levels and allowed more than 20 points once all season. With two games to go, the Giants were 11–3 and battling for an Eastern Division crown and a first round bye. However, they were upset by Phoenix, 17–6, in the next to last week of the season, setting up a winner–take–all game against the Dallas Cowboys in the season finale. Though the Giants played well, it was Emmitt Smith's memorable performance with a separated shoulder that led the Cowboys to a 16–13 overtime win, giving the Cowboys a sweep of the season series. Despite the loss, the Giants made the playoffs as a Wild Card and won their first round game 17–10 over the Minnesota Vikings. However, they were then defeated by the San Francisco 49ers 44–3, in their worst performance of the season in the second round. As he had done in 1984 when Bill Parcells restored him to the starting quarterback's job, Phil Simms responded with a solid season in 1993. Playing in all 16 games, he completed almost 62% of his passes, threw for over 3,000 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. The season marked the first time in seven years that Simms started every game for the Giants. Simms, Hampton, offensive linemen Jumbo Elliot and center Bart Oates all made the Pro Bowl. In addition, Reeves was named Coach of the Year by the Associated Press. Following the season Lawrence Taylor retired and Phil Simms was released by the team, leading to his eventual retirement. Simms and Taylor had been the faces of the franchise since 1979 and 1981 respectively. History of the New York Giants (1979–93) The period of 1979 to 1993 was one of
when did the eagles win last super bowl	"History of the New York Giants" at 11–1–1 and was awarded the NFL title. In a 14-year span beginning in 1933, New York qualified to play in the NFL championship game eight times, winning twice (1934 and 1938). They did not win another championship until 1956, aided by several future Hall of Fame players such as running back Frank Gifford, linebacker Sam Huff, and offensive tackle Roosevelt Brown. From 1958 to 1963, the Giants played in the NFL championship game five times, but failed to win. The 1958 NFL Championship game, in which they lost 23–17 in overtime to the Baltimore Colts, is credited with increasing the popularity of the NFL in the United States. The Giants registered just two winning seasons from 1964 to 1980 and were unable to advance to the playoffs. From 1981 to 1990, the team qualified for the postseason seven times and won Super Bowls XXI and XXV. The team's success during the 1980s was aided by head coach Bill Parcells, quarterback Phil Simms and Hall of Fame linebackers Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson. New York struggled throughout much of the 1990s as Parcells left the team, and players such as Simms and Taylor declined and eventually retired. They returned to the Super Bowl in 2000, but lost to the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV. The Giants upset the heavily favored New England Patriots in Super Bowls XLII and XLVI. The Giants were founded in 1925 by original owner Tim Mara with an investment of $500. Legally named "New York Football Giants" (which they still are to this day) to distinguish themselves from the baseball team of the same name, they became one of the first teams in the then five-year-old National Football League. In 1919, Charles Stoneham, the owner of the New York Giants baseball team, had organized and promoted a professional football team to be called the New York Giants. The team folded before its first game. The New York Football Giants played their first game against All New Britain in New Britain, Connecticut on October 5, 1925. Although the Giants were successful on the field in their first season, going 8–4, their financial status was a different story. Overshadowed by baseball, boxing, and college football, professional football was not a popular sport in 1925. They were in dire financial straits until the eleventh game of the season, when Red Grange and the Chicago Bears came to town, attracting over 73,000 fans. This gave the Giants a much-needed influx of revenue, and perhaps altered the history of the franchise. From 1925 to 1927, former two-time First Team All Pro Doc Alexander played for the team. New York finished 11–1–1 in 1927. Their league-best defense posted 10 shutouts in 13 games. New coach Earl Potteiger led the team into a late-season game against Chicago with first place on the line. New York won 13–7 in what lineman Steve Owen called "the toughest, roughest football game I ever played." Then they won their final two regular season games to secure their first championship. Following a disappointing 4–7–2 season the next year, Potteiger was replaced by LeRoy Andrews. Before the 1929 season, Mara purchased the entire squad of the Detroit Wolverines, including star quarterback Benny Friedman. The Wolverines had finished in third place the year before. Led by Friedman, New York's record soared to 13–1–1. However, their lone loss was a 20–6 setback in November to the Green Bay Packers, and by virtue of this win, and their 12–0–1 record, won the NFL title. Following the season, Mara transferred ownership over to his two sons to insulate the team from creditors. At the time, Jack was just 22, and Wellington only 14. In 1930, the quality of the professional game was still in question, with many claiming the college "amateurs" played with more intensity. In December 1930, the Giants played a team of Notre Dame All-Stars at the Polo Grounds to raise money for the unemployed of New York City. It was also an opportunity to establish the superiority of the pro game. Knute Rockne reassembled his Four Horsemen along with other Notre Dame legends, and told them to score early, then defend. But from the beginning, it was a one-sided contest, with Benny Friedman running for two Giants touchdowns and Hap Moran passing for another. Notre Dame failed to score. When it was over, Rockne told his team, '"[t]hat was the greatest football machine I ever saw. I am glad none of you got hurt." The game raised $115,183 for the homeless, and is often credited with establishing the legitimacy of the professional game. The Giants hired All-Pro offensive tackle Steve Owen to be their new player-head coach prior to the 1931 season. He coached the team for the next 23 years, including two NFL championships, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966. Owen never had a contract with the Mara family; he coached his entire tenure on a handshake basis. Before the 1931 season, New York acquired center Mel Hein, who also played the linebacker position. He would go on to a fifteen-year NFL career in which, as a center, he became an All-NFL First Team selection eight times, and the only offensive lineman ever named league MVP. Friedman quit the team following the season when Mara denied him an ownership stake, telling him "I'm sorry...but the Giants are for my sons." New York struggled in 1931 and 1932, finishing with a combined record of 11–12–3. The Giants acquired University of Michigan All-American quarterback Harry Newman and versatile free agent halfback Ken Strong before the 1933 season. New York finished 11–3, first in the new Eastern Division. Newman led the NFL in passes completed (53), passing yards (973), touchdown passes (11), and longest pass completion (78 yards), with his passing yardage total setting an NFL record. New York's resurgence was led by some of the league's best linemen, such as Ray Flaherty and future Hall of Famers Red Badgro, and Hein. They advanced to play in the league's first official championship game in Chicago's Wrigley Field versus the Bears, where they lost 23–21 in a game which had six lead changes. In the 1934 NFL Championship Game, the Giants defeated previously unbeaten Chicago 30–13 at the Polo Grounds on an icy field with temperatures peaking at 25 degrees. Before the game, team treasurer John Mara talked with Owen and team captain Flaherty about the field conditions. Flaherty suggested the Giants wear sneakers on the frozen field, as he had played in a game under similar circumstances at Gonzaga, and the sneakers proved to be effective. Mara dispatched equipment manager Abe Cohen to get as many sneakers as he could get. Due to traffic and the inability to find any athletic goods stores open on Sunday, Cohen was unable to return before the game started, and the Giants, wearing conventional footwear, trailed 10–3 at the end of the first half. Realizing time was short, Cohen went to Manhattan College — where he had a key to the equipment and locker rooms — and returned to the Polo Grounds at halftime with nine pairs of basketball sneakers, saying that "nine pairs was all I could get." Players donned the sneakers and New York, after allowing Chicago another field goal late in the 3rd quarter, responded with 27 unanswered points in the 4th quarter to win their first NFL Championship game. The game would come to be known as "The Sneakers Game", and the 27 points the Giants scored in the 4th quarter set a single–quarter championship game scoring record that stood for decades. After the game, offensive tackle Len Grant expressed his sincere gratitude by stating "God bless Abe Cohen." The Giants were unable to repeat as champions in 1935, as they fell to the Detroit Lions 26–7 in the NFL Championship game. The Lion staked a 13–0 lead before the Giants were able to cut the lead to 13–7 in the 3rd quarter. However, the Lions defense helped their team score two late touchdowns with a blocked punt and an interception. The Giants were so successful from the latter half of the 1930s until the United States' entry into World War II, that according to one publication, "[f]rom 1936 to 1941 the New York Giants annually fielded a collection of NFL all-stars." They added their third NFL championship in 1938 with a 23–17 win over Green Bay. The Giants blocked two Green Bay punts to establish an early advantage before the Packers came back to take a 17–16 lead. However, in the 4th quarter, Ed Danowski threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Hank Soar, and the Giants defense held the Packers scoreless. The Giants made the championship game again the next year, but lost in a rematch to the Packers, 31–16. They also advanced to the championship game in 1941, losing to the Bears, 37–9. Both games were close early before their respective opponents went on an offensive surge to break the game open late. In 1944, the Giants reached the championship game, where they faced the Green Bay Packers for the third time in ten seasons. They lost again, this time 14–7 as Ted Fritsch scored two touchdowns, and the Packers defense held on to the lead despite a fourth-quarter touchdown by the Giants. By 1946, Mara had given over complete control of the team to his two sons. Jack controlled the business aspects, while Wellington controlled the on-field operations. In 1946, the Giants again reached the Championship game, for the eighth time in 14 seasons. However, they were beaten by the Sid Luckman-led Bears, 24–14. Before the 1948 season, the Giants signed defensive back Emlen Tunnell, the first African American player in team history, and later the first African American inducted into the Hall of Fame. From 1947 to 1949, they never finished above .500, but came back with a 10–2 record in 1950. However, they lost to the Cleveland Browns, whom they had beaten twice in the regular season, 8–3, in the 1950 divisional playoff game. In 1949, halfback Gene "Choo-Choo" Roberts scored a league-high 17 touchdowns, and in 1950, he set a team record that would stand for over 50 years, when he rushed for 218 yards on November 12. Following the 1953 season, an important transition in Giants history occurred. After being the team's coach for 23 years, Steve Owen was fired by Wellington and Jack Mara, and replaced by Jim Lee Howell. Wellington later described the move by calling it "the hardest decision I'd ever made". New York went 7–5 in 1954 under Howell. In their 31st and final season playing their home games at the Polo Grounds in 1955, they went 5–1–1 over their final seven games to finish 6–5–1. They were led by rejuvenated running back Frank Gifford, who played the entire season solely on offense for the first time in several years. The Giants won their fourth NFL Championship in 1956. Playing their home games at Yankee Stadium for the first time, New York won the Eastern Division with an 8–3–1 record. In the NFL Championship Game on an icy field against the Chicago Bears, the Giants wore sneakers as they had 22 years previous. They dominated the Bears, winning 47–7. The 1956 Giants featured a number of future Hall of Fame players, including Gifford, Sam Huff, and Roosevelt Brown. Equally notable, the team featured as its coordinators future Hall of Fame head coaches Tom Landry (defense) and Vince Lombardi (offense). The Giants had another successful year in 1958. They tied for the Eastern Division regular season title with a 9–3 record by defeating the Cleveland Browns 13–10 on the last day of the regular season. They beat the Browns again a week later in a one-game playoff to determine the division winner. They advanced to play the Baltimore Colts in the NFL Championship Game. This game, which would become known as "The Greatest Game Ever Played", is considered a moment in league history, and marked the beginning of the rise of professional football into the dominant sport in the American market. The game was competitive. The Giants got off to an early 3–0 lead, then the Colts scored two touchdowns to take a 14–3 halftime lead. In the 3rd quarter, New York's defense made a goal line stand, which became a turning point in the game. New York, who had trouble mounting drives to that point, then had a 95-yard drive which culminated in a touchdown, making the score 14–10. They drove again in the 4th quarter, with quarterback Charlie Conerly throwing a 15-yard touchdown pass to Frank Gifford to take the lead, 17–14. The Colts put together one last drive with less than two minutes left. The standout player was receiver Raymond Berry, who caught three passes for 62 yards, the last one for 22 yards to the New York 13-yard line. With seven seconds left in regulation, Steve Myhra kicked a 20-yard field goal to tie the score 17–17, sending a game to overtime for the first time in NFL history. After winning the coin toss and receiving the ball, the Giants offense stalled and was forced to punt. From their own 20, the Colts drove the ball to the New York 1-yard line, where Alan Ameche ran for a touchdown to give the Colts the championship, 23–17. New York's success continued in the 1960s. They finished 9–3 in 1959 and faced the Colts in a championship game rematch. They lost again, this time in a far less dramatic game, 31–16. Led by quarterback Y. A. Tittle and head coach Allie Sherman, the Giants won three consecutive Eastern Division titles from 1961–1963. In 1961, they were beaten 37–0 by the Packers. In 1962, they went into the championship game with a league-best 12–2 record and a nine–game winning streak, but they lost to the Packers again, 16–7. The Giants finished with an 11–3 record in 1963 and faced the Bears in the NFL championship game. On an icy field in Chicago, the Giants' defense played well, but the Bears newly invented zone defense intercepted Tittle five times and battered him throughout the game. Sherman resisted calls from players such as linebacker Sam Huff to replace the struggling Tittle. The Giants defense held the Bears in check, but they lost 14–10, their third straight NFL Championship Game defeat. The Giants' run of championship game appearances combined with their large market location translated into financial success. By the early 1960s, the Giants were receiving $175,000 a game under the NFL's television contract with CBS — four times as much as small-market Green Bay, which was one of the most successful teams of the era. However, in the league's new contract, the Maras convinced the other owners that it would be in the best interest of the NFL to share television revenue equally, a practice which is still current, and is credited with strengthening the league. After the 1963 season, the team fell apart. A roster filled with mostly older veterans plus some bad personnel moves (e.g. the dispatching of Rosey Grier, Sam Huff, and Don Chandler) lead to a quick exit from the top of the standings. The Giants finished 2–10–2 in 1964, beginning an 18-season playoff drought. The seasons of 1964 through 1980 in team history have often been referred to as "the wilderness years" for several reasons: 1) The franchise lost its status as an elite NFL team by posting only two winning seasons, against twelve losing and three .500 seasons during this span; 2) The Giants became a "team of nomads," calling four different stadiums home in the 1970s (Yankee Stadium, the Yale Bowl, Shea Stadium, and finally Giants Stadium in 1976); 3) New York tried several head coach and quarterback combinations during this period, but with almost no success (from 1964 to 1983, no coach or starting quarterback could boast even a .500 record). The team rebounded with a 7–7 record in 1965, (mostly due to the acquisition of quarterback Earl Morrall during the offseason) before compiling a league-worst 1–12–1 record and allowing over 500 points on defense in 1966. This season also included a 72–41 loss to the rival Washington Redskins at D.C. Stadium in the highest-scoring game in league history. Interest in the team was waning, especially with the rapid rise of the New York Jets, with their wide-open style of play and charismatic quarterback Joe Namath. The Giants acquired quarterback Fran Tarkenton from the Minnesota Vikings before the 1967 season in exchange for their 1st- and 2nd-round draft picks, and showed improvement. They finished 7–7 in 1967 and were 7–3 through ten games in 1968. Leaving them one game behind Capitol Division leader Dallas. However, New York dropped its final four games to again finish 7–7. Notably, in 1968, one of Tarkenton's favorite targets, wide receiver Homer Jones made the Pro Bowl; it wasn't until 2010 that another Giants receiver, (Steve Smith), would make the Pro Bowl. Since Smith, Victor Cruz (2012) and Odell Beckham Jr. (2014–16) have made it to the Pro Bowl. Jones' average of 22.3 yards per reception for his career is still an NFL record. During the 1969 preseason, the Giants lost their first meeting with the Jets, 37–14 at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut. Following the game, Wellington Mara fired coach Allie Sherman and replaced him with former Giants fullback Alex Webster. On opening day of the 1969 regular season, Tarkenton led New York to a 24–23 victory over his former team, the Vikings, by throwing two touchdown passes in the 4th quarter. The Giants went 6–8 that season. They showed marked improvement in 1970; after an 0–3 start, they rebounded to finish 9–5, narrowly missing the playoffs by losing their final game to the Los Angeles Rams. Tarkenton had one of his best seasons as a Giant and made his fourth straight Pro Bowl. Running back Ron Johnson was also selected to the Pro Bowl; the halfback ran for 1,027 yards, becoming the first Giant to gain 1,000 yards rushing in a season. In 1971, Johnson missed most of the season with a knee injury, and New York dropped to 4–10, resulting in Tarkenton being traded back to the Vikings. The Giants rallied somewhat in 1972 to finish 8–6. Journeyman quarterback Norm Snead (acquired in the trade for Tarkenton) led the league in completion percentage and had his best season. Other standouts and Pro Bowl selections that year were running back Johnson, who rushed for 1,182 yards (breaking his own team record) and caught 45 passes, tight end Bob Tucker, who followed up his 1971 NFC-leading 59-catch season with 55 in 1972, and defensive stars Jack Gregory and John Mendenhall. The Giants boasted the top offense in the NFC and after a season-finishing 23–3 win at Dallas to secure their second winning campaign in three years, the future looked bright. However, after the 1972 season, New York would endure one of the worst periods in its history. Desiring their own home stadium, in 1973, the Giants reached an agreement with the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority to play their home games at a new, state-of-the-art, dedicated football stadium. Later named Giants Stadium, it was to be built at a new sports complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey. As the complex was being built, and their current home at Yankee Stadium was being renovated, they would be without a home for three years, and dubbed "the orphans of the NFL." Their final full season at Yankee Stadium was 1972. After playing their first two games there in 1973, the Giants played the rest of their home games in 1973, as well as all of their home games in 1974, at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut. This was done out of a desire to have their own home field, as opposed to having to share Shea Stadium with the Jets. However, between access problems, neighborhood issues, the fact that the Yale Bowl was not ideally suited for pro football (the stadium did not have lights, nor does it today), the age of the stadium (built in 1914), and the lack of modern amenities, the Giants reconsidered their decision and agreed to share Shea Stadium with the Jets in 1975. New York left the Yale Bowl after losing all seven home games played there in 1974 and compiling a home record of 1–11 over that two-year stretch. One of the bright spots in this era was tight end Bob Tucker. From 1970 through 1977, Tucker was one of the top tight ends in the NFL. He amassed 327 receptions, 4,376 yards, and 22 touchdowns during his years as a Giant. Despite their new home and heightened fan interest, New York still played subpar football in 1976 and 1977. In 1978, the Giants started the year 5–6 and on November 19, 1978, played the Philadelphia Eagles at home with a chance to solidify their playoff prospects. However, the season imploded in one of the most improbable finishes in NFL history. The Giants led 17–12 and had possession of the ball with only 30 seconds left. They had to just kneel the ball to end the game, as the Eagles had no time outs. However, instead of kneeling the ball, offensive coordinator Bob Gibson ordered New York quarterback Joe Pisarcik to hand the ball off to fullback Larry Csonka. Csonka was unprepared to receive the handoff, and the ball rolled off his hip and bounced free. Eagles safety Herman Edwards picked up the loose ball and ran, untouched, for a score, giving the Eagles an improbable 19–17 victory. This play is referred to as "The Miracle in the Meadowlands" among Eagles fans, and "The Fumble" among Giants fans. In the aftermath of the defeat, Gibson was fired, and the Giants lost three out of their last four games to finish out of the playoffs for the 15th straight season, leading them to let coach John McVay go as well. However, following the 1978 season came the steps that would, in time, return New York to the pinnacle of the NFL. New York decided to hire a general manager for the first time in franchise history following the 1978 season. The search grew contentious and fractured the relationship between owners Wellington and Tim Mara. Finally, the Maras asked NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle to step in with a recommendation. Rozelle recommended George Young, who worked in personnel for the Miami Dolphins and had been an assistant coach for the Baltimore Colts. Young was hired, but the rift between the Maras lasted for several years. Young hired San Diego Chargers assistant Ray Perkins as head coach and drafted unknown quarterback Phil Simms from Morehead State to the surprise of many. New York continued to struggle, finishing 6–10 in 1979 and 4–12 in 1980. With the 2nd overall pick in the 1981 draft, the Giants selected linebacker Lawrence Taylor. The impact that Taylor had on the Giants' defense was immediate. He was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and NFL Defensive Player of the Year, becoming, to date, the only rookie to ever win the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award. His arrival raised the Giants linebacking corps — which already included future Hall of Famer Harry Carson and Pro Bowler Brad Van Pelt — into one of the NFL's best. It also predicated New York's transformation from allowing 425 points in 1980 to 257 in 1981. Another bright spot was the rushing game; keyed by the acquisition (via trade from the "Houston Oilers") of running back Rob Carpenter in early October. Carpenter rushed for 748 yards and scored five touchdowns thru the balance of the season and the Giants went 9–7. They defeated the Eagles in the first round of the playoffs, 27–21, then lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers 38–24 in the divisional playoffs. In the strike-shortened 1982 season, the Giants lost their first two games before the strike, and their first game upon returning. They won their next three games to even their record at 3–3. Perkins then announced that he was leaving to take the head coaching job at Alabama after the season, and the team lost the next two games, effectively eliminating them from the playoffs (despite defeating the Eagles in the season finale to go 4–5). Taylor remained a bright spot, repeating as the league's Defensive Player of the Year. Young chose Bill Parcells, the Giants' defensive coordinator, as the team's new head coach. Parcells first year proved difficult. In his first major decision, he named Scott Brunner as his starting quarterback over Phil Simms. At first, it appeared his decision was justified, especially after a 27–3 Monday night victory over Green Bay gave New York a 2–2 record. But then they lost 10 of their final 12 games. Parcells ignored fans' protests and stuck with Brunner for most of the year, although Jeff Rutledge saw considerable late-season action. Simms finally played in a week six game against the Eagles, only to suffer a season–ending thumb injury. Simms won the starting job back in 1984, and Brunner was traded. The Giants had a resurgent season, highlighted by a second-half stretch where they won five of six games. Despite losing their last two to finish 9–7, they still made the playoffs. In the first round, they defeated the highly favored Los Angeles Rams 16–13 on the road before losing 21–10 to the eventual Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers. Simms threw for 4,044 yards, making him the first Giant to pass for 4,000 yards in a season. The Giants success continued in 1985 by going 10–6. The defense carried the team and led the NFL in sacks with 68. They won their first-round playoff game, 17–3 over the defending champion 49ers. It was New York's first postseason win at home since 1958, and their first ever at Giants Stadium. In the divisional playoffs, they lost 21–0 to the eventual Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears. Many of the players that would play key roles on New York's Super Bowl teams emerged in 1985. Joe Morris became the feature back, running for 1,338 yards, scoring 21 touchdowns, and making the Pro Bowl. Second-year receiver Lionel Manuel led the Giants with 49 receptions, and rookie tight end Mark Bavaro had 37 catches. Simms threw every pass for New York for the second consecutive season, and passed for over 3,800 yards. Defensive end Leonard Marshall recorded 15.5 sacks, and Taylor added 13. New York entered the 1986 season as one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl. They had their first test in a Monday Night game against the defending NFC East champion Dallas Cowboys. They lost at Texas Stadium, 31–28. However, they won their next five in a row and 14 of their last 15, to finish the season with a 14–2 record. One of the signature plays of the season occurred during a Monday Night game in December. Here is a description of the play taken from a "Monday Night Football" broadcast in 2005: "On December 1st, 1986...with the Giants trailing, (Mark) Bavaro catches an innocent pass from Phil Simms over the middle. It takes nearly seven 49ers defenders to finally drag him down, some of which are carried for almost 20 yards, including future Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott. Bavaro’s inspiring play jump starts the Giants, who win the game and eventually the Super Bowl." New York's defense allowed 236 points during the season, second fewest in the NFL, and Taylor set a team record with 20.5 sacks. He won a record third Defensive Player of the Year Award, and was named league MVP. The Giants defeated San Francisco 49–3 in the NFC Divisional Playoffs, then Washington 17–0 in the NFC Championship Game. The Giants advanced to play the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXI in front of 101,063 fans at the Rose Bowl. After falling behind 10–9 at halftime, they came back to beat the Broncos 39–20. Simms was named the game's MVP after completing 22 of 25 (88%) of his passes—a Super Bowl record. In 1987, the Giants lost their first two games before the players strike. Unlike the players strike five years previous, NFL owners made a decision to use replacement players, but still lost all three replacement games, putting them at 0–5 when the strike ended. Though the Giants went 6–4 over their final 10 games, they finished out of the playoffs at 6–9. Bright spots for the season included tight end Mark Bavaro, who led the team in catches with 55, and three New York's linebackers making the Pro Bowl—Taylor, Carson, and Carl Banks. New York's 1988 season got off to a turbulent start due an offseason scandal involving Taylor. Taylor had abused cocaine, violating the NFL's substance abuse policy and was suspended for the first four games of the season. Taylor's over-the-edge lifestyle was becoming an increasing concern for fans and team officials. After his return, however, Taylor recorded 15.5 sacks in 12 games. The intense worry and scrutiny would prove to be for naught as for the rest of his career Taylor would pass his drug tests. Predictably, the Giants struggled to start the season. They were 2–2 when Taylor returned from his suspension. With Taylor back and playing well, however, they won six out of their next eight games. After two straight losses, the Giants won their next three contests to set up a win-or-go-home game against the Jets in the season finale. The Jets defeated the Giants 27–21. When the Eagles beat the Cowboys, and the 49ers lost to the Rams later that night, the Eagles won the NFC East and the Rams clinched the final Wild Card berth. The Giants finished on the outside looking in despite a 10–6 record, because in the tiebreakers, they were swept in the season series by Philadelphia and had a worse conference record than the Rams. The Giants' 12–4 record in 1989 was the NFC's second-best (only to San Francisco's 14–2 record) They lost their divisional playoff game in overtime to the Rams, 19–13. The highlight of the game was wide receiver Flipper Anderson's catch of the game-winning touchdown pass. After catching the ball, Anderson made a long run to the end zone, silencing the crowd in attendance. In 1989, free-agent acquisition Ottis Anderson ran for 1,023 yards and caught 28 passes. Rookie Dave Meggett also emerged as a threat on third downs and special teams, catching 34 passes for 531 yards, and making the Pro Bowl. The Giants won their first 10 games of the 1990 season, setting a record for the best start in the team's history. The San Francisco 49ers also got off to a strong start, matching New York with their own 10–0 start. Although both teams lost their next game, their Week 13 matchup was still eagerly anticipated. The Giants held the 49ers' vaunted offense to seven points, but scored just three themselves. New York won the following week against Minnesota before facing the Buffalo Bills in their regular season home finale. Despite holding a significant advantage in time of possession, they lost 17–13, for their third loss in four games. To compound New York's problems, Phil Simms went down with an injury that would sideline him for the rest of the year. His replacement, Jeff Hostetler, was an unproven career backup, who had thrown a mere 68 passes coming into the season. The Giants won their final two games to secure a 13–3 record and a first-round playoff bye as the NFC's #2 seed. They defeated Chicago 31–3 in the Divisional Playoffs, setting up a rematch with the 49ers in San Francisco for the NFC Championship. As they had in Week 13, the Giants' defense held San Francisco's offense in check. In the game's waning moments, nose tackle Erik Howard caused a Roger Craig fumble, and Taylor recovered it. New York drove downfield into San Francisco territory, and on the game's last play, kicker Matt Bahr hit a 42-yard field goal to defeat the 49ers, 15–13. The win set up another rematch, this time in the Super Bowl against the Buffalo Bills. Super Bowl XXV took place amidst a background of war and patriotism. The Persian Gulf War had begun less than two weeks previous, and the nation rallied around the Super Bowl as a symbol of America. The Giants got off to a quick 3–0 lead; however, the Bills scored the next 12 points. The Giants responded by running a nearly eight-minute drive, which culminated in a 14-yard touchdown pass from Hostetler to Stephen Baker. The Giants received the second-half kickoff and mounted a record-setting drive. The opening drive ran for over nine minutes (a Super Bowl record) and culminated in a 1-yard touchdown run by Ottis Anderson, giving the Giants a 17–12 lead. On the first play of the 4th quarter, the Bills' Thurman Thomas ran for a 31-yard touchdown that put Buffalo back in front, 19–17. On the ensuing possession, the Giants drove down to the Buffalo 4-yard line, and Bahr made a 21-yard field goal, which gave the Giants a 20–19 lead. Both teams exchanged possessions before the Bills began one final drive, driving down to the Giants 29-yard line to set up what would be a potential game-winning 47-yard field goal attempt by Scott Norwood. In what would become the game's signature moment, Norwood's attempt missed wide right, and the Giants won their second Super Bowl, 20–19. The Giants set a Super Bowl record for time of possession with a mark of 40:33, and Ottis Anderson was named MVP of the game after rushing for 102 yards and a touchdown. The 1990 season marked the end of an era. After the Super Bowl, defensive coordinator Bill Belichick left to become head coach of the Cleveland Browns. Parcells also decided to leave the Giants in the spring of 1991 to pursue a career in broadcasting. In addition, there was an ownership change in what had been one of the most stable front offices in professional sports. In February 1991, Tim Mara was diagnosed with cancer, and he sold his 50% interest in the team to Bob Tisch for a reported $80 million. This marked the first time since their inception in 1925 that the Giants had not been wholly owned and controlled by the Mara family. Following the departure of Parcells and Belichick — who many people saw as the likely successor to Parcells — the surprise choice as head coach was running backs coach Ray Handley. Handley, however, was a somewhat reluctant coach, whose approach stood in stark contrast to the passionate and emotional style employed by Parcells. As with Parcells eight years previous, one of Handley's first major decisions involved replacing Phil Simms as starting quarterback. Jeff Hostetler was named the team's starter. Though the Giants won their opening game in an NFC Championship Game rematch against the 49ers, 16–14, they lost three out of their next four games to drop to 2–3. Though they rallied to finish the season 8–8, and Simms reclaimed his starting job later in the year, the excitement that surrounded the Giants the previous year was gone. One of the few promising young players to emerge on the team was second–year running back Rodney Hampton, who led the Giants in rushing with 1,059 yards. Through the 1991 season, it was clear that the team's core players on defense had aged quickly. This deterioration continued in 1992, when Lawrence Taylor ruptured his Achilles tendon in the team's tenth game, and the Giants promptly lost six out of their last seven games to finish the year 6–10. The defense continued its descent, finishing 26th in the league in points allowed after leading the league in that category in 1990. Handley, who had become unpopular with both players and fans, was fired after the end of the regular season. Handley was replaced by former Denver Broncos head coach Dan Reeves, who led the Broncos to three Super Bowls in four years, one against the Giants. After his dismissal from the Broncos, Reeves took the unusual step of lobbying for the job. After being rebuffed by a number of candidates, George Young was pleased that someone with Reeves's credentials wanted the job. Reeves' impact was immediate. As Parcells had done in 1984, Reeves named Simms his starting quarterback. The defense returned to form, and allowed more than 20 points once all season. With two regular season games left, the Giants were 11–3 and appeared poised for a first-round playoff bye. They were upset by a Phoenix Cardinals team, who came into the game with just five wins, 17–6, in the next-to-last week of the season, setting up a winner–take–all contest against Dallas in the final regular season game. Though the Giants played well, it was Emmitt Smith's memorable performance with a separated shoulder that led the Cowboys to a 16–13 overtime win, giving the Cowboys a sweep of the season series and home-field advantage throughout the NFC Playoffs. Despite the loss, the Giants made the playoffs as a Wild Card and won their first-round game, 17–10 over the Vikings. However, they were defeated by the San Francisco 49ers 44–3 in the divisional playoffs. Simms played in all 16 games, completing nearly 62% of his passes, and threw for over 3,000 yards and 15 touchdowns. Simms, Hampton, offensive linemen Jumbo Elliot and center Bart Oates made the Pro Bowl, and Reeves was named Coach of the Year by the Associated Press. After the season, Lawrence Taylor and Phil Simms, the two biggest figures of the late 1980s and early 1990s Giants teams, retired. Before the 1994 season, Reeves named Dave Brown, who had been a #1 supplemental draft choice in 1992, the Giants starting quarterback. Though Brown led the Giants to wins in their first three games, they lost their next seven. The Giants recovered to win their last six games of the season, but missed the playoffs. During the winning streak, they never allowed more than 20 points in a game. The Giants regressed to a 5–11 record in 1995. Much of the blame for the Giants' poor performance was placed on Brown. He put up lackluster numbers for the second straight year. Though the Giants defense still played well, and young players like Michael Strahan and Jessie Armstead began to emerge, the Giants inspired tepid interest league-wide and sent no players to the Pro Bowl for the second straight year. The Giants had another losing season in 1996, finishing 6–10. Though Brown again started every game for the Giants, he turned in one of the worst seasons of any starting quarterback in the NFL, throwing for just 12 touchdowns against 20 interceptions. The Giants' offense was one of the worst in the NFL and, unlike in previous years, the defense was unable to carry the team. After missing the playoffs for three consecutive seasons, Reeves was fired. The Giants hired former Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Jim Fassel as their head coach before the 1997 season. With the team's offense floundering once again and a 2–3 record after five games, Fassel turned to inexperienced Danny Kanell as the starting quarterback over Dave Brown. The Giants experienced a resurgent season, finishing 10–5–1 and winning the NFC East. They hosted a first–round playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings. The Giants led the Vikings for most of the game, including 22–13 in the 4th quarter, but following a muffed onside kick, the Vikings booted a last-second field goal to win 23–22. Following the season, George Young left the Giants. He was replaced by Ernie Accorsi, a veteran general manager who had successful stints building the Baltimore Colts and Cleveland Browns. The Giants regressed to an 8–8 record in 1998. The strength of the team during the season was their defense, which featured two Pro Bowlers in Armstead and Strahan. However, the offense continued to struggle. Dave Brown had been released before the season and replaced by Kanell and Kent Graham. However, neither quarterback provided Pro Bowl-caliber play. Before the 1999 season, the Giants signed quarterback Kerry Collins. Collins had been the first–ever draft choice of the Carolina Panthers, and in his second season, led them to the NFC Championship game. However, problems with alcohol abuse, conflicts with his teammates, and questions about his character led to his release from the Panthers. Although many people questioned the wisdom of Accorsi and the Giants giving Collins a $16.9 million contract, Accorsi was confident in Collins' abilities. In 1999, Tiki Barber emerged as a solid pass–catching running back, catching 66 passes. Wide receiver Amani Toomer also had a breakout season, accumulating over 1,100 yards receiving and six touchdowns, and Ike Hilliard finished just shy of 1,000 yards receiving. The defense rebounded, ranking 11th in the league, and Armstead and Strahan again were selected to the Pro Bowl. Though the Giants stood at 7–6 and poised for a playoff berth, they lost their final three games to miss the playoffs. The 2000 season was considered a make-or-break year for Fassel. The conventional wisdom was that Fassel needed to have a strong year and a playoff appearance to save his job. After back-to-back losses at home against the St. Louis Rams and Detroit Lions, the Giants fell to 7–4, and their playoff prospects were in question. At a press conference following the loss to Detroit, Fassel guaranteed that "[t]his team is going to the playoffs." The Giants responded, winning the next week's game against Arizona and the rest of their regular season games to finish the season 12–4 and earn a bye and home-field advantage as the NFC's top seed. The Giants won their first playoff game against the Eagles, 20–10, and then defeated the Vikings 41–0 in the NFC Championship game. They advanced to play the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV. Though the Giants kept the game close early and went into halftime down only 10–0, the Ravens dominated the second half. The Ravens' defense harassed Kerry Collins all game long, and he had one of the worst games in Super Bowl history. Collins completed only 15 of 39 passes for 112 yards and four interceptions, and the Ravens won the game, 34–7. The Giants' only score came on a Ron Dixon 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown late in the 3rd quarter. On the ensuing kickoff, the Ravens' Jermaine Lewis scored a touchdown on an 84-yard return. The Giants were unable to build on their Super Bowl appearance. They ended the 2001 season 7–9 and out of the playoffs for the third time in four seasons. Collins continued his success as the team's quarterback, throwing for over 3,700 yards and 19 touchdowns, and Strahan broke the NFL record by recording 22.5 sacks In 2002, Collins had one of the best seasons of his career, throwing for over 4,000 yards, and Barber rushed for 1,386 yards and caught 69 passes for 597 yards. Rookie tight end Jeremy Shockey caught 74 passes for a total of 894 yards. The team started 6–6, but made the playoffs as a wild card by winning their last four regular season games. In the wild card playoffs, the Giants built a 38–14 3rd-quarter lead against San Francisco. However, the 49ers rallied, scoring a field goal, and three touchdowns to take a 39–38 lead with a minute left in the game. Collins then drove the Giants down to the 49ers 23-yard line with six seconds left, setting up a potential game winning 41-yard field goal attempt for Matt Bryant. On the final play of the game, 40-year-old long snapper Trey Junkin — who had just been signed for this playoff game — snapped the ball low, and punter Matt Allen could not spot the ball properly for the attempt. Allen picked the ball up and threw an unsuccessful pass downfield to offensive lineman Rich Seubert as time expired, and the Giants lost 39–38. The Giants started the 2003 season 4–4, but lost their final eight games. With two games remaining in the season, Jim Fassel requested a meeting with team management, and asked, if he was to be fired, that they do so now rather than wait until the end of the season. Management complied with his request, formally firing Fassel on (or around) December 17, 2003, but allowing him to coach the team's final two games. After a brief search, Ernie Accorsi hired former Jacksonville Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin to be the Giants' head coach. Coughlin was considered a disciplinarian, in contrast to the departed Fassel, whose lenient style was criticized in his final years with the club. Accorsi coveted quarterback Eli Manning, brother of Peyton and son of Archie, in the 2004 NFL Draft. Manning had indicated before the draft that he did not want to play for the San Diego Chargers, who held the top pick. The Chargers drafted him nonetheless, and then traded him to the Giants for their first round picks in 2004 and 2005. The Giants released Kerry Collins, who was unhappy with a backup role, and signed veteran quarterback Kurt Warner. The plan was for Warner to be the starter, while the team groomed Manning to ultimately take over the job. After losing to the Eagles in the 2004 season opener, the Giants, with Warner at quarterback, won five of their next six games, making them 5–2. After losing two close games, to the Bears and Cardinals, to drop to 5–4, Coughlin announced that Manning would start the rest of the season. Manning struggled, and the Giants did not score more than 14 points in their next four games. He performed better later in the season, but the Giants finished the season 6–10. Barber established a career-high in rushing with 1,518 yards. He also had 52 catches and a total of 15 touchdowns. The Giants started 4–2 in 2005. Then, on October 25, patriarch Wellington Mara died after a brief illness at the age of 89. Mara had been involved with the Giants since he was nine years old, when he worked for them as a ball boy. Except a tour of duty in the military during World War II, Mara spent his entire adult life with the team. He was beloved by many of the players, and was noted for making an effort to get to know each of them. The Giants dedicated their next game to Mara, and defeated the Redskins 36–0. Just twenty days after Mara's death, on November 15, the other Giants Executive Officer, Bob Tisch, died at the age of 79. The Giants honored Tisch by defeating the Eagles 27–17 in their next game. Barber set a new team single-game rushing record with 220 yards, and the team's single-season record with 1,860 yards in a victory over the Kansas City Chiefs . The Giants finished 11–5 and hosted the Carolina Panthers in the wild card playoffs, but lost 23–0. The Giants regressed to an 8–8 record in 2006. The season was characterized by inconsistent play, criticism of the coaching by the media and players, and Manning's struggles. They won five straight following a 1–2 start, giving them a two-game lead in the NFC East, but they lost six of their last seven games, and the players publicly clashed with Coughlin. One of the team's worst losses was a 24–21 defeat to Tennessee, in which the team surrendered a 21-point 4th-quarter lead. Following a season-ending win at Washington, the Giants made the playoffs as a wild card in spite of their record, but were defeated 23–20 by Philadelphia. Barber led the Giants with 1,662 yards rushing and over 2,000 yards from scrimmage, Manning threw for 3,244 yards and 24 touchdowns, and Jeremy Shockey led the team in receptions. Defensively, the team struggled against the pass (28th in the league) and gaining a consistent pass rush (tied for 23rd in the league in sacks). In 2007, the Giants made the playoffs for the third consecutive season. In a September game against the Eagles, they tied the NFL record for most sacks in a game by sacking Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb 12 times, with Osi Umenyiora recording six of those sacks. They became the third NFL franchise to win 600 games when they defeated the Atlanta Falcons 31–10 in October. That same month, they also played in the NFL's first regular season game outside of North America, in London's Wembley Stadium, where they beat Miami 13–10. They ended the regular season 10–6 and defeated Tampa Bay 24–14 in the first round of the playoffs, earning Manning and Coughlin their first playoff victories with the Giants. The next week, the Giants won their ninth consecutive road game by beating the top-seeded Dallas Cowboys 21–17. In the NFC championship game, Lawrence Tynes kicked an overtime field goal to give them a 23–20 road victory over the Green Bay Packers. In Super Bowl XLII, the Giants defeated the previously unbeaten New England Patriots 17–14. The signature play of the game came on a 3rd-and-5, with the Giants on their own 44-yard line, down 14–10, and 1:15 remaining in the 4th quarter. Manning dropped back to pass, but was surrounded by New England pass rushers. Escaping three tackles, he threw a long pass to David Tyree, who caught the ball against his own helmet, while being covered by Patriots safety Rodney Harrison. Four plays later, Manning threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress with 35 seconds left. Manning won the game's MVP award by completing 19 of 34 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns. The Giants' win is considered one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history. Michael Strahan retired after the game as the team's all-time leader in sacks. The Giants' 12–4 record in 2008 earned them a first-round bye in the playoffs. They won 11 of their first 12 games before stumbling to lose four of their last five, including a 23–11 loss to the Eagles in the NFC Divisional Playoffs. Manning threw for 3,238 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, and was named to the Pro Bowl after the season. Other standouts included Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward who both rushed for 1,000 yards (who helped the Giants lead the NFL in rushing yards); Justin Tuck, who led the team with 12 sacks; and Antonio Pierce, who was the team's leading tackler. The Giants featured a balanced offense with no receiver topping 600 receiving yards. The Giants won their first five games in 2009, but lost their next four. After beating the Atlanta Falcons in overtime, they lost badly to Denver on Thanksgiving. They defeated Dallas 31–24 in Week 13, then lost 45–38 to Philadelphia the next week. At 8–6, they still had a chance to make the playoffs, but losses to Carolina and Minnesota to finish the season left them out of the playoffs at 8–8. In the spring of 2010, construction on the New Meadowlands Stadium (now MetLife Stadium) was completed, and the Giants and Jets opened it in August with their annual preseason game. In the regular season, they won their home opener against Carolina, 31–18, avenging their late-season loss from the previous year. They went on the road to play Indianapolis in the second "Manning Bowl" in Week 2. Peyton outplayed Eli (who threw for just 161 yards) in a 38–14 Colts victory. Discipline became a growing problem for the Giants during the season. In the Colts game, Jacobs threw his helmet into the stands, and in the next game, offensive tackle David Diehl ripped off the helmet of Tennessee Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan. During the 2011 preseason, the Giants lost tight end Kevin Boss, wide receiver Steve Smith, guard Rich Seubert, linebacker Keith Bulluck, wide receiver Derek Hagan, and Pro Bowl center Shaun O'Hara to free agency. However, the 2011 season also saw the emerging of second-year wide receiver Victor Cruz and second-year tight end Jake Ballard. The Giants opened the season against the Washington Redskins on the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, with both New York City and Washington being a target of the attacks. The Redskins beat the Giants 28–14, but the Giants won their next three games, against the Rams, Eagles, and Cardinals. After a loss against the Seattle Seahawks, they went on another three-game winning streak. A key victory was an upset of the New England Patriots 24–20 at Gillette Stadium. The victory ended the Patriots' NFL record home-game winning streak, after a touchdown pass from Manning to Ballard with 15 seconds left. However, the Giants lost their next three games, before regaining their position atop the NFC East with a tightly contested 37–34 win over the Dallas Cowboys on December 11. After splitting their next two games against the Redskins and New York Jets, a victory over the Cowboys in the last game of the regular season clinched a postseason appearance for the Giants. In the first round of the playoffs, the Giants defeated the Atlanta Falcons 24–2. After giving up an early safety in the first half, Eli Manning threw three consecutive touchdowns. Running backs Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs combined for 172 yards rushing, a season-high for the Giants. With the victory, the Giants advanced to the second round against the top-seeded Green Bay Packers. The following week, the Giants defeated the Packers 37–20. Manning threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns, two of them to wide receiver Hakeem Nicks. This earned the Giants a spot in the NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers. They won that game in overtime, 20–17 with Lawrence Tynes scoring the game-winning field goal as he did four years earlier in the same game against the Green Bay Packers. The New York Giants won Super Bowl XLVI against the New England Patriots by a score of 21–17. The winning touchdown drive began with a 38-yard reception by receiver Mario Manningham. As in Super Bowl XLII, Eli Manning was the game's MVP, defeating Tom Brady for a second time in the Super Bowl. Despite winning 2 Super Bowl championships in 5 years, the 2012 (9-7), 2013 (7-9), and 2014 (6-10) seasons saw the Giants missing the playoffs 3 years in a row. A bright spot of the 2014 season was rookie Odell Beckham Jr., who burst onto the scene catching 91 passes on 132 targets, for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns, and in doing so winning Offensive Rookie of the Year. The Giants struggled in 2015, finishing 6-10 again and third in the NFC East due to the Giants defense blowing the lead in the final minutes in 6 of their 10 games. Despite their defensive struggles, Quarterback Eli Manning threw for a career-high 35 touchdown passes and also set career highs in attempts and completions. After the season, head coach Tom Coughlin resigned after 12 seasons. With new head coach Ben McAdoo, the Giants began a rocky 2-3 start after starting 2-0. The Giants rebounded their rocky start and went on a 6 game winning streak for the first time since 2010 which lasted from Week 6 to Week 13. In that span, the Giants improved from their last two season. The Giants clinched a 10 win season for the first time since 2010 with their Week 15 win over the Detroit Lions . Despite losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 16, the Giants clinched a playoff trip when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the New Orleans Saints on Christmas Eve ending the Giants 5 year playoff drought. History of the New York Giants The New York Giants, an American football team which currently plays in the National Football League's National Football Conference, has a history dating back more than 80 seasons. The
who won last year's ncaa women's basketball	"Tennessee Volunteers" women's athletics director, became the senior adviser to Hart and Chancellor Jimmy Cheek. Men's and women's teams with the exception of women's basketball are called the Volunteers (often shortened to "Vols") The Tennessee women's basketball team is called the Lady Volunteers ("Lady Vols"). These names come from the nickname of Tennessee, "The Volunteer State." The Tennessee Volunteers have competed in the Southeastern Conference since its inception in 1932 and consistently been at the top. The Vols have adopted a tradition for competing in every sport often resulting in many teams being ranked in the top 25. Tennessee has been known for its football and women's basketball programs that have both featured several famous coaches including Robert Neyland and Pat Summitt. Tennessee's football team won the first ever BCS National Championship Game and also represents the 9th winningest program in the NCAA. Tennessee women's basketball team won the 2007 and 2008 National Championships earning Pat Summit her eighth NCAA national title, which was at the time the most in college basketball. Overall Tennessee has won 147 regular season SEC championships and 23 national championships in women's basketball, football, men's indoor and outdoor track & field, women's indoor and outdoor track & field, and men's swimming & diving. The only Tennessee sport that does not compete in the SEC is women's rowing which competes in Big 12. The rowing team formerly competed in Conference USA. They won the 2010 Conference USA rowing championship. Many of Tennessee's traditions come from the early 20th century. Tennessee's orange and white colors were selected by Charles Moore, a member of the first football team in 1891. They were later approved by a student body vote. The colors were chosen because of the common American daisy which grew on "The Hill", an area of campus surrounding UT's most notable building, Ayres Hall. The orange color is distinct to the school, dubbed "UT Orange", and has been offered by The Home Depot for sale as a paint, licensed by the university. Home games at Neyland Stadium have been described as a "sea of Orange" due to the large number of fans wearing the school color; the moniker "Big Orange", as in "Go Big Orange!", derives from the usage of UT Orange. Tennessee adopted the name "Volunteers", or more commonly "Vols", because of a now-official nickname that Tennessee received during the War of 1812, the "Volunteer State". The name became even more prominent in the Mexican War when Governor Aaron V. Brown issued a call for 2,800 men to battle Santa Ana and some 30,000 Tennesseans volunteered. The iconized 'T' that represents the men's Tennessee sports programs was introduced by Doug Dickey and then re-designed by Johnny Majors. The once-separate men and women's programs allowed the women's sports to adopt a separate identity apart from the men's by not only referring to themselves as the "Lady Vols" but also adopting the color Columbia Blue into their uniforms and adopting a different logo with a different 'T' that represents the Lady Vols. The famous Smokey mascot was introduced in 1953 by Rev. Bill Brooks who entered his prize-winning blue tick coon hound, "Brooks' Blue Smokey," in a contest at halftime of the Mississippi State game that season. The dogs were lined up on the old cheerleaders' ramp at Shields-Watkins Field and each dog was introduced over the loudspeaker and the student body cheered for their favorite, with "Blue Smokey" being the last hound introduced. When his name was called, he barked. The students cheered and Smokey threw his head back and barked again. This kept going until the stadium was in an uproar and UT had found its mascot, Smokey. The widely known and unique tradition of running through the 'T' on game days began in 1965 when Doug Dickey moved the teams' bench to the east side and had the team enter and simply turning around back to their sideline through a giant 'T' performed by the Pride of the Southland Band. Changes came in 1983 and 2010, namely the direction of the team from simply turning around to going right and then left out of the T. From the team's locker room at the north end zone. One of the biggest and most popular trademarks and most recognized sights, other than the running through the T, about Tennessee sports is the orange and white checkerboard end zones that was introduced in the 1960s and reappeared in the 1980s, inspired by the checkerboard design that Ayres Hall features on its outside brick work, and can also be found in the Thompson-Boling Arena on the basketball court. The Hill is another highly memorable aspect about UT because since the 19th century, "The Hill" has been symbolic of higher education in the state of Tennessee. The university, founded in 1794 as Blount College, moved to "The Hill" in 1828 and quickly grew around it. The main part of UT's old campus stands on this rise above the north shore of the Tennessee River. Neyland Stadium sprawls at the base of The Hill, between it and the River. The Vol Navy is one of the most unusual experiences for a game day at any school because only UT, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Washington are adjacent to major bodies of waters. Today, approximately 200 boats of all shapes and sizes make up this giant floating tailgate party on the river every fall, and boats begin arriving days in advance of home games. The "Pride of the Southland" is one of the most recognizable bands in the country and has represented the state of Tennessee for the last 40 years at eleven Presidential Inaugurations, from Dwight D. Eisenhower to Barack Obama's first inauguration. The band has also made more than 40 bowl appearances, including the Sugar Bowl, Astro Bluebonnet Bowl, Citrus Bowl, Gator Bowl, Hall of Fame Bowl, Garden State Bowl, Sun Bowl, Liberty Bowl, Peach Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, and the Rose Bowl. One of the most notable college fighting songs in the country is the beloved Rocky Top, the unofficial fighting song for the Vols, which has become a ritual for every sport at UT to play at games. The University of Tennessee baseball team has predominantly had a fairly successful program reaching the NCAA Tournament nine times and the NCAA College World Series four times (1951, 1995, 2001, and 2005). They have produced players such as Todd Helton, Joe Randa, Chris Burke, and the number one overall pick in the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft, Luke Hochevar. In 2011 Tennessee hired Dave Serrano to replace Todd Raleigh who finished the season with a losing record including one of the worst SEC records in Tennessee history. Serrano, who was an assistant coach at Tennessee from 1995 to 1996, came to UT with a 289–139–1 (.675) in seven seasons as a Division I head coach. Serrano is also one of 11 coaches that have managed to take two different schools to the College World Series. Serrano officially resigned after the 2017 baseball season. Former Athletic director John Currie introduced Tony Vitello as the new head coach on June 7, 2017. The head coach of the men's basketball program is Rick Barnes. The Volunteers used to be coached by Donnie Tyndall. Tyndall was fired after NCAA violations at his former school. Tyndall was at UT for 1 year where he went 16–16. Before Tyndall, Counzo Martin was head coach of the Volunteers. Martin left to go to Cal after a Sweet 16 season. Earlier in that season there was a petition out to fire him. Before Martin, there was Bruce Pearl who restored the men's program and brought it to national prominence until he was fired in 2011 for multiple violations against the NCAA. Through Pearl's guidance, the men's program was revitalized and claimed the 2005–2006 SEC East Title and closed the season with a 22–8 record and a NCAA Tournament berth. In 2007, the Vols made the NCAA tourney for the second straight year, making it to the Sweet Sixteen. In 2008 the Vols claimed their first outright SEC regular season championship in 41 years. One of the highlights of the 2008 season came when UT knocked off number 1 Memphis, who was then undefeated, to claim the number one ranking in the nation. In men's basketball, the most important rivalries are with Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Florida and cross-state rival Memphis. In the 2009–2010 season, the Volunteers made their first ever elite eight appearance. Notable Tennessee basketball players who went on to NBA careers include Allan Houston and Bernard King. The Volunteers had two players, Jarnell Stokes and Jordan McCrae selected in the 2014 NBA Draft. Current roster: Tennessee has historically had one of the strongest women's basketball teams at the college level, having won eight NCAA Division I titles (1987, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2007, 2008), the 2nd most in women's college basketball history (UConn has 11). The Tennessee Volunteers women's basketball are led by Holly Warlick, who succeeded Pat Summitt, the all-time winningest basketball coach in NCAA history, having won 1,098 games—more than any other basketball coach. Coach Summitt boasted a 100 percent graduation rate for all players who finish their career at UT. Former Tennessee Lady Vols basketball star Candace Parker went No. 1 in the WNBA draft. Tennessee and Summitt also have a rivalry with the University of Connecticut in women's basketball. These two schools have consistently fought great games against each other in recent years, occasionally with the national championship on the line. The regular season rivalry games ended in 2007 when Tennessee decided to not sign a contract continuing them, due to a recruiting dispute. The main women's basketball rivals for Tennessee within the conference are Georgia, Vanderbilt, and LSU. The Lady Vols' first-round loss to Ball State in the 2009 NCAA Tournament ended their record of having made the Sweet Sixteen of every NCAA Tournament since its inception in 1982. Coach Summitt was honored with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2012 ESPYs. The Tennessee Vols men's cross country team has won 25 Southeastern Conference (SEC) Championships, and 1 national championship. The Tennessee Vols women's cross country team has won five SEC Championships, and is coached by J.J. Clark, who also coaches the men and women's track & field programs. Clark is the architect of an amazing reclamation project with the women's cross country program at Rocky Top. During his time, the women's cross country program benefitted immensely from Clark's tutelage, claiming SEC hardware from 2003 to 2005 and NCAA South Region plaques from 2002 to 2005, and making NCAA Championships appearances from 2002 to 2006. Clark is the all-time winningest cross country coach in UT Women's Athletics. In cross country, Clark has groomed 13 female athletes who have totaled 33 All-South Region awards in nine seasons and 14 who've accumulated 25 total All-SEC honors. In addition to qualifying women's teams for the NCAA Championships from 2002 to 2006, he also had Jackie Areson (2008, 2009, 2010), Sarah Bowman (2008) and Katie Van Horn (2009, 2010) qualify as individuals, with Bowman placing 36th in 2008 to become the first female cross country All-American at Tennessee since Sharon Dickie in 2000. Tennessee competes in the SEC's Eastern Division, along with Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt, and has longstanding football rivalries with the majority of them. However, the Vols' most intense and bitter traditional rivalry is with the Alabama Crimson Tide. The teams battle every year in the Third Saturday in October, though the game is now usually held on the fourth Saturday in October. The Vols' Super Bowl champions Peyton Manning and Reggie White are among the most famous NFL athletes to start their careers at the University of Tennessee. Todd Helton also played football, in addition to baseball, as a quarterback. The Tennessee men's golf team has won 3 Southeastern Conference Championships. The current coach for the Vols is Jim Kelson who's steady hand has the Tennessee men's golf program thriving. The Vols are coming off a 12th-place national finish after advancing to NCAA regional competition for a school-best 10th consecutive season. And already this year, UT has captured the prestigious Carpet Capital Collegiate for the first time in school history and the Bank ofTennessee Intercollegiate in a scorecard playoff. Kelson was hired in June 1998 and made almost immediate inroads toward success. The Vols missed the NCAAs that initial season but have been a regular participant ever since, advancing as far as the championship round four times. Kelson has been building this program from the day he arrived on campus. The Vols have won 15 tournament championships in his 11-plus seasons. Five different campaigns produced multiple tourney titles—2001–02 (three), 2004–05 (three), 2006–07 (two), 2007–08 (two). UT also claimed hardware under Kelson in the 1998–99, 2000–01, and 2005–06 seasons. Tennessee's SEC victory that year by two strokes over Alabama led to a plethora of well-deserved postseason awards. Kelson was honored with his first SEC Coach of the Year award, Philip Pettitt earned All-SEC first team honors, while Charlie Ford and Chris Paisley were named to the All-SEC second team. One of the highlights was capturing the 2007 SEC Championship, Tennessee's first league crown in 17 years. At the event, UT finished with three players in the top-10, including two tied for second. Last season, Kelson guided the Vols to a top-five team finish in seven of their 12 tournaments played for the highest number of top-five showings in his coaching career. Four runner-up finishes—the NCAA Northeast Regional included—two thirds and a fifth-place result were testament to Tennessee's steady play throughout the season. Tennessee then challenged for a spot in the NCAA quarterfinal round of match-play but fell just a few strokes shy. The women's golf team is led by Judi Pavón. Over the last decade, the Lady Volunteer golf program has been a constant force in the Southeastern Conference and on the national level under the guidance of Judi Pavón, the current National Golf Coaches Association President. Since Pavón became head coach in 2000, the Big Orange has captured 13 tournament titles, competed at seven NCAA Championships, and been a constant presence in top 25 rankings. Individually, Lady Vols have captured 14 All-America awards, 28 All-SEC nods and 21 NGCA Academic All-America citations under the tutelage of Pavón. In the "decade of success" with Pavón, the Orange and White have continued UT's streak of finishing above .500 in head-to-head matchups and competing at the NCAA Regional Championships every season. The Volunteers rowing team participates with the Big 12 and is coached by Lisa Glenn. During her 12 years at the helm of the University of Tennessee women's rowing team, Head Coach Lisa Glenn has helped the 14-year-old program mature into a national power. Now in her 13th season, Glenn has led the Vols to seven appearances at the NCAA Championships, including three consecutive full-team selections in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2010. Glenn helped propel the Lady Vols to new heights in 2008, leading the Orange and White to its first-ever Conference-USA rowing championship. Glenn was also named C-USA Coach of the Year for her efforts in helping Tennessee achieve this historic feat.Under Glenn's tutelage, senior Laura Miller was named the C-USA rower of the year, while three other Lady Vols captured All-Conference honors. At the 2008 NCAA Championships, the three-time Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) South Region Coach of the Year guided the Orange and White to its first-ever appearance in a grand final, as the second varsity eight took fifth to record UT's best event finish at the NCAA regatta. The team has excelled under Glenn's watch at the sport's largest event, the Head of the Charles Regatta, held every fall in Boston, Mass. Glenn's entries in the Club 8+ race have captured five golds, including three consecutive victories in the event from 2005 to 2007. The Championship 8+ crews have made their mark over the years as well, claiming top-10 finishes three times, and top-15 marks seven times, including a program-best fifth-place finish in 2007. In 2009, the Champ 8+ from Tennessee finished 12th out of 34 overall, placing it in the top eight among universities. The Tennessee Volunteers women's soccer team competes in the SEC and has won four conference championships. The Vols used to be coached by Angela Kelly, who resigned her job on December 17, 2011, to become head coach at the University of Texas. Under Kelly's guidance the then-Lady Vols soccer program became quite the Southeastern Conference powerhouse and a force on the collegiate soccer landscape. Before her promotion to head coach, the Big Orange had never advanced to the NCAA Tournament, claimed an SEC Tournament match, collected any of the league's hardware or been ranked in the final poll of any season.After taking over the program, Kelly took home four consecutive SEC Eastern Division banners, three straight SEC regular-season crowns, and four SEC Tournament titles between 2000 and 2008. The ex-Lady Vol boss also owns three SEC Coach of the Year trophies which she collected each year from 2003 to 2005. Over the previous nine years, Kelly combined strong recruiting, top talent, excellent leadership and team chemistry to create a Tennessee program that made Lady Vol history and collected numerous accolades, both as a team and individually. Kelly compiled a 127–59–16 overall record since taking over at Rocky Top, leading the team to four SEC Eastern Division titles, three regular season championships and four SEC Tournament crowns. In her nine years at the helm, Kelly's teams reached eight NCAA Tournaments, making five Sweet 16 appearances. Kelly's squads were 10–7–2 in the NCAA Tournament and were nearly unbeatable at home, winning nearly 86 percent of the time in Knoxville. On January 26, 2012, Dave Hart announced that Brian Pensky would take over as head coach for the University of Tennessee women's soccer program. Pensky had coached at the University of Maryland where he was named the 2010 Soccer America National Coach of the Year for guiding Maryland to the No. 1 overall seed in the 2010 NCAA Soccer Tournament. In recent years the women's softball team has gained notoriety, reaching the Women's College World Series a total of four times (three consecutive years in a row). They placed third in 2005, 2006, and 2010 and second in 2007. In 2010 the Lady Vols made headlines as they reached the WCWS with a low 15th seed and advanced to 2–2 in the World Series just one victory short of a berth in the Women's College World Series best-of-three title round, but lost 5–2 to No. 3 Arizona. The four appearances in the Women's College World Series have never resulted in the Lady Vols finishing lower than third place in the WCWS. Former pitcher Monica Abbott is the all-time career NCAA leader in strikeouts (2,440), shutouts (112), wins (189) and innings pitched (1448.0). The Salinas, California, native won the U.S. Softball National Player of the Year award and the Honda Award for Softball in 2007. She was also honored by the Women's Sports Foundation as its Team Sport Player of the Year over such high-profile candidates as Kristine Lilly of the U.S. women's soccer team and Lauren Jackson of the Women's National Basketball Association. In 2011 the Lady Vols returned with a very experienced team that had just been to the WCWS and was one series away from the WCWS championship game. The Lady Vols remained impressive throughout the season staying within the top 10 most of the year and leading the eastern division in the SEC until Florida swept them in the last week of conference play, but the resilient Lady Vols found life in the SEC tournament where they defeated the Georgia Bulldogs 6–5 in the championship game winning the tournament after a five-year drought. Recent National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Americans from the University of Tennessee include Abbott (2004–07), India Chiles (2007), Lindsay Schutzler (2005–07), Tonya Callahan (2006–07), Kristi Durant (2005–06) and Sarah Fekete (2005–06). The Tennessee Vols swimming & diving team has won 10 Southeastern Conference Championships, and 1 national championship. John Trembley was fired as head coach for embezzlement and inappropriate behavior on university grounds on January 3, 2012. April 12, 2012, Matt Kredich, the current Tennessee Lady Volunteer Swimming and Diving Head Coach, was hired to coach both teams. The University of Tennessee combined the Swimming team, and is prospering. The Lady Vols swimming & diving team is coached by Matt Kredich. Success has followed Tennessee head women's swimming coach Matt Kredich at every stop of his career, and his five-year tenure on Rocky Top has been no different. After turning around the men's and women's swimming teams at Brown and the women's squad at Richmond, Kredich has led the Lady Vols to unprecedented success. Under Kredich's direction the Lady Vols have broken 18-of-19 Tennessee swimming records, had 19 different athletes garner 120 All-America awards and finished in the top-15 at the NCAA Championships for a UT-record five consecutive seasons. In 2009–10, six Lady Vols, including five repeat All-Americans, captured 21 All-America certificates in nine events. As a team, the Big Orange brought back its second consecutive 13th-place finish at the NCAA meet back to Rocky Top. The Tennessee Volunteers men's tennis team has won 9 Southeastern Conference Championships. Sam Winterbotham was named the 10th coach in Tennessee tennis history on October 24, 2006. He and his assistant Chris Woodruff joined forces when Tennessee was ranked No. 48 nationally, but the Vols quickly vaulted up the charts over a four-year span. Tennessee ended 2010 at No. 2 and has finished in the top 10 3 years in a row. Winterbotham managed to bring Tennessee back among the nation's elite tennis programs. The 2010 season was nothing short of historic for Winterbotham and the Vols. Tennessee returned to the finals of the NCAA Championships for the first time in nine years. The Vols ended the season ranked No. 2 nationally with a 31–2 record, good for the second-most wins in program history. The Vols finished 11–0 in Southeastern Conference play to claim their eighth SEC regular season title and went on to become the first team to capture the SEC Tournament Title courtesy of three 4–0 shutouts. Three players—John-Patrick Smith, Rhyne Williams and Davey Sandgren—earned All-America honors. For the first time in Tennessee history, five Vols were named All-SEC. Five players also finished the year in the national ITA rankings. In terms of sheer number of victories, from 2008 to 2010 the team wrapped up their most successful three-year period in program history with a 77–13 record. The Vols had 31 victories in 2010 and won 23 matches in both 2008 and 2009. The Tennessee Vols women's tennis team is co-coached by Mike Patrick and Sonya Hahn-Patrick. Last year the duo lead the Orange and White on its deepest postseason run in eight years. UT advanced all the way to the quarterfinals of the 2010 NCAA Women's Tennis Championships before falling to No. 5 Notre Dame. Tennessee finished the season ranked 13th in the Campbell's/ITA poll and had four players named to the All-SEC team. Additionally, Mike helped push the doubles team of Caitlin Whoriskey and Natalie Pluskota all the way to the individual doubles finals of the NCAA Championships. For this, the two were named the ITA Ohio Valley Region Co-Head Coaches of the Year. The winningest coach in Tennessee women's tennis history, Mike has a career record of 449–260 (.633). Before compiling a 393–232 (.629) mark with Tennessee, Patrick put up a record of 47–12 (.797) as Kentucky's head coach, as well a 9–16 (.360) mark as the men's coach at Arkansas in 1986–87. Since taking over at UT, the two coaches have seen 21 squads reach top-25 national finishes in the rankings. The highest came in 2000–01 when the Orange and White finished sixth in the country and second in the SEC, the highest conference placement in program history. He has also guided multiple players to All-America status, places on All-SEC teams and spots as high as No. 1 in the national rankings. The Tennessee Volunteers men's indoor track & field team have won 18 SEC Championships as well as 1 national championship. The current team is coached by J.J. Clark. Clark assumed position of the director of the men's track & field team prior to the 2009–2010 team. The Vols' women's indoor track & field team have won 4 SEC Championships as well as 2 national championships. The architect of an amazing reclamation project with the women's track & field and cross country programs at Rocky Top, J.J. Clark spent seven impressive seasons in Knoxville before assuming control of the entire program. During the track & field portion of the season, he has directed the Lady Vols to NCAA Indoor National Championships in 2005 and 2009, SEC Indoor Championships in 2005, 2007 and 2009, and a NCAA Mideast Regional crown outdoors in 2005. With Clark at the helm, Tennessee has enjoyed five top-five NCAA women's indoor track & field finishes (1st in 2005 and 2009, 2nd in 2010, 3rd in 2007 and 4th in 2004) and three additional top-10 outings (t8th in 2008) during his stay in Knoxville. UT also has six SEC top-three outcomes since 2003, with runner-up efforts indoors in 2004 and 2008 in addition to the titles won in 2005, 2007 and 2009. He now has begun the climb with the men's team. The Tennessee Vols men's outdoor track & field team have won 25 Southeastern Conference Championships as well as 3 national titles. The Tennessee women's outdoor track & field team have won 4 SEC Championships and 1 national championship. Since J.J. Clark took the position as coach for the Lady Vols he has led them to a top-five NCAA women's outdoor track & field finishes (4th in 2005) and two additional top-10 outings (t7th in 2004, t10th in 2009) during his time in Knoxville. He has also led UT to has two SEC top-three outcomes. The Volunteers volleyball team have won 4 SEC championships. Two-time National Coach of the Year Rob Patrick has developed a tradition of excellence since coming to Tennessee 13 years ago. Following his arrival at Rocky Top, Patrick has become one of the nation's top coaches and helped the Vols attain levels of success never before reached in Knoxville, as evidenced by NCAA Tournament berths in five of the last six years, including a run to the Final Four in 2005. With an impressive 24–8 record in 2009, the Big Orange now has won 20 or more matches in six of the last eight campaigns and has done so seven times in a 10-year span. Prior to Patrick's arrival at UT in 1997, the then-Lady Vols last recorded a 20-win season in 1988. His nine-year stretch of winning seasons from 1998 to 2006 marked the longest-such run in program history, topping the previous high of seven, set from 1978 to 1984. The Big Orange finished the 2009 campaign with a school-record 16 wins in SEC action, finishing in a tie for second before earning its fifth bid to the NCAA Tournament in the past six seasons where it reached the second round. Following a tough 2007 season, the Lady Vols regrouped to post the third-largest turnaround in NCAA Division I in 2008. Under Patrick's direction, UT doubled its win total from 11 to 22 and returned to the NCAA Tournament after a one-year absence. For his efforts, Patrick was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) South Region Coach of the Year, as well as the Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year, for the second time in his career. During his 13-year tenure at Rocky Top, Patrick has compiled an impressive 267–143 (.651) record, and he became the program's all-time winningest coach with a 3–0 victory over Auburn on Oct 3, 2008. Under Patrick's guidance, eight different student-athletes have been named All-Americans on a total of 15 occasions, including Nikki Fowler who claimed honorable mention honors from the AVCA in 2008 before picking up the honors alongside libero Chloe Goldman in 2009. Prior to those awards, the last players to accomplish the feat were Yuliya Stoyanova and Sarah Blum who both picked up AVCA Honorable Mention accolades as well, following the 2006 campaign. In 2005 the Vols' women's team achieved the program's first ever appearance in the NCAA Final Four and highest year-end ranking in school history. During that memorable year, the Lady Vols fought past some early season obstacles and compiled a stellar 25–9 overall record, finishing sixth in the nation after falling to eventual national champion Washington in the national semifinals of the NCAA Tournament in San Antonio, Texas. For his efforts, Patrick was named the 2005 NCAA National Coach of the Year by VBall Magazine. The season before its run to the Final Four, Tennessee put together an equally impressive season in which it emerged victorious in a school-record 32 matches, while dropping just three contests all year. The Lady Vols accomplished a number of goals in 2004, including winning an SEC regular-season title for the first time in school history, defeating Florida, 3–2, on the final day of the season to tie the Gators with identical 15–1 marks. Just a mere seven days later, the Orange and White made it two titles in two weeks, topping UF, once again by a 3–2 score, in the SEC Tournament championship match. A couple of weeks following that accomplishment, the Big Orange won a pair of NCAA Tournament matches for the initial time in Tennessee annals and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 20 years. Based on the team's fast rise to prominence, Patrick was awarded both the AVCA South Region and the SEC Coach of the Year awards, as well as CVU.com National Coach of the Year honors. He was also a finalist for the AVCA National Coach of the Year award. Founded in 1970, the Tennessee rugby team plays in the Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference. Tennessee has been led since 2011 by head coach Marty Bradley. In the 2011–12 season, Tennessee compiled a 6–0 regular season conference record, defeated Florida in the championship match to win the Southeast Conference title, and defeated Maryland and Florida State to advance to the program's first ever semifinal appearance in the USA Rugby National Championship playoffs. In 2013, Tennessee went 6–0 in conference play, defeated South Carolina in the Conference championship match, before losing to Central Florida in the round of 16 playoffs. In 2015, Tennessee rode an undefeated record and #1 seed into the conference semifinals, where they defeated Florida 30–13 to advance to the conference championship on Nov 21 at the ACRC Bowl Series in Charlotte. In the final, Tennessee came from behind to defeat South Carolina 23–22 for the SCRC championship. Marty Bradley was named 2015 SCRC Coach of the Year. Tennessee rugby has also been successful in rugby sevens. Tennessee finished sixth at the 2010 Collegiate Rugby Championship, the highest profile college rugby tournament in the US broadcast live on NBC. Tennessee won the Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Sevens Championship in 2010 and 2011. The Tennessee Volunteers sponsored a varsity wrestling team from 1940 to 1986 when the program was cut because of budget constraints as well as Title 9. In 1985, they finished a program high 8th at the NCAA wrestling championships. Since their beginning of intercollegiate competition, the University of Tennessee's varsity athletic teams have won 23 national team championships (including sixteen NCAA championships). Men's National Championships Women's National Championships The national intercollegiate sports championships listed above were sponsored by the NCAA unless otherwise noted in the footnotes. Neyland Stadium, home to the football team, seats over 102,000 people and is the fifth-largest stadium in the world. Neyland finished undergoing renovations costing over $100 million. The Volunteers have practiced at the Neyland-Thompson Sports Center since 1989, which underwent an expansion in 2006. The Neyland-Thompson Sports Center which features 2 exterior fields, 1 indoor field and provides the University of Tennessee athletes with the finest strength and conditioning, dressing, health care, meeting, and coaching facilities in the country In 2013 Tennessee dedicated the Anderson Training Center and Brenda Lawson Athletic Center; a 145,000 square foot building that includes an amphitheater-style seating room, coaches offices, position meeting rooms, a dining hall, players' lounge, a barber shop, a 7,000 square-foot locker room, a 22,000 square foot, multi-level weight room, a new training room and hydrotherapy area. In 2014, the Ray and Lucy Hand Digital Studio was added on the ground floor of the Brenda Lawson Athletic Center. The studio is a state-of-the-art facility for athletic video content creation such as online video content and coaches' television shows. The Volunteers and Lady Vols basketball teams play in Thompson-Boling Arena, the largest arena (by capacity) ever built specifically for basketball in the United States. Both basketball programs now practice at the newly completeled Pratt Pavilion, which besides 3 basketball courts, has an athletic training room, a weight room, a film study room, and a place to host recruits. The former home of both basketball teams and the Lady Vols volleyball program, Stokely Athletic Center, was demolished in 2014 to make way for new dormitories. The Alumni Memorial Gym was another indoor athletic facility. It was built in 1934 during a construction campaign under school president James D. Hoskins, and was replaced by the Stokely Athletics Center in 1967. The facility hosted the Southeastern Conference men's basketball tournament in 1936 and 1937 and again in 1939 and 1940. It is now used as a performing arts center and seats 1,000 spectators. The Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center, completed in 2008, is a $30 million center that features one outdoor 50-meter pool, an indoor 50-meter pool, a new 50-meter competition pool, and a separate competition diving well featuring five platforms and six springboards. It will allow for 2,800 seats. The facility also includes a weight room, a training room, a team-meeting room, several locker rooms for the Vols, Lady Vols, and two visiting teams, seven offices for coaches, a multipurpose room, an elevated timing booth, and a renovated Swimming and Diving Hall of Fame. It was named for businessman Allan Jones of Cleveland, who gave donations for its construction. Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 18 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). In September 2011 Dave Hart, formerly the assistant athletic director at the University of Alabama, was introduced as Tennessee's new athletic director. Hart became the school's first athletic director in Tennessee history to oversee the
who won last year's ncaa women's basketball	"College basketball" teams into groups. Teams are selected into these conferences depending on the location of the schools. These conferences are put in due to the regional play of the teams and to have a structural schedule for each to team to play for the upcoming year. During conference play the teams are ranked not only through the entire NCAA, but the conference as well in which they have tournament play leading into the NCAA tournament. The history of basketball can be traced back to a YMCA International Training School, known today as Springfield College, located in Springfield, Massachusetts. The sport was created by a physical education teacher named James Naismith, who in the winter of 1891 was given the task of creating a game that would keep track athletes in shape and that would prevent them from getting hurt. The date of the first formal basketball game played at the Springfield YMCA Training School under Naismith's rules is generally given as December 21, 1891. Basketball began to be played at some college campuses by 1893. The first known college to field a basketball team against an outside opponent was Vanderbilt University, which played against the local YMCA in Nashville, Tennessee, on February 7, 1893. The second recorded instance of an organized college basketball game was Geneva College's game against the New Brighton YMCA on April 8, 1893, in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, which Geneva won 3–0. The first recorded game between two college teams occurred on February 9, 1895, when Hamline University faced Minnesota A&M (which later became a part of the University of Minnesota). Minnesota A&M won the game, which was played under rules allowing nine players per side, 9–3. The first intercollegiate match using the modern rule of five players per side is often credited as a game between the University of Chicago and the University of Iowa, in Iowa City, Iowa, on January 18, 1896. The Chicago team won the game 15-12, under the coaching of Amos Alonzo Stagg, who had learned the game from James Naismith at the Springfield YMCA. However, some sources state the first "true" five-on-five intercollegiate match was a game in 1897 between Yale and Penn, because although the Iowa team that played Chicago in 1896 was composed of University of Iowa students, it reportedly did not officially represent the university, rather it was organized through a YMCA. By 1900, the game of basketball had spread to colleges across the country. The Amateur Athletic Union's annual U.S. national championship tournament (first played in 1898) often featured collegiate teams playing against non-college teams. Four colleges won the AAU tournament championship: Utah (1916), NYU (1920), Butler (1924) and Washburn (1925). College teams were also runners-up in 1915, 1917, 1920, 1921, 1932 and 1934. The first known tournament featuring exclusively college teams was the 1904 Summer Olympics, where basketball was a demonstration sport, and a collegiate championship tournament was held. The Olympic title was won by Hiram College. In March 1908, a two-game "championship series" was organized between the University of Chicago and Penn, with games played in Philadelphia and Bartlett, Illinois. Chicago swept both games to win the series. In March 1922, the 1922 National Intercollegiate Basketball Tournament was held in Indianapolis – the first stand-alone post-season tournament exclusively for college teams. The champions of six major conferences participated: Pacific Coast Conference, Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Western Pennsylvania League, Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association and Indiana Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The Western Conference and Eastern Intercollegiate League declined invitations to participate. Wabash College won the 1922 tournament. The first organization to tout a regularly occurring national collegiate championship was the NAIA in 1937, although it was quickly surpassed in prestige by the National Invitation Tournament, or NIT, which brought six teams to New York's Madison Square Garden in the spring of 1938. Temple defeated Colorado in the first NIT tournament championship game, 60–36. In 1939, another national tournament was implemented by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The location of the NCAA Tournament varied from year to year, and it soon used multiple locations each year, so more fans could see games without traveling to New York. Although the NIT was created earlier and was more prestigious than the NCAA for many years, it ultimately lost popularity and status to the NCAA Tournament. In 1950, following a double win by the 1949–50 CCNY Beavers men's basketball team (when the NIT comprised 12 and the NCAA 8 teams), the NCAA ruled that no team could compete in both tournaments, and effectively indicated that a team eligible for the NCAA tournament should play in it. Not long afterward, assisted by the 1951 scandals based in New York City, the NCAA tournament had become more prestigious than before, with conference champions and the majority of top-ranked teams competing there. The NCAA tournament eventually overtook the NIT by 1960. Through the 1960s and 1970s, with UCLA leading the way as winner of ten NCAA Tournament championships, a shift in power to teams from the west amplified the shift of attention away from the New York City-based NIT. When the NCAA tournament expanded its field of teams from 25 to 32 in 1975, to 48 in 1980, to 64 in 1985, and to 68 teams in 2011, interest in the NCAA tournament increased again and again, as it comprised more and more teams, soon including all of the strongest ones. (Expansion also improved the distribution of playing locations, which number roughly one-third the number of teams in the field.) In 2011, the NCAA field expanded to 68 teams and the last 8 teams playing for four spots making the field into 64, which is called the first round and so on. The former first round is called the second round, the second round is called the third round, and the Sweet Sixteen is the same, but it is technically the fourth round in the current format, etc. In 2016, the field did not expand, but the round numbers changed again. The first four games containing the last 8 teams is now referred to as the first four. Consequently, the first round does not start until the first four games are out of the way and the field is narrowed to 64 teams. So after the first four games the first round starts instead of that being the second round. The Second is now when there are 32 teams left, the sweet sixteen is the third round, and so on. The original rules for basketball were very different from today's modern rules of the sport, including the use of 8 players per side. In the beginning James Naismith established 13 original rules: The following is a list of some of the major NCAA Basketball rule changes with the year they went into effect. The One-and-Done rule has been a part of the Collegiate Basketball since 2006, the first NBA draft it affected. The rule was created by NBA Commissioner, David Stern, which changed the draft age from 18 years old to 19 years old. This age change made it to where players could not be drafted into the NBA straight out of high school. Instead, however, they usually went to a college to play only one season before entering the following NBA draft when they are eligible, hence the name One-and-Done. The first player to be drafted during this "one-and-done era" was Tyrus Thomas, a forward out of Louisiana State, who was drafted fourth overall in 2006. In 2018–19, a total of 353 schools are playing men's basketball in 32 Division I basketball conferences. All of these schools also sponsor women's basketball except The Citadel and VMI, two military colleges that were all-male until the 1990s and remain overwhelmingly male today. The conferences for 2018–19 are: In the early decades of college basketball, and well into the 1970s, many schools played as independents, with no conference membership. However, the rise of televised college sports in the 1980s led to the formation of many new conferences and the expansion of previously existing conferences. The last Division I school to play as an independent in basketball was NJIT, which was forced to go independent in 2013 after the collapse of its former all-sports league, the Great West Conference. NJIT joined the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2015, leaving no Division I basketball independents. There are 24 Division II basketball conferences. The conferences are as follows: There are 3 independent Division II schools without conference affiliations for the 2016–17 season. The most recent change in the list of Division II conferences came after the 2012–13 season, when the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) folded. In June 2012, the conference's nine football-playing members announced a split from the six non-football schools. Eight of the nine schools that announced the split eventually joined with one WVIAC non-football member and three other institutions to form the Mountain East Conference, which began play in the 2013–14 season. Of the remaining schools, three joined the Great Midwest Athletic Conference and two joined the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, with one becoming independent. The 2018–19 season is the last for the Heartland Conference. In 2017, eight of its nine members announced a mass exodus to the Lone Star Conference (LSC) effective in 2019. The remaining member would find a home in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA), although it will technically be an associate member because it does not sponsor football, which is mandatory for full MIAA members. One of the eight schools that originally announced its departure for the LSC later changed course, opting instead to become a de facto MIAA member (that school also does not sponsor football). In past decades, the NBA held to tradition and drafted players who had graduated from college. This was a mutually beneficial relationship for the NBA and colleges—the colleges held onto players who would otherwise go professional, and the NBA did not have to fund a minor league. As the college game became commercialized, though, it became increasingly difficult for "student athletes" to be students. A growing number of poor and under-educated, but highly talented, teenage basketball players found the system exploitative—they brought in funds to schools where they learned little and played without income. The American Basketball Association began to employ players who had not yet graduated from college. After a season of junior college, a season at the University of Detroit, and an Olympic gold medal, Spencer Haywood played the 1969–70 season with the ABA's Denver Rockets. He signed with the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics in 1970, before his college class graduation, defying NBA rules. Haywood pleaded that, as his family's sole wage earner, he should be allowed to earn a living in the NBA or else his family would face destitution. The ensuing legal battle went to the U.S. Supreme Court which ruled in 1971 that the NBA does not have the same antitrust exemption enjoyed by Major League Baseball. Thereafter, collegiate players demonstrating economic hardship were allowed early entry into the NBA draft. The hardship requirement was eliminated in 1976. In 1974, Moses Malone joined the Utah Stars of the American Basketball Association (which became part of the NBA after the ABA–NBA merger in 1976) straight out of high school and went on to a Hall of Fame career. The past 30 years have seen a remarkable change in the college game. The best international players routinely skip college entirely, many American stars skip college (Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, Dwight Howard, Amar'e Stoudemire, and LeBron James) or only play one year (Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Kevin Durant, and John Wall), and only a dozen or so college graduates are now among the 60 players selected in the annual NBA draft. Fewer high schoolers have progressed directly to the NBA without at least one year of college basketball beginning in 2006; citing maturity concerns after several incidents involving young players, the labor agreement between players and owners now specifies that players must turn 19 years of age during the calendar year of the draft to be eligible. Additionally, U.S. players must be at least one year removed from their high school graduation. The pervasiveness of college basketball throughout the nation, the large population of graduates from "major conference" universities, and the NCAA's marketing of "March Madness" (officially the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship), have kept the college game alive and well. Some commentators have argued that the higher turnover of players has increased the importance of good coaches. Many teams have been highly successful, for instance, by emphasizing personality in their recruiting efforts, with the goal of creating a cohesive group that, while lacking stars, plays together for all 4 years and thus develops a higher level of sophistication than less stable teams could achieve. College basketball remains more popular than the NBA in some regions of the United States, such as in North Carolina and the Midwest (where traditionally strong programs at Louisville, Kentucky, and Indiana are found). The NCAA Men's Basketball Rules Committee, consisting of coaches from all three divisions of the NCAA, sets the rules for college men's basketball play. A parallel committee sets rules for college women's play. Although many of the NBA and WNBA rules apply in NCAA play, there are differences that make NCAA play unique. As of the most recent 2017–18 season, NCAA men's games are divided into two halves, each 20 minutes long; NBA games are played in four quarters of 12 minutes each; and WNBA and NCAA women's games are played in 10-minute quarters. The NCAA shot clock gives teams of both sexes 30 seconds to shoot, while the shot clock used in both the NBA and WNBA gives teams 24 seconds. Also, NCAA teams are allowed 10 seconds to move the ball past the halfcourt line (with this rule only having been added to the women's college game in the 2013–14 season), while NBA and WNBA rules allow only 8 seconds. However, like the NBA and WNBA (and high school basketball), during the last minute of each period, the game clock keeps time remaining in the period measured in tenths of a second, rather than full seconds. Prior to the 2015–16 season, NCAA men's basketball used a 35-second shot clock, while NCAA women's basketball was played with the same 20-minute halves as the men's game. Though the height of the basket, the foul line's distance from the backboard, and the court dimensions are the same, the distance between the three-point line and the backboard is different. The NBA three-point line measures at the top of the circle, or 22 feet (6.7 m) in the corners or baseline. On the NCAA court, the three-point line had been a constant , but the NCAA Rules Committee voted in May 2007 to extend it a foot more to , which became effective beginning the 2008–09 season for men and the 2011–12 season for women. The WNBA's three-point line was , which FIBA used before it extended its three-point arc to at the top of the circle and at the corners and baseline. The NCAA lane measures in width, while the NBA and WNBA lane is ; the FIBA lane is marginally wider than the NBA/WNBA lane at exactly . NCAA players are allowed five personal fouls before fouling out, as opposed to their NBA counterparts, who are allowed six. This maintains the same ratio of minutes of play per foul allowed, eight. However, the WNBA allows players six personal fouls despite playing the same number of minutes as the NCAA. The number of team fouls allotted is also different. In all three competitions, team fouls can be categorized as shooting or non-shooting. A shooting foul occurs when a player gets fouled in the act of shooting (while airborne), giving him the chance to shoot free throws. A common foul (non-shooting foul) consists of all other fouls, including making contact with the opposing player while "reaching in" to steal the ball. A team may make a certain number of non-shooting fouls per period before the opposing team is awarded free throws. In the NBA, WNBA, and (since 2015–16) NCAA women's basketball, the fifth team foul in a quarter places the team in penalty. For every foul starting with the fifth, whether it's shooting or non-shooting, the opposing team receives two free throws. In addition, if an NBA team has not entered the penalty in the last two minutes of a period, its team foul count is reset; the second team foul in the last two minutes triggers the penalty. The WNBA has the same rule, except that the "reset" does not occur until the final minute of a period. In the NCAA men's game, the penalty begins with the seventh team foul in a half. However, the fouled player must make the first free throw in order to get the second. This is called a "one-and-one" or "one and the bonus" situation. On the tenth team foul, the "double bonus" situation comes into play, meaning that every subsequent team foul results in two free throws for the opposing team. No free throws are shot at either level for a player control foul, which is an offensive foul (usually a charge). Unlike NBA/WNBA rules, the team foul count does not reset in the last one or two minutes of a half (men's) or quarter (women's). Overtime periods are considered an extension of the second half under NCAA men's rules and the fourth quarter under NCAA women's rules, but not under NBA/WNBA rules; in those leagues, the fourth team foul in any overtime period, or the second in the last one (WNBA) or two minutes (NBA), triggers the penalty. When a dispute over ball possession arises, the jump ball is used in the NBA and WNBA. In the NCAA, once the first possession has been established from the opening tip, no further jump balls occur except to begin an overtime period. Since 1981, a possession arrow on the scorer's table has dictated which team should possess the ball, with the arrow switching directions after each use. NCAA teams can call a timeout after they made a basket (Indiana scores a 3-point field goal and calls a timeout); in the NBA and WNBA, only the opposing team can call a timeout after a basket is made. Since the 2015–16 season, NCAA men's coaches have been banned from calling timeouts from the bench while the ball is live, although players remain free to do so. In addition, the NBA limits what types of defense a team can play, primarily in an effort to prevent coaches from slowing down the pace of the game by using zone defenses. Zone defense is permitted in the NBA and WNBA; however, players cannot stand in the lane for more than three seconds if they are not guarding anyone. In NCAA basketball, no such restriction exists, and coaches are free to design a variety of defensive techniques. In college basketball, it is required by rule that the home team wears their white or light-colored jerseys while the visiting team wears their darker jersey color. The NBA, like most other professional sports leagues, lets the home team decide which uniform to wear, but with a few exceptions the home team has continued the tradition of the college game and wears white (or in the case of the Los Angeles Lakers for non-Sunday home games, gold) at home. Since the 2017–18 season, the NBA only requires that road teams wear colors that contrast sufficiently with the home team's choice, meaning that "color on color" games are now possible. This is for regular season play only; home teams always wear white during the playoffs. The WNBA, however, follows the college rule for all games. The NBA introduced a new dress code rule in 2005. Now players are required to wear business casual attire whenever they are engaged in team or league business. This includes a long or short-sleeved dress shirt (collared or turtleneck), and/or a sweater; dress slacks, khaki pants, or dress jeans, and appropriate shoes and socks, including dress shoes, dress boots, or other presentable shoes, but not including sneakers, sandals, flip-flops, or work boots. The WNBA has a similar dress code, adjusted for standard women's attire. NCAA rules have no set dress code rule, leaving it up to individual teams or conferences. The organizations also have different rules for jersey numbers. While the NBA and WNBA allow players to wear any number from 0 to 99, including 00, so long as it is available, the NCAA disallows any jersey number with a 6, 7, 8, or 9 in it. This is done to allow the referee to report fouls using hand signals with one hand, as each hand has only five fingers. High school basketball, whose rules are set by the National Federation of State High School Associations, also follows the NCAA's convention on jersey numbering. While less commercialized than Division I, Division II and Division III are both highly successful college basketball organizations. Women's Division I is often televised, but to smaller audiences than Men's Division I. Generally, small colleges join Division II, while colleges of all sizes that choose not to offer athletic scholarships join Division III. Games other than NCAA D-I are rarely televised by national media, although CBS televises the Championship Final of NCAA Division II, while CBS College Sports Network televises the semifinals as well as the Division III Final. The NAIA also sponsors men and women's college-level basketball. The NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship has been held annually since 1937 (with the exception of 1944), when it was established by James Naismith to crown a national champion for smaller colleges and universities. Unlike the NCAA Tournament, the NAIA Tournament features only 32 teams, and the entire tournament is contested in one week instead of three weekends. Since 2002 the NAIA National Tournament has been played in Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. (in 1994–2001 it was held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and 1937–1999 it was held at Municipal then Kemper Arena in Kansas City). Media coverage has sporadically been provided by CBS, the Victory Sports Network, and various lesser-known media. Since 1992, the NAIA has sponsored a Division II championship, similar to the NCAA Division I and II. There is also an NAIA Women's Basketball Championship. The only school to have won national titles in both the NAIA and NCAA Division I is Louisville; the Cardinals have also won the NIT title. Southern Illinois has won NAIA and NIT titles. Central Missouri and Fort Hays State have won NAIA and NCAA Division II national titles. College basketball College basketball today is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including the United States's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate
who won last year's ncaa women's basketball	"Holy Cross Crusaders" teams-per-enrollment in the country. Holy Cross's athletic teams for both men and women are known as the Crusaders. Holy Cross is a founding member of the Patriot League, and boasts that one-quarter of its student body participates in its varsity athletic programs. Principal facilities include Fitton Field for football (capacity: 23,500) and baseball (3,000), the Hart Center at the Luth Athletic Complex for basketball (3,600) and ice hockey (1,400), the Linda Johnson Smith Soccer Stadium (1,320), and the Smith Wellness Center, located inside the Luth Athletic Complex. The College is one of nine schools to have won an NCAA championship in both baseball (1952) and basketball (1947). The Holy Cross baseball team won the NCAA National Championship in 1952 and remains the only team from the northeastern part of the United States to have won the College World Series. The Crusaders also reached the College World Series in 1958, 1962, and 1963. In the last two of these seasons, the team featured pitcher Dick Joyce, who briefly made the major leagues, and third baseman John Peterman, who after a short minor-league career went on to become a successful entrepreneur who was parodied on "Seinfeld". The Crusaders won their first Patriot League Baseball Tournament title in 2017 and returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1978 where it defeated No. 25 Nebraska. The Holy Cross men's basketball team has won two national tournament championships having won the NCAA Tournament in 1947 and the National Invitation Tournament in 1954 at a time when the NIT was considered to be equal to if not more prestigious than the NCAA Tournament. The team also has reached the Final Four in 1948 and the Elite Eight in 1950 and 1953. In 2016, the team captured its first win in an NCAA Tournament game since the 1953 season. Notable former players include Boston Celtics legends and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Bob Cousy and Tom Heinsohn. The Holy Cross women's basketball team has also made several appearances in the postseason including 12 trips to the NCAA Tournament as well as one appearance in both the Women's National Invitation Tournament and the Women's Basketball Invitational. They are 1-12 in the NCAA Tournament with the lone win coming in 1991 as an upset over the 6th seeded Maryland. This is the only victory in the NCAA Tournament for any team from the Patriot League. Six-time Patriot League Coach of the Year Bill Gibbons recorded his 500th win early in the 2011–2012 campaign. The Holy Cross football team played in the 1946 Orange Bowl. The team has since made the FCS postseason in 1983 and 2009. In 1987, the team went undefeated and finished first in the national polls despite the Patriot League not allowing its teams to participate in the NCAA Tournament. Notable former players include Bill Osmanski who went on to win four NFL Championships with the Chicago Bears and two-time Heisman Trophy finalist Gordie Lockbaum. On March 24, 2006, the Holy Cross men's hockey team made history by defeating the Golden Gophers of the University of Minnesota in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament by the score of 4–3, in overtime. Coined as one of the biggest upsets in NCAA ice hockey history, never since the NCAA tourney expanded to sixteen teams had a sixteen seed beat a number one seed until again in 2015 when the 16th seeded RIT Tigers defeated the first seeded Minnesota State Mavericks by a score of 2–1. In its history, the Holy Cross ice hockey program has seen two NCAA appearances, and has won the Atlantic Hockey and MAAC three times (1999, 2004, 2006). The men's ice hockey program competes in the Atlantic Hockey Association. The women competed in the Division III New England Hockey Conference from its creation in 2015–16 until moving to Division I play in 2017. This team competed as a Division I independent during the 2017–18 season as part of a scheduling agreement known as the New England Women's Hockey Alliance before joining Hockey East for the 2018–19 season. Holy Cross has a rich history of success with its track & field program. In 1917, Andrew Kelly set the world record in the 300 yard dash. Joe Tierney won the IC4A 440 yard title in 1925, and James Quinn won the IC4A 100 yard in 1928 before going on to win an Olympic gold medal in the 4x100m relay. In the early 1960s, Charlie Buchta and Kevin Kilgallen were prominent Crusaders on the national scene. The Holy Cross golf team has also produced some exceptional golfers including Willie Turnesa who won two US Amateur titles and a British Amateur, and Paul Harney who, after earning a medal at the 1952 NCAA championship, won six PGA Tour events and was inducted into the PGA of America Hall of Fame. In recent years, the soccer programs made their first NCAA Tournament appearances with the women appearing in 2000 and the men appearing in 2002. In 2006 and 2007, the women's lacrosse team made its first NCAA Tournament appearances, defeating LeMoyne in the NCAA play-in game before falling to Duke in 2006, and losing to Northwestern in 2007. In addition, the Holy Cross rowing teams, both men and women, have enjoyed success over the years. Key highlights include the women's team winning several New England championships and the 2002 ECAC National Invitational, and the men's varsity eight finishing ranked within the national top 20 in 2005, 2006, 2013, and 2015. In 2016, the men's varsity four finished fourth at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championship. The women's team competes in the Patriot League and also holds membership in the Eastern College Athletic Conference. As the NCAA and Patriot League do not sponsor men's rowing, the men's team was granted an acceptance into the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges (EARC), which is composed of the traditional Ivy League schools plus other select universities. Holy Cross student-athletes are among the most academically successful in the nation. In 2016, the Crusaders’ overall Graduation Success Rate of 97 percent for all student-athletes tied for the 17th best mark in the country out of 351 Division I schools. That marked the 10th straight year in which Holy Cross posted a Graduation Success Rate of at least 97 percent. Also in 2016, 14 Holy Cross varsity athletic teams received Division I Academic Progress Rate (APR) public recognition awards from the NCAA. These teams posted multi-year APR scores in the top 10 percent of all squads in their respective sports. The 14 total teams earning public recognition awards put Holy Cross in the top 10 among all Division I athletic programs. The Crusaders finished tied for eighth in the nation out of 356 schools, placing them in the top three percent of all of Division I. Holy Cross has won two NCAA team national championships: Holy Cross also claims two national championships not recognized by the NCAA: <nowiki></nowiki> - The NIT was widely considered equally prestigious to the NCAA Tournament at the time, particularly because it was played at the high-profile Madison Square Garden. <nowiki>*</nowiki> – The Patriot League did not allow its members to participate in the 1-AA football playoffs during its early years, but the undefeated Crusaders finished first in the national polls and the Sporting News declared them National Champions. Holy Cross has won more than 50 regular season and/or postseason conference championships throughout its history. The majority of these have come in the Patriot League, where it currently competes for most sports. It is reported that the name "Crusader" was first associated with Holy Cross in 1884 at an alumni banquet in Boston, where an engraved Crusader mounted on an armored horse appeared at the head of the menu. The name was rediscovered by Stanley Woodward, a sports reporter for the "Boston Herald", when he used the term "Crusader" to describe the Holy Cross baseball team in a story written in 1925. The name appealed to the Holy Cross student body, which held a vote later in that year to decide whether this cognomen or one of the other two currently in use – "Chiefs" and "Sagamores"- would be adopted. On October 6, 1925, "The Tomahawk", an earlier name of the student newspaper, reported that the results of the ballot were: Crusaders 143, Chiefs 17, Sagamores 7. Owing to the Post-9/11 controversy over the “Crusaders” nickname, only Holy Cross and Valparaiso University maintain Crusaders at the NCAA Division I level. The school color is royal purple. There are two theories of how Holy Cross chose purple as its official color. One suggests it was derived from the royal purple used by Emperor Constantine the Great (born about 275 A.D., died in 337 AD) as displayed on his labarum (military standard) and on those of later Christian emperors of Rome. The other version is attributed to Walter J. Connors, an 1887 graduate, and was printed in the October 1940 issue of the Alumnus. According to the account, there was a disagreement during the 1870s between Holy Cross students from Massachusetts and Connecticut concerning the schools' baseball uniform colors. Those from Massachusetts purportedly favored the crimson of Harvard, while those from Connecticut favored the deep blue of Yale. Legend has it that a fellow student with a sense of diplomacy resolved the dispute in the chemistry lab, where he mixed copper sulphate (blue) with iron oxide (red) to produce the color of deep purple. Historically, Holy Cross' major rival has been the Eagles of Boston College, especially in football. Boston College does not share this view as far as Holy Cross being a "rival". In 1896, Holy Cross and Boston College played the first football game between the two schools. To accommodate larger crowds, the Holy Cross game was routinely held at larger venues off campus, with the 1916 matchup taking place at the newly constructed Fenway Park. A record 54,000 attended the 1922 game at Braves Field, home of the Boston Braves baseball team. On November 28, 1942, Holy Cross beat BC in a huge upset by a score of 55-12, a result that proved fortunate for the losing Eagles. The BC team had booked their victory party for a popular Boston nightclub, but canceled after the upset loss. As a result, the Eagles were not among the nearly 500 who died or the hundreds more who were injured when the nightclub caught fire that night. By the late 1970s the Holy Cross game had become more of a tradition than a rivalry, as Holy Cross football began to cease to be a major power. By 1980, the game was no longer part of the student ticket package, and was mostly attended by alumni. In 1986 Holy Cross changed the direction of its football program, joining the Division 1-AA Patriot League, and terminated the series. BC had won 17 of the last 20 games. The last basketball game between the two schools was played on January 17, 2006, a 63-53 win for Boston College at Worcester's DCU Center. Later that year, BC's athletic director, Gene DeFilippo, caused a minor controversy when he announced that the school would not schedule any more basketball games against Holy Cross, claiming that it was not beneficial for BC. The two schools renewed their rivalry in basketball on November 22, 2010 as part of the Jesuit Basketball Spotlight, a national effort to bring attention to Jesuit education. In a game held at BC's Conte Forum, Boston College posted a 69-56 victory, the Eagles' 16th in their last 17 games against Holy Cross. On November 18, 2011, the Crusaders defeated the Eagles 86-64 in Worcester. The Holy Cross Crusaders have a group of loyal fans, sometimes called the "Mount St. James Faithful" or the "Hart Center Faithful", the nickname coming from the athletic stadium at The College of the Holy Cross. Holy Cross Crusaders The Holy Cross Crusaders are the athletic teams representing the College of the
who won last year's ncaa women's basketball	"Emporia State Hornets" since 1991. The university's athletic director is Kent Weiser. The Hornet football team, which has been coached by Garin Higgins since 2007, has an all-time record of 510–524–43 (). Jory Collins was named head coach of the Lady Hornets basketball program in 2010 following the resignation of Brandon Schneider, who left to be head coach of Stephen F. Austin after winning the 2010 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championship. The men's basketball team is currently coached by Shaun Vandiver, a former NBA First Round Draft Pick. In 1923, the teams were known as the "Yaps", but it was not a popular name. Men's basketball coach Vic Trusler suggested the name "Yellow Jackets". This was later changed to "Hornets". Since 2008, Emporia State has had four top four finishes in the nation. The Lady Hornets basketball team won the 2010 NCAA Div. II National Championship game against Fort Collins, Colorado. In 2009, the baseball team were national runners up, as were the Lady Hornet softball team. In 2011, the men's track & field team won took 4th place in the NCAA Div. II National Track Championships. The 2003–04 athletic season was a record season for ESU. ESU became the first school to have their football, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball and softball teams all advance to NCAA play in the same school year. ESU has averaged over 100,000 fans a year at home events over the last eight years. Since 2002, Emporia State has placed in the top 50 out of over 300 Division II schools nationally in the Learfield Sports Director's Cup for 12 straight years with a high of 4th in 2013–14. Emporia State has been a member of six conferences and two stints as an independent, since its athletics beginnings in 1893. Emporia State University began its athletic life as a member of the Kansas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference from 1893 to 1928. Emporia State, along with other schools from the conference, withdrew from the KIAC and formed the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 1928, where it stayed as a member for thirty-nine years. After competing the CIAC for almost four decades, Emporia State left the CIAC and joined the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in 1967. In 1972, the RMAC split into two conferences, one keeping the current name and the other to be called Great Plains Athletic Conference, and four years later formed the Central States Intercollegiate Conference. In 1989, the CSIC disbanded and Emporia State became an Independent. In 1991, Emporia State became a NCAA Division II member and joined the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, where it remains a member today. The Hornets baseball team played its first game in 1978. The team has five conference championships, and two NCAA Division II World Series appearance with a 2009 runner-up. The team had also made five appearances in the NAIA World Series, winning the 1978 World Series. From 2004 to 2018, the team was coached by former player, Bob Fornelli, who finished 599–266 () at Emporia State. The Hornets basketball team is currently coached by Craig Doty, a three-time national championship coach. The program was founded in 1901, thirty-eight years after the university was founded. For the last 115 years, the program has compiled a record of 1,380–1,126 (). Some notable coaches are Fred Honhart, George Crispin, Homer Woodson Hargiss, and A.A. Schabinger. Of its varsity sports, Emporia States's women's basketball team has been the only one to claim a national title. The Lady Hornets, who was led by player Alli Volkens and head coach Brandon Schneider, won the 2010 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championship, defeating the Fort Lewis College (Colorado) Skyhawks. The Lady Hornets basketball team is currently coach by Jory Collins, who was the assistant coach on the team won the National Championship. Collins replaced Brandon Schneider as head coach when he resigned to take the head coach position at Stephen F. Austin. In 1998, Emporia State's women's basketball team played in the NCAA Women's Division II Basketball Championship. The head coach for that team was Cindy Stein, who left to coach at the University of Missouri. The men's and women's cross country teams are currently coached by Eric Wellman. With the men's program starting in 1923 and the women's program in 1976, the women's team has won one MIAA conference championship, which was in 1994. The cross country teams run their home meets at Jones Park, in Northeast Emporia. The men's and women's track and field teams are currently coached by Steven Blocker. Since joining the MIAA in 1991, the women's team has won five MIAA outdoor championships and two indoor championships while the men's team has won two MIAA conference outdoor championships. The track teams host meets on the Zola Witten Track at Francis G. Welch Stadium. The Hornets football team, is currently coached by former Hornet quarterback Garin Higgins, who played from 1987–1990. Since joining the MIAA in 1991, the Hornets have gone 119–118 in conference play. The Hornets have also participated in five post-season bowls in which three of those were wins. Past football coaches include Homer Woodson Hargiss, Jerry Kill, and Harold Elliott. Starting in 2001, the women's soccer program is the newest intercollegiate sport at Emporia State. The team is currently coached by Bryan Sailer, who is in his fifth season. As the fifth coach since 2001, Sailer has a record of 23–36–15 (). The soccer games are either played on the ESU soccer pitch or at Emporia High School. The Lady Hornets softball team played its first game by 1971, seven years before the baseball team. The team is currently coached by April Huddleston, who took over the program on October 19, 2015. The softball team appeared in three Women's College World Series in 1971, 1972 and 1979 and also won the first AIAW Division II national championship in 1980. Emporia State also played for the national championship in 2006 and 2008. The men's and women's tennis teams compete on the George Milton Tennis Courts, named after the longtime tennis coach for Emporia State, having served from 1966–99, George Milton. With the men's program starting in 1966 and the women's program 10 years later, the tennis teams have been successful. Since joining the MIAA, the women's team has won two conference championships in 2005 and 2007, and have participated in the NCAA tournament four years, advancing to the Sweet 16 in 2007. The men's team has advanced to the NCAA tournament in 2007 and 2008. Since 1973, the Hornets volleyball team has combined a total record of 973–601. Since joining the MIAA in 1991, the Hornets have won one conference championship in 2008, and have advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. The Hornets are coached by Bing Xu, who has been at Emporia State since 2005, and has a combined record of 228–98 (). Francis G. Welch Stadium serves as home to the Hornets football team. The stadium, who is named for long-time Emporia State coach and athletic director Fran Welch, opened in 1947 and since then has gone under a few renovations. Improvements done in 1994 include installation of a new scoreboard and fence as well as remodelling of entrance areas, concessions, and washrooms. In 1997, the Hutchinson Family Pavilion was added. It hosts multiple levels of enclosed sky-boxes, theatre-style seating, and a media area. The current seating capacity of the stadium is 10,000. Zola Witten Track is also in the facility, used by the track teams. Since 1940, home basketball games have been played at William L. White Auditorium, a 5,000-seat arena which is named after William Lindsay White, son of William Allen White. In addition to serving as home to the men's and women's basketball teams, the auditorium has been used by the Hornets volleyball team since the program started in 1973. In 2008, a new scoreboard and video screen were installed, and the arena floor was refinished and a refreshed logo added. Interior painting in a new color scheme was completed throughout the building. Trusler Sports Complex is home to the baseball and softball teams. The baseball team competes on Glennen Field, named after Dr. Robert E. Glennen, thirteenth president of Emporia State University. In 2009, artificial turf was installed in the formerly dirt infield. The Lady Hornets compete on Turnbull Field, which is named in honor of J. Michael Turnbull, president and trustee of the Trusler Foundation. The Hornet tennis teams compete on the George Milton Tennis Courts. George Milton was the longtime tennis coach for Emporia State, having served from 1966 to 1999. Emporia State's official school colors are black and gold. They have been the colors since the school was founded in 1863, and until recently, the gold was Old gold. In 1933, the Teachers College had a student contest where students and staff could design a mascot for the college. Sophomore Paul Edwards, who graduated in 1937, designed Corky. Although hundreds of drawings were submitted, Edwards' Corky, a "human-like" hornet was selected. Corky was published in "The Bulletin", the student newspaper for Emporia State University. "Fight On, Emporia!" is the official fight song for Emporia State University. The lyrics for the fight song were written by Alfred Thompson (BME '34), student at Kansas State Teachers College. Tom Isern wrote the lyrics for ESU's alma mater and the music was composed by Joseph Ott. Emporia State Hornets The Emporia State Hornets are the athletic teams that represent Emporia State University (ESU). The women's basketball and softball teams use the name Lady Hornets. The university's athletic program fields 15 varsity teams in 11 sports all of
who won last year's ncaa women's basketball	"Basketball winning streaks" division I basketball record eclipsing the 60 game streak of San Francisco in 1956. The streak is still an active Division I men's basketball streak, but the Division I basketball streak was matched when the University of Connecticut women's basketball team won a game against Ohio State on December 19, 2010 and the old record was eclipsed when the team won their 89th consecutive victory against Florida State on December 21, 2010. UConn's streak ended at 90 games, after losing to Stanford, who was the last team to beat UConn before the start of the streak. The streak is also intact and was the highest winning streak in Division I College Basketball history for seven years, until UConn surpassed it after they won their 91st straight game. UConn's streak ended at 111 straight after losing to Mississippi State on March 31, 2017 in the semi-finals of the NCAA Tournament 66-64 in overtime. In 1950, Phil Woolpert, a high school coach at the time, took over as head basketball coach of the San Francisco Dons when Pete Newell left to coach Michigan State University. The school had no gym, and arranged for practices at a nearby high school. The team went 44–48 in its first four seasons, and was not expected to be very good in the 1954–1955 season. The team started off the season with three wins, then lost to UCLA 47–40. They would go on to win 60 consecutive games, including two national championships, and the first undefeated seasons in NCAA basketball history. Two of the players on the squad for the first 55 games of the streak, Bill Russell and K.C. Jones, became stars for the Boston Celtics. After winning their second national championship in 1956, Russell and Jones graduated. The team then won five more games. Before the streak officially ended, they lost a game, when they took on the US Olympic team. Both Russell and Jones were on the Olympic team. The streak ended officially on December 17, 1956, when Illinois beat San Francisco 62–33. When the 1970–71 basketball season started, the reigning national champion was UCLA, having won its sixth championship in the spring. They started the season with a five-game winning streak from the previous season, and would win their next thirteen games, reaching a winning streak of 18 games. In addition to the consecutive wins streak, the UCLA team had won 49 consecutive games against non-conference opponents. However, on January 23, 1971, UCLA played Notre Dame at Notre Dame. Austin Carr scored 46 points, leading the Irish to an 89–82 victory. Six days later, UCLA would win their next game against Santa Barbara, the start of the new win streak. The following game was against their local rival USC, who was undefeated at the time, and ranked number two in polls, one position ahead of UCLA at number three. UCLA won the contest 64–60, and would go on to win the rest of the games that season, winning their fifth consecutive National Championship (seventh overall) and pushing their winning streak to 15 games. There was little attention to the streak at the time. The existing NCAA Division I basketball record was 60 games, and UCLA itself had had longer streaks in its history, winning 47 consecutive games during Lew Alcindor's time. In addition, the media attention was more focused on the NBA-ABA bidding wars, as the professional leagues were attempting to entice college players to join the professional ranks. Interest in the streak grew late in the 1971–72 season, when it reached 40 games. The media reports of the games began including the streak count in the headline about this time. By the end of the season, the UCLA team had won another national championship and stretched the streak to 45 games. In the following season, Coach John Wooden acknowledged the streak, but tried to downplay it. According to Bruins guard Greg Lee, "Tonight, Coach Wooden did mention our long win streak, but told us not to think about it. Speaking for the team, I know I'm not thinking about it. I don't worry about losing when I go to bed." San Francisco, the holders of the record at the time, had chances to end the streak, but they lost twice, accounting for wins 58 and 73. After UCLA tied the 60-game NCAA Division I record, the following game was against Notre Dame. The Irish lost by 19. Win number 75 was the National Championship of the 1972–73 season. Immediately after the game, rather than staying to celebrate, junior Bill Walton headed to a meeting with Sam Gilbert to discuss a possible offer from the Philadelphia 76ers for a reported $2 million. However, Walton returned for his senior year. In the 1973–74 season, UCLA had a close call against Maryland, but ended up winning by a single point for win number 77. They won number 79 against North Carolina State by 18 points, although they would later lose to the eventual national champions in the NCAA semifinals, the first team other than UCLA to win the national title since 1966. On January 19, 1974, UCLA played Notre Dame after beating Iowa 66–44 for its 88th consecutive victory. UCLA had beaten Notre Dame during the streak, although the streak started after a Notre Dame win in 1971. Digger Phelps, the 32-year-old coach of Notre Dame, decided to change his game plan from his previous strategy. The strategy largely worked. Although Walton hit 12 of 14 shots, the UCLA team was not often able to lob the ball into Walton. Even during the game, the eventual outcome was far from obvious. The Bruins outplayed the Irish in the opening minutes, building a 17-point lead. The Bruins held a 70–59 lead with under four minutes to go in the game, but the Irish ended the game on a 12–0 run, winning 71–70, and ending the longest NCAA Division I men's basketball streak at 88 games. Beginning after their loss to Stanford in the fall of 2014, the Huskies went on a 111-game winning streak. This streak included two national championships. They made history by being the first team in NCAA Division I women's basketball to win four consecutive championships. Over the course of this streak, only three games were won by fewer than ten points. The first game was at No. 12 Florida State on , where UConn won 78–76. The second game was at No. 4 Maryland in front of a sold out crowd on December 29, 2016, where UConn won 87–81. The third was at conference foe Tulane on February 18, 2017, UConn winning, 63-60. Of their wins, 31 were against ranked teams. UConn defeated South Carolina 66-55 on February 13, 2017 at home, to record their 100th straight win. The streak ended at 111 wins on March 31, 2017, following a last-second, 64-66 OT loss to Mississippi State in the semifinals of the 2017 NCAA Women's Tournament. In March 2001, UConn had won their second national championship a year earlier, and was headed to the NCAA tournament as a number 1 seed. They had only lost two games during the regular season, once to Tennessee, and once to Notre Dame, each of whom were number one seeds in the tournament. However, the UConn squad had lost Svetlana Abrosimova, an All-American who would be drafted seventh in the WNBA draft, to a season-ending foot injury. The UConn team easily beat Long Island University 101–29 in the opening game, but lost the 2000 Sports Illustrated Player of the Year, Shea Ralph, to a season-ending knee injury. The depleted UConn squad won their next three games to advance to the Final Four in St. Louis. Their opening game was against Notre Dame, a team they had lost to in the regular season, but had beaten to win the Big East Championship game. The UConn team had a twelve-point lead going into halftime of the semi-final game, but fell behind in the second half, and lost to the eventual National Champion. That would be the last game they would lose until 2003. UConn started the 2001–02 season with two relatively easy wins, beating Fairfield on November 9, 2001 93–50, and two days, later, beating FIU 91–47. Next up was perennial power North Carolina, but the Huskies prevailed 94–74. In December, they beat Oklahoma 86–72, the closest game of the season to that point. The next challenge was Tennessee in January 2002, but UConn won 86–72. UConn continued to win throughout the season, ending the regular season with a record of 30–0. They won the rest of the Big East Conference matches easily, and entered the NCAA Tournament as a number 1 seed. The semi-final game was against a two seed, Tennessee, but the game was not close, with UConn winning 79–56. The National Championship game was against Oklahoma. The game was close until the final seconds, with UConn winning its third National Championship, completing its second undefeated season, and finishing the year with a 39–0 record. The 2002–03 season opened with a win over Wright State 85–39. After beating North Carolina State, UConn traveled to Hawai'i, where they would meet their prior year National Championship opponent in the final of the Rainbow Wahine Classic. UConn would again prevail, winning 73–60 for their 44th consecutive win. The biggest challenge to the streak would come in the 51st game, a home game against Tennessee. The game would go into overtime, with UConn prevailing by a single point 63–62. The following game against Rutgers would also be close, but UConn won 67–62. UConn played a strong Duke squad at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 1, 2003, but managed to win 77–65. They finished up the regular season without a loss, and reached the Big East Tournament with a 68-game winning streak. They won their first two games in the Big East Tournament easily, then faced Villanova, a team they had beaten in January by twenty points, 58–38. This game would turn out much differently, with Villanova achieving an upset, knocking the UConn team out of the Big East Tournament, and ending the NCAA women's basketball win streak at 70 games. The 2007–08 season started with a lot of promise. UConn faced fourth-ranked Stanford in the Virgin Islands, but won 66–54. The team would reach the end of the regular season with only a single loss, at Rutgers 73–71, then won the rematch at home 66–46. However, the team lost two starters to injury, Kalana Greene and Mel Thomas. UConn won the first four games of the NCAA Tournament, but then faced a rematch with Stanford, who won the semifinal game 82–73. That would prove to be the last loss for some time. UConn opened the season against Georgia Tech, a team unranked in the pre-season. The game was tied at the half; UConn went on to win by eleven. The fifth game of the season was against Oklahoma, a team ranked number 4 in the polls. Characterized as a "significant test" by ESPN's Graham Hays, Connecticut would win easily by 28 points, 106-78. After winning their first 17 games, Connecticut faced the number two ranked team in the nation North Carolina, also 17–0 for the season. UConn was ranked number one, but had just lost starter Caroline Doty to a season-ending knee injury in the prior game. Despite the loss of Doty, the game did not turn out to be the close game anticipated. UConn reached a double-digit lead early in the game, extended to a 46-30 halftime lead, and finished with a 30-point victory, 88-58. All five starters, including Lorin Dixon in her first start of the season, would each score in double digits, led by Renee Montgomery with 21. During the rest of the regular season, only Notre Dame and Rutgers played UConn to within ten points, with each team losing by exactly 10. The team entered the Big East tournament with a 30–0 record. Neither of the first two rounds of the Big East tournament were close, with UConn defeating South Florida by 37 points, and Villanova by 30 points. The final was expected to be a contest, because Louisville had a record of 29–4 and was ranked seventh in the nation. However, with eight minutes to go in the game, UConn's Maya Moore had scored 28 points, while the Cardinals had only 27. UConn went on to win 75–36. Connecticut won the first four games of the NCAA Tournament easily. That set up a rematch with Stanford, the last team to beat UConn. This time the UConn team prevailed, winning with a score of 83–64. The National Championship game was between UConn and Louisville, a team UConn had beaten in both the regular season and the Big East Championship game. Connecticut won the third meeting as well, 76–54, winning their sixth national championship and completing their third undefeated season. The Connecticut team opened the year ranked #1 in both the ESPN Coaches poll and the AP Top 25 Poll, following a 39–0 record leading to a National Championship in the prior season. In both cases, the polling results were unanimous. UConn graduated three seniors, Renee Montgomery, Tahirah Williams and Cassie Kerns, but only Montgomery was a regular starter. The team added one freshman, Kelly Faris, and Caroline Doty returned to the line-up after missing most of the prior season due to injury. Despite working toward their 40th consecutive win, the focus in the early part of the season was not on the streak, but on other accomplishments. In the opening game against Northeastern, Tina Charles scored her 1000th career rebound. In the same game, Kalana Greene scored her 1000th career point. After winning their ninth game of the season, and extending their streak to 48 games, UConn faced Stanford at home. Both teams were undefeated, and were ranked first and second in the polls. Stanford's last loss was to UConn in 2009, and UConn's last loss was to Stanford in 2008. For the first time this season, UConn trailed at halftime. However, in the second half, the Huskies moved out to a large lead and ended up winning by 12 points. After winning its next six games, UConn faced Notre Dame on January 16. The game was notable because it was the first ever ESPN "College GameDay" held before a women's basketball game. Both teams were undefeated; UConn at 16–0, ranked number one in the country and Notre Dame had a record of 15–0, with a number three ranking. However, the game would not be close. UConn led at halftime 42–19, and won 70–46. UConn went on to win the rest of their regular season games, ending the regular season with a record of 30–0, and extending their overall streak to 69, just one game shy of the NCAA Division I women's basketball record of 70, established by UConn in 2003. UConn won the regular season Big East title, so they had a double bye into the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament. Their first game would never be close, with UConn leading at the half 44–17, and ended with a 77–41 victory. UConn's Tina Charles would tie her career high with 34 points, while Maya Moore would score the 2000th point of her career, ending the game with 16 points, 14 rebounds and 7 assists. The win would be UConn's 70th consecutive win, tying the record for the longest winning streak in the history of NCAA Division I women's college basketball, set by the Huskies in 2003. The Big East Tournament semi-final game was against Notre Dame, the third match up between the two teams this season. UConn won 59–44, to set a new NCAA women's basketball winning streak record at 71 games. However, the team was focused on upcoming games and "didn't even celebrate". UConn would go on to win the Big East title match against West Virginia 60–32. UConn entered the NCAA tournament as a number one seed. Their first-round game was against Southern—UConn won 95–39. The second-round game was against Temple, coached by Tonya Cardoza, who had been an assistant at UConn for 14 years. This was the first meeting of the two teams since Cardoza took over the position. UConn limited the use of the starting team, but still won 90–36. UConn then beat Iowa State 74–36 and Florida State 90–50 to advance to the Final Four. The National Championship game was between Stanford and UConn. Stanford would go to halftime with a 20–12 lead. The 12 points scored by UConn was the lowest first-half total in the history of Connecticut basketball. Maya Moore led the team after the half, scoring 11 of the team's first 17 points, including the basket that put Connecticut back into the lead, this time for good. Moore would end up with 23 points and 11 rebounds, and earned Most Outstanding Player honors for the Final Four. Connecticut would go on to win 53–47, ending their streak of double-digit victories, but winning their 78th consecutive game, resulting in their seventh National Championship, their second consecutive undefeated season and their fourth overall undefeated season. UConn opened the 2010–11 season with a win over Holy Cross, 117–37. The next game was against Baylor, the number 2 ranked team in the country. Baylor jumped to an early lead 8–3, but UConn came back, and held an eight-point lead at the half 35–27. Although UConn hit a three pointer in the opening seconds of the second half to extend the lead to double digits, Baylor responded with a 29–10 run to take an eight-point lead 56–48 with about seven minutes to go. Bria Hartley scored eight of her nine points in the last four minutes of the game to help UConn hold on for a 65–64 victory. UConn's next opponent was Georgia Tech, the team involved in the first game of the streak. The win by UConn was the 81st consecutive, tying Washington University, a Division III team, for the longest streak in NCAA women's basketball. UConn hosted the World Vision Classic over Thanksgiving. In the first of the three games, UConn easily beat Howard 86–25, to set the new record consecutive win streak for NCAA women's basketball at 82 games. UConn then went on to beat the other two opponents in the Classic, Lehigh and LSU and then extended the streak to 87 games with wins over South Florida, Sacred Heart and Marquette. The following game was the Maggie Dixon Classic, held at Madison Square Garden. Two of the four teams playing in the double-header were top-ranked UConn and 10th-ranked Ohio State. UConn won the game 81–50 to tie the NCAA basketball consecutive wins streak held by UCLA. On Tuesday, December 21, 2010, UConn hosted Florida State in Veterans Memorial Coliseum at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut. Maya Moore scored a career-high 41 points, but the emphasis was not on individual stats. The game represented the 89th consecutive victory, the longest winning streak in NCAA basketball history. The streak reached 90 games with a win over Pacific, but ended in Palo Alto California with a 71-59 loss to Stanford on December 30, 2010. Bill Walton – "They play with great sense of team, great purpose, phenomenal execution of fundamentals, relentless attack", he said. "It is what every team should aspire to, regardless of the sport." Dwight Clay, the Notre Dame player who hit the winning shot to end the UCLA streak: "Well, I think it's great. It's great for women's basketball and it's great for sports in general ... But, you know, what Connecticut has done, you know, I don't believe you can separate that. Eight-eight games is 88 games. That's a hell of a treat." <nowiki>*</nowiki> Active streak Gonzaga's streak was interrupted by a 1-point loss to San Francisco in 2012. The five longest home court winning streaks in D-I men's basketball: Kentucky holds the record for the longest home court streak with 129 wins. The streak lasted from 1943 to 1955. Arizona has a record of 81 home court wins from 1945 to 1951. This record was tied by Marquette with their home court run from 1967 to 1973. The St. Bonaventure streak lasted from 1948 to 1961 when they fell to the Niagara Purple Eagles after 99 straight home wins. From 1957 to 1964, the Cincinnati Bearcats went undefeated on their home court, ending with 84 straight wins. UCLA went undefeated at home from 1970 to 1976 with 98 wins, in a span that included 4 national championships. They surpassed records held by Arizona, Marquette, and Cincinnati to move to the third longest home win streak. The current longest home win streak is held by Cincinnati with 37 wins as of January 24, 2018 with a 75-42 victory over Temple, having last lost to Temple in December 2015. The Six longest home court winning streaks in D-I women's basketball have all involved the University of Connecticut. On December 29, 2003, UConn faced North Carolina State with a chance to step into the history books. The Connecticut team had won 68 consecutive home games. The NCAA record for consecutive home victories was held by the Tennessee Lady Vols, set in 1996, and ended by the UConn Huskies. UConn beat the Wolfpack easily, 87–53, to tie the record at 69 games. Five days later, UConn faced Duke, with a chance to take over sole possession of the home court win streak. However, Duke was ranked fourth in the nation, so the outcome was far from certain. UConn unveiled new silver uniforms for the game, and at the end of the first half, the record seemed in sight. UConn led the game 35–18, almost doubling the score of the Blue Devils. However, the Huskies hit on 56% of their free throws, and Alana Beard scored 21 to get Duke back into the game. Jessica Foley hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to win the game for Duke, 68–67, and end the quest to extend the longest home court winning streak. In 2012, UConn had a home court winning streak of their own. After eclipsing the prior records of 69 games, the Huskies had gone on to win 99 in a row. They attempted to extend the record to 100 consecutive games against unranked conference foe St. John's. UConn had not lost a game to an unranked team at home, a stretch covering 19 years and 261 games. However, the Red Storm won 57–56 to end the home court winning streak at 99. With that streak ended, the nation's longest active home court winning streak was held by Stanford, at 76 games. On December 29, 2012, UConn defeated Stanford at their home court to end the 82 consecutive home game winning streak of the Cardinal. In 2014, Baylor tied Tennessee and UConn for the third place for home consecutive victories with their 69th win. In the bid to win their 70th game, they faced UConn. The two senior starters on the Baylor team, Odyssey Sims, the nation's scoring leader, and Makenzie Robertson, daughter of head coach Kim Mulkey, had never lost a game at the Ferrell Center. The game was reasonably close late in the second half, but UConn went on to win by eleven points, 66–55 to end Baylor's home court win streak. Currently, the longest active home court win streak is held by UConn with 78 wins, as of February 26, 2018 with a win vs South Florida. It began after a loss to Notre Dame at the XL Center in 2013. The Lady Wesmen would go on to a record 118-1 in the span from 1992–1995, including 3 CIS (now U Sports) national basketball championships and beating several NCAA Women's Division I programs in North American tournaments. The Wayland Baptist University women's basketball team was one of the predominant women's basketball team in the 1950s. In 1954, they began a winning streak that would reach 131 games, and included four consecutive AAU National Championships. The Fredericton High School (Fredericton, New Brunswick) junior boys' basketball team won 207 consecutive games between 2006 and 2012, including five Provincial championships. The team was coached by Gary Young. Palmer Consolidated School District located in the northwest corner of Iowa has the 5th longest winning streak in the country. Palmer's 103 game win streak from 1986–89, is still the Iowa high school record and ranks as the fifth longest in the United States. All of the games were coached by Hall of Fame Coach Alden Skinner, who had a career record of 380 wins against 108 losses for a winning percentage of 77.9%. The streak included State Championships in 1986 (26-0), 1987 (26-0), and 1988 (27-0). It started with the beginning of 1985–86 season and ended in the State semifinals in 1989 with a 60-56 loss to eventual State Champion Keota. Palmer came back to win the consolation game. Two members of that team: Troy Skinner and Brian Pearson, both 1988 graduates, are members of the IHSAA Basketball Players Hall of Fame, and played at the University of Iowa, and Iowa State University respectively. The Baskin High School women's basketball team holds the record for longest winning streak in organized sports. The Lady Rams won 218 consecutive games from 1948 to 1953—a span of six years. Once the streak was broken, another 71 game streak continued. In the span of ten years, the Lady Rams led by Hall of Fame coach, Edna "Tiny" Tarbutton, would go 315 and 2 with 9 state titles and an average winning margin of more than 30 points. In 1993, Tarbutton was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame located in Natchitoches. The 1971–72 Los Angeles Lakers won 33 consecutive games without a loss, the longest undefeated streak in NBA history. This streak was challenged by the 2012–2013 Miami Heat, who won 27 games in a row, before losing to the Chicago Bulls, and the 2015–2016 Golden State Warriors with a 28-game win streak over 2 seasons (including 4 from last season) before losing to the Milwaukee Bucks. Basketball winning streaks This is a list of notable winning streaks in basketball. The United States men's national basketball team has 45 straight wins at official FIBA competitions as of October 2014. Previously, the team had a 58-game winning streak from the 1992 Olympic Games to the 2002 FIBA World Championship. On January 19, 1974, the UCLA Bruins lost a basketball game to the Notre Dame Fighting
who won last year's ncaa women's basketball	"Florida Gators" 21 Gators teams compete in the SEC. The sole University of Florida sports team that does not play in the SEC is the women's lacrosse team, which joined the American Athletic Conference after the 2018 lacrosse season. The University of Florida was one of the thirteen charter members who joined together to form the new Southeastern Conference in 1932. Previously, the university was a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association from 1912 to 1921 and the Southern Conference from 1922 until the SEC began play in the fall of 1933. All Florida Gators sports teams have on-campus facilities, and most are located on or near Stadium Road on the north side of campus, including Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium for football, the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center for basketball, gymnastics, swimming and diving, indoor track and field, and volleyball, Alfred A. McKethan Stadium for baseball and James G. Pressly Stadium for soccer and outdoor track and field. The Katie Seashole Pressly Softball Stadium and the Florida Lacrosse Facility are located on Hull Road on the southwestern side of the campus. The Mark Bostick Golf Course and Scott Linder Stadium for tennis are located on S.W. Second Avenue on the northwestern side of the campus. The Florida Gators athletic program is administered by the University Athletic Association, Inc. (UAA), a private non-profit corporation that reports to the president of the university and its board of trustees. For the 2014–15 school year, the UAA had an operating budget of $103,310,001, projected revenues of $104,064,487, and made a $3.5 million contribution to the university's general fund. Scott Stricklin has been Florida's athletic director since 2016. Beginning in the early 1990s, the Florida Gators has been recognized as one of the premier athletic programs in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and one of the best in the nation. The SEC has awarded an All-Sports Trophy to the best overall sports program in the conference since 1984, and Florida has won the award 27 times as of 2017. Florida is the only school in the SEC and one of four schools nationally to have won a national championship in the football, men's basketball, and baseball. Every year since 1983, the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) has recognized the Gators athletic program as one of the ten best overall Division I athletic programs in the country in its annual NACDA Directors' Cup standings. The men's athletic program was also the winner of the 2010–11 and 2011–12 Capital One Cup; the women's athletic program won the Capital One Cup in 2013–14, and both programs have placed in the top five in the standings on several other occasions. Among the Gators' recent national championships, the Florida Gators men's basketball team won the 2006 and 2007 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournaments, and the Florida Gators football team won 2007 BCS National Championship Game in football, all in the space of 366 days. Florida is the only school in NCAA Division I history to hold the men's basketball and football championships during the same school year. In January 2009, the Gators football team won the 2009 BCS National Championship Game with a 24–14 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners. The Florida Gators baseball team took home its first championship at the 2017 NCAA championship, defeating rival SEC foe the LSU Tigers in two games. The Gators won the NCAA men's indoor track and field championship in three consecutive seasons in 2010, 2011 and 2012, the NCAA women's swimming and diving team national championship in 2010, the NCAA women's tennis championship in 2011, 2012 and 2017, the NCAA men's outdoor track and field championship in 2012, 2013 and 2016, the NCAA women's gymnastics championship in 2013, 2014 and 2015, and the NCAA softball championships in 2014 and 2015. Individual Gator athletes have won 279 individual NCAA championships in boxing, golf, gymnastics, swimming and diving, tennis, and track and field. In 2017, Florida won the baseball national championship for the first time. The Gators swept LSU in the best of three national title series. This earned the university a total of 39 national team championships. Additionally, this put the University of Florida in exclusive company. With the 2017 baseball national championship, Florida became only the fourth school in history to win national championships in football, men's basketball, and baseball. Florida, along with Michigan, Ohio State, and UCLA are the only schools to ever achieve triple crown status. This also put Florida in a category by itself. Florida is the only Southeastern Conference school to accomplish this feat, as well, Florida is the only school in history to have achieved triple crown status in such a short span of time. Florida's national championships in the big three sports (football, men's basketball, and baseball) were won in the span of just over two decades. The University of Florida has been ranked among the nation's top ten NCAA Division I athletic programs every year since 1983–84, an overall ranking that includes both men's and women's sports – the only college sports program ranked in the top ten in the United States for the last thirty-two consecutive years. The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) has recognized the University of Florida as ranking among the top seven Division I programs in its NACDA Directors' Cup standings every year since the NACDA and "USA Today" began awarding the cup in 1993–94. The 2014–15 academic year marked the Gators' thirty-second consecutive year ranked among the nation's top ten best overall collegiate athletic programs, and the twenty-second consecutive year ranked among the top seven Division I programs in the NACDA Directors' Cup standings. Only one other Division I athletic program has matched that feat, and Florida has achieved this record while fielding fewer sports teams than many of the other perennially top-ranked collegiate athletic programs. In the twenty-two years of the NACDA Directors' Cup, the Gators have finished fifth or better in fifteen years, and have never finished lower than seventh; the only other program ranked among the top ten Division I programs every year since 1993–94 is the Stanford Cardinal sports program of Stanford University. NCAA Division I all-sports rankings Through the end of the 2017–18 school year, the Florida Gators have won 240 Southeastern Conference (SEC) team championships, the most in conference history. The SEC All-Sports Trophy began in 1973 as the Bernie Moore Trophy and tabulated the league's best men's sports program. In 1983, the SEC also began recognizing the best women's sports program in the conference, as well as the best overall SEC sports program. In 1994, the "New York Times" Regional Newspaper Group assumed responsibility for awarding the trophies. In the 39-year history of the awards, Florida has won nineteen Women's Trophies, sixteen Men's Trophies, and twenty-five Overall SEC All-Sports Trophies (including twenty-five of the last twenty-seven). SEC rival Georgia won the overall 2005–06 All-Sports Trophy to snap Florida's record streak at fourteen straight (1990–91 through 2004–05). Florida reclaimed the SEC All-Sports Trophy for the 2006–07 school year, and the Gators again swept the overall, men's, and women's all-sports trophies in every year since. The Gators are the only SEC sports program to earn all three SEC all-sports trophies in a single year, and have swept all three trophies twelve times. In their 108-year history of intercollegiate competition, the University of Florida's varsity athletic teams have won 40 national team championships (including 35 sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), two by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), two by the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), and one by the Bowl Alliance), and its individual athletes have won 279 individual NCAA national championships. Florida is the only Division I school to hold both major men's championships at the same time (as the 2006 BCS football champions and the 2006 and 2007 NCAA men's basketball champions). Men's national championships Women's national championships The national intercollegiate sports championships listed above were sponsored by the NCAA unless otherwise noted in the footnotes. The University of Florida is a founding member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), one of the nation's premier intercollegiate sports conferences, and twenty of the twenty-one Gators sports teams compete in the SEC. Since the SEC began play in 1933, Florida's varsity athletic teams have won 240 SEC team championships, more than any other conference member. The women's lacrosse team played its first four seasons in the now-defunct American Lacrosse Conference (ALC), followed by four seasons in the Big East Conference, and joined the American Athletic Conference for the 2019 season (2018–19 school year) and beyond. All of Florida's conference championships are from the SEC unless otherwise stated. Men's conference championships Women's conference championships † Wrestling is no longer offered at the varsity level since 1979. For purposes of counting "official" SEC team championships in baseball, men's and women's basketball, soccer, softball, men's and women's tennis, and volleyball, the SEC currently only includes regular season team championships, not tournament championships. The Gators have won an additional 64 SEC tournament titles in these sports which are not included in Florida's total of 240 SEC team championships. Coach Andy Lopez took over the Gators baseball program in 1994, one season after leading the Pepperdine Waves to their first College World Series championship. In 1996, he coached the Gators to a fifty-win season and a College World Series bid. By 2000, the program had seemingly hit a plateau and Lopez was replaced. Pat McMahon became the Gators' head coach in 2001 after coaching the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The Gators' 2005 baseball season was the most successful to date, with the team winning the SEC title, and earning a place in the College World Series for the fifth time in school history. The team advanced to the championship round against the Texas Longhorns, ultimately losing two games to none. Following their 2005 College World Series run, the Gators opened the 2006 season ranked number one in the polls, but struggled to finish 28–28 record (10–20 SEC), and failed to qualify for the NCAA Regionals. After missing the NCAA Regionals again in 2007, McMahon was dismissed. Former Clemson Tigers associate head coach Kevin O'Sullivan became the Gators' new head baseball coach on June 13, 2007. O'Sullivan's Gator teams showed immediate improvement and the Gators finished the 2008 regular season with a 30–24 record (17–13 SEC), and received an invitation to the NCAA Regional in Tallahassee. The 2009 squad finished the regular season with a 38–18 record (19–11 SEC), won the NCAA Regional in Gainesville, and advanced to the Super Regional before losing to the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles. O'Sullivan's 2010 and 2011 Gators finished their SEC regular season play with identical 22–8 records, won the program's eleventh and twelfth SEC championships, earned a berth in the College World Series in both years, and advanced to the College World Series final in 2011 before losing to South Carolina two games to none. The Gators returned to the College World Series in 2012, 2015, 2016, and 2017. In June 2017, Florida won their first College World Series championship, beating LSU two games to none in the best-of-three finals. The Gators baseball team plays its home games at Alfred A. McKethan Stadium at Perry Field. Florida enjoyed limited success in men's basketball before the mid-1980s. Coach Norm Sloan's Gators were invited to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT)—only the second time the team had been invited to a post-season tournament. They returned to the NIT in 1985 and 1986, and made their first appearance in the NCAA Basketball Tournament in 1987, when guard Vernon Maxwell led the team to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. The Gators received invitations to the NCAA Tournament in 1988 and 1989, but Sloan was forced to resign at the outset of the 1989–90 season as a result of NCAA infractions. Coach Lon Kruger brought renewed success, and his Gators reached the NIT final four in 1991–92. During the 1993–94 season, Andrew DeClercq and Dametri Hill led the Gators to their first NCAA Tournament Final Four following a dramatic victory over the Connecticut Huskies in the NCAA Regional Final. Athletic Director Jeremy Foley hired Billy Donovan as Kruger's replacement in 1996. Donovan's recruiting prowess was evident early, as he landed recruiting classes with future NBA players Mike Miller, Udonis Haslem and Matt Bonner. Donovan's Gators advanced to the NCAA Tournament final before losing to the Michigan State Spartans in 2000, and demonstrated a consistency previously unknown to the program as they received invitations to the NCAA Tournament every year from 1999 through 2007, a team-record eight-year streak. Under Donovan, Florida won its first SEC Men's Basketball Tournament in 2005, when they beat the Kentucky Wildcats in the SEC title game. The 2005–06 team's 17–0 start was the best in team history, surprising many with a young, selfless squad led by four sophomores. The team began the season unranked, but won its second consecutive SEC Tournament championship. On April 3, 2006, the Gators defeated the UCLA Bruins 73–57 in the NCAA Tournament championship game to win Florida's first men's national basketball championship. Within days, all five starters announced they would return for another season to try to win back-to-back championships. At the outset of the 2006–07 season, the Gators were ranked No. 1 in both major polls for the first time. The Gators won their second consecutive NCAA national men's basketball championship on April 2, 2007, defeating the Ohio State Buckeyes 84–75. They became the first team since Duke in 1991–92 to win back-to-back tournaments and the first in NCAA history to do so with the same starting line-up. Afterward, Florida's four star juniors announced they would enter the NBA draft. Donovan's Gators returned to championship form in 2010–11, winning the program's fifth regular season SEC championship and fighting their way to the NCAA regional semifinals (the "Elite Eight") before losing 74–71 to the Butler Bulldogs in overtime. In 2011–12, the Gators received a No. 7 seed in the NCAA tournament, exceeded expectations, and advanced to the Elite Eight, headlined by the play of star freshman Bradley Beal and point guard Erving Walker, before falling to Louisville. During the 2013–14 season, the Gators were ranked No. 1 in the nation, won the SEC championship with 36 straight wins during the regular season and tournament games, went on a school-record 30 game winning streak, and advanced to the NCAA Final Four, headlined by the play of four senior veterans: Patric Young, Scottie Wilbekin, Will Yeguete and Casey Prather. The Gators men's basketball team is currently led by coach Michael White, and plays its home games in the O'Connell Center. White's Gators returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2016–17 after a two-year absence despite finishing second in the SEC during the regular season and suffering an early exit from the SEC Tournament. The Gators, as a #4 seed, ultimately reached the Elite Eight before falling short against fellow conference partner South Carolina. Women's basketball was approved as a new women's varsity sport by Florida in March 1972, but began play in 1973 as a club team. In 1975, the Lady Gators debuted as a varsity program under head coach Dr. Paula Welch. The Gators made local headlines in 1976 by winning the "state championship", beating the other three women's college teams located in the state at that time. While traditionally being overshadowed by conference and national basketball powers Tennessee and Georgia, the Lady Gators have made several NCAA Tournament appearances and sent players to the WNBA, including DeLisha Milton-Jones. Carol Ross compiled more wins than any other women's basketball coach in Florida's history, and guided the team for twelve seasons from 1991 to 2003, but left to accept the head coaching job at her alma mater, Ole Miss. From 2002 through 2006, the women's basketball team was coached by Carolyn Peck, a former WNBA coach who won a national title with Purdue. Peck was fired midway through the 2006 season (though allowed to finish the season) after enduring the worst losing streak of any Gator sport. Former Gator player and previous Charlotte coach Amanda Butler was named the new women's basketball coach on April 13, 2007. During the 2008–09 season, the Lady Gators received an NCAA tournament bid, and won a first-round game before being defeated by eventual tournament champion Connecticut in the second round. Butler resigned after the 2016–17 season. The Gators women's basketball team plays its home games in the O'Connell Center. The Florida Gators men's cross country team has won three Southeastern Conference championships (SEC), and has competed in eight National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournaments. The women's cross country team has also won five SEC Championships (including the most recent), and competed in ten NCAA tournaments. In 2009, the Lady Gators placed seventh at the NCAA cross country championship; in 2010, they won the SEC championship for the second consecutive year. Coach Mike Holloway is the head coach of the men's and women's cross country teams. The University of Florida fielded an official varsity football team for the first time in 1906, defeating the Gainesville Athletic Club 6–0 in its first game. Since then, the Gators have played in thirty-seven bowl games, won three national championships (1996, 2006, 2008) and eight Southeastern Conference championships, and produced 138 All-Americans, forty-two National Football League (NFL) first-round draft choices and three Heisman Trophy winners. The Gators' most prominent current football rivals are SEC Eastern Division foes Georgia and Tennessee, annual SEC Western Division opponent LSU, and in-state rival Florida State from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Florida has historically shared rivalries with Auburn and Miami, too, but those games are no longer played annually and have lessened in intensity. The Gator football team has obtained more victories than any other program in the NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) since 1990, the year Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Steve Spurrier returned to his alma mater as head coach. The 1996 team, coached by Spurrier and led by another Gator Heisman-winner, Danny Wuerffel, finished with a 12–1 record and won the national championship in the Sugar Bowl, beating rival Florida State 52-20. This win was not without controversy from FSU fans who thought they should not have had to play Florida again. FSU won in the regular season match up 24-21. Urban Meyer became Florida's head football coach in December 2004, and his six teams had great success from 2005 to 2010. The 2006 team won the school's second national championship on January 8, 2007, defeating the number one-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes 41–14. Quarterback Tim Tebow won the Heisman Trophy in 2007, and Florida's Tebow-led 2008 team won the 2009 BCS National Championship Game on January 8, 2009, beating the top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners 24–14, for the Gators' third national championship. The Gators have won the SEC Championship Game a record seven times in eleven appearances since the SEC instituted the championship game in 1992. The Gators won their first official conference title in 1991, the year before the first SEC conference championship game was played, for a total of eight SEC championships in the last twenty-four seasons. The Gators football team plays its home games in Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, more popularly known as The Swamp, the team's home field since 1930. Dan Mullen is the current head coach of the Florida Gators football. The men's golf team has won four NCAA Championships (1968, 1973, 1993, 2001), and has produced two individual NCAA champions, Bob Murphy in 1966 and Nick Gilliam in 2001. The men's golf team has also won fifteen Southeastern Conference (SEC) championships: 1955–56, 1968, 1973–75, 1985, 1989, 1991–94, 1999, 2003, 2011. Numerous former Gator golfers have represented the University of Florida on the PGA Tour, and the program has produced over thirty male athletes who have competed professionally. Buddy Alexander, the long-time head coach for the men's golf team, retired after the 2013–14 season. J. C. Deacon was hired in June 2014, and the 2014–15 season will be his first. The Gators men's golf team plays its home matches at the Mark Bostick Golf Course (formerly known as the "University Golf Course"). The women's golf team has won two NCAA team championships (1985, 1986), and has produced one individual NCAA champion, Page Dunlap. The women's golf team has also won eight Southeastern Conference (SEC) championships. Former Lady Gator golfers have regularly represented the University of Florida on the LPGA Tour, and the program has produced over twenty female athletes who have competed in the professional ranks. Emily Glaser is the head coach for the women's team. The Gators women's golf team plays its home matches at the Mark Bostick Golf Course (formerly known as the "University Golf Course"). Gymnastics was one of the first women's sports added at the University of Florida and achieved early success by winning the 1982 AIAW national championship. Since the NCAA assumed sponsorship of the national gymnastics championships in 1982, Florida has typically earned invitations to the NCAA national championships (top twelve teams nationally), and advanced to the NCAA "Super Six" eighteen times. Florida won the 2013, 2014 and 2015 NCAA national championships, finished in second-place in 1998 and 2012, and the team has only failed to qualify for the NCAA championships once in the past thirty-three seasons. The Gators have won a total of nine SEC gymnastics championships since 1982. The team's biggest SEC rivals are Alabama and Georgia, both of which are also perennial national contenders. Coach Rhonda Faehn's Gator gymnasts were the SEC champions in both 2012 and 2013, and won the NCAA national team championships in 2013, 2014 and 2015 (the 2014 was as co-champions with Oklahoma). Faehn coached the Gators gymnastics team from 2003 to 2015. Under Faehn, the Gator gymnasts have been nationally competitive and remarkably consistent—finishing in the top seven every year and winning three NCAA national championships. The Gators gymnastics team is now coached by Jenny Rowland. The Gators hold their home meets at the O'Connell Center. In June 2006, the University Athletic Association announced the creation of the new Gators women's lacrosse program, citing the growth of high school lacrosse across the country and the increased availability of Division I competition. Florida became the second Southeastern Conference member university to offer lacrosse as a varsity sport, following Vanderbilt University, and played its inaugural 2010 season in the American Lacrosse Conference (ALC) together with the Commodores. The Gators and Commodores continued to play in the ALC until conference realignment led to the demise of the ALC following the 2014 season, after which both programs became single-sport members of the Big East Conference. The Gators and Commodores played in the Big East through the 2018 season, after which they became charter members of the new women's lacrosse league of the American Athletic Conference. The lacrosse team is the only Gators team that does not compete in the SEC. The Gators lacrosse team has had success over its first eight seasons, including four ALC regular-season championships (2011–2014); two ALC tournament titles (2012, 2014); both regular-season and tournament titles in all of its four Big East seasons (2015–2018); five appearances in the NCAA Tournament national quarterfinals ("Elite Eight"); and one appearance in the NCAA Tournament national semifinals ("Final Four") in 2012. The Gators have been ranked among the top ten women's lacrosse teams in the country each of the last five seasons, and have been ranked as high as No. 1. Amanda O'Leary is the Gators' head coach. Before she was named to jump-start Florida's new program, O'Leary was the head coach at Yale University for 14 seasons, and was honored as a two-time All-American midfielder at Temple University, where she led her team to an NCAA championship in 1988. In only the second season of the Gators lacrosse program, the mostly-sophomores team defeated the defending ALC champion Northwestern Wildcats to win their first regular season conference championship. The Gators completed a perfect 5–0 season three days later by defeating the Vanderbilt Commodores in Nasvhille. The Gators women's lacrosse team plays its home games in the 1,500-seat Donald R. Dizney Stadium. Becky Burleigh has been the head coach since the women's soccer team first began play a varsity sport in 1995. Under Burleigh's leadership, the team quickly became a national contender. In 1998, in the program's fourth season, the Gators won the NCAA national championship by defeating the defending national champion North Carolina Tar Heels 1–0 in the national finals of the NCAA Tournament. The women's soccer team has also won thirteen Southeastern Conference regular season championships and ten SEC tournament titles in its eighteen seasons of play. Notable former Gator soccer players include Abby Wambach, who is a member of the U.S. women's national team and scored the game-winning goal in the final game of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece; Heather Mitts, who played for the gold medal U.S. national team in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China; Melanie Booth, who currently plays for the Canadian women's national soccer team; and Danielle Fotopoulos, who played professionally with the Carolina Courage. Savannah Jordan plays for the Portland Thorns and ranks second in Gators history behind Wambach for goals scored. The Gators women's soccer team plays most of its home games at James G. Pressly Stadium. The University Athletic Association decided to create the women's varsity softball program in 1995, and the Florida Gators softball team officially started competing in the Southeastern Conference in 1997 under former head coach Larry Ray. Since the beginning of the program, the Florida Gators have had several notable successes, including four SEC championships, eight appearances in the Women's College World Series (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, & 2017), and two College World Series national championship (2014 & 2015). The Gators won the SEC regular season championships in 1998, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2016, and 2017, as well as the SEC tournament titles in 2008, 2009 and 2013. In 2009, they played for the NCAA softball championship in the Women's College World Series, losing to the Washington Huskies in the final round. The Gators again advanced to the finals of the 2011 Women's College World Series before falling to the Arizona State Sun Devils. In 2014, the Gators defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide in the first two games of the three-game Women's College World Series to win their first NCAA national championship. In 2015, the Gators repeated as national champions by defeating the Michigan Wolverines in the full three games. The Gators would return to the WCWS finals in 2017 before losing to the Oklahoma Sooners in two games. The current head coach is Tim Walton; the 2015–2016 season will be his tenth as the Gators' coach. He was previously the head coach at Wichita State University and he played baseball for the University of Oklahoma and a minor league team affiliated with the Philadelphia Phillies. Through the end of the 2018 season, Tim Walton has acquired a 722-149 record, while at Florida. Following the conclusion of the 2018 season, Tim Walton was given a 10-year contract extension. The Gators softball team plays its home games at the Katie Seashole Pressly Softball Stadium. The Florida Gators men's swimming and diving teams have won NCAA national championships in 1983 and 1984, and has also won thirty-five Southeastern Conference team championships – including 2013 and 2014. The women's swimming and diving team has won AIAW and NCAA national championships in 1979, 1982 and 2010, and has also won seventeen SEC team championships. The Florida Gators' notable female swimmers include three-time Olympic gold medalist Tracy Caulkins, three-time Olympic gold medalist Nicole Haislett, and four-time Olympic gold medalist Dara Torres, who is also the first American swimmer to compete in five Olympic Games. The Gators' notable male swimmers include Olympic gold medalists Matt Cetlinski, Mike Heath, David Larson, Ryan Lochte, Caeleb Dressel, Anthony Nesty and Martin Zubero. The Gators have had an international flavor since the 1980s, when the Olympic success of Gator swimmers began to attract Canadian, European and Latin American swimmers to train under coach Randy Reese. That tradition continues in the present day under Gregg Troy, the head coach of the Gators men's and women's swimming teams. Troy served as the head coach of the U.S. Olympic men's swim team in 2012. Dale Schultz is the new head coach of the men's and women's diving teams, succeeding long-time coach Donnie Craine in 2014. The Gators swimming and diving teams hold their home meets at the O'Connell Center Natatorium and train in the Carse Swimming Complex. The Florida Gators have one of the strongest and most storied women's tennis programs in NCAA history, and the women's tennis team has won seven NCAA team championships (1992, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2011, 2012, 2017). The team has also produced three individual Gators who have won four NCAA singles championships: Shaun Stafford (1988), Lisa Raymond (1992, 1993), and Jill Craybas (1996). In NCAA championship doubles play, three Gators doubles pairs have won four NCAA doubles championships: Jillian Alexander and Nicole Arendt (1991); Dawn Buth and Stephanie Nickitas (1996, 1997); and Whitney Laiho and Jessica Lehnhoff (2001). The Gator women have also won seven Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) national indoor championships (1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2017), and twenty-seven SEC team championships. The Gators have also claimed five SEC Tournament titles (1994, 2000, 2005, 2011, and 2016) in Men's Tennis and 20 in Women's Tennis (1982, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2016). The Gators men's tennis team has a winning tradition and has won nine Southeastern Conference team championships. The Gator men have also produced two NCAA singles champions, Mark Merklein (1993) and Jeff Morrison (1999). Merklein and partner David Blair combined to win an NCAA doubles championship (1994). Bryan Shelton is the head coach of the men's tennis team, and coach Roland Thornqvist leads the women's tennis team. The Florida Gators tennis teams play their home matches at Linder Stadium at the Ring Tennis Complex on the university's campus. The Florida Gators men's track and field team has won six Southeastern Conference indoor championships, and four SEC outdoor championships. After finishing as the runner-up in both the NCAA indoor and outdoor meets in 2009, the men's team went on to win three consecutive NCAA indoor titles (2010-2012) and its first NCAA outdoor title (2012) over the next three years. The women's track and field team won the NCAA indoor championship in 1992. In addition, the women's team has won six SEC indoor championships, and four SEC outdoor championships. The head coach for the track and field program is Mike Holloway, and he is responsible for both the men's and women's teams. The assistant coaches are Steve Lemke, Adrain Mann, Nic Petersen, Chris Solinsky, & Mellanee Welty. The Gators men's and women's track and field teams hold their outdoor home meets at Percy Beard Track, which is part of James G. Pressly Stadium. The Gators began competing in women's volleyball in 1984 under coach Marilyn McReavy, but did not become nationally competitive until coach Mary Wise assumed control of Florida's program in 1991. During her twenty seasons as Florida's head coach, Wise has compiled a 632–69 win-loss record (.902), and her Gators teams have won nineteen SEC regular season titles and twelve SEC Tournament titles in her twenty seasons. The Gators have made nineteen trips to the NCAA Tournament, including seven NCAA Final Four appearances (1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003). In 2003, they advanced to the NCAA national championship final, where they lost to the undefeated USC Trojans. Florida landed the nation's top 2008 recruiting class, as ranked by Prepvolleyball.com and "Volleyball Magazine", and signed the nation's top recruit and Gatorade National Player of the Year, Kelly Murphy, as well as four other recruits ranked among the top fifty. Murphy garnered First-Team All SEC and a spot on the SEC All-Freshman Team with fellow Gators Colleen Ward and Kristy Jaeckel. Murphy would also gain the SEC Freshman of the Year, AVCA All-South Region Freshman of the Year, the AVCA National Freshman of the Year, and "Volleyball Magazine"'s Freshman of the Year. She was also honored as an AVCA Third-Team All-American and a "Volleyball Magazine" Second-Team All-American. The Gators volleyball team plays its home matches in the O'Connell Center. In the past, the Florida Gators fielded varsity teams in men's boxing and men's wrestling. Gator boxer John Joca, a "Gator Great" member of the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame, won the NCAA national boxing championship in the 135-pound weight class in 1940. The Gators boxing team, however, was discontinued in 1943 during World War II, and was never revived after the war. The Gators men's wrestling team was an SEC-sponsored sport from 1970 to 1979; the team won the 1975 SEC championship tournament and placed second during four other seasons. The wrestling team was eliminated as a result of cost-cutting and Title IX compliance issues in 1979. The University Athletic Association, under athletic director Ray Graves and associate director Ruth Alexander, desired to take a proactive role in Title IX compliance by balancing the number of available men's and women's athletic scholarships, and the resulting tight athletic budgets ultimately resulted in the elimination of men's wrestling program. The University of Florida has invested significant capital and effort in the construction, expansion and betterment of its major sports facilities, including the following outdoor stadiums, indoor arenas, and training and practice facilities: Alfred A. McKethan Stadium at Perry Field Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Carse Swimming Complex Florida Basketball Practice Complex Donald R. Dizney Stadium James G. Pressly Stadium and Percy Beard Track Katie Seashole Pressly Softball Stadium Lemerand Center Mark Bostick Golf Course and Guy Bostick Clubhouse Steinbrenner Band Hall Scott Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex Stephen C. O'Connell Center The University of Florida began its sports program soon after it was established in Gainesville in 1906, and its teams adopted orange and blue as their official colors soon thereafter. These colors are a probably a combination of the colors of the two primary institutions that merged to form the university, as the East Florida Seminary used orange and black and the Florida Agricultural College used blue and white. As with the school colors, the exact origin of the alligator (almost always shortened to "gator") as the school mascot is not well documented. It likely originated in 1908, when Gainesville merchant Phillip Miller chose the animal to adorn pennants he designed for sale to students. The school did not yet have a mascot, and Miller chose the alligator because it is native to Florida and was not claimed by any other school. The football team subsequently adopted the "Gators" nickname in 1911. There are two theories as how the name become synonymous with the university's athletic programs. One theory is that the 1911 football squad began calling themselves the Gators in honor of team captain Neal "Bo Gator" Storter. Storter himself refuted this explanation, saying that it originated when a sportswriter in South Carolina described Florida's 1911 road upset of Clemson as an "invasion of alligators from Florida" and the players adopted the name. Whatever its origins, the nickname "Gators" (and for a time, "Lady Gators" for women's sports) has been used by the University of Florida's athletic program for over a century. Albert and Alberta are the official costumed mascots of the Florida Gators. Many variations of Albert have been present at sporting events over the decades, and a live alligator was used for many years. The current version of Albert was introduced in the early 1980s, and Alberta joined him in 1984. They are unique among the SEC's mascots as the only male-and-female pair, and are featured together in a life-sized statue outside of UF's Alumni Affairs Building. The "Gator Chomp" is a gesture made by Florida Gators fans and players to show their support of the Florida Gators sports teams. The chomp originated in 1981. The chomp is performed by fully extending one's arms, one over the other, in front of the body with the palms facing each other, and then moved apart and together to symbolize an alligator's mouth. When performed by fans at home football or basketball games, the chomp is often accompanied by Florida's marching band or pep band playing the two-note shark motif from the film "Jaws". "Orange and blue" is a fan cheer that is popular at home sports events, with alternate stadium sections yelling "Orange!", and answering back with their loudest "Blue!" This can go back and forth for several minutes, with both sections competing to be the louder. The football team had a long-time tradition of having George Edmondson Jr. — better known as "Mr. Two Bits"— wandering through the stands with a sign and a whistle to pump up the crowd to the "Two Bits" cheer. Edmondson officially retired in 2008, and was made an honorary alumnus in 2005. His final appearance as Mr. Two Bits was at the last home game of the 2008 season against The Citadel. The University of Florida's marching band is known as "The Pride of the Sunshine", and plays at every home football game, and also performs at various events such as Gator Growl and parades. The Gatorettes are the baton-twirlers, or majorettes, for the marching band. The Pride of the Sunshine plays the University of Florida Alma Mater at Florida Field before the start of every home football game. Following every home game, the entire football team gathers on Florida Field and joins fans in singing the Alma Mater while the band plays. Florida alumnus and former head football coach Steve Spurrier re-introduced this tradition to Florida Gators football games in 1990. Another football fan tradition, at home and on the road, is the Gator fans' linking arms, swaying, and singing "We Are the Boys from Old Florida" at the end of every third quarter. The University of Florida's fight song, "The Orange and Blue", is played frequently at all Florida Gators athletic events. The University of Florida dance team that performs at home basketball games and other sports events is known as the Dazzlers. Over 250 notable former Gators athletes and coaches have been inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame. Hall of Fame inductees fall into three categories: "Gator Greats"; "Distinguished Letterwinners"; and "Honorary Letterwinners." Gator Greats are those former athletes who distinguished themselves during their undergraduate sports careers, and include former All-Americans, all-conference selections, winners of major national awards, individual national champions, and those who significantly contributed to national team championships. Distinguished Letterwinners are those former Gators athletes who achieved distinction after graduation, as athletic coaches or administrators, professional athletes, or in public service or other career activities. Honorary Letterwinners are those persons who are not University of Florida alumni and former undergraduate athletes, but have distinguished themselves by their significant contributions to the success of Florida Gators sports teams, including former championship Gators coaches. Gator Greats include Heisman Trophy winners Steve Spurrier, Danny Wuerffel, and Tim Tebow; NFL Hall of Fame members Jack Youngblood and Emmitt Smith; Olympic gold medal swimmers Tracy Caulkins, Nicole Haislett and Dara Torres; individual NCAA golf champions Page Dunlap, Nick Gilliam and Bob Murphy; Olympic gold medal soccer players Heather Mitts and Abby Wambach; and individual NCAA tennis champions Jill Craybas, Jeff Morrison and Lisa Raymond. Distinguished Letterwinners include head coaches Doug Dickey, Lindy Infante and Dutch Stanley, as well as U.S. Senator George Smathers. Honorary Letterwinners include former Gators national championship coaches Buster Bishop, Andy Brandi, Randy Reese and Mimi Ryan, former football coach and four-star general James Van Fleet, as well as medical professor Robert Cade, who invented the sports drink Gatorade at UF in the mid-1960s as a rehydration aid to assist Gators athletes. The University of Florida has a reputation and long history of producing athletes who compete in the Olympic Games. Over 160 university alumni, including Florida Gators athletes from thirty-seven countries, have competed in the Games, winning fifty Olympic gold medals, twenty-nine silver medals and thirty bronze medals (through the end of the 2012 Summer Olympics). The list of notable Gator Olympians and gold medalists includes sprinters Kerron Clement, Dennis Mitchell, and Bernard Williams; marathon runner Frank Shorter; baseball outfielder Brad Wilkerson; basketball forward DeLisha Milton-Jones; soccer forward Abby Wambach; and swimmers Tracy Caulkins, Nicole Haislett and Ryan Lochte. Former Gator Dara Torres is the only American swimmer to compete in five Olympic Games (1984, 1988, 1992, 2000, 2008). At the age of 41, Torres became the oldest swimmer to win an Olympic medal when she won silvers in three events in 2008, finishing her career with a total of twelve Olympic medals (including four gold). The Florida Gators sports team have been fortunate to receive the financial support of many individuals, but some stand out by the magnitude of their contributions. Among those who have made notably large contributions to the university's sports programs are: Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as the "Gator Nation." The Gators compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and are consistently ranked among the top
who won last year's ncaa women's basketball	"Texas Longhorns women's basketball" current head coach Karen Aston following the end of the 2011–12 season. Since 1977, Texas women's basketball has played its home games in the Frank Erwin Special Events Center, where the team has compiled a 399–76 (.840) record as of March 5, 2008. The University of Texas held its first basketball competition in 1900, six years before Magnus Mainland started the men's team at Texas. The games in the first few years were intramural. By 1906, the school was playing other institutions, although only home games, not off-campus. Full varsity intercollegiate competition in women's basketball began in 1974. The Longhorns rank fifth in total victories and seventh in all-time win percentage among all NCAA Division I women's college basketball programs, with an all-time win-loss record of 1012–372 (). The Longhorns have won 22 total conference championships (12 regular-season conference titles and 10 conference tournament titles) in women's basketball and have made 29 total appearances in the NCAA Tournament (38–28 overall record), reaching the NCAA Final Four three times (1986, 1987, 2003) and the NCAA Regional Finals (Elite Eight) nine times. Texas won the 1986 NCAA Championship to finish the 1985–86 season with a win-loss record of 34–0. As of April 6, 2016, Texas ranks fourteenth in all-time NCAA Tournament victories (38), trailing Tennessee (123), Connecticut (109), Stanford (80), Louisiana Tech (65), Duke (55), Georgia (55), Notre Dame (53), North Carolina (47), Purdue (46), LSU (43), Maryland (42), Baylor (39), and Vanderbilt (39). The very first women's basketball games occurred in 1892, at Smith College, under the direction of Senda Berenson Abbott. Shortly thereafter, Clara Baer brought the game to Louisiana. The details of how the game came to Texas is not known for certain, but in 1900, Eleanore Norvell organized the first basketball game at the University of Texas. Norvell was originally from Oklahoma, and came to Texas to direct the physical education department. She has been at Texas for less than a year when she introduced basketball to students at the school. The first recorded game occurred on Saturday January 13, 1900. The teams played four ten-minute quarters—the final score of that first game was 3–2. Although the men's game and women's game both had their roots in the Naismith rules, the first set of rules left a lot to be specified, and the rules for the women's game developed differently than for the men. Both Senda Berensen and Clara Baer used Naismith's rules as an inspiration, but developed their own set of rules, including marked areas on the court limiting the movement of players to their respective sections. Some of these rules were motivated by the prevailing assumptions of "female frailty and dependence". Texas would play limited intercollegiate basketball between 1903 and 1921. Eunice Aden was captain of the basketball team in 1903, took over coaching duties in 1905 and became director of physical education in 1911. Opportunities in basketball grew, but only in a limited way. Intercollegiate play existed, but the school did not allow off-campus games. When Aden retired in 1921, she was replaced by Anna Hiss, who would run the physical education department until 1957. While she was called a visionary for her role in directing physical education and intramurals, she was "dead-set against intercollegiate athletics for women". The limited intercollegiate play under Aden came to an end, with basketball now limited to intramurals and interclass play. The ascension of Hiss to the head of the department roughly coincided with the influence of Lou Henry Hoover, First Lady of the United States. In 1923, Hoover was head of the Girl Scouts of the United States. Although Hoover was an advocate of sports, she felt that highly competitive sports were detrimental. Hoover helped to found the Women's Division of the National Amateur Athletic Foundation (WDNAAF). This foundation passed a resolution in 1925 banning extramural competition. The following year, Hiss formed an organization which voted "condemn intercollegiate competition for women, and to endorse the intramural/interclass model". Hiss supported many activities, including tennis, golf, archery, swimming and interpretive dance, but was opposed to team sports. In general, "artistry was favored over athleticism". She led an unsuccessful protest against American woman participation in the Olympics of 1928, 1932, and 1936. She was the driving force behind the construction of a Women's Gymnasium (named in her honor after her death). While it was a substantial resource for women's athletics, it was designed to fit her beliefs—the courts were too small for a proper basketball game, and had no room for spectators and the swimming pool was deliberately shorter than Olympic length. While basketball was not officially supported as a school-sponsored sport in the 1920s and 30s, it was still played by many groups. The interclass games were de-emphasized, but fraternities and sororities played the game, as well as organizations such as the YWCA, industrial leagues and AAU teams. After Hiss's departure, basketball at Texas began to grow, although it would be almost a decade until it became a full varsity sport. The University of Texas Sports Association (UTSA) a predecessor to the athletic department, organized the sports available for women. Basketball was not one of the club sports offered until a student, Mary Neikirk, organized a petition which was presented to the administration. The school agreed to add basketball as a club sport under the auspices of the UTSA. The first year's budget was $100. A team was formed, and the team played under the girl's rules of the era—six players on a team, two of whom stayed at the defensive end, two of whom stayed in the offensive end and two, called "rovers" who could play both ends. These rules were used until 1971, at which time they switched to "boy's rules". In 1973, the team practiced and played in the annex of Gregory Gymnasium. Rod Page, who had some experience as a women's basketball assistant coach, was a referee at one of the games. When the current coach of the team quit, Page was hired. The Texas team, in Pages' first year, compiled a record of 7–11. The 1974 season was a season of transition, with a mixture of firsts and lasts. This year's team was the first to play their games in Gregory Gymnasium itself, rather than the annex. This was the first year the team had trainers, and it was the first year that the Longhorn Band and cheerleaders performed for the team. It was their last year under the auspices of the UTSA. It was the last year before the sport attained the status of a full varsity sport. Title IX was passed in 1972, with a provision prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex. At the time it was passed, it was unknown what impact it would have on sports, including whether it even applied to intercollegiate sports. Two years, later, in 1974, the issue wasn't yet settled, with the Tower Amendment specifically excluding revenue-producing sports, but shortly thereafter, the Tower Amendment was eliminated. It was becoming clear that universities would have to respond sooner or later, but Texas responded in 1974. Shortly after the conclusion of the 1974 basketball season, Stephen Spurr, the University president, announced that a women's athletic department would be started, complete with offices, staff and a budget of $50,000. Some schools waited for the Department of Health, Education and Welfare to provide specific regulations covering Title IX. These regulations would not be published until 1975. In 1974, Texas began offering varsity sports opportunities to female students in seven sports. In some ways, the University of Texas program became the envy of women at other schools, but the initial progress was relative. Two-thirds of the male athletes at Texas were on scholarship, while only one in fifteen female students were on scholarship. There were 21 male coach positions, almost all full-time, but seven women's coaches who were all part-time. Under Pages' leadership, the team improved upon their prior year results, with a record of 17–10. The team started out strong, winning their first five games, including an overtime win against Houston 63–62, before running into Baylor, who won easily 116–62. Some of the games were played as preliminaries to the men's games, but others were stand-alone games. They would also lose their next game to Southwest Texas, on a night when fundraiser was held, with an exhibition match between UT All-Stars and the All American Red Heads Team, a barnstorming team of female basketball players. The team earned an invitation to the Texas AIAW post season tournament, as a second seed behind Southwest Texas. The tournament schedule required five games in three days. The Texas team did well, except against Southwest Texas, ending up with 17 victories against 10 losses, five of which were to Southwest Texas. The following season, Texas team would achieve even more. The basketball team added Retha Swindell, a 6' 2" rebounder with defensive skills. The school also hired Donna Lopiano, who started what would become a 17-year stint as women's athletic director. She "vowed to have every Longhorn women's team in the top 10 and at least one national title within five years". While the school was expressing a commitment to women's varsity sports, not everyone was supportive. The football coach, Darrell Royal, had told President Ford that "Title IX might be the death of big-time college football.". Despite that concern, she managed to convince him to support her during her interview. The team's first game was against Southwest Texas, the team that had defeated Texas five times in the previous season. This time, Texas would prevail 57–47 in a game held at their arena. The team lost three in a row as a result of sickness and injury, then responded with a twelve-game winning streak. The team would go on to a 21–7 season record. Under Rod Page, the team had improved materially, so it was a surprise that when the Longhorns completed their regular season, and prepared for the post-season tournament, athletic director Lopiano announced he would not be continuing as coach of the team. The news came as a shock to Page and the team. The reason given was that the position was a head coach of basketball and volleyball—Page did not have volleyball experience. However, Lopiano had her eye on another coach, one she felt could lead the team to become a national contender. Lopiano's choice was Jody Conradt, who was garnering national attention as the head coach at the University of Texas at Arlington. She turned a losing program around, and the 1975–76 team would compile a 23–11 record, despite materially strengthening their schedule of opponents at the same time. Two days after announcing that Page would not be returning, Lopiano announced that Conradt would be the coach starting with the next season. Conradt wasn't surprised that the team felt loyalty to Page, but she asked them to "have an open mind". The first season under Conradt had a schedule of 46 games. The schedule included games in northeast USA, the first out-of-state trip for the team, and the first airplane ride for many of the players. To save money, the team stayed at the home of Lopiano's parents in Stamford Connecticut. Texas lost badly to Queens College, then ranked #15 in the nation, but went on to the Penn State Invitational where they beat Penn State and Southern Connecticut, at that time a national power. Mel Greenberg, the organizer of the first top 25 women's poll, was in attendance. By the time the team returned to Austin, they learned of their first national ranking at #14. The team would complete their first season under Conradt with a record of 36–10. Conradt coached both basketball and volleyball, but would give up volleyball duties after two seasons. The team would go on to become the dominant women's basketball team on the 1980s, ranked in the AP top ten all but one year between 1979 and 1990. Texas would end the 1984 and 1985 seasons with the number one ranking according to the AP ranking service, but failed to win the national championship both years. In 1984, they suffered injuries, in 1985, they went 28–3, but were upset in the NCAA tournament by Western Kentucky. 1986 would end differently. Again they achieved the AP #1 ranking, but they also went on to win every single game, achieving a record of 34–0, and posting the first undefeated season in women's basketball during the NCAA era (since 1982) and the fourth undefeated season in women's college basketball overall. Originally built in 1930, Gregory Gymnasium was named after its main advocate and planner, Thomas Watt Gregory. An alumnus of the University, Gregory served on the University's Board of Regents and as United States Attorney General (1914–19) before the gym was built. Gregory Gymnasium is located on the UT central campus, a short distance southeast of the UT Main Building, Tower, and Main Mall and facing west onto Speedway Avenue, the campus's central north-south street. The Texas women's basketball team played home games in the Gregory Gymnasium annex in the 1972–73 season and then in the Gymnasium itself beginning with the 1973–74 season until moving into the Special Events Center (later renamed the Frank Erwin Center) for the 1977–78 season. The Texas women's basketball team opened the Frank Erwin Center on November 29, 1977 with a 67–64 victory over Temple College. Built for a total cost of $34 million, the building is named for former UT alumnus and Board of Regents member Frank Erwin. Originally known as the Special Events Center, the facility was renamed in 1981 to honor Erwin, who had died earlier that year. The Erwin Center is located at the southeastern corner of the UT central campus and is bounded on the east by Interstate 35. A two-level layout (the lower arena and upper mezzanine) currently accommodates up to 16,540 spectators for basketball games. UT undertook extensive renovations of the facility from 2001 to 2003 at a cost of $55 million, adding, among other things, new and renovated seating, new video and sound systems, new lighting, and 28 suites. As part of the project, UT constructed the Denton A. Cooley Pavilion, a state-of-the-art practice and training facility that sits adjacent to the Erwin Center. The master plan released in 2013 for the University's new Dell Medical School indicated that the Erwin Center would be demolished in a later phase of construction within six to fifteen years. No decisions have yet been made as to the location and layout of the arena that will replace the Erwin Center. Built during the final phase of the renovation of the Erwin Center, the Denton A. Cooley Pavilion opened in the fall of 2003. The two-level, 44,000-square-foot building sits adjacent to the Erwin Center and serves as a state-of-the-art practice and training facility for the Texas men's and women's basketball teams. The Pavilion is named for Dr. Denton A. Cooley, a UT alumnus, basketball letterman (1939–41), and pioneering heart surgeon. The Texas men's and women's basketball teams have separate 9,000-square-foot practice court areas, each consisting of one full-court and one half-court practice area with seven basket stations. The practice facility also includes a locker room with a players' lounge, an instructional film theater, a 4,100-square-foot strength and conditioning area, an athletic training and hydrotherapy area, an academic resource and activity center, and a coaches' lounge and locker room. The Cooley Pavilion will be demolished and replaced during the same phase of construction of the Dell Medical School as the Erwin Center. As with the Erwin Center, no decisions have been made as to the location or features of the replacement basketball practice and training facility. <br> National championships <br> Conference championships Texas has appeared in the NCAA Tournament on 31 occasions (fourth-most appearances all time). The Longhorns' overall record in the Tournament is 40–30. The NCAA has seeded the Tournament since its inaugural year in 1982. Texas participated in the final AIAW Women's Basketball Tournament in 1982 rather than the inaugural NCAA Tournament (falling in the AIAW Championship Game to Rutgers, 83–77); the Longhorns began participating in the NCAA Tournament in 1983. Texas has appeared in 31 of the 36 Tournaments held since 1983. Texas has been ranked in at least one of the final AP or Coaches Polls in 27 seasons since their introduction prior to the 1976–77 and 1985–86 seasons, respectively. The Longhorns have recorded 14 top-ten finishes and 10 top-five finishes in one or more of the final polls. As of March 2, 2017, Texas teams have been ranked in 518 of 727 total weekly AP Polls (71.3%) since the inception of the poll in the 1976–77 season (third all-time in AP Poll appearances), and in 383 of 596 total weekly Coaches Polls (64.3%) since the inception of the poll in the 1985–86 season. Texas women's basketball leads the all-time series against all Big 12 Conference opponents but Iowa State (which leads 18–17). Texas women's basketball leads the all-time series against all former Big 12 Conference opponents. Texas holds a winning record against all former Big 12 members in games played in Big 12 competition. Texas leads all series against former Southwest Conference members who are not current members of the Big 12. The individual honors, awards, and accomplishments listed in the succeeding subsections are aggregated by player in the following table. Players with only all-conference honors (other than conference player of the year) or lower than first-team All-America honors are not included. Four Longhorn women's basketball players have been inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tennessee. Three Texas players have won one or more of the widely recognized National Player of the Year awards on four occasions. Eleven Texas basketball players have received All-America honors on 19 occasions. Seven Texas players have received first-team All-America honors in eleven seasons, with two Longhorn players having been selected as a first-team All-American twice and one player having been selected three times. Five Texas players have won conference player of the year honors on six occasions—all in the Southwest Conference. One Longhorn player has won Big 12 Player of the Year honors, and two players have won Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors. Twenty-five Texas women's basketball players have received first-team all-conference honors on 48 occasions. Of these 25 players, ten have received first-team all-conference honors in two seasons, five players have received them in three seasons, and one player has received them in all four seasons. First-team All-Southwest Conference First-team All-Big 12 Conference Ten Longhorn freshmen women's basketball players have won conference freshman of the year honors—six players in the Southwest Conference and four players in the Big 12 Conference. Southwest Conference Freshman of the Year Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year Eight Longhorn women's basketball players have won conference tournament most valuable player honors on nine occasions. Southwest Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Player Big 12 Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player As of April 12, 2018, 14 Longhorn women's basketball players have been selected in the WNBA Draft since the inaugural draft in 1997. Of these, five were selected in the first round, one was selected in the second round, six were selected in the third round, and two were selected in the fourth round. As of the end of the 2017 WNBA season, 17 Texas players have played in the WNBA in league history. Two Longhorn players currently play in the WNBA. All-time WNBA players Current WNBA players Six Longhorn players played in the ABL. All-time ABL players Three Longhorn women's basketball players have competed in the Olympic Games in women's basketball on two occasions, with two players winning gold medals and one player winning a bronze medal. In October 1998, Jody Conradt became the second women's basketball coach to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. Conradt was also a member of the inaugural class elected to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tennessee in June 1999. Conradt won the WBCA National Coach of the Year Award following her 1984 season at Texas, in which her team posted a 32–3 overall record and reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, and following the 1986 season, in which her team finished undefeated and won the NCAA championship. Jody Conradt was recognized as the Southwest Conference Coach of the Year for the 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1996 seasons and as the Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year for the 2003 and 2004 seasons. Karen Aston was named Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year in 2017. Texas Longhorns women's basketball The Texas Longhorns women's basketball team represents The University of Texas at Austin in NCAA Division I intercollegiate women's basketball competition. The Longhorns currently compete in the Big 12 Conference. The team has long been a national power in women's basketball. Under head coach Jody Conradt, the second NCAA Division I basketball coach to win 900 career games (after Tennessee's Pat Summitt), the Longhorns won the 1986
who won last year's ncaa women's basketball	"Miami Hurricanes" in basketball, cross-country, swimming and diving, golf, rowing, soccer, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. UM has approximately equal participation by male and female varsity athletes in these sports. The athletic department's colors are orange, green, and white. The school mascot is Sebastian the Ibis. The ibis was selected as the school's mascot because, according to university legend, it is the last animal to flee an approaching hurricane and the first to reappear after the storm, making it a symbol of leadership and courage. The school's athletics logo is a simple green and orange, color of an orange tree, letter "U." The school's marching band is the Band of the Hour. Aside from being an independent in baseball, the Hurricanes were a full member of the Big East Conference from 1991 to 2004. In 2004, the school became a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). UM has won four national championships (1982, 1985, 1999 and 2001) and reached the College World Series 22 times in the 34 seasons since 1974. Five UM graduates are currently active on MLB teams. The team is currently coached by Jim Morris, the former head coach of the Georgia Tech baseball team. Former coach Ron Fraser was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in July 2006. The team plays its games on the UM campus, in Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field. Morris' contract as coach has been extended through 2015. Morris has established a record of 850–344–3 (.711) in 19 seasons at Miami. His teams reached the College World Series in his first six seasons at UM, an NCAA record. The Mascot for the baseball team is The Miami Maniac. Miami holds the longest consecutive post season appearance streak at 44 consecutive years (1973–2016). This streak is the longest of any men's NCAA Div. 1 major sport, topping the football post season streak of 35 seasons (Nebraska 1972–2006) and the basketball streak of 27 seasons (North Carolina 1974–2001). The Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team has produced three players who are currently on NBA rosters. Rick Barry, who played his collegiate basketball at UM, is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame. Barry is the Hurricanes' only consensus All-American in basketball and led the nation in scoring his senior year with a 37.4 average during the 1964–65 campaign. The team plays its home games at the Watsco Center on the University of Miami's Coral Gables campus. The Board of Trustees attempted to shut the program down in the middle of the 1970 season, which forced Will Allen to organize his teammates and strike because it was not sufficient notice for the players to transfer schools. They held a press conference and this caught the attention of the national press, and the university actually dropped the program after the 1971 season, with the board citing inadequate facilities, sagging attendance, and serious financial losses as the reasons for the decision. The program was revived before the 1985–86 season, though UM would be minimally competitive over the next several years. The program's fortunes turned around in 1990 when Miami hired Leonard Hamilton as head basketball coach and accepted an invitation to join the Big East. By the end of the decade, Hamilton had turned UM into one of the better basketball programs in the Big East and had guided UM to three straight NCAA tournament appearances (1998–2000), including a #2 seed in the 1999 tournament and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2000. The 1998 tournament appearance was UM's first since 1960. Hamilton left at the end of the 2000 season to become head coach of the NBA's Washington Wizards and was replaced by Perry Clark. During Clark's second season (2001–02) the team won 24 games and a #5 seed in the NCAA tournament. With the 2002–03 season, the team moved into its newly completed on-campus arena, the Watsco Center. Despite a win over powerhouse North Carolina to christen the new arena, Clark's teams performed woefully over the next two seasons, leading to his dismissal following the 2003–04 season (UM's last season in the Big East). Clark was replaced by Frank Haith, whose teams were competitive in UM's first two seasons as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. In the 2007/2008 season, after being picked to finish last in the Atlantic Coast Conference the Hurricanes finished the year 23–11 (8–8 in the ACC) and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to the second seeded University of Texas at Austin. This was the team's first NCAA tournament bid since the 2001–2002 season. For the 2009/2010 season, Miami had a winning record overall (20–13), but finished in last place in the ACC with a record of 4–12. On April 4, 2011, Miami coach Frank Haith accepted a head coaching position at the University of Missouri. On April 22, 2011, George Mason Patriots head coach Jim Larranaga accepted the head coaching position after coaching the Patriots for 14 seasons. For the 2012–2013 season, Miami (FL) knocked down No. 1 Duke 90-63, won their first 13 ACC games, and attained the highest AP ranking in school history, attaining a #2 ranking. However, the Hurricanes lost to Wake Forest, 80-65, ruining at the time, a perfect record in ACC play. Miami clinched an ACC regular season title with a home triumph over Clemson. Miami entered the ACC Tournament as the #1 seed, and won said tournament with a win over the North Carolina Tar Heels. Thanks to this very successful season, multiple members of the program were recognized. Starting point guard Shane Larkin was named the ACC Player of the Year, senior shooting guard Durand Scott was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year, and Jim Larranaga was named the ACC Coach of the Year. Miami (FL) was selected to be the No. 2 seed in East Region of the NCAA Tournament. Their first opponent would be Pacific University. They defeated the Tigers 78-49. Their next opponent would be the University of Illinois. They defeated the Fighting Illini 63-59, allowing them to advance into the Regional Semifinals, where they would lose to Marquette UM forward Shenise Johnson, during the summer of 2009, competed on the gold medal-winning USA Team at the 2009 U19 World Championships. The team plays its home games at the Watsco Center on the University of Miami's Coral Gables campus. In 2009–10, Miami finished last in the ACC. A year later, the Lady Canes went 26–3 (12–2 ACC) in the regular season to finish alongside Duke as regular season ACC champions. Miami went undefeated at the Watsco Center extending their home winning streak to 24 straight games. Despite a quarterfinal exit in the ACC Tournament, Miami's performance was enough to merit the program's first NCAA tournament bid since 1992. After cruising past Gardner–Webb in the first round, they lost to Oklahoma in the second. Head coach Katie Meier won National Coach of the Year, along with Connecticut's Geno Auriemma and Stanford's Tara VanDerveer. Junior guards Shenice Johnson and Riquana Williams were named to the All-ACC first team, sophomore forward Morgan Stroman was named to the all-conference third team, and Johnson was a third-team All-American. The 2011–12 team returned every player from the 2010–11 squad and was picked in the preseason to win the ACC, though they finished 2nd. In the past seasons (2010–11 to 2015–16), they have made the NCAA Tournament five times. On July 22, 2008, Amy Deem was promoted to Director of Track and Field/Cross Country and heads both the men's and women's cross country running programs. She was head women's track and field coach for the prior seven years. In the 2006 ACC Cross Country Championships, UM's men finished 12th out of 12 teams, and UM's women finished also finished last out of 12. At the 2009 ACC Cross Country Championship, UM's men and women again finished last out of 12 teams. UM has both men's and women's diving teams. In 2008, the men's team finished 11th (57 pts.) at the ACC Championships and finished 18th (40 pts.) at the NCAA Championships. Historically, the Hurricanes are one of the most predominant college football programs in the nation. They have won five Division I national football championships (1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, and 2001), and are currently tied for fourth on the list of all-time Associated Press National Poll Championships, with Ohio State and USC, behind Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Alabama.The Hurricanes have the sixteenth highest win percentage in NCAA Division I history as of 2018, at .635, and hold the second longest streak of weeks ranked #1 with 20, from October 14, 2001, to October 28, 2002, , UM has produced two Heisman Trophy winners, Vinny Testaverde (in 1986) and Gino Torretta (in 1992). Seven former UM football players—Ray Lewis, Warren Sapp, Ted Hendricks, Michael Irvin, Jim Kelly, Cortez Kennedy and Jim Otto—have been voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame following their NFL careers. Two former UM players, Ottis Anderson and Lewis, have been named Super Bowl MVPs (for Super Bowl XXV and Super Bowl XXXV, respectively). Twelve members of the College Football Hall of Fame either played or coached at the school: Ed Reed, Vinny Testaverde, Russell Maryland, Gino Toretta, Arnold Tucker, Bennie Blades, Don James (played at Miami but was inducted as a coach), Don Bosseler, Ted Hendricks, and coaches Jimmy Johnson, Andy Gustafson and Jack Harding. Since the 2008 demolition of the Miami Orange Bowl, the team has played its home games at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. As of the 2018 National Football League season, UM had the fourth-most players active in the NFL of any university in the nation, with 36. The Hurricanes won the national golf championships in 1970, 1972, 1977, 1978 and 1984. In 1959, 1965, 1972 and 1977, Judy Eller, Roberta Albers, Ann Laughlin and Cathy Morse, respectively, won the women's intercollegiate individual golf championship (an event conducted by the Division of Girls' and Women's Sports — AIAW from 1972 — which was succeeded by the current NCAA women's golf championship). The team plays its home matches at Deering Bay Yacht & Country Club in Coral Gables, Florida. In July 2009, Andrew Carter, a former assistant coach at Clemson University, was selected as head rowing coach at UM. Carter has over 20 years of experience coaching at the collegiate and international levels. Marc DeRose was hired as assistant coach. Miami added a soccer team in 1957. It offered scholarships from the beginning by phasing in 3 scholarships per year over a four-year period. The Cobb Stadium for Soccer, Track and Field was built on the Coral Gables campus in 1998 for the program. In 2009, the team finished 8th (219 pts.) at the ACC Championships and 24th (25 pts.) at the NCAA Championships. The team won the AIAW national championship in 1975 and 1976. UM does not currently have a varsity men's swimming team. Michael Russell played number one singles for the University of Miami in 1996–97. He was named 1997 NCAA Rookie of the Year and an All-American, and finished No. 7 in collegiate rankings (and No. 1 among freshmen). His 39 singles-match wins were a school record, and he was the first freshman since 1986 to win the Rolex National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, defeating Fred Niemeyer in the final. He was also named to the 1997 Rolex Collegiate All-Star Team, selected by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association and "Tennis Magazine", and the Big East Championship Most Outstanding Player. Julia Cohen was All-ACC for the women's team. , Kevin Ludwig was the head coach, and there were 9 men and 7 women on the tennis team. The men's team is coached by Mario Rincon, and women's team by Paige Yaroshuk-Tews. In July 2008, Mike Ward, who served for five years as an assistant and 11 years as head coach in the University of Miami's track and cross country programs, retired. Amy Deem, who had been the women's coach for 17 years became the Director of Track and Field/Cross Country. Perhaps UM's most notable athlete is Lauryn Williams '04, who earned nine All-American honors. Internationally, Williams won the silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, gold at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics, and finished 5th at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics., all in the 100m dash. The team plays its home games at Cobb Stadium on the University of Miami's Coral Gables campus. The women's volleyball team had a 26–6 2008 season overall with a record of 14–6 in conference matches. UM has sponsored other varsity sports in the past. The University of Miami polo team was undefeated in tournament play from 1948–1951. However, the games were poorly attended and the program ran a $15,000 deficit in 1950. The sport was dropped the following year. Boxing was one of the most popular and successful athletic programs on campus through the 1950s. Varsity boxing matches attracted sizeable crowds. A sanctioned men's soccer team played for a handful of years from the mid 1970s through the early 1980s, but the program received little funding and no scholarships, before finally being dropped. Miami has won 5 NCAA team national championships. Below are 16 national team titles that were not bestowed by the NCAA: The University of Miami, as articulated by its former president Donna Shalala, has been very supportive of achieving gender equity and complying with Title IX. Shalala wrote of her support in a "Miami Herald" column on the 30th anniversary of that law. However, in the past, female athletes filed complaints with the federal government in the 1970s and 1980s alleging unequal funding and facilities for UM women's sports. Of the $46.8 million in annual athletic expenditures, $23.9 million were spent on men's team, $9.8 million were spent on women's teams, and $13 million can not be allocated based on gender. Miami has notable differences between the graduation rates of male and female student athletes. , UM graduation rates had 64.1% graduating within 4 years, 75.1% graduating within 5 years, and 76.8% graduating within 6 years. Male student athletes have a 52% 4 year graduation rate, and 72% of female student athletes graduate within 4 years. Some critics of Miami's allocation of fiscal resources within the Athletics Department have blamed the decision to drop certain men's teams on Title IX compliance. Miami's traditional athletic rivals include the Seminoles of Florida State University and the Gators of the University of Florida. The Hurricanes have played more football games against the Seminoles (60) than against any other opponent (Florida being second with 55 games); the series began in 1951, and has been played annually since 1969. The teams' only bowl meeting was the 2004 Orange Bowl, prior to Miami leaving the Big East Conference to join the Atlantic Coast Conference (in which Florida State has been a member since 1992.) As of the 2016 meeting, the Hurricanes hold a 31–30 series lead against the Seminoles. The Hurricanes first played the Gators in football in 1938; and the teams played annually (except in 1943 when Florida didn't field a team due lack of players due to World War II) until 1987. Since then, Miami and Florida have met only six times (four during the regular season in 2002, 2003, 2008, and 2013, and in two bowl games: the 2001 Sugar Bowl and the 2004 Chick-fil-A Bowl). The Hurricanes and the Gators last scheduled meeting was the game in Miami on September 7, 2013. As of the fall of 2013, Miami holds a 29–26 series lead against Florida. The University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame is located next to the Hecht Athletic Center on campus. It houses many artifacts and memorabilia from the Hurricanes' athletic teams over the last 80 years. Each year, the Hall of Fame inducts former athletes who have been out of school at least 10 years, or coaches and administrators, in an annual banquet. Since its inception in 1966, the UMSHoF has inducted over 250 of the greatest student-athletes. Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes (known informally as UM, UMiami, or The U) are the varsity sports teams of the University of Miami, located in the Coral Gables suburb of Miami, Florida. In box scores for sporting events,
who won last year's ncaa women's basketball	"Connecticut–Tennessee women's basketball rivalry" 2006-07 season, the two programs met annually in winter at one or both of the schools, but the rivalry is unique for having a third of its games occurring in the women's NCAA tournament. Four times, the national championship has been on the line. The schools started playing each other in 1995. At the end of 2016, UConn led the series 13-9, including 5-2 in the tournament and 4-0 for the title. However, the Lady Vols have won the last three against UConn. On the day of every meeting, both schools have been ranked in the top 15 in the Associated Press rankings. In AP Poll history, Tennessee and UConn have the two longest appearance streaks in women's college basketball. Tennessee had a 565-week run spanning 31 years and UConn currently has a 470-week run covering 25 years. In addition, UConn has the most No. 1 appearances with 224 with Tennessee in second at 112. The two schools discontinued the regular-season series after the 2006-2007 season, and have not played each other since. The next season, both teams made the 2008 Final Four, but Stanford defeated UConn in the semifinals. Tennessee won the championship. In 2018 a home and home series was announced with the next meeting scheduled at UConn on January 23, 2020. In its heyday, the rivalry was notable among team sports in that it almost unerringly focused on the sidelines rather than the floor. The two coaches were far and away the best known and best paid in their sport, with both being in the Basketball Hall of Fame and Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. Between them, they account for over 2,000 wins. On the Tennessee side was Pat Summitt, the all-time winningest NCAA Division I college basketball coach, male or female. Summitt won eight NCAA women's tournaments. She was the acknowledged dean of women's college basketball in the modern era. She was the Naismith College Coach of the Year six times. On the UConn side is Geno Auriemma, who has won eleven of the last twenty-two NCAA women's tournaments, four at the expense of Summitt in the finals. A media firebrand in the heart of ESPN country, Auriemma has become the most accomplished coach in the last decade, which included a record-breaking 111-game winning streak which began in the fall of 2014 and ended during the Final Four of 2017 NCAA women's tournament. He has seven Naismith awards to Summitt's six. The two poured gasoline on the fire in press conferences, with Auriemma at one point calling Tennessee the "Evil Empire". The two apparently mended fences after some sparring, as Auriemma noted in his autobiography, "Geno." The two schools first met on January 16, 1995, when televised women's basketball was a rarity. At this high point, with dominant players such as Rebecca Lobo, Kara Wolters and Jennifer Rizzotti, UConn's program was on the rise, beating Tennessee during the regular season and again for the title and an undefeated regular season. They would win another rivalry game in 1996. The next three years belonged to Summitt, as the Lady Vols won four of the next five meetings with the Huskies en route to three straight national championships. The "Meeks"—Chamique Holdsclaw, Semeka Randall, and Tamika Catchings—and point guard Michelle Marciniak powered Tennessee past all rivals, including UConn. On the horizon, though, were Auriemma's most dominant classes yet, and possibly the strongest lineup ever in the women's game. The starting five of Sue Bird, Asjha Jones, Swin Cash, Tamika Williams, and (for the latter part of the run) Diana Taurasi gave UConn four of the next five national championships. In that run of 2000 to 2004, UConn crushed Tennessee in the rivalry, winning nine of the next eleven meetings, including the 2000, 2003, and 2004 championship games. In the five seasons after Taurasi went to the WNBA, Summitt rebounded with strong new players like Candace Parker, and won each meeting. UConn's program lacked a dominant scorer like Taurasi, and Tennessee made the most of this vulnerability. With these results, the rivalry continues to be top-of-mind in the women's game, even years after its discontinuation. A matchup in the 2002 Final Four at the Alamodome in San Antonio was in front of the largest crowd in women's history (29,619). The 2006 regular-season game at Thompson–Boling Arena in Knoxville drew the largest crowd ever for a regular-season women's game (24,653). After the 2007 game, Auriemma noted that the rivalry, while still intense, lost some of its edge because of increasing parity in the women's game. As an illustration, 2006 was the first time since 1999 that neither UConn nor Tennessee had made the Final Four. He remarked, "In some sense, a small sense, it's still the Red Sox and the Yankees. It still is. But there's still a lot more good things going on in college basketball now. That's just the reality of it." Though the Connecticut Huskies and the Tennessee Volunteers no longer play each other in the regular season for women's basketball matchups, the rivalry has now begun to spread into other sports as the two schools have agreed to play each other in other matchups in the future. On September 4, 2008, UConn and Tennessee agreed to a home and home series in football for the 2015 and 2016 seasons, but in order to play Virginia Tech at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2016, the series has been postponed. Furthermore, because of UConn's "Gang of Five" status while Tennessee was in the "Power Five," the series may not be held. Nearly a year later on July 22, 2009, Huskies men's basketball head coach Jim Calhoun and Vols men's basketball head coach Bruce Pearl agreed to a home and home basketball series in the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 seasons. Summitt's son Tyler was on the Volunteers' roster for both games. During the 2012-13 season, Tyler Summitt joined Marquette's coaching staff for the women's team, the final year of the pre-split Big East. The Huskies won against the Golden Eagles in both games. The Summitt family's rivalry is now at Connecticut 16, Summitts 10 (13-9 during the rivalry, Tyler Summitt was 1-1 at Tennessee against Connecticut as men's basketball player, 0-2 as Marquette's assistant coach). Connecticut–Tennessee women's basketball rivalry The women's basketball rivalry between the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers and the University of Connecticut Huskies is one of the fiercest rivalries in college basketball, and perhaps the only one to reach national consciousness out of the women's game. The matchup features two long-tenured and media savvy coaches generally acknowledged among the top five ever in their sport, over two dozen players
who won last year's ncaa women's basketball	"Green Archers" Salle Green Archers was a founding member of the NCAA in 1924. De La Salle participated in the league for 57 years until the 1980-81 NCAA Season winning five NCAA General Championships in the process (1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, and 1980). The high school (Juniors' division) counterpart were the Greenies from De La Salle College High School until 1968 when the then High School in Taft Avenue, Manila was phased-out and transferred to the then new GREEN HILLS Ortigas Campus in Mandaluyong City. The Greenies had won two General Championships. La Salle Green Hills (LSGH) was established in 1959 and was eventually made the high school counterpart of De La Salle University. It inherited the moniker Greenies and eventually became known as the Junior Archers. LSGH won eight General Championships until 1980 when La Salle withdrew from the NCAA. From 1981 through 1985 the school participated in the PICUAA, invitational meets, interclub tournaments, and National Open. De La Salle University (DLSU) then joined the UAAP in 1986. La Salle chose the newly established De La Salle Santiago Zobel School (DLSZ) as their UAAP Juniors counterpart. LSGH was later asked by De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde to compete as their Juniors team in the NCAA when it applied and was accepted in 1998. Ever since joining the UAAP in 1986, DLSU has won three UAAP Overall Championships, in Season 75 (2012–13), Season 76 (2013–14) and in Season 78 (2015–16), giving the university a combined eight overall titles in both the NCAA and UAAP. A couple of years ago the DLSZ Junior Archers has captured its first UAAP Juniors basketball championship. The traditional battle school colors of De La Salle University are Green and White. The color Green gives tribute to the first batch of De La Salle Brothers from Ireland while the color White represents the Philippines as being the "Pearl of the Orient Seas". The Green and White color combination are the institutional colors of all the 17 De La Salle schools in the Philippines and also in some other Lasallian schools abroad. The Green Archer is the official athletic symbol of the university that was inspired by Saint Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, Patron Saint of Teachers who like the fabled valiant hero from the royal Sherwood forest in Nottinghamshire, England. - Robin Hood, a brave and gallant Green Archer who went against the abusive whims of tyrannical king. Saint La Salle and the fabled Green Archer hero from Sherwood Forest both selflessly served, defended, protected and provided for the last and the least among the poorest of the poor in Europe. Decades ago, Br. Rafael Donato FSC said that Lasallites as Green Archers are Christian Achievers who always Aim High, Straight and True for God, Country and La Salle. Br. Andrew Gonzalez FSC also emphasized that La Salle as a leading, learning institution gives importance to achievement. De La Salle Brother J. Benedict FSC mentioned that "De La Salle, produces good men and not incompetent saints." During the pre-war years Br. John FSC would often remind his Green Archers "To always play fair, to always battle with honor and fight for the glory and fame of the De La Salle Name." Our De La Salle Brothers Br. Stephen Malachy FSC and Br. Bonaventure Richard FSC in the 1960s came up with the classic battle cry of "Never Shall We Fail!" in their DLS Alma Mater Song that forever reminds generations upon generations of Lasallites/Lasallians that failure is never an option. Several decades ago in the NCAA, Br. Gabriel FSC reminded the DLSC Green Archers to always play their hardest for the name infront of their varsity jerseys. Our pre-war De La Salle Brothers would constantly remind all their La Salle boys about their love, loyalty, duty to GOD, Country and La Salle. The Green Archer was inspired by the medieval European longbow man who during peacetime was a forest hunter and at wartime was recruited by the king's army to fight for and defend the kingdom. The De La Salle Archer is a forest green clad warrior-hunter who's a focused, determined and a goal-oriented marksman who never backs down from tough challenges. An Archer will confidently confront and zero in on a chosen target. The warrior-hunter then takes a strategic position as he defiantly kneels to stand his ground and never seeks to "fly away" from a furious fray. The emerald archer lives by his Lasallian fighting words of "We'll Fight to keep your Glory Bright and Never Shall We Fail", as he kneels down and pulls his mighty bow and sharp arrow backward. The Green Archer does his iconic battle stance to aggressively engage his foe. The Green hunter carefully aims his sharp arrow as he silently shoots down his adversary for a very quick and stealthy kill. This was accordingly adopted several decades ago by an NCAA sportswriter due to the sharp shooting and the tenacity of the Green and White Five as they captured De La Salle's first 1939 NCAA Senior pre-war basketball championship crown. In the NCAA juniors division, De La Salle won the First ever NCAA juniors basketball title in its 1924–25 inaugural season. The official DLSAA mascots are "Gordo", the jolly and round archer, "Flaco", the wise and elderly archer and "Sally", the young and lethal lady archer. De La Salle, has always had a DLS School Pep Band that pumps up the Lasallian School Spirit and beefs up the morale of the Green Archers and its legions of fans by proudly playing all of its traditional fight songs, tunes and battle drum beats in its several-decades-long athletic history from the pre-war NCAA til the present UAAP varsity hostilities. Traditional Lasallian Battle Cry - "ANIMO!" The ANIMO! signifies a Lasallian's "Spirit to Fight". This battle cry was inspired by the 350 year old Lasallian's Spirit of "Faith and Zeal" of the De La Salle Christian Brothers. This traditional battle cry is also being used by several Lasallian schools in various countries. The Lasallian spirit of "Faith" is symbolized by the radiant "Signum Fidei" (Latin for "Sign of the Faith" – the 350 year old battle cry of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools) Christmas Nativity Star from Bethlehem (the original beaming rays of the Signum Fidei Star has been replaced with the Gloria et Honos laurel).[citation needed] The Lasallian spirit of "Zeal" on the other hand is symbolized by three broken chevrons representing the three broken leg bones suffered by Johan Salla, an ancestor of Saint La Salle who was a warrior chieftain from Urgel, Spain and the patriarch of the Salla (later renamed De La Salle after moving to France) family, as he valiantly battled to expel the marauding Moors from Europe. The three broken chevron symbols are also represented in the De La Salle family crest. The Indivisa Manent or "Permanently Indivisible", is a 1,000 year old ancient battle cry of the De La Salle family popularly known today as "One La Salle". It is the uniting Lasallian spirit of community, where teamwork, fraternal brotherhood, and a deep sense of oneness is intimately shared as an indivisible Lasallian family. Lasallians, stand united in all things they do together as a close knit community of brothers and sisters working as one clan in service for the greater honor and glory of God, Saint La Salle, country and school. De La Salle has several decades old traditional pre-war fight songs, battle cheers, tribal yells and hakas are the traditional – "De La Salle Song", "Go La Salle Song", "Go! Go! La Salle", "Oh When La Salle Goes Marching In", "Victory Song", "Green Archer Battle Song", "Men of La Salle Song", "Rektikano Rah!", "Zama Zipa Zam", "Who's to Win this Game", "Bumakaya", "Yamakadep", "Strawberry Shortcake", "La Salle Spelling", "Derecho La Salle", "D-LS-U Animo La Salle", "Animo Yell" and several pre-war songs, yells and cheers to be revived by the DLSU Animo Squad. De La Salle's traditional signature cheers, yells and songs are more than just catchy tunes that boost and rally all the Green and White in all their competitive endeavors. All of these cheers, yells and songs have a long history that spans over nine decades and have been passed down from one proud generation to another. With that in mind, it is important to pay tribute to these pieces of Lasallian history and tradition that have embodied the ANIMO! in every Lasallian. The strengthening of the De La Salle Green Archers has given the whole Green and White community the reason to rally behind the DLSU varsity teams. The Lasallian ANIMO! has inflamed our will to fight until. Through our present numerous victories, all Lasallians, have something to proudly cheer, yell and sing about but cheering means nothing if it is not done right with a lot of heart and spirit. De La Salle, has a huge collection of several pre-war Lasallian signature fight cheers, tribal yells and battle songs that have raised the fighting morale of thousands of loyal Lasallians time and time again. The LaS/LSC/DLSC Yell Command established in 1926 and the present DLSU ANIMO Squad has been continuously cheerleading with our Spirit of Faith and Zeal from its pre-war NCAA days up to the present UAAP battles for 92 years. THE GREEN ARCHER BATTLE SONG (Bugle Blast) Rah! Rah! Rah! (Bugle Blast) Rah! Rah! Rah! On into the Fight, Green Archers (WHITE!) Fight to Victory (GREEN! WHITE! FIGHT!) For La Salle, you valiant marchers (Rah!) Ever fighters be (Rah! Rah! Rah!) Glory for La Salle Green Archers (Fight!) Our motto ever be (GREEN! WHITE! FIGHT!) Let your Arrows fly true, Archers ‘Til we down the enemy La Salle has a total of 27 basketball championship titles in both NCAA and UAAP combined. Under its membership stint in the NCAA, La Salle won 11 championship titles – 5 under the Men's division, and 6 under the Junior's division. In the UAAP, the school has 16 championship titles – 9 in the Men's division, 5 in the Women's division, and 2 in the Junior's division. The school has won 5 NCAA basketball titles (1939, 1947, 1956, 1971, and 1974). Its basketball teams won the coveted National Seniors Open Championship, a league participated by top commercial and college teams, twice in 1939 and 1949. After bolting out of the NCAA in 1980, it participated in various tournaments. The Green Archers won the 1983 PABL Championship and 1983 National Open title. La Salle has 3 inter-collegiate titles. The school won the 1988 Philippine Intercollegiate Championship. This was later reformatted to become the Collegiate Champions League, which then became the current Philippine Collegiate Championship League with La Salle winning the championship in 2008 and 2013. La Salle has also won 9 UAAP basketball titles (1989, 1990, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2013 and 2016). It has appeared in the finals 15 times since joining the league. La Salle is also known for its 4-peat UAAP championship from 1998–2001. La Salle's basketball program has produced its crop of national players and coaches. Among its revered players include Enrique "Totit" Valles, Leo Prieto, Bob Keesey, Ramoncito Campos, Valentin "Tito" Eduque, Eddie Decena, Manolet Araneta, Martin Urra, Kurt Bachmann, Billy Manotoc, Lim Eng Beng, Ricardo Brown, Franz Pumaren, Dindo Pumaren, Jun Limpot, Mark Telan, Don Allado, Ren-Ren Ritualo, Mike Cortez, Mark Cardona, JV Casio and Ben Mbala. Its great coaches have included Chito Calvo, Leo Prieto, Rogelio Lao, Tito Eduque, Ron Jacobs, Derrick Pumaren, Jong Uichico, Juno Sauler, and Franz Pumaren, who holds the distinction of leading the Green Archers to five UAAP basketball titles. One of its most memorable UAAP championships in recent years is the 2016 UAAP 79 title. Under head coach Aldin Ayo La Salle defeated Ateneo in Game One 67–65 and completed the sweep in Game Two 79–72 during the best of three series. Team Captain Jeron Teng was named Finals MVP while Ben Mbala won the regular season MVP. Both Mbala and Teng were included in the season's Mythical Five. Rookie of the Year was awarded to Aljun Melecio, high school standout from De La Salle Zobel. Aldin Ayo became the first coach to win back to back championships in the NCAA and UAAP in Philippine collegiate basketball. La Salle last won the Philippine Collegiate Championship League (PCCL) in 2013. The tournament has the same format as the US NCAA Division 1 Men's basketball tournament. College teams from all over the country participate in this officially sanctioned tournament by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP). La Salle would have won the UAAP basketball title in 1991 after winning a controversial championship game against FEU. A La Salle player (Antonio "Tony Boy" Espinosa) with 5 fouls was mistakenly allowed by the officials table to play for less than 10 seconds. La Salle also had the twice to beat advantage in the championship series and would have been the outright champion. However, FEU protested the outcome of the game. The UAAP Board then ordered an entire rematch. La Salle took the stand that it was the responsibility of the officiating table. La Salle did not appear on the replay date. FEU by default was declared winner of that game. The protest was taken up by the FIBA, the highest international governing body in basketball. FIBA and the BAP supported La Salle's stand on the issue. The school also won the UAAP basketball championship finals in 2004. However, this was lost due to an ineligibility scandal. On October 10, 2005, the University officially revealed to the newspapers in an official De La Salle press release that a then current La Salle player (later identified as second-string back-up center-Mark Benitez) was discovered by the university to be ineligible to continue to study in the university and therefore play for it in the UAAP. The player was discovered by the university to have submitted, as part of La Salle's requirements for admission as a college freshman school year 2003–2004, a falsified Department of Education Philippine Educational Placement Test Certificate of Rating (PEPTCR, a government-issued replacement for a regular high school diploma). A statement by the university outlined a chronology of events, showing that it received a letter from DepEd confirming that Benitez's PEPTCR was fake in August 2005. Benitez, however, continued to play until the UAAP Finals due to administrative delays. In November 2005 after concluding the university's official internal investigation and then submitting its official report to the UAAP Board, the University returned its 2004 UAAP Senior Basketball championship and 2005 runner-up trophies. On October 18, 2005, a meeting was held between the player's camp and the La Salle administrators. Benitez' father denied reports that his son failed the PEPTCR. La Salle also admitted, after DepEd submitted its findings to La Salle, that a second Green Archer, second-string guard Tim Gatchalian, who was no longer even a member of the Green Archers during the 2005–2006 UAAP season but played in the previous 2003–2004 and 2004–2005 seasons, also used spurious documents to enter college, and hence, also rendering himself ineligible to continue to study in the university and play in the UAAP. La Salle later both expelled Benitez and Gatchalian and cancelled all their previously earned college credits after due official investigation. In a letter addressed to the UAAP, De La Salle informed the league of their intent to take a leave from men's basketball. The UAAP rejected this move by La Salle, saying that because basketball is a required event for members' continuing participation, La Salle had to have a leave of absence on all sports and not just Men's Basketball. In a meeting held at Adamson University on April 21, 2006, the UAAP Board unanimously voted to suspend De La Salle from all UAAP events (in the senior, junior and women's divisions) for the succeeding 2006–2007 (69th) season due to negligence. The UAAP board also decided to award the 2004 Seniors Basketball crown to the Far Eastern University Tamaraws. La Salle also had the longest active streak of reaching the Final Four (semi-finals) of the UAAP basketball tournament ever since the format was introduced, appearing 15 straight times. The streak was broken in 2009, when the Green Archers failed to make the Final Four for the first time ever. Team Depth Chart Coaching Staff Team Staff Medical Staff 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s The Women's team has previously duplicated the accomplishment of the Men's team as 4-peat champions. They were UAAP title holders from 1999 through 2002. La Salle is the first and only school to date in the UAAP to be both Men's and Women's 3-peat champions in the UAAP in the same year. They accomplished this feat from 1999 through 2001. The Lady Archers most recent championship was UAAP Season 76 (2013–14). UAAP Season 81 (S.Y. 2018–19) Roster Coaching staff Team Staff Medical Staff La Salle has a total of 67 football championship titles in both NCAA and UAAP combined. Under its membership stint in the NCAA, La Salle won 51 championship titles – 21 under the Men's division, and 30 under the Junior's division. In the UAAP, the school has 16 championship titles – 3 in the Men's division, 10 in the Women's division, and 3 in the Junior's division. Since Pre-War Days, the school has an unprecedented record in the world's most popular sport. Football was also reported to be the most popular sport in the Philippines in the 1920s and 1930s and shortly after World War II. De La Salle has the most number of Football championships in Philippine NCAA history with a total of 21 collegiate championships. The high school team has 30 championship trophies. The school's golden era of football was from 1932 through 1940 when La Salle was the Senior division NCAA 9-peat champion, considered by some to be a highly unbreakable record. The golden era featured Virgilio Lobregat, Rafael Ygoa, Totit Valles, Peping Campos, Ling Miranda, Mimi Heredia, Nono Crespo, Adi Manzano, Gorda de Larrazabal, Leo Prieto, Quinito Ortigas, Petuguis Herrera, Paulino Ugarte, Charlie Russel, Jiki Garcia, Jave Javellana, Bulilit Reyes, Richard Tillman, and Kastila Ynunciaga. La Salle was also the Senior division 6-peat champion from 1971 through 1977. The De La Salle NCAA Senior Champion Team during this 1971 to 1977 period had the likes of then concurrent Philippine Team National Players namely Inaki Vicente, Mike Moran, Danny Moran, Robs Delfino and Inaki Alvarez. The Juniors team was 5-peat champion twice from 1937 through 1941 and 1971 through 1976. The school was a 4-peat NCAA double champions in both Junior and Senior divisions from 1937 through 1940. La Salle was also 5-peat NCAA double champions in both Junior and Senior divisions from 1971 through 1976. DLSU left the NCAA after the 1980-81 Season and eventually transferred to the UAAP. The Men's team has won 3 UAAP titles. The Women's team has won 5 UAAP titles as 5-peat champions from 2001 through 2005. The DLSU men's football team captured its first ever solo UAAP championship via a rare sweep in 1994–95. The team was bannered by national team mainstay and league MVP Tuteng Marasigan, Jay Pascual, Tats Ramos, Panky Abijay, Carlo Blanco, Teo Ocampo, JM Pons, Javi Manticon, Dennis Villanueva, rookie standouts Christian Lozano, and Albe Aparilla, and coached by Hans Smit. As it was in the 1990–91 season, DLSU was declared joint UAAP champions with UST after a fight broke loose during the final minutes of the game with DLSU leading 2–1, both goals scored by Cocoy Rojas. This team was bannered by veterans Gerard Araw, Mon Sandejas, Sammy Mubarak, Marbon Gonzales, Gurpreet Samrow, Paolo Relucio, Carlo Manalo, Tuteng Marasigan together with the most talented rookie class headed by Tats Ramos, Cocoy Rojas, Javi Legarda, and Rufino Gutierrez. In the 1993–1994 season, La Salle lost to UST 4–0 in the championship game but with most of the awards were garnered by the Green Archer led by their rookie sensation, Panky Abijay who was voted as the Best Scorer for that season. Scoring 17 goals in 10 games followed by Tats Ramos as the Best Goalie and Tuteng Marasigan as the Best Midfielder. In 1995–96 UAAP season, the team however failed to defend its championship losing to arch-rival Ateneo de Manila University in a heartbreaking loss in the finals. Ateneo entered the finals with a twice to beat advantage by topping the eliminations round. La Salle took game 1 of the finals series 2–1 to arrange the final showdown, but lost 2–1 to the Vince Santos powered Ateneo team. The following year, Coach Hans revamped the DLSU lineup and enhanced the team with several rookies and sophomores. The team included rookies William Paradies, Torto Canga, Jon Chua, Joey Mapa, Dave Javellana, Jun Sola, Peter Amores and Dodee Molina to complement holdovers Alvin Ocampo, Christian Lozano, Norman Azarcon, JM Pons, Owens Sun, Albe Aparilla, Byron Rempillo, Theo Zaragoza and LJ Villanueva. The team topped the eliminations round and this time had the twice to beat advantage in the re-match with Ateneo in the Finals. DLSU however did not allow the finals to reach a 2nd game and re-captured the 1996–97 crown via a 2–1 victory, courtesy of goals by midfielders Norman Azarcon and Albe Aparilla. With a near intact line-up and key additions like the comebacking Francis Feliciano and Dennis Villanueva to anchor the defense and rookie goal keeper Ted Guinto DLSU successfully defending its crown in 1997–98 and captured back-to-back championships. This year DLSU again took the twice to beat advantage leading into the finals series, however Ateneo took game 1 via a 2–1 victory. DLSU however regrouped in time for the deciding match. Ateneo took the lead early via a header from Ramon Espejo in the first half and kept the 1–0 lead at halftime. The second half was a completely different story, with DLSU unleashing its true scoring form, taking 5 straight goals in the second half to take the title once again via a 5–1 hammering of its archrival. Alvin Ocampo and Christian Lozano took co-MVP honors. UAAP Season 80 (2017–18) Roster Coaching staff Team Staff Medical Staff COACHING STAFF UAAP Season 80 (S.Y. 2017–18) Rosters Coaching staff Team Staff Medical Staff UAAP Season 81 (S.Y. 2015–16) Rosters <br> The Lady Green Spikers were crowned as the champions of the UAAP Season 78 Beach Volleyball tournament after defeating FEU in two finals games. La Salle has had moderate success in UAAP Baseball, winning championships in 1995, 1999, 2002 and 2016. They were led by Jumbo Estipular in 1995, Bacchus Ledesma in 1999, and Joseph Orillana in 2002 as MVPs of those years, respectively. Joseph Orillana was Baseball Philippines 2007 MVP. He was also the Best Pitcher for the same year. He was appointed as head coach of the Green Batters in Season 76 (2013–14). The Green Batters finished second place on the maiden season of Coach Orillana which is their best finish since winning the championship in 2002. The Green Batters' most recent championship was in UAAP Season 78 after defeating the 3-peat defending champions Ateneo Blue Batters. The DLSU Green Batters Baseball Team* Coaching staff Team Staff Medical Staff In 1974, the Green Archers were NCAA softball champions. The Junior Archers shared the same limelight as their Senior counterparts that same year. La Salle was back to back champion in 1976 and 1977. La Salle has a fabled history of winning NCAA and UAAP tennis crowns. Since the 1953 when the school won its first NCAA trophy, the Men's team has won 14 titles, the last one being the 2012 UAAP champions. The Women's team has won 4 titles in the past decade. They were 4-peat champions from 2002 through 2005. In the 2004–2005 UAAP season, the Lady Archers capped their 3-year championship by defeating Ateneo in the finals. Coached by Roland Kraut the school paraded Catherine Flores, Sherry Ong, and Michelle Panis that season. The Green Archers were UAAP champions for the 2011–2012 season (UAAP s74) which is also the most recent and last title that the Archers were able to win. The Green Archers defeated NU Bulldogs 3–2 in the finals and also completing a tournament sweep posting an 11–0 win-loss record. DLSU was led by MVP Michael Basco, UAAP s73 Rookie of the Year Alberto Villamor, and Ernesto Pantua who won the deciding singles. The Lady Archers were UAAP champions for the 2009–2010 season. The Lady Archers defeated UST Tigresses behind the efforts of MVP Trudy Amoranto, Martina Guba, Kristie Barraquias, and Rookie of the Year Regina Santiago. DLSU repeated in the 2010–2011 season and Santiago was named Most Valuable Player. In the 2012–2013 season, DLSU regained the crown from UST as the Lady Archers led by Martina Guba in the deciding singles to hammer out a 7–5, 6–0 victory, over Tigresses rookie Lenelyn Milo, which completed their bid for a seventh overall title. Reggie Santiago set the tone for the Lady Archers with a 6–3, 6–1 thumping of Len-len Santos in the opening singles, Santiago was adjudged as the tournament MVP anew on her final year. Rookie of the Year winner Marinel Rudas beat Macy Gonzales, 6–1, 6–3, in the second singles for La Salle to regain the upper hand. In the UAAP La Salle has a total of 11 table tennis championships. In the Men's division the school took home the trophy in 1997 courtesy of Noel Paulo Pasaporte and Ernesto Ebuen III and its most recent championship being 2015. The Green Paddlers were 3-peat champions from 2013–2015. In the women's division La Salle first won the title in 2004 with the latest championship being the 2017-18 season. The Lady Paddlers are 4-peat champions from 2014–2017. Legendary Ian Lariba led the Lady Paddlers to multiple UAAP titles taking home multiple MVPs. She competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics and was the Philippine Olympic Team flag bearer. Coaching staff Notable Table Tennis Players The Men's badminton team captured the school's only UAAP title in 2007. The Women's badminton team were title holders in 2002 and back-to-back champions in 2004 and 2005. They secured their fourth championship in 2009–2010 season behind the efforts of MVP Desca Calimlim. The Green Archers have been successful in swimming in the history of the NCAA and UAAP. They have 12 Men's titles and 4 Women's titles. The school won its first title in 1935 and the last title in 2009. The Men's team were twice 3-peat champions (1991 through 1992 and 2000 through 2002) and back to back champions (1994 and 1995). The Women's team were back to back champions in 2002 and 2003. La Salle had swimming champions in the 1930s featuring the Von Giese brothers. The legendary Eric Buhain was an accomplished swimmer at an early age. He was a multiple gold medalist in the 1985, 1991, and 1993 SEA Games. He represented the Philippines in the 1992 Summer Olympics. The school's most recent accomplished swimmer is actor and model Enchong Dee. He led the Green Archers to the 2009–2010 UAAP title in the process winning 7 gold medals in the 800 and 1,500 meter freestyle, 200 and 400 meter individual medley, as well as 50, 100, and 200 meter butterfly. He is also 3-time UAAP MVP. Dee was also in the Philippine national swimming team in the Asian Games. Also its current notable swimmer is Johansen Aguilar who broke a Philippine record in the 2010 UAAP season in the 50 meter backstroke event and following the footsteps of Enchong Dee also took the title of Men's MVP 3 years in a row. Since the early days of the NCAA through the UAAP La Salle has had the distinction of winning 13 Men's track and Field collegiate titles. The golden era was from 1972 through 1978 when the school was 7-peat champion. During that run, Arthur Pons, the legendary Philippine Decathlon champion was also a member of the 1972–1973 track teams. The last title came in 2004. The Men's Taekwondo team has won 6 titles in the UAAP. It is the current UAAP champion (2013–14). Stephen Fernandez won the Taekwondo bronze medal during the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Men's MVP: 2010–2011 David Andro Rivera 2013–2014 Kevin Louis Sia Women's MVP: 2012–2013 Jyra Lizardo La Salle secured it first UAAP Judo Championship in the Women's Division in Season 76 (2013–14). Coaching staff Notable Players Men's Division The school holds the longest winning streak in UAAP Chess Championship history. La Salle was Men's UAAP Chess 6-peat champions from 1999 through 2004. John Paul Gomez was Grandmaster in the 2008 World Chess Olympiad. Gomez is the unprecedented 5-time UAAP Athlete of the Year. He is also the 2009 UAAP Athlete of the Year. La Salle currently has a total of 16 championship titles in chess, having won 7 titles in the Men's division and 9 titles in the Women's division. De La Salle University has won 176 collegiate championships in the Men's and Women's divisions combined as of 2018. This includes championships while competing in the NCAA from 1924 through 1980 and UAAP from 1986 through the present. In the Seniors' division, the school has a rich legacy in basketball (19 titles), football/soccer (34 titles), swimming (16 titles), track and field (13 titles), tennis (20 titles), and volleyball (18 titles). The Men's basketball team were 4-peat champions (1998–2001), chess team 6-peat champions (1999–2004), Men's football/soccer team 9-peat champions (1932–1940), Men's swimming team twice 3-peat champions (1990–1992 and 2000–2002), Men's track and field team 6-peat champions (1972–1977), Men's tennis 3-peat champions (1956–1958), and Men's volleyball team 4-peat champions (1977–1980). The university became co-educational in the early 1970s. The Women's basketball team were 4-peat champions (1999–2002), Women's football/soccer team 4-peat champions (2002–2005), Women's tennis team 3-peat champions (2002–2004), Women's table tennis team 4-peat champions (2014–2017) and Women's volleyball team thrice 3-peat champions (2004–2006, 2011–2013, and 2016–2018). De La Salle Men's and Women's basketball teams are the first 3-peat basketball champions in the same period (1999–2001). The school has yet to win a championship in cheerdance, and fencing. The Junior Archers have won 117 high school championships which include basketball (8), chess (3), football/soccer (33), tennis (8), softball (7), swimming (13), track and field (23), and volleyball (16). In UAAP Season 75 (2012–13), the school bagged its first ever General Championship. It again won the UAAP General Championship in Season 76 (2013–14), and in Season 78 (2015–16). MEN'S SPORTS WOMEN'S SPORTS MEN'S AND WOMEN'S SPORTS This is the school's ranking in the three most popular team sports in UAAP since 1986, the year the UAAP became an eight member-school league. The De La Salle Alumni Association Sports Hall of Fame is the illustrious group of Lasallians who had outstanding performance as an athlete, coach, trainer, or manager in local and/international sports. Hall of Fame Awardees should have been at least 20 years out of a La Salle school. Also they should have demonstrated exemplary role model qualities and have brought honor to the university and/country. 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 The main sports facility of De La Salle University in Taft Avenue, Manila is the Enrique M. Razon Sports Center. It is a 10-storey neoclassical building. This large and modern complex houses an Olympic-sized pool and track and field oval with balcony. It has basketball and volleyball courts. It also has table tennis, dance studio, martial arts dojo, and weight training room. The lower floors house a sports clinic, canteen, and bookstore. The facility also displays the championship banners and retired jerseys of notable athletes. Related Article: Ateneo–La Salle rivalry Since 1924 when the NCAA was founded La Salle has always enjoyed a very competitive and fierce rivalry with Ateneo. As of 2018, the De La Salle Green Archers has more collegiate championships compared to Ateneo in the NCAA and UAAP combined. La Salle has 176 collegiate titles versus the Ateneo Blue Eagles with 101 collegiate titles. La Salle also has 8 Overall (General) Collegiate Championships versus Ateneo with 1 Overall (General) Collegiate Championship. This rivalry has been claimed to be as early as 1939, when both schools were still competing in the NCAA. As of 2018, the Ateneo Blue Eaglets has more high school titles than the De La Salle Junior Archers in both the NCAA and UAAP combined (La Salle's juniors team was represented first by the De La Salle High School from 1924 to 1968, then La Salle Green Hills from 1969 to 1981, and currently De La Salle-Santiago Zobel School since 1986). Ateneo has won 118 high school titles versus La Salle with 117 titles. However, La Salle has 10 Overall (General) High School Championships versus Ateneo with 4 Overall (General) High School Championships. This count excludes the additional high school titles and the 4 General High School Championships won by La Salle Green Hills after it began to represent De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde in the NCAA Juniors division in 1998. Green Archers The De La Salle Green Archers (also The
who won last year's ncaa women's basketball	"2010–11 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team" opened the year ranked #1 in both the ESPN Coaches poll and the AP Top 25 Poll, following two consecutive undefeated seasons. The votes were not unanimous, with Baylor earning a number one vote in the AP poll, and Baylor, Stanford, and Tennessee earning first place votes in the coaches poll. The regular season began with a number of changes, some expected, some not. The expected changes including the graduation of five seniors from the previous squad, and the addition of five new freshmen. The unexpected change was the loss of starting guard Caroline Doty, who suffered an ACL injury in July, and will be out for the entire season. Jackie Fernandes is one of the seniors who graduated last year and is no longer with the team. Fernandes averaged six minutes a game during the 2009–10 season. She was the high school teammate of Heather Buck, who will be a redshirt, after sitting out one year for development. Kaili McLaren played twelve minutes a game for the Huskies in the previous season, and has moved on to a professional basketball career with Apollon Ptolemaidos in Greece. Meghan Gardler graduated as well, after a career with UConn that saw her minutes increase each year, playing over thirteen minutes a game as a senior. Kalana Greene was a starting guard, playing almost 26 minutes per game and averaging eleven points per game. Greene was the 13th selection in the WNBA draft, where she was selected by and plays for the New York Liberty. The final graduating senior was Tina Charles who was selected as the overall number one draft pick by the Connecticut Sun. Charles won a number of awards, including both Naismith and AP Player of the Year. Joining the team were five freshmen: Bria Hartley from North Babylon, New York; Stefanie Dolson from Port Jervis, New York; Lauren Engeln from Laguna Hills, California; Michala Johnson from Bellwood Illinois; and Samarie Walker from West Carrolton, Ohio. The exhibition games were not competitive, as UConn defeated Franklin Pierce by a score of 112–41 and the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Crimson Hawks by a score of 100–41. Two of the freshman stood out at the IUP game, when Samarie Walker scored 22 points and Bria Hartey scored 18. UConn opened their season against perennial opponent Holy Cross. Uconn prevailed easily, winning by an 80-point margin, 117–37. The second game was a match up between the top two rated teams in the country. UConn had beaten Baylor in the previous season NCAA semifinal game, but in that game, Baylor center Brittney Griner was a freshman, and faced the senior, AP Player of the year, Tina Charles. This year, Griner would be more experienced, and UConn had replaced the veteran Charles with a freshman, Stefanie Dolson. The game started with a moderate advantage for Baylor, who led by five points early, with scores of 8–3 and 10–5. Then UConn took over and extended the lead, reaching a fifteen-point margin early in the second half 44–29. Baylor did not fold, and went on a 27–4 run to retake the lead, and extend it to eight points. UConn responded, with Bria Hartley scoring eight points in the last four minutes, and held on for a 65–64 victory. The victory extended the UConn winning streak to 80 consecutive games. Five days later, on November 21, the Huskies traveled to Georgia Tech, a game scheduled so that Maya Moore could play near where she had been a high school star. 7,325 fans showed up at the arena, setting a school record for attendance at a women's basketball game. Moore scored 30 points before coming out of the game to a standing ovation. The game would mark the 81st consecutive victory, tying consecutive wins record for NCAA basketball help by Washington University. After the conference opener against South Florida, UConn played another perennial non-conference opponent, Sacred Heart University, and won easily, 86–32, to stretch the winning streak to 86 games. UConn hosted the World Vision Classic over Thanksgiving. In the first of the three games, UConn easily beat Howard 86–25, to set the new record consecutive win streak for NCAA women's basketball at 82 games. UConn then went on to beat the other two opponents in the Classic, Lehigh and LSU UConn met tenth-ranked Ohio State in Madison Square Garden as Part of the Maggie Dixon Classic, an annual event in honor of Maggie Dixon, the head coach of the Army team who died at the age of 28. A crowd of 15,232 witnessed UConn win 81–50 to tie the record of 88 consecutive wins set by UCLA in 1974. UConn opened its conference schedule against with an 80–54 win against USF. After playing Sacred Heart, their second Big East opponent was Marquette, who came to the UConn campus but lost 79–47. Walker transferred to the University of Kentucky 24 January 2011 The XL Center is the Veterans Memorial Coliseum at XL Center ε Exhibition β Big East The Big East tournament was held at the XL Center. The opening rounds proceeded largely as expected, with the Villanova Overtime victory over Providence the only upset in the first two rounds. In the third round (quarterfinals), the top seeds also held form. UConn faced Georgetown, in a surprisingly quiet offensive night for Maya Moore, who scored only six points, although gathered 15 rebounds. She has been held to under ten points only five times in her college career, spanning 147 games so far. Freshman Stephanie Dolson scored 24 points on eight of twelve shooting to lead all scorers. Her 24 points represented the most by a UConn player in their first post-season game, exceeding the 22 points scored by Diana Taurasi in 2001. Georgetown's Sugar Rogers scored eight consecutive points in the second half to cut the UConn lead to eleven, but UConn went on to win 59–43. In the semifinals. UConn faced Rutgers, the last Big East team to beat UConn. That loss occurred in 2007. Moore, after scoring only six points in the quarterfinal, bounced back to score 17 points in the first half, and ended up with 22 points for the game. Kelly Faris added 19 points, one short of her career high, to help the Huskies to a 75–51 win over the Scarlet Knights. With sixteen teams in the Big East, and a sixteen-game conference schedule, every team plays every other team once, except for one team which is played twice. For several years, UConn drew Rutgers for two games, but more recently, the UConn schedule includes two games with Notre Dame. The Big East Championship game would be the third match up of the season between these two teams. The first two were won by UConn, but the game at Notre Dame was a close game, resulting in a three-point win by the Huskies. The meeting would be the first Big East Championship match up of the two teams since the 2001 Big East Championship, a game described by Jeff Goldberg as "the best women's basketball game ever played" in "Bird at the Buzzer" (). Notre Dame jumped out to an early 6–2 lead, but UConn quickly responded and took an 11–8 lead. Then Notre Dame came back, and pushed the score to a seven-point lead, 20–13, forcing UConn coach Auriemma to a rare timeout. The lead went back-and-forth, with UConn holding on to a slim one point lead 32–31 at halftime. In the second half, UConn slowly pushed the margin to twelve points with just under thirteen minutes to go, but Notre Dame chipped away at the lead, and cut it to three points, with just over five minutes remaining. Stephanie Dolson and Maya Moore each made two point baskets over the next three minutes, while Notre Dame only scored four points.The Huskies won the game, 73–64, while using only six players in the rotation. Moore was voted the Most Outstanding player of the tournament, but some felt that Stephanie Dolson deserved the honors. One of those who felt Dolson should have won was Moore herself, who said, "I wanted to tell Stefanie to go get [the award]". Dolson scored 60 points in the three tournament games, a UConn freshman record. Connecticut was awarded a bid to host first round games at their campus location in Storrs, Connecticut. The NCAA Selection committee rules require that if a team hosts the first two rounds, and is selected as one of the 64 teams, they must play at their home site. (Teams are not allowed to play at their home site for the third and fourth, or regional rounds.) It is not often the opposing team's head coach gets a "long loud ovation" rivaling that of the home team's head coach. But then, it is not often that the visiting coach has her jersey hanging on the area wall where All-American contributors are honored. The game was almost an after-thought. The Hartford Hawks were the sixteen seed in the Philadelphia region, playing the top seeded UConn team on their home court. Hartford, coached by the former UConn point guard Jennifer Rizzotti, had played UConn on six prior occasions, but each of those games were at the downtown Hartford XL Center. This was the first meeting between the two teams on the campus location where Rizzotti helped lead the UConn team to their first National Championship. Despite the emotional significance, Rizzotti was focused on her team, more than the location or the game outcome. The Hartford team had struggled early in the season, winning only one of their first ten games. They played much better later in the season, and won the America East conference tournament to earn a bid to the NCAA tournament. Rizzotti took timeouts late in the game to allow her seniors to least their last game to strong ovations. The game was won by UConn 75–39, with balanced scoring by the UConn starters. Purdue sometimes struggled during the season to generate offense, but used defense to win 21 games entering the NCAA tournament second round. Purdue's defense was successful, holding the top-ranked Huskies to 28% shooting and only 28 points in the first half, among the lowest recorded by the team during the year. However, UConn was also a defensively minded team, and held Purdue to only 13 first half points, including a ten-minute stretch with zero points. Purdue more than doubled its output in the second half, scoring 27 points, but UConn's offense also picked up, and the final score was 64-40 in favor of UConn. This was the final game at the home court for seniors Maya Moore and Lorin Dixon. While Dixon did not score in the game, the shortest player on the floor at 5' 4" had a block for the last play of her game at her home arena. Both Moore and Dixon completed a college career without a single loss at home. Lorin Dixon scored "only" four points, yet her performance earned her accolades from sports writers and coaches. Jeré Longman of The New York Times wrote, "on Sunday, Dixon had the biggest impact". Dixon's coach, Geno Auriemma said, "What Lorin did for us tonight was unbelievably important." UConn and Georgetown were meeting for the third time this season. UConn won a close, ten point game in Georgetown during the regular season, and met again in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament. The final margin of that game wasn't as close, but Georgetown held Maya Moore to six points, one of her rare performances with less than double-digit scoring. UConn ended the first half with a rare deficit, and Georgetown build the lead to a seven-point margin 53-46, late in the second half. One of Auriemma's assistants suggested removing the 6' 5" center, Stephanie Dolson, and going with a smaller lineup including Dixon. After a three pointer by Bria Hartley, Dixon stole the ball and drove the length of the court for a contested layup. On the next possession, Dixon stole the ball again, and passed to Hartley for a layup to tie the score. Less than a minute later, Dixon made a third steal, this time pulling up for a two-point jump shot. After a two-point jump shot by Moore, Dixon made yet another steal. Moore was fouled, and went to the line, completing a 13-0 run by the Huskies, with Dixon central to almost all of the points. Georgetown did not quit, and would score ten more points in the last four plus minutes of the game, but two more baskets by Moore, each assisted by Dixon, helped seal the win for UConn. UConn faced Duke in the regional Final. The teams had met once before during the season, with UConn winning easily 87-51. Duke had only two other losses during the regular season, and ended the regular season winning the ACC regular season and tournament championship. Duke had the second highest RPI in the country. The game started out in UConn's favor, with UConn jumping out to a 10-2 lead. Unlike the earlier matchup, when UConn extended the lead to 23-2 before Duke scored again, Duke responded. While they were unable to take the lead, the margin was only three points with two and a half minutes to go in the first half. UConn then scored seven straight points, including a basket by Maya Moore as time was expiring to extend the lead to ten points. UConn opened up the second half with a 13-2 run, extended the lead to 29 almost halfway through the second period, and coasted to a 75-40 victory and a place in the Final Four. With just under four minutes remaining in the game, Moore hit a two-point jumper to give her 28 points for the game, and a total of 3000 for her career, just the seventh player in NCAA division I women's basketball history to reach the 3,000 point plateau. Moore was named the Regional Most Outstanding Player. She was also named to the All-Tournament team, along with teammates Bria Hartley and Lorin Dixon. Connecticut faced Notre Dame in the semifinal game for the fourth time in the season. UConn beat Notre Dame by three points at Notre Dame's home court, then won by 21 points at UConn's Gampel Pavilion. The two teams matched up in the Big East Championship, with UConn winning by nine. In the first half of the national semi-final, the halftime score was close, but UConn held a six-point lead. In the second half, Skyler Diggins took over, and ended up with 28 points. UConn's Maya Moore tried to win the game for the Huskies, and scored 36 points, including a stretch of 12 consecutive points, but it was not enough, as the Irish scored 46 in the second half to advance to the championship game 72–63. Connecticut set the record for consecutive wins by an NCAA women's basketball team. They set the record for consecutive wins by a Division 1 women's basketball team at 70, set in 2003. They tied the Division I record on 7 March 2010 against Syracuse. then went on to establish a new record two days later against Notre Dame. The NCAA women's basketball consecutive win streak was set by Washington University in 2001. The Washington Bears won 81 consecutive games in a span covering 1998–2001. Connecticut tied that record with their 81st consecutive win by beating Georgia Tech on 26 November 2010, and set a new record five days later with a win over Howard University. Connecticut set the record for most consecutive wins in any NCAA sport after surpassing UCLA men's basketball program with 89 wins straight with a win over Florida State on December 21, 2010. 2010–11 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team The 2010–11 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut in the 2010–2011 NCAA Division I basketball season. The Huskies were coached by Geno Auriemma, and played their home games at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut, and on campus at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut. The Huskies are a member of the Big East Conference and attempted to win their eighth NCAA championship. The UConn team had won the last two national championships, and extended a
who won last year's ncaa women's basketball	"Dan Guerrero" UCI experienced unprecedented activity in the area of athletic facilities development. In his final five years, Guerrero was involved in $38 million worth of newly constructed or renovated facilities. These projects included a newly renovated track and soccer complex, a new 64-meter competitive swimming pool, a new baseball stadium, and the Anteater Recreation Center, one of the premier recreation centers in the country. On April 25, 2002, Guerrero was named UCLA's Director of Athletics. In the last nine years, UCLA has finished second three times (2005–06, 2006–07, and 2007–08), third twice (2003–04 and 2004–05), fourth (2009–10), sixth (2002–03), 11th (2010–11), and 16th (2008–09) in the race for the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup. In Guerrero's first year at UCLA (2002–03), UCLA won four NCAA titles (men's soccer, women's gymnastics, women's water polo and women's softball). The Bruins placed third in men's golf, tied for third in men's tennis and tied for fifth in women's golf and women's tennis. UCLA also earned six conference titles. In 2003-04, the Bruins won four NCAA titles (women's outdoor track and field, softball, women's golf and women's gymnastics). They also placed second in men's tennis, women's tennis and men's golf, tied for third in women's soccer, tied for fifth in men's soccer and women's volleyball and fifth in women's indoor track and field. In addition, the Bruins captured seven league titles. Guerrero was named one of the nation's Top 100 Most Influential Hispanics by Hispanic Business Magazine (October 2004) and the May 5, 2003 issue of Sports Illustrated listed him #28 among the 101 Most Influential Minorities in Sports. He was one of 28 people whose photo was featured on that issue's cover. In 2005-06, UCLA won two NCAA titles (men's volleyball and women's water polo) and placed second in men's basketball and women's soccer, tied for third in softball, tied for fifth in men's tennis, tied for seventh in men's golf and tied for ninth in women's volleyball and women's tennis. UCLA also won the Vitalis Sun Bowl in football and captured seven conference championships and two post-season tournaments. In 2004-05, UCLA won three NCAA titles (men's water polo, men's tennis and women's water polo) and placed second in women's soccer, men's volleyball, women's golf and softball, tied for second in women's outdoor track and field, fourth in women's gymnastics and tied for fifth in women's volleyball. UCLA also earned its first NCAA post-season appearance in women's rowing (varsity eight) and won eight conference championships. In 2006-07, UCLA won one NCAA championship in women's water polo, the school's 100th NCAA team title, and placed second in men's soccer and women's tennis, third in women's golf, tied for third in men's basketball, women's soccer and women's volleyball, fourth in women's gymnastics, fifth in women's outdoor track and field, tied for fifth in men's tennis, seventh in men's golf and women's indoor track and field, ninth in men's outdoor track and field and tied for ninth in baseball. UCLA played in its fifth straight bowl game in football and won four league titles. In 2007-08, UCLA won three NCAA championships in women's water polo (fourth straight), women's tennis (first) and men's golf (second). The Bruins finished second in women's golf, tied for third in men's basketball (third straight Final Four), women's soccer (fifth straight College Cup) and men's tennis, placed fifth (tied) in women's volleyball and softball and seventh in women's gymnastics. UCLA also played in its sixth consecutive bowl game and won four conference championships and two league tournaments. In 2009-10, UCLA placed fourth in the Learfield Cup standings and won its 11th NCAA championship in softball and its sixth in women's gymnastics. The Bruins finished second in baseball and men's water polo, tied for third in women's soccer (seventh straight College Cup), fifth in women's water polo, tied for fifth in men's soccer and men's tennis, sixth in women's golf, tied for ninth in women's tennis, 12th in women's rowing, 16th in men's golf, tied for 17th in women's basketball and women's volleyball and 19th in women's swimming. UCLA also won three conference titles and two league post-season tournaments and the football team won the EagleBank Bowl. In 2008-09, UCLA won its fifth consecutive NCAA women's water polo championship. The Bruins finished second in women's golf, tied for third in women's soccer (sixth straight College Cup) and men's tennis, placed seventh in women's gymnastics and ninth (tied) in softball, women's volleyball and women's tennis. UCLA also won six conference titles. In 2010-11, UCLA won its 107th NCAA title in women's golf, placed second in women's gymnastics, third in women's water polo and women's tennis (tied), fifth (tied) in men's golf and men's soccer, ninth (tied) in men's tennis and women's soccer, 17th (tied) in men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, softball and women's volleyball and 20th in women's swimming. In June 2010, Guerrero completed a five-year term on the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee. As the Chair in 2009-10, he served on the NCAA Advisory Committee. In addition to his most recent accolades, Guerrero has earned numerous honors in the past nine years. In June 2007, he was named the NACDA Division I West Region Athletic Director of the Year. His other honors include the UCLA Latino Alumnus of the Year (October 2002); Cal State Dominguez Hills' Alumnus of the Year (March 2003); and "Father of the Year" by the Father's Day Council of the American Diabetes Association (June 2003). On September 10, 2002, the Los Angeles City Council honored him with Dan Guerrero Day. He also became the first athlete in any sport at Banning (Wilmington, CA) High School to have his jersey (#8 in baseball) retired (April 2003). In March 2011, Guerrero was recognized by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) at the Guardian of the Games Awards Show by presenting him with the Clifford Wells Award for distinguished service to the organization. In April, he was presented with the Crystal Eagle Award by CORO Southern California, an organization that provides training of civic and government leaders. In May 2011, he was honored by the Black Coaches and Administrators Association as by awarding him as the Dr. Myles Brand Administrator of the Year. In 2004-05, he completed a multimillion-dollar agreement with ISP Sports (now IMG College), a premier national collegiate sports marketing organization. He has also reorganized the External Relations area, integrating Corporate Sponsorships, Marketing, Development and Sports Information under one umbrella, in anticipation of a major revenue generating initiative designed to address capital project needs, operational support and program endowments. Guerrero is presently serving a second term on the Executive Board member of the National Consortium for Academics and Sport. As a result, he has spearheaded unprecedented growth in the Academic Support and Life Skills program at UCLA. During Guerrero's tenure (27 quarters), student-athletes earned 5,703 spots on the Director's Honor Roll (3.0 or higher grade-point average for a quarter) and student development programming, such as the creation of Wooden Academy, and community service activities for the program are at an all-time high. Guerrero led the negotiations that solidified the relationship between UCLA and the Rose Bowl, resulting in a $152 million renovation/restoration project that will benefit the Bruin football program for decades upon its completion in 2013. Furthermore, the $136 million Pauley Pavilion renovation project, spearheaded by Guerrero, is slated to be completed by the fall of 2012. UCLA continues to enhance its athletic facilities, including the completion of the Bud Knapp Football wing of the Acosta Center, and the sports medicine and athletic performance centers in the same complex. A new golf practice facility and the Easton Softball Stadium renovation, benefiting the Bruins' golf and softball powers, respectively, were completed for the 2004-05 season. The installation of synthetic turf at Spaulding Field was completed in 2006, the final phase of the Acosta Center project (Olympic sport locker rooms) was completed in 2007 and the $16 million Spieker Aquatic Center was completed in the summer of 2009. Guerrero has extensive experience in committee work at both the NCAA and conference level. He has been a member of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee (serving as Chair in 2009-10) and was also a member of the "College Basketball Partnership," a group formed by NCAA president Myles Brand that included many of the most influential people in the sport. He has also served as Chair of both the Pac-10 Athletic Directors Committee, the Budget and Finance Committee, and numerous other Pac-10 committees. He is currently a member of the Nominating, Revenue Sharing, Men's Basketball Tournament, Bowl and Rose Bowl Management committees. He has also served on other NCAA committees, including the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee and the Baseball Academic Enhancement Committee and at the time of his hire by UCLA was serving as the second vice president of the Division I-AAA Athletic Director's Association. Guerrero is the current president of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), a member of the NACDA Executive Committee, and served as president of the Division I Athletic Directors Association in 2010-11. UCLA currently has 116 NCAA team championships, more than any other university except Stanford. During Guerrero's tenure at UCLA, UCLA teams have won 26 NCAA team titles in 14 different sports, and finished second 17 times, with an additional 32 top 5 finishes (70 total). None of those championships have come in football or men's basketball, and the Bruins have never won a football conference championship under Guerrero's tenure. The football team has appeared in seven bowl games. The program has also won 46 conference championships in 15 different sports, produced over 460 All-Americans and featured four Honda Award winners, including the 2003-04 Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year. The majority of his high-profile coaching hires have been roundly criticized, for either the lack of vetting process or unwarranted contract extensions. The hiring of men's basketball Coach Steve Alford raised questions regarding the vetting process when UCLA alumni and fans learned that Alford had publicly supported former Iowa basketball player Pierre Pierce who was accused of sexual assault and later pleaded to a lesser charge. When given the opportunity to address the scandal suring the second question of his introductory press conference at UCLA, Alford stated that "All I can tell you with that situation is I followed everything that the University of Iowa, the administration, the lawyers that were hired," Alford said, "I did everything that I was supposed to do at the University of Iowa in that situation." In response to criticism about this, Guerrero proclaimed that Alford "gets a clean slate" at UCLA. Nine days later, Alford apologized for his actions in the scandal via a prepared statement. Guerrero also issued a statement at the time regarding the situation. In response to the Alford hiring, several fans and alums launched an online petition calling for his termination by UCLA Chancellor Gene Block. On September 3, 2017, Guerrero was presented the NFF John L. Toner Award and was booed mightily by the Bruin faithful at halftime of the UCLA-Texas A&M football game. On November 11, 2017, two aerial banners were flown over the Rose Bowl prior to the UCLA-ASU football game, reminding fans that during Guerrero's tenure, the UCLA football team has never won a conference title and has never made a BCS bowl game. Similar protests have been planned by disgruntled UCLA Athletics fans, frustrated by Guerrero's ineptitude and lack of success. Guerrero received his bachelor's degree in History from UCLA in 1974 on a baseball scholarship as a second baseman. He earned a master's degree in Public Administration in 1982 from California State University, Dominguez Hills. Guerrero, who was raised in Wilmington, CA, was inducted into the UCLA Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996. Guerrero is married to the former Anne Marie Aniello and they have two grown daughters: Jenna and Katie. A Southern California native, Guerrero has been a very influential part of the community and one of Los Angeles' most charitable benefactors. Dan Guerrero Dan
who won last year's ncaa women's basketball	"Ateneo Blue Eagles" different names. Ateneo has fifteen collegiate men's varsity teams that participate in fifteen sporting events of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, its mother league. Only the men's varsity basketball team is called the Blue Eagles. The other fourteen men's varsity teams have their own unique name to help differentiate them. The sports editors of The Guidon, the school's official student publication, are credited for the choice of these various names. Through the years, the Ateneo Blue Eagles have achieved excellence in sports. They have the most number of NCAA/UAAP basketball championships combined, from 1924 to 2018, due to a robust sports program: hiring competent local and foreign coaches, the availability of state-of-the art sports training facilities on campus, recruitment of top athletes, development of home-grown talents and an enviable sports tradition. Most Blue Eagles have succeeded in their post collegiate varsity days. They have become senators of the country, civil court judges, lawyers, bankers, engineers, doctors to name a few. Their success in life after graduating from college is attributable to their being strictly treated as student-athletes in school and not campus celebrities with privileges. Twenty five years after playing their last game as Blue Eagles, the Board of Directors of the Ateneo Sports Hall of Fame review their playing years as Blue Eagles. Those who meet the criteria are inducted into the Ateneo Sports Hall of Fame. When Ateneo started to participate in intercollegiate sports in 1914, its varsity basketball teams were simply referred to by the school community as the Ateneo Seniors and Ateneo Juniors. They were later dubbed the "Blue and Whites" by the sports press in the early 1920s when Ateneo joined sports leagues. When Ateneo adopted the "Eagle" as its mascot in 1938, the college and high school varsity basketball teams were given new names, the Blue Eagles and Blue Eaglets. The Ateneo Blue Eagles are sometimes called the "Hail Mary Quintet" by the sports press. This moniker was given to the Blue Eagles in 1926 when the sports press reporters noticed that the team would pray the Hail Mary during game time-outs and would win by the skin of their teeth. Ateneo also has a varsity basketball training team which is officially called Team B but popularly referred to by its nickname "Team Glory Be". According to former Ateneo Blue Eagle and current Team B head coach Yuri Escueta (AB IS '08), the team got its nickname from a former Team B player, Mark Badua. As Escueta recalls, "Team A has always been called the 'Hail Mary Team' so [Badua] named us 'Glory Be' since we were known as Team B." The first women's varsity basketball team was formed in 1974. It joined the league called Women's National Collegiate Athletic Association (WNCAA) and was named the Blue Eaglettes. This was later changed to Lady Eagles when they transferred to the UAAP. No written article has been found to date to explain why and to provide the exact year this name change happened. Ateneo is one of the four UAAP member schools that participate in all of the fifteen sporting events of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. The Eagle is the mascot of all the varsity teams participating in these sporting events. However, only the men's varsity basketball team is called the Blue Eagles for purposes of distinction. The names of the other varsity teams also have the word blue (except the women's varsity) as part of their moniker to signify that it is an Ateneo team, since blue is one of the school's colors. The varsity team names which are sourced from the school's official student publications are as follows: Ateneo has long been involved in intercollegiate sports dating back to 1914. It was a pioneer in Philippine collegiate sports. Ateneo was the first Philippine school to adopt a mascot, and was also the first school to field an organized cheering squad with cheerleaders which was later followed by another first when it introduced a Pep Band to augment the cheerleaders during games. The choice of an eagle as school mascot holds iconic significance. Conferred with the title "the King", the Blue Eagle is a reference to the "high-flying" Ateneo varsity teams which would "swoop down on the foe and sweep up the fields away" as a dominating force in the field of sports. Furthermore, there is some mythological significance to the eagle as a symbol of power. The school used to have live eagles as pets in the Padre Faura campus and later on at the Grade School campus in Loyola Heights. A live eagle would lead the men's varsity basketball team at the start of a game in the NCAA as the team enters the basketball court for their warm-up with the school Band playing the fight song, "Blue Eagle – The King". Blue and White, being the colors of the school's patroness the Blessed Virgin Mary, were chosen as the school's colors. Thus "blue and white" are the colors of the uniforms of the varsity teams. Most of the school songs, yells and cheers have the words "blue and white". The Ateneo de Manila University is a member of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, the premiere sports league in the country. It fields teams in all fifteen sporting events of the league. Ateneo was a founding member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which was established in 1924. It left the NCAA in 1978 due to the league-wide violence prevalent at the time, and then joined the UAAP in the same year. Aside from the UAAP, the Ateneo also participates during the UAAP preseason in other sports leagues/tournaments such as the Fil-Oil Flying V Preseason Cup, SMART City Hoops Summer Classic, Breakdown Basketball Invitationals, Philippine Collegiate Championship League (PCCL), Premier Vollyball League, Rizal Football Association (RIFA), Philippine Athletic Youth Association (PAYA), Private Schools Athletic Development Association (PRADA) (High School and Grade School) and the Best Passerelle/ Small Basketeers Program (SBP) (Grade School and High School). The Ateneo also fields sports teams to the Jesuit Athletic Meet (JAM) formerly called the Jesuit Invitational Games (JIGs), an athletic tournament participated by the nine Jesuit schools in the Philippines. Ateneo's representatives to the UAAP Season 81 "Last One Standing 1-on-1 Hoop Challenge" held on August 17, 2018 at the MOA Atrium were: One-on-One: Quinito Banzon & Jhazmin Joson 3-point Shootout: Jolo Mendoza & Angel Gino-gino Skills Challenge: Nathan Chua & Alyssa Villamor Slam Dunk Contest: Matthew Daves Rivals The Blue Eagles have had several rivalries throughout the years. Before the NCAA was founded and into the early years after its foundation (1924), Ateneo's fiercest basketball rivals were the UP Fighting Maroons (then known as the Maroon and Greens). Ateneo won its first NCAA seniors basketball title in 1928 while the San Beda Red Lions won their first in 1927, and the two went on to develop a rivalry during the 1930s that lasted up to the 1970s. The two schools dominated the NCAA as they traded championships, back-to-back and three-peats. When Ateneo left the NCAA in 1978, it had the most basketball championship titles in that league at 14 to the 10 of San Beda. While the Ateneo-San Beda rivalry was ongoing, the seed for a future rivalry was planted after an Ateneo loss to La Salle in the championship game of NCAA season 16 (1939–40). Games between Ateneo and La Salle in the NCAA were always hotly contested but not yet tagged by the sportswriters as a rivalry. When Ateneo and La Salle transferred to the UAAP, San Beda was left in the NCAA. Ateneo and La Salle continued their hotly contested games into the UAAP and the sports press started to write about a rivalry. The basketball games between the Blue Eagles and the Green Archers are the most anticipated matches in every UAAP season. During the 1988 season, Ateneo was the defending champion and they faced La Salle in the Finals. A deep Ateneo lineup ended up winning the crown, triggering a full-blown rivalry. Recently, the intensity of the rivalry has picked up due to Ateneo and La Salle meeting in the UAAP Finals 5 times, in 2001 (won by La Salle), 2002 (won by Ateneo), 2008 (won by Ateneo), 2016 (won by La Salle) and 2017 (won by Ateneo). The UAAP is guaranteed high TV ratings and sold-out tickets, resulting in ticket scalping, when Ateneo and La Salle clash on the hardcourt. These games draw huge crowds of students, school faculty/officials, alums, high government officials such as cabinet members, senators and even a chief justice of the Supreme Court. Former presidents of the Philippines and ambassadors of the United States of America also attend the games. Records UAAP and NCAA The late Fr. Edgar A. Martin, S.J., Ateneo's college athletic moderator in the 1950s and 1960s, once said that "basketball brings glory to Ateneo". The student-athletes of Ateneo share in this belief. As of the year 2018, Ateneo has 56 combined NCAA (25) and UAAP (31) basketball titles, which include championships won in men's, women's, juniors' and midgets' divisions. This is more than the total number of combined titles in men's, women's, and juniors' divisions held by the University of Santo Tomas, which has 42 (40 UAAP and 2 NCAA), San Beda College, which has 44 NCAA titles, Far Eastern University which has 39 titles (37 UAAP titles and 1 NCAA title), Colegio de San Juan de Letran with 28 NCAA titles, De La Salle University, which has 27 (11 in the NCAA and 16 in the UAAP), and Mapúa Institute of Technology with 29 NCAA titles. In men's basketball, the Ateneo Blue Eagles have won 24 titles as of 2018, 14 in the NCAA and 10 in the UAAP. The Ateneo Blue Eaglets have 10 NCAA and 19 UAAP titles in juniors basketball, 1 NCAA title in the Midgets division won in 1924, for a total of 30. The Blue Eaglets have won 29 combined NCAA and UAAP titles in the juniors division. This is the most number of juniors title won by a high school team in the major leagues, followed by San Beda and Mapúa with 22 and 20, respectively. The Lady Eagles have won two UAAP titles. Ateneo has won eight double championships in basketball. These were years when both the Blue Eagles and the Blue Eaglets won the championship in the same year. The years 1975 and 1976 were doubly significant as Ateneo not only won double championships in the NCAA but also a back-to-back double championship, a feat that they repeated with championships in both the seniors and juniors divisions in 2008 and 2009 in the UAAP. In 2010, Ateneo won again the championships in both men's and juniors basketball, annexing the only three-peat double championship in combined UAAP and NCAA history. The next double championship was achieved in UAAP Season 80. The Blue Eagles have won back-to-back titles eight times. Four were won in the NCAA and four in the UAAP. The Blue Eagles became three-peat champions when they won the NCAA title in 1931, 1932 and 1933. They also accomplished a three-peat sweep by going undefeated in these three consecutive seasons, a record which has not been surpassed much less duplicated by any team in the NCAA and UAAP. They were again three-peat champions when they won the championship in 2008, 2009, and 2010, their first in the UAAP. They were the first collegiate team to accomplish a three-peat in both the NCAA and UAAP. In 2011, they joined an elite group in the UAAP when they won the 2011 UAAP Men's Basketball Championship. They became the fourth UAAP team to be four-peat champions, joining UE, UST and La Salle. In 2012, they separated from this group when they won their fifth consecutive title. They are now the sole team in the five-peat championship bracket. The Blue Eaglets were four-peat champions having won the title in 1983, 1984, 1985 and 1986. They were also three-time three-peat champions and eight times, they won back-to-back titles. The Ateneo Blue Eaglets have the most number of UAAP elimination round sweeps at eight. The Blue Eagles and Lady Eagles are not as successful. They have not achieved a sweep of the elimination round in the UAAP. However, the Blue Eagles did sweep elimination rounds when they were still playing in the NCAA. They swept the elimination round of three consecutive seasons en route to the 1931, 1932 and 1933 NCAA titles. This double-feat achievement of a three-peat championship via a three-peat sweep is a record that still stands today and may never be broken. In the UAAP, the Blue Eagles hold the record for the longest Semi-Finals consecutive appearances. They made 14 Semi-Finals consecutive appearances from 1999 to 2012 to La Salle's 12, which is the second longest. The Blue Eaglets have the most number of Semi-Finals appearances at 20 as of 2017. This number does not include the five seasons (1997, 1999, 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2017) when the Blue Eaglets swept the elimination round and automatically advanced to the Finals. These 18 Semi-Finals appearances topped four other UAAP high schools which have 12 appearances each as of 2014. The Lady Eagles have made seven Final Four appearances as of 2015. The Blue Eagles, Lady Blue Eagles and Blue Eaglets made it to the Final Four in the same season six times. The Blue Eagles made fourteen trips to the UAAP Finals, and the Lady Eagles had five trips. The Blue Eaglets are tops in the UAAP Finals appearance category. They were in the Finals thirty times. In the Final Four era, they were in the Finals nineteen times as of 2017, while it was ten for second-placer UST Tiger Cubs. The Eaglets also hold the record for the longest Finals consecutive appearance. They were in the Finals in eleven consecutive seasons, from 1994 (season 57) to 2004 (season 67). The Blue Eagles hold the record of winning in the most lopsided game ever in both NCAA-UAAP seniors division history. In NCAA Season 6 (1929), Ateneo blew the NU Bulldogs off the court by the score of 97–9. The Eagle was not always the King. Up to the 1970s, Ateneo had the most number of collegiate basketball championships in the NCAA. The Blue Eagles had fourteen championship titles when they left the NCAA in 1978. San Beda, their closest rival, was second with only ten championships at that time. When Ateneo transferred to the UAAP, it struggled to soar high as it did in the NCAA. It took the Blue Eagles eleven years to win a championship again. After this back-to-back (1987 and 1988) championship, Ateneo had to wait another fourteen years for their next championship which happened in 2002. In addition to the NCAA and UAAP championships, recent victories of the Blue Eagles include the back-to-back titles (2008 and 2009) and the 2011 championship in the annual Philippine University Games, the championship of the Fr. Martin Summer Cup in 2006, 2010 and 2012, and the 2008 Nike Summer League. The Blue Eagles also won championship in the Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup in 2011 and 2018. These were won since participating in 2007. In 2018, the Blue Eagles participated in the SMART City Hoops Summer Classic and the Breakdown Basketball Invitationals where they won the championships. At the national level, the Blue Eagles won the title of the 2007 Collegiate Champions League, and its successor, the Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) in 2009 and 2010, giving it the distinction of having the most titles among the tournament's winners. The Blue Eagles also competed at the 2018 William Jones Cup, an international tournament in Taiwan for both club and national teams. Notable Years Ateneo was a member of the NCAA for 54 years and is in its 41st year in the UAAP as of 2018. This is a total of 95 years of participation in sports in the major collegiate athletic leagues in the country. In the eleven-year period spanning from 2002 to 2012, at least one UAAP basketball championship trophy was brought home every year to Loyola Heights by its varsity basketball teams. The "Blue and White" teams brought home a total of fourteen UAAP championships during this eleven-year span. The Blue Eagles and the Blue Eaglets each contributed six trophies. The Lady Eagles added two more. Season – Champions 1. 2002 – Blue Eagles 2. 2003 – Blue Eaglets 3. 2004 – Blue Eaglets 4. 2005 – Lady Eagles 5. 2006 – Blue Eaglets 6. 2007 – Lady Eagles Season – Champions 7. 2008 – Blue Eagles and Blue Eaglets 8. 2009 – Blue Eagles and Blue Eaglets 9. 2010 – Blue Eagles and Blue Eaglets 10. 2011 – Blue Eagles 11. 2012 – Blue Eagles During this period, the Ateneo varsity basketball teams achieved various kind of streaks. The Blue Eagles accomplished back-to-back championships after winning the UAAP basketball crown in 2008 and 2009. They were three-peat champions when they won again the UAAP basketball title in 2010, their first in the UAAP. The Blue Eagles achieved another first in the history of their NCAA-UAAP campaigns in 2011 when they won their fourth straight basketball championship. They became four-peat champions for the first time and joined the elite group of three teams that have won four-peat championships in the UAAP. In 2012, they separated from this group when they won their fifth consecutive title. They are now the sole team in the five-peat championship circle. The Blue Eaglets were back-to-back champions twice, winning the UAAP basketball championships in 2003 and 2004 then in 2008 and 2009. They became three-peat champions when they also won the UAAP title in 2010. All these championships by the Blue Eagles and Blue Eaglets have resulted in double championships. The Eagles and the Eaglets were double champions in 2008, back-to-back double champions in 2009 and three-peat double champions in 2010. Ateneo so far is the only school with a three-peat double championship in combined UAAP and NCAA history. The Lady Eagles have won so far only two UAAP basketball championships. These were won during this era. The Blue Eagles were in the Final Four in every year during this period. These eleven appearances are part of Ateneo's fourteen Final Four consecutive appearances which is the standing record in the UAAP for the longest Final Four consecutive appearances. During the Blue Era, they made eight Finals appearances and won the championship in six of their appearances. The Lady Eagles made six Final Four appearances and three appearances in the Finals where they won two championships. The Blue Eaglets swept the 2006 and 2010 elimination rounds and were in the Final Four nine times. They won the UAAP basketball championship six times during their eight Finals appearances. The Blue Eagles were presented the 2012 Athlete of the Year Award by the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA), oldest media organization in the Philippines, last March 16, 2013 for achieving a five-peat championship in the UAAP. This is the first and so far the only five-peat championship by a collegiate varsity basketball team in a major league in the third millennium. The Blue and White varsity basketball teams have also won championships in pre and post season tournaments during this period. Year – Champions Team Depth Chart Coaching Staff Team Staff Medical Staff Blue Eagles Recruits Class of 2018 Coaching Staff Team Staff Medical Staff Team Depth Chart Coaching Staff Team Staff Medical Staff Lady Blue Eagles Recruits Class of 2018 Justine Team Depth Chart Coaching Staff Team Staff Medical Staff Blue Eaglets Recruits Class of 2018 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s UAAP Season 80 (S.Y. 2017–18) Rosters The Ateneo Volleyball Program enjoyed a modest success in the NCAA, having won a total of nine championships during a ten-year period from 1967 to 1976. The men's team had two titles and one from the women's, while the juniors team had won six titles. Ateneo dominated NCAA volleyball in the mid-1970s. In 1975, Ateneo had a double championship having won the NCAA volleyball title in the men's and juniors divisions and with the Blue Eaglets making it as three-peat champions. The following year, Ateneo was already considered a collegiate volleyball powerhouse as it not only won the 1976 NCAA volleyball title in all three divisions, thus achieving a triple championship but also the Blue Eagles were back-to-back champions and the Blue Eaglets were four-peat champions having won the 1972, 1974, 1975 and 1976 NCAA titles. These titles are considered consecutive because games were suspended in 1973. In the UAAP, Ateneo has won five championships so far since transferring from the NCAA in 1978. These titles were won by the Lady Eagle Spikers in Season 76 (2013–14) and Season 77 (2014–15) and by the Blue Eagle Spikers in Season 77 (2014–15), Season 78 (2015–16) and Season 79 (2016–17), finally ending a title drought of more than 30 years in UAAP volleyball. Prior to their championships, the Lady Eagle Spikers had six Final Four appearances (Seasons 70, 72, 73, 74, 75 and 76) with a second seed and twice-to-beat advantage in seasons 74 and 75. Prior to the Blue Eagle Spikers first championship in Season 77 (2014–2015), their best performance have been Finals appearances in season 44 (1981–82), season 76 (2013–14) and season 77 (2014–15). They also had four Final Four appearances in Seasons 71 (2008), 72 (2009) where they were not able to advance to the Finals and Seasons 76 (2013) and 77 (2014). The Blue Eaglet Spikers best finish has been first runner-up five times. In season 72 (2009), all three Ateneo varsity volleyball teams were in the Final 4. Season 77 (2014) marked the growing success of the Ateneo volleyball program. The men's, women's and boys' volleyball teams all made it to the Finals. The Lady Eagle Spikers ended a 36-year title drought in the UAAP when it won its first ever title in UAAP season 76 (2013–14). This title was a result of the invigorated volleyball program implemented in the mid 2000s. Sherwin Malonzo was appointed head of this new program. In season 71 (2008–09), Roger Gorayeb, a multi-titled coach was hired as head coach of the Lady Eagles. UAAP season 71 also marked the time that Ateneo started to recruit high school players. Five blue-chip high school players (Fille Cainglet, Jem Ferrer, Dzi Gervacio, Gretchen Ho and A Nacachi) were recruited and who were latter dubbed the Fabulous Five by the Ateneo community and fans. Another group, consisting of three high school players, were recruited the following year, season 2009. One of whom was Aerieal Patnongon who stands at 6' 0". Season 2010 was not only another banner year in recruitment but also an exciting one as Ateneo hit the jackpot when prized-rookie Alyssa Valdez, a hotly recruited high school volleyball player was among the 5 high school players recruited that year. She was a national youth volleyball team standout dubbed the "Phenom" by the sports press and three-time (back-to-back to back) MVP in UAAP high school volleyball. Alyssa Valdez would later break the UAAP women's volleyball record in most points scored in a game on her second year of playing in the league. On January 20, 2013, she scored 35 points (31 spikes, 3 blocks and 1 service ace) in the second round elimination game against Adamson University. The standing record before her record breaking performance was 33 points set by an Adamson player on February 14, 2009. Ateneo has been recruiting batch of five players from time to time over the years. The 2008 batch is referred to as the Fabulous Five or Fab 5 by the Ateneo community and fans. The 2010 and 2013 batches were all members of the Ateneo team that made history by winning Ateneo's first volleyball championship in the UAAP women's volleyball senior division. Class of 2008 Class of 2010 Class of 2013 Class of 2014 In the Shakey's V-League, a summer tournament which the Ateneo Lady Eagles use as a preparation for the UAAP tournament, their mother league, they won their first major championship in thirty-five years when it won the 8th (2011) Shakey's V-League 1st Conference, a pre-UAAP season tournament. In this championship game, the Ateneo player that stood above everybody else was rookie Alyssa Valdez. The 17-year-old prized-recruit made it all possible. Her coach for this tournament, Charo Soriano a former star Lady Eagle herself, had this to say about the prized recruit, "She really pulled it through for us". It was one big and glorious night for Alyssa Valdez and the mighty Ateneo women's volleyball squad. In UAAP season 74 (2011–12), the Ateneo Lady Eagle Spikers ended the elimination round with 11 wins in 14 games, their best elimination round record in 33 seasons in the UAAP. For the first time ever, they were seeded second in the Final 4 with a twice-to-beat advantage. The Lady Eagle Spikers did not find it necessary to use this advantage as they beat their opponent, UST, in Game 1 of their Final 4 series. With this win, they advanced for the first time to the Finals and had the defending champion De La Salle as their opponent. La Salle swept the elimination round and thus had a thrice-to-beat advantage in the Finals. This means that they have to win only twice in the Finals while Ateneo had to win three times to clinch the title. The Ateneo Lady Eagle Spikers have not won over La Salle in the last four years. This losing streak was broken by the Ateneo Lady Eagle Spikers when they won Game 1 of the Finals. This was La Salle's first and only loss of the season. This win put the Finals series on equal terms. Unfortunately, the Ateneo Lady Eagle Spikers lost the next two games and their chance for their first UAAP championship. Despite the runner-up finish, Season 74 was considered a good year for the Ateneo Lady Eagle Spikers. Aside from the first-time achievements mentioned above, there were several more. For the first time, the Ateneo Lady Eagle Spikers beat Adamson and UST twice in a season, had 13 wins in a season, won in the Final 4 stage and had a rookie (Alyssa Valdez) who scored 30 points in one game. The Ateneo Lady Eagle Spikers were able to successfully defend their Shakey's V-League Season 8 1st Conference title, emerging as champions of the 1st Conference of Season 9 held in the summer of 2012. They were undefeated in the preliminary, quarter and semi-final rounds of the tournament. The Ateneo Lady Eagle Spikers defeated the UST Golden Tigresses in their Best-of-Three series in the Finals. This made them a back-to-back champion team. Awarded the Finals MVP plum was Alyssa Valdez who scored 31 points (22 Attacks 8 Service Aces 1 Block) in Game 2 of the Finals. She scored a total of 73 points in the Finals series (59 Attacks 11 Service Aces 3 Blocks). The Lady Eagle Spikers garnered their second championship of the year 2012 when they won the 2012 Tuguegarao City Open Invitational held in June 24–30, 2012. They did this in dominating fashion. They did not lose a single set on their way to claiming the championship and the Php500,000.00 top prize. In order to finally get that elusive first championship in the UAAP Women's Volleyball Division, Head Coach Roger Gorayeb changed his recruitment strategy. For Season 75 (2012–13), he recruited only high school players who are college-play ready. Still, the Lady Eagle Spikers fell short. They made it to the Finals for the second consecutive year. However, it was a replay of Season 74 as the Ateneo Lady Eagles again faced and were defeated by the De La Salle Lady Spikers in the Finals. In preparation for UAAP Season 76 (2013–14), Ateneo hired a new coach for its men's volleyball team. The Blue Eagle Spikers responded to this change by winning the championship of the first tournament they joined that year, the UAPPY Cup, a preseason summer tournament. They defeated PLDT, a commercial team, in four sets, 25 – 7, 25 – 23, 28 – 30, 25 – 21. Four Blue Eagle Spikers garnered individual awards in this tournament, namely Ricci Gonzales as MVP, Rex Intal as Best Blocker, JP Pareja as Best Digger and Ishmel Polvorosa as Best Server. In UAAP Season 76, the Blue Eagle Spikers made it to the Finals after 33 years of absence. Their last Finals appearance was in 1981. Though they did not win the championship, it was a productive season for the Blue Eagles. Three of its players garnered individual awards. Marck Jesus Espejo won both the Rookie of the Year and the Most Valuable Player of the Year awards. This is a first in the history of UAAP men's volleyball. The Best Setter award was garnered by Esmilzo Joner Polvorosa and the Best Receiver award was won by John Paul Pareja. The Lady Eagle Spikers were not as successful. In their first tournament in 2013, the Shakey's V-League 10th Season 1st Conference, they failed to defend their crown as back-to-back defending champions when they lost to NU in the Finals of the tournament. Shortly after the end of the tournament, Roger Gorayeb, Ateneo's head coach of the women's volleyball team since 2008 stepped down in July 2013. In an effort to sustain the gains made by the Lady Eagles under the watch of Gorayeb, Ateneo hired Anusorn "Tai" Bundit as the women's volleyball team trainer in September 2013. Bundit is the coach of the national women's juniors volleyball team of Thailand, a volleyball powerhouse in Asia. Tai Bundit's status was later changed to head coach. The Ateneo Lady Eagle Spikers also went to Thailand during their school year 2013–14 semestral break for a more intensive training. Ateneo wrote history in UAAP Season 76. On March 15, 2014, the Ateneo Lady Eagle Spikers won their first championship in the UAAP. It was a historic title. For the third consecutive season, their opponent in the Finals was the De La Salle Lady Spikers. This time they beat La Salle. The Ateneo Lady Eagle Spikers, a third-seeded team, completed one of the greatest upsets in league history in beating La Salle which swept all of their fourteen elimination round matches. They ended La Salle's three-year reign as champions and also snapped La Salle's 30-game winning streak since UAAP Season 75 when it beat the latter in the Finals Game 1 of Season 76. They will go down in UAAP history as the first women's volleyball team to have overcome a thrice-to-beat disadvantage in the Finals, a feat achieved by only one other team in the UAAP in another sporting event (when UP swept DLSU in UAAP Season 76 Women's Table Tennis Finals in 3 games). They were the first ever non-top seed varsity team in the UAAP to win the championship through the league's postseason stepladder format. The road to the championship was full of obstacles. They had to win 5 do-or-die matches in the process – starting with 3 in the step-ladder Semifinals (first against fourth-seeded Adamson University Lady Falcons, and then against second-seeded National University Lady Bulldogs which had a twice-to-beat advantage) and 2 in the Finals against defending champion La Salle Lady Spikers. Team captain Alyssa Valdez was the Season and Finals Most Valuable Player, and also became the first ever UAAP athlete to win 4 awards in one season (which included Best Scorer and Best Server awards). In December 2014, the collegiate women's varsity volleyball team of the Ateneo de Manila University, the Lady Eagle Spikers represented the Philippines in the 17th ASEAN University Games in Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia. This was the first time that the Philippines was represented in the women's volleyball tournament of the ASEAN University Games. The Lady Eagle Spikers won the bronze medal. This is the first medal finish in international women's volleyball competition for the Philippines since winning bronze in the 2005 Southeast Asian Games. Ateneo continued to write history in UAAP Season 77 (2014–15). The Lady Eagle Spikers achieved a first when they swept the elimination round of Season 77, 14-0. This sweep means that the Ateneo Lady Eagles did not allow the La Salle Lady Spikers to win a single game against them in the elimination rounds, a first for the Lady Eagles since UAAP Season 71. This sweep also earned the Lady Eagle Spikers an automatic slot to the Finals for the first time with a thrice-to-beat advantage. The Lady Eagle Spikers did more than that in UAAP Season 77. They also swept their post season games to become the first team in 11 seasons to complete an unbeaten campaign. Season 77 signaled the beginning of the success of the Ateneo volleyball program. All three varsity volleyball teams (men's, women's and juniors) of Ateneo in the UAAP were in the Finals. The men's volleyball team won a historic first ever championship in Season 77 when it dethroned the two-time defending champion National University, 23-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-15, in Game 2 of the best-of-three Finals series at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. This is the first ever volleyball championship of Ateneo in the UAAP men's (seniors) division since they joined the UAAP in 1978. In the NCAA they won two titles including their last in 1976 under the late coach Pitong Custodio. The women's volleyball team also won its second championship in Season 77 when they swept second-seeded De La Salle University in 2 straight matches (6 straight sets). The sweep achieved a 16-0 season record (elimination rounds to championship round), a first for any UAAP women varsity team in the Final Four era. Ateneo's recruitment program which is a key component of the volleyball program has been successful in recruiting highly prized players. Alyssa Valdez of the Lady Blue Eagles Spikers and Marck Jesus Espejo of the Blue Spikers, who were products of this robust recruitment program, were back-to-back (Season 76 and 77) UAAP MVPs, while Rongomaipapa Amy Ahomiro of the Lady Eagle Spikers and Esmilzo Joner Polvorosa were named Season 77 UAAP Finals MVPs. Season 77 also marked the first time that Ateneo won double championships in the senior's division of the UAAP volleyball tournaments. In UAAP Season 78 (2015–16), the Ateneo Blue Eagle Spikers and the Lady Eagle Spikers were the first teams to clinch a Final Four slot in the volleyball tournament. This is the third consecutive Final Four appearance of the Blue Eagle Spikers and the seventh straight Final Four appearance of the Lady Eagle Spikers. The Ateneo Lady Eagle Spikers also were back in the UAAP Finals for the fifth straight year. In the finals, it went down to a winner take all match in Game 3, but a resurgent De La Salle Lady Spiker squad was able to edge the Lady Eagle Spikers, dethroning their reign as UAAP Champs UAAP Season 79 (2016–17) showed that the Ateneo volleyball program is a continuing success. The Ateneo Blue Eagle Spikers and the Lady Eagle Spikers both topped the elimination rounds of their respective tournament but in different fashions. The Ateneo Blue Eagle Spikers swept the elimination round 14-0 to clinch the number one spot and earn an outright slot in the Finals. This is their 4th straight year in the Finals. The Lady Eagle Spikers defeated their arch-rival La Salle in their last game of the eliminations to break the tie with La Salle as the number one team in the elimination round. With this top seed finish, the Lady Eagle Spikers made their eighth consecutive Final Four appearance and had a twice-to-beat advantage over their Final 4 opponent, FEU. The Lady Eagle Spikers did not have to use their twice-to-beat advantage to make it to the Finals. They beat FEU in Game 1 of their Final 4 series and thereby landed them in the Finals for the 6th consecutive year. In the finals, the Lady Eagle Spikers again met the De La Salle Lady Spikers for the sixth consecutive time. Despite the Lady Eagles Spikers' success in the eliminations and the Final Four, they again lost in the finals 2-0 to their arch rivals from Taft Spikers' Turf Season 3 (2018) Open Conference Line Up Volleyball Program Head: Sherwin Malonzo Coaching Staff Team Staff Medical Staff The Blue Spikers Recruits Class of 2017 The Rookies Premier Volleyball League 2nd Open Conference Line Up <section begin="Ateneo Lady Eagles Volleyball Team Pool" /> <section begin="Ateneo Lady Eagles Volleyball Team Pool" /> Coaching Staff Team Staff Medical Staff The Rookies <section end="Ateneo Lady Eagles Volleyball Team Pool" /> Coaching Staff Team Staff Medical Staff Coaching Staff Team Staff Medical Staff UAAP Season 81 (S.Y. 2018–19) Rosters The Ateneo varsity football teams have won a total 19 championships, 9 in the NCAA and 10 in the UAAP. In the NCAA, the seniors and juniors teams have won 6 and 3 titles, respectively. The Blue Booters were the first to win a football championship in the NCAA when they won the title on the maiden season of the NCAA in 1924. They also won their first back-to-back (1953 and 1954) championship in the NCAA. In the UAAP, the seniors (men) have won 7 titles while the juniors booters have 3 titles. The Blue Booters were three-peat champions after winning in Seasons 2003-04, 2004–05 and 2005–06, a record that still holds today. The two titles of the Blue Eaglet Booters are back-to-back, Seasons 2008-09 and 2009-10. Football was introduced in the UAAP Juniors Division as a demonstration sport in season 70 (2007–08) and declared a regular sport in season 72 (2009–10) Football Championships Blue Booters "NCAA Season" (6) Blue Booters "UAAP Season" (7) Lady Blue Booters "UAAP Season" Blue Eaglet Booters "NCAA Season" (3) Blue Eaglet Booters "UAAP Season" (3) The football seniors (men) team in the UAAP did not have much success until the mid-1990s, when they reached the UAAP Finals 4 times in a row, from 1996 to 1999. Months after winning the 1995–1996 Chipper Afable Cup (beating NAVY FC in the finals, 3-0, with the help of then HS '97 MVP, Vincent Hubert V. Reyes), the Blue Booters won their first ever UAAP title in 1996, by beating arch-rival La Salle in the Finals by 2 goals to 1. In the following two years, they lost in the Finals to the Green Archers, but were able to regain the title in 1999. The 1999 men's football team holds the record for most goals scored in a UAAP game. They scored 41 goals in a 41-0 win over Adamson University. All eleven Ateneo starters scored in this game. Carlos Leus led the way with 13 goals, Monch Espejo with 9 and Paolo Aquino adding 5. In season 68 (2005–06), The Blue Booters won their fifth UAAP championship in a dominating fashion. They swept the season, 10-0, on their way to the championship. This is a first in the history of UAAP football and the record still holds for Ateneo. The Blue Booters hold the record for the longest championship streak in the UAAP. They accomplished this when they won the football title in Season 66 (2003–04), Season 67 (2004–05) and Season 68 (2005–06), a three-peat championship achievement. Not to be outdone, the Blue Eaglet Booters also hold the record for the longest championship streak in the UAAP juniors division. They are back-to-back champions as they won the title in Season 71 (2008–09) and Season 72 (2009–10). The Lady Blue Booters also hold a record, although something that they cannot boast. They have not won a championship in the UAAP and were even the doormat team in Season 74 (2011–12) as they did not win a single game. However, these losing seasons may become a thing of the past. For Season 75 (2012-12), the Lady Blue Booters have three national players in their roster. In the 2012 national University Games, a preseason tournament that is held during the academic semestral break in October that the Lady Blue Booters join annually, they finished as runner-up. The Finals was a tightly fought game which went into a 10-10 silver goal overtime (full 20 minutes). The final score was 1-0 and the winning goal was scored by their opponent only at the last five minutes of overtime. The following year, the Lady Blue Booters won the championship of the 2013 Philippine National Games held in May 2013. In Season 75 (2012–13), the Blue Booters topped the elimination round which gave them the top seed in the Final 4 and a twice-to-beat advantage. The Blue Booters did not have to use this advantage as they defeated La Salle, their Final 4 opponent, 4 – 3, in a penalty shoot-out in game one to advance to the Finals for the first time in six years. In the Finals, the Blue Booters swept defending champion UP in their best-of-three series, to win their sixth UAAP championship. Season 75 was a penalty shoot-out season for the Blue Booters. They won all their games in the Final 4 and Finals via penalty shoot-outs. The Ateneo Blue Eagles football team won the UAAP Season 79 football championship. Javier Augustine "Jarvey" Gayoso was UAAP Season 79 (2016–17) MVP and selected to the UAAP Season 79 (2016–17) Mythical Eleven. Jordan Blair Jarvis was selected the UAAP Season 79 (2016–17) Rookie of the Year and member of the UAAP Season 79 (2016–17) Mythical Eleven. UAAP Season 80 (S.Y. 2017–18) Rosters *Graduating Players 2018 Football Program Head: Robert "Bob" Manlulo Coaching Staff Team Staff Medical Staff Blue Booters Recruits Class of 2017 The Rookies Coaching Staff Team Staff Medical Staff The Lady Blue Booters Recruits Class of 2016 The Rookies Coaching Staff Team Staff Medical Staff Men's Division 1924–1999 2000–present Selected, UAAP Season 79 (2016–17) Mythical Eleven; Member, Season 79 (2016–17) UAAP champions Ateneo Blue Booters team. Women's Division Juniors Division History shows that Ateneo was not a powerhouse in the sport of baseball despite having American Jesuits who were former varsity baseball players in their youth as mentors in school during the previous millennium. In the NCAA after 54 years of participation, the Blue Batters and Blue Eaglet Batters have won only 2 championships each. The Blue Batters won theirs in 1927 and 1965, while the Eaglet Batters won in 1965 and 1968. The number of championships can be counted with one's fingers but the consolation is the double championship in 1965. According to UAAP records, Ateneo which joined the league in 1978 won its first baseball title in Season 75 (2012–13). This was after a 35-year title drought which Ateneo ended in a big way. Ateneo won a double championship. The Blue Batters and the Blue Eaglet Batters won their first UAAP championship in Season 75. The following season, the Blue Batters won again the UAAP men's baseball crown to become back-to-back champions. The Blue Batters made history when they became a three-peat champion in Season 77 (2014–15). The Ateneo Blue Batters have the longest losing streak in UAAP history. From 1992 to 2001, the team did not win a single UAAP baseball game. Then on January 20, 2002 (UAAP Season 64), the team finally won its first UAAP game after 10 years by beating National University, 16-9. This was a breakout win for the Blue Batters as they never had a winless season in the next 9 years. UAAP Season 65 (2002–03) saw the Blue Batters improve on its standing by placing 5th with a 2-8 win-loss record, surpassing the previous year record of 1-9 (6th place). UAAP Season 66 (2003–04) was remarkable as Ateneo defeated La Salle for the first time in over 13 years, 9-8. In Season 67 (2004–05), they finished with a 3-7 record to place 4th overall. It would have been the Blue Batters' first Final Four appearance had UST not swept the elimination round and was declared champions of UAAP Season 67. The Blue Batters' breakout year was UAAP Season 68 (2005–06) when the team finished tied for 2nd place with a 7-3 record, setting the best win-loss record in its UAAP history. Up until 2011-12, this team was considered the strongest team ever assembled in its UAAP baseball history. In UAAP Season 74 (2011–12), the Blue Batters duplicated the win-loss (7-3) record and second-place finish of the Season 68 Blue Batters. They made the Final 4 as the second-seeded team with a twice-to-beat advantage and batted their way into the Finals for the first time in their UAAP history. They ended the season as runner-up after losing to NU in the Finals. In Season 75 (2012–13), Ateneo and NU met again for the championship. This time the Blue Batters got back at NU and won their first UAAP baseball title. Baseball was introduced as a demonstration sport in the Juniors Division in UAAP Season 74 (2011–12), where Ateneo finished as runner-up. The following season, the Blue Eaglet Batters won its first baseball title in the UAAP. They were awarded the championship title after sweeping the elimination round. Past UAAP Seasons Highlights Season 68 (2005–06) Thriving on pressure in UAAP Season 68, the Blue Batters won 5 of their games by just 1 run, most of them in come-from-behind fashion. But they also thrashed an opponent, La Salle, in 8 innings, 17-7, in the second game of the season for its first mercy rule victory in more than a decade. The Blue Batters ended the season with a 7-3 record, so far the best in their UAAP history. They became the first Ateneo team in over a decade to beat each UAAP team at least once in a season. They also made history by being the first team to make it to the Final Four. Ateneo won its first Final Four game in history on February 16, 2006 by defeating UST, 12-5, to set up a do-or-die Game 2. However, Ateneo lost Game 2, 10-5, to end its magical season. UAAP Season 69 (2006–07) UAAP Season 69 was a heartbreaking season for the Ateneo Blue Batters as it was found out at the end of the season that star rookie Michael Justine Zialcita, a U.S. citizen, was not able to submit all the required documents for player's eligibility. Thus, he was declared ineligible despite having Filipino parents. A UAAP Board ruling wiped out all of Ateneo's wins that season and forfeited their Final Four slot. Ateneo finished 4th place with a 3-5 record. Despite the 3-1 start in the 1st round, the Blue Batters lost all their 4 games in the 2nd round. UAAP Season 71 (2008–09) Season 71 was a rebirth for the Ateneo Blue Batters. The team finished with a 6-4 record, second best in its UAAP history. Had the Adamson Falcons not swept the season, Ateneo would have been 3rd seed in the Final Four. Among the notable games was the high-scoring win against La Salle, where the Blue Batters blasted the Green Archers, 27-14. UAAP Season 72 (2009–10) Coming from last year's successful run, the Blue Batters looked forward to another successful campaign in Season 72. However, the team ended with a winless season, going 0-10 for the first time since the 2000–2001 UAAP season. This dismal performance was due to the loss of their starting pitcher to injury in their game 1 of the season. UAAP Season 74 (2011–12) In October 2011, the Ateneo Blue Batters flew to Taichung, Taiwan for an intensive 10-day training at the Si Yen Baseball School. The training program followed a strict schedule and consisted of rigorous skills training sessions, two to three times a day. This training has done the Blue Batters good. The Blue Batters swept the first round of the eliminations in the UAAP Season 74 baseball tournament, going 5-0, a first time in Ateneo baseball. They beat all their opponents in convincing fashion: Adamson 11-5, NU 13-3, UP 14-3 (5 innings), UST 8-1 and La Salle 8-4. The Blue Batters had established a six-game winning streak when they continued to win into the second round of elimination, beating UP, 10-0. The streak ended when they lost to Adamson and NU in their succeeding games. They eventually ended the elimination round with a 7-3 record. This finish gave them the second seed in the Final 4 with a twice-to-beat advantage and tied the best win-loss record set by the 2005-06 Ateneo baseball team. Ateneo beat La Salle, 13-4 in 8 innings of a rained-out game of the Final 4, on February 16, 2012 to advance to the UAAP Finals for the first time. In Game 1 of the Finals against NU on February 23, 2012, Matt Laurel blasted a 3-run home run in the 1st inning to help power Ateneo past NU, 11-4. Unfortunately, the Blue Batters lost the next two games of the Finals series. Game 3 was a heartbreaking one as Ateneo lost 5-4, on centerfielder Kirk Long's error that enabled NU to score the go-ahead run in the top of the 9th. They finished Season 74 as runner-up. However, it was a season that the players consider as historic as some of their accomplishments were first-time achievements of a Blue Batter team. Game 3 also saw one of the biggest Ateneo crowds in the history of UAAP baseball, since their first Final 4 appearance in Season 68. Among those who attended were not only family and friends of the players, but also their softball counterparts the Lady Batters, fellow students and alumni, including former Blue Batters Atty. Kristian Ablan, Stefano Baltao, Carlo Banzon, Christopher Chua, Nikko Dizer, Paolo Padla, Justin Zialcita and Jonathan Sibal. Sports columnist, TV commentator and Ateneo professor Sev Sarmenta was also there to cheer on the blue and white. For the first time, UAAP Baseball had TV coverage on ABS-CBN's Studio 23, shown on delayed telecast a week after the Finals. In recognition of the Blue Batters reaching the Finals for the first time ever in the UAAP, they were presented the 2011-12 Breakthrough Team of the Year Award during the Ateneo Athletes' Recognition and Awards Night held on March 8, 2012. The Blue Eaglet Batters also set a record in the UAAP Baseball Juniors Division by scoring 26 home runs in 5 innings and at the same time blanking the Batters of the UST Tiger Cubs in a game on January 28, 2012. They also finished as runner-up in the maiden season of Juniors baseball. UAAP Season 75 (2012–13) Before the start of the UAAP Season 75 baseball tournament, the Ateneo Blue Batters went again to Taichung, Taiwan during the semestral break of academic year 2012–13, for an intensive training at the Si Yen Baseball School. This training was productive as the Blue Batters swept the first round of the elimination for the second consecutive year, going 5-0. They beat all their opponents in convincing fashion: Adamson 15-3, La Salle 15-7, UP 14-6, UST 11-3 and NU 9-2. The Blue Batters made it to the Finals as the top seeded team with a win-loss record of 8-2, their best finish in the UAAP. In the Finals, the Blue Batters beat defending champion NU in their best-of-three series to win its first UAAP baseball championship after a 35-year title drought. In the deciding game 3 of the Finals best-of-three series, the Blue Batters shut out NU, 4-0. This was a statement made by the Blue Batters that they have not forgotten their last year's loss to NU in the deciding game 3 of the Finals. The Blue Eaglet Batters also won their first UAAP Juniors Baseball title in Season 75 (2012–13) on February 9, 2013 after sweeping the elimination round. UAAP Season 76 (2013–14) After attending their annual preseason training camp in Taichung, Taiwan, the Blue Batters went on to successfully defend their crown in Season 76 (2013–14). They swept no. 1 seed La Salle in their best-of-three Finals series. Pitcher Andy Tan garnered the MVP and Best Pitcher awards. The Rookie of the Year award went to Miguel Dumlao. Mat laurel got three awards, namely: Best Slugger, Most Home Runs and Most Stolen Bases. UAAP Season 77 (2014–15) As part of their preseason preparations, the Blue Batters joined the 2014 Hong Kong International Baseball Open ("HKIBO") which ran from December 19–22, 2014. The tournament was sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation ("WBSC"). Eight teams from Korea, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong participated. The Blue Batters, representing the Philippines swept the Group B elimination round and beat Group A's top seed Hong Kong in the Finals to emerge as champions of this international tournament. Game scores: Elimination round: Group B Philippines (Blue Batters) 8 – Hong Kong 2 Philippines (Blue Batters) 5 – Taiwan 1 Philippines (Blue Batters) 15- Russia 0 Finals: Philippines (Blue Batters) 6 – Hong Kong 1 Season 77 is a historic season for Ateneo baseball. The Blue Batters won their third consecutive championship in Season 77. They are now a three-peat champion. UAAP Season 79 (2016–17) The preseason preparations of the Blue Batters went into high gear when they joined the 2016 Hong Kong International Baseball Open which ran from December 17–20, 2016. The tournament was sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation ("WBSC"). Eight teams from China, Hong Kong, Philippines, Russia and Taiwan participated. The Blue Batters, representing the Philippines swept the Group A elimination round and beat Group B's top seed Hong Kong in the Finals to emerge as the 2016 champions of this international tournament. Game scores: Elimination round: Group A Ateneo Blue Batters 23 – Taiwan 1 Ateneo Blue Batters 12 – Hong Kong Blue 1 Ateneo Blue Batters 8 – Hong Kong Typhoon 5 Finals: Philippines (Blue Batters) 7 – Hong Kong Red 6 The Blue Batters' participation in the Hong Kong International Baseball Open was an excellent preparation for the UAAP Season 79 baseball tournament. This tournament gave them the opportunity to play at a high level of baseball with teams from other countries. Winning the title was a big confidence boost for them coming into their next UAAP season. They won UAAP Season 79's championship, their fourth in the last past five years. UAAP Season 80 (201–18) As part of the preseason preparations of the Blue Batters, they joined again the Hong Kong International Baseball Open 2017 which ran from December 14–17, 2016. They chose to join this tournament again because they are the defending champions having won this annual tournament last year. The tournament was sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation ("WBSC"). Four teams from Australia China, Hong Kong and the Philippines participated. The Blue Batters, representing the Philippines swept the elimination round of their group and beat the team from Australia in the Finals to emerge as the 2017 champions of this international tournament. Game scores: Elimination round: Club Team Group Ateneo Blue Batters 12 – Sydney University Baseball Club, Australia 7 Ateneo Blue Batters 12 – Lanzhou New Way, China 3 Ateneo Blue Batters 9 – Hong Kong Blue 6 Finals: Ateneo Blue Batters 10 – Sydney University Baseball Club, Australia 4 Bagging the title for the second year in a row, the Blue Batters tuck another gold under their belt, gaining valuable experience and exposure as a team entering a new collegiate season. The Blue Batters will have a different crown to defend heading into the next semester of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Baseball tournament. UAAP Season 80 (S.Y. 2017–18) Rosters Baseball Program Head: Venerando "Randy" Dizer Coaching Staff Team Staff Medical Staff The Blue Batters Recruits Class of 2017 Coaching Staff Team Staff Medical Staff Men's Division Juniors Division https://web.archive.org/web/20160405225658/http://www.admu.edu.ph/mob/news/sports/14355/ahs-is-uaap-season-78-juniors-baseball-champion!#sthash.CpxCZMWt.dpuf UAAP Season 80 (S.Y. 2017–18) Roster Coaching Staff Team Staff Medical Staff The Lady Blue Batters Recruits Class of 2017 This is Ateneo's ranking in the team sports in the UAAP since 1986, the year the UAAP became an eight member-school league: Seniors Division Juniors Division Overall/General Championships Ateneo has not won a UAAP General Championship in the seniors division since joining the UAAP in 1978. Its best finish was a third place in Season 75 (2012–13) and Season 79 (2016–17). The College Athletics Office, is a service bureau that supports Ateneo's college varsity teams through certificate issuance, class schedule management, accident insurance procurement, P.E. and NSTP exemptions and scholarship facilitation, varsity jackets sourcing, and team budget management. To do all this, the office works with various offices in the Loyola Schools such as the Registrar's Office and the Office of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. They also coordinate with the Office of Admission and Aid and the University Athletics Office if necessary to help Ateneo's student athletes perform well in their academics. The College Athletics Office also works with student writers, the Ateneo Sports Shooters, and the Athletics Council (AC). Ateneo's athletes are able to air their concerns to the College Athletics Office through the AC. The athletics office in turn relays the concerns to the Loyola Schools administration for proper action. In order for the Ateneo varsity teams to excel in sports on a sustained basis, the Ateneo University Athletics Office has implemented an integrated sports development program. It was formulated in the late 1990s to methodically develop sports talent in the Ateneo Grade School, High School, and the Loyola Schools (college). The program has a grassroots approach, building from the ground up. The same methods and principles are used in the Grade School, High School, and Loyola Schools sports programs. Several top players from the grade school and high school have already become successful in the college teams. Under the integrated sports development program, the University Athletics Office has identified several "priority sports." Initially, these sports were chosen based on what the Ateneo already excelled in as well as available sports facilities. The goal was to expand the list of priority sports each year, with each sport under a program manager. To date, there are 14 programs, each for a UAAP sport: athletics, badminton, baseball/softball, basketball, cheerleading, chess, fencing, football, lawn tennis, table tennis, judo, taekwondo, swimming, and volleyball (indoor and beach). Under the basketball and the football programs are the Ateneo Basketball School and the Ateneo Football Center, which give regular basketball and football clinics to students. The plan is to open centers for the other programs as well. In 2013, clinics for volleyball were held, as a step towards opening a volleyball center. One measure of their success is that other schools are opening similar centers. The main objective of this sports program is to have a better overall standing in the UAAP general championship. Ateneo has not won a General Championship in the seniors division since it joined the UAAP in 1978. In UAAP Season 75 (2012–13), Ateneo finished third place in the seniors division General Championship. It was the highest standing for Ateneo so far. The sports-loving American Jesuits who took over the administration of the Ateneo de Manila in 1912 and taught at the Ateneo in the 1900s left a legacy in sports to the school. Unlike other schools, Ateneo in the early and mid-1900s, was fortunate to have educators who were former athletes. The American Jesuits were former basketball, baseball and soccer players as well as track and field athletes. They provided the fundamentals of these sports to their students as coaches of the varsity teams. They preached to them the Greek ideal "mens sana in corpore sano" which translates to "a sound mind in a sound body." Since sports is an important part of the Ateneo educational system, the Jesuits give importance to the construction of sports facilities. The first building to be built when Ateneo moved its main campus to Loyola Heights from Pade Faura was the Blue Eagle gym. Since then, Ateneo with the generous financial support of wealthy alumni in some projects has spent much in the construction of numerous sports facilities. Here are the various sport facilities found in the Ateneo Loyola Heights campus: Rifle/Pistol Shooting The Blue Eagle Gym Ateneo is the first school in the Philippines to build a large school gym. The Ateneo gym has a seating capacity of 7,500. School gyms in the 1940s were small because their primary purpose was as a practice facility for the school's varsity basketball team and a place for student convocations as a secondary usage. Fr. William F. Masterson, S.J., then the Ateneo Rector had a different concept in mind. He wanted more usage for the gym he envisioned, one that is designed to be revenue generating and home to various varsity teams. Specifically, it was to be an alternate venue to the Rizal Memorial Coliseum for the National Collegiate Athletic Association games. Thus the gym that was constructed stands 213 feet wide and 281 feet long (or 60,863 square feet) and cost Php 650,000.00 to construct. The gym is not only the home of the Blue Eagles and Lady Eagles (college varsity basketball teams) but also of the college baseball, chess, fencing, judo, table tennis and volleyball varsity teams. It is the practice facility of these varsity teams. There is a baseball batting cage, a chess room, a fencing strip and a judo training area. The basketball court is converted to a volleyball court when the volleyball varsity teams practice. The Blue Babble Battalion and band use the gym for their practice. It is also used by the University community for big gatherings. The gym houses the University Athletics Office, a sports library, a study hall, a small air-conditioned dormitory and an exhibit room for the multi-titled Ateneo Blue Eagle Coach Baby Dalupan. There is also a room for trophies, awards and sports memorabilia. Locker and shower rooms are available for the players. The gym was inaugurated on December 3, 1949 and has undergone several name changes since its opening. At its christening in 1949, it was called the Ateneo Gym. In the late 1960s until the mid-1970s, the gym was leased to Emerito Ramos, Sr., an alumnus (HS '25) and was renamed the Loyola Center. With this change in management, the gym was used not only as practice facility of the school's varsity basketball teams and for NCAA basketball games but also as an entertainment venue. Musical concerts were held. Shows of local and American rock-n-roll singer artists were presented at the gym, making it a veritable mini- Araneta Coliseum. The name Loyola Center stuck even after management was reverted to the school when the lease contract expired. It was in the year 2000, when the gym was undergoing renovation, that it got its present name, the Blue Eagle Gym. The Ateneo Blue Eagle gym is a landmark due to the large blue eagle emblem mounted on the facade that can be easily seen from the main public road (Katipunan Avenue) along the front of the school campus. The Moro Lorenzo Sports Center The Moro Lorenzo Sports Center is a sports complex built in the Loyola Heights campus to bolster the sports program of Ateneo. Construction of the sports center was started on November 11, 2000 and was fully completed in 2001. It was inaugurated on March 17, 2001 and named after one of Ateneo's basketball players, Luis "Moro" Lorenzo, who played for the Blue Eagles in the 1940s. The sports complex offers facilities such as an indoor basketball court where the university's varsity basketball teams hold their practice, indoor badminton and volleyball courts, indoor track oval measuring approximately 200 meters, a weights room and a fully air-conditioned sports medical clinic. Other facilities include an audio-visual room, locker rooms and Prayer Room. The Moro Lorenzo Football Field A new 40 million-peso football field was constructed at the Ateneo Loyola campus grounds. Construction started on August 22, 2011 and was finished in December 2012, in time for the opening of the UAAP football season 75. The University Athletics Office (UAO) and the Luis "Moro" Lorenzo family, as sponsor, have partnered to transform the present Erenchun Football Field into a world-class football pitch which was officially named the Moro Lorenzo Football Field. This football field meets international and Olympic standards. According to the standards set by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), the minimum acceptable size for a football field is 90 by 45 meters, while the maximum size is set at 120 by 90 meters. Based on these prescribed sizes, the Moro Lorenzo Football Field which is 110 by 70 meter pitch meets world-class standards. The pitch is an all-weather field composed of first-generation Princess 77 Bermuda grass imported from Thailand because later-generation grass tends to discolor as it is of lower quality. The Princess 77 is a low maintenance variant similar to those used in golf courses in Hawaii. A grass nursery was built nearby which is being used to plant more Bermuda grass to be used for replacing dead spots on the pitch over time. The pitch has drainage and sprinkler systems similar to golf courses to maintain the conditions of the field. The University Athletics Office stressed that it is the first field of its kind in Ateneo so it has to be of high quality. The UAO has also been working with the United States-based Trans-Lux Corporation for an outdoor weatherproof 5 by 4 meter electronic scoreboard with LED lights for the football games. According to the UAO, this will be the first scoreboard of its kind in the Philippines. Floodlights were installed over the renovated field so that football games can be held at night. The Loyola Schools Blue Track Oval A new track oval has been built around the Moro Lorenzo football field. Both sports facilities are situated on the same place where the old cinder track oval and Erenchun Football Field were located. Work started in late 2011 and finished in May 2013. It is 400 meters long with eight lanes. The oval meets the standards set by the International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) which stipulates that an Olympic-standard race track be at least 400 meters long and have at least four lanes. The actual oval features the Herculean Spike Resistant Sprint system imported from the Netherlands that cost roughly P19 million, a variant that is accepted by the IAAF. It is water impermeable and spike resistant. The oval is colored royal blue. The track oval will be used primarily by the Track and Field varsity teams which are presently training off-campus. Other Ateneo varsity teams will also be using the track oval for their training activities which require running. It may also become a venue for UAAP Track and Field tournaments in the future. The Loyola Schools Sand Court A new beach volleyball sand court has been built near the Moro Lorenzo football field. The court was opened for use last May 2014. It is not a regular court but a makeshift type, good enough for practice purposes. It is being used by the Beach Volleyball varsity teams so that they do not have to go off-campus for practice. The Loyola Schools Swimming Pool The Loyola Schools swimming pool is a state-of-the-art short-course pool used for PE swimming classes and by the varsity swimming teams for training and dual meets. It is a 25-meter, 8-lane, roofed and no-wave swimming pool and complemented by a bleachers section for 250 spectators and outside showers. A Php5 million donation from a former member of the Ateneo varsity swimming team, alumnus Cecilio Pedro, BS '75, helped cover part of the Php15 million cost of the sports facility that Ateneo never had since joining the NCAA and UAAP in 1924 and 1978, respectively. Construction was completed on June 28, 2006. The blessing and inauguration was held on July 15, 2006. The Loyola Schools Physical Education Dept. Sports Complex The Loyola Schools P.E. Dept. sports complex consists of the College Covered (basketball) Courts, two lawn tennis courts, table tennis courts, dancing hall, martial arts gym, a bodybuilding gym, dressing and shower rooms, a half-Olympic swimming pool that is used by both P.E. swimming classes and the varsity swimming teams for training and dual meets and a shooting range used by the rifle and pistol varsity team, the first of its kind in the Philippines. Also in the same complex are the College Athletics office and the offices of the physical education department and a cafeteria. The Loyola Schools Covered Courts The Loyola Schools (College) Covered Courts is a sports facility which is part of the Loyola Schools Physical Education Department sports complex. It consists of eight regulation-sized basketball courts which have concrete floors that can be converted to a futsal court and/or volleyball courts. It also has dressing and shower rooms. It was opened for student-use in 1951. The Ateneo has rich traditions in things that are related to sports. Most of these traditions have been introduced by the sports-loving American Jesuits after they took over the administration of Ateneo in 1912. However, the sports related traditions that the American Jesuits introduced in the Ateneo were not original ideas but copied from American schools. Team mascot, pep band, organized cheering, cheerleaders and bonfires were all American sports innovations. Cheering Cheering by Ateneo students during games against other schools existed as early as 1914 when Ateneo started to participate in intercollegiate sports. But it was more of an individual or a small group in the Ateneo gallery shouting spontaneous encouragements to the Blue and White team or heckling the opponents. There were no cheerleaders to lead the whole Ateneo gallery to cheer in unison with prepared cheers so as to produce loud and solid-volume cheerings. Ateneo was the first school to field an organized cheering squad in the Philippines. Inspired by how American colleges made use of organized cheering to bolster their teams' morale, Fr. Austin Dowd, S.J introduced this organized cheering form to the Philippines. He recruited the first three cheerleaders of Ateneo, namely, Leon Ma. "Rah-jah" Guerrero HS '31 AB '35, "Crown Prince" Elpediforo Cuna HS '30 AB '34 and Jumpin' Jess Paredes HS '31 AB '35. During those early years, there were only three cheerleaders each NCAA season and they were fondly called the "Princes of Personality". The name Blue Babble Battalion came much later. There is no official record in Ateneo history when this name was introduced. Ateneo alumni old-timers only recall that this name was already in use in the 1950s. However, cheerleader Jesse Paredes, HS '54 AB '58 (son of one of the pioneer cheerleaders of Ateneo, Jess Paredes), clarified that "the Blue Babble Battalion was the Ateneo gallery, not the cheerleaders. That is why it is a battalion". In the 1940s up to the 1980s, the Ateneo gallery that is called the Blue Babble Battalion referred to the Ateneo spectators in the bleachers section of the coliseum or gym because almost all of the Ateneo gallery was seated there. It was composed mostly of high school students, some Jesuit scholastics and faculty. All of the cheerleaders and the pep band were also there. According to the alumni of the 1950s, one of the reasons they watched from the bleachers section was that they were given a 50% discount if they bought their bleachers tickets for NCAA games at the school cashier's office. They paid only fifty centavos for a one Peso ticket. This preference for the bleachers section changed when the UAAP games started to be held regularly at the Araneta Coliseum in the 2000s. Ateneo students watched the games from both the bleachers and upper box sections of the coliseum, resulting in cheerleaders being thinly spread over a wider area. The Jesuits and faculty deserted totally the bleachers section and watched the games from the lower sections of the coliseum. This reference to the Ateneo gallery as the Blue Babble Battalion was lost over time. Alumni old-timers point to the demographic changes in the Ateneo gallery as one of the causes for this loss. The once solid Ateneo gallery in the bleachers is now dispersed and even mixed with the crowd of the opposing school. The name Blue Babble Battalion would be resurrected later but as the name of a student organization. The Ateneo cheerleaders, cheerdancers, cheerlifters and pep band grouped themselves together under the name Blue Babble Battalion. With the loss of this name to the cheerleaders, the Ateneo community started to call the Ateneo gallery as the Sixth Man (in a basketball game). Sports articles published by the school and Guidon, the official student newspaper of Ateneo, showed that up to the 1980s there were references to the Ateneo gallery as the Blue Babble Battalion, and the name Sixth Man started to appear in sports articles as early as the year 2000. Ateneo Cheers, Yells and Songs Ateneo's cheering tradition consists of cheers, yells and songs that imbibed the Ateneo spirit. They added much to the clapping of hands and stomping of feet by inspiring and willing the school varsity teams to victory time and again. There are no records of when and who wrote the Ateneo's cheers and yells. The cheers are said to have been inspired by Roman traditions. Contrary to popular belief, the cheers themselves have no literal meaning such as Fabilioh and Halikinu, which some mistake for Greek or Latin words. They are just letters put together and have a rhythmic sound. The yells of Ateneo are one to three words of encouragement such as "Fight", "Animo Ateneo" and "Get that ball". The Ateneo songs are the opposite of the cheers. They are all intelligible and the composers of some of them are known. After the eagle was officially chosen as the school's mascot, the fight song, "Blue Eagle – The King" was composed by Raul Manglapus (AB '39) in the summer of 1939. The marching song, "Cheer, cheer and Go!" was composed by Lamberto Avellana (AB '37). Some songs like "Hail! Ateneo Hail!" and the Ateneo Cadet Corps March were adopted and modified from cheer songs of American Jesuit schools, such as Fordham. The music were borrowed and new lyrics were written or the proper names were just changed. A cheerbook, titled "On Wings Of Blue" was published in the 1930s and reprinted in the 1950s and 1987. This first edition contains all the songs, cheers and notes compiled from since the cheering tradition began before the foundation of the NCAA. This small blue booklet featured as well, interesting tidbits about things Atenean such as the colors, shield, motto and the mascot of the school. The 1998 edition has gone through some revisions, including the addition of the "Song for Mary". Ateneo Cheer Rallies No article has been found so far to establish when Ateneo's historic tradition of cheer rallies started. Alumni old-timers can only remember that they participated in cheer rallies in the 1950s. Cheer rallies were not continuously held. There were periods of several years when the tradition was dormant. The cheer rallies of yesteryears and of today are a lot different in terms of participants and purpose. In the former, only high school students participated while the whole University and alumni participated in the latter. The cheer rallies of earlier years were held to teach and practice the cheers. Today's cheer rallies' main purpose is as a send-off to all the University varsity athletes as they embark on their journey to the battlefield of sports. In the 1950s and 1960s, cheer rallies were held in early June in preparation for the opening of the NCAA season. The cheer rallies were held in the high school covered courts and attended only by the high school students. After the flag ceremony on a Monday morning, classes were suspended for one period to hold the cheer rally which was led by the college cheerleaders. The high school student population was divided into eight groups. Each group was composed of a mixture of 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th year students. Each group would yell the same cheer. There were eight pennants each with an image of different bird species attached to poles. The group that cheered the loudest got the pennant with the image of the eagle, and the group with the lowest noise volume was given the pennant with the image of the crow. Seldom used cheers were practised and the juniors and seniors basketball varsity teams were paraded on the stage. The team captain (King Eagle) of the seniors basketball team gave a short pep talk to the gathered students, promising the school to do their best to win the championship and asking the students to support the team by attending the games. Today's cheer rallies are big production events. It even has a name, the Big Blue Eagle Cheer Rally. They have a festive atmosphere. Held at the Blue Eagle gym, there are musical performances by Atenean music bands and video presentations of notable moments of previous season's campaign. Demonstration squads from different sports like volleyball, taekwondo and judo show their techniques on the hardwood. The Blue Babble Battalion is next as the cheerleders lead the crowd in cheering while the cheerdancers perform their cheering moves. The last part of the event is a basketball game between the current Blue Eagle team and an alumni Blue Eagle team. The top officials of the University are in attendance. The university president, vice-presidents and Directors of various school units are present. They are joined by the alumni. It is a University-wide affair. The crowd is composed of students from the grade school, high school and college. All the varsity athletes from said school departments are paraded before the crowd. The affair is ended with an inspirational talk by the university president who wishes the athletes success in their respective campaigns. Finally the crowd sings the Song for Mary. The Blue Bonfire Just as the Romans welcomed home their victorious army with a big celebration, so does the Ateneo community welcome home their victorious athletes with a celebratory bonfire. Whenever the men's or women's varsity basketball team win a UAAP championship, a bonfire is held in October. This traditional celebration fetes not only the Blue Eagles and the Lady Eagles, but also all the other varsity teams that won championships during the first semester of the UAAP season. Students, alumni, family members and friends of Ateneans, as well as die-hard fans attend the event to cheer their favorite athletes and to have their picture taken with them in front of the bonfire. They also ask the players to autograph their Ateneo shirt, ball, slam book, magazine featuring their favorite player or other belongings. All the players and coaches are formally presented to the crowd by asking them to go up the stage where some of them give short talks. The program emcees ask questions from the team which answers the crowd are interested to hear. There are many food booths to choose from and local bands to entertain. This celebratory bonfire is the culmination of the school's first semester sports season which started earlier in July with a cheer rally. A second bonfire is held in March to celebrate championships won in the second semester. This bonfire tradition dates back to 1932 or possibly even earlier when the Blue Eagles won their first NCAA championship in 1928. The 1932 bonfire was held at the Luneta Park. College The Loyola Schools organizes the Athletes' Recognition and Awards Night every month of March to give recognition to select athletes, coaches and team managers of the Ateneo's varsity teams. The first Athletes' Night was held on February 19, 1997, although some of the awards predate this event. The awards given out are the Ambrosio Padilla Student-Athlete of the Year, Study Hall Student-Athlete of the Year, the Guidon-Moro Lorenzo Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year, Blue Eagle and Lady Eagle of the Year, Step-up Athlete of the Year, the X Factor Athlete of the Year, Team Manager of the Year and the Breakthrough Team of the Year. Below is a list (incomplete) of student-athletes who received these awards: Ambrosio Padilla Student-Athlete of the Year Step-up Athlete of the Year X Factor Athlete of the Year Study Hall Student-Athlete of the Year Breakthrough Team of the Year Comeback Team of the Year Upset Team of the Year Performance of the Year Most Improved Team of the Year Guidon-Moro Lorenzo Sportsman of the Year Guidon-Moro Lorenzo Sportswoman of the Year Blue Eagle of the Year Lady Eagle of the Year Xavier Athletic Achievement Award High School The High School also has their annual recognition ceremonies named the Athletes' Appreciation Night which is also held every month of March. The awards given are the Athlete of the Year and the Most Outstanding Athlete for each varsity sport that Ateneo participates. Here are some of the student-athletes who received these awards: Luis "Moro" Lorenzo High School Athlete of the Year St. Jean De Brebeuf Most Outstanding Athlete Award ' Basketball Volleyball Football Baseball The Ateneo Sports Hall of Fame is where the victories and memories of Ateneo athletic heroes of yesteryears are forever enshrined so that the Atenean may know his heritage, that he may cherish it, take pride in it and preserve it; that he may pass it on to those that follow in the noble lineage of Loyola; that the whole world may know; that the old Atenean may relive the glories of the past, and the young Atenean may have a spring whence to draw inspiration. In 1978, a committee of the Ateneo Alumni Association composed of some hard-core alumni and headed by Naning Yengko, AB '38 made the dream of an Ateneo Sports Hall of Fame (ASHOF) come true. The first induction of the ASHOF was held in 1979 at the Manila Hotel where Ambrosio Padilla (HS '26 AB '30), Moro Lorenzo (HS '47 AB '51) and thirteen other Ateneo great athletes were inducted. The second induction included basketball greats Frankie Rabat and Ed Ocampo. There were also great coaches, namely, Louie Javellana, Ted Erenchun and Baby Dalupan whose nominations to the Hall of Fame were easily approved. Starting with the 1988 Induction, selection of new inductees were more structured and organized. The 2000 Induction saw the ASHOF moving to its new home at the north end of the Moro Lorenzo Sports Complex. Here, the relics, memorabilia, pictures and trophies of great athletes and teams can be viewed. Basketball There are only six basketball players who were MVPs in both juniors and seniors divisions of the UAAP. Five of them are from Ateneo. They are Jun Reyes, Enrico Villanueva, Larry Fonacier, Kiefer Ravena and Ferdinand Ravena III Men's Division Women's Division Juniors Division Football Men's Division Juniors Division Volleyball Men's Division Women's Division Juniors Division UAAP Baseball Men's Division Juniors Division Basketball Men's Division Women's Division Juniors Division Men's Division Juniors Division Volleyball Men's Division Women's Division Baseball Men's Division Basketball Mythical 5 Men's Division Women's Division Juniors Division Football Men's Division Swimming Men's Division Women's Division Women's Division Girls' Division There are instances in a UAAP season that an athlete garners both the Rookie of the Year award (ROY) and the Most Valuable Player award (MVP) of a sport tournament. Ateneo has had several athletes who have been given both awards in the same season. Below is an incomplete list of such awardees: Men's Division Season 76 (2013–14) Baseball Season 75 (2012–13) Women's Division Season 76 (2013–14) Chess Season 72 (2009–10) Swimming Season 80 (2017–18) Fencing Season 81 (2018-19) Juniors Division Season 76 (2013–14) Basketball Men's Division Juniors Division Football Men's Division NCAA Men's Division NCAA Basketball Mythical 5 Juniors Division From 1924 (NCAA maiden season) to 2015 in the UAAP, Ateneo has formed 86 men's varsity basketball teams. From these teams, about 300 Ateneo student athletes have donned the Blue and White jersey. Of these 300 basketball players, some have experienced multiple championships during their time as Blue Eagles. Here is the incomplete list of players who were multiple champions: Some Ateneo athletes were into multi-sports. They were members of several varsity teams of different sports. Here is an incomplete list of these multi-sports varsity athletes: Dual Sports Triple Sports Quadruple Sports Basketball UAAP Finals In Philippine collegiate varsity basketball, players scoring 30 points or more are rare. There are only six players in the new (third) millennium that have scored 30 points or more in the UAAP Finals. All are from Ateneo, three Blue Eagles and three Blue Eaglets. NCAA – UAAP Elimination Rounds Ateneo vs. La Salle Pre and post season Tournaments Scoring 30 points or more in volleyball is harder since every score is worth one point only. In basketball, there are 1-point, 2-point and 3-point shots. Ateneo has a phenomenal volleyball player who has scored 30 points or more, 12 times in her collegiate varsity career. Her name is Alyssa Valdez, AB 2015. Alyssa Valdez "UAAP" UAAP Season 74 Second Round Elimination January 21, 2012 Filoil Flying V Arena, San Juan City Ateneo vs National University 30 pts. (26 spikes / 1 block / 3 service aces) UAAP Season 75 Second Round Elimination January 20, 2013 Filoil Flying V Arena, San Juan City Ateneo vs. Adamson University 35 pts. (31 spikes / 3 blocks / 1 service ace) UAAP Season 77 Second Round Elimination January 28, 2015 Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay City Ateneo vs. Adamson University 30 pts. (24 spikes / 2 blocks / 4 service aces) UAAP Season 78 Finals Game 2 April 27, 2016 Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay City Ateneo vs. La Salle 34 pts. (32 spikes / 1 block / 1 service ace) UAAP Season 78 Finals Game 3 April 30, 2016 Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Ateneo vs. La Salle 31 pts. (30 spikes / block / service ace) "Preseason Tournaments" Shakey's V-League Season 9 1st Conference Finals June 5, 2012 Filoil Flying V Arena, San Juan City Ateneo vs University of Santo Tomas 31 pts. (22 spikes / 1 block / 8 service aces) Shakey's V-League Season 11 Open Conference July 10, 2014 Filoil Flying V Arena, San Juan City Ateneo vs Philippine Air Force 32 pts. (26 spikes / 4 blocks / 2 service aces) Shakey's V-League Season 11 Open Conference July 20, 2014 Filoil Flying V Arena, San Juan City Ateneo vs University of the Philippines 31 pts. (28 spikes / 1 block / 2 service aces) "International Tournaments" 1st (2015) Asian U23 Women's Volleyball Championship May 1, 2015 PhilSports Arena, Pasig City Philippines vs Iran 31 pts (25 spikes / 6 service aces) Shakey's V-League Season 11 Open Conference July 31, 2014 Filoil Flying V Arena, San Juan City Ateneo vs Cagayan Valley 30 pts. (25 spikes / 2 blocks / 3 service aces) Shakey's V-League Season 11 Open Conference August 14, 2014 Filoil Flying V Arena, San Juan City Ateneo vs National University 32 pts. (19 spikes / 6 blocks / 7 service aces) Shakey's V-League Season 12 Collegiate Conference August 1, 2015 Filoil Flying V Arena, San Juan City Ateneo vs College of St Benilde 32 pts. (26 spikes / 1 block / 5 service aces) "Fund Raising Games" Battle of the Rivals July 16, 2017 Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay City Ateneo vs. La Salle 36 pts. (32 spikes / 1 block / 3 service aces) Marck Jesus Espejo "UAAP" UAAP Season 76 First Round Elimination January 11, 2014 Filoil Flying V Arena, San Juan City Ateneo vs. La Salle 33 pts. (27 spikes / blocks / service ace) UAAP Season 77 Game 1 Finals March 4, 2015 Smart Araneta, Cubao, Quezon City City Ateneo vs. National University 31 pts. (28 spikes / 1 block / 2 service aces) UAAP Season 78 First Round Elimination February 14, 2016 Filoil Flying V Center, San Juan City Ateneo vs. La Salle 35 pts. (30 spikes / 4 blocks / 1 service ace) UAAP Season 80 First Round Elimination February 21, 2018 Filoil Flying V Center, San Juan City Ateneo vs. Adamson 31 pts. (26 spikes / 3 blocks / 2 service aces) UAAP Season 80 First Round Elimination February 25, 2018 Filoil Flying V Center, San Juan City Ateneo vs. UP 30 pts. (21 spikes / 5 blocks / 4 service aces) UAAP Season 80 Second Round Elimination March 17, 2018 Filoil Flying V Center, San Juan City Ateneo vs. FEU 39 pts. (38 spikes / blocks / service aces) UAAP Season 80 Second Round Elimination March 24, 2018 Filoil Flying V Center, San Juan City Ateneo vs. UP 30 pts. (25 spikes / 3 blocks / 2 service aces) UAAP Season 80 Game 1 Final Four April 21, 2015 Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay City Ateneo vs. FEU 55 pts. (47 spikes / 6 blocks / 2 service aces) UAAP Season 80 Game 2 Final Four April 25, 2015 Filoil Flying V Arena, San Juan City Ateneo vs. FEU 37 pts. (34 spikes / 3 blocks / service aces) Ateneo is one of the schools in the Philippines where one will find true student-athletes. It is a school whose academic standard is the same for all its students, athletes and non-athletes. This policy has resulted in not a few athletes being dropped from enrolment by the school. On the other hand, the same policy has challenged some of the athletes to excel in both academics and sports. They graduated with Latin honors. Here are some of the student-athletes who excelled in both academics and sports: The moniker "Phenom" was first used by Jamike Jarin, the high school varsity basketball coach of Ateneo in the late 2000s to describe one of his players. The moniker caught the attention of the sports press and Ateneo fans who then started to also call other outstanding student athletes of Ateneo as phenomenons or "phenoms".<ref name="Ateneo lady eagles/four-phenoms">Lady Eagles</ref> These athletes earned this moniker because they had outstanding athletic careers in their chosen field of sports in high school. They were team captains, MVPs and members of their school's champion high school varsity team. In collegiate varsity, they were all in the starting line-up in their rookie year. To date, there are seven Ateneo student athletes who have been dubbed as "Phenoms": Basketball Football Volleyball \| Badminton \| Taekwondo \| Swimming There have been instances when brothers or sisters were / are teammates. Below is an incomplete list of sibling teammates in various varsity teams: Football In the late 1950s, the sports press started referring to the team captain of the Ateneo men's varsity basketball team as the King Eagle. The sports scribes got this name from the school's fight song, "Blue Eagle – The King", which they hear being sung by the Ateneo gallery during the games when the Blue Eagles were still playing in the NCAA. Edgardo "Ed" Ocampo of the back-to-back 1957 and 1958 NCAA champions Ateneo Blue Eagle team was the first team captain to be called King Eagle by the press. Here is a partial list of the Ateneo men's varsity basketball team King Eagles. Basketball The Ateneo Blue Eagles have contributed eight basketball players to the Philippine national teams to the Olympics during the years from 1936 to 1972. During this 37-year period, the Olympics was held eight times but Philippine basketball participated only in seven of the eight. The Philippines did not qualify in 1964. While the Blue Eagles did not actually contribute players to each of the seven Olympic events during said period, their contribution roughly comes out to an average of one player per Olympic event without counting thrice Ed Ocampo who was selected to play in three Olympic stagings. The Blue Eagles could have given more players to the national cause if not for the Philippines not qualifying or participating in the basketball event after the 1972 Olympics . Here are the names of the "Blue Olympians". Olympic Years 1936 1960 1968 1972 Swimming 2016 Basketball Men's Division Women's Division Juniors Division Men's Division Women's Division Football Men's Division Baseball Men's Division Trivia on basketball coaches As of 2018, the Blue Eagles have had 40 basketball coaches. Tab Baldwin is the 40th. Below are the names of 28 of these coaches: Jesuit priests (5 American and 1 Filipino): Lay Americans – graduates of US Jesuit schools: Former Blue Eagles who coached the Blue Eagles: Ateneo Blue Eagles The Ateneo Blue Eagles is the collegiate men's varsity basketball team of the Ateneo de Manila University that plays in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), the
who won last year's ncaa women's basketball	"UCLA Bruins" the early days of the school, UCLA had the same colors as the University of California, Berkeley; Yale blue and gold. When football coach Red Sanders came to UCLA for the 1949 season he redesigned the football uniforms. The Yale blue was changed to a lighter shade of blue. Sanders figured that the baby blue would look better on the field and in a film. He would dub the baby blue uniform "Powderkeg blue", powder blue with an explosive kick. For the 1954 football season, Sanders added a gold loop on the shoulders, the UCLA Stripe. UCLA still uses different color blues. They have an alternate uniform that is predominately Navy. Their helmet has the UCLA script in Royal. The 2010 team, under head coach John Savage, won the Los Angeles Regional and Super-Regional, and was the first team to win 48 games in a season. The Bruins joined seven other teams in the 2010 College World Series and finished in second place, behind the University of South Carolina Gamecocks. The 2011 team won the Pac-10 Conference title. The 2013 team won UCLA's 109th NCAA Championship and their first in baseball in the 2013 College World Series by beating Mississippi State 3–1 and 8–0. Many UCLA baseball players have gone on to play in Major League Baseball (MLB). In the 2009 World Series, Chase Utley hit two home runs to help the Philadelphia Phillies win Game 1. There were a total of four former UCLA baseball players in the 2009 playoffs: Philadelphia's Ben Francisco and Chase Utley, Colorado's Garrett Atkins, and St. Louis' Troy Glaus, who was the 2002 World Series MVP for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Chris Chambliss and Gerrit Cole were No. 1 overall picks in the MLB drafts. Trevor Bauer was drafted as the No. 3 pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 6, 2011. Former UCLA shortstop Brandon Crawford hit a grand-slam home run in his major-league debut with the San Francisco Giants on May 27, 2011, and helped the Giants to win the 2012 Major League World Series. Cole debuted with the Pittsburgh Pirates by winning his first four games he pitched and also drove in two runs with a single in his first at-bat in the 2013 major league. Several of the most revered championships were won by the Men's Basketball team under coaches John Wooden and Jim Harrick. The rich legacy of UCLA basketball has produced 11 NCAA championships – 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, and 1995. From 1971 to 1974, UCLA won 88 consecutive men's basketball games, an NCAA record for men. Recent UConn Huskies women's basketball teams have set overall NCAA basketball records with 90-game and (ongoing) 91-game winning streaks. The 35-year period (1940–1974) preceding and including the UCLA streak was characterized by less dynasties, however: 20 different men's teams won titles during that span. In comparison, the women's game to date has produced 35% less (tournament) parity, with 13 schools winning all 35 titles offered since its inception. Past rosters of UCLA basketball teams have included greats such as Rafer Johnson who was the 1960 Olympic Decathlon Champion, Gail Goodrich, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then known as Lew Alcindor), Bill Walton, Reggie Miller and Walt Hazzard. The Bruins also had a winning record for 54 consecutive seasons from the 1948–1949 season to the 2001–2002 season. In recent years, UCLA Men's Basketball has returned to prominence under Coach Ben Howland. Between 2006 and 2008, UCLA has been to three consecutive Final Fours, while UCLA's players have received numerous awards, most notably Arron Afflalo, a 2007 First-Team All American and the Pac-10 Player of the Year, and Kevin Love, a 2008 First-Team All American and the Pac-10 Player of the Year. UCLA has produced the most NBA Most Valuable Player Award winners, six of them by Abdul-Jabbar and one by Walton, who was Abdul-Jabbar's successor. In March 2013, UCLA relieved head men's basketball coach Ben Howland of his duties after UCLA dropped an 83–63 decision to Minnesota in a second-round game of the NCAA Tournament. The current head coach is Steve Alford, former coach at New Mexico and Iowa. He won a NCAA championship as a player under Bobby Knight at Indiana. In the 1977–78 season, the women's basketball team, with a 27–2 record, were the AIAW Champions under head coach Billie Moore. The 2014–15 team won the 2015 WNIT championship by defeating the West Virginia Mountaineers 62–60 on April 4, 2015. The UCLA Bruins men's cross country team appeared in the NCAA Tournament thirteen times, with their highest finish being 5th place in the 1980–81 and 1981–82 school years. The UCLA Bruins women's cross country team appeared in the NCAA Tournament eleven times, with their highest finish being 6th place in the 1985–86 school year. In 1954, the UCLA football team earned a share of the national title with a 9–0 record and a #1 ranking in the UPI football poll, while Ohio State was ranked #1 in the AP Poll. Owing to rules in place at the time, UCLA was unable to face off against Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, which would have resulted in one or the other being declared national champion. The Bruins have played in the Rose Bowl Game 12 times, winning 5 of them. The Bruins have won or shared the conference title 17 times. Among the many former UCLA football stars are Jackie Robinson (better known for his exploits as a baseball player, but nevertheless a 4-sport letterman and All-American), Heisman Trophy winner Gary Beban, Bob Waterfield, Troy Aikman, Carnell Lake, and Tommy Maddox. One of the great moments in recent history for the Bruins came on December 2, 2006, when they beat USC 13–9 in one of the greatest upsets in the rivalry. The Bruins are the Pac-12 Conference South Division Champions for two years in a row and played in both the 2011 and 2012 Pac-12 Football Championship Games. UCLA became the first school to have a top winner in both basketball and football in the same year with Gary Beban winning the Heisman Trophy and Lew Alcindor (now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) winning the U.S. Basketball Writers Association player of the year award in 1968. 15 football players and coaches have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, John Sciarra being the latest inductee in the Class of 2014. A notable player and alumnus of the UCLA football team is current "NCIS" star, actor Mark Harmon. Winner of the "all-around excellence" award, Harmon led his team to victory several times as the quarterback. The current head coach is Chip Kelly. Kelly was hired on November 25, 2017. The UCLA Bruins men's football team have an NCAA Division I FBS Tournament record of 16–19–1 through thirty-six appearances. The UCLA Bruins men's golf team has won two NCAA Championships, in 1988 and 2008. In the 2008 national championship, the team was led by senior Kevin Chappell, who won the respective individual title. In that championship, UCLA won by one shot over USC, and by two shots over Stanford. In 2009, UCLA came first in the NCAA Central Regional, pulling off their third regional championship in the last seven years. With that victory, the defending national champions, advanced to their seventh consecutive NCAA Championship, a school record. For 2011, the Bruins were first in stroke play before losing in the match play of the national championship tournament; and freshman golfer Patrick Cantlay was named GCAA Division I Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award, the fourth player from UCLA. Cantlay was also the National Freshman of the Year, winning the Phil Mickelson Award in addition to being the Pac-10 Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. Chappell won National Player of the Year in 2008, Corey Pavin in 1982 and Duffy Waldorf in 1985. At the 2011 U.S. Open, Chappell was the low American (tie with Robert Garrigus) and Cantlay was the low amateur. The team has won five Pac-12 Conference championships: 1982, 1983, 1985, 2003, 2006 and has had numerous individual conference champions the first of which was Peter Laszlo in 1970. The women's team won the national championship in 1971 (DGWS), 1991, 2004 and 2011. In 2014, sophomore Alison Lee won the inaugural ANNIKA Award, which was created to honor the women's collegiate player of the year as chosen by a vote of coaches, college golfers, and members of the media. In 2016, junior Bronte Law won the prestigious award as well. The women's program also has many notable professional alumnae on tour, including British Open Champion Mo Martin, Sydnee Michaels, and Mariajo Uribe. Former Bruin golf professionals include Scott McCarron, John Merrick, Corey Pavin, and Duffy Waldorf. Bruin alum Brandt Jobe tied for second at the 2011 Memorial Tournament. Maiya Tanaka, a member of the UCLA Women's Golf team from 2007–09, is competing with her sister Misa on The Amazing Race Season 20. The women's gymnastics team has won seven NCAA Women's Gymnastics championships under head coach Valorie Kondos Field, including championships in 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2010, and 2018. Two NCAA Men's Gymnastics championships (1984 and 1987) were won by the men's team before the program was discontinued. Some notable former UCLA gymnasts include current stuntwoman Heidi Moneymaker and U.S. Olympic Team members Samantha Peszek, Jamie Dantzscher, Mohini Bhardwaj, Kate Richardson, Tasha Schwikert, Kristen Maloney, Yvonne Tousek, Stella Umeh, Luisa Portocarrero, Tim Daggett, Mitch Gaylord, and Peter Vidmar. 2008 Canadian Olympic Gymnastics team member Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs attended UCLA and was a member of the team for the 2008–2009 season. The team took home its 15th Pac-10 Gymnastics Championship on March 27, 2009. Most recently, on April 23, 2010, the team won their 6th National Championship in Gainesville, Florida; the win brought the total number of national championships for UCLA to 105. At the 2015 NCAA National Championship, Samantha Peszek was the All Around co-champion and the balance beam champion. At the 2018 NCAA National Championship, Christine 'Peng Peng' Lee and Katelyn Ohashi won individual event titles on balance beam and floor exercise, respectively along with the team title. Men Since the beginning of the men's soccer tournament in 1959, UCLA has won national championship in 1985, 1990, 1997, and 2002; and finished second in 1970, 1972, 1973, and 2006. The men's soccer team won the 2008 Pacific-10 Conference championship and received the conference's automatic bid in the NCAA National Championship Tournament, their 26 consecutive appearances. The conference title makes it the sixth title in 9 years. Three UCLA alumni – Frankie Hejduk, Sigi Schmid and Mike Lapper – helped the Columbus Crew to win its first-ever Major League Soccer title by defeating the New York Red Bulls 3–1 in the 2008 MLS Cup. Cobi Jones, USA's most capped national player, played for UCLA. Also, four former Bruin players, Carlos Bocanegra, Benny Feilhaber, Jonathan Bornstein and Marvell Wynne, were on the U.S. men's national team squad that defeated No. 1 ranked Spain in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup semi-final. The UCLA Bruins men's soccer team have an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 74–41 through forty-five appearances. Women The women's soccer team has won the Pac-10 championships eight times since beginning play in 1993. It has appeared six times in the College Cup and made 12 appearances in the NCAA National Championship Tournament. They finished second three times (2000, 2004, and 2005). For the 2008 Women's Soccer Championships, the undefeated UCLA women's soccer team was named one of the four No. 1 seeds, the third time in program history. The Bruins advanced to the quarterfinals, where they defeated the Duke Blue Devils 6–1, to earn a spot in the College Cup semifinals. During the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, former player Lauren Cheney played for the U.S. women's national team and scored against North Korea. She scored the first goal and assisted on the winning goal in the semi-final against France to lead the USA to the finals. The UCLA Bruins women's soccer team have an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 66–19 through twenty-two appearances. The Bruins have been 11-time NCAA champions, including the first one in 1982. Since then, they were second 7 times in the Women's College World Series (WCWS), last one in 2005. They won the World Series in 1978, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1999, 2003, 2004 and 2010. The 2010 title was guided by head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez, a former player and assistant coach. Former Bruin Natasha Watley went on to help the United States women's national softball team win a gold medal in the 2004 Olympics and a silver medal in 2008. Andrea Duran helped Team USA win a gold medal at the 2006 ISF World Championship and a silver medal at the 2008 Olympics. Other famous Bruin players include Lisa Fernandez (two time NCAA Champion and three time Olympic gold medalist) and Dot Richardson (NCAA Champion [1982] and Olympic medal winner). The UCLA men's tennis team defeated USC for the Pac-12 regular season title on April 17, 2016 at USC campus, and is shooting for the Pac-12 tournament title and a NCAA championship in the current season. The only school to have competed in every NCAA Men's Tennis Tournament, the team has won 16 national championships and 37 Pac-12 conference titles. Coach Billy Martin, who played at UCLA, has a 14 straight top 5 NCAA team finishes and a 9 consecutive 20-win seasons. He was named ITA (Intercollegiate Tennis Association) division 1 National Coach of the Year and is a member of ITA Hall of Fame. The 1950 men's tennis team won UCLA's first-ever NCAA Championship. Anita Kanter won the US girls tennis championship in 1951 as an 18-year-old sophomore at UCLA, as well as the 1951 National Hard Court Doubles and Mixed Doubles championships. In 2014, Marcos Giron became the school's 11th NCAA Men's Tennis Singles Champion, joining Jack Tidball (1933), Herbert Flam (1950), Larry Nagler (1960), Allen Fox (1961), Arthur Ashe (1965), Charles Pasarell (1966), Jeff Borowiak (1970), Jimmy Connors (1971), Billy Martin (1975), and Benjamin Kohlloeffel (2006). Mackenzie McDonald claimed the school's 12th individual singles championship and the schools's 12th doubles individual championship when he teamed with Martin Redlicki at the 2016 tournament. On May 28, 2018, Redlicki teamed with Evan Zhu for the school's 13th doubles championship. The women's team, which won national championships in 1981 (AIAW), 2008 and 2014, is coached by Stella Sampras the sister of Pete Sampras, who donated a scholarship at UCLA. Number of players have won the individual titles, including Keri Phebus (1995 Singles), Heather Ludloff and Lynn Lewis (1982 Doubles), Allyson Cooper and Stella Sampras (1988 Doubles), Mamie Ceniza and Iwalani McCalla (1992 Doubles), Keri Phebus and Susie Starrett (1995 Doubles), Daniela Bercek and Lauren Fisher (2004 Doubles), and Tracey Lin and Riza Zalameda (2008 Doubles). UCLA alumni in the ATP included Jimmy Connors, Arthur Ashe, Eliot Teltscher, Brian Teacher, Peter Fleming, Fritz Buehning, Jeff Borowiak, and Jean-Julien Rojer. Inducted into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Hall of Fame: (P – Player, C – Coach, Con. – Contributor) The UCLA-USC Dual Meet Hall of Fame inducted Willie Banks (triple-jump), John Brenner (shot put), Wayne Collett (sprints) and Seilala Sua (shot put and discus) into the hall's first class in 2009. Other notable team members are: Rafer Johnson, Dwight Stones, C. K. Yang. When Meb Keflezighi was running for UCLA, he won four NCAA championships in one year, including the cross-country title, the 10,000 meters outdoors and the 5,000 meters indoors and outdoors titles in track. At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, Meb ran to a second-place finish and winning the silver medal in the marathon with a then personal-best time of 2:11.29. In 2009, he became the first American to win the New York City Marathon in 17 years. At the 2014 Boston Marathon, he became the first American to win the men's race since 1983 with the time of 2:08.37. He paid tribute to the victims of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings by writing their names on his running bib. The UCLA men's team won 19 NCAA titles, all under Al Scates, who coached the Bruins for 48 years. The Bruins also won 5 USVBA titles prior to the sport being sanctioned by the NCAA, two of these under Scates. John Speraw became head coach of the men's program following the retirement of Scates in 2012. Former player Karch Kiraly (1983) was inducted into the College Sports Information Directors of America (COSIDA) Academic All-America Hall of Fame. Andy Banachowski led UCLA to six national championships (3 NCAA-1984, 1990, 1991; 2 AIAW-1974, 1975; and 1 DGWS-1972). The women's team played in 6 DGWS/AIAW championship games, has made 12 NCAA Final Four appearances, and has won 4 NCAA titles. Most recently, the women's team defeated Illinois to claim the 2011 NCAA title, twenty years after their previous title run. The UCLA Bruins women's volleyball team have an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 90–32 through thirty-five appearances. The beach volleyball team won its first national title on May 6, 2018 by defeating Hawaii and Florida State at Gulf Beach Place, Gulf Shores, Alabama. The women's team has captured 7 of the championships since it became an NCAA sponsored event. They also won non-NCAA national titles in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2000. The men's team were champions 9 times and as runner-up 9 times. Four UCLA water polo alumni and former coach Guy Baker were members of the USA women's and men's teams participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Natalie Golda (now Benson) and Jaime Hipp were members of the women's team, while Adam Wright and Brandon Brooks were on the men's team. Both teams won a silver medal. Sean Kern, Coralie Simmons, Natalie Golda, Kelly Rulon, Kelly Kathleen Hall and Courtney Mathewson won many prestigious individual award in American collegiate water polo. The then No. 2-ranked men's water polo team opened the newest athletic facility at UCLA, the Spieker Aquatics Center, with a win over the No. 7-ranked UC Irvine Anteaters, 10–4, on Saturday, September 26, 2009. The center hosted the MPSF Women's Water Polo Championship Tournament April 30 – May 2, 2010 and the MPSF Men's Water Polo Championship Tournament November 25–27, 2011. In 2009, the men's team defeated #1 ranked USC and #3 ranked California for the MPSF tournament championship to advance to the NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship. On February 28, 2010, the women's team played the longest match in NCAA women's water polo history, winning 7–6 over California at the UC Irvine Invitational. On December 7, 2014, the men's team defeated 3rd-seed USC 9–8 to win its ninth NCAA National Championship at UC San Diego's Canyonview Aquatic Center at La Jolla, California. On December 6, 2015, the men's team once again defeated USC, 10–7, to win back-to-back NCAA championships and finish with a perfect season at 30–0 on the UCLA campus. Outstanding goalkeeper and MPSF Player of the Year Garrett Danner won the prestigious Cutino Award, the second Bruin to do so. On October 9, 2016, the men's team defeated UC Davis to set an NCAA record of 52 straight wins. On October 22, 2016, the men's team defeated the Cal Bears to improve their NCAA record to 54 straight wins. On December 3, 2017, the men's team defeated rival Southern California, 7-5, to capture their third National Championship in four years. The win also pulled the Bruins even with fellow PAC-12 school Stanford University for the most NCAA team championships in school history, both schools with 114 each. Earlier in the day, the Cardinal had pulled ahead when their women's soccer team defeated the Bruins' women's team 3-2. The lead lasted less than six hours. Stanford subsequently won their 115th NCAA team championship, in men's soccer. The UCLA Bruins men's water polo team have an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 47–23 through thirty-four appearances. Although the men's team was cut in 1994, the women's team currently trains at Spieker Aquatics Center under head coach Cyndi Gallagher. As of May 22, 2018, UCLA has won 116 NCAA team championships, second to Stanford's 117. The totals do not include any football championships at the FBS level. In addition, UCLA has won 136 total national team championships—more than any other university. The thirteenth most recent championships came on May 6, 2018 (1st beach volleyball), April 21, 2018 (7th women's gymnastics title), December 3, 2017 (11th men's water polo title: defeated crosstown rival USC, 7–5), December 6, 2015 (10th men's water polo title: defeated crosstown rival USC, 10–7), December 7, 2014 (9th men's water polo title: defeated crosstown rival USC, 9–8), May 20, 2014 (2nd women's tennis title), December 8, 2013 (1st women's soccer team championship); June 25, 2013 (1st men's baseball team title); December 17, 2011 (4th women's volleyball team title); May 21, 2011 (3rd women's golf team title); June 2010 (11th women's softball team title); April 24, 2010 (6th women's gymnastics team title); and May 10, 2009 (7th women's water polo team title: defeated crosstown rival USC, 5–4). UCLA also secured three NCAA championships during the month of May 2008: on May 11, 2008 when UCLA defeated archrival USC, 6–3, for the Women's Water Polo Championship, on May 20, 2008 when the Bruins defeated California for the Women's Tennis Championship, and on May 31, 2008, when UCLA defeated archrivals Stanford and USC for the Men's Golf Championship. On May 13, 2007, UCLA became the first school to win 100 NCAA championships, defeating Stanford, 5–4, for the 2007 Women's Water Polo Championship. In the following 2007–08 sports season, some UCLA sports teams commemorated this achievement by replacing the blue letter 'C' on their uniforms with a gold 'C' ('C' is the Roman numeral for 100). The UCLA Bruins competed in the NCAA Tournament across 25 active sports (11 men's and 14 women's) 749 times at the Division I level. The Bruins of UCLA earned 117 NCAA championships at the Division I level. Results Below are eleven national championships that were not bestowed by the NCAA: Below are twenty-three national club team championships: UCLA had 273 Bruins win NCAA individual championships at the Division I level. Founded in 1934, UCLA rugby is one of the historically great college rugby teams. UCLA won 3 national championships, and amassed a 362–46–2 record from 1966 to 1982, but the program lost its varsity status in 1982. The Bruins play Division 1 college rugby in the PAC Rugby Conference. The Bruins are led by head coach Scott Stewart, who formerly played international rugby for Canada. The team plays its home games at North Athletic Field. UCLA rugby has been steadily improving in recent years. UCLA finished the 2010–11 season ranked 25th in the country. In the 2011–12 season UCLA placed second in the Pacific Conference, reached the quarterfinals of the 2012 men's national playoffs, and finished the season ranked 11th in the nation. During the 2012–13 season, UCLA finished second in the PAC conference, highlighted by a 50–38 win over 6th-ranked Utah, which propelled UCLA into a top-10 position in the national rankings. UCLA – along with fellow PAC schools Cal and Utah – was one of the original eight teams to form the Varsity Cup, which began play in 2013. UCLA reached the quarterfinals of the 2015 Varsity Cup, before losing to eventual champions BYU. UCLA has also been successful in rugby sevens. UCLA reached the quarterfinals of the 2012 Las Vegas Invitational college rugby sevens tournament. UCLA defeated Arizona State to finish third at the 2012 PAC 7s tournament. UCLA defeated Dartmouth to reach the semifinals of the 2013 Collegiate Rugby Championship at PPL Park in Philadelphia in a tournament broadcast live on NBC. UCLA again reached the semifinals of the 2014 Collegiate Rugby Championship, before losing, 17–20, to eventual champions Cal. UCLA won the 2014 West Coast 7s with a 14–12 upset victory over Cal in the final. The UCLA varsity men's badminton team won three national championships in 1977, 1981 and 1982. The 1977 squad was led by Chris Kinard, multiple winner of the U.S. Men's Singles Championship before and during his career at UCLA. Kinard is a member of the U.S. Badminton Hall of Fame. The women's varsity badminton team also won the AIAW intercollegiate championship in 1977. In 2014, UCLA named all of its recreation and athletics facilities in honor of Jackie Robinson, who was a four-sport student-athlete at the school and went on to play Major League Baseball as the first African American to do so in the league. The Jackie Robinson "42" Athletics and Recreation Complex monument was installed in front of the John Wooden Recreation Center and was unveiled on March 5, 2016. The school also retired number 42 which was the number Robinson worn as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Two notable sports facilities serve as home venues for UCLA sports. Since 1982, the Bruin football team has played home games at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. From 1923–81, including the Bruins' 1954 National Championship year, the team played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles. The men's and women's basketball, women's gymnastics and volleyball teams play at Pauley Pavilion on campus. The softball team plays on campus at Easton Stadium. Down the hill, the water polo teams, as well as the swim and dive teams, compete at Spieker Aquatics Center. For baseball, there is the Steele Field at Jackie Robinson Stadium, located close to campus. See also: Bel-Air Country Club, Drake Stadium, John Wooden Center, Los Angeles Tennis Center, Sunset Canyon Recreation Center, UCLA Marina Aquatic Center, Wallis Annenberg Stadium Mark Harmon, Lynn "Buck" Compton, Jackie Robinson, Rafer Johnson, Walt Hazzard, Gail Goodrich, Troy Aikman, Gary Beban, Kenny Easley, Tom Fears, Billy Kilmer, Bob Waterfield, Jimmy Connors, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lew Alcindor), Jamaal Wilkes, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Evelyn Ashford, Bill Walton, Kenny Washington, Arthur Ashe, Reggie Miller, Troy Glaus, Tim Daggett, Baron Davis, Stacey Nuveman, Lisa Fernandez, Amanda Freed, Tairia Flowers, Donna de Varona, Cobi Jones, Lauren Cheney, Sydney Leroux and Ann Meyers are just some of the notable athletic alumni. Its coaches have included Red Sanders, Tommy Prothro, Dick Vermeil, Terry Donahue, Al Scates, Adam Krikorian, Jonathan Bornstein, Andy Banachowski, Jim Harrick, and John Wooden. In addition to the success of its collegiate sports program, UCLA has been represented at the Olympics. In the 2004 Athens games, UCLA sent 56 athletes, more than any other university in the country. At the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Bruins won 15 medals, including 4 gold, 9 silver, and 2 bronze. Additionally, five coaches came from UCLA: Jill Ellis (women's soccer, gold), Guy Baker (women's water polo, silver), Bob Alejo (men's beach volleyball, gold), Jeannette Boldon (women's track and field, multiple medals), and John Speraw (men's volleyball, gold). The Bruin mascots are Joe and Josephine Bruin. There have been a number of editions of the bruins over the years, with the happy bruins as the favorites of the fans. The mean ones were retired. One of the old mascots has been retired to the Bruin Hall of Fame. They have participated in other events for UCLA besides athletic events. In 1984, the UCLA Alumni Association celebrated its 50th anniversary by presenting "The Bruin" statue, located at Bruin Plaza, to the university (see picture above). It was billed as the largest bear sculpture in the United States, at 10 feet long, 6 feet wide, 3 feet across and weighing more than 2 tons. The Solid Gold Sound of the UCLA Bruin Marching Band entertains the crowds at Bruin games. The school fight songs are "Sons of Westwood" and "The Mighty Bruins". The spirit squad includes the cheer squad, the dance team, and the yell crew in addition to the mascots. The UCLA alumni band is the official band of the gymnastics team at the school. UCLA shares a traditional sports rivalry with the nearby University of Southern California (USC). This rivalry is relatively unique in NCAA Division I sports because both schools are located within the same city, Los Angeles. The Lexus Gauntlet was the name given to a now defunct competition between UCLA and USC in the 18 varsity sports that both competed in head-to-head; in 2003, 2005, and 2007 UCLA won the Lexus Gauntlet Trophy, while the University of Southern California won the trophy in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2009. Competitions with official sponsorship were held from 2001 until the licensing contract ended in 2009. The annual football game features both teams vying for the Victory Bell. California and UCLA have met annually on the football field since 1939. Because UCLA was founded as the southern branch of the University of California, the series takes on the quality of a sibling rivalry. The series was dominated early by Cal, followed by dominance by UCLA in the 1950s until 80s, and has become more evenly matched recently. UCLA had a basketball rivalry with Notre Dame, with games played every year from 1966 to 1995. After UCLA's victory on February 7, 2009, UCLA leads the all-time series, 28–19. The performance of UCLA and Arizona influences the national opinion of the conference. In conjunction with the opening of the J.D. Morgan Athletics Center in November 1983, UCLA established an athletics Hall of Fame with 25 charter members representing a cross-section of the school's athletic history. Each year, a minimum of one and a maximum of eight former UCLA athletes, coaches or administrators are added to the Hall of Fame. Upon its 23rd year of existence, The Hall of Fame was moved to a new location facing Westwood Plaza. The new Hall of Fame is now double in size after its renovation and expansion, which was completed in the Winter of 2000. The first floor in the east wing of the new J.D. Morgan Athletics Center features the Athletics Hall of Fame and serves as the main entrance to the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. From 1993 to 1999 the school had an apparel contract with Reebok. In 1999, an agreement was reached with Adidas for six years, ending in June 2005. The deal was to provide equipment and apparel to UCLA's 21 intercollegiate teams. Additional terms of the deal included internship opportunities for UCLA students and an exclusive licensee for athletic replica wear. The reported monetary terms of the agreement included $1.625 million in cash and $1.3 million in equipment each year. In 2005, the deal was renewed for $2.6 million in cash and $1.6 million in equipment. Additional terms included one full-time Adidas employee on the UCLA campus, $2,500 each year for a "non-UCLA charitable" project selected by the Football or Basketball head coach, game tickets for Adidas executives, radio acknowledgements during games, and appearances by the Football and Basketball head coaches at Adidas events. In April 2010, a letter of intent to renew was reached between UCLA Athletics and Adidas. By June of that same year the terms of the deal were finalized but not published. In a report, UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero stated that the deal is for seven years and "will approach" the deal Adidas has with Michigan worth $7.5 million. In May 2016, UCLA signed a 15-year, 280 million deal with sportswear manufacturer Under Armour starting in the 2017–18 season. UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). For football, they are in the Football Bowl Subdivision of Division I (formerly Division I-A). UCLA is second to only Stanford University as the school with the most NCAA team championships at 116 NCAA team championships. UCLA offers 11 varsity sports programs for men and 14 for women. The
who won last year's ncaa women's basketball	"Princeton Tigers" best-known team within the Ivy League. It is nicknamed the "perennial giant killer," a nickname that it acquired during Pete Carril's coaching career from 1967–1996. Its most notable upset was the 1996 defeat of defending NCAA champion UCLA in the tournament's opening round, Carril's final collegiate victory. In 1989, the team almost became the only #16 seed to win, losing to Georgetown 50–49, after leading 29–21 at the half. During that 29-year span, Pete Carril won thirteen Ivy League championships and received eleven NCAA berths and two NIT bids. Princeton placed third in the 1965 NCAA Tournament and won the NIT championship in 1975. The deliberate "Princeton offense" is a legacy of his coaching career. It is employed by a number of other collegiate basketball teams. From 1992–2001, a nine-year span, the men's basketball team entered the NCAA tournament four times. Notably, the Ivy League has never had an at-large entry in the NCAA tournament. For the last half-century, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania have traditionally battled for men's basketball dominance in the Ivy League; Princeton had its first losing season in 50 years of Ivy League basketball in 2005. Princeton tied the record for fewest points in a Division I game since the 3-point line started in 1986–87 when they scored 21 points in a loss against Monmouth University on December 14, 2005. The 1924–25 team was retroactively named the national champion by the Helms Athletic Foundation and the Premo-Porretta Power Poll. Princeton's Varsity Women's basketball program is the strongest in the Ivy League, carrying on the tradition of the men's championship basketball program. At no time was the women's team better than it was in 2015, with a 31–0 record, a national NCAA Division 1 ranking among the top 25 teams, and entering the field of 32 teams remaining in the 2015 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament. Courtney Banghart, a Dartmouth graduate, is entering her tenth season as the Tigers' highly esteemed head coach. Soren Thompson fenced for Princeton University under Maître Michel Sebastiani, Thompson was the 2001 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Épée Champion, 2nd in 2002, and 3rd in 2005. His other NCAA awards include First Team All-American in 2001–02 and 2005, and Honorary All-American in 2003, First Team All-Ivy in 2001–03 and 2005, and Academic All-Ivy in 2005. In 2005, Princeton awarded him the William Winston Roper Trophy, its highest honor for a male athlete. The football team has competed since 1869 and played in the first game against Rutgers University. They have won 24 national championships when the school competed in what is now known as the FBS. Twenty-one former players have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. The first football game played between teams representing American colleges was an unfamiliar ancestor of today's college football because it was played under soccer-style London Football Association rules. The game, between Rutgers College (now Rutgers University) and the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), took place on November 6, 1869 at College Field (now the site of the College Avenue Gymnasium at Rutgers University) in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Rutgers won by a score of six "runs" to Princeton's four. The 1869 game between Rutgers and Princeton is notable because it is the first documented game of any sport called "football" between two American colleges. It is also noteworthy because it occurred two years before a codified rugby game would be played in England. The Princeton/Rutgers game was significantly different from American rules football today but, nonetheless, it was the first inter-collegiate football contest in the United States. Another similar game took place between Rutgers and Columbia University in 1870 and a third notable game took place between Tufts University and Harvard University in 1875. The popularity of intercollegiate competition in football would spread throughout the country shortly thereafter. Though Princeton is no longer a part of Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, the Tigers have the most overall national championships of any team in major college football history with 24 consensus and non-consensus national championships dating all the way back to their first one, shared with Rutgers, in 1869. Princeton's football helmets are also the basis for Michigan Wolverines football team's famed winged helmets, as introduced by Fritz Crisler, the coach at Princeton before he was hired as the coach of the University of Michigan. In addition to the varsity Tigers, Princeton, like a number of other Ivy League schools, also fielded a sprint football squad for players 172 pounds and lighter from 1934 to 2015. The lightweight Tigers won at least a share of the league title eight times, five of those being from between 1937 and 1942. Their last championship, split with the Army Cadets, came in 1989. The Tigers sprint squad collapsed in 1999, which began a losing streak that spanned parts of 17 seasons and 106 games (a collegiate football record), including at least four forfeits; by the end of the 2015 season, Princeton's athletics department determined that the addition of several schools whose sole football team was a sprint squad (and thus were teams that could get all of the best players at their respective schools) and the loss of most of the Ivy League schools, along with the inability of Princeton to recruit more and better players for the team without compromising its other athletic programs or its academic standards, meant that the team would likely be hopelessly outmatched and that this would pose a safety hazard for the players they could recruit. This conclusion led Princeton to drop sprint football in April 2016. The men's golf team have won 12 national championships: 1914, 1916, 1919–20, 1922–23, 1927–30, 1937, and 1940 (tied with LSU). They have had seven NCAA individual champions: Louis Bayard, Jr. (1987), Percy Pyne (1899), Frank Reinhart (1903), Albert Seckel (1909), Simpson Dean (1921) and George Dunlap (1930 and 1931). They have won the Ivy League title 29 times: 1928, 1930, 1938–39, 1947, 1961, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2013. The women's golf team was founded as a club sport in 1978, coached by Betty Whelan. A group called "Friends of Women's Golf" began fundraising immediately, and the group began lobbying for inclusion as a varsity sport. After ten years of being denied varsity status by the university, representatives from the team contacted the ACLU asking for assistance and raising the possibility of a lawsuit under the protections of Title IX of the Civil Rights Act. In 1991, the university committed to supporting a varsity women's golf program. After becoming a varsity team, women's golf too the Northeast championships in 1995, and Mary Moan won the first Ivy League individual championship in 1997. The team won its first Ivy League title in 1999. The university's men's lacrosse team has enjoyed significant success since the early 1990s and is widely recognized as a perennial powerhouse in the Division I ranks. The team has won thirteen Ivy League titles (1992, 1993, 1995–2004, 2006) and six national titles (1992, 1994, 1996–1998, 2001). The Princeton Tigers women's lacrosse team has enjoyed much success, winning 3 NCAA championships, tied for 3rd place with Virginia in the number of NCAA championships won.They won NCAA division 1 titles in 1994, 2002, and 2003. Their record in the NCAA tournament finals is 3–4. Rowing was introduced to Princeton in 1870 by a handful of undergraduates who bought two old boats with their own funds and formed an impromptu "navy" on the Delaware and Raritan Canal. The construction of Lake Carnegie in 1906 enabled the sport to expand and laid the foundation for today's rowing program at Princeton. More recently, an $8 million upgrade and expansion of the existing boathouse in 2000 formed Shea Rowing Center, one of the finest rowing facilities in the country. With 150 athletes, 60 rowing shells, and 12 coaches, trainers, and boat riggers, crew is the largest varsity sport at Princeton, and one of the most successful. In recent years, from 2000 through 2010, Princeton varsity crews (both men's and women's) won a total of 14 Eastern Sprints, IRA (national), and NCAA championships, as well as two international events at Henley Royal Regatta. The Princeton boathouse is often a summer base for U.S. national teams in training, and many Princeton rowers and coaches have gone on to compete at the World Rowing Championships and the Olympics. "Main article under construction: Princeton Tigers Men's Lightweight Crew" Ivy League Champions in 2004, 1979, 1977, 1973, 1971 and 1969. National champions in 1995 and 1996. Princeton women advanced to the Final Four in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2005. 32 Princeton women have been named All-Americans. Before the NCAA began its tournament in 1951, the annual national champion was declared by the Intercollegiate Association Football League (IAFL) — from 1911 to 1926 — and then the Intercollegiate Soccer Football Association (ISFA), from 1927 to 1958. From 1911 to 1958, Princeton won seven national championships. Princeton's softball team appeared in two Women's College World Series in 1995 and 1996. Princeton's men's and women's squash teams have earned a strong reputation during the past decade. The men have won the Ivy League championship from 2006–2008 and have placed second nationally in five of the past seven championships. On February 19, the Tigers defeated the Trinity Bantams in a 5–4 thriller. The Bantams had won the past 13 National Championship and up until a few weeks prior to the Championship, had won 252 matches straight (before falling to Yale 5–4). The Tigers were undefeated in the Ivy League in 2012 and won the Ivy League championship. They were also the winner of the Sloane Sportsmanship award. The men have a long history of success in the Ivy League, including recently having won the Ivy League Championship each year from 2009–2013 and 2015-2016. They are coached by the fearless leader C. Rob Orr. The 2015 title was the men's team's 30th title in program history. The program's history also includes NCAA relay titles in 1989 and 1990, and 1992 Olympic gold medalist Nelson Diebel. Led by Twitter celebrity, Rolls Boyce, the women have dominated the past decade. Princeton's women's track & field team has also enjoyed great success under Head Coach Peter Farrell. The men's volleyball program achieved varsity status in 1997 – though it had competed for two decades as a club sport before then – and competes in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association. From their inaugural varsity season until 2009, the team was coached by Glenn Nelson, who was also the head coach of the Princeton women's volleyball team. The Tigers have the honor of being one of only two teams since the formation of the EIVA in 1988 to win the EIVA championship and advance to the NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Championship, with every other title having been won by the Penn State Nittany Lions. The Tigers bested the Nittany Lions in the 1998 EIVA semifinals, then when on to beat Rutgers-Newark, thus winning the 1998 EIVA championship and automatically gaining a berth in the NCAA tournament. Since then, Princeton has failed to obtain the championship but has nevertheless remained competitive in its conference. Led by head coach Sam Shweisky, the Tigers have had relatively consistent success in the past five years, boasting a positive record for most years of his tenure. Furthermore, Princeton has had victories over five ranked opponents in that time, compared to only three in the previous three years. The Tigers have had three players earn All-American honors – Marin Gjaja '91, Derek Devens '98 and Cody Kessel '14. With a history of over a century, the Princeton Tiger Wrestling team began in 1905. The Princeton wrestling team competes in Dillon Gym, an arena once dominated by the historic basketball icon Bill Bradley. However, the Princeton wrestling team has plenty of historic moments within its own facilities. Jadwin Gym has served host to five previous EIWA Championships (1969, 1979, 1981, 1987 and 2012), as well as both the 1975 and 1981 "NCAA Wrestling Championships". The current head coach is Chris Ayres. Within Jadwin Gym is the Class of 1958 Wrestling Room, home of both the coaching staff and the practice mats. With 51 Princeton wrestlers have combined to make a total of 75 appearances at the "NCAA Wrestling Championships". Bradley Glass won the unlimited title in 1951, marking Princeton's only NCAA champion in the sport. Seven Princeton wrestlers have made three trips to the NCAAs The Wrestling tigers give out end of the season team awards for the following categories: Princeton has 24 NCAA team national championships. † The NCAA started sponsoring the intercollegiate golf championship in 1939, but it retained the titles from the 41 championships previously conferred by the National Intercollegiate Golf Association in its records. The stadium is Princeton University Stadium, which replaced Palmer Stadium. Baseball is played at Bill Clarke Field. Basketball is played at Jadwin Gymnasium. Ice hockey is played at Baker Rink. Soccer is played at Roberts Stadium. Lacrosse is played at Class of 1952 Stadium. The men's and women's volleyball teams and the wrestling team compete at Dillon Gymnasium. All crews train at Shea Rowing Center and compete on Lake Carnegie. The Rugby Team plays at Rickerson Field on West Windsor Fields. Princeton Tigers The Princeton Tigers are the athletic teams of Princeton University. The school sponsors 38 varsity sports. The school has won several NCAA national championships, including one in men's fencing, six in men's lacrosse, three in women's lacrosse, and eight in men's golf. Princeton's men's and women's crews have also won numerous national rowing championships. The field hockey team made history in 2012 as the first Ivy League team to win the Division I NCAA Championship
who won last year's ncaa women's basketball	"Duke Blue Devils" men's basketball team has won five (1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, and 2015), men's lacrosse has won three (2010, 2013 and 2014), and the men's soccer (1986) and women's tennis (2009) teams have won one each. Duke's major historic rival, especially in basketball, has been the Tar Heels of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (see "Duke-Carolina rivalry"). Duke has also captured 119 ACC Championships, 44 of which have come since 1999–2000 (through 2008–09). Duke's teams hold the longest streak of consecutive ACC Championships in women's tennis (14), women's golf (13), men's basketball (5), women's basketball (5) and volleyball (4, tied). The men's basketball (18), women's golf (16), and women's tennis (16) lead individual programs, while men's tennis (12), volleyball (9), football (7), men's cross country (7), men's lacrosse (7), men's golf (6), men's soccer (5), women's basketball (5), baseball (3), women's cross country (2) and women's lacrosse (1) have also captured titles. Duke boasts the most ACC Championships in women's golf, women's tennis, and men's basketball; the second most in men's tennis and volleyball; and third most in women's basketball, women's cross country and women's lacrosse. In the past five years, Duke has finished in the top 20 every year in the NACDA Director's Cup, an overall measure of an institution's athletic success. Most recently, Duke has finished 10th (2010), 17th (2009), 19th (2008), 11th (2007), eighth (2006), and fifth (2005). Duke has the smallest undergraduate enrollment of any institution that has been in the top 35 the past two years. Furthermore, Duke is the only school besides Stanford that has finished in the top 20 in the past three years that has fewer than 10,000 undergraduates. Duke teams that have been ranked in the top ten nationally in the 2000s include men's and women's basketball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's lacrosse, women's field hockey, and men's and women's golf. Eight of these teams were ranked either first or second in the country during 2004–05. According to a 2006 evaluation conducted by the NCAA, Duke's student-athletes have the highest graduation rate of any institution in the nation at 91%. Excluding students who leave or transfer in good academic standing, the graduation rate of student-athletes is 97%. In 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2011 Duke ranked first among Division I schools in the National Collegiate Scouting Association Power Rankings—a combination of the institution's Director's Cup standing, its athletic graduation rate, and its academic rank in "U.S. News & World Report." There have been allegations that, like most other schools examined such as North Carolina, Duke's graduation rate may be inflated or be a result of athletes gravitating to easier courses and majors, though many have taken issue with such claims. Duke University's men's basketball team is the fourth-winningest college basketball program of all-time, particularly since 1980 under head coach Mike Krzyzewski, who is nicknamed "Coach K". They have won the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship five times, all under Krzyzewski, which is second behind the University of North Carolina for any ACC team, and have been in 16 Final Fours. Seventy-one players have been drafted in the NBA Draft. Additionally, Duke has had an Academic All-American on the team fourteen years. Duke has 19 Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championships (1960, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1978, 1986, 1988, 1992, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011), the most of any team in the ACC (the University of North Carolina has 17). Duke also has been the top seed in the ACC tournament 19 times (1954, 1958, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2010). Duke is second, behind only UCLA, in total weeks ranked as the number one team in the nation by the AP with 110 weeks. The Blue Devils have the second longest streak in the AP Top 25 in history with 200 consecutive appearances from 1996 to 2007. This streak only trails UCLA's 221 consecutive polls from 1966–1980 as the longest of all-time. The streak ended with the AP poll released on February 12, 2007. During the 1990s and 2000s, the Duke women's basketball program has become a national powerhouse. Led by coach Gail Goestenkors from 1992–2007, Duke made ten NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearances, seven Elite Eight appearances, four Final Four appearances, and two appearances in the NCAA Championship game during her tenure. In the 2000–01 season, the Blue Devils posted a 30–4 record, won the ACC Tournament and ACC regular season championships, and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The 2001–02 season produced similar success. She led the Blue Devils to a 31–4 record and an NCAA Final Four appearance. Duke became the first ACC school to produce an undefeated 19–0 record in the ACC by winning the regular season and Tournament titles. Goestenkors led the Blue Devils to an ACC-record 35–2 ledger in the 2002–03 season and their second straight NCAA Final Four appearance. For the second consecutive year, Duke posted a 19–0 record against ACC opponents. In 2003–04, with Player of the year Alana Beard leading the way, the Blue Devils advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight, boasting a 30–4 record, and won a fourth-straight Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title and a fifth-straight ACC Tournament championship. Duke also broke the University of Connecticut's 76-game home winning streak with a 68–67 buzzer-beater victory in Hartford, Connecticut. The 2006–07 season ended with a 32–2 record and notched the school's first ever undefeated regular season (30–0). This also set an NCAA-record seventh straight 30-win season. Goestenkors is often known as the "winningest coach not to have won a championship", having finished runner-up two times in fifteen years. On April 18, 2007, Joanne P. McCallie, or Coach P, was introduced as the new coach of Duke's women's basketball team after Goestenkors left for the University of Texas. Through 2011, the Blue Devils have won seven ACC Championships, the third most in the ACC. The most famous Duke football season came in 1938, when Wallace Wade was head coach and the "Iron Dukes" were born. Wade shocked the college football world by leaving Alabama for Duke in 1930, later rationalizing the move by saying that Duke shared his belief that a school should provide its athletes with a strong academic background. Wade's success at Alabama (three national championships) translated well to Duke's program, most notably in 1938, when his "Iron Dukes" went unscored upon the entire regular season. Duke reached their first Rose Bowl appearance, where they lost 7–3 when USC scored a touchdown in the final minute of the game on a pass from a second-string quarterback to a third string tight end. Wade's Blue Devils lost another Rose Bowl to Oregon State in 1942, this one held at Duke's home stadium in Durham, North Carolina due to Pearl Harbor. Wade's achievements placed him in the Hall of Fame. The football program also had a string of successful years in the late 1980s when the team was coached by Steve Spurrier. Spurrier led the Blue Devils to three consecutive winning seasons from 1987–1989, culminating with the Blue Devils sharing the ACC title in 1989 and playing in the All-American Bowl, where the Blue Devils lost to Texas Tech. The 1989 ACC title was the last title won by a school in the state of North Carolina until Wake Forest won their second ACC crown in 2006. The team also rose to prominence in 1994, the first season under coach Fred Goldsmith. The team raced out to an 8–1 record, and was briefly ranked as high as #13 in the country before losing the last two games of the season 24–23 to North Carolina State and 41–40 to arch-rival North Carolina. The 1994 team played in the program's first New Years Day Bowl game since 1962, falling to Wisconsin 34–21 in the Hall of Fame Bowl, now known as the Outback Bowl. The Blue Devils are coached by David Cutcliffe, who had been head coach at Ole Miss and offensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee. They have won seven ACC Football Championships, which is the fourth most in the ACC trailing only Clemson, FSU, and Maryland. Ten ACC Football Players of the Year have come from Duke, the most in the ACC. Additionally, three 3 Pro Football Hall of Famers have come through Duke's program, second only to the Miami Hurricanes who have had 4 Hall of Famers, for the most in the ACC. Duke is consistently ranked at or near the top of the list of Division I-A schools which graduate nearly all of their football players. Duke has topped the list 12 years, earning it the most Academic Achievement Awards of any university. Notre Dame has been honored six times, while Boston College and Northwestern have won the award four times each. Nate Freiman ('09), who became a first baseman for the Oakland Athletics, holds Duke's career home run record (43), the Duke career slugging percentage record (.616), and the school's second-highest all-time batting average (.356). Megan Cooke is the head coach for Duke's rowing teams. Her husband Simon Carcagno is also part of the coaching staff. While the men's basketball team gets the most press, the women's golf team has recently been the most successful team on campus. In the 2000–2005 seasons, Duke's head-to-head record was 796–45–3, a winning percentage of .945. The team won national championships in 1999, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2014 as well as 13 consecutive ACC championships from 1995–2008. A number of successful professional golfers have gone through Duke's program. Jenny Chuasiriporn and Brittany Lang finished as runners-up in the U.S. Women's Open while still undergraduates in 1998 and 2005, respectively. Laetitia Beck, who won the Israeli championship at the age of 12 and was named ACC Rookie of the Year in 2011, played for the team. In 2014, Beck became the first Israeli to qualify for a major professional golf tour. The men's golf team has won 20 conference championships: Their best finish in the NCAA Championship was second place in 1947. Duke golfers who have had successful professional careers include Art Wall, Jr. (14 PGA Tour wins including the 1959 Masters Tournament), Mike Souchak (15 PGA Tour wins), Skip Alexander (three PGA Tour wins), Joe Ogilvie (one PGA Tour win, four Web.com Tour wins), and Kevin Streelman (two PGA Tour wins). The Duke men's golf team has been coached by Jamie Gree since January 9, 2009. T.D. Luton is the assistant coach. There are 9 players on their roster. Duke was ranked 7th in the U.S. by Golfweek in 2015. The men's lacrosse program has risen in prominence to challenge the traditional lacrosse powers such as Johns Hopkins, Maryland, Princeton, and Syracuse, as well as more recent contenders like North Carolina and Virginia. The team won the national title in 2010 after defeating Notre Dame 6–5 in overtime and won their second national title in 2013 after defeating Syracuse 16–10. The Blue Devils then repeated in 2014, defeating Notre Dame 11-9 to win their second straight national championship and third in five years. They also reached the championship game in 2005 and 2007. The men's lacrosse team gained national attention in the 2006 lacrosse incident, where members of the team were falsely accused of raping an exotic dancer at a team party. The investigation led to the cancellation of the 2006 season and the resignation of coach Mike Pressler. Contradictions in the accuser's many changing stories, unimpeachable alibi evidence provided by the players, and misconduct of then-Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong led to all charges being dropped and the attorney general declaring the players innocent. Nifong was later removed and disbarred due to his misconduct in the case, and the team members who lost their season were granted another year of eligibility. The team is in their second year of competing in the ACC. The 1986 team won the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. History Duke Women's Soccer was established in 1988 under head coach Bill Hempen, who was a Duke Men's soccer coach prior to this position. Hempen was assisted by Carla Overbeck, a previous player at UNC Chapel Hill. While at UNC, Overbeck remained unbeaten for four seasons, and won four national championships. In 1999, while coaching at Duke, Overbeck played in the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup as a captain. This team went on to win the world championship. In 2001, the Duke Women's Soccer program received a new head coach, Robbie Church, after Hempen decided to retire. Church was assisted by Overbeck and Billy Lesesne, who had coached with Church at Vanderbilt. In 2014, Lesesne left Duke for a head coaching job at Georgia, and was replaced by Erwin van Bennekom. In the 2015–2016 season, the Blue Devils women's soccer team made a run to the final of the Women's Soccer College Cup, which they lost to Penn State by a score of 1-0. Facilities The Blue Devils play on Koskinen Stadium. The Koskinen is also home to the men's soccer team, along with the men's and women's lacrosse teams. The stadium was dedicated in 1999 in honor of John and Patricia Koskinen. The stadium can hold around 7,000 fans. Kennedy Tower is a new addition to Koskinen Stadium. It was recently dedicated in 2015 in honor of Chris and Ana Kennedy. Chris is the Duke Senior Deputy Director of Athletes. The Kennedy Tower, offers press boxes and hospitality suites to the top of Koskinen Stadium. The teams locker rooms are in the Willam David Murray Building. The Duke Football team used to use the Murray Building from 1988–2002. Then the men's and women's soccer and lacrosse teams moved into the building. It houses the training room and weight room for all other Olympic Sports teams. Duke in the Pros Duke has had a number of players reach various professional leagues after their time at Duke. In the 2016 professional season, there are several Duke alums playing in the NWSL. Rebecca Moros, a Duke graduate in 2006, is playing in her 1st season with the New York Flash. During her time in the NWSP, she has also played with the Portland Thorns and FC Kansas City. She has also played in Japan as well for Kobe Leonessa. Mollie Pathman, who graduated from Duke in 2014, is playing for the Boston Breakers, entering into her 3rd season. Kim Decesare will be playing in her 2nd season with Sky Blue FC, after graduating from Duke. Decesare also played a season in Sweden with Eskilstuna United DFF. Natasha Anasi, who graduated in 2014, is playing for IBV of Iceland. NCAA Tournament Results "Sources" The following alumni of the Duke Women's Soccer program received NSCAA All-American honors: NSCAA All-American alum Kelly Walbert was also named ACC Player of the Year in 1995; All-American Andi Melde received this honor in 1997. Casey McCluskey was named ACC Offensive Player in 2004. Carolyn Ford was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2005, and Natasha Anasi in 2011. ACC Rookies of the Year from Duke include Isis Dallis (1997), Casey McCluskey (2005), and Cassie Pecht (2012). At least 22 players received ACC All-Freshman honors, and at least 24 more received All-ACC honors. In 2012, Natasha Anasi was a semi-finalist for the MAC's Hermann Trophy. Duke is a Division I field hockey program. The field hockey program was established in 1971. Duke field hockey participates in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium is home to the Duke Field Hockey team. The facility is located on the University's East campus at 705 Broad St., Durham, NC. The facility was completed in 1996 and then was renovated on 2011. Jack Katz stadium boasts, a top notch water system, state of the art sound system and scoreboard, bleachers, a pressbox, LED lighting system, and facilities for players and coaches. The team is coached by Dan Colella. In 1929 the Blue Devil Wrestling team was founded. The team competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and is coached by Oklahoma State University 1988 graduate Glen Lanham. Ed Newman, who went on to a 12-year NFL career in football, won All Conference honors twice as a heavyweight wrestle, and twice won the ACC heavyweight championship. The team competes on campus in the Card Gymnasium. In 2009, heavyweight Konrad Dudziak became Duke's first All-American placing 2nd in 2009 and 4th in 2010. Conner Hartmann became the program's first three-time All-American, finishing 5th in 2014, 6th in 2015, and 7th in 2016. Duke's best finish at the NCAA Tournament was 22nd in 2018. Duke has 16 NCAA team national championships. The following Duke athletes have been honored as an ACC Athlete of the Year. The men's award, the Anthony J. McKelvin Award, began when the ACC was formed in 1954. The women's award, the Mary Garber Award, began in 1990. There have been numerous All-Americans in Duke University history. As of March 2006, 307 athletes have been honored 470 times as All-Americans. In men's sports, this status has been achieved 297 times by 204 athletes. In women's sports, it has occurred 172 times by 103 athletes. The breakdown for men's sports is as follows (times, number of different athletes): baseball (13, 8); basketball (55, 31); cross country (3, 2); fencing (9, 5); football (60, 53); golf (12, 9); lacrosse (57, 37); soccer (42, 28); swimming and diving (3, 3); tennis (26, 15); track and field (17, 13); wrestling (3, 2). The breakdown for women's sports is as follows (times, number of different athletes): basketball (14, 8); cross country (8, 6); fencing (4, 2); field hockey (19, 12); golf (31, 16); lacrosse (23, 11); rowing (5, 3); soccer (10, 8); swimming and diving (1, 1); tennis (36, 22); track and field (15, 9); volleyball (7, 5). Note: * indicates Duke coach at time of participation in Olympics In 2008, five Duke graduates qualified for the Olympic marathon trials, more than any other university. As World War I ended, Duke's Board of Trustees, then called the "Trinity College Board of Trustees", lifted their quarter century ban of football on campus leading to an interest in naming the athletic teams. The team was then known as the Trinity Eleven, the Blue and White, or the Methodists (as opposed to the Baptists of nearby rival Wake Forest University). Because of the ambiguity, the student newspaper, the "Trinity Chronicle" (now called "The Chronicle") launched a campaign to create a new mascot. Nominations for a new team name included Catamounts, Grizzlies, Badgers, Dreadnaughts, and Captains. The Trinity Chronicle editor narrowed the many nominations down to those that utilized the school colors of dark blue and white. The narrowed list consisted of Blue Titans, Blue Eagles, polar bears, Blue Devils, Royal Blazes, and Blue Warriors. None of the nominations proved to be a clear favorite, but the name Blue Devils elicited criticism that could potentially engender opposition on campus. These fears were partly alleviated when it was revealed that the name was military and patriotic rather than anti-religious; the name actually refers to the "Chasseurs Alpins", also known as ""les diables bleus"" ("The Blue Devils"), a French military unit which had impressed many Duke students and alumni returning home from the Western Front. The nickname of the "Chasseurs Alpins" was derived from the blue jacket and blue-grey breeches worn as part of their World War I-era uniform. Even with this explanation, however, that year's football season passed with no official selection. During the 1922–1923 academic year, campus student leaders and the editors of the two other student publications, "The Archive" and "The Chanticleer", decided that the newspaper staff should decide the name on their own because the nomination process had proved inconclusive. Editor-in-chief William H. Lander and managing editor Mike Bradshaw began referring to the athletic teams as the Blue Devils. Though the name was not officially used that year, no opposition to the name arose. "The Chronicle"'s staff continued to use the name and eventually "Blue Devils" became the official mascot and nickname of the Duke athletics program. Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the athletic teams that represent Duke University, featuring 27 varsity teams in the NCAA Division I. The name comes from the French "les Diables Bleus" or "the Blue Devils," which was the nickname given during World War I
who won last year's ncaa women's basketball	"Connecticut Huskies women's basketball" the two longest winning streaks (men's or women's) in college basketball history. The longest streak, 111 straight wins, started with a win against Creighton on November 23, 2014, and ended on March 31, 2017 when a buzzer-beater at the end of overtime caused a 66-64 loss in the 2017 NCAA Final Four to Mississippi State. The second streak counts 90 consecutive wins, including two undefeated seasons (2008–09 and 2009–10), and was delimited by two losses against Stanford, the first on April 6, 2008 in the National Semifinals of the NCAA Tournament, and the second – three seasons later – on December 19, 2010. UConn's current head coach is Luigi "Geno" Auriemma, who joined the team in 1985. Coach Auriemma is one of the best coaches in college basketball: his 1027–135 () record represents the highest winning percentage among NCAA basketball coaches (minimum 10 seasons), any level, men's or women's, while ranking him third in all-time women's wins behind former Tennessee coach Pat Summitt and current Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer. UConn has also been one of the leaders in women's basketball attendance; the team plays its home games at both the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs and the XL Center in Hartford. After just one winning season in 10 years under coaches Sandra Hamm (1974–75), Wanda Flora (1975–80) and Jean Balthaser (1980–85), UConn hired as their new head coach the Italian-born Geno Auriemma, who had served as assistant coach at Virginia, with the goal of revitalizing the program. Auriemma's training skills had an immediate impact and the team showed steady signs of progress: after going 12–15 in his first season in 1985–86, Auriemma led UConn to winning seasons in 1986–87 and 1987–88. Auriemma pulled off one of his biggest and most important early recruiting successes in 1987 when he convinced an All American from New Hampshire, Kerry Bascom, to come to UConn. Bascom had an immediate impact on the UConn program: in 1989 she won the Big East Player of the Year award as a sophomore (she also won the award in her junior and senior years) and led UConn to its first Big East regular season and Tournament title, along with its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance; the tournament ended in a first round loss. With Bascom and teammates Laura Lishness, Megan Pattyson, Wendy Davis and Debbie Baer, UConn reached the NCAA Tournament again in 1990, losing 61–59 to Clemson in the second round after a first-round bye. In Auriemma's 6th season (1990–91) the program broke through on the national scene, again capturing the Big East regular season and Tournament titles, and earning a #3 seed in the East Regional of the NCAA Tournament, its highest seed up to then. UConn beat Toledo 81–80 at Gampel Pavilion in the opening round game, with Bascom scoring a team NCAA tournament single-game record 39 points, and moved on to the regionals at The Palestra in Auriemma's hometown of Philadelphia. Here the team upset heavily favored ACC power North Carolina State in the Sweet 16, and then defeated Clemson 60–57 to advance to their first-ever Final Four, also a first for any Big East school. UConn's season ended with a 61–55 loss to top-seeded Virginia in the national semifinals at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. Bascom was hit with early foul trouble and Virginia held off a late UConn rally. Including these final tournament games, Bascom had set a new UConn scoring record with 2,177 points during her years at the school. UConn followed up its surprise run to the Final Four in 1991 by landing All-American Rebecca Lobo from Southwick, Massachusetts. UConn had modest success in Lobo's first 2 seasons, losing early in the NCAA Tournament in both seasons. In 1993–94, UConn had its most successful season to that point; led by Lobo and teammates Jamelle Elliott, Jennifer Rizzotti, Pam Webber, Kara Wolters and Carla Berube, UConn won 30 games for the first time in program history, winning the Big East tournament and regular-season titles. In the NCAA tournament UConn reached the Elite Eight but came up short in its hopes to make it back to the Final Four, losing to eventual champion North Carolina. With every major player back from 1994, and the addition of Auriemma's most highly ranked recruit to date (Connecticut Player of the Year Nykesha Sales), UConn was in for a season to remember in 1994–95. The season started with an 80-point win over Morgan State; two weeks later, UConn defeated powerhouse North Carolina State by 23 points on the road. This season also saw the birth of one of the greatest rivalries in college sports, the UConn-Tennessee rivalry, that began when the two teams met for the first time on Martin Luther King Day at Gampel Pavilion. UConn defeated Tennessee 77–66 in front of a sold-out crowd in a game televised on ESPN and soon afterwards was ranked #1 in the polls for the first time in program history. UConn went unbeaten through the Conference regular season and Tournament and easily advanced into the NCAA Tournament; in the regional final against Virginia a 4-points win in their closest game of the year opened the doors of the Final Four at the Target Center in Minneapolis. UConn blew out Stanford in the semifinals behind Wolters' 31 points, reaching the championship game for a rematch against Tennessee. In the final game UConn found itself in early trouble when Lobo was called for three personal fouls in 94 seconds in the first half, but in the second half the team was able to rally from a 9-point deficit and a key Rizzotti layup gave UConn the lead with less than 2 minutes to go, a lead that the team kept until the final score of 70–64 and their first national title. Rebecca Lobo was named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player. With a perfect 35–0 record, UConn became only the fifth Division I women's basketball team to go undefeated en route to a national championship, and only the second in the NCAA era (since 1982). The Huskies also became the first unbeaten team in NCAA history (all divisions, men or women) to win 35 games in a season. The 1994–95 UConn team was widely credited with increasing interest in women's basketball. The team was honored with a parade in Hartford, CT that drew over 100,000 spectators. The team won the Team of the Year Award at the ESPN ESPY awards that year, and Lobo became a popular symbol of the sport. UConn also signed a landmark deal during the season with Connecticut Public Television to broadcast their games. Lobo graduated in 1995 receiving countless accolades: the Naismith College Player of the Year award, the Wade Trophy, the Associated Press Women's College Basketball Player of the Year award, the USBWA Women's National Player of the Year award, the Honda-Broderick Cup, the Best Female Athlete ESPY Award (first basketball player ever), the Associated Press Athlete of the Year (second basketball player after Sheryl Swoopes), the NCAA Woman of the Year Award, the Academic All-America of the Year and also All-sports Academic All-America of the Year. In 2010 Lobo became the first Connecticut player inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, among a class of six inductees, followed by teammate Jennifer Rizzotti in the class of 2013. After the 1995 Championship title, UConn rose to national prominence as one of the powerhouses in women's college basketball, giving coach Auriemma the chance to recruit star talents from high school like Shea Ralph in 1996 and Svetlana Abrosimova in 1997. Starting with their two meetings in 1995, the rivalry between the Tennessee Lady Vols and UConn escalated through the late 90's and into the 2000s, becoming the marquee matchup in all women's sports, and taking on parallels to the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry in Major League Baseball. Geno Auriemma jokingly once referred to Pat Summitt and Tennessee as the "evil empire", like Red Sox president and CEO Larry Lucchino said of the Yankees. In the 1995–96 season UConn ended Tennessee's home court winning streak at Thompson–Boling Arena in Knoxville. Tennessee avenged itself in the Final Four that year in Charlotte, defeating UConn 88–83 in overtime; the game is often thought to be one of the more memorable tournament games in tournament history with many back and forth swings of momentum. UConn defeated Tennessee during the 1996–97 regular season; after a season-ending injury for Shea Ralph in the first round of the NCAA tournament, UConn reached the Regional Final where the two teams met again, with Tennessee prevailing and ending Connecticut's unbeaten season by winning 91–81. Tennessee defeated Connecticut again in the 1997–98 regular season. A mini controversy erupted in the days after the game when Tennessee's Chamique Holdsclaw was quoted in the papers as saying UConn looked scared during the game; Auriemma denounced that quote. With Shea Ralph and senior Nykesha Sales out for the entire season, freshman Svetlana Abrosimova led a young UConn team to the NCAA Tournament Regional Final where they eventually lost to North Carolina State 60–52. Auriemma found himself in a national debate following a decision he made during the 1997–98 season. Senior Nykesha Sales suffered a season-ending injury in one of the final games of the regular season. At the time of her injury, she was only one point shy of Kerry Bascom's school scoring record. The next game, with Bascom's blessing, and assistance from friend and Villanova head coach Harry Paretta, Auriemma arranged to have Sales, who was on crutches, score a basket and then allow Villanova to score a basket to start the game at 2–2. Sales then held the school scoring record. Many people weighed in on the decision on both national and local levels. Auriemma felt guilty that he put Sales through the ordeal and was angry that some columnists chose to fault her and not him. Auriemma was criticized for compromising the integrity of the game, but defended the decision saying it was a school record and he would never had done it without Bascom's blessing. Auriemma signed his best recruiting class to date in 1998 when he signed five top-15 nationally ranked players. High school All-Americans Swin Cash, Tamika Williams, Sue Bird, Asjha Jones, and Keirsten Walters were dubbed "TASSK Force" by Connecticut fans, using the players' initials. The class renewed hope of bringing more championships to Storrs after watching archrival Tennessee win three in a row. The first season for the highly ranked class in 1998–99 was up and down and featured many injuries: Sue Bird tore her ACL and was lost for the season after only 10 games. In the 1999 meeting at Gampel Pavilion, Tennessee prevailed again. During the game there was a scuffle involving Tennessee's Semeka Randall and Connecticut's Svetlana Abrosimova where Randall threw the ball down, hitting Abrosimova's head. UConn fans booed Randall the rest of the game and Tennessee fans later gave her the nickname "Boo." The 1998–99 season ended in the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA Tournament, where UConn lost 64–58 to Iowa State, falling short of reaching the Final Four for the third consecutive time. Motivated by the previous disappointing season, UConn came back in 1999–2000 with the clear goal of reaching the championship level again. Led by upperclassmen Shea Ralph, Kelly Schumacher, Svetlana Abrosimova and the TASS Force (the K was dropped when Keirsten Walters had to give up basketball due to knee problems), UConn went through the regular season with a 27–1 record, their only loss being a single-point defeat to Tennessee at home—UConn had beaten Tennessee earlier in the season in Knoxville, and this was the first year the teams met twice. The Huskies advanced to their first Final Four since 1996 and beat Penn State in the semifinals, reaching the Lady Vols for the championship game in Auriemma's hometown of Philadelphia. Despite the two regular season meetings being close battles, UConn used tenacious defense and backdoor cuts to overwhelm Tennessee 71–52 for their second national championship. Connecticut's final season record was 36–1 and Shea Ralph was named the Final Four's MVP. Auriemma pulled off another huge recruiting coup when he convinced All-American guard Diana Taurasi to travel across country to attend Connecticut. Taurasi hailed from Chino, California, and attended Don Lugo High School where she was the recipient of the 2000 Cheryl Miller Award, presented by the "Los Angeles Times" to the best player in southern California. She was also named the 2000 Naismith and "Parade Magazine" National High School Player of the Year. Taurasi finished her high school career ranked second to Cheryl Miller in state history with 3,047 points. With Taurasi joining the core of the 2000 Championship team, Auriemma confidently predicted another championship in 2001, but the season turned out to be more difficult than expected. UConn won the Big East Tournament over Notre Dame in a game remembered for the Bird at the Buzzer shot, but lost key players Abrosimova and Ralph to season-ending injuries. As a consequence, Taurasi had to play a much larger role than anticipated in the NCAA Tournament. She led UConn to the Final Four, but in the national semifinals against Notre Dame in St. Louis, Taurasi had a poor shooting game, and despite UConn having attained a 16-point lead at one point, the team lost. Notre Dame went on to win its first national championship. As with the 2000 champions, who had also come off a disappointing loss the year before, UConn returned hungrier than ever in 2001–02. With the TASS force in their senior season and Taurasi emerging as a star in her sophomore year, UConn rolled through its opponents throughout the year. The only close game the Huskies played all year long was a win at Virginia Tech. UConn advanced to the Final Four and outscored rival Tennessee in the semifinals by 23 points. In front of a record-breaking crowd at the Alamodome in San Antonio, UConn defeated Oklahoma for the championship 82–70 to complete a perfect 39–0 season. The starting five of Bird, Taurasi, Cash, Jones, and Williams is widely regarded as the best starting five in women's college basketball history. The championship game that year shattered ratings for ESPN and at the time was the highest rated college basketball game to air on the network, men's or women's. With the TASS force graduated, Diana Taurasi had to carry most of the load in her junior season, with help from returning teammates Maria Conlon, Jessica Moore and Ashley Battle and a top-ranked recruiting class of Ann Strother, Barbara Turner, Willnet Crockett and Nicole Wolff. With no seniors on the roster, 2003 was supposed to be a rebuilding year for UConn, but as the year progressed it became clear that Taurasi was up to the challenge of carrying a group of young players to the championship. UConn finished the regular season undefeated and established a 70-game winning streak, shattering the previous mark of 54 set by Louisiana Tech; the streak ended in the Big East championship game loss to Villanova. In the NCAA Tournament UConn easily advanced to the Final Four at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. UConn rallied from a 9-point deficit to beat Texas in the semifinals and, aided by Taurasi's 28 points in the finals, defeated rival Tennessee for UConn's fourth national championship. UConn became the first team to win a championship without a senior on their roster. Although the entire team returned and expectations were sky high for a "three-peat" in Taurasi's senior year, UConn had an uneven season. The team gave up large leads against Duke and suffered losses to Notre Dame and Villanova, also losing to Boston College in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament. The Huskies found their rhythm during the NCAA Tournament, in which they were a #2 seed; in the Elite Eight they beat top-seeded Penn State to advance to the Final Four at the New Orleans Arena. After beating Minnesota in the semifinals, UConn again defeated Tennessee for the national championship. The win was even more special as the UConn men's basketball team won the men's national championship the previous night, marking the first time one University won both the men's and women's basketball championships in one season, a feat UConn repeated in 2014. In her career at UConn, Taurasi led the team to four consecutive Final Fours and three straight national titles. Prior to that final championship, her coach, Geno Auriemma, predicted his team's likelihood of winning with the statement, "We have Diana, and you don't." Taurasi received many personal accolades at UConn including the 2003 and 2004 Naismith College Player of the Year awards, the 2003 Wade Trophy, the 2003 Associated Press Women's College Basketball Player of the Year award, the 2003 USBWA Women's National Player of the Year award and the 2004 Best Female Athlete ESPY Award. Taurasi was the third basketball player to receive this final honor, after former UConn star Rebecca Lobo and Tennessee star Chamique Holdsclaw. She achieved legendary status among UConn fans, and is widely considered one of the greatest players of all time. Relative to their high standards, UConn struggled during the first two years following Taurasi's graduation in 2004. Some of its highly touted recruits did not play up to expectations while others suffered injuries. Taken together during the three years 2005–2007, UConn never made a Final Four, something that has become almost routine (17 final fours in 22 years from 1995 to 2016). The 2004–05 season was marked with sloppy play and ragged offense; UConn lost 8 games and failed to win the Big East regular season crown for the first time since 1993. In the NCAA tournament, UConn lost to Stanford in the Sweet Sixteen. In the 2005–06 season, UConn showed some signs of improvement, winning the Big East Tournament and beating Georgia in the Sweet Sixteen thanks to a fadeaway 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds left by senior Barbara Turner. Behind a home state crowd, UConn almost upset #1 ranked Duke in the regional final, before falling in overtime by 2 points. In the 2006–07 season, the team improved with the additions of Renee Montgomery, Mel Thomas, Ketia Swanier, and the #1 ranked high school player Tina Charles, helping UConn emerge as a contender again. UConn was a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament, but eventually lost to LSU in the regional final to end the season with a 32–4 record. After three down years by UConn standards, the team emerged as a heavy contender for the championship in the 2008 season. In addition to all players returning from the 2007 team, #1 ranked high school player Maya Moore joined the team after a bitter recruitment battle between UConn and Tennessee. Shortly after Moore's commitment to UConn, Tennessee announced they were cancelling the annual series with UConn, thus ending one of the biggest rivalries in the sport. Even if both coaches remained vague and unspecific about the reasons of the cancellation, Tennessee filed a complaint to the NCAA about UConn's recruitment of Moore. UConn was found to have committed a secondary violation (involving a tour of the ESPN campus) and no punishment was handed out. Despite losing Mel Thomas and Kalana Greene to season-ending knee injuries, UConn went through the 2007–08 regular season with only a single loss at Rutgers, by two points, winning both the Big East regular season and tournament titles. Rallying from a 14-point deficit in the NCAA regional final they beat conference rival Rutgers and advanced to their first Final Four since Taurasi graduated. Those tournament victories were largely credited to senior Charde Houston, a top recruit out of San Diego viewed as not living up to expectations from Geno Auriemma and the UConn fans up to that point, who came up with key rebounds and clutch points in those games. In the National semifinals played at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa UConn lost to Stanford, ending its season with a 36–2 record. This would be the team's last loss for quite some time. For the third consecutive year UConn successfully recruited the top ranked high school player in Elena Delle Donne, but shortly before enrolling at UConn Delle Donne requested a release from her scholarship, giving up basketball in order to stay closer to home and play volleyball at the University of Delaware; Delle Donne would eventually play basketball at Delaware, having a great college career that culminated in the #2 pick at 2013 WNBA draft. Despite losing Delle Donne the Huskies were ranked #1 in the preseason polls, having returned 10 players from the 2008 Final Four team (including All-Americans Maya Moore, Renee Montgomery and Tina Charles), in addition to Kalana Greene who recovered from her knee injury. UConn finished the regular season undefeated for the 5th time in school history with a 30–0 record. They won their 17th Big East Regular Season title and their 15th Big East Tournament title beating the Louisville Cardinals. The Huskies advanced to their 10th Final Four with an 83–64 victory over Arizona State, and then to the 6th NCAA Championship Game in program history by defeating Stanford, also by the score of 83–64. In the Championship Game UConn defeated Louisville 76–54 behind Charles' 25 points and 19 boards, ending the season with a perfect 39–0 record (with every victory by at least 10 points, a record of its own) and sixth national title. For the second consecutive year (and the sixth time in school history) UConn finished the regular season undefeated, with an average margin of victory of 35.9 points. During the regular season UConn played 11 games against ranked opponents (including 6 in the top ten) with an average margin of victory of 24. They dominated the Big East Tournament, winning the championship game 60–32. Throughout the regular season and the Big East Tournament, UConn's closest win was against Stanford, by 12 points. Leading up to the Final Four in San Antonio, UConn dominated teams from Southern, Temple, Iowa State and Florida State. Maya Moore and Tina Charles played little more than half the minutes of every game, with Moore averaging one point per minute played, and the team outscoring its opponents by an average of 47 points. In the Final Four UConn was finally challenged by Baylor and the 6-foot-8 freshman Brittney Griner; Baylor trailed 39–26 at halftime but UConn finally pulled away for a final score of 70–50. The national championship game against Stanford was a completely different story. UConn started the game with its worst first half in school history by scoring only 12 points; only eleven teams in tournament history have been held to 12 points or less in the first half: three of them were against UConn teams, and two of them (Southern and Temple) just days earlier in the 2010 Tournament. Stanford itself only managed to score 20 points in the first half. Maya Moore gave UConn the lead (23–22) in the second half with a three-pointer and led the team on a scoring run of 30–6 that eventually secured the national championship with a final score of 53–47. It was the only game in the Huskies' 78-game winning streak that was won by fewer than 10 points. Moore was named the Tournament Most Outstanding Player, to go along with her second straight Wade Trophy award and Academic All-America of the Year award. Charles, who won the John R. Wooden Award and Naismith College Player of the Year awards, was chosen first overall in the WNBA draft days later. The 2010–11 season began with high hopes but much uncertainty for the Huskies. Maya Moore returned for her senior season after a summer with the U.S. National team, but UConn lost major contributors Tina Charles and Kalana Greene who graduated in 2010. Additionally, junior guard Caroline Doty would be out the entire season due to a third knee injury. In an early test, UConn squeaked by #2 Baylor in their second game of the season. They powered their way through 8 more consecutive wins for their 88th straight victory, beating #10 Ohio State at Madison Square Garden. Their 89th win came at home against #20 Florida State to set the college basketball record for most consecutive wins, previously held by the UCLA men's team. After a break in the schedule for the holidays, UConn traveled out west and beat the Pacific Tigers to stretch the streak to 90 games. That game, however, was largely a warm-up match for their biggest test of the season, a December 30 matchup at the powerhouse Stanford Cardinal. UConn trailed for the entire game and lost for the first time since their April 6, 2008 Final Four appearance (also against the Cardinal). The loss ended the highly publicized winning streak, as well as their long held spot as the top ranked team in women's basketball which was taken over by Baylor. Connecticut recovered focus after the loss and got through the rest of the regular season undefeated, regaining the #1 ranking along the way after Baylor's loss to Texas Tech in February. They marched through the Big East tournament, including their 3rd victory of the year over Notre Dame in the Big East Tournament Championship Game. In the NCAA tournament Final Four UConn met Notre Dame for the fourth time of the season, with the underdog Fighting Irish prevailing and ending UConn's bid for a third straight national championship. The keys to Notre Dame's success were the stellar performance of sophomore Skylar Diggins and the hot shooting (over 50 percent from the field, a first against UConn in its last 262 games), while UConn had a lack of support for Moore's 36 points. Notre Dame went on to the National Championship Game, but were defeated by the Texas A&M Aggies. During 2010–11 season Maya Moore posted career highs in scoring (22.3 ppg), assists (4.1 apg) and steals (2.2 spg), sweeping all possible individual honors: she won her 2nd Naismith College Player of the Year award, her 3rd straight Wade Trophy (only player in history - freshmen are not eligible for this award), her 2nd Associated Press Women's College Basketball Player of the Year award, her 2nd USBWA Women's National Player of the Year award and her 2nd John R. Wooden Award; she was also voted Big East Player of The Year (3rd time) and a fourth straight unanimous First-Team All-American in WBCA, USBWA and AP polls (second player ever after Oklahoma's Courtney Paris). In her amazing college career Maya Moore won 150 games and only lost 4, amassing a total 3036 points (1st Husky ever and 4th all-time in NCAA division I women's basketball), 1276 rebounds (2nd Husky ever), 310 steals (3rd Husky ever), 544 assists (6th Husky ever) and 204 blocks (4th Husky ever); she is the only women’s basketball player in Division I history to record 2500 points, 1000 rebounds, 500 assists, 250 steals and 150 blocked shots. On February 28 she was enshrined in the Huskies of Honor (3rd time ever for an active player). Maya Moore was also a brilliant college student: she graduated with a 3.7 GPA, earning the Elite 88 Award, and was named Cosida Academic All-America First-Team in 2009, 2010 and 2011, Cosida Academic All-America of the Year in 2010 and 2011 (1st player to ever repeat) and All-sports Academic All-America of the Year in 2011. After graduation Maya Moore was selected by the Minnesota Lynx as the 1st overall pick in the 2011 WNBA draft (4th time for a Husky), also becoming the first female basketball player signed to the Jordan Brand. The 2011–12 season would inevitably be a new era after Maya Moore's graduation. Her absence and the loss of 6th-man Lorin Dixon left significant holes to fill in the roster. Geno Auriemma seemed to find the right pieces with a freshman class that included Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Brianna Banks and Kiah Stokes. Mosqueda-Lewis was another State Farm/WBCA High School Player of the Year for UConn, Banks was a highly rated guard, and Stokes, a 6'3 post player, was highly ranked as well. Other key players included sophomores Stefanie Dolson and Bria Hartley, junior Kelly Faris and senior Tiffany Hayes, who would be all selected in the WNBA drafts after graduation. Even if the Huskies were still a strong national contender, they were no longer viewed as a favorite to win it all. Two key rivals were the usual conference foe Notre Dame and the new rival Baylor, who had the nation's top player in Brittney Griner. In December Griner led #1 ranked Baylor against #2 UConn, scoring 25 points to go along with nine blocks. The 66–61 loss was UConn's first of the season, but not its last. Notre Dame, led by junior star Skylar Diggins, beat the Huskies twice in the regular season, but UConn was able to reverse the roles in the Big East Tournament Championship Game; the win was the school's 15th conference title, as well as the 800th career win for coach Geno Auriemma. Ultimately Notre Dame found its revenge with an upset win in the NCAA Tournament Final Four, ending the season with a 3–1 record against the Huskies, a record that would be repeated the following year. The 2012–13 season began with high hopes having UConn landed three highly ranked recruits: #1 overall Breanna Stewart from Cicero – North Syracuse High School, forward Morgan Tuck and guard Moriah Jefferson. Their play was uneven during the regular season, where UConn went 27–3 with a loss to Baylor and a pair of losses to Notre Dame (including a three-overtime game in South Bend); in the Big East tournament UConn lost a third straight time to Notre Dame that delivered a last-minute comeback. In the NCAA tournament UConn key-players Stewart, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Stefanie Dolson and senior Kelly Faris raised their level of play, and UConn easily advanced to the Final Four; in the semifinals they handily beat Notre Dame and in the finals they obtained a 93–60 win over Louisville, who had earlier upset Baylor, for a record tying eighth national championship. The end of 2012–13 season saw the breakup of the Big East Conference. First Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Notre Dame defected to the Atlantic Coast Conference, with Louisville announcing later they would follow in 2014. Then, the non-FBS football playing members of the Big East (Georgetown, Villanova, Providence, DePaul, Marquette, Seton Hall, St. John's), known colloquially as the "Catholic 7", left to form their own conference, taking the conference name with them. The remaining teams of the former Big East (Connecticut and Cincinnati) joined the new American Athletic Conference (AAC), thus ending the UConn–Notre Dame rivalry in conference tournaments. With Faris and Doty graduated, sophomore Breanna Stewart was the undisputed leader of the 2013–14 UConn team, starting in all 40 games and leading the team with 19.4 points and 2.8 blocks per game; her 291 field goals made was the third-highest single-season total in UConn annals. The team beat every opponent by at least 10 points and easily reached the NCAA tournament finals, where they met unbeaten Notre Dame, making it the first ever match up of two undefeated teams in the championship game. UConn defeated 79–58 Notre Dame (hindered by the loss of one of their stars, Natalie Achonwa, who had torn her ACL in the Elite Eight), to finish the season 40–0, tying Baylor for the most wins in a season and setting the new record for Championship with nine. Breanna Stewart was named the AP Player of the year, only the third time in history a sophomore has won the honor. The 2014–15 regular season started with an overtime loss to Stanford in the second game of the season, ending a 47-games winning streak for UConn. Led by juniors Stewart and Jefferson and senior Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, UConn quickly recovered winning every other season game, including a 76–58 win against rival Notre Dame. In the National Tournament, both Connecticut and Notre Dame were seeded first in their respective playoff brackets; each advanced to the Final Four held in Tampa, Florida. Connecticut defeated Maryland 81–58, while Notre Dame narrowly beat South Carolina, 66–65, in the semifinals. The teams met again on April 7, 2015 in the national championship game. UConn won by a score of 63–53 to win their third straight national championship and tenth total, with coach Auriemma tying a record set by John Wooden in college basketball. In 2015 UConn landed another top recruit in #1 High School prospect Katie Lou Samuelson; she quickly earned a spot in the starting five alongside sophomore Kia Nurse and seniors Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck. The team was unbeatable all season long, beating every opponent by an average of 39.7 points, and easily winning conference regular season and tournament. While other #1 seeds Notre Dame, South Carolina and Baylor suffered early upsets in the NCAA Tournament, UConn easily advanced to the Final Four where they defeated Oregon State 80–51 and then old Big East rival Syracuse 82–51 in the Championship Game. UConn completed their sixth undefeated season winning the 11th overall Championship (all-time record for both men's and women's college basketball) and 4th in a row (also a record for women's college basketball). Geno Auriemma is now the only coach in college basketball to have won 11 titles, passing UCLA legend John Wooden (who has 10) and reaching former NBA coach Phil Jackson. Senior Breanna Stewart was named Final Four Most Outstanding Player for a record 4th straight time; she also performed a back-to-back sweep of all individual honors, winning her 2nd straight Wade Trophy, a record 3rd Associated Press Women's College Basketball Player of the Year award, a record 3rd USBWA Women's National Player of the Year award, a record 3rd Naismith College Player of the Year award and her 2nd straight John R. Wooden Award. Stewart finished with 2,676 points (2nd Husky ever), 1,179 rebounds (4th Husky ever), 426 assists and 414 blocked shots (1st Husky ever), and was a #1 pick in 2016 WNBA draft. Moriah Jefferson finished with a program-record 659 assists and a back-to-back Nancy Lieberman Award as best point guard in the nation. The trio of Stewart-Jefferson-Tuck ended its college career with a 151–5 record, the most victories for college basketball players; they are the only 4-time winners in college basketball history (freshmen were not eligible to play during UCLA men's streak). With their eleventh championship win in 2016, the UConn Huskies have tied the UCLA Bruins men's team for most college basketball championships, and became the first Division I women's basketball team to win four straight national championships. After losing the stellar trio of Stewart, Jefferson and Tuck, many predicted a sub-par season for UConn standards; the AP Poll ranked the team third in the nation, and coach Auriemma had designed a very tough non-conference calendar to test the strength of his young team. The first regular season game, a 2 points win against #12 Florida State, seemed to confirm the expectations, with coach Auriemma predicting "a good beat" ahead. As the season progressed, however, the team quickly found its rhythm, beating ranked teams like Baylor, Notre Dame and Maryland, and showcasing a talented core of young players. Together with sophomore Katie Lou Samuelson and junior Kia Nurse, the only returning starters, the duo of sophomore Napheesa Collier and junior Gabby Williams quickly rose to national attention; even senior Saniya Chong, who had played few minutes in her first three seasons, showed great improvements, leading the nation in assists-to-turnovers ratio. Coming from a 75-wins streak from previous season, UConn tied its own previous 90-wins record with a 102-37 win against South Florida on October 1, 2017; the 100th straight wins mark was reached on February 13, 2017 with a 66-55 win against South Carolina. After easy wins in both conference regular season and conference tournament, UConn entered the NCAA tournament unbeaten, #1 overall and once again a heavy favorite to win it all; the season came to an unexpected end when Mississippi State's Morgan William hit a buzzer-beater to give its team a 66-64 overtime victory in the NCAA Final Four. The loss ended the streak at 111 consecutive wins, an all-time record not only for college basketball games, but also for any team sport played at college level. The 2017-2018 season was very similar to the previous one. Connecticut returned every key player and added Duke's transfer Azura Stevens and nation top ranked recruit Megan Walker; the team easily reached the Final Four with a 36-0 record that included solid wins over Stanford, Notre Dame, Louisville and South Carolina. The stage appeared set for a rematch with Mississippi State in the championship game, but historic rival Notre Dame beat UConn in the semifinal with another overtime last second shot by Arike Ogunbowale. On December 19 a win over Oklahoma gave coach Geno Auriemma his 1000th victory in just 1135 games, making him only the fourth women's coach to reach that plateau - along with Pat Summitt, Tara Vanderveer and Sylvia Hatchell - and the fastest one. UConn played in the Big East Conference since the 1982-83 season, the first to hold a women's basketball tournament; they won 18 tournaments in 31 years. Since 2013-14 UConn plays in the American Athletic Conference, where they are still unbeaten both in regular season and conference tournament games, having won all 5 conference tournaments held. The Huskies have appeared in the NCAA Tournament 30 times, every year since their first appearance in 1989. Their combined record is 116–18; they have been to nineteen Final Fours and are eleven time National Champions (1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016). Sandra Hamm, a Terryville native, was employed part-time as the interim women's coach in the 1974-1975 season, when the team was 2-8. When she wasn't coaching, she taught physical education at a junior high school in Manchester. After graduating from college in California, Wanda Flora went to graduate school at Indiana University, where she was an assistant coach for the women's basketball team and coached the junior varsity team. After a brief stint at a small college in Pennsylvania, she applied for the job at UConn, starting in 1975 and leading the team to a 38–66 record in five seasons. During her tenure, shooting guard Karen Mullins was the first UConn woman to receive a basketball scholarship; that number had increased to 12 by 1980. In 1980 the university hired Jean Balthaser, who had coached at the University of Pittsburgh. Ms. Balthaser continued to expand the program, leading UConn to its first winning season in her first year as coach, and finishing with a 52-88 record over five seasons. In his 33 years as head coach of the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team, the Italian-born Luigi "Geno" Auriemma has inextricably linked his name with that of the team, transforming a program with only one winning season into the winningest team ever in women's college basketball, and making a strong case as one of the best coaches ever. In his astonishing career Auriemma has won more than 25 different national Coach of the Year awards and was inducted into both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame; since 2009 he is the coach of the United States women's national basketball team, leading his teams to win the 2010 and 2014 World Championships, as well as gold medals at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. UConn has featured a great number of star players, All-Americans, Hall of Famers and recipients of individual trophies. The following table shows the UConn players recipients of the major individual awards in women's college basketball. After the end of the NCAA tournament, the Associated Press selects a Most Outstanding Player. Seven UConn players received this award since its induction in 1982: Rebecca Lobo (1995), Shea Ralph (2000), Swin Cash (2002), Diana Taurasi (2003 and 2004), Tina Charles (2009), Maya Moore (2010) and Breanna Stewart for a record 4 times (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016). Statistics correct through December 8, 2018. Active players in bold. Most points (1000-point club) Most rebounds (top-15) Most assists (top-15) Most steals (top-15) Most blocks (top-15) The Huskies of Honor is a program recognizing the most significant figures in UConn history. The women's basketball players list includes guards Nykesha Sales, Jennifer Rizzotti, Shea Ralph, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Renee Montgomery, Bria Hartley and Moriah Jefferson; forwards Svetlana Abrosimova, Swin Cash, Maya Moore, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Breanna Stewart, Morgan Tuck and Gabby Williams; centers Kerry Bascom, Rebecca Lobo, Kara Wolters, Tina Charles and Stefanie Dolson. On December 7, 2018, UConn announced that the #50 worn by Rebecca Lobo would be permanently retired, effective with ceremonies to be held during the Huskies' final 2018–19 home game on March 2, 2019. In its announcement, UConn stated that going forward, number retirement would be reserved for former Huskies players inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, as Lobo was in 2017. At the same time, the Huskies announced that the #34 worn by Ray Allen, a 2018 Naismith Hall inductee, would be retired by UConn men's basketball, with ceremonies held during the season's final men's home game on March 3, 2019. UConn's announcement did not make it clear whether both numbers would be retired across both men's and women's programs, but a university spokesperson clarified that the retirements applied only to the teams that Lobo and Allen competed for, meaning that #50 will remain available in men's basketball and #34 in women's. Twenty UConn players have been selected in the first round of WNBA drafts. Five of them have been first overall picks: Sue Bird (2002), Diana Taurasi (2004), Tina Charles (2010), Maya Moore (2011), and Breanna Stewart (2016). Rebecca Lobo was part of the 1997 inaugural draft, with the top players allocated to founding teams without any particular order; similarly Nykesha Sales was part of the 1998 WNBA expansion players allocation. In the 2002 WNBA Draft, the four UConn players tabbed "TASS Force" (Tamika Williams, Asjha Jones, Sue Bird and Swin Cash) were all first round selections, each of them having immediate impacts with their 2002 WNBA Teams. In the 2016 WNBA Draft UConn performed even better, with the three seniors Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck sweeping the first three picks for the first time in the history of any major sport. Andra Espinoza-Hunter was only on the roster for the fall semester, after which she transferred from UConn. Team of the Decade 2000–2009 In 2010 "Sports Illustrated" selected the top 25 sports franchises of the decade 2000–2009. The sports under consideration were the four major professional sports (NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL) along with the three most prominent college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The Connecticut Huskies were the #3 selection on the list, behind only the professional basketball Lakers and the professional football Patriots, making the Connecticut women's basketball team the highest ranked of the collegiate teams for the three sports under consideration. During this period, UConn won five national titles, while making the Final Four seven of the ten years. Two of the seasons (2001–02 and 2008–09) resulted in perfect 39–0 records. "Active streaks in bold" Connecticut Huskies women's basketball The Connecticut
who won last year's ncaa women's basketball	"UCF Knights" staff, and faculty, who wished to replace UCF's original mascot, the Citronaut, which was a mix between an orange and an astronaut. The Knights were also chosen over "Vincent the Vulture," which was a popular unofficial mascot among students at the time. In 1994, Knightro debuted as the Knights' official athletic mascot. The Knights field 16 varsity teams (6 men's, 9 women's and one co-ed sport) that have won numerous national and conference titles. The Knights football team won five conference championships and one self-proclaimed national title in 2017. The Knights women's basketball team won conference titles the 2009 and 2010. The UCF cheerleading team has captured two national titles at the College Cheerleading and Dance Team Nationals, in 2003 and 2007. Athletics facilities on the campus include the 44,206–seat Spectrum Stadium, the 10,072–seat CFE Arena, 3,000–seat Venue, John Euliano Park, the UCF Soccer and Track Stadium, and the UCF Softball Complex. The UCF varsity athletic program was a charter member of the Sunshine State Conference in 1975. The school moved up to Division I in 1984. In its first years in D-I, UCF was a member of the American South Conference, merging into the Sun Belt Conference in 1991. Women's sports in Division I played in the New South Women's Athletic Conference until 1990, when the American South began organizing women's sports. In 1992, UCF joined the Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC) in all D-I sports except football, which remained independent. In 1996, UCF was advanced to I-A (FBS) in football, and initially remained independent in football until becoming a football-only member of the Mid-American Conference in 2001, the same year the TAAC became the Atlantic Sun Conference. UCF joined Conference USA (C-USA) in all sports in 2005, and the American Athletic Conference (The American) in 2013. The university's first mascot was the Citronaut, which was designed by Norman Van Meter, the brother-in-law of FTU's then-president Charles N. Millican. The Citronaut made an official appearance on a university publication, the cover of the 1968–69 student handbook. The sports teams were originally known as the "Knights of the Pegasus" – UCF's first official mascot – beginning with their first intercollegiate competitions in 1970. The moniker was switched to "Golden Knights" in 1993 as a solution to poor merchandise sales. The mascot of the athletic teams is Knightro, a black knight with gold armor. The university has asked to be identified as UCF when being referenced as opposed to Central Florida. Television networks and other media outlets, most notably ESPN, have been slow to adopt this policy. In 2007, UCF made major changes to its athletic program. A new "athletic village" on the north end of campus known as Knights Plaza was developed. It included new sports facilities such as the new CFE Arena connected to the existing Venue at UCF and a new 45,000 seat football stadium known as Spectrum Stadium, a new softball complex, and the only Division I indoor football practice facility in the state. This made UCF the first school to ever open a new stadium and arena at the same time, for the 2007-08 season. It also includes Jay Bergman Field and UCF Soccer and Track Stadium. The area was built in a downtown style with four towers of student housing including approximately 1000 beds, retail and restaurant areas, and a new pedestrian mall connecting the front of the new arena to the student union. To mark the start of the new era, the teams names were reverted to "Knights" from the "Golden Knights" on May 4, 2007. In addition, new logos and uniforms were unveiled for all of UCF's athletic programs. The University of Central Florida sponsors teams in six men's and ten women's NCAA sanctioned sports: UCF played its first intercollegiate basketball game before the team even had a nickname. In the Division II era, under Torchy Clark, UCF found great success including a DII Final Four appearance. UCF has been a member of Division I since 1985, and has advanced to the NCAA tournament 4 times (94, 96, 04, 05), all under coach Kirk Speraw. UCF competed in the Atlantic Sun Conference (formerly called the Trans America Athletic Conference) from 1992 until 2005 when all sports joined C-USA, and plays in the CFE Arena. UCF made their debut in the C-USA Championship Tournament in the 2006 season, falling to Houston in the second round and closing out the season with the program's first losing record (14–15) since 2000–01. The Knights made a huge turnaround in the 2006–07 season, finishing 2nd in conference play to Memphis with an overall record of 22–9. The UCF Men's Basketball team played its first exhibition game in the 10,000 seat CFE Arena, with an 86–78 win over the Saint Leo Lions, on November 3, 2007. Their first regular-season game in the CFE Arena was a 63–60 victory over the Nevada on November 11. Their first home C-USA game was against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane on January 11, 2008. The game was won by the Knights in triple overtime. On December 1, 2010, the Knights upset the #16 Florida Gators 57–54 at the new Amway Center in downtown Orlando, giving the Knights their first victory over a top 20 opponent as well as their first victory over the Gators. Following a 10–0 start to the 2010–11 season, the Knights were nationally ranked for the first time in program history. At the time, UCF was one of nine unbeaten teams, and one of only four schools to be ranked in the BCS standings and the AP men's basketball poll. UCF first joined the AIAW for women's basketball in 1977–78. To conclude the 1979–80 season, the team won the Division-II Florida State Championship, before falling in their first game of the national tournament. They were promoted to AIAW Division I in its last year of existence, 1981–82, and made it to that year's District I tournament quarterfinals, before joining the NCAA in 1982–83. The women's basketball team made the NCAA Division I tournament in 1996 and 1999, and won the TAAC/Atlantic Sun regular-season title in 1999, 2003 and 2005, before joining C-USA. In 2009, UCF's women's basketball team shocked the C-USA by going 11–5 in conference play after going 2–11 in non-conference games and 10–20 the previous year, and swept through the 2009 Conference USA Women's Basketball Tournament, dominating Southern Miss in overtime to win the championship game, 65–54, and earn its third Division I tournament appearance. The baseball team is led by head coach, Terry Rooney who will entered his first season as head coach in 2009. Jay Bergman had been head coach since 1976 but was fired on May 1, 2008 after allegations arose of sexual harassment towards a male equipment coach. Bergman had a large amount of success in this position, leading UCF to Atlantic Sun Championships in 93, 95, 96, 97, 00, 01, 02, 04 and NCAA Regional Appearances in 89, 93, 95, 96, 97, 00, 01, 02, 04, and brought UCF to a national ranking of #8 in 2001. In honor of his long term success with the Knights, on February 3, 2001, UCF opened and dedicated what is now John Euliano Park. UCF fielded an official varsity football team for the first time in 1979, under head coach Don Jonas. Since then, the Knights have played in six bowl games, won three conference championships, produced 2 All-Americans, and two first-round draft picks. UCF has had some measure of success in football in its short NCAA history. It is the alma mater for NFL stars Brandon Marshall, Daunte Culpepper, Asante Samuel, Leger Douzable, and Bruce Miller among others. While UCF football can be traced back to its days as a NCAA Division III team under Jonas, it quickly moved up to Division II in 1982, and Division I-AA in 1990, finally matching the rest of its sports programs. In 1996, the program made its final ascension into Division I-A, now known as the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). UCF football plays as a member of The American, where it has been a member since the 2013 season. The Knights play their home games in Spectrum Stadium, the team's home field since 2007. The Knights' most prominent current football rivals are conference foes East Carolina and Tulsa, and former Conference USA rival Marshall. UCF's main in-state rival is South Florida. For most of the rivalry's existence, it was an inter-conference contest when South Florida was in the Big East and UCF in C-USA. Both schools are now conference members in The American and play on Black Friday each year. Since beginning play in 1979, the Knights have won three conference championships and four conference division titles. UCF won the C-USA East Division in 2005, 2007, 2010 and 2012, winning the conference championship game in 2007 and 2010. The Knights were also champions of The American in 2013. Before ascending to the FBS, UCF was a leading program in Division I-AA in the early 1990s. In 1990, UCF became the first school in history to qualify for the I-AA playoffs in its first season of eligibility. The Knights once again made the postseason in 1993, and were selected as the preseason No. 1 to start the 1994 season. George O'Leary became UCF's head football coach in 2004 and had great success. The 2005 team won the school's first division championship, and earned their first trip to a bowl game, in the Knights first season in C-USA. In 2007, the Knights won their second division championship, and earned their first conference championship. During the 2009 campaign, UCF earned its first victory over a ranked opponent and third bowl appearance under O'Leary's watch. In 2010 earned their first top 25 ranking, second conference championship, and winning their first bowl game. In 2013, UCF went undefeated in conference play to win The American's conference championship in its inaugural season, earning the conference's automatic berth to a BCS game. The fifteenth-ranked Knights upset the sixth-ranked Baylor Bears 52–42 in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl to secure the program's first win a major bowl game, and pull off one of the biggest upsets of the BCS era. UCF finished the 2013 campaign by earning the program's first top-ten ranking, and with quarterback Blake Bortles being selected third overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2014 NFL Draft. Scott Frost became the head coach in 2016 as O'Leary effectively resigned from the program midway through the season in 2015. UCF defeated Auburn 34–27 in the 2018 Peach Bowl on January 1, 2018, to secure the school's second major bowl victory. Citing an undefeated season, UCF administrators claimed a National Championship football season, later upheld by the Colley Matrix, an NCAA-recognized major selector of FBS national champions, and four 1st place votes by the final AP poll. The NCAA does not officially select a national champion in FBS football. The men's golf team was formed in 1979, and has appeared in NCAA Regionals 12 times, and have played in for the NCAA Championship four times. The last time the squad reached the championship was in 2009. The 2010 men's golf team were C-USA champions. The women's golf team was founded in 1982, and has made 9 NCAA Regional appearances, and has played for two NCAA Championship in 1996 and 2018. Bryce Wallor is the head coach for the men's golf team, and Courtney Trimble is the head coach for the women's team. The Knights men's golf team plays its home matches at the Rio Pinar Country Club. The Knights women's golf team plays its home matches at the RedTail Golf Course. The Knight's golf teams practice at the UCF Golf Practice Facility, located near the UCF campus at the Twin Rivers Golf Club in Oviedo. Numerous former Knight golfers have represented the UCF on the PGA and LPGA Tours, including Robert Damron and Cliff Kresge. The women's rowing team was formed in 1995. The Knights women's rowing team has won 3 American Athletic Conference Rowing championships, and appeared in 4 NCAA Championships. UCF has produced a number of soccer stars. Most notably, Michelle Akers and Kim Wyant. Akers and Wyant were founding players on the United States women's national soccer team from 1985-2000. Akers helped them win the FIFA Women's World Cup in 1991 and 1999, and the 1996 Summer Olympics. Her career was so distinguished that Pelé named her among only two female players (along with teammate Mia Hamm) on the FIFA 100 list of the greatest living soccer players in 2004. The women's program made the final of the first official women's intercollegiate soccer championship ever held in 1981, as well as the first NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship in 1982, losing the final in each year by the identical score of 1–0 to North Carolina. The men's program has developed midfielder Eric Vasquez, who made his professional soccer debut with the Columbus Crew Major League Soccer. Vasquez later played for Miami FC in the United Soccer Leagues' First Division and the Orlando Sharks of the Major Indoor Soccer League before retiring due to injury. As well, former Knights Goalkeeper Ryan McIntosh initially signed a development deal with D.C. United of MLS. After a year with the D.C. United Reserve team, McIntosh signed with the Atlanta Silverbacks of USL Division One, where he led the team to the league final. The Silverbacks ended up losing to the Seattle Sounders. Both players were a part of the 2004 Central Florida Kraze amateur soccer team that won the Premier Development League's championship by defeating the Boulder Rapids Resevers, 1-0 at the UCF soccer stadium. Former UCF goalkeeper Sean Johnson joined the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer in 2010. He made his pro debut on August 1 and defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy. He was a member of the United States U-20 men's national soccer team which qualified for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt. On the women's team, Aline Reis, an All-American in her freshman year in 2008, was selected to the Brazil women's national football team for the first time in 2009, playing in a friendly against a local Brazilian team in July. Former women's goalkeeper Lynzee Lee plays for the Buffalo Flash of the W-League. In 2010, both the men's and women's soccer teams advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The Knights softball program was founded in 2002, and the team officially started competing in the Atlantic Sun Conference in that same year under head coach Renee Luers-Gillispie. Since the program began, the Knights have won two conference tournament champions, and have appeared in the NCAA tournament three times. Renee Luers-Gillispie, who is in her tenth year with the team, has been the programs only head coach. Through the conclusion of the 2010 season, Gillispie has led the Knights to a record of 341–233–1 during her tenure, and she has an overall win-loss record of 593–437–3 during her seventeen seasons as a head coach. The Knights softball team plays its home games at the UCF Softball Complex. The men's tennis team was formed in 1972. They reached the NCAA Division II Championship consecutively from 1974-78, including a third-place finish in 1977. They won the A-Sun Championship three times from 2003-2005 under Bobby Cashman. The current men's coach is John Roddick, brother and coach for former tennis pro Andy Roddick. The women's tennis team was formed in 1978. They have had 3 NCAA Division 1 Tournament appearances. The Knights women's track and field team has won ten total conference championships, eight in their nine years in the Atlantic Sun Conference, and won the 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 C-USA outdoor title, and the 2011 C-USA indoor title. In 2011, the Knights were nationally ranked for the first time in program history, while at the same time ranking as the top team in the state, rising as high as No. 8 in the polls. The head coach for the track and field program is Caryl Smith Gilbert, and the assistant coaches are Jeff Chakouian, Paul Brown and LaTonya Loche. Gilbert has coached four All-Americans during her tenure at UCF, including two-time All-American Jackie Coward. The Knights track and field teams hold their outdoor home meets at the UCF Soccer and Track Stadium, which is part of Knights Plaza. The 1978 women's volleyball team captured UCF's one national team championship. The team won the AIAW Small College Division championship within days of the name change from Florida Technological University to UCF. The University of Central Florida through the Recreation and Wellness Center and the student government also fields a number of club sports of varying degrees of competitiveness, though most compete only with other teams from the southeastern part of the country. These sports are funded by the university's student government association. The club sports include rugby, wrestling, lacrosse, men's volleyball, ice hockey, team handball, water polo, ultimate frisbee, fencing, cycling, bowling, racquetball, table tennis, triathlon, ultimate frisbee, wheelchair basketball, water skiing, bass fishing, and tennis. UCF's ice hockey team was founded in 1997 and competes in the Southern Collegiate Hockey Conference in Division III of the American Collegiate Hockey Association. The team plays its home games at the RDV Sportsplex in Maitland, Florida. Since becoming head coach in 1999, Sean Weaver has led the Knights to eight consecutive National Championship appearances, and placed 3rd in the 2007–08 and 2010–11 seasons. UCF's men's lacrosse teams compete in the SouthEastern Lacrosse Conference of the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association at the Division I level. The team was founded in 1997 and plays at the university's intramural fields. It is currently coached by James Foote. Founded in 1988, UCF's Rugby Club plays in Division I of college rugby in the South Independent Conference against local rivals such as Florida State and South Florida. The Knights are led by Head Coach Jason Granich but has recently been changed to Raoul Besse. The Knights have enjoyed a lot of success over the last couple of years thanks to hard work, coaching, and some of the best conditioning in the league. They are back-to-back National Champions in D1-AA and have won a handful of Rugby Sevens tournaments. The trajectory of the 2015 season is looking positive with the Knights qualifying for the National Sevens Championship, ranked number one in the SIRC South Division, and ranked 7th in the entire nation. The Knights have had one of the better college rugby programs in Florida in recent years. In Fall 2011, UCF reached the finals of the Collegiate Rugby Florida Cup. The Knights finished the 2011–12 season ranked 17th with a record of 12–5, including splitting the season series against No. 6 ranked FSU. In spring 2013, the Knights won the DI-AA national championship. They defeated Tennessee 31–17 in the round of 16, defeated Clemson 24–20 in the quarterfinals, and defeated Dartmouth 45–38 in the semifinals. UCF won the national championship by defeating Lindenwood in the final 27–25, with team captain Gerhard Veit also scoring two tries. UCF repeated in 2014 as D1-AA national champion. They beat South Carolina in the quarterfinals (44-28) and San Diego in the semifinals(43-5). UCF defeated Arizona in the final behind the efforts of MVP Scott Watters. The final score was an impressive 64–13. UCF has also had success in rugby sevens. UCF rugby won the first tournament in Estero in the Fall 2012 Florida Sevens Championship with a 4–0 record, including a 24–5 win over FSU in the final. The Knights went undefeated and beat UNF 36–15 in the final to win the 2012 Florida Cup. The Knights continued this in the 2015 tournament. The Knights (who were the lowest seed) dominated the top ranked team, Middle Tennessee with the final score 31–7. The Knights would go on to win all there matches, including the championship game against Georgia Tech edging them out 19–12. The UCF cheerleading squad has captured two national titles at the College Cheerleading and Dance Team Nationals, in 2003 and 2007. UCF cheerleading has received a spot in the top three in the country the last six seasons in the national championship, and has earned a top-10 finish 17 times in the last 19 years. In 2008, the WE Original weekly series Cheerleader U followed the UCF cheerleaders through an entire season. In 2013, the 2003 UCF Cheerleading Team, who won the UCA College Cheerleading Division IA National Championship in 2003, was the first team inducted into the UCF Athletics Hall of Fame. The Marching Knights were formed after the start of the football program in 1979, and is the largest and most visible student organization at the university. They are known for their high energy performances, unique and contemporary drill designs, and musical selections ranging from jazz, to pop, to classical. Members experience the thrill of performing for tens of thousands of fans alongside over 300 other outstanding performers at each home UCF football game and select away games, as well as any bowl games. The university's coordinated dance team, KnightMoves, is considered to be one of the nation's top college programs, and features 12-18 girls each year. The team performs year round at school and athletic events, such as Spirit Splash, pep rally's, and football and basketball games. KnightMoves has finished in the top-10 at the College Cheerleading and Dance Team Nationals for the past two-years. "Black and gold" is a cheer that is very popular at home games, with one part of the student section yelling "Black!", and the other part of the section answering back with their loudest "Gold!" This can go back and forth for several minutes, with both sides competing to be the louder. Another popular cheer at games occurs during the national anthem when students loudly exclaim "Knight" during the line, "Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there." The University of Central Florida Fight Song is titled 'Charge On'. Since 2000, the UCF has invested significant capital and effort in the construction, expansion and improvements of its major sports programs and their facilities. In 2007, UCF opened the new 45,000–seat Spectrum Stadium, and the new 10,000 seat CFE Arena. In 2011, the university renovated the UCF Soccer and Track Stadium, increasing capacity to over 2,000 and adding amenities such as clubhouses and restrooms. In 2011, UCF completed a major renovation of John Euliano Park, expanding it to a total capacity at 4,180. As a competitor in college athletics, UCF has many notable student athletes, coaches and staff members, such as NFL players Joe Burnett, Josh Sitton, Matt Prater, Jah Reid, Jamar Newsome, Kevin Smith, Brandon Marshall, Asante Samuel and Mike Sims-Walker, former NBA guard Jermaine Taylor, NASCAR driver Aric Almirola, and soccer stars Michelle Akers and Sean Johnson. Currently, more than 50 UCF alumni compete in professional basketball, football, baseball and golf. UCF Knights The UCF Knights are the athletic teams that represent the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. The Knights participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I (FBS for football) as a member of the American Athletic Conference. UCF, its athletic program, and the university's alumni and sports fans are sometimes jointly referred to as the "UCF Nation," and are represented by the mascot Knightro. The "Knight" was chosen as the university mascot in 1970 by student election. The "Knights of Pegasus" – as it was originally called –
who won last year's ncaa women's basketball	"2009–10 NCAA Division I women's basketball season" final. This was the Huskies' second consecutive unbeaten championship season, unprecedented since the NCAA began to organize women's basketball in the 1981–82 season. Ohio State headlines a field of 16-teams for the 2009 Preseason Women's National Invitation Tournament. The field includes 11 teams that played in the postseason last spring: Arkansas-Little Rock, Bowling Green, Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia Tech, Marist, New Mexico, North Carolina A&T, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, and Winthrop. They will be joined in the Preseason WNIT field by Chicago State, Eastern Illinois, Northern Colorado, Towson, and UTEP. The Preseason WNIT features a three-game guarantee format. The event opens Friday, November 13 with first-round games. Second-round games will be played November 15 and 16. The semifinals will be on November 18 and 19. The championship is set for Sunday, November 22. Teams that lose in the first two rounds will play consolation games on the second weekend, November 20–22. All games are hosted by participating schools, and sites are announced by the end of the preceding round. In last year's Preseason WNIT, North Carolina defeated Oklahoma 80-79. Thirty athletic conferences each end their regular seasons with a single-elimination tournament. The teams in each conference that win their regular season title are given the number one seed in each tournament, with tiebreakers applied if more than one team tops the season standings. In the table below, if teams tied for the regular-season title, the first team listed won the tiebreaker for top seed in the tournament. The winners of these tournaments receive automatic invitations to the 2010 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament. The Ivy League does not have a conference tournament, instead giving their automatic invitation to their regular-season champion. The Great West Conference began play in 2009–10 and does not receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. This season saw the debut of a third national postseason tournament in the Women's Basketball Invitational, a 16-team affair with all games played on home courts. The inaugural title was won by Appalachian State, who came back from a 19-point deficit to defeat Memphis 79–71 in the final held on the Mountaineers' home floor in Boone, North Carolina. 2009–10 NCAA Division I women's basketball season The 2009–10 NCAA Division I women's basketball season began in November 2009 and ended with the 2010 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament's championship game on April 6, 2010 at the Alamodome
who won last year's ncaa women's basketball	"Butler Bulldogs" team to full varsity status for the 2016–17 school year (2017 season). Historically, the Butler basketball program competed in the Missouri Valley Conference from 1932 to 1934, the Mid-American Conference from 1946 to 1950, the Indiana Collegiate Conference from 1950 to 1978, the Horizon League from 1979 to 2012, the Atlantic 10 Conference for the 2012–13 season, and are now current members of the Big East. Prior to the development of the NCAA Tournament, Butler claimed the AAU national championship in 1924 and the national championship John J. McDevitt trophy by the Veteran Athletes of Philadelphia. The Bulldogs reached postseason play for the first time in 1958, and the team's first victory in postseason play came the following year when the Bulldogs made it to the NIT Quarterfinals. The Bulldogs have competed in the NIT postseason tournament seven times, twice reaching the quarterfinals. The bulldogs qualified for the NCAA Division 1 Men's Basketball Tournament for the first time in 1962. In total, the Bulldogs have qualified or been selected for the NCAA Tournament twelve times and boast a record of 19–12, including three sweet sixteen finishes and two national runner-up finishes. Until moving to the "high-major" Big East Conference in 2013, the Butler basketball program had been considered one of the best "mid-major" basketball programs, having won at least 20 games and reached postseason play twelve of the last fourteen seasons, including appearances in nine NCAA Tournaments where the Bulldogs reached the Sweet Sixteen in 2003 and 2007, as well as back-to-back Final Four and championship game appearances in 2010 and 2011. Since the start of the 2006–07 season, the Bulldogs have earned a 15–8 record against members of the BCS conferences, including a 7–2 record against the Big Ten. The program's success has been attributed to "The Butler Way", a now-unique style of team play that many have said harkens back to the Indiana glory days, as well as being called "the way the game should be played." The Bulldogs' recent accomplishments include winning the 2001 BP Top of the World Classic, the 2006 NIT Season Tip-Off, the 2007 Great Alaska Shootout and the 2010 Diamond Head Classic. Individual honors include the selection of Butler junior guard AJ Graves as a Wooden Award National Player of the Year finalist in men's college basketball in 2007, the same year Head Coach Todd Lickliter was named the National Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches after winning the award for mid-season National Coach of the Year. In 2008, Senior Mike Green was the Chip Hilton Player of the Year Award Winner. In 2010 the Bulldogs made it to the Championship game, in Indianapolis, for the first time in school history. Sophomore Gordon Hayward entered the NBA Draft and was a lottery pick by the Utah Jazz. Hayward was the first Butler player to play in the NBA since Ralph O'Brien in the early 1950s. The women's basketball program at Butler University began in the 1975–76 season, competing in the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), and saw its first winning season two years later, earning a 9–5 record under the direction of coach Linda Mason. The Bulldogs played in the AIAW National Tournament for the first time in 1982, falling in the second round to William Penn, 77–94. The next year, the Bulldogs began competition at the NCAA Division II level and joined the Horizon League and Division I competition for the 1986–87 season. The Bulldogs qualified for Division I post-season play for the first time in 1993, competing in the WNIT, and competed in the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament for the first time in 1996. Their last post-season appearance in the 1990s was in the WNIT in 1998. The Bulldogs did not return to the post-season until 2009 and 2010 under head coach Beth Couture, who led the team to four consecutive 20-win seasons in 2008 through 2011. The Butler Bulldogs football program has a long history, beginning with Indiana's first intercollegiate football game at the old 7th Street Baseball Grounds in the spring of 1884. For the game between Butler and DePauw, Butler senior John F. Stone compiled the rules by combining association (soccer) rules with eastern intercollegiate rules to form the western intercollegiate rules, which were published by Charles Mayer of Indianapolis. Butler won the game by a score of four goals to one. The Bulldogs have appeared in three playoff games, the last in 1991 when it lost to eventual national champion Pittsburg State 26–16. The Bulldogs saw their greatest success in football over the course of 60 seasons from 1934 to 1994 when Bulldog football teams won 31 conference championships, including seven straight Indiana Collegiate Conference titles from 1934 to 1940, league titles in 1946, 1947, 1952, 1953, and seven straight from 1958 to 1964, all under Tony Hinkle. Following the move from the College Division to NCAA Division II, Butler won 4 straight conference championships from 1972 to 1975, along with another one in 1977, all under the guidance of Bill Sylvester, Sr. Ashland joined Butler and fellow ICC members to form the Heartland Collegiate Conference, in which Butler won league titles in 1983, 1985, and three straight from 1987 to 1989, under coach Bill Lynch. The Bulldogs also went the NCAA Division II playoffs in 1983 and 1988. Butler and fellow HCC member schools joined with the Great Lakes Valley Conference to form the Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference (now the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference). Butler added back to back league titles in 1991 and 1992 with Bob Bartlameo at the helm, including a trip to the NCAA Division II playoffs in 1991. The following season, Butler and member school Valparaiso moved up to NCAA Division I-AA (now Division I FCS) under the guidance of Ken LaRose to join with Dayton, Drake, Evansville, and San Diego to form the Pioneer Football League, in which Butler still competes. Butler capped its decade of dominance, seven league titles in ten years with three playoff berths, by winning another conference championship in 1994. The Dawgs were led by the great Arnold Mickens who broke numerous NCAA Division I rushing records, including eight straight 200 yard performances during the campaign. The Bulldogs, led by Coach Jeff Voris, won the 2009 Pioneer Football League title by compiling a 7–1 league record and an 11–1 season overall. The conference title run included a come-from-behind 25–24 victory over Pioneer League preseason favorite San Diego, a 31–28 road win at Dayton (who also finished with a 7–1 league record), and a 20–17 title-clinching victory over Drake. The Pioneer Football League title earned the Bulldogs a berth in the Gridiron Classic. It was Butler's first postseason appearance since 1991 when they were still a Division-II football program. Butler defeated Central Connecticut State 28–23 to win the Gridiron Classic in Indianapolis. In 2012 the Bulldogs were able to rattle of 7 consecutive league victories to secure the share of the PFL Championship. This is the third PFL Championship for the Dawgs, and its second in the last four years. In 2013, Butler became the first PFL team to compete in the FCS playoffs after the conference was given an automatic invitation, losing in the first round to Tennessee State. The Hoosier Helmet was established as the trophy helmet for the rivalry football game played between Butler and Valparaiso University. The Hoosier Helmet was created prior to the 2006 season to commemorate the football rivalry that has existed since 1921. The helmet trophy was created to further intensify the rivalry between these two teams. A group of Butler players, along with their head coach, Jeff Voris, came up with the idea for the helmet. After Valparaiso head coach Stacey Adams agreed to play for the helmet, Butler equipment manager John Harding put the helmet together. The white helmet is mounted on a hardwood plaque and features each team's logo on respective sides of the helmet. A gold plate is added each year to commemorate the winner and score of the contest. Currently, Butler holds a 4–1 series lead when playing for the Hoosier Helmet. Both Butler and Valparaiso compete in the NCAA FCS (formerly division 1-AA), non-scholarship Pioneer Football League. The Butler Relays were a prestigious American Track and Field competition, founded by track coach Herman Phillips who won three NCAA quartermile championships and was a member of the 1928 U.S. Olympic 1,600 meter gold medal relay team. The event annually showcased 350–400 athletes representing 20–30 colleges and universities. From an attendance of 3,500, the games grew to attract over 10,000 spectators to Butler (Hinkle) Fieldhouse each March. The college's fraternities and sororities vied in yearly ticket sales, parade float, house decoration, and Relay Queen competitions. The University Division "Governor's Cup" went to each year's victor, with Indiana University claiming the inaugural trophy in 1933 and the University of Notre Dame taking the final prize in 1942. The University of Michigan captured the eight intervening awards. Butler claimed the College Division "Mayor's Trophy" between 1938 and 1941. In addition to the participation of legendary American Olympians Jesse Owens, Glenn Cunningham, Ralph Metcalfe, and IU's Don Lash, the Butler Relays saw ten world records set or tied during the meet's decade-long run. When Phillips became head track and field coach at Purdue University in 1938, Lawrence Holmes directed the relays for one year. Butler alumnus and former world two mile (3 km) record holder Ray Sears staged the games from 1939 until the fieldhouse was dedicated to military use in 1942. The Butler Relays were not reinstituted after World War II because of the expense and the basketball program's influence over fieldhouse scheduling. Men's soccer at Butler began in 1989, and the women's team was added in 1991. In the program's 20-year history, the men's soccer team has made five post-season appearances, acquiring a 3–5 record in post-season play. The Bulldogs' last post-season appearance was in 2009. Butler's men's soccer qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001 and 2009, reaching the round of 16 in 1995 and 1998. Butler won the Horizon League (formerly MCC) tournament title in 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001 and 2010. They also won or shared the regular season title seven times, including 1994, 1996, 1998, 2004, 2008, 2009, and 2010. The 1998 squad enjoyed national rankings as high as #8 in the country and the 2010 squad was ranked as high as #5 in the final National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll. The Bulldogs won the 2016 Big East Championship. The Butler baseball team has been led since 2017 by Head Coach Dave Schrage. The program's success includes Horizon League regular season championships in 1996, 1998, and 1999, as well as Horizon League tournament titles in 1998 and 2000, providing berths to the NCAA Division I Baseball Championships. The Bulldogs also had 34 win seasons in 2002 and 2003, surpassing the 30 win season totals in 1998 and 2000. Notable alumni of the program include middle reliever pitcher Pat Neshek (2001), who played for the Minnesota Twins from 2006 to 2010, the St. Louis Cardinals where he was selected for the 2014 MLB All-Star Game, and currently the Philadelphia Phillies. The Butler softball team has been led by Scott Hall for the last 5 seasons. In his first season, he set a new school record with 14 inner conference wins and a new record with 4 tournament game wins which tied the school record for best league finish in the 2010–2011 season. They have a notable assistant coach in Jenna Grim whom was a professional softball Player for the Chicago Bandits and an assistant with Northwestern University for two years. Her key responsibilities in the program are to work with the pitching staff and catchers. The other assistant coach is Jack Lewis who brings in over 30 years of coaching experience. Butler softball plays at the Butler Softball Field as their home field. Butler has never won a conference championship. As of April 7, 2015 the Bulldogs are ranked 158th in the nation. Some of Butler's most notable athletic accomplishments have come in Cross Country. Butler won thirteen Horizon League Championships in Men's Cross Country and twelve Women's Championships. Both the men and women won the Atlantic 10 Championships in 2012, their lone year in the conference. The Men's team has placed as high as 4th in the nation in recent years, earning a team trophy at the NCAA Division I championships in 2004. The women also earned an NCAA podium finish, placing 3rd in 2013. Both teams have frequently qualified for nationals in recent years, placing individuals as high as 3rd (Mark Tucker, 2003). All-Americans from the Butler Cross Country Team include Julius Mwangi, Justin Young, Fraser Thompson (a Rhodes Scholar), Mark Tucker, Olly Laws, Andrew Baker, Callum Hawkins, Mara Olson, Katie Clark, Erik Peterson, and Olivia Pratt. Former coach, Joe Franklin, was named NCAA Division I Coach of the Year for leading the Bulldogs to their 2004 4th-place finish. It was clear from the earliest days that athletics was destined to play a major role in shaping Butler University. When the school moved to its current Fairview campus location, two of the first structures completed were a 15,000-seat fieldhouse and a 36,000-seat football stadium. The football stadium, which came to be known as the Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl (known as the Butler Bowl until 2017), was built in 1927. The original stadium had seating for 36,000 and hosted games versus the likes of the Four Horsemen from Notre Dame and Red Grange from Illinois. The Bowl was downsized to a 20,000-seat stadium in 1955 with the addition of the Hilton U. Brown Theatre, and is the home field for Butler football and soccer today. A 2006 renovation of the stadium included seating for 7,500, larger sidelines, and field turf, allowing it to host football, soccer, and other events. The new Student Apartment Housing overlooks the stadium on the east end, with the original seating on the west side of the stadium. A new press box and new seating on the west end and additional seating on the east end of the Bowl have been completed for the 2010 fall season. New lighting was completed in 2011 and was utilized for the first time during the 2012 season. New seating and the new entrance on the south end of the stadium were completed in time for the 2013 season. The new student hill is now located on the north end of the stadium. The fieldhouse, which was the largest of its kind when it was completed in 1928 and remained the largest in the U.S. for several decades, is a historical landmark. The Butler Fieldhouse, which was renamed Hinkle Fieldhouse in 1966, came to symbolize not only Butler athletics, but also Indiana "Hoosier Hysteria." From its opening in 1928 until 1971, the building became the combined home of Butler basketball and the final rounds of the Indiana High School Athletic Association's basketball tournament. The legends of Indiana basketball, from Oscar Robertson to George McGinnis to Larry Bird, all played in the Fieldhouse at one time or another. In 1954, Butler Fieldhouse hosted the historic final when Milan High School (enrollment 161) defeated Muncie Central High School (enrollment over 1,600) to win the state title. The state final depicted in the 1986 movie "Hoosiers", loosely based on the Milan Miracle story, was shot in Hinkle Fieldhouse. Other facilities include Varsity Field, which serves as one of the homes of the Butler men's and women's soccer teams. A natural grass field, the complex gives the soccer teams a unique advantage in being able to play games and have practices on both the artificial surface of the Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl and the natural surface of Varsity Field. Varsity Field features a covered area for both team benches, an elevated press box, a storage area for equipment and seating along the southern sideline for up to 500 spectators. The soccer teams are also able to take advantage of the practice fields located north of the main field. Bulldog Park is the home of Butler's baseball program. It has a capacity of 500 spectators. Formerly both a baseball field and football practice facility, the park was converted to a baseball-only facility in the 1990s. Its dimensions are 330 ft. down the foul lines, 370 ft. to the gaps, and 400 ft. to center field. The Butler softball team calls the Butler Softball Field home, located adjacent to the Holcomb Gardens across the Inland Waterway Canal. The field is a part of a larger athletic field complex that features Varsity Field (the alternate field for both the men's and women's soccer teams), the outdoor tennis courts and intramural softball and soccer fields. The field features brick dugouts for both the home and visiting benches, a bullpen area and batting cages located down the first base line out of play and spectator seating for up to 500 people. The field's outfield dimensions extend to from foul pole to foul pole. A minor renovation during the winter of 2007 saw new dirt added to the infield and regraded for a more consistent playing surface. The Butler Bubble is home to the Bulldog men's and women's tennis teams and is used as an indoor practice facility for the Butler baseball, football and soccer teams. All of the Butler tennis teams' home matches during the winter and early spring take place inside the bubble, which is located behind Hinkle Fieldhouse off of 52nd Street. The Bubble was originally constructed at the far west end of the Hinkle Fieldhouse parking lot, but was relocated to along the right field line of Bulldog Park after the original plot was broke for the construction of the new Health and Recreation Complex in the summer of 2005. The Bubble houses four hard-surface tennis courts as well as additional room for storage of equipment for both tennis teams. The bubble itself is supported by higher air pressure inside and is permanently fixed over the courts. Situated next adjacent to Bulldog Park as a part of the Davey Athletic Complex, the Davey Track & Field is used primarily by the Butler track & field teams and the football team for practices but is also utilized by the other athletics programs for conditioning. Butler University broke ground on its new, Health and Recreation Complex (HRC) in June 2005. The HRC offers many new services to students, faculty and staff, while expanding others presently available. In addition to being the headquarters for Butler's department of recreation, the HRC also houses Counseling and Consultation Services, Health Education and Health Services, making it a true wellness center on campus. Since opening Aug 30, 2006, over 250,000 participants have enjoyed it so far. While the Fieldhouse provided a nationally acclaimed setting for Butler athletics, it was Paul D. "Tony" Hinkle, credited with inventing the orange basketball, who brought national recognition to the school as a coach and athletic administrator. He came to Butler in 1921 and remained with the University until his death in 1992. Hinkle served as a teacher, coach and athletic administrator for nearly half a century and compiled more than 1,000 victories with the school's football, basketball and baseball teams. The Bulldogs have carried on the winning traditions set forth by Hinkle. In the past decade, Butler teams have captured 26 conference championships (in four different leagues). The Bulldogs have made appearances in NCAA National Championship Tournaments in men's and women's basketball, men's soccer, volleyball, men's cross country, lacrosse, and baseball. Butler won the James J. McCafferty trophy, awarded annually by the conference for all-sports excellence based on conference championship points, five times, including three-straight from 1996–97 to 1998–99 and back-to-back years in 2001–02 and 2002–03. Butler University was originally founded as North Western Christian University by Ovid Butler in 1855. He choose "Christians" as the school mascot. Sometime after the school had been renamed in honor of its founder, Butler was suffering a poor football season in 1919. As losses mounted, people grew wary of the "Christians" nickname. Before a big game against the rival Franklin "Baptists", the Butler Collegian was trying to conceive of a way to fire people up when "Shimmy", a bulldog owned by one of the fraternities, wandered into their office. Shimmy inspired cartoonist George Dickson to draw a bulldog labeled "Butler" taking a bite out of John The Baptist. Butler lost the game, but the nickname "Bulldogs" stuck. Eventually, the bulldog was selected as the official mascot of the university. For many years, Butler had unofficial live bulldog mascots that kept by various fraternities. In 2000, Butler Blue became the school's first official live mascot. To date, there have been three dogs to carry the name "Blue", the university's primary color. In addition to "Blue," a person in bulldog costume also performs as "Hink" for various Butler University athletic and university events. Butler first joined a Division I conference in 1932 when the men's basketball team joined the Missouri Valley Conference. Other sports joined conferences in later years. On May 2, 2012, it was made official that Butler would join the Atlantic 10 Conference beginning in the 2013 season. However, the timeline was later shortened so that the Bulldogs will begin competition beginning in the 2012 season. On August 1, 2012, Butler announced it joined the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference for women's golf following the school's split with the Horizon League, where the Bulldogs won all but two of the conference's championships in the sport. On March 20, 2013, the Butler administration announced that the school would join the reconfigured Big East, and moved to the new conference on July 1, 2013. Butler Bulldogs The Butler Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent Butler University, located in Indianapolis. The Bulldogs participate in 20 NCAA Division I intercollegiate sports. After leaving the Horizon League following the 2011–12 season, nearly all teams competed in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The football team is a founding member of the non-scholarship Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)-level Pioneer League. On March 20, 2013, the Butler administration announced that the school would join the Big East,

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