North America
North America is a continent within the Northern Hemisphere and all within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea. North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers, about 16.5% of the earth's land area and about 4.8% of its total surface. North America is the third largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa, the fourth by population after Asia and Europe. In 2013, its population was estimated at nearly 579 million people in 23 independent states, or about 7.5% of the world's population, if nearby islands are included. North America was reached by its first human populations during the last glacial period, via crossing the Bering land bridge 40,000 to 17,000 years ago; the so-called Paleo-Indian period is taken to have lasted until about 10,000 years ago. The Classic stage spans the 6th to 13th centuries.
The Pre-Columbian era ended in 1492, the transatlantic migrations—the arrival of European settlers during the Age of Discovery and the Early Modern period. Present-day cultural and ethnic patterns reflect interactions between European colonists, indigenous peoples, African slaves and their descendants. Owing to the European colonization of the Americas, most North Americans speak English, Spanish or French, their culture reflects Western traditions; the Americas are accepted as having been named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci by the German cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann. Vespucci, who explored South America between 1497 and 1502, was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies, but a different landmass unknown by Europeans. In 1507, Waldseemüller produced a world map, in which he placed the word "America" on the continent of South America, in the middle of what is today Brazil, he explained the rationale for the name in the accompanying book Cosmographiae Introductio:... ab Americo inventore... quasi Americi terram sive Americam.
For Waldseemüller, no one should object to the naming of the land after its discoverer. He used the Latinized version of Vespucci's name, but in its feminine form "America", following the examples of "Europa", "Asia" and "Africa". Other mapmakers extended the name America to the northern continent, In 1538, Gerard Mercator used America on his map of the world for all the Western Hemisphere; some argue that because the convention is to use the surname for naming discoveries, the derivation from "Amerigo Vespucci" could be put in question. In 1874, Thomas Belt proposed a derivation from the Amerrique mountains of Central America. Marcou corresponded with Augustus Le Plongeon, who wrote: "The name AMERICA or AMERRIQUE in the Mayan language means, a country of perpetually strong wind, or the Land of the Wind, and... the can mean... a spirit that breathes, life itself." The United Nations formally recognizes "North America" as comprising three areas: Northern America, Central America, The Caribbean.
This has been formally defined by the UN Statistics Division. The term North America maintains various definitions in accordance with context. In Canadian English, North America refers to the land mass as a whole consisting of Mexico, the United States, Canada, although it is ambiguous which other countries are included, is defined by context. In the United States of America, usage of the term may refer only to Canada and the US, sometimes includes Greenland and Mexico, as well as offshore islands. In France, Portugal, Romania and the countries of Latin America, the cognates of North America designate a subcontinent of the Americas comprising Canada, the United States, Mexico, Greenland, Saint Pierre et Miquelon, Bermuda. North America has been referred to by other names. Spanish North America was referred to as Northern America, this was the first official name given to Mexico. Geographically the North American continent has many subregions; these include cultural and geographic regions. Economic regions included those formed by trade blocs, such as the North American Trade Agreement bloc and Central American Trade Agreement.
Linguistically and culturally, the continent could be divided into Latin America. Anglo-America includes most of Northern America and Caribbean islands with English-speaking populations; the southern North American continent is composed of two regions. These are the Caribbean; the north of the continent maintains recognized regions as well. In contrast to the common definition of "North America", which encompasses the whole continent, the term "North America" is sometimes used to refer only to Mexico, the United States, Greenland; the term Northern America refers to the northern-most countries and territories of North America: the United States, Bermuda, St. Pierre and Miquelon and Greenland. Although the term does not refer to a unifie
Yao Ming
Yao Ming is a Chinese basketball executive and retired professional basketball player who played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association and the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association. He was selected to start for the Western Conference in the NBA All-Star Game eight times, was named to the All-NBA Team five times. At the time of his final season, he was the tallest active player in the NBA, at 2.29 m. He is the only player from outside of the United States to lead the NBA in All-Star votes. Yao, born in Shanghai, started playing for the Shanghai Sharks as a teenager, played on their senior team for five years in the Chinese Basketball Association, winning a championship in his final year. After negotiating with the CBA and the Sharks to secure his release, Yao was selected by the Houston Rockets as the first overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft, he reached the NBA Playoffs four times, the Rockets won the first-round series in the 2009 postseason, their first playoff series victory since 1997.
In July 2011, Yao announced his retirement from professional basketball because of a series of foot and ankle injuries which forced him to miss 250 games in his last six seasons. In eight seasons with the Rockets, Yao ranks sixth among franchise leaders in total points and total rebounds, second in total blocks. Yao is one of China's best-known athletes, with sponsorships with several major companies, his rookie year in the NBA was the subject of a documentary film, The Year of the Yao, he co-wrote, along with NBA analyst Ric Bucher, an autobiography titled Yao: A Life in Two Worlds. In April 2016, Yao was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, alongside Shaquille O'Neal and Allen Iverson. In February 2017, Yao was unanimously elected as chairman of Chinese Basketball Association. Yao is the only child of 6 ft 7 in Yao Zhiyuan and 6 ft 3 in Fang Fengdi, both of whom were former professional basketball players. At 11 pounds, Yao weighed more than twice as much as the average Chinese newborn.
When Yao was nine years old, he attended a junior sports school. The following year, Yao measured 5 feet 5 inches and was examined by sports doctors, who predicted he would grow to 7 feet 3 inches. Yao first tried out for the Shanghai Sharks junior team of the Chinese Basketball Association when he was thirteen years old, practiced ten hours a day for his acceptance. After playing with the junior team for four years, Yao joined the senior team of the Sharks, where he averaged 10 points and 8 rebounds a game in his rookie season, his next season was cut short when he broke his foot for the second time in his career, which Yao said decreased his jumping ability by four to six inches. The Sharks made the finals of the CBA in Yao's third season and again the next year, but lost both times to the Bayi Rockets; when Wang Zhizhi left the Bayi Rockets to become the first NBA player from China the following year, the Sharks won their first CBA championship. During the playoffs in his final year with Shanghai, Yao averaged 38.9 points and 20.2 rebounds a game, while shooting 76.6% from the field, made all 21 of his shots during one game in the finals.
Yao was pressured to enter the NBA draft in 1999 by Li Yaomin, the deputy general manager of the Shanghai Sharks. Li influenced Yao to sign a contract for Evergreen Sports Inc. to serve as his agent. The agreement entitled Evergreen to 33% of Yao's earnings, but the contract was determined to be invalid; when Yao decided to enter the 2002 NBA draft, a group of advisers was formed that came to be known as "Team Yao". The team consisted of Erik Zhang. Yao was predicted to be picked number one overall. However, some teams were concerned about Yao's NBA eligibility because of uncertainty over whether the CBA would let Yao play in the United States. Shortly after Wang Zhizhi refused to return to China to play for the national team and was subsequently banned from playing for China, the CBA stipulated that Yao would have to return to play for the national team, they said they would not let him go to the United States unless the Houston Rockets would take him first overall. After assurances from Team Yao that the Rockets would draft Yao with their number one pick, the CBA gave permission on the morning of the draft for Yao to play in the U.
S. When the Rockets selected Yao with the first pick of the draft, he became the first international player to be selected first overall without having played U. S. college basketball. Yao did not participate in the Rockets' pre-season training camp, instead playing for China in the 2002 FIBA World Championships. Before the season, several commentators, including Bill Simmons and Dick Vitale, predicted that Yao would fail in the NBA, Charles Barkley said he would "kiss ass" if Yao scored more than 19 points in one of his rookie-season games. Yao played his first NBA game against the Indiana Pacers, scoring no points and grabbing two rebounds, scored his first NBA basket against the Denver Nuggets. In his first seven games, he averaged only 14 minutes and 4 points, but on November 17, he scored 20 points on a perfect 9-of-9 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line against the Lakers. Barkley made good on his bet by kissing the buttock of a donkey purchased by Smith for the occasion. In Yao's first game in Miami on December 16, 2002, the Heat passed out 8,000 fortune cookies, an Asian cultural stereotype.
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Ray Allen
Walter Ray Allen Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. He played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 2018. Allen began his basketball career as a collegiate athlete for the Connecticut Huskies, where he played for three seasons, gaining a reputation as an efficient and deadly long-range shooter, he entered the NBA in 1996 as the fifth overall selection. In the NBA, he developed into a prolific scorer for the Milwaukee Bucks, featuring alongside Glenn Robinson and Sam Cassell as the team achieved playoff success. However, the trio were unable to capture a championship, Allen was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics. In Seattle, Allen's reputation as a scorer was solidified. Despite this, a title still eluded Allen, he was traded to the Boston Celtics in 2007. In Boston and new teammates Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce formed a "Big Three" and had immediate success, winning an NBA championship in 2008.
He remained with the franchise for five seasons, before departing in free agency to join the Miami Heat for two seasons. In Miami, Allen accepted a reserve role, emphasizing spot-up and clutch shooting, which allowed him to capture another championship in 2013, his clutch three-pointer to tie Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals with 5.2 seconds remaining is regarded as one of the most memorable plays in NBA history. Allen's list of individual accolades are extensive, he is considered one of the best shooters of all-time. In September 2018, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. During his NBA career, Allen acted during some offseasons, he is best known for his role. Allen's performance as Shuttlesworth was praised by critics, the name was borrowed as Allen's basketball nickname; the third of five children, Allen was born at Castle Air Force Base near Merced, the son of Walter Sr. and Flora Allen. A military child, he spent time growing up in Saxmundham, England, in Altus, Oklahoma, at Edwards Air Force Base in California, in Germany.
After years of traveling and continual moving, his family settled in Dalzell, South Carolina for the next four years, where he would attend high school. When he first arrived, the young Allen was made the odd-man-out, whom kids picked on, due to the accent acquired during his formative years in Britain. Although never fitting in with the other kids, Allen's natural athletic gifts, his obsession with hard work, allowed him to excel in every sport he played; when a growth spurt left him with a natural advantage in basketball, he decided to dedicate his free time to becoming the best basketball player he could. Fueled by his desire to become the top player on the military base where he lived, Allen practiced at length daily, so long as it didn't interfere with his studies. By the age of fifteen, he was playing for Hillcrest High School's varsity team, would lead them to their first state championship game. In that game, Allen showed his NBA potential by posting an impressive 25 points, to go along with 12 rebounds, in a blowout victory for Hillcrest Wildcats.
Amid the resulting attention from colleges from the University of Kentucky, Allen accepted an offer from the University of Connecticut. Allen attended the University of Connecticut from 1993 to 1996 after being recruited by assistant coach Karl Hobbs. While at UConn, he was named USA Basketball's Male Athlete of the Year in 1995. In 1995–96, his final college season, Allen was a first-team All-American and won the Big East Player of the Year award. Allen finished his UConn career third on the Huskies' career scoring list with 1,922 points and set a single-season school record by connecting on 115 three-pointers in 1995–96. In 2001, Allen was named honorary captain of the 25-member UConn All-Century Basketball Team. On February 5, 2007, his name and number were honored at Connecticut's Gampel Pavilion during the "Huskies of Honor" ceremony at halftime of the men's basketball game against the Syracuse Orange. On December 7, 2018, the University of Connecticut announced that Allen would be the first player to have his number retired by the school.
The retirement ceremony took place in March 2019. Allen was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the fifth pick of the 1996 NBA draft. After his selection and Andrew Lang were traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for the rights to fourth pick Stephon Marbury. Allen made his NBA debut on November 1, 1996, where he started and played 28 minutes and scored 13 points in a win against fellow rookie Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers. On January 12, 1997, Allen put in one of his strongest efforts of the season in a win against the Golden State Warriors, contributing 22 points, 6 assists, 3 steals and a new career high of 9 rebounds. In February 1997, Allen competed in the Slam Dunk Contest during All-Star Weekend, where he finished fourth. Continuing his strong rookie season, on March 25, 1997, Allen scored a new career high of 32 points in a loss to the Phoenix Suns. Allen was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. In the 1997 -- 98 season, Allen started all 82 games for the Bucks. In the season opener, he put up 29 points, including 6 three-pointers in a win against the 76ers.
On December 20, 1997, Allen set a new career high of 35 points aga
Halftime show
A halftime show is a performance given during the brief period between the first and second halves, or the second and third quarters, of a sporting event. Halftime shows are not given for sports with an irregular or indeterminate number of divisions, or for sports that do not have an extended period of stoppage in play. Ice hockey games consist of three periods, so there are in effect two halftimes at a hockey game: the first intermission is between the first and second periods, the second intermission comes between the second and third periods; the intermissions are given over to contests involving randomly selected audience members. The invention of the halftime show is credited to Walter Lingo. Lingo was the owner of a dog kennel and sponsored an all-Native American football team, the Oorang Indians, to tour the country and promote the kennel. In addition to playing football, the Indians would provide various forms of entertainment, including exhibiting the dogs, players demonstrating their prowess.
Dancing, demonstrations of native culture. Although the halftime show was in part designed to bring an additional draw to mask the fact that the Indians did not put much effort into the actual game, his halftime show was the same from game to game, the novelty wore off after two years. A modern halftime show can consist of cheerleading performances, majorette routines, marching bands playing music, or other spectacular performances. Halftime shows are well known among black colleges and universities, which have elaborate "battles of the bands" between the opposing schools' marching bands during halftimes of the most prominent games. More common in modern times in major games, is to reserve the entire halftime period for a short concert by a major recording artist. A halftime show is a traditional element in Canadian football game. During the interval between the second and third quarters some form of entertainment is presented on the field; the entertainment consists of performances by marching bands.
At high school and most college games, the school bands of the two competing teams perform at halftime. The cheerleaders and/or a dance team will perform. Other activities may take place, these vary widely; until sometime in the early 1980s, these shows were included as part of the broadcast if the game was televised. During a professional football game, a high school or college band may be brought in to perform. For the Super Bowl and Grey Cup games, an elaborate show involving world-renowned music stars, dancers and other special effects has become the norm. High-profile acts are chosen for their broad appeal, due to the games' large audiences, choices that deviate from that tend to be poorly received: for instance, in the 100th Grey Cup halftime show, balladeer Gordon Lightfoot received overwhelming approval, while teen-pop singer Justin Bieber was booed throughout his performance. Many football historians believe halftime shows originated with the Oorang Indians of the early National Football League.
The team was a marketing ploy by Walter Lingo to promote his airdales. He would lure audiences to his games with the promise of an outrageous halftime show, instead of the promise of a good football game; the team was called the Indians because they were made up of Native Americans, Oorang came from Lingo's Oorang Kennel Company. The Indians players participated in helping the Oorang Airedales perform tricks for the crowd before and after the game. However, it was their halftime entertainment that made them such a huge attraction in the early 1920s. There were shooting exhibitions with the dogs retrieving the targets. There were tomahawk and knife-throwing demonstrations. Indians player Nick Lassa called "Long-Time-Sleep" wrestled a bear on occasion. Another show was a demonstration of the United States Indian scouts actions during World War I; the show promoted Lingo's kennels by showing the Airedale Red Cross dogs administering first aid to wound soldier. Many of the scouts and Red Cross dogs taking part in the event were real veterans of the war, while the German troops were impersonated by local American Legion men who wore German uniforms furnished by Lingo.
The halftime activities soon became more important than the results of the game for the Indians fanbase. The Indians only won 3 games in their two seasons of existence. In the United States, the halftime show for the Super Bowl is the highlight of the event and can cost millions to stage. On February 1, 2004, the live halftime show for Super Bowl XXXVIII, produced by music video giant MTV, sparked outrage among many viewers when Justin Timberlake, one of the performers, exposed fellow performer Janet Jackson's right breast in what was dubbed a "wardrobe malfunction". Since it was broadcast live, the exposure was seen by millions. In Canada, the halftime show for the Grey Cup is a highlight of the event and can cost millions to stage. Performers over the years have included Lenny Kravitz, Nelly Furtado, The Tragically Hip. Blue Rodeo performed at the halftime show at the 97th Grey Cup. A halftime show is a traditional element in a Rugby league and Rugby union game during a Grand final. Seventh-inning stretch List of Super Bowl halftime shows List of Grey Cup halftime shows Tifo Card stunts The Cricket Show The Super Bowl Entertainment gives a list of all past pregame, anthem and halfti
Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Zydrunas Ilgauskas is a Lithuanian American retired professional basketball center of the National Basketball Association. He played for the Cleveland Cavaliers from 1996 to 2010, is the team's career leader in rebounds and blocks, he played for the Miami Heat during the 2010–11 season. In 2012, Ilgauskas joined the Cavaliers' front office. Ilgauskas made his professional debut in his birthplace of Kaunas, with local club Atletas in 1993, he averaged 12.8 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game in the 1994 -- 95 season. Ilgauskas was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the 20th overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft. On August 1, 1996, he signed a multi-year deal with the Cavaliers. In the earliest parts of his career he suffered through a myriad of ankle injuries, he spent the entire 1996–97 season on the injured list due to a broken bone in his right foot. He was named the most valuable player of the Rookie Challenge during All-Star Weekend and selected to the All-Rookie First Team in 1997–98, he signed a contract extension in 1998, worth $70.9 million over 6 years.
However, Ilgauskas played in only 5 games over the next two seasons. On January 26, 2000, he had a surgery on a fractured navicular bone in his left foot, he re-gained the starting center spot for the Cavaliers in 2000–01. He was out for the season; the injury dealt a blow to the Cavaliers. After winning 15 out of 23 games with Ilgauskas, they finished with a 30–52 record, he returned in December 2001 and was used as a backup to Chris Mihm for the rest of the season. Ilgauskas averaged 17.2 points and 7.5 rebounds in 2002–03. He was selected as an All-Star, but the Cavaliers finished with the third-worst record in team history and landed the number one draft pick; the Cavaliers drafted high school phenomenon and future NBA MVP LeBron James in 2003. James teamed up with Drew Gooden to form the core of the team. Ilgauskas only missed 9 games over the next three seasons and was selected as an All-Star again in 2005. On July 12, 2005, Ilgauskas signed a contract extension with the Cavaliers; the deal was worth over $55 million over 5 years.
For the next four seasons, Ilgauskas was the starting center for the team, which had turned into a contender. They reached the NBA Finals in 2007 and the Eastern Conference Finals in 2009. In summer 2009, the Cavaliers acquired Shaquille O'Neal; when asked about the trade, Ilgauskas responded: "I was just reading the news. That means I'll be coming off the bench." On December 2, 2009, Ilgauskas came off the bench in a game against Phoenix Suns to break the team record for career games played, overtaking General Manager Danny Ferry. On February 17, 2010, along with a 2010 first round pick and the rights to Emir Preldžič, was traded from the Cavaliers to the Washington Wizards as part of a three-team, six-player trade that sent Antawn Jamison from Washington to Cleveland, Al Thornton from the Los Angeles Clippers to Washington, Drew Gooden from Washington to Los Angeles, Sebastian Telfair from Los Angeles to Cleveland. On February 25, 2010, the Wizards bought out his contract. Ilgauskas did not play in any games for the Wizards.
It was possible for Ilgauskas to return to the Cavaliers, but only after a thirty-day waiting period policy required for players traded from their former teams after being bought out of their contract by their new team. He was still free to sign with any other team. On March 23, 2010 Ilgauskas signed a one-year deal for the remainder of the 2009–10 season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he made his return a day in a win over the New Orleans Hornets. In his first home game back with the team, against the Sacramento Kings, Ilgauskas received huge ovations and support from the crowd. Quicken Loans Arena was affectionately renamed "The Z" for the day, in honor of the Lithuanian; the 2010 NBA Playoffs marked the first time in Ilgauskas' career in which he was not a significant part of the Cavaliers' rotation. Ilgauskas saw only 69 minutes of floor time in the entire postseason, resulting in averages of 1.7 PPG and 1.6 RPG, far below his career playoff production. The Cavaliers were eliminated by the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
On July 17, 2010, Ilgauskas signed with the Miami Heat. The Heat's signings of Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and long-time teammate LeBron James influenced Ilgauskas' decision to join the Heat. On December 2, 2010, during the Heat's first game in Cleveland, the fans cheered Ilgauskas in pre-game introductions, while booing the rest of the starters, including James; the Heat fell short to the Dallas Mavericks in six games. In September 2011, Ilgauskas announced that he was retiring from basketball, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family as well as citing long-term personal physical fatigue and basic bodily wear-and-tear. Ilgauskas made his debut with the Lithuania national team in 1994, when the team was qualifying for a spot in the EuroBasket 1995, he averaged 7 rebounds per game. He wanted to play for the Lithuania national team in the 2008 Summer Olympics, but the Cavaliers did not permit him to play due to his injury history. During a press conference in 2008 he said: "I would like to thank to everyone federation, all the insurers for all their efforts and determination.
They have been working in days and in nights so that my dream – to play for the national team in the Olympics would come true... It's a pity that I was unable to do that previously... I think everyone of us aren't friends with Cleveland but, the way w
Tim Duncan
Timothy Theodore Duncan is an American former professional basketball player. He spent his entire 19-year career with the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association. Duncan started out as a swimmer, did not begin playing basketball until ninth grade, he played basketball for St. Dunstan's Episcopal High School. In college, Duncan played for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, winning the Naismith College Player of the Year, USBWA College Player of the Year, John Wooden awards in his senior year. After graduating from college, Duncan earned NBA Rookie of the Year honors after being selected by San Antonio with the first overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft. Regarded as the greatest power forward of all time as well as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, he is a five-time NBA champion, a two-time NBA MVP, a three-time NBA Finals MVP, a 15-time NBA All-Star, the only player to be selected to both the All-NBA and All-Defensive Teams for 13 consecutive seasons. Off the court, Duncan is known for his active philanthropy.
He holds a degree in psychology and created the Tim Duncan Foundation to raise general health awareness and fund education and youth sports in various parts of the United States. Tim Duncan is the son of Ione, a midwife, William Duncan, a mason, he has two older sisters and Tricia, one older brother, Scott, a film director and cinematographer. He was born and raised on Saint Croix, one of the main islands composing the U. S. Virgin Islands. In school, Duncan was a bright pupil and dreamt of becoming an Olympic-level swimmer like his sister Tricia, his parents were supportive and Duncan excelled at swimming, becoming a teenage standout in the 50, 100 and 400 meters freestyle and aiming to make the 1992 Olympic Games as a member of the United States Team. When Hurricane Hugo destroyed the island's only Olympic-sized swimming pool in 1989, Duncan was forced to swim in the ocean and he lost his enthusiasm for swimming because of his fear of sharks. Duncan was dealt another emotional blow when his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and died one day before his 14th birthday.
In her last days, she made Duncan and his sisters promise to finish college with a degree, which would explain Duncan's refusal to leave college early. Duncan was inspired by his brother-in-law to turn to basketball. Duncan had difficulties adapting to the game he thought would help relieve his pain and frustration. Nancy Pomroy, the athletic director of the St. Croix Country Day School was quoted: " was so huge. So big and tall, but he was awfully awkward at the time." He overcame this to become a standout for the St. Dunstan's Episcopal High School, averaging 25 points per game as a senior, his play attracted the attention of several universities, despite having only picked up the game in ninth grade. Wake Forest University basketball coach Dave Odom in particular grew interested in Duncan after the 16-year-old played NBA star Alonzo Mourning to a draw in a 5-on-5 pick-up game. Odom was searching for a physical player to play near the basket. Given the weak level of basketball in the Virgin Islands, Odom was wary about Duncan at first after first meeting him and thinking him to be inattentive.
However, after the first talk, Odom understood that this was just Duncan's way of paying attention, discovered that he was not only athletically talented, but a quick learner. Despite scholarship offers by the University of Hartford, the University of Delaware and Providence College, Duncan joined Odom's Wake Forest Demon Deacons. In the year before Duncan's arrival at Wake Forest University, the Demon Deacons reached the Sweet 16, but lost main scorer Rodney Rogers, who entered the 1993 NBA draft. In the 1993–94 NCAA season, Coach Dave Odom was considering redshirting Duncan, but was forced to play him after fellow freshman big man Makhtar N'Diaye was ruled out due to NCAA rules violations and transferred to Michigan. Duncan struggled with early transition problems and was held scoreless in his first college game, but as the year progressed, he and teammate Randolph Childress led the Deacons to a 20–11 win-loss record. Duncan's style of play was simple but effective, combining an array of low-post moves, mid-range bank shots and tough defense.
He was chosen to represent the U. S. in the 1994 Goodwill Games. Meanwhile, Duncan worked towards a degree in psychology and took classes in anthropology and Chinese literature. Despite focusing on basketball, Wake Forest psychology department chairperson Deborah Best was quoted: "Tim was one of my more intellectual students. Other than his height, I couldn't tell him from any other student at Wake Forest." Duncan established his reputation as a stoic player, to the extent that opposing fans taunted him as "Mr. Spock", the prototypical logical, detached character from Star Trek. In the 1994–95 NCAA season, the sophomore was soon called one of the best eligible NBA prospects, along with his peers Joe Smith, Rasheed Wallace and Jerry Stackhouse. Los Angeles Lakers general manager Jerry West suggested that Duncan might become the top pick in the 1995 NBA draft if he went early, but Duncan assured everyone he had no intention of going pro until he graduated though the NBA was planning to add a rookie salary cap in 1996.
He was determined to stay in school. In that season, he led the Demon Deacons into the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game against a Rasheed Wall
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the Defence of Fort M'Henry, a poem written on September 14, 1814, by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by British ships of the Royal Navy in Baltimore Harbor during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. Key was inspired by the large U. S. flag, with 15 stars and 15 stripes, known as the Star-Spangled Banner, flying triumphantly above the fort during the U. S. victory. The poem was set to the tune of a popular British song written by John Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society, a men's social club in London. "To Anacreon in Heaven", with various lyrics, was popular in the United States. Set to Key's poem and renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner", it soon became a well-known U. S. patriotic song. With a range of 19 semitones, it is known for being difficult to sing. Although the poem has four stanzas, only the first is sung today.
"The Star-Spangled Banner" was recognized for official use by the United States Navy in 1889, by U. S. President Woodrow Wilson in 1916, was made the national anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931, signed by President Herbert Hoover. Before 1931, other songs served as the hymns of U. S. officialdom. "Hail, Columbia" served this purpose at official functions for most of the 19th century. "My Country,'Tis of Thee", whose melody is identical to "God Save the Queen", the United Kingdom's national anthem served as a de facto national anthem. Following the War of 1812 and subsequent U. S. wars, other songs emerged to compete for popularity at public events, among them "America the Beautiful", which itself was being considered before 1931, as a candidate to become the national anthem of the United States. On September 3, 1814, following the Burning of Washington and the Raid on Alexandria, Francis Scott Key and John Stuart Skinner set sail from Baltimore aboard the ship HMS Minden, flying a flag of truce on a mission approved by President James Madison.
Their objective was to secure an exchange of prisoners, one of whom was Dr. William Beanes, the elderly and popular town physician of Upper Marlboro and a friend of Key's, captured in his home. Beanes was accused of aiding the arrest of British soldiers. Key and Skinner boarded the British flagship HMS Tonnant on September 7 and spoke with Major General Robert Ross and Vice Admiral Alexander Cochrane over dinner while the two officers discussed war plans. At first and Cochrane refused to release Beanes but relented after Key and Skinner showed them letters written by wounded British prisoners praising Beanes and other Americans for their kind treatment; because Key and Skinner had heard details of the plans for the attack on Baltimore, they were held captive until after the battle, first aboard HMS Surprise and back on HMS Minden. After the bombardment, certain British gunboats attempted to slip past the fort and effect a landing in a cove to the west of it, but they were turned away by fire from nearby Fort Covington, the city's last line of defense.
During the rainy night, Key had witnessed the bombardment and observed that the fort's smaller "storm flag" continued to fly, but once the shell and Congreve rocket barrage had stopped, he would not know how the battle had turned out until dawn. On the morning of September 14, the storm flag had been lowered and the larger flag had been raised. During the bombardment, HMS Terror and HMS Meteor provided some of the "bombs bursting in air". Key was inspired by the U. S. victory and the sight of the large U. S. flag flying triumphantly above the fort. This flag, with fifteen stars and fifteen stripes, had been made by Mary Young Pickersgill together with other workers in her home on Baltimore's Pratt Street; the flag came to be known as the Star-Spangled Banner and is today on display in the National Museum of American History, a treasure of the Smithsonian Institution. It was restored in 1914 by Amelia Fowler, again in 1998 as part of an ongoing conservation program. Aboard the ship the next day, Key wrote a poem on the back of a letter.
At twilight on September 16, he and Skinner were released in Baltimore. He completed the poem at the Indian Queen Hotel, where he was staying, titled it "Defence of Fort M'Henry", it was first published nationally in The Analectic Magazine. Much of the idea of the poem, including the flag imagery and some of the wording, is derived from an earlier song by Key set to the tune of "The Anacreontic Song"; the song, known as "When the Warrior Returns", was written in honor of Stephen Decatur and Charles Stewart on their return from the First Barbary War. Absent elaboration by Francis Scott Key prior to his death in 1843, some have speculated in modern times about the meaning of phrases or verses. According to British historian Robin Blackburn, the words "the hireling and slave" allude to the thousands of ex-slaves in the British ranks organised as the Corps of Colonial Marines, liberated by the British and demanded to be placed in the battle line "where they might expect to meet their former masters."
Professor Mark Clague, a professor of musicology at the University of Michigan, argues that the "middle two verses of Key's lyric vilify the British enemy in the War of 1812" and "in no way glorifies or celebrates slavery." Clague writes that "For Key... the British mercenaries were scoundrels and the Colonial Marines were traitors who threatened to spark a national insurrection." This harshly anti-British nature of Verse 3 led to its omission in sheet music in World War I, when the British and the U. S. were allies. Responding to the assertion of writer
