1.
Punter (football)
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This generally happens on a fourth down in American football and a third down in the Canadian version. Punters may also take part in fake punts in those same situations. A punter must be skilled in angling the football and/or kicking it as high as possible to maximize his teammates’ ability to eliminate a punt returners forward progress. A standard is that for a 42-yard fair-caught or out-of-bounds punt, the hang time should be at least a tenth of it in seconds. However, a hang-time of 5 seconds and over are still considered great punts, also, the punter will try to make the ball spin in an unusual manner making it harder to catch, which could result in a muff and potentially lead to the punters team gaining possession. The most common punting strategy involves receiving the snap from the line of scrimmage,15 yards into a deep shotgun formation. A less-seen strategy is the kick, in which the punter moves to the left or right, outside the offensive tackle. Punters play a role in winning the field position battle. Punters have increasingly begun to pull double duty as the holder on field goal attempts and also being used on kickoffs in windy conditions. One of the reasons why punters are starting to take over the holder position is that the backup quarterback is usually busy with the rest of the offense and has little time to devote to holding. Likewise the punter has certain training in throwing, due to the possibility of faking a field goal or attempting a two-point conversion. The long snapper for field goals is usually the punt snapper as well, punters are usually on their own during team practices, allowing them the time to work with the kicker, so the punter and placekicker tend to develop a close rapport. Along with kicking, punters can run or throw the ball as well and this strategy is also known as the fake punt. Another common term is called the trick play, teams will often use this key strategy when it is 4th down with maybe 8 or less yards to the first down marker. The punter has the ability to receive the football and run or pass the ball to another teammate, when scrambling the punter is live to tackle. This strategy is used in a close game. Thus, punters tend to receive the most attention when teams are bad, a coffin corner refers to the corner of the playing field just in front of the end zone, usually from the 5-yard line to the goal line. A perfect coffin corner kick is one that goes out of bounds just before either orange pylon located in the front of the end zone and this type of kick can also be attempted in Canadian football
2.
Westminster, South Carolina
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Westminster is a city in Oconee County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 2,399 at the 2010 census, Westminster was founded on March 17,1875 when the charter was signed. It was founded as a water stop on the Southern Railway. As stores, shops and factories started to set up around the train stop and its peak of expansion came in the 1920s. The Retreat Rosenwald School and Southern Railway Passenger Station are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Westminster is located at 34°39′59″N 83°5′43″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 3.4 square miles. As of the census of 2000, there were 2,743 people,1,191 households, the population density was 796.6 people per square mile. There were 1,333 housing units at a density of 387.1 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 85. 60% White,11. 81% African American,0. 04% Native American,0. 18% Asian,1. 20% from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 2. 48% of the population. 32. 2% of all households were made up of individuals and 13. 9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.90. In the city, the population was out with 23. 5% under the age of 18,9. 6% from 18 to 24,27. 0% from 25 to 44,24. 6% from 45 to 64. The median age was 38 years, for every 100 females there were 89.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.0 males, the median income for a household in the city was $30,802, and the median income for a family was $36,678. Males had an income of $30,104 versus $21,690 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,121, about 6. 8% of families and 9. 3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14. 2% of those under age 18 and 9. 8% of those age 65 or over. Westminster is home to industries, among them are, US Engine Valve plant, Ulbrich, and Sandvik Tooling Supply. West-Oak High School is the high school that most students from Westminster attend. The school draws students from one half of Oconee County. Westminster is the home of the South Carolina Apple Festival, the annual celebration is held during the first two weeks of September, and features a parade, street vendors and booths, a rodeo, and other family activities
3.
Pittsburgh Panthers football
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The Pittsburgh Panthers football is the intercollegiate football team of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as Pitt, located in Pittsburgh. As of the 2013 season, Pitt competes as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Pitt has claimed nine national championships and is among the top 20 college football programs in terms of all-time wins. The Panthers are currently coached by Pat Narduzzi, a 130-pound WUP student, Bert Smyers, along with senior student John Scott, assembled a football team that year composed of only three players who had previously witnessed the sport. The team played in one game, a loss against Shady Side Academy, in which Smyers made himself quarterback. In Smyers case, his uniform was pieced together by his mother and sister, the first official game for the university was played on October 11,1890, when the Allegheny Athletic Associations opponent, Shadyside Academy, failed to appear for its game at Exposition Park. Allegheny A. A. called Smyers who brought the WUP team as a replacement, in an inglorious start to Pitt football history, WUP was defeated 38–0. Smyers team next faced Washington and Jefferson College, losing 32–0, the following season saw the university collect more losses en route to a 2–5 record. Smyers suffered a nose in a 40–6 loss to Washington and Jefferson. Perhaps the most important development for the season of football was Smyers recruitment of Joseph Trees from Normal University of Pennsylvania. The 210 pound Trees became WUPs first subsidized athlete and, later in life, made millions in the oil industry and became an important benefactor for the university and athletic department. Today, Trees Hall, a facility on the University of Pittsburghs main campus in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh. The first winning record for the university came in the season of competition in 1892. The following season in 1893, the team had its first official coach, Anson F. Harrold, who led the team to an unremarkable 1–4 record. However, during that season the first contest was played in what would become a 96-game series versus Penn State, in 1895, the school suffered a 1–6 season under coach J. P. Linn. The 1895 season was notable for the first Backyard Brawl on October 26,1895, with WUP losing to West Virginia 8–0 in Wheeling, the university did not see another winning season until Fred Robinson led WUP to a 5–2–1 record in 1898. In 1899, Robinson continued his success with a 3–1–1 record and this was followed by two more consecutive winning seasons, including a record seven-win season in 1901 under coach Wilbur Hockensmith. That season, Hockensmith led the school to its first victory over West Virginia, in the early years of the 20th century, interest in college football grew both in Pittsburgh and throughout the nation. In 1903, Arthur St. Leger Texas Mosse was hired away from the University of Kansas, other players were recruited from surrounding Western Pennsylvania colleges, including star half back Joseph H. Thompson
4.
2004 NFL Draft
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The 2004 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting, the draft was held April 24–25,2004 at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. No teams chose to claim any players in the draft that year. The draft was shown on ESPN both days and eventually moved to ESPN2 both days, the draft began with the San Diego Chargers selecting Mississippi quarterback Eli Manning with the first overall selection. Manning was later traded to the New York Giants for their first selection, there were 32 compensatory selections distributed among 16 teams, with the Eagles, Rams, and Jets each receiving 4 compensatory picks. The draft set several records, including the most wide receivers selected in the first round, another record set by the draft was the most trades in the first round, with twenty-eight trades. The University of Miami set an NFL record for the most first rounders drafted with 6, ohio State set an NFL draft record having 14 total players selected through all rounds. The 255 players chosen in the draft were composed of, Football Outsiders –2004 NFL Draft, archived from the original on October 30,2008. Pro Football Hall of Fame website, archived from the original on May 14,2009. Archived from the original on May 14,2009, archived from the original on May 14,2009
5.
San Francisco 49ers
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The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team located in the San Francisco Bay Area. They compete in the National Football League as a member of the leagues National Football Conference West division, the team currently plays its home games at Levis Stadium in Santa Clara, California, located 45 miles southeast of San Francisco in the heart of Silicon Valley. Since 1988, the 49ers have been headquartered in Santa Clara, the team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and joined the NFL in 1949 when the leagues merged. The 49ers were the first major professional sports franchise based in San Francisco. The name 49ers comes from the prospectors who arrived in Northern California in the 1849 Gold Rush, the team is legally and corporately registered as the San Francisco Forty Niners, Ltd. The team began play at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco before moving across town to Candlestick Park in 1970 and then to Levis Stadium in Santa Clara in 2014. The 49ers won five Super Bowl championships between 1981 and 1995, led by Hall of Famers Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott, Steve Young, and coach Bill Walsh. As of the 2016 NFL season, the team has won a total of six championships, with the first in 1981. The 49ers have been in the playoffs a total of 26 times,25 times in the NFL. According to Forbes Magazine, the team is the 4th most-valuable team in the NFL, in 2016, the San Francisco 49ers were ranked the 10th most valuable sports team in the world, behind the Los Angeles Lakers and above Bayern Munich. In 1957, the 49ers enjoyed their first sustained success as members of the NFL, the 49ers fell behind the Bears 17–7. Tragically, 49ers owner Tony Morabito collapsed of a heart attack, the 49ers players learned of his death at halftime when coach Frankie Albert was handed a note with two words, Tonys gone. With tears running down their faces, and motivated to win for their departed owner, dicky Moegles late-game interception in the endzone sealed the victory. After Tonys death 49er ownership went to Victor Morabito and Tonys widow, the 49ers special assistant to the Morabitos, Louis G. Spadia was named general manager. They became the only full-house backfield inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, for most of the next 13 years, the 49ers hovered around.490, except for 1963 and 1964 when they went 2–12 and 4–10 respectively. Key players for these 49ers included running back Ken Willard, quarterback John Brodie, during this time the 49ers became the first NFL team to use the shotgun formation. It was named by the man who devised the formation, San Francisco 49ers coach Red Hickey. The formation, where the lines up seven yards behind the center, was designed to allow the quarterback extra time to throw
6.
2004 NFL season
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The 2004 NFL season was the 85th regular season of the National Football League. With the New England Patriots as the league champions, regular season play was held from September 9,2004 to January 2,2005. Due to several incidents during the 2003 NFL season, officials are authorized to penalize excessive celebration, the 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty will be marked off from the spot at the end of the previous play or, after a score, on the ensuing kickoff. If the infraction is ruled flagrant by the officials, the player are ejected, due to several instances during the 2003–04 playoffs, officials are instructed to strictly enforce illegal contact, pass interference, and defensive holding. Timeouts can be called by head coaches, in addition to the numbers 80–89, wide receivers will now be allowed to use numbers 10–19. A punt or missed field goal that is untouched by the team is immediately dead once it touches either the end zone or any member of the kicking team in the end zone. Previously, a punt or missed field goal that lands in the end zone before being controlled by the team could be picked up by a member of the receiving team. Teams will be awarded a third instant replay challenge if their first two are successful, previously, teams were only limited to two regardless of what occurred during the game. The one-bar facemask was officially outlawed, the few remaining players who still used the one-bar facemask at the time were allowed to continue to use the style until they left the league under a grandfather clause. Baltimore Ravens – Added third alternative uniforms, jacksonville Jaguars – New road uniforms. White uniforms, black numbers with gold and teal trim, New black pants with Jaguars logo on hip. New York Giants – Added third alternative uniforms, Minnesota Vikings – New FieldTurf field. Chicago Bears – Added third alternative uniforms, coaching changes Arizona Cardinals – Dennis Green replaced Dave McGinnis Atlanta Falcons – Jim Mora, Jr. Tiebreakers a Indianapolis clinched the AFC #3 seed instead of San Diego based on better head-to-head record, jets clinched the AFC #5 seed instead of Denver based on better record in common games. C St. Louis clinched the NFC #5 seed instead of Minnesota or New Orleans based on conference record. D Minnesota clinched the NFC #6 seed instead of New Orleans based on better head-to-head record, Giants finished ahead of Dallas and Washington in the NFC East based on better head-to-head record. F Dallas finished ahead of Washington in the NFC East based on better head-to-head record, within each conference, the four division winners and the two wild card teams qualified for the playoffs. The four division winners are seeded 1 through 4 based on their overall won-lost-tied record, the NFL does not use a fixed bracket playoff system, and there are no restrictions regarding teams from the same division matching up in any round
7.
2014 NFL season
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The 2014 NFL season was the 95th season in the history of the National Football League. The 2014 league year began at 4 pm EST on March 11, the per-team salary cap was set at US$133 million, a $10 million increase from the previous year. A total of 471 players were eligible for some form of free agency at the beginning of the free agency period, in addition, a number of highly paid players were released after the start of the league year to allow their teams to regain space under the salary cap. These players were defensive end Greg Hardy, tight end Jimmy Graham, placekicker Nick Folk, players given the transition tag were Jason Worilds and Alex Mack. Mack signed a five-year, $42 million offer sheet with the Jacksonville Jaguars which included $26 million in guaranteed money, the Browns matched the offer and retained Mack who became the leagues highest paid center. One restricted free agent switched teams in 2014, wide receiver Andrew Hawkins of the Bengals was signed by the Browns, restricted free agents are players with three or fewer seasons in the league whose contracts have expired. Teams may tender contract offers which allow them to match offers from other teams, Hawkins was tendered at the minimum level, which means the Bengals would not receive any draft compensation. The Browns signed him to a $13.6 million, four-year offer, Saints safety Rafael Bush signed an offer from the Falcons, but the Saints retained Bush by matching the offer. The 2014 NFL Draft was held May 8–10,2014, in New York City, the draft process began with the NFL Scouting Combine, where draft-eligible players were evaluated by team personnel, which was held in Indianapolis on February 19–25. The draft included a number of 98 non-seniors. In the draft the Houston Texans made University of South Carolina defensive end, there was discussion leading up to the draft as to the future of the event in New York City, where it had been held since 1965. Given the increased interest in the draft over the past decade, there was a belief that the event may have outgrown Radio City Music Hall, the possibility of extending the draft to four days was also being discussed. On October 2,2014, Auditorium Theatre in Chicago was announced as the site for the following years draft. Training camps for the 2014 season were held in late July through August, teams may start training camp no earlier than 15 days before the teams first scheduled preseason game. Prior to the start of the season, each team played four preseason exhibition games. The preseason schedule got underway with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on Sunday evening, the Hall of Fame game is a traditional part of the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame induction weekend celebrating new Hall of Fame members. It was played at Fawcett Stadium which is located adjacent to the Hall of Fame building in Canton, the game, which was televised in the U. S. on NBC, featured the New York Giants and Buffalo Bills, with the Giants winning 17–13. The others who were inducted into the Hall of Fame are linebacker Derrick Brooks, punter Ray Guy, defensive end Claude Humphrey, offensive tackle Walter Jones, the 65-game preseason schedule wrapped up on Thursday, August 28, a week before the start of the regular season
8.
Cleveland Browns
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The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Browns compete in the National Football League as a club of the American Football Conference North division. The Browns play their games at FirstEnergy Stadium, which opened in 1999, with administrative offices and training facilities in Berea. The Browns official colors are brown, orange and white and they are unique among the 32 member franchises of the NFL in that they do not have a logo on their helmets and are the only team named after a specific person, original coach Paul Brown. The franchise was founded in 1945 by businessman Arthur B, McBride and coach Paul Brown as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference. The Browns dominated the AAFC, compiling a 47–4–3 record in the four active seasons. When the AAFC folded after the 1949 season, the Browns joined the National Football League along with the San Francisco 49ers, from 1965 to 1995, they made the playoffs 14 times, but did not win another championship or appear in the Super Bowl in that period. In 1995, owner Art Modell, who had purchased the Browns in 1961, announced plans to move the team to Baltimore, Maryland. The Browns intellectual property, including name, logos, training facility, and history, were kept in trust. A new team would be established by 1999 either by expansion or relocation, the Browns were announced as an expansion team in 1998 and resumed play in 1999. Since resuming operations in 1999, the Browns have struggled to find success and they have had only two winning seasons, one playoff appearance, and no playoff wins. The franchise has also noted for a lack of stability with quarterbacks. To date, the Browns overall win-loss record since 1999 is 88–200, the Browns origins date to 1944, when taxicab magnate Arthur B. Mickey McBride secured the rights to a Cleveland franchise in the newly formed All-America Football Conference. S, early in 1945, McBride named 36-year-old Ohio State Buckeyes coach Paul Brown as the teams head coach and general manager and gave him a share in its profits. The move surprised and upset Buckeye fans, who had hoped he would resume his successful run at the school after the war, the name of the team was at first left up to Paul Brown, who rejected calls for it to be christened the Browns. The franchise and the Cleveland Plain Dealer then held a naming contest to publicize the team, in June 1945, a committee selected Panthers as the new teams name, named after a failed American Football League franchise in Cleveland which only lasted a single season in 1926. It is unclear whether Panthers was the highest vote-getter, or if it was second-highest behind Browns, however, the owner of the failed AFL Panthers franchise, General C. X. Zimmerman, indicated that he owned the name Cleveland Panthers, at this point, Paul Brown bowed to popular sentiment and agreed to the Browns name
9.
2015 NFL season
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The 2015 NFL season was the 96th season in the history of the National Football League, and the 50th of the Super Bowl era. The Panthers became the first team since the 2011 Green Bay Packers to win all but one of their regular season games and not win the Super Bowl. During the 2015 season, the Oakland Raiders, the St. Louis Rams, NFL owners eventually only approved the relocation of the Rams, by a vote of 30–2 on January 12,2016. Thus,2015 ended up being the Rams last season in St. Louis, the 2015 NFL League Year began on Tuesday, March 10,2015 at 4,00 p. m. ET. m. ET and trading period for 2015 began, a total of 453 players were eligible for some form of free agency at the beginning of the free agency period. Four players were assigned the franchise tag by their teams. These players were wide receivers Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas, linebacker Justin Houston, the player given the transition tag was Charles Clay. On March 19,2015, Clay signed a five-year, $38M contract with the Buffalo Bills, an unusually large number of big name players switched teams via trade prior to the 2015 season. Eagles coach Chip Kelly used his newly obtained GM powers to make many blockbuster trades, the Philadelphia Eagles traded 2-time All-Pro running back LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for linebacker Kiko Alonso. The Eagles also traded Pro Bowl quarterback Nick Foles along with their selection in the round of the 2016 NFL Draft to the St. The Saints also traded away Pro Bowl guard Ben Grubbs and wide receiver Kenny Stills, the Detroit Lions acquired All-Pro defensive tackle Haloti Ngata from the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for draft picks to help make up for the loss of Ndamukong Suh in free agency. The 2015 NFL Draft was held April 30 – May 2,2015, the draft process began with the NFL Scouting Combine, where draft-eligible players were evaluated by team personnel, which was held in Indianapolis on February 17–23. On October 2,2014, Auditorium Theatre in Chicago was announced as the site of the draft. The previous fifty NFL drafts had been held in New York, in the draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made Florida State University quarterback Jameis Winston the first overall selection. Training camps for the 2015 season began July 22 and continued through the end of preseason, the normal training camp window ran from late July to late August or early September. Most of the camps had rookies report first, then veterans, at that point, some teams practiced versus another organization, like the Bills practiced against the Browns this year. Teams started training camp no earlier than fifteen days before the teams first scheduled preseason game, at that point, the rosters for each team were open to 90 players. Those rosters were cut to 75 by Week 3 of preseason, prior to the start of the regular season, each team played at least four exhibition games
10.
Carolina Panthers
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The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League, as a club of the leagues National Football Conference South division. The team president is Danny Morrison, and the coach is Ron Rivera. The Panthers were announced as the leagues 29th franchise in 1993 and they did not have another winning season until 2003, when they won the NFC Championship Game and reached Super Bowl XXXVIII, losing 32–29 to the New England Patriots. After recording playoff appearances in 2005 and 2008, the failed to record another playoff appearance until 2013. After losing in the round to the San Francisco 49ers in 2013 and the Seattle Seahawks in 2014, the Panthers finally returned to the Super Bowl in 2016. The Panthers have reached the playoffs seven times, advancing to four NFC Championship Games and they have won six division titles, one in the NFC West and five in the NFC South. The Carolina Panthers are legally registered as Panther Football, LLC, the team is headquartered in Bank of America Stadium in uptown Charlotte, also the teams home field. They are one of the few NFL teams to own the stadium they play in, the team hosts its annual training camp at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. On December 15,1987, entrepreneur Jerry Richardson announced his bid for an NFL expansion franchise in the Carolinas. Richardson drew his inspiration to pursue an NFL franchise from George Shinn, who had made a bid for an expansion National Basketball Association team in Charlotte. Richardson founded Richardson Sports, a partnership consisting of himself, his family, Richardson looked at four potential locations for a stadium, ultimately choosing uptown Charlotte. In choosing the name, the Richardsons did not run focus groups with potential fans. Their intention had always been the Panthers, Jerry Richardson began driving a car with the license plate PNTHRS near the end of 1989, to highlight the demand for professional football in the Carolinas, Richardson Sports held preseason games around the area from 1989 to 1991. The matchups were between existing NFL teams, in 1991, the group formally filed an application for the open expansion spot, and on October 26,1993, the 28 NFL owners unanimously named the Carolina Panthers as the 29th member of the NFL. The Panthers first competed in the 1995 NFL season, they were one of two teams to begin play that year, the other being the Jacksonville Jaguars. Former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Dom Capers was named the first head coach, the team finished its inaugural season 7–9, the best performance ever from a first-year expansion team. They performed even better in their season, finishing with a 12–4 record and winning the NFC West division
11.
2016 NFL season
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For the first time since the 2003 NFL season, neither of the previous seasons Super Bowl participants made the playoffs. The 2016 season was also the last season for the San Diego Chargers before their return to their city of Los Angeles for 2017. The 2016 NFL league year began on March 9,2016 at 4,00 p. m. ET, all 2015 players contracts expired and trading period for 2016 begin. A total of 496 players were eligible for some form of free agency at the beginning of the free agency period, in addition, a number of highly paid players were released after the start of the league year to allow their teams to regain space under the salary cap. On March 9, the Philadelphia Eagles traded cornerback Byron Maxwell, linebacker Kiko Alonso, on March 9, the Philadelphia Eagles traded running back DeMarco Murray along with a 2016 fourth-round draft pick to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for a 2016 fourth-round draft pick. On March 11, the Philadelphia Eagles traded quarterback Mark Sanchez to the Denver Broncos in exchange for a conditional 2017 seventh-round draft pick. On March 15, the New England Patriots traded Pro Bowl defensive end Chandler Jones to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for guard Jonathan Cooper and a 2016 second-round draft pick. On March 16, the Chicago Bears traded tight end Martellus Bennett along with a 2016 sixth-round draft pick to the New England Patriots in exchange for a 2016 fourth-round draft pick. On April 9, the Denver Broncos traded offensive tackle Ryan Clady, on August 16, the Tennessee Titans traded wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for G/T Dennis Kelly. On September 3, the Philadelphia Eagles traded quarterback Sam Bradford to the Minnesota Vikings for a 2017 first-round draft pick, on October 31, the New England Patriots traded linebacker Jamie Collins to the Cleveland Browns for a conditional 2017 third-round draft pick. The 2016 NFL Draft was held between April 28 − April 30,2016 in Chicago, by way of a trade with the Tennessee Titans, the Los Angeles Rams held the first overall pick and selected QB Jared Goff. Oakland Raiders defensive back Charles Woodson announced he would retire from football at the end of the 2015 season on December 21,2015. He played eighteen seasons, starting with the Raiders for eight seasons and after spending seven with the Green Bay Packers, he returned to the Raiders for his final three seasons. He was the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year for the 2009 season and is tied with Rod Woodson, Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch announced his retirement from professional football on February 7,2016. Lynch played nine seasons, four with the Buffalo Bills and the five with the Seahawks. Lynch was a five-time Pro Bowler, led the league in rushing touchdowns two seasons, co-led in total touchdowns one season, and won a title with the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII. Carolina Panthers defensive end Jared Allen announced his retirement from football on February 18,2016. Allen played twelve seasons, his first four with the Kansas City Chiefs, then six with the Minnesota Vikings, a five-time Pro Bowl and four-time All-Pro selection, Allen tallied 136 quarterback sacks during his career
12.
Arizona Cardinals
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The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football franchise based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League as a member of the leagues National Football Conference West division, the Cardinals were founded as the Morgan Athletic Club in 1898, and are the oldest continuously run professional football team in the United States. The Cardinals play their games at the University of Phoenix Stadium. The team was established in Chicago in 1898 and was a member of the NFL in 1920. Along with the Chicago Bears, the club is one of two NFL charter member franchises still in operation since the leagues founding, the club then moved to St. Louis in 1960 and played in that city through 1987. Before the 1988 season, the team moved west to Tempe, Arizona, a suburb east of Phoenix. In 2006, the club playing all home games at the newly constructed University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. The franchise has won two NFL championships, both while it was based in Chicago, the first occurred in 1925, but is the subject of controversy, with supporters of the Pottsville Maroons believing that Pottsville should have won the title. Their second title, and the first to be won in a game, came in 1947. They returned to the game to defend in 1948. In 2012 the Cardinals became the first NFL franchise to lose 700 games since its inception, the franchises all-time win-loss record at the conclusion of the 2016 season is 549–741–40. They have been to the ten times and have won seven playoff games. During that season, they won their only NFC Championship Game since the 1970 AFL–NFL merger, the team has also won five division titles since their 1947–1948 NFL championship game appearances. From 1988 through 2012, the Cardinals conducted their summer training camp at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. The Cardinals moved their camp to University of Phoenix Stadium in 2013. The stadium was the site of the 2015 Pro Bowl, unlike in past years, the stadium also played host to Super Bowls XLII and XLIX. The franchises inception dates back to 1898, when a group gathered to play in the Chicago South Side. Chicago painting and building contractor Chris OBrien acquired the team, which he relocated to Normal Field on Racine Avenue, the team was known as Racine Normals until 1901, when OBrien bought used jerseys from the University of Chicago
13.
2017 NFL season
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The 2017 NFL season, the 98th season in the history of the National Football League, will begin on September 7,2017, with the defending Super Bowl LI champion, New England Patriots hosting a game. The season will conclude with Super Bowl LII, the championship game, on February 4,2018. For the second year, a team relocated to the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The 2017 NFL League year began on March 9 at 4,00 p. m. EST. On March 7, clubs were allowed to contact and enter into negotiations with the agents of players who became unrestricted free agents upon the expiration of their contracts two days later. The 2017 trading period also began the same day, a total of 496 players became free agents on March 9. On March 9, the Jacksonville Jaguars traded tight end Julius Thomas to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for a 2017 seventh-round draft pick, on March 9, the Miami Dolphins traded offensive tackle Branden Albert to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for a 2018 seventh-round draft pick. On March 9, the Indianapolis Colts traded tight end Dwayne Allen, on March 9, the Los Angeles Rams traded defensive end William Hayes along with a 2017 seventh-round draft pick to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for a 2017 sixth-round draft pick. On March 10, the New Orleans Saints traded wide receiver Brandin Cooks, the 2017 NFL Draft will be held on April 27–29,2017 in Philadelphia. The first overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft belongs to the Cleveland Browns, training camps for the 2017 season will be held in late July through August. Teams will start training camp no earlier than 15 days before the teams first scheduled preseason game, prior to the start of the regular season, each team will play four preseason exhibition games, beginning on August 10. The preseason will begin on the evening of August 3 with the 2017 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game and it will be televised nationally on NBC. The 65-game preseason schedule will end on August 31, the 2017 regular seasons 256 games will be played over a seventeen-week schedule which will begin on September 7. Each of the leagues 32 teams plays a 16-game schedule, with one bye week for each team, the slate also features games on Monday nights. There are games played on Thursday, including the National Football League Kickoff game in time on September 7. The regular season will conclude with a slate of 16 games on Sunday, December 31, all of which will be intra–division matchups. Scheduling formula Under the NFLs current scheduling formula, each plays the other three teams in its own division twice. In addition a team plays against four teams in one division from each conference
14.
Pro Bowl
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The Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League. Between 2014 and 2016, the NFL experimented with an unconferenced format, the players were picked in a televised schoolyard pick prior to the game. Unlike most major leagues, which hold their all-star games roughly midway through their respective regular seasons. Between 1970 and 2009, it was held the weekend after the Super Bowl. Since 2010, the Pro Bowl has been played the weekend before the Super Bowl, Players from the two teams competing in the Super Bowl do not participate. Observers and commentators expressed their disfavor with the Pro Bowl in its current state and it draws lower TV ratings than its regular-season games, although the game draws similar ratings to other major all-star games, such as the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. However, the biggest concern of teams is to avoid injuries to the star players, the Associated Press wrote that players in the 2012 game were hitting each other as though they were having a pillow fight. Between 1980 and 2016, the game was played at Aloha Stadium in Hawaii, on June 1,2016, the NFL announced that they reached a multi-year deal to move the game to Orlando, Florida as part of the leagues ongoing efforts to make the game more relevant. For years, the game has suffered from lack of interest due to perceived low quality, the 2017 Pro Bowl will also mark a return to the AFC–NFC format. The first Pro All-Star Game, featuring the all-stars of the 1938 season, was played on January 15,1939 at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles. The NFL All-Star Game was played again in Los Angeles in 1940 and then in New York, although originally planned as an annual contest, the all-star game was discontinued after 1942 because of travel restrictions put in place during World War II. During the first five games, an all-star team would face that years league champion. The league champion won the first four games before the all-stars were victorious in the game of this early series. The concept of a game was not revived until June 1950. The game was sponsored by the Los Angeles Publishers Association and it was decided that the game would feature all-star teams from each of the leagues two conferences rather than the league champion versus all-star format which had been used previously. This was done to avoid confusion with the Chicago College All-Star Game, the teams would be led by the coach of each of the conference champions. The first 21 games of the series were played in Los Angeles, the site of the game was changed annually for each of the next seven years before the game was moved to Aloha Stadium in Halawa, Hawaii for 30 straight seasons from 1980 through 2009. With the new rule being that the teams do not include players from the teams that will be playing in the Super Bowl
15.
2008 Pro Bowl
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The 2008 Pro Bowl was the National Football Leagues all-star game for the 2007 season. It was played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on February 10,2008, the game was televised in the United States by Fox and began shortly after 11, 40am local time following Pole Qualyfiling for 2008 Daytona 500. The NFC won, 42–30, despite a 17-point first half AFC lead, NFC running back Adrian Peterson rushed 16 times for 129 yards and was named the games MVP, winning a Cadillac CTS in recognition of his efforts. The starting rosters for the game were released on December 18,2007, with New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady starting for the AFC, however, Brett Favre withdrew due to an ankle injury. Notable Pro Bowl selections included the late Sean Taylor, the AFC was coached by Norv Turner of the San Diego Chargers staff, while Mike McCarthy and the staff of the Green Bay Packers coached the NFC. Three Washington Redskins players wore #21 in memory of Taylor, their deceased teammate, the game featured 41 players appearing in their first Pro Bowl, the most in eight years. In addition, the NFC played their first defensive play with ten players on the field, lacking a free safety. The game was the most watched Pro Bowl since 2000, pulling in a Nielsen rating of 6.3 and it also marked the first ever Pro Bowl to be televised by Fox. The 2008 Pro Bowl also marked the fewest players represented by a Super Bowl winning team, with Osi Umenyiora being the representative of the New York Giants. 1st Quarter AFC – Lorenzo Neal 1-yard run,10,59, drive,7 plays,70 yards,4,01. NFC – Larry Fitzgerald 6-yard pass from Tony Romo,7,08, drive,9 plays,54 yards,3,51. Houshmandzadeh 16-yard pass from Peyton Manning,2,42, drive,9 plays,58 yards,4,26. AFC – Rob Bironas 33-yard FG,0,48, drive,5 plays,14 yards,1,41. Houshmandzadeh 1-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger,12,08, drive,4 plays,29 yards,1,48. NFC – Terrell Owens 6-yard pass from Tony Romo,7,58, drive,8 plays,51 yards,4,10. AFC – Rob Bironas 48-yard FG,3,30, drive,9 plays,51 yards,4,28. NFC – Chris Cooley 17-yard pass from Matt Hasselbeck,0,28, drive,6 plays,77 yards,3,02. 3rd Quarter NFC – Adrian Peterson 17-yard run,9,49, drive,9 plays,67 yards,5,11
16.
2010 Pro Bowl
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The 2010 Pro Bowl was the National Football Leagues all-star game for the 2009 season. It took place at 8,00 PM EST on Sunday, January 31,2010, at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, the television broadcasters were Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden. The AFC won the game 41–34, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the move was made after looking at alternatives to strengthen the Pro Bowl. Due to the change, players from the championship teams. However, these players were required to be on site for the Pro Bowl to collect a bonus payment from the NFL. NBC sportscaster Al Michaels was skeptical of the changes, telling the Honolulu Star-Bulletin that the thinks playing it before the Super Bowl will add to the buzz, ESPN aired the game instead of CBS, which aired the 52nd Grammy Awards that evening. The game was the first Pro Bowl to be legally broadcast on internet radio. As part of a catch in the leagues broadcast contracts, the Pro Bowl has, to this point, never been broadcast on the NFLs FieldPass system due to it being broadcast exclusively by Westwood One. The NFL had negotiated internet broadcast rights with all 32 of its teams, when contracts were renegotiated in 2009, Westwood Ones broadcasts were added to FieldPass, and along with it, play-by-play of the Pro Bowl
17.
2012 Pro Bowl
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The 2012 Pro Bowl was the National Football Leagues all-star game for the 2011 season. It took place at 2,00 pm local time on Sunday, January 29,2012 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, the AFC defeated the NFC, 59–41. The 59 points scored by the AFC team were a Pro Bowl record, the AFC team was coached by Gary Kubiak of the Houston Texans while Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy led the NFC all-stars. The referee for the game was Walt Coleman, the telecast of the game garnered a Nielsen rating of 7.9 nationally. While this represented an eight percent drop over the 2011 Pro Bowl ratings, the game drew more viewers than the 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. NBC also broadcast the 2013 game as Super Bowl broadcaster CBS had declined to carry it, the NFL loosened its rules which forbid players from communicating via social media during games, by setting up a computer on each sideline to allow players to use Twitter. Washington Redskins linebacker London Fletcher used the occasion to propose a contest among his Twitter followers to predict the final score. However, the NFL had him rescind the offer and he gave away a signed jersey instead of cash. The pop band Hot Chelle Rae played during the ceremonies for the game. United States Air Force Technical Sergeant Richard Vazquez sang the anthem prior to kickoff. Simon Samano of NFL. com wrote about the game, Players love the trip to Hawaii and they have no desire to risk injury in a meaningless game, which is why they dont play hard, which is how you end up with 59–41 as the final score. Its that lack of effort that caused fans to boo during portions of this years game. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers stated on his radio show and it should be noted that the Pro Bowl has different rules than a regular season NFL game. Blitzing is not allowed and the 4–3 formation must always be used in defensive formations, philip Rivers also questioned some of the players efforts in the Pro Bowl game. Still, we have to think of the fans and try to stay true to the game, official Pro Bowl website at NFL. com
18.
Pro Football Weekly
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Pro Football Weekly is an American sports magazine, founded in 1967, and website that covers the National Football League. It was owned by Pro Football Weekly LLC and headquartered in Riverwoods, PFW closed temporarily in 2013, but reopened in partnership with Shaw Media in 2014. With a beat writer covering each NFL team, the magazine was one of a number covering each team in detail on a regular basis. Three of the four supplementary publications, the Pro Football Weekly Preview, Fantasy Football Guide and Draft Preview, while the weekly magazine has ceased publication, the popular syndicated radio show called Pro Football Weekly & Basketball News also has continued. It is hosted by Arkush and Wayne Larrivee, the program covers the NBA. Similarly, the Pro Football Weekly half-hour television show continues to air, also in partnership with Shaw Media, Arkush launched ChicagoFootball. com in 2014, and ProFootballWeekly. com was relaunched in 2015. From 1996 to 2002, Pro Football Weekly was owned by Primedia
19.
American football
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The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs, or plays, or else they turn over the football to the opposing team, if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs. Points are primarily scored by advancing the ball into the teams end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponents goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins, American football evolved in the United States, originating from the sports of association football and rugby football. The first game of American football was played on November 6,1869, during the latter half of the 1870s, colleges playing association football switched to the Rugby Union code, which allowed carrying the ball. American football as a whole is the most popular sport in the United States, Professional football and college football are the most popular forms of the game, with the other major levels being high school and youth football. As of 2012, nearly 1.1 million high school athletes and 70,000 college athletes play the sport in the United States annually, almost all of them men, in the United States, American football is referred to as football. The term football was established in the rulebook for the 1876 college football season. The terms gridiron or American football are favored in English-speaking countries where other codes of football are popular, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, American football evolved from the sports of association football and rugby football. What is considered to be the first American football game was played on November 6,1869 between Rutgers and Princeton, two college teams, the game was played between two teams of 25 players each and used a round ball that could not be picked up or carried. It could, however, be kicked or batted with the feet, hands, head or sides, Rutgers won the game 6 goals to 4. Collegiate play continued for years in which matches were played using the rules of the host school. Representatives of Yale, Columbia, Princeton and Rutgers met on October 19,1873 to create a set of rules for all schools to adhere to. Teams were set at 20 players each, and fields of 400 by 250 feet were specified, Harvard abstained from the conference, as they favored a rugby-style game that allowed running with the ball. An 1875 Harvard-Yale game played under rugby-style rules was observed by two impressed Princeton athletes and these players introduced the sport to Princeton, a feat the Professional Football Researchers Association compared to selling refrigerators to Eskimos. Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Columbia then agreed to play using a form of rugby union rules with a modified scoring system. These schools formed the Intercollegiate Football Association, although Yale did not join until 1879, the introduction of the snap resulted in unexpected consequences. Prior to the snap, the strategy had been to punt if a scrum resulted in bad field position, however, a group of Princeton players realized that, as the snap was uncontested, they now could hold the ball indefinitely to prevent their opponent from scoring. In 1881, both teams in a game between Yale-Princeton used this strategy to maintain their undefeated records, each team held the ball, gaining no ground, for an entire half, resulting in a 0-0 tie
20.
National Football League
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The National Football League is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference and the American Football Conference. The NFL is one of the four professional sports leagues in North America. The NFLs 17-week regular season runs from the week after Labor Day to the week after Christmas, with each team playing 16 games, the NFL was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association before renaming itself the National Football League for the 1922 season. The NFL agreed to merge with the American Football League in 1966, and the first Super Bowl was held at the end of that season, the merger was completed in 1970. Today, the NFL has the highest average attendance of any sports league in the world and is the most popular sports league in the United States. S. The NFLs executive officer is the commissioner, who has authority in governing the league. The team with the most NFL championships is the Green Bay Packers with thirteen, the current NFL champions are the New England Patriots, who defeated the Atlanta Falcons 34–28 in Super Bowl LI. Another meeting held on September 17,1920 resulted in the renaming of the league to the American Professional Football Association, the league hired Jim Thorpe as its first president, and consisted of 14 teams. Only two of these teams, the Decatur Staleys and the Chicago Cardinals, remain, the first event occurred on September 26,1920 when the Rock Island Independents defeated the non-league St. Paul Ideals 48–0 at Douglas Park. On October 3,1920, the first full week of league play occurred, the following season resulted in the Chicago Staleys controversially winning the title over the Buffalo All-Americans. In 1922, the APFA changed its name to the National Football League, in 1932, the season ended with the Chicago Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans tied for first in the league standings. This method had used since the leagues creation in 1920. The league quickly determined that a game between Chicago and Portsmouth was needed to decide the leagues champion. Playing with altered rules to accommodate the playing field, the Bears won the game 9–0. Fan interest in the de facto championship game led the NFL, beginning in 1933, the 1934 season also marked the first of 12 seasons in which African Americans were absent from the league. The de facto ban was rescinded in 1946, following public pressure, the NFL was always the foremost professional football league in the United States, it nevertheless faced a large number of rival professional leagues through the 1930s and 1940s. Rival leagues included at least three separate American Football Leagues and the All-America Football Conference, on top of regional leagues of varying caliber. Three NFL teams trace their histories to these leagues, including the Los Angeles Rams
21.
College football
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It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. No minor league farm organizations exist in American football and it is in college football where a players performance directly impacts his chances of playing professional football. The best collegiate players will declare for the professional draft after 3 to 4 years of collegiate competition. Those not selected can still attempt to land an NFL roster spot as a free agent. Even after the emergence of the professional National Football League, college football remained extremely popular throughout the U. S, in many cases, college stadiums employ bench-style seating, as opposed to individual seats with backs and arm rests. This allows them to more fans in a given amount of space than the typical professional stadium. College athletes, unlike players in the NFL, are not permitted by the NCAA to be paid salaries, colleges are only allowed to provide non-monetary compensation such as athletic scholarships that provide for tuition, housing, and books. Modern North American football has its origins in various games, all known as football, by the 1840s, students at Rugby School were playing a game in which players were able to pick up the ball and run with it, a sport later known as Rugby football. The game was taken to Canada by British soldiers stationed there and was soon being played at Canadian colleges, the first documented gridiron football match was a game played at University College, a college of the University of Toronto, November 9,1861. One of the participants in the game involving University of Toronto students was William Mulock, a football club was formed at the university soon afterward, although its rules of play at this stage are unclear. In 1864, at Trinity College, also a college of the University of Toronto, F. Barlow Cumberland, modern Canadian football is widely regarded as having originated with a game played in Montreal, in 1865, when British Army officers played local civilians. The game gradually gained a following, and the Montreal Football Club was formed in 1868, early games appear to have had much in common with the traditional mob football played in England. The games remained largely unorganized until the 19th century, when games of football began to be played on college campuses. Each school played its own variety of football, Princeton University students played a game called ballown as early as 1820. A Harvard tradition known as Bloody Monday began in 1827, which consisted of a mass ballgame between the freshman and sophomore classes, in 1860, both the town police and the college authorities agreed the Bloody Monday had to go. The Harvard students responded by going into mourning for a figure called Football Fightum. The authorities held firm and it was a dozen years before football was again played at Harvard. Dartmouth played its own version called Old division football, the rules of which were first published in 1871, all of these games, and others, shared certain commonalities
22.
South Carolina
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South Carolina /ˌsaʊθ kærəˈlaɪnə/ is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. The state is bordered to the north by North Carolina, to the south and west by Georgia across the Savannah River, South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the U. S. Constitution, doing so on May 23,1788. South Carolina became the first state to vote to secede from the Union on December 20,1860, after the American Civil War, it was readmitted into the United States on June 25,1868. South Carolina is the 40th most extensive and the 23rd most populous U. S. state and its GDP as of 2013 was $183.6 billion, with an annual growth rate of 3. 13%. The capital and largest city is Columbia with a 2013 population of 133,358, South Carolina is named in honor of King Charles I of England, under whose reign the English colony was first formed, with Carolus being Latin for Charles. There is evidence of activity in the area about 12000 years ago. Along the Savannah River were the Apalachee, Yuchi, and the Yamasee, further west were the Cherokee, and along the Catawba River, the Catawba. These tribes were village-dwellers, relying on agriculture as their food source. The Cherokee lived in wattle and daub houses made with wood and clay, about a dozen separate small tribes summered on the coast harvesting oysters and fish, and cultivating corn, peas and beans. Travelling inland as much as 50 miles mostly by canoe, they wintered on the plain, hunting deer and gathering nuts. The names of these survive in place names like Edisto Island, Kiawah Island. The Spanish were the first Europeans in the area, in 1521, founding San Miguel de Gualdape, established with 500 settlers, it was abandoned within a year by 150 survivors. In 1562 French settlers established a settlement at what is now the Charlesfort-Santa Elena archaeological site on Parris Island, three years later the Spanish built a fort on the same site, but withdrew following hostilities with the English navy. In 1629, King Charles I of England established the Province of Carolina an area covering what is now South and North Carolina, Georgia, in the 1670s, English planters from the Barbados established themselves near what is now Charleston. Settlers built rice plantations in the South Carolina Lowcountry, east of the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, settlers came from all over Europe. Plantation labor was done by African slaves who formed the majority of the population by 1720, another cash crop was the Indigo plant, a plant source of blue dye, developed by Eliza Lucas. Meanwhile, in Upstate South Carolina, west of the Fall Line, was settled by farmers and traders. Colonists overthrew the rule, seeing more direct representation
23.
University of Pittsburgh
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The University of Pittsburgh is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1787 after the American Revolutionary War, it was founded on the edge of the American frontier as the Pittsburgh Academy and it developed and was renamed as Western University of Pennsylvania by a change to its charter in 1819. For most of its history, Pitt was a private institution, the university also includes four undergraduate schools located at campuses within Western Pennsylvania, Bradford, Greensburg, Johnstown, and Titusville. The 132-acre Pittsburgh campus has multiple contributing historic buildings of the Schenley Farms Historic District, most notably its 42-story Gothic revival centerpiece, the university has an annual operating budget of approximately $2 billion, which includes nearly $900 million in research and development expenditures. It is the second-largest non-government employer in the Pittsburgh region behind UPMC, Pitt is ranked among the top public universities in the United States in both domestic and international rankings, and has been listed as a best value in higher education by several publications. Pitt students have access to arts programs throughout the campus and city. Pitts varsity athletic teams, collectively known as the Pittsburgh Panthers, compete in Division I of the NCAA, primarily as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Founded by Hugh Henry Brackenridge as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787, the University of Pittsburgh is one of the few universities and colleges established in the 18th century in the United States. It is the oldest continuously chartered institution of learning in the U. S. west of the Allegheny Mountains, the school began as a preparatory school, presumably in a log cabin, possibly as early as 1770 in Western Pennsylvania, then a frontier. A brick building was erected in 1790 on the side of Third Street. The small two-story brick building, with a gable facing the alley, within a short period, more advanced education in the area was needed, so in 1819 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania amended the schools 1787 charter to confer university status. The school took the name the Western University of Pennsylvania, or WUP, by the 1830s, the university faced severe financial pressure to abandon its traditional liberal education in favor of the state legislatures desire for it to provide more vocational training. The decision to remain committed to liberal education nearly killed the university and it was also during this era that the founder of Mellon Bank, Thomas Mellon, graduated and later taught at WUP. The universitys buildings, along with most of its records and files, were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1845 that wiped out 20 square blocks of Pittsburgh, classes were temporarily held in Trinity Church until a new building was constructed on Duquesne Way. Only four years later, in 1849, this also was destroyed by fire. Due to the nature of these fires, operations were suspended for a few years to allow the university time to regroup. By 1854, WUP had erected a new building on the corner of Ross and Diamond streets, langley was professor of astronomy and physics and remained at WUP until 1891, when he was succeeded by another prominent astronomer, James Keeler. Growing quickly during this period, WUP outgrew its downtown facilities, the university eventually found itself on a 10-acre site on the North Sides Observatory Hill at the location of its Allegheny Observatory
24.
Ray Guy Award
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The Ray Guy Award is presented annually to college footballs top punter by the Augusta Sports Council. The award is named after punter Ray Guy, a former All-American at Southern Mississippi, nominees are evaluated on their overall statistics and contribution to the team. Particular emphasis is placed on the statistics, net average, percentage of total punts inside the 20-yard line. The Ray Guy Award winner is determined by a selection committee of football writers, FBS college coaches, sports information directors. The winner must display team leadership, self-discipline, and have a impact on the team’s success
25.
Reggie Roby
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Reginald Henry Reggie Roby was an American college and professional football player who was a punter in the National Football League for sixteen seasons during the 1980s and 1990s. He played college football for the University of Iowa, and was recognized as a consensus All-American and he played professionally for the Miami Dolphins, Washington Redskins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Houston/Tennessee Oilers, and San Francisco 49ers of the NFL. Roby died of unrevealed causes at his Nashville home in 2005, Roby was born in Waterloo, Iowa. In addition to playing high school football, he was also a pitcher on the Waterloo East High School baseball team. Instead, he chose to attend college, Roby attended the University of Iowa, where he played for the Iowa Hawkeyes football team from 1979 to 1982. Before Roby arrived, the Hawkeyes had not had a season in twenty years. With Roby, the 1981 team earned its first Rose Bowl invitation in twenty-three years on the strength of a 6-2 conference record, Roby set an NCAA season record with a 49. 8-yard average. In 1982, he led the nation with a 48. 1-yard average and his career average of 45.4 yards ranks among college footballs best and is still a school record. Reggie was also given the kick off duties and routinely kicked the ball through the uprights at Iowa and he was 28-34 for PATs and was 11-27 in FG attempts, mostly from long range. As a professional, his 38.7 net average led the league in 1986, and his 45.7 average yards led the NFL in 1991 and his 58. 5-yard single-game average on September 28,1986 remains a Dolphin team record. At Rich Stadium, Roby punted the ball a team record 77 yards and he completed the only pass attempt of his career, a 48-yarder to John Booty in 1995. Roby was selected as a punter for the NFLs 1980s All-Decade Team, in the Dolphins 1992 divisional round 31-0 win over the San Diego Chargers, he planted 4 of his 8 punts inside the Chargers 20-yard line, including 3 inside the 7. Roby played in Super Bowl XIX with the Dolphins, though he had a rather lousy day, averaging just 39.3 yards per kick, I was trying to kill the ball, and I kicked it bad, said Roby after the game. I was scared -- scared to make a mistake and it was the worst game of my life, counting high school, college, counting everything. Dolphins coach Don Shula said following the game Were supposed to have the best punter in the football, however, it is notable that despite Miamis #1 ranked offense during the 1984 season, which set numerous NFL records, he still made the Pro Bowl that year. Roby played sixteen seasons in the NFL and had 992 punts for 42,951 yards and his career yards per punt average was 43.3, with a net average of 34.0. He had 298 punts beyond the 20-yard line and 112 touchbacks, Roby helped popularize the now-standard two-step approach and often wore a watch to gauge his hangtime. He was one of a handful of African American kickers in National Football League history and he was one of the only kickers, to this day, to punt the ball without jumping
26.
Houston Texans
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The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team competes in the National Football League as a club of the American Football Conference South division. The Texans first played in 2002 as a team, making them the youngest franchise in the NFL currently. The Texans replaced Houstons previous franchise, the Houston Oilers, which moved to Nashville, the teams majority owner is Bob McNair. While the team struggled in the 2000s, they clinched its first playoff berth during the 2011 season as AFC South division champions. The Texans have gone on to win more AFC South championships in 2012,2015, to date, the Texans are the only NFL franchise to have never played in a conference championship game. In 1996, an earlier, the Cleveland Browns had controversially relocated to become the Baltimore Ravens. As part of the settlement between the NFL, the city of Cleveland, Ohio, and the owned by Art Modell. In order to out the franchisees at 32, the league also contemplated adding another expansion franchise. In association with Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, they would push for a domed stadium as part of the bid to lure the NFL back to Houston, on October 6,1999 the NFL awarded the 32nd team to Houston, at the cost of $700 million. The Houston Texans joined the league at the 2002 NFL season, while the team struggled in early seasons, results began to improve once native Houstonian Gary Kubiak became the head coach in 2006. The Texans finished with a.500 season in both 2007 and 2008, and nearly qualified for the 2009–10 NFL playoffs with a 9–7 result in 2009. In 2010, the team started the season on a 4–2 record going into a Week 7 bye week, the Texans then beat wild card Cincinnati Bengals 31–10 in the first round of the 2011–12 NFL playoffs, before a 20–13 defeat by the Ravens in the semifinals. The Texans surged as the team to beat in the AFC South in 2012, however, they lost three of their last four games to finish 12–4, beating the rival Indianapolis Colts in that four-game stretch allowed them to clinch their 2nd AFC South title. The Texans beat the Bengals again in the round. The Texans started 2–0 in 2013 but went into a tailspin, Kubiak was fired as head coach after being swept by the rival Jacksonville Jaguars, who themselves started 0–8. Wade Phillips filled in as coach, but the Texans poor form did not change. The 14-game losing streak is also the worst in franchise history, the Texans entered the 2014 season with a 14-game losing streak
27.
Detroit Lions
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The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference North division. The team plays its games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit. Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and called the Portsmouth Spartans, despite success within the NFL, they could not survive in Portsmouth, then the NFLs smallest city. The team was purchased and relocated to Detroit for the 1934 season and they are one of four current teams and the only NFC team to have not yet played in the Super Bowl. Aside from a change to maroon in 1948 instituted by then head coach Bo McMillin. The design consists of silver helmets, silver pants, and either blue or white jerseys, the shade of blue used for Lions uniforms and logos is officially known as Honolulu blue, which is supposedly inspired by the color of the waves off the coast of Hawaii. The shade was chosen by Cy Huston in 1935, houston, the Lions first vice president and general manager, said of the choice, They had me looking at so many blues I am blue in the face, Huston said about the selection. But anyway, its the kind of blue, I am told, there have been minor changes to the uniform design throughout the years, such as changing the silver stripe patterns on the jersey sleeves, and changing the colors of the jersey numbers. White trim was added to the logo in 1970, in 1998, the team wore blue pants with their white jerseys along with grey socks but dropped that combination after the season. In 1999, the TV numbers on the sleeves were moved to the shoulders, in 1994, every NFL team wore throwback jerseys, and the Lions were similar to the jerseys used during their 1935 championship season. The helmets and pants were silver, the jerseys Honolulu blue with silver numbers. The team wore solid blue socks along with black shoes, the helmets also did not have a logo, as helmets were simple leather back then. The Lions also wore 50s-style jerseys during their traditional Thanksgiving Day games from 2001 to 2004 as the NFL encouraged teams to wear throwback jerseys on Thanksgiving Day, in 2003, the team added black trim to their logo and the jerseys. The face masks on the changed from blue to black with the introduction of the new color. Additionally, a home field jersey which makes black the dominant color was introduced in 2005. For 2008, the dropped the black alternate jerseys in favor of a throwback uniform to commemorate the franchises 75th anniversary. The throwback uniform became the teams permanent alternate jersey in 2009, the Lions officially unveiled new logo designs and uniforms on April 20,2009
28.
Baltimore Ravens
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The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League as a club of the American Football Conference North division. The team plays its games at M&T Bank Stadium and is headquartered in Owings Mills. The Ravens were established in 1996, when Art Modell, who was then the owner of the Cleveland Browns, in return, he was allowed to take his own personnel and team to Baltimore, where such personnel would then form an expansion team. The Ravens organization has been led by general manager Ozzie Newsome since 1996, the team is owned by Steve Bisciotti and valued at $1.5 billion, making the Ravens the 24th-most valuable sports franchise in the world. The name Ravens was inspired by Edgar Allan Poes poem The Raven, chosen in a fan contest that drew 33,288 voters, the allusion honors Poe, who spent the early part of his career in Baltimore and is buried there. As the Baltimore Sun reported at the time, fans also liked the tie-in with the birds in town, the Orioles. After the controversial relocation of the Colts to Indianapolis, several attempts were made to bring an NFL team back to Baltimore. In 1993, ahead of the 1995 league expansion, the city was considered a favorite, behind only St. Louis and this led to public outrage and the Baltimore Sun describing Taglibue as having an Anybody But Baltimore policy. Maryland governor William Donald Schaefer said afterward that Taglibue had led him on, praising Baltimore, by May 1994, Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos had gathered a new group of investors, including author Tom Clancy, to bid on teams whose owners had expressed interest in relocating. Angelos found a partner in Georgia Frontiere, who was open to moving the Los Angeles Rams to Baltimore. Jack Kent Cooke opposed the move, intending to build the Redskins new stadium in Laurel, Maryland and this led to heated arguments between Cooke and Angelos, who accused Cooke of being a carpetbagger. Following this, Angelos made an unsuccessful $200 million bid to bring the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Baltimore, enticed by Baltimores available funds for a first-class stadium, Modell announced on November 6,1995 his intention to relocate the team from Cleveland to Baltimore the following year. The resulting controversy ended when representatives of Cleveland and the NFL reached a settlement on February 8,1996, tagliabue promised the city of Cleveland that an NFL team would be located in Cleveland, either through relocation or expansion, no later than 1999. Additionally, the agreement stipulated that the Browns name, colors, uniform design, the franchise history includes Browns club records and connections with Pro Football Hall of Fame players. Modells Baltimore team, while retaining all current player contracts, would, for purposes of history, appear as an expansion team. Not all players, staff or front office would make the move to Baltimore, after relocation, Modell hired Ted Marchibroda as the head coach for his new team in Baltimore. Marchibroda was already well known because of his work as coach of the Baltimore Colts during the 1970s
29.
Shane Lechler
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Edward Shane Lechler is an American football punter for the Houston Texans of the National Football League. He played college football at Texas A&M, and was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the round of the 2000 NFL Draft. As of the end of the 2016 NFL season, Lechler is the third oldest player in the league, behind placekickers Adam Vinateri, Lechler has been named an All-Pro nine times during his career. He has led the league in punting average five times, is the NFLs all-time leader in career punting average and is the iron man leader for consecutive games played by an NFL player. Lechler attended East Bernard High School in East Bernard, Texas, and was a standout in football, basketball, golf, and baseball. As quarterback, punter and placekicker, he led East Bernard to the quarterfinals his senior year. In his high school career, he passed for nearly 5,000 yards and his longest punt in high school was 85 yards. Lechler attended Texas A&M University, and played for the Texas A&M Aggies football team from 1996 to 1999. As a junior, he completed a 29-yard pass on a punt against Baylor. When injuries depleted the depth chart, Lechler served as the quarterback for the 1998 Big 12 championship game. At one point in the game, the Aggies last healthy quarterback Branndon Stewart appeared shaken, Stewart was able to stay in the game, however, and led the Aggies to a 36–33 victory over Kansas State, earning the Aggies their only Big 12 championship. Because of his contributions in so many facets of the game, Lechler started his career off strong at Texas A&M, earning Freshman All-America honors in 1996 with a punting average of 42.7 yards. After his sophomore season, he was named to the All-Big 12 team after breaking the Aggie single season record with an average of 47.0 yards per punt and he is the NCAA record holder for career punt average with a mark of 44.7 yards per punt. He made six career punts of 69 yards or longer, and 38 coffin-corner kicks in his two seasons. Lechler had only one punt blocked, against Ohio State in the 1999 Sugar Bowl, since entering the NFL in 2000, Lechler has set various NFL and Oakland Raiders records. He was a Pro Bowler in 2001,2004,2007,2008,2009,2010 &2011, and was voted All-Pro in 2000,2001,2003,2004,2007,2008,2009,2010, and 2011. He holds the NFL record for best average per punt in a career and he has the five best single-season punting averages in Raiders history, including a career-best 51.1 in 2009, the second highest single season average in league history. He recently raised his Raider record for most punting yards in a season with 4,909 in 2009
30.
Donnie Jones
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Donald Scott Jones Jr. is an American football punter for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League. He played college football for Louisiana State University and he was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the seventh round of the 2004 NFL Draft, and has also played for the Miami Dolphins, St. Louis Rams and Houston Texans of the NFL. Jones attended Catholic High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and was a letterman in football, in football, he won All-District honors as a Punter/Tight End and All-State honors as a punter. Jones graduated from Catholic High School in 1999 and he averaged 9+ punts per game and never recorded any injury or fatigue. Jones was offered scholarships to football at the University of Oklahoma, LSU. He accepted a scholarship to attend Louisiana State University, where he played for the LSU Tigers football team, in the first quarter of the November 9,2002 LSU-Kentucky game, known as the Bluegrass Miracle, Jones hit an 86-yard punt, the longest punt in school history. He was a starter, averaging 42.4 yards on his 64 punts during his senior year. He landed 22 of those punts inside the 20-yard line, and had seven touchbacks, Jones was drafted in the seventh-round by the Seattle Seahawks in the 2004 NFL Draft. He played in six games with Seahawks in between stints on the squad during his rookie season. He shared punting duties with Tom Rouen and Ken Walter during the season, on the year, Jones punted 26 times for a 38.0 average with a net of 32.2, six inside-the-20 and two touchbacks. He had a long with a 51-yard punt against the Carolina Panthers on October 31. On November 14 at the St. Louis Rams, he punted three times for a 49. 3-yard gross average and a net of 42.7, Jones was awarded off waivers to the Miami Dolphins on July 25,2005. He was released following training camp and re-signed to the practice squad and he went on to play in all 16 games in his first season with the Dolphins. On the season, he had 88 punts for a 43. 5-yard average, including a net of 39.3 and he also added 31 punts inside-the-20, which ranked second in the AFC and was a Dolphins’ single-season record as well. Of his 88 punts,24 went 50 yards or longer and he had a punt of 50 yards or longer in all but three games, and had a net average of 40.0 or better in nine games. He also held for placekicker Olindo Mare throughout the season, Jones performance during the season earned him a selection as a third alternate for the Pro Bowl. Jones experienced a bit of regression in 2006 compared to the previous year, for the season he had 85 kicks for 3640 yards - an average of 42.8 yards per kick. He also had a net average of 35.7 yards per punt and he had one punt blocked during the season
31.
Ronald Fields
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Ronald Fields is a former American football nose tackle. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Mississippi State and he has also been a member of the Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins, and Carolina Panthers. He majored in teaching and coaching, Fields was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the fifth round in the 2005 NFL Draft. In his rookie season he played in four games recording seven tackles and he made his NFL debut versus the Seattle Seahawks on November 20. In 2006, he played in 13 games and finished the campaign with a career high 28 tackles and he also started his first game versus the San Diego Chargers. In 2007, he recorded 21 tackles as well as his first career sack against the Arizona Cardinals, on March 2,2009, Fields signed a two-year contract with the Denver Broncos. He was their starting nose tackle for the year 2009, however, he was succeeded by another player the following year. Fields signed with the Miami Dolphins on July 31,2011, Fields signed with the Carolina Panthers on September 13,2011. He was waived on November 8, Fields is a cousin of defensive tackle Kenderick Allen
32.
Tully Banta-Cain
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Tully Cameron Banta-Cain is a former American football linebacker. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at California, Banta-Cain earned two Super Bowl rings during his first stint with the Patriots. He also played for the San Francisco 49ers, tully Banta-Cain is of African-American and Scottish/Irish descent. He is the cousin of former NBA forward Rodney Rogers and former MLB outfielder Jeffrey Leonard, Banta-Cain played college football at the University of California Berkeley where he finished his career with 112 tackles and 26.5 sacks. He redshirted in 1998, and then appeared in five games as a freshman in 1999. As a sophomore, Banta-Cain recorded 35 tackles and 5.5 sacks, as a senior in 2002, Banta-Cain was named to the All-Pac-10 first team and was the teams Defensive Most Valuable Player, finishing with 39 tackles,13 sacks, and 22 tackles for a loss. His 26.5 career sacks ranked third in the record books behind Regan Upshaw. Banta-Cain was drafted by the New England Patriots in the round in the 2003 NFL Draft. In his rookie season he played in nine games recording 11 tackles, in 2004, he played in all 16 games and finished the season with 28 tackles,1.5 sacks and his first career interception again against the Buffalo Bills on November 14. He also was part of the Super Bowl XXXVIII winning team, the following season he only managed to record nine tackles and 0.5 sacks but again was part of the team which won Super Bowl XXXIX. In his final year with the Patriots, he played in all 16 games including five starts and finished the season with 43 tackles, Banta-Cain was signed to a 3-year $12 million deal by the San Francisco 49ers as an unrestricted free agent on March 3,2007. In his debut season, Banta-Cain started in four games until suffering a high ankle sprain during the 2nd quarter of a close 9–7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. However, Banta-Cain continued to play due to a bye week following the injury, allowing him to not miss a game. He also scored the winning touchdown, in a November 25,2007 game against the Arizona Cardinals. The win snapped a losing streak. He ended the year with ten starts and the 49ers ended the season with a 5–11 record. Banta-Cain did not play another defensive snap for the season, however, the team finished with a 7–9 record
33.
Joe Nedney
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Joseph Thomas Nedney is a former American football placekicker and current high school football coach. Born and raised in San Jose, California, Nedney played college football at San Jose State, Nedney was born in San Jose, California and attended Santa Teresa High School. He lettered in football as a kicker/punter and basketball as a guard/forward, Nedney played college football at San Jose State University, where he was a four-year letterman. He graduated as the schools leading scorer with 236 points, going 39-for-70 in field goal attempts. He also punted as a senior, averaging 37.8 yards per punt on 70 punts, in 1998, San Jose State awarded him a degree in recreation after Nedney completed an internship at the Arizona Cardinals community relations department. Nedney started his NFL career in 1996, bouncing around practice squads for the Green Bay Packers, Oakland Raiders and he then joined the Dolphins full-time for the 1996 NFL season, and led the team in scoring with 89 points. The following season, he signed with the Arizona Cardinals, who he stayed with for two and a half seasons, and at one point sharing kicking duties with veteran Chris Jacke. In 1999, he was waived by the Cardinals, and then picked up by the Raiders, where he finished the season before being released. He was picked up by the Denver Broncos at the start of the 2000 NFL season to fill in for the injured Jason Elam, but was waived after three games and then signed by the Carolina Panthers. Nedney went on to join the Tennessee Titans the following year, during the 2002 playoffs, he was involved in a controversial running into the kicker penalty against the Steelers during overtime. Nedney had just missed a 31-yard field goal, but was another opportunity by the penalty. He made his second try, thus winning the game, after the game Nedney said, He got a pretty good hit on me, but when Im done playing ball I might try acting. He signed with the 49ers in March 2005, Nedney went 26 for 28 in 2005, and kicked a career high 56-yard field goal against the St. Louis Rams on Christmas Eve. He was the Co-MVP for the 49ers, and quickly re-signed with the team during the offseason, on October 31,2007, the NFL fined Nedney $7,500 for giving a fan the middle finger during the teams loss to the Saints on October 28. On July 28,2011, he was released by the 49ers. career high/best bolded Nedney is married to Gina. They reside in Scotts Valley, California, with their daughter Gabrielle Marie who is 14 years old, Nedney became varsity special teams coach for the Scotts Valley High School football team in 2011. He is now the Northern California Regional Director at EcoFert, Inc, 49ers Profile Player Profile at nflplayers. com Player Profile at SI. com Joe Nedney at ESPN. com
34.
New England Patriots
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The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston region. The Patriots compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues American Football Conference East division. The Patriots are also headquartered at Gillette Stadium, an original member of the American Football League, the Patriots joined the NFL in the 1970 merger of the two leagues. The team changed its name from the original Boston Patriots after relocating to Foxborough in 1971, the Patriots played their home games at Foxboro Stadium from 1971 to 2001, then moved to Gillette Stadium at the start of the 2002 season. The Patriots rivalry with the New York Jets is considered one of the most bitter rivalries in the NFL. The Patriots have appeared in the Super Bowl nine times in franchise history, the Patriots have since become one of the most successful teams in NFL history, winning 14 AFC East titles in 16 seasons since 2001, without a losing season in that period. The team owns the record for most Super Bowls reached and won by a head coach–quarterback tandem, the Patriots are tied with the 49ers and Cowboys for the second most Super Bowl wins with five. The Steelers are in front with six, however, the Patriots are the only team to win five Super Bowls with the same coach and quarterback. On November 16,1959, Boston business executive Billy Sullivan was awarded the eighth, the following winter, locals were allowed to submit ideas for the Boston football teams official name. The most popular choice – and the one that Sullivan selected – was the Boston Patriots, immediately thereafter, artist Phil Bissell of The Boston Globe developed the Pat Patriot logo. The Patriots struggled for most of their years in the AFL, nickerson Field, Harvard Stadium, Fenway Park, and Alumni Stadium all served as home fields during their time in the American Football League. They played in only one AFL championship game, following the 1963 season and they did not appear again in an AFL or NFL post-season game for another 13 years. When the NFL and AFL merged in 1970, the Patriots were placed in the American Football Conference East division, the following year, the Patriots moved to a new stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, which would serve as their home for the next 30 years. As a result of the move, they announced they would change their name from the Boston Patriots to the Bay State Patriots, the name was rejected by the NFL and on March 22,1971, the team officially announced they would change its geographic name to New England. During the 1970s, the Patriots had some success, earning a berth to the playoffs in 1976—as a wild card team—and in 1978—as AFC East champions and they lost in the first round both times. In 1985, they returned to the playoffs, and made it all the way to Super Bowl XX, following their Super Bowl loss, they returned to the playoffs in 1986, but lost in the first round. The team would not make the playoffs again for eight more years, during the 1990 season, the Patriots went 1–15. They changed ownership three times in the ensuing 14 years, being purchased from the Sullivan family first by Victor Kiam in 1988, who sold the team to James Orthwein in 1992
35.
Associated Press
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The Associated Press is an American multinational nonprofit news agency headquartered in New York City that operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. The AP is owned by its contributing newspapers and radio and television stations in the United States, all of which stories to the AP. Most of the AP staff are members and are represented by the Newspaper Guild, which operates under the Communications Workers of America. As of 2007, news collected by the AP was published and republished by more than 1,700 newspapers, in addition to more than 5,000 television, the photograph library of the AP consists of over 10 million images. The AP operates 243 news bureaus in 120 countries and it also operates the AP Radio Network, which provides newscasts twice hourly for broadcast and satellite radio and television stations. Many newspapers and broadcasters outside the United States are AP subscribers, as part of their cooperative agreement with the AP, most member news organizations grant automatic permission for the AP to distribute their local news reports. The AP employs the inverted pyramid formula for writing that enables the news outlets to edit a story to fit its available publication area without losing the storys essentials. Cutbacks at rival United Press International in 1993 left the AP as the United States primary news service, although UPI still produces and distributes stories and photos daily. Other English-language news services, such as the BBC, Reuters, some historians believe that the Tribune joined at this time, documents show it was a member in 1849. The New York Times became a member shortly after its founding in September 1851, initially known as the New York Associated Press, the organization faced competition from the Western Associated Press, which criticized its monopolistic news gathering and price setting practices. The revelations led to the demise of the NYAP and in December 1892, when the AP was founded, news became a salable commodity. The invention of the press allowed the New York Tribune in the 1870s to print 18,000 papers per hour. During the Civil War and Spanish–American War, there was a new incentive to print vivid, Melville Stone, who had founded the Chicago Daily News in 1875, served as AP General Manager from 1893 to 1921. He embraced the standards of accuracy, impartiality, and integrity, the cooperative grew rapidly under the leadership of Kent Cooper, who built up bureau staff in South America, Europe and, the Middle East. He introduced the telegraph typewriter or teletypewriter into newsrooms in 1914, in 1935, AP launched the Wirephoto network, which allowed transmission of news photographs over leased private telephone lines on the day they were taken. This gave AP a major advantage over other media outlets. While the first network was only between New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, eventually AP had its network across the whole United States, in 1945, the Supreme Court of the United States held in Associated Press v. The decision facilitated the growth of its main rival United Press International, AP entered the broadcast field in 1941 when it began distributing news to radio stations, it created its own radio network in 1974
36.
Patrick Peterson
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Patrick Demon Peterson is an American football cornerback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. He played college football at Louisiana State University where he earned All-American honors, Peterson was selected fifth overall by the Cardinals in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He is considered to be one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL, Peterson was born in Pompano Beach, Florida on July 11,1990. He attended Blanche Ely High School, where he played running back, in his junior campaign, he recorded 11 total touchdowns on offense, while recording seven interceptions and 54 tackles on defense. He also returned three kick-offs for touchdowns and added 10 rushes for 213 yards, as a senior, Peterson compiled 733 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns. Defensively, he had 21 tackles and five interceptions, besides numerous All-American team selections, Peterson was named Defensive Player of the Year by USA Today and played in the 2008 U. S. Army All-American Bowl. He was also on the schools track & field team, where he ran the 100 meters in 10.92 seconds and he was also a member of the 4 ×100 m relay squad. A consensus five-star prospect by all major recruiting services, Peterson was rated as the fifth best overall player by Rivals. com. Prior to his season, he verbally committed to play for the University of Miami. By November 2007, Peterson had reopened his recruiting process and acknowledged interest in Georgia, USC, Florida and he later dropped Georgia and USC from his list and added Florida State, but eventually announced his decision to attend LSU at the U. S. Army All-American Bowl. Peterson attended Louisiana State University, where he played for coach Les Miless LSU Tigers football team from 2008 to 2010, one of the most decorated high school players to ever attend LSU, Peterson played 13 games as a true freshman. In his sophomore season, Peterson emerged as one of the top backs in the Southeastern Conference. In a game against standout wide receiver A. J. Green of Georgia, by mid-season, Peterson tied for fourth in the league with seven passes defended, and was named the SECs Most Improved Player by ESPNs Chris Low. Another highly anticipated match-up occurred when Peterson went against Julio Jones of Alabama, petersons LSU Tigers were ranked 9th in the country and traveled to face Nick Saban and the #1 ranked Crimson Tide. The Tigers were down by six points late in the quarter when Peterson stepped in front of a pass from Greg McElroy to Julio Jones for what seemed like an interception. Multiple CBS camera angles showed that Peterson was able to get at least one foot in bounds, however, even after review, the SEC officiating crew called the pass incomplete, saying that Peterson was not able to get any foot in bounds. Alabama would go on to kick a goal on that drive. The missed interception call quickly became infamous and was debated by many media outlets, Peterson finished 2009 with 52 tackles
37.
Super Bowl XLVII
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The Ravens defeated the 49ers by the score of 34–31, handing the 49ers their first Super Bowl loss in franchise history. The game was played on February 3,2013, at Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans and this was the tenth Super Bowl to be played in New Orleans, equaling Miamis record of ten in an individual city. In addition, Super Bowl XLVII was the first to two teams that had undefeated records in previous Super Bowl games. The Ravens, who posted a 10–6 regular-season record, made their second Super Bowl appearance in 12 years, Baltimore built a 28–6 lead early in the third quarter before a partial power outage in the Superdome suspended play for 34 minutes. After play resumed, San Francisco scored 17 unanswered third-quarter points to cut the Ravens lead to 28–23, with the Ravens leading late in the game, 34–29, the 49ers advanced to the Baltimore 7-yard line just before the two-minute warning but turned the ball over on downs. The Ravens then took a safety in the waning moments of the game to preserve the victory. CBS broadcast the game in the U. S. and charged an average of $4 million for a 30-second commercial during the game, the highest rate for any Super Bowl. According to Nielsen, Super Bowl XLVII was viewed by an average of 108.69 million people in the United States. Beyoncé performed in the Super Bowl XLVII halftime show, which featured a reunion with her fellow members from Destinys Child, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Currently, this phenomenon can only be repeated if either the Ravens or the New York Jets play against either the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or the New Orleans Saints in a subsequent Super Bowl. Baltimores victory made them the only current NFL franchise to have appeared in at least two Super Bowls without ever losing any of their appearances. This was the time that the city has hosted the Super Bowl, by far the most by an individual city. New Orleans artist Ally Burguieres was selected to design the official medallion for Super Bowl XLVII, because of the February 3 date of Super Bowl XLVII, the 2013 Mardi Gras calendar in Orleans Parish was changed. Parades scheduled for February 3 and before were moved one week. The same situation occurred in 2002 when the 9/11 attacks caused a delay in the 2001 NFL season. This was the 49ers second Super Bowl played at the Superdome—the first being Super Bowl XXIV when they beat the Denver Broncos 55–10, the 49ers, Broncos and New England Patriots are the only teams so far to play two or more Super Bowls at the Superdome. The 49ers also joined the Broncos and the Colts in playing two Super Bowls at two different stadiums, the 49ers won Super Bowls XXIII and XXIX in Miami at what is now known as Hard Rock Stadium. Due to an outage affecting half the stadium during the third quarter
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