1.
Violence in sports
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There are two major theories on the cause of violence in sports. One theory holds that humans have an instinct for violence, developed during a time when human ancestors had to resort to violence and aggressiveness to survive. Another theory deals with the aspects of violence in sports. Through a civilizing process, many sports have become less tolerant of bloodshed than past versions. Athletes sometimes resort to violence, in hopes of injuring and intimidating opponents, such incidents may be part of a strategy developed by coaches or players. Outlawed tactics in boxing include hitting the opponent on the back of the head, under the belly during clinching, other tactics that are outlawed, but less seen, are pushing an opponent extremely hard to the floor, kicking, or hitting repeatedly after the round has ended. Similar actions have also happened in ice hockey and Australian Football League matches, high school, college, and even professional sports teams often include initiation ceremonies as a rite of passage. A1999 study by Alfred University and the NCAA found that four out of five college US athletes experienced hazing. Half were required to take part in alcohol-related initiations, while two-thirds were subjected to humiliation rituals, Violence may also be related to nationalism or as an outlet for underlying social tensions. Violence by supporters of sports teams dates back to Roman times, usually, underlying political and/or theological issues helped fuel riots related to sporting events in the Roman era. The Nika riots of 532 were especially deadly, with tens of thousands reportedly killed, the actions of English football hooligans and firms in the 1980s caused English teams to be banned from European competition for six years after the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985. Many known hooligans were prevented from traveling to the tournament in Portugal, there was a collective sigh of relief from security experts in the USA when England failed to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Alan Rothenberg said, In 532, the rivalry between supporters of the Blue and Green chariot-racing teams in Constantinople led to 30,000 deaths in the Nika riots. The first meeting in the American football rivalry between Brigham Young University and the University of Utah took place in April 1896, when BYU was known as Brigham Young Academy. The two schools disagree to this day as to whether this game was official, but it mattered greatly to the spectators—at the end of the game, the two sets of fans fought one another. In 1972, Oregon pummeled Oregon State 30–3 in their annual Civil War football rivalry game, after the game, jubilant Oregon fans rushed the field and tore down the south goal post. They then turned to do the same to the goal post. In 1975, cyclist Eddy Merckx was viciously punched by a spectator as he climbed the Puy de Dôme in the Tour de France, the 1980 Scottish Cup Final between bitter Old Firm rivals Celtic and Rangers was marred by an on-pitch riot between rival fans
2.
African Americans
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African Americans are an ethnic group of Americans with total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. The term may also be used to only those individuals who are descended from enslaved Africans. As a compound adjective the term is usually hyphenated as African-American, Black and African Americans constitute the third largest racial and ethnic group in the United States. Most African Americans are of West and Central African descent and are descendants of enslaved peoples within the boundaries of the present United States. On average, African Americans are of 73. 2–80. 9% West African, 18–24% European, according to US Census Bureau data, African immigrants generally do not self-identify as African American. The overwhelming majority of African immigrants identify instead with their own respective ethnicities, immigrants from some Caribbean, Central American and South American nations and their descendants may or may not also self-identify with the term. After the founding of the United States, black people continued to be enslaved, believed to be inferior to white people, they were treated as second-class citizens. The Naturalization Act of 1790 limited U. S. citizenship to whites only, in 2008, Barack Obama became the first African American to be elected President of the United States. The first African slaves arrived via Santo Domingo to the San Miguel de Gualdape colony, the ill-fated colony was almost immediately disrupted by a fight over leadership, during which the slaves revolted and fled the colony to seek refuge among local Native Americans. De Ayllón and many of the colonists died shortly afterwards of an epidemic, the settlers and the slaves who had not escaped returned to Haiti, whence they had come. The first recorded Africans in British North America were 20 and odd negroes who came to Jamestown, as English settlers died from harsh conditions, more and more Africans were brought to work as laborers. Typically, young men or women would sign a contract of indenture in exchange for transportation to the New World, the landowner received 50 acres of land from the state for each servant purchased from a ships captain. An indentured servant would work for years without wages. The status of indentured servants in early Virginia and Maryland was similar to slavery, servants could be bought, sold, or leased and they could be physically beaten for disobedience or running away. Africans could legally raise crops and cattle to purchase their freedom and they raised families, married other Africans and sometimes intermarried with Native Americans or English settlers. By the 1640s and 1650s, several African families owned farms around Jamestown and some became wealthy by colonial standards and purchased indentured servants of their own. In 1640, the Virginia General Court recorded the earliest documentation of slavery when they sentenced John Punch. One of Dutch African arrivals, Anthony Johnson, would own one of the first black slaves, John Casor
3.
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
4.
Stillwater, Oklahoma
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Stillwater is a city in north east Oklahoma at the intersection of US-177 and State Highway 51. It is the county seat of Payne County, Oklahoma, United States, as of 2012, the city population was estimated to be 46,560, making it the tenth largest city in Oklahoma. Stillwater is the city of the Stillwater Micropolitan Statistical Area which had a population of 78,399 according to the 2012 census estimate. Stillwater was part of the first Oklahoma Land Run held April 22,1889, the city charter was adopted on August 24 later that year. Stillwater has an economy with a foundation in aerospace, agribusiness, biotechnology, optoelectronics, printing and publishing. The city operates under a government system. The citys largest employer is Oklahoma State University and it was one of the 100 top places to live in 2010, according to CNN Money Magazine. Stillwater is located in the popularly known as Tornado Alley. It has a subtropical climate and the highest recorded temperature was 115 °F on August 11,1936. The city is home to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum, the north-central region of Oklahoma became part of the United States with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. In 1832, author and traveler Washington Irving provided the first recorded description of the area around Stillwater in his book A Tour on the Prairies and he wrote of “a glorious prairie spreading out beneath the golden beams of an autumnal sun. The deep and frequent traces of buffalo, showed it to be a one of their grazing grounds. ”According to one legend, local Native American tribes — Ponca, Kiowa, Osage. A second legend states that cattlemen driving herds from Texas to railways back east always found water still there, a third legend holds that David L. Payne walked up to Stillwater Creek and said, “This town should be named Still Water”. Members of the thought he was crazy, but the name stuck. Stillwater Creek received its name in 1884 when William L. Couch established his “boomer colony” on its banks. On April 22,1889, the cannons fired signaling the first Land Run that opened up the Unassigned Lands of the Oklahoma Territory, which included Stillwater. By the end of the day,240 acres had been claimed and designated as Stillwater township, the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture simply says that the name officiallybecame Stillwater only when the post office opened on May 28,1889. On Christmas Eve,1890, the legislature of Oklahoma Territory passed a bill certifying Stillwater as the land grant college site, in 1894, Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College held a dedication of its first brick building, Assembly Building, later known as Old Central
5.
Quarterback
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A quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the team and line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is considered the leader of the offensive team. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually the leader of the offense, the quarterback touches the ball on almost every offensive play, and his successes and failures can have a significant impact on the fortunes of his team. Accordingly, the quarterback is among the most glorified and scrutinized positions in team sports, prior to each play, the quarterback will usually tell the rest of his team which play the team will run. After the team is lined up, the center will pass the ball back to the quarterback, usually on a running play, the quarterback will then hand or pitch the ball backwards to a half back or full back. On a passing play, the quarterback is almost always the responsible for trying to throw the ball downfield to an eligible receiver downfield. Depending on the scheme by his team, the quarterbacks role can vary. While quarterbacks in Canadian football need to be able to throw the ball often, in the NFL, quarterbacks are required to wear a uniform number between 1 and 19. In the CFL, the quarterback can wear any number from 0 to 49 and 70 to 99. Because of their numbering, quarterbacks are eligible receivers in the NCAA, NFHS, after a Super Bowl victory, the starting quarterback is the first player to be presented with the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The starting quarterback of the victorious Super Bowl team is chosen for the Im going to Disney World. Campaign, whether they are the Super Bowl MVP or not, examples include Joe Montana, Trent Dilfer, Dilfer was chosen even though teammate Ray Lewis was the MVP of Super Bowl XXXV, due to the bad publicity from Lewis murder trial the prior year. In addition to their role, quarterbacks are occasionally used in other roles. Most teams utilize a backup quarterback as their holder on placekicks, in the Wildcat, a formation where a halfback lines up behind the center and the quarterback lines up out wide, the quarterback can be used as a receiving target or a blocker. A more rare use for a quarterback is to punt the ball himself, Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway was known to perform quick kicks occasionally, typically when the Broncos were facing a third-and-long situation. As Roger Staubachs back-up, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Danny White was also the teams punter, ascending the starting role upon Staubachs retirement, White held his position as the teams punter for several seasons—a double duty he performed to All-American standard at Arizona State University. White also had two touchdown receptions as a Dallas Cowboy, both from the halfback option, if quarterbacks are uncomfortable with the formation the defense is using, they may call an audible change to their play
6.
Forward pass
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In several forms of football a forward pass is a throwing of the ball in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive teams goal line. In some football codes, such as football, the kicked forward pass is used so ubiquitously that it is not thought of as a distinct kind of play at all. In these sports, the concept of offside is used to regulate who can be in front of the play or be nearest to the goal, however, this has not always been the case. Some earlier incarnations of football allowed unlimited forward passing, while others had strict offside rules similar to rugby, the development of the forward pass in American football shows how the game has evolved from its rugby roots into the distinctive game it is today. Illegal and experimental forward passes had been attempted as early as 1876, another change in rules occurred on January 18,1951, which established that no center, tackle, or guard could receive a forward pass. Today, the only linemen who can receive a forward pass are the ends, current rules regulate who may throw and who may receive a forward pass, and under what circumstances, as well as how the defensive team may try to prevent a pass from being completed. In American and Canadian football, a pass, usually referred to simply as a pass. This is permitted only once during a scrimmage down by the team before team possession has changed, provided the pass is thrown from in or behind the neutral zone. An illegal forward pass can incur a penalty and the loss of a down, although it may be legally intercepted by the opponents. If an eligible receiver on the passing team legally catches the ball, the pass is completed, if an opposing player legally catches the ball it is an interception. That players team immediately gains possession of the ball and he may attempt to advance the ball toward his opponents goal, if no player is able to legally catch the ball it is an incomplete pass and the ball becomes dead the moment it touches the ground. It will then be returned to the line of scrimmage for the next down. If any player interferes with an eligible receivers ability to catch the ball it is pass interference which draws a penalty of varying degree. The person passing the ball must be a member of the team. The moment that a forward pass begins is important to the game, the pass begins the moment the passers arm begins to move forward. If the passer drops the ball before this moment it is a fumble, in this case anybody can gain possession of the ball before or after it touches the ground. If the passer drops the ball while his arm is moving forward it is a pass, regardless of where the ball lands or is first touched. The quarterback generally either starts a few paces behind the line of scrimmage or drops back a few paces after the ball is snapped
7.
Jim Crow laws
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Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Enacted after the Reconstruction period, these continued in force until 1965. They mandated de jure segregation in all public facilities in the states of the former Confederate States of America, starting in 1890 with a separate. Facilities for African Americans were consistently inferior and underfunded compared to available to European Americans. This body of law institutionalized a number of economic, educational, the U. S. military was also segregated, as were federal workplaces, initiated in 1913 under President Woodrow Wilson. By requiring candidates to submit photos, his administration practiced racial discrimination in hiring and these Jim Crow laws followed the 1800–1866 Black Codes, which had previously restricted the civil rights and civil liberties of African Americans. The phrase Jim Crow Law can be found as early as 1892 in the title of a New York Times article about voting laws in the South, as a result of Rices fame, Jim Crow by 1838 had become a pejorative expression meaning Negro. When southern legislatures passed laws of racial segregation which were directed against blacks at the end of the 19th century, during the Reconstruction period of 1865–1877, federal laws provided civil rights protections in the U. S. South for freedmen, the African Americans who had formerly been slaves, extensive voter fraud was also used. Gubernatorial elections were close and had been disputed in Louisiana for years, in 1877, a national Democratic Party compromise to gain Southern support in the presidential election resulted in the governments withdrawing the last of the federal troops from the South. White Democrats had regained power in every Southern state. These Southern, white, Democratic Redeemer governments legislated Jim Crow laws, grandfather clauses temporarily permitted some illiterate whites to vote but gave no relief to most blacks. Voter turnout dropped drastically through the South as a result of such measures, in Louisiana, by 1900, black voters were reduced to 5,320 on the rolls, although they comprised the majority of the states population. By 1910, only 730 blacks were registered, less than 0. 5% of eligible black men, in 27 of the states 60 parishes, not a single black voter was registered any longer, in 9 more parishes, only one black voter was. The cumulative effect in North Carolina meant that voters were completely eliminated from voter rolls during the period from 1896–1904. The growth of their middle class was slowed. Alabama had tens of thousands of poor whites disenfranchised and those who could not vote were not eligible to serve on juries and could not run for local offices. They effectively disappeared from political life, as they could not influence the state legislatures, like schools, Jim Crow public libraries were underfunded and often stocked with secondhand books and other resources
8.
Nigger
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In the present-day English language, the word nigger is an ethnic slur, usually directed at black people. The word originated as a term referring to people with black skin, as a variation of the Spanish and Portuguese noun negro. It was often used derogatorily, and by the century, particularly in the United States, its usage became unambiguously pejorative. Accordingly, it began to disappear from popular culture, and its inclusion in classic works of literature has sparked controversy. In contemporary English, using the word nigger is considered extremely offensive, the variant nigga has to some extent been reclaimed by African Americans. The variants neger and negar derive from the Spanish and Portuguese word negro, etymologically, negro, noir, nègre, and nigger ultimately derive from nigrum, the stem of the Latin niger. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the first English use to 1577, other early spellings attested include nigor and Nigre, the first spelling of nigger is in 1608. The second meaning, of a term of abuse or contempt from whites to blacks is first attested in print in 1775. Its use by people both as a neutral or favourable term and as a depreciatory term go back to 1831 and 1834 respectively. In the colonial America of 1619, John Rolfe used negars in describing the African slaves shipped to the Virginia colony, lexicographer Noah Webster, whose eponymous dictionary did much to solidify the distinctive spelling of American English, suggested the neger spelling in place of negro in 1806. The dialect spoken in the Southern United States changes the pronunciation of negro to nigra, during the fur trade of the early 1800s to the late 1840s in the Western United States, the word was spelled niggur, and is often recorded in literature of the time. George Fredrick Ruxton used it in his mountain man lexicon, without pejorative connotation, niggur was evidently similar to the modern use of dude or guy. It was not used as a term exclusively for blacks among mountain men during this period, as Indians, Mexicans, the noun slipped back and forth from derogatory to endearing. The term colored became a respectful alternative, in 1851 the Boston Vigilance Committee, an Abolitionist organization, posted warnings to the Colored People of Boston and vicinity. Writing in 1904, journalist Clifton Johnson documented the opprobrious character of the word nigger, by the turn of the century, colored had become sufficiently mainstream that it was chosen as the racial self-identifier for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In 2008 Carla Sims, its communications director, said the term colored is not derogatory and its outdated and antiquated but not offensive. Nineteenth-century literature features usages of nigger without racist connotation, mark Twain, in the autobiographic book Life on the Mississippi, used the term within quotes, indicating reported speech, but used the term negro when writing in his own narrative persona. Joseph Conrad published a novella in Britain with the title The Nigger of the Narcissus, president Thomas Jefferson had used this word of his slaves in his Notes on the State of Virginia, but black had not been widely used until the later 20th century
9.
Life (magazine)
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Life was an American magazine that ran weekly from 1883 to 1936 as a humor magazine with limited circulation. Time owner Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936, solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name, Life was published weekly until 1972, as an intermittent special until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 to 2000. After 2000 Time Inc. continued to use the Life brand for special, Life returned to regularly scheduled issues when it became a weekly newspaper supplement from 2004 to 2007. The website life. com, originally one of the channels on Time Inc. s Pathfinder service, was for a time in the late 2000s managed as a joint venture with Getty Images under the name See Your World, LLC. On January 30,2012 the LIFE. com URL became a channel on Time. com. When Life was founded in 1883, it was developed as similar to the British magazine and it was published for 53 years as a general-interest light entertainment magazine, heavy on illustrations, jokes and social commentary. The Luce Life was the first all-photographic American news magazine, the magazines role in the history of photojournalism is considered its most important contribution to publishing. Life was wildly successful for two generations before its prestige was diminished by economics and changing tastes, Life was founded January 4,1883, in a New York City artists studio at 1155 Broadway, as a partnership between John Ames Mitchell and Andrew Miller. Mitchell held a 75 per cent interest in the magazine with the remainder by Miller, both men retained their holdings until their deaths. Miller served as secretary-treasurer of the magazine and was very successful managing the side of the operation. Mitchell, a 37-year-old illustrator who used a $10,000 inheritance to invest in the weekly magazine, Mitchell created the first Life name-plate with cupids as mascots, he later drew its masthead of a knight leveling his lance at the posterior of a fleeing devil. Mitchell took advantage of a new printing process using zinc-coated plates. This edge helped because Life faced stiff competition from the humor magazines Judge and Puck. Edward Sandford Martin was brought on as Lifes first literary editor, the motto of the first issue of Life was, While theres Life, theres hope. The new magazine set forth its principles and policies to its readers and we shall try to domesticate as much as possible of the casual cheerfulness that is drifting about in an unfriendly world. The magazine was a success and soon attracted the leading contributors. Among the most important was Charles Dana Gibson, three years after the magazine was founded, the Massachusetts native first sold Life a drawing for $4, a dog outside his kennel howling at the moon. Encouraged by a publisher who was also an artist, Gibson was joined in Life early days by such illustrators as Palmer Cox
