1.
Peoria, Illinois
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Peoria is a city in and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. Established in 1691 by the French explorer Henri de Tonti, Peoria is the oldest European settlement in Illinois, as of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007. The Peoria Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 373,590 in 2011, Peoria had a population of 118,943 in 2010, when far northern Peoria was also included. Around 12,000 jobs will still remain in the Peoria area, Peoria is one of the oldest settlements in Illinois, as explorers first ventured up the Illinois River from the Mississippi. The lands that eventually would become Peoria were first settled in 1680 and this fort would later burn to the ground, and in 1813 Fort Clark, Illinois was built. When the County of Peoria was organized in 1825, Fort Clark was officially named Peoria, Peoria was named after the Peoria tribe, a member of the Illinois Confederation. The original meaning of the word is uncertain, a 21st-century proposal suggests a derivation from a Proto-Algonquian word meaning to dream with the help of a manitou. Peoria was incorporated as a village on March 11,1835, the city did not have a mayor, though they had a village president, Rudolphus Rouse, who served from 1835 to 1836. The first Chief of Police, John B Lishk, was appointed in 1837, the city was incorporated on April 21,1845. This was the end of a president and the start of the mayoral system. Peoria, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix, was named after Peoria, greenhut and Deloss S. Brown − wished to name it after their hometown. Peoria is located at 40°43′15″N 89°36′34″W, according to the 2010 census, Peoria has a total area of 50.23 square miles, of which 48.01 square miles is land and 2.22 square miles is water. Peoria is bounded on the east by the Illinois River except for the enclave of Peoria Heights, four bridges run directly between the city and neighboring East Peoria. On the south end of Peorias western border are Bartonville and the established city of West Peoria. Local municipal plans indicate that the city intends to continue its expansion northwest, into an area considered part of Dunlap. Peoria has a continental climate, with cold, snowy winters. Monthly daily mean temperatures range from 22.5 °F to 75.2 °F, snowfall is common in the winter, averaging 26.3 inches, but this figure varies considerably from year to year. Precipitation, averaging 36 inches, peaks in the spring and summer, extremes have ranged from −27 °F in January 1884 to 113 °F in July 1936
2.
Washington State Cougars football
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The Washington State Cougars football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Washington State University, located in the U. S. state of Washington. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the FBS and is a member of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference, known as the Cougars, the first football team was fielded in 1894. The Cougars play home games on campus at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington, which opened in 1972 and its present seating capacity is 33,522. Their main rivals are the Washington Huskies, the Cougars and Huskies historically end each regular season with the Apple Cup rivalry game in late November. They are currently coached by Mike Leach, Washington States first head football coach was William Goodyear. That team played two games in its inaugural season in 1894, posting a 1–1 record. The teams first win was over Idaho, the first paid head football coach was William L. Allen, who served as head coach in 1900 and 1902, posting an overall record of 6–3–1. John R. Bender served as football coach from 1906–1907 and 1912–1914. William Henry Dietz was the Cougars head football coach from 1915–1917, dietzs 1915 team defeated Brown in the Rose Bowl, and finished with a 7–0 record. Dietz was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2012, albert Exendine served as Washington States head football coach from 1923–1925, posting a 6–13–4 overall record. Babe Hollingbery was the Cougars head football coach for 17 seasons and his 93 wins are the most by any head football coach in Washington State football history. Hollingberys 1930 team played in the 1931 Rose Bowl, a game they lost to Alabama, the Cougars didnt lose a single home game from 1926–1935. Among the Cougar greats Holingbery coached were Mel Hein, Turk Edwards, the Holingbery Fieldhouse that serves many of Washington States athletics teams, was named in his honor in 1963. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1979, the Cougars did not field a football team from 1943 to 1944 because of World War II. After the war ended, Phil Sarboe was hired away from Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Washington, sarboes Cougars posted a 17–26–3 record in his five seasons. Forest Evashevski took over the Cougars football program as the coach in late 1949. His 1951 team finished the season ranked #14 in the Coaches Poll and he posted an 11–6–2 record in his two seasons before leaving to take the Iowa head football coach position. Evashevski was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2000, al Kircher, an assistant on Evashevskis staff, was promoted to head coach following Evashevskis departure
3.
Dallas Cowboys
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The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference East division. The team is headquartered in Frisco, Texas, and plays its games at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The stadium took its current name prior to the 2013 season, the Cowboys joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1960. The teams national following might best be represented by its NFL record of consecutive sell-outs, the Cowboys streak of 190 consecutive sold-out regular and post-season games began in 2002. This has also corresponded to eight NFC championships, most in the NFC, the Cowboys are the only NFL team to record 20 straight winning seasons, in which they only missed the playoffs twice, an NFL record that remains unchallenged. In 2015, the Dallas Cowboys became the first sports team to be valued at $4 billion, making it the most valuable team in the world. The Cowboys also generated $620 million in revenue in 2014, a record for a U. S. sports team. Prior to the formation of the Dallas Cowboys, there had not been an NFL team south of Washington, D. C. since the Dallas Texans folded in 1952. Oilman Clint Murchison Jr. had been trying to get an NFL expansion team in Dallas, Murchison had tried to purchase the Washington Redskins from Marshall in 1958. An agreement was struck, but as the deal was about to be finalized and this infuriated Murchison and he called off the deal. Marshall then opposed any franchise for Murchison in Dallas, since NFL expansion needed unanimous approval from team owners at that time, Marshalls position would prevent Murchison from joining the league. Marshall had an out with the Redskins band leader Barnee Breeskin. Breeskin had written the music to the Redskins fight song Hail to the Redskins, Breeskin owned the rights to the song and was aware of Murchisons plight to get an NFL franchise. Angry with Marshall, Breeskin approached Murchisons attorney to him the rights to the song before the expansion vote in 1959. Murchison purchased Hail to the Redskins for $2,500, before the vote to award franchises in 1959, Murchison revealed to Marshall that he owned the song and Marshall could not play it during games. After a few Marshall expletives, Murchison gave the rights to Hail to the Redskins to Marshall for his vote, the one against Murchison getting a franchise at that time. From 1970 through 1979, the Cowboys won 105 regular season games, in addition, they appeared in 5 and won two Super Bowls, at the end of the 1971 and 1977 regular seasons
4.
Atlanta Falcons
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The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Falcons compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference South division. The Falcons joined the NFL in 1965 as an expansion team, the AFL instead granted a franchise to Miami. The Falcons are tied with the Dolphins for being the second-oldest NFL franchise in the Deep South, the Falcons played their home games at the Georgia Dome in downtown Atlanta from the 1992 to 2016 NFL seasons. Construction began on Mercedes-Benz Stadium in May 2014, with play projected to begin there during the 2017 season and their headquarters and practice facilities are located at a 50-acre site in Flowery Branch, Georgia. Two years later, the AFL held another exhibition, this time with the New York Jets taking on the San Diego Chargers, in 1965, after the Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium was built, the city of Atlanta felt the time was right to start pursuing professional football. Another group reported it had deposited earnest money for a team in the AFL and he forced the city to make a choice between the two leagues. By June 30, the city picked Rankin Smith and the NFL, former commissioner Pete Rozelle and Smith made the deal in about five minutes and the Atlanta Falcons brought the largest and most popular sport to the city of Atlanta. The Atlanta expansion franchise became the 15th NFL franchise, and they were awarded the first pick in the 1966 NFL draft as well as the pick in each of the first five rounds. The Falcons drafted All-American linebacker Tommy Nobis from the University of Texas with the first pick of the draft, the league also held the 1966 NFL Expansion Draft six weeks later in which the Falcons selected unprotected players from existing franchises. Although the Falcons selected many players in those drafts, they still were not able to win right away. The Atlanta Falcons Football Club received its nickname on August 29,1965, miss Julia Elliott, a school teacher from Griffin, Georgia, was singled out from many people who suggested Falcons as the nickname for the new franchise. Elliott wrote, the Falcon is proud and dignified, with great courage and it is deadly and has a great sporting tradition. The Falcons had their first season in 1966, and their first preseason game on August 1,1966, under Head Coach Norb Hecker they lost their first nine regular-season games in 1966 and secured their first victory on the road against the New York Giants. The team finished the 1960s with only 12 wins, the Falcons had their first Monday Night Football game in Atlanta during the 1970 season. The only two winning seasons in this period were 1971 and 1973. In the 1978 season, the Falcons qualified for the playoffs for the first time, the following week, they lost to the Dallas Cowboys 27–20 in the Divisional Playoffs. In the 1980 season, after a winning streak, the Falcons posted a franchise then-best record of 12–4
5.
Minnesota Vikings
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The Minnesota Vikings are an American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as a team in 1960. The team competes in the National Football Conference North division, before that, the Vikings were in the NFC Central, the team has played in four Super Bowl games, but lost each one. The team plays its games at U. S. Bank Stadium in the Downtown East section of Minneapolis, professional football in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area began with the Minneapolis Marines/Red Jackets, an NFL team that played intermittently in the 1920s and 1930s. However, a new team in the area did not surface again until August 1959. Skoglund, and Max Winter were awarded a franchise in the new American Football League. Ole Haugsrud was added to the NFL team ownership because, in the 1920s, when he sold his Duluth Eskimos team back to the league, the agreement allowed him 10 percent of any future Minnesota team. Coincidentally or not, the teams from Ole Haugsruds high school, Central High School in Superior, Wisconsin, were called the Vikings. From the teams first season in 1961 to 1981, the team called Metropolitan Stadium in suburban Bloomington home, the Vikings conducted summer training camp at Bemidji State University from 1961 to 1965. In 1966, the moved to their current training camp at Minnesota State University in Mankato. The Vikings played their games at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis from 1982 to 2013. The Vikings played their last game at the Metrodome on December 29,2013, since the teams first season in 1961, the Vikings have had one of the highest winning percentages in the NFL. As of 2014, they have won at least three games in every season except in 1962, and are one of only six NFL teams to win at least 15 games in a regular season. The Vikings have won one NFL Championship, in 1969, before the merger with the American Football League. Since the league merger in 1970, they have qualified for the playoffs 26 times, the team has played in Super Bowls IV, VIII, IX, and XI, though failing to win any of them. In addition, they have lost in their last five NFC Championship Game appearances since 1978, the team currently has 13 members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The team was named the Minnesota Vikings on September 27,1960
6.
Super Bowl
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The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the National Football League. The game is the culmination to a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. Normally, Roman numerals are used to each game, rather than the year in which it is held. For example, Super Bowl I was played on January 15,1967, the single exception to this rule is Super Bowl 50, which was played on February 7,2016, following the 2015 regular season. The next game, Super Bowl LII, scheduled for February 4,2018, the game was created as part of a merger agreement between the NFL and its then-rival league, the American Football League. It was agreed that the two champion teams would play in the AFL–NFL World Championship Game until the merger was to officially begin in 1970. After the merger, each league was redesignated as a conference, currently, the National Football Conference leads the league with 26 wins to 25 wins for the American Football Conference. The Pittsburgh Steelers have the most Super Bowl championship titles, with six, the New England Patriots have the most Super Bowl appearances, with nine. The day on which the Super Bowl is played, now considered by some as an unofficial American national holiday, is called Super Bowl Sunday and it is the second-largest day for U. S. food consumption, after Thanksgiving Day. In addition, the Super Bowl has frequently been the most-watched American television broadcast of the year, in 2015, Super Bowl XLIX became the most-watched American television program in history with an average audience of 114. The NFL restricts the use of its Super Bowl trademark, it is called the Big Game or other generic terms by non-sponsoring corporations. As a result, watching and discussing the broadcasts commercials has become a significant aspect of the event, for four decades after its 1920 inception, the NFL successfully fended off several rival leagues. However, in 1960, it encountered its most serious competitor when the American Football League was formed. The AFL vied heavily with the NFL for both players and fans, but by the middle of the decade the strain of competition led to merger talks between the two leagues. Prior to the 1966 season, the NFL and AFL reached an agreement that was to take effect for the 1970 season. As part of the merger, the champions of the two agreed to meet in a world championship game for professional American football until the merger was effected. A bowl game is a college football game. Exploiting the Rose Bowl Games popularity, post-season college football contests were created for Miami, New Orleans, and El Paso, Texas in 1935, by the time the first Super Bowl was played, the term bowl for any major American football game was well established
7.
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
8.
Illinois State University
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Illinois State University, founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, is the oldest public university in Illinois and is located in Normal, Illinois. The University emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of the top ten largest producers of teachers in the US according to the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education. The Universitys athletic teams are members of the Missouri Valley Conference and the Missouri Valley Football Conference and are known as the Redbirds, in reference to the state bird, the cardinal. Illinois State Universitys campus is in the twin-city community of Bloomington-Normal near the center of the state,137 miles southwest of Chicago and 164 miles northeast of St. Louis. Interstates 74,55, and 39, U. S. Route 150, an Amtrak passenger station is just two blocks from the University. ISU was founded as a school for teachers in 1857. Founded as Illinois State Normal University, its name was reflective of its mission as a normal school. Classes were initially held in downtown Bloomington, occupying space in Majors Hall, with the completion of Old Main in 1860, the school moved to its current campus in what was then the village of North Bloomington, which was chartered as Normal in 1865. The new town had named itself after the university, in 1965, the institutions name was changed to Illinois State University at Normal, and then again in 1968 to the current Illinois State University. Founded as a college, the University now offers a range of programs at the bachelor, master. Illinois State is accredited by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges, the teacher preparation programs are accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and certified by the Illinois State Board of Education. In addition,22 programs hold discipline-based accreditation, as of the fall of 2016, total on-campus enrollment was 21,039, with 18,643 undergraduate students and 2,396 graduate students. 56 percent of students are female, while 44 percent are male,18. 2% of all students were from minority groups. 382 international students from 66 countries are enrolled, the average new beginning student had an ACT score of 23.7. The student-faculty ratio is 18 to one, the Illinois State University campus quadrangle is compact compared with other large universities, with buildings spaced closely together around a rectangular center lawn. Lined with benches and shady trees, the site is a spot for students to relax, study. The ISU Quad is also host to the Fell Arboretum, which is part of a 490-acre site that represents over 154 species of trees from the state of Illinois. Trees on the side of the quad are from Northern Illinois
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Physical education
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Physical education, also known as Phys Ed. PE, Gym or Gym class, and known in many Commonwealth countries as physical training or PT, is a course related of maintaining the human body through physical exercises. It is taken during primary and secondary education and encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting to promote health, pupils are able to play games like football, badminton, captain ball, and basketball during most sessions. Unorthodox sports such as, fencing, and skateboarding are occasionally played, in more prestigious secondary schools and in junior colleges, sports such as golf, tennis, shooting, and squash are played. A compulsory fitness exam, NAPFA, is conducted in every school once every year to assess the fitness of the pupils. Pupils are given a series of fitness tests, students are graded by gold, silver, bronze or as fail. NAPFA for pre-enlistees serves as an indicator for an additional 2 months in the compulsory national service if they attain bronze or fail. In Malaysia, pupils from schools to secondary schools are expected to do 2 periods or 1 hour of PE throughout the year except a week before examination. In most secondary schools, games like badminton, sepak takraw, football, netball, basketball, pupils are allowed to bring their own sports equipment to the school with the authorization of the teacher. In the Philippines, PE is mandatory for all years, unless, the school gives the option for a student to do the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme instead for fifth and sixth year. In the Philippines, some schools have integrated martial arts training into their physical education curriculum, in Indonesia, students ranging from Kindergarten to High School have PE integrated with their curriculum. Starting from Junior High School, several games such as basketball, volleyball, cricket, tennis, badminton, kho kho, kabaddi. Several drills and physical training are taught, in Australia, physical education was first made an important part of the curriculum in Government primary and secondary schools in 1981. The policy was outlined in a Ministerial Statement to the Victorian Legislative Assembly by the Minister for Educational Services, in British Columbia, Canada the government has stated in the grade one curriculum that students must participate in physical activity daily five times a week. Also the teacher is responsible for planning Daily Physical Activity which is thirty minutes of mild to moderate physical activity a day not including curriculum physical education classes, the curriculum also requires students in grade one to be knowledgeable about healthy living. For example, students must be able to describe benefits of exercise, identify healthy choices that require them to be more physically active. Ontario, Canada has a procedure in place. On October 6,2005 in Ontario, Canada the Ontario Ministry of Education implemented a Daily Physical Activity policy in Elementary Schools, Grades 1-8
10.
University of Missouri
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The University of Missouri is a public land-grant research university located in Columbia, Missouri, U. S. It was founded in 1839 as the first public institution of higher education west of the Mississippi River, as the largest university in the state, it enrolled 32,777 students in 2016, offering over 300 degree programs in 19 academic colleges in the 2014–2015 school year. It is the campus of the University of Missouri System, which also maintains campuses in Kansas City, Rolla. MU is one of the nations top-tier R1 institutions and one of the 34 public universities to be members of the Association of American Universities, there are more than 300,000 MU alumni living worldwide with over one half continuing to reside in Missouri. The university was ranked 103rd among national universities in the 2016 U. S. News & World Report rankings, starting in December 1953, it boasts the countrys only university-owned TV network affiliate, operated by the Missouri School of Journalism. In 1908, the worlds first school of journalism was founded by Walter Williams as the Missouri School of Journalism, the University of Missouri Research Reactor Center is the worlds most powerful university research reactor. MU is one of six public universities in the United States with a school of medicine, veterinary medicine, engineering, agriculture. The university also owns the University of Missouri Health Care system, the only athletic program that operates a NCAA Division I FBS football team in Missouri is known as the Missouri Tigers and competes as a member of the Southeastern Conference. The schools mascot, Truman the Tiger, is named after Missourian, according to the NCAA, the American tradition of homecoming was established at the university in 1911, the tradition has since been adopted nationwide. In 1839, the Missouri Legislature passed the Geyer Act to establish funds for a state university and it would be the first public university west of the Mississippi River. To secure the university, the citizens of Columbia and Boone County pledged $117,921 in cash, the land on which the university was eventually constructed was just south of Columbias downtown and owned by James S. Rollins. He was later called the Father of the University, as the first public university in the Louisiana Purchase, the school was shaped by Thomas Jeffersons ideas about public education. In 1862 the American Civil War forced the university to close for much of the year, residents of Columbia formed a home guard militia that became known as the Fighting Tigers of Columbia. They were given the name for their readiness to protect the city and university, in 1890, the universitys newly formed football team took the name the Tigers after the Civil War militia. In 1870 the institution was granted land-grant college status under the Morrill Act of 1862, the act led to the founding of the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy as an offshoot of the main campus in Columbia. It developed as the present-day Missouri University of Science and Technology, in 1888 the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station opened. This grew to encompass ten centers and research farms around Missouri, by 1890 the university encompassed a normal college, engineering college, arts and science college, school of agriculture and mechanical arts. School of medicine, and school of law, on January 9,1892, Academic Hall, the institutions main building, burned in a fire that completely gutted the building, leaving little more standing than six stone Ionic columns
