1.
Annapolis, Maryland
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Annapolis is the capital of the U. S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. Its population was measured at 38,394 by the 2010 census, the city served as the seat of the Continental Congress in 1783–84 and was the site of the 1786 Annapolis Convention and the Annapolis Peace Conference, held in 2007. Annapolis is the home of St. Johns College as well as the United States Naval Academy, a settlement in the Province of Maryland named Providence was founded on the north shore of the Severn River in 1649 by Puritan exiles from Virginia led by Governor William Stone. The settlers later moved to a harbor on the south shore. The settlement on the shore was initially named Town at Proctors, then Town at the Severn. In 1654, after the Third English Civil War, Parliamentary forces assumed control of Maryland, per orders from Charles Calvert, fifth Lord Baltimore, Stone returned the following spring at the head of a Cavalier force. On March 25,1655, in what is known as the Battle of the Severn, Stone was defeated, taken prisoner, Fendall governed Maryland during the latter half of the Commonwealth. In 1660, he was replaced by Phillip Calvert as fifth/sixth Governor of Maryland), Annapolis was incorporated as a city in 1708. Water trades such as oyster-packing, boatbuilding and sailmaking became the chief industries. Annapolis is home to a number of recreational boats that have largely replaced the seafood industry in the city. Dr. Alexander Hamilton was a Scottish-born doctor and writer who lived and worked in Annapolis, Annapolis became the temporary capital of the United States after the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783. For the 1783 Congress, the Governor of Maryland commissioned John Shaw, the flag is slightly different from other designs of the time. The blue field extends over the height of the hoist. Shaw created two versions of the flag, one started with a red stripe and another that started with a white one. In 1786, delegates from all states of the Union were invited to meet in Annapolis to consider measures for the regulation of commerce. Delegates from only five states—New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Jersey, the Philadelphia convention drafted and approved the Constitution of the United States, which is still in force. During this period, a prisoner of war camp, Camp Parole, was set up in Annapolis. As the war continued, the camp expanded to a location just west of the city
2.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
3.
United States Naval Academy
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The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland, United States. The entire campus is a National Historic Landmark and home to historic sites, buildings. It replaced Philadelphia Naval Asylum, in Philadelphia, that served as the first United States Naval Academy from 1838 to 1845 when the Naval Academy formed in Annapolis. Candidates for admission generally must both apply directly to the academy and receive a nomination, usually from a Member of Congress, students are officers-in-training and are referred to as midshipmen. Tuition for midshipmen is fully funded by the Navy in exchange for an active duty service obligation upon graduation, approximately 1,200 plebes enter the Academy each summer for the rigorous Plebe Summer, but only about 1,000 midshipmen graduate. The United States Naval Academy has some of the highest paid graduates in the according to starting salary. Midshipmen are required to adhere to the academys Honor Concept, the United States Naval Academys campus is located in Annapolis, Maryland, at the confluence of the Severn River and the Chesapeake Bay. In its 2016 edition, U. S. News & World Report ranked the U. S. Naval Academy as the No.1 public liberal arts college and tied for the 9th best overall liberal arts college in the U. S. In the category of High School Counselor Rankings of National Liberal Arts Colleges, Military Academy and the U. S. Air Force Academy, and is tied for the No.5 spot for Best Undergraduate Engineering program at schools where doctorates not offered. In 2016, Forbes ranked the U. S. Naval Academy as No.24 overall in its report Americas Top Colleges, nominations may be made by members of and delegates to Congress, the President or Vice-President, the Secretary of the Navy or certain other sources. Candidates must also pass a fitness test and a thorough medical exam as part of the application process. In the 21st century, there have been about 1,200 students in each new class of plebes, the U. S. government pays for tuition, room, and board. Midshipmen receive monthly pay of $1,017.00, as of 2015, from this amount, pay is automatically deducted for the cost of uniforms, books, supplies, services, and other miscellaneous expenses. Midshipmen only receive a portion of their pay in cash while the rest is released during firstie year. Midshipmen fourth-class to midshipmen second-class receive monthly stipends of $100, $200, $300, Midshipmen first-class receive the difference between pay and outstanding expenses. Students at the academy are addressed as Midshipman, an official military rank. The same term comprises both males and females, upon graduation, most naval academy midshipmen are commissioned as ensigns in the Navy or second lieutenants in the Marine Corps and serve a minimum of five years after their commissioning. If they are selected to serve as a pilot, they will serve 8–11 years minimum from their date of winging, Foreign midshipmen are commissioned into the armed forces of their native countries
4.
Seating capacity
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Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats hundreds of thousands of people. The International Fire Code, portions of which have adopted by many jurisdictions, is directed more towards the use of a facility than the construction. It specifies, For areas having fixed seating without dividing arms and it also requires that every public venue submit a detailed site plan to the local fire code official, including details of the means of egress, seating capacity, arrangement of the seating. Once safety considerations have been satisfied, determinations of seating capacity turn on the size of the venue. For sports venues, the decision on maximum seating capacity is determined by several factors, chief among these are the primary sports program and the size of the market area. Seating capacity of venues also plays a role in what media they are able to provide, in contracting to permit performers to use a theatre or other performing space, the seating capacity of the performance facility must be disclosed. Seating capacity may influence the kind of contract to be used, the seating capacity must also be disclosed to the copyright owner in seeking a license for the copyrighted work to be performed in that venue. Venues that may be leased for private functions such as ballrooms and auditoriums generally advertise their seating capacity, seating capacity is also an important consideration in the construction and use of sports venues such as stadiums and arenas. The seating capacity for restaurants is reported as covers, a restaurant that can seat 99 is said to have 99 covers, seating capacity differs from total capacity, which describes the total number of people who can fit in a venue or in a vehicle either sitting or standing. Use of the term public capacity indicates that a venue is allowed to more people than it can actually seat. Again, the total number of people can refer to either the physical space available or limitations set by law
5.
FieldTurf
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FieldTurf is a brand of artificial turf playing surface. It is manufactured and installed by FieldTurf Tarkett, a division of French company Tarkett Inc. headquartered in Calhoun, Georgia, in the late 1990s, the artificial surface changed the industry with a design intended to replicate real grass. The new system quickly began taking market share from AstroTurf, and is now the leader in the industry, the surface is composed of monofilament polyethylene blend fibers tufted into a polypropylene backing. The infill is composed of a layer of silica sand, a middle layer which is a mixture of sand and cryogenic rubber. The fibers are meant to replicate blades of grass, while the acts as a cushion. This cushion is intended to improve safety when compared to earlier artificial surfaces and allows players to plant, each square foot of turf contains approximately 3 kg of sand and 1.5 kg of cryogenic rubber. FieldTurf does not use shock absorbency pads below its infill, the backing of the turf is a combination of woven and non-woven polypropylene. These materials are permeable and allow water to drain through the backing itself, jean Prévost bought the patent of the FieldTurf product in 1988 and originally named his Montreal-based company SynTenni Co. a name which would eventually be dropped in favor of FieldTurf Inc. In 1995, John Gilman, a former Canadian Football League player and coach, in 1997, FieldTurf made its first major installation for a professional team, at the training facility for the English Premierships Middlesbrough F. C. As of 2012, FieldTurf has installed over 7000 athletic fields, in 2005, French flooring manufacturer and minority shareholder Tarkett increased its share in FieldTurf, which led to the integration of the two companies. FieldTurf is now a part of the Tarkett Sports division, part of the holding company Tarkett SA, the FieldTurf head corporate office is located in Calhoun, Georgia. In May 2010, FieldTurf acquired EasyTurf of San Diego, California, by late 2016, press reports were describing the companys product as defective. A number of agencies in New Jersey had joined together to file a lawsuit against the firm. The suits allege that the DuraSpine product it sold was inferior, internal company documents showed the company knew its sales claims were false. There is evidence showing higher player injury on artificial turf, in a study performed by the National Football League Injury and Safety Panel, published in the October 2012 issue of the American Journal of Sports Medicine, Elliott B. Hershman et al. reviewed injury data from NFL games played between 2000 and 2009. the injury rate of knee sprains as a whole was 22% higher on FieldTurf than on natural grass. While MCL sprains did not occur at a significantly higher than on grass. There are conflicting studies of the safety of FieldTurf, a five-year study funded by FieldTurf and published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine found that injury rates for high school sports were similar on natural grass and synthetic turf
6.
United States dollar
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The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States and its insular territories per the United States Constitution. It is divided into 100 smaller cent units, the circulating paper money consists of Federal Reserve Notes that are denominated in United States dollars. The U. S. dollar was originally commodity money of silver as enacted by the Coinage Act of 1792 which determined the dollar to be 371 4/16 grain pure or 416 grain standard silver, the currency most used in international transactions, it is the worlds primary reserve currency. Several countries use it as their currency, and in many others it is the de facto currency. Besides the United States, it is used as the sole currency in two British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands. A few countries use the Federal Reserve Notes for paper money, while the country mints its own coins, or also accepts U. S. coins that can be used as payment in U. S. dollars. After Nixon shock of 1971, USD became fiat currency, Article I, Section 8 of the U. S. Constitution provides that the Congress has the power To coin money, laws implementing this power are currently codified at 31 U. S. C. Section 5112 prescribes the forms in which the United States dollars should be issued and these coins are both designated in Section 5112 as legal tender in payment of debts. The Sacagawea dollar is one example of the copper alloy dollar, the pure silver dollar is known as the American Silver Eagle. Section 5112 also provides for the minting and issuance of other coins and these other coins are more fully described in Coins of the United States dollar. The Constitution provides that a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and that provision of the Constitution is made specific by Section 331 of Title 31 of the United States Code. The sums of money reported in the Statements are currently being expressed in U. S. dollars, the U. S. dollar may therefore be described as the unit of account of the United States. The word dollar is one of the words in the first paragraph of Section 9 of Article I of the Constitution, there, dollars is a reference to the Spanish milled dollar, a coin that had a monetary value of 8 Spanish units of currency, or reales. In 1792 the U. S. Congress passed a Coinage Act, Section 20 of the act provided, That the money of account of the United States shall be expressed in dollars, or units. And that all accounts in the offices and all proceedings in the courts of the United States shall be kept and had in conformity to this regulation. In other words, this act designated the United States dollar as the unit of currency of the United States, unlike the Spanish milled dollar the U. S. dollar is based upon a decimal system of values. Both one-dollar coins and notes are produced today, although the form is significantly more common
7.
360 Architecture
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360 Architecture was an American architectural practice acquired by HOK in 2015. The firm was headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, with offices in Columbus Ohio, as of 2014, the firm had a staff of 200 professionals. In January 2015, HOK completed its acquisition of 360 Architecture for an undisclosed price, brad Schrock, a 360 Architecture co-founder and a director of this new HOK practice, said the acquisition would help the firms compete at the highest level. CDFM2 Architecture Inc. and Heinlein Schrock Stearns merged in 2004 to form 360 Architecture, Heinlein Schrock Stearns was a firm of thirty-six architects and designers focused on collegiate, minor- and major-league sports and commercial, residential and retail/entertainment projects. The merger combined thirty-four years of experience into 360 Architecture. The firm is working on some of the largest sporting venues in the U. S.360 Architecture was also a member of the Kansas City Downtown Arena Design Team, the DADT is the architect of record for the Sprint Center in downtown Kansas City. 360 Architecture is the designer for the revitalization project of downtown Kansas City. Other 360 Architecture projects in the downtown Kansas City area include the J. E. Dunn Construction Company corporate headquarters, internal Revenue Service Center and post office renovation, H&R Block world headquarters and the Boulevard Brewing Company expansion. 360architects. com, official website Kansas City Area Development Council Profile on 360 Architecture
8.
Navy Midshipmen football
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The Navy Midshipmen football team represents the United States Naval Academy in NCAA Division I FBS college football. The Naval Academy completed its season as an FBS independent school in 2014. The team has coached by Ken Niumatalolo since December 2007. Navy has 19 players and three coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame and won the football national championship in 1926 according to the Boand. The 1910 team also was undefeated and unscored upon, the mascot is Bill the Goat. The Naval Academys football program is one of the nations oldest, there were two separate efforts to establish a Naval Academy football team in 1879. The first was guided by first-classman J. H. Robinson, the team played the sport under rules that made it much closer to soccer, where the players were permitted only to kick the ball in order to advance it. The second effort, headed by first-classman William John Maxwell was more successful in its efforts, Maxwell met with two of his friends, Tunstall Smith and Henry Woods, who played for the Baltimore Athletic Club and officially challenged their team to a game with the Naval Academy. A team was formed from academy first-classmen, which Maxwell led as a manager, trainer, the team would wake up and practice before reveille and following drill and meals. The squad received encouragement from some of the faculty, who allowed them to eat a late dinner and this was against the direct orders of the school superintendent, who had banned football and similar activities. The years sole contest was played on December 11 against the Baltimore Athletic Club, the oppositions team was reportedly composed of players from Princeton, Yale, Pennsylvania, and Johns Hopkins. The Naval Academy hosted the Baltimore team on a temporary field drawn on part of the cow pasture. Rules decided upon between the teams established that the game was to be played under rugby rules. The Baltimore American and Chronicle, which covered the contest, described it as such, The game, played rugby rules, was a battle from beginning to end—a regular knock down. Both sides became immediately excited and the audience was aroused to the highest pitch of enthusiasm by the spirited contest, the ball oscillated backward and forward over the ground without any material result. The scrimmages were something awful to witness—living, kicking, scrambling masses of humanity surging to and fro, each individual after the leather oval. If a Baltimorean got the ball and started for a run, he was caught by one of the brawny Cadets. The game was fought and was finally declared a scoreless tie by the referee about an hour after it began
9.
National Collegiate Athletic Association
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The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a non-profit association which regulates athletes of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations, and individuals. It also organizes the programs of many colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. The organization is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 2014, the NCAA generated almost a billion dollars in revenue. 80 to 90% of this revenue was due to the Division I Mens Basketball Tournament and this revenue is then distributed back into various organizations and institutions across the United States. In August 1973, the current three-division setup of Division I, Division II, under NCAA rules, Division I and Division II schools can offer scholarships to athletes for playing a sport. Division III schools may not offer any athletic scholarships, generally, larger schools compete in Division I and smaller schools in II and III. Division I football was divided into I-A and I-AA in 1978. Subsequently, the term Division I-AAA was briefly added to delineate Division I schools which do not field a football program at all, in 2006, Divisions I-A and I-AA were respectively renamed the Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision. Inter-collegiate sports began in the US in 1852 when crews from Harvard University, as other sports emerged, notably football and basketball, many of these same concepts and standards were adopted. Football, in particular, began to emerge as a marquee sport, the IAAUS was officially established on March 31,1906, and took its present name, the NCAA, in 1910. For several years, the NCAA was a group and rules-making body, but in 1921, the first NCAA national championship was conducted. Gradually, more rules committees were formed and more championships were created, a series of crises brought the NCAA to a crossroads after World War II. The Sanity Code – adopted to establish guidelines for recruiting and financial aid – failed to curb abuses, postseason football games were multiplying with little control, and member schools were increasingly concerned about how the new medium of television would affect football attendance. The complexity of problems and the growth in membership and championships demonstrated the need for full-time professional leadership. Walter Byers, previously an executive assistant, was named executive director in 1951. Byers wasted no time placing his stamp on the Association, as college athletics grew, the scope of the nations athletics programs diverged, forcing the NCAA to create a structure that recognized varying levels of emphasis. In 1973, the Associations membership was divided into three legislative and competitive divisions – I, II, and III, five years later in 1978, Division I members voted to create subdivisions I-A and I-AA in football. Until the 1980s, the association did not offer womens athletics, instead, the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, with nearly 1000 member schools, governed womens collegiate sports in the United States
10.
Crystal Palace Baltimore
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Crystal Palace Baltimore was an American professional soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, US. Founded in 2006, the club was originally named Crystal Palace USA and was affiliated with English side Crystal Palace, the club was a member of the old USL Second Division and the temporary USSF Division 2 Professional League. On December 3,2010 the franchise stated it intended to relaunch for the start of the 2012 North American Soccer League campaign, however no further announcements have been forthcoming from the club since that date. A new Towson based team, the Baltimore Bohemians, replaced the club in 2012 and that team plays in the USL Premier Development League. This was the first trans-Atlantic partnership of its kind in North America, the Baltimore franchise originally intended to be in the USL Premier Development League. Instead, it joined the USL Second Division when it began playing a schedule of contests in 2007. The teams original official title was Crystal Palace F. C, USA until January 27,2010, when it was changed to the more popularly accepted name Crystal Palace Baltimore. Crystal Palace Baltimores debut, its only played in 2006, was against its sister club at the United States Naval Academys Glenn Warner Soccer Facility in Annapolis. The team consisted of the local Maryland-based universities top players, including Chris Seitz, A. J. DeLaGarza, rade Kokovic scored the Americans first-ever goal to tie the game in the 30th minute, but the home side eventually lost 3–1. The second contest between the two resulted in Baltimore surrendering a goal in the 28th minute and being shut out 1–0 at Selhurst Park on September 7,2007. The third match of the series was played at Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf, val Teixeira tied the score at one in the 18th minute and Jordan Seabrook brought the team within a goal at 3–2 in the 59th, but the Americans dropped a 5–2 decision. The squad played most of the contest with a one-man disadvantage after Harold Urquijo was red carded in the 22nd minute, the lone goal was surrendered just before halftime. The 2008 run began on June 10 at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, pat Healey scored both goals for the winning side, the second one breaking a 1–1 deadlock in the 89th minute. A fortnight later on June 24, Palace earned another victory by outlasting the Harrisburg City Islanders in a penalty shootout 2–2. Baltimore became the only USL-2 team to advance to the quarterfinals of that tournament with a 2–0 upset of the New York Red Bulls at Broadneck High School in Annapolis on July 1. The goalscorers were Andrew Marshall in the 18th minute and Gary Brooks in the 75th, Palace failed to progress beyond the First Round in each of the next two years, being shut out on the road both times. In a match postponed a day due to a soggy pitch caused by rainstorms and they took the Richmond Kickers into overtime on June 15,2010, but surrendered a Matthew Delicate goal in the 119th minute and lost 1–0. Crystal Palace Baltimores 2007 inaugural year in USL-2 began with a losing streak
11.
USL Second Division
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The United Soccer Leagues Second Division was a professional mens soccer league in the United States, part of the United Soccer Leagues league pyramid. The first champions of the new USISL Pro League were the Long Island Rough Riders, in 1996, the USISL established a new USISL Select League. The strongest USISL Pro League teams joined this new league, which was given Division 2 status alongside the existing A-League, charleston Battery became the leagues second champions in this year, beating the Charlotte Eagles in a penalty shootout in the 1996 USISL Pro League championship game. In 2003 the name was changed again to the USL Pro Select League, in 2005 the league took its final name as the USL Second Division. The USL Second Division dissolved following the 2010 season to make way for USL Pro, a total of 102 clubs have competed in USL-2. Active in USL 2nd Division Club moved to USL First Division Club moved to USL PDL Club moved to USL Pro USSF D2 Season Club on hiatus
12.
Chesapeake Bayhawks
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The Chesapeake Bayhawks are a Major League Lacrosse professional mens field lacrosse team based in Annapolis, Maryland. They have played in the MLL since the 2001 season, from the leagues inception in 2001 through 2005, they were in the National Division and from 2006 to 2008, they were in the Eastern Conference. After the MLL contraction for the 2009 season from 10 to 6 teams, the team was based in the Baltimore, Maryland metro area as the Baltimore Bayhawks from 2001–2006. From 2007–2009 they were called the Washington Bayhawks and were renamed the Chesapeake Bayhawks in 2010 to encompass the entire Chesapeake Bay area and they played their home games at Johnny Unitas Stadium on the campus of Towson University from 2004 to 2006. The Bayhawks won National Division championships in 2001,2002,2003 and 2005 and they made the 2004 playoffs as a wild card. The Bayhawks were the only Major League Lacrosse charter team to have a season in each of the first five years of the league. There had been months of rumors about the Bayhawks moving from Baltimore, on November 3,2006, Inside Lacrosse received an email entitled “Major League Lacrosse is coming to Washington D. C. ” announcing a pre-season press conference at Nathan’s of Georgetown on November 14. In addition, the domain name washingtonbayhawks. com is registered with a name of Kerry Pucillo. The e-mail contact for the domain was her e-mail address and the address given for the domain registry is that of Major League Lacrosse’s headquarters. The domain was registered September 2006, the MLL approved the move to Washington. The Bayhawks played their first home game of the 2007 season on May 12 at George Mason Stadium in Fairfax, George Mason Stadium served as the primary field for five home games during 2008 with one home game at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Bayhawks subsequently reached a deal to play all home games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium through 2011. The Bayhawks are the MLLs second winningest franchise of the league, the franchise has won five MLL Championships and four division titles throughout their history in the league. In 2001, the Bayhawks won the National Division crown, the following year, the Bayhawks repeated as National Division champion, and this time avenged their title game loss with their first MLL crown. In the MLLs third season, the Bayhawks continued their National Division dominance with their third straight title, the Bayhawks made the playoffs in 2004 but were eliminated in the semifinals. The 2005 Bayhawks squad is regarded as one of the greatest lacrosse teams ever assembled, led by veterans such as Gary Gait and Tom Marechek, the Bayhawks dominated the MLL and set several scoring records throughout the year. The team capped the season with their fourth National Division title, the 2006 season was a transition year for both the MLL and the Bayhawks. BT Lax Operating purchased the Bayhawks from the ownership group led by the Pivec family
13.
Major League Lacrosse
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Major League Lacrosse is a field lacrosse league consisting of nine teams in the United States. Founded in 1999, the inaugural season was in 2001. MLL averaged 4,268 spectators per game during the 2016 season, MLL players reportedly earn annual salaries in the $10, 000–$25,000 range, players and staff generally hold other jobs. Major League Lacrosse was founded in 1998 by Jake Steinfeld, Dave Morrow, Steinfeld is the creator of the Body By Jake line of exercise equipment and videos, Morrow is a former All-American lacrosse player and the president of Warrior Sports. MLL began regular play in June 2001 with six teams in the northeastern U. S. split into two divisions. The American Division included teams in Boston, Bridgeport CT, and Long Island, the National Division included teams in Baltimore, New Jersey, the MLL played a 14-game regular season its first two years, in 2003, the schedule was cut to 12 games. MLL added four teams for the 2006 season, bringing the number of teams up to ten. The league expand to Los Angeles for the 2006 season, with the team playing its games at The Home Depot Center, AEG. Denver, Colorado was also home to a team playing at Invesco Field at Mile High. The league also added teams in the Chicago, Illinois and San Francisco, MLL created a western conference for these four teams, and the MLL Western Conference play began with the 2006 season. In addition the Barrages home game against Boston was played in Boston, at the end of the 2008 season, four teams folded due to financial problems. Several of these teams had suffered from poor average attendance — New Jersey and this contraction forced the remaining six teams to form one conference. At the start of the 2009 season, the Toronto Nationals bought the rights to the Rochester Rattlers, the Toronto team gained the staff and players of the Rochester team, but the Rochester name and the team colors were left in Rochester for the possibility of a future team. The new Rochester franchise played at Sahlens Stadium, the stadium the older Rochester Rattlers used at the end of their tenure in Rochester before relocating to Toronto. During the early years of MLL, the league did not have any teams in the southeast, commissioner David Gross announced on December 9,2010 that two expansion teams would be created for the 2012 season. Charlotte and Columbus were approved in January 2011 to host expansion teams to play in 2012. Gross also stated there would be two more expansion teams for 2013, and that the long-term goal is to have 16 teams by 2020. For the 2011 season, the MLL had an attendance of 6,417
14.
Military Bowl
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The 2014 through 2019 games are featuring teams from the American Athletic Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Sponsored by Northrop Grumman, the game is known as the Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman. During initial planning stages, the game was known as the Congressional Bowl, after Northrop Grumman, one of the worlds leading defense contractors, became its sponsor in 2010, it was renamed the Military Bowl. The game was held at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D. C. through its 2012 edition, the idea for the EagleBank Bowl originated with the Washington, D. C. Bowl Committee, a group founded by Marie Rudolph and Sean Metcalf in December 2006 with the purpose of bringing a bowl game to the Washington. Sports and Entertainment Commission and the Washington, D. C, convention and Tourism Corporation announced their support of the proposed event in 2007. The bowl game was one of two approved by the National Collegiate Athletic Association for the 2008 college football season, the other being the St. Petersburg Bowl. The NCAAs Postseason Football Licensing Subcommittee approved the bowl on April 30,2008, the inaugural game had its kickoff scheduled for 11 AM EST on December 20,2008, making it the first bowl game of the 2008–09 bowl season. In 2010 the game generated in excess of $18 million for the Washington, also, over $100,000 was donated to the USO. Prior to the approval by the NCAA, Navy and the Atlantic Coast Conference signed agreements to participate in the game if it was approved. Under the agreement, the ACC would provide its ninth-best team for the if the league had nine bowl eligible teams. In December 2008, the game featured Navy against Wake Forest representing the ACC. Along with its ACC tie-in, the signed an agreement with Army to play in the 2009 edition of the game. For the 2010 through 2013 games, the reached agreement for an ACC team to face a C-USA team, Navy, Army. If Navy or Army were not bowl eligible, a Big 12 team would be selected in 2011, in 2012, Army was not bowl eligible and the ACC could not supply a team, so a MAC vs. Western Athletic Conference matchup was organized, starting with the 2014 game, organizers entered a six-year agreement for the game to feature an ACC vs. American Athletic Conference matchup. Bold conference denotes winner of games played, records reflect conference membership at the time each game was played. Navy has appeared twice – once as an Independent and once as a member of The American, list of college bowl games Sports in Washington, D. C
15.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
16.
Maryland
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The states largest city is Baltimore, and its capital is Annapolis. Among its occasional nicknames are Old Line State, the Free State, the state is named after Henrietta Maria of France, the wife of Charles I of England. George Calvert was the first Lord of Baltimore and the first English proprietor of the colonial grant. Maryland was the state to ratify the United States Constitution. Maryland is one of the smallest U. S. states in terms of area, as well as one of the most densely populated, Maryland has an area of 12,406.68 square miles and is comparable in overall area with Belgium. It is the 42nd largest and 9th smallest state and is closest in size to the state of Hawaii, the next largest state, its neighbor West Virginia, is almost twice the size of Maryland. Maryland possesses a variety of topography within its borders, contributing to its nickname America in Miniature. The mid-portion of this border is interrupted by Washington, D. C. which sits on land that was part of Montgomery and Prince Georges counties and including the town of Georgetown. This land was ceded to the United States Federal Government in 1790 to form the District of Columbia, the Chesapeake Bay nearly bisects the state and the counties east of the bay are known collectively as the Eastern Shore. Close to the town of Hancock, in western Maryland, about two-thirds of the way across the state. This geographical curiosity makes Maryland the narrowest state, bordered by the Mason–Dixon line to the north, portions of Maryland are included in various official and unofficial geographic regions. Much of the Baltimore–Washington corridor lies just south of the Piedmont in the Coastal Plain, earthquakes in Maryland are infrequent and small due to the states distance from seismic/earthquake zones. The M5.8 Virginia earthquake in 2011 was felt moderately throughout Maryland, buildings in the state are not well-designed for earthquakes and can suffer damage easily. The lack of any glacial history accounts for the scarcity of Marylands natural lakes, laurel Oxbow Lake is an over one-hundred-year-old 55-acre natural lake two miles north of Maryland City and adjacent to Russett. Chews Lake is a natural lake two miles south-southeast of Upper Marlboro. There are numerous lakes, the largest of them being the Deep Creek Lake. Maryland has shale formations containing natural gas, where fracking is theoretically possible, as is typical of states on the East Coast, Marylands plant life is abundant and healthy. Middle Atlantic coastal forests, typical of the southeastern Atlantic coastal plain, grow around Chesapeake Bay, moving west, a mixture of Northeastern coastal forests and Southeastern mixed forests cover the central part of the state
17.
Stadium
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Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event at the ancient Greek Olympic festival was the race that comprised one length of the stade at Olympia, where the word stadium originated. In modern times, a stadium is officially a stadium when at least 50% of the capacity is an actual building. If the majority of the capacity is formed by grasshills, the venue is not officially considered a stadium. Most of the stadiums with a capacity of at least 10,000 are used for football, or soccer. A large amount of sports venues are also used for concerts. Stadium is the Latin form of the Greek word stadion, a measure of length equalling the length of 600 human feet, as feet are of variable length the exact length of a stadion depends on the exact length adopted for 1 foot at a given place and time. Although in modern terms 1 stadion =600 ft, in a historical context it may actually signify a length up to 15% larger or smaller. The equivalent Roman measure, the stadium, had a similar length — about 185 m -, the English use of stadium comes from the tiered infrastructure surrounding a Roman track of such length. Most dictionaries provide for both stadiums and stadia as valid English plurals, although etymological purists sometimes apply stadia only to measures of length in excess of 1 stadium. The oldest known stadium is the one in Olympia, in the western Peloponnese, Greece, initially the Games consisted of a single event, a sprint along the length of the stadium. The stadion, a measure of length, may be related to the Stadium, Greek and Roman stadiums have been found in numerous ancient cities, perhaps the most famous being the Stadium of Domitian, in Rome. The excavated and refurbished ancient Panathenaic stadium hosted a version of the Olympic Games in 1870,1875,1896 and 1906. The excavation and refurbishment of the stadium was part of the legacy of the Greek national benefactor Evangelos Zappas, the first stadiums to be built in the modern era were basic facilities, designed for the single purpose of fitting as many spectators in as possible. One such early stadium was the Lansdowne Road Stadium, the brainchild of Henry Dunlop, banned from locating sporting events at Trinity College, Dunlop built the stadium in 1872. Some 300 cartloads of soil from a trench beneath the railway were used to raise the ground, other early stadiums from this period in the UK include the Stamford Bridge stadium and Anfield stadium. In the U. S. However, many of these caught fire. All of the 19th-century wooden parks were replaced, some only a few years. Goodison Park was the first purpose-built football stadium in the world, walton-based building firm Kelly brothers were instructed to erect two uncovered stands that could each accommodate 4,000 spectators
18.
Navy Midshipmen
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The United States Naval Academy sponsors 30 varsity-sports teams and 12 club-sports teams. Both mens and womens teams are called Navy Midshipmen or Mids, Navy is also one of approximately 300 members of the Eastern College Athletic Conference. The most important sporting event at the academy is the annual Army–Navy Game, the 2014 season marked Navys 13th consecutive victory over Army. The three major service academies compete for the Commander-in-Chiefs Trophy, which is awarded to the academy that defeats the others in football that year. Participation in athletics is, in general, mandatory at the Naval Academy, There are exceptions for non-athletic Brigade Support Activities such as YP Squadron or the Drum and Bugle Corps. Varsity-letter winners wear a blue cardigan with a large gold N patch affixed. If they belong to a team that beats Army in any sport designated Star competition, ∞ = Sprint football is sanctioned by the Collegiate Sprint Football League, not by the NCAA. † = Squash is sanctioned by the College Squash Association, not by the NCAA, ~ = Intercollegiate sailing is sanctioned by the Intercollegiate Sailing Association, offshore sailing is sanctioned by various organizations, neither is sanctioned by the NCAA. * = Rifle is technically a mens sport, but mens, womens, # = The football team is a single-sport member of the American Athletic Conference. ♦ = The gymnastics team competes in the Eastern Intercollegiate Gymnastics League, ♥ = The water polo team competes in the Collegiate Water Polo Association. ♣ = The wrestling team competes in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association, the lightweight crew won the 2004 National Championship and has finished second three times, the most recent being 2010. The lightweights are accredited with two Jope Cup Championships as well, finishing the Eastern Sprints with the highest number of points in 2006 and 2007, note, No longer listed as a sport at USNA. As of 2002, the fencing team had won three NCAA Division I championships and was runner-up four times. See also, Intercollegiate sports team champions § Squash The mens squash team was the national nine-man team champion in 1957,1959, See also, List of college swimming and diving teams 2010 – seventh straight Patriot League title and second consecutive Eastern College Athletic Conference championship. Will Norton was named ECAC Co-Swimmer of the Year, head coach Bill Roberts was named ECAC Coach of the Year. 2011 – Navy Men moved into the top 25 in NCAA Division I polling, the 2010-11 team handed Princeton its first ever loss in Denunzio Pool at Princeton, 167-133. The team also won its eighth straight Patriot League title and third straight ECAC title, See also, NCAA Mens Indoor Track and Field Championship NCAA Mens Outdoor Track and Field Championship 1945, National Champion See footnote. See also, Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association and NCAA Wrestling Team Championship The Navy Midshipmen Wrestling team is coached by Iowa Alum Joel Sharratt
19.
Navy Midshipmen men's lacrosse
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The Navy Midshipmen mens lacrosse team represents the United States Naval Academy in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I mens lacrosse. Navy currently competes as a member of the Patriot League and play their games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. During the 20th century, the Midshipmen secured 17 national championships, during the 1960s, a period of dominance for the Midshipmen, they won eight consecutive titles. Lacrosse began at the Naval Academy in 1908 when two former Johns Hopkins players, Frank Breyer and Bill Hudgins, volunteered to form a team. On April 4, they played their first game, against their co-founders alma mater, in 1911, George Finlayson took over as head coach and a year later led Navy to its first undefeated season. The start of the First World War caused a cancellation of the 1917 season after just two games, but also marked the start of seven season undefeated streak, from mid-season in 1916 to the final game of 1923, Navy won 45 consecutive games. The founder of the program at cross-city rival St. Johns. He remained at the helm for 23 years, during which time he helped Navy compile six national championships, in April 1941 Navy superintendent Rear Admiral Russell Wilson refused to allow the team to play a visiting team from Harvard University because the Harvard team included a black player. Harvards athletic director ordered the home and the game was played on April 4, as scheduled. In 1945, the Midshipmen hosted their arch-rival Army for the final game of the season. The teams fought to a stalemate, and after two periods, finished the season as national co-champions. In 1959, Willis Bilderback, a Rutgers alumnus, took over the program, health problems forced Bilderback to retire after the 1972 season. He was replaced by Dick Szlasa, who coached Navy to ten consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, Bryan Matthews took over in 1983, and Richie Meade replaced him in turn in 1995. Navy became a member of a conference for the first time in 2000 when it joined the Eastern College Athletic Conference Lacrosse League, in 2004, they left the ECAC to join the Patriot League. The Midshipmen have finished first outright or tied for first every year of their membership, Navy has also won the Patriot League tournament five of those six years. Starting in 1926, the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association began rating college lacrosse teams, Navy was the recipient of one of these in 1928, alongside Johns Hopkins, Maryland, and Rutgers — each of which had only one regular-season collegiate defeat. From 1936 through 1970, the USILA awarded the Wingate Memorial Trophy to the annual champion, in 1971, the NCAA began hosting an annual mens tournament to determine the national champion. The Wingate Memorial Trophy was presented to the first two NCAA Division I champions and was then retired, Frank Breyer & Bill Hudgins George Finlayson William Dinty Moore Willis Bilderback Dick Szlasa Bryan Matthews Richie Meade Rick Sowell The Lt. Donald MacLaughlin Jr
20.
William & Mary Tribe football
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The William & Mary Tribe are a college football team representing the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. William & Mary currently competes in the Colonial Athletic Association of the NCAAs Division I Football Championship Subdivision, Jimmye Laycock is in his 38th year as the Tribes head coach. Laycock is a W&M alumnus and played quarterback under College Football Hall of Fame coaches Marv Levy, William & Marys traditional rival in football is the University of Richmond. William & Mary and Richmond have met 120 times since 1898, only Wisconsin-Minnesota, Lafayette–Lehigh, Princeton–Yale, and Harvard–Yale have played more games. The winner of this annual W&M–Richmond match-up claims the Capital Cup, in 2008, William & Mary opened the Jimmye Laycock Football Center, a state-of-the-art facility housing the Tribe locker room, football players classroom study sessions and tape review rooms. The College of William & Mary has transitioned through several official nicknames since its athletic program began in 1893, from 1893 to 1916, William & Mary football players were known as the Orange and White because those were the old official school colors. From 1916 to 1977, all William & Mary athletes were known as the Indians, and, most recently, from 1978 to the present day they have been known as the Tribe. The William & Mary Tribe football team has had success during Jimmye Laycocks tenure. Since his taking over as coach, W&M have enjoyed occasional winning seasons. The long-time head-coach has led the Tribe to multiple playoff appearances, most recently, the Tribe reached the semifinal against eventual champions Villanova in 2009, losing by a single point. The team has appeared in three bowl games, the 1948 Dixie Bowl,1949 Delta Bowl and 1970 Tangerine Bowl. The Tribe are 1–2 in those games, with the win being a 20–0 victory over Oklahoma A&M in 1949. As of 2017, only the James Madison Dukes and Richmond Spiders are still members of the Colonial Athletic Association with William & Mary
21.
Thompson Stadium
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Robert Means Thompson Stadium was an American football stadium in the eastern United States, located on the campus of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Constructed in 1914, it was the stadium of the Navy Midshipmen from 1924 through 1958. He created or led several athletically-based organizations at the academy until his death and it was succeeded by the larger Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in 1959, the current venue of Navy football. Before its conversion to a stadium, the Thompson Stadium site was an unused area on the south end campus. Work on the began in 1914, and was finished later the same year. The seating capacity was 12,000, and it underwent few changes during its entire use and it was surrounded by a regulation quarter-mile running track, and only had a single seating section, along the southwest sideline. The field had a northwest-southeast alignment, at a slightly above sea level. During the 1940s, the Naval Academy began to look for options to construct a new, the schools directors collected money to build the stadium, for which much support was given by the public, due to the lack of seating at Thompson Stadium. Construction on the new stadium began in 1958 and it opened in September 1959, use of Thompson Stadium ended for varsity games, but it remained until the early 1980s, when it was replaced by Lejeune Hall, the venue for USNA water sports. From its origins until 1931, Thompson Stadium went without a name and that year on May 30, the stadium was formally dedicated as the Robert Means Thompson Stadium, for the benefactor and alumnus of the Naval Academy. Born in March 1849, Thompson graduated from the Naval Academy as part of the class of 1868 and he was commissioned as an officer in the Navy in 1869, but retired two years later to pursue a career in law. In addition, he served as the head of several Naval Academy organizations, the Naval Academys football team played their first game 138 years ago in 1879, an away game against the Baltimore Athletic Club, which ended in a scoreless tie. The Navy football team, not yet known as the midshipmen, did not have an official stadium
22.
Football at the 1984 Summer Olympics
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The association football tournament at the 1984 Summer Olympics started on July 29 and ended on August 11. It featured only a mens tournament, as football had yet to become an Olympic event. It was the first Olympic football competition in which professionals were allowed, until then, the amateur-only rule had heavily favored socialist countries from Eastern Europe whose players were professionals in all but name. However, as agreed with FIFA to preserve the primacy of the World Cup, until 2014 this remained the record attendance for a football game in the United States. The Rose Bowl attendance would remain the Olympic record until 104,098 attended the Gold Medal game of the 2000 Summer Olympics between Cameroon and Spain at the Stadium Australia in Sydney, sixteen teams qualified for the Olympic tournament after continental qualifying rounds. Three Warsaw Pact countries had qualified but withdrew as part of the Soviet-led boycott and they were replaced as follows, East Germany won UEFA Group 2. They were replaced by Norway, who came third, second-place Poland were also boycotting and they were replaced by West Germany, second in Group 4. Hungary and Bulgaria, second and third in Group 1, were also boycotting and they were replaced by Italy, third in UEFA Group 3. Note, As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in time are counted as wins and losses. With five goals, Daniel Xuereb of France, Borislav Cvetković, in total,84 goals were scored by 52 different players, with none of them credited as own goal. The following twelve players were sent off and suspended during the tournament, Olympic Football Tournament Los Angeles 1984
23.
1984 Summer Olympics
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The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984. When Tehran, the other interested city on the international level, declined to bid due to the concurrent Iranian political and social changes. This was the second occasion Los Angeles hosted the games, the first being in 1932, for differing reasons, Iran and Libya also boycotted. The USSR announced its intention not to participate on May 8,1984, citing security concerns and chauvinistic sentiments, boycotting countries organized another large event in June–September 1984, called the Friendship Games, however, not even a single competition was held between July 28 and August 12. Representatives of the countries, the Soviets in particular, underlined it was not held to replace the Olympics. Elite athletes from the U. S. and USSR would only compete against each other at the 1986 Goodwill Games in Moscow, organized in response to the boycotts. The Olympic Committee led by Peter Ueberroth used some of the profits to endow the LA84 Foundation to promote sports in Southern California, educate coaches. The 1984 Summer Olympics are often considered the most financially successful modern Olympics, the host state of California was the home state of U. S. President Ronald Reagan, who officially opened the Games. He had served as Governor of California from 1967 to 1975, the official mascot of the Los Angeles Games was Sam the Olympic Eagle. The logo of the games featured five blue, white and red stars arranged horizontally and struck through with alternating streaks and these were the first Summer Olympic Games under the IOC presidency of Juan Antonio Samaranch. On July 18,2009, a 25th anniversary celebration was held in the main stadium and this celebration included a speech by the former president of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee, Ueberroth, and a re-creation of the lighting of the cauldron. After the murder of Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists in Munich and significant financial debts of Montreal, only two cities made serious bids for the 1984 Summer Games. But before a city could be anointed in 1978, Tehran, too. Hence, the process for the 1984 Summer Olympics consisted of a single finalized bid. The bid from Tehran was withdrawn before the selection as a result of Irans policy changes following the Iranian Revolution, Los Angeles had unsuccessfully bid for the two previous Summer Olympics, for 1976 and 1980. The 1984 Olympic Torch Relay began in New York City and ended in Los Angeles, traversing 33 states, unlike later torch relays, the torch was continuously carried by runners on foot. The route covered more than 9,320 mi and involved 3,636 runners, noted athlete O. J. Simpson was among the runners, carrying the torch up the California Incline in Santa Monica. With the torch, he touched off the flame passed through a specially designed flammable Olympic logo
24.
D.C. United
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United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D. C. The club competes as a member of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer, the franchise began play in 1996 as one of the ten charter clubs of the league. The club was one of the most successful clubs in the years of MLS. United holds the joint MLS record for most Supporters Shields, has four MLS Cups and it is also the first club to win both the MLS Supporters Shield and MLS Cup consecutively. United has competed in both the CONCACAF Champions League and its predecessor, the CONCACAF Champions Cup, the club won the 1998 CONCACAF Champions Cup, making them one of only two MLS teams to ever win a CONCACAF tournament. Subsequently, United won the now-defunct Copa Interamericana in 1998 against Vasco da Gama of Brazil and this is the only intercontinental title won by an MLS club. The teams home field is the 45, 596-seat Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, owned by the District of Columbia, the team is owned by the consortium D. C. The teams head coach is former long-time starting midfielder Ben Olsen, players such as Jaime Moreno, Marco Etcheverry, and Eddie Pope are among the teams most successful stars. Uniteds fan base includes four supporters clubs, the clubs official nickname is the Black-and-Red and home uniforms are black and white with accents of red. The teams name alludes to the United appellation commonly found in the names of teams in the United Kingdom. Prior to the 1994 FIFA World Cup, the United States Soccer Federation fulfilled its promise to FIFA by aiding in the foundation of a new professional league. On June 15,1994, Major League Soccer selected Washington, D. C. out of twenty-two applicants to host one of the first seven teams, the teams name was chosen as a reflection of the names of European clubs, such as Manchester United or Leeds United. United played in the inaugural match against the San Jose Clash in Spartan Stadium in San Jose. In the leagues early years, D. C. was the most successful of all the teams in MLS, D. C. repeated its MLS Cup victory in 1997 against the Colorado Rapids, in front of a home crowd at RFK Stadium. The team also experienced success in CONCACAF competitions, winning both the Champions Cup and the Interamerican Cup in 1998. In October 1998, Arena left the team to coach the U. S. mens national team, arenas departure marked the beginning of a downturn in the teams fortunes. While the club won the MLS Cup in 1999 under coach Thomas Rongen, lackluster results in 2000 and 2001 led to Rongens departure. The team did not, however, fare much better under Hudson, the clubs first season under Nowak was marred by injuries in the early going, and some players were known to have complained about Nowaks methods
25.
Major League Soccer
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Major League Soccer is a mens professional soccer league, sanctioned by U. S. Soccer, that represents the sports highest level in both the United States and Canada. MLS constitutes one of the professional sports leagues of the United States. The league comprises 22 teams—19 in the U. S. and 3 in Canada, the MLS regular season runs from March to October, with each team playing 34 games, the team with the best record is awarded the Supporters Shield. The postseason includes twelve teams competing in the MLS Cup Playoffs through November and December, culminating in the championship game, MLS teams also play in other domestic competitions against teams from other divisions in the U. S. Open Cup and in the Canadian Championship. MLS teams also compete against continental rivals in the CONCACAF Champions League, Major League Soccer was founded in 1993 as part of the United States successful bid to host the 1994 FIFA World Cup. The first season took place in 1996 with ten teams, MLS experienced financial and operational struggles in its first few years, The league lost millions of dollars, teams played in mostly empty American football stadiums, and two teams folded in 2002. Instead of operating as an association of independently owned teams, MLS is an entity in which each team is owned and controlled by the leagues investors. The investor-operators control their teams as owners control teams in other leagues, MLS headquarters is located in New York City. Major League Soccers regular season runs from March to October, teams are divided into the Eastern and Western Conferences. Teams play 34 games in a schedule,23 matches against teams within their conference. Midway through the season, teams break for the annual All-Star Game, at the end of the regular season, the team with the highest point total is awarded the Supporters Shield. While MLS has looked into changing to a format, there are no current plans to do so. If the league were to change its schedule, a break would be needed, especially with several teams in colder climates. It would also have to compete with the more popular National Football League, National Hockey League, MLS teams also play in other competitions. Every year, up to five MLS teams play in the CONCACAF Champions League against other clubs from the CONCACAF region, two U. S. -based MLS teams qualify based on MLS regular-season results, the winner of the Western conference and the winner of the Eastern conference. The third U. S. team to qualify is the winner of the MLS Cup. A fourth U. S. -based MLS team can qualify via the U. S. Open Cup, Canadian MLS clubs play against lower division Canadian clubs in the Canadian Championship for the one Champions League spot allocated to Canada. MLSs 22 teams are divided between the Eastern and Western Conferences, each club is allowed up to 28 players on its first team roster
26.
Columbus Crew SC
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Columbus Crew SC is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. Crew SC competes in Major League Soccer as a club of the leagues Eastern Conference. Crew SC began play in 1996 as one of the ten charter clubs of the league, the team is owned by Anthony Precourt and Precourt Sports Ventures LLC. Precourt became the owner in the history of the club on July 30,2013. The clubs head coach is Gregg Berhalter, a player of the United States mens national soccer team. The SC in the moniker stands for Soccer Club. The Crew currently plays its games at MAPFRE Stadium, the first soccer-specific stadium ever built for a MLS team. From 1996 to 1998, Crew SC played its games at Ohio Stadium on the campus of The Ohio State University. In 2014, the clubs 19th season at MAPFRE Stadium, the Black & Gold set club records for both most cumulative attendance and most sellouts. The Crew has won five trophies, MLS Cup 2008, the 2004,2008, and 2009 Supporters Shields. The Black & Gold have qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League three times, reaching the quarterfinals each time. On June 15,1994, Major League Soccer announced that Columbus, Ohio, Columbus had promised construction of a soccer-specific stadium and had sold over 12,000 season ticket deposits. MLS investor Lamar Hunt, and his son Clark became the owners of both the Columbus Crew and Kansas City Wizards in 1996, the first players for the Crew were South African national team veteran Doctor Khumalo, by assignment, and Brian McBride. McBride was selected as the first overall pick in MLSs first draft in 1996, former U. S. National Team coach Timo Liekoski would be the teams head coach for its first season. The Crew played their first game on April 13,1996 in front of a crowd of 25,266 in Ohio Stadium against D. C. Columbus would struggle, however, winning only 5 of their next 21 games, after the 6–16 start, Tom Fitzgerald replaced head coach Liekoski. The Crew, under Fitzgerald, won 9 of their last 10 games to finish fourth in the Eastern Conference and they went on to lose in the conference playoff semifinals. The Black & Gold finished 15–17 in both 1997 and 1998, which put them in third and fourth place, respectively, in the Eastern Conference, each season ended with losses in the Conference Finals to D. C
27.
Washington Capitals
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The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D. C. They are members of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League, since their founding in 1974, the Capitals have won one conference championship, and nine division titles. In 1997, the team moved their home ice rink from the suburban Capital Centre to the new MCI Center, in Washington. Businessman Ted Leonsis has owned the team since 1999, and has revitalized the franchise by drafting star players such as Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Bäckström, the 2009–10 Capitals won the franchises first-ever Presidents Trophy for being the team with the most points at the end of the regular season. They won it a time in 2015–16, and did so for a third time the following season in 2016–17. Along with the Kansas City Scouts, the Capitals joined the NHL as a team for the 1974–75 season. The team was owned by Abe Pollin, Pollin had built the Capital Centre in suburban Landover, Maryland, to house both the Bullets and the Capitals. His first act as owner was to hire Hall of Famer Milt Schmidt as general manager, with a combined 30 teams between the NHL and the World Hockey Association, the available talent was stretched thin. The Capitals had few players with experience and were at a disadvantage against the long-standing teams that were stocked with veteran players. Like the other three teams who joined the league during the WHA era—the Scouts, Atlanta Flames, and New York Islanders—the Capitals did not factor the survival of the league into their plans. The Capitals inaugural season was dreadful, even by expansion standards and they finished with far and away the worst record in the League at 8–67–5. Their 21 points were half that of their brethren, the Scouts. The eight wins are the fewest for an NHL team playing at least 70 games, and they also set records for most road losses, most consecutive road losses, and most consecutive losses. Head Coach Jim Anderson said, Id rather find out my wife was cheating on me than keep losing like this, at least I could tell my wife to cut it out. Schmidt himself had to take over the coaching reins late in the season, in 1975–76, Washington went 25-straight games without a win and allowed 394 goals en route to another horrendous record, 11–59–10. During the middle of the season, Max McNab was hired as the general manager. For the rest of the 1970s and early 1980s, the Capitals alternated between seasons and finishing only a few points out of the Stanley Cup playoffs. In 1980 and 1981, for instance, they were in contention until the last day of the season
28.
National Hockey League
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Headquartered in New York City, the NHL is considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in the world, and one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the playoff champion at the end of each season. At its inception, the NHL had four teams—all in Canada, the league expanded to the United States in 1924, when the Boston Bruins joined, and has since consisted of American and Canadian teams. After a labour-management dispute that led to the cancellation of the entire 2004–05 season, in 2009, the NHL enjoyed record highs in terms of sponsorships, attendance, and television audiences. The league draws many highly skilled players from all over the world, canadians have historically constituted the majority of the players in the league, with an increasing percentage of American and European players in recent seasons. The National Hockey League was established in 1917 as the successor to the National Hockey Association, founded in 1909, the NHA began play one year later with seven teams in Ontario and Quebec, and was one of the first major leagues in professional ice hockey. Realizing the NHA constitution left them unable to force Livingstone out, the four teams voted instead to suspend the NHA, frank Calder was chosen as its first president, serving until his death in 1943. The Bulldogs were unable to play, and the remaining owners created a new team in Toronto, the first games were played on December 19,1917. The Montreal Arena burned down in January 1918, causing the Wanderers to cease operations, the NHL replaced the NHA as one of the leagues that competed for the Stanley Cup, which was an interleague competition back then. Toronto won the first NHL title, and then defeated the Vancouver Millionaires of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association for the 1918 Stanley Cup. The Canadiens won the title in 1919, however their Stanley Cup Final against the PCHAs Seattle Metropolitans was abandoned as a result of the Spanish Flu epidemic. Montreal in 1924 won their first Stanley Cup as a member of the NHL, the Hamilton Tigers, won the regular season title in 1924–25 but refused to play in the championship series unless they were given a C$200 bonus. The league refused and declared the Canadiens the league champion after defeated the Toronto St. Patricks in the semi-final. Montreal was then defeated by the Victoria Cougars of the Western Canada Hockey League for the 1925 Stanley Cup and it was the last time a non-NHL team won the trophy, as the Stanley Cup became the de facto NHL championship in 1926 after the WCHL ceased operation. The National Hockey League embarked on rapid expansion in the 1920s, adding the Montreal Maroons, the Bruins were the first American team in the league. The New York Americans began play in 1925 after purchasing the assets of the Hamilton Tigers, the New York Rangers were added in 1926. The Chicago Black Hawks and Detroit Cougars were also added after the league purchased the assets of the defunct WCHL, a group purchased the Toronto St. Patricks in 1927 and immediately renamed them the Maple Leafs. The first NHL All-Star Game was held in 1934 to benefit Ace Bailey, the second was held in 1937 in support of Howie Morenzs family when he died of a coronary embolism after breaking his leg during a game
29.
Toronto Maple Leafs
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The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League, the team is one of the Original Six league members. They are owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, Ltd. and are represented by Chairman Larry Tanenbaum, in February 1999, they moved to the Air Canada Centre, which replaced Maple Leaf Gardens, the teams home since 1931. The franchise was founded in 1917, operating simply as Toronto and known today as the Toronto Arenas, as it was operated by the Toronto Arena Company, in 1919, the NHL transferred the franchise to new owners who christened the team the Toronto St. Patricks. The franchise was sold in 1927 and was renamed the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club, the team colours are navy blue and white. The Maple Leafs have won thirteen Stanley Cup championships, second only to the 24 championships of their primary rival and they won their last championship in 1967. Their 48-season drought between championships is currently the longest in the NHL, with an estimated worth of US $1.15 billion in 2015 according to Forbes, the Leafs are the third most valuable franchise in the NHL, behind the Montreal Canadiens and the New York Rangers. In 2015, they were ranked by Forbes as the 37th most valuable team in the world. The National Hockey League was formed in 1917 in Montreal by teams belonging to the National Hockey Association that had a dispute with Eddie Livingstone. Instead, they opted to create a new league, the NHL and they also remained voting members of the NHA, and thus had enough votes to suspend the other leagues operations, effectively leaving Livingstones squad in a one-team league. However, the other wanted to have a team from Toronto. They also needed another team to balance the schedule after the Bulldogs suspended operations, the NHL granted a temporary Toronto franchise to the Arena Company, owners of the Arena Gardens. The Arena Company leased the Blueshirts players and was given until the end of the season to resolve the dispute with Livingstone, the franchise did not have an official name, but was informally called the Blueshirts or the Torontos by the fans and press. Under Manager Charlie Querrie and Head Coach Dick Carroll, the Toronto team won the Stanley Cup in the NHLs inaugural season, although the roster was composed almost entirely of former Blueshirts, the Maple Leafs do not claim the Blueshirts history. Also that year, the Arena Company decided that only NHL teams would be allowed to play at the Arena Gardens—a move which effectively killed the NHA, Livingstone sued to get his players back. Mounting legal bills from the dispute forced the Arenas to sell most of their stars, when it was obvious that the Arenas would not be able to finish the season, the NHL agreed to let the team halt operations on February 20,1919. The NHL ended its season and started the playoffs, the Arenas.278 winning percentage that season is still the worst in franchise history. However, the 1919 Stanley Cup Finals ended without a winner due to the flu epidemic
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United States Navy
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The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U. S. Navy is the largest, most capable navy in the world, the U. S. Navy has the worlds largest aircraft carrier fleet, with ten in service, two in the reserve fleet, and three new carriers under construction. The service has 323,792 personnel on duty and 108,515 in the Navy Reserve. It has 274 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of October 2016, the U. S. Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary War and was effectively disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. It played a role in the American Civil War by blockading the Confederacy. It played the role in the World War II defeat of Imperial Japan. The 21st century U. S. Navy maintains a global presence, deploying in strength in such areas as the Western Pacific, the Mediterranean. The Navy is administratively managed by the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Navy is itself a division of the Department of Defense, which is headed by the Secretary of Defense. The Chief of Naval Operations is an admiral and the senior naval officer of the Department of the Navy. The CNO may not be the highest ranking officer in the armed forces if the Chairman or the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression, the United States Navy is a seaborne branch of the military of the United States. The Navys three primary areas of responsibility, The preparation of naval forces necessary for the prosecution of war. The development of aircraft, weapons, tactics, technique, organization, U. S. Navy training manuals state that the mission of the U. S. Armed Forces is to prepare and conduct prompt and sustained combat operations in support of the national interest, as part of that establishment, the U. S. Navys functions comprise sea control, power projection and nuclear deterrence, in addition to sealift duties. It follows then as certain as that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, the Navy was rooted in the colonial seafaring tradition, which produced a large community of sailors, captains, and shipbuilders. In the early stages of the American Revolutionary War, Massachusetts had its own Massachusetts Naval Militia, the establishment of a national navy was an issue of debate among the members of the Second Continental Congress. Supporters argued that a navy would protect shipping, defend the coast, detractors countered that challenging the British Royal Navy, then the worlds preeminent naval power, was a foolish undertaking. Commander in Chief George Washington resolved the debate when he commissioned the ocean-going schooner USS Hannah to interdict British merchant ships, and reported the captures to the Congress
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United States Marine Corps
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The U. S. Marine Corps is one of the four armed service branches in the U. S. Department of Defense and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the military officer in the U. S. Armed Forces, is a Marine Corps general, the Marine Corps has been a component of the U. S. Department of the Navy since 30 June 1834, working closely with naval forces for training, transportation, and logistics. The USMC operates posts on land and aboard sea-going amphibious warfare ships around the world, two battalions of Continental Marines were formed on 10 November 1775 in Philadelphia as a service branch of infantry troops capable of fighting for independence both at sea and on shore. The role of the Corps has since grown and evolved, expanding to aerial warfare and earning popular titles such as, Americas third air force, and, second land army. By the mid-20th century, the U. S. Marine Corps had become a major theorist of and its ability to rapidly respond on short notice to expeditionary crises gives it a strong role in the implementation and execution of American foreign policy. As of 2016, the USMC has around 182,000 active duty members and it is the smallest of the U. S. The USMC serves as an expeditionary force-in-readiness and this last clause, while seemingly redundant given the Presidents position as Commander-in-chief, is a codification of the expeditionary responsibilities of the Marine Corps. It derives from similar language in the Congressional acts For the Better Organization of the Marine Corps of 1834, in 1951, the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee called the clause one of the most important statutory – and traditional – functions of the Marine Corps. In addition to its duties, the Marine Corps conducts Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure operations, as well as missions in direct support of the White House. The Marine Band, dubbed the Presidents Own by Thomas Jefferson, Marines from Ceremonial Companies A & B, quartered in Marine Barracks, Washington, D. C. The Executive Flight Detachment also provides transport to Cabinet members. The relationship between the Department of State and the U. S. Marine Corps is nearly as old as the corps itself, for over 200 years, Marines have served at the request of various Secretaries of State. After World War II, an alert, disciplined force was needed to protect American embassies, consulates, in 1947, a proposal was made that the Department of War furnish Marine Corps personnel for Foreign Service guard duty under the provisions of the Foreign Service Act of 1946. A formal Memorandum of Agreement was signed between the Department of State and the Secretary of the Navy on December 15,1948, during the first year of the MSG program,36 detachments were deployed worldwide. Continental Marines manned raiding parties, both at sea and ashore, the Advanced Base Doctrine of the early 20th century codified their combat duties ashore, outlining the use of Marines in the seizure of bases and other duties on land to support naval campaigns. Throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries, Marine detachments served aboard Navy cruisers, battleships, Marine detachments served in their traditional duties as a ships landing force, manning the ships weapons and providing shipboard security. Marines would develop tactics and techniques of amphibious assault on defended coastlines in time for use in World War II, during World War II, Marines continued to serve on capital ships
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Commemorative plaque
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A monumental plaque or tablet commemorating a deceased person or persons, can be a simple form of church monument. A plaquette is a plaque, but in English, unlike many European languages. The Benin Empire, which flourished in present-day Nigeria between the thirteenth and nineteenth centuries, had a rich sculptural tradition. One of the kingdom’s chief sites of production was the elaborate ceremonial court of the Oba at the palace in Benin. Among the wide range of artistic forms produced at the court were rectangular brass or bronze plaques, surviving in great numbers, they were manufactured from sheet brass or latten, very occasionally coloured with enamels, and tend to depict highly conventional figures with brief inscriptions. In England, the London blue plaques scheme, which is administered by English Heritage, has been running for over 140 years and is thought to be the oldest of its kind in the world, Plaques are attached to buildings to commemorate their association with important occupants or events. A range of other commemorative plaque schemes, which are run by local councils and charitable bodies. These tend to use their own criteria for determining the eligibility to put up a plaque, a list of schemes currently operating in England is available on the English Heritage website. After the First World War, the families of British and British Empire service men and women killed during the conflict were presented with bronze Memorial Plaques, the plaques, of about 125 millimetres in diameter, were designed by the eminent sculptor and medallist, Edward Carter Preston. In the United States, various governments have commemorative plaque schemes usually using the name historical markers. The National Trust for Historic Preservation or the U. S. Government, through the National Register of Historic Places, state programmes, such as the California Register of Historical Resources allows designated sites to place their own markers. As the price of metal has increased plaques have been the target of metal thieves wishing to resell the metal for cash. Plaques or, more often, plaquettes, are given as awards instead of trophies or ribbons. Such plaques usually bear text describing the reason for the award and, often, blue plaque Hartog Plate Parting stone Stolperstein
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Press box
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The press box is a special section of a sports stadium or arena that is set up for the media to report about a given event. It is typically located in the section of the holding the luxury box. In general, newspaper writers sit in this box and write about the event as it unfolds. Television and radio announcers broadcast from the box as well. Finally, in football, some coaches prefer to work from the press box instead of from the sideline. The press box is considered to be an area, and writers, broadcasters. Cheering is strictly forbidden in press boxes, and anyone violating rules against showing favoritism for either team is subject to ejection from the box by security personnel. The rule against cheering is generally enforced only in the area of the press box. A scratched or injured player can be said to be watching from the press box
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Restroom
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A public toilet is a room or small building containing one or more toilets which is available for use by the general public, or by customers or employees of certain businesses. Public toilets are commonly separated into male and female facilities, although some can be unisex, increasingly, public toilets are accessible to people with disabilities. Public toilets may either be used free of charge or the user may be charged a fee, in the latter case they are also called pay toilets and sometimes have of a coin-operated turnstile. Public toilets may be provided by the authority or by a commercial business. They may be unattended or be staffed by a janitor or attendant, in many cultures, it is customary to tip the attendant, especially if they provide a grooming service, such as at upscale nightclubs or restaurants. Portable toilets are provided at large outdoor events. In many Asian, African and Muslim countries, public toilets are of the squat type, Public toilets are known by many names in different varieties of English. One of the more formal circumlocutions is public convenience, as in the Guilford Place public conveniences, in American English, restroom usually denotes a toilet facility designed for use by the public. However, bathroom is also commonly used, comfort station sometimes refers to a visitor welcome center such as those found in national parks. In Canadian English, public facilities are always called washrooms, the word toilet generally denotes the fixture itself rather than the room. The word washroom is never used to mean utility room or mud room as it is in parts the United States. Bathroom is generally used to refer to the room in the home contains a bath or shower. In Britain, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and New Zealand, the terms in use are public toilet, public lavatory and more informally, public loo. A bathroom is a room containing a bath, a washroom is a room for washing hands, as public toilets were traditionally signed as Gentlemen or Ladies, the colloquial terms the Gents and the Ladies indicates the facility itself. The British Toilet Association, sponsor of the Loo of the Year Award, in Philippine English, comfort room, or C. R. is the most common term in use. In continental Europe, both toilet, a translation of the French les toilettes, and WC are common, mosques, madrassas and other places Muslims gather, have public sex-segregated wash rooms since Islam requires specific procedures for cleansing parts of the body before prayer. These rooms normally adjoin the toilets, which are subject to Muslim hygienical jurisprudence. Many public toilets are permanent small buildings visible to passersby on the street, others are underground, including older facilities in Britain and Canada
35.
Concession stand
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A concession stand, snack kiosk or snack bar is a place where patrons can purchase snacks or food at a cinema, amusement park, fair, stadium, or other entertainment venue. Some events or venues contract out the right to food to third parties. Those contracts are often referred to as a concession — hence the name for a stand where food is sold, concession stands were not originally operated by the movie theaters, and food was often sold by people attending the film or by vendors outside of the theater. Movie theaters were at first hostile to food in their facilities, by the 1930s, concession stands were a main fixture in many theaters. During World War II, candy was scarce at concession stands because of the rationing going on at the time. In the late 1940s, and early 1950s, as ticket sales were down. In the US concession owners are represented by the National Association of Concessionaires, concession stands typically sell junk food. The most basic concessions at movie theaters include candy, popcorn, stadiums for sports and rock concerts sell beer and other mild alcoholic beverages, usually in plastic disposable cups since glass bottles could be used as projectiles by unruly spectators. Formal entertainment venues such as concert halls and opera houses often eschew fast food and junk food for more upscale fare, including wine, coffee and tea, baked desserts. Although the above are the most popular common staples at concession stands, for instance, Citizens Bank Park has Philadelphia-style food stands, including several which serve cheesesteaks, hoagies, and other regional specialties. The concourse of many newer arenas now include multiple concession stands that essentially form a food court, modern stadiums also include numerous grilling stations and soda fountains, bars, cafés, and restaurants. Club seating and luxury boxes have access to high-end restaurants, cafés, bars. At temporary outdoor events such as fairs, food trucks may operate as concession stands, concessions are often contracted out to third parties, including major fast food chains. Legends Hospitality Management LLC and Delaware North are companies that specialize in stadium catering, alternatively, concession stands can be operated by fast food chains such as McDonalds, Pizza Pizza, or Tim Hortons. What makes a good concession stand
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Playing field
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A pitch or a sports ground is an outdoor playing area for various sports. The term pitch is most commonly used in British English, while the term in American and Canadian English is playing field or sports field. In most sports the official term is field of play, although this is not regularly used by those outside refereeing/umpiring circles. The surface of a pitch is most commonly composed of sod, in the sport of cricket, the cricket pitch refers not to the entire field of play, but to the section of the field on which batting and bowling take place in the centre of the field. The pitch is prepared differently from the rest of the field, a pitch is often a regulation space, as in an association football pitch. The term level playing field is used metaphorically to mean fairness in non-sporting human activities such as business where there are notional winners and losers. Game court Grassfield High School in Virginia, United States, often referred to as Grassfield or Grass field Rules and dimensions
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Poaceae
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Poaceae or Gramineae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants known as grasses. Poaceae includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and cultivated lawns, Grasses have stems that are hollow except at the nodes and narrow alternate leaves borne in two ranks. The lower part of each leaf encloses the stem, forming a leaf-sheath, with ca 780 genera and around 12,000 species, Poaceae are the fifth-largest plant family, following the Asteraceae, Orchidaceae, Fabaceae and Rubiaceae. Grasslands such as savannah and prairie grasses are dominant are estimated to constitute 40. 5% of the land area of the Earth, excluding Greenland. Grasses are also an important part of the vegetation in many habitats, including wetlands, forests. Though commonly called grasses, seagrasses, rushes, and sedges fall outside this family, the rushes and sedges are related to the Poaceae, being members of the order Poales, but the seagrasses are members of order Alismatales. The name Poaceae was given by John Hendley Barnhart in 1895, based on the tribe Poeae described in 1814 by Robert Brown, the term is derived from the Ancient Greek πόα. Grasses include some of the most versatile plant life-forms, a cladogram shows subfamilies and approximate species numbers in brackets, Before 2005, fossil findings indicated that grasses evolved around 55 million years ago. Recent findings of grass-like phytoliths in Cretaceous dinosaur coprolites have pushed this back to 66 million years ago. In 2011, revised dating of the origins of the rice tribe Oryzeae suggested a date as early as 107 to 129 Mya, a multituberculate mammal with grass-eating adaptations seems to suggest that grasses were already around at 120 mya. This separation occurred within the short time span of about 4 million years. Grass leaves are always alternate and distichous, and have parallel veins. Each leaf is differentiated into a lower sheath hugging the stem, the leaf blades of many grasses are hardened with silica phytoliths, which discourage grazing animals, some, such as sword grass, are sharp enough to cut human skin. A membranous appendage or fringe of hairs called the ligule lies at the junction between sheath and blade, preventing water or insects from penetrating into the sheath, flowers of Poaceae are characteristically arranged in spikelets, each having one or more florets. The spikelets are further grouped into panicles or spikes, the part of the spikelet that bears the florets is called the rachilla. A spikelet consists of two bracts at the base, called glumes, followed by one or more florets, a floret consists of the flower surrounded by two bracts, one external—the lemma—and one internal—the palea. The flowers are usually hermaphroditic—maize being an important exception—and anemophilous or wind-pollinated, the perianth is reduced to two scales, called lodicules, that expand and contract to spread the lemma and palea, these are generally interpreted to be modified sepals. This complex structure can be seen in the image on the right, the fruit of grasses is a caryopsis, in which the seed coat is fused to the fruit wall
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Synthetic fiber
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Synthetic fibers is the result of extensive research by scientists to improve on naturally occurring animal and plant fibres. In general, synthetic fibers are created by extruding fiber forming materials through spinnerets into air and water, before synthetic fibres were developed, artificially manufactured fibres were made from polymers obtained from petrochemicals. These fibres are called synthetic or artificial fibres, some fibres are manufactured from plant-derived cellulose. Joseph Swan invented the first synthetic fiber in the early 1880s and his fiber was drawn from a cellulose liquid, formed by chemically modifying the fiber contained in tree bark. In 1885, he unveiled fabrics he had manufactured from his material at the International Inventions Exhibition in London. The next step was taken by Hilaire de Chardonnet, a French engineer and industrialist, who invented the first artificial silk, in the late 1870s, Chardonnet was working with Louis Pasteur on a remedy to the epidemic that was destroying French silkworms. Failure to clean up a spill in the darkroom resulted in Chardonnets discovery of nitrocellulose as a replacement for real silk. Realizing the value of such a discovery, Chardonnet began to develop his new product, unfortunately, Chardonnets material was extremely flammable, and was subsequently replaced with other, more stable materials. The first successful process was developed in 1894 by English chemist Charles Frederick Cross and they named the fiber viscose, because the reaction product of carbon disulfide and cellulose in basic conditions gave a highly viscous solution of xanthate. The first commercial viscose rayon was produced by the UK company Courtaulds Fibers in 1905, the name rayon was adopted in 1924, with viscose being used for the viscous organic liquid used to make both rayon and cellophane. A similar product known as cellulose acetate was discovered in 1865, rayon and acetate are both artificial fibers, but not truly synthetic, being made from wood. Nylon, the first synthetic fiber, was developed by Wallace Carothers and it soon made its debut in the United States as a replacement for silk, just in time for the introduction of rationing during World War II. Its novel use as a material for womens stockings overshadowed more practical uses, such as a replacement for the silk in parachutes, the first polyester fiber was introduced by John Rex Whinfield and James Tennant Dickson, British chemists working at the Calico Printers Association, in 1941. They produced and patented the first polyester fibre which they named Terylene, also known as Dacron, equal to or surpassing nylon in toughness, ICI and DuPont went on to produce their own versions of the fibre. The world production of fibers was 55.2 million tonnes in 2014. Synthetic fibers are made from synthesized polymers or small molecules, the compounds that are used to make these fibers come from raw materials such as petroleum based chemicals or petrochemicals. These materials are polymerized into a long, linear chemical that bond two adjacent carbon atoms, differing chemical compounds will be used to produce different types of fibers. Synthetic fibers account for half of all fiber usage, with applications in every field of fiber
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Artificial turf
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Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are played on grass. However, it is now being used on lawns and commercial applications as well. The main reason is maintenance—artificial turf stands up to use, such as in sports. Domed, covered, and partially covered stadiums may require artificial turf because of the difficulty of getting enough sunlight to stay healthy. But artificial turf does have its downside, limited life, periodic cleaning requirements, petroleum use, toxic chemicals from infill, artificial turf first gained substantial attention in the 1960s, when it was used in the newly constructed Astrodome. The specific product used was developed by Monsanto and called AstroTurf, AstroTurf remains a registered trademark, but is no longer owned by Monsanto. The first generation systems of the 1960s have been largely replaced by the second generation. That accomplishment led Sports Illustrated to declare Chaney as the man responsible for major league baseball. Artificial turf was first installed in 1964 on a school recreation area in Rhode Island. The material came to prominence in 1966, when AstroTurf was installed in the Astrodome in Houston. The use of AstroTurf and similar surfaces became widespread in the U. S. and Canada in the early 1970s, more than 11,000 artificial turf playing fields have been installed nationally. More than 1,200 were installed in the U. S. in 2013 alone, maintaining a grass playing surface indoors, while technically possible, is prohibitively expensive. Artificial turf was first used in Major League Baseball in the Houston Astrodome in 1966, for most of the 1965 season, the Astros played on green-painted dirt and dead grass. The solution was to install a new type of grass on the field, ChemGrass. Because the supply of AstroTurf was still low, only a limited amount was available for the first home game, there was not enough for the entire outfield, but there was enough to cover the traditional grass portion of the infield. The outfield remained painted dirt until after the All-Star Break, the team was sent on an extended road trip before the break, and on 19 July 1966, the installation of the outfield portion of AstroTurf was completed. The Chicago White Sox became the first team to install artificial turf in a stadium, as they used it in the infield
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Elevation
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GIS or geographic information system is a computer system that allows for visualizing, manipulating, capturing, and storage of data with associated attributes. GIS offers better understanding of patterns and relationships of the landscape at different scales, tools inside the GIS allow for manipulation of data for spatial analysis or cartography. A topographical map is the type of map used to depict elevation. In a Geographic Information System, digital models are commonly used to represent the surface of a place. Digital terrain models are another way to represent terrain in GIS, USGS is developing a 3D Elevation Program to keep up with growing needs for high quality topographic data. 3DEP is a collection of enhanced elevation data in the form of high quality LiDAR data over the conterminous United States, Hawaii, there are three bare earth DEM layers in 3DEP which are nationally seamless at the resolution of 1/3,1, and 2 arcseconds. This map is derived from GTOPO30 data that describes the elevation of Earths terrain at intervals of 30 arcseconds and it uses color and shading instead of contour lines to indicate elevation. Hypsography is the study of the distribution of elevations on the surface of the Earth, the term originates from the Greek word ὕψος hypsos meaning height. Most often it is used only in reference to elevation of land, related to the term hypsometry, the measurement of these elevations of a planets solid surface are taken relative to mean datum, except for Earth which is taken relative to the sea level. In the troposphere, temperatures decrease with altitude and this lapse rate is approximately 6.5 °C/km. S
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Sea level
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Mean sea level is an average level of the surface of one or more of Earths oceans from which heights such as elevations may be measured. A common and relatively straightforward mean sea-level standard is the midpoint between a low and mean high tide at a particular location. Sea levels can be affected by factors and are known to have varied greatly over geological time scales. The careful measurement of variations in MSL can offer insights into ongoing climate change, the term above sea level generally refers to above mean sea level. Precise determination of a sea level is a difficult problem because of the many factors that affect sea level. Sea level varies quite a lot on several scales of time and this is because the sea is in constant motion, affected by the tides, wind, atmospheric pressure, local gravitational differences, temperature, salinity and so forth. The easiest way this may be calculated is by selecting a location and calculating the mean sea level at that point, for example, a period of 19 years of hourly level observations may be averaged and used to determine the mean sea level at some measurement point. One measures the values of MSL in respect to the land, hence a change in MSL can result from a real change in sea level, or from a change in the height of the land on which the tide gauge operates. In the UK, the Ordnance Datum is the sea level measured at Newlyn in Cornwall between 1915 and 1921. Prior to 1921, the datum was MSL at the Victoria Dock, in Hong Kong, mPD is a surveying term meaning metres above Principal Datum and refers to height of 1. 230m below the average sea level. In France, the Marégraphe in Marseilles measures continuously the sea level since 1883 and it is used for a part of continental Europe and main part of Africa as official sea level. Elsewhere in Europe vertical elevation references are made to the Amsterdam Peil elevation, satellite altimeters have been making precise measurements of sea level since the launch of TOPEX/Poseidon in 1992. A joint mission of NASA and CNES, TOPEX/Poseidon was followed by Jason-1 in 2001, height above mean sea level is the elevation or altitude of an object, relative to the average sea level datum. It is also used in aviation, where some heights are recorded and reported with respect to sea level, and in the atmospheric sciences. An alternative is to base height measurements on an ellipsoid of the entire Earth, in aviation, the ellipsoid known as World Geodetic System 84 is increasingly used to define heights, however, differences up to 100 metres exist between this ellipsoid height and mean tidal height. The alternative is to use a vertical datum such as NAVD88. When referring to geographic features such as mountains on a topographic map, the elevation of a mountain denotes the highest point or summit and is typically illustrated as a small circle on a topographic map with the AMSL height shown in metres, feet or both. In the rare case that a location is below sea level, for one such case, see Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
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Association football
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Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies making it the worlds most popular sport, the game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by getting the ball into the opposing goal, players are not allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms while it is in play, unless they are goalkeepers. Other players mainly use their feet to strike or pass the ball, the team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is level at the end of the game, the Laws of the Game were originally codified in England by The Football Association in 1863. Association football is governed internationally by the International Federation of Association Football, the first written reference to the inflated ball used in the game was in the mid-14th century, Þe heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the word soccer was split off in 1863, according to Partha Mazumdar, the term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford -er abbreviation of the word association. Within the English-speaking world, association football is now usually called football in the United Kingdom and mainly soccer in Canada and the United States. People in Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand use either or both terms, although national associations in Australia and New Zealand now primarily use football for the formal name. According to FIFA, the Chinese competitive game cuju is the earliest form of football for which there is scientific evidence, cuju players could use any part of the body apart from hands and the intent was kicking a ball through an opening into a net. It was remarkably similar to football, though similarities to rugby occurred. During the Han Dynasty, cuju games were standardised and rules were established, phaininda and episkyros were Greek ball games. An image of an episkyros player depicted in low relief on a vase at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens appears on the UEFA European Championship Cup, athenaeus, writing in 228 AD, referenced the Roman ball game harpastum. Phaininda, episkyros and harpastum were played involving hands and violence and they all appear to have resembled rugby football, wrestling and volleyball more than what is recognizable as modern football. As with pre-codified mob football, the antecedent of all football codes. Non-competitive games included kemari in Japan, chuk-guk in Korea and woggabaliri in Australia, Association football in itself does not have a classical history. Notwithstanding any similarities to other games played around the world FIFA have recognised that no historical connection exists with any game played in antiquity outside Europe. The modern rules of football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played in the public schools of England
France
Qatar
Yugoslavia
Cameroon
Chile
Canada
Iraq
