1.
Woodland Hills, Los Angeles
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Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles, California. Woodland Hills is an affluent neighborhood in the region of the San Fernando Valley which is located east of Calabasas. On the north it is bordered by West Hills, Canoga Park, and Winnetka, some neighborhoods are in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains. Running east–west through the community are U. S. Route 101 and Ventura Boulevard, the first Europeans to enter the San Fernando Valley were the Portola Expedition in 1769, exploring Alta California for Spanish missions and settlements locations. Seeing it from present-day Sepulveda Pass, the oak savanna inspired them to call the area El Valle de Santa Catalina de Bononia de Los Encinos, the Mission San Fernando Rey de España was established in 1797 and controlled the Valleys land, including future Woodland Hills. Ownership of the half of the valley, south of present-day Roscoe Boulevard from Toluca Lake to Woodland Hills. Moses Sherman and others in 1910, victor Girard Kleinberger bought 2,886 acres in the area from Chandlers group and founded the town of Girard in 1922. He sought to attract residents and businesses by developing an infrastructure, advertising in newspapers and his 300 pepper trees formed a canopy over Canoga Ave. between Ventura Boulevard and Saltillo St. became Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #93 in 1972. The community of Girard was eventually incorporated into Los Angeles, Woodland Hills has a firmly subtropical mediterranean climate. Within the San Fernando Valley, Woodland Hills generally experiences some of the extreme temperature changes season to season than other regions. During the summer, temperatures are very hot, while during the winter. On July 22,2006, Woodland Hills recorded the highest temperature ever in Los Angeles County, the climate is classified as a Csa in the Köppen climate classification, which is characterized by mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers. This climate is referred to as mediterranean. Precipitation in Woodland Hills averages much the same as most other regions of the west San Fernando Valley, in 2008 the population of Woodland Hills was approximately 63,000. The median age in 2000 was 40, considered old when compared to city and county jurisdictions. As of the 2000 census, and according to the Los Angeles Almanac, there were 67,006 people and 29,119 households residing in Woodland Hills. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 79. 90% White,6. 97% Asian,0. 13% Pacific Islander,3. 34% African American,0. 33% Native American,4. 80% from other races, and 4. 52% from two or more races. 11. 94% of the population were Hispanic of any race, in population, it is one of the least dense neighborhoods in Los Angeles, and the percentage of white people is high for the county
2.
California
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California is the most populous state in the United States and the third most extensive by area. Located on the western coast of the U. S, California is bordered by the other U. S. states of Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California. Los Angeles is Californias most populous city, and the second largest after New York City. The Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nations second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, California also has the nations most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The Central Valley, an agricultural area, dominates the states center. What is now California was first settled by various Native American tribes before being explored by a number of European expeditions during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Spanish Empire then claimed it as part of Alta California in their New Spain colony. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821 following its war for independence. The western portion of Alta California then was organized as the State of California, the California Gold Rush starting in 1848 led to dramatic social and demographic changes, with large-scale emigration from the east and abroad with an accompanying economic boom. If it were a country, California would be the 6th largest economy in the world, fifty-eight percent of the states economy is centered on finance, government, real estate services, technology, and professional, scientific and technical business services. Although it accounts for only 1.5 percent of the states economy, the story of Calafia is recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandián, written as a sequel to Amadis de Gaula by Spanish adventure writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The kingdom of Queen Calafia, according to Montalvo, was said to be a land inhabited by griffins and other strange beasts. This conventional wisdom that California was an island, with maps drawn to reflect this belief, shortened forms of the states name include CA, Cal. Calif. and US-CA. Settled by successive waves of arrivals during the last 10,000 years, various estimates of the native population range from 100,000 to 300,000. The Indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct groups of Native Americans, ranging from large, settled populations living on the coast to groups in the interior. California groups also were diverse in their organization with bands, tribes, villages. Trade, intermarriage and military alliances fostered many social and economic relationships among the diverse groups, the first European effort to explore the coast as far north as the Russian River was a Spanish sailing expedition, led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, in 1542. Some 37 years later English explorer Francis Drake also explored and claimed a portion of the California coast in 1579. Spanish traders made unintended visits with the Manila galleons on their trips from the Philippines beginning in 1565
3.
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
4.
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
5.
State school
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State schools generally refer to primary or secondary schools mandated for or offered to all children without charge, funded in whole or in part by taxation. The term may refer to public institutions of post-secondary education. State education is inclusive, both in its treatment of students and in that enfranchisement for the government of public education is as broad as for government generally and it is often organized and operated to be a deliberate model of the civil community in which it functions. Although typically provided to groups of students in classrooms in a school, it may be provided in-home, employing visiting teachers. It can also be provided in non-school, non-home settings, such as shopping mall space, State education is generally available to all. In most countries, it is compulsory for children to school up to a certain age. In the case of private schooling, schools operate independently of the state, the funding for state schools, on the other hand, is provided by tax revenues, so that even individuals who do not attend school help to ensure that society is educated. In poverty stricken societies, authorities are often lax on compulsory school attendance because child labour is exploited and it is these same children whose income-securing labor cannot be forfeited to allow for school attendance. The term public education when applied to schools is not synonymous with the term publicly funded education. Government may make a policy decision that it wants to have some financial resources distributed in support of, and it may want to have some control over. Grants-in-aid of private schools and vouchers systems provide examples of publicly funded private education, conversely, a state school may rely heavily on private funding such as high fees or private donations and still be considered state by virtue of governmental ownership and control. In some countries, private associations or churches can operate schools according to their own principles, when these specific requirements are met, especially in the area of the school curriculum, the schools will qualify to receive state funding. Proponents of state education assert it to be necessary because of the need in society for people who are capable of reading, writing. In most industrialized countries, these views are distinctly in the minority, Government schools are free to attend for Australian citizens and permanent residents, whereas independent schools usually charge attendance fees. They can be divided into two categories, open and selective schools, the open schools accept all students from their government-defined catchment areas. Government schools educate approximately 65% of Australian students, with approximately 34% in Catholic, regardless of whether a school is part of the Government or independent systems, they are required to adhere to the same curriculum frameworks of their state or territory. The curriculum framework however provides for flexibility in the syllabus. Public or Government funded schools are found throughout Bangladesh and these schools mostly teach students from Year 1 to 10, with examinations for students in years 5,8, and 10
6.
Ventura Boulevard
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It was also U. S. Route 101 before the freeway was built and it was also signed as Business U. S. Route 101. Running 18 miles, Ventura Boulevard is the worlds longest avenue of contiguous businesses and this five acre park now includes the original nine-room De La Osa Adobe and a reservoir shaped like a Spanish guitar that collects the spring water. The Valleys first golf course opened at the corner of Ventura, in 1928, just a couple blocks east of Laurel Canyon, Mack Sennett created his 38-acre Keystone Studios, which produced silent movies with stars such as Fatty Arbuckle, W. C. Fields, Stan Laurel, and the Keystone Kops, after talkies, Keystone became Republic Pictures, and then in 1963 CBS Studio Center. Although closed to the public, this complex, which is located only a few blocks away from Ventura Boulevard, Ventura Boulevard carries Metro Local line 150 and Metro Rapid line 750. The Everly Brothers recorded a song called Ventura Boulevard on their 1968 album Roots, Ventura Boulevard is mentioned in Tom Pettys song Free Fallin. Guitarist John 5 made a song entitled 18969 Ventura Blvd, Ventura Boulevard was also the name of a band from Delhi, India. In the documentary Living with Michael Jackson, it is revealed that Michael Jackson wrote the song Billie Jean while riding down Ventura Boulevard in his car, the boulevard is a prominent location in the movie The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Much of the films Crash and Transformers were filmed on the boulevard, in the Seinfeld episode The Trip, Part 2, Jerry and George were said to be calling from a pay phone on Ventura Boulevard. In reality, the pay phone shown was on Ventura Place, in the Treehouse of Horror VI episode of The Simpsons, Ventura Boulevard features as the location of the shows first ever live-action scene. Steve Allen, who lived in Encino, famously joked that The Valley is the hippest part of town and they even named a boulevard after Charlie Ventura, referring to the renowned jazz saxophonist. Video game developer Infinity Ward, which developed most of the games in the Call of Duty series, has its headquarters on Ventura Boulevard, the studios can be seen at 15821 Ventura Boulevard, Encino. The Ventura Business District is the district along and around Ventura Boulevard. Ventura Boulevard and the run along the northern base of the Santa Monica Mountains. Due to the extended linear size, it is rare for it to be considered one unified district. They include, Studio City Sherman Oaks Encino Tarzana Woodland Hills History of the San Fernando Valley to 1915 Index, San Fernando Valley
7.
San Fernando Valley
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The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in Los Angeles County, California, defined by the mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it. Home to 1.8 million people, it lies north of the larger, nearly two thirds of the valleys land area is part of the city of Los Angeles. The other incorporated cities in the valley are Glendale, Burbank, San Fernando, Hidden Hills, the Los Angeles River begins at the confluence of Calabasas Creek and Bell Creek, between Canoga Park High School and Owensmouth Ave. in Canoga Park. These creeks headwaters are in the Santa Monica Calabasas foothills, the Simi Hills Hidden Hills, Santa Susana Field Laboratory, the river flows eastward along the southern regions of the Valley. One of the rivers two unpaved sections can be found at the Sepulveda Basin, a seasonal river, the Tujunga Wash, drains much of the western facing San Gabriel Mountains and passes into and then through the Hansen Dam Recreation Center in Lake View Terrace. It flows south along the Verdugo Mountains through the communities of the valley to join the Los Angeles River in Studio City. Other notable tributaries of the river include Dayton Creek, Caballero Creek, Bull Creek, Pacoima Wash, the elevation of the floor of the valley varies from about 600 ft to 1,200 ft above sea level. Universal City, an enclave in the part of the valley, is unincorporated land housing the Universal Studios filming lot. Mulholland Drive, which runs along the ridgeline of the Santa Monica Mountains, in this Mediterranean climate, post-1790s European agriculture for the missions support consisted of grapes, figs, olives, and general garden crops. The San Fernando Valley contains five incorporated cities—Glendale, Burbank, San Fernando, Hidden Hills and Calabasas—and part of a sixth, Los Angeles, the unincorporated communities are governed by the County of Los Angeles. The Los Angeles city section of the valley is divided into seven city districts,2,3,4,5,6,7 and 12. Of the 95 neighborhood councils in the city,34 are in the valley, the valley is represented in the California State Legislature by seven members of the State Assembly and five members of the State Senate. The valley is divided into five congressional districts, the San Fernando Valley, for the most part, tends to support Democrats in state and national elections. This is especially true in the areas which include Sherman Oaks. The Los Angeles satellite administrative center for the valley, The Civic Center Van Nuys, is in Van Nuys. The area in and around the Van Nuys branch of Los Angeles City Hall is home to a station, municipal and superior courts. Northridge is home to California State University, Northridge, many branches of the Los Angeles Public Library are located in the valley. For independent libraries see Incorporated Cities in the Municipalities and districts list below, Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, and independent valley city departments
8.
Los Angeles
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Los Angeles, officially the City of Los Angeles and often known by its initials L. A. is the cultural, financial, and commercial center of Southern California. With a census-estimated 2015 population of 3,971,883, it is the second-most populous city in the United States, Los Angeles is also the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated county in the United States. The citys inhabitants are referred to as Angelenos, historically home to the Chumash and Tongva, Los Angeles was claimed by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo for Spain in 1542 along with the rest of what would become Alta California. The city was founded on September 4,1781, by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve. It became a part of Mexico in 1821 following the Mexican War of Independence, in 1848, at the end of the Mexican–American War, Los Angeles and the rest of California were purchased as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, thereby becoming part of the United States. Los Angeles was incorporated as a municipality on April 4,1850, the discovery of oil in the 1890s brought rapid growth to the city. The completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, delivering water from Eastern California, nicknamed the City of Angels, Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic diversity, and sprawling metropolis. Los Angeles also has an economy in culture, media, fashion, science, sports, technology, education, medicine. A global city, it has been ranked 6th in the Global Cities Index, the city is home to renowned institutions covering a broad range of professional and cultural fields, and is one of the most substantial economic engines within the United States. The Los Angeles combined statistical area has a gross metropolitan product of $831 billion, making it the third-largest in the world, after the Greater Tokyo and New York metropolitan areas. The city has hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1932 and 1984 and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics and thus become the second city after London to have hosted the Games three times. The Los Angeles area also hosted the 1994 FIFA mens World Cup final match as well as the 1999 FIFA womens World Cup final match, the mens event was watched on television by over 700 million people worldwide. The Los Angeles coastal area was first settled by the Tongva, a Gabrielino settlement in the area was called iyáangẚ, meaning poison oak place. Gaspar de Portolà and Franciscan missionary Juan Crespí, reached the present site of Los Angeles on August 2,1769, in 1771, Franciscan friar Junípero Serra directed the building of the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, the first mission in the area. The Queen of the Angels is an honorific of the Virgin Mary, two-thirds of the settlers were mestizo or mulatto with a mixture of African, indigenous and European ancestry. The settlement remained a small town for decades, but by 1820. Today, the pueblo is commemorated in the district of Los Angeles Pueblo Plaza and Olvera Street. New Spain achieved its independence from the Spanish Empire in 1821, during Mexican rule, Governor Pío Pico made Los Angeles Alta Californias regional capital
9.
Los Angeles Unified School District
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Los Angeles Unified School District is the largest public school system in the U. S. state of California and the 2nd largest public school district in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a student population. During the 2016–2017 school year, LAUSD served around 734,641 students, during the same school year, it had 26,556 teachers and 33,635 other employees. It is the second largest employer in Los Angeles County, after the county government, the total school district operating budget for 2016–2017 is $7.59 billion. The school district consists of Los Angeles and all or portions of several adjoining Southern California cities, LAUSD has its own police force, the Los Angeles School Police Department, which was established in 1948 to provide police services for LAUSD schools. The LAUSD enrolls a third of the preschoolers in Los Angeles County, the LAUSD school construction program rivals the Big Dig in terms of expenditures, and LAUSD cafeterias serve about 500,000 meals a day, rivaling the output of local McDonalds restaurants. In 2007, LAUSDs dropout rate was 26 percent for grades 9 through 12, but more recently, there are signs that the district is showing improvement, both in terms of dropout and graduation rates. An ambitious renovation program intended to ease the overcrowded conditions has been completed. As part of its project, LAUSD opened two high schools in 2005 and four high schools in 2006. Los Angeles Unified School District is governed by a seven-member Board of Education, which appoints a superintendent, members of the board are elected directly by voters from separate districts that encompass communities that the LAUSD serves. The districts former superintendent is Ramon Cortines, from 2001 until his retirement in October 2006, the district was led by former Governor of Colorado and Democratic Party chairman Roy Romer. The seven current members of Board of Education include George McKenna, Monica Garcia, Scott Schmerelson, Board President Steve Zimmer, Dr. Ref Rodriguez, Mónica Ratliff, and Richard Vladovic. Every LAUSD household or residential area is zoned to a school, a middle school. Each local school district is run by a superintendent and is headquartered within the district. The latter provided 9–12 educational services, while the former did so for K-8, on July 1,1961 the Los Angeles City School District and the Los Angeles City High School District merged, forming the Los Angeles Unified School District. Additionally, approximately seventy-eight students suffered injuries which ranged from minor to life-threatening, the annexation left the Topanga School District and the Las Virgenes Union School District as separate remnants of the high school district. The high school changed its name to the West County Union High School District. LAUSD annexed the Topanga district on July 1,1962, since the Las Virgenes Union School District had the same boundary as the remaining West County Union High School District, on July 1,1962 West County ceased to exist
10.
President of the United States
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The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces. The president is considered to be one of the worlds most powerful political figures, the role includes being the commander-in-chief of the worlds most expensive military with the second largest nuclear arsenal and leading the nation with the largest economy by nominal GDP. The office of President holds significant hard and soft power both in the United States and abroad, Constitution vests the executive power of the United States in the president. The president is empowered to grant federal pardons and reprieves. The president is responsible for dictating the legislative agenda of the party to which the president is a member. The president also directs the foreign and domestic policy of the United States, since the office of President was established in 1789, its power has grown substantially, as has the power of the federal government as a whole. However, nine vice presidents have assumed the presidency without having elected to the office. The Twenty-second Amendment prohibits anyone from being elected president for a third term, in all,44 individuals have served 45 presidencies spanning 57 full four-year terms. On January 20,2017, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th, in 1776, the Thirteen Colonies, acting through the Second Continental Congress, declared political independence from Great Britain during the American Revolution. The new states, though independent of each other as nation states, desiring to avoid anything that remotely resembled a monarchy, Congress negotiated the Articles of Confederation to establish a weak alliance between the states. Out from under any monarchy, the states assigned some formerly royal prerogatives to Congress, only after all the states agreed to a resolution settling competing western land claims did the Articles take effect on March 1,1781, when Maryland became the final state to ratify them. In 1783, the Treaty of Paris secured independence for each of the former colonies, with peace at hand, the states each turned toward their own internal affairs. Prospects for the convention appeared bleak until James Madison and Edmund Randolph succeeded in securing George Washingtons attendance to Philadelphia as a delegate for Virginia. It was through the negotiations at Philadelphia that the presidency framed in the U. S. The first power the Constitution confers upon the president is the veto, the Presentment Clause requires any bill passed by Congress to be presented to the president before it can become law. Once the legislation has been presented, the president has three options, Sign the legislation, the bill becomes law. Veto the legislation and return it to Congress, expressing any objections, in this instance, the president neither signs nor vetoes the legislation
11.
William Howard Taft
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William Howard Taft served as the 27th President of the United States and as the tenth Chief Justice of the United States, the only person to have held both offices. In 1921, President Warren G. Harding appointed Taft to be chief justice, Taft was born in Cincinnati in 1857. His father, Alphonso Taft, was a U. S. Attorney General, William Taft attended Yale and was a member of Skull and Bones secret society like his father, and after becoming a lawyer was appointed a judge while still in his twenties. He continued a rapid rise, being named Solicitor General and as a judge of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, in 1901, President William McKinley appointed Taft civilian governor of the Philippines. In 1904, Roosevelt made him Secretary of War, and he became Roosevelts hand-picked successor, despite his personal ambition to become chief justice, Taft declined repeated offers of appointment to the Supreme Court of the United States, believing his political work to be more important. With Roosevelts help, Taft had little opposition for the Republican nomination for president in 1908, in the White House, he focused on East Asia more than European affairs, and repeatedly intervened to prop up or remove Latin American governments. Taft sought reductions to trade tariffs, then a source of governmental income. Controversies over conservation and over antitrust cases filed by the Taft administration served to separate the two men. Roosevelt challenged Taft for renomination in 1912, Taft used his control of the party machinery to gain a bare majority of delegates, and Roosevelt bolted the party. The split left Taft with little chance of re-election, he took only Utah, after leaving office, Taft returned to Yale as a professor, continuing his political activity and working against war through the League to Enforce Peace. In 1921, President Harding appointed Taft as chief justice, an office he had long sought, Chief Justice Taft was a conservative on business issues, but under him, there were advances in individual rights. In poor health, he resigned in February 1930, after his death the next month, he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, the first president and first Supreme Court justice to be interred there. Taft is generally listed near the middle in historians rankings of U. S. presidents, William Howard Taft was born September 15,1857 in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Alphonso Taft and Louise Torrey. The Taft family was not wealthy, living in a modest home in the suburb of Mount Auburn, Alphonso served as a judge, ambassador and in the cabinet, as War Secretary and Attorney General under Ulysses S. Grant. William Taft was not seen as brilliant as a child, but was a worker, Tafts demanding parents pushed him and his four brothers toward success. He attended Woodward High School in Cincinnati, at Yale College, which he entered in 1874, the heavyset, jovial Taft was popular. One classmate described him succeeding through hard work rather than being the smartest, in 1878, Taft graduated, second in his class out of 121. He attended Cincinnati Law School, and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws in 1880, while in law school, he worked on The Cincinnati Commercial newspaper, edited by Murat Halstead
12.
Ice Cube
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OShea Jackson Sr. known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, actor and filmmaker. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C. I. A. after leaving N. W. A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music and films such as a role in drama Boyz n the Hood. Additionally, he has served as one of the producers of the Showtime television series Barbershop, both of which are based upon films in which he portrayed the main character. Ice Cube is considered one of the artists in gangsta rap. He was ranked number 8 on MTVs list of the 10 Greatest MCs of All Time, allMusic has called him one of hip-hops best and most controversial artists, as well as one of raps greatest storytellers. In 2012, The Source ranked him number 14 on their list of the Top 50 Lyricists of All Time, in 2014, About. com ranked him number 11 on their list of the 50 Greatest MCs of All Time. OShea Jackson was born on June 15,1969, in South Central Los Angeles, the son of Doris, a clerk and custodian, and Hosea Jackson, who worked as a groundskeeper at UCLA. He has a brother as well as a half-sister who was killed when Ice Cube was 12. In his early teens, Ice Cube developed an interest in hip hop music, Jackson penned his first rap song in the ninth grade after a friend, whom Jackson names Kiddo, challenged him to write a song during a typewriting class. He claims Kiddo lost the challenge, at the age of 16, Jackson sold his first song to future N. W. A. member Eazy-E. Jackson also attended William Howard Taft High School in Woodland Hills and he enrolled at the Phoenix Institute of Technology in the fall of 1987 in Arizona. Being passionate about architecture, he studied architectural drafting and he completed his diploma within one year and returned to Los Angeles to pursue a rap career. Not sure of whether his rap career would work out, he would turn to become a draftsman as a career backup. With friend Sir Jinx, Ice Cube formed the C. I. A. Dre soon entered the recording industry as a member of the World Class Wreckin Cru. Dre saw Cubes potential as a writer and had him assist with writing Wreckin Crus big L. A. hit track, Stereo Crew produced a twelve-inch record, Shes a Skag released on Epic Records in 1986. While Dr. Dre was DJing at L. A. dance club Eve After Dark, Ice Cube would rap over his music, one such example of this was the song My Penis, a parody of Run-DMCs My Adidas. In a 2015 interview, club-owner Alonzo Williams said that he felt that this damaged his reputation. In 1987, Ice Cube released the Dr. Dre produced single My Posse under with his group C. I. A, after the collaboration, Ice Cube showed Eazy-E the lyrics to Boyz-n-the-Hood
13.
Jordan Farmar
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Jordan Robert Farmar is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association. In high school, he was named the Los Angeles Times High-School Player of the Year in 2003–04, playing for UCLA in college, he was the Rivals. com National Freshman of the Year in 2004–05. Farmar was selected 26th overall in the first round of the 2006 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers, with the Lakers, he won two NBA championships in 2009 and 2010. Farmar was born in Los Angeles and his mothers father, Dr. Howard Baker, attended UCLA and worked at the UCLA Medical Center as a neurologist. Farmar has a half-sister, Shoshana Kolani, farmars parents divorced when he was two years old, and he went to live with his mother. She soon met and married her current husband, Israeli Yehuda Kolani from Tel Aviv, Farmar is Jewish, as are his mother and stepfather. He attended Hebrew school and had his bar mitzvah at Temple Judea in Tarzana, Farmar started playing basketball at age 4. He credits his stepfather Yehuda Kolani with instilling discipline, mental strength, persistence, Farmar inherited his competitive drive from his father and mentor, Damon Farmar, who played football and baseball at University High and baseball in the minor leagues. The younger Farmar spent hours in his fathers clubhouses, with his fathers teammates, farmars godfather is former major league baseball player Eric Davis. At Taft High School, Farmar scored a record 54 points in a single game, as a junior, he averaged 28.5 points per game,8.0 rebounds,5.9 assists, and 4.5 steals. As a senior, he averaged 27.5 points and 6.5 assists and he had over 2,000 points in two seasons at Taft. Farmar was named the Los Angeles Times Player of the Year, LA City Co-Player of the Year and he was a teammate with former New York Giants wide receiver Steve Smith. Additionally, he was selected to play in the McDonalds High School All American game, considered one of the elite point guards in the nation at UCLA, Farmar was named to the All-Pac-10 First Team and the all Pac-10 Tournament team. As a freshman in 2004–05, Farmar was the Rivals. com National Freshman of the Year and he was named All-Pac-10 First Team the next season. In the 2006 NCAA Tournament, Farmar led the UCLA Bruins to the National Championship game against the Florida Gators, Farmar led all scorers with 18 points, and finished with 2 rebounds,4 assists, and 2 steals. Farmar made a steal and assist at the end of UCLAs Sweet Sixteen matchup with the Gonzaga Bulldogs. On April 20,2006, he declared for the NBA Draft, Farmar impressed NBA scouts at the pre-draft combine with a 42-inch vertical leap, the highest of any player there. Later, he was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 26th pick in the NBA draft, on July 8,2006, he made his debut at the Summer Pro League, which was held at the Walter Pyramid
14.
Gabe Kapler
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Gabriel Stefan Gabe Kapler is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played portions of 13 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, Colorado Rockies, Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, and he is 6 feet 2 inches tall, and weighs 205 lbs. He describes his background as culturally Jewish, I was—and am—proud of my heritage, but dont practice religion. Kapler has been given the nickname Hebrew Hammer due to his frequent longball hits, along with his muscularity and it later became the nickname of Ryan Braun, who is also Jewish, and was Kaplers teammate on the Brewers. On September 27,1999, the Tigers commemorated the closing of Tiger Stadium by wearing the numbers of greats from the organizations history, Kaplers jersey was blank, an homage to Ty Cobb, who competed before players received numbers. This was ironic, as Cobb was a notorious anti-Semite, in 2008, with his career 69th home run he passed Art Shamsky and Lou Boudreau for 9th on the all-time list for home runs by Jewish major leaguers. Kapler was the winner of the 2008 Jewish Comeback Player of the Year award. Through 2010, he was 10th all-time in career home runs among Jewish major league baseball players, Kapler played for the Taft High School baseball team, and graduated in 1993. He attended Cal State-Fullerton in 1994 on scholarship, before transferring to 2-year Moorpark College in 1995 and he was named 1st team All-Western Conference after hitting.337 with 7 homers and 52 RBIs. Kapler was inducted into the Moorpark College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008 and he was on the cover of several fitness magazines and became renowned for being the focus of an entire K-Swiss shoe campaign before he had even reached the pros. Kapler was a 57th-round draft pick by the Detroit Tigers in 1995, in 1996 he led the South Atlantic League in hits, doubles, and extra-base hits, was 2nd in homers, RBIs, and slugging, and 5th in batting. He was named a South Atlantic League All-Star, in 1998 at AA Jacksonville Suns, he won the Southern League Most Valuable Player Award, as he batted.322 with a league-high 28 home runs,47 doubles, and 146 RBIs. His league record for RBIs broke the 1986 record of 132 set by Terry Steinbach and he also set league records with 81 extra-base hits and 319 total bases, and broke the old doubles record of 44 with 47. He also led the league in hits, runs, and finished 6th in batting and he played in both the Double-A and Southern League All-Star Games and was recognized as MVP of the Southern League All-Star Game. He was also named to the SLs post-season All-Star team and he made his Major League debut in 1998 at the age of 22. He became the first Tiger since the inception of the draft in 1969 to be selected as late as the 57th round and he had one hit in four at-bats in his debut. In 1999, he hit his first career run on April 30 against Albie Lopez of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He wound up hitting a career-high 18 home runs in just over 400 at-bats and his 10 home runs in his first 64 games was the fastest by a Tiger rookie since 1954, and was not surpassed until 2008
15.
Robin Wright
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Robin Gayle Wright is an American actress and director. Wright received Primetime Emmy nominations for House of Cards in 2013,2014,2015 and 2016, Wright first gained attention for her role in the NBC Daytime soap opera Santa Barbara, as Kelly Capwell from 1984 to 1988. She then made the transition to film, starring in the comedy fantasy adventure film The Princess Bride. She will next appear in the superhero film Wonder Woman and will appear in the upcoming film Blade Runner 2049 opposite Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling, Wright was born in Dallas, Texas, to Gayle, a cosmetics saleswoman, and Freddie Wright, a pharmaceutical company employee. Wright was raised in San Diego, California and she attended La Jolla High School and Taft High School in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. Wright started her career as a model, when she was 14 and she first became popular for playing Kelly Capwell on the NBC television soap opera Santa Barbara at age 18, which earned her several Daytime Emmy Award nominations. She transitioned into film work as Buttercup in the cult hit The Princess Bride. The latter role garnered her critical acclaim as well as Golden Globe Award. In 1996 she starred in the adaptation of Daniel Defoes Moll Flanders. She went on to co-star with her then-husband in the film Shes So Lovely, Wright received her third Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for her role in the television film Empire Falls. Since 2013, Wright has portrayed Claire Underwood, political mastermind Frank Underwoods equally ruthless wife and she received nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award in 2013 and 2014 for the same role. Following season 4 in 2016, Wright stated that she felt Claire Underwood was the equal of Frank Underwood, Wright has been cast in the live action Wonder Woman film alongside Gal Gadot and Chris Pine and Ridley Scotts Blade Runner sequel. From 1986 to 1988, Wright was married to actor Dane Witherspoon, in 1989, Wright became involved with actor Sean Penn following his divorce from Madonna. Wright was offered the role of Maid Marian in Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves and their daughter Dylan Frances Penn was born in April 1991. She backed out of the role of Abby McDeere in The Firm, with Tom Cruise, upon discovering she was pregnant with her second child and their son, Hopper Jack Penn, was born in August 1993. After breaking up and getting together, Wright and Penn married in 1996. Their on-and-off relationship seemingly ended in divorce plans, announced in December 2007, in February 2009, Wright and Penn attended the 81st Academy Awards together, at which Penn won Best Actor. Penn subsequently filed for separation in April 2009, but withdrew the petition in May
16.
Major League Baseball
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Major League Baseball is a professional baseball organization, the oldest of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. A total of 30 teams now play in the National League and American League, the NL and AL operated as separate legal entities from 1876 and 1901 respectively. After cooperating but remaining legally separate entities since 1903, the merged into a single organization led by the Commissioner of Baseball in 2000. The organization also oversees Minor League Baseball, which comprises about 240 teams affiliated with the Major League clubs, with the World Baseball Softball Confederation, MLB manages the international World Baseball Classic tournament. Baseballs first professional team was founded in Cincinnati in 1869,30 years after Abner Doubleday supposedly invented the game of baseball, the first few decades of professional baseball were characterized by rivalries between leagues and by players who often jumped from one team or league to another. The period before 1920 in baseball was known as the dead-ball era, Baseball survived a conspiracy to fix the 1919 World Series, which came to be known as the Black Sox Scandal. The sport rose in popularity in the 1920s, and survived potential downturns during the Great Depression, shortly after the war, baseballs color barrier was broken by Jackie Robinson. The 1950s and 1960s were a time of expansion for the AL and NL, then new stadiums, Home runs dominated the game during the 1990s, and media reports began to discuss the use of anabolic steroids among Major League players in the mid-2000s. In 2006, an investigation produced the Mitchell Report, which implicated many players in the use of performance-enhancing substances, today, MLB is composed of thirty teams, twenty-nine in the United States and one in Canada. Baseball broadcasts are aired on television, radio, and the Internet throughout North America, MLB has the highest season attendance of any sports league in the world with more than 73 million spectators in 2015. MLB is governed by the Major League Baseball Constitution and this document has undergone several incarnations since 1875, with the most recent revisions being made in 2012. Under the direction of the Commissioner of Baseball, MLB hires and maintains the sports umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, MLB maintains a unique, controlling relationship over the sport, including most aspects of Minor League Baseball. This ruling has been weakened only slightly in subsequent years, the weakened ruling granted more stability to the owners of teams and has resulted in values increasing at double-digit rates. There were several challenges to MLBs primacy in the sport between the 1870s and the Federal League in 1916, the last attempt at a new league was the aborted Continental League in 1960. The chief executive of MLB is the commissioner, Rob Manfred, the chief operating officer is Tony Petitti. There are five other executives, president, chief officer, chief legal officer, chief financial officer. The multimedia branch of MLB, which is based in Manhattan, is MLB Advanced Media and this branch oversees MLB. com and each of the 30 teams websites. Its charter states that MLB Advanced Media holds editorial independence from the league, MLB Productions is a similarly structured wing of the league, focusing on video and traditional broadcast media
17.
Shortstop
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Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. The position is filled by defensive specialists, so shortstops are generally relatively poor batters who bat later in the batting order. In the numbering used by scorers to record defensive plays. More hit balls go to the shortstop than to any position, as there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters. Like a second baseman, a shortstop must be agile, for example performing a 4-6-3 double play. Also, like a third baseman, the shortstop fields balls hit to the side of the infield. Doc Adams of the Knickerbockers created the concept of the position, according to Thorn. In the first five years the Knickerbockers played, the team fielded anywhere from eight to eleven players, the only infielders were the players covering each of the bases, if there were more than eight players, extra outfielders were sometimes used. The outfielders had difficulty throwing baseballs into the infield, because of the light weight. Adams shortstop position, which he started playing at some time from 1849 to 1850, was used to field throws from the outfielders, with the advent of higher-quality baseballs, Adams moved to the infield, since the distance the balls could travel increased. Adams had a playing career with the Knickerbockers, he remained a player with the team until 1860. The shortstop ordinarily is positioned near second base on the third-base side, a shortstop must also be extremely agile, because balls hit to or near the shortstop position are usually hit harder than to other infield positions. Shortstops are required to cover second base in double play situations when the ball is hit to the second baseman or first baseman and they also cover second when a runner is attempting a stolen base, but only when a left-handed hitter is batting. This is because the infield will respond to a batter by shifting toward first base. They often become the man on balls to any part of the outfield that are being directed towards third base and all balls to left. Depending on the system the shortstop may cut balls from left field heading home, however, the emphasis on defense makes the position unusually difficult to fill. Historically, a strong shortstop did not have to be a good hitter.200, since the 1960s, however, such mediocre hitting has become rarer as teams increasingly demand players with ability to both field and hit. Alex Rodríguez, Michael Young, or Miguel Tejada, the year in which the player was inducted is given in brackets after his name
18.
Justine Bateman
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Justine Tanya Bateman is an American writer, producer, and actress. She is best known for her role as Mallory Keaton on the sitcom Family Ties. Until recently, Bateman ran a production and consulting company, SECTION5, in the fall of 2012, she started studying computer science at UCLA. Her younger brother is actor, director, and producer Jason Bateman and she attended Taft Charter High School in Woodland Hills, California. However, Bateman could not attend due to her contractual obligations with Family Ties. According to Bateman in 2014, she was informed by the line producer Carol Himes. In 1984, Bateman starred on the Tales from the Darkside television series and she hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live during its 13th season in 1988. The following year she ceased her Family Ties role, for which she was nominated for two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. In 1996, she guest starred on Lois & Clark, The New Adventures of Superman as the character Sarah/Zara in four episodes — two at the end of season 3, and two at the beginning of season 4. In the 1996–97 NBC American version of the British TV comedy Men Behaving Badly, featuring Rob Schneider and Ron Eldard, she starred as Sarah, Bateman returned to TV with the 2003 Showtime mini-series, Out of Order, alongside Eric Stoltz, Felicity Huffman, and Bill Macy. Michael Bluth was played by Batemans real-life brother, Jason, also in 2006, she guest starred in the tenth episode of Men in Trees as Lynn Barstow. This became a role for the following eight episodes. She also starred as Terry in the series Still Standing, To Have and to Hold, in 2008, she portrayed a drug dealer who rents a room from Carlos and Gabrielle Solis, in a guest role on Desperate Housewives. That same year, Bateman appeared in an episode of Showtimes Californication, in 2009, she portrayed Victoria, Lassiters ex-wife, in USA Networks comedy series Psych and was also in the third episode of 2009s Criminal Minds, Suspect Behavior. In 1988, Bateman starred in the role in the motion picture Satisfaction. The film, about a musical band, also featured Julia Roberts. Bateman starred as the lead vocalist and also performed the vocals on the soundtrack and she has acted in several web series. She acted in John Augusts Remnants, Illeana Douglas’ IKEA-sponsored Easy to Assemble, Batemans theater experience includes Arthur Millers The Crucible, David Mamets Speed the Plow, and Frank Wedekinds Lulu
19.
Family Ties
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Family Ties is an American sitcom that aired on NBC for seven seasons, premiering on September 22,1982, and concluding on May 14,1989. The series, created by Gary David Goldberg, reflected the move in the United States from the liberalism of the 1960s and 1970s to the conservatism of the 1980s. This was particularly expressed through the relationship between young Republican Alex P. Keaton and his parents, Steven and Elyse Keaton. The show won awards, including three consecutive Emmy Awards for Michael J. Fox as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Married in 1964, Elyse is an independent architect and Steven, a native of Buffalo, New York, is the manager of WKS. Mallory was also presented as an airhead, who was fodder for jokes. Jennifer, a tomboy and the youngest child, shares more the values of her parents. Steven and Elyse had a child, Andrew, who was born in early 1985. Andy is the youngest, on whom Alex doted and quickly molded in his conservative image, meredith Baxter-Birney as Elyse Keaton Michael Gross as Steven Keaton Michael J. Fox as Alex P. Originally, Elyse and Steven were intended to be the main characters, however, the audience reacted so positively to Alex during the taping of the fourth episode that he became the focus on the show. Fox had received the role after Matthew Broderick turned it down, supporting cast and characters includes neighbor Irwin Skippy Handelman, Mallorys Sylvester Stallone-esque boyfriend artist Nick Moore, and Alexs feminist artist girlfriend Ellen Reed. In season 3, episode 17, Elyse gave birth to her fourth child, bewitched actor Dick Sargent guest-starred as Elyses father Charlie in Season 1. A number of Hollywood stars appeared on the show before they were famous or during the years of their careers. A Jane Adams played Marty Broadie in two 7th-season episodes, They Cant Take That Away from Me, Part 1 and They Cant Take That Away from Me, christina Applegate played Kitten, a member of Jennifers band, on the episode Band on the Run. Hank Azaria played a co-worker of Mallorys in the season 7 episode Designing Women, timothy Busfield played Doug in two 1984 episodes, and Young Matt in a 1986 episode. C Jeff Cohen played two different characters, Marv Jr. on the episode The Visit, and Dougie Barker on the episode 4 Rms Ocn Vu, james Cromwell played John Hancock in the 3rd-season episode Philadelphia Story. D Geena Davis portrayed inept housekeeper Karen, F David Faustino played Keith Bailey the son of a divorced family friend who was taken away from his mother by his father in the episode To Snatch a Keith. Corey Feldman played a 7th grade classmate of Jennifer who was a nominee to win the Thomas Dewey best student achievement award on the episode The Disciple, G Crispin Glover played one of Alexs friends on the episode Birthday Boy
20.
Scott Bloch
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Scott Bloch is an American attorney and former political appointee of President George W. Bush. Bloch served as United States Special Counsel from December 12,2003, Bloch was born in New York City and grew up in Los Angeles, where his father, who used the name Walter Black, was a writer for a number of popular television shows. Scott Bloch worked as an associate and then partner for Stevens & Brand, LLP of Lawrence, Bloch currently maintains a private law office in Washington, D. C. Bloch is a grandson of American modernist artist Albert Bloch, about whom he filmed a documentary in 2002. Bloch also served on the Founders Committee of Wyoming Catholic College from 2002 to 2005, and is a member of the Knights of Malta, part of the job of the OSC is to protect whisleblowers. After complaints from Congress, the Bush Administration released a statement in April 2004 saying homosexual employees were still protected, Bloch also issued a statement saying, It is the policy of this administration that discrimination in the federal workforce on the basis of sexual orientation is prohibited. This did not satisfy gay rights organizations, which claimed a lack of enforcement of the policy, the OSC has still not restored the language on its website or printed materials. The Federal GLOBE then called for Blochs resignation, Bloch later retracted his statements and stated his office did not have the legal authority to protect employees from workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. One year after filing both a retaliation and antigay discrimination complaint with the OSC, Levine received a letter from the OSC on December 28,2004, the next day, the Log Cabin Republicans called on Bloch to resign. Blochs defenders, including writers at the conservative magazine Human Events, in January 2005, controversy ensued when Bloch ordered twelve OSC staffers, including the only two known gay employees, to transfer to distant cities or lose their jobs. Bloch was accused of conducting a purge of OSC employees by three government watchdog groups, two federal trade unions, an LGBT rights organization, and the OSC employees themselves. This prompted several government investigations concerning Blochs performance as an employee, including destruction of emails. Another of the employees had reached a favorable settlement on behalf of a gay federal employee who filed a discrimination complaint against his supervisor. In the end, ten of the employees resigned. Meanwhile, according to complaints, at least one staffer who had been supportive of Blochs interpretation was promoted, in October 2005, the US Office of Personnel Management ordered an investigation of claims that Special Counsel Bloch retaliated against employees who disagreed with his policies. Ironically, the OSC would ordinarily oversee such whistleblower disputes, the probe is also investigating whether Bloch showed an antigay bias in refusing certain whistleblower and discrimination claims. In February 2007, Bloch was again accused of unfair supervisor practices when several of his staffers complained they felt coerced into not cooperating with the OPM probe. Blochs deputy issued a memo urging OSC employees to meet with probe investigaters in a certain conference room. Employees reported other attempts to obstruct the investigation including suggestions that all witnesses interviewed, provide Bloch with affidavits describing what they had been asked and how they responded
21.
United States Office of Special Counsel
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OSCs primary mission is the safeguarding of the merit system in federal employment by protecting employees and applicants from prohibited personnel practices, especially reprisal for whistleblowing. In addition, OSC issues advice on the Hatch Act and enforces its restrictions on political activity by government employees. Finally, OSC protects the civilian employment and reemployment rights of military members under USERRA. §1214, the U. S. Office of Special Counsel has jurisdiction over most prohibited personnel practice complaints brought by executive branch employees, former employees, when a PPP complaint is submitted, the agency examines the allegations. If OSC finds sufficient evidence to prove a violation, it may seek corrective action, disciplinary action, oSCs primary mission is to protect federal employees and others from prohibited personnel practices. e. S. C. §2301, or implement or enforce an agreement or policy lacking notification of whistleblower rights. OSC was established on January 1,1979, from then until 1989, the Office operated as the independent investigative and prosecutorial arm of the Merit Systems Protection Board, also called MSPB, or the “Board. OSC enforced restrictions against prohibited personnel practices and unlawful activity by filing. In 1989, Congress enacted the Whistleblower Protection Act, the statute made OSC an independent agency within the executive branch of the federal government, with continued responsibility for the functions described above. It also strengthened protections against reprisal for employees who disclose wrongdoing in the government, Congress enacted legislation in 1993 that significantly amended Hatch Act provisions applicable to federal and District of Columbia government employees, and enforced by OSC. Also in 1994, OSC’s reauthorization act expanded protections for federal employees and it also broadened the scope of personnel actions covered under those provisions. Finally, the act made federal agencies responsible for informing their employees of available rights and remedies under the WPA, in November 2001, Congress enacted the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, creating the Transportation Security Administration. Under the Act, non-security screener employees of TSA can file allegations of reprisal for whistleblowing with OSC, approximately 45,000 security screeners in TSA, however, could not pursue such complaints at OSC or the Board. The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012 became law on November 27,2012, the WPEA strengthens protections for federal whistleblowers by removing loopholes that deterred federal employees from disclosing waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement. It also removes restrictions that narrowed the scope of what constituted a “protected disclosure” under the Whistleblower Protection Act, finally, it expands whistleblower reprisal protection to employees of the TSA. On December 28,2012, President Obama signed the Hatch Act Modernization Act of 2012 into law, under the new law, state and local government employees are no longer prohibited from running for partisan office unless their salary is paid for completely by federal loans or grants. As a result of the Hatch Act Modernization Act, many state, every agency had a shadow “political hiring czar” whose operation trumped normal civil service authority of personnel offices. Nevertheless, even with the impetus for its creation, under President Carter
22.
Larry Dierker
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Lawrence Edward Dierker is a former Major League Baseball pitcher, manager, and broadcaster. During a 14-year baseball career as a pitcher, he pitched from 1964–1977 for the Houston Colt. 45s/Astros and he also managed the Astros for five years. Signed by the Colt. 45s at age 17, Dierker made his pitching debut on his 18th birthday –. In 1969, he became the Astros first 20-game winner, while compiling a 2.33 earned run average,20 complete games and 232 strikeouts over 305 innings and he was elected to the National League All-Star team in 1969 and 1971. On July 9,1976, Dierker pitched a no hitter against the Montreal Expos, as of 2016, Dierker is the last 17-year-old to make his major league debut. On May 19,2002, the Astros honored Dierker, retiring his No.49 jersey, from 1979 to 1996, Dierker served as a color commentator on the Astros radio and television broadcasts, a position he returned to in 2004 and 2005. Dierker was elected National League Manager of the Year in 1998, Houston finished in first place in four of the five years Dierker managed the team, failing only in 2000 when the Astros placed fourth. In 1999, Dierker had a scare during a game against the San Diego Padres. The Houston manager had been plagued by severe headaches for several days, during the June 13 game, Dierker had a grand mal seizure that rendered him unconscious and nearly killed him. He required emergency surgery for a cavernous angioma caused by a tangle of blood vessels in his brain. The game was suspended with the Astros ahead 4-1, it was not completed until the Padres returned to Houston on July 23, after four weeks of recovery, he returned to the helm of the Astros and guided the team through the duration of the season. The Astros won 97 games and a third consecutive National League Central Division title, Dierker penned a book entitled This Aint Brain Surgery, which detailed his baseball career as a pitcher and a manager. He later wrote My Team, in which he ruminated on the greatest players he had been witness to in his years of baseball, larry Dierker Oral History, Houston Oral History Project, July 14,2008
23.
Spencer Dinwiddie
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Spencer Dinwiddie is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association. He played college basketball for the Colorado Buffaloes and earned first-team all-conference honors in the Pac-12 as a junior in 2013, as well as being an elite baller, Spencer has the best Twitter account in the league and might drop more wisdom on you than dimes. He missed most of his senior year after injuring his cruciate ligament. Dinwiddie recovered and was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the round of the 2014 NBA draft. After two seasons with the Pistons, he was traded to the Chicago Bulls in June 2016, at William Howard Taft High School, Dinwiddie was sometimes recognized as one of the greatest standout athletes since Jordan Farmar. He averaged 5.9 points and 4.1 assists as the point guard alongside a fellow 2014 draftee in DeAndre Daniels at the conclusion of his junior season. Dinwiddie maximized his game as he began his ultimate year representing the school and he was eventually known as one of the most skilled passers in school history, helping him become the John R. Wooden California High School Player of the Year in 2011. However, Long Beach Polys Ryan Anderson was named California Mr. Basketball, Dinwiddie became just one of seven players before him that won the prestigious award as a senior. The powerful duo consisting of Daniels and Dinwiddie won the city championship this season as well and this final season at Taft helped Dinwiddie gain the attention of colleges around the country, though he chose to attend Colorado rather than Harvard, Oregon, Santa Clara, or UNLV. Considered a three-star recruit by Rivals. com, Dinwiddie was listed as the No.25 point guard, in the first regular season game for Colorado, Dinwiddie made his collegiate debut in a 32-pt victory over Fort Lewis with seven points and seven rebounds. He shot just 2-for-9 from the field, Dinwiddie finally reached double figures in his sixth appearance, which was against Georgia. This was the first time he had shot over.500 on field goals up till then, the California native would lead the team to this win and make three key free throws in the final seconds. After becoming a significant part of the program, Dinwiddie teamed with fellow freshman, Askia Booker and they combined for 677 points, making school history by scoring over 250 points each. At the conclusion of the season, they were the only Buffaloes to do so, Dinwiddie became a member of the Pac-12 Conference Tournament Championship Team due to his instant success on the balanced team. He led Colorado in free-throw percentage and ranked third among freshman in that category, by the end of the regular season, Dinwiddie had helped the team earn its first NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament berth since the 2002-03 season. Shooting three-pointers at a 43. 8% clip, Dinwiddie was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team with other big names such as Tony Wroten and he was the only Pac-12 freshman to shoot for a field-goal percentage of over.400 total. The departures of Carlon Brown and Nate Tomlinson were instrumental in Dinwiddies breakout sophomore season, leading the team in assists, they reached the NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament for the second consecutive season, in which they reached the second round. It was the first time the team had reached back-to-back tournaments since the 1963 season, the Buffaloes won the 2012 Charleston Classic, in which Dinwiddie took the role as starting small forward in the final three rounds
24.
Point guard
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The point guard, also called the one or point, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position, point guards are expected to run the teams offense by controlling the ball and making sure that it gets to the right players at the right time. A point guard, like other player positions in basketball, specializes in certain skills, a point guards primary job is to facilitate scoring opportunities for his/her team, or sometimes for themselves. Lee Rose has described a point guard as a coach on the floor and this involves setting up plays on the court, getting the ball to the teammate in the best position to score, and controlling the tempo of the game. A point guard should know when and how to instigate a fast break, point guards are expected to be vocal floor leaders. A point guard needs always to have in mind the times on the clock and the game clock, the score. Among the taller players who have enjoyed success at the position is Magic Johnson, other point guards who have been named NBA MVP include Bob Cousy, Oscar Robertson, Derrick Rose and two-time winners Stephen Curry and Steve Nash. In the NBA, point guards are usually about 65 or shorter, having above-average size is considered advantageous, although size is secondary to situational awareness, speed, quickness, and ball handling skills. Shorter players tend to be better dribblers since they are closer to the floor, after an opponent scores, it is typically the point guard who brings the ball down court to begin an offensive play. Passing skills, ball handling, and court vision are crucial, speed is important, a speedy point guard is better able to create separation and space off the dribble, giving him/herself room to work. Point guards are often valued more for their assist totals than for their scoring, another major evaluation factor is Assist-to-Turnover ratio, which reflects the decision-making skills of the player. Still, a point guard should also have a reasonably effective jump shot. The point guard is positioned on the perimeter of the play and this is a necessity because of the point guards many leadership obligations. Many times, the point guard is referred to by announcers as a coach on the floor or a floor general, in the past, this was particularly true, as several point guards such as Lenny Wilkens served their teams as player-coaches. This is not so common anymore, as most coaches are now solely specialized in coaching and are non-players, former Suns head coach Mike DAntoni had often allowed Steve Nash to freelance when leading the Suns offense, even letting him call his own plays at times. Even point guards who are not given this much freedom, however, are extensions of their coach on the floor. John Stockton is widely considered to be the point guard. He also used the pick and roll maneuvre with Karl Malone, along with leadership and a general basketball acumen, ball-handling is a skill of great importance to a point guard
25.
National Basketball Association
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The National Basketball Association is the major mens professional basketball league in North America, and is widely considered to be the premier mens professional basketball league in the world. It has 30 teams, and is a member of USA Basketball. The NBA is one of the four professional sports leagues in the United States. NBA players are the worlds best paid athletes by average annual salary per player, the league was founded in New York City on June 6,1946, as the Basketball Association of America. The league adopted the name National Basketball Association on August 3,1949, the leagues several international as well as individual team offices are directed out of its head offices located in the Olympic Tower at 645 Fifth Avenue in New York City. NBA Entertainment and NBA TV studios are directed out of offices located in Secaucus, the Basketball Association of America was founded in 1946 by owners of the major ice hockey arenas in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Canada. On November 1,1946, in Toronto, Canada, the Toronto Huskies hosted the New York Knickerbockers at Maple Leaf Gardens, the first basket was made by Ossie Schectman of the Knickerbockers. During its early years, the quality of play in the BAA was not significantly better than in competing leagues or among leading independent clubs such as the Harlem Globetrotters. For instance, the 1948 ABL finalist Baltimore Bullets moved to the BAA and won that leagues 1948 title, Following the 1948–49 season, the BAA took in the remainder of the NBL, Syracuse, Anderson, Tri-Cities, Sheboygan, Denver, and Waterloo. The new league had seventeen franchises located in a mix of large and small cities, as well as arenas and smaller gymnasiums. The process of contraction saw the leagues smaller-city franchises move to larger cities, the Hawks shifted from the Tri-Cities to Milwaukee in 1951, and then to St. Louis in 1955. The Rochester Royals moved from Rochester, New York, to Cincinnati in 1957, japanese-American Wataru Misaka broke the NBA color barrier in the 1947–48 season when he played for the New York Knicks. He remained the only player in league history prior to the first African-American, Harold Hunter. During this period, the Minneapolis Lakers, led by center George Mikan, won five NBA Championships, to encourage shooting and discourage stalling, the league introduced the 24-second shot clock in 1954. If a team does not attempt to score a goal within 24 seconds of obtaining the ball, play is stopped. In 1957, rookie center Bill Russell joined the Boston Celtics, who already featured guard Bob Cousy and coach Red Auerbach, and went on to lead the club to eleven NBA titles in thirteen seasons. Center Wilt Chamberlain entered the league with the Warriors in 1959 and became a dominant individual star of the 1960s, russells rivalry with Chamberlain became one of the greatest rivalries in the history of American team sports. The 1960s were dominated by the Celtics, led by Russell, Bob Cousy and coach Red Auerbach, Boston won eight straight championships in the NBA from 1959 to 1966
26.
Jeff Fisher
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Jeffrey Michael Fisher is an American football coach and former player. He served as a coach in the National Football League for 22 seasons. He coached the Titans for 17 seasons and Los Angeles Rams franchise for five seasons, Fisher became the coach of the Titans franchise towards the end of the 1994 season during their tenure as the Houston Oilers and was the teams first coach when they relocated to Tennessee. He continued to coach the Titans until after the end of the 2010 season, when he, following a season away from football, Fisher was hired as the head coach of the Rams franchise in 2012 and coached the team during their last four years in St. Louis. He remained the coach of the Rams during the franchises return to Los Angeles in 2016. Fishers most successful season was in 1999, when he led the Titans to the franchises first Super Bowl appearance in XXXIV and he holds the record for the most regular season losses by an NFL head coach at 165, tied with Dan Reeves. A native of Southern California, Fisher starred as a high school All-American wide receiver at Taft High School in Woodland Hills, Fisher went on to star at USC, under coach John Robinson. During his collegiate career, he played alongside such stars as Ronnie Lott, Dennis Smith. Fishers USC teammates also included offensive lineman Bruce Matthews, whom he would coach years later with the Oilers. Fisher and the Trojans won a championship during the 1978 season. Fisher was drafted in the round of the 1981 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. He appeared in 49 games as a back and return specialist in his five seasons with the Bears. In 1983, Fisher had suffered a leg on a punt return when he was tackled by then-Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Bill Cowher. Coincidentally the two rivals as head coaches beginning in the AFC Central in 1995, Fishers Oilers/Titans squads came out with an 11–7 record against Cowhers Pittsburgh Steelers. Fisher earned a Super Bowl ring after Chicagos 1985 Super Bowl season, Fisher stayed with the Bears as a defensive assistant while on injured reserve for the season. During 1985, Fisher used his time on the Bears injured reserve to assist defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan, after the Bears won the Super Bowl that season, Ryan was hired as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and Fisher joined as a defensive backs coach. In 1988, Fisher was promoted to defensive coordinator at age 30, the 1989 Eagles defense led the NFL in interceptions and sacks. The 1990 squad led the league in rushing defense and finished second in sacks, in 1991, Fisher was hired as defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams, which reunited him with his college coach John Robinson
27.
USC Trojans football
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The USC Trojans football program, established in 1888, represents the University of Southern California in college football. USC is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I FBS, the Trojans throughout NCAA history have claimed 11 national championships. USC has the most Pro Football Hall of Famers, USC has the highest all-time post-season winning percentage of schools with 25 or more bowl appearances. The team is coached by Clay Helton, USC first fielded a football team in 1888. Playing its first game on November 14 of that year against the Alliance Athletic Club, USC faced its first collegiate opponent the following year in fall 1889, playing St. Vincents College to a 40–0 victory. In 1893, USC joined the Intercollegiate Football Association of Southern California, which was composed of USC, Occidental College, Throop Polytechnic Institute, Pomona College was invited to enter, but declined to do so. An invitation was extended to Los Angeles High School. Before they were named Trojans in 1912, USC athletic teams were called the Methodists, during the early years, limitations in travel and the scarcity of major football-playing colleges on the West Coast limited its rivalries to local Southern Californian colleges and universities. During this period USC played regular series against Occidental, Caltech, Whittier, Pomona, the first USC team to play outside of Southern California went to Stanford University on November 4,1905, where they were trampled 16–0 by the traditional West Coast powerhouse. While the teams would not meet again until 1918, this was also USCs first game against a future Pac-12 conference opponent, during this period USC also played its first games against other future Pac-12 rivals, including Oregon State, California, Oregon and Arizona. Between 1911–1913, USC followed the example of California and Stanford, the results were disastrous, as USC was soundly defeated by more experienced programs while the school itself experienced financial reverses, it was during this period that Owen R. After several decades of competition, USC first achieved prominence under head coach Gloomy Gus Henderson in the early 1920s. Another milestone came under Henderson in 1922, when USC joined the Pacific Coast Conference, success continued under coach Howard Jones from 1925 to 1940, when the Trojans were just one of a few nationally dominant teams. It was during this era that the achieved renown as the Thundering Herd. USC achieved intermittent success in the years following Jones tenure, jeff Cravath, who coached from 1942–1950, won the Rose Bowl in 1943 and 1945. Jess Hill, who coached from 1951 to 1956, won the Rose Bowl in 1953, from 1957 to 1959, the Trojans were coached by Don Clark. The Pacific Coast Conference dissolved in 1959, USC joined the conferences other three California schools and Washington to form a new conference, the Athletic Association of Western Universities, under a new charter. The program entered a new golden age upon the arrival of head coach John McKay, during this period the Trojans produced two Heisman Trophy winners and won four national championships
28.
National Football League
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The National Football League is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference and the American Football Conference. The NFL is one of the four professional sports leagues in North America. The NFLs 17-week regular season runs from the week after Labor Day to the week after Christmas, with each team playing 16 games, the NFL was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association before renaming itself the National Football League for the 1922 season. The NFL agreed to merge with the American Football League in 1966, and the first Super Bowl was held at the end of that season, the merger was completed in 1970. Today, the NFL has the highest average attendance of any sports league in the world and is the most popular sports league in the United States. S. The NFLs executive officer is the commissioner, who has authority in governing the league. The team with the most NFL championships is the Green Bay Packers with thirteen, the current NFL champions are the New England Patriots, who defeated the Atlanta Falcons 34–28 in Super Bowl LI. Another meeting held on September 17,1920 resulted in the renaming of the league to the American Professional Football Association, the league hired Jim Thorpe as its first president, and consisted of 14 teams. Only two of these teams, the Decatur Staleys and the Chicago Cardinals, remain, the first event occurred on September 26,1920 when the Rock Island Independents defeated the non-league St. Paul Ideals 48–0 at Douglas Park. On October 3,1920, the first full week of league play occurred, the following season resulted in the Chicago Staleys controversially winning the title over the Buffalo All-Americans. In 1922, the APFA changed its name to the National Football League, in 1932, the season ended with the Chicago Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans tied for first in the league standings. This method had used since the leagues creation in 1920. The league quickly determined that a game between Chicago and Portsmouth was needed to decide the leagues champion. Playing with altered rules to accommodate the playing field, the Bears won the game 9–0. Fan interest in the de facto championship game led the NFL, beginning in 1933, the 1934 season also marked the first of 12 seasons in which African Americans were absent from the league. The de facto ban was rescinded in 1946, following public pressure, the NFL was always the foremost professional football league in the United States, it nevertheless faced a large number of rival professional leagues through the 1930s and 1940s. Rival leagues included at least three separate American Football Leagues and the All-America Football Conference, on top of regional leagues of varying caliber. Three NFL teams trace their histories to these leagues, including the Los Angeles Rams
29.
Tennessee Titans
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The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League as a club of the American Football Conference South division. Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team play in 1960 in Houston. The Oilers won the first two AFL Championships, and joined the NFL as part of the AFL–NFL merger in 1970, the team relocated from Houston to Tennessee in 1997, and played at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis for one season. The club moved to Nashville in 1998 and played in Vanderbilt Stadium, for those two years, the team was known as the Tennessee Oilers, but changed its name to Titans in 1999. The team plays at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, which opened in 1999 as Adelphia Coliseum, the Titans training facility is at Saint Thomas Sports Park, a 31-acre site at the MetroCenter complex in Nashville. When the team debuted as the Houston Oilers in 1960, the logo was an oil rig derrick. Except for minor changes throughout the years, this logo remained the same until the team was renamed the Titans in 1999. The logo was originally called Ol Riggy, but this was dropped before the start of the 1974 season, the Oilers uniforms consisted of blue or white jerseys, red trim, and white pants. From 1966 through 1971, the pants with both the blue and white jerseys were silver, to match the color of the helmets, for selected games in 1973 and 1974, and again from 1981 through 1984, the Oilers wore their white jerseys at home. The light blue pants were discarded by coach Jeff Fisher in 1995, from 1960 to about 1965 and from 1972 to 1974, they wore blue helmets, from 1966 to 1971, the helmets were silver, and they were white from 1975 to 1998. During the 1997–98 period, when they were known as the Tennessee Oilers, the uniforms consist of white helmets, red trim, and either navy or white jerseys. White pants are worn with the navy jerseys, and navy pants are worn with the white jerseys. On both the navy and white jerseys, the shoulders and sleeves are light Titans blue. In a game against the Washington Redskins in 2006, the Titans wore their jerseys with navy pants for the first time. Since 2000, the Titans have generally worn their dark uniforms at home throughout the preseason and they have worn white at home during daytime contests on many occasions for September home games to gain an advantage with the heat except in the 2005,2006, and 2008 seasons. The Titans introduced an alternate jersey in 2003 that is light Titans blue, with navy outside shoulders and that jersey was usually worn with the road blue pants. When it was the jersey from 2003 to 2007, the Titans wore the jersey twice in each regular season game
30.
Los Angeles Rams
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The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team that play in the National Football League. The Rams franchise was founded in 1936 as the Cleveland Rams in the short-lived second American Football League before joining the NFL the next year, in 1946, the franchise moved to Los Angeles. The Rams franchise remained in the area until 1994, when they moved to St. Louis. The Rams franchise returned to Los Angeles in 2016, Reeves threatened to end his relationship with the NFL and get out of the professional football business altogether unless the Rams transfer to Los Angeles was permitted. A settlement was reached and, as a result, Reeves was allowed to move his team to Los Angeles, consequently, the NFL became the first professional coast-to-coast sports entertainment industry. From 1933, when Joe Lillard left the Chicago Cardinals, through 1946, after the Rams had received approval to move to Los Angeles, the Rams entered into negotiations to lease the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Rams were advised that a precondition to them getting a lease was that they would have to integrate the team with at least one African-American, subsequently, the Rams signed Kenny Washington on March 21,1946. The signing of Washington caused all hell to break loose among the owners of the NFL franchises, the Rams added a second black player, Woody Strode, on May 7,1946, giving them two black players going into the 1946 season. The Rams were the first team in the NFL to play in Los Angeles, the upstart All-America Football Conference had the Los Angeles Dons compete there as well. Reeves was taking a gamble that Los Angeles was ready for its own football team –. Reeves was proved to be correct when the Rams played their first pre-season game against the Washington Redskins in front of a crowd of 95,000 fans, the team finished their first season in L. A. with a 6–4–1 record, second place behind the Chicago Bears. At the end of the season Walsh was fired as head coach, the Coliseum would be the home of the Rams for more than 30 years, but the facility was already over 20 years old on the day of the first kickoff. In 1948, halfback Fred Gehrke painted horns on the Rams helmets, Kelley had an early evening talk show on L. A. radio station KMPC, that was considered by most sports enthusiasts as highly entertaining. Kelley was generally considered a Legend and a professional, one of the great radio. At the beginning of the 1951 World Championship game after the kickoff, Kelley was able to cite every player on the prior to the first snap from scrimmage. The Rams first heyday in Southern California was from 1949 to 1955, during this period, they had the best offense in the NFL, even though there was a quarterback change from Bob Waterfield to Norm Van Brocklin in 1951. The defining Offensive players of this period were wide receiver Elroy Hirsch, Van Brocklin, teamed with fellow Hall of Famer Tom Fears, Hirsch helped create the style of Rams football as one of the first big play receivers. During the 1951 Championship season, Hirsch posted a then stunning 1,495 receiving yards with 17 touchdowns, the popularity of this wide-open offense enabled the Los Angeles Rams to become the first pro football team to have all their games televised in 1950
31.
Friday (1995 film)
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Friday is a 1995 American stoner buddy comedy film directed by F. Gary Gray in his directorial debut. It stars Ice Cube, who co-wrote the film with DJ Pooh, the film details roughly 16 hours in the lives of unemployed Craig Jones and Smokey, who must pay a drug dealer $200 by 10,00 p. m. that night. The films success spawned two sequels, Next Friday and Friday After Next, a fourth installment entitled Last Friday has been in the works for several years and has yet to get the greenlight. Craig Jones, a man living in Los Angeles, has just lost his job. Not having any plans, he hangs out on his front porch with his best friend, Smokey, a dealer who sells weed for Big Worm. Throughout the day, Craig and Smokey observe the goings-on in their neighborhood, parker by her husband, Tony Cox, and Felisha, Debbies sister and Deebos girlfriend, who irritates everyone in the neighborhood with her constant begging. Smokey, who has been smoking rather than selling his consignment of marijuana, has a confrontation with Big Worm, in an attempt to explain his money shortage, Smokey incriminates Craig. Craig unsuccessfully attempts to borrow money from his mother his sister, Dana, Craigs father, Willie, eventually learns of Craigs plan, as well as the fact that Craig is carrying a gun. Later on, while Craig and Smokey discuss their dilemma, they are interrupted by the arrival of Rita, Smokey then discovers she lied about her looks, instead of resembling Janet Jackson as she originally claimed, Rita is obese and bald. Smokey heads to Debbies house to complain and notices Reds bike on the lawn and he sneaks in and finds Deebo asleep with Felisha. Smokey tries to reclaim the money that he and Deebo stole from Stanley earlier, both escape without the money before Deebo wakes up. Smokey returns to Craigs house to him, and Craig agrees to go back with Smokey to try again. The two notice a car driving slowly and hide, suspecting a possible drive-by shooting. Scared, they run to Craigs room, then, after Craigs father confronts them with the situation with Big Worm, and with 10,00 approaching, they decide step out. Once outside, they notice the van parked in the street with its headlights off, the two flee as men in the van start shooting at them. The neighbors emerge from their homes upon hearing the gunshots, Debbie then confronts Deebo for assaulting Felisha after Deebo falsely accuses Felisha of Smokeys attempted theft. Deebo eventually assaults Debbie, as Craig and Smokey arrive, angered that Deebo has struck a woman, Craig stands up to him, and threatens him with his gun. Deebo scoffs at the threat and Willie encourages Craig to put down the weapon, after nearly losing, Craig emerges victorious by using various objects as weapons
32.
Are We There Yet? (film)
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Produced by Revolution Studios and distributed by Columbia Pictures, the film was released theatrically on January 21,2005 to generally negative reviews from critics. However, the film grossed $98 million worldwide and sold 3.7 million DVDs, a sequel, Are We Done Yet. was released in 2007, to even worse reviews than its predecessor, and a television series featuring the films main characters premiered in 2010. The film opens up on Christmas night in Portland, Oregon, on his way to the door, however, he falls into several traps and is left a mess. The culprits of these traps are revealed to be a girl and boy named Lindsey and Kevin Kingston, the two are determined to keep her single until the two reconcile. When he reaches his Fine Sports Collectibles shop, he witnesses the woman of his dreams, on his way to talk to her, however, he is disgusted to find that she has two kids, Lindsey and Kevin. Later that night, he runs into her on his way home, after receiving an electric shock, he agrees to take her home, and once there, agrees to transport her wherever she needs to go. Once at her house, he meets Kevin and Lindsey for the second time and they go to the airport, where Kevin accidentally damages Nicks car door. Nick then yells at Kevin, making him cry, Nick is beaten by security after Kevin learns that corkscrews are illegal to bring on planes and ditches the item in Nicks jacket pocket. They then decide to use a train, where the two jump off the train to collect a missing item from Kevins doll just as Nick boards. This results in losing their luggage. They then reluctantly decide to drive, believing Nick is only a friend to their mother, the kids are tamed, but still misbehave and show Nick little respect. At a truck stop, the two learn from one of Nicks friends that he not only hates the two, but also lied about not having feelings for their mother. Once they get there, however, they learn that their father has not only moved on, discovering their fathers betrayal and abandonment, they warm up to Nick, as he does with them, when he tells them that he, too, was abandoned by his father. Along the rest of the trip, the three find themselves in several mishaps, but each setback only strengthens their relationship. At one point, Kevin has to get an asthma refill from a pharmacist working as a clown at a chaotic childrens New Years Eve party, and during this, Lindsey reveals her singing talent. However, their bond is tested when Nicks car is inadvertently set ablaze and explodes after Nick loses his keys. He angrily blames the kids by pretending it was their fault in destroying the Navigator and hurts them by saying Go ahead and cry, but calms down, reinstates it, and apologizes immediately afterwards. The trio tries to hitch a ride from Al Buck, but he leaves Nick behind and drives off, still thinking Nick is a kidnapper
33.
Straight Outta Compton (film)
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Straight Outta Compton is a 2015 American biographical film directed by F. Gary Gray, depicting the career of gangsta rap group N. W. A. Titled after N. W. As 1988 debut studio album, the focuses on members Eazy-E, Ice Cube. Members of N. W. A were involved in making the film, Ice Cube and Dr. Dre were among its producers, as was Eazy-Es widow, Tomica Woods-Wright, while MC Ren and DJ Yella served as creative consultants. Ice Cube is portrayed by his son, OShea Jackson, Jr. with Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre, Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E, Aldis Hodge as MC Ren, Paul Giamatti also stars as N. W. As manager Jerry Heller. It inspired Dr. Dres third studio album, Compton, which debuted at no.2 on the US Billboard 200 album chart a week prior to the films release. The films soundtrack album, featuring music by N. W. A, debuted at no.1 on the Rap Albums chart and reached no.1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Jerry Heller filed a lawsuit against those involved with the film, protesting the way he was depicted, in Compton, California in 1986, Eazy-E is a drug dealer, Dr. Dre is an aspiring disc jockey, and Ice Cube is a young rapper. When their song Boyz-n-the-Hood is rejected by a New York rap group and it becomes a local hit, and Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, and MC Ren form the group N. W. A. Eazy-E accepts Jerry Hellers offer to manage N. W. A and co-run Ruthless, while recording their debut album, Straight Outta Compton, the group are harassed by police due to their race and appearance, prompting Ice Cube to pen the song Fuck tha Police. The album becomes a hit due to its profanity and violent lyrics. During a 1989 concert tour, the FBI demands that N. W. A stop performing Fuck tha Police as it encourages violence against law enforcement, Police in Detroit forbid them from performing the song, and a riot breaks out when they perform it anyway. Jerry delays the individual contracts with Ruthless, and when he insists that Ice Cube sign without legal representation. His debut solo album, AmeriKKKas Most Wanted, becomes a hit, Dr. Dre hires Suge Knight as his manager, through whom he learns that Jerry has been underpaying him. He leaves N. W. A to form Death Row Records with Suge, Dr. Dre enjoys his newfound freedom and begins working with other rappers including Snoop Dogg. His debut solo album, The Chronic, sells over five million copies, even as he becomes disturbed by Suges violent behavior, Eazy-E, whose fortunes and health have declined, is devastated by the comparative success of his former bandmates. Learning that Jerry has been embezzling money from Ruthless from the beginning, he fires him and rekindles his friendships with Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, however, before recording can begin, Eazy-E collapses and is diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Amid emotional visits from his bandmates, he dies on March 26,1995 and is mourned by fans, a year later, Dr. Dre splits from Suge Knight and Death Row to form his own label, Aftermath Entertainment. Clips shown during the films credits highlight Ice Cubes subsequent roles as an actor and Dr. Dres career as a producer
34.
Canadian Football League
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The Canadian Football League is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football and its nine teams, which are located in nine separate cities, are divided into two divisions, the East Division, with four teams, and the West Division with five teams. As of 2016, the features a 20-week regular season. The CFL was officially founded on January 19,1958, the league was formed from a merger between the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union founded in 1907 and the Western Interprovincial Football Union founded in 1936. Rugby football began to be played in Canada in the 1860s, the CRFU was reorganized as the Canadian Rugby Union in 1891, and served as an umbrella organization for several provincial and regional unions. The Grey Cup was donated by Governor General Earl Grey in 1909 to the winning the Senior Amateur Football Championship of Canada. By that time, the sport as played in Canada had diverged markedly from its rugby origins, in 1956, the IRFU and WIFU formed a new umbrella organization, the Canadian Football Council. In 1958, the CFC left the CRU and became the Canadian Football League, as part of an agreement between the CRU and CFL, the CFL took possession of the Grey Cup, even though amateurs had not competed for it since 1954. The CRU remained the governing body for amateur play in Canada, initially, the two unions remained autonomous, and there was no intersectional play between eastern and western teams except at the Grey Cup final. This situation was analogous to how the American baseball leagues operated for years. The IRFU was renamed the Eastern Football Conference in 1960, while the WIFU was renamed the Western Football Conference in 1961, also in 1961, limited intersectional play was introduced. It was not until 1981 that the two agreed to a full merger, becoming the East and West Divisions of the CFL. With the merger came a full interlocking schedule of 16 games per season, Other team names had traditional origins. With rowing a national craze in the late 19th century, the Argonaut Rowing Club of Toronto formed a team for its members off-season participation. The football team name Toronto Argonauts still remains though it. After World War II, the two teams in Hamilton—the Tigers and the Flying Wildcats—merged both their organizations into the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, after the 1981 season, the Alouettes folded and were replaced the next year by a new franchise named the Concordes. In 1986 the Concordes were renamed the Alouettes to attract more fan support, the demise of the Alouettes forced the League to move its easternmost Western team, Winnipeg, into the East Division. In 1993, the league admitted its first United States-based franchise, after modest success, the league then expanded further in the U. S. in 1994 with the Las Vegas Posse, Baltimore Stallions, and Shreveport Pirates
35.
Outfielder
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An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the fielder. An outfielders duty is to try to catch fly balls before they hit the ground or to quickly catch or retrieve. Outfielders normally play behind the six members of the defense who play in or near the infield. By convention, each of the nine positions in baseball is numbered. The outfield positions are 7,8 and 9 and these numbers are shorthand designations useful in baseball scorekeeping and are not necessarily the same as the squad numbers worn on player uniforms. Outfielders named to the MLB All-Century Team are Hank Aaron, Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Pete Rose, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, players can be characterized as either corner outfielders or a center fielder. Corner outfielders are often slower and have less value than the center fielder. However, there are important differences between right fielders and left fielders. Right fielders tend to have the best throwing arms of the outfield so they can make the throw to third base. For example, Babe Ruth was moved from pitcher to the outfield, left fielders and right fielders are more often slow power hitters, and center fielders are usually fast base-runners and good defensive players. Center field is considered the most difficult outfield position, requiring both a good throwing arm and speed. Center fielders on many teams often bat lead off, players who do not routinely start games, but often substitute as a pinch hitter or defensive replacement in the outfield are referred to as fourth outfielders or even fifth outfielders. These players can play any of the three outfield positions. Corner outfielders are outfielders who play the positions of right field. Corner outfielders often have less speed than center fielders, but make up for this deficiency with their offensive play, many left fielders have had the speed to play center field, but have lacked the throwing ability required. Gorman Thomas is an example of the reverse theory and he was a centerfielder his entire career, but was not nearly in shape as the typical player for this position. He compensated for it with sheer hustle and determination, often, when an outfield prospect arrives in the majors, he plays both corner positions before settling at one or another
36.
Philadelphia Phillies
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The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball franchise based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, the Phillies compete in Major League Baseball as a member club of the National League East division. Since 2004, the home has been Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies have won two World Series championships and seven National League pennants, the first of which came in 1915, the franchise has also experienced long periods of struggle. The 77 season drought is the fourth longest World Series drought in Major League Baseball history, the longevity of the franchise and its history of adversity have earned it the dubious distinction of having lost the most games of any team in the history of American professional sports. Despite the teams lack of success historically, they are one of the more successful franchises since the start of the Divisional Era in Major League Baseball. The Phillies have won their division 11 times, which ranks 6th among all teams and 4th in the National League, the franchise was founded in Philadelphia in 1883, replacing the team from Worcester, Massachusetts in the National League. The teams spring training facilities are located in Clearwater, Florida and its Double-A affiliate is the Reading Fightin Phils, which plays in Reading, Pennsylvania, and its Triple-A affiliate is the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, which plays in Allentown, Pennsylvania. After being founded in 1883 as the Quakers, the changed its name to the Philadelphias. This was soon shortened to Phillies, Quakers continued to be used interchangeably with Phillies from 1883 until 1890, when the team officially became known as the Phillies. Player defections to the newly formed American League, especially to the cross-town Philadelphia Athletics, poor fiscal management after their appearance in the 1915 World Series, however, doomed the Phillies to sink back into relative obscurity, from 1918 to 1948 they only had one winning season. Though Chuck Klein won the Most Valuable Player Award in 1932 and the National League Triple Crown in 1933, after lumber baron William B. Cox purchased the team in 1943, the Phillies rose out of the standings cellar for the first time in five years. As a result, the fan base and attendance at home games increased, but it soon became clear that not all was right in Coxs front office. Eventually Cox revealed that he had been betting on the Phillies, the new owner, Bob Carpenter, Jr. scion of the Delaware-based DuPont family, tried to polish the teams image by unofficially changing its name to the Bluejays. However, the new moniker did not take, and it was dropped by 1949. This led to the advent of the Whiz Kids, led by a lineup of players developed by the Phillies farm system that included future Hall of Famers Richie Ashburn. In contrast, the Philadelphia Athletics finished last in 1950 and long-time manager Connie Mack retired, the team struggled on for four more years with only one winning season before abandoning Philadelphia under the Johnson brothers, who bought out Mack. They began play in Kansas City in 1955, as part of the deal selling that team to the Johnson brothers, the Phillies bought Shibe Park, where both teams had played since 1938
37.
Brad Kearns
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Brad Kearns is an American author and former professional triathlete. Kearns performed on the international triathlon circuit from 1986 to 1995, kearns’ start in endurance sports was at Taft High School in Woodland Hills, California, where he ran cross country and track from 1980 to 1982. In Track&Field, he set a Los Angeles City Cee Division record, at the state meet at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, Kearns was seeded 24th out of 27th qualifiers, but was a surprise qualifier for the finals. He set a record of 4,19.30 to place fifth in his qualifying heat. He placed 9th in the state final 1600 meter race in a time of 4,20, Kearns graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a B. A. cum laude, in Business/Economics in 1985. In 1982, as a freshman on the varsity cross country team, the meet was held in conjunction with the Pac-10 cross country championships, and Kearns placed 93rd overall in the 10k race in a time of 32,44. His running career at UCSB was riddled with injuries and illness, in his first year of cycling on the UCSB club team, Kearns was state champion in the Novice B division in the 10-mile time trial in Rinconada, CA, with a time of 24,27. After an 11-week stint at the KPMG accounting firm in downtown Los Angeles, at the final race in the series in February,1987, Kearns placed 4th to easily claim the first Duathlon World Championship Series title. At this event he became the first athlete in the world to use aerodynamic handlebars in a multisport event, over the seasons of 1990 and 1991, Kearns had 15 first-place finishes at major races and 33 top-5 finishes. Over the ensuing 23 years, Kearns was the last USA athlete to place top-5 at ITU Olympic distance worlds, in 1991, Kearns won the ITU World Cup/Pan American Championship event at Olympic distance in Ixtapa, Mexico by a record margin of five minutes. In 1993, Kearns won the richest sprint distance triathlon in the history of triathlon, Kearns current competitive focus is the unique sport of Speedgolf, where competitors race around the course and count both time and strokes to achieve a Speedgolf total score. Kearns was a competitor in the late 1990s, placing 8th in the 1996 World Extreme Golf Championships in San Diego. In 2014, he returned to competition for the first time in 18 years. He placed 20th in the 2014 World Speedgolf Championships at Bandon Dunes, Oregon, in 2015, Kearns repeated his 20th-place finish in the professional division of the World Speedgolf Championships on Oct 19-20 at the Glen Club in Chicago, IL. Kearns is also a high jumper and sprinter. In 2012, he achieved his lifetime best jump of 5’6” or 1.68 meters and this practice session clearance can be compared favorably with the season rankings for the USA Masters high jump in the 45-49 age category. In early 2015, after turning 50, Kearns cleared 1. 60m, in the jump at a practice session. In early 2016, at age 51, Kearns cleared 1. 65m, at Placer High School track practice, Kearns clocked times of 13.0 for 100 meters and 59.6 for 400 meters at age 48
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Dave Koz
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David S. Dave Koz is an American smooth jazz saxophonist. Dave Koz was born on March 27,1963 in Encino, California to Jewish parents, Norman, a dermatologist and, Audrey Koz, Dave has a brother, Jeff, who is also a musician, and a sister, Roberta. Although he is Jewish, Koz plays both Christmas and occasional Hanukkah songs at his concerts and he attended William Howard Taft High School in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California performing on saxophone as a member of the school jazz band. He later graduated from UCLA with a degree in communications in 1986. Within weeks of that decision, he was recruited as a member of Bobby Caldwells tour, for the rest of the 1980s, Koz served as a session musician in several bands, toured with Jeff Lorber. Koz was a member of Richard Marxs band and toured with Marx throughout the late 1980s and he also played in the house band of CBS short-lived The Pat Sajak Show, with Tom Scott as bandleader. He also often guest-starred as the player on The Arsenio Hall Show in the 1980s to mid 1990s. In 1990, Koz decided to pursue a career. His albums there include Dave Koz, Lucky Man, The Dance, Saxophonic was nominated for both a Grammy Award and an NAACP Image Award. Koz released his album, Lucky Man, in 1993. After his GH appearance, executive producer Wendy Riche commissioned Koz to write a new song for the soap. Koz took elements from the existing theme song, Jack Urbonts Autumn Breeze. The new theme music made its debut on General Hospitals 30th anniversary show, which aired April 1,1993, Faces of the Heart ended up as the third track on Kozs Lucky Man album. In 1994, Koz began hosting a radio program, The Dave Koz Radio Show, featuring the latest music. Dave co-hosted The Dave Koz Morning Show on 94.7 The Wave and he decided to leave the show in January 2007 and was replaced by Brian McKnight. In 2002, Koz started a label, Rendezvous Entertainment, with Frank Cody. In 2006, Koz was selected to host an afternoon show for Broadcast Architectures new Smooth Jazz Network. The show, based in Los Angeles, is broadcast on other Smooth Jazz stations across the country, Koz and Ramsey Lewis are the only two Smooth Jazz personalities to host two different syndicated shows during the week
