#and it would be one of the greatest Don Carlo recordings ever if not for the Elisabetta who sucks so much like honestly. eww.

[widevibratobitch]

Top 5 Rodrigos

1. Ettore Bastianini because of course

2. Mario Sereni

3. Paolo Silveri

4. Mariusz Kwiecień and Etienne Dupuis*

5. Tito Gobbi

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

My Personal Opinions on Some French Grand Opéras

Here we go. I’ll be focusing solely on pieces in what’s widely considered the “Golden Age” of grand opéra (from 1828 to about 1870).

1828, Auber: La muette de Portici: never seen or heard so I cannot comment, but I do think it slaps that it helped start both the Belgian Revolution and the genre of grand opéra.

1829, Rossini: Guillaume Tell: I love this one. it’s one of the few grand opéras that has a happy ending and it’s fully deserved. it’s long but it all has a point-- the first act introduces us to the community spirit that drives the rest of the action; even though it’s called Guillaume Tell, it’s not just about Guillaume Tell. it’s about a whole movement coming together, with all these vividly-drawn people of different social statuses, ages, heritages, and livelihoods coming together to do good in the world in the face of oppression. also it’s Rossini so it bops start to finish. the finale is one of opera’s best. I could not have higher praise and admiration for this piece.

1831, Meyerbeer: Robert le diable: another rare case of a grand opéra with a happy ending, but it feels a bit more contrived, something I wrote about when I watched it about a year ago for the first time. it’s quite a clever ending, however, and I love that these lovely characters get a happy ending. Robert is the least interesting principal character both musically and dramatically; the musical highlights of the show are mostly Bertram and Isabelle’s big scenes. the former is also arguably grand opéra’s most exciting ballet sequence, the Act III ballet of the nuns (or as I like to call it, the Zombie Nun Ballet). it’s long but it is incredibly worth it. overall, I really do enjoy this opera although it is very much an uneven piece.

1833, Auber: Gustave III, ou le bal masqué: here’s a thing I wrote about it like 3 months ago and I stand by every word.

1835, Halévy: La juive: It’s damn near impossible to find an even remotely close to complete recording. However, what the recordings have is excellent. The score is marvelous all the way through, although for the most part I tend to prefer the ensembles to the arias (the exception, of course, being Éléazar’s 11 o’clock number). Speaking of Éléazar, he’s an extremely complicated and frankly uncomfortable character, toeing the line between being one of opera’s most complex characters, an even more complicated proto-gender-swapped-Azucena if you will, and being an unfortunate vessel of antisemitic stereotypes. This is made even more complicated because Halévy was an assimilated Jewish composer. On the whole, Rachel is the only wholly sympathetic character in the piece, although all five of the principals are lovingly scored. 

1836, Meyerbeer: Les Huguenots: *holds things in because otherwise I would write an entire essay about this opera and you all know that because I have done that several times* Both a great strength and a great weakness of this piece is its sheer wide-ranging-ness, particularly in terms of mood. Unlike, say, La juive, this opera does not have one overall mood, instead steadily progressing from bright, brilliant comedy to one of the most horrifying endings in opera. Dramatically, this is great for the most part, although the sheer amount of exposition in the first two acts may take getting used to. Just as the drama gets more intense and concentrated as the opera goes on, the music gets more intense- and frankly, more often than not better- as the opera goes on. The window/misunderstood engagement business is something I still struggle to see the exact dramatic purpose of, because I think the question of religious difference would likely be enough to separate Raoul and Valentine at the beginning anyway; to me, it feels like Scribe and Deschamps were struggling to find a way to integrate Nevers into the story, as he is crucial to the opera’s lessons about love and tolerance, so they stuck in a quasi-love-triangle in order to justify his presence earlier on. (Also, for goodness sake, could you at least have given him an onstage death scene?) Anyway, in this way the story can be a bit unwieldy and uneven at first, but stay the course with this one...and even a lot of the first couple of acts are wonderful. The characters are all wonderfully written if rather episodic in many cases, but this opera is ambitious and by the end, it’ll tear your heart to shreds. It’s amazing. Uneven, yes, but amazing nonetheless, and I will defend it to the death.

1840, Donizetti: La favorite: I’m not as familiar with La favorite as with some of the others on this list (I’ve seen two different productions once each and I have a recording of it saved to my Spotify library that I listen to bits and pieces of very occasionally) but I do think it’s an excellent piece overall. LÉONOR DESERVED SO MUCH BETTER. The music is lovely all around; I know Donizetti wrote at least one other grand opéra in full and part of another, both of which I need to check out because in its own way, Donizetti’s style works wonderfully with grand opéra.

1841: Halévy, La reine de Chypre: here is a post I wrote about La reine de Chypre. basically all my thoughts remain the same except I have to add: Halévy as a whole just needs more love. there’s a few other of his operas I have waiting (a recording of Le dilettante d’Avignon that has been sitting in my Spotify for who knows how long and a film of Clari with Bartoli and Osborn I’m also sitting on) but there are so many pieces that sound fascinating but have basically ZILCH in terms of recordings.

1849, Meyerbeer: Le prophète: before I say anything else about this opera, I need to ask a burning question: WHY THE HELL IS THERE ONLY ONE GOOD VIDEO RECORDING OF THIS OPERA?!?! on the one hand, I adore the Osborn/Aldrich/Fomina production; on the other, I would also like other productions, please. anyway, I said one time in the opera Discord that while Les Huguenots will probably always be my favorite Meyerbeer opera for an array of reasons, this one is definitely Meyerbeer, Scribe, and Deschamps’ strongest work. it is both unusually dark and unusually believable for an opera of its time—and the fact that it still holds up so well is disturbing to say the least. this opera thrives on complexity in all forms and yet has probably (and paradoxically) the simplest plot to follow of the four Meyerbeer grand opéras. the score is brilliant start to finish, mixing the best of bel canto, Romanticism, and something altogether darker, stranger, and more original. definitely one of the most underrated operas ever. the aforementioned production is on YouTube with French subtitles; give it a watch here.

1855, Verdi: Les vêpres siciliennes: Vêpres is an opera I love dearly although I have yet to find a production that is completely satisfying. I think it’s because this opera is a lot deeper, a lot more complex, and a lot more troubling, frankly, than people are willing to go. also it should be performed bilingually and I am dead-set on this: the dissonance of an opera about French capture of Italian land being sung entirely in either French or Italian is always a little off at least (and also part of the reason why my brain probably adjusted to hearing this opera in either language better than, say, Don Carlos). but anyway, neither side comes off particularly well here, particularly due to the violence and sexual assault on both sides of the equation: both Montfort and Procida are heavily in the wrong, and while Verdi sympathizes with both for personal reasons (Verdian Dad in the former case, Italian Liberator in the latter), there is a lot of troubling stuff in here. nevertheless, the music bops, the story is intriguing, and I think we can all agree that Henri and Hélène both deserved better, especially considering how close they got to bliss (although I think we can also all agree that the end of Act IV twist to almost-rom-com is pretty abrupt).

1863 (full opera: 1890), Berlioz: Les Troyens: I wrote this review of Troyens after watching it in the Châtelet 2003 production in December 2019 (first time ever watching it) and I still stand by just about every word. Such a fascinating opera, great adaptation of the first few books of the Aeneid, marvelous score (of course, it’s Berlioz!)...but could there be a ballet or two fewer, Berlioz? Or at least shorten them up? And that’s coming from someone who likes ballet. But anyway, in every other respect it’s absolutely marvelous. Some people say it’s the greatest French opera ever, and while I hesitate to say that, it comes pretty damn near close.

1865, Meyerbeer: L’Africaine (Vasco de Gama): Vasco da Gama/L’Africaine is even more troubling—much more troubling—of an opera than Vêpres to me and I wrote a whole thing here as to why. I still stand by most of it, although upon reflection, I feel like the ending that drove me so crazy has virtually the exact same idea behind it as the end of Troyens/Book IV of the Aeneid: empire has consequences and those consequences hurt real people, who, though different and not among those perceived as “heroic”, are worthy of being treated as human, not being collateral damage. (I’ve written at least two essays about this for different classes, both specifically in regards to the Aeneid.) It may be time to revisit this one. The score is lovely, after all, although it didn’t stand out to me as much as others by Meyerbeer.

1867, Verdi: Don Carlos: *holds myself back from writing a 10-page essay* y’all, there is a reason that when someone asks me what my favorite opera is, I always choose this one even though I’m horrible at favorites questions. it’s Verdi, grand opéra, romantic drama (SO MUCH romantic drama and SO MUCH gay), political drama, religious/social struggle, personal struggle, social commentary, spectacle, intimacy, masterful characterization all in one. what more could you want? I first saw/heard this opera in Italian long before I did in French, so my brain is more hardwired to hearing the Italian but both are good. my motto is “Italian or French, I don’t care, but Fontainebleau has to be there.” fuck the four-act version. I mean, I will watch four-act versions but five-act versions are just superior. I’d prefer uncut performances (the first part of the garden, the Lacrimosa, the extended opening and ending), but these aren’t dealbreakers for me. it’s the perfect synthesis of Verdi and grand opéra, much less unwieldy than Vêpres (as much I love that one), both musically and dramatically.

1868, Thomas: Hamlet: Part of me wishes this was more faithful to the actual source play (why??? the??? fuck??? does??? Hamlet??? live??? although there are alternate endings), but part of me also realizes that the play is already four hours long as is and singing it plus ballet would make it WAY too fucking long. This does a pretty respectable job. The music is gorgeous, by turns almost sugary-sweet and thrillingly ominous. The Murder of Gonzago scene is an absolute masterpiece. The Mad Scene is justifiably one of opera’s best (although I’m not sure it was a good idea to have that and a frequently-cut 20-minute ballet with no relation whatsoever to the main plot to make up all of Act IV). There are a lot of bops in this one. The four principals are closely followed and still very well-drawn. Both of the stagings I have seen were excellent. An underrated opera.

1869 (grand opéra version), Gounod: Faust: Another of my absolute favorite operas. Since this existed for a decade before its transformation into the grand opéra we all know and love, I won’t comment much about its actual format and adherence to grand opéra tropes aside from saying the Walpurgisnacht ballet is one of grand opéra’s best and extremely good at giving off Vibes TM. I used to hate how the character of Faust was written and thought he was incredibly boring. Not anymore (although of course, I still hate him as a person. fuck him tbh). This opera has a reputation for being saccharine and old-fashioned and I think that’s a bunch of garbage right there. It’s about the search for eternal youth and the expectations of conforming to social values and people’s struggles with themselves when a) they “fall short” and b) when the world ostracizes them for being “different” and “out of line”. I am also firmly convinced that Marguerite is the real protagonist of Faust (like how I’m convinced that Valentine is the protagonist of Les Huguenots if there even is a singular protagonist in that opera but I digress). The music slaps. People need to stop cutting whole scenes out of this. I’m still undecided on the order of the church and square scenes of Act IV. Marguerite and Siébel just need everything good in this world.

Anyway, those are my two cents! I tried to keep these pretty short, so if y’all want any follow-ups, let me know!

[princessgracekelly1956]

Daily Mirror - 16 June 1958

William Hickey joins with Photonews

For once let’s look closely at a single week-end... when a big name captures the kingdom

This Super Sinatra ‘rocks’ the Rainiers

MONTE CARLO, SUNDAY

This has been Frank Sinatra’s week-end in Monte Carlo - the swingiest, zingiest affair since that famous “swell party” that climaxed his film “High Society.’ And his Hollywood co-star Grace Kelly was the leading lady of this Wow of a Week-end under her new billing of Princess Grace of Monaco.

The excuse, if excuse were needed, was last night’s world premiere of his latest film “Kings Go Forth.” But this was the least exciting part of this Riviera fiesta that by tea-time yesterday had transformed this near-deserted little principality into a sun-drenched rendezvous for a thousand stars and celebrities.

By plane, car, and train they arrived, some having flown direct from Hollywood to support this giant of show business. And their journey was lavishly rewarded by one of the greatest song shows anyone here had ever heard.

At the gala supper after the film Sinatra left his seat next to Princess Grace and bounded on to the stage. He ran through a dozen of hid best-known numbers while the princess sat, hands clasped, eyes gleaming with excitement behind her spectacles and a smile curling the corners of her mouth.

In the huge, hot room of the International Sporting Club, with its waterfront decor, I could have heard a diamond drop as the 40-piece orchestra led into “When Your Lover Has Gone.”

Laughter in Mandalay

Then the mood switched to laughter as Sinatra ad-libbed his way through “The Road to Mandalay,” embroidering Kipling’s original with lines like “There’s a Burma broad a’settin’.” and “The cat gets a crazy thirst.”

After this one Sinatra must have noticed the puzzled look of Prince Rainier, who several times leaned across the table decorations to ask his wife for a translation into ordinary English.

For before going into “All the Way,” Sinatra hitched his trousers and said: “Sorry, I don’t speak enough French to explain all the words, but if any of you don’t understand just speak to the cat next to you and she’ll help you dig it.”

After three-quarters of an hour Sinatra finished with a tremendous beat-up of “The Lady is a Tramp,” leaped off the platform, and sloped back to the table where the Rainiers were leading the cheers and cries of “Encore,” “Bravo,” “More.”  

He had promised it would be “a swingin’ night,” and there was an “I-told-you-so” look in his twinkling blue eyes as he acknowledged the tumult with a loose wave of his hand and a triumphant smile.

She whispers in his ear

As he sat down to gulp a drink, Princess Grace whispered in his ear. Two seconds later he was back on stage, gripping the mike and saying; “That was supposed to be it, but I’ve a request from our lovely lady of the evening. We haven’t rehearsed this but here is ‘You Make Me Feel So Young.’”

Then, turning to the musicians who were fumbling for their parts and looking confused, he chuckled: “Just read, boys. Don’t get nervous! But if you ‘blow’ this you are, out of the team.”

This was Sinatra - casual, confident, uninhibited to the point where he almost goes too far were it not for his enormous charm.

INTRODUCTION

To introduce him Noël Coward had broken off his conversation with Somerset Maugham. He said: “He is one of the great artists of our time. His taste is impeccable - I have never known him to make a false move.”

The gala party didn’t start until nearly midnight - the film had started nearly an hour late. So everybody was in a “let’s eat” mood when they got to the supper tables.

But the shouts of “Service, please,” and “Champagne” died into a breathless silence as the Rainiers came down the stairs.

Applause for the Rainiers

Princess Grace looked warm and lovely with a new crisp-curl short hair-do, rose-pink lipstick to match her high-necked gown of faille, a white mink wrap, and a spattering of diamonds and pearls that somehow looked discreet, although the stones were huge.

Everyone clapped as the prince, in a dinner jacket, guided her to their table, where the rest of the party - including Tina Onassis, Frank Ross and his wife, better remembered perhaps as actress Joan Caulfield, and Arthur Krim, head of United Artists - was waiting.

Sinatra’s date the Marquise de Portago - sat at another table with the Peter Lawfords.

Curt Jurgens and his constant companion Simone Bicheron were there. Lex Barker in a white dinner jacket, had just flown in from Rome. Mr. and Mrs. Howard Keel, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Wilding, Mai Zetterling, Delphi Lawrence, Adrienne Corri and April Olrieh from England, laughed at the gay tables.

Don Loper, from California, was squiring Betty Furness, who wore a flue-brush wig for some reason.

The real king of the party

But there was no doubt that even in the presence of his royal friends Frank Sinatra was king.

As people congratulated him on his film performance, he said: “It’s strange, I know that film so well by now - but I cried.”

This was Sinatra - the man with the tender heart who does many kindnesses that are never known.

Mrs. Ross, who has known him for years told me: ‘He’s a paradox. Although he talks like a gangster he is a truly gentle man.

‘He always works in reverse - if somebody wants him to behave this way or do a certain thing he will do just the opposite. It’s his game, and you have to play it his way.”

Certainly it all worked out his way last night.

A date at dawn...

The Rainiers danced till 3 a.m. Then at dawn today Sinatra invited a few friends back to the suite she was sharing with the Lawfords - a suite I had left at 6 a.m. yesterday. He was in an exuberant mood. “That Grace is just adorable,” he said. “And her prince is really charming.

“Do you know, he went out of his way to say ‘Thank you for having us - it’s been such a wonderful evening.’ Man, it was a gas, wasn’t it?”

SEA FOOD

I had joined him on Friday at an eve-of-premiere party in the open air at a sea-food restaurant at Cap Martin.

Sinatra, co-host with producer Frank Ross, sat with Mr. and Mrs. Peter Lawford at a table a little apart from the main group - which included Hedda Hopper, Leonard Lyons, Ludwig Bemelmans, and Earl Wilson.

He played the perfect host, until, hemmed in by serenading guitarists and flamenco dancers, he decided he’d had enough.

“Let’s go back to town,” he said. “I hear there’s a big crap game going on at the casino.”

There was no big dice game, but when a few late-nighters straggled into the casino bar he stood drinks until 2 a.m. yesterday and then took some of us back to his suite.

The man who likes company

While his records played softly in the background, he drank Bourbon whisky, defined a “broad” as ‘a “loveable dame,” and wandered out on to the balcony to describe the thin crescent moon cradling a star as “a ring-a-ding version of the Turkish flag.”

We argued about where an entertainer’s private life begins and ends. “I left Rome,” he said, “because everywhere I went someone stuck a camera in my face.”

This was Sinatra - the man who loves company in the small hours, who sits up all night and sleeps all day.

THE SINGER

Some wit has remarked that Sinatra’s is the only place you wear a black tie and take sunglasses.

When I left at 6 a.m. yesterday the sun was up looking like thunder out of Mentone ‘cross the bay.

But The Singer was sitting alone taking off his shoes with one hand and trying to get some jazz on a transistor set with the other.

A cigarette for a baton

Next time he appeared was around 5 yesterday afternoon to rehearse the band specially flown down from Paris.

In an open-neck orange shirt, white linen jacket and dark trousers, with his straw snap-brim hat tilted sometimes back, sometimes forward over his eyes, he drilled the musicians in every nuance of the arrangements while waiters laid tables, electricians tested lights, porters humped in flowering plants, and 50 flashlights blinked from the wings.

With a cigarette for a baton he raised his arms and spread them wide to indicate the full surge of a crescendo.

With arms crossed or hands stuck in pockets to prevent, I suspect, the trousers sliding right off his slim hips, he whistled or beat time with his foot for two hours - but always with a curious stillness that never wasted gesture.

After “Moonlight in Vermont” he nodded “C’est bon” and gathered up his music. He had an hour before he was due at that premiere.

This was Sinatra - the perfectionist who, though he plays no instrument and cannot read music, has developed his own incomparable technique for songs with a snap or songs with a sigh.

[junker-town]

A secret history of Thanksgiving football

The NFL has worked hard to turn football into a Thanksgiving tradition. But there are many Thanksgiving NFL games from the past that the league doesn't want you to know about.

Thanksgiving and NFL football are inextricably bound, seamlessly and seemingly. But the history of the NFL and this holiday is neither as clean nor as simple as the NFL would have us believe. There have been a great many more NFL games played on Thanksgiving than the NFL cares to talk about, for reasons that will be made plain below. It's not that the NFL and Thanksgiving don't go well together -- they do, for reasons good and bad. It's just that not every Thanksgiving game follows the NFL's narrative. This was written by amateur NFL historians David Roth and Jeff Johnson.

Kevingate

Pittsburgh Steelers at Philadelphia Eagles, 1979

In the Philadelphia of the late 1970s, it was understood that fans at any and every type of sporting event would behave unreasonably. That they threw batteries at referees is common knowledge; less widely known is that Phillies fans routinely launched cans of expired tuna fish at opposing players. Eagles fans once trapped Kansas City Chiefs head coach Hank Stram in a McDonald's bathroom and made him eat Egg McMuffins until he couldn't see.

Stram was eventually rescued, but the rowdy crowd forced him to coach on the sidelines wearing a T-shirt that said "Hank Stram's Privates," with an arrow pointing downwards.

The whole city was filled with vile, sick people. Fans kidnapped Phillies third baseman Mike Schmidt and made him punt, in loafers and slacks, for an entire home game against the Houston Oilers. They once put hot cinnamon oil in Washington Redskins QB Billy Kilmer's mouthguard and wouldn't let him take it out until his lips and gums were torched. This last offense was justified under the guise of fresher breath. "C'mon Kilmer. You're old. You smell like Band-aids and vinegar." After the game, many of the fans forced Kilmer to thank them, even though "th" sounds were especially painful for him in his condition.

Which is to say that no one expected Thanksgiving 1979 to be any different. The challenge for Eagles security was to mitigate gameday carnage to the greatest extent possible; one of these innovations, the practice of taking crossbows and hatchets from fans attempting to bring them into the stadium, continues to this day at Eagles games, and in some other cities as well. Another innovation fared less well.

For this Thanksgiving afternoon game, all fans attending the game that were able to prove that their names were Kevin received a bag of lukewarm gravy. The Kevins, many of them already drunk or watching the game from the sour bottom of a Qaalude gully, were told that they could do whatever they pleased with that bag of gravy. Census data told the Eagles that Kevin was the best first name for this plan, but an estimated 659 Kevins showed up for the game.

Thanksgiving 2013

• Spilly's Thanksgiving potluck • Cowboys look to push lead in East • Packers fight for playoff lives • AFC North on the line

By the third quarter, the Steelers were covered in beige splotches. Franco Harris played the whole game with his body Saran Wrapped to protect himself. By halftime, Steelers head coach Chuck Noll looked like one of the convicts who dug his way out of prison at the beginning of "Raising Arizona."

This was, Eagles officials would later allow, the best-case scenario. The idea was: "This is a preventative measure." Gravy, at this temperature, would not burn. It wouldn't sting. It contained small flecks of basil, which is good for the skin. It also tasted great.

The problem: Distributing the bagged gravy only empowered the Kevins, and Kevins from all over the northeast -- many of them not even Eagles fans -- showed up at the game. There were Kevins with grudges. Kevins who wanted only to hurl hot liquid. Kevins who brought their own meat to the game and used the gravy to keep it moist and add flavor. An AMC Pacer filled with Kevins came all the way from Moline, Illinois. And then the inevitable.

Once the gravy was gone, the Kevins stormed the field. They took a curling iron to what remained of Steelers QB Terry Bradshaw's hair; the amateur perm -- performed by hundreds of drunken Kevins using a since-recalled product called Kurli -- is considered to be a major factor in Bradshaw's present baldness. The Kevins picked up Harold Carmichael and wouldn't leave until they'd heaved him across the goal line 41 times. After the game, Carmichael allowed that his hips were chafed from being hoisted and heaved, but added, "the most important thing is we got the win."

When the clock read all zeroes and the Eagles had "won" 351-19, the Kevins marched on City Hall and captured it easily. The lawyering Kevins, for a brief window, diverted significant portions SEPTA revenues to small pubs in Philadelphia's Old City, Beard/German Village, Cathedral Goiter, and Grumptown neighborhoods. Many pub owners received new carpeting, others drapes. No games have been played on Thanksgiving on the East Coast ever since.

The "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" Game

Cleveland Browns at Miami Dolphins, 2006

This game, an ill-fated NFL tie-in with Best Buy, technically was not played on Thanksgiving. The first and likely only NFL Doorbuster Kickoff Classic was played at 3 a.m. on Friday, with a Best Buy-themed (and -shaped) football, and was broadcast in every Best Buy parking lot to the crowds camped there, waiting to surge into stores.

Tecmo Bo Breaks Madden

Tecmo Bowl Bo Jackson remains the greatest athlete in the history of gaming. In this episode of Breaking Madden, Bo wreaks havoc in the present day.The two teams were bleary and not sharp; it would later be revealed that Browns coach Romeo Crennel had insisted on serving the team a large Thanksgiving dinner, at which he'd delivered a particularly emotional toast about the meaning of family. Several players, including quarterback Derek Anderson, reported being dehydrated after weeping so much, so deeply. Members of the Dolphins, who had observed the Miami tradition of spending Thanksgiving at nightclubs, were clearly inebriated and arrived by limousine in groups of three and four, beginning 15 minutes after kickoff. The game ended, shortly before sunrise, in a 5-5 tie.

If the game is remembered at all, it's for a halftime show that lasted 171 minutes, and which featured J.Lo and Marc Anthony performing an on-field production of Edward Albee's bruising domestic drama Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf; Mike Nichols directed, and Lou Diamond Phillips and Nelly Furtado co-starred. The crowd was riveted. Albee's family called it the purest distillation of his vision ever produced, despite the widely held public opinion was that Furtado was overmatched as Honey. It also resulted in an embarrassing on-air argument between broadcasters Cris Collinsworth and Al Michaels:

Collinsworth: And that is how couples fight, Al. Not sure this is the appropriate venue for it, but wow-

Michaels: For my money, this doesn't touch The Mountain Goats Tallahassee and it's not just because-

Collinsworth: Here we go again, Al. You've always valued music over theater and I never minded. Until tonight. This is it.

The two quarreled throughout the second half, which was marked by a rash of hamstring pulls for both teams.

Jon Kitna's Message Game

Cincinnati at New England, 2002

Before the 2002 season, Bengals owner Mike Brown complained to the league that his team had been denied the opportunity to build a national fan base through holiday games. Brown, moved by television shots of military members watching games on Thanksgiving, became obsessed with the Bengals becoming "the Coast Guard's team," and threatened to play an unsanctioned game on Thanksgiving if the NFL did not deliver an official one. "I should tell you that Cincinnati is full of people who think they can beat the Bengals," he wrote in a letter to then-commissioner Paul Tagliabue. "Whole town full of freaking tough guys. Buncha fat shits, more like." The league caved and gave Brown the game.

An exclusive, all access look at the people, technology, and highly organized chaos that results in the NFL's most advanced game broadcast.

The game itself was uninteresting, a lopsided New England rout that's most notable for Bengals quarterback Jon Kitna's insistence that he was playing to show fans "the reason for the season," and to "put Christ back in Thanksgiving." Kitna finished 17 for 41 with a touchdown and five interceptions.

The most enduring artifact of the game is not Kitna's statline or fervor, but the seven-song EP by Jon Bon Jovi and Bill Belichick that all fans in attendance received. The songs -- spare, tender, and revelatory -- are widely considered Belichick's most personal work, and were recorded by Will Oldham on his farm in North Carolina. The record is highlighted by the haunted nine-minute ballad "Brother Lyle," in which Belichick sings in a near whisper about his hunting trips with former Broncos defensive end Lyle Alzado. Highly prized by collectors, it's almost impossible to find today.

Vince Evans vs. Don Dokken

Los Angeles, 1987

1987 was supposed to be a magical year for Vince Evans. The former Bears quarterback had returned to the NFL after several years in the USFL, and found himself in Los Angeles, where he'd gone to school at USC, as a backup with the Raiders. These were the Silver and Black Attack teams of Marcus Allen and Bo Jackson; all Evans had to do, he figured, was hand the ball off and the team would probably win. He had an Alfa Romeo convertible. There was talk of a guest-starring role as a visiting professor on "The Facts of Life." Things were going well.

Evans was also madly in love with a woman he'd met at the Chateau Marmont over drinks one night with Ken Wahl and Carlos Santana. There was just one problem. She was the wife of the heavy metal singer Don Dokken. Or ex-wife. Christ, the stories were never clear, they never ended. This was the problem. There were many, many drives through Laurel Canyon, tears on both sides. Evans professed his devotion. He had never been this open with a woman before. He'd never met a woman like Cherri.

There was no Raiders game on Thanksgiving in ‘87. Instead, for Evans, there was a quiet dinner with the lady, which was interrupted by Don Dokken pulling down the front wall of Evans's dining room with his 4x4 and some chains. He'd driven right onto his lawn and filmed it all for a music video. Thought it looked pretty cool. So did his wife, or ex-wife, or whatever. Evans, standing amid crumbled drywall and a damaged LeRoy Neiman painting of Jay Schroeder, didn't agree. It was the end of the affair.

Evans did gain 13.1 yards per scramble that season. Running away, one might guess, from the pain of a broken heart. The "Facts of Life" thing didn't come together, either.

Hungry Hungry Hipple

Green Bay at Detroit Lions, 1986

In 1986, the Detroit Lions were a shambles. In today's NFL, MSRA is considered a real threat in NFL locker rooms, but in the less sanitary NFL of the Reagan years, MRSA was a sort of low-level constant. The larger threat was fenestrated bowel, or Lynn Dickey's Disease, the cause of which is usually used athletic tape being "jokingly" discarded into Gatorade kegs. You get old adhesive, male body hair and various bodily drippings interacting with artificial lemon and lime flavors, forming bonds with the electrolytes and such, and even the hardest-nosed and oldest-school of players were vulnerable.

NFL Week 12 #Lookits

• Jets bring us the NutFumble • Photographers punching each other • The Cowboys forgot to tackle on this TD • Philip Rivers meets Andy Reid's butt • Burleson shows off broken arm after TD

The lay definition of fenestrated bowel is "toilet paranoia," which aptly sums up the extent to which the disease is a mental disorder. You think you have to go to the bathroom, but you actually don't. Still, your brain will not let you get off the throne. Steadfast refusal. An outbreak of Lynn Dickey's Disease right before the holiday left the Lions shorthanded and toilet bound; the receivers were paranoid about having an accident in tight silver pants, right there on television.

With so many of the team's pass-catchers sidelined, Eric Hipple volunteered to move to play receiver. An interesting note: One receiver, Jeff Chadwick, only pretended to have fenestrated bowel because he really wanted to go to a Thanksgiving party for "All My Children" in New York City, where his sister was a production assistant. He was later busted when Lions kicker Eddie Murray saw him playing a dentist on the soap opera; they'd given him a walk-on role during his visit.

On Thanksgiving, Hipple caught 17 Joe Ferguson passes for 381 yards and four touchdowns in a shootout. He looked like a much slower version of Don Beebe, but played with the sheer balls of Jeff Query. He moonwalked in the end zone, twice; after one score, Hipple pulled a feather from his helmet, and the camera caught him raising and lowering his eyebrows in a pervy way, before he gently blew it into the crowd. Hipple is the last recipient of The Ombudsman's Chalice, an award formerly given to the player who displays "the most attention to detail" in a holiday game.

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{Vid_@Rip} Bernard Hopkins vs Beibut Shumenov Live Stream Free Watch Results Any Device Supported

College essay writing service Tutorial Submitted by deewanasaika on Fri, 2014-04-18 05:00 due date not specified not answered deewanasaika is willing to pay $5.00 {Vid_@Rip} Bernard Hopkins vs Beibut Shumenov Live Stream Free Watch Results Any Device Supported . . WATCH FULL VIDEO—->>>>>> HOPKINS VS SHUMENOV LIVE STREAM . . WATCH FULL VIDEO—->>>>>> HOPKINS VS SHUMENOV LIVE STREAM . . Winner Hopkins vs Shumenov, Watch Hopkins vs Shumenov 2014 Live Stream, Full HD Streaming Bernard Hopkins vs Beibut Shumenov Live, Hopkins vs Shumenov Live Stream, Bernard Hopkins vs Beibut Shumenov 2014 Live Streaming, Watch Hopkins vs Shumenov Online, Free Hopkins vs Shumenov 2014 Live Streaming, Hopkins vs Shumenov Main Cards, Hopkins vs Shumenov Prediction, Fight Time Hopkins vs Shumenov Live, Watch Hopkins vs Shumenov Live Stream Match Cards, Hopkins vs Shumenov 2014 Live Streaming Results Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer called IBF light heavyweight titleholder Bernard Hopkins on Wednesday, the boxer’s 49th birthday, and delivered the perfect news. Schaefer told Hopkins that a deal has been reached, in principle, with promotional stablemate and WBA beltholder Beibut Shumenov for a unification bout. Hopkins-Shumenov would happen either on March 29 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn or April 19 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Schaefer said both venues will play host to Golden Boy events.

Already the oldest man to win a significant crown, Hopkins, who fights on Showtime (along with Shumenov), wants to get beyond Shumenov and face the winner between hard-hitting counterparts RING and WBC champion Adonis Stevenson and WBO beltholder Sergey Kovalev (should those two fight this year). “I called Bernard today on his 49th birthday, and had a very nice conversation with him. I told him how much I appreciate my friendship and my relationship with him, and what an amazing person he is, and that I’m really proud of the relationship we have,” said Schaefer. “I said that I wanted to give him a very special birthday gift, and I felt that delivering a unification fight at age 49 would give him a chance to make history again. We’ll be doing an event on both of those nights, and we have other names and other fights which will be held on that date as well. I’m working on some other big fights but I am not going to go into detail on those.”

Stevenson and Kovalev are aligned with Showtime’s network rival HBO, which has severed ties with Golden Boy. “If you look at what his plan would have been is that he fights Shumenov, and Stevenson and Kovalev fight each other, and then the two winners fight for the undisputed championship. But it seems like Stevenson and Kovalev may have other plans,” said Schaefer. “So he might have to beat all of them, which is no problem with Bernard. The blueprint is that he’s going to fight Shumenov first. I talked to Don Chargin, who is working with Shuemov, and with Al Haymon, who is his advisor, and we’re very close on getting the deal done with Beibut. It’s not signed, but I do believe that, in principle, we have a fight. I’ll be working to finalize all of this in the coming weeks.”

It was back on Sept. 29, 2001, that Hopkins scored a 12th-round knockout over previously undefeated Felix Trinidad at New York’s Madison Square Garde, earning the undisputed middleweight title. Trinidad became the 14th of the Philadelphia fighter’s record 20 title defenses, culminating a Don King-promoted 160-pound tournament duing which IBF beletholder Hopkins had dethroned the WBC’s Keith Holmes by unanimous decision, and Trinidad, the WBA’s William Joppy by fifth-round stoppage. Hopkins’ triumph added Trinidad’s WBA title to his IBF and WBC belts, unifying the middleweight division for the first time since 1987 and tying Carlos Monzon with his record 14th defense.

Now, Hopkins, sees a chance to achieve similar glory as a 175-pounder. “It’s going to happen because you’ve got two of the smartest guys, and two of the brightest guys that I trust, and that I respect first, and that’s Al Haymon and that is Richard Schaefer,” said Hopkins. “When you’ve got that situation, and you have two fighters who say that they want to fight in order to get to the other light heavyweight champions, that’s an ancient attitude. It hasn’t been like that in so many years. That’s why I think that the tournament of 2001 was so big, and promoted so big.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Bernard Hopkins set the middleweight title defense record by retaining his IBF belt 20 times en route to unifying all the major 160-pound belts during the course of his historic 10-year reign. From 1995 to 2005, he was known as “The Executioner.” More recently, Hopkins twice became the eldest man to win a major belt in boxing, later changing his nickname to “The Alien.”

On April 19 at the D.C. Amory in Washington, D.C., Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 knockouts), who turned 49 in January, will put his IBF 175-pound title on the line against that of WBA counterpart Beibut Shumenov (13-1, 8 KOs). Hopkins’ goal, within proximity of his 50th birthday, is to become undisputed champion as he did at 160-pounds. Hopkins wants to unify all the major belts by defeating Shumenov before facing the winner of a potential clash between RING and WBC champion Adonis Stevenson and WBO titleholder Sergey Kovalev. Golden Boy COO Bruce Binkow offered his perspective of Hopkins during a Tuesday press conference at the W Hotel in downtown Washington, DC.

“Every time Bernard Hopkins fights it’s a historical event,” said Binkow, “and we also have a world champion who is looking to make his mark and history by taking Bernard’s belt. Shumenov has successfully defended his title five times, and this April he gets an opportunity to add his name to the history books if he can do what very few people have done and beat Bernard Hopkins. “I could remind you that Bernard won his middleweight title in 1995 and successfully defended it 20 times. But what’s really amazing is that Bernard has had a spectacular last couple of years. He’s already twice become the oldest man to win a major world championship and in 2013 he had one of his greatest years ever.

I believe that if a baseball, football or basketball player was performing anywhere near the level that he is performing at his age he would be in a lab being studied by science. It’s absolutely unbelievable.” In October, Hopkins unanimously decisioned Karo Murat in defense of the IBF belt he won by unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Tavoris Cloud in March to extend his own record as the oldest man to win a significant crown.

Hopkins first set the record at the age of 46 by outpointing Jean Pascal for the WBC’s title in May 2011 before being dethroned following a majority decision loss to Chad Dawson in May 2012. After winning the IBF middleweight title from Segundo Mercado on April 29, 1995, Hopkins went on to defend it a record 20 times before losing to Jermain Taylor by a split decision on July 16, 2005. Hopkins’ milestone run included knockouts against the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Trinidad, Robert Allen, Simon Brown, Glen Johnson, John David Jackson and Carl Daniels.

After losing back-to-back controversial decisions to Taylor, Hopkins rose into the light heavyweight division for triumphs over Antonio Tarver, Winky Wright, Kelly Pavlik, Enrique Ornelas and Roy Jones, his lone light heavyweight defeat prior to Dawson was a split-decision against recent hall of fame inductee Joe Calzaghe. “When you’ve been in the game so long that you outlive your nickname… he was ‘The Executioner,’ now he’s ‘The Alien,’ it’s been an honor and a pleasure to actually watch him culminate into the type of athlete that he is today,” said Hopkins’ trainer, Naazim Richardson. “A lot of people don’t understand our sport, and they don’t understand that 30 in boxing is old. This guy is ancient. You have to sit back and realize how impressive this is.”

Hopkins is old enough to be a parent to the 30-year-old Shumenov, a 2004 Kazakhstan Olympian who ended an 18-month absence by scoring three knockdowns during a third-round stoppage of Tamas Kovacs in December. Shumenov dethroned Gabriel Campillo by controversial split decision in January of 2010, avenging a loss by majority decision in their previous fight in August of 2009. Shumenov established a record for the light heavyweight division by defeating Campillo in just his 10th professional bout.

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The purist's America's Cup the story of the seven-strong J Class Regatta in Bermuda

A record fleet of seven J Class yachts in Bermuda represented the purer form of the sport for many America's Cup fans. Toby Hodges reports.

Seven J Class yachts hit the startline for the first time ever. Photo J Class/Carlo Borlenghi.

Inviting the J Class fleet to sail in Bermuda during the America's Cup finals was one of the smartest decisions made by Russell Coutts and the organisers of the event. The largest J fleet to ever assemble in the 88-year history of the class put on a true yachting spectacle sailing at its finest.

The America's Cup catamarans divide opinion sharply among long-term sailing fans. For all those who love the high speed, high adrenaline format, it appears to repel at least an equal number. Hosting the J Class in Bermuda proved the ultimate foil to the foilers. It was an exhibition of timeless design and sail handling skill that the modern Cup lacked.

When five Js raced for the first time in 2012, it signalled the true renaissance of this incomparable class. But the sight of seven Js on a startline, racing over the calm, turquoise waters of Bermuda was sensational. It was the picture-perfect showcase for these graceful 1930s designs and a demonstration of the precise choreography of the large teams of skilled hands needed to get them safely and speedily around a race course.

All nine existing Js are in prime condition, upgraded and optimised to the nth degree (although both Rainbow and Endeavour are for sale and were not competing). The seven-strong racing fleet carries carbon sails, for example, as used by grand prix race yachts. The sight of these black sails on classic yachts made for a strange sight as they cast dark shadows over the clear water.

Lionheart, a 2010-built Hoek design that is taken from one of the lines plans made for the Ranger syndicate in 1936, proved the star performer. She won both the Superyacht Regatta, which comprised six Js and 14 superyachts, and the seven-strong J Class Regatta.

But the latter was only decided in the final stages of the final race (more on that later). As with most J Class racing in recent years, places were often separated by mere seconds on the water.

JK3 Shamrock V, the oldest J and the first built for the America's Cup in 1929, changed hands last year and underwent a refit to get her race-ready for this season. Her teak planked construction means she can't take the high rig loads of the other steel and aluminium Js. She is shorter and around ten per cent slower so can only compete on handicap.

JS1 Svea, the newest and longest J, is the polar opposite. Her blend of J Class lines and maxi class technology makes her one of the most exceptional new yachts of modern times. Impressively, she got a 3rd place on her first ever race, and a 1st on the second a phenomenal achievement for a virtually brand new yacht.

Ultimate exhibition of sail

The Js held their own regatta either side of the first weekend of the America's Cup finals and an armada of local and visiting boats followed the fleet out to the racecourse.

Those ashore were given the chance to see the fleet in action too. The shallow waters of the Great Sound are too restrictive to set proper courses for the J Class, hence the races were held off the north coast of the island. On the day of the first America's Cup match, however, the Js performed an exhibition race that saw them set off at 30-second intervals on the Cup course on the Great Sound.

The footage and live commentary was beamed to the big screens and watched by thousands of fans assembled in the America's Cup village. It created a carnival atmosphere and a tangible link to the history of sport's oldest trophy.

The J Class were originally designed and raced for the America's Cup during the 1930s. Sir Thomas Lipton commissioned the first J Class yacht, Shamrock V, for his fifth challenge for the Auld Mug. The Js signalled the change from the big boat class, to one where the size and displacement of the yachts were controlled for more even racing. Fittingly, it was the adoption of the Bermudan rig that enabled Js to carry their vast sail plans.

Just three of the ten J Class yachts originally built survive today the rest are replicas or new builds of original designs. It still requires around 30 race crew to get these 180-tonne yachts around the marks, just as it did during the 1930s.

You only have to look at the start sequence, with everyone within a second of the gun, it's very close, said Shamrock's skipper Simon Lacey. It's vital to have the skill set to sail these boats safely at this level.

Photo J Class/Carlo Borlenghi

Lionheart leading the fleet.

Velsheda

The green hull of Shamrock V. The the oldest J in the fleet is in great condition but her smaller size and sailplan mean she can only compete on handicap. Photo J Class/Carlo Borlenghi.

Cup sailors on ex-Cup yachts

The huge pool of decorated sailing talent aboard the J Class yachts in Bermuda made for a stark contrast to the modern America's Cup format, where sailing roles are limited. The Js need the pros and the pros increasingly need the Js.

The pit and forward ends feature serious muscle power, ex-grinders with nicknames like 'Meat', 'Animal' and 'the Tractor'. A glance at the afterguards shows that this class holds the cream of collective experience and provides longevity to the careers of some of the sport's greatest sailors.

The crew of Ranger, for example, under long-term helmsman Erle Williams, included four times America's Cup winner Brad Butterworth calling tactics. Tony Rae, manning the mainsheet, is a seven-time Cup veteran who sailed in every Team New Zealand line-up from 1987 until 2013.

For me there is no sailing role now for a 55-year-old, Rae explained. It has all changed and that is one of the reasons we have so many ex-America's Cup sailors on these J Class yachts.

Hanuman is helmed by ex-Puma skipper Ken Read, who is supported by his Volvo Ocean Race navigator Stan Honey and eight-time America's Cup sailor Warwick Fleury trimming.

Svea's strategist is North Sails CEO Tom Whidden, a three-time Cup winner, sailing with navigator Peter Isler, his fellow crewmember from Stars & Stripes. Andrew Taylor is the crew boss, a powerhouse who has won the America's Cup three times twice for Team New Zealand and in 2010 with Oracle Team USA.

The pros are used in pivotal positions on Js and the other crew and permanent hands absorb their knowledge and experience. Lionheart's Bouwe Bekking, a seven-time Volvo Ocean Race veteran, stressed that although the pros are vital, every hand is really important. One of the strong points of Lionheart is that we have been sailing together for four years.

Velsheda's crew has sailed together for a decade and includes top Kiwi pros such as Tom Dodson as tactician, Campbell Field navigating and Carsten Schon trimming. Mainsheet trimmer Don Cowie made the point that it is actually difficult to find younger crew these days who are used to racing on yachts with such phenomenal loads.

Stu Bannatyne, Shamrock's helmsman and a three-time winner of the Volvo Ocean Race, doesn't think that there is a danger of these skilled roles dying out however. Who knows what will happen with the next round of the AC? It may revert to boats that do require a little bit of sail handling I think that would be nice.

Shamrock's crew included Olympic and Volvo sailor Chris Nicholson on tactics and four crew from three current Cup teams.

Olympic Tornado sailor Pim Nieuwenhuis mans the huge Harken primary aboard Svea. Charlie Ogletree and Francesco de Angelis flank her owner-driver. Photo J Class/Studio Borlenghi/Butto'.

Hanuman's long-term helmsman is ex-Puma skipper and America's Cup television commentator Ken Read. Photo ACEA 2017/Studio Borlenghi.

Hanuman's owner, Australian model Kristy Hinze-Clark, takes the helm. Photo J Class/Carlo Borlenghi.

Olympic Finn sailor Peter Holmberg at the helm of Topaz, with double Olympic medal winner Ross MacDonald on tactics. Photo Studio Borlenghi.

Seven J Class yachts race

On the first day that all seven Js actually raced, Shamrock's skipper Simon Lacey, the only person to have skippered all three original Js, invited me to join Shamrock's crew.

At the start, we were the only boat to cross the line on port tack a tactical decision to take the transoms of the fleet and keep out of their dirty air. Shamrock is smaller than the other Js and restricted by her older systems and rig, so has to sail her own race. We have 30 per cent less stability and 200sq m less sail area for the same weight as Hanuman, says Jeroen de Vos of Dykstra Naval Architects, who was trimming.

De Vos has worked on the design and optimisation of six of the Js over the last 20 years, including Hanuman, Ranger and Shamrock last year. Hanuman and Lionheart in particular underwent extensive work that specifically targeted the light winds of Bermuda.

De Vos said that ten tonnes was stripped out of Hanuman and that the forestay was moved forward a rigging change that was also made to Ranger. Hanuman also has a furling forestay and is the only J to use a snuffer on the kite to allow for late drops and quicker mark roundings.

Shamrock's size difference is certainly noticeable on deck and below. While she was clearly slower and less agile around the track the upside of which, for me at least, was a prime view of the mark roundings of six other Js ahead Shamrock was still expertly handled during the windward-leeward races that day.

During the first beat our crew boss Andy McLean, a Kiwi sailor who worked on the control systems for Land Rover BAR, admitted that he hadn't sailed with a spinnaker pole since the 2007 Cup.

As we approached the top mark, however, the bear-away set he oversaw was a lesson in clockwork efficiency. Eight crew manhandled the spinnaker pole into place, while two more set the jockey pole. As we powered around the offset buoy, the sheets were eased, before the spinnaker rocketed aloft and burst open. Crew then scurried to the foredeck to grapple down the genoa, the kite was trimmed and calm restored.

Unfortunately the sight of all seven Js racing together only lasted for one and a half races. While coming into the top mark during the second race, the top fitting of Svea's headstay furler parted with a frightening bang. The genoa dropped instantly to the water and, were it not for quick crew work, they could have dismasted.

The runners and sheet were immediately eased and halyards cranked onto the foredeck. No one was hurt and Svea made it back to dock safely for her official christening party that evening. But it was a crushing blow for Svea's crew, who had worked so hard over the last two years to get her ready for this summer's J events.

Svea is a remarkably stiff yacht with carbon sails and rigging that directly transmit the wind's force through the boat. An astonishing 35 tonnes of load can be cranked onto the forestay. That this failure happened in 11 knots of wind and flat water, at less than half the safe working load of the fitting (55 tonnes), is highly concerning. Captain Paul Kelly says the rig will be inspected in Newport and that they hope to be back racing in time for the inaugural J Class Worlds in August.

The Js may sail at a pedestrian pace compared to the America's Cup foiling catamarans, but as this fleet increases in size, so too does the potential for drama and position changes. One bad layline call, one poor gybe, or a mistimed entry to the windward mark even by a few seconds and the race positions get shaken up.

This was proven during the final races, when Hanuman and Ranger went into the last day sharing the lead but finished 3rd and 4th. Lionheart had a poor final start and was in last place going up the first beat it looked like Hanuman's regatta was sealed.

But when a penalty was issued to Hanuman for a rule infringement on a port approach to the last windward mark and Lionheart then managed to pass Topaz on the downwind leg, Lionheart snatched the regatta win in the final moments.

The crew were ecstatic. On receiving the trophy, Lionheart's owner said the crew had been gearing up for this event for over two years. That both Lionheart and 2nd-placed Velsheda have owner-drivers is also good for the future appeal of the class.

The crew of Lionheart celebrate their victory.

All spare hands grapple with the 950m2 spinnaker aboard Svea, the latest addition to the J Class fleet. Photo J Class/Studio Borlenghi/Butto'.

The future of the J Class and the Cup

Might such an event happen again or was it a once in a lifetime? And will the Js continue this formal link to the America's Cup?

The Js are all private yachts used for racing and cruising, so such a decision lies squarely with each owner. But would the owners be keen on going to New Zealand for the next Cup for example?

Yes, I would say so, says J Class Association secretary Louise Morton. Certainly the invitation was there.

It is very unusual (and expensive) for the class to do standalone events yet recently they have competed in Falmouth, Bermuda and their first worlds will be in Newport in August. Next year the class plans to attend the St Barths Bucket and three key Med superyacht regattas.

The success of this Bermuda event also begs the question of whether we will ever see more than seven Js race? If Endeavour and Rainbow change hands it is certainly possible. And there are still a number of original lines plans that could be commissioned as new builds.

It's in the hands of the owners to maintain the longevity of the class, says Dykstra designer Jeroen de Vos. Now the class is growing it will only appeal more to potential owners.

Whatever becomes of the America's Cup racing class in the next edition of the Cup, it would be a prudent decision for the new defenders to get an early invitation in to the J Class fleet to join in. That's how to guarantee a spectacle.

The post The purist's America's Cup the story of the seven-strong J Class Regatta in Bermuda appeared first on Yachting World.

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The 10 best Google Doodles of all time

Since 1998, Google has used its homepage to host an invariably inventive ‘doodle’.

The Google Doodle actually began its life as a humorous out-of-office message for the company’s co-founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page. To let everyone know they had gone to the Burning Man festival, they placed the festival’s icon behind the second ‘o’ on their own company’s logo.

It is fitting that what has become a forum for sophisticated artistic and technical expression began life as a stick figure. We can trace the Doodle’s development over time from a simple stick man to an interactive multimedia hub that educates and entertains on a variety of subjects.

Google began experimenting with Doodles to mark historical events soon after the original Burning Man example and, such was its popularity, the Doodle became a daily fixture on the Google homepage.

Undoubtedly, Google has taken a few knocks recently. The record fine levied against it by the E.U. made global headlines, the Canadian government ruled that Google must de-index specific domains entirely, and its AI company DeepMind’s deal with the National Health Service in the UK has been ruled “illegal.”

That’s not the kind of damage a doodle can undo. These are important cases that raise probing questions for all of us.

Nonetheless, it is still worth reflecting on the positive side of Google’s contributions to society. That’s where the humble, charming Doodle comes in.

These sketches showcase Google at its best. They are a microcosm of the search giant’s philanthropic side, an insight into a company that (until recently) proudly held the mantra “Don’t be evil” at the core of its code of conduct.

A company with so much power over the public consciousness uses its homepage to highlight overlooked historical figures, educate the populace about important scientific theories, or just give us some really fun games to play.

For that, we should be grateful.

You can take a look through the expansive repository of over 2,000 Doodles here.

Within this article, we have selected just 10 of Google’s most amiable animations from through the years.

1. Claude Monet (Nov 14, 2001)

For the first few years of the Doodle’s existence, it tended to appear sporadically – often to mark national holidays. That all changed in 2001 with the depiction of the Google logo in an Impressionistic style to celebrate 161 years since the French painter Claude Monet’s birth.

The shimmering effect of light in the letters and the presence of waterlilies underneath serve as elegant echoes of Monet’s trademark style. Importantly, this marked a shift in direction – both thematically and aesthetically – for the Doodle.

Other noteworthy homages to artists include Wassily Kandinsky, Carlos Mérida, Gustav Klimt, and Frida Kahlo.

2. Harriet Tubman (Feb 1, 2014)

Harriet Tubman’s extraordinary life was celebrated by Google in February 2014. The Doodle features her image and a lamp, to highlight both her escape from slavery and her daring missions to rescue others from the same fate.

This feature is notable for a few reasons. In 2014, a study revealed the lack of diversity in Google’s Doodles. Although just a simple design on a search engine landing page, this was a clear reflection of the social impact Google can have. In fact, over half of all Doodles to this point were of white men.

Google took this seriously and did strike a 50/50 gender balance in 2014, giving increasing prominence to non-white historical figures too. There is a notable effort to provide a broader spectrum of historical events and figures within Google’s Doodles, beginning with Harriet Tubman.

3. Alexander Calder (July 22, 2011)

The sculptor Alexander Calder is known best as the inventor of the nursery mobile. These structures sway in the wind, changing form depending on the antecedent forces that come into contact with them.

This made Calder the perfect subject for the first Doodle to be constructed entirely using the HTML5 standard. Internet browsers had been incapable of rendering such a complex media format until this point, and this design required the work of a team of engineers, artists, and illustrators.

The Doodle, to mark what would have been Calder’s 113th birthday, lulls satisfyingly when a user clicks or hovers over its component parts.

This is therefore a particularly important piece of Doodle history, ushering in a new age of innovation and experimentation.

4. Charlie Chaplin (Apr 16, 2011)

To celebrate the 122nd anniversary of Charlie Chaplin’s birth, one of Google’s resident doodlers donned a moustache and hat to pay tribute to the great comic genius of the silent movie era.

This was the first live action Doodle and it really comes across as a labor of love from the Google team. Replete with heel clicking, cane waving and bottom kicking, this 2 minute black and white film is the perfect tribute to Chaplin.

It also marks the beginning of an era of ambitious Doodles that aren’t afraid to request the audience’s attention for longer than just a few seconds. As such, the Chaplin Doodle is an essential link between the stylized Google logos that were prevalent up to 2011 and the sprawling experiences that would come thereafter.

5. My Afrocentric Life (Mar 21, 2016)

Since 2009, Google has been running its Doodle 4 Google competition. The competition encourages elementary school kids (initially in the US, but this has now expanded internationally) to design a Doodle based on the people and issues that matter most to them.

Akilah Johnson was the US winner in 2016 with her entry, ‘My Afrocentric Life’, inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. Chosen from over 100,000 student submissions, Johnson created the Doodle over the course of two weeks using pencils, crayons and markers.

This initiative is a great way for Google to communicate with a younger generation, and it also shows the company’s willingness to give voice to political messages.

6. Ludwig van Beethoven (Dec 17, 2015)

The greatest composer of all time was given the fitting honor of Google’s most engrossing, intricate, classical music Doodle.

Created to celebrate the 245th anniversary of Beethoven’s baptism (his exact birthdate is unknown), this interactive game showcases events in the great artist’s life (both highs and lows), and invites us to piece together movements from his most famous works.

This Doodle makes the list for various reasons. It develops a sustained narrative and invites the viewer to interact. It also features some of the greatest art in European history.

But primarily, it takes what is sometimes seen as a difficult or impenetrable form of art and makes it accessible. This is an example of Google at its enlightening, playful best.

An honorable mention should also go to the Debussy Doodle in this category.

7. St Patrick’s Day (Mar 17, 2015)

Google has an illustrious history of producing Doodles to coincide with national holidays. Everywhere from America to Algeria to Australia has been given the Doodle treatment.

However, for sheer fun, the St Patrick’s Day iterations are hard to beat. 2015 was a vintage year, featuring a family of fiddle-playing clovers designed by Irish artist Eamon O’Neill.

What makes these Doodles special is Google’s commitment to celebrating such a wide range of holidays worldwide every year. For their brave use of color, the Holi festival animations are particularly worth a look.

8. International Women’s Day (Mar 8, 2017)

Google has been honoring International Women’s Day on its homepage for many years, but in 2017 it went the extra mile to provide a comprehensive look at 13 pioneers that have shaped our everyday lives.

What makes this most interesting is Google’s desire to go beyond the names we all already know, to give light to some unseen or hidden stories.

The slideshow gives prominence to Egypt’s first female pilot and Korea’s first female lawyer, for example. Moreover, it encourages us to do our own research to learn more about each person, instead of simply spoonfeeding us a few quick facts before we move on.

9. PAC-MAN (May 21, 2010)

The Pac-Man Doodle was a phenomenal success. It deserves an article of its own, really.

Said to have cost the economy $120 million in lost labor time, it tapped into our nostalgia for one of the most popular video games of all time.

Created for PAC-MAN’s 30th anniversary, the first-ever playable Doodle replicates the experience of the old arcade game.

It was initially launched for a two-day period, as Google expected it to surpass the popularity of your everyday Doodle. The fervent response was a little more than they had anticipated, however.

Luckily, you can still play the game here.

Also worthy of mention are the immensely popular Les Paul Doodle, which now has its own standalone page, and the Doodle Fruit Games, created for the 2016 Olympics.

10. Oskar Fishinger (Jun 22, 2017)

The most recent entry on our list – and perhaps the most expansive in its ambitions – was created to mark the birthday of filmmaker and visual artist Oskar Fishinger.  He was fascinated by the links between music and vision, which he saw as inextricable.

Google’s interactive take on this is an immersive experience, opening with a quote from the artist before offering us the opportunity to create our own ‘visual music’ using a range of instruments.

The Fishinger Doodle is arresting, both visually and sonically. The perfect celebration of Fishinger’s work, in other words.

It is an enticing glimpse of the pleasant surprises we can all expect as we log onto Google every morning, as its Doodles grow evermore sophisticated, charming, and instructive.

The 10 best Google Doodles of all time syndicated from http://ift.tt/2maPRjm

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

My laptop is currently updating, so while I have that working in the background, I wanted to share a series of six short, mostly-opera-inspired autobiographical narratives/prose poems I wrote last April and May:

I would kill to have some wine right now.

There is a bottle of red wine sitting on the kitchen counter. My father bought it when he went to the store the other day─ don’t ask me what day it was, I don’t remember, the days already blend together as is─ and I have considered pouring even just a little bit into a glass and downing it.

And then proceeding to throw the glass against the wall and shatter it.

I’ve been contemplating doing that a lot lately.

True, I would kill to have some wine, but if I did go ahead and pour even just a little bit into a glass, and down it, and possibly then proceed to throw the glass against the wall and shatter it, I would most likely be killed before I had the chance to kill.

Kill or be killed. We are all trying our very best to do neither these days, but it happens anyway.

I am sixteen years old. As I start writing this, I am nine days away from turning seventeen. For me, alcohol consumption is thus not only not approved by the Parents, but also illegal. But then again, so is voting blue in the 2020 US Presidential election. That is also something neither approved by the Parents nor legal for me. But I digress.

Thirty-one, twenty-nine, thirty-one again, sixteen now, that makes sixty, ninety-one, one hundred and seven days since I watched one of my classmates get drunk at a New Year’s Eve party. She downed a whole bottle of peach wine (I didn’t even know that was a thing) and looked at me with her red eyes and silver-sequined halter top and curly dark brown hair in a high ponytail. You’re more beautiful than Jesus she told me and you’ll go to the moon on a rocketship. I laughed.

I laugh when something’s so unexpected I can’t do anything else. I laughed when I first heard Notre Dame Cathedral had caught fire because it seemed so ludicrous that I couldn’t do anything else. Notre Dame on fire? You can’t be serious, it can’t be serious.

It was serious.

I’m not sure if she was.

A little part of me wishes she were.

When I was in sixth grade, I told the same girl I thought her hair was luscious. Sixth-grade me didn’t know the word had a sexual connotation; the girl did and was offended.

Maybe a little part of me did know, somehow.

***

As I write this next part, I am working on a paper about state-sponsored censorship. I have picked this topic because it is a fascinating topic, it fits the requirements for the paper─ write about a major global problem─, and because I feel censored myself.

Expressing anything that conflicts with the Parents’ thoughts and opinions is strictly forbidden. If you are different, you are ostracized. I am different, so I am ostracized.

I am too proud, too strong to succumb. But it still hurts.

As I write this, I am listening to Act IV of Rossini’s Guillaume Tell, an opera about liberation, appropriate for both me and my paper. At this moment, Hedwige is calling on God, ‘the hope of the hopeless’, to save her husband and break the yoke of oppression that binds Switzerland.

It’s very nice, and the sentiment is good and true, and it works for her and Mathilde and Jemmy and the Swiss women, but it does not work for me. I lost my faith a long time ago. Ironically, it is French grand opéra, the genre to which Guillaume Tell belongs, that is partially responsible for my loss of faith.

It was impossible for me to watch Verdi’s Don Carlos for the first time in eighth grade and Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots in tenth and not be horrified by the things people do in the name of religion, to kill people senselessly just because they believe slightly differently than them─ even their own daughters (as is the finale of Les Huguenots).

How can a good God allow such things?

Do I realize these works are fictional? Yes. But do I know they are based on history, on real events? Yes.

“These things are meant to happen; they are all in God’s plan.” Well, can God just not find another way to make what’s meant to happen happen? I cannot believe in a God that allows these things to happen. To say that an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-good God who can allow such things exists is a lie.

***

Now that Guillaume Tell is over, I am listening to another grand opéra, Les vepres siciliennes, albeit in its Italian version, I vespri siciliani. Another opera about occupation and liberation, but a liberation that comes at a horrible cost: the entire French ruling class is massacred by the Sicilians at the end of the opera.

If I didn’t care, I would stage my own personal ‘massacre’: I would turn my back, walk out the front door with the possessions I most needed to survive on my own, and never come back.

But I do care. They may not care, but I do.

One of my greatest curses is that I care about what I care about too much. My heart is too deep to not care.

There are some battles that are not worth being fought.

If a massacre is your only recourse to accomplish something, perhaps you should not do that thing. Or, at least try to find another way.

Right now, I am at the beginning of Act III, at Monforte’s aria “In braccio alle dovizie”. In the original French, it’s called “Au sein de la puissance”. At the breast of power.

Monforte is the hated French governor of Sicily, the revolutionaries’ primary target. When he sings this, he has just learned that one of the main revolutionaries, Arrigo, is his long-lost illegitimate son.

By rape.

‘The breast of power’ indeed.

Just like with a massacre, if rape is your only recourse to accomplish something, perhaps you should not do that thing either.

Just a thought.

I’m a woman. What do I know, in the eyes of many out there?

One of my friends said that Verdi gave Monforte his just deserts, but also overly beautiful music. “He couldn’t help it, though, not when his Dad Music Instincts were activated.”

I feel guilty listening to the aria, even though it is truly a beautiful piece and the recording I’m listening to─ a 1989 recording from the Teatro alla Scala, with Giorgio Zancanaro as Monforte─ is absolutely gorgeous.

Can we separate the music from the character, the art from the artist? I do not know. Everyone has something utterly heinous to someone else. Once we stop separating the art from the artist, where do we begin again? And yet, I do not want to support people who do horrible things to others.

Perhaps it is all relative.

Perhaps everything is.

Perhaps nothing is absolute at all.

That frightens me.

***

Today is Rome’s 2,773rd birthday. As a six-year Latin student and future classics and history double-major, this is cause for celebration.

If things were normal and I were at school, my Latin teacher would bring birthday cake for all the Latin students, and we’d eat it and sing “Felix dies natalis, Roma”. Happy Birthday, Rome.

But things are not normal, and I’m at home multitasking between this and a presentation script for that paper, and still listening to I vespri siciliani.

Now I’m at the end of Act IV. Everyone is celebrating the impending marriage of Arrigo to Duchess Elena, one of the Sicilian revolutionary leaders. Sicilian and French, united at last. Everything is set to work out.

But there’s still Giovanni da Procida, the other major revolutionary leader, who is hellbent on revenge. He sees this wedding as the perfect opportunity to strike down the French once and for all.

And thus, the massacre.

Everything can be set to work out, but there is always something that comes up. A massacre, a pandemic, a set of internal troubles that bring a proud empire to its ruin.

Now I’m in Act V, at Elena’s bolero ‘Merce, dilette amiche’. She has no idea about Procida’s plans; she’s just excited to marry Arrigo and bring peace to her beloved Sicily at last. I think I’m going to change operas again after this is over; the act is rather uneven (though I still very much like it) and I would prefer not to listen to everything falling apart today.

I debate listening to Berlioz’s Les Troyens, the closest thing to an opera about the founding of Rome and a masterpiece itself. But there is still too much about collateral damage for my tastes today: one kingdom falls and another loses its benevolent queen, all in the name of a supposedly greater destiny. And that’s just based on the first third of the Aeneid. I wrote an essay about that first third once for English class, using that thesis; my English teacher said it was one of the best essays he’d ever read. But I digress.

After a quick refresher on the synopsis, I decide to change styles and go with a story from the heyday of the Roman Empire: Handel’s Agrippina. Lots of plotting, but everyone gets what they want in the end and it ends happily for all. No collateral damage here. I am weary of that.

Sometimes I feel like collateral damage.

It’s tough to remember that you’re the master of your own story, not just a side character or a scapegoat in so many others’.

Everyone in this opera knows they’re the masters. That’s the problem. But it ultimately works out.

I want nothing more than for it to work out for me. It hasn’t yet.

But I have a feeling it will.

***

I got maybe halfway through the first act of Agrippina yesterday. I love Baroque opera, but I guess only in small doses.

No matter.

Today I’m listening to the beginning of Act II of Verdi’s Don Carlo. This is the fourth time in a row I’ve listened to it.

I read John Green’s Turtles All The Way Down recently. The main character frequently finds herself stuck in ‘thought spirals’, where she keeps thinking more and more about the same thing. I have those too, although I tend to picture my mind more as a bullet train: it always moves hundreds of miles an hour, faster than I can control, from one thought to the next. I constantly find myself retracing the figurative map of my mind to figure out what I was thinking about, what I need to remember but simply cannot. And it’s like my mind keeps returning to the same stations a lot; these are my equivalent to the spirals.

This opera, this moment, is one of my frequent stations.

Make that five times in a row now. This will be the last, I promise myself.

In this scene, a group of monks chant, praying for the rest of the dead Emperor Charles V, whom, I note with a smile, was himself a character in one of Verdi’s earliest operas, Ernani. In that opera, he sings an aria where he confronts his destiny as the next Holy Roman Emperor. My legacy will live throughout the ages, he sings.

Including in two different Verdi operas.

But there I go again on another bullet-train route.

The monks are singing now, their stark minor-major shifts making me feel as if I am there, in the cloister of San Yuste or in any of the great cathedrals of Spain, looking up into the vaults of the ceiling, of heaven itself, seemingly. The only lights come from candles in my mental picture, and I gaze up, my head uncovered, my mind only partially spellbound, more by the visual beauty and the history than by any religious feeling.

I am a heathen.

I have only been inside a Catholic church once, when I was fourteen; it was an impromptu side trip during a school-sponsored tour of colleges in St. Louis. One of the chaperones said the Cathedral Basilica had can’t-miss art, and thus managed to get a large section of the attendees to come with her.

She was right. It was one of the most beautiful places I’d ever seen. And that was all I thought.

Okay, that’s a lie. I did wonder what it would be like to be able to have faith again, to be able to kneel in one of the pews, and pray, and believe, as my ancestors have done before me; after all, if religion were something you inherited in your blood, then I would be half-Catholic.

But I cannot kneel and pray and believe.

In this scene, one of the monks claims that Charles V fell because he was too proud, because he believed that he was greater than God. If a god exists, I do not claim to be greater than them. I am not perfect, not by a long shot.

He did not die because he did not believe in God. He died because everyone dies, even those who are supposedly the greatest of us.

God alone is great, the monk proclaims. I do not, cannot believe that. We are all great to begin with, but some of us are led to believe we are not.

We are the masters. I must remember that.

And I realize that I have let it play a sixth time.

Sometimes I am not the master of my own mind.

***

The sixth time was the last.

Now I am at the end of the act, listening to the showdown between Filippo II, King of Spain, and Rodrigo, Marquis di Posa. Filippo is the guardian of the way things are; Verdi called Rodrigo an anachronism, and indeed, he was the only principal character who never existed.

Rodrigo, he said, was at least two centuries ahead of his time.

I don’t know what exactly Verdi’s feelings were about this, but personally, I do not think this is a bad thing. Progressivism is often progressivism in any age.

At any rate, Rodrigo, who has recently returned from Spanish-held Flanders, has taken his chance─ a rare private meeting with the King, who is confused as to why Rodrigo has never approached him for favors like all the other courtiers─ to confront him about the horrific conditions of Flanders and its people. Give them liberty, he pleads.

No. I have given them the same peace I have given Spain.

A horrible peace!, Rodrigo fires back. The peace of the tomb!

We should not have to suffer until death.

Let history not say of you, “He was a Nero.” A murderer of innocents, a torturer of the defenseless, an occupier, a denier of liberty─ perhaps the greatest torture of all.

I once watched a video in which a director said, “To live in an occupied country is to live only half a life.” I would say that to live in an occupied country, or even any place where you cannot be free, cannot live fully as yourself, is not even that. It is to barely live at all. It is to merely have a beating heart and breath.

To live in spite of this, to simply be as you wish, is the ultimate act of defiance.

[kellykperez]

The 10 best Google Doodles of all time

Since 1998, Google has used its homepage to host an invariably inventive ‘doodle’.

The Google Doodle actually began its life as a humorous out-of-office message for the company’s co-founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page. To let everyone know they had gone to the Burning Man festival, they placed the festival’s icon behind the second ‘o’ on their own company’s logo.

It is fitting that what has become a forum for sophisticated artistic and technical expression began life as a stick figure. We can trace the Doodle’s development over time from a simple stick man to an interactive multimedia hub that educates and entertains on a variety of subjects.

Google began experimenting with Doodles to mark historical events soon after the original Burning Man example and, such was its popularity, the Doodle became a daily fixture on the Google homepage.

Undoubtedly, Google has taken a few knocks recently. The record fine levied against it by the E.U. made global headlines, the Canadian government ruled that Google must de-index specific domains entirely, and its AI company DeepMind’s deal with the National Health Service in the UK has been ruled “illegal.”

That’s not the kind of damage a doodle can undo. These are important cases that raise probing questions for all of us.

Nonetheless, it is still worth reflecting on the positive side of Google’s contributions to society. That’s where the humble, charming Doodle comes in.

These sketches showcase Google at its best. They are a microcosm of the search giant’s philanthropic side, an insight into a company that (until recently) proudly held the mantra “Don’t be evil” at the core of its code of conduct.

A company with so much power over the public consciousness uses its homepage to highlight overlooked historical figures, educate the populace about important scientific theories, or just give us some really fun games to play.

For that, we should be grateful.

You can take a look through the expansive repository of over 2,000 Doodles here.

Within this article, we have selected just 10 of Google’s most amiable animations from through the years.

1. Claude Monet (Nov 14, 2001)

For the first few years of the Doodle’s existence, it tended to appear sporadically – often to mark national holidays. That all changed in 2001 with the depiction of the Google logo in an Impressionistic style to celebrate 161 years since the French painter Claude Monet’s birth.

The shimmering effect of light in the letters and the presence of waterlilies underneath serve as elegant echoes of Monet’s trademark style. Importantly, this marked a shift in direction – both thematically and aesthetically – for the Doodle.

Other noteworthy homages to artists include Wassily Kandinsky, Carlos Mérida, Gustav Klimt, and Frida Kahlo.

2. Harriet Tubman (Feb 1, 2014)

Harriet Tubman’s extraordinary life was celebrated by Google in February 2014. The Doodle features her image and a lamp, to highlight both her escape from slavery and her daring missions to rescue others from the same fate.

This feature is notable for a few reasons. In 2014, a study revealed the lack of diversity in Google’s Doodles. Although just a simple design on a search engine landing page, this was a clear reflection of the social impact Google can have. In fact, over half of all Doodles to this point were of white men.

Google took this seriously and did strike a 50/50 gender balance in 2014, giving increasing prominence to non-white historical figures too. There is a notable effort to provide a broader spectrum of historical events and figures within Google’s Doodles, beginning with Harriet Tubman.

3. Alexander Calder (July 22, 2011)

The sculptor Alexander Calder is known best as the inventor of the nursery mobile. These structures sway in the wind, changing form depending on the antecedent forces that come into contact with them.

This made Calder the perfect subject for the first Doodle to be constructed entirely using the HTML5 standard. Internet browsers had been incapable of rendering such a complex media format until this point, and this design required the work of a team of engineers, artists, and illustrators.

The Doodle, to mark what would have been Calder’s 113th birthday, lulls satisfyingly when a user clicks or hovers over its component parts.

This is therefore a particularly important piece of Doodle history, ushering in a new age of innovation and experimentation.

4. Charlie Chaplin (Apr 16, 2011)

To celebrate the 122nd anniversary of Charlie Chaplin’s birth, one of Google’s resident doodlers donned a moustache and hat to pay tribute to the great comic genius of the silent movie era.

This was the first live action Doodle and it really comes across as a labor of love from the Google team. Replete with heel clicking, cane waving and bottom kicking, this 2 minute black and white film is the perfect tribute to Chaplin.

It also marks the beginning of an era of ambitious Doodles that aren’t afraid to request the audience’s attention for longer than just a few seconds. As such, the Chaplin Doodle is an essential link between the stylized Google logos that were prevalent up to 2011 and the sprawling experiences that would come thereafter.

5. My Afrocentric Life (Mar 21, 2016)

Since 2009, Google has been running its Doodle 4 Google competition. The competition encourages elementary school kids (initially in the US, but this has now expanded internationally) to design a Doodle based on the people and issues that matter most to them.

Akilah Johnson was the US winner in 2016 with her entry, ‘My Afrocentric Life’, inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. Chosen from over 100,000 student submissions, Johnson created the Doodle over the course of two weeks using pencils, crayons and markers.

This initiative is a great way for Google to communicate with a younger generation, and it also shows the company’s willingness to give voice to political messages.

6. Ludwig van Beethoven (Dec 17, 2015)

The greatest composer of all time was given the fitting honor of Google’s most engrossing, intricate, classical music Doodle.

Created to celebrate the 245th anniversary of Beethoven’s baptism (his exact birthdate is unknown), this interactive game showcases events in the great artist’s life (both highs and lows), and invites us to piece together movements from his most famous works.

This Doodle makes the list for various reasons. It develops a sustained narrative and invites the viewer to interact. It also features some of the greatest art in European history.

But primarily, it takes what is sometimes seen as a difficult or impenetrable form of art and makes it accessible. This is an example of Google at its enlightening, playful best.

An honorable mention should also go to the Debussy Doodle in this category.

7. St Patrick’s Day (Mar 17, 2015)

Google has an illustrious history of producing Doodles to coincide with national holidays. Everywhere from America to Algeria to Australia has been given the Doodle treatment.

However, for sheer fun, the St Patrick’s Day iterations are hard to beat. 2015 was a vintage year, featuring a family of fiddle-playing clovers designed by Irish artist Eamon O’Neill.

What makes these Doodles special is Google’s commitment to celebrating such a wide range of holidays worldwide every year. For their brave use of color, the Holi festival animations are particularly worth a look.

8. International Women’s Day (Mar 8, 2017)

Google has been honoring International Women’s Day on its homepage for many years, but in 2017 it went the extra mile to provide a comprehensive look at 13 pioneers that have shaped our everyday lives.

What makes this most interesting is Google’s desire to go beyond the names we all already know, to give light to some unseen or hidden stories.

The slideshow gives prominence to Egypt’s first female pilot and Korea’s first female lawyer, for example. Moreover, it encourages us to do our own research to learn more about each person, instead of simply spoonfeeding us a few quick facts before we move on.

9. PAC-MAN (May 21, 2010)

The Pac-Man Doodle was a phenomenal success. It deserves an article of its own, really.

Said to have cost the economy $120 million in lost labor time, it tapped into our nostalgia for one of the most popular video games of all time.

Created for PAC-MAN’s 30th anniversary, the first-ever playable Doodle replicates the experience of the old arcade game.

It was initially launched for a two-day period, as Google expected it to surpass the popularity of your everyday Doodle. The fervent response was a little more than they had anticipated, however.

Luckily, you can still play the game here.

Also worthy of mention are the immensely popular Les Paul Doodle, which now has its own standalone page, and the Doodle Fruit Games, created for the 2016 Olympics.

10. Oskar Fishinger (Jun 22, 2017)

The most recent entry on our list – and perhaps the most expansive in its ambitions – was created to mark the birthday of filmmaker and visual artist Oskar Fishinger.  He was fascinated by the links between music and vision, which he saw as inextricable.

Google’s interactive take on this is an immersive experience, opening with a quote from the artist before offering us the opportunity to create our own ‘visual music’ using a range of instruments.

The Fishinger Doodle is arresting, both visually and sonically. The perfect celebration of Fishinger’s work, in other words.

It is an enticing glimpse of the pleasant surprises we can all expect as we log onto Google every morning, as its Doodles grow evermore sophisticated, charming, and instructive.

source https://searchenginewatch.com/2017/07/07/the-10-best-google-doodles-of-all-time/ from Rising Phoenix SEO http://risingphoenixseo.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-10-best-google-doodles-of-all-time.html

[alanajacksontx]

The 10 best Google Doodles of all time

Since 1998, Google has used its homepage to host an invariably inventive ‘doodle’.

The Google Doodle actually began its life as a humorous out-of-office message for the company’s co-founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page. To let everyone know they had gone to the Burning Man festival, they placed the festival’s icon behind the second ‘o’ on their own company’s logo.

It is fitting that what has become a forum for sophisticated artistic and technical expression began life as a stick figure. We can trace the Doodle’s development over time from a simple stick man to an interactive multimedia hub that educates and entertains on a variety of subjects.

Google began experimenting with Doodles to mark historical events soon after the original Burning Man example and, such was its popularity, the Doodle became a daily fixture on the Google homepage.

Undoubtedly, Google has taken a few knocks recently. The record fine levied against it by the E.U. made global headlines, the Canadian government ruled that Google must de-index specific domains entirely, and its AI company DeepMind’s deal with the National Health Service in the UK has been ruled “illegal.”

That’s not the kind of damage a doodle can undo. These are important cases that raise probing questions for all of us.

Nonetheless, it is still worth reflecting on the positive side of Google’s contributions to society. That’s where the humble, charming Doodle comes in.

These sketches showcase Google at its best. They are a microcosm of the search giant’s philanthropic side, an insight into a company that (until recently) proudly held the mantra “Don’t be evil” at the core of its code of conduct.

A company with so much power over the public consciousness uses its homepage to highlight overlooked historical figures, educate the populace about important scientific theories, or just give us some really fun games to play.

For that, we should be grateful.

You can take a look through the expansive repository of over 2,000 Doodles here.

Within this article, we have selected just 10 of Google’s most amiable animations from through the years.

1. Claude Monet (Nov 14, 2001)

For the first few years of the Doodle’s existence, it tended to appear sporadically – often to mark national holidays. That all changed in 2001 with the depiction of the Google logo in an Impressionistic style to celebrate 161 years since the French painter Claude Monet’s birth.

The shimmering effect of light in the letters and the presence of waterlilies underneath serve as elegant echoes of Monet’s trademark style. Importantly, this marked a shift in direction – both thematically and aesthetically – for the Doodle.

Other noteworthy homages to artists include Wassily Kandinsky, Carlos Mérida, Gustav Klimt, and Frida Kahlo.

2. Harriet Tubman (Feb 1, 2014)

Harriet Tubman’s extraordinary life was celebrated by Google in February 2014. The Doodle features her image and a lamp, to highlight both her escape from slavery and her daring missions to rescue others from the same fate.

This feature is notable for a few reasons. In 2014, a study revealed the lack of diversity in Google’s Doodles. Although just a simple design on a search engine landing page, this was a clear reflection of the social impact Google can have. In fact, over half of all Doodles to this point were of white men.

Google took this seriously and did strike a 50/50 gender balance in 2014, giving increasing prominence to non-white historical figures too. There is a notable effort to provide a broader spectrum of historical events and figures within Google’s Doodles, beginning with Harriet Tubman.

3. Alexander Calder (July 22, 2011)

The sculptor Alexander Calder is known best as the inventor of the nursery mobile. These structures sway in the wind, changing form depending on the antecedent forces that come into contact with them.

This made Calder the perfect subject for the first Doodle to be constructed entirely using the HTML5 standard. Internet browsers had been incapable of rendering such a complex media format until this point, and this design required the work of a team of engineers, artists, and illustrators.

The Doodle, to mark what would have been Calder’s 113th birthday, lulls satisfyingly when a user clicks or hovers over its component parts.

This is therefore a particularly important piece of Doodle history, ushering in a new age of innovation and experimentation.

4. Charlie Chaplin (Apr 16, 2011)

To celebrate the 122nd anniversary of Charlie Chaplin’s birth, one of Google’s resident doodlers donned a moustache and hat to pay tribute to the great comic genius of the silent movie era.

This was the first live action Doodle and it really comes across as a labor of love from the Google team. Replete with heel clicking, cane waving and bottom kicking, this 2 minute black and white film is the perfect tribute to Chaplin.

It also marks the beginning of an era of ambitious Doodles that aren’t afraid to request the audience’s attention for longer than just a few seconds. As such, the Chaplin Doodle is an essential link between the stylized Google logos that were prevalent up to 2011 and the sprawling experiences that would come thereafter.

5. My Afrocentric Life (Mar 21, 2016)

Since 2009, Google has been running its Doodle 4 Google competition. The competition encourages elementary school kids (initially in the US, but this has now expanded internationally) to design a Doodle based on the people and issues that matter most to them.

Akilah Johnson was the US winner in 2016 with her entry, ‘My Afrocentric Life’, inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. Chosen from over 100,000 student submissions, Johnson created the Doodle over the course of two weeks using pencils, crayons and markers.

This initiative is a great way for Google to communicate with a younger generation, and it also shows the company’s willingness to give voice to political messages.

6. Ludwig van Beethoven (Dec 17, 2015)

The greatest composer of all time was given the fitting honor of Google’s most engrossing, intricate, classical music Doodle.

Created to celebrate the 245th anniversary of Beethoven’s baptism (his exact birthdate is unknown), this interactive game showcases events in the great artist’s life (both highs and lows), and invites us to piece together movements from his most famous works.

This Doodle makes the list for various reasons. It develops a sustained narrative and invites the viewer to interact. It also features some of the greatest art in European history.

But primarily, it takes what is sometimes seen as a difficult or impenetrable form of art and makes it accessible. This is an example of Google at its enlightening, playful best.

An honorable mention should also go to the Debussy Doodle in this category.

7. St Patrick’s Day (Mar 17, 2015)

Google has an illustrious history of producing Doodles to coincide with national holidays. Everywhere from America to Algeria to Australia has been given the Doodle treatment.

However, for sheer fun, the St Patrick’s Day iterations are hard to beat. 2015 was a vintage year, featuring a family of fiddle-playing clovers designed by Irish artist Eamon O’Neill.

What makes these Doodles special is Google’s commitment to celebrating such a wide range of holidays worldwide every year. For their brave use of color, the Holi festival animations are particularly worth a look.

8. International Women’s Day (Mar 8, 2017)

Google has been honoring International Women’s Day on its homepage for many years, but in 2017 it went the extra mile to provide a comprehensive look at 13 pioneers that have shaped our everyday lives.

What makes this most interesting is Google’s desire to go beyond the names we all already know, to give light to some unseen or hidden stories.

The slideshow gives prominence to Egypt’s first female pilot and Korea’s first female lawyer, for example. Moreover, it encourages us to do our own research to learn more about each person, instead of simply spoonfeeding us a few quick facts before we move on.

9. PAC-MAN (May 21, 2010)

The Pac-Man Doodle was a phenomenal success. It deserves an article of its own, really.

Said to have cost the economy $120 million in lost labor time, it tapped into our nostalgia for one of the most popular video games of all time.

Created for PAC-MAN’s 30th anniversary, the first-ever playable Doodle replicates the experience of the old arcade game.

It was initially launched for a two-day period, as Google expected it to surpass the popularity of your everyday Doodle. The fervent response was a little more than they had anticipated, however.

Luckily, you can still play the game here.

Also worthy of mention are the immensely popular Les Paul Doodle, which now has its own standalone page, and the Doodle Fruit Games, created for the 2016 Olympics.

10. Oskar Fishinger (Jun 22, 2017)

The most recent entry on our list – and perhaps the most expansive in its ambitions – was created to mark the birthday of filmmaker and visual artist Oskar Fishinger.  He was fascinated by the links between music and vision, which he saw as inextricable.

Google’s interactive take on this is an immersive experience, opening with a quote from the artist before offering us the opportunity to create our own ‘visual music’ using a range of instruments.

The Fishinger Doodle is arresting, both visually and sonically. The perfect celebration of Fishinger’s work, in other words.

It is an enticing glimpse of the pleasant surprises we can all expect as we log onto Google every morning, as its Doodles grow evermore sophisticated, charming, and instructive.

from IM Tips And Tricks https://searchenginewatch.com/2017/07/07/the-10-best-google-doodles-of-all-time/ from Rising Phoenix SEO https://risingphxseo.tumblr.com/post/162707802880

[sheilalmartinia]

The 10 best Google Doodles of all time

Since 1998, Google has used its homepage to host an invariably inventive ‘doodle’.

The Google Doodle actually began its life as a humorous out-of-office message for the company’s co-founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page. To let everyone know they had gone to the Burning Man festival, they placed the festival’s icon behind the second ‘o’ on their own company’s logo.

It is fitting that what has become a forum for sophisticated artistic and technical expression began life as a stick figure. We can trace the Doodle’s development over time from a simple stick man to an interactive multimedia hub that educates and entertains on a variety of subjects.

Google began experimenting with Doodles to mark historical events soon after the original Burning Man example and, such was its popularity, the Doodle became a daily fixture on the Google homepage.

Undoubtedly, Google has taken a few knocks recently. The record fine levied against it by the E.U. made global headlines, the Canadian government ruled that Google must de-index specific domains entirely, and its AI company DeepMind’s deal with the National Health Service in the UK has been ruled “illegal.”

That’s not the kind of damage a doodle can undo. These are important cases that raise probing questions for all of us.

Nonetheless, it is still worth reflecting on the positive side of Google’s contributions to society. That’s where the humble, charming Doodle comes in.

These sketches showcase Google at its best. They are a microcosm of the search giant’s philanthropic side, an insight into a company that (until recently) proudly held the mantra “Don’t be evil” at the core of its code of conduct.

A company with so much power over the public consciousness uses its homepage to highlight overlooked historical figures, educate the populace about important scientific theories, or just give us some really fun games to play.

For that, we should be grateful.

You can take a look through the expansive repository of over 2,000 Doodles here.

Within this article, we have selected just 10 of Google’s most amiable animations from through the years.

1. Claude Monet (Nov 14, 2001)

For the first few years of the Doodle’s existence, it tended to appear sporadically – often to mark national holidays. That all changed in 2001 with the depiction of the Google logo in an Impressionistic style to celebrate 161 years since the French painter Claude Monet’s birth.

The shimmering effect of light in the letters and the presence of waterlilies underneath serve as elegant echoes of Monet’s trademark style. Importantly, this marked a shift in direction – both thematically and aesthetically – for the Doodle.

Other noteworthy homages to artists include Wassily Kandinsky, Carlos Mérida, Gustav Klimt, and Frida Kahlo.

2. Harriet Tubman (Feb 1, 2014)

Harriet Tubman’s extraordinary life was celebrated by Google in February 2014. The Doodle features her image and a lamp, to highlight both her escape from slavery and her daring missions to rescue others from the same fate.

This feature is notable for a few reasons. In 2014, a study revealed the lack of diversity in Google’s Doodles. Although just a simple design on a search engine landing page, this was a clear reflection of the social impact Google can have. In fact, over half of all Doodles to this point were of white men.

Google took this seriously and did strike a 50/50 gender balance in 2014, giving increasing prominence to non-white historical figures too. There is a notable effort to provide a broader spectrum of historical events and figures within Google’s Doodles, beginning with Harriet Tubman.

3. Alexander Calder (July 22, 2011)

The sculptor Alexander Calder is known best as the inventor of the nursery mobile. These structures sway in the wind, changing form depending on the antecedent forces that come into contact with them.

This made Calder the perfect subject for the first Doodle to be constructed entirely using the HTML5 standard. Internet browsers had been incapable of rendering such a complex media format until this point, and this design required the work of a team of engineers, artists, and illustrators.

The Doodle, to mark what would have been Calder’s 113th birthday, lulls satisfyingly when a user clicks or hovers over its component parts.

This is therefore a particularly important piece of Doodle history, ushering in a new age of innovation and experimentation.

4. Charlie Chaplin (Apr 16, 2011)

To celebrate the 122nd anniversary of Charlie Chaplin’s birth, one of Google’s resident doodlers donned a moustache and hat to pay tribute to the great comic genius of the silent movie era.

This was the first live action Doodle and it really comes across as a labor of love from the Google team. Replete with heel clicking, cane waving and bottom kicking, this 2 minute black and white film is the perfect tribute to Chaplin.

It also marks the beginning of an era of ambitious Doodles that aren’t afraid to request the audience’s attention for longer than just a few seconds. As such, the Chaplin Doodle is an essential link between the stylized Google logos that were prevalent up to 2011 and the sprawling experiences that would come thereafter.

5. My Afrocentric Life (Mar 21, 2016)

Since 2009, Google has been running its Doodle 4 Google competition. The competition encourages elementary school kids (initially in the US, but this has now expanded internationally) to design a Doodle based on the people and issues that matter most to them.

Akilah Johnson was the US winner in 2016 with her entry, ‘My Afrocentric Life’, inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. Chosen from over 100,000 student submissions, Johnson created the Doodle over the course of two weeks using pencils, crayons and markers.

This initiative is a great way for Google to communicate with a younger generation, and it also shows the company’s willingness to give voice to political messages.

6. Ludwig van Beethoven (Dec 17, 2015)

The greatest composer of all time was given the fitting honor of Google’s most engrossing, intricate, classical music Doodle.

Created to celebrate the 245th anniversary of Beethoven’s baptism (his exact birthdate is unknown), this interactive game showcases events in the great artist’s life (both highs and lows), and invites us to piece together movements from his most famous works.

This Doodle makes the list for various reasons. It develops a sustained narrative and invites the viewer to interact. It also features some of the greatest art in European history.

But primarily, it takes what is sometimes seen as a difficult or impenetrable form of art and makes it accessible. This is an example of Google at its enlightening, playful best.

An honorable mention should also go to the Debussy Doodle in this category.

7. St Patrick’s Day (Mar 17, 2015)

Google has an illustrious history of producing Doodles to coincide with national holidays. Everywhere from America to Algeria to Australia has been given the Doodle treatment.

However, for sheer fun, the St Patrick’s Day iterations are hard to beat. 2015 was a vintage year, featuring a family of fiddle-playing clovers designed by Irish artist Eamon O’Neill.

What makes these Doodles special is Google’s commitment to celebrating such a wide range of holidays worldwide every year. For their brave use of color, the Holi festival animations are particularly worth a look.

8. International Women’s Day (Mar 8, 2017)

Google has been honoring International Women’s Day on its homepage for many years, but in 2017 it went the extra mile to provide a comprehensive look at 13 pioneers that have shaped our everyday lives.

What makes this most interesting is Google’s desire to go beyond the names we all already know, to give light to some unseen or hidden stories.

The slideshow gives prominence to Egypt’s first female pilot and Korea’s first female lawyer, for example. Moreover, it encourages us to do our own research to learn more about each person, instead of simply spoonfeeding us a few quick facts before we move on.

9. PAC-MAN (May 21, 2010)

The Pac-Man Doodle was a phenomenal success. It deserves an article of its own, really.

Said to have cost the economy $120 million in lost labor time, it tapped into our nostalgia for one of the most popular video games of all time.

Created for PAC-MAN’s 30th anniversary, the first-ever playable Doodle replicates the experience of the old arcade game.

It was initially launched for a two-day period, as Google expected it to surpass the popularity of your everyday Doodle. The fervent response was a little more than they had anticipated, however.

Luckily, you can still play the game here.

Also worthy of mention are the immensely popular Les Paul Doodle, which now has its own standalone page, and the Doodle Fruit Games, created for the 2016 Olympics.

10. Oskar Fishinger (Jun 22, 2017)

The most recent entry on our list – and perhaps the most expansive in its ambitions – was created to mark the birthday of filmmaker and visual artist Oskar Fishinger.  He was fascinated by the links between music and vision, which he saw as inextricable.

Google’s interactive take on this is an immersive experience, opening with a quote from the artist before offering us the opportunity to create our own ‘visual music’ using a range of instruments.

The Fishinger Doodle is arresting, both visually and sonically. The perfect celebration of Fishinger’s work, in other words.

It is an enticing glimpse of the pleasant surprises we can all expect as we log onto Google every morning, as its Doodles grow evermore sophisticated, charming, and instructive.

from Search Engine Watch https://searchenginewatch.com/2017/07/07/the-10-best-google-doodles-of-all-time/

[rickhorrow]

15 to watch April 10 2017

After seemingly the longest drought in sports next to the Chicago Cubs’, Spaniard Sergio Garcia won his first Masters, and his first Major. After 18 years of coming up short at golf’s Majors – a record of 0 for 73 – Garcia bested Ryder Cup teammate Justin Rose in a dramatic final round and sudden-death playoff that likely thrilled broadcaster CBS and sponsors IBM, AT&T, and Mercedes-Benz, whose ads benefitted from the additional airtime. Also undoubtedly delighted was Garcia’s primary sponsor TaylorMade, which parent adidas put on the market last year but has struggled to find a buyer; Garcia’s marquee victory may sweeten the pot for a suitor. Masters participants played for $11 million this past week, a $1 million increase from 2016. Garcia, previously a nine-time PGA Tour winner and 13-time European Tour champion, received $1.98 million for his Masters win, up from the $1.8 million paid to Danny Willett last year. A happy ending to a Masters that conquered horrible weather to provide a terrific platform for corporate hospitality and commerce to companies like StubHub…and a nice sum to tuck away in a green jacket pocket.

The Greatest Spectacle in Racing will serve as the IndyCar debut for 22-year-old driver Zach Veach. Veach will drive the No. 40 at the Indianapolis 500 with financial backing from the Indy Women in Tech Championship presented by Guggenheim – the LPGA tournament scheduled for September at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s infield golf course. Veach has six wins and six poles in three Indy Light seasons and was the third-place finisher in 2016. He joins Carlos Muñoz and Conor Daly at Texas-based AJ Foyt Racing; his car number pays homage to Foyt’s fourth Indy 500 triumph in 1977. "The Indy Women in Tech foundation, along with AJ Foyt Racing and Zach Veach, is committed to making positive changes to the communities where we work and live. This sponsorship allows us to shine a global spotlight on meaningful robotics and career transition programs that will develop our workforce through education and job training to support Indy's growing resume for tech innovation,” said Daniel Towriss, President and CEO of Guggenheim Life. A terrific example of cross-promotion between the Indianapolis 500 and the new LPGA tournament in that city, and more importantly, innovative community investment through sport.

Much to the chagrin of many of its top stars, the NHL has officially announced that it will not be sending its players to PyeongChang for the 2018 Winter Olympics. According to the Boston Globe, this means that the NHL’s streak of participating in five consecutive Olympic cycles, dating back to 1998, is set to be snapped. The NHL made the final decision without coordinating with the IOC or the NHLPA. Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin insisted that he will still represent Russia next winter, regardless of the NHL’s stance. Players from all other professional hockey leagues around the world are still allowed to participate as of now, making the NHL the only one to have withdrawn thus far. In a statement following the decision, the IOC wrote, “This must be a huge disappointment for the players who definitely wanted to play. The decision is even more regrettable, as the [IIHF] had offered the same conditions to the NHL as at previous Olympic Games.” Tough decision for Gary Bettman and the NHL, but the right one. Unlike the NBA, the NHL would have to suspend its season for a long period of time; the NHL has made major commitments to the Olympic movement and as a positive experience from the World Cup to grow the game.

  With new NFL stadiums set to be built in Los Angeles and Las Vegas in the coming years, naming rights records could be rewritten. According to SportsBusiness Journal, Gemini Sports Group believes that the Raiders’ stadium “could fetch between $15-$18 million a year over 20 years” from a corporate partner. In Los Angeles, the Rams-Chargers stadium is expected to bring in up to $20 million annually, but could potentially reach $30 million a year driven by hosting two teams and “its location in the country’s second-biggest market.” The Rams have already hired Legends Global Sales to sell the naming rights for their Inglewood stadium, which is set to open for the 2019 NFL season. The biggest naming rights deal in North American sports currently is MetLife’s contract with the New York Giants and Jets, which pays out $16-$25 million a year. With the economy improving, digital media values increasing, and corporate hospitality becoming more significant, look for a major deal in L.A. to then be emulated in Vegas.

  Despite claiming to be a historic “soccer city,” St. Louis will not be awarded an MLS team anytime in the foreseeable future after voters rejected public stadium funding. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, city voters voted against funding a 22,000-seat MLS stadium in downtown, yet voted in favor of “imposing a half-cent sales tax increase for expanding the city's MetroLink light rail system.” About 53% of voters were opposed to the MLS bid, while 60% approved of the MetroLink ballot; both propositions “needed to pass in order to fund the stadium.” MLS Commissioner Don Garber noted the other week that without funding and concrete plans for a new stadium, St. Louis “would not get a team.” SC STL, the club that was set to be promoted to the MLS pending approval, spent over $1 million to date through a PAC on both propositions, “promising jobs for the city, massive private investment and a big return on public investment.” A set back for MLS, and a public/private partnership that requires restructuring or starting over. Clearly, the St. Louis region is reassessing the economics of the sports business.

  With plans to officially relocate to Las Vegas, Oakland Raiders Owner Mark Davis spoke about his “frustration and sadness” over the issue. According to the San Jose Mercury News, Davis said, “I’m not celebrating anything like I would like to be…I still have a feeling for the fans in the Bay Area. And I’ve met with a number of them. And anything I say to them isn’t going to soothe them, and it makes this whole thing bittersweet.” Davis noted that he spoke with the MLB Oakland A’s about doing a joint stadium deal with them and selling them 20% of his franchise as part of the transaction, but ultimately “Oakland never presented a viable plan to keep the team.” Back in 2013, the Raiders began talks about trying to find a new stadium in Oakland with the A’s, but those talks failed when the A’s signed a 10-year lease to stay in the Coliseum. Now it is Oakland’s turn to “save” its last remaining professional franchise. The Oakland A’s stadium process takes on new political, economic, and psychological significance.

  Highlighting a continued shift in the dynamic of live sports steaming, Amazon is set to take over the streaming of “Thursday Night Football” as part of a one-year deal with the NFL. According to SportsBusiness Journal, Amazon’s one-year deal is worth $50 million – a massive spike from the $10 million Twitter paid this past season. Amazon will livestream 10 “TNF” games carried by CBS and NBC after beating out Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube for the rights. “Amazon has wanted to put sports rights on its Amazon Prime video service, and the NFL deal will allow the company to do that, essentially putting the streams behind a paywall where they will only be available to Amazon Prime subscribers.” Twitter’s one-year deal with the league is considered to be a success, as games averaged 265,000 viewers on an average minute basis during the season, but Amazon is expected to have a wider reach. New media companies are all positioning themselves to assess their role as major media players in subsequent bidding cycles for major league rights in the future.

  After months of swirling rumors and questions regarding what jersey Tony Romo will wear next season, it turns out that the now-former-quarterback will be wearing a suit and tie on Sundays for the foreseeable future. According to SportsBusiness Journal, CBS Sports formally announced Romo as their lead NFL game analyst, meaning that he will hang up the cleats and pads going forward to assume a reporting role. Romo will take the place of Phil Simms beginning in the 2017 season despite having no prior on-air experience; Simms’ position with CBS Sports is up in the air after spending nearly 20 years with the network. When asked if he ever plans on returning to football, Romo said, “You never say never. I'll just say it's about 99 percent.” He also noted that he “doesn't envision coming back but expects to get calls from teams.” Another professional athlete goes to the broadcast booth. Salaries for “athletes turned broadcasters” continue to increase as the names become more significant.

  Sitting right in the heart of Chicago, DePaul University’s new Wintrust Arena is set to open this fall “with a pair of gala fundraisers.” According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the 10,000-seat, $164 million arena that will host both DePaul men’s and women’s basketball teams is expected to attract nearly triple the number of fans who have become accustomed to making the trek to All-State Arena in Rosemont. Wintrust Arena Assistant General Manager/Entertainment David Kennedy is excited about the facility’s ability to attract events to McCormick Place. “We’re not really competing with the United Center, Soldier Field or Wrigley Field that have tens of thousands of folks,” said Kennedy. “We have the flexibility to shrink the venue down a little bit to what they call a half-concert for a few thousand people or to go to the larger number of 7,000 to 9,000.” The goal is to book 50 events in the first year – Kennedy noted they are more than halfway there. Chicago becomes the next city to complement its major league professional arena with another economically viable facility.

  With the state of North Carolina deciding to repeal HB2, the NCAA has officially lifted its championship ban on North Carolina. According to the Charlotte Observer, the state has faced sharp criticism ever since it passed HB2, a bill that nullified a Charlotte LGBT nondiscrimination ordinance that, “among other things, allowed transgender people to use bathrooms based on their gender identity.” The NCAA is currently picking future championship sites for 2018-2022; Charlotte is “bidding to host men’s basketball tournament games” at Spectrum Center for three years – 2020-2022. The championship sites awarded for next year are final, meaning that Charlotte is still set to host “the first and second rounds of the men’s basketball tournament at the Spectrum Center in March 2018.” Meanwhile, Texas is still facing similar bans to North Carolina after passing an HB2-like legislation of its own earlier this year. From a political perspective, sports should be viewed as big business. Cities and states have lost conventions, concerts, and major sporting events because of the unpopular political stances they have taken. Just like Arizona and its Martin Luther King holiday, communities receive the benefits of the events after they change their political positions.

  Billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson has owned companies in industries such as aerospace and technology, but his newest venture is in sports. According to CNBC, Virgin Sport, a two-year-old company that is set to run its first event in the coming months, is officially ready to pursue sponsors. “Sponsors [often] get involved in something that already fully exists, so [our] partners have a great chance to start out,” said Virgin Sport Global CEO Mary Wittenberg. “We will go fewer rather than more partners and try and integrate partners across our events, our content and eventually our community.” “Festival-style events” will be run in the United Kingdom and United States, with the first event coming in London. The aim of Branson’s new company is to “reach the sweet spot” between extreme events such as Tough Mudder and lighter events such as a “fun run.” This marks the first of many new entries into the entertainment/festival space by companies expanding their consumer reach.

  After receiving a large amount of criticism, the Big Ten has decided to cut back its Friday night broadcast schedule for this upcoming football season. According to ESPN.com, “a long list of parties” have been complaining to the conference ever since it announced that its TV partners “would start to broadcast games on Friday nights, including six contests after the opening Labor Day weekend of the 2017 season.” Of those six games originally intended on being played on a Friday, two of them have already been rescheduled for a Saturday timeslot. Friday night games traditionally draw lower ratings than their Saturday counterparts due to a general lack of interest, along with conflicts with primetime high school games and other sporting events. Many mid-major conferences have historically played games on Friday nights because they are often overshadowed by the Power Five conferences on Saturdays. No doubt a trend reversal. Many leagues and conferences attempt to identify “open times in their schedules.” In this case, it may be the pushback is more than was anticipated.

  Some big names are emerging as potential bidders to purchase the Miami Marlins. According to Fox Business, among those who have expressed interest in buying the team are former MLBer Derek Jeter and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Jeter is “being represented in talks” with Marlins President David Samson by former Morgan Stanley Wealth Management President Gregory Fleming. Conversely, Bush has teamed up with Citigroup to finance his possible bid. The third group that could potentially submit a bid is reportedly being back by Goldman Sachs. While the Marlins’ ownership group has made it clear they are willing to sell the franchise, they also noted that they may ultimately decide “not to sell the team if they can’t get an offer close to $1.6 billion.” Both Jeter and Bush are big names, but financing remains the key element in this potential transaction. The Marlins “auction process” might yield significant numbers, especially with the publicly-funded stadium and the World Series legacy.

  The deteriorating condition of the iconic Aloha Stadium in Halawa, Hawaii, has “led consultants to suggest building a smaller, more modern” facility to replace the current structure. According to KGMB-CBS, the 50,000-seat stadium originally opened up in 1975 and has required significant upkeep costs since then. While Aloha Stadium only cost $37 million to build at the time, nearly $100 million has been spent since 1990 on facility upgrades. The suggested replacement facility has a recommended capacity of 30,000 to 35,000 seats and would be built adjacent to the current stadium. The new stadium could “expand to 40,000 seats for special events, and would have a hotel, housing and retail space.” The consulting report added that the new stadium would cost $324.5 million and require 36% “less square footage, reducing operating expenses.” Hawaii has experienced tremendous economic impact through this historical venue. Seemingly, it is time to move on.

  Merely weeks before Kentucky Derby race weekend, Churchill Downs unveiled a new $16 million clubhouse renovation. According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, the renovation has turned the second-level Clubhouse area at the park from “a large somewhat shabby space into vibrant, welcoming quarters.” A few finishing touches still need to be made before the area will be ready to welcome thousands of visitors on May 5 and 6, but it has opened for local track-goers to pass through. Renovations to the Clubhouse area include more wagering locations, additional concessions stands meant to shorten the lines, and doubling the number of bathrooms. Track officials said that the modernization has “encompassed most of the 95,000-square-foot Clubhouse area and was designed to improve the track experience for the roughly 13,000 guests that typically enter the space on Oaks or Derby Day.” Facility renovation and modernization is critical in all sports – even ones whose primary athletes have four legs. Look for increased economic impact and long-term stability as a result.

[freewhispersmaker]

{Vid_@Rip} Bernard Hopkins vs Beibut Shumenov Live Stream Free Watch Results Any Device Supported

College essay writing service Tutorial Submitted by deewanasaika on Fri, 2014-04-18 05:00 due date not specified not answered deewanasaika is willing to pay $5.00 {Vid_@Rip} Bernard Hopkins vs Beibut Shumenov Live Stream Free Watch Results Any Device Supported . . WATCH FULL VIDEO—->>>>>> HOPKINS VS SHUMENOV LIVE STREAM . . WATCH FULL VIDEO—->>>>>> HOPKINS VS SHUMENOV LIVE STREAM . . Winner Hopkins vs Shumenov, Watch Hopkins vs Shumenov 2014 Live Stream, Full HD Streaming Bernard Hopkins vs Beibut Shumenov Live, Hopkins vs Shumenov Live Stream, Bernard Hopkins vs Beibut Shumenov 2014 Live Streaming, Watch Hopkins vs Shumenov Online, Free Hopkins vs Shumenov 2014 Live Streaming, Hopkins vs Shumenov Main Cards, Hopkins vs Shumenov Prediction, Fight Time Hopkins vs Shumenov Live, Watch Hopkins vs Shumenov Live Stream Match Cards, Hopkins vs Shumenov 2014 Live Streaming Results Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer called IBF light heavyweight titleholder Bernard Hopkins on Wednesday, the boxer’s 49th birthday, and delivered the perfect news. Schaefer told Hopkins that a deal has been reached, in principle, with promotional stablemate and WBA beltholder Beibut Shumenov for a unification bout. Hopkins-Shumenov would happen either on March 29 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn or April 19 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Schaefer said both venues will play host to Golden Boy events.

Already the oldest man to win a significant crown, Hopkins, who fights on Showtime (along with Shumenov), wants to get beyond Shumenov and face the winner between hard-hitting counterparts RING and WBC champion Adonis Stevenson and WBO beltholder Sergey Kovalev (should those two fight this year). “I called Bernard today on his 49th birthday, and had a very nice conversation with him. I told him how much I appreciate my friendship and my relationship with him, and what an amazing person he is, and that I’m really proud of the relationship we have,” said Schaefer. “I said that I wanted to give him a very special birthday gift, and I felt that delivering a unification fight at age 49 would give him a chance to make history again. We’ll be doing an event on both of those nights, and we have other names and other fights which will be held on that date as well. I’m working on some other big fights but I am not going to go into detail on those.”

Stevenson and Kovalev are aligned with Showtime’s network rival HBO, which has severed ties with Golden Boy. “If you look at what his plan would have been is that he fights Shumenov, and Stevenson and Kovalev fight each other, and then the two winners fight for the undisputed championship. But it seems like Stevenson and Kovalev may have other plans,” said Schaefer. “So he might have to beat all of them, which is no problem with Bernard. The blueprint is that he’s going to fight Shumenov first. I talked to Don Chargin, who is working with Shuemov, and with Al Haymon, who is his advisor, and we’re very close on getting the deal done with Beibut. It’s not signed, but I do believe that, in principle, we have a fight. I’ll be working to finalize all of this in the coming weeks.”

It was back on Sept. 29, 2001, that Hopkins scored a 12th-round knockout over previously undefeated Felix Trinidad at New York’s Madison Square Garde, earning the undisputed middleweight title. Trinidad became the 14th of the Philadelphia fighter’s record 20 title defenses, culminating a Don King-promoted 160-pound tournament duing which IBF beletholder Hopkins had dethroned the WBC’s Keith Holmes by unanimous decision, and Trinidad, the WBA’s William Joppy by fifth-round stoppage. Hopkins’ triumph added Trinidad’s WBA title to his IBF and WBC belts, unifying the middleweight division for the first time since 1987 and tying Carlos Monzon with his record 14th defense.

Now, Hopkins, sees a chance to achieve similar glory as a 175-pounder. “It’s going to happen because you’ve got two of the smartest guys, and two of the brightest guys that I trust, and that I respect first, and that’s Al Haymon and that is Richard Schaefer,” said Hopkins. “When you’ve got that situation, and you have two fighters who say that they want to fight in order to get to the other light heavyweight champions, that’s an ancient attitude. It hasn’t been like that in so many years. That’s why I think that the tournament of 2001 was so big, and promoted so big.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Bernard Hopkins set the middleweight title defense record by retaining his IBF belt 20 times en route to unifying all the major 160-pound belts during the course of his historic 10-year reign. From 1995 to 2005, he was known as “The Executioner.” More recently, Hopkins twice became the eldest man to win a major belt in boxing, later changing his nickname to “The Alien.”

On April 19 at the D.C. Amory in Washington, D.C., Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 knockouts), who turned 49 in January, will put his IBF 175-pound title on the line against that of WBA counterpart Beibut Shumenov (13-1, 8 KOs). Hopkins’ goal, within proximity of his 50th birthday, is to become undisputed champion as he did at 160-pounds. Hopkins wants to unify all the major belts by defeating Shumenov before facing the winner of a potential clash between RING and WBC champion Adonis Stevenson and WBO titleholder Sergey Kovalev. Golden Boy COO Bruce Binkow offered his perspective of Hopkins during a Tuesday press conference at the W Hotel in downtown Washington, DC.

“Every time Bernard Hopkins fights it’s a historical event,” said Binkow, “and we also have a world champion who is looking to make his mark and history by taking Bernard’s belt. Shumenov has successfully defended his title five times, and this April he gets an opportunity to add his name to the history books if he can do what very few people have done and beat Bernard Hopkins. “I could remind you that Bernard won his middleweight title in 1995 and successfully defended it 20 times. But what’s really amazing is that Bernard has had a spectacular last couple of years. He’s already twice become the oldest man to win a major world championship and in 2013 he had one of his greatest years ever.

I believe that if a baseball, football or basketball player was performing anywhere near the level that he is performing at his age he would be in a lab being studied by science. It’s absolutely unbelievable.” In October, Hopkins unanimously decisioned Karo Murat in defense of the IBF belt he won by unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Tavoris Cloud in March to extend his own record as the oldest man to win a significant crown.

Hopkins first set the record at the age of 46 by outpointing Jean Pascal for the WBC’s title in May 2011 before being dethroned following a majority decision loss to Chad Dawson in May 2012. After winning the IBF middleweight title from Segundo Mercado on April 29, 1995, Hopkins went on to defend it a record 20 times before losing to Jermain Taylor by a split decision on July 16, 2005. Hopkins’ milestone run included knockouts against the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Trinidad, Robert Allen, Simon Brown, Glen Johnson, John David Jackson and Carl Daniels.

After losing back-to-back controversial decisions to Taylor, Hopkins rose into the light heavyweight division for triumphs over Antonio Tarver, Winky Wright, Kelly Pavlik, Enrique Ornelas and Roy Jones, his lone light heavyweight defeat prior to Dawson was a split-decision against recent hall of fame inductee Joe Calzaghe. “When you’ve been in the game so long that you outlive your nickname… he was ‘The Executioner,’ now he’s ‘The Alien,’ it’s been an honor and a pleasure to actually watch him culminate into the type of athlete that he is today,” said Hopkins’ trainer, Naazim Richardson. “A lot of people don’t understand our sport, and they don’t understand that 30 in boxing is old. This guy is ancient. You have to sit back and realize how impressive this is.”

Hopkins is old enough to be a parent to the 30-year-old Shumenov, a 2004 Kazakhstan Olympian who ended an 18-month absence by scoring three knockdowns during a third-round stoppage of Tamas Kovacs in December. Shumenov dethroned Gabriel Campillo by controversial split decision in January of 2010, avenging a loss by majority decision in their previous fight in August of 2009. Shumenov established a record for the light heavyweight division by defeating Campillo in just his 10th professional bout.

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College essay writing service Tutorial Submitted by deewanasaika on Fri, 2014-04-18 05:00 due date not specified not answered deewanasaika is willing to pay $5.00 {Vid_@Rip} Bernard Hopkins vs Beibut Shumenov Live Stream Free Watch Results Any Device Supported . . WATCH FULL VIDEO—->>>>>> HOPKINS VS SHUMENOV LIVE STREAM . . WATCH FULL VIDEO—->>>>>> HOPKINS VS SHUMENOV LIVE STREAM . . Winner Hopkins vs Shumenov, Watch Hopkins vs Shumenov 2014 Live Stream, Full HD Streaming Bernard Hopkins vs Beibut Shumenov Live, Hopkins vs Shumenov Live Stream, Bernard Hopkins vs Beibut Shumenov 2014 Live Streaming, Watch Hopkins vs Shumenov Online, Free Hopkins vs Shumenov 2014 Live Streaming, Hopkins vs Shumenov Main Cards, Hopkins vs Shumenov Prediction, Fight Time Hopkins vs Shumenov Live, Watch Hopkins vs Shumenov Live Stream Match Cards, Hopkins vs Shumenov 2014 Live Streaming Results Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer called IBF light heavyweight titleholder Bernard Hopkins on Wednesday, the boxer’s 49th birthday, and delivered the perfect news. Schaefer told Hopkins that a deal has been reached, in principle, with promotional stablemate and WBA beltholder Beibut Shumenov for a unification bout. Hopkins-Shumenov would happen either on March 29 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn or April 19 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Schaefer said both venues will play host to Golden Boy events.

Already the oldest man to win a significant crown, Hopkins, who fights on Showtime (along with Shumenov), wants to get beyond Shumenov and face the winner between hard-hitting counterparts RING and WBC champion Adonis Stevenson and WBO beltholder Sergey Kovalev (should those two fight this year). “I called Bernard today on his 49th birthday, and had a very nice conversation with him. I told him how much I appreciate my friendship and my relationship with him, and what an amazing person he is, and that I’m really proud of the relationship we have,” said Schaefer. “I said that I wanted to give him a very special birthday gift, and I felt that delivering a unification fight at age 49 would give him a chance to make history again. We’ll be doing an event on both of those nights, and we have other names and other fights which will be held on that date as well. I’m working on some other big fights but I am not going to go into detail on those.”

Stevenson and Kovalev are aligned with Showtime’s network rival HBO, which has severed ties with Golden Boy. “If you look at what his plan would have been is that he fights Shumenov, and Stevenson and Kovalev fight each other, and then the two winners fight for the undisputed championship. But it seems like Stevenson and Kovalev may have other plans,” said Schaefer. “So he might have to beat all of them, which is no problem with Bernard. The blueprint is that he’s going to fight Shumenov first. I talked to Don Chargin, who is working with Shuemov, and with Al Haymon, who is his advisor, and we’re very close on getting the deal done with Beibut. It’s not signed, but I do believe that, in principle, we have a fight. I’ll be working to finalize all of this in the coming weeks.”

It was back on Sept. 29, 2001, that Hopkins scored a 12th-round knockout over previously undefeated Felix Trinidad at New York’s Madison Square Garde, earning the undisputed middleweight title. Trinidad became the 14th of the Philadelphia fighter’s record 20 title defenses, culminating a Don King-promoted 160-pound tournament duing which IBF beletholder Hopkins had dethroned the WBC’s Keith Holmes by unanimous decision, and Trinidad, the WBA’s William Joppy by fifth-round stoppage. Hopkins’ triumph added Trinidad’s WBA title to his IBF and WBC belts, unifying the middleweight division for the first time since 1987 and tying Carlos Monzon with his record 14th defense.

Now, Hopkins, sees a chance to achieve similar glory as a 175-pounder. “It’s going to happen because you’ve got two of the smartest guys, and two of the brightest guys that I trust, and that I respect first, and that’s Al Haymon and that is Richard Schaefer,” said Hopkins. “When you’ve got that situation, and you have two fighters who say that they want to fight in order to get to the other light heavyweight champions, that’s an ancient attitude. It hasn’t been like that in so many years. That’s why I think that the tournament of 2001 was so big, and promoted so big.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Bernard Hopkins set the middleweight title defense record by retaining his IBF belt 20 times en route to unifying all the major 160-pound belts during the course of his historic 10-year reign. From 1995 to 2005, he was known as “The Executioner.” More recently, Hopkins twice became the eldest man to win a major belt in boxing, later changing his nickname to “The Alien.”

On April 19 at the D.C. Amory in Washington, D.C., Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 knockouts), who turned 49 in January, will put his IBF 175-pound title on the line against that of WBA counterpart Beibut Shumenov (13-1, 8 KOs). Hopkins’ goal, within proximity of his 50th birthday, is to become undisputed champion as he did at 160-pounds. Hopkins wants to unify all the major belts by defeating Shumenov before facing the winner of a potential clash between RING and WBC champion Adonis Stevenson and WBO titleholder Sergey Kovalev. Golden Boy COO Bruce Binkow offered his perspective of Hopkins during a Tuesday press conference at the W Hotel in downtown Washington, DC.

“Every time Bernard Hopkins fights it’s a historical event,” said Binkow, “and we also have a world champion who is looking to make his mark and history by taking Bernard’s belt. Shumenov has successfully defended his title five times, and this April he gets an opportunity to add his name to the history books if he can do what very few people have done and beat Bernard Hopkins. “I could remind you that Bernard won his middleweight title in 1995 and successfully defended it 20 times. But what’s really amazing is that Bernard has had a spectacular last couple of years. He’s already twice become the oldest man to win a major world championship and in 2013 he had one of his greatest years ever.

I believe that if a baseball, football or basketball player was performing anywhere near the level that he is performing at his age he would be in a lab being studied by science. It’s absolutely unbelievable.” In October, Hopkins unanimously decisioned Karo Murat in defense of the IBF belt he won by unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Tavoris Cloud in March to extend his own record as the oldest man to win a significant crown.

Hopkins first set the record at the age of 46 by outpointing Jean Pascal for the WBC’s title in May 2011 before being dethroned following a majority decision loss to Chad Dawson in May 2012. After winning the IBF middleweight title from Segundo Mercado on April 29, 1995, Hopkins went on to defend it a record 20 times before losing to Jermain Taylor by a split decision on July 16, 2005. Hopkins’ milestone run included knockouts against the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Trinidad, Robert Allen, Simon Brown, Glen Johnson, John David Jackson and Carl Daniels.

After losing back-to-back controversial decisions to Taylor, Hopkins rose into the light heavyweight division for triumphs over Antonio Tarver, Winky Wright, Kelly Pavlik, Enrique Ornelas and Roy Jones, his lone light heavyweight defeat prior to Dawson was a split-decision against recent hall of fame inductee Joe Calzaghe. “When you’ve been in the game so long that you outlive your nickname… he was ‘The Executioner,’ now he’s ‘The Alien,’ it’s been an honor and a pleasure to actually watch him culminate into the type of athlete that he is today,” said Hopkins’ trainer, Naazim Richardson. “A lot of people don’t understand our sport, and they don’t understand that 30 in boxing is old. This guy is ancient. You have to sit back and realize how impressive this is.”

Hopkins is old enough to be a parent to the 30-year-old Shumenov, a 2004 Kazakhstan Olympian who ended an 18-month absence by scoring three knockdowns during a third-round stoppage of Tamas Kovacs in December. Shumenov dethroned Gabriel Campillo by controversial split decision in January of 2010, avenging a loss by majority decision in their previous fight in August of 2009. Shumenov established a record for the light heavyweight division by defeating Campillo in just his 10th professional bout.

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College essay writing service Tutorial Submitted by deewanasaika on Fri, 2014-04-18 05:00 due date not specified not answered deewanasaika is willing to pay $5.00 {Vid_@Rip} Bernard Hopkins vs Beibut Shumenov Live Stream Free Watch Results Any Device Supported . . WATCH FULL VIDEO—->>>>>> HOPKINS VS SHUMENOV LIVE STREAM . . WATCH FULL VIDEO—->>>>>> HOPKINS VS SHUMENOV LIVE STREAM . . Winner Hopkins vs Shumenov, Watch Hopkins vs Shumenov 2014 Live Stream, Full HD Streaming Bernard Hopkins vs Beibut Shumenov Live, Hopkins vs Shumenov Live Stream, Bernard Hopkins vs Beibut Shumenov 2014 Live Streaming, Watch Hopkins vs Shumenov Online, Free Hopkins vs Shumenov 2014 Live Streaming, Hopkins vs Shumenov Main Cards, Hopkins vs Shumenov Prediction, Fight Time Hopkins vs Shumenov Live, Watch Hopkins vs Shumenov Live Stream Match Cards, Hopkins vs Shumenov 2014 Live Streaming Results Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer called IBF light heavyweight titleholder Bernard Hopkins on Wednesday, the boxer’s 49th birthday, and delivered the perfect news. Schaefer told Hopkins that a deal has been reached, in principle, with promotional stablemate and WBA beltholder Beibut Shumenov for a unification bout. Hopkins-Shumenov would happen either on March 29 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn or April 19 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Schaefer said both venues will play host to Golden Boy events.

Already the oldest man to win a significant crown, Hopkins, who fights on Showtime (along with Shumenov), wants to get beyond Shumenov and face the winner between hard-hitting counterparts RING and WBC champion Adonis Stevenson and WBO beltholder Sergey Kovalev (should those two fight this year). “I called Bernard today on his 49th birthday, and had a very nice conversation with him. I told him how much I appreciate my friendship and my relationship with him, and what an amazing person he is, and that I’m really proud of the relationship we have,” said Schaefer. “I said that I wanted to give him a very special birthday gift, and I felt that delivering a unification fight at age 49 would give him a chance to make history again. We’ll be doing an event on both of those nights, and we have other names and other fights which will be held on that date as well. I’m working on some other big fights but I am not going to go into detail on those.”

Stevenson and Kovalev are aligned with Showtime’s network rival HBO, which has severed ties with Golden Boy. “If you look at what his plan would have been is that he fights Shumenov, and Stevenson and Kovalev fight each other, and then the two winners fight for the undisputed championship. But it seems like Stevenson and Kovalev may have other plans,” said Schaefer. “So he might have to beat all of them, which is no problem with Bernard. The blueprint is that he’s going to fight Shumenov first. I talked to Don Chargin, who is working with Shuemov, and with Al Haymon, who is his advisor, and we’re very close on getting the deal done with Beibut. It’s not signed, but I do believe that, in principle, we have a fight. I’ll be working to finalize all of this in the coming weeks.”

It was back on Sept. 29, 2001, that Hopkins scored a 12th-round knockout over previously undefeated Felix Trinidad at New York’s Madison Square Garde, earning the undisputed middleweight title. Trinidad became the 14th of the Philadelphia fighter’s record 20 title defenses, culminating a Don King-promoted 160-pound tournament duing which IBF beletholder Hopkins had dethroned the WBC’s Keith Holmes by unanimous decision, and Trinidad, the WBA’s William Joppy by fifth-round stoppage. Hopkins’ triumph added Trinidad’s WBA title to his IBF and WBC belts, unifying the middleweight division for the first time since 1987 and tying Carlos Monzon with his record 14th defense.

Now, Hopkins, sees a chance to achieve similar glory as a 175-pounder. “It’s going to happen because you’ve got two of the smartest guys, and two of the brightest guys that I trust, and that I respect first, and that’s Al Haymon and that is Richard Schaefer,” said Hopkins. “When you’ve got that situation, and you have two fighters who say that they want to fight in order to get to the other light heavyweight champions, that’s an ancient attitude. It hasn’t been like that in so many years. That’s why I think that the tournament of 2001 was so big, and promoted so big.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Bernard Hopkins set the middleweight title defense record by retaining his IBF belt 20 times en route to unifying all the major 160-pound belts during the course of his historic 10-year reign. From 1995 to 2005, he was known as “The Executioner.” More recently, Hopkins twice became the eldest man to win a major belt in boxing, later changing his nickname to “The Alien.”

On April 19 at the D.C. Amory in Washington, D.C., Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 knockouts), who turned 49 in January, will put his IBF 175-pound title on the line against that of WBA counterpart Beibut Shumenov (13-1, 8 KOs). Hopkins’ goal, within proximity of his 50th birthday, is to become undisputed champion as he did at 160-pounds. Hopkins wants to unify all the major belts by defeating Shumenov before facing the winner of a potential clash between RING and WBC champion Adonis Stevenson and WBO titleholder Sergey Kovalev. Golden Boy COO Bruce Binkow offered his perspective of Hopkins during a Tuesday press conference at the W Hotel in downtown Washington, DC.

“Every time Bernard Hopkins fights it’s a historical event,” said Binkow, “and we also have a world champion who is looking to make his mark and history by taking Bernard’s belt. Shumenov has successfully defended his title five times, and this April he gets an opportunity to add his name to the history books if he can do what very few people have done and beat Bernard Hopkins. “I could remind you that Bernard won his middleweight title in 1995 and successfully defended it 20 times. But what’s really amazing is that Bernard has had a spectacular last couple of years. He’s already twice become the oldest man to win a major world championship and in 2013 he had one of his greatest years ever.

I believe that if a baseball, football or basketball player was performing anywhere near the level that he is performing at his age he would be in a lab being studied by science. It’s absolutely unbelievable.” In October, Hopkins unanimously decisioned Karo Murat in defense of the IBF belt he won by unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Tavoris Cloud in March to extend his own record as the oldest man to win a significant crown.

Hopkins first set the record at the age of 46 by outpointing Jean Pascal for the WBC’s title in May 2011 before being dethroned following a majority decision loss to Chad Dawson in May 2012. After winning the IBF middleweight title from Segundo Mercado on April 29, 1995, Hopkins went on to defend it a record 20 times before losing to Jermain Taylor by a split decision on July 16, 2005. Hopkins’ milestone run included knockouts against the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Trinidad, Robert Allen, Simon Brown, Glen Johnson, John David Jackson and Carl Daniels.

After losing back-to-back controversial decisions to Taylor, Hopkins rose into the light heavyweight division for triumphs over Antonio Tarver, Winky Wright, Kelly Pavlik, Enrique Ornelas and Roy Jones, his lone light heavyweight defeat prior to Dawson was a split-decision against recent hall of fame inductee Joe Calzaghe. “When you’ve been in the game so long that you outlive your nickname… he was ‘The Executioner,’ now he’s ‘The Alien,’ it’s been an honor and a pleasure to actually watch him culminate into the type of athlete that he is today,” said Hopkins’ trainer, Naazim Richardson. “A lot of people don’t understand our sport, and they don’t understand that 30 in boxing is old. This guy is ancient. You have to sit back and realize how impressive this is.”

Hopkins is old enough to be a parent to the 30-year-old Shumenov, a 2004 Kazakhstan Olympian who ended an 18-month absence by scoring three knockdowns during a third-round stoppage of Tamas Kovacs in December. Shumenov dethroned Gabriel Campillo by controversial split decision in January of 2010, avenging a loss by majority decision in their previous fight in August of 2009. Shumenov established a record for the light heavyweight division by defeating Campillo in just his 10th professional bout.

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The purist's America's Cup the story of the seven-strong J Class Regatta in Bermuda

A record fleet of seven J Class yachts in Bermuda represented the purer form of the sport for many America's Cup fans. Toby Hodges reports.

Seven J Class yachts hit the startline for the first time ever. Photo J Class/Carlo Borlenghi.

Inviting the J Class fleet to sail in Bermuda during the America's Cup finals was one of the smartest decisions made by Russell Coutts and the organisers of the event. The largest J fleet to ever assemble in the 88-year history of the class put on a true yachting spectacle sailing at its finest.

The America's Cup catamarans divide opinion sharply among long-term sailing fans. For all those who love the high speed, high adrenaline format, it appears to repel at least an equal number. Hosting the J Class in Bermuda proved the ultimate foil to the foilers. It was an exhibition of timeless design and sail handling skill that the modern Cup lacked.

When five Js raced for the first time in 2012, it signalled the true renaissance of this incomparable class. But the sight of seven Js on a startline, racing over the calm, turquoise waters of Bermuda was sensational. It was the picture-perfect showcase for these graceful 1930s designs and a demonstration of the precise choreography of the large teams of skilled hands needed to get them safely and speedily around a race course.

All nine existing Js are in prime condition, upgraded and optimised to the nth degree (although both Rainbow and Endeavour are for sale and were not competing). The seven-strong racing fleet carries carbon sails, for example, as used by grand prix race yachts. The sight of these black sails on classic yachts made for a strange sight as they cast dark shadows over the clear water.

Lionheart, a 2010-built Hoek design that is taken from one of the lines plans made for the Ranger syndicate in 1936, proved the star performer. She won both the Superyacht Regatta, which comprised six Js and 14 superyachts, and the seven-strong J Class Regatta.

But the latter was only decided in the final stages of the final race (more on that later). As with most J Class racing in recent years, places were often separated by mere seconds on the water.

JK3 Shamrock V, the oldest J and the first built for the America's Cup in 1929, changed hands last year and underwent a refit to get her race-ready for this season. Her teak planked construction means she can't take the high rig loads of the other steel and aluminium Js. She is shorter and around ten per cent slower so can only compete on handicap.

JS1 Svea, the newest and longest J, is the polar opposite. Her blend of J Class lines and maxi class technology makes her one of the most exceptional new yachts of modern times. Impressively, she got a 3rd place on her first ever race, and a 1st on the second a phenomenal achievement for a virtually brand new yacht.

Ultimate exhibition of sail

The Js held their own regatta either side of the first weekend of the America's Cup finals and an armada of local and visiting boats followed the fleet out to the racecourse.

Those ashore were given the chance to see the fleet in action too. The shallow waters of the Great Sound are too restrictive to set proper courses for the J Class, hence the races were held off the north coast of the island. On the day of the first America's Cup match, however, the Js performed an exhibition race that saw them set off at 30-second intervals on the Cup course on the Great Sound.

The footage and live commentary was beamed to the big screens and watched by thousands of fans assembled in the America's Cup village. It created a carnival atmosphere and a tangible link to the history of sport's oldest trophy.

The J Class were originally designed and raced for the America's Cup during the 1930s. Sir Thomas Lipton commissioned the first J Class yacht, Shamrock V, for his fifth challenge for the Auld Mug. The Js signalled the change from the big boat class, to one where the size and displacement of the yachts were controlled for more even racing. Fittingly, it was the adoption of the Bermudan rig that enabled Js to carry their vast sail plans.

Just three of the ten J Class yachts originally built survive today the rest are replicas or new builds of original designs. It still requires around 30 race crew to get these 180-tonne yachts around the marks, just as it did during the 1930s.

You only have to look at the start sequence, with everyone within a second of the gun, it's very close, said Shamrock's skipper Simon Lacey. It's vital to have the skill set to sail these boats safely at this level.

Photo J Class/Carlo Borlenghi

Lionheart leading the fleet.

Velsheda

The green hull of Shamrock V. The the oldest J in the fleet is in great condition but her smaller size and sailplan mean she can only compete on handicap. Photo J Class/Carlo Borlenghi.

Cup sailors on ex-Cup yachts

The huge pool of decorated sailing talent aboard the J Class yachts in Bermuda made for a stark contrast to the modern America's Cup format, where sailing roles are limited. The Js need the pros and the pros increasingly need the Js.

The pit and forward ends feature serious muscle power, ex-grinders with nicknames like 'Meat', 'Animal' and 'the Tractor'. A glance at the afterguards shows that this class holds the cream of collective experience and provides longevity to the careers of some of the sport's greatest sailors.

The crew of Ranger, for example, under long-term helmsman Erle Williams, included four times America's Cup winner Brad Butterworth calling tactics. Tony Rae, manning the mainsheet, is a seven-time Cup veteran who sailed in every Team New Zealand line-up from 1987 until 2013.

For me there is no sailing role now for a 55-year-old, Rae explained. It has all changed and that is one of the reasons we have so many ex-America's Cup sailors on these J Class yachts.

Hanuman is helmed by ex-Puma skipper Ken Read, who is supported by his Volvo Ocean Race navigator Stan Honey and eight-time America's Cup sailor Warwick Fleury trimming.

Svea's strategist is North Sails CEO Tom Whidden, a three-time Cup winner, sailing with navigator Peter Isler, his fellow crewmember from Stars & Stripes. Andrew Taylor is the crew boss, a powerhouse who has won the America's Cup three times twice for Team New Zealand and in 2010 with Oracle Team USA.

The pros are used in pivotal positions on Js and the other crew and permanent hands absorb their knowledge and experience. Lionheart's Bouwe Bekking, a seven-time Volvo Ocean Race veteran, stressed that although the pros are vital, every hand is really important. One of the strong points of Lionheart is that we have been sailing together for four years.

Velsheda's crew has sailed together for a decade and includes top Kiwi pros such as Tom Dodson as tactician, Campbell Field navigating and Carsten Schon trimming. Mainsheet trimmer Don Cowie made the point that it is actually difficult to find younger crew these days who are used to racing on yachts with such phenomenal loads.

Stu Bannatyne, Shamrock's helmsman and a three-time winner of the Volvo Ocean Race, doesn't think that there is a danger of these skilled roles dying out however. Who knows what will happen with the next round of the AC? It may revert to boats that do require a little bit of sail handling I think that would be nice.

Shamrock's crew included Olympic and Volvo sailor Chris Nicholson on tactics and four crew from three current Cup teams.

Olympic Tornado sailor Pim Nieuwenhuis mans the huge Harken primary aboard Svea. Charlie Ogletree and Francesco de Angelis flank her owner-driver. Photo J Class/Studio Borlenghi/Butto'.

Hanuman's long-term helmsman is ex-Puma skipper and America's Cup television commentator Ken Read. Photo ACEA 2017/Studio Borlenghi.

Hanuman's owner, Australian model Kristy Hinze-Clark, takes the helm. Photo J Class/Carlo Borlenghi.

Olympic Finn sailor Peter Holmberg at the helm of Topaz, with double Olympic medal winner Ross MacDonald on tactics. Photo Studio Borlenghi.

Seven J Class yachts race

On the first day that all seven Js actually raced, Shamrock's skipper Simon Lacey, the only person to have skippered all three original Js, invited me to join Shamrock's crew.

At the start, we were the only boat to cross the line on port tack a tactical decision to take the transoms of the fleet and keep out of their dirty air. Shamrock is smaller than the other Js and restricted by her older systems and rig, so has to sail her own race. We have 30 per cent less stability and 200sq m less sail area for the same weight as Hanuman, says Jeroen de Vos of Dykstra Naval Architects, who was trimming.

De Vos has worked on the design and optimisation of six of the Js over the last 20 years, including Hanuman, Ranger and Shamrock last year. Hanuman and Lionheart in particular underwent extensive work that specifically targeted the light winds of Bermuda.

De Vos said that ten tonnes was stripped out of Hanuman and that the forestay was moved forward a rigging change that was also made to Ranger. Hanuman also has a furling forestay and is the only J to use a snuffer on the kite to allow for late drops and quicker mark roundings.

Shamrock's size difference is certainly noticeable on deck and below. While she was clearly slower and less agile around the track the upside of which, for me at least, was a prime view of the mark roundings of six other Js ahead Shamrock was still expertly handled during the windward-leeward races that day.

During the first beat our crew boss Andy McLean, a Kiwi sailor who worked on the control systems for Land Rover BAR, admitted that he hadn't sailed with a spinnaker pole since the 2007 Cup.

As we approached the top mark, however, the bear-away set he oversaw was a lesson in clockwork efficiency. Eight crew manhandled the spinnaker pole into place, while two more set the jockey pole. As we powered around the offset buoy, the sheets were eased, before the spinnaker rocketed aloft and burst open. Crew then scurried to the foredeck to grapple down the genoa, the kite was trimmed and calm restored.

Unfortunately the sight of all seven Js racing together only lasted for one and a half races. While coming into the top mark during the second race, the top fitting of Svea's headstay furler parted with a frightening bang. The genoa dropped instantly to the water and, were it not for quick crew work, they could have dismasted.

The runners and sheet were immediately eased and halyards cranked onto the foredeck. No one was hurt and Svea made it back to dock safely for her official christening party that evening. But it was a crushing blow for Svea's crew, who had worked so hard over the last two years to get her ready for this summer's J events.

Svea is a remarkably stiff yacht with carbon sails and rigging that directly transmit the wind's force through the boat. An astonishing 35 tonnes of load can be cranked onto the forestay. That this failure happened in 11 knots of wind and flat water, at less than half the safe working load of the fitting (55 tonnes), is highly concerning. Captain Paul Kelly says the rig will be inspected in Newport and that they hope to be back racing in time for the inaugural J Class Worlds in August.

The Js may sail at a pedestrian pace compared to the America's Cup foiling catamarans, but as this fleet increases in size, so too does the potential for drama and position changes. One bad layline call, one poor gybe, or a mistimed entry to the windward mark even by a few seconds and the race positions get shaken up.

This was proven during the final races, when Hanuman and Ranger went into the last day sharing the lead but finished 3rd and 4th. Lionheart had a poor final start and was in last place going up the first beat it looked like Hanuman's regatta was sealed.

But when a penalty was issued to Hanuman for a rule infringement on a port approach to the last windward mark and Lionheart then managed to pass Topaz on the downwind leg, Lionheart snatched the regatta win in the final moments.

The crew were ecstatic. On receiving the trophy, Lionheart's owner said the crew had been gearing up for this event for over two years. That both Lionheart and 2nd-placed Velsheda have owner-drivers is also good for the future appeal of the class.

The crew of Lionheart celebrate their victory.

All spare hands grapple with the 950m2 spinnaker aboard Svea, the latest addition to the J Class fleet. Photo J Class/Studio Borlenghi/Butto'.

The future of the J Class and the Cup

Might such an event happen again or was it a once in a lifetime? And will the Js continue this formal link to the America's Cup?

The Js are all private yachts used for racing and cruising, so such a decision lies squarely with each owner. But would the owners be keen on going to New Zealand for the next Cup for example?

Yes, I would say so, says J Class Association secretary Louise Morton. Certainly the invitation was there.

It is very unusual (and expensive) for the class to do standalone events yet recently they have competed in Falmouth, Bermuda and their first worlds will be in Newport in August. Next year the class plans to attend the St Barths Bucket and three key Med superyacht regattas.

The success of this Bermuda event also begs the question of whether we will ever see more than seven Js race? If Endeavour and Rainbow change hands it is certainly possible. And there are still a number of original lines plans that could be commissioned as new builds.

It's in the hands of the owners to maintain the longevity of the class, says Dykstra designer Jeroen de Vos. Now the class is growing it will only appeal more to potential owners.

Whatever becomes of the America's Cup racing class in the next edition of the Cup, it would be a prudent decision for the new defenders to get an early invitation in to the J Class fleet to join in. That's how to guarantee a spectacle.

The post The purist's America's Cup the story of the seven-strong J Class Regatta in Bermuda appeared first on Yachting World.