title: Blue Thunder

text: Filmed on location in Los Angeles beginning in the late months of 1981, "Blue Thunder" was one of Warren Oates' last films before his death on April 3, 1982, which occurred during post-production, and the film is dedicated to him. He made one movie and one TV episode before and after filming during 1981–1982 that were released after "Blue Thunder."


title: Blue Thunder

text: Although the film was shot in Los Angeles and real-life neighborhoods are mentioned, the LAPD did not allow any references to be made to them. Hence, the police force is known as the more-generic "Metropolitan Police" and Frank Murphy is part of the fictional "ASTRO Division", rather than the real-life "Air Support Division". However, Air Support assignments are often known as ASTRO, or "Air Support to Regular Operations".


title: Blue Thunder

text: The LAPD Hooper Heliport, which was still under construction at the time, filled in as the home base for the fictional version of the police air unit. The drive-in theater scene where Frank's girlfriend Kate recovers the tape was filmed at the Pickwick Theatre in Burbank, California; the theater has since then been demolished and replaced by a Pavilions supermarket.


title: Blue Thunder

text: Malcolm McDowell, who portrayed antagonist F. E. Cochrane, was intensely afraid of flying, and not even his then-wife Mary Steenburgen could persuade him to overcome his phobia. In an interview for "Starlog" in 1983, Badham recalled, "He was terrified. He used to get out and throw up after a flight." McDowell's grimaces and discomfort can be seen during the climactic battle between Murphy and Cochrane in the film. Steenburgen commented to filmmakers afterward, "I don't know how you got him up there, I can't even get him in a 747!"


title: Blue Thunder

text: Designer Mickey Michaels created the helicopters used in the film after reviewing and rejecting various existing designs. The helicopters used for "Blue Thunder" were French built Aérospatiale SA-341G Gazelles modified with bolt-on parts and Apache-style canopies. Two modified Gazelle helicopters, a Hughes 500 helicopter, and two radio-controlled F-16 fighter models were used in the filming of the movie. The helicopters were purchased from Aérospatiale by Columbia Pictures for $190,000 each and flown to Cinema Air in Carlsbad, California where they were heavily modified for the film. These alterations made the helicopters so heavy that various tricks had to be employed to make it look fast and agile in the film. For instance, the 360° loop maneuver Murphy performs at the end of the film, which catches Cochrane so completely by surprise that he is easily shot down by Murphy's gunfire and killed, was carried out by a radio controlled model.


title: Blue Thunder

text: "Blue Thunder" was released on May 13, 1983. It was the number 1 ranked film in the United States on its opening weekend, taking in $8,258,149 at 1,539 theaters, overtaking the previous number 1 film "Flashdance". The film was ranked No. 2 in its second and third weekends. Overall, in the US, it took in $42,313,354 for its 66 days of release. "Blue Thunder" was released in West Germany on February 5, 1983, before its US release, being released worldwide between June and September 1983. Its UK release was August 25, 1983. It was released in East Germany and South Korea in 1984. Its total international box office income is unreported. The film made $21.9 million in video rentals in the US.


title: Blue Thunder

text: On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 78% based on 23 reviews. On Metacritic it has a score of 66% based on reviews from 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."


title: Blue Thunder

text: "Variety" called it "a ripsnorting live-action cartoon, utterly implausible but no less enjoyable for that". Rita Kempley of "The Washington Post" wrote: "Blue Thunder hovers just this side of trash and the other side of credibility, but it propels a willing audience into adrenaline heaven."


title: Blue Thunder

text: Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote: "The action sequences are what the film is all about, and these are remarkably well done, including a climactic, largely bloodless shootout among helicopters and jet fighters over Los Angeles."


title: Blue Thunder

text: C.J. Henderson reviewed "Blue Thunder" in "The Space Gamer" No. 63. Henderson commented that ""Blue Thunder" is this year's must-see action film. See it."


title: Blue Thunder

text: Christopher John reviewed "Blue Thunder" in "Ares Magazine" #14 and commented that "For those who want a film that is both filled with action "and" thought provoking, "Blue Thunder" is a sure bet. Watch out, George, the Jedi have competition."


title: Blue Thunder

text: An acronym used in the film, "", meaning "Just Another Fucking Observer", is police community and is mentioned repeatedly in the film in reference to any police helicopter's non-pilot second officer, in this case Daniel Stern's character of Richard Lymangood. In the related TV series, the reference is expurgated as "Just Another "Frustrated" Observer".


title: Blue Thunder

text: A screen still from "Blue Thunder" of the helicopter flying in front of the Los Angeles skyline is used as the background image of the title screen in the Sega 1987 video game "Thunder Blade".


title: Blue Thunder

text: In 1987, Coca-Cola Telecommunications released a "Blue Thunder" video tape cartridge for Worlds of Wonder's short lived Action Max game system. Using footage from the film, the player plays the pilot of the Blue Thunder helicopter as he tries to prevent the World Peace Coalition from being attacked by a terrorist organization.


title: Blue Thunder

text: In 2015, Sony proposed a remake of "Blue Thunder" focusing on drone technology, with Dana Brunetti and Michael De Luca as producers, and Craig Kyle as writer. In 2017, it was announced that Columbia Pictures would be overseeing the remake.


title: Sambucus nigra

text: Sambucus nigra is a species complex of flowering plants in the family Adoxaceae native to most of Europe. Common names include elder, elderberry, black elder, European elder, European elderberry, European black elderberry and tramman (Isle of Man). It grows in a variety of conditions including both wet and dry fertile soils, primarily in sunny locations. The plant is widely grown as an ornamental shrub or small tree. Both the flowers and the berries have a long tradition of culinary use, primarily for cordial and wine.


title: Sambucus nigra

text: Although elderberry is commonly used in dietary supplements and traditional medicine, there is no scientific evidence that it provides any benefit for maintaining health or treating diseases.


title: Sambucus nigra

text: Elderberry is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing to tall and wide, rarely reaching tall. The bark, light gray when young, changes to a coarse gray outer bark with lengthwise furrowing, lenticels prominent. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, long, pinnate with five to seven (rarely nine) leaflets, the leaflets long and broad, with a serrated margin. The young stems are hollow.


title: Sambucus nigra

text: The hermaphroditic flowers have five stamens, which are borne in large, flat corymbs 10–25 cm in diameter in late spring to mid-summer. The individual flowers are ivory white, in diameter, with five petals, and are pollinated by flies.


title: Sambucus nigra

text: The fruit is a glossy, dark purple to black berry 3–5 mm diameter, produced in drooping clusters in late autumn. The dark color of elderberry fruit occurs from its rich phenolic content, particularly from anthocyanins.


title: Sambucus nigra

text: There are several other closely related species, native to Asia and North America, which are similar, and sometimes treated as subspecies of "Sambucus nigra", including "S. nigra" subsp. "canadensis" and "S. nigra" subsp. "cerulea".


title: Sambucus nigra

text: The Latin specific epithet "nigra" means "black", and refers to the deeply dark colour of the berries. The English term for the tree is not believed to come from the word "old", but from the Anglo Saxon "æld", meaning fire, because the hollow stems of the branches were used as bellows to blow air into a fire.


title: Sambucus nigra

text: "Sambucus nigra" is native to Europe as far east as Turkey. It is native in, and common throughout, the British Isles. It has been introduced to parts of most other continents of the world.


title: Sambucus nigra

text: Elder rates as fair to good forage for animals such as mule deer, elk, sheep, and small birds. The fruit are an important food for many fruit-eating birds, notably blackcaps. Ripe elderberries are a favorite food for migrating band-tailed pigeons in northern California, which may sometimes strip an entire bush in a short time. The species provides good habitat for large and small mammals, as well as nesting habitat for many birds, including hummingbirds, warblers, and vireos. It is also a larval host to the spring azure.


title: Sambucus nigra

text: Except for the flowers and ripe berries (but including the ripe seeds), all parts of the plant are poisonous to mammals, containing the cyanogenic glycoside sambunigrin (CHNO, CAS number 99-19-4). The bark contains calcium oxalate crystals.


title: Sambucus nigra

text: Some selections and cultivars have variegated or coloured leaves and other distinctive qualities, and are grown as ornamental plants. "S. nigra" f. "porphyrophylla" has dark maroon or black leaves, and pale pink flowers.


title: Sambucus nigra

text: Components of the elderberry plant, including its fruit, contain diverse phytochemicals, such as alkaloids, lectins, and cyanogenic glycosides, which may be toxic if consumed raw. The seeds and all green parts of the plant contain cyanogenic glycosides. Consumption of berries, leaves, bark or stems, if not properly prepared, may cause nausea, vomiting, and severe diarrhea. Elderberry plant constituents or products should not be consumed during pregnancy or by people with allergies or gastrointestinal diseases. Elderberry products may cause adverse effects when used with prescription drugs.


title: Sambucus nigra

text: The dark blue or purple berries are mildly poisonous in their raw state, but are edible after cooking. They can be used to make jam, jelly, chutney, and Pontack sauce. In Scandinavia and Germany, soup made from the elderberry (e.g. the German "Fliederbeersuppe") is a traditional meal.


title: Sambucus nigra

text: Commonly, the flowerheads are used in infusions, giving a drink in Northern Europe and the Balkans. These drinks are sold commercially as elderflower cordial or elderflower pressé . In Europe, the flowers are made into a syrup or cordial (in Romanian: Socată, in Swedish: fläder(blom)saft, in Danish: hyldeblomstsaft / hyldedrik), which is diluted with water before drinking. The popularity of this traditional drink recently has encouraged some commercial soft drink producers to introduce elderflower-flavoured drinks (Fanta Shokata, Freaky Fläder). The flowers also may be dipped into a light batter and then fried to make elderflower fritters.


title: Sambucus nigra

text: The berries may be made into elderberry wine. In Hungary, an elderberry brandy is made that requires 50 kilograms of fruit to produce 1 litre of brandy. In south-western Sweden, it is traditional to make a snaps liqueur flavoured with elderflower. Elderflowers are used in liqueurs such as St-Germain, and in a mildly alcoholic sparkling elderflower 'champagne', although a more alcoholic home-made version can be made. In Beerse, Belgium, a variety of jenever called "beers vlierke" is made from the berries.


title: Sambucus nigra

text: This plant is used in traditional medicine by native peoples and herbalists. Extracts of the flowers and fruits are used for cold and flu symptoms, although there is no high-quality clinical evidence that it is effective for treating any disease.


title: Alex Bregman

text: Alexander David Bregman (born March 30, 1994) is an American professional baseball third baseman and shortstop for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB).


title: Alex Bregman

text: As a high school sophomore at Albuquerque Academy in 2010, Bregman became the first high school player to win the USA Baseball Player of the Year Award. As a junior the following year he batted .678, while setting a New Mexico season record with 19 home runs. In three years of college baseball for Louisiana State University (LSU), Bregman was voted the 2013 National Freshman of the Year by "Baseball America", won the 2013 Brooks Wallace Award as the country's best college shortstop, and was a two-time All-American. Toward the end of his junior year of college, he was selected by the Houston Astros with the second pick in the first round of the 2015 MLB draft.


title: Alex Bregman

text: Bregman made his MLB debut in 2016. He started 2017 as the youngest member of Team USA, which won the gold medal in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, and he ended the season winning the 2017 World Series with the Astros. He was named MVP of the 2018 MLB All-Star Game, and led the American League in doubles in 2018. In 2019 he was again an All Star, led the AL in walks and WAR, and received the 2019 American League Silver Slugger Award at third base. Bregman is the all-time leader in postseason home runs (15) and runs batted in (47) for a third baseman in baseball history.


title: Alex Bregman

text: Bregman was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and raised in the Northeast Heights section. He is Jewish, and was a member of Albuquerque's Congregation Albert growing up. At age 13–at the time, a head shorter than his mother–in his Bar Mitzvah speech he said: "I want to be a professional athlete who plays for the love of the game, never quits trying to give my best, and is a good role model for all of the kids who look up to baseball players."


title: Alex Bregman

text: His father, Samuel Bregman, and his mother, Jackie Bregman (née De Oliveira), met in law school and are both lawyers. Sam Bregman also served as the chair of the Democratic Party of New Mexico. He has two younger siblings, Jessica and Anthony (A.J.); his brother A.J. is also a baseball player, and was selected by the Astros in the 35th round of the 2018 MLB Draft. His father played baseball as a freshman for the University of New Mexico Lobos in 1982, a team for which his uncle Ben Bregman also played; they both originally moved to Albuquerque to play baseball for the college on baseball scholarships. His father was also a part owner, starting in 2006, of the NBA Development League’s New Mexico Thunderbirds.


title: Alex Bregman

text: His grandfather Stan Bregman was the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants. His grandfather was general counsel for the Washington Senators from the late 1960s until the team moved to Texas in 1971 in a sale that he negotiated, and he helped the club sign Hall of Famer Ted Williams as the team's general manager. His grandfather saw all of his games in high school. His great-grandfather Samuel "Bo" Bregman immigrated from Russia to Washington, D.C., around 1900 at age 11 to escape Russian anti-Jewish pogroms, and ultimately married Sadie Hurwitz. He promoted boxing cards that featured, among others, Joe Louis, Billy Conn, and Bob Foster. He was also part of the ownership group with George Preston Marshall that moved the Boston Redskins to Washington, D.C., to become the Washington Redskins.


title: Alex Bregman

text: Bregman began playing tee-ball at age 4. In his first game, he turned an unassisted triple play by catching a line drive, tagging a runner, and then stepping on second base. He was a batboy for the University of New Mexico baseball team, and in 2004 served as a batboy for a game against Arizona State University and his then-favorite baseball player, Dustin Pedroia. His best friend is Blake Swihart, who played for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Bregman and Swihart played travel ball together growing up.


title: Alex Bregman

text: Bregman attended Albuquerque Academy. He primarily played catcher. In 2009, Bregman led his high school team to a state championship as a freshman shortstop. He batted leadoff, hitting for an average of .514 with three home runs, including one during the championship game that left Isotopes Park, the Dodgers' Class AAA team park. At the October 2010 COPABE Pan American Baseball Championships in Lagos de Mareno, Mexico, while he was a sophomore, he batted .564 for the gold-medal-winning 16-and-under USA National Team, and was named the MVP. That year, at the age of 16, he became the first high school player to win the USA Baseball Richard W. "Dick" Case Player of the Year Award.


title: Alex Bregman

text: In 2011, Bregman batted .678 as a junior in high school, and established a season record in New Mexico with 19 home runs. Bregman was named first team All-State, and received All-Metro and All-District honors. In the fall of that year he led the 18-and-under U.S. National Team to a gold medal at the International Baseball Federation World Championships.


title: Alex Bregman

text: Bregman was originally projected to be a first-round draft pick out of high school. That changed, however, when he shattered the second knuckle on his right (throwing) hand in the fifth game of his high school senior season, while using his bare hand to deflect a bad hop on a ground ball. The injury made him miss most of his senior season. He was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 29th round of the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft as a second baseman, after he made clear that he would not sign with any team unless it picked him in the first round. He elected not to sign with the Red Sox. Instead, he chose to attend LSU.


title: Alex Bregman

text: At LSU, Bregman majored in sports administration. He also played shortstop for the LSU Tigers baseball team in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). He wore number 30 as a freshman, reflecting the 30 teams that had passed on him in the first round of the 2012 draft.


title: Alex Bregman

text: In 2013, he batted .369(5th in the SEC)/.417/.546(6th) with 104 hits (second in the nation) in 282 at bats, with 18 doubles (3rd in the SEC), seven triples (leading the SEC), six homers, 52 RBIs (5th in the SEC), 59 runs (4th in the SEC), and 16 steals (8th in the SEC) in 17 attempts, and had a 23-game hitting streak. Bregman won the 2013 Brooks Wallace Award as the country's best college shortstop. He was also voted first-team All-American by "Baseball America", the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), Perfect Game, and the "Jewish Sports Review". In addition, he was named the 2013 National Freshman of the Year by "Baseball America", "Collegiate Baseball", and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), and was voted 2013 SEC Freshman of the Year and first-team all-SEC by the league coaches. Moreover, he was named 2013 ABCA First-Team All-South Region, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Baton Rouge Regional Most Outstanding Player, Louisiana Freshman of the Year, and SEC Player of the Week (March 25, 2013), and named to the 2013 USA Collegiate National Team (for which he batted .361).


title: Alex Bregman

text: In 2014, he batted .316/.397/.455 with 16 doubles, 6 home runs, 35 runs, and 12 stolen bases in 244 at bats. Bregman was voted 2014 second-team all-SEC, NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team, SEC All-Tournament Team, Second-Team All-Louisiana, and named to the 2014 USA Collegiate National Team. He shared an apartment that season with teammate and future fellow major league All Star Aaron Nola.


title: Alex Bregman

text: In 2015, Bregman batted .312/.406/.534 with 59 runs (8th in the SEC), 22 doubles (tops in the SEC), 9 home runs, 49 RBIs, 7 sacrifice flies (2nd), 38 stolen bases (leading the SEC, and the second-most steals in a season in LSU history), and 206 assists (leading the conference), led the nation's No. 1-ranked baseball team to the College World Series, and won LSU's Skip Bertman Award, which goes to the player who best exemplifies the spirit of the LSU Baseball program. He was also voted the Rawlings Gold Glove winner at shortstop by the ABCA, and voted first-team All-American by both "Baseball America" and the NCBWA for the second time, First Team D1Baseball, First Team Perfect Game, and Second Team Collegiate Baseball.


title: Alex Bregman

text: He was one of four finalists for the 2015 Golden Spikes Award, presented annually to the nation's top college player and won by outfielder Andrew Benintendi. Also, he was a candidate once more for the Brooks Wallace Shortstop of the Year Award that he had won in 2013.


title: Alex Bregman

text: In 190 career games at LSU, Bregman batted .338/.412/.520, with 66 strikeouts and 87 walks in 761 at bats.


title: Alex Bregman

text: Going into the draft, Bregman was lauded for his sense of the strike zone, bat speed, and ability to make frequent contact and strike out infrequently. He was also praised for his good range to both sides, first-step quickness, and instincts at shortstop, strong arm, good speed, and smart baserunning.


title: Alex Bregman

text: The Houston Astros selected Bregman with the second overall selection in the first round of the 2015 MLB Draft. He became the fifth LSU Tiger to be drafted in the first round in seven years, the highest-drafted position player in LSU's history, and the second-highest overall behind pitcher Ben McDonald (1989). He is the highest-ever-drafted player from New Mexico, ahead of 9th-picked pitchers Jim Kremmel (1971) and Duane Ward (1982), and the second-highest-ever drafted Jewish player, behind Ron Blomberg (1967).


title: Alex Bregman

text: TV analyst and former major league second baseman Harold Reynolds said he believed Bregman projected as a major league second baseman, rather than a shortstop. However, Bregman believed he could play shortstop in the majors, and said that every team that contacted him leading up to the draft had said the same. LSU head coach Paul Mainieri opined: "If you don't think Alex Bregman can play shortstop at the Major League level, you don't know the first thing about baseball." Mike Elias, the Astros' Director of Amateur Scouting, said Bregman would remain a shortstop, and that he thought Bregman would play shortstop through Houston's minor league system and into the major leagues. Similarly, Astros General Manager Jeff Luhnow said that there was "no question" that Bregman had the skills to play shortstop.


title: Alex Bregman

text: Bregman signed with the Astros in June 2015 for a $5.9 million signing bonus. He made his professional debut with the Quad Cities River Bandits of the Class A Midwest League in late June. In late July, the Astros promoted Bregman to the Lancaster JetHawks of the Class A-Advanced California League. Playing shortstop for the two teams, he batted an aggregate .294/.366/.415 in 272 at bats.


title: Alex Bregman

text: Bregman started 2016 with the AA Corpus Christi Hooks in the Texas League, hitting .297/.415(2nd in the league)/.559(3rd) with 14 home runs and a .975 OPS in 236 at bats. He was named the league's Player of the Week on April 17, and was named a AA mid-season All-Star. In AAA with the Fresno Grizzlies, in 18 games he hit .333/.373/.641/1.015. Between the two teams, in 80 games he hit .306/.406/.580 with 71 runs, 20 home runs, and 61 RBIs in 314 at bats, while playing 64 games at shortstop and 13 at third base.


title: Alex Bregman

text: "USA Today" named Bregman the 2016 Minor League Player of the Year. Bregman was also named MLB Pipeline 2016 Hitter of the Year, and was selected as the third baseman for the MLB Pipeline 2016 Prospect Team of the Year. In addition, he was named the 2016 Astros Minor League Player of the Year, ESPN.com Prospect of the Year, and a "Baseball America" Minor League All-Star.


title: Alex Bregman

text: On July 25, 2016, the Astros purchased Bregman's contract from the Grizzlies, adding him to their 25-man roster. He made his major league debut at third base against the New York Yankees that same day. He was the first position player from the 2015 Draft to debut in the Major Leagues. After he was hitless in his first 17 major league at bats through five games, the Astros moved him up to second in the batting order, to get him better pitches and demonstrate their confidence in him.


title: Alex Bregman

text: Bregman recorded his first major league hit on July 31 against the Detroit Tigers, with a single into center field. His first home run came at home on August 16, tying the game against the Cardinals in the first inning with a two-run home run to right field at Minute Maid Park. For the 2016 season, he batted .264/.313/.478 with 8 home runs and 34 RBIs in 49 games. His slugging percentage was the seventh-best of any Astros rookie all-time. With 2015 AL Rookie of the Year Carlos Correa at shortstop, Bregman played 40 games at third base and four at shortstop.


title: Alex Bregman

text: At age 22, Bregman started his 2017 baseball season as the youngest member of Team USA in the World Baseball Classic (WBC), which won its first gold medal in the WBC by defeating Puerto Rico 8–0 in the final. He had been invited as well to play for Team Israel which finished sixth at the 2017 World Baseball Classic, as WBC rules allow all Jewish ballplayers to play for the team, and he later said that in retrospect "I probably should've" played for Team Israel "because I got [just] four at-bats" playing as a backup for Team USA.


title: Alex Bregman

text: He was the youngest Opening Day third baseman in team history, at 23 years and 4 days old. During the May 14, 2017, game versus New York at Yankee Stadium, Bregman hit his first major league grand slam off Masahiro Tanaka in a 10–7 Astros win. On August 10, Bregman tied the Astros' record for extra-base hits in consecutive games at 10 games, first accomplished by outfielder Richard Hidalgo.


title: Alex Bregman

text: For the 2017 season, he batted .284/.352/.475 with 39 doubles and five triples (the latter two both ninth in the AL), 19 home runs, 88 runs, 71 RBIs, and 17 stolen bases (tied for the lead among all major league third basemen). His .331 batting average against left-handers was 9th in the AL. Bregman played third base primarily (132 games), and led AL third basemen in fielding percentage (.970; the 4th-highest fielding percentage by a third baseman in team history), while also playing 30 games at shortstop. Houston won the AL West division with a 101–61 record, thus advancing Bregman to his first career major league playoff.


title: Alex Bregman

text: Bregman was a major force for the Astros throughout the 2017 postseason. His home run off Chris Sale, his second off Sale in the series, in the 8th inning of Game 4 of the ALDS tied the game 3-3 and jump-started the Astros' rally that led them to a 5–4 win over the Red Sox and propelled them to their first appearance in a Championship Series since 2005. Bregman also showcased his defensive skills throughout the postseason, but especially during the ALCS against the Yankees. In Game 7, with the Astros up 1–0 with Yankees on first and third in the top of the 5th, Bregman threw out Greg Bird at home on a chopper to third off the bat of Todd Frazier to help preserve the lead. It helped lead the Astros to a 4–0 victory in the pennant-clinching game.


title: Alex Bregman

text: Bregman would once again throw out a runner at home from third base in Game 4 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, when he gunned down Austin Barnes at the plate in the top of the 6th inning to preserve a scoreless tie. Bregman also homered off Kenley Jansen in the bottom of the 9th, but the Astros ultimately fell 6–2. His biggest contribution came during Game 5 when, after a back-and-forth game in which the Astros came back from two separate 3-run deficits, Bregman hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning off Jansen to give the Astros a 13–12 victory and a 3–2 series lead. It was Bregman's first career walk-off hit. He became the second player to drive in a run in each of his first five World Series games, joining Amos Otis. The series lasted seven games, and the Astros won the World Series for the first time ever.


title: Alex Bregman

text: In 2018 the Astros renewed Bregman's contract at $599,000 – an increase of $60,000. In June he was named AL Player of the Month, after batting .306/.372/.713 in 108 at bats, with 11 home runs and 30 RBIs (a new Astros record for June). He became the second Astros third baseman to win the award, along with Art Howe (May 1981). Bregman was also named the AL Player of the Week for the week of June 25 – July 1, during which he batted .464/.516/1.179 in 28 at bats with five doubles, five home runs, and ten RBIs.


title: Alex Bregman

text: Batting .284 with 17 home runs, 57 RBIs, and 29 doubles, he was named to the 2018 MLB All-Star Game. Bregman was also selected to participate in the 2018 Home Run Derby. After he hit a go-ahead home run in the 10th inning off Ross Stripling, he was named the Astros' first All-Star Game MVP.


title: Alex Bregman

text: In the second half of the season, Bregman became the focal point of the Astros offense as injuries to Carlos Correa, George Springer, and José Altuve took all three of them out of the lineup for most of July and early August. Bregman helped carry the Astros offense through a rough skid in which he batted .342 with 6 home runs and 18 RBIs. During this stretch, the Dugout Stare, a home run celebration that Bregman had begun performing during the 2017 postseason, became popular among his teammates and on social media. In a game against the Seattle Mariners on August 22, Tyler White hit a solo home run in the top of the 9th inning of a 10–7 win. A large group of Astros players, including Bregman, performed a synchronized dugout stare into the camera, eventually becoming their new team home run celebration. The moment gained social media buzz with local Houston businesses and news outlets.


title: Alex Bregman

text: On September 8, Bregman became the youngest Astro ever to hit 30 home runs in a season, at 24 years old. On September 12 he picked up his 50th double of the season as well as his 100th RBI and 100th run scored. Bregman became the first Astro to log 100 RBIs in a season since Carlos Lee in 2009, and the first primary third baseman in Major League history to record 50 doubles and 30 home runs in a season. He also became the first player since Albert Pujols in 2012 to hit 30 home runs and 50 doubles, and drive in 100 runs. Bregman also extended his on-base streak to 39 games (the longest in team history since 1999), and tied Jeff Bagwell's franchise record of reaching base in 51 consecutive games on the road (established in 2001).


title: Alex Bregman

text: For the 2018 regular season, he batted .286/.394 (4th in the AL)/.532 (6th in the AL) with 31 home runs and 51 doubles (leading the AL; the 3rd-most in Astros history), 83 extra base hits (2nd in the league), 96 walks (3rd), 105 runs and 103 RBIs (each 5th in the AL), 7.0 at bats per strikeout (9th), and a 15.1 power–speed number (10th). Bregman batted .386/.488/.735 with runners in scoring position, the highest slugging percentage in the major leagues and the second-best OPS (behind Mike Trout). He demonstrated plate discipline, as he was 2nd in the American League in lowest swinging strike percentage (4.3%) and O-Swing percentage (20.0%), and 3rd in contact percentage (88.5%), and 3rd in the major leagues in walks/strikeout (1.13).


title: Alex Bregman

text: On defense, Bregman was a finalist for the Gold Glove Award at third base. The Houston chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America named him the Astros' most valuable player. Bregman came in 5th in the voting for American League Most Valuable Player.


title: Alex Bregman

text: In the 2018 American League Division Series Bregman batted .556, and his .714 OBP was the third-highest all-time in a division series, while his 1.333 slugging percentage was fourth-highest all-time.


title: Alex Bregman

text: In early January 2019, Bregman had arthroscopic surgery to remove bone chips in his right elbow. He returned to action in spring training on March 2.


title: Alex Bregman

text: In March, Bregman and the Astros agreed to a six-year, $100 million contract extension. The deal covered the 2019 season, the three years he would have been eligible for arbitration, and the first two years he could have been a free agent. It was the second-highest contract in club history. The contract was also the third-largest ever for a player with between two and three years of major league service time.


title: Alex Bregman

text: For the 2019 regular season, he batted .296/.423/.592 (tied for 8th-highest in Astros history), led the major leagues in walks (119; 6th-most in Astros history) and walk-to-strikeout ratio (1.43), and led the American League in times on base (292; 9th-highest in team history) and Wins Above Replacement ("WAR"; 8.4; second-best in Astros history). Bregman was also 2nd in the AL in on base percentage (.423), 3rd in home runs (41; 7th-most in team history), slugging percentage (.592), and on base plus slugging percentage (1.015), 4th in runs scored (122; 9th-most in Astros history), 5th in RBIs (112), extra base hits (80; 8th-most in Astros history), and sacrifice flies (8), 7th in games played (156), 8th in at-bats-per-strikeout (6.7), and 9th in at-bats-per-home-run (13.5; 10th-best in team history). He swung at the lowest percentage of pitches outside the strike zone of all major league batters (18.8%). He was one of three major league players with at least 100 runs, 100 walks, and 100 RBIs, joining Mike Trout and Juan Soto. He became the only player in Astros history to hit 40 or more homers in a season while striking out fewer than 100 times, and joined Joe Morgan as the only players in team history to amass 100 or more walks and strike out fewer than 90 times in a season. On defense, he played 99 games at third base, and 65 games at shortstop.


title: Alex Bregman

text: In the 2019 postseason, Bregman enjoyed an excellent ALDS against the Tampa Bay Rays, batting .353/.450/.647 with two doubles, one home run, three walks, and two RBIs. Bregman's bat went ice cold in the ALCS and first three games of the World Series, though, as he struggled through a 4-for-31 (.129) slump with only one home run and three RBIs. Bregman broke out of his slump in Game 4 of the World Series by hitting 3-for-5 with a grand slam and 5 RBIs in an 8-1 Astros win that tied the series at 2-2. The Astros eventually lost the series to the Washington Nationals in seven games.


title: Alex Bregman

text: After the season, he received the 2019 American League Silver Slugger Award at third base, as the best offensive player in the league at the position. Bregman came in second in the vote for 2019 American League Most Valuable Player, with 335 points (13 first-place votes, and 17 second-place votes) as winner Mike Trout garnered 355 points (17 first-place votes, and 13 second-place votes), with the two players being listed first and second on every ballot. He was voted 2019 All-MLB Team Second Team.


title: Alex Bregman

text: In late 2019, the Houston Astros sign stealing scandal broke, revealing that the Astros had illegally stolen signs using technology in 2017 and 2018. MLB investigated and punished the Astros organization. In January 2020, Bregman appeared before the media at the Astros' annual fan festival in Houston. He answered repeated attempts by reporters to have him address the scandal with variations of the same phrase: "The commissioner made his report, made his decision, and the Astros made their decision and I have no further comment on it." On February 13, the Astros held a news conference at their spring training facility to address the scandal. Bregman said, "I am really sorry about the choices that were made by my team, by the organization, and by me. I have learned from this and I hope to regain the trust of baseball fans." At that same news conference, Astros owner Jim Crane denied allegations that Bregman and other Astros players wore buzzer devices in 2019, saying, "I truly believe there were no buzzers, ever, and I don't even know where that came from."


title: Alex Bregman

text: On July 27, 2020, Bregman hit his 100th career home run, off Kendall Graveman of the Seattle Mariners.


title: Alex Bregman

text: In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Bregman batted .242/.350/.451 with 6 home runs and 22 RBIs, in 153 at bats. On defense he had the second-highest fielding percentage of all AL third basemen, at .979, and played 42 games at third base. Through 2020 he had the fourth-highest career on-base percentage (.381), slugging percentage (.521), and OPS (.902) of all Astros batters, and the 8th-best career rate of at-bats-per-home-run (19.6).


title: Alex Bregman

text: On June 16, 2021, Bregman strained his left quadriceps in a game versus the Texas Rangers, as he attempted to avoid hitting into a double play. He was batting .275 with seven home runs and 34 RBIs at the time. The injury caused him to miss over two months of the season. He returned August 25, scoring the winning run versus the Kansas City Royals.


title: Alex Bregman

text: In the regular season, Bregman batted .270/.355/.422 with 12 home runs and 55 RBIs in 91 games and 348 at bats, playing third base exclusively. For his meritorious character and service to the community, the Houston chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) honored Bregman with the Darryl Kile Good Guy Award for 2021.


title: Alex Bregman

text: In Game 6 of the 2021 World Series, Bregman made his 73rd postseason start as part of the infield unit of José Altuve, Carlos Correa, and Yuli Gurriel, which was more postseason starts together than any quartet of teammates in major league history, surpassing the Yankees' Derek Jeter, Tino Martinez, Paul O’Neill, and Bernie Williams, who had started 68 postseason contests together.


title: Alex Bregman

text: Bregman was named AL Player of the Week on April 10, 2022, his second career weekly award. Over the four games comprising MLB's Opening Weekend, he batted .429 (6-for-14) with two home runs, six RBIs, and a 1.286 OPS. Bregman drove in a career-high six runs versus the White Sox on August 18, both homering and doubling twice and scoring four runs to lead a 21–5 win with 25 hits, tied for both the second-highest scoring output and most hits in team history. His two-run double in the third inning of the game was the 200th of Bregman's career, setting a club record for fewest games to reach the threshold (765), surpassing that of teammate Altuve (804).


title: Alex Bregman

text: Entering the month of August with a .773 OPS, Bregman batted 362/.452/.681 with nine doubles, seven home runs, 22 RBIs, 17 walks, and 27 runs scored over 27 games to win AL Player of the Month honors. It was his third career monthly award. On September 11, Bregman hit a grand slam that gave the Astros the go-ahead runs in a 12–3 win over the Los Angeles Angels. It was his fourth career grand slam, and first since 2019. Bregman doubled and drove in two runs on September 19 versus the Rays to power a 4–0 Astros' win that clinched a fifth AL West division title over the previous six seasons.


title: Alex Bregman

text: In 2022, Bregman batted .259/.366/.454 in 548 at bats with 93 runs (5th in the AL), 38 doubles (10th), 23 home runs, 93 RBIs (8th), 87 walks (2nd), and 7.1 at-bats-per-strikeout (9th), while leading the AL with 10 sacrifice flies. He led the AL in lowest percentage of balls outside the strike zone swung at (21.8%), and was 3rd in the AL in BB/SO ratio (1.13). Bregman was also one of two qualified batters in the majors to collect more walks than strikeouts while hitting at least 20 home runs, alongside Juan Soto. He was named a finalist for the 2022 Silver Slugger Award (3B). On defense, he led all AL third basemen in assists, and was second in putouts, double plays, and fielding percentage (.983).


title: Alex Bregman

text: Bregman ended the season 8th on the Astros' all-time career list in hit by pitch (45), 9th in home runs (140) and extra base hits (359), and 10th in doubles (204). He was 10th among all active ballplayers in career on base percentage (.375).


title: Alex Bregman

text: In the 2022 American League Championship Series, he batted a nearly identical .333/.375/.600 with one home run and four RBIs in 15 at bats. He hit his 14th career postseason home run in Game 2 of the 2022 ALCS to move past Justin Turner for most by a third baseman; his 43 career RBIs in the playoffs set a record as the most all-time by a third baseman.


title: Alex Bregman

text: In the second game of the World Series, Bregman hit a home run, setting the record for the most career World Series home runs by a third baseman, at six, in his 22nd career World Series game. It was also his 15th career postseason home run, tying him with Babe Ruth. The Astros won the World Series, defeating the Philadlphia Phillies in six games, as Bregman earned his second World Series ring; immediately after the series ended, it was revealed that Bregman had broken his finger late in the game, which might have meant he would've missed a potential Game 7. At any rate, he would prove fine to return before the 2023 season began.


title: Alex Bregman

text: In January 2020, Bregman became engaged to Reagan Howard, and they married in December of that year. They reside in Houston year-round. Their son, named Knox Samuel, was born on August 1, 2022.


title: Alex Bregman

text: With several Astros teammates of Latin descent, including José Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, and Yuli Gurriel, Bregman consistently practices and improves his Spanish-speaking ability. He began to study Spanish as a child in school in his hometown of Albuquerque, where nearly half of the population is Latino.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a mood disorder characterized by emotional, cognitive, and physical symptoms that cause significant distress or impairment in menstruating women during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. The symptoms occur in the luteal phase, (between ovulation and menses), improve within a few days after the onset of menses, and are minimal or absent in the week after menses. PMDD has a profound impact on a person's quality of life and dramatically increases the risk of suicidal ideation and even suicide attempts. Many females of reproductive age experience discomfort or mild mood changes prior to menstruation. However, 5-8% experience severe premenstrual syndrome causing significant distress or functional impairment. Within this population of reproductive age, some women will meet the criteria for PMDD. PMDD is most common from age 25–35, but can occur anytime during a woman's reproductive years.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: The exact cause of PMDD is currently unknown. However, because the symptoms are only present during ovulatory cycles and resolve after menses, it is believed to be caused by fluctuations in gonadal sex hormones or variations in sensitivity to sex hormones.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: In 2017, researchers at the National Institutes of Health discovered that women with PMDD have genetic changes that make their emotional regulatory pathways more sensitive to estrogen and progesterone, as well as their chemical derivatives. The researchers believe that this increased sensitivity may be responsible for PMDD symptoms.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: Some studies have suggested that those with PMDD are more at risk of developing postpartum depression after pregnancy, but other evidence has been found to suggest against that notion. PMDD was added to the list of depressive disorders in the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" in 2013. It has 11 main symptoms, and a woman has to exhibit at least five to be diagnosed with PMDD. Roughly 20% of women have some symptoms of PMDD, but either have less than five or do not have functional impairment.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: First line treatment for PMDD is with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Hormonal therapy with oral contraceptives that contain drospirenone have demonstrated efficiency in reducing PMDD symptoms as well. Cognitive behavioral therapy, whether in combination with SSRIs or alone, has shown to be effective in reducing impairment. Dietary modifications and exercise may also be helpful, but studies investigating these treatments have not demonstrated efficacy in reducing PMDD symptoms.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: Clinicians consider mood symptoms, physical symptoms and impact on the patient's life in making the diagnosis of PMDD. Mood symptoms include emotional lability (rapidly changing emotions, sensitivity to rejection, etc.), irritability and anger that may lead to conflict, anxiety, feeling on edge, hopelessness, difficulty concentrating, appetite changes, sleeping more or less than usual, or feeling out of control. The physical symptoms are similar to the symptoms of PMS. These include breast tenderness or swelling, joint pain, muscle pain, gaining weight, or feeling bloated.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: Because of the broad variety in clinical presentation, the onset of symptoms only during or around the luteal phase is key for diagnosing someone with PMDD rather than any other mood disorders. PMDD follows a predictable, cyclic pattern. Symptoms begin in the late luteal phase of the menstrual cycle (after ovulation) and end or are markedly reduced shortly after menstruation begins. On average, the symptoms last six days but can start up to two weeks before menses, meaning symptoms can be felt for up to three weeks out of a cycle. Severe symptoms can begin and worsen until the onset of menstruation, with many not feeling relief until a few days after menstruation ends. The most intense symptoms occurring in the week and days leading up to the first day of menstrual blood flow. The symptoms usually cease shortly after the start of the menstrual period or a few days after it ends. Various symptom and severity tracking questionnaires exist to document presence and severity of symptoms throughout consecutive menstrual cycles.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: The International Society for the Study of Premenstrual Disorders (ISPMD) defines two categories of premenstrual disorders: core PMD and variant PMD.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: Core PMD has six characteristics, all mainly focusing on the cyclical nature of PMDD and its typical onset pre-menses tracked over the course of more than two menstrual cycles. The four classified Variant PMDs involve more unexpected variables that cause the onset of premenstrual distress; such as, PMD with absent menstruation or premenstrual exacerbation, wherein the symptoms of another preexisting psychological disorder may be heightened as a result of PMDD onset.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: About 5-8% of women of reproductive age experience severe premenstrual syndrome; most of these women also meet criteria for PMDD. PMDD is most common from age 25–35, but can occur anytime during a woman's reproductive years.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: PMDD mood symptoms are only present in menstruating women. Thus, symptoms do not occur during pregnancy, after menopause, or in women who have anovulatory cycles. Other mood disorders typically persist across all reproductive life events and are independent of a woman's menstrual cycle.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: The current consensus on the cause of PMDD is a combination of heightened sensitivity to fluctuating levels of certain hormones (i.e. the reproductive hormones), environmental stress, and genetic predisposition. The sex steroids—estrogen and progesterone—are neuroactive; they have been noted in rat models to be involved in serotonin pathways. Serotonin is involved in mood regulation alongside estrogen, whose receptors are found in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus—the regions most known for their involvement in regulating one's mood and cognition overall.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: While the timing of symptoms suggests hormonal fluctuations as the cause of PMDD, a demonstrable hormonal imbalance in women with PMDD has not been identified. In fact, levels of reproductive hormones and their metabolites in women with and without PMDD are indistinguishable. It is instead hypothesized that women with PMDD are more sensitive to normal levels of hormone fluctuations, predominantly estrogen and progesterone, which produces biochemical events in the nervous system that cause the premenstrual symptoms. These symptoms are more predominant in women who have a predisposition to the disorder.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: It is apparent that the premenstrual disorders are biologically driven and are not only psychological or cultural phenomena. PMDD has been reported by menstruating women worldwide, indicating a biological basis that is not geographically selective. Most psychologists infer that this disorder is caused by both a reaction to hormone flux and also genetic components. There is evidence of heritability of (retrospectively-reported) premenstrual symptoms from several twin and family studies done in the 1990s, with the heritability of PMDD proving to be about 56%.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: While whether or not this disorder has a specific genetic basis is still being discussed in the academic community and the possible genetic factors contributing to PMDD have yet to be thoroughly researched, there has recently been multiple genetic factors identified that contribute to the moodiness, depression, irritability, increased appetite, trouble sleeping, acne, fluid retention, headaches, nausea, and other symptoms that are all associated with this disorder.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: Many studies have noted that a polymorphism of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor gene (BDNF), a gene that helps support neurons in their function and survival in the brain by creating a protein that helps in the growth, maturation, and maintenance of these cells, may play a role in causing PMDD symptoms. This is because the result of this polymorphism mimics the hallmarks of PMDD: volatile moods, depression and irritability centered around the menstrual cycle. This gene has been studied extensively in its association with depression and, promisingly for PMDD research, mice homozygous for the BDNF polymorphism exhibited anxiety-like traits that fluctuated and changed around the mice's estrus, analogous to the human's menstruation, therefore mimicking some of the symptoms of PMDD.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: Environmental stressors have also been found to prospectively increase risk for PMDD symptoms. Environmental components such as stress, hormonal fluctuation, and epigenetics play a key role in the pathology and onset of the disorder. Some studies have noted evidence of interpersonal trauma (domestic violence, physical or emotional trauma, or substance abuse) or seasonal changes (making PMDD potentially comorbid with Seasonal Affective Disorder) having an impact on PMDD risk. But the most common pre-existing disorder found in those diagnosed with PMDD is major depression, wherein they either actually had it or were misdiagnosed when they should have only been diagnosed with PMDD. Finally, an easily modifiable risk factor for PMDD is cigarette smoking. One meta-analysis found dramatically increased risk of developing PMDD in menstruating women who smoke.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: Women with PMDD usually see their symptoms disappear while they are pregnant. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder is primarily a mood disorder that is associated with onset of menstruation; pregnancy, menopause, and hysterectomies all cause menstruation to cease, thereby stopping the proposed sex steroid-/serotonin-caused symptoms from occurring. Although one might expect a higher rate of postpartum depression among those with PMDD, a large study of women with prospectively-confirmed PMDD did not find a higher prevalence of postpartum depression than in controls. If a woman had experienced PPD beforehand, there was found to be a less-than 12% chance of PMDD pathology emerging—hardly any differentiation from the regular population of those who have never experienced postpartum depression. However, PMDD symptoms can get worse following pregnancy, or other associated events such as birth and miscarriage.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: The lifetime incidence of other psychiatric disorders is high among women with PMDD. An older review article (2002) utilizing the previous edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) used studies from 1966 to 2002 on PMS and mental health disorders and selected for patients who retrospectively met the diagnostic criteria for PMDD and found that Major Depressive Disorder, Seasonal affective disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder often co-occur in PMDD. Another systematic review study suggests that patients with bipolar disorder, type I or II, have a higher incidence of PMDD. While the diagnosis of PMDD requires a mental health provider to determine that the symptoms a woman is facing is not due to an underlying mental or physical health condition, it is important to note that other conditions often co-occur and impact the quality of life and treatment plan for people with PMDD.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: Previous links to suicidality and PMS have been made, but women with PMDD are more likely still to consider and attempt suicide even when controlling for mental health comorbidities. Despite the increase in suicidal ideation and attempts in this population, the data currently suggests that suicidal ideation or action is not more likely to occur during the late luteal phase when PMDD symptoms would occur. It is difficult to study whether treatment reduces suicidality because of the multifaceted reasons provided for suicidal ideation. However, treatment has been well documented to reduce physical and emotional symptoms of PMDD.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: Diagnostic criteria for PMDD are provided by a number of expert medical guides. Diagnosis can be supported by having women who are seeking treatment for PMDD use a daily charting method to record their symptoms. Daily charting helps to distinguish when mood disturbances are experienced and allows PMDD to be more easily distinguished from other mood disorders. With PMDD, mood symptoms are present only during the luteal phase, or last two weeks, of the menstrual cycle. While PMDD mood symptoms are of a cyclical nature, other mood disorders are variable or constant over time. Although there is a lack of consensus on the most efficient instrument by which to confirm a PMDD diagnosis, several validated scales for recording premenstrual symptoms include the Calendar of Premenstrual Experiences (COPE), Daily Record of Severity of Problems (DRSP), and Prospective Record of the Severity of Menstruation (PRISM). In the context of research, standardized numerical cutoffs are often applied to verify the diagnosis. The difficulty of diagnosing PMDD is one reason that it can be challenging for lawyers to cite the disorder as a defense of crime, in the very rare cases where PMDD is allegedly associated with criminal violence.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: The DSM-5 which established seven criteria (A through G) for the diagnosis of PMDD which is paraphrased below. There is overlap between the criteria for PMDD in the DSM-5 and the criteria found in the Daily Record of Severity of Problems (DRSP).


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: According to the DSM-5, a diagnosis of PMDD requires the presence of at least five of these symptoms with one of the symptoms being numbers 1–4. These symptoms should occur during the week before menses and remit after initiation of menses. In order to meet criteria for the diagnosis, the symptoms should be charted prospectively for two consecutive ovulation cycles in order to confirm a temporal and cyclical nature of the symptoms. The symptoms should also be severe enough to affect normal work, school, social activities, and/or relationships with others.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: The symptoms of Criteria A-C must have been met for most menstrual cycles that occurred in the preceding year, and have to have cause significant impairment in family, work, school, or social functioning. ("Criterion D").


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: Criterion A: During most menstrual cycles throughout the past year, at least 5 of the symptoms outlined in Criterion B and Criterion C must be present in the final week before the onset of menses, must start to improve within a few days after the onset of menses, and become minimal or absent in the week post-menses.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: Criterion C: One (or more) of the following symptoms must be present additionally, to reach a total of 5 symptoms when combined with present symptoms from "Criterion B" above:


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: Criterion D: The symptoms observed in Criteria A-C are associated with clinically significant distress or interference with work, school, usual social activities, or relationships with others (e.g., avoidance of social activities; decreased productivity and efficiency at work, school, or home).


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: "Criterion E": The disturbance is not merely an exacerbation of the symptoms of another disorder, such as major depressive disorder, panic disorder, persistent depressive disorder (Dysthymia), or a personality disorder—although it may co-occur with any of these disorders.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: "Criterion F": Criterion A should be confirmed by prospective daily ratings during at least two symptomatic cycles. The diagnosis may be made provisionally prior to this confirmation.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: "Criterion G": The symptoms are not attributable to the physiological effects of a substance (e.g., drug abuse, a medication, other treatments) or another medical condition (e.g., hyperthyroidism).


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: Clinically significant distress is not defined explicitly by the DSM-IV, where it has been critiqued by multiple scholars as being too vague, and potentially detrimental for those who have symptoms of depression, anxiety, or other mood disorders because they do not meet the clinical significance requirement.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: Diagnostic criteria for PMDD are also provided by the 2016 World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11-CM):


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: Other organizations that have published diagnostic criteria for PMDD include the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the International Society for the Study of Premenstrual Disorders (ISPMD). The ISPMD was a consensus group established by an international multidisciplinary group of experts. The group's diagnostic criteria for PMDD focuses on the cyclic nature of the symptoms occurring during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, as well as the symptoms being absent after menstruation and before ovulation and causing significant impairment. The ISPMD diagnostic criteria for PMDD do not specify symptom characteristics or number of symptoms.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: A critical part of diagnosing PMDD is ruling out underlying psychiatric disorder or physical illness that can cause similar symptoms. That exhibits premenstrual exacerbation, the menopausal transition, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, as well as other mood disorders. Furthermore, many medical disorders are worsened prior to ordering menses, but these typically do not present strictly during the luteal phase.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: Mood disorders – there is potential for patients to have psychiatric disorders with superimposed PMDD or psychiatric disorders. In order to establish the timeline of symptoms required for a diagnosis of PMDD symptoms need to be tracked using scales like the Calendar of Premenstrual Experiences or the Daily Record of Severity of Problems.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: Menopausal transition – affective symptoms associated with the menopausal transition most commonly start when menstrual cycle starts to become irregular or anovulatory whereas PMDD symptoms occur during the luteal phase of ovulatory cycles.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: Thyroid disorders—patients with both hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism may present with affective symptoms. The patient's history is very important to determine whether the provider should suspect thyroid disorders. Patients should also have thyroid hormone levels checked to ensure no underlying thyroid disorder is present.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: Several medications have been shown to effectively reduce the physical and emotional symptoms of PMDD.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the first-line medication. Women taking SSRIs to ease PMDD generally report >50% alleviation in symptoms, which was significant improvement compared to placebo. Two approaches to dosing have been studied: continuous dosing (daily) and luteal dosing (14 days before menstruation and discontinuing at the onset of menses). Both dosing schedules have similar effectiveness with some recent studies demonstrating greater symptom control with continuous dosing. This gives patients control of how they want to dose their medication in alliance with their mental health provider.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: Serotonin Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs) have also been studied in the treatment of PMDD and shown efficacy in reducing symptoms. These are an alternative for patients who do not respond to SSRI's. However, they are more likely to be dosed continuously due to SNRI discontinuation syndrome - a flu-like feeling caused by dropping blood levels of SNRI.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: Two medications typically given to reduce acute anxiety have been studied in treatment for PMDD: alprazolam (Xanax) and buspirone. Alprazolam carries a risk of abuse and causes central nervous system depression and results of clinical trials have not shown benefit to treatment. Buspirone showed lower efficacy than SSRI, but may be used as an adjunctive treatment or alternative if SSRI side effects are intolerable to the patient.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been shown to be effective for reducing premenstrual symptoms in women with (retrospectively-reported) PMS. CBT is an evidence-based approach for treating depression and focuses on the link between mood, thoughts, and actions to help women address current issues and symptoms. When CBT was compared to SSRI alone or in combination with SSRI, groups receiving CBT had significant improvement of PMS symptoms. Through the practice of CBT, women are better able to recognize and modify recurrent issues as well as thought and behavior patterns that interfere with functioning well or that make depressive symptoms worse. However, a recent meta-analysis suggests that existing psychotherapies may be primarily useful for reducing impairment (rather than symptom severity) in PMDD.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: Oral contraceptives have been effective in reducing PMS symptoms, but only certain formulations have proven to be modestly effective in the treatment of PMDD. Transdermal estrogen and intrauterine devices containing levonorgestrel have also had modest efficacy.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: Another FDA approved treatment for PMDD is the oral contraceptive with ethinylestradiol and drospirenone (a novel progestin) taken on a 24-4 schedule (24 active pills, 4 inactive pills). It has been shown that hormonal birth control containing drospirenone and low levels of estrogen helps relieve severe PMDD symptoms, for at least the first three months that it is used. The idea behind using oral contraceptives is to suppress ovulation, therefore suppressing sex hormone fluctuations.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: Another treatment, typically used when other options have failed, is injection of a gonadotropin-releasing hormone(GnRH) agonist with adjunctive estrogen and progesterone or tibolone. This is a last resort because GnRH antagonists can cause medical menopause by shutting down the body's pathway for reproductive hormones called the hypothalamic, pituitary, gonadal axis. As a result, GnRH therapy presents increased risk of osteopenia (decreased bone density) and cardiovascular disease. This therapy is often reserved for patients considering surgical menopause to test the outcome of the surgery.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: In a minority of patient who meet specific criteria and drug-based treatments are ineffective or produce significant side effects, hysterectomy and bilateral oophorectomy followed by estrogen replacement therapy is an option Typically, the uterus is removed during the same surgery, and the women is prescribed a low-dose estrogen patch to reduce the symptoms produced by surgically induced menopause. There are five guidelines that should be considered before undergoing a surgical treatment. The vast majority of women with PMDD will not require surgical treatment to experience resolution of symptoms.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: Other proposed treatments include dietary modification, herbal remedies including St John's Wort and chasteberry, acupuncture, and exercise. Some evidence suggests caffeine, sugar and alcohol intake may increase PMS symptoms. A review article claimed significant improvement of PMS symptoms with herbal treatments and acupuncture but the studies selected for review did not stratify severity of symptoms. Finally, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends regular aerobic exercise to reduce PMS symptoms.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: In the 18th century, there were early accounts of weeping and other symptoms recurring almost every month, and in 1822 Prichard gave this description: "Many women … display a degree of excitement and irritation … at the period of menstruation; these are chiefly females of very irritable habits. In such instances, … an unusual vehemence of feeling and expression is observed … or there is torpor and dejection of mind with a despondent disposition". In 1827 a German mother was acquitted of infanticide on the grounds of menstrual mood disorder. Premenstrual tension was also described in the French literature of the early 19th century. Nearly one hundred years later, there were American descriptions of a cyclic personality change appearing 10–14 days before, and ending dramatically at the menses.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: The diagnostic category was discussed in the DSM-IIIR (1987), in which the proposed condition was named "Late Luteal Phase Dysphoric Disorder" and was included in the appendix as a proposed diagnostic category needing further study. Preparations for the DSM-IV led to debate about whether to keep the category at all, only keep it in the appendix, or remove it entirely; the reviewers determined that the condition was still too poorly studied and defined, so it was kept in the appendix but elaborated with diagnostic criteria to aid further study.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: As preparations were underway in 1998 for the DSM-IV-TR, the conversation changed, as Eli Lilly and Company paid for a large clinical trial of fluoxetine as a potential treatment for the condition that was then conducted by Canadian academics and published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1995. Other studies have been conducted as well, wherein all found that approximately 60% of women with PMDD in the trials improved with the drug; representatives from Lilly & Co. and the FDA participated in the discussion.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: Various strong stances were taken in said discussion. Sally Severino, a psychiatrist, argued that because symptoms were more prevalent in the United States, PMDD was a culture-bound syndrome and not a biological condition; she also claimed it unnecessarily pathologized the hormonal changes of the menstrual cycle. Jean Endicott, another psychiatrist and chair of the committee, has argued that it was a valid condition from which women suffer and should be diagnosed and treated, and has claimed that if the symptoms were felt by males, far more effort and research would have been done by that moment. In the end the committee kept PMDD in the appendix.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: The decision has been criticized as being driven by Lilly's financial interests, and possibly by financial interests of members of the committee who had received funding from Lilly. Paula Caplan, a psychologist who had served on the committee for the DSM-IV, noted at the time of the DSM-IV-TR decision that there was evidence that calcium supplements could treat PMDD but the committee gave it no attention. She had also claimed that the diagnostic category is harmful to women with PMDD, leading them to believe they are mentally ill, and potentially leading others to mistrust them in situations as important as job promotions or child custody cases. She has called PMDD a fake disorder. Nada Stotland has expressed concern that women with PMDD may actually have a more serious condition like major depressive disorder or may be facing difficult circumstances—such domestic abuse—and therefore may have their true issues remain undiagnosed and mismanaged if their gynecologist diagnoses them with PMDD and gives them drugs to treat it.


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: The validity of PMDD was once more heavily debated when it came time to create the DSM-5 in 2008. In the end it was moved out of the appendix and into the main text as a formal category. A review in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry published in 2014 examined the arguments against inclusion, which it summarized as:


title: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

text: It concluded that women have historically been under-treated and told that they were making their symptoms up, and that the formal diagnostic criteria would spur more funding, research, diagnosis and treatment for women with PMDD.


title: Parapet

text: A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian "parapetto" ("parare" 'to cover/defend' and "petto" 'chest/breast'). Where extending above a roof, a parapet may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the edge line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a fire wall or party wall. Parapets were originally used to defend buildings from military attack, but today they are primarily used as guard rails, to conceal rooftop equipment, reduce wind loads on the roof, and to prevent the spread of fires.


title: Parapet

text: In the Bible the Hebrews are obligated to build a parapet on the roof of their houses to prevent people falling (Deuteronomy 22:8).


title: Parapet

text: The teachings of Moses prescribed parapets on roof edges for newly constructed houses as a safety measure ().


title: Parapet

text: The Mirror Wall at Sigiriya, Sri Lanka built between 477 and 495 AD is one of the few surviving protective parapet walls from antiquity. Built onto the side of Sigiriya Rock it ran for a distance of approximately 250 meters and provided protection from inclement weather. Only about one hundred metres of this wall exists today, but brick debris and grooves on the rock face along the western side of the rock clearly show where the rest of this wall once stood.


title: Parapet

text: Parapets surrounding roofs are common in London. This dates from the Building Act of 1707 which banned projecting wooden eaves in the cities of Westminster and London as a fire risk. Instead an 18-inch brick parapet was required, with the roof set behind. This was continued in many Georgian houses, as it gave the appearance of a flat roof which accorded with the desire for classical proportions.


title: Parapet

text: In Shilpa Shastras, the ancient Indian science of sculpture, a parapet is known as "hāra". It is optionally added while constructing a temple. The "hāra" can be decorated with various miniature pavilions, according to the Kāmikāgama.


title: Parapet

text: Many firewalls are required to have a parapet, a portion of the wall extending above the roof. The parapet is required to be as fire resistant as the lower wall, and extend a distance prescribed by building code.


title: Parapet

text: Parapets on bridges and other highway structures (such as retaining walls) prevent users from falling off where there is a drop. They may also be meant to restrict views, to prevent rubbish passing below, and to act as noise barriers.


title: Parapet

text: Bridge parapets may be made from any material, but structural steel, aluminium, timber and reinforced concrete are common. They may be of solid or framed construction.


title: Parapet

text: In European standards, parapets are defined as a sub-category of "vehicle restraint systems" or "pedestrian restraint systems".


title: Parapet

text: A parapet fortification (known as a breastwork when temporary) is a wall of stone, wood or earth on the outer edge of a defensive wall or trench, which shelters the defenders. In medieval castles, they were often crenellated. In later artillery forts, parapets tend to be higher and thicker. They could be provided with embrasures for the fort's guns to fire through, and a banquette or fire-step so that defending infantry could shoot over the top. The top of the parapet often slopes towards the enemy to enable the defenders to shoot downwards; this incline is called the "superior talus".


title: Grey Cup

text: The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners of the CFL's East and West Divisional playoffs and is one of Canadian television's largest annual sporting events. The Toronto Argonauts have the most Grey Cup wins (18) since its introduction in 1909, while the Edmonton Elks (formerly the Edmonton Eskimos) have the most Grey Cup wins (11) since the merger in 1958. The latest, the 109th Grey Cup, took place in Regina, Saskatchewan on November 20, 2022, when the Toronto Argonauts defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 24–23.


title: Grey Cup

text: The Grey Cup game is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 4 million. Two awards are given for play in the game: the Most Valuable Player and the Dick Suderman Trophy as most valuable Canadian player. As a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Andrew Harris was the first player to win both the Grey Cup's Most Valuable Canadian and Most Valuable Player the same year, which he did in 2019.


title: Grey Cup

text: The trophy was commissioned in 1909 by The Earl Grey, then Canada's governor general, who originally hoped to donate it for the country's senior amateur hockey championship. After the Allan Cup was later donated for that purpose, Grey instead made his trophy available as the "Canadian Dominion Football Championship" (national championship) of Canadian football. The trophy has a silver chalice attached to a large base on which the names of all winning teams, players and executives are engraved. The Grey Cup has been broken on several occasions, stolen twice, and held for ransom. It survived a 1947 fire that destroyed numerous artifacts housed in the same building.


title: Grey Cup

text: The Grey Cup was first won by the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. Play was suspended from 1916 to 1918 due to the First World War and in 1919 due to a rules dispute. The game has typically been contested in an east-versus-west format since the 1920s. The game was always played on a Saturday until 1968, but since 1969 (except for 1970) has always been on a Sunday. Held in late November (in some years in early December, most recently in 2021), and mostly in outdoor stadiums, the Grey Cup has been played in inclement weather at times, including the 1950 "Mud Bowl", in which a player reportedly came close to drowning in a puddle, then the 1962 "Fog Bowl", when the final minutes of the game had to be postponed to the following day due to a heavy fog, and the 1977 "Ice Bowl", contested on the frozen-over artificial turf at Montreal's Olympic Stadium. Most recently, in the 2017 game snow fell, at times heavily, throughout the game.


title: Grey Cup

text: The then-Edmonton Eskimos formed the Grey Cup's longest dynasty, winning five consecutive championships from 1978 to 1982. Competition for the trophy has been exclusively between Canadian teams, except for a three-year period from 1993 to 1995, when an expansion of the CFL south into the United States resulted in the Baltimore Stallions winning the 1995 championship and taking the Grey Cup south of the border for the only time in its history.


title: Grey Cup

text: Serious efforts to organize a national governing body and eventually a Dominion championship for what at that time was still a game called and practically identical to rugby union began in the early 1880s, culminating in the creation of the Canadian Rugby Union in 1891 and the first CRU-recognized national championship the following year. After that, national championship games were held every year prior to the creation of the Grey Cup except 1899, 1903 and 1904.


title: Grey Cup

text: While the Stanley Cup was created in 1893 as the Canadian amateur hockey championship, professional teams were openly competing for the trophy by 1907. Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey, the Governor General of Canada, planned to donate a new trophy to serve as the senior amateur championship; however, Sir Montague Allan donated the Allan Cup before he could finalize his plans. Grey instead offered an award for the Canadian amateur rugby football championship beginning in 1909. He initially failed to follow through on his offer; the trophy was not ordered until two weeks prior to the first championship game.


title: Grey Cup

text: The first Grey Cup game was held on December 4, 1909, between two Toronto clubs: the University of Toronto Varsity Blues defeated the Parkdale Canoe Club 26–6 before 3,800 fans. The trophy was not ready for presentation following the game, and the Varsity Blues did not receive it until March 1910. They retained the trophy in the following two years, defeating the Hamilton Tigers in 1910 and the Toronto Argonauts in 1911. The University of Toronto failed to reach the 1912 Grey Cup, which was won by the Hamilton Alerts over the Argonauts. The Varsity Blues refused to hand over the trophy on the belief they could keep it until they were defeated in a title game. They kept the trophy until 1914 when they were defeated by the Argonauts, who made the trophy available to subsequent champions.


title: Grey Cup

text: Canada's participation in World War I resulted in the cancellation of the championship from 1916 to 1918, during which time the Cup was forgotten. "Montreal Gazette" writer Bob Dunn claimed that the trophy was later rediscovered as "one of the family heirlooms" of an employee of the Toronto trust company where it had been sent for storage. The Grey Cup game was also cancelled in 1919 due to a lack of interest from the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (IRFU) and the intercollegiate unions, along with rules conflicts between the Canadian Rugby Union (CRU) and the western union; Canada was still struggling in its recovery from the Spanish flu epidemic that occurred during the last months of World War I. Competition finally resumed in 1920 with the 8th Grey Cup game, won 16–3 by the Varsity Blues over the Argonauts. It was the University of Toronto's fourth, and final, championship.


title: Grey Cup

text: Competition for the Grey Cup was limited to member unions of the CRU, the champions of which petitioned the league body for the right to challenge for the national championship. The Western Canada Rugby Football Union (WCRFU) was formed in 1911, but the CRU did not come to a participation agreement with it until 1921, allowing the Edmonton Eskimos (no lineage to the team that used that name 1949–2020) of the WCRFU to challenge. Facing the Argonauts in the 9th Grey Cup, the Eskimos became the first western teamand the first from outside Toronto or Hamiltonto compete for the trophy. The Argonauts entered the game with an undefeated record, having outscored their opposition 226 to 55 during the season. They dominated Edmonton, recording the first shutout in Grey Cup history with a 23–0 victory. Multi-sport star Lionel Conacher was Toronto's top player, scoring 15 of his team's points before leaving the game after the third quarter to join his hockey team for their game. The same Edmonton team (renamed as Edmonton Elks) challenged for the trophy again in 1922, but lost 13–1 to their eastern opposition, the Queen's University Golden Gaels. For Queen's, it was the first of three consecutive titles.


title: Grey Cup

text: Western teams continued to vie for the trophy, but were consistently outclassed for several years. Eastern teams and critics felt the quality of the western game was inferior to theirs, and when Queen's defeated the Regina Rugby Club 54–0 in the 1923 final, the critics felt they deliberately ran up the score to prove that point. Regina was western Canada's dominant team, appearing in the Grey Cup on six occasions between 1928 and 1934, but lost to their eastern opponents each time. Regina helped revolutionize Canadian football in 1929, however, as they attempted the first forward pass in Grey Cup history. The Winnipeg 'Pegs (now the Blue Bombers) became the first western Grey Cup champion in 1935 when they defeated the Hamilton Tigers, 18–12. While the Grey Cup was slow to achieve national popularity, the advent of the east versus west format helped make the game the nation's largest sporting event.


title: Grey Cup

text: As the quality of senior football improved, university teams realized they were no longer able to compete on equal footing and withdrew from competition for the Grey Cup in 1933. By 1938, only three unions continued to compete under the banner of the CRU: the IRFU (now commonly known as the Big Four) and the Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU) in the east, and the Western Interprovincial Football Union (WIFU) in the west. The CRU experimented with a two-game, total points series to determine the champion in 1940. The Ottawa Rough Riders won both games against Toronto's Balmy Beach, 8–2 and 12–5. The Grey Cup returned to its one-game format the following year.


title: Grey Cup

text: Both the Big Four and WIFU suspended operations in 1942 due to the Second World War. Grey Cup play was expected to be suspended along with the unions; however, the military felt the game and sport would serve as a morale booster and organized teams at bases across the country. For the following three years, Grey Cup competition was limited to military teams, and in the 1942 Grey Cup, the Toronto RCAF Hurricanes defeated the Winnipeg RCAF Bombers 8–5 to become the first non-civilian team to win the national championship. Two years later, the St. Hyacinthe–Donnacona Navy defeated the Hamilton Flying Wildcats, 7–6; no Grey Cup championship since then has featured two eastern teams. The conclusion of the war led to the reformation of civilian teams; the Big Four resumed play in 1945, and the WIFU the following year.


title: Grey Cup

text: A push by the sport's organizers to adopt an increasingly professional attitude dominated the post-war period: poor field conditions, previously accepted as part of the game, resulted in numerous complaints against the CRU following the 1949 and 1950 Grey Cups. Field conditions at Toronto's Varsity Stadium were so poor in 1950 that the game has since gained infamy as the "Mud Bowl". Deep ruts in the field and poor weather in the days leading up to the game resulted in a sloppy field covered in large puddles of water. The game also gained notoriety for the near drowning of Winnipeg's Buddy Tinsley, who was found face down in a large puddle, apparently unconscious. Tinsley later said that he had not lost consciousness, but his leg had gone numb from a hard hit to a preexisting injury. Toronto won the game 13–0, the last time a team has been shut out in a Grey Cup game.


title: Grey Cup

text: The ORFU, the last purely amateur union competing for the Grey Cup, withdrew from Cup competition in 1954. Although the Big Four and WIFU champions had faced each other in the Grey Cup final since 1945, the ORFU's withdrawal left the IRFU and WIFU unchallenged as Canada's top football unions. The Eskimos faced the Montreal Alouettes in three consecutive Grey Cups in the mid-1950s, winning all three. Edmonton's first title in 1954 ended in bizarre fashion after Jackie Parker scored a touchdown (converted by Bob Dean) from a fumble recovery late in the game that gave Edmonton a 26–25 lead. At the time in Canadian football, touchdowns were only worth 5 points. Parker's 90-yard fumble return was the longest in league history until Toronto's Cassius Vaughn returned a Calgary fumble 109 yards in the 2017 Grey Cup game which was won by Toronto. The 1954 game also marked the end of the amateur era as the top teams completed their transition to professional organizations.


title: Grey Cup

text: As the 1950s wore on, the Big Four and WIFU distanced themselves from the CRU, forming the Canadian Football Council in 1956 to administer the game at the professional level. Two years later, on January 18, 1958, the CFC withdrew from the CRU and the Big Four & WIFU merged into the Canadian Football League (CFL). The new league formally assumed control of the Grey Cup from the CRU.


title: Grey Cup

text: In the CFL's initial seasons, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats were the league's dominant team, appearing in nine Grey Cups and winning four titles between 1957 and 1967. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers opposed Hamilton on six of those occasions, winning four titles. The two teams were involved in a series of bizarre incidents, the first occurring during the 1957 Grey Cup. Toronto-based lawyer and fan David Humphrey had talked his way past stadium security and had been allowed to watch the game from the sidelines. Ten minutes into the fourth quarter, Hamilton's Ray Bawel intercepted a pass and it appeared he would return the ball for a touchdown when Humphrey stuck his leg out and tripped Bawel as he ran up the sideline. Unsure how to handle the situation as there was no rule designed to cover it, referee Paul Dojack invented one on the spot. He placed the ball half the distance to the Winnipeg goal line from the point Bawel was tripped. The incident did not affect the final score, as Hamilton won 32–7. The league also created a new rule during the 1961 Grey Cup as it was the first in history to end regulation time in a tie: CFL Commissioner Sid Halter determined the teams would play an overtime period that consisted of two five-minute halves. That rule remained the CFL standard into the 2000s. Winnipeg scored the lone touchdown in overtime to defeat Hamilton 21–14.


title: Grey Cup

text: Winnipeg and Hamilton met again in 1962, the 50th Grey Cup, immortalized as the "Fog Bowl". The game was held at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium, and began on Saturday, December 1, 1962. The fog rolled in early in the second quarter and became increasingly dense as the game progressed. By the fourth quarter, the players were unable to see the sideline markers and the fans unable to see the play. The players were unable to see the ball in the air – kick returners listened for the sound of the ball hitting the ground – and the action was largely invisible to the television audience. With nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds remaining in the game and Winnipeg holding onto a 28–27 lead, officials made the unprecedented decision to suspend play until the next day. Though the league feared that continuing fog on the morning of December 2 would force the complete abandonment of the game, it lifted in time for the contest to resume. Around 15,000 of the original 32,655 spectators watched Winnipeg win the Grey Cup without further scoring by either team. It was the first title game completed on a Sunday; the Grey Cup moved from its traditional Saturday start to Sunday in 1969; however, the game was played on a Saturday for the last time in 1970.


title: Grey Cup

text: The Saskatchewan Roughriders won their first ever Grey Cup in 1966 when they defeated the Ottawa Rough Riders 29–14 at Empire Stadium in Vancouver before 36,553 fans.


title: Grey Cup

text: The Montreal Alouettes' 1970 Grey Cup championship, an upset win over the favoured Calgary Stampeders, served as a morale booster for the city of Montreal, which was reeling in the aftermath of the October Crisis. The 1970s belonged to the Edmonton Eskimos, however, as they ended the decade as one of the most dominant teams in CFL history, reaching the Grey Cup nine times between 1973 and 1982. The team competed in three consecutive finals early in the decade, losing to Ottawa in 1973 and Montreal in 1974, before winning the franchise's fourth championship in 1975. The 1975 championship was held in Calgary and was the first Grey Cup played on the Canadian Prairies. A young woman infamously streaked across the field during the national anthem despite frigid temperatures well below freezing. The only time the Eskimos did not reach the Grey Cup final during this span was in 1976, when the Saskatchewan Roughriders met the Ottawa Rough Riders, in the final all-"Roughriders" Grey Cup game. Both teams fought a see-saw battle, which was decided in the dying seconds of the game when Ottawa quarterback Tom Clements threw to Tony Gabriel, which stood out as the winning touchdown, 23–20. The 1977 Grey Cup was the first held at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, contested by the home town Alouettes and the Eskimos in front of a record crowd of 68,318. The game became known as the "Ice Bowl", as low temperatures froze snow on the field that had been melted by groundskeepers with salt, making the artificial turf extremely slippery. The Alouettes adapted to the field conditions by affixing staples to the soles of their shoes, improving their traction, and won the game by a 41–6 score.


title: Grey Cup

text: Upset at losing the 1977 game under poor weather conditions, the Eskimos hoped for a rematch with Montreal in 1978. Both teams reached the final game, which Edmonton won 20–13. It was the first of five consecutive championships, a streak that remains unmatched in the history of the Grey Cup. The Eskimos' dynasty dominated the league, losing a total of only six games during the three seasons from 1979 to 1981. The 1981 Grey Cup was expected to be yet another easy win for Edmonton, who posted a 14–1–1 record during the season and were considered overwhelming favourites against the surprise Eastern champions, the 5–11 Ottawa Rough Riders. The first half did not go as Edmonton hoped, though, as Ottawa, led by rookie quarterback J.C. Watts, emerged with a 20–1 lead. Quarterback Warren Moon led the Eskimos back in the second half, and with the game tied at 23, Dave Cutler kicked the game-winning field goal with just three seconds remaining.


title: Grey Cup

text: Edmonton's championship run came to an end in 1983 when they lost in the West Semi-Final game; the Argonauts defeated the BC Lions to win the championship that year, ending the team's 31-year Grey Cup title drought. Despite Toronto's win, the CFL felt that the overall quality of play in the East Division had deteriorated compared to that of the West. In 1986, it altered the playoff format to allow the first non-playoff team in one division to take the last playoff spot, but stay in their division if they had a better record. The consequences of the new rules were felt immediately, as the league gave a playoff spot to the Stampeders having a better record than the Alouettes, and decided the East Division Final would be a 2-game-total-point Final between the Toronto Argonauts and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who finished first and second, respectively. The crossover, if necessary, would begin in 1987. In financial difficulty, the loss of the playoff spot was disastrous for Montreal, which ceased operations one year later. The crossover rule was eliminated and not revisited until a decade later due to Montreal's folding (ironically, the crossover rule returned with the Alouettes' revival). Reduced to eight teams, the CFL shifted Winnipeg to the East Division, making the 1988 Grey Cup between the Blue Bombers and Lions the first championship game between two western Canadian teams.


title: Grey Cup

text: The 1989 Grey Cup is considered one of the finest games in Canadian football history: The Saskatchewan Roughriders won their second championship by defeating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 43–40 in the highest scoring Grey Cup game of all-time. Saskatchewan kicker Dave Ridgway's last-second field goal won the game and made him a legend in the prairie province.


title: Grey Cup

text: Declining interest in the CFL during the 1990s left the league in financial difficulty. Hoping to restore the league's credibility with fans, a new ownership group featuring Bruce McNall, hockey player Wayne Gretzky and actor John Candy purchased the Toronto Argonauts in 1991 and lured American college standout Rocket Ismail to Canada with a four-year, $26.2 million contract which made him the highest paid player in football history at that time. The Argonauts reached the 1991 Grey Cup and defeated the Calgary Stampeders 36–21. With 261 all-purpose yards on the game, including a then-Grey Cup record 87-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, Ismail was named Grey Cup Most Valuable Player.


title: Grey Cup

text: The potential for the league to enter the American market was discussed in 1987 when operators of the defunct United States Football League approached the CFL about merging the two leagues. The league showed little interest at the time, but as it continued its decline, the CFL reevaluated its position. In 1992, the CFL announced that it would expand into the United States. The Sacramento Gold Miners joined the league and became the first American team eligible to win the Grey Cup. The league added three additional American teams in 1994 and two in 1995 (with one team folding), but the initiative failed in most markets, and by 1996, the CFL again operated exclusively within Canada.


title: Grey Cup

text: The lone successful American market was in Baltimore, home to the Stallions. The team averaged over 35,000 fans per game in its inaugural season, nearly double that of Toronto or Hamilton. They matched that success on the field by becoming the first American team to play in the Grey Cup. The BC Lions kept the Grey Cup in Canada with a 26–23 victory in the 1994 final. Baltimore returned to the title game one year later and became the only American team to win the trophy by defeating the Calgary Stampeders, 37–20. The relocation of the National Football League's Cleveland Browns to Baltimore (to become the Ravens) in 1996 caused the Stallions to seek a new city to avoid direct competition with an NFL team. The team moved to Montreal, forming the current incarnation of the Alouettes franchise and ending the CFL's excursion into the United States.


title: Grey Cup

text: The league approached the 1996 Grey Cup in dire financial straits: the American expansion had been a failure, the 120-year-old Ottawa Rough Riders franchise ceased operations at the conclusion of the regular season, and out of the eight remaining teams, seven had lost money and two required direct assistance from the league to stay afloat. The Edmonton Eskimos could not afford to bring their players' families to the championship game. The "Toronto Star" echoed fears spoken by fans and media across the country when it asked if the 1996 championship, won by Toronto over Edmonton, would be the final Grey Cup.


title: Grey Cup

text: While the league struggled, the Grey Cup game itself retained its popularity and remained a national institution. The strength of the contest allowed the league to endure its challenges. The CFL survived into 1997 and was buoyed by an interest-free loan from the NFL, a new television deal with The Sports Network which, along with the launch of its popular "Friday Night Football" program, has been credited with saving the league. That year's Grey Cup, held in Edmonton and won by Toronto, drew nearly 22,000 more fans than the previous year. The CFL restored its reputation over time, enjoying new popularity into the 2000s such that it no longer had to rely on an exciting Grey Cup final to achieve stability for the next season.


title: Grey Cup

text: In 2000, the 8–10 BC Lions made history when they defeated the Montreal Alouettes, 28–26, becoming the first team in history to win the Grey Cup with a losing record in the regular season. In the game, 25-year veteran Lui Passaglia ended the longest career in CFL history by kicking what was ultimately the game-winning field goal. The Calgary Stampeders matched the Lions' feat the next year by becoming the second 8–10 team to win the Grey Cup, defeating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers by a 27–19 score in front of 65,255 fans, the second largest crowd in the game's history.