title: Kathleen Stock

text: Her views on transgender rights and gender identity have become a contentious issue. In December 2020, she was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in recognition of services to higher education, a decision which was subsequently criticised by a group of over 600 academic philosophers who argued that Stock's "harmful rhetoric" contributed to the marginalisation of transgender people. In October 2021, she resigned from the University of Sussex in the aftermath of a student campaign that called for her dismissal and allegations of the Sussex branch of the University and College Union of "institutional transphobia." A group of over 200 academic philosophers from the UK signed an open letter in support of Stock's academic freedom.


title: Kathleen Stock

text: Stock was born in Aberdeen and raised in Montrose Scotland; the daughter of English academics at Aberdeen University, a philosophy lecturer and a newspaper proofreader. She was an undergraduate reading French and philosophy at Exeter College, Oxford, followed by an MA at St Andrews. Stock then won a scholarship for a philosophy PhD at Leeds.


title: Kathleen Stock

text: Following her graduation, Stock briefly taught at the University of Lancaster and the University of East Anglia before joining the University of Sussex in 2003, where she worked as a reader and later a professor of philosophy. On 28 October 2021, the university announced Stock's resignation from the position following controversy around her views on gender identity; the announcement, written by the school's vice-chancellor, expressed regret that Stock did not "feel able to return to work" and that she had been subject to "bullying and harassment".


title: Kathleen Stock

text: Stock has written one monograph as well as articles in peer-reviewed academic journals, and has contributed several chapters to edited volumes. She edited "Philosophers on Music: Experience, Meaning, and Work" (first edition 2007), and together with Katherine Thomson-Jones, she edited "New Waves in Aesthetics" (2008). In her monograph "Only Imagine: Fiction, Interpretation and Imagination" (2017), she argues for authorial intentionalism.


title: Kathleen Stock

text: Stock was the vice-president of the British Society of Aesthetics from 2019 to 2020. She has given lectures at the University of York, the Aristotelian Society, the London Aesthetics Forum, the University of Wolverhampton, and the American Society for Aesthetics. On 28 October 2021 Stock resigned from the University of Sussex. Following Stock's resignation, she announced she would be joining the University of Austin as a fellow on a part-time basis without the requirement to move to Austin.


title: Kathleen Stock

text: Stock is acknowledged as a prominent "gender-critical" feminist. She has opposed transgender self-identification in regards to proposed reforms to the 2004 UK Gender Recognition Act. She has said that many trans women are "still males with male genitalia, many are sexually attracted to females, and they should not be in places where females undress or sleep in a completely unrestricted way." She has denied opposing trans rights, saying, "I gladly and vocally assert the rights of trans people to live their lives free from fear, violence, harassment or any discrimination" and "I think that discussing female rights is compatible with defending these trans rights".


title: Kathleen Stock

text: Students and academics began to criticise Stock's views in 2018, when she spoke against proposed changes to the Gender Recognition Act; the changes would have allowed people of all ages to legally self-identify as a particular gender without the requirement of a psychological or medicalised diagnosis. She received death threats as a result of her position.


title: Kathleen Stock

text: In 2019, Stock signed the "Declaration on Women's Sex-Based Rights" from the Women's Human Rights Campaign (WHRC). In June 2019, Stock was invited to speak at the Aristotelian Society about her views on gender identity. The organization Minorities and Philosophy (MAP) UK and their international counterpart released a joint statement against Stock speaking at the event, saying "Not every item of personal and ideological obsession is worthy of philosophical debate. In particular, scepticism about the rights of marginalised groups and individuals, where issues of life and death are at stake, are not up for debate."


title: Kathleen Stock

text: In 2020, Stock testified before the Women and Equalities Committee of the House of Commons, and gave oral evidence in response to the reform of the Gender Recognition Act.


title: Kathleen Stock

text: Journalist Janice Turner wrote in "The Times" that Stock "teaches trans students, respecting their pronouns, and has written repeatedly in support of their human rights".


title: Kathleen Stock

text: In 2021, Stock made a submission to the proposed Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill, highlighting what she described as harassment and a culture of fear and self-censorship in British universities in relation to her gender critical views concerning "transactivist demands to recognise and prioritise gender identity".


title: Kathleen Stock

text: Her 2021 book, "Material Girls: Why Reality Matters for Feminism", offers a critical discussion of gender identity theory. Her thesis, according to reviewer Christina Patterson, is that there is "a new orthodoxy, one in which sex gives way to feeling, and feeling trumps facts". In the book, Stock supports protective laws for trans people, but opposes, according to "The Guardian", "the institutionalisation of the idea that gender identity is all that matters – that how you identify automatically confers all the entitlements of that sex". She describes the law that gives trans people the right to change gender as a legal fiction, a kind of "useful untruth".


title: Kathleen Stock

text: In October 2021, a group describing themselves as queer, trans, and non-binary University of Sussex students began a campaign for Stock to be fired, stating that she was "espousing a bastardised version of radical feminism that excludes and endangers trans people". Students criticised Stock for being a trustee for LGB Alliance and for signing the declaration of the Women's Human Rights Campaign. The group, Anti Terf Sussex, said Stock was a danger to transgender people and that "We're not up for debate. We cannot be reasoned out of existence". A statement on Instagram said it was from "an anonymous, unaffiliated group of queer, trans and non-binary students who will not allow our community to be slandered and harmed by someone who's [sic] salary comes from our pockets". Police advised Stock to take precautions for her safety, including installing CCTV at her home and using bodyguards on campus.


title: Kathleen Stock

text: Stock herself said: "Universities aren't places where students should just expect to hear their own thoughts reflected back at them. Arguments should be met by arguments and evidence by evidence, not intimidation or aggression". She said that months previously, she had complained to the University of Sussex, alleging it had failed to protect her and to safeguard her academic freedom.


title: Kathleen Stock

text: Junior Minister for Women and Equalities Kemi Badenoch, barrister Allison Bailey, and writer Julie Bindel spoke in Stock's defence and University of Sussex vice-chancellor Adam Tickell condemned the campaign as a threat to academic freedom. Announcing an investigation into the protests, the vice-chancellor stated "I'm really concerned that we have masked protesters putting up posters calling for the sacking of somebody for exercising her right to articulate her views", and that the institution had "legal and moral duties to ensure people can speak freely".


title: Kathleen Stock

text: A group of over 200 academic philosophers from the UK signed an open letter in support of Stock's academic freedom, and her ability to engage "in open and scholarly debate without fear of harassment." Another open letter in support of Stock's academic freedom was signed by legal academics.


title: Kathleen Stock

text: "The Times" reported that the head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Baroness Falkner of Margravine, "called the attacks on Professor Kathleen Stock disgraceful and said that tougher regulation was needed to protect people from abuse." She said: "The rights of trans people must of course be protected, but the attempt to silence academic freedom of expression is the opposite of what university life is about". Minister for women and equalities Liz Truss gave Falkner's letter her "full support". Oxford historian Selina Todd described Tickell's statement as paying "lip service to academic freedom while assuring students of the university's 'inclusivity'" and criticised the University and College Union for their silence. "The Times" published a letter in support of Stock from a group of trans people, saying that they were "appalled that trans rights ... are being used to excuse an unprincipled campaign of harassment and abuse."


title: Kathleen Stock

text: A statement of solidarity signed by hundreds of "academics, retired academics, students, alumni and university/college employees" circulated by the GC Academia Network, a group that describes itself as gender-critical, expressed concerns "about the ongoing erosion of women's sex-based rights in law, policy and practice" and condemns the recent escalation of intimidation by a small group.


title: Kathleen Stock

text: The Sussex branch of the University and College Union (UCU) strongly criticized the vice-chancellor over his statement, saying that Tickell had not upheld the dignity and respect of trans students and staff. The union said that it stands in solidarity with the students and their right to protest, and that "we urge our management to take a clear and strong stance against transphobia at Sussex." It also called for an investigation into "institutional transphobia" at the University of Sussex. However, it added "we do not endorse the call for any worker to be summarily sacked." Responding to the statement, Stock said that it had "effectively ended" her career at Sussex University.


title: Kathleen Stock

text: The Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities, Taiwo Owatemi, called UCU's statement "strong and principled" and said she was "greatly concerned by [Stock's] work as a trustee for the LGB Alliance group" which she said should be "rejected by all those who believe in equality."


title: Kathleen Stock

text: Shortly after releasing the statement, members of the UCU Sussex branch executive said they had received personal threats, and had their contact details released. A spokesperson on behalf of the UCU's national organisation condemned this and said "these matters are being raised immediately with leadership at the university."


title: Kathleen Stock

text: After announcing her resignation from the university on 28 October, Stock gave a radio interview on "Woman's Hour" on 3 November. She denied that she is transphobic and explained that her resignation followed attacks on her by colleagues who are opposed to her views and who foster an "extreme" response from their students: "instead of getting involved in arguing with me using reason, evidence – the traditional university methods – they tell their students in lectures that I pose a harm to trans students."


title: Kathleen Stock

text: Stock was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to higher education. In response, over 600 academics signed a letter criticising the government's decision and expressing concern about a "tendency to mistake transphobic fear mongering for valuable scholarship, and attacks on already marginalised people for courageous exercises of free speech". Stock responded that the content of the letter was ridiculous, saying "they accused me of completely wild things like supporting patriarchy and preventing transgender people from accessing medical care, even though I have not said anything about it except when it comes to children". A counter letter defending her was signed by more than 400.


title: Kathleen Stock

text: Stock is lesbian, having come out later in life; in "Material Girls", she describes herself as "a lesbian and... a sex-nonconforming woman". Janice Turner in "The Times" described her, amongst other terms, as a "left-wing lesbian". She lives in Sussex with her partner and two sons from a previous marriage.


title: Dunfermline Athletic F.C.

text: Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Championship. Dunfermline play at East End Park, are nicknamed The Pars and are currently managed by James McPake.


title: Dunfermline Athletic F.C.

text: The Pars' most successful period was in the 1960s, when the side won the Scottish Cup twice, in 1961 and 1968 under the management of Jock Stein and George Farm respectively. The club regularly played European football in this period, reaching the semi-finals of the 1968–69 European Cup Winners' Cup under Farm.


title: Dunfermline Athletic F.C.

text: The club have played at East End Park since their formation in 1885; however, the pitch they initially played at – also known as East End Park – was slightly west of the present stadium.


title: Dunfermline Athletic F.C.

text: After a period of relative success in the 2000s marked by appearances in three major finals (the 2004 Scottish Cup Final, the 2006 Scottish League Cup Final and the 2007 Scottish Cup Final), all of which were lost against Celtic. Dunfermline were relegated to the First Division in 2007. The club then encountered financial problems and, in April 2013, applied for and was granted full administration at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, and in October 2013, the fan group Pars United assumed control of the club.


title: Dunfermline Athletic F.C.

text: Dunfermline Football Club was formed in 1874, when members of Dunfermline Cricket Club decided to establish a football section, with the intention of maintaining fitness during the winter. A dispute over club membership caused some members to split away from Dunfermline Cricket Club, which resulted in the creation of Dunfermline Athletic Football Club on 2 June 1885. The club became the principal football club in Dunfermline and their first twenty-five years saw them compete primarily as an amateur team, until they turned professional in 1899. The club first entered into the Scottish Football League in 1912 where they took part in the Scottish Division Two. The fifty years following the club's admittance to the SFL saw little success, with the side most frequently playing in the second tier, with occasional appearances in the top flight.


title: Dunfermline Athletic F.C.

text: Dunfermline's finest period came during the sixties. After being appointed manager on 14 March 1960 and saving the club from relegation to Scottish Division Two, Jock Stein – in his first managerial appointment – guided the Pars to their first major piece of silverware, winning the Scottish Cup in 1961 after just thirteen months in charge.


title: Dunfermline Athletic F.C.

text: The years which followed saw Dunfermline consistently competing in European competitions, reaching the semi-finals of the 1968–69 European Cup Winners' Cup under George Farm. Although they lost by one goal on aggregate to eventual winners Slovan Bratislava, it remains the greatest achievement in Dunfermline's history. This followed Farm managing Dunfermline to their second Scottish Cup victory, winning the competition in 1968.


title: Dunfermline Athletic F.C.

text: After a period of decline during the 1970s and much of the 1980s, the club returned to the top tier in 1987 under club legend Jim Leishman, although they were subsequently relegated after just one season. The following years saw a similar pattern, with a handful of promotions and relegations throughout the 1990s. It was during this period that the club were rocked by the loss of club captain Norrie McCathie, who died on 8 January 1996 by carbon monoxide poisoning.


title: Dunfermline Athletic F.C.

text: The appointment of John Yorkston as chairman and the involvement of Gavin Masterton in 1999 saw the club enter a period of resurgence, with two Scottish Cup final appearances in 2004 and 2007, a Scottish League Cup final in 2006, as well as two short-lived excursions in the UEFA Cup in 2004 and 2007. In 2012 it emerged that the club had a number of outstanding tax bills with HMRC following the financial mismanagement of the football club by Yorkston and Masterton. The club were put into administration on 11 April 2013 and after a points deduction, were relegated to the third tier for the first time since 1986.


title: Dunfermline Athletic F.C.

text: The club were then taken over by the fans group Pars United, and after three years in the League One, eventually won promotion back to the Scottish Championship under manager Allan Johnston. Former striker Stevie Crawford was appointed head coach at the beginning of 2019, following a restructure that introduced Jackie McNamara as technical consultant and Greg Shields as assistant head coach.


title: Dunfermline Athletic F.C.

text: The club launched its Hall of Fame in 2004, initially with nine inductees. 50 individuals (ranging from players and managers to kit managers and the club historian) and two team groups (the 1960s cup winners) were members as of 2019.


title: Dunfermline Athletic F.C.

text: For much of Dunfermline's history their home colours have been black and white striped shirts, with black shorts and black socks, though recently they have worn white shorts and white socks. From the club's formation in 1885 until 1901, the club's home colours were a plain maroon shirt with either navy or white shorts and either maroon, white or grey socks. The club then went through a period between 1901 and 1909 when their kits were blue. The club first wore their now well-known black-and-white-striped shirts in 1909 and have worn these colours every year apart from the 1971–72 season, when they wore all white, the 2004–05 season, when they wore a white shirt with a single black stripe running down the left side of the shirt and during the 2007–08 season, in which they wore an all-white shirt with black shorts and white socks. For the 2008–09 season, the Pars reverted to their well-known black-and-white stripes resembling the kit they wore for the 1997–98 and 1998–99 seasons.


title: Dunfermline Athletic F.C.

text: Conversely, there has been no consistent colour or design of the club's away strips. Since the start of the new millennium, the club have most regularly had red kits of varying design; for example, the 2004–2005 away strip consisted of vertical red and black lines, whereas the 2016–17 kit was mostly red, with four horizontal lines of red, white and black across the chest. However, away kit designs have not been exclusively red, with the club having also had kits of purple, blue and yellow, as well as black, as was the case during the 2005–06 season.


title: Dunfermline Athletic F.C.

text: The current Dunfermline Athletic club badge design was created in 1957 by Colin Dymock, an art teacher at Dunfermline High School. It was allegedly inspired by one of Dymock's mysterious nightmares. The "DAFC" represents the initials of the club, Dunfermline Athletic Football Club, whilst the tower is a representation of Malcolm Canmore's Tower. The tower was adopted by the town of Dunfermline to be used for the Burgh Arms and old seals. Malcolm Canmore was King of Scotland from 1057 to 1093, and made his residence in Dunfermline within what is now Pittencrieff Park. The park is represented by the stormy, ghostly blue and black night scene behind the tower, including the park's infamous hanging tree. The green area at the bottom of the crest is meant to represent the club's stadium, East End Park. Whilst the badge has been in use since the 1950s, it has undergone a number of alterations since its original incarnation, with the most recent adjustments in 2011 altering the outlines, font and colours of the logo.


title: Dunfermline Athletic F.C.

text: According to "Black and White Magic", a 1984 book about the club by Jim Paterson and Douglas Scott, there are numerous theories as to the origin of the club's nickname, the Pars. The authors wrote:


title: Dunfermline Athletic F.C.

text: ""Most tend to confirm the more common belief that the name arose from the team's parallel striped shirts, their drinking habits or their style of play. The latter were both described as "paralytic". The earliest theory claims that in the early days when the Football Club was closely connected with the Cricket Club, the footballers were renowned for their performances at the bar and so were called the "Paralytics"."


title: Dunfermline Athletic F.C.

text: "However, in the early 1900s it is known that Athletic's nickname was the "Dumps" – shortened from Dunfermline – and this is said to have been coined by English sailors visiting East End Park when their ship docked at Rosyth. After World War I they were known as the Pars and some believe the parallel black and white stripes to be the reason."


title: Dunfermline Athletic F.C.

text: "Another school of thought involves English workers who came to work at the armaments depot at Crombie and at Rosyth Dockyard; they kept their association with their local team by forming the Plymouth Argyle (Rosyth) Supporters Club and it is said that the Dunfermline nickname comes from the banners in evidence around the ground.""


title: Dunfermline Athletic F.C.

text: Another view, which holds water with the older supporters is that the name derives from the word 'Parr' which is a juvenile salmon with dark vertical markings.


title: Dunfermline Athletic F.C.

text: Like other football clubs, Dunfermline has a number of songs and anthems. A popular song, and the anthem to which the team runs out is "Into The Valley" by local band "The Skids".


title: Dunfermline Athletic F.C.

text: Since the 1950s the crowd have left the ground after the game to the tune of "The Bluebell Polka" by Jimmy Shand and his band. After Dunfermline score a goal at East End Park, the chorus of The Dave Clark Five's Glad All Over is played.


title: Dunfermline Athletic F.C.

text: Dunfermline Athletic have traditional rivalries with local sides Cowdenbeath and Raith Rovers as well as contesting the Kincardine Derby with near neighbours, Falkirk. They have also participated regularly in the Fife Cup since their formation in 1885, winning the competition more than thirty times, most recently during the 2006–07 season.


title: Dunfermline Athletic F.C.

text: In the STV television detective drama Taggart, the writer and Dunfermline fan, Stuart Hepburn used the names of the 1968 Scottish cup winning side for the characters in a 2003 episode.


title: Warning sign

text: A warning sign is a type of sign which indicates a potential hazard, obstacle, or condition requiring special attention. Some are traffic signs that indicate hazards on roads that may not be readily apparent to a driver.


title: Warning sign

text: While warning traffic sign designs vary, they usually take the shape of an equilateral triangle with a white background and thick red border. In the People's Republic of China (except for Macau and Hong Kong), they appear with a black border and a yellow background. In Sweden, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Finland, Iceland, North Macedonia and Poland, they have a red border with an amber background. The polar bear warning sign in Svalbard recently changed from displaying a black bear on white background to a white bear on black background (both signs are triangular with a red border). Some countries (like France, Norway and Spain) that normally use a white background have adopted an orange or amber background for road work or construction signs.


title: Warning sign

text: Warning signs in some countries have a diamond shape in place of the standard triangular shape. In the United States, Canada, Mexico, Thailand, Australia, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, most of South America, and also the Republic of Ireland (diverging from the standards of the rest of Europe) use warning signs are black on a yellow background and usually diamond-shaped, while temporary signs (which are typically construction signs) are black on an orange background. Some other countries also use these standards for some signage.


title: Warning sign

text: The warning signs usually contain a symbol. In Europe they are based on the UNECE Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals. In the United States they are based on the MUTCD standard and often contain text only.


title: Warning sign

text: Some of the first roadside signs—ancient milestones—merely gave distance measures. Hazard warnings were rare though occasional specimens appeared, such as the specific warning about horse-drawn vehicles backing up which was carved in stone in Lisbon's Alfama neighborhood in 1686. The early signs did not have high-contrast lettering and their messages might have been easily overlooked. Signs were written in the local language (); symbolic signs, though long used on certain tradesmen's signs (like the pawnbrokers' tri-ball symbol) were to be used for traffic only much later in history.


title: Warning sign

text: Complex signage systems emerged with the appearance of motorcars. In 1908 the automobile association in West London erected some warning signs. In 1909, nine European governments agreed on the use of four pictorial symbols, indicating "bump", "curve", "intersection", and "railroad crossing". The intensive work on international road signs that took place between 1926 and 1949 eventually led to the development of the European road sign system.


title: Warning sign

text: As the 20th century progressed, and traffic volume and vehicle speeds increased, so did the importance of road sign visibility. Earlier flat-painted signs gave way to , which in turn gave way to button copy signs— round retroreflective "buttons" helped to achieve greater night visibility. Flat metal signs reappeared in the 1980s with the widespread use of surfaces covered with retroflective sheeting materials like Scotchlite.


title: Warning sign

text: In Europe, 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals (which became effective in 1978) tried, among other things, to standardize important signs. After the fall of the Iron Curtain and greater ease of country-to-country driving in the EU, European countries moved toward lessening the regional differences in warning signs.


title: Warning sign

text: In modern regulations, U.S. warning signs are classified as "Series W" signs, such as W1 Series (curves and turns), W10 Series (railroads), et cetera, ending with the W25 Series (concerning extended green traffic lights). Some U.S. warning signs are without category while others like the warning stripes at tunnel portals or plain red "End of Roadway" signs are classified as Object Markers (OM Series). In the U.S., "Stop" and speed limit signs fall under the R Series (Regulatory). Modern U.S. signs are widely standardized; unless they are antique holdovers from an earlier era, oddities like a yellow "Stop" sign or a red "Slippery When Wet" sign would typically appear only on private property—perhaps at a hospital campus or in a shopping mall parking lot.


title: Warning sign

text: Street sign theft by pranksters, souvenir hunters, and scrappers has become problematic: removal of warning signs costs municipalities money to replace lost signs, and can contribute to traffic collisions. Some authorities affix to the back sides of signs. Some jurisdictions have criminalized unauthorized possession of road signs or have outlawed their resale to scrap metal dealers. In some cases, thieves whose sign-removal lead to road fatalities have been charged with manslaughter. Artistically inclined vandals sometimes paint additional details onto warning signs: a beer bottle, a handgun, or a boom box added to the outstretched hand of the "Pedestrian Crossing" person, for example.


title: Warning sign

text: Warning signs can indicate any potential hazard, obstacle or condition requiring special attention. Some of the most common warning signs are the following.


title: Warning sign

text: General warning signs are used in instances in which the particular hazard, obstacle or condition is not covered by a standard sign. In Europe, they usually comprise an exclamation mark on the standard triangular sign (Unicode ) with an auxiliary sign below in the local language identifying the hazard, obstacle or condition. In Sweden, the general warning sign has only a vertical line instead of exclamation mark; this model was used also in many other European countries until the 1990s. In the United States and other countries using diamond-shaped signs, the explanatory language is often written directly on the diamond-shaped sign, although it may contain only a general warning such as "Caution", and pictograms may also be used.


title: Warning sign

text: These signs indicate that dangerous or unexpected bends in the road are ahead. Signs typically indicate whether the curves are to the right or to the left, the angle of the curve and whether it is one curve or a series of curves.


title: Warning sign

text: Chevron-shaped symbols or arrows on rectangular signs may be placed at the actual location of the bend or curve to further mark the location of the curve and to assist in the negotiation of the curve. They may also be used to indicate "merge" with other traffic, as for an on-ramp of a limited-access highway.


title: Warning sign

text: An unusual occurrence of the rectangular arrow sign appears on the eastbound approach to Dead Man's Curve in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, a curve so sharp that in places an arrow's stem is printed on one sign and the arrow's point is printed on another larger sign further down the road; from the driver's perspective at a distance, the two signs visually blend together to form one large arrow image.


title: Warning sign

text: These signs warn of road crossings at crossroads, T-intersections, roundabouts, or Y-intersections. They may also indicate "hidden driveway" intersecting the road ahead. (Compare with bridges, overpasses, viaducts).


title: Warning sign

text: These signs are used to warn drivers of people walking in the street. They may also be used to warn of children playing, playgrounds, bicycle area, deaf child, blind pedestrians, and thickly settled zones where pedestrians may enter the road.


title: Warning sign

text: In California, United States near the Mexican border, there were warning signs showing a running family. This was to warn motorists to look out for illegal immigrants who try to escape authorities by running through freeway traffic. The symbol was created by California Department of Transportation employee John Hood in the late 1980s.


title: Warning sign

text: Warning signs can be placed in advance of, next to or on a specific obstacle. Obstacles such as railway level crossings may have several warning signs beforehand, while bridge ramparts typically have reflective signs placed directly on them on either side. These signs can be specific to the shape requirements of the obstacle, for example, bridge rampart signs are often tall and skinny so as not to intrude into the lane.


title: Warning sign

text: "Icy road", "Bump", etc. Truck drivers will need to pay attention to "Steep grade" warnings (or "Down grade, use lower gear"), sometimes posted with the percent grade (e.g., 5%). Steep hills may also feature "Runaway truck escape" or "Emergency stop" areas with corresponding signs. The UK has a sign warning of "Adverse camber" on a curve. Also "Loose gravel", "Soft shoulder", "Speed hump", and "Watch for ice".


title: Warning sign

text: These warning signs indicate that traffic lights are ahead, and are often used when it is difficult to see that a traffic light may already be showing red, to warn a driver to prepare to slow down. They may be supplemented with flashing light or lighted sign when light is red or turning red. Some countries also have signs warning of signals for ramp meters, fire stations, and airfields.


title: Warning sign

text: As for traffic signals, above, some "stop" or "yield" signs may require additional warning or reminder, especially in dense areas or where the sign has been added recently.


title: Warning sign

text: These signs mark school zones (in which lower speed limits may be in place), student crossings, crossing guards or signals ahead. In the U.S. and Canada, pentagon-shaped signs are used in place of the usual diamond-shaped signs. The shape of the U.S. school zone resembles a one-room schoolhouse and is the only U.S. sign shaped this way. Some Canadian provinces use an identical sign.


title: Warning sign

text: These signs may be used to warn people of oncoming traffic; shown when a motorway becomes a dual carriageway or a normal road without a central reservation or median.


title: Warning sign

text: These signs are often temporary in nature and used to indicate road work (construction), poor roads, or temporary conditions ahead on the road including flagmen, uneven pavement, etc. (Note that some "high water" signs are posted to alert drivers of a flood-prone area and do not actually mean that there is a flooded section of road ahead.) In France, Italy, Spain, Norway etc., warning (and speed limit) signs connected with road work have a yellow background in place of the usual white background on signs. In North America and Ireland, signs connected with road work have an orange background.


title: Warning sign

text: These signs indicate when a multilane highway is being narrowed, when a passing lane is ending, or where the road is widening or a passing lane starting. Another type of sign is used to indicate central "two-way" left turning lane in center of roadway. Warning signs may also warn of "Highway ends", where the road changes class or type.


title: Warning sign

text: In the United States and Canada, there is special signage for lanes that are about to exit, so that drivers who wish to remain on the main road have adequate time to merge. Such lanes are sometimes indicated by special striping ("alligator stripes") and the sign, "Through Traffic Merge Left" (or right). On freeways, the green directions sign for the exit ramp may have the additional notation, "Exit Only", and should have black letters on a yellow background for emphasis.


title: Warning sign

text: These signs warn of wild animals (deer, etc.) or farm animals (cows, horses, ducks, sheep) that may stray onto the road. In the United States, a "share the road" plaque is sometimes placed below these warning signs when used in this manner.


title: Warning sign

text: These signs are found where road users could encounter slow, large or non-typical vehicles such as forklifts, handcarts and military vehicles. They are more common around quarries, airports, industrial zones, military installations and rural areas.


title: Warning sign

text: These signs may be used to indicate the hazards of fallen or falling rocks on the road ahead. They are usually pictographs, but may also include wording, such as "falling rocks". In Italy the words may be "" or ""; in France ""; in Mexico "s".


title: Warning sign

text: A warning sign with the image of an aircraft in the middle of it indicates an airport or airfield, where drivers should be prepared for low-flying aircraft.


title: Warning sign

text: Flying socks, as indicated in Poland by a windsock on red triangle or yellow diamond signs, indicate locations where a strong side wind may cause the trajectory of the moving vehicle to change drastically, perhaps even "flying" across lanes, causing an accident.


title: Warning sign

text: These signs are used to warn of level crossings ahead. In most countries, a red triangle warning sign is used, with various pictograms for unguarded crossings, crossings with manual gates, and automatic level crossings. In most of Europe, an old-style gate is used for a crossing with gates, and a steam locomotive for a crossing without gates. Germany uses an electric train. Similar pictograms are also used in Ireland, albeit on an amber diamond sign. In the United States the warning of all types of railway crossings is made using a circular yellow sign. The actual crossing is also marked with crossed "railroad crossing" crossbuck signs (stop, look, listen) and possibly lights, bells, and barriers.


title: Warning sign

text: These signs are used to indicate tunnels, where lights are usually required, and a general change in the light level. May also indicate low ceiling clearance. Truck drivers should also watch for prohibited cargo signs (e.g., propane) upon approach to tunnels.


title: Warning sign

text: These signs are used where traffic may be constricted to a narrow bridge, or where the bridge may have a movable span closed to vehicles while boats pass (e.g., drawbridge). They may also be used for underpass to indicate low overhead clearance.


title: Warning sign

text: These signs warn of approach to where firefighters may be entering the road with fire engines or other emergency apparatus, where other drivers will have to stop and wait until they pass.


title: Warning sign

text: Some warning signs have flashing lights to alert drivers of conditions ahead or remind drivers to slow down. In Britain, they are called "warning lights". Flashing lights can be dangerous for people with certain forms of epilepsy and/or sensory processing disorder.


title: Racing Stripes

text: Racing Stripes is a 2005 American sports comedy family film directed by Frederik Du Chau. The film was produced by Andrew A. Kosove, Broderick Johnson, Lloyd Phillips and Edward L. McDonnell, based on a script written by David Schmidt, Steven P. Wegner, Kirk DeMicco, and Du Chau. It was released theatrically on January 14, 2005, by Warner Bros.


title: Racing Stripes

text: The film tells the story of Stripes, a circus plains zebra who is accidentally abandoned in Kentucky and raised on a farm next to a racing track. Believing he is a racehorse, Stripes dreams of training for and competing in the races. The film stars Hayden Panettiere, Bruce Greenwood, Wendie Malick and M. Emmet Walsh, with the vocal and voice talents of Frankie Muniz, Mandy Moore, Michael Clarke Duncan, Jeff Foxworthy, Joshua Jackson, Joe Pantoliano, Michael Rosenbaum, Steve Harvey, David Spade, Snoop Dogg, Fred Dalton Thompson, Dustin Hoffman and Whoopi Goldberg.


title: Racing Stripes

text: The film received mixed reviews from critics and it earned $90 million. "Racing Stripes" was released on DVD and VHS on May 10, 2005, by Warner Home Video.


title: Racing Stripes

text: During a thunderstorm, a traveling circus, Circus Sarano, accidentally leaves behind a baby plains zebra (Jansen Panettiere) after replacing a flat tire. The foal is rescued by widower and former racehorse trainer Nolan Walsh (Bruce Greenwood), and is taken to his farm where his 13-year-old daughter, Channing (Hayden Panettiere) names him Stripes. He meets a Shetland pony named Tucker (Dustin Hoffman); a Saanen goat named Franny (Whoopi Goldberg); and a rooster named Reggie (Jeff Foxworthy). The next day, Stripes soon becomes convinced that he is destined for the nearby racetrack, Turfway Park, not realizing that he is a zebra and is not qualified to race. Two foals named Trenton's Pride (Kyle Alcazar) and Ruffshodd (Frankie Ryan Manriquez) decide to race Stripes until they are stopped by Pride's father, three time Kentucky Open champion, Sir Trenton (Fred Dalton Thompson).


title: Racing Stripes

text: Three years later, after racing the mailman again, an adult Stripes (Frankie Muniz) meets an Arabian filly named Sandy (Mandy Moore) and develops a crush on her after losing to the mailman in their usual race. While talking to Sandy, he is approached by Pride (Joshua Jackson) and Ruffshodd (Michael Rosenbaum), Stripes' tormentors since childhood while Channing's bloodhound, Lightning (Snoop Dogg) is lazy and talks while he rests. Pride challenges Stripes to a racing match at a secret race track in the woods called the Blue Moon Races; he accepts, but loses the race.


title: Racing Stripes

text: The following day, Tucker, having secretly watched Stripes, approaches him and suggests that he gets proper training first. Stripes, in need of a rider, chooses 16-year-old Channing and convinces a new farm animal, a pelican named Goose (Joe Pantoliano), to sabotage Channing's motorcycle and "Old Blue", Nolan's old pickup truck, so that Channing can ride him to her workplace at Turfway Park. The plan works, and Channing, with Nolan's reluctant approval, rides Stripes to Turfway Park. There, Channing is antagonized by her boss, Clara Dalrymple (Wendie Malick), for bringing Stripes to the racetrack, while Stripes meets a pair of horse-fly brothers, Buzz and Scuzz (Steve Harvey and David Spade).


title: Racing Stripes

text: As night approaches, Channing, remembering her first ride on horseback with her mother, Carolyn, completes a lap around the track with Stripes. They are approached by Woodzie (M. Emmet Walsh), a racetrack gambler and old friend of the family, who encourages Channing to sign her and Stripes up for a tryout race tomorrow. She does, despite Nolan's disapproval stemming from his wife's death in a racing accident six years ago, which discouraged him to continue training horses ever since, but Stripes has a major meltdown after being easily scared by the horse-gate like all the other horses the next morning at the tryouts. Once he calms down, he begins running, but then gets hit in the face by flying dirt while racing, causing Channing to fall off. Though she is uninjured, Nolan chastises and blames her. However, when Dalrymple mocks her riding skills, Nolan defends his daughter. In response, Dalrymple sarcastically signs Stripes up to compete in the Kentucky Open competition.


title: Racing Stripes

text: Meanwhile, Stripes realizes he is a zebra after being told off by Sir Trenton, which severely discourages him. Despite Channing's pleas and Woodzie's encouragement, Nolan refuses to let her race Stripes. Realizing this, the farm animals lure Nolan into the farm to show him a table holding his past accomplishments and he changes his mind. Meanwhile, due to Stripes' misbehavior during training, Franny reveals to Stripes that Tucker helped Nolan train the racehorse champions including Sir Trenton without getting any thanks, which encourages him to begin training.


title: Racing Stripes

text: Refusing to allow Stripes to race, Sir Trenton and several thoroughbreds ambush Stripes and Sandy at a creek as they are talking and making up for their previous argument one night, kidnapping Sandy and threatening to hurt her if he races. The next day, after rescuing Stripes, Tucker, Franny, and Goose agree to rescue Sandy. With a little help from Buzz and Scuzz, the rescue is successful and they get back in time for Stripes to go to the race.


title: Racing Stripes

text: At the race, Nolan bets Dalrymple that if Stripes wins, then he gets Sandy, and if he loses then he will come back to work for her. During the race, Ruffshodd, and even his jockey, try to stop Stripes from winning until Scuzz gets them disqualified by biting Ruffshodd's rear-end. Later, Stripes begins to wear out until he finally remembers what Tucker taught him, "Don't look back. Leave it all on the track," which boosts his confidence. Stripes wins the race and earns respect from the other racehorses, including Pride. In the end, they all pose together in a group photo, which is later shown with the other previous Walsh wins.


title: Racing Stripes

text: On September 10, 2002, it was announced that Frederik Du Chau was hired and set to direct "Racing Stripes". David Schmidt, Steven P. Wegner and Kirk DeMicco wrote the script for the film. Andrew Kosove, Broderick Johnson, Lloyd Phillips and Edward L. McDonnell produced the film with the budget of $30 million for release in 2005. On 22 November, it was announced that Bruce Greenwood, Hayden Panettiere, M. Emmet Walsh, Wendie Malick, Gary Bullock, Frankie Muniz, Dustin Hoffman, Whoopi Goldberg, Mandy Moore, Jeff Foxworthy, Joe Pantoliano, Fred Dalton Thompson, Joshua Jackson, Michael Rosenbaum, Snoop Dogg, Michael Clarke Duncan, Steve Harvey and David Spade joined the film. On March 25, 2003, it was announced that Mark Isham would compose the music for the film.


title: Racing Stripes

text: Two racing zebras, Sam and Daisy, were used in the film. Sam was more well-behaved, and "kind of wanted to be a horse," according to Tim Rivers, who trained him at the Animals in Motion farm near Citra, Florida. Sam had experience in "", "Second Noah" and "Sheena".


title: Racing Stripes

text: During production of the film, Hayden Panettiere was thrown off a zebra and ended up hospitalized with a concussion and a pinched nerve in her neck. The producers forbade her from mentioning the injury during publicity for the film; she finally revealed it during a 2013 episode of British talk show "The Graham Norton Show".


title: Racing Stripes

text: In March 2003, Frankie Muniz was cast following his performance on "Agent Cody Banks". On July 27, 2003, another cast were announced such as Hayden Panettiere, who will star opposite the voices of Dustin Hoffman, Whoopi Goldberg, Joe Pantoliano, Mandy Moore and Patrick Stewart.


title: Racing Stripes

text: Also joining the cast of voices is Joshua Jackson, Michael Rosenbaum, Steve Harvey, David Spade, Michael Clarke Duncan and Jeff Foxworthy. In August, Bruce Greenwood was cast in the film.


title: Racing Stripes

text: It was filmed at the Hollywoodbets Scottsville Racecourse in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa and Riverholm Country Estate in Nottingham Road, South Africa. Development of the film was completed in Los Angeles, California. On May 21, Summit Entertainment and Warner Bros. acquired distribution rights to the film.


title: Racing Stripes

text: The film's score was composed by Mark Isham, who also produced and co-wrote "Taking the Inside Rail" with Sting; "It Ain't Over Yet," heard with Channing and Nolan train Stripes and at the end of the film, was written by Bryan Adams, Gretchen Peters and Eliot Kennedy and produced by Adams. The soundtrack album was released on January 11, 2005, on the Varèse Sarabande label.


title: Racing Stripes

text: The film was a modest success at the box office, having covered its budget. It grossed $49,000,000 at the American box office and an additional $40,000,000 at the international box office.


title: Racing Stripes

text: Critical reaction to the film was mixed to negative, with the movie scoring 35% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 99 reviews. The site's consensus reads: ""Racing Stripes" might be good for a few laps with younger viewers, but it's too blandly predictable to truly recommend for an all-ages audience." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 43 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.


title: Bill (weapon)

text: A bill is a class of agricultural implement used for trimming tree limbs, which was often repurposed for use as an infantry polearm. In English, the term 'Italian bill' is applied to the similar roncone or roncola, but the Italian version tended to have a long thrusting spike in addition to the cutting blade.


title: Bill (weapon)

text: The English distinguished among several varieties of bill, including the black, brown and forest bills, but the differences between them are currently not fully understood. Bills were adapted to military use through addition of various projecting blades. Other variants include the bill hook and bill-guisarme.


title: Bill (weapon)

text: The bill is similar in size, function and appearance to the halberd, and might be said to represent convergent evolution to fill a common niche: a pole-arm with a point to thrust with, a hook to drag with, and a spike/axe to cut with. The bill should not be conflated with a war-scythe, another pole-arm adapted from an agricultural implement, the scythe.


title: Bill (weapon)

text: George Silver, writing in 1599, stated that the black bill should be long, while the forest bill should be .


title: Bill (weapon)

text: During the early 16th century when most European states were adopting the pike and arquebus, the English preferred to stick with the combination of bill and English longbow. Even in the Tudor period, bills were still common with levies sent to fight the Scots. The Battle of Flodden in 1513 was a classic match between continental-style pike formations (Scots) and billmen (English). When the English army fought in the Italian War of 1542–1546, the bill was still the main polearm of the English.


title: Bill (weapon)

text: The English increasingly transitioned to pike and shot formations from the mid 16th century, but kept the billhook in use in the same capacity as other armies used greatswords and halberds. In 1588, the English Trained Bands consisted of 36% arquebusiers, 6% musketeers, 16% bowmen, 26% pikemen, and 16% billmen. Lansdowne MS 56, attributed to Lord Burghley, states that ideally infantry formations should consist of 50% shot, 30% pikes, and 20% bills.


title: Bill (weapon)

text: Along with the pike, the bill is mentioned as being one of the main weapons of the Irish rebels in Ulster during the 1798 rebellion.


title: Bill (weapon)

text: Although obsolete as a military weapon by the 17th century, bills were sent (along with other obsolete arms and armour) to the New World with English colonists to provide defence against Native Americans and Spanish military expeditions. Examples of bills have been excavated at the site of Jamestown, Virginia.


title: Bill (weapon)

text: The shorthanded bills were used by the army of historic India as well, mainly by infantrymen of Bengal.


title: Bill (weapon)

text: An agricultural version, commonly known as either a brush-axe, bush-axe, or brush-hook, is readily available in rural hardware and farm-supply stores in the United States today, and is available in the United Kingdom as a "long bill". It has a handle, and a head. It is useful for clearing undergrowth and unwanted hedgerows. Both the concave and convex edges may be sharpened edges, but spear-points and back-hooks are not available. Expertly used, the brush-axe can fell a tree with a single blow.


title: Bill (weapon)

text: In Brazil the bill ("foice") is a very common tool in rural areas as tool and sometimes as a self-defence weapon.


title: Jennie Finch

text: Jennie Lynn Finch Daigle (born September 3, 1980) is an American former softball player. She played for the Arizona Wildcats softball team from 1999 to 2002, where she won the 2001 Women's College World Series and was named collegiate All-American. Later she led the United States women's national softball team to the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and the silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She also pitched for the Chicago Bandits of the National Pro Fastpitch from 2005 to 2010.


title: Jennie Finch

text: Finch is ranked in several categories for both the Wildcats in the Pac-12 Conference and the NCAA Division I, where she was named #2 Greatest College Softball Player. She is the National Pro Fastpitch career leader in WHIP and is a National Softball Hall of Fame inductee. She has been ranked by Tucson, Arizona sportswriters as the #1 Best Arizona Wildcats Softball Player; picked the #5 Best NCAA Pitcher All-Time and was chosen by the Pac-12 for the All-Century Team as a pitcher.


title: Jennie Finch

text: "Time" magazine described her as the most famous softball player in history. In 2010, Finch retired from softball to focus on her family. In August 2011, she started working at ESPN as a color commentator for National Pro Fastpitch and college softball games.


title: Jennie Finch

text: Jennie was born in La Mirada, California. Finch has two older brothers, Shane and Landon Finch. They were all born in California. She began playing softball at age five and pitching at age eight. Her father was her first pitching coach. Growing up, Finch was a bat girl for the University of California, Los Angeles. At La Mirada High School, Finch lettered four times in softball and twice each in basketball and volleyball. As a senior, she was the captain of all three sports. As a sophomore, she was an All-California Interscholastic Federation Division II choice in softball and All-Suburban League selection. In 2016, La Mirada retired her jersey number—the school's first for a softball player.


title: Jennie Finch

text: Finch began her career on February 5, 1999, winning a run-rule game against the UIC Flames. She achieved a career high in doubles and threw her first career no-hitter during the NCAA tournament on May 21 vs. the Texas State Bobcats. Though they made the World Series, Finch and the Wildcats were eventually eliminated by the DePaul Blue Demons on May 29.


title: Jennie Finch

text: For her sophomore year, Jennie Finch was named a 2000 National Fastpitch Coaches Association First Team All-American and First Team All-Pac-10. She also threw three no-hitters and led the Wildcats in home runs and slugging percentage and achieved a career best in hits and batting average. Finch began the year with a 21 consecutive game win streak; in a 10–2 run-rule over the Southern Miss Golden Eagles on February 6 to a shutout win over Cal State Northridge Matadors on April 13. After suffering her only losses in back-to-back games, Finch finished the year 8–0 starting a new streak with an April 29 victory vs. the Oregon Ducks that would span the next two seasons. Finch's 23rd and 29th wins were over the No. 1 Washington Huskies, the latter began a 35 scoreless inning streak, after allowing runs in the fourth inning she shutout the team the rest of the way for a 4–2 margin on May 27.


title: Jennie Finch

text: As a junior in 2001, Finch was again named First Team for the NFCA and the conference, adding the Pitcher of the Year award. She would also hoist the Honda Sports Award for Softball Player of the Year. Finch's season ERA, wins and shutouts were and still do rank top 10 for the school. Along with a no-hitter and career highs in WHIP and RBIs, Finch opened the season with 31 consecutive scoreless innings spanning 6 wins that combined with the innings from her last game in 2000, was a career best 35 before being snapped in the second inning by a leadoff home run vs. McNeese State Cowgirls on February 24. On March 30, Finch hit two home runs and a double in an 11–1 romp of the Oregon Ducks to drive in a career best 9 RBIs, which tied her third all-time in the NCAA for a single game. On April 8, Finch won her third game over a No. 1 team, the UCLA Bruins.


title: Jennie Finch

text: Finch and the Wildcats were the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and made it to the World Series for a third straight year with Finch in the circle. She recorded victories over the California Golden Bears and the Oklahoma Sooners to reach the finals. In a 1–0 shutout of the UCLA Bruins, Finch set an NCAA record with a perfect season capped with the National Championship. Finch also had a hit in the game and was named MVP for the series. The victory extended her win streak to 40 consecutive games along with the 8 to end the 2000 season. Her season was voted by Arizona Wildcats fans as the Best Individual Season for softball.


title: Jennie Finch

text: For a final season, Finch was named 2002 First Team for the NFCA and the Pac-10 conference as well as Pitcher of The Year and Honda Sports Award for softball. Finch tossed three no-hitters and broke the season strikeouts record, while her wins and shutouts were and remain top-10 school records. Beginning on February 9 vs. the Cal State Fullerton Titans, Finch matched her own record of 35 consecutive scoreless innings that was broken in a 13–1 mercy win over the Northern Iowa Panthers on February 23.


title: Jennie Finch

text: Finch set several records in single games beginning with a new NCAA record by winning her 51st consecutive game. A near-capacity crowd filled Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium and chants of "Jennie" echoed throughout the crowd in the 6–0 victory over Cal State Northridge. Finch said, "It's significant and it's nice. But it doesn't even come close to the team goal of winning a national championship." For one of her no-hitters, Finch posted her 100th career victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on March 14. Later on March 24, she struck out 15 of the ULL Ragin' Cajuns for a career best in regulation; the Wildcats won, 7–2. On April 17, Finch won a 1–0 shutout in 9-innings and struck out 19 Oklahoma Sooners to tie a then school record. The Wildcat then beat the No. 1 UCLA Bruins by one run on April 6 to start the year 20–0 and set an NCAA record with 60 straight wins dating back to the 2000 season, including four wins over the No. 1 ranked team. To open a return trip to the WCWS as defending champion, Finch shutout the Nebraska Cornhuskers and ended the game with her 1,000th career strikeout. In the semifinals of the World Series, Finch hit her 50th career home run off Leslie Malerich to score the winning run and help herself beat the FSU Seminoles in 11-innings. The Wildcats suffered a 6–0 loss in the championship to the California Golden Bears.


title: Jennie Finch

text: Finch left the program the career leader in strikeouts, shutouts, innings pitched and tied for no-hitters (8), while ranking in the top-10 in most other pitching categories. She also was top-10 in home runs, RBIs and walks; she remains top-10 in several pitching and the walks all-time lists. She currently is 6th and 7th in winning percentage (0.881%) for a career in the now-named Pac-12 and the NCAA.


title: Jennie Finch

text: Finch's prolific career at the WCWS included appearances all four years with the Wildcats and included a 7–2 record, 70 strikeouts, three shutouts, allowing 17 earned runs, 41 hits and 27 walks for 1.83 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in 65.0 innings. At the plate she also contributed 5 hits, a home run and two walks.


title: Jennie Finch

text: Her jersey number, 27 (the date of her parents' first date), was retired by the University of Arizona in a pre-game ceremony at Hillenbrand Stadium on May 9, 2003.


title: Jennie Finch

text: Finch had a 2–0 win–loss record in the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics, striking out 13 batters in eight innings while giving up only one hit, one walk and no runs. Her pitching helped lead the American team to the gold medal.


title: Jennie Finch

text: The U.S.A. team started its bid for a fourth straight gold medal at the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing with Finch pitching four no-hit innings in an 11–0 victory over Venezuela. Finch then pitched 5 shutout innings in a 7–0 victory over Chinese Taipei and two more shut out innings in a 9–0 victory over China. However, the U.S. lost 3–1 to Japan in the final game and came home with a silver medal. After the loss, Finch said, "I feel like we let USA softball down. Many women have worn this uniform, and accepted nothing but gold." Along with baseball, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided in 2005 to drop softball from the Olympics, making 2008 possibly the last time the sport is played in the Olympics, before it will be reinstated in 2020. A crusader for softball's reinstatement for the 2016 Olympics, Finch said that "[i]t deserves to be an Olympic sport." After the final game, Finch said:


title: Jennie Finch

text: Finch pitched for the Chicago Bandits of the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) softball league. She was named NPF's Co-Pitcher of the Year in 2005, sharing the award with teammate Lauren Bay. She also threw her first career no-hitter in a win over the Stratford Brakettes that same year. With a perfect season, Finch extended the streak in 2006 before opening 2007 with a loss. Finch won 15 consecutive games with 104.1 innings pitched, allowing 51 hits, 12 earned runs, 21 walks and whiffing 127 batters to post a 0.80 ERA and 0.69 WHIP.


title: Jennie Finch

text: Finch holds the league's season ERA crown, which she set in 2007. On May 29, in a 1–0 12-inning loss to the Rockford Thunder, Finch struck out 17 and combined with Cat Osterman for a total of 41 strikeouts to set a single-game record for the combined total. On August 1, she set a career high with 16 strikeouts in a regulation win against the Michigan Ice. August 15, she set a career best with 18 more strikeouts to defeat the Rockford Thunder in 9-innings.


title: Jennie Finch

text: She pitched a perfect game for the Bandits in 2009 against the Philadelphia Force and another perfect game on July 9, 2010 against the Akron Racers. That year, Finch was named All-NPF. Finch currently leads in career WHIP and is top-10 all-time in strikeouts, ERA, strikeout ratio and fielding percentage. The Chicago Bandits played their home games in Rosemont, Illinois, at 27 Jennie Finch Way where her jersey is also retired.


title: Jennie Finch

text: On May 29, 2016, Finch was the guest manager of the Atlantic League's Bridgeport Bluefish for the day, thus becoming the first woman to manage a professional baseball team. The team played and won one game.


title: Jennie Finch

text: In 2002, ESPN called Finch the "runaway winner" of the Best Dressed competition at the Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards.


title: Jennie Finch

text: In 2004, "People" magazine named Finch one of its "50 Most Beautiful People", the only female athlete in the list. "This is truly amazing to be recognized by "People" magazine for this honor," Finch said. "It is really special to be included among some of the most famous and beautiful people in the world. I still have a hard time believing that I was selected as part of this group." Finch also appeared in an episode of season 5 of the TV series The Parkers.


title: Jennie Finch

text: Finch has modeled swimwear for the "Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition" in 2005. Finch was offered lucrative contracts to disrobe for "Playboy" and "Maxim" magazine, but turned them down.


title: Jennie Finch

text: "This Week in Baseball" signed Finch as a co-host. In a segment called the "Jennie Challenge", Finch pitches to Major League Baseball players and often strikes them out. In softball, the mound is closer to home plate than baseball and Finch's pitches are the equivalent of a 98 mph pitch. "Some big-timers refuse to face her," Cal Ripken Jr. says. "Many feel it could be embarrassing." In an interview with ESPN, Finch explained, "I was throwing them mostly rise balls and change-ups. They've never seen a pitch like that, you know? With the closer distance from the mound, I think it really surprises them how fast the pitch gets there. And especially with the rise – when they're used to that over-the-top release point – there is nothing else like it. The ball movement throws them off."


title: Jennie Finch

text: In the 2004 Pepsi All-Star Softball Game, Finch struck out Albert Pujols, Mike Piazza and Brian Giles. "I never touched a pitch," said Giles. "Her fastball was the fastest thing I've ever seen, from that distance. It rises and cuts at the same time."


title: Jennie Finch

text: In 2006, Finch appeared in Season One of "Pros vs Joes" on Spike TV, a show in which sports stars compete with ordinary people. She was the first woman to appear on the show.


title: Jennie Finch

text: In 2008, Finch was featured as a contestant on "The Celebrity Apprentice" where she selected International Breast Cancer Research Foundation as her charity. She was fired by Donald Trump in the fourth week of the season.


title: Jennie Finch

text: In 2008, Finch also served as the Grand Marshal of the nationally televised McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade in downtown Chicago.


title: Jennie Finch

text: Finch pitched for the National League in the 2010 Legends and Celebrities Softball Game, at Angel Stadium, the 2011 game at Chase Field, and the 2015 game at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, in 2017 at Marlins Park in Miami, and in 2018 at Nationals Park in Washington.


title: Jennie Finch

text: In 2011, Finch co-authored "Throw Like a Girl: How to Dream Big and Believe in Yourself", with Ann Killion. The book is a collection of life lessons Finch learned growing up playing sports. On November 6, 2011, just four and a half months after giving birth to son Diesel, Finch finished the New York Marathon with a time of 4:05:26, raising $30,000 for the New York Road Runners Youth Program.


title: Jennie Finch

text: In April 2018, Finch was announced as one of the celebrities who will compete on season 26 of "Dancing with the Stars". She was partnered with professional dancer Keo Motsepe.


title: Jennie Finch

text: In 2021, Finch was featured in MLB The Show 21 in Road To The Show storyline of her being a former 2-way player.


title: Jennie Finch

text: Finch married Casy Daigle on January 15, 2005. Daigle proposed to Finch on the softball field at the University of Arizona, her alma mater. According to Finch, "He blindfolded me and took me to the mound and said, 'You have been the queen of the diamond for four years. Now I want you to be the queen of my heart.'" They have two sons; Ace Shane, born on May 4, 2006 and Diesel Dean, born on June 19, 2011. Finch welcomed her daughter Paisley Faye on January 12, 2013.


title: Jennie Finch

text: Finch is a Christian. Finch turned down large financial offers to appear in magazines like "Playboy" because of her Christian faith, saying she wanted to be a role model for young women. Finch has spoken about her faith, saying: "It's so important to find hope in [Jesus] and live for a higher purpose: to share about Him." Finch cited her Christian faith while on the show "Dancing with the Stars" when she refused to dance to a Janelle Monáe song because she deemed it too risque.


title: Jennie Finch

text: On July 20, 2010, Finch announced her retirement from softball to focus on her family. "I just feel like it gets harder and harder every year with Ace getting older and time away from my husband and even family events such as birthdays and friends' weddings and things that I've always just missed out on because of softball," Finch said in an interview with the Associated Press. Said Finch, "This whole career has been way more than I ever even imagined or dreamed. The opportunities that I'd be able to enjoy and appreciate and be a part of, it's been incredible." In her final start with the US National Team, Finch struck out 12 and only allowed three singles including two infield ones. She continued playing with the Chicago Bandits until the National Pro Fastpitch season ended in August. Finch was the most dominant and recognizable softball pitcher of her era. "She set the standard for softball in a new era of being able to be feminine and play this sport," U.S. outfielder Jessica Mendoza said. "Not that you have to be feminine to play this sport, but I see hundreds of thousands of little girls now with glitter headbands, hot pink bats, makeup. ... when I was growing up, it wasn't like that." According to Mike Candrea, her coach at Arizona and through two Olympics, "Jennie has transformed this sport, touched millions of young kids in many different ways – whether it's fashion, whether it's the way she plays the game – but through it all she's been very humble." A "Chicago Tribune" editorial commented, "She leaves with a spotless personal reputation, an intent to keep promoting softball, and the knowledge that she has inspired other girls and women who play for the love of the game."


title: Lake Winnipesaukee

text: Lake Winnipesaukee () is the largest lake in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, located in the Lakes Region at the foothills of the White Mountains. It is approximately long (northwest-southeast) and from wide (northeast-southwest), covering — when Paugus Bay is included—with a maximum depth of . The center area of the lake is called The Broads.


title: Lake Winnipesaukee

text: The lake contains at least 264 islands, half of which are less than in size, and is indented by several peninsulas, yielding a total shoreline of approximately . The driving distance around the lake is . It is above sea level. Winnipesaukee is the third-largest lake in New England after Lake Champlain and Moosehead Lake.


title: Lake Winnipesaukee

text: The Abenaki name "Winnipesaukee" (often spelled Winnipiseogee in earlier centuries) means either "smile of the Great Spirit" or "beautiful water in a high place". At the outlet of the lake, the Winnipesaukee people, a subtribe of the Pennacook, lived and fished at a village called Acquadocton. Today, the site is called The Weirs, named for the weirs that were noted by the colonists when first exploring the region.


title: Lake Winnipesaukee

text: Lake Winnipesaukee has been a popular tourist destination for more than a century, particularly among residents of Boston and New York City.


title: Lake Winnipesaukee

text: Winnipesaukee is a glacial lake but an unusual one, since the last glaciation actually reversed the flow of its waters. Draining the central portion of New Hampshire, it once flowed southeast, leaving via what is now Alton Bay toward the Atlantic Ocean. When glacial debris blocked this path, flow was redirected westward through Paugus Bay into the Winnipesaukee River. The latter flows west from the lake and joins the Pemigewasset River in Franklin to form the Merrimack River, which flows south to Massachusetts and into the Atlantic.


title: Lake Winnipesaukee

text: Center Harbor witnessed the first intercollegiate sporting event in the United States, as Harvard defeated Yale by two lengths in the first Harvard–Yale Regatta on August 3, 1852. The outcome was repeated 100 years later when the schools celebrated the centennial of the race by again competing on Lake Winnipesaukee (Harvard winning by 2.7 seconds).


title: Lake Winnipesaukee

text: The lake consists of a wide, relatively open central region known as the Broads, surrounded by several large bays, as well as many smaller inlets.


title: Lake Winnipesaukee

text: The Broads are a wide portion of Lake Winnipesaukee largely in Belknap County and extending slightly into Carroll County. It is a large island-free zone occupying the center of the lake.


title: Lake Winnipesaukee

text: Running along the main axis of the lake, the northwestern tip of the Broads is at the town of Center Harbor, while the southeastern end lies between the towns of Alton and Wolfeboro.


title: Lake Winnipesaukee

text: Meredith Bay lies at the western edge of Winnipesaukee. At the northern tip of Meredith Bay is the main village of the town of Meredith. Paugus Bay branches off to the south of Meredith Bay at Weirs Beach, near to where Meredith Bay joins the main body of the lake. Meredith Bay is separated from the Broads by a relatively narrow strait bordered by Governors Island to the south and Stonedam Island to the north. The northeastern shore of Meredith Bay is a long peninsula known as Meredith Neck.


title: Lake Winnipesaukee

text: Formerly a hydrologically distinct lake, Paugus Bay became joined to Winnipesaukee when the dam at Lakeport was constructed, raising the surface of Paugus Bay to be contiguous with Winnipesaukee. Paugus Bay joins the main lake in Meredith Bay, running south from a narrow channel connecting it to Meredith Bay. At the northern end of Paugus Bay, where it joins the main lake, is Weirs Beach, the largest and most visited public beach on the lake. At the other end is the village of Lakeport. Both Weirs Beach and Lakeport are villages within the city of Laconia. The eastern shore of the bay is closely followed by U.S. Route 3, and has numerous motels, hotels, inns, and bungalow complexes. The western shore is much less developed.


title: Lake Winnipesaukee

text: Alton Bay is a narrow bay which runs due south from the southern corner of the main lake. It lies entirely within the town of Alton. The village of Alton Bay lies at the extreme southern tip.


title: Lake Winnipesaukee

text: Wolfeboro Bay is a relatively small wide bay lying in the town of Wolfeboro, creating a small northerly bulge in the shoreline to the eastern edge of Winnipesaukee. A series of smaller lakes and streams connects Wolfeboro Bay to Lake Wentworth.


title: Lake Winnipesaukee

text: Winter Harbor is a Y-shaped bay with two branches, separated from the Broads by Wolfeboro Neck and Tuftonboro Neck. Winter Harbor is surrounded by many quiet resort communities in the towns of Wolfeboro and Tuftonboro. It also has panoramic views of the Belknap Mountains and looks out toward Rattlesnake Island.


title: Lake Winnipesaukee

text: The longest bay on Winnipesaukee is Moultonborough Bay. It is connected to the Broads by some narrow straits running between a cluster of islands including Long Island (the largest island in the lake), Cow Island, Little Bear Island, Sandy Island, and dozens of smaller islands and islets. The Moultonborough Neck separates the length of the bay from the main axis of the lake, and the Suissevale development in the town of Moultonborough is at the northern tip of the bay. Melvin Village, the main lakeside village of the town of Tuftonboro lies along the northeastern shore of the bay, closer to where it joins the Broads.


title: Lake Winnipesaukee

text: There are at least 258 natural islands on Lake Winnipesaukee that are at least above lake level and contain vegetation, about 130 of which are over in size. 26 of these are or larger:


title: Lake Winnipesaukee

text: Six islands are connected to the mainland by bridges (Black Cat, Governors, Long, Oak, Christmas (or Plummers) in Paugus Bay, and Worcester), and another eight (Bear, Birch, Cow, East Bear, Jolly, Loon, Three Mile, and Sandy) are served by the U.S. mail boat M/V "Sophie C".


title: Lake Winnipesaukee

text: Along with the rest of New Hampshire's Lakes Region, which also encompasses Lake Winnisquam, Lake Wentworth, Squam Lake, Newfound Lake, and numerous other smaller lakes and ponds, Winnipesaukee has been a vacation community for at least a century, particularly drawing people from the Boston region. The area is home to numerous summer theater troupes and offers a variety of land and water recreational activities. There are numerous hiking trails in and around the surrounding mountains, which include the Ossipee Mountains to the east, the Belknap Range to the west, and Red Hill to the north.


title: Lake Winnipesaukee

text: The paddlesteamer , named after the highest of New Hampshire's White Mountains, was launched in spring 1872 to carry mail, goods, and passengers on Lake Winnipesaukee, under the flag of the Boston and Maine Railroad. With a hull length of and a beam of she appeared as a typical representative of the North American sidewheelers around the second half of the century and was the largest steamer on the lake at that time. The huge paddle wheels were driven by a single-cylinder steam engine of at approximately 26 rpm. The power was transferred from the vertical single cylinder to the wheel shaft by the walking beam, high above the upper deck, oscillating in the frequency of the paddle wheels. Known as "The Mount", her kitchen and restaurant service became famous.


title: Lake Winnipesaukee

text: On December 23, 1939, a nearby railroad station caught fire from an overheated stove. The fire soon spread to the ship, tied at the dock, and destroyed it. Efforts to cut "Mount Washington" loose were to no avail as it was a time of extremely low water and the hull was stuck fast in the mud of the lake bottom. Soon after, a local company was formed to build a new ship. Since Europe was already at war, and the US was stocking steel in a pre-war munitions build-up obtaining steel was impossible. Instead, they purchased an old sidewheel vessel on Lake Champlain: the "Chateaugay", a , iron-hulled sidewheeler that was being used as a club house for the Burlington yacht club. It was cut into sections by Boston General Ship & Engine Works and transported to Lake Winnipesaukee on rail cars. A new twin-screw vessel was designed for the hull being welded back together at Lakeport. Powered by two steam engines taken from another ocean-going yacht, the new MS "Mount Washington" made her maiden voyage on August 15, 1940.


title: Lake Winnipesaukee

text: Two years after her launch, the new "Mount Washington"s engines and boilers were removed for use in a navy vessel during World War II. After the war, "Mount Washington" returned to the water. The ship was a success in the post-war tourist boom.


title: Lake Winnipesaukee

text: In 1982, "Mount Washington" was cut open and extended with an additional hull section to add larger lounge and food service facilities. Still popular, she makes one or two round trips on the lake per day during the summer season, as well as numerous dinner dance cruises in the evenings.


title: Lake Winnipesaukee

text: The M/V "Sophie C." is the oldest, and one of only two currently operating, floating United States Postal Service post offices. Floating post office service was started on Lake Winnipesaukee in 1892, and currently delivers mail daily to eight of the lake's islands between June and September. The "Sophie C." was built by Boston General Ship & Engine Works in 1945 to temporarily replace the "Mount Washington", whose engines and boilers had been commandeered by the Navy during World War II, and she took over the mail route from the "Uncle Sam II" in 1969.


title: Lake Winnipesaukee

text: As a floating post office, "Sophie C." delivers mail Monday-Saturday, sells postage, and collects and postmarks outgoing mail. "Sophie C." also operates as a sightseeing boat, carrying up to 125 people on her two cruises a day as she delivers mail, and sells ice cream and snacks to residents of the islands she serves. In 2018 and 2019, the M/V "Doris E." replaced the "Sophie C." as mail boat while the latter was undergoing repairs.


title: Lake Winnipesaukee

text: The steamship "Dover", in length, captained by Winborn Sanborn, operated by the Cocheco Railroad, traveled the lake in the 1850s. The "Dover" was lengthened to and renamed the "Chocorua" and sank in the late 1860s. It was refloated, but by the 1870s the new "Mount Washington" had replaced it.


title: Lake Winnipesaukee

text: The Alton Bay Seaplane Base is a state-owned, public-use seaplane base in Alton Bay, the southeast arm of the lake. In the winter it is the only FAA-approved ice runway in the contiguous United States, conditions permitting.


title: Lake Winnipesaukee

text: Average summertime on or next to the water brings days around 80 °F (26 °C), with overnight lows around 65 °F (18 °C). Less than one-half mile (800 m) away from the water, days can be warmer and nights cooler by several degrees. Summer's most extreme temperatures away from the water may be as high as 100 °F (38 °C) and as low as 50 °F (10 °C). A typical winter day brings a maximum of 28 °F (−2 °C) with overnight minimum around 15 °F (−9 °C). Typical wintertime extremes are 50 °F (10 °C) and −20 °F (−30 °C) but even greater extremes have been recorded nearby.


title: Lake Winnipesaukee

text: The water temperature typically reaches the upper 70s F (around 25 °C) in late July and cools into the 60s (around 18 °C) in September. Several days of hot, humid weather at the height of summer can bring the water temperature well above 80 °F (26 °C). It normally freezes during the last week of December. Ice thickness during a typical winter can be in excess of in many parts of the lake.


title: Lake Winnipesaukee

text: Lake Winnipesaukee is known for its annual Ice-Out Contest, in which people try to guess the earliest date that the "Mount Washington" can safely leave her port in Center Harbor and motor to four other ports (Weirs Beach, Alton Bay, Wolfeboro, and Meredith). Since records began in 1851, ice-out has happened as early as March 18 and as late as May 12, although 90 percent of the time it is declared during April. This official ruling is made by David Emerson of Emerson Aviation.


title: Dangote Group

text: The Dangote Group is a Nigerian multinational industrial conglomerate, founded by Aliko Dangote. It is the largest conglomerate in West Africa and one of the largest on the African continent. The group employs more than 30,000 people, generating revenue in excess of US$4.1 billion in 2017.


title: Dangote Group

text: The company was founded in 1981 as a trading enterprise, importing sugar, cement, rice, fisheries, and other consumer goods for distribution in the Nigeria market. The group moved into manufacturing in the 1990s, starting with textiles, moving onto flour milling, salt processing and sugar refining by the end of the decade. The company next moved into cement production, growing rapidly and moving into other African countries. A high degree of vertical integration is a hallmark of Dangote Group's operating strategy.


title: Dangote Group

text: The group now owns and operates over 18 subsidiaries, operating in ten African countries. Dangote Cement, is one of these subsidiaries that is listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, with its market capitalization accounting for almost 20 percent of the total capitalization of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Dangote Group is headquartered in Lagos.


title: Dangote Group

text: In 2016, Dangote signed a contract with CNOOC group for the installation of a large underwater offshore pipeline. The pipeline, when completed will extend from Bonny (Rivers State) through Ogedegbe, Olokola to Lekki and the Escravos Lagos pipeline, finally terminating at the West Africa Gas Pipeline.


title: Dangote Group

text: Dangote Group was created in the late 1970s, when Aliko Dangote established a venture that traded sugar and other consumer goods, which was funded by a $3,000 loan from his grandfather. Later, the group would gradually expand into trading other commodities such as rice. In 1981, he established two business enterprises, Dangote Nigeria Limited, and Blue Star Services, this was a period when import licenses were required to import bulk commodities, the firm then sought to acquire import licenses for various commodities including steel, baby food, and aluminium products. He then added the shipping and the importing of cement to his group's portfolio. Dangote competed (and competes) with Lafarge, a French company that imported and produced the bulk of African cement.


title: Dangote Group

text: When the import license era was discontinued in 1986, the firm concentrated in bulk importing of salt, sugar, and rice and gradually reduced its cement business.


title: Dangote Group

text: The group's first foray into manufacturing began in 1989 with textiles Mills Limited, operating two operations, a textile weaving mill in Kano and the Nigerian Textile Mills limited's plant in Lagos. Beginning in 1997, following a decline of the textile sector, the company concentrated on manufacturing consumer goods it was importing into Nigeria such as sugar refining and flour milling, with the former it competed against imported products from Brazil and Europe. One of the biggest distributors of sugar in Nigeria, Dangote sugar refinery began local production in 1999. The strategy towards backward integration led to the establishment of a pasta plant and also flour milling to supply raw materials for making pasta. The company then invested in a cement manufacturing venture at Obajana, Kogi State, with an aggressive strategy, the Obajana plant began production with 5 million tonnes of cement, the group then invested funds in another cement operation at Ibeshe, Ogun State to shore up the local manufacturing sector from about 2.5 million tonnes to up to 8 million tonnes. To reduce economic and political risk within the country, the group began looking for opportunities to expand beyond Nigeria. The company's strategy then focused on continental expansion with the building and acquisition of cement plants in African countries.


title: Dangote Group

text: Today, Dangote Group is a diversified conglomerate, headquartered in Lagos, with interests across a range of sectors in Africa. Current interests include cement, sugar, flour, salt, seasoning, pasta, beverages and real estate, with new projects in development in oil and natural gas, telecommunications, fertilizer and steel. Competitors in both Nigeria and other portions of Africa include Stallion Group. Adenike Fajemirokun is the chief risk officer.


title: Dangote Group

text: Dangote Cement, the largest cement production company in Africa, with a market capitalization of almost US$14 billion on the Nigeria Stock Exchange, has subsidiaries in Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia. In December 2010, the group signed an agreement with the Government of Zambia to construct a US$400 million cement plant in Zambia. It was completed in 2015 and is located in Ndola, The plant produces 42.5-grade cement to compete against the lower-grade but dominant 32.5 products in the market, the new plant is expected to have an annual output of 1.5 million metric tonnes of cement.


title: Dangote Group

text: Dangote Sugar is another major subsidiary of Dangote, competing with Bua Refinery Ltd. and Golden Sugar Co. Dangote Sugar is the largest sugar refining company in sub-Saharan Africa.


title: Dangote Group

text: The group has also diversified into oil and gas-related ventures, establishing a 3 million tonnes fertilizer plant, petroleum refinery capable of refining 650,000 barrels of oil and a petrochemical operation. Dangote Refinery is expected to begin operations in the early 2020s, and will be the largest refinery in Africa at full capacity.


title: Satire (film and television)

text: Satire is a television and film genre in the fictional or pseudo-fictional category that employs satirical techniques, be it of a political, religious, or social variety. Works using satire are often seen as controversial or taboo in nature, with topics such as race, class, system, violence, sex, war, and politics, criticizing or commenting on them, typically under the disguise of other genres including, but not limited to, comedies, dramas, parodies, fantasies and/or science fiction.


title: Satire (film and television)

text: Satire may or may not use humor or other, non-humorous forms as an artistic vehicle to illuminate, explore, and critique social conditions, systems of power ("social, political, military, medical or academic institutions"), hypocrisy, and other instances of human behavior.


title: Satire (film and television)

text: Film director Jonathan Lynn generally advises against marketing one's work as "satire" because according to Lynn it "can substantially reduce viewing figures and box office" due to a presumed negative perception of satire in the [American] industry:


title: Satire (film and television)

text: Film, more than television, offers advantages for satire, such as the "possibility of achieving the proper balance" between realism and non-realism, using the latter to communicate about the former. The ideal climate for a satirical film involves "fairly free" political conditions and/or independent producers with "modest" financial backing.


title: Sports Night

text: Sports Night is an American television series about a fictional sports news show also called "Sports Night". It focuses on the friendships, pitfalls and ethical issues the creative talent of the program face while trying to produce a good show under constant network pressure. Created by Aaron Sorkin, the half-hour prime time comedy drama aired on ABC for two seasons, from September 22, 1998 to May 16, 2000.


title: Sports Night

text: The show stars Robert Guillaume as managing editor Isaac Jaffe, Felicity Huffman as executive producer Dana Whitaker, Peter Krause as anchor Casey McCall, Josh Charles as anchor Dan Rydell, Sabrina Lloyd as senior associate producer Natalie Hurley, and Joshua Malina as associate producer Jeremy Goodwin. Regular guest stars included William H. Macy as ratings expert Sam Donovan and Brenda Strong as Sally Sasser, the producer of "West Coast Update" (a sister show on the same network as "Sports Night") and professional and romantic rival of Dana. Other notable guest stars included Paula Marshall and several who later appeared on Sorkin's "The West Wing" including Janel Moloney, Teri Polo, Ted McGinley, Lisa Edelstein, Clark Gregg, Nina Siemaszko, John De Lancie, Timothy Davis-Reed, Cress Williams, Nadia Dajani, and Spencer Garrett.


title: Sports Night

text: The show is said to be a semi-fictional account of the ESPN "SportsCenter" team of Keith Olbermann and Dan Patrick, with Rydell representing Olbermann and McCall representing Patrick. Patrick has confirmed this on his syndicated radio program "The Dan Patrick Show". It has also been said that many of the storylines for McCall were inspired by Craig Kilborn, who was an anchor on "SportsCenter" during the mid 1990s.


title: Sports Night

text: The fictional "Sports Night" is a sports news program in the style of "SportsCenter". The show broadcasts live from 11 pm to midnight and is rebroadcast through the next morning; it may broadcast at other times for special events, such as the NFL Draft. The program debuted in 1996 and airs from Rockefeller Center in New York City on the fictional Continental Sports Channel (CSC), a unit of Continental Corp, owned and run by Luther Sachs. Continental Corp owns cable networks around the United States; when the company is offered for sale, bidders include Time Warner, Disney (which, incidentally, owns a majority of ESPN in reality), and News Corporation.


title: Sports Night

text: Both the fictional show and the network have competitive and financial difficulties. The network, according to Continental Corp's CFO, has an annual deficit up to $120 million. Although "Sports Night" does better than CNN/SI, Dana Whitaker says that "Sports Night" is "in third place. We are getting our asses kicked by ESPN and Fox". Natalie Hurley replies, "Every show on this network is in third place. It's a third-place network." When "Sports Night" is asked to interview Michael Jordan about his new perfume, the retired basketball star's publicity team demands final cut privilege—something it would not ask Fox or ESPN—because it believes that "Sports Night" is more desperate for ratings.


title: Sports Night

text: Although the first season of "Sports Night" is a sitcom, it often is portrayed as more of a comedy drama representative of some of Sorkin's later work on "The West Wing". Sorkin intended for the series' humor to be drier and more realistic than typical sitcoms. He initially wanted the show to be recorded without a laugh track, but ABC network executives insisted on including one. The volume of the laugh track faded as Season One continued and was abandoned at the beginning of Season Two.


title: Sports Night

text: The dialogue is often delivered at a rapid-fire pace and intentionally exposes many aspects of communication that go beyond the words that are spoken. The show also frequently employed a technique known as "Walk and Talk", where the characters are walking from one location to the next while in conversation. This is another characteristic of Sorkin's shows as "walk and talks" are used quite frequently in "The West Wing" and "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip". A number of similar themes, elements and actors carried over from "Sports Night" to "The West Wing" and later "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip".


title: Sports Night

text: The show's main focus is the relationships between the characters. These include an off-again on-again flirtation and romance between Dana and Casey, the partnership of Natalie and Jeremy, and Dan's ongoing problems with relationships in general. The character of Isaac Jaffe hovers over his staff as a benevolent but uncompromising father figure.


title: Sports Night

text: The show is mostly set in the studio and station offices. However, in the second season Anthony's, a local sports bar and restaurant, was introduced as another location for scenes out of the work environment.


title: Sports Night

text: Guillaume suffered a stroke midway through the first season and this event was worked into his character and the season's story arc.


title: Sports Night

text: "Sports Night" struggled to find an audience and ABC cancelled it after two seasons. Although it had the opportunity to move to several different networks, including HBO, Showtime and USA, Sorkin decided to let the show pass so that he could focus on "The West Wing".


title: Sports Night

text: On November 5, 2002, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released the entire series on DVD in Region 1 for the first time.


title: Sports Night

text: A special 10th Anniversary Edition "Sports Night" DVD set was released on September 30, 2008 from Shout! Factory with new bonus features including all-new interviews with creator Aaron Sorkin and cast & crew, featurettes and commentaries. Also included is a commemorative 36-page booklet.


title: Special (TV series)

text: Special is an American comedy-drama streaming television series created by Ryan O'Connell for Netflix. Starring O'Connell, the series is a semi-autobiographical account of his life as a gay man with cerebral palsy pursuing new friendships, relationships, and self-sufficiency. It is based on O'Connell's memoir "I'm Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves".


title: Special (TV series)

text: The series premiered on April 12, 2019, and concluded on May 20, 2021, after two seasons. It received positive reviews and earned four nominations at the 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, one for Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series and three for the performances of O'Connell, Jessica Hecht, and Punam Patel.


title: Special (TV series)

text: "Special" is "a distinctive and uplifting new series about a gay man, Ryan, with mild cerebral palsy who decides to rewrite his identity and finally go after the life he wants."


title: Special (TV series)

text: On February 5, 2019, Netflix announced that it had given the production a series order for an eight-episode first season. The series is created by Ryan O'Connell, who is credited as an executive producer, alongside Jim Parsons, Anna Dokoza, Eric Norsoph and Todd Spiewak. Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of That's Wonderful Productions and Stage 13. On December 16, 2019, the series was renewed for a second and final season by Netflix.


title: Special (TV series)

text: Alongside the series order announcement, it was confirmed that Ryan O'Connell, Jessica Hecht, Punam Patel, Marla Mindelle, Augustus Prew, and Patrick Fabian would star in the series. In February 2020, Max Jenkins was cast in the recurring role for the second season. In March 2021, Charlie Barnett, Ana Ortiz, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Lauren Weedman, Buck Andrews, Anjali Bhimani, Ajay Mehta, and Karan Soni joined the cast in recurring roles while Leslie Jordan was cast to guest star.


title: Special (TV series)

text: On March 25, 2019, Netflix released the first official trailer for the series. The first season, consisting of 8 episodes, was released on Netflix on April 12, 2019. The second season was released on May 20, 2021.


title: Special (TV series)

text: The first season received positive reviews upon its release. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 95% with an average rating of 7.29/10 based on 22 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Honest and genuinely affecting, "Special" lives up to its name with a funny—if a bit too concise—first season brightened by Ryan O'Connell's infectious charms. On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Variety gave the show a positive review calling the main character "quick and snarky, deeply insecure and sometimes more selfish than he's willing to admit. He makes mistakes and pays for them, undergoing a hell of a lot of change in the short time "Special" gets to show it." TV Guide gave the show a mixed review saying that, "Hopefully "Special" gets a second season with a bigger budget, a writing staff, and more time to plan. The way Season 1 improves as it goes along shows "Special" still has a lot of potential."


title: Windows NT 3.1

text: Windows NT 3.1 is the first major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft, released on July 27, 1993.


title: Windows NT 3.1

text: At the time of Windows NT's release, Microsoft's Windows 3.1 desktop environment had established brand recognition and market share; but Windows 3.1 relied on the DOS operating system for essential functions, and it had a constrictive 16-bit architecture. Windows NT, however, was a complete, 32-bit operating system that retained a desktop environment familiar to Windows 3.1 users.


title: Windows NT 3.1

text: By extending the Windows brand and beginning Windows NT at version 3.1, Microsoft implied that consumers should expect a familiar user experience. The name "Windows NT" ("New Technology") advertised that this was a re-engineered version of Windows.


title: Windows NT 3.1

text: Windows NT began as a rewrite of the OS/2 operating system, which Microsoft had co-developed with IBM in the 1980s. For several reasons, including the market success of Windows 3.0 in 1990, Microsoft decided to advance Windows rather than OS/2. They relinquished their OS/2 development responsibilities to IBM, and forked their work on OS/2 v3.0 into a competing operating system. Windows NT 3.1 sold about 300,000 copies before it was succeeded by Windows NT 3.5 in 1994.


title: Windows NT 3.1

text: Windows NT 3.1 was available in two editions: Windows NT 3.1 for workstations, and Windows NT 3.1 Advanced Server for servers. When these premiered, their sales were limited by high system requirements, and a general lack of 32-bit applications to take advantage of the OS's data processing capabilities.


title: Windows NT 3.1

text: On December 31, 2000, Microsoft declared Windows NT 3.1 obsolete and stopped providing support and updates for the system.