title: Def Jam: Icon

text: The game's story mode, called "Build a Label", starts when the player is obligated to create his own "suspect" on an FBI computer. The player can edit every aspect of the character's body and choose his fighting style and fighting song. However, the songs that the players have an option to pick are "Got It Sewed Up (Remix)" by Mike Jones, "Back Then" also by Mike Jones, "Soul Survivor" by Young Jeezy featuring Akon, "I Do This", also by Young Jeezy, "Go Hard Or Go Home" by E-40, "Tell Me When to Go" also by E-40 featuring Keak da Sneak, "Sittin' Sidewayz" by Paul Wall featuring Big Pokey, and "Trill" by Paul Wall featuring Bun B and B.G., along with all fighting styles except Ghetto Blaster and Street Kwon Do, are locked. It is noted that the artists of the 4 songs initially offered are not accessible to sign while the other artists of the other songs are accessible to sign.


title: Def Jam: Icon

text: After creating a character, the story starts in a sequence where DJ Funkmaster Flex can be heard speaking to his audience on the radio with the instrumental of "I Do This" by Young Jeezy playing in the background. The camera pans through several sections of a neighborhood, including a building with a promotional poster for T.I. vs T.I.P. on the side. By the time Funkmaster Flex is done talking, the camera shows a child, Kevin, walking down the street with his friend Jake while bouncing a basketball. Kevin then spots Curtis Carver (Kevin Liles), a mogul in the music industry, speaking with his record label's vice president (Playa). The camera then shifts to Carver, who is still speaking with Playa, when is suddenly interrupted by Kevin, accompanied by Jake. Kevin then asks Carver for his autograph. While Carver signs Kevin's basketball, he asks the children whether they're staying out of trouble. After handing Kevin back his basketball, Carver also gives him and Jake some money and advises them to pursue careers in basketball, adding that it will bring them financial success. While Kevin and Jake walk away, gunshots are heard and Carver can be seen falling to the ground. Kevin and Jake run away, and Playa can be seen looking at Carver while his blood spreads around his torso on the ground.


title: Def Jam: Icon

text: While the game received mixed to positive reviews from critics and game critics, the game received "average" reviews on both platforms according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.


title: Def Jam: Icon

text: IGN praised the uncensored soundtrack, "beautifully rendered" visuals and the "My Soundtrack" feature on the former version, but criticized "weak fighting moves" and "inconsistent game mechanics". GameSpot, however, became more positive, stating that it "plays well enough, but it really shines thanks to its crazy story and healthy roster."


title: Def Jam: Icon

text: "Detroit Free Press" gave the game three stars out of four and said it was "just two hairs short of a masterpiece. EA and Def Jam have set the bar really high for fighting games." "The New York Times" gave it an average review and stated that "While "Icon" is the best looking of the Def Jam games, the combat system isn't quite as entertaining, dropping the previous games' over-the-top wrestling moves for more straightforward street fighting. It's not a bad system, but it's just not as wild and entertaining." "The A.V. Club" gave it a B− and said that "Even if you don't own every Ludacris album, watching the rich environments rattle to the music is reason enough to give this a play. Just don't expect much depth from this beat 'em up."


title: Swell (ocean)

text: A swell, also sometimes referred to as ground swell, in the context of an ocean, sea or lake, is a series of mechanical waves that propagate along the interface between water and air under the predominating influence of gravity, and thus are often referred to as surface gravity waves. These surface gravity waves have their origin as wind waves, but are the consequence of dispersion of wind waves from distant weather systems, where wind blows for a duration of time over a fetch of water, and these waves move out from the source area at speeds that are a function of wave period and length. More generally, a swell consists of wind-generated waves that are not greatly affected by the local wind at that time. Swell waves often have a relatively long wavelength, as short wavelength waves carry less energy and dissipate faster, but this varies due to the size, strength, and duration of the weather system responsible for the swell and the size of the water body, and varies from event to event, and from the same event, over time. Occasionally, swells that are longer than 700m occur as a result of the most severe storms.


title: Swell (ocean)

text: Swell direction is the direction from which the swell is moving. It is given as a geographical direction, either in degrees, or in points of the compass, such as NNW or SW swell, and like winds, the direction given is generally the direction the swell is coming from. Swells have a narrower range of frequencies and directions than locally generated wind waves, because they have dispersed from their generation area and over time tend to sort by speed of propagation with the faster waves passing a distant point first. Swells take on a more defined shape and direction and are less random than locally generated wind waves.


title: Swell (ocean)

text: Large breakers observed on a shore may result from distant weather systems over the ocean. Five factors work together to determine the size of wind waves which will become ocean swell:


title: Swell (ocean)

text: Wave length is a function of period, and of water depth for depths less than approximately half the wave length, where the wave motion is affected by friction with the bottom.


title: Swell (ocean)

text: A fully developed sea has the maximum wave size theoretically possible for a wind of a specific strength and fetch. Further exposure to that specific wind would result in a loss of energy equal to the energy input giving a steady state, due to the energy dissipation from viscosity and breaking of wave tops as "whitecaps".


title: Swell (ocean)

text: Waves in a given area typically have a range of heights. For weather reporting and for scientific analysis of wind wave statistics, their characteristic height over a time interval is usually expressed as "significant wave height". This figure represents an average height of the highest one-third of the waves in a given time period (usually chosen somewhere in the range from 20 minutes to twelve hours), or in a specific wave or storm system. The significant wave height is also the value a "trained observer" (e.g. from a ship's crew) would estimate from visual observation of a sea state. Given the variability of wave height, the largest individual waves are likely to be somewhat less than twice the significant wave height.


title: Swell (ocean)

text: Wind waves are generated by wind. Other kinds of disturbances such as seismic events, can also cause gravity waves, but they are not wind waves, and do not generally result in swell. The generation of wind waves is initiated by the disturbances of the crosswind field on the surface of the water.


title: Swell (ocean)

text: For initial conditions of a flat water surface (Beaufort Scale 0) and abrupt crosswind flows on the surface of the water, the generation of surface wind waves can be explained by two mechanisms, which are initiated by normal pressure fluctuations of turbulent winds and parallel wind shear flows.


title: Swell (ocean)

text: From "wind fluctuations": Wind wave formation is started by a random distribution of normal pressure acting on the water from the wind. By this mechanism, proposed by O.M. Phillips in 1957, the water surface is initially at rest, and the generation of the wave is


title: Swell (ocean)

text: initiated by turbulent wind flows and then by fluctuations of the wind, normal pressure acting on the water surface. Due to this pressure fluctuation arise normal and tangential stresses that generate wave behavior on the water surface.


title: Swell (ocean)

text: From "wind shear forces": In 1957, John W. Miles suggested a surface wave generation mechanism that is initiated by turbulent wind shear flows, formula_1, based on the inviscid Orr-Sommerfeld equation. He found that the energy transfer from wind to water surface as a wave speed, formula_2, is proportional to the curvature of the velocity profile of wind, formula_3, at the point where the mean wind speed is equal to the wave speed (formula_4, where formula_5 is the mean turbulent wind speed). Since the wind profile, formula_1, is logarithmic to the water surface, the curvature, formula_3, has a negative sign at point formula_8. This relation shows the wind flow transferring its kinetic energy to the water surface at their interface, and thence arises wave speed, formula_2. The growth-rate can be determined by the curvature of the winds (formula_10) at the steering height (formula_11) for a given wind speed, formula_12.


title: Swell (ocean)

text: Generally, these wave formation mechanisms occur together on the ocean surface, giving rise to wind waves that eventually grow into fully developed waves. If one supposes a very flat sea surface (Beaufort number, 0), and sudden wind flow blows steadily across it, the physical wave generation process would be like this:


title: Swell (ocean)

text: Long swell waves develop from and take energy from the shorter wind waves. The process was first described by Klaus Hasselmann (2021 Nobel prize winner) after investigating the non-linear effects that are most pronounced near the peaks of the highest waves. He showed that, through these non-linearities, two wave trains in deep water can interact to generate two new sets of waves, one generally of longer and the other of shorter wavelength.


title: Swell (ocean)

text: The equation that Hasselmann developed to described this process is now used in the sea state models (for example Wavewatch III) used by all the major weather and climate forecasting centres. This is because both the wind sea and the swell have significant effects on the transfer of heat from the ocean to atmosphere. This affects both large scale climate systems, like the El Niño, and smaller scale systems, such as the atmospheric depressions that develop near the edges of the Gulf Stream.


title: Swell (ocean)

text: A good physical description of the Hasselmann process is hard to explain, but the non-linear effects are largest near the peaks of the highest waves and the short waves, which often break near the same position, can be used as an analogy.


title: Swell (ocean)

text: This is because each small breaking wave gives a small push to the longer wave on which it is breaking. From the point of view of the long wave, it is receiving a small push on each of its crests just like a swing being given a small push at just the right time. There is also no comparable effect in the wave's trough - a term which would tend to reduce the size of the long wave.


title: Swell (ocean)

text: From the point of view of a physicist this effect is of extra interest because it shows how, what starts as a random wave field, can generate the order of a long train of swell waves at the cost of the energy losses and increased disorder affecting all the small breaking waves. The sorting of sand grain sizes, often seen on a beach, is a similar process (as is a lot of life).


title: Swell (ocean)

text: The dissipation of swell energy is much stronger for short waves, which is why swells from distant storms are only long waves. The dissipation of waves with periods larger than 13 seconds is very weak but still significant at the scale of the Pacific Ocean. These long swells lose half of their energy over a distance that varies from over 20,000 km (half the distance round the globe) to just over 2,000 km.


title: Swell (ocean)

text: This variation was found to be a systematic function of the swell steepness: the ratio of the swell height to the wavelength. The reason for this behavior is still unclear, but it is possible that this dissipation is due to the friction at the air-sea interface.


title: Swell (ocean)

text: Swells are often created by storms thousands of nautical miles away from the shores where they break, and the propagation of the longest swells is primarily limited by shorelines. For example, swells generated in the Indian Ocean have been recorded in California after more than half a round-the-world trip. This distance allows the waves comprising the swells to be better sorted and free of chop as they travel toward the coast. Waves generated by storm winds have the same speed and will group together and travel with each other, while others moving at even a fraction of a meter per second slower will lag behind, ultimately arriving many hours later due to the distance covered. The time of propagation from the source "t" is proportional to the distance "X" divided by the wave period "T". In deep water it is formula_14 where g is the acceleration of gravity. For a storm located 10,000 km away, swells with a period "T"=15 s will arrive 10 days after the storm, followed by 14 s swells another 17 hours later, and so forth.


title: Swell (ocean)

text: The dispersed arrival of swells, starting with the longest period, with a reduction in the peak wave period over time, can be used to calculate the distance at which swells were generated.


title: Swell (ocean)

text: Whereas the sea state in the storm has a frequency spectrum with more or less the same shape (i.e. a well defined peak with dominant frequencies within plus or minus 7% of the peak), the swell spectra are more and more narrow, sometimes as 2% or less, as waves disperse further and further away. The result is that wave groups (called sets by surfers) can have a large number of waves. From about seven waves per group in the storm, this rises to 20 and more in swells from very distant storms.


title: Swell (ocean)

text: Just like for all water waves, the energy flux is proportional to the significant wave height squared times the group velocity. In deep water, this group velocity is proportional to the wave period. Hence swells with longer periods can transfer more energy than shorter wind waves. Also, the amplitude of infragravity waves increases dramatically with the wave period (approximately the square of the period), which results in


title: Swell (ocean)

text: As swell waves typically have long wavelengths (and thus a deeper wave base), they begin the refraction process (see water waves) at greater distances offshore (in deeper water) than locally generated waves.


title: Swell (ocean)

text: Since swell-generated waves are mixed with normal sea waves, they can be difficult to detect with the naked eye (particularly away from the shore) if they are not significantly larger than the normal waves. From a signal analysis point of view, swells can be thought of as a fairly regular (though not continual) wave signal existing in the midst of strong noise (i.e., normal waves and chop).


title: Swell (ocean)

text: Swells were used by Micronesian navigators to maintain course when no other clues were available, such as on foggy nights.


title: Senior Executive Service (United States)

text: The Senior Executive Service (SES) is a position classification in the civil service of the United States federal government equivalent to general officer or flag officer rank in the U.S. Armed Forces. It was created in 1979 when the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 went into effect under President Jimmy Carter.


text: According to the Office of Personnel Management, the SES was designed to be a corps of executives selected for their leadership qualifications, serving in key positions just below the top presidential appointees as a link between them and the rest of the federal (civil service) workforce. SES positions are considered to be above the GS-15 level of the General Schedule, and below Level III of the Executive Schedule. Career members of the SES ranks are eligible for the Presidential Rank Awards program.


text: Up to 10% of SES positions can be filled as political appointments rather than by career employees. About half of the SES is designated "Career Reserved", which can only be filled by career employees. The other half is designated "General", which can be filled by either career employees or political appointments as desired by the administration. Due to the 10% limitation, most General positions are still filled by career appointees.


text: Senior level employees of several agencies are exempt from the SES but have their own senior executive positions; these include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Central Intelligence Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, Transportation Security Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, Government Accountability Office, Members of the Foreign Service, and government corporations.


text: SES career appointees have civil service protections; they may only be fired or suspended for more than 14 days for misconduct, neglect of duty, malfeasance, or failure to accept a directed reassignment or to accompany a position in a transfer of function. These adverse actions may be appealed to the Merit Systems Protection Board.


text: An SES career appointee can also be reassigned within the SES, or from the SES into a competitive service position, based on performance ratings. A single unsatisfactory performance rating makes them eligible for reassignment, though it is not mandatory. However, they must be removed from the SES if they receive two unsatisfactory ratings in a period of five consecutive years, or two less than fully successful ratings within three consecutive years. Reassignments may not be appealed to the Merit Systems Protection Board.


text: SES career appointees in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs have different procedures as a result of the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs has discretion to suspend, demote, remove, or take other actions against SES career appointees or other high-level executives if the Secretary determines that the individual’s misconduct or performance warrants such action, with abbreviated notice and appeals rights.


text: By contrast, noncareer and limited-term SES appointees are generally not subject to removal protections and may be removed from the SES at any time.


text: Unlike the General Schedule (GS) grades, SES pay is determined at agency discretion within certain parameters, and there is no locality pay adjustment.


text: The minimum pay level for the SES is set at 120 percent of the basic pay for GS-15 Step 1 employees ($126,148 for 2018). The maximum pay level depends on whether or not the employing agency has a "certified" SES performance appraisal system:


text: Total aggregate pay is limited to the salary of the Vice President of the United States ($261,400 for 2022).


text: Prior to 2004, the SES used a six-level system. It was replaced with the current open band system on January 1, 2014.


title: California Golden Bears

text: The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as "California" or "Cal", the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club teams in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I primarily as a member of the Pac-12 Conference, and for a limited number of sports as a member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). Over the course of the school's history, California has won team national titles in 13 men's and 3 women's sports and 111 team titles overall. Cal athletes have also competed in the Olympics for a host of different countries. Notable facilities used by the Bears include California Memorial Stadium (football) and Haas Pavilion (basketball and other indoor sports). Cal finished the 2010–11 athletic season with 1,219.50 points, earning third place in the Director's Cup standings, the Golden Bears' highest finish ever. Cal did not receive any points for its national championships in rugby and men's crew because those sports are not governed by the NCAA. Cal finished 12th in the 2014-15 standings.


title: California Golden Bears

text: In 2014, Cal instituted a strict academic standard for an athlete's admission to the university. By the 2017 academic year 80 percent of incoming student athletes were required to comply with the University of California general student requirement of having a 3.0 or higher high school grade point average.


title: California Golden Bears

text: California's nickname originated in 1895 during California's dominant track and field team's tour of Midwest and Eastern universities. A blue silk banner with the golden grizzly bear, the state symbol, was displayed by the team during that tour. Since then, Cal's athletic teams have been known as the Golden Bears.


title: California Golden Bears

text: The California football team began play in 1885 and has played its home games at California Memorial Stadium since 1923, except for in 2011 while the stadium was being renovated; the team played at San Francisco's AT&T Park that season. The Bears have five national titles bestowed retrospectively by "major selectors" — 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923 and 1937 (a contemporaneous selector in 1937 also chose California) — listed by the NCAA. The team also has produced two of the oddest and most memorable plays in college football: Roy "Wrong Way" Riegels' fumble recovery and run toward the Cal goal line in the 1929 Rose Bowl; and The Play in the 1982 Big Game, a game-winning, five-lateral kickoff return as time expired.


title: California Golden Bears

text: The California men's basketball team has represented the University of California intercollegiately since 1907 and subsequently began full conference play in 1915. Cal basketball's home court is Haas Pavilion, which was constructed atop of the old Harmon Gymnasium using money donated in the late 1990s in part by the owners of Levi-Strauss. The program has seen success throughout the years culminating in a national championship in 1959 under legendary coach Pete Newell and have reached the final four two other times in 1946 and 1960. The 1926–27 team finished the season with a 17–0 record and was retroactively named the national champion by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll.


title: California Golden Bears

text: The current head coach of the California men's basketball program is Mark Fox. Some notable NBA players that spent time playing in Berkeley include Jaylen Brown, Jason Kidd, Kevin Johnson, and Darrall Imhoff.


title: California Golden Bears

text: The Cal baseball team plays at Evans Diamond, located between Haas Pavilion, the Recreational Sports Facility (RSF), and Edward's Track Stadium. Cal has appeared in the post-season a total of nine times, including five times in the College World Series; Cal won the title in 1947 and 1957. The team is currently coached by Mike Neu, who took the helm in 2018.


title: California Golden Bears

text: In September 2010, the university announced that baseball would be one of five sports cut as a cost-cutting measure. However, in April 2011, after receiving more than $9 million in pledges from supporters of the program, the program was reinstated. In June 2011, the team made its most recent appearance in the College World Series.


title: California Golden Bears

text: Perhaps the most famous Cal player was second baseman Jeff Kent, who led the Golden Bears to the 1988 College World Series, and would go on to be named the 2000 National League Most Valuable Player as a member of the San Francisco Giants. Shortstop Geoff Blum of Cal's 1992 College World Series team hit the game-winning home run in the 14th inning of Game 3 of the 2005 World Series for the Chicago White Sox.


title: California Golden Bears

text: Current Golden Bears in Major League Baseball include Oakland Athletics outfielder Mark Canha, Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Marcus Semien, and Chicago White Sox first baseman and left fielder Andrew Vaughn. Vaughn is Cal's highest ever MLB draft selection, having been selected third overall by the White Sox in 2019. San Diego Padres manager Bob Melvin also played at Cal, having helped the team earn third place in the 1980 College World Series.


title: California Golden Bears

text: Men's bowling was a varsity-level intercollegiate sport at the University of California in the 1970s and won a national championship in 1979, governed by the ABC (now the U.S. Bowling Congress).


title: California Golden Bears

text: Crew (rowing) has a long and storied history as the oldest sport at the university, beginning with the formation of the University of California Boat Club in 1875. Competitive racing as known today began in 1893.


title: California Golden Bears

text: The University of California's intercollegiate cross country team is under the direction of head coach Bobby Lockhart, who took over the program in 2019 after spending time at UNC-Chapel Hill and Oklahoma State.


title: California Golden Bears

text: The California Golden Bears men's cross country team appeared in the NCAA tournament five times, with their highest finish being 16th place in the 2007–08 school year.


title: California Golden Bears

text: Men's rifle began intercollegiate competition at the University of California in the 19th century and won 5 national championships in the 1950s. At that time, the national event required five firing members per team, one alternate, a team captain and a coach. The national championship competition consisted of ten shots per firing member at 50 feet, indoors.


title: California Golden Bears

text: Cal also competes in the Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC), the highest profile college rugby sevens tournament in the US. The CRC is held every June at PPL Park in Philadelphia and is broadcast live on NBC. Cal reached the finals of the 2010 CRC, losing to Utah in the finals in sudden death extra time, and finished third in the 2012 CRC. Cal won the 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 CRC titles.


title: California Golden Bears

text: In September 2010, the university announced that rugby would be one of five varsity sports cut as a cost-cutting measure, though the team would have continued to represent the university as a "varsity club sport." A large group of rugby supporters organized to oppose the relegation. On February 11, 2011, the administration reversed its decision on rugby and two other sports, thus continuing them as sponsored varsity sports.


title: California Golden Bears

text: Men's soccer began intercollegiate competition at the University of California in 1906 and has won no national championships and 4 conference championships. The team currently plays its home games at Edwards Stadium and the head coach (in his 12th season) is Kevin Grimes. Steve Birnbaum was the #2 pick in the first round in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft.


title: California Golden Bears

text: The California Golden Bears men's soccer team has an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 14–19 through nineteen appearances.


title: California Golden Bears

text: The California Golden Bears men's water polo team have an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 58–15 through twenty-nine appearances.


title: California Golden Bears

text: The California Golden Bears women's volleyball team have an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 26–17 through seventeen appearances. Despite appearing in the NCAA national championship game in 2010, they have yet to win a national title. Some former Bears that have gone pro include all-time kills leader Hana Cutura, former US Olympian and all-time assists leader Carli Lloyd, Mia Jerkov, Lara Vukasovic, Jenelle Jordan, and Maddie Haynes. The team is currently coached by Sam Crosson.


title: California Golden Bears

text: California's women's basketball team has made 14 NCAA tournament appearances, their best result being a Final Four appearance in 2013. The team has also won one WNIT championship, in 2010.


title: California Golden Bears

text: In 2009–10, under Joanne Boyle, the Bears's top-10 recruiting class and star senior Alexis Gray-Lawson) rebounded from a rough start to their season to win the WNIT. The championship game against Miami (FL) was the first ever championship game held at Haas Pavilion. Gray-Lawson ended her career as the all-time Cal leader in three points made and games played.


title: California Golden Bears

text: In 2012–13, under second-year head coach Lindsay Gottlieb, the Cal women reached a record AP and USA Today Coaches Poll #6 ranking at the end of the season, earning the 2 seed in the Spokane region of the NCAA tournament. The Bears reached the first Final Four in school history. In June 2019, Gottlieb became the first NCAA women's head coach to be hired to an NBA coaching staff when she became an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers.


title: California Golden Bears

text: The current women's basketball head coach is Charmin Smith. Notable alumni of the team include first-round WNBA draft selections Layshia Clarendon and Kristine Anigwe. Anigwe holds the team's all-time scoring and rebounding records.


title: California Golden Bears

text: In 2002, the Cal softball team won its first National Championship against Arizona. Some notable players include Candace Harper, third baseman, and Jocelyn Forest, pitcher, both of whom were team captains. The 2002 Women's College World Series took place in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Softball began intercollegiate competition at the University of California in 1972. The team has won one national championship and 6 conference championships. The team currently plays at the 1,204 seat Levine-Fricke Field in Strawberry Canyon, and the current head coach is former Cal shortstop Chelsea Spencer, who was a member of the 2002 WCWS-winning team.


title: California Golden Bears

text: Note: Both Cal and the NCAA consider appearances at the AIAW women's final tournament (which was also named and promoted as the "Women's College World Series"), prior to the first NCAA softball WCWS on May 27–30, 1982, to be equivalent to NCAA WCWS appearances.


title: California Golden Bears

text: The California Golden Bears women's cross country team appeared in the NCAA tournament four times, with their highest finish being 9th place in the 1988–89 school year.


title: California Golden Bears

text: Cal was a member of the Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference (NorPac) from the league's founding in 1982 until its demise at the end of the 2014 season. The four NorPac members from California (Cal, Pacific, Stanford, and UC Davis) became single-sport members of the America East Conference starting with the 2015 season.


title: California Golden Bears

text: The California Golden Bears women's hockey team have an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 1–10 through ten appearances.


title: California Golden Bears

text: The 1980 Cal women's crew dominated the national collegiate championships. They won the varsity eight, Cal's first ever varsity national championship in any women's sport, and also captured the varsity four and finished second in the junior varsity eight. The Bears also captured national titles in the varsity four in 1981 and the novice eight in 1984. The team won NCAA championships in 2005, 2006, 2016 and 2018.


title: California Golden Bears

text: Women's soccer began intercollegiate competition at the University of California in 1982 and has won no national championships and 1 conference championship. The team currently plays at Edwards Stadium and the head coach (in his 5th season) is Neil McGuire. Notable alums include Olympic Gold Medalist and 2015 and 2019 World Cup Champion Alex Morgan, and Betsy Hassett of the New Zealand Women's National Team.


title: California Golden Bears

text: The California Golden Bears women's soccer team has an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 16–25 through twenty-five appearances.


title: California Golden Bears

text: Women's Water Polo began intercollegiate competition at the University of California in 1996 and has won no national championships and 2 conference championships. The team currently plays at the Spieker Aquatics Complex near Haas Pavilion and the head coach (in her 2nd season) is Coralie Simmons.


title: California Golden Bears

text: The California Golden Bears competed in the NCAA tournament across 26 active sports (12 men's and 14 women's) 627 times at the Division I Level.


title: California Golden Bears

text: The Golden Bears of California earned 40 NCAA championships at the Division I level, plus 5 unofficial men's football titles claimed by the school.


title: California Golden Bears

text: Below are 71 national team titles in current and former California varsity sports that were not bestowed by the NCAA:


title: California Golden Bears

text: Below are 60 national team titles won by California club sports teams at the highest collegiate level in non-NCAA sports:


title: California Golden Bears

text: California Golden Bears have won 255 all-time individual championships, including doubles, rowing crews and relay events, in sports currently governed at the Division I level by the NCAA. The eight men's tennis titles won before 1946 were bestowed by the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association.


title: California Golden Bears

text: The four women's tennis titles won in 1929–1931 were bestowed at the National Collegiate Girls' Tennis Championships. The four women's rowing titles won in the 1980s were bestowed by the National Women's Rowing Association. The names of the nine women who won the 1984 women's novice eights rowing title have not been retrieved.


title: California Golden Bears

text: California Ice Hockey Team is an ACHA Division II program, competing in the Pacific 8 Intercollegiate Hockey Conference. The team is coached by Chris Linden, who took over as head coach in 2018.


title: California Golden Bears

text: The University of California department of athletics sponsors a varsity women's volleyball program without a men's equivalent program at the NCAA/varsity level; therefore, California only competes in intercollegiate men's volleyball at the club level. Along with the men's club volleyball program, there is also a women's club team separate from the women's varsity team. According to the UC Berkeley Recreational Sports page, the club men's volleyball program has won a total of six national championships. Occasionally, members of the club volleyball team will help the women's varsity volleyball team with practices and open scrimmages.


title: California Golden Bears

text: The California taekwondo team has won 32 national team championships from 1976 through 2018 (includes 3 men's and one women's team titles prior to the adoption of overall scoring).


title: California Golden Bears

text: California Memorial Stadium is the home field for California's football program. The venue opened in 1923 and seated between 72,000 and 80,000 fans until the 2010 football season (its final configuration before the renovation seated 71,799), making it northern California's largest football stadium in terms of seating capacity; however, the stadium's capacity dropped to 62,467 seats after the renovation was completed.


title: California Golden Bears

text: The Simpson Center (known as the Student Athlete High Performance Center or SAHPC during construction) is the new high-performance center for California's student athletes, located right next to California Memorial Stadium on Piedmont Avenue. The new center opened in the fall of 2011 and by January 2012, the final team (football) had moved into the facility. The Simpson Center is home to 13 of California's 32 intercollegiate athletic programs, including football, Men's Rugby, Women's Lacrosse, Men's and Women's Gymnastics, Men's and Women's Golf, Men's and Women's Soccer, Men's and Women's Crew, Women's Field Hockey, and softball. According to the University of California, the facility is a complex that will provide "year round access for over 450 student athletes."


title: California Golden Bears

text: Walter A. Haas, Jr. Pavilion is the home of California's men's and women's basketball, women's volleyball, and men's and women's gymnastics teams. The arena is located in the middle of the main University of California sports complex, overlooking Evans Diamond (baseball) and Edwards Stadium (track/soccer). The arena was originally constructed in 1933 as the Men's Gym. It was renamed, in 1959, Harmon Gym after Oakland financier A.K.P. Harmon, who in 1879 donated the funds to build Cal's first indoor athletic facility. The playing surface, after being known as simply "Room 100" when the arena opened, was renamed Pete Newell Court in 1987 in honor of Pete Newell, who led Cal to the national championship in 1959. Proposals for replacing the old gym were bandied about from the 1970s onward, but sentiment was strongly in favor of its reconstruction. As a result, the arena was heavily renovated from 1997 to 1999 after a donation of about $11 million from Walter A. Haas, Jr. of Levi Strauss & Co., constructing a new seating bowl within the existing walls.


title: California Golden Bears

text: The Recreational Sports Facility is a 100,000 square foot athletics center that is attached to Haas Pavilion and is located on Bancroft Avenue. The RSF features many different rooms for many different activities including, but not limited to: basketball, weight lifting, racquetball, handball, squash, volleyball, and badminton. Attached to the facility is the RSF Field House which is home to many of California's club and intramural teams and has, in the past, hosted the Cal women's volleyball team while Haas Pavilion was under construction. Also attached to the RSF is the Spieker Aquatics Complex, which is home to the California men's and women's water polo and men's and women's swimming and diving programs.


title: California Golden Bears

text: Evans Diamond is California's baseball stadium, it opened in 1933 and currently has a seating capacity of 2,500. Evans Diamond is located in the UC sports complex in the southwest corner of campus, pressed between Edwards Stadium to the west (right field) and Haas Pavilion to the east. Originally named Edwards Field, it was renamed after Clint Evans, the Cal head coach from 1930 to 1954. The stadium was renovated in 1992 at a cost of $275,000, paid for by the donations of UC alumni. Construction was done by RNT Landscaping, a San Leandro landscaping company. The stadium is considered inadequate to host regional and super regional games for the NCAA tournament because of its lack of lights.


title: California Golden Bears

text: Blue and gold have been Cal's official colors since 1875. The dark blue represents California's sky and ocean, as well as Yale University, the alma mater of several of the university's founders, including its first president, Henry Durant. Gold is a reference to the state of California's nickname, the "Golden State." The shade of gold varies from a more metallic gold on the university seal, and a yellow-gold (also known as California Gold) that is in use by the athletic department. Because of the university's use of blue and gold, the state of California's de facto colors were blue and gold from around 1913 to 1951 and became the official state colors in 1951.


title: California Golden Bears

text: Since 1895, the athletic teams of the University of California have officially been known as the "California Golden Bears."


title: California Golden Bears

text: The University of California Marching Band, usually shortened to Cal Band, is the marching band for the University of California, Berkeley. While the Cal Band is student-run, it is administered under the auspices of the university and represents Cal at sporting events and social gatherings. The name of the band is "The University of California Band" by the constitution, but is typically called "The University of California Marching Band" or "The Cal Band". When the band marches out of Memorial Stadium's North Tunnel for football pre-games, it is referred to as "The Pacesetter of College Marching Bands, the Pride of California". When in attendance at basketball games or other small sporting events, a smaller subset known as the "Straw Hat Band" represents the UC Marching Band.


title: California Golden Bears

text: The University of California Rally Committee, usually shortened to Rally Comm, is the official guardian of the University of California's spirit and traditions. The committee is in charge of the protection of the Stanford Axe (while Cal is in possession of it), the Bonfire Rally, the Cal flags, the California Victory Cannon, Homecoming Rally, the upkeep of the Big C, and many other spirit related activities. Rally Comm is completely student-run and can be found at almost every major sporting event and many other events throughout the Bay Area and country. The most distinguishing feature of the University of California Rally Committee are the blue and gold striped rugby shirts that serve as the official uniform of the committee.


title: California Golden Bears

text: The Bench is the student cheering section for the University of California men's basketball team. Located inside Haas Pavilion, The Bench holds up to 900 students who cheer on their California Golden Bears at home basketball games. Students who sit on The Bench receive an annual Bench T-shirt each year and continue to make Haas Pavilion one of the loudest basketball arenas in the Pac-12 Conference. The Bench prides itself on standing the entire game and ensuring that the arena is a hostile place for any opposing team to play.


title: California Golden Bears

text: Although exact dates are not known, the tradition of The Bench was drastically changed in October 2000 when renovations on Haas Pavilion were completed and put a row of portable chairs between the student section and the court. University officials called the move necessary for the protection of referees and players, but students were angry at the move because it further removed them from the action.


title: California Golden Bears

text: California shares a traditional sports and academic rivalry with nearby Stanford University. Both schools operate in the San Francisco Bay Area with the University of California in the East Bay and Stanford in Santa Clara County. While the schools have a rich athletic rivalry with the football programs meeting 124 times, they also share an academic rivalry: the University of California, Berkeley, is commonly considered the best public university nationally while Stanford University is thought of as being one of the best private universities in the country. Athletic events between the two schools are usually signified by being the "Big "whatever"", examples include: the Big Game (football), Big Tip Off (basketball), Big Spike (Volleyball), Big Splash (Water Polo), Big Meet (Track & Field), Big Freeze (Club Ice Hockey), et cetera. Women's basketball does not follow the normal naming template for games between the two schools and is simply known as "The Battle of the Bay."


title: California Golden Bears

text: The Stanford Axe is a trophy awarded to the winner of the annual Big Game, a college football match-up between the University of California Golden Bears and the Stanford University Cardinal. The trophy consists of an axe-head mounted on a large wooden plaque, along with the scores of past Big Games. California is currently in possession of the Axe after winning the 2021 Big Game in Palo Alto.


title: California Golden Bears

text: The World Cup is awarded to the winner of the annual rugby union series between the University of California Golden Bears and the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. In rugby, California's traditional rival is British Columbia, not Stanford, which led to the creation of the World Cup. California was the 2013 World Cup winner, defeating UBC 28–18 in Berkeley on February 16, 2013, and 38–6 in Vancouver on March 24, 2013.


title: California Golden Bears

text: Although California's main rival in rugby is British Columbia, the rivalry between California and Stanford in rugby has been going on for more than a century. The trophy awarded to the winner of the California-Stanford rugby match is known as the "Scrum Axe", which is a play on the "Stanford Axe", the trophy awarded to whichever school wins the annual rugby contest. California retained its hold on the Scrum Axe on January 26, 2013, in Berkeley, winning their 17th straight meeting over the Cardinal 176–0.


title: California Golden Bears

text: Throughout the years, the University of California has been well represented in the Summer Olympic games with Cal athletes winning 90 gold medals, 40 silver medals, and 28 bronze medals. Despite the fact that the university sponsors no sports that compete in the Winter Olympics, California does have 1 gold medalist from the 1928 Winter Games.


title: California Golden Bears

text: At the 2016 Summer Olympics, California's at the time enrolled students won at total of 18 medals, including 9 gold ones. Sixteen of those medals were won in swimming.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: The Schwinn Bicycle Company is an American company that develops, manufactures and markets bicycles under the eponymous brand name.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: The company was originally founded by Ignaz Schwinn (1860–1948) in Chicago in 1895. It became the dominant manufacturer of American bicycles through most of the 20th century. After declaring bankruptcy in 1992, Schwinn has since been a sub-brand of Pacific Cycle, owned by the Dutch conglomerate, Pon Holdings.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: Ignaz Schwinn was born in Hardheim, Baden, Germany, in 1860 and worked on two-wheeled ancestors of the modern bicycle that appeared in 19th century Europe. Schwinn emigrated to the United States in 1891. In 1895, with the financial backing of fellow German American Adolph Frederick William Arnold (a meat packer), he founded Arnold, Schwinn & Company. Schwinn's new company coincided with a sudden bicycle craze in America. Chicago became the center of the American bicycle industry, with thirty factories turning out thousands of bikes every day. Bicycle output in the United States grew to over a million units per year by the turn of the 20th century.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: The boom in bicycle sales was short-lived, saturating the market years before motor vehicles were common on American streets. By 1905, bicycle annual sales had fallen to only 25% of that reached in 1900. Many smaller companies were absorbed by larger firms or went bankrupt; in Chicago, only twelve bicycle makers remained in business. Competition became intense, both for parts suppliers and for contracts from the major department stores, which retailed the majority of bicycles produced in those days. Realizing he needed to grow the company, Ignaz Schwinn purchased several smaller bicycle firms, building a modern factory on Chicago's west side to mass-produce bicycles at lower cost. He finalized a purchase of Excelsior Company in 1912, and in 1917 added the Henderson Company to form Excelsior-Henderson. In an atmosphere of general decline elsewhere in the industry, Schwinn's new motorcycle division thrived, and by 1928 was in third place behind Indian and Harley-Davidson.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: At the close of the 1920s, the stock market crash decimated the American motorcycle industry, taking Excelsior-Henderson with it. Arnold, Schwinn, & Co. (as it remained until 1967) was on the verge of bankruptcy. With no buyers, Excelsior-Henderson motorcycles were discontinued in 1931. Ignaz's son, Frank W. "F. W." Schwinn, took over day-to-day operations at Schwinn. Putting all company efforts towards bicycles, he succeeded in developing a low-cost model that brought Schwinn recognition as an innovative company, as well as a product that would continue to sell during the inevitable downturns in business cycles. After traveling to Europe to get ideas, F. W. Schwinn returned to Chicago and in 1933 introduced the Schwinn B-10E Motorbike, actually a youth's bicycle designed to imitate a motorcycle. The company revised the model the next year and renamed it the "Aerocycle". For the "Aerocycle", F. W. Schwinn persuaded American Rubber Co. to make balloon tires, while adding streamlined fenders, an imitation "gas tank", a streamlined, chrome-plated headlight, and a push-button bicycle bell. The bicycle would eventually come to be known as a "paperboy bike" or "cruiser".


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: Schwinn was soon sponsoring a bicycle racing team headed by Emil Wastyn, who designed the team bikes, and the company competed in six-day racing across the United States with riders such as Jerry Rodman and Russell Allen. In 1938, Frank W. Schwinn officially introduced the "Paramount" series. Developed from experiences gained in racing, Schwinn established "Paramount" as their answer to high-end, professional competition bicycles. The "Paramount" used high-strength chrome-molybdenum steel alloy tubing and expensive brass lug-brazed construction. During the next twenty years, most of the "Paramount" bikes would be built in limited numbers at a small frame shop headed by Wastyn, in spite of Schwinn's continued efforts to bring all frame production into the factory.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: On 17 May 1941, Alfred Letourneur was able to beat the motor-paced world speed record on a bicycle, reaching on a Schwinn Paramount bicycle riding behind a car in Bakersfield, California.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: By 1950, Schwinn had decided the time was right to grow the brand. At the time, most bicycle manufacturers in the United States sold in bulk to department stores, which in turn sold them as store brand models. Schwinn decided to try something different. With the exception of B. F. Goodrich bicycles, sold in tire stores, Schwinn eliminated the practice of producing private label bicycles in 1950, insisting that the Schwinn brand and guarantee appear on all products. In exchange for ensuring the presence of the Schwinn name, distributors retained the right to distribute Schwinn bikes to any hardware store, toy store, or bicycle shop that ordered them. In 1952, F. W. Schwinn tasked a new team to plan future business strategy, consisting of marketing supervisor Ray Burch, general manager Bill Stoeffhaas, and design supervisor Al Fritz.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: In the 1950s, Schwinn began to aggressively cultivate bicycle retailers, persuading them to sell Schwinns as their predominant, if not exclusive brand. During this period, bicycle sales enjoyed relatively slow growth, with the bulk of sales going to youth models. In 1900, during the height of the first bicycle boom, annual United States sales by all bicycle manufacturers had briefly topped one million. By 1960, annual sales had reached just 4.4 million. Nevertheless, Schwinn's share of the market was increasing, and would reach in excess of 1 million bicycles per year by the end of the decade.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: In 1946, imports of foreign-made bicycles had increased tenfold over the previous year, to 46,840 bicycles; of that total, 95 per cent were from Great Britain. The postwar appearance of imported "English racers" (actually three-speed "sport" roadsters from Great Britain and West Germany) found a ready market among United States buyers seeking bicycles for exercise and recreation in the suburbs. Though substantially heavier than later European-style "racer" or sport/touring bikes, Americans found them a revelation, as they were still much lighter than existing models produced by Schwinn and other American bicycle manufacturers. Imports of foreign-made "English racers", sports roadsters, and recreational bicycles steadily increased through the early 1950s. Schwinn first responded to the new challenge by producing its own "middleweight" version of the "English racer". The middleweight incorporated most of the features of the English racer, but had wider tires and wheels.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: The company also joined with other United States bicycle manufacturers in a campaign to raise import tariffs across the board on all imported bicycles. In August 1955, the Eisenhower administration implemented a 22.5% tariff rate for three out of four categories of bicycles. However, the most popular adult category, lightweight or "racer" bicycles, were only raised to 11.25%. The administration noted that the United States industry offered no direct competition in this category, and that lightweight bikes competed only indirectly with balloon-tire or cruiser bicycles. The share of the United States market taken by foreign-made bicycles dropped to 28.5% of the market, and remained under 30% through 1964. Despite the increased tariff, the only structural change in foreign imports during this period was a temporary decline in bicycles imported from Great Britain in favor of lower-priced models from the Netherlands and Germany. In 1961, after a successful appeal by bicycle importers, the Eisenhower tariffs were declared invalid by the Court of United States Customs Appeals, and President Kennedy imposed a new tariff rate at 50% on foreign-made bicycles, a rate which remained in place until 1964.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: While every large bicycle manufacturer sponsored or participated in bicycle racing competition of some sort to keep up with the newest trends in technology, Schwinn had restricted its racing activities to events inside the United States, where Schwinn bicycles predominated. As a result, Schwinns became increasingly dated in both styling and technology. By 1957, the "Paramount" series, once a premier racing bicycle, had atrophied from a lack of attention and modernization. Aside from some new frame lug designs, the designs, methods and tooling were the same as had been used in the 1930s. After a crash-course in new frame-building techniques and derailleur technology, Schwinn introduced an updated "Paramount" with Reynolds 531 double-butted tubing, Nervex lugsets and bottom bracket shells, as well as Campagnolo derailleur dropouts. The "Paramount" continued as a limited production model, built in small numbers in a small apportioned area of the old Chicago assembly factory. The new frame and component technology incorporated in the "Paramount" largely failed to reach Schwinn's mass-market bicycle lines. In 1963 following the death of F. W. Schwinn, grandson Frank Valentine Schwinn took over management of the company.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: By the late 1950s, Schwinn's exclusive marketing practices were well entrenched in the United States, practices that had ensured a dominant position in the United States bicycle market. In order to prevent competition among its wholesalers, Schwinn assisted them by dividing up the national market. Schwinn also strengthened its dealer network, shrinking the number of authorized dealers. Since Schwinn could decide who got their bikes and who didn't, the company rewarded the highest volume dealers with location exclusivity, as well as mandating service standards and layouts. In response, the company was sued by the Department of Justice in 1957 for restraint of trade. In a ten-year legal battle, many of Schwinn's practices were upheld by the courts: judges ruled they had the right to have their bicycles sold by retailers equipped to service the bikes as well as sell them. However, in a ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1967, "U.S. v. Arnold, Schwinn & Co.", Schwinn was found guilty of restraint of trade by preventing distributors shipping bicycles to unapproved dealers. Though the "Arnold" decision would be essentially overturned in later rulings, the company stopped working solely through independent local distributors and constructed four regional warehouses from which bicycles would — legally — be sent to shops. While this solved the problem of unfair trade practice with the courts, the new warehouses and distribution system cost millions of dollars at a time of rising competition from foreign manufacturers.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: During the 1960s, Schwinn aggressively campaigned to retain and expand its dominance of the child and youth bicycle markets. The company advertised heavily on television, and was an early sponsor (from 1958) of the children's television program "Captain Kangaroo". The Captain himself was enlisted to regularly hawk Schwinn-brand bicycles to the show's audience, typically six years old and under. As these children matured, it was believed they would ask for Schwinn bicycles from their parents. By 1971, United States government councils had objected to Schwinn's marketing practices. In response, Schwinn had "Captain Kangaroo" alter its format. The Captain no longer insisted that viewers buy a Schwinn, but instead made regular on-air consultations of a new character, "Mr. Schwinn Dealer".


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: Schwinn developed the Corvette in 1954, after their catalog, for that year, had been in use. Therefore, with the release of a single photograph, the Corvette was introduced. The picture showed company executives standing behind their new product, that would remain in production for 10 years. 1955 was the first year in which the Corvette appeared in the Schwinn catalog; it was Schwinn's top listing in their "middleweight" category.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: From the 1950s to the 1980s, Schwinn produced a series of lightweight tandem bicycles known as the Schwinn Twinn. They came in three different models: the single speed Twinn, a two speed semi-automatic, and the five speed Deluxe Twinn.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: In 1962, Schwinn's designer Al Fritz heard about a new youth trend centered in California for retrofitting bicycles with the accoutrements of motorcycles customized in the "bobber" or "chopper" style, including high-rise, "ape-hanger" handlebars, and low-rider "banana seats". Inspired, he designed a mass-production bike for the youth market known as "Project J-38". The result, a wheelie bike, was introduced to the public as the Schwinn "Sting-Ray" in June 1963.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: The Sting-Ray had ape-hanger handlebars, Persons's Solo Polo Seat banana seat, and tires. Sales were initially slow, as many parents desiring a bicycle for their children did not relate to the new, unconventional design. After a few appeared on America's streets and neighborhoods, many young riders would accept nothing else, and sales took off.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: In the December 1963 Schwinn Reporter, Schwinn announced the arrival of the Deluxe Sting-Ray. This model included Fenders, white-wall tires, and a padded Solo polo seat.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: In July 1964, Schwinn announced the arrival of the Super Deluxe Sting-Ray. This model included a front spring-fork, a new sleeker Sting-Ray banana seat, and a Person's Hi-loop Sissy bar. The Super Deluxe also gave the rider a choice of White wall tires or the new Yellow oval rear Slik tire paired with a front black wall Westwind tire.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: By 1965, a host of American and foreign manufacturers were offering their own version of the "Sting-Ray".


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: A growing number of US teens and young adults were purchasing imported European sport racing or sport touring bicycles, many fitted with multiple derailleur-shifted gears. Schwinn decided to meet the challenge by developing two lines of sport or road 'racer' bicycles. One was already in the catalog — the limited production "Paramount" series. As always, the "Paramount" spared no expense; the bicycles were given high-quality lightweight lugged steel frames using double-butted tubes of Reynolds 531 and fitted with quality European components including Campagnolo derailleurs, hubs, and gears. The Paramount series had limited production numbers, making vintage examples quite rare today. Starting in 1960, for the rest of the market, Schwinn offered the Schwinn "Varsity," "Continental", and "LeTour" -- now equipped as multi-geared sport bikes ("10-speeds"), and designed to imitate the style of the new narrow-tired 'racing' and sport bikes from Europe, though not their performance. The 1960 Varsity was introduced as an 8-speed bike, but in mid-1961 was upgraded to 10 speeds. Other road bikes were introduced by Schwinn in the early and mid 1960s, such as the Superior, Sierra, and Super Continental, but these were only produced for a few years. The Varsity and Continental sold in large numbers through the 1960s and early 1970s, becoming Scwhinn's leading models. The major difference between the two models was the use of a tubular front fork on the Continental -- both bikes used the same frame design, a lugless, steel unit, using Schwinn's standard Ashtabula cranksets and welded in such a way that the joints were smoothly filled (similar to the joints in 21st-century composite frames). The wheel rims were likewise robust, chromed, stamped steel with a unique profile designed to hold the tire bead securely, even if pressure were low or lost.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: In the late 1960s, the Varsity and Continental pioneered the use of auxiliary brake levers, which allowed the rider to rest hands on the straight, horizontal center section of the ram's horn handlebars, yet still have braking control. To further improve control from this more-erect riding position, the levers used to move the derailleurs (shifting the chain from one sprocket to the next) were moved from the traditional position on the "down tube" to the top of the headset, on a ring which would turn with the handlebar stem. This feature, attractive to older riders, soon found its way to other Schwinn models, especially those intended for senior citizens.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: By the mid-1970s, competition from lightweight and feature-rich imported bikes was making strong inroads in the budget-priced and beginners' market. While Schwinn's popular lines were far more durable than the budget bikes, they were also far heavier and more expensive, and parents were realizing that most of the budget bikes would outlast most kids' interest in bicycling. Although the Varsity and Continental series would still be produced in large numbers into the 1980s, even Schwinn recognized the growing market in young adults and environmentally-oriented purchasers, devoting the bulk of their marketing to lighter models intended to pull sales back from the imports.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: The "Sting-Ray" sales boom of the 1960s accelerated in 1970, with United States bicycle sales doubling over a period of two years. However, there were clear warning signs on the horizon.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: Despite a huge increase in popularity of lightweight European sport or "road racing bicycles" in the United States, Schwinn adhered to its existing strategy in the lightweight adult road bike market. For those unable to afford the "Paramount", this meant a Schwinn 'sports' bike with a heavy steel electro-forged frame along with steel components such as wheels, stems, cranks, and handlebars from the company's established United States suppliers. Though weighing slightly less, the mid-priced Schwinn "Superior" or "Sports Tourer" was almost indistinguishable from Schwinn's other heavy, mass-produced models, such as the "Varsity" and "Continental". While competitive in the 1960s, by 1972 these bicycles were much heavier and less responsive in comparison to the new sport and racing bicycles arriving from England, France, Italy, and increasingly, Japan.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: Another problem was Schwinn's failure to design and market its bicycles to specific, identifiable buyers, especially the growing number of cyclists interested in road racing or touring. Instead, most Schwinn derailleur bikes were marketed to the general leisure market, equipped with heavy "old timer" accessories such as kickstands that cycling aficionados had long since abandoned. More and more cyclists, especially younger buyers, began to insist on stronger steel alloys (which allowed for lighter frames), responsive frame geometry, aluminum components, advanced derailleur shifting, and multiple gears. When they failed to find what they wanted at Schwinn, they went elsewhere. While the "Paramount" still sold in limited numbers to this market, the model's customer base began to age, changing from primarily bike racers to older, wealthier riders looking for the ultimate bicycle. Schwinn sold an impressive 1.5 million bicycles in 1974, but would pay the price for failing to keep up with new developments in bicycle technology and buying trends.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: With their aging product line, Schwinn failed to dominate the huge sport bike boom of 1971–1975, which saw millions of "10-speed" bicycles sold to new cyclists. Schwinn did allow some dealers to sell imported road racing bikes, and by 1973 was using the Schwinn name on the "Le Tour", a Japanese-made low-cost sport/touring 10-speed bicycle. Schwinn developed strong trading relationships with two Japanese bicycle manufacturers in particular, Bridgestone and National/Panasonic. Though these met initial dealer resistance as "imports" and were not included in the Schwinn consumer catalog, it was soon realized that the Panasonic and Bridgestone 'Schwinn' bicycles were fully the equal of the American-made versions in quality and performance. Schwinn soon had a range of low, mid- and upper-level bicycles all imported from Japan. Schwinn's standard road bike model from Panasonic was the "World Traveler", which had a high-quality lugged steel frame and Shimano components. Schwinn also marketed a top-shelf touring model from Panasonic, the "World Voyager", lugged with butted Tange chrome-molybdenum alloy tubing, Shimano derailleurs, and SunTour bar-end shifters, a serious challenge to the Paramount series at half the price.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: By 1975, bicycle customers interested in medium-priced road and touring bicycles had largely gravitated towards Japanese or European brands. Unlike Schwinn, many of these brands were perennial participants in professional bicycle racing, and their production road bicycles at least possessed the cachet and visual lineage of their racing heritage, if not always their componentry. One example was Peugeot, which won several Tour de France victories using race bikes with frames occasionally constructed by small race-oriented framebuilders such as Masi, suitably repainted in Team Peugeot colors. In reality, mass-market French manufacturers such as Peugeot were not infrequently criticized for material and assembly quality — as well as stagnant technology — in their low- and mid-level product lines. Nevertheless, Peugeot proudly advertised its victorious racing heritage at every opportunity. While not as prominent at the winner's podium, Japanese brands such as Fuji and Panasonic offered consistently high quality, reasonable prices, and state-of-the-art-derailleur, crankset, and gearing design. Unlike Schwinn, most Japanese bicycle manufacturers were quick to adopt the latest European road racing geometries, new steel alloys, and modern manufacturing techniques. As a result, their moderately-priced bicycles, equipped with the same Japanese-made components, usually weighed less and performed better than competitive models made by Schwinn. Schwinn brand loyalty began to suffer as huge numbers of buyers came to retailers asking for the latest sport and racing road bikes from European or Japanese manufacturers. By 1979, even the "Paramount" had been passed, technologically speaking, by a new generation of American as well as foreign custom bicycle manufacturers.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: Schwinn also largely failed to capitalize on a new trend in Southern California: BMX racing. After first claiming it to be a dangerous sport, management changed their tune — too late — when they introduced the "Scrambler" in 1975, which evolved into a BMX design in the late 1970s, but it was heavier than designs from other manufacturers. The Sting-Ray based Scrambler spawned the light weight, fully competition capable, chrome-molybdenum-tubed "Competition Scrambler" in 1977, "Scrambler 36/36", the "Mag Scrambler" in 1981, and the "Sting" with full Reynolds, double butted chrome-molybdenum frame that was made in the same assembly area as the Paramount road racing frames.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: Schwinn followed the Scrambler line with the "Predator" in 1982, their first competitive step into the modern BMX market. A latecomer, the Predator took just eight percent of the BMX market. Schwinn also had a very successful BMX racing team made up of some of the best riders of the day. They were even used for an episode of the TV show CHiPs.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: By the late 1970s, a new bicycle sport begun by enthusiasts in Northern California had grown into a new type of all-terrain bicycle, the mountain bike. Mountain bikes were originally based on Schwinn balloon-tired cruiser bicycles fitted with derailleur gears and called "Klunkers". A few participants began designing and building small numbers of mountain bikes with frames made out of modern butted chrome-molybdenum alloy steel. When the sport's original inventors demonstrated their new frame design, Schwinn marketing personnel initially discounted the growing popularity of the mountain bike, concluding that it would become a short-lived fad. The company briefly (1978–1979) produced a bicycle styled after the California mountain bikes, the "Klunker 5". Using the standard electro-forged cantilever frame, and fitted with five-speed derailleur gears and knobby tires, the "Klunker 5" was never heavily marketed, and was not even listed in the Schwinn product catalog. Unlike its progenitors, the "Klunker" proved incapable of withstanding hard off-road use, and after an unsuccessful attempt to reintroduce the model as the "Spitfire 5", it was dropped from production.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: The company's next answer to requests for a Schwinn mountain bike was the "King Sting" and the "Sidewinder", inexpensive BMX-derived bicycles fabricated from existing electro-forged frame designs, and using off-the-shelf BMX parts. This proved to be a major miscalculation, as several new United States startup companies began producing high-quality frames designed from the ground up, and sourced from new, modern plants in Japan and Taiwan using new mass-production technologies such as TIG welding.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: Schwinn fielded a mountain bike racing team in the United States where their team rider Ned Overend won two consecutive NORBA Mountain Biking National Championships for the team in 1986 and 1987. Schwinn's new competitors such as Specialized and Fisher MountainBikes were soon selling hundreds of thousands of mountain bikes at competitive prices to eager customers, setting sales records in a market niche that soon grew to enormous proportions.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: By this time, Schwinn's bicycle factory was completely outmoded in comparison to modern bicycle manufacturing centers in Japan and Taiwan, who had continually invested in new and up-to-date manufacturing techniques and materials, including new joinery techniques and the latest lightweight chrome-molybdenum alloy steel, and later, aluminum. The company considered relocating to a single facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but financing the project would have required outside investors, perhaps even foreign ones. Schwinn's board of directors rejected the new plant in 1978.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: In October 1979, Edward R. Schwinn, Jr. took over the presidency of Schwinn from his uncle Frank, ensuring continuity of Schwinn family in the operations of the company. However, worker dissatisfaction, seldom a problem in the early years, grew with steep increases in inflation. In late 1980, the Schwinn Chicago factory workers voted to affiliate with the United Auto Workers. Plant assembly workers began a strike for higher pay in September 1980, and 1,400 assembly workers walked off the job for thirteen weeks. Although the strike ended in February 1981, only about 65% of the prior workforce was recalled to work. By this time, increasingly stiff competition from lower-cost competition in Asia resulted in declining market share. These problems were exacerbated by the inefficiency of producing modern bicycles in the 80-year-old Chicago factory equipped with outdated equipment and ancient inventory and information systems. After numerous meetings, the board of directors voted to source most Schwinn bicycle production from their established bicycle supplier in Japan, Panasonic Bicycle. As Schwinn's first outsourced bicycles, Panasonic had been the only vendor to meet Schwinn's production requirements. Later, Schwinn would sign a production supply agreement with Giant Bicycles of Taiwan. As time passed, Schwinn would import more and more Asian-made bicycles to carry the Schwinn brand, eventually becoming more a marketer than a maker of bikes.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: In an attempt to preserve remaining market share and avoid a unionized workforce, Schwinn later moved remaining United States bicycle production to a new plant in Greenville, Mississippi, where bicycles could be assembled at lower cost using parts sourced from Asia. The Greenville plant was not a success, as it was remote from both the corporate headquarters as well as the West coast ports where the material components arrived from Taiwan and Japan. Additionally, Asian manufacturers could still produce and assemble high-quality bicycles at a far lower per-unit cost than Schwinn at its plant in Mississippi, which had to import parts, then assemble them using higher-priced United States labor. The Greenville manufacturing facility, which had lost money each year of its operation, finally closed in 1991, laying off 250 workers in the process.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: After a series of production cuts and labor force reductions, Schwinn was able to restructure its operations. The company renegotiated loans by putting up the company and the name as collateral, and increased production of the "Airdyne" exercise bicycle, a moneymaker even in bad times. The company took advantage of the continued demand for mountain bikes, redesigning its product line with Schwinn-designed chrome-molybdenum alloy steel frames. Supplied by manufacturers in Asia, the new arrangement enabled Schwinn to reduce costs and stay competitive with Asian bicycle companies. In Taiwan, Schwinn was able to conclude a new production agreement with Giant Bicycles, transferring Schwinn's frame design and manufacturing expertise to Giant in the process. With this partnership, Schwinn increased their bicycle sales to 500,000 per year by 1985. Schwinn's annual sales soon neared the million mark, and the company turned a profit in the late 1980s. However, after unsuccessfully attempting to purchase a minority share in Giant Bicycles, Edward Schwinn Jr. negotiated a separate deal with the China Bicycle Co. (CBC) to produce bicycles to be sold under the Schwinn brand. In retaliation, Giant introduced its own line of Giant-branded bikes for sale to retailers carrying Schwinn bikes. Both Giant and CBC used the dies, plans, and technological expertise from Schwinn to greatly expand the market share of bicycles made under their own proprietary brands, first in Europe, and later in the United States.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: By 1990, other United States bicycle companies with reputations for excellence in design such as Trek, Specialized, and Cannondale had cut further into Schwinn's market. Unable to produce bicycles in the United States at a competitive cost, by the end of 1991 Schwinn was sourcing its bicycles from overseas manufacturers. This period in Schwinn's history plays a cameo role in a novel by Dave Eggers, "A Hologram for the King" (2012). Seeking to increase its brand recognition, Schwinn established additional company-operated shops, a move that alienated existing independent bike retailers in cities where the company stores had opened. This in turn led to further inroads by domestic and foreign competitors. Faced with a downward sales spiral, Schwinn went into bankruptcy in 1992. The company and name were bought by the Zell/Chilmark Fund, an investment group, in 1993. Zell moved Schwinn's corporate headquarters to Boulder, Colorado.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: In 1993, Richard Schwinn, great-grandson of Ignaz Schwinn, with business partner Marc Muller, purchased the Schwinn Paramount plant in Waterford, Wisconsin, where Paramounts were built since 1980. They founded Waterford Precision Cycles, which is still in operation. In 2003 they employed 18 workers building lightweight bicycles.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: In late 1997, Questor Partners Fund, led by Jay Alix and Dan Lufkin, purchased Schwinn Bicycles. Questor/Schwinn later purchased GT Bicycles in 1998 for $8 a share in cash, roughly $80 million. The new company produced a series of well-regarded mountain bikes bearing the Schwinn name, called the Homegrown series. In 2001, Schwinn/GT declared bankruptcy.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: In September 2001, the Schwinn Company, its assets, and the rights to the brand, together with that of the GT Bicycle, was purchased at a bankruptcy auction by Pacific Cycle, a company previously known for mass-market brands owned by Wind Point Partners. In 2004, Pacific Cycle was in turn acquired by Dorel Industries. Once America's preeminent bicycle manufacturer, the Schwinn brand, as with many other bicycle manufacturers, affixed itself to fabrication in China and Taiwan, fueling most of its corporate parent's growth. In 2010, Dorel launched a major advertising campaign to revive and contemporize the Schwinn brand by associating it with consumer childhood memories of the company, including a reintroduction of the Schwinn "Sting-Ray". In 2021, Dutch conglomerate Pon Holdings acquired Pacific Cycle.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: Direct Focus, Inc., a marketing company for fitness and healthy lifestyle products, acquired the assets of Schwinn/GT's fitness equipment division. Direct Focus, Inc. subsequently became Nautilus, Inc.


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: Schwinn sells essentially two lines of bicycles. One is a line of discount bikes offered through mass-merchandisers such as Wal-Mart, Sears and Kmart. The other line known as the Signature Series, featured on the website, are higher-end models sold through specialty shops. Schwinn produces the following types of bicycles:


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: Starting in 2005, Schwinn also marketed Motorscooters under the Schwinn Motorsports brand. Production ceased in 2011


title: Schwinn Bicycle Company

text: Schwinn also produces the following gear: Helmets & Pads, Pumps, Saddles, Lights, Storage, Extras, Repair, Bike trailers, and Jogging strollers.


title: Dan-Axel Zagadou

text: Dan-Axel Zagadou (born 3 June 1999) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart. He has represented France from under-16 to under-21 levels.


title: Dan-Axel Zagadou

text: Zagadou began his career playing at junior level for hometown club US Créteil, before signing for Paris Saint-Germain at the age of 12 in 2011. He then spent the next five seasons developing in PSG's academy, before being assigned to the reserve squad in 2016, where he made 9 appearances in the CFA.


title: Dan-Axel Zagadou

text: On 5 June 2017, German club Borussia Dortmund announced the signing of Zagadou on a free transfer and a five-year contract. On 28 October 2017, he scored his first goal for Dortmund in a 4–2 away loss against Hannover 96, where he also received his first red card in the 59th minute.


title: Dan-Axel Zagadou

text: On 12 May 2022, it was announced that Zagadou's contract would not be renewed and that he was to become a free agent.


title: One-Punch Man (season 1)

text: "One-Punch Man" is a Japanese anime series based on the webcomic created by One and its subsequent manga adaptation illustrated by Yusuke Murata. The series was directed by Shingo Natsume at Madhouse and was written by Tomohiro Suzuki. The series also features character design by Chikashi Kubota, who also served as chief animation director, and music by Makoto Miyazaki. The series aired in Japan between October 5 and December 21, 2015 and was simulcast by Daisuki and Hulu.


title: One-Punch Man (season 1)

text: The opening theme song is by JAM Project, and the ending theme is by Hiroko Moriguchi. The ending theme for episode 12 is by Moriguchi.


title: Witan Sulaeman

text: Witan Sulaeman (born 8 October 2001) is an Indonesian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Slovak Super Liga club AS Trenčín and the Indonesia national team.


title: Witan Sulaeman

text: On 17 August 2019, Witan signed his first professional contract at the age of 17 with Liga 2 side PSIM Yogyakarta. He made his first-team debut for PSIM Yogyakarta when he was part of the starting lineup of a 2019 Liga 2 match against Persiba Balikpapan on 22 August 2019, in which PSIM won.


title: Witan Sulaeman

text: At the age of 18, Witan joined Serbian SuperLiga club Radnik Surdulica in February 2020 on a three-and-a-half year deal. However, the season was soon suspended as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic for a period of months, during which he returned to Indonesia. He finally made his professional debut on 14 June 2020, coming on for Bogdan Stamenković during a 4–2 SuperLiga defeat to Radnički Niš.


title: Witan Sulaeman

text: On 1 September 2021, Witan joined Polish club Lechia Gdańsk on a two-year contract. Witan joined shortly after his international teammate Egy Maulana departured to Senica in Slovakia. Three days later, Witan made his Lechia Gdańsk debut in a friendly match against Jeziorak Iława as a substitute for Kacper Sezonienko in the 73rd minute.


title: Witan Sulaeman

text: He made his league debut for Lechia Gdańsk. However, he did not strengthen the main team, but for the reserve team, Lechia Gdańsk II. when he was part of the starting lineup of a IV liga match against MKS Wladyslawowo on 11 September, in which Lechia won.


title: Witan Sulaeman

text: On 26 July 2022, it is announced that Witan and Lechia Gdańsk both agreed to mutually terminate his contract.


title: Witan Sulaeman

text: On 21 January 2022, Witan joined Slovak Super Liga club Senica on loan until the end of the season. On 12 February 2022, Witan made his league debut playing full 90-minutes against league giants Slovan Bratislava, as his team suffered 0-5 defeat. Witan made his first goal for his club at Slovak Cup winning game against SV Sasona Arena. In the quarter final of Slovak Cup, against FK Pohronie, he gave one assist and one goal for the winning match.


title: Witan Sulaeman

text: On 9 August 2022, Slovak club AS Trenčín announced that they had signed Witan on a two-year contract. On 13 August 2022, Witan made his debut, coming on as a 73rd minute substitute for Lucas Demitra in a goal-less league draw against Ružomberok. On 24 August 2022, Witan scored his first and second goal for Trenčín during a record-setting 14–0 victory against Slovan Hlohovec in the Slovak Cup.


title: Witan Sulaeman

text: At the age of 16, Witan made his international debut with Indonesia U19 in the 2017 Toulon Tournament on 31 May 2017 against Brazil U20 with a score of 1–0 defeat. Later that year he scored a brace in an 8–0 win over Brunei at the 2017 AFF U-18 Youth Championship. He also scored in the third-place match against Myanmar.


title: Witan Sulaeman

text: At the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship held in Indonesia, Witan scored two goals in a group stage win over Chinese Taipei before scoring the lone goal in a 1–0 victory over the United Arab Emirates to lead his team to the quarterfinals for the first time in 40 years.


title: Witan Sulaeman

text: Witan was part of the Indonesia under-23 team that won silver in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines. He received a call to join the senior Indonesian national football team in May 2021. He earned his first senior cap in a 25 May 2021 friendly match in Dubai against Afghanistan. On 11 October 2021, he made first international goal against Chinese Taipei in a 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification – Play-off Round leg 2, in which Indonesia won 3–0.


title: Witan Sulaeman

text: On 12 December 2021, Witan scored a goal in a 2020 AFF Championship game against Laos. On 22 December 2021, Witan scored again against Singapore in the first leg of semi-final.


title: Witan Sulaeman

text: On 14 June 2022, Witan scored a brace against Nepal in a 7-0 win in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification.


title: Witan Sulaeman

text: In the midst of busy following the training camp with the Indonesian national team, On 29 May 2022, at the age of 20, Witan married his girlfriend, Rismahani. Witan officially married Rismahani in a wedding ceremony held in Palu, Central Sulawesi.


title: Bougainvillea glabra

text: Bougainvillea glabra, the lesser bougainvillea or paperflower, is the most common species of bougainvillea used for bonsai. The epithet 'glabra' comes from Latin and means "bald".


title: Bougainvillea glabra

text: It is an evergreen, climbing shrub with thick, thorny stems and drooping branches that are glabrous or sparsely hairy. The leaves have a stem. The leaf blade is ovate to ovate-lanceolate, pointed or briefly pointed, 5 to 13 centimeters long and 3 to 6 centimeters wide, sparsely fluffy hairy on the underside and bald on the top. The leaf-like bracts are purple, oblong or elliptical, pointed, long and about wide. They tower over the flowers. These grow individually in pairs or in groups of three on flower stems about 3.5 millimeters long.


title: Bougainvillea glabra

text: The crown tube is greenish, clearly angled, about 2 centimeters long, sparsely downy hairy, ribbed and points away from the flower stalk. The tip is lobed five times and forms a short, spread, white or yellowish hem. The six to eight stamens have 8 to 13 millimeter long stamens. The ovary is about 2 millimeters long, the stylus 1 millimeter and the scar 2.5 millimeters.


title: Bougainvillea glabra

text: It usually grows tall, occasionally up to . Tiny white flowers usually appear in clusters surrounded by colorful papery bracts, hence the name paperflower. The leaves are dark green, variable in shape, up to long. The flowers are about 0.4 cm in diameter (the pink petal-like structures are not petals, but bracts.)


title: Bougainvillea glabra

text: "B. glabra" is heat and drought tolerant and frost sensitive. It is easily propagated by cuttings. It needs full sunlight, warm weather and well drained soil to flower well. The species is often used in culture, in areas with frost in glass houses, otherwise outdoors. The similar Bougainvillea spectabilis, which differs from Bougainvillea glabra by the velvety-felty underside of the leaves, is also cultivated, but less frequently.


title: Bougainvillea glabra

text: Being of medical importance, the infusion of the plant's tender leaves and bracts is used orally to treat gastrointestinal problems (diarrhoea, stomach pain), and respiratory conditions (asthma, bronchitis, catarrh, chest pain, fever, pneumonia, whooping cough).


title: Jennifer (given name)

text: Jennifer, also spelled Jenifer or Jenefer, is a feminine given name, the Cornish form of Guinevere, that became popular in the English-speaking world in the 20th century.


title: Jennifer (given name)

text: "Jennifer" may mean "the fair one" (from Proto-Celtic “"Windo"-*sēbro ” (cognate with Old Irish síabair "a spectre, phantom, supernatural being [usually in pejorative sense]").A Cornish form, it is cognate with the Welsh form Gwenhwyfar and with the Old Irish Findabair. Despite the name's similarity to the Old English words "jenefer," "genefer," and "jinifer," these appear to be derived from the juniper plant used to flavor the beverage.


title: Jennifer (given name)

text: A common first name for females in English-speaking countries during the 20th century, the name Jennifer has been in use since the 18th century. Before 1906, the name was fairly uncommon, but it gained some recognition after George Bernard Shaw used it for the main female character in "The Doctor's Dilemma". However, United Kingdom government statistics (covering England and Wales) only show the name first entering the top 100 most commonly used names for baby girls in 1934 – 28 years after the play was first staged, but it thereafter rose in popularity somewhat, peaking at No. 11 in 1984. Jennifer remained in the top 100 in England and Wales until 2005. It was ranked No. 166 in 2009.


title: Jennifer (given name)

text: In the United States, the name Jennifer first entered the annual government-derived list of the 1,000 most commonly used names for newborn baby girls in 1938, when it ranked at No. 987. Thereafter, the name steadily gained popularity, entering the top 100 most commonly given girls names in 1956 and breaking through into the top 10 in 1966. It gained even more popularity in the 1970s, possibly due to its use in the movie "Love Story". Jennifer was the single most popular name for newborn girls in the United States every year from 1970 to 1984 (until 1985 in Delaware, Illinois and Massachusetts), inclusive. It dropped out of the top 10 in the United States in 1992 and out of the top 100 in 2009.


title: Peter Blythe

text: Peter Blythe (14 September 1934 – 27 June 2004) was an English character actor, probably best known as Samuel "Soapy Sam" Ballard in "Rumpole of the Bailey".


title: Peter Blythe

text: Born in Yorkshire, Blythe studied drama on scholarship at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art after serving in the Royal Air Force. He began his professional career as a repertory player with the Living Theatre Company, the Nottingham Playhouse and the Royal Shakespeare Company. He made his West End debut in 1965.


title: Peter Blythe

text: Blythe worked in films only rarely and usually in minor roles; his most substantial part was also in his last film appearance, "The Luzhin Defence" (2000). Other film credits include two films for Hammer Film Productions, "A Challenge for Robin Hood" (1967) and "Frankenstein Created Woman" (also 1967); his most successful film was "Carrington" (1995).


title: Peter Blythe

text: By contrast, Blythe appeared in several dozen television series, miniseries and films, most notably as Samuel Ballard, QC in "Rumpole of the Bailey" (1983–92). He guest-starred in episodes of "The Avengers", "UFO" (episodes "Destruction" and "The Psychobombs"), "Callan", "Van der Valk", "New Scotland Yard", "Special Branch", "Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime", "Agatha Christie's Poirot", "Inspector Morse", "Maigret", "The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries", "Between the Lines", "Pie in the Sky", "Goodnight Sweetheart", "Dalziel and Pascoe" and "Foyle's War" (aired posthumously), among many others. His miniseries appearances included "The Barchester Chronicles", "After the War" and "The Alan Clark Diaries". He narrated the 1970 TV comedy special "Cucumber Castle" starring the Bee Gees.


title: Peter Blythe

text: One of Blythe's plays, "Tom, Dick and Harry", was produced at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough in 1972 directed by Alan Ayckbourn. He also wrote two poetry chapbooks, "Spring" and "The Light".


title: Peter Blythe

text: Blythe lived for eight years with Harriet Walter; the couple were planning to marry at the time of his death. He had a daughter from an earlier marriage.


title: Small talk

text: Small talk is an informal type of discourse that does not cover any functional topics of conversation or any transactions that need to be addressed. In essence, it is polite and standard conversation about unimportant things.


title: Small talk

text: The phenomenon of small talk was initially studied in 1923 by Bronisław Malinowski in his essay "The Problem of Meaning in Primitive Languages", who coined the term "phatic communication" to describe it. The ability to conduct small talk is a social skill.


title: Small talk

text: In spite of seeming to have little useful purpose, small talk is a bonding ritual and a strategy for managing interpersonal distance. It serves many functions in helping to define the relationships between friends, colleagues, and new acquaintances. In particular, it helps new acquaintances to explore and categorize each other's social position.


title: Small talk

text: Small talk is closely related to the need for people to maintain a positive face and feel approved of by those who are listening to them. It lubricates social interactions in a very flexible way, but the desired function is often dependent on the point in the conversation at which the small talk occurs:


title: Small talk

text: In some conversations, there is no specific functional or informative element at all. The following example of small talk is between two colleagues who pass each other in a hallway:


title: Small talk

text: In that example, the elements of phatic talk at the beginning and end of the conversation have merged. The entire short conversation is a space-filler. This type of discourse is often called "chatter".


title: Small talk

text: The need to use small talk depends upon the nature of the relationship between the people having the conversation. Couples in an intimate relationship can signal their level of closeness by a lack of small talk. They can comfortably accept silence in circumstances that would be uncomfortable for two people who were only casual friends.


title: Small talk

text: In workplace situations, small talk tends to occur mostly between workers on the same level, but it can be used by managers as a way of developing the working relationships with the staff who report to them. Bosses who ask their employees to work overtime may try to motivate them by using small talk to temporarily decrease their difference in status.


title: Small talk

text: The balance between functional conversation and small talk in the workplace depends on the context and is also influenced by the relative power of the two speakers. It is usually the superior who defines the conversation because they have the power to close the small talk and "get down to business."


title: Small talk

text: The topics of small talk conversations are generally less important than their social function. The selected topic usually depends on any pre-existing relationship between the two people, and the circumstances of the conversation. In either case, someone initiating small talk will tend to choose a topic for which they can assume a shared background knowledge, to prevent the conversation from being too one-sided.


title: Small talk

text: Topics can be summarised as being either direct or indirect. Direct topics include personal observations such as health or looks. Indirect topics refer to a situational context such as the latest news, or the conditions of the communicative situation. Some topics are considered to be "safe" in most circumstances, such as the weather, sports, and television. Asking about the weather when the weather lacks reason for a follow-up discussion may stall a conversation.


title: Small talk

text: Typically the level of detail offered avoids overstepping the bounds of interpersonal space. When asked "How are you?" by an acquaintance they do not know well, a person is likely to choose a simple, generalized reply such as "I am good, thank you." In this circumstance, it would usually not be appropriate for them to reply with a list of symptoms of any medical conditions they were suffering from. To do so would assume a greater degree of familiarity between the two people than is actually the case, and this may create an uncomfortable situation.


title: Small talk

text: A study of small talk in situations that involve the chance meeting of strangers has been carried out by Klaus Schneider. He theorizes that such a conversation consists of a number of fairly predictable segments, or "moves". The first move is usually phrased so that it is easy for the other person to agree. It may be either a question or a statement of opinion with a tag question. For example, an opening line such as "Lovely weather, isn't it?" is a clear invitation for agreement. The second move is the other person's response. In functional conversations that address a particular topic, Grice's maxim of quantity suggests that responses should contain no more information than was explicitly asked for. Schneider claims that one of the principles of small talk contradicts the maxim of quantity. He suggests that politeness in small talk is maximised by responding with a more substantial answer. Going back to the example of "Lovely weather, isn't it?", to respond factually by just saying "Yes" (or even "No") is less polite than saying, "Yes, very mild for the time of year". Schneider describes that subsequent moves may involve an acknowledgement such as "I see", a positive evaluation such as "That's nice", or what's called "idling behaviour", such as "Mmm", or "Really?".


title: Small talk

text: Speech patterns between women tend to be more collaborative than those of men, and tend to support each other's involvement in the conversation. Topics for small talk are more likely to include compliments about some aspect of personal appearance. For example, "That dress really suits you." Small talk between women who are friends may also involve a greater degree of self disclosure. Topics may cover more personal aspects of their life, their troubles, and their secrets. This self-disclosure both generates a closer relationship between them and is also a signal of that closeness.


title: Small talk

text: By contrast, men's small talk tends to be more competitive. It may feature verbal sparring matches, playful insults, and putdowns. However, in a way these are also both creators and signals of solidarity; the men are signalling that they are comfortable enough with each other's company to be able to say these things without them being taken as insults.


title: Small talk

text: Small talk varies country to country and people to people. Southern Europeans, for example, are said to be very good at using lots of words to convey very little information.