query: Francis Ford Coppola is partially retired.

pos: Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( -LSB- pronˈkoʊpələ -RSB- born April 7 , 1939 ) , also credited as Francis Coppola , is a semi-retired American film director , producer , and screenwriter . He is considered to have been a central figure of the New Hollywood wave of filmmaking .   After directing The Rain People ( 1969 ) , he co-wrote the 1970 film Patton , earning the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay along with co-writer Edmund H. North . His directorial prominence was cemented with the release in 1972 of The Godfather , a film which revolutionized movie-making in the gangster genre , earning praise from both critics and the public before winning three Academy Awards -- including his second Oscar ( Best Adapted Screenplay , with Mario Puzo ) , Best Picture , and his first nomination for Best Director .   He followed with The Godfather Part II in 1974 , which became the first sequel to win the Academy Award for Best Picture . Highly regarded by critics , it brought him three more Academy Awards : Best Adapted Screenplay , Best Director and Best Picture , and made him the second director , after Billy Wilder , to be honored three times for the same film . The Conversation , which he directed , produced and wrote , was released that same year , winning the Palme d'Or at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival . He next directed 1979 's Apocalypse Now . While notorious for its lengthy and strenuous production , the film was widely acclaimed for its vivid and stark depiction of the Vietnam War , winning the Palme d'Or at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival . Coppola is one of only eight filmmakers to win two Palme d'Or awards .   While a number of Coppola 's ventures in the 1980s and 1990s were critically lauded , he has never quite achieved the same commercial success with films as in the 1970s . His most well-known films released since the start of the 1980s are the dramas The Outsiders and Rumble Fish ( both 1983 ) , the crime-drama The Cotton Club ( 1984 ) , and the horror film Bram Stoker 's Dracula ( 1992 ) .

neg: Gary Cooper filmography The filmography of Gary Cooper chronicles the film appearances of American actor Gary Cooper . After starting his career in 1925 as a film extra and stuntman , Cooper made his official cinematic debut in 1926 in the Samuel Goldwyn production The Winning of Barbara Worth . He went on to become a contract player with Paramount Pictures where he established himself as a popular leading man prior to the end of the silent film era .   Cooper 's future in the sound era was assured with the release of The Virginian ( 1929 ) , his first all-talkie film . For the next 32 years , he would be one of cinema 's top money-making stars . From 1936 to 1957 , Cooper ranked 18 times among the top ten box office attractions -- a record when he died in 1961 , and later surpassed only by John Wayne , who ranked among the top ten 25 times , Clint Eastwood ( 21 times ) and Tom Cruise ( 20 times ) .   Cooper was nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award five times and won twice , for Sergeant York ( 1942 ) and High Noon ( 1952 ) . The latter film boosted his popularity , resulting in him being the number one box office attraction in 1953 . Cooper received a third Academy Award -- an honorary one -- just prior to his death in 1961 . His final film , The Naked Edge , was released shortly after his death .   As of February 2008 , more than half of Gary Cooper 's feature films are available on DVD , while others not yet on home video are available for television broadcast . Unfortunately , at least two of his silent films -- Beau Sabreur ( 1928 ) and The Legion of the Condemned ( 1928 ) -- are now considered lost films . Another of his silent films , Wolf Song ( 1929 ) , was originally released as a part talkie , but survives only as a silent film . One of Cooper 's earliest talkies , Paramount on Parade ( 1930 ) , survives incomplete . The prints that are available for television are missing all but one of the film 's Technicolor scenes -- a partial restoration of these scenes was done by the UCLA Film Archives .   This filmography contains sections for Cooper 's work as an extra in the earliest part of his film career , his feature film appearances , his occasional appearances in short films , and a section for a compilation film . Due to its length ( 92 films ) , the listing of his feature films is divided in four sections . Cooper 's film roles are listed , as well as the names of each film 's director and co-stars . Cooper 's awards and nominations are also listed . Except where noted , all of his films were shot in 35mm black and white . All films released prior to Lilac Time ( 1928 ) are silent films and all from The Virginian ( 1929 ) onward are sound films . The films made during the silent-to-sound transition are noted as being either silent or sound films . As an addendum , Cooper 's handful of television appearances are also listed .

neg: Rocky Rocky is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and both written by and starring Sylvester Stallone . It tells the rags to riches American Dream story of Rocky Balboa , an uneducated but kind-hearted working class Italian-American boxer working in a meat warehouse and as a debt collector for a loan shark in the slums of Philadelphia . Rocky starts out as a small-time club fighter , and later gets a shot at the world heavyweight championship . The film also stars Talia Shire as Adrian , Burt Young as Adrian 's brother Paulie , Burgess Meredith as Rocky 's trainer Mickey Goldmill , and Carl Weathers as the champion , Apollo Creed .   The film , made on a budget of just over $ 1 million and shot in 28 days , was a sleeper hit ; it earned $ 225 million in global box office receipts , becoming the highest-grossing film of 1976 , and went on to win three Oscars , including Best Picture . The film received many positive reviews and turned Stallone into a major star . In 2006 , the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being `` culturally , historically or aesthetically significant '' . Rocky is considered to be one of the greatest sports films ever made and was ranked as the second-best in the genre , after Raging Bull , by the American Film Institute in 2008 .   The film has spawned six sequels : Rocky II ( 1979 ) , Rocky III ( 1982 ) , Rocky IV ( 1985 ) , Rocky V ( 1990 ) , Rocky Balboa ( 2006 ) and Creed ( 2015 ) . Stallone portrays Rocky in all six sequels , wrote the first five , and directed four ( Avildsen returned to direct Rocky V and Ryan Coogler directed Creed ) .

neg: B movie A B movie is a low-budget commercial movie , but one that is not an arthouse film . In its original usage , during the Golden Age of Hollywood , the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature . Although the U.S. production of movies intended as second features largely ceased by the end of the 1950s , the term B movie continues to be used in the broader sense it maintains today . In its post -- Golden Age usage , there is ambiguity on both sides of the definition : on the one hand , the primary interest of many inexpensive exploitation films is prurient ; on the other , many B movies display a high degree of craft and aesthetic ingenuity .   In either usage , most B movies represent a particular genre -- the Western was a Golden Age B movie staple , while low-budget science-fiction and horror films became more popular in the 1950s . Early B movies were often part of series in which the star repeatedly played the same character . Almost always shorter than the top-billed films they were paired with , many had running times of 70 minutes or less . The term connoted a general perception that B movies were inferior to the more handsomely budgeted headliners ; individual B films were often ignored by critics .   Latter-day B movies still sometimes inspire multiple sequels , but series are less common . As the average running time of top-of-the-line films increased , so did that of B pictures . In its current usage , the term has somewhat contradictory connotations : it may signal an opinion that a certain movie is ( a ) a genre film with minimal artistic ambitions or ( b ) a lively , energetic film uninhibited by the constraints imposed on more expensive projects and unburdened by the conventions of putatively `` serious '' independent film . The term is also now used loosely to refer to some higher-budgeted , mainstream films with exploitation-style content , usually in genres traditionally associated with the B movie .   From their beginnings to the present day , B movies have provided opportunities both for those coming up in the profession and others whose careers are waning . Celebrated filmmakers such as Anthony Mann and Jonathan Demme learned their craft in B movies . They are where actors such as John Wayne and Jack Nicholson first became established , and they have provided work for former A movie actors , such as Vincent Price and Karen Black . Some actors , such as Bela Lugosi , Eddie Constantine and Pam Grier , worked in B movies for most of their careers . The term B actor is sometimes used to refer to a performer who finds work primarily or exclusively in B pictures .

neg: Cinema 16 Cinema 16 was a New York City-based film society founded by Amos Vogel . From 1947 until 1963 , he and his wife Marcia ran the most successful and influential membership film society in North American history , at its height boasting 7000 members .   Vogel was inspired by Maya Deren 's independent exhibitions . Deren exhibited and presented lectures on her films across the United States , Cuba and Canada . In 1946 , she booked the Provincetown Playhouse in Greenwich Village for a public exhibition titled Three Abandoned Films , which consisted of showings of Meshes of the Afternoon , At Land , and A Study in Choreography for the Camera . Deren took the word `` abandoned '' to refer to Guillaume Apollinaire 's observation that a work of art is never completed , just abandoned . While the title was ironic , the exhibition was successful .   The movies shown at Cinema 16 consisted mostly of the experimental film that began flourishing after World War II , as well as nonfiction films -- not only documentaries , but educational films as well . In that , it differed even from the narrative-oriented art cinemas that appeared in the postwar years . Cinema 16 closed in 1963 , after 17 years in operation .

neg: Art film An art film is typically a serious , independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience . An art film is `` intended to be a serious artistic work , often experimental and not designed for mass appeal '' ; they are `` made primarily for aesthetic reasons rather than commercial profit '' , and they contain `` unconventional or highly symbolic content '' .   Film critics and film studies scholars typically define an art film as possessing `` formal qualities that mark them as different from mainstream Hollywood films '' , which can include , among other elements , a sense of social realism ; an emphasis on the authorial expressiveness of the director ; and a focus on the thoughts , dreams , or motivations of characters , as opposed to the unfolding of a clear , goal-driven story . Film scholar David Bordwell describes art cinema as `` a film genre , with its own distinct conventions '' .   Art film producers usually present their films at specialty theatres ( repertory cinemas , or , in the U.S. , `` arthouse cinemas '' ) and film festivals . The term art film is much more widely used in the United States , the UK and Australia than in Europe , where the term is more associated with `` auteur '' films and `` national cinema '' ( e.g. , German national cinema ) . Because they are aimed at small niche market audiences , they can rarely get the financial backing that will permit large production budgets , expensive special effects , costly celebrity actors , or huge advertising campaigns , as are used in widely released mainstream blockbuster films . Art film directors make up for these constraints by creating a different type of film , which typically uses lesser-known film actors ( or even amateur actors ) and modest sets to make films that focus much more on developing ideas or exploring new narrative techniques or film-making conventions .   A certain degree of experience and knowledge are required to fully understand or appreciate such films . One mid-1990s art film was called `` largely a cerebral experience '' that one enjoys `` because of what you know about film '' . This contrasts sharply with mainstream `` blockbuster '' films , which are geared more towards escapism and pure entertainment . For promotion , art films rely on the publicity generated from film critics ' reviews , discussion of their film by arts columnists , commentators and bloggers , and `` word-of-mouth '' promotion by audience members . Since art films have small initial investment costs , they only need to appeal to a small portion of the mainstream viewing audiences to become financially viable .

neg: Sam Coppola Sam Coppola ( July 31 , 1932 -- February 5 , 2012 ) was an American actor . He appeared in almost 70 films , beginning in 1968 , but may be best remembered for his role as Dan Fusco , owner of the Bay Ridge , Brooklyn , hardware and paint store , in Saturday Night Fever , who gave John Travolta 's character sage but salty advice in the classic 1977 film . Later in his career , Coppola made a brief but memorable appearance on The Sopranos as the idiosyncratic family therapist of Jennifer Melfi .   Coppola was a cop in Serpico ( 1973 ) , starring Al Pacino , and a detective in Fatal Attraction ( 1987 ) , starring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close . His many TV credits include The Practice , The Good Wife , Law & Order , The Sopranos , Ryan 's Hope and the 2001 A&E movie The Big Heist , in which he portrayed mob boss Paul Castellano . Coppola , no relation to film director Francis Ford Coppola , played a nursing home resident in a Chevy commercial that aired during 2011 's Super Bowl and a hot dog vendor in a Ball Park Franks spot starring Michael Jordan .   Coppola , a 38-year resident of Leonia , also had many stage roles . He played the hobo Vladimir in a 2005 off-Broadway production of `` Waiting for Godot '' and an aging real estate salesman , Aaronow , in a 2000 production of Glengarry Glen Ross at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton .   Coppola died February 5 , 2012 from an aneurysm , and was predeceased by his wife , Helen . He is survived by his children , Jason Coppola of Brooklyn and Samantha Coppola of Bogota , and three grandchildren .

neg: Don Foresta Don Foresta is a research artist and theoretician in art . He has pioneered the use of new technologies as creative tools with recent attention to online creation and archiving . His work Mondes Multiples , published in French in 1990 , is recognized as a landmark in the fields of art and science and art and technology .   He has contributed to many publications on the interface between art and science and philosophical parallels between the two in a period of profound change . He has been a Visiting Research Associate at the London School of Economics and was a professor at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Arts -- Paris/Cergy .   He is coordinating a permanent very high band-width network for artistic , educational and cultural experimentation . The Network , MARCEL , was begun while Foresta was an invited artist/professor in residence at the National Studio of Contemporary Art , Le Fresnoy , Lille , France . MARCEL is an ongoing work but the basic structure was completed and launched under a UK Arts & Humanities Research Council fellowship at the Wimbledon School of Art in London in 2001 . MARCEL continues to expand and now has 250 confirmed members in 22 countries . many permanently connected over a multicasting platform sing the academic research network . The MARCEL web pages and network communications facility .   Foresta was the director of the American Cultural Center in Paris from 1971 to 1976 . In 1976 he created the video art department of ENSAD ( École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs ) in Paris , the first such department in Europe . In 1981 Foresta organized his first online image exchange by telephone between the Center for Advanced Visual Studies at MIT and the American Center in Paris where he was director of the Media Art program . He was a commissioner to the 42nd Venice Biennial in 1986 building one of the first computer networks between artists .   A graduate of the University of Buffalo , the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies , Foresta also holds a doctorate degree from the Sorbonne in Information Science . He is a dual citizen of the US and France and was named `` Chevalier '' of the Order of Arts and Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture .

neg: Tetro Tetro is a 2009 American-Argentine drama film written , directed and produced by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Vincent Gallo , Alden Ehrenreich and Maribel Verdú . Filming took place in 2008 in Buenos Aires , Patagonia , and Spain . Tetro received a limited release in the United States on June 11 , 2009 .

neg: ASIFA-Hollywood ASIFA-Hollywood , an American non-profit organization in Los Angeles , California , United States , is a branch member of the `` Association Internationale du Film d'Animation '' or `` ASIFA '' ( the International Animated Film Association ) . Its purpose is to promote the art of film animation in a variety of ways , including its own archive and an annual awards presentation , the Annie Awards . It is also known as the International Animated Film Society .   Many branches of ASIFA exist throughout the world ; in the US there are chapters in San Francisco , New York City , Atlanta , Seattle , Washington , the Detroit area , and others , while internationally , organizations exist in Annecy , France , in Italy , and Japan . ASIFA also sponsors several animation film festivals throughout the world , including the ASIFA-Hollywood Student Animation Festival .   ASIFA-Hollywood has the largest membership internationally of all other chapters , largely because the most popular cartoons ever produced were by studios and animation professionals located in the city of Burbank , which is also the location of the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Center . It includes a virtual archive , museum , library and research facility , containing the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive Project .

neg: Chinatown (1974 film) Chinatown is a 1974 American neo-noir mystery film , directed by Roman Polanski from a screenplay by Robert Towne , starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway . The film was inspired by the California Water Wars , a series of disputes over southern California water at the beginning of the 20th century , by which Los Angeles interests secured water rights in the Owens Valley . The Robert Evans production , a Paramount Pictures release , was the director 's last film in the United States and features many elements of film noir , particularly a multi-layered story that is part mystery and part psychological drama .   In 1991 , the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being `` culturally , historically or aesthetically significant '' and it is frequently listed as one of the greatest films of all-time . At the 47th Academy Awards , it was nominated for eleven Oscars , with Towne winning Best Original Screenplay . The Golden Globe Awards honored it for Best Drama , Best Director , Best Actor and Best Screenplay . The American Film Institute placed it second among mystery films in 2008 .   A sequel , The Two Jakes , was released in 1990 , again starring Nicholson , who also directed , with Robert Towne returning to write the screenplay . The film failed to generate the acclaim of its predecessor .

neg: Film Booking Offices of America Film Booking Offices of America ( FBO ) , also known as FBO Pictures Corporation , was an American film studio of the silent era , a producer and distributor of mostly low-budget films . The business began in 1918 as Robertson-Cole ( U.S. ) , the American division of a British import -- export company and Robertson-Cole was formed by the English-born Harry F. Robertson and the American Rufus Sidman Cole . Robertson-Cole bought the Hallmark Exchanges ( formerly the Mutual Exchanges that became known as Exhibitors-Mutual Exchanges ) from Frank J. Hall in 1920 . Exhibitors-Mutual/Hallmark had distributed Robertson-Cole product , and acquiring the exchanges gave them the right to distribute their own films plus Hall 's product , with the exception of Charlie Chaplin reissues he had the rights to .   Robertson-Cole initiated movie production in the United States in 1920 . That year , it incorporated Robertson-Cole Studios , Inc. and bought 460 acres in Santa Monica , California to establish a studio . The property , which became known as the `` R.C. Ranch '' , enabled Robertson-Cole to centralize movie production , which previously had been scattered . The movie company had relied on equipment rentals to produce motion pictures . Two years later , a corporate reorganization led to the company 's new name , with FBO becoming the official name of the distributing operation and Robertson-Cole Pictures Corp. the name of the production operation . In 1923 , the studio contracted with Western actor Fred Thomson , who would soon emerge as one of Hollywood 's most popular stars . Thomson was just one of numerous screen cowboys with whom FBO became identified .   The studio , whose core market was America 's small towns , also put out many romantic melodramas , non-Western action pictures , and comedic shorts . In 1926 , financier Joseph P. Kennedy led a group that acquired the company . In June 1928 , using RCA Photophone technology , FBO became only the second Hollywood studio to release a feature-length `` talkie . '' A few months later , Kennedy and RCA chief David Sarnoff arranged the merger that created RKO , one of the major studios of Hollywood 's Golden Age .

neg: Chris Coppola Christopher `` Chris '' Coppola is an American actor , voice artist , and comedian . He is best known for such movies as Friday the 13th , Far Cry , Postal , Loveless in Los Angeles , The Polar Express , and Beowulf . He also voiced Dancer in Santa Buddies and appeared in the episode `` Tailgate '' on the sitcom How I Met Your Mother .

neg: The Last Time I Saw Paris For the 1942 book , see Elliot Paul .   The Last Time I Saw Paris is a 1954 romantic drama made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer . It is loosely based on F. Scott Fitzgerald 's short story `` Babylon Revisited . '' It was directed by Richard Brooks , produced by Jack Cummings and filmed on locations in Paris and the MGM backlot . The screenplay was by Julius J. Epstein , Philip G. Epstein and Richard Brooks .   The film starred Elizabeth Taylor and Van Johnson in his last role for MGM , with Walter Pidgeon , Donna Reed , Eva Gabor , Kurt Kasznar , George Dolenz , Sandy Descher , Odette , and ( a then-unknown ) Roger Moore in his Hollywood debut . The film 's title song , by composer Jerome Kern and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II , was already a classic when the movie was made and inspired the movie 's title . Though the song had already won an Oscar after its film debut in 1941 's Lady Be Good , it is featured much more prominently in The Last Time I Saw Paris . It can be heard in many scenes , either being sung by Odette or being played as an instrumental .   The film was released in 1954 ; however , there was an error with the Roman numerals in the copyright notice showing `` MCMXLIV '' ( 1944 ) , meaning the term of copyright started 10 years before the film was released . Thus , the normal 28-year copyright term ended just 18 years after the film was released , and MGM neglected to renew it presumably because they believed there was still 10 years left in the term . The film entered the public domain in the United States in 1972 .

neg: Peter Ford (actor) Peter Ford ( born February 5 , 1945 ) is a retired American actor , singer and former President and Co-Founder of Blackoak Development Company .

neg: List of lost films For this list of lost films , a lost film is defined as one of which no part of a print is known to have survived . For films in which any portion of the footage remains ( including trailers ) , see List of incomplete or partially lost films .   Films may go missing for a number of reasons . One major contributing factor is the common use of nitrate film until the early 1950s . This type of film is highly flammable , and there have been several devastating fires , such as the 1937 Fox vault fire , the 1967 MGM vault fire , and the Universal Pictures fire in 1924 . Black-and-white film prints judged to be otherwise worthless were sometimes incinerated to salvage the meager scrap value of the silver image particles in their emulsions . Films have disappeared when production companies went bankrupt . Occasionally , a studio would remake a film and destroy the earlier version . Silent films in particular were once seen as having no further commercial value and were simply junked to clear out expensive storage space .   This is necessarily an incomplete list . Martin Scorsese 's Film Foundation claims that `` half of all American films made before 1950 and over 90 % of films made before 1929 are lost forever . '' Deutsche Kinemathek estimates that 80 -- 90 % of silent films are gone ; the film archive 's own list contains over 3500 lost films . A study by the Library of Congress states that 75 % of all silent films are now lost . While others dispute whether the percentage is quite that high , it is impractical to enumerate any but the more notable and those that can be sourced .

neg: Relax (song) `` Relax '' is the debut single by Frankie Goes to Hollywood , released in the United Kingdom by ZTT Records in 1983 . The song was later included on the album Welcome to the Pleasuredome ( 1984 ) .   Although fairly inauspicious upon initial release , `` Relax '' finally reached number one on the UK singles chart on 22 January 1984 , ultimately becoming one of the most controversial and most commercially successful records of the decade . The single eventually sold a reported 2 million copies in the UK alone , making it the seventh best-selling single in the UK Singles Chart 's history . Following the release of the group 's second single , `` Two Tribes '' , `` Relax '' rallied from a declining UK chart position during June 1984 to climb back up the UK charts and re-attain number-two spot behind `` Two Tribes '' at number one , representing simultaneous chart success by a single act , unprecedented since the early 1960s .   Upon release in the United States in late 1984 , `` Relax '' repeated its slow UK progress , reaching number 67 upon initial release , but eventually reaching number 10 in March 1985 .   The song won Best British Single at the 1985 Brit Awards .   The song featured on the soundtrack to T2 Trainspotting and also in the game Grand Theft Auto : Vice City Stories in the fictional in game radio station Wave 103

neg: Film series A film series ( also referred to as a film franchise ) is a collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe , or are marketed as a series .   Sometimes the work is conceived from the beginning as a multiple-film work , for example the Three Colours series , but in most cases the success of the original film inspires further films to be made . Individual sequels are relatively common , but are not always successful enough to spawn further installments .   The Marvel Cinematic Universe is the highest grossing film series in unadjusted US Dollar figures surpassing the Harry Potter , Star Wars , James Bond , and Peter Jackson 's The Lord of the Rings series . However , `` Star Wars '' has the highest when adjusted for inflation .

neg: Horacio Coppola Horacio Coppola ( 31 July 1906 -- 18 June 2012 ) was an Argentine photographer and filmmaker , and the husband of the German photographer Grete Stern .

neg: Fantasy Amateur Press Association The Fantasy Amateur Press Association or FAPA ( `` FAP-uh '' ) is science fiction fandom 's longest-established amateur press association ( `` apa '' ) . It was founded in 1937 by Donald A. Wollheim and John B. Michel . They were inspired to create FAPA by their memberships in some of the non-science fiction amateur press associations , which they learned about from H. P. Lovecraft . ( It is also fandom 's longest-running organization of any kind , preceding the founding of the runner-up , the National Fantasy Fan Federation , by nearly four years . )   Like other APAs , FAPA is primarily an agency for distributing to its members publications published by its members at their own expense . FAPA has `` mailings '' every three months . Members are required to be active in some way -- writing or publishing -- and produce at least eight pages of activity a year . When needed , there are elections ( in August ) of a secretary-treasurer and official editor . Other officials have included Official Critics , a Laureate Committee , President , Vice-President , and ballot counters . The first two positions were abandoned by the mid-1940s , and in 2009 the positions of President and Vice-President were also eliminated . The President Emeritus is the author Robert Silverberg , who was the last serving President and who has been an active member of FAPA longer than any other current member . When necessary , a teller for the annual officer elections is appointed by the secretary-treasurer .   FAPA 's original constitutional limit was 50 members to accommodate publishers using hectographs . There were 21 members listed on the roster of the first mailing in August 1937 ; it took until the November 1938 mailing to fill the 50-member roster . The membership limit was raised to 65 in 1943 and has remained at that level ever since .   The early years of FAPA were stormy with party politics and sociological feuds ( as recounted in the late Jack Speer 's pioneering fan history , Up to Now ) . In 1947 , Speer reformed the constitution , and the Insurgents quashed the last inactive OE , Elmer Perdue . Since then official troubles have mostly not disturbed FAPA , and red tape has been held to a minimum . The constitution was again revised in 1958 ( also by Speer ) to incorporate amendments , bylaws , and practices adopted since 1947 . Another major revision occurred in 2001 under the oversight of Robert Lichtman ( Secretary-Treasurer since 1986 and still holding that office ) , clarifying and conforming constitutional requirements with actual practice .   During the 1950s and 1960s FAPA was so popular and membership so sought after that the waiting list grew to monumental proportions , for a period of time exceeding the number of membership slots on the FAPA roster . A waiting list fee was instituted to cover the cost of sending the Fantasy Amateur to so many fans awaiting membership , and a requirement that waiting listers periodically acknowledge receipt of the Fantasy Amateur was begun in order to weed out those who lost interest during the long wait . By the '70s the waiting list became much smaller , and in recent years ( since the mid 1990s ) has disappeared altogether . Additionally , the number of members has also shrunk as existing members died or otherwise dropped off the roster . As of May 2016 , there were 23 active participants ( including one joint membership ) .

neg: The Age of the Medici The Age of the Medici , originally released in Italy as L'età di Cosimo de Medici ( The Age of Cosimo de Medici ) , is a 1973 3-part TV series about the Renaissance in Florence , directed by Roberto Rossellini . The series was shot in English in the hope of securing a North American release , which it failed to achieve , and was later dubbed into Italian and shown on state television . The films are : Cosimo de Medici , The Power of Cosimo and Leon Battista Alberti : Humanism . It is Fred Ward 's debut role .   Like several other TV series directed by Rossellini during the 1970s , The Age of the Medici is a form of docudrama , in which historical information is communicated via dramatized conversations between figures from history , and between ordinary people . They are unabashedly `` teaching films . '' As Dave Kehr explains , `` The dialogue is bluntly didactic , with characters telling one another things they would already know entirely for the benefit of the audience ... . Rossellini is n't asking his viewers to identify with his characters or become caught up in their personal dramas ... Instead he creates a detached perspective . '' Each scene plays out in a single long take , with the camera slowly moving and zooming to create different framings of the action , or , as Kehr puts it , `` to close in on details or investigate relationships '' .   When the films debuted in New York 's Public Theater in 1973 , New York Times movie critic Vincent Canby noted that while not difficult , the austere style of the films , `` as well as Rossellini 's total lack of concern for what might be called performance , take some getting used to . Yet once you 've grasped the method and the rhythm of the films , they are a ravishingly beautiful experience '' :   The actors make few attempts to act . They recite as they walk about magnificent locations , sounding and looking like ferociously gifted dress-extras . The talk has been rather flatly dubbed into English so that it 's not always possible to tell who is speaking.Forget these problems , though . The film is about what is being said and what you can see around and behind these figures . When you connect with The Age of the Medici , it has the effect of reducing every other film you 've seen recently to the status of an ornament .


query: Brooks Wackerman is a member of a band.

pos: Avenged Sevenfold Avenged Sevenfold ( sometimes abbreviated as A7X ) is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach , California , formed in 1999 . The band 's current lineup consists of lead vocalist M. Shadows , rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Zacky Vengeance , lead guitarist and backing vocalist Synyster Gates , bassist and backing vocalist Johnny Christ , and drummer Brooks Wackerman .   Avenged Sevenfold is known for its diverse rock sound and dramatic imagery in album covers and merchandise . Avenged Sevenfold emerged with a metalcore sound on the band 's debut Sounding the Seventh Trumpet . However , Avenged Sevenfold 's style had evolved by the band 's third album and first major label release , City of Evil , into a heavy metal and hard rock style . The band continued to explore new sounds with its self-titled release and enjoyed continued mainstream success before their drummer , James `` The Rev '' Sullivan , died in 2009 . Despite his death , Avenged Sevenfold continued on with the help of now-former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy and released and toured in support of its fifth album Nightmare in 2010 , which debuted on the top spot of the Billboard 200 , Avenged Sevenfold 's first number one debut . In 2011 drummer Arin Ilejay joined the band on tours and recording . Avenged Sevenfold 's sixth studio album Hail to the King , which was released in 2013 , marked the only Avenged Sevenfold album featuring Arin Ilejay . Hail to the King charted as number 1 on the Billboard 200 , the UK Albums chart , as well as the Finnish , Brazilian , Canadian , and Irish charts . In late 2014 Ilejay left the band , and was replaced by former Bad Religion drummer Brooks Wackerman , but was n't revealed as his replacement until in 2015 the band announced Ilejay 's departure . The band surprise released their seventh studio album titled The Stage on October 28 , 2016 , which debuted as number 4 on the Billboard 200 chart in the US . The Stage is their first conceptual album and it marked another stylistic change for the band , moving towards the progressive metal sound .   To date , Avenged Sevenfold has released seven studio albums , one live album/DVD , two compilation albums and eighteen singles and have sold over 8 million albums worldwide . Avenged Sevenfold was ranked # 47 on Loudwire 's list of Top 50 Metal Bands of All Time .

pos: Brooks Wackerman Brooks Wackerman ( born February 15 , 1977 ) is an American musician , currently the drummer for the American heavy metal bands Avenged Sevenfold and Mass Mental , also known as the former drummer for Bad Religion , and is the younger brother of John Bob , and Chad Wackerman ( formerly a member of Frank Zappa 's band ) . He is the son of Chuck Wackerman , an educator in the Los Alamitos California Unified School District . Wackerman is also a former student of Murray Spivack and Chuck Flores . After his departure from Bad Religion , it was announced on November 4 , 2015 that he would replace Arin Ilejay as the drummer for Avenged Sevenfold .

neg: Birdmonster Birdmonster is an American rock band based in San Francisco , California .

neg: CAB (band) CAB is a jazz fusion supergroup founded by Bunny Brunel , Dennis Chambers , and Tony MacAlpine . Since their formation in 2000 , they have released four studio albums and two live albums . Their second album , CAB 2 , received a nomination for Best Contemporary Jazz Album at the 2002 Grammy Awards . Other members who have been a part of CAB include Patrice Rushen , Virgil Donati , David Hirschfelder , and Brian Auger .   When asked about the band 's name , Brunel said :

neg: Baboon (band) Baboon is an American rock band originally from Denton , Texas .   The band formed in 1991 . Their latest studio album , titled Baboon , was released on October 10 , 2006 .   Baboon appeared on an episode of Walker , Texas Ranger titled `` Hall of Fame '' in 1996 . The band and their music were a key point in the episode 's plot .   In its early years , Baboon , Brutal Juice , and Caulk were known collectively in the Denton area as the `` Fraternity of Noise . '' Baboon toured extensively , including a stint on the Skoal-sponsored R.O.A.R. Tour in 1997 , along with acts such as Iggy Pop , The Reverend Horton Heat , The Bloodhound Gang , and Sponge . They also toured with Toadies , Brutal Juice , and Unwound .   Vocalist Andrew Huffstetler and guitarist Mike Rudnicki formed The Boom Boom Box in 2008 and released a self-titled EP later than year , and a full-length album , titled Until Your Eyes Get Used To The Darkness , through Kirtland Records in 2012 .

neg: The Flaming Ember The Flaming Ember was an American blue-eyed soul band from Detroit , Michigan , who found commercial success starting in the late 1960s .   The group originally formed in Detroit , Michigan in 1964 . At that time , they were known as The Flaming Embers , for a local Detroit restaurant . In 1969 , they signed with the newly formed Hot Wax Records , ( the label founded by Brian Holland , Lamont Dozier , and Edward Holland , Jr. ) , after the band had recorded for a number of smaller Detroit-area labels since 1965 . They recorded for Ed Wingate 's Ric Tic label in 1967 , but when Berry Gordy , Jr. 's Motown Records purchased Golden Records/Ric-Tic from Wingate , the Flaming Ember chose not to sign with Motown .   The band dropped the `` s '' from its name and scored a pop and rhythm and blues hit with `` Mind , Body and Soul '' in 1969 ( # 26 on the US Billboard pop singles chart ) , their signature song ( and heartland rock antecedent ) `` Westbound # 9 '' ( # 24 US pop , # 15 US Billboard R&B chart ) , and `` I 'm Not My Brother 's Keeper '' ( # 34 pop , # 12 R&B ) , all released between late 1969 and late 1970 .   The group 's follow-up efforts such as 1971 's `` Stop the World and Let Me Off '' were not as successful , and after changing their name to Mind , Body and Soul they spent the rest of the 1970s playing the Detroit bar circuit .   The band was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 1999 .   The Flaming Embers reunited in 2004 , played at the Rockabilly Festival in Tennessee and completed a CD .

neg: The Chesterfields The Chesterfields were an English indie pop band from Yeovil in Somerset . Hardcore fans tended to refer to them as `` The Chesterf!elds '' , with an exclamation mark replacing the `` i '' , following the example of the band 's logo .   The band was formed in summer 1984 by Dave Goldsworthy ( vocals , guitar ) , Simon Barber ( bass , vocals ) , and Dominic Manns ( drums ) , joined in 1985 by Brendan Holden ( guitar ) . Early recordings included contributions to the Golden Pathway tapes , that captured the West Country music scene of the time , such as `` Stephanie Adores '' and `` The Boy Who Sold His Suitcase '' , the latter with a female lead singer , Sarah .   The first vinyl release was as one half of a flexi disc ; `` Nose out of Joint '' shared a single side with The Shop Assistants ' `` Home Again '' , and was given away free with copies of London 's Legend fanzine and future Subway Organisation boss , Martin Whitehead 's own Bristol fanzine .   They signed to The Subway Organization , releasing three well-received singles , before Holden was replaced by Rodney Allen . The debut LP Kettle was released in July 1987 , with a compilation of the early singles , Westward Ho ! issued later the same year . Allen left to join The Blue Aeroplanes , to be replaced temporarily by Andy Strickland of The Loft/The Caretaker Race , before a more permanent replacement was found in the form of Simon Barber 's brother Mark .   The band then moved to their own Household label , issuing two more singles and a third album , Crocodile Tears . Manns left and was replaced by future PJ Harvey drummer Rob Ellis but when Goldsworthy departed in late 1988 the band effectively split . The Barber brothers continued as The Chesterfields for a final single , `` Fool Is The Man '' in 1989 .   The band split for good in the summer of 1989 , Simon Barber forming Basinger , and Mark Barber joined Grape . Goldsworthy fronted several more bands , including Furnt , Diceman and Mujer 21 ( Band ) . The Chesterfields reformed briefly in the 1990s to tour Japan after their material was re-issued there . Dave Goldsworthy ( Davy Chesterfield ) was killed by a hit & run driver in Oxford , UK , on 9 November 2004 .   The band 's continuing fanbase saw much of their back-catalogue re-issued by Vinyl Japan in the 1990s .   In June 2014 to celebrate the legendary NME C86 tape , Design ( fronted by Barber ) along with Andy Strickland of The Loft/The Caretaker Race played a set of songs by The Chesterfields at the 92 Club in London . Following the success of The Chesterfields set at the NME C86 gig , Design continued to play classic Chesterfields songs such as ` Johnny Dee ' , ` Lunchtime for the Wild Youth ' and ` Last Train to Yeovil ' throughout 2014 & 2015 .   In 2016 , The Chesterfields with their new line up of Simon Barber , Andy Strickland , Helen Stickland and Rob Parry played Exeter 's Cavern Club and The 100 Club in London , with further gigs announced including a return to Yeovil with The Haywains . The Chesterfields have been announced as playing the NYC Popfest in New York , from 19 -- 22 May 2016 to coincide with a new EP release , the title of which is still to be confirmed at this time .

neg: Backing vocalist Backing vocalists are singers who provide vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists . In some cases , a backing singer may sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist 's entry or to sing a counter-melody . Backing vocalists are used in a broad range of popular music , traditional music and world music styles .   Solo artists may employ professional backing vocalists in studio recording sessions as well as during concerts . In many rock and metal bands ( e.g. , the power trio ) , the musicians doing backup vocals also play instruments , such as guitar , electric bass , drums , or keyboards . In Latin or Afro-Cuban groups , backup singers may play percussion instruments or shakers while singing . In some pop and hip-hop groups and in musical theater , the backup singers may be required to perform elaborately choreographed dance routines while they sing through headset microphones .   The style of singing used by backup singers varies according to the type of song and the genre of music the band plays . In pop and country songs , backup vocalists may perform vocal harmony parts to support the lead vocalist . In hardcore punk or rockabilly , other band members who play instruments may sing or shout backup vocals during the chorus ( refrain ) section of the songs .

neg: Sacred Cowboys Sacred Cowboys are an Australian post-punk and rock band formed by mainstay Garry Gray , as lead singer-songwriter , in 1982 . The line-up has changed as the group splintered and reformed several times , being active from 1982 to 1985 , 1987 to 1991 , 1994 to 1997 and 2006 to 2008 . The August 2006 line-up was Gray with Stephan Fidock on drums ; Penny Ikinger on guitar ; Spencer P. Jones on guitar ; Nick Rischbieth on bass guitar ; and Ash Wednesday on keyboards . Past members include : Johnny Crash ( aka Janis Friedenfelds ) on drums and Mark Ferrie on bass guitar , who were both ex-Models ; Terry Doolan on guitar ; Andrew Picouleau on bass guitar ; and Ian Forrest on keyboards .   The group have issued six albums : Sacred Cowboys ( 1984 ) , We Love You ... Of Course We Do ( 1985 ) , Trouble from Providence ( August 1988 ) , Things to Come ( July 1996 ) , Cold Harvest ( January 2007 ) and 1982 -- 85 : Nailed to the Cross ( February 2008 ) . Australian musicologist , Ian McFarlane , described them as `` one of the most confrontational live outfits '' with their music as `` mixed post-punk moodiness and country raunch over a mutant swamp-blues backbeat '' .

neg: Bowerbirds (band) Bowerbirds is an American folk band formed in Raleigh , North Carolina in 2006 . The group comprises Philip Moore ( vocals , guitar ) , Beth Tacular ( accordion , vocals ) and Mark Paulson ( violin , vocals ) . Allmusic writer Stewart Mason places their sound on `` the dividing line between the freak folk contingent led by Devendra Banhart and Joanna Newsom and the more straightforward sunshine pop of Lavender Diamond . '' Their debut album , Hymns for a Dark Horse , released under Burly Time Records in 2007 , received favorable reviews from publications such as Pitchfork , Time Out New York and Prefix Magazine.Bowerbirds have toured in support of The Mountain Goats , with John Darnielle referring to the band as his `` favorite new band in forever '' . Their second album , Upper Air , was released July 7 , 2009 . The band released The Clearing on March 6 , 2012 .

neg: Bruford (band) This article is about the band Bruford . For the band 's drummer , see Bill Bruford .   Bruford were a band that former Yes and King Crimson drummer Bill Bruford formed and led in the late 1970s .   Bill Bruford had assembled a band for his debut solo album , Feels Good to Me , with Dave Stewart ( keyboards ) , Jeff Berlin ( bass ) , Allan Holdsworth ( guitar ) and Bruford ( drums ) . That album also had Annette Peacock on vocals , and Kenny Wheeler on flugelhorn . A second album was then released under the band name Bruford and was mostly instrumental , and on the live album The Bruford Tapes ( a live show originally broadcast for radio station WLIR ) and associated tour , guitarist The ` Unknown ' John Clark replaced Holdsworth . Bass player Berlin sang the vocals on Gradually Going Tornado .

neg: In Pieces In Pieces is the fifth studio album by American country music artist Garth Brooks . It was released on August 31 , 1993 . It debuted at # 1 on the Billboard 200 and the Top Country Albums chart . It was also a huge hit outside the United States . In Great Britain it was Brooks ' highest placed album on the charts . It reached the top ten of the country album charts before it was issued officially ( due to imports from both the United States and Ireland ) . Critics felt that this would ruin the album 's sales once it was issued . However , when it was eventually issued in Britain in early 1994 it went to # 1 on the country charts and reached # 2 in the pop charts and also produced two top 40 hit singles on the British pop charts .   The track `` Callin ' Baton Rouge '' was previously a # 37 peaking single in 1987 for the New Grass Revival , whose members back Brooks on his rendition . It was the first time the group had recorded together since they disbanded in 1989 .   In an interview with BBC Radio DJ Richard Wooton , Brooks stated that the track `` The Cowboy Song '' ( which was composed in 1987 by Roy Robinson ) was found in a trash can by someone on his team who liked the song and played the track to him .

neg: Zoo Bar (Lincoln, Nebraska) The Zoo Bar is a blues music venue and nightclub located in downtown Lincoln , Nebraska , on 136 North 14th Street . Styled around the Chicago blues clubs , it is a long , narrow venue in a building built in 1921 .   Around 1971 , Jim Ludwig , Bill Kennedy , and Don Chamberlin purchased the bar . Larry Boehmer , a Master of Fine Arts student at the University of Nebraska , Lincoln at the time , promoted the bar to his fellow artists . He booked the first band in 1973 and was sole owner by 1977 .   Boehmer met Chicago musician and promoter Bob Riedy and formed a connection that brought many revered Chicago artists to the Lincoln club . Because of this connection , the Zoo Bar was the first white club that Magic Slim ever played . In 1975 he had never ventured outside the clubs in Chicago 's African-American neighborhoods .   In 1977 , Boehmer was the sole owner and the Zoo was established as an important stop for bands on the touring circuit . The first band Boehmer booked to play in the club was The Cotton Blues Band in the summer of 1973 . The first national act to play at the bar was Luther Allison in September 1974 .   Musical acts have included : Bernard Allison , Luther Allison , Dave Alvin , Billy Bacon and the Forbidden Pigs , Tab Benoit , Tommy Castro , Albert Collins , Robert Cray , Deke Dickerson , Bo Diddley , Chris Duarte , Lil Ed and the Blues Imperials , Tinsley Ellis , Rick Estrin , Anson Funderburgh , Buddy Guy , the Hacienda Brothers , John Hammond , The Belairs , James Harman , Mark Hummel , Candye Kane , Jay McShann , Matt `` Guitar '' Murphy , Charlie Musselwhite , Rod Piazza , Ana Popovic , Otis Rush , Doug Sahm , Curtis Salgado , Gina Sicilia , Magic Slim , Watermelon Slim , Son Seals , Koko Taylor , Junior Wells , Kim Wilson , and Link Wray . Eddie Clearwater , Mighty Joe Young , Clarence Gatemouth Brown , Carey Bell   Numerous live albums have been recorded in the club .   Magic Slim and his band were regular performers at the bar , playing week-long stints . In the 1990s , Magic Slim moved his family from Chicago to Lincoln .   In 1993 the Zoo Bar won the Blues Foundation 's Keeping the Blues Alive Award for Club of the Year .   James Harman wrote a song on behalf of the club called `` Everybody 's Rockin ' ( At The Zoo Bar ) '' , which can be found on Harman 's 1995 Black And White CD .   In 2000 Larry Boehmer retired and passed the bar on to his sons , Jeff and Tim Boehmer , and Pete Watters ; Jeff and Pete are partners in the club now . On September 4 , 2012 , Larry Boehmer died after struggling with lung cancer . Many not only remember Larry as a visual artist and blues player , but as a community builder .   In July 2013 , the bar celebrated its 40th anniversary .

neg: Uncle Bonsai Uncle Bonsai is an American contemporary folk trio from Seattle , Washington . They formed in 1981 , took a hiatus from 1989 - 1998 , and have been performing and recording regularly again since 1999 . Their earlier songs included `` Suzy '' , `` Charlie and Me '' , `` Penis Envy '' , and `` Boys Want Sex in the Morning '' , some of which occasionally resulted in Federal Communications Commission ( FCC ) problems when played on the radio , and twenty-odd songs recounting the life experiences of a character named Doug ( `` Doug 's First Date '' , `` Doug at His Mom 's '' , `` Doug 's First Job '' , `` Doug Engaged '' , `` Doug Gets Married '' , etc. ) . Their more recent works , including `` The Baby 's Head '' , `` The Grim Parade '' , `` 20th Century Man , '' and `` Where 's The Milk '' , focus on the passing of time , the passing of genes , and the passing of pets -- the truth of everything seemingly buried somewhere under the family tree .   Uncle Bonsai has headlined at clubs and festivals throughout North America and opened for various artists , including Bonnie Raitt , TOTO , Suzanne Vega , Loudon Wainwright III , and The Bobs . The original members were Andrew Ratshin , Arni Adler , and Ashley O'Keeffe . In March 2007 they announced that they would be recording and performing more frequently , with O'Keeffe replaced by singer/songwriter ( and Mel Cooleys member ) Patrice O'Neill . Most of the satirical songs were written by Ratshin , but Adler revealed her own brand of absurdist wit in several songs , including fan favorites `` Cheerleaders on Drugs '' and `` Do n't Put It In Your Mouth . '' The band 's songs continue to receive airplay on college radio and Dr. Demento .   Andrew Ratshin also performs and records solo as ` The Electric Bonsai Band ' ( `` It 's not electric , it 's not a band . '' ) , and as part of a sextet , ` Mel Cooleys ' . His records are available on the Yellow Tail Records label .

neg: The Simms Brothers Band The Simms Brothers Band is an American rock/jazz/R & B group .

neg: Mark Brooks (director) Mark Brooks is an American producer , director , writer and musician .

neg: The Linemen The Linemen are an American Alternative Country band originating from Washington , D.C , and formed in 1991 . The group is currently composed of Kevin Royal Johnson ( lead vocals , acoustic guitar ) , Jonathan Gregg ( lead vocals , guitar , pedal steel ) , Bill Williams ( guitars , vocals ) , Antoine Sanfuentes ( drums ) , and Scott McKnight ( bass , vocals ) . The band released four albums before originally splitting up in 2001 .   In 2013 , the band announced their return , and their fifth full-length album , Close the Place Down , was released on the SAM Records label in October 2016 . The band 's name comes from the Jimmy Webb song `` Wichita Lineman . ''

neg: Two Man Advantage Two Man Advantage is a hockey themed punk rock group , from Merrick , Long Island , New York . They met via Beer-League hockey and formed the band in 1997 . Their shows are very wild and can be intimidating for first time viewers . The entire band wears customized Two Man Advantage hockey jerseys on stage , while Drunk Bastard wears a homemade wrestling mask and Captain wears a retro composite goalie mask . Their songs are very fast and are almost always about either hockey or beer .   In the year 2001 , a documentary was made about the band called `` 69 Minutes of Fame . '' It was shot while the band was on a nine-day tour with the band `` Phil A. Sheo With the Goods . '' New York based film maker , Mark Foster , joined Two Man Advantage on the road with his video camera and edited his irotage into a 45 minutes short which introduces the viewer to the band . The film explores their personalities , their day jobs , and their love of hockey . They are also known for being the only band to ever get beaten up by one person .   The band achieved some degree of notoriety in 2004 for a legal entanglement with the Zamboni Company over the song `` Zamboni Driving Maniac '' . The band received a cease and desist letter from Zamboni , alleging that the band 's song did not mesh with the company 's public image . Many songs pay homage to the 1980s New York Islanders , and the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum . Two Man Advantage was active in the New York Hardcore scene for many years , and still continues to play shows locally throughout the New York metro area . The band still occasionally travels to other cities and states to play shows . They have devoted followings in Richmond , VA , Columbus , OH , and Washington , DC .

neg: Painfully Midwestern Records Painfully Midwestern Records is a non-profit record label from Columbia , Missouri founded in 2005 by Jason Cafer , a DJ on KCOU , the college radio station at University of Missouri The label has released three compilations of bands from Mid-Missouri spanning over 80 artists almost all from Columbia , including several bands from the Emergency Umbrella and Cat Jams record labels . Music styles of the contributed songs range from indie rock , alternative , hardcore , metal , punk , alternative country , electronica , garage rock and experimental . `` Painfully Midwestern Comomusic Anthology 1990 -- 2005 volume 1 '' was released in 2005 with two discs and 40 tracks from artists including The Doxies , Untamed Youth , Revelators , Mahjongg , Ditch Witch and The Starkweathers . `` Painfully Midwestern Comomusic Anthology 1990 -- 2005 volume 2 '' was released in 2006 including 40 additional tracks from Columbia bands including Foundry Field Recordings , Witch 's Hat , Kingdom Flying Club , Monte Carlos and Bald Eagle . Members of Missouri Sex Offenders , Catalina , Texas Chainsaw Mass Choir and The Secretaries ( Greg Roberts , Alexander Even , Adam Russell , Stephen Patterson , Jamie Levinson ) went on to gain notoriety after forming the band White Rabbits and moving from Missouri to New York . The Untamed Youth , a garage rock band featured on both Comomusic Anthologies , was fronted by guitar virtuoso Deke Dickerson who moved to California and became an internationally renowned solo rockabilly performer . `` Das Kompilation '' was released by Painfully Midwestern in 2007 and included tracks from Shirrelle C. Limes and the Lemons and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin .

neg: Balboa (band) Balboa is an American hardcore band .

neg: The Miami Horns The Miami Horns are an American horn section best known for touring and recording with Southside Johnny , Bruce Springsteen , Little Steven and The Max Weinberg 7 . They have also toured , performed or recorded with , among others , Diana Ross , Gary U.S. Bonds , Robert Cray , Bon Jovi , Cissy Houston , Joe Cocker , Dave Edmunds , Darlene Love , The Allman Brothers Band , Eric Clapton , Sheryl Crow and Ricky Martin . As individuals , the various members have also worked with the likes of Aerosmith , David Bowie , Duran Duran , Power Station , Graham Parker and They Might Be Giants .   The Miami Horns were first put together in 1976 by Steve Van Zandt as part of Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes . The connection with the city of Miami is only tenuous . Van Zandt had acquired the nickname Miami , due to his dislike of winter , and consequently the horn section also became known by that name . On occasions they have also been billed as The Jukes ' Horns , La Bamba 's Mambomen , The U.S. Horns , The J.A.M. Horns , The Tunnel Of Love Horns , The Horns of Love and The Late Night Horns . The line-up is very much impromptu and seems to depend on who is available at the time . As a consequence it has varied in size from a duo to a big band . Not unlike The Drifters , many performers have come and gone , and even returned . However Richie `` La Bamba '' Rosenberg ( trombone ) , Mark Pender ( trumpet ) and Eddie Manion ( saxophone ) have been the most consistent members . Other notable players have included Stan Harrison , Chris Anderson , Joey Stann and Mario Cruz . In 1991 Rosenberg , Pender , Manion and Harrison recorded an eponymous album as La Bamba & The Hubcaps .

neg: Metropolitan Klezmer Metropolitan Klezmer is a New York band that was established in 1994 .  While clearly a Klezmer band , Metropolitan Klezmer takes an eclectic approach to Yiddish musical genres from around the globe .   Songlines magazine calls them `` One of the finest American klezmer bands '' .   The band was formed by drummer ( and Yiddish film scholar ) Eve Sicular with Ismail Butera ( accordion ) , Michael Hess ( violin , ney flutes , kanun zither ) , Dave Hofstra ( bass and tuba ) , and klezmer legend Howie Leess ( 1920-2003 ) ( clarinet & tenor sax ) .  The group expanded to include vocalist Deborah Karpel and a dynamic horn section : Debra Kreisberg ( clarinet/alto sax ) , Pam Fleming ( trumpet/fluegelhorn ) , and Rick Faulkner ( trombone ) .   Individually , Metropolitan Klezmer players have worked with such diverse artists as Bonnie Raitt , The Toasters , Bill Frisell , Toshi Reagon , Juan Carlos Formell , Indigo Girls , Burning Spear , Amy Sedaris , Max Roach , Rufus Wainwright , Nora York , and the Microscopic Septet , as well as Jewish music performers from the Klezmatics and Andy Statman to David Krakauer , Sephardic stars Alhambra and SF 's Charming Hostess .   The band 's CDs have enjoyed positive reviews , awards , and worldwide airplay . Their array of songs includes wedding dances , folk tunes , modal slapstick , odd meter Hanuka fare , postwar Yiddish poetry , Turkish - and Arabic-tinged klezmer traditionals , Hungarian Jewish prayer melody , labor protest hymn , Second Avenue swing classics , vintage Yiddish film soundtrack tangos , love ballads , and originals . They mix modern and traditional instruments and arrangements .


query: Alex Rodriguez signed two lucrative sports agreements.

pos: Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez ( born July 27 , 1975 ) , nicknamed `` A-Rod '' , is a Dominican-American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman . He played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball ( MLB ) for the Seattle Mariners , Texas Rangers , and New York Yankees . Rodriguez was one of the sport 's most highly touted prospects and is considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time . During his 22-year career , Rodriguez has amassed a .297 batting average , 696 home runs , over 2,000 runs batted in ( RBI ) , over 2,000 runs scored , and over 3,000 hits . He is a 14-time All-Star and has won three American League ( AL ) Most Valuable Player ( MVP ) Awards , ten Silver Slugger Awards , and two Gold Glove Awards . Rodríguez is the career record holder for grand slams with 25 . However , he has led a highly controversial career due to signing two of the most lucrative sports contracts in history while incurring criticism from the media for his behavior and use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs .   The Mariners selected Rodriguez first overall in the 1993 MLB draft , and he debuted in the major leagues the following year at the age of 18 . In 1996 , he became the Mariners ' starting shortstop and finished second in voting for the AL MVP Award . Rodriguez 's combination of power , speed , and defense made him a cornerstone of the franchise , but he left the team via free agency after the 2000 season to join the Rangers . The 10-year , $ 252 million contract he signed was the richest in baseball history . He played at a high level in his three years with Texas , highlighted by his first AL MVP Award win in 2003 , but the team failed to make the playoffs during his tenure . Prior to the 2004 season , Rodriguez was traded to the Yankees , for whom he converted to a third baseman due to incumbent shortstop Derek Jeter . In his first four seasons with New York , he was twice more named AL MVP . After opting out of his contract following the 2007 season , Rodriguez signed a new 10-year , $ 275 million deal with the Yankees , extending his record for the sport 's most lucrative contract . He became the youngest player ever to hit 500 home runs , reaching the milestone in 2007 . He won his first World Series in 2009 , which was the first year of the new Yankee Stadium . The following year , he became the career leader in home runs by a player of Hispanic descent . In recent years , Rodriguez has been hampered by hip and knee injuries , which have caused him to exclusively become a designated hitter . He played his final game as a Yankee on August 12 , 2016 .   In February 2009 , after previously denying use of performance-enhancing drugs , including during a 2007 interview with Katie Couric on 60 Minutes , Rodriguez admitted to using steroids , saying he used them from 2001 to 2003 when playing for Rangers due to `` an enormous amount of pressure '' to perform . While recovering from a hip injury in 2013 , Rodriguez made headlines by feuding with team management over his rehabilitation and for having allegedly obtained performance-enhancing drugs as part of the Biogenesis baseball scandal . In August 2013 , MLB suspended him 211 games for his involvement in the scandal , but he was allowed to play while appealing the punishment . Had the original suspension been upheld , it would have been the longest non-lifetime suspension in Major League Baseball history . After an arbitration hearing , the suspension was reduced to 162 games , keeping him off the field for the entire 2014 season .

neg: Alexis Sánchez Alexis Alejandro Sánchez Sánchez ( -LSB- aˈleksis ˈsantʃes -RSB- ; born 19 December 1988 ) , also known as simply Alexis , is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a forward for English club Arsenal and the Chile national team .   After his debut season of first-team football with Cobreloa , Sánchez was signed by Italy 's Udinese in 2006 . Following successful loans at Colo-Colo and River Plate , he began playing in Serie A . In 2011 , he was signed by Barcelona for # 25 million , becoming the most expensive transfer in Chilean football history . Sánchez signed for Arsenal in July 2014 for a fee reported to be # 31.7 million , making him the third-most expensive signing in the club 's history after Mesut Özil and Granit Xhaka .   Sánchez , also nicknamed El Niño Maravilla and `` Ardilla '' , has been a full international for Chile since 2006 , and has earned 100 caps , making him the team 's second-most capped player of all-time after goalkeeper Claudio Bravo . With 37 goals , he is La Roja 's joint highest top scorer of all-time , alongside Marcelo Salas . He also played in two FIFA World Cups ( 2010 and 2014 ) as well as three Copa América tournaments , winning two of the latter .

neg: Mike Barnett (ice hockey) Michael G. Barnett ( born October 9 , 1948 in Olds , Alberta ) is a Canadian ice hockey executive currently serving as Senior Advisor to the President-General Manager of the New York Rangers . He is best known in the world of hockey as a former agent representing sports icon Wayne Gretzky for two decades . He was listed among the `` 100 Most Powerful People In Sports '' by The Sporting News on six occasions from 1994 to 2000 . During his 12 years as President of International Management Group 's hockey division , Barnett represented a who 's who of the National Hockey League . Barnett negotiated the playing and marketing contracts for Wayne Gretzky , Brett Hull , Jaromir Jagr , Sergei Fedorov , Paul Coffey , Joe Thornton , Mats Sundin , Lanny McDonald , Grant Fuhr , Marty McSorley , Alexander Mogilny , Owen Nolan , Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin and numerous others . Whatever the form of contract , Barnett 's creativity was legendary . His ingenuity in finding language that challenged the NHL 's Collective Bargaining Agreement , in finding products and companies for his clients that were groundbreaking in their launches , and his perpetual attention to the public relations of his clients , were all hallmark 's of his career in athlete representation . Following his two-decades as one of the most highly regarded agents in all of sports , Barnett went on to become the General Manager of the Phoenix Coyotes in the National Hockey League .

neg: Selena Roberts Selena Roberts ( born May 16 , 1966 in Live Oak , Florida ) is an American best-selling author , sportswriter , and digital entrepreneur . Previously , she was a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and a columnist for The New York Times . Roberts began her career as a beat writer for the Minnesota Vikings at the Minneapolis Star Tribune and for the Orlando Magic and Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Orlando Sentinel . She received a B.A. degree in journalism from Auburn University in 1988 where she was a sports editor for the university paper The Plainsman . She also made frequent appearances on the ESPN talk show The Sports Reporters . In a February 7 , 2009 article on SI.com that quickly made the cover of Sports Illustrated , Roberts revealed that Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003 .

neg: World championship A world championship is generally an international sports competition open to elite competitors from across the world , representing their nations , and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport or contest .   The title is usually awarded through a combination of specific contests or , less commonly , ranking systems ( e.g. the ICC Test Championship ) , or a combination of the two ( e.g. World Triathlon Championships in Triathlon ) . This determines a ` world champion ' , who or which is commonly considered the best nation , team , individual ( or other entity ) in the world in a particular field , although the vagaries of sport ensure that the competitor recognised at the best in an event is not always the ` world champion ' ( see Underdog ) .   Certain sports do not have a world championship . Instead , they may organise a world cup competition , or they may organize both , for example cycling ( UCI World Championships and UCI World Cups ) ) . Often , the use of the term cup or championship in this sense is just a choice of words . Some sports have multiple champions because of multiple organizations , such as boxing , mixed martial arts and wrestling .   Certain sports do not have a world championship or a world cup as such , but may have one or several world champions . Professional boxing , for example , has several world champions at different weights , but each one of them is decided by a `` title fight '' , not a tournament .   A certain number of sports hold world championships or world cups which are overshadowed , in terms of prestige , by the same events in the Olympic Games , the most prestigious multi-sports event .   Still other sports may or may not have a true world championship but may designate the winners of a domestic competition to be `` world champions . '' This is especially true of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada ; world cups and championships exist in all of the major sports , but the domestic U.S. and Canadian leagues are generally recognized as the world professional championships or the equivalent of a world club championship . ( In American football , although an IFAF World Championship exists , the United States is so far above and beyond the other nations it faces that the winner of the U.S.-based Super Bowl , a competition limited to the 32 teams in the National Football League , is commonly recognized as the world champion . )   Finally , certain professional sports do not have a world championship or world cup , but rather hold a series of events recognised as the elite level in their field ( e.g. tennis has a series of four Grand Slam events recognised as the pinnacle of the game , in addition to key team events , world tour finals and the Olympic Games , but no world championship or world cup ) .

neg: Román Rodríguez Román Rodríguez ( born March 30 , 1966 , in San Mateo , Venezuela ) is a scout for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim .

neg: Elias Sports Bureau The Elias Sports Bureau ( ESB ) is a company providing historical and current statistical information for sports , especially for major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada .   In 1913 , Al Munro Elias and his brother Walter established the Al Munro Elias Bureau in New York City . At first they sold printed scorecards with baseball data directly to fans , until The Telegram daily newspaper purchased their weekly compilation of `` averages '' in 1916 . Elias was appointed official statistician of the National League and International League in 1919 with the American League and other minor leagues to follow .   In 1937 , the Elias brothers assumed publication of Charley White 's Record Book , the so-called Little Red Book , after the death of its originator . It became an official ( authorized ) source for major league records . In 1938 , the Bureau began producing the Pocket Cyclopedia of Major League Baseball , and for many years published the official Green Book , the National League 's annual summary .   After the Elias brothers died in the 1940s , the company was managed by Lester Goodman . Seymour Siwoff , who had worked for the Elias brothers as a high school student before serving his country in World War II and earning the Purple Heart , returned to become the company 's accountant . In 1952 , after Lester Goodman 's sudden death , Seymour Siwoff purchased the company from the widows of the Elias brothers . The new company was renamed Elias Sports Bureau to better fulfill Siwoff 's vision of incorporating all professional sports , and Siwoff took the company into the computer age .   Under Siwoff 's leadership for over 60 years and to the present , ESB has become the leading authority on sports statistics . Originally official statistician of Major League Baseball , Siwoff was able to add to this distinction the National Football League , the National Basketball Association , the National Hockey League , Major League Soccer , and the Arena Football League . More recently , ESB added pro-women 's basketball ( WNBA ) and pro-golf to its list of league clientele .   ESB also is a primary source of statistics for national newspapers , magazines and websites , as well as dozens of broadcasters of MLB , NBA and NHL telecasts . With Sporting News having phased out its record book publishing business during 2007 , The Elias Book of Baseball Records appears to be the sole hard-copy source of official baseball records . This book is available only through the company website .   Steve Hirdt , executive vice-president , added his skills as a sports writer . His first venture was writing for ESPN 's Page2 website for a brief time . Later , he moved to a column for ESPN The Magazine . The column is entitled `` Do the Math '' and focuses on sports statistics .

neg: Draft (sports) A draft is a process used in some countries and sports to allocate certain players to teams . In a draft , teams take turns selecting from a pool of eligible players . When a team selects a player , the team receives exclusive rights to sign that player to a contract , and no other team in the league may sign the player .   The best-known type of draft is the entry draft , which is used to allocate players who have recently become eligible to play in a league . Depending on the sport , the players may come from college , high school or junior teams or teams in other countries .   An entry draft is intended to prevent expensive bidding wars for young talent and to ensure that no one team can sign contracts with all of the best young players and make the league uncompetitive . To encourage parity , teams that do poorly in the previous season usually get to choose first in the postseason draft , sometimes with a `` lottery '' factor to discourage teams from deliberately losing .   Other types of drafts include the expansion draft , in which a new team selects players from other teams in the league ; and the dispersal draft , in which a league 's surviving teams select players from the roster of a newly defunct franchise .   Drafts are usually permitted under anti-trust or restraint of trade laws because they are included in collective bargaining agreements between leagues and labor unions representing players . These agreements generally stipulate that after a certain number of seasons , a player whose contract has expired becomes a free agent and can sign with any team . They also require minimum and sometimes maximum salaries for newly drafted players .   National Football League President Joseph Carr instituted a draft in 1935 as a way to restrain teams ' payrolls and reduce the dominance of the league 's perennial contenders . It was adopted by the precursor of the National Basketball Association in 1947 ; by the National Hockey League in 1963 ; and by Major League Baseball in 1965 , although draft systems had been used in baseball since the 19th century .   Drafts are uncommon outside the U.S. and Canada , and most professional football clubs obtain young players through transfers from smaller clubs or by developing youth players through their own academies . The youth system is operated directly by the teams themselves , who develop their players from childhood . Parity in these leagues is instead maintained through promotion and relegation , which automatically expels the weakest teams from a league in exchange for the strongest teams in the next lower league . The result is a drastically different endgame for poor teams : a North American sports team may see the opportunity to get better through the draft after a poor season , but a European club will instead be relegated down to a league with less money and prestige , potentially exacerbating the problems .

neg: Alex de Jesús Alexander `` Alex '' de Jesús ( February 2 , 1983 -- April 3 , 2016 ) was a Puerto Rican professional boxer . As an amateur , de Jesús represented the island of Puerto Rico in international events , including the 2003 Pan American Games , the 2002 Central American and Caribbean Games and the 2004 Summer Olympics . Early in his career , he won seven regional titles : the World Boxing Organization Latino lightweight title , World Boxing Council Caribbean Boxing Federation lightweight title , World Boxing Association Fedecaribe Lightweight title , WBO Latino light welterweight title , WBA Fedecaribe Welterweight title , WBC Latino light welterweight title and the WBA Fedebol light welterweight title .

neg: Sandy Alomar Jr. Santos `` Sandy '' Alomar Velázquez Jr. ( -LSB- aloˈmar -RSB- , -LSB- ˈæləmɑr -RSB- born June 18 , 1966 ) is a professional baseball catcher , coach , and manager . He played in Major League Baseball catcher for the San Diego Padres , Cleveland Indians , Chicago White Sox , Colorado Rockies , Texas Rangers , Los Angeles Dodgers , and New York Mets between 1988 and 2007 .   Alomar is a six-time All-Star . He is the son of former major leaguer Sandy Alomar Sr. and the brother of Hall of Fame second baseman Roberto Alomar .

neg: Alex Reyes Alexander Reyes ( born August 29 , 1994 ) is a Dominican American professional baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball ( MLB ) . He was signed by the Cardinals as an amateur free agent in December 2012 , and made his MLB debut for them August 9 , 2016 .   The Cardinals ' top prospect entering both the 2015 and 2016 seasons , Baseball America named him the second-best prospect overall in their 2016 mid-season ranking . He has played in two All-Star Futures Games and was one of two Cardinals ' Co-Minor League Pitchers of the Year in 2015 .

neg: ESPN Integration ESPN Integration is an agreement between ESPN and video game developer EA to put various ESPN features in EA Sports games . The first game to feature ESPN Integration was the college baseball game MVP 06 NCAA Baseball . The features that have so far appeared include a streaming ticker at the bottom of the screen with real up to date sports scores , just as it appears on the ESPN channel . This ticker does not just crawl during menus and load screens but also in actual gameplay . Another feature is the ability to listen to sports updates from ESPN Radio , and a third feature is being able to read the top 40 sports stories from ESPN.com .   Much of this deal was done on the part of EA Sports to prevent ESPN from selling its brand name to another game manufacturer , like they did with SEGA . Their ESPN NFL 2K5 game featured total ESPN integration , complete with authentic music , graphics , rendered sets , pre-half-and post game commentary by Chris Berman , and Sunday Night Football telecast crew . That along with innovations in gameplay cut into EA Sports dominant Madden NFL franchise , leading EA to sign an exclusive deal with the NFL .

neg: Alexei Ramírez Alexei Fernando Ramírez Rodriguez ( born September 22 , 1981 ) is a Cuban professional baseball shortstop who is a free agent . He has played for the Chicago White Sox , San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Rays in MLB and Pinar del Rio of the Cuban National Series . His nickname , given to him by former White Sox manager Ozzie Guillén , is `` The Cuban Missile '' due to his tall , slim physique and combination of speed , power , and strong throwing arm .

neg: Sign and trade In the National Basketball Association , a sign-and-trade agreement is a type of contract ( allowed by the collective bargaining agreement -LSB- CBA -RSB- ) wherein one franchise/team signs an unrestricted free agent player to a new contract , only to then immediately trade him to another team ( of the player 's choosing ) . This is typically done to enable the player to obtain a higher salary and/or greater number of years on their contract than NBA salary cap rules ordinarily allow the destination team , itself , to provide the player .

neg: Marquee player A marquee player is an athlete who is considered exceptionally popular , skilled , or otherwise outstanding , especially in professional sports . Several sports leagues have specific definitions and rules regarding the designation and treatment of marquee players .   In the Liga 1 of the Football Association of Indonesia each team is allowed to designate one marquee players .   In the A-League of the Football Federation Australia each team is allowed to designate two marquee players whose salaries are exempted from the league 's salary cap . Similarly , in English Premiership rugby marquee players are excluded from salary cap constraints .   The All India Football Federation requires each I-League team to feature one marquee player . The federation defines `` marquee players '' as foreign players who have represented their country in one of several international championships . Teams are also allowed to propose other skilled players for the designation.In ISL ( Indian Super League ) also there are marquee players .   In World TeamTennis a marquee player is not required to play the entire season and is compensated on a per-match basis . Marquee players are drafted in a marquee draft prior to the roster draft .

neg: Dan Lozano Dan Lozano ( born March 3 , 1967 ) is a professional sports agent , specializing in baseball . He is the founder of MVP Sports Group , a sports agency based in Los Angeles , CA . His current clients include many notable MLB players such as Albert Pujols , Joey Votto , Alex Rodriguez , Jimmy Rollins , Carlos Beltrán , Nick Swisher , Michael Young , Brian Wilson and Mike Piazza . He has worked professionally as an agent for over 23 years , and has negotiated numerous deals including some of the largest deals in baseball history such as Mike Piazza 's 7-year $ 91 million deal with the New York Mets , Albert Pujols ' $ 240 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Joey Votto 's $ 225 million extension with the Cincinnati Reds .

neg: Sports marketing Sports marketing is a subdivision of marketing which focuses both on the promotion of sports events and teams as well as the promotion of other products and services through sporting events and sports teams . It is a service in which the element promoted can be a physical product or a brand name . The goal is to provide the client with strategies to promote the sport or to promote something other than sport through sports . Sport marketing is also designed to meet the needs and wants of the consumer through exchange processes . These strategies follow the traditional four `` P '' 's of general marketing Product , Price , Promotion and Place , another four `` P '' 's are added to sport marketing , relating to the fact sports are considered to be a service . The additional 4 P 's are : Planning , Packaging , Positioning and Perception . The addition of the four extra elements is called the `` sport marketing mix . ''   Sports marketing is an element of sports promotion which involves a wide variety of sectors of the sport industry including broadcasting , advertising , social media , digital platforms , ticket sales , and community relations .   Sports marketing is divided into three sectors . The first is the advertising of sport and sports associations such as the Olympics , Spanish Football league and the NFL , as well as sport teams like Real Madrid and the New York Yankees . The second concerns the use of sporting events , sporting teams and individual athletes to promote various products . The third category is the promotion of sport to the public in order to increase participation .   In the first case , the promotion is directly related to sports . In the second case , the products can but do not have to be directly related to sports . When the promotion is about sports in general , the use of this kind of strategy is called `` Marketing of Sports . '' When the promotion is not about the sports but sports events , athletes , teams or leagues are used to promote different products , the marketing strategy is denominated `` Marketing through sports . '' When the promotion is about increasing participation among the public , it is called `` Grassroots Sports Marketing . '' To promote the products or services , the companies and associations use different channels such as sponsorships of teams or athletes , television or radio advertisement during the different broadcast sports events and celebrations , and/or advertisement on sporting venues .   `` Street marketing of sport '' considers sport marketing through billboards on the street and also through urban elements ( street lighters and sidewalks , etc. ) to help promote and gain publicity during major worldwide sporting events such as the Football World Cup , the Olympic Games , or the Super Bowl .

neg: Sterling Sports Management Sterling Sports Management is a sports management company based in Columbus , Ohio that represents professional athletes including many of the LPGA Tour 's biggest stars from 7 countries and 5 continents . Sterling Sports represents its athlete clients in contract negotiations , endorsement agreements , media arrangements , marketing , celebrity appearances , public relations , and tax planning . Sterling also represents corporations through its Sports Marketing Consultancy practice which assists corporations get the most out of their investment in sports marketing , and facilitates the opening of overseas markets for both its athlete and corporate clients . It has gained attention recently by its signing of the 2006 LPGA Rookie of the Year - Seon Hwa Lee .

neg: Daily fantasy sports Daily fantasy sports ( DFS ) are a subset of fantasy sport games . As with traditional fantasy sports games , players compete against others by building a team of professional athletes from a particular league or competition while remaining under a salary cap , and earn points based on the actual statistical performance of the players in real-world competitions . Daily fantasy sports are an accelerated variant of traditional fantasy sports that are conducted over short-term periods , such as a week or single day of competition , as opposed to those that are played across an entire season . Daily fantasy sports are typically structured in the form of paid competitions typically referred to as a `` contest '' ; winners receive a share of a pre-determined pot funded by their entry fees . A portion of entry fee payments go to the provider as rake revenue .   In the United States , the daily fantasy sports industry is dominated by two competing services : the New York-based FanDuel , and the Boston-based DraftKings . Both companies were established as venture capital-backed startup companies , received funding from investment firms , sports broadcasters , leagues , and team owners , and became known for the aggressive marketing of their services . As of September 2015 , both companies have an estimated value of at least $ 1 billion , and control 95 % of the U.S. DFS market . The two primarily compete against smaller DFS services , such as Fantasy Aces and Yahoo! Sports . The popularity of the daily fantasy format has been credited to its convenience in comparison to season-length games , as well as the focus on major cash prizes in the promotion of these services . Daily fantasy has also been credited with helping to improve television viewership and engagement with sports .   Daily fantasy sports have faced notable legal challenges , including disputes over whether DFS constitutes gambling . Politicians and other critics have argued that due to their format , players are essentially making proposition wagers on the varying performance of individual athletes in specific games , and not managing the performance of their selections on a week-to-week basis . Proponents have defended DFS as being a game of skill , as the required familiarity with the players and teams , as well as salary cap management , rewards skilled players . Local laws have varying definitions of gambling games , such as whether a game 's elements of chance are predominant over those or skill , or how much control the player has over the outcome of the game .   In the United States , the legality of DFS has been determined on a state-by-state basis based on local gambling laws and other rulings . The federal Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act ( UIEGA ) contains language dictating that fantasy sports are not considered an unlawful wager under the act ; however , the act only prohibits the electronic transfer of funds from unlawful gambling as defined under state laws . A number of state attorneys general have issued opinions concluding that DFS is a form of illegal gambling , while the state of Nevada declared that DFS games must be licensed as a sports pool . The New York State ruling , which resulted from an investigation of DFS services after it was alleged that employees working for DraftKings and FanDuel had used inside information to win cash prizes from each other , spawned retaliatory lawsuits from the companies which alleged that the rulings were the result of a misinterpretation of the nature of their services . The state has since joined other states , such as Massachusetts and Virginia , in choosing to legalize and regulate DFS rather than prohibit it .

neg: List of Silver Slugger Award winners at shortstop The Silver Slugger Award is awarded annually to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League ( AL ) and the National League ( NL ) , as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball ( MLB ) . These voters consider several offensive categories in selecting the winners , including batting average , slugging percentage and on-base percentage , in addition to `` coaches ' and managers ' general impressions of a player 's overall offensive value . '' Managers and coaches are not permitted to vote for players on their own team . The Silver Slugger was first awarded in 1980 and is given by Hillerich & Bradsby , the manufacturer of Louisville Slugger bats . The award is a bat-shaped trophy , 3 feet ( 91 cm ) tall , engraved with the names of each of the winners from the league and plated with sterling silver .   Among shortstops , Barry Larkin is the leader in Silver Slugger Awards , with nine wins between 1988 and 1999 , including five consecutive awards ( 1988 -- 1992 ) . Larkin is fourth all-time in Silver Slugger wins among all positions , behind outfielder Barry Bonds , catcher Mike Piazza and third baseman Alex Rodriguez , who won his first seven awards at shortstop before a position change . Hall of Famer Cal Ripken , Jr. won eight Silver Sluggers as a shortstop from 1983 to 1993 . Other multiple awardees include three-time winners Alan Trammell ( 1987 -- 1988 , 1990 ) , Derek Jeter ( 2006 -- 2008 ) and Edgar Rentería ( 2000 ; 2002 -- 2003 ) , along with two-time champions Troy Tulowitzki ( 2010 -- 2011 ) , Hanley Ramírez ( 2008 -- 2009 ) , Miguel Tejada ( 2004 -- 2005 ) , Robin Yount ( 1980 , 1982 ) , Hubie Brooks ( 1985 -- 1986 ) , Dave Concepción ( 1981 -- 1982 ) , Garry Templeton ( 1980 , 1984 ) and Xander Bogaerts ( 2015-2016 ) .   Rodriguez ' offensive statistics in his seven Silver Slugger-winning seasons lead American League and major league shortstops in most categories ; his batting average of .358 and .631 slugging percentage in 1996 , .420 on-base percentage in 2000 and 57 home runs in 2002 are records among winning shortstops . The lone category in which Rodriguez does not lead the American League is runs batted in ( RBI ) , where Miguel Tejada is the leader ; he batted in 150 runs in 2004 . The RBI leaders in the National League are Rentería and Brooks , who each batted in 100 runs during the 2003 and 1985 seasons , respectively . In contrast , Rodriguez collected RBI totals over 100 ( ranging from 111 in 1999 to 142 in 2002 ) in all of his Silver Slugger-winning seasons , highlighting the difference in power and production between American League and National League shortstops . Other National League leaders include Larkin , who leads in batting average ( .348 , 1989 ) and on-base percentage ( .410 , 1996 ) , along with Rich Aurilia , who leads in slugging percentage ( .572 , 2001 ) and home runs ( 37 , 2001 ) . Though he has never played in the National League , Rodriguez ' 40 or more home runs in six of his seven winning seasons at shortstop are greater than any total hit by a National League winner at third base .