title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

text: The SAS team tracks down Al-Asad in Azerbaijan and discovers he was working with Imran Zakhaev, the leader of the Ultranationalist party. The mission then flashes back 15 years where Captain Price, who was a lieutenant, is sent alongside his commanding officer, Captain MacMillan, on a failed assassination attempt on Zakhaev in Pripyat, Ukraine. After killing Al-Asad, the SAS team, with support from U.S. Marine Force Recon and Russian loyalists, attempt to capture Zakhaev's son, Victor, and learn his whereabouts. They ambush Victor, but he commits suicide. In response, Zakhaev seizes control of a nuclear launch facility. A joint operation is launched to take back the site, but Zakhaev launches intercontinental ballistic missiles at the U.S. Eastern Seaboard. The joint teams are able to breach the facility and remotely destroy the missiles before fleeing the area.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

text: Zakhaev's forces trap the escaping joint force on a bridge, and during the fight many are killed. He arrives, but a loyalist helicopter distracts him. The player shoots and kills Zakhaev with their pistol before being tended to by loyalist forces.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

text: Activision became interested in a remaster of "" following the circulation of an online petition. The publisher approached Raven Software, which had assisted in the development of previous "Call of Duty" games, to be the primary developer; Infinity Ward would act as executive producer. Raven's studio director, David Pellas, recalled that every Raven employee agreed to undertaking a remaster. The developers pledged to focus throughout development on redefining the term "remaster" while respecting the original game. Much of "Modern Warfare" was "rebuilt [...] from the ground up" through the revitalization of its source code, materials, layouts, and effects that Infinity Ward allowed Raven to access. The game runs in a native 1080p resolution (increased to 4K for the PlayStation 4 Pro version) at 60 frames per second, and uses the then latest iteration of the series' IW engine.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

text: Raven wanted the remaster to provide a faithful experience for fans of "Modern Warfare". They looked to connect newcomers to a world that players were used to in recent "Call of Duty" games, albeit one that mirrored reality. To assist in their decision-making, Raven scoured social media websites to find active players of "Modern Warfare" to understand what they would want from a re-release of the game. Pellas noted that the risk of negative fan reactions resulting from changes to the original and the desire to meet expectations was daunting for Raven; they were encouraged by their leading principle of keeping the gameplay unchanged. Subtle adjustments were made to the timing of existing gameplay animations, such as the transition between aiming a sniper rifle and the scope overlay appearing, but these were designed to be as close to identical to the original as possible.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

text: In bringing "Modern Warfare"s visuals up to modern standards, enhancements to the environments were designed using a procedure called "paint-over": color schemes were established and screenshots taken of the levels from "Modern Warfare" before they were overlaid with concept art. Raven wanted to give the environments a sense of history to avoid them feeling generic, with more visual details being integrated into them. The game used improved textures and mapping, effects, and lighting; objects were remodeled and new features such as realistic physics were used to move materials like clothing. The remaster became the first "Call of Duty" game to allow each gun to eject spent ammunition rounds accurate to that type, which was achieved through the inserted rounds remaining in the gun before ejection; identical rounds separate from those inserted were ejected in previous games. Raven faced some issues remastering the graphics, as the remaster used a heavily upgraded version of the series' engine. As a result, several of "Modern Warfare"s visual assets were not suited to the new technology, requiring the developers to enhance or remake them. The movement of non-player characters was improved to be more realistic. Several new first-person animations were added to the single-player campaign for immersion during certain scenes and to improve how the camera made use of the player character's body.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

text: The remastering of the game's audio included reverberation, depth, and spatial effects; one example a Raven developer noted was that, "Layering out multiple sounds now makes a big difference." A range of other examples of sound not present in "Modern Warfare" were used. The original music and vocal performances were retained, although Al-Asad's Arabic dialogue was amended and re-recorded to represent the game's English subtitles more accurately. Other minor dialogue alterations included adjusting the order of several lines and including new ones in the game's training level. Following negative player feedback at the gaming convention , the developers reverted changes to the multiplayer mode's announcers. Similarly, the weapon audio was revised to more closely resemble that found in the original game.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

text: As well as the remastering process, the game contained an array of new features. The multiplayer mode's content initially remained largely unchanged. Ten of the original sixteen maps were featured at launch, after the developers realized they could not remaster every map by the release date; the remaining six were released as a free update several weeks later. Raven supported the multiplayer mode from December 2016 to keep players invested in the game, introducing types of cosmetic customization and new melee weapons within a business model. This includes a loot box system, virtual crates branded in-game as "supply drops", which contain randomized items. Supply drops are obtained after purchasing in-game currency called Call of Duty Points (CP) or with Depot Credits earned through playing. Parts are another in-game currency used to craft items, acquired in supply drops or from duplicate items. Raven published playlists and seasonal events, which introduced new but similar customization content, multiplayer modes, and variants of existing maps. Further guns and melee weapons were incorporated during these events along with other game updates.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

text: News of "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered" leaked on Reddit on April 27, 2016, before its official announcement. The leak included a screenshot of a reservation card for the retail chain Target with the Legacy Edition of "" and the bundled remaster. A tweet in response on "Call of Duty"s official Twitter account the same day included two emoji in reply to a fan's 2014 tweet expressing excitement at the possibility of a "Modern Warfare" remaster, seemingly confirming its existence. On April 29, 2016, a leaked retailer advertisement for "Infinite Warfare" revealed that "Modern Warfare Remastered" would include the single-player campaign and ten multiplayer maps.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

text: "Modern Warfare Remastered" was officially announced on May 2, 2016, during the reveal trailer for "Infinite Warfare". The game was featured at 2016 Electronic Entertainment Expo, showing a trailer for its campaign. It revealed that PlayStation 4 users who pre-purchased the special edition bundle of "Infinite Warfare" could play "Modern Warfare Remastered"s campaign 30 days before its release date as part of Sony's exclusivity deal with Activision. A gameplay video for "Modern Warfare Remastered"s "Crew Expendable" mission was released online on July 14, 2016. The game's multiplayer mode was revealed during the Call of Duty: XP 2016 convention, and attendees were able to play it first. In September 2016, trailers were released for both single and multiplayer modes.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

text: "Modern Warfare Remastered" was released worldwide on November 4, 2016, for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows as part of the Legacy, Legacy Pro, and Digital Deluxe editions of "Infinite Warfare". At the time, the game was available only by purchasing one of these editions of "Infinite Warfare"; with physical versions, "Modern Warfare Remastered" could only be played via "Infinite Warfare"s game disc. Activision confirmed "Infinite Warfare" must be permanently installed to use the included remaster. In June 2017, a standalone version of "Modern Warfare Remastered" was announced alongside its trailer; the game was released for the PlayStation 4 on June 27, 2017, followed by the Xbox One and Windows exactly a month later.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

text: On March 8, 2017, Activision announced that a remastered version of the Variety Map Pack downloadable content (DLC) originally released for "Modern Warfare" would be made available for "Modern Warfare Remastered". It includes the same four maps and 10 rare supply drops. The map pack was released as a separate purchase for the PlayStation 4 on March 21, 2017, and for the Xbox One and Windows exactly a month later; it was not included with any retail versions of "Modern Warfare Remastered".


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

text: "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered" received "generally favorable reviews", according to review aggregator Metacritic. "Push Square" described the game as "a ridiculously faithful remake" that "spruc[es] up an old care package for a more modern age to near-perfection." "IGN" used the accolade of "Best Remaster" in 2016 to praise it.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

text: Critics lauded the enhanced graphics, revised sound, and other modifications. "Push Square" and "GQ" thought the remaster looked and sounded like a modern release, calling it "nothing short of a profound feat" and "an amazing technical overhaul". Several felt the game was more akin to a remake thanks to the range of enhancements. "Destructoid" complimented the "subtle" differences, highlighting level areas that felt more alive and the enhancements to the first-person cinematics. Although praising its scope, some considered the graphics were not quite cutting edge and occasionally exhibited minor shortcomings.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

text: The modern-day setting and core gameplay of the single-player campaign were praised. Critics viewed the narrative as "forward-thinking" and sincere, and having pushed the boundaries of storytelling in the first-person shooter genre; others were reminded how the campaign had long endured with fans as a result. "Destructoid" felt the story had since been topped by its competition, but that it was still worth playing because of the mission variety and the relationship between Soap and Price. The gameplay was considered pleasantly challenging and urgent, with "IGN"s reviewer noting it made them feel "relatively weighed down, encumbered, and more desperate". The game's level design, set pieces, and emphasis on teamwork attracted further praise.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

text: The multiplayer mode received similar praise. "Push Square" appreciated its faithfulness to the original. "Destructoid" complimented the map design and praised the gameplay for being welcoming to more casual players by requiring only moderate skill and agility. Critics considered the mode to be "refreshing" and just as enjoyable as faster-paced versions of more recent "Call of Duty" installments. Comparisons were made with "Infinite Warfare"; some thought that "Modern Warfare Remastered"s simpler design showed that "less can be more" and enjoyed that it allowed for different gameplay styles.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

text: Certain aspects that were thought to have aged poorly or needed improvement received scrutiny. Critics attributed this to a desire to preserve "Modern Warfare"s authenticity for fans. The multiplayer mode was described as "outdated" and criticized for balancing issues involving overpowered perks and weapons and for its collision detection. "IGN" felt many of the multiplayer maps and campaign levels were uninspired and primarily designed for players to use cover; "VG247" criticized the level design for directing players through a linear path that did not always appear to be the correct route. "Hardcore Gamer" disapproved of the decision to retain infinitely spawning enemies in the campaign and felt weapons found in the levels were "barebones" compared to those the player starts out with. Some felt the narrative suffered from pacing issues. Several critics noted lingering problems with the artificial intelligence, describing enemy behavior as "relying on numbers, rather than cunning" and that allies often hampered the player.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

text: Players criticized the Windows version of "Modern Warfare Remastered" for several reasons. On Steam, it received mostly negative user reviews; complaints cited poor performance, numerous hackers, and a low player count. Players felt Activision had failed to provide adequate support for the PC in favor of the game's console versions, a trait which had been apparent with previous installments in the series. "PC Gamer" noted that the game required a capable PC to run well. They criticized the multiplayer mode for not including custom servers and the lack of active players. As part of his close involvement in the game's development, David Pellas playtested the PC version; he stated before its release that it "play[ed] amazingly" and had a "fantastic" frame rate, while acknowledging that it had been played on a high-end gaming PC.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

text: Before its release, many criticized Activision's initial decision to make "Modern Warfare Remastered" available only for purchase through a special edition of "Infinite Warfare". Critics recognized that "Modern Warfare Remastered" appealed highly to fans, and saw bundling the game as anti-consumerist, forcing players to pay more than necessary. "Hardcore Gamer" called the move "sickening", and "Push Square" felt it was "preposterous" and "a bullet in the face to consumers" due to "Modern Warfare"s influence in both the series and the first-person shooter genre. Several perceived the bundling as showing Activision's lack of faith in "Infinite Warfare", and to ensure "Call of Duty"s continued growth. Others felt selling "Modern Warfare Remastered" separately would still be prosperous for the publisher; "Rock, Paper, Shotgun"s writer wrote they would spend more on the series if the modes of future installments, like the bundled games, were sold separately to allow them to purchase those they had the most interest in. "Push Square" believed a standalone would allow Activision to earn their fans' trust and money. They forecast an influx of pre-owned copies of the bundle, devaluing "Infinite Warfare"s worth and reducing the number of copies sold. Conversely, some described Activisions approach as "brilliant", seeing each game in the bundle as uniquely appealing to either former or longstanding fans of the series, and viewed the remaster as a valuable addition.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

text: While adding new content several weeks after the release of "Modern Warfare Remastered", Activision incorporated the use of microtransactions into the multiplayer mode, which had been absent from "Modern Warfare". Data miners had previously uncovered hidden weapons within the game's files; fans regarded them as either an indication of future virtual goods or scrapped content. The choice to include microtransactions resulted in a backlash. "PCGamesN" called the decision "rubbing salt into the wound" after the criticism of bundling the remaster with "Infinite Warfare". Concerns were raised that "Modern Warfare Remastered" would allow for gameplay advantages, similar to Activision's approach with recent "Call of Duty" installments. Others criticized what they perceived as Activision prioritizing revenue over improving the game, and helping to set an example for other video game publishers to sell re-releases with new or omitted content at extra cost.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

text: Opinions of "Modern Warfare Remastered"s microtransactions post-release, particularly surrounding the implementation of new guns not seen in "Modern Warfare", were mixed. "Hardcore Gamer" was disappointed the guns were "locked behind [a] paywall" and relied heavily on opening supply drops to obtain them. Conversely, in 2019 "Kotaku" wrote that while the game's loot box system had flaws and required performing repetitive tasks for those unwilling to spend money, it felt more rewarding and less exploitative than those offered by subsequent "Call of Duty" games.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

text: Following the announcement of the remastered Variety Map Pack in March 2017, Activision was condemned for its decision that the DLC would not be free. Fans asserted that as a remaster, which often includes all previously released DLC from the original, the map pack should have been released with "Modern Warfare Remastered" when it launched. They also believed that selling the DLC for a higher price than its original release was unprincipled. The move was described by gaming journalist Jim Sterling as highlighting "just how far [Activision] can mock its customers and get away with it", and by "Hardcore Gamer" as "one of the biggest rip-offs in recent memory." "Hardcore Gamer" believed the price increase because of inflation was erroneous; the 10 rare supply drops that were included held no value because they contained undesirable content; and few players were using the DLC maps. Some felt that including the DLC at no charge would have helped overcome wavering support from long-term fans, following the criticism of "Infinite Warfare" and the success of Electronic Arts' competing "Battlefield 1". On the other hand, "VG247" opined that the DLC was being sold because "Modern Warfare Remastered" was not sold at full-price as part of the "Infinite Warfare" bundle cost.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

text: The standalone version of "Modern Warfare Remastered" received criticism for not including the DLC and for its price. Some critics thought the discounted "Infinite Warfare" bundle offered more value for money. "Rock, Paper, Shotgun" criticized the game's cost and the DLC for being sold separately, and considered the bundle was not worth its price. They noted "Modern Warfare Remastered"s playerbase had fallen significantly on Steam in prior months, and concluded, "What should've been exciting is mired in irritation." "Destructoid"s writer also condemned Activision's business practices around "Modern Warfare Remastered", voicing their disinterest in buying the standalone after waiting more than half a year for its release. They concluded, "I might've parted with that much money for it last year, but not now. It's too late."


title: James O'Brien (broadcaster)

text: James Edward O'Brien (born 13 January 1972) is a British radio presenter, podcaster, author, and former tabloid journalist and television presenter. Since 2004, he has been a presenter for talk station LBC, on weekdays between 10am and 1pm, hosting a phone-in discussion of current affairs, views and real-life experiences. Between October 2017 and November 2018, he hosted a weekly interview series with JOE titled "Unfiltered with James O'Brien". He has occasionally presented BBC's "Newsnight".


title: James O'Brien (broadcaster)

text: O'Brien was born to a teenaged single mother and was adopted, at the age of 28 days, by Jim O'Brien, later a journalist for "The Daily Telegraph", and his wife. At the time of James's birth, Jim was working on the "Doncaster Evening News". He was educated at the Catholic independent Ampleforth College and later read Philosophy & Economics at the London School of Economics.


title: James O'Brien (broadcaster)

text: Prior to his broadcasting career, O'Brien was an editor of the "Daily Express" gossip column written under the pseudonym William Hickey. He has also written for the "Daily Mail", "Cosmopolitan" and "The Spectator". In 2015 the book "Loathe Thy Neighbour", which examined attitudes towards immigration, was published by Elliott & Thompson.


title: James O'Brien (broadcaster)

text: In 2018 the book "How To Be Right... in a World gone Wrong", in which O'Brien offers his opinions on various current affairs, was published and reached fifth position in "The Sunday Times" Top 10 best sellers' list in December that year. His third book, "How Not to Be Wrong: The Art of Changing Your Mind", was published by W. H. Allen in 2020 and is described as a "candid account of childhood, therapy and the times he's been the one who needed a good talking to." A recent family crisis convinced O'Brien to try therapy; although deeply sceptical, it soon made him feel "as though someone had lifted medicine balls off both my shoulders".


title: James O'Brien (broadcaster)

text: From 2000 to 2002, O'Brien was a panellist on the Channel 5 programme "The Wright Stuff". In early 2001, he presented "A Knight with O'Brien", a talk show on Anglia Television.


title: James O'Brien (broadcaster)

text: With his wife, Lucy O'Brien (née McDonald), he fronted Channel 5's 2001 general election talk show "5 Talk", securing a review from Clive James, who wrote: "James, in particular, is a pink-shirted walking encyclopedia of political savvy".


title: James O'Brien (broadcaster)

text: O'Brien first appeared on LBC during 2002 as a holiday cover presenter. His own weekly programme began in January 2003 and he became a full-time presenter in 2004. Regular features of his show include the "Mystery Hour," in which listeners phone in with various things that puzzle them and other callers attempt to give a solution.


title: James O'Brien (broadcaster)

text: O'Brien made national headlines in April 2009 when footballer Frank Lampard phoned his show to object to tabloid stories about his private life and O'Brien's discussion of them. Lampard's former fiancée, Elen Rivas, had alleged that Frank Lampard had turned their home into a bachelor pad while she and Lampard's children were living in a rented flat. Lampard phoned in, objecting to the assertion that he was "weak" and "scum" and said that he had fought "tooth and nail" to keep his family together. Public comments on Lampard's reaction praised Lampard's "brave" and "articulate" handling of the situation. The exchange later earned O'Brien, who defended his conduct in an equally heated exchange with Kay Burley on Sky News, a Bronze Award in the Best Interview category of the 2010 Sony Radio Academy Awards.


title: James O'Brien (broadcaster)

text: In 2013, O'Brien clashed with Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith in an argument over the Government's work programmes. In May 2014, O'Brien interviewed UKIP leader Nigel Farage. During the interview, O'Brien picked up on Farage's comment that he felt uncomfortable on a train at not being able to hear anyone speaking English. Farage was also criticised by O'Brien for misinterpreting having English as a second language as being unable to speak English at all and for saying he would be concerned if a group of Romanian men moved in next door to him. In October 2014, O'Brien breached broadcasting rules by his remarks during the Clacton by-election.


title: James O'Brien (broadcaster)

text: Throughout 2014 and 2015, O'Brien gave much air time and promotion to false claims of VIP sex abuse by the now discredited Exaro News website, which were based on testimony from Carl Beech, later sentenced to prison for perverting the course of justice and child sex offences, something O'Brien later expressed regret for on Twitter.


title: James O'Brien (broadcaster)

text: O'Brien has claimed to be politically homeless, being against the British Left such as the Labour party under Jeremy Corbyn, but enjoys support from the liberal media of British politics e.g. the "New Statesman" and "The Guardian". He enjoys the freedom that LBC gives him to express his views. O'Brien frequently discusses Brexit with callers who voted to leave the EU in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, often claiming Leave voters had been deceived by the pro-Brexit campaigns to vote against their own interests.


title: James O'Brien (broadcaster)

text: O'Brien began occasionally guest presenting on the BBC Two programme "Newsnight" in August 2014. Following the widespread interest in O'Brien's interview with Farage, it was speculated he would be a permanent replacement for longtime host Jeremy Paxman, who intended to step down. The job was ultimately taken by Evan Davis. O'Brien left "Newsnight" in January 2018 after being criticised for his anti-Brexit and anti-Trump views, which were felt to be out of step with the corporation's policy on neutrality. He departed on good terms, saying the BBC still had the finest selection of journalists in the world.


title: James O'Brien (broadcaster)

text: In October 2017, O'Brien began hosting a podcast at JOE.co.uk titled "Unfiltered with James O'Brien", which ran until November 2018. Guests have included Russell Brand, Alastair Campbell, Lily Allen, Jon Ronson, Gary Lineker and Sir Nick Clegg.


title: James O'Brien (broadcaster)

text: A new podcast was started in March 2019 titled "Full Disclosure with James O'Brien". The first guest to appear on the show was former Prime Minister Tony Blair. Other guests included David Mitchell, Nicky Campbell, Margaret Atwood and Michael Morpurgo.


title: James O'Brien (broadcaster)

text: O'Brien has stated that he voted for Boris Johnson in the 2008 Mayoral Election, though he now regrets his vote.


title: James O'Brien (broadcaster)

text: O'Brien is an anti-Brexit campaigner and was part of the People's Vote campaign for a second Brexit referendum. He gave a speech at a People's Vote March "Put It to the People" on 23 March 2019 and at the People's Vote rally on 9 April 2019.


title: James O'Brien (broadcaster)

text: O'Brien is married to Lucy McDonald and has two daughters. Politically, O'Brien prefers to be described as 'liberal' rather than 'left-wing'. O'Brien was raised in the Roman Catholic faith and refers to himself as a Christian. He is a Kidderminster Harriers F.C. fan.


title: NFL playoffs

text: The National Football League (NFL) playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the regular season to determine the NFL champion. Currently, seven teams from each of the league's two conferences qualify for the playoffs. A tie-breaking procedure exists if required. The tournament culminates in the Super Bowl: the league's championship game in which two teams, one from each conference, play each other to become champion of the NFL.


title: NFL playoffs

text: NFL postseason history can be traced to the first NFL Championship Game in 1933, though in the early years, qualification for the game was based solely on regular-season records. From 1933 to 1966, the NFL postseason generally only consisted of the NFL Championship Game, which pitted the league's two division winners against each other (pending any one-game playoff matches that needed to be held to break ties in the division standings). In , the playoffs were expanded to four teams (division winners). When the league completed its merger with the American Football League (AFL) in , the playoffs were expanded to eight teams, which increased to ten in 1978, twelve in 1990, and fourteen in 2020.


title: NFL playoffs

text: Among the four major professional sports leagues in the United States, the NFL postseason is the only one to use a single-elimination tournament in all of its rounds. Major League Baseball (MLB) has traditionally used "best-of" series formats, though its Wild Card postseason round, initiated in 2012, was a single game until 2022, when it was replaced with a best-of-three series. Both the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Hockey League (NHL) continue to use "best-of" series formats.


title: NFL playoffs

text: The 32-team National Football League is divided into two conferences, the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). Since 2002, each conference has 16 teams and are further divided into four divisions of four teams each. As of 2020, qualification into the playoffs works as follows:


title: NFL playoffs

text: If teams are tied (having the same regular season won-lost-tied record), the playoff seeding is determined by a set of tie-breaking rules.


title: NFL playoffs

text: The names of the first two playoff rounds date back to the postseason format that was first used in 1978, when the league added a second wild-card team to each conference. The first round of the playoffs is dubbed the wild-card round (or super wild-card weekend). In this round, the second-seeded division winner hosts the seventh-seeded wild-card, the third hosts the sixth, and the fourth hosts the fifth. There are no restrictions regarding teams from the same division matching up in any round. The division winner with the best record from each conference receives a first round bye, automatically advancing them to the second round, dubbed the divisional round and hosts the lowest-remaining seed from the first round. The other two winners from the wild-card round play each other with the higher seeds hosting. The two surviving teams from each conference's divisional-round playoff games then meet in the respective AFC and NFC Conference Championship games, hosted by the higher-seeded team. The winners of those contests go on to face one another in the Super Bowl which is played at a pre-determined neutral site.


title: NFL playoffs

text: The New York Giants and New York Jets have shared the same home stadium since 1984 (Giants Stadium from 1984 to 2009, and MetLife Stadium since 2010). Thus, if both teams need to host playoff games on the same weekend, they are required to play on separate days, even during the Conference Championship round when both games are normally scheduled the same day. The only time such a scheduling conflict has occurred was during Wild Card weekend in 1985, when only 10 teams qualified for the postseason and there were only two wild-card games. Instead of playing both Wild Card games on the same day, as was the case when the 10-team system was used from 1978 to 1989, the Jets hosted their game Saturday, December 28, before the Giants hosted their game on Sunday, December 29. This same scheduling conflict could occur for the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams, who began sharing SoFi Stadium in 2020.


title: NFL playoffs

text: Often, teams will finish a season with identical records. It becomes necessary, therefore, to devise means to break these ties, either to determine which teams will qualify for the playoffs, or to determine seeding in the playoff tournament. The rules below are applied in order until the tie is broken. Ties within divisions are always broken first so to eliminate all but the highest ranked club in each division before breaking ties between teams in different divisions, however it should be emphasized that other than for division winners, divisional ranking is "not" in itself a tiebreaker - for example, if a division runner-up ties with teams finishing third and fourth in another division, the runner-up's record will be compared to the team awarded third place in the other division without regard to the teams' divisional finish.


title: NFL playoffs

text: If three or four teams in one division are tied for the division title and/or division runner-up, and also if after breaking ties within divisions three or four teams in different divisions are tied, then should the one or two team(s) be qualified or eliminated at any step the tie breaker reverts to step one for the remaining two or three teams. If multiple playoff spots are at stake, the rules are applied in order until the first team(s) qualify(ies) or is eliminated, then the process is started again for the remaining teams. Finally, once ties are broken between three or more teams qualifying for the playoffs, the relative positions of the seeds determined will not change regardless of wild card and divisional round results - for example, if division winners were to tie for the second, third and fourth seeds in a conference and the third and fourth seeds subsequently advanced to the conference championship game, the team that was originally awarded the third seed would host that game even if it would have lost a head-to-head tiebreaker against the fourth seed.


title: NFL playoffs

text: The tie-breaking rules have changed over the years, with the most recent changes being made in 2002 to accommodate the league's realignment into eight four-team divisions; record vs. common opponents and most of the other criteria involving wins and losses were moved up higher in the tie-breaking list, while those involving compiled stats such as points for and against were moved to the bottom.


title: NFL playoffs

text: The NFL introduced overtime for any divisional tiebreak games beginning in , and for championship games beginning in . The first postseason game to be played under these rules was the 1958 NFL Championship Game between the Baltimore Colts and New York Giants (the so-called "Greatest Game Ever Played"), decided by a one-yard touchdown run by Colts fullback Alan Ameche after eight minutes and fifteen seconds of extra time. Overtime under the original format was sudden death, the first team to score would be declared the winner.


title: NFL playoffs

text: In March , the NFL amended its rules for postseason overtime, with the rule being extended into the regular season in March 2012. If a team scores a touchdown, or if the defense scores a safety on the (other team’s) first possession, it is declared the winner. If it scores a field goal on its first possession, however, it then kicks off to the opposing team, which has an opportunity to score; if the score is tied again after that possession, true sudden death rules apply and whoever scores next will win. True sudden death rules would continue from double overtime hereafter.


title: NFL playoffs

text: The league further amended its postseason overtime rules in March , allowing both teams to have at least one possession regardless if the first team with possession scores a touchdown.


title: NFL playoffs

text: Since postseason games cannot end in a tie, unlike the preseason or regular season, additional overtime periods are played as necessary until a winner is determined. Furthermore, all clock rules apply as if a game had started over. Therefore, if the first overtime period ends with the score still tied, the teams switch ends of the field prior to the second overtime. If a game was still tied with two minutes to go in the second overtime, there would be a two-minute warning (but not during the first overtime period as in the regular season). If it were still tied at the end of the second overtime, the team that received the first overtime kickoff would kick off to start a third overtime period, although unlike in the first overtime period true sudden death rules would continue from the start of any third and subsequent overtime period. Although a contest could theoretically last indefinitely, or last multiple overtime periods like several National Hockey League postseason games, no NFL playoff game has ever gone past two overtime periods. The longest NFL overtime game played to date is 82 minutes, 40 seconds: Miami Dolphins kicker Garo Yepremian made the walk-off 37-yard field goal after 7:40 of the second overtime to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs, 27–24, in an AFC playoff game on December 25, 1971.


title: NFL playoffs

text: From the league's founding in 1920 until 1932, there was no scheduled championship game. From 1920–1923, the championship was awarded to a team by a vote of team owners at the annual owners' meeting. From 1924–1932, the team having the best winning percentage was awarded the championship (the "de facto" standard owners had been using anyway). As each team played a different number of games, simply counting wins and losses would have been insufficient. Additionally, tie games were not counted in the standings in figuring winning percentage (under modern rules, ties count as ½ win and ½ loss). There was a head-to-head tiebreaker, which also was weighted toward the end of the season: for two teams that played each other twice, each winning once, the team winning the second game was determined to be the champion (the criteria used to decide the 1921 title).


title: NFL playoffs

text: In , the Chicago Bears (6–1–6) and the Portsmouth Spartans (6–1–4) were tied at the end of the season with identical winning percentages (). Of note, the Green Bay Packers (10–3–1) had more wins, but a lower winning percentage () as calculated under the rules of the day, which ignored ties. An additional game was therefore needed to determine a champion. It was agreed that the game would be played in Chicago at Wrigley Field, but severe winter weather and fear of a low turnout forced the game to be moved indoors to Chicago Stadium.


title: NFL playoffs

text: The game was played under modified rules on a shortened 80-yard dirt field, and the Bears won with a final score of 9–0. As a result of the game, the Bears had the better winning percentage () and won the league title. The loss gave the Spartans a final winning percentage of , and moved them to third place behind the Packers. While there is no consensus that this game was a real "championship" game (or even a playoff game), it generated considerable interest and led to the creation of the official NFL Championship Game in .


title: NFL playoffs

text: Given the interest of the impromptu "championship game", and the desire of the league to create a more equitable means of determining a champion, the league divided into two conferences beginning in . The winners of each conference (the first place teams in the conferences) met in the NFL Championship Game after the season. There was no tie-breaker system in place; any ties in the final standings of either conference resulted in playoff games in 1941, 1943, 1947, 1950 (2), 1952, 1957, 1958, and 1965. Since the venue and date of the championship game were often not known until the last game of the season had been played, these playoff games sometimes delayed the NFL title game by a week.


title: NFL playoffs

text: The playoff structure used from 1933 to 1966 was considered inequitable by some because of the number of times it failed to match the teams with the two best records in the championship game, as "only" the conference winners would qualify for playoff contention. Four times between 1950 and 1966 (in , , , and ) the team with the second-best win–loss record did not qualify for the playoffs while the team with the best record in the other conference, but only the third-best in the league, advanced to the championship game.


title: NFL playoffs

text: In , the NFL expanded to 16 teams and split its two conferences into two divisions of four teams each. The four division champions advanced to the playoffs, and to remain on schedule, a tie-breaker system was introduced. The first round determined the conference's champion and its representative in the NFL Championship Game, played the following week. This was the first scheduled playoff tournament to determine the teams to play for the NFL Championship.


title: NFL playoffs

text: During the three years (1967–69) that this playoff structure was in effect, there was one use of the tie-breaker system. In 1967, the Los Angeles Rams and Baltimore Colts ended the season tied at 11–1–2 for the lead in the Coastal Division. The Colts came into the last game of the season undefeated, but were beaten by the Rams. Though the Colts shared the best win–loss record in the NFL that year, they failed to advance to the playoffs while three other teams with worse records won their divisions. This event figured into the decision in 1970 to include a wild-card team in the playoff tournament after the AFL–NFL merger.


title: NFL playoffs

text: During the 1960s, a third-place game was held in Miami, called the Playoff Bowl. It was contested in early January following the –69 seasons. Though official playoff games at the time they were played, the NFL now officially classifies these ten games (and statistics) as exhibitions, not as playoff games.


title: NFL playoffs

text: During its brief history, the AAFC, which would merge into the NFL for the season, used an identical playoff format to the NFL from 1946 to 1948. In 1949 (its last year), the AAFC merged its two conferences when one of its teams folded, and used a four-team playoff system. In 1948, the aforementioned issue of playoff inequity came into play when the San Francisco 49ers would miss the playoffs with a 12–2 record; they were in the same conference as the 14–0 Cleveland Browns, who would go on to win the Western Conference and then the AAFC's championship game against the 7–7 Buffalo Bills (AAFC).


title: NFL playoffs

text: For the 1960–68 seasons, the AFL used the two-divisional format identical to the NFL to determine its champion. There was no tie-breaker system in place, so ties atop the Eastern Division final standings in 1963 and Western Division in 1968 necessitated playoff games to determine each division's representative in the championship. In both years, the playoff winner went on the road for the AFL title game and lost.


title: NFL playoffs

text: For 1969, the final season before its merger with the NFL, the AFL added a first round whereby each division winner played the second-place team from the other division. The winners of these games met in the AFL Championship Game. In the only year of this format, the AFL champion Kansas City Chiefs were the second-place team in the Western division and played both games on the road. They won Super Bowl IV in January and became the first division runner-up to win a Super Bowl.


title: NFL playoffs

text: The Super Bowl began as an inter-league championship game between the AFL and NFL, an idea first proposed by Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt. This compromise was the result of pressures the upstart AFL was placing on the older NFL. The success of the rival league eventually led to a full merger of the two leagues.


title: NFL playoffs

text: From the 1966 season to the 1969 season (Super Bowls I–IV) the game featured the champions of the AFL and NFL. Since the 1970 season, the game has featured the champions of the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC).


title: NFL playoffs

text: When the leagues merged in 1970, the new NFL (with 26 teams) reorganized into two conferences of three divisions each. From the 1970 season to the 1977 season, four teams from each conference (for a total of eight teams) qualified for the playoffs each year. These four teams included the three division champions, and a fourth wild-card team.


title: NFL playoffs

text: Originally, the home teams in the playoffs were decided based on a yearly rotation. From 1970 to 1974, the divisional playoff round rotated which of the three division champions have home-field advantage, with the wild-card teams and their opponents they faced in the divisional playoff game will never get it. Starting in 1970, the divisional playoff games consisted of the AFC Central champions and the NFC West champions playing their games on the road. Then in 1971 it rotated to the AFC East champions and the NFC East champions playing their games on the road. In the 1972 divisional playoff games, the AFC West champions and the NFC Central champions were the visiting teams. And 1973 it would start all over with the AFC Central and NFC West again, and so on.


title: NFL playoffs

text: The league instituted a seeding system for the playoffs in 1975, where the surviving clubs with the higher seeds were made the home teams for each playoff round. Thus, the top seeded division winner played the wild-card team, and the remaining two division winners played at the home stadium of the better seed, forcing the worst-ranked division winner to open the postseason on the road. However, two teams from the same division could not meet prior to the conference championship game. Thus, there would be times when the pairing in the divisional playoff round would be the 1 seed vs. the 3 seed and 2 vs. 4.


title: NFL playoffs

text: Following an expansion of the regular season from 14 to 16 games in , the league added one more wild-card team for each conference. The two wild-card teams played the week before the division winners. The winner of this game played the top seeded division winner as was done from 1970–1977. The league continued to prohibit intra-divisional games in the divisional playoffs, but allowed such contests in the wild-card round. This ten-team playoff format was used through the 1989 season. Under this system, the Oakland Raiders became the first wild-card team to win a Super Bowl following the 1980 season.


title: NFL playoffs

text: During the strike-shortened season, only nine regular season games were played, and a modified playoff format was instituted. Divisional play was ignored (there were some cases where division rivals had both games wiped out by the strike, although each division ultimately sent at least one team to the playoffs), and the top eight teams from each conference (based on W-L-T record) were advanced to the playoffs. As a result, this became the first time that teams with losing records qualified for the playoffs: the 4–5 Cleveland Browns and the 4–5 Detroit Lions.


title: NFL playoffs

text: Several times between 1978–89, the two wild-card games had to be played on different days. Normally they both would be held on Sunday. In 1983 and 1988, the games were split between Saturday and Monday because Sunday was Christmas, and the NFL had avoided playing on that day at the time. In 1984, both games were played in the Pacific Time Zone, so they had to be played on Saturday and Sunday to accommodate for time differences. In 1985, both the New York Giants and Jets hosted wild-card games. As they have shared a home stadium since 1984, the games had to be played on different days.


title: NFL playoffs

text: For the 1990 season, a third wild-card team for each conference was added, expanding the playoffs to twelve teams. The lowest-seeded division winner was then "demoted" to the wild-card weekend. Also, the restrictions on intra-divisional games during the divisional playoffs were removed.


title: NFL playoffs

text: The season was the first with playoff games in prime time. Thus, the league no longer had the same restrictions like in 1984 as to when to schedule games in the Pacific Time Zone.


title: NFL playoffs

text: The 1990 format continued until the 2002 expansion and realignment into eight divisions. In this format, used until the 2019 season, the four division winners and two wild cards in both conferences are seeded 1–6, respectively, with the top two seeds receiving byes, and the highest seed in each round guaranteed to host the lowest seed.


title: NFL playoffs

text: A limitation of the 12-team format was that division winners, including one with a .500 regular season record or a losing season, could play a home playoff game against wild card teams who had superior regular season records. Home field advantage does not guarantee success, however; during the 2015–16 season, every road team won their respective playoff game, the first such occurrence in NFL history. Through 2019 however, NFL owners remained adamant that every division winner should still be rewarded with a home playoff game regardless of record.


title: NFL playoffs

text: Calls to expand the playoffs to 14 teams began in 2006. Proponents of expansion noted the increased revenue that could be gained from an additional two playoff games. They also noted that the 12-team playoff system was implemented when the league still had 28 teams, four fewer than the 2002 expansion. The opposition to such a move notes that an expansion of the playoffs would "water down" the field by giving access to lower-caliber teams. Opponents to expansion further point to the NBA playoffs and the NHL playoffs where more than half of the teams qualify for the postseason, and there is often a decreased emphasis on regular season performance as a result. In October 2013, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced plans to revisit the idea to expand the playoffs to 14 teams, with the increased revenue gained from the two additional postseason games being used to offset plans to shorten the preseason. The 14-team playoff proposal remained tabled until December 2014, when no team in the NFC South could finish better than .500; Goodell stated that the league would vote on it at the March 2015 Owners' Meetings. However, by February 2015, the "Washington Post" reported that support among team owners had eroded, and league leaders expressed reluctance to make a change until the end of the 2015 season. The proposal then lost all interest by 2017.


title: NFL playoffs

text: The league eventually revisited and implemented the 14-team playoff format in 2020, placing a third wild-card team in each conference, and only giving the top seed a bye (as explained above).


title: NFL playoffs

text: Notable current streaks in table are listed below in bold. Only the longest streak for each team is listed. Note that the regular season increased from 14 to 16 games in 1978, and teams only played 9 regular-season games in 1982.


title: Ronnie Milsap

text: Ronnie Lee Milsap (born Ronald Lee Millsaps; January 16, 1943) is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country music's most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s. Nearly completely blind from birth, he became one of the most successful and versatile country "crossover" singers of his time, appealing to both country and pop music markets with hit songs that incorporated pop, R&B, and rock and roll elements. His biggest crossover hits include "It Was Almost Like a Song", "Smoky Mountain Rain", "(There's) No Gettin' Over Me", "I Wouldn't Have Missed It for the World", "Any Day Now", and "Stranger in My House". He is credited with six Grammy Awards and 35 number-one country hits, third to George Strait and Conway Twitty. He was selected for induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2014.


title: Ronnie Milsap

text: Milsap was born January 16, 1943, in Robbinsville, North Carolina. A congenital disorder left him almost completely blind from birth. Abandoned by his mother as an infant, he was raised in poverty by his grandparents in the Smoky Mountains until he was sent to the Governor Morehead School for the blind in Raleigh, North Carolina, at age 5.


title: Ronnie Milsap

text: During his childhood, Milsap developed a passion for music, particularly the late-night radio broadcasts of country music, gospel music, and rhythm and blues. When he was 7, his instructors noticed his musical talents. Soon afterward he began studying classical music formally at Governor Morehead and learned several instruments, eventually mastering the piano. When he was 14, a slap from one of the school's houseparents caused him to lose what very limited vision he had in his left eye.


title: Ronnie Milsap

text: With the national breakthrough of Elvis Presley in 1956, Milsap became interested in rock and roll music and formed a rock band called the Apparitions with fellow high-school students. In concert, Milsap has often paid tribute to the musicians of the 1950s who inspired him including Ray Charles, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Presley.


title: Ronnie Milsap

text: Milsap was awarded a full college scholarship and briefly attended Young Harris College in Young Harris, Georgia, with plans to become a lawyer. During this time, Milsap joined a popular local R&B band called the Dimensions that played gigs in the Atlanta area, and became a regular attraction at the rough and rowdy Royal Peacock Club. In the fall of 1964, Milsap declined a scholarship to law school and left college to pursue a full-time career in music. He met Joyce Reeves one night at a dinner party during this period, and the two were married in 1965.


title: Ronnie Milsap

text: In 1963, Milsap met Atlanta disc jockey Pat Hughes who became an early supporter of his music career. Milsap recorded his first single, "Total Disaster/It Went to Your Head", which enjoyed some local success in the Atlanta area. The single sold 15,000 copies with the help of Hughes, who played the record on his radio show. Around this same time, Milsap auditioned for a job as a keyboardist for musician J. J. Cale. In 1965, Milsap signed with New York-based Scepter Records, recording several obscure singles for the label over the next few years, and working briefly with other soul musicians like Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder.


title: Ronnie Milsap

text: Also in 1965, Milsap scored his first hit with the Ashford & Simpson-penned single, "Never Had It So Good", which peaked at No. 19 on the R&B chart in November of that year. It would be his only successful single during his time with Scepter. Milsap cut another Ashford & Simpson tune, "Let's Go Get Stoned", that was relegated to a B-side.


title: Ronnie Milsap

text: In the late 1960s, after moving to Memphis, Tennessee, Milsap worked for producer Chips Moman and became a popular weekly attraction at the Memphis nightclub T.J.'s. During this time, Moman helped Milsap land work as a session musician on numerous projects including several recordings with Elvis Presley such as "Don't Cry Daddy" in 1969 and "Kentucky Rain" in 1970. That same year, Milsap made the lower reaches of the pop charts with the single "Loving You Is a Natural Thing". He recorded and released his debut album, "Ronnie Milsap", on Warner Brothers in 1971.


title: Ronnie Milsap

text: In December 1972, Milsap relocated to Nashville after a chance meeting with country music star Charley Pride who was in the audience for a Milsap gig at the nightclub Whiskey A-Go-Go on Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles. Pride was impressed with Milsap's singing and encouraged him to change course and focus on country music. Milsap began working with Pride's manager, Jack D. Johnson, and was signed to RCA Records in 1973. He released his first single for RCA that year, "I Hate You", which became his first country music success, peaking at No. 10 on the country chart. In 1974, Milsap toured with Pride as an opening act and had two No. 1 singles: "Pure Love" (written by Eddie Rabbitt) and the Kris Kristofferson composition "Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends" which won Milsap his first Grammy. In 1975, he revived the Don Gibson song "(I'd Be) A Legend in My Time" and scored another No. 1 hit with "Daydreams About Night Things".


title: Ronnie Milsap

text: From 1976 to 1978, Milsap became one of country music's biggest stars. He scored seven No. 1 singles in a row, including the Grammy-winning "(I'm a) Stand by My Woman Man" and "What a Difference You've Made in My Life". The most significant of this series was "It Was Almost Like a Song" in 1977, a piano-based ballad, which became his most successful single of the 1970s. In addition to topping the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, the song was his first entry on the "Billboard" Hot 100 pop music chart since "Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends" reached No. 95; "It Was Almost Like a Song," reached No. 16. It was also his first song to make the Adult Contemporary Chart, stopping at No. 7. While the song was Milsap's only crossover success of the 1970s, he continued to achieve hits on the country music charts for the remainder of the decade.


title: Ronnie Milsap

text: Milsap's sound shifted toward string-laden pop ballads during the late 1970s which resulted in crossover success on the pop charts beginning in the early 1980s. From 1980 until 1983, he scored a series of eleven No. 1 singles. Milsap's Greatest Hits album, released in 1980, included a new single, "Smoky Mountain Rain", which became a No. 1 smash on the country charts. The single peaked in the Top 20 on the pop music chart and also became the first of two Milsap songs to score No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.


title: Ronnie Milsap

text: Other crossover successes included the Top 5 pop single, "(There's) No Gettin' Over Me", and two Top 20 songs in "I Wouldn't Have Missed It For the World" and "Any Day Now", the latter which lasted five weeks at No. 1 on "Billboard"s Adult Contemporary chart. He also had some success with "He Got You". All four songs reached No. 1 on the country music charts.


title: Ronnie Milsap

text: Although the series of No. 1 hits ended in 1983, the last song of the series, "Stranger in My House", was still successful on all three charts, peaking at No. 5 on the country music chart, No. 23 on the pop music chart, and No. 8 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Just a few months later, "Don't You Know How Much I Love You" was released, becoming Milsap's last significant entry on the pop music chart, stopping at No. 58. However it, along with others, still became major successes on the Adult Contemporary chart. These successful singles include "Show Her", "Still Losing You", and finally, the Grammy-winning song "Lost in the Fifties Tonight" (his last pop crossover success) in 1985.


title: Ronnie Milsap

text: Between 1985 and 1987, Milsap enjoyed a series of uninterrupted No. 1 country singles, enjoying great success at this time with "She Keeps the Home Fires Burning", "In Love", "Snap Your Fingers", "Where Do the Nights Go", and the Grammy-winning duet with Kenny Rogers, "Make No Mistake, She's Mine".


title: Ronnie Milsap

text: In 1989, Milsap had his last No. 1 song with "A Woman in Love", although he still remained successful on the charts. Other Top 10 singles between 1989 and 1991 include "Houston Solution", "Stranger Things Have Happened", "Turn That Radio On", a remake of the 1950s hit "Since I Don't Have You" (his last adult contemporary hit) and "Are You Loving Me Like I'm loving You". With the help of writer Tom Carter, Milsap wrote and released his autobiography, titled "Almost like a Song", in 1990.


title: Ronnie Milsap

text: In 1992, he had a major success with "All Is Fair in Love and War". The song featured rock guitarist Mark Knopfler on lead guitar and peaked at No. 11; his last top-40 country hit, "True Believer," peaked in 1993 at No. 30. By that time, however, Milsap's chart success began to decline.


title: Ronnie Milsap

text: Milsap has remained one of country music's best-loved and most successful artists despite the lack of radio airplay since the mid-1990s. In 1993, he left RCA for Liberty and released the album "True Believer" which failed to achieve significant radio airplay, although the title song scored No. 30 on the country chart. In 2000, Milsap resurfaced with a two-CD set, "40 No. 1 Hits", featuring a new single entitled "Time, Love, and Money". The new collection earned a gold record although the single failed to score on the charts.


title: Ronnie Milsap

text: In 2000, Milsap's biography was featured by A&E Networks's "Biography" television series. Milsap has also been featured by CMT's numerous shows, including "40 Greatest Men of Country Music" and a 2005 episode of Crossroads with Tex-Mex rock group Los Lonely Boys.


title: Ronnie Milsap

text: During 2004, Milsap worked with producer Jerry F. Sharell to record his first non-country album since the early 1970s, "Just for a Thrill". The project was a collection of American popular/jazz music standards which earned Milsap a Grammy award nomination that year. In 2006, Milsap signed with his former company RCA and returned to a mainstream, contemporary country music style with the album "My Life". The first single was "Local Girls" which reached No. 54.


title: Ronnie Milsap

text: In 2009, Milsap released a two-CD set entitled "Then Sings My Soul" which featured 24 hymns and gospel songs, including "Up To Zion". "Up To Zion" was co-written by Gregory James Tornquist and Noreen Crayton and became a No. 1 hit on the southern gospel charts. On May 12, 2010, he was part of a Gaither Video Taping.


title: Ronnie Milsap

text: Milsap's studio album "Country Again" was released in July 2011. The album was a return to a more traditional country sound.


title: Ronnie Milsap

text: On May 2, 2013, Milsap performed at the memorial service of country legend George Jones, singing the Jones classic "When the Grass Grows Over Me". The service was broadcast live on CMT, GAC, RFD-TV, The Nashville Network, and Family Net as well as Nashville stations. SiriusXM and WSM 650AM, home of the Grand Ole Opry, broadcast the event on radio.


title: Ronnie Milsap

text: On December 27, 2013, it was announced that Milsap would release a new album. "Summer #17" was released in March 2014. The album features new recordings of classic pop and R&B songs from the 1950s and 60's.


title: Ronnie Milsap

text: On June 1, 2014, "Rolling Stone" magazine ranked "Smoky Mountain Rain" #96 in their list of the 100 greatest country songs.


title: Ronnie Milsap

text: In 2016, Milsap was selected as one of 30 artists to perform on "Forever Country", a mash-up track of "Take Me Home, Country Roads", "On the Road Again" and "I Will Always Love You" which celebrates 50 years of the CMA Awards.


title: Ronnie Milsap

text: In October 2018, "Billboard" announced that Milsap would release a duets album, titled "Ronnie Milsap: The Duets" in January 2019. The album was released on January 18, 2019.


title: Ronnie Milsap

text: Milsap released the album "A Better Word for Love" in 2021, recorded at Ronnie's Place and released by Black River Entertainment.


title: Ronnie Milsap

text: In 1965, Milsap married Joyce Reeves. They had one son, Ronald Todd Milsap, who was found dead on February 23, 2019, on his houseboat from an apparent medical condition. Ronald Todd's son, who had not heard from his father for the past two days, found the body. Ronald Todd was 49. Joyce Reeves Milsap died on September 6, 2021. She had been battling leukemia since 2014. She was 81-years old.


title: Ronnie Milsap

text: On December 2, 2020, six miles of U.S. 129 in Graham County, North Carolina, from Yellow Creek near Robbinsville to the Swain County line, was designated Ronnie Milsap Highway.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: Symbolic interactionism is a sociological theory that develops from practical considerations and alludes to particular effects of communication and interaction in people to make images and normal implications, for deduction and correspondence with others. According to Macionis, symbolic interactionism is "a framework for building theory that sees society as the product of everyday interactions of individuals". In other words, it is a frame of reference to better understand how individuals interact with one another to create symbolic worlds, and in return, how these worlds shape individual behaviors. It is a framework that helps understand how society is preserved and created through repeated interactions between individuals. The interpretation process that occurs between interactions helps create and recreate meaning. It is the shared understanding and interpretations of meaning that affect the interaction between individuals. Individuals act on the premise of a shared understanding of meaning within their social context. Thus, interaction and behavior is framed through the shared meaning that objects and concepts have attached to them. From this view, people live in both natural and symbolic environments.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: Symbolic interactionism comes from a sociological perspective which developed around the middle of the twentieth century and that continues to be influential in some areas of the discipline. It is particularly important in microsociology and social psychology. It is derived from the American philosophy of pragmatism and particularly from the work of George Herbert Mead, as a pragmatic method to interpret social interactions.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: R. Collins views symbolic interactionism as studying the way the social world is created through interaction between individuals and their environment.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: Symbolic interaction was conceived by George Herbert Mead and Charles Horton Cooley. Mead argued that people's selves are social products, but that these selves are also purposive and creative, and believed that the true test of any theory was that it was "useful in solving complex social problems". Mead's influence was said to be so powerful that sociologists regard him as the one "true founder" of the symbolic interactionism tradition.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: Although Mead taught in a philosophy department, he is best known by sociologists as the teacher who trained a generation of the best minds in their field. Strangely, he never set forth his wide-ranging ideas in a book or systematic treatise. After his death in 1931, his students pulled together class notes and conversations with their mentor and published "Mind, Self and Society" in his name. It is a common misconception that John Dewey was the leader of this sociological theory; according to "The Handbook of Symbolic Interactionism," Mead was undoubtedly the individual who "transformed the inner structure of the theory, moving it to a higher level of theoretical complexity."


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: "Mind, Self and Society" is the book published by Mead's students based on his lectures and teaching, and the title of the book highlights the core concept of social interactionism. "Mind" refers to an individual's ability to use symbols to create meanings for the world around the individual – individuals use language and thought to accomplish this goal. "Self" refers to an individual's ability to reflect on the way that the individual is perceived by others. Finally, "society", according to Mead, is where all of these interactions are taking place. A general description of Mead's compositions portray how outside social structures, classes, and power and abuse affect the advancement of self, personality for gatherings verifiably denied of the ability to characterize themselves.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: Herbert Blumer, a student and interpreter of Mead, coined the term and put forward an influential summary: people act a certain way towards things based on the meaning those things already have, and these meanings are derived from social interaction and modified through interpretation. Blumer was a social constructionist, and was influenced by John Dewey; as such, this theory is very phenomenologically-based. Given that Blumer was the first to use symbolic interaction as a term, he is known as the founder of symbolic interaction. He believed that the "Most human and humanizing activity that people engage in is talking to each other." According to Blumer, human groups are created by people and it is only actions between them that define a society. He argued that with interaction and through interaction individuals are able to "produce common symbols by approving, arranging, and redefining them." Having said that, interaction is shaped by a mutual exchange of interpretation, the ground of socialization.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: While having less influential work in the discipline, Charles Horton Cooley and William Isaac Thomas are considered to be influential representatives of the theory. Cooley's work on connecting society and the individuals influenced Mead's further workings. Cooley felt society and the individuals could only be understood in relationship to each other. Cooley's concept of the “looking-glass self,” influenced Mead’s theory of self and symbolic interactionism. W. I. Thomas is also known as a representative of symbolic interactionism. His main work was a theory of human motivation addressing interactions between individuals and the "social sources of behaviors." He attempted to "explain the proper methodological approach to social life; develop a theory of human motivation; spell out a working conception of adult socialization; and provide the correct perspective on deviance and disorganization." A majority of scholars agree with Thomas.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: Two other theorists who have influenced symbolic interaction theory are Yrjö Engeström and David Middleton. Engeström and Middleton explained the usefulness of symbolic interactionism in the communication field in a variety of work settings, including "courts of law, health care, computer software design, scientific laboratory, telephone sales, control, repair, and maintenance of advanced manufacturing systems". Other scholars credited for their contribution to the theory are Thomas, Park, James, Horton Cooley, Znaniecki, Baldwin, Redfield, and Wirth. Unlike other social sciences, symbolic interactionism emphasizes greatly on the ideas of action instead of culture, class and power. According to behaviorism, Darwinism, pragmatism, as well as Max Weber, action theory contributed significantly to the formation of social interactionism as a theoretical perspective in communication studies.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: Most symbolic interactionists believe a physical reality does indeed exist by an individual's social definitions, and that social definitions do develop in part or in relation to something "real". People thus do not respond to this reality directly, but rather to the social understanding of reality; i.e., they respond to this reality indirectly through a kind of filter which consists of individuals' different perspectives. This means that humans exist not in the physical space composed of realities, but in the "world" composed only of "objects". According to Erving Goffman, what motivities humans to position their body parts in certain manners and the desires to capture and examine those moments are two of the elements that constitute the composition of the social reality which is made of various individuals' perceptions, it's crucial to examine how these two elements' occurrence. It appeals symbolic interactionists to shift more emphases on the realistic aspect of their empirical observation and theorizing.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: According to Erving Goffman, what motivities humans to position their body parts in certain manners and the desires to capture and examine those moments are two of the elements that constitute the composition of the social reality, which is made of various individuals' perceptions, it's crucial to examine how these two elements' occurrence. It appeals symbolic interactionists to shift more emphases on the realistic aspect of their empirical observation and theorizing.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: Having defined some of the underlying assumptions of symbolic interactionism, it is necessary to address the premises that each assumption supports. According to Blumer (19f.69), there are three premises that can be derived from the assumptions above.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: The first premise includes everything that a human being may note in their world, including physical objects, actions and concepts. Essentially, individuals behave towards objects and others based on the personal meanings that the individual has already given these items. Blumer was trying to put emphasis on the meaning behind individual behaviors, specifically speaking, psychological and sociological explanations for those actions and behaviors.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: 2) "The meaning of such things is derived from, or arises out of, the social interaction that one has with others and the society."


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: The second premise explains the meaning of such things is derived from, or arises out of, the social interaction that one has with other humans. Blumer, following Mead, claimed people interact with each other by interpreting or defining each other's actions instead of merely reacting to each other's actions. Their "response" is not made directly to the actions of one another but instead is based on the meaning which they attach to such actions. Thus, human interaction is mediated by the use of symbols and signification, by interpretation, or by ascertaining the meaning of one another's actions. Meaning is either taken for granted and pushed aside as an unimportant element which need not to be investigated, or it is regarded as a mere neutral link or one of the causal chains between the causes or factors responsible for human behavior and this behavior as the product of such factors.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: 3) "The Meanings are handled in, and modified through, an interpretative process used by the person in dealing with the things he/she [sic] encounters."


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: Symbolic interactionists describe thinking as an inner conversation. Mead called this inner dialogue "minding", which is the delay in one's thought process that happens when one thinks about what they will do next. These meanings are handled in, and modified through, an interpretive process used by the person in dealing with the things he or she encounters. We naturally talk to ourselves in order to sort out the meaning of a difficult situation. But first, we need language. Before we can think, we must be able to interact symbolically. The emphasis on symbols, negotiated meaning, and social construction of society brought attention to the roles people play. Role-taking is a key mechanism that permits people to see another person's perspective to understand what an action might mean to another person. Role-taking is a part of our lives at an early age, for instance, playing house and pretending to be someone else. There is an improvisational quality to roles; however, actors often take on a script that they follow. Because of the uncertainty of roles in social contexts, the burden of role-making is on the person in the situation. In this sense, we are proactive participants in our environment.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: 4) "It's the inherent human desire to acquire potential psychological rewards from interacting with others that motivates us to establish realities filtered through social interactions"


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: Some symbolic interactionists point out the ineradicable nexus of the desire for potential psychological reward between individuals and their respective socially constructed realities that is commonly known as the "society", these experts have confirmed that one crucial premise for analyzing and dissecting symbolic interactionism is the psychological reward that drives individuals to connect with others and create meanings via social interactions. We as humans instinctively discern individuals whom we want to be associated with, before we initiate an interaction with them, we would experience an internal emotional rush biologically that encourages us to initiate the interaction, thus beginning to form various socially constructed realities that enables symbolic interactionism to examine, namely it's our desires for emotional rewards that makes the theory of symbolic interactionism possible and viable.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: The majority of interactionist research uses qualitative research methods, like participant observation, to study aspects of social interaction, and/or individuals' selves. Participant observation allows researchers to access symbols and meanings, as in Howard Becker's "Art Worlds" and Arlie Hochschild's "The Managed Heart". They argue that close contact and immersion in the everyday activities of the participants is necessary for understanding the meaning of actions, defining situations and the process that actors construct the situation through their interaction. Because of this close contact, interactions cannot remain completely liberated of value commitments. In most cases, they make use of their values in choosing what to study; however, they seek to be objective in how they conduct the research. Therefore, the symbolic-interaction approach is a micro-level orientation focusing on human interaction in specific situations.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: To Blumer's conceptual perspective, he put them in three core propositions: that people act toward things, including each other, on the basis of the meanings they have for them; that these meanings are derived through social interaction with others; and that these meanings are managed and transformed through an interpretive process that people use to make sense of and handle the objects that constitute their social worlds. This perspective can also be described as three core principles- Meaning, Language and Thinking- in which social constructs are formed. The principle of meaning is the center of human behavior. Language provides meaning by providing means to symbols. These symbols differentiate social relations of humans from that of animals. By humans giving meaning to symbols, they can express these things with language. In turn, symbols form the basis of communication. Symbols become imperative components for the formation of any kind of communicative act. Thinking then changes the interpretation of individuals as it pertains to symbols.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: Some symbolic interactionists like Goffman had pointed out the obvious defects of the pioneering Mead concept upon which the contemporary symbolic interactionism is built, it has influenced the modern symbolic interactionism to be more conducive to conceiving "social-psychological concerns rather than sociological concerns". For instance, during analyzing symbolic interactionism, the participants' emotional fluctuations that are inexorably entailed are often ignored because they are too sophisticated and volatile to measure. When the participants are being selected to participate in certain activities that are not part of their normal daily routine, it will inevitably disrupt the participants psychologically, causing spontaneous thoughts to flow that are very likely to make the participants veer away from their normal behaviors. These psychological changes could result in the participants' emotional fluctuations that manifest themselves in the participants' reactions; therefore, manufacturing biases that will the previously mentioned biases. This critique unveiled the lack of scrutiny on participants' internal subjective processing of their environment which initiates the reasoning and negotiating faculties, which the contemporary symbolic interactionism also reflects. Henceforth, prejudice is not a purely psychological phenomenon, instead it can be interpreted from a symbolic interactionism standpoint, taking individuals' construction of the social reality into account.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: Keeping Blumer's earlier work in mind David A. Snow, professor of sociology at the University of California, Irvine, suggests four broader and even more basic orienting principles: human agency, interactive determination, symbolization, and emergence. Snow uses these four principles as the thematic bases for identifying and discussing contributions to the study of social movements.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: Symbolic interaction can be used to explain one's identity in terms of roles being "ideas and principles on 'what to do' in a given situation," as noted by Hewitt. Symbolic Interactionist identity presents in 3 categories- situated, personal and social. Situated identity refers to the ability to view themselves as others do. This is often a snapshot view in that it is short, but can be very impactful. From this experience, one wishes to differentiate themselves from others and the personal identity comes to exist. This view is when one wishes to make themselves known for who they truly are, not the view of others. From the personal identity taking place, comes the social identity where connections and likeness are made with individuals sharing similar identities or identity traits.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: This viewpoint of symbolic interactionism can be applied to the use of social networking sites and how one's identity is presented on those sites. With social networking sites, one can boast (or post) their identity through their newsfeed. The personal identity presents itself in the need for individuals to post milestones that one has achieved, in efforts to differentiate themselves. The social identity presents itself when individuals "tag" others in their posts, pictures, etc. Situated identities may be present in the need to defend something on social media or arguments that occur in comments, where one feels it necessary to "prove" themselves.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: Coming from the viewpoint that we learn, or at least desire, how to expect other people's reactions/responses to things, Bruce Link and his colleagues studied how expectations of the reactions of others can affect the mental illness stigma. The participants of the study were individuals with psychosis who answered questions relating to discrimination, stigma, and rejection. The goal of the study was to determine whether others' expectations affect the participants' internalized stigmas, anticipated rejection, concerns with staying in, and other. Results found that high levels of internalized stigma were only present in the minority, however, anticipation of rejection, stigma consciousness, perceived devaluation discrimination and concerns with staying in were found to be more prevalent in participants. These perceptions were correlated with the outcomes of withdrawal, self-esteem and isolation from relatives. The study found that anticipation of rejection played the largest role in internalized stigmas.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: Symbolic interactionism can be used to dissect the concept of social role and further study relations between friends. A social role begins to exist when an individual initiates interaction with other people who would comprise a social circle in which the initiator is the central terminal, the accumulated proceedings of duties and rights performed by the central person and all the other participants in this social circle reinforces this dynamic circle. Apart from the central role, such social groups are constituted of participants who benefit from the central figure and those who are eligible and capable of helping the central role to achieve its envisioned objectives. The roles in the social role dynamic aren't preordained although the prevalent culture of a specific society usually possesses a default structure to most social roles. Despite the fact that the predominant culture of a certain society typically exerts large amount of influence on the instinctive formation of the structures in social groups, the roles in social groups are eventually formed based on the interactions occurred between the central figure and other potential participants in this role. For illustration, if a central person of the social role is a police officer, then this social role can contain victims, teammates, operators, the dispatch, potential suspects, lieutenant. Social roles could be formulated by happenstances, but it can't escape the inexorable reconfiguration of multilateral exchanges of each role's obligations in a social role. (Lopata 1964). Through this lens, the examination of various social roles becomes more receptive and accessible, which also possesses the same effects on examining friendship and other vocations.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: Symbolic interactionists are often criticized for being overly impressionistic in their research methods and somewhat unsystematic in their theories. It is argued that the theory is not one theory, but rather, the "framework" for many different theories. Additionally, some theorists have a problem with symbolic interaction theory due to its lack of testability. These objections, combined with the fairly narrow focus of interactionist research on small-group interactions and other social psychological issues, have relegated the interactionist camp to a minority position among sociologists (albeit a fairly substantial minority). Much of this criticism arose during the 1970s in the U.S. when quantitative approaches to sociology were dominant, and perhaps the best known of these is by Alvin Gouldner.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: Some critiques of symbolic interactionism are based on the assumption that it is a theory, and the critiques apply the criteria for a "good" theory to something that does not claim to be a theory. Some critics find the symbolic interactionist framework too broad and general when they are seeking specific theories. Symbolic interactionism is a theoretical "framework" rather than a theory and can be assessed on the basis of effective conceptualizations. The theoretical framework, as with any theoretical framework, is vague when it comes to analyzing empirical data or predicting outcomes in social life. As a framework rather than a theory, many scholars find it difficult to use. Interactionism being a framework rather than a theory makes it impossible to test interactionism in the manner that a specific theoretical claim about the relationship between specific variables in a given context allows. Unlike the symbolic interactionist framework, the many theories derived from symbolic interactionism, such as role theory and the versions of identity theory developed by Sheldon Stryker, as well as Peter Burke and colleagues, clearly define concepts and the relationships between them in a given context, thus allowing for the opportunity to develop and test hypotheses. Further, especially among Blumerian processual interactionists, a great number of very useful conceptualizations have been developed and applied in a very wide range of social contexts, types of populations, types of behaviors, and cultures and subcultures.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: Symbolic interactionism is often related and connected with social structure. This concept suggests that symbolic interactionism is a construction of people's social reality. It also implies that from a realistic point of view, the interpretations that are being made will not make much difference. When the reality of a situation is defined, the situation becomes a meaningful reality. This includes methodological criticisms, and critical sociological issues. A number of symbolic interactionists have addressed these topics, the best known being Stryker's structural symbolic interactionism and the formulations of interactionism heavily influenced by this approach (sometimes referred to as the "Indiana School" of symbolic interactionism), including the works of key scholars in sociology and psychology using different methods and theories applying a structural version of interactionism that are represented in a 2003 collection edited by Burke "et al". Another well-known structural variation of symbolic interactionism that applies quantitative methods is Manford H. Kuhn's formulation which is often referred to in sociological literature as the "Iowa School." Negotiated order theory also applies a structural approach.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: Language is viewed as the source of all meaning. Blumer illuminates several key features about social interactionism. Most people interpret things based on assignment and purpose. The interaction occurs once the meaning of something has become identified. This concept of meaning is what starts to construct the framework of social reality. By aligning social reality, Blumer suggests that language is the meaning of interaction. Communication, especially in the form of symbolic interactionism is connected with language. Language initiates all forms of communication, verbal and non-verbal. Blumer defines this source of meaning as a connection that arises out of the social interaction that people have with each other.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: According to social theorist Patricia Burbank, the concepts of synergistic and diverging properties are what shape the viewpoints of humans as social beings. These two concepts are different in a sense because of their views of human freedom and their level of focus. According to Burbank, actions are based on the effects of situations that occur during the process of social interaction. Another important factor in meaningful situations is the environment in which the social interaction occurs. The environment influences interaction, which leads to a reference group and connects with perspective, and then concludes to a definition of the situation. This illustrates the proper steps to define a situation. An approval of the action occurs once the situation is defined. An interpretation is then made upon that action, which may ultimately influence the perspective, action, and definition.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: Stryker emphasizes that the sociology world at large is the most viable and vibrant intellectual framework. By being made up of our thoughts and self-belief, the social interactionism theory is the purpose of all human interaction, and is what causes society to exist. This fuels criticisms of the symbolic interactionist framework for failing to account for social structure, as well as criticisms that interactionist theories cannot be assessed via quantitative methods, and cannot be falsifiable or tested empirically. Framework is important for the symbolic interaction theory because in order for the social structure to form, there are certain bonds of communication that need to be established to create the interaction. Much of the symbolic interactionist framework's basic tenets can be found in a very wide range of sociological and psychological work, without being explicitly cited as interactionist, making the influence of symbolic interactionism difficult to recognize given this general acceptance of its assumptions as "common knowledge."


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: Another problem with this model is two-fold, in that it 1) does not take into account human emotions very much, implying that symbolic interaction is not completely psychological; and 2) is interested in social structure to a limited extent, implying that symbolic interaction is not completely sociological. These incompetencies frame meaning as something that occurs naturally within an interaction under a certain condition, rather than taking into account the basic social context in which interaction is positioned. From this view, meaning has no source and does not perceive a social reality beyond what humans create with their own interpretations.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: Another criticism of symbolic interactionism is more so on the scholars themselves. They are noted to not take interest in the history of this sociological approach. This has the ability to produce shallow understanding and can make the subject "hard to teach" based on the lack of organization in its teachings to relate with other theories or studies.


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: The Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction (SSSI) is an international professional organization for scholars, who are interested in the study of symbolic interaction. SSSI holds a conference in conjunction with the meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA) and the Society for the Study of Social Problems. This conference typically occurs in August and sponsors the SSSI holds the Couch-Stone Symposium each spring. The Society provides travel scholarships for student members interested in attending the annual conference. At the annual conference, the SSSI sponsors yearly awards in different categories of symbolic interaction. Additionally, some of the awards are open to student members of the society. The Ellis-Bochner Autoethnography and Personal Narrative Research Award is given annually by the SSSI affiliate of the National Communication Association for the best article, essay, or book chapter in autoethnography and personal narrative research. The award is named after renowned autoethnographers Carolyn Ellis and Art Bochner. The society also sponsors a quarterly journal, "Symbolic Interaction," and releases a newsletter, "SSSI Notes".


title: Symbolic interactionism

text: SSSI also has a European branch, which organizes an annual conference that integrates European symbolic interactionists.


title: Odd Thomas (film)

text: Odd Thomas is a 2013 American mystery thriller film based on Dean Koontz's 2003 novel of the same name. It is directed, written, and co-produced by Stephen Sommers and stars Anton Yelchin as Odd Thomas, with Willem Dafoe as Wyatt Porter, and Addison Timlin as Stormy Llewellyn.


title: Odd Thomas (film)

text: Odd Thomas is a psychic who lives in a small town in California. One day, Odd's powers lead him to focus on a strange man who he calls "Fungus Bob" due to his thick green hair. Through his investigation, Odd realizes Bob is planning to do something violent. He reports his suspicion to Chief Porter, who assigns two deputies to follow Fungus Bob.


title: Odd Thomas (film)

text: Odd meets his girlfriend Stormy Llewellyn for dinner in the belfry of a church. He sees Fungus Bob approaching and they flee to the sacristy, which Robertson destroys as they escape. Stormy calls Chief Porter, who finds the church vandalized but no evidence to link it to Robertson. Odd's psychic magnetism leads him and Stormy to a bowling alley, where the bowling shirts from his vision have just become the new uniform. Chief Porter sends Officer Simon Varner to watch the place on Odd's advice.


title: Odd Thomas (film)

text: Odd finds Fungus Bob shot to death in his bathtub, with evidence framing Odd for the murder. He discovers that Bob has been dead for quite some time and deduces that the encounter at the church was with the dead man's restless spirit.


title: Odd Thomas (film)

text: Chief Porter is shot in a home invasion. Odd rushes to the hospital and learns that Porter is alive but in serious condition.


title: Odd Thomas (film)

text: Odd investigates Bob's fatal bullet wound, and finds a tattoo matching Varner's. Odd realizes that Robertson was eliminated by his co-conspirators because Odd had begun to look into him. Odd's powers lead him back to the mall, where Officer Eckles has murdered the mall security staff; Odd disables him with a baseball bat. He discovers Bob's moving van packed with explosives on a timer — apparently part of a plan to kill the shoppers in the mall and arriving first responders. Odd drives it away from the mall, when Varner returns and shoots Odd. Varner clings to the outside of the van, attempting to finish off Odd. Odd jumps from the van as Varner enters the cab, and the van crashes into a man-made canal and explodes, incinerating Varner but killing no one else.


title: Odd Thomas (film)

text: Odd wakes in the hospital to find himself hailed as a local hero. Later, Odd retreats to Stormy's apartment to enjoy uninterrupted time with her. It is revealed that Stormy was killed in the mall shooting. Porter, realizing that Stormy's spirit is staying in this world only for Odd, advises him to let her go. Odd bids her a tearful farewell, promising her that they'll be reunited one day. Then Odd travels to Las Vegas to continue his crusade.


title: Odd Thomas (film)

text: With cameo appearances by Patton Oswalt as Ozzie, Matthew Page as Harlo Landerson, Morse Bicknel as Kevin Goss, Ashley Sommers as Penny Kalisto, and Arnold Vosloo as Tom Jedd.


title: Odd Thomas (film)

text: Anton Yelchin was attached to star in the film early on. Summers said that Yelchin was his only choice to play Odd Thomas. Early casting announcements included 50 Cent as Shamus Cocobolo as well as Lily Collins and Tim Robbins none of whom ultimately ended up appearing in the film. Production began in May 2011 in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Albuquerque.


title: Odd Thomas (film)

text: Dean Koontz himself enjoyed the film saying "It is so wonderful that I am whacked flat by happiness."


title: Odd Thomas (film)

text: The film wrapped in 2011 but was delayed. In July 2013, it was reported that the release of the film had been delayed because of legal action by Two Out of Ten Productions against Outsource Media Group and others for breach of contract. The suit alleges that $25 million should have been spent on prints and advertising to support a release of "Odd Thomas" in the U.S., and another $10 million to partially refinance certain loans.


title: Odd Thomas (film)

text: "Odd Thomas" received mixed reviews from film critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a rating of 38% rating based on reviews from 47 critics, with an average score of 5.2/10. The site's critical consensus states: "Anton Yelchin is the right man for the title role, but "Odd Thomas" suffers from a jumbled tone." Metacritic gives it a score of 45 out of 100, based on reviews from 11 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".


title: Odd Thomas (film)

text: Brian Tallerico for RogerEbert.com gave it one and a half stars calling it "a film that's going through the motions with too little character, style, or atmosphere to keep it engaging." Dennis Harvey for "Variety" said the film "is neither witty nor macabre enough to pull off Koontz’s balance of elements in cinematic terms. So it winds up coming off as just another CGI-laden ride that’s at once overstuffed and undernourished." John DeFore of "The Hollywood Reporter" found the script felt rushed and while the cast was enjoyable ""Odd Thomas" just doesn't leave us with much desire to return there."


title: Odd Thomas (film)

text: Drew Taylor for IndieWire gave the film a B and called it "the best Koontz adaptation, by a fairly considerable margin."


title: Odd Thomas (film)

text: The movie was a box office bomb. It began its theatrical roll-out in the Philippines on July 17, 2013. It debuted at #6 taking in $52,623 from 35 screens. The film ended its two-week run with $118,835. The film opened in Finland where it took in $6,309 from 31 screens for a 14th-place finish. The film grossed a total of $1,321,097 at the international box office.


title: Odd Thomas (film)

text: After having been delayed due to legal disputes, the film had a limited theatrical release in the United States, in February 2014. No domestic box office figures were reported.


title: Odd Thomas (film)

text: The film was released on DVD in the UK in February 2014. A German dubbed version was released in December 2013.