title: Giants (Greek mythology)

text: In Latin literature, in which the Giants, the Titans, Typhon and the Aloadae are all often conflated, Gigantomachy imagery is a frequent occurrence. Cicero, while urging the acceptance of aging and death as natural and inevitable, allegorizes the Gigantomachy as "fighting against Nature". The rationalist Epicurean poet Lucretius, for whom such things as lightning, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions had natural rather than divine causes, used the Gigantomachy to celebrate the victory of philosophy over mythology and superstition. In the triumph of science and reason over traditional religious belief, the Gigantomachy symbolized for him Epicurus storming heaven. In a reversal of their usual meaning, he represents the Giants as heroic rebels against the tyranny of Olympus. Virgil—reversing Lucretius' reversal—restores the conventional meaning, making the Giants once again enemies of order and civilization. Horace makes use of this same meaning to symbolize the victory of Augustus at the Battle of Actium as a victory for the civilized West over the barbaric East.


title: Giants (Greek mythology)

text: Ovid, in his "Metamorphoses", describes mankind's moral decline through the ages of gold, silver, bronze and iron, and presents the Gigantomachy as a part of that same descent from natural order into chaos. Lucan, in his "Pharsalia", which contains many Gigantomachy references, makes the Gorgon's gaze turn the Giants into mountains. Valerius Flaccus, in his "Argonautica", makes frequent use of Gigantomachy imagery, with the Argo (the world's first ship) constituting a Gigantomachy-like offense against natural law, and example of hubristic excess.


title: Giants (Greek mythology)

text: Claudian, the fourth-century AD court poet of emperor Honorius, composed a "Gigantomachia" that viewed the battle as a metaphor for vast geomorphic change: "The puissant company of the giants confounds all differences between things; islands abandon the deep; mountains lie hidden in the sea. Many a river is left dry or has altered its ancient course...robbed of her mountains Earth sank into level plains, parted among her own sons."


title: Giants (Greek mythology)

text: Various locations associated with the Giants and the Gigantomachy were areas of volcanic and seismic activity (e.g. the Phlegraean Fields west of Naples), and the vanquished Gigantes (along with other "giants") were said to be buried under volcanos. Their subterranean movements were said to be the cause of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.


title: Giants (Greek mythology)

text: The Giant Enceladus was thought to lay buried under Mount Etna, the volcano's eruptions being the breath of Enceladus, and its tremors caused by the Giant rolling over from side to side beneath the mountain (the monster Typhon and the Hundred-Hander Briareus were also said to be buried under Etna). The Giant Alcyoneus along with "many giants" were said to lie under Mount Vesuvius, "Prochyte" (modern Procida), one of the volcanic Phlegraean Islands was supposed to sit atop the Giant Mimas, and Polybotes was said to lie pinned beneath the volcanic island of Nisyros, supposedly a piece of the island of Kos broken off and thrown by Poseidon.


title: Giants (Greek mythology)

text: Describing the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, which buried the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum, Cassius Dio relates accounts of the appearance of many Giant-like creatures on the mountain and in the surrounding area followed by violent earthquakes and the final cataclysmic eruption, saying "some thought that the Giants were rising again in revolt (for at this time also many of their forms could be discerned in the smoke and, moreover, a sound as of trumpets was heard)".


title: Giants (Greek mythology)

text: Names for the Giants can be found in ancient literary sources and inscriptions. Vian and Moore provide a list with over seventy entries, some of which are based upon inscriptions which are only partially preserved. Some of the Giants identified by name are:


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American medium bomber, attack aircraft, night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement for a bomber, it was ordered by France for their air force before the USAAC decided it would also meet their requirements. French DB-7s were the first to see combat; after the fall of France, the bomber served with the Royal Air Force under the service name Boston. From 1941, night fighter and intruder versions were given the service name Havoc. In 1942 USAAF A-20s saw combat in North Africa.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: It served with several Allied air forces, principally the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), the Soviet Air Forces ("VVS"), Soviet Naval Aviation ("AVMF"), and the Royal Air Force (RAF) of the United Kingdom. A total of 7,478 aircraft were built, of which more than a third served with Soviet units. It was also used by the air forces of Australia, South Africa, France, and the Netherlands during the war, and by Brazil afterwards.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: In most British Commonwealth air forces, the bomber variants were known as Boston, while the night fighter and intruder variants were named Havoc. The exception was the Royal Australian Air Force, which used the name Boston for all variants. The USAAF used the P-70 designation to refer to the night fighter variants.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: In March 1936, a design team headed by Donald Douglas, Jack Northrop, and Ed Heinemann produced a proposal for a bomber-reconnaissance aircraft powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior 9-cylinder radial engines mounted on a shoulder wing. It was estimated to be capable of with a bomb load. Reports of aircraft performance from the Spanish Civil War indicated that this design would be seriously underpowered, and it was canceled.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: In 1937, the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) issued a new specification for an attack aircraft. To meet this requirement, the Douglas team, now headed by Heinemann, developed the Model 7B, with a similar layout to the 7A, but was powered by Pratt & Whitney R-1830-S3C3-G Twin Wasp 14-cylinder engines, and carried a bombload of up to . It faced competition from the North American NA-40, Stearman X-100, Martin 167F, and an unbuilt design from Bell Aircraft, the Model 9. The Air Corps invited all five companies to build prototypes at their own expense and to submit sealed bids for production of their aircraft.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: The prototype Model 7B made its first flight on 26 October 1938. The model attracted the attention of a French Purchasing Commission visiting the United States. The French discreetly participated in the flight trials, so as not to attract criticism from American isolationists. The Model 7B crashed on 23 January 1939 while demonstrating single-engine performance, killing the test pilot and seriously injuring a French observer aboard the aircraft. The presence of a foreigner on a test flight for an aircraft still under development caused a scandal in the press. Despite the crash, the French were impressed enough to place an order for 100 production aircraft on 15 February 1939, following this up with an order for 170 more in October 1939.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: As a result of the French order, Heinemann carried out another major redesign of the aircraft. While the design's wings were largely unchanged, the revised design had a new deeper but narrower fuselage, which accommodated a crew of three - a pilot, bombardier and a gunner. The wing was mounted lower than on the Model 7B, while the engines, R-1830-SC3-Gs, were mounted in nacelles slung under the wings. Normal bombload was , or in overload conditions, with a defensive armament of single 7.5mm MAC 1934 machine guns in dorsal and ventral mounts and four fixed forward-firing guns in the nose. The revised aircraft, the DB-7, first flew on 17 August 1939.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: In 1939, the USAAC decided that the new bomber was best placed to meet its requirements for an attack bomber, which had been updated in 1938 from those that gave rise to the Model 7B, and in June 1939, it ordered 186 aircraft powered by Wright R-2600 Twin Cyclone engines, under the designations A-20 and A-20A (with the A-20s having turbosupercharged R-2600-7 engines and the A-20As having supercharged R-2600-3 or -11 engines. These had a larger vertical tail to cope with the increased power of the Wright engines, had a longer nose to give more room for the bombardier/navigator, and carried more fuel. R-2600 powered aircraft also proved popular for export, with France ordering 100 DB-7As powered by the R-2600 but with the short nose of the DB-7 in October 1939, and 480 long-nosed DB-73s, equivalent to the A-20A, in April 1940 and Britain ordering 300 DB-7Bs, again equivalent to the A-20A in February and April 1940.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: In a report to the British Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (AAEE) at RAF Boscombe Down, test pilots summed it up as: "has no vices and is very easy to take off and land ... The aeroplane represents a definite advantage in the design of flying controls ... extremely pleasant to fly and manoeuvre." Ex-pilots often consider it their favorite aircraft of the war due to the ability to toss it around like a fighter. The Douglas bomber/night fighter was found to be extremely adaptable and found a role in every combat theater of the war, and excelled as a true "pilot's aeroplane".


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: When DB-7 series production finally ended on 20 September 1944, a total of 7,098 had been built by Douglas and a further 380 by Boeing. Douglas redesigned its Santa Monica plant to create a mechanized production line to produce A-20 Havocs. The assembly line was over a mile long (6,100 feet), but by looping back and forth, fitted into a building that was only 700 feet long. Man-hours were reduced by 50% for some operations while production tripled.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: The French order called for substantial modifications to meet French standards, resulting in the DB-7 ( Douglas Bomber 7) variant. It had a narrower, deeper fuselage, Pratt & Whitney R-1830-SC3-G radials, French-built guns, and metric instruments. Midway through the delivery phase, engines were switched to Pratt & Whitney R-1830-S3C4-G. The French designation was DB-7 B-3 (the B-3 signifying "three-seat bomber").


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: DB-7s began to be delivered from Douglas's El Segundo, California production line on 31 October 1939, and the passing of the "Cash and Carry" act on 4 November 1939 allowed the aircraft to be handed over in the United States to the French, who would then be responsible for delivering the aircraft. The DB-7s were shipped to Casablanca in French North Africa where they were reassembled and tested before being handed over to operational units of the "Armée de l'Air". When the Germans attacked France and the Low Countries on 10 May 1940, about 70 DB-7s had reached North Africa, equipping three "Escadrilles" (squadrons), which were transferred from Africa to the French mainland in response to the German attack. They flew about 70 sorties against the advancing Germans during the Battle of France, with at least eight aircraft being lost, but before the armistice surviving aircraft were evacuated to North Africa to avoid capture. Here, they came under the control of the Vichy government and briefly engaged the Allies during Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of French North Africa in November 1942.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: After French forces in North Africa had joined the Allies, DB-7s were used as trainers and were replaced in front line escadrilles with Martin B-26 Marauders. Free French squadron I/120 "Lorraine", under RAF control, was based in England and re-equipped in 1943 with Boston IIIAs, later with Boston IVs. It was part of No. 2 Group RAF and then the Second Tactical Air Force and carried out numerous raids against targets in mainland Europe.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: In late 1944 to early 1945, a few surviving ex-French DB-7s were moved to mainland France, where they saw action against the remaining isolated German pockets on the western coast.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: After the fall of France, there were still a substantial number of DB-7s which had not yet been delivered to the "Armée de l'Air." The remainder of the order which was to have been delivered to France was instead taken up by the UK via the British Purchasing Commission. In the course of the war, 24 squadrons operated the Boston in Britain, the Mediterranean and North Africa.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: The French had originally intended to use the DB-7 as a short-range tactical attack aircraft, but its range was too short for the RAF to be able to use them as light bombers against German targets in Europe. The RAF was in desperate need of any aircraft suitable for night fighting and intruder duties. The type saw its first operations with the RAF in early 1941, when 181 Boston Mk IIs began to be flown as night fighters and intruders. There were two basic versions of the Havoc I, an Intruder version (glazed nose, five 0.30-inch machine guns and 2,400 pounds of bombs) and a Night Fighter version (AI Mk.IV radar and eight 0.30-inch machine guns).


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: Some Havocs were converted to Turbinlite aircraft which replaced the nose position with a powerful searchlight. The Turbinlite aircraft would be brought onto a hostile aircraft by ground radar control. The onboard radar operator would then direct the pilot until he could illuminate the enemy. At that point a Hawker Hurricane fighter accompanying the Turbinlite aircraft would make the attack. The Turbinlite squadrons were disbanded in early 1943.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: All the French DB-7As, an improved DB-7 version, were delivered to the RAF, where they were given the name Havoc II and converted to night fighters. Eventually the British Purchasing Commission ordered a British version as the DB-7B and the RAF named it Boston III. The Boston III was the first to operate with the RAF as a light bomber. They were supplied to squadrons in the United Kingdom and Middle East (later moved to bases in Italy) replacing Bristol Blenheims. Their first raid took place in February 1942. Many Boston IIIs were modified to Turbinlite or Intruder planes.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: Through Lend-Lease, Soviet forces received more than two-thirds of the A-20B variant manufactured and a significant portion of G and H variants. The A-20 was the most numerous foreign aircraft in the Soviet bomber inventory. The Soviet Air Force had more A-20s than the USAAF.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: They were delivered via the ALSIB (Alaska-Siberia) air ferry route. The aircraft had its baptism of fire at the end of June 1942. The Soviets were dissatisfied with the four .30-calibre Browning machine guns, capable of 600 rounds per gun per minute, and replaced them with the faster-firing, calibre ShKAS, capable of up to 1,800 rounds per gun per minute. During the summer of 1942, the Bostons flew ultra-low-level raids against German convoys heavily protected by flak. Attacks were made from altitudes as low as and the air regiments suffered heavy losses.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: By mid-1943 Soviet pilots were familiar with the A-20B and A-20C. The general opinion was that the aircraft was overpowered and therefore fast and agile. It could make steep turns of up to 65° of bank angle, while the tricycle landing gear made for easier take-offs and landings. The type could be flown even by crews with minimal training. The engines were reliable but sensitive to low temperatures, so the Soviet engineers developed special covers for keeping propeller hubs from freezing up.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: Some of these aircraft were armed with fixed-forward cannons and found some success in the ground attack role.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: By the end of the war, 3,414 A-20s had been delivered to the USSR, 2,771 of which were used by the Soviet Air Force.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: In October 1941 the Netherlands government in exile ordered 48 DB-7C planes for use in the Dutch East Indies.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: Delivery had been scheduled for May 1942 but because of the desperate situation US government agreed to divert 32 DB-7B Boston III aircraft to the Dutch East Indies in advance.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: The first six were delivered by ship in February 1942. Only one aircraft was assembled in time to take part in the action. The Japanese captured the remaining aircraft of the delivery, and at least one was repaired and later tested by the Imperial Japanese Army.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: The next 22 DB-7Bs to be delivered to the East Indies were diverted to the Royal Australian Air Force. They served with No. 22 Squadron RAAF and fought in the East Indies from September 1942. RAAF Bostons took part in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea and in attacks on a large Japanese convoy headed toward Lae.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: Some A-20A/C/G planes arrived from the US from September 1943. By November 1944, No 22 Squadron was going to be assigned to the Philippines. Thirteen Bostons were destroyed on the ground during a Japanese raid on Morotai. The squadron was withdrawn to Noemfoor, where it was re-equipped with Bristol Beaufighters before it returned to action. Surviving Bostons were relegated to transport, mail delivery and communications.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: In 1940, the US military's indifference to the type was overcome by improvements made for the French and British Commonwealth air forces.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: The USAAC was impressed enough by the A-20A's high power to weight ratio and easy handling characteristics. Two variants were ordered, in a tranche of more than 200 aircraft: the A-20 for high-altitude daylight bombing and the A-20A for low- and medium-altitude missions. It was intended that the high-altitude variant would be fitted with turbosupercharged Wright R-2600-7 engines; after a prototype suffered technical problems, the USAAC changed its order and an initial shipment of 123 A-20As (with less-powerful R-2600-3 engines) and 20 A-20s (R-2600-11) entered service in early 1941. A further 59 aircraft from this first order were received as P-70 night fighters, with two-stage supercharged R-2600-11 engines.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: The A-20B, another high-altitude bomber variant – lacking heavy armor and self-sealing fuel tanks – received a significant order from the USAAC: 999 aircraft (although two-thirds of these were exported to the USSR). With the lessons of the Pacific in mind USAAF ordered A-20G in June 1942.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: A major shipment of DB-73s originally destined for France was retained by the US government and converted to A-20C/G attack configuration. The USAAF received 356, most of which were operated by the 5th Air Force in the South West Pacific theater. When the war started 27th Bombardment Group (minus its A-20As) was in the process of being sent to the Philippines where it was to have been re-established as an A-20 unit, but the first operational unit in actual combat was the 89th Bombardment Squadron which began operations in New Guinea on August 31, 1942.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: In early 1944, 312th and 417th Bombardment Groups were sent to New Guinea, equipped with A-20Gs. Most sorties were flown at low altitudes, as Japanese flak was not as deadly as German flak, and it was soon found that there was little need for a bomb aimer. Consequently, the bomb aimer was replaced by additional machine guns mounted in a faired-over nose. A-20Gs were an ideal weapon for pinpoint strikes against aircraft, hangars, and supply dumps.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: When operating in formation their heavy forward firepower could overwhelm shipboard antiaircraft defenses and at wave-top level (resembling a torpedo run) they could skip their bombs into the sides of transports and destroyers with deadly effect. In addition, the captains of small Japanese escorts (destroyers, for example) assumed the approaching aircraft were making torpedo runs and turned their vessels bow-on to the aircraft in defense, making the strafing far more devastating to the unarmored escorts and often leaving them even more vulnerable to follow-up "skip-bombing" runs.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: After the New Guinea campaign, the A-20s squadrons moved to the Philippines. In 1944, three full four-squadron A-20 groups were active in the campaign that led to the invasion of Luzon. After the Philippines were secured, A-20s attacked Japanese targets in Formosa.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: The first night-fighter squadron to use P-70s in combat was based at Henderson Field to intercept high-flying Japanese night raiders. The 418th and 421st Night Fighter Squadrons briefly flew P-70s in New Guinea. The P-70s scored only two kills during the Pacific war as its performance was not good enough to intercept Japanese night raiders, and were replaced by Northrop P-61 Black Widows as soon as possible.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: In Europe, USAAF A-20 crews flew their first combat missions attached to RAF units. On 4 July 1942, 12 crews from the 15th Bombardment Squadron became the first members of the 8th Air Force to enter combat. They flew Bostons belonging to No. 226 Squadron RAF from bases in England on missions against enemy airfields in the Netherlands.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: USAAF A-20s were assigned to North Africa and flew their first combat mission from Youks-les-Bains, Algeria, in December 1942. They provided valuable tactical support to allied ground troops, especially during and following the Battle of Kasserine Pass. During the North African campaign, many of the A-20s were fitted with additional forward-firing machine guns. Following the German surrender in Tunisia, the A-20s moved to bases in Italy, Corsica, France, and then back to Italy in January 1945.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: Four P-70 night fighter squadrons were sent to North Africa in 1943. When they arrived they operated Bristol Beaufighter night fighters. Later the 427th Night Fighter Squadron was deployed to Italy, but the squadron exchanged its P-70s for Northrop P-61 Black Widows and so no night fighter squadron used their P-70s in combat in Europe.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: Meanwhile, in England, three A-20 equipped Bombardment Groups were assigned to the 9th Air Force and became operational in 1944. They started using the same low-level tactics that had been so successful in the Pacific, but due to heavy German flak, losses were too high and the tactics were changed to medium-level raids. After supporting advancing Allied forces into France until the end of 1944, all units switched to the Douglas A-26 Invader.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: Reconnaissance Havocs joined the 9th Air Force in 1944. Its 155th Photographic Squadron (Night) was issued F-3As for night photographic operations.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: The last of the 7,478 A-20s built (a K-variant) was completed in September 1944. The type was replaced in some air forces before the war's end, by types including the Douglas A-26 (USAAF), Bristol Beaufighter (RAAF), and de Havilland Mosquito (RAF). Perhaps the last substantial user was the "Força Aérea Brasileira", which did not retire the A-20 until the late 1950s.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: The number of airframes declined rapidly. By the early 1960s, only six complete A-20s existed, worldwide. That number has since grown slowly, with the discovery of crash sites in the Pacific and Eastern Europe.


title: Douglas A-20 Havoc

text: "The Way to the Stars", also known as "Johnny in the Clouds", is a 1945 war drama film made by Two Cities Films and released by United Artists, that prominently features RAF Bostons.


title: Sai Tamhankar

text: Sai Tamhankar (Pronunciation: ]; born 25 June 1986) is an Indian actress known for her work in Marathi, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam language films and television. She is the recipient of two Filmfare Marathi Awards and one Filmfare Award.


title: Sai Tamhankar

text: Tamhankar was born on 25 June 1986 in Sangli, Maharashtra, India. and studied at Savarkar Pratisthan. She was a state level Kabaddi player and has an orange belt in karate as well. She got into acting through a play directed by her mother's friend. Her second play, "Aadhe Adhure", won her the Best Actress award, at an inter-college theater competition.


title: Sai Tamhankar

text: Tamhankar got engaged to Amey Gosavi, a visual effects artist on 7 April 2012. They got married on 15 December 2013, but divorced in 2015.


title: Sai Tamhankar

text: After her stint in plays, she was offered roles in Marathi television shows and was seen in "Ya Gojirvanya Gharat, Agnihotra, Sathi Re" and "Kasturi". In 2008, Tamhankar made her on-screen debut starring in Subhash Ghai's crime thriller "Black & White". She made her Marathi cinema debut through "Sanai Chaughade" in the same year. Tamhankar also proceeded to work in the Aamir Khan starrer "Ghajini" .


title: Sai Tamhankar

text: In 2015, she was seen in "Classmates", directed by Aditya Sarpotdar. Next, she was seen as Jyotsana in "Hunterrr". She also essayed Bipasha Basu's character Bobby in the Marathi remake of "No Entry", titled "No Entry Pudhe Dhokha Aahey". In 2016, she played Kaveri in "Vazandar", directed by Sachin Kundalkar, where her performance was appreciated. In the same year, she was also seen in "Family Katta". Mihir Bhanage, writing for the Times of India said, "...Kiran Karmarkar as the eldest brother is fantastic and so is Sai Tamhankar, the rebel...". In 2018, she was seen playing Anjali, a pimp in "Love Sonia", for which she had to gain 10 kg of weight. She is seen in the July 2019 movie "Girlfriend", opposite Amey Wagh.


title: Wiener schnitzel

text: Wiener schnitzel ( ; ), sometimes spelled Wienerschnitzel, is a type of schnitzel made of a thin, breaded, pan-fried veal cutlet.


title: Wiener schnitzel

text: It is one of the best known specialities of Viennese cuisine, and one of the national dishes of Austria.


title: Wiener schnitzel

text: The designation first appeared in the 19th century, with the first known mention in a cookbook from 1831. In the popular southern German cookbook by Katharina Prato, it was mentioned as (roughly, "breaded veal cutlets").


title: Wiener schnitzel

text: According to a tale, field marshal Joseph Radetzky von Radetz brought the recipe from Italy to Vienna in 1857. In 2007, linguist Heinz-Dieter Pohl could prove that this story had been invented. According to Pohl, the dish is first mentioned in connection with Radetzky in 1869 in an Italian gastronomy book ("Guida gastronomica d'Italia"), which was published in German in 1871 as "Italien tafelt", and it is claimed that the story instead concerned the "cotoletta alla milanese". Before this time, the story was unknown in Austria. The Radetzky legend is however based on this book, which claims that a Count Attems, an adjutant to the emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria gave a notice from Radetzky about the situation in Lombardy and mentioned a tasty veal steak in a margin note. After Radetzky had returned, the emperor personally requested the recipe from him.


title: Wiener schnitzel

text: Pohl relates this anecdote with the words: "This story is scientifically meaningless, it does not cite any sources and it is not mentioned […] in the literature about Radetzky. No such Count Attems appears in any biographical work about the Austrian monarchy, which would have corresponded to this time and position."


title: Wiener schnitzel

text: Pohl doubts that Wiener schnitzel came from Italy at all, with the basis that in the other "imported dishes" in Austrian cuisine, the original concept is mentioned, even if in Germanised form, such as in goulash or palatschinke, and the schnitzel does not appear even in specialised cookbooks about Italian cuisine.


title: Wiener schnitzel

text: Pohl hints that there had been other dishes in Austrian cuisine, before the Schnitzel, that were breaded and deep fried, such as the popular "Backhendl", which was first mentioned in a cookbook from 1719. The Schnitzel was then mentioned in the 19th century as ' analogically to the '.


title: Wiener schnitzel

text: Documents in the Milan archive of Saint Ambrose dated 1148 use the Latin name ', which can be translated as "little chops with breadcrumbs". This can be a hint that a dish similar to the ' already existed at that time.


title: Wiener schnitzel

text: In 1887, E. F. Knight wrote of a Wiener schnitzel ordered in a Rotterdam cafe, "as far as I could make out, the lowest layer of a Wienerschnitzel consists of juicy veal steaks and slices of lemon peel; the next layer is composed of sardines; then come sliced gherkins, capers, and diverse mysteries; a delicate sauce flavours the whole, and the result is a gastronomic dream."


title: Wiener schnitzel

text: The dish is prepared from veal slices, butterfly cut, about in thickness and lightly pounded flat, slightly salted, and rolled in flour, whipped eggs, and bread crumbs. The bread crumbs must not be pressed into the meat, so that they stay dry and can be "souffléd". Finally the Schnitzel is fried in a good proportion of lard or clarified butter at a temperature of until it is golden yellow. The Schnitzel must swim in the fat, otherwise it will not cook evenly: the fat cools too much and intrudes into the bread crumbs, moistening them. During the frying the Schnitzel is repeatedly slightly tossed around the pan. Also during the frying, fat can be scooped from the pan with a spoon and poured onto the meat. The Schnitzel is cooked after it turns golden yellow or brown.


title: Wiener schnitzel

text: The dish is traditionally served in Austria with butterhead lettuce tossed with a sweetened vinaigrette dressing, optionally with chopped chives or onions, potato salad, cucumber salad, or parsley potatoes. In earlier days, the garnish consisted of capers and anchovies, nowadays a lemon slice and parsley are more common.


title: Wiener schnitzel

text: A popular variation is made with pork instead of veal, because pork is cheaper than veal (usually about half the price). To avoid confusion, Austrian law requires that be made of veal. A schnitzel made of pork can be called ('Wiener schnitzel from pork') or ('Viennese style schnitzel').


title: Wiener schnitzel

text: Similar dishes to Wiener schnitzel include ' (from cured meat), and breaded turkey or chicken steaks. Similarly prepared dishes include ', schnitzel cordon bleu filled with ham and cheese and "Pariser Schnitzel". The American chicken-fried steak is often said to be closely related to Wiener schnitzel, the result of the adaptation of the recipe by German or Austrian immigrants to the Texas Hill Country to locally available ingredients.


title: Wiener schnitzel

text: Tonkatsu is a similar, fried pork cutlet from Japanese cuisine, thicker than its European counterparts.


title: Wiener schnitzel

text: In the Southern Cone, particularly in Argentina and Uruguay, a similar dish is milanesa. It is often served with french fries or mashed potatoes.


title: Wiener schnitzel

text: In Israel, schnitzel is popular, first introduced by European Jews who immigrated to Israel during the middle decades of the twentieth century. Owing to food shortages at that time and the high cost of meat and veal, and due to kashrut laws that forbid eating pork, the local version was made of chicken breast, which was less expensive. To this day, Israeli schnitzel is made of chicken. Kashrut laws also forbid using milk, butter or similar dairy products with meat, so kosher schnitzel is prepared with cooking oil. Schnitzel has become so popular that it is regularly described as one of Israel's "national dishes."


title: Corey Anderson (fighter)

text: Corey Anderson (born September 22, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing for Bellator MMA in the light heavyweight division. Prior to signing with Bellator, Anderson competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was the light heavyweight winner on "" and achieved success as a top 5 UFC light heavyweight contender. As of November 22, 2022, he is #1 in the Bellator Light Heavyweight Rankings.


title: Corey Anderson (fighter)

text: Anderson was born and raised in Rockford, Illinois, where he started wrestling in the third grade and later on attended Hononegah Community High School. As a high school wrestler, he earned a third-place finish at the Freestyle State Championships (Illinois High School Association and was also a regional champion. Upon graduation, he went on to attend Lincoln College in Illinois, where during his first year he was forced to take a redshirt due to an injury in his leg. After healing, he placed as high as sixth at the National Championships (claiming All-American status) and took first at the Regional Championships as a freshman and sophomore, in the NJCAA level. After graduating junior college, Anderson transferred to Newberry College to compete in the NCAA Division II level, where he compiled a record of 14 wins and 6 defeats as a junior. He then transferred to the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater. As a senior, Anderson compiled 46 victories and just 5 losses and went on to place second at the 12' NCAA Division III Championships (the highest in the school's history), before graduating with a degree in business administration.


title: Corey Anderson (fighter)

text: During his time wrestling at UW-Whitewater, Anderson met at the time's recently crowned Bellator MMA Welterweight Champion and former freestyle wrestling Olympian Ben Askren, who due to Anderson's boxing like mobility when he wrestled, encouraged him to give mixed martial arts a try. After initial refusal, Askren brought Anderson to Roufus MMA by making him think he was going to prepare him for freestyle when it was actually mixed martial arts practice.


title: Corey Anderson (fighter)

text: Corey was then brought to Fiore MMA in Springfield, IL by Marc Fiore, coach of 9-time UFC Champion Matt Hughes. Here Corey trained with other professional fighters such as Dustin Jacoby, Benny Alloway, James Brum, Jake Hect, Matt Veach, and Brian Foster. Following the closing of Fiore MMA, Corey and other fighters opened up The Kennel Fight Club in Springfield, IL. It was here that his coach, MMA competitor Bobby Brents, pushed Corey to try out for the Ultimate Fighter.


title: Corey Anderson (fighter)

text: Anderson was revealed as one of the cast members of the nineteenth season of The Ultimate Fighter, coached by Frankie Edgar and BJ Penn, on March 25, 2014. In the elimination rounds to determine who got into the TUF house, Anderson fought and defeated Kelly Anundson by unanimous decision after two rounds. He was then chosen as the first pick for Team Edgar's light heavyweights.


title: Corey Anderson (fighter)

text: In the quarter-finals, Anderson fought Team Penn's, Josh Clark. Anderson utilized his wrestling to control the majority of the bout, resulting in a majority decision win. Anderson next fought fellow Team Edgar teammate, Patrick Walsh, in the semi-finals. He defeated Walsh by unanimous decision to secure his spot at the finale.


title: Corey Anderson (fighter)

text: Anderson faced Matt Van Buren in the light heavyweight finals on July 6, 2014, at . He quickly won the bout via TKO just 61 seconds into the first round to become the light heavyweight tournament winner. His 61-second first-round TKO marked the fastest finish ever to the finale of The Ultimate Fighter show.


title: Corey Anderson (fighter)

text: Anderson was expected to face Gian Villante on December 6, 2014 at UFC 181. However, Villante pulled out of the fight citing an injury and was replaced by Jonathan Wilson. A few days later, it was announced that Wilson was forced out of the fight and undefeated newcomer Justin Jones would take his place. He won the fight via unanimous decision.


title: Corey Anderson (fighter)

text: A rescheduled bout with Villante took place on April 18, 2015 at UFC on Fox 15. Anderson lost the fight via TKO in the third round. Despite the loss, he was awarded a bonus for "Fight of the Night".


title: Corey Anderson (fighter)

text: Anderson faced Jan Błachowicz on September 5, 2015 at UFC 191. He won the fight by unanimous decision.


title: Corey Anderson (fighter)

text: Anderson stepped up to face Fábio Maldonado on November 7, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 77, filling in for an injured Tom Lawlor. He won the one sided fight by unanimous decision.


title: Corey Anderson (fighter)

text: Anderson faced Sean O'Connell on December 9, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 102. He won the fight by TKO in the second round.


title: Corey Anderson (fighter)

text: Anderson faced Jimi Manuwa on March 18, 2017 in the main event at UFC Fight Night 107. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.


title: Corey Anderson (fighter)

text: Anderson was expected to face Patrick Cummins on November 4, 2017 at UFC 217. However, on October 17, Cummins pulled out due to a resistant staph infection. He was replaced by Ovince Saint Preux. After losing the first round and winning the second due to his wrestling, Anderson lost the fight via head kick knockout early in the third round.


title: Corey Anderson (fighter)

text: Anderson faced Patrick Cummins on April 21, 2018 UFC Fight Night 128. He won the fight via unanimous decision.


title: Corey Anderson (fighter)

text: Anderson faced Glover Teixeira on July 22, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 134, replacing injured Ilir Latifi He won the fight via unanimous decision.


title: Corey Anderson (fighter)

text: Anderson faced Johnny Walker on November 2, 2019 at UFC 244. He won the fight by technical knockout in the first round. This win earned him the "Performance of the Night" award. During the post fight celebration, Anderson taunted and screamed at Walker and shoved the referee away resulting in a fine of $10,000 from New York State Athletic Commission for "unsportsmanlike and disorderly conduct".


title: Corey Anderson (fighter)

text: Anderson faced Jan Błachowicz on February 15, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 167 in a rematch. He lost the fight via first round knockout.


title: Corey Anderson (fighter)

text: On August 7, 2020, it was announced that Anderson had signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator MMA after being granted his release from his UFC contract. He made his promotional debut against Melvin Manhoef at Bellator 251 on November 5, 2020. He was victorious via second round technical knockout.


title: Corey Anderson (fighter)

text: On February 9, 2021, it was announced that Anderson would be competing in the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix. He is scheduled to face promotional newcomer and former Absolute Championship Akhmat Light Heavyweight champion Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov in the quarterfinal round on April 9 at Bellator 256. On March 26, it was announced that the bout would be moved to Bellator 257 on April 16. Anderson won the bout via third-round technical knockout.


title: Corey Anderson (fighter)

text: In the semi-finals of the Grand Prix, Anderson faced Ryan Bader on October 16, 2021 at Bellator 268. He won the fight via TKO early in round one.


title: Corey Anderson (fighter)

text: In the finals of the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix Tournament, Anderson took on reigning champion Vadim Nemkov for the 205-pound title as well as the $1 million prize on April 15, 2022 at Bellator 277. The fight ended in a no contest after an accidental clash of heads resulted in a cut on Nemkov's left brow that rendered him unable to continue.


title: Corey Anderson (fighter)

text: The rematch of the finals took place on November 18, 2022 at Bellator 288. Anderson wasn't able to take down Nemkov, going 0 for 16, and was picked apart from distance on the way to losing the bout via unanimous decision.


title: The Spencer Davis Group

text: The Spencer Davis Group were a British band formed in Birmingham in 1963 by Spencer Davis (guitar), brothers Steve Winwood (keyboards, guitar) and Muff Winwood (bass guitar), and Pete York (drums). Their best known songs include the UK number ones "Somebody Help Me" and "Keep on Running" (both written by reggae musician Jackie Edwards), "I'm a Man" and "Gimme Some Lovin'", which reached #2 in the UK and #7 in the US.


title: The Spencer Davis Group

text: Steve Winwood left in 1967 to form rock band Traffic. After releasing a few more singles, the band ceased to be active in 1969. Davis revived the group on two more occasions, without the involvement of the Winwood brothers, first in 1973–1974 for two more albums, and again from 2006, since when they had primarily been a touring act. Davis died on 19 October 2020, effectively ending the band.


title: The Spencer Davis Group

text: The Spencer Davis Group was formed in 1963 in Birmingham after the Welsh guitarist Spencer Davis encountered vocalist and organist Steve Winwood (then aged 14 and still at school), and his bass playing brother Muff Winwood performing at a pub, the Golden Eagle, as the Muff Woody Jazz Band. He recruited them and Pete York on drums to form the Rhythm and Blues Quartette, which performed regularly in the city. In 1964, they signed their first recording contract after Chris Blackwell of Island Records saw them at an appearance in a local club; Blackwell also became their producer. (Island was then a small independent label with UK Fontana contracted for distribution.) Muff Winwood came up with the band's name, reasoning, "Spencer was the only one who enjoyed doing interviews, so I pointed out that if we called it the Spencer Davis Group, the rest of us could stay in bed and let him do them."


title: The Spencer Davis Group

text: The group's first professional recording was a cover version of "Dimples". At the end of 1965 they gained their first number one single with "Keep On Running". In 1966, they followed this with "Somebody Help Me" and "When I Come Home". They had one single issued in the US on Fontana, as well as "Keep On Running" and "Somebody Help Me" on Atco, but due to lack of promotion, none of these singles gained airplay or entered the American charts.


title: The Spencer Davis Group

text: For the German market, the group released a medley of "Det war in Schöneberg, im Monat Mai" and "Mädel ruck ruck ruck an meine grüne Seite" (the first is from a 1913 Berlin operetta, the second is a Swabian traditional) as a tribute single for that audience, Davis having studied in West Berlin in the early 1960s.


title: The Spencer Davis Group

text: By the end of 1966 and the beginning of 1967, the group released two more hits, "Gimme Some Lovin'" and "I'm a Man". Both of them sold over one million copies, and were awarded gold record status. These tracks proved to be their two best-known successes, especially in the U.S. (where they had signed to United Artists). Jimmy Miller was their producer.


title: The Spencer Davis Group

text: The group starred in "The Ghost Goes Gear" (1966), a British musical comedy film, directed by Hugh Gladwish, and also featuring Sheila White and Nicholas Parsons. The plot involved the group in a stay at the childhood home of their manager, a haunted manor house in the English countryside. The film would later be considered a mistake by Winwood.


title: The Spencer Davis Group

text: Steve Winwood left to form Traffic in 1967; his brother, Muff, moved into the music industry working in artists and repertoire (A&R) at Island Records. In the same period, both the Spencer Davis Group and Traffic featured on the soundtrack of the film "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush" released in that year. After the Winwoods' departures, the Spencer Davis Group continued with the addition of guitarist Phil Sawyer (ex-Les Fleur de Lys) and keyboardist/vocalist Eddie Hardin (ex-A Wild Uncertainty). This line-up recorded several tunes for "Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush" and released the psychedelia-sounding "Time Seller" single in July 1967; the b-side, "Don't Want You No More", also received radio airplay.


title: The Spencer Davis Group

text: This was followed by "Mr. Second-Class" in late 1967, which received heavy airplay on Radio Caroline (a pirate radio ship off the British coast), and the album "With Their New Face On" in 1968. At that time Ray Fenwick had replaced Phil Sawyer. The group's last minor hit, "After Tea", was released at the same time by the German band The Rattles, providing competition that led finally to a temporary stop to all activities of the band. The song was originally recorded by the Dutch group After Tea, which included guitarist/singer Fenwick among its members.


title: The Spencer Davis Group

text: After one further single ("Short Change"), Eddie Hardin and Pete York left to form the duo Hardin & York. They were replaced by future Elton John band member Dee Murray on bass and Dave Hynes on drums. Nigel Olsson, another future Elton John band member, replaced Hynes, and this line-up produced the album "Funky" in 1969 (only released in the USA on Date Records, a subsidiary of CBS, in 1970) before splintering. Fenwick wrote all the songs and his 1971 solo album "Keep America Beautiful, Get a Haircut" also featured Murray and Olsson.


title: The Spencer Davis Group

text: The group reunited in 1973 with Davis, Fenwick, Hardin and York, and newcomer Charlie McCracken on bass. The group released the albums "Gluggo" (1973) and "Living in a Back Street" (1974) before once again disbanding.


title: The Spencer Davis Group

text: Davis continued working, however, producing some jazz-oriented albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s.


title: The Spencer Davis Group

text: The band re-formed in 2006, although only Davis and Hardin remained from the 1960s group line-ups. The Spencer Davis Group continued to tour the US and Europe, but with two differing line-ups; only Spencer Davis himself was present in both formations of the band. Hardin remained with the UK version of the band until his death in 2015.


title: The Spencer Davis Group

text: The Spencer Davis Group – particularly its incarnation with Steve Winwood – proved to be influential, with many of the band's songs being recorded by other artists over the years. Among these are Chicago's cover of "I'm a Man"; The Allman Brothers Band's version of Davis and Hardin's "Don't Want You No More" (both 1969); Three Dog Night's recording of "Can't Get Enough of It" (1970); and The Blues Brothers' "Gimme Some Lovin'" (1980). The Grateful Dead also covered Spencer Davis Group material in live performance on occasion, and Spencer Davis himself performed "I'm a Man" with the Grateful Dead in a 1989 performance at Los Angeles' Great Western Forum.


title: Ofra Haza

text: Bat-Sheva Ofra Haza (; 19 November 1957 – 23 February 2000), known professionally as Ofra Haza (), was an Israeli singer, actress, and Grammy Award-nominated recording artist commonly known in the Western world as "The Israeli Madonna", or "Madonna of the East". Her voice has been described as a "tender" mezzo-soprano.


title: Ofra Haza

text: Of Mizrahi Jewish (Yemenite-Jewish) descent, Haza's music is known as a mixture of traditional and commercial singing styles, fusing elements of Eastern and Western instrumentation, orchestration and dance-beat. She became successful in Europe and the Americas; during her singing career, she earned many platinum and gold discs. In Israel, Haza was an influential cultural figure who helped to popularize Mizrahi culture.


title: Ofra Haza

text: Bat-Sheva Ofra Haza was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, to Mizrahi Jewish parents from Yemen who immigrated to Israel. She was the youngest of nine children (six sisters and two brothers) to Yefet and Shoshana Haza. They were raised in a Masorti household in the Hatikva Quarter, then an impoverished neighborhood of Tel Aviv.


title: Ofra Haza

text: At the age of 12, Haza joined a local theater troupe, and manager Bezalel Aloni noticed her singing talent. He spotlighted her in many of his productions, and later became her manager and mentor. At 19, she was Israel's foremost pop star, and news articles have retrospectively described her as "the Madonna of the East".


title: Ofra Haza

text: She represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 1983, with the song "Hi", finishing second with 136 points. Her major international breakthrough came in the wake of the album "Shirei Teiman" ("Yemenite songs"), which she recorded in 1984. The album consisted of songs that Haza had heard in childhood, using arrangements that combined authentic Middle Eastern percussion with classical instruments. Further recognition came with the single "Im Nin'alu", taken from the album "Shaday" (1988), which won the New Music Award for Best International Album of the Year. The song topped the Eurochart for two weeks in June that year and was on heavy rotation on MTV channels across the continent. In the annals of classical hip-hop this song would be extensively re-released, re-mixed and sampled, for example on Coldcut's remix of Eric B. & Rakim's "Paid in Full". The single made only a brief appearance in the UK top 40 singles chart, but became a dance floor favorite across Europe and the US, topping the German charts for nine weeks. Subsequent singles were also given the dance-beat / MTV-style video treatment, most notably, "Galbi", "Daw Da Hiya" and "Mata Hari", but none quite matched the runaway success of her first hit. "Im Nin'alu" would go on to be featured on an in-game radio playlist of the video game "", released in 2005 and featured on Panjabi MC's album "Indian Timing" in 2009.


title: Ofra Haza

text: Haza also received critical acclaim for the albums "Fifty Gates of Wisdom" (1984), "Desert Wind" (1989), "Kirya" (1992) and "Ofra Haza" (1997).


title: Ofra Haza

text: In 1994, Haza released her first Hebrew album in seven years, "Kol Haneshama" ("The Whole Soul"). Though not an initial chart success, the album produced one of her biggest hits to date, "Le'orech Hayam" ("Along The Sea"), written by Ayala Asherov. The song did not have any substantial chart success upon its release to radio but became an anthem after Haza performed it on the assembly in memorial to deceased Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, a week after he was assassinated. Radio stations around the country began to play it. Its lyrics became even more symbolic following Haza's own death in 2000.


title: Ofra Haza

text: Her collaborative work with internationally established acts included the single "Temple of Love (Touched by the Hand of Ofra Haza)", recorded with The Sisters of Mercy in 1992. Thomas Dolby co-produced "Yemenite Songs" and "Desert Wind", on which he was also a guest musician. Haza guested on Dolby's album "Astronauts And Heretics" (1992), singing on the track "That's Why People Fall in Love". She recorded "My Love Is for Real" with Paula Abdul in 1995 and on Sarah Brightman's album "Harem", Haza's vocals were included on "Mysterious Days", thanks to an idea by Brightman's partner Frank Peterson (ex-Enigma), who produced both "Harem" (2003) and the album "Ofra Haza" (1997). Haza also sang backing vocals on the song "Friend of Stars" by the German electro-pop band And One, from the "Spot" (1993) album.


title: Ofra Haza

text: For the "Kirya" album, Iggy Pop, a friend of Don Was, performed the narration on "Daw Da Hiya" and Haza joined him and a host of other stars for the video and single release "Give Peace A Chance" in 1991. She also sang on the soundtracks of "Colors" (1988), "Dick Tracy" (1990), "Wild Orchid" (1990), "Queen Margot" (1994) and "The Prince of Egypt" (1998).


title: Ofra Haza

text: In "The Prince of Egypt," she voiced the small role of Yocheved, singing "Deliver Us." When Hans Zimmer, who was working with Haza on the music for "The Prince of Egypt", introduced her to the artists, they thought that she was so beautiful that they drew Yocheved to look like the singer. For the film's soundtracks, Haza sang the song "Deliver Us" in 19 languages, about half of which were sung phonetically, including:


title: Ofra Haza

text: On the soundtrack of "The Governess" (1998), Haza is the featured singer on seven of the twelve tracks and worked closely with film music composer Edward Shearmur. In 1999, she performed (together with late Pakistani artist Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan) the track "Forgiveness", on the contemporary symphony album "The Prayer Cycle" by Jonathan Elias. As a featured background vocalist, Haza's voice has been recorded, re-mixed or sampled for Black Dog's "Babylon" single, Eric B and Rakim's "Paid in Full (Coldcut Remix)", "Temple of Love (1992)" by The Sisters of Mercy, and for the M/A/R/R/S hit "Pump Up The Volume". The single "Love Song" has been re-mixed by DJs many times, its powerful vocal performance and comparatively sparse musical arrangement making it the perfect vehicle for a dance-rhythm accompaniment.


title: Ofra Haza

text: Covers of songs by other artists included the Carole King/James Taylor song "You've Got a Friend", Madonna's "Open Your Heart", Gary Moore's "Separate Ways", and Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir".


title: Ofra Haza

text: There were many live performances and Haza spoke with fond memories of her visits to Japan and Turkey. She performed at the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, where she appeared alongside Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor. "Paint Box" was written specially for the event. Her 1990 live recording, "Ofra Haza at Montreux Jazz Festival" was released in 1998.


title: Ofra Haza

text: Haza shared duets and concert performances with Glykeria, Yehudit Ravitz, Paul Anka, Paula Abdul, Michael Jackson, Iggy Pop, Hoite, Buddha Bar, Ishtar, Gidi Gov, Whitney Houston, Tzvika Pick, Khaled, Prachim Yerushalaim, The Sisters of Mercy, Thomas Dolby, Stefan Waggershausen, Eric B and Rakim, Gila Miniha, Hans Zimmer, Hagashash Hachiver, Yaffa Yarkoni, Dana International, Shoshana Damari and posthumously with Sarah Brightman.


title: Ofra Haza

text: In late 1999, Haza recorded new material for a new album that she worked on with Ron Aviv, a music producer from Petah Tikva. At the time, she also worked with the Finnish violinist Linda Brava, who released a previously unreleased track called "Tarab" on her MySpace page on 14 May 2010. On the track, Haza sings in English, Arabic and Hebrew, while Brava plays the electric violin. The track is possibly Haza's last recording.


title: Ofra Haza

text: In the summer of 2021, the British-Belgian EDM band Gravity Noir created a completely new music arrangement for Im Nin'alu. Ofra Haza's original vocals were retained for this, and Ofra Haza also features in their Music video as a special tribute. Gravity Noir featuring Ofra Haza - Im Nin Alu 2021, was officially released on July 14, 2021. The feature film ANKH was subsequently released in 2022, in which Ofra Haza can be seen and heard several times in archive footage.


title: Ofra Haza

text: On 15 July 1997, Haza married businessman Doron Ashkenazi. The couple had no children, but Ashkenazi had an adopted son, Shai, and a biological daughter from his first marriage.


title: Ofra Haza

text: Ofra Haza died on 23 February 2000, at the age of 42, of AIDS. While the fact that she was HIV-positive is now generally known, the decision by the Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" to report it shortly after her death was controversial in Israel.


title: Ofra Haza

text: After Haza's death was announced, Israeli radio stations played non-stop retrospectives of her music. Then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak praised her work as a cultural emissary, commenting that she also represented the Israeli success story — "Ofra emerged from the Hatikvah slums to reach the peak of Israeli culture. She has left a mark on us all."


title: Ofra Haza

text: Haza's death from an AIDS-related illness added another layer to the public mourning. The revelation of Haza's illness caused much surprise among fans, along with debate about whether the media invaded her privacy by reporting it. There was also speculation about how she had acquired the virus. Immediately after her death, the media placed blame on her husband, Tel Aviv businessman Doron Ashkenazi, for infecting her with the disease. Haza's manager Bezalel Aloni supported this belief, writing in his book that Haza acquired AIDS through sex with her husband. Later, it was revealed that her husband believed Haza became infected because of a blood transfusion she received in a hospital following a miscarriage. Ashkenazi himself died of a drug overdose roughly one year later on 7 April 2001, leaving a daughter from a prior marriage and a 14-year-old adopted son, Shai Ashkenazi.


title: Ofra Haza

text: Bezalel Aloni, Haza's manager and producer of 28 years, published a book "Michtavim L'Ofra" (Letters to Ofra) in 2007. The book is partly Aloni's autobiography and partly a biography of Haza, and includes letters written by Aloni.


title: Ofra Haza

text: On 22 March 2007, on the seventh anniversary of her death, the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality and the Tel Aviv Development Fund renamed part of the public park in the Hatikva Quarter "Gan Ofra" (Ofra's Park) in her honor. The park is placed at the end of Bo'az street, in which Haza's childhood home stood. The park features a children's playground, symbolizing her love for children and the old quarter she grew up in and always came back to.


title: Ofra Haza

text: On 19 November 2014, Google celebrated her 57th birthday with a Google Doodle. Pakistani blogger Sarmad Iqbal who is known for his pro-peace stance, praised Ofra Haza enthusiastically in his blog post titled "A Pakistani’s love letter to Israeli pop music and cinema" for "The Times of Israel" in 2017. Sarmad wrote "She was more than just a cultural icon of Israel as she also tried to bridge the wide gap between Israel and her Arab neighbors as her songs spread to a wider Middle-Eastern audience defying all the barriers to peace and friendship between Arabs and Israel.".


title: Ofra Haza

text: In the videogame , her track "Im Nin'Alu" is featured in a fictional radio station which plays Middle Eastern and Indian Music.


title: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

text: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, simply known as Equestria Girls or EQG, is a product line of fashion dolls and a media franchise launched in 2013 by the American toy company Hasbro, as a spin-off of the 2010 relaunch of the My Little Pony line of pony toys and its "" television series. Equestria Girls features anthropomorphized versions of "My Little Pony" characters from that period; as with My Little Pony, which features a colorful body and mane, Equestria Girls characters sport non-human skin and hair colors, while incorporating their pony counterpart's cutie marks (the flank symbol) in their clothing. The franchise includes various doll lines, media tie-ins, and licensed merchandise.


title: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

text: In addition to the Hasbro toys, Allspark Animation (previously credited under Hasbro Studios), a subsidiary of Hasbro, , including four movies, eight television specials, and several series of animated shorts.


title: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

text: The Equestria Girls setting is established as a parallel counterpart to the main world of Equestria in the 2010 incarnation of My Little Pony, populated with humanoid versions of the characters from the franchise; Hasbro's marketing materials described them as "full-time students and part-time magical pony girls".


title: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

text: The 2010 incarnation of My Little Pony toyline (which was originally launched in 1983, featuring colorful bodies and mane) and its associated television series "", while aimed at younger children, had gained an unexpected number of older fans in their 20s and 30s, known as "". Artwork produced by these fans included re-imaginings of the "Friendship Is Magic" cast as human equivalents. Hasbro saw this art and came up with the idea of developing the spin-off with a similar aesthetic.


title: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

text: The earliest known official use of the "Equestria Girls" name occurred in 2011 when the American television channel The Hub (a joint venture between Discovery Communications and Hasbro; now known as Discovery Family) released a promotional trailer for Hasbro Studio's "Friendship Is Magic" television series which featured a modified version of Katy Perry's "California Gurls". However, the trailer has nothing to do with the later-launched franchise.


title: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

text: In December 2012, Hasbro registered a trademark for the name "Equestria Girls" at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The franchise was briefly mentioned in the media earlier in February and March 2013. In an interview in the February/March 2013 issue of the "Kidscreen" magazine, Hasbro's senior vice president of international distribution and development, Finn Arnesen, called "My Little Pony" a "top-priority" brand for the company; the movie was described as "a new companion series" that would "[send] the pony heroes on a mission to a new world where they take on human form". Equestria Girls was announced in May 2013 with a movie and other media strategies, and it was included in Hasbro's licensing program for My Little Pony announced in June 2013, which began at the 2013 Licensing International Expo along with the company's other properties. The spin-off was to be a part of the 30th anniversary of the My Little Pony brand.


title: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

text: Along with the toys, Hasbro planned to produce related merchandise and media including movies, apparel, and accessories. Hasbro's chief marketing officer, John A. Frascotti, called the franchise a "major strategic initiative" for the company. The human-based toys were developed to appeal to girls in their teens as a means to extend the "My Little Pony" brand. In addition, Hasbro would continue its licensing deals with book publisher Little, Brown and Company and comic book publisher IDW Publishing to publish related works.


title: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

text: Equestria Girls is regarded as Hasbro's take on Monster High, a line of goth-themed fashion dolls launched by Mattel (one of the major rivals of Hasbro in the toy industry) in 2010. Monster High featured non-human skin and hair colors, was supported by multimedia tie-ins, and had its popularity and sales peaked in 2012 and 2013. The same year Hasbro was launching the Equestria Girls spin-off in 2013, Mattel was just launching a fairytale-themed spin-off of Monster High, named Ever After High.


title: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

text: In the audio commentary included in the "Rainbow Rocks" home media, Meghan McCarthy commented that "Equestria Girls" was initially not intended to become an ongoing franchise and that the thought of a sequel did not cross her mind.


title: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

text: Equestria Girls takes place in an alternate version of Equestria resembling modern-day Earth, whose population consists of humanoids with skins colored other than the usual human skin colors, with most being similar to their counterparts in the main and toy line in terms of appearance and personality. Several locales in the parallel world serve as counterparts to the main cities and establishments in Equestria: for example, Canterlot High School, which corresponds to Canterlot in Equestria, is run by Principal Celestia and her sister, Vice Principal Luna, who are the equivalent of Princesses Celestia and Princess Luna, the rulers of Equestria.


title: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

text: The entire franchise is primarily set in a fictional world parallel to the pony-inhabited fantasy setting of the 2010 incarnation of My Little Pony, accessible via a magic mirror. The toys and other series of media additionally feature alternate humanoid versions of pony characters in roles similar to the counterparts in Equestria; characters, as depicted in the "" television series, who travel between worlds assume similar forms in the alternative setting.


title: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

text: The main characters are collectively referred to in merchandise as the Equestria Girls". Beginning in , "they are also the members of a rock band called the "Rainbooms". In "," they assume magical abilities that come from geodes they discover.


title: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

text: Allspark Animation (previously credited under Hasbro Studios), a subsidiary of Hasbro, has commissioned the production of several animated movies, specials, and shorts (except "Equestria Girls Minis" shorts). Most of the animated media were produced by DHX Studios Vancouver's 2D animation team in Canada, except the , which were produced by Boulder Media in the Republic of Ireland (a company acquired by Hasbro in 2016).


title: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

text: A media tie-in to promote the Equestria Girls Minis toy line, the animated shorts ranging from 15 to 30 seconds in length were showcased on various online outlets including the toy line's official website and official YouTube channel beginning in late 2015.


title: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

text: The following juvenile fiction chapter books are originally published by Little, Brown and Company imprint of Hachette Book Group USA. The Orchard Book's imprint of Hachette UK, as well as The Five Mile Press in Australia, also published the books. The dates listed are the American publish dates.


title: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

text: A special short story, featuring the origins of Sunset Shimmer, was published in the IDW "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic" 2013 San Diego Comic-Con comic variant in July 2013. It also included additional stories in a stand-alone issue, titled "My Little Pony Annual 2013: Equestria Girls", released on October 30, 2013.


title: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

text: An issue of IDW's "Fiendship Is Magic" features the sirens, the evil creatures that appeared in "Rainbow Rocks".


title: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

text: Up until the Friendship Games lineup, Hasbro has been releasing a series of live-action music videos to promote the toy line. The videos feature female dancers, dressed as the protagonists, dancing to the renditions of the song "Equestria Girls", a number heard in the first "Equestria Girls" movie.


title: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

text: With the first lineup, Hasbro released a live-action music video, titled "Magic of Friendship", on the Entertainment Weekly website on August 30, 2013, depicting seven teenage girls, as the six protagonists and Sunset Shimmer, doing a new dance routine called "The EG Stomp" in a school cafeteria to a shorter Toy Commercial version of the "Equestria Girls" song.


title: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

text: On February 20, 2014, Hasbro released a new live-action music video on its official website to coincide with the Rainbow Rocks lineup, depicting the protagonists in a rock band. The music video, also titled "Rainbow Rocks", uses a rock version of the "Equestria Girls" song and portrays the protagonists performing the "EG Stomp". Through the "Equestria Girls" YouTube channel, another music video was released on August 4, 2014. It depicts four more teenage girls, each one dressed as the Dazzlings and DJ Pon-3 respectively. In February 2015, another music video titled "Rainbooms Remix" was released.


title: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

text: On August 14, 2015, the same year the Friendship Games lineup was launched, Hasbro released a live-action music video on its website, depicting five of the six protagonists as well as Sunset Shimmer in a sporting competition against Crystal Prep's Twilight Sparkle.


title: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

text: A Rainbow Rocks missile command-type mini-game was added to the "Hasbro Arcade" mobile app on April 8, 2014. On October 29, 2014, the mini-game was updated to include the Dazzlings with two songs from the movie and one song from one of the live-action music videos.


title: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

text: On June 7, 2014, a Rainbow Rocks game titled ""Repeat the Beat"" was released on Hasbro's Equestria Girls website; almost two months later, two more games have been released on July 31, 2014, one of them being ""Equestria Girls: Battle of the Bands"" and the other being ""Equestria Girls: V.I.F. (Very Important Friend)"".


title: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

text: On August 4, 2015, a Friendship Games game titled ""Archery Game"" was released on Hasbro's Equestria Girls website.


title: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

text: The "My Little Pony 2015 Convention Collection" released for San Diego Comic-Con International 2015 contains select songs from the first two movies: "Equestria Girls" and "Rainbow Rocks".


title: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

text: There has been criticism over the anthropomorphism approach of the toy line, as well as the franchise overall. Before the "Equestria Girls" movie's release, several mothers spoke to the "New York Daily News" stating concerns about the humanized characters, describing them as "too sexy", "anorexic", and "going back to the original Barbie" or "looking like Bratz dolls", and several feared allowing their children to be influenced by the looks. However, some considered it reasonable with other current media such as "The Little Mermaid", with one parent stating she felt that it isn't "any worse than Ariel in a bikini top for two hours". "Slate"s Amanda Marcotte considered that the characters' change to human form was to popularize Equestria Girls with the adult fanbase of "Friendship Is Magic", who she claims "have expressed a strong interest in seeing the Ponies in sexy, humanized forms". However, many of these adult fans expressed disappointment in the announcement of the franchise and the characters, considering Equestria Girls to be trying to pander to this older audience, and that the approach "goes against everything that Pony was trying to prove". Craig McCracken, speaking for his wife Lauren Faust, "Friendship Is Magic"s creative showrunner for the first two seasons before stepping down, stated that McCracken felt she "wasn't the biggest fan" of "Equestria Girls", opining that the approach of turning the pony characters into humans would have gone against the way she wanted to take the television series.


title: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

text: Being largely a part of a toy line and media franchise from Hasbro, the criticism against commercialization was taken into account when reviewing the movies and specials from the Equestria Girls series, whose reception has generally been mixed to positive for retaining the quality of the "Friendship Is Magic" television series. When reviewing the "Friendship Games" movie, Mike Cahill of "The Guardian" gave the movie two out of five stars, calling it "craven commercialism", but adding that "it's not unattractively designed, and its peppy collegiate spirit trumps the sappiness of Disney's Tinkerbell spin-offs". Conversely, Adam Lemuz of "Geekscape" gave the same movie a four out of five, praising its animation, music, directing and writing.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: The 2015 NFL season was the 96th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL), and the 50th in the Super Bowl era. To celebrate the 50th season of the Super Bowl, a gold-plated NFL logo and other various gold-themed promotions were used throughout the season. It began on Thursday, September 10, 2015, with the annual kickoff game featuring the defending Super Bowl XLIX champion New England Patriots defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers. The season concluded with Super Bowl 50, the league's championship game, on Sunday, February 7, 2016, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, with the Denver Broncos defeating the Carolina Panthers.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: During the 2015 season, the Oakland Raiders, the St. Louis Rams, and the San Diego Chargers announced their intentions to relocate back to Los Angeles in the ensuing off-season (all three teams had previously resided in the city at various points in their history). NFL owners eventually only approved the relocation of the Rams, by a vote of 30–2 on January 12, 2016. Thus, 2015 ended up being the Rams' last season in St. Louis.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: The 2015 NFL League Year began on Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 4:00 p.m. ET. On Saturday, March 7, clubs started to contact and enter into contract negotiations with the certified agents of players who became unrestricted free agents upon the expiration of their 2014 contracts at 4:00 p.m. ET on March 10. On Tuesday, March 10, 2015, clubs exercised options for 2015 on all players who have option clauses in their 2014 contracts, submitted qualifying offers to their restricted free agents with expiring contracts and to whom they desire to retain a Right of First Refusal/Compensation, submitted a Minimum Salary Tender to retain exclusive negotiating rights to their players with expiring 2014 contracts and who have fewer than three accrued seasons of free agency credit, "Top-51" began, all clubs must be under the 2015 salary cap, all 2014 player contracts expired at 4:00 p.m. ET and trading period for 2015 began. (4:00 p.m. ET).


title: 2015 NFL season

text: A total of 453 players were eligible for some form of free agency at the beginning of the free agency period. Among the players who changed teams via free agency included:


title: 2015 NFL season

text: Four players were assigned the non-exclusive franchise tag by their teams, which ensured that the team would receive compensation were the player to sign a contract with another team. These players were wide receivers Dez Bryant (Cowboys) and Demaryius Thomas (Broncos), linebacker Justin Houston (Chiefs), and defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul (Giants). One other team used the transition tag, which offers the player's current team a chance to match offers from other franchises and also guarantees draft pick compensation (at a lesser level than the franchise tag) if a tagged player signs elsewhere. The player given the transition tag was Charles Clay (Dolphins). On March 19, 2015, Clay signed a five-year, $38M contract with the Buffalo Bills, after the Dolphins elected not to match the offer.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: An unusually large number of big name players switched teams via trade prior to the 2015 season. Eagles coach Chip Kelly used his newly obtained GM powers to make many blockbuster trades. The Philadelphia Eagles traded 2-time All-Pro running back LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for linebacker Kiko Alonso. The Eagles also traded Pro Bowl quarterback Nick Foles along with their selection in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft to the St. Louis Rams for quarterback Sam Bradford; the deal also included a swap of draft picks in the 2015 NFL Draft as well as a possible additional 2016 draft pick from the Rams contingent on Bradford's playing time with the Eagles. The New Orleans Saints traded All-Pro tight end Jimmy Graham along with their fourth-round selection in the draft to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for All-Pro center Max Unger and the Seahawks' first-round selection in the draft. The Saints also traded away Pro Bowl guard Ben Grubbs (to the Kansas City Chiefs for a fifth round selection in the 2015 NFL Draft) and wide receiver Kenny Stills (to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for linebacker Dannell Ellerbe and a third rounder in the 2015 draft). The Detroit Lions acquired All-Pro defensive tackle Haloti Ngata from the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for draft picks to help make up for the loss of Ndamukong Suh in free agency.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: The 2015 NFL Draft was held April 30 – May 2, 2015, in Chicago. The draft process began with the NFL Scouting Combine, where draft-eligible players were evaluated by team personnel, which was held in Indianapolis on February 17–23. On October 2, 2014, Auditorium Theatre in Chicago was announced as the official site of the draft. The previous fifty NFL drafts (since 1965) had been held in New York. The 2015 NFL Draft was the first to feature an outdoor component, where fans would be able to see the Commissioner on the Auditorium Theatre stage from across the street in Grant Park; this area was called Draft Town. In the draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made Florida State University quarterback Jameis Winston the first overall selection.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: Referee Bill Leavy retired after the season. On May 13, 2015, the NFL promoted line judge John Hussey to the referee position. In addition to Hussey's promotion to referee, the NFL hired 10 more officials, including the first full-time female official in NFL history, Sarah Thomas, who will work as a line judge, as well as Walt Coleman IV, the son of referee Walt Coleman, who will work as a side judge.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: The following rule changes were passed for the 2015 NFL season at the owners' meeting on March 25, 2015:


title: 2015 NFL season

text: The following changes to the extra point rules were passed for the 2015 NFL season at the owners' meeting on May 19, 2015:


title: 2015 NFL season

text: Frank Gifford died on August 9, just a week shy of his 85th birthday. Gifford had a 12-year playing career with the in the 1950s and 1960s. He was a 4-time All-Pro, played in eight Pro Bowls and was named to the 1950s All-Decade Team. In Gifford was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player. After his playing career Gifford transitioned to sports broadcasting, most notably joining ABC's Monday Night Football in the program's second season and serving as the broadcast's play-by-play announcer and later color commentator for the next 27 seasons. Gifford was a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame as well as the College Football Hall of Fame.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: Chuck Bednarik died on March 31 at age 89. Bednarik was the first player selected in the 1949 NFL Draft and played linebacker and center for the Philadelphia Eagles for fourteen seasons. He won championships with the Eagles in 1949 and 1960. He was a 5-time first team All-Pro and played in eight Pro Bowls. Bednarik was selected as a member of the NFL's 75th Anniversary All-Time Two-Way Team and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1967. He was also a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: Ken Stabler died on July 8 at age 69. Stabler had a fifteen-year NFL career as a quarterback for the , Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints in the 1970s and 1980s. He was named the league's MVP in , led the Raiders to their first championship in Super Bowl XI and was a member of the 1970s All-Decade Team.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: Ed Sabol died on February 9 at age 98. Sabol founded NFL Films in 1962 where he pioneered a documentary style of capturing the game of football that many credit as a driver of the huge surge in the NFL's popularity. Sabol was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: Charlie Sanders died on July 2 at age 68. Sanders played tight end for the Detroit Lions for ten seasons. He was twice named first-team All-Pro, was selected for seven Pro Bowl teams and was a member of the 1970s All-Decade Team. After his playing career he continued to be involved with the Lions, first as a broadcaster and later as a coach and scout. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: Garo Yepremian died on May 15 at age 70. Yepremian had a fourteen-year career as a placekicker for four NFL teams, most notably with the Miami Dolphins of the 1970s. He was twice named a first-team All-Pro and was a member of two Pro Bowl teams as well as a 2-time Super Bowl champion. He led the league in field goal accuracy three times and was named to the 1970s All-Decade Team.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: Bob St. Clair died on April 20 at age 84. St. Clair had an eleven-year career as an offensive tackle for the San Francisco 49ers in the 1950s and 1960s. He played in the Pro Bowl five times and was named to the 1950s All-Decade Team. St. Clair was the mayor of Daly City, California from 1958 through 1964. St. Clair was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: Training camps for the 2015 season began July 22 and continued through the end of preseason, September 3. The normal training camp window ran from late July to late August or early September. Most of the camps had rookies report first, then veterans. At that point, some teams practiced versus another organization, like the Bills practiced against the Browns this year. Teams started training camp no earlier than fifteen days before the team's first scheduled preseason game. At that point, the rosters for each team were open to 90 players. Those rosters were cut to 75 by Week 3 of preseason, and the final 53-man roster was submitted at the end of preseason.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: Prior to the start of the regular season, each team played at least four exhibition games. The preseason schedule got underway with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on Sunday evening, August 9. The Hall of Fame game is a traditional part of the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame induction weekend celebrating new Hall of Fame members. It was played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium which is located adjacent to the Hall of Fame building in Canton, Ohio. The game, which was televised in the U.S. on NBC, featured the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers; as in previous years, each team had an inductee in the class of 2015 (Mick Tingelhoff for the Vikings, Jerome Bettis for the Steelers). The 65-game preseason schedule ended on Thursday, September 3, a week before the start of the regular season, with each team having played four preseason games, except for the Steelers and Vikings, who played five games. The preliminary preseason schedule was released Thursday, April 9.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: The 2015 regular season featured 256 games played out over a seventeen-week schedule which began on the Thursday night following Labor Day. Each of the league's 32 teams played a 16-game schedule with one bye week for each team scheduled between weeks four and eleven. The slate also featured seventeen games on Monday night, two of which were played at the end of the first week of the regular season. Additionally, there was no Monday Night game at the end of the final week of the regular season, the same as in previous years. There were games played on Thursday, including the opening game of the regular season on Thursday, September 10 and three games on Thanksgiving Day. The regular season concluded with a full slate of 16 games on Sunday, January 3, all of which were intra-divisional matchups, as it has been since , with the Minnesota Vikings beating the Green Bay Packers on "NBC Sunday Night Football"


title: 2015 NFL season

text: Under the NFL's scheduling formula, each team plays each of the other three teams in their own division twice (one home and one away). In addition, a team plays against all four teams in one other division within the conference, on a 3-year rotation; and one division from the opposite conference, on a 4-year rotation. Two games on a team's schedule are against the two teams in the team's own conference in the divisions the team was not set to play who finished the previous season in the same rank in their division (e.g. the team which finished first in its division the previous season would play each other team in their conference that also finished first in its respective division). The pre-set division pairings for 2015 are as follows:


title: 2015 NFL season

text: The 2015 playoffs opened with the Wild Card playoff round on the weekend of Saturday, January 9 and Sunday, January 10, 2016, with the winner of each of the games visiting the top two seeded teams in each conference. The Divisional round games were then played on the weekend of Saturday, January 16 and Sunday, January 17, 2016. The Conference championships were held on Sunday, January 24, 2016 with the AFC Championship Game and the NFC Championship Game.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: The 2016 Pro Bowl was held on January 31, 2016 at the Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The game continued the "unconferenced/draft" format that was started in 2014, with Jerry Rice and Michael Irvin serving as the alumni captains. Team Irvin defeated Team Rice 49–27.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: Super Bowl 50 decided the 2015 NFL Champion and was played at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California on Sunday, February 7, 2016. Instead of naming it Super Bowl L with Roman numerals like in previous Super Bowls, this game was marketed with the Arabic numeral "50". According to Jaime Weston, the league's vice president of brand and creative, the primary reason was that the league's graphic designers had difficulty designing a suitable, aesthetically pleasing logo with only the Roman numeral "L".


title: 2015 NFL season

text: In May, after a lengthy investigation led by Ted Wells, the external investigator appointed by the NFL, the league levied its punishment against the Patriots in the so-called "Deflategate" scandal. The scandal stemmed from the discovery that several of the footballs used by the Patriots during the previous season's AFC championship game were not within the league's inflation guidelines. The Patriots were fined $1 million and stripped of their first-round selection in the 2016 NFL draft and their fourth-round selection in the 2017 NFL draft. Quarterback Tom Brady, who the league's report determined was likely aware of a scheme to manipulate inflation levels, was suspended for four games. Additionally, two locker room attendants employed by the Patriots were suspended indefinitely.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: While the team agreed not to appeal the fine and draft pick revocation, Brady appealed his suspension. League commissioner Roger Goodell heard the appeal and confirmed the sentence on July 28. Immediately upon the announcement of the appeal verdict, the league filed suit against the NFL Players Association in civil court in an effort to gain a ruling upholding the punishment. Judge Richard M. Berman pushed the two sides hard to reach a settlement, but when they were unable to he ruled for Brady and the union vacating the suspension imposed by the league. Although the league appealed Judge Berman's ruling, Brady's suspension was lifted clearing the way for him to play in the season opener.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: The two Patriots employees, assistant equipment manager John Jastremski and officials locker room attendant Jim McNally, who had previously been suspended by the team were allowed by the league to be reinstated in September. As a condition for the lifting of the suspensions, neither employee is allowed to be involved with the handling or preparation of game balls.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: A number of relatively young NFL players walked away from the game prior to the 2015 season. The San Francisco 49ers lost three potential starters as linebackers Patrick Willis and Chris Borland and offensive tackle Anthony Davis all announced their retirements. Former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Jason Worilds and Tennessee Titans quarterback Jake Locker also both retired despite having yet to reach the age of 30.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: Willis, who was regarded as one of the best middle linebackers in the league, played in just six games in 2014 as he dealt with a toe injury. He announced in March his decision to retire at age 30 due to the chronic nature of the foot injuries he had endured in his eight-year career.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: Borland led the 49ers with 107 tackles in his rookie season in 2014 despite starting just eight games after being selected in the third round of the 2014 draft. Borland cited concerns over the potential long-term impact to his brain health in continuing to play the game in announcing his retirement which he did in March just days after Willis' announcement.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: Davis missed four games in 2014 with his first diagnosed concussion. In announcing his retirement in June, he said that he planned to take "a year or so away from the NFL" to "allow my brain and body a chance to heal."


title: 2015 NFL season

text: Worilds was entering free agency after playing for the Steelers the previous five seasons. He turned down contract offers worth tens of millions of dollars in order to devote more time to his Jehovah's Witnesses faith.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: Locker played four years for the Titans after they made him the eighth overall selection in 2011 draft. He was a free agent when he announced that he would be retiring because he had lost "the burning desire necessary to play the game for a living."


title: 2015 NFL season

text: The 2015 season marked the hiring of the first female NFL coach and first female NFL on-field official. Jen Welter was hired by the Arizona Cardinals as a coaching intern. Welter worked with the team's inside linebackers through the off-season and pre-season. Welter's internship with the Cardinals expired after the team's third preseason game on August 30.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: Sarah Thomas became the NFL's first female on-field official when she was hired by the league in April. Thomas had previously become the first female to officiate a major college football game as well as the first to officiate a bowl game.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: The NFL suspended side judge Rob Vernatchi (from Pete Morelli's crew) for Week 6 of the regular season due to a timekeeping blunder that occurred during a game the previous week. The host San Diego Chargers kicked a field goal to take a 3-point lead over the Pittsburgh Steelers with 2:56 remaining in the fourth quarter. The subsequent kickoff was a touchback, which shouldn't have resulted in any time coming off the game clock. However, when the Steelers took over on offense the scoreboard clock read 2:38. Vernatchi was responsible for keeping the official game time, but he did not notice the 18-second discrepancy. The Steelers ended up scoring a touchdown to secure a win with no time left on the clock.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: The referee crew led by Pete Morelli had been assigned to officiate a "Sunday Night Football" game between the Indianapolis Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 13, but was reassigned to a different game (Philadelphia Eagles at New England Patriots), due to heavy criticism for questionable calls made during the previous week's Arizona Cardinals–San Francisco 49ers game. Morelli's crew drew the ire of Cardinals' head coach Bruce Arians and 49ers' safety Eric Reed, including a botched roughing-the-passer call on Cardinals' quarterback Carson Palmer that aided the Cardinals' eventual game-winning drive, as well as a missed delay-of-game penalty. Morelli's crew had previously been the subject of criticism, following a clock error during a Week 5 game – "see above". In addition, Morelli's crew was involved in a missed call at the end of the Jacksonville Jaguars–Baltimore Ravens game in Week 10, where they missed a false start penalty against the Jaguars before the final snap that resulted in a facemask penalty against the Ravens when time expired, allowing the Jaguars to gain 15 yards and kick the game-winning field goal.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: A total of 26 players were suspended by the league as of the season's first week. Most of these suspensions were for violations of the league's performance-enhancing drug (PED), substance abuse and personal conduct policies.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: Cleveland Browns general manager Ray Farmer was suspended by the league for the first four games of the 2015 season due to a texting scandal which occurred in . The league found that Farmer had used a cellphone to communicate with personnel on the Browns' sideline "on multiple occasions during games" in violation of league rules which prohibit such communications. In addition to Farmer's suspension, the team was assessed a fine of $250,000.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: The league stripped the Atlanta Falcons of their selection in the fifth round of the 2016 draft after it was determined that they had been using pre-recorded crowd noise during the team's home games throughout and into . In addition to losing the draft pick the franchise was fined $350,000 and team president Rich McKay was suspended from his post as chairman of the league's Competition Committee for three months starting in April. The team fired event marketing director Roddy White who they determined was directly responsible for the violation.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: Buffalo Bills offensive line coach Aaron Kromer was suspended by the team for the first six weeks of the season after he was arrested for an altercation during which Kromer allegedly punched a teenager. The incident occurred in July near Kromer's home in Florida. Charges in the matter were eventually dropped.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: Cleveland Browns offensive line coach Andy Moeller was suspended indefinitely by the Browns in September after in incident in which police were called to Moeller's house after a female houseguest alleged that Moeller physically assaulted her. Prosecutors declined to press charges related to the incident despite their conclusion that "it is quite clear an incident of volatile nature took place." On September 29, 2015, the Browns officially parted ways with Moeller.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: The 5th Annual NFL Honors, saluting the best players and plays from 2015 season, was held at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, California on February 6, 2016.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: The stadium in Nashville where the Tennessee Titans play their home games was renamed Nissan Stadium in an agreement with automobile manufacturer Nissan. Though financial terms remain undisclosed, the naming rights deal is expected to last for twenty years. Nissan operates two plants in Tennessee and is one of middle Tennessee's largest employers. Since , the facility had been branded as "LP Field," under a naming rights agreement with Nashville-based building materials manufacturer Louisiana-Pacific. This is the third name change for the venue since its opening.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: The Minnesota Vikings played at TCF Bank Stadium on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis for the second straight season. The Vikings arranged to play there for two years after their former home, the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, was closed after the season and demolished so U.S. Bank Stadium, their new stadium, could be built on the site.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: NRG Stadium, home of the Houston Texans, converted from a natural grass field to an artificial turf field after week 1. Despite various attempts to improve field conditions, players from both the Texans and the visiting Kansas City Chiefs complained of poor field conditions in their week 1 game. The decision to convert was made 5 days later, and the turf field was installed in time for the Texans next home game against Tampa Bay in Week 3.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: The team's lease at the Oakland Coliseum expired after the 2013 season, and the Raiders after that point became tenants of the Coliseum on a year-to-year basis.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: On July 29, 2014, reports surfaced that the Oakland Raiders might consider relocating to San Antonio in 2015 after owner Mark Davis met with San Antonio civic leaders the week before at the encouragement of former Raider Cliff Branch, whom Davis was in town to visit for a local ceremony for Branch. The Raiders themselves acknowledged Davis being in San Antonio for the event for Branch before news broke about a possible relocation, but would not confirm nor deny that Davis also mentioned being there discussing moving his team east. Among the two existing NFL teams in Texas, Houston Texans' then-owner Bob McNair and Dallas Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones—the latter of which has San Antonio as part of his territorial rights and previously voiced support of an NFL team moving there when the New Orleans Saints temporarily played in San Antonio in 2005 due to damages to the Superdome following Hurricane Katrina – both favored an NFL team playing in San Antonio.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: On September 3, 2014, the city of Oakland reached a tentative deal to build a new football stadium in Oakland, which would have resulted in the Coliseum being demolished; Davis did not respond to the proposal, which would have also forced the Oakland Athletics to build a new stadium of their own (which they did not agree to do), while Alameda County (then co-owners of the coliseum) indicated they would probably not have supported the plan. Davis, in the meantime, had team officials scout the Alamodome to determine if it would be suitable for the NFL.


title: 2015 NFL season

text: On February 19, 2015, the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers announced plans for a privately financed $1.7 billion stadium that the two teams would build in Carson, California, if they were to move to the Los Angeles market. Such a move would have marked a return to the nation's second-largest market for both teams; the Raiders played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 while the Chargers called LA home for their inaugural season in the American Football League. The Chargers were at the time the only NFL team to play in Southern California, with San Diego being a distance from Los Angeles and had Los Angeles as a secondary market. The Chargers had been looking to replace Qualcomm Stadium (which, like the O.co Coliseum opened in the late 1960s) since at least 2003, and had an annual out clause in which it could move in exchange for paying a fine to the city of San Diego for its remaining years on its lease.