title: Sandor Clegane

text: The Hound then travels to King's Landing to kill his brother along with Arya, who intends to kill Cersei. The two infiltrate the Red Keep amongst a crowd of civilians Cersei is using as human shields, but Daenerys begins burning the city down and the Red Keep begins to crumble. The Hound urges Arya to leave as he goes to find his brother. Arya thanks him, calling him by his true name for the first and only time, and bids him farewell. A fight ensues between the Clegane brothers, and Sandor struggles to even injure his inhuman brother. Gregor is momentarily disarmed after the Hound stabs him through the head, and the Hound tackles him off a stairway into the inferno below, resulting in both of their deaths.


title: Héctor Herrera

text: Héctor Miguel Herrera López (; born 19 April 1990) is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo and the Mexico national team.


title: Héctor Herrera

text: Herrera began his career with Pachuca in 2010 and spent three years at the club before joining FC Porto. He struggled for playing time in his first season in Portugal before gradually cementing his place in the starting eleven. Since the 2015–16 season, Herrera served as club captain. In his six years with Porto, Herrera made 245 appearances across all competitions, winning a Primeira Liga title and two Supertaça cups.


title: Héctor Herrera

text: A full international since 2012, Herrera won the Olympic gold medal in that year's football tournament, and was part of Mexico's winning team at the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He has represented his country at the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cup, the 2013 and 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, and the Copa América Centenario.


title: Héctor Herrera

text: Herrera began playing football for C.F. Pachuca's youth sides. As a youth, he was nicknamed "Zorrillo" (skunk), as well as "Zorro" (fox).


title: Héctor Herrera

text: Herrera made his professional debut for Pachuca on 21 July 2010 in a 0–1 defeat to Major Soccer League side Chivas USA in a 2010 North American SuperLiga match. Herrera made his league debut for Pachuca in a 1–4 home defeat to Santos Laguna on 23 July 2011. Appearing 14 times for Pachuca in the 2011 Apertura, he was a shortlist candidate for best rookie of the tournament.


title: Héctor Herrera

text: On 28 June 2013, it was announced that Herrera was transferred to Portuguese club Porto for €8 million.


title: Héctor Herrera

text: Herrera appeared as an unused substitute in his first season's opening Super Cup match against Vitória de Guimarães on 10 August, ultimately winning 3–0. Eight days later, Herrera made his Primeira Liga debut, coming on as a substitute for Lucho González in the 82nd minute in Porto's 3–1 victory over Vitória de Setúbal. On 6 October, Herrera played his first 90 minutes in Porto's 3–1 away win over Arouca. On 18 September, Herrera made his UEFA Champions League debut against Austria Wien in a 1–0 group stage victory. On 22 October, Herrera set a new UEFA Champions League record for the fastest dismissal for two yellow cards when he was sent off in the sixth minute of the group stage match against Zenit Saint Petersburg. Herrera scored his first league goal with Porto on 20 December in a 4–0 win against Olhanense, scoring on a volley just eight minutes after coming on as a substitute. In his first season with Porto, Herrera played in 17 league matches, and in 33 across all competitions, scoring three goals in total, all of which were scored in the league.


title: Héctor Herrera

text: On 20 August 2014, Herrera scored his first goal in Champions League play in Porto's 1–0 win over Lille. On 25 November, he played an important role in Porto's 3–0 Champions League away win over Belarusian club BATE Borisov, scoring the first goal of the game and providing two assists, all in the second-half. Herrera was included in "The Guardian"s year end list of "The 100 Best Footballers in the World".


title: Héctor Herrera

text: On 22 August 2015, Herrera scored his first goal of the season in Porto's 1–1 draw against Marítimo at the Estádio dos Barreiros. In December, Herrera was given the Dragão de Ouro Award as the team's best player of the previous season, the first Mexican to win the honour. On 12 February 2016, Herrera, wearing the captain's arm-band, scored the equalizer in Porto's 2–1 win over archrivals Benfica. Herrera was called up for the final of the Taça de Portugal against Braga on 22 May 2016, playing in the 120 minutes of the match and failing to convert his penalty shot in the subsequent 3–2 shoot-out defeat.


title: Héctor Herrera

text: On 15 April 2018, Porto defeated Benfica 1–0 at the Estádio da Luz, with Herrera scoring in the 90th minute from a shot outside the box. The win took Porto to the top of the table with 76 points, two ahead of Benfica with four matches remaining in the season. His goal was ultimately voted as the season's best. On 5 May, after a 0–0 draw between Benfica and Sporting CP, Porto won the league title with two games left to play. Herrera featured in the season's Team of the Year, one of five Porto players included.


title: Héctor Herrera

text: On 4 August 2018, Herrera began the 2018–19 season captaining Porto in their 3–1 win over Aves to clinch the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira. On 22 September, Herrera made his 200th appearance for Porto in all competitions following a 2–0 victory over Vitória Setúbal. In March 2019, he captained Porto in their 4–3 aggregate victory over Roma in the Champions League round of 16, with Porto reaching the quarter-finals for the first time since the 2014–15 competition. On 30 March, Herrera, in captaining Porto to a 3–2 victory against Braga, made his 237th appearance in all competitions for the "Dragões", placing him fifth in the club's all-time list of appearances by a foreign player, four games behind Lucho González.


title: Héctor Herrera

text: Amid reports linking him to Atlético Madrid, Porto president Pinto da Costa confirmed Herrera would leave the club on the expiration of his contract. On 18 May, Herrera scored in his final Primeira Liga game with Porto in the team's 2–1 victory over Sporting CP, scoring a scissor kick from a corner kick. He was again included in the season's Team of the Year.


title: Héctor Herrera

text: On 3 July 2019, Atlético Madrid announced via their website that they had reached an agreement with Herrera. He signed a three-year contract, and was officially presented at the Wanda Metropolitano with the number 16 shirt. After failing to appear for "Los Rojiblancos" in the first month of the season, he made his competitive debut on 18 September, coming on as a late substitute for Thomas Partey and scoring the equalizer in the 90th minute to salvage a 2–2 draw against Juventus in the opening group game of the UEFA Champions League. Three days later, Herrera made his debut in La Liga as a starter against Celta de Vigo, playing 60 minutes in a scoreless draw. He was a starter in both Supercopa de España matches against Barcelona and Real Madrid, finishing runner-up against the latter in the final. He made 30 appearances across all competitions in his debut season with Atlético, though his playing time was mostly hampered due to injuries.


title: Héctor Herrera

text: At the start of the 2020–21 season Herrera was on a positive run of form, featuring eight times in all competitions and starting in the team's last four games prior to the international break, before being ruled out of action in November. It was reported that he had suffered a grade two injury to his left thigh while on international duty with Mexico, and would be out of action for a month. On his return on 1 December, Herrera, with 47, surpassed Javier Hernández as the Mexican with most UEFA Champions League appearances, coming on as a substitute in a 1–1 group stage draw against Bayern Munich. He again faced a spell on the sidelines, both due to injury and testing positive for COVID-19 in February.


title: Héctor Herrera

text: On 2 March 2022, Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo announced that it had signed Herrera on a pre-contract agreement through the 2024 season with an option for 2025. He committed to the club as a Designated Player.


title: Héctor Herrera

text: In 2012, Herrera was chosen by coach Luis Fernando Tena to participate in the 2012 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament held in the United States. Mexico went on to win the tournament by defeating Honduras in the final, thus qualifying to the 2012 Olympic Games held in London.


title: Héctor Herrera

text: Herrera was a vital part in the Mexico squad that won the 2012 Toulon Tournament, and was awarded the "Meilleur Joueur" (Best Player), the most outstanding player of the tournament.


title: Héctor Herrera

text: Herrera made the final cut for those participating in the 2012 Summer Olympics. Mexico won the gold medal after defeating Brazil 2–1 in the final.


title: Héctor Herrera

text: In 2012, Herrera was called up by coach José Manuel de la Torre to play for Mexico in the World Cup qualifiers against Guyana on 12 October and El Salvador on 16 October. He made his senior national team debut against El Salvador, a 2–0 win for Mexico.


title: Héctor Herrera

text: On 7 June 2013, Herrera was called up to participate in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. He made only one appearance, in a 0–2 loss to host-nation Brazil, coming on as a substitute for Gerardo Flores in the 58th minute of the match.


title: Héctor Herrera

text: On 8 May 2014, Herrera was included in the final 23-man roster participating in the 2014 FIFA World Cup by Miguel Herrera. He was a starter in all three of Mexico's group stage matches, as well as playing in the 1–2 round-of-16 loss to the Netherlands. On 4 September 2015, Herrera netted his first goal with Mexico in a friendly against Trinidad and Tobago, scoring off of a corner kick pass from outside of the box, tying the match 3–3. Four days later, he scored his second goal in a 2–2 draw against Argentina.


title: Héctor Herrera

text: Herrera was included in the roster for the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Despite a dip in form following a superb season with Porto, he appeared in all games except the final against Jamaica as Mexico won 3–1. He was called up by interim manager Ricardo Ferretti to participate in the subsequent CONCACAF Cup – a play-off match to determine CONCACAF's entry into the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup – against the United States. Mexico won the match 3–2 during overtime.


title: Héctor Herrera

text: On 17 May 2016, Herrera was listed on the roster for the Copa América Centenario by Juan Carlos Osorio. On 5 June, in Mexico's first group stage match against Uruguay, Herrera scored the third goal in the 3–1 victory.


title: Héctor Herrera

text: On 8 June 2017, he was listed on the roster for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. He would go on to appear in all five matches as Mexico lost the third place play-off against Portugal with a score of 2–1. With three assists, Herrera finished as the assist leader of the tournament.


title: Héctor Herrera

text: On 28 May 2018, Herrera captained the national team in a scoreless draw to Wales in preparation for the World Cup.


title: Héctor Herrera

text: On 4 June, Herrera was included in the final 23-man squad for the tournament. In the first group stage match against Germany, which Mexico won 1–0, Herrera’s performance was praised in particular. He would appear as a starter in all three group stage matches and the round-of-16 match against Brazil, where Mexico lost 2–0.


title: Héctor Herrera

text: In May 2019, Herrera issued a statement via Twitter confirming that he would not form part of the national squad participating at the CONCACAF Gold Cup, citing fitness concerns as well as wanting to decide his "professional future" as his contract with Porto was expiring. Under Gerardo Martino, he reappeared with Mexico in the friendly match against the United States on 6 September, and played all 90 minutes in "El Tri"'s 3–0 victory. The following month, Herrera captained Mexico in the CONCACAF Nations League fixtures against Bermuda and Panama, scoring off of a free kick layoff in a 5–1 victory against the former.


title: Héctor Herrera

text: In June 2021, Herrera participated in the Concacaf Nations League Finals, reaching the final against the United States, losing 2–3. He was included in the Best XI of the tournament. He participated in the subsequent CONCACAF Gold Cup, appearing as captain in the first two group stage matches due to Héctor Moreno being unfit. Losing the final to the United States 0–1, he was awarded the Golden Ball for best player of the tournament.


title: Héctor Herrera

text: In October 2022, Herrera was named in Mexico's preliminary 31-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and in November, he was ultimately included in the final 26-man roster.


title: Héctor Herrera

text: Herrera is described as a box-to-box midfielder, capable of halting opposing advances and able to distribute the ball or shoot the ball on target. He is also known for his pace and dynamism, as well as being capable of breaking up opposition attacks with his tough tackling and starting his team's own forays forward with his sharp distribution and tireless running.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: The Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), also known as AEG Worldwide, is an American global sporting and music entertainment presenter and a subsidiary of The Anschutz Corporation. It is the world's largest owner of sports teams and sports events. Under the AEG Presents brand, it is the world's second-largest presenter of live music and entertainment events, after Live Nation. AEG Presents was founded in 2002 as AEG Live.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: AEG owns and operates a variety of venues, sport teams, and entertainment concerns. For venues, AEG owns and operates Crypto.com Arena and Dignity Health Sports Park, and managed the XL Center and Rentschler Field. In England, it operates The O which includes a 20,000 capacity arena. As part of the development of the O, Anschutz also purchased the London river service company Thames Clippers, and supported the development of the nearby David Beckham Academy (which also had a branch at the Home Depot Center). The company had its headquarters in Downtown Los Angeles.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: In sports teams, the company owns the Los Angeles Galaxy, 50% of the Los Angeles Kings, Ontario Reign, Eisbären Berlin with Berlin Mercedes-Benz Arena, 23.5% of Hammarby IF, as well as interests in the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Sparks. AEG also owns Hamburg Freezers before ceasing its existence in 2016. The company also purchased the Champions on Ice figure skating tour in 2006, and own 12% of Djurgårdens IF Hockey. The company makes a significant amount of its money by leveraging its sports interests, already significant earners, by using the stadia in which these teams play to host various other entertainment events, most notably concerts. Philip Anschutz created the company by buying up several small local promoters in Los Angeles in order to fill up the schedule for his new sports venue, Staples Center. These included ConcertsWest and Goldenvoice, which had been founded by Gary Tovar, and promotes the annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. AEG was the second-largest event promoter in the United States.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: AEG Presents, previously AEG Live, came to international public attention in 2009 when it acted as the promoter for Michael Jackson's This Is It concerts. Jackson died just three weeks before the series of 50 concerts were due to begin. Members of Jackson's family have said that they would like to see an investigation, in general, into the role of AEG Live in the final weeks of his life, and also, in particular, into the role of the personal advisers and representatives whom they believe the promoters put in place for him.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: On September 18, 2012, The Anschutz Corporation announced its intent to sell Anschutz Entertainment Group and its holdings. The company has retained financial advisors Blackstone Advisory Partners to assist in AEG's sale process. There had been some concerns about the sale as AEG was instrumental in the development of Farmers Field, a planned football stadium in Downtown Los Angeles that was intended to attract an NFL team to the city. Approval to begin construction of Farmers Field in 2013 for a 2016 completion was in the process of being finalized at the time that AEG's sale was announced. In 2015, plans for Farmers Field were abandoned when then St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke announced plans for a stadium of his own.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: On October 14, 2011, Anschutz announced AEG is no longer for sale and that it is changing CEOs. Tim Leiweke (CEO since 1996) left the firm; John Skorjanec was named VP of National Media Accounts with Dan Beckerman now heading AEG.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: AEG's primary subsidiary AEG Facilities merged with its rival venue operator SMG in October 2019, forming ASM Global.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: AEG owns the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, the PlayStation Theater in New York, The O2 in London, the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, and the Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg. Meanwhile, AEG operates the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, the Target Center in Minneapolis, Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum and Oakland Arena in Oakland, the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, PNC Stadium in Houston, and The Theatre at Grand Prairie, SNHU Arena in Manchester.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: Anschutz's investment in the O, through his company Anschutz Entertainment Group previously resulted in his involvement in controversy related to the possible influence of former British Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott in the award of the "super casino" license by the British government. Anschutz knows Prescott personally, having had him as a guest for a two-night stay at Anschutz's ranch in 2005 and footing the bill for hospitality and gifts.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: In January 2007, the "Super Casino" license was awarded to a group in Manchester, rather than to Blackpool or London. Anschutz spent £50m on the Manchester Arena and the winner of the casino licence is a close ally of Anschutz, Sol Kerzner.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: In August 2007, AEG announced plans with Harrah's Entertainment to build a privately financed 20,000-seat arena in Paradise, Nevada on the Las Vegas Strip on Harrah's land located directly behind the Bally's Las Vegas and Paris Las Vegas resorts. The informal partnership was dissolved the following year.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: In October 2011, it was announced an agreement with Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras and WTorre for managing the Allianz Parque, one of the most modern multipurpose spaces in the world, located in São Paulo, Brazil. With construction starting in 2010, was completed in November 2014.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: In September 2013, it was announced that AEG Facilities, a stand-alone affiliate of AEG, had signed a 15-year contract to operate Wembley Arena in London, UK.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: AEG Live partnered with MGM Resorts International to build the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, which opened in April 2016.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: AEG Ogden, a joint venture with Australian investors, managed sports venues and convention centres in Australia and Asia, including the International Convention Centre Sydney, Lang Park and Sydney Super Dome.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: Anschutz was one of the co-founders and one of the lead investors of Major League Soccer. In 1996, he became the investor/operator of the Colorado Rapids, his first MLS franchise. The Rapids were then a subsidiary of the Anschutz Corporation. In subsequent years, as Anschutz acquired additional sports teams, it led to the formation of a new division of the company whose focus was sports and entertainment, and thus AEG was born, with the Rapids and hockey's LA Kings as its original members.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: Since 1996, AEG has held ownership in the Chicago Fire, San Jose Earthquakes, New York/New Jersey MetroStars, D.C. United and Houston Dynamo. Currently, AEG is the investor/operator of the Los Angeles Galaxy.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: Anschutz was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2006. Also in 2006, Anschutz received the National Soccer Medal of Honor, one of four recipients to ever receive the award. In 2007, Anschutz and AEG played a vital role in bringing David Beckham to the United States. Beckham is now employed by Galaxy Media and played for Los Angeles Galaxy. In 2009, he joined USA Bid Committee Board of Directors who are preparing the US's application and campaign to bring the World Cup to the United States.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: Between 2001 and 2019, AEG was the biggest external investor and minority shareholder of Swedish Allsvenskan club Hammarby IF. On 27 November 2019, it was announced that Zlatan Ibrahimović, widely regarded to be the greatest Swedish football player of all time, had acquired 23.5 percent of the outstanding shares in Hammarby, which meant that AEG reduced their stake by half.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: Anschutz Entertainment Group were in a consortium with Tottenham Hotspur to demolish the London 2012 Olympic Stadium in Stratford and then to build a new 60,000 seater soccer stadium in its place and to renovate the Crystal Palace athletics stadium. However this proposal was rejected.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: AEG owns the NHL's Los Angeles Kings; the AHL's Ontario Reign; the ECHL's Cincinnati Cyclones (co-owned with Nederlander Entertainment); and the German ice hockey team Eisbären Berlin. AEG also formerly owned the Manchester Monarchs and an interest in the Reading Royals, both of the ECHL.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: In July 2010, it was announced that Xanterra Parks & Resorts, Inc. had entered into an agreement to purchase the Kingsmill Resort near Williamsburg, Virginia. Xanterra, owned by Anschutz since 2008, has traditionally operated in national and state parks across the United States, especially in the Western regions, including Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. As of 2010, Xanterra was operating about three dozen hotels and lodges with more than 5,000 guest rooms combined, with over 8,000 employees.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: It has also been reported that Anschutz is currently in negotiations to buy the Silverado Golf Resort in Napa, California.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: Anschutz Entertainment Group also owned the Tour of California bicycling race and the Bay to Breakers footrace.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: The company also managed the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, and managed the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut until 2013. They previously operated Rentschler Field in Hartford from 2007 to 2010, during which they held a stake in the now-defunct Hartford Colonials of the UFL.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: In April 2016, AEG announced a partnership with esports company ESL; the next year the company also announced an investment in the North American esports organization, Immortals.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: When filmmakers made a movie about Red Adair in 1967, Anschutz struck a deal with Universal Pictures to permit filming real fire fighters extinguishing a real oil blaze on his land for a $100,000 fee. The footage was used in the 1968 John Wayne movie "Hellfighters".


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: Anschutz Film Group (formerly Crusader Entertainment, now known as Bristol Bay Productions and Walden Media) produced the commercially successful "Holes" in 2003 and "" in 2005.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: The company also played a significant role the 2009 documentary–concert film "Michael Jackson's This Is It".


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: AEG partnered with Outbox Enterprises, a start up company, in which AEG is both an equity partner and a client, to develop AXS (pronounced "access"). AXS is a digital marketing platform for purchasing tickets for sports and entertainment events.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: In Berlin, local groups started a boycott against the projected development Mediaspree, of which O2 World is a part, arguing that huge sections of public spaces were being lost to the private sector. Furthermore, the Anschutz company was criticized for bully-like behavior in regards to the changing of the outer parameters of the sports arena. A section of the nearby East Side Gallery, a leftover piece of the Berlin Wall now serving as an international memorial for peace and freedom, had to be removed to enable the view of


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: Anschutz's new arena, located on the (former) eastern side of the city Spree. AEG has since promised to financially support the preservation of the East Side Gallery.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: AEG benefited from global interest in the death of Michael Jackson by hosting a public memorial service at Staples Center, a prominent music venue in Los Angeles and home of the Grammy Museum. The event included security and logistical support by the City of Los Angeles totaling $3.2 million. Despite the expense to the city, some economists estimated that the event generated $4 million for local hotels, restaurants, and other businesses. City Council members and local media have called for the cost of the memorial incurred by the city to be paid for by the Jackson family and/or AEG, instead of the city taxpayer. In June 2010, AEG agreed to pay the city of Los Angeles $1.3 million to offset some of the cost incurred by the city during the tribute event.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: AEG was also accused of having attempted to profit from the death of Michael Jackson, who was due to perform at London's O Arena in 2009/2010. While refunds of the approximately 750,000 tickets (at £55–£75 each plus £9 booking fee per ticket) were made available to customers who requested them, the promoter offered to send out "souvenir" tickets if fans of the singer waived their right to the refund.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: The company estimated that 40–50% of its customers would request the original tickets in lieu of the refund, which would save the company $40 million in refunds. That was in addition to future profits from any material that formed a part of the "This Is It" concerts, which AEG made its intellectual property in sponsoring the concerts themselves.


title: Anschutz Entertainment Group

text: After Conrad Murray, the physician appointed by AEG to take care of Jackson during the run-up and throughout the "This Is It" concerts, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, Katherine Jackson, Michael's mother and legal guardian of his three children, filed a wrongful death suit against the promoter, seeking damages that were reported to be in excess of tens of billions of dollars. AEG filed a motion to have the case dismissed which was denied by a Los Angeles County judge who felt sufficient evidence was present for the progression to a jury trial. The trial began on April 2. Murray, who served jail time for the death of Jackson, indicated that if he was called as a witness, he would refuse to testify to avoid incriminating himself in the midst of his sentence appeal, as he had not previously testified under oath regarding Jackson's death. On October 2, 2013, AEG was found not liable in the death of Michael Jackson.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: The Ole Miss Rebels football program represents the University of Mississippi, also known as "Ole Miss". The Rebels compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Rebels play their home games at Vaught–Hemingway Stadium on the university's campus in Oxford, Mississippi.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Founded in 1893 as the state's first football team, Ole Miss has won six Southeastern Conference titles, in 1947, 1954, 1955, 1960, 1962, and 1963. The team has been co-national champion once, with Minnesota in 1960 (the only time that Ole Miss has been acknowledged by the NCAA). Ole Miss, however, has never finished a season No. 1 in the AP or Coaches' Poll.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: With a record of 24–14, Ole Miss has the second-highest post-season winning percentage of schools with 30 or more bowl appearances.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Thirty-three of the team's victories were vacated in 2019 as punishment for recruiting and academic violations under head coaches Houston Nutt and Hugh Freeze.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: As of 2022, the team's head coach is Lane Kiffin, who in 2021 led the team to its first-ever 10-2 regular season.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: The Ole Miss football team played its first season in 1893, and have since fielded a team every year except for 1897 (due to a yellow fever epidemic) and 1943 (due to World War II). In that first season, the team compiled a 4–1 record under head coach Alexander Bondurant. In 1899, Ole Miss became a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA). The program joined the Southern Conference in 1922 and the Southeastern Conference in 1933.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: The modern era of Ole Miss football began in 1947, when Harold Drew was ousted in favor of his line coach, Johnny Vaught. A former All-American at Texas Christian University (TCU), Vaught led the Ole Miss program to national prominence over the next 24 years, posting 23 winning records and making the team a fixture in the national polls. Under Vaught, Ole Miss won the 1959 Dunkel System national championship; the 1960 Football Writers Association of America, Dunkel System, and Williamson System national championships; and the 1962 Litkenhous Ratings national championship.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Just 2-7 in 1946, the Rebels went 9–2 in Vaught's first season at the helm, winning the first of his six SEC titles (1947, 1954, 1955, 1960, 1962, 1963). The 1947 season also saw Ole Miss great Charlie Conerly become the first Rebel player to seriously contend for the Heisman Trophy, placing fourth in the voting.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: The Rebels were among the winningest programs in the country during the 1950s. From 1950 to 1959, Ole Miss posted an 80–21–5 record (.778 winning percentage), third only to Oklahoma and Miami (OH) during that decade. Vaught's 1959 squad was honored as the "SEC Team of the Decade."


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: In the 1960s, Vaught guided the Rebels to a 77–25–6 record and a .740 winning percentage, which was the ninth-best during that decade. The Rebels were ranked atop the Associated Press poll for three weeks during the 1960 season and one week during the 1961 campaign. The 1960 unit is the only team to win a national championship that is recognized by the NCAA and the college football community at large. That squad finished 10-0-1; the only blemish was a 6-6 tie against LSU. Ole Miss was presented with the Grantland Rice Trophy by the Football Writers of America after its Sugar Bowl victory, though that did not carry the same weight of the wire service voting (AP and Coaches' Poll) which selected Minnesota as the national champion.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: The Rebels’ 1962 season is Ole Miss' only undefeated and untied season: 10–0. They capped off the season with a victory in the Sugar Bowl, but finished No. 3 in both major polls. In 1964, Ole Miss was ranked preseason No. 1 in the Associated Press poll, but finished with a dismal 5–5–1 record at seasons' end.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Vaught also made going to postseason play the norm rather than the exception for the Rebel football program. Ole Miss played in 15 consecutive bowl games from 1957 to 1971, a national record at the time. In all, Vaught led Ole Miss to 18 bowl games, posting a 10–8 record. For his efforts, Vaught was named SEC Coach of the Year six times (1947, 1948, 1954, 1955, 1960, 1962).


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Vaught coached some of the best players in Ole Miss football history. and produced 26 All-America first-teamers. He also coached four players who finished in the top five in the Heisman Trophy voting: Conerly in 1947, Charlie Flowers (5th in 1959), Jake Gibbs (3rd in 1960), and Archie Manning (4th in 1969, 3rd in 1970).


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Billy Kinard, the first Ole Miss alumnus to head up the football program, won 10 games in 1971, fourth-most by a first-year head coach in NCAA Division I history, but was fired after going 5-5 in 1972 and starting the 1973 season 1-2.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Vaught was rehired to finish out the 1973 season, then resigned once again as head coach. As of 2022, his final record of 190–61–12 still ranks him in the top 25 winningest coaches in NCAA Division I history.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Kinard's tenure saw the team's first Black player, 79 years after the team started and a decade after the university admitted its first Black student. Ben Williams, a defensive tackle, recruited out of a small school in the Delta region of Mississippi, eventually claimed All-SEC honors and had a long and successful NFL career following his stint at Ole Miss.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Ken Cooper, an assistant under Kinard since 1971, was named head coach on January 17, 1974, and took Ole Miss through the 1977 season. Cooper compiled a 21–23 record, and his tenure is probably best remembered for the September 1977 upset of Notre Dame, who finished the season 11–1 and AP and UPI national champion.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Steve Sloan, the former All-American quarterback at Alabama under Paul "Bear" Bryant, posted a 20–34 record from 1978 to 1982.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: After stepping outside the Ole Miss family football tree the previous nine seasons, former Rebel star player Billy Brewer took over as head coach in December 1982. In his 11 seasons as head coach, Brewer led the Rebels to five winning seasons and four bowls, including Ole Miss' 1990 New Year's Day Gator Bowl appearance, which was the program's first January bowl game since 1969. He was named SEC Coach of the Year in 1986 (8–3–1 record) and 1990 (9–3 record), and in 1986, the Rebels returned to the national rankings for the first time in over a decade. He compiled a 68–55–3 record and led Ole Miss to eight Egg Bowl victories over rival Mississippi State.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Brewer was dismissed just before the 1994 season after the NCAA infractions committee found him guilty of "unethical conduct," Ole Miss defensive coordinator Joe Lee Dunn finished the season as interim coach.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Hired on December 2, 1994, Tommy Tuberville led the 1995 Rebels to a 6–5 record and an Egg Bowl victory over Mississippi State. In 1997, Ole Miss recorded its best season in five years with an 8–4 record, a thrilling 15–14 Egg Bowl victory over Mississippi State and a Motor City Bowl win over Marshall University. The bowl appearance was the program's first since 1992, and the Rebels earned a final national ranking of No. 22 in both polls.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: During the 1998 season, Tuberville repeatedly said he would not leave Ole Miss. With a month to go before the team's bowl game, he told alumni, "They'll have to take me out of here in a pine box". Two days later, he accepted the job of head coach at SEC West rival Auburn University.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: David Cutcliffe took over as head coach on December 2, 1998, just 29 days before the Rebels met Texas Tech in the Sanford Independence Bowl. They prevailed, 35–18, in arguably the biggest upset of the 1998 bowl season.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Instilling a high-powered offensive style, Cutcliffe had four winning seasons in his first five seasons at Ole Miss, in 1999 (8–4), 2000 (7–5), 2001 (7–4) and 2002 (7–6), becoming the first Rebel mentor since Harry Mehre (1938–41) to post winning marks in his first five years. From 1997 to 2003, the Rebels played in six bowl games, tied with Arkansas for the most bowl appearances among SEC Western Division schools during that span. In 2003, Cutcliffe guided the Rebels to a 10–3 overall mark and a share of the SEC West title with eventual BCS National Champion LSU.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Despite his 44–29 record, five straight winning seasons, and guiding the team to its first 10 win season in over 30 years, Cutcliffe was fired by Ole Miss's Athletic Director Pete Boone in December 2004 after the team posted a disappointing 4–7 record and a third consecutive loss to LSU.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Ed Orgeron took over on December 16, 2004.<ref name="USA Today 12/16/04"></ref> Named the 2004 National Recruiter of the Year by "The Sporting News" and Rivals.com, he compiled two of the best-ranking signing classes in 2006 and 2007. This did not lead to on-the-field success. In 2007, Ole Miss was last in the SEC in scoring offense, turnover margin, rushing offense, rushing defense, punt returns, opponent first downs, red-zone offense, opponent third-down conversions, field goal percentage, time of possession and kickoff coverage.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: The 2007 season was an unmitigated disaster for the Rebels. They went winless in the SEC for the first time since 1982 and ended the season at 3–9 (0–8 in SEC play). Orgeron was fired on November 24, 2007.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Three days later, Houston Nutt was hired as the next head football coach, just five weeks after he defeated Ole Miss as the head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: During Nutt's first season, he guided the Ole Miss Rebels to a 9–4 record with marquee victories over the eventual BCS National Champion Florida Gators, the reigning BCS National Champion LSU Tigers, and the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the 2009 Cotton Bowl Classic. The Rebels posted their 600th win on September 27, 2008, when they defeated the Gators 31–30. At season's end, the Rebels were ranked in the Top 15 in both major polls.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: But in the 2010 and 2011 seasons, the Rebels won a total of six games, and in the latter season, went winless in SEC play. On November 7, 2011, athletic director Pete Boone forced Nutt to resign, effective at the end of the season, citing what ESPN called the program's "total decline".


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: NCAA investigators later concluded that Nutt had allowed athletes to play while ineligible. In 2019, the NCAA punished Ole Miss for these violations and others committed by his successor, Hugh Freeze, by stripping the team of 33 wins over six seasons. This included all four wins in 2010 and two wins in 2011, making those season the Rebels' first official winless ones in more than a century.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: On December 5, 2011, Hugh Freeze became the new head coach. The team went 7–6 with a victory over Pitt in the BBVA Compass Bowl. In Freeze's second year, the Rebels went 8–5 (3–5), defeating then-sixth-ranked LSU on a last-second field goal in Oxford, then beating Georgia Tech, 25–17, in the Music City Bowl.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: In 2014, Freeze led Ole Miss to one of its strongest seasons in four decades. The Rebels spent most of the season in the top 10, rising as high as third in October—their highest ranking at that late stage in the season in almost half a century. They ultimately finished 9–3, only the third time since Vaught's tenure that a Rebel team has won as many as nine games. This garnered them a berth in the 2014 Peach Bowl, their first major-bowl appearance since 1969. In 2015, Freeze led to the Rebels to perhaps the program's strongest season since 1962, when the team went undefeated and untied, with wins over ranked SEC West Rivals LSU and Mississippi State, and was headlined by a road victory over No. 2-ranked Alabama, their first win in Tuscaloosa since 1988 and the first time they had beaten the Tide in back-to-back seasons. The Rebels earned a trip to the 2016 Sugar Bowl, their first appearance in this bowl game since 1970, where they beat Oklahoma State 48–20. Freeze led the Rebels to their first 10-win season since 2003, and only the third since the Vaught era.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: On July 20, 2017, Freeze resigned after Ole Miss officials learned that he had used a university-provided cell phone to place calls to an escort service in "a concerning pattern" that began shortly after he took the job in 2011.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: NCAA investigators later concluded that Freeze had cheated on 15 occasions by breaking recruiting rules and allowing students to play who had not maintained the required academic standing; they also determined that his predecessor, Nutt, had broken similar rules. University officials quickly attempted to paint Nutt as the main culprit instead of Freeze. Nutt sued for defamation, and the university settled the suit and issued a public apology.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: This constituted one of the worst violations ever, and in 2019 the NCAA punished Ole Miss by stripping the team of 33 wins over six seasons, including seven from 2012, eight from 2014, and five from 2016. This changed Freeze's official record at Ole Miss from 39–25 over five seasons to 12–25. The NCAA also banned the team from postseason play for two years, stripped it of scholarships for four years, and placed it on three years of probation. In 2019, the NCAA vacated 33 of the team's victories dating from 2010 to 2016 and levied a two-year ban on postseason play as punishment for recruiting and academic violations under both Nutt and Freeze.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Meanwhile, the team's star quarterback and other players told NCAA officials that Freeze had lied to them about the charges while he recruited them. They requested waivers to quickly play for other teams, and were granted them.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Co-offensive coordinator Matt Luke was named interim head coach the same day. In November 2017, Luke was named the permanent head coach after leading the Rebels to a 6–6 record, including a 31–28 Egg Bowl win over Mississippi State. In the 2019 Egg Bowl, Luke's recruit Elijah Moore performed a post-touchdown mockery of a urinating dog, costing the Rebels a penalty and ultimately losing the game by a missed extra point 20–21. Luke was dismissed after the game.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: In his first season as Ole Miss coach, Kiffin compiled a 5–5 record in an all-SEC Conference schedule, including a 26–20 win over Indiana in the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: In 2021, Kiffin piloted the Rebels to a 10–2 regular-season record, the best regular-season record in school history, going 6–2 in conference and finishing 11th in both major polls. A 21–7 loss to Baylor in the 2022 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana, left the Rebels with a final record of 10–3, only the eighth time in school history that the football team has recorded 10 wins in a season.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Ole Miss has been selected national champion three times by NCAA-designated major selectors in 1959, 1960 and 1962. But the two major wire-service polls of the time (AP Poll and Coaches' Poll), named Syracuse, Minnesota, and Southern California as the national champions in those years, respectively.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: In 1960, the final Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI) polls placed the Rebels second and third, respectively, behind the national champion Minnesota Golden Gophers. Students made “AP” and “UPI” dummies, hung them from the Union Building, and burned them while chanting, “We’re No. 1, to hell with AP and UPI.” The Gophers, however, subsequently lost the Rose Bowl to Washington, and Ole Miss defeated Rice, 14–6, in the Sugar Bowl, leading the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) to vote Mississippi as national champions. This is the only national championship recognized by the NCAA.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: The SEC has been split into two divisions since the 1992 season with Ole Miss competing in the SEC West since that time. Ole Miss has won a share of one divisional title, but has yet to make an appearance in the SEC Championship Game.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Ole Miss has participated in 39 bowl games and compiled a record of 24–14 through the 2021 season. The school's victory in the 2013 BBVA Compass Bowl was subsequently vacated and is not included.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Ole Miss primarily uses four jersey options along with two pant styles and two helmet variations. They often mix and match these jerseys, helmets, and pants to create a wide range of uniform combinations. Since the 2017 season, Ole Miss has taken the field in at least ten different uniform combinations. The Rebels have traditionally used red jerseys for their primary home uniforms and blue jerseys as alternates; both have bold white numbers and white vertical shoulder stripes. The Rebels have also made extensive use of their new "powder blues," a uniform combination consisting of solid white pants, a powder blue jersey with white shoulder stripes, and the powder blue helmet. This uniform combination started as an alternate uniform, but has become very popular among fans and players; since the 2020 season it has been worn as the primary home uniform. White jerseys with red numbers and stripes are typically used on the road. These jerseys are paired with either gray pants with red and blue stripes or solid white pants, though for the 2018 season were paired with white pants with red stripes as part of a "white out" uniform combination. A similar white road uniform with navy stripes and letters has also been used.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Typically, Ole Miss uses one of two helmet designs. The Rebels’ traditional primary helmet is navy blue with a single red stripe and “Ole Miss” written in script on each side. The other helmet's blue is a lighter color, a shade known as “powder blue.” In recent years, the powder blue helmet has seen more and more use. Since its reintroduction in the 2019 season, the Rebels have worn powder blue helmets in over half their games, typically with their red or white jerseys, and have arguably become the teams primary helmet.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: In 2017, Ole Miss used special helmets for a military-appreciation game against Louisiana and a rivalry game against LSU. The military appreciation helmets, which have been worn multiple times since then in both navy and powder blue variations, were the same as the primary design, except the logo on each side of the helmet was filled with an American flag design. The helmets worn against LSU were powder blue with jersey numbers on each side, similar to a design worn by the Rebels in the 1960s.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: The Battle for the Golden Egg (nicknamed the Egg Bowl) is the Rebels' last game of the season against in-state SEC rival Mississippi State University (MSU). The teams have played each other 114 times since 1901, and the first game officially known as "The Battle of the Golden Egg" was in 1927. The game gets its name from the trophy awarded to the winner of the contest; the football element of the trophy is based on the much more ovoid and rounded football used in 1927 when it was designed, and resembles a large golden egg. While it is called a "Bowl", the game is not a postseason bowl game but a regular season SEC game. Twenty-nine Egg Bowls have been played on Thanksgiving Day. Ole Miss leads the series with 64–46–6.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: In 2014, the game gained much more national attention due to the postseason implications the game possessed. Although both teams were considered to be Playoff contenders mid-season when the Bulldogs were #1 and the Rebels were #3, they each suffered a loss (Mississippi State had 1 loss at the time while Ole Miss had 3 losses). The postseason implications were still high, however. Mississippi State entered the game with a No. 4 ranking in College Football Playoff, and had a spot in the Playoff on the line entering the game against No. 19 Ole Miss. MSU also had a chance at making the SEC title game, where they needed a win and an Alabama loss. In an upset, Ole Miss beat the Bulldogs 31–17 and jumped from No. 19 to No. 9 in the College Football Playoff rankings. Both schools got New Year's Six bowl games, although neither would win their bowl games (Ole Miss lost 42-3 to TCU in the Peach Bowl and Mississippi State lost 49-34 to Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl). Ole Miss would later vacate this win due to NCAA violations.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Ole Miss entered the 2015 Egg Bowl with a No. 18 ranking in the College Football Playoff rankings, and MSU was No. 21. The game was considered to be a play-in game for the Sugar Bowl as Florida, who had been predicted by many to get the bid, lost 27-2 to rival Florida State that same day. Ole Miss entered the game as only two point favorites but won the Egg Bowl convincingly 38–27 and led by 25 points at halftime. This was Ole Miss's first road win against Mississippi State since 2003, and the first time that the Rebels beat the Bulldogs two years in a row since 2003–04.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Ole Miss first played LSU on December 3, 1894, winning 26–6 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Throughout the fifties and sixties, games between the two schools featured highly ranked squads on both sides and several matchups had conference, and at times, national title implications. Since then, the rivalry has only had one contest with significant national title implications. The 2003 loss to LSU decided the SEC Western Division Champion, and helped propel LSU to a national championship.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: The student bodies at both universities created a trophy for the LSU–Ole Miss rivalry in 2008, and renamed the matchup the "Magnolia Bowl." Ole Miss won the first two official Magnolia Bowls in 2008 31–13 and 2009 25–23. LSU won their first official Magnolia Bowl in 2010 with a last minute score, 43–36.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: The 2010s featured several memorable Magnolia Bowls. LSU humiliated the Rebels 52–3 at Oxford in 2010.Les Miles ordered third-string quarterback Zach Mettenberger to take a knee four times after LSU gained a first-and-goal at the Ole Miss 1-yard line with five minutes to play. The Rebels lost the 2012 Magnolia Bowl 35-41 during the last minute of the game when LSU's Jeremy Hill scored a 1 yd touchdown run. On October 19, 2013 an unranked Rebel team beat the No. 6 ranked Tigers 27-24 on a last-second 46-yard field goal. In 2014, Ole Miss entered with a No. 3 ranking. No. 24 LSU pulled the upset by beating the Rebels 10–7 on a last–minute interception thrown by Rebels' quarterback Bo Wallace. In 2015, No. 22 Ole Miss upset No. 15 LSU 38–17, which was Ole Miss's largest margin of victory over LSU since 1992. After 2015, Ole Miss would not beat LSU again until 2021, when the No. 12 Rebels won 31-17 in front of a sellout crowd on the day Ole Miss Legend Eli Manning's jersey was being retired. The following year, however, unranked LSU won convincingly 45-20 over No. 7 Ole Miss in Death Valley after the Rebels suffered a second half collapse.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: LSU leads the overall series over Ole Miss 64–41–4; since the creation of the Magnolia Bowl, LSU leads the series, 9–5.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Ole Miss first played Arkansas in 1908, with Arkansas winning that game 33–0. They would play each other many times, though sporadically, over the next several decades, including two meetings in the Sugar Bowl in 1963 and 1970; Ole Miss won both Sugar Bowl matchups.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: The two teams have played each other annually since 1981. In the 1980s, Arkansas dominated the Rebels. The 1990 meeting between the two teams ended memorably. Having the ball inside the Ole Miss 20 and trailing by 4 with seconds remaining, Arkansas needed a score. The Hogs handed the ball to running back Ron Dickerson who seemed to have an open path to the endzone. At the goal line, Safety Chris Mitchell stopped Dickerson at the one yard line as time expired. In 1991, Arkansas joined the Southeastern Conference. The next year the SEC divided into two divisions. Both teams were placed in the SEC West. Ole Miss won the first conference contest in Little Rock by a score of 17–3.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: During the 2000s, the rivalry was reignited by a series of close games and coaching changes. The 2001 Ole Miss–Arkansas game set an NCAA record for most overtime periods played (7). Arkansas won that game 58–56 off a 2-point Rebel conversion that got stopped just short of the goal line. Since then, five FBS football games have reached seven overtime periods. In November 2007, Houston Nutt resigned as the head coach for Arkansas and was hired as Ole Miss' head coach a week later. 2008 saw the first game between Ole Miss and Arkansas after Nutt left Arkansas to coach Ole Miss. The Rebels kicked a field goal with less than 3 minutes remaining to go up 23–14, but Arkansas scored with a minute left. Arkansas was awarded with the recovery of an onside kick, but received a penalty for offensive pass interference before turning the ball over on downs. Ole Miss and Nutt won 23–21. The following season, Ole Miss won 30–17 led by running back Dexter McCluster who had over 200 all purpose yards, including a 60 yd touchdown in the 3rd quarter. In 2010, Arkansas finally beat their former coach Houston Nutt after a 38-24 game in Fayetteville. In 2015, the Rebels' 52-53 loss to Arkansas saw them fall out of first place in the SEC West and lose the division.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: The Alabama–Ole Miss football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Alabama Crimson Tide and Ole Miss Rebels. Both universities are founding members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and have competed in the SEC Western Division since the 1992 season.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: It has been one of the conference's most lopsided rivalries. Alabama leads the series 53–10–2 (50–9–2 without NCAA vacations and forfeits). From 2004 to 2013, Alabama won every game between the two teams, including six wins by double digits. However, in 2014, No. 11 Ole Miss beat No. 3 Alabama 23-17 for the first time since 2003. Ole Miss cornerback Senquez Golson sealed the victory with an interception in the fourth quarter. The victory catapulted Ole Miss to No. 3 in the AP Poll, their highest ranking since 1964. In 2015, Ole Miss visited Alabama as double digit underdogs. The Rebels upset the No. 2 Crimson Tide 43-37 for their second ever victory in Tuscaloosa. This marked the first time Ole Miss had beaten Alabama in back to back seasons. Following the upset, Ole Miss jumped to No. 3 in the AP Poll, marking the first time that Ole Miss had been ranked in the top three in consecutive seasons since 1963–64.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Vanderbilt and Ole Miss have played annually since 1942. When the SEC split into divisions in 1992, the Commodores and Rebels were selected as permanent cross-division rivals. Ole Miss leads the all-time series 52–40–2. The Rebels have won 16 of the last 24 games, including nine games by double digits. However, Vanderbilt has sustained the rivalry with a surprising blow-out victory over the Rebels in 2016.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: The Ole Miss–Memphis football rivalry has also been a far less competitive rivalry series. The Rebels hold a 47–12–2 advantage over the Tigers in this non-conference series. The two schools have met 62 times from 1921 to 2019.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Ole Miss won every game between 2005-2009, and the teams temporarily suspended competition from 2010 to 2013. The rivalry was resumed in 2014. Ole Miss won the game 24–3 to increase their winning streak against Memphis to six straight. In 2015, The Tigers upset No. 13 Ole Miss, 37–24. The Rebels fell 11 spots in the AP Poll to No. 24 and Memphis entered the rankings at No. 18. It was the Tigers' first victory over a ranked team since defeating No. 6 Tennessee in 1996. Memphis won the most recent matchup 15–10 on August 31, 2019. As of 2020, there are no future games scheduled between the two teams.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Ole Miss and Tulane have been rivals since the time that Tulane was an SEC member. Ole Miss leads the series 42–28 through the 2021 season. Future games are scheduled for 2023 in New Orleans and 2025 in Oxford.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: In 1992, to commemorate the 100th year of Ole Miss football, the Ole Miss Athletic Department put together a so-called "Team of the Century," recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of 26 players.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: The head coach for the Team of the Century was Johnny Vaught, who coached Ole Miss from 1947 to 1970 and again in 1973.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: ‡ Played freshman year at Ole Miss, then appointed to the U.S. Military Academy where he played for Army as a sophomore, junior and senior


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: The team has long associated itself with the Confederacy. Since 1936, the team has gone by the name Rebels, a nickname for the secessionist military force that fought against the United States during the American Civil War.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: In 1936, the team introduced a mascot, Colonel Reb, a cartoonish, older-aged gentleman in plantation-owner's garb whose name alludes to service in the Confederate States Army; in 1979, the team would add a student costumed as Colonel Reb to the cheerleading squad. In the 1940s, students began waving the Confederate battle flag in the football stands; the team followed suit. The marching band began playing "Dixie" around 1948, according to David Sansing, Ole Miss professor emeritus of history and author of the sesquicentennial history of the university. “I think it really was adopted around the combination of the [university's] centennial and the Dixiecrat movement in the South,” Sansing said. “1948 was the centennial celebration, and that’s when Ole Miss was cloaked and covered with all the memorabilia of the Confederacy.”


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Though the team is still called the Rebels, its embrace of Confederate symbols began to change in 1983, two decades after the school was integrated at bayonet point. That September, John Hawkins, a Black cheerleader for Ole Miss, refused to carry the battle flag onto the home stadium's football field, as was long custom. To quell the outcry that followed, school Chancellor Porter L. Fortune Jr. banned the official use of the flag but said students could continue to wave it.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: In 1997, the university banned flag poles at games, an attempt to stop the waving of Confederate flags without directly confronting fans who wanted to do so. The step was taken after head coach Tommy Tuberville complained that the flag-waving had hampered his attempts to recruit top-notch Black athletes. Coaches before Tuberville also expressed concerns about the difficulty of recruiting black athletes.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: In 2003, the school ended the use of the costumed Colonel Reb mascot at athletic events, though it would sell official Colonel Reb merchandise through the end of the decade. An unofficial Colonel Reb mascot still makes appearances in The Grove, Ole Miss' tailgating area, before home games.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: In 2009, the university chancellor asked the school's marching band to stop playing "From Dixie with Love", an early-1980s fight song that combined elements of "Dixie" and the "Battle Hymn of the Republic". Students had customarily chanted "The South will rise again", a reference to the Lost Cause pseudohistory, during the song's final line.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: In 2010, the university began to phase out the use of Colonel Reb on official merchandise such as hats and shirts; it reclassified the Colonel Reb trademark as a historical mark of the university. After a polling and a February 2010 campus vote, officials announced on October 14, 2010, that students, alumni and season ticket holders at the university had picked Rebel Black Bear as their new mascot. The bear beat out two other finalists, the Rebel Land Shark and something called the "Hotty Toddy," an attempt to personify the school cheer. (The bear would be replaced in 2018, by the Landshark, a reference to a celebratory hand symbol that players began using in 2008.)


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: In 2016, the athletic department banned "Dixie" itself as well as a medley that included a "Dixie" theme. Later that year, Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter asserted that the name "Rebels" was no longer used to refer to the Confederacy but "is used today in a completely different and positive way: to indicate someone who bucks the status quo, an entrepreneur, a trendsetter, a leader".


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: At the end of each spring's practices, the team plays the Grove Bowl, which pits Ole Miss players against each other. The senior defensive player who most embodies Chucky Mullins' spirit and courage receives the "Chucky Mullins Memorial Courage Award" and the right to wear Mullins' No. 38 jersey, which was otherwise retired in 2006.


title: Ole Miss Rebels football

text: Ole Miss plays Vanderbilt as a permanent non-division opponent annually and rotates around the "East" division among the other six schools.


title: Tight end

text: The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be effective blockers. On the other hand, unlike offensive linemen, they are eligible receivers adept enough to warrant a defense's attention when running pass patterns.


title: Tight end

text: Because of the hybrid nature of the position, the tight end's role in any given offense depends on the tactical preferences and philosophy of the head coach as well as overall team dynamic. In some systems, the tight end will merely act as a sixth offensive lineman, rarely going out for passes. Other systems use the tight end primarily as a receiver, frequently taking advantage of the tight end's size to create mismatches in the defensive secondary. Many coaches will often have one tight end who specializes in blocking on running plays while using a tight end with better pass-catching skills in obvious passing situations.


title: Tight end

text: The advent of the tight end position is closely tied to the decline of the one-platoon system during the 1940s and '50s. Originally, a rule (derived from the game's evolution from other forms of football) limited substitutions. Consequently, players had to be adept at playing on both sides of the ball, with most offensive linemen doubling as defensive linemen or linebackers, and receivers doubling as defensive backs. At that time, the receivers were known as either ends or flankers, with the end lining up wide at the line of scrimmage and the flanker positioned slightly behind the line usually on the opposite side of the field.As the transition from starters going "both ways" to dedicated offensive and defensive squads took place, players who did not fit the mold of the traditional positions began to fill niches. Those who were good pass catchers and blockers but mediocre on defense were no longer liabilities; instead, a position evolved to capitalize on their strengths. Many were too big to be receivers yet too small for offensive linemen. Innovative coaches such as Paul Brown of the Cleveland Browns saw the potential of having a larger receiver lined up inside, developing blocking techniques and passing schemes that used the unique attributes of the tight end position.


title: Tight end

text: Greater use of the tight end as a receiver started in the 1960s with the emergence of stars Mike Ditka, Jackie Smith, and John Mackey. Until then most teams relied on the tight end's blocking as almost a sixth offensive lineman, rarely using them as receivers. In addition to superb blocking, Ditka offered great hands receiving and rugged running after a completion. Over a 12-year career, he caught 427 passes for over 5,800 yards and 43 touchdowns. Mackey brought speed, with six of his nine touchdown catches in one season being breakaways over 50 yards. Smith provided the position with a previously unheard of ability to catch long balls downfield, as shown by his career average of 16.5 yards per catch. This leads all tight ends in the hall of fame and is even ahead of a significant number of HOF wide receivers.


title: Tight end

text: Starting in 1980 the Air Coryell offense debuted tight end Kellen Winslow running wide receiver-type routes. Tight ends prior to Winslow were primarily blockers lined up next to an offensive tackle and given short to medium drag routes. Winslow was put in motion to avoid being jammed at the line, lined up wide, or in the slot against a smaller cornerback. Former Chargers assistant coach Al Saunders said Winslow was "a wide receiver in an offensive lineman's body." Back then, defenses would cover Winslow with either a strong safety or a linebacker, as zone defenses were less popular. Strong safeties in those times favored run defense over coverage speed. Providing another defender to help the strong safety opened up other holes. Winslow would line up unpredictably in any formation from a three point blocking stance to a two point receiver's stance, to being in motion like a flanker or offensive back. Head coach Jon Gruden referred to such multi-dimensional tight ends as "jokers", calling Winslow the first ever in the NFL. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick notes that the pass-catching tight ends that get paid the most are "all direct descendants of Kellen Winslow", and there are fewer tight ends now that can block on the line.


title: Tight end

text: In the 1990s, Shannon Sharpe's athletic prowess as a route-runner helped change the way tight ends were used by teams. Consistently double-covered as a receiver, he became the first tight end in NFL history to rack up over 10,000 career receiving yards. Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates, who both played basketball in college, pushed the position toward wide receiver speed and power forward basketball skills. At 6'6" Rob Gronkowski brought height, setting single-season tight end records in 2011 with 17 touchdowns—breaking Gates's and Vernon Davis's record of 13—and 1,327 receiving yards, surpassing Winslow's record of 1,290. Jimmy Graham that season also passed Winslow with 1,310 yards. Six of the NFL's 15 players with the most receptions that year were tight ends, the most in NFL history. Previous seasons usually had at most one or two ranked in the top.


title: Tight end

text: While the timeline differs for individual each player, tight ends generally hit their peak between the ages of 25 and 30. A study conducted by Apex Fantasy Leagues concluded that about 69.1 percent of peak seasons fall within that range.


title: Tight end

text: In the Arena Football League the tight end serves as the 3rd offensive lineman (along with the center and guard). Although they are eligible receivers they rarely go out for passes and are usually only used for screen passes when they do.


title: Tight end

text: However, in Canadian football, tight ends are, in general, no longer used professionally in the CFL, but is still used at the college level in U Sports. Tony Gabriel is a former great tight end in Canadian football. There remain some tight ends in use at university level football; Antony Auclair, formerly a tight end for the Laval Rouge et Or, was a contender to be selected in the 2017 CFL Draft or possibly receive a tryout in the NFL. He was drafted by the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2017, but instead signed with the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent that same year.


title: Tight end

text: Some plays are planned to take advantage of a tight end's eligibility (i.e. that they may lawfully catch a forward-passed football). At times, the tight end will not be covered by the defense, a situation that rarely occurs with the regular receivers. The tight end is then considered another option for the quarterback to pass to when the wide receivers are covered. The tight end is usually faster than the linebackers who cover him and often stronger than the cornerbacks and safeties who try to tackle him. However, tight ends are typically chosen for their speed and catching ability and tend to have less blocking ability. Size does not affect catching ability. There could be tight ends on both sides of the line.


title: Tight end

text: At the extreme end of this spectrum are 'hybrid' tight ends that are drafted primarily for their pass-catching abilities. Often, these players are talented athletes with near-receiver-like speed, coupled with the imposing physical size and strength of a traditional tight end. Offensive schemes often seek to take advantage of this type of player by placing him in space, often treating him as an extra receiver. Sometimes in a two-tight-end set, one tight end could be motioned out or audibled out to the slot.


title: Tight end

text: In the National Football League (NFL), the tight end is larger and slower than a wide receiver, and therefore able to block more effectively. It is the job of the tight end, along with the fullback, to open up a hole in the defense for the tailback to run through. Tight ends can also be used along with the offensive linemen to protect the quarterback during passing plays. Often, tight ends are employed in a fullback position called "H-back", lined up beside the tackle but slightly behind the line of scrimmage. Specialty plays may even deploy 3- or 4-tight-end sets, with one or two in an H-back position, with one or fewer wide receivers to make the formations legal. Tight ends may also pass block like other offensive linemen. Some teams employ tight ends solely to block, however this position is sometimes filled by an offensive lineman who has reported to the referee that his number is now an eligible receiving number; this makes him "Tackle Eligible".


title: Tight end

text: Since the successful introduction of the West Coast Offense, most offenses use tight ends more as receivers than blockers. Traditionally tight ends were just blockers eligible to catch passes; however, now tight ends are more like bigger and slower receivers who can also block more effectively than most wide receivers. Most tight ends are generally large in size with an average height of 6'4" (1.93 m) and a weight exceeding 254 lbs (115 kg).


title: Tight end

text: The origin of the two tight end set is unclear. The Detroit Lions and the Washington Commanders have been credited with being the first teams to use two tight ends as part of their base offense.


title: Tight end

text: The decline of the fullback as a rushing position has seen the occasional deployment of tight ends as ball carriers, either aligned in the backfield or as a reverse-play option in the slot.


title: Tight end

text: Tight ends are usually among the taller members of the team, comparable in height to many linemen. They are also among the heavier players on the team, with only defensive and offensive linemen and some linebackers weighing more.


title: Tight end

text: As a result, tight ends are almost universally slower than wide receivers and running backs, although occasionally one with exceptional speed appears. An example of a tight end with a speed advantage—at the expense of blocking ability—is Vernon Davis, who achieved a 4.38 forty yard dash time.


title: Tight end

text: Specific skill positions typically are issued jersey numbers in a restricted range. High school rules nationally are determined by the National Federation of State High School Associations; tight ends are able to wear any number other than 50–79. The NCAA "strongly recommends" ends wear 80–99, but this is not required. In the NFL, numbering regulations state that tight ends are restricted to 1–49 and 80–89 (numbers other receivers tend to wear also). The 40–49 number range is a relatively recent addition to the rules (being made in 2015); as a result, most tight ends still bear numbers in the 80–89 range.


title: Empire State of Mind

text: "Empire State of Mind" is a song performed by American rapper Jay-Z featuring American singer Alicia Keys from the former's 11th studio album, "The Blueprint 3" (2009). It was released on October 20, 2009. Produced by Al Shux, the song features a music sample of "Love on a Two-Way Street" performed by The Moments. It was originally written by Angela Hunte and Janet Sewell-Ulepic as a tribute to their hometown, New York City. The following month, they submitted it to Jay-Z's label Roc Nation, whose reviews were a discouragement. They later took the suggestion of an associate of EMI Music Publishing and resubmitted it to Jay-Z, who kept the "New York" singing part on the hook, changed the verses, and recorded it. The song's title, similar to New York State of Mind, is a wordplay and tribute to New York's nickname (Empire State) and could also be a reference to Empire State Building in Manhattan, New York City.


title: Empire State of Mind

text: The song originally featured Hunte on the hook, but when Hunte and Sewell-Ulepic were asked if they thought anyone else would be more appropriate for the chorus, Hunte suggested Keys. Mary J. Blige was also considered for the part, but Keys was chosen after Jay-Z heard the song's piano loop. "Empire State of Mind" contains songwriting contributions from Keys and Shux. The song was described by critics as an "orchestral rap ballad" with "crashing piano chords" and a "soaring" hook. It contains references to various locations in New York and its famous residents, while describing the city's essence.


title: Empire State of Mind

text: A critical and commercial success, "Empire State of Mind" was included in multiple critics' top 10 list of the best songs of 2009, including "Rolling Stone" magazine and "The New York Times". It was also nominated for three Grammy Awards, winning Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. The song achieved commercial success worldwide. It peaked within the top 10 in many countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, Italy and Sweden. In the US, the song topped the "Billboard" Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks, becoming Jay-Z's first number-one single on the chart as a lead artist. It appeared in 2009 year-end charts in Italy, Australia and the US, where it was also the last number one hit of the 2000s. As of June 2014, the single has sold over 5.5 million copies in the United States.


title: Empire State of Mind

text: In the song's music video, which is primarily in black-and-white, Jay-Z and Keys are shown performing the song in various locations in New York. "Empire State of Mind" was released as the third single from "The Blueprint 3" in October 2009. It has been performed by Jay-Z and Keys multiple times, including during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards and the American Music Awards of 2009. Usually when the duo performs the song, an overhead screen shows images of places in New York. Keys recorded a sequel entitled "Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down", which is featured on her fourth studio album "The Element of Freedom" (2009). Her version was positively received by critics, reached the Top 10 in the UK, the Netherlands and Ireland charts, and peaked at number fifty-five on the "Billboard" Hot 100 without an official release. Keys said that she chose to record her own version of "Empire State of Mind" because she wanted to express her own personal feelings about New York.


title: Empire State of Mind

text: "Empire State of Mind" was originally written by Brooklyn-native singer, songwriter and producer Angela Hunte and writing partner Janet "Jnay" Sewell-Ulepic. Hunte grew up in the same building where rapper and hip hop artist Jay-Z lived—560 State Street, an address which is mentioned in the song. The track's creation was inspired during an overseas trip Hunte and Sewell-Ulepic made to London in February 2009 when they were both feeling homesick. Hunte was ill during that summer, while Sewell-Ulepic's mother was ill. Hunte recalled, Although they wrote the song as a way to voice their feelings for their hometown, they sent it to the Roc Nation music label the following month in hope that Jay-Z would like it and record it. When they received a negative response on the track, they were convinced it would never be recorded. However, in the summer of the same year, EMI Music Publishing's (EMI) Jon "Big Jon" Platt heard the track at a barbecue and fell in love with it, believing that "it would be perfect for Jay-Z".


title: Empire State of Mind

text: Hunte and Sewell-Ulepic were hesitant, however, as they had already sent the track for consideration and were unsuccessful. According to Hunte, when a Notorious B.I.G. figure she kept – which had never moved before regardless of how loud they played music – fell over as they played the track for Platt, she considered it an omen. She commented, "We all just looked at each other like, 'if Biggie approves, then, send it to Jay'". The next day Platt sent it to Jay-Z, who "loved it and recorded it that night". "We were just so happy he wanted to honor our work and our production", Hunte recalled; Originally written to be sung, the track's verses were rewritten by Jay-Z, inspired by the original lyrics, leaving Hunte on the song's hook. However, when Hunte and Sewell-Ulepic were asked if they thought someone else would be more appropriate for the chorus, Hunte suggested R&B and soul artist Alicia Keys. Hunte said, "She's never done a record with him and she also has my same vocal tone. She made the song sound so close to the original, She just nailed it and brought it home. It was a great choice." Keys also wrote "Empire State of Mind"s new bridge.


title: Empire State of Mind

text: Jay-Z stated in an interview that after he first heard the track's piano loops, he immediately thought of Keys and wanted her to be featured on the song. Jay-Z said that Mary J. Blige was initially considered for Keys' part on "Empire State of Mind", and he was "two seconds away" from asking Blige to appear on the record's chorus, which would have been a safe move. However, the combination of Keys' sound and piano talent had struck a chord with Jay-Z. Keys said of featuring on the song:


title: Empire State of Mind

text: In December 2009 Hunte, who would not reveal many details, said the original version of "Empire State of Mind" will one day be released, adding that "The original is so powerful it's only a matter of time till you hear it down the line".


title: Empire State of Mind

text: "Empire State of Mind" is a hip hop song that features rap verses from Jay-Z and vocals during the song's chorus from Keys. The piano component that runs throughout the song contains a sample of the 1970 single "Love on a Two-Way Street", written by Burt Keyes and Sylvia Robinson, performed by The Moments. Stephen Dalton of "The Times" described the song as an "orchestral rap ballad".


title: Empire State of Mind

text: The song is played at a moderate tempo of 84 beats per minute and is written in the key of F# major. It has a sequence of F–C/B–B–F as its chord progression, throughout the single Keys' vocal range changes from the register of A to C.


title: Empire State of Mind

text: The song opens with lyrics referencing locations in New York, and name-checks notable neighborhoods and captures the city's essence; from attending Knicks basketball games to its famous residents. Drug dealing references, "N-words", and profanity are also present throughout the song. Mariel Concepcion of "Billboard" magazine wrote that "Jay-Z gives a nod to his hometown over a simple piano pattern".


title: Empire State of Mind

text: Keys said that while recording the song she wanted to make sure she got the hook right explaining, "I did try it a couple of times, but it was more about capturing the kind of grand feeling of it. With the way I sang it the first time, I was actually kind of sick, and I knew that he needed the record, so I was like, 'Let me get to it.'" Keys had been congested when she first recorded the vocals and redid them after Jay-Z wasn't satisfied with her original take. "I came back and revisited it so that it could be what it is now", Keys added. "So it actually took a couple of times, but every time, the energy was just so high."


title: Empire State of Mind

text: "Empire State of Mind" received widespread critical acclaim, with most reviewers praising Keys' vocal performance. Jon Bush of AllMusic listed the song as being a highlight from "The Blueprint 3", commenting that it is Jay-Z's "king of crossovers ... a New York flag-waver with plenty of landmark name-dropping that turns into a great anthem with help on the chorus from Alicia Keys". Pete Cashmore of "NME" described Alicia Keys's cameo as "lusty bellowing", embellishing the "crashing piano chords". Martin Andrew of "PopMatters" called the song "yet another chance" for Jay-Z to show his respect to New York, but commented that it "remains interesting thanks to a fantastic Al Shux beat and celebratory hook from Alicia Keys." Jayson Rodriguez of MTV News said that Keys "croons" on the track's chorus line, "I'm from Neeeeww Yooooork/These streets will make you feel brand-new/Bright lights will inspire you."


title: Empire State of Mind

text: "USA Today"s Steve Jones perceived a maturity by Jay-Z in the song, writing that "The upper-crust landmarks he now references are a far cry from the grimy Marcy Projects sights that he once detailed, something that perhaps is to be expected from the self-described 'new Sinatra'." "The Daily Telegraph" described the song's modern sound as "anthemic club pop" on which Keys produces a "singalong" chorus. Shannon Barbour of About.com called "Empire State of Mind" the album's apex, commending Keys for the "standout" aspect of the song, her "excellent display of some unusually strong vocals". "Slant Magazine" writer William McBee described it as a "glittering paean to the Big Apple" with Keys "soaring skyscraper-level on the hook and Jay putting on for his city."


title: Empire State of Mind

text: Raju Mudhar of the "Toronto Star" remarked "who can argue?" with the lyrics "I'm the new Sinatra/And since I made it here/I can make it anywhere/Yeah they love me everywhere", adding that Jay-Z is "one of those waffling retirees, but the man is a living hip hop legend". "Los Angeles Times" writer Greg Kot commended Jay-Z for his ability to perform with cameos and called "Run This Town" and "Empire State of Mind" "the sound of Jay-Z cruising for pop hits."


title: Empire State of Mind

text: IGN music reviewer Chris Carle described Keys as having "soaring vocals" in the song. "New York Post" writer Ryan Brockington called "Empire State of Mind" his favorite song from "The Blueprint 3", and Tyler Gray from the same publication said "Empire State of Mind" was the "most soulful" song on the album. Francois Marchand of the "Vancouver Sun" called the song "shiver-inducing". "The Times" writer Stephen Dalton called the track a "heartfelt love letter to New York City", with Jay-Z playing the "hip-hop Sinatra" over Keys' "luscious" chorus, and "The Guardian"s Alexis Petridis described its chorus as "incredible, breezy pop". Killan Fox of the same publication felt that the track was a "terrific homage" to New York and listed the song as being one of the "really good tracks" on "The Blueprint 3". Writing in "Rolling Stone", Jody Rosen called it a "pallid New York shout-out". "Pitchfork"'s Ian Cohen stated that "the piledriver hooks of "Run This Town" and "Empire State of Mind" are content to annoy their way to ubiquity".


title: Empire State of Mind

text: "Empire State of Mind" has been included in multiple music critics list for the best songs of 2009. The single was ranked the 8th best song of 2009 by MTV, the second-best song of 2009 by "Rolling Stone" magazine, and was voted the best single of 2009 by "The Village Voice"s 37th annual Pazz & Jop critics' poll. On the 2010 Pazz & Jop list, the song was, along with a number of other songs, ranked at 226. Jon Pareles of "The New York Times" placed "Empire State of Mind" at number three on his list of the top songs of 2009, and "Pitchfork" also ranked it at number 44 on its The Top 100 Tracks of 2009 list. "Entertainment Weekly" placed it number one on its list of "The 10 Best Singles of 2009". "Empire State of Mind" was placed at number six on "NME"s Albums and Tracks of the Year, 2009 list. It was placed at number nine on "PopMatters"s list of "The Best Singles of 2009" and at number twelve on "Consequence of Sound"s list of "The Top 50 Songs of '09". The song appears at number one on "Rap-Up"s list of the 25 best songs of 2009. It was ranked at number 14 the 2009 "Pitchfork"'s "Song of the Year" Reader's Poll. "The New York Daily News" included it at number ten on its list of "The 10 best songs about New York".


title: Empire State of Mind

text: "Empire State of Mind" was nominated for three Grammy Awards including Record of the Year. At the 53rd Grammy Awards ceremony, the song won Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Best Rap Song. In February 2011, "Billboard" placed the song at number 15 on its list of "The 40 Biggest Duets Of All Time" and in September 2011, the song was placed at number eight by VH1 on its list for the 100 Greatest Songs of the '00s. In October 2011, "NME" placed it at number 13 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". "Complex" placed the song at number nine on its list of "The 100 Best Jay-Z Songs" and on number four on its list of "The 25 Best Alicia Keys Songs", noting that the song "has replaced Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" as the city's go-to anthem, and remains one of Keys' greatest contributions to pop culture". In July 2013, "PopMatters" placed the song at number six on its list of "The Top 20 Jay-Z Songs to Date", remarking that "Alicia Keys' voice soars through the city night as Hov offers up his typical wit and, in this case, New York authenticity", making the song become "the unofficial anthem of the most celebrated city in the world".


title: Empire State of Mind

text: Jay-Z, a long-time fan of the New York Yankees, said that he was elated that his songs, namely "Empire State of Mind" and "Run This Town", had been played during different Yankee player's batting at home games in the 2009 World Series. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg commented that "Empire State of Mind" had become "one of the newest anthems of the Yankees". In Summer 2012, an advertisement for New York State touting its economic comeback features the piano loop of this song along with Key's voice singing "New York". In summer of 2010, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) replaced Sinatra's "New York, New York" with "Empire State of Mind" as the opening song at the 142nd running of the Belmont Stakes. A NYRA official declared the song the "quintessential 21st century theme song for New York City".


title: Empire State of Mind

text: "Empire State of Mind" achieved commercial success worldwide. In the United States the track peaked at number one on the "Billboard" Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks, from November 28 to December 26, replacing "Fireflies" by Owl City for the top position and giving Jay-Z his first number one single on that chart as a lead artist in his 14-year career. The song, which was both artists' fourth number one entry on the chart, became the first "Billboard" Hot 100 number one single to reference New York in its title. Moreover, it was included in "Billboard"s year-end music charts for 2009 at number 62 and was the last number one single for the 2000s (decade). According to "Billboard" magazine, the song was the 15th biggest hit by two recording artists for all time.


title: Empire State of Mind

text: The single sold 205,000 digital copies in the US in its opening week and its highest week sale was of 360,000 in December 2009. "Empire State of Mind" also peaked at number one on the "Billboard" component chart for the sales of legal digital downloads on October 3, 2009, and topped the "Billboard" component chart for singles with the most radio airplay throughout the country for eight consecutive weeks from November 28 to January 23, 2010. The track also peaked at the top position on the R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart for three consecutive weeks, as well as topping the "Billboard" Rap Songs chart for nine consecutive weeks. After five months of release "Empire State of Mind" was certified three times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for the shipment of over 3,000,000 units in the US. By August 2012, the single reached its 5 millionth sales mark in the US. As of June 2014, the song has sold 5,513,000 copies in the US.


title: Empire State of Mind

text: In the United Kingdom, the track debuted at number fifteen and, in the two succeeding weeks, peaked at number two. In May 2012, "Empire State of Mind" ranked as the 76th biggest selling single of the 21st century in the United Kingdom, as published by the Official Charts Company. The song peaked at number three on the Canadian Hot 100 and was listed as being the top digital gainer on December 12. The song peaked at number four in Australia, and was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for the shipment of 35,000 units in the country. "Empire State of Mind" was also included in Australia's 2009 year-end music chart at number 64. In New Zealand the song peaked at number six. Furthermore, the single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) for the shipment of over 7,500 units in New Zealand. The single debuted at number 18 in France, eventually peaking at number eight in the following three weeks. It also peaked at number four in Belgium's Flemish and French charts. The song also peaked within the top 10 positions in the music charts of Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Finland, the Netherlands, and Sweden. In Italy, "Empire State of Mind" was certified multi-platinum. "Empire State of Mind"s least commercially successful charting territories were Austria, Brazil, and Spain; peaking at number 13, 17, and 27 respectively. The song was featured in trailers for the film "Sex and the City 2".


title: Empire State of Mind

text: The music video for "Empire State of Mind" was directed by Hype Williams. The video, which was filmed on location, features black-and-white images of New York City intercut with full-color shots of Jay-Z and Keys performing in Times Square. "Empire State of Mind"s music video began filming on September 29, in Tribeca and around Ground Zero, and was released on October 30, 2009. Keys praised the music video and said that the video has all the key elements of a homage to her hometown.


title: Empire State of Mind

text: The music video opens with black and white images of locations in New York being shown in the form of a slideshow. The slideshow is then intercut with a black and white clip of Jay-Z, wearing a Yankees cap and a vest with no sleeves, performing the song on a street in front of apartment buildings. Then the video begins to rotate from images of New York being shown briefly, to clips of Jay-Z singing "Empire State of Mind" in several locations with different outfits. Images shown include a monument to John D. Rockefeller, Jr., street signs and stairwells leading to subway stations.


title: Empire State of Mind

text: The video then shows black and white clips of Keys, who is wearing large hoop-earrings with high heels, a black shirt and pants, playing a Yamaha piano that has an image of the Statue of Liberty on it. She is singing her verse of the song in a street at night while cars drive by. Keys' performance is then intercut with aerial views of skyscrapers and clips of the Yankee Stadium, clips of the New York Police, and NYPD cars and logos. Some people, such as ones who are walking around New York or wearing Yankee emblems, have their faces shown or blurred out. Keys and Jay-Z, both wearing sunglasses at night, are then shown performing the song together as the video continues to be intercut with clips of them performing "Empire State of Mind" individually, as well as images of New York. The video ends with color vision of the duo performing at night on the red glass steps forming the roof of the TKTS pavilion in Times Square. Interspersed are clips of Keys playing piano and views of the New York skyline.


title: Empire State of Mind

text: Jay-Z's Lifestyle blog came out with an alternative video which features supermodels lip-syncing to the song in various locations in Manhattan. The video was directed by Justin Wu. "The New York Observer" wrote of the video that "[w]e're not sure exactly what this video is promoting" but "the caliber of the cast's sheer ubiquity is impressive". A blogger on Yahoo Music commented that the models "do a better job modeling clothes than miming Jigga", but concluded, however, that the video is "without a doubt the greatest lip-dub ever committed to video".


title: Empire State of Mind

text: "Empire State of Mind" was first performed at Jay-Z's "Answer the Call" benefit concert in Madison Square Garden on September 11, 2009, where it was the opening song. All ticket proceeds from the show went to the New York Police and Fire Widows and Children's Fund. The song was then performed live at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards (MTV VMA) on September 13, 2009, where it closed the awards show. The VMA performance was the first time Jay-Z and Keys performed the song together. Shaheem Redi of MTV News commented on the performance that, "Their set was elegant and 'hood at the same time, and it was such a powerful moment". Ryan Brockington of the "New York Post" wrote "Alicia's buttery voice and Jay-Z's impeccable stage presence made for an audio adrenaline overload" and placed the performance third on his list of the "top six performances" from the MTV VMAs. For the performance Jay-Z wore his signature Yankees cap and Keys wore all black while playing the piano. During the MTV VMA performance images of locations in New York, such as the Empire State Building and the Apollo Theatre, were shown on an overhead screen behind Jay-Z and Keys. Towards the end of the performance rapper Lil' Mama got up onto the stage uninvited and posed with Jay-Z and Keys while they were finishing the final verse of the track. Lil' Mama said she did not mean to disrespect either performer but the song had her "emotions running high", adding that "in that moment I came up onstage to celebrate my two icons singing about NY." Keys responded to the incident saying "We can appreciate her being overwhelmed and inspired, but we would have appreciated it if she would have done it from her seat", and Jay-Z added, "It was a lot of planning that went into that performance. To disrupt that was outta line." Leah Greenblatt of "Entertainment Weekly" said that the duo "brought some genuine street heat to the tongue-twisting torrents" of "Empire State of Mind". She added that "Keys, on piano and soaring chorus, brought the feminine strength and soul."


title: Empire State of Mind

text: Jay-Z was due to perform "Empire State of Mind" with Keys during the opening game of the 2009 World Series in early October 2009 but, due to an inclement weather, the duo did not perform. They ultimately performed the song live at Yankee Stadium before Game 2 of the 2009 World Series in mid-October. The two musicians performed the song on a custom-made stage adorned with Yankees flags, while images of New York City flashed across several large screens throughout the stadium. Jayson Rodriguez of MTV News wrote of the performance, "If the Yankees were looking to change their tune heading into Game 2 of the World Series, they couldn't have picked better musical guests." During most live performances of the track, the lyrics containing profanity are included in the song, but they were omitted for the World Series set. On November 5, 2009, Jay-Z and Keys sang "Empire State of Mind" at the MTV Europe Music Awards (EMA) in Berlin, Germany, while performing in front of a New York cityscape. Jocelyn Vena and Eric Ditzian of MTV News noted that Jay-Z "took his hometown pride rather seriously" during the performance. Jay-Z also performed the song at the Yankees' World Series victory ceremonies in New York City Hall on November 6, 2009. Keys was not in attendance for the performance, so singer and Roc Nation recording artist Bridget Kelly filled in. As the last verse of the song was sung, Yankee members got up from their seats to shower Jay-Z with handshakes and hugs.