The team is also called the "D-Backs". They are named for the Diamondback Rattlesnake.
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a Major League baseball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves currently play just outside the city limits in the Cobb County community of Cumberland at Truist Park, which opened as SunTrust Park in 2017 and was renamed in 2020. From 1991 to 2005 the Braves, with the exception of 1994 because of a strike, won their division. They won the World Series in 1995 against the Cleveland Indians. One famous player that was on the Braves was Hank Aaron, from 1954 to 1976.
The Braves are the oldest team in major league baseball. They began in 1871 in Boston, Massachusetts. They were originally called the "Boston Red Stockings". Later they were known as the "Boston Beaneaters". In 1912 they were renamed as the "Boston Braves". They moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1953, where they were known as the "Milwaukee Braves". They moved to Atlanta in 1966.
Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team in Denver, Colorado. They are named for the Rocky Mountains, which are often called "The Rockies". Denver itself is within the Rocky Mountains, a mile above sea level.
The team began play in 1993. In 1995, they moved into their current ballpark, Coors Field. They made the playoffs five times, each time as a wild card. In 2007, the Rockies played in the World Series for the first (and so far, only) time. They were swept by the Boston Red Sox.
Miami Marlins
The Miami Marlins are a Major League Baseball team in Miami, Florida. The team began play in 1993. They were called the Florida Marlins through the 2011 baseball season. In November 2011, after the end of the season, they were renamed the Miami Marlins.
The marlin is a large sport fish that lives in warm parts of the ocean. There was once a minor league baseball team called the Miami Marlins. The major league team was named the "Marlins" in honor of the minor league team.
The Marlins' first home was Sun Life Stadium. They opened a new stadium in 2012 called Marlins Park.
The Marlins won two World Series in 1997 and 2003.
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are the professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB). They began to play in 1962. They were originally called the "Houston Colt .45s" or the "Houston Colts". They changed their name to "Astros" in 1965. The Astros left the National League and joined the American League in 2013. They are the first team in a long time to do this. The Astros play their home games at Minute Maid Park in Houston.
With the move to the American League in 2013, the Astros are the first team in Major League Baseball to win the pennant for both leagues. The Astros are generally considered one of the most dominant teams in baseball over the recent years.
In 2005, the Astros played in the World Series for the first time, where they were swept by the Chicago White Sox. They returned to the World Series in 2017, and this time, they defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games to capture their first World Series title in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. They returned to the World Series once again in 2019, but lost to Washington Nationals in seven games.
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, singer and composer.
As an instrumentalist, bandleader, singer, and composer, Gillespie was the youngest of nine children. His father was a local bandleader, so instruments were made available to him at an early age. He started to play the piano at the age of 9.
Nicknamed Dizzy because of how he acts during performances, Gillespie set new standards for trumpet players with his innovative rhythmic and harmonic explorations. This definitive change moved American jazz from swing to 'bebop'. Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of modern jazz.
Gillespie died on January 6, 1993 at age 75 from pancreatic cancer. At the time of his death Gillespie had two funerals. One was a Bahá´í funeral at his request, at which his closest friends and colleagues attended. The second was at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City open to the public where everyone can attend.
Ganz (toy company)
Ganz is a Canadian company. It is a private company with headquarters just north of Toronto in Woodbridge, Ontario. It has many subsidiaries and offices. It is now best known for distributing plush animals and collectables. Most recently it is known as the manufacturer of "Webkinz", the toy with an Internet site.
Ganz was founded in Toronto in 1950 by Holocaust survivors Samuel Ganz and his sons Jack Ganz and Sam Ganz. Then it was called "Ganz Bros. Toys Limited". It is now run by the founder's grandson, Hoard Ganz.
John Dowland
John Dowland (born 1563; buried 20 February 1626) was an English composer and lutenist. He is best known for some beautiful songs which express his unhappiness such as "Come, heavy sleep", "Come Again, Sweet Love" and "Flow my tears". His instrumental music became very popular again in the 20th century.
We hardly know anything about Dowland's early life. He was probably born in London. He went to Paris in 1580 where he worked for the ambassador to the French court. He became a Roman Catholic at this time.
In 1594 the job of royal lutenist to Queen Elizabeth I became available. Dowland did not get the job. He said later that it was because he was a Catholic, but there were other Catholic musicians at the English court, so that may not have been the real reason.
Dowland continued to work in Europe instead. He worked for the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg in Wolfenbüttel. He went to Italy where he wanted to study with Luca Marenzio in Rome. He went to Venice and Florence but never got as far as Rome. He published a book of lute music in 1597 which made him the most important English composer for the lute. However, he still did not get a job at the English court so he went to Denmark where he worked for King Christian IV of Denmark who paid him very well.
Dowland seems to have been married and he had children, although we do not know how many. His wife and family always stayed in England.
Dowland returned to England in 1606 and in 1612 got the job as one of James I's lutenists. Strangely, he does not seem to have composed anything between that time and his death in London in 1626. We do not know the date he died, but we do know the date when he was buried.
Most of Dowland's music is for his own instrument, the lute. It includes several books of music for solo lute, songs for one voice and lute, part-songs with lute accompaniment, and several pieces for viol consort with lute.
Many of his best-known songs are full of sadness. One lute song is called "Flow My Tears". A very well-known instrumental work is "Lachrimae" (the Latin word for "tears"), a set of seven songs for five viols and lute, each based on the tune of his song "Flow My Tears." It became one of the best known pieces of consort music in his own time. His pavane "Lachrymae antiquae" was also one of the big hits of the seventeenth century.
Dowland's music often shows the melancholia that was so fashionable in music at that time. He wrote a consort piece called "Semper Dowland, semper dolens" (always Dowland, always unhappy).
Many later musicians have been inspired by Dowland's music, including Benjamin Britten and the pop musician Sting.
Partsong
A partsong is a piece of music to be sung by two or more voices without accompaniment. Many partsongs are written for four voices: normally soprano, alto, tenor and bass. Such a partsong can be performed just by four people, but it can also be performed by a larger group (a choir) which has divided into these four parts.