Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. (October 11, 1945 – June 11, 2015), better known as "the American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who most notably worked for the National Wrestling Alliance and the World Wrestling Federation, later known as the WWE. Rhodes was considered a star wrestler and although sporting a doughy physique, presented the persona of an American everyman, the American Dream personified.

Rhodes was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, and during his time in Jim Crockett Promotions, later known as WCW, he was a United States Heavyweight Champion, and multi-time World Television, World Tag Team and World Six-Man Tag Team Champion. He also won many regional championships, and is one of seven men inducted into each of the WWE, WCW, Professional Wrestling, and Wrestling Observer Newsletter Halls of Fame. His sons, Dustin and Cody, both pursued careers in professional wrestling, currently performing for AEW and WWE, respectively.

Following his retirement from wrestling, he made occasional on-air appearances on WWE television and pay-per-views and worked as a backstage booker and producer in WWE's NXT developmental territory. Billed as "the son of a plumber", Rhodes did not have a typical wrestler's physique; his character was that of the "common man", known for the personality exhibited in his interviews. WWE chairman Vince McMahon remarked that no wrestler "personified the essence of charisma quite like Dusty Rhodes".

Early life
Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. was born on October 12, 1945, in Austin, Texas.

After graduating from Albert Sidney Johnston High School in Austin, Rhodes played baseball and football at West Texas State (now known as West Texas A&M University). Turning professional, Rhodes tried out for the American Football League's Boston Patriots, but was cut. He then played for the Hartford Charter Oaks in the Continental Football League until the team folded.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1967-1974)
In 1967, Rhodes saw an advertisement in the newspaper for Tony Santos' professional wrestling promotion Big Time Wrestling, based in Boston. Rhodes drove to Boston, and despite not having any wrestling experience, bluffed his way into working for the company by using his real life friendships with Bobby Duncum and the Funk brothers. Billed as Dusty Runnels, one of his first matches was for the BTW World Heavyweight title against champion Frank Scarpa in the Boston Arena. Having little money, Rhodes slept in his car and spent Thanksgiving with Rufus R. Jones in a Boston soup kitchen.

Rhodes moved on to Fritz Von Erich's Texas territory World Class Championship Wrestling in 1968, at that time also called Big Time Wrestling. It was in Texas where Rhodes first adopted the ring name "Dusty Rhodes". Upon meeting Rhodes, Gary Hart suggested that he change his ring name to "Lonesome Rhodes", a character Andy Griffith portrayed in the film A Face in the Crowd. Rhodes reportedly replied: "Well...I don't plan on being 'Lonesome'. I think I'll stick with Dusty." Hart took an immediate liking to Rhodes and convinced Von Erich of the young wrestler's potential. Rhodes became a rule-breaking heel with Hart as his manager, teaming with Don Jardine, better known as The Spoiler.

In 1968, Rhodes left Texas and entered the Kansas City territory, tagging with fellow Texan Dick Murdoch to form the tag team The Texas Outlaws. The team traveled both nationally and internationally, appearing in Big Time Wrestling (Texas), NWA Western States Sports (Texas), NWA Detroit, National Wrestling Federation (NWF), Championship Wrestling from Florida, World Championship Wrestling (Australia), Tri-State Wrestling, the American Wrestling Association (AWA), and International Wrestling Enterprise (Japan).

National Wrestling Alliance territories (1974–1984)

 Rhodes did not have a typical wrestlers' physique, but he was well known for his personality, charisma and interviews. In 1974, Rhodes's character became a hero after tag team partner Pak Song and manager Gary Hart turned on him during a match in Florida against Eddie and Mike Graham. This led him to break out as a solo wrestler, primarily in Florida, referring to himself as the "American Dream", a working class hero, and aligning himself with Eddie Graham.

In 1977, Rhodes wrestled for Vince McMahon, Sr.'s World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) on and off for lengthy periods of time until 1983. During that time, Rhodes main-evented twice in Madison Square Garden, both times challenging for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship against reigning champion Superstar Billy Graham. Rhodes won the first match on September 26 via countout, and lost the second, a Texas Death match, on October 24. Graham won after a mid-ring collision, falling on Rhodes for the three count.

Jim Crockett Promotions (1985–1989)

He eventually began working as a booker and wrestler with Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) in the Mid-Atlantic, which eventually purchased World Championship Wrestling (WCW), formerly Georgia Championship Wrestling. Rhodes also teamed with Magnum T. A. as "America's Team", who opposed the Four Horsemen and The Russian Team in 1985. They were one of the more dominant tag teams in the promotion until 1986, when Magnum's career was ended in a car accident. Subsequently, he teamed with Nikita Koloff as The Super Powers. Rhodes was also a two time World Six-Man Tag Team Champion with The Road Warriors.

Rhodes had feuds with Abdullah the Butcher, Terry Funk, Kevin Sullivan, Blackjack Mulligan, Nikita Koloff, Harley Race, Superstar Billy Graham, "Crippler" Ray Stevens and, most notably, The Four Horsemen (especially Ric Flair and Tully Blanchard). Rhodes, Flair and Race fought each other many times over the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Rhodes won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship three times; twice by defeating Race and once by defeating Flair. In October 1985, during his feud with Flair, Rhodes gave an interview that became known as his "Hard Times" promo, arguably his most popular promo:
First of all, I would to thank the many, many fans throughout this country that wrote cards and letters to Dusty Rhodes, The American Dream, while I was down. Secondly, I want to thank Jim Crockett Promotions for waitin' and takin' the time 'cause I know how important it was, Starrcade '85 it is to the wrestling fans, it is to Jim Crockett promotions, and Dusty Rhodes The American Dream. With that wait, I got what I wanted, Ric Flair the World's Heavyweight Champion. I don't have to say a whole lot more about the way I feel about Ric Flair; no respect, no honor. There is no honor amongst thieves in the first place.

He put hard times on Dusty Rhodes and his family. You don't know what hard times are, daddy. Hard times are when the textile workers around this country are out of work, they got four or five kids and can't pay their wages, can't buy their food. Hard times are when the auto workers are out of work and they tell 'em to go home. And hard times are when a man has worked at a job for thirty years, thirty years, and they give him a watch, kick him in the butt and say "hey a computer took your place, daddy", that's hard times! That's hard times! And Ric Flair you put hard times on this country by takin' Dusty Rhodes out, that's hard times. And we all had hard times together, and I admit, I don't look like the athlete of the day supposed to look. My belly's just a lil' big, my heiny's a lil' big, but brother, I am bad. And they know I'm bad.

There were two bad people... One was John Wayne and he's dead brother, and the other's right here. Nature Boy Ric Flair, the World's Heavyweight title belongs to these people. I'mma reach out right now, I want you at home to know my hand is touchin' your hand for the gathering of the biggest body of people in this country, in this universe, all over the world now, reachin' out because the love that was given me and this time I will repay you now. Because I will be the next World's Heavyweight Champion of this hard time blues. Dusty Rhodes tour, '85.

And Ric Flair, Nature Boy... Let me leave you with this. One way to hurt Ric Flair, is to take what he cherishes more than anything in the world and that's the World's Heavyweight title. I'm gon' take it, I been there twice. This time when I take it daddy, I'm gon' take it for you. Let's gather for it. Don't let me down now, 'cause I came back for you, for that man upstairs that died 10–12 years ago and never got the opportunity to see a real World's Champion. And I'm proud of you, thank God I have you, and I love you. Love ya!

The promo apparently resonated with wrestling fans so much that people came to him in arenas in tears to thank him for "honoring their plight". In 2015, an ESPN article referred to "Hard Times" as Rhodes' best interview, writing, "In just over three minutes, Rhodes fully encapsulated every ounce of his charm by endearing himself to blue-collar mid-America".

During his stint as booker, JCP were engulfed in aggressive competition with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). When the WWF introduced Mike Jones as Ted DiBiase's bodyguard, Bobby Heenan suggested naming the character Virgil as an inside joke on Dusty's real name. Also in the late 1980s, Rhodes became synonymous with what would become known as the "Dusty finish", a trick ending in which a wrestler would win a match while the referee was knocked out, and the decision would be overturned.

Rhodes is often considered to be one of the most innovative and creative bookers in the history of professional wrestling. As previously mentioned, his work in the development of "supercards" and gimmick matches did much to enhance the quality of entertainment and move the industry forward, as evident by other major promotions following with their own major cards and gimmicks. At the same time, however, he and JCP had an "old school" philosophy that did not bode well with the changes that were brought with fast moving media such as cable TV, etc. The long-standing storylines and the frequent use of the aforementioned "Dusty finish", techniques that had worked well during the NWA's territorial days, had now started to leave many fans dissatisfied with the promotion's booking.

Rhodes was fired after Starrcade '88, because of a taboo on-screen bloodletting (laid down by the Turner Broadcasting System following their purchase of the company) during a November 26 altercation with The Road Warriors. Furious with the interference, Rhodes booked a storyline in which Road Warrior Animal pulled a spike out of his shoulder pad and jammed it in Rhodes' eye, causing a severe laceration. Rhodes was then fired from WCW.

Professional  Wrestling Federation (1989)

Meanwhile, in late 1988 during the acquisition of Jim Crockett Promotions the duo of Mike Graham and Steve Keirn were attempting to revive the dormant CWF Championship Wrestling from Florida territory. Once Dusty departed from WCW they reached out to him, and ultimately partnered to launch the new  Professional Wrestling Federation in February 1989. Rhodes had larger visions for the fledgling regional territory, which included a name change from FCW to the non-regional PWF. The new startup promotion featured a raft of current and future stars, including Terry Funk, Dick Slater, Bam Bam Bigelow, Al Perez, The Nasty Boys, Scott Hall, Dustin Rhodes, Mike Awesome, Dallas Page and The Big Steel Man (who would become Tugboat in the WWF).

Dusty Rhodes made his debut for the company on March 4, 1989, at an event in Titusville, Florida, when he teamed with Steve Keirn to defeat the duo of The Big Steel Man and Dick Slater. A week later at the PWF Homecoming event in Tampa, Florida, he pinned Big Steel Man to become the first PWF Heavyweight Champion. Later that spring as the PWF began to grow Rhodes received a surprise backstage visit from Bobby Heenan, who inquired on the state of the company's business. Shortly thereafter Vince McMahon reached out to Rhodes and made an offer to acquire the PWF as a developmental territory and to bring Rhodes into the WWF. He refused, as his desire was to grow the territory into a national brand that could compete with WCW and the WWF. However the Professional Wrestling Federation's backers did not have a desire to fund the company at a level necessary to enhance the territory further. In May he decided to part ways with the PWF and join the World Wrestling Federation as a wrestler.

Before departing, Rhodes was defeated by The Big Steel Man on May 13, 1989, for the PWF title at an event in Sarasota, Florida. His final match with the company was on May 20, where he wrestled Steel Man at an event in Fort Lauderdale.

During the spring Rhodes also returned to the AWA for a few appearances.

World Wrestling Federation (1989–1991)
Nine days after his final PWF match, Dusty Rhodes made his untelevised debut at a house show on May 29 in Montreal, Quebec. Substituting for Jake Roberts, he defeated Ted Dibiase. Promotional vignettes began airing, the first coming on the June 3rd edition of WWF Superstars of Wrestling with Rhodes appearing as the yellow polka-dotted "Common Man" Dusty Rhodes, a gimmick some felt was intended to humiliate him due to his synonymy with the rival JCP/WCW. Rhodes was introduced to WWF audiences through a series of vignettes in which he would gregariously and enthusiastically perform working class roles (including that of a plumber, butcher's apprentice, gas station attendant, taco cook, trash collector and pizza delivery man), eventually being recognized by others at the end of the skit ("Hey! Aren't you...?").

Rhodes continued to wrestle Dibiase on house shows that month and was undefeated. He was pinned however on June 6 in a dark match against Dibiase at a WWF Superstars taping in Madison, Wisconsin. Many years later, this match was included as part of the WWE Unreleased: 1986–1995 DVD set. It was said that Rhodes was asked to lose in this match to test his willingness to put over other talent. Aside from this defeat, "The American Dream" remained undefeated against the upper-level heel. Rhodes made his televised appearance on the July 22 edition of WWF Superstars; following a match between Big Bossman and Jim McPherson he intervened to prevent Bossman from using his nightstick against the defeated opponent. This transitioned Dusty into his first World Wrestling Federation feud.

Rhodes made his in-ring debut on the August 13th edition of Wrestling Challenge when he pinned Greg Valentine after his opponent was distracted by Ronnie Garvin. That month he began his house show series against Big Bossman and was dominant, defeating the rulebreaker in every encounter. Rhodes scored his first televised win against Bossman on the August 21 edition of Prime Time Wrestling. At SummerSlam 89 he appeared on his first-ever WWF PPV, defeating The Honky Tonk Man. Meanwhile, on the road his dominance continued as he remained undefeated against the Bossman.

In October a Rhodes fan, Sapphire, began to be featured at ringside during his televised matches. Rhodes would eventually invite the woman to come in the ring and dance with her after a victory. She would become his manager and was named "Sapphire". As Dusty represented "The Common Man", she was intended to represent the "common woman". On November 23, 1989, at The Survivor Series he led a quartet dubbed The Dream Team composed of Brutus Beefcake, Tito Santana, and The Red Rooster to victory against The Enforcers (Big Bossman, The Honkytonk Man, Rick Martel, and Akeem). Rhodes would finish the year dispatching Bossman in house show matches around the country, sometimes in "ball and chain" encounters.

Having finished the year with just one untelevised loss, Dusty entered 1990 as a dominant force within the World Wrestling Federation. He competed in the 1990 Royal Rumble and eliminated Bret Hart before in turn being thrown over the top rope by Earthquake. After dispatching the Bossman, he next became embroiled in a heated storyline with "Macho King" Randy Savage and his manager/partner Sensational Queen Sherri, who in turn found a rival in Sapphire. Rhodes began facing the former WWF World Champion on the house show circuit. As with Bossman he was victorious in every encounter, although each would come by countout. On the March 25, 1990 episode of WWF Superstars he finally faced Savage in a televised encounter; Rhodes won via disqualification after Queen Sherri interfered. After a confrontation between the two couples, Savage's ex-manager Miss Elizabeth allied herself with Rhodes and Sapphire and was instrumental in helping them win the WWF's first mixed tag-team match during WrestleMania VI.

Rhodes suffered a foot injury a few weeks later, leading to his temporary removal from the house show circuit and replaced by Roddy Piper. He returned on May 12 and resumed his house show series against Savage. This time his dominance was more profound as he started to defeat The Macho Man by pinfall around the country. This continued until June 3, 1990, when Dusty's lengthy undefeated streak was finally ended by Savage in West Palm Beach, Florida. Rhodes began teaming with Sapphire to face Savage and Sherri on house shows, resuming his winning streak and remaining undefeated. Later that summer Sapphire began to receive gifts from an unnamed benefactor during Dusty's televised matches. At SummerSlam Sapphire no-showed her scheduled match with Queen Sherri. Later that night Dusty was scheduled to face Randy Savage in a one-on-one encounter; prior to the match Ted Dibiase announced that Sapphire had left Rhodes for The Million Dollar Man's money. Distracted and distraught, Rhodes was pinned by Savage.

Dusty immediately transitioned to a feud with The Million Dollar Man. Unlike his previous series with Bossman and Savage, this time Rhodes would come out on the losing end. He lost numerous house show matches after Virgil interfered on the behalf of Dibiase. That fall his son Dustin Rhodes began making televised appearances within the WWF; on the October 13 edition of WWF Superstars Dusty lost to Randy Savage by countout after being distracted by Dibiase attacking Dustin. Afterwards, Rhodes dropped the polka dot attire and adopted his traditional, Jim Crockett-esque attire. At the 1990 Survivor Series he led "The Dream Team" (himself, Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart, and Koko B Ware) against "The Million Dollar Team. Unlike last year's edition, the results were far different. Dibiase was teaming with Rhythm & Blues and a mystery partner, the latter who turned out to be the newly arrived Undertaker. The future Hall of Famer would dispatch Ware and later pin Rhodes, with Ted Dibiase ultimately remaining as the sole survivor.

Around this time in the fall Dusty Rhodes received an offer to return to World Championship Wrestling as its head booker. He now began to lose regularly, falling again in defeat to Ted Dibiase in house shows during December 1990 but also losing to Rick Martel, Virgil, and new top heel Sgt. Slaughter. Some of the losses were under 1 minute as the WWF leveraged Rhodes departure. On December 28, 1990, he teamed with Jim Duggan to face Slaughter and General Adnan at Madison Square Garden. The match, which would be televised on Prime Time Wrestling on January 7, 1991, ended when Rhodes submitted to Slaughter. The conclusion to the feud with Dibiase came at 1991 Royal Rumble, where Dusty teamed with his son Dustin against Virgil and Dibiase. The Rhodes Family was defeated in a match that saw Virgil turn face afterwards. This would mark the end of Dusty Rhodes' career as a full-time in-ring competitor.

Return to WCW and Extreme Championship Wrestling (1991–2001)
Rhodes returned to WCW in 1991 as a member of WCW's booking committee, making his first appearance only 11 days after his last WWF appearance at the Royal Rumble. On the May 25 edition of World Championship Wrestling he launched an interview segment called "The Bull Drop Inn". Booking disagreements between Rhodes and Ric Flair led to the latter's departure to the WWF and the Big Gold Belt controversy. Rhodes also served as the on-screen manager of Ron Simmons from 1991 to 1992, first forming a relationship with the former All-American during the summer of 1991. In a match that was advertised on World Championship Wrestling, on October 12, 1991, Dusty served as the special guest referee in a match at the Omni in Atlanta, Georgia, that saw Simmons and Barry Windham team up to defeat Mr. Hughes and Lex Luger. On the October 19 edition of World Championship Wrestling, Rhodes was announced as being in the corner of Ron Simmons when the latter was scheduled to face Lex Luger for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship at Halloween Havoc 91. Rhodes would go on to be Simmons' cornerman that night, although Luger retained his championship.

Dusty Rhodes made his return to the ring after nearly a one-year absence on January 4, 1992, at the WCW/New Japan Supershow II. Teaming with his son Dustin Rhodes once more, the duo defeated Kim Duk and Masa Saito in Tokyo, Japan. He began making house show appearances early in the year, usually in tag-team matches involving Dustin that saw Paul E. Dangerously tied to Dusty as part of the stipulation. On the May 16, 1992 episode of WCW Worldwide he seconded Nikita Koloff in his match with Big Van Vader; he battled Vader's manager Harley Race to the backstage as the match began. Later that summer Dusty was again in the corner of Ron Simmons, this time on August 2, 1992, when he defeated Big Van Vader to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. He later joined the broadcast team, usually working with Tony Schiavone on Saturday Night. He was paired with Schiavone and Bobby Heenan on pay-per-views.

On February 25 his son Dustin defeated Paul Orndorff to win the United States Championship, and after the match Dusty came out to the ring to celebrate. That led to a slowly simmering feud with The Assassin (Jody Hamilton), who continually challenged Rhodes. On the June 12, 1993 edition of WCW Saturday Night the Assassin vowed to track down Dusty's mother if that is what it took to gain a response. On the October 30 edition of WCW Saturday Night the Assassin (now representing Paul Orndorff) again challenged Rhodes. A week later United States Champion Dustin Rhodes announced that his father would be in his corner in his upcoming defense against the Assassin's charge Paul Orndorff. Dustin successfully retained against Orndorff at Clash of the Champions XXV; Dusty became involved after the match and attempted to unmask the Assassin.

As 1994 progressed Dusty became involved in another angle with his son and The Stud Stable, offering commentary on the May 21, 1994, edition of WCW Saturday Night on Col. Robert Parker's efforts against Dustin. At a television taping on July 25, 1994, in Macon, Georgia, he came to ringside and attacked Parker, before being overwhelmed by the manager and Bunkhouse Buck. After being rescued by Ricky Steamboat and Dustin, he made an appearance in Dustin's corner on the August 6th edition of WCW Saturday Night when his son faced Bunkhouse Buck. After delivering a bionic elbow to Buck when the referee was distracted, Dustin was able to gain the pinfall. This ultimately led to Dusty's second match since departing the WWF, where he would team with Dustin to defeated Terry Funk and Buckhouse Buck at Clash of the Champions XXVIII. After a vignette that saw Dusty travel to "The Scrap Bar" to recruit The Nasty Boys, he teamed with them and Dustin to defeat Buck, Arn Anderson, Terry Funk, and Rob Parker in a War Games match at Fall Brawl 94. He returned to the ring for three more house show matches that fall, teaming with Dustin  to defeat the Stud Stable. His last in-ring match for World Championship Wrestling in this run came on November 24, 1994, in Albany, Georgia, where Dusty and Dustin Rhodes defeated Arn Anderson and Bunkhouse Buck in a steel cage.

Through 1995 he was exclusively on commentary for WCW and did not participate in any in-ring angles. Dusty was originally on the side of WCW when its battle with the New World Order (nWo) began in 1996. At Souled Out 1998, Larry Zbyszko asked Rhodes, who was working the PPV broadcast, to accompany him to the ring for his match against Scott Hall. Zbyszko won the match by disqualification due to interference by Louie Spicolli. Rhodes entered the ring, delivering his trademark elbow smashes to Spicolli as Zbyszko stood and grabbed Hall. Rhodes went to elbow Hall, but seemingly inadvertently hit Zbyszko instead turning heel in the process. Hall then pointed to Rhodes as he revealed an nWo shirt. The three began to drop repeated elbows on Zbyszko before Rhodes announced, "That's tradition, WCW! Bite this!". Announcer Tony Schiavone left the broadcast booth in shock, but later returned ripping Rhodes for his actions for most of the rest of the night. As a member of the nWo, Rhodes served as the manager of The Outsiders, Hall and Kevin Nash. This lasted until the November 30, 1998, episode of Monday Nitro, when Rhodes, who was guest refereeing a match between Barry Windham and Dean Malenko after being appointed by Eric Bischoff, defected back to WCW by disqualifying Windham and awarding the match to Malenko.  Bischoff then fired Rhodes. On the December 28, 1998, edition of Monday Nitro, Ric Flair faced Eric Bischoff for control of the company for 30 days. After Flair submitted Bischoff, Dusty was amongst those who came out to the ring to celebrate with The Nature Boy.

He left WCW in 2000 and went to Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), making an appearance at the Guilty As Charged PPV on January 8, 2000, where he was attacked by former ECW World Heavyweight Champion, "King of Old School" Steve Corino. On January 28, 2000, he wrestled his first match in over five years, teaming with Tommy Dreamer to defeate Corino and Raven at a ECW on TNN episode that was taped in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. On March 12, 2000, Dusty pinned Steve Corino in a singles match at the Living Dangerously PPV in Danbury, Connecticut. He continued to remain undefeated until he put over Corino at the CyberSlam event on April 22 at the ECW Arena. His final appearance came at an ECW TV taping in Toledo, Ohio, where he accompanied The Sandman to ringside in his match against Rhino, who was seconded by Steve Corino.

Dusty then returned to WCW for a where he reignited feud once more with long-time nemesis Ric Flair. On the WCW Greed PPV on March 18, 2001, he entered a WCW ring for the final time, teaming with Dustin Rhodes to defeat Ric Flair and Jeff Jarrett. Following the purchase of WCW, the World Wrestling Federation allowed Turner South to continue to air classic matches on their "WCW Classics Program". Much like Heenan and Monsoon, Dusty Rhodes and Ric Flair hosted the program. The duo would bicker throughout the show, which lasted throughout the summer of 2001 and represented the last "original" programming of the old WCW.

Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling and other promotions (2000–2003)
After both WCW and ECW were bought by WWE (WWF), Rhodes went to compete in his own promotion, Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling with ex-WCW and ECW superstars in Georgia, Florida and Tennessee.

During this time he feuded with Terry Funk and Steve Corino in other territories.

In 2002, Rhodes competed in Pro Pain Pro Wrestling based in Philadelphia feuding with Kevin Sullivan. This would lead to a Texas Bullrope match on November 23 in which Rhodes defeated Sullivan.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2003–2005)
Rhodes began appearing with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) in 2003, returning to the ring to feud against the villainous Sports Entertainment Xtreme faction. on the January 15 NWA-TNA PPV, Rhodes, Road Warriors and Jeff Jarrett lost to Vince Russo and Triple X. on the January 22 NWA-TNA PPV, Rhodes called out Nikita Koloff to reform the Superpowers, but Nikita turned on him. On the February 26 NWA-TNA PPV, Rhodes and Vader defeated Don and Ron Harris by disqualification. On the March 19 NWA-TNA PPV, Rhodes, Jeff Jarrett and D-Lo Brown defeated Erik Watts, Brian Lawler and David Flair in a six-man tag team match a week later Rhodes defeated David Flair in a Bunkhouse match. On the April 9 NWA-TNA PPV, Rhodes defeated Brian Lawler in a Ladder match. On the August 13 NWATNA PPV, Rhodes and America's Most Wanted defeated Glenn Gilbertti and Simon Diamond and Johnny Swinger the following week Rhodes lost a bullrope to Glen Gilbertti after Christopher Daniels interfered. On the October 1 NWA-TNA PPV, Rhodes and Jarrett defeated A.J. Styles and Russo. The following week Rhodes got a shot at the NWA title against Styles but lost when he passed out during the figure-4. On the October 15 NWA-TNA PPV, Rhodes and America's Most Wanted defeated Legend, Sonny Siaki and Ekmo Fatu. On the November 26 NWA-TNA PPV, Rhodes and Jarrett wrestled to a no contest in a Lumberjack Fan Strap match. After taking a few months off Rhodes returned on May 19, 2004, where he and James Storm defeated Dallas and Kid Kash in a "Bunkhouse Brawl" this led to the duo getting a shot at the NWA World Tag Team Championship on June 2 but they failed to win the titles. On the June 4 episode of Impact, Rhodes gave an interview with Mike Tenay but got punked out by NWA champ Jeff Jarrett. On the July 14 NWA-TNA PPV, Rhodes, Larry Zbyszko and 3Live Kru defeated Jarrett, Ken Shamrock, Hernandez, Chad Collyer and Onyx. On the August 25 NWATNA PPV, Russo suspended Rhodes from TNA and banned him from the Asylum a few days later on the August 27 episode of Impact, Rhodes showed up in the front row, and got attacked by Scott D'Amore and ejected again. On the September 1 NWA-TNA PPV, Rhodes under a mask billed as Midnight Rider teamed with Konnan and B.G. James to defeat Team Canada (Eric Young and Bobby Roode and Johnny Devine). On the September 8 NWA-TNA PPV, Rhodes defeated Scott D'Amore with Russo as the special guest referee. On the October 29 episode of Impact, Rhodes started his campaign to replace Vince Russo as the Director of Authority. Later, he became the Director of Authority at their November 7, 2004 pay-per-view, Victory Road. At the same time, Rhodes acted as head booker and writer. On the April 8, 2005, episode of Impact, Rhodes made the on-air decision to make all matches at Lockdown PPV in Six Sides of Steel. Then on the April 29 episode of Impact, Rhodes announced that MMA fighter Tito Ortiz will referee the World title match at Hard Justice (2005). In May 2005, TNA President Dixie Carter asked Rhodes to move onto a creative team, which included Jeremy Borash, Bill Banks, and Scott D'Amore. Rhodes resigned as booker, waiting out the rest of his contract with TNA, which expired soon after.

Independent circuit (2003–2006)

Rhodes made his first indy circuit appearance on April 12, 2003, for Ring of Honor (ROH), when he participated in the "I Quit Bunkhouse Riot" as a member of Homicide's team. On December 12, Rhodes defeated Jerry Lawler at an International Wrestling Cartel show that also featured Mick Foley as the special guest referee. Rhodes returned to ROH on March 13, 2004, where he competed alongside The Carnage Crew in a Scramble Cage match against Special K, which the Carnage Crew won.

On July 24, Rhodes returned to Full Impact Pro (FIP) and defeated Gangrel. In October, he appeared for Northeast Wrestling in a victory over Kamala. Later in the month, he appeared for IWA Mid-South in a tag team match with Ian Rotten in a victory over Chris Candido and Steve Stone. Rhodes made three appearances for the Japanese promotion HUSTLE in 2004, the first being on January 4 in a six-man tag team match with Steve Corino and Tom Howard against Mil Mascaras, Dos Caras, and Sicodelico Jr., which Rhodes' team lost. The second was on March 7, where he teamed with his son Dustin against Shinjiro Otani and Satoshi Kojima, which he also lost. The third was on May 8, where he defeated Corino.

Starting in December 2004, Rhodes made regular appearances for Carolina Championship Wrestling (CCW), where his first match for the promotion saw him team up with The Rock 'n' Roll Express to take on Dennis Condrey, Bobby Eaton, and Stan Lane, all three of the best-known members of the Midnight Express. He also briefly resurrected his feud with Tully Blanchard in CCW, earning two consecutive victories over him, the second being in a Bunkhouse Brawl. On April 9, 2005, Rhodes challenged Jeff Jarrett (who was still contracted to TNA, but due to TNA's then-affiliation with the NWA, he was allowed to appear for other affiliated promotions) for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. In a match that featured Jimmy Valiant as the special guest referee, Jarrett retained the title after Terry Funk made a surprise appearance and interfered. This led to Rhodes challenging Funk to a Falls-Count-Anywhere Bunkhouse match, which Rhodes won. This would be Rhodes' final appearance with CCW until August, where he would team with his son Dustin against Phi Delta Slam.

On July 15, 2005, Rhodes participated in Ballpark Brawl IV in a victory over Kid Kash. Rhodes participated in the first WrestleReunion, competing in an eight-man tag team match with D'Lo Brown, The Blue Meanie, and Tom Prichard against Steve Corino, Andrew Martin, Evil Clown, and the Masked Superstar. Rhodes faced Tully Blanchard at a Starrcade Tribute Show on November 19, where he was managed by Magnum T. A. and where Blanchard was managed by J. J. Dillon. Rhodes ended up losing the match.

On December 3, 2005, Rhodes returned to Carolina Championship Wrestling for one night only to face Terry Funk in an "I Quit" match, which Rhodes won. Rhodes made his final major appearances on the independent circuit before returning full-time to WWE in mid-2006, defeating Jerry Lawler by disqualification at a Southern Championship Wrestling (SCW) show and also earning a victory over Steve Corino in a Texas Bullrope match for Big Time Wrestling.

Return to WWE (2005–2015)

Final matches and retirement (2005–2010)
In September 2005, Rhodes signed a WWE Legends deal and was brought onto the Creative Team as a creative consultant. He made an appearance on the October 3, 2005 WWE Raw Homecoming in which he, along with other legends, beat down Rob Conway, to whom Rhodes delivered a signature Bionic Elbow.

Rhodes made an appearance on the June 19, 2006, episode of Raw, appearing in a backstage segment with Vince McMahon where he promoted his new DVD, The American Dream – The Dusty Rhodes Story. A few weeks before Survivor Series, Rhodes returned to WWE to be a part of Team WWE Legends, led by Flair. The team, which consisted of Sgt. Slaughter, Ron Simmons, and Arn Anderson (acting as manager) competed against The Spirit Squad at Survivor Series.

Rhodes was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on March 31, 2007, by his two sons, Dustin and Cody. During his acceptance speech, Rhodes asked Ric Flair and Arn Anderson to hold up the "sign" and induct him and Harley Race into the Four Horsemen. He has also inducted several other people into the Hall of Fame, including his mentor Eddie Graham in 2008, The Funk Brothers (Terry and Dory Funk Jr.) in 2009, The Road Warriors in 2011, and longtime rivals The Four Horsemen in 2012.

A few weeks before WWE's 2007 broadcast of The Great American Bash, Rhodes returned to WWE television to feud with Randy Orton. At The Great American Bash, Orton defeated Rhodes in a Texas Bullrope match after hitting Rhodes with a cowbell. This would be Runnels' final WWE match, officially retiring for the first time soon after at age 61. The following night on Raw, after Orton defeated Rhodes' son Cody, Orton delivered a kick to Rhodes' head while he was trying to tend to his son. On the December 10 episode of Raw, Rhodes was at ringside to see Cody and Hardcore Holly defeat Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch for the World Tag Team Championship.

On August 31, 2009, during the time Cody was part of The Legacy with Randy Orton and Ted DiBiase, Rhodes was the special guest host of Raw and booked a match between Cody and Orton for Orton's WWE Championship with John Cena as the special guest referee. It quickly turned out to be a ruse with Dusty's intention to allow Legacy to attack Cena, as well as D-Generation X (Triple H and Shawn Michaels) once they came to make the save. Despite the four standing tall together, Orton quickly gave an RKO to Rhodes, and though initially angered, Cody fell in line behind Orton.

On July 9, 2010, Rhodes briefly came out of retirement and wrestled the final match of his career at an FCW live event, where he teamed up with Cody and Goldust to defeat the team of Caylen Croft, Curt Hawkins, and Trent Barreta in a 6-man tag team match. He would again retire shortly after.

Sporadic appearances (2010–2015)

Rhodes was the head writer and creative director for the weekly NXT Wrestling television broadcast. On September 12, 2013, he was removed as NXT Commissioner. Rhodes made his return to Raw on September 16, 2013, after accepting a "business proposition" from Stephanie McMahon in an attempt for WWE to rehire both his sons Cody and Dustin. After learning that McMahon would only rehire one son of his choosing, Rhodes turned down the offer and was subsequently knocked out by Big Show on the orders of McMahon. Rhodes also appeared at Battleground in the corner of Cody and Goldust as they took on The Shield (Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns with Dean Ambrose at ringside) in a tag team match. The stipulation of the match would be that if the Rhodes Family won, Cody and Goldust got their jobs with the company back, but if they lose Dusty would be fired as an NXT trainer and none of them could appear on WWE programming ever again. The Rhodes brothers won the match, thus reinstating them to the roster and allowing Dusty to retain his position in NXT. During the match, Dusty got into an altercation with Ambrose and performed the Bionic Elbow on him.

Rhodes appeared on the February 16, 2015, episode of Raw, in an effort to reunite Goldust and Stardust, who were engaged in a conflict. Rhodes appeared at Fastlane on February 22, in a backstage segment with Goldust. Rhodes' final appearance on WWE programming would be on March 28, when he appeared on the Hall of Fame: Live From the Red Carpet show.

Personal life

Runnels was married to Sandra McHargue from 1965 to 1975, with whom he shared two children: Dustin, and Kristin Runnels, a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. In 1978, he married Michelle Rubio, with whom he had two children: Teil Runnels and Cody Runnels.  The couple were married for 37 years until his death in 2015. He had six grandchildren: Dakota, the daughter of Dustin and his ex-wife, Terri Boatright; Dalton and Dylan, children of Kristin and her husband Don Ditto; Kellan and Maris, children of Teil and her husband Kevin Gergel; and Liberty, daughter of Cody and his wife Brandi. He also had a brother, Larry, and a sister, Connie.
He played baseball and football for Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas before transferring to West Texas State University.

Illness and death
In his later years, Rhodes suffered from kidney disease.

On June 10, 2015, paramedics responded to Rhodes' home in Orlando, Florida, after getting a call reporting that he had fallen. They drove him to a nearby hospital, where he died the next day at the age of 69 from the effects of kidney failure. Rhodes was cremated, and his ashes were spread in November 2015 by his son Dustin on a ranch that Rhodes loved to visit.

At the 2015 Money in the Bank pay-per-view event, a ten-bell salute was given in honor of Rhodes, with the entire WWE roster and the McMahon family on the entrance ramp. The next night on Raw, they honored him with a video tribute and a special after Raw on the WWE Network. At the NXT tapings following his death, he was honored with another ten-bell salute.

Legacy
Rhodes has been called one of the best wrestlers in history, praising his charisma and interview skills. His "Hard Times" promo has been labeled as one of the best interviews in pro wrestling. According to Jim Cornette, his NWA World title reigns were of short length since he was not what NWA was looking for in a champion, but not winning the title would hurt his credibility.

Since Rhodes worked as a backstage producer in WCW, he helped several wrestlers with their careers. Diamond Dallas Page, who has in turn helped Rhodes' son Cody with his career, and Missy Hyatt in particular have praised Rhodes' influence on their respective careers. During his late years, Rhodes became a trainer in WWE's development territory NXT, where several wrestlers like Kevin Owens, Becky Lynch, and the tag team FTR, praised his lessons.

In August 2015, WWE's NXT introduced the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, a tag team tournament in honor of Rhodes. The tournament has been held annually since, with a women's version added in 2021.

All Elite Wrestling named their "Go Position" (best known as the Gorilla Position), "The Dusty Position", after him on October 16, 2019.

In the promo room of the WWE Performance Center, where Rhodes would teach promo classes, there is a puppet of Rhodes hanging on the equipment, symbolizing that he is still there, watching the students.

New Jack, the controversial ECW wrestler, cited Dusty as his favorite wrestler growing up.

The characters of Steve and Marcy Rhodes on the sitcom Married With Children were named in honor of Rhodes.

Championships and accomplishments

 50th State Big Time Wrestling
 NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (Hawaii version) (1 time)
 Big Time Wrestling
 NWA World Tag Team Championship (Detroit Version) (1 time) – with Dick Murdoch
 Central States Wrestling
 NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Central States version) (1 time) – with Dick Murdoch
 Championship Wrestling from Florida
 NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Florida version) (2 times)
 NWA Florida Bahamian Championship (1 time)
 NWA Florida Global Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Magnum T. A.
 NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship (12 times)
 NWA Florida Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Dick Murdoch (1), Dick Slater (1), Bobo Brazil (1), and André the Giant (1)
 NWA Florida Television Championship (2 times)
 NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Florida version) (10 times)
 NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Florida version) (2 times) – with Bugsy McGraw (1) and Blackjack Mulligan (1)
 NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship Tournament (1978)
 NWA United States Tag Team Championship Tournament (1980) – with Bugsy McGraw
 George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
 Class of 2017
 Georgia Championship Wrestling
 NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 NWA National Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 Cadillac Cup (1984)
 International Wrestling Alliance (Australia)
 IWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Dick Murdoch
 Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling/Jim Crockett Promotions/World Championship Wrestling
 NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Buff Bagwell
 NWA United States Heayvweight Championship (1 time)
 NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with The Road Warriors
 NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (2 times) – with Dick Slater (1) and Manny Fernandez (1)
 NWA World Television Championship (3 times)
 Jim Crockett, Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament (1987) – with Nikita Koloff
 Bunkhouse Stampede (1985–1988)
 WCW Hall of Fame (Class of 1995)
 Pro Wrestling Federation (Florida)
 PWF World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 National Wrestling Alliance
 NWA Hall of Fame (Class of 2011)
 NWA Legends Hall of Heroes (Class of 2016)
 NWA Big Time Wrestling
 NWA American Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Baron von Raschke (1) and Dick Murdoch (1)
 NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Texas version) (3 times)
 NWA San Francisco
 NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (San Francisco version) (1 time)
 NWA Tri-State
 NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (Tri-State version) (1 time)
 NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Tri-State version) (1 time) – with André the Giant
 National Wrestling Federation
 NWF World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Dick Murdoch
 New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Greatest 18 Club inductee
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
 Feud of the Year (1987) with Nikita Koloff and The Road Warriors vs. Four Horsemen
 Match of the Year (1979) vs. Harley Race on August 21
 Match of the Year (1986) vs. Ric Flair in a cage match at The Great American Bash
 Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (1978, 1979, 1987)
 Stanley Weston Award (2013)
 Wrestler of the Year (1977, 1978)
 Ranked No. 193 of the top 500 wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2001
 Ranked No. 11 of the top 500 wrestlers of "PWI Years" in 2003
 Ranked No. 76 and No. 88 of the top 100 tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Magnum T. A. and Manny Fernandez, respectively, in 2003
 Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
 Class of 2010
 World Championship Wrestling (Australia)
 IWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Dick Murdoch
 World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE
 WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2007)
 Slammy Award (1 time)
 "Say What" Quote of the Year (2013) –
 WWE Bronze Statue (2016)
 Wrestling Observer Newsletter
 Best Babyface (1980)
 Best Booker (1986)
 Most Charismatic (1982) tied with Ric Flair
 Most Embarrassing Wrestler (1990)
 Most Overrated (1987, 1988)
 Most Obnoxious (1988, 1989)
 Readers' Least Favorite Wrestler (1987, 1988)
 Worst Feud of the Year (1988) vs. Tully Blanchard
 Worst Gimmick (1988)
 Worst Television Announcer (1997)
 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)

1This Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, while currently operating out of the same region of the United States and having revised some of the championships used by the original Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is not the same promotion that was once owned by Jim Crockett Jr. and subsequently sold to Ted Turner in 1988. It is just another NWA-affiliated promotion.

Media
 Books
 Autobiography: Dusty: Reflections of an American Dream (2005)
 DVDs
 The American Dream: The Dusty Rhodes Story (2006) WWE Home Video
 Movies
 Scooby-Doo! and WWE: Curse of the Speed Demon
 Video Games
 Runnels has appeared in the video games ECW Anarchy Rulz, Showdown: Legends of Wrestling, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007, WWE Legends of WrestleMania, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010, WWE 2K17, WWE 2K18 and WWE 2K20 as a non-DLC character, and had also appeared in WWE 2K14, WWE 2K16 and WWE 2K19 as DLC (Downloadable Content)

References

External links

 Dusty Rhodes Collectibles Collecting The American Dream
 Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Profile

1945 births
2015 deaths
20th-century professional wrestlers
21st-century professional wrestlers
American color commentators
American male professional wrestlers
American male television writers
American television writers
Articles containing video clips
Continental Football League players
Deaths from kidney failure
Deaths from stomach cancer
IWA World Tag Team Champions (Australia)
New World Order (professional wrestling) members
NWA World Heavyweight Champions
NWA/WCW World Television Champions
NWA/WCW/WWE United States Heavyweight Champions
NWA Florida Heavyweight Champions
NWA Florida Television Champions
NWA National Heavyweight Champions
NWA Southern Heavyweight Champions (Florida version)
NWA United States Tag Team Champions (Florida version)
NWF World Tag Team Champions
Professional wrestlers who use face paint
Professional wrestlers from Texas
Professional wrestling announcers
Professional wrestling authority figures
Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
Professional wrestling managers and valets
Professional wrestling promoters
Professional wrestling trainers
Professional wrestling writers
WCWA Brass Knuckles Champions
WCW World Tag Team Champions
West Texas A&M Buffaloes baseball players
World Championship Wrestling executives
WWE executives
WWE Hall of Fame inductees
WCWA World Tag Team Champions
NWA World Tag Team Champions (Detroit version)
NWA United States Heavyweight Champions (San Francisco version)
NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champions

Dusty Rhodes


Louise Amanda Harman (born 1985), better known by the stage name Lady Sovereign, is a British rapper, best known for the songs "9 to 5" and "Love Me or Hate Me".

Early life and family
Lady Sovereign grew up in Chalkhill Estate in Wembley Park, London.  In 2010, she said "When I heard Ms. Dynamite's track 'Boooo!' in 2001 it inspired me. I hadn't heard a female MC before that. She's real. Her presence, her image, the way she does everything... she opened so many doors for us girls, MCs are real, they write their own stuff, they rap about what they know, the stuff around them."

Lady Sovereign began uploading some of her songs and a picture to various music web sites when she was 15. She told Newsweek in 2006 that comments initially ran along the lines of, "You're white. You're a girl. You're British. You're crap."

Lady Sovereign signed with Universal in 2004. She released a number of solo records and opened for Basement Jaxx, the Streets, Dizzee Rascal, D12 and Obie Trice.

Her mother, Nicola, was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour and died on 14 March (Mothering Sunday in the UK) 2010.

Career

2005–2006: Early singles and EPs
"The Battle" began a string of singles that would push Lady Sovereign into the spotlight. While "A Little Bit of Shhh!", "9 to 5", and "Sad Arse Stripah" were selling well, free Internet-only freestyles like "Tango" and "Cheeky" were becoming just as popular. On 15 November 2005, Chocolate Industries released the Vertically Challenged EP, which collected most of her singles recorded to date. In April 2006 she released her second EP, Blah Blah in the UK. She released yet another EP, but was limited for US radios; Size Don't Matter!
Aside from her own records, 2005 saw Lady Sovereign appear as a guest or contributor on several projects. She began 2005 by appearing on the grime compilation Run the Road, both as a solo artist and with The Streets. When The Ordinary Boys released the single "Boys Will Be Boys", Lady Sovereign came back with a reply remix, featuring the music and chorus of the original, but with mostly her own vocals to the tune of "girls will be girls". In May 2006, she was featured on the Ordinary Boys single, "Nine2Five", a remixed version of her own "9 to 5", credited as "The Ordinary Boys vs Lady Sovereign." "Nine2Five" entered the UK top 40 singles at number 39 on downloads only, and jumped to number 6 upon availability as a CD and 7" vinyl single during the week commencing 22 May 2005. This is her highest chart position to date.

2006–2009: Public Warning

Lady Sovereign capped off 2005 by meeting with the American hip hop artist and CEO of the labels Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records, Jay-Z. This marked her foray into the American music scene. With Usher and L.A. Reid seated next to him, Jay-Z asked for one on-the-spot freestyle from Sovereign before offering her a contract with Def Jam. With the single "Hoodie", Lady Sovereign released her full-length debut, Public Warning, on Def Jam in 2006. Lady Sovereign is the first non-American female to ever be signed to Def Jam Record Label.

On 31 October 2006, her debut album, Public Warning, was released, featuring "Random", "9 to 5", "Hoodie" and single, "Love Me or Hate Me", which was also released on the same day. The music video for the single features Lady Sovereign mocking stereotypical ideals of femininity by satirizing popular dress and mannerisms. Some of the lyrics include I'm fat, I need a diet/No, in fact I'm just here lyin'/I ain't got the biggest breast-ises,/but I write all the best disses/I've got hairy armpits/But I don't walk around like this/I wear a big baggy t-shirt that hides that nasty shit. With the lyrics continuing in this satirical nature, Lady Sovereign continues to comment on and express her dissonance with female lifestyles in popular culture.
She began an American tour on 23 October 2006 and soon after appeared on Late Show with David Letterman. In addition to her own tour, she appeared as the opening act for various artists, including The Streets and Gwen Stefani on her 2007 The Sweet Escape Tour.

On 17 October 2006 "Love Me or Hate Me" became the first video by a British artist to reach number 1 on the United States (and original) version of MTV's Total Request Live. "Love Me or Hate Me" was released in the UK on 29 January 2007, with the album following on 5 February 2007.

Lady Sovereign has recorded a cover of the Sex Pistols' "Pretty Vacant" for  Music from The O.C. Mix 6 – Covering Our Tracks

2009: Jigsaw

Lady Sovereign released a second album in spring 2009. She also went on tour. After a final dispute with Island Records, it was revealed on her official website that she would release the album through her independent record label, Midget Records, and that it was fully written and some songs were already recorded. She also said the album was going to be released in the United States and United Kingdom on 7 April 2009. On Monday, 8 December 2008, Lady Sovereign restated that Jigsaw would be released on 6 April 2009. She also released a free single titled "I Got You Dancing", making it available on her MySpace and official website. During her "Jigsaw" tour she teamed up with DJ Annalyze as her tour DJ.

Television and commercial appearances
Lady Sovereign has appeared on Soccer AM several times. She has appeared in a feature story on Cartoon Network and in an educational movie called X-ED.

In late 2006, "Love Me Or Hate Me" was played in a Verizon Wireless advertisement. It also appears on the soundtrack of the video game Need for Speed: Carbon, and is the theme music for the show The Bad Girls Club. "9 to 5" also appears on The Bad Girls Club, as well as on the soundtrack of the Xbox 360's version of EA Sports' FIFA World Cup 2006 video game, on the Ugly Betty soundtrack and features in the 2007 film St Trinian's, "Random" appears on the Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition Remix soundtrack, and features on an episode of Malcolm in The Middle, "I Got You Dancing" was featured in Need for Speed: Nitro, "Hoodie" was used for a Mario Party Nintendo DS commercial.

Some of Lady Sovereign's such as "9 to 5" and "So Human" were also used on the BBC 1 show Waterloo Road in 2009/10. Bizarre Creation's Project Gotham Racing 4 video game on the Xbox 360 features the song "Blah Blah" by Lady Sovereign, EA's Fight Night Round 4 video game features Lady Sovereign's "Bang Bang" track, "So Human" appears in season 2 episode 1 of the television series '90210', "Jigsaw" was featured in the second episode of the fifth season of MTV-show The Hills, called 'Everything Happens For A Reason'.

On 23 October 2006, Sovereign made an appearance on American talk show the Late Show with David Letterman. During her performance of "Love Me Or Hate Me" the lyrics "If you hate me, then fuck you" were changed to "if you hate me, then I hate you". Lady Sovereign served as the host and spokesperson for Adult Swim and Chocolate Industries' Chocolate Swim. In January 2010, Bally Total Fitness selected Lady Sovereign and her song "I Got You Dancing" for the featured artist section on their website, the song is also being used in their television commercials.

On 22 January 2010, Sovereign was due to appear on This Week, a BBC political review show, to discuss the laws regarding self-defence for householders. Early in the programme, she was shown backstage waving to camera in anticipation of her appearance. However, when the segment began, presenter Andrew Neil apologised to viewers and explained the rapper had "done a runner." Neil instead discussed the topic with regular contributors Michael Portillo and Diane Abbott and concluded by joking "Who needs Lady Sovereign? Who is Lady Sovereign?" Abbott laughed and responded "I don't know." In an interview with The Guardian'''s Rich Pelley on 30 January, Lady Sovereign said of the incident: "I had a panic attack! My hands went stiff and I started hyperventilating. I didn't want to do it hours before but I went anyway, then I just changed my mind at the last minute, I guess."

Lady Sovereign appeared on the British game show Total Wipeout's eighth celebrity special. She made it to the second round by default but failed to advance any further. She was the third evicted housemate from the seventh series of Celebrity Big Brother. She was nominated for both the first and second evictions. Having survived the first double eviction, she was evicted the second time around with 69.5% of the vote.

 Controversies
In September 2009, while in Brisbane, Australia for the Parklife Festival, Lady Sovereign was arrested for assault and drunk and disorderly behaviour after spitting on a nightclub bouncer. She had only been in the country seven hours before the assault occurred. She was ordered to pay a fine of $400 AUD, and $200 AUD in compensation to the bouncer.

Lady Sovereign was involved in a feud with fellow British rapper, Jentina.

 Personal life
In a 2010 interview with Diva magazine, Lady Sovereign said she came out as a lesbian in the house during Celebrity Big Brother'' but that her declaration did not end up in the broadcast show.

Lady Sovereign has not released any music since 2009. She previously spoke about medical issues halting her career. In 2023, Lady Sovereign confirmed that she had been diagnosed with the rare disorder cyclic vomiting syndrome.

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Mixtapes

Singles

Promotional singles

References

External links

 Lady Sovereign on Twitter

 Lady Sovereign on Last.FM
 Lady Sovereign on Instagram

1985 births
Living people
English people convicted of assault
English women rappers
Feminist musicians
Lesbian singers
Lesbian songwriters
Grime music artists
English lesbian musicians
English LGBT singers
English LGBT songwriters
LGBT rappers
Musicians from Wembley
Rappers from London
21st-century British rappers
21st-century English women singers
20th-century British LGBT people
21st-century English LGBT people
21st-century women rappers

Lady Sovereign


was the 8th daimyō of Hirosaki Domain in northern Mutsu Province, Honshū, Japan (modern-day Aomori Prefecture). His courtesy title was Tosa-no-kami, and his Court rank was Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade.

Biography
Tsugaru Nobuyasu was the eldest son of Tsugaru Nobuyasu, 7th daimyō of Hirosaki Domain. In 1776, he was received in formal audience by shōgun Tokugawa Ieharu and succeeded his father in 1784. Noted for his intelligence and learning at an early age, he corresponded with a number of other daimyō  noted for their good government, including Hosokawa Shigekata of Kumamoto Domain, Uesugi Harunori of Yonezawa Domain and Matsudaira Sadanobu of Shirakawa Domain. Nobuakira inherited a domain stricken by extensive famine caused by repeated natural disasters and mismanagement. Domain records indicate that 130,000 peasants perished during the Great Tenmei Famine alone, while corrupt senior officials during his father's reign had been selling of all of the domain's rice reserves for their personal profit to merchants in Edo. Nobuyasu soon took steps to restore the domain's finances, promote new industries and the development of new crops, and to reign in the worst excesses of his senior retainers. One of his reforms was to implement a new land survey, the first in over 200 years in the domain, to reassess taxable income and to permit farmers to exchange exhausted lands for new farmland. However, these reforms sparked considerable opposition within the domain's vested interests, and Nobuakira's sudden and unexpected death at the age of 28 may have been by poisoning. As Nobuakira died without an heir, the next daimyō of Hirosaki Domain, Tsugaru Yasuchika was the son of Tsugaru Akitaka, from the clan's subsidiary holding in Kuroishi.

His grave is at the clan temple of Shinryō-in (a subsidiary of Kan'ei-ji) in Taitō-ku, Tokyo.

See also
Tsugaru clan

References
 "Hirosaki-jō" (February 17, 2008)
 "Tsugaru-han" on Edo 300 HTML (February 17, 2008)
Koyasu Nobushige (1880). Buke kazoku meiyoden 武家家族名誉伝 Volume 1. Tokyo: Koyasu Nobushige. (Accessed from National Diet Library, July 17, 2008)
 Kurotaki, Jūjirō (1984). Tsugaru-han no hanzai to keibatsu 津軽藩の犯罪と刑罰. Hirosaki: Hoppō shinsha.
 Narita, Suegorō (1975). Tsugaru Tamenobu: shidan 津軽為信: 史談. Aomori: Tōō Nippōsha.
 Tsugaru Tsuguakira Kō Den kankōkai (1976). Tsugaru Tsuguakira kō-den 津輕承昭公傳. Tokyo: Rekishi Toshosha
 The content of much of this article was derived from that of the corresponding article on Japanese Wikipedia.

Tozama daimyo
Tsugaru clan
1762 births
1791 deaths
People of Edo-period Japan

Tsugaru Nobuakira


The FIA World Touring Car Championship was an international touring car championship promoted by Eurosport Events and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It has had several different incarnations, including a single season in 1987 as the World Touring Car Championship and most recently a world championship (WTCC) that has run between 2005 and 2017. Following the 2017 season, an agreement was reached for the FIA WTCC to become FIA WTCR and use the TCR technical regulations.

History

First season

The first World Touring Car Championship, which was open to Group A Touring Cars, was held in 1987 concurrent to the long-running European Touring Car Championship (ETCC). Additional rounds were held outside Europe at Bathurst and Calder Park Raceway in Australia (Calder used a combined circuit of the road course and the then newly constructed NASCAR speedway), Wellington in New Zealand and Mount Fuji in Japan. The Championship was well-supported by the factory European teams of Ford, BMW, Maserati and Alfa Romeo (until Alfa withdrew following the European races), but was embroiled in controversy. Unfortunately, the leading BMW Motorsport teams and the Ford Europe backed Eggenberger Motorsport had developed a situation of "you don't protest us, we won't protest you". While this worked well in the European races, when the championship landed in Australia the local teams took exception to the Europeans somewhat liberal interpretation of the Group A rules. Subsequently, the Eggenberger cars were protested against and eventually disqualified from the Bathurst 1000 results.

The championship was provisionally awarded to West German Eggenberger Ford Sierra RS500 drivers Klaus Ludwig and Klaus Niedzwiedz. It was not until March 1988 when their Bathurst disqualification was finalised that results were confirmed and Italian Schnitzer Motorsport driver Roberto Ravaglia in a BMW M3 was declared the champion. The Entrants Championship was won by the Eggenberger Texaco Ford No 7 entry. The WTCC lasted only one year and was a victim of its own success — the FIA (and Bernie Ecclestone) feared it would take money away from Formula One and stopped sanctioning the Championship. A silhouette formula championship (proposed by Ecclestone) was announced by the FIA for 1988 which would have seen specialist racing chassis carrying bodywork resembling production roadcars powered by the about to be outlawed Formula One 1.5 litre turbo regulations, but manufacturers did not support the concept. Only one car, based on an Alfa Romeo 164 with a 3.5 litre V10 engine was built before it was abandoned.

European Touring Car Championship

In 2001, the European Touring Car Championship (ETCC) was resumed with support from the FIA, the precursor to the current WTCC. In 2001, the Italian Superturismo Championship became the FIA European Super Touring Championship, with an extra class for Super Production cars alongside the main Super Touring class. In 2002, this evolved into the brand new FIA European Touring Car Championship, using Super 2000 rules, dominated by Alfa Romeo and BMW, but popular with the public due to the intense competition and Eurosport live broadcasts.

Return to World Championship status

At the request of interested manufacturers, the ETCC was changed to the current WTCC beginning with the 2005 season, continuing to use Super 2000 and Diesel 2000 regulations. 2004 ETCC Champion Andy Priaulx and his BMW 320i were the dominant driver-car pairing during the first three years of the revived championship, winning the 2005, 2006 and 2007 Drivers and Manufacturers Championships.

In 2008, Frenchman Yvan Muller won the title after Race 1 in Macau in his SEAT León TDI. This marked the first time an FIA sanctioned world championship, in any category, being won by a diesel powered racing car. SEAT León TDI won both championships for a second time in 2009, this time in the hands of Gabriele Tarquini.

2010 marked the start of Chevrolet's dominance of the championship with its Cruze model. Frenchman Yvan Muller became World Champion, fending off tough competition from Gabriele Tarquini and Andy Priaulx to win the first world championship for Chevrolet. Muller continued his success into 2011, winning both drivers championship and helping Chevrolet to its second manufacturers championship after Muller's two teammates finished second and third in the drivers standings. This gave Chevrolet a clean sweep of both titles. The 2012 championship saw Chevrolet pick up where they left off in 2011, leading to a second year of championship clean sweeps, this time with Rob Huff taking the drivers title.

The modern series has held events based all around the world including races in Argentina, Morocco, Hungary, Germany, Russia, France, Portugal, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Japan, China, Thailand and Qatar with former races in Brazil, Great Britain, Italy, Macau, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United States.

Technical rules were modified in 2011 to allow 1.6L turbo gasoline engines, and the 2.0L gasoline and turbodiesel engines were outlawed in 2012. In 2014, new car regulations were introduced with the name TC1, with larger wings and more engine power. The old 1.6L turbo cars were renamed TC2 for a year and were dropped for 2015.

World Touring Car Cup

The series adopted TCR regulations for 2018 and was renamed World Touring Car Cup (WTCR). Official factory teams are not allowed, though many drivers and teams receive backing from manufacturers.

Car regulations
The WTCC uses Super 2000 and Diesel 2000 cars, as cost control is a major theme in the technical regulation. Super 2000 engines are 1.6 L turbo-charged 4-cylinder engines producing approximately 380 bhp. Wheels are 18" in diameter, and large front and rear aerodynamic devices are permitted.

Many technologies that have featured in production cars are not allowed, including variable valve timing, variable intake geometry, ABS brakes and traction control system.

Scoring system

Current scoring system
Currently, all WTCC races are awarded equal points. From 2010, these points have been based on the FIA's points system used in the FIA Formula One Championship and the FIA World Rally Championship.

Previous points systems
Between 2005 and 2009, the championship adopted the following points scoring system:

For the inaugural 1987 season, the championship used the following points scoring system:

Champions

Event winners
As per FIA WTCC all-time statistics on the official site of the WTCC.

Manufacturer entries
The WTCC features entries with the backing, funding and technical support of a motor manufacturer. This can sometimes be a motor racing team running cars of behalf of the manufacturer or cars being run directly by the factory. Below is a timeline of manufacturer entries from the beginning of the championship in 2005.

See also
 World Touring Car Cup
 European Touring Car Championship
 SEAT León Eurocup
 TCR International Series
 List of World Touring Car Championship drivers

References

 Autosport, January 14, 1988

External links

Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
Touring car racing series
Recurring sporting events established in 1987
Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2017

World Touring Car Championship


The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (U of M or The U) is a public university. Most of the buildings are in Minneapolis, and some more buildings are about 3 miles (4.8 km) away near Saint Paul. These two parts are called the Twin Cities campus, and together they are the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system. The Twin Cities campus is the flagship of the system.

The University of Minnesota is one of the Public Ivy universities in America, which is like saying they can give people an experience in college similar to the Ivy League. The University of Minnesota was started in 1851, and they are now in the Association of American Universities.

There are lots of students and teachers at the University of Minnesota. Some of them have won Nobel Prizes and Pulitzer Prizes.  Some famous people who went to the University of Minnesota are Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale, and Bob Dylan. The nickname of the University of Minnesota is the Golden Gophers.

Areas of Study

Structure
The University of Minnesota is structured into different units that study specific things. There are 19 units:
 Center for Allied Health Programs
 College of Biological Sciences
 College of Continuing and Professional Studies
 School of Dentistry
 College of Design
 College of Education and Human Development
 Extension
 College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences
 Graduate School
 Law School
 College of Liberal Arts
 Carlson School of Management
 Medical School
 School of Nursing
 College of Pharmacy
 Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs
 School of Public Health
 College of Science and Engineering
 College of Veterinary Medicine
The University of Minnesota also has some smaller parts made up of people from across the units working together:
 Center for Cognitive Sciences
 Consortium on Law and Values in Health, Environment, and the Life Sciences
 Institute for Advanced Study at University of Minnesota
 Institute for Translational Neuroscience
 Institute on the Environment
 Minnesota Population Center

Discoveries
 Gravity waves — the University of Minnesota has led studies to learn about gravity — the force that moves us toward the center of the earth — and how gravity moves like a wave. People who study gravity shared this discovery in February 2016.
 Gopher — the University of Minnesota made a tool called Gopher, which came before the World Wide Web. It used links to connect computers together. People liked the World Wide Web better though, because it was easier to share with people, and it worked with more stuff than just text. The University of Minnesota keeps the Charles Babbage Institute, a place that stores important examples of computer history. They started early with Seymour Cray who made powerful computers.

Campuses

Kinds of People
The campus is made up of more than 50,000 people, so the University of Minnesota is the sixth largest in the United States. There are many kinds of people that are part of the University of Minnesota, from a lot of different places and groups.

As of Fall 2017, there are 31,535 people who are studying for an undergraduate degree — that is, a level of learning that someone can get after high school. Of that number, 5,858 are new to the University of Minnesota trying to get a degree for the first time. There are also 12,614 people trying to get a degree that's even higher than an undergraduate degree, like becoming a doctor.

Minneapolis Campus
The campus started near the Saint Anthony Falls on the Mississippi River, but people moved about 1 mile (1.6 km) over to the place it is today. The old site is now a small park. They closed during the American Civil War, but they opened again in 1867 when John S. Pillsbury gave some money. They were bigger by 1869, so they stopped being called preparatory school and started being called a college instead. Today there are so many buildings, there are some on both sides of the Mississippi River. The part with buildings on the east side of the river is called the "East Bank", and the part with buildings on the west side of the river is called the "West Bank".

East Bank
The University of Minnesota has many buildings on the east side of the Mississippi River. To help people find their way around, these buildings are divided into several areas: the Knoll area, the Mall area, the Health area, the Athletic area, and the Gateway area.

The Knoll area is the oldest part of the University of Minnesota, and it's in the northwestern corner. Some buildings in this area are over 100 years old.

The Mall area, or Northrop Mall is in the middle. It was based on a drawing by Cass Gilbert, but that drawing was too hard to follow. There are many buildings in the Mall area that are important.

The Health area is in the southeast corner. Some buildings are part of a hospital. There's also some buildings where students live, which called a residence hall.

The Athletic area is near the health area. Some buildings are for students who want to stay healthy to use like a gymnasium. There are also stadiums and arenas for people in sports to use in student athletics.

The Gateway area is on the east side. Most of these buildings are for offices, but there are also some buildings for people who are learning about medicine and living things.

West Bank
The University of Minnesota has some buildings on the west side of the Mississippi River. Some are for people to learn about theatre, dance, music, and art. There's also a big library and some buildings for people to learn about social science.

Saint Paul Campus
The place people call the Saint Paul Campus is not in Saint Paul. It's in a city called Falcon Heights, about 3 miles (4.8 km) away from the Minneapolis campus. Most of the buildings are for people to about farming and natural resources. There are also fields and quiet spots. The Saint Paul Campus is next to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, where Minnesota has a big party every year.

Student Life

Clubs
Many students at the University of Minnesota are part of clubs. Some clubs are fraternities and sororities— that is, a group of students who have things in common and are close together. There are also clubs for people who are studying the same thing, or for people who want to help like a charity.

Media

Print
The Minnesota Daily is a newspaper made all by students. It was first made on May 1, 1900. It gets made twice a week, except in the summer when it's made once a week.

There's another newspaper called The Wake Student Magazine, made all by students. It was first made in November, 2001.

Athletics
Minnesota's sports teams mostly play in the Big Ten Conference. The women's ice hockey team plays in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA); the men's ice hockey team also played in the WCHA until 2013, when the Big Ten began a men's ice hockey league.

References

Colleges and universities in Minnesota
Association of American Universities
Big Ten Conference
Western Collegiate Hockey Association
1851 establishments in the United States
1850s establishments in Minnesota Territory

University of Minnesota


Steven Francis Moore (born September 22, 1978) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played in parts of three National Hockey League (NHL) seasons with the Colorado Avalanche.

Moore is widely known for suffering a career-ending injury as a result of an on-ice attack by then-Vancouver Canucks forward Todd Bertuzzi on March 8, 2004, as revenge for another incident involving Moore in a prior game between the teams that season. The fall-out from the event has contributed to a growing effort to curb gratuitous violence in hockey, and professional sports in general.

Playing career
Steve Moore was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft in the second round, the 53rd pick overall. Moore played in 69 games for the Avalanche from 2001 to 2004, scoring five goals and seven assists, all of which were scored in the later season, before being seriously injured by Todd Bertuzzi who at the time played for the Vancouver Canucks (see below). At the time of the incident, the Avalanche were first overall in the NHL standings, and Moore was playing on the Avalanche's top line, on right wing, with linemates Joe Sakic (center), and Paul Kariya (left wing).

Bertuzzi incident

On February 16, 2004, during a Vancouver-Colorado game, Moore injured Canucks team captain Markus Näslund with a high hit while Näslund was reaching for a puck through centre ice. Moore contacted Näslund's head in the play. No penalty was called in connection with the hit, but Näslund suffered a concussion and a bone chip in his elbow as a result, and missed three games. After reviewing tapes of the hit, the NHL ruled that the hit was legal and did not fine or suspend Moore. Canucks head coach Marc Crawford and general manager Brian Burke publicly criticized the non-call by the referees on the incident.

During the next game between the Canucks and Avalanche held in Denver on March 3, 2004, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHL executive vice-president Colin Campbell attended the game, which ended in a tie and saw no major incidents break out.

However, on March 8, 2004, during another rematch between the Avalanche and Canucks, things went differently. In the first period, Moore fought Vancouver player Matt Cooke in a fairly even brawl, and served the 5-minute penalty for fighting. The Avalanche would go on to build up a large lead of 8–2 in a fight-filled game. Shortly before the midway mark of the third period, Todd Bertuzzi was sent onto the ice. After failing to instigate Moore to fight, Bertuzzi skated after Moore, pulled him back by the jersey and punched him in the back of the head. As Moore fell unconscious to the ice, Bertuzzi's weight and momentum drove Moore's head into the ice.  Moore's teammate Andrei Nikolishin and Bertuzzi's teammate Sean Pronger then piled on to Moore and Bertuzzi.  Moore was knocked out and lay motionless for ten minutes before being carried off on a stretcher. The combination of the hit, fall, and piling-on had resulted in three fractured neck vertebrae, facial cuts and a concussion.

Bertuzzi was assessed a match penalty for his actions, which carries an automatic indefinite suspension under NHL rules.  On March 11, 2004, the NHL announced Bertuzzi would remain suspended for at least the remainder of the Canucks' season, including any playoff games.  The IIHF subsequently honoured the NHL suspension, preventing Bertuzzi from playing in any international tournaments or leagues during the 2004–05 NHL lockout, effectively leaving Bertuzzi professionally inactive for the entirety of the lockout season.

On August 22, 2004, Moore was released from a Denver-area hospital. He wore a neck brace for one year and then started physical therapy for his neck injury and concussion.

On February 17, 2005, Moore filed a civil lawsuit against Bertuzzi. Also named were Brad May (who was quoted as saying that there would  "definitely be a bounty on Moore's head" after the game), Brian Burke and the Canucks organization. The lawsuit was thrown out in October 2005, with the judge suggesting that the lawsuit be re-filed in Canada, where the incident took place. The lawsuit was re-filed in Canada, in February 2006.
On August 8, 2005, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced that Bertuzzi would be allowed to play again at the start of the 2005–06 NHL season. In the league's decision, they cited many reasons for ending the suspension, such as:
Bertuzzi serving a suspension of 20 games, which at the time tied for 4th longest in NHL history (13 regular season games, 7 playoff games)
Bertuzzi's forfeited salary ($501,926.39 USD)
Significant uncertainty, anxiety, stress and emotional pain caused to Bertuzzi's family
The commissioner's belief that Bertuzzi was genuinely remorseful and apologetic for his actions

On August 12, 2005, Brian Burke, formerly Vancouver's general manager who was now serving in the same capacity with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, had made an offer to Moore. It was a two-way contract that would have paid Moore $475,000 US in the NHL and $75,000 if the player suited up for Portland, the Ducks' American Hockey League affiliate. Moore's lawyer Tim Danson described the offer as a self-serving attempt by Burke (who was a defendant in the lawsuit) to mitigate potential legal damages, by attempting to suggest Moore was a minor league player. Further, Danson said that Moore would return to the Avalanche except that Moore was not medically cleared to play hockey, which Brian Burke was well aware of, and described it as adding insult to injury.

On August 15, 2005, Bertuzzi broke his 17-month-long silence by expressing a desire to move on with his life. "I'm sure just like Steve Moore and his family, it's been difficult for both parties. I know I wish that day never happened. It's been some tough times, but I've got good family and good friends and good peers in the league that have helped me get over the hump and move forward and come through it."

On November 8, 2005, Moore's Toronto-based lawyer, Tim Danson, said that Moore was skating and doing regular workouts, but continued to suffer concussion-related symptoms.  He continued working out for some years afterward, but had to abandon his comeback attempt when it became apparent he would never be medically cleared to return to the ice again.

In July 2012, former Avalanche enforcer Scott Parker, who had been a teammate of Moore's very briefly the season prior to the Bertuzzi incident in 2004, made some controversial comments. In an interview with milehighhockey.com, Parker was quoted as saying "he (Moore) went to Harvard, you know what, blow me. College grad. I never went to college, but I can kick your ass. I'll bring you right down to my IQ level if you want. I'll hit you about four times in the skull, that'll bring you right down."

Civil lawsuit

On February 16, 2006, Moore filed a civil suit in the province of Ontario against Bertuzzi, the Canucks, and the parent company of the Canucks, Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment for the loss of his NHL career, in his Rookie Year. The lawsuit was seeking $15 million in pecuniary damages for loss of income, $1 million for aggravated damages, and $2 million for punitive damages. Moore's lawyer filed the suit one day before its two-year limitation expired, saying it was because Steve Moore did not want to file the suit and waited until the last minute while he tried to attain medical clearance to resume his career.

Bettman attempted to get Bertuzzi and Moore to agree on an out-of-court settlement in the  lawsuit filed by Moore.  Bertuzzi offered $350,000 to settle the case, an amount which was called "an insult" by Moore's lawyer.

On March 28, 2008, Bertuzzi filed a lawsuit against Crawford, alleging that he was contractually obliged to obey Crawford and that therefore Crawford shares responsibility for the injury to Moore.  In response, Crawford later stated that Bertuzzi acted in "direct disobedience" to orders from the bench to get off the ice before attacking Moore.  On January 14, 2013, The Toronto Star reported that both Moore v. Bertuzzi, et al. and Bertuzzi v. Crawford would begin, after having been postponed several times, in April 2013. Both cases will be held in the Ontario Superior Court before a six-person jury.

On January 4, 2012, Bertuzzi dropped his third-party lawsuit against Crawford. In the month of October 2013, it was announced that the court date for Moore v. Bertuzzi, et al. will begin on September 8, 2014. On July 2, 2014, Moore's lawsuit was amended, seeking $68 million in damages, up from $38 million. On August 19, 2014, it was announced that an out-of-court settlement had been reached in Steve Moore's lawsuit. Terms of the settlement are confidential.

Personal
Steve Moore's older brother Mark, and younger brother, Dominic, all played four years at Harvard University. Because of their relative closeness in age, all three were able to play in the same year for Harvard during the 1999–2000 season. Dominic also went on to play in the NHL.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

See also
Notable families in the NHL
Violence in ice hockey

References

External links

Victim Impact Statement
Moore 'disappointed' by Crown's plea bargain
Bertuzzi reinstated by the NHL
Video of Incident

1978 births
Living people
Canadian ice hockey centres
Colorado Avalanche draft picks
Colorado Avalanche players
Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey players
Hershey Bears players
Sportspeople from Markham, Ontario
Ice hockey people from Windsor, Ontario
Violence in ice hockey

Steve Moore (ice hockey)


St Mary's Church is a historic Anglican church in the hamlet of Akenham, Suffolk, England.  It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of The Churches Conservation Trust.  It stands in an isolated position in fields  north of Ipswich.

History

The church dates from the medieval period, the earliest fabric dating probably from the late 13th century.  The tower was built during the next century, and more additions and alteration followed in the 15th century.  The south chapel was added in the 16th century.  The church was restored in the middle of the 19th century.  During the second world war, in 1940, it was damaged by a mine dropped from a German bomber.  It remained derelict until it was restored by local people assisted by the Friends of Friendless Churches in the 1960s.  The church was declared redundant in 1976, and vested in the Redundant Churches Fund, the forerunner of the Churches Conservation Trust.

Architecture

St Mary's is constructed mainly in flint with limestone dressings.  The wall of the chancel is rendered.  The chapel is in brick.  The nave and chancel have tiled roofs, and the chapel is slated.  The plan of the church consists of a nave, a chancel, a southwest tower incorporating a porch, and a south chapel.  In the north wall of the nave is a slit window in Norman style.  The south wall of the chancel contains two lancet windows and a pointed doorway, all in late 13th-century style, and in the north wall is a 14th-century square-headed window.  The tower has a north doorway leading into the porch, and over this is a lancet window.  The bell openings are louvred. The parapet is battlemented, and has lion-headed gargoyles.  The south window in the chapel has three lights.  Inside the church is a 15th-century limestone font.  It is octagonal and carved with tracery.  In the south chapel is a re-set medieval piscina.

External features

In the churchyard to the north of the church is the gravestone of Joseph Ramsey, who died in 1878 aged two years.  He was the unbaptised child of a nonconformist family.  His burial in a Church of England churchyard led to a legal trial, and as a result a change in funeral practices following the Burial Laws Amendment Act 1880.

See also
List of churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust in the East of England

References

Grade II* listed churches in Suffolk
Church of England church buildings in Suffolk
English churches with Norman architecture
English Gothic architecture in Suffolk
Churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust

St Mary's Church, Akenham


A reclaimer is a large machine used in bulk material handling applications.  A reclaimer's function is to recover bulk material such as ores and cereals from a stockpile. A stacker is used to stack the material.

Reclaimers are volumetric machines and are rated in m3/h (cubic meters per hour) for capacity, which is often converted to t/h (tonnes per hour) based on the average bulk density of the material being reclaimed.  Reclaimers normally travel on a rail between stockpiles in the stockyard.  A bucket wheel reclaimer can typically move in three directions: horizontally along the rail; vertically by "luffing" its boom and rotationally by slewing its boom.  Reclaimers are generally electrically powered by means of a trailing cable.

Reclaimer types
Bucket wheel reclaimers use "bucket wheels" to remove material from the pile they are reclaiming. Scraper reclaimers use a series of scrapers on a chain to reclaim the material.

The reclaimer structure can be of a number of types, including portal and bridge. Reclaimers are named based on their type, for example, "Bridge reclaimer." Portal and bridge reclaimers can both use either bucket wheels or scrapers to reclaim the product.  Bridge type reclaimers blend the stacked product as it is reclaimed.

Whenever material is laid down during any reclaiming process, it creates a pile. Blending bed stacker reclaimers form such piles in a circular fashion. They do this by taking reclaimed material and passing it through a conveyor system that rotates around the center of the pile to create a circle. This allows the pile to be evenly spread out during the reclaiming process and allows for the oldest material in the pile to be reclaimed before the newer material. During this process, a harrow tool is used to cut through the reclaimed material so that the material can be combined. Some Blending bed reclaimers are equipped with rakes to ensure that no material gets stuck in the machine. These rakes are made with various materials and sizes based on the climate in which the reclaimer operates. In below freezing temperatures, a harder material is used to create a rake with modified edges, which allow for any ice or debris to be broken up before piling.

Cantilever chain reclaimers are designed to use longer booms. Cantilever chain reclaimers use a truss system that is connected to a liner and then to a chain, this chain is bolted onto the elevation chute and fixed to the reclaimer. The angle of this boom is then set by a cable-winch system and is supported using a cable system. With the cable, the boom can be lowered slightly during each reclaiming cycle. This chain system creates a push and pull effect that allows for any loose material to be collected and moved to the edge of the reclaimed pile. After the loose material is collected it is lifted and moved for further processing.

Reclaimer applications
A reclaimer is used principally in reclaiming processes. These processes can have low, medium, and high material flow rates. Reclaimers are made up of a bucket-wheel, a counterweight boom, and a rocker; they also use a conveyor system to move any material reclaimed from the boom to its specific pile. These machines can be assembled differently based on the required reclaiming load rate  and boom length. These changes are made in order to accommodate for the associated fluctuations in flow rates and load patterns. In the event of high material flow rates, a combination of a boom and bucket wheel is used.

Control systems
Stackers and Reclaimers were originally manually controlled manned machines with no remote control.  Modern machines are typically fully automated with their parameters (for stacking or reclaiming) remotely set.  Some older reclaimers may still be manually controlled, as reclaiming is more difficult to automate than stacking because the automatic detection of pile edges is complicated by different environmental conditions and different bulk materials.

See also
 Stacker
 Bucket-wheel excavator

References

Bulk material handling
Engineering vehicles
Mining equipment

Reclaimer


"Connected" is an electronic pop song by Stereo MCs. This song was released in September 1992. It was #20 on Billboard Hot 100 and #18 on UK Top 75 Chart. The song appeared in several television programs and movies.

The song samples the disco classic song "Let Me (Let Me be Your Lover)" by Jimmy Bo Horne. The full length of the song is five minutes and 16 seconds.

1992 songs
Pop songs

Connected


Cinematic Music Group is an American record label, management, publishing & touring company distributed by Geffen Records founded in 2007 by Jonny Shipes. Their roster as of 2020 consists of Joey Bada$$, Pro Era, T-Pain, Smoke DZA, Va$htie, Mick Jenkins, G Herbo, Caveman, Public Access TV, Flipp Dinero, and others.

In August 2023, Shipes sold Cinematic's recording catalogue to Interscope Geffen A&M and formed a new music company named GoodTalk.

History

Cinematic Music Group made one of its earliest signings in 2007 with Harlem's Smoke DZA. That same year, Cinematic signed Sean Kingston whose self-titled debut album included two #1 Billboard singles, including the double platinum "Beautiful Girls."  The album sold in excess of 1,000,000 units. Cinematic's next signee, West Coast MC Nipsey Hussle, signed to the company in 2010 and was included on XXL's Annual Freshman List

In 2010, Shipes signed Big K.R.I.T., who that same year released his  mixtape "Krit Wuz Here" KRIT followed up this success with his "Returnof4eva" mixtape in March 2011.  K.R.I.T debuted the #1 hip hop album on the billboard charts with his debut album Live from the Underground.

In 2010 Cinematic added Vashtie Kola, an artist, designer, and DJ to the roster.  Shipes then signed Joey Bada$$ & the collective Pro Era, short for the Progressive Era, which , a group of emcees, producers,
and young tastemakers. Musical members of Pro Era include Joey Bada$$, Kirk Knight, Nyck Caution, CJ Fly, Dessy Hinds, A La Sole, Chuck Strangers, Dyemond Lewis and more. After viewing a video of a 16-year-old Joey Bada$$ freestyling on popular hip hop and viral video website WorldstarHipHop.com, Shipes saw his potential. After writing for two years, Bada$$ released his debut mixtape "1999", receiving critical acclaim from Complex Magazine. Bada$$ & Pro Era have been noted for their lyricism and return to the 90s sound.

In 2013, Shipes expanded the roster of Cinematic and signed indie R&B/electronic duo ASTR. ASTR released their "Varsity" EP in January 2014.  On July 16, 2014, Cinematic Music Group President Jonny Shipes announced the signing of Chicago emcee Mick Jenkins whose "The Water[s]" album was released, and received a rave review from Stereogum. Jenkins finished off 2014 by touring the country (40 plus cities) on The Smoker's Club tour and saw his first headlining tour with Pro Era's Kirk Knight in early 2015.

On January 20, 2015, Joey Bada$$ released his debut studio album "B4.DA.$$". The album sold an impressive 56,000 units opening week making it the #1 rap album in the country that week.

On September 1, 2015, Chicago rapper Lil Herb was added to the roster of Cinematic. His album, Ballin' Like I'm Kobe, was released on September 27, 2015.

On February 4, 2016, Cinematic announced the signing of Brooklyn rock band Caveman on February 11 announced the addition of Public Access TV.

In summer 2023 Shipes sold the Cinematic Music Group catalog to Interscope Geffen A&M in a deal reported to be worth eight figures, and launched a new venture, GoodTalk, a full-service entertainment company with divisions including talent management, a new record label, clothing and festivals verticals, and 4Lifers Entertainment, the film and TV production company he and Druski co-founded.

Artists

Ray Antenna 2023

Discography

References

Hip hop record labels

Cinematic Music Group