title: Vágner Love

texts:
<mask> (born 11 June 1984), known as <mask>, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Danish Superliga team Midtjylland. He is a forward who has been described by World Soccer Magazine as possessing "mobility, flair, awareness and powerful shooting". The second name <mask> was given to Vágner while playing for Palmeiras as he was known for his playboy lifestyle. Over two spells, <mask> scored 117 goals across 241 official games in eight seasons at CSKA Moscow. He won 14 honours in the Russian capital, scoring in their win in the 2005 UEFA Cup Final to become the youngest player to score in a UEFA Cup final. <mask> scored four goals in 20 games for the Brazil national team, winning the Copa América in 2004 and 2007. Club career

Palmeiras
Vágner <mask> started his career with Palmeiras.In the 2003 season, he helped them to return to the Série A, the nation's top-flight division. CSKA Moscow
In the summer of 2004, <mask> <mask> was bought by Russian Premier League club CSKA Moscow. For over a year after his arrival, rumours kept appearing that he did not want to stay in Moscow, and a transfer to Corinthians in particular was hinted at numerous times. These rumours, however, eventually subsided, and he mentioned a number of times that he was fully committed to his contract and is looking forward to completing its full tenure. On 18 May 2005, at the age of , <mask> <mask> scored the final goal in CSKA's 3–1 victory over Sporting CP in the 2005 UEFA Cup Final at the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon, making him the youngest player to score in a UEFA Cup final. In addition to winning the UEFA Cup, he has gone on to win the Russian Premier League title and Russian Cup in both 2005 and 2008, as well as the Russian Super Cup in 2006. <mask> <mask> became the top scorer in the 2008 season (the first top scorer from outside the former Soviet Union) and the top scorer of the 2008–09 UEFA Cup, the latter with 11 goals in 8 games.Return to Palmeiras on loan
On 28 August 2009, following a run of poor form for CSKA, <mask> <mask> was signed by his former club Palmeiras on a one-year loan deal until 31 July 2010. CSKA press spokesman Sergei Aksenov claimed that <mask> <mask> left Russia due to "urgent family problems demand(ing) his presence at home in Brazil". <mask> <mask> had a respectable return of 5 goals in 12 games for Palmeiras, but his loan spell was ended prematurely: After publicly stating his concern over his safety at Palmeiras due to off-field altercations with fans, as well as his desire to play for his childhood team Flamengo, the deal was ended early on 14 January 2010. Flamengo
On 15 January 2010, the day after his loan was terminated with Palmeiras, <mask> <mask> officially signed a loan deal with reigning Brazilian champions Flamengo, through till July 2010. He made his Flamengo debut against Bangu in the Campeonato Carioca on 23 January 2010, scoring two goals. <mask> <mask> performed very well playing for Flamengo, scoring 23 goals in 26 matches. His successful strike partnership with Adriano was dubbed by fans as "Império do Amor", or "The Love Empire", in reference to Adriano's nickname "The Emperor" and Vágner <mask>'s artistic surname.The presence of midfielder Dejan Petković in Flamengo's squad made supporters start the year with high expectations—it was widely believed that the Serbian's passing and free-kick abilities, coupled with Adriano's and Vagner's prolific scoring, would produce a top team. However, with Adriano struggling to keep an athlete's body mass index, and Petković's legs growing old (he was already 37 then), the team failed to advance past the quarter-finals in the 2010 Copa Libertadores. Shortly after, Adriano revealed he wanted to try playing in Italy again, and Flamengo could not convince CSKA to extend Vágner <mask>'s loan, thus dismantling the once-promising "Love Empire". Return to CSKA

After a change of presidency, on 12 January 2013, Flamengo did not pay his pendencies of rights with CSKA, and <mask> <mask> had to leave the club, returning to Russia after a one-year absence. On 16 January, he was "re-presented" in Moscow and signed a three-year contract extension. He continued his goal scoring record with CSKA on his return to the club, and propelled the club to the Premier League title in 2013 after a goalless draw with Kuban Krasnodar on 18 May, the club's first league title since 2006. Shandong Luneng
On 24 July 2013, <mask> <mask> transferred to Chinese Super League side Shandong Luneng in a reported €12 million transfer.Corinthians
On 8 February 2015, <mask> <mask> rescinded his contract with Shandong Luneng and signed with Corinthians in Brazil. He went on to become the top scorer of the club during the national championship as Corinthians went on to win the Série A that year. Monaco
On 13 January 2016, Ligue 1 club Monaco announced the signing of <mask> <mask> on an 18-month deal for a €1 million transfer fee. On 20 March, he opened the scoring in an eventual 2–0 win against Paris Saint-Germain, the Parisian club's first home defeat since May 2014. Alanyaspor
On 30 August 2016, Turkish Süper Lig club Alanyaspor reached an agreement with Monaco for the transfer of <mask>. On 31 August 2016, he was officially presented after passed the medical. Having failed to score in his first seven appearances for the club, <mask> scored 23 goals in 20 matches that followed to earn the Golden Boot award.Beşiktaş
On 26 January 2018, Turkish Süper Lig club Beşiktaş reached an agreement with Alanyaspor for the transfer of <mask>. Return to Corinthians
On 25 January 2019, <mask> returned to Corinthians on a deal until the end of 2020 after rescinding his contract with Beşiktaş. He rescinded his contract in June 2020. Kairat
On 8 July 2020, Kazakhstan Premier League club FC Kairat announced the signing of <mask> <mask> on a six-month contract, with the option to extend it. On 3 November 2020, <mask> scored Kairat's first goal, in a 3–1 win over Ordabasy, to clinch their first Kazakhstan Premier League title since 2004. On 5 November 2020, Kairat extended their contract with Vágner Love until the end of the 2021 season. Midtjylland
On 20 January 2022, <mask> signed an agreement to join Midtjylland on a free transfer, with a contract lasting until the end of the 2021/22 season.International career
<mask> <mask> earned his first call up for the Brazil national football team for the 2004 Copa América, in a squad without the main stars to give them rest after the end of the 2003–04 season. He made his debut as a substitute in the 4–1 win against Costa Rica, which was his single appearance as Brazil went on to win the competition. He did not make the final 23-man squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Following the tournament, <mask> <mask> was named in new manager Dunga's first squad for the national team and scored his first goal for the Seleção in the same year, against Wales. The following year, he was included in Brazil's squad for the 2007 Copa América. On 7 July 2007, he scored the final goal in a 6–1 win against Chile in the quarter-finals of the competition. He played his last match for the national team in that year, against Uruguay.Over the course of his international career, he amassed 20 caps and scored 4 goals. Career statistics

Club

International
Updated 1 April 2009

''Scores and results table. Brazil's goal tally first:

Honours

Club
Palmeiras
Campeonato Brasileiro Série B: 2003

CSKA Moscow
Russian Premier League: 2005, 2006, 2012–13
Russian Cup: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13
Russian Super Cup: 2006, 2007, 2009, 2013
UEFA Cup: 2004–05

Shandong Luneng
Chinese FA Cup: 2014

Corinthians
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2015
Campeonato Paulista: 2019

Kairat
Kazakhstan Premier League: 2020
Kazakhstan Cup: 2021

International
Brazil
Copa América: 2004, 2007

Individual
 Campeonato Brasileiro Série B Top scorer: 2003
 Pan American Games Top scorer: 2003
 Campeonato Paulista Top scorer: 2004
 Russian Premier League Top scorer: 2008
 Sport-Expresss Russian Footballer of the Year: 2008
 Russian Premier League Team of the Year: 2008, 2012–13
 UEFA Cup Top scorer: 2008–09
 Campeonato Carioca Top scorer: 2010
 Russian Premier League Player of the Month: March 2013, May 2013
 Süper Lig Top scorer: 2016–17

References

1984 births
Living people
Brazilian footballers
Association football forwards
Brazil international footballers
Sport Club Corinthians Paulista players
PFC CSKA Moscow players
UEFA Cup winning players
Shandong Taishan F.C. players
Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras players
Clube de Regatas do Flamengo footballers
AS Monaco FC players
Alanyaspor footballers
Beşiktaş J.K. footballers
FC Kairat players
FC Midtjylland players
2004 Copa América players
2007 Copa América players
Pan American Games medalists in football
Pan American Games silver medalists for Brazil
Copa América-winning players
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players
Russian Premier League players
Chinese Super League players
Ligue 1 players
Süper Lig players
Danish Superliga players
Brazilian expatriate footballers
Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in China
Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Russia
Expatriate footballers in Russia
Expatriate footballers in China
Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Monaco
Expatriate footballers in Monaco
Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey
Expatriate footballers in Turkey
Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark
Expatriate footballers in Denmark
Footballers from Rio de Janeiro (city)
Footballers at the 2003 Pan American Games
Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games

masks:
Vágner Silva de Souza
Vágner Love
Love
Vágner Love
Vágner Love
Love
Vágner
Love
Vágner
Love
Vágner
Love
Vágner
Love
Vágner
Love
Vágner
Love
Vágner
Love
Vágner
Love
Love
Love
Vágner
Love
Vágner
Love
Vágner
Love
Vágner
Love
Love
Love
Love
Love
Vágner
Love
Love
Love
Vágner
Love
Vágner
Love


title: Sükhbaataryn Batbold

type: original

texts:
<mask> (, born June 24, 1963) is a Mongolian politician who was Prime Minister of Mongolia from 2009 to 2012, as well as Chairman of the Mongolian People's Party. He was previously Minister of Foreign Affairs in the government of his predecessor, Sanjaagiin Bayar. As all Mongolians, he goes by one name, given at his birth, Batbold. Sukhbaatar is his father's name and Sukhbaataryn literally means "son of Sukhbaatar". So, Sukhbaatar is used as the last name in the Western style documents and Batbold as his first name. Because of this, he may also be recognized as <mask> or just <mask>. Personal life and education
<mask> was born in far eastern province Dornod of Mongolia to parents who worked as medical doctors in the provincial hospital.As a child <mask>, graduated the 14th high school in Ulaanbaatar, going on to study in Russia at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, one of the most prestigious educational establishments in the former Eastern bloc, between 1980 and 1986. He was one of the first Mongolians to be given an opportunity to receive an education in the West and studied at the Middlesex University London Business School from 1989 till 1991, residing at Netherhall House. He also earned a doctoral degree at the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Moscow in 2002. Batbold previously held an executive position at Mongol Impex Cooperative. In 1992, he established Altai Trading Co. Ltd. (currently Altai Holding LLC), which among others owns the Chinggis Khaan Hotel, Altai Cashmere, E-mart Mongolia hypermarket chain and the Skytel cellular operator. He headed the company until 2000 by which time it became one of the largest Mongolian private companies. After Mongolia started a transition from the one-party authoritarian rule to market economy and democracy, he was  one of the first Mongolians to start a private business and grow it to a large corporation.Among all of his businesses, only Chinggus Khaan Hotel was bought from the government at the auction in 1994 as a half finished building in complete ruin, which was completed and served as a flagship hotel till 2016 when Shangri-la entered Mongolia. All other businesses were created from the scratch and introduced new standards of service and competence. Political career
<mask> entered Mongolian politics in 2000, by which time he was already an established and well-known businessman. He was Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2000 to 2004 and became a member of the Leadership Council of the Mongolians People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP) in 2001. During his term as a Deputy Foreign Minister a decision was taken by Mongolia to contribute forces to multinational force in Iraq and Afghanistan (https://www.everycrsreport.com/files/20140903_R41867_27863dd4cab95d3ac35bf0f58237d6b3f7211296.html). He was instrumental in negotiating a visa regime with the USA under which the USA citizens became exempt from Mongolian visa requirements and Mongolian citizens became eligible for 10-year multiple entry visas. Batbold held the Ulan Bator 75 constituency in the 2004 Mongolian Great Khural election.He then became Cabinet Minister of Trade and Industry between 2004 and 2006. As Minister of Trade and Industry, he contributed actively to the implementation of Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) with the United States, establishing an ongoing dialogue to help remove barriers to trade between the United States and Mongolia. Also during his term as Minister of Trade and Industry Mongolia was awarded GSP Plus system of trade preferences by the European Union which allowed for preferential access for more than 7000 export items from Mongolia. <>. As cabinet minister, he also proposed for the first time in Mongolia the special tax and regulatory treatment for small and medium businesses by proposing a special legislation to the Parliament. In the 2008 Great Khural election, Batbold won a seat for the MPRP in the Ulan Bator 23 constituency in the same location of the capital city of Ulaanbaatar as during previous elections. He was the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2008 until he was nominated to become Prime Minister in 2009.During his tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs, he hosted United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Ulan Bator to discuss the topic of climate change in Mongolia. Batbold also substituted for then Prime Minister Bayar at a Prime Ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Prime Minister and Chairman of Mongolian People's Party
On October 29, 2009, <mask> was elected as the 26th Prime Minister of Mongolia, succeeding Sanjaa Bayar, who resigned due to health reasons. Batbold received 62 of 66 votes cast by Members of the Mongolian Parliament. On the 8th of April 2010, Batbold became the Chairman of the MPRP. This was confirmed with an election at the 26th MPRP Congress. During the Party Congress, Batbold was one of three proposed candidates for leadership, the others being Parliament Speaker Demberel Damdin and MP U.Enkhtuvshin.After D.Demberel withdrew his name from the list of candidates, voting continued until 4:30am, ending with Batbold winning a majority of 85% (675 votes from 788 voters). During the same party conference it was also decided that the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party would revert to its original name, the Mongolian People's Party. (http://en.people.cn/90001/90777/90851/7190654.html; https://montsame.mn/en/read/262575) The name change was proposed by S.<mask> as chairman and Secretary-General of the party Ukhnaa Khurelsukh and signified full transition to the social-democratic values by the Mongolian People's Party. Before 1990, successive leaders of MPRP ruled Mongolia under one-party totalitarian regime and this is the only party among the former communist camp that managed to stay competitive in the new democratic system by transiting to social-democratic values along the line of German Social Democrats and British Labor. As Prime Minister, Batbold oversaw a number of notable developments. His cabinet supported the enactment of the Law on Gender Equality in 2011. The law was significant in legislating the notions of legally punishing work place harassment, introducing women's quota in political election nominations, etc.The reform and modernisation of the Mongolian Stock Exchange was initiated and its Board was filled with respectable independent members for the first time in its history such as Peter Morrow, an American who was one of the most influential figure in establishing the Mongolia's private banking system and Baatar Bold, a Mongolian with many years of experience in international banking and is currently one of the top executives of Rio Tinto, among others. The Board worked closely with London Stock Exchange to reform MSE’s systems. This was the first time in the history of state-owned companies in Mongolia that the board was composed of independent directors outside of government. The cabinet launched of a collaboration between the Government of Mongolia and a Cambridge University consortium to introduce Cambridge International Education system into Mongolia's public schools and reform primary and secondary education in Mongolia. This was one of the most far reaching educational reform efforts since the 1990s in Mongolia. Human Development Fund was established that not only paid cash dividends to the public but funded education, health and social insurance. It sought to emulate the experiences of Singapore's Central Provident Fund.In 2010, Batbold held a cabinet meeting (https://asiafoundation.org/2010/09/01/mongolia-cabinet-meets-in-gobi-desert-to-make-stand-against-global-warming/) in the Gobi desert to draw attention to climate change and the growing threat of desertification in Mongolia. During his term as Prime Minister, the Mongolian economy grew by 17.5 percent in 2011, one of the highest globally. The poverty rates fell by double digits and household income doubled. This achievement cannot be solely attributed to high mineral prices, as there have been even higher prices before and since his cabinet. Progressive policies that encouraged economic growth and at the same time sought to address social issues at the time of difficult transition were the main reason of such impressive results. When he visited Canada in 2010 he told to Canadian Prime Minister Steven Harper that Canada can serve as a role model for Mongolia because of similarities in resource endowments, sparse population, big territory and most importantly in democratic values and development models. This visit sparked exchanges between the two countries in different areas, including efforts to reform the public service along the Canadian example.These efforts culminated in adoption of the revised Law of Civil Service in 2017 by the Parliament of Mongolia. The revised law introduces concepts of minimum required years of service for promotion, increased the independence and powers of Civil Service Commission of Mongolia, tightened merit based requirements for initial recruitment. Batbold also sought to initiate a transition to "European standards" which he defined as "not only commodities’ and physical’ standards, but also new standards related to laws and regulations, technologies and mindsets, as well as to culture and lifestyle." He proposed in his speech to the Parliament in 2009 as he was taking over as Prime Minister:

"We can learn from our traditional partners’ experiences where they have recently joined the European Union and enjoy the benefits of such new standards. In bringing up their standards they neither re-invent the wheel nor did they re-write laws according to one person’s wishes. What they did was to choose one standard to be followed, starting with changing road standards to adopting anti-corruption laws to suit local conditions and specifics. I believe this is where their successes have come from."This was a remarkable statement of intention by the country located on a different continent from the European Union to self-adopt its norms and principles on a voluntary and unilateral basis in the absence of any incentives from the European Union. The EU offered its Eastern European Partners (mostly former Soviet republics), as a part of Eastern Partnership initiative, a road towards greater integration with potential of joining the union in accordance with a mutually agreed path of democratic reform and market openness (https://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/er/107589.pdf). Mongolia, obviously geographically distanced, wasn't part of this initiative, however, it was initiating the "European standards" reforms without any intention or hope of joining the EU but because it saw a value in itself in those reforms. Batbold discussed this initiative when he hosted German Chancellor Merkel in Mongolia (https://archiv.bundesregierung.de/archiv-en/articles/chancellor-angela-merkel-in-viet-nam-and-mongolia-610742). Batbold hosted many other world dignitaries in Mongolia such as US Vice President Joseph Biden (https://www.rferl.org/a/biden_offers_us_support_for_democratic_mongolia/24304215.html; https://www.mongoliaweekly.org/post/why-mongolia-matters-to-joe-biden) and State Secretary Hillary Clinton (https://www.eastwestcenter.org/system/tdf/private/apb174_0.pdf?file=1&type=node&id=33606; https://2009-2017.state.gov/secretary/20092013clinton/rm/2009a/06/124494.htm). At the same time, Batbold's cabinet adhered to the traditional foreign policy of Mongolia to maintain and strengthen relations with its only two neighbors, Russia and China. He visited Russia in 2010 and met with then Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.He also visited China in 2011 and held negotiations with his counterpart China's Premier Wen Jiabao  and then Vice President and current President of China Xi Jingpin (https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2011-06/17/content_12726117.htm). During his time as Prime Minister trade with the two neighbors grew in unprecedented speed. Batbold's term as Prime Minister saw a remarkable degree of high level visits and exchanges with the country's most significant foreign partners such as Japan (https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/mongolia/batbold_1203/index.html), South Korea (http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20110324000949&mod=skb), India (https://news.mn/en/18350/), Australia (https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22media%2Fpressrel%2F577185%22), Singapore (https://www.mfa.gov.sg/Newsroom/Press-Statements-Transcripts-and-Photos/2011/02/Official-Visit-by-Prime-Minister-of-Mongolia-Sukhbaatar-Batbold-1718-February-2011) among many others. Overall, this policy of maintaining balanced and cooperative relations with the immediate two neighbors and perceived Third neighbors (the term invented by State Secretary James Baker when he visited Mongolia in 1990 with whom Mongolia shares common democratic values) has been maintained consistently since the 1990s transition to democracy and market relations. Ideologically, Batbold is a Third way politician along the lines of Bill Clinton, Tony Blair and Gerhard Schroeder whose views were very much market based on economics and centrist on social issues, which put them to the right from traditional social democratic views. Continued Political Involvement
Since the end of his term as Prime Minister in 2012, Batbold has remained a Member of Parliament. He is a member of Mongolia's delegation for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly.He is Vice President of the Socialist International, an international organization registered at the United Nations (whose current Secretary-General António Guterres was Vice President of the Socialist International from 1999 till 2005), that brings together parties around the world on the social democratic platform. Mr. S.<mask> is a strong supporter of public policy based on knowledge-based research and public debate. Therefore, he is one of the founders of Mongolia Economic Forum and Mongolian Development Strategy Institute, both dedicated to encouraging deeper public policy research and more open debate. He serves as Chairman of the Mongolia Development Strategy Institute, think-tank which hosts international events and undertakes research on public policy issues with significant impact on Mongolia's development trajectory. The institute co-hosted such prestigious international events as Williamsburg Conference in 2007, Northeast Asia Regional Meeting of the Asia Pacific Leadership network for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament in 2017, Boao Forum for Asia Ulaanbaatar Conference in 2019, Regional Energy Workshop in 2019 among others. It board members and contributors published many books and articles on Mongolia's developmental challenges, trade and diplomacy, security, history,  environment and governance. In November 2014, <mask> was elected to membership in the MPP Chamber of Advisers and in December 2015 he once again joined the MPP Leadership Council.After winning a Parliamentary seat for fifth time in 2020, Batbold was elected chairman of the Great Khural Subcommittee on Special Oversight. He was named by the party officials as one of the potential candidates for the June 2021 Presidential elections by Mongolian People's Party (https://news.mn/en/794529/) and was nominated by some local party entities. As a result he was target of smear campaign orchestrated by political opponents (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-10/mongolian-president-accused-of-smearing-political-foe-as-corrupt. References

|-

1963 births
Alumni of London Business School
Government ministers of Mongolia
Living people
Members of the State Great Khural
Mongolian expatriates in the Soviet Union
Mongolian expatriates in the United Kingdom
Mongolian People's Party politicians
Prime Ministers of Mongolia
People from Dornod Province
Moscow State Institute of International Relations alumni
Foreign ministers of Mongolia

masks:
Sükhbaataryn Batbold
Sukhbaatar Batbold
Batbold
Batbold
Batbold
Batbold
Batbold
Batbold
Batbold
Batbold


title: Vikramaditya II

texts:
<mask> II (reigned 733 – 744 CE) was the son of King Vijayaditya and ascended the Badami Chalukya throne following the death of his father. This information comes from the Lakshmeshwar inscriptions in Kannada dated 13 January 735 A.D. From inscriptions it has come to be known that even before his coronation, <mask> II, as a crown prince (Yuvaraja), had conducted successful military campaigns against their arch enemy, the Pallavas of Kanchipuram. His most important achievements were the capture of Kanchipuram on three occasions, the first time as a crown prince, the second time as an emperor and the third time under the leadership of his son and crown prince Kirtivarman II. This is attested to by another Kannada inscription, known as the Virupaksha Temple inscription which alludes to the emperor as the conqueror of Kanchi on three occasions and reads Sri Vikramaditya-bhatarar-mume-Kanchiyan-mume parajisidor. The other notable achievement was the consecration of the famous Virupaksha Temple (Lokeshwara temple) and Mallikarjuna Temple (Trilokeshwara temple) by his queens Lokadevi and Trilokadevi at Pattadakal. These two monuments are the centre piece of the UNESCO World Heritage Monuments at Pattadakal. <mask>tas. Wars against Pallavas

Unlike King Vijayaditya, who had ruled till a very old age in a long and peaceful reign of four decades, <mask> II's inscriptions seem to convey an impatience for war. From those inscriptions, historians feel that he nursed a grudge against the Pallavas, who a century ago, under the leadership of Narasimhavarman I, had defeated the Chalukyas and occupied their regal capital Badami, thus bringing to an end the glorious reign of Pulakeshin II and causing humiliation to the Chalukya royal family. From these inscriptions, it is known that nothing short of complete annihilation of the Pallavas (prakrity-amitra) could redeem the lost dignity of the Chalukyas. Vikarmaditya II, armed with this vengeful enthusiasm (mahotsaha), invaded the Pallava country. Immediately after coming to power, <mask> II saw an opportunity in the ensuing civil war in Kanchipuram and espoused the cause of Chitramaya, against that of Nandivarman II. <mask> II fought many battles with the Pallavas, won three important victories, and occupied Kanchipuram on those occasions.Around 730, as the Chalukya crown prince, assisted by the Western Ganga Dynasty prince Ereyappa, he attacked the Pallava Paramesvaravarman II. The Pallava king had to sue for peace at a great financial loss to his kingdom. The Pallava subsequently tried to mount a counter-attack at the Ganga ally King Sripurusha (731), but was killed in the battle of Vilande. Sripurusha seized the kings insignia, the royal umbrella and earned the title Permanadi. Though this victory to the Chalukyas happened during the rule of King Vijayaditya, the records of Chalukya monarchs give full credit to Vikramaditya II. Vikramaditya again invaded the Pallava kingdom after 734, aided by the faithful ally, the Western Ganga King Sripurusha, who joined the Chalukyas in this expedition. The earliest mention of this invasion is in the Narwan plates issued on 21 December 741 or 742.The Pallava King Nandivarman was a 13-year-old boy who nevertheless made a valiant but futile attempt to face the invasion. The Pallava king fled Kanchipuram into exile, leaving behind all his regal attributes which included among other things, a prestigious musical drum (katumukha), a musical instrument (samudraghosa) and a mace. Many of his war elephants, a large quantity of precious stones and gold fell into the hands of the victorious Chalukya monarch. The road to Kanchipuram lay open and <mask> II entered the city victorious. He ensured that the residents of the city were not harmed nor were the beautiful monuments destroyed (from inscription - Kanchim avinasya pravisya). The bounties of war were also returned. Unlike many conquering kings, Vikramaditya behaved in a very honorable way and showed consideration towards both the inhabitants and the city.Many donations were made to local Brahmins and gifts given to the weak and the forlorn citizens. <mask> II had in his moment of revenge transformed himself from an overbearing conqueror to a humble devotee of the deities in the temples of Kanchipuram. The act of returning large amounts of booty to the temples earned him religious merit. All that was then inscribed on a Kannada language inscription on the back of a pillar in the mantapa (hall) of the Kailasanatha temple. His benevolent acts at other temples have also been recorded in his copper plate inscriptions. <mask> thus wiped out the disgrace that had fallen on the Chalukya empire by the occupation of Vatapi a century earlier by the Pallava Narasimhavarman I. Having satiated his quest for revenge, <mask> II returned to Badami.The Chalukyan empire then reached its proportions during the rule of Pulakeshin II. He overran the kingdoms of Chera, Chola and Pandyas and defeated a Kalabhra ruler as well. Those victories were written in his inscription on the shores of the Indian Ocean. The final invasion of Kanchipuram happened in the final years of the reign of <mask> II, under the leadership of his son Kirtivarman II. Conflict with Arabs

In the early years of Vikramaditya's reign, Arab invaders who had established themselves in the Sindh made a push into the Deccan. Avanijanashraya Pulakeshin, a son of <mask> I's brother Jayasimhavarman who was the governor of the Lata branch (Gujarat) fought and defeated them in 739 CE. <mask> II so appreciated his valour, he conferred the title of Avanijanasraya (refuge of the people of the earth) on Pulakeshin.The Rashtrakuta King Dandivarma or Dantidurga also fought along the Chalukyas against the Arabs. Rule
<mask> II donated 50 nivartanas of land for maintenance of charity house of Dhavala-Jinalaya at Lakshmeshwara, Dharwad district in 735 CE. References

Citations

Sources
 Suryanath U. Kamat (2001). Concise History of Karnataka, MCC, Bangalore (Reprinted 2002). K.V. Ramesh, Chalukyas of Vatapi, 1984, Agam Kala Prakashan, Delhi
 Nilakanta Sastri, K.A. (1955).A History of South India, OUP, New Delhi (Reprinted 2002). South Indian Inscriptions - http://www.whatisindia.com/inscriptions/
  History of Karnataka, Mr. Arthikaje

Early Chalukyas
744 deaths
8th-century Indian monarchs
Year of birth unknown

masks: Vikramaditya Vikramaditya Vikramadityaashtraku Vikramaditya Vikramaditya Vikramaditya Vikramaditya Vikramaditya Vikramaditya Vikramaditya Vikramaditya Vikramaditya Vikramaditya Vikramaditya


title: Robin Spielberg

texts:
<mask> (born November 20, 1962) is a Billboard charts American pianist, composer and author. Raised in the suburban town of Maplewood, New Jersey, she attended Michigan State University and later Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, graduating from NYU with honors and a BFA in Undergraduate Drama. She has released twenty-one albums of piano music. She currently lives in New Freedom, Pennsylvania. Early life
<mask>'s paternal grandfather, <mask>, was a flutist with the NBC Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Arturo Toscanini. Although they never met, in her memoir she credits him with providing creative inspiration. She began formal piano lessons at the age of seven.Theater
She is a founding member of the Atlantic Theater Company and acted in dozens of plays with the company including Boys' Life (which was nominated for a Drama Desk award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance)   and The Lights by Howard Korder at Lincoln Center. She composed music for several Atlantic Theater Company productions including the David Mamet adaptation of Three Sisters directed by William H. Macy and two children's plays written by David Mamet airing on National Public Radio (NPR): The Poet and the Rent and The Revenge of the Space Pandas. In 1992, <mask> and Barry Shulak co-wrote a musical for young audiences entitled Balloonland. Originally produced in Vermont by the Atlantic Theater Company,  Balloonland later debuted off-Broadway on ATC's New York City stage in 1993. Albums and awards
As of 2021, <mask> had recorded twenty-one albums and appeared on over fifty compilations. Her debut album of original piano solos entitled Heal of the Hand was recorded independently in 1993. The album was picked up by the indie label North Star Music in 1994, and became their best-selling CD of the decade.According to North Star president Richard Waterman, <mask> sold between 160,000 and 200,000 albums during 1995 and 1996, although SoundScan only registered 1,800 sales, with the bulk of sales through specialist outlets. By 1999 she had reportedly sold 300,000 albums. <mask>'s original 1994 agreement with North Star Music was a six-record deal, covering recording and release of two albums per year over the course of three years. During this period, the following titles were released under the North Star label: Heal of the Hand (1993), Spirit of the Holidays (1994) featuring Christmas-themed tracks, Unchained Melodies (1995), In the Heart of Winter (1995), Songs of the Spirit (1996), and In the Arms of the Wind (1997). Additional titles subsequently released by North Star include Mother (1999) and Spa Piano (2007). The former is a collaboration with singers Cathie Ryan and Susan McKeown featuring songs celebrating motherhood. When North Star folded in 2011, <mask> bought back the masters for her albums released under that label.Beginning in 2000, Spielberg started releasing albums under her own playMountain Music label. Titles released under playMountain Music are Beautiful Dreamer (2000), Dreaming of Summer (2000), The Christmas Collection (2002), American Chanukah (2002), With a Song in My Heart (2004), Memories of Utopia (2005), A New Kind of Love (2008), Sea to Shining Sea: A Tapestry of American Music (2010), Another Time, Another Place (2015), On The Edge Of A Dream: Piano Solos For Dreaming (2018), Love Story (2020), Re-Inventions (2020), and Give My Regards to Broadway (2021). Another Time, Another Place was nominated for a Zone Music Award and on May 7, 2016 she performed at the awards show at the Joy Theater New Orleans, Louisiana. The album was also nominated for a Whisperings Solo Piano Radio Award  and a One World Music Radio award in the UK. In March 2018 Spielberg debuted at number 6 in the Billboard New Age Charts with her album On The Edge Of A Dream: Piano Solos For Dreaming. The CD was ranked number 7 on the Zone Music Reporter radio charts for the months of June and July 2018. http://www.zonemusicreporter.com/charts/top100.asp

In addition to her recording career, Spielberg served as an inaugural member of the 'Independent Music Awards' judging panel. Spielberg was added to the Steinway Artist roster in 1996.Performances
<mask> tours both nationally and overseas. Performance highlights within the United States include three sold-out performances at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall (New York City). Overseas, she has toured South Korea three times appearing at KBS Hall, Seoul Arts Center and the LG Arts Center (2010). <mask> is signed with Sony/ATV Music Publishing in Asia and her piece "An Improvisation on the Canon in D" is used in the soundtrack of the South Korean television drama series Winter Sonata

In January 2015 Spielberg began opening for the renowned songwriter Jimmy Webb at the Sharp Theater, Mahwah, New Jersey, both are represented by Kosson Talent. In July 2019, The Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism invited Spielberg to perform concerts and give piano performance master classes and workshops. The three week tour included performances in the Zhejiang Province at The Hangzhou Grand Theater, The Keqiao Lantian Grand Theatre, The Longquan Grand Theatre, The Xiangshan Theatre, The Changxing Grand Theatre, as well as The Gengsu Theater in Jiangsu, The Puxian Grand Theatre in Fujian Province and MAO Livehouse in Shanghai. Music therapy
The importance of music therapy is a recurring theme throughout Spielberg's career.She is a national celebrity artist spokesperson for the American Music Therapy Association. As spokesperson, <mask> often conducts seminars and workshops on the transformative power of music in hospitals, schools and community centers while on tour. She has also performed fundraisers for medical  and other charities. In 2014 Spielberg was invited to give a TEDx talk on The Healing Power of Music in Lancaster, Pennsylvania's inaugural TEDx event. Writing
<mask> called a "well-paced musical memoir about the value of perseverance" which avoids sentimentality and balances happy moments with darker content such as being stalked. Spielberg also writes about music therapy in her memoir. Teaching
In 2016 Spielberg began teaching at Millersville University as an instructor in the music business technology department, teaching Careers in the Music Business and International Music Business.Discography
 Heal of the Hand (1993)
 Spirit of the Holidays (1994)
 Unchained Melodies (1995)
 In the Heart of Winter (1995)
 Songs of the Spirit (1996)
 In the Arms of the Wind (1997)
 Mother (1999)
 Beautiful Dreamer (2000)
 Dreaming of Summer (2000)
 The Christmas Collection (2002)
 American Chanukah (2002)
 With a Song in My Heart (2004)
 Memories of Utopia (2005)
 Spa Piano (2007)
 A New Kind of Love (2008)
 Sea to Shining Sea: A Tapestry of American Music (2010)
 Another Time, Another Place (2015)
 On the Edge of A Dream (2018)
 Love Story (2020)
 Re-Inventions (2020)
 Give My Regards to Broadway (2021)

References

Sources
Spielberg, <mask>, Naked on the Bench: My Adventures in Pianoland, A Memoir,  Spobs Music Incorporated 2013;

External links

Agency

American women pianists
Jewish American musicians
Musicians from New Jersey
Living people
1962 births
Michigan State University alumni
20th-century American composers
20th-century American pianists
People from New Freedom, Pennsylvania
20th-century American women pianists
21st-century American pianists
21st-century American women pianists
20th-century women composers
21st-century American Jews

masks:
Robin Spielberg
Robin Spielberg
Rubin Spielberg
Spielberg
Spielberg
Spielberg
Spielberg
Spielberg
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Spielbergus
Robin


title: Graeme Pollock

texts:
<mask> (born 27 February 1944) is a former cricketer for South Africa, Transvaal and Eastern Province. A member of a famous cricketing family, <mask> is widely regarded as one of South Africa's greatest ever cricketers, and as one of the finest batsmen to have played Test cricket. Despite <mask>'s international career being cut short at the age of 26 by the sporting boycott of South Africa, and all but one of his 23 Test matches being against England and Australia, the leading cricket nations of the day, he broke a number of records. His completed career Test match batting average of 60.97 remains fourth best after Sir Donald Bradman's (99.94), Steve Smith's, and Adam Voges's averages. <mask> has been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades, including being voted in 1999 as South Africa's Cricketer of the 20th Century, one of Wisden's Cricketers of the Year in 1966, as well as being retrospectively selected in 2007 as the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World in 1967 and 1969. In South Africa he was player of the year in 1961 and 1984, with special tributes in the S.A. Cricket annuals of 1977 and 1987. Bradman described <mask>, along with Sir Garfield Sobers, as the best left-handed batsman he had ever seen play cricket.In 2009, <mask> was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. Youth and early career
<mask> was born into a Scottish family in Durban, Natal Province, Union of South Africa on 27 February 1944. His grandfather was a Presbyterian minister, and his father, Andrew, was a former first-class cricketer with Orange Free State and the editor of the Eastern Province Herald. As a youth, <mask> earned the nickname Little Dog:
The name arose when his brother [Peter], with voice still unbroken, made queer-sounding appeals for l.b.w. The humorist, Springbok Atholl McKinnon, said they sounded like a dog barking, and called him Pooch. When <mask> joined the provincial eleven they became Big Dog and Little Dog. <mask> attended Grey High School—a noted sporting school in Port Elizabeth—where he was coached by Sussex professional George Cox.In his first match for Grey Junior, aged 9, he took all ten wickets before scoring 117 not out. At one stage, he hit a six into a neighbouring cemetery and had to fetch the ball himself. He was selected for his first match for the school First XI as a leg spinner, taking six wickets for five runs. At 15, <mask> was selected to represent South Africa schoolboys. In 1960, aged 16 and still attending Grey High School, <mask> was chosen to appear for Eastern Province. His first-class cricket debut was against Border at the Jan Smuts Ground in East London, where he made 54 runs before being run out. He then went on to take two wickets in Border's second innings.Later that season he scored his maiden first-class century, scoring 102 against Transvaal B, becoming the youngest South African to score a first-class century. <mask> played five matches for EP in his debut season, scoring 384 runs at an average of 48.00. In 1961, while visiting Britain with his parents, he played six matches with the Sussex Second XI. In the 1962–63 South African season, <mask> finished second in the averages, scoring 839 runs including three centuries at an average of 69.66. The highlight of his season was scoring 209 not out for an Eastern Province Invitational XI against the International Cavaliers, which included bowlers such as Richie Benaud and Graham McKenzie. Benaud was to describe the innings as "magnificent", later saying "I knew I was watching a champion." Aged 19, <mask> was the youngest South African to score a double-century in first-class cricket.Test career

Debut in Australia
<mask> was 19 when he was selected for the 1963–64 South African cricket team's tour of Australia. He had a disappointing start to the tour, making 1 and 0 against Western Australia, dismissed twice by McKenzie. He recovered in the next match scoring 127 not out against a Western Australia Combined XI. He made his Test debut at the Gabba in Brisbane making 25 in a rain-interrupted match before again being dismissed by McKenzie. The match was an infamous one with the Australian bowler Ian Meckiff no-balled for throwing, effectively ending his career. <mask> was not successful in the Second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, making 16 and 2 as South Africa were heavily defeated by eight wickets. <mask>'s performances in the first two Tests of the series raised questions over the youngster's place, but, in the third Test in Sydney, <mask> made 122 in South Africa’s first innings.Bradman commented: "Next time you decide to play like that, send me a telegram". At 19 years and 317 days he became the youngest South African to score a Test century, a record that still stands. In Adelaide, in the fourth Test, <mask> and Eddie Barlow shared a South African third-wicket record partnership of 341; <mask> hitting 175 and Barlow 201. South Africa won the Test by 10 wickets to level the series 1–1. <mask> finished his maiden series with 399 runs to his name, at an average of 57.00. During <mask>'s innings of 17 in the drawn fifth Test, he suffered an injury which resulted in him missing the first two Tests of the New Zealand tour which followed. Home and away against England
England toured South Africa in 1964–65 under the captaincy of Mike Smith.<mask> was selected in all five Tests against the tourists. England won the First Test at Kingsmead convincingly by an innings and 104 runs, with <mask> making 5 and a first ball duck. The remaining Tests were all drawn. In the final Test at St George's Park, <mask> made 137 in the first innings, with Wisden Cricketers' Almanack describing it as "a splendid century, distinguished by many drives past cover and mid-on." In the second, he made an unbeaten 77. In the Tests, <mask> made 459 runs at an average of 57.37. <mask> was included to tour England with the South African team in 1965.In the Second Test at Trent Bridge, <mask> made 125, an innings he described in his autobiography as his best. He made his runs out of 160 added in 140 minutes, the last 91 of his runs coming in 70 minutes. He had come in at 16/2, and the score had declined to 80/5, before his partnerships with the captain Peter van der Merwe and with Richard Dumbrill enabled the score to reach 269. John Woodcock wrote in The Cricketer, "Not since Bradman's day could anyone recall having seen an English attack treated in such cavalier style." while the same correspondent in The Times said, "I can think of no innings played against England since the [Second World] war which was so critical and commanding: I can think of none more beautifully played." E.W. Swanton wrote in The Daily Telegraph that it was an innings "which in point of style and power, of ease and beauty of execution is fit to rank with anything in the annals of the game."In the second innings, <mask> scored 59. It was a notable match for the <mask> brothers; older brother Peter took 10 wickets in total as South Africa won the match and, therefore, the three Test series 1–0. His performances during that English season saw him named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1966, acclaimed as "one of the most accomplished batsmen in contemporary cricket". Success then isolation
In 1966–67, Bob Simpson led his Australian team to South Africa for a five Test series. The South Africans won the First Test at Wanderers after trailing by 126 after the first innings and scoring 620 runs in the second innings. <mask> scored 90 from 104 balls. Describing <mask>'s innings, Wisden said "[he] looked without peer and his timing, placing and wristwork were an object lesson for the purist."In the Second Test at Newlands, responding to an Australian total of 542, <mask> made 209 runs from a team total of 353 despite batting with an injured groin which restricted his footwork and running. South Africa, however, were unable to avoid the follow-on and eventually lost the match by 6 wickets. The Third Test was played at Kingsmead in Durban and <mask> made 67 not out in the second innings, with Ali Bacher batting South Africa to an eight wicket victory. The Fourth Test saw rain deny South Africa an almost certain victory. The final Test at Port Elizabeth saw <mask>, on his birthday, score another century as South Africa won the match by seven wickets to clinch the series three Tests to one. For the series, <mask> scored 537 runs at an average of 76.71, trailing only Denis Lindsay on both measures for the South Africans. <mask> and the South Africans were due to play England at home in 1968–69, but tensions stemming from the South African government's apartheid policy came to a head when South African-born Basil D'Oliveira—of Cape Coloured ancestry—was chosen in the England touring team to replace the injured Tom Cartwright.The South African Prime Minister B. J. Vorster denounced the English team as the "team of the anti-apartheid" movement and refused to allow the team to enter South Africa with D'Oliveira in place. The tour was therefore cancelled. South Africa's last Test series before their expulsion from international cricket was against Bill Lawry's Australians. The Australians had just completed a gruelling tour of India in vastly different playing conditions before coming to South Africa. <mask>'s form continued into the series and he averaged 73.85. <mask> managed to break Jackie McGlew's South African Test record of 255 when he scored 274 in the 2nd Test in Durban. When <mask> was batting in this innings with Barry Richards, the opposing captain, Bill Lawry, said about this innings: "Never have I seen the ball hit with such power by two players at the same time."He held this record for nearly thirty years until Daryll Cullinan scored 275 not out against New Zealand in 1999. <mask> was 26 years of age when his Test career was brought to an end. Post-Test career
When the scheduled South African tour of England in 1970 was cancelled, a tour by a "Rest of the World" side was arranged to fill the gap. The side, of which <mask> was a member, played five games against England which were promoted at the time as "Tests," but which are not now recognised as such. <mask> had a poor series by his standards, but he did make 114 in the final match at The Oval, sharing in a fifth wicket partnership of 165 with Gary Sobers. International isolation was keenly felt by the South African team at the time, including <mask>, and the players took measures to try to reverse the looming sporting boycott. In 1971, <mask> took part in a protest organised by Barry Richards and Mike Procter against the South African government's apartheid policy as it referred to cricket.During a match to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the formation of the Republic of South Africa, the players from both teams walked off after one ball, issuing a joint statement: We cricketers feel that the time has come for an expression of our views. We fully support the South African Cricket Association's application to invite non-whites to tour Australia, if they are good enough, and further subscribe to merit being the only criterion on the cricket field. During South Africa's international isolation, <mask> played in 16 unofficial Test matches against breakaway teams from England, Sri Lanka, the West Indies and Australia. He ended his international career at the age of 42 with a 144 against the rebel Australian team that toured South Africa in 1987. He scored 1376 runs, including 5 centuries, at an average of 65.52. <mask> continued playing first-class cricket for Eastern Province and Transvaal until his retirement from the first-class game in the 1986–87 season at the age of 43. He made 20,940 runs in first-class cricket, including 64 centuries and 99 fifties, at an average of 54.67.Despite offers, <mask> never played in English domestic cricket, once stating that "the domestic grind was not 'my type of game'". Limited overs matches were introduced some time after his career began, and he played 112 innings in the shorter form of the game, tallying 4,656 runs at an average of over 50. In 1974–75 <mask> scored 222 not out for Eastern Province against Border in the Gillette Cup, this was the first double century in List A cricket and remained the highest individual innings until 2002 when surpassed by Ali Brown. By the time of his retirement in 1988, <mask> was already "established in cricket administration: president of the South African Cricket Players' Association, board member and team selector with the Transvaal Cricket Council." He was appointed a Test selector by the United Cricket Board in 2000, a post he held until 2002, at which point he was appointed as a batting coach to the South African team. <mask>, together with Gary Sobers, was honoured by being chosen to present the match awards following the 2003 Cricket World Cup Final in Johannesburg. On 26 November 2013, the Centurion pavilion at St George's Oval was renamed the "<mask>ock Pavilion" in honour of his contribution to cricket.Playing style
Standing at , <mask> used his height well to get to the pitch of the ball, and utilised a strong sense of timing. He had an upright batting stance and his footwork was balanced and correct. He used a heavy bat and liked to play the cover drive. To rectify an apparent weakness on the leg side, <mask> developed a very good pull and leg drive. With his power, he was able to find the gaps in the field, allowing him to score quickly. His style of batting was aggressive, not waiting for poor deliveries when looking to score:

Aside from his batting abilities, <mask> was also an occasional leg-spinner. His teammate Jackie McGlew claimed <mask> could have made an outstanding bowler—"He bowled right over the top and really made the ball 'fizz'"—but he bowled mainly for enjoyment and with a light heart.In total, he took 4 Test wickets and 43 in first-class cricket. He was also a naturally gifted fielder. Personal life
 <mask>'s Scottish immigrant father <mask> played cricket for Orange Free State, while his brother, <mask>, was a leading fast bowler who played 28 Test matches for South Africa. Both <mask>'s sons, <mask> and <mask> <mask>, played cricket for Transvaal and Gauteng, while his nephew, <mask> (son of Peter), retired from the South African Test team in 2008, played in 108 Test matches, captained the country from 2000 to 2003 and was South Africa's leading wicket-taker before being overtaken by Dale Steyn. In 2003, <mask> expressed his thoughts about the sporting boycott of South Africa:
I was twenty-four. We did not give too much thought to the people who were not given the opportunities. In hindsight we certainly could have done much more in trying to get change to Southern Africa.[...] We had a good series against Australia in '67 and we probably had our best side ever. [...] Poor old Barry (Richards) played just four Tests, Mike Procter seven. But at the same time [the protesters] got it absolutely right that the way to bring about change in South Africa was in sport. It was difficult for twenty-two years ... but in hindsight it was needed and I'm delighted it did achieve change in South Africa. —<mask>

Statistical analysis

Notes

References
Printed

Website

External links

1944 births
Living people
Cricketers from Durban
South Africa Test cricketers
South African cricketers
Eastern Province cricketers
International Cavaliers cricketers
Gauteng cricketers
South African people of British descent
White South African people
South African people of Scottish descent
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
Wisden Leading Cricketers in the World
South African cricket coaches
Alumni of Grey High School

masks:
Robert Graeme Pollock
Pollock
Pollock
Pollock
Pollock
Pollock
Pollock
Pollock
Graeme
Pollock
Pollock
Pollock
Pollock
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Graeme Poll
Pollock
Pollock
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Andrew Pollock
Peter Pollock
Graeme Pollock
Anthony Pollock
Andrew Graeme
Pollock
Shaun Pollock
Pollock
Graeme Pollock


title: Samantha Shapiro

texts:
<mask> "Sami" <mask> (born May 18, 1993) is an American gymnast. She is a five-time member of the US Women's National Gymnastics Team. She was the 2007 U.S. junior uneven bars champion, 2008 U.S. junior uneven bars and balance beam champion, 2008 Pan American Champion in both women's uneven bars and balance beam, and 2014 NCAA uneven bars silver medalist. Personal life
<mask> was born in Santa Monica, California, to Brent (a former wrestler and marathon runner) and Abbe (a former national champion baton twirler) <mask>, and is Jewish. Her younger  sister, Nicki, is also a gymnast, and a 15-time State champion. <mask> attended Windward School in Los Angeles, and graduated in June 2011. Gymnastics
She began gymnastics in 1996 through a preschool program when she was three years old.Though she was competing at an international level in 2008 and was a top-ranked junior national team member, she was 5 months too young to be eligible for the US Team competing in gymnastics at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She trains at the All Olympia Gymnastics Center (AOGC) in Los Angeles with fellow National Team member Mattie Larson. Junior career
<mask> won 10 Junior Olympic state titles, and was a three-time U.S. junior national champion. She was a 2007 U.S. junior uneven bars champion and all-around silver medalist, and 2008 U.S. junior uneven bars and balance beam champion and all-around silver medalist. <mask> first qualified for Junior International Elite in 2006 at age 13, when she finished 4th All-Around at the US Classic in Kansas, and competed in the US National Championships later that year, finishing 13th. In 2007, she returned and competed in the 2007 US National Championships and won the gold medal on the balance beam, and silver medals in the all-around competition, uneven bars, and floor exercise. In 2008, she returned to the VISA Championships to regain her title on the balance beam, and also took the gold on the uneven bars, coming 2nd in the all-around again.<mask> was chosen to join some of the Senior Elite National team to go to the 2008 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships in San Jose, California, where she performed well on all four events, helping the US Team win the gold, and winning gold on the uneven bars and silver in the all-around competition. Her performance on the floor exercise during the team competition was notable when the music cut out as she began her first pass. Seemingly unfazed, she continued her exhibition through to the end as the US team cheered her on and the arena began rhythmically clapping. Senior career
<mask> was a three-time U.S. senior elite national champion, a senior US Women's National Gymnastics Team member from 2006-11. In the fall of 2008, <mask> competed in the 2008 Pan American Individual Event Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Rosario, Argentina, where she won gold on the beam and uneven bars. She won the bars at the 2008 City of Jesolo Trophy (Italy) Grand Prix. In March 2009, at 15 years of age she represented the US at the Montreal FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup, where <mask> sustained a broken foot in training but persevered to win gold on the uneven bars.Injuries, including an ankle injury in 2009, kept <mask> from competing for most of 2009 and 2010, but she resurfaced as a Senior Elite in 2010, qualifying at the US Classic 4th on the balance beam and floor exercise. She fell and injured herself on the vault while attempting a 1.5 Yurchenko, and had to be assisted off the podium. Despite this, she returned to the VISA Championships competing as a senior, and finished 7th on the beam and the All-Around and 5th on the floor exercise. <mask> earned a spot on the USA National Team for the fifth consecutive year. In 2010 <mask> announced her intention to commit to joining the Stanford University Gymnastics Team. In 2011, she appeared on the cover of Inside Gymnastics "50 Most Photogenic" issue as a tribute to the artistry and grace <mask> presented in her years as an international elite gymnast. NCAA career
<mask> was the 2014 NCAA uneven bars silver medalist.In 2011, <mask> retired from elite level gymnastics to compete for the Stanford Cardinal women's gymnastics team, and attend Stanford ('15) where she majored in Engineering. In her freshman season in 2012, she earned the First-Team All-American honor on bars and finished as runner-up on the uneven bars with a score of 9.900 at the 2012 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship in Duluth, Georgia. She was named a Scholastic All-American by the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women, capping off a successful freshman year. As a sophomore in 2013, she earned academic honors including the NACGC Scholastic All-American honor for the second year along with receiving an Honorable Mention citation for the 2013 Pac-12 All-Academic Team. In <mask>'s junior year in 2014, she capped off a successful season at the 2014 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship in Birmingham, Alabama, again earning the First Team All-American honor and finishing as runner-up on the uneven bars. On the road to the nationals, in April she was co-winner of the regional title on the uneven bars with a 9.950 at the NCAA Baton Rouge Regionals. During the season, she also earned Pac-12 Conference honors, including being named to the Pac-12 All Academic Second Team and claiming Second Team honors on uneven bars for the 2014 All-Pac-12 Women's Gymnastics Team.In <mask>'s senior year in 2015 she was second team All-American on bars, second team All-Pac-12 on bars, and Pac-12 All-Academic second team. Honors
In 2018 she was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. References

External links
 <mask>
 USA Gymnastics bio

1993 births
Living people
Jewish American sportspeople
Jewish gymnasts
American female artistic gymnasts
Sportspeople from Santa Monica, California
Gymnasts from Los Angeles
All Olympia Gymnastics Center
Stanford Cardinal women's gymnasts
U.S. women's national team gymnasts
21st-century American Jews
21st-century American women

masks:
Samantha
Shapiro
Shapiro
Shapiro
Shapiro
Shapiro
Shapiro
Shapiro
Shapiro
Shapiro
Shapiro
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Shapiro
Shapiro
Shapiro
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Shapiro
Samantha Shapiro


title: Milton Bradley (baseball)

texts:
<mask>, Jr. (born April 15, 1978) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. Standing  and weighing , <mask> was a switch hitter who threw right-handed. During an 11-year career in Major League Baseball, <mask> played with the Montreal Expos (2000–01), Cleveland Indians (2001–03), Los Angeles Dodgers (2004–05), Oakland Athletics (2006–07), San Diego Padres (2007), Texas Rangers (2008), Chicago Cubs (2009), and Seattle Mariners (2010–11). His career was also marred by legal troubles and several notable on-field incidents. Born in Harbor City, California, <mask> attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School before he was drafted by the Expos in the 1996 Major League Baseball draft. After playing four seasons of minor league baseball for the organization, he made his major league debut on July 19, 2000. In 2001, <mask> was traded to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for pitching prospect Zach Day; he was again traded in 2004 to the Los Angeles Dodgers.After playing in 216 games for the Dodgers, the most among all teams he has played for, <mask> was traded to the Oakland Athletics for Andre Ethier. <mask> was traded to the Padres in 2007, was granted free agency after one season with the team, and signed with the Texas Rangers in 2007. He was voted to the 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game with the Rangers, and led the American League with a .436 on-base percentage and a .999 on-base plus slugging percentage. For the year, <mask> finished 17th in American League Most Valuable Player Award voting. After becoming a free agent, <mask> signed with the Chicago Cubs in January 2009, who traded him in December of that year to the Seattle Mariners. In Seattle, <mask> batted .205 in 2010 and .218 in 2011 before he was released by the club. He has a career batting average of .271 with 135 home runs and 481 runs batted in (RBIs) in 1,042 games played, and was described as having "power, speed, a strong arm and star qualities", although "his temper … has never allowed him to fulfill his immense potential."In 2013, <mask> was convicted by a jury of nine counts of physically attacking and threatening his wife including four counts of spousal battery, two counts of criminal threats, one count of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of vandalism and one count of brandishing a deadly weapon, and was sentenced to 32 months in prison. Early life
<mask> was born on April 15, 1978, in Harbor City, California. His mother, Charlena Rector, worked as a clerk at a local Safeway supermarket, while his father, <mask> Sr., was a veteran of the Vietnam War, and was awarded a Purple Heart for his service. <mask> was named <mask> Jr. when <mask> Sr. filled out his son's birth certificate without Rector's permission. According to <mask>.'s mother, <mask>. was addicted to cocaine, physically abused her, and was homeless for several years. Growing up, <mask> had four half-siblings from Rector's previous marriage. <mask> played baseball at Long Beach Polytechnic High School, and was a teammate of Chase Utley.After graduating high school with a 3.7 grade point average, he committed to California State University, Long Beach, but instead signed with the Expos on July 1, 1996 after being drafted by the team in the second round of the 1996 Major League Baseball June amateur draft. Major League Baseball career

Montreal Expos (1996–2001)
<mask> began his professional baseball career with the GCL Expos of the Gulf Coast League in 1996; in 32 games, he batted .241 with 27 hits. The following season, he played nine games for the GCL Expos and 50 for the Vermont Expos, a short season affiliate of the Montreal Expos. For Vermont, he was named to the postseason New York–Penn League All-Star team. In 1998, he played for the Cape Fear Crocs and the Jupiter Hammerheads, tying for the Croc team lead in doubles with 21 while hitting .302 for the Crocs and .287 for the Hammerheads. While playing for the Harrisburg Senators the next season, he was suspended seven games for starting a fight after he had been hit by a pitch. He also played for the silver-medal-winning United States in the 1999 Pan American Games.Finishing 76–66, the Senators played the Norwich Navigators for the Eastern League championship. The series was tied two games to two in a best-of-five series. In the final game, <mask> hit a walk-off grand slam with two outs and a full count, in the bottom of the ninth inning, to give the Senators a 12–11 win. During the next season, after playing in 88 games for the Ottawa Lynx, he was promoted to the major league club and made his MLB debut on July 19, 2000. In his debut, he hit three straight singles against the New York Mets; and for the season, he batted .221 with 15 RBI over 42 games played. For the 2001 Expos, <mask> played 67 games, including one on April 26 in which he walked to give the Expos the go-ahead run against Rick Ankiel of the St. Louis Cardinals in the top of the 15th inning. On July 31 of that year, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians to serve as a possible replacement for Kenny Lofton; in exchange, the Expos received right-handed pitcher Zach Day.Speaking to the Associated Press about the trade, Indians General Manager John Hart stated:

Cleveland Indians (2001–2003)

After the deal, <mask> was assigned to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons and reported to the team on August 2. In addition to the 30 games he played for the Bisons, he also played 10 games for the major league Indians. On April 15, 2002, he was placed on the disabled list (DL) following an appendectomy a day earlier at St. Anthony's Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. He went on the disabled list again on May 2 with a broken orbital bone and a scratched iris after a batted ball had bounced off the outfield wall and hit him below his left eye while he was trying to make a catch; up to that point, he was hitting .266 in 23 games. After a rehabilitation stint of six games with the Bisons, he was reactivated by the Indians on June 4 and finished the season with a .249 batting average, 38 RBIs and nine home runs. <mask> spent the 2003 campaign with the Indians. Despite being placed on the 15-day DL with a strained right hamstring and missing the final six weeks of the season with a lower back injury, he led the team in stolen bases, with 17.On August 30, while on the DL with a back injury, he was ticketed for speeding in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. After being stopped, he refused the ticket and sped away. He pleaded not guilty to speeding and fleeing charges on September 12, but was sentenced to a three-day jail term. The ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court of Ohio in December 2004. On November 19, 2003 he signed a one-year, $1.73 million contract with the Indians for the Indians to avoid salary arbitration with him. During spring training, he was banned from the Indians' training camp after not running out a popup a game earlier. On April 3, 2004, he was traded to the Dodgers for Franklin Gutiérrez and a player to be named later (Andrew Brown); the Akron Beacon Journal later reported that manager Eric Wedge had insisted that <mask> be traded.Los Angeles Dodgers (2004–2005)

In his first game with the Dodgers, playing center field, <mask> went 2-for-3, with two singles and two walks. On June 1, he was ejected from a game by home plate umpire Terry Craft for arguing over balls and strikes. After being restrained by manager Jim Tracy, he returned to the dugout and threw a ball bag onto the field. <mask> was suspended for four games and Tracy for one game. On September 19, he hit a 479-foot home run against the Colorado Rockies in Coors Field. On September 28, during a home game against the Rockies, <mask> mishandled a line drive and was charged with an error. A fan threw a bottle at <mask>, who left his position in right field, picked up the bottle and threw it into the stands, yelling at the fan.<mask> was immediately ejected from the game. The next day, MLB suspended him for the remainder of the season and fined him an undisclosed amount. In postseason play, he hit .273 with a home run while the Dodgers lost the National League Division Series to the St. Louis Cardinals three games to one. He finished the 2004 season batting .267 with 19 home runs and 67 RBIs, but was caught stealing 11 times, tying for eighth most in MLB. During the offseason, <mask> went through anger management counseling. In a game against the San Francisco Giants on April 12, 2005, he drove in two runs with a single to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs, the winning run then scoring on Jason Ellison's error in the same play. On August 25, 2005, after hitting .290 with 38 RBIs in 75 games, he was put on the 15-day DL with a torn patellar tendon and anterior cruciate ligament which rendered him inactive for the remainder of the season.On December 13, 2005, the Dodgers traded him to the Oakland Athletics along with infielder Antonio Pérez for outfielder prospect Andre Ethier. Oakland Athletics (2006–2007)
In his first season with the Oakland Athletics, <mask> posted a .276 batting average with 14 home runs and 52 runs batted in, in a part-time role. He went on the 15-day DL on May 11, 2006 for a strained oblique muscle and a sprained right knee. On July 30, he hit a three-run walk-off home run to beat the Toronto Blue Jays with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. During game four of the 2006 American League Championship Series versus the Detroit Tigers, <mask> became the third player in MLB history to hit home runs from each side of the plate in a postseason game, joining Bernie Williams and Chipper Jones. For the series, he went nine-for-eighteen with two home runs and five RBIs. On June 21, 2007, the Athletics designated him for assignment.A trade completed the next day, which would have sent <mask> to the Kansas City Royals for Leo Núñez, was voided by the Royals because <mask> had sustained an oblique injury in his last game as an Athletic. He was then traded to the San Diego Padres on June 29, with cash, in exchange for Andrew Brown; it was the second time those two players had been traded for each other. San Diego Padres (2007)

<mask> started his tenure with the Padres on the 15-day DL, but came off it on July 7; in July, he batted .364 with four home runs and 12 RBI in 18 games. On

masks:
Milton Obelle Bradley
Bradley
Bradley
Bradley
Bradley
Bradley
Bradley
Bradley
Bradley
Bradley
Bradley
Bradley
Milton Bradley
Bradley
Milton Bradley
Milton Bradley
Bradley Jr
Bradley Sr
Bradley
Bradley
Bradley
Bradley
Bradley
Bradley
Bradley
Bradley
Bradley
Bradley
Bradley
Bradley
Bradley
Bradley
Bradley
Bradley
Bradley
Bradley
Bradley


title: Milton Bradley (baseball)

texts:
 September 23, 2007, however, he tore his right ACL while being restrained by Padres manager Bud Black during an altercation with first base umpire Mike Winters. Home plate umpire Brian Runge reportedly told <mask> that Winters said that he had tossed his bat in Runge's direction in a previous at-bat. After <mask> reached first base, he questioned Winters about the alleged bat throwing and subsequent communication with Runge. According to <mask> and Padres first base coach Bobby Meacham, Winters addressed <mask> with a barrage of profanity.<mask> then moved towards Winters. While restrained by Black, <mask> fell to the ground and injured himself. He missed the final week of the regular season in 2007, during which the Padres lost to the Colorado Rockies in a one game playoff for the National League wild card on October 1. Winters was suspended for the remainder of the season and also spent the postseason on the restricted list for the incident, after MLB determined that he had indeed directed obscene language toward <mask>. <mask> was not suspended, MLB finding no need for such discipline since he did not make physical contact with Winters. Texas Rangers (2008)
After the 2007 season, <mask> agreed to a one-year contract with the Texas Rangers. He announced in early January 2008 that he expected to be healthy and ready to play in the season opener.As the Rangers' designated hitter, he led the AL in on-base percentage (.436) and on-base plus slugging (.999), and was third in batting average (.321). On making the All-Star game, he stated, "If I somehow miraculously made it to the All-Star Game, I would be floored. I'd really be totally humbled by that. I'm just happy right now to play, to produce and to be with a good group of guys." He was selected to play in his first All-Star Game in 2008 as a designated hitter (DH) after being officially selected as a DH reserve, but due to an injury to David Ortiz he became the starting DH in the 2008 MLB All-Star Game. According to The Dallas Morning News <mask> attempted to confront Kansas City Royals television announcer Ryan Lefebvre in the press box following a June 2008 game for what he believed were unfair comments made on the air. As the Rangers' designated hitter, <mask> watched the broadcast when he was not batting and took offense to a comparison Lefebvre made between him and Josh Hamilton.Manager Ron Washington and general manager Jon Daniels chased after him and stopped him before he got to Lefebvre, at which point he returned to the clubhouse in tears and said:

He was quoted by Rangers radio broadcasters as saying that he never intended to physically harm Lefebvre but did want to speak to him; Daniels said he was upset that someone he didn't know was judging him. Chicago Cubs (2009)
On January 8, 2009, <mask> signed a three-year, $30 million deal with the Chicago Cubs. He was issued a two-game suspension for making contact with umpire Larry Vanover while arguing a strike call on April 16, which was reduced to one game on appeal. During an interleague game against the Minnesota Twins on June 12, he caught a routine fly ball in right field and threw it into the stands, believing it was the third out of the inning when there were only two outs, with runners on third and first base. The umpire allowed the runner on third to score as a sacrifice fly, and allowed the runner on first to advance to third (two bases are awarded to each runner at the time of throw when a wild throw goes out of bounds). Later that month, Cub manager Lou Piniella told <mask> to leave the dugout and go home after he "went after" a Gatorade cooler in frustration after flying out in another interleague game, against the Chicago White Sox. Piniella and <mask> later confronted each other in the locker room and exchanged words.Piniella later apologized to <mask>, and reinserted him back into the lineup during the team's next start. On September 20, 2009, Cubs general manager Jim Hendry suspended <mask> for the remainder of the season after <mask>, in an interview with the Daily Herald, stated the team lacked a "positive environment", that there were "too many people everywhere in your face with a microphone asking the same questions repeatedly" and that "[y]ou understand why [the Cubs] haven't won in 100 years here". In response, Hendry stated he would not "tolerate [<mask>] not being able to answer questions from the media respectably." <mask> later apologized to the Cubs organization for his remarks. For the Cubs, <mask> hit .257 with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs before being traded to the Seattle Mariners for Carlos Silva and cash on December 18, 2009. Seattle Mariners (2010–2011)

<mask> was part of a flurry of offseason moves by the Mariners in hopes of returning to the playoffs, having not reached the postseason since 2001. On May 4, 2010, he removed himself from a game, without permission, and left the stadium after an "angry exchange" with Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu after <mask> struck out with the bases loaded.The Mariners placed <mask> on the restricted list on May 6, and activated <mask> from the restricted list on May 19. He ended the season on the DL after having been placed there on July 31, retroactive to July 27, prior to arthroscopic surgery on his right knee to repair a lateral meniscus tear on August 17. He finished the 2010 season batting .205, with eight home runs and 29 RBIs over 73 games played. On May 9, 2011, the Mariners designated <mask> for assignment after starting the 2011 season hitting .218 with two home runs and 13 RBI in 28 games. Reportedly, the Mariners lost patience with <mask> due to his performance in a series against the White Sox. In the first game, he was ejected for arguing balls and strikes in the eighth inning, preventing the Mariners from putting in a pinch-runner due to not having enough available players. In the second game, he was booed for not hustling after several balls hit his way.In the final game, he made a poor throw that led to two White Sox runs. The Mariners released <mask> on May 16. Personal life
In August 2003, <mask> was stopped in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio for speeding and drove away before signing for his ticket. In February 2004, he was sentenced to serve three days in jail, pay a $250 fine and complete 40 hours of community service. In 2003, <mask> met his future wife, Monique Williams, a community relations intern for the Indians, while with the team. In 2005, <mask> was the Dodgers' nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award for working with the Dodgers Dream Foundation, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, and the Long Beach Boys & Girls Clubs, among other charities. <mask> has also opened two baseball academies, one in Long Beach and another in Baldwin Hills.In August 2005, Redondo Beach police received three domestic-violence-related calls from <mask>'s house. No charges were filed. In 2006, <mask> filed for divorce but the petition was never finalized. On January 18, 2011, <mask> was arrested at his home in Encino, California and charged with making criminal threats to his wife. When he agreed to participate in an out-of-court hearing process, no charges were filed against him. However, his wife subsequently filed for divorce. In January 2013, <mask> was charged with several crimes stemming from five different domestic incidents which occurred in 2011 and 2012.On June 3, 2013, <mask> was convicted by a jury of nine counts of physically attacking and threatening his wife including four counts of spousal battery, two counts of criminal threats, one count of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of vandalism and one count of brandishing a deadly weapon. On July 2, 2013, <mask> received a sentence of 32 months in prison and 52 weeks of anger management and domestic violence classes. Pending appeal, <mask> was released on $250,000 bail. On September 14, 2013, at the age of 33, <mask>'s wife died at Encino Hospital Medical Center; an October 10 death certificate listed cryptogenic cirrhosis of the liver, hemorrhagic shock and cardiac arrest as her causes of death. In 2015, <mask> maintained sole custody of his and Monique's two sons. A Los Angeles appellate court rejected <mask>'s appeal on January 21, 2015. Sports Illustrated reported in May 2015 that following another unsuccessful appeal, <mask> was ordered to begin serving the 32-month sentence for his 2013 convictions, with the hearing judge stating that <mask>'s request for leniency was "breathtaking, frankly, in how callous" it was.In early 2016, <mask>'s request to have his jail sentence reduced was denied by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge. By April 2018, <mask>, according to Sports Illustrated, had been married to his second wife, Rachel, for two and a half years. In April 2018, <mask> was charged with spousal battery and taken into custody on bail of $175,000 for allegedly assaulting his wife during a January 2018 incident, at which time <mask> was on probation for his earlier domestic violence conviction. In June 2018 <mask> pleaded no contest to domestic battery, was sentenced to 36 months of probation, and was required to complete 52 weeks of domestic violence counseling. References

External links

1978 births
Living people
African-American baseball players
Akron Aeros players
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
American League All-Stars
American people convicted of assault
American sportspeople convicted of crimes
Baseball players at the 1999 Pan American Games
Baseball players from Los Angeles
Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Cape Fear Crocs players
Chicago Cubs players
Cleveland Indians players
Gulf Coast Expos players
Harrisburg Senators players
Jupiter Hammerheads players
Las Vegas 51s players
Los Angeles Dodgers players
Major League Baseball outfielders
Montreal Expos players
Oakland Athletics players
Ottawa Lynx players
Pan American Games medalists in baseball
Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States
People convicted of battery
People from Harbor City, Los Angeles
Sacramento River Cats players
San Diego Padres players
Seattle Mariners players
Stockton Ports players
Texas Rangers players
United States national baseball team players
Vermont Expos players
Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games
21st-century African-American sportspeople
20th-century African-American

masks: Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Milton Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley Bradley


title: Kostas Stafylidis

texts:
Konstantinos "<mask>" <mask> (; born 2 December 1993) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Bundesliga club VfL Bochum, on loan from 1899 Hoffenheim. He represents the Greece national team. Early career
<mask> started his football career at the age of 6, joining his village football team Aetos Akropotamou. At the age of 12, PAOK scouts recognized his talent, and he joined the club's academies. <mask> has played for all PAOK youth teams. Club career

PAOK
After rising through the youth ranks where he featured at every level, while also breaking into the Greek national youth set up after earning call-ups to the U17s and U19s starting in 2010, <mask> would make his full debut for the White-Blacks in autumn 2011 against Panetolikos, even registering the first assist of his full professional career in the same outing. Bayer Leverkusen
In the summer of 2012 and after his good performance at the 2012 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship, Stafylidis attracted attention from German club Bayer Leverkusen.After weeks of negotiations and due to PAOK's financial problems the team accepted a bid of €1.5 million from Leverkusen, but decided to stay for one more year as a loan, in his former club. Having failed to break into the first-team at the BayArena for the 2013–14 season, he was again chucked out on loan, this time to England where he would join up with Championship side Fulham. Loan to Fulham
On 9 July 2014, <mask> joined Fulham, recently relegated to the EFL Championship, on a season-long loan. Fulham had the option to buy <mask> permanently at the end of his loan spell. He made 44 appearances with the club in all competitions. At the end of the season, he returned to Bayer Leverkusen. Augsburg
Though he would return to Leverkusen, fellow Bundesliga outfit FC Augsburg would bring him to Bavaria in a deal worth £2.1 million as both Bundesliga clubs confirmed in official statements.On 22 August 2015, he made his debut with the club in a 1–1 away draw against Eintracht Frankfurt. On 12 October 2015, <mask> was injured in the game against Hungary. "It's a minor injury. I will be out for 20 days", he mentioned. On 10 December 2015, he returned to the squad in a historic 3–1 away game against FK Partizan for UEFA Europa League, as they needing to score three and win by a two-goal margin, they were understandably on the front foot from the get-go. On 6 February 2016, in an away 2–1 loss against Ingosltadt <mask> scored his first goal with the club with a wonderful kick, after taking the rebound outside the penalty area. It was his first goal for the season.On 25 February 2016, in the second leg of the last 32 of UEFA Europa League,  Stafylidis one minute before the final whistle, curls his free-kick over the wall but just wide of the upright. That was almost curtains for Liverpool that with James Milner’s early penalty was enough to book their place in the last 16 of the Europa League for the first time in five years at the expense of Augsburg. Despite the move at the beginning of the 2015–16 campaign, <mask> would only go on to make sixteen total appearances (eleven in the Bundesliga) in what would be Markus Weinzierl’s final season in charge before moving Schalke 04 the summer of 2016. It has been under new boss Dirk Schuster that Stafylidis has been truly impressive during the 2016–17 campaign. On 11 September 2016, <mask> notched the fifth direct free-kick in Augsburg's Bundesliga history, helping his club to escape with a crucial 2–1 away win against Werder Bremen. On 18 September 2016, despite his goal in the equaliser a minute later Mainz restore their lead through Yunus Mallı's glancing header, in a frustrating 1–3 home loss. On 16 October 2016, the Greek international defender was the cause of Breel Embolo's severe injury as he broke the Schalke forward's ankle in a tackle, in Augsburg's clash with Schalke and the former has now apologised, stating he never meant to harm him.Switzerland international Embolo could be set to miss the rest of the season after sustaining the injury midway through the first half of 1–1 draw between the teams. <mask>, who was booked for the challenge, was quick to offer his condolences to the 19-year-old striker. On 23 February 2017, the club announced the extension of Stafylidis till the summer of 2019, for an undisclosed fee. On 3 March 2017, he opened the score with a fierce 30-yard strike, in a 2–2 home draw against RB Leipzig. On 18 March 2017, Stafylidis made Lukas Kübler look bad and heads a cross from Georg Teigl to the top of the second post equalizing the score in a 1–1 home draw against SC Freiburg. <mask> not only scored his fourth league goal of the 2016–17 season against the Black Forest outfit, but the Greek defender’s set-pieces were also a constant source of worry for the visitors, who were perhaps lucky to escape the WWK Arena with a share of the spoils. Despite his performance in the 2016–17 season, this year's first half counts for just 31 minutes of participation, as a substitute in two games against Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayern Munich, as he has fallen out of favour with manager Manuel Baum and a move is possible in January transfer window.He returned to Augsburg at the beginning of 2018–19 season, but he made his first appearance in the season on 23 December in a 2–3 home loss game against VfL Wolfsburg. Loan to Stoke City
In January 2018, <mask> joined Premier League side Stoke City on loan until the end of the 2017–18 season, becoming new manager Paul Lambert's first signing. On 3 February 2018, he made his debut with the club as a late substitute for Badou Ndiaye in a 2–1 away loss against Bournemouth. A rib injury restricted Stafylidis to just five appearances for Stoke as the club suffered relegation to the EFL Championship. 1899 Hoffenheim
On 15 May 2019, <mask> will remain in the Bundesliga through 2023 after signing a contract with 1899 Hoffenheim on a free transfer. <mask> spent the last four seasons with Augsburg, with a loan spell at Stoke City, and recorded 61 appearances, five goals, and three assists across all competitions. He is expected to take the place of Nico Schulz, who will likely make a move to Borussia Dortmund this summer.On 18 January 2020, he scored his first goal with the club with a kick in a 2–1 home loss against Eintracht Frankfurt. On 6 September 2020 he faced a shoulder injury that will keep him away of the squad for at least six months. On 23 February 2021, after a very difficult period for the defender marred by injury (167 days to be exact), he injured himself without any outside interference while training. A thorough examination has revealed that the Greek defender has suffered a fracture of the tibial plateau and will be out for several weeks. Loan to Bochum
In August 2021, he signed a season-long loan contract with German club VfL Bochum. On 21 August 2021, for almost 17 months without being even a change in a game, it came in as a substitute, in a 2-0 Bundesliga home win game against Mainz. International career

He also played a major role in the Greek squad at the Under-19 European Champions and won a runners-up medal, after losing 1–0 to Spain U19, being named to the team of the tournament.<mask> made his debut with Greece national football team in a friendly match against Republic of Ireland on 14 November 2012, in which Greece won 1–0. On 11 October 2015, he scored his first goal with Greece in a 4–3 home win against Hungary when he opened the score, scoring their first home goal of the campaign as he turned in a cross from Stelios Kitsiou at close range in the fifth minute. On 10 October 2016, an exact year after his first goal, he scored  from a free kick with a left footed shot to the bottom left corner, sealing a 2–0 away 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification win against Estonia. Honours
Greece U19
UEFA European Under-19 Championship runner-up: 2012

Individual
UEFA European Under-19 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2012

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

References

External links

1993 births
Living people
Greek footballers
Greece international footballers
Greece youth international footballers
Greece under-21 international footballers
Greek expatriate footballers
PAOK FC players
Bayer 04 Leverkusen players
Bayer 04 Leverkusen II players
Fulham F.C. players
FC Augsburg players
Stoke City F.C. players
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim players
VfL Bochum players
Super League Greece players
Bundesliga players
Regionalliga players
Premier League players
English Football League players
Expatriate footballers in Germany
Expatriate footballers in England
Sportspeople from Thessaloniki
Association football defenders

masks: Kostas Stafylidis Stafylidis Stafylidis Stafylidis Stafylidis Stafylidis Stafylidis Stafylidis Stafylidis Stafylidis Stafylidis Stafylidis Stafylidis Stafylidis Stafylidis Stafylidis


title: Killer Karl Kox

texts:
Herbert Alan Gerwig (April 26, 1931 – November 10, 2011) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name of <mask>, who competed in the National Wrestling Alliance as well as international promotions such as All Japan Pro Wrestling, the International Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling during the 1960s and 1970s. Career
Gerwig began his career in 1956. Rumors were that in 1957, <mask> earned the name, <mask>, when he performed his famous finishing move, the brainbuster, on his opponent by holding him upside down for a period of time and allowing the blood to rush to the brain. As a singles heel through the sixties, he was a top-of-card fixture battling well-established crowd favourites such as Mark Lewin, Spiros Arion, Tex McKenzie, Dominic Denucci and Mario Milano. Enormous numbers from Australia's nascent ethnic community turned out to support Arion, Denucci and Milano, and <mask> risked riots at every appearance. On February 21, 1967, he and Iron Mike DiBiase defeated Pedro Morales & Ricky Romero to win the WWA World Tag Team titles. He defeated Buddy Rogers to win the MWCW North American title in March 1968.Fans longed to see the brainbuster deployed on the side of good, and this boon was granted in 1971 when the <mask> turned into a babyface in a nationally televised mea culpa - he pledged to change his ways on a solemn promise to his dying mother. This created much heat in the already booming Australian wrestling promotion, where the fixture was an ongoing television "war" between the good guys referred to as "The People's Army" (Lewin, Curtis, Arion, Milano and visiting faces from overseas) and the "mercenary soldiers" managed by Kentucky biker / preacher Big Bad John. The turning of the tables saw the erstwhile <mask> create great excitement in tag matches against his former heel comrades Abdullah the Butcher, Brute Bernard, Dick "The Bulldog" Brower, Tiger Singh, Waldo Von Erich and Japanese heels like Mr Fuji and the Tojo Brothers. He lost to Johnny Weaver on May 4, 1973, in a Hair vs Mask match while working as The Masked Menace. He won the Florida Brass Knucks title by winning a tournament, and also defended the title against Rocky Johnson and Steve Keirn. In February 1978, he defeated Dusty Rhodes to win the Florida heavyweight title. At a wrestling show later that year, <mask> was wrestling a match when a fan started to repeatedly hit him with an umbrella.Security got involved and detained the fan, but instead of kicking the fan out of the show, <mask> requested that they bring him into a backroom with the door locked. He allegedly requested that security not let him out until it was alright doing so. Security took the fan to a back room and locked the door. After <mask>'s match ended, he told security to open the door and he went in. Five minutes later, <mask> walked out of the room and the fan was found lying on the floor, covered in blood and was knocked out unconscious. In the wrestling profession, <mask> <mask> was always a popular figure for his humour, behind-the-scenes practical jokes and inventiveness in furthering the promotion ("the greatest gimmicks man in the business" said one admiring colleague). His grudge matches were well-calibrated and exciting, building through a series of disqualifications and non-decisions through run-in interference, and often climaxing in a conditional match in which "the loser packs his bags and leaves town."This saw off one or the other of the combatants as they travelled to fulfill other promotional runs in other countries; battle would be re-joined next season when the participants returned for another highly profitable run. Dick Murdoch once listed a number of people he had supposedly defeated and put out of wrestling, including a midget wrestler from the 1940s (few people caught the jope reference) and also listed on Herb Gelwig, (who was of course <mask> <mask> with whom he teamed several times and was still quite active.) On October 9, 1979, he defeated Wahoo McDaniel to win the Georgia State Heavyweight title. He was cheered in Australia for one of the few times in his life when he faced the team of Abdullah & Bulldog Brower. He then retired in 1982. Among <mask> <mask>'s famous matches in Australia, his feuds with man-mountain Haystacks Calhoun usually involved the insinuation of foreign objects into the proceedings by Kox. At the end of one season, Kox "left Australia for medical treatment in the states" when, in a strap match with Bulldog Brower, his eye was nearly removed (the wound was unbandaged to show the television audience).A headline making event was when a television match for the Australian championship against Spiros Arion was declared ended due to time limit by well-loved commentator Jack Little. <mask> responded by applying the Brain Buster to the unfortunate Little, who was hospitalized and required to call matches the following month in a neck brace. <mask> made his final wrestling-related appearance at VCCW Quest for the Crown II in August 2011, taking part in a meet and greet as well as later presenting the championship to Scot Summers. Death
On November 10, 2011, <mask> died at the age of 80 following a heart attack and a stroke he had suffered nearly three weeks prior, in October 20. Championships and accomplishments
All Japan Pro Wrestling
NWA International Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Cyclone Negro
American Wrestling Association
Nebraska Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
Central States Wrestling
NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
NWA Central States Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Takachiho
NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Central States version) (2 times) – with K.O.

masks:
Killer Karl Kox
Kox
Killer
Kox
Killer
Killer
Kox
Kox
Kox
Kox
Killer Karl
Kox
Killer Karl
Kox
Killer Karl
Kox
Kox
Kox
Kox