The 2008 ACC Championship Game was a college football game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Boston College Eagles. The game, sponsored by Dr Pepper, was the final regular-season contest of the 2008 college football season for the Atlantic Coast Conference. Virginia Tech defeated Boston College, winning the Atlantic Coast Conference football championship, 30–12. Until 2021, this was the last ACC Championship Game to not feature Clemson or Florida State from the Atlantic Division.

The Virginia Tech Hokies were selected to represent the Coastal Division by virtue of a tie-breaking head-to-head victory against division rival Georgia Tech and came into the game with an 8–4 record (5–3 in ACC play). Representing the Atlantic Division was Boston College, which had a 9–3 record (5–3 ACC). The two teams were the victors of a closely contested season in the ACC. Neither team clinched a spot in the game until the final week before the championship, and both had to rely on conference tie-breaking rules to earn a spot. The game was a rematch of the previous year's contest, which Virginia Tech won, 30–16.

The game was held at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on December 6, 2008. Tampa had been chosen after poor attendance at the game's previous spot (Jacksonville, Florida) led conference officials to move the game. The 2008 championship was the first to be played in Tampa. The game began slowly, as both teams punted after their opening possessions failed to gain a first down. Later in the quarter, Virginia Tech took a 7–0 lead with a five-yard touchdown run by Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor. The Hokies never relinquished the lead after that point. Tech extended its lead to 14–0 in the second quarter, but Boston College managed to narrow Tech's lead to 14–7 by halftime. In the second half, Virginia Tech scored 17 points to the Eagles' five, and the Hokies won the game. In recognition of his game-winning performance, Taylor was named the game's most valuable player.

Selection process

The ACC Championship Game matches the winners of the Coastal and Atlantic divisions of the Atlantic Coast Conference. In the first decade of the 21st century, the league underwent an expansion to add three former Big East members: Miami and Virginia Tech in 2004, and Boston College in 2005. With the addition of a twelfth team, the ACC was allowed to hold a conference championship game under National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules.

The inaugural 2005 game featured a Florida State win over Virginia Tech, 27–22. In 2006, two different teams made their first appearances in the game, which was held in Jacksonville, Florida. Wake Forest defeated Georgia Tech, 9–6. In 2007, one team new to the championship game and championship-game veteran featured in the contest as Virginia Tech faced off against Boston College. The game resulted in a 30–16 Virginia Tech victory.

Site selection

Before the 2007 game, cities other than Jacksonville (site of the 2007 ACC Championship Game) presented their plans to be the site of the 2008 ACC Championship Game. After poor attendance in the ACC Championship Game at Jacksonville for the second straight year, ACC officials and representatives of the conference's member schools elected not to extend the Gator Bowl Association's contract to host the game for another year. On December 12, less than two weeks after Jacksonville had hosted the 2007 ACC Championship Game, the ACC announced that Tampa, Florida would host the game in 2008 and 2009 and Charlotte, North Carolina would host the game in 2010 and 2011.

The cities were chosen based on bids presented to the ACC and its member schools. Each city requested and was granted a two-year contract, locking the ACC into the locations well in advance. Tampa was chosen as the site of the 2008 game because Charlotte was scheduled to hold the annual convention of the Association for Career and Technical Education at the same time as the game, and adequate hotel space would not be ready in time for the two events. Because of this, Charlotte's two-year span of hosting the game was pushed back to 2010.

Team selection

Before the beginning of the 2008 college football season, the annual poll by media members who cover ACC football predicted Clemson to win the Atlantic Division and Virginia Tech to win the Coastal Division. Clemson received 59 of a possible 65 first-place votes in its division, while Virginia Tech received 58.

From the first game of the season, however, those preseason predictions were cast into doubt. Virginia Tech lost its season opener to lightly regarded East Carolina, while Clemson lost to Alabama. Though neither loss factored into either team's conference standings, it reflected the early stages of a conference schedule that was regarded as crazy, wacky, "a mess", and "confusing" by members of the media and college football fans. So closely matched were the 12 teams of the conference that as late as the second-to-last week of the regular season, nine teams were still in the running for a place in the championship game. Heading into the final week of the regular season, four teams were still in position to potentially participate in the game: Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech from the Coastal Division, and Boston College and Florida State from the Atlantic Division. In that final week, Virginia Tech clinched the Coastal Division co-championship with a 17–14 win over Virginia, while Boston College became co-champions of the Atlantic Division with a 28–21 win against Maryland.

Boston College

The Boston College Eagles entered the 2008 college football season having gone 11–3 during the 2007 season, ending that season with a loss to Virginia Tech in the 2007 ACC Championship Game and a 24–21 victory over Michigan State in the 2007 Champs Sports Bowl. In the annual preseason poll of media covering the ACC, Boston College was picked to finish fourth in the Atlantic Division.

The Eagles opened the season by traveling to Kent State, whom the Eagles defeated, 21–0. The Eagles' home opener was their second game of the season and was also their first conference game of the year. Against Georgia Tech, the Eagles eked out a 9–7 halftime lead, but fell behind in the second half, eventually losing, 19–16, on a Georgia Tech touchdown that came with 8:26 remaining in the game. Despite the loss, the Eagles recovered quickly, beating Central Florida, 34–7, two weeks after the Georgia Tech game. The victory was the first in an eventual four-game win streak that culminated with a 28–23 defeat of then-No. 17 Virginia Tech.

The win over Virginia Tech gave the Eagles a 2–1 conference record, and they appeared to be destined for a bid to the ACC Championship Game. But Boston College lost its next two games, both against conference opponents, dropping its record to 2–3. Despite the losses, Boston College still had a chance to win the Atlantic Division—but only if other teams lost as well. This happened on November 6, when fellow Atlantic Division team Maryland lost to Virginia Tech, and the Eagles recovered from their losing streak with an out-of-conference win against Notre Dame.

Notre Dame was the last out-of-conference opponent on Boston College's schedule, as the Eagles finished the season with three consecutive ACC games. The first of these was against Florida State which led the Atlantic Division at the time, but had had five players suspended the day before the game. The Eagles secured a victory, 27–17. The second of Boston College's final opponents was Wake Forest, which had played in the 2006 ACC Championship Game. While Boston College won, 24–21, starting quarterback Chris Crane suffered a season-ending injury, leaving backup Dominique Davis in charge of the Eagles' offense. Boston College's final game of the regular season was against Maryland and a victory against the Terrapins would push the Eagles to a tie with Florida State atop the Atlantic Division. Since Boston College had won the head-to-head game against Florida State, according to the ACC's tie-breaking rules, the Eagles would win the division. A 28–21 victory over Maryland brought Boston College to a 5–3 ACC record, giving it a co-division championship with Florida State and a trip to the ACC Championship Game.

Virginia Tech

The Virginia Tech Hokies entered the 2008 season having won the 2007 ACC Championship Game, finishing with an 11–3 overall record that included a postseason loss to the Kansas Jayhawks in the 2008 Orange Bowl. Despite winning the ACC for the second time in less than four years, Virginia Tech was anticipated to spend 2008 rebuilding a team that saw 12 starters graduate or enter the NFL Draft. Though picked in a preseason poll to win the Coastal Division, the Hokies were defeated in their season opener by underdog East Carolina.

Following that loss, Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer announced that backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who had previously been expected to sit out the season on redshirt status, would play in the Hokies' second game, against Furman. Both Taylor and starting quarterback Sean Glennon performed well against the Paladins, and Tech won, 24–7. Tech's third game came against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, who were employing a new offensive system, the option offense, under first-year head coach Paul Johnson. Unlike the game against Furman, Taylor started the game and remained at quarterback throughout, guiding the Hokies to their first ACC victory of the season, a 20–17 win that later gave Tech a crucial head-to-head tiebreaker against the Yellow Jackets, fellow members of the Coastal Division. The Hokies' fourth game of the season came against the North Carolina Tar Heels, who were defeated by the same margin of victory as Tech's win against Georgia Tech, 20–17.

The twin conference victories were followed by two out-of-conference wins: at Big 12 opponent Nebraska and against independent Western Kentucky. At the end of the four-game winning streak, the Hokies had a 4–1 record, 2–0 in conference, and were ranked No. 17 in the country. On October 18, however, the Hokies lost to unranked Boston College in Boston, 28–23. The game was a rematch of the previous year's ACC Championship Game and was a preview of the 2008 Championship Game matchup. The loss was the start of a four-game skid for the Hokies that saw Tech lose three of four games, only managing a victory against Maryland, 23–13. The final game of that four-game drop was a 16–13 loss to Coastal Division rival Miami, which then held a crucial tiebreaking win over the Hokies in the event of any head-to-head tie.

During the last two games of the regular season, the Hokies managed two victories: a 14–3 win against last-place ACC team Duke, and a 17–14 triumph over traditional rival Virginia. Miami, meanwhile, lost its final two games of the season: against Georgia Tech and North Carolina State. These losses dropped Miami to a 4–4 record in the ACC, one game behind the Hokies, who were tied with Georgia Tech at 5–3 following the end of the regular season. By virtue of the Hokies' head-to-head win against the Yellow Jackets, Virginia Tech earned a spot in the ACC Championship Game.

Pre-game buildup
Following the last week of the regular season, both teams moved up in the national college football polls. Boston College, which had been ranked No. 21 in the BCS Poll, No. 20 in the AP Poll, and No. 22 in the Coaches' Poll, rose to No. 17 in the BCS, No. 18 in the AP Poll, and No. 20 in the Coaches' Poll. Virginia Tech, which had been unranked during the final week of the regular season, remained in the "Also Receiving Votes" category outside the top 25, except in the BCS Poll, where the Hokies rose to No. 25. Spread bettors predicted an even game. Various betting organizations favored Boston College either by a single point or none. This close spread was due in small part to the teams' familiarity with each other. The championship game marked the fourth time in 14 months that the two teams played each other, and this fact was prominently mentioned in media coverage before the game's kickoff.

Attendance concerns

Almost immediately after the selection of Virginia Tech and Boston College, concerns about potential attendance at the 2008 ACC Championship Game arose. Because the same matchup resulted in such low attendance at the 2007 championship game in Jacksonville, it was doubted that Tampa, which is several hundred miles further south and more distant from the two schools, could attract as many spectators as the previous season's game. Adding to the problem of selling tickets was the 2008 economic crisis, which many fans cited as a reason for not purchasing tickets. By the Wednesday before the game, Virginia Tech had sold just 3,000 of the 10,000 tickets it was required by contract to sell. There also were questions about how many local fans would attend. To mitigate the problems seen in Jacksonville the year before, ticket prices were lowered from $65 to $25, and it was hoped that the lower capacity of Tampa's Raymond James Stadium compared with Jacksonville Municipal Stadium would allow for a quicker sellout. The campaign to attract more fans was moderately successful, as 30,000 of the 43,000 tickets not assigned to either school were sold by December 1, five days before the game. Team ticket sales were abysmal, however, as Virginia Tech and Boston College combined to sell just 5,000 tickets of the 20,000 allotted to the two teams.

Boston College offense
The Boston College offense, which gained 319 yards per game on average, was ranked 94th (of 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams) in total offense. A key component of the offense was guard Cliff Ramsey, who was named a first-team All-ACC selection, signifying his status as the best player at his position in the conference. Tight end Ryan Purvis was named a second-team All-ACC selection. Quarterback Dominique Davis led the Eagles' offense on the field heading into the ACC Championship. Davis had been the second-string quarterback until a season-ending injury to starter Chris Crane. During his limited time in the regular season, Davis had three passing and two rushing touchdowns.

Virginia Tech offense
Virginia Tech's offense was criticized for a lack of production during the regular season and was ranked 103rd in total offense. The Hokies gained just 301 yards of offense on average during the regular season. Despite the meager statistical performance, Tech did have some standout players. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who had been expected to sit out the season in reserve, finished the year as the team's starter. Running back Darren Evans was named a second-team All-ACC selection, as was guard Sergio Render. Taylor's favorite passing targets were wide receivers Danny Coale and Jarrett Boykin. Coale entered the ACC Championship Game having caught 32 catches for 352 yards, while Boykin grabbed 27 passes for 407 yards.

Boston College defense
The Eagles' defense was ranked eighth in the nation in terms of total defense, allowing an average of 277 yards per game. The Eagles led the country in interceptions, recording 25 during the course of the regular season. The Eagles also were ranked among the top 10 in run defense, pass-efficiency defense, and No. 14 in scoring defense. That strong defensive effort was led by linebacker Mark Herzlich, who was selected as the ACC's defensive player of the year for the 2008 season. Herzlich led the Eagles in tackles with 98—fifth among all Division I players—and interceptions, with 6. He was forecast to be a key player during the ACC Championship Game. Defensive tackle B. J. Raji recorded 33 tackles (11 for loss) and a team-high 7 sacks, part of a defense that allowed an average of just 87.3 rushing yards per game.

Virginia Tech defense
The Hokies' defense was ranked sixth in Division I-A during the regular season, permitting 275 yards per game on average. That defensive performance was led by cornerback Victor "Macho" Harris, who was named a first-team All-ACC selection on defense. Heading into the ACC Championship, Harris had 6 interceptions—2 returned for touchdowns—and 42 tackles. Harris also played on offense, catching 8 passes for 63 yards. Another defensive star for the Hokies was Orion Martin, a former walk-on who was third in the ACC in sacks with 7.5 and earned second-team ACC honors.

Game summary

The 2008 ACC Championship Game kicked off on December 6, 2008, at 1 p.m. EST at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. At kickoff, the weather was partly cloudy with 59 percent humidity and a temperature of . The wind was from the south-southwest at . The official reported attendance was 53,927, but this number came from the number of tickets sold. The actual attendance in the stadium—measured by admittance turnstiles—was 27,360, the lowest ever recorded for an ACC football championship game. Ticket demand was so low that tickets were being given away for free outside the stadium before kickoff. The game was televised in the United States by the American Broadcasting Company, and Brad Nessler, Bob Griese, Paul Maguire, and Todd Harris were the announcers. Approximately 3.3 million people watched the game, earning the broadcast a Nielsen rating of 2.9. The rating was the lowest ever recorded for an ACC Championship football game and represented a 41% decline from the previous year's rating of 4.2.

First quarter
Boston College won the ceremonial pre-game coin toss to determine first possession and elected to kick off to begin the game, ensuring that the Eagles would receive the ball to begin the second half. Virginia Tech kick returner Dyrell Roberts fielded the ball at the Tech six-yard line and returned it to the Tech 33-yard line before the first play of the game, a four-yard pass from quarterback Tyrod Taylor to wide receiver Danny Coale. Despite that initial gain, the Hokies were unable to advance the ball further and punted after going three and out. Boston College's Rich Gunnell fair caught the kick at the Eagles' 16-yard line, where the Boston College offense ran its first play of the game. Running back Montel Harris ran for a one-yard gain, but Boston College was unable to gain the needed ten yards for a first down, just as Virginia Tech had failed to do in the prior series. After going three and out, the Eagles punted back to Virginia Tech and the Hokies' offense returned to the field at the Tech 39-yard line with 11:30 remaining in the first quarter.

The first play of the drive was an incomplete pass by Taylor, but the Hokies earned the initial first down of the game two plays later when Taylor completed a 14-yard throw to Roberts, advancing the ball to the 41-yard line of Boston College in the process. After a five-yard penalty against the Hokies, Taylor completed two consecutive passes: one to Evans for a 12-yard gain and the other to Roberts for a 10-yard gain. Now at the 24-yard line of Boston College, Virginia Tech's offense began running the ball instead of passing it. Evans rushed for five yards, then second-string running back Josh Oglesby ran for seven more on the next two plays. The first of Oglesby's rushes resulted in a first down inside the Eagles' red zone, and Tech continued to advance the ball on the ground as Evans ran another five yards. Facing third down at the Boston College five-yard line, Virginia Tech called a timeout to formulate its next offensive play. That play was a five-yard rush by Taylor, who crossed the goal line for the game's first score, a Virginia Tech touchdown. The subsequent extra point kick was successful, and the Hokies took a 7–0 lead with 6:27 remaining in the first quarter.

Virginia Tech's post-touchdown kickoff was fielded at the Boston College 13-yard line by the Eagles' Harris, who returned it to the Boston College 28-yard line, and the Eagles' offense began its second drive of the game. Eagles quarterback Dominique Davis completed his first pass of the game, a 19-yard catch by Brandon Robinson, who advanced the ball to the Boston College 47-yard line for a first down. Davis then scrambled for a four-yard gain, and Harris ran for nine yards on the next two plays, gaining the Eagles' second first down of the game. Once inside the Virginia Tech 40-yard line, however, the Hokies' defense stiffened. Davis was able to gain six yards on two running plays, but after an incomplete pass, the Eagles were forced to punt for the second time in the first quarter. The kick sailed into the end zone for a touchback, and Virginia Tech's offense began work at its 20-yard line. The Hokies' third drive of the quarter mirrored its first, however, as Virginia Tech went three and out and punted after failing to gain a first down. The Eagles recovered the ball with 1:32 remaining in the quarter and committed a five-yard false start penalty to begin their possession. On the first play after the penalty, Davis was sacked for a loss of two yards. Harris regained the lost yardage and more with a six-yard run, but after Davis threw an incomplete pass on third down, the Eagles were forced to punt again. Before they could kick the ball, however, the quarter came to an end. With three quarters remaining in the game, Virginia Tech held a 7–0 lead.

Second quarter
The second quarter began with Boston College in possession of the ball at its 28-yard line and preparing to punt. Virginia Tech's Harris fielded the kick at the Tech 35-yard line and returned it to the Tech 49-yard line, where the Hokies' offense took to the field for their first play of the second quarter. Evans gained six yards on a rush, then Coale was stopped for no gain on an end-around. Facing third down and needing four yards, Taylor passed for a first down to Boykin, who advanced the ball to the Boston College 39-yard line. On the next play, Evans broke free for a 30-yard gain, giving the Hokies a first down at the Eagles' nine-yard line. Three plays later, Taylor ran four yards for the Hokies' second touchdown of the game. The extra point was good, and Tech expanded its lead to 14–0 with 11:08 remaining in the first half.

Virginia Tech's post-touchdown kickoff was returned to the Boston College 20-yard line, and the Eagles began their first full possession of the second quarter. Davis lost a yard on a running play, then was sacked for an eight-yard loss. Facing third down and needing 19 yards for a first down, Harris gained five yards and the Eagles punted after going three and out. The kick was returned to the Eagles' 36-yard line, and Tech began a possession deep in Boston College territory. The first Tech play lost two yards, but the Hokies regained the lost yardage on the next play, picking up four yards with a pass from Taylor to Evans. Taylor scrambled on third down, gaining eight yards and a first down. The Hokies attempted a short run, then Taylor gained another first down with a pass to the BC 14-yard line. Once there, however, Tech committed a 10-yard holding penalty, pushing the Hokies backwards. After the penalty, Taylor was tackled for a loss of seven more yards. Facing a second down and 27 yards, Taylor attempted to pass for the first down, but the ball was batted into the air and intercepted by a Boston College defender.

Following the turnover, the Eagles' offense began work at their 46-yard line. Davis completed a five-yard pass to Robinson, advancing into Tech territory. An incomplete pass followed, but Davis was able to gain the first down with a pass to Rich Gunnell at the 39-yard line. On the first pass after the first down, Davis and Gunnell connected on a deep pass, but Gunnell fumbled and the ball was recovered in the end zone by a Virginia Tech defender. The play resulted in a touchback, and Virginia Tech took over on offense at its 20-yard line. Following the turnover, Tech went three and out, punting back to Boston College with 2:11 remaining before halftime.

The kick was fair caught at the 34-yard line of Boston College. On the first play after the kick, Davis connected with Harris on a pass play that resulted in a 51-yard gain for the Eagles. At the Tech 15-yard line following the big gain, the Eagles lost one yard on a rushing play before Davis passed to Gunnell for a 16-yard gain and a touchdown. The extra point was good, and with 1:29 remaining in the first half, Virginia Tech's lead was cut to 14–7.

The Eagles' post-touchdown kickoff was returned to the Tech 33-yard line, and on the first play after the kick, Boston College committed a personal foul penalty when Tyrod Taylor was hit out of bounds. Following the penalty, the ball was advanced to the Tech 42-yard line and the Hokies were given a first down. Tech completed two short passes, advancing to the 50-yard line, but the Hokies punted after not gaining another first down. The kick sailed out of bounds, and the Eagles returned to offense with 19 seconds remaining in the first half. Rather than try to score quickly, Boston College elected to run out the clock with Virginia Tech leading, 14–7.

Third quarter

Because Virginia Tech received the ball to begin the game, Boston College received the ball to begin the second half. Virginia Tech's kickoff was returned to the Eagles' 35-yard line, and Boston College's offense began the first possession of the second half. An incomplete pass by Davis was followed by a short rush and another incomplete pass, and the Eagles were forced to punt after going three and out. The kick went out of bounds at Virginia Tech's 32-yard line, and the Hokies' offense had their first possession of the second half. Tech likewise went three and out, then returned the ball to the Eagles with a punt. The kick went out of bounds, and following the exchange, Boston College's offense started from its 31-yard line.

The first Eagles' play after the Tech punt was a 22-yard pass from Davis to Gunnell for a first down at the Tech 47-yard line. Following the long gain, the Eagles were unable to gain another first down, and punted back to the Hokies. The kick was fair caught at the Tech 16-yard line with 11:08 remaining in the third quarter, and the Virginia Tech offense returned to the field. Tech advanced the ball on three consecutive plays: a six-yard pass to Evans, a short rush by Evans, then a first down pass to Roberts. Following the first down, Evans ran for another first down, advancing the Hokies to their 44-yard line. Two Tech plays were stopped for little or no gain, but on third and nine, Taylor scrambled for an 18-yard gain and a first down at the Boston College 37-yard line. Evans gained six yards on first down, but the Hokies were unable to gain the next four yards. Instead of punting, Tech head coach Frank Beamer sent kicker Jared Keys into the game to attempt a field goal. Keys' 50-yard kick sailed through the uprights, and Tech extended its lead to 17–7 with 6:07 remaining in the quarter.

Tech's post-score kickoff was returned to the Eagles' 30-yard line. Davis started the drive with an incomplete pass, then Harris gained seven yards with a rush up the middle. A third-down pass fell incomplete, and Boston College punted. The kick was fair caught at the Tech 30-yard line, and with 5:01 left in the quarter, the Hokies returned to offense. On the first play, Taylor ran 11 yards for a first down. Taylor threw an incomplete pass, and the Hokies were penalized 10 yards for holding, pushing them back to the 31-yard line. Tech was unable to regain the lost yardage, and punted. The kick was 57 yards, and Boston College was further backed up by a penalty during the return. Following the kick, Boston College's offense was forced back to its seven-yard line to start. An incomplete pass was followed by a scramble by Davis. During the run, Davis fumbled the ball, which was recovered by a Boston College player. Facing third down, Davis scrambled again, this time for a first down to the 21-yard line. On the first play after the first down scramble, a deep pass downfield by Davis was intercepted by Virginia Tech's Stephan Virgil. The interception was returned to the Boston College 10-yard line, and on the first play by Tech's offense, Evans ran the ten yards for a touchdown. The extra point was good, and with 1:17 remaining, the Hokies extended their lead to 24–7.

Tech's post-touchdown kickoff was downed in the end zone for a touchback, and the Eagles began on offense at their 20-yard line. Three consecutive incomplete passes later, Boston College punted, ending their sixth three and out of the game. Following the kick, Tech started at its 27-yard line. On first down, the Hokies ran an end-around for five yards, then the quarter came to an end. With one quarter remaining, Virginia Tech led, 24–7.

Fourth quarter
Virginia Tech began the fourth quarter in possession of the ball and facing a second down and five from their 33-yard line. The first play of the quarter was a seven-yard run by Evans, who earned a first down at the Tech 40-yard line. On the next play after the first down run, Evans fumbled the ball and Boston College recovered. The Eagles' offense started within field goal range at the Tech 30-yard line. Boston College's first play was stopped for no gain, but the second was a 22-yard pass by Davis to Gunnell, giving the Eagles a first down inside the Tech 10-yard line. Davis threw three incomplete passes before Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski sent kicker Steve Aponavicius into the game to attempt a 24-yard field goal. The kick was good, and the Eagles cut Tech's lead to 24–10.

The post-touchdown kickoff was returned to the Tech 20-yard line, and the Hokies began an offensive drive hoping to run down the clock and preserve their two-touchdown lead. Because the game clock continues to run on rushing plays, the Hokies executed five consecutive rushing plays, picking up a first down in the process. The Hokies were unable to gain a second first down, however, and Tech punted from its 40-yard line. The kick rolled out of bounds at the Eagles' 28-yard line with 9:28 remaining in the game, and Boston College took over on offense. On the first play after the punt, however, Tech defender Jason Worilds tackled Davis, forcing a fumble, which bounced into the hands of fellow defender Orion Martin, who ran it 17 yards for a defensive touchdown. The extra point bounced off an upright, however, and was no good. Still, with just 9:05 remaining in the game, Tech took a commanding 30–10 lead.

The Hokies' kickoff after the defensive score was caught at the goal line and returned to the 28-yard line by Boston College's Chris Fox. Following the return, Davis completed a seven-yard pass to the 35-yard line, then picked up a first down to the 42-yard line with another pass. Davis then scrambled three yards and threw for another first down, this time to tight end Lars Anderson. Now at the Tech 46-yard line, Davis threw three incomplete passes before throwing another on fourth down. With 6:39 remaining in the game, Boston College turned the ball over on downs to the Virginia Tech offense. The Hokies again began to run out the clock. Evans ran the ball three consecutive times, but on the third rush, Evans fumbled for the second time in the game. The fumble was recovered by Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich and Boston College's offense returned to the field.

From the Tech 32-yard line, Davis threw an incomplete pass then connected on a 21-yard pass to Jarvis for a first down. After an incomplete pass, Davis threw another pass to Jarvis, who caught it at the four-yard line. Facing third down, Davis attempted another pass. The ball was tipped into the air and caught by Virginia Tech defender Brent Warren. The Hokies resumed running down the clock with short rushes by Evans, who advanced the ball to the 13-yard line with 3:05 remaining in the game. Boston College used its allotted second-half timeouts to stop the clock and preserve time for a late scoring drive. In a strategic move, Tech coach Frank Beamer ordered an intentional safety rather than attempt a punt from the Tech end zone. Any such kick has the potential to be blocked for a defensive touchdown. Thus, an intentional safety gives the defense two points while denying them the slight chance to score seven. The score cut Virginia Tech's lead to 30–12 with 3:05 remaining, but the limited time remaining meant Tech's lead would be sufficient to win the game without a series of unlikely events.

The free kick following the intentional safety was returned to near midfield, and Davis passed for a first down. Following the second down, Davis was sacked for a loss, but then scrambled for a first down to the Tech 25-yard line. From there, however, Boston College's offense began to struggle. During the four plays that followed, the Eagles were able to gain just one yard and turned the ball over on downs again. The final Boston College play was a sack of Davis, and Virginia Tech proceeded to run out the clock by kneeling on the ball after taking the field on offense.

Statistical summary

In recognition of his winning performance during the ACC Championship, Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor was named the game's most valuable player. Taylor finished the game having completed 11 of his 19 pass attempts for 84 yards and one interception. He also ran the ball 11 times for 30 yards and two touchdowns. On the opposite side of the ball, Boston College quarterback Dominique Davis was the game's leading passer, having completed 17 of his 43 pass attempts for 263 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Davis also carried the ball 14 times for 12 yards on the ground. Davis' 51-yard pass to Harris in the second quarter set an ACC Championship Game record for the longest play recorded to that point.

Boston College wide receiver Rich Gunnell was the game's leading receiver, having been the primary beneficiary of Davis' prolific passing. Gunnell finished the game having caught seven passes for 114 yards and one touchdown. Virginia Tech wide receiver Dyrell Roberts was the game's second-leading receiver. He caught four passes for 44 yards. Tech's second-most proficient receiver was running back Darren Evans, who caught three passes for 22 yards. Evans was the game's leading rusher, having carried the ball 31 times for 114 yards and a touchdown. On the opposite side, Boston College running back Montel Harris led the Eagles on the ground with nine carries for 34 yards.

Defensively, Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich led all players with nine tackles. Of the nine stops, one and a half were for negative yardage. The leading Virginia Tech defender was Cody Grimm, who had eight tackles, two and a half of which were for losses. One and a half of the tackles for loss were quarterback sacks, and Grimm also forced a fumble and broke up one Boston College pass. In total, the Hokies' defense intercepted two passes and recovered two fumbles. The Eagles' defense likewise caused three turnovers, recovering two fumbles and intercepting one pass. Boston College sacked Taylor twice, while Virginia Tech's defense reached Davis five times.

Postgame effects

Virginia Tech's win in the ACC Championship Game brought it to a 9–4 record, while Boston College's loss brought it also to a 9–4 record. Both teams' standings in the national polls were affected by the game. In the BCS poll, the Eagles fell from 17th to 24th, while Virginia Tech rose from 25th to 19th. In the AP Poll, Tech rose to 21st, while Boston College fell out of the poll entirely, appearing in the "also receiving votes" category at 27th. With the win, Virginia Tech was awarded the ACC's automatic Bowl Championship Series bid to the 2009 Orange Bowl. Boston College, meanwhile, was selected to play in the 2008 Music City Bowl. The pick by the Music City Bowl represented a drop in prestige for Boston College. Had the Eagles won the championship game, they would have earned an automatic bid to the Orange Bowl and a payout of $17.5 million. Instead, the Music City Bowl, which offered a payout of $1.7 million, was contractually obliged to select the Eagles after Boston College was not selected by any of the three more prestigious bowl games with ACC ties.

The Music City Bowl took place on December 31, and in a contest against Southeastern Conference opponent Vanderbilt, Boston College lost, 16–13. The loss ended a streak of eight consecutive bowl game wins for Boston College. In the Orange Bowl, Virginia Tech emerged victorious against Big East Conference champion Cincinnati, 20–7. The win was Tech's first BCS bowl game win since 1995, and was the first ACC BCS game win since 2000.

Boston College coaching changes
Following the loss to Vanderbilt in the 2008 Music City Bowl, Boston College head coach Jeff Jagodzinski announced his intention to interview for the vacant head coaching position with the National Football League's New York Jets. In an unusual move, Boston College athletic director Gene DeFillippo announced that if Jagodzinski went ahead with an interview, he would be fired as head coach of the Boston College football team. DeFillippo previously stated that a five-year contract with Jagodzinski, signed in 2007, was contingent on the coach staying "for the long term". Jagodzinski proceeded with the interview and was fired by DeFillippo on January 7.

To replace Jagodzinski, DeFillippo promoted Boston College defensive coordinator Frank Spaziani, who previously served as the Boston College head coach on an interim basis in 2006. Boston College offensive coordinator Steve Logan, who was unhappy with the staff changes on the football team, resigned shortly after Spaziani's promotion. To replace Logan, Spaziani hired former Navy head coach Gary Tranquill as Boston College's new offensive coordinator. One week after Logan's announcement, the Eagles' offensive line coach, Jack Bicknell, Jr., also announced that he was leaving the team. On January 27, special teams and tight ends coach Don Yanowsky announced his resignation from the Eagles, making him the fourth coach to be fired or resign from the Boston College football team after the season.

See also

 List of Atlantic Coast Conference football champions
 Boston College–Virginia Tech football rivalry

Other Conference Championship Games
 2008 SEC Championship Game
 2008 Big 12 Championship Game
 2008 MAC Championship Game
 2008 Conference USA Football Championship Game

Notes

ACC Championship Game
ACC Championship Game
Boston College Eagles football games
Virginia Tech Hokies football games
American football competitions in Tampa, Florida
ACC Championship Game
ACC Championship Game
21st century in Tampa, Florida


Salgó Castle is a Hungarian stronghold near Salgótarján, Nógrád county, 120 km from Budapest. Originally built as a tower by the Kacsics clan in the 13th century to withstand the Mongol invasions of the 13th century, it was later renovated into a fortress by King Béla IV. During the Hussite War, the fortress was captured in 1460 and captured again by the Ottoman army in the 16th century. Ownership of the castle eventually passed to Bálint Balassi and his family, one member of the family neglected the castle and left it in ruins. Today Salgó Castle is a well-known tourist spot.

History

In the beginning it was only a square-shaped stone tower. The meaning behind "Salgó" is 'shine', however it is still not clear whether the name Salgó was the name of the volcanic peak on which the castle sits on, or that they started to call the place by this name after the tower was erected.

A fortified tower at first stood on the site of the present-day castle. It was built by the Kacsics clan, who were the lords around these hills in the 13th century. The building of this tower was because of the recurrent Mongol invasions in 1241 to 1242, since only fortified towns or castles could resist the their attacks. Mongols were not capable of sieges. After one invasion, the King Béla IV ordered the fortifications of manor houses and towns as well as the building of new strongholds.

Salgó then began development as a small tower (7.5 x 9.5 m) with a small castle-yard. It is thought that the cellar of the tower was used as a prison. A water-collecting cistern was constructed under the tower owing to difficulties with obtaining the water supply on a volcanic rock. This castle had two cisterns and the water was essential, not only for drinking but also fire fighting.

15th century
In 1460 the Hussites captured the small fortress of Salgó. King Mathias recaptured it in the same year and gave it to Imre Szapolyai. This period commenced the golden age of Salgó castle. The lower castle-yard was further built and the upper castle-yard became roofed-over and became a living space. The lord of the castle did not live in the castle but his substitute, the castellan lived in the upper yard. In the lower castle-yard there were stables and storehouses.

In the 16th century a huge pentagonal battlement (14 x 15 m) was built in the east side of the rock. Even this reinforced building could not resist an Ottoman attack. Legends were told, that Kara Hamza bey, the governor of Szécsény and Hatvan, took the castle by ruse. He made his soldiers lay tree trunks on to gun carriages and push them under the fortress. The soldiers in the tower thought that the trunks were real cannons as they could not see well in the fog. They then handed over Salgó Castle. In reality the fortress was shelled to ruins by the Ottoman army. They set the artillery on the top of the neighbouring hill, opposite to Salgó called Kis-Salgó (Small-Salgó) or Boszorkánykő (cliff of witches).

Bálint Balassi, the great Hungarian poet, got into the fortress, while the Ottoman army was still stationed in the castle. After his death his sons Bálint and Ferenc Kövér could not decide who was the owner and a long-drawn lawsuit went on between them. In 1593 Michael Pálffy and Christof Tieffenbach reoccupied the castle. Bálint Balassi died in 1594 during the Siege of Esztergom. The nephew of Bálint inherited the ruins of the castle but he left it alone.

Modern
The ruins became overgrown with grass and shrubs up until the 19th century when Sándor Petőfi another famous Hungarian poet climbed into the ruins of the castle in 1845 the atmosphere of the ruins made him write his romantic poetry called Salgó. This is a tragic story about the Kompolti clan, the lords of Salgó, who tyrannized the region, which were under their power. The story is based on a traditional legend.

Today Salgó Castle is a well-known tourist spot.

Gallery

External links

Salgo web site

Castles in Hungary
Buildings and structures in Nógrád County
Tourist attractions in Nógrád County
Ruins in Hungary


Fate for Breakfast is the fourth solo studio album by Art Garfunkel, released in March 1979 on Columbia Records.

It was his first album to miss the U.S. Billboard Top 40 (charting at 67) and his first album containing no U.S. Top 40 singles. Yet the album garnered international success, reaching the top-ten in some European countries. The European release includes a different version of the song "Bright Eyes", which was featured in the film version of the novel Watership Down, and reached the number-one spot in the United Kingdom, becoming the biggest-selling single of 1979 there.

The album was issued in six different sleeves, each with a different shot of Art Garfunkel at the breakfast table. David Sanborn covered "And I Know" entitled "Love Will Come Someday" for his 1982 album As We Speak.  Also on the album is a cover of Cliff Richard's 1976 hit "Miss You Nights".

Track listing

Personnel
 Art Garfunkel – vocals, harmony vocals
 Penny Nichols, Bobby Alessi, Carolyn Dennis, Leah Kunkel, Jim Gilstrap, Billy Alessi, Maxine Anderson – background vocals
 Stephen Bishop – guitar, background vocals
 Michael Brecker, Tom Scott – tenor saxophone
 Rob Mounsey – synthesizer, piano, clavinet, Fender Rhodes, keyboards
 Chris Spedding – acoustic guitar on "Bright Eyes"
 Gene Page – arranger
 Simon Phillips, Steve Gadd, Roy J. Morgan, Mike Baird – drums
 Louis Shelton – acoustic guitar, backing vocals
 Dennis Belfield, Lyle Harper, Les Hurdle, Neil Jason – bass guitar
 Ray Cooper, Errol "Crusher" Bennett, Alan Estes, Lyle Forman – percussion
 Edwin Roxburgh – oboe
 Roland Harker – lute
 Larry Knechtel – piano
 Del Newman – string arrangement
 Lee Ritenour, Richie Zito, Hugh McCracken – electric guitar
 Larry Rolando – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
 Jeffrey Staton – acoustic guitar, background vocals
 Richard Tee – piano, Fender Rhodes

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

1979 albums
Art Garfunkel albums
Columbia Records albums
Albums produced by Mike Batt


Kenneth Joseph Burbridge (July 2, 1911 – June 25, 2000) was a Canadian diplomat. He was the high commissioner of Canada to New Zealand between 1963 and 1967.

Early life and education
Born in Bathurst, New Brunswick on July 2, 1911, Burbridge was the son of Elizabeth Burbridge (née Foley) and Harry Burbridge, a fireman.

Burbridge earned Bachelor of Civil Law and Master of Arts degrees, before completing a PhD in political science at the University of Ottawa in 1943. The title of his doctoral thesis was The co-operative movement.

On November 20, 1943, Burbridge married Marion Catherine Smith at St George's Church in Ottawa West.

Career
During World War II, Burbridge was a legal adviser in the Civil Service of Canada. In 1947, he joined the Department of External Affairs, based in Ottawa, as a legal adviser. In 1954, he was appointed Canadian deputy permanent representative to the North Atlantic Council and the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation in Paris. He served in that role until 1957 when he became the Canadian consul-general in Seattle.

Burbridge was named as the Canadian high commissioner to New Zealand in November 1962, and took up the post in March 1963. In January 1967, shortly before relinquishing the role of high commissioner, Burbridge presented a trophy, the Canada Cup, to the Wellington Ice Hockey League, to be contested annually among senior teams in the league.

Later life and death
Burbridge was predeceased by his wife, Marion, in 1999. He died in Ottawa on June 25, 2000, at the age of 88.

References

1911 births
2000 deaths
People from Bathurst, New Brunswick
University of Ottawa alumni
High Commissioners of Canada to New Zealand


John F. Kennedy College was founded in 1965 in Wahoo, Nebraska, United States, one of six colleges started by small-town businessmen on the model of Parsons College in Fairfield, Iowa. The college was named after President John F. Kennedy.  Due to a drop in enrollment and financial difficulties following the end of the military conscription draft in 1973, Kennedy College closed in 1975.

Athletics

JFK College was a pioneer in intercollegiate women's athletics. The softball team won the first three Women's College World Series championships in 1969–71. (They were excluded from the tournament in 1972 by a rule change that barred schools from appearing in the WCWS if it gave scholarships to any women athletes, not just softball players—JFK openly awarded women's basketball scholarships).

The women's basketball team, winners of several AAU titles, helped to further the diplomatic thaw in Sino-American relations in 1973 by representing the U.S. on a tour of games in the People's Republic of China, which was the subject of an article in Sports Illustrated. The basketball team also advanced to the final game of the National Women's Invitational Tournament in 1972, 1973 and 1974, falling to the same team (Wayland Baptist) each year.

Parsons Plan
The "Parsons Plan" academic model was the brainchild of Millard Roberts, the president of Parsons College from 1955 to 1967. The multi-faceted plan featured innovative teaching and administrative techniques, and emphasized the recruitment of a geographically and academically diverse student body.  Among other characteristics, the "Parsons Plan" schools welcomed unconventional students who had not seen success at other colleges.  In the 1960s, the schools were also attended by a substantial number of young men seeking draft deferments that would allow them to avoid military service during the Vietnam War.

Current usage
In 2004 a private physician bought the former library for use as an office. Since then, several buildings have been renovated.

References

External links
 Kennedy College alumni website

Defunct private universities and colleges in Nebraska
Educational institutions established in 1965
1975 disestablishments in Nebraska
1965 establishments in Nebraska
Educational institutions disestablished in 1975


Lea Müller (born May 7, 1982) is a Swiss orienteering competitor and World Champion. She participated on the Swiss winning team (Relay) in the World Orienteering Championships in Aichi 2005. She also won the World Games (Relay) in 2005 with the Swiss team.

References

External links

1982 births
Living people
Swiss orienteers
Female orienteers
Foot orienteers
World Orienteering Championships medalists
World Games medalists in orienteering
Competitors at the 2005 World Games
Junior World Orienteering Championships medalists


The Spy Machine is a UK documentary special about the work of the Mossad, written and narrated by Gordon Thomas.

It was made by Open Media and Israfilm and first broadcast by Channel 4 in May 1998. The producer/director was Per-Eric Hawthorne.

Reception
The Observer said:

The Times described the film:

...and also wrote:

The Belfast News Letter said this was the first time ever that Rafael "Rafi" Eitan, legendary first director of operations, was captured on film and went on to claim

The newspaper quoted Channel 4 executive David Lloyd:

References

Channel 4 original programming
1998 television specials
Works about the Mossad
British documentary television films


William Henry Proudfoot (11 June 1868 – 11 January 1931) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and Victorian Football Association (VFA).

Family
Bill is the uncle of Collingwood player Norm Crewther, and the third great uncle of the former Federal Member for Dunkley, Chris Crewther MP.

Football
A solidly built fullback, Proudfoot was a member of Collingwood's inaugural VFA side in 1892.

He became the first-ever Collingwood player to represent Victoria when he was selected to play against South Australia in 1894.

Proudfoot was involved in an infamous incident during a game for Collingwood against North Melbourne in July 1896 when at half-time a riot occurred with the crowd invading the field and turning on the umpire Roberts. Proudfoot, while attempting to stop the umpire from getting injured, was himself badly beaten in the melee.

Following the formation of the Victorian Football League in 1897, Proudfoot was Collingwood captain in 1898 and also had the role for the latter half of 1899 and in 1901. Proudfoot played in Collingwood's first two VFL premiership winning sides; in 1902 and 1903.

Off the football field Proudfoot was a police constable and was banned from playing football by his commissioner. He continued to play however under an assumed name.

At the end of the 1899 season, in the process of naming his own "champion player", the football correspondent for The Argus ("Old Boy"), selected a team of the best players of the 1899 VFL competition:Backs: Maurie Collins (Essendon), Bill Proudfoot (Collingwood), Peter Burns (Geelong); Halfbacks: Pat Hickey (Fitzroy), George Davidson (South Melbourne), Alf Wood (Melbourne); Centres: Fred Leach (Collingwood), Firth McCallum (Geelong), Harry Wright (Essendon); Wings: Charlie Pannam (Collingwood), Eddie Drohan (Fitzroy), Herb Howson (South Melbourne); Forwards: Bill Jackson (Essendon), Eddy James (Geelong), Charlie Colgan (South Melbourne); Ruck: Mick Pleass (South Melbourne), Frank Hailwood (Collingwood), Joe McShane (Geelong); Rovers: Dick Condon (Collingwood), Bill McSpeerin (Fitzroy), Teddy Rankin (Geelong).From those he considered to be the three best players — that is, Condon, Hickey, and Pleass — he selected Pat Hickey as his "champion player" of the season. ('Old Boy', "Football: A Review of the Season", (Monday, 18 September 1899), p.6).

See also
 The Footballers' Alphabet

Notes

References
 Atkinson, G. (1982) Everything you ever wanted to know about Australian rules football but couldn't be bothered asking, The Five Mile Press: Melbourne. .
 'Follower', "The Footballers' Alphabet", The Leader, (Saturday, 23 July 1898), p.17.
  Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2014). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (10th ed.). Melbourne, Victoria: Bas Publishing.

External links

1868 births
1931 deaths
Australian people of Scottish descent
Police officers from Melbourne
Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state)
Australian Rules footballers: place kick exponents
Collingwood Football Club players
Collingwood Football Club premiership players
VFL/AFL premiership players
Colony of Victoria people


The Fauna of Africa, in its broader sense, is all the animals living in Africa and its surrounding seas and islands. The more characteristic African fauna is found in the Afrotropical realm. Lying almost entirely within the tropics, and equally to north and south of the equator creates favourable conditions for rich wildlife. Africa is home to many of the world's most famous fauna in human culture such as lions‚ leopards, cheetahs‚ Spotted hyenas, African wild dog, African elephants, hippos, rhinos‚ Nile crocodile, Nile monitor, African rock python, Black mamba, Gaboon viper, Forest cobra, African spurred tortoises, African bullfrog, African civet, Honey badger, Meerkats, Banded mongoose, African clawless otters, Ground pangolins, Aardvark, Crested porcupines, Caracal, Serval, African wildcat, Black-backed jackal, Bat-eared foxs, Gorillas, Mandrills, Baboons, Chimpanzees, Vervet monkeys, Common warthogs, giraffes‚ African buffalo, Blue wildebeest, zebras‚ Thomson's gazelles, Impala, Kudus, East African oryx, Nyala, Waterbucks, Hartebeest, antelope, African fish eagles, Crowned eagles, White-backed vulture, African scops owl, Pygmy falcon, North African ostrich, Grey crowned crane, Saddle-billed stork, Marabou stork, Shoebill, African spoonbill, Black-headed heron, Greater flamingo, Namaqua sandgrouse, African penguins, and among many others.

Origins and history of African fauna
Whereas the earliest traces of life in fossil record of Africa date back to the earliest times, the formation of African fauna as we know it today, began with the splitting up of the Gondwana supercontinent in the mid-Mesozoic era.
After that, four to six faunal assemblages, the so-called African Faunal Strata (AFSs) can be distinguished. The isolation of Africa was broken intermittently by discontinuous "filter routes" that linked it to some other Gondwanan continents (Madagascar, South America, and perhaps India), but mainly to Laurasia. Interchanges with Gondwana were rare and mainly "out-of-Africa" dispersals, whereas interchanges with Laurasia were numerous and bidirectional, although mainly from Laurasia to Africa. Despite these connections, isolation resulted in remarkable absences, poor diversity, and emergence of endemic taxa in Africa. Madagascar separated from continental Africa during the break-up of Gondwanaland early in the Cretaceous, but was probably connected to the mainland again in the Eocene.

The first Neogene faunal interchange took place in the Middle Miocene (the introduction of Myocricetodontinae, Democricetodontinae, and Dendromurinae). A major terrestrial faunal exchange between North Africa and Europe began at about 6.1 Ma, some 0.4 Myr before the beginning of the Messinian salinity crisis(for example introduction of Murinae, immigrants from southern Asia)

During the early Tertiary, Africa was covered by a vast evergreen forest inhabited by an endemic forest fauna with many types common to southern Asia. In the Pliocene the climate became dry and most of the forest was destroyed, the forest animals taking refuge in the remaining forest islands. At the same time a broad land-bridge connected Africa with Asia and there was a great invasion of animals of the steppe fauna into Africa. At the beginning of the Pleistocene a moist period set in and much of the forest was renewed while the grassland fauna was divided and isolated, as the forest fauna had previously been. The present forest fauna is therefore of double origin, partly descended of the endemic fauna and partly from steppe forms that adapted themselves to forest life, while the present savanna fauna is similarly explained. The isolation in past times has resulted in the presence of closely related subspecies in widely separated regions Africa, where humans originated, shows much less evidence of loss in the Pleistocene megafaunal extinction, perhaps because co-evolution of large animals alongside early humans provided enough time for them to develop effective defenses. Its situation in the tropics spared it also from Pleistocene glaciations and the climate has not changed much.

Invertebrates

There are large gaps in human knowledge about African invertebrates. East Africa has a rich coral fauna with about 400 known species.  More than 400 species of Echinoderms and 500 species of Bryozoa live there too, as well as one Cubozoan species (Carybdea alata). Of Nematodes, the Onchocerca volvulus, Necator americanus, Wuchereria bancrofti and Dracunculus medinensis are human parasites. Some of important plant-parasitic nematodes of crops include Meloidogyne, Pratylenchus, Hirschmanniella, Radopholus, Scutellonema and Helicotylenchus. Of the few Onychophorans, Peripatopsis and Opisthopatus live in Africa. Greatest diversity of freshwater mollusks is found in East African lakes. Of marine snails, less diversity is present in Atlantic coast, more in tropical Western Indian Ocean region (over 3000 species of gastropods with 81 endemic species). Cowry shells have been used as a money by native Africans. The land snail fauna is especially rich in Afromontane regions, and there are some endemic families in Africa (e.g. Achatinidae, Chlamydephoridae) but other tropical families are common too (Charopidae, Streptaxidae, Cyclophoridae, Subulinidae, Rhytididae).
156 tardigrade species have been found, and about 8000 species of arachnids. The African millipede Archispirostreptus gigas is one of the largest in the world. 20 genera of freshwater crabs are present.

The soil animal communities tropical Africa are poorly known. A few ecological studies have been undertaken on macrofauna, mainly in West Africa. Earthworms are being extensively studied in West and South Africa.

Insects

Approximately 100,000 species of insects have been described from Sub-Saharan Africa, but there are very few overviews of the fauna as a whole (it has been estimated that the African insects make up about 10-20% of the global insect species richness, and about 15% of new species descriptions come from Afrotropics). The only endemic African insect order is Mantophasmatodea.

About 875 African species of dragonflies have been recorded.

The migratory locust and desert locust have been serious threats to African economies and human welfare.

Africa has the biggest number of termite genera of all continents, and over 1,000 termite species.

Of Diptera, the number of described African species is about 17,000. Natalimyzidae, a new family of acalyptrate flies has been recently described from South Africa. Anopheles gambiae, Aedes aegypti and Tsetse fly are important vectors of diseases.
1600 species of bees and 2000 species of ants among other Hymenopterans are known from Africa.

There live also 3,607 species of butterflies, being the best known group of insects. The caterpillars of mopani moth are part of the South African cuisine. Among the numerous species of African beetles are the famous sacred scarab, the centaurus beetle, the manticora tiger beetle and enormous Goliath beetles.

Butterflies

Hotspots for butterflies include the Congolian forests  and the Guinean forest-savanna mosaic. Some butterflies (Hamanumida daedalus, Precis, Eurema) are grassland or savannah specialists. Many of these have very large populations and a vast range. South Africa has one of the highest proportions of Lycaenid butterflies (48%) for any region in the world with many species restricted in range. North Africa is in the Palaearctic region and has a different species assemblage.

Genera which are species rich in Africa include Charaxes, Acraea, Colotis and Papilio, most notably Papilio antimachus and Papilio zalmoxis. The tribe Liptenini is endemic to the Afrotropics and includes species rich genera such as  Ornipholidotos, Liptenara, Pentila, Baliochila, Hypophytala, Teriomima, Deloneura and Mimacraea. The Miletinae are mostly African, notably Lachnocnema. Other endemic lycaenids include the genus Alaena. Endemic Nymphalidae include Euphaedra, Bebearia, Heteropsis, Precis, Pseudacraea, Bicyclus and Euxanthe. Endemic Pieridae include Pseudopontia paradoxa and Mylothris. Endemic skippers include Sarangesaand Kedestes. The highest species diversity is in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, home to 2,040 species 181 of which are endemic.

Fish

Africa is the richest continent of freshwater fish, with about 3000 species. The East African Great Lakes (Victoria, Malawi, and Tanganyika) are the center of biodiversity of many fish, especially cichlids (they harbor more than two-thirds of the estimated 2000 species in the family). The West African coastal rivers region covers only a fraction of West Africa, but harbours 322 of West Africa’s fish species, with 247 being restricted to this area and 129 being restricted to even smaller ranges. The central river’s fauna comprises 194 fish species, with 119 endemics and only 33 restricted to small areas. The marine diversity is greatest near the Indian Ocean shore with about 2000 species.

Characteristic to African fauna are Perciformes (Lates, tilapias, Dichistiidae, Anabantidae, Mudskippers, Parachanna, Acentrogobius, Croilia, Glossogobius, Hemichromis, Nanochromis, Oligolepis, Oreochromis, Redigobius, Sarotherodon, Stenogobius and others), Gonorhynchiformes (Kneriidae, Phractolaemidae), some lungfishes (Protopterus),  many Characiformes (Distichodontidae, Hepsetidae, Citharinidae, Alestiidae), Osteoglossiformes (African knifefish, Gymnarchidae, Mormyridae, Pantodontidae), Siluriformes (Amphiliidae, Anchariidae, Ariidae, Austroglanididae, Clariidae, Claroteidae, Malapteruridae, Mochokidae, Schilbeidae), Osmeriformes (Galaxiidae), Cyprinodontiformes (Aplocheilidae, Poeciliidae) and Cypriniformes (Labeobarbus, Pseudobarbus, Tanakia and others).

Amphibians
Endemic to Africa are the families Arthroleptidae, Astylosternidae, Heleophrynidae, Hemisotidae, Hyperoliidae, Petropedetidae, Mantellidae. Also widespread are Bufonidae (Bufo, Churamiti, Capensibufo, Mertensophryne, Nectophryne, Nectophrynoides, Schismaderma, Stephopaedes, Werneria, Wolterstorffina), Microhylidae (Breviceps, Callulina, Probreviceps, Cophylinae, Dyscophus, Melanobatrachinae, Scaphiophryninae), Rhacophoridae (Chiromantis), Ranidae (Afrana, Amietia, Amnirana, Aubria, Conraua, Hildebrandtia, Lanzarana, Ptychadena, Strongylopus, Tomopterna) and Pipidae (Hymenochirus, Pseudhymenochirus, Xenopus).
The 2002–2004 ‘Global Amphibian Assessment’ by IUCN, Conservation International and NatureServe revealed that for only about 50% of the Afrotropical amphibians, there is least concern about their conservation status; approximately 130 species are endangered, about one-fourth of which are at a critical stage. Almost all of the amphibians of Madagascar (238 species) are endemic to that region. The West African goliath frog is the largest frog species in the world.

Reptiles

The center of chameleon diversity is Madagascar. Snakes found in Africa include atractaspidids, elapids (cobras, Aspidelaps, Boulengerina, Dendroaspis, Elapsoidea, Hemachatus, Homoroselaps and  Paranaja), viperines, (Atheris, Bitis, Cerastes, Causus, Echis, Macrovipera, Montatheris, Proatheris, Vipera), colubrids (Dendrolycus, Dispholidus, Gonionotophis, Grayia, Hormonotus, Lamprophis, Psammophis, Leioheterodon, Madagascarophis, Poecilopholis, Dasypeltis etc.), the pythonids (Python), typhlopids (Typhlops) and leptotyphlopids (Leptotyphlops, Rhinoleptus).

Of the lizards, many species of geckos (day geckos, Afroedura, Afrogecko, Colopus, Pachydactylus, Hemidactylus, Narudasia, Paroedura, Pristurus, Quedenfeldtia, Rhoptropus, Tropiocolotes, Uroplatus), Cordylidae, as well as Lacertidae (Nucras, Lacerta, Mesalina, Acanthodactylus, Pedioplanis), Agamas, skinks, plated lizards and some monitor lizards are common.  There are 12 genera and 58 species of African amphisbaenians (e.g. Chirindia, Zygaspis, Monopeltis, Dalophia).

Several genera of tortoises  (Kinixys, Pelusios, Psammobates, Geochelone, Homopus, Chersina), turtles (Pelomedusidae, Cyclanorbis, Cycloderma, Erymnochelys), and 5-7 species of crocodiles (the Nile crocodile, the West African crocodile, two species of slender-snouted crocodile, and 1-3 species of dwarf crocodile) are also present.

Birds
 There live (temporarily or permanently) more than 2600 bird species in Africa (about 1500 of them passerines). Some 114 of them are threatened species.
The Afrotropic has various endemic bird families, including ostriches (Struthionidae), mesites, sunbirds, secretary bird (Sagittariidae), guineafowl (Numididae), and mousebirds (Coliidae). Also, several families of passerines are limited to the Afrotropics. These include rock-jumpers (Chaetopidae), bushshrikes (Malaconotidae), wattle-eyes, (Platysteiridae) and rockfowl (Picathartidae). Other common birds include parrots (lovebirds, Poicephalus, Psittacus), various cranes (crowned cranes, blue crane, wattled crane), storks (marabous, Abdim's stork, saddle-billed stork), herons (slaty egret, black heron, goliath heron), shoebill, bustards (kori bustard, Neotis, Eupodotis, Lissotis), sandgrouse (Pterocles), Coraciiformes (bee-eaters, hornbills, Ceratogymna), phasianids (francolins, Congo peafowl, blue quail, harlequin quail, stone partridge, Madagascar partridge). The woodpeckers and allies include honeyguides, African barbets, African piculet, ground woodpecker, Dendropicos and Campethera. The birds of prey include the buzzards, harriers, Old World vultures, bateleur, Circaetus, Melierax and others. Trogons are represented by one genus (Apaloderma). African penguin is the only penguin species. Madagascar was once home to the now extinct elephant birds.

Africa is home to numerous songbirds (pipits, orioles, antpeckers, brubrus, cisticolas, nigritas, olivebacks, pytilias, green-backed twinspot, crimson-wings, seedcrackers, bluebills, firefinches, waxbills, amandavas, quailfinches, munias, weavers, tit-hylia, Amadina, Anthoscopus, Mirafra, Hypargos, Eremomela, Euschistospiza, Erythrocercus, Malimbus, Pitta, Uraeginthus, pied crow, white-necked raven, thick-billed raven, Cape crow and others). The red-billed quelea is the most abundant bird species in the world.

Of the 589 species of birds (excluding seabirds) that breed in the Palaearctic (temperate Europe and Asia), 40% spend the winter elsewhere. Of those species that leave for the winter, 98% travel south to Africa.
See also: Endemic birds of southern Africa.

Mammals

More than 1100 mammal species live in Africa.
Africa has three endemic orders of mammals, the Tubulidentata (aardvarks), Afrosoricida (tenrecs and golden moles), and Macroscelidea (elephant shrews). The current mammalian phylogeny recognizes the clade Afrotheria (often viewed as a superorder), which includes the exclusively African orders, as well as others believed to be of African origin. The East African plains are well known for their diversity of large mammals.

African Eulipotyphla include the subfamilies Myosoricinae and Crocidurinae. Hedgehogs include desert hedgehogs, Atelerix and others. The rodents are represented by African bush squirrels, African ground squirrels, African striped squirrels, gerbils, cane rats, acacia rats, Nesomyidae, springhare, mole rats, dassie rats, striped grass mice, sun squirrels, thicket rats, Old World porcupines, target rats, maned rats, Deomyinae, Aethomys, Arvicanthis, Colomys, Dasymys, Dephomys, Epixerus, Grammomys, Graphiurus, Hybomys, Hylomyscus, Malacomys, Mastomys, Mus, Mylomys, Myomyscus, Oenomys, Otomys, Parotomys, Pelomys, Praomys, Rhabdomys, Stenocephalemys and many others. African rabbits and hares include riverine rabbit, Bunyoro rabbit, Cape hare, scrub hare, Ethiopian highland hare, African savanna hare, Abyssinian hare and several species of Pronolagus.
Among the marine mammals there are several species of dolphins, 2 species of sirenians and seals (e.g. Cape fur seals). Of the carnivorans there are 60 species, including the conspicuous hyenas, lions, leopards, cheetahs, serval, African wild dog as well as the less prominent and understudied Side-striped jackal, striped polecat, African striped weasel, caracal, honey badger, speckle-throated otter, several mongooses, foxes and civets. The family Eupleridae is restricted to Madagascar.

The African list of ungulates is longer than in any other continent. The largest number of modern bovids is found in Africa (African buffalo, duikers, impala, rhebok, Reduncinae, oryx, dik-dik, klipspringer, oribi, gerenuk, true gazelles, hartebeest, wildebeest, dibatag, eland, Tragelaphus, Hippotragus, Neotragus, Raphicerus, Damaliscus). Other even-toed ungulates include giraffes, okapis, hippopotamuses, warthogs, giant forest hogs, red river hogs and bushpigs. Odd-toed ungulates are represented by three species of zebras, African wild ass, black and white rhinoceros. The biggest African mammal is the African bush elephant, the second largest being its smaller counterpart, the African forest elephant. Four species of pangolins can be found in Africa.

African fauna contains 216 species of primates. Four species of great apes (Hominidae) are endemic to Africa: both species of gorilla (western gorilla, Gorilla gorilla, and eastern gorilla, Gorilla beringei) and both species of the genus Pan (chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes, and bonobo, Pan paniscus). Humans and their ancestors originated in Africa. Other primates include colobuses, baboons, geladas, vervet monkeys, guenons, macaques, mandrills, crested mangabeys, white-eyelid mangabeys, kipunji, Allen's swamp monkeys, Patas monkeys and talapoins. Lemurs and aye-aye are characteristic of Madagascar. See also Lists of mammals of Africa.

See also
 Afrykarium
 Fauna of Asia
 Fauna of Australia
 Fauna Europaea

References

External links
African Invertebrates
African Fauna
FAUNA(French)FRI - A tool to assess and monitor the distribution of fresh and brackish waters fish species in Africa
PPEAO - An information system on fish communities and artisanal fisheries in estuarine and lagoon ecosystems in West Africa (in French)

Afrotropical realm fauna


The Menoken Indian Village Site, also known as Menoken Site, Verendrye Site or Apple Creek Site is an archeological site near Bismarck, North Dakota.  The site, that of a fortified village occupied c. 1300, is important in the region's prehistory, as it is one of the only sites that predates sites that are more clearly associated with the historic Hidatsa, Mandan, and Arikara cultures.  It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1964, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. It is located on 171st Street NE, north of Menoken, about  east of Bismarck.  The site managed by the state as the Menoken Indian Village State Historic Site, and is open to the public.

Also listed on the National Register, in 2010, is a set of Depression Era Work Relief Construction Features at Menoken State Historic Site.

Description
The Menoken Site occupies a terrace on the south side of Apple Creek, a tributary of the Missouri River, to which it flows near Bismarck.  The site consists of a defensive earthworks, whose major component is a ditch about  in length, with four bastion loops projecting outward at equally spaced intervals.  The ditch is about  deep, and varies in width from  in width.  The ditch forms a curve, covering about 100° of a circle, and protects an inner area of about .  Archaeological evidence indicates that there was originally a palisade just inside the ditch; only post holes of this structure survive.  The inner area of the fortification, which has not been fully investigated, is estimated to have had between 11 and 13 semi-subterranean residential structures in it.

This site, first excavated in the 1930s, was thought for many years to be that of a Mandan village visited by the French explorer La Verendrye, but archaeological investigations in the 1990s and early 2000s have revealed evidence that the site is actually somewhat older, and that the site was probably occupied by ancestors of one of the region's major tribal groups, with an occupation period c. 1100-1300.  It was probably used as a semi-permanent settlement, from which the occupants would hunt bison and other wildlife.  Extensive finds exist here of stone tools, predominantly quarried in the Lynch Quarry vicinity to the west, as well as ceramic pottery fragments and bone tools.

The site was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964, primarily on the basis of the belief (now known to be incorrect) that it was associated with La Verendrye, but it retains significance to its critical place in the region's prehistoric chronology, and its archaeological importance.  Elements of the site's improvements, made during the Great Depression, were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.  The site, acquired by the state in 1937, is open to the public, with a walking trail that has interpretive signage.

Depression Era Work Relief Construction Features

Depression Era Work Relief Construction Features at Menoken State Historic Site was listed on the National Register in 2010. The listing included one contributing building and two contributing objects on a  portion of a  parcel.

171st Street and 32nd Avenue NE; Bismarck vicinity 1.7 miles north of Menoken and 1 mile east from the I-94 exit at milepost 170

Late 19th & Early 20th Century Revivals / Late Gothic Revival / Picturesque. WPA Rustic

Work of the Works Progress Administration, with design directed by Russell Reid, Superintendent State Park Section. State Historical Society of North Dakota

historically Verendrye State Park

See also
Double Ditch State Historic Site, similar village site, also NRHP-listed
Depression Era Work Relief Construction Features at Double Ditch Indian Village Site State Historic Site, also NRHP-listed
List of National Historic Landmarks in North Dakota
National Register of Historic Places listings in Burleigh County, North Dakota

References

External links

 Menoken Indian Village State Historic Site - State Historical Society of North Dakota

Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in North Dakota
National Historic Landmarks in North Dakota
Native American history of North Dakota
North Dakota State Historic Sites
Protected areas of Burleigh County, North Dakota
National Register of Historic Places in Burleigh County, North Dakota
Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation


Paulo Victor Mileo Vidotti (born 12 January 1987), known as Paulo Victor Vidotti or simply Paulo Victor, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Saudi Arabian club Al-Ettifaq.

Career

Flamengo
The young Paulo Victor started his career in the city of Assis, the career of Paulo Victor began in school football Peraltinha, at the time directed by the coach Roberto Carlos Amoriélli, the “Mé”. In the professional, in 2004 Paulo Victor defended the colors of Assisense championship Campeonato Paulista da Segunda Divisão that year the team just did not rise to Campeonato Paulista Série A3 by two goals, he arrived at Flamengo in 2004, with 17 years old. Since then he won many titles with club's the youth team, such as youth Campeonato Carioca de Juniores, three times (2005, 2006 and 2007), Torneio Octávio Pinto Guimarães twice (2006, 2007) and Copa Record Rio de Futebol (2005), marking the debut for the club professional, even if only on the bench.

Promoted from the youth team in the beginning of 2007 by the coach Ney Franco. In 2008 Paulo had his first chance at professional level playing, on loan, 13 matches for America-RJ in the Campeonato Carioca.

Paulo Victor became the team's second choice as goalkeeper after Bruno and Diego left the club in 2010.

In the last match of the 2010 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Paulo Victor had his first chance in the club's professional team in a match against Santos at Vila Belmiro, the match ended 0x0.

He became the club's first string goalkeeper after Marcelo Lomba transferred from Flamengo in 2011.

Gaziantepspor (loan)
On January 26, 2017 Gaziantepspor signed Paulo Victor on loan until the end of the 2017-18 season. He debuted at the Turkish league three days later against Trabzonspor in a 4-0 loss. Despite having a long loan contract with the Turkish club, Paulo Victor re-signed with Gaziantepspor due to wage arrears.

Grêmio
From 2017 to 2021, Paulo Victor played for Brazilian club Grêmio, featuring in a total of 108 games for the side and winning the 2017 Copa Libertadores and the 2018 Recopa Sudamericana. On August 3, 2021, Paulo Victor terminated his contract with the club making him a free agent.

Marítimo
On August 6, 2021 Portuguese club Marítimo signed Paulo Victor on a free transfer, with a one year contract agreed.

Al-Ettifaq
On 8 July 2022, Paulo Victor joined Saudi Arabian club Al-Ettifaq on a one-year deal with an option to extend for a further year.

Career statistics

Honours
Flamengo
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2009
Copa do Brasil: 2013
Campeonato Carioca: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014

Grêmio
Copa Libertadores: 2017
Recopa Sudamericana: 2018
Campeonato Gaúcho: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
Recopa Gaúcha: 2019, 2021

References

External links

Brazilian men's footballers
Living people
1987 births
CR Flamengo footballers
America Football Club (Rio de Janeiro) players
Gaziantepspor footballers
Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense players
C.S. Marítimo players
Al-Ettifaq FC players
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players
Saudi Pro League players
Copa Libertadores-winning players
Men's association football goalkeepers
Brazilian expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal
Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia
Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal
Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia
People from Assis
Footballers from São Paulo (state)


Molinos is a municipality located in the Maestrazgo comarca, province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2010 census the municipality has a population of 303 inhabitants.

The impressive Grutas de Cristal "glass caves" are located within Molinos municipal term.

Gallery

See also
Maestrazgo, Aragon
List of municipalities in Teruel

References

External links

Página Oficial de MOLINOS - TERUEL
Peña Pitorreo - Molinos - Teruel
MOLINOS - TERUEL
CAI Aragón-Molinos
Molinos - Teruel

Municipalities in the Province of Teruel
Maestrazgo


Alexander Vasilyevich Kanishchev (; born 8 May 1960) is a former Soviet footballer who played with Daugava Rīga and Zenit Leningrad.

Playing career

Alexander Kanishchev began his professional career in the second team of Zenit Leningrad, when he was 16 years old, not having an opportunity at the time to earn a place in the first team, as most of the young players of that time he went to play in the second soviet league, in the team Karshistroi, Qarshi, Uzbekistan. There he played from 1978 to 1980 with fellow Leningrad players and friends Sergey Vedeneev and Aleksei Stepanov.

In 1980, he became the player of FC Dynamo Leningrad. There he played almost two years.

In 1982 happened one of the most influential events in his football career.  Jānis Skredelis invited him to Daugava Rīga in which Alexander Kanishchev became famous as one of the most technically skilled attacking midfielder in the 1st Soviet league. With Genadi Shitik and Yuri Popkov he formed one of the strongest midfield lines in the 1st Soviet league, and playing together with strikers like Evgenii Milevskii and Aleksandr Starkov in 1985 with Daugava won the first league title. In 1986 Kanishchev was invited by Pavel Sadyrin to come back to Leningrad, USSR, to become the player of Zenit Leningrad. He played in Zenit for two (1986–1987) seasons.

In 1988, he returned to Daugava which by then was also on the fall. Kanishchev in 1990 joined the Ukrainian team Metalist, Kharkiv for a short period. It was the last team in which he played in the Soviet Union.

Over the three seasons that he played in the Soviet Top League, Kanischev played 55 matches and scored 5 goals, in the first league with Daugava he capped 221 appearances and scored 37 goals.

Later he received an invitation from the Polish club "Pogon" from the town Szczecin, located near the border with Germany. There he quickly became one of the leaders, helping the squad to rise to one of the top positions in its 2nd League. Consequently, "Pogon" Szczecin earned the place to play in the highest league of Poland. After successful performance in "Pogon" he was invited to "Legia" Warsaw, which was one of the most famous clubs in Poland. He played there only half a year, when his knee was heavily injured, and after being treated for a long time, decided to finish his career.

Post career activities
After finishing his career, succeeding in business, he created the non-commercial Fund for helping veterans of professional sport "Zenit-84". This organization is formed and shared by the ex-players of the Zenit Leningrad 1984, the squad, which won the USSR highest league championship that particular year, and other veterans of Zenit and local teams of Leningrad (St.-Petersburg).

The fund exists for providing people, involved in it, the opportunity to play veteran tournaments, participate in charitable social and sport events. Traveling around the world, playing with different teams, the veterans Team of Zenit meets incredible number of fans from USSR (Russia) and all around the globe, still wishing to see the beloved team in action. The main football club FC Zenit Saint Petersburg and its main sponsor Gazprom partly participates in the life of the fund, bringing help for the organization and players themselves, providing some moral and financial support.

Alexander today is the entrepreneur, businessman, the player on veterans team, Zenit, and the president of the above-mentioned Fund "Zenit 84".

References

External links

1960 births
Living people
Soviet men's footballers
Russian men's footballers
FC Dynamo Saint Petersburg players
FC Daugava Riga players
FC Zenit Saint Petersburg players
FC Metalist Kharkiv players
Stilon Gorzów Wielkopolski players
Pogoń Szczecin players
Legia Warsaw players
Soviet Top League players
Expatriate men's footballers in Poland
Men's association football midfielders


Hublot () is a Swiss luxury watchmaker founded in 1980 by Italian Carlo Crocco. The company operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of the French luxury conglomerate LVMH.

History

A scion of the Italian Binda Group dynasty, best known for making Breil watches, Carlo Crocco left the company in 1976, to start a watch company. Moving to Switzerland he formed MDM Geneve and set about designing a watch that he named the Hublot after the French word for "porthole". The watch that he created featured the first natural rubber strap in the history of watchmaking. It took three years of research to create the strap. Despite failing to attract a single potential customer on the first day of its debut at the 1980, Basel Watch Fair, the watch quickly proved to be a commercial success with sales in excess of $US2 million in its first year.

The Jean-Claude Biver era
Crocco, preoccupied by his own design work and many activities for the Hand-in-Hand Foundation, a charity helping deprived children all around the world, set out to look for someone to who oversee Hublot. In late 2003, Jean-Claude Biver, then president of Swatch Group's Omega division, met Crocco, and in May 2004, Biver assumed duties as CEO, becoming a board member and minority shareholder in Hublot Watches.

Upon his arrival, Biver set about creating a new flagship collection that was unveiled in Basel in April 2005, with the Hublot "Big Bang" chronograph. It was an immediate success and orders increased threefold in one year. A few months later, in November 2005, the Big Bang chronograph was awarded internationally, receiving the "2005 Design Prize" in the "Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix", the "Sports Watch Prize" at the "Watch of the Year" ceremony in Japan, and the Middle Eastern Prize for the "Best Oversized Watch" at the Editor’s Choice "Watch of the Year" in Bahrain. Following the arrival of Biver in 2004, the brand's sales were 24 million Swiss francs and by the end of 2006, sales were close to 100 million Swiss franc.

Hublot stores

, Hublot had 169 Boutiques in several countries. In February 2007, Hublot opened its first mono-brand store in Paris, in the Rue Saint-Honoré. The second was opened in the summer of that year, in the Hôtel Byblos, Saint-Tropez. Today, Hublot has store on Bond Street, London. United States locations include Bal Harbour, Beverly Hills, Boca Raton, Dallas, Houston, two in Las Vegas, New York, Palm Beach and Scottsdale.

Acquisition by LVMH
In April 2008, luxury goods group LVMH announced it had acquired Hublot from Crocco for an undisclosed fee, adding to its existing portfolio of watch brands including TAG Heuer.

Hublot WISeKey
At BaselWorld 2009, Hublot unveiled a new method of detecting counterfeit watches. Using a smart card, the system authenticates watches on Hublot's servers. The system went live in August 2009.

Notable models

 The Hublot Big Bang Sang Bleu II, available in titanium or king gold.
 The Hublot Big Bang Meca-10, available in titanium, magic gold, or king gold.
 The Hublot Big Bang Unico GMT, available in titanium or carbon fiber.

Sponsorships

To increase the public profile of their brand Hublot have engaged in a number of sponsorship deals. In 2008, they agreed a sponsorship deal with the football club Manchester United, worth £4 million a year. Later, Hublot started endorsing some top football clubs like FC Bayern Munich, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Ajax Amsterdam.

In 2019, Hublot became the first watch brand to work with ICC when the brand was announced as official time keeper for cricket's flagship event, 2019 ICC cricket world cup co-hosted by England and Wales.

In 2015, the company signed an agreement with San Lorenzo de Almagro of Argentina.

They provided special versions of their Big Bang watches to referees officiating at UEFA Euro 2008. In March 2010, Hublot was appointed the Official Watchmaker of Formula 1. Hublot have released a number of Formula One themed watches, including celebrating the return of the US Grand Prix to Austin, Texas, US in November 2012, with the Hublot F1 King Power Austin .

In April 2010, Hublot became the official time keeper of the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2014 FIFA World Cup. They have also been involved in a tie-up with the Financial Times, sponsoring the newspaper's iPad app.

Hublot and Ferrari announced during the 2011, Ferrari World Finals at Mugello a long-term strategic partnership which will officially start on 1 January 2012, making Hublot Ferrari's "Official Watch" and "Official Timekeeper". The partnership has so far been built on two watches: the Hublot Big Bang Ferrari Magic Gold and Big Bang Ferrari Titanium.

The company also the sponsors of the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat.

They were also the sponsors of the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 in Oslo.

Hublot continued its sponsorship and partnership activities in 2012 with becoming the Official Watch of the UEFA EURO 2012 tournament and Official Timekeeper of the tournament.

In April 2012, Hublot Partnered the Swiss Confederation at the World Expo 2012 in South Korea, a 3-month world event, where countries have the opportunity to promote themselves to the world. and displayed its new Divers Watch the Hublot Oceanographic 4000 King Gold White, which has been tested to a water resistance of 5,000 m and is certified water resistant to 4,000 m.

Hublot also partnered with the Archaeological Museum of Athens in presenting Hublot's "Tribute to the Antikythera Mechanism" movement. The Hublot movement officially joined the National Museum's collection on 5 April 2012, and will now be on display alongside the remains of the original mechanism.

In January 2013, Scuderia Ferrari had Hublot as its official sponsor for 2013, 2014 and 2015 F1 Season.

In November 2015, Hublot was the official timekeeper and a major sponsor of the inaugural WBSC Premier12 international baseball tournament held in Taiwan and Japan, promoting their partnership with the motto, "Hublot Loves Baseball."

In February 2019, the company signed an agreement with Club Olimpia from Paraguay.

In September 2020, Hublot was announced as the new official timekeeper of the Premier League, starting from the 2020–21 season.

From 2021, Hublot is no longer listed as a sponsor for Scuderia Ferrari, being replaced by Richard Mille.

Ambassador
At the opening ceremony for its first store in Beijing, Biver introduced Jet Li as Hublot's next brand ambassador. Li is the brand's first Asian ambassador as well as the first film star to work as a Hublot ambassador. Other brand ambassadors have included Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna's family and Institute; world's fastest man Usain Bolt; designer Samuel Ross; France and PSG player Kylian Mbappé; football player Pelé; American boxer Floyd Mayweather, Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma and formerly, the Manchester United football team, golfers Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose and Patrick Reed.

Hublot has also developed a network of Friend of the Brand in the fields football, gastronomy, arts and sports. These include 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg, football coaches José Mourinho, Gareth Southgate, and Didier Deschamps, tennis players Simona Halep and Elina Svitolina, chefs Yannick Alléno and Paul Pairet. Former footballer Diego Maradona was a Hublot Friend of the Brand until his death in 2020.

Formula One Management President and CEO, Bernie Ecclestone, was attacked by four men and had his Hublot watch stolen. He later worked with Hublot to use his bruised face in an ad campaign with the tag line, "See what people will do for a Hublot."

In August 2021, Serbian professional tennis player Novak Djokovic became a Hublot brand ambassador.

On January 7, 2022, Hublot announced Chinese Pop Star Lay Zhang as the new Hublot Brand Ambassador.

References

External links

 Hublot's official website

LVMH brands
Companies based in the canton of Vaud
Swiss companies established in 1980
Manufacturing companies established in 1980
Swiss watch brands
Watch manufacturing companies of Switzerland


The third HMS Dauntless was a wooden-hulled steam screw frigate, launched at Portsmouth in 1847.

History
First intended as a paddle vessel, she was designed by John Fincham, and partially redesigned to take screw propulsion; in an effort to improve her initially disappointing performance she was lengthened in 1850 at Portsmouth, but her 'paddler' lines did not entirely suit her for propeller drive and she never got the best out of her engines. She achieved a best speed under steam of . Her armament consisted of eighteen 32-pounder guns on her main deck, four  shell guns and two 68-pounder carronades on her upper deck.

She first commissioned in August 1850 for service with the Experimental Squadron to trial in company with other ships of novel design or technology, then in the summer of 1852 Dauntless was assigned to the North America and West Indies Station. In November that year, while on passage from the Virgin Islands to Barbados, an outbreak of yellow fever killed ten of her crew, while a further 73 died of the disease in hospital at Barbados. There is a monument dedicated to these officers and men in the St. Matthias Anglican Church in Hastings, Barbados.

In 1854, with the start of the Crimean War Dauntless sailed with the Fleet to the Baltic, then in December transferred to the Black Sea taking with her artillery details and stores. In February 1855 her gunfire helped to beat back a Russian attack on Turkish army positions at Eupatoria and in April she was at the bombardment of Sevastopol, when one of her 68 pdr. guns burst, causing considerable damage to the ship, but somehow no casualties. Throughout the 1855 campaign on shore, the Dauntless provided officers and men for the Naval Brigade manning the batteries facing the landward defences of Sebastopol, and in October 1855 she made her final contribution to the naval campaign when she took part in the bombardment of Kinburn.

She remained with the Mediterranean Fleet until she returned home to pay off in 1857. She recommissioned in 1859 to become the Coastguard base ship at Southampton, then from 1864 transferred to the Humber on the same service. From 1870 she was reduced to the status of a tender to the Humber Coastguard ship HMS Wyvern until she was finally laid up at Devonport in 1878. She was sold for breaking on 1 May 1885.

Commanding officers

References

 Lyon, David and Winfield, Rif, The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889, Chatham Publishing, London 2004.
 The Times, Wednesday, 6 January 1847

Sloops of the Royal Navy
Ships built in Portsmouth
Crimean War naval ships of the United Kingdom
1847 ships


The World Trade Center Amsterdam is a commercial center located at the Zuidas in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It was officially opened in 1985, and renovated between 1998 and 2004. The center consists of nine buildings—labeled from A to I—with  of offices and office facilities. Tower H is the highest building, it has 27 levels and measures . The center is a member of the international World Trade Centers Association.

References

External links

World Trade Center Amsterdam

Commercial buildings completed in 1985
1985 establishments in the Netherlands
Skyscraper office buildings in Amsterdam
Economy of Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Kohn Pedersen Fox buildings
Amsterdam-Zuid
20th-century architecture in the Netherlands


The men's team clay pigeons was a shooting sports event held as part of the Shooting at the 1920 Summer Olympics programme. It was the third appearance of the event. The competition was held on 22 and 23 July 1920. 48 shooters from eight nations competed.

The International Olympic Committee medal database shows Frederick Plum as medalist for the United States but he did not compete in this event. The correct medalist is Jay Clark.

Results

The maximum was 600. The first five teams qualified for the final.

References

External links
 Official Report

Shooting at the 1920 Summer Olympics


Samoborček is the name given to a historic Croatian narrow-gauge railway linking Zagreb with Samobor onwards to Bregana, which operated from 1901 through 1979.

History
Initially, Samoborček was projected as cargo train, to connect the factories and companies in Samobor with the growing industry and market in Zagreb, because at the time, the only connection was a horse omnibus. The railway was a public company until the end of World War II, when it was nationalized by the new government and became Zagreb–Samobor City Railway (). In coming years, the railway's share of traffic to Samobor dropped in favor of trucks and buses, and the railway was closed in 1979. All the infrastructure was abandoned and dismantled.

Rail track

The Samoborček railway consisted of a single-tracked narrow-gauge line operating on the so-called Bosnian gauge at . Initially the line had a length of , from Zagreb to Samobor via Podsused; in the 1950s the track was extended to Bregana and military overhaul workshops today located on the territory of Slovenia.

Stations were:

Rolling stock
Until the 1950s, the rolling stock was composed of various steam engine driven compositions. Average speed was . From the 1950s until the end of operation, DMU aluminium compositions, officially called "DEV" and nicknamed "Srebrna strijela" ("Silver Arrow") took over, with a maximum speed of .

Remains
Although all the tracks were removed, most of other railway infrastructure (embankments, bridges) survives today, but usually not in use. Most railway stations and embankments survived, and were converted into shops, restaurants and warehouses. A steam locomotive which operated the line is on permanent display in Samobor.

Future development
A new railroad link between Zagreb and Samobor was first announced in 2004 and was due to be built from 2008 to 2012. The link was planned to be standard gauge and in accordance with normal Croatian Railways operations, with a maximum speed of .
The plan was that the new link starts at Podsused railway station where it would separate from the M101 railway corridor and continue towards Samobor. However, as of 2021 the construction of the new link has not yet begun, with numerous announcements of construction start and subsequent delays.

References

External links
 Samoborčekov 116. rođendan

Closed railway lines in Croatia
760 mm gauge railways in Croatia
Railway lines opened in 1901
1979 disestablishments