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Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War

Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War (ファイアーエムブレム聖戦の系譜) is a tactical role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Super Famicom home video game console in 1996. It is the fourth installment of the Fire Emblem series, and the second to be developed for the platform. Genealogy of the Holy War takes place on the continent of Jugdral, split between eight countries founded by the Twelve Crusaders, an ancient group of soldiers who ended the rule of the ancient dragon Loptous with divine aid. In the present, a cult working to revive Loptous stirs up war among the countries. The story is told over two generations—the first generation follows the Grannvalian prince Sigurd, while the second follows his son Seliph as he works to defeat the cult and avenge his father. Gameplay follows the traditional Fire Emblem system of tactical battles taking place on grid-based maps, while adding the Weapon Triangle and Support systems, which directly impacted both gameplay and story.

Development began after the completion of Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem. Returning staff included director, designer and scenario writer Shouzou Kaga, composer Yuka Tsujiyoko, character designer Katsuyoshi Koya, and producer Gunpei Yokoi; it would be the last game produced by Yokoi. A greater focus was placed on the story compared to previous entries, although the gameplay also saw new additions. Production was turbulent due to staff moves and the unexpected addition of character romance and expanded storyline. First unveiled under the title Inheritors of Light, it was originally scheduled for a March release, before eventually releasing in May. It met with critical and commercial success. A follow-up title based within the game's storyline, Fire Emblem: Thracia 776, was released in 1999. Many elements introduced in Genealogy of the Holy War would reappear in later titles. As of 2024, the game is yet to be released outside of Japan, but is a choice import title. The character and location names in the game were localized through the 2017 mobile game Fire Emblem Heroes.

Gameplay
Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War is a tactical role-playing game in which the player takes the roles of Sigurd and his son Seliph across a variety of story-driven missions on the continent of Jugdral. The story is divided into chapters, which are in turn divided between two generations of characters. Before and during missions, the player units may settle in a home base, where various actions can be taken such as repairing weapons, buying and selling items, and participating in arena battles. Castle towns within mission maps can also be visited for similar services.

Battles play out using a turn-based system where each unit on both sides is given their chance to move and act. Characters move and attack within the same turn, and in a few cases units can take two moves in a turn. A key part of combat is the Weapon Triangle, a new addition to the series which governs the opposing strengths and weaknesses of weapon types based on a rock–paper–scissors system - lances are stronger than swords, swords are stronger than axes, and axes are stronger than lances. A secondary system governs the magic system, where Fire, Lightning, and Wind spells have varying strengths and weaknesses against each other with Light and Dark magic existing outside of the magic triangle whilst having an advantage over the elemental magic types. Each unit has a character class which determines their weapons, movement, and which skills they possess. Weapon types also affect battle performance: for instance, axes deal more damage, but weigh characters down more than swords.

The actions taken in earlier parts of a map can affect later parts of that mission, triggering scripted changes in objectives and enemy behavior: for instance, when a castle is seized, the neighboring castle will deploy additional troops. After each battle, a player character gains experience points. When a unit gains 100 experience points, they receive random boosts to their statistics such as health, strength and speed. All characters, with the plot related exceptions, are subject to permanent death if they are defeated in battle, removing them from the rest of the game. If the army's leader is killed, the map must be restarted from a save file, which can be written to at the start of every turn. Victory is achieved upon capturing a specific castle on the map.

Character relationships form a core part of gameplay, and include both optional conversations and story-driven character romances. Conversations see selected characters in the mission map talking with each other, and some romances are triggered by the story when certain characters have joined the party during the first generation storyline. The second generation units have their stat values and personal skills influenced by the assigned attributes of their parents. Second generation units can also form optional romantic attachments, but this only allows stat-increasing conversations. When siblings or married characters are next to each other, they grant a critical hit boost to each other. In addition to normal stat growth, some high-ranking units on both sides have a separate "Leadership" rank, which grants stat boosts to all units within three tiles, with the boost increasing with that unit's Leadership rank.

Setting
Genealogy of the Holy War takes place on the continent of Jugdral, which is divided between eight countries: the Kingdom of Grannvale, the Kingdom of Verdane, the Kingdom of Agustria, the Munster District, the Kingdom of Thracia, the Republic of Miletos, the Kingdom of Silesse, and the Kingdom of Isaach. According to staff, Jugdral is within the same world as Archanea, the continent featured in the original Fire Emblem and its sequels: the events of Genealogy of the Holy War are set hundreds of years prior to the time period of Archanea, with the latter being in a barely civilized state. It was during this time that the Dragon Tribes were debating how to treat humanity. In ancient times in the year Grann 440, the Earth Dragon Loptous made a pact with the priest Galle, who became his vessel for bringing ruin to humanity. By 632, the Divine Dragon Naga had discovered Loptous's part in the gradual conquest of Jugdral, so she chose twelve soldiers to defeat Loptous: this event became known as the Miracle of Darna. The Twelve Crusaders defeated Loptous and his cult, bringing peace to the land in a conflict dubbed the "Holy War"—these twelve would go on to establish Jugdral's countries. The events of Genealogy of the Holy War begin in the year 757.

Plot
In the year Grann 757, barbarians from the kingdom of Isaach besiege Darna Castle, and Prince Kurth of Grannvale and his friend Lord Byron of Chalphy set out on a punitive expedition. When the southwestern kingdom of Verdane takes advantage of Grannvale's weakened state to invade, Byron's son Sigurd repels them and launches a counter-invasion to rescue his childhood friend Edain, daughter of the Duke of Yngvi, who was kidnapped, and in the process, he rescues Shannan the prince of Isaach, who was used as a hostage to force his aunt Ayra to fight against Grannvale. During the campaign, Sigurd meets a mysterious girl named Deirdre. She is revealed to be of Naga blood, a long-lost member of the Grannvalian royal family, the House of Belhalla, and the descendant of the crusader with the power to defeat the evil dragon Loptous. Sigurd and Deirdre fall in love and marry, and their son Seliph is born in Agustria. At this point, Dukes Lombard and Reptor conspire to seize the throne of Grannvale, murder Kurth, and frame Sigurd and his father for the crime. Sigurd is forced into exile, while the archbishop Manfroy of the Loptr Church kidnaps Deirdre and erases her memories in order to use her to resurrect Loptous. His plan is to wed her to Lord Arvis of Velthomer — the two are, unbeknownst to them, half-siblings, and their union will produce a human vessel capable of hosting the consciousness of Loptous. During their exile, Sigurd and his allies are forced to hide Seliph and the rest of their children from the forces of Arvis and the cult. After a year in exile, Sigurd starts making his way back through Jugdral, killing the Dukes responsible for the false accusation. Apparently exonerated, Sigurd returns to Grannvale, only to learn that Arvis has married Deirdre to become Grannvale's king. Arvis orders Sigurd's allies to be executed and personally murders Sigurd.

Over the next fifteen years, Grannvale expands to hold dominion over the whole of Jugdral, and Arvis styles himself the emperor of Grannvale. He and Deirdre have twin children: Julius, the scion of Loptous, and Julia, the scion of Naga. Manfroy uses the Loptyr tome to corrupt Julius, turning him into Loptous's vessel, while Deirdre sacrifices herself to warp Julia away from Julius. Julius overthrows his father and turns the Empire into a tyrannical regime. At this point, Seliph comes out of hiding to protect a nearby village, revealing his long-hidden existence to Grannvale. Traveling across the lands of Jugdral, Seliph joins forces with the long-hidden children of Sigurd's companions, as well as Julia. Making his way through the countries of Jugdral, he gains support from the surviving powers, and gradually frees Grannvale's conquered territories. Arvis is powerless to subvert his son's rule, and is killed in battle against Seliph. During the course of these battles, Julia is captured and Manfroy and Julius attempt to sacrifice her, as her powers could banish Loptous for good. Seliph manages to save her, and after defeating Manfroy and Julius in battle, Julia successfully banishes Loptous, finally ending his rule and allowing Jugdral to recover from the recent conflicts. Seliph takes his rightful place on the throne as the emperor of Grannvale, and restores power to the surrounding countries with their respective heirs.

Development
Production on Genealogy of the Holy War began after the completion of Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem in 1994. Returning staff included series creator Shouzou Kaga, who acted as director, designer and scenario writer; composer Yuka Tsujiyoko, who had handled all previous entries in the series; and Nintendo producer Gunpei Yokoi. Genealogy of the Holy War would be the last game produced by Yokoi. Character design was handled primarily by Katsuyoshi Koya, who had previously worked on Mystery of the Emblem: it would be Koya's last work on the series, as both he and Kaga were unsatisfied with the quality of his illustrations. Additional work was done by Mayumi Hirota. This was later blamed upon severe time constraints when compared to the development of Mystery of the Emblem. In contrast, Kaga was enthusiastic about Hirota's work, praising how she managed to capture his visions for the characters. The overall development was turbulent due to a general staff changeover between Mystery of the Emblem and Genealogy of the Holy War, in addition to most of the production team moving offices. According to future series producer Masahiro Higuchi, the initial concept for Genealogy of the Holy War was so different from the typical Fire Emblem game that it was instead dubbed "Holy Sword Emblem Kaiser". This name had to be dropped due to space limitations and other unspecified issues, and as its content was coming more in line with the Fire Emblem series, its title was changed to "Sword Emblem". It was eventually given the Fire Emblem title when its mechanics settled into their current form.

While the last three Fire Emblem titles had used a similar setting, with Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light and Mystery of the Emblem both being set on the continent of Archanea, Kaga wanted to create something new for his next title. This was for two reasons: he wanted to move beyond the confines of Archanea, and also wanted to try his hand at a large-scale historical drama. Similar to other Fire Emblem titles, the setting drew inspiration from Medieval Europe. The story's inspiration changed, drawing from Norse and Celtic mythology as opposed to the elements from Classical mythology used by earlier titles. Similar to Mystery of the Emblem, the story was split into two halves, with the first half acting as an introduction for Seliph's quest. The story's main theme was how the stupidity of humans could forge history. The focus shifted away from the characters to the overall world of Jugdral, intended to show the scale of the conflict and make it seem like history in the making. While the backstory of Jugdral featured a clearly defined battle between good and evil, the main story's distinction between good and evil was blurred, exemplified by the descendants of the Twelve Crusaders being on opposing sides rather than united. A stated example was Arvis, whose conquests were driven by a wish to end discrimination against members of the Loptous bloodline. Due to this, Kaga did not create a storyline focused on poetic justice and morality, instead aiming for a more realistic scenario. This realism also prompted the inclusion of elements such as patricide and incest, which had occurred in history but were not typically included in gaming narratives at the time. The story originally had three acts rather than two. The missing act would have covered the period between the first and second act, which put a more overt focus on the themes of patricide and incest. Due to time constraints, this third act needed to be cut. In a later interview, Kaga felt that the focus on narrative weakened the gameplay.

The game's initial gameplay concept was for a squad-based tactical game that excluded role-playing elements, but it eventually settled back into the more traditional Fire Emblem style of single combat between units. Narihiro also noted that Kaga kept on pushing for more role-playing elements, to the point that the team felt it was being turned into a full-fledged role-playing video game. The scale of maps was greatly increased due to Kaga's wish for a story that was epic in scope. Adjustments were made to the money, character class and ranking systems to help with balancing, while some unit movements were adjusted to lend greater realism to battles. The "Leadership" leveling system was intended to properly convey the impression of certain characters as leaders without resorting to relying on stat growth. A home base that could be freely explored between missions was initially planned, but most of its features needed to be cut due to hardware limitations, although the base concept remained in the game. The differences between the first prototype and the final build were described by Narihito as "huge", and he estimated that the game had been remade two or three times during development. The Support system, introduced in Mystery of the Emblem, was greatly expanded based on fan feedback, such as conversations between units being triggered depending on various factors to give more backstory to them. The romance system was suggested by Kaga, partly as an expansion of the Support system and partly due to his wish to create an epic story. Some elements needed to be removed, such as how giving gifts affected a relationship, due to space restrictions. According to Toru Narihiro, one of the game's staff, the romance mechanics were inspired in Kaga's mind by the breeding of pedigree race horses. When he asked for the feature, all of the staff were shocked, and it was estimated that an entire year's development was dedicated to making the feature work. Romance also fell in with a popular gaming trend at the time. The systems governing children were intended to reward players through certain character parings, but were also open so players would not need to engage in the romance system at all while still getting enjoyment from the experience.

Release
When first revealed, it was known under the tentative title of Fire Emblem: Inheritors of Light. It was originally scheduled for a release in March 1996. Genealogy of the Holy War was released on May 14, 1996. It is the second title to be released for the Super Famicom. Its Japanese title, Seisen no Keifu, has been alternately translated as "Descent of Jihad" and "Genealogy of the Holy War": the latter has become the more common translation. It was subsequently ported to other platforms through Nintendo's Virtual Console. It was released for the Wii on January 30, 2007; for the Wii U on April 27, 2013; and August 27, 2016, for the New Nintendo 3DS. The game was not localized for Western release, remaining exclusive to Japan. An English fan translation was developed and released.

Reception
As of 2002, the game had sold a total of 494,216 units during its original print run, becoming the second best-selling Fire Emblem title to that date. It received a score of 31 points of 40 from Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu: while a positive score, it was also the lowest-scoring Fire Emblem title for the system.

RPGamer's Tony Green praised the streamlined and simple-to-learn gameplay, in addition to its emotional story, customization, and the vivid graphics. His main criticism was laid against the difficulty spike after the first two chapters. He felt that the biggest barrier for players was that of language, due to the lack of an official localization. Nintendo Power, in an import preview of the game, was highly positive: saying that players should "forget about everything [they] know about RPGs and strategy games" when referring to the gameplay, the writer also praised the music, complex storyline and graphics. The editor concluded by calling Genealogy of the Holy War "truly a game of epic proportions".

In a feature on the five best Fire Emblem titles up until 2013, Chris Carter of Destructoid included Genealogy of the Holy War among them due to the many lasting features it introduced to the series. In a retrospective feature about games not released in the United Kingdom, Digital Spy's Damian McFerren referred to it as the best game in the series, decrying its exclusivity to Japan. In a feature for RPGamer, writer Cassandra Ramos called the game the entry she most wished to see released overseas due to its scale and quality when compared to other entries from the period. Both noted that Genealogy of the Holy War was a suitable subject for a remake in the wake of the international success of more recent titles in the series.

Legacy
Following the completion of Genealogy of the Holy War, work on what was originally a side project began in 1998. Titled Fire Emblem: Thracia 776, it was set within the storyline of Genealogy of the Holy War. Kaga, Hirota and Tsujiyoko returning to their staff roles from Genealogy of the Holy War. Thracia 776 was originally released for the Nintendo Power flash cartridge in 1999, then through a standard ROM Cartridge in 2000. It would be the last Fire Emblem title developed by Kaga, as he left to establish developer Tirnanog once Thracia 776 was completed, developing Tear Ring Saga for the PlayStation. Many of the features used in Genealogy of the Holy War would appear in later games: the Weapons Triangle and expanded Support conversations became a staple of the series, while romance and playable characters from different generations became a core part of Fire Emblem Awakening. The concept of an explorable home base was later used in Fire Emblem Fates, under the title of "My Castle", as well as Fire Emblem Three Houses and Fire Emblem Engage.

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Sam Cassell

Samuel James Cassell Sr. (born November 18, 1969) is an American professional basketball coach and former point guard who serves as an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Drafted 24th overall in the 1993 NBA draft out of Florida State, Cassell played for eight different teams during his 15-year career. He was selected to the NBA All-Star Game and All-NBA Team once, both in the 2003–04 season.

In his first two seasons, he helped the Houston Rockets win back to back championships, in 1994 and 1995, and won a third with the Boston Celtics in 2008, his last season. He also helped the Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves reach the Conference Finals of the playoffs in 2001 and 2004 respectively, the latter's first-ever in franchise history, and helped the Los Angeles Clippers to their first-ever playoff series victory in 2006. Known for his mid-range jumpshot,  Cassell often made clutch baskets late in the fourth quarter to help his team win games.

College career
After graduating from Paul Lawrence Dunbar Community High School in East Baltimore, Maryland, Cassell spent a year at Maine Central Institute in Pittsfield, Maine, under coach Max Good. From MCI, Cassell was successfully recruited to attend DePaul University. He was declared academically ineligible based on National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Proposition 48 standards, and ended up starting his college career at San Jacinto College in Pasadena, Texas, where he was known as a big scorer. He moved on to Florida State University in Tallahassee for his junior and senior years. In his senior year in 1992–93, he averaged 18.3 points, 4.9 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game and led the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in steals. Cassell and teammate Bob Sura formed the highest scoring and rebounding backcourt in the nation with 38.2 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Cassell's 1992–93 Seminoles team finished with a 25–10 record and advanced to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to the University of Kentucky's Wildcats.

On February 14, 2008, in a game against Wake Forest, Cassell's jersey was retired by Florida State.

Houston Rockets (1993–1996)
Cassell was selected out of Florida State University with the 24th overall pick of the 1993 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets. Playing mostly as a backup to Kenny Smith, Cassell developed a reputation as "clutch" and was usually on the court for the fourth quarter of close games. He was a key contributor during the Rockets playoff run his rookie year, notably dropping 22 points and seven assists in a Game 7 win against the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Semifinals, and scoring 7 points in the final 32 seconds of a 93–89 win in game 3 of the 1994 NBA Finals against the New York Knicks. The Rockets would win the championship in seven games.

Cassell saw an increase in his role during his second year, appearing in all 82 games that season. He again helped the Rockets reach the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year. In game 2 of the Finals against the Orlando Magic, Cassell scored 31 points. The Rockets swept the Magic, giving Cassell his second championship in just two years in the league.

In his third season, the two-time defending champion Rockets were swept out of the second round of the playoffs by the Seattle SuperSonics. Cassell's minutes, scoring and usage rates all increased in his third season, but he missed 21 games with injuries. Rockets management feared their window of winning another championship with Olajuwon, Drexler and Smith was closing, and looked to trade for another star-caliber player.

Phoenix Suns (1996)
After the 1995–96 season, he was traded to the Phoenix Suns, along with Robert Horry, Chucky Brown, and Mark Bryant, in exchange for former league MVP Charles Barkley. Cassell, who was in the final year of his rookie contract, frequently clashed with head coach Cotton Fitzsimmons; Fitzsimmons subsequently resigned following an 0–8 start. On December 12, 1996, Cassell led the 5–14 Suns into Utah and defeated the Jazz who at the time were on a 15-game winning streak. Cassell scored 21 points in the 95–87 road win. Under new head coach Danny Ainge, the Suns saw marked improvement with Cassell leading the team with 14.8 points per game.

Dallas Mavericks (1996–97)
On December 27, 1996, just 22 games into the season, he was traded along with Michael Finley, A.C. Green, and a second-round draft pick to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Jason Kidd, Tony Dumas, and Loren Meyer. Though Cassell had begun to develop chemistry with the Suns and Coach Ainge, team management felt they could not pass up the opportunity to trade for Kidd.

New Jersey Nets (1997–1999)
Midway through the 1996–97 season, after appearing in 16 games for the Mavericks, he was traded with Chris Gatling, Jim Jackson, George McCloud, and Eric Montross to the New Jersey Nets in exchange for Shawn Bradley, Ed O'Bannon, Robert Pack, and Khalid Reeves on February 17, 1997. The Nets would be the third team that Cassell played for just that season. During his time with the Nets, Cassell lived in Teaneck, New Jersey.

Following the season, though he considered an offer to return to Houston, Cassell elected to re-sign with the Nets on a six-year contract. Forming one of the league's most potent backcourts with Kerry Kittles, Cassell averaged 19.6 points, 8 assists and 1.6 steals in 34 minutes per game for the Nets that year, and helped lead them to the playoffs for their first time in four years. However, they were swept by Michael Jordan and the Bulls in the first round.

Led by coach John Calipari, who pushed the team to trade for then re-sign Cassell, the Nets were favorites in the Eastern conference entering the lockout-shortened 1998–99 season. However, Cassell sustained an injury in the first game of the season and the Nets started 3–15.

Milwaukee Bucks (1999–2003)
On March 11, 1999, Cassell was again traded in a three team, eight player trade that sent Stephon Marbury to the Nets, Terrell Brandon to Minnesota Timberwolves, and Cassell to the Milwaukee Bucks. Under their new coach George Karl, Cassell formed a "Big 3" with Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson. In the first game of the following season, on November 2, 1999, Cassell led all scorers with 35 points alongside 11 assists in a 98–93 victory against the Houston Rockets. On November 26, Cassell again led all scorers with 28 points, with 14 assists, this time in a 114–112 win over the Boston Celtics.

On March 3, 2001, he scored his career-high of 40 points against the Chicago Bulls. During All-Star Weekend in 2001, he won the Fleer Shootout at Jam Session on All-Star Saturday. That season, after defeating the Orlando Magic and Charlotte Hornets in the first two rounds of the playoffs, he almost reached the Finals with the Bucks, falling just short when they lost in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers.

During the 2002–03 season, he passed 10,000 points for his career. On December 9, 2002, in one of the best games of his career, Cassell recorded a triple double with 39 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in a double overtime 140–133 victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

On March 28, 2008, Cassell was honored as one of the 20 greatest players in Milwaukee Bucks history during the team's 40th Anniversary Celebration.

Minnesota Timberwolves (2003–2005)
After spending four seasons with the Bucks, he was traded along with Ervin Johnson to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Joe Smith and Anthony Peeler following the 2003 NBA draft. Cassell enjoyed his most successful season as an individual that year. He posted 19.8 points on 49% shooting, 7.3 assists and 1.3 steals in 35 minutes per game on the year. He was named to the All-NBA Second Team and voted into the 2004 NBA All-Star Game. Cassell, Latrell Sprewell and Kevin Garnett formed what was widely considered the best trio in the NBA that season, vaulting past Western Conference powerhouses the Sacramento Kings, Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers for the number one seed in the Western Conference, with a franchise-best 58–24 record.

Cassell made his playoff debut with the Timberwolves scoring a franchise playoff record 40 points, in a first-round game 1 win against the Denver Nuggets. Minnesota would win the series in five games. They faced the Sacramento Kings in the next round, with Cassell again dropping 40 points in the series opener. A series of late-game heroics from Cassell helped the Timberwolves defeat the Kings in seven games. Cassell however sustained a back injury that limited him in the Western Conference Finals against the Lakers, which the Lakers would win in six games.

The following year, the Timberwolves finished 44–38, missing the playoffs by one game in the competitive Western Conference. Cassell, who appeared in only 59 games that season due to injuries, voiced his frustration over the midseason firing of Flip Saunders and not being offered a contract extension.

Los Angeles Clippers (2005–2008)
After the 2004–05 season, the Timberwolves traded Cassell and a conditional first-round pick to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Marko Jarić and Lionel Chalmers. The trade is widely considered among the NBA's most lopsided ever;     Chalmers never played another game in the NBA, and Jaric was traded after three unproductive yet overpaid seasons. Cassell meanwhile led the Clippers to their then-most successful season, and the draft pick from Minnesota was used by the Clippers as part of the Chris Paul trade. The Timberwolves would not qualify for the postseason again until 2018.

Cassell appeared to have found a home with the Clippers, as he helped lead them back to the playoffs for the first time since 1997, with their best record in team history at 47–35. Since the team moved to California in 1978, they had compiled just three winning seasons. In the first round, they beat the Denver Nuggets in five games, but would fall to the Phoenix Suns in seven games in the Conference Semifinals. Between their move to California in 1978 and Chris Paul's arrival in 2011, this would be the only year that the Clippers won a playoff series.

Before the 2006–07 season, Cassell was reportedly offered a two-year, $15 million offer from the Atlanta Hawks, but eventually re-signed with the Clippers on a two-year, $13 million deal. Cassell struggled with injuries that season, and the Clippers missed the playoffs by two games.

With Elton Brand, Shaun Livingston, Chris Kaman and others suffering major injuries, the Clippers started rebuilding throughout the 2007–08 season. Although Cassell was initially reluctant to discuss leaving the Clippers, he eventually decided to listen to their buyout offers. On February 28, 2008, the Clippers reached a contractual buyout agreement with Cassell and placed him on waivers. According to the agreement, Cassell received half of his remaining salary, roughly $850,000.

Boston Celtics (2008–2009)
Cassell became an unrestricted free agent on March 3, 2008, when he cleared waivers, and was eligible to sign with a team of his choice. Although the Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns were interested in his services, he was strongly linked with a poised move to the Boston Celtics and was expected to be in Boston once he cleared waivers. On March 1, 2008, Cassell's agent, David Falk, confirmed that Cassell would sign a contract with the Celtics for the remainder of the season if he cleared waivers, receiving a prorated amount of the veteran minimum of $1.2M. Cassell said that he would wear either No. 28 or No. 91 on his jersey, and eventually chose No. 28.

According to his agent, Cassell had signed a contract with the Celtics on March 3, 2008, but the signing was pending an official league announcement. His arrival was delayed because of a death in his family. On March 4, 2008, Cassell officially signed with the Celtics, but immediately flew back to his hometown of Baltimore to attend funeral services for his deceased family member. He made his debut against the Philadelphia 76ers on March 10, 2008. In Boston, Cassell was reunited with former teammates Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.

On March 17, 2008, Cassell had a standout performance in a Saint Patrick's Day matchup against the San Antonio Spurs, when he led the team from a 22-point deficit to a 2-point victory, scoring 17 points and hitting a clutch shot late in the game.

Cassell, along with Eddie House, James Posey, P.J. Brown, and Leon Powe, gave the Celtics arguably the best bench in the NBA that season. They helped the Celtics finish with an NBA-best 66–16 record en route to the NBA Finals. The Celtics defeated the Lakers 4–2, with the Celtics bench out-scoring the Lakers' in five of the six games. The win gave Cassell his third championship, which would also be the last game he played.

During the 2008–09 season, Cassell served as an unofficial assistant to head coach Doc Rivers; though he did not play in any games, he was still officially listed as an active player. On February 17, 2009, Cassell was traded to the Sacramento Kings for a conditional second-round draft pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. The move was done strictly for salary cap purposes and Cassell was not expected to play for the Kings. One day later, Sacramento waived him.

Cassell cleared waivers and was eligible to re-sign with Boston or another contender, but opted to sit out the remainder of the season, and he announced his retirement in May 2009. In 2015, Paul Pierce stated that he felt he, Garnett and Cassell were the real "Big 3" of the Celtics 2008 championship team.

Washington Wizards (2009–2014)
On May 21, 2009, Cassell was named assistant coach of the Washington Wizards, joining Flip Saunders who was his coach in Minnesota. John Wall, who was drafted first overall by the Wizards in 2010, credits Cassell for his development into one of the NBA's premier point guards and leadership during the team's Eastern Conference semi-finals appearance in 2014 – their first playoff series win since 2005. During the 2014 offseason, Cassell's former teammate Paul Pierce signed with the Wizards, and admitted he made the decision to sign with Washington after speaking with Cassell.

Los Angeles Clippers (2014–2020)
After five seasons with the Wizards, Cassell was hired by the Los Angeles Clippers on September 29, 2014, to join Doc Rivers' staff as assistant coach.

Philadelphia 76ers (2020–2023)
On November 9, 2020, the Philadelphia 76ers hired Cassell as an assistant coach under Doc Rivers.

Boston Celtics (2023–present)
On June 4, 2023, the Boston Celtics hired Cassell as an assistant coach under Joe Mazzulla. Cassell won his fourth NBA championship when the Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks in 5 games in the 2024 NBA Finals. It was Cassell's first championship as a coach.

Media
Cassell appeared on TNT's NBA Fundamentals series, in which basketball players describe certain aspects of the game. He was chosen to illustrate the "mid-range game", i.e. shooting from the area around the free throw line, the paint, the wings and the baseline. In this clip, Cassell explains how to post up against opposing guards, shoot pull-up jump shots and hit buzzer beaters. He admires retired NBA players Terrell Brandon and Jeff Hornacek, two prolific mid-range shooters after whom he modeled his game.

Personal life
His son, Sam Cassell Jr., played for Iona College. Cassell Jr. also played for and earned his associate's and bachelor's degrees from Chipola College and the University of Connecticut respectively. In 2017, Cassell Jr. was signed on the Summer League squad for Cleveland Cavaliers.

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Bobby Cox

Robert Joe Cox (born May 21, 1941) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Cox played for the New York Yankees and managed the Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays. He is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He recorded a 100-win season six times, a record matched only by Joe McCarthy.

Cox first managed the Braves from 1978 to 1981, and then managed the Blue Jays from 1982 to 1985. He rejoined the Braves in 1986 as a general manager. He moved back to the manager's role during the 1990 season and stayed there until his retirement following the 2010 season. Cox led the Atlanta Braves to the World Series championship in. The Braves have since retired No. 6 in his honor. Cox holds the all-time record for ejections in MLB with 158 (plus an additional three post-season ejections ), a record previously held by John McGraw. He also leads the league in playoff appearances as manager with sixteen, and he was the first since Casey Stengel to have qualified for the postseason ten times (four managers have since followed him). He became the first manager to exceed three consecutive appearances in the League Championship Series, doing so by qualifying for the National League Championship Series from 1991 to 1999 (excluding 1994, which had no NLCS).

Playing career
As a player, Cox originally signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but was never able to make the Dodgers' major league team. Eventually he was acquired by the Braves, but never appeared in an MLB game for them either. Instead, he was traded to the New York Yankees on December 7, 1967. Cox played two seasons, mostly at third base, for the Yankees.

Prior to managing
Prior to managing in the States, Cox played from 1967 to 1970 for the Cardenales de Lara and Leones del Caracas clubs of the Venezuelan Winter League. He later managed the Cardenales during three consecutive seasons from 1974–75 through 1976–77. In between, he coached and managed in the Yankees minor league system.

New York Yankees farm system
Cox began his managerial career in the Yankees farm system in 1971. In 1976, he led the Syracuse Chiefs to the International League's Governors' Cup title. This team featured such future major leaguers as Ron Guidry, Mickey Klutts, Terry Whitfield and Juan Bernhardt. Overall, Cox had a highly successful six-year tenure as a minor league manager, compiling a record of 459 wins and 387 defeats (.543) with two league championships. He then spent the 1977 season as the first base coach on Billy Martin's staff with the World Series–winning Yankees before beginning his MLB managerial career.

Atlanta Braves (1978–1981)
Cox replaced Dave Bristol as the manager of the Atlanta Braves prior to the 1978 season, inheriting a team that had finished last in the National League West during the previous two seasons and, in 1977, compiled a worse record than the first-year Seattle Mariners of the American League. Building from the ground up, the Braves finished last in both 1978 and 1979. Entering 1980, Cox made one of the unusual moves for which he is known, moving power-hitting first baseman–catcher Dale Murphy, who had developed a throwing block as a catcher that hindered his ability to play, to center field. Murphy later won two National League Most Valuable Player Awards and five Gold Gloves, and became one of the premier players of the 1980s. In 1980, the Braves finished fourth with their first record above .500 since 1974. However, Cox was undone by the 1981 baseball strike when the Braves finished fourth in the first half and fifth in the second. After the season, owner Ted Turner fired him. Asked at a press conference who was on his short list for manager, Turner replied, "It would be Bobby Cox if I hadn't just fired him. We need someone like him around here." The Braves won the National League West division title in 1982 and finished second in both 1983 and 1984 under Cox's successor Joe Torre. Cox finished with a record of 266 wins and 323 losses in the regular season.

Toronto Blue Jays (1982–1985)
Cox joined the Toronto Blue Jays in 1982, who steadily improved over the four years of his management. Cito Gaston was brought in as a coach for the team because of Cox, and Gaston would be named manager of the Jays years later. In 1985, Cox's fourth season with the club, the Blue Jays finished in first place in the American League East. That season, the American League Championship Series was expanded to a best-of-seven format after 16 seasons of a best-of-five format. This change ultimately made the difference when Cox's Blue Jays became only the fifth team to lose a playoff series after leading three games to one to the Kansas City Royals, with the decision by Dick Howser to counter Cox's platooning by starting a right-handed pitcher before going with left-handed relievers in the middle innings proving key. He finished his stint as manager with a record of 355 wins and 292 losses for his regular season record. Cox left to return to Atlanta as a general manager, and he was replaced in Toronto by Jimy Williams.

General manager
After the Blue Jays' elimination, Cox returned to the Braves as general manager. After going through two managers over the course of less than five years with disastrous results in attendance and outlook, Cox fired Russ Nixon in June 1990 and named himself field manager. Cox had spent the prior four seasons accumulating talented players, including Tom Glavine, Steve Avery, John Smoltz, Ron Gant, and David Justice. He was also responsible for drafting Chipper Jones with the first overall pick in the 1990 draft. After the season, he handed the general manager's post to Kansas City Royals general manager John Schuerholz.

1991
In 1991, the Braves, along with the Minnesota Twins, became the first teams to go from last place to first place from one year to the next. The two teams met in the 1991 World Series, which the Twins won in seven games. It was the second World Series in which the home team won every game. The first was in 1987 when the Twins defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.

1992–93
In 1992, Cox's Braves held a 3–1 lead in the National League Championship Series against the Pittsburgh Pirates before losing Games 5 and 6, although they did win Game 7 on Francisco Cabrera's ninth-inning, two-out, pinch-hit, two-run single. They went on to lose the World Series to his former club the Toronto Blue Jays. In 1993, the Braves had the best record in baseball after a pennant race where they overcame a ten-game deficit in August to beat the San Francisco Giants. By going 51–17 over the last two and a half months of the season, they won the division by a game. However, they lost the National League Championship Series in six games to the Philadelphia Phillies.

1995–96
In 1995, the Atlanta Braves won Cox's only World Series championship as a manager, over the Cleveland Indians. Their division title in 1995 marked the first time since 1989 that neither Pennsylvania team won the National League East.

In May 1995, Cox was arrested on simple battery charge after his wife called police and alleged Cox struck her. She retracted the statement the following day, and the charges were dropped after the couple attended court-ordered counseling.

In 1996, the Braves again won the division title. After sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers in the division series, the Braves' pitching fell behind the St. Louis Cardinals, three games to one in the 1996. Facing elimination, the Braves offense outscored the Cardinals 33–1 over the final three games and won the pennant. Cox became the only manager in history to lose a series leading three games to one and win a series trailing three games to one. The scoring continued into the first two games against the New York Yankees as the Braves took a two games to none lead by winning with scores of 12–1 and 4–0 in the World Series. In game four, the Braves led 6–0 in the fourth inning, but the Yankees came from behind. Jim Leyritz homered to tie the game, and the Yankees tied the series with a win in 11 innings, 8–6. The Yankees would ultimately win in six games. Cox was ejected in Game 6; he was the most recent person to be ejected in a World Series game until Dave Martinez in 2019 in Game 6 against the Houston Astros.

1997–2001
The Braves lost to the Florida Marlins in the 1997 NLCS and the San Diego Padres in the 1998 NLCS. The Braves made it back to the World Series in 1999, but lost to the defending World Series Champion New York Yankees in four straight games. Cox's 2001 team won the division title and upset the favored Houston Astros in three straight games in the division series. However, the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Braves in five games in the NLCS.

One of Cox's memorable games as manager of the Braves during this period came on September 21, 2001, when they played rival New York Mets in the first major professional sporting event played in New York City since the 9/11 attacks.

In 2001, he tied a record held by John McGraw, Bill Dahlen and Paul Richards by being ejected from eleven games in a single season.

2002–2010
Cox's Braves did not advance past the first round of the playoffs in any of their last five appearances. In 2002, the Braves won 101 games and led the wild card San Francisco Giants 2 games to 1 before dropping the last two. In 2003, the Braves pushed the Chicago Cubs to the fifth game before falling. The following year, the Braves lost in the best-of-five Division Series for the third straight year. In 2005, the Braves lost to the Houston Astros, with the finale taking 18 innings to decide in the 2005 NLDS. On September 23, 2009, Cox signed a one-year contract extension through 2010, and on the same day announced that 2010 would be his final year as manager. He also announced that he agreed to stay on as an advisor for team baseball operations for the next five years after he retires. On October 2, 2010, the Atlanta Braves honored Bobby Cox at Turner Field in a sold-out game. On October 3, 2010, Cox led the Braves to an 8–7 win over the Phillies and clinched both his and the Braves' first wild card. His final game was on October 11, 2010, when the Braves were eliminated by the San Francisco Giants in Game 4 of the National League Division Series. He was given a standing ovation by the crowd and both teams immediately following the game. He finished with a record of 1,883 wins and 1,386 losses in the regular season and 64 wins and 65 losses in the post-season. His record from both stints as manager is 2,149 wins and 1,709 losses for a .557 winning percentage in 3,858 games. His overall managerial record is 2,504 wins and 2,001 losses in the regular season and 67 wins and 69 losses in the post-season.

Personal life
Bobby Cox is married to Pamela and has eight children. In 1995, Cox was arrested on simple assault charges against his wife.

One day after participating in the Braves' home opening day (April 1, 2019) festivities Cox was hospitalized after suffering a stroke. Five months after his stroke, Cox made a visit to SunTrust Park on September 2, 2019, to watch the Braves play the Toronto Blue Jays, a game which the Braves won 6–3. As a result of the stroke Cox suffers from paralysis in his right arm which requires it to be in a sling. The stroke did not cause cognitive impairment, as Cox follows and retains interest in baseball, receiving regular visits with long-time baseball colleagues such as Braves manager Brian Snitker, but caused some difficulties communicating. Cox attended the July 6, 2024 Atlanta Braves game versus the visiting, division-leading Philadelphia Phillies; his first in-person attendance at a Braves game since 2019. Cox visited the home clubhouse, met with Braves players, and took a group photo. He was shown on the videoboard before the fourth inning to a standing ovation from the sellout, 41,006 Truist Park crowd.

Accomplishments
Cox has been named Manager of the Year four times (1985, 1991, 2004, 2005) and is one of only four managers to have won the award in both the American and National League. He and Kevin Cash are the only managers to have won the award in consecutive years. Cox has also been named Manager of the Year by The Sporting News eight times (1985, 1991, 1993, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005).

On May 12, 2007, Cox passed Sparky Anderson to become the fourth-winningest manager in major league history, with a record of 2,195 wins and 1,698 losses. He led the Braves to a division title every season from 1991 to 2005, excluding the strike-shortened 1994 season; the Braves have competed in the National League East since 1994 and competed in the National League West prior to that. He won a World Series Championship in 1995. In 2001, he took sole possession of first place for most wins as a manager in Braves history. Cox's .561 winning percentage is fourteenth in all-time among managers with at least 1,000 games managed, and is the second highest among those who managed the majority of their career after the creation of divisions within each league in 1969. On June 8, 2009, Cox won his 2,000th game with the Atlanta Braves, becoming only the fourth manager in Major League history to accomplish that feat with one team. Cox reached career win number 2,500 on September 25, 2010, becoming only the fourth manager in Major League history to do so.

On September 17, 2010, Cox was ejected for the 158th time in his Major League coaching career during the second inning of a Braves game against the New York Mets; he currently holds the all-time record for most ejections (set on August 14, 2007, with his 132nd), previously held by John McGraw. By a strange twist of fate, his first ejection happened while managing of the Braves in a game against the Mets on May 1, 1978. Unlike McGraw, Cox did not have a reputation for having a fiery temper and Cox generally only got ejected to prevent his players from being ejected. In the 156 games from which Cox was ejected, his teams had a winning percentage of .385. In a July 2006 game, Cox was unable to save outfielder Jeff Francoeur from ejection; speaking with Atlanta Journal-Constitution beat writer David O'Brien, Francoeur recounted his manager's advice after both men had been sent to the Braves clubhouse:
 * "I’m like, ‘What do I do?’ He said, ‘Go have a couple cold beers and get in the cold tub or something and relax. And then you’ll probably have to write a $500 check. Or you can do what I do, write a $10,000 one and tell them when it runs out, let me know'."

Cox is also the only person among all players and managers to be ejected from two World Series games ( and ). He was ejected in the ninth inning of Game 3 of the 1992 World Series for throwing a batting helmet onto the field at the SkyDome. Cox was trying to slam the helmet against the lip of the dugout and missed, throwing it onto the field. Cox was tossed again in the final game of the 1996 World Series after protesting an out call of Marquis Grissom attempting to take second base on a passed ball. Although video replays appeared to show Grissom was safe, umpire Terry Tata called him out, and Cox was tossed in the ensuing argument.

In 1981, Cox was inducted into the Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame.

On August 12, 2011, a luncheon was held by the Braves, and Cox was inducted into the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame and his number six jersey was retired. Afterward, an on-field ceremony was held that recognized the long-time Braves manager prior to the scheduled game versus the Chicago Cubs.

Cox was unanimously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the 16-member Veterans Committee on December 9, 2013. The ceremony was held on July 27, 2014.

Cox was hired on September 22, 2014, to return on a part-time basis to help the Atlanta Braves choose their next general manager and director of player development after the dismissal of general manager Frank Wren and player personnel director Bruce Manno.

In 2019, the International League announced that Cox would be inducted into its Hall of Fame, noting especially his managerial experience with the Chiefs.

title: Bobby Cox


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Talk:Harry Potter censorship

Untitled
NPOV: I left an NPOV note. I think this article needs to at least try and describe the reasons why various organisations have 'banned' Harry Potter articles. The page reads more like a site trying to indict anybody with a different mindset. --Fermion 04:54, 1 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * The irony is too funny.
 * You have a point - and I think the article should be moved to Religious objection to Harry Potter with more explanation; there is a bit on the main page. Dbiv 23:29, 4 Nov 2004 (UTC)
 * I have added the reasons some organizations have for censoring the books and provided the responses of pro-Potter activists. This article should be kept apart from Religious objections to Harry Potter because the articles have different perspectives on the issue.

The "[3]" and the "[4]", references that lead nowhere, look kinda suspicious. --Kizor 12:15, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

The quotation of Pope Benedict XVI is false, as it's based on an incorrect translation from german to italian published by some press. The article seems to be really POV. Also the title shoud be "Critics..." as catholic church never censored Harry Potter, and (in Italy and other states) the books are usually sold also in catholic bookshops. Marcok 21:33, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

Redirecting
I'm redirecting this to Harry Potter, for two reasons: 1. Most of this information is discussed in the Controversy section of that article 2. There is practically no citation in this article whatsoever. By Verifiability, "Information on Wikipedia must be reliable. Facts, viewpoints, theories, and arguments may only be included in articles if they have already been published by reliable and reputable sources. Articles should cite these sources whenever possible. Any unsourced material may be challenged and removed." Removing unsourced information from this article would amount to blanking the entire article, so I'm simply redirecting it to Harry Potter, where work can focus on making that article more up to speed.

If there are objections, please discuss them here on the Talk page. Thanks, Ëvilphoenix Burn! 16:09, 11 March 2006 (UTC)

title: Talk:Harry Potter censorship


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Mettlen–Lavorgo powerline

The Mettlen–Lavorgo powerline, also called the Lukmanier powerline, is the 400 kV three-phase alternating current high voltage electric power transmission line over the Lukmanier Pass in Switzerland, from Mettlen substation (47.11528°N, 8.3375°W), next Inwil, about 7 km south of Hochdorf, to Lavorgo substation (46.44111°N, 8.83889°W), next Lavorgo, about 5 km south of Faido. Trees falling on the line in 2003 caused a major blackout in Italy.

History
The powerline was built in 1948–1949. In 2006, 17 transmission towers between Sisikon and Ingenbohl and in 2008, 28 transmission towers between Arth and Küssnacht am Rigi were replaced.

On 28 September 2003, during a storm, two trees hit the powerline in Brunnen causing a major blackout in Italy. The loss of power affected most of all peninsula; nearly 50 million people remained cut-off for up to 18 hours.

Description
On the 52 km long section from Mettlen to Amsteg it shares the pylons with the Gotthard Powerline. After Amsteg the Lukmanier Powerline runs on its own track.

On the section between Mettlen and Amsteg 160 pylons are used with two level and three level arrangements of the conductors. For the 53 km long section between Amsteg and Lavorgo over the Lukmanier Pass 145 pylons for one circuit with one level arrangement of the three conductors are used. The mean height of the used pylons is 30 m.

A unique aspect of this line is the 75-metre-high anchor pylon, which stands on 28-metre-high feet of concrete in the artificial lake of Santa Maria, canton Graubünden. This pylon was built in 1949 as a normal pylon. At the construction of the Santa María Dam it was replaced in 1957 by the existing pylon on concrete feet to protect the steel construction from the water and at wintertime from ice on the lake. This pylon carries one crossarm for one circuit. The mean span width of the line is 350 m, the biggest span width between two pylons is 890 m. As conductors bundles of two and three conductors of Aldrey (an aluminium-magnesium-silicon alloy) with a cross section of 550 mm2 are used. The diameter of each single conductor is 30.5 mm. As ground wire two steel ropes with a cross section of 80 mm2 are used.

In the Mittelplatten area, the culminating point, the powerline consists of the highest transmission tower in the Swiss power grid, stationed 2,490 m above sea level. The steel lattice mast is 43.5 m tall.

title: Mettlen–Lavorgo powerline


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Alec Rose

Sir Alec Rose (13 July 1908 – 11 January 1991) was a nursery owner and fruit merchant in England who, after serving in the Royal Navy during World War II, developed a passion for amateur single-handed sailing. He took part in the second single-handed Atlantic race in 1964 and circumnavigated the globe single-handedly in 1967–68, for which he was knighted. His boat Lively Lady is still seaworthy and is used for sail training by a charity.

Naval career
Alec Rose was born in Canterbury. During World War II he served in the Royal Navy as a diesel mechanic on a convoy escort, HMS Leith.

Lively Lady
After the war, Rose learned to sail in a former ship's lifeboat before buying the 36-foot cutter Lively Lady second-hand. Lively Lady was built of paduak by S. J. P. Cambridge, the previous owner, in Calcutta, with the help of two Indian cabinetmakers. Cambridge had studied boat design during the war, and Lively Lady was basic, but sturdy and stable. In 2015, the charity "Around and Around" undertook a 25-year management of the yacht and restored and extensively refitted her in time to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Rose's circumnavigation., since she has been awarded to Around and Around.

The lively Lady came up to St Katherine Docks in London for the classic boat show there in September 2023.

In the future she will be used again for getting young adults involved in sailing, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Single-handed Atlantic crossing
Rose converted Lively Lady to a yawl by adding a mizzenmast and in 1964 participated in the second single-handed transatlantic race, finishing in fourth place. Not having any means of communication on board, he did not know of his success until after he crossed the finish line. The race started at Plymouth, where Rose was photographed on board by Eileen Ramsay, the chronicler of sailing in post-war Britain.

Single-handed global circumnavigation
When Rose heard that Francis Chichester intended to sail single-handedly around the world, he was keen to compete. He attempted to start his journey at approximately the same time as Chichester (sailing Gypsy Moth IV) in 1966, but mechanical failures and a collision off Ushant meant he had to postpone the event until the following year.

The voyage began on 16 July 1967. While he was away Rose's wife Dorothy ran their fruit and vegetable stall, displaying a map charting his progress. On 17 December, after 155 days and 14,500 miles, he arrived in Melbourne where he met his son who lived there. Among the people who came to watch Rose's arrival was Prime Minister Harold Holt, who disappeared later the same day after going for a swim. Rose stopped once more, an unplanned call into Bluff Harbour, New Zealand, to repair a damaged mast.

The voyage was closely followed by the British and international press and Rose's landfall at 12.33pm in Southsea, Portsmouth, on 4 July 1968, 354 days after he set off, was met by cheering crowds of hundreds of thousands. It was 10 days before his 60th birthday. On 10 July 1968, he was made a Knight Bachelor. He was made a Freeman of the City of Portsmouth in the same year, was guest of honour at the Anglo-American Sporting Club gala evening at the London Hilton, and fêted with Lively Lady outside the Daily Mirror Building at Holborn Circus. He opened the Bamboo House Chinese restaurant in Southsea in 1968. He was granted the Freedom of the City of London in 1969.

Rose's voyages are detailed in his book My Lively Lady. He wrote a children's version, Around the world with Lively Lady (1968) and another book My favourite tales of the sea (1969).

After circumnavigation
In 1973 Rose was given the honour of firing the starting gun for the first Whitbread Round the World Race. On 17 May 1975, he opened 5th Littlehampton Sea Scouts' HQ Gordon Hall in Lineside Way, Littlehampton, West Sussex.

Rose provided the foreword for the 1980 reprint of Brouscon's Tidal Almanac of 1546.

Publications

 * My Lively Lady, November 1968, Nautical Publishing Company. ISBN 0245595651.
 * Around the world with Lively Lady, 1968, Geoffrey Chapman, London. ISBN 0225273128.
 * My favourite tales of the sea, 1969, Nautical Publishing Company, Lymington, in association with George G. Harrap & Co. ISBN 0245598987.

Personal life
Rose was born in Canterbury and was educated at Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys. In his book My Lively Lady Rose described himself as a shy youth and a loner, fascinated by nature and the sea. He preferred to be self-employed rather than take a regular job, which allowed him to spend the time (over several years) preparing his yacht for the trans-Atlantic race. Rose and his wife Dorothy ran a greengrocer's shop at 38 Osborne Road, Southsea.

Alec Rose died aged 82 on 11 January 1991 at Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth. At the time of his death he was Admiral of the Ocean Cruising Club, and in an obituary Tim Heywood, a founder member and past Commodore who had known Rose since 1966, described him as "the epitome of the breed of great seamen: quiet, reserved and humble". Rose was survived by his wife Dorothy, two sons and two daughters. He bequeathed Lively Lady to Portsmouth.

Legacy
Alec Rose Lane in Portsmouth city centre is named after him, as is a Wetherspoon public house in Port Solent, Portsmouth and the 3rd Worthing Scout Groups 'Rose' Cub Pack. An elderly people's residence in Gosport bears his name. Sir Alec's sailing club Eastney Cruising Association in Portsmouth has a Cornish Pilot Gig named after him. There is a plaque commemorating his global circumnavigation near his landing point at Southsea. Rose gives his name to the RNSA Sir Alec Rose Trophy for Outstanding Single Handed achievement.

Lively Lady was displayed at the 2005 London Boat Show. A pub in Bracklesham, near Chichester, West Sussex, is named The Lively Lady after Rose's yacht.

From 2006 to 2008 Alan Priddy, founder of the Around and Around charity, circumnavigated the globe aboard Rose's yacht Lively Lady. The 60-year-old boat was crewed in stages by a group of 38 disadvantaged young adults. Which to most of them was "life changing", Priddy attributed his passion for sailing to Rose. Lively Lady was in 2009 leased to Around and Around for 25 years so the charity could maintain and use her for training. In 2011 the charity announced that, after a refit, Lively Lady would undertake another circumnavigation to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Rose's achievement. The charity restored and extensively refitted the yacht in time to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Rose's circumnavigation.

title: Alec Rose


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Talk:Media controversy

NPOV: This article fails to address why different organisations restrict access to the media, and debate the pros and cons of these positions. The underlying assumption of this page is admirably censorship free, a position that most people would disagree with. Further the title is quite confusing, I thought the page would be about controversy in the media not about the media. Why is there a list of links to mainly religious organisations down the bottom, provide an explanation of the practises of each of these groups --Fermion 04:57, 1 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Seeing how short the article is, i think they just didn't expand on the topic. What you describe Fermion would take more than a paragraph or three. --Anon

I somewhat agree with both, but I don't think it's very intentionally non-neutral so much as just not very well fleshed out.

purpose?
What is the purpose of this article in the first place? How is it helping the reader at all? K-UNIT 01:42, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

title: Talk:Media controversy


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Daunte Culpepper

Daunte Rachard Culpepper (born January 28, 1977) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football for the UCF Knights and was selected by the Vikings in the first round of the 1999 NFL draft.

During his seven seasons with the Vikings, Culpepper led the team to two playoff runs, one division title, and an NFC Championship Game appearance, along with earning three Pro Bowl selections. His most successful season was in 2004 when he set the single-season record for the most total yardage produced by an NFL quarterback. However, Culpepper suffered a devastating knee injury the following season that ended his Vikings career. After his injury, he played sparingly in the NFL for the Miami Dolphins, the Oakland Raiders, and the Detroit Lions. Culpepper last played professionally for the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League (UFL).

Early life
Culpepper was born to a single mother, Barbara Henderson, who is the sister of former NFL linebacker Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson. While his mother was pregnant with him, she was serving time for armed robbery. Culpepper was adopted when he was a day old and raised as one of more than 15 children of the late Emma Lewis Culpepper, who worked in the correctional facility where his mother was held. They lived in Ocala, Florida, where Culpepper attended Vanguard High School. He played football, coached by Phillip (Phil) Yancey, as well as basketball and baseball. After his senior season in 1994, Culpepper was named Mr. Football in the state of Florida. In 2007, Culpepper was named to the FHSAA's All-Century Team that listed the top 33 football players in the state of Florida's 100-year history of high school football.

Near the end of his high school team's state basketball championship game, the referee called traveling on Culpepper when he was driving for the game-winning lay-up. Later on in his career, Culpepper celebrated his football touchdowns by moving his hands in the motion that a basketball referee makes when calling traveling, also known as "the roll".

Culpepper was drafted in the 26th round (730th overall) by the New York Yankees in the 1995 Major League Baseball Draft but did not sign and chose to attend college.

College career
Culpepper struggled to get into college, because of low SAT scores. Marquee football schools, such as the University of Miami and University of Florida, backed off from recruiting him when it was assumed he would not qualify. The University of Central Florida, however, being a Division II school did not have to abide by the rules of Division I when it came to SAT scores. With this, the University of Central Florida offered to tutor him and help him achieve the necessary scores, and he was able to qualify. Although the big college programs returned to recruit him, as a show of loyalty, Culpepper enrolled at UCF.

Although he had a love for baseball, Culpepper committed to play football at UCF as a quarterback. He rewrote virtually all of the school's quarterback records, approximately 30 in all, many held by Darin Slack since 1987. Culpepper also set an NCAA record for single-season completion percentage at 73.6%, breaking a 15-year-old mark set by Steve Young (71.3%). This record would stand until Colt McCoy (Texas) finished the 2008 season with a completion percentage of 77.6%. Culpepper accomplished a feat equaled by only two others in NCAA history when he topped the 10,000-yard passing mark and the 1,000-yard rushing mark in his career. He finished his career sixth on the NCAA's all-time total offense list for all divisions with 12,459 yards and was responsible for 108 career touchdowns (84 passing).

After his junior season, Culpepper was being lured out of the collegiate ranks to enter the draft and join the NFL, but instead returned to UCF to play his senior year. UCF posted a 9–2 record, losing only to Purdue and Auburn.

Early career and immediate success
Culpepper was drafted 11th overall in the first round of the 1999 NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings; he was the fourth quarterback chosen, after Tim Couch (first overall), Donovan McNabb (second) and Akili Smith (third). In his first year Culpepper played in one game, rushing three times for six yards and not throwing a pass.

In 2000, Culpepper was named Minnesota's starting quarterback. He led the Vikings to victory in the first seven games of the season, and helped them finish 11–5 and advance to the NFC Championship game, where they were beaten by the New York Giants 41–0. During the season, Culpepper passed for 3,937 yards, 33 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He also rushed for 470 yards and seven touchdowns. One of Culpepper's most notable moments was against the Buffalo Bills when he threw a pass across his body and the field to Randy Moss for a 39-yard touchdown pass, although the pass was at least 60 total yards. At the end of the year, he was selected to his first Pro Bowl. Randy Moss, wide receiver for the Vikings, said that Culpepper was one of the most talented quarterbacks he had ever seen following the 2000 season.

Struggles and comeback
Culpepper struggled over the next two seasons beginning in 2001, throwing 14 touchdowns to 13 interceptions. The Vikings finished the season 5–11. Culpepper started all 11 games in which he appeared, missing the final five games of the season with a knee injury he suffered in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on December 2. He completed 60 percent of his passes or better in nine of his 11 outings, including twice when he surpassed the 70.0 mark and had a passer rating of 100.0 better in two contests where the Vikings were 1–1 in those games. Culpepper's rushing total ranked third among NFL quarterbacks, trailing only Pittsburgh's Kordell Stewart (537) and Philadelphia’s Donovan McNabb (482). Perhaps his most notable performance during this campaign occurred during the 20–16 comeback win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On the run, Culpepper barreled into Derrick Brooks and Shelton Quarles, but was the first player up after the eight-yard score.

Culpepper continued to struggle in 2002, throwing 18 touchdowns to 23 interceptions and leading the Vikings to a 6–10 record. He also fumbled an NFL record 23 times, losing nine of them. Some attribute this to his appearance on the cover of the Madden NFL 2002 video game, where he subsequently proceeded to have the worst year of his career until 2005, keeping with the superstition of the “Madden Curse”. Culpepper went on to win the EA Sports Madden Bowl title among NFL players during the 2003 offseason.

Culpepper's ten rushing scores led all NFL QBs in 2002 and also marked the sixth-highest total by a QB in NFL history, trailing only Cam Newton (14 for Carolina in 2011) and (12 for New England in 2020), Steve Grogan (12 for New England in 1976), Johnny Lujack (11 for Chicago in 1950), Tobin Rote (11 for Green Bay in 1956), Kordell Stewart (11 for Pittsburgh in 1997), and Kyler Murray (11 for Arizona in 2020).

Culpepper made a comeback in 2003, leading the Vikings to a 9–7 record, although they missed the playoffs. He passed for 3,479 yards, 25 touchdowns, and only 11 interceptions, and earned his second trip to the Pro Bowl.

Historic season
Culpepper enjoyed his best statistical season as a professional in 2004 and, though they were only 8–8, the Vikings reached the playoffs for the second time under Culpepper. Passing for a league-leading 4,717 yards, a Viking-record 39 touchdowns, and only 11 interceptions, Culpepper was named to his third career Pro Bowl. Culpepper also broke Dan Marino's NFL record for combined passing and rushing yards, amassing 5,123 total yards. His 2,323 rushing yards from 2000–2004 also made him only the fourth quarterback in NFL history to run for more than 2,300 yards in a five-season period. (Michael Vick had 3,570 from 2002–2006; Randall Cunningham had 3,232 from 1986–1990; and Steve McNair had 2,387 from 1997–2001). Culpepper’s career rushing average of 26.1 yards per game is fourth-best among quarterbacks in NFL history. Only Vick (47.3 yds/g), Cunningham (30.6 yds/g), and Bobby Douglass (29.8 yds/g) have averaged more rushing yards per game during their QB careers. After the 2004 season, Culpepper said the game had "slowed down" for him, saying, "I feel like a Jedi Knight."

Injury
His first two games of the 2005 season were disappointments, as the Vikings went 0–2 while Culpepper threw no touchdown passes, eight interceptions, and fumbled twice. Culpepper rebounded in the third week, throwing for 300 yards and three touchdowns while beating the New Orleans Saints. In 2005, he had six touchdowns, twelve interceptions, and five fumbles before getting injured in the seventh game (only winning two games). On October 30, he suffered a knee injury during a 38–13 loss to the Carolina Panthers. Culpepper sustained damage to three of the four major ligaments in the knee: the ACL, PCL and MCL. He was placed on injured reserve and began rehabilitation treatment near his home in Florida. Backup Brad Johnson took over in the Carolina game and after losing that one, they won the next six straight games and the team ended up with a 9–7 record. Daunte's final career won–loss record as a starter for the Vikings was 37–40 (48.1% winning percentage).

On December 14, 2005, Culpepper and three other players were charged with indecent conduct, disorderly conduct and lewd or lascivious conduct for their involvement in the 2005 Minnesota Vikings boat cruise scandal, according to court papers and news reports. The maximum penalty they could have faced was 90 days in jail. His defense contended there was racial discrimination among the prosecution. On April 4, 2006, however, the charges against Culpepper were dropped owing to a lack of probable cause.

Culpepper was in negotiations with Zygi Wilf, the new owner of the Vikings, in regard to his contract with the team. Rumors surfaced that Culpepper was unhappy with his status in Minnesota due to the re-emergence of Brad Johnson following his injury. The Vikings wanted him to rehabilitate in Minnesota because they were not satisfied with his level of treatment in Florida. Culpepper refused this request.

Later on, Culpepper expressed his desire to be out of Minnesota. According to the Associated Press, Culpepper said that if he was not traded, he wanted to be released. Culpepper said because of the fundamental differences I have with management regarding the approach to my personal and professional life, I think it is the best business decision for both parties to go our separate ways.Culpepper was not insistent on being traded to the Miami Dolphins, and orchestrated his trade without the services of his former agent. New Vikings coach Brad Childress likened his dealings with Culpepper to his dealings with Terrell Owens and said he never had a conversation with Daunte that did not involve his contract and getting more money instead of football and the team.

Struggle to return from injury
Culpepper was traded to Nick Saban’s Miami Dolphins in exchange for a second-round draft pick. He changed his number from 11 (which he wore in Minnesota, after wearing #12 his rookie season in honor of Randall Cunningham) back to his original number 8, the same number he had at Vanguard High School and the University of Central Florida.

The Dolphins debated whether to pursue Culpepper or Drew Brees during the offseason. The Dolphins decided to bring in Culpepper based on a medical evaluation of the two players. Brees was coming back from a shoulder injury suffered the last game during the 2005 season.

Although still recovering from a serious knee injury the previous year, Culpepper was able to attend and participate in all of the Dolphins' offseason practices, including training camp. In early August, he made it public that he felt his knee was only about 85–90% recovered. In Culpepper's preseason game against Carolina, he walked up to cornerback Chris Gamble and thanked him for injuring him, Daunte saying if Gamble had not hit him like that he would still have been in Minnesota.

Culpepper got off to a rocky start in his first two regular-season games, losing both of them with fans booing Culpepper and calling for backup Joey Harrington in the second game. However, he had an improved performance in the third game, winning 13–10 over the Tennessee Titans who had the second to last ranked defense in the NFL. However, the next week the Houston Texans with the last ranked defense in the NFL won their first game of the season against the Dolphins.

At this point, the Dolphins were 1–3 and their opponents were 1–11 when not playing Miami. After the Houston loss, Saban noticed Culpepper having trouble in practice due to a nagging bruised shoulder injury and decided to rest Culpepper for a couple of practices. During that Friday's practice, Culpepper and Saban got into a loud, heated argument during practice. Saban had decided to bench Daunte until his shoulder recovered and he got more of the mobility back that he lost due to his knee injury.

On November 30, 2006, Culpepper underwent arthroscopic surgery on his previously injured knee to remove a piece of loose cartilage that was causing Culpepper difficulty. On December 12, 2006, Culpepper was placed on injured reserve, officially ending his 2006 season. Saban stated that although Culpepper was making progress in his rehabilitation, he and the medical staff felt it would be difficult for Culpepper to play in the next three weeks.

On December 25, 2006, Steve Young appeared as a guest announcer during the Dolphins’ second to last game and criticized Culpepper's work ethic. Culpepper saw this on TV from his box suite at Dolphin Stadium and immediately walked down to the ESPN booth and waited for Steve Young to finish, then Daunte confronted Young about it and said he has not missed any meetings and that was not who he was. Young apologized and said though he heard Culpepper had been missing meetings, he should have checked with Daunte first before repeating it. After the season, Saban left for a head coaching job at the University of Alabama. On January 21, 2007, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that despite public assertions by Saban, his decision to bench Culpepper actually had little to do with his knee and more to do with his head.

End of Culpepper era
In the absence of Culpepper, the Dolphins relied on quarterbacks Cleo Lemon and Gibran Hamdan, both of whom were considered unproven, and had, up to that point, combined for only a single regular season start. In the Dolphins’ initial mini-camp under first-year coach Cam Cameron, both the players struggled to move the offense. This poor performance led to an April 15 report that stated a much-discussed trade for Kansas City’s Trent Green was imminent, for Culpepper was unable to participate in the minicamp as he continued to recover from knee surgery. The weekend previous to the report, Culpepper revealed that the second surgery, which was designed to address scar tissue in the knee, was more serious than anyone originally divulged, and called for a rehabilitation period of 4–6 months. Culpepper said he has been told by his surgeon Dr. James Andrews to "begin to ease into things" after May 1.

On June 5, 2007, the Dolphins completed the long-awaited trade for Trent Green; a few hours before the Green trade became official, the Dolphins told Culpepper they “are going in a different direction at the QB position,” according to Culpepper, who resisted that plan.

On June 7, Culpepper, acting as his own agent, asked to be released from his contract with the Dolphins.

Culpepper was on the Dolphins' practice field for the start of a weekend minicamp on June 8, one day after asking for his release and two days after Miami completed a trade with Kansas City for Trent Green, who took over at quarterback.

Informed by quarterbacks coach Terry Shea that he would not be permitted to take part in any team drills during the Dolphins' June 8–10 minicamp, Culpepper stated that he would seek intervention from the NFL Players Association to end the stalemate. He was finally released by the Dolphins on July 17.

Oakland Raiders
Culpepper was first and most often linked to the Jacksonville Jaguars, but Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio said he did not feel Culpepper would be a good fit. Culpepper worked out for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers soon after his release, but was not acquired by the team. On July 31, Culpepper signed a one-year contract with the Oakland Raiders, as an insurance policy by the Raiders as they struggled to sign number-one draft pick JaMarcus Russell, with whom they were engaging in contract negotiations. In 2007, Culpepper replaced the injured Josh McCown for the Raiders' matchup against his former team, the Miami Dolphins. Culpepper finished the game with two passing and three rushing touchdowns. Culpepper started a total of six games for Oakland. Prior to the Week 13 game against the Denver Broncos, Culpepper was nursing a sore quadriceps. He said he suffered the injury during the Week 12 game against the Kansas City Chiefs but it did not begin to bother him until Wednesday. Some sources said Culpepper suffered the injury when he ran a race with Oakland cornerback Stanford Routt, a college sprinter, after practice but head coach Lane Kiffin declined knowledge of the alleged incident. Due to his injury, Culpepper did not play in another game that season and was placed on injured reserve on December 26.

2008 retirement and comeback
Culpepper visited the Green Bay Packers on April 23 and 24, 2008. He would later turn down the offer from the Packers, $1 million for a one-year contract, claiming the deal was not good. He said he was in contact with a few other teams. In July 2008, it was reported that the Detroit Lions were interested in signing Culpepper, but they never made an offer to him. He worked out with the Pittsburgh Steelers in August 2008, but the Steelers elected to sign Byron Leftwich instead to replace the injured Charlie Batch. On August 29, 2008, Culpepper then changed his mind and stated that he would consider a backup role in Green Bay if they were still interested in him, but the team did not put forth an offer.

On September 4, 2008, Culpepper announced his retirement. He expressed his frustrations with the NFL in a brief retirement letter. The main reason of his retirement was because he felt he could still be a starting quarterback in the NFL.

The Kansas City Chiefs had spoken to Culpepper about coming out of retirement for the 2008 season after Brodie Croyle was declared out for the season with an injury. On October 23, Culpepper stated through an email to Adam Schefter that he would come out of retirement and give the NFL another shot. On October 27, Culpepper told the Chiefs that he would not make another meeting with the team due to a “better opportunity with another team”.

Detroit Lions
On November 2, 2008, ESPN reported that he had agreed to terms on a two-year deal contract with the Detroit Lions and would join the team the following week. After passing a physical, Culpepper officially signed with the Lions on November 3. The Lions assigned Culpepper number 11, the number Roy Williams had worn before he was traded to Dallas on October 14. Culpepper played four games with the Lions before suffering a shoulder injury. On December 28, 2008, the Lions became the first team in NFL history to go 0–16. The only other teams since the AFL–NFL merger to have a winless season were the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who went 0–14 (the NFL did not extend the schedule to 16 games until 1978), the 1982 Baltimore Colts, who went 0–8–1 during that strike-shortened season, and subsequently the 2017 Cleveland Browns, who went 1–31 over the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

2009
In an interview with Sirius NFL Radio, former Lions wide receiver Mike Furrey said he had heard through former Lions teammates that the Lions planned to make Culpepper the starter for the 2009 season.

On February 16, 2009, the Lions reached an agreement with Culpepper for a restructured deal that would keep him on the team in the second year of his two-year contract. He had been due a $2.5 million roster bonus later in February prior to the restructuring.

On September 7, 2009, it was reported first overall draft pick Matthew Stafford was named the starter for the Lions regular season opener against the Saints. During the preseason, Culpepper had suffered a foot injury. Culpepper said he would respect Matthew Stafford as the starter, but was not opposed to being traded.

On December 14, 2009, Culpepper played in what the Detroit Free Press headlined as “Lions suffer one of their biggest defeats in history.” Played in Baltimore, the Ravens won the game 48–3. In week 14, versus the Arizona Cardinals, Culpepper was benched in favor of third string quarterback Drew Stanton after a poor performance.

Sacramento Mountain Lions
Culpepper signed with the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League on June 7, 2010. The signing reunited Culpepper with Dennis Green, his former head coach in Minnesota, and Mike Kruczek, his former head coach at the University of Central Florida. Culpepper was named UFL Offensive Player of the Week, twice in the 2010 season. His best game came in week 2, beating the Florida Tuskers 24–20, throwing for 374 yards and two passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. In April 2011, Culpepper was placed on the protected players' list, for the 2011 UFL season.

2011
On August 14, 2011, San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh announced that Culpepper was working out for the team on the following Monday to possibly add him to the 49ers roster. However, the 49ers opted to sign Culpepper's former Oakland Raider teammate Josh McCown instead.

Culpepper was named the 45th best quarterback of the modern era by Football Nation.

Awards and honors

 * 2001 Vikings Ed Block Courage Award
 * 2001 Best Breakthrough Athlete ESPY Award
 * 2003 Extra Effort Award
 * 2003 Korey Stringer Good Guy Award
 * 2004 Korey Stringer Good Guy Award
 * 2007 Week 4 AFC Offensive Player of the Week
 * 2010 Week 2 United Football League Offensive Co-Player of the Week
 * 2010 Week 7 United Football League Offensive Player of the Week

Other appearances
Culpepper appeared in an episode of George Lopez, along with Donovan McNabb. In the episode Culpepper is trying to recruit Jason McNamara, to play for Central Florida competing against McNabb who wants Jason to go to Syracuse. Culpepper also appeared in the movie 50 First Dates, in the huddle and throwing a touchdown pass to Jim Kleinsasser when Sean Astin and Drew Barrymore were watching a football game.

Culpepper was a guest star at the 2013 Super Bash event hosted by NFL UK in London. Culpepper is represented by R. Totka of Athlete Promotions.

He also made cameos in several Cash Money music videos.

title: Daunte Culpepper


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Gary Gaetti

Gary Joseph Gaetti (, ; born August 19, 1958), is an American former third baseman in Major League Baseball for the Minnesota Twins (1981–1990), California Angels (1991–1993), Kansas City Royals (1993–1995), St. Louis Cardinals (1996–1998), Chicago Cubs (1998–1999) and Boston Red Sox (2000).

Gaetti won a World Series with Minnesota in 1987 and was the MVP of that year's American League Championship Series against the Detroit Tigers. In 1987, Gaetti became the first player ever to hit home runs in his first two postseason plate appearances. Gaetti also managed the independent league Sugar Land Skeeters from 2012 to 2017.

Playing career
Gaetti played collegiate baseball for Lake Land College in Mattoon, Illinois, and Northwest Missouri State University. Gaetti was drafted three times before finally signing with the Twins — first by the St. Louis Cardinals in the fourth round of the 1978 Major League Baseball draft (then held annually in January) and again in 1978 by the Chicago White Sox in the third round of the June secondary draft before he was drafted by the Twins in the first round of the June secondary portion of the 1979 draft. Gaetti signed on June 21, 1979.

Gaetti then spent the next three years in the Twins' minor league system, playing for the rookie level Elizabethton Twins in the Appalachian League in 1979, the A-level Wisconsin Rapids Twins in the Midwest League in 1980, and the AA-level Orlando Twins in the Southern League in 1981. Gaetti then made his major league debut in nine September games and he hit a home run off of Charlie Hough in his first major league at-bat. In 1982, Gaetti would become a permanent fixture at third base for the Twins and would man third base in Minnesota for the next nine seasons.

In 1986, Gaetti batted .287 with 34 home runs and 108 runs batted in. Gaetti won four consecutive Gold Glove Awards for fielding excellence from 1986 through 1989. Gaetti helped propel the Twins to the 1987 post-season and their first World Series championship, hitting .257 with 31 home runs and 109 RBI. He also hit himself into the record books, with home runs in his first two career postseason plate appearances in the American League Championship Series to help the Twins upset the Detroit Tigers.

Gaetti was selected as an All-Star in 1988 and 1989. Playing against the Boston Red Sox on July 17, 1990, Gaetti helped the Twins become the only team in baseball history to turn two triple plays in the same game. Despite their defensive heroics, the Twins lost the game 1–0.

His production at the plate would decline and after hitting only .229 in 1990, Gaetti left the Twins for the Angels as a free agent. His production continued to drop off with the Angels and midway through the third year of his four-year contract, he was released, in June 1993. He was almost immediately signed by the Royals, who had lost their projected regular third baseman, Keith Miller, to injury and had been playing rookie Phil Hiatt at third. Gaetti hit 26 home runs for the Royals in 665 at-bats between 1993 and 1994, splitting time at third with Miller, David Howard, and Terry Shumpert. In 1995, Gaetti played in 137 games and at the age of 36, he hit .261 with 35 home runs and 96 RBI, winning his only Silver Slugger, setting a career high in home runs and missing the Royals' team record for most home runs in a season by one.

Following the 1995 season, Gaetti signed as a free agent with the Cardinals, where he enjoyed two more productive seasons before being released again in August 1998 after the Cardinals' acquisition of Fernando Tatís. Gaetti immediately signed with the Cubs, where he hit .320/8/27 as the Cubs won the National League wild card. The following season, Gaetti played only semi-regularly and was released at the end of the season after hitting .204 with nine home runs. He wound up his career the following season in Boston, appearing in five games in April 2000 at the age of 41.

Bill James noted Gaetti's baseball-related aging process as being unusual for two reasons. Unlike most other league veterans, his walk rate never improved and his rate of productivity decline was "exceptionally" slow. Gaetti was used as an emergency relief pitcher by both the Cardinals and the Cubs, retiring with an ERA of 7.71 and one strikeout in three appearances.

Gaetti finished in the top 25 voting for American League Most Valuable Player four times in his career, three times with the Minnesota Twins (1986–1988), and once with the Kansas City Royals (1995). He finished fifth in American League Rookie of the Year voting (1982). He was a four-time Golden Glove Award winner (1986-1989). His 2,280 total base hits rank him 161st in the history of Major League Baseball.

Retirement
Gaetti was inducted into the NWMSU athletic hall of fame, the "M-Club", in October 2003. He coached in the Houston Astros minor league system as a hitting coach with the AAA New Orleans Zephyrs from 2002 to 2004. Gaetti was promoted to hitting coach for the Astros on July 14, 2004, when the team dismissed manager Jimy Williams, hitting coach Harry Spilman, and pitching coach Burt Hooton. Gaetti remained in this position until July 12, 2006, when he was fired by the Astros. Following the season, he was hired as the hitting coach for Tampa Bay's AAA affiliate, the Durham Bulls — a position he would hold through the 2008 season. After working at Baseball USA in Houston, Texas, in 2011, Gaetti was named the first manager of the Sugar Land Skeeters. The independent team began play in 2012. During his six seasons as manager, he led them to a 448-391 overall record. In 2013, his team set the ALPB record in games won (95) and winning percentage (.679) in a season. He took them to two championship series (2014 and 2016) winning Sugar Land's first championship in 2016. The Skeeters retired his number on August 21, 2021.

On August 19, 2007, Gaetti's 49th birthday, the Minnesota Twins inducted him into the team's Hall of Fame, while the club simultaneously released a commemorative bobblehead in his honor.

Gaetti's son Joe played collegiate baseball for North Carolina State and played in the minor leagues in five different farm systems, including two separate stints with the Twins AA-level club, the New Britain Rock Cats. After failing to advance beyond the AAA level in the minor leagues, Joe ended his career in 2010 playing for the Lancaster Barnstormers of the independent Atlantic League.

Personal life
Gaetti became a born-again Christian while recovering from season-ending knee surgery he underwent late in the 1988 season.

In 2020, Gaetti opened the Gaetti Sports Academy to support practice and instruction for softball and baseball for area youth.

title: Gary Gaetti