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USA Network

USA Network

as part of the network's 25th anniversary rebranding campaign.]] The USA Network is a popular cable TV network based in the United States with about 89 million household subscribers as of 2005. The network shows a variety of original and second-run programming, from syndicated TV series to edited movies. USA also shows some sports coverage, such as select golf and tennis tournaments, as well as the annual Westminster Kennel Club dog show. In addition, they broadcasted portions of the 2004 Olympic Games with many other NBC Universal basic cable channels. Previously, it had a weekly boxing show named USA Tuesday Night Fights, which ran for 17 years. USA was also the home of World Wrestling Entertainment (then called the World Wrestling Federation or WWF) flagship TV show RAW (also called Monday Night Raw, Raw is War and War Zone) from its inception in 1993 until September 2000. On October 3, 2005, WWE RAW returned to USA after WWE's acrimonious split with Spike TV (owned by Viacom) over contractual matters. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily been gaining popularity recently, thanks in part to breakout hits like the detective series Monk, the revamped Kojak, and the sci-fi mini-series turned regular series The 4400, whose series premiere in June 2005 gave USA its highest ratings ever, with 5.3 million viewers. Reruns of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Criminal Intent are also frequently shown and are very popular on the network.

USA Network timeline

- 1977: Originally organized as the Madison Square Garden Network (not to be confused with the New York City regional sports network of that name), the channel became one of the first national television channels when it chose to use satellite delivery as opposed to traditional television broadcasting. television
- 1980: The channel changed its name to USA Network after the ownership structure was reorganized under a joint operating agreement by the UA-Columbia Cablevision cable system (now known as Cablevision Systems Corporation ) and MCA Inc. (currently a part of NBC Universal).
- 1981: Time Inc. (now Time Warner) and Paramount Pictures Corp. (now a part of Viacom) took minority ownership stakes in USA.
- 1987: Ownership consolidates under Paramount and MCA, each with 50 percent ownership.
- 1992: USA launches a sister network, the Sci Fi Channel
- 1994: Viacom buys Paramount. Viacom
- 1995: The Seagram Company buys MCA Inc.
- 1997: Seagram buys out Viacom's interest and gains complete ownership of USA and Sci Fi and sells both channels to Barry Diller's Home Shopping Network, which renames itself USA Networks, Inc. Home Shopping Network
- 1999: From bankrupt Polygram, USA buys October Films and Gramercy Pictures, renaming them USA Films, and PolyGram Video, renaming it USA Home Video.
- 2000: USA Networks buys Canada's North American Television, Inc. (a joint partnership between the CBC and Power Corporation), owner of cable TV channels Trio and News World International. (The CBC continued to program NWI)
- 2001: USA Networks sells its non-shopping TV and film assets (including the USA Network, the Sci Fi Channel, the Trio channel, USA Films (which is rechristened as Focus Features) and Studios USA) to Vivendi Universal. USA and the other channels are folded into Vivendi's Univeral Television Group. Vivendi
- 2003: General Electric's NBC agrees to buy 80% of Vivendi Universal's North American-based filmed entertainment assets, including Universal Pictures and Universal Television Group in a multibillion dollar purchase, renaming the merged company NBC Universal.
- 2004: NBC Universal officially takes over as owner of USA and its sibling cable channels except for News World International, which is bought by an investment group led by Al Gore and Joel Hyatt who plan to rebrand the network with a new title, "Current TV", in fall 2005.

USA original programming

Children/Teen Programming
- USA Cartoon Express, animation block with USA Network Kids Club segments in-between them
- USA Action Extreme Team, action-oriented successor to the USA Cartoon Express
- Calliope, children's anthology program
- Dance Party USA, teen-oriented dance program
- Radio 1990, music program that predated MTV for years
- USA High, teen-oriented sitcom from Peter Engel, producer of Saved By The Bell
- Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters From Beverly Hills, tween-oriented Power Rangers clone
- USA Live, an afternoon program that mixed court shows with live lifestyle segments. This replaced the station's popular game show programming.
- Commander USA's Groovie Movies, [1985-1989] World Wrestling Entertainment Programming
- Monday Night RAW, WWE's primetime wrestling program
- All American Wrestling, WWF's Sunday-afternoon showcase series hosted by "Mean" Gene Okerland and co-hosted by the likes of Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and Hillbilly Jim.
- Prime Time Wrestling, WWF's weekly primetime airing of certain matches from the syndicated WWF Superstars and WWF Wrestling Spotlight series, hosted by Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan; precursor to Monday Night RAW
- Tuesday Night Titans, WWF's weekly interview series hosted by Vince McMahon and Lord Alfred Hayes
- AM RAW, a program showing recaps from the previous week's RAW.
- Sunday Night Heat, once a major show, now a B-show for RAW, now airing on wwe.com USA Late Night Series
- Night Flight, (1981 - 1988) - late-night anthology with music videos, short films and miscellanious programming
- USA Up All Night, feature films hosted by Gilbert Gottfried, Caroline Schlitt, and Rhonda Shear USA Original Series
- Check It Out!, USA's first original production, a supermarket-oriented sitcom
- Silk Stalkings, mystery series
- Weird Science, a fantasy-oriented comedy series based on the 1980s film of the same name
- Duckman, adult-oriented animated comedy series
- La Femme Nikita, a dramatic series based on the French film that inspired the US film Point of No Return
- Pacific Blue, Baywatch-like drama
- Campus Cops, comedy series
- Monk, a comedic mystery series that has become USA's signature show
- The Dead Zone, mystery/paranormal series
- Kojak, a revamped version of the 1970s detective series that debuted in March 2005.
- The 4400, a sci-fi miniseries that debuted in July 2004. It returned as a regular weekly series on June 5, 2005. Programming Staples
- Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show
- US Open tennis championship
- PGA Tour Golf on most Thursdays and Fridays
- For many years, USA had a popular afternoon game show block, notably with shows such as The $25,000 Pyramid and Press Your Luck, as well as original shows for it such as Bumper Stumpers, Quicksilver, and Free 4 All.

External link

- [http://www.usanetwork.com USA Network] Category:General Electric subsidiaries Category:United States television networks

Cable television

:Cable TV redirects here. For the Hong Kong-based cable television network, see Cable TV Hong Kong. Cable TV Hong Kong Cable television or Community Antenna Television (CATV) (often shortened to cable) is a system of providing television, FM radio programming and other services to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted directly to people’s televisions through fixed optical fibers or coaxial cables as opposed to the over-the-air method used in traditional television broadcasting (via radio waves) in which a television antenna is required. It is most commonplace in Canada, the United States, Europe, and much of East Asia, though it is present in many other countries, mainly in Australasia, South America and the Middle East. In Africa, cable TV has had little success, as it is not cost-effective to lay cables in sparsely populated areas, and although so-called "wireless cable" or microwave-based systems are used, "direct-to-home" satellite television is far more popular, especially in South Africa. Technically, both cable TV and CATV involve distributing a number of television channels collected at a central location (called a headend) to subscribers within a community by means of a network of optical fibers and/or coaxial cables and broadband amplifiers. As in the case of radio broadcasting, the use of different frequencies allows many channels to be distributed through the same cable, without separate wires for each. The tuner of the TV, VCR or radio selects one channel from this mixed signal. The same program is often simultaneously broadcast by radio and distributed by cable, usually at different frequencies. Other programs may be distributed by cable only; rules restricting content (e.g. regarding nudity and pornography) are often more relaxed for cable than for over-the-air TV. Traditional cable TV systems worked strictly by way of analog signals (i.e. using standard radio waves) but many modern cable TV systems also employ the use of digital cable technology, which uses compressed digital signals, allowing them to provide many more channels than they could with analog alone. Many cable television systems were formerly known as CATV (Community Antenna Television) systems as they were originally composed simply of a shared antenna located in a high location to which multiple households could have their TVs connected to via coaxial cable. This was designed to provide access to television signals in areas where reception was traditionally poor. As cable-only networks began to appear on CATV systems, picked up via satellite rather than by antenna, the use of the term CATV has largely faded and the term cable television has taken its place.

History of U.S. cable television and its regulation

During the television licensing freeze of the late 1940s, the demand for television increased. Since new television licenses were not being issued, the only way the demand was met was by Community Antenna Television. The first commercial CATV System was developed in 1948 by John Walson. He had interest in an appliance store that began to carry televisions. A major problem in selling televisions in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania was that the stations which were available were received very poorly. Walson built an antenna on the top of a nearby mountain and strung a wire from it to his shop. A neighbor asked for the wire to be connected to his house and Walson connected it to his own house. He said he would extend the wire to anyone who would buy one of his television receivers, and in 1949 he started charging for the service. Another system in Mahanoy City was founded by Jerrold Electronics Corp. which served the other side of town. Both were originally three-channel systems and were upgraded to five. Other systems were built: some conceived the idea independently, others didn't, and others laid claim to the title of first. On August 1, 1949 T.J. Slowie, a secretary of the Federal Communications Commission, sent a letter to a CATV pioneer in Astoria, Oregon, L.E. Parsons, requesting he "furnish the Commission full information with respect to the nature of the system you may have developed and may be operating." He did. This is the first known involvement of the FCC in CATV. An FCC lawyer, E. Stratford Smith, determined the Commission could exercise common carrier jurisdiction over CATV. The FCC didn't act on this opinion and Smith later changed his mind after working in the cable industry for some time and testifying in Senate committee hearings. Senator and future Federal Communications Commissioner Kenneth A. Cox attended and participated in these hearings. He prepared a report entitled the Cox Report for the Senate Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. This report was against CATV and supported the FCC policy of a television station in every community. In 1959 and 1961 bills were introduced in Congress that would have determined the role of the FCC in CATV policy. The 1959 bill, which actually made it to the floor of the Senate, would have limited FCC jurisdiction to CATV systems within the contours, i.e. the broadcast range, of a single station. It was defeated. The 1961 bill proposed by the FCC would have given the Commission authority over CATV as CATV, and not as a common carrier or broadcaster. The Commission could then adopt rules and regulations "in the public interest" to govern CATV in any area covered both by CATV and broadcast television. No action was ever taken on this bill. More important than Congressional action in determining Federal Communications Commission CATV policy were court cases and FCC hearings. Frontier Broadcasting Co. v. Collier was a hearing in which broadcasters tried to get the FCC to exercise common carrier authority over 288 CATV systems in 36 states. The broadcasters maintained that CATV went against the FCC's Sixth Report and Order, which advocated at least one television station in every community. In 1958, the FCC decided that CATV was not really a common carrier since the subscriber did not determine the programming. Carter Mountain Transmission Corp., a common carrier that already transmitted television signals by microwave to CATV systems in several Wyoming towns, wanted to add a second signal to two of the towns and add two signals to a previously unserved town. A television station in one town opposed this and protested to the FCC on the grounds of economic damage. A hearing examiner supported Carter Mountain but the Commission supported the television station. The case was taken to appeal, as most are, and the Federal Communications Commission won. "The fact that no broadcaster has actually gone off the air due to CATV competition at the time the government moved to expand its authority (nor have any since) did not stay the momentum for the expansion of regulatory authority. That some economic impact was merely plausible sufficed as the basis for government concern and government action." The FCC overruled a hearing examiner in favor of broadcasters again in the "San Diego Case". The CATV systems in San Diego, California wanted to import stations from Los Angeles, some of which could be seen in San Diego; the television stations in San Diego didn't want the signals imported. The television stations won, not allowing the signals on future cable lines in San Diego and its environs. The FCC's reasoning was to protect the present and future UHF stations in San Diego. In the First Report and Order by the Federal Communications Commission on CATV the FCC gave itself the power to regulate CATV. This Report and Order was designed to protect small town television stations. It did this by imposing two rules, which in slightly altered form still stand: one requires that a CATV system carry all local stations in which the CATV system is in the "A" (best reception) contour of the station. The second prohibits the importation of programs from a non-local station that duplicates programming on a local station if the duplication is shown either 15 days before or 15 days after its local airing. This 1965 report reasoning is as follows: 1) CATV should carry local stations because CATV supplements, not replaces, local stations and the non-carriage of local stations gives distant stations an advantage since people will not change from the cable to the antenna to see a local station; 2) non-carriage is "inherently contrary to the public interest"; 3) CATV duplication of local programming via distant signals is unfair since broadcasters and CATV do not compete for programs on an equal footing; the FCC recommends "a reasonable measure of exclusivity". The 1966 Second Report and Order made some minor changes in the First Report and Order and added a major regulation. This was designed to protect UHF stations in large cities. The new rule disallowed the importation of distant signals into the top 100 markets, thus making CATV profitable only in cities with poor reception. In 1968 the Supreme Court upheld the FCC's right to make rules and regulations concerning CATV. In its decision on United States v. Southwestern Cable, the "San Diego Case", it said "the Commissions authority over 'all interstate ... communications by wire or radio' permits the regulation of CATV systems."

The birth of public access television

Main article: Public-access television In 1969 the FCC issued rules requiring all CATV systems with over 3500 subscribers to have facilities for local origination of programming by April 1, 1971. The date was later suspended. In 1972, Dean Burch steered the FCC into a new area of regulation. It lifted its restrictions on CATV in large cities, but now put the burden of more local programming on CATV operators. In 1976, the FCC used its rule making power to require that new systems now had to have 20 channels, and that cable providers with systems of 3500 subscribers or more had to provide PEG (public, education, and government access) channel capacity, and facilities and equipment necessary to use this capacity.

Programming

United States

In the United States, cable television programming is often divided between basic and premium programming. Basic cable TV networks are generally transmitted without any scrambling or other special methods and thus anyone connected to the cable TV system can receive them. Basic cable networks receive at least some funding through fees paid by the cable TV systems for the right to include the network in its channel lineup. Most basic cable TV networks also include advertising to supplement the fees, due to their programming cost being greater than the fees paid by cable TV systems. Premium cable refers to networks, such as HBO and Showtime, that scramble or encrypt their signals so that only those paying additional monthly fees to their cable TV system can legally view them (via the use of cable box). Because these networks command much higher fees from cable TV systems, their programming is generally commercial free. There are several features of is cable programming that distinguish it from broadcast television. Because cable television carries more bandwidth than broadcast TV (10 to 20 times as many channels), there is room for more specialized channels catering to a particular genre or groups such as sci-fi or woman’s oriented programming. Also, because cable TV networks rely much less, or in some cases not at all, on revenue from commercials, they can feature programming (such as minority sports or ethnic programming) that draws much smaller viewer numbers than what broadcast networks would find acceptable. And finally, since cable TV signals, unlike broadcast TV, cannot be picked up by just anyone with a TV, including children, the FCC’s rules regarding acceptable content do not apply to cable TV networks, allowing greater freedom in the use of language, nudity, and violence. The lack of restrictions on content has led to cable TV programs with more adult-oriented content such as nudity and strong language, including some premium cable networks broadcasting soft-core porn programs. Premium cable networks have traditionally been the loosest with regard to content, since they require a cable box to view, making it easier to restrict children’s access to them. Thus, one can find nudity, foul language, and even soft-core pornography on these networks, though, so far, not hard-core pornography, possibly due in part to such factors as the risk of cable TV systems dropping them or legal risk. Basic cable, on the other hand, has not traditionally been as loose with regard to content. While there are no FCC rules that apply to content on basic cable networks, because most such networks rely at least partly on advertising revenue, they have buckled to pressure from advertisers to keep their content more in line with that of broadcast TV. Thus, many basic cable networks voluntarily censor their programs, particularly with regard to language and nudity. In recent years though, some basic cable networks have begun to relax their self-imposed restrictions, particularly late at night. Thus, programs like Comedy Central’s South Park often contain content deemed unsuitable for U.S. broadcast TV. Some basic cable networks have also recently aired R-rated movies, uncut, late at night. There has been a recent push to create laws that force cable providers to allow consumers to purchase individual cable TV channels "a la carte," i.e. to allow them to pick and choose which channels they would like to have available in their homes. This is not likely to occur until digital cable television becomes popular, as it is very difficult to notch out individual channels from a cable TV line. For example, many cable providers have a "basic plan" consisting of local channels and a few national cable networks; and an "economy basic" plan consisting of local channels only. Both plans are supplied on the same cable, but the cable company can filter out the expanded channels to the "economy basic" subscribers using a low-pass filter which filters out higher channels. Notch filters are available which can filter out a "notch" of channels (for example, channels 45-50 can be "notched" out yet the subscriber can receive channels below 45 and higher than 50). However, to do this individually for a single subscriber who wants many "notches," would be very difficult. These problems are alleviated with the use of digital cable, which requires a set-top converter box. This converter can be programmed remotely to allow or disallow access to channels on an individual basis.

Cable television fees and programming lineups

Cable TV systems impose a monthly fee depending on the number and perceived quality of the channels offered. Cable TV subscribers are offered various packages of channels one can subscribe to. The cost of each package depends on the type of channels offered (basic vs. premium) and the quantity. These fees cover the fees paid to individual networks for the right to carry their network as well as the cost of operating and maintaining the cable TV system so that their signals can reach subscribers homes. Additional fees and taxes are often tacked on by local, state, and federal governments. The fee the cable TV system must pay to a cable TV network will vary depending on whether it is a basic or premium channel and the perceived popularity of that channel. Because cable TV systems are not required to carry any basic cable channel they often try and negotiate the fee they will pay for carrying a channel. Thus more popular networks have been able to command much higher fees then less popular networks. The fees paid to basic cable networks has a benefit in that advertisement breaks on basic cable are either absent or their number and duration are far lower than on broadcast TV, where ads make up around 25% of programming in the U.S. Most cable systems divide their channel lineups into three or four basic channel packages. A must-carry rule requires all cable TV system carry local broadcast stations on their lineups. Cable TV systems are also required to offer a subscription package that provides these broadcast channels at a lower rate then the standard subscription rate. The basic programming package offered by cable TV systems is usually known as basic cable and provides access to a large number of basic cable TV networks, as well as broadcast channels, and local-access television channels. Some systems refer to this package as expanded basic, with their most minimal package being referred to as basic cable. In addition to the basic cable packages, all system offer premium channel add-on packages offering either just one premium network (e.g. HBO) or several premium networks for one price (e.g. HBO and Showtime together). Finally, most cable systems offer pay-per-view channels where users can watch individual movies, live programs, sports, etc. for an additional fee for single viewing at a scheduled time. Some cable systems have begun to offer on-demand programming, where customers can select programs from a list of offerings including recent releases of movies, concerts, sports, and reruns of TV shows and specials and start the program whenever they wish, as if they were watching a DVD or a VHS tape. Some of the offerings have a cost similar to renting a movie at a video store while others are free. Starting in the late 1990s, advances in digital signal compression (primarily Motorola's DigiCipher 2 technology in North America) technology have given rise to wider implementation of digital cable services. Digital cable provides many more television channels over the same available bandwidth, by converting cable TV channels to a digital signal and then compressing the signal. Currently, most system offer a hybrid analog/digital cable system. This means they offer a certain number of analog channels via basic cable service with additional channels being made available via digital cable service. Thus subscribers wishing to have access to digital cable channels must have a special cable box to receive them. Additional subscription fees is also usually required to receive these digital channels. Digital cable channels can offer a higher quality picture then their analog counterparts though digital compression has a tendency to soften the quality of the television picture, particularly of channels that are more heavily compressed. Many cable systems operate as local monopolies in the United States, as cable companies typically receive exclusive rights to serve a region as a result of a franchise agreement with a local government. In some areas that is changing as competition has been allowed to enter the market, including in some cases city run cable systems. The rise of Digital Satellite Systems, which provide the same type of programming using small satellite receivers, has also provided competition to cable TV systems.

Mexico

The first cable system started to operate in the early Sixties in Monterrey, as a CATV service (an antenna at the top of the Loma Larga, which could get TV signals from South Texas). Most of the other major cities didn't develop cable systems until the late Eighties, due to government censorship. By 1989 the industry had had a major impulse with the founding of Multivisión—a MMDS system who started to develop its own channels in Spanish—and the later development of companies such as Cablemas and Megacable. Over the past few years, many US networks have started to develop content for the Mexican market, such as CNN en Español, MTV, Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, and others. The country also has a DTH service called SKY (Televisa & News Corp. owned). Recently DirecTV merged with Sky. The dominant company nowadays is Megacable.

United Kingdom

In the UK Cable Television had its origins in 1938, when the first Community Antenna TV systems were setup in towns including Bristol and Hull, for homes which couldn't recieve transmisssions over the air; however these signals were on the 405-line system. In the 1960s Ridiffusion Vision was setup to provide cable television in the newer 625-line and PAL formats. In the early 1980s Rediffusion Vision suplimented its service with other channels including The Music Box, Screensport, Sky Channel and TEN. The service was renamed to Rediffusion Cablevision. In the United Kingdom, the current generation of cable television began in the late 1980s with the issue of franchises to many local operators. These small operations proved uneconomic and there has been a continuing process of consolidation and re-financing. The two principal cable operators are now NTL and Telewest Broadband, which are themselves in the process of merging. NTL's cable service was originally known as CableTel and grew rapidly through the acquisition of, among others, ComTel (which itself had bought Telecential), Comcast, Diamond Cable and finally, in 1999, the residential and small business operations of Cable & Wireless. Telewest also steadily acquired local operators. Cable TV faces intense competition from SkyDigital's satellite television service, although most channels on that platform are also carried on cable; few channels are now exclusive to cable. However, paid for digital terrestrial television proved less of a competitive threat, as ITV Digital went into liquidation in 2002. The re-launch of DTTV as the free Freeview service has been a success in introducing people to multichannel digital TV and seems not to have adversely affected the growth of cable and satellite subscribers. Another potential source of competition in the future will be TV over broadband. This was initially launched, using ADSL, in London, where it is provided by HomeChoice, and Hull, where it where it is provided by Kingston Communications. As the speed and availability of broadband connections increase, more TV content can be delivered using protocols such as IPTV.

Republic of Ireland

Cable television first started in the Republic of Ireland in the 1970s, when state broadcaster RTÉ began a service called RTE Relays, which rebroadcast the UK's three terrestrial TV channels. Later called Cablelink, the service began offering a number of satellite channels in the 1980s. The state telephone operator Telecom Éireann (now eircom) was also a stakeholder. In rural areas, the company ran an MMDS service called Multilink, as did other companies such as Irish Mulitchannel in Cork, now called Chorus. Cablelink was later sold to NTL in 1999, and was renamed NTL Ireland. In rural areas where neither cable or MMDS are available, there have been 'deflectors', which pick up the UK terrestrial channels (either from Northern Ireland or Wales), and retransmit them on local UHF signals along with other channels. These operators faced legal action in the late 1990s from MMDS operators, as they did not pay royalties to the relevant broadcasters, and were not licensed. When the deflectors were shut down, there was such an outcry in those areas that an independent candidate in County Donegal, Tom Gildea, was elected as a TD on a platform of supporting legalisation, which occurred in 1999.

Hong Kong

i-Cable Communications Limited(branded as "CableTV") is the holding company that runs Hong Kong's one of four cable television service providers. It is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. Wharf Holdings Limited owns 67 per cent of the cable provider and the rest amongst public shareholders. Another three operators offers pay-TV via DSL, they are Now Broadband TV(PCCW), HKBN Digital TV and SuperSUN(control by TVB). Many in Hong Kong watch subscription TV using satellite systems like Star TV.

Singapore

StarHub Cable Vision is the sole cable television operator in Singapore, where private ownership of satellite dishes is banned. StarHub Cable Vision was formed as a result of a merger between StarHub and Singapore Cable Vision on 15 May 2002. The latter first began broadcasting as a terrestrial pay-television operator in 1992 as the first cable network was not completed until 1995. Around 15% ofl households and offices in Singapore are connected to the StarHub network.

Australia

In Australia, most people do not have access to cable. Satellite is a more common way of getting subscription TV services. Telstra's Foxtel-carrying cable network covers parts of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth. Optus's network covers small parts of Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, though its restrictive subscription rules means that many people in this area are not allowed to subscribe. A small part of Perth is covered by Bright Telecomunications. Part of Canberra is covered by TransACT. Much of Darwin is covered by Austar. Parts of Geelong, Ballarat and Mildura are reached by Neighbourhood Cable.

Other cable-based services

Coaxial cables are capable of bi-directional carriage of signals as well as the transmission of large amounts of data. Cable television signals use only a portion the bandwidth available over coaxial lines. This leaves plenty of space available for other digital services such as broadband internet and cable telephony. Unlike North America, many cable operators in Europe have already introduced telephone services, which operate just like existing fixed line operators. Broadband internet is achieved over coaxial cable by using cable modems to convert the network data into a type of digital signal that can be transferred over coaxial cable. One problem with some cable systems is the older amplifiers placed along the cable routes are unidirectional thus in order to allow for uploading of data the customer would need to use an analog modem to provide for the upstream connection. This limited the upstream speed to 56k and prevented the always-on convenience broadband internet typically provides. Many large cable systems have upgraded or are upgrading their equipment to allow for bi-directional signals, thus allowing for greater upload speed and always-on convenience, though these upgrades are expensive. Another service being added to many cable systems is cable telephone service. This service involves installing a special telephone interface at the customer's premises that coverts the analog signals from the customer's in-home wiring into a digital signal, which is then sent on the local loop (replacing the analog last mile, or POTS) to the company's switching center, where it is connected to the PSTN. The biggest obstacle to cable telephone service is the need for nearly 100% reliable service for emergency calls. One of the standards available for digital cable telephony, PacketCable, seems to be the most promising and able to work with the Quality of Service demands of traditional analog POTS service. The biggest advantage to digital cable telephone service is similar to the advantage of digital cable TV, namely that data can be compressed, resulting in much less bandwidth used than a dedicated analog circuit-switched service. Other advantages include better voice quality and integration to a VoIP network providing cheap or unlimited nationwide and international calling. Note that in most cases, digital cable telephone service is separate from cable modem service being offered by many cable companies and does not rely on IP traffic or the Internet. A chart showing the North American cable television bandplan can be found here. Cable television is facing increasing competition from satellite television. See also: List of cable companies

References

- [http://www.wharfcable.com Wharf Cable Home Page]
- [http://www.cabletv.com.hk Cable TV Hong Kong]
- [http://www.roventa.lt Cable TV Roventa ] ja:ケーブルテレビ zh-cn:有线电视

SportS

:Sports redirects here. For other senses of that word, see sports (disambiguation). A sport consists of a physical activity or skill carried out with a recreational purpose: for competition, for self-enjoyment, to attain excellence, for the development of a skill, or some combination of these. A sport has physical activity, side by side competition, and a scoring system. The difference of purpose is what characterises sport, combined with the notion of individual (or team) skill or prowess.

History of sport

Main article: History of sport The development of sport throughout history teaches us a great deal about social changes, and about the nature of sport itself. There are many modern discoveries in France, Africa, and Australia of cave art (see, for example, Lascaux) from prehistory which provide evidence of ritual ceremonial behaviour. Some of these sources date from over 30,000 years ago, as established by carbon dating. Although there is scant direct evidence of sport from these sources, it is reasonable to extrapolate that there was some activity at these times resembling sport. There are artifacts and structures which suggest that Chinese people engaged in activities which meet our definition of sport as early as 4000 BC. Gymnastics appears to have been a popular sport in China's past. Monuments to the Pharaohs indicate that a range of sports were well developed and regulated several thousands of years ago, including swimming and fishing. Other sports included javelin throwing, high jump, and wrestling. Ancient Persian sports such as the traditional Iranian martial art of Zurkhaneh had a close connection to the warfare skills. Among other sports which originate in Persia are polo and jousting. A wide range of sports were already established at the time of the Ancient Greece. Wrestling, running, boxing, javelin, discus throwing, and chariot racing were prevalent. This suggests that the military culture of Greece was an influence on the development of its sports and vice versa. The Olympic Games were held every four years in Ancient Greece, at a small village in Pelopponisos called Olympia. Sport has been increasingly organised and regulated from the time of the Ancient Olympics up to the present century. Activities necessary for food and survival became regulated activities done for pleasure or competition on an increasing scale, for example hunting, fishing, horticulture. The Industrial Revolution and mass production brought increased leisure which allowed increases in spectator sports, less elitism in sports, and greater accessibility. These trends continued with the advent of mass media and global communication. Professionalism became prevalent, further adding to the increase in sport's popularity. Not only has professionalism helped increase the popularity of sports, but additionally the need to have fun and take a break from a hectic workday or to relieve unwanted stress, as with any profession.

A classification of sports

Main article: List of sports One system for classifying sports is as follows, based more on the sport's aim than on the actual mechanics. The examples given are intended to be illustrative, rather than comprehensive.

Opponent

- Combat (Wrestling, Judo, karate, boxing, fencing, tae kwon do...)
- Court (Tennis, shuttlecock sport, badminton, volleyball, squash, Table tennis...)
- Team (Baseball, cricket and football (soccer) are the most popular globally, with baseball being popular in the Americas and in Japan, cricket in the Commonwealth of Nations and football being popular throughout the world. Other examples include: Rugby, ice hockey, field hockey, softball, basketball, American Football...)

Achievement

- Target (Archery, shooting ...)
- Display (Gymnastics, bodybuilding, equestrianism, diving...)
- Strength (Weight-lifting, triple jump, shot put ...)

Sports that fall into multiple categories

- Biathlon
- Curling
- Paintball

Sportsmanship

Sportsmanship is defined as "conduct and attitude considered as befitting participants, including a sense of fair play, courtesy toward teammates and opponents, a striving spirit, and grace in losing." It is interesting that the motivation for sport is often an elusive element. For example, beginners in sailing are often told that dinghy racing is a good means to sharpen the learner's sailing skills. However, it often emerges that skills are honed to increase racing performance and achievements in competition, rather than the converse. Sportsmanship expresses an aspiration or ethos that the activity will be enjoyed for its own sake. The well-known sentiment by sports journalist Grantland Rice, that it's “not that you won or lost but how you played the game," and the Modern Olympic creed expressed by its founder Pierre de Coubertin: "The most important thing . . . is not winning but taking part” are typical expressions of this sentiment. But often the pressures of competition (See the related article, "Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing." or an obsession with individual achievement - as well as the intrusion of technology - can all work against enjoyment and fair play by participants. People responsible for leisure activities often seek recognition and respectability as sports by joining sports federations such as the IOC, or by forming their own regulatory body. In this way sports evolve from leisure activity to more formal sports: relatively recent newcomers are BMX cycling, snowboarding, wrestling, etc. Some of these activities have been popular but uncodified pursuits in various forms for different lengths of time. Indeed, the formal regulation of sport is a relatively modern and increasing development. Sportsmanship, within any given game, is how each competitor acts before, during, and after the competition. Not only is it important to have good sportsmanship if one wins, but also if one loses. For example, in football it is considered sportsmanlike to kick the ball out of play to allow treatment for an injured player on the other side. Reciprocally, the other team is expected to return the ball from the throw-in. Compare Sportsmanship with Gamesmanship. Violence in sports involves crossing the line between fair competition and intentional aggressive violence. Athletes, coaches, fans, and parents sometimes unleash violent behaviour on people or property, in misguided shows of loyalty, dominance, anger, or celebration.

Professionalism and the regulation of sport

The entertainment aspect of sport, together with the spread of mass media and increased leisure time, has led to professionalism in sport. This has resulted in some conflict, where the paycheck can be seen as more important than recreational aspects: or where the sport is changed simply to make it more profitable and popular therefore losing some of the traditions valued by some. The entertainment aspect also means that sportsmen and women are often elevated to celebrity status, or in some cases near-god-like. Today the consensus is that David Beckham (England and Real Madrid Footballer) is the most famous sportsman in the world, with a fanatical following particularly in Asia where statues have been erected of his likeness. The successful execution of a sport requires the consensus agreement of the participants on a set of rules for fair competition. This has led to the control of each sport through a regulatory body to define what methods of competition are acceptable and what are considered cheating.

Sport and politics

There have been many dilemmas for sports where a difficult political context is in place. When apartheid was the official policy in South Africa, many sportspeople adopted the conscientious approach that they should not appear in competitive sports there. Some feel this was an effective contribution to the eventual demolition of the policy of apartheid, others feel that it may have prolonged and reinforced its worst effects. The 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin was an illustration, perhaps best recognised in retrospect, where an ideology was developing which used the event to strengthen its spread through propaganda. In the history of Ireland, Gaelic sports were connected with cultural nationalism. Even until the mid 20th century a person could have been banned from playing Gaelic football, hurling, or other sports administered by the GAA if s/he played or supported Football, or other games seen to be of British origin. Until recently the GAA continued to ban the playing of soccer and Rugby union at Gaelic venues under the controversial Rule 42, although Gaelic games are frequently played on soccer and rugby arenas, particularly outside of Ireland. Until recently, under Rule 21, the GAA also banned members of the British security forces and members of the RUC, now reconstituted as the PSNI, from playing Gaelic games, but the advent of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 led to the eventual removal of the ban. Nationalism in general is often evident in the pursuit of sport, or in its reporting: people compete in national teams, or commentators and audiences can adopt a partisan view. These trends are seen by some as contrary to the fundamental ethos of sport being carried on for its own sake, for the enjoyment of its participants. See also: List of countries by national sport

Art and sport

Sport has many affinities with art. Ice skating and Tai chi, for example, are sports that come close to artistic spectacles in themselves: to watch these activities comes close to the experience of spectating at a ballet. Similarly, there are other activities that have elements of sport and art in their execution, such as performance art, artistic gymnastics, Bodybuilding, Parkour, Yoga, dressage, etc. The fact that art is so close to sport in some situations is probably related to the nature of sport. The definition of "sport" above put forward the idea of an activity pursued not just for the usual purposes, for example, running not simply to get places, but running for its own sake, running as well as we can. This is similar to a common view of aesthetic value, which is seen as something over and above the strictly functional value coming from an object's normal use. So an aesthetically pleasing car is one which doesn't just get from A to B, but which impresses us with its grace, poise, and charisma. In the same way, a sporting performance such as jumping doesn't just impress us as being an effective way to avoid obstacles or to get across streams. It impresses us because of the ability, skill, and style which is shown. Art and sport were probably more clearly linked at the time of Ancient Greece, when gymnastics and calisthenics invoked admiration and aesthetic appreciation for the physical build, prowess and 'arete' displayed by participants. The modern term 'art' as skill, is related to this ancient Greek term 'arete'. The closeness of art and sport in these times was revealed by the nature of the Olympic Games which, as we have seen, were celebrations of both sporting and artistic achievements, poetry, sculpture and architecture.

The terms 'sport' and 'sports'

In Commonwealth English, sporting activities are commonly denoted by the collective noun "sport". In American English, "sports" is more common for this usage. In all English dialects, "sports" is the term used for more than one specific sport. For example, "football and swimming are my favourite sports" would sound natural to all English speakers, whereas "I enjoy sport" would sound less natural than "I enjoy sports" to many North Americans.

External links

- [http://www.sports.ie Sports.ie - Live Sports news and RSS feeds]
- [http://www.thefamousquotations.com/subjects/sports-and-competition-quotations.htm Sports Quotations]
- [http://www.newworldsports.net New World Sports - Sports Commentary]
- [http://www.pressboxnews.com/ Sports News Aggregator]
- [http://dmoz.org/Sports/ Open Directory Project - Sports]
- [http://dir.yahoo.com/Recreation/Sports/ Yahoo! - Sports]
- [http://news.google.com/news?topic=s Google - Sports News]
- [http://uk.newsbot.msn.com/s/?id=2 MSN - Sports News] (UK)
- [http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=index&cid=755 Yahoo! - Sports News]
- [http://www.sportsfilter.com SportsFilter - Community Weblog]
- [http://www.kungfufollowme.com/ Chinese Kung Fu: Tai Chi And Shaolin Kung Fu]
- [http://www.sports-facts.com/ Sports-Facts.Com!] Category:Games
- Category:Technology ko:스포츠 ms:Sukan ja:スポーツ simple:Sport th:กีฬา

Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show

The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is a two-day benched dog show that takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York City every year. Dog owners from around the world come to show their dogs. Dogs are judged closely by eminent American Kennel Club (AKC) judges. It is considered by many to be America's most prestigious canine show.

History

The first Westminster show was held in 1877. No other continuously held sporting event in the United States is older except for the Kentucky Derby, which predates Westminster by only two years. The show originated as a show for sporting dogs, primarily setters and pointers, initiated by a group of hunting men who met regularly at the Westminster Hotel at Irving Place and Sixteenth Street in Manhattan. They decided to create a kennel club called the Westminster Kennel Club specifically for the purpose of holding a dog show. The first show took place in May of 1877 at Gilmore's Gardens (the Hippodrome) on the site now occupied by the New York Life Building, which also contains the AKC headquarters. The first show drew over 1200 dogs and proved so popular that its originally scheduled three days became four. It remained 3 or 4 days until 1941, when it changed to its current two-day format. Gilmore's Gardens at the time was an old railroad depot, which two years later became the first Madison Square Garden. Dog breeds listed for the first show include the Long-haired Saint Bernard, the Esquimaux Dog, and the Siberian Bloodhound; most dogs had simple names such as Duke, Rover, Mungo, Nellie, and Rex, compared to today's fancier and longer dog names (although among today's call names there still number many Dukes, Nellies, Rexes and the like). The advent of Westminster predates the creation of the AKC, so breed standards were still rough and hard to find. The Westminster Kennel Club was the first club admitted to the AKC after AKC's founding in 1884. In 1905, with an entry of over 1700 dogs, Westminster surpassed even Crufts to become the largest all-breed dog show in the world. Television coverage of the event first occurred in 1948, and continues through the present time. Television condenses the showing of more than 2500 dogs in well over 150 breeds in multiple rings over two days into a usually two-hour show, primarily focusing on the General Specials (featuring winners from each breed competing for the title Best In Group) and the final Best In Show (chosen from among the winners of Best In Group).

Requirements for entry

In 1884, the AKC began requiring that all dog participants be registered with the AKC. This eliminates hundreds of less-common breeds recognized by other kennel clubs both in the United States and abroad. Because of the show's popularity and prestige, starting in 1992 the AKC limited entries by requiring that dogs must have already earned their breed Championship before appearing at Westminster. Still, in 2005, 2,581 dogs were entered. Although not required, most dogs are handled at Westminster by professional dog handlers who earn good fees for being able to bring out a dogs' strengths in the show ring. Although few dogs have won more than once at Westminster, several skilled handlers have managed the feat with different dogs of different breeds.

Winning breeds

The prestige of Westminster is so high that breeds winning Best in Show can actually become too popular, resulting in overbreeding, often by puppy mills or simply inexperienced backyard breeders, in an attempt to meet the increased demand for the breed. A serious decline in the quality of Cocker Spaniels in the 1940s was generally thought to be attributable to the rare double win of a single Cocker Spaniel in 1940 and 1941. As of the end of the 129th Westminster show, in February of 2005, Best in Show had been won by terriers 43 out of the 97 times that the prize has been awarded (first given in 1907 and not awarded in 1923 due to rule changes), disproportionately high since only 27 of the 157 breeds fully recognized by the AKC are terriers. Winners are often, although not always, retired, and can command tremendous fees for breeding. As of 2003, only 6 dogs had ever won Westminster twice, and only one dog has ever won three times. Fueling arguments that the AKC focuses only on dogs' appearance and not on their intelligence or suitability for particular work, only one dog who has won Westminster has ever also earned an obedience championship. Only two dogs have ever won both at Westminster and at Crufts.

References

- [http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/history/histhighlights.html Westminster show history]
- Barnes, Duncan (ed.) (1983). The AKC's World of the Pure-Bred Dog. Nick Lyons Books. ISBN 0-87605-406-8.

External links

- [http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/ Westminster Kennel Club]
- [http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/02/0206_040206_westminster.html National Geographic news article about the show] Category:Dog shows and showing

Boxing

:For other uses, see Boxing (disambiguation) or Boxer (disambiguation) Boxer (disambiguation) Boxing, also called pugilism and prizefighting, is a sport where two participants of similar weight attack each other with their fists in a series of two to three-minute intervals called "rounds". In both Amateur and Professional divisions, the combatants (called boxers or fighters) avoid their opponent's punches whilst trying to land punches of their own. Points are awarded for clean, solid blows to the legal area on the front of the opponent's body above the waistline, with hits to the head and torso especially valuable. The fighter with the most points after the scheduled number of rounds is declared the winner. Victory may also be achieved if the opponent is knocked down and unable get up before the referee counts to ten (a Knockout, or KO) or if the opponent is deemed too injured to continue (a Technical Knockout, or TKO).

Origins

Earliest evidence suggests that boxing was prevalent in North Africa during 4000 BC and the Mediterranean in 1500 BC. A Greek ruler named Thesus, who ruled around 900 B.C., was entertained by men who would seat in front of each other and beat another with their fists until one of them was killed. In time, the fighters fought on their feet and wore gloves (not padded) and wrappings on their arms below the elbows, but were otherwise naked when competeing. First accepted as an Olympic sport (the ancient Greeks called it Pygmachia) in 688 BC, participants in the ancient games trained on punching bags (called a korykos). Keeping their fingers free, fighters then wore leather straps (called himantes) on their hands, wrists, and sometimes lower arms, to protect them from injury. In Rome, fighters were usually criminals and slaves. They hoped to become champions and gain their freedom. However, free men also fought. Eventually, fist fighting became so popular that even aristocrats started fighting, but that was banned by the ruler Augustus. In 500 A.D., the sport was banned by Theodoric the Great.

London Prize Ring rules (1839)

Records of boxing activity disappeared after the fall of the Roman Empire. The sport would later resurface in English during the early 18th century in the form of bare-knuckle prizefighting. The first documented account of a bare-knuckle fight in England appeared in 1681 in the "London Protestant Mercury," and the first English bare-knuckle champion was James Figg in 1719. This is also the time when the word "boxing" first came to be used. Early bare-knuckle fighting was crude with no written rules. There were no weight divisions, round limits and no referee. Modern rules banning gouging, grappling, biting, headbutting, fish-hooking and blows below the belt were absent. The first boxing rules were introduced by heavyweight champion Jack Broughton in 1743 to protect fighters in the ring where deaths sometimes occurred. Under these rules, if a man went down and could not continue after a count of 30 seconds, the fight was over. Hitting a downed fighter and grasping below the waist were prohibited. Broughton also invented "mufflers" (padded gloves), which were used in training and exhibitions. In 1839, the London Prize Ring rules were introduced which superceded Jack Broughton's rules. Later revised in 1853, they stipulated the following:
- Fights occur in a 24-foot-square ring surrounded by ropes.
- If a fighter was knocked down, he must rise within 30 seconds of his own power to be allowed to continue.
- Biting, headbutting and hitting below the belt were declared fouls.

Marquess of Queensberry rules (1867)

In 1867, the Marquess of Queensberry rules were drafted by John Chambers for amateur championships held at Lillie Bridge in London for Lightweights, Middleweights and Heavyweights. The rules were published under the patronage of the Marquess of Queensberry, whose name has always been associated with them. There were twelve rules in all, and they specified that fights should be "a fair stand-up boxing match" in a 24-foot-square ring. Rounds were three minutes long with one minute rest intervals between rounds. Each fighter was given a ten-second count if he was knocked down and wrestling was banned. The introduction of gloves of "fair-size" also changed the nature of the bouts. An average pair of boxing gloves resembles a bloated pair of mittens and are laced up around the wrists. Gloves protected the hands of both fighters but their considerable size and weight made knock-out victories more difficult to achieve. Resultantly, bouts became longer and more strategic with greater importance attached to defensive maneuvers such as slipping, bobbing, countering and angling. The first world heavyweight champion under the Queensberry Rules was "Gentleman Jim" Corbett, who defeated John L. Sullivan in 1892 at the Pelican Athletic Club in New Orleans. With the gradual acceptance of formalised rules, two distinct branches of boxing emerged; Professional and Amateur. The boxing rules enforced by governing bodies worldwide today at the local, national and international level are all derived in some way from the Marquis of Queensberry Rules.

Amateur boxing

In amateur boxing (the version of the sport found at the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games) the primary emphasis is on landing scoring punches rather than concern with doing physical damage to one's opponent. Competitors wear protective headgear and box for three to five rounds of two or three minutes each. Gloves in amateur boxing have a white strip across the knuckle. A punch is considered a scoring punch only when the boxers connect with the white portion of the gloves. Each punch that lands on the head or torso is awarded a point. A referee monitors the fight to ensure that competitors use only legal blows (a belt worn over the torso represents the lower limit of punches - any boxer repeatedly landing "low blows" is disqualified). Referees also ensure that the boxers don't use holding tactics to prevent the opponent from swinging (if this occurs, the referee separates the opponents and orders them to continue boxing. Repeated holding can result in a boxer being penalised, or ultimately, disqualified). Also, in amateur boxing, referees will readily step in and stop the contest even if the competitor is only relatively lightly injured. As a result, the risk of grievous injury is sufficiently reduced in amateur boxing versus professional boxing.

Amateur boxing history

The Queensberry Amateur Championships continued from 1867 to 1885, and so, unlike their professional counterparts, amateur boxers did not deviate from using gloves once the Queensberry Rules had been published. In Britain, the Amateur Boxing Association (A.B.A.) was formed in 1880 when twelve clubs affiliated. It held its first championships the following year. Four weight classes were contested, Featherweight (9 stone), Lightweight (10 stone), Middleweight (11 stone, 4 pounds) and Heavyweight (no limit). (A stone is equal to 14 pounds). By 1902, American boxers were contesting the titles in the A.B.A. Championships, which, therefore, took on an international complexion. By 1924, the A.B.A. had 105 clubs in affiliation. Boxing first appeared at the Olympic Games in 1904 and, apart from the Games of 1912, has always been part of them. From 1972 through 2004, Cuba and the United States have won the most Gold Medals, 29 for Cuba and 21 for the U.S. Internationally, amateur boxing spread steadily throughout the first half of the 20th century, but when the first international body, the Federation Internationale de Boxe Amateur (International Amateur Boxing Federation) was formed in Paris in 1920, there were only five member nations. In 1946, however, when the International Amateur Boxing Association (A.I.B.A.) was formed in London, twenty-four nations from five continents were represented, and the A.I.B.A. has continued to be the official world federation of amateur boxing ever since. The first World Amateur Boxing Championships were staged in 1974. In the late 19th and early 20th century, amateur boxing was encouraged in schools, universities and in the armed forces, but the champions usually came from among the urban poor. Women's boxing first appeared in the Olympic Games at a demonstration bout in 1904. For most of the 20th century, however, it was banned in most nations. Its revival was pioneered by the Swedish Amateur Boxing Association, which sanctioned events for women in 1988. The British Amateur Boxing Association sanctioned its first boxing competition for women in 1997. The first event was to be between two thirteen-year-olds, but one of the boxers withdrew because of hostile media attention. Four weeks later, an event was held between two sixteen-year-olds. The A.I.B.A. accepted new rules for Women's Boxing at the end of the 20th century and approved the first European Cup for Women in 1999 and the first World Championship for women in 2001. Women's boxing will be an exhibition sport at the 2008 Olympics, but it won't become an official Olympic sport at the 2012 Olympics. Fights at the amateur boxing level were scored by five judges, who gave 20 points to whoever they thought won a round, and 19 or less to the loser. This form of scoring changed after the 1988 Olympic games in Seoul, when Michael Carbajal and Roy Jones Jr. lost their gold medal fights to South Korean opponents, with the boxing media generally believing that Carbajal and Jones Jr. should have won their bouts. It was later discovered that the judges had been bribed to give South Koreans the gold medals against Carbajal and Jones Jr. Ironically, at the same Games, a South Korean boxer sat in the ring for about 90 minutes after being declared the loser in a fight he thought he should have won. As a consequence of all the controversies of the 1988 Olympic boxing competition, a new scoring system was invented for amateur boxing: using a computer, judges must press a button every time they think a boxer landed a punch. When three or more of the five judges press the button within a second of each other, the punch counts as a "point" for the fighter that landed it. Punches to the head or face of an opponent usually score the most points for a competitor. At any point of the fight in which a fighter is leading by twenty points (or sometimes more), the referee is indicated and the fight is stopped, the leading fighter winning by "mercy", and credited with a knockout.

Professional boxing

Professional bouts are far longer than amateur bouts (ranging from four to twelve rounds), headgear is not permitted, and boxers are generally allowed to take much more punishment before a fight is halted. At any time, however, the referee may stop the contest if he believes that one participant can not or should not continue to box. In that case, the other participant is awarded a technical knockout win, which appears on the boxer's record as a knockout win (or loss). A technical knockout would also be awarded if a fighter lands a punch that opens a cut on the opponent, and the opponent is later deemed not fit to continue by a doctor because of the cut. If a boxer simply quits fighting, or if his corner stops the fight, then the winning boxer is also awarded a technical knockout victory. If a knockout or disqualification does not occur, the fight must go to the scorecards. Professional fights have three judges each, and each of the judges must use the 10 point must system: Under this system, each time a boxer wins a round in the judges' eyes, the judge gives that boxer 10 points, and the other 9 or less. If the judge deems the round to be a tie, he or she may score it 10-10. When the fight reaches its scheduled distance, all scores are added, round by round, to determine who won on each judges' cards. When all three judges have the same boxer as the winner, this is an unanimous decision. When two judges have one boxer winning the fight and the other one has it a tie, this is called a majority decision. When two judges have one boxer winning the fight and the other judge has the other boxer winning, this is called a split decision. When one judge gives his or her vote to one boxer, another one gives it to the other boxer, and the third judge calls it a tie, this is a draw. It is also a draw when two judges score the fight a tie, regardless of who the third judge score the bout for. In Britain, the bout is only scored by the referee, except when a title is at stake, in which case it is scored by three judges. If a fight can not go on because of an injury caused to one of the competitors by a headbutt, there are different rules: If the fight has not reached the end of round three, (in some places, round four), the fight is declared a technical draw or a no contest. If it has reached beyond the end of round three (or four), then the scorecards are read and whoever is ahead, wins by a technical decision.

Evolution of professional boxing

In 1891, the National Sporting Club (N.S.C.), a private club in London, began to promote professional glove fights at its own premises, and created nine of its own rules to augment the Queensberry Rules. These rules specified more accurately the role of the officials, and produced a system of scoring that enabled the referee to decide the result of a fight. The British Boxing Board of Control (B.B.B.C.) was first formed in 1919 with close links to the N.S.C., and was re-formed in 1929 after the N.S.C. closed. In 1909, the first of twenty-two belts were presented by the fifth Earl of Lonsdale to the winner of a British title fight held at the N.S.C. In 1929, the B.B.B.C. continued to award Lonsdale Belts to any British boxer who won three title fights in the same weight division. The "title fight" has always been the focal point in professional boxing. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, however, there were title fights at each weight. Promoters who could stage profitable title fights became influential in the sport, as did boxers' managers. The best promoters and managers have been instrumental in bringing boxing to new audiences and provoking media and public interest. The most famous of all three-way partnership (fighter-manager-promoter) was that of Jack Dempsey (Heavyweight Champion, 1919-1926), his manager Jack Kearns, and the promoter Tex Rickard. Together they grossed US$ 8.4 million in only five fights between 1921 and 1927 and ushered in a "golden age" of popularity for professional boxing in the 1920s. They were also responsible for the first live radio broadcast of a title fight (Dempsey v. Georges Carpentier, in 1921). In Britain, Jack Solomons' success as a fight promoter helped re-establish professional boxing after the Second World War and made Britain a popular place for title fights in the 1950s and 1960s. In the first part of the 20th century, the United States became the centre for professional boxing. It was generally accepted that the "world champions" were those listed by the Police Gazette. After 1920, the National Boxing Association (N.B.A.) began to sanction "title fights". Also during that time, Ring Magazine magazine was founded and it listed champions and awarded championship belts. The N.B.A. was renamed in 1962 and became the World Boxing Association (W.B.A.). The following year, a rival body, the World Boxing Council (W.B.C.), was formed. In 1983, another world body, the International Boxing Federation (I.B.F.) was formed. By the end of the 20th century, a boxer had to be recognized by the three separate bodies to be the "Undisputed Champion" of the World. Ring Magazine also continued listing the World Champion of each weight division, and its rankings continue being of the most appreciated by fans. Although women fought professionally in many countries, in Britain the B.B.B.C. refused to issue licences to women until 1998. By the end of the century, however, they had issued five such licenses. The first sanctioned bout between women was in November 1998 at Streatham in London, between Jane Couch and Simona Lukic.

Equipment

Boxing techniques utilize very forceful strikes with the hand. There are many bones in the hand, and striking surfaces without proper technique can cause serious hand injuries. Today, most trainers do not allow boxers to train and spar without handwraps and gloves. Handwraps are used to secure the bones in the hand, and the gloves are used to protect the hands from blunt injury, allowing boxers to throw punches with more force than if they did not utilize them. Headgear, used in amateur boxing, protects against cuts, scrapes, and swelling, but does not protect very well against concussions. Headgear does not sufficiently protect the brain from the jarring that occurs when the head is struck with great force. Also, most boxers aim for the chin on opponents, and the chin is usually not padded. Thus, a powerpunch can do a lot of damage to a boxer, and even a jab that connects to the chin can cause damage, regardless of whether or not headgear is being utilized.

Length of bouts

For decades, from the 1920s to the 1980s, world championship matches in professional boxing were scheduled for fifteen rounds, but that changed with the death of boxer Duk Koo Kim, who died after a lightweight title fight with Ray Mancini in November of 1982. After Kim's death, the World Boxing Council reduced the number of their championship fights to twelve rounds. By 1988, to the displeasure of many boxing purists, all fights had been reduced to a maximum of 12 rounds only.

Technique

There are four basic punches in boxing: the Jab, Cross, Hook and Uppercut. If a boxer is right-handed, his lead hand be his left, and vice versa. A left-handed boxer is called a Southpaw.

Punches

- Jab - A quick, straight punch thrown with the lead hand from the stance position. The punch is accompanied by a quarter-rotation of the shoulders, while the fist rotates through 180 degrees so that it is horizontal upon impact. As the punch reaches full extension, the lead shoulder is brought up to guard the chin. The rear hand remains next to the face to guard the jaw. The jab is the most important punch in a boxer's arsenal because it provides a fair amount of its own cover and it leaves the least amount of space for a counterpunch from the opponent. It has the longest reach of any punch and does not require commitment or a large shift in position to throw the punch. It is thus used as a tool to gauge distances, probe an opponent's defenses, and set up heavier, more powerful punches.
- Cross - Also called a "straight" or "right", the cross is a straight punch executed with the rear hand. The rear hand crosses the body, the shoulders rotate toward the target and the rear pivots along with the hips. A half-step forward can be maneuvered (just as a jab can be thrown with a step (step-jab) or without) although many prefer not to do this and do not coach it. The power in the cross comes from the rotation of the hips, the extension of the arm and the momentum this builds, as well as the weight behind the punch - a boxers weight transfers to his front foot so as to put the body behind the punch, however he/she should always be able to resume a guarded stance immediately after the punch is thrown and never be off-balance. The cross is the most powerful punch and is responsible for the majority of knockouts. It can be used to set up a hook, and it can be used as a counterpunch to a jab aimed at the opponent's head (or a counter to a cross aimed at the body). The cross can be thrown right after a jab, creating the classic "one-two combo."
- Hook - This punch is thrown in a side arc with a bent arm. It can be thrown with either hand but is typically a lead hand punch. The boxer rotates the hips and transfers weight towards the back while pivoting the feet in the same direction, causing the arm to swing with the body in a lead hand hook. The power in a hook comes from the explosive rotation of the legs, hips, and shoulders, allowing a large amount of power to be thrown behind the punch. The classic hook is thrown in a horizontal plane, but the punch can also be thrown at a 45 degree angle (a "Mexican hook" or "shovel hook" or "hook to the ribs"), blending into the uppercut, striking the ribs right under the guard. Hooks are not parried but rather bobbed/rolled or simply blocked with the boxers guard against the head. The punch is very useful when aimed for the ribs, solar plexus, or especially the head, as the force from the hook tends to travel through a blocked head better than a jab.
- Uppercut - This punch is thrown upwards with either hand (although a rear hand uppercut is marginally more common). The weight transfer for an uppercut is similar to that of the cross, except the arm is bent and extends outward from the boxer's guard instead of extending straight out from the chin. The uppercut travels horizontally towards the opponent's chest, and arcs up slightly to strike the chin. The power in the uppercut comes from the rotation of the legs and hips, like a cross. This can be a devastating power punch because even if it does not connect with the chin itself, it tends to lift up the chin of the opponent, which opens up a bigger target and causes the opponent to be off balance for a moment.
- Bolo punch - Occasionally seen in amateur boxing, the bolo is an arm punch which owes its power to the shortening of a circular arc rather than to transference of body weight; it tends to have more of an effect due to the surprise of the odd angle it lands at rather than the actual power of the punch. This is more of a gimmick than a technical maneuvuer, this punch is not taught, it is on the same plane in boxing technicality as is the Ali shuffle.

Defense

- Guard - The guard is the protective barrier that the boxer's arms make. To create an effective guard, the boxer's elbows rest on the ribcagewhile the hands are held up to protect the head. The head is bent down slightly in order to tuck the chin to avoid painful strikes. The shoulders and arms are held without tension in order to allow quick movement. The guard is important because it is the last line of defense before a strike hits an unprotected face or body. When protecting against the body, the boxer rotates the hips in order to let the punches "roll off" the guard (a form of parrying with the forearms). When protecting against the face, the boxer tucks the head in more in order to be pretected better within the guard.
- Bob and Weave - This movement attempts to avoid an opponent's punch by bending the legs (and, often, the waist) in order to bring the head into a position under the opponent's extending arm. The legs and waist are then extended to bring the body back to its upright position. As the boxer rises, the body has moved either to the boxer's left or right in order to avoid the (presumably) still extended arm. To move to a position on the outside of the opponent's extended arm is sometimes called "bobbing to the outside" and is, generally, the preferred method of defense. "Bobbing to the inside", or moving the body to a position on inside of the opponent's extended arm, is considered defensively weak because the boxer is then vulnerable to punches from the opponent's opposite fist.
- Slip - The slip is a maneuver performed with the defending boxer's legs and hips in order to shift the position of the head. As a straight punch (such as a jab or straight/cross) comes toward the boxer's face, the defending boxer turns the hips and shoulders to one side which shifts the position of the chin sideways, allowing the punch to "slip" by. The less the boxer has to move his or her head or the vertical angle of the shoulders, the more skillful he or she is considered at this technique.
- Parry - The parry is performed most often against a straight punch. As the opponent's arm is extended, the defending boxer moves the fist (most often of the dominant arm) towards the oncoming punch, usually rotating the wrist and elbow so that the palm is facing the opponent. As the opponent's punch makes contact with the extended glove, it is directed away from its initial target.
- Clinch - The clinch, or grappling of the opponent while standing, is considered a defensive maneuver in modern boxing because it is most often employed to interfere with the opponent's offensive maneuvers. Since the distance between the fighters is closed, the majority of boxing's offensive techniques (which mostly rely on hip/torso rotation and arm extension) cannot be employed. Since the clinch is broken up by the referee immediately, the clinch is often seen as a method for the disadvantaged fighter to gain a short reprieve and perhaps interfere with the dominant fighter's concentration.

Stance and movement

- The modern boxing stance is a reflection of the current system of rules employed by professional boxing. It differs in many ways from the typical boxing stances of the 19th and early 20th centuries. It's been stated that Americans adopted a more upright vertical armed guard (as opposed to more horizontally held, knuckles facing the ground guard as seen when looking at early 20th century boxers such as Jack Johnson) due to the Americans' confrontations with the Filipino natives as a result of the Philippines Spanish-American war. When engaged in hand to hand combat, the Filipinos would slash the wrists of the American soldiers, the Americans adapted by changing the guarded stance and thus just one example of a boxing technicality evolving. The boxer must stand with the legs shoulder-width apart. The boxer places the lead foot (the left foot for a right-handed fighter, the right foot for a left-hander (southpaw) more forward than the back foot so the front foot's heel is in line with the back foots toes. The toes point straight forward, towards the opponent. The lead fist (the jabbing fist) is carried in front, half a dozen inches in front of the face at eye level (both arms should always be held straight and vertical - in line with the shoulders). The back fist is held against the chin and the arm lies in place against the body to protect the rib cage. Knockouts are usually scored with punches to the chin. Modern boxers can sometimes be seen "tapping" their cheeks or foreheads with their fist in order to remind themselves to kept their fists up in this defensive position (which becomes difficult during long bouts). The torso is kept straight and the chin is tucked into the lead shoulder (which is often kept tense to further protect the chin).
- Modern boxers are taught to "push off" with their feet in order to move effectively. Forward motion involves lifting the lead leg and pushing with the rear leg. Rearward motion involves lifting the rear leg and pushing with the lead leg. During lateral motion the leg in the direction of the movement moves first while the opposite leg provides the force needed to move the body.
- A rarely used technique is the Rope-a-dope method, most famously used by Mohammad Ali in the Rumble in the Jungle bout. This method involves laying on the ropes and concentrating on defence while conserving energy as the opponent is lured into striking repeatedly without interruption. If successful, the attacking opponent will eventually tire and lower his defenses for the other boxer to exploit for effective attacks using his now superior reserves. However, this method is discouraged as it is physically punishing and few boxers have the endurance to attempt it while gambling that their opponent will not realize what they are doing.

Boxing legends

The boxing world has produced talented and world famous personalities in both the amateur and professional realms. Famous amateur boxers have usually been Olympic medallists. The Olympic games have long been considered a springboard for professional entry, though some Olympic champions prefer to retain their amateur status, including three-time gold medalist Teofilo Stevenson. It is the professional side of boxing, however, that has produced the celebrities whose activities the public has generally followed.

London Rules and pre-Queensberry Era

The bareknuckle era produced legends like John L. Sullivan, the first world heavyweight champion. Sullivan has been called the first great American sports hero.

Modern era

1900s to 1920s

It is the post-Queensberry (or Modern) era that has the greatest number of legendary boxers, such as world heavyweight champions Jim Jeffries (the first Great White Hope) and Jack Johnson (the first black world heavyweight champion), who fought each other in 1910 in the first "Fight of the Century".

1920s to 1940s

World heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey was one of the most important athletes of roaring twenties. Boxing in the 1930s, despite being hit by depression, saw one of the greatest boxers of all time: Joe Louis. From 1937, he dominated the heavyweight scene for 12 years before retiring as world champion in 1949. Shortly before the beginning of WW2, the battles between Louis and Max Schmeling were seen as battles between America and Nazi Germany.

1940s to 1950s

The 1950s had a boxer who would go down in history as the only undefeated world heavyweight champion: Rocky Marciano. The title of the movie Rocky was inspired by this legend. This era also had Sugar Ray Robinson, who most experts rate as the best pound-for-pound boxer of all time. Robinson held the world welterweight title from 1946 to 1951, and the world middleweight title a record five times from 1951 to 1960. Another great of this period was Archie Moore, who held the world light heavyweight title for ten years and scored more knockout victories than any other boxer in history.

1960s to 1970s

The decades of the 1960s & 1970s are best remembered by the dominance of a boxer once named Cassius Clay, who said he would "shock the world." He joined the Nation of Islam, changed his name to Muhammad Ali, and declared himself against war. Many sociologists, observers, and critics now view Ali as a reflection of the changing society of that time. Ali had tough opponents like Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, and George Foreman, but proved himself to be the best heavyweight of his era, if not of all time. Larry Holmes (a former sparring patrner of Ali) and the electric promoter Don King both gained prominence during this time.

1970s to 1980s

After the retirement of Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard became the biggest star in the sport. In the late 1970s and the 1980s, Leonard won world titles in five different weight divisions, and was the firt boxer to make 100 million dollars during his career.

1990s to present

If there was ever a bad boy of boxing, the title surely would go to a man who burst into professional boxing like a hurricane; Mike Tyson. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" because of his devastating punching power, took the world by storm. The most dominant figure on the heavyweight division in the mid-to-late 80s, he ran through his opponents like a wrecking ball, becoming the first undisputed champion in a decade. Both in and out of the ring, he was always in the news. He was jailed multiple times, barred from boxing for a year after biting a chunk out of Evander Holyfield's ear, and going into bankruptcy. When he fought his last title fight, against Lennox Lewis in 2002, he was beaten thoroughly and knocked out. Lewis, the only British heavyweight titleholder in the 20th century, retired as champion. Roy Jones, Jr. was the most dominant fighter of the 1990s and early 2000s. He won world titles in four different weight divisions, from middleweight to heavyweight. When he defeated John Ruiz to win the WBA heavyweight title, he was the first former middleweight champion to wim a heavyweight title since Bob Fitzsimmons accomplished the feat over one hundred years earlier. Oscar De La Hoya was possibly the most popular boxer of his era. He won titles from junior lightweight to middleweight. With good looks and charisma, along with plenty of boxing talent, he became the richest non-heavyweight in the history of boxing.

Legends of British boxing

Great Britain, the birth place of modern boxing, has produced numerous boxing legends. Among British amateur boxers, only those who won Olympic gold medals tended to achieve recognition beyond the limits of boxing enthusiasts. They included Harry Mallin (Middleweight), 1920 and 1924), Terry Spinks (Flyweight, 1956), Dick McTaggart (Lightweight, 1956) and Chris Finnegan (Middleweight, 1968). In 1908, at the Olympic Games in London, five weight divisions were contested, Bantamweight, Featherweight, Lightweight, Middleweight and Heavyweight. British boxers won them all, and four of the finals were all-British! It is the professional side of boxing, however, that has produced the celebrities whose activities the public have generally followed. In the period between bare-knuckle pugilism and post-Queensberry boxing, Jem Mace was important. He carried many of the traditions of the old London Prize-Ring, but promoted the use of gloves and helped to popularize the sport in the United States and Australia. In the post-Queensberry era, the first British fighter to achieve superstar status was Bob Fitzsimmons. He weighed less than 12 stone but won world titles at Middleweight (1892), Light Heavyweight (1903), and Heavyweight (1897). He fought his last bout at the age of fifty-two. Successful fighters have provoked fierce local pride. The best example was Jimmy Wilde, a Welsh flyweight who won the world Flyweight Championship in 1916 and held it until 1923. He once had a sequence of eighty-eight fights without defeat. Between 1911 and 1923, he won seventy-five of his fights by a knockout. He was idolized in Wales, where they commonly believed him to be the best boxer, pound-for-pound, that ever lived. He was described as the "Mighty Atom" and "the ghost with a hammer in his hand". The Scots had a similar pride in Benny Lynch, a flyweight from Glasgow, who held the world flyweight title in 1935 and again in 1937. Over the years, Scots have had great success at this weight; Jackie Paterson won the title in 1943 and Walter McGowan in 1966. Scots have also had success in the lightweight division. Ken Buchanan won the title in 1971 and Jim Watt in 1980. In Northern Ireland, Rinty Monahan held the flyweight title from 1947 to 1950, and Barry McGuigan won the W.B.A. featherweight title in 1985. England, too, had its successes at the lighter weights. Among the flyweights, Jackie Brown won the title in 1932, Peter Kane in 1938 and Terry Allen. The Welsh had their own featherweight legend Jim Driscoll. His nickname was "Peerless Jim". He was born in the one time Irish "slum" of Newtown. Jim was the first outright winner of the Lord Lonsdale Belt. Jim had prolific wins of the British, Empire and European titles. Jim is considered by many to be the best pound for pound fighter of all time. Britain has had other popular world champions. In the 1930s, Jackie Berg won the light welterweight title. In the 1940s, Freddie Mills won the

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