Union
Nickname	Gridiron
First	November 6, 1869, Rutgers vs. Princeton
Contact	Full contact
Team	11 at a time
Category	Outdoor
Ball	Football
Olympic	No }}

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron. The ball can be advanced by running with it or throwing it to a teammate. Points can be scored by carrying the ball over the opponent's goal line, catching a pass thrown over that goal line, kicking the ball through the opponent's goal posts or tackling an opposing ball carrier in his own end zone.

In the United States, the major forms are high school football, college football and professional football. Each of these three are played under slightly different rules. High school football is governed by the National Federation of State High School Associations, while college football by the National Collegiate Athletic Association and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. The major league for professional football is the National Football League (NFL). Other minor professional leagues also exist in the U.S., and may also have slightly different rules from those of the NFL.

The sport is also played in Europe, Japan, Mexico, and several other countries. The International Federation of American Football acts as an international governing body for the sport, but the organization has little standing in the United States.

American football is closely related to Canadian football but with some differences in rules and the field. Both sports can be traced to early versions of association football and rugby football.

History

The history of American football can be traced to early versions of rugby football and association football. Both games have their origins in varieties of football played in the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century, in which a ball is kicked at a goal and/or run over a line. Many games known as "football" were being played at colleges and universities in the United States in the first half of the 19th century.

American football resulted from several major divergences from rugby football, most notably the rule changes instituted by Walter Camp, considered the "Father of American Football". Among these important changes were the introduction of the line of scrimmage and of down-and-distance rules. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, game play developments by college coaches such as Eddie Cochems, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Knute Rockne, and Glenn "Pop" Warner helped take advantage of the newly introduced forward pass.

The popularity of collegiate football grew as it became the dominant version of the sport for the first half of the twentieth century. Bowl games, a college football tradition, attracted a national audience for collegiate teams. Bolstered by fierce rivalries, college football still holds widespread appeal in the US.

The origin of professional football can be traced back to 1892, with William "Pudge" Heffelfinger's $500 contract to play in a game for the Allegheny Athletic Association against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. The first Professional "league" was the Ohio League, formed in 1903, and the first Professional Football championship game was between the Buffalo Prospects and the Canton Bulldogs in 1919. In 1920, the American Professional Football Association was formed. The first game was played in Dayton, Ohio on October 3, 1920 with the host Triangles defeating the Columbus Panhandles 14–0. The league changed its name to the National Football League (NFL) two years later, and eventually became the major league of American football. Initially a sport of Midwestern industrial towns in the United States, professional football eventually became a national phenomenon. Football's increasing popularity is usually traced to the 1958 NFL Championship Game, a contest that has been dubbed the "Greatest Game Ever Played". A rival league to the NFL, the American Football League (AFL), began play in 1960; the pressure it put on the senior league led to a merger between the two leagues and the creation of the Super Bowl, which has become the most watched television event in the United States on an annual basis.

Rules

Field and players

American football is played on a field . The longer boundary lines are ''sidelines'', while the shorter boundary lines are ''end lines''. Sidelines and end lines are out of bounds. Near each end of the field is a ''goal line''; they are apart. A scoring area called an ''end zone'' extends beyond each goal line to each end line. The end zone includes the goal line but not the end line. While the playing field is effectively flat, it is common for a field to be built with a slight crown—with the middle of the field higher than the sides—to allow water to drain from the field.

''Yard lines'' cross the field every , and are numbered every 10 yards from each goal line to the 50-yard line, or midfield (similar to a typical rugby league field). Two rows of short lines, known as inbounds lines or ''hash marks'', run at 1-yard (91.4 cm) intervals perpendicular to the sidelines near the middle of the field. All plays start with the ball on or between the hash marks. Because of the arrangement of the lines, the field is occasionally referred to as a ''gridiron'' in a reference to the cooking grill with a similar pattern of lines.

At the back of each end zone are two ''goalposts'' (also called ''uprights'') connected by a crossbar from the ground. For high skill levels, the posts are apart. For lower skill levels, these are widened to .

Each team has 11 players on the field at a time. Usually there are many more players off the field (an NFL team has a limit of 53 players on their roster, all of which can be dressed for a game). However, teams may substitute for any or all of their players during the breaks between plays. As a result, players have very specialized roles and are divided into three separate units: the offense, the defense and the special teams. It is rare for all team members to participate in a given game, as some roles have little utility beyond that of an injury substitute.

Start of halves

Similarly to association football, the game begins with a coin toss to determine which team will kick off to begin the game and which goal each team will defend. Unlike association football though, the options are presented again to start the second half; the choices for the first half do not automatically determine the start of the second half. The referee conducts the coin toss with the captains (or sometimes coaches) of the opposing teams. The team that wins the coin toss has three options: # They may choose whether to kick or receive the opening kickoff. # They may choose which goal to defend. # They may choose to ''defer'' the first choice to the other team and have first choice to start the second half. Whatever the first team chooses, the second team has the option on the other choice (for example, if the first team elects to receive at the start of the game, the second team can decide which goal to defend).

At the start of the second half, the options to kick, receive, or choose a goal to defend are presented to the captains again. The team which did not choose first to start the first half (or which deferred its privilege to choose first) now gets first choice of options.

Game duration

A standard football game consists of four 15-minute quarters (12-minute quarters in high-school football and often shorter at lower levels), with a 12-minute half-time intermission after the second quarter. At all levels, a down (play) that begins before time expires is allowed to continue until its completion, even after the clock reaches zero. The clock is also stopped after certain plays, therefore, a game can last considerably longer (often more than three hours in real time), and if a game is broadcast on television, TV timeouts are taken at certain intervals of the game to broadcast commercials outside of game action. If an NFL game is tied after four quarters, the teams play an additional period lasting up to 15 minutes. In a regular season NFL overtime game, the first team that scores wins, even if the other team does not get a possession; this is referred to as sudden death. However, in a post-season NFL game during the playoffs, if the first team with possession scores only a field goal, the other team is allowed the opportunity to match or better this score. This rule only affects playoff games in overtime in which the first team with possession scores a field goal: if the first team with possession scores a touchdown, the sudden death rules take effect. In a regular-season NFL game, if neither team scores in overtime, the game is a tie. In an NFL playoff game, additional overtime periods are played, as needed, to determine a winner. College overtime rules are more complicated.

Advancing the ball

Advancing the ball in American football resembles the ''six-tackle rule'' and the ''play-the-ball'' in rugby league. The team that takes possession of the ball (the offense) has four attempts, called downs, in which to advance the ball at least toward their opponent's (the defense's) end zone. When the offense succeeds in gaining at least 10 yards, it gets a first down, meaning the team starts a new set of four downs to gain yet another 10 yards or to score. If the offense fails to gain a first down (10 yards) after four downs, the other team gets possession of the ball at the point where the fourth down ended, beginning with their first down to advance the ball in the opposite direction.

Except at the beginning of halves and after scores, the ball is always put into play by a snap. Offensive players line up facing defensive players at the line of scrimmage (the position on the field where the play begins). One offensive player, the center, then passes (or "snaps") the ball backwards between his legs to a teammate behind him, usually the quarterback.

Players can then advance the ball in two ways: # By running with the ball, also known as rushing. # By throwing the ball to a teammate, known as a pass or as passing the football. If the pass is thrown down-field, it is known as a forward pass. The forward pass is a key factor distinguishing American and Canadian football from other football sports. The offense can throw the ball forward only once during a down and only from behind the line of scrimmage. However, the ball can be handed-off to another player or thrown, pitched, or tossed sideways or backwards (a lateral pass) at any time.

A down ends, and the ball becomes dead, after any of the following:

The player with the ball is forced to the ground (a tackle) or has his forward progress halted by members of the other team (as determined by an official).

A forward pass flies beyond the dimensions of the field (out of bounds) or touches the ground before it is caught. This is known as an incomplete pass. The ball is returned to the most recent line of scrimmage for the next down.

The ball or the player with the ball goes out of bounds.

A team scores.

Officials blow a whistle to notify players that the down is over.

Before each down, each team chooses a play, or coordinated movements and actions, that the players should follow on a down. Sometimes, downs themselves are referred to as "plays."

Change of possession

The offense maintains possession of the ball unless one of the following things occurs:

The team fails to get a first down— i.e., in four downs they fail to move the ball past a line 10 yards ahead of where they got their last first down. The defensive team takes over the ball at the spot where the 4th-down play ends. A change of possession in this manner is commonly called a turnover on downs.

The offense scores a touchdown or field goal. The team that scored then kicks the ball to the other team in a special play called a kickoff.

The offense punts the ball to the defense. A punt is a kick in which a player drops the ball and kicks it before it hits the ground. Punts are nearly always made on fourth down, when the offensive team does not want to risk giving up the ball to the other team at its current spot on the field (through a failed attempt to make a first down) and feels it is too far from the other team's goal post to attempt a field goal.

A defensive player catches a forward pass. This is called an interception, and the player who makes the interception can run with the ball until he is tackled, forced out of bounds, or scores.

An offensive player drops the ball (a fumble) and a defensive player picks it up. As with interceptions, a player recovering a fumble can run with the ball until tackled, forced out of bounds, or scoring. Passes that are thrown either backwards or parallel with the line of scrimmage (lateral passes) that are not caught do not cause the down to end as incomplete forward passes do; instead the ball is still live as if it had been fumbled. Lost fumbles and interceptions are together known as turnovers.

The offensive team misses a field goal attempt. The defensive team gets the ball at the spot where the previous play began (or, in the NFL, at the spot of the kick). If the unsuccessful kick was attempted from within of the end zone, the other team gets the ball at its own 20 yard line (that is, 20 yards from the end zone). If a field goal is missed or blocked and the ball remains in the field of play, a defensive player may pick up the ball and attempt to advance it.

While in his own end zone, an offensive ball carrier is tackled, forced out of bounds, loses the ball out of bounds, or the offense commits certain fouls in the end zone. This fairly rare occurrence is called a safety.

An offensive ball carrier fumbles the ball forward into the opposing end zone, and then the ball goes out of bounds. This extremely rare occurrence leads to a touchback, with the ball going over to the opposing team at their 20 yard line (Note that touchbacks during non-offensive special teams plays, such as punts and kickoffs, are quite common).

Scoring

A team scores points by the following plays: A touchdown (TD) is worth 6 points. It is scored when a player runs the ball into or catches a pass in his opponent's end zone. A touchdown is analogous to a try in rugby. Unlike rugby, a player does not have to touch the ball to the ground to score; a touchdown is scored any time a player has possession of the ball while any part of the ball is beyond the vertical plane created by the leading edge of the opponent's goal line stripe (the stripe itself is a part of the end zone).

After a touchdown, the scoring team attempts a try (which is also analogous to the conversion in rugby). The ball is placed at the other team's line (the line in the NFL). The team can attempt to kick it through the goalposts (over the crossbar and between the uprights) in the manner of a field goal for 1 point (an extra point or point-after touchdown (PAT)), or run or pass it into the end zone in the manner of a touchdown for 2 points (a two-point conversion). In college football, if the defense intercepts or recovers a fumble during a one or two point conversion attempt and returns it to the opposing end zone, the defensive team is awarded the two points.

A field goal (FG) is worth 3 points, and it is scored by kicking the ball through the goalposts defended by the opposition. Field goals may be place kicked (kicked when the ball is held vertically against the ground by a teammate) or drop kicked (extremely uncommon in the modern game due to the better accuracy of place kicks, with only two successful drop kicks in sixty-plus years in the NFL). A field goal is usually attempted on fourth down instead of a punt when the ball is close enough to the opponent's goalposts, or, when there is little or no time left to otherwise score. A safety, worth 2 points, is scored by the opposing team when the team in possession at the end of a down is responsible for the ball becoming dead behind its own goal line. For instance, a safety is scored by the defense if an offensive player is tackled, goes out of bounds, or fumbles the ball out of bounds in his own end zone. Safeties are relatively rare. Note that, though even more rare, the team initially on offense during a down can score a safety if a player of the original defense gains possession of the ball in front of his own goal line and then carries the ball or fumbles it into his own end zone where it becomes dead. However, if the ball becomes dead behind the goal line of the team in possession and its opponent is responsible for the ball being there (for instance, if the defense intercepts a forward pass in its own end zone and the ball becomes dead before the ball is advanced out of the end zone) it is a touchback: no points are scored and the team last in possession keeps possession with a first down at its own 20 yard line. In amateur football, in the extremely rare instance that a safety is scored on a try, it is worth only 1 point.

Kickoffs and free kicks

Each half begins with a kickoff. Teams also kick off after scoring touchdowns and field goals. The ball is kicked using a kicking tee from the team's own line in the NFL and college football (as of the 2007 season). The other team's kick returner tries to catch the ball and advance it as far as possible. Where he is stopped is the point where the offense will begin its drive, or series of offensive plays. If the kick returner catches the ball in his own end zone, he can either run with the ball, or elect for a touchback by kneeling in the end zone, in which case the receiving team then starts its offensive drive from its own 20 yard line. A touchback also occurs when the kick goes out-of-bounds in the end zone. (Punts and turnovers in the end zone can also result in a touchback). A kickoff that goes out-of-bounds anywhere other than the end zone before being touched by the receiving team is a foul, and the ball will be placed within the hash marks of the yard line where it went out of bounds, or from the kickoff spot, depending on which is more advantageous to the receiving team. Unlike with punts, once a kickoff goes 10 yards and the ball has hit the ground, it can be recovered by the kicking team. A team, especially one who is losing, can try to take advantage of this by attempting an onside kick.

After safeties, the team that gave up the points must free kick the ball to the other team from its own 20 yard line.

Penalties

Fouls (a type of rule violation) are punished with penalties against the offending team. Most penalties result in moving the football towards the offending team's end zone. If the penalty would move the ball more than half the distance towards the offender's end zone, the penalty becomes half the distance to the goal instead of its normal value.

Most penalties result in replaying the down. Some defensive penalties give the offense an automatic first down. Conversely, some offensive penalties result in loss of a down (loss of the right to repeat the down). If a penalty gives the offensive team enough yardage to gain a first down, they get a first down, as usual. The only penalty that results in points is if a team on offense commits a certain fouls, such as holding, in its own end zone, which results in a safety.

If a foul occurs during a down (after the play has begun), the down is allowed to continue and an official throws a yellow penalty flag near the spot of the foul. When the down ends, the team that did not commit the foul has the option of accepting the penalty, or declining the penalty and accepting the result of the down.

Variations

Limited contact

* touch football. A play ends when a defender touches the ball carrier (sometimes with two hands).

* flag football. A play ends when a defender removes a designated token ("flag") worn by the ball carrier.

* Wrap. A play ends when a defender wraps his arms round the ball carrier.

Fewer players

*nine-man football

*eight-man football

*six-man football

Smaller field

: The Arena Football League is a league that plays eight-man football, but also plays indoors and on a much smaller playing surface with rule changes to encourage a much more offensive game.

Catch and Run

: In this game, the children split into two teams and line up at opposite sides of the playing field. One side throws the ball to the other side. If the opposing team catches the ball, that player tries to run to the throwing teams touchdown without being tagged/tackled. If no one catches the ball or if the player is tagged/tackled, then that team has to throw the ball to the opposing team. This repeats until time runs out or the players decide to quit.

Players

Most football players have highly specialized roles. At the college and NFL levels, most play only offense or only defense.

Offense

The offensive line (OL) consists of five players whose job is to protect the passer and clear the way for runners by blocking members of the defense. The lineman in the middle is the center. Outside the center are the guards, and outside them are the tackles. Except for the center, who snaps the ball to one of the backs, offensive linemen generally do not handle the ball.

The quarterback (QB) receives the snap from the center on most plays. He then hands or tosses it to a running back, throws it to a receiver or runs with it himself. The quarterback is the leader of the offense and calls the plays that are signaled to him from the sidelines.

Running backs (RB) line up behind or beside the QB and specialize in running with the ball. They also block, catch passes and, on rare occasions, pass the ball to others or even receive the snap. If a team has two running backs in the game, usually one will be a halfback (HB) (or tailback (TB)), who is more likely to run with the ball, and the other will usually be a fullback (FB), who is more likely to block.

Wide receivers (WR) line up near the sidelines. They specialize in catching passes, though they also block for running plays or downfield after another receiver makes a catch.

Tight ends (TE) line up next to the offensive line. They can either play like wide receivers (catch passes) or like offensive linemen (protect the QB or create spaces for runners). Sometimes an offensive lineman takes the tight end position and is referred to as a tackle eligible.

At least seven players must line up on the line of scrimmage on every offensive play. The other players may line up anywhere behind the line. The exact number of running backs, wide receivers and tight ends may differ on any given play. For example, if the team needs only one yard, it may use three tight ends, two running backs and no wide receivers. On the other hand, if it needs 20 yards, it may replace all of its running backs and tight ends with wide receivers.

Defense

In contrast to members of the offense, the rules of professional football (NFL Rulebook) and American college football (NCAA Rulebook) do not specify starting position, movement, or coverage zones for members of the defensive team, except that they must be in the defensive zone at the start of play. The positions, movements and responsibilities of all defensive players are assigned by the team by selection of certain coverages, or patterns of placement and assignment of responsibilities. The positional roles are customary. These roles have varied over the history of American football. The following are customary defensive positions used in many coverages in modern American football.

The defensive line consists of three to six players who line up immediately across from the offensive line. They try to occupy the offensive linemen in order to free up the linebackers, disrupt the backfield (behind the offensive line) of the offense, and tackle the running back if he has the ball before he can gain yardage or the quarterback before he can throw or pass the ball. They are the first line of defense.

Behind the defensive line are the linebackers. They line up between the defensive line and defensive backs and may either rush the quarterback or cover potential receivers.

The last line of defense is known as the secondary, comprising at least three players who line up as defensive backs, who are either cornerbacks or safeties. They cover the receivers and try to stop pass completions. They occasionally rush the quarterback.

Special teams

The units of players who handle kicking plays are known as special teams. Three important special-teams players are the punter, who handles punts, the placekicker or kicker, who kicks off and attempts field goals and extra points, and the long snapper, who snaps the ball for extra points, field goals, and punts. Also included on special teams are the returners. These players return punts or kickoffs and try to get in good field position. These players can also score touchdowns.

Uniform numbering

In the NFL, ranges of uniform numbers are (usually) reserved for certain positions: 1–19: Quarterbacks, punters and placekickers 20–49: Running backs and defensive backs 50–79: Offensive and defensive linemen 10–19, 80–89: Wide receivers 40–49, 80–89: Tight ends 50–59, 90–99: Linebackers and defensive linemen (90–99) Players who switch positions in their career can keep their number if they played their prior position for at least a year and move from a position that is eligible to receive passes to another eligible position, or if he is moving from one ineligible position to another ineligible position.

NCAA and high school rules specify only that offensive linemen must have numbers in the 50–79 range, but the NCAA "strongly recommends" that quarterbacks and running backs have numbers below 50 and wide receivers numbers above 79. This helps officials, as it means that numbers 50 to 79 are ineligible receivers, or players that may not receive a forward pass (except in the rare instance when a Tackle lines up as the outermost lineman on his side of the line and the officials are notified that he will be an eligible receiver for that particular play). There are no numbering restrictions on defensive players in the NCAA, other than that a team may not have two players on the field at the same time with the same jersey number.

Basic strategy

Because the game stops after every down, giving teams a chance to call a new play, strategy plays a major role in football. Each team has a playbook of dozens to hundreds of plays. Ideally, each play is a scripted, strategically sound team-coordinated endeavor. Some plays are very safe; they are likely to get only a few yards. Other plays have the potential for long gains but at a greater risk of a loss of yardage or a turnover.

Generally speaking, rushing plays are less risky than passing plays. However, there are relatively safe passing plays and risky running plays. To deceive the other team, some passing plays are designed to resemble running plays and vice versa. These are referred to as play-action passes and draws, respectively. There are many trick or gadget plays, such as when a team lines up as if it intends to punt and then tries to run or pass for a first down. Such high-risk plays are a great thrill to the fans when they work. However, they can spell disaster if the opposing team realizes the deception and acts accordingly.

The defense also plans plays in response to expectations of what the offense will do. For example, a "blitz" (using linebackers or defensive backs to charge the quarterback) is often attempted when the team on defense expects a pass. A blitz makes downfield passing more difficult but exposes the defense to big gains if the offensive line stems the rush.

Many hours of preparation and strategizing, including film review by both players and coaches, go into the days between football games. This, along with the demanding physicality of football (see below), is why teams typically play at most one game per week.

Physicality

American football is a collision sport. To stop the offense from advancing the ball, the defense must tackle the player with the ball by knocking or pulling him down. As such, defensive players must use some form of physical contact to bring the ball-carrier to the ground, within certain rules and guidelines. Tacklers cannot kick or punch the runner. They also cannot grab the face mask of the runner's helmet or lead into a tackle with their own helmet ("spearing"). Despite these and other rules regarding unnecessary roughness, most other forms of tackling are legal. Blockers and defenders trying to evade them also have wide leeway in trying to force their opponents out of the way. Quarterbacks are regularly hit by defenders coming on full speed from outside the quarterback's field of vision. This is commonly known as a blindside.

To compensate for this, players must wear special protective equipment, such as a padded plastic helmet, shoulder pads, hip pads and knee pads. These protective pads were introduced decades ago and have improved ever since to help minimize lasting injury to players. An unintended consequence of all the safety equipment has resulted in increasing levels of violence in the game. Players may now hurl themselves at one another at high speeds without a significant chance of injury. The injuries that do result tend to be severe and often season or career-ending and sometimes fatal. In previous years with less padding, tackling more closely resembled tackles in Rugby football. Better helmets have allowed players to use their helmets as weapons. This form of tackling is particularly unwise, because of the great potential for brain or spinal injury. All this has caused the various leagues, especially the NFL, to implement a complicated series of penalties for various types of contact. Most recently, virtually any contact with the helmet of a defensive player on the quarterback, or any contact to the quarterback's head, is now a foul. During the late 1970s, the penalty in high school football for spearing included ejection from the game.

Despite protective equipment and rule changes to emphasize safety, injuries remain very common in football. It is increasingly rare, for example, for NFL quarterbacks or running backs (who take the most direct hits) to make it through an entire season without missing some time to injury. Additionally, 28 football players died from direct football injuries in the years 2000–05 and an additional 68 died indirectly from dehydration or other examples of "non-physical" dangers, according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research. Concussions are common, with about 41,000 suffered every year among high school players according to the Brain Injury Association of Arizona. In 1981, U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who played football in high school, commented on the contact of the sport: "Football is the last thing left in civilization where men can literally fling themselves bodily at one another in combat and not be at war."

Extra and optional equipment such as neck rolls, spider pads, rib protectors (referred to as "flak jackets"), and elbow pads help against injury as well, though they do not tend to be used by the majority of players due to their lack of requirement.

The danger of football, and the equipment required to reduce it, make regulation football impractical for casual play. Flag football and touch football are less violent variants of the game popular among recreational players.

Nutrition and dehydration

Football players typically begin their season while the weather is still extremely warm and with the dangerous combination of warm weather and high humidity, dehydration is a great risk for the players. The players are usually required to follow a hydration schedule. It is extremely important for players to drink enough fluids because dehydration can seriously reduce athletic performance and increase the risk of heat illnesses. Most trainers and coaches make it imperative for their players to drink fluids before they are thirsty.

Organization in the United States

In the United States, the major forms are high school football, college football and professional football. Most American high schools field football teams. In general, high school teams play only against other teams within the same state, but there are some exceptions like nearby schools located on opposite sides of a state line.

Most of college football in the United States is governed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and most colleges and universities around the country have football teams. These teams mostly play other similarly sized schools, through the NCAA's divisional system, which divides the schools into four divisions: Division I Bowl Subdivision, Division I Championship Subdivision, Division II, and Division III. Unlike the three smaller NCAA football divisions, the Division I Bowl Subdivision does not have an organized tournament to determine its national champion. Instead, teams are invited to compete in a number of post-season bowl games. In addition, the champions of six conferences in the Division I Bowl Subdivision receive automatic bids, and four other schools receive "at-large" bids, to those five bowl games under the highly lucrative Bowl Championship Series to help determine the national champion.

The highest level major professional league in the United States is the 32-team National Football League (NFL). Another professional league, the 5-team United Football League, also currently operates. Several semi-professional, women's semi-professional football, and indoor football leagues are also played across the country.

Calendar

Traditionally, football is an autumn sport. A season typically begins in mid-to-late August and runs through December, into January. The NFL playoffs run further through January, and the Super Bowl is often played in the first week of February. As such, the sport is played in a wide range of weather conditions, from the heat and humidity of late summer, to the cold winds and snow in mid-winter. Unlike rainouts in baseball, play is only generally postponed or canceled in very extreme conditions such as lightning and hurricanes.

The NFL draft is usually held in April, in which eligible college football players are selected by NFL teams, the order of selection determined by the teams' final regular season records.

It is a long-standing tradition in the United States (though not universally observed) that high school football games are played on Friday night, college games on Saturday, and professional games on Sunday.

In the 1970s, the NFL began to schedule one game on Monday nights. Beginning in 2006, the NFL began scheduling games on Thursday and Saturday nights after the college football regular season concludes in mid-November, aired on the NFL Network.

Nationally televised Thursday-night college games have become a weekly fixture on ESPN, and most nights of the week feature at least one college game, though most games are still played on the traditional Saturday.

Certain fall and winter holidays—such as the NFL's Thanksgiving Classic and numerous New Year's Day college bowl games—have traditional football games associated with them.

Despite this, there are a few professional leagues that have played in the spring, mainly to avoid competition with the established leagues. Examples include the now defunct XFL, the United States Football League, and the proposed All American Football League. Indoor football is played primarily in spring for this same reason.

At most levels of competition, college football teams hold several weeks of practices in the spring. These practices typically end with an intramural scrimmage open to the public. In certain areas, high school football teams also hold spring practices.

Outside the United States

Outside the United States, the sport is referred to as "American football" (or a translation thereof) to differentiate it from other football codes such as association football (soccer), rugby football, Australian rules football and Gaelic football. In Australia and New Zealand the game is also known as gridiron football, or more commonly as gridiron, although in the United States the term ''gridiron'' refers only to the playing field itself. The term ''gridiron'' has also been used in the UK to describe the game. In much of the world, the term football is unambiguous and refers to association football (known commonly as 'soccer' in the United States).

Exportation by the established U.S. leagues and organizations

In 1977, the semi-pro football teams Newton Nite Hawks and Chicago Lions completed a five-game tour in Europe. These were the first professional or semi-professional American football teams to play organized games on the European continent. Games were played in Versailles, France; Lille, France; Landstuhl, Germany; Gratz Austria; and Vienna, Austria.

In 1985, Bethany College head coach and future College Football Hall of Fame member Ted Kessinger brought the first American football team to play in Sweden. The Bethany "Terrible Swedes" defeated the Swedish all-star team 72–7 in Stockholm Olympic Stadium.

The NFL has attempted to introduce the game to other nations and operated a developmental league, NFL Europa (also known as the World League of American Football and NFL Europe) with teams in various European cities, but this league was closed down following the 2007 season. The professional Canadian Football League and collegiate Canadian Interuniversity Sport play under the slightly different Canadian rules.

Major American leagues have also held some regular season games outside of the United States. On October 2, 2005, the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers played the first regular season NFL game outside of the United States, in Mexico City's Estadio Azteca, From 2007, the NFL has played or has plans to play at least one regular season game outside of the United States during each season. The NCAA will also play games outside of the U.S. In 2012, The United States Naval Academy will play the University of Notre Dame in Dublin, Ireland.

Leagues by country

 — Gridiron Australia is the overall governing body for American football in Australia. The country is actually divided into state-level leagues instead of one national-level league by itself: ACT Gridiron (Australian Capital Territory), Gridiron NSW (New South Wales), Gridiron Queensland (Queensland), South Australian Gridiron Association (South Australia), Gridiron Victoria (Victoria), and Gridiron West (Western Australia).

 — The Belgian Football League fields 16 teams. The finalists from the playoffs determine the champion during the Belgian Bowl.

 — The Brazilian American Football League has 14 teams partitioned into north and south conferences.

 — The Vaahteraliiga or the ''Maple League'' has eight teams. The league's name comes from the name of the championship trophy ''Vaahteramalja'' ("Maple Bowl"), which was donated to the newly formed association by the embassy of Canada in Finland.

 — The German Football League has 12 teams partitioned into north and south conferences. The finalists from the playoffs determine the German champion during the German Bowl.

 — 18 registered teams participate in the MAFL's two-division league structure. The sport has grown significantly since 2004 and with some top Division I teams participating in the CEFL.

 — The Elite Football League of India (EFLI) is a proposed professional league in India. When play begins in late 2012, there will be eight teams, representing various cities across India with populations of one million or more. The ELFI will be India's first professional American football league, and its launch is backed by the Government of India and the Sports Authority of India. All of the first season's games will be held in Pune at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex.

 — The Irish American Football League consists of 14 teams. Its championship game is the Shamrock Bowl.

 — Games are governed by the Israeli Football League.

 — The Italian Football League was founded in 2008, taking over previous league (National Football League Italy). It has 9 teams for the 2010 season.

 — The X-League is a professional league with 60 teams in four divisions, using promotion and relegation. After the post-season playoffs, the X-League champion is determined in the Japan X Bowl. There are also over 200 universities fielding teams, with the national collegiate championship determined by the Koshien Bowl. The professional and collegiate champions then face each other in the Rice Bowl to determine the national champion.

 — The ONEFA is a college league with 26 teams in 3 conferences.

 — American Football Wellington comprises five teams located in the Wellington area.

 — A rising number of teams (11 in 2010) compete in a two division league structure (division I which determines a national champion by a postseason playoff, and division 2 where newer and smaller teams are allowed to mature). Two teams (Oslo Vikings and Eidsvoll 1814s) regularly compete in either the European Football League or the EFAF Cup. Eidsvoll was the runner-up in EFAF Cup 2006.

 — Games are governed by the Polish American Football League.

 — Teams in the Nacionalna Liga Srbije compete in the Serbian Bowl.

 — The LNFA was founded in 1995, and currently consists of 15 clubs.

 — 70 amateur teams play in the BAFA Community Leagues (BAFACL) across a number of age ranges. The senior (adult) league has three levels: the Premiership, comprising six teams; Division 1, comprising 18 teams split across three regional conferences; and Division 2, comprising 23 teams split across four regional conferences. While the lower level teams have their own championship games during BritBowl Weekend, only Premier Division teams face each other in the BritBowl which is held in Worcester's Sixways Stadium. Unlike the NFL, the BAFACL season is played through the summer (April to September), with the British university season spanning the autumn and winter.

The IFAF and the American Football World Cup

The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) is the ''de facto'' governing body for American football, with 45 member associations from North and South America, Europe, Asia and Oceania. The organization is headquartered in La Courneuve, France. Although the IFAF has relatively little standing in the U.S. compared to the NFL, NCAA, and the other established aforementioned bodies, these same organizations also give support to USA Football, the designated U.S. representative to the IFAF.

The IFAF also oversees the American Football World Cup, which is held every four years. Japan won the first two World Cups, held in 1999 and 2003. Team USA, which had not participated in the previous World Cups, won the title in 2007.

A long term goal of the IFAF is for American football to be accepted by the International Olympic Committee as an Olympic sport. The only time that the sport was played was at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, but as a demonstration sport.

See also

American football on Thanksgiving

Comparison of American and Canadian football

Comparison of American football and rugby league

Fantasy football (American)

Glossary of American football

Lists of American football players

List of American football stadiums by capacity

List of American football teams in Belgium

List of American football teams in Germany

List of American football teams in the Netherlands

List of defunct sports leagues

Pro Football Hall of Fame

Sports nutrition

Sprint Football

Steroid use in American football

Strat-O-Matic Football

Street football (American)

References

Notes

Bibliography

Further reading

''Sports Illustrated'' magazine dated December 4, 2005; "Football America", a series of articles attesting to the pervasive popularity of American football in the United States at all levels.

External links

Movie of 1903 football game between the University of Chicago and the University of Michigan

National Football League Official Signals.

Brief explanation of the sport by the BBC aimed at a non-american audience

American Youth Football

Category:Sports originating in the United States Category:1869 introductions Category:Football codes

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Name	Nick Jonas
Birth name	Nicholas Jerry Jonas
Background	solo_singer
Born	September 16, 1992Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Origin	Wyckoff, New Jersey,U.S.
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, drums, piano, glockenspiel
Genre	Teen pop, pop rock
Occupation	Vocalist, musician, actor, singer–songwriter
Years active	2002–present
Label	Hollywood, Columbia
Associated acts	Jonas Brothers, Nick Jonas & The Administration, Miley Cyrus
Notable instruments	Gibson SGFender TelecasterGibson ES-335 }}

Nicholas Jerry "Nick" Jonas (born September 16, 1992) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actor best known as one of the Jonas Brothers, a pop-rock band he formed with his brothers Joe and Kevin. The Jonas Brothers originally started as an attempted solo singing career for Nick, but the record producer liked the sound when his brothers sang backup for him. He previously starred in the Disney Channel original series ''JONAS L.A.'' as Nick Lucas, alongside his brothers. He also starred in the Disney Channel original movie ''Camp Rock'' and ''Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam''. He formed the band Nick Jonas & The Administration, which released its first album in 2010.

Personal life

Jonas was born in Dallas, Texas. His mother, Denise (née Miller), is a former sign language teacher and singer, and his father, Paul Kevin Jonas, Sr., is a songwriter, musician, and former ordained minister at an Assemblies of God church. He was raised in Wyckoff, New Jersey and homeschooled by his mother. Nick is of Italian (from a great-grandfather), German, Irish, English, Cherokee, and French-Canadian descent.

Jonas was diagnosed with Type I diabetes at the age of thirteen and wears an OmniPod insulin pump to help him manage his condition. He has developed the Change for the Children Foundation. Partnering with five different charities, their goal is to raise money and awareness for diabetes. He also developed a public service announcement with the Washington Nationals to support diabetes care at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

Since August 6, 2008, Bayer Diabetes Care has partnered with Jonas as a diabetes ambassador to promote the idea for young people to manage their diabetes. Jonas testified in the U.S. Senate to promote more research funding for the condition.

Singer and actress Miley Cyrus has stated that she dated Jonas from June 2006 to December 2007. Cyrus claimed they were "in love" and began dating soon after they first met. Nick is currently dating singer Delta Goodrem.

Acting

Theatre

Jonas's career started when he was discovered at the age of six in a barber shop, while his mother was getting her hair cut and was referred to a professional show business manager. At the age of 7, he began performing on Broadway. He had acted in several plays, including ''A Christmas Carol'' (in 2000 as Tiny Tim and Scrooge at eight), ''Annie Get Your Gun'' (in 2001 as Little Jake), ''Beauty and the Beast'' (in 2002 as Chip), and ''Les Misérables'' (in 2003 as Gavroche). After ''Les Misérables'' closed, he performed in ''The Sound of Music'' (as Kurt) at the Paper Mill Playhouse.

On June 21, 2010, Jonas made his West End debut performing in ''Les Misérables'' for the second time, but this time as the role of Marius Pontmercy. Jonas was originally supposed to play the role for only three weeks, but was able to extend his run until July 24, 2010, because of changes in the Jonas Brothers tour schedule. He also appeared in the 25th Anniversary Concert at The O2 Arena on October 3, 2010, again playing the role of Marius Pontmercy.

From August 5–7, 2011, Jonas performed in the musical ''Hairspray'' as Link Larkin. On September 7, 2011, Jonas announced through twitter he will be on Broadway again in 2012 in the musical "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" starring as J. Pierrepont Finch.

Television

On August 17, 2007, Jonas, along with his brothers, guest starred in an episode of ''Hannah Montana'', which aired after the premiere of ''High School Musical 2'' and the Disney Channel show ''Phineas and Ferb''. The episode broke basic cable records with a record 10.7 million viewers and became basic cable's most watched series telecast ever.

Jonas and his brothers filmed a Disney Channel Original Movie called ''Camp Rock'' where they play a band called "Connect Three." Joe plays the lead male role as lead singer "Shane Gray"; Nick plays the role of "Nate," a guitarist; and Kevin plays the role of "Jason," also a guitarist. A soundtrack for the movie was released on June 17, 2008. The movie premiered on June 20, 2008, in the USA on Disney Channel, and Canada on Family. Production began on the sequel, Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam in September 2009 and it premiered during the summer of 2010.

The reality short series, ''Jonas Brothers: Living the Dream'', premiered on Disney Channel on May 16, 2008. The show, which ran until September 5, 2008, documents the brothers' lives on the Look Me In The Eyes Tour. The name was inspired by the band's hit song "When You Look Me in the Eyes". The series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on March 21, 2010. The second season follows the band on the European leg of their World Tour 2009.

Jonas and his brothers previously starred in the Disney Channel Original Series ''JONAS'' about a pop band trying to live a normal life, which premiered May 2, 2009 and concluded on March 14, 2010. Filming for the second season began in February 2010. The second season was renamed ''Jonas L.A.'', and premiered on June 20, 2010. On November 8, 2010, it was announced that the series had been cancelled.

Jonas appeared in the 2011 series ''Mr. Sunshine''; he played Eli White, an up-and-coming singer who wants everything his way before he performs at the Sunshine Center. He also plays the role of Ryan on the sitcom ''Last Man Standing''. In 2012 he appears in a brand new show called Smash were he plays the role of Lyle West, the episode appeares on February 27, 2012.

Singing

Solo artist

In 2002, while performing in ''Beauty and the Beast'', Nick had written a song with his father called "Joy to the World (A Christmas Prayer)." With background vocals from the ''Beauty and the Beast'' cast, Nick performed the song on the 2002 annual Broadway "Equity Fights AIDS" album, ''Broadway's Greatest Gifts: Carols for a Cure, Vol. 4''. In November 2003, INO Records received a demo copy of "Joy To The World (A Christmas Prayer)". The label released the song to Christian radio, where it quickly became popular on Record & Radio's Christian Adult Contemporary Chart. While Nick was working on his solo project, Joe followed in his footsteps to Broadway, appearing in Baz Luhrmann's production of ''La Boheme''.

By September 2004, an executive at Columbia Records found out about Nick's song. Nick was soon jointly signed to INO Records and Columbia Records and released the single "Dear God". A second single, "Joy to the World (A Christmas Prayer)" (a new solo recording), was released on November 16. It was supposed to be followed by a December release of a self-titled solo album ''Nicholas Jonas'', but the album was pushed back. It did, however, get a limited release. Nick, along with Kevin and Joe, had written several other songs for the album.

In early 2005, Columbia Records' new president, Steve Greenberg, listened to Nick's record. While Greenberg did not like the album, he did like Nick's voice.

Jonas is currently working on a side project from the Jonas Brothers called "Nick Jonas and the Administration". Their debut album ''Who I Am'' was released February 2, 2010. The band members consist of Tommy Barbarella on keyboard, Michael Bland on drums, John Fields on bass, and David Ryan Harris on guitar. Although David Ryan Harris recorded guitar in the studio for ''Who I Am'' he was unable to go on tour with the rest of band and was ultimately replaced by Sonny Thompson.

In January 2010, Jonas embarked on the Who I Am Tour with the Administration. This was Jonas' first tour without his brothers. The tour consisted of 22 dates that began on January 2, 2010, in Dallas, Texas and concluded on January 30, 2010, in Berkeley, California.

In September 2011 and October 2011, Nick Jonas & The Administration began touring through South America in support of their debut album, Who I Am.

Jonas Brothers

After meeting with Jonas and hearing the song, "Please Be Mine", written and performed by the brothers, Daylight/Columbia Records decided to sign the three as a group act. After being signed to Columbia, the brothers considered naming their group "Sons of Jonas" before settling on the name "Jonas Brothers."

''It's About Time'', the brothers' first album was released on August 8, 2006. According to the band's manager, it was only a "limited release" of a little over 50,000 copies. Because Sony was not interested in further promoting the band, the Jonas Brothers considered switching labels. The band was ultimately dropped by Columbia Records in early 2007.

After shortly being without a label, the Jonas Brothers signed with Hollywood Records in February 2007. Around the same time, brothers began appearing in commercials for Baby Bottle Pops, singing the jingle. Their self-titled second album, ''Jonas Brothers'', was released on August 7, 2007. It reached number five on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart in its first week. It has since sold over three million copies worldwide.

The Jonas Brothers' third studio album, ''A Little Bit Longer'', was released in the United States on August 12, 2008. It sold over 2 million copies worldwide. The Jonas Brothers were listed number 9 on the richest pop acts of 2008. The Jonas Brothers' Fourth studio album, ''Lines, Vines and Trying Times'', was released in the United States in June, 2009.

Discography

Studio albums

! Year	! Album details
2004	style="text-align:left;"	* Release date: December 16, 2004	* Label:
! Year	! Single	! Album

Featured Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions							Album
		! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"
	style="text-align:left;"	30	—	97	97	41	70	—	style="text-align:left;" rowspan="1"
	style="text-align:left;"	20	—	—	—	94	—	—
		2	—	18	50	7	—	9

1. The Jonas Brothers recorded the song with other artists; Nick was the only one of the three who had a solo part in the song.

   Promotional Singles

   Year	Single	Peak chart positions						Album
   		! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"
   		18	20	56	57	22	42	style="text-align:left;" rowspan="1"
   	11	20	—	—	10	—

   Other charted songs

   Year	Song	Chart positions								Album
   		! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"
   		92	—	53	51	44	68	73	32	style="text-align:left;"

   Awards and nominations

   !Year	!Title	!Award	!Nominated work	!Result
   2009	[[Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica">INO Records

   Singles

   ! Year	! Single	! Album

   Featured Singles

   Year	Single	Peak chart positions							Album
   		! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"
   	style="text-align:left;"	30	—	97	97	41	70	—	style="text-align:left;" rowspan="1"
   	style="text-align:left;"	20	—	—	—	94	—	—
   		2	—	18	50	7	—	9

   1. The Jonas Brothers recorded the song with other artists; Nick was the only one of the three who had a solo part in the song.

      Promotional Singles

      Year	Single	Peak chart positions						Album
      		! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"
      		18	20	56	57	22	42	style="text-align:left;" rowspan="1"
      	11	20	—	—	10	—

      Other charted songs

      Year	Song	Chart positions								Album
      		! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"	! style="width:30px;"
      		92	—	53	51	44	68	73	32	style="text-align:left;"

      Awards and nominations

      !Year	!Title	!Award	!Nominated work	!Result
      2009	[[Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica	"Best Fashionista (Most Fashionable)"	Himself
      	Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards	"Favorite TV Actor"	Himself
      rowspan="2"	Choice Music: Love Song
      Choice Breakout Artist: Male	Nick Jonas & The Administration
      	Iconic TV Actor	Himself, Jonas L.A
      Iconic Male Star	Himself
      Iconic Of The Year	Himself
      Young Hollywood Awards	"Young hollywood Artist of the year"	Himself
      	Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards	"Favorite TV Actor"	Himself
      	Iconic Couple [Couples dating or have dated in 2011]	Nick Jonas & Delta Goodrem
      Iconic Male Star	Himself
      Iconic Triple Threat[Acting, singing, and dancing]	Himself
      DRLC	DREAM Award	Himself

      Tours

      In January 2010, Nick Jonas & The Administration began touring in support of their debut album, Who I Am. Apart from guest appearances at specific events, it marks the first time Nick has toured without his brothers, Kevin and Joe.

      In September 2011 and October 2011, Nick Jonas & The Administration began touring through South America in support of their debut album, Who I Am.

      Filmography

      Film
      ! Year	! Film	! Role	! Notes
      		Himself	3D Concert film
      ''Camp Rock''	Nate	Made for television
      	''Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience''	Himself	3D Concert film
      ''Band in a Bus''	Himself	Reality DVD
      ''Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian	Cherub	Film
      	''Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam''	Nate	Made for television; Completed
      	Marius Pontmercy	Limited theatrical release; Released on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK November 29, 2010
      2011	Jonas Brothers: The Journey	Himself	(Unauthorized Documentary)
      TV Series
      ! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
      2007	''Hannah Montana''	Himself	"Me and Mr. Jonas and Mr. Jonas and Mr. Jonas" (Season 2, Episode 16)
      2008,2010	''Jonas Brothers: Living the Dream''	Himself	Reality series
      2009–2010	''JONAS L.A.''	Nick Lucas	Disney Channel Original Series
      		Eli White	"Employee Of The Year" (Season 1, Episode 2)
      	Ryan	"Last Christmas Standing" (Season 1, Episode 10)
      2012		Lyle West	"The Cost Of Art" (Season 1, Episode 4)
      Guest appearances
      ! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
      	''Studio DC: Almost Live''	Himself	Second show
      ''Extreme Makeover: Home Edition''	Himself	"The Akers Family" (Season 6, Episode 2)
      	''Saturday Night Live''	Himself	February 14, 2009 episode
      ''The Grammy Nominations Concert Live!''	Himself	December 2, 2009 episode
      	''Live with Regis and Kelly''	Himself (Co-Host)	January 8, 2010 episode
      ''Minute to Win It''	Himself	May 12, 2010 episode
      ''Good Morning America''	Himself	May 13, 2010 episode
      ''I Get That a Lot''	Himself	May 19, 2010 episode
      ''Extreme Makeover: Home Edition''	Himself	"The Heathcock Family" (Season 7, Episode 17)
      		Himself	February 15, 2011 episode
      	Himself	June 8, 2011 episode
      ''Dancing With The Stars''	Himself	Audience Member
      ''The Chew''	Himself	November 11, 2011 episode
      	''Live With Kelly''	Himself	January 26, 2012 episode
      ''Good Morning America''	Himself	January 26, 2012 episode
      Music video
      Year	Title	Artist	Role
      2011	''My Time''	Gabrielle Giguere	Producer, cameo
      Musicals
      ! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
      2000		Tiny Tim
      2001		Little Jake
      2002		Chip
      		Gavroche
      ''The Sound of Music''	Kurt
      2010		Marius Pontmercy	June 21, 2010 - July 24, 2010 ; October 3, 2010 (25th Anniversary Concert)
      2011		Link Larkin	August 5, 2011 - August 7, 2011
      2012	''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying''	J. Pierrepont Finch	January 24, 2012 - July 1, 2012

      References

      External links

      Category:1992 births Category:Actors from New Jersey Category:American child actors Category:American child singers Category:American Christians Category:American drummers Category:American film actors Category:American male singers Category:American multi-instrumentalists Category:American musicians of Italian descent Category:American people of German descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of Italian descent Category:American people of Cherokee descent Category:American pop guitarists Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American stage actors Category:American television actors Category:Jonas Brothers members Category:Living people Category:Musicians from New Jersey Category:People from Wyckoff, New Jersey

      ar:نيك جوناس az:Nik Conas bg:Ник Джонас ca:Nick Jonas cs:Nick Jonas da:Nick Jonas de:Nick Jonas et:Nick Jonas es:Nick Jonas eu:Nick Jonas fr:Nick Jonas id:Nick Jonas it:Nick Jonas he:ניק ג'ונאס jv:Nick Jonas hu:Nick Jonas nl:Nick Jonas ja:ニック・ジョナス no:Nick Jonas nn:Nick Jonas pl:Nick Jonas pt:Nick Jonas ro:Nick Jonas ru:Джонас, Ник sl:Nick Jonas sh:Nick Jonas fi:Nick Jonas sv:Nick Jonas tl:Nick Jonas th:นิก โจนาส tr:Nick Jonas uk:Нік Джонас vi:Nick Jonas

name	Edie Brickell
background	solo_singer
birth name	Edie Arlisa Brickell
birth date	March 10, 1966
origin	Oak Cliff, Dallas, Texas, United States
genre	Alternative rockFolk rockJangle popJam rockNew waveNeo-psychedeliaPop rock
occupation	Singer-songwriter, guitarist
years active	1985–present
label	Geffen
associated acts	Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, The Heavy Circles, The Gaddabouts
website	www.ediebrickell.com
notable instruments	}}

'' Edie Arlisa Brickell (born March 10, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter best known for 1988's ''Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars'', the debut album by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, which went #4 on the US Albums Chart.

Life and career

Brickell was born in Oak Cliff, Dallas, Texas. She attended high school at the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas. She attended Southern Methodist University for a year and a half. In 1985, she made the decision one night in a bar to get up on stage with a local folk rock group, New Bohemians. She would join the band as lead singer. After the band was signed to a recording contract, the label changed the group's name to Edie Brickell & New Bohemians. Their 1988 debut album ''Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars'' became a critical and commercial success, with the big hit, "What I Am." The band's follow-up album, ''Ghost of a Dog'' (1990), did not fare as well. As a solo artist, Brickell released ''Picture Perfect Morning'' (1994) and ''Volcano'' (2003). In 2006 she reunited with some of the original members of New Bohemians and they released the album ''Stranger Things''.

In late 2007, Brickell and her stepson Harper Simon formed the band The Heavy Circles. They released a single on iTunes entitled "Hands On." The Heavy Circles released a debut album on February 12, 2008, featuring Sean Lennon, Martha Wainwright, and members of Cibo Matto.

In 2010, Brickell became a founding member of new band The Gaddabouts, consisting of Steve Gadd - drums, Edie Brickell - lead vocal, guitar, Andy Fairweather Low - electric & acoustic guitars, background vocals, Pino Palladino - bass, guitar, also featuring Dan Block, Ronnie Cuber, Joey DeFrancesco, Gil Goldstein, Marcus Rojas.http://www.thegaddabouts.com/the-band/

Brickell had a role as a folk singer in the 1989 film, ''Born on the Fourth of July''. Her version of Bob Dylan's "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" is featured on the film's soundtrack. She also sang a cover version of Lou Reed's Walk on the Wild Side in the 1990 film Flashback. Her "Good Times" video was included as part of the multimedia samples on the Windows 95 installation CD-ROM.

Her father, Eddie Brickell, "the Fort Worth Southpaw", was posthumously inducted into the Texas State Bowling Association Hall of Fame in 1988.

Brickell married singer-songwriter Paul Simon on May 30, 1992. Brickell was performing on NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'' on Saturday November 5, 1988 when she noticed Simon standing in front of the cameraman. "He made me mess the song up when I looked at him," she said with a smile. "We can show the kids the tape and say, 'Look, that's when we first laid eyes on each other.'" Brickell and Simon have three children - Adrian, Lulu and Gabriel.

Discography

''It's Like This...'' (1986)

''Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars'' (1988) US #4, 2x platinum

''Ghost of a Dog'' (1990)

''Picture Perfect Morning'' (1994)

''The Live Montauk Sessions'' (2000)

''The Ultimate Collection'' (2002)

''Volcano'' (2003)

''Stranger Things'' (2006)

''The Heavy Circles'' (2008)

''Edie Brickell'' (2011)

''The Gaddabouts'' (2011)

Other contributions

''Microsoft Windows 95'' (1995) - "Good Times" Video

''WFUV: City Folk Live VII'' (2004) - "Take a Walk"

References

External links

Edie Brickell official website

New Bohemians official website

[ Edie Brickell] in Allmusic

Category:1966 births Category:American female singers Category:American pop singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:Songwriters from Texas Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Dallas, Texas

af:Edie Brickell da:Edie Brickell de:Edie Brickell es:Edie Brickell fr:Edie Brickell it:Edie Brickell hu:Edie Brickell nl:Edie Brickell no:Edie Brickell pl:Edie Brickell pt:Edie Brickell fi:Edie Brickell sv:Edie Brickell

name	Casting Crowns
background	group_or_band
origin	Daytona Beach, Florida, USA
genre	Contemporary ChristianChristian rockSoft rock
years active	1999–present
label	Sony BMG/Beach Street/Reunion (U.S.)Sony Music Philippines (Philippines)
website	castingcrowns.com
current members	Mark Hall (lead vocals)Juan DeVevo (lead guitar)Hector Cervantes (rhythm guitar)Melodee DeVevo (violin, backing vocals)Megan Garrett (piano)Chris Huffman (bass guitar)Brian Scoggin (drums)
past members	Andy Williams (drums)
notable instruments	}}

Casting Crowns is a Grammy Award and Dove Award winning Contemporary Christian/Christian Rock band. Casting Crowns was started in 1999 by youth pastor Mark Hall at First Baptist Church in Downtown Daytona Beach, Florida as part of a youth group. He now serves as a lead vocalist. Later they moved to Stockbridge, Georgia and more members joined creating the band now known as Casting Crowns. Some members of the band currently work as ministers for Eagles Landing First Baptist Church in Stockbridge, Georgia.

History

Formation and self-titled debut

Christian rock group Casting Crowns began as a student worship band in Daytona Beach, FL, in 1999. Led by singer, songwriter, and youth pastor Mark Hall, the group initially included guitarists Juan DeVevo and Hector Cervantes and violinist Melodee DeVevo. The group relocated to Stockbridge, GA, in 2001, adding Chris Huffman on bass, Megan Garrett on keyboards and accordion, and drummer Andy Williams. This augmented version of Casting Crowns released two independent albums on CD, both of which were well received in the Atlanta area. Both independent albums were efforts on the part of Mark Hall and the rest of the group as outreach projects for youth in the area. The group won the GMA regional songwriters competition at Palm Beach Atlantic University, West Palm Beach, Florida in both the "Best Song" and the "Best Artist" categories in 2004. Although the group was not searching for a record label, one of the group's albums found its way into the hands of Mark Miller, lead singer for country group Sawyer Brown, who was struck by Casting Crowns' driving pop/rock style and Hall's vocal delivery of his hard-hitting but devout songs. Miller signed Casting Crowns to his fledgling Beach Street Records, a division of Reunion Records with distribution by the Provident Label Group, making Casting Crowns the first artist signed to Beach Street Records.

Mark Miller took the group into the studio along with co-producer Steven Curtis Chapman, himself a popular artist on the CCM musical scene. The resulting eponymous album, ''Casting Crowns'', was released in 2003 on the Beach Street imprint. The album quickly made them one of the fastest selling debut artists in Christian music history. The album's third single, "Voice of Truth", spent a record-breaking fourteen consecutive weeks at #1 beginning in 2003. The album was certified platinum in 2005.

''Lifesong'' and ''Lifesong Live'' (2005-2006)

''Lifesong'' followed in 2005, debuting at #9 on the ''Billboard'' 200 Albums Chart. The album had three singles: “Lifesong”, “Praise You in this Storm”, and “ Does Anybody Hear Her?”. "Lifesong" spent nine weeks in the top spot, with "Praise You in This Storm" remaining at #1 for seven weeks. Apart from being successful in the charts, ''Lifesong'' earned Casting Crowns their first Grammy Award for their work on the album in 2006.

In 2006, the group released ''Lifesong Live'', which included live performances of songs from their studio album ''Lifesong''.

''The Altar and the Door'' and ''The Altar and the Door Live'' (2007-2008)

The band's third studio album ''The Altar and the Door'' debuted at #2 on the ''Billboard'' 200 Albums Chart and #1 on the Hot Christian Albums chart upon its release in August 2007. Ten weeks after the album’s release date, it was certified gold by the RIAA. On September 27, 2007 the band embarked on the ‘Altar and the Door’ tour with Leeland and John Waller . The tour was highly successful, grossing $4.4 million ticket sales. Casting Crowns broke their own record in 2007 when the single "East to West" from ''The Altar and the Door'' hit sixteen consecutive weeks at #1. The song ended up enjoying the top spot for a total of nineteen weeks, now their most successful single to date. "Slow Fade" was also released as a single, and was included in the soundtrack of the Kirk Cameron film ''Fireproof''.

In 2008, Casting Crowns scored their eighth number one hit with "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day", a track from their newly-released Christmas album entitled ''Peace on Earth''.

''Until the Whole World Hears'' (2009-2011)

In early 2009, drummer Andy Williams left to pursue a further calling with blessings from the band. The drummer was replaced with Brian Scoggin and his red locks of hair, an irony Mark mentions on tour.

Casting Crowns was one of the only American bands to ever have been invited to North Korea. They attended the 2009 April Spring Arts Festival in Pyongyang where they performed with The Annie Moses Band. This was Casting Crowns second time invited to the Festival sponsored by Global Resource Services, the first time being in 2007. On August 30, 2009 Casting Crowns performed on Huckabee, Mike Huckabee's political show.

Casting Crown's fourth major studio album, ''Until the Whole World Hears'', was released on November 17, 2009, debuting at #4 on the Billboard 200 and selling over 167,000 copies in its first week alone, setting a new record for the highest Christian album debut in history. It was certified gold within 4 weeks. The title track and first single from the album became the groups ninth #1 single in January 2010. Before the album was released, the band went on tour with Matt Redman for the fall Until The Whole World Hears Tour. They went on the first spring leg of the tour with Kutless, and toured with Tenth Avenue North on the second spring leg.

In April 2010, Casting Crowns won the Dove Award for Artist of the Year, their first ever win in that category. A music video for the title track of ''Until the Whole World Hears'' was posted on the band's YouTube page on August 23, 2010.

The track ''Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me)'' was released as a single in 2011 and reached #1 on Billboard Christian Songs during the week of April 23, 2011.

''Come to the Well'' (2011-present)

Casting Crowns' latest song, "Courageous", was released was released as a single on July 19, 2011. The music video for the song was released on June 14, 2011 and promotes the upcoming Christian film ''Courageous''. The song will be featured on their upcoming album, ''Come to the Well'' which will be released on October 18, 2011.

On July 26, 2011, the group received their first ever gold certification for a single, for the song 'Who Am I' from their debut record.

Ministry

Casting Crowns frontman Mark Hall calls the band's work a ministry akin to what the world would call "preaching to the choir." In keeping with The Great Commission, Hall describes their music as a "ministry of discipleship."

Four members of Casting Crowns currently minister at Eagle's Landing First Baptist Church in McDonough, GA where they play during the Contemporary Worship service on Sunday mornings. They do the band part-time around their full-time work of mentoring teenagers at the church. They often tour from Thursday- Saturday so that they can be home for church on Sunday morning and Wednesday night.

Members

Current

Mark Hall – lead vocals and songwriter (1999–Present)

Hector Cervantes – lead guitar and background vocals (1999–Present)

Juan Devevo – guitar and background vocals (1999–Present)

Chris Huffman – bass (2001–Present)

Megan Garrett – piano, keyboards, backing vocals (2001–Present)

Melodee Devevo – violin, backing vocals, cello (1999–Present)

Brian Scoggin – drums (2009–Present)

Former

Andy Williams - drums (2001–2009)

Books

''Lifestories'' by Mark Hall

''Your Own Jesus'' by Mark Hall

Producers/Executive Producers

Steven Curtis Chapman - Producer for album ''Casting Crowns''

Mark A. Miller - Producer for albums ''Casting Crowns'', ''Lifesong'', ''The Altar and the Door'', and ''Until The Whole World Hears''

Terry Hemmings - Executive Producer for album ''Lifesong'', ''The Altar and the Door'', and ''Until The Whole World Hears''

Discography

Studio albums

2003: ''Casting Crowns''

2005: ''Lifesong''

2007: ''The Altar and the Door''

2008: ''Peace on Earth''

2009: ''Until the Whole World Hears''

2011: ''Come to the Well''

Live albums

2004: ''Live from Atlanta''

2006: ''Lifesong Live''

2008: ''The Altar and the Door Live''

2010: ''Until the Whole World Hears... Live''

Music videos

''American Dream''

''Does Anybody Hear Her''

''Slow Fade''

''Until the Whole World Hears''

''Courageous''

Achievements

Career sales have exceeded 5 million records.

Voted CCM Readers' Choice Awards "Favorite Band", "Favorite New Artist" and "Favorite Album" in 2005.

"Lifesong" voted "Inspirational Single of the Year" by online music fans in the 2005 CCMSingles.Net Awards.

"Praise You in this Storm" was the fifth most played song of 2006 according to R&R; magazine

"East To West" voted "AC Single of the Year" and "Inspirational Single of the Year" by online music fans in the 2007 CCMSingles.Net Awards.

Casting Crowns was the most played artist on Christian Radio in 2007, according Radio & Records Weekly charts (12/10).

Casting Crowns is the second fastest Christian band in history to have their first two albums certified platinum, the fastest being Jars of Clay.

;GMA Dove Awards

Year	! Award	! Result
!rowspan="4"	New Artist of the Year
Song of the Year ("If We Are the Body")
Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year ("If We Are the Body")
!rowspan="7"	Artist of the Year
Group of the Year
Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year ("Who Am I")
Worship Song of the Year (“Who Am I”)
!rowspan="5"	Artist of the Year
Group of the Year
Song of the Year ("
Pop Contemporary Album of the Year (''[[Lifesong">Lifesong (song)
Pop Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year ("Lifesong")
Pop Contemporary Album of the Year (''[[Lifesong'')
!rowspan="4"	Artist of the Year
Group of the Year
Song of the Year ("Praise You In This Storm")
Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year ("Praise You In This Storm")
!rowspan="6"	Artist of the Year
Group of the Year
Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year ("The Altar and the Door")
Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year ("East to West")
Praise & Worship Song of the Year ("Praise You In This Storm")
!rowspan="5"	Artist of the Year
Group of the Year
Short Form Music Video of the Year ("Slow Fade")
Long Form Music Video of the Year (''The Altar and the Door Live'')
!rowspan="3"	Artist of the Year
Group of the Year
!rowspan="2"	Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year (''Until the Whole World Hears'')
Long Form Music Video of the Year (''Until the Whole World Hears... Live'')

;Grammy Awards

Year	! Award	! Work
! rowspan=1	Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year	''Lifesong''

Partnerships and Endorsements

Partnerships

Jumpstart Resources

World Vision

Covenant Eyes

Endorsements

Gibson Guitars

Avalon Guitars

Vesper Guitars

Audix Microphones

Westone In Ear Monitors

Pro Mark Drum Sticks

Ultimate Microphone Stands

Paul Reed Smith Guitars

Istanbul Agop Cymbals

C&C; Drums

References

External links

Casting Crowns official site

Jump Start Resources web site -- this web site was created by Mark Hall as a source of materials for Christian youth leaders on low budgets. The web site is given on the CD tray label of the British version of the first album.

Casting Crowns ''Artist Profile'' on Christian Music Review

''The Altar and the Door'' album review on Christian Music Review

Casting Crowns on WorshipSong

The Altar & The Door Tour 2009 concert review from NewReleaseTuesday.com

Category:American pop music groups Category:Christian rock groups from Florida Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Musical groups established in 1999 Category:Musical septets Category:People from Volusia County, Florida Category:Sony BMG artists

da:Casting Crowns de:Casting Crowns es:Casting Crowns fr:Casting Crowns it:Casting Crowns nl:Casting Crowns pl:Casting Crowns pt:Casting Crowns simple:Casting Crowns sk:Casting Crowns sv:Casting Crowns

name	Jessica Andrews
background	solo_singer
birth name	Jessica Danielle Andrews
birth date	December 29, 1983
origin	Huntingdon, Tennessee, USA
instrument	Vocals
genre	Country
occupation	Singer
years active	1998–present
label	DreamWorks NashvilleCarolwood
associated acts	MarcelBret Michaels
website	}}

Jessica Danielle Andrews (born December 29, 1983 in Huntingdon, Tennessee) is an American country music singer. At age 15 in mid-1999, she made her debut on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts with the single "I Will Be There for You", from her debut album ''Heart Shaped World'', released in 1999 on DreamWorks Records Nashville.

Andrews saw her biggest chart success in 2001 with the song "Who I Am", a #1 country hit and the title track to her second studio album, which was certified gold in the United States. A third album, ''Now'' was released in 2003 to lower sales, while a fourth album (tentatively titled ''Ain't That Life'') was never released due to DreamWorks' closure. In late 2008, Andrews signed to Carolwood Records, an imprint of Lyric Street Records, however, she was dropped from the label in 2009 without issuing an album.

Early life

Jessica Andrews was born in Huntingdon, Tennessee to parents Jessie and Vicki Andrews. When she was seven, a bone was growing through her spinal cord, a condition that required surgery. She had a 50/50 chance of coming out of it paralyzed. Andrews learned her passion for singing in the fourth grade. Andrews planned on dancing in her school's talent show, but her sister convinced her to sing Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" instead. At 11, she put her first band together. Meanwhile, after someone sent a song of her singing to producer Byron Gallimore, Andrews signed with DreamWorks Records Nashville and soon began working on her first album. Prior to its release, she began opening for Faith Hill on her Fall 1998 tour, as well as for Tim McGraw (also produced by Gallimore) for his New Year's Eve concert.

Career

''Heart Shaped World''

At the age of 15, Andrews released her debut album, ''Heart Shaped World''. Sensitive to her age, she and Gallimore recorded 50 songs before settling on the twelve that appear on the album. Serving as its debut single was "I Will Be There for You", which reached #28 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts in 1999. In March of that year, she also performed the song on an episode of the soap opera ''Another World''; One month later, she made her debut on the Grand Ole Opry. Also in 2000, she toured with Trisha Yearwood. ''Heart Shaped World'' also produced two more Top 40 country singles in "You Go First (Do You Wanna Kiss)" and "Unbreakable Heart", although the fourth single ("I Do Now") failed to reach Top 40. The album itself peaked at #24 on the Top Country Albums charts. Andrews was also featured on the premiere episode of ''On the Verge'', a television series on CMT which followed the careers of up-and-coming country artists. On May 3, 2000, Andrews was invited to sing "Unbreakable Heart" at the ACM Awards, where she was nominated for Top New Female Vocalist, along with Julie Reeves and Chalee Tennison.

''Who I Am''

''Who I Am'' was the title of Andrews' second album, released in 2001. It was used as the theme song for the police drama ''Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye'' where the main character Sue Thomas (played by deaf actress Deanne Bray) was a deaf FBI officer, landing a position in an FBI Surveillance team thanks to her lip reading talents.

Andrews, who was 17 years old when ''Who I Am'' was recorded, described the album as a more mature effort than ''Heart Shaped World'', because it focused more on the emotions that come with growing up. Serving as the album's lead-off single, "Who I Am" became, to date, Andrews' only Number One (and only Top Ten) hit on the country music charts, in addition to peaking at #28 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks charts. In a 2001 interview, Andrews explained that she recorded the song (which was written by Brett James and Troy Verges) because she felt that its lyrics were especially fitting to her own life: "Everything is so true in that song, except that my grandmother's name is not Rosemary. It's about believing in yourself and being supported by those around you. No matter how many mistakes you make, your friends and family will be there for you." Also included on the album was Andrews' first songwriting credit in the track "Good Friend to Me", which she co-wrote with Annie Roboff and Bekka Bramlett.

Andrews spent 2001 on tour with Billy Gilman to help promote her second album and its lead-off single; she would later tour with Tim McGraw as well. The success of "Who I Am" also earned Andrews a Top New Female Vocalist award from the Academy of Country Music, while the album itself received RIAA gold certification for sales of 500,000 copies only four weeks after its release. Its second and third singles, "Helplessly, Hopelessly" and "Karma", peaked at #31 and #47, respectively, on the country charts.

''Now'' and ''Ain't That Life''

''Now'' was the title of Andrews' third studio album, also released on DreamWorks Nashville. Its lead-off single, "There's More to Me Than You", reached Top 20 on the country singles charts, while the second (and final) single, "Good Time", failed to make Top 40. The album featured more of an emphasis on ballads than her first two albums did. Also in 2003, she befriended and began dating songwriter Marcel, co-writer of "There's More to Me Than You".

In late 2004, Andrews charted a duet with Bret Michaels of the rock band Poison, entitled "All I Ever Needed" for his solo album ''Freedom of Sound''. The song was Michaels' only country hit, peaking at #45. Shortly afterward, Andrews began work on her fourth studio album, tentatively titled ''Ain't That Life''. Its lead-off single, "The Marrying Kind", failed to chart, while "Summer Girl", the second single, peaked at #46 in mid-2005. DreamWorks' recording division was dissolved shortly afterward and ''Ain't That Life'' was not released.

2008-present

Andrews performed a duet with pop artist Richard Marx titled "Wild Horses", which was released on his 2008 album ''Sundown''. In October 2008, Andrews signed with Lyric Street Records's subsidiary imprint, Carolwood Records. Her first single for the label, "Everything" (which Andrews co-wrote with Marcel), was released on November 23, 2008. The song failed to make the Top 40 of the country charts, reaching #45 in early 2009. Her album was then pushed back to a later 2009 release; but in October of that year, Carolwood Records closed and the album was shelved. Additionally, Andrews was the only artist on Carolwood not to be transferred to its parent label, Lyric Street.

On November 2, 2010, Geffen Records released Andrews' first greatest hits album, ''Icon'', as part of their Icon budget release series.

Personal life

In 2010, Andrews announced on her Facebook that she and her boyfriend Marcel are engaged and will be getting married on 11/11/11. She currently resides in Nashville with Marcel and their dog Lucy.

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions				! width="45"	! width="45"
		! scope="row"		* Release date: March 23, 1999		DreamWorks Nashville">Music recording sales certifications
! width="45"	! width="45"	! width="45"
! scope="row"		* Release date: March 23, 1999	DreamWorks Nashville	24	—	15
! scope="row"		* Release date: January 27, 2001	* Label: DreamWorks Nashville	2	22	—		Recording Industry Association of America>US: Gold
! scope="row"		* Release date: April 15, 2003	* Label: DreamWorks Nashville	4	34	—

Compilation albums

Title	Album details
''Icon''		* Release date: November 2, 2010	* Label: Geffen Records

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions					Album
		! width="45"	! width="45"	! width="45"	! width="45"	! width="45"
	"I Will Be There for You"	28	108	—	—	43
"You Go First (Do You Wanna Kiss)"	25	117	—	—	43
	"Unbreakable Heart"	24	110	—	—	43
"I Do Now"	53	—	—	—	*
! scope="row"	1	28	24	20	*
2001	"Helplessly, Hopelessly"	31	—	—	—	*
2002	"Karma"	47	—	—	—	*
	"There's More to Me Than You"	17	108	—	—	*
"Good Time"	49	—	—	—	*
	"The Marrying Kind"	—	—	—	—	*
"Summer Girl"	46	—	—	—	*
2008	"Everything"	45	—	—	—	*

Guest singles

Year	Single	Artist	Peak positions	Album
			! width="65"
2004	"All I Ever Needed"	Bret Michaels	45

Music videos

! Year	Video	! Director
	"I Will Be There for You"	Brent Hedgecock
"You Go First (Do You Wanna Kiss)"	Trey Fanjoy
"Unbreakable Heart"	David Rogan
2000	"Who I Am"	Jon Ragel
	"Helplessly, Hopelessly"
"Karma"
	"There's More to Me Than You"
"There's More to Me Than You" (ballad)
"Good Time"	Trey Fanjoy

References

Category:1983 births Category:American child singers Category:American country singers Category:American female singers Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Tennessee Category:Lyric Street Records artists Category:DreamWorks Records artists

pt:Jessica Andrews fi:Jessica Andrews