Look up diesel in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Diesel may refer to:

Technology[link]

• Diesel fuel
• Diesel engine
• Diesel locomotive
• Diesel generator

Other uses[link]

• Diesel (brand), an Italian clothing company
• Diesel (band), a Dutch band
• Diesel cigars, a brand manufactured by A. J. Fernandez Cigars.
• Diesel Energy Drink
• Diesel (game engine)
• Udora (band) or Diesel, a Brazilian alternative rock band
• The Diesel (aka D261), a character in Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
• Diesel, a character from The Railway Series
• Diesel, a variety of the beer cocktail Snakebite
• Diesel, a 1985 film by Robert Kramer
• Diesel Power (magazine)

Nicknames[link]

• David S. LaForce or "Diesel", cartographer and illustrator
• John Riggins or "The Diesel", NFL football player
• Greg Williams (Australian footballer) or "Diesel", Australian-rules footballer
• "Diesel", a former ring name of American professional wrestler Kevin Nash
• Kane, American wrestler known as "Fake Diesel"
• Joe Riggs or "Diesel", mixed martial artist
• Shaquille O'Neal or "The Diesel", a retired American basketball player

People with the surname[link]

• Rudolf Diesel, German engineer who invented the Diesel engine
• Vin Diesel, American actor
• Johnny Diesel, Australian rock singer

See also[link]

• Diesel cycle
• Diesel multiple unit
• Diesel exhaust
• Diesel generator
• Red diesel
• Turbodiesel
• Biodiesel, a fuel for diesel engines, made from vegetable oil

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Vin Diesel
Diesel at a premiere for Fast & Furious in March 2009
Born	Mark Sinclair Vincent (1967-07-18) July 18, 1967 (age 44) New York City, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, director, producer, screenwriter
Years active	1990–present
Partner	Paloma Jimenez
Website
VinDiesel.com

Vin Diesel (born Mark Sinclair Vincent; July 18, 1967) is an American actor, writer, director and producer. He became known in the early 2000s, appearing in several successful Hollywood films, including The Fast and the Furious and xXx. He founded the production companies One Race Films, Tigon Studios and Racetrack Records.

Early life[link]

Vin Diesel was born in New York City, the son of Delora, a psychiatrist and astrologer.^[1][2] Diesel has white and black ancestry.^[3][4] He has described himself as "definitely a person of color"^[5] and stated that he is "of ambiguous ethnicity – Italian and a lot of other stuff."^[6] Diesel has never met his biological father, and was raised by his African-American stepfather, Irving, an acting instructor and theatre manager.^[1][5] He made his stage debut at age seven when he appeared in the children's play Dinosaur Door, written by Barbara Garson. The play was produced at Theater for the New City in New York's Greenwich Village. His involvement in the play came about when he, his brother, and some friends had broken into Theater for the New City's space on Jane Street with the intent to vandalize it. They were confronted by the theater's artistic director, Crystal Field, who, instead of calling the police, handed them scripts and offered them parts in the upcoming show.^[7] He remained involved with the theatre throughout adolescence, going on to attend the city's Hunter College, where his creative writing studies led him to begin screenwriting. Diesel became an active film-maker in the early 1990s, first earning notice for the short film Multi-Facial, which was selected for screening at the 1995 Cannes Festival. Diesel has identified himself as a "multi-faceted" actor^[8] as a result of early difficulties finding roles due to his mixed heritage.^[8][9]

In an interview on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, he said that he changed his name to "Vin Diesel" while working as a bouncer at the New York City nightclub Tunnel, because in that business one's real name is not usually given out. The name "Vin" is simply a shortened version of "Vincent". He received the nickname "Diesel" from his friends who said he ran off diesel fuel, referring to his non-stop energy.

He has a twin brother, Paul, a younger brother, Tim, and a sister, Samantha.^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2011)

Diesel in Munich, April 2005

Diesel's first film role was a brief uncredited appearance in the 1990 film Awakenings. He then produced, directed, and starred in the 1994 short film Multi-Facial, a short semi-autobiographical film which follows a struggling actor stuck in the audition process, because he is regarded as either "too black" or "too white", or not black or white enough. He made his first feature-length film, 1997's Strays, an urban drama in which he was self-cast as a gang boss whose love for a woman inspires him to try to change his ways. Written, directed and produced by Diesel, the film was selected for competition at the 1997 Sundance Festival, leading to an MTV deal to turn it into a series.

He was then cast in Steven Spielberg's 1998 Oscar-winning film Saving Private Ryan on the poignancy of his performance in Multi-Facial. In 1999 he earned critical acclaim for his voice work as the title character in the animation film The Iron Giant. He followed it up with a major role in the business drama Boiler Room (2000) and then got his breakthrough role as the anti-hero Riddick in the science-fiction film Pitch Black (2000). He attained action hero super stardom with the box office hits, the street racing action film The Fast and the Furious (2001), starring opposite Paul Walker, and the action thriller xXx (2002).

In 2004, he reprised his role as Pitch Black's Riddick in The Chronicles of Riddick which was a box office failure considering the large budget. In 2005 he played a lighthearted role in the comedy film The Pacifier, which became a box office success. In 2006 he chose a dramatic role playing real-life mobster Jack DiNorscio in Find Me Guilty. Although he received critical acclaim for his performance, the film did poorly at the box office. Later that year he made a cameo appearance in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, reprising his role from The Fast and The Furious. Diesel was originally offered the lead in 2 Fast 2 Furious but turned it down. He was also offered the chance to reprise his role from xXx in xXx: State of the Union but turned it down as well.

In 2007, he was set to produce and star as Agent 47 in the film adaptation of the video game Hitman, but eventually pulled back and served as executive producer on the film instead. In 2008 he starred in the science-fiction action thriller Babylon A.D..

He returned to the The Fast and The Furious series, alongside all the actors from the original 2001 film, in Fast & Furious, which released in April 2009. In 2011, he once again returned, for the fifth film in the series, titled Fast Five. He is is currently filming the third installment in the Riddick series titled The Chronicles of Riddick: Dead Man Stalking which is in post-production as of April 2012 and set for release in 2013.

Personal life[link]

Diesel is noted for his recognizable deep voice; he has said that his voice broke at around age 15, giving him a mature sounding voice on the telephone.^[10]

Around 2001, Diesel dated his The Fast and the Furious co-star, Michelle Rodriguez.^[11]

Diesel has expressed his love for the Dominican Republic, and how he relates to its multicultural facets.^[12] He is also acquainted with President Leonel Fernandez, and has since appeared in one of his earlier campaign ads. Los Bandoleros, a short film directed by Diesel, was also filmed in the Dominican Republic.^[13]

Diesel claims that he prefers dating in Europe, where he is less likely to be recognized and where celebrities are not romantically linked to each other. He prefers to maintain his privacy regarding his personal life:^[14]

Diesel has played Dungeons & Dragons for over twenty years^[15] and wrote the foreword for the commemorative book 30 Years of Adventure: A Celebration of Dungeons & Dragons. In the 30th Anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons issue of Dragon Magazine, they examine the fact that Diesel played Dungeons & Dragons, and reveal that he had a fake tattoo of his character's name, "Melkor," on his stomach while filming xXx.

Diesel has a daughter, Hania Riley, born April 2, 2008, with his girlfriend, model Paloma Jimenez.^[16][17] Speaking to An tEolas, an Irish newspaper, Diesel stated he has been seen as a hard man, but is in touch with his soft side as a father.^[18]

Filmography[link]

Actor[link]

Producer[link]

Director and writer[link]

Games[link]

1. The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (2004)
2. The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (2009)
3. Wheelman (2009)

Video game roles[link]

• Need for Speed: Most Wanted (Black Edition) - Rog

References[link]

External links[link]

• Vin Diesel at the Internet Movie Database
• Vin Diesel at the Open Directory Project

John Riggins

John Riggins
No. 44
Running back
Personal information
Date of birth: (1949-08-04) August 4, 1949 (age 62)
Place of birth: Seneca, Kansas
Career information
College: Kansas
NFL Draft: 1971 / Round: 1 / Pick: 6
Debuted in 1971 for the New York Jets
Last played in 1985 for the Washington Redskins
Career history
New York Jets (1971-1975) Washington Redskins (1976-1979) Washington Redskins (1981-1985)
Career highlights and awards
1× Pro Bowl selection (1975) 1× All-Pro selection (1983) NFL 1980s All-Decade Team 70 Greatest Redskins Super Bowl XVII MVP Super Bowl champion (Super Bowl XVII) Washington Redskins Ring of Fame 10,000 Rushing Yards Club 2× Jets MVP Award (Now Curtis Martin MVP award) (1972, 1975) 1978 NFL Comeback Player of the Year 1983 Bert Bell Award 1992 Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Career NFL statistics
Rushing yards 11,352 Average 3.9 Total TDs 104 Stats at NFL.com
Pro Football Hall of Fame

Robert John Riggins, nicknamed "The Diesel", (born August 4, 1949) is a former American football running back in the National Football League for the New York Jets and Washington Redskins. Riggins was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992.

Early life[link]

Riggins was born in Seneca, Kansas and attended Centralia High School in Centralia, Kansas. While there, he was a three-sport athlete, earning high school All-American recognition in football, all-state honors in basketball and twice winning the Class B 100-yard dash state title.^[1]

Riggins' high school is now located on John Riggins Avenue, which runs through a main part of Centralia.^[2]

College career[link]

Riggins attended and played college football at the University of Kansas for the Jayhawks, where he was an All-American^[3] and two-time All-Big Eight Conference first-team selection.^[1] Riggins led the Jayhawks to a Big Eight Conference championship win in 1968.^[4] The team then went to the 1969 Orange Bowl, which they lost to Pennsylvania State University, 15-14.^[1]

During his senior season in 1970, Riggins rushed for 1,131 yards and scored a then school-record 14 touchdowns.^[1] He finished his career with 2,659 rushing yards,^[1] which broke Gale Sayers's career rushing record for the school^[3] (now ranked fifth for Kansas' all-time rushing leaders and 14th for total yards).^[5]

While at Kansas, Riggins majored in journalism.^[6]

New York Jets (1971–1975)[link]

Riggins was drafted in the first round of the 1971 NFL Draft by the New York Jets and as a rookie he became the first Jet to lead the team in both rushing and receiving.^[7] On October 15, 1972, the Jets set a team-record of 333 rushing yards against the New England Patriots, beating them 41-13.^[8] Riggins, who had 168 yards, and Emerson Boozer, who had 150 yards, became the only running back tandem in franchise history who both rushed for 150 yards in a game.^[8] Although he missed the final two games in 1972 because of knee surgery, Riggins rushed for 944 yards, four yards less than Matt Snell's franchise record.^[7]

Riggins was among the top ten rushers in the American Football Conference in 1974 despite missing four games with a shoulder injury.^[7] After only four years with the Jets, he was already the fourth leading rusher in team history with 2,875 yards.^[7] In 1975, Riggins became the first player in franchise history to rush for 1,000 or more yards in a season.^[9] On December 21, 1975, he ran for 121 yards against the Dallas Cowboys which gave him 1,005 for the season.^[9] In what turned out to be his last season with the Jets, Riggins made his only appearance in the Pro Bowl.^[3]

Riggins was named the Jets' MVP (now known as the Martin Award) in 1972 and 1975.^[10]

Washington Redskins (1976–1979)[link]

In 1976, Riggins signed as a free agent with the Washington Redskins,^[3] who offered him a four-year, $1.5 million contract, compared to the $75,000 he earned in his final year with the Jets.^[11] He was used mostly in short-yardage situations in his first season with Washington and missed much of the 1977 season with a knee injury.^[11] However, he gained more than 1,000 yards each of the next two seasons and was a major part of the Redskins' offense.^[11]

Contract dispute (1980)[link]

During training camp in July 1980, Riggins requested to renegotiate his $300,000-a-year contract and the Redskins refused.^[12] He then chose to leave camp and the Redskins placed him on the left camp-retired list, a move that made him ineligible to play for any other team in the league.^[12] He sat out the 1980 season^[3] and didn't rejoin the Redskins until 1981, when new Washington head coach Joe Gibbs traveled to Kansas to make a peace offering.^[13]

"He had a camouflage outfit on", Gibbs recalled.

Riggins's return also came at the suggestion of Ed Garvey, who was the executive director of the NFL Players Association.^[12]

Eleven months after he left, Riggins returned to training camp in 1981 with a new contract,^[11] telling the media "I'm bored, I'm broke, and I'm back."^[12]

Washington Redskins (1981–1985)[link]

Upon Riggins' return in 1981, he managed just 714 rushing yards but scored 13 touchdowns.^[11]

During the strike-shortened 1982 season, Riggins gained 553 yards.^[11] He was much more successful during the playoffs, during which he gained 444 yards in victories over the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings (where he had a franchise playoff record 185 yards), and Dallas Cowboys, and helped the Redskins reach Super Bowl XVII.^[11] Riggins rushed for a then-Super Bowl record 166 yards on 38 carries as the Redskins beat the Miami Dolphins 27–17.^[3] He was then named Super Bowl MVP.^[3]

A play that was designed for gaining short yardage called "70 chip" turned out to be the key play of the game. With 10 minutes remaining, Riggins took a handoff on 4th-and-inches, broke an attempted tackle by Dolphin cornerback Don McNeal and ran for a 43 yard touchdown.^[14] The Super Bowl win was the Redskins' first championship victory since 1942.^[15] Riggins' total of 610 yards amounted to 43 percent of Washington's offense in the four playoff games.^[11] His four consecutive playoff games with over 100 yards was an NFL postseason record.^[15] On December 6, 2007, Riggins' run was voted by fans as the Redskins' Greatest Moment.^[16]

The 610 rushing yards and 625 yards from scrimmage he gained in the 1982 playoffs are both single NFL postseason records.

In 1983, Riggins rushed for 1,347 yards, scored a then-NFL record 24 touchdowns, won the Bert Bell Award,^[11] and was named All-Pro for the first time in his career.^[3] Riggins went on to have another outstanding postseason, rushing for 242 yards and two touchdowns in their two playoff games, extending his NFL record of postseason games with at least 100 rushing yards to six.^[3] He then rushed for 64 yards and a touchdown in the Redskins' 38-9 Super Bowl XVIII loss against the Los Angeles Raiders.^[17]

Two other career milestones happened in 1983 for Riggins. On November 20, 1983, he set an NFL record by scoring in his 12th consecutive game during a 42–20 win over the Los Angeles Rams. His record would end at 13 consecutive games the following week.^[18] Then on December 17, 1983, Mark Moseley set an NFL kicking record by scoring 161 points in a season, which also made him the league leader in scoring that season. Riggins, who scored 144 points, was second on the season scoring list. This was the first time since 1951 that the top two scorers in a season played on the same team.^[18]

Riggins gained 1,239 yards in 1984 and tied for the league lead in rushing TDs (14), despite a bad back.^[11] In 1985, he rushed for more than 100 yards in three of his last four starts before being replaced by George Rogers as the starter.^[11] He retired after that season.

Riggins played 175 games in 14 seasons, had 13,442 total yards (11,352 rushing and 2,090 receiving) and 116 total touchdowns (104 rushing and 12 receiving).^[3] Riggins rushed over 1,000 yards five times in his career and over 100 yards in 35 games, including a then-record six in post-season. He rushed 251 times for 996 yards and 12 touchdowns in nine post-season contests.^[3] He was the second player ever to rush for over 100 touchdowns in NFL history, and the first to do it since Jim Brown reached the milestone in 1965.^[19]

NFL Records[link]

• Most rushing attempts and rushing yards in a single postseason: 136 attempts, 610 yards; 4 playoff games (1982)
• Oldest player to rush for 150+ yards in a game: 35 years, 71 days
• Oldest player to rush for 3 touchdowns in a game: 36 years, 70 days
• Oldest player to have a game with 100+ rushing yards & 1 rushing touchdown: 36 years, 84 days
• Oldest player to have 30+ rushing attempts in a game: 36 years, 84 days
• Oldest player to rush for 100+ yards in a playoff game: 34 years, 157 days(breaking his own record he set one week earlier)
• Oldest player to rush for 150+ yards in a playoff game: 33 years, 179 days
• Oldest player to rush for 175+ yards in a playoff game: 33 years, 164 days
• Most rushing attempts after 35th birthday: 503 - broken by Marcus Allen who finished with 537
• Most rushing touchdowns after 35th birthday: 22 - broken by Marcus Allen who finished with 25
• Most rushing yards after 35th birthday: 1,916 - broken by Marcus Allen who finished with 2,225
• Most 100 yard rushing games after 35th birthday: 8
• Most games with 2+ rushing touchdowns after 35th birthday: 4 - broken by Marcus Allen who finished with 5
• Most games with 20 rushing attempts after 35th birthday: 11
• Oldest player to have 300+ rushing attempts in a season: 35
• Oldest player to have 1,200 rushing yards in a season: 35
• Oldest player to have 10+ rushing touchdowns in a season: 35
• Oldest player to score 20+ touchdowns in a season: 34
• Oldest player to have 350+ rushing attempts in a season: 34
• Oldest player to have 1,300 rushing yards in a season: 34
• Oldest player to have 20+ rushing touchdowns in a season: 34
• Most rushing attempts after 30th birthday: 1,510
• Most rushing touchdowns after 30th birthday: 71
• Most rushing yards after 30th birthday: 5,683 - broken by Emmitt Smith who finished with 5,789
• Most games with 20 rushing attempts after 30th birthday: 36
• Most games in the postseason of 100+ yards rushing: 6 - broken by Emmitt Smith and Terrell Davis who each posted 7
• Most rushing yards in a Super Bowl: 166 - broken by Marcus Allen (191) and Timmy Smith (204)
• Most touchdowns in a season: 24 - broken by several players since
• Most rushing touchdowns in a season: 24 - broken by several players since

After football[link]

Acting[link]

In 1994, he began acting lessons and has since starred in off-off-Broadway productions of the plays Gillette and A Midsummer Night's Dream (in which he played Bottom).^[20] His television credits include Guiding Light, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and One Tree Hill.^[6]

Riggins' acting career began at Centralia High when a teacher cast him as the lead role in his junior play.^[6] His career as a professional actor started in 1992 when he appeared in "Illegal Motion" in a Maryland (The Olney Theatre) theater.^[6] He starred as the beleaguered head football coach accused of inappropriate recruiting practices. US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor attended his opening night where she presented him with a dozen roses, and letting him know that she always admired his character notwithstanding the "loosen up, Sandy baby" comment he made to her years before at a formal Washington DC dinner party, where "Riggo" fell asleep (really, passed out after having too much to drink) under the table during a presidential speech.

Arrest[link]

On May 7, 1992, Riggins was arrested in Arlington, Virginia and charged with driving while intoxicated. He was taken to the Arlington County jail - brought before Virginia Magistrate Daniel J Aragona - arraigned and released later that day. He was also charged by police for refusing to take a breath or blood test following his arrest and spent several hours in the Arlington County jail before being released on $750 bond.^[21]

Commentating[link]

Since retiring from professional football, Riggins has worked as a sports commentator on television and radio.

In 1998, John and Chris Russo hosted Riggins and Russo on Sundays during the football season. The show was aired on WCBS-TV in New York City, focusing primarily on the Jets' and Giants' upcoming games.

Since 2006, Riggins has served as color commentator on Westwood One for the network's weekly national radio broadcast of Sunday Night Football.^[22]

On July 18, 2006, Triple X ESPN Radio was launched with Riggins hosting The John Riggins Show.^[23] Riggins could be heard in the Washington, D.C. area weekdays from 4-7pm on 94.3 FM, 92.7 FM & 730 AM, WXGI 950 AM in Richmond, Virginia and WXTG-FM 102.1 FM in Virginia Beach, Virginia and WXTG (AM) 1490 in Hampton, Virginia.^[23] The last show of the series aired on its second anniversary, July 18, 2008. With the merger of Triple X into WTEM to form ESPN 980, Riggins' afternoon show was replaced by WTEM's afternoon drive show, The Sports Reporters. Riggins stayed with ESPN 980 as a commentator at large.

On January 3, 2008, Riggins co-hosted the 74th Orange Bowl pre-game show. That same night, the Kansas Jayhawks defeated the Virginia Tech Hokies 24–21. It came 39 years after Riggins and the Jayhawks last played in the game in 1969. He offered congratulations to his Alma Mater in his closing comments, saying "The KU ship's been out at sea since '48. It finally came to port tonight!"

In September 2008 it was announced that Riggins would co-host the program "Sirius Blitz" with Adam Schein on Satellite Radio Stations Sirius 124 and XM 105. Following his involvement with "Sirius Blitz" Riggins began hosting his own show, The John Riggins Show, which simulcasts on television and radio on MASN-TV and WTOP-HD3, which airs each weekday afternoon. Riggins has been critical on his radio shows of the current management of the Washington Redskins under owner Dan Snyder.

Previously, he had been a panelist on Redskins Report until that show was canceled in December 2008 due to budget cuts.^[24]

Honors[link]

On October 21, 1990, Riggins and Joe Theismann were inducted into the Redskins' Ring of Fame. As Riggins' name was called, he ran onto the field in full Redskins uniform, including pads, and was received by the crowd at RFK Stadium with thunderous applause. Riggins later explained that he "just had to hear [the roar of the crowd] one more time".^[25]

In 1992 he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

On October 13, 2007, Riggins was inducted into the University of Kansas' Ring of Honor at Memorial Stadium.^[1]

Personal[link]

Riggins has been married twice and has six children.^[6] He now resides in Cabin John, Maryland near the Potomac River.^{[citation needed]}

It was at the 1985 National Press Club's Salute to Congress at 529 14th Street NW in Washington D.C. that Riggins drunkenly told Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor to "loosen up" because she was "too tight" when the two met at dinner. Riggins then fell asleep under the table. The incident created a national stir.

References[link]