Look up uncle in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Uncle (from Latin: avunculus) is a family relationship or kinship, and a parent's male sibling or the male spouse of a parent's sibling. A woman with an equivalent relationship is an aunt, and the reciprocal relationship is that of a nephew or niece.

In some cultures and families, children may refer to the cousins of their parents as "aunt" or "uncle". It is also a title of respect for elders (for example older cousins, neighbors, acquaintances, as well as total), especially in Albania, Bangladesh, Chile, China, Egypt, Ghana, India, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Maori culture, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, Turkey, Hawaii, Brazil, and most other Pacific Islands. See fictive kinship.

References[link]

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Kyrie Irving

Irving in 2010
No. 2 – Cleveland Cavaliers
Point guard
Personal information
Born	(1992-03-23) March 23, 1992 (age 20) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Nationality	Australian/American
High school	St. Patrick's High School, Elizabeth, New Jersey
Listed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight	191 lb (87 kg)
Career information
College	Duke
NBA Draft	2011 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1st overall
Selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers
Pro career	2011–present
League	National Basketball Association
Career highlights and awards
NBA Rookie of the Year (2012) NBA All-Rookie First Team (2012) Rising Stars Challenge MVP (2012)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Kyrie Irving (born March 23, 1992) is an Australian-American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played as a point guard for Duke University as a freshman before being selected as the 1st overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft by Cleveland. He won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 2012. Irving was born in Melbourne and grew up in New Jersey.

Early life[link]

Irving was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia where his father, Drederick Irving, played professional basketball for the Bulleen Boomers. Irving subsequently lived in Australia before relocating to the United States at the age of 2. He has dual citizenship in the United States and Australia.^[1] Irving's mother, Elizabeth, died from an illness when he was four, so Drederick raised him with the help of Irving's aunts.^[2] Growing up in New Jersey, Irving was a fan of the New Jersey Nets. His father took him and his sister to Continental Airlines Arena during the 2003 NBA Finals.^[3]

High school career[link]

Irving played for Montclair Kimberley Academy his freshman and sophomore years, where he averaged 26.5 points, 10.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 3.6 steals and became only the school's 2nd 1,000 point scorer, before transferring to St. Patrick.^[4] While at St. Patrick High School, Irving played with Michael Gilchrist, who was widely regarded as one of the best players in the class of 2011.^[5][6] On January 20, 2010, it was announced that Irving was selected to the 2010 Junior National Select Team. The team played at the 2010 Nike Hoop Summit at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon, on April 10.^[7] He was also selected to play in the 2010 McDonald's All-American Game^[8] and the 2010 Jordan Brand Classic, where he was named as co-mvp with Harrison Barnes.^[9] In June 2010 Irving was a part of the gold medal winning team at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship.^[10] Irving was the #2 player in the class of 2010 by Scout.com,^[11] #3 player in the ESPNU 100,^[12] and rated as the #4 player by Rivals.com.^[13]

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Kyrie Irving PG	West Orange, New Jersey	St. Patrick HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	191 lb (87 kg)	Oct 22, 2009
	Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN grade: 97
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 2   Rivals: 4  ESPN: 3
Note: In many cases, Scout and Rivals may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, an average of the two was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Duke Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. http://rivals.yahoo.com/basketballrecruiting/basketball/recruiting/commitments/2010/alabama-2. Retrieved 2011-01-21.  "2010 Duke Basketball Commits". Scout.com. http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=167&p=9&cfg=bb&c=8&yr=2010. Retrieved 2011-01-21.  "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=167&p=9&cfg=bb&c=14&yr=2010. Retrieved 2011-01-21.  "2010 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1088659. Retrieved 2011-01-21.

College career[link]

Irving committed to Duke on October 22, 2009, in a television broadcast on ESPNU. Irving started playing with Duke in the 2010–11 basketball season under the guidance of head coach Mike Krzyzewski. He led the team in scoring at 17.4 points per game on 53.2% shooting through the first eight games of the season. In addition, he added 5.1 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game as he quickly began to make his case for NCAA Freshman of the Year.

In Duke's 8th game of the season, Irving suffered a severe ligament injury in his right big toe that sidelined him indefinitely. His right foot was placed in a cast on December 10, 2010. The cast was removed on February 4, 2011, and Irving began rehab.

On March 17, the day before Duke played Hampton in the first round of the NCAA tournament, it was revealed that Kyrie would return for his first game since Dec. 4th. It was announced that he would come off of the bench and play limited minutes.^{[citation needed]}

Duke lost to Arizona in the Sweet Sixteen. Irving scored 28 points in what turned out to be his last game for Duke.

Professional career[link]

Cleveland Cavaliers (2011–present)[link]

Irving announced that he would forgo his final three seasons of eligibility and enter the 2011 NBA Draft where he was the number 1 pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers.^[14][15] He signed an agent in early May 2011.^[16] Irving signed a contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers alongside rookie teammate Tristan Thompson on December 10, 2011.

Irving got off to a fast start, and through twenty-three games, had ten games with 20+ points, including a loss to the Nets in which he had 32 points. In that game, Irving scored 21 points in the fourth quarter alone.

Both Irving and his teammate Thompson were named to the 2012 Rising Stars Challenge. However, Irving played for Team Chuck, while Thompson played for Team Shaq. Irving scored 34 points in the game, earning MVP honors.^[17] Irving won the 2012 NBA Rookie of the Year Award, receiving 117 of a possible 120 first-place votes.^[18] Irving was also the only unanimous selection to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.^[19] Over the season, he averaged 18.5 points, 5.4 assists and shot .469 from the field and .399 on three-pointers.^[20]

NBA career statistics[link]

Regular season[link]

Personal life[link]

Irving has made a promise to his father that he would finish his bachelor's degree at Duke by taking classes during the next few summers.^[21]

Awards and honors[link]

• 2010 McDonald's All-American team selection
• 2010 Nike Hoop Summit All-American team selection
• 2010 Jordan Brand High School All-American team selection
• 2011 NBA Draft 1st Overall Draft Pick
• 2011–12 NBA Rookie of the Month, December, January, February, March
• 2012 Rising Stars Challenge MVP
• 2012 NBA Rookie of the Year Award
• 2012 NBA All-Rookie First Team

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kyrie Irving

• Official Facebook Page
• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com, or Basketball-Reference.com, or ESPN.com

• Duke biography
• NBADraft.net profile
• Scout.com profile
• Rivals.com profile
• [1]

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (September 2010)

Matthew Shafer (born June 6, 1974) is an American rock musician known as Uncle Kracker. His singles include "Follow Me", "Smile", and "Drift Away". His music was more rap rock-based at the start of his career before turning in a more rock influenced direction on later releases.

Biography[link]

Shafer was born in Mississippi but raised in Harrison Township, Michigan. In 1987, with his brother Mike Shafer, he visited a nightclub in Clawson, Michigan where a turntables competition was occurring. His older brother was competing against a then-unknown musician, Kid Rock. Shafer then spent a lot of time with Kid Rock, and they became "best friends". In those times, he was mainly rapping. He went to L'Anse Creuse High School.^[1] In 1994, Kid Rock asked Shafer to play turntables for his band called Twisted Brown Trucker. Shafer knew nothing of using turntables, but since his brother was an experienced DJ, he agreed. He only performed at live shows at the time, until he began recording for Rock's album, Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp; Shafer was a featured vocalist on some of the tracks. He then began working on a solo album, but he continued being the DJ for Kid Rock. Upon the release of Rock's multi-platinum album, Devil Without a Cause, Shafer decided that it was time to release his first solo album, Double Wide, adopting the stage name Uncle Kracker from his favorite snack producer, the Kraft Cracker Company of Flint, Michigan.

Shafer has been married to his childhood sweetheart, Melanie Haas, since 1998. They have three daughters.

Music career[link]

[edit] Double Wide

Double Wide was Uncle Kracker's first solo album. Released on June 30, 2000, it peaked at Number 7 on the Billboard 200 album chart and is Shafer's most successful and highest-selling album. "Double Wide" was produced by Kid Rock, with mixing additional production by Michael Bradford. The first single taken off the album was "Follow Me", which was co-written with Bradford, and peaked at Number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 2001. The album spent the next ten months on the Billboard 200, and "Follow Me" also had a long chart run. His second single, "Yeah Yeah Yeah", failed to hit the Hot 100 chart. Double Wide was certified 2× Multi-Platinum on November 29, 2001.^[2]

[edit] No Stranger to Shame

After a great deal of touring to promote the first album, he began to work on a follow-up album. Entitled No Stranger to Shame, it was released on August 27, 2002. The album reached #43 on the Billboard albums chart. A hit single was released, a cover version of Dobie Gray's 1973 Top 5 hit, "Drift Away" - also including Gray as a guest vocalist. Kracker's version of this song peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and it set a record for most weeks at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, remaining atop this chart for 28 nonconsecutive weeks. Other singles released from No Stranger to Shame include "In A Little While", which peaked at #59 on the Hot 100 and #26 on the Adult Contemporary charts. A third single was released, "Memphis Soul Song", which charted on the Adult Top 40 at #35. A special remix of "Memphis Soul Song" was also released, featuring harmonies by legendary singing group The Jordanaires, who had famously sung harmonies with Elvis Presley. The album was certified gold by the RIAA within a year of its release. Soon after this period, Kracker became good friends with country music star Kenny Chesney and the two began a successful touring partnership together, brought on by the success of Kenny's hit single "When the Sun Goes Down", featuring Uncle Kracker both on the single, and prominently in the video.

[edit] Seventy Two and Sunny

After touring, Shafer began working on a third album which he called Seventy Two and Sunny. He had completely abandoned all rap from it, and moved onto a pure country sound. The album featured two singles: "Rescue", which only charted at #20 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary singles chart but didn't chart on any other charts, and "Writing It Down," which did not chart at all. Shafer did have some success that year though when he was featured on Chesney's track, "When the Sun Goes Down", which peaked at #1 on the Hot Country Songs chart, and went on to achieve Gold status. Seventy Two and Sunny has sold about 200,000 copies. It peaked at #39 on the Billboard 200.

[edit] Happy Hour

Uncle Kracker's fourth studio album is entitled Happy Hour.^[3] The album has been in the works for five years and has since been delayed over because of Atlantic Records' decision to bring in Rob Cavallo to produce the album right as they were finishing their cut of the album in late 2007. An early promo version of the album contained the tracks "Happy Hour", "Vegas Baby", "I'm Not Leaving", "The One That Got Away", and "That's What's Happenin". The first single from the album "Smile" was released on July 13, 2009 and has peaked at #31 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was released on September 15, 2009. "Smile" also became his first solo entry on the Hot Country Songs chart, where it debuted at #57 for the week of November 7, 2009, and peaked at #6 in September 2010. A music video for the track "My Girlfriend" was released in November 2009, though there has been no official word whether it will be serviced as the album's second single. The album also features country singer Jesse Lee (also on Atlantic Records) in a duet they wrote called "Me Again." An advanced pre-order of the album off iTunes also let listeners get a special track no longer available called "Happy Hour" along with 3 other songs; Celebrate, Josephine, and Let Me Love You.

[edit] Happy Hour: The South River Road Sessions

Uncle Kracker's new six song EP, Happy Hour: The South River Road Sessions, was released on June 22, 2010. The EP features country remakes of songs off the Happy Hour album. Two songs released are a remake of "Smile" and Uncle Kracker's next single, "Good to Be Me," featuring Kid Rock.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Extended plays[link]

Singles[link]

Featured singles[link]

Videography[link]

Music videos[link]

Guest appearances[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Website
• Uncle Kracker at Rolling Stone

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2012)

"The Man" is a slang phrase that may refer to the government or to some other authority in a position of power. In addition to this derogatory connotation, it may also serve as a term of respect and praise.

The phrase "the Man is keeping me down" is commonly used to describe oppression. The phrase "stick it to the Man" encourages resistance to authority, and essentially means "fight back" or "resist", either openly or via sabotage.^[1]

History[link]

The earliest recorded use^{[citation needed]} of the term "the Man" in the American sense dates back to a letter written by a young Alexander Hamilton in September 1772, when he was 15. In a letter to his father James Hamilton, published in the Royal Dutch-American Gazette, he described the response of the Dutch governor of St. Croix to a hurricane that raked that island on August 31, 1772. "Our General has issued several very salutary and humane regulations and both in his publick and private measures, has shewn himself the Man." ^{[2][dubious – discuss]} In the Southern U.S. states, the phrase came to be applied to any man or any group in a position of authority, or to authority in the abstract. From about the 1950s the phrase was also an underworld code word for police, the warden of a prison or other law enforcement or penal authorities.

It was also used as a term for a drug dealer in the 1950s and 1960s and can be seen in such media as Curtis Mayfield's "No Thing On Me", William Burroughs's novel Naked Lunch, and in the Velvet Underground song "I'm Waiting for the Man", in which Lou Reed sings about going to Uptown Manhattan, specifically Lexington Avenue and 125th Street, to buy heroin.

The use of this term was expanded to counterculture groups and their battles against authority, such as the Yippies, which, according to a May 19, 1969 article in U.S. News and World Report, had the "avowed aim ... to destroy 'The Man', their term for the present system of government". The term eventually found its way into humorous usage, such as in a December 1979 motorcycle ad from the magazine Easyriders which featured the tagline, "California residents: Add 6% sales tax for The Man."

In present day, the phrase has been popularized in commercials and cinema, featuring particularly prominently as a recurring motif in the 2003 film School of Rock.^[3][4][5][6]

Use as praise[link]

The term has also been used as an approbation or form of praise. This may refer to the recipient's status as the leader or authority within a particular context, or it might be assumed to be a shortened form of a phrase like "He is the man (who is in charge)." One example of this usage dates to 1879 when Otto von Bismarck commented, referring to Benjamin Disraeli's pre-eminent position at the Congress of Berlin, "The old Jew, he is the man."^{[7][dubious – discuss]}

In more modern usage, it can be a superlative compliment ("you da man!") indicating that the subject is currently standing out amongst his peers even though they have no special designation or rank, such as a basketball player who is performing better than the other players on the court. It can also be used as a genuine compliment with an implied, slightly exaggerated or sarcastic tone, usually indicating that the person has indeed impressed the speaker but by doing something relatively trivial.