text: The qualification process began on 8 October 2020 and ended on 29 March 2022. Uruguay's Luis Suárez scored the first goal of the round-robin. This was the third time Suárez had opened scoring in the group (after 2010 and 2014), as well as the fourth consecutive time a Uruguayan player had done so (Martín Cáceres scored the first goal of the 2018 process).


title: 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)

text: On 24 January 2019, the CONMEBOL Council decided to maintain the same qualification structure used for the previous six tournaments. The ten teams play in a league of home-and-away round-robin matches.


text: The fixtures were determined by a draw which was held on 17 December 2019, 10:00 PYST (), at the Bourbon Asunción Convention Hotel in Luque, Paraguay.


text: Originally, Brazil and Argentina were both to be drawn into either position 4 or 5 in the draw, thus ensuring that no team has to play both of them on any double matchday. However, the decision was later reversed on 16 November 2019 by the CONMEBOL Council, making the draw completely open.


text: Note: Bolded teams qualified for the World Cup. "Peru" advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs.


text: The qualifying matches are played on dates that fall within the FIFA International Match Calendar. There are a total of 18 matchdays. Originally eight matchdays would be in 2020 and ten would be in 2021.


text: On 12 March 2020, FIFA announced that matches on matchdays 1–2 due to take place in March 2020 were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the new dates to be confirmed.


text: On 25 June 2020, FIFA announced that the inter-confederation play-offs, originally scheduled to be played in March 2022, were moved to June 2022.


text: On 10 July 2020, FIFA announced that the CONMEBOL qualifiers in September 2020 were postponed, with the qualifiers starting in October 2020. CONMEBOL also requested FIFA to include a replacement international window in January 2022 in order to complete the qualifiers in March 2022. The proposal was approved by FIFA on 18 August 2020. On 6 March 2021, FIFA announced that the March 2021 matches (matchdays 5 and 6) were postponed due to travel and quarantine restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. These matches were rescheduled to be played in September and October 2021 after FIFA accepted the CONMEBOL's request to allow triple matchdays in both September and October international windows. Matchday 5 was played between matchdays 11 and 12, while matchday 6 was played between matchdays 9 and 10.


text: The inter-confederation play-off was determined by a draw held on 26 November 2021. The fifth-placed team from CONMEBOL was drawn against the AFC fourth round winners. The play-off was played as a single match in Qatar on 13 June 2022.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: Jan Maciej Błachowicz (; born 24 February 1983) is a Polish professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. A professional since 2007, he also competed for KSW and is the former KSW Light Heavyweight Champion. He is the second Polish champion in UFC history, after Joanna Jędrzejczyk, and the first male Polish champion. As of December 13, 2022, he is #4 in the UFC light heavyweight rankings.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: Growing up in Cieszyn, Poland, Błachowicz started training martial arts – initially judo at the age of nine – due to the influence of action movies.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: Błachowicz entered in KSWs inaugural <95 kg (209 lb) Tournament at KSW 9. Defeating three opponents in one night, Błachowicz was able to claim the tournament crown. His first opponent was Martin Zawada, who he defeated by unanimous decision. Błachowicz was able to defeat his next two opponents by armbar, including the notable opponent Antoni Chmielewski.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: Błachowicz went on to defeat Christian M'Pumbu four months later via armbar, before defeating previously unbeaten Maro Perak in December 2008.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: Looking to expand his horizons after the very successful year 2008, Błachowicz accepted the invitation of Tomasz Drwal and joined him at the Throwdown Training Center in San Diego for a few months. He agreed to temporarily fight at Heavyweight, against Lloyd Marshbanks under the War Gods banner, but the event was canceled. Despite suffering a serious knee injury in July, Błachowicz continued his training, as he agreed to fight "somewhere in Mexico". About three weeks later, his knee suddenly popped in training when executing a takedown. The anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee was destroyed, making a knee reconstruction after his return to Poland inevitable.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: Błachowicz was planning his comeback fight in March against Aleksandar Radosavljevic at WFC 10, but decided to withdraw and was replaced by fellow KSW TEAM member Antoni Chmielewski. After finally returning from the knee injury and 17 months layoff, Błachowicz entered into the second KSW <95 kg tournament. Błachowicz had to face two opponents in the same night. His first opponent was the undefeated Brazilian Julio Brutus. Błachowicz was able to knock Brutus out with a high kick-right hook combination at 3:40 in the first round. In the semifinal, Błachowicz submitted his training partner Wojciech Orłowski with a rear-naked choke after just 1:37.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: In the meantime, Błachowicz took a fight on a few days notice against Nikolai Onikienko and submitted him in the second round.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: He then faced Daniel Tabera in the final of the tournament at KSW XIV, winning via TKO in the second round and becoming once again the KSW Light Heavyweight Tournament Champion.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: Błachowicz then faced Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou for the vacant KSW Light Heavyweight Championship at KSW XV. He lost the fight via TKO, being unable to answer the bell for the third round because of his injured leg.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: Błachowicz had a rematch with Sokoudjou at KSW XVII. He won the bout via unanimous decision to become the new KSW Light Heavyweight Champion. His next three fights in KSW were against Mario Miranda, Houston Alexander and Goran Reljic, and all three he won by unanimous decision.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: In January 2014, after completing a 17–3 record on the European scene, Błachowicz signed a contract to fight in the light heavyweight division of the UFC.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: In his UFC debut, Błachowicz faced Ilir Latifi on October 4, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 53. He won the fight via TKO in the first round.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: Błachowicz faced Jimi Manuwa on April 11, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 64. Błachowicz lost the fight via unanimous decision.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: Błachowicz was expected to face Anthony Johnson on September 5, 2015, at UFC 191. However, Johnson was pulled from the bout on July 30 in favor of a fight with Jimi Manuwa at the event. In turn, Błachowicz instead faced Corey Anderson on the same card. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: Błachowicz next faced Igor Pokrajac on April 10, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 86. He won the fight via unanimous decision.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: Błachowicz faced Alexander Gustafsson on September 3, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 93. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: Błachowicz was expected to face Ovince Saint Preux on February 4, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 104. However, he pulled out on January 21 due to injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer Volkan Oezdemir.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: Błachowicz was quickly rescheduled and faced Patrick Cummins on April 8, 2017, at UFC 210. After a strong first round where he rocked Cummins on multiple occasions, Błachowicz soon fell to Cummins' wrestling and his own lack of stamina in the second and third rounds. He lost the fight via majority decision.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: Błachowicz faced Devin Clark on October 21, 2017, at . He won the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the second round. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: Błachowicz faced Jared Cannonier on December 16, 2017, at UFC on Fox 26. He won the fight via unanimous decision.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: Błachowicz faced Jimi Manuwa in a rematch on March 17, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 127. He won the fight via unanimous decision. The win also earned him his first "Fight of the Night" bonus award.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: Błachowicz faced Nikita Krylov on September 15, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 136. He won the fight via arm-triangle choke submission in the second round. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: Błachowicz faced Thiago Santos on February 23, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 145. Błachowicz was caught with a counter in the third round and lost by TKO, marking the first time in his MMA career that he has been stopped due to strikes.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: Błachowicz faced Luke Rockhold on July 6, 2019, at UFC 239. He won the fight via knockout in the second round. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: Błachowicz then faced Ronaldo Souza on November 16, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 164. He won the fight by a split decision.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: Błachowicz faced Corey Anderson on February 15, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 167 in a rematch of their previous bout. Błachowicz won the bout via first-round knockout. The victory earned him his fourth Performance of the Night bonus award.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: Błachowicz faced Dominick Reyes for the vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Championship on September 27, 2020, at UFC 253. He won the fight via TKO in the second round. This win earned him the "Performance of the Night" award.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: Błachowicz faced current UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya for his first title defense on March 6, 2021, at UFC 259. He won the fight via unanimous decision, becoming the first person to defeat Adesanya in mixed martial arts.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: Błachowicz was expected to make his second title defense against Glover Teixeira at UFC 266 on September 25, 2021. However, the bout was postponed and moved to October 30, 2021, at UFC 267. Błachowicz lost the fight and the title via second-round rear-naked choke submission.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: Błachowicz was scheduled to face Aleksandar Rakić on March 26, 2022, at UFC on ESPN 33. However, in late January, Błachowicz withdrew due to injury and the bout was rescheduled for UFC on ESPN 36 on May 14, 2022. Błachowicz won the fight via technical knockout after Rakić was rendered unable to continue in the third round due to a knee injury.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: Błachowicz faced off against Magomed Ankalaev on December 10, 2022, at UFC 282 for the vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. The fight ended in a controversial split draw. 23 out of 25 media members scored the fight as a win for Ankalaev.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: Błachowicz is a close friend of former UFC fighter Tomasz Drwal. They were training together at the Throwdown Training Center in San Diego when he suffered his knee injury in 2009.


title: Jan Błachowicz

text: Some time ago he moved to Warsaw with his girlfriend, changing his long-time club Octagon Rybnik to Paweł Nastula's club. He also occasionally trains in Alliance MMA with names such as Alexander Gustafsson, Phil Davis, Joey Beltran, and Dominick Cruz.


title: Def Jam Recordings

text: Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop.


title: Def Jam Recordings

text: The label has a London-based, UK arm known as 0207 Def Jam (formerly Def Jam UK in the 1990s until the mid-2000s) and is currently operated through EMI Records. It has a Johannesburg, South Africa and Lagos, Nigeria-based arm known as Def Jam Africa. Def Jam distributes releases of various label imprints, including Dave East's From the Dirt Records. Current artists include Justin Bieber, Toya Johnson, Nasty C, 2 Chainz, Dave East, Jeezy, Jeremih, Jhené Aiko, Fredo Bang and YK Osiris, among others.


title: Def Jam Recordings

text: Def Jam was co-founded by Rick Rubin in his dormitory in Weinstein Hall at New York University, and its first release was a single by his punk-rock group Hose. Russell Simmons joined Rubin shortly after they were introduced to each other, according to one story, by Vincent Gallo. Another cites DJ Jazzy Jay as their connector. Rubin has said he met Simmons on the TV show "Graffiti Rock" and recognized him then as "the face of hip hop": "He was five years older than me, and he was already established in the music business. And I had no experience whatsoever." The second single released with the Def Jam Recordings logo was T La Rock & Jazzy Jay's "It's Yours." The first releases with Def Jam Recordings catalog numbers were LL Cool J's "I Need a Beat" and the Beastie Boys' "Rock Hard", both in 1984. The singles sold well, eventually leading to a distribution deal with CBS Records through Columbia Records the following year. However, the Hose and T La Rock releases were "not" part of the deal and are now controlled by different entities.


title: Def Jam Recordings

text: This created a short-lived subsidiary label called OBR Records, short for Original Black Recordings, which catered toward R&B artists—the first artist signed to that imprint was Oran "Juice" Jones, who enjoyed success with his hit single "The Rain". A few years later, Russell Simmons and Lyor Cohen started an umbrella label called Rush Associated Labels to handle Def Jam and its numerous spinoff labels. RAL became the home to Nice & Smooth and EPMD after both acts were acquired due to the folding of their former label Sleeping Bag Records. Other acts under the RAL umbrella included Redman, Onyx, Flatlinerz, Domino, Warren G and Jayo Felony. Def Jam also signed its first and only thrash metal band, Slayer, in 1986, and the band's third and fourth albums were the only two Def Jam releases to be distributed through Geffen Records via Warner Bros. Records as opposed to Columbia/CBS. As the decade drew to a close, the label signed Public Enemy, whose controversial lyrical content garnered the company both critical acclaim and disdain. Lyor Cohen became president of Def Jam/RAL in 1988, after winning a power struggle with Rubin, who would shortly thereafter leave the company to form Def American Recordings. Rubin would take Slayer and the rights of its Def Jam albums with him to Def American in its initial stages.


title: Def Jam Recordings

text: In 1991, CBS Records was folded (or rather rebranded) to the music division of Japanese electronic giant Sony, bringing Def Jam and Columbia with it. By 1992, despite recent multiple platinum selling releases from Public Enemy, and EPMD, Def Jam ran into major financial troubles and was faced with folding while at Sony.


title: Def Jam Recordings

text: In 1994, PolyGram purchased Sony's 50% stake in Def Jam Recordings—subsequently bringing the label into the Island Records fold. Island would share in sales and marketing duties with select radio projects while Def Jam remained independent on all other label functions (A&R, video, promotion and publicity). The label venture went on to receive huge success with a slew of various other multi-platinum releases from Montell Jordan, Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Redman, Method Man and more. RAL/Def Jam also distributed the Violator Records-signed artist Warren G's debut album, "Regulate... G Funk Era", which went triple platinum and brought much-needed revenue to Def Jam through its joint deal with Violator.


title: Def Jam Recordings

text: PolyGram acquired an additional 10% in Def Jam, further strengthening its ownership of the label. Shortly thereafter, Rush Associated Labels were renamed to the Def Jam Music Group. The label remained profitable as its veteran star LL Cool J released his successful album "Mr. Smith" in 1995, a return to the rapper's original credibility following the fallback of his 1993 album, "14 Shots to the Dome"; his last album under the Def Jam/Columbia partnership. The label later signed Foxy Brown, whose debut album, "Ill Na Na" (1996) became a platinum seller in 1997. Def Jam followed up with its then-new R&B act, Case, whose self-titled debut album (also in 1996), including the single, "Touch Me, Tease Me", went gold.


title: Def Jam Recordings

text: In June 1997, Def Jam acquired 50% of Roc-A-Fella Records for an estimated $1.4 million, giving co-founders Jay-Z and Damon Dash part ownership of the label, while Def Jam maintained distribution and co-marketing.


title: Def Jam Recordings

text: In 1997, through Def Jam A&R Irv Gotti, Def Jam signed Ruff Ryders artist DMX. DMX's first studio album, "It's Dark and Hell is Hot" was released on May 12, 1998 and was co-executive produced by Irv Gotti. The album debuted and peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Top 200 and sold over 250,000 copies in its first week. The album went on to sell four million copies in America, being certified Quadruple Platinum by the RIAA, and sold five million copies worldwide. The success of the album prompted Lyor Cohen to challenge DMX to record another album quickly to have another album released within the same calendar year. DMX's second studio album, "Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood" was released on December 22, 1998 and debuted and peaked at number one the Billboard Top 200. The album sold over 670,000 units in its first week of release, and went on to sell over four million copies. DMX claimed that Def Jam made $144 million from the sales of his first two albums.


title: Def Jam Recordings

text: In 1998, PolyGram was purchased by Universal Pictures' former parent, Seagram, and later merged with the MCA group of record labels. In early 1999, the label group was rebranded as the Universal Music Group. It then purchased the remaining interest of Def Jam Recordings from Russell Simmons for a reported $100 million. UMG merged over 14 record labels including Def Jam, Island, and Mercury Records together to form the Island Def Jam Music Group. Despite the formation of IDJMG, the Def Jam, Mercury, and Island labels continued to operate as separate imprints underneath the umbrella.


title: Def Jam Recordings

text: Lyor Cohen was appointed co-president of IDJMG, and Kevin Liles succeeded him as president of Def Jam. In 1998, Def Jam created an R&B spin-off label called Def Soul Records to run under the label's companionship. Def Jam inherited many of Island's urban artists, including Dru Hill (including its lead singer Sisqó), the Isley Brothers (featuring Ronald Isley) and Kelly Price. Def Soul also issued recordings by Musiq Soulchild, Montell Jordan, Case, 112, Patti LaBelle, and Christina Milian. Liles also assumed presidency of Def Soul, which also formed a Classics subsidiary (active from 2003 to 2011). Island's 4th & B'way Records was also folded into Def Jam.


title: Def Jam Recordings

text: Also in 1999, the label began to distribute releases by Murder Inc. Records, the newly-founded label run by former Def Jam A&R executive and record producer Irv Gotti. The label's roster of artists would include Ja Rule, Ashanti and Lloyd, among others. The first release from Murder Inc. Records under Def Jam was Ja Rule's debut studio album, "Venni Vetti Vecci". The album, released June 1, 1999, peaked in the top 3 on the Billboard Top 200 and was certified Platinum by the RIAA. On October 10, 2000, Def Jam and Murder Inc. released Ja Rule's second studio album, "". Anchored by the success of the lead single "Between Me and You", the album debuted at number one on the Billboard top 200 and going on to sell over three million copies in America.


title: Def Jam Recordings

text: The following year, it launched another subsidiary, Def Jam South, which focused on Southern rap and distributed releases from labels such as Disturbing tha Peace, whose artist roster included its co-founder Ludacris, Chingy, Shawnna, Bobby Valentino and Playaz Circle. Russell Simmons tapped Houston hip hop legend and former Rap-A-Lot recording artist Scarface as the original head of Def Jam South.


title: Def Jam Recordings

text: In 2000, The Island Def Jam Music Group announced the formation of Def Jam Germany, the first international Def Jam company. This increased the label's presence around the world. Def Jam Germany signed German rappers Spezializtz and Philly MC. The label was located in Berlin and opened on May 23, 2000. In addition to signing and marketing local artists, Def Jam Germany also marketed all U.S. signed Def Jam artists in the German territory. But the German division folded just two years later in 2002. Many of the artists were picked up by Universal/Urban, while others did not get a new contract.


title: Def Jam Recordings

text: The second international label is a Japanese branch, , also founded in 2000. The label was later rebranded as Def Jam Recordings; however, it is sometimes still referred to as Def Jam Japan. Their artist roster has included Japanese-American singer Ai, Teriyaki Boyz, AK-69, Nitro Microphone Underground, and South Korean boy band BTS.


title: Def Jam Recordings

text: In January 2003, Murder Inc. became the center of a money laundering investigation involving illegal profits from drug trading, leading to the label's eventual release from its distribution contract by 2005. Def Jam also blocked Murder Inc. and TVT Records from releasing a Cash Money Click reunion album, due to Ja Rule's contractual obligations, which alleged that Cohen paid Ja and Irv Gotti $8 million not to submit the project to TVT, but instead to parent company Universal. This resulted in TVT suing Def Jam, alleging infringement, fraud and tortious interference, winning $132 million in a judgment, but was later reduced to $126,000 after Universal and Def Jam appealed the ruling, claiming that the existence of an agreement between the parties meant that their behavior was only a breach of contract and not fraud.


title: Def Jam Recordings

text: The final shares of Roc-A-Fella Records were sold to Island Def Jam in 2004 for $10 million. By that time, Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam had launched the career of rapper-producer Kanye West. His debut, "The College Dropout", went on to sell over two million copies. Co-founder Damon Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke were forced out of the label as Cohen left IDJMG for Warner Music Group, and was replaced by music executive Antonio "L.A." Reid. Frustrated, Liles and now-chairwoman of Atlantic Records, Julie Greenwald (who had been a part of the Def Jam staff since 1990) eventually decided to follow Cohen to Warner. A bidding war for Jay-Z's contract began, and Reid appointed Jay-Z president of Def Jam on December 8, 2004. Long time label veterans LL Cool J and DMX (the latter of whom had five number one albums under the label within a five-year gap between 1998 and 2003), as well as new signee Joe Budden expressed discomfort with Jay-Z's leadership of the label, having altogether left the label since then.


title: Def Jam Recordings

text: Under Jay-Z's leadership, Def Jam launched the successful careers of contemporary R&B singers Rihanna and Ne-Yo. At the end of 2007, after he released "American Gangster", Jay-Z decided not to renew his contract as the president and CEO of Def Jam in order to start his new Live Nation venture, Roc Nation. Following Jay-Z's departure, L.A. Reid took over leadership of the label, as opposed to hiring a replacement. In June 2008, Shakir Stewart was appointed as the executive vice president of Def Jam, a position that was previously left vacant since December 2007. However, on November 1, Stewart committed suicide, vacating the position again. Stewart was responsible for helping to sign Young Jeezy to the label in 2004.


title: Def Jam Recordings

text: In March 2011, it was announced that former Warner Bros. Records executive Joie Manda would become the first president of Def Jam since Jay-Z. Around the summer of 2011, after Universal Music disbanded the Universal Motown Republic Group, Motown Records would be moved under the Island Def Jam umbrella. In 2012, Manda assumed the position of president until March 2013 when he exited his post. It was later announced by his former boss, Barry Weiss, that he would be in charge of the urban division at Def Jam's sister Universal Music label, Interscope Records. The-Dream served as Def Jam's executive vice president of A&R at Def Jam between 2012 and 2014. No I.D. held the position of executive vice president after helping to establish GOOD Music with Kanye West. He later became the executive vice president of the urban division at Def Jam's sister Universal label, Capitol Music Group.


title: Def Jam Recordings

text: On April 1, 2014, it was announced that the Island Def Jam Music Group would no longer be active following the resignation of CEO Barry Weiss. A press release serviced by Universal Music Group stated that IDJMG, and all of its assets would be reorganized into Def Jam, Island and Motown, all as separate entities.


title: Def Jam Recordings

text: Def Jam Recordings currently operates as a stand-alone label within the Universal Music Group. Def Jam signed DaniLeigh to the label in early 2017. Steve Bartels served as president and CEO of Def Jam since 2013 until an announcement commenced on August 3, 2017, stating that in January 2018, Eminem's manager and co-founder of Shady Records, Paul Rosenberg would be appointed chairman and CEO of Def Jam.


title: Def Jam Recordings

text: On September 17, 2019, the launch of Def Jam South East Asia was announced at Music Matters, an annual music industry conference held in Singapore, where Joe Flizzow from Malaysia, Daboyway from Thailand, Yung Raja, Fariz Jabba and Alif from Singapore and A. Nayaka from Indonesia were announced as the label's six inaugural signings. That same month, Def Jam re-signed LL Cool J and DMX after nine and fourteen respective years apart from the label.


title: Def Jam Recordings

text: In late 2019, the label made its debut in the Philippines through Universal Music Group's local subsidiary MCA Music, led by former Sony Music Philippines and Sindikato Management executive Enzo Valdez. Pinoy hip hop quartet VVS Collective was the label's first signed artists.


title: Def Jam Recordings

text: On February 21, 2020, Paul Rosenberg stepped down on his position as CEO of Def Jam. He was replaced by the head of business affairs at Universal Music, Jeffrey Harleston, who instead assumed interim control over the label. That November, Def Jam teamed up with Alex and Alec Boateng to create a new UK spin-off label called 0207 Def Jam under Universal Music UK's EMI Records. The UK roster currently consists of Stormzy. Def Jam also expanded to Africa with the creation of Def Jam Africa. In 2021, Harleston conference-called hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg and named him the executive consultant of Def Jam. Snoop agreed to Harleston's request and took over the consultancy role in July. In August 2021, Harleston announced that he will replace himself as the interim president of Def Jam with former Interscope/RCA executive and Keep Cool founder Tunji Balogun, who agreed to take on the role as chairman and CEO, which he did on New Year's Day 2022.


title: Principality of Sealand

text: The Principality of Sealand () is an unrecognized micronation that claims HM Fort Roughs (also known as Roughs Tower), an offshore platform in the North Sea approximately off the coast of Suffolk, as its territory. Roughs Tower is a Maunsell Sea Fort that was built by the British in international waters during World War II. Since 1967, the decommissioned Roughs Tower has been occupied and claimed as a sovereign state by the family and associates of Paddy Roy Bates. Bates seized Roughs Tower from a group of pirate radio broadcasters in 1967 with the intention of setting up his own station there. Sealand was invaded by mercenaries in 1978, but was able to repel the attack. Since 1987, when the United Kingdom extended its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles, the platform has been in British territory.


title: Principality of Sealand

text: In 1943, during World War II, HM Fort Roughs (sometimes called Roughs Tower) was constructed by the United Kingdom as one of the Maunsell Forts, primarily to defend the vital shipping lanes in nearby estuaries against German mine-laying aircraft. It consisted of a floating pontoon base with a superstructure of two hollow towers joined by a deck upon which other structures could be added. The fort was towed to a position above the Rough Sands sandbar, where its base was deliberately flooded to sink it on its final resting place. This is approximately from the coast of Suffolk, outside the then claim of the United Kingdom and, therefore, in international waters. The facility was occupied by 150–300 Royal Navy personnel throughout World War II; the last full-time personnel left in 1956. The Maunsell Forts were decommissioned in the 1950s.


title: Principality of Sealand

text: Roughs Tower was occupied in February and August 1965 by Jack Moore and his daughter Jane, squatting on behalf of the pirate station Wonderful Radio London.


title: Principality of Sealand

text: On 2 September 1967, the fort was occupied by Major Paddy Roy Bates, a British citizen and pirate radio broadcaster, who ejected the competing group of pirate broadcasters. Bates intended to broadcast his pirate radio station – called Radio Essex – from the platform. Despite having the necessary equipment, he never began broadcasting. Bates declared the independence of Roughs Tower and deemed it the Principality of Sealand.


title: Principality of Sealand

text: In 1968, British workmen entered what Bates claimed to be his territorial waters to service a navigational buoy near the platform. Michael Bates (son of Paddy Roy Bates) tried to scare the workmen off by firing warning shots from the former fort. As Bates was a British subject at the time, he was summoned to court in England on firearms charges following the incident. But as the court ruled that the platform (which Bates was now calling "Sealand") was outside British territorial limits, being beyond the then limit of the country's waters, the case could not proceed.


title: Principality of Sealand

text: In 1975, Bates introduced a constitution for Sealand, followed by a national flag, a national anthem, a currency and passports.


title: Principality of Sealand

text: In August 1978, Alexander Achenbach, who described himself as the Prime Minister of Sealand, hired several German and Dutch mercenaries to lead an attack on Sealand while Bates and his wife were in Austria invited by Achenbach to discuss the sale of Sealand. Achenbach had disagreed with Bates over plans to turn Sealand into a luxury hotel and casino with fellow German and Dutch businessmen. They stormed the platform with speedboats, personal watercrafts and helicopters, and took Bates's son Michael hostage. Michael was able to retake Sealand and capture Achenbach and the mercenaries using weapons stashed on the platform. Achenbach, a German lawyer who held a Sealand passport, was charged with treason against Sealand, and was held unless he paid DM 75,000 (more than US$35,000 or £23,000). Germany then sent a diplomat from its London embassy to Sealand to negotiate for Achenbach's release. Roy Bates relented after several weeks of negotiations and subsequently claimed that the diplomat's visit constituted "de facto" recognition of Sealand by Germany.


title: Principality of Sealand

text: Following the former's repatriation, Achenbach and Gernot Pütz proclaimed a government in exile, sometimes known as the Sealand Rebel Government or Sealandic Rebel Government, in Germany. In 1987, the United Kingdom extended its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles. Sealand now sits in waters internationally recognised as British.


title: Principality of Sealand

text: Sealand sells "fantasy passports" (as termed by the Council of the European Union), which are not valid for international travel. In 1997, the Bates family revoked all Sealand passports, including those that they themselves had issued over the previous 22 years, due to the realisation that an international money laundering ring had appeared, using the sale of fake Sealand passports to finance drug trafficking and money laundering from Russia and Iraq. The ringleaders of the operation, based in Madrid but with ties to various groups in Germany, including the rebel Sealand Government in exile established by Achenbach after the attempted 1978 coup, had used fake Sealandic diplomatic passports and number plates. They were reported to have sold 4,000 fake Sealandic passports to Hong Kong citizens for an estimated $1,000 each. Michael Bates stated in late 2016 that Sealand was receiving hundreds of applications for passports every day. In 2015, Bates asserted that Sealand's population is "normally like two people".


title: Principality of Sealand

text: On the afternoon of 23 June 2006, the top platform of the Roughs Tower caught fire due to an electrical fault. A Royal Air Force rescue helicopter transferred one person to Ipswich Hospital, directly from the tower. The Harwich lifeboat stood by the Roughs Tower until a local fire tug extinguished the fire. All damage was repaired by November 2006.


title: Principality of Sealand

text: In January 2007, The Pirate Bay, an online index of digital content of entertainment media and software founded by the Swedish think tank Piratbyrån, attempted to purchase Sealand after harsher copyright measures in Sweden forced them to look for a base of operations elsewhere. Between 2007 and 2010, Sealand was offered for sale through the Spanish estate company InmoNaranja, at an asking price of €750 million (£600 million, US$906 million).


title: Principality of Sealand

text: Roy Bates died at the age of 91 on 9 October 2012; he had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease for several years. His son Michael took over the operation of Sealand, although he continued to live in Suffolk, where he and his sons were operating a family fishing business called Fruits of the Sea. Joan Bates, Roy Bates's wife, died in an Essex nursing home at the age of 86 on 10 March 2016.


title: Principality of Sealand

text: Simon Sellars of "The Australian" and Red Bull describe Sealand as the world's smallest country, but Sealand is not officially recognised by any established sovereign state. Nonetheless, the Sealand government claims it has been "de facto" recognised by Germany, as the latter once sent a diplomat to Sealand.


title: Principality of Sealand

text: In 1987, the UK extended its territorial waters from . Sealand is now in British territorial waters. In the opinion of law academic John Gibson, there is little to no chance that Sealand would be recognized as a nation due to it being a man-made structure.


title: Principality of Sealand

text: Irrespective of its legal status, Sealand is managed by the Bates family as if it were a recognised sovereign entity and they are its hereditary royal rulers. Roy Bates styled himself as "Prince Roy" and his wife "Princess Joan". Their son had been referred to as the "Prince Regent" by the Bates family between 1999 and Roy's death in 2012. In this role, he apparently served as Sealand's acting "Head of State" and also its "Head of Government".


title: Principality of Sealand

text: At a micronations conference hosted by the University of Sunderland in 2004, Sealand was represented by Michael Bates's son James. The facility is now occupied by one or more caretakers representing Michael Bates, who himself resides in Essex, England.


title: Principality of Sealand

text: Sealand has been involved in several commercial operations, including the issuing of coins and postage stamps and the establishment of an offshore Internet hosting facility, or "data haven".


title: Principality of Sealand

text: In 2000, worldwide publicity was created about Sealand following the establishment of a new entity called HavenCo, a data haven, which effectively took control of Roughs Tower itself. Ryan Lackey, Haven's co-founder and a key participant in the country, left HavenCo under acrimonious circumstances in 2002, citing disagreements with the Bates family over management of the company. The HavenCo website went offline in 2008.


title: Principality of Sealand

text: The Sealand National Football Association is an associate member of the Nouvelle Fédération-Board, a football sanctioning body for non-recognised states and states not members of FIFA. It administers the Sealand national football team. In 2004 the national team played its first international game against Åland Islands national football team, drawing 2–2.


title: Principality of Sealand

text: In 2004, mountaineer Slader Oviatt carried the Sealandic flag to the top of Muztagh Ata. Also in 2007, Michael Martelle represented the Principality of Sealand in the World Cup of Kung Fu, held in Quebec City, Canada; bearing the designation of "Athleta Principalitas Bellatorius" (Principal Martial Arts Athlete and Champion), Martelle won two silver medals, becoming the first-ever Sealand athlete to appear on a world championship podium.


title: Principality of Sealand

text: In 2009, Sealand announced the revival of the Sealand Football Association and their intention to compete in a future Viva World Cup. Scottish author Neil Forsyth was appointed as President of the Association. Sealand played the second game in their history against Chagos Islands on 5 May 2012, losing 3–1. The team included actor Ralf Little and former Bolton Wanderers defender Simon Charlton.


title: Principality of Sealand

text: In 2009 and 2010, Sealand sent teams to play in various ultimate frisbee club tournaments in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Netherlands. They came 11th at UK nationals in 2010.


title: Principality of Sealand

text: In 2015, the runner Simon Messenger ran a half-marathon on Sealand as part of his "round the world in 80 runs" challenge.


title: Principality of Sealand

text: In August 2018, competitive swimmer Richard Royal became the first person to swim the from Sealand to the mainland, finishing in 3 hrs 29 mins. Royal visited the platform before the swim, getting his passport stamped. He entered the water from the bosun's chair, signaling the start of the swim, and finished on Felixstowe beach. Royal was subsequently awarded a Sealand Knighthood by Michael Bates.


title: Estelle Getty

text: Estelle Gettleman (née Scher; July 25, 1923 – July 22, 2008), known professionally as Estelle Getty, was an American


title: Estelle Getty

text: actress and comedian best known for her portrayal of Sophia Petrillo on "The Golden Girls" (1985–92), for which she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. She reprised the role for appearances on "Empty Nest" (1993–95), "The Golden Palace" (1992–93), "Blossom" (1990–95), and "Nurses" (1991–94). Notable films in which she appeared include "Mask" (1985), a semibiographical film in which she played the grandmother of Roy L. Dennis, "Mannequin (1987 film)", and "Stuart Little" (1999). She retired from acting in 2001 due to failing health, and died in 2008 from dementia with Lewy bodies.


title: Estelle Getty

text: Getty was born Estelle Scher in New York City on July 25, 1923, to Charles Scher and Sarah (née Lacher), Jewish immigrants from Poland, at the family's apartment at 257 East 2nd Street on the Lower East Side, which also served as the storefront for the family's glass business. She had a sister Rosilyn "Roz" Scher Howard, and a brother Samuel "David" Scher. As a child, she was known as Etty, a nickname that stemmed from her sister's inability to pronounce "Estelle" correctly, and it stuck with her throughout her life. Her father owned and operated his own business, installing glass windows into automobiles and trucks, and her mother was a homemaker. As a weekly treat, every Friday night, her father would take their family to the Academy of Music on 14th Street to watch a film and a live vaudeville performance, and while watching those performances, Getty decided she wanted to become an actor.


title: Estelle Getty

text: After graduating from Seward Park High School, she continued to live at home with her parents, her father doubtful she would be able to forge a successful career in acting, and worked as a secretary, as the hours allowed for her to attend auditions in the late afternoon and evening while having an income.


title: Estelle Getty

text: For years, Getty won roles in the New York theater circuit, while simultaneously holding a job and raising her two sons, but she struggled to gain notice for her talent. Finally, in 1982, nearing 60 years old, she found her breakthrough role as Mrs. Beckoff in the Broadway production "Torch Song Trilogy", a character that playwright Harvey Fierstein had created specifically with her in mind. She received widespread praise for her appearance in the play—including a Drama Desk Award nomination—and went on to reprise the role in both Broadway and off-Broadway productions for four years. In 1985, the role heavily influenced Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions to cast Getty for the role of Sophia Petrillo on NBC's new sitcom, "The Golden Girls". Getty relied on wigs, clothing, and heavy makeup to age herself to look the part of a mother in her 80s. In reality, she was a year younger than her television daughter, Bea Arthur, who played Dorothy Zbornak. In 1988, Getty won her most notable award, the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, for her work on the show.


title: Estelle Getty

text: "The Golden Girls" ended in 1992 after seven seasons (six of the seven seasons in the top 10 of the Nielsen ratings) due to Arthur wishing to explore new projects. That fall, Getty, McClanahan, and White starred in the show's spin-off, "The Golden Palace", for one season before its cancellation. Getty then appeared in "Empty Nest", "Nurses", "Blossom", "Touched by an Angel", "Mad About You", and "The Nanny". Her other television and film appearances prior to and during the filming of "The Golden Girls" included the TV series "Fantasy Island" and "Cagney & Lacey", and the films "Tootsie" and "Mask", and a starring role in "Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot".


title: Estelle Getty

text: During her time on "The Golden Girls", Getty wrote her autobiography, "If I Knew Then, What I Know Now... So What?", with the help of Steve Delsohn, published by Contemporary Books in 1988. She also released an exercise video for senior citizens in 1993.


title: Estelle Getty

text: Getty was introduced to Arthur Gettleman, whose last name she later used as the basis for her stage name, at a party by her friends from the New York theater circuit. The two married nine months later on December 21, 1947. They had two children together, sons Carl Gettleman and Barry Gettleman, and remained married until his death on September 24, 2004, at the age of 85. After they wed, the two lived in the Bronx for a time, and, after the births of their two sons, moved to Oakland Gardens, Queens, living in a liberal-minded cooperative built for Jewish veterans of World War II called Bell Park Gardens, while Arthur worked with his father-in-law in glass installation. The two lived separately for some time in the mid-80s to mid-90s, as Getty moved to California to work on "The Golden Girls", and Arthur had no desire to leave New York, and continued to work in the family's glass business.


title: Estelle Getty

text: Getty was said by friends Harvey Fierstein and Rosie O'Donnell, both notable members of the LGBT community, to have been heavily involved in HIV/AIDS activism and had lost close friends and family to the disease, among them her nephew Steven Scher (1962–1992), whom she cared for after he was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, and her "Torch Song Trilogy" co-star Court Miller (1952–1986). She later helped to open a hospice for AIDS patients in Greensboro, North Carolina, her nephew's hometown, in 1996, called Beacon Place, which was still in operation as of 2021.


title: Estelle Getty

text: Getty died in the early morning hours of July 22, 2008 aged 84, at her home in Los Angeles, the result of Lewy Body Dementia, according to her family. She was buried in Hollywood Forever Cemetery, her headstone inscribed with the words "With Love and Laughter" and a Star of David to indicate her Jewish faith. Bea Arthur, Betty White, and Rue McClanahan, her co-stars from "The Golden Girls" were saddened by her loss and, in an interview, said that her disease had progressed to the point where she was not able to hold conversations with them or recognize them. She had reportedly started to show signs of dementia during the filming of the television series, when, despite more than three decades of theater work, she began to struggle to remember her lines, and in later seasons of the show, had to rely on cue cards. Getty suffered from osteoporosis, and was also thought to have Parkinson's disease. This diagnosis was ultimately changed to dementia with Lewy bodies.


title: Estelle Getty

text: According to her former co-star White, Getty had undergone a facelift sometime during the hiatus between the end of filming season one of "The Golden Girls" and the beginning of filming season two. Getty had a strong fear of death, to the point where she avoided making jokes about death whenever possible, and was uncomfortable when the show brought up the subject.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylvania Station. It is the fourth venue to bear the name "Madison Square Garden"; the first two (1879 and 1890) were located on Madison Square, on East 26th Street and Madison Avenue, with the third Madison Square Garden (1925) farther uptown at Eighth Avenue and 50th Street.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: The Garden is used for professional ice hockey and basketball, as well as boxing, mixed martial arts, concerts, ice shows, circuses, professional wrestling and other forms of sports and entertainment. It is close to other midtown Manhattan landmarks, including the Empire State Building, Koreatown, and Macy's at Herald Square. It is home to the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL), the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and was home to the New York Liberty (WNBA) from 1997 to 2017.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: Originally called Madison Square Garden Center, the Garden opened on February 11, 1968, and is the oldest major sporting facility in the New York metropolitan area. It is the oldest arena in the NBA and the second oldest arena in the NHL. As of 2016, MSG is also the second-busiest music arena in the world in terms of ticket sales. Including two major renovations, its total construction cost was approximately $1.1 billion, and it has been ranked as one of the 10 most expensive stadium venues ever built. It is part of the Pennsylvania Plaza office and retail complex, named for the railway station. Several other operating entities related to the Garden share its name.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: Madison Square is formed by the intersection of 5th Avenue and Broadway at 23rd Street in Manhattan. It was named after James Madison, fourth President of the United States.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: Two venues called Madison Square Garden were located just northeast of the square, the original Garden from 1879 to 1890, and the second Garden from 1890 to 1925. The first, leased to P. T. Barnum, and was demolished in 1890 because of a leaky roof and dangerous balconies that had collapsed, resulting in deaths. The second was designed by noted architect Stanford White. The new building was built by a syndicate which included J. P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, P. T. Barnum, Darius Mills, James Stillman and W. W. Astor. White gave them a Beaux-Arts structure with a Moorish feel, including a minaret-like tower modeled after Giralda, the bell tower of the Cathedral of Seville – soaring 32 stories – the city's second-tallest building at the time – dominating Madison Square Park. It was by , and the main hall, which was the largest in the world, measured by , with permanent seating for 8,000 people and floor space for thousands more. It had a 1,200-seat theatre, a concert hall with a capacity of 1,500, the largest restaurant in the city, and a roof garden cabaret. The building cost $3 million. Madison Square Garden II was unsuccessful like the first Garden, and the New York Life Insurance Company, which held the mortgage on it, decided to tear it down in 1925 to make way for a new headquarters building, which would become the landmark Cass Gilbert-designed New York Life Building.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: A third Madison Square Garden opened in a new location, on 8th Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, from 1925 to 1968. Groundbreaking on the third Madison Square Garden took place on January 9, 1925. Designed by the noted theater architect Thomas W. Lamb, it was built at the cost of $4.75 million in 249 days by boxing promoter Tex Rickard; the arena was dubbed "The House That Tex Built." The arena was by , with seating on three levels, and a maximum capacity of 18,496 spectators for boxing.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: Demolition commenced in 1968 after the opening of the current Garden, and was completed in early 1969. The site is now the location of One Worldwide Plaza.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: In February 1959, former automobile manufacturer Graham-Paige purchased a 40% interest in the Madison Square Garden for $4 million and later gained control. In November 1960, Graham-Paige president Irving Mitchell Felt purchased from the Pennsylvania Railroad the rights to build at Penn Station. To build the new facility, the above-ground portions of the original Pennsylvania Station were torn down.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: The new structure was one of the first of its kind to be built above the platforms of an active railroad station. It was an engineering feat constructed by Robert E. McKee of El Paso, Texas. Public outcry over the demolition of the Pennsylvania Station structure—an outstanding example of Beaux-Arts architecture—led to the creation of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. The venue opened on February 11, 1968. Comparing the new and the old Penn Station, Yale architectural historian Vincent Scully wrote, "One entered the city like a god; one scuttles in now like a rat."


title: Madison Square Garden

text: In 1972, Felt proposed moving the Knicks and Rangers to a then incomplete venue in the New Jersey Meadowlands, the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The Garden was also the home arena for the NY Raiders/NY Golden Blades of the World Hockey Association. The Meadowlands would eventually host its own NBA and NHL teams, the New Jersey Nets and the New Jersey Devils, respectively. The New York Giants and Jets of the National Football League (NFL) also relocated there. In 1977, the arena was sold to Gulf and Western Industries. Felt's efforts fueled controversy between the Garden and New York City over real estate taxes. The disagreement again flared in 1980 when the Garden again challenged its tax bill. The arena, since the 1980s, has since enjoyed tax-free status, under the condition that all Knicks and Rangers home games must be hosted at MSG, lest it lose this exemption. As such, when the Rangers have played neutral-site games—even those in New York City, such as the 2018 NHL Winter Classic, they have always been designated as the visiting team.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: In 1984, the four streets immediately surrounding the Garden were designated as Joe Louis Plaza, in honor of boxer Joe Louis, who had made eight successful title defenses in the previous Madison Square Garden.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: In April 1986, Gulf and Western announced that they would build a new Madison Square Garden a few blocks away on the site of present-day Hudson Yards. The plan would cost an estimated $150 million and included the demolition of the 1964 building to replace it with a new office tower development. After years of planning, Gulf and Western decided against building a new arena in favor of a renovation after estimated costs doubled throughout the process.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: Garden owners spent $200 million in 1991 to renovate facilities and add 89 suites in place of hundreds of upper-tier seats. The project was designed by Ellerbe Becket. The renovation was criticized for perceived corporatization. Additionally, the renovation made bathrooms larger, expanded menus, added a new ventilation system, replaced all of the seats with new cushioned teal and violet seats, and refurbished both home teams' locker rooms.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: In 2000, current MSG owner, James Dolan was quoted as saying that a new arena was being considered as the current building was starting to show its age.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: In 2004–2005, Cablevision battled with the City of New York over the proposed West Side Stadium, which was cancelled. Cablevision then announced plans to raze the Garden, replace it with high-rise commercial buildings, and build a new Garden one block away at the site of the James Farley Post Office. Meanwhile, a new project to renovate and modernize the Garden completed phase one in time for the Rangers and Knicks' 2011–12 seasons, though the vice president of the Garden says he remains committed to the installation of an extension of Penn Station at the Farley Post Office site. While the Knicks and Rangers were not displaced, the New York Liberty played at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey during the renovation.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: Madison Square Garden is the last of the NBA and NHL arenas not to be named after a corporate sponsor.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: Madison Square Garden's $1 billion second renovation took place mainly over three offseasons. It was set to begin after the 2009–10 hockey/basketball seasons, but was delayed until after the 2010–11 seasons. Renovation was done in phases with the majority of the work done in the summer months to minimize disruptions to the NHL and NBA seasons. While the Rangers and Knicks were not displaced, the Liberty played their home games through the 2013 season at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, during the renovation.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: New features include a larger entrance with interactive kiosks, retail, climate-controlled space, and broadcast studio; larger concourses; new lighting and LED video systems with HDTV; new seating; two new pedestrian walkways suspended from the ceiling to allow fans to look directly down onto the games being played below; more dining options; and improved dressing rooms, locker rooms, green rooms, upgraded roof, and production offices. The lower bowl concourse, called the Madison Concourse, remains on the sixth floor. The upper bowl concourse was relocated to the eighth floor and it is known as the Garden Concourse. The seventh floor houses the new Madison Suites and the Madison Club. The upper bowl was built on top of these suites. The rebuilt concourses are wider than their predecessors, and include large windows that offer views of the city streets around the Garden.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: Construction of the lower bowl (Phase 1) was completed for the 2011–12 NHL season and the 2011–12 NBA lockout-shortened season. An extended off-season for the Garden permitted some advanced work to begin on the new upper bowl, which was completed in time for the 2012–13 NBA season and the 2012–13 NHL lockout-shortened NHL season. This advance work included the West Balcony on the tenth floor, taking the place of sky-boxes, and new end-ice 300 level seating. The construction of the upper bowl along with the Madison Suites and the Madison Club (Phase 2) were completed for the 2012–13 NHL and NBA seasons. The construction of the new lobby known as Chase Square, along with the Chase Bridges and the new scoreboard (Phase 3) were completed for the 2013–14 NHL and NBA seasons.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: Madison Square Garden is seen as an obstacle in the renovation and future expansion of Penn Station, which expanded in 2021 with the opening of Moynihan Train Hall at the James Farley Post Office, and some have proposed moving MSG to other sites in western Manhattan. On February 15, 2013, Manhattan Community Board 5 voted 36–0 against granting a renewal to MSG's operating permit in perpetuity and proposed a 10-year limit instead in order to build a new Penn Station where the arena is currently standing. Manhattan borough president Scott Stringer said, "Moving the arena is an important first step to improving Penn Station." The Madison Square Garden Company responded by saying that "[i]t is incongruous to think that M.S.G. would be considering moving."


title: Madison Square Garden

text: In May 2013, four architecture firms – SHoP Architects, SOM, H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture, and Diller Scofidio + Renfro – submitted proposals for a new Penn Station. SHoP Architects recommended moving Madison Square Garden to the Morgan Postal Facility a few blocks southwest, as well as removing 2 Penn Plaza and redeveloping other towers, and an extension of the High Line to Penn Station. Meanwhile, SOM proposed moving Madison Square Garden to the area just south of the James Farley Post Office, and redeveloping the area above Penn Station as a mixed-use development with commercial, residential, and recreational space. H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture wanted to move the arena to a new pier west of Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, four blocks west of the current station and arena. Then, according to H3's plan, four skyscrapers would be built, one at each of the four corners of the new Penn Station superblock, with a roof garden on top of the station; the Farley Post Office would become an education center. Finally, Diller Scofidio + Renfro proposed a mixed-use development on the site, with spas, theaters, a cascading park, a pool, and restaurants; Madison Square Garden would be moved two blocks west, next to the post office. DS+F also proposed high-tech features in the station, such as train arrival and departure boards on the floor, and apps that would inform waiting passengers of ways to occupy their time until they board their trains. Madison Square Garden rejected the notion that it would be relocated, and called the plans "pie-in-the-sky".


title: Madison Square Garden

text: In June 2013, the New York City Council Committee on Land Use voted unanimously to give the Garden a ten-year permit, at the end of which period the owners will either have to relocate or go back through the permission process. On July 24, the City Council voted to give the Garden a 10-year operating permit by a vote of 47–1. "This is the first step in finding a new home for Madison Square Garden and building a new Penn Station that is as great as New York and suitable for the 21st century," said City Council speaker Christine Quinn. "This is an opportunity to reimagine and redevelop Penn Station as a world-class transportation destination."


title: Madison Square Garden

text: In October 2014, the Morgan facility was selected as the ideal area for Madison Square Garden to be moved, following the 2014 MAS Summit in New York City. More plans for the station were discussed. Then, in January 2016, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a redevelopment plan for Penn Station that would involve the removal of The Theater at Madison Square Garden, but would otherwise leave the arena intact.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: Madison Square Garden hosts approximately 320 events a year. It is the home to the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League, and the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association. Before 2020, the New York Rangers, New York Knicks, and the Madison Square Garden arena itself were all owned by the Madison Square Garden Company. The MSG Company split into two entities in 2020, with the Garden arena and other non-sports assets spun off into Madison Square Garden Entertainment and the Rangers and Knicks remaining with the original company, renamed Madison Square Garden Sports. Both entities remain under the voting control of James Dolan and his family. The arena is also host to the Big East men's basketball tournament and was home to the finals of the National Invitation Tournament from the beginning of its existence up until 2022. It also hosts select home games for the St. John's Red Storm, representing St. John's University in men's (college basketball), and almost any other kind of indoor activity that draws large audiences, such as the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show and the 2004 Republican National Convention.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: The Garden was home of the NBA Draft and NIT Season Tip-Off, as well as the former New York City home of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus and Disney on Ice; all four events are now held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It served the New York Cosmos for half of their home games during the 1983–84 NASL Indoor season.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: Many of boxing's biggest fights were held at Madison Square Garden, including the Roberto Durán–Ken Buchanan affair, the first Muhammad Ali – Joe Frazier bout and the US debut of Anthony Joshua that ended in a huge upset when he was beaten by Andy Ruiz. Before promoters such as Don King and Bob Arum moved boxing to Las Vegas, Nevada, Madison Square Garden was considered the mecca of boxing. The original ring, which was brought from the second and third generation of the Garden, was officially retired on September 19, 2007, and donated to the International Boxing Hall of Fame after 82 years of service. A ring replaced it beginning on October 6 of that same year. The UFC has made Madison Square Garden in recent years and have put on some of the highest grossing PPV events in history.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: Madison Square Garden has been considered the mecca for professional wrestling and the home of WWE (formerly WWF and WWWF). The Garden has hosted three WrestleMania events, more than any other arena, including the first edition of the annual marquee event for WWE, as well as the 10th and 20th editions. It also hosted the Royal Rumble in 2000 and 2008; SummerSlam in 1988, 1991 and 1998; as well as Survivor Series in 1996, 2002 and 2011. Multiple episodes of WWE's weekly shows, RAW and SmackDown have been broadcast from the Arena as well.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Ring of Honor hosted their G1 Supercard supershow at the venue on April 6, 2019, which sold out in 19 minutes after the tickets went on sale. A year later it was announced that New Japan Pro-Wrestling would return to Madison Square Garden alone on August 22, 2020, for NJPW Wrestle Dynasty. In May 2020, NJPW announced that the Wrestle Dynasty show would be postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: Madison Square Garden hosts more high-profile concert events than any other venue in New York City. It has been the venue for Michael Jackson's Bad World Tour in 1988, George Harrison's The Concert for Bangladesh, The Concert for New York City following the September 11 attacks, John Lennon's final concert appearance (during an Elton John concert on Thanksgiving Night, 1974) before his murder in 1980, and Elvis Presley, who gave four sold-out performances in 1972, his first and last ever in New York City. Parliament-Funkadelic headlined numerous sold-out shows in 1977 and 1978. Kiss, who were formed in the arena's city and three of whose members were city-born, did six shows during their second half of the 1970s main attraction peak or "heyday": four winter shows at the arena in 1977 (February 18 and December 14–16), and another two shows only this time in summer for a decade-ender in 1979 (July 24–25). Billy Joel, another city-born and fellow 1970's pop star, played his first Garden show on December 14, 1978. Led Zeppelin's three-night stand in July 1973 was recorded and released as both a film and album titled "The Song Remains The Same". The Police played their final show of their reunion tour at the Garden in 2008.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: In the summer of 2017, Phish held a 13 night series of concerts called "The Bakers' Dozen." During which the band played 237 unique songs, repeating none during the entire run. The Garden commemorated "The Bakers' Dozen" by adding a Phish themed banner to the rafters. With their first MSG show taking place on December 30, 1994, Phish has regularly played annual multi night runs, typically around New Year's Eve. As of 2022 Phish has performed 68 times at MSG.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: At one point, Elton John held the all-time record for the greatest number of appearances at the Garden with 64 shows. In a 2009 press release, John was quoted as saying "Madison Square Garden is my favorite venue in the whole world. I chose to have my 60th birthday concert there, because of all the incredible memories I've had playing the venue." A DVD recording was released as "Elton 60—Live at Madison Square Garden".


title: Madison Square Garden

text: Billy Joel, who holds the record for the greatest number of appearances at the Garden with 129 shows as of September 2022, stated that "Madison Square Garden is the center of the universe as far as I'm concerned. It has the best acoustics, the best audiences, the best reputation, and the best history of great artists who have played there. It is the iconic, holy temple of rock and roll for most touring acts and, being a New Yorker, it holds a special significance to me."


title: Madison Square Garden

text: The Grateful Dead performed in the venue 53 times from 1979 to 1994, with the first show being held on September 7, 1979, and the last being on October 19, 1994. Their longest run being done in September 1991. Madonna performed at this venue a total of 31 concerts, the first two being during her 1985 Virgin Tour, on June 10 and 11, and the most recent being the two-nights stay during her Rebel Heart Tour on September 16 and 17, 2015. Bruce Springsteen has performed 47 concerts at this venue, many with the E Street Band, including a 10-night string of sold-out concerts out between June 12 and July 1, 2000, at the end of the E Street Reunion tour. Queen played their first concerts at the venue from 1977 to 1982. Bob Marley and the Wailers performed in the venue in 1978, 1979 and 1980 as part of Kaya Tour, Survival Tour and Uprising Tour respectively.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: U2 performed at the arena 28 times: the first one was on April 1, 1985, during their Unforgettable Fire Tour, in front of a crowd of 19,000 people. The second and the third were on September 28 and 29, 1987, during their Joshua Tree Tour, in front of 39,510 people. The fourth was on March 20, 1992, during their Zoo TV Tour, in front of a crowd of 18,179 people. The fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth were on June 17 and 19 and October 24, 25 and 27, 2001, during their Elevation Tour, in front of 91,787 people. The 10th through 17th took place between May 21 and November 22, 2005, during their Vertigo Tour, in front of a total sold-out crowd of 149,004 people. The band performed eight performances at the arena in July 2015 as part of their Innocence + Experience Tour, and three performances in 2018 as part of their Experience + Innocence Tour.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: The Who have headlined at the venue 32 times, including a four-night stand in 1974, a five-night stand in 1979, a six-night stand in 1996, and four-night stands in 2000 and 2002. They also performed at The Concert for New York City in 2001.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: On March 10, 2020, a 50th-anniversary celebration of The Allman Brothers Band entitled 'The Brothers' took place featuring the five surviving members of the final Allman Brothers lineup and Chuck Leavell. Dickey Betts was invited to participate but his health precluded him from traveling. This was the final concert at the venue before the COVID-19 pandemic forced its closure. Live shows returned to The Garden when the Foo Fighters headlined a show there on June 20, 2021. The show was for a vaccinated audience only and was the first 100 percent capacity concert in a New York arena since the start of the pandemic.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: It hosted the 1976 Democratic National Convention, 1980 Democratic National Convention, 1992 Democratic National Convention, and the 2004 Republican National Convention, and hosted the NFL Draft for many years (later held at Garden-leased Radio City Music Hall, now shared between cities of NFL franchises). The "Jeopardy!" Teen Tournament and several installments of "Celebrity Jeopardy!" were filmed at MSG in 1999, as well as several episodes of "Wheel of Fortune" in 1999 and 2013.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: The New York Police Academy, Baruch College/CUNY and Yeshiva University also hold their annual graduation ceremonies at Madison Square Garden. It hosted the Grammy Awards in 1972, 1997, 2003, and 2018 (which are normally held in Los Angeles) as well as the Latin Grammy Awards of 2006.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: The group, and Best in Show competitions of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show have been held at MSG every February from 1877 to 2020, which was MSG's longest continuous tenant although this was broken in 2021 as the Westminster Kennel Club announced that the event will be held outdoors for the first time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: The Garden hosted the Stanley Cup Finals and NBA Finals simultaneously on two occasions: in 1972 and 1994.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: The Knicks clinched the 1970 NBA Finals at the arena in the seventh game, remembered best for Willis Reed's unexpected appearance after an injury. The Rangers would later end their 54-year championship drought by winning the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals on home ice. Finally, the 1999 NBA Finals was decided in the Garden, with the San Antonio Spurs defeating the Knicks in five games.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: In 1977, Madison Square Garden announced Gold Ticket Awards would be given to performers who had brought in more than 100,000 unit ticket sales to the venue. Since the arena's seating capacity is about 20,000, this would require a minimum of five sold-out shows. Performers who were eligible for the award at the time of its inauguration included Chicago, John Denver, Peter Frampton, the Rolling Stones, the Jackson 5, Elton John, Led Zeppelin, Sly Stone, Jethro Tull, The Who, and Yes. Graeme Edge, who received his award in 1981 as a member of The Moody Blues, said he found his gold ticket to be an interesting piece of memorabilia because he could use it to attend any event at the Garden. Many other performers have received a Gold Ticket Award since 1977.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: Madison Square Garden also gave Platinum Ticket Awards to performers who sold over 250,000 tickets to their shows throughout the years. Winners of the Platinum Ticket Awards include: the Rolling Stones (1981), Elton John (1982), Yes (1984), Billy Joel (1984), the Grateful Dead (1987), and Madonna (2004).


title: Madison Square Garden

text: The Madison Square Garden Hall of Fame honors those who have demonstrated excellence in their fields at the Garden. Most of the inductees have been sports figures, however, some performers have been inducted as well. Elton John was reported to be the first non-sports figure inducted into the MSG Hall of Fame in 1977 for "record attendance of 140,000" in June of that year. For their accomplishment of "13 sell-out concerts" at the venue, the Rolling Stones were inducted into the MSG Hall of Fame in 1984, along with nine sports figures icons, bringing the hall's membership to 107.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: The walkway leading to the arena of Madison Square Garden was designated as the "Walk of Fame" in 1992. It was established "to recognize athletes, artists, announcers and coaches for their extraordinary achievements and memorable performances at the venue." Each inductee is commemorated with a plaque that lists the performance category in which his or her contributions have been made.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: Twenty-five athletes were inducted into the MSG Walk of Fame at its inaugural ceremony in 1992, a black-tie dinner to raise money to fight multiple sclerosis.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: In 2015, the Grateful Dead were inducted into the MSG Walk of Fame along with at least three sports-related figures.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: Seating in Madison Square Garden was initially arranged in six ascending levels, each with its own color. The first level, which was available only for basketball games, boxing and concerts, and not for hockey games and ice shows, was known as the "Rotunda" ("ringside" for boxing and "courtside" for basketball), had beige seats, and bore section numbers of 29 and lower (the lowest number varying with the different venues, in some cases with the very lowest sections denoted by letters rather than numbers). Next above this was the "Orchestra" (red) seating, sections 31 through 97, followed by the 100-level "First Promenade" (orange) and 200-level "Second Promenade"(yellow), the 300-level (green) "First Balcony", and the 400-level (blue) "Second Balcony." The rainbow-colored seats were replaced with fuchsia and teal seats during the 1990s renovation (in part because the blue seats had acquired an unsavory reputation, especially during games in which the New York Rangers hosted their cross-town rivals, the New York Islanders) which installed the 10th-floor sky-boxes around the entire arena and the 9th-floor sky-boxes on the 7th avenue end of the arena, taking out 400-level seating on the 7th Avenue end in the process.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: Because all of the seats, except the 400 level, were in one monolithic grandstand, horizontal distance from the arena floor was significant from the ends of the arena. Also, the rows rose much more gradually than other North American arenas, which caused impaired sightlines, especially when sitting behind tall spectators or one of the concourses. This arrangement, however, created an advantage over newer arenas in that seats had a significantly lower vertical distance from the arena floor.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: As part of the 2011–2013 renovation, the club sections, 100-level and 200-level have been combined to make a new 100-level lower bowl. The 300-level and 400-level were combined and raised closer, forming a new 200-level upper bowl. All skyboxes but those on the 7th Avenue end were removed and replaced with balcony seating (8th Avenue) and Chase Bridge Seating (31st Street and 33rd Street). The sky-boxes on the 9th floor were remodeled and are now called the Signature Suites. The sky-boxes on the 7th Avenue end of the 10th Floor are now known as the Lounges. One small section of the 400-level remains near the west end of the arena and features blue seats. The media booths have been relocated to the 31st Street Chase Bridge.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden seats between 2,000 and 5,600 for concerts and can also be used for meetings, stage shows, and graduation ceremonies. It was the home of the NFL Draft until 2005, when it moved to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center after MSG management opposed a new stadium for the New York Jets. It also hosted the NBA Draft from 2001 to 2010. The theater also occasionally hosts boxing matches.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: The fall 1999 "Jeopardy!" Teen Tournament as well as a "Celebrity Jeopardy!" competitions were held at the theater. "Wheel of Fortune" taped at the theater twice in 1999 and 2013. In 2004, it was the venue of the "" finale. No seat is more than from the 30' × 64' stage. The theatre has a relatively low ceiling at stage level and all of its seating except for boxes on the two side walls is on one level slanted back from the stage. There is an lobby at the theater.


title: Madison Square Garden

text: Madison Square Garden sits directly atop a major transportation hub in Pennsylvania Station, featuring access to commuter rail service from the Long Island Rail Road and New Jersey Transit, as well as Amtrak. The Garden is also accessible via the New York City Subway. The stop at 8th Avenue and the at 7th Avenue in Penn Station. The Garden can also be reached from nearby Herald Square with the at the 34th Street – Herald Square station as well as PATH train service from the 33rd Street station.


title: Vera (TV series)

text: Vera is a British crime drama series based on the Vera Stanhope series of novels written by crime writer Ann Cleeves. It was first broadcast on ITV on 1 May 2011, and to date, eleven series have aired, with the latest debuting on 29 August 2021. The series stars Brenda Blethyn as the principal character, Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope. In 2021, Ann Cleeves confirmed that the character of Vera was based on a neighbour of her maternal grandmother. The neighbour had been something of a busybody and her personality was the basis for Vera.


title: Vera (TV series)

text: Vera is a nearly retired employee of the fictional 'Northumberland & City Police', who is obsessive about her work and driven by her own demons. She plods along in a constantly dishevelled state, but has a calculating mind and, despite her irascible personality, she cares deeply about her work and colleagues. She often proves her superior skills by picking up small errors in her team members' thought processes. Vera forms a close relationship with sergeants Joe Ashworth (David Leon) and Aiden Healy (Kenny Doughty).


title: Vera (TV series)

text: On 27 August 2020, it was confirmed that the show had been renewed for an eleventh series. Its first four episodes aired in December 2021 and January 2022, with a further two episodes expected in later 2022. In March 2022, it was confirmed that a twelfth series had been commissioned and had begun filming.


title: Vera (TV series)

text: "Hidden Depths", "Telling Tales" and "The Crow Trap" from the first series, and "Silent Voices" from the second series, are based on the novels of the same names by Ann Cleeves. The episode "Sandancers" from the second series was due to be broadcast on Sunday, 13 May 2012. However, the episode was pulled from the schedule as its storyline was about a soldier's death in Afghanistan and it coincided with news of two servicemen dying there.


title: Vera (TV series)

text: In August 2012, "Vera" was renewed for a third series of four episodes, with both Brenda Blethyn and David Leon confirmed as returning for the new series. Filming on the third series finished in February 2013. The last three episodes of the series were broadcast in a later timeslot, from 9:00pm–11:00pm.


title: Vera (TV series)

text: On 22 April 2013, ITV renewed "Vera" for a fourth series, before the third series had even been broadcast. Filming on the fourth series completed in October 2013, and included an adaptation of the then-unpublished novel "On Harbour Street", which was subsequently published in January 2014, ahead of the TV broadcast. This made the opening episode the first since the second series to be a direct adaptation from the "Vera" novels and leaves "The Glass Room" as the only novel yet to be filmed.


title: Vera (TV series)

text: On 5 June 2014, ITV announced that a fifth series had been commissioned but that David Leon would not be returning. Kenny Doughty was unveiled as his successor. Latisha Knight was announced as executive producer for this series. Cush Jumbo returned to the main cast following her two episode guest stint in series two, while Lisa Hammond joined the cast as newcomer Helen Milton.


title: Vera (TV series)

text: In March 2015, ITV announced that the show had been renewed for a sixth series, with filming commencing in June. The third episode was announced to be an adaptation of the novel "The Moth Catcher", which was set to be published in September 2015. Noof McEwan joined the cast following the departure of Cush Jumbo.


title: Vera (TV series)

text: On 14 January 2020, while attending the TCA Press Tour, Brenda Blethyn confirmed that "Vera" was renewed for an eleventh series. Production for series 11 began in April 2020 and new episodes began airing in 2021. a twelfth series had begun production.


title: Vera (TV series)

text: Riley Jones appeared in two episodes as PC Mark Edwards, once in Series 1 and once in series 2 before being transferred into CID and joining the main cast in series 3.


title: Vera (TV series)

text: Clare Calbraith appeared in one episode as RMP Captain Rebecca Shepherd in series 2, before joining the main cast in series 3 as a detective constable.


title: Vera (TV series)

text: ITV had announced that the 12th series has been commissioned and filming began in March 2022. It is scheduled to air in 2023.


title: Jenna Jameson

text: Jenna Marie Massoli (born April 9, 1974), known professionally as Jenna Jameson (), is an American model, former pornographic film actress, businesswoman, and television personality. She has been named the world's most famous adult entertainment performer and "The Queen of Porn".


title: Jenna Jameson

text: She started acting in erotic videos in 1993 after having worked as a stripper and glamour model. By 1996, she had won the "Top Newcomer" award from each of the three major adult movie organizations. She has since won more than 35 adult-video awards, and has been inducted into the X-Rated Critics Organization (XRCO) and Adult Video News (AVN) Halls of Fame.


title: Jenna Jameson

text: Jameson founded the adult-entertainment company ClubJenna in 2000 with Jay Grdina, whom she later married and divorced. Initially, a single website, this business expanded into managing similar websites of other stars and began producing sexually explicit videos in 2001. The first such movie, "Briana Loves Jenna" (with Briana Banks), was named at the 2003 AVN Awards as the best-selling and best-renting pornographic title for 2002. By 2005, ClubJenna had revenues of US$30 million with profits estimated at half that.


title: Jenna Jameson

text: Jameson has also crossed over into mainstream pop culture, starting with a minor role in Howard Stern's 1997 film "Private Parts". Her mainstream appearances continued with several guest-hosting and guest-starring on various television programs. Playboy TV hosted her "Jenna's American Sex Star" reality show, in which aspiring porn stars competed for a ClubJenna contract. Her 2004 autobiography, "", spent six weeks on "The New York Times" Best Seller list.


title: Jenna Jameson

text: Jameson announced her retirement from pornography at the 2008 AVN Awards, stating that she would never return to the industry. Although she no longer performs in pornographic films, she began working as a webcam model in 2013.


title: Jenna Jameson

text: Jenna Marie Massoli was born on April 9, 1974, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her father, Laurence Henry Massoli, was a police officer at the Las Vegas Sheriff's Department and program director for KSNV-DT. Her mother, Judith Brooke Hunt, was a Las Vegas showgirl who danced in the Folies Bergère show at the Tropicana Resort & Casino. Her mother died of melanoma on February 20, 1976, two months before her daughter's second birthday. The cancer treatments bankrupted the family and they relocated in Nevada, Arizona and Montana, usually living in a trailer home or with her paternal grandmother. She and her older brother Tony were raised Catholic, though they were essentially left to parent each other.


title: Jenna Jameson

text: Jameson was a frequent entrant in beauty pageants as a child and enrolled in ballet classes throughout her childhood. In a featurette on the "Zombie Strippers" DVD, Jameson indicates she trained in dance for fifteen years.


title: Jenna Jameson

text: Jameson wrote in her autobiography that in October 1990, when she was 16 years old and while the family was living on a cattle ranch in Fromberg, Montana, she was beaten with rocks and gang raped by four boys after a football game at Fromberg High School. The incident began after she attempted to hitchhike home and that she entered the car of the four boys while believing that she would be driven to her home. She reported being raped a second time while still 16 by "Preacher", her boyfriend Jack's biker uncle. Preacher has denied the rape ever occurred. Rather than tell her father, she left home and moved in with Jack in her first serious relationship.


title: Jenna Jameson

text: Jack was a tattoo artist and gave her the first of a series of tattoos, one of which would become her trademark tattoo, two hearts on her right buttock. According to E!, her brother Tony, who later owned a tattoo parlor himself, added the inscription "Heart Breaker".


title: Jenna Jameson

text: She tried to follow in her mother's career as a Las Vegas showgirl, but most shows rejected her for not having the then-typical height of . She was hired at Disneyland Resort, but she left after two months, stating concerns over the schedule and salary.


title: Jenna Jameson

text: Her boyfriend Jack encouraged her to apply for jobs as a dancer, and in 1991, though underage, she began dancing in Las Vegas strip clubs using a fake identification. After she was rejected from the Crazy Horse Too strip club because of her braces, she removed them with pliers and was accepted. After six months, she was earning US$2,000 per night, before graduating from Bonanza High School.


title: Jenna Jameson

text: Her first stage name as a dancer was "Jennasis", which she later used as the name of a business that she incorporated ("Jennasis Killing Co."). As for picking her permanent professional name, she said, "I had to come up with a good name. I didn't want a porno name. So I sat down, opened up the phone book and thumbed to the J's, cause I wanted it to match my first name." She saw 'James', but rejected "Jenna James" because it "sounds too porno". Right under that was 'Jameson' which struck her as being the name of the whiskey she likes and thought "Ok, that's perfect." That night at work she saw her brother and asked him what he thought of the name "Jenna Jameson". He said, "I'm drinking Jameson right now." And the name stuck after that.


title: Jenna Jameson

text: Besides dancing, starting later in 1991, she posed for nude photographs for photographer Suze Randall in Los Angeles, with the intention of getting into "Penthouse". After her photos had appeared in several men's magazines under various names, she then stopped working for Randall, feeling Randall was "a shark".


title: Jenna Jameson

text: While in high school, she began taking drugs – cocaine, LSD, and methamphetamine – accompanied by her brother (who was addicted to heroin) and at times her father. Her addiction worsened during her four years with her boyfriend. She eventually stopped eating properly and became too thin to model; Jack left her in 1994. She weighed when a friend put her in a wheelchair and sent her to her father, who was then living in Redding, California, in order to detox; her father did not recognize her when she got off the plane.


title: Jenna Jameson

text: Jameson says that she started acting in sex videos in retaliation for the infidelity of her boyfriend, Jack. She first appeared in an erotic film in 1993, a non-explicit softcore movie by Andrew Blake, with girlfriend Nikki Tyler. Her first pornographic movie scenes were filmed by Randy West and appeared in 1994's "Up and Cummers 10" and "Up and Cummers 11". She quickly achieved notice and appeared in several other pornographic films while still living in Las Vegas.


title: Jenna Jameson

text: Of her first adult movie, Randy West said "Jenna contacted me and said she wanted to get into the XXX business, but her agent didn't want her to do porn. A month later I'm on a shoot in Woodland Hills (a San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles), and there's Jenna. She said she wanted to get into the business, despite what her agent said. I told her if you want to just do a girl/girl scene, we can do that. She said she wanted to work with Kylie Ireland, so I set it up. When the sex started, she just fucking rocked! I knew Jenna was special right off the bat. I figured she'd be the next Ginger Lynn, but nobody had any idea she was going to be as big as she turned out to be. Jenna told me when we first met that she was going to be a star."


title: Jenna Jameson

text: Jameson got her first breast implants on July 28, 1994, to enhance her stripping and movie careers. By 2004, she had had two different sets of breast implants and a chin implant.


title: Jenna Jameson

text: Jameson's first adult video appearances were lesbian scenes (a common way that female performers ease into the business). She says: "Girl-on-girl was easy and natural. Then they offered me lots of money to do boy-girl." Her first heterosexual scene was in "Up and Cummers 11" (1994). At the beginning of her career, she promised herself that she would never do anal sex or double penetration scenes on film. Instead, her "signature move" was oral sex, lubricated with saliva. She has also never done any interracial sex scenes with men (despite that category's runaway popularity during the 2000s). When asked about this on "The Howard Stern Show" on February 8, 2008, she said that she was not necessarily opposed to doing so; rather, "it never really came up", as there were few black men working in porn when she started, and none of them worked [exclusively] for the same company [as] she did.


title: Jenna Jameson

text: In 1994, after overcoming her drug addiction by spending several weeks with her father and grandmother, Jameson relocated to Los Angeles to live with Nikki Tyler. Her first movie after that was "Silk Stockings". Later in 1995, Wicked Pictures, a then small pornographic film production company, signed her to an exclusive contract. She remembers telling Wicked Pictures founder Steve Orenstein: "The most important thing to me right now is to become the biggest star the industry has ever seen."


title: Jenna Jameson

text: The contract earned Jameson US$6,000 for each of eight movies in her first year. Her first big-budget production was "Blue Movie" (1995), where she played a reporter investigating a porn set; it won multiple AVN Awards. In 1996, Jameson won top awards from three major industry organizations, the XRCO Best New Starlet award, the AVN Best New Starlet Award, and the Fans of X-Rated Entertainment (F.O.X.E.) Video Vixen award. She was the first entertainer to win all three awards. A stream of other awards followed.


title: Jenna Jameson

text: By 2001, Jameson earned $60,000 for a day and a half of filming a single DVD, and $8,000 per night dancing at strip clubs. She tried to restrict herself to five films per year and two weeks of dancing per month. Her husband Jay Grdina has said that she earned as much as $25,000 per night dancing.


title: Jenna Jameson

text: Between 2005 and 2006, she hosted Playboy TV's "Jenna's American Sex Star", where prospective porn stars compete in sexual performances for a contract with her company, ClubJenna. Winners of the contracts for the first two years were Brea Bennett and Roxy Jezel.


title: Jenna Jameson

text: In August 2007, Jameson had her breast implants removed, reducing her from a D to a C cup; she also said she was finished with appearing on camera in pornographic films, though she would continue running ClubJenna, which was grossing $30 million per year. In January 2008, Jameson confirmed she was retiring from pornographic performances and has since said that she "won't even do a "Maxim" cover".


title: Jenna Jameson

text: Jameson's first appearance at an adult-entertainment event since her retirement was at the 2013 Exxxotica New Jersey convention in October. The following month, she returned to the adult industry as a webcam model. On January 15, 2014, Fleshlight released Jameson's signature artificial vagina. Jameson was also the master of ceremonies for the 2014 XBIZ Awards on January 24.


title: Jenna Jameson

text: Jameson and Grdina formed ClubJenna as an Internet pornography company in 2000. ClubJenna.com was one of the first pornographic sites to provide more than pictures and videos; it provided explicit diaries, relationship advice, and even stock tips to paid members. The site reportedly was profitable in its third week. The business later diversified into multimedia pornographic entertainment, first by administering other porn stars' websites, then, in 2001, by the production of pornographic films.


title: Jenna Jameson

text: Early ClubJenna films starred Jameson herself, limiting herself to on-screen sex with other women or with Grdina, who appeared as Justin Sterling. The first ClubJenna film, "Briana Loves Jenna" (2001), co-produced with Vivid, cost US$280,000 to make, and grossed over $1 million in its first year. It was the best selling and best-renting pornographic title of its year, winning twin AVN Awards. It was marketed as "Jenna. Her first boy/girl scene in over 2 years." referring to Jameson's abstention from heterosexual on-film intercourse. Grdina has said that Jameson's films averaged sales of 100,000 copies, compared with run-of-the-mill pornographic films, which did well to sell 5,000. On the other hand, he also said that their films took up to twelve days to film, compared with one day for other pornographic films.


title: Jenna Jameson

text: In a January 2009 interview with William Shatner on "Shatner's Raw Nerve", Jameson said she came close to buying "Penthouse" magazine when publisher Bob Guccione filed for Chapter 11 reorganization of his business (which occurred in August 2003), but was thwarted when someone else swooped in and bought up all the stock. "New York Magazine"'s "Intelligencer" quoted a source from Penthouse as saying "I'm sure she is considering it", adding that Jameson was to be cover girl in January 2004 – and "it's a really wild-looking shoot, even for a porn star."


title: Jenna Jameson

text: In 2004, the ClubJenna films expanded to starring other actresses without Jameson – Krystal Steal, Jesse Capelli, McKenzie Lee, Ashton Moore and Sophia Rossi – as Jameson stepped back from starring roles. In 2005 Jameson first directed a film, "The Provocateur", released as "Jenna's Provocateur" in September 2006. The ClubJenna films were distributed and marketed by Vivid Entertainment, which "Forbes" magazine once called "the world's largest adult film company". They made up a third of ClubJenna's revenues, but over half of the profits.


title: Jenna Jameson

text: ClubJenna was run as a family business, with Grdina's sister, Kris, as vice president in charge of merchandising. In 2005, ClubJenna had estimated revenues of $30 million, with profits of about half that.


title: Jenna Jameson

text: Jameson also capitalized on merchandising herself. Since May 2003, she has been appearing on a tall billboard in New York City's Times Square promoting her web site and movies. The first advertisement displayed her wearing only a thong and read "Who Says They Cleaned Up Times Square?" There is a line of sex toys licensed to Doc Johnson, and an "anatomically correct" Jenna Jameson action figure. She stars in her own sex simulation video game, "Virtually Jenna", in which the goal is to bring a 3D model of her to orgasm. Y-Tell, ClubJenna's wireless company, sells Jenna Jameson "moan tones" (telephone ringtones), chat services, and games in partnerships with 20 carriers around the world, mostly in Europe and South America. In 2006, New York City-based Wicked Cow Entertainment started to expand her brand to barware, perfume, handbags, lingerie, and footwear, sold through high end retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Colette boutiques. Her film and merchandising success enabled her to attain her goal of becoming the top porn star in the world.


title: Jenna Jameson

text: In August 2005, ClubJenna launched Club Thrust, an interactive website for Jameson's gay male fans, which includes videos, galleries, sex advice, gossip, and downloads. The director of webmaster relations for ClubJenna said the straight site had always had a lot of gay traffic. By 2006, ClubJenna administered more than 150 official sites for other adult entertainment industry stars.


title: Jenna Jameson

text: In August 2005, a group of business investors that included Jameson purchased Babes Cabaret, a strip club in Scottsdale, Arizona, intending to make it the first foray of ClubJenna into live entertainment. Soon after the purchase attracted attention, the Scottsdale City Council proposed a new ordinance banning nudity at adult-entertainment venues and requiring a four-foot divider restricting contact with dancers. Such a divider would have also effectively banned lap dances, the dancers' main source of revenue. Jameson argued strongly against the ordinance, and helped organize a petition against it. On September 12, 2006, in a referendum on the ordinance, voters struck down the stricter rules, allowing the club to continue to operate as before.


title: Jenna Jameson

text: On February 3, 2006, Jameson hosted a "Vivid ClubJenna Super Bowl Party" with several other ClubJenna and Vivid Girls at the Zoo Club in Detroit, Michigan for a $500 to $1,000 ticket price. It featured a lingerie show, but no planned nudity or sex acts. When first announced, the party caused controversy with the National Football League, which did not sanction this as an official Super Bowl event. For 2007, Jameson signed up to play quarterback in the Lingerie Bowl, but retired due to her insurance company's damage concerns. She instead acted as commentator.