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Month: December 2022

The Power of Data: Public Information Can Be More Valuable Than You Think

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Everyone has a public record, and everyone can have their information looked up by just about anyone in the world. This information is one of the most powerful tools in the world, as data becomes more and more important as the years go on. We’re long removed from the days of people simply having a birth certificate, marriage certificate, deed, and then death certificate.

Now, almost every piece of data regarding your life can be bought online, and there’s more information out there than you might think. This information is also more valuable than you might think, too. What makes this data so important, though? Let’s take a look at the power of modern-day data and what it means for you.

Accountability

If you’re someone that’s essentially living off of the grid, you don’t have many people that are holding you accountable for your actions in life outside of your potential creditors. However, those that are in positions of power need to be held in check, and having access to their public information is a valuable and powerful tool.

From people that are running for a political position or an executive with a multi-million dollar corporation, there are people that are held to a higher standard. Public information records can let people know if power is being abused, and some very powerful people have gotten backlash due to public information.

Even the President of the United States is not immune to being held accountable from public information. Presidents like Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump have been under investigation due to their public information. If it goes all the way to the top, then you know that type of information is extremely valuable.

Marketing

The list of companies that want to know everything about you is endless because your public information can alter the way that they market to you and the people in your area. By looking at your public record, companies can get a good idea of how much disposable income you have, your location, and what you’re likely to spend money on.

Even your information that’s not part of the public record can be obtained by companies so that they can market to you on a more specific level. Websites like Facebook track a lot of the information you look up and your personal details, and targeted marketing can be very obvious. Do you own an Amazon Alexa or a similar device and suddenly start seeing advertisements for something that you were talking about that day? It’s not a coincidence.

Career

Your public record can determine whether or not you get the job of your dreams, believe it or not. Upon applying to a company, they’re likely to run a public information check on you to see if everything’s up to par. They’ll check your finances to see if there’s a bankruptcy or default that would result in wage garnishment, and they’re more likely to go with a candidate that won’t have a garnishment.

Also, having poor credit can affect you from getting a job in finance, but the most important thing that can hold you back from a job is a criminal record. Those that have been convicted of violent or financial crimes are less likely to land a job after a public information act. Make sure that your record is squeaky clean before applying for a dream job.

Getting a House

The biggest purchase that you can make in your lifetime is to buy a house, and everything that happens before, during, and after all uses public information. Your public record will show your ability to buy a house and where you’ve lived in the past. If you’ve been renting for several years with no late payments and no defaulted loans, your chances of getting a mortgage are going to be tremendous.

Any transaction that you make on a home will go into the public record, whether you’re buying, selling, or renting. This means that your address can easily be searched, so make sure that you’re comfortable with that when getting a new home. Going back to marketing, have you ever received a ton of junk mail with advertising? That’s part of public information.

Benefits of Reading a Daily Spiritual Reading Habit

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In the United States, about 10 percent of people read spiritual writings on a daily basis. This is a number that has gone down tremendously over the years, as people start to lose touch with their spiritual side. If you feel like you’re lost in life and want to get to a spot where life feels meaningful and beautiful, one of the best things that you can do is to read spiritual texts on a daily basis. Here are five of the biggest benefits that you experience when doing just that:

1. Stress Relief

Getting in touch with your spirituality is one of the best ways to relieve stress, and it’s backed up by studies. Researchers have found that those who have a daily spiritual reading habit are able to harness their feelings on a healthier basis and can manage stress easier. The act of reading, no matter the context, is already a great way of relieving stress, and it’s boosted when doing some spiritual reading.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a holy book, stories of inspiration from those of the same faith, or anything in between, as all forms of reading will help. One of the biggest reasons that reading helps is because you start to reflect upon your own spirituality and feelings, and when you’re focused on your own well-being, you’re less likely to become unfocused by menial tasks that can cause stress.

2. Deeper Understanding

For many people, their knowledge of religion is typically confined to the surface level, knowing some of the names and places that are mentioned within scripture. For those that are doing their daily spiritual reading, though, there’s an understanding of your own religion and all other religions that you get.

This helps you to get more in touch with the world and learn to be more accepting of those with other faiths. If everyone, including those that don’t follow a religion, were to have a daily spiritual reading habit, then there would be a lot less conflict over misunderstandings based on another person’s religion. It will also help you to become a better teacher for those that also want to start their spiritual journey.

3. Stronger Faith

If you simply believe in a higher power but don’t know about the teachings, you may not have very strong faith. Those that are getting into a daily reading habit, though, are more inclined to have a stronger faith as they learn the finer details of how to live their lives to serve a higher power.

We start to learn more trust in that power as we pick up a daily reading habit, especially when there are stories involved that you discover for the first time that helps you find that deeper faith that there’s a larger plan at work. Those of the strongest faith can recite many spiritual readings from their memory as they continue to read rhythm repeatedly for a better understanding. 

4. You Enact The Teachings

There are some base-level ways in which to act if you are just looking into faith, but you’ll know how to act on a daily basis when reading every day. For many, simply being kind to neighbors and giving back to the community are the cornerstones of how they should live their lives based on their religion, but there are many ways in which to live your life to be a servant of a higher power.

Reading each day will let you know some of the finer points that are being made, making them easier to enact each day. Applying these new teachings that you discover each day will add up, making you a person that many in your community look up to as someone to help lead them down the right path.

5. Your Meaning of Life

While none of us will ever know the true meaning of life, you can get a better understanding of your meaning of life when reading every day. You’ll start to pick up on some things that let you see that there’s a higher purpose than simply working, eating, and sleeping.

For many, this is a mind-opening experience once they start to read daily, and helps your overall psyche in a lot of ways. Life is certainly not meaningless, and getting in touch spiritually will allow you to see just how important life is.

5 Best League of Legends Players and Their Champions

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League of Legends has been played by millions upon millions of people around the world, but it takes a special kind of talent to play the game on a professional level as those at the top are, for lack of a better term, freakishly good. From winning tournaments worth massive prize pools in the millions to garnering audiences on Twitch, League of Legends has a massive following and requires a lot of skill to be at the top. Let’s take a look at the best of the best, which champions they use, and how much they’ve won during their careers.

5. Perkz

Real Name: Luka Perkovic

Country of Origin: Croatia

Favorite LoL Champion: Ryze

Bio: Perkz is a Mid Laner that joined GSI Gaming shortly before it disbanded, signing with three different teams in 2015. Perkz finally found some stability when he signed with G2 Esports, and remained with the team for five years before heading to Cloud9 and eventually Team Vitality.

Perkz has accomplished a lot in his career, including winning a Mid-Season Invitational, League Championship Series, and a pair of Rift Rivals titles. However, his biggest feat has been winning the LEC eight times, including being named to the All-Pro Team four times.

4. Caps

Real Name: Rasmus Borregaard Winther

Country of Origin: Denmark

Favorite LoL Champion: Syndra

Bio: Caps became a professional League of Legends player in 2016 when he joined the Dark Passage team, and in the same year joined Fnatic. Since 2018, Caps has been a Mid Laner for the G2 Esports Team and a valuable part of the squad.

Caps has won the Rift Rivals championship twice and the TCL Championship and MSI Championship once each. The biggest accomplishment that he’s had thus far, though, is winning the League EMEA Championship an impressive seven times and has been a First-Team All-Pro in each of the events.

3. Uzi

Real Name: Jian Zihao

Country of Origin: China

Favorite LoL Champion: Vayne

Bio: Playing as a Bot Laner, Uzi started in the early days of League of Legends when he became a professional with Royal Club from 2012 to 2014. He would hop around to several teams between 2014 and 2016 before finally signing on with Royal Never Give Up for several years and eventually Bilibili Gaming in 2021.

Uzi would ultimately retire from professional gaming in 2020 due to health issues, but he was able to build quite a resume in League before doing so. Uzi was a two-time LPL Champion while also winning the Rift Rivals title and Mid-Season Invitational in 2018. He’s been the MVP of four major tournaments and a two-time All-Star 1v1 winner.

2. Smeb

Real Name: Smeb

Country of Origin: South Korea

Favorite LoL Champion: Rumble

Bio: Like Uzi, Smeb started playing League professionally back in 2012 and was part of the NAB Team, and has played for Incredible Miracle 1, ROX Tigers, and KT Rolster through his professional career before officially retiring in December 2020 after winning a long list of titles.

Prior to his retirement, Smeb had a long list of accomplishments during his LoL days. He won the KeSPA Cup in back-to-back years (2016 and 2017), while also winning two League Champions Korea titles. Smeb’s accomplishments allowed him to be an Olympic torch relay runner for his native South Korea in 2018.

1. Faker

Real Name: Lee Sang-hyeok

Country of Origin: South Korea

Favorite LoL Champion: Ryze

Bio: Faker is the biggest icon in all of professional League of Legends gaming, and started his career with T1 and has been with the squad ever since 2013, eventually becoming a part owner. Faker is referred to by most as the greatest player in the game’s history, with some referring to him as the Wayne Gretzky of LoL.

Faker is a 10-time winner of the League of Legends Korea championships, including three MVP titles. He’s also won the Mid-Season Invitational hosted by Riot Games twice, and won the world championship in 2013, 2015, and 2016.

5 Most Expensive BMWs Ever Made

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BMW vehicles are already among the most expensive on the market, but there are some that truly go above and beyond when it comes to the selling price. BMW has had several vehicles that are worth hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars over the years. These five, though, end up setting the standard for the most expensive BMWs ever made.

5. 1990 BMW M8 E31 Prototype

Auto manufacturers tend to keep most of their projects a secret, and BMW kept their development of the BMW M8 E31 prototype hidden for about 20 years. Featuring a maximum output of 640 horsepower and a 6.0-liter V12 engine, the E31 was meant to be able to overtake Ferraris and McLarens that were out on the road while reaching top speeds of over 186 miles per hour.

In 2010, BMW finally revealed the prototype that they had been working on, and what truly could have been for the 8 series. There was only one unit made, with an estimated value of over $1 million. Of course, if BMW were to ever sell the car, it would certainly fetch a lot more than that at auction due to its rarity. The powerful supercar would more than likely be worth tens of millions.

4. 2015 BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage Concept

The 1972 BMW 3.0 CSL is one of the auto maker’s most notorious vehicles, and BMW wanted to pay tribute with a concept vehicle that would be an upgraded and updated version. The end result was the 2015 BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage, which was dubbed “The Batmobile” by some due to its appearance. 

Featuring a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged hybrid i6 engine and 500 horsepower, the Hommage changed the exterior design quite a bit, leading to some criticism. BMW announced in 2022 that there would be a new 3.0 that made it to production lines, but the Hommage concept was incredibly rare and valued at $1.5 million.

3. 1958 BMW 507 Series II

In 2019, a 1958 BMW 507 Roadster Series II was put up for auction in Arizona, and the winning bid ended up being $2,175,000. Only 252 of these cars were made that featured a 3.2-liter V8 engine and were $11,000 upon their release. Needless to say, the value of the 507 Series II models skyrocketed over the years and had been in the hands of a few different collectors during that time.

Interestingly enough, the 507 was a major loss for BMW as the cars were expensive to make and didn’t sell as quickly as they had hoped. Even Elvis Presley owning one didn’t help the notoriety early on, but the 507 has become a thing of legend ever since, as many feel it looks like it’s taken straight from a classic James Bond film.

2. 1991 BMW Nazca M12

BMW teamed up with Italian designer Fabrizio Giugiaro to come up with a concept that would be thought of as a car that could compete in Formula 1 and featured a V-12 engine. With that, the hyper-futuristic Nazca M12 was born in 1991 and debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show. The car was tweaked slightly to create the Nazca C2, but the original is the most coveted due to its rarity.

The concept car never made it to production despite being one of the most powerful cars that BMW had ever created. The rarity then contributed to its value, and the Nazca M12 is estimated to be around $3 million. Those that have sene it wish that they could’ve gotten one of these on the streets of Italy.

1. 1957 BMW 507 Touring

The 1958 version of the 507 isn’t the only BMW to be worth millions, as the one that was made the year prior was also an expensive one that didn’t become as popular (at the time) as BMW had thought. The 1957 version of the 507 was the first, with the car selling for as high as $5 million. 

The particular 507 that earned that much at auction was the touring version that was used by John Surtees, who won the 1956 Motorcycle World Championship and took exceptional care of the car for the remainder of his life. While most surviving 507s aren’t exactly up to code, Surtees’ was in top shape.

5 Best Career Paths Without a College Degree

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Due to the price of obtaining a college degree increasing dramatically, there are many people that are skipping college altogether and going straight into the job market. In the United States alone, more than one-third of adults never attended college. If you didn’t attend college or are a high-schooler that’s thinking about going to the job route before heading to college, here are the five best career paths you can take without a college degree.

1. Executive Assistant

Job Description: An executive assistant tends to help higher-ups in a company keep pace with their hectic schedules throughout the days and months. From making the schedule to taking calls and organizing, executive assistants can end up working around the clock if they’re working for some of the most important people in the world.

Salary Expectations: The median salary for an executive assistant is over $65,000, with the 10th percentile making around $50,000. The top 10 percent of executive assistants are making over $83,000 per year, with those working for top executives earning six figures.

Future Potential: Due to virtual assisting, some executive assistants are being outsourced, so now is the time to pursue this career before the market starts to shrink, according to experts.

2. Police Officer

Job Description: Police officers are expected to uphold the law on a city, county, state, or national level. As first responders, police officers are called upon in the case of an emergency situation. There is a varying level of intensity with this job, as much of it is keeping public safety in order and doing community outreach, while some emergencies can escalate quickly. 

Salary Expectations: The salary of a police officer is a steady one, with a median income of over $61,000. Most police officers are making around this amount, with the bottom 10 percent still making over $50,000 per year while the top 10 percent is making over $72,000.

Future Potential: Police officer jobs are always consistent, and expected to remain at the same level.

3. Electrician

Job Description: Electricians handle a lot of different aspects of the field, doing everything from installing wiring to making repairs in buildings as small as a shed and as large as a skyscraper. Electricians don’t need a college degree, but most go through an apprenticeship to get into the trade as proper training is paramount.

Salary Expectations: An electrician’s salary can vary greatly depending on their experience and range of skills, as well as their contacts/references. Electricians on the lower end are making around $40,000 while the higher end can easily make over $70,000. The median salary for an electrician is over $53,000.

Future Potential: The need for electricians grows every year at a steady rate as the world becomes more dependent on electricity.

4. Plumber

Job Description: Plumbers are a lot like electricians in the fact that they need to have a lot of general knowledge on one broad topic. Plumbers install and repair pipes that carry water within a structure, while also taking care of valves, drainage systems, and much more. At the end of the day, plumbing is a lot more than fixing a toilet.

Salary Expectations: Plumbers are among the highest-paid workers on the list, with the bottom 10 percent still making around $45,000 per year. The median is over $60,000 and the top 10 percent are making over $76,000 per year, showing that’s it’s a stable job.

Future Potential: The need for plumbers isn’t skyrocketing, but is expected to remain steady for years to come.

5. Real Estate Agent

Job Description: A real estate agent acts as the liaison between a home seller and a home buyer, usually packing a busy schedule where they conduct home viewings and take people through the entire process of a sale. Agents have to be great in sales and communication, so the hours can often be brutal and are guaranteed to include weekends.

Salary Expectations: Out of all of the jobs on the list, the salary range for real estate agents is by far the most varied. The median income of $44,000 is barely above the bottom 10 percent of $42,000, while the upper 10 percent are making $70,000 and more. The top real estate agents are making six-figures, with many also making millions.

Future Potential: Due to the ebbs and flows of the real estate market, job growth and shrinkage can happen at any given time for real estate agents.

5 Mobile Games That Had Viral Success

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Every now and then, there’s an app that everybody goes crazy for and it goes from having a few hundred downloads to having millions of downloads seemingly overnight. Most of the time, the apps that are able to achieve this type of sudden viral success fall in the games category. Some of the games are incredibly simplistic and people of all ages end up becoming devoted to make it as far as they can, while others involve multiplayer and are just plain old fun.

There have been many games that went viral, though many of them were flashes in the pan that ended up becoming an afterthought just as soon as they were on everybody’s phones. Then, there are those that had staying power. Our list has a nice mix of both, as we showcase five mobile games that had the most viral success.

Flappy Bird

Flappy Bird is an arcade-style mobile game that was developed by Dong Nguyen’s company .Gears, also known as dotGears, was released in 2013. It rose in popularity in 2014, becoming an overnight sensation to kids and adults alike. People were obsessed with this fun, but difficult game. Making it the most downloaded mobile game of the year, earning a whopping $50,000 a day in sales and ad revenue. In an act of humanity, the game’s creator took it off the AppStore due to the incredibly addictive nature of the game. 

Candy Crush

Candy Crush is a worldwide mobile game phenomenon, free to play and popular among all ages and walks of life. It was developed by King and originally released for Facebook in 2012. Now the game can be downloaded sans Facebook and enjoyed by anybody on iOS, Android, or PC. The game features a cute and colorful array of candy pieces set up in a tile-matching style of gameplay. You must match three, or more candies in a line, block of four, or L-shaped formation. Each level presents its own challenges and increases in difficulty over the course of the levels. It’s a wonderfully fun and mind-numbing game that surprisingly never gets old. 

Pokémon Go

One of the most viral mobile games of modern times is Pokémon Go. Popular among today’s youth and millennials alike. It brings the adventure and unique nature of Pokémon to the real world. You can explore real-life locations and search for different kinds of Pokémon along your travels. You can find eggs that require the player to walk a specific distance before it hatches. Giving incentives to walk and stay active. As well as creating a fun way to socialize with other players in your community. 

Among Us

Among Us is another hugely successful game that got its start on mobile platforms. The game was developed by Innersloth studios and released in 2018, later being released for consoles and PC. The multiplayer social deduction game was inspired by the sci-fi thriller “The Thing” as well as the game “Mafia” created in the 1980s. Among Us rose in popularity in 2020 when a variety of Twitch streamers with large audiences began playing the game on streams. Some believe the 2020 pandemic made the game take off, due to its socially interactive and fun gameplay. 

Roblox

If you know a kid, you’ve probably heard of Roblox. The ever-so-popular mobile game is one kids go crazy for. It was developed by the Roblox Corporation and released for PC in 2006. Later released for mobile users in 2012 and 2014. The game is free to play but largely reliant on in-game purchases through the use of Robux. It’s estimated that half of all children in America are active users on the platform. It features a large variety of games for different age ranges, like music games, puzzle games, social games, and modified versions of popular games outside of Roblox. 

5 Best Motocross Video Games Ever

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Not all of us can get out to the motocross track or have room for a bike, but almost all of us do have a gaming console. For this reason, there are a lot of people that love motocross video games, even if they’ve never ridden a bike themselves. Over the years, we’ve been treated to a lot of great motocross video games, but which ones are truly the best? Here are our picks for the five best motocross video games of all time.

5. Excitebike

You can’t talk about motocross video games without mentioning the one that started it all back in 1984. Initially released for the Famicom/Nintendo Entertainment System, “Excitebike” was a side-scrolling 8-bit racer that taught players the importance of finding the right speed for jumps on a motocross track. Sure it was difficult, but NES players had a lot of fun with it.

Not only did “Excitebike” set the tone for other NES side-scrollers, but it also launched a slew of sequels in the franchise including “Excitebike 64” and “Excitebike: World Rally”. People are split on the actual quality of the original “Excitebike”, but there’s no doubting its importance to video games overall and introducing a lot of youngsters to the sport.

4. MX Superfly

There was that special era of video games where you couldn’t yet race online but could purchase downloadable content including new songs and racers. “MX Superfly” was part of that era, and was released on the Xbox, PlayStation 2, and GameCube in the summer of 2002. A sequel to “MX 2002”, “Superfly” improved a lot from the first game and felt like the first true simulation in motocross.

The game hasn’t aged particularly well compared to others on the list, but “MX Superfly” was an amazing game for its time that featured outdoor racing, supercross, and even a stunt challenge. “MX Superfly” received generally positive reviews overall no matter what system it was on and motocross fans still come back to this game every now and then.

3. MX Unleashed

“MX 2002 featuring Ricky Carmichael” was the first of the THQ motocross trilogy, with “Superfly” being the second. The final installment of the series was “MX Unleashed”, which was released in February 2004 on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, but surprisingly not the GameCube. “MX Unleashed” further tweaked the style that made “MX Superfly” so enjoyable and added some new features to go along with it.

“MX Unleashed” felt like a true “Superfly” sequel, and fans were treated to it many years later when it became available on mobile phones and was included in Xbox’s Games With Gold program. While the graphics are what you expect from a PS2 game, the gameplay definitely withstands the test of time.

2. MX vs. ATV Reflex

Following the success of the MX Trilogy by THQ, the publisher set out to expand their horizons, getting ATVs included and launching the “MX vs. ATV” franchise in 2005 starting with “MX vs. ATV Unleashed”. There have been several games as part of the series since then, with “MX vs. ATV Reflex” being at the top of the list of fan favorites.

To get the full enjoyment out of “Reflex”, though, players would be better suited to use the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 versions that received great reviews as the Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable versions didn’t get the same type of love. It takes some getting used to on the controls after playing the MX Trilogy, but the payoff is worth it.

1. MXGP3

Getting away from THQ for the top spot, Italian video game publisher Milestone has the “official motocross videogame” with their series MXGP, which was first released in 2014 on the PlayStation 3 and 4, as well as the Xbox 360. Since then, there have been several installments, with the top being “MXGP3”.

Where the THQ series of games is more arcade-esque, “MXGP” is a better simulation of what it’s like to be in a race with over a dozen other riders. CPUs racers are incredibly smart, even down to whipping their bikes over a jump. Overall, “MXGP 3” received positive reviews and helped push the series to where it is today.

A Brief History of DnD

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Dungeons and Dragons is a tabletop game that has been played by tens of millions worldwide, and because of the rise of the internet age, millions more have been added to the player userbase to the point where there are over 13 million active players. While it was considered to be for “nerds” in its early days, people from all walks of life play DnD now.

Those that are new to the game might not know where it came from, though. How did it get from the dank basements of 1970s teens to internet streamers with thousands of viewers? Before we look into the future of Dungeons and Dragons, we have to look into its past. Here is a brief history of DnD.

Starting with the Siege

Before Dungeons and Dragons came along, there was a game named Siege of Bodenburg created by Henry Bodenstedt in 1967 that was published in the Strategy & Tactics magazine. The medieval game was a favorite for Jeff Perren and the rest of the Lake Geneva Tactical Studies Association.

During the late 1960s, Perren wrote his own rules for Siege of Bodenburg, and fellow LGTSA member Gary Gygax added a fantasy element to his rules, creating an all-new game that was originally titled Chainmail and released in 1971. Meanwhile, Dave Wesley and Dave Arneson were working on their own wargame and used many of the rules of Chainmail.

Chaining the Dragon

Dave Arneson had worked with Gary Gygax before, and the two were able to share their ideas of blending the two sets of rules that they created. The new game needed a name, however, and Gygax let his toddler daughter decide on the simplistic Dungeons and Dragons. Gygax and his fellow players thought it was a big hit, and their playing group grew rapidly in the early days of DnD.

After playing for countless hours, Gygax continued to alter the rules so that they would be more player-friendly and accessible while also being fun. Gygax took inspiration from a lot of science fiction and fantasy pieces of media. It was clear that Dungeons and Dragons was going to be a hit, but Gygax was working for Guidon Games at the time, and the business was too small to handle the production that DnD required.

The Big Reveal

With that in mind, Gygax invested some of his money and found a business partner in the form of Don Kaye to found their own publishing company and created hundreds of copies of the original Dungeons and Dragons set. To raise enough to pay for the DnD printing, they tried a quick release of another smaller wargame, but the sales were almost nonexistent and the two ran out of their own money to make DnD widespread.

Instead, the duo turned to Brian Blume, who threw in enough money on the condition that he got 1/3rd of the publishing rights. Gygax and Kaye had no choice but to accept, and Dungeons and Dragons was finally ready to sell, releasing in 1974 as a boxed set with 1,000 total copies in its original run, with every copy selling.

DnD Boom

Throughout the rest of the 1970s, Dungeons and Dragons became a big hit around the world, but Kaye passed away suddenly and left the company’s financial future up in the air. Gygax and Blume were able to get the rest of the business’s shares and had to find a bigger headquarters after the game gained popularity. 

As more people began to play DnD, expansion packs were added and new content was released on a consistent basis to keep people coming back for more. Eventually, Dungeons and Dragons was purchased by Wizards of the Coast, which has owned the game since 1997. Over the years, DnD has picked up a lot of celebrity players and is one of the most popular games played on the streaming website Twitch.

“When I wrote the DnD game in 1972-3, I envisaged an audience of military boardgamers, military miniatures players, and fantasy, (science-fiction) and horror fans only,” Gygax said of the game’s creation. “This was indeed the initial core audience, and it wasn’t until 1976…that I began to realize that the appeal was more universal.”

5 Best Players in Oregon Ducks Basketball History

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When you think of historic basketball programs on the west coast, people tend to think of UCLA, but it was actually Oregon that won the first-ever NCAA men’s basketball tournament. It would take nearly 80 years for the Ducks to get back to the Final Four, but along the way, there have been some great players that nearly got them there. Throughout all of Oregon basketball history, here are the five best players to ever wear the Ducks uniform:

5. Terrell Brandon

Portland native Terrell Brandon spent just two seasons at Oregon but had a massive impact on the basketball program. Brandon was a first-team All-Pac-10 member in both of his seasons and the conference’s Player of the Year in 1991. In that season, Brandon set the school record for most points in a season with 745.

Post-Oregon Days: Brandon left the Ducks after his sophomore season to declare for the NBA Draft and was selected 11th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Though he’d run into injury problems in the NBA, Brandon was a two-time NBA All-Star in 1996 and 1997 with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Overall he averaged 13.8 points and 6.1 assists per game in his 11-year career.

4. Luke Ridnour

A high school All-American from Blaine, Washington, Luke Ridnour made an immediate impact in his freshman season, averaging 7.4 points per game en route to being the Pac 10 Freshman of the Year. By the time he was a junior, Ridnour was averaging nearly 20 points per game and was named the Pac-10 Player of the Year to go along with two first-team All-Pac-10 honors.

Post-Oregon Days: Ridnour declared for the NBA Draft following his impressive junior season and was the 14th overall selection in 2003 by the Seattle SuperSonics. Ridnour spent more than a decade in the NBA, averaging 9.3 points, 4.5 assists, and 2.3 rebounds per game while playing for five different franchises, finishing in 2015 with the Orlando Magic.

3. Payton Pritchard

The first player on the list to put in a full four seasons with Oregon, Payton Pritchard from West Linn, Oregon was a starter in all four of those years. Pritchard was one of the top players in the nation by his senior season when he was averaging 20.5 points and 5.5 assists per game. Pritchard is fourth in program history in scoring and won the Lute Olson Award, Bob Cousy Award and was All-Pac-12 and All-American in his final year. 

Post-Oregon Days: Pritchard was the 26th overall selection by the Boston Celtics in the 2020 NBA Draft and received significant playing time in his first season, averaging 7.7 points per game. Though he’d see reduced time in his second year, Pritchard remains a member of the Celtics rotation as a role player.

2. Luke Jackson

Creswell native Luke Jackson stayed in-state for his college career where he played four seasons, including a senior campaign with 21.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Jackson was an All-American in 2004 and two-time First-Team All-Pac-10 with 1,970 career points.

Post-Oregon Days: There were big things expected for Jackson as he skipped his senior season for the NBA and was drafted 10th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, he spent just two seasons with the team before wrapping up his NBA career in 2008 with short stints for the Clippers, Raptors, and Heat. Jackson played just 73 games in the NBA before moving his professional career to Europe.

1. Ron Lee

The top player on the list is Ron Lee, who started all four seasons and is the program record holder for most points scored at 2.085. Lee averaged over 18 points per game in all four of his seasons with Oregon and was named First-Team All-Pac-8 in each one. In 1976, he was recognized as the conference’s Player of the Year.

Post-Oregon Days: Just like Jackson, Lee was a 10th overall selection as the Phoenix Suns drafted him in 1976. Lee played for Phoenix for just a couple of seasons, though, and spent time with the Jazz, Hawks, and Pistons before his NBA career ended in 1982. He finished with 7.3 points and 3.8 assists per game while leading the NBA in steals during the 1977-78 season before heading to Europe for the rest of his pro days.

5 Best Players in Oregon Ducks Football History

Posted on by scatty

Oregon football has a long history in the NCAA, but it wasn’t until the mid 1990s that the program started to make its mark on a national level. The school, and especially alumni Phil Knight of Nike, started to inject more resources into the program, and the result has been Oregon becoming one of the best football programs of the 21st century.

Along the way, there have been some legendary Ducks players, but a handful that truly stands out. These players may not have had the best careers in the NFL, but what they did during their days in Eugene makes them the five best players in Oregon Ducks’ football history.

Before we start the list, here are some honorable mentions of players that just missed the cut: Jonathan Stewart, Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, Max Unger, Gary Zimmerman, DeForest Buckner, Kayvon Thibodeaux, LaMichael James.

5. Joey Harrington

Portland native Joey Harrington started seeing playing time in his sophomore season with Oregon, and by his junior year, he was one of the best quarterbacks in the Pac-10. Harrington’s Oregon career was capped off with a 27-6 touchdown to interception ratio and a fourth-place finish in the 2001 Heisman voting. He finished his career with 6,911 passing yards and 59 touchdowns to go along with a massive win in the Fiesta Bowl.

Post-Oregon Days: Harrington was thought to be a surefire franchise quarterback in the NFL and was selected by the Detroit Lions with the third overall pick in 2002. He remained there for four seasons and played with Miami, Atlanta, and New Orleans before ending his career in 2008 with 79 touchdowns and 85 interceptions.

4. Penei Sewell

Penei Sewell was considered a can’t-miss high school prospect who grew up in St. George, Utah. Almost every team was after his services, and Oregon landed Sewell in 2018. He immediately became a starter on the offensive line and won the Outland and Morris trophies during his 2019 All-American season before opting out of the COVID-19-affected 2020 season and entering the NFL Draft.

Post Oregon Days: Sewell was also a top 10 pick by the Detroit Lions and was selected seventh overall in 2021. Sewell became an immediate starter in Detroit and made an impact in his first season, being named to the All-Rookie Team and figures to be a staple of the Lions’ offensive line for years to come.

3. Haloti Ngata

Coming out of Salt Lake City, Haloti Ngata started on the Ducks’ defensive line for three seasons and was both an All-Pac-10 and All-American player while also winning the Morris Trophy in 2005. Ngata could do it all in college, and he only left Oregon early because of his mother’s illness and needed the NFL money to support her.

Post-Oregon Days: Ngata is another Oregon player that made his way to Detroit for three seasons, but spent nine years with the Baltimore Ravens first, and was a five-time All-Pro with the team. Ngata won a Super Bowl with Baltimore and was the 12th overall selection in the 2006 NFL Draft.

2. Dennis Dixon

One of the flashiest quarterbacks of his time, Dennis Dixon threw for over 5,100 yards and had 38 touchdowns through the air during his Oregon career while also rushing for 1,208 yards and 12 touchdowns. Dixon was a two-time All-Pac-10 player and the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year in 2007.

Post Oregon Days: Dixon is the lone Duck on the list to not be a first-round selection as he was taken 156th overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2008. He remained in Pittsburgh through the 2011 season and was on the practice squad for four different franchises from 2012 to 2014 before retiring with one touchdown and two interceptions.

1. Marcus Mariota

Of course, the best player in Oregon’s program history is the school’s only Heisman Trophy winner: Marcus Mariota. Mariota was a three-year starter with the Ducks, throwing for 10,796 yards and 105 touchdowns compared to just 14 interceptions. Mariota also rushed for 2,237 yards and another 29 touchdowns.

Post-Oregon Days: Mariota was the second overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft after Jameis Winston was taken first, leading the Tennessee Titans for five seasons. Mariota was let go by the team following the 2019 season and made his way to the Las Vegas Raiders as a backup to Derek Carr before becoming a starter once again for the Atlanta Falcons.