John the bookmaker controversy

"John" or "John the bookmaker" is the name given to an Indian bookmaker who in 1994–95 gave money to Australian cricketers Mark Waugh and Shane Warne, in return for pitch and weather information. However, according to the players, they refused to divulge more strategic material, such as team tactics and player selection policies. One of the most publicised of a series of betting controversies in cricket in the 1990s, the matter was initially covered up by the Australian Cricket Board (ACB), which decided that it was sufficient to privately fine the players. The ACB concluded that, since Waugh and Warne had previously accused Pakistani cricket captain Saleem Malik of attempting to bribe them to lose matches, their credibility as witnesses would be damaged if their own involvement with John was publicised. The ACB reported the matter to the International Cricket Council, and there the matter ended.

When the issue was uncovered by the media in late 1998, the two players were widely condemned by the press and public, as was the ACB for their cover-up. Waugh received a hostile reaction from the Australian public when he walked out to bat during a Test match immediately after the news broke. On the other hand, the sports community was generally supportive of the players. The ACB appointed Rob O'Regan QC to conduct an independent inquiry into the matter. O'Regan concluded that the fines were inadequate and wrote that a suspension for a "significant time" would have been a more appropriate penalty. He strongly condemned the players' behaviour and their failure as role models for young fans. O'Regan further added that players needed to be better informed about the dangers of gambling and unauthorised bookmakers.

First Epistle of John

The First Epistle of John, often referred to as First John (US) or One John (UK) (and written 1 John) is a book of the New Testament. This fourth catholic or "general" epistle is attributed to John the Evangelist, traditionally thought to be the author of the Gospel of John and the other two Epistles of John. This Epistle was probably written in Ephesus between the years 95–110. The work was written to counter docetism, which is the belief that Jesus did not come "in the flesh", but only as a spirit. It also defined how Christians are to discern true teachers: by their ethics, their proclamation of Jesus in the flesh, and by their love.

Authorship

The Epistle is traditionally held to have been composed by John the Evangelist, at Ephesus, when the writer was in advanced age. The epistle's content, language and conceptual style are very similar to the Gospel of John, 2 John, and 3 John, indicating that they were written by the same author. Indeed, at the end of the 19th century scholar Ernest DeWitt Burton wrote that there could be "no reasonable doubt" that 1 John and the gospel were written by the same author, and Amos Wilder has said that, "Early Christian tradition and the great majority of modern scholars have agreed on the common authorship of these writings, even where the author has not been identified with the apostle John."

Second Epistle of John

The Second Epistle of John, often referred to as Second John and often written 2 John, is a book of the New Testament attributed to John the Evangelist, traditionally thought to be the author of the Gospel of John and the other two epistles of John.

Composition

The language of this epistle is remarkably similar to 3 John. It is therefore suggested by a few that a single author composed both of these letters. The traditional view contends that all the letters are by the hand of John the apostle, and the linguistic structure, special vocabulary, and polemical issues all lend toward this theory.

Also significant is the clear warning against paying heed to those who say that Jesus was not a flesh-and-blood figure: "For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh." This establishes that, from the time the epistle was first written, there were those who had docetic Christologies, believing that the human person of Jesus was actually pure spirit.

Series (United States currency)

On U.S. currency, the series refers to the year appearing on the front of a bill, indicating when the bill's design was adopted. The printed series year does not indicate the year a bill was printed; instead it indicates the earliest year that bills of the same design were first made. For example, Series of 1882 gold certificates were being printed as late as 1927.

Before 1928

The first U.S. currency with a series year was printed on United States Notes introduced in 1869. Before that, paper currency was identified only by the act authorizing it, for example, the act of March 3rd, 1863. For these bills, the serial number uniquely identified the bill, except for some issues that exceeded one million bills. In that case, the sequence of serial numbers was restarted, and an extra overprint of 'Series 1' was added to the bill. When one million bills in 'Series 1' were printed, 'Series 2' was used, and so on. 'Series 187' is the highest series number of this sort that was used, on the United States Notes of 1863, in the $5 denomination.

Series (baseball)

A series in baseball terminology refers to two or more consecutive games played between the same two teams.

Historically and currently, professional baseball season revolves around a schedule of series, each typically lasting three or four games. In college baseball, there are typically midweek single games and weekend series, with all conference games in series of three games, with the second and fourth rounds of the NCAA Division I playoffs being best two out of three game series. These series are often geographically grouped, allowing teams to visit adjacent cities conveniently. This is known in baseball as a road trip, and a team can be on the road for up to 20 games, or 4-5 series. When a team hosts series at home, it is called a homestand. During the Major League Baseball Postseason, there is only one wild card game (one in each League). The remainder of the Postseason consists of the League Division Series, which is a best-of-5 series, and the League Championship Series, which is a best-of-7 series, followed by the World Series, a best-of-7 series to determine the Major League Baseball Champion.

Séries+

Séries+ is a Canadian French language Category A specialty channel devoted to scripted comedy and dramatic programming. The channel is owned by Corus Entertainment.

History

On May 21, 1999, Alliance Atlantis Communications (AAC) and Premier Choix Networks (a division of Astral Media) were granted approval by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to launch a national French-language specialty television service called Canal Fiction, described as a "service devoted to drama."

The channel was launched on January 31, 2000 as Séries+ at 6pm EST.

On January 18, 2008, a joint venture between Canwest and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners known as CW Media purchased AAC and gained AAC's interest in Séries+.

On October 27, 2010, Shaw Communications completed its acquisition of Canwest and Goldman Sachs' interest in CW Media, giving it control of CW Media's 50% interest in Séries+.

On March 4, 2013, Corus Entertainment announced that it would acquire Astral Media's stakes in Séries+ and Historia, as well as several other properties, under separate transactions with the two companies. The purchase was tied to Bell Media's pending takeover of Astral Media; an earlier proposal had been rejected by the CRTC in October 2012 due to concerns surrounding its total market share following the merger, but was restructured under the condition that the companies divest certain media properties. In a separate deal, Corus also acquired Shaw's interests in Séries+ and Historia, giving it full ownership. The deals were approved by the CRTC on December 20, 2013 and Corus officially become the full owner of the channel on January 1, 2014.