M S DHONI – THE FLAMBOYANT BATSMAN OF INDIA

Mahendra Singh (MS) Dhoni (born July 7, 1981 in Ranchi, Jharkhand) is an Indian cricketer. He is an aggressive right-handed batsman and wicketkeeper. He is currently ranked number four in the official ICC cricket rankings for batsmen in Limited over internationals.

He was picked to play for the Indian cricket team in December 2004 and has been a regular member of the Indian one-day international team since then. His success in the limited overs format has also secured him a Test spot, and he is rapidly becoming one of the most famous & marketable icons in India, noted for his shoulder length hair.

Dhoni (affectionately known as Mahi), made his debut for Jharkhand in the 1999-2000 season as an eighteen year old. He started off his career with modest performances at the local level. He was noticed by the national team selectors in 2004 after his performances in first class tournaments such as the Deodhar Trophy and the Duleep Trophy. Dhoni was selected to represent India ‘A’ on a tour of Kenya and his performances were good enough to win him selection in the Indian national team, making his one-day international debut against Bangladesh in Chittagong in December of that year.

Dhoni’s best performance for India thus far was an unbeaten score of 183 off 145 balls against Sri Lanka at Jaipur on 31 October 2005, equalling the second best score by an Indian in ODIs. It was also the highest innings recorded by a wicket-keeper, and the highest number of sixes in an innings for a wicketkeeper with ten (all-rounders Sanath Jayasuriya and Shahid Afridi have hit 11). He also broke Saeed Anwar’s record of most runs scored off boundaries by scoring a total of 120 runs off 4s and 6s eclipsing the previous record of 118. This has broken the record for the highest individual score for a team batting second. This has also established the new Indian record of number of sixes in a match, overtaking previous record holders, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly (both hit seven 6′s in a match). Earlier, in 2005 he scored 148 against Pakistan in Vishakapatnam, in his fifth one-day international; the score came off only 123 deliveries.

At the end of the year Dhoni was rewarded a BCCI contract, starting with a B-grade contract. Dhoni’s current batting average in ODIs is just over 50 (as of April 2006), the highest by any Indian player with more than 20 innings. With a career ODI batting strike rate of more than 100 he remains the only batsman with the unique double of a 50+ average scored at more than a run a ball. Currently, Dhoni has one of the highest strike rates in the world (103.00 runs per hundred balls). With 44 sixes in 38 ODI innings, Dhoni has hit more sixes than he’s played international matches.

Following his good one-day form against Sri Lanka, he ousted Dinesh Karthik in December 2005 as the Indian Test wicketkeeper. He made his maiden Test century against Pakistan in the 2nd Test at Faisalabad in January 2006, reaching the landmark in just 93 balls. Dhoni’s career batting average at the end of the ODI series against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi stands at 52.76, which is the fourth highest for any batsman having scored at least 1,000 runs in one-day internationals, behind Australians, Mike Hussey Michael Bevan, and Englishman Kevin Pietersen.

However, in the third Test against England, Dhoni attracted some criticism when losing his wicket after playing an injudicious shot. India went from 75-3 to 100 all out to lose the match. Just after the 2006 Test match Loss against England,which resulted in a 1-1 levelled series, Dhoni requested for more crowd support and he was obliged with the same, the team going to win the ODI Series that followed the Tests, his fans seem to be increasing by leaps and bounds and is received to a a rousing reception whenever he comes into bat. As of 22th April 2006, Dhoni ranks number one in the ICC ODI rankings for batsmen, overtaking Australian skipper Ricky Ponting for the top ODI spot.RECORDS

• On 31st October 2005 Mahendra Dhoni scored 183* runs of just 145 balls, accompanying that there are a list of records which he broke.
• He hit 10 Sixes, the most by an Indian in an Innings, and the second highest in ODI cricket (The highest is 11 by Sanath Jayasuriya and Shahid Afridi)
• He broke Adam Gilchrist’s record of 172 for the highest score made by a wicket keeper.
• He is the second highest in scoring maximum runs in boundaries after Herchelle Gibbs of South Africa
• In this match Kumar Sangakkara also made a century, making it the first match in which both wicket keepers scored a century
• He has an average of 48.89 giving him the 4th highest average in the world overall
• The highest Indian average
• Highest average for a wicketkeeper
• 2nd Highest average among those who have made more than 1200 runs in one day international cricket
• Highest strike rate among the top 5 averages
• He has a strike rate of 100.96 giving him the sixth highest strike rate overall
• The highest by an Indian
• The 4nd highest among players who have made more than 1000 runs in International Cricket
• In April 2006 Dhoni was briefly ranked No.1 in the ICC one day Batsmen’s ratings. He is currently ranked No. 4 after a poor series in the West Indies

Dhoni married Sakshi Singh Rawat on July 04, 2010. Sakshi, a Kolkata girl, is studying hotel management and was working as a trainee at the Taj Bengal when the two of them met two years ago. The wedding stumped the media and the fans as it took place only a day after the couple got engaged. Bollywood actress Bipasha Basu, a close friend of Dhoni, was quick to inform the media that the wedding was planned for months and was not a spur of the moment decision.

ENDORSEMENTS

MS Dhoni signed with Kolkata-based celebrity management company Gameplan Sports in April 2005. Currently Dhoni has 20 endorsements, only Shahrukh Khan has more (21). In 2007 Dhoni had 17 endorsements. The following is the list of endorsements signed by Dhoni.

2005

• Pepsico
• Reebok
• Exide
• TVS Motors

2006

• Mysore Sandal Soap
• Videocon
• Reliance Communications
• Reliance Energy
• Orient PSPO Fan
• Bharat Petroleum
• Titan Sonata
• Brylcream
• NDTV
• GE Money

2007

• Siyaram

2008

• Fashion at Big Bazaar
• Maha Choco
• Boost (health food)
• Dainik Bhaskar

2009

• Dabur Honey
• Kolkata Fashion Week
• Aircel communications
• Nova Scottia Premium shirts

Checkout the ASCII Art, Wallpapers and Pictures of Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the below link. Extract the Files from WinRAR Archive. Please use Lucida Console font to view the ascii art in Notepad. Before that in Notepad go to Format and Uncheck the Word Warp and then Go to Font and Reduce the Font Size to 3 to 4 pt. Use only Lucida Console Font.

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WILL ALLEN – URBAN FARM INNOVATOR

Will Allen (born February 8, 1949) is an urban farmer based in Milwaukee and a retired American basketball player. Will Allen was a high school state champion in basketball, playing the forward position. Allen played collegiately for the Miami Hurricanes at the University of Miami, where he was on basketball scholarship. He was the first African-American to play basketball for the University of Miami. After college Allen was selected by the Baltimore Bullets in the 4th round (60th pick overall) of the 1971 NBA Draft. He never played in the NBA, but appeared in seven games with The Floridians of the ABA during the 1971–72 season. He also played professionally in Belgium. Allen retired from basketball in 1977, when he was 28. Upon retirement, Allen moved to Milwaukee, his wife Cynthia’s hometown.

Will Allen’s parents were sharecroppers in South Carolina until they bought the small vegetable farm in Rockville, Maryland, where Allen grew up. Finishing a career in marketing, Allen left a job at Procter & Gamble in 1993 and purchased Growing Power, a derelict plant nursery that was in foreclosure, located on the north side of Milwaukee. Around this time, Allen also purchased a 100-acre farm in Oak Creek, previously owned by his wife’s parents. Allen currently serves as director of Growing Power, a now mature urban farming project in Milwaukee, with a 40-acre acre farm west of Milwaukee in the town of Merton and an off-shoot project in Chicago run by Allen’s daughter, Erika.

In 2005, Allen was awarded a Ford Foundation leadership grant on behalf of his urban farming work. In 2008, he was awarded the MacArthur Foundation “Genius Grant” for his work on urban farming and sustainable food production. Most recently, in 2009, the Kellogg Foundation gave Allen a grant to create jobs in urban agriculture. Will Allen appears in the documentary film, Fresh. The film refers to Allen as “one of the most influential leaders of the food security and urban farming movement.”

At one time, the term urban farm sounded like an oxymoron. No longer. A new movement is sprouting up in America’s low-income neighborhoods. Some urban residents, sick of fast food and the scarcity of grocery stores, have decided to grow good food for themselves. One of the movement’s (literally) towering icons is Will Allen, 62, of Milwaukee’s Growing Power Inc. His main 2-acre Community Food Center is no larger than a small supermarket. But it houses 20,000 plants and vegetables, thousands of fish, plus chickens, goats, ducks, rabbits and bees.

People come from around the world to marvel — and to learn. Says Allen: “Everybody, regardless of their economic means, should have access to the same healthy, safe, affordable food that is grown naturally.” The movement’s aim is not just healthier people but a healthier planet. Food grown in cities is trucked shorter distances. Translation: more greenhouses in the ‘hood equals less greenhouse gas in the air. Just as important, farm projects grow communities and nourish hope. The best ones will produce more leaders like Allen, with his credo “Grow. Bloom. Thrive.”

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TIGER WOODS – THE GOLF EXPERT

Tiger Woods was born on December 30, 1975 in Cypress, California and now resides in Orlando, Florida. His parents are Earl and Kultida Woods, and Tiger Woods is their only child. Tiger Woods attended Western High School. Tiger Woods was a student at Stanford University, but dropped out to become a professional golfer in his junior year.

Tiger Woods is not completely of African-American descent. Earl Woods, his father, is half black, one-quarter American Indian and one-quarter Chinese. Kultida is half Thai, one-quarter Chinese and one-quarter white. After mastering the ameteur world of golf by winning the U.S. Ameteur three times (1994, 95, and 96) and winning the U.S. Junior Ameteur three times also (1991, 92, 93), he decided to turn professional. Nike sponsored him for $60 million dollars along with Titleist for just $1 million. His very happy agent is Hughes Norton of International Management Group (IMG). His first tournament as a pro was on August 29, 1996 at the Greater Milwaukee Open, in which he tied for 60th place.

His first win was the Las Vegas Invitational in which he defeated Davis Love III in sudden death. Tiger Woods went on to win the Disney Classic two tournaments later. Do you want to know what he carries in his bag?? Tiger Woods uses a special bore-thru Cobra Driver, a Titleist PT 15 degree three wood. Tiger Woods uses Mizuno MP29 Irons (2-PW), a Cleveland 56 degree SW, and a Watson Lob Wedge (Tiger Woods will drop his lob wedge for a King Cobra Norman Grind 1 iron on tighter courses). His putter is a Titleist Scotty Cameron putter (Newport Model) with Terryillium Inlays and Balata dots on the back. He uses Titleist Pro 90 balls and his glove is Titleist. All of his clothes and shoes are Nike, of course.

Toger Woods caddy is Mike “Fluff” Cowan, and is coached by Butch Harmon. Cowan is an 18-year veteran of the PGA tour.Tiger Woods potential seemed unlimited, especially when he won 2 titles and finished in the top 10 five times out of his first 8 Professional Golf Association tour events. In 1997, at the age of 21, Tiger Woods became the youngest player ever to win the Masters (by the largest margin in a major championship in this century), and the first person of African or Asian descent to win a major golf championship. On June 15, 1997, he achieved No. 1 on the Official World Golf Ranking in his 42nd week as a professional, Tiger Woods became the youngest-ever No. 1 golfer at age 21 years, 24 weeks. That year, his first full year on the tour, Woods was chosen as the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year and ESPN Male Athlete of the Year.

Nothing foretold what would happen in 1999, when Tiger Woods’ success reached heights never before imagined. In his third full season as a professional, Tiger Woods won eight times on the PGA TOUR, including the PGA Championship, and earned $6,616,585. He had a margin of $2,974,679 over runner up David Duval, a figure greater than the previous single-year PGA TOUR record. His dominance was such that Tiger Woods won an astounding 52 percent of all the prize money he could have won.

Tiger Woods got better in 2000, when he capped off an impressive first half of the year by winning his third major, the 2000 U.S. Open, in Pebble Beach, California. The No.1-ranked player in the world, Tiger Woods outclassed the competition by a record margin, winning the tournament by a record 15 strokes.

In July 2000, Tiger Woods won the British Open, becoming–at 24–the youngest player ever to win all four major titles: the PGA Championship, the Masters, the U.S. Open, and the British Open. A month later, Tiger Woods successfully defended his 1999 title at the PGA Championship in a playoff victory, becoming only the second player (after Ben Hogan in 1953) to win three major titles in one year.

In the 2005 PGA Tour season, Tiger Woods quickly returned to his winning ways. On March 6, he outdueled Phil Mickelson to win the Ford Championship at Doral, and returned to the Official World Golf Rankings’ number one position in the process (though Singh displaced him once again two weeks later). On April 10, Tiger Woods finally broke his “drought” in the majors by winning the 2005 Masters in a tie-breaking playoff, which also assured him the number one spot in the World Rankings again. Singh and Woods swapped the Number 1 position several times over the next couple of months, but by early July, Woods had established a substantial advantage, propelled further by a victory in The (British) Open Championship, a win that also gave him his 10th major.

Tiger Woods went on to win six official money events on the PGA Tour in 2005, topping the money list for the sixth time in his career. Tiger Woods’ 2005 wins also included two at the World Golf Championships; he has won in 10 of his 19 career individual World Golf Championships appearances for an incredible 0.526 winning percentage.To date, Tiger Woods has won 48 official money events on the PGA Tour, 18 other individual professional titles, and two team titles in the two-man WGC-World Cup.

Tiger Woods owns the lowest career scoring average and the most career earnings of any player in PGA Tour history. Tiger Woods is one of only five players (along with Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player) in the history of golf to have won all four professional major championships in his career (known as the “Career Grand Slam”). With his win in the 2005 Open Championship, he became only the second golfer, after Nicklaus, to have won all four majors more than once. At the 2003 TOUR Championship, he set an all-time record for most consecutive cuts made with 114 (passing Byron Nelson’s previous record of 113), and extended this mark to 142 before it ended on May 13, 2005 at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship. The streak started in 1998. Many commentators consider this one of the most remarkable golf accomplishments of all time, given the margin by which he broke the old record (and against much stronger fields than those in Nelson’s day) and given that during the streak, the next longest streak by any other player was usually only in the 10s or 20s.

TIGER WOODS DATES

• Gabrielle Reece
• Tyra Banks (1996 – 2000)
• Lauren Jones (2000 – 2001)
• Elin Nordegren (2003 – now)

ACHIEVEMENTS

• MOST PGA TOUR WINS PRIOR TO 25TH BIRTHDAY: Tiger Woods holds record with 24. Horton Smith is second with 17 (1933).
• MOST PGA TOUR WINS BETWEEN AGES 20-29: Tiger Woods holds record with 34. Jack Nicklaus had 30.
• MOST PGA TOUR WINS AFTER 25 STARTS: Tiger Woods holds record with 6. Ken Venturi is second with 5.
• MOST PGA TOUR WINS AFTER 50 STARTS: Jack Nicklaus holds record with 8. Tiger Woods tied in second with Ken Venturi (7).
• MOST PGA TOUR WINS AFTER 75 STARTS: Tiger Woods holds record with 17. Jack Nicklaus is second with 12.
• MOST PGA TOUR WINS AFTER 100 STARTS: Tiger Woods holds record with 28. Jack Nicklaus is second with 17.
• YOUNGEST PLAYER TO WIN 5 PGA TOUR EVENTS: Record held by Horton Smith (20 years, 10 months, one day) in 1929. Tiger Woods is second youngest (21 years, four months, 20 days).
• YOUNGEST PLAYER TO ACHIEVE #1 WORLD RANK: Tiger Woods at 21 years, 24 weeks. Previously held by Bernhard Langer (29 years, 31 weeks) in 1986.
• LOWEST 72-HOLE SCORE: 259 (21 under par) in 2000 WGC NEC Invitational.
• LOWEST 72-HOLE SCORE IN RELATION TO PAR: 25 under par (263) in 2000 Johnnie Walker Classic and 2002 WGC American Express Championship. PGA TOUR record is 28 under par (260) by John Huston in 1998 United Airlines Hawaiian Open and 28 under par (256) by Mark Calcavecchia in 2001 Phoenix Open.
• LOW 72-HOLE SCORE IN RELATION TO PAR IN MAJORS:
  1997 Masters Tournament 18 under par
  2000 U.S. Open Championship 12 under par
  2000 British Open Championship 19 under par
  2000 PGA Championship 18 under par (tied with Bob May)
• LOWEST FIRST 36 HOLES: 125 (64-61) in 2000 WGC NEC Invitational. Mark Calcavecchia tied PGA TOUR record with 125 (65-60) in 2001 Phoenix Open. Tom Lehman also tied this record 125 (63-62) in 2001 Invensys Classic in Las Vegas.
• LOWEST FIRST 54 HOLES: 192 in 2000 WGC NEC Invitational. PGA TOUR record is 189 by John Cook in 1996 Fed Ex St. Jude Classic and by Mark Calcavecchia in 2001 Phoenix Open.
• LOWEST 18-HOLE SCORE: 61 in 1999 GTE Byron Nelson Classic and 2000 WGC NEC Invitational. PGA TOUR record is 59 by Al Geiberger in 1977 Memphis Classic, Chip Beck in 1991 Las Vegas Invitational, and David Duval in 1999 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.
• LARGEST MARGIN OF VICTORY: 15 strokes in 2000 U.S. Open Championship. PGA TOUR record is 16 strokes by J.D. Edgar in 1919 Canadian Open, Joe Kirkwood, Sr. in 1924 Corpus Christi Open and Bobby Locke in 1948 Chicago Victory Championship.
• LARGEST MARGIN AFTER 54 HOLES: 10 strokes in 2000 U.S. Open Championship.
• LARGEST MARGIN AFTER 36 HOLES: 7 strokes in 2000 WGC NEC Invitational.
• MOST CONSECUTIVE EVENTS WITHOUT MISSING CUT: Tiger Woods has missed the cut in only one event in his career, 1997 Bell Canadian Open. He withdrew from 1998 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, because of postponement. Since then, Woods has made the cut in 96 consecutive events. PGA TOUR record is 113 events by Byron Nelson, followed by Jack Nicklaus with 105.
• LOWEST ADJUSTED SCORING AVERAGE: Tiger Woods’ adjusted scoring average of 67.79 in 2000 was the lowest in PGA TOUR history, exceeding his 68.43 average in 1999.
• LOWEST ACTUAL SCORING AVERAGE: Tiger Woods’ actual scoring average of 68.17 in 2000 was the lowest in PGA TOUR history, exceeding the 68.33 average by Byron Nelson in 1945.
• LOWEST CONSECUTIVE ROUNDS: 125 (64-61) in the first and second rounds of the 2000 NEC Invitational. Mark Calcaveccia broke this record 124 (60-64) in the 2001 Phoenix Open second and third rounds.
• MOST CONSECUTIVE ROUNDS AT PAR OR BETTER: Tiger Woods’ 52 consecutive rounds at par or better from the second round of 2000 GTE Byron Nelson Classic, through the first round of the 2001 Phoenix Open, was a PGA TOUR record. He had 66 consecutive rounds worldwide.
• MOST CONSECUTIVE EVENTS AT PAR OR BETTER: Tiger Woods’ 35 consecutive events at par or better (stroke-play events only) on the PGA TOUR (all under par), starting with the 1999 PGA Championship, through the 2001 Memorial Tournament, was a PGA TOUR record. In 2000, Woods became the first to be under par in every event played on the PGA TOUR for an entire year.
• MOST CONSECUTIVE VICTORIES IN A SINGLE EVENT: Tiger Woods is one of three (possibly four) players to have three consecutive victories in two single events and is the first to do so in the same years. He won both Memorial Tournament and WGC NEC Invitational in 1999, 2000 and 2001. Walter Hagen won PGA Championship in four consecutive years (1924-27) and Metropolitan Open in three consecutive years (1916-20, no event in 1917-18 because of war). Arnold Palmer won Texas Open (1960-62) and Phoenix Open (1961-63). Some records keepers credit Gene Sarazen with three consecutive victories in two single events in 1920s and other records keepers dispute this. The records are inconclusive.
• MOST PRIZE MONEY FOR ONE YEAR AND FOR CAREER: Tiger Woods set PGA TOUR record with earnings of $9,188,321 for 2000 and $33,103,852 for his career through 2002. His worldwide total was $41,213,162 for his career through 2002.
• MOST USGA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: Tiger Woods has won eight USGA national championships. Those who have won eight or more are Robert T. Jones, Jr. (9), Joanne Gunderson Carner (8) and Jack Nicklaus (8).
• MOST MASTERS VICTORIES: Tiger Woods has won the Masters Tournament 3 times. Jack Nicklaus has won 6 Masters titles, Arnold Palmer has won 4, and others with 3 victories are Jimmy Demaret, Sam Snead, Gary Player and Nick Faldo.

Checkout the ASCII Art of Tiger Woods, can be downloaded as text file from the below link. Please use Lucida Console font to view the art in Notepad. Before that in Notepad go to Format and Uncheck the Word Warp and then Go to Font and Reduce the Font Size to 3 to 4 pt. Use only Lucida Console Font.

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ROGER FEDERER – THE SEXIEST SWISS TENNIS PLAYER

Roger Federer was born on August 8, 1981 in Basel, Switzerland. He is a famous tennis player who is currently World’s Number One. He has German, Swiss and South African origins and his parents’ names are Robert Federer and Lynette Federer. He grew up in Switzerland and he speaks fluently German, French and English. The person who is always next to him and supports him is Miroslava Vavrinec or Mirka. She is an ex tennis player and they met in 2000 at the Sydney Olympics. He likes children and likes to take care of them, that is why he does a lot of charity actions and is involved in the UNICEF programs. On April 3, 2003 he was named Goodwill Ambassador to UNICEF.

His career as a tennis player started when he was six years old. In 1998 he won the junior Wimbledon title and soon became professional. Until now (2007) he won three of the four Grand Slam titles. The French Open has not been in his hands yet and in 2007 Rafael Nadal managed to beat him. He won four times at Wimbledon: in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. In 2007 he is the favourite player there and specialists give him great chances to win the fifth consecutive title. At the Australian Open he won three times: 2004, 2006 and 2007.

The US Open was conquered three consecutive times 2004, 2005 and 2006. Tony Roche is his last coach and probably the most famous. Federer has renounced at his services in 2007. He received many awards and also won tournaments at Indian Wells, Toronto, Hamburg, Miami, Cincinnati, Madrid or Dubai. As you can see his results are amazing. He surprised everyone and famous names in the tennis history see him as a legend and consider that his career is just getting started. We can say that he is phenomenon as many records were smashed by him.

In April 2006, named UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. Carried Swiss flag in opening ceremonies of Athens Olympics in 2004 and Beijing Olympics in 2008 (on his birthday). Named ATP Player of Year and earned Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship award from 2004-07 and ATPtennis.com fans’ favorite from 2003-07. I.T.W.A. Player of the Year and Ambassador for Tennis award winner in 2004-06. Named 2003 “Swiss of the Year” by his country’s TV audience. Won 2004 Laureus World Sportsman of Year. Listed in People Magazine’s “Sexiest Men Alive” issue as an “International Man of Sexiness” in November 2005.

One year later, was featured in the same in the “Sexy Surroundings” category. Also featured in Vogue in December 2006. Is close friend of Vogue Editor-In-Chief Anna Wintour. She has attended his matches at Wimbledon and the US Open and he accompanied her to Fashion Week in New York City following 2006 US Open. Named GQ’s “International Man of the Year” for 2005 in Germany. Speaks English, German, Swiss German, French and some Swedish and Italian. Fitness trainer is Pierre Paganini. Golf superstar Tiger Woods attended ’06 US Open final and both athletes met for first time. Received 2006 Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of Year award and named 2006-07 BBC Sports Overseas Personality of Year (also in ’04).

In October 2007, voted No. 30 in a list of “the 100 most influential people in the world of sports” in BusinessWeek Magazine in U.S. (one of six athletes in Top 30). Named in Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in World” in May 14, 2007 issue. Recipient of U.S. Academy Outstanding Athlete in 2005-06 presented by USA. Today and MSNBC (voted by fans). Had a stamp of him released by Swiss Post on April 10, 2007 in his birthplace of Basel. Elected to two-year term in June 2008 to ATP Player Council.CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Current ATP Champions Race Position: 2
Current Doubles Rank: 326
Career titles for singles: 62
Career titles for doubles: 8
Career matches won: 705
Career matches lost: 169
Year to date matches won: 27
Year to date matches lost: 8
Career prize money: $56,063,966.00
Year to date prize money for singles: $2,701,897.00

Checkout the ASCII Art of Roger Federer, can be downloaded as text file from the below link. Please use Lucida Console font to view the art in Notepad. Before that in Notepad go to Format and Uncheck the Word Warp and then Go to Font and Reduce the Font Size to 3 to 4 pt. Use only Lucida Console Font.


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RAFAEL NADAL – THE YOUNG SPANISH TENNIS STORM

Nicknamed “Rafa”, Rafael Nadal has took the tennis world by storm over the past 5 years as he has made his way on the professional tennis circuit to number 2 in the world with a staggering clay-court winning streak of 60 consecutive matches.
He was born June 3rd 1986 in Manacor, Mallorca to Sebastián and Ana María. He has great sporting heritage as his Uncle is former F.C. Barcelona footballer Miguel Ángel Nadal. Between 1986 and 2001 (the year in which he turned pro at only age 15) he developed a brilliant all round game playing left-handed despite being naturally right-handed.His rise since then has been a quick and exhilarating one. In 2002, he won his first ATP match at Majorca at the age of 15, defeating Ramon Delgado to become the ninth player in the Open Era to win an ATP match before his 16th birthday. One year later in 2003 he became the second-youngest player to be ranked among the world’s top 100 singles players and earned ATP Newcomer of the Year. At his Wimbledon debut, at only age 16, he became the youngest player to reach the 3rd round since 16-year-old Boris Becker in 1984 and in July 2003 he reached the Spanish championships where he lost to Lopez.

He continued to improve in 2004 and by 2005 had climbed the world rankings to number 5. This made him the youngest player to make it into the Top 10 since Andrei Medvedev in 1993. During this season he won two ATP Masters Series events in Monte Carlo and Rome and managed an astonishing winning streak of 25 consecutive matches.

Among his other historical achievements he became the fourth-youngest Roland Garros champion in the Open Era defeating Argentina’s Mariano Puerta in the final, the seventh player to win a Grand Slam in his first appearance at the event and the first teenager to win a Grand Slam since Pete Sampras won the 1990 US Open at age 19.

During this period the intense rivalry between Nadal and Federer continued to grow reaching a climax in 2006 where Nadal beat Federer four times. First, on March 4, 2006, at the final in Dubai, where he won 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. Nadal then defeated Federer again at the Monte Carlo Masters 6-2 6-7 6-3 7-6 before meeting and beating him for a third time in this season at the finals in Rome where he won a close victory – 6-7 7-6 6-4 2-6 7-6.

Their last encounter came at the finals in the French Open. Federer now sought to turn around his dismal record against Nadal, while Nadal was seeking to defend his French Open title. In the least competitive of their 2006 matches Nadal won a 4 set victory and will enter the next French Open with a perfect 14-0 tournament record.

NADAL’S TITLES

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ZINEDINE ZIDANE – THE FRENCH SOCCER STAR

Zinedine Zidane was born June 23, 1972, in Marseille, France. Zidane got his start in football (known as soccer in North America) at an early age, when he joined the US Saint-Henri club.

He moved on to Septemes Sports Olympiques after the coach convinced the director of the club to sign him. After leaving Septemes at the age of 14, Zidane participated in the first year junior selection for the league championship, the same year he was discovered.

OFF TO CANNES

He was called in for 3 days at the sport regional centre in Aix-en-Provence, where Jean Varraud, Cannes’ recruiter, noticed the French/Algerian player. He ventured off to Cannes for what was intended to be a six-week stay, but remained even longer. Playing with professionals at the age of 16, it would only be a matter of time when he too would turn pro, and he knew he was on his way to realizing his dreams.

Showing the determination of an athlete who wants to exceed expectations, Zidane had played his first game in First Division at the age of 17, and it was from then that football went from an ambition to a passion. The Cannes midfielder scored his first goal on February 8th, 1991 (he received a Clio as a promise from the Cannes President, who promised him a car when he scored his first goal as a professional), and his first season with the club was marked by a qualification for the UEFA Cup.

Zidane’s second season with Cannes wasn’t as promising, but on the non-professional front he met his future wife Veronique, a Spanish dancer. After a lukewarm 91-92 season, Zidane felt it was time for a change and switched to Bordeaux after he was asked to sign a four-year contract. Marseille also wanted Zidane, but Bordeaux proved to want him more.

KICKING & SOARING

His beginning with Bordeaux was hard on 24-year-old Zidane, as it forced him to adapt, but once he did, he did so with flying colours. Not only did Bordeaux qualify every year that Zidane played with the team, but Bordeaux also qualified for the UEFA Cup through Intertoto and went to the final in 95-96, Zidane’s last year with the team.

At the same time, Juventus sought out Zidane, and after his four crucial seasons with Bordeaux, he moved to Torino. Again, Zidane was forced to adapt to the Italian way of playing as well as to the lifestyle, but after his first year, he was a bona fide star.

It was with Juventus that Zidane won titles, as Winner of the 1996 European Super Cup, the 1996 European/South American Cup, Winner of the 1997 League Super Cup, named 1997 and 1998 Italy Champion, and Finalist of the 1997 and 1998 Champions League. His individual awards include the Golden Ball in 1998, and he was named Best Player of the Year by the FIFA in 1998 and 2000.MOST EXPENSIVE FOOTBALL PLAYER

In 2001, Zizou became the most expensive player in football history when Real Madrid acquired him for 46 million pounds (roughly $66 million US Dollars). Even if he does have to adapt to the Spanish way of life, he certainly won’t have to adapt to being the star player, nor the award winner.

Zinedine and Veronique have two sons, Enzo (named after Enzo Francescoli) and Luca. In addition to promoting a slew of sports products, Zidane is also Christian Dior’s first male model.

Checkout the ASCII Art of  Zinedine Zidane in the below link. Please use Lucida Console font to view the art in Notepad. Before that in Notepad go to Format and Uncheck the Word Warp and then Go to Font and Reduce the Font Size to 3 to 4 pt. Use only Lucida Console Font.

http://www.4shared.com/document/iDP9th5V/Zinedine_Zidane_ASCII.html

PELE – MOST PROLIFIC BRAZILIAN STRIKER

EARLY CAREER

Edson Arrantes de Nascimento by his full name, Pele was born in Tres Coracoes in Brazil, in a family that loved soccer, his father being himself a player for Fluminese (his father was known as Dondinho). In this sporty atmosphere, the young Pele learned to enjoy the game, despite the poverty he grew up in.

The family’s situation was even harder when his father had to quit playing soccer professionally due to a knee injury. Thus, for young Pele, soccer was what he regarded as the only way out of poverty and he started training daily, but since he had no money to buy a real ball, he used a stuffed sock instead.

After forming up a “shoeless team” with his street kids, Pele and his team participated in a youth tournament, with Pele ending up as top goalscoarer. He was immediately noticed by former Brazilian international Waldemar de Brito, who called him to the youth squad of Baquinho, whom he trained and, for the first time, offered Pele money to play soccer. During his year at the club’s youth team, Pele managed to win the championship after a dazzling performance: 148 goals in just 33 matches.

SANTOS

At just 15 years of age, Pele was bought by Brazil giants Santos, where he would later team up with some of Brazil’s finest players of that era and future World Cup winners, such as Zito, Pepe or Coutinho. Just one year later after he joined Santos, he became the youngest player to start in the Brazilian first division at age 16 and even more incredibly, he became league top scorer at the end of the season! Talk about starting with the right foot.

As it was not yet the era of Brazilian players running for European careers, Pele remained at Santos for almost 20 years, time in which he scored (read carefully) 1087 goals in 1120 matches. Even if you’re not that good at maths, I’m sure you can acknowledge that as an astonishing goal per match ratio.

1000TH GOAL

One of the milestones in the history of Pele was definitely his 1000th goal scored in all competitions. It was both a highly anticipated moment and an emotional one. On November 19th, 1969 Pele already had scored 999 goals in his career, either for Santos or Brazil’s national team. Playing on the Maracana Stadium, Brazil’s “cathedral of soccer”, against arch-rivals Vasco Da Gama, Pele managed to score from a penalty kick and broke all records standing in front of him.

NATIONAL TEAM & RECORDS

Throughout his 15 years spent at the Brazil national team, Pele managed to break hundreds of records, but we’ll just follow up on those that are deemed most important:

• He became the most prolific striker in Brazil’s history, with 77 goals in 92 matches.
• Pele, the footballer who used to shine shoes in order to raise money for a real soccer ball, scored 12 goals in different World Cup matches, being beaten only by Ronaldo.
• He is considered by FIFA the most prolific scorer in soccer history, with 1281 goals in 1363 matches in all competitions.
• He is the only player to have won three World Cups (gasp!), although he did not receive a medal for the one in 1962, since he was injured in the final (he played on several other matches throughout the campaign though)
• He is one of the few players to achieve the performance of scoring in two different World Cup finals, sharing this record with Paul Breitner, Vava and Zinedine Zidane.

Checkout the ASCII Art of Pele in the below link. Please use Lucida Console font to view the art in Notepad. Before that in Notepad go to Format and Uncheck the Word Warp and then Go to Font and Reduce the Font Size to 3 to 4 pt. Use only Lucida Console Font.

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LIONEL MESSI – DIEGO MARADONA’S SUCCESSOR

Lionel Andrés Messi (born June 24, 1987 in Rosario) is an Argentine football (soccer) player. Lionel Messi started playing football at a very early age in his hometown’s Newell’s Old Boys. From the age of 11, he suffered from a hormone deficiency and as Lionel’s parents were unable to pay for the treatment in Argentina, they decided to move to Barcelona, Spain.

In the 2003-2004 season, when he was still only 16, Messi made his first team debut in a friendly with Porto that marked the opening of the new Dragao stadium. The following championship-winning season, Messi made his first appearance in an official match on October 16, 2004, in Barcelona’s derby win against Espanyol at the Olympic Stadium (0-1).

With several first team players seriously injured, the services of several reserve team players were called upon, and Messi became a regular feature of Barça squads. On May 1, 2005, he became the youngest player ever to score a league goal for FC Barcelona against Albacete when Messi was only 17 years, 10 months and 7 days old.

He was offered the chance to play for the Spain national football team, but declined, prefering to wait for the opportunity to play for the country of his birth. In June 2004 he got his chance, playing in a U-20 friendly match against Paraguay. In June 2005 he starred for the Argentina U-20 team that won the Football World Youth Championship played in The Netherlands. Messi picked up the Golden Boot as top scorer with 6 goals, and the Golden Ball for the best player of the tournament. Despite his youth, Lionel has already drawn comparisons with Diego Maradona, arguably the best football player of all time.

On September 25, 2005 Messi obtained a Spanish citizenship and was finally able to make his debut in this season’s Spanish First Division. He had previously been unable to play because FC Barcelona had filled up all of their quota of non-EU players. Messi’s first outing in the UEFA Champions League at the Nou Camp was on Sept 28 against Italian club Udinese. He impressed with some great passing and a seemingly telepathic relationship with Ronaldinho that earned him a standing ovation from the 70,000-odd Nou Camp faithful. On December of that year, the Italian newspaper Tuttosport awarded him the Golden Boy 2005 title for the best under-21 player in Europe, over Wayne Rooney and Lukas Podolski.

In September 2005, Messi was given an improved and extended contract until 2014.

Checkout the ASCII Art of Lionel Messi in the below link. Please use Lucida Console font to view the art in Notepad. Before that in Notepad go to Format and Uncheck the Word Warp and then Go to Font and Reduce the Font Size to 3 to 4 pt. Use only Lucida Console Font.

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DAVID BECKHAM – THE ENGLISH FOOTBALLER

David was born on May 2, 1975 in Leytonstone, London to Ted and Sandra Beckham. David’s parents were Manchester United supporters and he accompanied then to many of the games. He signed for Manchester United as a trainee in July 1991 and he was instrumental in helping the club win the FA Youth Cup in May 1992, scoring in the second leg of the final against Crystal Palace. On September 23, 1992, David made his first team debut as a substitute in the Rumbelows Cup tie at Brighton and Hove Albion.During the two-and-a-half year wait to make his League debut, he collected a runners-up medal in the 1993 FA Youth Cup (United lost to Leeds in the final) and a reserve team championship medal in 1994. He also played five matches on loan for Preston North End, scoring two goals for the Lancashire club. His Premier League debut eventually came at home to Leeds United on April 2, 1995. Partially as a result of injuries to key starters, David established himself in the first team during the 1995/96 season.David played predominantly in the right midfield position that used to be occupied by Andrei Kanchelskis, and started to show the knack for scoring great goals, including the winner in the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea. At the end of the season Man United walked away with their second Double. The springboard that launched Davids’s famous career came during the 1996/97 season. David was compared to Pele when he scored his most famous goal – from the halfway line against Wimbledon at Selhurst Park. He went on to earn his first senior cap for England, on September 1, 1996 against Moldova in Kishinev.David’s match-winning performances during 1996/97 helped United to win another Premiership title and reach the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League. On a personal level, he was voted Young Player of the Year and second in the overall Player of the Year poll. Manchester United’s 1997/98 season was one to forget as they finished second to Arsenal in the League, lost to Barnsley in the FA Cup and were knocked out of the Champions League quarter-finals by Monaco. David enjoyed a memorable moment, when he was selected for England’s World Cup Finals squad.

During the 1998 World Cup Finals Beck scored a stunning freekick for England against Colombia and was hailed a national hero. He was later branded a villain, however, when he was sent off for a foul on Diego Simeone as England were knocked out in the second round by Argentina. That was the first red card of his career. The World Cup Finals left David at the bottom of his career. He was a hated man in England and many predicted the end of his football areer. He mustered up the courage and resilience to bounce back and prove his critcs wrong. In the first League game of the 1998/99 season against Leicester City, he curled in one of his trademark freekicks in stoppage time to prevent defeat.

If England’s 1998 World Cup campaign was the depth of dispair for Beckham, them Manchester United’s successful Trebble season in 1998/1999 was the height of ecstacy. The most important match of that season was the UEFA Champions League Finals with Bayern Munich. Manchester’s 2 goals were scored off corner kicks taken by David Beckham in overtime. The goals were scored by substitutes Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. England eventually forgave Beckham for his 1998 World Cup sins and readily accepted him as the captain of the national team.

Beckham captained England for the first time in a friendly match in Italy and retained the armband for the friendly with Spain and the World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Finland, against whom he scored an important goal at Anfield. He went on to lead to team to the 2002 World Cup Finals. In the game against Argentina, he scored the only goal – a penalty after Michaels Owens was tripped up. Argentina had a premature exit from the tournament after drawing 1-1 with Sweden in their next match.

The 2002/03 season was not a memorable one for Beckham as he found himself on the bench for some key matches. In a bizarre incident, he was struck on the forehead by a stray boot that was kicked in frustration by Sir Alex Ferguson in the dressing room. Rumors that he and the boss were not on speaking terms fueled the speculation that he would be sold at the end on the season. Unfortunately for many Manchester United fans, the rumors turned out to be true. David Beckham was sold to Real Madrid for £25 million. After more than 3 years at the Bernabeu, Beckham moved to the USA. David Beckham agreed to a £128million ($250 million) five-year deal with the LA Galaxy. Beckham already has a soccer academy in Los Angeles which shares a home with the Galaxy.

Checkout the ASCII Art of David Beckham in the below link. Please use Lucida Console font to view the art in Notepad. Before that in Notepad go to Format and Uncheck the Word Warp and then Go to Font and Reduce the Font Size to 3 to 4 pt. Use only Lucida Console Font.

http://www.4shared.com/document/LfY_uVjW/David_Beckham_ASCII.html

RONALDO – THE BRAZILIAN STRIKER

YOUTH CAREER

Ronaldo Luis Nazário de Lima was born on September 22, 1976 in Bento Ribeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Born in a poor neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, he started playing soccer on the streets, with the rest of his neighborhood friends. At age 14, he decided it’s time for a little organization in his life as a soccer player, so he went on to train with the Social Ramos Youth Club for one year. His next youth team, Sao Cristovao is where Ronaldo made a name for himself, being spotted by Brazilian World Cup winner Jairzinho as a future talent.

Jairzinho, who played for Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, recommended the young Ronaldo to the club and they signed him when he was 18 years old. His first and only season as a professional soccer player in Brazil was extremely successful, as he scored 12 goals in 13 games, quickly attracting the eyes of Europe.

PSV EINDHOVEN

The first club to spot Ronaldo and make Cruzeiro an offer was Dutch PSV Eindhoven. Admittedly, not one of the mammoths of Europe in terms of soccer, but nevertheless a powerful club where a young player like Ronaldo could hone his skills and get some experience in Europe. His 2 seasons at PSV were extremely successful, scoring 42 goals in 46 matches at just 21 years of age. His performances could not remain unnoticed and FC Barcelona moved in with a heavy offer to take the Brazilian on.

FC BARCELONA and INTERNAZIONALE MILANO

His only season with Barcelona would be one of the best of his career, scoring 47 goals in 49 matches in all competitions for Barca and helping the Catalan club win the UEFA Cup Winners Cup (He actually scored the winning goal in the final) and the Spanish Cup. This great season confirmed him as an outstanding player and a goal scoring machine and Internazionale Milano moved in to take the Brazilian to Italy.During the 5 seasons in Milan’s shirt, he managed to score 50 times, but his efficiency was a lot lower than for PSV or FC Barcelona, due to several problems.

First of all, the tough defensive air of the Italian Serie A reduced his ability to use his lethal dribbles as often as he could at FC Barcelona or PSV.His personal issues with his girlfriends and wife, as well as a string of injuries also kept him from being as prolific as before. Nevertheless, he was loved at Inter and he helped the Italian club win the UEFA Cup in 1998, which is actually his only trophy with the club. In 1997 however, he became the European Footballer of the Year, European Golden Boot and after the UEFA Cup success, he was named UEFA’s MVP that season.Still, in 2002 after no league titles with Inter, it was time to move on and Real Madrid took him on to form the so called “Galacticos” team of super stars.

REAL MADRID

For Ronaldo, Real Madrid was angel and devil alike. Used to the Spanish league and escaping the Italian one’s defensive toughness, he regained his scoring pace and in his 5 seasons with Real, he scored no less than 127 goals in 83 league games.He helped Real Madrid win the league twice, in 2002-2003 and 2006-2007, as well as the European Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup in 2002. Although he played well for Madrid, his past with FC Barcelona, his numerous injuries and news of him partying before and after matches, created a gap between the Brazilian striker and his fans. He also gained a few pounds, which decreased his stamina, speed and agility attracting the anger of Real’s supporters, after a poor 2005-2006 season. Not finding his pace at Real Madrid anymore, he decided to move back to Milan, but this time for Inter’s arch-rivals, AC Milano.

Checkout the ASCII Art of Ronaldo in the below link. Please use Lucida Console font to view the art in Notepad. Before that in Notepad go to Format and Uncheck the Word Warp and then Go to Font and Reduce the Font Size to 3 to 4 pt. Use only Lucida Console Font.

http://www.4shared.com/document/ryuKf6sC/Ronaldo_ASCII.html