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Jim Courier
Founder and Host
home: New York, NY
born: 8/17/1970
height: 6 feet 1 inch (185cm)
weight: 180lbs (82kg)
status: InsideOut Sports & Entertainment - partner, champions tour player, tv commentator
hobbies: music, golf
In the early 90s he dominated the men`s professional tennis circuit with a game he fashioned out of grit, determination and a punishing inside-out forehand. He was the first in his class - which includes Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Michael Chang - to hold the No. 1 world ranking.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS- In 1989 won first ATP Tour titles in Singles (Basel) and Doubles (Rome, with Pete Sampras) at age 19
- Captured his first Grand Slam win in 1991 at the French Open, beating Andre Agassi in the first all-American final at Roland-Garros since 1954
- Achieved World No.1 ranking in 1992 and was named ATP Tour player of the year
- Won a total of 4 Grand Slam titles (two French, two Australians)
- Played on two winning U.S. Davis Cup teams (92 and 95); overall record 17-10 in 14 ties. In the 102-year history of the Davis Cup, no other American has ever taken his team into a deciding fifth set of the deciding match and won. Courier did it twice.
- Finished 2004 with the No.1 world ranking on the Delta Champions Tour and winning the year-end tour champions` event.
- 29 career titles - 23 in singles; 6 in doubles.
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Andy Roddick
home: Austin, Texas
born: 8/30/1982
height: 6 feet 2 inches (187cm)
weight: 190lbs (86kg)
status: No. 2 player on ATP Tour
hobbies: music, movies, waterskiing
Andy Roddick had an exceptional year in 2004. He finished with 74 match wins (tied with Roger Federer for best on tour), won four singles titles and was a finalist in four others, including Wimbledon. So whyÕs he putting in so much practice time to get even better? One reason: Federer. Asked if the Swiss phenom is one reason Roddick is working so hard on serve and volley techniques, Roddick smiled and said, `I have to do something else, so we`ll see ....`
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS- In 2000 finished as No.1 junior in the world, winning junior Grand Slams at the Australian Open and the U.S. Open without losing a set.
- Won three ATP titles and went undefeated in his first year playing Davis Cup for the U.S. in 2001.
- Finished 2002 in the Top 10 - the youngest American to do so since Michael Chang in 1992.
- Enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2003 winning his first major (the U.S. Open) and ending the year as the youngest American to finish a season with the title No.1 in the world.
- Holds an overall record of 14-5 in 10 Davis Cup ties.
- Holds record for fastest serve ever - 153 mph during a Stella Artois Championship match in 2004.
- 17 career titles - 15 in singles; 2 in doubles.
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Taylor Dent
home: Huntington Beach, California
born: 4/24/1981
height: 6 feet 2 inches (187cm)
weight: 195lbs (88kg)
status: Top 35 player, ATP Tour
Taylor Dent wears his heart under his sleeve. The son of a former world Top 20 tennis player (Aussie Phil Dent) and a Top 10 American player Mom (Betty Ann) he has a rich - if mixed - heritage. So on his 18th birthday he got a tattoo of intertwined American and Australian flags for his left shoulder. The tennis part was in the genes. Today, Taylor shares the spotlight with Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish and James Blake as the future standard bearers of American tennis.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS- In 2000, he won his first ATP match at Cincinnati and won a Challenger doubles title (with Fish).
- Made his first quarterfinal at an ATP event and won his first match at Wimbledon, where he registered the fastest serve of the year (144 mph).
- In 2002, Dent won his first ATP singles title at Newport and finished the year in the Top 60 for the first time. Made history with father, Phil, becoming the first father/son pair to win an ATP title in the Open Era.
- Closed 2003 with back-to-back ATP titles (Bangkok and Moscow) to go along with an earlier win at Memphis. Finished the year ranked No. 32 in the world.
- Has played one Davis Cup tie for the U.S.(against Belarus 2004).
- Was a semifinalist in singles at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
- 4 career titles - 4 in singles; 0 in doubles.
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Donald Young
home: Atlanta, Georgia
born: 7/23/1989
height: 5’10” (178cm)
weight: 145lbs (66 kg)
status: Top junior player in boys’ 16s
hobbies: movies, music and video games
He celebrates big victories with a nice dinner and a competitive game of Monopoly with his Mom. But Donald Young, Jr. already owns one of the best resumes of any junior in the history of American tennis and he has high aspirations. “Winning - I like winning,” says Young. “...I have a very competitive personality.” He also has a keen eye for the features of the great players that are worth imitating: “I like Sampras’ serve-and-volley, Agassi’s ground strokes and McEnroe’s hands.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS- He won the boys’ 12 singles championship at the Super National Hard Court and Clay Court Championships in 2001.
- In 2002, Young captured the boys’ 14 singles and doubles titles at the USTA Super National Winter Championships.
- Led Team USA to a second consecutive title at the 2003 World Junior Tennis Championships.
- In the same year won the boys’ 14 singles title at the Easter Bowl and won both the singles and doubles crowns at Les Petits As - the most prestigious event in the world for players 14 and under.
- Became the youngest person ever to win the boys’ 18s title at the Easter Bowl USTA National Spring Championships.
- Is the first American since Jim Courier to win the Orange Bowl 16s Championship.
- Won his first pro match in the first round of the USTA Baton Rouge (La.) Futures in October, 2004.
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Gavin Degraw
Chariot, Gavin Degraws J Records debut, introduces the world to a vital, magnetic young artist whose abundant talent and charisma are already well known to New York clubgoers. The 11-song collection is a remarkably accomplished and compelling first effort, offering the same combination of raw emotion and eloquent songcraft that originally drew hometown fans to the 26-year old singer/songwriter/pianist/guitarist live shows
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Nick Sterling
14-Year Old Guitar Prodigy and Musician Nick Sterling began his career at the age of seven! Nick's influences are Classic Rock and Roll, and the Blues, along with a special admiration of Classical music. He recorded his first CD at 10, and is currently recording his follow-up to be completed later this Spring 2005. Nick's New CD will feature Nick playing ALL instruments in addition to mixing and producing the entire project himself. Throughout the years Nick has opened for and performed with the likes of Aerosmith with Kid Rock, Cheap Trick, Eric Johnson, and even the Legendary Les Paul among many others! Nick has received rave reviews from fans and press the world over and is without question, The Future of Rock and Roll. "Catch him if you can."
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Lance Armstrong
National and world champion cyclist, two time Olympian, renowned humanitarian, role model, cancer survivor, and now 5-time winner of the Tour De France, Lance Armstrong is clearly one of the most celebrated and charismatic contributors to the sport of cycling. He not only made world headlines in Paris on July 25, 1999 with the most stunning comeback ever in the history of sport, but the personal side of this resounding triumph brought Lance's life and career full circle. To say that he is an emotional athlete is an understatement. To say that he is a passionate and fearless competitor is evident. However, what may not be so readily apparent is the depth of character and generosity of spirit that is so much a part of the psychological blueprint of this modest and straightforward hero...
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Ray Benson
Hailed as the post-modern King of Western Swing, Ray Benson is the nine-time GRAMMY-winning leader of Asleep at the Wheel. Having won GRAMMYs in each of the last four decades over the band's legendary run in the music business, and working with the likes of Bob Dylan, George Strait and the Dixie Chicks, the Wheel has become a Texas institution, which is literally true now that Benson has been designated the '2004 Texas State Musician' by the Texas House of Representatives.
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