George Foreman is a well-known name; his career has been long and eventful. Not only does he have the distinction of being known as one of 25 greatest boxers of all time, he was also the oldest man to win a heavyweight title. He is an accomplished businessman in addition to being an ordained Christian minister. He even owns his own church.

His amateur career came to a close with an amazing record of 27-0. He turned professional in 1969, winning 12 fights that year with 11 of them won by knockout. He continued his quest towards claiming the undisputed heavyweight title during 1970 when he won every one of his twelve fights that year. Again, eleven of his victories were by knockout. Throughout 1971, George Foreman claimed seven more victories. By this time, he had amassed an impressive 32-0 record and was considered the number one challenger by both the WBC and the WBA. Foreman continued his string of victories adding five more victories in 1972. Each of these victories was won within three rounds.

In 1973, Foreman challenged Joe Frazier, the undisputed and undefeated world heavyweight champion, in a bout known as the Sunshine Showdown. The Sunshine Showdown was the first broadcast by HBO boxing. Foreman knocked Frazier down six times in just two rounds to claim the championship title by knockout, becoming one the biggest upsets in boxing history. Many fight fans will never forget the final blow, an uppercut that was delivered with such force that Frazier was lifted off his feet before crashing to the canvas one final time.

In a historic 1973 match up, Foreman fought Joe Frazier, the undisputed and undefeated heavyweight world champion. In a bout called the Sunshine Showdown, broadcast by HBO Boxing, Foreman knocked Frazier to the canvas six times in only two rounds to win the championship by knockout. This became one of the greatest upsets in boxing history. Many boxing fans will always remember that final blow ” a forceful uppercut that lifted Frazier completely off his feet before crashing down for the last time.

Foreman kept his heavyweight title until 1974, when he was pitted against the former heavyweight champion, Mohamed Ali. This bout, dubbed The Rumble in the Jungle was fought in Zaire. This match marked Foremans first defeat in his entire professional boxing career. Foreman disappeared from the boxing scene for the rest of 1975 in the face of this crushing defeat.

He never formally retired from boxing but he did stop boxing. He became a minister of a church, devoting himself to his family and the church parishioners. A youth center was opened that bears his name. He continues to give testimonies regarding his conversion experience.

Foreman stopped boxing, even though he never formally retired. He became a church minister, devoting his life to the care of his family and his church members. A youth center bearing Foremans name was opened, and Foreman continues to actively testify about his conversion experience.

After ten years out of the ring, he made a second comeback. In 1988, he announced that he would return to boxing at the age of 38. He wanted to show people that age should not be considered a barrier in regards to achieving goals. During 1988, he won eight fights, although none of his challengers was a rated contender. Foreman continued with a string of victories as well as some notable defeats.

Surprisingly, Foreman made another boxing comeback after 10 years out of the ring. At the mature age of 38, Foreman announced in 1988 that he would be returning to boxing. His aim was to show people that age did have to prevent anyone from achieving their goals. Foreman won eight fights that year, though none of his opponents were rated contenders. Foreman gained many victories, and some memorable defeats as well.

Foreman went on to break two boxing records when he regained the heavyweight title after successfully challenging Michael Moorer in Las Vegas on November 5, 1994. He not only became the oldest boxer to win the world heavyweight title; he also broke the record for longest interval between championship wins. He kept boxing until his second retirement in 1999.

George Foreman was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003. He was ranked as the ninth greatest fighter of all time.

Foremans other notable business ventures include commercial appearances for Meineke Mufflers, and promoting his own George Foreman Grill. In 2004, he started marketing his brand of Big and Tall clothing through Casual Male.

In 1993, he starred in his own sitcom. Hes also been a judge on American Inventor, a TV reality series. Most recently, Foreman appeared in a July 2008 reality show titled Family Foreman which featured George and his family.

He has also published four books; all related to his life experiences. These books are sure to be interesting reading considering the interesting life George Foreman has led thus far.

One of the all time greats of the game of football (soccer to our American readers) if not the greatest is of course Pele. Pele, born Edison (though he prefers Edson) Arantes do Nascimento on Oct. 23, 1940 in Brazil is nothing short of a legend in the sport. Even those who have never in their life watched a football match know his name.

When people think of soccer, they think of Pele. He seemed to be born to play soccer. He possessed amazing skills and seemed to make the ball do exactly what he wanted. He had astonishing speed as well as ball control. He was agile, lithe, and strong. He is well known for his unique dribbling and passing techniques. The crowd absolutely loved to watch him play; he always seemed to pull of some amazing feat every time he was in possession of the ball. His skill allowed him to score 1,283 first-class goals, 12 of which were made during World Cup tournaments, in 1958, 1968 and 1970. Pele was the only football player in the games history to claim three World Cup trophies.

Peles skill was noticed by football star Waldemar de Brito. He began coaching Pel in 1954 when Pele was just 14 years old. He made his professional debut in 1956 for Santos Futebol Clube. By 1957, he claimed a starting position on the 1st team. He claimed his first World Cup trophy at the age of 17. It was in 1962 that he began receiving offers from European organizations and he began to entertain the idea of a move to Europe. Due to economic conditions and the benefits Pel brought to the Santos Football Club as well as Brazilian football regulations, the Brazilian government blocked any move by Pele to Europe, declaring him a national treasure.

Pele continued playing for Santos until the end of his 17th season in 1972. He retired from football but would occasionally suit up during competitive matches. At the start of the 1975 season, he came out of this semi-retirement to play for the New York Cosmos who were part of the North American soccer League. Although many considered him to be past his prime, Pele was responsible for greatly increasing the interest and public awareness of soccer in the United States. In his third and last season with the Cosmos, he led the team to win the 1977 NASL championship.

Pele is still considered to be a national hero in his native Brazil, where his contributions to football are universally acknowledged - something also noticed by FIFA, who have named Pele the official football ambassador to the world. Pele advocates for the underprivileged as well as for the sport which made him a star. It is not for nothing that Pele is known to this day as “The King of Football” and he is a American National Soccer Hall of Fame member.

While Barry Bonds is known as an incredible baseball player, it is other things about him which may eventually be what he is remembered for. Bonds won four MVP awards as an outfielder, four years in a row. He played in the 2007 World Series and is one of the most widely known players in the sport. In 2006, he surpassed even Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron in home runs.

However, this was not accomplished under ideal circumstances, there were already stories of steroid use, and Bonds was not loved dearly by a majority of fans. This feeling was apparently very mutual and Bonds has never been one to bite back hostile words. Even Hank Aaron became disillusioned and disenchanted, and at the end of the history making record chase, refused to attend any more of Bonds’ games. He has a standing record of 762 homeruns giving him sole possession of first place. Bonds also holds records for most homeruns in a single season-73. There are numerous records and accolades that belong to Bonds, but no ball team would sign him during the 2008 season.

With a jet setting career and a financial future already assured, this godson of the great Willie Mays, came under significant scrutiny regarding the well-publicized Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative case, and was charged and indicted with perjury. He had apparently lied about steroid use when he was under oath and the courts held him accountable for his actions.

This has cast a pall over his entire career. Fans questioned the validity of his MVP awards and his achievements within the game - and the league itself has also expressed concern. Achievements which came through the use of steroids, the reasoning goes, are not to be valued as highly as those accomplished solely through an athlete’s natural faculties.

This overshadowed an impressive baseball career that started out in high school. As he was finishing his final term in high school, Bonds was approached by the Giants. As he finished his high school career, the negotiations between Bonds and the Giants were not going as well as projected, and college seemed like a better choice. He continued to play baseball in college and excelled during this time, including seven consecutive hits during the College World Series. He was then named the All American selection that year by Sporting News.

Barry Bonds is still facing obstruction of justice charges that will not be heard in court until March of 2009. The federal prosecutor had submitted paperwork with a typo, alleging that the steroid use, which Bonds still argues he did not take knowingly, was tested for, and found positive in 2001 rather than the year 2000. This year makes a difference due to testing laws that were not implemented until a later date.

Bonds has been spending his time away from the diamond by working with children’s hospitals, a public service which has comforted many sick and even terminally ill children. Bonds holds an honorary chairmanship from the Macy’s Tree Lighting committee - this committee raises money for UCSF Children’s Hospital Palliative Care Program, a children’s hospice.

US Tennis Open winners have been held up high since 1881. This tennis championship is one of the oldest in the world and the fourth and final tournament in the Grand Slam each year. This tournament takes place during the end of August and the beginning of September. There are five different event championships which include the men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, mixed doubles, wheelchair events, and even events for juniors and seniors.

The US Open is different from the other tournaments in the Grand Slam like the Wimbledon. The US Tennis Open winners are determined by the person that wins the final set tie breaks. In the other tournaments the winners are determined by whoever wins by two games starting at the fifth set for the men and the third set for the women.

Even though it does not draw the crowned heads that one may see at Wimbledon, this is a tournament with a lot of prestige attached and the event draws thousands of spectators from every part of the world as well as many locals. With more than $20 million in prize money awarded in this tournament, it’s easy to see why over 600 players compete in this tournament each year.

The US Open is held in New York City, at the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, home of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Unlike Wimbledon, the events are held on an acrylic court rather than grass.

Since there is more prize money to be won, many players aspire to compete in this tournament. There is a $1.5 million prize for the winners of the main events, with half that amount going to the runner up. Semifinalists are awarded $320,000, quarterfinalists half of this and so on. There are many prizes to be won even by those players who leave without a trophy.

US Open winners in doubles events also receive large cash prizes. Doubles winners split a total of $1.8 million. There is also half a million dollars in prize money to be won in the mixed doubles. The qualifying 128 draw events for both men and women pay up to one million - in total, there is over $20 million dollars in prize money to be won in this tournament.

With so much to be won and the prestige of competing in a Grand Slam tournament, professional tennis players are always interested in this tournament. There are prizes given to the winners in many different events, giving players a much better chance to go home with a prize than in other tournaments; this generates a lot of excitement among fans as well, which makes this tournament incredibly popular year after year.

A living legend in the world of racing if ever there was one, Richard Petty has won an incredible 200 races in his career, holding one of his many records as a seven time winner of the Daytona 500. Other than Dale Earnhardt, he is the only racer to ever win the NASCAR Championship seven times, a record he is justifiably proud of.

Over 35 years in the sport, Richard Petty competed in no less than 1184 NASCAR Sprint Cup races. Not only does he have 200 wins to his record, but also has had 712 top ten finishes. He is considered one of NASCAR’s all time greats and perhaps even the greatest, having had 513 consecutive starts between the years 1971 and 1989.

Richard Petty is actually a second generation racecar driver. Lee Petty, his father, won the first Daytona 500 in 1959 and was a 3 time NASCAR Champion. Richard Petty’s son, Kyle is also well-known in the NASCAR circuit. His grandson, Adam was killed in a racing accident at New Hampshire International Speedway just five weeks after the death of Lee.

The Petty family owns and operates Petty Enterprises, his family’s racing team. Based out of an enormous 100,000+ square foot former Yates Racing facility, he is still active in the organization and is as always popular with the fans and is to this day commonly asked to sign autographs.

He got his start in racing at the age of 21 and was 1959’s NASCAR Rookie of the Year with a record of 9 top 10 finishes (6 of these were top 5 finishes!). He continued to be one of the sport’s top racers right up to his 1992 retirement; his last top 10 finish was in the 1991 Budweiser at the Glen race.

Petty is well known for surviving three dramatic crashes, including one at the 1970 Rebel 400, where his car lost a tire, slammed into the wall and flipped several times. Amazingly, Petty suffered only a shoulder injury, although the incident prompted the league to begin requiring safety netting for the driver’s seat in all subsequent races.

In 1980, at Pocono, he broke his neck and kept the injury hidden for the next few races. In 1988 at the Daytona 500, his crash sent parts everywhere after numerous flips and he sustained temporary vision loss from the g-forces, but otherwise walked away uninjured.

Richard Petty was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1997. He was named one of NASCAR’s 50 greatest drivers in 1998 and was awarded the Medal of Freedom by George H W Bush in 1992, the first sports figure to receive the honor.

Richard Petty was known for his accessibility to his fans, where he would sign autographs for hours and he increased the popularity of the racing sports. He has been featured in movies as himself, such as Speed Zone, Stroker Ace with Burt Reynolds, and the 2008 movie, Swing Vote, besides the 1972 video release, The Petty Story.

Richard Petty has spent nearly his entire adult life in the world of racing and he is still active in NASCAR (though no longer behind the wheel) even now.

Serena Williams really needs no introduction. At present, she is the number one ranked female player in the world of professional tennis. At only 27, she has won a total of 20 Grand Slam titles (8 women’s doubles, 2 mixed doubles and 10 singles), has held all four Grand Slam titles at once and is the current champion in the Australian Open and the US Open. Williams is nothing less than a living legend in tennis and was named Tennis magazine’s 17th best athlete of all time in 2005. She is sure to achieve much more yet as an athlete and enjoys incredibly popularity with fans.

The youngest of five children, her family moved to Los Angeles, where her father decided to begin coaching all of his children in tennis on the public courts in Compton. Serena and her sister Venus especially took to the game, with Serena willing her first tournament before the age of five! By the time she was ten, she had already won 46 tournaments.

Serena and her siblings were all home schooled. Serena’s father, hoping to avoid his daughters having to face racism, stopped sending them to national junior tennis tournaments. Serena then attended a tennis school run by professional player Rick Macci in Haines City Florida. During those times, she sometimes trained with Andy Roddick, who Serena actually beat one time in a practice match.

All these years of training built Serena into an incredible player. While she is best known as a baseline player, her technique consists of taking control of the rallies and Williams is considered to be one of the more aggressive players in the sport. Her serve, return and ground strokes whether fore or backhand are known for their power. Her serves are known as among the best in tennis, winning admiration from players, sportscasters and fans at every match. She serves at a high speed, regularly meeting and even exceeding 120 mph (she broke a record with her serves of 127 and 129 mph at Charleston in 2008). Her return serve can overpower opponents; and she hits both topspin and flat serves on either corner of the service box.

Aside from her playing style, Serena is also known for her unusual and colorful outfits on court. Her family has opened a clothing line named Aneres. She also made several television and movie appearances. She also posed for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. She eventually made a lucrative career as a product endorser. In May 2004, Serena William’s partnership with Nike debuted custom-designed sports apparel. Serena also received the Celebrity Role Model Award from Avon Foundations in 2003 for her participation in the breast cancer drives. She also had her charities to spend time with off the court. In November 2008, she funded the construction and completion of a secondary school in Kenya.