CHRIS BROWN

Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is a Grammy Award-nominated American R&B and pop singer, dancer, and occasional actor who rose to fame in mid 2005 with his Billboard Hot 100 number-one, Scott Storch-produced debut single "Run It!"

His self-titled debut album spawned four successful Top 10 and Top 20 hits in the United States. To date, the album has sold 2.1 million copies in the U.S. and 3 million worldwide.

Chris was born and raised in the small town of Tappahannock, Virginia by Clinton Brown and Joyce Hawkins. He is one of two children.

He was influenced by the artists his parents played on the home radio, such as Michael Jackson and Sam Cooke. Before becoming a vocalist, Brown was interested in becoming a rapper, but began to notice his singing talent by age 11.

By 13, Brown was discovered by a local production team who visted his father's gas station searching for new talent. He began his recording career and moved to New York, staying there for two years. Brown's local production team organized an audition before Def Jam Vice President Tina Davis, who currently works as his manager. At the age of 15, Brown was then sent to perform for L.A. Reid and was subsequently signed in 2004 to Jive Records.

"Run It!" was a hit, peaking at #1 in the U.S. (5 weeks) and abroad. Chris Brown was released on November 29, 2005 and debuted at #2 on the Billboard Hot 200 selling over 155,000 copies in first week of sales. Five weeks later, became certified platinum, and within a year, went double platinum. Following "Run It!", "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" became Brown's second top 10 hit in the U.S, peaking at #7 and has been certified platinum by the RIAA. Brown's album "Poppin" scored him three Billboard Awards in 2006.

Since 2008, Brown started to work on a upcoming studio album.

THE GOAT!

Chris Brown turned himself in to the Los Angeles Police Department's Wilshire station on February 8, 2009 and was booked on suspicion of making criminal threats, while under investigation for domestic violence charges, following an argument with an unidentified woman.

The police report did not name the female in the incident as is policy, but stated that the she had "suffered visible injuries." However, various news media such as the Los Angeles Times, CNN, and MSNBC said that sources had identified the alleged victim as his girlfriend and fellow R&B singer Rihanna.

Following his arrest, several of his commercial ads were suspended, his music was withdrawn from multiple radio stations, and he withdrew from public appearances, including one at the 2009 Grammy Awards. On March 5, 2009, Brown was charged with felony assault and making criminal threats.

On June 22, 2009, Brown pleaded guilty to a felony and has accepted a plea deal of community labor and five years' formal probation. Domestic violence counseling is also part of the deal by Judge Patricia Schnegg in court.

ANDREW SYMONDS

Andrew Symonds (born 9 June 1975, Birmingham, England) was an all-rounder in the Australian cricket team. A two-time World Cup winner, Symonds is a right-handed middle order batsman and alternates between medium pace and off-spin bowling.

Symonds showed sporting prowess from a very early age. "Dad was cricket mad. He’d throw balls to me five or six days a week, before school, after school. And we’d play all sorts of games inside the house with ping-pong balls and Christmas decorations."

Andrew Symonds once won the Cricket Writers' Club's prestigious Young Cricketer of the Year award following a successful debut season with Gloucestershire. He made his One Day International (ODI) debut for Australia in 1998.

As an ODI player, he is known for scoring runs at an excellent strike rate of over 90, with a highest score of 156. He cemented his place in the team in Australia's opening match of the 2003 Cricket World Cup, where he scored 143* to guide Australia from 4/86 to 8/310.

Symonds won Player of the Series in the 2005/06 Australian VB Series.

THE GOAT (S)!

In January 2009, Symonds gave an interview with comedians Roy & HG, where he made remarks about the acquisition of New Zealand cricketer Brendon McCullum by the New South Wales Blues to play in KFC Twenty20 final against Victoria.

Sounding intoxicated, Symonds called McCullum a "lump of shit", and said that having dinner at the home of teammate Matthew Hayden was enjoyable because he could glance at Hayden's wife. He was charged by Cricket Australia with violating the code of conduct and was fined, following a hearing over the 25-minute interview with Cricket Australia chief Michael Brown.

In early June 2009, Symonds was sent home from the ICC World Twenty20 tournament in England, following a late night drinking episode after a team dinner. Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland called a press conference to announce Symonds' dismissal. His Cricket Australia contract was also reviewed and later cancelled.

BERNIE MADOFF

Bernie Madoff, for at least 20 years, ran a Ponzi scheme on thousands of clients: business leaders, celebrities, charities, his own relatives and even his own defense attorney. Elie Wiesel called him a "God." His investors called him a "genius.."

Born in New York in 1938, Madoff was a Wall Street legend who had been in business for nearly 50 years. According to the story Madoff told others, in 1960, at age 22, he took $5000 earned from his summer job as a Long Island lifeguard and started his own investment firm.

His brother Peter joined him in 1970 in what had become a booming business with an impressive list of clients. Madoff's firm grew famous for its reliable annual returns of 10% or more. He served as president of the board of directors of the NASDAQ stock exchange, and he and his wife Ruth were popular socialites in New York and Florida , where they were members of the exclusive Palm Beach Country Club.

THE GOAT!

On 11 December 2008, FBI agents arrested Madoff at his Manhattan apartment, and the Securities and Exchange Commission said he was charged with "massive fraud" and running a "multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme."

Madoff reportedly admitted to investigators that he had lost $50 billion of investors' cash. Prosecutors say Madoff stole billions of dollars from more than 4000 victims. Investigators say Madoff's wife withdrew $15 million the day before his arrest.

Madoff pled guilty to 11 felony counts on 12 March 2009, and was jailed until a sentencing hearing scheduled for June 16th. He faces up to 150 years in prison.

WINONA RYDER

Winona Ryder was born Winona Horowitz and named after the town in which she was born, Winona Minnesota. She grew up in a ranch commune in Northern California where there was no electricity.

She started her career in 1986. Although Ryder made her screen debut in Lucas (1986), her first significant role came in 1988 with Beetlejuice as Lydia Deetz, a Gothic teenager, in a performance that gained her critical and commercial recognition.

After making various appearances in film and television, Ryder continued her career with the cult film Heathers (1989) in a prominent and critically acclaimed performance. Her subsequent roles have won her not only critical praise but numerous film awards.

In 2000, Ryder received a star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California. Ryder is known for her relationship with actor Johnny Depp throughout the early 1990s.

THE GOAT!

On December 12, 2001, Ryder was arrested on shoplifting charges in BeverlyHills, California. She stood accused of stealing $5,500 worth of designer clothes and accessories at a Saks Fifth Avenue departmentstore. Los Angeles District Attorney Stephen Cooley produced a team of eight prosecutors. Ryder hired noted celebrity defense attorney MarkGeragos.

Ryder was convicted of grand theft and vandalism, but was acquitted on the third felony charge, burglary. In December 2002, she was sentenced to three years' probation, 480 hours of community service,$3,700 in fines, and $6,355 in restitution to the Saks Fifth Avenue store– and was ordered to attend psychological and drug counselling.

MATTHEW JOHNS

Matthew Johns, 37, is an Australian rugby league football commentator and former professional player. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative five-eighth, Johns played his club football primarily with the Newcastle Knights, alongside his younger brother, Andrew Johns.

After playing junior rugby league in Cessnock, he joined the Newcastle Knights in 1991. He had a very successful time of it for the Knights, the highlight of which, being part of the1997 Australian Rugby League grand final victory over the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.

Johns was part of the Australian squad that won the 1995 Rugby League World Cup. He also played four State of Origin matches for New South Wales.

Most players, when their playing days end, have no idea what to do. Matthew Johns was the opposite. His first foray into entertainment began in 1999 when he adopted the persona of Reg Reagan in a low budget film, 'In Search of the Holy Grail,' which appeared at the Newcastle Film Festival. The Nine Network showed excerpts of the film on 'The Footy Show.'

The Reg Reagan character was developed further in an article in the Sydney Morning Herald in 2000. Fans of Johns' new side Cronulla started wearing copies of the t-shirt worn by Reagan, with the slogan "Bring Back the Biff", to games.

In 2002, Johns became a regular on The Footy Show with Reagan and a new character, Trent, a gay flight attendant from San Francisco. After his retirement as a player, Johns signed deals with the Nine Network and Sony Music Entertainment.

THE GOAT!

While on a pre season tour of New Zealand in February 2002, Johns and other unnamed members of the Cronulla Sharks were involved in a group sex session with a young woman in a Christchurch hotel room.

Following an allegation of sexual assault from the woman five days later, police investigated the incident both in New Zealand and Australia but did not lay any charges. The ABC TV Four Corners program "Code of Silence", broadcast on 11 May 2009, reported on the incident.

Although Four Corners spoke to Johns about the incident, he declined to give an on-camera interview for the program. Johns admitted to taking part but stated that the act was consensual. Subsequent to the Four Corners program, Johns was stood down by Channel Nine from his role as rugby league commentator and co-host of The Footy Show. The Melbourne Storm also took the step of releasing Johns indefinitely as an assistant coach.

STELLA WALSH

Stanisława Walasiewicz (also known as Stella Walsh and ‘Stella the Fella’) was a Polish born American athlete and an Olympic champion.

Walasiewicz was born April 3, 1911 in Wierzchownia, Poland. Her family emigrated to the United States when she was only three months old. Her father, Julian Walasiewicz, settled in Cleveland where he found a job as a steel mill worker.

She started her athletic career in a public school in Cleveland. Fast and agile, in 1927 she easily won the competition for a place in the American Olympic team started by the Cleveland Press newspaper. However, Walasiewicz was not an American citizen and could not obtain citizenship under the age of 21.

Walasiewicz joined the local branch of Sokol, a Polish sports and patriotic organization active also among the Polish diaspora. During the Pan-Slavic Slet of Sokół movement in Poznań she scored her first major international victories. She won 5 gold medals: in running for 60, 100, 200 and 400 metres, as well as long jump.

In the late 1920s she was already a well-known athlete. As an amateur she was also working as a clerk in Cleveland. While still not a US citizen, Walasiewicz did participate in, and won, numerous American national championships, usually under the name of Stella Walsh.

In the 1932 Summer Olympics she represented Poland. In both the heats and the semi-finals of the 100 m, Walasiewicz equalled the current world record of 11.9 seconds, a feat she repeated in the final, which she won.

The same day, she also finished 6th out of 9 in the discus throw event.

Upon her return to Poland she almost instantly became one of the best-known personalities. She appeared at the Championships of Warsaw, where she seized 9 gold medals, including one for 80 metres hurdling, one for 4x200 relay, and one for long jump.

In 1947 she finally accepted American citizenship and married boxer Neil Olson. Although the marriage did not last long, she continued to use the name of Stella Walsh Olson for the rest of her life. She won her last US title at age forty, in 1951.

She was inducted into the U.S. Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1975.

THE GOAT!

In the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Stella attempted to defend her Olympic title, but she was beaten to the title by Helen Stephens of the USA. She came second in 11.7 seconds.

Ironically in hindsight, Stephens was accused of being male and forced to submit to a genital inspection to prove otherwise.

Walsh was a bystander in an armed robbery in Cleveland, Ohio on December 4, 1980, and was killed, aged 69. The autopsy revealed that the athlete who had lived her life as a woman had the genitals of a man. Detailed investigation has also revealed that she had both XX and XY pair of chromosomes.

There was some controversy whether all her records and achievements should be erased, but in the end neither the International Olympic Committee nor the IAAF commented on the matter.

TREVOR CHAPPELL

A star schoolboy cricketer and a member of Australia's first family of cricket in the 70s and 80s, Trevor Chappell made his debut for South Australia in 1972-73, before relocating to Western Australia in 1976-77 and again to New South Wales in 1979-80.

He also joined World Series Cricket and played in the Lancashire League. It was with New South Wales that Trevor played his best cricket and solid performances including a career best 150 against Western Australia led to his selection in the 1981 tour of England.

Trevor was more successful in the short form of the game, scoring 110 for Australia against India in the 1983 World Cup. After retiring from first-class cricket in 1986, Chappell played several seasons of Sydney grade cricket with North Sydney and coached the Gordon Women's Cricket Club, then to Sri Lanka as a fielding coach, and Bangladesh as their national coach.

THE GOAT!

On February 1st, 1981, Trevor was instructed by his brother Greg (who also happened to be captain of Australia) to bowl an underarm delivery against New Zealand’s Brian McKechnie.

With New Zealand needing a six from the final ball to tie the match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Trevor did as he was told, instantly becoming a household name - for all the wrong reasons.

While the underarm delivery within the rules, it was considered unsporting as it is almost impossible to hit a six from a ball delivered in this way.

Australia won the game, but boos were heard from the crowd as the New Zealand batsmen marched off in disgust. Since that day, the underarm incident has caused many a near punch up between Australians and New Zealanders.