Coordinates	27°50′″N48°25′″N
current season	2011 Davis Cup
logo	Davis_Cup.jpg
pixels	125px
sport	Tennis
founded	1900
teams	16 (World Group)137 (2007 total)
country	ITF member nations
champion	}}

The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. In 2007, 137 nations entered teams into the competition. The most successful countries over the history of the tournament are the United States (winning 32 tournaments and finishing as runners-up 29 times) and Australia (winning 28 times, including four occasions with New Zealand under the name 'Australasia', and finishing as runners-up 19 times). The present champion is Serbia who beat France to claim the title.

History

The tournament was conceived in 1899 by four members of the Harvard University tennis team who wished to challenge the British to a tennis competition. Once their respective lawn tennis associations agreed, one of the four Harvard players, Dwight F. Davis, designed a tournament format and ordered an appropriate sterling silver trophy from Shreve, Crump & Low, purchasing it from his own funds. They in turn commissioned a classically-styled design from William B. Durgin's of Concord, New Hampshire, crafted by the Englishman Rowland Rhodes. Davis went on to become a prominent politician in the United States in the 1920s, serving as US Secretary of War from 1925–29 and as Governor-General of the Philippines from 1929–32.

The first match, between the United States and Britain (which competed under the name "British Isles"), was held at the Longwood Cricket Club in Boston, Massachusetts in 1900. The American team, of which Dwight Davis was a part, surprised the British by winning the first three matches. The following year the two countries did not compete but the US won the next match in 1902. By 1905 the tournament expanded to include Belgium, Austria, France, and Australasia, a combined team from Australia and New Zealand that competed together until 1914.

The tournament was initially titled the ''International Lawn Tennis Challenge'' although it soon became known as the Davis Cup, after Dwight Davis' trophy.

From 1950 to 1967, Australia dominated the competition, winning the Cup 15 times in 18 years.

The United States has won the event the most times (32), closely followed by Australia (28 [including 4 as Australasia]), Great Britain (9 [including 5 as the British Isles]), France (9) and Sweden (7).

Up until 1973, the Davis Cup had only ever been won by the United States, Great Britain/British Isles, France and Australia/Australasia. Their domination was eventually broken in 1974, when South Africa and India qualified for the final; however, the final was scratched and South Africa was awarded the Davis Cup after India refused to travel to South Africa for the final in protest of the South African government's apartheid policies. (As of 2010, South Africa has never actually played in a Davis Cup finals match.) The following year saw the first final between two "outsider" nations that was actually played; Sweden beat Czechoslovakia 3–2, and since then, several other countries have gone on to capture the trophy.

In 1989, the tiebreak was also introduced into Davis Cup competition. The tiebreak is now used in all sets except for 5th set, which remains an advantage set.

On the 100th anniversary of the tournament's founding, 129 nations competed for the Davis Cup.

Format

Tournament

The world's 16 best national teams are assigned to the World Group and compete annually for the Davis Cup. Nations which are not in the World Group compete in one of three regional zones (Americas, Asia/Oceania, and Europe/Africa). The competition is spread over four weekends during the year. Each elimination round between competing nations is held in one of the countries. The ITF determines the host countries for all possible matchups before each year's tournament.

The World Group is the top group and includes the world's best 16 national teams. Teams in the World Group play a four-round elimination tournament. Teams are seeded based on a ranking system released by the ITF, taking into account previous years' results. The defending champion and runner-up are always the top two seeds in the tournament. The losers of the first-round matches are sent to the World Group playoff round, where they play along with winners from Group I of the regional zones. The playoff round winners play in the World Group for the next year's tournament, while the losers play in Group I of their respective regional zone.

Each of the three regional zones is divided into four groups. Groups I and II play elimination rounds, with the losing teams facing relegation to the next-lower group. The teams in Groups III and those in Group IV play a round-robin tournament with promotion and relegation.

Previous tournament structure

When competition began in 1900, the Davis Cup competition was played as a challenge cup. All teams competed against one another for the right to face the previous year's champion in the final round, and the previous year's champion (the "defending champion") advanced directly to the current year's final round.

Beginning in 1923, the world's teams were split into two zones: the "America Zone" and the "Europe Zone". The winners of the two zones met in the ''Inter-Zonal Zone'' ("INZ") to decide which national team would challenge the defending champion for the cup.

In 1955, a third zone, the "Eastern Zone", was added. Because there were three zones, the winner of one of the three zones received a bye in the first round of the INZ challenger rounds. In 1966, the "Europe Zone" was split into two zones, "Europe Zone A" and "Europe Zone B", so the winners of the four zones competed in the INZ challenger rounds.

Beginning in 1972, the format was changed from a challenge cup, so that the defending champion was required to compete in all rounds, and the Davis Cup was awarded to the tournament champion.

In 1981, the tiered system of competition was created, which remains in use today, and in which the 16 best national teams compete in the World Group and in which all other national teams compete in one of the four groups in one of the three regional zones.

Ties and rubbers

As in other cup competitions ''tie'' is used in the Davis Cup to mean an elimination (or ''knockout'') round, rather than meaning a ''draw'' or when competitors' scores are equal. In the Davis Cup, the word ''rubber'' means an individual match. Thus, "tie" means a round, and "rubber" means a match.

In the annual World Group competition, 16 nations compete in 8 first-round ties ("rounds"); the 8 winners compete 4 quarter-final-round ties; the 4 winners compete in 2 semifinal-round ties; and the 2 winners compete in the final round tie.

Each tie consists of 5 rubbers ("matches"), which are played in 3 days (usually on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday). The winner of the tie is the nation which wins 3 or more of the 5 rubbers in the tie. On the first day, the first 2 rubbers are singles, which are generally played by each nation's 2 best available singles players. On the second day, the doubles rubber is played. On the third day, the final 2 rubbers are typically ''reverse singles'', in which the first-day contestants usually play again, but they swap opponents from the first day's singles rubbers. However, in certain circumstances, the team captain may replace one or two of the players who played the singles on Friday by other players who were nominated for the tie. For example, if the tie has already been decided in favour of one of the teams, it is common for younger or lower-ranked team members to play the remaining ''dead-rubbers'' in order for them to gain Davis Cup experience.

Prior to each tie, the captain of each nation nominates a squad of four players and decides who will compete in the tie. On the day before play starts, the order of play for the first day is drawn at random. In the past, teams could substitute final day singles players only in case of injury or illness, verified by a doctor, but current rules permit the captain to designate any player to play the last two singles rubbers, provided that no first day matchup is repeated. There is no restriction on which of the playing team members may play the doubles rubber: the two singles players, two other players (usually doubles specialists) or a combination.

Each rubber is normally played in a best-of-5 set. The first four sets use a tiebreak if necessary, but the fifth set usually has no tiebreaker, so play continues until one side wins by two games (e.g. 10–8). However, if a team has clinched the tie ("round") before all 5 rubbers ("matches") have been completed, the remaining rubbers may be shortened to the best-of-3-sets, with a tie breaker if necessary to decide all three sets.

In Group III and Group IV competition, each tie ("round") consists only of 3 rubbers ("matches"), which include 2 singles and one doubles rubber, which is played in a single day. The rubbers are in the best-of-3-set format, with a tie breaker if necessary to decide all three sets.

Records and statistics

Team

'''1900 International Lawn Tennis Challenge1903 International Lawn Tennis Challenge '''1907 International Lawn Tennis Challenge '''1903 International Lawn Tennis Challenge '''1927 International Lawn Tennis Challenge '''1975 Davis Cup '''2000 Davis Cup

width=16%	Country !! width=43%|Years Won !! width=43%|Runners Up
		1900, 1902, 1913, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1937, 1938, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1954, 1958, 1963, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1990, 1992, 1995, 2007 (32)		1903, 1905, 1906, 1908, 1909, 1911, 1914, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1932, 1934, 1935, 1939, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1964, 1973, 1984, 1991, 1997, 2004 (29)
*		1907*, 1908*, 1909*, 1911*, 1914, 1919, 1939, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1973, 1977, 1983, 1986, 1999, 2003 (28)		1912*, 1920*, 1922*, 1923, 1924, 1936, 1938, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1954, 1958, 1963, 1968, 1990, 1993, 2000, 2001 (19)
*		1903*, 1904*, 1905*, 1906*, 1912*, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936 (9)		1900*, 1902*, 1907*, 1913, 1919, 1931, 1937, 1978 (8)
		1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1991, 1996, 2001 (9)		1925, 1926, 1933, 1982, 1999, 2002, 2010 (7)
		1975, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1994, 1997, 1998 (7)		1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1996 (5)
		2000, 2004, 2008, 2009 (4)		1965, 1967, 2003 (3)
*		1988 Davis Cup>1988*, [[1989 Davis Cup		1970*, 1985* (2)
		'''[[2002 Davis Cup		1994, 1995, 2007 (3)
		1976 Davis Cup>1976 (1)		1960, 1961, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1998 (6)
*		1980 Davis Cup>1980* (1)		1975*, 2009, (2)
		1974 Davis Cup>1974 (1)		(0)
		2005 Davis Cup>2005 (1)		(0)
		2010 Davis Cup>2010 (1)		(0)
		(0)		1969, 1971, 1972 (3)
		(0)		1966, 1974, 1987 (3)
		(0)		1981, 2006, 2008 (3)
		(0)		1904 (1)
		(0)		1921 (1)
		(0)		1962 (1)
		(0)		1976 (1)
		(0)		1992 (1)
		(0)

Titles by country (Open era)

{| class="wikitable" |-bgcolor="#CCCCCC" |align="center" | Country |Titles |First |Last |- bgcolor="gold" | |align="center" | 13 |1968 |2007 |- | |align="center" | 7 |1975 |1998 |-bgcolor="#EFEFEF" | |align="center" | 6 |1973 |2003 |- | |align="center" | 4 |2000 |2009 |-bgcolor="#EFEFEF" | |align="center" | 3 |1991 |2001 |- | |align="center" | 3 |1988 |1993 |-bgcolor="#EFEFEF" | |align="center" | 2 |2002 |2006 |- | |align="center" | 1 |1974 |1974 |-bgcolor="#EFEFEF" | |align="center" | 1 |1976 |1976 |- | |align="center" | 1 |1980 |1980 |-bgcolor="#EFEFEF" | |align="center" | 1 |2005 |2005 |- | |align="center" | 1 |2010 |2010 |- |}

Consecutive titles

* All-time: 7, United States, 1920–1926

* Post-Challenge Round: 2; United States, '78–'79, '81–'82; Sweden, '84–'85, '97–'98; West Germany, '88–'89; Spain, 2008–2009

Consecutive finals appearances

* All-time: 23, Australia, 1946–1968

* Post-Challenge Round: 7, Sweden, 1983–1989

Most number of games in a tie

* All-time: 327, India 3–2 Australia, 1974 Eastern Zone final

* World Group (before tiebreak): 281, Paraguay 3–2 France, 1985 first round

* World Group (since tiebreak): 281, Romania 3–2 Ecuador, 2003 World Group play-offs

Individual

Youngest player

* Mohammed-Akhtar Hossain; Bangladesh; 13 years, 326 days¹

Oldest player

* Gadonfin Koptigan Yaka; Togo; 59 years, 147 days

Most rubbers played

* 164, Nicola Pietrangeli, Italy

Most ties played

* 78, Domenico Vicini, San Marino

Most rubbers won

* Total: 120, Nicola Pietrangeli, Italy

* Singles: 78, Nicola Pietrangeli, Italy

* Doubles: 42, Nicola Pietrangeli, Italy

¹Players must now be aged 14 and over

Current ITF rankings

''For a complete list, see ITF Rankings''

Rank !! Nation !! Points !! Previous
1		29778.13
2	|	24609.38	2 (±0)
3	|	17437.81	3 (±0)
4	|	15808.75	5 (+1)
5	|	15550.00	4 (-1)
6	|	12297.50	6 (±0)
7	|	7750.00	7 (±0)
8	|	6359.38	10 (+2)
9	|	5894.38	9 (±0)
10	|	5475.00	11 (+1)
11	|	5367.50	8 (-3)
12	|	5312.19	16 (+4)
13	|	3182.50	13 (±0)
14	|	3168.75	12 (-2)
15	|	2688.75	15 (±0)
16	|	2462.50	17 (+1)

Complete rankings

ATP points distribution

See also

Davis Cup structure

List of Davis Cup champions

International Tennis Federation

Fed Cup

Hopman Cup

References

External links

Official Davis Cup website

Davis Cup live streaming website

Category:Recurring sporting events established in 1900 Category:World championships

ar:كأس ديفيز ast:Copa Davis zh-min-nan:Davis Cup bs:Davis Cup bg:Купа Дейвис ca:Copa Davis de tennis cs:Davis Cup da:Davis Cup de:Davis Cup et:Davise karikavõistlused el:Κύπελλο Ντέιβις es:Copa Davis eo:Davisa pokalo eu:Davis Kopa fa:جام دیویس fr:Coupe Davis gl:Copa Davis ko:데이비스 컵 hi:डेविस कप hr:Davisov kup id:Piala Davis it:Coppa Davis he:גביע דייוויס ka:დევისის თასი kk:Дэвис кубогы lv:Deivisa kauss lb:Davis Cup lt:Davis Cup hu:Davis-kupa mr:डेव्हिस करंडक nl:Davis Cup ja:デビスカップ no:Davis Cup pl:Puchar Davisa pt:Copa Davis kaa:Devis kubogi ro:Cupa Davis ru:Кубок Дэвиса scn:Coppa Davis sk:Davisov pohár sl:Davisov pokal sr:Дејвис куп sh:Davis Cup fi:Davis Cup sv:Davis Cup ta:டேவிசுக் கோப்பை te:డేవిస్ కప్ tr:Davis Kupası uk:Кубок Девіса vi:Cúp Davis zh:台維斯盃

Coordinates	27°50′″N48°25′″N
name	Glen Davis
position	Power forward / Center
career start
height ft	6
height in	9
weight lb	289
nationality	American
birth date	January 01, 1986
birth place	Baton Rouge, Louisiana
draft round	2
draft pick	35
draft year	2007
draft team	Seattle SuperSonics
high school	University Laboratory HS (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
college	Louisiana State
years1	– | team1 Boston Celtics
highlights	NBA Champion (2008) SEC Player of the Year (2006)
profile	glen_davis }}

Ronald Glen Davis (born January 1, 1986 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana), commonly known as Glen Davis and by his nickname Big Baby, is an American basketball player who last played for the NBA's Boston Celtics. Formerly a college basketball player for LSU, Davis was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics with the 35th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft and shortly after traded to Boston. Davis is listed at , and plays the power forward and center positions.

College career

The Southeastern Conference's coaches voted him the 2006 SEC Player of the Year, and he was also named to the All-SEC first team. In 2006 as a sophomore, Davis led the Tigers to their first Final Four appearance since 1986. In the crucial game of the National Semifinals, LSU lost to UCLA, trailing by a wide margin in the first half and never managing a comeback. Davis scored 17 points and only made 4 out of 10 free throws before eventually fouling out.

NBA career

Boston Celtics

On March 20, 2007, Davis held a press conference to announce that he would forgo his senior season at LSU and enter his name into the NBA Draft in 2007. He signed with agent John Hamilton of Performance Sports Management.

Davis was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics with the 35th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. The rights to Davis were traded to the Boston Celtics along with Ray Allen for Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak and the rights to the 5th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, Jeff Green.

Davis was on the Celtics' 2007 summer league team. With the departures of Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, and Al Jefferson, Davis was expecting to see a lot of playing time his rookie season. Though he is primarily a power forward, Davis also spent some time playing as the team's backup center in the regular season.

After coming off the bench for the first 19 games of the season, Davis made his first NBA start against the Sacramento Kings on December 12, 2007, in place of injured center Kendrick Perkins. Playing at power forward with Kevin Garnett taking Perkins' place at center, he scored 16 points and pulled down 9 rebounds as the Celtics won the game 90–78. His breakout performance took place against the Detroit Pistons on January 5, 2008, as he scored 16 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, including the last basket of the game.

On March 21, 2009, Davis scored a career high 24 points against the Memphis Grizzlies in the Celtics 105–87 win in Memphis.

In the 2009 NBA Playoffs, Davis had significant playing time after injuries to Kevin Garnett and Leon Powe. In Game Four of the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Orlando Magic, Davis made two key shots, including a buzzer beater, in the final seconds of the game to give the Celtics the 95–94 win over the Magic. After the shot, Davis accidentally jostled a twelve-year-old fan while running down the court in celebration. The boy's father complained to NBA and Celtics officials, but later retracted his demand for an apology. Davis apologized nevertheless, and said that, "I'm a big guy. Imagine if my emotions are going so wild, and if I'm running by somebody, I don’t feel them. If I've hurt anybody or if I’ve done any harm to anybody, please forgive me because my intentions were harmless."

On August 10, 2009, Davis signed a two-year, $6.5 million contract with the Boston Celtics.

Personal

In the summer of 2001, at only 15 years of age, Davis attended a basketball camp run by LSU alumnus and future Boston Celtic teammate Shaquille O'Neal on the campus of Louisiana State University. O'Neal challenged Davis to a friendly wrestling match, in which Davis lifted the , center and body-slammed him to the ground. The encounter left a strong impression on O'Neal; ultimately, the incident helped Davis to get introduced to then LSU head coach Dale Brown.

Davis was given his nickname when he was 9 years old by a youth league coach. At 5'6", 160 pounds, he was too large to play pee-wee and played as a senior. He used to cry when playing with his older teammates, and his coach would tell him, "Stop crying, you big baby."

On December 21, 2008, Davis was injured in a car accident while driving to a game against the New York Knicks; he suffered a concussion and whiplash.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

|- | align="left" | 2007–08 | align="left" | Boston | 69 || 1 || 13.6 || .484 || .000 || .660 || 3.0 || .4 || .4 || .3 || 4.5 |- | align="left" | 2008–09 | align="left" | Boston | 76 || 16 || 21.5 || .442 || .400 || .730 || 4.0 || .9 || .7 || .2 || 7.0 |- | align="left" | 2009–10 | align="left" | Boston | 54 || 1 || 17.3 || .437 || .000 || .696 || 3.8 || .6 || .4 || .3 || 6.3 |- | align="left" | 2010–11 | align="left" | Boston | 78 || 13 || 29.5 || .448 || .133 || .736 || 5.4 || 1.2 || 1.0 || .4 || 11.7 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 277 || 31 || 21.0 || .449 || .167 || .711 || 4.1 || .8 || .7 || .3 || 7.6

Playoffs

|- | align="left" | 2008 | align="left" | Boston | 17 || 0 || 8.1 || .412 || .000 || .611 || 1.5 || .4 || .3 || .2 || 2.3 |- | align="left" | 2009 | align="left" | Boston | 14 || 14 || 36.4 || .491 || .000 || .710 || 5.6 || 1.8 || 1.3 || .6 || 15.8 |- | align="left" | 2010 | align="left" | Boston | 24 || 1 || 20.1 || .476 || .000 || .722 || 4.5 || .4 || .8 || .4 || 7.3 |- | align="left" | 2011 | align="left" | Boston | 9 || 0 || 21.2 || .391 || .000 || .727 || 3.6 || .9 || .3 || .0 || 4.9 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 64 || 15 || 20.6 || .467 || .000 || .706 || 3.8 || .8 || .7 || .3 || 7.5

References

External links

Glen Davis ESPN profile

Glen Davis LSU profile

Category:1986 births Category:African American basketball players Category:Boston Celtics players Category:Living people Category:LSU Tigers basketball players Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Category:People from Baton Rouge, Louisiana Category:Power forwards (basketball) Category:Seattle SuperSonics draft picks

ca:Glen Davis de:Glen Davis et:Glen Davis es:Glen Davis fr:Glen Davis gl:Glen Davis hr:Glen Davis it:Glen Davis he:גלן דייוויס lv:Glens Deiviss ja:グレン・デイビス (バスケットボール) pl:Glen Davis pt:Glen Davis ru:Дэвис, Глен tl:Glen Davis tr:Glen Davis zh:格伦·戴维斯

Coordinates	27°50′″N48°25′″N
Name	Vernon Davis
Width	280px
Currentteam	San Francisco 49ers
Currentnumber	85
Currentpositionplain	Tight end
Birth date	January 31, 1984
Birth place	Washington, D.C.
Country	US
Heightft	6
Heightin	3
Weight	250
Debutyear	2006
Debutteam	San Francisco 49ers
Highlights	Pro Bowl selection (2009) Ranked 88 on NFL Network's NFL's Top 100 Players of 2011
College	Maryland
Draftyear	2006
Draftround	1
Draftpick	6
Pastteams	San Francisco 49ers (–present)
Statweek	17
Statseason	2010
Statlabel1	Receiving yards
Statvalue1	3,011
Statlabel2	Receiving average
Statvalue2	12.7
Statlabel3	Receiving TDs
Statvalue3	29
Nfl	DAV785142 }}

Vernon Leonard Davis (born January 31, 1984) is a professional American football tight end for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. He was drafted in the 1st round (6th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft by the 49ers. Upon entering the league, Davis signed to a 5-year, $23 million deal that made him the highest paid tight end at the time. He joined current Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. as the fourth highest tight end ever drafted after Ron Kramer, (Green Bay, No. 4 in 1957) Mike Ditka (Chicago, No. 5 in 1961) and Riley Odoms (Denver, No. 5 in 1972). After three mediocre, injury riddled seasons Davis finally broke out in 2009, leading the NFL in touchdown receptions and quickly vaulting himself into the league's elite at the tight end position.

Early life

Davis attended Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C., and was a letterman in football, basketball, and track & field. Regarded as a four-star recruit by ''Rivals.com'', Davis was listed as the No. 4 tight end prospect of the class of 2003. In track & field, he was the DCIAA champion in the high jump with a jump of . While attending at Dunbar, he was teammates with future Cleveland Browns kick return specialist and wide receiver, Joshua Cribbs.

High School football

Davis played tight end and safety but he also played wide receiver, kick returner, linebacker and defensive end. In his senior season he caught 21 passes for 511 yards and 5 touchdowns, despite missing three games with a deep bone bruise below his knee. He also caught three two point conversions and returned two kick offs and two punts for touchdowns. He has 35 receptions for 385 yards as a junior.

Football Awards

Selected to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl

Rated as the third-best tight end in the nation by ESPN.com's Tom Lemming

A member of SuperPrep's Elite 50 and that publication's 39th-rated player nationally

A Mid-Atlantic all-region pick by SuperPrep and the third-best player (at any position) in the region

Second team All-USA by USA Today

Ranked as the fourth-best tight end in the nation and the seventh-best player (overall) in the Atlantic East by Rivals.com

Gatorade Player of the Year for the District of Columbia

College career

Davis played college football at the University of Maryland, where he majored in studio art. In 2003, Davis saw the most consistent action of any true freshman, playing in all thirteen contests. He had five receptions for 87 yards (11.8 avg) and led the kickoff coverage unit with eight solo tackles.

In 2004, he played in every game, starting at H-back against Northern Illinois, Duke, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. He finished second on the team with 27 catches for 441 yards and had 16.3 avg and three touchdowns.

In 2005, Davis was a Consensus All-American and All-Atlantic Coast Conference first-team selection. He was a finalist for the Mackey Award, given to the nation’s top tight end. He started every game, leading the team with 51 receptions and the conference with 871 receiving yards (17.1 avg). His six touchdown catches rank tenth on the school's season-record list. His 51 receptions also rank tenth on the Terps’ annual record chart while his 871 yards rank fifth. He was graded 82.5% for blocking consistency as he registered 67 knockdowns, including 18 blocks down field and had eight touchdown-resulting blocks.

Davis was heavily involved with working out in college. He set school strength records (in spring of 2005) for a tight end in the bench press (465 pounds), power-clean (355 pounds), index (797 pounds) and squat (685 pounds). He finished his college career with 1371 yards on 83 receptions for 16.5 yards per catch, the best average of any first round tight end ever and more yards than other previous high first round tight ends such as Tony Gonzalez, Jeremy Shockey, Kyle Brady and Kellen Winslow II.

Professional career

2006 NFL Draft

Davis was selected 6th overall in the 1st round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the 49ers. He was the top tight end prospect in the NFL Draft, partially due to a strong performance at the scouting combine. He ran the 40 yard dash in 4.38 seconds. Davis also broad-jumped 10'08", nearly a foot farther than the next-best tight end, Marcedes Lewis.

Leading up to the draft, Vernon, along with fellow prospects A. J. Hawk and Jeremy Bloom, appeared in ads for Under Armour's new line of football cleats, with the slogan ''Click Clack'' (I think you hear us coming).

{{nfl predraft | height ft = 6 | height in = 3⅛ | weight = 254 | dash = 4.38 | ten split = 1.51 | twenty split = 2.59 | shuttle = 4.17 | cone drill = 7.00 | vertical = 42 | broad ft = 10 | broad in = 8 | bench = 33 | wonderlic = 20 | arm span = | hand span = | note = All values from NFL Combine }}

San Francisco 49ers

2006 rookie season

Vernon's first reception in the NFL was a 31-yard touchdown catch, against the Arizona Cardinals on September 10, 2006. He added a career-long 52-yard touchdown against the Green Bay Packers on December 10 with a short catch followed by a long run. Davis played in ten games in the 2006 season due an injury he suffered on September 24, 2006. He sustained a hairline fracture to his left fibula, on a non-contact play against the Philadelphia Eagles, but returned on November 19 against the Seattle Seahawks. For the season, he had 265 yards receiving on 20 catches, averaging 13.2 yards per reception. He also had three receiving touchdowns.

2007 season

In Week 3, Davis was injured while attempting to catch a pass from quarterback Alex Smith against the Steelers. Davis sprained his right knee and missed the next two games. Despite his injury and the 49ers' offensive ineptitude, Davis bettered most of the numbers from his rookie season. Even though his yards per reception diminished, he finished the season with 52 receptions for 509 yards and four touchdowns.

2008 season

After catching a seven-yard pass in the third quarter, Davis slapped Seahawks safety Brian Russell in the facemask, resulting in a 15-yard penalty, causing Coach Mike Singletary to bench him and then send him to the locker room for the game's remainder. The following game Vernon Davis leaped over a Cardinal defender and caught a pass from Shaun Hill resulting in a touchdown, his first of the season. He started all 16 regular season games, and finished the season with 31 receptions for 358 yards, and two touchdowns.

2009 season

Through week 11 of the season, Davis led the NFL with nine touchdown receptions, tied with wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Reggie Wayne. In the final game of the season, he tied the all-time record for most touchdown receptions for a tight end in a single season (13), sharing the record set by Antonio Gates in 2004. He was also selected to appear in his first Pro Bowl.

2010 season

Before the season, he was awarded a five-year contract extension for $37 million with $23 million guaranteed. The deal made Davis the league's highest paid tight end. Against the Oakland Raiders in week six, he recorded his third straight game with a touchdown catch. Davis finished the season with 56 catches and 914 yards, resulting in 16.3 yards per catch.

Career Statistics

{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center;" ! rowspan=2|Season !! rowspan=2|Team !! colspan=2|Games !! colspan=5|Receiving !! colspan=5|Rushing ! colspan=2|Fumbles |- ! GP !! GS !! Rec !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD !! Att !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD !! FUM !! Lost |- ! 2010 !! San Francisco 49ers | 16 || 16 || 56 || 914 || 16.3 || 66T || 7 || - || - || - || - || - || - || - |- ! 2009 !! San Francisco 49ers | 16 || 16 || 78 || 965 || 12.4 || 73T || 13 || - || - || - || - || - || - || - |- ! 2008 !! San Francisco 49ers | 16 || 16 || 31 || 358 || 11.5 || 57 || 2 || 1 || 11 || 11.0 || 11 || 0 || 2 || 1 |- ! 2007 !! San Francisco 49ers | 14 || 14 || 52 || 509 || 9.8 || 31 || 4 || - || - || - || - || - || 1 || 1 |- ! 2006 !! San Francisco 49ers | 10 || 8 || 20 || 265 || 13.3 || 52T || 3 || 2 || 5 || 2.5 || 9 || 0 || 1 || 1 |- ! || Total ! 72 || 70 || 237 || 3,011 || 12.7 || 73 || 29 || 3 || 16 || 5.3 || 11 || 0 || 4 || 3 |}

Personal

Davis was a studio art major at Maryland.

Vernon is nicknamed Duke because he looks identical to his father, whose name is Duke. College teammates later changed his nickname to "The Duke," and "Cyborg", a nickname earned playing for the Maryland Terrapins.

Davis' younger brother, Vontae, is currently a cornerback for the Miami Dolphins.

Davis made a cameo appearance in the music video for the song "Get Lo" by Ron Artest and Mike Jones.

Davis also made an appearance on ''Pretty Wild''.

Davis was named honorary captain of the Men's U.S. Olympic Curling team for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. He attended most of the team's matches and is considered an ambassador for the game.

Ahead of the 2010 NFL match with the Denver Broncos at Wembley Stadium in London, Davis announced that he is a fan of the English Premier League team West Ham United.

References

External links

49ers Player Bio

Vernon Davis, Player Sports Reference

Category:1984 births Category:American football tight ends Category:Living people Category:Maryland Terrapins football players Category:Players of American football from Washington, D.C. Category:San Francisco 49ers players Category:U.S. Army All-American football players

da:Vernon Davis de:Vernon Davis ja:バーノン・デービス

Coordinates

27°50′″N48°25′″N

{{infobox cfl player |name

Troy Davis |team |image |ImageWidth |caption |statusRetired |importYes |PositionHalfback |number28, 32, 23 |CollegeIowa State |birth_dateSeptember 14, 1975 |birth_placeMiami, Florida |Height_ft5 |Height_in8 |Weight_lbs183 |NFLDraftedYear1997 |NFLDraftedRound3 |NFLDraftedPick62 |NFLDraftedTeamNew Orleans Saints |CFLAllStar |CFLEastAllStar, , |ProBowls |Awards |Honors |Retired #s |Records |NFL |CFL173 |playing_years1997-1999-- |playing_teamsNew Orleans SaintsHamilton Tiger-CatsEdmonton EskimosToronto Argonauts |career_highlights Grey Cup champion (2005) |statlabel1 Rushing |statvalue1 1,307 |statlabel2 Rushing Yardage |statvalue2 6,715 (''Avg: 5.1; TDs: 36; Lg: 75'') |statlabel3 Kickoff Returns |statvalue3 55 |statlabel4 KR Yardage |statvalue4 1,184 (''Avg: 21.5; TDs: 0; Lg: 42'') |statlabel5 Fumbles |statvalue5 29*CFL statistics only }}

Troy Davis (born September 14, 1975 in Miami, Florida) is a Canadian Football League running back who is currently a free agent. He is best known for being the first NCAA Division I-A running back to rush for over 2,000 yards in back to back seasons while at Iowa State. Davis was twice a Heisman Trophy finalist, finishing second in 1996.

College career

Davis attended Iowa State University, members of the Big Eight Conference (which later expanded to the Big 12 Conference in 1996 before his senior season) where he set numerous Cyclone records, including most career rushing yards (4,382), total rushing yards in a single season (2,185), rushing yards in a game (378, vs. Missouri, rushing attempts in a game (53, vs. then-Division I-AA Northern Iowa, most rushing touchdowns in a game (5, vs. UNLV and vs. Northern Iowa), most 100-yard rushing games in a season (11) and career (21), most 200-yard rushing games in a season (5) and career (9), and most consecutive 100-yard rushing games (17, during 1995 and 1996 seasons), and most consecutive games scoring a touchdown (10, during 1995 and 1996 seasons). He also holds the Iowa State Cyclones football record for most career rushing touchdowns (36) and is tied for first for most career total touchdowns (38). He became the first running back in NCAA Division I-A (now Football Bowl Subdivision history to gain 2,000 yards in two different seasons. During his 3 seasons at ISU, the Cyclones finished last in the Big Eight standings in his sophomore and junior seasons and last in the Big 12 North division standings. Davis played for head coaches Jim Walden and for the final two years of his ISU career, Dan McCarney.

In 1996, Davis was selected as the inaugural Big 12 Conference Player of the Year.

Davis was a two-time consensus All-American at running back in 1995 and 1996. He was later admitted to the Iowa State Hall of Fame as member of the class of 2007.

Heisman Trophy

Davis finished fifth out of five finalists for the Heisman Trophy in 1995 and narrowly finished second to winner Danny Wuerffel in 1996. In 1996, Davis won three Heisman regions, but lost badly in the South region. He was largely hampered by the fact that he played on a losing team. In his three years at Iowa State, his teams lost all the games about 3- 0 each time.

Professional career

Davis elected to forgo his senior season of eligibility and declared for the 1997 NFL Draft. He was drafted in the 3rd round (62nd overall) by the New Orleans Saints. He played in the NFL for three years before joining the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League. During the 2005 CFL season, Davis was traded to the Edmonton Eskimos in exchange for a package headlined by wide receiver Brock Ralph, defensive back Tay Cody, and a first-round pick in that year's draft. Davis played a key role in helping the Eskimos win the 93rd Grey Cup that year. On February 23, 2007, the Eskimos released Davis. He was later signed to the Toronto Argonauts' practice roster on September 25, 2007. Davis was initially released by the Argonauts on October 17, 2007, but rejoined their practice roster on October 23, 2007.

Personal life

Davis is the brother of Darren Davis, who played running back at Iowa State beginning in Troy's final season until 1999. Darren ran for over 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons before ending his career second in career rushing yards behind his older brother.

References

External links

Troy Davis ESPN.Com profile

Troy Davis CFL Profile

Troy Davis Released from Edmonton

Toronto Argonauts profile

Category:1975 births Category:Living people Category:African American players of Canadian football Category:American football running backs Category:American players of Canadian football Category:Canadian football running backs Category:Edmonton Eskimos players Category:Grey Cup champions Category:Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Category:Iowa State Cyclones football players Category:New Orleans Saints players Category:People from Miami, Florida Category:Toronto Argonauts players

Coordinates	27°50′″N48°25′″N
name	Warwick Davis
birth name	Warwick Ashley Davis
birth date	February 03, 1970
birth place	Surrey, England
occupation	Actor
years active	1983–present
spouse
website	http://www.warwickdavis.co.uk }}

Warwick Ashley Davis (born 3 February 1970) is an English actor. Davis is known for playing the title characters in ''Willow'' and the ''Leprechaun'' series of films; other prominent roles include Wicket W. Warrick in ''Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi'', Professor Filius Flitwick and the late Griphook in the Harry Potter movies, Marvin the Paranoid Android in ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'', as well as Nikabrik in the Walden Media version of ''Prince Caspian'' and Reepicheep in the BBC television versions of ''Prince Caspian'' and ''Voyage of the Dawn Treader'' and Mr Glimfeather the owl in ''The Silver Chair''. Davis has his own sit-com directed by Ricky Gervais 'Life's Too Short'. Davis has a condition resulting in dwarfism, and stands at tall.

Early life

Davis was born in Surrey, England to an insurance broker and his wife. Davis also has a younger sister. He was educated at the City of London Freemen's School. When Davis was 11, his grandmother heard a radio advert calling for people who were 4 ft. tall or shorter to be in ''Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi''. To Davis, who was a fan of the Star Wars movies, it was a dream come true.

On the set of Star Wars, Mark Hamill bought Davis every single Star Wars figure he didn't have.

Career

He was originally cast as an extra Ewok, but when Kenny Baker, who was originally going to be Wicket, fell ill, George Lucas picked Warwick to be the new Wicket after seeing how he carried himself as an Ewok. Davis based his Ewok movements on his dog, who would tilt his head from side to side whenever he saw something strange. During production on the film, Davis made a "short" mockumentary film about his experience as Wicket, titled ''Return of the Ewok'', made with help from ''Return of the Jedi'''s first assistant director, David Tomblin. The unreleased film was a fictional look at his decision to become an actor and act in the movie and his transformation into Wicket the Ewok. Davis reprised his role in the ABC made-for-TV movies ''Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure'' and ''Ewoks: The Battle for Endor''.

In 1987, Davis was called to Elstree Studios in London to meet with Ron Howard and George Lucas to discuss a new movie project called ''Willow'', which was written with Davis specifically in mind. ''Willow'' was his first opportunity to act with his face visible. He co-starred with Val Kilmer in the film, which received a Royal Premiere before the Prince and Princess of Wales. He then moved to television to be in the BBC television adaptation of the classic ''The Chronicles of Narnia'', specifically in ''Prince Caspian'', ''The Voyage of the Dawn Treader'' (as Reepicheep), and ''The Silver Chair'' (as Glimfeather) and an episode of ''Zorro'' filmed in Madrid.

In 1993, he played the villainous Irish goblin in ''Leprechaun''. He then returned to the ''Star Wars'' universe, playing three roles in ''Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace'': Weazel, a gambler sitting next to Watto at the Podrace; Wald, who was Anakin's Rodian buddy; and Yoda in scenes where Yoda was walking.

Davis played the role of Professor Filius Flitwick in the ''Harry Potter'' films. Davis played a white-mustached Flitwick in the first two movies, and then a black-haired unnamed chorus conductor (presumably Flitwick but not credited as such) for the third installment of the series. In the fourth movie, Flitwick is younger looking, with short, brown hair and a trimmed mustache. In addition to playing Flitwick, Davis played the role of the goblin Griphook in ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'', despite the role being played previously by fellow dwarf actor Verne Troyer. (Note that Davis's name is misspelled in the closing credits of Hallows Part One as "Davies".)

In 2004, Davis played the character "Plates," in indie film, "Skinned Deep," directed by Special Effects artist Gabriel Bartalos.

In 2006, Davis appeared, alongside fellow ''Harry Potter'' star Daniel Radcliffe, in an episode of BBC's comedy series ''Extras'' as a satirical version of himself.

Davis starred in the film version of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'', as the "body" of Marvin the Paranoid Android (the voice was provided by Alan Rickman). In December 2006, Davis starred in the pantomime Snow White and the Seven Dwarves at Manchester Opera House, and again in 2007/8 at the New Wimbledon Theatre.

Davis appeared in ''The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian'', in which he played Nikabrik the Dwarf, adding to his previous involvement in TV adaptations of the ''Chronicles of Narnia'' series. He also appeared as a contestant on the 2007 series of Children in Need reality show Celebrity Scissorhands.

Other

In addition to his acting career, Davis is the co-founder, with fellow dwarf actor Peter Burroughs, of a talent agency (Willow Management, founded in 1995) that specialises in representing actors under five feet tall. As of 2004, his agency also began representing actors over seven feet tall who had also suffered from being confined to "niche" roles.

In April 2010 Davis published his autobiography, ''Size Matters Not: The Extraordinary Life and Career of Warwick Davis'', with a foreword by George Lucas.

Davis will star as himself in an upcoming show titled ''Life's Too Short'', written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, who will star as well.

Personal life

Unlike most dwarfs (70%) who have a condition called achondroplasia, Davis' dwarfism is caused by an extremely rare genetic condition called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SED). He has said the only real drawback to being small was the associated health problems. Of his own dwarfism, Davis has said "As you get older, you can suffer from painful hips, and our joints wear a lot quicker than for people of average height".

Davis's family includes a wife and two children, who live in Yaxley near Peterborough. His wife, Samantha (b. 1971) has achondroplasia, as do his children Annabel (b. 1997) and Harrison (b. 2003). Samantha is the daughter of his business partner Peter Burroughs, and the sister of actress Hayley Burroughs.'''''

Filmography

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1982	''Return of the Ewok''		(unreleased film)
1983	''Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi''	rowspan=3
1984	''Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure''
1985	''Ewoks: The Battle for Endor''
		Goblin Corps
''The Princess and the Dwarf''
1987	''Conor Finans Adventures in Naas''
1988		Willow Ufgood
1989		Reepicheep
1990		Glimfeather
1991		Don Alfonso	US. TV series filmed in Spain
1993
1994	''Leprechaun 2''
1995	''Leprechaun 3''
		Grildrig	television miniseries
''Leprechaun 4: In Space''	Leprechaun
1997		Pechet
1998	''A Very Unlucky Leprechaun''	Lucky
	''Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace''	Yoda(live action suit)
''The New Adventures of Pinocchio''	dwarf
''The White Pony''	Edgar Rod
	''The 10th Kingdom''	Acorn the Dwarf	television miniseries
''Leprechaun: In the Hood''	Leprechaun
		Saturday
''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)''	Professor Flitwick / Goblin Bank Teller
2002		Professor Flitwick
2003	''Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood''	Leprechaun
		Oberon
	Professor Flitwick
''Skinned Deep''	Plates
		body of Marvin the Paranoid Android
	Professor Flitwick
''Small Town Folk''	Knackerman
	himself
2007		Professor Flitwick
	''Agent One-Half''	Agent One-Half
''The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian''	Nikabrik
''Invasion of the Not Quite Dead''
		Professor Flitwick
	Santa's Elf
				Grettir	Series 3, Episode 8: "The Eye of the Phoenix"
''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1''	Griphook	(Closing credits name him Warwick Davies)
					''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2''	Griphook/Professor Flitwick
''Life's Too Short''	Himself	Lead role

References

External links

Warwick Davis Interview at www.sci-fi-online.com

Willow Management

Interview with Liam Swann (MCM BUZZ)

Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:Actors with dwarfism Category:English child actors Category:English film actors Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:People from Epsom Category:People from Yaxley Category:People educated at City of London Freemen's School

da:Warwick Davis de:Warwick Davis es:Warwick Davis fr:Warwick Davis gl:Warwick Davis it:Warwick Davis he:ווריק דייוויס lt:Warwick Davis hu:Warwick Davis ms:Warwick Davis nl:Warwick Davis ja:ワーウィック・デイヴィス no:Warwick Davis nds:Warwick Davis pl:Warwick Davis pt:Warwick Davis ru:Дэвис, Уорик fi:Warwick Davis sv:Warwick Davis