Dallas Lee Braden (born August 13, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball. He was drafted out of Texas Tech University in the twenty fourth round of the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft by the Athletics. On May 9, 2010, Braden pitched the nineteenth perfect game in baseball history, in Oakland, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-0.

Braden was born in Phoenix, Arizona. He played Little League baseball in Stockton, California, playing in the Hoover Tyler Little League. Braden threw out the first pitch at the opening ceremonies of the 2006 Little League World Series.

Braden graduated from Stagg High School in Stockton, California, where he played baseball and ran cross country. His mother, Jodie Atwood, died of cancer during his senior year. After his mother's death, he lived with his maternal grandmother.

Before playing for the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Braden posted a combined record of 12-4 in two seasons at American River College. He threw a complete game against Fresno City College while allowing one hit and striking out 14 batters.

Dallas ( /ˈdæləs/) is the third-largest city in the state of Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States. Divided between Collin, Dallas, Denton, Kaufman, and Rockwall counties, the city had a population of 1,197,816 in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau.

The city is the largest economic center of the 12-county Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area (the DFW MSA) that according to the March 2010 U.S. Census Bureau release, had a population of 6,371,773. The metroplex economy is the sixth largest in the United States, with a 2010 gross metropolitan product of $374 billion.

Dallas was founded in 1841 and was formally incorporated as a city in February 1856. The city's economy is primarily based on banking, commerce, telecommunications, computer technology, energy, healthcare and medical research, transportation and logistics. The city is home to the third largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the nation. Located in North Texas and a major city in the American South, Dallas is the main core of the largest inland metropolitan area in the United States that lacks any navigable link to the sea.

Bryant Charles Gumbel (born September 29, 1948) is an American television journalist and sportscaster. He is best known for his 15 years as co-host of NBC's The Today Show. He is the younger brother of sportscaster Greg Gumbel.

Gumbel was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is the son of Rhea Alice (née LeCesne), a city clerk, and Richard Dunbar Gumbel, a judge. He graduated from Bates College in 1970. Gumbel began his television career in October 1972, when he was made a sportscaster for KNBC-TV out of Los Angeles.

Gumbel was hired by NBC Sports in the fall of 1975 as co-host of its National Football League pre-game show GrandStand with Jack Buck. From 1975 until January 1982 (when he left to do The Today Show) Gumbel hosted numerous sporting events for NBC including Major League Baseball, college basketball and the National Football League. Gumbel returned to sportscasting for NBC when he hosted the prime time coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics from Seoul and the PGA Tour in 1990.

One of Gumbel's more memorable moments during his time at NBC Sports occurred in 1982, when he was on-site for the "Epic in Miami" NFL playoff game between the San Diego Chargers and Miami Dolphins. At the end of the game, Gumbel told the viewing audience "If you didn't like this football game then you don't like football!"

Kevin Ferguson (born February 8, 1974), better known as Kimbo Slice, is a Bahamian-American professional boxer, mixed martial artist and occasional actor. He became famous for street fights which were spread on the Internet, leading Rolling Stone to call him "The King of the Web Brawlers".

Slice left the underground fighting scene and signed a professional contract with EliteXC in 2007. After EliteXC declared bankruptcy in 2008, Slice became a free agent. Slice competed in The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights, where he lost in his first fight to veteran fighter, and eventual series winner, Roy Nelson. In his UFC debut, Slice defeated Houston Alexander in the The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights finale, but lost in his second UFC fight to Matt Mitrione at UFC 113.

Ferguson was born in Nassau, Bahamas, but moved to the United States as a child, growing up in Cutler Ridge, Florida. Ferguson was raised with his two brothers by mother Rosemary Clarke. He went to Bel-Air Elementary School, where Ferguson was reportedly involved in his first fight at 13 as he tried to defend a friend. He continued his studies with Cutler Ridge Middle School and later with Richmond Heights Middle School. He attended Miami Palmetto High School, where he was the star middle linebacker. In 1992, his house in Perrine, Florida was destroyed by Hurricane Andrew, forcing him to live in his 1987 Nissan Pathfinder for a month.

Benjamin Thomas "Ben" Zobrist (born May 26, 1981) is an American baseball player currently with Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays. A switch-hitter who throws right-handed, he has exhibited a versatility to play most positions with the exception of pitcher and catcher. He has been the Rays' starting second baseman since 2009. Besides Zo, Zobi Wan Kenobi, Zoby and Benny-Zo, he is also known by the nickname Zorilla, given to him by Rays manager Joe Maddon.

Zobrist grew up in Eureka, Illinois, raised by his parents Tom and Cindi. He loved playing baseball since he was eight, so much so that he and his friends built their own wiffle ball field behind his house. After no pro scouts or college recruiters looked at him when he graduated, he thought baseball was over for him. "Baseball was not even a thought in my mind," Zobrist said, "When I was done with my last high school game, I was driving around town just thinking I'm done with baseball the rest of my life." Despite this, Zobrist's high school coach encouraged him to go the annual event that showcased seniors in Peoria, Illinois each summer. He played in the showcase, and was given an offer by Olivet Nazarene University and turned a great career while at Olivet. In his time at Olivet, he pitched and also played at shortstop and second. He transferred to Dallas Baptist University for his senior year, where he played shortstop.