Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 11/8-11/9/2009

11/8/1958:
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Moccasins football team upsets mighty cross-state rival Tennessee at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, 14-6, setting off a riotous demonstration by UT-C fans that results in 9 injuries, 10 arrests, the dismantling of both goalposts and the use of firehoses and tear gas by police to quell the pandemonium. Judging by the one-sided history of this series, a rip-roaring celebration was certainly understandable. It's UT-C's first win in modern times (since 1905) in a series that will have to be discontinued in 1970 due to its competitive imbalance. In 39 meetings since 1899, Tennessee was totally dominant (35-2-2) with a scoring edge of 1,119-170. on this one afternoon, however, the Movin' Mocs had their day.

Birthdays:
Bobby Bowden b. 1929
Satch Sanders b. 1938
Angel Cordero Jr. b. 1942
Ed Kranepool b. 1944
Jimmie Giles b. 1954

READ YOUR VEGGIES

The word vegetarian was first coined in the 1840s, but the idea was around long before that, and not only in India. Frances Bacon, for instance, wrote about it in the 1600s. Tristram Stuart explores the social history of vegetarianism from every angle, including the literary (Mary Shelley and Jane Austen had vegetarian characters in their novels) and the fascistic (remember Hitler and Himmler?). He also lays out all the arguments that have been advanced against it. A thorough and fascinating study.

THE BLOODLESS REVOLUTION: A CULTURAL HISTORY OF VEGETARIANISM FROM 1600 TO MODERN TIMES, by Tristram Stuart (W. W. Norton, 2007)

11/9/1974:
Four-year-old Forego wins the two-mile Jockey Club Gold Bup at Aqueduct Racetrack in New York by two and a half lengths over Group Plan. Ridden by Heliodoro Gustines, Forego is much the best in the field of eight, closing with a rush around the final turn to win driving. He'll shortly be named Horse of the Year for the first of three straight years, only the second horse to be so honored. Kelso won five straight annual awards from 1960 to '64.

Birthdays:
Bob Gibson b. 1935
Tom Weiskopf b. 1942
Teddy Higuera b. 1958
David Duval b. 1971
Adam Dunn b. 1979

Packers Fact:
Whileh playing for the Packers in 1928, halfback Verne Lewellen passed the bar exam and successfully ran for the position of Brown County District Attorney. The man he beat: LaVern Dilweg, his Green Bay teammate.

If the notion of clever talking cats that solve whodunnits appeals to the goofy side in you, then the bestselling Mrs. Murphy Mystery series may be the diversion you’re looking for on a cold autumn evening. Puss ’n Cahoots, the 14th book in the series, includes two cats and a corgi, a honeymooning couple, jewelry theft, and murder at a Kentucky horse show.

PUSS ’N CAHOOTS, by Rita Mae Brown (Bantam, 2007)

APCKRFAN's NFL picks 2009: Week 9

Week 9:
Sun., Nov. 8:
Baltimore @ Cincinnati - Baltimore
Miami @ New England - New England
Kansas City @ Jacksonville - Jacksonville
Green Bay @ Tampa Bay - Green Bay
Washington @ Atlanta - Atlanta
Arizona @ Chicago - Chicago
Houston @ Indianapolis - Indianapolis
Carolina @ New Orleans - New Orleans
Detroit @ Seattle - Seattle
Tennessee @ San Francisco - San Francisco
San Diego @ NY Giants - San Diego
Dallas @ Philadelphia - Philadelphia

Mon., Nov. 9:
Pittsburgh @ Denver - Pittsburgh

Byes:
Bills, Browns, Vikings, Jets, Raiders, Rams

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 11/7/2009

Defending his hard-boiled leadership style, NFL head coach Tom Coughlin explained: "Coaching is making players do what they don't want to do so that they can become what they want to become."

Birthdays:
Al Attles b. 1936
Jim Kaat b. 1938
Joe Niekro b. 1944
Glendon Rusch b. 1974
Mark Philippoussis b. 1976

Packers Fact:
In 1997, rookie safety Darren Sharper returned a fumble 34 yards for a touchdown to cap the scoring in a 45-17 romp over the Dallas Cowboys.

SERIOUS CRIME

This crime novel is about a lot more than solving the crime. The characters are convincingly drawn; Washington, D.C., of today and 20 years ago is a very real and unidealized place; and the crime isn’t just about one evil deed but also about its impact on the world in which it takes place. A richly layered and engrossing novel by one of the writers of HBO’s acclaimed series The Wire—“Heart-in-your-throat gripping from beginning to end,” as Janet Maslin put it in The New York Times.

THE NIGHT GARDENER, by George Pelecanos (Little, Brown, 2006)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 11/4-11/6/2009

11/4/2002:
Defenseman Rod Langway, center Bernie Federko, left wing Clark Gillies and coach Roger Neilson are inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. Langway played 15 seasons in the NHL, 11 with Washington, and won the Norris Trophy twice. Federko played 14 seasons in the league, 13 of them with St. Louis; a great playmaker, he was the first player ever to record 50 assists in 10 straight seasons. Gillies played 14 years, 12 of them with the Islanders; he could score and he could mix it up with anyone, serving as an integral component of New York's four straight Stanley Cup titles (180-83). Neilson coached several teams over a 25-year career and was an early proponet of using video to scout opponents before it became commonplace.

Birthdays:
Dick Groat b. 1930
Steve Mariucci b. 1955
Eric Karros b. 1967
Carlos Baerga b. 1968
Orlando Pace b. 1975

Packers Fact:
Guard Jerry Kramer, with help from center Ken Bowman, made the key block on Bart Starr's winning quarterback sneak in the Packers' 21-17 victory over Dallas in the "Ice Bowl" championship game of 1967.

A CURE FOR DYSTHYMICS?

“‘Happiness is contained in the nose. Like a diamond, it only crystallizes under pressure. In so much space’—he took another swipe—‘happiness cannot form. This is why Jews, as a people, are dysthymics. In those ample noses happiness moves around like a firefly in a jar.’ ” If you respond to this passage, you should seek out this Kafkaesque story of a Jewish son of a whore and his family in 1976 Buenos Aires, even if you don’t know the meaning of dysthymic.

THE MINISTRY OF SPECIAL CASES, by Nathan Englander (Knopf, 2007)

11/5/2006:
Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil wins the men's division of the New York Marathon in 2:09:58 while Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia wins her second straight women's race in 2:25:04 on a cool, windless day, ideal for racing. Both runners win with ease; there are no serious challengers, especially among competitors from the United States. Despite a lot of prerace buildup, America's best male long-distance runner, Meb Keflezighi, finishes 21st, and Deena Kastor, a bronze medalist in the 2004 Olympic marathon at Athens, places a distant sixth in the women's race.

Birthdays:
Bill Walton b. 1952
Javy Lopez b. 1970
Johnny Damon b. 1973
Alexei Yashin b. 1973
Jerry Stackhouse b. 1974

Packers Fact:
The Packers beat the Washington Redskins 48-47 on a Monday night in 1983, the highest-scoring game in club history.

ON THE ROAD

Have your weary tastebuds been battered into utter dysthymia by the never-ending, never-changing chain restaurants along our nation’s highways? A couple of food heroes, Jane and Michael Stern, have arrived to show the way to the best lobster shacks, the best barbecue, the best hotdogs, and the just plain best local cuisine to be found from Maine to California. An absolute must for the epicurian traveler. This sixth edition has 175 new listings and revisions.

ROADFOOD, by Jane Stern and Michael Stern (1977; rev. ed. Broadway Books, 2005)

11/6/1966:
In a bizarre game at Franklin Field, the Philadelphia Eagles defeat the Dallas Cowboys, 24-23. The Eagles score all their points in the first half on three kick returns and a field goal, despite gaining only six yards from scrimmage the entire first half. Tim Brown becomes the first player in NFL history to run back two kickoffs in onen game for touchdowns, running 93 yards the first time and 90 yards the second. Aaron Martin adds a 67-yard punt return TD and Sam Baker boots a 31-yard field goal to frustrate the Cowboys, who dominated play only to fail miserably on special teams.

Birthdays:
Pat Dye b. 1939
Ray Perkins b. 1941
John Candelaria b. 1953
Pat Tillman b. 1976
Lamar Odom b. 1979

Packers Fact:
Running back Dorsey Levens gained 205 yards from scrimmage in the Packers' 30-13 victory over the Panthers in the 1996 NFC title game.

HEROINE

The young Somali woman Ayaan Hirsi Ali escaped a forced marriage to a man in Canada by seeking asylum when her plane stopped over in the Netherlands. This incredible life story includes her collaboration with the film director Theo van Gogh on a documentary about the victimization of Muslim women. She writes of van Gogh’s murder and the death threats directed against her; her political career in the Dutch Parliament; and how she was threatened with the loss of citizenship. Infidel is also a damning critique of the Muslim treatment of women by one who has known it firsthand.

INFIDEL, by Ayaan Hirsi Ali (Free Press, 2007)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 11/2-11/3/2009

11/2/2001:
In an early-season showdown of conference-leading clubs, the Detroit Red Wings defeat the New York Islanders, 2-1, at Joe Louis Arena. Scrappy winger Kris Draper scores both Detroit goals, one of them shorthanded, as the Red Wings beat their former teammate and now Isles goalie Chris Osgood for the second time this year. Detroit also beat New York, 5-4, in overtime at the Nassau Coliseum on October 13.

Birthdays:
Bill Mosienko b. 1921
Whitey Skoog b. 1926
Ken Roseweall b. 1934
Willie McGee b. 1958
Sidney Ponson b. 1976

Packers Fact:
Willie Wood was a quarterback in college at Southern California. When he went undrafted in 1960, the Packers signed him and moved him to safety, where he went on to a Pro Football Hall of Fame career.

CRIME MOST VICTORIAN

A horseman who falls from his mount and dies, a madwoman in Norfolk and the relative who is keeping her, and a great train robbery are a few of the intriguing elements of this richly imagined immersion into the Victorian era. D. J. Taylor does an excellent job that reminds us of his forebears, Victorian masters such as Dickens, Thackeray, Wilkie Collins, and Poe.

KEPT: A VICTORIAN MYSTERY, by D. J. Taylor (HarperCollins, 2007)

11/3/1990:
Scott Sisson kicks a 37-yard field goal with seven seconds left to give Georgia Tech a 41-38 victory over top-ranked and unbeaten Virginia at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville. Virginia fails to protect a 14-point halftime lead and is unable to score a touchdown in the closing moments, settling for a field goal, despite having a first and goal at the GT five-yard line. Virginia quarterback Shawn Moore scores three touchdowns and passes for 344 yards, but the favored Cavaliers are outscored in the second half, 27-10. Buttressed by this clutch road victory, Georgia Tech will win the Atlantic Coast Conference title, finish 11-0-1 and claim a share of the national championship with Colorado.

Birthdays:
Roy Emerson b. 1936
Larry Holmes b. 1949
Phil Simms b. 1955
Karch Kiraly b. 1960
Armando Benitez b. 1972

Packers Fact:
Packers' rookie Travis Williams brought back 4 of his 18 kickoff returns all the way to the end zone in 1967.

DECLINE AND FALL

Thomas Reppetto was a Chicago commander of detectives and then president of New York City’s Citizens Crime Commission for 20 years. This sequel to his acclaimed American Mafia: A History of Its Rise to Power follows the decline of the Mafia from its peak in the 1920s, and reports on the state of the Mafia today and the future prospects of organized crime. You might find this book, which features John Gotti, Sam Giancana, Robert Kennedy, and Rudolph Giuliani, hard to put down.

BRINGING DOWN THE MOB: THE WAR AGAINST THE AMERICAN MAFIA, by Thomas Reppetto (Henry Holt, 2006)

APCKRFAN's NFL picks 2009: Week 8

Week 8:
Sun, Nov. 1:
Seattle @ Dallas - Dallas
Houston @ Buffalo - Houston
Minnesota @ Green Bay - Minnesota
St. Louis @ Detroit - Detroit
Miami @ NY Jets - NY Jets
San Francisco @ Indianapolis - Indianapolis
Cleveland @ Chicago - Chicago
Denver @ Baltimore - Baltimore
Jacksonville @ Tennessee - Tennessee
Oakland @ San Diego - San Diego
NY Giants @ Philadelphia - NY Giants
Carolina @ Arizona - Arizona

Mon, Nov. 2:
Atlanta @ New Orleans - New Orleans

Byes: Bengals, Chiefs, Patriots, Steelers, Buccaneers, Redskins

No Sunday Night game. Odd.

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 10/31-11/1/2009

10/31/2004:
Pittsburgh defeats New England, 34-20, to snap the Patriots' NFL record 21-game winning streak, 18 in regular-season play. Rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger throws two touchdown passes in the first quarter as the Steelers build up an 18-point lead, and the outcome is never in doubt. Playing without injured running back Corey Dillon, the Pats gain exactly five yards rushing all day, but they'll shrug off this setback and go on to beat the Eagles in the Super Bowl for their third NFL title in four years.

Birthdays:
Phil Goyette b. 1933
Frank Shorter b. 1947
John Lucas b. 1953
Fred McGriff b. 1963
Steve Trachsel b. 1970

Packers Fact:
Zeke Bratkowski (who took over for Green Bay when Bart Starr was injured on the first play) and Tom Matte (normally a halfback, he had to play quarterback because Johnny Unitas and Gary Cuozzo were injured) were the emergency quarterbacks pressed into duty for the Packers and Colts in Green Bay's 13-10 victory in a Western Conference playoff in 1965.

NO WITCH’S BREW

This picaresque story of a girl who seeks to disprove scientifically the existence of witchcraft in the 17th century is a witty, good-natured, and exhilarating treat that defies easy description. James Morrow, “like John Barth (whose Sot-Weed Factor this book recalls), does not wear his erudition lightly. But he wears it audaciously well,” wrote Janet Maslin in her New York Times review. It’s easily worth the price of the book to see for yourself.

THE LAST WITCHFINDER, by James Morrow (Harper Perennial, 2007)

11/1/1959:
Brooklyn-born and Fordham-educated Vince Lombardi proudly returns to New York's Yankee Stadium for the first time as head coach of the Green Bay Packers. Although the Giants (for whom he served as an assistant coach from 1954 to '58) will beat his Packers today, 20-3, Lombardi is in the process of turning a moribund franchise (1-10-1 last year) into one of football's most fabled dynasties. In nine seasons, his Packers will win five NFL championships and just miss a sixth. Lombardi's teams didn't just win football games; they succeeded using a framework of core values, hard work and dedication that served to endear them to everyday fans and establish his enduring legacy.

Birthdays:
Vic Power b. 1931
Gary Plyaer b. 1935
"Jumping Joe" Caldwell b. 1941
Ted Hendricks b. 1947
Fernando Valenzuela b. 1960

THE LANGUAGE OF INVENTION

“The history of English is a history of invention,” writes Seth Lerer, humanities professor at Stanford University, in Inventing English. Starting with the Old English of Caedmon and ending with modern-day rappers, Lerer’s enthusiastic account of our ever expanding and pliable language is fascinating and authoritative.

INVENTING ENGLISH: A PORTABLE HISTORY OF THE LANGUAGE, by Seth Lerer (Columbia University Press, 2007)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 10/29-30/2009

10/29/1948:
Sandy Saddler (85-6-2) wastes no time dethroning featherweight champion Willie Pep at Madison Square Garden. Saddler scores two knockdowns in the third round and knocks Pep out at 2:38 of the fourth. Pep held the featherweight belt for six years, entered this bout at 134-1-1 and was a prohibitive betting favorite, but he was never in this fight. Embarrassed by his poor showing, he'll turn things around four months from now by changing his boxing style to go more on the attack and regain his title from Saddler with a 15-round unanimous decision, also at the Garden.

Birthdays:
Frank Sedgman b. 1927
Pete Richert b. 1939
Denis Potvin b. 1953
Jesse Barfield b. 1959
Mike Gartner b. 1959

Packers Fact:
Don Chandler kicked the disputed tying field goal late in the regulation and the winning field goal in overtime of the Packers' 13-10 victory over the Colts in a Western Conference Playoff Game in 1965.

THE TRIANGLE SHIRTWAIST FACTORY GIRL

The clever intermingling of themes works beautifully in this story of the last survivor of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, Esther Gottesfeld; her granddaughter, Rebecca; and the granddaughter’s partner, George, a composer. A mystery behind Esther’s memories of the fire unfolds as the novel progresses. Cynthia Ozick called it “a marvel of ingenuity, bridging history and imagination, astonishing musical inventiveness and genuine social tragedy.”

TRIANGLE, by Katharine Weber (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006)

10/30/1983:
In a game against Hartford at Chicago Stadium, normally mild-mannered center Tom Lysiak of the Chicago Black Hawks deliberately trips linesman Ron Foyt after being tossed several times by Foyt for "jumping the draw on face-offs." Lysiak is immediately ejected by referee Dave Newell and receives a 20-game suspension by the NHL for physical abuse of an official. The hefty sentence will be upheld on appeal, and Lysiak will forfeit more than $500,000 in lost salary for his impetuous prank. The Blackhawks win the hockey game, 6-1, over the Whalers.

Birthdays:
Bill Terry b. 1896
Joe Adcock b. 1927
Dick Vermeil b. 1936
Jim Ray Hart b. 1941
Diego Maradona b. 1960

Packers Fact:
The defenses from the Packers' championship teams of the 1960s featured five future Pro Football Hall of Fame members: cornerback Herb Adderley, defensive end Willie Davis, defensive tackle Henry Jordan, linebacker Ray Nitschke, and safety Willie Wood.

HOW TO MARRY A GOLDEN GIRL

“People always ask me if I’m like Blanche. And I say, ‘Well, Blanche was an oversexed, self-involved, man-crazy, vain Southern Belle from Atlanta—and I’m not from Atlanta!’ ” says Golden Girl Rue McClanahan. Her book elaborates on that sly little confession and also tells of her show-business career, her years on the long-running Golden Girls, her battle with breast cancer, and her happy marriage with her sixth husband.

MY FIRST FIVE HUSBANDS . . . AND THE ONES WHO GOT AWAY, by Rue McClanahan (Broadway Books, 2007)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 10/27-28/2009

10/27/1979:
Michigan quarterback John Wangler hits freshman wide receiver Anthony Carter with a 45-yard touchdown pass at the final gun, lifting the Wolverines to a 27-21 victory over Indiana at the Big House in Ann Arbor. The Hoosiers had just tied the score with a minute left on a TD pass from Tim Clifford to Dave Harangody, but Michigan counters with a five-play, 78-yard drive capped by Carter's catch and run for the winning score.

Birthdays:
Ralph Kiner b. 1922
Patty Sheehan b. 1956
John Kasey b. 1969
Brad Radke b. 1972
Peerlee Price b. 1976

Packers Fact:
The San Francisco 49ers battled the Packers to a 24-24 tie on the final day of the regular season to set up a playoff with the Colts for the Western Conference championship in 1965. The game was played at Kezar Stadium

LOVE IN THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMPIRE

This wonderfully over-the-top love story is based on actual historical events. In the waning days of the Hapsburgs, a princess falls in love with a scapegrace lieutenant who defeats her husband in a duel. The powers that be incarcerate the lieutenant and send the princess to an asylum. Then along comes a married lower-class nobody who is also in love with the lieutenant and wants to spring her would-be lover from jail. Melodramatic and funny at the same time, All for Love is not your usual romance.

ALL FOR LOVE, by Dan Jacobson (Metropolitan Books, 2006)

10/28/1939:
Cornell rallies from a 14-point deficit to defeat Ohio State, 23-14, at the Buckeyes' horseshoe-shaped stadium in Columbus. After OSU dominates the first quarter, the Big Red of Cornell scores twice in quick succession on a 79-yard run by Walt Scholl and a 63-yard pass play from Scholl to Jack Bohrman. The smaller but quicker Cornell eleven, coached by Carl Snavely, continues to confound Ohio State in the second half. They intercept three passes to halt Buckeye drives and score twice more on a two-yard run by Hal McCullough and a field goal by Nick Drahos to finalize their unexpected road victory. Cornell will finish the season 8-0, one of only two unbeaten and untied teams in Amerca along with Texas A&M.

Birthdays:
Jim Beatty b. 1934
Lenny Wilkens b. 1937
Jude Drouin b. 1948
Bruce Jenner b. 1949
Terrell Davis b. 1972

Packers Fact:
Two years after helping the Giants win the NFL championship in 1927, tackle Cal Hubbard joined the Packers. The future Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee then starred for Green Bay's title-winning teams in 1929, 1930, and 1931.

MAN OF STEEL

Andrew Carnegie’s is a classic rags-to-riches saga: the poor immigrant Scotsman becomes one of the richest men of all time. An enigmatic man of astounding contradictions, he was a ruthless employer yet one of the greatest philanthropists in American history. David Nasaw found new material to show us in detail the complications involved in being Andrew Carnegie. Nasaw captures especially well the personal side of the tycoon’s life.

ANDREW CARNEGIE, by David Nasaw (Penguin Press, 2006)