Sports Fact and Book Rec of the Day 9/8/2007

(apckrfan's dream Sports Fact of the Day, eh?)

9/8/1990:
Already building his considerable legend, quarterback Brett Favre leads Southern Mississippi to a 27-24 upset of 13th-ranked Alabama at Legion Field in Birmingham. Jim Taylor's 52-yard field goal with 3:35 remaining provides the final margin and the Golden Eagles withstand two Alabama possessions in the closing moments to preserve the biggest win in the history of their program.

Birthdays:
Lem Barney b. 1945
Rogie Vachon b. 1945
Maurice Cheeks b. 1956
Latrell Sprewell b. 1970
Amani Toomer b. 1974

CULT CLASSICS

Esquire says that Portis is “perhaps the most original, indescribable sui generis talent overlooked by literary culture in America.” Who is this guy, and what’s the big deal? He’s a quirky, cynical, brilliant writer with a cult following. (Think Richard Brautigan or Tom Robbins.) Masters of Atlantis is about a cryptic book that compels one American to preserve the lost knowledge of Atlantis. Entertainment Weekly says that Masters of Atlantis offers a “glimpse of how a 20th century Mark Twain would write.”

MASTERS OF ATLANTIS, by Charles Portis (1985; Overlook, 2000)