Sports Fact and Book Rec of the Day 11/28/2007

11/28/1998:
Fifteenth-ranked Cincinnati upsets top-ranked Duke, 77-75, in the finals of the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage. With only four seconds remaining, Ryan Fletcher puts the winning sequence in motion with a baseball pass to All-American Kenyon Martin, whose touch pass to Melvin Levett is perfect for the winning hoop. In almost identical fashion, Duke runs the same play the other way with just one second left, but a potentially game-tying basket by tournament MVP William Avery off a quick touch pass from Elton Brand is disallowed for being scored after time expired.

Birthdays:
Paul Warfield b. 1942
Walt Weiss b. 1963
John Burkett b. 1964
Matt Williams b. 1965
Robb Nen b. 1969

WEIRD SCIENCE

Every reader with an interest in science or math should read this ingenious book. Mazur, a math professor, explains the three kinds of logic in the world: the logic of the classical world, the logic of infinity, and the reasoning that guides everyday science and life. His eccentric tour takes us from the rain forest to the islands of Greece to the local restaurant. And tells us, among many other things, how we determine what is real and how feelings affect math. A singular, fascinating book.

EUCLID IN THE RAINFOREST, by Joseph Mazur (Pi Press, 2005)