Sports Fact and Book Rec of the Day 12/18/2007

12/18/2000:
On home ice at the Molson Centre, the proud Montreal Canadiens sink to an embarrassing nadir in a 2-0 shutout by the first-year expansion Columbus Blue Jackets. Fans of the 24-time Stanley Cup champions can't believe their team could be throttled by a group of kids and castoffs skating for a team many had never heard of when they entered the rink. Former Montreal goalie Ron Tugnutt gets the shutout for the Blue Jackets, his 16th lifetime and the first in Columbus franchise history.

Birthdays:
Ty Cobb b .1886
Gene Shue b. 1931
Zoilo Versalles b. 1939
Charles Oakley b. 1963
Arantxa Sanchez Vicario b. 1971


Sports memoirs offer a reliable blend of adrenaline, guts, and self-discovery. The Dive does all that, adding to the formula a tragic love story and an introduction to an intriguing, little-known sport. Ferreras is a champion free diver, plunging as deeply as he can go and staying down on one breath as long as he can. His wife, whom he taught to dive, was killed while setting a world record. Ferreras explores the danger and beauty of both love and diving in this singular memoir.

THE DIVE: A STORY OF LOVE AND OBSESSION, by Pipín Ferreras (Regan Books, 2005)