Sports Fact and Book Rec of the Day 12/25/2007

12/25/1984:
Bernard King sets a Knicks scoring record with 60 points, but it's not enough to prevent the New Jersey Nets from beating New York, 120-114, at Madison Square Garden. King shoots 19-for-30 from the field and 22-for-26 from the line to top Richie Guerin's previous Knicks record of 57, set in 1959. King's big day also sets a scoring record for the new Garden but falls short of Wilt Chamberlain's 73-point game against the Knicks in 1962 and Elgin Baylor's 71 in 1960, both posted at the old Garden uptown on 50th Street.

Birthdays:
Nellie Fox b. 1927
Lefty Driesell b. 1931
Ken Stabler b. 1945
Larry Csonka b. 1946
Rickey Henderson b. 1958

“Sexy, dishy, and funny.”—The New York Times

“A smart, keenly researched history written with wry wisdom.”—The Dallas Morning News

“A lot more fun than Danielle Steel or Dan Brown.”—The Washington Post Book World

Herman looks at European history from a decidedly unexpected angle in her chronicle of royal mistresses. You might expect the book to be little more than a guilty pleasure, but Sex with Kings seduced the critics, who found it as smart as it is fun. A perfect book to take under the covers with you on a cold winter’s night.

SEX WITH KINGS, by Eleanor Herman (HarperPerennial, 2005)