Sports Fact and Book Rec of the Day 12/29/2007

12/29/1997:
Obeying head coach Don Nelson's instructions to the letter, Dallas Mavericks rookie and bench player Bubba Wells commits six deliberate fouls on Dennis Rodman of the Bulls in an attempt to wrest a few extra possessions during the game. Rodman not only foils the strategy, going 9 for 12 from the stripe, but Wells sets a new NBA record by fouling out of the contest in exactly three minutes. Rodman just misses a triple-double, Michael Jordan throws in 41 points and the world champion Bulls beat Coach Nelson's Mavs, 111-105, at the United Center.

Birthdays:
Ray Nitschke b. 1936
Mike Lucci b. 1939
Laffit Pincay Jr. b. 1946
Richie Sexson b. 1974
Laveranues Coles b. 1977

Books transport us to worlds that are otherwise inaccessible, and Shooter is a great example of that. No other book invites you into the mind and world of one of the U.S. military’s most successful snipers. Jack Coughlin reveals how he came to operate a long-range precision rifle for a living and what it’s like for him to do his job. His journey from the Boston suburbs to Iraq (with stops along the way in other fiercely dangerous places like Somalia) is a gripping, enlightening, and one-of-a-kind account. If you are interested in the military at all, this book should be at the top of your pile.

SHOOTER: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE TOPRANKED MARINE SNIPER, by Jack Coughlin and Casey Kuhlman with Donald A. Davis (St. Martin’s Press, 2005)