Sports Fact and Book Rec of the Day 01/11/2008

1/11/1989:
Calgary center Joe Nieuwendyk scores five goals, a record-tying four in the second period, to lead the Flames to an 8-3 rout of the Winnipeg Jets at the Olympic Saddledome. Three of his goals come during a span of just 1:53, when the Flames break open the game. The Smythe Division rivals brawl their way through this one; three are 254 penalty minutes assessed, including 10 fighting majors resulting from five different scrums. Nieuwendyk will finish the season with 51 goals, the second straight year he tops the 50-goal mark.

Birthdays:
Schoolboy Rowe b. 1910
Ben Crenshaw b. 1952
Freddie Solomon b. 1953
Darryl Dawkins b. 1957
Tracy Caulkins b. 1963

1973:
A vote of American League owners approved a three-year experiment with a designated pinch hitter.

"The A.L.'s radical decision to adopt [the] rule has excited a lot of speculation and comment, some of it reasoned and perceptive, some of it hurried and emotional. The possible side effects-on pitching, for example-are fascinating to contemplate, but what statistical impact will the new rules actually have on hitting? -Robert W. Creamer, January 22, 1973

Packers Fact:
Cornerback Charles Woodson entered 2006 with 17 career interceptions. He had victimized retired quarterbacks Elvis Grbac and Kordell Stewart 3 times each.

READ ME

Kat, an ESL teacher by day and an aspiring actress, doesn’t know that her father, who left the family when she was ten, was a CIA agent. One of her students is trying to get to her father and is falling in love with her in the process. This book is fun, fun, fun, and too smart to be just chick lit.

SEX AS A SECOND LANGUAGE: A NOVEL, by Alisa Kwitney (Atria, 2006)