Sports Fact of the Day 3/15-3/20/08

Mar. 15:
After suffering through a miserable night of free-throw shooting by his ball club, DePaul head coach Jerry Wainwright remarked: "That's probably how dentistry was in the 1800s, before they had anesthetics."

Birthdays:

Punch Imlach b. 1918
Norm Van Brocklin b. 1926
Ted Marchibroda b. 1931
Harold Baines b. 1959
Terry Cummings b. 1961

1994:
Martin Buser won the 1000 mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 10 days, 13 hours, two minutes and 39 seconds.

"'They're peaking. They're really coming together mentally.' Was that Pat Riley analyzing his New York Knicks? Was that an overly optimistic major league manager sizing up his team in spring training? No, it was musher Martin Buser [who was] talking about his hteam of 14 dogs." -Jack McCallum, March 21, 1994

Mar. 16:
3/16/1971:
Johnny Bucyk scores twice to reach the 50-goal plateau for the only time in his career as the Boston Bruins rout the Detroit Red Wings, 11-4, at the Olympia. Ironically, his milestone goal comes against his original team; he was obtained from Detroit for Terry Sawchuk in 1957. Three decades after retiring, Bucyk will still rank near the top of most NHL statistical categories, skating for 23 years, playing 1,540 regular-season games and compiling a scoring line of 556-813-1,369. What's more, he earned the unconditional love of Bruins fans on a par with anyone who ever donned their spoke-created jersey.


Birthdays:
Clint Courtney b. 1927
Roger Crozier b. 1942
Rick Reichardt b. 1943
Ozzie Newsome b. 1956
Mel Gray b. 1961

Mar. 17:
3/17/1996:
Grindstone, Jerry Bailey up, comes from behind to win the Louisiana Derby by three and a half lengths over Zarb's Magic at the Fair Grounds racetrack in New Orleans. Not mentioned on most observers' lists of prominent Triple Crown hopefuls, Grindstone, trained by D. Wayne Lucas, will win the Kentucky Derby in May. Unfortunately, he'll suffer a bone chip in his right front leg during a subsequent workout and never race again.

Birthdays:
Sonny Werblin b. 1910
Sammy Baugh b. 1914
Hank Sauer b. 1917
Chuck Muncie b. 1953
Mia Hamm b. 1972

1995:
The U.S. Olympic speedskating gold medalist Bonnie Blair raced competitively for the final time in her career and went out a winner at an event in Calgary.

"Blair owns a time-share in the international spotlight: She gets it for two weeks every Olympiad, and then they ask her to leave. Her life has been a furious blur of flashing blades, like a Benihana chef's, but when she retires...it will not be as a wealthy woman. No one gets into speedskating to make a pile." -Steve Rushin, December 19, 1994

Packers Fact:
Despite playing only two seasons at Furman, quarterback Ingle Martin finished his career as the school's all-time leader for passing yards (5,751), touchdown passes (42), and total offense (6,277 yards).

Mar. 18:
3/18/1971:
The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers run roughshod over their more celebrated in-state rivals, the Kentucky Wildcats, rolling to a 107-83 victory in the NCAA tournament Mideast regionals. In a one-sided battle of seven-foot centers, WKU's Jim McDaniels outclasses Tom Payne of Kentucky, scoring 35 points while Payne manages only 15. Jim Rose has 25 points for the Hilltoppers and Dion Glover chips in with 18 as they gleefully administer the worst NCAA tourney defeat in Kentucky's storied history.

Birthdays:
Mike Webster b. 1952
Guy Carbonneau b. 1960
Curt Warner b. 1961
Bonnie Blair b. 1964
Brian Griese b. 1975

1991:
Mike Tyson retained his heavyweight boxing crown with a controversial technical knockout over Razor Ruddock. Many experts were aghast that the referee had halted the bout.

"If Richard Steele, a referee of global renown, had been at Bunker Hill, he would have pulled the trigger early. Failing to look into the whites of Razor Ruddock's eyes, Steele signaled an unnecessary cease-fire with 38 seconds to go in the seventh round." -Pat Putnam, March 25, 1991

Mar. 19:
3/19/1955:
Led by center Dick Ricketts and forward Sihugo Green, who combine for 56 points. Duquesne wins the NIT with a 70-58 victory over Dayton at Madison Square Garden. After winning the ECAC Holiday Festival on this same court in December, the sixth-ranked Iron Dukes (22-4) capture the only postseason tournament in their history. Meanwhile, much of the spotlight is garnered by muscular center Maurice Stokes of St. Francis of Loretto, Pennsylvania. he earns tremendous acclaim and unanimous MVP honors despite his team's fourth-place finish, losing both their semifinal and consolation games in overtime. Stokes totally galvanized the Garden with a 43-point, 19-rebound masterpiece in the semis against eighth-ranked Dayton.

Birthdays:
Jay Berwanger b. 1914
Guy V. Lewis b. 1922
Richie Ashburn b. 1927
Joe Kapp b. 1939
Scott May b. 1954

1955:
The San Francisco center Bill Russell scored 23 points and led the Donsn to a 77-63 victory over LaSalle in the NCAA championship game.

"Particularly deadly were Russell's tap-ins. Timing his leaps perfectly, Russell would soar into the air just as a shot by a colleague floated in toward the basket and tip the ball into the basket while LaSalle defenders impotently stretched and strained beneath." -Anonymous, March 28, 1955

Packers Fact:
While at Furman in 2005, quarterback Ingle Martin tossed the game-tying or game-winning touchdown pass in the final minute of the fourth quarter in three different games.

Mar. 20:
3/20/1932:
The magnificent New Zeland colt Phar Lap wins his only race in North America, the Agua Caliente Handicap in Mexico, against 10 rivals despite carrying top weight of 129 pounds. After winning 14 straight races and 31 of 34 at one stretch on Australian tracks, he arrived in Mexico with much fanfare after a three-week boat ride. He'll suffer a leg injury when he balks at receiving roses in the winner's circle and die mysteriously two weeks later in San Francisco, where he was sent to recover. Some pointed to arsenic-laced pesticide blowing onto his grazing area.

Birthdays:
John Barnhill b. 1938
Pat Riley b. 1945
Bobby Orr b. 1948
Chris Hoiles b. 1965
Mookie Blaylock b. 1967

1965:
Bill Bradley, the Princeton basketball star playing in his last college game, set a Final Four points-scored record in the NCAA championship consolation game.

"Bradley finished his career with a marvelous performance against Wichita. The score, 118-82 for Princeton, and all kinds of records, and so did Bradley. He made 58 points (22 for 29 from the floor, 14 for 15 from the free throw line) in as satisfying a climax as could be hoped for." -Frank Deford, March 29, 1965