Sports Fact and Book Rec of the Day 05/21/2008

5/21/1977:
Merv Rettenmund cracks a three-run homer in the 21st inning to give the San Diego Padres an 11-8 victory over the Montreal Expos at Olympic Stadium. The Expos collect 25 hits, including at least two from every position in their lineup, but they strand 23 runners and leave the bases loaded four times. Rick Sawyer pitches eight innings of scoreless relief for San Diego and retires Tony Perez with the tying runs on base to end the five-and-a-half-hour marathon.

Birthdays:
Johnny Majors b. 1935
Pete Banaszak b. 1944
Dave Wannstedt b. 1952
Kent Hrbek b. 1960
Dorsey Levens b. 1970

1981:
The New York Islanders defeated the Minnesota North Stars, 5-1, and won the Stanley Cup championship in five games. The triumph gave the Islanders their second of four consecutive National Hockey League titles.

"We clearly are in the midst of an Islander reign. Some observers would compare New York with the Montreal teams that won four consecutive Cups in the late 1970s. But while those Canadiens relied on defense, the Islanders depend more on their ability to put the puck in the net." -E.M. Swift, May 25, 1981

Packers Fact:
In his first game with the Packers in 2006, punter Jon Ryan completed a 16-yard pass to Noah Herron for a first down on a fake punt in the second quarter of the season opener against the Bears.

A GOOD GIFT

Jim and Tim started the duct tape craze in 1994 with the bestselling Duct Tape Book, and they’ve only gotten crazier. These 101 costume ideas, accompanied by full-color photos and illustrations, are easy to make and require few materials beyond the duct tape. You get the giggles just reading about costumes such as Floor of a Movie Theater: Cover a sticky-side-out duct tape vest with popcorn kernels, candy wrappers, and crushed paper cups.

THE ORIGINAL DUCT TAPE HALLOWEEN BOOK, by Tim Berg and Jim Nyberg (Workman Publishing, 2003)