apckrfan's NFL picks: Week 4

I didn't do so well last weekend *sighs*

Sunday, September 28:
Atlanta @ Carolina - CAR
Denver @ Kansas City - DEN
San Francisco @ New Orleans - SF
Arizona @ NY Jets - NYJ
Minnesota @ Tennessee - TEN
Green Bay @ Tampa Bay - GB
Houston @ Jacksonville - JAC
Cleveland @ Cincinnati - CIN (erm, I'm giving them home field advantage *s*)
San Diego @ Oakland - SD
Buffalo @ St. Louis - BUF
Washington @ Dallas - DAL
Philadelphia @ Chicago - PHI

Monday, September 29:
Baltimore @ Pittsburgh - PIT

Sports Fact of the day 9/15-9/24/2008

Sept. 15:

9/15/1985:
In matches staged at the Belfry near Birmingham, England, Europe defeats the United States in the Ryder Cup for the first time in 28 years. It's only the fourth loss for American golfers in 26 Ryder Cup tests since 1927 but easily their widest margin of defeat, 16-1/2 to 11-1/2. With 12 singles matches on the final day, victories by British Open champion Sandy Lyle, Masters champion Bernhard Langer, Paul Way, Manuel Pinero and Sam Torrance ensure a resounding triumph for the European team.

Birthdays:
Ashley Cooper b. 19236
Gaylord Perry b. 1938
Joel Quenneville b. 1958
Joe Morris b. 1960
Dan Marino b. 1961

1985:
JoAnne Carner confounded the golf experts and won the Safeco Classic at the age of 46 to become the oldest woman ever to win on the LPGA tour.

"She's obviously on the back nine of her career, older than Billie Jean King, older than Jack Nicklaus or Lee Trevino, almost as old as Gaylord Perry, and she says she isn't even thinking of retiring. But you've got to retire sometime, JoAnne." -Barry McDermott, July 5, 1982

Packers Fact:
While the head coach at St. Cecilia's High School in New Jersey before his NFL days, Vince Lombardi also taught chemistry, physics, algebra, and Latin.

Sept. 16:
9/16/1978:
Seattle Slew handily defeats Affirmed by three lengths in the Marlboro Cup at Belmont Park. Slew, the 1977 Triple Crown winner, leads all the way as jockey Angel Cordero Jr. forces a fast pace that 1978 Triple Crown winner Affirmed can't handle. Three-year-old Affirmed was the 2-1 favorite with Steve Cauthen aboard, but his four-year-old rival never lets him get into the race. Despite the setback, Affirmed earns Horse of the Year honors and leads the money-earned list, winning 8 of his 11 outings in 1978.

Birthdays:
Elgin Baylor b. 1934
Dennis Conner b. 1942
Robin Yount b. 1955
Orel Hershiser b. 1958
Mickey Tettleton b. 1960

1973:
O.J. Simpson set an NFL rushing record by gaining 250 yards in a game between his Buffalo Bills and the New England Patriots.

"O.J. Simpson has led the lowly Bills to unimagined heights. Eight thousand strong, Buffalonians have been thronging on Sundays to the city's new house of worship, Rich Stadium, to witness Simpson's miracles and chant, "Juice, Juice, Juice." Their prayers have been answered." -Joe Marshall, October 29, 1973

Packers Fact:
Max McGee is the only Packers' rookie (entering 2006) to catch as many as 9 passes in a game. He did it in a season-ending loss to the Rams in 1954.

Sept. 17:
9/17/1930:
Earl Averill has a monster doubleheader for the Cleveland Indians, hitting four home runs and accounting for 11 RBIs as the Tribe splits a twin bill against Washington, winning 13-7 and then losing 6-4. The Senators grab a 6-0 lead in the opener before Averill commences his fusillade, including three homers in three successive at bats. In the nightcap, his first-inning blast stakes Cleveland to a 4-0 lead, but Washington rallies back with five runs in the sixth for the win.

Birthdays:
George Blanda b. 1927
Maureen Connolly b. 1934
Junior Bridgeman b. 1953
John France b. 1960
Rasheed Wallace b. 1974

1954:
Rocky Marciano retained his heavyweight boxing title with an eighth-round knockout of Ezzard Charles during a bout in New York.

"Dempsey fought you as if he had just caught you with your hand in his pocket. Tunney stabbed and sliced you like a fencing master. Louis was an executioner. [And] Rocky chops you down like a tree, with an ax swung by a powerful if somewhat inaccurate woodsman." -Budd Schulberg, September 27, 1954

Packers Fact:
Curly Lambeau played college football under Knute Rockne at Notre Dame for one season in 1918. He lined up in the same backfield as George Gipp of "Win One for the Gipper" fame.

Sept. 18:
9/18/2006:
(This reads wrong to me, but I'm typing it as printed.)
Managed by Willie Randolph, the New York Mets clinch their first American League East title since 1988 with a 4-0 victory over Florida at Shea Stadium. Jose Valentin homers twice for the Mets, who led the division comfortably all summer. New York finally ends Atlanta's 11-year stranglehold on the AL East but will stumble in the NLCS, losing to eventual world champion St. Louis in seven games.

Birthdays:
Darryl Sittler b. 1950
Rick Pitino b. 1952
Peter Stastny b. 1956
Toni Kukoc b. 1968
Lance Armstrong b. 1971

1990:
The International Olympic Committee awarded the 1996 Summer Games to the city of Atlanta, Georgia.

"Atlanta won the right to stage the centennial Games over five other finalists, including sentimental favorite Athens, Greece, because its telephones work; its time zone suits U.S. television; its athletic facilities are superb; its coffers are primed, and its economic future is dynamic." -Nicholas Dawidoff, October 1, 1990

Packers Fact:
Max McGee caught 3 touchdown passes as a rookie in 1954 against the Philadelphia Eagles. Green Bay won the game, 37-14.

Sept. 19:
9/19/1990:
The presence of superstars Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux draws an enormous crowd of 25,581 to the Suncoast Dome in St. Petersburg, Florida, for an NHL exhibition game won by the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-3, over the Los Angeles Kings. Largely on the basis of this one game, the Tampa-St. Petersburg market is rewarded with an NHL expansion franchise in December 1991 to begin play in the 1992-93 season.

Birthdays:
Willie Pep b. 1922
Andrew Boudrias b. 1943
Joe Morgan b. 1943
Sidney Wicks b. 1949
Randy Myers b. 1962

1987:
Making the first start of his collegiate football career, Florida's freshman running back Emmitt Smith rushed for a school record of 224 yards as the Gators upset Alabama, 23-14.

"He darted, slithered and followed his blockers and squeezed yard after yard out of plays that didn't have any yards in them. He didn't look especially fast or powerful or blindingly deceptive, yet he couldn't be stopped." -Rick Telander, November 16, 1987

Packers Fact:
Curly Lambeau's father, Marcel, was a construction foreman in the 1920s. Among his projects were expansions of Hagemeister Park (the Packers' first home) and City Stadium (the club's home before New City Stadium, which later became Lambeau Field).

Sept. 20:
The Sacramento Monarchs win their first WNBA championship, defeating the Connecticut Sun, 62-59, at Arco Arena and closing out their best-of-five series in four games. Yolanda Griffith scores 14 points and grabs 10 rebounds for the Monarchs, and is named MVP of the playoffs. After losing in the Western Conference finals in three of the last four years, the Monarchs finally break through for their first title, winning seven of eight postseason games.

Birthdays:
Red Auerbach b. 1917
Tommy Nobis b. 1943
Dave Twardzik b. 1950
Guy Lafleur b. 1951
Bonzi Wells b. 1976

1998:
Cal Ripken Jr. removed himself from the lineup, voluntarily ending his iron man streak of playing in 2,632 consecutive games.

"Even iron has a melting point. Morning newspapers landed a little harder on America's doorsteps on Monday with the affirmation of the scientific reality one man kept suspended for more than 16 years. It was there in the Baltimore Orioles' box score, the first one since the second game of a May 29, 1982, doubleheader that didn't include Cal Ripken Jr. An elegy in agate." -Tom Verducci, September 28, 1998

Packers Fact:
Billy Howton caught 3 touchdwon passes as a rookie in 1952 against the Detroit Lions. Green Bay lost, though, 48-24.

Sept. 21:
9/21/1996:
LSU defeats Auburn, 19-15, on a rainy night at Jordan-Hare Stadium against the eerie backdrop of Auburn's old basketball field house burning to the ground only a short distance from the stadium. Careless tailgaters, looking for a dry spot to party, set a canopy of the old gym on fire with their barbecue grill and the wooden structure became a raging inferno in no time, with flames shooting high into the air in plain sight of the fans at the football game. There are no injuries, no arrests, no interruption of the football game and no way to save the sports arena, which burns to the ground.

Birthdays:
Sam McDowell b. 1942
Artis Gilmore b. 1949
Eddie Delahoussaye b. 1951
Sidney Moncrief b. 1957
Cecil Fielder b. 1963

Sept. 22:
9/22/1996:
After the second-year expansion Jacksonville Jaguars rally from a 22-0 deficit to force overtime at Foxboro, a field goal by Adam Vinatieri gives the New England Patriots a 28-25 victory two and a half minute into the extra session. It's Vinatieri's fifth field goal of the game. Exceeding all expectations, Jacksonville will reach the AFC title game this season and face the Patriots again at Foxboro Stadium. New England will win that game as well, 20-6.

Birthdays:
Tommy Lasorda b. 1927
Ingemar Johansson b. 1932
Vince Coleman b. 1961
Dot Richardson b. 1961
Mike Richter b. 1966

1991:
The Miami Dolphins beat the Green Bay Packers, 16-13, at Joe Robbie Stadium. It was the 300th career victory for coach Don Shula.

"[The team] presented Shula with the game ball after Sunday's win, and the usually stone-faced coach got a little emotional. Still, in his remarks to his players, he deflected the attention from himself, just as he did throughout the hubbub leading up to win No. 300." -Peter King, September 30, 1991

Packers Fact:
Severe tonsillitis forced Curly Lambeau to miss his spring semester at Notre Dame in 1919. He returned to Green Bay, where he met sports editor George Calhoun; the two decided to start a football team, which became the Packers.

Sept. 23:
9/23/1939:
Estel Crabtree hits the most memorable homer in Rochester (NY) baseball history, a three-run shot in the last of the ninth inning to stave off elimination in the International League playoffs and lead to an eventual victory. With the Newark Bears ahead three games to two in the best-of-seven series and leading 6-2 with two outs and nobody on base in the Rochester ninth, Red Wings fans head for the exits. Quickly, two walks and a single produce one run and Crabtree follows with his dramatic wallop. Seizing their opportunity, Rochester goes on to win this game in 12 innings, and they'll win the Governor's Cup tomorrow night by a 2-1 score, clinching the crown with a run in the bottom of the ninth.

Birthdays:
Marty Schottenheimer b. 1943
Larry Mize b. 1958
Pete Harnisch b. 1966
Jeff Cirillo b. 1969
Eric Montross b. 1971

2000:
At the Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, the U.S. sprinter Marion Jonesn blazed to victory in the 100-meter dash in a time of 10.75 seconds, winning by a .37 of a second, the greatest margin of victory in nearly 50 years.

"Jones ran as if in a beautiful dream. Slashing with equal parts grace and power through the cool winds that swirled inside the Olympic stadium, she won the 100-meter gold medal that has been awaiting her since she was a teen sprint prodigy. ... Jones gave a playful hop after she crossed the finish line and smiled with a glow that lit the air around her." -Tim Layden, October 2, 2000

Packers Fact:
James Lofton had 3 touchdown catches in just his second NFL game in 1978. His grabs helped Green Bay beat New Orleans, 28-17.

Sept. 24:
9/24/1994:
American heavyweight Oliver McCall scores a major upset by knocking out unbeaten WBC champion Lennox Lewis of Great Britain in the second round at Wembley Arena in London. Heretofore basically just a journeyman and sparring partner, McCall knocks Lewis to the canvas with a left hook and right cross combination and referee Jose Garcia counts the champion out, even as he tries to rise to his feet. Lewis, the first British heavyweight champion since 1899, will eventually regain the title by beating McCall in Las Vegas in 1997.

Birthdays:
Jim McKay b. 1921
John Mackey b. 1941
Mean Joe Greene b. 1946
Rafael Palmeiro b. 1964
Eddie George b. 1973

1988:
Florence Griffith Joyner won the 100-meters at the Seoul Olympic Games.

"Her smile began growing at 70 meters, even as she roared away. By ninety meters it was a glorious grin. By 95 she had her arms up celebrating." -Kenny Moore, October 3, 1988

Packers Fact:
Curly Lambeau was only 21 years old when he became the player, captain, and coach of the original Packers in 1919.

Book Rec of the Day 9/15-9/24/2008

COMIC ANTIHERO

This is not your father’s comic book. The protagonist is a pathetic antihero, yet Ware’s haunting, evocative art so enlivens the story that we must continue turning the pages. The brilliantly rendered section on the Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 alone is worth the price of the book. This is a serious, sad story of heartache and alienation and an extraordinary work of art that shows just how much the graphic novel is capable of.

JIMMY CORRIGAN: THE SMARTEST KID ON EARTH, by Chris Ware (Pantheon, 2003)

CHICK LIT

It’s not about the men, it’s about the power in Sex and the City author Candace Bushnell’s fourth book. Wendy Healy is the president of Parador Pictures, scheming to get an Oscar while taking care of an unemployed, childish hubby. Victoria Ford is a fashion designer recovering from the poor reception of her spring line while juggling the advances of a billionaire. Nico O’Neilly has saved glamorous Bonfire magazine and is cheating on her professor husband with a male model. Well, maybe it is about the men somewhat: men, women, power, and certainly the city.

LIPSTICK JUNGLE, by Candace Bushnell (Hyperion, 2005)

GREAT JOURNALISM

People have been known to read The Wall Street Journal just for the so-called “middle column,” which since 1941 has delivered a good chuckle, an eye-opener, or a welcome relief from the sobering news of the day. Toad licking, orthodontics for sheep, prudish nudists, reports on unconventional careers such as belly dancing . . . These 67 stories chosen by Wells, a novelist and a senior editor at the paper, represent the best of the best.

FLOATING OFF THE PAGE: THE BEST STORIES FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL’S “MIDDLE COLUMN”; edited by Ken Wells (Free Press, 2003)

“Ellroy rips into American culture like a chainsaw in an abattoir. . . . Pick it up if you dare; put it down if you can.”—Time

“This is Plymouth Rock turned over after three centuries to expose the creatures wriggling in the dark beneath the surface of the American Dream.”—Kirkus Reviews

The author of L.A. Confidential takes on the ’60s and its assassinations, cops, J. Edgar Hoover, Cuba, the KKK, the Mob, and EVERYTHING. The book has inspired some of the most thrillingly overwrought review blurbs of the decade.

THE COLD SIX THOUSAND, by James Ellroy (Vintage, 2002)

EAST VS. WEST

Roger Crowley unfolds for us a significant moment in the troubled relations between Christian Europe and the Islamic Middle East. The Byzantine Empire had stood as a center of Christian civilization for more than 1,000 years. In 1453, the Ottoman sultan, Mehmet II, brought the empire to its final inglorious end by capturing Constantinople. Constantinople became Istanbul, and a whole new era of European history began. Crowley’s account is thorough and detailed.

1453: THE HOLY WAR FOR CONSTANTINOPLE AND THE CLASH OF ISLAM AND THE WEST, by Roger Crowley (Hyperion, 2005)

In the seventh entry of the Bridgerton series, young Hyacinth, headstrong and too smart for her own good, meets Gareth St. Clair, the man who can finally leave her speechless. A viscount’s second son, Gareth unexpectedly becomes heir to the title, the St. Claire estate, and a mysterious diary written in Italian, which Hyacinth must help him translate. And there is, of course, a kiss. More than one, actually.

IT’S IN HIS KISS, by Julia Quinn (Avon, 2005)

BE A MAN

For 18 months, Norah Vincent passed herself off as Ned, a man who worked as a salesman, played in a men’s bowling league, dated women, and went on an all-male retreat. Her book is a fascinating account of how she did it, what she learned about men and women in the process, and the toll it took on her in dealing with the unexpected complexities of being male in our society, as well as her feelings of guilt in a life of deception.

SELF-MADE MAN: ONE WOMAN’S JOURNEY INTO MANHOOD AND BACK, by Norah Vincent (Viking, 2006)

The Baines sisters, Constance and Sophia, were born and raised in the English Midlands. In 1867, Sophia eloped to Paris with a raffish young salesman, while Constance stayed at home and married an assistant in her parents’ drapery shop. They lived completely different lives—Constance was upheld by a Victorian world of stability, while Sophia was abandoned by her husband and had to fend for herself in an unsettled Paris. In their last years they were reunited, changed by their lives, yet in some ways they remained essentially the same. Bennett’s affection for the girls shines through on every page.

THE OLD WIVES’ TALE, by Arnold Bennett (1908; Penguin Classics, 1991)

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

Henry Kisor, book editor for the Chicago Sun-Times, lost his hearing at age three. Instead of using sign language, his mother taught him how to read lips. This engaging memoir relates his struggles as a deaf man in a fast-talking, and sometimes word-slurring, world. (The title was Kisor’s interpretation of lips that were actually saying “What’s that big loud noise?”) He observes the cultures of the hearing and the deaf with a keen and witty intelligence.

WHAT’S THAT PIG OUTDOORS? A MEMOIR OF DEAFNESS, by Henry Kisor (Penguin, 1991)

OTHER WORLDS

In Peter Cameron’s fourth novel, graduate student Omar Razaghi has received a grant to write a biography of the not particularly renowned author Jules Gund, and he travels to Uruguay to talk with Gund’s heirs. In a narrative that is largely dialogue, Cameron shows Omar becoming involved with them: Caroline, Gund’s widow; Arden, his mistress; and Adam, his homosexual brother. What results is a sweet, beautiful love story, elegantly written and a pleasure to read.

THE CITY OF YOUR FINAL DESTINATION, by Peter Cameron (Plume, 2003)

apckrfan's NFL picks: Week 3

(I was 10-5 last week with the BAL/HOU game postponed)

Week 3:
KC @ ATL - ATL
CAR @ MIN - CAR
MIA @ NE - NE
CIN @ NYG - NYG
ARI @ WAS - WAS
HOU @ TEN - TEN
TB @ CHI - CHI
OAK @ BUF - BUF
NO @ DEN - DEN
STL @ SEA - SEA
DET @ SF - SF
CLE @ BAL - BAL
JAC @ IND - IND
PIT @ PHI - PHI
DAL @ GB - GB (I'd feel way better picking them if it was December, but I'm still going with 'em)

NYJ @ SD - NYJ

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 9/13-9/14/2008

Not wishing to entertain a litany of excuses such as injuries, bad bounces or unkind fate, straight-shooting NFL head coach Bill Parcells maintains: "You are what your record says you are."

Birthdays:
Emile Francis b. 1926
Rick Wise b. 1945
Denny Neagle b. 1968
Bernie Williams b. 1968
Goran Ivanisevic b. 1971

1968:
The Detroit Tigers ace Denny McLain outdueled Chuck Dobson of the Oakland Athletics, 5-4, and became the first pitcher since Dizzy Dean to win 30 games in a season.

"It happened before a nonsellout crowd of 44,087 at Tiger Stadium and a national audience watching on NBC. 'It was a blur,' McLain says of the season. 'There are very few games I recall. The only reason I remember the 30th win is because Chuck Dobson was wearing a sign taped to his back that said GOING FOR WIN NUMBER 12.'" -Steve Rushin, July 19, 1993

Packers Fact:
In 1952, end Billy Howton caught more touchdown passes than any other rookie in Packers' history. He caught 13 scoring grabs that season.

9/14/1913:
The Chicago Cubs shut out the New York Giants, 7-0, behind Larry Cheney, who "scatters" 14 hits. The Giants set a major league record for base hits while being shut out. Several of their base runners are thrown out trying to steal or take an extra base, including Fred Snodgrass, who takes exception to rookie umpire Lord Byron's out call and is ejected from the game. Only two Giants reach third base despite having at least one base runner in every inning. Chief Meyers has three hits and Laughing Larry Doyle, Art Fletcher and Tillie Shafer have two each, but the Giants fail to dent the scoreboard all day.

Birthdays:
Harry Sinden b. 1932
Larry Brown b. 1940
Orest Kindrachuk b. 1950
Tim Wallach b. 1957
Hicham el Guerrouj b. 1974



Four eccentric Washington misfits get together every week to chew over conspiracy theories and enjoy themselves. On one of their clubby nights on Roosevelt Island in the middle of the Potomac, they happen to witness the murder of a Secret Service agent. Suddenly, conspiracy is no longer merely theoretical. Will the four be murdered, too? Baldacci provides lots of entertaining characters, clever subplots, high-tech spy stuff, historical facts, ripping suspense, and a wow of a finish.

THE CAMEL CLUB, by David Baldacci (Warner Books, 2005)

MEMOIR

Satrapi, the great-granddaughter of the last shah of Iran, was 10 years old in 1979. This extraordinary graphic memoir covers her youth from 10 to 14 as she witnesses many of her friends and family being persecuted and imprisoned, and the world as she knows it being irrevocably changed by the Iranian revolution. A strong sense of self, a loving family, an indestructible sense of humor, and her artistic fire come through the heat of the crucible as a dazzling, multifaceted gem of personal history. The black-and-white drawings are simple and deceptively childlike.

PERSEPOLIS: THE STORY OF A CHILDHOOD, by Marjane Satrapi (Pantheon, 2003)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 9/12/2008

9/12/2000:
Los Angeles Dodgers pinch hitter extraordinaire Dave Hansen sets a major league record with his seventh pinch homer of the season in a 5-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Hansen connects off Curt Schilling to break the record held by Johnny Frederick of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Sixty-eight years ago on this date, Frederick set the long-standing mark with a ninth-inning walk-off homer against future Hall of Famer Burleigh Grimes at Ebbets Field.

Birthdays:
Jesse Owens b. 1913
Albie Pearson b. 1934
Vernon Maxwell b. 1965
Ki-Jana Carter b. 1973
Yao Ming b. 1980

1979:
The Indiana Pacers cut Ann Meyers, the first woman player to sign with an NBA team.

"At a time when the NBA's image has slipped, the signing of Meyers is the type of hokey move that will hardly add needed luster. As Red Auerbach, that sage of the Celtics, says, "I know Annie and she's a nice girl, but this is reminiscent of Bill Veeck signing that midget." -Myra Gelband, September 17, 1979

Packers Fact:
Vince Lombardi's lone head-coaching job before the Packers was at St. Cecilia's High School in New Jersey.

IS KNOWLEDGE POWER?

To fill in the gaps of his education, A. J. Jacobs decided to read the Encyclopedia Britannica, all 32 volumes. It took him a year, but by the end he had a book about his life during that time, arranged alphabetically, full of intriguing trivia and such adventures as Mensa meetings, a visit with Alex Trebek, and being avoided by guests at cocktail parties. It isn’t easy being a know-it-all, but it can be pretty funny.

THE KNOW-IT-ALL: ONE MAN’S HUMBLE QUEST TO BECOME THE SMARTEST PERSON IN THE WORLD, by A. J. Jacobs (Simon & Schuster, 2004)

apckrfan's NFL picks: Week 2

I actually took a few days to make a decision on the Patriots/Jets game, finally making a choice this morning. Otherwise, I had the rest of these picks done on Monday night.

Sun., Sept. 14:
Chicago @ Carolina (CHI)
Buffalo @ Jacksonville (BUF)
Oakland @ Kansas City (KC)
Indianapolis @ Minnesota (IND)
New Orleans @ Washington (NO)
NY Giants @ St. Louis (NYG)
Green Bay @ Detroit (GB)
Tennessee @ Cincinnati (TEN)
San Francisco @ Seattle (SEA)
Atlanta @ Tampa Bay (TB)
Miami @ Arizona (ARI)
New England @ NY Jets (NYJ) *
San Diego @ Denver (DEN)
Baltimore @ Houston (BAL)
Pittsburgh @ Cleveland (PIT)

Mon., Sept. 15:
Philadelphia @ Dallas (DAL)

*I'm picking the Jets, yes, in part due to Brett being a part of their team. But, overall, I think with a QB who hasn't made a start since high school there will be some confusion on New England's part. Of course, I could be wrong and they could gel together nicely, but 9 years without a start just leaves me thinking the Jets have the upper hand in this one.

apckrfan's NFL picks: Week 1: Results

I was 12-4 this week, the Bears & Packers winning makes me happy though so that's all right.

Th., Sept. 4
WAS @ NYG - New York (Giants 7-16)

Sun., Sept. 7
DET @ ATL - Atlanta (Atlanta 21-34)
CIN @ BAL - Baltimore (Baltimore 10-17)
SEA @ BUF - Seattle (Buffalo 10-34) X
NYJ @ MIA - New York (New York 20-14) Favre: 15/22, 194 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT
KC @ NE - New England (New England 10-17)
TB @ NO - New Orleans (New Orleans 20-24)
STL @ PHI - Philadelphia (Philadelphia 3-38) McNabb: 21/33, 361 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT
HOU @ PIT - Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh 38-17)
JAC @ TEN - Tennessee (Tennessee 10-17)
DAL @ CLE - Dallas (Dallas 28-10)
CAR @ SD - San Diego (Carolina (26-24)
ARI @ SF - Arizona (Arizona 26-24) X
CHI @ IND - Indianapolis (Chicago 29-13) X

Mon., Sept. 8
MIN @ GB - Minnesota (yes, I'm not picking the Packers) (Green Bay 19-24) X Rodgers: 18/22, 178 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT
DEN @ OAK - Denver (Denver 41-14)

Sports Fact of the Day 9/4-9/11/2008

Sept. 4:
9/4/1983:
Sixteen-year-old amateur and National Junior 18-and-under champion Aaron Krickstein rallies from a two-set deficit and then 2-4 in the final set to defeat 15th-seeded Vitas Gerulaitis on the grandstand court at the U.S. Open. After a skittish start, Krickstein forces a fifth set with unflinching ground strokes, and when Gerulaitis breaks himself with double faults while serving at 4-2 and 4-1ll, the up-and-comer from Grosse Pointe, Michigan, seizes his chance and closes out the match.

Birthdays:
Dawn Fraser b. 1937
Ray Floyd b. 1942
Tom Watson b. 1949
John Vanbiesbrouck b. 1963
Mike Piazza b. 1968

1972:
In an unprecedented achievement, the United States swimming sensation Mark Spitz won his seventh gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany.

"His life could change overnight. He might not follow Johnny Weismuller into Tarzan's tree, but his slender, walnut-brown good looks, enhanced by emerald-green eyes and a devillish mustache, would put his box-office appeal up there with Jean-Claude Killy or Peggy Fleming any day." -Jerry Kirshenbaum, September 4, 1972

Packers Fact:
The Plackers closed the 2000 season by beating all four of their NFC Central Division opponents in succession. Despite the strong finish (and a 9-7 record), Green Bay narrowly missed the playoffs that year.

Sept. 5:
9/5/1960:
Lee Calhoun of Gary, Indiana, repeats his Olympic gold medal performance in the 1956 Melbourne Games by capturing the 110-meter high hurdles in Rome, leading a clean sweep of the top three spots by Americans. Calhoun and Willie May of Chicago, teammates at North Carolina College, battle stride for stride, both finishing in 13.2 seconds, but Calhoun gets his head over the finish line first as a photo later attests. Hayes Jones of Pontiac, Michigan, earns a bronze medal for finishing third.

Birthdays:
Gene Bearden b. 1920
Bill Mazeroski b. 1936
John Ferguson b. 1938
Willie Gault b. 1960
Dennis Scott b. 1968

1993:
Clocked in a time of 3:44.39, the Algerian mile runner Nourrendine Morceli set a new world record.

"What's most astounding is that Morceli has done what he has without the goad of real rival. "Most great milers through the ages have had someone at least in the neighborhood," says Craig Masback, head of USA Track and Field. "Ryun had Keino. Ovett and Coe had each other, and Cram had Aouita. Morceli is all by himself." -Richard O'Brien, September 13, 1993

Packers Fact:
Prior to the 1967 season, the Packers installed heating coils underneath the Lambeau Field turf. They were not functioning, however, on the day that Green Bay beat Dallas in the "Ice Bowl" for the NFL championship that year.

Sept. 6:
9/6/2002:
The longest winning streak in major league baseball in 67 years (1935 Cubs) and the longest in American League history (20 games by the Oakland A's) is snapped at the Metrodome as Brad Radke pitches a six-hit 6-0 shutout for the Minnesota Twins. The A's had won so many games with late-inning heroics during their streak that it had almost become routine, but there would be non reprieve tonight. Corey Koskie goes three for three witha double and a homer to lead the Minnesota attack, and Radke is in command throughouth. These two clubs will meet in the postseason next month and the Twins will knock off Oakland again, three games to two.

Birthdays:
Hal Jeffcoat b. 1924
Dow Finsterwald b. 1929
Ron Boone b. 1946
Kevin Willis b. 1962
Tim Henman b. 1974

1986:
The N. 1-ranked Oklahoma Sooners blasted the No. 3-ranked UCLA Bruins, 38-3, in a football game played in California.

"Californians played Tokyo to Oklahoma's Godzilla, giving up 14 yards rushing to every one of their own [and] banging their noses into the plate-glass realization that their national ranking was either a bogus No. 3 of Oklahoma is one humongous No. 1. Now UCLA. Now you don't." -Rick Reilly, September 15, 1986

Packers Fact:
Entering 2006, Sterling Sharpe, who had 55 catches in 1988, held the Packers' record for receptions in his rookie season.

Sept. 7:
9/7/1974:
Tennessee quarterback Condredge Holloway electrifies the home crowd at Neyland Stadium with a 74-yard touchdown pass to Stanley Morgan on the second play of the game against UCLA, but Bruins QB John Sciarra will lead his team back for a 17-17 tie. Sciarra passes for 212 yards and rushes for 154 more, pacing UCLA to a 17-10 lead, but Holloway, sidelined for two quarters with a shoulder injury, gallantly returnsn to the lineup and scores with three minutes left to forge the deadlock. UCLA has a chance to win it with 14 seconds left, but Brett White misses a 40-yard field goal attempt and the game ends in a tie.

Birthdays:
Al McGuire b. 1928
Clyde Lovellette b. 1929
Orland Kurtenbach b. 1936
Jason Isringhausen b. 1972
Antonio McDyess b. 1974

Sept. 8:
9/8/1990:
Brigham Young quarterback Ty Detmer passes for 408 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Cougars to a 28-21 upset of top-ranked Miami at Provo, Utah. Detmer (38-54) finds Matt Bellini, Andy Boyce and Mike Salido for TD passes, overcoming five BYU possessions that ended with turnovers. The Cougars rally from behind three times before taking the lead for good late in the third quarter. Detmer's superlative performance helps him win the Heisman Trophy at season's end.

Birthdays:
Lem Barney b. 1945
Rogie Vachon b. 1945
Maurice Cheeks b. 1956
Latrell Sprewell b. 1970
Amani Toomer b. 1974

1974:
Infamous daredevil Evil Knievel was forced in mid-flight to abort an attempted rocket jump.

"Staring down from the lip of the Snake River Canyon into the boiling green water below, one suddenly grasps the enormity of the whole operation-the absurdity, theh arrogance, the awful, febrile, frightening, heroic lunacy of it." -Robert F. Jones, September 2, 1974

Packers Fact:
Vince Lombardi was carried off the field by his players after both his first (a 9-6 victory over Chicago) and last (1 33-14 victory over Oakland in Super Bowl II) games as the club's coach.

Sept. 9:
9/9/2004:
Sporting the worst record in the American League entering play, the Kansas City Royals explode for a 26-5 rout of the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park in the first game of a doubleheader. Joe Randa has six hits in the onslaught and Angel Berroa has four hits and five RBIs. Kansas City scores 11 runs in the third inning and amasses 26 hits in the game. The nightcap of the twin bill is a completely different story-the Royals are shut out, 8-0!

Birthdays:
Bobby Baun b. 1936
Joe Theismann b. 1949
"Thunder Dan" Majerle b. 1965
Mike kHampton b. 1972
Shane Battier b. 1978

1992:
Robin Yount of the Milwaukee Brewers became the 17th player in baseball history to reach 3,000 hits.

"In this age of greed, self-interest and crowded disabled lists, Yount has been a tough, durable player who hits righthanders and lefthanders equally well, runs the bases with intelligence, never ducks a pitcher or creates controversy. He's as pure a player as there has been in the last 20 years." -Tim Kurkjian, September 21, 1992

Packers Fact:
End Billy Howton caught 53 passes in his rookie season of 1952. That stood as a club rookie record for 36 years.

Sept. 10:
9/10/1927:
The French Davis Cup team, affectionately known as "the Four Musketeers," wrests the hallowed trophy from the United States with a pair of singles victories on the last day of play at the Germantown Cricket Club in Philadelphia. Rene Lacoste beats Big Bill Tilden in four sets and Henri Cochet does the same to Little Bill Johnston to end America's seven-year stranglehold on the Cup. The younger Frenchmen prevail over their older U.S. rivals despite the hoots and hollers of an overflow partisan gallery. France will hold the Cup for six years before being beaten by England in 1933.

Birthdays:
Arnold Palmer b. 1929
Roger Maris b. 1934
Bob Lanier b. 1948
Randy Johnson b. 1963
Gustavo "Guga" Kuerten b. 1976

1976:
The United States distance runner Frank Shorter won the gold medal in the marathon at the Summer Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany.

"The long-distance runners' loneliness has been romanticized as a form of heroic sacrifice, [yet] it is hardly uncommon for competitors to be lonely: Who is more alone than a goalie, or a pitcher on the mound, or a golfer standing over a 10-foot birdie putt?" -Frank Deford, May 24, 1976

Packers Fact:
Equipment man Dad Braisher designed the famous "G" on the Packers' helmets (at Vince Lombardi's request) in 1961.

Sept. 11:
9/11/1999:
The Baylor Bears, leading 24-21 with 20 seconds left and needing only to take a knee and run out the clock against a UNLV team with no time-outs left, get greedy and it costs them the ball game. With the ball on the UNLV 8-yard line, Baylor running back Darrel Bush takes the handoff and tries to score another touchdown, but he's stripped of the ball at the goal line and Kevin Thomas of the Runnin' Rebels returns the fumble 100 yards for a 27-24 UNLV win before a disbelieving crowd in Waco, Texas.

Birthdays:
Paul "Bear" Bryant b. 1913
Tom Landry b. 1924
Franz Beckenbauer b. 1945
Marty Liquori b. 1949
Ellis Burks b. 1964

1983:
Jimmy Connors needed just four sets to beat Ivan Lendl and win his fifth U.S. Open tennis championship.

"Never, it seems, has a tournamentn been so right for a player as the U.S. Open is for Jimmy Connors. And when he won his fifth one, it was all the more appropriate that Flushing Meadows should turn out to be his 100th tournament title. No other pro has ever achieved triple figures." -Frank Deford, September 19, 1983

Packers Fact:
Gerry Ellis caught more passes during his first NFL season than any other rookie running back in Packers' history. He had 48 receptions in 1980.

Book Recs of the Day 8/14-9/3/2008

We’ve barely read a fraction of all the books we want to read. And yet one trembles in frustration at the thought of all the books that disappeared when the Library of Alexandria went up in flames, and all the books that have been lost since then: Nabokov’s Speak, America, which he didn’t live long enough to write; Shakespeare’s Loves Labours Won; the lost pages of William Burroughs’s Naked Lunch, which were stolen by Algerian street urchins. All have disappeared, or, in some cases, never came to be; but at least Stuart Kelly has gathered all this nothingness together to show us what we’ve missed.

THE BOOK OF LOST BOOKS: AN INCOMPLETE HISTORY OF ALL THE GREAT BOOKS YOU’LL NEVER READ, by Stuart Kelly (Random House, 2006)

“Once again, Smith . . . deftly explores psychological tension and insidious fears.”—Library Journal

This is Scott Smith’s first novel since his bestselling A Simple Plan, which Stephen King named the best suspense novel of the 1990s. In The Ruins, four young Americans on vacation in Cancún meet a German tourist named Mathias who persuades them to go with him in search of his brother, last seen heading for Mayan ruins in the jungle. The book is a page-turning tale of relentless, creeping suspense and continuing, building, screaming horror.

THE RUINS, by Scott Smith (Knopf, 2006)

THUMBS DOWN

Well-written scripts, nuanced acting, brilliant direction—who cares. Nothing is so satisfying as watching the slow-motion train wreck of Hollywood failure. In Fiasco, James Robert Parish tells the stories of 15 stupefying flops, starting with Cleopatra and ending with Town & Country, an $80-million loser starring Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton. Remember The Postman and Waterworld? Ishtar and Battlefield Earth? How did they get made? How did Hollywood’s superstars and megadirectors not see disaster ahead? Parish serves up the gossip and the facts, the egos and the cost overruns, and the fallout these bombs rained on the careers of those involved.

FIASCO: A HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD’S ICONIC FLOPS, by James Robert Parish (Wiley, 2006)

FAVORITE AUTHOR

“[A] big, juicy middle-American apple pie of a book, sometimes tart but mostly sweet.”—Los Angeles Times

The author of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café paints a portrait of Elmwood Springs, Missouri, from the 1940s through the 1990s. Flagg knows small-town America, and she knows how to create fascinating and colorful characters: Neighbor Dorothy, a local radio personality; her son, Cub Scout Bobby, who wins the annual bubble gum-blowing contest; Minnie Oatman, leader of the Oatman Family Southern Gospel Singers; mortician Cecil Figgs, who has a secret life. Standing in the Rainbow is a saga that is both heartfelt and humorous.

STANDING IN THE RAINBOW, by Fannie Flagg (Ballantine Books, 2004)

RETRIBUTION

Life is hard enough without those damned reply cards that fall out of your magazines, blaring car radios, Internet spam, and not being able to talk to an actual person when you call just about any business establishment. Ian Urbina’s collection of anecdotes about what the fed up have done to get a little retribution provides some gleeful amusement and a certain vicarious pleasure. It can also start a person thinking about what he can do to fight his own small battles.

LIFE’S LITTLE ANNOYANCES: TRUE TALES OF PEOPLE WHO JUST CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE, by Ian Urbina (Times Books, 2005)

HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL

“I would welcome a friendship with Lynne Hinton. I would welcome an invitation to sit down at her table, but mostly I would welcome her next book.”—Maya Angelou

Here are five women who belong to the Hope Springs Community Church: There’s the self-doubting pastor; the town busybody; the one who has carried a torch for another woman; the only African-American in the church; and the pragmatic lady in whom everyone in town confides. They form a committee to make the church cookbook and in the process create a bond of love among themselves.

FRIENDSHIP CAKE, by Lynne Hinton (HarperSanFrancisco, 2002)

STRAVINSKY’S WAY

“Walsh, an academic musicologist who writes with the verve of a first-rate critic, never loses sight of the incandescent figure at its center.’”—The New Yorker

Though much has been written about this man, one of the 20th century’s greatest composers, this is the first truly definitive biography. Walsh’s research is thorough, and he includes much previously overlooked Russian-language material that helps us better understand Stravinsky’s influences.

	STRAVINSKY: A CREATIVE SPRING: RUSSIA AND FRANCE, 1882-1934, by Stephen Walsh (Knopf, 1999)
	STRAVINSKY: THE SECOND EXILE: FRANCE AND AMERICA, 1934-1971, by Stephen Walsh (Knopf, 2006)

SCHOOL DAZE

Following on the huge success of Election, a darkly humorous tale of high-school politics, Joe College perfectly captures college life in the 1980s. Danny is a junior at Yale, though his life is far from cushy. He has to help his father operate the Roach Coach, a snackmobile, and they’re being harassed by the New Haven Mafia. Back home in New Jersey, sweet girlfriend Cindy is pregnant with his baby, while his sophisticated Yale honey is two-timing him with a professor. Jodie Foster sightings; bong hits and all-night philosophical bull sessions; bad food, too much beer, and way too much George Eliot still to read—Danny handles it all with understated heroism, and we’re cheering for him all the way.

JOE COLLEGE, by Tom Perrotta (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2001)

POLYMATH

The title of this fascinating biography of Paul Erdős refers to the itinerant mathematician’s habit of traveling to colleagues’ homes and announcing, “My brain is open,” which meant he would be staying for a few weeks to gab about math before moving on to his next stop. Erdős grew up happily immersed in the elegant language of numbers in a culture that put a high value on such endeavors. Having escaped Hungary during the Holocaust, the prodigy, though employed for a time at Princeton along with Einstein, never settled down. He simply continued life as he knew it—one long conversation about his favorite subject. My Brain Is Open is an eminently readable, fascinating peek into a brilliant mind.

MY BRAIN IS OPEN: THE MATHEMATICAL JOURNEYS OF PAUL ERDŐS, by Bruce Schechter (Simon & Schuster, 2000)

OTHER WORLDS

Scottish author Hal Duncan weaves an epic story of a battle between good and evil spanning many centuries and several alternate realities. The Vellum is a sacred book that contains the keys to power and creation through a magical language that can scar the skin as well as the soul of the acolyte. What makes Vellum stand out from all the other fantasies about sacred books is Duncan’s truly mesmerizing, incantatory prose style and his firm grasp of Sumerian, Babylonian, and Egyptian myth, which holds everything together and taps into our collective archetypes.

VELLUM: THE BOOK OF ALL HOURS, by Hal Duncan (Del Rey, 2006)

UP MY SLEEVE

Author Jim Steinmeyer has designed some of the great stage illusions of our time for performers David Copperfield, The Pendragons, Doug Henning, and many others. He is also an indefatigable student of the history of magic and an engaging writer on the subject. In Art and Artifice, he combines history, biography, and technology to discuss how illusions are products of their time, reflecting current fashions and interests, as well as the personalities of their creators. Steele MacKaye, P. T. Selbit, and Charles Morritt are just a few of the illusionists discussed.

ART AND ARTIFICE: AND OTHER ESSAYS OF ILLUSION, by Jim Steinmeyer; introduction by Neil Gaiman (Carroll & Graf, 2006)

IT’S MAGIC

First-time author Susanna Clarke creates a world teeming with fantasy, magic, and history. Mr. Norrell is a scholar with a library of books on the lost fairy magic of England, and he’s determined to bring back their powers. He’s having some success—he’s even using his knowledge to help Wellington beat back Napoleon—when the charismatic and reckless Jonathan Strange appears with his own brand of magic. The odd pair join forces, but soon their differences pull them apart, and the elements they have unleashed make Napoleon’s evil look like child’s play.

JONATHAN STRANGE AND MR. NORRELL, by Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury USA, 2004)

ROCK ME

Coleman makes a convincing and lively case that the “Fat Man,” with “Ain’t That a Shame” and “Blueberry Hill,” was the real father of rock and roll—not the “King,” with “That’s All Right.” Race and pop-music history, New Orleans and Domino’s infectious spirit are intertwined in this story of music, women, gambling, and more music, written by a man who loves New Orleans and Domino almost equally. Biographies like this one keep great men, music, and cities alive in our memories.

BLUE MONDAY: FATS DOMINO AND THE LOST DAWN OF ROCK ’N ROLL, by Rick Coleman (Da Capo Press, 2006)

“Extraordinary. . . . A work of Proustian scope and delicacy, by turns funny and deeply moving, that captures a civilization in its most revealing moment: that of its undoing.”—Lev Grossman, Time

Suite Française has only two of five pieces that the author mapped out just months before her death in Auschwitz in 1942. Némirovsky, a Russian Jew who fled the Bolsheviks as a teen and became a respected novelist in France, intended the work to imitate the structure of a musical suite. Now, 60 years later, these two “movements” are being published with the author’s notebooks as an appendix.

SUITE FRANÇAISE, by Irène Némirovsky; translated by Sandra Smith (Knopf, 2006)

TRUE CRIME

Book lovers love true crime stories that involve forgeries and literary hoaxes, and this is one of the best. Sotheby’s offers a previously undiscovered poem of Emily Dickinson, and soon after a library buys it, it is exposed as a fake. The expert forger’s work had passed carbon-14 dating tests, but all his meticulous work can’t prevent his being charged with two murders committed in the pursuit of his strange craft. Worrall keeps us interested at every turn, using all the latest forensic and psychological tools in his arsenal.

THE POET AND THE MURDERER: A TRUE STORY OF LITERARY CRIME AND THE ART OF FORGERY, by Simon Worrall (Plume, 2003)

IT’S A MYSTERY

Davidson caters to your every need for fun, food, and summer reading in her series of bestselling mysteries involving Goldy Schultz, a caterer with a tendency to get into trouble. In this, the latest, Goldy has a nice gig with a local law firm, but cooking soon turns to sleuthing when Dusty, a friend who’s a paralegal at the firm, is murdered. Goldy investigates, which of course leads her to her employers and into some very hot water. Along the way, she and her family provide enjoyable company and toothsome recipes.

DARK TORT: A NOVEL OF SUSPENSE (GOLDY BEAR CULINARY MYSTERIES), by Diane Mott Davidson (William Morrow, 2006)

THE LAST WESTERN

In Telegraph Days, the author of Lonesome Dove takes on the mythical West with a twinkle in his eye. The heroine, Nellie Courtright (“twenty-two, kissable, and of an independent disposition”), experiences—and triumphs over—the West of dime novels and Buffalo Bill. She faces down Jesse James and witnesses the gunfight at the OK Corral. And in the end she lives to see the bang-’em-up celebration of the epic American West in the movies.

TELEGRAPH DAYS, by Larry McMurtry (Simon & Schuster, 2006)

OUR TIMES

In this examination of America’s working poor, Shipler shows us a problem that defies easy answers. The working poor live all around us, from factory workers in Vermont to illegal farmhands in California to stock clerks at Wal-Mart. These hardworking people are one small paycheck away from destitution. Shipley shows us their plight with both statistics and stories and offers much to think about in the way of solutions. A well-written, important book that cries out for the nation’s attention.

THE WORKING POOR: INVISIBLE IN AMERICA, by David K. Shipler (Vintage, 2005)

It isn’t exactly a subject that has most readers racing to shell out their hard-earned cash, but the lavishly illustrated Puppetry makes a great gift for anyone interested in the performing arts. Blumenthal writes with intelligence and clarity about the appealing universe of puppets, from Punch and Judy to Julie Taymor’s beautiful Broadway production of The Lion King and much in between, including the formidable Miss Piggy.

PUPPETRY: A WORLD HISTORY, by Eileen Blumenthal (Harry N. Abrams, 2005)

PETER RABBIT’S CREATOR

This classic biography was reissued in 2001 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of The Tale of Peter Rabbit in 2002. The shy author-artist was self-taught, taking her inspiration from the English countryside where she grew up. Peter Rabbit first appeared in Potter’s picture-letters to nephews and nieces. When her work was rejected by publishers, she published it herself. Success followed slowly but surely. The late Margaret Lane was herself a notable writer, who wrote with a style and restraint seldom found in today’s biographies.

THE TALE OF BEATRIX POTTER, by Margaret Lane (1946; Frederick Warne, 2001)

OOKED FOR MURDER
“Collinsworth is a master of the tart putdown . . . and an ace tweaker of the conventions of the romance novel. This assured book works on so many levels.”—Booklist (starred review)

Isabel is a publishing prodigy at 28, thanks to her mentor (based on legendary literary agent Candida Donadio) and a childhood spent in the refuge of books. She pursues author James Willoughby in spite of his reputation as a world-class prick, and the novel opens with her telling her psychiatrist about her attempt to murder him after 12 years of marriage.

IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN WHAT HE SAID, by Eden Collinsworth (Arcade Publishing, 2006)

Sports Fact of the Day 9/1-9/3/2008

Sept. 1:
9/1/1968:
Denny McLain hurls a complete game seven-hitter and catches a line drive to start a triple play to lead the Detroit Tigers to a 7-3 victory over Baltimore. With the Orioles threatening in the third inning, McLain spears a hot shot from Boog Powell and commences a 1-6-3 triple play, catching Curt Blefary and Frank Robinson on the baselines. The win is McLain's 27th-he'll finish at 31-6, the first pitcher to record 30 wins in a season since Dizzy Dean for the Cardinals in 1934.

Birthdays:
Rocky marciano b. 1923
Guy Rudogers b. 1935
Tim Hardaway b. 1966
Cuttino Mobley b. 1974
Clinton Portis b. 1981

1946:
Patty Berg, a founding member of the Ladies Profewssional Golfers Association, defeated Betty Jameson in match play, 5 and 4, to win the inaugural Women's Open championship.

"Here is a puffy little gnome of a woman who trudges the fairway looking more like a resolute middle-aged housewife on her way to YWCA calisthenics class than she does a remarkable athlete. But when Patty Berg grasps a golf club, the butterfly emerges from the cocoon." -Betty Hicks, July 23, 1956

Packers Fact:
The most famous play in Vince Lombardi's offense was the "Packers Sweep," in which backs Paul Hornung or Jim Taylor followed pulling guards Jerry Kramer or Fuzzy Thurston.

Sept. 2:
Handling the commentary on another excruciatingly long American League baseball game, with its time dynamic markedly changed by the creation of the designated hitter rule, telecaster Jim Kaat remarked: "Our trivia question could easily be 'Who were the starting pitchers in today's game?'"

Birthdays:
Marv Throneberry b. 1933
Terry Bradshaw b. 1948
Jimmy Connors b. 1952
Eric Dickerson b. 1960
Lennox Lewis b. 1965

1907:
Ty Cobb made baseball history by stealing second base, third base, and home in the same game.

"He didn't file his spikes to razor sharpness and he didn't go out of his way to spike opponents, but he was a hard, harsh base runner who believed passionately, almost fanatically, that "the base path was mine." -Robert Creamer, August 19, 1985

Packers Fact:
Darick Holmes was the leading rusher for the 1998 Packers' team that won 11 games and earned a wild-card playoff berth. He had a modest total of 386 yards.

Sept. 3:
9/3/1991:
An arbitrator's ruling has an enormously positive effect on the fate and fortune of the New Jersey Devils when premier defenseman Scott Stevens is awarded to the club from St. Louis as compensation for the Blues' free agent signing of Brendan Shanahan from the Devils earlier this summer. Stevens will play 13 seasons with the Devils before retiring because of a concussion. His physical style and punishing open-ice checks establish a defensive benchmark for the Devils as they win three Stanley Cups and just miss a fourth during his stay with the club.

Birthdays:
Eddie Stanky b. 1916
Bennie Blades b. 1966
Luis Gonzalez b. 1967
Damon Stoudamire b. 1973
Jevon Kearse b. 1976

1977:
The great Japanese League slugger Sadaharu Oh smacked his 756th career home run and surpassed Hank Aaron as professional baseball's alltime home run king. Oh retired in 1980 with 868 homers.

"Oh connected with the sixth pitch in the bottom of the third against the Yakult Swallows, and the ball arced into the rightfield bleachers 328 feet away. The 55,000 fans leaped to their feet roaring "Banzai!" and milions at home watching on TV shouted "Yatta, yatta!" - he did it." -Robert H. Boyle, September 12, 1977

Packers Fact:
Upon taking over the Packers in 1959, Vince Lombardi immediately revamped the club's uniforms, settling on the design that remains for the most part to this day.

apckrfan's NFL picks: Week 1

Th., Sept. 4
WAS @ NYG - New York

Sun., Sept. 7
DET @ ATL - Atlanta
CIN @ BAL - Baltimore
SEA @ BUF - Seattle
NYJ @ MIA - New York
KC @ NE - New England
TB @ NO - New Orleans
STL @ PHI - Philadelphia
HOU @ PIT - Pittsburgh
JAC @ TEN - Tennessee
DAL @ CLE - Dallas
CAR @ SD - San Diego
ARI @ SF - Arizona
CHI @ IND - Indianapolis

Mon., Sept. 8
MIN @ GB - Minnesota (yes, I'm not picking the Packers)
DEN @ OAK - Denver