apckrfan's NFL picks: Week 13

Week 13:
Thu, Nov. 27:
TEN @ DET - Tennessee
SEA @ DAL - Dallas
ARI @ PHI - Arizona

Sun, Nov. 30:
SF @ BUF - Buffalo
BAL @ CIN - Baltimore
IND @ CLE - Indianapolis
CAR @ GB - Green Bay
DEN @ NYJ - NY Jets
MIA @ STL - Miami
NO @ TB - Tampa Bay
NYG @ WAS - Washington
ATL @ SD - Atlanta
PIT @ NE - Pittsburgh
KC @ OAK - Kansas City
CHI @ MIN - Minnesota

Mon, Dec. 1:
JAC @ HOU - Jacksonville

Sports Fact of the Day 11/15-11/26/2008

Nov. 15:
11/15/1969:
Led by All-American quarterback Archie Manning, Ole Miss annihilates unbeaten Tennessee, 38-0, handing the Vols their most one-sided loss in 46 years. Manning passes for one touchdown and rushes for another as the Rebels take a giant step toward a Sugar Bowl berth. The defeat is so galling to Tennessee linebacker Jack Reynolds that he obtains a hacksaw and expends his frustration by carving a '53 Chevy in half with the jagged blade. From this day forward, into a 14-year NFL career, he'll be known as Hacksaw Reynolds.

Birthdays:
Gus Bell b. 1928
Harland Svare b. 1930
Bob Dandridge b. 1947
Otis Armstrong b. 1950
Chris Terreri b. 1964

1973:
The Boston Bruins defenseman Bobby Orr set a club record when he scored seven points in a game against the Rangers.

"One of a defeseman's primary jobs is to get the puck out of his own end and down the ice, and some players carry out this task with all the grace and ease of a starving man eating a pomegranate through a screen door. Orr does it routinely." -Jack Olsen, December 21, 1970

Packers Fact:
The Packers have had just 14 full-time head coaches in their history, but four of them are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. They are Curly Lambeau (1921-1949), Vince Lombardi (1959-1967), Bart Starr (1975-1983), and Forrestt Gregg (1984-87).

Nov. 16:
11/16/1977:
In an extraordinarily diverse selection process whereby a record 11 players receive at least one first-place vote, Rod Carew of the Minnesota Twins wins the American League Most Valuable Player award. After flirting with hitting .400 for much of the year, Carew won his sixth AL batting title, finishing at .388, a career high. He also posted personal bests in hits (239), doubles (38), triples (16), homers (14), RBIs (100) and runs scored (128). Despite playing for a fourth-place club, Carew easily outpolls runner-up Al Cowens of Kansas City and third-place finisher Ken Singleton of Baltimore in the voting.

Birthdays:
Terry Labonte b. 1956
Corey Pavin b. 1959
Zina Garrison b. 1963
Dwight Gooden b. 1964
Amare Stoudemire b. 1982

Nov. 17:
11/17/1973:
Larry Harper returns the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown for the only points of the game as Miami (Ohio) completes its first undefeated regular season since 1955 with a 6-0 victory over Cincinnati. Coached by Bill Mallory, the Mid American Conference champion Redskins will improve to 11-0 and finish 15th nationally in the wire-service polls after they upset Florida, 16-7, in the Tangerine Bowl next month.

Birthdays:
Bob Mathias b. 1930
Jim Boeheim b. 1944
Tom Seaver b. 1944
Elvin Hayes b. 1945
Mitch Williams b. 1964

1991:
Dale Earnhardt clinched his fifth NASCAR driving championship hwith a fifth-place finish at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

"Frequently, according to his critics, Earnhardt drives his yellow-and-blue Monte Carlo SS as if it were a bulldozer. His aggressive style has stirred the passions of racing fans-delighting many, outraging some-given heartburn to officials and infuriated his fellow drivers." -Sam Moses, September 7, 1987

Packers Fact:
Kicker Chester Marcol once won an overtime game against Chicago (1980) by running 24 yards for a touchdown after his potential winning field-goal try was blocked and bounced right back to him!

Nov. 18:
11/18/1997:
Taking advantage of a Montreal Expos fire sale of top-drawer (and h igh-salaried) talent, the Boston Red Sox obtain ace pitcher Pedro Martinez in exchange for pitching prospects Carl Pavano and Tony Armas Jr. Martinez will give Boston seven exceptional years before leaving as a free agent. He'll go 117-37, winning two Cy Young awards and four American League ERA titles. In all four of his ERA leadership seasons, he'll also lead the AL in strikeouts-per-nine-innings and fewest-hits-allowed-per-nine-innings ratios. His final outing for Bostin is a victory in Game 3 of the 2004 World Series, putting the Red Sox on the bring of their first world title in 86 years.

Birthdays:
Warren Moon b. 1956
Dante Bichette b. 1963
Gary Sheffield b. 1968
Sam Cassell b. 1969
David Ortiz b. 1975

1978:
The Ohio State football team defeated Indiana, 21-18. It was the 238th and final victory for Buckeyes coach Woody Hayes.

"He drives his players with a ferocity that would make a Marine Corps drill instructor look like Mary playing with her lamb. The football that he coaches is about as inspiring as a radish. It has furnished the sport with a now-tired phrase-three yards and a cloud of dust." -Roy Terrell, September 24, 1962

Packers Fact:
Four former Packers were among the 17 charter enshrines into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963. They were Cal Hubbard, Don Hutson, Curly Lambeau and Johnny (Blood) McNally.

Nov. 19:
A nasty on-court skirmish between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills spills into the seating area when short-tempered Ron Artest of the Pacers goes after a fan who tossed a drink on him. The ensuing melee involves several Indiana players and dozens of fans. Five Pacers will be hit with lengthy suspensions and criminal assault charges, including Artest, who is banished by Commissioner David STerm for the balance of the season. Several fans are also charged with assault, and a clearly disconcerted NBA responds with increased sefcurity measures at all its arenas.

Birthdays:
Roy Campanella b. 1921
Bobby Tolan b. 1945
Bob Boone b. 1947
Gail Devers b. 1966
Kerri Strug b. 1977

1961:
Jim Brown of the Cleveland Browns rushed for 237 yards in a game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

"Brown rose from the crash in the deliberate way he rose from all others: slowly unfolding each body part, walking haltingly back to the huddle as if pained and exhausted, all the while conserving his energy for the next collision." -Peter King, September 19, 1994

Packers Fact:
Kicker Ryan Longwell led the Packers in scoring each of his nine years with the club before signing with the Vikings in 2006.

Nov. 20:

Tony Canzoneri retains his world lightweight championship with a 15-round split decision over Kid Chocolate at Madison Square Garden. Canzoneri wins at least 10 of the 15 rounds with his purposeful attack, boring in with body blows to his elusive Cuban challenger. Chocolate is clearly the crowd favorite with his flashy style, parrying ability and round-finishing flurries. The verdict is met with a torrent of catcalls and a shower of debris from many fans in the crowd of 19,000, who were enchanted by Kid Chocolate's valiant defense against Canzoneri's clear edge in punching power. The principals must be led from the ring by a police escort for their own safety.

Birthdays:
Don January b. 1929
Louis Dampler b. 1944
Joey Galloway b. 1971
J.D. Drew b. 1975
Carlos Boozzer b. 1981

1995:
Sweden's Annika Sorenstam won the LPGA Player of the Year Award, one year after winning the Rookie of the Year Award.

"Her approach to golf is mottled. There's an English quality to her game: She has won in all types of weather and on all types of surfaces. There's an American quality: Her devotion to practice is Hoganesque. And there's a distinctly Swedish quality: For Sorenstam, golf is a science, a science of the body and the mind." -Michael Bamberger, June 10, 1996

Packers Fact:
The title Blood and Sand on the 1922 motion-picture marquee served as the inspiration for future Pro Football Hall of Famer Johnny (Blood) McNally's alias.

Nov. 21:
11/21/1989:
San Francisco Giants outfielder Kevin Mitchell earns 20 of 24 first-place votes as the National League's Most Valuable Player. Just a fourth outfielder on the 1986 world champion Mets and subsequently traded twice (first to San Diego, then to the Giants), Mitchell helped San Francisco win the NL pennant. He led both leagues in homers (47), RBIs (125), extra-base hits (87), total bases (345) and slugging percentage (.635) and is a consensus choice by the BBWAA, earning 20 of 24 first place votes. Giants teammate Will Clark finishes second and Pedro Guerrero of St. Louis is third.

Birthdays:
Stan Musial b. 1920
Earl Monroe b. 1944
Troy Aikman b. 1966
Ken Griffey Jr. b. 1969
Michael Strahan b. 1971

1987:
Ferdinand nosed out Alysheba at the wire and won the Breeders' Cup Classic in a stirring photo-finish.

"Ferdinand took the lead, but Alysheba came bounding up alongside, nibbling at his margin with each stride [until] finally they were nose and nose. They hit the finish line in tandem, as if harnessed to the same chariot." -William Nack, November 30, 1987

Packers Fact:
Don Hutson once scored 29 points in a single quarter. He scored 4 touchdowns and kicked 5 extra points in the second quarter of a 57-21 romp over Detroit in 1945.

Nov. 22:
11/22/1958:
On the same day that baseball Mel Ott is buried in New Orleans following a tragic automobile accident, unbeaten and top-ranked LSU shows no mercy to Tulane at Sugar Bowl Stadium, routing the Green Wave, 62-0. Johnny Robinson scores four touchdown for the Chinese Bandits of head coach Paul Dietzel, and All-American Billy Cannon adds three more. Over 85,000, the largest crowd ever to see a football game in the South (to date), watch their local Tulane eleven get obliterated by the eventual 1958 national champions.

Birthdays:
Lew Burdette b. 1926
Yvan Cournoyer b. 1943
Billie Jean King b. 1943
Greeg Luzinski b. 1950
Boris Becker b. 1967

1992:
Mia Hamm scored three goals to lead the North Carolina Tar Heels to a 9-1 drubbing over Duke for their seventh straight NCAA title.

"Forceful yet lithe at 5'5" and 125 pounds, the 20-year-old Hamm inherited some of her nimbleness from her parents - William, a former fighter pilot, and Stephanie, a former ballerina. The rest she developed while playing on boys' teams after she began her career in earnest at age five." -Sally Guard, December 14, 1992

Packers Fact:
Rudolph Valentino starred in the 1922 filijm version of Blood and Sand, the motion picture title that inspired Johnny (Blood) McNally's alias. Valentino's character, Juan, starred in bullfighting. He was a toreador.

Nov. 23:
11/23/2002:
The Georgia State Panthers rout North Carlina A&T, 76-44, giving Coach Lefty Driesell the 783rd victory of his career and 100th at Georgia State. He becomes the first coach in NCAA history to have at least 100 wins at four different schools, having recorded 176 wins at Davidson, 348 at Maryland and 159 at James Madison. Only six weeks from now, in early January, Driesell will tire of the daily coaching grind and retire with 786 lifetime wins, fifth on the all-time list (at that time), and a .666 winning percentage in 41 years on the bench.

Birthdays:
Lew Hoad b. 1934
Luis Tiant b. 1940
Andrew Toney b. 1957
Vin Baker b. 1971
Saku Koivu b. 1974

Nov. 24:
After using a brand-new driver for an entire round and hitting just one of 14 fairways, Tiger Woods refused to blame the equipment: "The driver is fine. It's the dude hitting it."

Birthdays:
Ducky Medwick b. 1911
Yale Lary b. 1930
Oscar Robertson b. 1938
Dave Bing b. 1943
Keith Primeau b. 1971

1994:
The hapless Los Angeles Clippers won their first game of the season after 16 straight losses to avoid tying the NBA record for the worst start ever.

"For the better part of 14 years now, skinflint owner Donald T. Sterling has imbued his Clippers with all the dignity of those rotary nose-hair clippers. Yet with this current team he has unwittingly assembled a club to love." -Steve Rushin, December 19, 1994

Packers Fact:
Kicker Ryan Longwell (1997-2005) scored in all 144 games in which he played for Green Bay. That's the longest streak in club history.

Nov. 25:
11/25/1977:
Trailing 104-76 after three quarters at the Omni in Atlanta, the Milwaukee Bucks stage an incredible rally, outscoring the Hawks, 41-11, in the final 12 minutes to escape with a 117-115 victory. Junior Bridgeman and Alex English combine for 41 points off the bench for Milwaukee as the Bucks peel off a 17-0 streak at the start of the final period to get back within striking distance. Marques Johnson's two free throws with one second left complete the comeback before a stunned Hawks home crowd.

Birthdays:
Joe DiMaggio b. 1914
Bernie Kosar b. 1963
Cris Carter b. 1965
Anthony Peeler b. 1969
Donovan McNabb b. 1976

1971:
In one of the greatest college football games ever played, the unbeaten No. 1-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers edged the unbeaten No. 2-ranked Oklahoma Sooners, 35-31.

"There had been scads of games in the past with equal pressure and buildup. Games played in a brimming-over stadium for limb, life and a national championship. But it is impossible to stir the pages of history and find one in which both teams performed so reputably for so long." -Dan Jenkins, December 6, 1971

Packers Fact:
1994 was the last season that the Packers annually played three of their home games in Milwaukee.

Nov. 26:
11/26/1982:
In a battle of 9-1 teams and bitter regional rivals, Penn State beats Pittsburgh, 19-10, at Beaver Stadium, setting up a New Year's night showdown with Georgia for the national championship at the Sugar Bowl. Nittany Lions running back Curt Warner (22-118) eats up huge chunks of yardage and Nick Gancitano boots four field goals to ensure Penn State's win. Coached by Joe Paterno, PSU will get their long-awaited national title in New Orleans when they upend top-ranked Georgia, 27-23.

Birthdays:
Lefty Gomez b. 1909
Harry Carson b. 1953
Chuck Finley b. 1962
Mario Elie b. 1963
Shawn Kemp b. 1969

1978:
The Houston Oilers' rookie running back Earl Campbell rushed for 100 yards in a game for the seventh time, tying an NFL single -season rookie record.

"Rarely has one player given so much so often to so many. His n ame is Earl Campbell, and what the Longhorn from Tyler, Texas, has given the Earl-ers, as they are now called around Houston, is a running game and some respect." -Ron Reid, December 4, 1978

Packers Fact:
Defensive end Reggie White, who had 198 sacks in 15 NFL seasons (including six with Green Bay from 1993 to 1998), was known as the "Minister of Defense."

Book Rec of the Day 11/15-11/26/2008

(I swear my New Year's resolution is going to be not getting behind on these. Alas, real-life kicks my ass sometimes and these things just don't take priority.)

PRIZE WINNER
“Grips right up to the stunning jaw-dropper of an ending.”—Publishers Weekly

This winner of the 2004 National Book Award for Nonfiction reads like a novel. History professor Boyle tells the story of Dr. Ossian Sweet, the grandson of a slave, who moves his family from the ghetto to a nicer, all-white neighborhood. One night a threatening mob storms Sweet’s house and somebody shoots, killing a white man. The story becomes a riveting courtroom drama, with the NAACP and Clarence Darrow, fresh from the Scopes trial, arriving to defend Dr. Sweet.

ARC OF JUSTICE: A SAGA OF RACE, CIVIL RIGHTS, AND MURDER IN THE JAZZ AGE, by Kevin Boyle (Henry Holt, 2004)

SERIOUS FICTION

As faded former beauty Alison, feverish with hepatitis C, and struggling with drugs and worse life choices, trudges up a hill, she is looking backward at her life: her friendship with Veronica, who died of AIDS; other people she knew; and the exotic locales where she and other spoiled brats took drugs, ate pâté, and utterly failed to be touched by the world around them. With her startling metaphors and fierce, ugly poeticism, it’s not warm and fuzzy, but “Gaitskill’s implacable refusal of sentimentality is her great strength” (Washington Post Book World).

VERONICA: A NOVEL, by Mary Gaitskill (Pantheon, 2005)

LIFE AND TIMES
A writer for Food & Wine magazine, McCoy calls Robert Parker “the most powerful critic in any field, period.” Parker was a lawyer who, in his spare time, put out a little newsletter called The Wine Advocate, which gained a devoted following. He began rating wines on a 100-point scale, a score that can now make or break a wine. McCoy’s excellent book is not only a biography of Parker but the story of the rise of the American wine industry.

THE EMPEROR OF WINE: THE RISE OF ROBERT M. PARKER, JR., AND THE REIGN OF AMERICAN TASTE, by Elin McCoy (Harper Perennial, 2006

KILLER FICTION
Is that the odor of brimstone in the air? And the outline of a cloven hoof burned into the floor? Yes, and next to it, a well-known art critic is found dead, burned, and in the locked attic of a Long Island mansion. It appears that the Devil himself has been here. FBI Special Agent Pendergast returns with NYPD officers Vincent D’Agosta and Laura Hayward to track down the truth. D’Agosta and Pendergast make great foils for each other, and Pendergast’s romantic feelings for Hayward add richness to this fast-paced, riveting thriller.

BRIMSTONE, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Warner Books, 2005)

BOOK LOVER’S BIO

Edmund Wilson was probably the most influential literary critic of his time. He was friends with F. Scott Fitzgerald, Vladimir Nabokov, and many other literary lions. He slept with Edna St. Vincent Millay; he married Mary McCarthy and three other women and was faithful to none. He was a drunk, and many people considered him arrogant and self-centered. In this fair and thorough examination of Wilson, Dabney records all this scandal and much more, but in the end, one might agree with his fourth wife, who said, “When I read his work I forgive him all his sins.”

EDMUND WILSON: A LIFE IN LITERATURE, by Lewis M. Dabney (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005)

COSI FAN TUTTE

A young Mozart, no longer a child prodigy and not yet the master, meets the music copyist Fridolin Weber and her four enchanting daughters. He falls first for Aloysia. And then there are Josefa, Sophie, and Constanze, each one with her unique charms. Cowell, once an opera singer herself, does a beautiful job of realizing this 18th-century world of musicians and townsfolk and girls eager to marry. The story is told through the memories of a later, older Sophie, and it’s absolutely delightful.

MARRYING MOZART, by Stephanie Cowell (Penguin, 2004)

MOOD INDIGO

They were riveted denim pants, tough clothing to get working stiffs through the day without their seams splitting (and there’s more to the story of how Levi Strauss “invented” blue jeans). Now they’re worn by the working class and the shopping class alike. Sullivan gives jeans the works, from the nature of indigo dyes to the look of denim on Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. An absorbing examination of one of the quintessential American products.

JEANS: A CULTURAL HISTORY OF AN AMERICAN ICON, by James Sullivan (Gotham, 2006)

LITTLE BIG TOWN

Middle River, New Hampshire, looks like the perfect small town, but locals believe it was the inspiration for Grace Metalious’s scandalous novel Peyton Place. Annie Barnes, who left Middle River to become a famous author, returns to look into some suspicious matters surrounding her mother’s death. The townspeople believe that she is investigating them, digging up dirt for another Peyton Place. It’s a great premise to start from, and Delinsky knows how to develop the mystery, suspense, and romance to make it a first-rate, enjoyable read.

LOOKING FOR PEYTON PLACE: A NOVEL, by Barbara Delinsky (Scribner, 2005)

IN THE SPIRIT

At the turn of the 20th century, there was a fascination with the occult; and then, as now, the subject was controversial. Renowned psychologist and philosopher William James thought a scientific look at the supernatural would help sift the fraudulent from the genuine. The resulting studies are a fascinating look at the shadowy places where the material and the spiritual meet. Blum’s approach is even-handed and objective, and she has a very real talent for writing captivating narrative.

GHOST HUNTERS: WILLIAM JAMES AND THE SEARCH FOR SCIENTIFIC PROOF OF LIFE AFTER DEATH, by Deborah Blum (Penguin, 2006)

CRITICS RAVE
Precocious and motherless Blue Van Meer travels with her itinerant professor father until they settle in Stockton, North Carolina, for her senior year. There she falls in with a group of students who orbit around magnetic teacher Hannah Schneider. Complications ensue and a coming-of-age story becomes an intricately plotted murder mystery. Special Topics is a spectacular first novel, “a wry send-up of most of the Western canon and, most importantly, a sincere and uniquely twisted look at love, coming of age and identity.” (Publishers Weekly)

SPECIAL TOPICS IN CALAMITY PHYSICS, by Marisha Pessl (Viking, 2006)

UNITING NATIONS

Author of The Rise and Fall of Great Powers and Preparing for the Twenty-first Century, Paul Kennedy is well suited to write a history and study of the UN. The organization’s first 60 years have not been the triumphant march of peace and progress we might have hoped for, but Kennedy argues that the UN has created an “international civil society” and has become an increasingly indispensable organization on the world stage. A book of more than passing interest to anyone interested in the world’s future.

THE PARLIAMENT OF MAN: THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OF THE UNITED NATIONS, by Paul Kennedy (Random House, 2006)

IN OLD ISTANBUL

“[Readers will] be lofted by the paradoxical lightness and gaiety of the writing, by the wonderfully winding talk perpetually about to turn a corner, and by the stubborn humanity in the characters’ maneuvers to survive. It is a humanity whose lies and silences emerge as endearing and oddly bracing individual truths.”—Richard Eder, The New York Times Book Review

The Nobel Prize-winning Turkish novelist has produced a rich mystery involving a miniaturist who lies dead at the bottom of a well in 16th-century Istanbul. A historical saga full of delicious detail.

MY NAME IS RED, by Orhan Pamuk; translated from the Turkish by Erdag Göknar (Vintage, 2002)

Sports Fact of the Day 11/7-11/14/2008

Nov. 7:
11/7/1962:
Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Glenn Hall's extraordinary streak of 502 straight games, encompassing 30,060 consecutive minutes, ends when he's forced from the lineup with a pinched nerve in his back. Hall tries to give it a go but must be replaced by Denis DeJordy early in the game. He'll miss the next several games, bringing to a conclusion a feat of longevity on a sporting par with baseball's Lou Gehrig and, later, Cal Ripken Jr. In a dramatic conclusion to tonight's game, Johnny Bucyk of the Boston Bruines scores with only seven seconds left to forge a 3-3 tie at Chicago Stadium.

Birthdays:
Al Attlees b. 1936
Jim Kaat b. 1938
Joe Niekro b. 1944
Glendon Rusch b. 1974
Mark Philippoussis b. 1976

1962:
A back injury during an NHL game against Boston forced the Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Glenn Hall to end his incredible games-played streak after seven seasons.

"Hall holds the record of records, a mark we will swear, on the good book of Guinness, won't ever be broken. Between the start of the 1955 season and Nov. 7, 1962, Hall played 502 consecutive complete games in goal." -E.M. Swift, SI Classic, FAll 1992

Packers Fact:
Before Brett Favre took over as the full-time starting quarterback in 1992, Mike Tomczak was the last player to lead the Packers in passing. He had 1,490 yards through the air in 1991.

Nov. 8:
11/8/1964:
Mickey Wright shoots an LPGA record 62 in the final round of the Tall City Open golf tournament in Midland, Texas, to overcome a 10-stroke deficit and win her 10th tourney of the year. Wright beats Sherry Wheeler on the second hole of sudden death after Kathy Whitworth, the leader at the start of play, blew up to a 76. Wright's 62 betters the previous LPGA mark of 64 shared by Patty Berg and Rurth Jessen.

Birthdays:
Bobby Bowden b. 1929
Satch Sanders b. 1938
Angel Cordero Jr. b. 1942
Ed Kranepool b. 1944
Jimmie Giles b. 1954

1964:
Mickey Wright set an LPGA record for carding the lowest 18-hole score with a 62 in the first round of the Tall City Open in Midland, Texas.

"Mickey Wright, the best woman golfer of all time, is an Alexander the Great in Bermuda shorts. She is only 29, but for her there are very few records left to break, frontiers to push back or worlds to conquer." -Gwilym S. Brown, November 23, 1964

Packers Fact:

Former NFL great and 1958 Packers coach Scooter McLean's given first name was Ray.

Nov. 9:
11/9/1984:
Larry Bird, having a fabulous night (42 points in less than three quarters), and Julius Erving, having a miserable night (only 6 points), get tangled up and come to blows at the Boston Garden. With Bird and the Celtics leading the 76ers handily, 95-75, late in the third period, the two superstars square off and Bird throws a wild punch at Dr. J before Philadelphia center Moses Malone grabs Bird in a headlock and both benches empty. The sight of the two All-Star rivals losing their cool stuns everyone into a conciliatory mode, and order is quickly restored. After Bird and Erving are both ejected, Boston wins easily, 130-119.

Birthdays:
Bob Gibson b. 1935
Tom Weiskopf b. 1942
Teddy Higuera b. 1958
David Duval b. 1971
Adam Dunn b. 1979

Nov. 10:
11/10/1948:

Overstocked with starting pitchers, the Detroit Tigers make a tremendous blunder when they deal 21-year-old left-handed prospect Billy Pierce to the Chicago White Sox for catcher Aaron Robinson. Pierce will blossom into one of baseball's best pitchers over the next 16 years, winning 208 games, 186 of them with the White Sox. At various times, he'll lead the American League in ERA, complete games and strikeouts, and post two 20-win seasons.

Birthdays:
Norm Cash b. 1934
Jack Clark b. 1955
Mike Powell b. 1963
Isaac Bruce b. 1972
Shawn Green b. 1972

1983:
"Marvelous" Marvin Hagler successfully defended his world middleweight boxing title with a 15-round decision over Roberto Duran.

"Duran is an imaginative actor onstage, an orginal who creates ring drama by the mere feint of his head. Hagler is [a stalker] whose ring presence can be likened to that of a mechanic in a garage - speak softly and carry a big wrench." -William Nack, November 21, 1983

Packers Fact:
Billy Howton led the Packers in receiving for six consecutive years from 1952 to 1957. But when he made contract demands in 1959, Vince Lombardi shipped him to Cleveland.

Nov. 11:
11/11/1964:
Seven-year-old Kelso wins the Washington D.C. International at Laurel Race Court in Maryland in record time by four and a half lengths over Gun Bow. Kelso's time for the mile and a half on turf is an American record 2:23-4/5, just edging the 2:24 set by Pardo at Santa Anita last year. It's Kelso's first win in this event after placing second three years in a row. The magnificent gelding's triumph caps a remarkable and unprecedented run of five straight years being named Horse of the Year (160-64).

Birthdays:
Rudy LaRusso b. 1937
Fuzzy Zoeller b. 1951
Roberto Hernandez b. 1964
Damion Easley b. 1969
Oksana Baiul b. 1977

1944:
Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis led the U.S. Military Academy football team to a 59-0 whitewash over Notre Dame. The loss was the worst in Fighting Irish history.

"Blanchard and Davis are destined to march in lockstep through time, inseparably bound by mutually extraordinary deeds. They will forever by what George Trevor of the old New York Sun called them long ago in a moment of matchless inspiration, Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside. It is almost impossible for those who remember them to say one name without the other." -Ron Fimrite, November 21, 1988

Packers Fact:
The Packers have won Super Bowl I, II and XXXI.

Nov. 12:
11/12/1977:
President Jimmy Carter has mixed emotions as he watched Navy upset Georgia Tech, 20-16, at Annapolis. A native of Plains, Georgia, Carter attended Georgia Tech before transferring to the Naval Academy in his undergraduate days. Today, he sits for one half on each side of the field and watches midshipman Joe Gattuso rush 38 times for 142 yards to anchor a ground attack that leads to a Navy victory. Glenn Flanagan's interception near the goal line with time running out preservers Navy's winning margin.

Birthdays:
Tuffy Leemans b. 1912
Ken Houston b. 1944
Nadia Comaneci b. 1961
Sammy Sosa b. 1968
Corey Maggete b. 1979

1994:
The Olympic sprinting championn Wilma Rudolph died. Rudolph overcame childhood polio and won three gold medals at the 1960 Summer Olympics.

"A sprinter's world is measured out in 10ths of a second, a mayfly's dance between the starter's gun and the tape. For Wilma Rudolph, the most elegant and revered woman sprinter of all, life was more a distance race, an often hard road, well and courageously run." -Alxander Wolff and Richard O'Brien, November 21, 1994

Packers Fact:
More than 60 years after his retirement, end Don Hutson still ranks third on the Packers' all-time list with 488 career catches.

Nov. 13:
Winning a college football national championship often boils down to fortuitous circumstances or just plain good luck as Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden admits: "To have the kind of year you want to have, something has to happen that you can't explain why it happened. Something has to happen that you just can't coach."

Birthdays:
Steve Bilko b. 1928
Gil Perreault b. 1950
Vinny Testaverde b. 1963
Pat Hentgen b. 1968
Ron Artest b. 1979

1985:
Lynette Woodard, an All-America basketball player at Kansas and a member of the gold medal-winning 1984 U.S. Olympic team, scored seven points to make history as the first woman to play for the Harlem Globetrotters.

"She [has] the prototype women's basketball structure, muscles and curves perfectly coordinated. She's the one who floats, gazelle-like, at wing guard or small forward; who hungers for penetration and offensive rebounds; who leads by a quiet presence and wokraholic's sense of duty." -Curry Kirkpatrick, July 23, 1984

Packer Fact:
The Bears beat the Packes in the first divisional playoff game in NFL history. Green Bay and Chicago tied atop the NFL's Western Division in 1941 with 10-1 records. The Bears won the playoff 33-14 to earn a spot in the league championship game.

Nov. 14:
11/14/1973:
Legendary Celtics center Bill Russell returns to Boston Garden for the first time as an opponent as head coach of the Seattle SuperSonics. He receives a warm, almost reverent reception, but the Celtics overcome the emotion and win the game, 110-104. After serving as a player-coach for the last three seasons of his Celtics career, Russell will put in four years in Seattle, compiling a 162-166 record before moving on. He'll never take a coaching job again.

Birthdays:
Jimmy Piersall b. 1929
Jack Sikma b. 1955
Curt Schilling b. 1966
Dana Stubblefield b. 1970
Lawyer Milloy b. 1973

1981:
In a game against Washington, Marcus Allen of Southern California became the first collegiate running back to gain 2,000 yards rushing.

"He did it early in the first quarter, on his fourth carry, when he cruised around end on the oh-so-familiar Student Body Right. He eluded several tacklers and slogged on for 13 yards before being decked by Husky linebacker Ken Driscoll. That run brought him to 2,000 yards exactly." -Douglas S. Looney, November 23, 1981

Packers Fact:
Chester Marcol is the only pure kicker in Packers' history to lead the league in scoring more than once. He was the NFL's best in both 1972 and 1974.

Book Rec of the Day 11/7-11/14/2008

POETRY

For the Puritans who crossed the Atlantic in 1630, the New World often brought illness, death, bitter cold, and starvation. Yet, among the survivors, Anne Bradstreet kept alive a spark of poetry, along with a significant piece of early-American history. Daughter of first deputy governor Thomas Dudley and wife of future governor Simon Bradstreet, Anne was not only the first American poet but also a bestselling one, mother of eight, loving wife, model citizen, and independent thinker.

MISTRESS BRADSTREET: THE UNTOLD LIFE OF AMERICA’S FIRST POET, by Charlotte Gordon (Little, Brown, 2005)

GOTHIC FICTION

Egan’s latest novel displays her gift for sly parody and quick-change narration. The novel is purportedly written by Ray, a prison inmate. In gleefully dopey, druggy lingo, he plunges us into a noir-gothic tale of two cousins reunited after 20 years to restore an old European castle for travelers. Meanwhile, Ray’s own story also picks up and begins to take shape. Haunting yet playful, this multitasking novel by “a refreshingly unclassifiable novelist” (Madison Smartt Bell, The New York Times Book Review) will keep you on your toes.

THE KEEP, by Jennifer Egan (Knopf, 2006)

ITALIAN STYLE

“Laugh-out-loud funny.”—International Herald Tribune

Italian journalist Severgnini turns his witty, gently chiding eye to his own country after well-received looks at England and America (Ciao, America! An Italian Discovers the U.S.). It’s a light read, focusing on food, sex, television, and everyday interactions at the grocery, home, and job site, honed by his knowledge that these are the ways local cultures express themselves in spite of the erosions of globalization.

LA BELLA FIGURA: A FIELD GUIDE TO THE ITALIAN MIND, by Beppe Severgnini (Broadway, 2006)

CRITICS RAVE
“A small masterpiece, a compact, strange work of Chekhovian grace, grief, wit and compassion.”—The Washington Post

An anonymous woman turns up in the morgue and no one claims her. When a newspaper threatens to expose the inhumanity of the corporation where she worked as a janitor in letting her die so humbly, a human-resources worker is assigned to trace her roots, which he does, allowing her remarkable life to become intertwined with his own. Yehoshua is an Israeli novelist who summons, among aficionados, murmurs of Nobel status.

A WOMAN IN JERUSALEM, by A. B. Yehoshua; translated from the Hebrew by Hillel Halkin (Harcourt, 2006)

OUR TIMES

Nancy Altman, a pension rights advocate and expert on Social Security, provides a very readable, cogent, and balanced analysis of the history and workings of our social security system, from its beginning with FDR (the only man Prescott Bush, Dubya’s grandfather, “truly hated”) to its attempted undoing by George W. Bush. Read this for the background and to arm yourself for the battle which undoubtedly is not yet over.

THE BATTLE FOR SOCIAL SECURITY: FROM FDR’S VISION TO BUSH’S GAMBLE, by Nancy J. Altman (Wiley, 2005)

THRILLER FICTION

Camille Preaker, who is a cub reporter in Chicago, is sent back to her Missouri hometown to investigate two women’s grisly murders. She is also a woman with sad secrets of her own, and the scars of many self-inflicted childhood cuts to prove it. This relentlessly tension-building, stylish, dark thriller, which won admiring reviews from masters such as Stephen King, shows that you can go home again, but you probably shouldn’t.

SHARP OBJECTS: A NOVEL, by Gillian Flynn (Shaye Areheart Books, 2006)

A WHALE OF A STORY

While training for a long-distance swim in cold California waters in the early morning, Lynne Cox feels something swimming beneath her. It turns out to be an 18-foot baby gray whale. Though tired, Cox knows that if she goes in to shore, the whale, separated from its mother, will follow her and die stranded on the beach. Hour after hour she swims with her new friend Grayson to find his mother, as poetic observations of the icy, inky sea and its patterns and movements and strange denizens alternate with fear, exhilaration, and determination.

GRAYSON, by Lynne Cox (Knopf, 2006)

PRIZE WINNER
Is it a murder mystery? A noir thriller? A stylistic tour de force? Yes! Jonathan Lethem has created an unforgettable character in loyal, sweet-natured, Tourette’s-afflicted Lionel Essrog. This sometimes hilarious and always absurd story takes us in and around Brooklyn and into the unfamiliar point of view of a man with Tourette’s syndrome. The result is a little like The Sopranos: surprisingly lyrical, complexly masculine, and toughly tender. Lethem received the National Book Critics Circle Award for Motherless Brooklyn.

MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN, by Jonathan Lethem (Vintage, 2000)

apckrfan's NFL picks: Week 11

Week 11:
Thu, Nov. 13:
NYJ @ NE - NY Jets

Sun, Nov. 16:
DEN @ ATL - Atlanta
DET @ CAR - Carolina
PHI @ CIN - Philadelphia
CHI @ GB - Green Bay
HOU @ IND - Indianapolis
TEN @ JAC - Tennessee
NO @ KC - New Orleans
OAK @ MIA - Miami
BAL @ NYG - NY Giants
MIN @ TB - Tampa Bay
STL @ SF - San Francisco
ARI @ SEA - Arizona
SD @ PIT - Pittsburgh
DAL @ WAS - Washington

Mon, Nov. 17:
CLE @ BUF - Buffalo

apckrfan's NFL picks: Week 10

Week 10:
Thu, Nov. 06:
DEN @ CLE - Denver

Sun, Nov. 08:
NO @ ATL - Atlanta
TEN @ CHI - Tennessee
JAC @ DET - Jacksonville
BAL @ HOU - Baltimore
SEA @ MIA - Miami
GB @ MIN - Green Bay
BUF @ NE - New England
STL @ NYJ - NY Jets
CAR @ OAK - Carolina
IND @ PIT - Pittsburgh
KC @ SD - San Diego
NYG @ PHI - NY Giants

Mon, Nov. 10:
SF @ ARI - Arizona

BYE: Cincinnati, Dallas, Tampa Bay, Washington

Sports Fact of the Day 11/3-11/6/2008

Nov. 3:
11/3/1992:
The New York Yankees make a brilliant trade with Cincinnati, acquiring Paul O'Neill in exchange for Roberto Kelly. After not hitting above .276 in six seasons with the Reds, O'Neill will never hit below .300 in his first six seasons with the Yankees. In the six-year period from 1995 to 2000, he'll average 105 RBIs per season while earning kudos for his firebrand style of play and resolute approach to the game. Hard-to-please Yankees owner George Steinbrenner once dubbed O'Neill his "warrior," a tribute that resonates with fans and the media for the balance of his career.

Birthdays:
Roy Emerson b. 1936
Larry Holmes b. 1949
Phil Simms b. 1955
Karch Kiraly b. 1960
Armando Benitez b. 1972

1993:
Greg Maddux became the first pitcher since Sandy Koufax to win the National League Cy Young Award in consecutive years.

"Tom Seaver had Steve Carlton, and Jim Palmer had Catfish Hunter, but Maddux has no peers. No pitcher has been this much better than his contemporaries since Los Angeles Dodgers great Sandy Koufax, whose reign concluded with his retirement in 1966, the year Maddux was born." -Tom Verducci, May 1, 1995

Packers Fact:
Cecil Isbell, who became a prolific passer in the early 1940s was the top rusher for the Packers' 1939 NFL champs. He gained 407 yards on the ground that year.

Nov. 4:
11/4/2001:
As New York City recovers from the destruction of the World Trade Center and the loss of over 2,800 lives, the festival atmosphere of the annual NYC Marathon helps to buoy spirits as over 30,000 runners traverse all five boroughs of the unbowed metropolis. Despite monitoring the discovery of anthrax in some recently delivered local mail, indefatigable New York mayor Rudy Giuliani fires off the starting cannon on Staten Island. Tesfaye Jifar of Ethiopia wins the men's race in 2:07.43 and Margaret Okayo of Kenya wins the women's race in 2:24.21-both setting new time standards for the 32-year-old event.

Birthdays:
Dick Groat b. 1930
Steve Mariucci b. 1955
Eric Karros b. 1967
Carlos Baerga b. 1968
Orlando Pace b. 1975

1996:
Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees received all 28 first-place votes and won unanimous selection of the American League's Rookie of the Year award.

"The Yankees are hoping Jeter is a young Ripken or Larkin, an all-around shortstop with a sizzling bat to match his solid glove. ... Jeter is long and lean (6-foot, 3-inches, 185 pounds), with the body of an NBA two-guard and the raw athletic ability to play any position. He just happened to choose shortstop." -Gerry Callahan, May 6, 1996

Packers Fact:
The Packers won three consecutive league titles from 1929 to 1931, then again from 1965 to 1967. No other teams have won three consecutive league championships.

Nov. 5:
11/5/1988:
After bouncing all over town (the Olympia, Cobo Arena and the Silverdome) since arriving in Detroit in 1957 from Fort Wayne, Indiana, the Detroit Pistons finally open their own building tonight and it's a beauty-the Palace of Auburn Hills. With a pinkish exterior, lavender interior and 22,000 seats, it's soon recognized as the NBA's most sylish arena. In tonight's debut game, the Pistons defeat the expansion Charlotte Hornets, 94-85. Ensconced in their new digs and embracing a bruising style of play embodied by Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahom and Dennis Rodman, the self-styled "Motor City Bad Boys" will go on to win back-to-back NBA Titles in 1989 and '90.

Birthdays:
Bill Walton b. 1952
Javy Lopez b. 1970
Johnny Damon b. 1973
Alexei Yashin b. 1973
Jerry Stackhouse b. 1974

1927:
Walter Hagen won the PGA Championship 1 up over Joe Turnesa at the Cedar Crest Country Club in Dallas, Texas. The triumph hwas Hagen's fourth PGA Championship in a row.

"It was perhaps inevitable that his outsized personality would overwhelm his considerable achievements. So many golfers have had their moments since he, so many years ago, changed the game from a rich man's pastime to a national craze. But make no mistake, "the Haig" could play golf." -Ron Fimrite, June 19, 1989

Packers Fact:
End Don Hutson joined the Packers in 1935. By the next year, he was the NFL's top pass catcher. He went on to lead the league 8 times in 10 seasons from 1936 to 1945.

Nov. 6:
11/6/2004:
Trailing Oklahoma State, 35-7, the Texas Longhorns explode for 49 unanswered points to win, 56-35, at Darrell Royal Stadium in Austin. Cedric Benson scores five touchdowns to fuel the greatest comeback victory in 111 years of Texas football. Vince Young throws a five-yard TD pass to Bo Scaife with only three seconds left in the first half to jump-start the Longhorns' uphill road to victory. They'll win the rest of their games, including a 38-37 victory over Michigan in the Rose Bowl, finishing 11-1 and earning a No. 5 national ranking.

Birthdays:
Ray Perkins b. 1941
John Candelaria b. 1953
Erik Kramer b. 1964
Pat Tillman b. 1976
Lamar Odom b. 1979

1987:
The 5-foot, 3-inch Washington Bullets rookie guard Muggsy Bogues played in his first professional basketball game, becoming the shortest player in NBA history.

"Curiosity seekers will hunch forward in their seats, cute-aholics will swoon, Centers will jokingly adjust their kneepads, and large guards prone to posting up will lick their chops. Ninth-graders will instantly identify." -Hank Hersch, July 20, 1987

Packers Fact:

Scooter McLean resigned as the Packers' head coach after a 1-10-1 season in 1958, paving the way for Vince Lombardi's arrival.

Book Recs of the Day 11/3-11/6/2008

DR. DOLITTLE
You may know Cesar Millan as the Dog Whisperer, from National Geographic’s TV series of the same name. Though Millan is more fun to watch than to read, his book will help reinforce what he sets forth on screen and will make his training methods easier to apply to your own pets. He teaches you to understand what dogs are “saying,” why they do what they do, and how to make them behave well.

CESAR’S WAY: THE NATURAL, EVERYDAY GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING AND CORRECTING COMMON DOG PROBLEMS, by Cesar Millan and Melissa Jo Peltier (Harmony, 2006)

CLASSIC

“Obscene, horrid, repellent . . . driving, urgent, candid, searing . . . a fascinating, compelling book!”—New York Post

In one of the most successful literary takes on presidential campaigning ever, Thompson chronicles the year of Nixon vs. McGovern. He offers an insightful look at the adrenaline-soaked ambitions of presidential hopefuls, their staffs, and the press that follows after them. Thompson’s writing is utterly candid, wise, and knowing.

FEAR AND LOATHING: ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL ’72, by Hunter S. Thompson (1973; Warner Books, 2006)

FICTION SHORTS

Anything new by T. C. Boyle is good news, and a collection of short stories is especially good news, since it’s the perfect introduction for readers who don’t yet know him. You will again find stories that feature animals, strange conversations in bars, cheerful ebullience cheek by jowl with ominous menace. T. C. Boyle feels like one of us—an up-to-date guy with exposure to many elements we recognize in the modern world—but he is in fact that rare bird, “a writer who can take you anywhere” (The New York Times).

TOOTH AND CLAW: AND OTHER STORIES, by T. Coraghessan Boyle (Viking, 2005)

WAR OF THE SEXES

In he said/she said format, Gottlieb (author of Stick Figure: A Diary of My Former Self and frequent NPR correspondent) and Bleyer (writer for The Daily Show) deliver some actual dating advice among hilarious true “anecdotes.” This is one of the only dating books you’ll still respect in the morning.

I LOVE YOU, NICE TO MEET YOU: A GUY AND A GIRL GIVE THE LOWDOWN ON COUPLING UP, by Lori Gottlieb and Kevin Bleyer (St. Martin’s Press, 2006)

apckrfan's NFL picks: Week 9

Sun., Nov. 2:
NYJ @ BUF - Buffalo
DET @ CHI - Chicago
JAC @ CIN - Jacksonville
BAL @ CLE - Baltimore
TB @ KC - Tampa Bay
HOU @ MIN - Minnesota
ARI @ STL - Arizona
GB @ TEN - Green Bay *
MIA @ DEN - Denver
DAL @ NYG - NY Giants
ATL @ OAK - Atlanta
PHI @ SEA - Philadelphia
NE @ IND - New England

Mon., Nov. 3:
PIT @ WAS - Washington

*I'm really not picking the Packers just to pick them. They're coming off a bye week, Rodgers is feeling better, and the win against Indy for Tennessee was an emotional and difficult one played on a Monday night. So, due to the bye week for Green Bay and short week for Tennessee I'm picking Green Bay.

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 11/1 & 11/2/2008

Nov. 1:
11/1/1970:
Forty-three-year-old George Blanda kicks a 48-yard field goal with three seconds left to lift the Oakland Raiders into a 17-17 tie with their archrivals, the Kansas City Chiefs. Only a minute earlier, a nasty row between the bitter antagonists short-circuited a Chiefs drive and allowed Oakland to regain possession with enough time to get the tying points. After a 19-yard run by Chiefs quarterback Lenny Dawson, Raiders defensive end Ben Davidson is whistled for piling on. Seeking immediate payback, Chiefs receiver Otis Taylor sucker-punches Davidson but gets an offsetting misconduct penalty for his trouble, negativing Dawson's long gainer. After a Kansas City punt, Raiders QB Daryle Lamonica moves his team into field goal range for Blanda's tying placement.

Birthdays:
Vic Power b. 19331
Gary Player b. 1935
"Jumping Joe" Caldwell b. 1941
Ted Hendricks b. 1947
Fernando Valenzuela b. 1960

1969:
In a 51-42 victory over St. Louis, New Orleans Saints quarterback Billy Kilmer threw a career-high six touchdown passes.

"If Kilmer, who is football's answer to a knuckleball pitcher, can get the ball to his talented catchers, the Saints should have a really good passing attack. Kilmer may be another Bobby Layne. Layne's passes sometimes traveled end over end, but they were almost always on target." -Tex Maule and Edwin Shrake, September 16, 1968

The 1936 NFL title game between Green Bay and Boston was played at the Polo Grounds in New York City. Boston was to host the game (the home site alternated each year between the Western Division winner and the Eastern Division winner), but owner George Preston Marshall felt that he was not getting enough support in that town and moved the game to New York City. The next year, the club moved to Washington.

Nov. 2:
11/2/2005:
Martin Havlat and Daniel Alfredsson each score four goals to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 10-4 rout of the Buffalo Sabres. Dany Heatley scores the other two Ottawa goals after scoring four goals himself against Toronto just three nights ago. The high-scoring Senators will go on to win the Eastern Conference title and lead the league in goals scored with 314, but the Sabres will have the last word when they oust the Senators from the playoffs next spring.

Birthdays:
Bill Mosienko b. 1921
Whitey Skoog b. 1926
Ken Rosewall b. 1934
Willie McGee b. 1958
Sidney Ponson b. 1976



A BOOK LOVER’S GIFT
Frances Mayes follows Under the Tuscan Sun and Bella Tuscany with this warm love letter of a book on the good life and how it’s lived in heavenly Tuscany. “In the distance you see villages crowning a hill or protectively stacked against a slope,” she writes. “Every one pulls me toward its altarpiece, special triptych, arched gate, gothic window, or fountain. Every one has its opinionated, eccentric, friendly, and intrinsic characters who make each place deeply itself.” There you have it. With recipes to spur your appetite and exquisite photographs by Bob Krist, this is a book to dream on.

IN TUSCANY, by Frances Mayes with Edward Mayes (Broadway, 2000)

EVER GREAT
No one does political fiction like Vidal. Washington, D.C. was the first written of Vidal’s Narratives of Empire series of American-history novels, and it is as engaging and smart as the best of them. It follows the fortunes of newspaper tycoon Blaise Sanford; James Burden Day, the powerful senator who has his eye on the presidency; and various other Washington “low lifes.” You might want to cast your vote before you read this classic portrayal of our political establishment.

WASHINGTON, D.C.: A NOVEL, by Gore Vidal (Vintage, 2000)