Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 12/10/2008

12/10/1999:
Both national semifinals of the NCAA men's soccer tournament go into quadruple overtime before Santa Clara and Indiana emerge with victories at Ericsson Stadium in Charlotte. Shawn Parcell scores both goals for Santa Clara in a 2-1 win over UConn, and Ryan Mack scores the gamer for teh Hoosiers as they eliminate UCLA, 3-2. Two tired clubs will take the pitch less than 48 hours from now in the finals, with Indiana prevailing, 1-0, for its fifth national title and second in a row, coached by Jerry Yeagley.

Birthdays:
Allie Reynolds b. 1915
Ray Felix b. 1930
Mark Aguirre b. 1959
Paul Assenmacher b. 1960
Rob Blake b. 1969

1971:
In one of the most lopsided trades ever, the New York Mets dealt pitcher Nolan Ryan to the California Angels in exchange for Jim Fregosi.

"In his Mets days, there seemed to be no controllin' Nolan. Today he is capable of fulfilling all teh batting-cage metaphors: throwing a strawberry through a locomotive, a marshmallow into Fort Knox, etc. A wild Ryan in New York, however, might walk the opposition's entire roster as well as a passing poodle or two." -William Leggett, May 14, 1973

Packers Fact:
Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end Willie Davis served on teh Packers' board of directors from 1994 to 2005.

CHICK LIT

Meghan Fitzmaurice is the popular cohost of a morning talk show and leads the perfect life. What could go wrong? Everything. After Meghan, with her microphone still on, drops the F bomb while she’s interviewing a politician, her life goes haywire: Her husband leaves her, she becomes a social pariah, and then she disappears in Jamaica. Her plodding sister Bridget takes up the search, with the help of her adorable big lug of a boyfriend, Irving. With her fifth novel, Quindlen has hit her stride and delivers an intricate patchwork made up of the voices, intonations, and souls of New York.

RISE AND SHINE: A NOVEL, by Anna Quindlen (Random House, 2006)