Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 1/4/2009

1/4/2004:
"We want the ball and we're going to score," Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck blurts into an open mike during the overtime coin flip of today's NFC Wild Card playoff game at Lambeau Field with his Seahawks tied 27-27 with Green Bay. Moments later, Hasselbeck is is intercepted in the left flat by Green Bay cornerback Al Harris, who gallops untouched 52 yards for the winning touchdown. The 33-27 setback is a bitter pill for Hasselbeck, who backed up Brett Favre at Green Bay for two years, and for Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren, who also coached the Packers for seven years during the 1990s.

Birthdays:
Johnny Lujack b. 1925
Don Shula b. 1930
Floyd Patterson b. 1935
Kermit Alexander b. 1941
Garrison Hearst b. 1972

Packers Fact:
In 2007, Brett Favre broke the recrod for most wins by a starting quarterback in NFL history. The previous record holder was John Elway, who won 148 games for the Broncos from 193 to 1998.

A BROOKLYN STATE OF MIND

A shady old place, Brooklyn is brimming with stories and rich with an atmosphere of striving and mystery. Tim McLoughlin has gathered together 19 stories that show Brooklyn’s ever-fascinating ways with wickedness. From Pete Hamill’s Park Slope in “The Book Signing” to Abraham Pearl’s Williamsburg in “Hasidic Noir,” McLoughlin’s collection takes us to a borough of sly intrigue and delicious mendacity.

Akashic Books has published a whole Noir Series, which includes anthologies set in Los Angeles, Chicago, London, and other perf idious places—even the Twin Cities.

BROOKLYN NOIR, edited by Tim McLoughlin (Akashic Books, 2004)

THE SCALES OF JUSTICE

Plaintiff: Norreasha Gill of Lexington, Kentucky
Defendant: Kentucky radio station WLTO-FM
Lawsuit: In June 2005 Gill was listening to the station when she heard the host offer to give “one hundred grand” to the tenth caller at a specified time. Gill listened for several hours, called at the right time . . . and won! The next morning she went down to the station to pick up her prize, but was told by the station manager that she hadn’t won $100,000—she’d won one Nestle’s 100 Grand candy bar. Gill refused the candy and filed suit, demanding the $100,000 (she’d already promised her kids a minivan).

Guess the verdict.

WASHINGTON, D.C., HAS ONE LAWYER FOR EVERY 19 RESIDENTS.

Answer: D, I. M. Pei. The pyramid was commissioned by French president François Mitterand.

GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE

Q: The modern glass pyramid at the Louvre in Paris—vilified by some and loved by many since being added to the classical structure of the main museum in 1989—was designed by what renowned architect?

a) Renzo Piano b) Gae Aulenti c) Le Corbusier d) I. M. Pei

University Challenge host

Bamber Gascoigne: What was Gandhi's first name?

Contestant: Goosey, Goosey?

(thanks to Colin Griggs)