Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 2/16-2/17/2009

2/16/1987:
Indiana (21-2) barely survives the old-style cauldron of the Wisconsin Fieldhouse, getting a follow shot by Dean Garrett with four seconds left in triple overtime to defeat the Badgers, 86-85, at Madison. Garrett leads IU with 21 points, and Steve Alford adds 13 to become the all-time leading scorer in Indiana history (2,205 points). Next month in New Orleans, Keith Smart will hit a baseline jumper for Indiana, also with four seconds left, against Syracuse to clinch the third national title for the Bobby Knight-coached Hoosiers in 12 seasons.

Birthdays:
Bernie Geoffrion b. 1931
John McEnroe b. 1959
Kelly Tripucka b. 1959
Mark Price b. 1964
Jerome Bettis b. 1972

Packers Fact:
While at Colorado from 2003 to 2006, kicker Mason Crosby set 31 school records, including most career field goals (66) and most career points scored (307).

2/17/1994:
David Robinson, "the Admiral," became the fourth NBA player to record a quadruple-double, leading the San Antonio Spurs to a 115-96 rout of the Detroit Pistons. The former All-American at the Naval Academy has 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 blocked shots as the Spurs win their franchise record 11th straight game. He joins Nate Thurmond, Hakeem Olajuwon and former Spurs guard Alvin Robertson in the exclusive enrollment of the quadruple-double club.

Birthdays:
Red Barber b. 1908
Jim Brown b. 1936
Rick Majerus b. 1948
Michael Jordon b. 1963
Luc Robitaille b. 1966

Packers Fact:
Linebacker A.J. Hawk was the Packers' leadingn tackler in 2006. He was credited with 155 stops.

AT GETTYSBURG AND BEYOND

During Abraham Lincoln’s lifetime, what became known as the “Gettysburg Address” was little noted and soon forgotten. Gabor Boritt analyzes the political and historical context of the speech and shows how Lincoln’s poetic dedication became the ultimate word on the subject of sacrifice and redemption in America. The book comes with exhaustive appendices of various facts and controversies surrounding the address, providing just about everything Civil War buffs and Lincoln admirers could want to know about one of the sacred texts of American history.

THE GETTYSBURG GOSPEL: THE LINCOLN SPEECH THAT NOBODY KNOWS, by Gabor Boritt (Simon & Schuster, 2006)

BOOK LOVER’S PICK
Hats off to Taschen for reproducing, in very high quality and for a surprisingly affordable price, the breathtaking illustrations commissioned by Albertus Seba, an 18th-century Dutch apothecary who amassed an enormous collection of strange, beautiful flora and fauna and then financed the publication of their pictures. These gorgeous, hallucinatory images rival anything that computer enhancement could produce.

ALBERTUS SEBA’S CABINET OF NATURAL CURIOSITIES: THE COMPLETE PLATES IN COLOUR, 1734-1765, by Irmgard Müsch, Rainer Willmann, and Jes Rust (Taschen, 2005)

UNCLE JOHN’S ALMANAC

PRESIDENTIAL TRIVIA

Who originated the tradition of playing “Hail to the Chief” when a U.S. president enters a room on a formal occasion? Sarah Polk. Her husband, James K. Polk (president from 1845 through 1849), was so “physically undistinguished” that visitors to the White House often didn’t notice when he’d entered a room. So Mrs. Polk arranged for the Marine band to play this old Scottish anthem whenever he walked through the door. It was soon adopted as a tradition, and all presidents have honored it since.

ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, WAS ORIGINALLY CALLED PIG’S EYE.

On Yes, You Did ... Unfortunately:

I think-tide turning-see, as I remember-I was raised in the desert, but tides kind of-it's easy to see a tide turn-did I say those words?

President George W. Bush

On Cities, Real Big:

And the Bulls will be taking on the Boston Celtics from the city of Maryland.

Chicago Bulls sportscaster Johnny "red" Kerr (thanks to Ben Ortiz)

THE DARJEELING TOY TRAIN, WEST BENGAL, INDIA

“There isn’t a train I wouldn’t take, no matter where it’s going.”—EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY

SIWA OASIS

SIWA, WESTERN DESERT, EGYPT

Despite the recent arrival of television and a steady trickle of adventure tourism, this lush oasis remains an intriguing desert outpost, where the unique Siwan culture and customs continue much as they did when Alexander the Great passed through in 331 B.C.