Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 2/7-2/8/09

2/7/2000:
Trailing by seven shots with seven holes to play, Tiger Woods catches fire to post a final-round 64 (a tourney record) and capture the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am by two strokes over Vijay Singh and Matt Gogel, earning his sixth straight victory on the PGA Tour. The pivotal hole of the final round is the 15th, where Woods holes out a sand wedge from 100 yards for an eagle and Gogel cards a bogey. Woods finishes in birdie-par-birdie fashion to complete his remarkable comeback and equal Ben HOgan's feat of six straight tourney wins in 1948. Byron Nelson won 11 straight events in 1945.

Birthdays:
Dan Quisenberry b. 1953
Rolf Benirschke b. 1955
Carney Lansford b. 1957
Juwan Howard b. 1973
Steve Nash b. 1974

Feb. 8:
Acknowledging hish own mortality after dunking the ball became something more than an effortless lark, basketball superstar Connie Hawkins conceded: "They'll either have to lower the basket or raise the floor, because the Hawk can't soar anymore."

Birthdays:
Joe Black b. 1924
Clete Boyer b. 1937
Marques Johnson b. 1956
Dino Ciccarelli b. 1960
Alonzo Mourning b. 1970

Packers Fact:
Daryn Colledge (a second-round pick) and Jason Spitz (a third-rounder) were the two rookies who became the Packers' primary starting guards in 2006.

A MAJOR TALENT

The author of the two acclaimed graphic novels, Persepolis and Persepolis 2, turns here to the story of her uncle, a well-known musician, who dies of grief eight days after his wife breaks his prized tar (a lutelike instrument) over her knee during an argument. His life, loves, career, and sadness are treated as a free-flowing hallucination by Marjane Satrapi with her signature humor and cultural tidbits, all told with powerful black-and-white illustrations.

CHICKEN WITH PLUMS, by Marjane Satrapi (Pantheon, 2006)

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

The setting is Boston in 1963, when the Strangler held the city in fear. But the real focus is on the family of a slain cop: his three complex, troubled sons and his widow, who is being courted by his former partner. The themes of love, loyalty, honesty, and revenge build movingly and powerfully toward a steamroller finish.

THE STRANGLER, by William Landay (Delacorte Press, 2007)

On thanks for the perspective:

Reporter: Where does the President stand on that?

Secretary of State Colin Powell: It's not where some people say where the President is, or people who are not even in the government who claim to know where the President is. The President hasn't decided yet where he is. So I think we've been able to put it into perspective.

On thanks for that insight!

You've got to put square pegs in square holes-not the other way around.

soccer player Steve Claridge

A RANDOM ORIGIN

WALLPAPER

It wasn’t long after the Chinese invented paper more than 2,000 years ago that they began gluing pieces of it to the walls of their homes. Wallpaper was also popular in medieval Europe, where it was a cheap alternative to tapestries and murals. But these early examples were only imitations of the items they replaced, depicting scenes similar to those woven into tapestries and painted in murals. It wasn’t until about 1688 that wallpaper as we know it came into being. Jean Papillon, a French engraver, invented the first paper with repeating patterns that matched along the edges when the sheets were pasted next to each other.

ALL CLAMS ARE HERMAPHRODITES.

PUNDAY FUNNIES

“Putting your hands in the earth is very grounding.”

—John Glover

“An art thief is a man who takes pictures.”

—George Carlin

“The antiques my wife buys at auctions are keeping me baroque.”

—Peter De Vries

BIG PICTURE: THE FIRST VCR, MADE IN 1956, WAS ABOUT THE SIZE OF A PIANO.

GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE

Q: When winter freezes set in, the people of Ottawa, Canada, put on skates and glide on this scenic linear rink. What is their ribbon of ice called?

a) The Hull Channel b) The Ottawa River c) The Rideau Canal d) The Winterlude

Answer: C, the Rideau Canal. In February, about 650,000 visitors show up for the Winterlude festival centered on the canal.