Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/11/2009

3/11/1979:
A wild melee erupts at the end of the first period at the Spectrum between the Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings. As the clubs leave the ice for the first intermission, bad blood spills over when Randy Holt of L.A. resumes an earlier fight with the Flyers' Frank Bathe, Bert Wilson of L.A. picks up an earlier tiff with Flyers defenseman Behn Wilson and Kings winger STeve Jensen squares off with Flyers center Mel Bridgeman. The free-for-all results in 290 penalty minutes being assessed by referee Wally Harris, 67 alone given to Randy Holt. There are 10 ejections, 5 to each team. Numerous NHL records are set in the chaotic brawl, but the rest of the game proceeds without further incident. The Flyers win, 6-3.

Birthdays:
Louise Brough b. 1923
Dock Ellis b. 1945
Bobby Ahreu b. 1974
Shawn Springs b. 1975
Elton Brand b. 1979

Packers Fact:
The Packers beat the Vikings 9-7 in week 16 of 2006 without the benefit of a touchdown. Dave Rayer kicked 3 field goals, including the game winner from 44 yards with 1:34 left, to account for all of Green Bay's points.

WHEN BOYS WERE BOYS

This international bestseller is a straight-ahead compendium of boy life before computers and video games invaded civilization. It explains how to make a bow and arrow, build a tree house, play stickball, make a periscope, and tan a hide. There are informational chapters on the Declaration of Independence, famous battles, baseball’s “Most Valuable Players,” and cloud formations. And there’s even a chapter on girls. Nostalgic and optimistic, the Dangerous Book is as much for dads as for sons.

THE DANGEROUS BOOK FOR BOYS, by Conn Iggulden and Hal Iggulden (Collins, 2007)

UNCLE JOHN’S DICTIONARY OF WORD ORIGINS

Bandana

Meaning: A large, colored handkerchief or neckerchief
Origin: This word derives from a Hindi word badhnu, meaning what today is called “tie-dyeing,” that is, dyeing a cloth but tying sections of it together so that they will not absorb the dye. Hence the spotty or patchy appearance of a genuine large silk bandanna.

NOW YOU KNOW: ROOM TEMPERATURE IS 68°F.

BREATH OF SMOKE, TONGUES OF FIRE

Kilauea, in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii, is the most active volcano in the world, but not the only one still belching smoke and fire. These volcanoes are among many that are still smoldering:

• Taal Volcano, Luzon, Philippines
• Santorini, Greece
• Hekla Volcano, Iceland
• Mount St. Helens, Oregon, USA
• Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat, Lesser Antilles

On Incredibly Intelligible Internet Insights:

The internet is not something you just dump something on. It's not a truck. It's a series of tubes. And if you don't understand, those tubes can be filled and if they are filled, when you put your message in, it gets in line and it's going to be delayed by anyone that puts into that tube enormous amounts of material, enormous amounts of material.

Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), during a debate on internet neutrality