Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/5/09

3/5/1972:
The Seattle SuperSonics defeat the Atlanta Hawks, 112-110, but suffer two season-ending injuries to All-Star forward Spencer Haywood and dead-eye shot Dick Snyder, who both slip and fall on the wet floor of the Seattle Center Coliseum, a facility notorious for its leaky roof. Decimated by the loss of these two scoring stars, the Sonics will lose eight of their last nine games and fail to qualify for the playoffs despite posting the best record in their brief expansion franchise history (47-35).

Birthdays:
Elmer Valo b. 1921
Scott Skiles b. 1964
Michael Irvin b. 1966
Paul Konerko b. 1976
Wally Szczerblak b. 1977

Packers Fact:
The Giants originally selected cornerback Frank Walker in the sixth round of the 2003 draft. He played four seasons in New York, before signing with the Packers in 2007.

BOY SOLDIER

An ordinary 12 year old in Sierra Leone, enjoying the small pleasures and mischief of a boy’s life, was suddenly caught up and driven from his village home by the chaos of civil war. Orphaned, lost, trying to survive, he was recruited into the army. They gave him an AK-47 and numerous drugs to prepare him for a life of murderous combat, turning a child into a remorseless killer. Finally, at age 15, he was rescued by UNICEF field workers and helped to regain the humanity and gentleness that the army and brutalizing warfare had stolen. A clearly written, extraordinary, and uniquely powerful memoir.

A LONG WAY GONE: MEMOIRS OF A BOY SOLDIER, by Ishmael Beah (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007)

On Questions, Unheard Of:

When you said that, there was some hesitation. Have you heard of others that you haven't heard about yet?

lawyer asking witness a question, in an actual courtroom transcript

WHEN NATURE CALLS

“Firemen in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk fled a burning sauna in panic after mistaking a three-meter boa constrictor for a fire hose, the Itar-Tass news agency reported. The reptile, named Yasha by its owner, had succumbed to smoke and lost consciousness on the floor before the emergency workers arrived to tackle the blaze. A member of the startled fire crew eventually heeded pleas by the sauna staff to save the snake and dragged it to safety.”

—Mail & Guardian (South Africa)

IT WOULD TAKE FIVE HUNGRY PIRANHAS ABOUT SEVEN MINUTES TO COMPLETELY DEVOUR A HORSE.

THE PACIFIC COAST, COQUIMBO REGION, CHILE

“The eye is pleased when nature stoops to art.”—RICHARD WILBUR