Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 4/5-4/6/2009

4/5/2004:
Clyde "the Glide" Drexler, Maurice Stokes and Jerry Colangelo headline a group of six players elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Drexler excelled in the NBA, primarily with the Portland Trail Blazers after being part of basketball's tallest fraternity, Phi Slama Jama at the University of Houston.. Stokes was a muscular forward in the 1950s who was paralyzed after a tragic fall in an NBA game, and Colangelo is the longtime CEO of the Phoenix Suns. Rounding out the new members are Lynette Woodard, a star collegian at Kansas, Olympic gold medalist and the first female member of the Harlem Globetrotters. Drazen Dalipagic, a Yugoslavian star in the 1970s and '80s; and Bill Sharman as a coach (he was already in the HOF as a player).

Birthdays:
Doggie Julian b. 1901
Doug Favell b. 1945
Rennie Stennett b. 1951
Brad Van Pelt b. 1951
Ike Hilliard b. 1976

4/6/2001:
President George W. Bush throws out the first pitch as the Milwaukee Brewers open their brand-new $400M home, miller Park. Richie Sexson's eighth-inning homer for the Brew Crew makes it a successful debut as Milwaukee edges Cincinnati, 5-4. The new facility, with a retractable roof, replaces County Stadium, which had hosted big-league games since 1953 (with an interruption from 1966 to '69, not counting several transplanted Chicago White Sox home dates). Miller Park's completion was delayed twice, first by financing issues and then by a tragic crane accident that claimed three lives.

Birthdays:
Ernie Lombardi b. 1908
Spider Lockhart b. 1943
Bert Blyleven b. 1957
Sterling Sharpe b. 1965
Bret Boone b. 1969

Packers Fact:
In 2005, Tennessee retired uniform number 92 in honor of former Volunteers' (and Packers') star Reggie White. But defensive tackle Justin Harrell was allowed to continue wearing the number until he finished his college career.

BLOODY BEDFORD

Set in the rain-drenched and dying town of Bedford, Maine, this heart-stopper revolves around troubled but beautiful Susan Marley, whose death sets off horrors of gruesome and graphic violence. Sarah Langan’s first novel is a concoction of horror “akin to the more ambitious work of Stephen King” (Publishers Weekly). A happy and bloody debut for horror fiction fans.

THE KEEPER, by Sarah Langan (Harper Torch, 2006)

THE LANGUAGE OF BEAUTY

Gaman: “enduring the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity.” A remarkable combination of visual beauty and moral lesson, this handsome volume uncovers the amazing artistry of Japanese who, during World War II, were given just one week to pack before being taken to bleak internment barracks. Phenomenal craftsmanship and sophistication grace every one of the objects pictured here, all made from scrap materials or natural resources. A marvelous collaboration among the authors. Publishers Weekly starred review.

THE ART OF GAMAN: ARTS AND CRAFTS FROM THE JAPANESE AMERICAN INTERNMENT CAMPS 1942-1946, by Delphine Hirasuna, Kit Hinrichs, and Terry Heffernan (Ten Speed, 2005)

SUNDAY FUNNIES

A GOLF JOKE

One day at the driving range, a golfer ran into a friend he hadn’t seen for years. They talked about their games, their swings, and their lives. Eventually, one asked the other, “How’s the family?” His friend replied, “Not bad. I got a new set of clubs for my wife the other day.” “Good trade,” the other said.

BIRD BRAINS: IN THE 12TH CENTURY, MANY EUROPEANS BELIEVED THAT TREES GAVE BIRTH TO BIRDS.

POP QUIZ

CAN YOU MATCH THE OBSCURE WORD WITH ITS MEANING?

1. Desuetude	a) A riddle or word puzzle
2. Epicene	b) Tangled
3. Demulcent	c) Painless death
4. Fichu	d) Of indeterminate gender
5. Carriwitchet	e) A large triangular scarf
6. Wopsy	f) To fly aimlessly
7. Dormition	g) Relating to a dead custom
8. Volitate	h) A lozenge

IT TAKES ABOUT 0.004 GALLONS OF GAS TO START YOUR CAR IN THE MORNING.

On Congressmen Who Maybe Should Have Listened A Little Harder To the Sunday School Teacher:

Talk show host Stephen Colbert: What are the Ten Commandments?

Rep. Lynn A. Westmoreland (R-Georgia), who is sponsoring a bill in Congress to require the display of the Ten Commandments in the U.S. Capitol: You mean all of them? - Um - Don't murder. Don't lie. Don't steal. Um - I can't name them all.

On Great Moments in Interviewing:

TV commentator Oz Clarke: So, you've won the British Avant-Garde Hairdresser of the Year Award. What does that mean?

Hairdresser: Well, it means I'm the British Avant-Garde Hairdresser of the Year.

on BBC1

Q: How does Massachusetts’s Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox, honor a 502-foot home run hit there by Ted Williams in 1946?
Answer: A single red seat in a sea of blue marks the point where Williams deposited his home-run ball.

AL-AIN

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Straddling the border of the United Arab Emirates and the sultanate of Oman, Al-Ain is an ancient oasis town. Today it draws the curious traveler to its palace museum, dusty streets, camel racetrack, and still-active souk.