Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 10/12-10/13/2009

10/12/2006:
New Jersey right wing Brian Gionta scores a natural hat trick in the third period to rally the Devils from 6-3 down to a 6-6 tie with Toronto, then scores again in the shootout as the Devils prevail, 7-6. Gionta scored a franchise record 48 goals last season, but tonight's three-goal hat trick is the first of his career. He ties the game with only 37 seconds left in regulation against Toronto goalie Jean-Sebastien Aubin.

Birthdays:
Joe Cronin b. 1906
Jaroslav Drobny b. 1921
Tony Kubek b. 1936
Jack Marin b. 1944
Charlie Ward b. 1971

Packers Fact:
Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback Herb Adderley played in four of the first six Super Bowls while with the Packers (games I and II) and the Cowboys (V and VI).


Martin Dugard’s take on Columbus is that he was a man before he was a symbol of everything that went wrong with the European colonization of the Americas. And as a man, he easily becomes the hero of a rippingly readable story teeming with adventures at sea—the sorts of things you expect to see in pirate movies. Though not for serious scholars, The Last Voyage of Columbus does make captivating reading for the rest of us.

THE LAST VOYAGE OF COLUMBUS: BEING THE EPIC TALE OF THE GREAT CAPTAIN’S FOURTH EXPEDITION, INCLUDING ACCOUNTS OF MUTINY, SHIPWRECK, AND DISCOVERY, by Martin Dugard (Back Bay Books, 2006)

10/13/1963:
Bears tight end Mike Ditka scores four touchdowns to lead Chicago to a 52-14 romp over the Los Angeles Rams at the Memorial Coliseum. Bill Wade accounts for three of the TD tosses, and Rudy Bukich throws the fourth. The Rams cough up eight turnovers, including six interceptions. Utilizing a dominant defense and a mistake-free offense, the Bears will roll to an 11-2 record and defeat the New York Giants to win their first NFL title since 1946.

Birthdays:
Eddie Mathews b. 1931
Doc Rivers b. 1961
Jerry Rice b. 1962
Paul Pierce b. 1977
Jermaine O'Neal b. 1978

Packers Fact:
Packers quarterback Cecil Isbell led the NFL in completions, passing yards, and passing touchdowns each of his final two seasons in the league (1941 and 1942).

SETTING THE RIGHT TON

Get out the bonbons and settle in under the covers—guilty pleasures come in boxes. This boxed set has five books’ worth of naughty nobles, bawdy badinage, doe-eyed damsels, and studly squires from Jillian Hunter, who practically defines the genre of historical romance. Also look for The Devilish Pleasures of a Duke, which came out in 2007, also from Ballantine.

THE BOSCASTLE FAMILY SERIES: THE SEDUCTION OF AN ENGLISH SCOUNDREL, THE LOVE AFFAIR OF AN ENGLISH LORD, THE WEDDING NIGHT OF AN ENGLISH ROGUE, THE WICKED GAMES OF A GENTLEMAN, THE SINFUL NIGHTS OF A NOBLEMAN, by Jillian Hunter (Ballantine, 2006)