Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 10/31-11/1/2009

10/31/2004:
Pittsburgh defeats New England, 34-20, to snap the Patriots' NFL record 21-game winning streak, 18 in regular-season play. Rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger throws two touchdown passes in the first quarter as the Steelers build up an 18-point lead, and the outcome is never in doubt. Playing without injured running back Corey Dillon, the Pats gain exactly five yards rushing all day, but they'll shrug off this setback and go on to beat the Eagles in the Super Bowl for their third NFL title in four years.

Birthdays:
Phil Goyette b. 1933
Frank Shorter b. 1947
John Lucas b. 1953
Fred McGriff b. 1963
Steve Trachsel b. 1970

Packers Fact:
Zeke Bratkowski (who took over for Green Bay when Bart Starr was injured on the first play) and Tom Matte (normally a halfback, he had to play quarterback because Johnny Unitas and Gary Cuozzo were injured) were the emergency quarterbacks pressed into duty for the Packers and Colts in Green Bay's 13-10 victory in a Western Conference playoff in 1965.

NO WITCH’S BREW

This picaresque story of a girl who seeks to disprove scientifically the existence of witchcraft in the 17th century is a witty, good-natured, and exhilarating treat that defies easy description. James Morrow, “like John Barth (whose Sot-Weed Factor this book recalls), does not wear his erudition lightly. But he wears it audaciously well,” wrote Janet Maslin in her New York Times review. It’s easily worth the price of the book to see for yourself.

THE LAST WITCHFINDER, by James Morrow (Harper Perennial, 2007)

11/1/1959:
Brooklyn-born and Fordham-educated Vince Lombardi proudly returns to New York's Yankee Stadium for the first time as head coach of the Green Bay Packers. Although the Giants (for whom he served as an assistant coach from 1954 to '58) will beat his Packers today, 20-3, Lombardi is in the process of turning a moribund franchise (1-10-1 last year) into one of football's most fabled dynasties. In nine seasons, his Packers will win five NFL championships and just miss a sixth. Lombardi's teams didn't just win football games; they succeeded using a framework of core values, hard work and dedication that served to endear them to everyday fans and establish his enduring legacy.

Birthdays:
Vic Power b. 1931
Gary Plyaer b. 1935
"Jumping Joe" Caldwell b. 1941
Ted Hendricks b. 1947
Fernando Valenzuela b. 1960

THE LANGUAGE OF INVENTION

“The history of English is a history of invention,” writes Seth Lerer, humanities professor at Stanford University, in Inventing English. Starting with the Old English of Caedmon and ending with modern-day rappers, Lerer’s enthusiastic account of our ever expanding and pliable language is fascinating and authoritative.

INVENTING ENGLISH: A PORTABLE HISTORY OF THE LANGUAGE, by Seth Lerer (Columbia University Press, 2007)