Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 2/1-2/2/2010

2/1/1966:
Illinois gets 33 points from Donnie Freeman and 31 from Rich Jones to spring a 99-93 upset of fourth-ranked Michigan at Yost Fieldhouse in Ann Arbor. All-American Cazzie Russell scores 33 points for the Wolverines despite being closely guarded by future NFL running back Preston Pearson. Illinois shoots 70% from the field in the second half, sparked by 21 points from sophomore center Jones. The loss will not prevent Michigan from winning its third consecutive Big Ten conference title.

Birthdays:
Paul Blair b. 1944
Dick Snyder b. 1944
T.R. Dunn b. 1955
Malik Sealy b. 1970
Tommy Salo b. 1971

Packers Fact:
Tackles Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher each started their 100th career game during the 2007 season.

2/2/2003:
Dany Heatley of the Atlanta Thrashers becomes the fifth player to score four goals in an NHL All-Star Game, but his Eastern Conference squad loses, 6-5 in a shootout, to the West Stars in Sunrise, Florida, the home rink of the Florida Panthers. The West wins the shootout, 3-1, in the first use of that crowd-pleasing tiebreaking measure in NHL history. (By 2005-06, shootouts will be used to break ties in all NHL regular-season contests.) Heatley joins Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Vincent Damphousse and Mike Gartner in the four-goals-in-an-All-Star-Game club.

Birthdays:
Red Schoendienst b. 1923
Gary Dornhoefer b. 1943
Arturs Irbe b. 1967
Sean Elliott b. 1968
Scott Erickson b. 1968

Packers Fact:
The Packers are the only team to win three NFL titles in a row-and they've done it twice (1929-31 and 1965-67).

http://www.phoons.com/

One-legged Poses
Inspired by a silly pose he repeated in his family's vacation photos, the webmaster began soliciting "phoons" from around the world in which people strike the one-legged pose atop the Tower of Pisa, at the base of Mount Rushmore, or next to the giant clove at a garlic festival in California. And don't miss the Where's Waldo-like "Find the Phoon" pages and optical illusions in which one mighty phooner holds a pack of fellow phooners in his hand. With rules and guidelines for submitting a phoon of your own.

ASK THE SPHINX

Nefertiti is great escapist fare for those who long to travel back in time to ancient Egypt. Rai Rehotap has been called by his pharaoh, Amenhotep, to find the pharaoh’s missing queen, the beautiful and charismatic Nefertiti. The skulduggery, violence, and suspense that follow are steeped in a wealth of period detail that makes the story as colorful as a royal concubine’s amulet.

NEFERTITI: THE BOOK OF THE DEAD, by Nick Drake (HarperCollins, 2007)

IF JANE AUSTEN WERE A MAN

Time editor and investment banker James Collins brings a knowing, smart, and masculine perspective to the romance genre in this delightfully diverting tale of boy meets girl, boy loses girl’s number, boy finds his best friend has snatched the girl for himself. And then? You can probably surmise the ending, but even so, Collins—and you—have great fun getting there.

BEGINNER’S GREEK, by James Collins (Little, Brown, 2008)

BITTER AMERICAN

21st Amendment Brewing Co., San Francisco, California

The ultimate American session ale. At 3.6%/vol., it packs a wallop of citrusy hop notes without compromising on malt personality. The whole has a sparkling, light body with an underpinning of caramel and fruit. The hop bitterness is balanced, not aggressive. Great attitude. Great aftertaste.

SUDS SOURCE

Several menus are offered at the brewery’s restaurant at 563 2nd Street in San Francisco. For lunch, try an order of spicy beer-battered popcorn chicken and the brewmaster’s fish-and-chips, both made with house ale. The roasted jerk chicken is one of the more popular signature items. For dessert, go for the handcrafted vanilla bean gelato root-beer float—and yes, the root beer is also brewed in-house. Lunch served from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. weekdays, and 11:30 to 5:30 weekends.

COAL CREEK PORTER

Big Time Brewing Co., Seattle, Washington

In a word: Luscious. Deep mahogany color with inviting head retention. Creamy, smooth edges all around. Caramel, cocoa-like roast grains and floral hop characters swirl and captivate, embracing the palate and evoking comforting memories. Medium body meets drinkability. Everything a porter should be.

STYLE TIP

The two most common porter styles brewed today are brown porter and robust porter. Brown porters are typically lighter, smoother, and sweeter, with lower alcohol content. Robust porters, as the name would suggest, have more roast grain and hop bitterness, and they’re stronger, too.