Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/7-3/9/2010

3/7/1967:
The New York Giants obtain quarterback Fran Tarkenton from the Minnesota Vikings for two No. 1 draft choices, one No. 2 pick and future considerations. Tarkenton had requested a trade after his iscrambling style clashed with Coach Norm Van Brocklin's preference for a traditional pocket passer. In five years with the Giants, he'll fail to lead the club into the playoffs, compiling a record of 33-37. Following the 1971 season, he'll be shipped back to Minnesota, where he'll close out his Hall of Fame career.

Birthdays:
Franco Harris b. 1950
Lynn Swann b. 1952
Joe Carter b. 1960
Ivan Lendl b. 1960
Jeff Kent b. 1968

3/8/2004:
Payback is inevitable after Colorado rookie Steve Moore injured Vancouver captain Markus Naslund with a stiff check three weeks ago, but Canucks enforcer Todd Bertuzzi takes it too far tonight at GM Place in Vancouver. In the third period of a 9-2 Colorado runaway, Bertuzzi takes dead aim on Moore, sucker-punches him from behind and then tackles him, face-first onto the ice. Moore suffers three fractured neck vertebrae and a severe concussion, the after-effects of which will preclude his return to pro hockey. Bertuzzi receives a suspension for the balance of the year and is barred from playing overseas during the NHL strike-lockout season that follows. Meanwhile, a civil suit for damages by Moore is still wending its way through the legal system.

Birthdays:
Mendy Rudolph b. 1926
Dick Allen b. 1942
Jim Rice b. 1953
Buck Williams b. 1960
Jason Elam b. 1970

Packers Fact:
Joe Laws intercepted 3 passes in the Packers' 14-7 victory over the Giants in the 1944 NFL Championship game.

3/9/1976:
For the second time in two months, Marvin Haggler loses a 10-round middleweight bout on a decision against a Philadelphia fighter at the Spectrum. Tonight he's outpointed by Willie "the Worm" Monroe. In January he was beaten by Bobby "Boogaloo" Watts. He'll avenge these two losses, the only two setbacks of his career, by knocking out both opponents (Monroe twice) on the way to the middleweight crown in 1980. He'll compile a lifetime record of 62-3-2 with 52 KOs before surrendering his title to Sugar Ray Leonard in 1987.

Birthdays:
Jackie Jensen b. 1927
Bert Campaneris b. 1942
Phil Housley b. 1964
Benito Santiago b. 1965
Aaron Boone b. 1973

Packers Fact:
The Packers permitted only 19 sacks in the 2007 season. That equaled the third-lowest mark in the NFL that season and equaled the third-lowest mark in a 16-game season in club history.


http://www.sam-i-am.com/play/5k/expletives/index.html

Shakespearean Insults
Wayward guts-griping wagtail, frothy full-gorged bladder, villainous elf-skinned haggard - who couuld be better than the venerable bard for tossing off amazing insults you can liberally use, royalty free.


http://www.grocerylists.org/

Milk, Sugar, Bread, Coffee . . .
Check out what's cooking in someone else's kitchen at this site, which reproduces hundreds of found grocery lists in their original form and scribbled on everything from fancy hotel stationery to random paper scraps to, most practically, the top of the local store's sale circular.


http://theanticraft.com/archive/beltane08/porkprincess.htm

Crown of Pork
Instead of wrapping a bunch of bacon around a head and calling it a cap, the webmasters give you easy but potentially dangerous instructions for creating your very own bacon tiara. Even if you have no intention of stinking up your house so you can be the neighborhood pork queen, the site's worth a look for the gross demonstration of extruding meat glue and the dire warnings about working with enzymes that blind protein. (Hint: You are made of protein and can end up gluing your lungs together if you're not careful.)

BUT IS IT ART?

Pablo Picasso, Gertrude Stein and her brother, Leo, Georges Braque, and Erik Satie are just some of the renowned Modernists who populate this wildly inventive graphic novel about murder, blue absinthe, and the birth of modern art. A brash and egotistical Picasso is a standout character (and the depiction of the great artist in the nude has led to obscenity charges being filed in Georgia).

THE SALON, by Nick Bertozzi (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2007)

SARAMAGO, AN INTRODUCTION

Portuguese writer José Saramago (b. 1922) won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1998. His many novels reveal a sense of the magical and the surreal; an interest in myth, history, and politics; a long-phrased, singing style; and a somewhat detached sensuality. Start with Blindness (1995), in which a plague of blindness strikes a city and the blind are sequestered in a moral and physical quarantine. Follow up with Seeing (2006), in which the same anonymous city shuts down after a major civic election elicits only blank votes. Other notable Saramago novels include Manual of Painting and Calligraphy and The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis.

BLINDNESS, by José Saramago, translated from the Portuguese by Juan Sager and Margaret Jull Costa (Harvest Books, 1999)

SANTA FE PALE ALE

Santa Fe Brewing Co., Santa Fe, New Mexico

These guys really know what they’re doing. Santa Fe Pale Ale is bottle-conditioned, and a medium gold in color. It boasts some big malt aroma, with fruity nuances from its particular strain of yeast. A good hop character rounds things out. Hops make a better showing in the flavor, finishing strong, with a distinct lingering dryness. This is no bland summer quencher—too much going on, though it is refreshing. Crisp, balanced, and richly flavored.

BIG SEA ESB

Free State Brewing Co., Lawrence, Kansas

Big Sea ESB is big in every way. Bold caramel and hop aromas rouse the senses, with some roasty complexity emerging as well. The earthy, pungent English malt character is sweet and mouth-filling up front—homebrewers will recognize the distinctively rich 80 Lovibond crystal malt. Hop and grain bitterness balance nicely, and the long, malty finish comes in with a slightly grainy bite. Complex and satisfying, Big Sea Extra Special Bitter delivers oceans of flavor, with enough balance to avoid heaviness. A beautiful reddish-chestnut in color, with a tight beige head that leaves a good lacework of foam on the glass, this is another fine offering in Free State’s already delicious lineup.

BITBURGER PILS

Bitburger Brauerei, Bitburg, Germany

The closer you get to the brewery, the better the beer tastes. “Ein Bit” is terrific in and around its home. Lucky for us, this beer travels reasonably well, and when it has retained most of its freshness it’s a treat to behold. Topped with an attractive and lasting dense white head of foam, it shines at a cool 50–55°F. Drink it ice-cold and you’ll miss the intriguing malt and hop nuances, the perfect balance between sweet malt character and floral, earthy hop notes. Inhale while you sip. The mingling of aroma and flavors is music unto itself.

BEER FACT

Due to the growth of the specialty beer segment, the U.S. now hosts more breweries than any other country in the world.