Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 1/21-22/2011

1/21/1954
The Boston Celtics' Bob Cousy is a one-man show in overtime as the East wins the NBA All-Star Game, 98-93, at Madison Square Garden. The game is tied 84-84 after the Western All-Stars sink two free throws as time expires. Cousy, who has 10 points in the first 48 minutes, scores 10 more in overtime and dribbles out the clock. Basketball's All-Star Game does not yet enjoy the popularity it will gain in years to come. Tonight's matchup is the second of a doubleheader, it's preceded by a game between two military teams from For Belvoir and the Aberdeen Proving Grounds.

Birthdays:
Don Donober b. 1932
Jack Nicklaus b. 1940
Hakeem Olajuwon b. 1963
Detlef Schrempt b. 1963
Rusty Greer b. 1969

Packers Fact:
The Packers' bye in week 5 of 2009 was their earliest bye in 10 years.

1/22/2066:
Kobe Bryant scores 81 points while leading the Lakers to a 122-104 victory over the Toronto raptors at Staples Center. It's the second-highest single-game point total in NBA history, trailing only the 100 points achieved by Wilt Chamberlain in 1962. Bryant contributes 27 points in the third quarter and 28 in the fourth in helping the Lakers overcome an 18-point third-quarter deficit.

Birthdays:
Elmer Lach b. 1918
Joe Perry b. 1927
Serge Savard b. 1946
Mike Bessy b. 1967
Greg Oden b. 1968

Packers Fact:
Fullback John Kuhn posted the first 2-touchdown game of his career in a 36-17 victory over St. Louis in Week 3 of 200. He ran 1 yard for a touchdown and caught a 10-yard pass for another score.

“Such is life!”

—NED KELLY, Australian outlaw, uttering his final words

IF IT DOES NOT
GET CLOUDY,
IT WILL NOT
GET CLEAR.

—Albanian proverb

ON WE’LL BET ON THE 10-YEAR-OLD

---

Are You Smarter Than a 10-Year-Old? host Noel Edmonds: How many days will there be in the year 2010?

Contestant: Er . . . is it 60 or 52?

ON POLICE BLOTTERS,
GRIPPING

---

Saturday, Jan. 22: A staff member in Thackery Hall reported to campus police that a male came into his office and began a conversation.

police blotter item, University of Pittsburgh

DEAD POETS SOCIETY

The late John Updike’s oeuvre encompassed practically every literary genre except graphic novels and cookbooks. If his novels are not to your taste, try his essays and autobiographies. The short stories are also gems. There was simply no one better at capturing the quality of light and air as one strolls through one’s childhood hometown, the inner storm of love and resentment as one’s parents age, or the exquisite pain of erotic memory.

MY FATHER’S TEARS AND OTHER STORIES, by John Updike (Knopf, 2009)

SPORTS WORLD

It’s long (almost 800 pages); it’s thorough (discusses every pitch two pitchers threw in the 2007 season); and it’s specific. And it might just be a book that you or your favorite sports fan will love. Righty Mike Mussina was struggling that year; southpaw Tom Glavine enjoyed his 300th win. Both pitchers worked with veteran author John Feinstein on this fascinating study.

LIVING ON THE BLACK: TWO PITCHERS, TWO TEAMS, A SEASON TO REMEMBER, by John Feinstein (Little, Brown, 2008)