Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/24/2011

Basketball legend Michael Jordan, on facing adversity: "If you're trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I've had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it or work around it."

Birthdays:
Mike Shanahan b. 1952
Cal Ripken Jr. b. 1960
Reggie Miller b. 1965
Tim Salmon b. 1968
Rafael Furcal b. 1980

Packers Fact:
The Packers' 31-21 victory over Detroit in Week 17 of 2008 doomed the Lions to the first 0-16 season in NFL history. (Green Bay also beat Detroit 48-25 in Week 2 that year.)

EVERYONE
MUST ROW WITH
THE OARS HE HAS.

—Dutch proverb

ON VERSUS WHAT?

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Van Der Sar is one of the best two-footed goalkeepers in the league.

soccer commentator Chris Waddle

CUP O’ JOE WITH THAT?

Do you know what “Adam and Eve on a raft” is? You probably know what “dead soldiers” are, but what about “dead presidents”? The Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang has these and about 25,000 other words and phrases covered, and it pulls no punches with what we affectionately refer to as expletives, either. Great for browsing. (Adam and Eve on a raft is diner slang for two eggs on toast; a dead soldier is, of course, an emptied liquor bottle; dead presidents refers to money.)

THE ROUTLEDGE DICTIONARY OF MODERN AMERICAN SLANG AND UNCONVENTIONAL ENGLISH; edited by Tom Dalzell (Routledge, 2008)