Thursday, March 31, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/31/2011

3/31/1995:
U.S. district judge and future Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor issues a preliminary injunction against baseball's owners, ordering them to restore salary arbitration, free agency and anticollusion provisions of the Basic Agreement. The National Labor Relations Board asked for the injunction, acting on complaints of unfair labor practices lodged by the Players' Association. As a result of the injunction, the players will end their strike, begun on August 12, 1994. On April 5, players and owners will agree to a 144-game schedule beginning on April 26.

Birthdays:
Jack Johnson b. 1878
Gordie Howe b. 1928
Ed Marinaro b. 1950
Tom Barrasso b. 1965
Pavel Bure b. 1971

Packers Fact:
Jim Ringo was the all-pro center on the Packers' 1961 and 1962 NFL champs.


ON DISTANCES, QUANTUM

We’re a long way from being where we are.

soccer player Steven Gerrard


“In civil business; what first? boldness; what second and third? boldness. And yet boldness is a child of ignorance and baseness.”
FRANCIS BACON, 16th-century English philosopher and essayist


RAVE REVIEWS
Distrust within the marriage of a Bengali and a non-Bengali, the misunderstandings between immigrant parents and their American-born children, the contrasting trajectories of various Bengali-American families—these are among the delicately handled themes in this set of eight stories. Jhumpa Lahiri, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for her first book of stories, explores further, with her marvelous gift for the telling detail, the strains of love and family that run through the immigrant experience.

“Lucid and revelatory . . . both universal and deeply felt.”—Washington Post Book World

UNACCUSTOMED EARTH: STORIES, by Jhumpa Lahiri (Knopf, 2008)

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Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/30/2011

3/30/1917:
Ty Cobb of the Detroit Tigers and Buck Herzog of the New York Giants come to blows during an exhibition game in Dallas. Cobb slides into second base and slashes Herzog with his spikes, and the two exchange punches before being separated. Later this evening, they fight again in Cobb's hotel room. Cobb refuses to play the remaining exhibition games against the Giants, scheduled through April 5. After the tour, the Giants send Cobb a telegram: IT'S SAFE TO REJOIN YOUR CLUB. WE'VE LEFT.

Birthdays:
Ripper Collins b. 1904
Willie Galimore b. 1935
Jerry Lucas b. 1940
Dave Ellett b. 1964
Toby Gowin b. 1975

Packers Fact:
Antonio Freeman was just the ninth wide receiver taken in the NFL draft in 1995m, but he had three 1,000-yard pass-catching seasons in a row beginning in 1997.




ON OKAY, SO WE’RE SORRY YOU’RE UPDATING

We are updating the website.
Please apologize for the disagreement.

on the English-translated page of a French company’s website (thanks to Scott Eadie)


KEEP A STIFF
UPPER LIP.
—19th-century American proverb


HAPPY DAYS WILL BE HERE AGAIN
There have been a number of books on the subject of FDR’s first 100 days in office. In this one, the story is less about the president and more about the men around him who devised programs such as the Emergency Banking Act and the National Industrial Recovery Act. Adam Cohen makes the case that these were men who stepped up to extraordinarily difficult times and dealt with them, and in doing so changed the country for the better forever.

“A lucid, intelligent narrative as fast-paced as the hectic Hundred Days.”—Los Angeles Times

NOTHING TO FEAR: FDR’S INNER CIRCLE AND THE HUNDRED DAYS THAT CREATED MODERN AMERICA, by Adam Cohen (Penguin Press, 2009)

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Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/29/2011

3/29/1982:
North Carolina outlasts Georgetown, 63-62, in the NCAA men's championship game in New Orleans. With 15 seconds remaining, freshman Michael Jordan puts the Tar Heels ahead by one point on a 16-foot jumper. With 7 seconds left, Georgetown sophomore guard Freddie Brown brings the ball up the court, thinks he sees teammate Eric Smith and throws him the ball. Trouble is, he has mistaken Carolina's James Worthy for Smith and secured the title for the Tar Heels - the first for Coach Dean Smith after losing three championship games in 1968, '77 and '81.

Birthdays:
Cy Young b. 1867
Denny McLain b. 1944
Walt Frazier b. 1945
Earl Campbell b. 1955
Jennifer Capriati b. 1976

Packers Fact:
The Packers beat the Minnesota Vikings 24-19 on Kickoff Weekend in Aaron Rodgers' debut game as a starting quarterback in 2008. Rodgers completed 18 of 22 passes for 178 yards, including a touchdown.

ON HALFTIME ENTERTAINMENT, SOMEWHAT TASTELESS

Oklahoma hoops’ career scoring leader turned jazz musician Wayman Tisdale will make his first musical appearance since having a portion of his right leg amputated at halftime of the Sooners’ basketball game.

on Sportingnews.com


“It takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place.”Link
LEWIS CARROLL, English writer


PERENNIAL CLASSIC
The Aubrey family is going through a rough patch. There’s no money in the house. Feckless father can’t seem to keep a job. Mother may be a bit emotionally unstable and eccentric, but she looks after her children. She is also very musically gifted, as are her twin daughters. The other daughter, Cordelia, isn’t but doesn’t know it, and no one can tell her. And then there are the poltergeists. Rebecca West was a major writer and intellectual of wide-ranging interests from spies to Yugoslavian history. This warm, often funny, and delightful novel is probably her most endearing book.

THE FOUNTAIN OVERFLOWS, by Rebecca West (1957; New York Review Books Classics, 2002)

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Monday, March 28, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/28/2011

3/28/1950:
Ten days after winning this season's NIT tournament, City College of New York captures the NCAA championship, becoming the first - and last - team to claim both titles. Coached by Nat Holman, the CCNY Badgers eliminated one favorite after another before defeating the top-ranked Bradley Braves, 69-61, in the NIT final. Tonight they meet Bradley again and emerge victorious with a final score of 71-68. All of CCNY's games in their Cinderella postseason run are played at Madison Square Garden.

Birthdays:
Vic Raschi b. 1918
Jerry Sloan b. 1942
Rick Barry b. 1944
Len Elmore b. 1952
Byron Scott b. 1961

Packers Fact:
After playing in 11 games as a rookie in 2008, Josh Sitton won the starting job at right guard in a training-camp battle in 2009.

ON PSYCHOS, PEPPY

WOMAN WHO JOINED
CHEERLEADING SQUAD
PLEADS INSANITY

Associated Press headline


“Bravery never goes out of fashion.”
WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY, English novelist


ET TU, WHO?
It’s 52 B.C. The Roman Republic is in turmoil as Caesar and Pompey vie for power. Out on the Appian Way, Publius Clodius is murdered. Rome’s greatest lawyer, Cicero, needs to know who committed the crime and calls on Gordianus the Finder to help him learn the truth. The fifth of Steven Saylor’s Roma Sub Rosa series is as lively, well researched, and fun as the others.

A MURDER ON THE APPIAN WAY: A NOVEL OF ANCIENT ROME, by Steven Saylor (St. Martin’s Press, 1996)

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Sunday, March 27, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/27/2011

Minnesota Twins manager Billy Gardner, on his team's 93 losses by mid-season in 1983: "The way things are going for me, if I'd bought a pumpkin farm they'd cancel Halloween."

Birthdays:
Miller Huggins b. 1879
Wes Covington b. 1932
Cale Yarborough b. 1939
Chris McCarron b. 1955
Michael Cuddyer b. 1979



ON WELL PUT!

A man could not be two places at the same time unless he were a bird.

eighteenth-century member of Parliament Sir Boyle Roche



“If hopes were dupes, fears may be liars.”
ARTHUR HUGH CLOUGH, English poet

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Saturday, March 26, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/26/2011

3/26/1979:
Led by Magic Johnson, Michigan State beats Larry Bird and Indiana State by the score of 75-64 in the NCAA championship game in Salt Lake city. Johnson is voted Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. Both Johnson and Bird will be named to the All-70s and All-Time Final Four teams selected in 1989 by a panel including coaches Dean Smith and John Wooden.

Birthdays:
Rip Engle b. 1906
Ann Meyers b. 1955
Marcus Allen b. 1960
John Stockton b. 1962
Michael Peca b. 1974

Packers Fact:
The Packers selected kicker Chris Jacke out of Texas El-Paso in the sixth round in 1989. Jacke played in Green Bay for eight seasons.


ON TRUE ENOUGH

Family Feud host Richard Dawson: Name something you should do in moderation, or you’ll be sorry later.

Contestant: Sex.



“’Tis always morning somewhere in the world.”
RICHARD HENRY HORNE, English poet and critic


A LIFE
“Respectability lets the human pendulum swing over such a pitiful little arc,” wrote Clarence King to his friend Secretary of State John Hay. King was a scientist and explorer and quite a lionized figure in his time. Blond and blue-blooded, King felt the stifling strictures of respectability, and he didn’t care for them. So he overcame them by living a double life—one as a white bachelor scientist, and one as a black train porter with a wife and five children. Martha Sandweiss exhaustively researched King’s life and has written an engrossing and remarkable book about a remarkable man.

PASSING STRANGE: A GILDED AGE TALE OF LOVE AND DECEPTION ACROSS THE COLOR LINE, by Martha A. Sandweiss (Penguin Press, 2009)

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Friday, March 25, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/25/2011

3/25/1971:
The Boston Patriots announce that from now on they'll be known as the New England Patriots and will play at Schaefer Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Some 30 miles southwest of Boston, the Pats' new home field is the fifth in their short existence and the fourth in a span of four years. From 1960 through '62, the team played at Nickerson Field on the Boston University campus; subsequent venues were Fenway Park (1963-68), Boston College's Alumni Stadium (1969) and Harvard Stadium (1970). Schaefer Stadium, renamed Sullivan Stadium in 1983 and Foxboro Stadium in 1990, will serve the club through the end of the 2001 season. Gillette Stadium will open in 2002.

Birthdays:
Howard Cosell b. 1920
Avery Johnson b. 1965
Tom Glavine b. 1966
Sheryl Swoopes b. 1971
Danica Patrick b. 1982

Packers Fact:
Future Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back Willie Wood (1960-1971) was not drafted out of Southern California because he was a running quarterback in college.

ON IF YOU SAY SO

The flights, landings, and take-offs of airships called “flying saucers” and “flying cigars” of any nationality are forbidden on the territory of the community of Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

law enacted by mayor of the French town after numerous UFO sightings


A CRISIS IS AN
OPPORTUNITY
RIDING THE
DANGEROUS WIND.
—Chinese proverb


THE MYSTERY’S MYSTERY
The Wall Street Journal calls The Manual of Detection “a surreal transmogrification of a genre,” the genre being, of course, detective fiction. What they seem to mean by that is that what starts out as a fairly straightforward mystery becomes a somewhat bizarre story of stolen alarm clocks (every single one) and a master detective who isn’t all that masterful. A lot of fun as long as you don’t insist on Sam Spade staying Sam Spade.

THE MANUAL OF DETECTION, by Jedediah Berry (Penguin Press, 2008)

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Thursday, March 24, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/24/2011

3/24/1936:
The Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Maroons open their first-round, best-of-five Stanley Cup series in Montreal with the longest game in NHL history. After 116 minutes and 30 seconds of play, Mud Bruneteau of Detroit finally scores on a pass from Hec Kilrea at 2:20 A.M. (on March 25) for a 1-0 victory. The goal comes in the sixth overtime, and the two teams are just 3 minutes and 30 seconds shy of playing the equivalent of three full games. Red Wings goaltender Norm Smith is credited with the longest shutout performance in NHL history. Detroit wins the next two games to sweep the series.

Birthdays:
George Sisler b. 1893
Alex Olmedo b. 1936
Peyton Manning b. 1976
T.J. Ford b. 1983
Chris Bosh b. 1984

Packers Fact:
2008 seventh-round draft pick Brett Swain opened the 2009 season on the active roster after spending his rookie year on the practice squad.



ON YOU CAN’T?

You can’t canvass public opinion with a simple yes or no, because you will get the answer you do not expect.

Tauranga City (New Zealand) councillor Bill Faulkner (thanks to Brad Gillon)


“He was a bold man that first eat an oyster.”
JONATHAN SWIFT, Anglo-Irish satirist


READ IT AND WEEP
Now that we’ve had a couple of years to settle into our new lives of lowered expectations and downsized dreams, it might be a good time to let a whipcrack financial journalist take you back on the journey into the intricate clockworks of the catastrophe of 2009. As one president was going out and another era beginning, the “Morgan Mafia” and the rest of the shadow banking world were trying to stuff the evil genies of greed and toxic assets back into the bottle, to no avail. A brilliant and chilling inside look into events that are still reverberating.

FOOL’S GOLD: HOW THE BOLD DREAM OF A SMALL TRIBE AT J. P. MORGAN WAS CORRUPTED BY WALL STREET GREED AND UNLEASHED A CATASTROPHE, by Gillian Tett (Free Press, 2009)

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Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/23/2011

3/23/1952:
Bill Mosienko of the Chicago Black Hawks scores the fastest hat trick in NHL history with three goals in 21 seconds of a 7-6 win over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Chicago trails 6-2 and the two teams are at even strength when Mosienko scores at 6:09, 6:20 and 6:30 of the third period. Seconds later, he narrowly misses a fourth goal when a shot hits the post. The previous record of 1:52 was set by the Detroit Red Wings' Carl Liscombe in 1938.

Birthdays:
Roger Bannister b. 1929
Geno Auriemma b. 1954
Moses Malone b. 1954
Jason Kidd b. 1973
Mark Buehrle b. 1979

Birthdays:
Cornerback Al Harris played in the NFL for a decade before earning his first Pro Bowl selection in the 2007 season, but his all-star nod in 2008 was his second in a row.

ON DRINKS WITH A LITTLE TOO MUCH KICK

Cocktails
• Strained Fragmentation Hand Grenade: rum, cream of the Coco, and fragmentation hand grenade

cocktail menu item in Mojácar, Almeria, Spain


“Let’s face the music and dance.”
IRVING BERLIN, American songwriter


ONLY IN AMERICA
What in the Sam Patch was he thinking? On July 4, 1828, Sam Patch leaped over Passaic Falls, in New Jersey, creating a sensation and a craze for this kind of stunt, which he tried to propogate during the rest of his short life (he died at the age of 30), though originally he was just trying to draw attention to unfair conditions for mill hands. What author Paul Johnson gives here so vividly is 19th-century America, full of wonder and possibility and oddity, changing and reinventing itself almost by the minute. Sam Patch was a nobody who became a somebody who became a celebrity and a victim of his own success.

SAM PATCH, THE FAMOUS JUMPER, by Paul E. Johnson (Hill and Wang, 2004)

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Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/22/2011

3/22/1993:
A boating accident on Little Lake Nellie in Clermont, Florida, claims the lives of Cleveland Indians pitchers Steve Olin and Tim Crews and leaves Bobby Ojeda seriously injured. Just after dark, the three were riding in an 18-foot aluminum open-air bass fighting boat piloted by Crews when they slammed into the side of a pier at high speed. Olin was 27 years old; Crews was 31. Ojeda will undergo surgery to reattach his scalp and return to the Indians in August of this year.

Birthdays:
Billy Vessels b. 1931
Bob Costas b. 1952
Glenallen Hill b. 1965
Shawn Bradley b. 1972
Marcus Camby b. 1974

Birthdays:
The Packers drafted cornerback Herb Adderley out of Michigan State in the first round in 1961. He went on to play nine seasons in Green Bay, and eventually was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.


ON THOSE MIGHTY ROTARIANS

Had an Optimist, Co-operative, Exchange, Lions, Kiwanis, or a Rotary Club flourished in the days of Exodus with . . . Moses as president, the children of Israel would have reached the promised land in forty days instead of forty years.

Stewart C. McFarland in The Rotarian, 1924


“You little girls, when you grow up, must be on the alert to recognize your prime at whatever time of your life it may occur. You must then live it to the full.”
MURIEL SPARK, Scottish novelist


TUESDAYS WITH ENZO
Break out the lap rug and slippers and burrow into the warm, fuzzy worldview of Enzo, the Swift family dog, who proves that not only can an old dog learn new tricks, he can teach a few to humans as well. On the brink of dying, which Enzo tells us can mean reincarnation as a man if one is truly ready—and he is—he tells of the many things that make up his love for Denny Swift, an aspiring race-car driver; Denny’s wife, Eve, who has died; and their daughter, Zoë, whom Denny almost lost in a wrenching custody battle.

THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN, by Garth Stein (Harper, 2009)

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Monday, March 21, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/21/2011

3/21/1946:
The Los Angeles Rams sign Kenny Washington, who will become the first African American since 1933 to play in the National Football League. Woody Strode will also play for the Rams this season. And in the All-America Football Conference, which begins operations this year, the Cleveland Browns will sign two black players: Bill Willis and Marion Motley. The last NFL team to integrate is the Washington Redskins, in 1962.

Birthdays:
Tom Flores b. 1937
Jay Hilgenberg b. 1960
Ayrton Sonna b. 1960
Shawon Dunston b. 1963
Al Iafrate b. 1966

Packers Fact:
Quarterback Brett Favre, who played for the Packers from 1992 to 2007, entered 2009 as the NFL's all-time leader for pass attempts (9,280), pass completions (5,720), passing yards (65,127), and touchdown passes (464).


ON AND FOR THE MAIN COURSE,
PERHAPS A LARGE AUSTRALIAN

It’s time to cook a little German.

Petoskey (Michigan) News-Review


“Life may not exactly be pleasant, but at least it is not dull.”
H. L. MENCKEN, American humorist and writer


WIZARDS OF WIRELESS
How did we get from the first clumsy-looking radios bristling with wires and magnets to sleek PDAs hardly as big as a wallet? It’s all here, from the early experiments of Volta, Faraday, Hertz, and others, through the exciting and often vicious world of early TV and radio, to new technologies and those still emerging. Ira Brodsky delivers a fun and fascinating read.

THE HISTORY OF WIRELESS: HOW CREATIVE MINDS PRODUCED TECHNOLOGY FOR THE MASSES, by Ira Brodsky (Telescope Books, 2008)

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Sunday, March 20, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/20/2011

3/20/1985:
During the third period of a game against the Spurs in San Antonio, famished Chicago Bulls guard Quintin Dailey instructs a ballboy to borrow five dollars from a reporter and run to the concession stand for a slice of pizza. He chows down at the end of the bench, alongside astonished teammates and Coach Kevin Loughery, during the 106-98 Chicago loss.

Birthdays:
Joe McGinnity b. 1871
Pat Riley b. 1945
Bobby Orr b. 1948
Chris Hoiles b. 1965
Mookie Blaylock b. 1967



“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.”
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, U.S. president


ON THEN WHERE DOES
HE PUT HIS FOOD?

It is rude to eat with my mouth full.

TV host Glenn Beck (thanks to Noah D. Roberts)

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Saturday, March 19, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/19/2011

3/19/1981:
The Buffalo Sabres set an NHL record with nine goals in one period during a 14-4 rout of the maple Leafs in Buffalo. The Sabres lead 1-0 at the end of the first period before their nine-goal onslaught on Toronto goaltender Michel Laroque. Three of the nine goals are scored by Gil Perrault. The Maple Leafs score three times in the second period, contributing to another record of 12 goals by two teams.

Birthdays:
Jay Berwanger b. 1914
Guy Lewis b. 1922
Richie Ashburn b. 1927
Joe Kapp b. 1939
Scott May b. 1954

Packers Fact:
Aaron Rodgers had four 300-yard passing days in his first season as the Packers' starting quarterback in 2008, with a high of 328 yards in a victory against Detroit in Week 2.


ON WORDS, NEW

Kimi Raikkonen, if not disgruntled, is certainly looking less than gruntled.

auto racing commentator James Allen


THE DARK
IS LIGHT
ENOUGH.
CHRISTOPHER FRY, English playwright


A GREAT ESCAPE
There’s plenty of harmony in Judith Ryan Hendricks’s fourth novel—just remember that not all harmonies are “perfect,” and not all chords are “resolved.” When Sunny Cooper’s boyfriend dies and she becomes inundated with the shady details that are raked up in the aftermath, she tries to go back first to Harmonia, the hippie New Mexico commune where she grew up, and then to Harmony, on San Miguel Island, Washington. But the past has overtones that Sunny must listen to before she can find her true voice.

THE LAWS OF HARMONY, by Judith Ryan Hendricks (Harper Paperbacks, 2009)

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Friday, March 18, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/18/2011

3/18/1953:
In the first shift of a major league franchise since March 1903, when the Baltimore Orioles moved to New York and became the Highlanders (the future Yankees), the Boston Braves announce that Milwaukee will be their new home. After drawing just 281,278 fans in Boston in 1952, the Braves will attract a new National League record of 1,826,397 this year. Their success spurs four more changes over the next four years. In 1954 the St. Louis Browns move to Baltimore and revive the Orioles nickname. In 1955 the Philadelphia Athletics transfer to Kansas City. And in 1958 the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers go west to San Francisco and Los Angeles, respectively.

Birthdays:
Mike Webster b. 1952
Guy Carbonneau b. 1960
Curt Warner b. 1961
Bonnie Blair b. 1964
Brian Griese b. 1975

Packers Fact:
Opposing offenses managed only a league-low 141 first downs against the Packers' pass defense in 2008.

ON NO ASSISTANCE, PLEASE!

PLEASE DON’T TOUCH YOURSELF.
LET US HELP YOU TO TRY OUT.
THANKS!

sign (meaning PLEASE ASK FOR ASSISTANCE) in a store in China


“To most men, experience is like the stern lights of a ship, which illumine only the track it has passed.”
SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE, English poet and philosopher


TELL IT, SISTER
There are high hopes for linguistics with Deborah Tannen in the field—her titles alone proclaim her ability to get to the heart of verbal communication (You Just Don’t Understand, on men and women, and You’re Wearing THAT? on mothers and daughters). Here Tannen turns to the competitive, potentially rewarding but often difficult world of “sisterspeak.” You know who you are, and you owe it to yourself and that significant other (or those others) to read this book.

MOM ALWAYS LIKED YOU BETTER: SISTERS IN CONVERSATION THROUGHOUT THEIR LIVES, by Deborah Tannen (Random House, 2009)

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Thursday, March 17, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/17/2011

Cubs general manager John Holland on his team's financial status in 1972, when the highest salary in baseball's major leagues was $200,000: "I know we have reached the saturation point. If our payroll goes any higher, we just can't make it."

Birthdays:
Sonny Werblin b. 1910
Sammy Baugh b. 1914
Hank Sauer b. 1917
Chuck Muncie b. 1953
Mia Hamm b. 1972

Packers Fact:
Wide receiver and kick returner Desmond Howard won college football's Heisman Trophy for 1991 for Michigan. Howard played for Green Bay in 1996 and 1999.

ON HOT TIMES IN IRELAND, LITERARY

Sex Instructions for Irish Farmers

Red-Haired Irishwomen on the Bog

After the Orgy: Towards a Politics of Exhaustion

actual book titles


“A man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.”
JAMES JOYCE, Irish writer


MAKE IT A DOUBLE
David Liss (author of A Conspiracy of Paper) gives us a ripping yarn of intrigue, money, politics, real-life heroes and villains, and even a love story, set against the historical background of George Washington’s presidency. William Hogeland takes a quieter approach to the Whiskey Rebellion, often treated in history books as a minor affair, but there are plenty of lively characters and intricate intrigues to go around.

THE WHISKEY REBELS, by David Liss (Ballantine, 2009)

THE WHISKEY REBELLION: GEORGE WASHINGTON, ALEXANDER HAMILTON, AND THE FRONTIER REBELS WHO CHALLENGED AMERICA’S NEWFOUND SOVEREIGNTY, by William Hogeland (Scribner, 2006)

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Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/16/2011

3/16/2003:
Ricky Craven edges out Kurt Busch by just two thousandths of a second in the Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington, South Carolina. It's the smallest margin of victory since NASCAR introduced electronic timing in 1993; in fact, Craven and Busch bang door-to-door down to the checkered flag. The right side of Craven's Pontiac is nearly flattened. The left side of Busch's Ford is mashed beyond recognition.

Birthdays:
Roger Crozier b. 1942
Rick Reichardt b. 1943
Ozzie Newsome b. 1956
Mel Gray b. 1961
Curtis Granderson b. 1981

Packers Fact:
While with the Philadelphia Eagles, defensive end Reggie White led the NFL in sacks in back-to-back seasons in 1987 (21 sacks) and 1988 (18 sacks).


ON PUBLISHERS, TYPICALLY BONEHEADED

It is impossible to sell animal stories in the USA.

publisher’s rejection of George Orwell’s classic Animal Farm


“Nature . . . is what we are put in this world to rise above.”
ROSE SAYER (KATHARINE HEPBURN) in The African Queen; screenplay by James Agee and John Huston


LIVING HISTORY
In the 1960s, comedy was a blood sport, say Tim Reid and Tom Dreesen. They met while working for a public-school drug-awareness program, took their funny and incendiary act on the road for a few years at the height of political pandemonium, broke up for financial reasons, and went their separate ways—Tim as an actor (remember Venus Flytrap on WKRP Cincinnati?), producer, and director; Tom as a successful stand-up comedian. Tim and Tom came together again to write a funny, smart, inspiring, fascinating book about the first—and maybe the last—black-white comedy team.

TIM AND TOM: AN AMERICAN COMEDY IN BLACK AND WHITE, by Tim Reid and Tom Dreesen (Oxford University Press, 2008)

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Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/15/2011

3/15/1963:
Striking a blow against segregation, Mississippi State's basketball team plays in an NCAA tournament game against Loyola of Chicago. Mississippi State won the Southeastern Conference championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament in 1959, 1961 and 1962 but refused the invitation because it would mean competing against African American players from other universities. The Bulldogs won the SEC again this year, and the school announced it would play in the tournament. Segregationists obtained a court order to keep the team in Mississippi, but it could not be served. Loyola, which has four African American starters, wins today's game, 61-51, in East Lansing, Michigan.

Birthdays:
Punch Imlach b. 1918
Norm Van Brocklin b. 1926
Harold Baines b. 1959
Terry Cummings b. 1961
Kevin Youkilis b. 1979

Packers Fact:
The Packers acquired safety Derrick Martin shortly before the 2009 opener from Baltimore. In exchange, Green Bay sent offensive lineman Tony Moll to Baltimore.

ON WELL, YOU’LL CERTAINLY GET IN A FIGHT
WITH LOGICIANS

I’ll probably get into a fight in this room with some, but i happen to think that we need stronger death penalties for those that kill police officers.

“Success and failure are both greatly overrated but failure gives you a whole lot more to talk about.”
HILDEGARD KNEF, German actress and singer


RAVE REVIEWS
Abraham Verghese, whose nonfiction titles (My Own Country: A Doctor’s Story, 1995, and The Tennis Partner, 1999) were widely acclaimed, shows the same attention to detail and scope in this fictional epic of conjoined twins born to a nun in Addis Ababa and abandoned by their father, Dr. Thomas Stone, after he saves them. We then follow Marion, the elder twin, as he becomes a doctor and takes on a quest to find his father and brother and to understand their actions. But a synopsis hardly does justice to the scope of humanity and color and characterization Verghese brings to this brilliant and utterly absorbing novel.

CUTTING FOR STONE, by Abraham Verghese (Knopf, 2009)

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Monday, March 14, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/14/2011

3/14/1903:
After defeating the Rat Portage Thistles, 4-2, to win the Stanley Cup, the Ottawa Silver Seven celebrate their victory by kicking the Cup into the frozen Rideau Canal in a night of drunken revelry. (They'll rush back in the morning to find it resting on top of the ice.) This isn't the only indignity suffered by the Stanley Cup. In 1924 the Montreal Canadiens will leave it by the side of the road after changing a flat tire, and in 2004 it will be left behind at the airport in Vancouver.

Birthdays:
Don Haskins b. 1930
Bob Charles b. 1936
Wes Unsold b. 1946
Kirby Puckett b. 1961
Larry Johnson b. 1969

Packers Fact:
Offensive lineman Daryn Colledge had never missed a game in college or the NFL - a span of more than 100 games - entering 2009.


ON STARRING AS HIMSELF

Game show host Steve Wright: Who played agent 007 in the 1989 film License to Kill?

Contestant: Err . . . James Bond?

MAKE DO
AND MEND.
British World War II wartime slogan


SPORTS WORLD
Bill Walsh, nicknamed The Genius, turned the abysmal San Francisco 49ers into a powerhouse team and, according to some, changed NFL football forever with strategies such as the West Coast defense that exemplified his brainy and innovative insights into the game. Analysis by sportswriter David Harris (The League) enlivens the portrait of this NFL VIP and shows the extent of Walsh’s teaching and influence.

THE GENIUS: HOW BILL WALSH REINVENTED FOOTBALL AND CREATED AN NFL DYNASTY, by David Harris (Random House, 2009)

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Sunday, March 13, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/13/2011

Bob Uecker, on the strike that wiped out a third of the 1981 baseball season: "The players are at home hanging out with their wives. The big thing about that, it's going to produce a bigger father/son/daughter game next year."

Birthdays:
Ordell Braase b. 1932
Joe Bellino b. 1938
Will Clark b. 1964
Thomas Enqvist b. 1974
Johan Santana b. 1979


ON THOSE IRREPRESSIBLY LIBERAL METHODISTS!

The Spoken Word: Reverend James H. Swartz, “Does God Laugh?”

Song: “Yes, She Can.”

in a United Methodist Church bulletin


“If the creator had a purpose in equipping us with a neck, he surely meant us to stick it out.”
ARTHUR KOESTLER, British writer

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Saturday, March 12, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/12/2011

3/12/2009:
Syracuse outlasts Connecticut, 127-117, in a six-overtime duel in the quarterfinals of the Big East men's basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden. The Orange never hold a lead in the game until the sixth overtime. Lasting 3 hours and 46 minutes, it's the longest game in NCAA history since the shot clock was introduced in men's college basketball in 1985.

Birthdays:
Bronco Horvath b. 1930
Johnny Rutherford b. 1936
Dale Murphy b. 1956
Darryl Strawberry b. 1962
Steve Finley b. 1965

Packers Fact:
Guard Jerry Kramer and center Ken Bowman blocked Cowboys' defensive tackle Jethro Pugh to pave the way for Bart Starr's winning sneak in the 1967 "Ice Bowl" championship game.



“Don’t believe the world owes you a living; the world owes you nothing—it was here first.”
ROBERT JONES BURDETTE, American clergyman and humorist


ON BAD DOG!

111 DOGS SEIZED
IN LIND, ONE
ARRESTED

headline in the Ritzville Adams County Journal (Ritzville, Washington)


IS IT LOVE?
Like Harold and Maude, this quirky novel features a bond between an older woman—an opinionated photographer—and a younger boy-man, here a drug-addicted family friend. The friendship is a fond narcissism, consisting of telephone conversations in which they trade neuroses and bolster each other’s oddness. When the boy begins to sink further into trouble, the woman is emotionally unprepared, yet her imperfect attempts at self-awareness are touching.

THE UNPROFESSIONALS, by Julie Hecht (Simon & Schuster, 2008)

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Friday, March 11, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/11/2011

3/11/1979:
Randy Holt of the Los Angeles Kings needs only one period to rack up an NHL record 67 minutes in penalties during a 6-3 loss to the Flyers in Philadelphia. After picking up a minor penalty early in the game, Holt fights Philadelphia's Frank Bathe at 14:58 of the first period, resulting in 20 minutes in penalties. At the end of the first period, he feels he's the victim of a cheap shot from Ken Linseman of the Flyers and tries to settle the score, sparking a bench-clearing brawl. He's assessed another 45 minutes in penalties, including a triple game misconduct, bringing his total to 67.

Birthdays:
Louise Brough b. 1923
Doc Ellis b. 1945
Bobby Abreu b. 1974
Shawn Springs b. 1975
Elton Brand b. 1979

Packers Fact:
Second-round draft choice Jordy Nelson caught 33 passes, including 2 for touchdowns, in his rookie season in 2008.



ON QUESTIONS WE OFTEN BROOD ABOUT

Were you traumatized when you were a sperm?

in an article by Juliet Yelverton of the Healing Waters Sanctuary, as quoted in South West Connection magazine

CHANGE YOURSELF,
AND FORTUNE WILL
CHANGE WITH YOU.
Portuguese proverb


COMPULSIVE READING
With a journalist’s swift precision, Sharon Waxman paints the colorful stories of some infamous art frauds and heists and the people and bureaucratic-legal tangles involved. Governments toppling or at war; shady underworld figures; strident museum curators—all haggling over marbles, statuary, contents of tombs, and architectural elements from sites of incalculable cultural importance. Marvelous gossip and significant history all in one.

LOOT: THE BATTLE OVER THE STOLEN TREASURE OF THE ANCIENT WORLD, by Sharon Waxman (Times Books, 2008)

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Thursday, March 10, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/10/2011

3/10/1952:
The first half of an NBA game between the Baltimore Bullets and the Milwaukee Hawks is played with the officials sitting off-court. In an experiment, the NBA has stationed referees Charley Eckmann and Julie Myers in tennis umpire's chairs at opposite corners to reduce congestion on the court. The New York Times will report that Eckmann and Myers "treated the experiment seriously and both appeared pleased with the result."

Birthdays:
Ara Parseghian b. 1923
Jim Valvano b. 1946
Austin Carr b. 1948
Rod Woodson b. 1965
Shannon Miller b. 1977

Packers Fact:
In 2009, second-year tight end Jermichael Finley posted his first career 100-yard pass-catching game against Minnesota (week 4). Finley had 6 catches for 128 yards, including a 62-yard touchdown.






ON WOW!

CD-ROM of the Day

Was $4.95, now only $4.95!

Offer Expires at Midnight Eastern Time

ad on a software website (thanks to V. Hazen)

Hope sleeps in our bones like a bear
Waiting for spring to rise and walk.
MARGE PIERCY, American poet and novelist

OUR TIMES
Following his acclaimed and controversial White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son, Tim Wise looks at how racism remains entrenched in all levels of society, and how it affects all of us, through media, housing, legislation, education, and, of course, social policy. The hot issues of our time—institutional responses to Katrina, the Duke lacrosse incident, the Obama presidency, racism-inspired school shootings—are illuminated as a first step toward change that will benefit all of us.

SPEAKING TREASON FLUENTLY: ANTI-RACIST REFLECTIONS FROM AN ANGRY WHITE MALE, by Tim Wise (Soft Skull Press, 2008)

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Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/9/2011

American swimmer Michael Phelps, who won six gold and two bronze medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics and finally realized his dream of eclipsing Mark Spitz's famous record of seven gold medals in one Olympics by capturing eight golds at the Beijing Games in 2008: "You can't put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get."

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 fact for today is wrong so I am not posting it!



ON IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED,
GUESS, GUESS AGAIN

Are You Smarter Than a 10-Year-Old? host: Along with two fishes, how many loaves of bread did Jesus use to feed the five thousand?

Contestant: When this question first came up, I thought four, but now I think it may have been six. it could have been eight, but now fourteen seems to ring a bell.


“I am inclined to think that the far greater part, if not all, of those difficulties which have hitherto amused philosophers, and blocked up the way to knowledge, are entirely owing to ourselves—that we have first raised a dust and then complain we cannot see.”
GEORGE BERKELEY, Irish bishop and philosopher


KITCHEN WISDOM
Being the skillful chef that she is, Lillian knows that you don’t just give up on a hollandaise sauce that’s separated nor on people who are a little broken. On Mondays, when the restaurant is closed, Lillian brings the lonely, the widowed, the confused and flawed for cooking classes and life lessons. Just as her troubled mother could be cheered long ago by a lovingly prepared meal from Lillian, the souls under her guidance take the raw ingredients of their grief, resentment, shyness, and insecurity and transform them into delicious, artistic creations.

THE SCHOOL OF ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS, by Erica Bauermeister (Putnam, 2009)

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Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/8/2011

3/8/1900:
The National League, the only major league in baseball at the time, reduces its roster from 12 franchises to 8 by dropping clubs in Baltimore, Cleveland, Louisville and Washington; those remaining are located in Boston, Brooklyn, Chicago, Cincinnati, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and St. Louis. The contraction leads to some competition. Ben Johnson will spearhead the American League, which will begin play as a major league in 1901, with teams in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Washington. With the lure of higher salaries, dozens of NL stars will jump to the new league, including future Hall of Famers Cy Young, Nap Lajoie, Willie Keeler, Jimmy Collins and Joe McGinnity.

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

Packers Fact:
Guard Fuzzy Thurston (1959-1967) earned a college scholarship to Valparaiso in basketball.



ON WHAT? NO WARM MACHINE?

Beef Codly Chopped has the order with cooled machine

menu item in Paris, France


“Hope spurs humans everywhere to work harder to endure more now that the future may be better.”
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, U.S. president


TENNESSEE REVEALED
Tennessee Williams had a pretty busy life, all in all: drugs, sex, drama, martinis, being confined to a psychiatric ward . . . Yet he was one of the most successful playwrights of the 20th century, and his social circle included Elizabeth Taylor, Anna Magnani, Marlon Brando, Truman Capote, and Gore Vidal. He had a lot to write about, and he knew how to write about it entertainingly.

MEMOIRS, by Tennessee Williams, with an introduction by John Waters (1975; New Directions, 2006)

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Monday, March 07, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/7/2011

3/7/1954:
The NBA experiments with a 12-foot basket during a game between the Minneapolis Lakers and the Milwaukee Hawks at the Minneapolis Auditorium. Teams in the league average 79.5 points per game this season with 10-foot baskets. One player who quickly takes to the new 12-footer is Milwaukee's Bill Calhoun. He scores 22 points on nine field goals and four free throws, well above his season average of 8.3 points per game and his career mark of 7.8.

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

Packers Fact:
After one season (1968) in the Packers' front office, Vince Lombardi decided the sideline was the only place for him. He returned to coach the Washington Redskins in 1969, but died of cancer before the 1970 season.


ON CLICHÉS, PAINFUL

You’re on the horns of a two-edged blade!

broadcaster Wally Webb

HEROISM . . . IS
ENDURANCE FOR
ONE MOMENT MORE.
GEORGE KENNAN, American explorer


LIVING HISTORY
Carlotta Walls was only 14 in 1957 when she and the eight other students who became the “Little Rock Nine” launched a historic and difficult fight to integrate Little Rock Central High School. President Eisenhower and the 101st Airborne helped them get in the door, but it was Carlotta’s perseverance and courage, through the bombing of her home and the relentless attempts to turn her from her path, that saw her to graduation. With numerous photographs; an inspiring and important story.

A MIGHTY LONG WAY: MY JOURNEY TO JUSTICE AT LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL, by Carlotta Walls LaNier with Lisa Frazier Page (One World/Ballantine, 2009)

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Sunday, March 06, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/6/2011

3/6/1920:
The St. Patricks' Mickey Roach, a native of Boston, becomes the first American to score five goals in an NHL game. He accomplishes this feat during an 11-2 victory over the Quebec Bulldogs in Toronto. The next American to record a five-goal game is the New York Rangers' Mark Pavelich during an 11-3 win over the Hartford Whalers on February 23, 1983.

Birthdays:
Lefty Grove b. 1900
Willie Stargell b. 1940
Dick Fosbury b. 1947
Sleepy Floyd b. 1960
Shaquille O'Neal b. 1972


“The human condition is such that pain and effort are not just symptoms which can be removed without changing life itself; they are rather the modes in which life itself, together with the necessity to which it is bound, makes itself felt. For mortals, the ‘easy life of the gods’ would be a lifeless life.”
HANNAH ARENDT, German-American political philosopher

ON GENDER
IDENTIFICATION ISSUES

My sister’s expecting a baby, and I don’t know if I’m going to be an uncle or aunt.

North Carolina State basketball player Chuck Nevitt, explaining why he appeared nervous at practice

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Saturday, March 05, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/5/2011

Manager Casey Stengel, when asked about the potential of Mets prospect Greg Goossen in 1965: "We got a young catcher right here. He's 20 years old, and in 10 years he's got a chance to be 30."

Birthdays:
Elmer Valo b. 1921
Scott Skiles b. 1964
Michael Irvin b. 1966
Paul Konerko b. 1976
Wally Szczerbiak b. 1977

Packers Fact:
The only Packers' rookie to play in all 16 regular-season games in 2008 was wide receiver Jordy Nelson, a second-round choice.



ON SEX AND THE CITY
STARS, TRULY ROCKET
SCIENTISTS

I have to be involved, literally, down to splitting atoms.

actress Sarah Jessica Parker, on her clothing line


“Ask yourself this question: ‘Will this matter a year from now?’”
RICHARD CARLSON, American psychotherapist and writer, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff


RAVE REVIEWS
While he is still a child, T learns the levers of business, the value of a dollar. Then he grows up to be a real estate developer. Over the course of his life, however, he suffers heartache and loss and develops a growing interest in animals and the natural world. In Lydia Millet’s hands the rather vague story becomes wickedly funny, then tragic, then so much else. Publishers Weekly calls this work “lyrical, haunting, or deliciously absurd.” Millet writes fiction with a message (having to do with the loss of our Earth) that is nonetheless a pleasure to read.

HOW THE DEAD DREAM, by Lydia Millet (Counterpoint, 2008)

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Friday, March 04, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/4/2011

3/4/1941:
Black Hawks goalie Sam LoPresti sets an NHL regular-season record with 80 saves against the Bruins in Boston, but he lets three shots slip past him and Chicago loses, 3-2. A rookie from Minnesota, LoPresti stops 42 shots before Roy Conacher scores at 4:24 of the second period; Eddie Wiseman breaks the 2-2 tie with a goal at 17:29 of the third stanza. LoPresti will be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 1973. His son Pete will play in the NHL as a netminder from 1974 through 1981.

Birthdays:
Knute Rockne b. 1888
Dazzy Vance b. 1891
Margaret Osborne duPont b. 1918
Kevin Johnson b. 1966
Landon Donovan b. 1982

Packers Fact:
Wide receiver Donald Driver entered 2009 with a streak of 111 consecutive regular-season games with at least 1 catch.


“Never stop because you are afraid—you are never more likely to be wrong.”
FRIDTJOF NANSEN, Norwegian explorer


ON OF COURSE IT’S A LITTLE TOUGH TO AIM

FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE,
THIS IS A HANDS-FREE FACILITY.

sign above the urinal in a men’s bathroom (thanks to Ernie Rogers)


THE APPLE TREE’S DILEMMA
“Without flowers, the reptiles, which had gotten along fine in a leafy, fruitless world, would probably still rule. Without flowers, we would not be,” writes Michael Pollan in his absolutely engaging book on the way plants and humans have lived and evolved together. His method is similar to that in The Omnivore’s Dilemma, in that he takes four plants—apples, tulips, marijuana, and potatoes—and gives us their perspective on the complex relationship between plants and humans. Delicious and nutritious reading.

THE BOTANY OF DESIRE: A PLANT’S-EYE VIEW OF THE WORLD, by Michael Pollan (Random House, 2002)

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Thursday, March 03, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/3/2011

3/3/1951:
Temple's Bill Mlkvy, "the Owl Without a Vowel," scores 73 points in a 99-69 win over Wilkes College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. In the process, Mlkvy sets an NCAA record of 54 for most consecutive points without a teammate scoring. He'll be a first-round choice of the Philadelphia Warriors in the 1952 NBA draft, but his pro career will last only 31 games. After serving as a major in the U.S. Army, he'll practice dentistry in Newtown, Pennsylvania.

Birthdays:
Willie Keeler b. 1872
Julius Boros b. 1920
Randy Gradishar b. 1952
Jackie Joyner-Kersee b. 1962
Herschel Walker b. 1962

Packers Fact:
In addition to the Packers' Curly Lambeau (1921-1949), the only other man to coach the same NFL team for 29 consecutive seasons i the Cowboys Tom Landry (1960-1988).


ON MESSAGES, HELPFUL

Registration Result
The e-mail has either been confirmed, or cannot be confirmed.

computer message, after an attempt to register on a website



“Wickedness is always wickedness, but folly is not always folly. It depends upon the character of those who handle it.”
JANE AUSTEN, English novelist


FOOTNOTED THRILLS
Dr. Peter Brown works hard to save lives. But there was a time when he was known as Pietro Brnwa and his occupation was more or less the opposite. That was when he was a hit man for the mob. Remaking his life under the witness protection program goes well until an associate from the old days turns up in his emergency room. The plot moves fast from there, with some wicked complications, and Dr. Brown is a likable and bookworthy character. Nicely diverting, with interesting and amusing footnotes.

BEAT THE REAPER, by Josh Bazell (Little, Brown, 2009)

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Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 2/28-3/2/2011

2/28/1960:
At Squaw Valley, California, the underdog U.S. Olympic hockey team earns gold with a 9-4 win over Czechoslovakia. Few gave the Americans a chance to medal when the Games began, but the team won its first five contests before facing the Soviet Union, which hadn't lost in the international competition since 1956; in that game, held on the 27th, the United States overcame a 2-1 deficit when Roger and Billy Christian teamed up to score twice for a 3-2 victory. In the gold medal game, the Americans are behind 4-3, then score six unanswered goals in the third period. Billy Christian's son Dave will play on the 1980 U.S. Olympic team that wins the gold medal in the famous "Miracle on Ice."

Birthdays:
Hayden Fry b. 1929
Dean Smith b. 1931
Mario Andretti b. 1940
Bubba Smith b. 1945
Adrian Dantley b. 1956

Packers Fact:
The Packers featured a 4,000-yard passer (Aaron Rodgers) and a 1,200-yard rusher (Ryan Grant) in the same season for the first time in 2008.

3/1/2003:
Built in the mountains of Switzerland, Alinghi wins Race 4 of the America's Cup on the Hauraki Gulf in Auckland, New Zealand. The Swiss team will go on to beat New Zealand in the best-of-nine series, 5-0, the 14th consecutive win for Russell Coutts as an America's Cup skipper. Coutts piloted Team New Zealand to a win in 1995 and successfully defended the Cup in 2000. The Swiss challenge is sponsored by billiionaire entrepreneur Ernesto Bertarelli, who lured Coutts into heading up the Alinghi team.

Birthdays:
Harry Caray b. 1o914
Pete Rozelle b. 1926
Elvin Bethea b. 1946
Mike Rozier b. 1961
Chris Webber b. 1973

Packers Fact:
2007 fourth-round draft choice Allen Barbre won the starting job at right tackle in training camp in 2009.

3/2/1988:
The Fairfield men's basketball team suffers a heartbreaking loss to St. Peter's in the first round of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Entering the contest, Fairfield has a record of 8-19; St. Peter's is 19-8. With two second remaining in tonight's game, Fairfield's Harold Brantley sinks a basket for a 60-59 lead. Believing the game is over, Fairfield coach Mitch Buonaguro and his players race to center court to celebrate. However, St. Peter's had called a timeout before time expired and Buonaguro is assessed a two-shot technical for leaving the bench. St. Peter's sinks both technicals and two more foul shots after a personal on the ensuing in-bounds pass to win, 63-60.

Birthdays:
Mel Ott b. 1909
Hopalong Cassady b. 1934
Ian Woosnam b. 1958
Ben Roethlisberger b. 1982
Reggie Bush b. 1985

Packers Fact:
The Packers' 33-14 rout of the Raiders in Super Bowl II to cap the 1967 season came in Vince Lombardi's final game as Green Bay's coach.




“The laurels of mere willing are dry leaves which have never been green.”
G.W.F. HEGEL, German philosopher

“Adversity is sometimes hard upon a man; but for one man who can stand prosperity, there are a hundred that will stand adversity.”
THOMAS CARLYLE, 19th-century Scottish writer

“A man’s life is interesting primarily when he has failed—I well know. For it’s a sign that he tried to surpass himself.”
GEORGES CLEMENCEAU, French statesman


ON OR A DEAF EYE

If you want a quiet life, you turn a blind ear.

sportscaster Geoffrey Boycott


ON JUST WHAT WERE THOSE ELKS DOING?

Advance Whip & Novelty Co.
v.
Benevolent Protective Order of Elks

actual court case tried in the U.S.


ON CLEAR, YOU BETCHA!

Ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to help shore up the economy—Oh, it’s got to be about job creation too. So health care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions.

Alaska governor Sarah Palin, when campaigning for vice president



WHAT LURKS IN NEW JERSEY
In the first full-length Between the Numbers novel, bounty hunter Stephanie Plum contends with the Jersey Devil, New Jersey’s scary Pine Barrens, a killer and his boy genius sidekick, a burly bounty hunter named Diesel, and some monkeys. Anyone who’s read any of Janet Evanovich’s Plum novels knows that this is a perfect setup for ribald repartee, sly-and-naughty humor, and no end of wacky, over-the-top just plain fun.

PLUM SPOOKY, by Janet Evanovich (St. Martin’s Press, 2009)

GIFT IDEA
You can definitely hear those dancing feet when you lay this high-spirited compendium of Broadway’s most popular and influential musicals on your lap and start leafing from show to show. It provides everything you want to know about the 101 shows, as well as bright and incisive opinions and some zesty gossip, too. Every page includes photos, most of which you’ve never seen before. A perfect gift for the Broadway Babies in your life.

BROADWAY MUSICALS: THE 101 GREATEST SHOWS OF ALL TIME, by Ken Bloom and Frank Vlastnik, with a Foreword by Jerry Orbach (Black Dog & Leventhal, 2008)

THE NEW CLASSICS
In Open Ground, Seamus Heaney, one of the most renowned of our contemporary poets, gathered poems from all his books from the beginning to 1996, along with some previously unpublished verse and his Nobel lecture. He created a book that shows the reader his growth and development as a poet of surpassing artistry, intelligence, and feeling. If you believe that poetry enhances life, this is a must read.

OPEN GROUND: SELECTED POEMS, 1966-1996, by Seamus Heaney (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1999)

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