orts Fact & Book Rec of the Day 1/21-22/2012

Football coach Gary Fallon of Washington and Lee University before a drawing to determine which student would get to throw a pie at him for the benefit of charity, in 1982: "I hope one of my senior quarterbacks gets drawn, so the pie will be intercepted before it gets to my face."

Birthdays:
Don Donoher b. 1932
Jack Nicklaus b. 1940
Hakeem Olajuwon b. 1963
Deitlef Schrempf b. 1963
Rusty Greet b. 1969

1/22/1987:
A paltry crowd of 334 fans shows up for a game between the New Jersey Devils and the Calgary Flames at the Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford as a 20-inch snowstorm descends on the New York metropolitan area. Only 13 Devils players arrive by the time the contest is schedule to start, causing a delay of 106 minutes. The Devils win, 7-5.

Birthdays:
Elmer Lach b. 1918
Serge Savard b. 1946
George Foreman b. 1948
Mike Bossy b. 1957
Greg Oden b. 1988



Take a bit of Annie Proulx, add some Cormac McCarthy, and sprinkle on a dash of Shane. You might end up with Minnesota-native Leif Enger’s second bestselling novel, which, according to The Miami Herald, “deserves to become a classic.” When the lives of a train robber and a blocked writer clash, a rip-roaring Western of grit and adventure results.

SO BRAVE, YOUNG, AND HANDSOME, by Leif Enger (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2008)