Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 2/17/2012

2/17/1968:
Jean-Claude Killy of France wins his third gold medal in Alpine skiing at the Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France, after a jury's decision makes it official. In the slalom race, Killy has a two-heat time of 99.75 seconds. A spectator interferes with the second run of Karl Schranz of Austria, causing him to pull off course. He is given permission to go again, and turns in a time of 99.22 seconds. But after a review of the tapes, Schranz is reported for missing a gate before the spectator's interference, and is therefore automatically disqualified. After five hours of deliberation, the Jury of Appeal awards Killy the gold medal by a vote of 3-2. He had previously won gold in the downhill and the giant slalom. The identity of the mysterious interloper is never known. Schranz's supporters contend that it was a French policeman or soldier who crossed Schranz's path to prevent him from winning.

Birthdays:
Red Barber b. 1908
Rod Dedeaux b. 1914
Jim Brown b. 1936
Michael Jordan b. 1963
Luc Robitaille b. 1966

WHODUNIT

Named one of the 10 Best Crime Novels of 2010 by Booklist, the debut of the hard-edged Mike Bowditch mystery series features a game warden determined to prove his ne’er-do-well father is not a murderer. Author Paul Doiron, the editor in chief of Down East magazine, has the chops to bring Maine’s craggy and remote backwoods crackling to life. You’ll think you’re in the wild during outdoor scenes that The New York Times describes as “eye-popping.”

THE POACHER’S SON, by Paul Doiron (Minotaur, 2010)