Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 2/21/2012

2/21/1982:
The New York Islanders' 15-game winning streak comes to an end with a 4-3 loss to the Penguins in Pittsburgh. The Islanders lead 3-2 at the end of the second period before Mike Bullard scores two goals for the Penguins at 4:20 and 15:31 of the third. Pittsburgh comes into the game with a season record of 22-29-10. During the 15-game winning streak, the Islanders defeated the Penguins four times by a combined score of 25-6. The 15-game streak breaks the NHL record of 14 set by the 1929-30 Boston Bruins. It will stand as the record until the Penguins win 17 in a row from March 9, 1993, through April 10, 1993. The Penguins, however, will win two of those games in overtime, while the Islanders won each of their 15 in the regulation 60 minutes. The NHL will settle regular-season games with a five-minute overtime beginning with the 1983-84 season.

Birthdays:
Tom Yawkey b. 1903
Jack Ramsay b. 1925
Alan Trammell b. 1958
Brian Rolston b. 1973
Steve Francis b. 1978

A LIFE

Of all the bios of Satchmo, Pops is tops. Wall Street Journal theater critic Terry Teachout is the first biographer to gain access to the hundreds of hours of tape in which Armstrong recorded the details of his life, so based on accuracy alone, this is a winner. Don’t overlook its style and smarts, though. Teachout neatly debunks Uncle Tom theories about Armstrong’s signature smile, and the joy his subject took from life and music permeate the prose. A warm and wonderful revelation.

POPS: A LIFE OF LOUIS ARMSTRONG, by Terry Teachout (Houghton Mifflin, 2009)