Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/14-15/2012

3/1/1982:
Second-ranked DePaul, with a record of 26-1, loses to unranked Boston college in their first game of the NCAA basketball tournament, 70-66, in Dallas, Texas. It is the third straight year that DePaul is seeded number one in their region and is upset in their first contest of the tournament to a team ranked outside the top 20. On March 9, 1980, in Tempe, Arizona, the Blue Demons were the top-ranked team in the nation with a 26-1 mark before losing, 77-71, to UCLA. Heading into the 1981 tournament, coach Ray Meyer's squad had a record of 27-1 and was again ranked number one. Opening against St. Joseph's (Penna.) on March 15 in Dayton, Ohio, DePaul will lose, 49-48, on a lay-up by John Smith with three seconds remaining.

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

3/15/1958:
Cincinnati Royals forward Maurice Stokes, one of basketball's great young stars, suffers a seizure on an airplane, following a Royals loss to the Pistons in Detroit. Stokes is diagnosed with post-traumatic encephalopathy, a brain injury. It was caused when he struck his head on the floor during a game against the Minneapolis Lakers on March 12. Permanently paralyzed, he'll be cared for by teammate Jack Twyman until his death from a heart attack in 1970. Twyman will tirelessly raise money for his friend's staggering medical bills. The relationship between the African American Stokes and the Caucasian Twyman will be chronicled in the 1973 film Maurie. Stokes is portrayed by former NFL star Bernie Casey and Twyman by Bo Svenson.

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

BESTSELLER

Sweeter than the frosting on a Lady Baltimore cake, lighter than a breeze rustling a magnolia tree, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt isn’t going to challenge your pretty brain, but it will entertain you for many pleasant hours with eccentric ladies from Savannah, bustling, meddling, gossiping, and whatnot. For fans of The Help and Steel Magnolias.

SAVING CEECEE HONEYCUTT, by Beth Hoffman (Penguin, 2010)

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

In this Fast Food Nation for fish, Taras Grescoe investigates seafood around the world, from pesticide-treated fisheries in India to the murky waters of the Chesapeake Bay. Is that lobster you’re eating actually monkfish? Is farmed salmon healthy at all? Grescoe’s muckraking is tempered by his love of seafood and by writing worthy of a travelogue. Amid scenes of devastation on the seas are delights in restaurants worldwide. Every foodie should read, savor, and learn from this book.

BOTTOMFEEDER: HOW TO EAT ETHICALLY IN A WORLD OF VANISHING SEAFOOD, by Taras Grescoe (Bloomsbury, 2009)