Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/19/2012

3/19/1972:
The Lakers bury the Golden State Warriors, 162-99, at the Forum. The Warriors come into the contest needing a win to clinch a berth in the playoffs. The Lakers lead 42-34 at the end of the first quarter and 71-56 at halftime. The 15-point deficit grows to 63 by the end of the game as the exhausted Warriors, playing in their fourth game in as many nights and their seventh in a 10-day span, simply collapse. Los Angeles outscores Golden State 49-21 in the third period and 42-22 in the fourth. The Lakers go on to win the 1972 NBA title following a regular-season record of 69-13. The Warriors will clinch their playoff berth in their next game three nights later with a 121-101 victory against the Bullets in Baltimore. Golden State finishes the 1971-72 season with a respectable 51-31 record befoer losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the postseason.

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

GONZO HISTORY

If you like Mary Roach (Stiffed), Thomas Cahill (How the Irish Saved Civilization), or Mark Kurlansky (Cod), then give W. Hodding Carter a whirl. Looking at the world through lead (now PVC) pipes has never been so entertaining or enlightening. Belongs on the toilet tanks of all discerning ecologists and quirky history buffs.

FLUSHED: HOW THE PLUMBER SAVED CIVILIZATION, by W. Hodding Carter (Atria, 2007)