Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 3/26/2012

3/26/1952:
The New York Knicks defeat the Boston Celtics, 88-87, in double overtime at the Boston Garden in the third and deciding game of the first round of the NBA playoffs. Forward Ernie Vandeweghe breaks the 87-87 tie by sinking a free throw with two seconds remaining. Celtics guard Bob Cousy leads all scorers with 34 points. At the end of the game, officials Jocko Collins and Chuck Solodare are jeered by the fans. League president Maurice Podoloff is attacked by a fan, but police intervene. Vanderweghe is a medical student while he plays for the Knicks from 1949 through 1956. He will marry 1952 Miss America Colleen Kay Hutchins, whose brother Mel was also an NBA player. Ernie and Colleen's son Kiki will be born in 1958 in West Germany while Ernie is a physician with the United States Air Force. Kiki will play basketball at UCLA and have a long career as an NBA player, general manager, and coach.

Birthdays:
Rip Engle b. 1906
Al Bianchi b. 1932
Marcus Allen b. 1960
John Stockton b. 1962
Michael Peca b. 1974

LIVING HISTORY

The chief curator of the Historic Royal Palaces of the UK takes us on a vivid tour of the Georgian court at Kensington Palace. Marvelous gossip—sex scandals, power struggles, and social backstabbing—and intricate details about the daily lives of the royals of the late 1700s are something only a historian with Lucy Worsley’s access and training could provide. If you liked Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman, you’ll love The Courtiers.

THE COURTIERS: SPLENDOR AND INTRIGUE IN THE GEORGIAN COURT AT KENSINGTON PALACE, by Lucy Worsley (Walker Books, 2010)