Sports Fact & This Day In History 1/1-1/2/2015

January 1:
45 BCE: First New Year's Day celebrated
New Year's Day was celebrated on January 1 for the first time in history as teh Julian calendar took effect. Soon after becoming Roman dictator, Julius Caesar decided that the traditional Roman calendar was in need of reform. In designing his new calendar, Caesar enlisted the aid of Sosigenes, an Alexandrian astronomer, who advised him to do away with the lunar cycle entirely and follow the solar year, as the Egyptians did. The year was calculated to be 365 and 1/4 days, and Caesar added sixty-seven days to 45 BC, making 46 BC begin on January 1, rather than in March. He also decreed that every four years a day be added to February, thus theoretically keeping his calendar from falling out of step. Celebrating New Year's Day in January fell out of practice during the Middle Ages, and even those who strictly adhered to the Julian calendar did not observe the New Year exactly on January 1. The reason for the latter was that Caesar and Sosigenes failed to calculate the correct value for the solar year as 365.242199 days, not 365.25 days. Thus, an eleven-minute-a-year error added seven days by the year 1000, and ten days by the mid-fifteenth century.

1/1/1965:
Fifth-ranked Texas downs undefeated number one Alabama 21-17 at the Orange Bowl in Miami. Shown on ABC, it is the first college football game ever telecast nationally in primetime. The Longhorns lead 21-7 at halftime with the help of two touchdowns from running back Ernie Koy, one of which covers 79 yards. The Crimson Tide mounts a comeback and trails 21-17 late in the fourth quarter with a first-and-goal at the Texas three. Four running plays - the last a quarterback sneak by Joe Namath - come up a foot short of the goal line. At the time, there are no post-bowl polls, and Alabama is still declared national champions. The next day Namath signs a contract with the Jets worth $400,000, the most lucrative ever in football to this point.

Birthdays:
Hank Greenberg b. 1911
Rocky Graziano b. 1922
Doak Walker b. 1927
Marlin McKeever b. 1940
Derrick Thomas b. 1967

January 2:
1492: Moors lose control of Spain
On this day, the kingdom of Granada fell to the Christian forces of King Ferdinand V and Queen Isabella I, and the Moors lost their last foothold in Spain. Located at the confluence of the Darro and Genil Rivers in southern Spain, the city of Granada was a Moorish fortress that rose to prominence during the reign of Sultan Almoravid in the eleventh century. In 1238, the Christian Reconquest forced Spanish Muslims south, and the kingdom of Granada was established as the last refuge of the Moorish civilization. Granada flourished culturally and economically for the next two hundred years, but in the late fifteenth century internal feuds and a strengthened Spanish monarchy under Ferdinand and Isabella signaled the end of Moorish civilization in Spain. On January 2, 1492, King Boabdil surrendered Granada to the Spanish forces, and in 1502 the Spanish crown ordered all Muslims forcibly converted to Christianity. The next century saw a number of persecutions, and in 1609 the last Moors still adhering to Islam were expelled from Spain.

1/2/1985:
Jerry Tarkanian earns his 600th victory as a collegiate head coach, leading the Nevada-Las Vegas Runnin' Rebels to a 142-140 decision over Utah State in three overtimes at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in Logan, Utah. UNLV trails 59-49 at halftime, before the two teams scorch the nets for a combined 176 points in the second half to end regulations at 116-116. Utah State seems to have the game well in hand with a 140-134 advantage with 3:42 left in the third overtime. Six of the UNLV players have fouled out. But the Runnin' Rebels hold the Aggies scoreless the remainder of the game. Richard Robinson breaks the 140-140 tie on a tip-in with 41 seconds remaining. Richie Adams leads UNLV with 37 points. Fred Banks contributes 31 points and game-tying baskets in the final seconds of both regulation and the first overtime.

Birthdays:
Gina Marchetti b. 1927
Robbie Ftorek b. 1952
David cone b. 1963
Edgar Martinez b. 1963
Pernell Whitaker b. 1964