Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Midweek trivia mix: Magic, Bird, Kimble, L.T. & Espo

Phil Esposito - (Bruins) - Action
Esposito in action

It's mid-week and we're just starting to dip our toes into the college basketball tournament waters. Conference tourneys are in process and we're just days away from being able to fill out our NCAA Tournament brackets. Aside from college hoops, LaDainian Tomlinson is also in the news, with San Diego confirming his place on its roster with a new three-year contract. And now it's time to get buff:

CLOUD 9

Do you realize it's been 20 years since the amazing run by Bo Kimble and Loyola Marymount? And 30 years since the legendary, magical Larry Bird-Earvin "Magic" Johnson matchup in 1979? And let's not forget UConn's big upset of Duke 10 years ago behind Richard Hamilton and Khalid El-Amin. Years ending in "9" have certainly been special when it comes to the NCAAs. Here's hoping 2009 provides similar memories.

ALL SMILES IN SAN DIEGO

Congrats to Chargers fans, who are stoked to learn that LaDainian Tomlinson will still be wearing powder blue on retro Sundays after agreeing to a restructured contract. On the subject of Tomlinson, his extraordinary rushing and receiving skills are well documented, but did you know that he has also thrown for seven touchdowns in his NFL career? See L.T.'s stats here.


ON THIS DATE IN 1971

In a 7-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings, Hockey Hall of Famer Phil Esposito scored twice to set three new NHL scoring records. He increased his single-season record totals to 60 goals and 128 points. Along with breaking Bobby Hull's regular-season record for goals (58) and his own mark for points (126), "Espo" also set a new standard for most goals in a season including playoffs (previous record was 59, set by Jean Beliveau of Montreal). More on Esposito here.