This Day in History November 6, 1976

By DoD (US Army website images collection) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Today we salute one of America's own.  On this date in 1976, Pat Tillman was born.  He excelled in football in high school, and went on to play for Arizona State University--where he also graduated with a degree in marketing in less than four years and a high GPA.  In 1998, the Arizona Cardinals drafted him.

He gave up high-paying contracts and more to enlist in the army with his brother May 2002.  On April 22, 2003, he was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan.  There are still many unanswered questions concerning his death in spite of inquiries.  He paid the ultimate price for this country that he loved.

For more information, please check out:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4815441/ns/world_news/t/ex-nfl-star-tillman-makes-ultimate-sacrifice/#.UJkPsm_A-So
http://www.biography.com/people/pat-tillman-197041
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Tillman
http://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/pat-tillman.html

This Day in History January 3, 1983

I am the first to tell you that sports means virtually nothing to me.  I will tolerate football, but I can very happily live without it.

But on this date in 1983, Tony Dorsett of the Dallas Cowboys made the NFL record books with his 99-yard touchdown run!  But true to the lovely Cowboy spirit, they still lost!  I know that at one time the Cowboys were a good team, but although I lived there for many years, I am still not a fan.  The closest thing to a fan I ever was was when I lived near Tampa, Florida, and Tony Dungy was the Buccaneer's coach.

This is still on the record books--it has been tied, but it has not been broken, and it is believed it never will be.

For more information, please check out these sites:
http://www.profootballhof.com/history/story.aspx?F_y=2009&F_m=12&F_d=21&CustomURL=tony-dorsetts-shoes&print=y
http://espn.go.com/blog/statsinfo/post/_/id/35233/brees-latest-monday-night-record-breaker