FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Randy Gene Moss (born February 13, 1977) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans and the San Francisco 49ers. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most talented wide receivers of all time, he holds the NFL single-season touchdown reception record (23 in 2007), as well as the NFL single-season touchdown reception record for a rookie (17 in 1998). All-time, Moss ranks second in career touchdown receptions as well as fourth in career receiving yards. Possessing much superior speed, size, and leaping ability over most of his defenders, he often was famously known for securing contested catches in tight coverage by physically overpowering them. The term “mossed”, referring to this ability, became a common term in football lexicon.
Moss played college football for Marshall University, and twice earned All-America honors. A six-time Pro Bowl and four-time first-team All-Pro selection, Moss was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft, where he played for seven years before a trade in 2005 brought him to the Oakland Raiders. In 2007, Moss was traded to the New England Patriots, where he set the single-season record for touchdown receptions and helped lead the Patriots to a record breaking 16–0 regular season. In October 2010, Moss returned to the Vikings in a trade from the Patriots but was waived less than a month later and then claimed by the Tennessee Titans. After sitting out the 2011 season, Moss signed a one-year contract with the San Francisco 49ers in 2012 before retiring following the season. He played in two Super Bowl games, XLII with the Patriots and XLVII with the 49ers, both losses. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018, and is a member of the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team and the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.
Post-football, he began working for ESPN as a studio analyst for its Sunday NFL Countdown and Monday Night Countdown programs.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
Question of the Day
What is the significance of the dreidel game that children play at Chanukah?
In ancient times, Jews living in Syrian lands were prohibited from reading their holy book, “The Torah.” However, many adults continued to do so, but kept a dreidel (a small top-lik toy) nearby. If officials entered their home, they could quickly hide their books and pretend to be playing a game.
Advice of the Day
Don’t forget to fill the bird feeder when winter storms are forecast.
Home Hint of the Day
You can dry woven wool garments on hangers. Knitted wool clothing should be laid flat to dry; it will stretch if hung.
Word of the Day
Frigophobia
Fear of cold
Puzzle of the Day
Can a leopard change his spots?
Yes, when he is tired of one place, he can go to another.
Born
- Charles Macintosh (chemist & inventor) – 1766
- Charles Goodyear (inventor) – 1800
- Andrew Johnson (17th U.S. president) – 1808
- Ed Flanders (actor) – 1934
- Mary Tyler Moore (actress) – 1936
- Ted Danson (actor) – 1947
- Patricia Clarkson (actress) – 1959
- Kevin Weisman (actor) – 1970
- Jude Law (actor) – 1972
Died
- Earl Hindman (actor) – 2003
Events
- Saint Thomas Becket was murdered by four knights– 1170
- Texas admitted to the Union as the 28th state– 1845
- Gaslights were first used at the White House– 1848
- American Meteorological Society founded at St. Louis, Missouri– 1919
- William Lyon Mackenzie King became 10th Prime Minister of Canada– 1921
- Fred Newton became the first and only person to swim the length of the Mississippi River. It took him about six months to cover the 1,826 miles from Minnesota to New Orleans. He was in the water for 742 hours and was protected from the cold water by a layer of axle grease on his body– 1930
- The discovery of deuterium was publicly announced– 1931
- Lake Washington Floating Bridge construction began, Seattle, Washington– 1938
- Ashrita Furman stood on a Swiss ball for 3 hours, 38 minutes, and 30 seconds– 2003
- Tom Brady of the New England Patriots broke Peyton Mannings’s single-season touchdown pass record when he threw his 50th of the season against the New York Giants– 2007
- Randy Moss of the New England Patriots set an NFL record with 23 touchdown catches– 2007
- The New England Patriots set an NFL record by winning 16 out of 16 games in the regular season– 2007
Weather
- Morning “silvered by the icicles everywhere shining,” New London, Connecticut– 1747
- Thirty inches of snow fell on central Illinois– 1830
COURTESY www.almanac.com
