Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 5/11/2007

5/11/1988:
The bonus cantos lamp is brightly lit throughout major league baseball tonight as 6 of the 12 games on the slate go extra innings, 5 of them in the National League. The Mets beat the Astros, 9-8, in 10 innings and the Cubs blank the Padres, 1-0, also in 10. Taking a bit longer, the Phils edge the Reds, 4-3, and the Pirates nip the Dodgers, 2-1, both in 11 innings. The lone AL entry sees the Indians best the Angels, 4-3 in 13 innings, while the longest game of the evening produces a 5-4 win by the Giants over the Cardinals in 16 innings. It's the third time in history that 6 games go extra innings on the same day.

Birthdays:
Charlie Gehringer b. 1903
Rip Sewell b. 1907
Jack Twyman b. 1934
Milt Pappas b. 1939
Kerry Ligtenberg b. 1971

“I have visited and seen many lovely towns across America, but nothing has taken my breath away like old Nantucket.”—Frank Conroy

Frank Conroy, director of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop until his death in 2005, had a love affair with a small island off the coast of Massachusetts since he was a teenager in 1955. Time & Tide is a slice of memory—an appreciation, a portrait, a history of a place with deep resonance for Conroy. A must for those who love Nantucket and a good pick for armchair travelers with a soft spot for beautiful, poetic writing.

TIME & TIDE: A WALK THROUGH NANTUCKET, by Frank Conroy (Crown, 2004)