Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 5/17/2007

5/17/1978:
Super sub Lee Lacy of the Los Angeles Dodgers becomes the first man in baseball history to hit three consecutive pinch home runs in three official times at bat when he connects off Jim Rooker of the Pirates at Dodger Stadium. Earlier this month, Lacy homered off Rick Reuschel of the Cubs and John Candelaria of Pittsburgh. In 1978 Del Unser of the Phillies will equal Lacy's achievement, and Matthew LeCroy of the Minnesota Twins will become the third member of this unique club in 2004.

Birthdays:
Cool Papa Bell b. 1903
Earl Morrall b. 1934
Tony Roche b. 1945
Sugar Ray Leonard b. 1956
Danny Manning b. 1966


What if Jane Austen hadn’t left the Napoleonic Wars out of her books? What if, alongside lovers wooing one another at elegant parties, there were spies tiptoeing around? Lauren Willig’s first novel envisions just such a situation, with delightful results. Her heroine, Eloise Kelly, is a modern-day graduate student who gets whisked into the past when she discovers a cache of papers that will reveal the true identity of a spy to rival the Scarlet Pimpernel himself, the Pink Carnation. A delicious, literary treat for historical mystery buffs and a must for all fans of the Regency period.

THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE PINK CARNATION, by Lauren Willig (NAL Trade, 2005)