Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 5/27/2007

5/27/1983:
Defending his world middleweight title for the seventh time, Marvelous Marvin Hagler knocks out Wilford Scypion in the fourth round at the Providence Civic Center. Hagler (57-2-2) makes short work of the challenger (26-4), whose manager, Kenny Weldon, had publicly questioned the champion's ability-not the shrewdest strategy to employ against arguably the best fighter in the world at any weight.

Birthdays:
Sam Snead b. 1912
Jeff Bagwell b. 1968
Frank Thomas b. 1968
Todd Hundley b. 1969
Antonio Freeman b. 1972

CULT CLASSICS

The macabre tale of four children locked away by a cruel mother and the sequels that followed it, Petals on the Wind (1980) and If There Be Thorns (1981), were massive bestsellers. Their power to frighten has not diminished a bit today. If you are a horror fan and you haven’t read V. C. Andrews, you are missing out on one of the genre’s most celebrated writers.

FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC, by V. C. Andrews (1979; Pocket Books, 2005)

V. C. Andrews died in 1986, but she was so popular, her estate hired a ghostwriter to keep cranking out books in her name.