Sports Fact and Book Rec of the Day 7/31/2007

7/31/1997:
Imperceptibly adding two vital cogs to the team that will ultimately "reverse the curse" in Boston, the Red Sox part with veteran closer Heathcliff Slocumb to obtain rookie pitcher Derek Lowe and catching prospect Jason Varitek from the Seattle Mariners. While the erratic Slocumb will fall out of favor with his new employers almost overnight, Lowe and Varitek become essential components of the Red Sox team that will eventually win the World Series in 2004.

Birthdays:
Curt Gowdy b. 1919
Hank Bauer b. 1922
Vic Davalillo b. 1936
Evonne Goolagong Cawley b. 1951
Kevin Greene b. 1962

WEIRD SCIENCE

Vaillant takes British Columbia’s Queen Charlotte Islands—seemingly serene Pacific Northwest territory—and exposes the churning violence and conflict that has simmered there for centuries. Haida Indians, European settlers, loggers, and environmentalists have all clashed over the ownership and use of the land. Through all the turmoil one unique 300-year-old golden spruce stood tall, revered by all...until one extreme environmentalist chopped it down. Vaillant takes a small patch of land and a small cast of characters and portrays an epic struggle of man versus nature. A brilliant and tragic read.

THE GOLDEN SPRUCE: A TRUE STORY OF MYTH, MADNESS, AND GREED, by John Vaillant (W.W. Norton & Company, 2005)