Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 7/2/2007

7/2/1977:
Jim Spencer drives in eight runs in a game for the second time this season, leading the Chicago White Sox, a.k.a. the South Side Hit Men, to a 13-8 victory over the Minnesota Twins. Amazingly, Spencer uses the same combination of hits today that he posted on May 14, when he raked the Indians for eight ribbies. He has two homers, including a grand slam, and a single to demolish the Twins at Comiskey Park and help the ChiSox move into first place in the American League West.

Birthdays:
Rene Lacoste b. 1904
Larry Costello b. 1931
Richard Petty b. 1937
Jose Canseco b. 1964
Sean Casey b. 1974

QUIRKY HISTORIES

Poor honeybees! They are shunned for their irritating buzzing and feared for their stings. But author Holley Bishop comes to praise bees, not to swat at them. Honeybees and their miraculous nectar have been an important part of history. Honey has been the basis for preservatives, salves, medicines, alcoholic drinks, and, of course, culinary marvels for millennia. This passionate, personal (Bishop recently started beekeeping herself) natural history is a sweet look at an overlooked creature.

ROBBING THE BEES: A BIOGRAPHY OF HONEY—THE SWEET LIQUID GOLD THAT SEDUCED THE WORLD, by Holley Bishop (Free Press, 2006)