Sports Fact and Book Rec of the Day 8/17/2007

8/17/1976:
Never known as a speed merchant, George Brett pulls off a surprise steal of home in the last of the 10th inning to give the Kansas City Royals a 4-3 win over Cleveland. On his way to the first of three American League batting titles, Brett Singles with one out off Dave LaRoche. Then, after stealing second base and going to third on an overthrow, he catches everyone off guard - especially LaRoche, who was working from a full windup - as he canters home.

Birthdays:
Boog Powell b. 1941
Guillermo Vilas b. 1952
Christian Laettner b. 1969
Jim Courier b. 1970
Jorge Posada b. 1971

The setting: 1940s San Francisco. The players: A big band music arranger and a pretty, young composer. The problem: murder. Holmes’s Edgar Award-winning second novel introduces a mystery, and the CD that accompanies it provides some clues to the solution. Ingenious!

SWING, by Rupert Holmes (Random House, 2005)

Holmes’s Broadway musical, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, won five Tony Awards.