Sports Fact and Book Rec of the Day 8/24/2007

8/24/1921:
Art Nehf and Shufflin' Phil Douglas hurl companion five-hitters as the New York Giants sweep first-place Pittsburgh, 10-2 adn 7-0, turning the National League pennant race completely around. Irish Meusel has five hits in the twin bill as the McGrawmen rough up the visiting Corsairs, who boasted a nine-game lead in the loss column at the start of play. The Giants will sweep this five-game series from Pittsburgh, finish the year on a 24-9 run to win their first of four straight NL pennants and go on to beat the Yankees in the World Series.

Birthdays:
Mike Shanahan b. 1952
Cal Ripken Jr. b. 1960
Reggie Miller b. 1965
Tim Salmon b. 1968
Rafael Furcal b. 1980


How did you spend your summer vacation? William Dalrymple decided to retrace Marco Polo’s footsteps during one of his. The Cambridge University student traveled overland from Jerusalem to Beijing, encountering bazaars, mosques, cathedrals, oases, ancient cities, eccentric people, and wonders of the world. It’s a glorious, madcap, epic adventure (“a quest,” the book promises) by a first-class travel writer.

IN XANADU, by William Dalrymple (Lonely Planet Publications, 2000)