Sports Fact and Book Rec of the Day 8/28/2007

8/28/1990:
Stefan Edberg of Sweden is ambushed in the opening round of the U.S. Open by Aleksandr Volkov of Russia in straight sets. After winning Wimbledon two months ago, Edberg seized every commercial venture and exhibition opportunity that came his way and arrived in New York fairly well used up. The power-serving, unseeded Volkov makes short work of the top-seeded Swede, who learns a cruel lesson about the vagaries of properly managing his time and tournament workload. Edberg will return next year with renewed vigor and win this event in 1991 and '92.

Birthdays:
Andy Bathgate b. 1932
Lou Piniella b. 1943
Ron Guidry b. 1950
Joel Youngblood b. 1951
Janet Evans b. 1971


“Fierce, wise, gripping, and true, Girls marks the continuing evolution of a first-rate American storyteller.”—The New York Times Book Review

“About as close to perfect as a novel gets.”—Men’s Journal

“Nearly as intricate and mysterious as life itself.”—The Washington Post Book World

Frederick Busch’s books, usually set in upstate New York, plumb the depths of the soul. Girls is the story of an ordinary man who tries to solve a grisly murder and in the course of doing so, saves his dignity and his marriage, and gives meaning to his fractured life.

GIRLS, by Frederick Busch (Ballantine Books, 1998)