Sports Fact and Book Rec of the Day 5/23/2008

5/23/1987:
Chic Chi Rodriguez cards eight straight birdies on his way to a 7-under-par 65 in second-round play at a PGA Senior tournament at Oklahoma City. Entertaining as always, he employs his trademark maneuver on all eight holes, sheathing his putter into an invisible scabbard as a would-be sword. He'll go on to win this event at the Qual Creek Golf and Country Club by three shots over Bruce Crampton. He'll also go on to lead the earnings list for the year, becoming the first senior player (50 and over) to surpass $500,000 in one year.

Birthdays:
Zack Wheat b. 1888
Vic Stasiuk b. 1929
John Newcombe b. 1943
Marvin Hagler b. 1954
Rick Karlis b. 1959

1979:
Dutch star Johan Cruyff signed a then unheard of two-year, $1.4 million contract with the North American Soccer League's Los Angeles Aztecs.

"Johan Cruyff plays soccer the way Picasso drew-with economy, precision and a surpassing excellence that puts the observer in awe, soars above the competition, even the subject matter. The 32-year-old Dutch midfielder-forward, who four weeks ago became the NASL's biggest catch since Pele, has been like a bracing shot of Dutch gin for the Los Angeles Aztecs." -J.D. Reed, June 25, 1979

Packers Fact:
While with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2005, Jon Ryan unleashed an 80-yard punt in one game.

HIP FIC

“Highly moving and lively storytelling: Hornby’s gifts become more apparent with each outing.”—Kirkus Reviews

It’s New Year’s Eve. On the roof of Toppers’ House, a popular suicide spot in London, four strangers happen to meet as they go about the business of killing themselves. What results is the story, told by each of the four in turn, of why they went up to the roof, and how they descended from it in the conventional way (that is to say, alive) to eventually become unlikely friends. The author of High Fidelity is pitch-perfect in this hilarious and tender group portrait.

A LONG WAY DOWN, by Nick Hornby (Riverhead, 2006)