Sports Fact and Book Rec of the Day 5/24/2008

5/24/1978:
The Memphis Rogues achieve the biggest win in their brief history, blanking the talent-laden defending NASL champion New York Cosmos, 1-0, at the Liberty Bowl. After losing nine of their first 10 games in their debut season, Memphis gets shutout goaltending from John Houska, and Englishman Tony Field, a former Cosmos striker, scores the only goal of the game. Sadly, a mere 11,000 fans are on hand to see the Cosmos, easily the NASL's most prominent franchise, in their first visit to town, and after three sluggish years at the gate the foundering Rogues will be forced to move to Calgary in Alberta, Canada, in 1980.

Birthdays:
Mitch Kupchak b. 1954
Joe Dumars b. 1963
Pat Verbeek b. 1964
Bartolo Colon b. 1973
Tracy McGrady b. 1979

1992:
Al Unser, Junior, won the Indianapolis 500 for the first time. His father, Al Unser, Senior, won the prestigious race a record four times.

"To win here," said Big Al, "and then to have your son win here is the greatest feeling there is." Said Little Al, "This race means the world to me. It's life to me." The emotions of the moment were a father's pride and a son's joy." -Ed Hinton, June 1, 1992

Packers Fact:
Noah Herron played college football at Northwestern.

TO OZ AND BEYOND

“In the Library of Trivia, which I wish were never absent from our shelves, I believe The Dictionary of Imaginary Places to be our indispensable reference book.”—Italo Calvino

From Homer’s Land of the Lotus Eaters to Harry Potter’s Hogwarts, if it’s been imagined, it’s probably in this book. Over 1,200 entries are described in wonderful and sometimes droll detail, many accompanied by maps and illustrations. A must-have reference for the lover of literature.

THE DICTIONARY OF IMAGINARY PLACES, by Alberto Manguel and Gianni Guadalupi (Harcourt, 2000)