Sports Fact and Book Rec of the Day 5/29/2008

5/29/2005:
Danica Patrick becomes the first woman ever to lead the Indianapolis 500 at any point of the race, let alone in its closing stages, before she's passed with six laps to go. Competing in only her fifth Indy car race, the 23-year-old rookie from Phoenix gambled on finishing the race without a final pit stop, but her car just didn't have enough fuel to go full throttle when England's Dan Wheldon took the lead. It's Wheldon's first victory at the Brickyard, but Patrick's heroic effort wins the day.

Birthdays:
Tony Zale b. 1913
Richie Guerin b. 1932
Al Unser Sr. b. 1939
Eric Davis b. 1962
Carmelo Anthony b. 1984

1977:
Ten years after winning his third Indy 500, A.J. Foyt takes the checkered flag for a record fourth time.

"Last Sunday, A.J. Foyt accomplished something he has been obsessed with for a decade-he won his fourth Indianapolis 500. In the race's 61 runnings no one else has won four Indys, so Foyt has carved himself a conspicuous niche in the history of the sport." -Sam Moses, June 6, 1977

Packers Fact:
Brett Favre tossed his 400th career touchdown pass in 2006 Week 3 against Detroit. He also added numbers 401 and 402 in a 31-24 victory.

LOVE UNDER THE BIG TOP

“With a showman’s expert timing, [Gruen] saves a terrific revelation for the final pages, transforming a glimpse of Americana into an enchanting escapist fairy tale.”—The New York Times Book Review

Just out of school, Jake Jankowski joins the Depression-era Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth as its vet. He falls in love with Marlena, the star equestrienne, who is married to the head animal trainer. Among the freaks and roustabouts, drunks and clowns (and the elephant that responds only to Polish), the star-crossed lovers try to find their way to some kind of happiness. Gruen does a magnificent job of bringing the gritty world of a traveling circus to dramatic and colorful life.

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS, by Sara Gruen (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2006)