Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/30/2009

8/30/1959:
The pennant-bound Go-Go White Sox put a stranglehold on the American League standings by completing a four-game sweep of second-place Cleveland at the Indians' home park, Municipal Stadium. The Pale Hose go up by five and a half games with only 25 to play after sweeping a twin bill today, 6-3 and 9-4. Future Hall of Fame right-hander Early Wynn hits a home run and captures the opener, Barry Latman wins the nightcap and onetime AL batting champion Billy Goodman has four hits on the day for Chicago. Ironically, the ChiSox will be right back here in three weeks to clinch their first AL title since 1919.

Birthdays:
Ted Williams b. 1918
Coy Bacon b. 1942
Jean-Claude Killy b. 1943
Tug McGraw b. 1944
Robert Parish b. 1953

TAKE ME BACK

Bill Bryson has endeared himself to us through his spritely, witty travelogues, and he’s been everywhere. But now he’s going back home to Des Moines, Iowa, Land of the Quintessential Boyhood: scrapes, pranks, games of all kinds (especially outside), stupid toys, foods rather ineptly prepared with Campbell’s soups, a makeshift superhero uniform, humiliations, tree-climbing, pets, flatulence, and so on. Pretty irresistible.

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE THUNDERBOLT KID, by Bill Bryson (Random House, 2006)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/28-8/29/2009

8/28/1941:
The world champion Chicago Bears roll to a 37-13 victory over the College All-Stars before more than 98,000 fans at Soldier Field. Bears quarterback Sid Luckman throws touchdown passes to Ken Kavanaugh and George McAfee, and Harry Clark rushes for two more Chicago touchdowns in a contest that sees the All-Stars hang close and trail by only 16-13 in the fourth quarter. One of the collegians' scores is a six-yard TD pass from Charlie O'Rourke of Boston College to Jackie Robinson of UCLA.

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

Packers Fact:
The Packers got their name when the Indian Packing Company gave the team $500 for uniforms and equipment in 1919.

BONFIRE OF THE SANITIES

Tommy Quinn graduates from Duke with nothing much to show for it. (A degree in Interdisciplinary Studies—what was he thinking?) But he lands a job with a high-profile investment banking firm and a friendship with Roger Thorne, a genuine Princeton preppy. A smart, hip ride through money, lust, and greed in America.

MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS, by Dana Vachon (Riverhead Books, 2007)

8/29/2002:
Cubs first baseman Mark Bellhorn becomes the first player in National League history to homer from each side of the plate in the same inning, part of a 10-run explosion in the fourth frame that leads Chicago to a 13-10 win over Milwaukee at Miller Park. Batting right-handed, Bellhorn hits a two-run shot off lefty Andrew Lorraine. His next time up, as the Cubs bat around, he blasts a three-run homer batting left-handed against righty Jose Cabrera. Only Carlos Baerga, in 1993 for Cleveland against the Yankees, had accomplished this feat in the big leagues.

Birthdays:
Wyomia Tyus b. 1945
Bob Beamon b. 1946
Jerry Bailey b. 1957
Pierre Turgeon b. 1969
Roy Oswalt b. 1977

Packers Fact:
Arnie Herber passed for a pair of touchdowns in the Packers' 21-6 victory over the Redskins in the 1936 NFL Championship Game.



What do you get when you cross Jean-Paul Sartre with Chris Rock? Or Friedrich Nietzsche with Steve Martin? Who knows, but it might be something like this sparkling extended essay-cum-standup-routine on the nature of humor and of being human.

PLATO AND A PLATYPUS WALK INTO A BAR: UNDERSTANDING PHILOSOPHY THROUGH JOKES, by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein (Abrams Image, 2007)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/27/2009

8/27/1954:
Cincinnati slugger Ted Kluszewski belts a walk-off homer against Max Surkont at Crosley Field, giving the Reds a 3-2 victory over Pittsburgh. It's Big Klu's sixth home run this year off Surkont, tying an MLB record shared by Highpockets Kelly of the Giants in 1923 (off Vic Aldridge) and Ted Williams in 1941 (off Johnny Rigney). A first baseman, Kluszewski is also part of an around-the-horn triple play pulled off by the Reds in the sixth inning, started by Bobby Adams at third base and going through Johnny Temple at second base. the genial cleanup hitter will lead the majors this year with 49 homers and strike out a remarkably low 35 times.

Birthdays:
Frank Leahy b. 1907
Buddy Bell b. 1951
Bernhard Langer b. 1957
Adam Oates b. 1962
Jim Thome b. 1970

Packers Fact:
The Packers beat the Boston Redskins in the first postseason game in their history in 1936. Green Bay won 21-6 in the NFL title game that year.

ENERGY AND TALENT

If you have encountered comedian John Leguizamo—through his hit one-man shows Mambo Mouth, Spic-O-Rama, Freak, and Sexaholic, or in movies—it is unlikely that you have forgotten him. If you don’t know him yet, you’re in for a treat with this fast-moving memoir that explodes like firecrackers on a hot summer night.

PIMPS, HOS, PLAYA HATAS, AND ALL THE REST OF MY HOLLYWOOD FRIENDS, by John Leguizamo (Ecco, 2006)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/25-26/2009

8/25/2006:
At the Reno-Tahoe Open in Nevada, Yusaku Miyazato of Japan becomes the first golfer in PGA Tour history to make two holes-in-one during the same round. Miyazato aces the 230-yard 7th hole and the 173-yard 12th hole during second-round play at the Montreux Golf and Country Club. Bob Tway and Glen Day each had two holes-in-one in one tournament back in 1994, but no one had ever carded two in one round. Miyazato, whose sister Ai plays on the LPGA Tour, shoots a 6-under-par 66 today, but he'll finish nine strokes behind the eventual winner, Will MacKenzie, who captures the first PGA victory of his career.

Birthdays:
Althea Gibson b. 1927
Rollie Fingers b. 1946
Albert Belle b. 1966
Cornelius Bennett b. 1966
Doug Glanville b. 1970

Packers Fact:
Linebacker Ray Nitschke was named the most valuable player of the Packers' 16-7 victory over the Giants in the 1962 NFL Championship Game. He deflected a pass that was intercepted and recovered 2 fumbles that [led] to 10 points.

UP A TREE

Richard Preston continues the tradition of rippingly exciting science writing, as in his own earlier bestsellers Hot Zone, about the Ebola virus, and The Demon in the Freezer, an epidemiological cautionary tale. Here he sets his sights on a gigantic organism—really an ecosystem—rather than viruses and bacteria. Following in the footsteps of scientists (literally, as he learns to do what the botanists do), Preston climbs to a new world, the canopy of the California redwoods, and documents the teeming life to be found there. It is as momentous a discovery as those of the greatest explorers. Publishers Weekly starred review.

THE WILD TREES: A STORY OF PASSION AND DARING, by Richard Preston (Random House, 2007)

8/26/1947:
Philadelphia Athletics right-hander Phil Marchildon has a no-hitter through eight innings and wins his own game with an RBI double in the 12th as the A's beat Cleveland, 2-1. A native of northern Ontario, Canada, Marchildon was a pilot for the Royal Canadian Air Force who was shot down off the cost of Denmark and spent a year in German captivity. He'll enjoy his finest season in 1947, winning 19 games and completing 21 of 35 starts. In 1983, he'll become a charter member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys, Ontario.

Birthdays:
Billy DeMars b. 1925
Tom Heinsohn b. 1934
Swede Savage b. 1946
Donnie Shell b. 1952
Ricky Bottalico b. 1969

Packers Fact:
With 48 receptions in 1980, Gerry Ellis caught more passes than any other rookie running back in Packers' history.

SWINGING ON THE CHANDELIERS

Where and what is Richistan? It’s a country within a country, discovered and discussed by Robert Frank. The author first began chronicling the citizens and mores of the rich and superrich in his Wall Street Journal columns and expands on his observations here. With moralism refreshingly absent, Frank’s grand tour of the newly rich and the world that produced them is both entertaining and enlightening.

RICHISTAN: A JOURNEY THROUGH THE AMERICAN WEALTH BOOM AND THE LIVES OF THE NEW RICH, by Robert Frank (Crown, 2007)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/24/2009

Pouncing on the chance to sign free agent slugger Frank Thomas at a bargain-basement salary after he was released by the White Sox, Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane explained: "Frank was like a piece of vintage furniture. You just had to look through the dust and shine him up a little."

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

Packers Fact:
The first time that the Packers had two players each run for more than 100 yards in the same game was in 1973. John Brockington gained 142 yards and MacArthur Lane added 101 yards in a 21-0 victory over the Chicago Bears.

A TANGLED WEB

A car wreck, a serial murder, estrangement, and a disappearance open this thriller drama. Anne seeks her daughter, Miranda (Randa), though their relationship has been very strained since the death of Randa’s father. The search for the daughter, who is in danger, inevitably revives questions about the dead husband. A coruscating tale of dark family secrets and perilous situations. Publishers Weekly starred review.

LAST SEEN LEAVING, by Kelly Braffet (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/23/2009

8/23/2005:
White Sox right-hander Freddy Garcia has his no-hit bid broken up by Jacque Jones, who cracks a leadoff homer in the eighth inning, and the Minnesota Twins make that run stand up for a 1-0 victory at the Metrodome. Ace left-hander Johan Santana goes eight innings for the victory, and Joe Nathan saves it for the Twins. Always a free swinger, Jones will hit 23 home runs this season before leaving the Twins as a free agent and signing with the Chicago Cubs. Garcia will go 14-8 during the regular season and really step it up in the playoffs, winning games in the ALDS, ALCS and World Series to help the White Sox win their first world title since 1917.

Birthdays:
Sonny Jurgensen b. 1934
Nancy Richey b. 1942
Julio Franco b. 1958
Rik Smits b. 1966
Kobe Bryant b. 1978

DESTINY’S CHILD

Three college friends travel together to Thailand and have a wild, wonderful time and pledge eternal friendship. One of them (but which one?) gives birth at the airport and abandons the baby known as “Baby Bianca” to the press, “Kate” to us. Once grown, Kate is determined to find her mother. Her stunning good looks land her in the clutches of unscrupulous fashion editors, while the three older women (a doctor, a lawyer, a journalist) are awfully busy—having affairs, running for Parliament, that sort of thing.

SHEER ABANDON, by Penny Vincenzi (Doubleday, 2007)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/22/2009

8/22/1964:
After stopping Northern Dancer's bid to capture the Triple Crown by winning the Belmont Stakes, Quadrangle adds to his impressive three-year-old dossier by winning the Travers Stakes on a sloppy track at Saratoga, New York. Ridden by Manny Ycaza, Quadrangle defeats Knightly Manner by one and a half lengths in the mile-an-a-quarter test. His victory in the feature race of the Saratoga meet follows his earlier wins at the Wood Memorial and Dwyer Handicap but won't be enough to wrest Horse of the Year honors away from Kelso.

Birthdays:
Carl Yastrzemski b. 1939
Bill Parcells b. 1941
Diana Nyad b. 1949
Paul Molitor b. 1956
Mats Wilander b. 1964

Packers Fact:
Trouble Along the Way was the name of the 1953 motion picture in which actor John Wayne said the line, often attributed to Vince Lombardi, "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing".

ANOTHER WORLD

At the beginning of this quiet, haunting novel of coming of age in hell, Suleiman is nine years old. He lives in Tripoli, and it is 1979. He plays games in the street, fights off the heat, plays and runs and shouts. But all around him are coded signals and strange whispers, lies and tears, change and confusion. The author makes the unthinkable—what it would be like to grow up under the freshly minted insanity of Muammar Qaddafi—as real as the rise and fall of your own breathing. Publishers Weekly starred review.

IN THE COUNTRY OF MEN, by Hisham Matar (The Dial Press, 2007)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/21/2009

8/21/1990:
Trailing 11-3 entering the top of the ninth inning at Dodger Stadium, the Philadelphia Phillies score nine runs to gain an improbable 12-11 victory. Greatly aided by two errors by Dodgers shortstop Jose "#-6" Offerman and a timely three-run pinch homer by John Kruk, the Phillies string together six hits and two walks to batter three Dodger relievers for nine runs (only four earned) and stun the freeway-minded Dodgers fans, thousands of whom were already heading for the parking lot while this game unravels.

Birthdays:
Toe Blake b. 1912
Wilt Chamberlain b. 1936
Archie Griffin b. 1954
John Wetteland b. 1966
Craig Counsell b. 1970

Packers Fact:
The Packers won 69 of 80 games at home in a span of the 1993 through 2002 seasons. That was the best mark in the league in that 10-year stretch, and the second-best by any NFL team in any 10-year stretch in history (trailing only the Oakland Raiders of 1967-1976).

KATE’S NINE LIVES

A celebrity bio that reveals without diminishing its subject; imparts some surprising new information but not for shock value; and is written with sensitivity and finesse. It’s not too be good to be true; it’s William Mann’s biography of Katharine Hepburn. Dive in and discover the real woman behind the icon.

KATE: THE WOMAN WHO WAS HEPBURN, by William J. Mann (Henry Holt, 2006)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/20/2009

8/20/1966:
Don Meredith has two touchdowns and Craig Morton has another has the Dallas Cowboys defeat the Green Bay Packers, 21-3, in a preseason game inside a sweltering Cotton Bowl. Tonight's tropical climate in Texas offers a direct contrast to the arctic conditions of the Ice Bowl, which these same two teams are destined to experience at Green Bay for the NFL championship on December 31, 1967. The subzero temperatures and wind-chill readings that afternoon at Lambeau Field will establish a true "polar opposite" to this evening's sauna-like heat.

Birthdays:
Sihugo Green B. 1933
Graig Nettles b. 1944
Mark Langston b. 1960
Duffy Waldorf b. 1962
Todd Helton b. 1973

Packers Fact:
The Seven Blocks of Granite was the nickname of the famous line on which Vince Lombardi played during his college days at Fordham.

AN AMERICAN TREASURE

God love him, at the age of 84, Norman Mailer gave birth to a healthy 500-page book. And it’s narrated by one of Satan’s assistants, no less. As might be expected in the late years of the sometimes ponderously serious, sometimes gleefully mischievous writer, there is lots of gorgeous stuff along with quite a bit of ambitious windbaggery in this re-creation of Hitler’s life and speculation on the nature of evil.

THE CASTLE IN THE FOREST, by Norman Mailer (Random House, 2007)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/19/2009

8/19/1990:
Sixteen-year-old Monica Selas defeats nine-time Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova in three sets in the finals of the Virginia Slims-Los Angeles at Manhattan Beach. Seles squanders a 5-1 lead in the third set before regaining her composure to win the tiebreaker. After putting the women's tour on notice of her arrival by winning the French Open in June, the Croatian-born left-hander wins her seventh tourney of the year-a streak that sees her compile a 42-1 match record.

Birthdays:
Bill Shoemaker b. 1931
Anthony Munoz b. 1958
Ricky Pierce b. 1959
Morten Andersen b. 1960
Mary Jo Fernandez b. 1971

Packers Fact:
Lambeau Field originally was dedicated as City Stadium on September 29, 1957. The Packers beat the Bears that day, 27-17.

VINTAGE STORIES

It’s the true-life Falcon Crest. Cesare Mondavi brought his family to America in 1906 and several decades later took over the Charles Krug winery. His son Robert, cast out of the family over a silly quarrel in the 1960s, founded his own great American winery with great American virtues of character: humility, hard work, generosity, and vision. The house that Robert built came tumbling down in 2004 with a new generation of family differences. An incredible and beautifully told story.

THE HOUSE OF MONDAVI: THE RISE AND FALL OF AN AMERICAN WINE DYNASTY, by Julia Flynn Siler (Gotham Books, 2007)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/18/2009

8/18/2001:
David Toms scores a hole-in-one with a five-wood from 243 yards away at the par-three 15th hole on the way to a two-stroke lead after three rounds of the PGA Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club. The longest hole-in-one ever made in the history of the four major championships, it will prove vitally important for Toms. Tomorrow, he'll hold off Phil Mickelson by one shot to win his first Grand Slam tourney.

Birthdays:
Robert Clemente b. 1934
Rafer Johnson b. 1935
Matt Snell b. 1941
Bobby Higginson b. 1970
Jeremy Shockey b. 1980

Packers Fact:
Vince Lombardi is one of two coaches to lead the Packers to victory in the Super Bowl (games I and II). Mike Holmgren was the other (game XXXI).


Linguistic pyrotechnics and scathing satire mark this roller coaster of a novel that traces the fortunes and misfortunes of two men: Wayne and the mysterious Corsican he hires to help him in his moneymaking schemes, which depend on short-selling against the downfall of global markets. They are the lovers, in very different ways, of Alix, a fiercely smart architecture student in Marseille. All three collide in Marseille, and the world may never be the same again.

DAS KAPITAL: A NOVEL OF LOVE AND MONEY MARKETS, by Viken Berberian (Simon & Schuster, 2007)

We'll Know When We Get There: Sincerely, John Hughes

We'll Know When We Get There: Sincerely, John Hughes

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Dr.Horrible to Return: Whedon Confirms Rumors | GeekDad | Wired.com

Dr.Horrible to Return: Whedon Confirms Rumors | GeekDad | Wired.com

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