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)