Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 1/30-31/2010

Having seen his share of young phenoms flame out and never achieve lasting stardom, longtime high school basketball scout Tom Konchalski realizes: "One of the great obstacles of long-term success is the cancer of early success."

Birthdays:
Walt Dropo b. 1923
Davey Johnson b. 1943
Tom Izzo b. 1955
Curtis Strange b. 1955
Payne Stewart b. 1957

Packers Fact:
The Packers won all five regular-season games in 2007 in which their defense or special teams scored a touchdown.

1/31/1996:
St. Louis center Dale Hawerchuk becomes the fourth player this season (and 23rd overall) to score his 500th goal as the Blues blank Toronto, 4-0, at Maple Leaf Gardens. The first pick overall by the Winnipeg Jets in the 1981 amateur draft, Hawerchuk will post seven seasons of 40-plus goals and six seasons of 100-plus points before injuries force his early retirement after next season at age 34. On this season's 500-goal registry, he joins Mario Lemieux, Mark Messier and Steve Yzerman.

Birthdays:
Jackie Robinson b. 1919
Hank Aguirre b. 1931
Ernie Banks b. 1931
Camille Henry b. 1933
Nolan Ryan b. 1947


http://worryfriends.com/

How to Worry Friends nad Inconvenience People
"Tell people those stickers you get on fruit are actually edible," "Ask for sandwich fillings while pointing at other ones," and "Wave back at people on television." These gems are only a few of the doznes of ways to bug-out the people around you. Learn them all at this site.

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm

The Ring Cycle
They might be too far to see with the naked eye, but now you can hear the sounds that the moons of Saturn make without leaving your desk.


FDR DAYSaturday is Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s birthday. That’s one reason to be happy. Another is this outstanding and eminently readable biography of one of our greatest presidents. The New Yorker says of Jean Edward Smith’s work, “The Roosevelt who emerges here—neither a stranger nor a painted icon—is flawed and magnificent.” If you’re going to read just one FDR biography this year, FDR should be it.

FDR, by Jean Edward Smith (Random House, 2007)

AMSTEL LIGHT

Brouwerij B.V., Amsterdam, Holland

Under the Premium Lager moniker, this ubiquitous brew begins with a surprising amount of flavor for a light beer, hinting at the typical crisp dryness of Dutch-brewed lagers. Unfortunately, the malt and very modest hop character promised up front tends to fade to a rather bland finish . . . not unexpected for a “light” beer, and still brewed to impeccably clean standards. Think of it as a polished lawn mower beer, and you won’t be disappointed.

MOJO RISIN’ DOUBLE IPA

Boulder Beer Co., Boulder, Colorado

Ten percent alcohol? In the easiest-drinking double IPA around? Yes, it smacks you upside the noggin with a heady dose of Amarillo hops, but you expected that. The malt is there, and it’s a good foil to the hop assault, but it’s not the sort of heavy, kettle-caramelized chunkiness you’d expect from a double beer. A very pale amber, with a light finish due partially to alcohol dryness, minus the heat or burn. Get your mojo on.