Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 4/11-4/17/2010

4/11/1971:
After the Mets receive 12 walks in 10 innings and leave 13 men on base in a scoreless tie, catcher Jerry Grote says "enough of this." Leading off the last of the 11th inning, he homers off Wayne Granger to give New York a 1-0 victory over Cincinnati. Tom Seaver goes the first nine innings for the Mets, allowing only three hits and fanning 10, and closer Tug McGraw gets the win. Granger, the 1969 and '70 National League Fireman of the Year, loses his third game of the young season as defending NL champion Cincinnati drops to 0-4.

Birthdays:
Jake Gaither b. 1903
Bret Saberhagen b. 1964
Jason Varitek b. 1972
Trot Nixon b. 1974
Kelvim Escobar b. 1976

4/12/1942:
Detroit Red Wings head coach Jack Adams erupts like a volcano after his club fails to close out the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Stanley Cup finals. Leading the series 3-0 and the fourth game 2-0 on home ice at the Olympia, the Red Wings not only fritter away this game, 4-3, but are also whistled for several penalties in the closing moments by referee Mel Harwood. Infuriated, Adams charges across the ice at game's end and takes several swings at Harwood. After that scuffle is broken up, he breaks into the officials' locker room to continue his harangue. He'll be suspended for the balance of this series by NHL president Frank Calder, and the Red Wings will completely fall apart. They'll lose the series, four games to three, becoming the first pro team in any sport to squander a 3-0 series advantage.

Birthdays:
Joe Lapchick b. 1900
Johnny Antonelli b. 1930
Mike Garrett b. 1944
Mike Macfarlane b. 1964
Adam Graves b. 1968

Packers Fact:
Before Mason Crosby did it in 2007, kicker Chester Marcol was the last Packers' player to lead the NFL in scoring He had a league-best 94 points in 1974.

4/13/1954:
After missing two seasons for military service, Willie Mays returns to the major leagues and delights an Opening Day crowd at the Polo Grounds with a solo home run that leads the Giants to a 4-3 victory over Brooklyn. It's only a taste of what's in store at Coogan's Bluff this summer. Mays will win the National League batting title (.345) while hitting 41 homers and amassing 110 RBIs. He'll win the MVP award and lead the Giants to the World Series title in a four-game sweep over Cleveland.

Birthdays:
Flash Hollett b. 1912
Bob Devaney b. 1915
Davis Love III b. 1964
Bo Outlaw b. 1971
Baron Davis b. 1979

Packers Fact:
Paul HOrnung was a Pro Football Hall of Fame halfback, but the versatile star ran for more than 100 yards in a game only three times in 104 career regular-season games in the Packers' balanced attack.

4/14/1989:
Yankee manager Dallas Green leaves young left-hander Al Leiter in for 162 pitches (9 walks and 10 strikeouts) on a damp and dreary night at Yankee Stadium as a "learning experience" and very likely sabotages his career. Leiter gets the victory, 8-5 over Minnesota, but two weeks later he'll be dealt to Toronto for outfielder Jesse Barfield. Shortly thereafter, Leiter will be forced to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder and will appear in only nine games for the Blue Jays over the next four years. He finally gets his health together by the 1993 season, pitches a no-hitter for Florida in 1996 and eventually wins 162 games in his career (including 10 or more victories for 10 straight years). In retrospect, however, his potential was compromised on that rainy night in the Bronx, an episode that still resonates as a "poster child" for strict adherence to regulating pitch counts in modern-day baseball.

Birthdays:
Pete Rose b. 1941
Cynthia Cooper b. 1963
David Justice b. 1966
Greg Maddux b. 1966
Steve Chiasson b. 1967

Packers Fact:
Packers retired uniform No. 14 in honor of end Don Hutson.

As a tennis prodigy, Rafael Nadal of Spain repeatedly received this advice from his uncle and coach, Tony Nadal: "Stay hungry, stay humble."

Birthdays:
Evelyn Ashford b. 1957
Kevin Stevens b. 1965
Jeremy Burnitz b. 1969
Phillippi Sparks b. 1969
Jason Sehorn b. 1971

Packers Fact:
The Packers won seven consecutive road games during the 2006-07 seasons, marking the first time in 40 years that they forged such a streak away from home.

4/16/1988:
Dale Hunter scores the series-winning goal at 5:57 of sudden-death overtime to give the Washington Capitals a 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers to clinch their Patrick Division semifinal-round Stanley Cup playoff series in seven games. With the win, the Caps complete two astonishing comebacks-from a 3-1 disadvantage in this series and a 3-0 deficit in this game. Hunter, acquired from the Quebec Nordiques last summer to instill some toughness in the often languid Caps, takes a pass from Larry Murphy, splits the Flyers defense and beats goalie Ron Hextall to send the Capital Centre crowd into delirium.

Birthdays:
Dick "Night Train" Lane b. 1928
Rich Rollins b. 1938
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar b. 1947
Bill Belichick b. 1952
Luol Deng b. 1985

Packers Fact:
Wide receiver Donald Driver was the longest-tenured player on the Packers' kickoff weekend roster in 2008. He originally joined the club as a seventh-round draft pick in 1999.

4/17/2000:
Kenya's Elijah Lagat sprints to the tape and just nips Gezahenge Abera of Ethiopia in the closest finish ever in the 104th running of the Boston Marathon. Two-time winner Moses Tanui of Kenya started his finishing kick a bit too soon and has to settle for third place. In the women's division, Catherine Ndereba of Kenya emerges as the winner, stopping Fatuma Roba's bid to win this event for a fourth straight year.

Birthdays:
Geoff Petrie b. 1948
Borje Salming b. 1951
Boomer Esiason b. 1961
Ken Daneyko b. 1964
Theo Ratliff b. 1973

Birthdays:
The NFL instituted overtime to settle regular-season ties beginning with the 1974 season, but three of the first five times the Packers went an extra session, overtime failed to produce a winner.

http://www.dieselairhorns.com/sounds.html
Track Sounds
Forget your cares for a minute or two at this site, where you can sit back, closer your eyes, and pretend you're a hobo riding the rails, as you hear the sound of freedom captured in the horns of dozens of locomotives moving down the tracks.

http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2008/02/crazy-weird-asian-pizza-crusts-japanese-korean-hong-kong.html
Eastern Pizza
Pizza in the Far East is a far cry from pies at your local place. At this site you can whet your appetite for Pizza Hut's Whole Shrimp Cheese Bite, with a ring of shrimp sitting atop a layer of cheese-stuffed dough; Mr. Pizza's Shrimp Nude, which replaces the crust with a moat full of cream cheese mousse; the healthful Mizza Rice Crust pizza, whose entire crust is replaced by a layer of flavored rice; and the heart attack-inducing German King, whose crust envelops a cholesterol-rich trio of sausage, bacon, and cheese.

http://wheelof.com/lunch/
Wheel of Lunch
Stomach's starting to grumble and you can't figure out where to go for lunch? Put your zip code in the box and let the wheel decide.

http://www.fridgewatcher.com/
Fridgewatcher
If we are what we eat, what does our refrigerator say about us? That we're neat? Messy? Or so crammed with stuff that we're ready to explode? This site shines, a light on the inside of fridges from around the world, with comments by the owners and fridge talk from visitors to the site.

http://www.tax.org/Museum/default.htm
Deep in the Heart of Taxes
You know you have no choice but to cough up the dough today. Even our commander in chief has to pay up, as you can see at this site.

http://www.stardoll.com/en/dolls-games/
Rising Garb
Wow-a paper doll that's actually hotter than Angelina Jolie!

http://www.brokenself.com/
Shattering Site
It looks like nothing's going on until you click your mouse-then watch out! Good if you're in the mood for some harmless destruction.

VIVA ROMA

Unlike diet food, books that are “good for you” can be just as delicious as fluff. It’s astounding how much of an influence the Latin language and, by extension, Roman ideas and ideals continue to exert on us. Whether you want a nostalgic visit to your more innocent (and better-read) days or an eye-opening intro to the beauties of an ancient culture that underlies your own, you’ll find lots of fun goodies in this volume.

CARPE DIEM: PUT A LITTLE LATIN IN YOUR LIFE, by Harry Mount (Hyperion, 2007)

ART IS HELL

Whereas Penelope wove and unraveled her tapestry and hoped for the return of her husband, Odysseus, war photographer Andres Faulques is home from bloody battles and bereft of his lover. Locking himself away in a stone tower, he works on an ambitious mural, sinking his gruesome memories and anguished dreams into the painting. He’s also being stalked by an enemy from his past. A stylish thriller from Spanish novelist Arturo Pérez-Reverte (The Club Dumas; The Queen of the South; and the Captain Alatriste series).

THE PAINTER OF BATTLES, by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, translated from the Spanish by Margaret Sayers Peden (Random House, 2008)

A HOME RUN

Bill Littlefield is known to many as a sports commentator who has hosted WBUR-Boston’s and National Public Radio’s weekly Only a Game for 15 years. Both the stories and the storytelling are top-notch in this collection of essays covering specific sports figures, issues that affect sports, and Littlefield’s unique, humorous, sharp perspectives.

ONLY A GAME, by Bill Littlefield (Bison Books, 2007)

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK

Want to know what was in the army’s file on Jimi Hendrix? (He thought about his guitar too much, for one thing.) Or about Lou Costello’s porn collection? Nick Redfern, using the Freedom of Information Act, has gone through a slew of government files and pulled out the best celebrity dirt for our voyeuristic delectation. The spied upon range from George Burns to Princess Diana. Some of it titillates, some of it is absurd, but in the end, more is revealed about the FBI and its sister agencies than is revealed about their subjects.

CELEBRITY SECRETS: OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT FILES ON THE RICH AND FAMOUS, by Nick Redfern (Paraview Pocket Books, 2007)

GOOD TIMES, BAD TIMES

Many book critics acclaim Richard Price as the master of dialogue, but he is the master of a lot more than that. This novel about murder on the once impoverished and now trendy and gentrifying Lower East Side of New York reveals the underside of city life with a depth of knowledge and insight that most other crime writers, or writers, period, can only envy.

LUSH LIFE, by Richard Price (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008)

OUR BODIES, OURSELVES

To quote Picasso, “One starts to get young at the age of sixty, and then it’s too late.” David Shields (Body Politic: The Great American Sports Machine) gives us wise snippets from Lauren Bacall, Cicero, and Woody Allen, among many others. He also supplies tons of statistics and facts about aging and the ages of man and explores the relationship between parent and child—in particular, himself, his son, and his father, who was 90 at the time of publication—in this quirky, moving “autobiography” of the body.

THE THING ABOUT LIFE IS THAT ONE DAY YOU’LL BE DEAD, by David Shields (Knopf, 2008)

BLUE MOON PALE MOON

MillerCoors Brewing Co., Golden, Colorado

Crystal-clear shiny copper translucence. A wispy head that stands the test of time. A sweet, gentle aroma with notes of indiscernible spice gives way to a chewy body and mouthfeel with immediate sour impact and a lingering impression. Sourness is vaguely fruity, but what fruit? Bitterness is also in there—unassociated with any hop flavor—along with a slightly acidic aftertaste. This is smooth drinkability for those seeking minimal hop impact. Brewed by MillerCoors as Blue Moon Brewing Co.

ORVAL

Brasserie d’Orval, Villers d’Orval, Belgium

A true Trappist beer will inspire a heavenly rapture in any beer lover, but Orval is something special even in that rare company. Its distinctive bowling-pin bottle, a hefty little vessel that’s as original as its contents, features a modest diamond-shaped label with a fish and a gold ring. The unusual aroma is a cascade of Brettanomyces pungency, malt, and a touch of flowery hops. You may detect a slight tartness—don’t be scared, it’s all part of the program. Here comes a gentle hop flavor, a musty, malt cellar character, and a finish of bold hop dryness. This is a unique, masterful drink, refreshing and unforgettable; it redefines your impression of how beer should taste, and that’s a beautiful thing. As it ages, the yeast character intensifies, then diminishes after ten years.

HOP BACK AMBER ALE

Tröegs Brewing Co., Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Here’s an American-style amber with a deep, reddish-orange color and brilliant clarity. The foam in this modestly carbonated drink is off-white, with light coverage. The use of hopback hopping produces a nice, rich hop aroma with a piney freshness, but there’s also plenty of caramel malt. The fresh hops carry through to the flavor, though they taper off somewhat, as does the caramel. But the two still retain a good balance, resulting in a surprisingly light, refreshing palate, with just a touch of hop bitterness in the finish. At 6%/vol., this beer is easy to knock back, even with all its hop bravado. Hop Back has the freshness of a harvest ale, but it still drinks like an amber. Impressive.

BELGIAN WHITE

Long Trail Brewing Co., Bridgewater Corners, Vermont

Wheat-hazed, with a remarkably attractive head, this brew gives off an assertive and exciting aroma of coriander and lemongrass. Wow. Follow that up with the taste of lemony fruitiness with minimal acidity and a subtle and balanced hop bite to enhance the quench factor. Flavor mirrors aroma, quite memorably so. Nicely balanced and worthy of “classic” designation, this beer would go wonderfully with spicy and aromatic Asian curries. Love the coriander.

SUDS SOURCE

The Longtrail Brewing Company’s spacious Riverside Visitor Center was inspired by the Hofbräu House in Munich, Germany. The pub menu offers soups and starters, as well as burgers, brats, and sandwiches. The Visitor Center is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with pub fare served from 11 to 5.

FULL SAIL LIMITED EDITION LAGER

Full Sail Brewing Co., Hood River, Oregon

Reviewers love those “seasonal,” “special” and “limited edition” beers. They lie off the beaten path, where brewers are allowed to deviate from their everyday lineup and let their imaginations run roughshod. This Full Sail brewing experiment is a reddish-amber lager that, by accident or design, closely resembles a classic but now hard-to-find style: the famous Graf Vienna, which today is most widely available from a few Mexican breweries. Full, round malt, delicate traces of noble hops . . . It’s smooth as glass thanks to refined lager cultures and extensive cold conditioning, with a lightness of body that makes you look forward to the next glass. Premium lager pales in comparison. Grab this “LTD Series” amber lager while you still can—it’s a rare and precious gift.

EISENBAHN SOUTH AMERICAN PALE ALE

Cerevejaria Sudbrack Ltda, Blumenau, Brazil

An all-malt pale ale from Brazil? Proof again that the craft brewery movement is alive and well across the globe. This full-flavored ale puts less emphasis on hops than its North American brethren, but the huge malt character offers all the complexity you could ask for. A slight whiff of diacetyl suggests butter or butterscotch. Sturdy but still refreshing, and the amber bronze color tips you off from the beginning: This is no watered-down cereal beer. Only gently carbonated, with rich foam painting a lasting filigree down the glass. Only slightly balanced toward malt, the finish is long, with a touch of butterscotch.

BEER QUOTE

“Drinking beer doesn’t make you fat, it makes you lean . . . against bars, tables, chairs, and poles.”
—ANONYMOUS

SIX RIVERS IPA

Six Rivers Brewery, McKinleyville, California

Six Rivers chooses a more traditional path over the current hopped-up trend in IPAs. An almost chestnut amber, this one is hazy, with a bit of bottom-dwelling sediment, a slight carbonation, and a drifty bit of light foam. Hops and some distant caramel make up the aromatics. The malt grows earthy to the flavor; a salty quality to the brewing water seasons things and draws out some hop bite. The finish delivers an abrupt bitterness but isn’t terribly astringent. Intriguing and original.