Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 5/12-5/18/2010

5/12/1930:
The New York Giants race out to a 14-0 lead against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field and then nearly give the game away. Gaints starter Larry Benton is cruising right along, even hitting a home run in the bargain, when Chicago gives him a serious dose of the long ball with six homers - four in the seventh inning alone. Two relievers barely hold the Cubs at bay in the ninth inning when they leave the tying runs on base. After Benton's meltdown, Giants manager John McGraw had seen enough, and a week later the shell-shocked hurler will be dealt to the Cincinnati Reds for infielder Hughie Critz.

Birthdays:
Yogi Berra b. 1925
Felipe Alou b. 1935
Johnny Bucyk b. 1935
George Karl b. 1951
Lou Whitaker b. 1957

Packers Fact:
Edgar Bennet rushed for 108 yards-a club postseason record at the time-in a 37-20 victory over the Falcons in a 1995 NFC Wild-Card playoff game.

5/13/1978:
The New Westminster Bruins of suburban Vancouver, British Columbia, caputre their second consecutive Memorial Cup hockey championship with a 7-4 victory over the Peterborough Petes at the Sudbury (Ontario) Arena. Led by future NHL stars John Ogrodnick, Larry Melnyk, Jeep Kelly and Stan Smyl and coached by Punch McLean, the Western Hockey League champion Bruins become the fourth back-to-back winners of the Memorial Cup and the first team ever to reach the final-round game four years in a row.

Birthdays:
Jody Conradt b. 1941
Bobby Valentine b. 1950
Dennis Rodman b. 1961
Mike Bibby b. 1978
Barry Zito b. 1978

Packers Fact:
Eight of the Packers' nine picks in the 2008 NFL draft made the club's kickoff weekend roster that year. The only exception was wide receiver Brett Swain (the team's final draft pick, No. 217 overall) who made the practice squad.

5/14/2006:
Chicago White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle becomes the first pitcher in American League history to allow seven runs in the first inning and go on to win the game as the ChiSox beat Minnesota, 9-7, at the Metrodome. Home runs by Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome and A.J. Pierszynski enable Chicago to mount a comeback, and a sixth-inning triple play executed by Paul Konerko. Tadahito Iguchi and Juan Uribe prevents the Twins from adding any more runs. The only other big leaguer to survive a seven-run salvo in the first inning and win was Jack Powell of the 1900 St. Louis Cardinals.

Birthdays:
Gump Worsley b. 1929
Tony Perez b. 1942
Dennis Martinez b. 1955
Pooh Richardson b. 1966
Roy Halladay b. 1977

Packers Fact:
The Packers drafted two quarterbacks in 2008: Brian Brohm (second round) and Matt Flynn (seventh round).

5/15/1973:
California Angels right-hander Nolan Ryan pitches his first no-hitter, 3-0, over Kansas City at Royals Stadium. Ryan walks 3 and fans 12 en route to his all-time record of 5,714 lifetime strikeouts. Playing second base for the Angels today is veteran infielder Sandy Alomar Sr. Eighteen years from now, when Ryan serves up his MLB record seventh no-hitter on May 1, 1991, against Toronto, Sandy's son Robbie will make the final out.

Birthdays:
George Brett b. 1953
John Smoltz b. 1967
Emitt Smith b. 1969
Ray Lewis b. 1978
John Beckett b. 1980

5/16/1992:
Helmed by oil billionaire Bill Koch and master sailor Buddy Melges, America3 defeats Italian challenger Il Moro di Venezia by 44 seconds to clinch the America's Cup yacht competition four races to one. Brisk breezes and choppy waters off San Diego present problems for both boats, with each requiring mid-race sail repairs. America's Cup racing in the modern age has become an expensive undertaking - the America3 consortium spent upwards of $64 million to defend the Cup title on behalf of the San Diego Yacht Club.

Birthdays:
Billy Martin b. 1928
Rick Rhoden b. 1953
Jack Norris b. 1955
Therman Thomas b. 1966
Gabriela Sabatini b. 1970

Packers Fact:
Babe Parilli passed for 13 touchdowns as a Packers' rookie in 1952. No other Green Bay quarterback entering 2008 ever passed for more than 7 scores in his rookie season.

5/17/1997:
Silver Charm defeats Free House by a head and fast-charging Captain Bodgit by only another head beyond that in the closest Preakness in 65 years. More than 88,000 fans watch Silver Charm, trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Gary Stevens, duplicate his narrow victory at the Kentucky Derby by coming from behind in the final furlong. His Triple Crown aspirations will be dashed at the Belmont Stakes, however, when he'll be narrowly beaten by Touch Gold.

Birthdays:
Cool Papa Bell b. 1903
Earl Morrall b. 1934
Tony Roche b. 1945
Sugar Ray Leonard b. 1956
Danny Manning b. 1966

Packers Fact:
The last Packers' quarterback (entering 2009) to rush for 100 yards in a game was Tobin Rote. He had 106 yards on the ground in a game against the Rams in 1952.

5/18/2003:
Tiptoeing through a minefield of controversy of hish own making, Vijay Singh maintains his compsure long enough to win the Byron Nelson Championship at Irving, Texas, by two strokes over Nick Price and three over Robert Allenby. For the outspoken native of Fiji, his 13th career PGA victory does little to smother the firestorm of criticism he has received after suggesting that Annika Sorenstam, the world's top women's player, has no business playing on the men's tour, which she'll do next week at the Colonial via a sponsor's invitation. He'll opt out of playing the Colonial, where Sorenstam will compete admirably before barely missing the cut, all the while enduring her own share of the media's unrelenting glare.

Birthdays:
Fred Perry b. 1909
Choo Choo Justice b. 1924
Brooks Robinson b. 1937
Reggie Jackson b. 1946
Jari Kurri b. 1960

Packers Fact:
Only two of the Packers' nine draft choices in 2008 were on the defensive side of the ball; cornerback Pat Lee (second round) and defensive end Jeremy Thompson (fourth round).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3JCESdFNyw
Cyriak's Mix
This is just what you asked for when you bought this calendar. Reminiscent of the best of Terry Gilliam's MOnty Python cartoons, filmmaker Cyriak gives you over five minutes of incredible animated wackiness.

http://danhillier.com/
Tentacle Horrors
Instead of combining photographs to make new images, artist Dan Hillier uses classic late 19th-century engravings of anatomy, animals, and everyday people to create surreal and disturbing chimeras such as a winged angel with a horse's head on a Vesalian body, an owl-headed dandy, and a whole series of pictures in which people's arms, legs, and torsos have been replaced by tentacles.

http://www.fingertime.com/beatthemeter.php
Beat the Meter
Now's your chance to get back at those gas stations that've been ripping you off for years. Even if you don't beat the game, you at least get a chance to make a big mess.

http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/13436
Abbey Road Views
It's the LP version of the Mona Lisa, and at this site you can enjoy over a dozen imitations of the Beatles' iconic album cover.

http://www.solaas.com.ar/dreamlines/
Waking Dreams
Type in something you'd like to experience in your dream, wait for it to load, and watch it come to life before your eyes.

http://www.nosquito.biz/
Mosquito Music
Make sure the sound is on for this one. Move your mouse around to get the buzz going. Then see how long it takes for your coworkers to start looking for the can of Raid to get rid of the little pest.


WHO YOU GONNA CALL?David is a quiet man who enjoys his quiet job at the bank (until he loses it), his quiet extracurricular reading of philosophers (Hume) and historians (Gibbon), and his nice, quiet librarian girlfriend. But when David takes a job at a funeral home and thinks he sees a quiet little ghost, there’s suddenly a tumult of media attention and a cacophony of self-doubts. Another lovely study of science and mystery from the author of Einstein’s Dreams.

GHOST, by Alan Lightman (Pantheon, 2007)

NEW LIFE WITH YOUR LATTE, SIR?

This is the riches to rags to inner riches story of Michael Gill. Born to the uppermost echelons of the intellectual elite, he falls down the ladder of success rung by painful rung, losing his wife and his job as creative director at J. Walter Thompson, and is diagnosed with a brain tumor, without health insurance but with a pregnant girlfriend. Literally on his last latte at Starbucks, he is offered a job there and finds bliss, friendship, and never-ending resources of love.

HOW STARBUCKS SAVED MY LIFE: A SON OF PRIVILEGE LEARNS TO LIVE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE, by Michael Gates Gill (Penguin, 2007)

NEW FICTION CLASSIC

In this extremely assured debut novel, the inhabitants of a small town in Washington have barricaded themselves against the flu epidemic that is engulfing whole continents. It’s 1918, and when a soldier comes to the gates and throws himself on their mercy, a grim showdown is set in motion. Named Best Debut Novel of 2006 by USA Today and a Chicago Tribune Best Book of the Year.

THE LAST TOWN ON EARTH, by Thomas Mullen (Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2007)

GIT ALONG, LITTLE DOGIES

For this beautifully researched biography of Gene Autry, the author had access to Autry’s letters, notes, and journals and was able to interview many close friends and associates of the “Singing Cowboy.” What emerges is the most complete portrait so far of the beloved American icon, and a fascinating study of the rise of radio and television.

PUBLIC COWBOY NO. 1: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF GENE AUTRY, by Holly George-Warren (Oxford University Press, 2007)

GET LOST IN A NEW TRANSLATION

If you haven’t read this edition of War and Peace, you are in for one of the great immersive reading experiences of your life. If you have read it and it was the now somewhat rickety old Constance Garnett translation, you might like to revisit Pierre, Natasha, Prince Andrei, and Napoleon as they live their eventful lives in this new translation. The New York Review of Books declares that “the English-speaking world is indebted to these two magnificent translators for revealing more of its hidden riches than any who have tried to translate the book before.”

WAR AND PEACE, by Leo Tolstoy, translated from the Russian by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky (1869; Knopf, 2007)

SO, WE MEET AGAIN

Juan Cole, a prominent historian of the Middle East, gives us a close look into Napoleon’s incursions into Egypt in 1798 and 1799, before he was run out of town in 1801. Cole explores what Napolean found there and what he did not find out about Islam and Egyptians (and Syrians)—because the French did not understand what they were seeing. Stephen Kinzer of The New York Times says, “Cole’s book reminds us that today’s leaders are not the first to find the Islamic world far more complex than they imagined.”

NAPOLEON’S EGYPT: INVADING THE MIDDLE EAST, by Juan Cole (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007)

ORO DE CALABAZA GOLDEN ALE

Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, Dexter, Michigan

Jolly Pumpkin ales are always exciting—you never know what to expect, but you’ll never be bored—and their Oro de Calabaza is no exception. Aged in oak barrels, this beer has picked up woody and sour notes. Cloudy, pale yellow, and perfectly carbonated with bottle-conditioning. Faint hops, dry malt, and citrus aromas accompany the oak. The taste is pleasantly and refreshingly tart, with a good malt base and just a hint of drying bitterness. The alcohol becomes more pronounced as the beer warms—you dive into a light, refreshingly tart summer beer, but then you remember about that 8% . . . Finish is tart at first, but with a fruity malt sweetness and faint hop dryness that lingers. May put you in mind of some of the artisan farmhouse ales of southern Belgium.

KWAK

Brouwerij Bosteels, Buggenhout, Belgium

Bronze in color, with a good deal of carbonation, Kwak’s got lots of spicy aromatics—clove and some herbs, perhaps sage. It’s also got some malt sweetness in the nose, carrying through to palate and finish. Fortunately, a good bit of alcohol (8%/vol.) partially offsets the length of the sweet finish. There is a nice, drying alcohol warmth that contributes positively. As a result, the pronounced malt character dominates without being overly sweet.

BEER FACT

The unusually tall, flute-shaped glass used to drink Kwak was designed to be easily hoisted up to waiting coachmen who could not leave their coach at inn stops. This strong ale would no doubt be quite a comfort.

ST. LANDELIN LA DIVINE

Les Brasseurs de Gayant, Douai, France

La Divine comes in a stylish 750ml swing-top bottle with a ceramic stopper. The ale has a nice copper color and brilliant clarity, with subtle carbonation. It pours with a good off-white, somewhat coarse froth. Amber malt plays in the aroma, along with a syrupy caramel—it’s not too sweet, but it does have some candy flavor about it. There’s also some cellar mustiness often associated with bière de garde. Hops here are merely bittering agents added to balance caramel sweetness, assisted by a hearty dose of drying alcohol (8%). The brew does finish slightly sweet anyway, but with a good, warming alcohol that’s even a little bit fumy. A nice effort and a pretty presentation, but doesn’t hold up against the region’s best.

WIND BLOWN BLONDE

Stewart’s Brewing Co., Bear, Delaware

A Gold medalist in the German-syle Kölsch category at the 2008 Great American Beer Festival, this craft-brewed Kölsch is light, vibrant, and brilliantly clear despite a trace of sediment. Sweet pilsener malt in the aroma, with a barely detectable fruitiness. Drinks with incredible smoothness—clean, refreshing, with a very neutral finish and a hint of the winey aftertaste that marks this style. Forget the cereal lagers—this ale is serious refreshment.

LIEFMANS KRIEK

Brewery Liefmans, Oudenaarde, Belgium

An old favorite, this authentic kriek is full of real sour-cherry flavor, with a touch of fruit sweetness well hidden beneath all the bold tartness. Dark burgundy in color, this classic blurs the lines between beer and wine—it’s an inspired, complex drink. The fruit flavor is quite strong—it almost tastes like concentrate, but that’s because so many other kriek brewers cut corners by using flavorings and sweeteners. A king among krieks—seek this one out.

HEINER BRAU KÖLSCH

Heiner Brau, Covington, Louisiana

This small microbrewery, not far from New Orleans, is an unlikely home to some of the best German-style lagers and ales around. The Kölsch, the brewer confides, is a hybrid between a classic German helles lager and a lighter German Kölsch-style ale. A rich head maintains a cover on the luscious pale liquid, which boasts wonderful malt notes and great hop flavor. You’d think you were at a German biergarten. It’s worth heading down to New Orleans for fresh Heiner Brau from this small microbrewery.

BEER FACT

Owner and brewmaster Henryk “Heiner” Orlik is one of a select few German brewmasters in the U.S. Orlik began his brewing career in Germany in 1972 at the age of 16. His education in brewing was thorough and laborious; it took him a little more than seven years to obtain his final degree from the Doemens School of Brewers and Maltsters.

ABITA STRAWBERRY HARVEST LAGER

Abita Brewing Co., Abita Springs, Louisiana

Fruit beers are always difficult to get into balance, but as they appeal to such a wide audience, brewers are always willing to try their hand. Two rules of thumb: It has to taste like real fruit, not artificial fruit flavoring, and it has to taste like beer, not just fruit. Abita’s Strawberry Lager succeeds on both counts. The strawberry character tastes and smells like real fruit, but it isn’t overdone. The beer pours golden, with the barest blush of red, but it still looks like beer. The aroma is unmistakably strawberry, with only a hint of Strawberry Qwik drink mix flavoring. The base lager is expectedly devoid of hops, but still stands on its own as a smooth premium lager quality beer. The finish is a pleasant balance of sweet and tart fruit against a clean malt background. Worth a try for those who aren’t big fans of hops or bitterness.