Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 6/3/2010

6/3/1932:
In one of baseball's most remarkable but overlooked batting feats, Yankee third baseman Tony Lazzeri becomes the only player in major league history to go for a "natural grand cycle" - hitting for a single, double, triple and home run in that order, with the homer being a grand slam. Unfortunately for the future Hall of Famer, he performs this milestone achievement on the same day that teammate Lou Gehrig becomes the first man in the 20th century to hit four home runs in one game and on the same day that longtime New York Giants manager John McGraw announces his retirement. Lazzeri's five-for-six afternoon is actually just a nominal portion of the Yankees' 23-hit fusillade as they bombard the Philadelphia A's 20-13, at Shibe Park.

Birthdays:
Jim Gentile b. 1934
Billy Cunningham b. 1943
Barry Beck b. 1957
Travis Hafner b. 1977
Rafael Nadal b. 1986

Packers Fact:
End Don Hutson earned the NFL's official MVP award following both the 1941 and 1942 seasons.


http://www.archive.org/details/barstow_disneyland_dream_1956
Disneyland Dream
Travel back to the earliest days of Disneyland (when attractions like the Pirates of the Caribbean and Space Mountain) were still on the drawing board) in this 30-minute home movie of the Barstow family's trip to Los Angeles. It is also a documentary of an ideal middle-class American vacation in the mid-50s, when traveling to California on a plane was an extraordinary adventure, and includes footage of other iconic Los Angeles attractions like Knott's Berry Farm, a bus tour of Hollywood, and a trip to Catalina Island on a glass-bottomed boat.

JUNE IS BUSTIN’ OUT ALL OVER

This is not a critical biography or a cross section or a selection—it’s the whole banana, every lyrical word Oscar Hammerstein II wrote, as far as Amy Asch knows. (She previously worked with Roger Kimball on the lyrics of Irving Berlin and Lorenz Hart.) From the tender to the comical to the slightly wacky, from huge Broadway shows to two-week flops: Here are more than 850 songs, with a paragraph or two describing each show or review the songs were intended for and the people involved.

THE COMPLETE LYRICS OF OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II; edited by Amy Asch (Knopf, 2008)

HOEGAARDEN

Hoegaarden Brewery, Hoegaarden, Belgium

This classic, very pale witbier has undergone many changes over the years, but nevertheless remains a delicious summer brew. Control the level of haze by stopping the pour two-thirds of the way through, swirling the beer to pick up the sediment, and then adding the remainder to your glass. The sediment adds flavor and some nuances in the mouthfeel. Loads of egg-white froth on top, big coriander spice in the aroma, some lemon and orange notes, and of course some wheat grain. The flavor is grainy sweet, with citrus and spice continuing. The finish too is sweet, with just a bit of tartness and a slight chalkiness if you mix in the sediment. The perfect summer beer. Light and refreshing but full of flavor, Hoegaarden won a Gold medal at the 2008 World Beer Cup in the Belgian-style White category.