Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 6/4/2010

6/4/1989:
Junior Felix hits a two-run homer in the 12th inning to cap a huge comeback and give the Toronto Blue Jays a 13-11 victory over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Boston led 10-0 after six innings, but Toronto scored twice in the seventh inning, added four more runs in the eighth and briefly went ahead, 11-10, in the ninth on a grand-slam homer by Ernie Whitt. Boston starter Mike Smithson was in complete command before having to leave the game with a blister. Whitt, formerly a Red Sox prospect, goes 4-for-5 for the Jays, who get three innings of scoreless relief from Duane Ward to win their 12th straight game at Fenway Park.

Birthdays:
Bobby Wanzer b. 1921
Pat Studstill b. 1938
Sandra Haynie b. 1943
Xavier McDaniel b. 1963
Darin Erstad b. 1974

Packers Fact:
Two Packers' players have earned consensus All-Pro honors five times. End Don Hutson was one of them. Center Jim Ringo was the other.

http://www.fingertime.com/chopperdrop.php
Chopper Drop
You've only got a couple of torpedos with each pass, so aim carefully and flatten the buildings. Hint: The helicopter keeps flying lower, so get rid of the taller buildings first.

STALIN LIVES

In modern-day Russia, nostalgia for Joseph Stalin is on the rise, and his ghost has been spotted in the Moscow subway. In a country of mobsters, corrupt officials, and ruthless capitalists, Senior Investigator Arkady Renko works relentlessly to uncover the ugly truth behind the apparition as well as the deaths of former members of an elite military unit, the Black Berets. Martin Cruz Smith has crafted another arrestingly vivid page-turner in a series of novels that began in 1981 with the bestselling Gorky Park.

STALIN’S GHOST: AN ARKADY RENKO NOVEL, by Martin Cruz Smith (Pocket Books, 2008)

BOSCOS FAMOUS FLAMING STONE BEER

Boscos Brewing Co., Memphis, Tennessee

Stone beer, or “Steinbier,” is made using a centuries-old brewing method wherein glowing-hot rocks are used to boil beer prior to fermentation. The stones collect a layer of caramelized malt sugar, and when they’re added back to the fermenter, that malt caramel goes right back into the beer. To say Boscos stone beer retains caramel flavor and aroma is an understatement—it smells just like a hot fudge sundae, vanilla ice cream and all. Bottle-conditioned, it’s a full amber color with an orange hue and a cloudy haze. Carbonation and head are both light, as is the hop character. Still it’s very well balanced, with a dry finish. Kudos to Chuck Skypeck and Fred Scheer for embarking on such a difficult process, and pulling off such a likeable, drinkable beer with aplomb. Boscos Stone Beer won a Silver medal at the 2005 Great American Beer Festival.