Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/29/2011

8/29/1951:
Midway through his fourth-round match against Gardnar Mulloy in the U.S. Nationals at Forest Hills, Earl Cochell attempts to climb the umpire's chair and grab the microphone. The fans have been booing him for interrupting play to argue about calls, and he wants to give them a piece of his mind. He's allowed to finish the match, which he loses in four sets, but two days from now he'll become the first player ever to be banned for life by the United States Lawn Tennis Association.

Birthdays:
Womia Tyus b. 1945
Bob Beamon b. 1946
Jerry Bailey b.1 957
Pierre Turgeon b. 1969
Roy Oswalt b. 1977

Packers Fact:
Cornerback Charles Woodson's Pro Bowl berth in 2008 was the fifth of his 11-year career, but his first since joining the Packers in 2006.

WHO DARES
WINS.

—British Special Air Service World War II motto

ON MAGAZINES ARE JUST FINE

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DO NOT USE MICROWAVE TO DRY NEWSPAPERS.

warning on a microwave oven

KNOWING LOSS

Award-winning novelist Elizabeth McCracken was a happy, self-proclaimed spinster when in her mid-30s she fell in love, married, moved to France, and got pregnant. The pregnancy ended in a stillborn child, however—“the happiest story in the world with the saddest ending,” as she characterizes it. This memoir of the experience is thought-provoking and sensitive, heartfelt and ultimately wise.

AN EXACT REPLICA OF A FIGMENT OF MY IMAGINATION: A MEMOIR, by Elizabeth McCracken (Little, Brown, 2008)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/28/2011

8/28/1991:
The crowd thins to a mere 4,000 after Connors loses the first three games of the third set, but in his seventh career comeback from a two-set deficit he takes the set and goes on to win the fourth. At 1:35 A.M., 4 hours and 25 minutes after the match began, he claims victory in Game 5 with a service winner on his third match point.

Birthdays:
AndyBathgate b. 932
Lou Piniella b. 193
Ron Guidry b. 1950
Joel Youngblood b. 1951
Janet Evans b. 1971

ON ADS, PATHETIQUE

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Job: French into English Profreading

on the translation website proz.com

“An optimist is a person who sees a green light everywhere, while the pessimist sees only the red stoplight. The truly wise person is colorblind.”

—ALBERT SCHWEITZER, French theologian and missionary physician

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/25-27/2011

8/25/1952:
Virgil Trucks pitches the second of his two no-hitters this season as the Detroit Tigers defeat the Yankees, 1-0, in New York. His first no-hitter was on May 15, when the Tigers beat the Washington Senators on a ninth-inning walk-off homer by Vic Wertz. Otherwise, it's a terrible season for Trucks. Coming off a 13-8 record in 1951, he's 5-19 in 1952. He'll rebound next year with a 20-10 season while pitching for the St. Louis Browns and Chicago White Sox. After 17 years in the major leagues, he'll finish his career with a record of 177-135.

Birthdays:
Althea Gibson b. 1927
Rollie Fingers b. 1946
Albert Belle b. 1966
Cornelius Bennett b. 1966
Marvin Harrison b. 1972

Packers Fact:
Cornerback Charles Woodson intercepted 2 passes in 2008 in a game against Detroit. He returned 1 of the thefts for a touchdown in the Packers' 48-25 victory in Week 2.

8/26/2007:
Warner Robins, Georgia, defeats Tokyo, Japan, 3-2, in the Little League championship game in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. With the contest knotted at 2-2 after the regulation six innings, Dalton Carriker wins the game on a walk-off home run in the eighth. The homer is followed by the Warner Robins team coming over to comfort and embrace the losing Tokyo club ina notable display of sportsmanship. Tokyo reached the championship game yesterday on a walk-off grand slam that beat Willemstad, Curacaco, 7-4.

Birthdays:
Billy DeMars b. 1925
Tom Heinsohn b. 1934
Swede Savage b. 1946
Donnie Shell b. 1952
Ricky Bottalico b. 1969

Packers Fact:
Defensive end Willie Davis made the Pro Bowl for the first of five seasons in a row in 1963.

8/27/1991:
Wild card Jimmy Connors takes the court in his 21st U.S. Open, matched with John McEnroe's brother Patrick in the first round of the tournament. He's trying for his sixth title in the Open but loses the first two sets, 4-6, 6-7, despite strong support from the huge crowd - inspired in part by the fact that he'll turn 39 two days from now...

Birthdays:
Frank Leahy b. 1907
Buddy Bell b. 1951
Bernhard Langer b. 1957
Adam Oates b. 1962
Jim Thome b. 1970

Packers Fact:
The Packers drafted quarterback Tobin Rote in the second round in 1950 out of Rice.

“There is no such thing as bravery—only degrees of fear.”

—JOHN WAINWRIGHT, English writer

“I left the room with silent dignity, but caught my foot in the mat.”

—GEORGE GROSSMITH, English comedian

“I don’t want to make money. I just want to be fabulous.”

—MARILYN MONROE, American actress

ON PROFS, DUMB

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Pasteur’s theory of germs is a ridiculous fiction. How do you think that these germs in the air can be numerous enough to develop into all these organic infusions? If that were true, they would be numerous enough to form a thick fog, as dense as iron.

Professor Pierre Pochet, 1872

ON WELL, YEAH, RIGHT, BUT . . .

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Family Fortunes host: We asked a hundred people to name a place where you wouldn’t expect to meet a nun. Janet.

Female contestant: A brothel.

ON WHAT’S THAT AGAIN?

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This extraordinary man left no children behind him, except his brother who was killed at the same time.

excerpted in a nineteenth-century Irish newspaper, writing about French revolutionary Robespierre

BESTSELLERS

In the first volume, hot-tempered computer hacker Lisbeth Salander joins the dominant character, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, in solving a 40-year-old murder case. Salander is more of a presence (without some of her tattoos) in the second book. These page-turning thrillers make up a trilogy by Stieg Larsson, who died just after completing it. Larsson’s view of his native land is one of unvarnished grit. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo won the Nordic countries’ Glass Key Award and was a bestseller all over Europe.

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, by Stieg Larsson, translated from the Swedish by Reg Keeland (Knopf, 2008)

IT AIN’T NECESSARILY SO . . .

David Plotz is no theologian nor rabbi nor scholar. He’s just a guy who was attending a bat mitzvah one day, picked up a Bible, and after reading a few pages realized it didn’t seem to be the book his parents and teachers had long told him it was. There was Cain committing murder and getting away with it; Solomon, who seemed to prefer pagan ladies to nice Jewish girls; and God smiting people all over the place. Plotz’s reading of the Old Testament Bible isn’t particularly profound—and this isn’t a book for the devout—but it is entertaining and does pose questions of interest.

GOOD BOOK: THE BIZARRE, HILARIOUS, DISTURBING, MARVELOUS, AND INSPIRING THINGS I LEARNED WHEN I READ EVERY SINGLE WORD OF THE BIBLE, by David Plotz (HarperCollins, 2009)

PERENNIAL CLASSIC

As you lie on the beach in August, surrounded by nubile young things and soaking up the summer heat, cast your mind back to Gustav von Aschenbach on the Lido, expiring even as he is beckoned by the retreating figure of the beautiful Tadzio, and remember what a transporting moment it was to read Mann’s extraordinary masterwork. If you’re up for a reread of the great novella, consider this latest translation, which is perhaps a little less staid and heavy than the nonetheless great translation of H. T. Lowe-Porter.

DEATH IN VENICE, by Thomas Mann, translated from the German by Michael Henry Heim (1912; Harper Perennial, 2005)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/24/2011

Basketball legend Michael Jordan, on facing adversity: "If you're trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I've had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it or work around it."

Birthdays:
Mike Shanahan b. 1952
Cal Ripken Jr. b. 1960
Reggie Miller b. 1965
Tim Salmon b. 1968
Rafael Furcal b. 1980

Packers Fact:
The Packers' 31-21 victory over Detroit in Week 17 of 2008 doomed the Lions to the first 0-16 season in NFL history. (Green Bay also beat Detroit 48-25 in Week 2 that year.)

EVERYONE
MUST ROW WITH
THE OARS HE HAS.

—Dutch proverb

ON VERSUS WHAT?

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Van Der Sar is one of the best two-footed goalkeepers in the league.

soccer commentator Chris Waddle

CUP O’ JOE WITH THAT?

Do you know what “Adam and Eve on a raft” is? You probably know what “dead soldiers” are, but what about “dead presidents”? The Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang has these and about 25,000 other words and phrases covered, and it pulls no punches with what we affectionately refer to as expletives, either. Great for browsing. (Adam and Eve on a raft is diner slang for two eggs on toast; a dead soldier is, of course, an emptied liquor bottle; dead presidents refers to money.)

THE ROUTLEDGE DICTIONARY OF MODERN AMERICAN SLANG AND UNCONVENTIONAL ENGLISH; edited by Tom Dalzell (Routledge, 2008)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/23/2011

8/23/1989:
Against the Expos in Montreal, Rick Dempsey of the Dodgers sets a record for the latest home run in major league history to win a 1-0 game. The game is scoreless for a tense 21 innings before Dempsey homers in the 22nd off Dennis Martinez, who is normally a starter but was pressed into service as a reliever for the first time in three years. The contest lasts 6 hours and 14 minutes. There is also a bit of levity. After complaints by Tommy Lasorda, the Montreal mascot Youppil is ejected by the umpires in the 11th inning for dancing on top of the Dodgers dugout. Permitted to return if confined to the Expos dugout, Youppil puts on pajamas in the 13th and pretends to go to sleep on the dugout roof.

Birthdays:
Sonny Jurgensen b. 1934
Nancy Richey b. 1942
Julio Franco b.1 958
Rik Smits b. 1966
Kobe Bryant b. 1978

Packers Fact:
Reggie White (who played in Green Bay from 1993 to 1998) played two seasons with USFL team the Memphis Showboats before beginning his NFL career in Philadelphia in 1985.

“Much in life cannot be affected . . . but must be borne . . . without complaint, because complaints are a bore . . . and undermine the serenity essential to endurance.”

—DEAN ACHESON, U.S. secretary of state

ON I’VE NEVER HAD MORE TENDER BRICK.
THE STONE, THOUGH . . .

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• Brick with Egg

• Brick with Tuna

• Brick with Prawns

• Salmon Paving Stone to the Sorrel

menu items, Paris, France

DREAMY DEXTER

Perhaps you’ve seen (or are addicted to) the Showtime series based on the first Dexter book. Now author Jeff Lindsay is scrambling to keep up with his lovable psychopathic creation. In the latest, Dexter is bitten by the cannibalism bug. As always, Dexter is delicious.

DARKLY DREAMING DEXTER, by Jeff Lindsay (Ballantine, 2004)

DARKLY DEVOTED DEXTER (2005)

DEXTER IN THE DARK (2007)

DEXTER BY DESIGN (2009)

DEXTER IS DELICIOUS (2011)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/22/2011

8/22/1965:
A game between the Dodgers and Giants at Candlestick Park is marred by one of the ugliest incidents in baseball history. When San Francisco pitcher Juan Marichal comes to bat in the third inning, Sandy Koufax throws two inside pitches and catcher Johnny Roseboro comes close to hitting Marichal with the return throws. After an exchange of words, Marichal raises his bat and pounds Roseboro at least twice in the head. Roseboro bleeds profusely from a gash in his head, and a wild brawl ensues between the two teams. Acting as a peacemaker, Willie Mays leads Roseboro into the dugout and tends to his injuries. Marichal is slapped with a fine of $1,750 and a nine-day suspension. Roseboro will file a civil suit against him for $110,000; it's settled for $7,500 in 1971.

Birthdays:
Carl Yastrzemski b. 1939
Bill Parcells b. 1941
Diana Myad b. 1949
Paul Molitor b. 1956
Mats Wilander b. 1964

Packers Fact:
The 1983 Packers played in an NFL-record five overtime games. The Packers were 2-3 in those games and finished the season 8-8.

“Pain makes man think. Thought makes man wise. Wisdom makes life endurable.”

—JOHN PATRICK, American playwright

ON GEOGRAPHICAL KNOWLEDGE, POOR GRASP OF

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They are also building schools for the Afghan children so that there is hope and opportunity in our neighboring country of Afghanistan.

Alaska governor Sarah Palin, while campaigning in San Francisco

RYE WHISKEY, RYE WHISKEY, RYE WHISKEY I CRY

It’s everything you ever wanted to know about whiskey, and then some. Climate, grain, fermentation techniques, the oak of the cask, the period for aging, and a guide to all the whiskey distilleries in the world. A handsome, encyclopedic tome for those who love their whiskey and those who wonder if they ought to.

WHISKEY: THE DEFINITIVE WORLD GUIDE, by Michael Jackson (DK Adult, 2005)

Sports Fact of the Day 8/21/2011

8/21/2008:
In the gold medal beach volleyball final at the Beijing Olympics, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh defeat the Chinese tandem of Tian Jia and Wang Jie. May-Treanor and Walsh also won the gold medal at the Olympics in Athens in 2004. A loss to fellow Americans Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs in the AVP Crocs Cup Shootout on August 31 snaps the pair's streak of 19 tournament victories.

Birthdays:
Chris Schenkel b. 1923
Toe Blake b. 1912
Wilt Chamberlain b. 1936
John Wetteland b. 1966
Usain Belt b. 1986

“Life isn’t all beer and skittles.”

—THOMAS HUGHES, English jurist and writer

ON THAT’S SAYIN’ IT!

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A memorable half hour to forget!

sportscaster Alan Mclnally

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/20/2011

When asked how he addressed his control problems in 2004, White Sox closer Bill Koch replied: "I just pretend the catcher's mitt is Mark Buehrle's face. They look about the same."

Birthdays:
Sihugo Green b. 1933
Graig Nettles b. 1944
Mark Langston b. 1960
Duffy Waldorf b. 1962
Todd Helton b. 1973

Packers Fact:
The "T.J." in offensive lineman T.J. Lang's name stands for Thomas John.

“A man must take the fat with the lean.”

—CHARLES DICKENS, English novelist

ON WELL, AS LONG AS
THEY’RE PEELED . . .

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AS ADVERTISED
Shurfresh
Whole Peeled Baby
$1.69

supermarket sign

DEAD POETS SOCIETY

Jean-Claude Izzo left us some marvelous novels, among them the Marseilles Trilogy. The series, as black as noir can be, features Fabio Montale. In Solea he’s retired and surprisingly open to love, but wouldn’t you know, the Mafia machine gets him again—through his loyalty to a former lover. Whether it’s because we know this was the last book or because Izzo himself had a sense of fate moving in, Solea is tighter, leaner, and more elegiac than the others, but they’re all good, with a wonderfully colorful setting.

THE MARSEILLES TRILOGY, by Jean-Claude Izzo, translated from the French by Howard Curtis (Europa Editions)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/19/2011

8/19/1951:
St. Louis Browns owner Bill Veeck sends 3'7" Eddie Gaedel to bat in the first inning of the second game of a doubleheader against the Tigers at Sportsman's Park. Wearing a small Browns uniform bearing the number 1/8, Gaedel leads off as a pinch hitter for Frank Saucier. Detroit pitcher Bob Cain walks him on four pitches and Jim Delsing is sent in as a pinch runner. Between games of the twin bill is a massive celebration of the Browns' 50th season in St. Louis. During the festivities, Gaedel is announced as "another outstanding player signed by the Browns in their expanded worldwide scouting system."

Birthdays:
Bill Shoemaker b. 1931
Anthony Munoz b. 1958
Ricky Pierce b. 1959
Morten Andersen b. 1960
Mary Jo Fernandez b. 1971

Packers Fact:
While at Boston College in 2008, B.J. Raji (a nose tackle in the Packers' 3-4) became the first defensive tackle in 23 years to lead the team in sacks. (He had 8 that season.)

WHO MAKES
TIMID REQUESTS,
INVITES DENIAL.

—SENECA, Roman statesman and writer

ON LOSSES, PAINFUL

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U.S. MUTUAL FUNDS ROCKED
Industry has lost more than 20% in asses under management. Pain may not be over yet.

from a story on MarketWatch.com (thanks to Jed Galbraith)

COMPULSIVE READING

Hats off to Babbette Hines for her love of ephemera and her talent for bringing out its permanently fascinating qualities. In the more recent volume, as in Photobooth (also from Princeton Architectural Press), Hines has hunted out, found, and culled the best of the best from scraps of paper. The vulnerable, the class clowns, the poseurs, the deadly earnest—all are exposed here to our greedy glance, with the double satisfaction of realism and anonymity.

LOVE LETTERS, LOST, by Babette Hines (Princeton Architectural Press, 2004)

PHOTOBOOTH (2002)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/18/2011

8/18/2004:
American gymnast Paul Hamm recovers from a bad fall into the scorers' table during his vault and delivers an amazing high bar routine to win the men's all-around gold medal at the Olympics in Athens, Greece. After the event, bronze medalist Yang Tae Young of South Korea will complain of a scoring error related to his parallel bars routine. The International Gymnastics Federation will admit the error and suspend three judges, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport will officially award Hamm his medal on October 21.

Birthdays:
Roberto Clemente b. 1934
Rafer Johnson b. 1935
Matt Snell b. 1941
Bobby Higginson b. 1970
Jeremy Shockey b. 1980

Packers Fact:
Safety Eugene Robinson (1996-97) played college football at Colgate.

“Happiness is a conscious choice.”

—MILDRED BARTHEL, American poet

ON ADVICE, NOT EXACTLY WHAT WE’D
EXPECT FROM THE ROYAL GAZETTE

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HOW TO COMBAT THAT
FEELING OF HELPLESSNESS
WITH ILLEGAL DRUGS

headline in the Royal Gazette (Bermuda)

A WILD RIDE

Nick Harkaway thinks writers nowadays should be more conversant with the technologies we use unthinkingly every day, because the ramifications of progress might be something like what takes place in this apocalyptic, funny-serious, genre-bending, almost indescribable novel of war, love, and heroism in the future. (By the way, Harkaway is John Le Carré’s son.)

“It is not only clever, it is also genuinely terrifying . . . the pace and action of an episode of 24.”—The Times (London)

THE GONE-AWAY WORLD, by Nick Harkaway (Knopf, 2008; Vintage Contemporary, 2009)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/17/2011

8/17/1948:
An estimated 100,000 fans line up to pay their respects to Babe Ruth, who lies in state at Yankee Stadium. He died last evening at 8:00 P.M. at Memorial Hospital in New York City following a two-year battle with throat cancer. The flag on Main Street in Cooperstown is flown at half-mast, and the lights in all ballparks are dimmed in tribute. In Japan, all baseball games are stopped for one minute. The funeral mass will be held on August 19 at St. Patrick's Cathedral, where thousands of mourners gather outside in the rain. The burial ceremony will take place at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Mount Pleasant, New York.

Birthdays:
Boog Powell b. 1941
Guillermo Vilas b. 1952
Christian Laettner b. 1969
Jorge Posada b. 1971
Dustin Pedroia b. 1983

Packers Fact:
Guard "Iron Mike" Michaelski finished his 11-season Pro Football Hall of Fame career with one year in Green Bay in 1937.

“Great men are but life-sized. Most of them, indeed, are rather short.”

—MAX BEERBOHM, English critic and caricaturist

ON YES, WE CAN SEE WHERE PROHIBITING
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FROM IMPOSING
EXCESSIVE BAIL COMES INTO PLAY HERE

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Q: Who is tougher to handle—your 14-year-old daughter or Manny Ramirez?

Red Sox manager Terry Francona: I plead the Eighth.

ARMCHAIR TRAVEL HISTORY

We highly recommend the travels of Arabian scholar and traveler Ibn Battuta, whose voyage, or rihla, came only a half century after Marco Polo’s better-publicized travels and covered more territory. Starting from his native Morocco, over more than three decades, he saw much of Africa and reached China, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and large parts of the known Islamic world, including the Holy Land. Ross Dunn, his translator and commentator, takes us right into the colorful and diverse terrain.

THE ADVENTURES OF IBN BATTUTA: A MUSLIM TRAVELER OF THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY, by Ross E. Dunn (University of California Press, 2004)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/16/2011

8/16/1998:
Driving int eh Pepsi 400 at the Michigan Speedway in Brooklyn, Jeff Gordon wins his fourth NASCAR race in a row in just over three weeks. Gordon won the Pennsylvania 500 in Long Pond on July 26, the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis on August 1 and the Bud at the Glen in Watkins Glen, New York, on August 8. His streak will be broken a week from now, when he finishes fifth in the Goody's 500 in Bristol, Tennessee, but he'll follow up with victories in his next two races: the Farm Aid on CMT 300 in Loudon, New Hampshire, on August 30 and the Southern 500 in Darlington, South Carolina, on September 6.

Birthdays:
Amos Alonzo Stagg b. 1862
Frank Gifford b. 1930
Tony Trabert b. 1930
Ron Tary b. 1946
Ben Coates b. 1969

Packers Fact:
Cornerback Tramon Williams returned an interception 67 yards to set up a touchdown in a 21-15 victory over Chicago to open the 2009 season.

What did you think, that joy was some slight thing?

—MARK DOTY, American poet

ON DEFENSES, ALL WET

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Judge: You are charged with habitual drunkenness. Have you anything to say in your defense?

Defendant: Habitual thirstiness?

from actual courtroom testimony

BESTSELLER

Jonathan Tropper once again firmly establishes himself as a writer whom it’s almost impossible not to like. This Is Where I Leave You is an intelligent, funny, serious, beautifully crafted novel, with characters so exactingly described, you could invite them to your own family barbecue (and know exactly how much they’ll drink and how they’ll react to the news of your divorce). Judd, who is traumatized and on the verge of divorce, must endure an excruciating seven days of shiva for his father, in the company of his family. Intense and bound to be a classic. Read the book before it (inevitably) becomes a movie.

THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU, by Jonathan Tropper (Dutton Adult, 2009)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/15/2011

8/15/1941:
The Red Sox win a forfeit in Washington because the Senators fail to protect the field during a rainstorm. The game is stopped in the eighth inning with the Senators leading 6-3, but the infield is left uncovered and the contest is called after 40 minutes when the umpires declare the field unplayable. Red Sox manager Joe Cronin will complain to American League president Will Harridge that the game could have been resumed if the tarp had been spread on the infield. Harridge agrees and forfeits the game to Boston in a decision announced on August 27.

Birthdays:
Lionel Taylor b. 1936
Gene Upshaw b. 1945
Ivan Boldirev b. 1949
Scott Brosius b. 1966
Kerri Walsh b. 1978

Packers Fact:
Cornerback Charles Woodson's interception return for a touchdown against Cincinnati in Week 2 of 2009 made him the first player in the Packers' storied history to return at least 1 pick for a touchdown in four consecutive seasons.

ON WHA?!?

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Family Feud host Richard Dawson: Name something you can’t use without water.

Contestant: Your ice cream cone.

Life is a jest, and all things show it.
I thought so once, and now I know it.

—JOHN GAY, English poet

TRUE PIRATES

Last month we exhorted you to check out an old classic tale of pirates and the high seas, Daniel Defoe’s The Life Adventures and Piracies of the Famous Captain Singleton. If you’re hungry for more hardtack and rum, horniness and cussing, we urge you to dip into this fascinating and delightful modern study of the pirates of yore. David Cordingly, formerly curator of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England, attacks his subjects with gusto—from the real-life Captain Kidd, Blackbeard, and others to fictional favorites such as Captain Hook and Long John Silver.

UNDER THE BLACK FLAG: THE ROMANCE AND THE REALITY OF LIFE AMONG THE PIRATES, by David Cordingly (Random House, 2006)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/12-14/2011

8/12/1950:
Confusion reigns as the New York Giants defeat the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League, 27-6, in an exhibition game before 15,000 at Landsdowne Park. The first half is played under CFL rules, the second half under NFL rules. Makeshift yard lines are put in place at halftime to mark the smaller field used in the NFL. The same format will be used between the same two teams on August 11, 1951, during the Giants' 41-18 win in Ottawa. Between 1959 and 1961, five more exhibition games will be played in Canada between CFL teams and those from either the NFL or the AFL. The NFL will be 4-0 in those games.

Birthdays:
Fred Hutchinson b. 1919
George McGinnis b. 1950
Pete Sampras b. 1971
Antoine Walker b. 1976
Plaxico Burress b. 1977

Packers Fact:
Bart Starr (1956-1971) never passed for as many as 2,500 yards in a season and never tossed more than 16 scoring passes in any year. But he was the consummate leader and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977.

8/13:
The Phillies' Pat Burrell, when asked if he could put a finger on what caused his season-long slump in 2003: "I don't have enough fingers."

Birthdays:
Ben Hogan b. 1912
Bobby Clarke b. 1949
Betsy King b. 1955
Shayne Corson b. 1966
Jarrod Washburn b. 1974

Packers Fact:
The Packers drafted center Jim Ringo in the seventh round in 1953 out of Syracuse.

8/14/1971:
Bob Gibson of the St. Louis Cardinals throws his only career no-hitter in an 11-0 rout of the Pirates in Pittsburgh. He walks 3 and strikes out 10. For the last three outs, he retires Vic Davalillo on a grounder to shortstop Dal Maxvill, Al Oliver on an easy roller to Ted Kubiak at second and Willie Stargell on a called third strike. It's Gibson'sn 201st5 career win.

Birthdays:
Earl Weaver b. 1930
John Brodie b. 1938
Debbie Meyer b. 1952
Magic Johnson b. 1959
Wayne Chrobet b. 1973

“There is no despair so absolute as that which comes with the first moments of our first great sorrow, when we have not yet known what it is to have suffered and be healed, to have despaired and recovered hope.”

—GEORGE ELIOT, English novelist

“Maybe one day we shall be glad to remember even these hardships.”

—VIRGIL, Roman poet

“Nature reacts not only to physical disease, but also to moral weakness; when the danger increases, she gives us greater courage.”

—JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE, German poet and dramatist

ON SACRIFICES, ALMOST TOO HARD TO BEAR

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W hat was hard [during this recession] was giving up my live-in maid five days a week. My daughter said, do we really need somebody? So I cut back, and I just hired somebody for two days. And you know, it kind of brought our family together. We cook together more as a family. Normally when the housekeeper was there cooking for us, my husband would be off with the paper and I would be on the phone with my friends and the kids were doing homework. I do have the woman make one extra dinner for us though, and one or two nights we do order in, and a lot of times we will go out.

Real Housewives of New York City star Ramona Singer

ON WARNING SIGNS,
TOO GRAMMAR-ORIENTED

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NOUN AREA
BATHING
ADJECTIVE
FORBIDDEN

tri-lingual sign at a beach in Israel (over the English translation is Hebrew and Arabic, reading CAUTION! DEEP WATER NEAR THE SHORE.)

ON TOO TRUE,
TOO TRUE

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He’s trying to take the decision out of the hands of 12 honest men and give it to 435 congressmen!

Representative Charles Vanik (D-Ohio)

AN UNPLEASANT SUBJECT

It’s a wacky idea, taking one of the most vilified life-forms in the world today, E. coli, and tracing its genealogy, history, and economic significance, but that’s what venerable science writer Carl Zimmer has done. He even manages to defend the little guys’ usefulness to society—these bacteria, of which there are many different strains, some of them vital to our vitals, are now important links in the research on human cell aging, in genetic mapping and engineering, and in the classroom. We couldn’t have said it any better than Steven Johnson (author of The Invention of Air): “Creepy, mind-twisting, and delightful all at the same time.”

MICROCOSM: E. COLI AND THE NEW SCIENCE OF LIFE, by Carl Zimmer (Pantheon, 2008; Vintage, 2009)

THE GREATNESS THRUST UPON THEM

In this controlled and well-paced story, shy, emotionally wounded photojournalist Maria accompanies her brasher fellow journalist Imogen on assignment for an exposé on the phenomenon of young Afghan women’s self-immolating rather than submitting to arranged marriages. Maria, who has been protecting herself against life by cowering in the safety of employment as a food photographer, finds within her a life-giving elasticity and effectiveness that deepen the satisfaction of reading this admirable novel.

THE END OF MANNERS, by Francesca Marciano (Vintage, 2009)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/10-11/2011

8/10/2009:
After announcing her plans to retire at the end of the season, Lisa Leslie becomes the first player in the WNBA to score 6,000 career points as the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Indiana Fever, 75-63, at Staples Center. Leslie has played for the Sparks since the league's founding in 1997. Among her accomplishments are two WNBA titles, two finals MVP awards, three All-Star Game MVP awards, seven first team WNBA selections, two Defensive Player of the Year honors and first to dunk the ball in a WNBA game. She also won gold medals in four different Olympiads.

Birthdays:
Red Holzman b. 1920
Rocky Colavito b. 1933
John Starks b. 1965
Riddick Bowe b. 1967
Samari Rolle b. 1976

Packers Fact:
By ranking eighth in the NFL in total offense in 2008, the Packers ranked among the league's top 10 for the 12th time in the last 15 seasons.

8/11:
Alabaman Hugo Black, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court until the age of 85: "When I was 40, my doctor advised me that a man in his forties shouldn't play tennis. I heeded his advice carefully and couldn't wait until I reached 50 to start again."

Birthdays:
Bill Monbouquette b. 1936
Vada Pinson b. 1938
Otis Taylor b. 1942
Craid Ehlo b. 1961
Edgardo Alfonso b. 1973

Packers Fact:
Second-year fullback Korey Hall scored his first career touchdown when he caught a 1-yard pass against Minnesota on Kickoff Weekend in 2008.

“When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.”

—FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, U.S. president

“I think your whole life shows in your face and you should be proud of that.”

—LAUREN BACALL, American actress

ON ANNEXING THE FOOTBALL FIELD
WAS THE FINAL STRAW

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UNIVERSITY OF AKRON
STUDENTS PROTEST
INVASION BY ISRAEL

headline in the Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal

ON BUT SOMEBODY NEEDS TO
START ENGLISH LESSONS

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FRENCH LESSONS:

DEBUTANT, CONFIRMED, AND EVEN SPECIALIST.

NOBODY ENDS TO LEARN.

sign in Toronto, Canada

A GREAT ESCAPE

There are many who would never even consider the possibility of living abroad and moving away from friends and family, especially in retirement. This book, of course, is not for them. But for those who have been tempted, or who have even started looking into it, “Retirement Without Borders is absolutely positively the best book that I have read on why, where, and how to retire abroad,” says Ernie J. Zelinsky, the author of How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free. Written and researched by two happy, successful expats, and focused on ten main spots and more briefly on many others. For the budget conscious as well as the well-off.

RETIREMENT WITHOUT BORDERS: HOW TO RETIRE ABROAD—IN MEXICO, FRANCE, ITALY, SPAIN, COSTA RICA, PANAMA, AND OTHER SUNNY, FOREIGN PLACES (AND THE SECRET TO MAKING IT HAPPEN WITHOUT STRESS), by Barry Golson, Thia Golson, and the Expert Expats (Scribner, 2008)

TRUTH IN FICTION

In 1887 Henry Ward Beecher lies on his deathbed, occasioning his illustrious family’s backward glance into the sex scandal in which Henry was involved as a younger man and the firestorm of courtroom drama and journalistic attention that ensued. Henry’s numerous family members, including writer Harriet Beecher Stowe, and the many others who were embroiled in the high-profile shenanigans come alive in this seamless, hugely diverting historical novel. “A compelling page-turner with unmistakable echoes in our own times,” says Thomas Dyja, author of Play for a Kingdom.

HARRIET AND ISABELLA, by Patricia O’Brien (Touchstone, 2008)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/8-8/9/2011

8/8/2001:
Tigers second baseman Damion Easley collects six hits in six at-bats during a 19-6 win over the Rangers in Arlington. Facing Texas starter Joaquin Benoit, Easley singles in the second and fourth innings and homers in the fifth. He adds a single in the eighth against Pat Mahomes for his fourth hit. Heading into the ninth, the score is 6-6 and Easley is the sixth hitter scheduled to bat that inning. During a 13-run rally by Detroit, he singles off Mike Venafro and Mark Petkovsek. After doubling in a run in his first plate appearance in the ninth, Shane Halter caps the night with a grand slam.

Birthdays:
Jerry Tarkanian b. 1930
Frank Howard b. 1936
Ken Dryden b. 1947
Nigel Mansell b. 1953
Roger Federer b. 1961

Packers Fact:
Desmond Howard's league-leading 3 punt returns for the Packers in 1996 were just 1 short of the NFL single-season record.

8/9/1993:
Soccer fans in Ixiamas, Bolivia, are so excited by their country's 3-1 win over Uruguay in a World Cup qualifying match that they allow their village to burn to the ground. Amid the celebrations, residents fail to notice that 40 houses, comprising most of the village, are on fire. By the time they take action, it's too late to save any of the homes and all are destroyed. The blaze was caused by firecrackers that fell on the thatched roofs during the festivities.

Birthdays:
Bob Cousy b. 1928
Rod Laver b. 1938
Brett Hull b. 1964
Deion Sanders b. 1967
Chamiue Holdsclaw b. 1977

Birthdays:
Kicker Chester Marcol was from Poland. He was born in Opole, Poland, in 1949, and moved to Michigan when he was 15 years old.

ON GAME SHOW CONTESTANTS WHO
PROBABLY FAILED KINDERGARTEN

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Simply the Best game show host: How many Olympic Games have been held?

Contestant: Six!

Host: Higher!

Contestant: Five!

ON NONSENSE, POLYSYLLABIC

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judgmental lapse ................................................ crime
maximum incapacitation .....................death penalty

government definitions, as collected by William Lutz in his book Doublespeak Defined

“Be fair with others, but keep after them until they’re fair with you.”

—ALAN ALDA, American actor

“You are born with two things: existence and opportunity, and these are the raw materials out of which you can make a successful life.”

—CHARLES TEMPLETON, Canadian writer

MEN ARE TWO-TIMING, GOOD-FOR-NOTHING STINKERS

The Nation writer Kathe Pollitt gets personal in this collection of essays on subjects that include her life as a daughter reading her parents’ FBI files, as a mother, and, most completely and scathingly, as a woman wronged by philandering men. In “Learning to Drive,” “After the Men Are Gone,” and many more, Pollitt imparts her life lessons with candor and unflinching wit.

LEARNING TO DRIVE: AND OTHER LIFE STORIES, by Kathe Pollitt (Random House, 2008)

A HIGH-WIRE ACT

Colum McCann has managed to write an elegy for post–9/11 New York disguised as a paean to the city’s past. In the still August heat, several ordinary yet extraordinary New Yorkers look up and see the wondrous sight of Philippe Petit (but he’s not named here) making his daring cable walk between the twin towers in 1974. So commence the beautifully wondrously interlocking stories of the prostitute, the priest, the nurse, the grieving mother, the judge, the computer hackers, the cable walker, and others. The voices and music of this huge “symphony” (Frank McCourt) will haunt you for a very long time to come.

LET THE GREAT WORLD SPIN, by Colum McCann (Random House, 2009)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/6-7/2011

8/6/1926:
Eighteen-year-old New Yorker Gertrude Ederle becomes the first women to swim the English Channel, covering the 21 miles from Cap Gris-Nez in France to Kingsdown on the English coast in little more than 14-1/2 hours. Only five men accomplished the feat before Ederle. The best time among the quintet was 16 hours and 39 minutes.

Birthdays:
Hank Iba b. 1904
Clem Labine b. 1926
Dale Ellis b. 1960
Tony Fernandez b. 1962
David Robinson b. 1965

Packers Fact:
With 1,012 yards in 2002, Donald Driver set a franchise record with his sixth 1,000-yard pass-catching season. Two other Packers had five such seasons: James Lofton and Sterling Sharpe.

Hollywood icon and baseball fan Humphrey Bogart: "A hot dog at the ballpark is better than a steak at the Ritz."

Birthdays:
Don Larson b. 1929
Abebe Bikila b. 1932
Carlos Monson b. 1942
Alan Page b. 1945
Sidney Crosby b. 1967

ON AND THE OBVIOUS
QUESTION IS NO

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So the obvious answer is Why?

newscaster John Humphrys

ON INSTRUCTIONS,
DIFFICULT-TO-FOLLOW

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Could you get a little closer apart?

film director Michael Curtiz, to two stars

“A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”

—ERNEST HEMINGWAY, American writer

“Beware of rashness, but with energy, and sleepless vigilance, go forward and give us victories.”

—ABRAHAM LINCOLN, U.S. president

RAVE REVIEWS

In July 1950 Corporal Robert Leavitt is in a tunnel in Korea, pinned down by friendly fire and wondering how he’s going to get out alive. In July 1959 Leavitt’s physically and mentally disabled nine-year-old son, Termite, is in West Virginia being cared for by his half-sister, Lark, and his aunt Nonie. Aunt Nonie is a woman of few resources and much stress, and Social Services threatens to take Termite away and break up the family. We wonder what has happened to Termite’s parents. Jayne Anne Phillips reveals this family’s “tangled secrets in such a profound and intimate way that these ordinary, wounded people become both tragic and magnificent,” Ron Charles writes in The Washington Post Book World.

LARK AND TERMITE, by Jayne Anne Phillips (Knopf, 2009)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/5/2011

8/5/2001:
the Cleveland Indians erase a 1-run deficit to defeat the Seattle Mariners, 15-14, in 11 innings. Three different Cleveland batters are down to their last strike before the club pulls out the victory. The Mariners, who came into the game with a record of 80-30, lead 12-0 at the end of the third inning and 14-2 at the end of the sixth. The Indians score three runs in the seventh and four in the eighth, but still trail 14-9 with two out in the ninth and a runner on first base when Marty Cordova doubles. Wil Cordero walks on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases, and Einar Diaz delivers a single on a full count to drive home two runs and make the score 14-11. Kenny Lofton singles to reload the bases, Omar Vizquel falls behind in the count, 1-2, then draws two balls and fouls off two pitches before hitting a three-run triple to tie the score. Jolbert Cabrera drives in the winning run in the 11th with a single.

Birthdays:
Roman Gabriel b. 1940
Patrick Ewing b. 1962
John Olerud b. 1968
Mark Mulder b. 1977
Carl Crawford b. 1981

Packers Fact:
Fourth-year wide receiver Greg Jennings posted the 10th 100-yard receiving day of his career when he amassed 106 yards in the Packers' 21-15 victory over the Bears on kickoff weekend in 2009.

“Everyone is necessarily the hero of his own life story.”

—JOHN BARTH, American writer

ON THEY DO?!?!?

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BOYS CAUSE AS MANY
PREGNANCIES AS GIRLS

newspaper headline

A LIFE WELL LIVED

Joseph Priestley began his career as a minister and theologian in the 18th century. His wide-ranging interests brought him to science, the discovery of oxygen, and, happily, the invention of soda water. His is an extraordinary story full of intellectual passion, of the tribulations brought about by his unconventional religious beliefs, and of encounters with the great (Thomas Jefferson in particular). Steven Johnson has fun with his subject, which connects him to no end of developments down through the years (find out what the discovery of oxygen had to do with the French Revolution). An enjoyable approach to mostly serious subjects.

THE INVENTION OF AIR: A STORY OF SCIENCE, FAITH, REVOLUTION, AND THE BIRTH OF AMERICA, by Steven Johnson (Riverhead Books, 2008)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/4/2011

8/4/1982:
Center fielder Joel Youngblood collects hits off two Hall of Famers while playing for two different teams in one day. As a member of the Mets, Youngblood strokes a two-run single against Ferguson Jenkins in a 7-4 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. He's taken out of the game after the third inning and informed that he's been traded to the Expos for a player to be named later. He hops a plane for Philadelphia and arrives at Veterans Stadium during an Expo game against the Phillies. Batting in the seventh inning, he singles off Steve Carlton.

Birthdays:
Maurice "Rocket" Richard b. 1921
Dallas Green b. 1934
Mary Decker Slaney b. 1958
Roger Clemens b. 1962
Jeff Gordon b. 1971

Packers Fact:
Quarterback Tobin Rote led the Packers in rushing three times in the 1950s. He played for the club from 1950 to 1956.

ON HELPFUL HINTS FROM THE WEATHER CHANNEL

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DO NOT DROWN

warning on the Weather Channel to Denver-area viewers during flood coverage (thanks to Garrick S.)

BETTER THE COTTAGE
WHERE ONE IS MERRY
THAN THE PALACE
WHERE ONE WEEPS.

—Chinese proverb

DELISH DISH

One Fifth Avenue, an attractive Art Deco building at Washington Square, is one of Manhattan’s most desirable addresses. Candace Bushnell uses it as the setting for her witty and entertaining chick-lit novel about what the would-be upwardly socially mobile will do when a major socialite dies and her prime penthouse apartment becomes available. Another knowing, sharp satire from the author of Sex and the City.

ONE FIFTH AVENUE, by Candace Bushnell (Voice, 2008)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/3/2011

8/3/1939:
On his 37th birthday, catcher Joe Sprinz of the San Francisco Seals in the Pacific Coast League is injured on a Treasure Island stunt in San Francisco Bay. During the Golden Gate International Exposition, celebrating the opening of the Bay Bridge (1936) and the Golden Gate Bridge (1937), Sprinz tries to set the altitude record for catching a baseball. The first ball, dropped 800 feet from a blimp, hits the bleachers. The second becomes embedded in the field. Sprinz gets his hand on the third drop, but the ball glances off his glove and back into his face. He's knocked unconscious, suffers 12 broken bones and loses 5 teeth. It's later estimated that the ball was traveling 150 miles per hour.

Birthdays:
Lance Alwroth b. 1940
Marcel Dionne b. 1951
Rod Beck b. 1968
Troy Glaus b. 1976
Tom Brady b. 1977

Packers Fact:
Linebacker Bernardo Harris led the Packers in tackles in 1997 and 1998. He did it again in 2000 and 2001.

ON POST OFFICE-RELATED MOVIES,
GREAT LINES FROM

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Blind woman: You’re a godsend, a savior.

Postman (Kevin Costner): No, I’m a postman.

The Postman (1997)

“Every ‘kick in the pants’ sends a real man a step forward.”

—J. KENFIELD MORLEY, American businessman

YOUNG AMERICA’S OLD HICKORY

The age of Andrew Jackson was also the era of the Erie Canal, utopian dreams, Joseph Smith and the birth of Mormonism, the first recorded utterance of the phrase “manifest destiny,” the Trail of Tears, mesmerism, phrenology, a fast-growing economy, P.T. Barnum, Henry David Thoreau, unrestrained drinking, and the first temperance movement. David Reynolds argues that it was a major turning point in American history and does so entertainingly and persuasively.

WAKING GIANT: AMERICA IN THE AGE OF JACKSON, by David S. Reynolds (Harper, 2008)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/2/2011

8/2/1928:
Several women collapse from exhaustion after the 800-meter race at the Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. Antifeminists point to this occurrence as evidence that women should be limited to races of 200 meters or less, doctors declare that women who compete in feats of endurance will "become old too soon" and the president of the International Olympic Committee suggests that all women's sports should be eliminated from the Games. Women's sports will return in the next Olympics in 1932, but women will be barred from races of 200 meters or longer until 1960. The women's marathon will be held for the first time in 1984.

Birthdays:
Lamar Hunt b. 1932
Matt Hazeltine b. 1933
Billy Cannon b. 1937
Tim Wakefield b. 1966
Tony Amonte b. 1970

Packers Fact:
Former practice-squad linebacker Spencer Havner converted to tight end during Packer' organized team activities in 2009.

ON UPDATING, UPDATED

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“Seldom is it given to one generation to have such an opportunity to rise again.”

—DAVID SARNOFF, American businessman

GET OUT YOUR TROWELS

You Western gardeners have something special with your unique climates and plants, and Sunset magazine’s staff are the experts on helping you make a glorious wonderland in your backyard. Considered the bible of Western gardening, this new update includes more photography; more than 8,000 plant listings; a fabulous introduction by editor Kathleen Brenzel, with a photographic tour of the best of the West—everything you need to get going, get new ideas, or build a private Eden.

SUNSET WESTERN GARDEN BOOK, by Sunset Books; edited by Kathleen Brenzel (Oxmoor House; eighth edition, 2007)

Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 8/1/2011

8/1/1914:
On the same day that Oscar Kreuzer and Otto Froitzheim finish up a 5-0 loss to Australiasia (Australia and New Zealand) in a Davis Cup match in Pittsburgh, Germany declares war on Russia. The two German tennis stars announce they'll be sailing home to fight for their country. On August 4, Great Britain declares war on Germany, and a British warship patrolling off the Gibraltar coast intercepts the ship carrying Kreuzer and Froitzheim. The pair are taken prisoner and released when the war ends in 1918.

Birthdays:
Jack Kramer b. 1921
Cliff Branch b. 1948
Kiki Vandeweghe b. 158
Gregg Jefferies b. 1967
Stacey Augmon b. 1968

Packers Fact:
Linebacker Clay Matthews is the son of Clay Matthews Jr., who played linebacker in the NFL for 19 seasons beginning in 1978. His uncle is Bruce Matthews, the Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive lineman.

ON AND OURS IS FEW

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And my concern, David, is several.

President George W. Bush

“They underestimated me, because I am a fighter and not a quitter.”

—PETER MANDELSON, British politician

A GREAT ESCAPE

This great stew of a historical novel revolves around the opium trade and similarly unsavory business in the early 19th century. It brims with magnificent characters, such as Baboo Nob Kissin, an overseer of coolies, a fallen raja, a transgendered mystic, and a great many others. An abundance of historical detail is ingeniously woven into the plot, and the author’s gloriously inventive use of the English language is a joy to read. Sea of Poppies is the first volume of a projected and eagerly awaited trilogy.

SEA OF POPPIES, by Amitav Ghosh (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008)