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)