Sports Fact & Book Rec of the Day 1/29-30/2012

"You can't compare preseason to regular season," said Charles Barkley in 1992. "Preseason is just a way to screw fans out of money."

Birthdays:
Greg Louganis b. 1960
Steve Sax b. 1960
Andre Reed b. 1964
Dominik Hasek b. 1965
Sean Burke b. 1967

1/30/1936:
The Boston Braves change their nickname to the Boston Bees. A committee of 25 sportswriters and one cartoonist selects the nickname from a list of 1,327 fan-submitted names. During the 1935 season, the Braves compiled a record of 38-115, and it is hoped that the new nickname will lead the team in a new direction. (The .248 winning percentage still ranks as the worst of any team in the National League since 1900.) The name of the team's ballpark is also changed officially from Braves Field to National League Park and unofficially to "The Hive." The new nickname fails to catch the fancy of the public, however, and is changed back to Braves in 1941. The nickname will follow the franchise from Boston to Milwaukee in 1953 and from Milwaukee to Atlanta in 1966.

Birthdays:
Walt Drope b. 1923
Davey Johnson b. 1943
Tom Izzo b. 1955
Curtis Strange b. 1955
Payne Stewart b. 1957

WHODUNIT

The gonzo crime solving of San Francisco’s Spellman family (complete with wacky kids) gets better with each book. Read PI daughter Izzy’s therapy session, which opens this fourth installment in the series, and see if you aren’t charmed by the wacky wit. You may have found your next Stephanie Plum (with just a dash of Tony Soprano). “Another wild ride,” says the San Francisco Chronicle.

REVENGE OF THE SPELLMANS, by Lisa Lutz (Simon & Schuster, 2010)