NY Sports Day » Pistol Pete Maravich

Getting Old Isn’t That Bad

Bob Lazzari — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:00:44 +0000

I was just thinking that aging DOES have its benefits. Though the sports world we experience on a daily basis still attracts great interest from people of ALL ages, I DO feel sorry for those sports aficionados born within the past three decades or so. Why? Because if you were born after 1980……..

* you didn’t get to see the great Walter Payton carry the football in his prime–”Sweetness” personified
* you missed out on seeing MLB pitchers like Bob Gibson, Jim Palmer, Tom Seaver and Steve Carlton perform magic WITHOUT pitch counts
* you didn’t get to see Rick Barry and Calvin Murphy shoot free throws
* you know nothing about the intensity of one Dick Butkus
* you missed seeing Dwight Gooden dazzle hitters in his rookie year of 1984–and follow that up with a “year for the ages” in 1985
* you have no recollection of the “No-Name Defense” and the “Purple People Eaters”
* you never got to read a Dick Young sports column
* you never heard Howard Cosell and “Dandy” Don Meredith together on “Monday Night Football”
* you missed out on seeing an NL player like George Foster hit 50 HRs with NO questions asked
* you didn’t see Roberto Duran fight as a lightweight during his prime
* you don’t recall an era when most sports autographs were FREE
* you probably didn’t see Wayne Gretzky play for the Edmonton Oilers
* you weren’t able to see “Pistol” Pete Maravich dribble a basketball, shoot a basketball, or do ANYTHING with a basketball
* you didn’t see Johnny Bench catch a baseball game
* you never saw a football player like George Blanda
* you never got to see WHY Pete Rose became known as “Charlie Hustle”
* you grew up in an era when the “police blotter” was (still is!) a regular feature of the sports page
* you missed seeing the aforementioned “Pistol Pete” score 68 points vs. the Knicks and defensive whiz Walt Frazier back in ‘77–BEFORE there was a three-point line
* you didn’t experience the “Miracle on Ice” in 1980
* you’ve probably paid more for a current Yankees yearbook than yours truly paid for a week’s worth of Yankee Stadium bleacher seats in the early 80’s
* a good part of your following of baseball has been in the “Steroid Era”–giving you a false sense of player accomplishments
* you haven’t seen a perfect football season–i.e. the 1972 Miami Dolphins
* you never saw guys like McEnroe and Borg play tennis in their primes–or play EACH OTHER
* you weren’t able to see a young Steve Busby pitch in the 1970’s–before an injury cut short one of the promising careers of all-time
* you missed out on a time when “Fan Appreciation Nights” had meaning
* you’ve never seen regular three-inning saves
* you didn’t get a chance to see the 1985 Chicago Bears play defense
* you didn’t see George Brett flirt with .400 in 1980
* you grew up in an era where greed was commonplace (still is!), acceptable, and EVERYWHERE
* you didn’t see Vida Blue pitch in 1971
* you didn’t see Mark “The Bird” Fidrych pitch in 1976
* you’ve become used to an era where staying up past 11:30 PM to watch an east coast game is commonplace
* the “Thrilla in Manila” has little meaning to you
* you can’t relate to why people were glued to their sets while watching “Wide World of Sports” during the 70’s
* you have no recollection of the “pine tar incident”
* you didn’t see the “Big Red Machine”
* you couldn’t enjoy nicknames like “Blue Moon”, “Catfish”, “Sparky”, or “Tug”
* you never saw Joe Namath throw a football–bad knees or NOT
* you never saw an old ABA game
* you–perhaps as a young parent–have been faced with the decision of attending a professional sporting event IN LIEU OF going on a family vacation
* you might have to Google the name “Bruce Jenner”
* you don’t recall a coherent Muhammad Ali
* you don’t know who “Wild” Bill Hagy is
* you didn’t see stars such as Julius Erving, George Gervin, George McGinnis, and Nate “Tiny” Archibald play basketball
* you missed out on “The Mad Hungarian’s” antics
* you never witnessed Ray Guy punting a football
* you’ve witnessed “shock sports journalism” to the max–and very few legitimate sports JOURNALISTS
* you weren’t privy to the speed and power of one RB named Earl Campbell
* you can’t relate to bringing $10 to a Yankee game and having the time of your life
* you never saw Pele play soccer
* you’ve attended very few–if ANY–MLB doubleheaders that WEREN’T day/night ones
* the song “We Are Family” has no sports-connection to you
* two-hour baseball games are foreign to you
* you’ve never seen a Bert Blyleven curveball

Yeah–maybe getting older isn’t that bad after all.

Lazzari’s Sports Roundup

Bob Lazzari — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 10:12:09 +0000

Lazzari’s “Lopsided Score of the Week”: In a Connecticut girls high school basketball game played last week, Avon annihilated Enfield 73-13; the winning squad held a staggering 64-7 lead after three quarters. If I’m the Enfield coach, I inject a smidgen of comforting humor toward the end of this laugher and offer the following to my team during a timeout: “O.K., gals–let’s just hope that SANTA treats you a little bit better than Avon did tonight!!”……….TRIVIA QUESTION: The lowly 1983-’84 Pittsburgh Penguins had just one player on the team who tallied more than 60 points. Can you name this individual? Answer to follow……….What’s NOT to like about Patriots WR Wes Welker? Here’s a guy who was leading the NFL in receptions going into last weekend’s games; he stands 5′9″ tall and weighs MAYBE 185 pounds. In fact, LB Junior Seau is on record as saying that, pound-for pound, Welker may be the toughest player in the league. Welker also runs the 83 Foundation–which aims to help the at-risk youth in his hometown of Oklahoma City. CBS’ Randy Cross on a recent telecast: “What’s exceptional about Welker is that he has speed–but he also has it IN-BETWEEN THE EARS”……….This week in sports history, December 22, 1969: “Pistol” Pete Maravich scores 46 points–the most ever by a player at the Gill Coliseum in Oregon–leading the LSU Tigers to a 76-68 victory over Oregon State. The game featured a fight between LSU’s Al Sanders and OSU’s Vince Fritz–causing both benches to empty. In the end, Maravich proved to be too much for Oregon State to handle as he scored 30 of his points from the foul line (an NCAA record)–missing only ONE of his 31 free throws……….I’d love to see former LPGA player Donna White hook up with former major league catcher Steve Christmas. If they ever walked down the aisle, Irving Berlin/Bing Crosby fans everywhere (especially THIS time of year) would surely delight in her full married name of Donna White Christmas. And if former LPGA player Mary Bryan married ex-NFL RB Floyd Little, divorced, then married Christmas, carolers could then call her Mary Little Christmas ………Looking for a great sports book to read around the holidays? Check out Life Is More Than 9 Innings by former major league pitcher Frank Sullivan. Recently elected to the Red Sox Hall of Fame, Sullivan details various stages of his 10-year career at a simpler time when baseball was, well, BASEBALL. A master storyteller, Sullivan also chronicles various human interest tales away from the field–making it an enjoyable read for both the serious sports fan AND casual reader. More info about this fine publication can be found by visiting www.hawaiipublisher.com………. The “Unwatchable NBA” Update: How ’bout the New Jersey Nets–who shot just 31% from the field (26-for-83) during a 22-point loss to Toronto last week? Nets star Vince Carter was symbolic of his team’s woes that evening as he shot a pathetic 0-for-13 from the field (you read that correctly, folks). With THAT kind of aim, I’m surprised that Carter was able to fit his feet into SNEAKERS prior to the game……….Answer to trivia question: Center MIKE BULLARD–who scored 51 goals and assisted on 41 others for a total of 92 points……….Some humorous/notable quotes on WFAN Radio last week. Host Steve Somers–referring to newly-signed/300-pound pitcher CC Sabathia–said that his initials could very well stand for “Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger.” Adam “The Bull” Gerstenhaber also put his two cents in regarding Sabathia by offering this: “If CC says he signed with New York for anything BUT the money, I may throw up on myself.” Finally, on a more serious note, Mike Francesa captured the current, troubling economic times by saying, “Even the NFL–which is GOLD-PLATED–just laid off 150 people.”……….Happy birthday wishes go out to former pro basketball player Dave Robisch–who blows out 59 candles on December 22nd. A Cincinnati native who played college ball at Kansas, Robisch played five seasons in the old ABA and eight in the NBA; among his various NBA employers were the Lakers, Cavaliers, and Nuggets. A veteran of 930 pro games, Robisch’s best NBA season came in ‘79-80 while in Cleveland–a year in which he averaged 15.3 points and 8 rebounds per game. Robisch is currently an elected official in Springfield, IL; best wishes Dave……….Finally, condolences go out to the family of former college football coach Phil Ball–who died recently at the age of 83 after a long illness. Ball was the head coach at Central Oklahoma from 1964-1976–compiling an impressive lifetime record of 82-46-6. While at UCO, Ball coached 85 All-Conference players–including a few who were selected in the NFL draft. An incredibly intelligent man, Ball earned a Doctorate degree from Oklahoma State after his coaching career ended and continued to teach until his retirement in 1993. Rest in peace, “Coach.”