Lazzari’s Sports Roundup – 11/27/10

I used to think that the NASCAR racetrack in Sonoma, CA had a lot of curves–that is until I saw a recent picture of actress Sharon Stone decked out in a red dress at the Mr. Chow restaurant in Beverly Hills……….TRIVIA QUESTION: The lowly 1990-’91 Dallas Mavericks–who finished just 28-54 under coach Richie Adubato–had two guards on the squad who were the team’s top scorers. Can you name this talented duo? Answer to follow……….Still think that the economics of college sports hasn’t gotten out of control? Michigan State recently gave basketball coach Tom Izzo a $500,000 annual RAISE–increasing his yearly compensation to approximately $3.5 million. When you consider the fact that his RAISE (not salary) is about TEN times more than an average elementary teacher’s yearly pay, there’s something AWFULLY wrong with our society’s priorities, folks……….This week in sports history, November 30, 1974: A capacity crowd at the Los Angeles Coliseum sees the USC football team score a remarkable total of 49 second-half points en route to a 55-24 victory over the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. Notre Dame actually led the game by a score of 24-0 with a minute left to play in the first half. However, Anthony Davis–the talented Trojans RB–would go on to score four TD’s while QB Pat Haden threw four touchdown passes during this amazing comeback victory. Notre Dame’s defense had come into the game ranked #1 nationally–allowing only nine touchdowns in its previous ten games……….ITEM: Calgary Flames forward Brett Sutter is briefly tossed in jail after punching a man outside a bar in Scottsdale, AZ. The good news? Penalty boxes will no longer seem so intimidating to Sutter for the remainder of his NHL career……….O.K.–here goes: University of Maryland faculty researcher Heather Fogg marries former major leaguer Sam Horn, divorces, marries former Brown hockey standout Chris Legg–divorces again–then marries former NFL wide receiver Joe Horn. Fans of the old “Looney Tunes” cartoons would surely delight in her full married name of Heather Fogg Horn Legg Horn……….ITEM: San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker and lovely actress Eva Longoria plan to divorce after it was discovered that Parker had been exchanging very personal text messages with a female friend. My first thought? What should Parker do first–have his priorities examined, have his eyesight examined, or have his HEAD examined?………. Answer to trivia question: ROLANDO BLACKMAN (19.9 ppg) and DEREK HARPER (19.7)……….Lazzari’s “Lopsided Score of the Week”: In a college football game played here in the East last weekend, Alfred annihilated NY Maritime 60-0; Alfred scored touchdowns on four of its first five drives and held a 29-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. I’ll go out on a limb and say that NO member of the current NY Maritime squad will EVER name any future son “Alfred” or “Al” for fear of having some VERY bad flashbacks/memories in the future ……….Happy birthday wishes go out to former NBA guard Dan Tieman–who blows out 70 candles on November 30th. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, it may be due to the fact that Tieman (who attended Thomas More College) played just ONE year in the NBA as a member of the Cincinnati Royals during the 1962-1963 season. His stats weren’t pretty, either; Tieman shot 15-for-57 from the field (26%) that year and just 4-for-10 (40%) from the free throw line. Yes, all told, Tom Tieman goes into the NBA record books having scored 34 points in 29 career games–for an average of 1.2 ppg. Hey, they all can’t be Oscar Robertson, right? Later in life, Tieman taught and coached at Covington Catholic High School–of which he was a graduate. Best wishes, Tom……….Finally, condolences go out to the family of former NHL player Gaye Stewart–who passed away recently in Ontario at the age of 87. Stewart played nine seasons in the league between 1942 and 1953 (he also served in the Canadian Navy during that time period) and was a member of two Stanley Cup champion squads while with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He won the league’s Calder Cup as Rookie of the Year in 1942-’43 and later led the NHL in goals scored with Toronto during the ’45-’46 campaign. Stewart also played with Chicago, Detroit, New York, and Montreal before his playing days were over. Gaye Stewart scored 185 goals during his NHL career and assisted on 159 others for a total of 344 points; may he rest in peace.

About the Author

Bob Lazzari

Bob Lazzari is an award-winning sports columnist for both Connecticut's Valley Times and NY Sports Day--where his "Sports Roundup" column is featured weekly. He is a member of the Connecticut Sports Writers' Alliance and host of "Monday Night Sports Talk" www.mondaynightsports.net --a cable television show on CTV/Channel14 in Connecticut. A Fordham grad, Bob is a regular contributor to ESPN Radio's "Inside Yankee Baseball"; he can also be heard weekly every Tuesday morning on WXLM/104.7 FM in New London, CT. He has a popular blog www.boblazzari.blogspot.com where many of his past columns have been archived.

Get connected with us on Social Media