"Lazzari's Sports Roundup" - - - - 07-14-07

Lazzari's "Question of the Week": Which of the following holds the LEAST amount of interest for the average sports fan: women's professional bowling, doubles competition in tennis, bass fishing on ESPN, or the mating habits of nine-banded armadillos?..........TRIVIA QUESTION: In the history of the PGA Championship, Tiger Woods has compiled the lowest-ever finishing score--carding 18-under-par totals at both the 2000 and 2006 tournaments. What player has the second-lowest total score in PGA Championship history? Answer to follow..........I was able to speak with golfer Hunter Mahan during the recent Traveler's Championship (which he eventually won in a playoff) and asked him why the TPC in Cromwell is so kind to the type of golf game he possesses. "It sets up well for my driver," he told me. "I can put the ball in play...I feel good about each tee shot, not really worried about anything--I feel pretty free. I putt pretty well here, too--and I'm not sure why." An easy guy to like, Mahan is, and it appears he's on track for a long, prosperous career on the PGA Tour..........This week in sports history, July 16, 1982: At a small track meet held at Hayward Field in Oregon, 23-year-old Mary Decker-Tabb sets a world record in the 10,000 meter run--finishing in a time of 31:35.30. It was the first time Decker-Tabb had run that distance on a track; her record-shattering run came on the same track where she had set a world record in the 5,000 meters a month earlier at the Prefontaine Classic..........Can you imagine if LPGA golfer Morgan Pressel married former University of Cincinnati soccer player Mike Hessel, divorced, married former Hannibal High (NY) tennis player Reece Bessel--divorced again--then married Ohio St. football coach Jim Tressel? She'd be roaming fairways with the catchy, full married name of Morgan Pressel Hessel Bessel Tressel..........Call me impulsive, but if newly-crowned Miss New Jersey Amy Polumbo were to appear in a swimsuit at each Devils home game this coming season, I INSTANTLY become a season ticket-holder..........Answer to trivia question: STEVE ELKINGTON--who tallied a final score of 17-under-par in 1995 at the Riviera Country Club..........Personally, I'd like to see Fox sportscaster Joe Girardi remain in the broadcast booth as opposed to seeking baseball managerial opportunities. He's already established/great at what he does (color work), can strategize/offer personal decisions without being second-guessed and, as a broadcaster, will avoid the "merry-go-round" existence so familiar to big league managing--all while earning a HELLUVA paycheck. Stay put, Joe.......... In a REMOTELY sensible/logical world, wouldn't QB Michael Vick's immense contract ALREADY be voided due to his role in a dogfighting operation?..........I just read that Indians pitcher C.C. Sabathia celebrated his 27th birthday this past week at a bash thrown by Playboy magazine--complete with Playboy bunnies--at San Francisco's Galleria Hotel. Geez, the closest I ever came to having "bunnies" at one of my birthday celebrations was when someone gave me a lucky rabbit's foot when I turned 40..........Tiger Woods--talking to CBS' Jim Nance last Saturday--about why Tiger (as host of the AT&T National at the Congressional CC) allowed members of the military to gain entrance into the tournament for FREE: "They put their lives on the line, so the LEAST we can do is say, 'Thank you--come on in.' " Amen, Tiger..........Happy birthday wishes go out to former major league pitcher Joey Long--who blows out 37 candles on July 15th. Can't remember this former product of Kent State University? Ah, for good reason. Long pitched in only ONE big league season--1997 with the Padres--appearing in just ten games. He didn't make the best of his short stay, either; in 11 career innings, Long gave up a whopping 17 hits and walked eight batters while pitching to an inflated ERA of 8.18. Hey, they all can't be Jake Peavy, right? Best wishes, Joey..........Finally, condolences go out to the family of former Providence All-American/NBA player Jimmy Walker--who died recently in Kansas City of lung cancer; he was 63. The estranged father of longtime NBA'er Jalen Rose, Walker led the nation in scoring as a senior at Providence in 1967--averaging more than 30 points a game. He later played nine seasons in the NBA with Detroit, Houston and Kansas City--averaging a respectable 16.7 points per game over his pro career. Walker's total of 2,045 points had been the school scoring record at Providence until Ryan Gomes broke it in 2005; rest in peace, Jimmy.