"Lazzari's Sports Roundup" - - - - 1-23-10

Without question, the performance by Arizona Cardinals QB Kurt Warner in the recent playoff game vs. Green Bay was one of the most impressive in postseason history. Here's why: The man had MORE TD passes (5) than INCOMPLETIONS (4). Final numbers: 29/33 for 379 yards and NO interceptions; simply phenomenal.........TRIVIA QUESTION: The lowly 1987-'88 Los Angeles Clippers--who finished 17-65 under coach Gene Shue--were led in scoring by a former N.Y. Knicks player. Can you name this individual? Answer to follow..........For some reason, I'm still having WAY too much fun pronouncing the full name of Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Igor Olshansky..........Of all the quotes made about baseball's "Steroid Era," former player Jack Clark's recent words to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch were by far the best. After calling guys like A-Rod, Palmeiro, Clemens, Bonds, and Sosa "fakes" and "phonies," Clark added this gem: "They should all be in the Hall of Shame; they can afford to build it."..........Yeah, Brett Favre played well during the Vikes' thrashing of Dallas last weekend, but I still believe the highlight of that game was Sidney Rice's body-bumping of the Vikings mascot after his first TD catch..........Lazzari's "Lopsided Score of the Week": In a girls high school basketball game played here in CT last week, Windham Tech annihilated University 61-12; the winning squad outscored its overmatched opponent 29-2 in the second half of this fiasco. Interesting to note is that victorious Windham Tech was only 5-5 coming into the game, but perhaps more noteworthy is that lowly University had actually WON two games previously. My first thought was perhaps they had included two pre-season intra-squad scrimmages in their overall win total..........This week in sports history, January 26, 1980: At a track meet in Auckland, New Zealand, 21-year-old American Mary Decker runs away from the pack while lowering the world record in the women's mile to 4:21.7. Decker, who had won gold at the previous summer's Pan Am games, was 100 meters ahead of her nearest competitor with 100 meters to go; Linden Wilde of New Zealand finished a distant second in 4:36.6. In this race, Decker broke the previous record of 4:22--which was set by Natalia Maracescu of Romania in 1979..........Good line by Westwood One's James Lofton after punches were thrown by players during last weekend's Saints/Cardinals game: "Larry Holmes would have been proud"..........A main difference between Division I and Division III basketball? This: After last weekend's loss to Eastern CT, Southern Maine (Div. III) basketball coach Karl Henrikson possessed a lifetime record of 55-117--and still has a JOB..........Answer to trivia question: MIKE WOODSON--who averaged 18 points per game while also shooting an impressive 87% from the free throw line..........Happy birthday wishes go out to former NBA guard Tom Henderson--who blows out 58 candles on January 26th. A graduate of DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx who attended Hawaii, Henderson played nine years in the league between 1974 and 1983 as a member of the Hawks, Bullets, and Rockets--averaging 9.4 ppg for his career. Henderson accumulated 6,088 points in his career along with 3,136 assists; he was a member of the '77-'78 Bullets squad that captured the NBA title. Best wishes, Tom..........Finally, condolences go out to the family of College Hall of Fame golf coach Karl Tucker--who passed away recently due to complications stemming from congestive heart failure; he was 83. Tucker was hired to lead the Brigham Young golf program in 1961; from 1969 through 1991, his teams won 19 conference championships and had 17 Top 10 finishes in the NCAA Golf Championships. A few of the many fine players who benefited from Tucker's coaching expertise included Johnny Miller, Keith Clearwater, Mike Weir and Bobby Clampett; he coached 69 All-Americans. Tucker has been recognized as one of the founding fathers of modern collegiate golf--along with late USC golf coach Stan Wood, Dave Williams of the University of Houston, and Jess Haddock of Wake Forest. Above all else, Karl Tucker was considered a true gentleman to those who were fortunate enough to know him. He is survived by his wife, Joanne, and four children; may Mr. Tucker rest in peace.