"Lazzari's Sports Roundup" - - - - 4-3-10

Congratulations go out to the Hamden (CT) High hockey team for recently winning its record 17th state title--defeating Fairfield Prep 6-5 for the Division I championship. It was the second consecutive championship for the Green Dragons--a feat that hadn't been pulled off by a CT public high school since Hamden did it back in 1976; ironically, current coach Bill Verneris was a member of that same Hamden squad Hamden in '76--a national championship team. Yes--Hamden continues to maintain its storied hockey history; it's a town where kids often begin playing the sport as soon as they can hold onto a stick. Great job, guys..........TRIVIA QUESTION: The 1989-'90 Milwaukee Bucks were led in scoring by a bench player who did NOT start a single game. Can you name this individual? Answer to follow..........I used to think that watching Fred Biletnikoff catching a football was a thing of beauty--that is, until I saw a recent picture of Victoria's Secret model Candice Swanepoel during a photo shoot in L.A...........Gotta love WFAN's Ed Randall--talking about past/current drug use among players in MLB on his show last week: "If they (the players) are going out there "not alone," is it WRESTLING?"..........Speaking of which--I'm in need of some ibuprofen for my recurring arthritis--and am thinking about crossing the Canadian border to get some.........And I don't care HOW much you can put drug/steroid use on the back-burner in order to enjoy the current game of baseball; if you don't get a slight "sick" feeling when you're watching a game these days--due to it being tainted--then you can't consider yourself a TRUE baseball fan..........**Great cause: The Yale football and women's hockey teams will lead a marrow donor testing drive on Thursday, April 22nd from 11 AM to 3 PM at Commons--located on the corner of College and Grove Streets in New Haven. The donor test consists of a single cheek swab and takes approximately 15 minutes; those interested can contact Yale assistant football coach Larry Ciotti at larry.ciotti@yale.edu or (203)671-9805..........This week in sports history, April 6, 1987: Fighting outdoors at Caesar's Palace, Sugar Ray Leonard scores a 12-round split-decision over Marvelous Marvin Hagler to capture the WBC middleweight championship. In front of a crowd of more than 15,000, Leonard outboxed Hagler early in the fight and was able to hold on as the fight ended in a slugfest. Hagler lost for the first time since 1976; Leonard--fighting for just the second time in five years due to an eye injury--won for the 34th time in 35 pro fights..........Classic stuff by the New York Post's Peter Vecsey last weekend--in reference to the NBA using "gunner" Gilbert Arenas in its "Read to Achieve" public service campaign; Vecsey commented that the types of sentences that children can now learn are "simple, compound, complex, and court-ordered".........I was listening to radio host Sid Rosenberg on WFAN last weekend talking about his Dad taking him to spring training years ago in order to see his baseball heroes--Lee Mazzilli and Dave Kingman of the Mets. He said that an unapproachable "Maz" was surrounded by security while wearing a leather jacket in the Florida heat; a very surly Kingman refused to sign any autographs. Lesson for kids out there: BE CAREFUL WHEN CHOOSING HEROES..........Answer to trivia question: RICKY PIERCE--who came off the bench in all 59 games he played while averaging an impressive 23.0 points per game..........Happy birthday wishes go out to former major league infielder Rennie Stennett--who blows out 59 candles on April 5th. Stennett played 11 seasons in the "bigs" between 1971 and 1981 as a member of the Pirates and Giants--hitting .274 lifetime. While with Pittsburgh in 1975, Rennie went 7-for-7 in a game vs. Chicago; unfortunately, he broke his leg in '77 when he was hitting at a blistering .336 clip, but didn't have enough plate appearances to qualify for the NL batting title. He was a member of the 1979 "We Are Family" Pirates world championship squad before playing two years with the Giants; best wishes, Rennie..........Finally, condolences go out to the family of former Delta St. University football coach Horace Lowry McCool--who died recently in Mississippi at the age of 81. McCool served as coach of the Statesmen from 1961-1973 and remains the only coach in school history to have six consecutive winning seasons. He compiled a career record of 76-48-3 and was honored in 2007 when the school named its football stadium after him. Survivors include a daughter, two sons, seven grandchildren, and one great-grandchild; rest in peace, "Coach."