"Lazzari's Sports Roundup" -- 06-25-05

Little League teams from Chicago and Newark will be playing a tee-ball game on the South Lawn of the White House this weekend--honoring teams from the old Negro Leagues. One thing's for sure: No matter how many errors these kids make during the game, it WON'T be the first time that an abundance of mistakes were made at the White House..........TRIVIA QUESTION #1: What former welterweight champion is the nephew of former welterweight/middleweight fighter Carmen Basilio? Answer to follow..........Surly Yankees pitcher Kevin Brown (yes, folks, a man who finds it difficult to smile/be nice to people while earning $15 million yearly) has been placed on the DL again--the THIRTEENTH time in his career that he has been shelved. This guy has seen more doctors than some of my old buddies from Fordham who went into the pharmaceutical sales business after graduating..........From the "How Times Have Changed" Dept.: The total cost of the original Yankee Stadium (finished in the early 1920s) was around $2.5 million. Overpaid star Alex Rodriguez now earns that much approximately every 16 games he plays..........Attention high school football aficionados: Need a good dose of scholastic football action in the early summer? Then check out the 9th annual Hall of Fame Football Classic--which will be held Friday, July 8 at 7:30 PM at Ken Strong Stadium in West Haven (CT). The game matches up recent high school grads from Fairfield County vs. graduates from New Haven County; New Haven leads the series five games to three. The BEST reason to attend this yearly game that features some of the state's best players? It raises scholarship funds for deserving scholar-athletes--a truly noble cause. Tickets are $7 and will be available at the gate..........Mastering the golf course at Pinehurst No. 2 (site of last week's U.S. Open) is even more difficult than closing one's eyes during a fitness equipment infomercial hosted by Christie Brinkley..........With a name like Rocco Mediate, shouldn't this guy be making cameos on series like "The Sopranos"--instead of chasing a little white ball around the golf course each week on the PGA Tour?..........Speaking of the aforementioned Pinehurst No. 2, that golf course reminds me of the waitresses at my local Hooters restaurant: very curvy, well-manicured, and VERY expensive to maintain..........Answer to trivia question #1: BILLY BACKUS--who won his title in 1970 with a TKO of Jose Napoles; however, Backus would lose the title just six months later to the same Napoles--a victim of a fourth-round knockout..........Did you know that, in 1933, third baseman Joe Sewell of the Yankees struck out just FOUR times in 524 at-bats? Amazingly, Sewell went from 1925-1933 without reaching double-figures in K's; he struck out only 114 times in 7,132 lifetime at-bats--which averages out to just one strikeout per every 63 at-bats..........TRIVIA QUESTION #2: What pitcher holds the Baltimore Orioles team record for most wins in a season? Answer to follow..........Bears defensive lineman "Tank" Johnson has been busted after a loaded 9mm handgun was recently found in his SUV. I can hear his defense lawyer now: "Your Honor, Mr. Johnson was told by his coaches to practice defending against the "shotgun" formation this off-season. My client mistakenly took those words literally and was only defending himself for fear of bodily harm from shotgun-carrying, REAL criminals."..........This week in sports history, June 27, 1959: Despite an erratic final-round score of 71, Mickey Wright holds on for a two-stroke victory over Louise Suggs to win the U.S. Open golf championship in Pittsburgh. With the victory, Wright becomes the first woman to win consecutive U.S. Opens; her four-round total of 287 bettered her 1958 score by one stroke..........If Cincinnati Reds pitcher Eric Milton is worth $8 million per season, then boy-molester/rap-beater Michael Jackson will make his next concert appearance at a pre-school in El Segundo..........The NFL simply MUST do something about players not honoring/complaining about SIGNED contracts (are you listening, Richard Seymour, Terrell Owens, Ross Verba, and a slew of others?). It's truly reached epidemic proportions; perhaps a trip to the coal mines in West Virginia would do wonders for these guys as far as realizing how fortunate they really are to be making millions while playing a game..........Answer to trivia question #2: STEVE STONE--who won 25 games (and the AL Cy Young Award) in 1980 for Earl Weaver's second-place Orioles ball club..........Florida A & M has fired head football coach Billy Joe due to eligibility/recruiting violations; a recent investigation revealed no less than 196 violations throughout the FAMU athletic program. Geez, that athletic program is dirtier than our old, smelly dormitory at Fordham--where 3-4 weeks of unwashed laundry would literally stand up by itself..........Finally, happy birthday wishes go out to former Red Sox infielder Rico Petrocelli--who blows out 62 candles on June 27th. Playing his entire career (13 seasons) in Boston, Petrocelli hit 210 lifetime home runs--including an impressive 40 round-trippers in 1969. The Brooklyn native also made the AL All-Star team in both 1967 and 1969. Here's wishing you many more celebrations, Rico.

Bob Lazzari

Reprinted by permission of the Valley Times.