"Lazzari's Sports Roundup" - - - - 3/12/11

Great cause: As a show of support and fundraiser for Yale women’s ice hockey player Mandi Schwartz in her continued battle with cancer, the Yale women’s golf team will play “100 Holes for Mandi” on Thursday, March 17th. The Bulldogs will accept donations per hole; the event will be held at the golf simulator in Yale’s Dave Paterson Golf Technology Center at the Payne Whitney Gym and will start at 8 a.m. Those interested in supporting the cause can e-mail their desired donation/contact info to Yale women's golf coach Chawwadee Rompothong at chawwadee.rompothong@yale.edu. Checks should be made out to “Yale University Relief Fund” with 'Mandi Schwartz' in the memo line and sent to: Chawwadee Rompothong, c/o Yale Athletic Department, PO Box 208216, New Haven, CT 06520-8216..........TRIVIA QUESTION: In the team's first year of existence (1989-'90), the Orlando Magic's top scorer was a forward whose NBA career would ultimately be over at the age of 29. Can you name this former player? Answer to follow..........Don't misunderstand me--I LOVE Division III basketball. But there is something fundamentally wrong when yours truly is watching Eastern CT play Albertus Magnus last weekend while--at the same time--the Ms. Bikini International competition is taking place in Columbus, Ohio..........This week in sports history, March 15, 1969: The powerful Soviet Union hockey team scores an astounding 11 second-period goals--en route to a 17-2 dismantling of the United States at the world championships in Stockholm, Sweden. American goalies Mike Curran and John Lothrop were peppered with 66 shots during the mismatch while the U.S. could only muster 13 shots on offense. Vlacheslav Starchinov led the Soviet team with four goals while two other Russian teammates tallied hat tricks in the most lopsided defeat by a U.S. team ever at the world championships..........Did you know that, during the 2001-'02 NBA season, guard Terrell Brandon of the Timberwolves attempted 84 free throws and made 83 of them--resulting in a percentage of .988? Brandon only appeared in 32 games that season--his last year in the league--after having previously played with Milwaukee and Cleveland. Brandon's career free-throw percentage? .873--having converted 1,784 of 2,043 attempts..........I was just informed that Bill Bishop of the Cheshire (CT) Rugby Club will shave his head on March 15th in solidarity with children who are suffering from cancer. I encourage other coaches, players, etc. to do the same and get involved with the St. Baldrick's Foundation--a volunteer-driven charity benefiting childhood cancer research. To organize an event, be a "shavee", or simply to donate, visit the Foundation's web site at www.stbaldricks.org or call (888)889-BALD (2253)..........Like all baseball fans, I'm excited about the upcoming season. But I became even more excited last weekend when I gazed at a picture of Carmen Electra stretching during a poolside yoga class in L.A...........Answer to trivia question: TERRY CATLEDGE--who averaged 19.4 ppg for a Matt Guokas-led team that finished with a record of 18-64..........Congratulations go out to Post University (CT) head men's basketball coach Al Sokaitis--who has been named the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year. In his first year at Post, Sokaitis led the Eagles to a 14-4 conference record and an overall mark of 16-10 entering the playoffs. Al has received "Coach of the Year" awards SEVEN times during his career: three times at North Adams State, twice at Alaska-Fairbanks, once at Western State College (CO), and now at Post University. Keep up the fine work, Al--a well-deserved honor..........Happy birthday wishes go out to former major league outfielder/DH Steve Stroughter--who blows out 59 candles on March 15th. A native of Visalia, CA, his name may be familiar to only the most rabid baseball fans out there--seeing that he played just ONE season in the big leagues. Stroughter, at the advanced age of 30, appeared in just 26 games with the 1982 Seattle Mariners--and just didn't hit well enough to stay employed in the "big show." In 47 at-bats, Stroughter could muster just EIGHT hits--thus going into the MLB record books with a lifetime batting average of .170. Hey--but he CAN tell his grandchildren that one of those hits was a home run as he connected off pitcher Dennis Martinez on May 4th of that year. Following his brief MLB career, Stroughter returned to the minors for awhile and later played in Japan. Best wishes, Ed..........Finally, condolences go out to the family of former Kansas assistant basketball coach Ed Manning--who died recently in Texas of complications from a heart condition; he was 68. The father of former Kansas star Danny Manning, Ed was hired by ex-KU coach Larry Brown back in 1983 and would see his son lead the Jayhawks to a national championship in 1988. Like his son, Ed Manning played pro ball, too (between 1967 and 1976)--having spent time with Baltimore, Chicago, and Portland in the NBA as well as Carolina, New York, and Indiana in the ABA. He later became an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs and also worked as a NBA scout. May Ed Manning rest in peace.