ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, December 20, 1996 TAG: 9612200013
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: JACK BOGACZYK
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
The weekend buffet:
Sam Lazzaro no longer is part of the Salem Avalanche front office and he's still job hunting, but he is about to get a new title - author.
During the 11 years Lazzaro spent as the Salem baseball club's general manager and vice president, he began writing chapters about those years and three earlier ones he spent in baseball's bushes at Elmira, N.Y. The result is a book, ``More than a Ballgame.''
Lazzaro resigned after last season, after a year in which Avalanche owner Kelvin Bowles had changed his longtime employee's job description and hired a new GM, Dave Oster. Lazzaro said the last chapter of his book, to be published by Pocahontas Press of Blacksburg, is about the Avalanche's first year in the new Salem Memorial Stadium.
That could be interesting. The earlier chapters of Lazzaro's book are sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and a candid look at how the national pastime is sold and operated at its lower levels. The publisher is taking advance orders, at $15. The book is scheduled for release in April to coincide with the opening of the season.
WEIGHTY: The formal statement and accompanying bold remarks issued Tuesday by Virginia Tech athletic director Dave Braine on the latest football Hokies' arrests and suspensions were needed. Braine's comments were fair but tough, and pointed, not political.
That kind of leadership is why Braine's name is being mentioned in connection with two possible AD vacancies in the ACC, where North Carolina's John Swofford could become the league commissioner and Georgia Tech's Homer Rice is retiring.
STEELY: Jerome Bettis' outside chance at the NFL rushing title - the Pittsburgh back would need to pass Terrell Davis of Denver, which isn't likely on the league's final weekend - isn't great. If he makes it, however, he will be the first Steeler to lead the NFL in rushing since ``Bullet Bill'' Dudley from Virginia ran for 604 yards 50 seasons ago.
VINNY'S MAN: Sometimes, the best move is one you don't get to make. Don Strock's quarterback coach at Virginia Tech in the early '70s, Dan Henning, nearly hired his former pupil this past spring as Boston College's QB coach. Henning got cold feet because he figured he'd be criticized for hiring a friend who had no college coaching experience.
So, Strock took an offer from Ted Marchibroda and became the Baltimore Ravens' quarterback coach. Henning lost his job at BC, but Strock, the former Miami Dolphins' ``star'' reserve, has tutored Vinny Testaverde from mediocrity to a Pro Bowl berth.
THREE DOWN: No matter how the Radford men's basketball season develops once Big South Conference play begins, the Highlanders have managed one first since the program moved up to Division I in 1984. With wins over VCU, Richmond and VMI, Radford has defeated three state foes (besides conference mate Liberty) for the first time since 1980-81. Radford beat St.Paul's, Lynchburg, Virginia State, Mary Washington and George Mason that season, besides Liberty Baptist.
HOMEBODIES: In a 1997 season in which Virginia will need seven victories to qualify for a bowl game, the Cavaliers will play seven of their 11 football games at home. The ACC schedule revealed this week separates the Cavs' tough dates that were bunched late this season.
A game with I-AA Richmond won't count toward the Cavaliers' bowl status. UVa plays at North Carolina in September and has a visit by Duke sandwiched between October games at Clemson and a home date with Florida State. Virginia Tech's trip to Scott Stadium is Nov.29, after an open week.
ROSE THORNS: If Tech and UVa want to make bigger bucks off bowl appearances, they should try what Arizona State is doing for its Rose Bowl trip.
Of the 36,000 Rose Bowl tickets made available to the Sun Devils, the 20,000 sold to the school's athletic contributors carry a $50 surcharge, added onto the $75 ticket price. The other 16,000 seats, selling at face value, are for students, players and athletic staff members. The move was ordered by athletic director Kevin White, charged with improving the Devils' fund raising.
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Lazzaro.by CNB