Marciano Fans Try to Leave Stamp on This Election

Former heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano never lost in the ring. Now some family members and fans are trying to extend that winning streak outside the ring.

Fans from Marciano’s hometown of Brockton, Mass., have cast thousands of votes for him in balloting by the U.S. Postal Service for a new stamp honoring personalities or memories from the 1950s.

Marciano, who retired in 1956 as the only undefeated heavyweight champion and died in 1969, is one of five sports figures and events on the ballot.

Charlie Tartaglia, 62, who remembers tossing a football with Marciano, puts the U.S. Postal Service ballots on tables every day at his restaurant, George’s Cafe.

“I’ve sent in 1,500 already from George’s Cafe,” Tartaglia told Reuters. “Every day, I put 400 or 500 on my tables. They fill them out, my waitresses collect them and then I put the stamp on them.”

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Trivia time: If New Jersey Devil goalie Martin Brodeur, who has already won 32 games this season, can win 16 of his team’s final 26, he will break the NHL record for goalie wins in a season. Who holds that record?

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No conscience: Grinnell (Iowa) guard Jeff Clement set an NCAA Division III scoring record with 77 points Wednesday night.

Clement made 26 of a whopping 68 field goal attempts, including 19 of 52 three-point attempts, which broke his Division III record of 17 three-point baskets set in December.

And, it seems all the shots were needed as Grinnell edged Illinois College, 149-144.

Clement appears to be following in a tradition of gunners : Grinnell’s Steve Diekmann set the previous Division III record of 69 points by in 1994.

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Add records: Clement has a ways to go to get the NCAA record for points.

The record, regardless of division, for a game is 113 points by Rio Grande’s Clarence “Bevo” Francis in 1954--long before the three-point rule existed.

That season, Francis scored 50 points or more in a game eight times, made 38 shots in two different games and and averaged 46.5 points.

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Slap shot: Steve Jacobson of Newsday wasn’t about to endorse the decision of New York Ranger General Manager Neil Smith to fire coach Colin Campbell on Wednesday.

Wrote Jacobson: “The only one who had to fear for his job was the coach, so Colin Campbell lost his job Wednesday. The ones whose performance made the New York Rangers stink on ice are still there.”

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Bad sign for that 2008 team: Writes Ken Rosenthal in the Baltimore Sun: “Please, no more Washington, D.C., coaches in the Olympics. John Thompson blew it with the ’88 men’s basketball team, Ron Wilson with the ’98 men’s ice hockey team.

“Don’t anyone let Bernie Bickerstaff near the next Dream Team.”

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Game for the birds: Indianapolis Pacer Coach Larry Bird, who wasn’t happy about having to cancel a family vacation to coach the Eastern Conference in the NBA All-Star game, gave the Hartford Courant his opinion of pro basketball’s annual midseason show.

“I really never was into all-star games,” Bird said. “I never liked to participate in them.”

Bird said that his strongest memory from the 1980 All-Star game, his first, was “how many times George Gervin shot the ball.

“I always liked to play team ball, move the ball around. To me, passing is the best part of the game. . . . I wish the [All-Star] game was as good as the hype.”

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Trivia answer: Bernie Parent, who won 47 games for the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1973-74 season.

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And finally: Bird was asked if he thought the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant was voted an All-Star game starter because of his skills.

Or was it the shoe commercials?

Referring to the latter, Bird told the Hartford Courant, “Sometimes, that plays a big role in our league.”