Marathon Result Is an Age-Old Story

Tatyana Pozdnyakova’s performance in the Los Angeles Marathon was unbelievable. After inspecting the results, reader Ken Feldman of Granada Hills made these points about the 49-year-old Ukrainian:

* Her time of 2:30:17 was faster than all men 40 and over.

* Only 15 men had better times.

* The next-closest woman to her who was at least 40 finished nearly an hour behind her in a time of 3:18.27.

* When she is 50 next year, she might beat the next-closest female 50-year-old by more than one hour. On Sunday, the best female age 50-54 had a time of 3:33.07.

Added Feldman: “Even Nolan Ryan wasn’t this dominant in his 40s.”

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Trivia time: Who holds the NBA record for most seasons leading the league in free throws made?

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Going bonkers: The New York Post reported that tickets for the first meeting of the year between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox were being scalped for $300. Four tickets were for sale on EBay for $1,000. And the Red Sox were selling commemorative pins.

And this was for a spring training game.

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Lightning Rod: The Post devoted four pages and five stories to the Yankees’ 11-7 victory over the Red Sox on Sunday at Fort Myers, Fla. Included was a chart that chronicled Alex Rodriguez’s three at-bats.

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No time to boo: Since the Yankees were the visiting team, A-Rod was booed whenever he came to the plate.

Said Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post and aol.com: “Booing? In a spring training game? The only time that usually happens is when some fat lady walks by and blocks out the sun worshippers’ rays.”

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Ice capades: The Indianapolis Ice, a minor league hockey team that once signed Manute Bol as a publicity stunt, signed former U.S. Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding in another effort to generate interest.

In keeping with Harding’s image, the Ice has dubbed Friday’s game against the Colorado Eagles as “Guaranteed Fight Night,” which promises that fans will see some sort of fight at the game or they’ll receive a free ticket to the team’s final regular-season game on March 14.

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You be the judge: “The University of Colorado football team has signed a big TV deal,” says Jay Leno. “All their games will be on Court TV next year.”

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Electioneering: New York Giant defensive end Michael Strahan is looking for more work -- a seat on the Montclair Township (N.J.) Council.

The election is May 11, and his campaign platform emphasizes preserving historic structures and improving recreation.

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Trivia answer: Karl Malone, eight seasons.

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And finally: Bum Phillips, explaining to the Denver Post how he got his nickname, said, “My sisters stammered and couldn’t say ‘brother.’ That was it. And I don’t mind being called Bum, just as long as you don’t put a ‘you’ in front of it.”

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Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.