This Was Something He Couldn’t Pass Up

Pat Haden was throwing passes to John McKay when the two were teammates at La Puente Bishop Amat High and USC. And now McKay, also known as “J.K.,” has thrown the ultimate compliment to Haden.

McKay and his wife Kim on Tuesday became the parents of a 7-pound 15-ounce boy and named him Haden McKay.

“I was incredibly moved by the fact that they named their son after me,” Haden said. “Not sure what the middle name is, but I suggested ‘To.’ ”

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Trivia time: Brother Derek, who won the Hollywood Futurity at Hollywood Park on Dec. 17, is the morning-line favorite in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby. Six horses that ran in the Futurity went on to win the Derby, but what horse is the only one to win both races?

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History lesson: UCLA’s Gail Goodrich was drafted by the Lakers in 1965. But he spent two seasons with the Phoenix Suns, who got him in the 1968 expansion draft. Goodrich was traded back to the Lakers for center Mel Counts after the 1969-70 season.

Goodrich remembers well a first-round playoff series between the Suns and the Lakers in 1970. He led the Suns to a 3-1 series lead, but the Lakers, led by Wilt Chamberlain, won three games in a row to take the series.

“My heart will always be with the Lakers,” Goodrich said Wednesday, “but they have a tough road ahead of them.”

Words from a man who has been down that road.

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Age-group golf: After a qualifying round today, 58 amateurs will join Arnold Palmer and Gary Player on Saturday in the inaugural Shoot Your Age Championship at The Villages, Fla. It will be televised the next day on CBS at 10 a.m. The winner will be the golfer who finishes the most strokes under his age.

Palmer first shot his age on his 66th birthday in a Champions Tour event at Seattle in 1995.

“A golfer has to have mixed feelings about shooting his or her age,” Palmer said. “It’s an exciting day when it happens, but it also means that you have to be up in years before it can happen.”

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Improving with age: More than 3,000 golfers annually post a score that is their age or better. The Guinness record holder is Kermit Dannehl, 86, of Phoenix, who is competing in the Florida event. At last count, he had done it 1,040 times.

Recently retired broadcaster Keith Jackson first shot his age shortly after turning 67. Now 77, he has shot his age or better every year, and he did it three weeks ago with a 76 on the Los Angeles Country Club’s South course.

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Looking back: On this day in 1994, Charles Barkley scored 56 points, including a playoff-record 38 in the first half, to lead the Suns to a 140-133 victory over the Golden State Warriors.

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Trivia answer: 1998 Kentucky Derby winner Real Quiet.

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And finally: Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. has just completed a purchase of a regional sports network, Turner South, from Turner Broadcasting.

“We’re not sure yet what to name it,” said Tony Vinciquerra, Fox Networks Group chief executive. “But one thing is certain; we’re not going to call it Murdoch South.”

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