Just Think, Nuggets Coach Moe Could Have Lost His Shirt

During the second half of Sunday’s NBA playoff game between Denver and Houston, Nugget Coach Doug Moe was his usual self. He stalked the sidelines, sweating profusely and speaking profanely.

But something was missing--Moe’s sport coat.

Moe throws himself into his work and by halftime he was so warm that he wanted to shed the coat. According to the NBA dress code, however, coaches must wear sport coats on the bench during games.

So, before the start of the third quarter, Moe dispatched Harvey Kirpatrick, the Nuggets’ public relations director, to find someone from the NBA and ask permission to remove the coat. Ed Desser, an NBA official watching the game from CBS’ control booth, ordered Moe to keep the jacket on.

Moe did not give up, though. He told Nugget trainer Bob (Chopper) Travaglini to appeal to NBA Commissioner David Stern, who was in attendance. Travaglingi told Stern that, for health reasons, Moe should be allowed to unfrock.

Stern conferred with Dr. Irwin Vinnik, the Nuggets’ team doctor. Vinnik confirmed that Moe has high blood pressure and would be better off in his shirt sleeves.

“OK,” Stern said. “Let him take it off.”

So, with 4:17 left in the third quarter and the Nuggets trailing the Rockets, 70-68, Moe discarded his Navy blue blazer. Denver went on to win in overtime, 114-111, squaring the series at two games each.

But what if the game had gone into a second overtime? Would Moe have asked to take off his shirt?

Al Campanis, the Dodger general manager, probably will never be asked to be the host of a game show such as “Let’s Make A Deal.” Apparently, he’s not as affable as Monty Hall.

In a poll of 26 big league general managers in the June issue of Sport magazine, the question was asked: “Who drives the hardest bargain when attempting to make a trade?”

The leading vote-getter was Campanis with eight, followed by Milwaukee’s Harry Dalton with four.

“Some people you just can’t talk to,” said one general manager, referring to Campanis. “Either you do what he wants or there’s no deal. The Dodgers are so unreasonable.”

Said a second: “When you talk to the Dodgers, their players are better than everyone else’s.”

And this from a third: “It’s amazing how every one of their players sounds like Superman.”

Promoters are drooling over the possibility of a Sugar Ray Leonard-Marvin Hagler middleweight championship fight.

Dan Duva, president of Main Events promotions, says that the fight would be the highest grossing ever.

“There’s no question,” he said. “It would be the biggest fight of all time. I would think between the two fighters, they would get 20 million (dollars). The gross of the fight would be over 40 million.”

According to Skip Bayless of the Dallas Times Herald, Dallas Maverick owner Donald Carter knew his team was going to beat the Lakers in games 3 and 4 of the Western Conference semifinals.

After the Mavericks had narrowly lost Game 2 last Wednesday at the Forum, Carter told Bayless: ‘We’ve got an edge on L.A. right now in the series.”

Carter is so confident that Dallas can upset the Lakers that he already is looking ahead to future playoff opponents.

“It looks like Houston is going to take their series (with Denver), and I know dang well we can take Houston,” Carter said. “We realistically could be against Boston (in the final series).”

Add Mavericks: Rumors persist that forward Mark Aguirre will be traded after the playoffs because he does not get along with Coach Dick Motta.

Wrote Bayless after Aguirre had scored 39 points in the Mavericks’ 120-118 win Sunday in Game 4: “You almost get the feeling that some in the organization love for him to go for 39 coast-to-coast against the Lakers because his trade value rockets.”

Men’s tennis is better behaved now that John McEnroe is on sabbatical, but it also is a lot less competitive.

Said Ivan Lendl: “It’s bad for the game when he’s not with us. Even for me, it might be better if he was playing because I play my best against him and we bring out the best in each other.”

McEnroe is expected back before the end of the summer.

Quotebook

Jerry Sklar, president-general manager of the United States Football League’s Birmingham Stallions, on drafting college football players who tested positive for drugs: “We will not draft any players who came up positive. Our policy is we are not interested in more problems.”