Boston May Be Falling, but Its Stock Is Rising

Since their championship season of 1985-86, all has not gone well for the Boston Celtics:

--Len Bias, their No. 1 draft choice, died of a drug overdose.

--Bill Walton was reinjured.

--They lost to the Lakers in the 1986-87 NBA Finals.

--Bill Walton was lost.

--K.C. Jones resigned. In his five years as coach, he had the best regular-season record in the league--better than Pat Riley’s. He is the only man who coached two different franchises to 60-win seasons. He did it at Washington, too.

--In the 1987-88 playoffs, they failed to make the NBA Finals for the first time in five years, losing to the Detroit Pistons.

Would you say their stock is falling?

Not on the New York Stock Exchange. Tuesday, when the market fell 28.27 points, Celtic stock went up. Wednesday, when the market fell 44.99 points, the stock went up again, closing at 14 3/8.

That was a 52-week high.

Stop the Presses: From Steve Marcus of Newsday: “One of Dwight Gooden’s longstanding records has fallen. Gooden once consumed eight Philadelphia steak-and-cheese sandwiches during a three-day series in 1986. Vinny Greco, the Mets’ assistant equipment manager, downed nine on the last visit to Philadelphia. ‘I went after Dwight’s record. He’s my eating idol,’ Greco said.”

Trivia Time: When he did it, they told him he’d never be forgotten, but who was the Penn State linebacker who intercepted the pass by Vinny Testaverde that preserved Penn State’s 14-10 win over Miami for the national championship in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl? (Answer below.)

Said Matt Biondi, when asked what he had done before breaking the world 100-meter freestyle record in the Olympic swim trials Wednesday: “I slept and watched ‘Leave It to Beaver.’ The Beave got a rabbit. The rabbit had babies. It’s a biological lesson for us all.”

Said Billy Ripken of his costly error in the Baltimore Orioles’ 4-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals Wednesday night: “I’ve made that play before. That’s what ticks me off. I’ll turn that 80 times tonight in my sleep. But errors are part of the game. They always have been. Abner Doubleday is a jerk for putting them in the game.”

From Tim Kurkjian of the Baltimore Sun: “Card-show update: In Detroit, Sparky Anderson’s card goes for $4, Roger Clemens’ for $8, Wade Boggs’ for $9 and Sandy Koufax’s for $11. Only Anderson’s proceeds go to charities.”

Wait a Minute: Said Angel announcer Ken Brett after Seattle’s Alvin Davis homered for the only hit off Willie Fraser Wednesday night: “If you’re going to lose a no-hitter, you might as well lose it with a home run.”

What if it’s 0-0 with two out in the bottom of the ninth?

Phil Harris, entertainer, bon vivant and amateur golfer, was asked how long he intended to play.

“I’m going to be around until the Atomic Energy Commission finds a safe place to bury my liver,” he said.

Trivia Answer: Pete Giftopoulos.

Quotebook

Ken Denlinger of the Washington Post, wondering if the Kings gave up too much for Wayne Gretzky: “Hell, Alaska went for less.”