The Speeds Aren’t Impressive, but You Can’t Beat the Mileage

You know about the speeds at Indy. Here was a race where 45 m.p.h. was considered fast.

It was the four-day, 208-mile Tour de Sol held in New England. It began Thursday in Montpelier, Vt., and finished Sunday at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.

“What this race is really about is developing the (solar) commuter car,” said Nancy Hazard of the Northeast Solar Energy Assn., which sponsored the event.

Six cars competed. All were equipped with panels of photovoltaic cells that convert sunlight into electricity to run electric motors and charge their batteries.

The first finisher was Ed Passerini, a 51-year-old professor of environmental studies and humanities at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. His three-wheeled car cost $2,800.

An exuberant Passerini, addressing a crowd of about 50 at the finish line, said: “The Indy 500 is a relic of the past.”

Trivia: Who won the Pacific Division championship the last time the Lakers did not?

Moon shot: On this day 24 years ago, Richie Allen of the Philadelphia Phillies hit a 529-foot home run over the roof at Connie Mack Stadium off Chicago’s Larry Jackson in a 4-2 Phillie victory over the Cubs.

Shooting for detente: Soviet television viewers saw their first NBA game on Saturday, even if it wasn’t Saturday’s game.

While American viewers watched the Chicago Bulls’ thrilling 99-97 victory over the Detroit Pistons on live television, Soviet viewers had to settle for an April 28 game between Phoenix and Denver, won by the Suns, 104-103.

It was shown during a break in the live coverage of a blunt and bellicose debate in their newly formed parliament, the Congress of People’s Deputies. Included in the basketball telecast were soft-drink commercials featuring rock music and dancers and highlights from other NBA games. One graphic, in English, told Soviets they were watching “America’s Game.”

Only Kidding: Richard Whitmore of Brown was quoted in the Sporting News as saying it was a “tongue-in-cheek thing” when he renounced his final year of eligibility to declare his availability for the National Basketball Assn. draft.

Good thing, too.

The 6-foot-1 guard averaged 6.3 points last season for a Brown team that was 7-19 and finished last in the Ivy League.

Trivia Answer: The Phoenix Suns, in 1981. The Lakers, who played 45 games without an injured Magic Johnson, finished three games behind the Suns with a 54-28 record. The Lakers then lost to the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs.

Quotebook: Tom Lasorda, on New York Mets Manager Davey Johnson: “He’s one of the most generous men in the major leagues. Every year he tries to give $10,000 to the family of the unknown soldier.”