Cheap Seats
Only the cobwebs were free
The important folks were at Friday night’s memorabilia auction at the Boston Garden. That’s when a balcony seat signed by Larry Bird went for $1,600. Red Auerbach’s seat, with dual phone lines so that the Celtics patriarch could allegedly call the Celtics bench or order Chinese food was sold for $5,000. And six Grateful Dead tickets, from the 1995 concert that never took place because of Jerry Garcia’s death went for $2,000.
Saturday’s flee market, however, was for the commoners - kids, collectors, nostalgic fans who just wanted another look at the old place.
Wood folding chairs cost $35. A plastic Gatorade carrier, $25, and hot dog vendor baskets - minus the hot dogs - went for $250 a pop.
Smelling up the air
Michael Jordan has a new business - a men’s cologne. His partner in the venture is the designer Bijan and the fragrance is set to go on sale in November.
Jordan, his wife Juanita and their three children helped design the cologne by sampling scores of scents - eventually selecting five “accords” that go into the final product.
A 3.7-ounce bottle of the cologne has a suggested retail price in top department stores and men’s shops of $23, matching Jordan’s jersey number.
A smaller bottle to be sold at athletic stores called “MiniMike” is priced at $12.50.
And when stores decide to discontinue the product - then bring it back - it will go for $45.
Seats available
When the Arizona Diamondbacks’ new baseball home opens in Phoenix in 1998, women’s toilets will outnumber men’s, 340-55. The building also will have 218 urinals for the men.
Builders of Bank One Ballpark are hoping that arrangement will help eliminate long lines at the women’s restrooms that sometimes plague sports and concert facilities.
fuBut when the lines get too long, there’s always the swimming pool that’s also in the plans.
Guess who he wants to come to dinner?
More from the department of some questions are best left unasked: In the Notre Dame media guide, linebacker Lyron Cobbins is asked, “If I could invite any three people in history to dinner, they would be?” Cobbins’ answer: “Adolf Hitler, Jesus Christ and Malcolm X.”
Explanation: “Adolf Hitler was an extremist in Europe. Malcolm X was an extremist in the United States. Jesus Christ could be the mediator between the two of them. I’d be there to take notes and be the mediator, too. I’d try to keep everybody calm, so they could come to a resolution.”
The last word …
“Everybody has me going to Florida, but I don’t know. People would think I’m crazy. I’d be the only guy in the world who spends summer in Florida and winter in Pittsburgh.”
- Pittsburgh manager Jim Leyland, who is leaving Pittsburgh after this season and is rumored to become the Florida Marlins manager next year.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo