The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • 61

THE BOSTON GLOBE THURSDAY. JANUARY 26. 1984 61 Celtics pet squeeze oe 4 it 'JfrA A I'M 1 I 1 I MlIf will Mcdonough Rice handed top offer Jim Rice has the best deal ever offered a Red Sox player in his hands, but will it be enough? This is what the Sox front office is wondering as they await Rice and his agent, George Kalafitas, for face-to-face sessions at Fenway Park. Rumor has it that the Sox already have offered Rice $6 million to be spread over four years, which averages out to $1.5 million a year. The deal given to Dwight Evans last month, reportedly worth $1 million a year, is the most lucrative ever signed by a Sox player.

Rice has two years to go on his present pact at $750,000 (cash), which was the best in baseball when his then agent, Tony Pennac-chia. negotiated it five years ago. The Patriots were thinking seriously of taking Herschel Walker as their second pick on the first round (28th overall) in the upcoming draft. This is the choice they received from the Los Angeles Raiders in return for Mike Haynes. However, when they checked out the draft status of Walker, now in the employ of the New Jersey Generals in the USFL.

they found that Heisman Herschel will not be eligible for the NFL draft until 1985. when all of his college eligibility at Georgia would have been up if he had been redshirted a year. Scalpers claim there is no such thing as a sellout for a Celtics game at Boston Garden, and they are upset because people think so. They have been left holding plenty of tickets this year because the basketball public has discovered you can get tickets at the box office on game day. Speaking of scalpers, this year's Super Bowl produced the toughest ticket ever.

A $60 (face value) ticket held steady at $400 right to kickoff. Some 5000 fans who thought they could pick tickets up cheaply at kickoff (which has almost always happened in the past) were left circling the stadium. Two burly guys were charging $75 a head to throw people over a 10-foot fence, and that fee did not include the medical bills In case you did not make it. Another guy offered a girl with a large hoop skirt for the halftime show $100 if she would let him Mcdonough, Page 68 (oerSo By Dan Shaughnessy Globe Staff It wasn't quite the same. Beating the 76ers when they don't have Moses Ma-lone is like winning Olympic hockey gold without playing the Russians or attending a Pips concert without seeing Gladys Knight.

Still, the Celtics' fandom had to be happy with Boston's ragged, grinding 102-98 victory over the world champs last night. The win pushed the Celtics into a whopping five-game Atlantic Division lead and assured a comfortable All-Star break for K.C. and the Sunshine Band. This wasn't an epic like the first three Boston-Philadelphia games this season. In a bumbling fourth quarter, the Celtics outscored the Sixers, 15-12, while the two teams shot an aggregate 25 percent (10 for 40).

If it had been Cleveland vs. Indiana, folks would have asked for their money back. Since it was Boston and Philadelphia, it made you wish we could dispense with the 82-game formalities and get on with the Eastern Conference finals. Malone's absence tarnished the evening. Without him in the game, you had a feeling that the Celtics would be able to control down the stretch.

Sixers coach Billy Cunningham kept tossing sandbags named Sam Williams (a presence with 12 points and eight rebounds). Marc Iavar-oni and Clemon Johnson into the surf, but in the end, he couldn't hold off the Green Tide. As always, the fourth quarter dictated the outcome. In a memorable display of offensive strangulation and ineptitude, the Sixers went six minutes without a basket, and made only 3 of 19 shots (.157) in the final 12 minutes. The scariest part was that the Sixers were actually able to mount a comeback in the process.

Asked to explain Phllly's Big Chill, Dennis Johnson said: "I'd like to say it was all us, but they might have had a little to do with it." Andrew Toney went 3 for 12 from the floor and scored only 14; Malone's backup, Clemon Johnson, was 3 of 13; Julius Erving missed 6 of 12 free throws. "That's something that shouldn't happen," admitted the Doctor. "As long as I've been around, I'll have to take the demerit." Larry Bird was another rim clanger, making only 5 of 18 shots. The Celtics were led by heroic Robert Parish, who 'Tf 1 i I i A 1 ,11,.,. came through with 24 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks.

Kevin McHale added 17 points (8 of 11) and 11 rebounds, and Quinn Buckner and Danny Ainge played like starters. It was 31-31 after one. The second quarter featured 16 lead changes and ended with the Celtics leading, 60-58. In the third period, Boston looked as if it might put it away when It went ahead, 76-64. The Celtics capped a 16-6 drive when Gerald Henderson stripped Iavar-oni and fed Bird, who found McHale for an easy layup.

The Garden rocked, the Celtics led by 12 with 5:21 left, and Cunningham called for time. Boston's euphoria was short-lived. After a pause, Clint Richardson (10 points in 3:40) led a 14-4 Philly run that closed the gap to 80-78 with 2:01 left in the third. The Sixers tied it at 82-82. and again at 86-86, but one free throw by Buckner with three seconds left gave the Celtics a scary 87-86 lead after three.

DJ. Buckner, Cedric Maxwell (6 of 7 from the floor) and Clemon Johnson all had four fouls when the fourth quarter started. Parish pushed the Celtics to a 95-88 lead early in the fourth quarter. Erving brought the Sixers back to within three (95-92), before the Celtics effectively put it away with a 6-1 run. The fourth quarter's only surge started when Parish blocked Clemon Johnson's shot.

Then McHale followed up a DJ jmiss. and Ainge (eight points and no turnovers in 22 minutes) hit from the top of the key after an Erving free throw. While wearing Bobby Jones, Bird canned one from the top of the key with 3:30 left to make it 101-93. It was 101-94 when, with 2:15 left, the Sixers started their final comeback. They cut it to four and had Erving at the line with 48 seconds left.

Again, Doc missed one of two. After a hideous turnover (Henderson's pass to a not-looking McHale flew out of bounds). Parish blocked Johnson's shot and came up with the loose ball. The Celtics led, 101-98, only 27 seconds remained, and the game was finally safe. Related stories, Page 64 Bruins' MacTavish charged after accident Page 19 Leonard i bout at Centrum By Steve Marantz Globe Staff Ray Leonard has a soft spot in his heart for New England.

He, i i Ct Well, at least there's one way to stop Julius Erving. Of course, the Celtics' Robert Parish was tagged with a foul for his hands-on effort. globe photo by john tiumacki Striding without HMHrY. i Henry (Bruce) Dalrymple has made the (inset) to the steaming action of the ACC name is different at Tech. There they call him Bruce, which is what his dad.

Henry called him so people wouldn't get them mixed up. Mixed up. You'd think Dalrymple would be with this chameleon lifestyle he's chosen. Guess again, folks. He is an early favorite for Rookie of the Year honors In the country's lest conference.

For the record, Georgia Tech was 13-15 last season, sixth In the ACC. and one of the few schools Dalrymple considered that was not In the Top 20. No wonder his New England counterparts were stunned with the decision. 1 if the boots Dalrymple moves on to success in big time By Jackie MacMullan Globe Staff Henry Dalrymple isn't really sure what happened to the boots. He thinks they might be tucked away In his dormitory closet somewhere, but Its hard to tell.

You know how those college dorms are. Small, cluttered, messy. And anyhow, when you're an ACC basketball player, the hlghtops are glued to the feet. You remember Henry, don't you? He was the friendly kid with the big smile from the slums of Manhattan who enrolled In something called the Riverside Church Program, which enabled him to attend high school at St. Johnsbury Academy in Vermont.

He was the one who scored 2740 career points for the Johnsbury basketball team and finished his last year as one of the top 10 high school seniors In the nation. He was the city kid walking country lanes, who hung on to his street clothes but bought a pair of L.L. Bean boots to make It through the winter. When we last left Dalrymple. he had Just scored 52 points In an overtime decision against South Burlington High and was pondering his choices for college.

Since then, Ray Meyer. Lou Carnesccca and a host of others came and went without his signature. Bobby Cremlns and Georgia Tech won the Dalrymple Derby. So. It was back to the city (Atlanta this tlmr), hello to the warm weather and goodby to the boots.

Changes, channes, changes. Kven his i a If iougni six oi nis ursi i proicssiun-al bouts in Hartford, New Haven, Providence, Portland and Springfield, and he never forgot the warm support he got from New England fans. So, it is not surprising that Leonard has chosen the Worcester. Centrum as the site for his coming-out-of-retirement bout against Kevin Howard Feb. 25.

The Centrum will announce Its latest promotional coup In a news conference today. Executives of HBO, which will televise the bout, confirmed the site last night. Centrum officials made the best offer to Leonard's attorney, Mike Trainer, who was shopping for an East Coast site, said one HBO source. The bout should pay Leonard slightly more than $3 million. Tickets will probably be scaled from $100 to $30.

The Centrum appealed to Leonard for several reasons. He prefers an arena atmosphere to a casino, which was the primary alternative, at an Atlantic City site. "Ray likes to sell tickets," said the HBO official. Also, the two-year-old Centrum Is technically excellent for television. Us suitability was proven at the Marvin Hagler-Tony Slbson bout last February.

LEONARD. Page 68 transition from the snowy winters of Vermont and Georgia Tech. upi. giobe file photos WADE BOGGS A three-year deal or Arbitration for Boggs Fly Nell Slngclals Globe Staff Third baseman Wade Boggs, the American League batting champion, shortstop Glenn Hoffman and catcher Gary AUenson of the Red Sox yesterday filed for salary arbitration. Meanwhile, the Red Sox announced that lefthander Bobby OJoda had signed a two-year contract and that lefthander John Henry Johnson ard catcher Rich Gedman had signed for one year.

They also signed pitcher Roger Clemens to a one-year contract with Pawtucket. Arbitration hearing will take place Feb. 1-20 after players and RED SOX. Page 68 "I was surprised," admitted Layne Hlggs. Dalrymple's coach at St.

Johnsbury. "I had never heard of Georgia Tech basketball. But Henry liked the Idea of helping to build a program and the opportunity to play right away. "He's really done better than anyone ever expected, Including me." Last week, the 6-foot-3 Dalrymple was averaging 14.8 points a game, leading the team In rebounding with 8.0 a game (fourth In the ACC) and shooting 53 percent from the floor. Since the opener, he's been singing the swing man's song: "I'll be a forward, I'll be a guard, Just let me play." DALRYMPLE, Page 68.