Celts heckler selling shirt off star's back

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Celts heckler selling shirt off star's back

by Thomas Caywood
Monday, May 12, 2003







The mouthy fan booted from the FleetCenter Friday night after a dust-up with
Celtics star Antoine Walker moonlights as a sports memorabilia peddler whose
wares include a pricey Walker game jersey.


Stewart D. Berg of Newton may not have cared much for a play by Walker - one
of the courtside heckler's favorite targets - but he apparently puts a high
value on No. 8's old laundry.

The size 50 jersey is listed for sale on Berg's BostonSports.com Web site for
a hefty $1,850 and described breathlessly as ``a beautiful piece of Celtics
history from a leading player on the team.''

But Berg was apparently shouting out of the other side of his mouth Friday
night, when his jeers sparked a confrontation with the Celtics co-captain.

Berg, whose season tickets are in jeopardy of being yanked over the incident,
filed a police report accusing Walker of ``poking him in the face several
times.'' He refused to discuss the spat or his legal recourse yesterday,
answering several questions with ``no comment.''

Walker also declined to discuss the fracas amid investigations by the NBA and
Boston police.

NBA spokesman Tim Frank said the league's inquiry would be wrapped up and any
disciplinary action against Walker doled out before tonight's do-or-die Game
4. ``We want to make sure the protection of both sides (fans and players) is
as strong as it can be,'' he said.

Rich Thompson contributed to this report.

Thanks,

Steve
sb@maine.rr.com