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Manny and his wheels, The Final Chapter (we hope)

OK, so I talked to John Kiera, the promoter of last weekend's Classic Car auction in Atlantic City. "I think at this point, we're going to be the villains,'' Kiera said good-naturedly. Kiera said that he had been told "many times" by Tony Averso, the man who was putting Manny's 1967 Lincoln Continental customized convertible up for bid, that both Manny and his car would be coming to his event last Saturday.

Kiera said he asked repeatedly whether Ramirez was coming. "He sent us photographs of both Manny and the car,'' he said, "and told us Manny and the car were both coming.'' That's why, he said, they advertised Manny's appearance at the event. There was no signed contract, he said, and Manny wasn't being paid for coming. "We didn't want to put out any false claims,'' Kiera said, "and when we were told he wasn't coming, we put out a statement and posted it at our box office.''

Reggie Jackson, who also was advertised as coming to the event, did appear. "He even did some auctioneering for us,'' Kiera said. Kiera bore no ill will toward the player, and said he wanted to see the matter end. "I can see the pressure he's probably under,'' he said of Ramirez.

Checked with Tony Averso, who when we first spoke to him last week said he'd been in daily contact with Manny, and had said the player told him repeatedly he'd be attending the event. Asked if he'd spoken to Manny since the reports surfaced, Averso said, "No, I didn't. I was representing the car.'' Asked if he thought Manny might have made him look foolish, he said: "Nobody made me look foolish. I was representing the car. I assumed he was coming. It's over with, it's done.''

The car, he said, was not sold.