I am a lifelong fan of the New York Yankees and Indianapolis (nee Baltimore) Colts, was born in 1955 and am a native Oklahoman. I am a former sportswriter and former newspaper editor. I am quite familiar with Associated Press newspaper style (punctuation, grammatical quirks, etc.), having worked in the newspaper business for the better part of my work career. My memory is especially keen for baseball, football and NBA basketball during the 1960s and early 1970s. Unfortunately, I can't remember what I had this morning for breakfast.
Observation: Closed quotes should ALWAYS be placed OUTSIDE punctuation marks such as commas and periods — no exceptions, even in a "quote-within-a-quote" situation. However, closed quotes are placed INSIDE a colon or semicolon. (Not my opinion; this is commonly accepted journalistic style.)