Notebook : Thomas Tells His Side but Doesn’t Get a Fee of $3,000 From CBS

When Detroit Pistons guard Isiah Thomas appeared on the CBS halftime show to explain his comments about Larry Bird, he did so without being paid. The network usually pays its halftime guest experts a $3,000 fee, but producer Mike Burks decided to waive paying Thomas, and CBS picked up only his expenses.

According to a CBS spokesman, the network felt it inappropriate to pay Thomas the normal appearance fee because of the nature of the situation.

Thomas told reporters after Detroit lost to the Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference that he agreed with teammate Dennis Rodman’s statement that Bird would be just another guy if he were black. Thomas said he meant the comment to be a joke.

At the press conference, Thomas said of Bird: “I respected him as a basketball player. I respected him as a person. Now I have even greater respect for him as a person than I ever could as a basketball player just by him sitting here.”

Said Bird: “It doesn’t bother me, so it shouldn’t bother anybody else. . . . If Isiah says it was a joke, it should be that way.”

Bird, on Piston rookie Dennis Rodman, whose comments touched off the controversy:

“I’m going to bust him next year so bad. I hope he has to guard me every game.”

Add Rodman: The Pistons released the following statement from him Thursday:

“I would like to apologize to Larry Bird for the emotional comments I made last week regarding his three-time winning of the MVP awards. Coming off a very emotional loss, I was very frustrated at the time I made those statements.

“I was wrong for making those statements and honestly that is not the way I feel. It was a mistake on my behalf.

“I have the utmost respect for Larry Bird as a player and a person, on and off the court. He is one of the best players in the NBA today and one of the greatest players ever to play the game.”

Natalie Cole, Thursday’s anthem singer, received an assist from the crowd when she forgot the words midway. The crowd picked up and sang, “ . . . were so gallantly streaming.” Cole handled the rest of the song herself. . . . The Laker girls, who caught on ever since they were cheered off the floor when Magic Johnson hit a 77-foot 8-inch shot against Denver in the first round of the playoffs, now stay off the floor when the crowd goes crazy during time outs.

Celebrity watching: Lou Gossett, O.J. Simpson, Marcus Allen, Mike Tyson, Lisa Hartman, Don Johnson, Warren Moon, Dyan Cannon, Jack Nicholson, John Robinson, Jimmy Walker, Bruce Willis, Wayne Gretzky, Gabe Kaplan, Walter Matthau.

Gretzky, superstar center for hockey’s Edmonton Oilers, the Stanley Cup champions, went to a Celtic game during the regular season.

“He showed up,” Bird said with a laugh, “and I didn’t.”

Bird was ejected from that game. “I’ll show up this time,” he said.

Ex-Laker Mike McGee called the Laker offices Thursday.

“Hey, Mike, I thought you said you’d be playing this time of year,” Laker publicist Josh Rosenfeld said to McGee, who plays for the Atlanta Hawks, the team eliminated by Detroit in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

“I am,” McGee said. “I’m playing at Loyola every day.”

On his way out of the interview room, Laker Coach Pat Riley nearly bumped into Boston Coach K.C. Jones.

“Good game, Pat,” Jones said.

After Riley walked away, Jones said: “Now that was a dumb thing to say.”

Some of the records for the championship series that were set or tied Thursday:

Five Lakers scoring 20 or more points ties a record.

The Lakers’ field-goal percentage of 61.5% sets a record.

Michael Cooper’s six three-pointers set a record. So did his seven attempts, and his four three-pointers in the first half set another record.

Cooper and Magic Johnson tied a record with eight assists in a quarter. Cooper had eight in the second, Johnson eight in the third.

Only two players have made more than six three-pointers in an NBA game, either regular season or playoff. Rick Barry had games of eight and seven three-pointers; John Roche made eight. . . . The Celtics outrebounded the Lakers, 43-33, with Robert Parish grabbing 14 and Larry Bird 10. . . . Magic Johnson had two turnovers Thursday, giving him two in two games.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, asked if playing like this makes him want to play for another several years: “This time of year, you feel like that. About January or February, you feel like selling insurance.”

The only Laker who didn’t score Thursday was Wes Matthews, though he had two assists in six minutes. . . . Boston guard Danny Ainge scored just six points in 37 minutes. He took just four shots and made three of them.