Rodman Might Be Naughty, but Sometimes He’s Nice Too

Chuck Daly, former Detroit Piston coach, providing another side of Dennis Rodman, the troubled forward now with the San Antonio Spurs:

“I never saw an NBA player give a gift to a coaching staff until Dennis gave all the coaches gifts on the bus.

“And there he was one day in front of my house knocking on the door with a gift for my family.”

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Trivia time: What do NFL players Steve Young, Rodney Peete, Rocket Ismail and Marshall Faulk have in common?

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Fed up: Tony Kornheiser in the Washington Post: “Enough already with this ‘luxury tax.’ Outside of Gary Bettman’s gardener, nobody understands it, or gives a damn about it. It’s hockey’s answer to GATT. So either pass it, or dump it. But shut up about it. Nobody is listening anymore.”

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Writers’ cramp: Steve Jacobson in Newsday: “Q: What is rarer than an autographed picture of Bob Feller? A: An unautographed picture of Bob Feller.

“Autograph dealers tell that one. They say Bullet Bob has signed his name on more pieces of paper than any man who’s ever lived.”

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Standoff: Boston’s Xavier McDaniel responding to remarks made by Charles Barkley of the Phoenix Suns that the Celtics should concentrate on getting talented players instead of tough players:

“Three years ago he wasn’t saying that . . . when he was in Philly. He never won no more than I won. He’s got the same number of rings that I’ve got--zero.”

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Forty-Niner mystique: John Crumpacker of the San Francisco Examiner quoting Ron Lynn, defensive coordinator of the Washington Redskins, on the versatility of the 49ers: “They keep expanding the offense all the time. They’re different every week; they’re subtle. You’d like to be able to take an offense out of what they want to do, but you can’t do it to them. They do too much.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1965 Gale Sayers scored six touchdowns with 336 combined yards to lead the Chicago Bears to a 61-20 rout of the San Francisco 49ers.

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Trivia answer: They were runners-up for the Heisman Trophy.

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Quotebook: Pete Harnisch, a native of New York, on being traded from the Houston Astros to the Mets: “I’m elatedly excited.”