Rodman Keeps Cool After Hit by a Brick

Tick, tick, tick, tick. . . .

It took the Seattle SuperSonics all of 22 1/2 minutes to try to set off the time bomb that is Dennis Rodman, hoping he would get irritated, ejected, maybe even suspended, then get the Chicago Bulls in a world of hurt as they dipped into a suspect bench to defend Shawn Kemp. The detonator of choice: Brick.

Frank Brickowski entered Game 1 of the NBA finals with 3:12 remaining in the first half Wednesday. One minute 45 seconds later, while going for a rebound after Michael Jordan’s miss, he put a forearm into Rodman’s chest, sending Rodman flying. The SuperSonics claimed it was a flop, but officials ruled it a flagrant foul.

Rodman, having already been assessed one technical in the first quarter, didn’t go Rodman. He self-defused, providing the Bulls with another encouraging sign heading into Game 2 tonight at the United Center, that and the blowout fourth quarter in the 107-90 victory for a 1-0 lead in the series.

“I don’t think it’s any secret around the league,” Bull Coach Phil Jackson said Thursday. “People try to do this to Dennis, and I think the referees are very aware of it. It was an unfortunate situation in the game. I hate to see that. I happen to know Frank and like him as a person. Whether he was encouraged to do that from his coaching staff or that’s their technique, to go do that to Dennis, that’s not what we considered a basketball-related tactic.”

Dennis Rodman. Restraint.

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“I stayed calm throughout this whole playoff run this year,” said Rodman, who had 13 rebounds and seven points in Game 1. “You got [Commissioner] David Stern, you got [Senior Vice President] Rod Thorn, you got [supervisor of officials] Darell Garretson in the stands and they know what’s going on and they don’t do anything about it. I think it’s a shame. If I do something like that, it’s totally different, but I guess they made a statement last night and said, ‘Hey, no one’s going to come in and do something like that. Let’s play clean basketball.’

“Everybody knew why he came in the game. So I just kept my cool. I kind of, you know, gave him some choice words in between all the hoopla. That’s what set him off.”

Indeed, it was Brickowski, a key reserve, who blew his flat top, yelling at Jack Haley as Haley came out to make sure Rodman was under control: “What are you, his . . . baby sitter?” Truth would not be a defense in this case, so Brickowski got a technical from veteran official Joe Crawford.

“Did he play in this league? Or cheerlead?” Brickowski said Thursday of Haley, who was left off the Bulls’ playoff roster. “I didn’t recognize him not waving a towel.”

When Brickowski turned to argue with Crawford, he was hit with the second technical and an ejection.

“Dennis Rodman is the guy who creates the problem,” Seattle Coach George Karl insisted. “Dennis Rodman is the guy who’s laughing at the NBA and laughing at basketball. The referees should be trying to handle that. He taunted our bench, he flopped all over the court, got four calls.

“When Dennis Rodman does that, it’s like he applauds. He laughs at everybody. He laughs at his teammates, he laughs at the referees. It’s silly to give him any credibility for what he does out there. He’s a hell of a player, he does a great job, he’s a great rebounder. But his flopping and laughing at the respect of basketball is ludicrous.

“Here’s a guy who pushes and grabs and fights as much as anybody in the NBA and then he gets bumped and he flops and gets a flagrant foul. I mean, it’s crazy.”

But these are crazy times. Must be. Dennis Rodman is the calm one.