Gee, He Seemed So Normal All This Time

Fortunately for most of us, we learn all we need to know about Dennis Rodman from watching a couple of NBA games.

According to her recent interview with Vogue magazine, it took Madonna two months of dating the Worm to find out that he is a “borderline psychotic personality. . . . I soon discovered that he was a seriously damaged person, and I really couldn’t get away from him fast enough.”

Knowing Rodman, he has probably called to thank her for the compliment.

Add Rodman: In an interview with Entertainment Weekly last week, he said: “I’d love to do a L’eggs commercial, where I shave my legs on screen.”

But L’eggs Products already has a spokesperson: Jamie Lee Curtis. L’eggs President Linda Hefner said: “Dennis Rodman may think he has great legs, but they really don’t compare to Jamie Lee Curtis.”

Trivia time: Who was the last Dodger to pitch a no-hit, no-run game before the franchise moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles?

Sanity returns: Phoenix Sun center Joe Kleine is regarded as one of Charles Barkley’s best friends. Now that the controversial Barkley has been traded to Houston, Kleine said the locker room will never be the same:

“It will be normal now instead of like the ward in ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.’ ”

Heart of the matter: Clipper Coach Bill Fitch was surprised by the reaction to his heart surgery two month ago:

“I couldn’t begin to tell you how many people I heard from,” Fitch says. “It’s amazing. There are people from all areas of your life calling and sending letters. I heard from players who told me I changed their lives forever. Sometimes you have to die before you can know how many people appreciate you. From that standpoint, it was worth having.”

Cruel reality: Keyshawn Johnson, the former USC All-American, admits to feeling some pressure as a rookie wide receiver with the New York Jets.

“You come here, you’re supposed to help the team, win football games, you’re doing everything they ask you and it’s like, ‘Why us? Why is this cloud on our heads? Why doesn’t it just go away? Leave us and go mess with someone else.’ ”

Something in common: Woody Woodburn in the Ventura County Star: “So what if Los Angeles doesn’t have an NFL team? Neither does New York.”

Appropriate: The Associated Press reported that top Kenyan runners Ismael Kirui and Rose Cheruiyot plan to go the distance and marry in November.

Looking back: On this day in 1981, USC’s Marcus Allen rushed for 274 yards and scored two touchdowns in a 21-0 victory over Indiana.

Trivia answer: Sal Maglie, on Sept. 25, 1956, against Philadelphia.

And finally: Chicago White Sox pitcher Marvin Freeman on a change in his approach: “I’m trying to be more humane. That psycho approach took too much out of me mentally.”