Rodman Stars Again, and It’s in Basketball

Bernie Lincicome of the Chicago Tribune, writing on the Bulls beating the Charlotte Hornets in the NBA playoffs Sunday, 83-70:

“Here’s how the great, low-post, brute battle turned out. How to put it? [Dennis] Rodman used [Anthony] Mason like a chew toy.

“Battered him, belittled him, humiliated him, bullied him, dominated him, put a twist-tie around him and left him on the curb.”

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More Lincicome: “The Bulls do not need Rodman to be Rodman to beat this bunch of chalk outlines from Charlotte, these shaved-head incidentals, who look like a team full of driver’s license photos.”

Trivia time: Who holds the major league record for hits in a season?

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O’Neal over Jordan? It’s virtually unanimous that Michael Jordan is the best player in the NBA. There’s at least one dissenter, though: Seattle SuperSonic Coach George Karl.

“Shaq’s the best player in the NBA right now,” Karl told Steve Kelley of the Seattle Times. “I think he’s more powerful and dominating than anyone who plays.

“Michael might be more pretty and athletic, but from a coaching standpoint, I think Shaq’s probably the most difficult guy to play against.”

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That, of course, was before Monday night’s playoff game, when O’Neal called Karl a crybaby after Karl had criticized O’Neal for throwing elbows.

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Extra baggage: Mike Monroe in the Denver Post: “The NBA near the end of the millennium:

“The Phoenix Suns’ entourage for the playoffs included a ‘brain doctor’--not a psychiatrist, but a physician who studies brain shapes and relates same to physical skills and personality traits--a Chinese acupuncturist, team physician Richard Emerson and a team chaplain.

“Did they leave anything out? ‘We don’t have an exorcist,’ Emerson said.”

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Stat corner: First baseman Darin Erstad of the Angels and pitcher Rick Helling of the Texas Rangers are the only current major leaguers from North Dakota.

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Seven across: Phil Rosenthal in the Chicago Sun Times: “Toni Kukoc has taken a small step toward becoming the icon Bull management hopes he will become as the centerpiece of their post-Jordan era. He was a clue and answer in Sunday’s New York Times crossword puzzle.

“Hey, we said it was a small step.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1953, St. Louis Brown rookie Bobo Holloman made baseball history when he pitched a 6-0 no-hitter against Philadelphia in his first major league start.

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Trivia answer: George Sisler of the St. Louis Browns, 257 in 1920.

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And finally: Dan LeBatard in the Miami Herald: “After Sunday’s embarrassing 98-81 loss [to the Knicks], the Heat, one of the league’s elite teams all year, exited the playoffs in the first round, just like the mediocre teams from Minnesota and New Jersey.

“It is, no doubt about it, the worst postseason performance ever by a Riley-coached team.”

Dan has a short memory. Riley’s Heat was swept by Chicago in three games in 1996. At least, this series went five games.