OCR Text |
Show Pane 114 THE DAILY HERALD. Prove Utah, Saturday, March 8, IW Rodman always plays below belt Charles Barkley. or "butt to the head." John Starks, but "groin" is territory now pretty much the private dominion of Rodman. The NBA judgment says Rodman did it on purpose. Then, according to their own guidelines, Rodman ought to be kicked out of the league. Maybe the NBA is just going to torture Rodman into quitting. Or emasculate him. The Bulls will not miss Rodman against San Antonio on Wednesday and the $7,500 is tip change compared w ith the millions he already By BERNIE LINCICOME u i " Lk3 DJ " W"""" 5" nilT''v f " 1JLJ - IASJcLi - .i.' i i- - i CHICAGO The only safe way to deal with Dennis Rodman may be back to front, by phone, or at least with your legs crossed, but if Rodman can make the rest of the NBA play basketball like that, let's just hoist up that fifth championship banner right now. It may be hard to tell if Milwau- 5? I ""Ka. I J I jjRrlMK, a,.'.. kee's Joe Wolf is playing from a crouch because ii doesn't take, as the Bulls' Jerry Krause put it, "a fist in the groin area" to make Wolf play shorter than his size. a half-foAnd why Rodman would waste the very little bit of goodw ill he has left on this oaf when the Bulls are up by 20 may say all that needs to be said about Rodman. ot He is AP photo Manning message Boring Cavs could be playoff bound have been forced to compile a cheat sheet featuring NBA records for low scoring. Each game presents a new twist: Which record will fall now? Points in a quarter'.' Airballs in a half.' Despite the unsightly combination of the league's worst offense and best defense, the Cavaliers have done the only thing that counts. They've won. And don't look now. but the Cavs are in pretty good position to muddle up at least the first round of the NBA playoffs with their pedantic, excruciating, yet successful style. "We're trying to position ourselves for the playoffs." Bob Sura said after the Cavs beat the Indiana 8 Pacers Wednesday night. Cleveland, in the seventh Eastern Conference playoff spot, took a e lead over Indiana and won the season series w ith the PacThe outcome of the season ers series is one of the tiebreaking factors in determining the playoff field. Indiana dropped to three games behind Orlando for the final playoff berth. "This is what it's all about." said Terrell Brandon. Cleveland's snapshooting point guard. "There's only 25 games left, and the teams that are on the bubble have got to play well." Cleveland coach Mike Fratello cautions that the Cavs still have a tough road ahead. They face two games each against the Pistons and Knicks, three against the Hornets and one against the Bulls in addition to a West Coast trip next w eek. "We know what our schedule looks like, and nobody's schedule looks like ours."' Fratello said. "We've got to worry about ourselves and take care of our own business." That's what the Cavs have been doin. Thev are 4 since the All- 85-7- four-gam- 3-- 1. soft-spoke- n, 8-- Star break, including a victory over the Bulls and two over Central Division rival Indiana. But it hasn't been pretty. The Cavs are holding opponents to less than 85 points per game, threatend of ing to obliterate the 88.5. they set last season. As a result, lots of people would rather see the Pacers against the Knicks or Heat in the first round. Please, anyone but Cleveland, the critics say. Can the world afford games'.' any more Earlier this season. Cleveland 6 beat Miami at Gund Arena, Heat forward P.J. prompting Brown to "guarantee" that at least one team would score 80 points when they played again the following night. Sure enough, the Heat 6 in Miami. beat Cleveland , Despite three straight nips to the playoffs under I raiello. the Cavs are still expected to explain themselves. It got really wacky last week when Fratello. of all people, was rumored to be on the hot seat. "The C.ar." as he is know from his television days, has gotten an undersized team that's wav under the NBA-recor- Heat-Cavalie- rs 71-6- 80-7- Camby has up, down rookie Raptor season He is as TORONTO (AP) a exasperating as he is talented genuine prodigy one minute, a frail young man the next. Toronto Raptors forward Marcus Camby. who entered the NBA hooed consensus as the much-ball- y NCAA player of the year, has had a choppy indoctrination into the professional game. "I'm sure he's frustrated, probably more frustrated than we are." Raptors coach Darrell Walker said Cam-b- y in assessing the 's first 50 games. "We just want him to stav healthy." That's been the biggest problem with the former University of Massachusetts star. Camby has missed 18 games w ith a variety of ills this year, serious and otherw ise. He's had ankle, back and knee problems, and missed the last six minutes of a close loss to the Boston Celtics on Monday w ith a mild ankle sprain. He returned Wednesday, however, to pour in 24 points in 31 minutes against the New York Knicks while showing no ill effects from the ankle injury. He averages 12.8 points and 5.4 rebounds a game and is 13th in the NBA with .95 blocked shots per game. "I don't know if he know s how good he can be." said Walker, who has used Camby at every position but point guard this season. "He's seven feet and he can play guard. There's not much he can't do." The picked second in last June's draft, is loath to enter an discussion about his injury woes. When he does, he can talk in cliches with the best of them. "Things haven't gone my way. I just want to stay healthy and get out there and help my team." he said. "I just want to finish strong and come back strong next year." Walker thinks Camby may have oritiinallv been intimidated by the NBA. "I think coming in. seeing how good these guys really are and how tough these men are. might have surprised him a bit." said the coach. "It was too easy for him in college. He was easily the best player. Now he's up against equals every night and he's not always up ntf Slrok9 Volunteer. For more mlormation contact your local Amen. Hoan Association or call through the playoffs because some lesser lout with a better sense of sacrifice than Frank Brickowski will get Rodman tossed long term. Now, I am not sure Rodman will even make it to the playoffs. When a cipher like Joe Wolf can unravel Rodman, with the tacit approval of the league, anyone can. Rodman's position is much more fragile than it was last year when his scuffles with Brickowski generally were decided in Rodman's favor. In any incident, Rodman will be seen automatically as the aggressor and the agitator. Guilt is assumed, and probably deserved. Rodman is a dirty player. Always has been. He plays below the belt. Always has. Now any third opponent off the bench gets to take a free swing at Rodman. And if Rodman wants to play in the NBA. there is not much he can do about it. There is nothing, in fact. salary cap to overachieve. And suddenly it's his fault there are no NBA championship banners hanging from the rafters at Gund Arena? Team president Wayne Embry dismissed speculation that Fratello would be allowed out of his contract after the season. "For now. the only period Fratello cares about is the one from now until April 20. the last game of the season against Washington. The last two playoff spots in the East could come dow n to that. If the Cavs get one of them, someone had better get out the playoff record book. APPARENTLY RODMAN'S more dangerous elbow, aimed at Wolf's head, was not considered in the punishment. And it was Wolf who had Rodman around the neck, a brave bit of intimacy considering Wolf has no idea where Rodman has been. Whether Rodman has a fatal disposition for the groin area or. like a salmon returning to the nursery, goes there from some sort of primitive instinct, that is where his transgressions happen to end up. I mean, if all you had w as the incident report and saw. oh. "blow to the jaw." you might think Bernk Lindconw is a sports columnist for the Chicago Daw! last SAVE UP TO 60! This Thursday, Friday & to Clean natural gas, America's best energy value. " AltU'l k.tll sMk Mlloll (i.i-- it." Earlier this year. Camby fell during a game against Minnesota and looked to the bench for the team's trainer. Instead, he saw Walker stopping the trainer from going on the court and Camby got up and kept playing. It w as a signal. Loud and clear. "The guys were saying 'leave him in. make him get up.'" said Walker. "Popeye (Jones) was saying, 'get up. get up.' "We left him in and he got up." ATTiNTlONU! Soccer Moms 0iTffT Yon SipftsTM Wnu Our Cum. Shihguards mid A Bau Fo Omv 23S-900- 0 s3?,95 63 W. Center Orem (Next to Taco Bell) Saturday The Only Authorized Samick Dealers In Utah ! th Finally, The Mountain Sled We've Been Waiting For 1998 Powder Special 600 Samick Yamaha Kohler & Campbell Mason & Hamlin & Many More Biggest Sale Ever! " I Thursday, Mar. 6th Friday, Mar. 7th Saturday, Mar. 8th at the Free Deliuery! Free Tuning! Instant Financing On-Sit- 'Roller Clutch 37" EFIorCarb FylmgHtsnDaie MY SENSE of Rodman's lot was that he would not make it NEW & USED: 2" Track Qp a dolt. This is, of course, not kind of news, the dolt part or the "groin area" part, but this time the penalty is unfair. This looks, in fact, a lot like piling on. So. now Rodman is suspended again. And fined, though double fouls were called on both Rodman and Wolf in a Monday night bit of n routine grapple, the kind that goes on seen and unseen in NBA arenas every night. Rodman, being the voluntary eye magnet he is and having a rap sheet longer than his femur, will tend to get punished beyond his infraction. Wolf did not even complain after the game about what might have been an incidental or accidental .. . uh, well, what Krause said. Save Thousands On New & Used High Quality Pianos. Guaranteed Lowest Prices 50 to 60 Off. ONLY 486 Lbs. American Heart Association ge big-ma- Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning receives this message from the Knoxville community after he announced this week that he will return for his senior season instead of turning pro. Sponsors say the sign was going up whether he decided to leave or stay. CLEVELAND (AP) The Cleveland Cavaliers may get revenge on everyone who's been making fun of them this season. They might make the playoffs. The Cavs have been called slow, boring and ugly. They've probably-usemore seconds on the shot clock than any team in the league. Their unrelenting defense has made decent NBA teams look like wannabes from the youth league. Reporters who cover the team consehas forfeited. The long-ranquence of this for the Bulls is serious only if Rodman is considered essential for the Bulls' next title. I do not think he is. Toni Kukoc is much more valuable. And my advice before and after remains the same: The Bulls should learn to play w ithout Rodman. Didn't need him, don't need him, won't need him. or 41" Ski Stance 'Fox Shocks Order Before April 1st and Get the Best Price of the Year Come See All The 1998 Arctic Cats At: Lindon 785-223- 3 ARCTKCAT e! O.R.C. Hampton Flexible Terms! Inn 1511 S. 40 E. Provo Take Exit 266 University Ave. On mmm im r- r often, Zztone, -. -i 0. r- ; Call HOURS: 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. SLC for more info |