Rodman Returns And Reaffirms Himself As Top Court Jester

Before the start of the opening-round NBA playoff series against the Washington Bullets, Chicago Bulls forward Scottie Pippen said he looked forward to the return of injured teammate Dennis Rodman because of the “tenacity” he would provide the defending champions.

And, although the Bulls welcomed Rodman’s nine rebounds in their 98-86 victory Friday night, his first game since March 25, Pippen wasn’t the only person scratching his head after the blond-haired oddity was ejected from the contest after picking up a pair of technical fouls.

“It was good to have him back - he was aggressive and he brought energy and he was getting the crowd going,” Pippen said Saturday. “That’s all good, but the T’s and all that we didn’t really need.”

After starting the game strong, “The Worm” turned early in the second half, with Rodman beginning to have problems with the officials. That crew included Steve Javie, known around the league as a referee with something of a short fuse, and Ted Bernhardt, whom Rodman head-butted last season during a game in New Jersey, drawing a league suspension.

With 3 minutes 10 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Rodman was whistled for his third personal foul, then was assessed a technical by Bernhardt. He was called for his fourth foul with just under a minute to play in the period and got his fifth at 6:41 of the fourth. Some 18 seconds later, Rodman appeared to whisper something to Javie, who called a technical, and Rodman was gone.