Rodman All Smiles, Lately
Dennis Rodman has a “smiley” face painted on the back of his head, has only three technical fouls this season and hasn’t been late for a Chicago Bulls game in a month.
Beneath all those tattoos and body piercings - could the Worm really be a nice guy?
“Dennis is staying out of trouble,” Michael Jordan said. “We probably expected him to be a pain in the butt this year, but he hasn’t been. He’s just gone out and rebounded and done his job. You have to respect that.”
Only a few weeks after saying he was bored with basketball, Rodman is calm, content and committed. He wants to win a seventh consecutive NBA rebounding title and to help the Bulls capture their sixth championship of the 1990s.
“I’m just enjoying this year. I’m having a lot of fun,” said Rodman, who is averaging 14 rebounds and is coming off a season-high 24-board effort against New Jersey. “I’m not trying to make a statement or trying to be the flamboyant kid on the block.”
One look at his head shows he hasn’t totally given up his flamboyance. It might be the most imaginative dye-job yet for Rodman, who has been coloring his short-cropped hair for several years.
The base coat is yellow. On the back are two black dots and a black smile, arranged to form the famous symbol from the ‘70s. His hairline is trimmed with red and green for the holiday season.
“I love having the most famous hair in the world. People wonder what’s going to happen next. It was (trainer) Chip Schaefer’s doing. Chip told me, ‘Be a happy face, shock everybody.’ Well, here it is.”
On the courts
Karl Malone scored 27 points, including a clinching jumper with 32.6 seconds remaining, and the Utah Jazz handed the Atlanta Hawks their third straight loss, 101-99 Monday night in Atlanta.
At Orlando, Fla., Sam Cassell had 28 points, six assists and five steals to lead the New Jersey Nets to a 99-88 victory over the Orlando Magic.
At Charlotte, N.C., Glen Rice tipped in a missed shot at the buzzer that lifted the Charlotte Hornets to an 81-79 victory over the Toronto Raptors.