Music To Rodman’S Ears
The district attorney says Dennis Rodman won’t be charged with disturbing the peace despite 36 complaints about parties or noise at the former basketball star’s Newport Beach home.
Witnesses were either anonymous or uncooperative, no crime was committed or there wasn’t enough documentation to file charges, Orange County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Tori Richards said Wednesday.
A telephone message left for Rodman publicist Chris Suter wasn’t immediately returned.
A prosecutor reviewed police reports, incident logs, tape recordings from 911 calls and patrol car camera videotapes relating to three-dozen incidents over a nearly one-year period starting July 5, 1999, Richards said.
There was no indication Rodman was even home during 15 of the calls, she said.
Rodman has been fined thousands of dollars for citations issued when police have been to his house. When the complaints continued, police asked the district attorney to charge Rodman with violating the city’s noise ordinance.
“It’s become a real pain up there,” Newport Beach Police Sgt. Mike McDermott said in March. “It’s a waste of police resources.”
Out of his league
Justin Gimelstob was distracted by the Centre Court crowd during his match against Pete Sampras, and not just because such former champions as Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver were watching from the Royal Box.
“In the warmup, I saw Borg with a hot girl in the front row,” Gimelstob said. “I was looking at her. I thought … `Maybe I have a shot.’ Then I saw Borg, and I’m like, `Probably not going to happen.”’
Top-flight help
Pigeons beware.
Wimbledon has employed a hawk named Hamish to keep the pests - primarily pigeons - away from the All England Club.
The hawk even has a coveted tournament pass complete with a passport-style photograph.
Hamish is let off his leash to scare flocks of pigeons that gather at the All England Club with particular emphasis on Centre Court and Court 1.
“He hasn’t killed one pigeon yet, but they have been keeping away because of his presence,” said keeper Wayne Davis. “As soon as the pigeons see him, they react. They fear predators.”
The All England Club hired Davis’ Avian Control Systems to patrol the grounds. The hawk came to the attention of Wimbledon officials after he was seen on a television documentary patrolling Westminster Abbey.
Hamish’s day begins at 8 a.m. when Davis sets him loose.
“You don’t really want him to catch and eat any of the pigeons because he would then just call it a day,” Davis said.
The last word …
“I don’t know if home plate was moving, but that’s as bad as I’ve seen our staff look.”
- Padres manager Bruce Bochy, after his pitchers gave up nine walks in a game.