Visionary Dennis Has Bullish Plan for the Clippers

Skip Myslenski of the Chicago Tribune writes that Dennis Rodman has a grand vision--get ready--of himself, Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan and Coach Phil Jackson reuniting under the banner of the Clippers!

The deal would hinge on Donald Sterling’s handing over 5% of the franchise for the privilege of having them.

“You get more money that way,” Rodman said. “That’s strategy. That’s marketing right there. Five percent of the team, you get a lot more money, a lot more off the court, a lot more of this and that, everything is fine. You get your $20 million, $25 million. There it is.”

Asked if he had discussed this idea with the others, Rodman said, “No. I’m the only one who has thought it out that far. But it would be the greatest move in NBA history right there.”

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Trivia time: Other than those from USC and UCLA, how many Pacific 10 Conference players have won the Heisman Trophy?

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Perspective: Ray Ratto in the San Francisco Examiner on the Latrell Sprewell controversy: “Next to this, Rodman insulting the Mormons is the equivalent of Vicki Lawrence reading ‘Horton Hatches the Egg’ to fourth graders.”

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Good riddance: Peter Vecsey of the New York Post laid plenty of the blame for the Sprewell-P.J. Carlesimo fiasco on Golden State Warrior owner Chris Cohan, saying, “He gave crazy money to a crazy player and gave absolute power to someone who only knows how to abuse it and the people under him.

“It’s like the Iran-Iraq war all over again. You were hoping they’d both lose.”

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Sign him up: Jack Webb, a computer- services account representative from Tulsa, Okla., kicked a 30-yard field goal to win $250,000 Saturday at halftime of the Big 12 championship game in the Alamodome at San Antonio. The line drive barely cleared the crossbar.

Webb got a check from a soft-drink company and a 1998 pickup truck.

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Looking back: On this day in 1961, Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors scored 78 points and grabbed 43 rebounds in a 151-147 triple overtime loss to the Lakers. Elgin Baylor led the Lakers with 63 points.

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Trivia answer: Only two, Terry Baker of Oregon State in 1962 and Jim Plunkett of Stanford in 1970.

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And finally: New York Jet quarterback Neil O’Donnell became defensive recently when asked about missing open receivers:

“What open receivers, huh? You [reporters] don’t have any idea what my reads are, so for you to print that and write that, you don’t have any idea what I’m reading there.

“See, you don’t have any idea, you really don’t. And I don’t have time to explain it to you, either.”