Rodman Takes Portable Salon to Chicago

Michael Murphy in the Houston Chronicle on what it means to the San Antonio Spurs to be playing this season without Dennis Rodman, who was traded to the Chicago Bulls:

“Getting rid of Rodman meant getting rid of the assorted hairdressers, manicurists, tattoo artists and fringe hangers-on who [make up] his entourage.

“Also gone is Rodman’s compadre, the oft-waived Jack [Forrest Chump] Haley, the human Ouija board who seems to be the only person able to communicate with the insular Rodman.”

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Trivia time: Which three Pacific 10 Conference schools have losing records in bowl games?

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No color TV? Sean Dawkins, former University of California receiver, told Dave Newhouse of the Oakland Tribune that he has experienced culture shock while playing for the Colts in Indianapolis.

“It’s a different kind of world back here, a conservative area,” he said. “It’s really slow, not many places to go. The movies are a big thing, like 1965.”

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Humbling experience: When Notre Dame beat USC, Jacksonville Jaguar rookies Tony Boselli and Rob Johnson, former Trojans, had to pay off a bet to quarterback Steve Beuerlein, who played for the Fighting Irish.

Boselli and Johnson had to wear Irish caps in the dressing room all week, and sing the Notre Dame fight song in front of Beuerlein’s locker.

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Wrong timing: Sign in St. Louis Oct. 22 during Rams-49ers game: “Q: What’s the difference between Elvis Presley and Elvis Grbac? A: One is fat, slow and hasn’t been seen in years. The other is Elvis Presley.”

The sign went down quickly as Grbac led the 49ers to a 41-10 victory. It would have been more fitting last Sunday, when Grbac faltered as the 49ers were upset by New Orleans, 11-7.

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Time warp: Whitey Herzog, on Tony La Russa’s $1.5-million contract to manage the St. Louis Cardinals: “I did both jobs [manager and general manager] for $100,000 15 years ago. How can a manager make $1.5 million? Maybe Casey Stengel or Leo Durocher.”

It’s inflation, Whitey, inflation.

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Looking back: On this day in 1987, jockey Chris Antley became the first rider to win nine races in a single day. He had four winners in six mounts at Aqueduct and five winners in eight tries during the Meadowlands’ evening program.

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Trivia answer: Arizona, 3-7-1; California, 5-6-1, and Oregon, 3-7.

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Quotebook: Rodman on the belief that team chemistry is overrated: “Chemistry is a class you take in high school or college, where you figure out two plus two is 10, or something.”