>>I was genuinely saddened to see this in the news. He was the head coach of the Detroit Pistons, who pimped out the Bulls on an annual basis for several years. The Bulls and MJ finally beat them and established themselves as a dynasty, but they had to go through the Pistons. The first year they beat them was their coming of age.
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>He was a fine analyst too.
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>>I hated the Pistons with a passion. Really hated them. With the exception of Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn, who were thugs, I bear no ill will to any of them now. Like most Bulls fans, I embraced Dennis Rodman when he joined the team. He played all out every minute and Chicago is the kind of city that loves guys who give it their all.
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>The only real problem I had with Rodman was that his idea of blocking shots was to turn it over to the opposition by blasting it as far into the stands as he could manage. Looked great, but was counterproductive. On the other hand, he did block a lot of shots - I just thought he could have done it more productively. I certainly agree 100% on Laimbeer and Mahorn. The worst of it was that the refs seemed to like them and allowed them an unusual latitude for their thuggery.
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It's funny because I don't remember Rodman blocking that many shots. The best straight up defender in the NBA and a freaky rebounder, yeah. I still don't get it how he got so many boards. We was 6'8" (maybe), 220, and so skinny his nickname was Worm. But any rebound he could get near was somehow his. He could go up for one and if he didn't get it go straight back up again without bending his knees.

My daughters were little when the Bulls had their big run in the 90s and sometimes they would sit next to me and watch part of a Bulls game. They were both delighted by Dennis because of his hair. That was when he was dying it different colors every other day. "Emily, Emily, come here, it's the man with the funny hair!" Smiling at the memory....