The Salt Lake Tribune from Salt Lake City, Utah • 51

JAZZ NOTEBOOK Embarrassment's Gone Too Far Cut Rodman COMMENTARY fl itfMftWIWWMtJliUwB til: BYJiAV! SMITH CHICAGO TRIBUNE Dennis Rodman didn't lose Game 4 of the NBA Finals for the Bulls That's the first thing to get straight In fact the Bulls should have taken a three games to one lead in the Finals on Sunday with Rodman doing almost nothing as he has throughout these playoffs Rodman is shooting 3ft 2 percent for the playoffs and averaging 84 rebounds with an NBA-record 17 technical fouls Against the Jazz in the Finals Rodman is averaging seven rebounds and shooting 27 percent after his four wild misses in Game 4 The Bulls have proved throughout this season that they don't need Dennis Rodman to win And Rodman has demonstrated vividly he no longer cares much about playing yes he went off to Las Vegas after Game 4 and returned directly to Monday's media session as the team traveled separately from its hotel and he inferred he was going back to Las Vegas on Monday night His contribution is minuscule and he continues to embarrass a franchise that has produced the greatest sports dynasty of this era Rodman's gutter-language attack on the Mormon religion over the weekend was reprehensible something that should have been quickly condemned by the Bulls General manager Jerry Krause said Monday he wasn't aware of the comments Rodman said he was having difficulty attaining "some type of sync here because of the expletive Mormons" but planned to speak with Rodman "I'll talk to him" Krause said "He sometimes says things in jest But we don't condone that kind of behavior I don't care who or what you don't talk about other people negatively as far as religion goes" But the biggest thing is it's no longer smart to keep Rodman on the roster It's time to release him Before Game 5 So the embarrassments will finally end along with the questions No one will say it publicly yet but Rodman's tour with the Bulls has three games to go maximum Why not end it sooner and give the Bulls something to rally around? Barely remembered in the excitement of the thrilling finish and the Bulls' second straight loss was Rodman's first-quarter act He took four shots and missed them all badly He didn't follow his shots and try to rebound his misses "I can't play 24 minutes and be effective" Rodman complained Monday "That's not going to happen That's Phil's Coach Jackson decision I don't understand what the deal is right now I guess he's trying a new strategy out" The deal is Rodman walked out on the team Sunday When the Bulls returned to the huddle for a timeout with 2:38 left in the first quarter Jackson walked over to Rodman who was 0-for-4 and told him to stop shooting Rodman immediately left the court went to the locker room and didn't return until the second quarter The word from the Bulls was Rodman had stomach flu Apparently cured later in Las Vegas Sieve inffinTh Snll lnke Trihimc Chicago Bulls reserve guard Randy Brown wasn't the only person who thought the fireworks display before Sunday's Game 4 between Utah and Chicago at the Delta Center was too loud Concerns About Delta's Noise Could Be Falling on Deaf Ears 'Russell Has To Try to Contain MJ BY STEVE Ll'HM THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Something strange is happen- ing in the NBA Finals and the weirdness has nothing to do with Dennis Rodman Brian Williams or the Chicago Bulls' continuing fascination with something they popularized loud outrageous pregame celebrations It Michael Jordan He's missing a few shots In Games 3 and 4 both Jazz wins Jordan misfired on 29 of his 49 field-goal attempts He got to the basket only slightly more than Robert Parish At times he looked like Superman after a kryptonite-laced cocktail Of course it's absurd to suggest Jordan is struggling He won Game 1 for the Bulls with a buzzer-beating 20-foot jumper He scored 38 points dur- ing a rout of the Jazz in Game 2 In the series Jordan averages 293 points and six rebounds If the Bulls win two of the next three games he will again be the post- season MVP Just as certainly the Bulls need Jordan to start hitting again starting in Game 5 Wednesday night With the exception of Scottie 1 Pippen none of the other Bulls is contributing much offense As a result Bryon Russell remains a A key to Utah's chances In the last two games he has been the prima- ry defender on Jordan "It's a tough task to try and contain him" said Russell "You're not going to stop him He's a basketball god" Informed that Jordan is shoot- ing 408 percent over two games Russell said "Good I hope it gets I lower" His strategy lately has been simple "He anticipates on offense" Russell said "I'm trying to anticipate him on defense" UNPLANNED EXPLOSION Jeff Hornacek scored 11 points -ln the first quarter of Game 4 in-j eluding seven in the final 1:55 as i the Jazz built a 21-16 lead I Asked if the Jazz planned to make Jordan work hard on the defensive end in an attempt to weaken his offense Hornacek i laughed "I wish I could say that" he said "But I just happened to slip i out a couple of times and get a couple of shots I don't normally get" Hornacek finished with 13 1 points on another solid night in the playoffs capitalizing on a variety of running spinning seem- ingly out-of-control shots Said Hornacek: "I realized i when I was 12 or 13 years old whenever you start playing a lot of basketball that I was never going to dunk much So I started working on those things BEST 2Vz MINUTES If the Jazz prevail in the Finals the final 2Vfc minutes of Game 4 will go down as the most signifi-cant 150 seconds in franchise history Chicago owned a 71-66 lead and seemed headed for a 3-1 lead in 1 the best-of -seven series But John Stockton and Karl Malone keyed a comeback Malone hit two free throws with 18 seconds left for a 76-73 lead Before he could take his second free throw Coach Jerry Sloan called a 20-second timeout He BY TOM WHARTON THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE What do the Delta Center and Delta Air Lines have in common? The sound made by Utah Jazz fans inside the arena Sunday during the NBA Finals against Chicago was almost as loud as one of Delta's jets taking off at Salt Lake International Airport That has players coaches NBA officials and Jazz fans expressing varying complaints How loud did it get Sunday? NBA officials told Jazz official Grant Harrison that it was over 100 decibels "That's crowd noise" he said "We have no control over it The fans are as loud as they are" Someone standing 50 feet away from a a jet airplane taking off would experience 140 decibels A chainsaw generates 110 decibels An employer is required to make hearing protection and annual hearing tests and training available if the level exceeds 85 decibels for an eight-hour shift the Occupational Health and Safety Administration says Even some players are beginning to wonder about the noise level inside the arena "Too much noise is something they've proven can do permanent ear damage over the course of a season or a career" said Jazz for- ward Adam Keefe "That's something that hasn't come up yet but I'm sure it will come up when they record decibel levels close to that of a jet engine which are clearly hazardous to your health" Though he said the fireworks don't help players make more baskets or stop Michael Jordan Keefe thinks the pregame display helps to get fans involved in the game And the crowd noise increases Utah's home advantage "Every basket and every takeaway is such a big lift" said Keefe "During the course of a game it starts to drag on you when you are on the opposite end of it You get more energy when it's behind you It's part of the ho-mecourt advantage" The Jazz control the decibel level of the music and public address system NBA rules say those cannot exceed 85 decibels By complying with that rule Harrison said crowd noise made it impossible for most fans to hear PA announcer Dan Roberts or the music Some complained about that "People in Utah have amazing lung power" said Brian Mcln-tyre vice president of communications for the NBA "The noise was human noise and it was a great thing to hear Growing up in Chicago I thought old Chicago Stadium was the loudest Seattle's KeyArena was incredibly loud last year But I now concur with everyone The Delta Center is the loudest" Chicago players and coaches have complained about the fireworks display the Jazz use before every playoff game and about the Jazz mascot "Bear" taking a loud Harley-Davidson motorcycle onto the floor Bulls Coach Phil Jackson told the referee he wanted the motorcycle off the floor because he didn't want to smell the fumes according to Harrison "It's Karl Malone's Harley" said Harrison "He loves it on the floor He personally requested that it be on the floor The next complaint I get from Phil Jackson about the Harley I'll refer to Karl I'll let those guys argue it out" Harrison calls these complaints sour grapes sullying the Bulls' image as champions He considers the cigarette smoke filtering into Chicago's United Center from fans smoking in the foyer more annoying than the fireworks and motorcycle at the Delta Center Mclntyre asked the Jazz to tune down some of the cannon noise associated with the pregame fireworks He said the Jazz fireworks displays and the Harley on the floor violate no rules but that the league may look at such displays during the offseason Rosetta: Do Not Blame Losses on Mike Continued from 1)1 audacity to label MJ a mortal Blasphemy! Why not open the stocks and stick this scoundrel's arms and noggin in for all the world to stone Oh foolish ones It has been said that Michael creates these deep chasms only for the vicarious pleasure he derives from hauling himself out History tells us he'll climb out soar out? in Game 5 Wednesday night at the Delta Center To make those happy that he left wanting in not scoring 40 60 or even 100 points Sunday night A "motivational situation" he called his way below-par 22-point night That tomorrow night he might live up to the fantasy that has been created yea that he has created and score 40 or 50 Discovering resiliency and eradicating complacency are keys Jordan fingered Sunday for a resuscitation of his Bulls in Game 5 Those cures apply only to the rest of the Bulls Because Jordan is still His Highness And he has only one ringless finger Probably just enough to choke his knee-jerk critics one more time final 4Vz minutes? Finishing with "just" 22 points? And the guy's cracking? Would someone please help me here? Jordan scored 12 of his team's 17 points in the fourth quarter Outside of a three-pointer by Toni Kukoc and a putback by Pippen other Bulls were 0-for-6 That's $28 million worth of nothing If there is a rap to be made on Jordan it is that he didn't take all 20 Chicago shots in the final 12 minutes The propitious approach here is to let a sleeping superstar snooze But no There were the Paul Reveres of the world Monday night sounding the MJ alarm just as they did with Malone a couple of weeks ago Some yokel had the Stadium namss take flight Sponsorship of sports facilities can be worth millions to corporations For every $1 spent in sponsoring a venue a company can usually expect a return of $3 worth of media exposure Large events like the rlBA Finals can increase the return up to 10-fold Here are major US facilities sponsored by airlines- ry h1 United Center Chicago HV 1 XT Bulls (NBA) Blackhawks (NHL) EstFrnateit avsragfl yearly sponsorship fet Delta tutor Salt LatoCity 873000 Utah Jn 1 MftAl Rutherford NJ $700000 I Nets (NBA) Devils (NHL) $22 million USAIr Arena Landover Md America West Arena Phon fetw Bullets" (NBA) Capitals (NHL) Bulls Try to Correct Offensive Woes Continued from IM Suns (NBA) I T3n World Do'meStLouis $887000 Rams (NFL) i (i $13 million v- -w i i SOURCES IEG Sponsorship Report Chicago airline offices Sports Corp $1 million Nole: Continental and USAir sponsorships Include travel compensalbn lor teams 'Through 1997 "Team name changes to Wizards for 1 997-98 season Knight-Ridder Tribune Battle of Airlines Taking Flight in Finals BY JIM KIRK CHICAGO TRIBUNE explained later that he wanted to i replace Antoine Carr with the quicker more athletic Chris Mor- ris for defensive purposes "I kept looking over at the Bulls' bench" Malone said "I thought it was them But it was Coach Sloan" i "Give me a chance" Sloan said "and I'll figure out some way to screw him up" After the Jazz clinched their victory Sloan and Malone hugged in on uncharacteristic victory eel- cbration Utah's Bryon Russell glued to him the two Bulls captains are asking for help "It's been difficult for us especially because we really exert a lot of energy trying to get our ball-club going hoping that from game to game that we're all going to step up and have that real team game" said Pippen "But it hasn't happened" Added Jordan: "We haven't been playing the kind of basketball we're capable of because we've had to extend ourselves Phil's making an effort to get these guys back in the flow of the game so their productivity can loosen up Scottie and myself" The Bulls think they are getting there They slowed Game 4 to the pace they like to play And some of their adjustments worked like posting up Pippen against the smaller Jeff Hornacek Pippen got 15 post-ups Sunday The problem? The Bulls only scored off three of them Which leads Jackson to believe the primary problem is execution "We're not stagnating so much as it is guys not reading the defense" said the Bulls coach "This is an offense that is built on free thought and free form "The right proposition Is that we schooled them in obviously taking advantage of Scottie in the post with Hornacek" Jackson added "and we crowded It We didn't give them space we didn't read it we didn't organize ourselves And that's Just not fulfill-ing the promise we have to mnke to each other to coirMe as an offensive team" "We're getting one-dimensional" Bulls Coach Phil Jackson complained Monday "We're looking for people instead of playing our game We're a little unsure shooting the shots as they come our direction" Obviously the Bulls have been a two-man team throughout their four-title stampede in the 1990s Like Utah with Karl Malone and John Stockton Chicago's game revolves around Jordan and Pip-pen But there is a fine line between leaning on the two superstars and relying too much on them In their last two losses to the Jazz the Bulls may have crossed the line Chicago's three other starters Luc Longley Ron Harper and Dennis Rodman are combining for less than 1 6 points per game in the series Jackson claims to be generally happy with his bench But only Brian Williams has been a consistent scoring threat Toni Kukoc has been slowed for months by a foot injury which Isn't getting any better Steve Kerr the Bulls' long-range sniper is just 3 oM2 from the three-point line in four games With Pippen struggling with his own foot injury and Jordan forced exert more energy wilh dunk in terms of exposure In general for every $1 million spent in sponsoring a venue a company can usually expect to see $3 million worth of media exposure But a big event such as the NBA Finals which is shown in more than 60 countries can mean even greater media efficiency "When you talk about something like the NBA Finals it goes up anywhere from 5-to-l to 10-to-1" said Lesa Ukman editor of IEG Sponsorship Report a Chicago-based newsletter that tracks sponsorship deals Naming rights for stadiums and arenas is an exploding phenomenon More than 40 major US facilities have taken on title sponsors since the early 1990s Participants range from corporate giants with a well-known global presence such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi to little-known beer brands such as IC Uyht In Plttsburgh And the pare doesn't seem to be slowing with a number of spon- sored-parks opening this year and next Delta and United were two of the first airlines to strike naming-rights deals Delta signed a 10-year $7 million sponsorship deal in 1991 and United followed agreeing to a 20-year $175 million deal for the West Side stadium beginning in 1994 Both dollar figures are estimates Atlanta-based Delta's deal includes some exposure on Jan team advertising And the deal includes season tickets "It's like getting married and we're the bride taking the husband's name" said Jay Francis senior vice president-marketing for the Jazi The deals usually range anywhere from $800000 to $12 million annually over a 10-year period For stadium owners many of which are tapping public money the sponsorships are necessities in order to guarantee financing They also can help make up for an even larger player payroll Air versus the Mailman The city by the lake battling the city called Salt Lake United takes on Delta United and Delta? That's right While Michael Jordan and Karl Malone fight it out for a ring and a champagne shower a pair of heavyweight airlines United and Delta are in their own dogfight during the 1997 NBA Finals We're talking naming rights as well as bragging rights Which airline will get more for Its buck by having its name splashed as title-sponsors of the arenas that the Bulls and Utah Jm respectively call their home courts? It all comes down to the length of the series and a whole lot of lurk For both airlines the longer the series the better Already sports marketing executives ajrep both companies have scored a slatn BRIEFLY The Bulls haven't lost three straight games during the Jordan Era since the opening games of the 1990-91 regular season The Jazi are 48-3 at the Delta Center where they've won 23 straight and 10 In a row in the postseason Chicago hasn't been tied after the first four games of an NDA Final since 1992 The Bulls eventually won that sc rifs with Portland 4-2 Jordan shot 28 frre throws in the first two games of the serli'S tn the United Ccntrr He shot five in Cnmrs 3 and 4 at the Delta.