What a cruel, cruel (hilarious?) joke it would be if the Pistons stopped Rodman's number half way up to the rafters and Mason yelped over the PA, April Fools!!!!!! Greg Mooooooooooose beeeebop-robocop-Monrobocop-Monroeeeee wears that number!! And then we'll retire it in his honor...
Okay, not that funny maybe. Especially since Kuester would probably find Rodman in his truck later with a .22 caliber rifle. Hey, I don't know what you've got planned with that, and if I did I wouldn't know how to handle the situation, but let me use that when you're done.
But, seriously, tonight is the Dennis Rodman number retirement ceremony. Other Bad Boys will be in attendance to see a great, well-deserved honor for one of the baddest of Bad Boys. And, with that, it seems like it's as good of a time as any to end the DBB shootaround boycott, er, excused absences and hit up some links.
- A timeline of Rodman's NBA years via Detroit Free Press.
- Teammates remember Rodman fondly, including an amazing throwback photo gallery.
- Eli Zaret takes a look back at Rodman's career. What a great road from late 2nd round pick (Jack McCloskey saying Rodman didn't know how to play) to winning consecutive DPOYs (Jack McCloskey saying Rodman ruined one of his suit coats), to his trade to the Spurs, to tonight (Jack McCloskey saying Rodman is the greatest defender that has ever played). This is probably a nice preview of the tribute video you'll see tonight.
- Chris Iott at MLIVE did some crowdsourcing on Rodman via the Twitters. Some high, well-deserved praise for The Worm. Of note: former Piston blogger @PistonsNation thinks tonight is a publicity stunt.
- Terry Foster's column on Rodman includes a Snooki lede.
- Artsy Rodman computer wallpaper at Need4Sheed.
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Maybe Dennis Rodman can find his way: A re-published 1993 column by Mitch Albom.
Other Pistons links after the jump:
This time last year, scouts were mixed on Monroe. They liked his talent, skill and length but had questions surrounding his inconsistent motor. Would he engage as a rebounder? Would he be a paint presence? Would he find ways to be a significant producer consistently?
As Pistons fans now know, the answers to those questions are yes, yes and yes. Monroe is entrenched in the starting lineup, one of just a handful of first-round picks who can say that. He's a double-double threat every night now after not getting his first until Jan. 4 -- a 14-and-11 game against the Lakers in L.A. Since then, he has recorded 17 more and missed a double-double by one rebound or point in four other games.
Monroe has learned to compete harder and for longer stretches, and he's doing so while fouling less often. In fact, he rarely has had to worry about being in foul trouble, which is gold for a starting rookie center. He has gone from a big guy with questions about his future to the big guy his franchise will build around. That makes Monroe our 2011 MIP.