Detroit Free Press

LOS ANGELES -- It was less than an hour after Boston beat Detroit for the Eastern Conference title that the ugly whispers started in the press room. "Did you hear? . . . " they began."Isiah Thomas said what? . . . ""Dennis Rodman said what? . . ." You could feel it swell like an ocean wave. Rodman had commented in the losers' locker room about Larry Bird's being "overrated" because he was white. And Thomas, when asked, had said he agreed. And that was enough.

The burning question of this NBA final, to me anyhow, is no longer who will win or when will they win but if they win -- the Pistons, that is -- how will Adrian Dantley celebrate? "I'll do something crazy," he told me a few days ago. And since then, these pictures keep running through my brain. Something crazy? Adrian Dantley? Like what? Will he kiss a fan? Will he moon the TV camera? Will he pull off his sneakers and run barefoot through the Silverdome?

There are some big shots in New York who have been trying to get Bo Schembechler to leave Ann Arbor, just for a few hours, to promote his new book on shows such as "Good Morning, America" and "Late Night with David Letterman.""I can't leave my team during football season," he says.End of conversation.Last year, George Bush personally called to ask for his support. One night, that's all. Schembechler told the future president: "I can't leave my team during football season."End of conversation.

LOS GATOS, Calif. -- His body is limp and covered with a blanket. His mouth moves, but there is no sound. His wife sits next to the bed, reading his lips."It began . . . when I was playing basketball . . . and I kept dropping the ball. . . . Then in the classroom . . . I would drop the . . . what was that, honey? Oh. . . . I would drop the chalk. . . . "

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Beneath his wool ski cap, Mike Tyson was sweating. The camera lights were hot. A hundred people were crammed in front of his table. Everyone was screaming."DID HE EVER HURT YOU?""WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU HAD HIM?""WHO'S NEXT? WHO'S NEXT?"

Hey, I think it's great move. It may not work, but it's a great move. I'm happy to see an owner spending money in this town for once. And I would think that fans would feel the same way.Instead, there's been a wave of resentment over the Pistons' proposed multimillion-dollar woo of Jon Koncak, a 7- foot forward/center from Atlanta who, heretofore, was most commonly known as "the big white guy who plays with Dominique."

SEOUL, South Korea -- Willie Banks, who has been in track and field a long time, was crammed in a phone booth in the middle of the athletes' village, dropping coins at a furious pace. "I just heard," he said. "And I'm aghast! And when the rest of the guys wake up, they'll be aghast, too."