Champions Creed

Chapter 113 112: Then I will satisfy you! (Please give me a monthly ticket!)

In the opening game of the 95-96 season, Roger's performance was almost perfect.

He used a strong single-game 48 points to save the face of the defending champion on the night of the championship ring award ceremony.

It turns out there was a reason why reporters were pessimistic about the Supersonics.

Which serious coach would leave Payton alone and use Schrempf to guard Roger for the entire game?

George Karl trusted his forwards too much, but for a scorer like Roger, it was useless to rely on the forwards alone. Payton and the forwards had to work together to achieve the limiting effect.

Not using the best defensive player to deal with the opponent's best scorer may sound like a stupid decision, but in fact, George Karl did the same in the 96 Finals in the original history.

The Bulls took an early 96-3 lead in the 0 Finals, but then inexplicably lost two games in a row, which even led to a conspiracy theory that "the Bulls lost on purpose in order to allow Jordan to win the championship on Father's Day."

But the reality is that in the first three games of the finals, George Karl used Schrempf, Hersey Hawkins, Vincent Askew and even the unknown David Wingate to defend Jordan, but rarely used Payton.

He wants Payton to stay active on offense.

It was not until they were 0-3 down and had no way out that George Karl let Payton face off against Jordan. Payton's constant close harassment, coupled with the fierce double-teaming of the forwards behind him, finally limited Jordan and allowed the Supersonics to win two games.

Of course, Jordan himself did not admit this. Later, when Payton proudly talked about how to defend Jordan in front of the camera, Jordan, who was watching the video on a tablet, laughed out the famous emoticon.

In short, George Karl's wrong strategy in the first three games of the finals almost caused his team to be swept in the finals. Now you know why people always say that George Karl lowers the grade of the thousand-win coach.

The same was true in this opening game. Thanks to George Karl's wrong strategy, Roger scored 48 points easily.

Roger did not forget to mock him after the game: "Coach George Karl's greatest strength is that he is very good at scolding his players. Apart from that, he is not good at anything else."

However, Roger, who scored 48 points in the opening game, did not dominate the headlines alone.

Because Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls' opening game was equally as dazzling.

In the first game of the season against the Hornets, Michael Jordan scored 42 points, Joe Dumars scored 15 points, and Rodman grabbed 27 rebounds in just 11 minutes. The Bulls won their first victory without a single blow, 105 to 91.

If you only look at the statistics, many fans would definitely think that the Bulls led from the beginning to the end.

But in fact, at the end of the first half, the Bulls were still 8 points behind.

The key change came in the third quarter, when the Bulls launched an exaggerated 40 to 18 offensive wave and completely won the game.

In the third quarter of the game, the Hornets suddenly seemed to have lost their ability to play, with numerous mistakes in their offense.

Larry Johnson, who was forced into 6 turnovers, 4 of which occurred in the third quarter, said bluntly: "I have no idea what happened. It felt like the Bulls were just playing around with you in the first half, and then suddenly bit through your throat like a lion in the third quarter."

The Bulls continued this state in the second game. Michael Jordan had a bad touch and only scored 41 points with a hit rate of 15%. Scott Pippen got a chance to prove himself, and then he once again strongly proved that he had no ability to lead the team. He scored 21 points, but his hit rate was even worse than Jordan's, only 38%.

Although Joe Dumars shot 60% from the field, his output was not high and he only scored 12 points in the whole game.

Rodman even took no shots in 22 minutes.

Judging by last season's standards, the Bulls were undoubtedly in a very bad situation in this game.

The result? They beat the Celtics by 22 points with an extremely poor shooting percentage!
The turning point was still in the third quarter, when the Bulls launched a 35-19 attack wave.

This is the difference between the Bulls and last season, their defense is more than twice as good as last season.

Joe Dumars completely abandoned scoring statistics and became a role player who only focused on organization and defense.

Dennis Rodman's integration with the triangle offense was perfect. He said, "It's not much harder than unbuttoning a woman's bra with one hand." Most importantly, he also played an extremely important role on the defensive end.

The addition of Rodman and Dumars made the Bulls' pressure defense go smoothly.

Of course, the Bulls were an old team: Jordan was 33, Rodman was 34, Pippen was 30, and Dumars was 32.

Aside from Longley, the starters are all over 30 years old.

So, the Bulls won't fight you to death right away.

As experienced people, they know how to proceed step by step. In the first half, they touch and tease each other. Then in the second half, they suddenly go straight to the point!

Through two trades during the offseason, the Bulls finally got back on track.

After that, the Bulls won three games in a row and won five games in a row at the beginning of the season.

Then, the most anticipated game in all of Chicago came.

In the past five games, the Orlando Magic have also achieved five consecutive wins.

There is only one reason why the Magic without O'Neal can win consecutive games - Roger.

In the second game against the Atlanta Hawks, facing Steve Smith's magical three-pointer of 8 out of 7, Roger led the team to complete a reversal in the final moments with 42 points in a single game.

Hawks owner Ted Turner attended the game in person because the Magic had two players he admired very much.

In 1988, Ted Turner already admired Matheulionis very much.

To this end, he invited Marciulionis and other Soviet players to participate in their training camp and arranged a friendly match between the Eagles and the Soviet Union. In the end, Ted Turner's sincerity also moved Marciulionis, and the day after winning the Olympic gold medal in Seoul, he signed a contract with the Eagles.

But in the end, the contract fell through because the Soviets did not allow their players to leave, and Marciulionis's entry into the NBA was delayed until 1989.

The second person Turner admired was Roger. He liked watching the boy play basketball, just like watching a beautiful hunting performance.

So, when Roger led the team to victory despite Steve Smith's almost unstoppable touch tonight, he, as the owner of the Eagles, almost jumped up and applauded Roger.

Really, he almost jumped up. If he hadn't thought about the bad influence, he would definitely do it.

After all, although it may not be nice to say this, he had no expectations for his team at all before the game.

He got to enjoy a great show, and that was worth it.

But after today's game, Ted Turner clearly felt the ruthlessness of time.

The European genius who he once had high hopes for can only sit on the bench now, without even the chance to take off his training suit.

Is he really going to finish?

Roger scored 40+ points for the second consecutive game, and his performance was extremely strong. In the next three games against the Bullets, Nets and Celtics, Roger also scored 35 points, 37 points and 41 points respectively.

In the first five games of the new season, Roger averaged 40.6 points per game and won the Player of the Week award in the first week of the new season without any suspense!
Roger's terrifying scoring ability is shocking. Even O'Neal did not expect Roger to be able to hand in such a data sheet.

then
He actually asked for leave from the team to go out and have fun!
O'Neal's injury was to his thumb, not his knee. In most cases, the injury would not affect his activities, he just couldn't play.

In addition, Roger's performance was so outstanding that the Sharks renewed their vacation contract with peace of mind.

"Man, I won't be there on the day of the game against the Bulls. I believe you can handle them!" O'Neal said to Roger on the phone.

But it is obvious that except O'Neal, everyone on both teams takes this game very seriously.

On one side, is the king of the alliance who has finally awakened.

On one side, there is a youth storm that averages 40.6 points per game.

On one side are the Old Ones who want to regain the throne.

On one side, there is the young king who wants to hold on to his throne.

This is bound to be a bloody war.

In fact, the war had already started before the game began.

Dennis Rodman received the attention he had always dreamed of after joining the Bulls this season.

He loves to show off. With the help of Jordan's halo and the Chicago stage, he took on one advertising endorsement after another and was pursued by various businesses. American supermodel Cindy Crawford even came to the United Center and took out her bra to ask for his autograph.

These made Big Worm very happy and made him love the Bulls even more.

Of course, he also appeared on many talk shows.

Three days before the game, Rodman started the fight while appearing on a local talk show in Illinois.

"Roger is so easy to defend, so damn easy to defend, he has no ability to fight. Do you know why he doesn't have a female partner? Because he can't. This is the fundamental difference between him and me.

Last season, Michael was surrounded by softies like Chris Webber, and I was surrounded by softies like David Robinson and Sean Elliott. So, Roger had an opportunity, and he would only look for people who were softer than himself to score.

But now, he has no chance, because there are no softies on the Chicago Bulls, and we will take care of that idiot like cutting a cake."

Rodman opened fire at full force, making the whole of America smell the smell of gunpowder.

Everyone believes that this game will be quite hardcore.

For all of America, this game on November 11th will make girlfriends ask themselves the soul-searching question, “Am I more important, or is the game more important?”

For China's student fans, it was a game in which they collectively shouted, "Teacher, my stomach really feels uncomfortable today."

Although O'Neal was not there, it did not affect the excitement of the game at all.

The game was played at the Magic's home court, but on the night of the game, the Bulls arrived at the Orlando Arena earlier than the Magic to warm up.

After all, the Bulls have lost eight consecutive games to the Magic, and they must not let this number continue across seasons.

Michael Jordan would never allow his influence to decline further.

He swore that giving up his hotel room to Roger would never happen again!

Roger also felt like he was facing a formidable enemy. If the Bulls still had obvious flaws last season, then the two trades made this summer clearly brought the Bulls back to life.

Facing such a bull, Roger certainly won't take it lightly.

There is no need for too many words when enemies meet. Although Rodman's remarks on the talk show were very tense, the two sides had almost no communication before the game started.

But after the game started, communication became very frequent.

In the third minute of the first quarter, Jordan had his first highlight moment of the game.

He caught the ball on the right side of the mid-range and raised it with one hand, making Harper subconsciously think that Jordan was going to shoot.

After tricking Harper into raising his center of gravity, Jordan immediately pulled the ball back with one hand. His big hand controlled the basketball so well that he could do whatever he wanted.

After Jordan recovered the ball, he immediately accelerated, causing Harper, who was trying to shift his center of gravity and move backward, to slip to the ground. Chicago's No. 23 used a simple one-handed fake move to knock Harper down, then went straight into the paint and dunked over Horace Grant, who was defending, and knocked him to the ground.

Jordan pointed at Grant and Harper, then shrugged: "You guys are only worthy of lying on the ground and looking up at me!"

Roger deliberately walked up and knocked Jordan away with his shoulder, pulled Grant and Harper up, and then taunted: "Just like you looked up at me when I knocked you down last season?"

As the leader of the team, Roger must stand up for his people at this time and let everyone know "I stand with you."

Jordan got very angry when he saw Roger's face, so he raised his hand and pushed him back.

Roger immediately turned around and pressed his forehead against Jordan's head. "Do you still want to experience the feeling of having titanium implants, old dog?"

Before Jordan could reply, another person pushed Roger away.

It was Dennis Rodman who had made rude remarks on the show before.

Roger was not angry, he was irritating Rodman: "Is that your new Rottweiler, Michael? The fur color is really weird."

Rodman also deliberately approached Roger, trying to ignite Roger's anger: "Ah, I hit something soft."

The Worm had a feud with Roger last season in the Spurs, and he wanted to beat Roger up at the time. If it weren't for Mackay's help, the Worm and Roger would have fought long ago.

Rodman has always been upset about this, so when he had the chance today, he immediately came up to pick a fight: "You only dare to talk nonsense and don't dare to touch me at all. And I can make you experience the pain you have never experienced before at any time."

"Indeed." Facing the aggressive beast, Roger did not back down. "I have never experienced the pain of being a dog. Tell me, Dennis, which one tastes stronger, Madonna's Puxi or Michael's Dick? Haven't you licked both? You just like to eat those things."

The referee blew the whistle frantically, and players from both teams hurriedly pulled Roger and Hua Da Chong apart.

The game had just begun and the tension had already escalated.

Although this conflict was settled, there were still minor frictions between the two sides in the following games.

After that, Roger responded to the Bulls with one score after another.

Roger scored smoothly. The only trouble was that Rodman and Pippen committed rough fouls on Roger again and again today, constantly interrupting Roger's rhythm.

The Magic were not to be outdone. Michael Cage and Grant were no pushovers either. They made Jordan experience the same thing.

The two sides had several quarrels due to mutual rough fouls, and the game was interrupted by sharp whistles.

NBC commentator Bob Costa feels that both sides are testing each other's bottom line, and if not controlled properly, this testing will sooner or later turn into a full-scale conflict.

At the end of the first half, Roger scored 18 points and the Magic were only 3 points behind.

To Orlando fans, the Bulls didn't seem much different from last season, and they still couldn't stop Roger.

But at the beginning of the third quarter, the Bulls' defense changed completely. This time, as soon as Roger crossed the half court, Pippen immediately pressed up and forced Roger to the wing.

When Roger broke into the narrow wing, Rodman immediately swung his arms to attack him.

Rodman's speed and timing of double-teaming are something Chris Webber will never be able to learn in his lifetime.

Seeing this, Roger immediately passed the ball back to Horace Grant, and the Cobra performed his open half-court shot as usual.

Last season, it was thanks to this dunk that he averaged 18 points per game in the series against the Bulls.

But this season is not that simple. The moment Horace Grant shot, Rodman rushed in front of him and blocked the shot.

Grant missed the shot and the Magic's offense failed.

Pippen had already slipped to the basket and protected the rebound.

The Bulls' counterattack started immediately. Pippen grabbed the rebound, dribbled two steps, and then passed the ball to Jordan who was running to the frontcourt.

Jordan flew with the ball, used his body to hold Harper who tried to block him, and successfully broke through, completing the counterattack with a one-handed dunk.

As soon as the third quarter started, the entire Magic team clearly felt that the rhythm of the game had changed.

It's like a knot around the neck. It's fine when it's loose, but now that it's tightened, it instantly makes people feel suffocated.

The game continued, Roger and Grant played pick-and-roll. In the playoffs last season, Roger almost killed the Bulls with this trick.

But the Worm did not let Roger succeed. His ability to defend pick-and-roll was not at the same level as Webber and Kukoc.

Rodman blocked Roger immediately, not giving him space to attack, nor allowing him to break through directly.

Pippen then immediately returned to his position and worked together with Rodman to complete the double-team.

Roger immediately passed the ball to Harper outside the right three-point line. His targeted passing practice during this holiday was not in vain.

Harper took a three-point shot before Dumars caught up, but unfortunately he missed.

"Bambi, are you lost?" Rodman deliberately mocked Roger who was forced to pass the ball.

Fortunately, the Magic retreated quickly this time and did not allow the Bulls to counterattack easily.

The Bulls were forced into position, and Dumars took advantage of Rodman's off-ball screen to run to the top of the arc outside the three-point line. Roger wanted to squeeze through, but Rodman, who set up the pick-and-roll, deliberately moved a step and knocked Roger down.

The referee blew the whistle, and it was a moving pick-and-roll that couldn't be more obvious.

Rodman pretended to be innocent in front of the referee, but then smirked at Roger: "Be careful, don't break your ribs."

Although he got the ball, Roger was very angry.

What’s even more infuriating is that the Magic failed to take advantage of the ball in the next attack.

Roger wanted to play without the ball in this round to avoid double team attacks.

But the Bulls used a pressure-and-double-team approach against all the Magic players.

Dumars pushed Harper into a tight wing, luring him into a baseline offer trap, just as he had done with Roger.

Roger hurried to the free throw line to receive the ball. Under strong pressure, Harper raised the ball over his head and was about to pass it when Rodman slapped it away!

The Magic's frustration had not yet dissipated when the Bulls launched another fierce counterattack.

The entire defending champion team immediately ran back, but they just became spectators of Jordan's dunk performance.

Rodman pointed at his temple and looked at Harper: "You guys are not smart here, right? You actually fell into the trap. Hey, should I give you the ball again?"

Jordan also uttered sweet words: "Roger, without Shaq, you are just a poor, helpless kid, and the whole league knows it. Go back to the locker room and call your dad Shaq and ask him to come see me."

In a flash, the Bulls were already leading by 7 points.

This is the secret to their killing of all opponents in the third quarter.

Their defense is extremely aggressive, forcing you to make mistakes and miss shots again and again, trampling on your dignity, and then trampling on it again with a beautiful dunk in the other half of the court, making you recall the pain and inferiority until you have a mental breakdown.

This season is precisely the season in which the Bulls have performed best in this type of pressure defense.

In the last two seasons, due to their aging, it was difficult for them to play such a pressure on the defensive end. By the 97-98 season, such pressure defense had basically withered, which is why the 72 wins were only this time.

But now the Chicago Bulls' defensive counterattack in the third quarter is something few teams can withstand!

Roger waved his hand and decided to hold the ball himself.

This time, the moment Roger received the ball, he was pressed by Pippen and Jordan. Roger seized the opportunity to pass the ball to McKay, but Jordan opened his big hands, and his slender legs touched the basketball, pushing the ball out of bounds.

After another failed attack, Michael Jordan clapped his hands loudly: "Poor guy, where did you pass the ball?"

Roger wanted to go to the sidelines to catch the sideline ball, but Jordan blocked Roger's way: "You thief, the FMVP last season should have belonged to O'Neal. Without him, you are nothing."

"Go away, Michael." Roger pushed Jordan away with his shoulder again, and the two sides had physical friction again.

And once this happens, Rodman will come over immediately.

He bumped into Roger roughly and kept chattering in Roger's ear: "Hey, have you ever experienced real pain? The kind that breaks bones."

McKay, the full-time bodyguard, immediately pushed Rodman away: "Stay away from him, I'll only say this once!"

Rodman laughed and opened his arms: "Come and fight me? You don't dare to do it. What's the point of just standing there and complaining?"

Pippen also joined the fray, pointing at the tip of Mackay's nose: "Get out of here, asshole, what does a nobody like you have to do with anything?"

Harper pushed Pippen's hand away and said, "Scott, what are you barking about?"

"How interesting! A small character is qualified to talk to me?"

The scene became chaotic again. This was the umpteenth time today that the two teams had been pushing and shoving each other and cursing at each other.

Thanks to the presence of good guy Joe Dumars. If it weren't for this pacifist, the two sides would have probably started fighting long ago.

The conflict was eventually settled with the efforts of the referee and Dumars, but Rodman remained unyielding after being separated: "It turns out that you are just a bunch of stubborn sissies. You don't even dare to come to the basket to fight me head-on, which is really pathetic. Roger, how are you? Can't find any softies to bully today?"

Jordan loves this guy with colorful hair. If it was Webber, he would probably be scared now. But look at Dennis, this is the real winner!

At this time, the Magic sent a sideline ball, and Roger pretended to go to the sideline to receive the ball, but in fact he quickly cut to the basket. McKay immediately stuffed the ball in, and Roger went straight to the basket after taking the ball, and jumped up and dunked directly when only Rodman rushed back to the restricted area!
Rodman knew it was too late for him to block the shot, but he wanted to teach Roger a lesson, so he jumped up and bumped into him roughly.

Roger's impact was beyond Rodman's expectation. Roger dunked the ball with both hands through the flower worm. Roger also deliberately grabbed the basket and opened his legs, sitting directly on Rodman's head.

"You're the number one fucking wimp! Only wimps get bullied by others!" Roger yelled while hanging on the basket. He responded harshly to Rodman's previous disrespect for him in his own way!

The crowd cheered immediately. Roger's dunk was really a relief. It not only taught Rodman a lesson, but also stopped the Bulls' momentum of scoring.

Although Rodman is a bad boy, he rarely gets really angry. Most of the time, he deliberately messes with other people's mentality and makes them suffer.

But Roger's extremely humiliating actions and verbal insults really made Rodman angry.

He grabbed Roger who was riding on his head with one hand, and threw him to the ground over his shoulder!
Roger fell heavily to the ground. The tense situation between the two sides was like a balloon that was inflated too full at this moment.

Finally it exploded!
NBC commentator Bob Costa was right. The probing finally turned into a full-blown conflict.

Rodman didn't know the atmosphere had changed. He still pretended to be innocent in front of the referee, then looked at Roger: "Come and hit me, bastard, with your fist that is so soft that even girls feel heartbroken. Come on, come and hit me, come on"

Before he could finish his words, Derek McKay punched Rodman in the face, fulfilling his long-cherished wish.

Rodman's face was covered in blood and his nose was broken.

Pippen immediately rushed up and locked McKay's neck from behind. Roger also climbed up and tried to pry Pippen's hands open.

But Roger's intervention did not stop the fight, but escalated it. Pippen had always hated Roger, and he had not forgotten the time when Roger beat him up in the locker room during his rookie season. That incident made him lose face and became a laughing stock in the entire league!
Damn it, Roger deserves to be beaten the most!

So Pippen let go and punched Roger instead.

But Roger immediately stepped back and just avoided Pippen's fist. Then the next moment, Harper rushed out and hugged Pippen: "Stop hitting me!"

Roger read the attack instantly, which was a classic "Dr. J-Flying Pig-Big Bird" double-team tactic.

Facing Pippen who was accused of being dead on the spot, Roger threw two punches with all his might.

The two punches were so solid that Pippen felt dizzy and spat out several teeth. He roared angrily: "I'm going to kill you, bastard!"

However, the only thing he could do was to be so helpless and furious, because Harper held him tightly throughout the entire court, making it impossible for him to move even a step, and he could do nothing.

"Shut up, you piece of shit!" Roger raised his middle finger at Pippen, then broke free from the people who were pulling him and ran towards McKay and Rodman who were struggling on the ground.

At this time, the players who came to separate the fight were divided into two groups.

One group was grabbing Pippen, while the other group fell to the ground to stop McKay from beating Rodman.

After McKay broke Rodman's nose, he pounced on the big beast and punched him several times until someone came to pull him away.

Roger also joined the crowd trying to pull Rodman and McKay apart, but Roger's purpose was obviously different from others. He was not the kind of person who would smile and shake hands with others after they threw him down.

After rushing into the crowd, Roger took advantage of the chaos and attacked Rodman who was pinned at the bottom.

Anyway, he already has a criminal record for the fight with Pippen, so if that’s the case, he might as well make his money back in one go!
Roger seized the opportunity and punched Rodman crazily, shouting as he punched, "I'll satisfy your request, Dennis! I can still find a weakling to bully today, and that's you, Dennis!"

In between, Jordan yelled, "Damn it, who hit me!?"

He was also satisfied by the way.

When the two sides were really pulled apart, Rodman's face and head were covered in blood, and he dared not shout anymore. His rude words before the game and the provocation during the game made him pay a heavy price.

Rodman is still confused. After many years in the martial arts world, he has always been accustomed to provoking his opponents, but most of his opponents do not have the courage to beat him.

But in Orlando. No, you really beat me!

Pippen also had a bruised face and several teeth missing. He wanted to take advantage of the chaos to avenge Roger, but he got beaten up again!
Every time, he can prove his incompetence just right!
On the other hand, Roger and McKay's faces were very clean and they passed the level without any damage.

Pippen and Rodman were helped off the court amid the cheers of the fans.

Roger and Harper were naturally sent off directly.

Walking into the player tunnel, McKay looked at Roger and said, "Didn't I tell you? That's all my job. You don't have to get your hands dirty."

Roger didn't care: "But I can't just watch you get choked by someone else. I'm also a member of this team, and I will stand up for anyone!"

McKay was stunned. He didn't expect a superstar to say such words.

After a while, McKay managed to utter awkwardly, "Thank you."

But soon, he sighed: "Brian will be like an erupting volcano tomorrow."

Roger shrugged. "Think about something happy, Derek. At least, we had a great time beating up those two bastards. Did you see how miserable they were just now? Haha, I really miss their unruly appearance before."

Although both teams were missing two main players, the Bulls still had Jordan, so they finally broke the embarrassing eight-game losing streak against the Magic.

What was even more embarrassing was that no one cared about this victory. Michael Jordan's dominance did not recover after winning this game.

Now, all people care about is the fight.

Jordan won, but it seemed like he won nothing.

I swear, I just wanted to stop Scott and stop it from getting worse. How can you say I was biased? I was never that kind of person. I didn't even know how to be biased in a game. - Ron Harper righteously talked about his holding Pippen.

It was a dirty game. The league should ban Dennis Rodman for life. What he did to Roger was too much! Not only Roger, but Scott was also the first to shoot! Roger was just defending his own safety, and Derek was defending the safety of his teammates. I don't think they did anything wrong! ——Horace Grant supported his teammates.

We have hundreds of ways to solve the problem, but they chose the stupidest one! ——Brian Hill angrily talked about Roger and McKay being sent off.

I didn't take advantage of the chaos to beat up Jordan. You should have evidence for what you say. - Derek McKay spread his hands innocently.

"Roger, what do you think of this fight?"

"It doesn't matter what I think. What matters is that people see the fact that Dennis Rodman is essentially a softie. I said this last season and I proved it again this season."

"Where's Scott?"

"Scott is a lovely guy." Roger even laughed.

"What kind of punishment do you think the league will give you?"

"That's David's concern. I only know that when faced with an insult from the other party, you have to fight back. If you submit to it, you will only face more serious bullying. This principle should be written into high school textbooks!"

"Ah?" The reporter from the Sentinel was stunned for a moment, and then he really wanted to give Roger a thumbs up.

Because the last paragraph directly elevates the theme of this fight!
Fighting requires a clever excuse, and Roger has figured this out.

(End of this chapter)