Ode to Wayne Monte Rollins, aka Tree

Retired NBA center Tree Rollins is responsible for one of the best double entendre newspaper headlines ever. CNNSI Inside the NBA’s Ian Thomsen explains.

In a 1983 first-round playoff game with Atlanta, [Boston player Danny] Ainge tried to tackle Tree Rollins. Ainge shrieked in pain from the ensuing tangled pile of bodies.

“We got into a little scuffle out on the court by the foul line and he almost bit my finger off,” Ainge said. “He bit it all the way through. I had to get two stitches.” (…)

The next day, the Boston Herald published one of the great headlines: “Tree Bites Man.”