LOS ANGELES: The Los Angeles Lakers fired coach Mike Brown on Friday after a 1-4 start to his second season in charge.
Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak announced the surprising move several hours before they hosted Golden State. Assistant coach Bernie Bickerstaff will coach the Lakers against the Warriors.
“This was a difficult and painful decision to make,” Kupchak said. “Mike was very hard-working and dedicated, but we felt it was in the best interest of the team to make a change at this time. We appreciate Mike’s efforts and contributions and wish him and his family the best of luck.”
Los Angeles began the season with championship expectations after trading for center Dwight Howard and point guard Steve Nash, adding two superstars alongside Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol.
But the Lakers went 0-8 during the preseason last month for the first time in franchise history before stumbling into the regular season with an 0-3 start, losing to Dallas, Portland and the Clippers. After finally beating Detroit last Sunday for their first win, the Lakers looked listless again in a loss at Utah on Wednesday.
The Lakers’ 1-4 record is the worst in the Western Conference, and owner Jim Buss had seen enough of the coach he hired just 18 months earlier to replace 11-time NBA champion Phil Jackson. Brown signed a four-year deal worth roughly $18 million in May 2011.
“It’s a pretty direct message to all of us,” Gasol said while leaving the Lakers’ shootaround Friday morning in El Segundo. “There’s no messing around. It’s time for all of us to step it up.”
While Lakers fans had reacted with their usual panic whenever the 16-time NBA champions lose a few games in a row, Kupchak and Buss publicly appeared to stand firmly behind Brown, the longtime Cleveland Cavaliers coach. Brown had pleaded for patience with his integration of several new players into his lineup while everybody learned a new offense.
“I have great respect for the Buss family and the Lakers’ storied tradition, and I thank them for the opportunity they afforded me,” Brown said in a statement issued by the Lakers. “I have a deep appreciation for the coaches and players that I worked with this past year, and I wish the organization nothing but success as they move forward.”
Brown’s players all were fully behind him in public, with Bryant vocally suggesting critics of the Lakers’ new offense should give them time to get it working. Bryant missed a significant portion of training camp while dealing with minor injuries, and Nash has a small fracture in his leg that has kept him out of the lineup since the Lakers’ second game.
Yet the Lakers had given no indication they might pull one of the earliest coaching changes in NBA history until Kupchak gathered the players Friday morning to inform them of the decision.
“He told us the decision was made,” Gasol said. “We didn’t have a good start, and this is a team that was built to win. That’s what we’re all here to do.”
Along with the usual urgency accompanying any Lakers season, Howard is under contract for just one more season before the six-time All-Star center can become a free agent. The Lakers’ core players around Howard are all over 30, and the 38-year-old Nash barely made his debut before getting sidelined.
Los Angeles went 41-25 and reached the second round of the playoffs last season in Brown’s debut, losing to Oklahoma City. Brown received criticism even for that largely successful season, with Magic Johnson predicting Brown would be fired if the Lakers lost to Denver in the first round.
Brown implemented a new offensive scheme this fall that didn’t appear to suit his players’ talents, yet the Lakers also played spotty defense, Brown’s specialty. The Princeton-based offense received ridicule, but Bryant and his teammates largely defended the motion scheme, saying they needed time to implement it.
“I don’t think we lost faith at any moment,” Gasol said. “I think we all believed in what we were trying to do. We also understood it was going to take a little bit of time to do things the way they should have been done. As far as our game, it wasn’t happening as fast as we all wanted it to.”
Brown is a protégé of San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich. He led Cleveland to the 2007 NBA finals and went 272-138 with the Cavaliers, becoming the most successful coach in franchise history while compiling the league’s best regular-season record in each of his last two seasons.
The 68-year-old Bickerstaff joined Brown’s coaching staff in September. He was a head coach in Charlotte, Seattle, Denver and Washington, going 415-517.
Lakers fire coach Mike Brown after 1-4 start
Lakers fire coach Mike Brown after 1-4 start
Ex-Turkiye boss Terim named Al-Shabab coach
- Terim won the 2000 UEFA Cup with Galatasary
RIYADH: Former Turkiye and Galatasaray coach Fatih Terim was appointed Al-Shabab boss on Friday.
Terim, who won the 2000 UEFA Cup with the Turkish outfit, replaces Victor Pereira in charge of the sixth place team in the Saudi Pro League.
The 71-year-old’s last job was with Greece’s Panathinaikos, but he left at the end of last season.
In Saudi Arabia, Terim will overlook a squad including Belgium winger Yannick Carrasco and Italy midfielder Giacomo Bonaventura.
Terim is set to work under Al-Shabab’s director of football, former Juventus and Czech Republic midfielder Pavel Nedved.
“Having been a player with Juventus for years, he’s also done a lot as a director of football,” Terim told reporters at Istanbul airport before flying to start his new job.
“I’m very happy to be with him, I think he was a great footballer, a great name and an important symbol,” the former AC Milan and Fiorentina boss added.
Hosts Kuwait held by Qatar, Oman and UAE play out draw in Arabian Gulf Cup
- 101st-minute equalizer rescued point for Qatar
- Oman progress, UAE crash out
LONDON: Group A of the Arabian Gulf Cup came to its conclusion on Friday, with hosts Kuwait and Oman both securing the points they needed to progress to the semifinals.
Kuwait thought they had beaten their Gulf rivals with a goal from Mohammad Daham in the 74th minute of the match at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait City.
But a 101st-minute equalizer from Mohammed Muntari deep into stoppage time rescued some pride for the Qataris, who crashed out of the tournament by failing to win.
In the day’s other match, Oman faced the UAE in another crucial encounter.
The match ended in a 1-1 draw, which secured Oman’s advancement to the next stage and brought the UAE’s campaign to an end.
Al-Ahli Dubai midfielder Yahya Al-Ghassani had given the Emiratis a half-time lead, but they were pegged back by an Abdulrahman Al-Mushaifri equalizer 11 minutes from the end.
The group stages of the Arabian Gulf Cup conclude on Saturday with the final matches in Group B.
Saudi Arabia need a victory against Iraq to guarantee a semifinal spot, while already-qualified Bahrain will look to make it three wins from three when they play Yemen.
Argentine FA opens new Middle East office in Dubai
- Body will now boast permanent base in region, office planned for Saudi Arabia
DUBAI: The Argentine Football Association has expanded its presence in the Middle East with the opening of a new office located in the UAE, and the current world champions are also expected to soon boast a similar presence in Saudi Arabia.
Leandro Petersen, the association’s chief commercial and marketing officer, and Pablo Diaz, head of its international relations, were in attendance at the office’s opening in Dubai.
Located at prime locations, the new offices will enable the Argentine FA to build strategic partnerships and elevate its profile both locally and regionally.
Petersen said: “The opening of a Middle East office is a huge moment for us as we look to establish a permanent presence in the region, giving us a platform to strengthen ties and enhance our current offerings.
“Naturally, having become world champions in Qatar, the Middle East is a region which means so much to not only the Argentinian Football Association, but the entire country, and we are delighted to have a base from where we can build important long-term relationships with both fans and businesses.
“This region is undoubtedly now one of the key global markets, and for us to be positioned in Dubai will open up many opportunities as we expand our presence on a global level.”
It was announced earlier this year that the Argentine FA had partnered with DUNE | 23, a leading UAE-based marketing and communications agency focused on the sport and entertainment sector.
The official ribbon-cutting ceremony took place on Friday at the new DUNE | 23 offices in Dubai. The event was attended by managing partners Lloyd McMillan and Jamie Hosie, who joined Argentine FA representatives to mark the occasion.
Hosie said: “We are proud to partner with the Argentinian Football Association to strengthen its presence across the region.
“Together, we aim to create dynamic events, produce engaging digital content, and unlock new commercial opportunities to ensure the Argentinian FA remains at the forefront of football in the Middle East.”
Howe hopes Newcastle have ‘moved on’ in last two seasons
- Newcastle reached the Champions League for the first time in 20 years when they qualified for last season’s competition
- Newcastle slipped to 12th place after a 4-2 defeat at Brentford on December 7, but have since rallied
LONDON: Eddie Howe hopes his current Newcastle team have “moved on” from the one which finished fourth in the Premier League two seasons ago.
The Magpies continued an impressive run of results on Thursday by beating 10-man Aston Villa 3-0 at St. James’ Park — their fourth straight win in all competitions.
Newcastle climbed to fifth in the table and within six points of second-placed Chelsea.
Newcastle reached the Champions League for the first time in 20 years when they qualified for last season’s competition.
“I’d hope we’ve moved on from that team,” Howe said.
“You can never go back in time and replicate what that team was. That team was an outstanding side...
“But you can never go back. It’s all about the future. We’ve signed some new players, the dynamic is slightly different and for me, the evolution of the team always had to be that we wanted to be better with the ball, we wanted to control the game more with the ball.”
Newcastle went ahead in just the second minute through Anthony Gordon’s strike before Villa striker Jhon Duran was controversially sent off.
Further goals from Alexander Isak — his 10th in as many league games — and Joelinton secured all three points.
Newcastle slipped to 12th place after a 4-2 defeat at Brentford on December 7, but have since rallied.
“We’re shooting for whatever we can shoot for,” Howe said when asked about Newcastle’s top-four hopes.
“We’ll take small steps, we’ll go game-by-game, but I’m really heartened by how the team is playing.”
Markram leads South Africa to 180-5 in 1st Test against Pakistan
- Aiden Markram was batting on an attractive 81 off 123 balls before Pakistan hit back with two wickets in the latter half of the first session
- Pakistan were dismissed for 211 on Day 1 after Dane Paterson grabbed his second successive five-wicket haul, Corbin Bosch claimed 4-63
CENTURION: Opening batter Aiden Markram closed in on his eighth Test century and led South Africa to 180-5 at lunch on the second day of the first Test against Pakistan on Friday.
South Africa, which needs to win one of the two Test matches against Pakistan to seal a place in the final of the World Test Championship at Lord’s next year, trails the visitors by 31 on a pitch tailor-made for fast bowlers.
Markram was batting on an attractive 81 off 123 balls before Pakistan hit back with two wickets in the latter half of the first session with captain Temba Bavuma (31) and David Bedingham (30) both edging behind the wickets.
Wicketkeeper-batter Kyle Verreynne was yet to score but Markram stood tall in the first session and helped South Africa score 98 runs before lunch for the loss of two wickets.
Resuming on 82-3, Markram completed his half century with an exquisite cover driven boundary off Naseem Shah and stretched the fourth-wicket stand to 70 runs with Bavuma before Pakistan got its first breakthrough.
Aamer Jamal was rewarded for his persistent length balls to Bavuma as the South African skipper finally got a thick outside edge while going for a loose drive.
Bedingham counterattacked from the onset, smashing five boundaries in his 33-ball knock and also survived when Pakistan unsuccessfully went for an lbw television review against Naseem Shah’s full pitched delivery, which television replays suggested would have missed the leg stump.
However, Naseem didn’t have to wait long as Bedingham was beaten by some extra bounce and nicked it in the first slip in the penultimate over before lunch.
Pakistan was dismissed for 211 on Day 1 after Dane Paterson (5-61) grabbed his second successive five-wicket haul and debutant Corbin Bosch claimed 4-63, which included a wicket with his first ball in Test cricket.
