"I wouldn't say everybody's in their best shape, but we're not used to playing with each other yet," Rose said with a smile. "We have two-a-days (today), so I think we'll play a lot better."
Bernie Bickerstaff interviewed for a position on Vinny Del Negro's first coaching staff Monday. Recently ousted from the Bobcats' organization, Bickerstaff owns a career head-coaching mark of 414-512 in stints with the Sonics, Nuggets, Washington Bullets/Wizards and Bobcats.
Bickerstaff followed interviews with former head coaches Bob Hill, Paul Westphal and Del Harris that took place last week. But with draft preparation dominating this week, it's unlikely the Bulls will announce anything official on assistant coaches this week.
Del Negro has talked to holdovers Pete Myers and Ron Adams, both of whom will remain in the organization if not on the bench. It's likely Paxson will find front-office roles for both.
Paul Westphal, who coached the Phoenix Suns against the Bulls in the 1993 NBA Finals, interviewed Wednesday for an assistant's job on Vinny Del Negro's first staff, sources said.
Westphal went 267-159 in stints with the Suns and SuperSonics over five full seasons and parts of two others. He worked on Avery Johnson's staff last season in Dallas.
At his introductory news conference, Del Negro said he would seek the most qualified staff but stressed previous head coaching experience wasn't mandatory.
Nevertheless, Westphal's interview follows one for Bob Hill, who went 310-293 in head coaching stints with the Knicks, Pacers, Spurs and Sonics. Hill last coached in 2006-07, going 31-51 in Seattle.
Both Hill and Westphal are considered creative offensive minds who could serve as the lead assistant for that area. As for defense, the Bulls are considering making a run at Tom Thibodeau, whose one-year contract with the Celtics is expiring.
Thibodeau received the lion's share of credit for orchestrating the Celtics' league-leading defense this season. Given that his efforts helped Boston secure an NBA championship, prying him loose could be difficult—and pricey.
Yet Thibodeau is someone who intrigued the Bulls enough that he landed on the original list of candidates for the head coaching job that went to Del Negro.
Veteran head coaches Del Harris and Bernie Bickerstaff also could be interviewed for positions on Del Negro's staff.
Bickerstaff, currently the Bobcats' general manager, went 414-512 in stints with the Sonics, Nuggets, Washington Bullets/Wizards and Bobcats. Harris, who made noises about retiring after last serving as an assistant in Dallas, owns a career record of 556-457 in stints with the Rockets, Bucks and Lakers.
General manager John Paxson has said organizational jobs will exist for holdovers Pete Myers and Ron Adams if Del Negro chooses not to have them on his bench.
Mike Wilhelm will return to his role as the Bulls' advance scout.
The bear hug was more survival than celebration, a spent embrace between Tiger Woods and his caddy 91 holes deep into this forever U.S. Open. Rocco Mediate’s final putt had failed to fall on the playoff round’s first extra playoff hole and finally this 14th major was Tiger’s to embrace with a grip perhaps tighter and more appreciative than any other.
It wasn’t just outlasting Rocco here with the midday California sun beating down, it wasn’t even Woods’ second consecutive 18th hole-overtime-forcing birdie, it wasn’t even winning a mental and physical test of wills – 358 strokes to 359.
If it was just that, then maybe Woods wouldn’t have been calling this his greatest major championship.
“I think this is the best,” he said. “This week had a lot of doubt to it, to be honest with you.”
This was about Woods simply not allowing himself to lose, perhaps because of how much he knows this one might wind up meaning. It wasn’t just how difficult it was, it was the fear that this is how difficult it may be from here on out.
Chuck Person, Dwane Casey and Vinny Del Negro have been told a decision on the Bulls' coaching job is imminent, according to sources close to all three candidates.
Those three interviewed last week—Person and Casey for the second time—as general manager John Paxson prepared for what he likely sensed was inevitable: the mutual decision of Doug Collins and Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf to end Collins' candidacy.
Sources said the Bulls talked with Del Negro on Saturday, and there were some indications the Suns' assistant general manager had emerged as the front-runner despite owning no previous coaching experience.
Jim McKayelegantly covered competitions from badminton to barrel jumping. Yet he may best be remembered for that grim day at the Munich Olympics when he broke the news with three simple words: “They’re all gone.”
"There's nobody who is an assistant coach who doesn't want to be a head coach," said Ewing. "Unless you've already been a head coach and you're older and you're just putting in hours until you retire. I'm young. I'd definitely want to be a head coach one day. And I'm disappointed I didn't get a call, yeah.
"I think I'm an up and coming coach. I think I'm going to be a good head coach one day. Even if I don't get the job, I felt I deserved at least to get an interview."
Rambis, 50, went 25-13 in 1999 when he took over for Del Harris as Lakers interim coach. He also led the team during training camp last season when Phil Jackson recovered from hip surgery.
''I always felt I would coach someday,'' Hornacek said in a telephone interview after meeting with Paxson. ''I felt like my coaches looked at me as a coach on the floor, and I tried to take that responsibility. Before I got to the NBA, I probably never thought I'd coach in the league. Before then, I thought I'd probably end up coaching a college team.''
''I've been blessed with having some great coaches,'' Hornacek said. ''With Cotton, we didn't have a lot of set plays. He was more about pushing the ball up the court and trusting you. He was very positive, very upbeat and just gave us great confidence. He would tell you taking an open 18-foot jumper early in the shot clock was just as good as a layup in the final seconds. Johnny Orr was a lot like that, too.''
“After discussing my options with my wife, family and agent, I felt it is time to start a new chapter in my life,” he said in a statement released by his agent, Dan Lozano. “It has been an amazing journey.”
The 24-year-old lefty, who survived cancer to pitch the World Series clincher for the Boston Red Sox last fall, shut down Kansas City 7-0 Monday night for the first no-hitter in the majors this season.
"Really, words can't describe it right now," Lester said.
Lester (3-2) allowed just two baserunners, walking Billy Butler in the second inning and Esteban German to open the ninth.
Lester struck out nine, fanning Alberto Callaspo to end the game before pumping both fists in the air. It was Lester's first major league complete game, and what a way to do it.
The word I just got from a source at ESPN is that ... ESPN has big plans for expanding ESPN Classic into potentially an ESPN3, with the English Premier League as one of the station's marquee draws. That whole scenario may wind up being wishful thinking but what is clear is the ESPN is interested in the EPL rights.
"I have given it my all and it has been fun. I came back from an injury last year. I am healthy. I feel good. I have started strong this season and I will be leaving the game on my own terms.”
"If somebody comes up to me and says, 'Hello,' unless I recognize their voice, I have no idea who they are," Davis said. "In the bowling alley, looking straight down the wooden lane, I'm completely blind. Everything is just very, very hazy."
When an international court ruled Friday that a double-amputee sprinter from South Africa was eligible to compete in this summer’s Olympic Games in Beijing, the stage was set for disabled athletes to meet their own trailblazer.
The watershed ruling made the runner, Oscar Pistorius, the first amputee to successfully challenge the notion that his carbon-fiber prosthetics gave him an unfair advantage and assured his right to race against able-bodied athletes in the Olympics, should he qualify. Previously barred from competing in such races by track and field’s world governing body, Pistorius will continue to stoke the debate over the competitive issues created by evolving technology in sports.
The ruling’s direct impact on disabled athletes could be limited, in part because Pistorius, 21, still must post a time fast enough to qualify for the Games. Yet his victory Friday in the Court of Arbitration for Sport sent a message that could long resonate among Paralympians.
NFL owners might opt out of the existing labor agreement as soon as Tuesday when they hold their next meetings in Atlanta, according to league sources.
One management source called it a "high likelihood" that the owners will exercise their option to terminate the agreement, which will trigger a number of alternatives, including a potential work stoppage by 2011. Another source said "be prepared" for the action, although it was "not a 100 percent proposition yet."
An NFL Players Association source said, "We expect it to happen."
