The New Jersey Devils need a head coach. The top assistant for the just-crowned NHL champion Chicago Blackhawks would love to be rewarded with his own head-coaching job.
Could Mike Haviland be the next Devils' head coach?
Speaking of coaches, we know that Avery Johnson is now the man in New Jersey, even if he hasn't finished squeezing a few million dollars extra out of the Nets. Johnson had a terrific .735 winning percentage in Dallas, but flamed out. In Dallas, they are wondering if Johnson, a control freak with the Mavericks, will be able to change his ways.
Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov, the Russian billionaire, must assume is Johnson will be better at his second coaching stop than he was at his first. No panicking when things get tough or when a player does something silly.
When Josh Howard threw himself a birthday party in 2008, Johnson basically walked out on the team the next day at practice. A few days later, he was fired.
If Johnson had a fault when he was with the Mavericks, it's that he didn't listen – to his assistants or pretty much anybody else. It was his show.
Nothing wrong with that. Strong leaders are good. But a little flexibility will go a long way in New Jersey, where Johnson will be reunited with Devin Harris. If there isn't more give-and-take in that relationship than when they were Mavericks, the two won't last long.
It'll be up to Johnson to prove he's learned a thing or two.
Why doesn't Major League Baseball just have the Baltimore Orioles forfeit to the New York Yankees, especially when CC Sabathia is pitching? The Orioles never win, so what's the point of playing?
Speaking of O's-Yanks, at least one Baltimore writer was not too happy with catcher Francisco Cervelli's fist-pump after Sabathia whiffed Luke Scott with the bases loaded to protect a 3-2 Yankee lead. I never heard of Steve Melewski before, but I will give him a pass. He does, after all, write about a team that knows nothing about winning. Sorry the Yankees actually care -- and that they show it sometimes -- Stevie.
If you like it sticking it to ESPN once in a while (and who doesn't?) you might rejoice in the news that the Worldwide Leader is being forced to close the ESPN Zone in New York City.