12/03/2008 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Raptors fired head coach Sam Mitchell on Wednesday, as announced by team president and general manager Bryan Colangelo.
"This is a difficult but necessary step the franchise must take," said Colangelo. "We appreciate all that Sam has done for the organization, applaud him for his successes and wish him nothing but the best with his future in basketball."
Assistant coach Jay Triano will serve as interim head coach.
The Raptors, who sit at 8-9 on the young season, are in the midst of a three- game road trip that began with a 13-point loss to the Lakers on Sunday. But a 132-93 shellacking at the hands of Denver on Tuesday proved to be the breaking point for the Toronto brass.
In four-plus seasons as Raptors head coach, Mitchell posted a 156-189 record with two playoff appearances -- in the 2006-07 and 2007-08 campaigns, both ending in first-round exits. Mitchell also garnered Coach of the Year honors for the 2006-07 season when the Raptors finished with a franchise-record tying 47 wins.
Triano, who was the head coach of the Canadian men's national team from 1998-2004, is in his seventh season as a member of the Raptors' coaching staff.
Triano will debut as interim head coach on Friday, when Toronto visits Utah.
<< Udinese through to next round with win over Zagreb
Udine, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Udinese remained perfect in Group D play in
the UEFA Cup as the Italian side booked a spot in the next round with a 2-1
win over Dinamo Zagreb at the Stadio Friuli on Wednesday.
Fabio Quagliarella put
<< Jags CB Mathis out for season
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Rashean
Mathis will miss the rest of the season after injuring his knee.
Mathis, who leads the team with four interceptions, sprained his medial
collateral ligame
<< Seattle places center Spencer on IR
Renton, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seattle Seahawks center Chris Spencer was
placed on injured reserve Wednesday.
Spencer started all 11 games played this season, and 35 consecutive, before
being sidelined with a back injury during the
<< Line of Scrimmage: Week 14 - Weighing in on StarCaps
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After his team defeated the Chicago Bears
to take over first place in the NFC North this past Sunday night, Minnesota
Vikings head coach Brad Childress told the media he celebrated by having "a
vodka as big a
Mariners name pitching, bullpen coaches >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners Wednesday named Rick Adair
pitching coach and John Wetteland bullpen coach.
The two additions to new manager Don Wakamatsu's 2009 staff join bench coach
Ty Van Burkleo and first base coac
Wie five back after first round of Q School >>
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shiho Oyama, ranked 42nd in the Rolex
Rankings, fired an eight-under 64 on Wednesday to take the first-round lead of
the 90-hole LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament.
Amateur Mika Miyazato shot a six-unde
Report: Tuberville era ends at Auburn >>
Birmingham, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tommy Tuberville will reportedly no longer
be roaming the sideline for the Auburn Tigers football team.
The report, from the Birmingham News on Wednesday, did not indicate whether
the longtime coach w
Vikings sign DT Kennedy >>
Eden Prairie, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One day after defensive tackles Pat
Williams and Kevin Williams were among six players suspended four games for a
violation of the league's policy on anabolic steroids and related substances,
the Min
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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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