Fired & Ice

Mike Woodson/ Chris J Nelson - Wikimedia

Who calls the Grim Reaper for the coaches at the end of the season? There has been six coaching changes in the NBA since the 2014 regular season has ended. They have been fired for either a poor record or the team does not like the coach.

The president of the New York Knicks, Phil Jackson, decided to fire Mike Woodson at the end the 2013 - 2014 season for their losing record. This season marked the first time that the Knicks did not make the playoffs since 2010. It was also the first time that Carmelo Anthony did not play in postseason.

“The move had been expected since Jackson's arrival, with the notion of a long and unexpected playoff run likely Woodson's only hope for being retained,” Sam Amick said in a 2014 USA TODAY article. 

Although a coach may do exceedingly well record wise, there still may be dysfunction among upper management or the other coaching staff. Coach Mark Jackson of the Golden State Warriors, was fired after the Warriors made it to the second round of the playoffs. Jackson brought the team to the playoffs the second time in a row since 1990.

“While Jackson was the Warriors' most successful coach since Don Nelson, tension between him and the front office slowly percolated over the last year,” Tyler Conway said in a 2014 Bleacher Report article.

The disunity caused the team to have a very powerful defense, but not the most coordinated offense. Management blamed Jackson for not finding a way to utilize All-Stars Steph Curry and Andre Iguodala’s skills to lead them further. They finished 51-31 in the Western Conference and yet Jackson was not able to salvage his job.

“When management and a coaching staff aren't on the same page, it's bound to end badly,” Conway said. “There is shared blame here, but it's much harder to fire an owner than a coach.”

NBA coaches were playing basketball before some of the players were even born, and yet, the players still get to call the shots. A coach can get the boot if the veteran players such as Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol don’t like the style of coaching. Mike D’Antoni, coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, was pressured to resign after the Lakers worst season in its history ending in only 27 wins. Gasol and Bryant both openly voiced opposition to the D’Antoni system, causing tension among the team and staff.

"It's more of a finesse game,” Bryant said in a 2014 ESPN article. "It's more small ball, which, personally, I don't really care much for."

Mark Jackson (l.) / Matthew Addie - Flickr

Many general managers say that it is time to move the team in a different direction in regards to firing a coach. This is the case with the ex-coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Mike Brown. In 2005, Brown started a five season saga with the Cavs, went to the Lakers for a year, and then back to Cleveland. The GMs have the power to treat these coaches like baseball cards. They can be used, traded or dismissed. The GMs and president will not give an actual reason to why the coach was fired.

“Although, there was some progress from our finish over the few prior seasons, we believe we need to head in a different direction,” Dan Gilbert said in a team release. “We wish Mike and his family nothing but the best.”

At the end of the 2013 regular season, 11 coaches were fired. Most of them were because of a lack of wins, but some coaches have been doing it right.

“The San Antonio Spurs' Gregg Popovich and Miami Heat's Erik Spoelstra are two of the league's three longest-tenured coaches” Amick said in a 2013 USA TODAY article.

These two veteran coaches are able to find an effective strategy utilizing their many all stars. Popovich and Spoelstra currently control two of the best teams in the NBA and they will continue to do so. They know how to run their offense and defense to the best of the abilities of their players.

With coaches getting let go left and right, there is a lot of speculation on what makes a good coach besides producing wins. This trend of a third of the leagues teams’ looking to pick up a new coach after a mediocre season will likely happen for several years to come.

By Willy Herman & Shawn Watts

Injuries hold the Yankees back from victory

Derek Jeter / By Keith Allison - Flickr.com

The New York Yankees are off to a rocky start this season due to their loss of three superstar players. Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, and Curtis Granderson all were injured prior to the start of the 2013 season, leaving only three players from the 2012 starting lineup present on opening day.

Yankees captain Derek Jeter has been at every opening day for the past 16 seasons; however, he was not able to play in the season opener due to a broken ankle he suffered in the American League Championship Series last October. He played during spring training even though he was in pain, which is what he believes led to breaking his ankle once again. "It was something that I hurt it, I continued to play on it, probably when I shouldn't have," he said to BleacherReport.com. "But I continued to play on it and then eventually it broke."

First baseman Mark Teixeira is also not able to play for the first few months of the 2013 season due to a wrist injury. Teixeira is still staying healthy by working with the team's strength and conditioning coach for two-and-a-half hours each day attempting to stabilize his wrist muscles. It is not known when he will return because the recovery time for a wrist injury is unpredictable."You never know when you're coming back from a wrist. You can have a setback. Everything's always a timetable. Timetables change. Sometimes it's shorter, too," Yankees’ manager Joe Girardi said to Newsday.com.

The Yankees’ center fielder and leading home run hitter Curtis Granderson was also injured during spring training when he took a fastball to his right forearm. He is expected to return to play in mid-May; however, the Yankees want to make sure that he is fully recovered before including him in the lineup. “It’s just something that I’ve thought about. I don’t know how many games he would have in his rehab coming back, and that’s a concern for me. So I want him to be comfortable wherever he’s at, because his bat’s real important to us,” said Girardi to MLB.com.

All three of these players made a tremendous contribution to the 2012 season. Both Jeter and Granderson helped their teams offense, while Teixeira impacted the defense. Jeter had an incredible year, finishing with 216 hits, the most in baseball. Granderson also had a great season; he hit 43 home runs, drove in 106 runs, and was chosen to play in the All-Star game. Teixeira was able to contribute to the defense with his elite fielding; he won the Gold Glove Award for his superior individual fielding performance.

They have acquired new players that will need to help the team both defensively and offensively until their three starters return. Lyle Overbay was acquired by the Yankees from the Boston Red Sox during spring training and has been playing first base due to Teixeira’s absence. Eduardo Núñez and Jayson Nix have replaced Derek Jeter and Vernon Wells is a substitute for Granderson. “You’re talking about high-character guys,” Girardi said of the newcomers in a New York Times article. “Guys that have been calming forces in a clubhouse for many years, guys who have played at a high level, guys who have been in the A.L. East, guys that have been in the championship series.”

The Yankees will need to continue working together as a team without these three starters and make plays that will help them win more games. As of now, the Yankees have lost a few games because they do not have the power that Granderson, Teixeira and Jeter normally provide. “The same goals are going to be there: to win every night,” said Youkilis in a New York Times article.

Contributed by Sahar Saedi and Anya Batista 

The Dominican Republic strides through the World Baseball Classic

Taken by Rabbethan

The Dominican Republic team made their way to the top of the 2013 World Baseball Classic. Focused on winning, they gave it their all in every game. Their victories came from the talent of the team and their pride for the Dominican Republic.

After failing to get to the final in either of the first two editions of the World Baseball Classic, the Dominicans made this one their own. They won the championship by beating Puerto Rico, 3 - 0, becoming the first team to go undefeated in the tournament.

They were able to assemble all of their star players to compete in the tournament and go aggressively at the championship. Their starting lineup features Robinson Cano, Hanley Ramirez, Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Reyes and Carlos Santana and with their combination of speed, power and skills makes them an incredible team.

Going undefeated, the team’s pride is shown by everyone, “The first thing going through my mind, I need to put not just my team but the whole Dominican Republic in front of me,” said Jose Reyes in an interview with The Washington Post.

If the Dominican team treats the Caribbean Series as they did in the World Baseball Classic, this team shows great promise for future victories.