ders throughout Browns tenure. However, they didnt advance p

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CLEVELAND -- Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert felt he made a big mistake when he fired Mike Brown as his coach in 2010. That didnt stop him from doing it again. Browns second shot with the Cavs ended Monday after one just one season as Gilbert dismissed the only Cleveland coach who has ever made it to the NBA finals. Brown had been re-hired last April by Gilbert, who regretted dismissing him four years earlier. While the Cavs record improved and they made strides defensively under Brown this season, the club missed the playoffs again and Gilbert decided it was time to make another change. "This is a very tough business," Gilbert said in a statement. "It pains all of us here that we needed to make the difficult decision of releasing Mike Brown. Mike worked hard over this last season to move our team in the right direction. Although, there was some progress from our finish over the few prior seasons, we believe we need to head in a different direction. We wish Mike and his family nothing but the best." In addition to firing Brown, Gilbert announced hes retaining David Griffin as the clubs full-time general manager. Griffin had been the interim GM since Feb. 6, when Gilbert fired Chris Grant one day after the Cavs lost to a Los Angeles Lakers team which finished the game with just five eligible players. Gilbert said Griffin would lead the search for Browns successor. Its not known what input Griffin had in Browns firing. Griffin has ties to former Phoenix executive Steve Kerr, who is one of New York president Phil Jacksons top choices to take over the Knicks. Griffin also has worked with Mike DAntoni and Alvin Gentry. Other coaches who could get consideration for the Cavs opening include Mark Jackson and George Karl. Brown had four years remaining on his $20 million contract. Brown, who was fired last year by the Lakers five games into his second season, could not be reached for comment. Brown went 272-138 in his first stint with Cleveland. Led by superstar LeBron James, the Cavs made the finals for the first time in 2007 and were title contenders throughout Browns tenure. However, they didnt advance past the Eastern Conference semifinals four years ago and Brown was let go. At the time, it appeared Gilbert was making the move -- and hiring Byron Scott as coach -- to appease James and hopefully keep him in Cleveland. James, though, decided to leave as a free agent for Miami, where he is chasing his straight third NBA title with the Heat. "Its just a tough business. I mean, thats all it is. Its a tough business and, you know, Mike Brown got the short end of a tough business," James said. Gilbert brought back Brown to fix Clevelands defence, and the Cavs improved, moving from last in the league in field-goal percentage to 12th. But the offence never flowed like it should and the Cavs didnt make a late playoff push despite a favourable schedule down the stretch. Clevelands players didnt care for Browns defence-first philosophy and there seemed to be a disconnect between the Cavs and the coaching staff. Brown seemed resigned to his fate following the season finale, when he said he would support whatever decision Gilbert made. "Its his team," Brown said. Cleveland went 17-16 under Griffin, who worked as Grants assistant before being promoted. Gilbert said he interviewed several other candidates before deciding to remove the "interim" from Griffins title. "We chose David as our GM because we believe he is the best person to lead our franchise at this critical time and into the future," Gilbert said. "David brings over two decades of experience. He knows the ins and outs of this league as well as anyone and is also an outstanding talent evaluator." The Cavaliers will hold a news conference on Tuesday at the teams facility in Independence. Gilbert had high praise for Griffin, who previously worked in Phoenixs front office before coming to Cleveland. "He is a general manager who is aligned with our culture and philosophy which is the foundation of how we do business," Gilbert said. "David is not only passionate about his own job but also cares deeply about the success of everyone around him. His presence alone creates an infectious positive environment with players, coaches, front office people and even our fan base. We already saw some progress in the short time David led our basketball side in the latter part of this past season. Clearly, we have substantial work ahead of us and I am confident that Griff will play an essential part of the growth and success of our organization." While the Cavs showed signs of progress with Brown, he was unable to get one of the leagues youngest teams to play consistently. His replacement will have a similar challenge, assuming Griffin doesnt do a complete overhaul to Clevelands roster. The Cavs are entering a critical summer. Theyll once again be in the draft lottery and the club is expected to be active in free agency. The team must also decide whether to offer Irving a maximum contract extension in July. Christian Vazquez Red Sox Jersey . This is Lowry’s third time winning the award in his career. He won the award last season and as a member of the Houston Rockets in 2011. Bill Lee Jersey . -- The road to the Masters got off to a bumpy start Sunday for Tiger Woods when he withdrew from the Honda Classic with what he said was a lower back injury. http://www.officialredsoxfanstore.com/authentic-ted-williams-red-sox-jersey/ . Two weeks after suffering a concussion, Foles will start in place of Michael Vick, who is out for the second time this season with a hamstring injury. Pedro Martinez Red Sox Jersey .com) - A pair of programs shooting for their 10th win of the season get together at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, as the NC State Wolfpack tangle with 22nd-ranked West Virginia during the challenge round of the Gotham Classic. Jim Rice Jersey . Not Peyton Manning. Hes holding on to the heartache to stoke his competitive fire.SOCHI, Russia -- The New York Islanders lost their star and captain for the rest of the season because of an injury at the Sochi Games. "John Tavares has an MCL and meniscus tear in his left knee," team spokesman Kimber Auerbach wrote in an email Thursday. "He will remain with Team Canada for the remainder of Olympics and return home after for further evaluation." Tavares was hurt by a big hit along the boards by Latvias Arturs Kulda in the second period of Canadas 2-1 victory Wednesday night. He writhed in pain on the ice for several seconds before skating to the bench and going to his teams dressing room. "Thats tough," Canadian teammate Jeff Carter said. "He was a big part of our team and obviously, you dont want to see anybody get hurt no matter who they are playing for. He was a great guy in the room." Without Tavares, the defending Olympic champions will face the U.S. on Friday in the semifinals for a spot in the gold-medal game. The Islanders are in last place in their division, nine points behind New Jersey, and are among the teams with the fewest points iin the Eastern Conference.dddddddddddd Tavares has done his part to help his NHL team. The 23-year-old forward is the leagues third-leading scorer with 66 points in 59 games. He has never had significant injury problems in his five-season professional career, playing in 350 of a possible 354 games with New York. Tavares is the latest player from the league to get injured in Russia, perhaps giving NHL owners another reason to want to keep their players home and playing with them during the 2018 Olympics. The Florida Panthers sent just two players to Sochi, and both got banged up. Aleksander Barkov is expected to be out for about a month with a knee injury he got while playing for Finland. Tomas Kopecky is out indefinitely after getting elbowed in the head in a game for Slovakia. Mats Zuccarello of the New York Rangers had a hand injury that ruled him out of Norways finale against Russia. Detroit Red Wings and Swedish captain Henrik Zetterberg aggravated a pre-existing back injury, which the Olympic team said was a herniated disk, after his Sochi Games opener and is out indefinitely. ' ' '