Beilein Resigns As Cavaliers Coach After the 14-40 Run
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44 Friday Sports Friday, February 21, 2020 Beilein resigns as Cavaliers coach after the 14-40 run WASHINGTON: John Beilein, unable to spark break but have lost five games in a row or more the moribund Cleveland Cavaliers above the five different times this season. “This was a very second-worst record in the NBA this season, re- difficult decision for me, but I want to be clear signed as coach of the struggling club on — this was my decision to step down and I truly Wednesday. The 67-year-old American, who left appreciate the understanding and support of the the University of Michigan coaching post last front office during this time,” Beilein said. May after 12 seasons to take charge of the Cavs, “I find losing very challenging and this year will be reassigned to a different role within the has taken a much bigger toll on me than I ex- organization, the team announced. pected. I grew concerned for the consequences “Over these last nine months, I have given my this toll could potentially take on my own health all to this organization, but after much reflection, and my family’s well-being down the road.” Cav- I have decided that it is best that I step back and aliers general manager Koby Altman praised resign from my position as head coach of the Beilein’s impact as he looked to trying to rebuild Cleveland Cavaliers and assist the organization the club in the wake of LeBron James leaving for in a different capacity,” Beilein said. Associate the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018 after lifting the head coach J.B. Bickerstaff was elevated to re- club into the NBA Finals for four consecutive place Beilein as the full-time head coach, the years. They went 19-63 last season. league announced. The Cavaliers, who return to “We understand and respect his decision to action Friday at Washington, were 14-40 at the step down,” Altman said. “I was excited about NBA All-Star Game break, last in the Eastern the development of our young players, who have Conference with only Golden State (12-43) own- all shown growth and maturity under coach ing a worse record. Beilein struggled to calm a Beilein. “The NBA is a unique business that locker room issue after claiming he misspoke sometimes requires aggressive risk-taking on when telling his team they were no longer play- important long-term decisions to move a fran- OHIO: Head coach John Beilein of the Cleveland Cavaliers signals to his players during the second ing like a bunch of “thugs”. The Cavs snapped a chise forward and ultimately compete for cham- half against the Atlanta Hawks at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio. — AFP 12-game home losing streak just before the pionships.”— AFP NBA’s LeBron joins MLB Isolated and training in masks: Coronavirus hits China’s Olympic hopes stars in ripping Astros as cheats HONG KONG: The coronavirus has destroyed ing a mask-China’s women’s football team man- the Tokyo Olympic dreams of some Chinese ath- aged two wins and a draw in Australia. They will LOS ANGELES: NBA superstar LeBron James out,” Judge said Tuesday. letes and disrupted the preparations of others, face South Korea over two legs for a spot in joined a growing chorus of Major League Base- The scandal, involving cameras in the out- forcing them to miss tournaments and train in Tokyo, but the “home” match will need to take ball stars ripping the Houston Astros as cheaters field and a monitor near the dugout plus beating strict isolation-sometimes in masks. Games or- place abroad. The Olympic qualifying tourna- Tuesday for a sign-stealing scheme in their 2017 on trash cans to signal batters what type of pitch ganizers are adamant that the outbreak, which is ment was moved from Wuhan at short notice be- World Series championship season. New York was coming, has been compared to the 1919 centered on the Chinese city of Wuhan and has cause of the virus, which has obliterated China’s Yankees star Aaron Judge, Los Angeles Angels Chicago “Black Sox” match-fixing scandal or killed more than 2,100 people, will not derail one sporting calendar and forced hundreds of mil- slugger Mike Trout and several members of the the 1990s steroids era in giving baseball another of the biggest events in the sporting calendar. lions of people indoors to stop it spreading. At Los Angeles Dodgers-who lost the World Series black eye. Dodgers star Cody Bellinger said he But it is likely to compromise the perform- least the women’s football team’s Tokyo hopes to Houston three years ago-have spoken out felt the Astros “stole” the World Series crown ance of the Chinese team, which numbered 416 are still alive. The women’s handball team’s cam- about the high-tech cheating scheme exposed from the Dodgers, that Jose Altuve “stole” the at the Rio 2016 Games and has been top three paign ended when they withdrew from a quali- in an MLB investigation last month. American League Most Valuable Player Award on the medals table at every Olympics this cen- fying tournament in Hungary next month, saying “Listen I know I don’t play baseball but I am from Judge in 2017 and owner Jim Crane’s apol- tury. There are no known cases among Chinese they could not organize training in the face of in Sports and I know if someone cheated me out ogy was “weak.” competitors, but the virus outbreak coincides the deadly virus. of winning the title and I found out about it I Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner ob- with a critical stage in their build-up to the China were also forced out of a World Cup would be F*^king irate!” James tweeted. “I jected to Manfred calling the MLB champi- Olympics, which begin on July 24. In one stark gymnastics meeting in Melbourne-which offers mean like uncontrollable about what I onship trophy, known as the commissioner’s example, China’s women’s football team resorted qualifying points for Tokyo-because of travel re- would/could do!” James also called for MLB trophy, just “a piece of metal.” “I don’t know if to doing stretching exercises in the corridor of strictions. Olympic qualifying tournaments in commissioner Rob Manfred to listen to the crit- the commissioner has ever won anything in his a Brisbane hotel after they were quarantined boxing, basketball and sailing have all been icism coming from stars across the league, many life. Maybe he hasn’t,” Turner said. “But the rea- ahead of an Olympic qualifying tournament. moved out of China. China topped the medals impacted by the cheating scheme. “Listen here son every guy in this room is working all off- China hopes that rival countries will open table when it hosted the 2008 Olympics, but fell baseball commissioner listen to your players season and showing up to camp early and their doors to its athletes to compete in qualifiers to third, behind the United States and Britain, at speaking today about how disgusted, mad, hurt, putting in all the time and effort is specifically as some nations, including Australia, have issued Rio 2016. Tokyo was supposed to be the Games broken, etc etc about this,” James tweeted. “Lit- for that trophy. “So for him to devalue it the way strict restrictions on arrivals from China. “There when China-spearheaded by decorated swim- erally the ball is in your court (or should I say he did just tells me how out of touch he is with will be over 100 Olympic qualifying tournaments mer Sun Yang, who is awaiting a Court of Arbi- field) and you need to fix this for the sake of the players in this game. At this point, the only around the world between February and April,” tration for Sport ruling over a missed drugs Sports!” thing devaluing that trophy is that is says ‘com- said Liu Guoyong, a vice-president of the Chi- test-strikes back. James closed with the hashtag: “Just My missioner’ on it.” nese Olympic Committee (COC), according to Thoughts Coming From A Sports Junkie Re- Judge added he was “pretty mad, pretty the Xinhua news agency. “The IOC has asked ‘Nobody can get out’ gardless My Own Sport I Play.” The findings of upset” that the Yankees’ seven-game American various international sports federations to pro- Liu, of China’s Olympic committee, is confi- an MLB probe have led to the firings of three League Championship Series loss to Houston in vide all possible assistance and convenience to dent that athletes will be able to prepare prop- managers linked to the 2017 Astros, although no 2017 could have been impacted by the cheating Chinese athletes.” erly for Tokyo and state media has painted an players have faced punishment and Manfred scandal. “No matter what anybody says, that image of them gamely ploughing on with their said the team would not be stripped of the 2017 impacts the game-going in there, knowing Dreams over training routines. But the all-powerful bad- crown. “I feel like every single guy over there what’s coming,” Judge said. “That’s more people Despite their disrupted build-up and missing minton and table tennis squads have decamped needs a beating,” Atlanta’s Nick Markakis said on base, you’re getting more walks, you’re get- star player Wang Shuang-who was not allowed to Britain and Qatar respectively, while the judo of the Astros. “Just sick to my stomach to find ting more hits.