Paul Westphal

The Sacramento Kings fired Coach Paul Westphal on Thursday, cutting ties after two-plus seasons amid a slow start and an escalating dispute with young center DeMarcus Cousins . Geoff Petrie , the Kings' president of basketball operations, made the announcement ahead of the team's home game against Milwaukee on Thursday night. Assistant Keith Smart , let go by the Golden State Warriors this summer after one season, signed a deal to become the team's head coach — with Westphal's blessing.

The Sacramento Kings fired Coach Paul Westphal on Thursday, cutting ties after two-plus seasons amid a slow start and an escalating dispute with young center DeMarcus Cousins . Geoff Petrie , the Kings' president of basketball operations, made the announcement ahead of the team's home game against Milwaukee on Thursday night. Assistant Keith Smart , let go by the Golden State Warriors this summer after one season, signed a deal to become the team's head coach — with Westphal's blessing.

Paul Westphal is awake! Look, he just rose from the bench, although he doesn't make a practice of that, stuck his hands in the pockets of his slacks and strolled up the sideline for a casual chat with a referee. In front of the other bench, the opposing coach is growing fangs. Every time the ref calls one against him, or his players ignore another of his orders, his career flashes in front of his face.

What broken economic model? AEG President Tim Leiweke on the improving media environment for sports leagues: "We could see a doubling or tripling of media rights still come. Live is live. Live programming is everything. " Taking one for the team Knicks Coach Mike D'Antoni , who reportedly opposed the Carmelo Anthony trade: "The bottom line, either you're going to be a team player, as we ask our players to do, and if it's better for the organization to do it, you do it. And it's not, 'Oh my, what's going to happen to me?

Red Auerbach used to hold intrasquad scrimmages with the big guys on one team and the small guys on the other. The small guys always won. Basketball is a game of quickness, and this victory by the Philadelphia 76ers underscored that truth. The momentum shifts went to the team that had the quickest players on the floor. Philadelphia Coach Larry Brown made the last move in the chess match and it was brilliant.

Former NBA all-star Paul Westphal, 35, has accepted the coaching position at Grand Canyon College in Arizona.

It figures that USC would break down and bring in a Bruin to finally turn their men's basketball program around and teach them how the game is played. Mike Garrett would be well advised to hire Henry Bibby as the permanent head coach and cease with this fantasy talk of hoping to bring in Paul Westphal. JIM SCHWEITZER Brea

I'm mad as hell and I can't take it anymore. Pepperdine is a major university and the basketball team doesn't get the coverage it deserves. The Waves have defeated Gonzaga and UCLA and they have the toughest schedule in the country. Paul Westphal should be coach of the year. He has proven to be two steps above Lavin and Bibby. What does it take to notice this team? Bob Morris Palos Verdes Estates

Congratulations to USC Athletic Director Mike Garrett, for achieving an almost impossible consensus. Virtually every sportswriter and sportscaster in the Southland agreed that the firing of Charlie Parker was wrong, ill-timed and the reasons given by Garrett were merely a cover-up for the purpose of hiring Paul Westphal. I didn't think anyone could get this group to agree about anything. Thank you, Mr. Garrett, for restoring my faith in the sports media. STEVEN F. EPSTEIN Beverly Hills The report: "USC Basketball Coach Parker Fired; Black Coaches to Investigate and Consider Boycott Against USC."

Paul Westphal resigned as men's basketball coach at Pepperdine on Wednesday after being told the school intended to make a coaching change. "I value Paul, who is a quality coach and one of the nicest, most ethical men that I know," Pepperdine Athletic Director John Watson said afterward. "But I also felt the program needed a change. I met with Paul this morning and shared that view." Westphal, 55, was an All-American player at USC and a five-time NBA All-Star.

After only the fourth 20-loss season in Pepperdine history, Athletic Director John Watson expressed support Saturday for Coach Paul Westphal, the former NBA coach whose fifth season ended with a 7-20 mark. "I have a great deal of confidence in Paul and hope Paul will be with us the rest [of the time] he chooses to be involved in basketball. I think he's the right coach for Pepperdine University," Watson said.

USC finally is going to get its on-campus arena. The Galen Center is scheduled to open in the summer of 2006. Talk of such an arena has been going on for almost four decades, according to USC basketball radio commentator Jim Hefner. Hefner, who was Bob Boyd's assistant coach at USC from 1967 to 1979, said back then recruits would often ask about the proposed arena. One top prospect who did was Paul Westphal, a 1968 graduate of Aviation High in Redondo Beach.

Paul Westphal would rather discuss Pepperdine's strong start than the coaching situation at his alma mater, but he's linked to USC and the position is open. That's a new twist on a familiar subject for Westphal, one he acknowledged he couldn't ignore. "You hear your name out there, I'm not oblivious to that, but coaches love to minimize distractions," Westphal said in his campus office. "I'm going to do the best in my ability to just focus on playing UCLA....

Pepperdine men's basketball Coach Paul Westphal said he would be interested in the Boston Celtics' coaching vacancy if he is contacted by the team. Westphal, who has been at Pepperdine the last three seasons, began his playing career in Boston and coached Danny Ainge, the Celtics' director of basketball operations, when the two were in Phoenix. "I love my job here," Westphal said Tuesday. "But there are a few jobs out there that I'd be crazy not to look at them.

Paul Westphal is a novice. A rookie. New to the game. It's hard to believe he could be up to new tricks at 51, after almost three decades in basketball spent playing at an all-star level, competing in what some consider the best NBA championship game ever, and coaching some of the league's most colorful players. The NCAA tournament is different territory. He never reached the tournament playing for USC, because in the early 1970s the only team from the Pacific 8 that went to the NCAAs was the champion, which meant UCLA.

After only the fourth 20-loss season in Pepperdine history, Athletic Director John Watson expressed support Saturday for Coach Paul Westphal, the former NBA coach whose fifth season ended with a 7-20 mark. "I have a great deal of confidence in Paul and hope Paul will be with us the rest [of the time] he chooses to be involved in basketball. I think he's the right coach for Pepperdine University," Watson said.

Brian Newhall, the junior varsity basketball coach at Occidental College, has been named to replace Bill Westphal as the school's varsity coach. Newhall, 28, coached his 1987 team to a share of the conference championship and a 13-11 overall record, 8-4 in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Assn., despite having no starter taller than 6 feet, 2 inches. Last season, the Tigers (12-14, 4-6) finished fourth in the conference.

Despite a temporary glitch, it was a picture-perfect Sunday in Malibu for the Pepperdine men's basketball team. With clear, blue skies outside, players and coaches beamed sunny smiles inside the university's Heritage Hall when it was announced on television that the Waves will play Wake Forest in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Thursday at Arco Arena in Sacramento. Tipoff is at 11:30 a.m.

I'm mad as hell and I can't take it anymore. Pepperdine is a major university and the basketball team doesn't get the coverage it deserves. The Waves have defeated Gonzaga and UCLA and they have the toughest schedule in the country. Paul Westphal should be coach of the year. He has proven to be two steps above Lavin and Bibby. What does it take to notice this team? Bob Morris Palos Verdes Estates