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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. Damyean Dotson Jersey . Interestingly, the culprits were not rookies, but well paid, experienced pros. The first gaffe came in the 24th minute of arguably the biggest early season MLS game in history between Seattle and Toronto. Sounder newcomer Marco Pappa, (with over 100 MLS games, and 39 Guatemalan Caps to his name) attempted a back pass to one of his central defenders. Phil Jackson Jersey .Just like old times.Only this time, just one got to enjoy a victory.James return to Miami as an opponent was a success — for the Heat, that is. Wade scored 24 of his 31 points in the first half, Luol Deng had 25 points and dogged James defensively all night, and the Heat beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 101-91 in a hyped Christmas matchup Thursday. http://www.knickssale.com/kids-emmanuel-mudiay-knicks-jersey/ .com) - The Vancouver Canucks hope an upcoming stretch of home games will be enough to get the club into the postseason. John Starks Jersey .NYCFC confirmed to The Associated Press on Saturday that this week Lampard signed a contract to start in July — midway through the new teams first season in MLS. Mark Jackson Jersey . Off-Season Game Plan looks at the Capitals possible summer plans, with the understanding that its tough to plot a direction without a general manager or head coach around which to set those expectations.OAKLAND, Calif. - Unable to make the playoffs for the 12th straight year, the Oakland Raiders are doing a good job keeping other teams out of the post-season.Derek Carr threw two touchdown passes, Sebastian Janikowski kicked four field goals, and the Raiders knocked the Buffalo Bills from playoff contention with a 26-24 victory Sunday.I cant say enough good things about this team, interim coach Tony Sparano said. I love the guys in that locker room. Theyre fighters. Anytime somebody counts them out, they bounce back. Its a great sign of character.The Bills (8-7) needed to win their final two games and get some help to end the NFLs longest active playoff drought at 14 seasons. But they failed at the easiest part — beating the lowly Raiders (3-12) — and will miss the playoffs for a 15th straight year.When youve gone this long and youre right there with a chance, and you put it all on the line and you dont come through, it hurts, quarterback Kyle Orton said.Oakland has the second longest active post-season drought at 12 but has done a good job of playing spoiler in the past five weeks, beating Kansas City, San Francisco and Buffalo after starting the season 0-10.This team has never really gotten down to the point where we were ready to give up, safety Charles Woodson said. Its always been an upbeat attitude with the guys on the team, and it shows out there each week.Carr wasnt that sharp, completing just 17 of 34 passes for 214 yards, but the rookie did what Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers couldnt: throw a touchdown pass against Buffalos stout defence.He tied the game with a scoring throw to James Jones in the second quarter and then sealed it with a 1-yarder to Jamize Olawale with 2:51 to go.You see what that defence did to the best quarterbacks in the league, Carr said. When you turn the film on and see what theyre doing, you know its going to be tough. At the start it sure was tough.The second TD came after Oakland stopped Buffalo on a third-and-1 near midfield when Ray-Ray Armstrong deflected a pass to Chris Hogan and Carr converted a third-and-22 with a 51-yard completion to Andre Holmes.ddddddddddddDarren McFadden then ran it 25 yards down to the 1, and Carr hit Olawale two plays later to seal Buffalos fate.After Janikowski missed a 48-yard field goal attempt, Orton threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Robert Woods with 1:09 to play to cut it to 26-24. But Woodson recovered the ensuing onside kick to end it.The Bills came into the game vowing not to overlook the two-win Raiders. But Orton struggled after an early touchdown pass to Sammy Watkins, throwing an interception and posting five straight three-and-outs on Buffalos next six possessions to put the Bills in a hole they never could overcome.The Bills ran for just 13 yards despite the return of C.J. Spiller from a broken collarbone. That was their worst rushing performance since gaining 4 yards against Tennessee on Nov. 23, 1997.At the end of the day, they got after us up front and they kicked our butt up front, coach Doug Marrone said. When you do that, its difficult to run, pass, do a lot of things.Instead of having a playoff berth possibly on the line next week in New England, the Bills can start looking ahead to next season and figuring out what to do at quarterback. Orton failed to get Buffalo over the hump after replacing ineffective second-year player EJ Manuel.Orton went 32 for 49 for 329 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.The Raiders got a pair of field goals from Janikowski in the third quarter to take a 19-10 lead, but the Bills managed to stay within striking distance by keeping Oakland out of the end zone.Buffalo then got right back into it on the opening play of the fourth quarter when Orton connected on a 29-yard touchdown pass to Scott Chandler to make it 19-17.But that was as close as it would get.NOTES: The 13 yards rushing allowed by the Raiders were tied for their third fewest since the merger. ... Bills DT Marcell Dareus (knee) and CB Stephon Gilmore (concussion) left the game with injuries.___Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Cheap Barcelona Jerseys Cheap Real Madrid Jerseys Authentic Cheap Bayern Munich Jerseys Cheap Dortmund Jerseys Cheap USA Jerseys Cheap USWNT Jerseys France Soccer Jerseys Soccer Mexico Jerseys Cheap Germany Jerseys Cheap Belgium Soccer Jerseys Brazil Jerseys From China Germany Jerseys From China Authentic Soccer Mexico Jerseys Cheap Portugal Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Spain Jerseys Cheap France Football Jerseys Cheap Germany Jerseys Authentic Cheap Mexico Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Colombia Jerseys Cheap Belgium Football Jerseys Wholesale Argentina Jerseys Cheap USA Soccer Jerseys China cheap uswnt jersey authentic Authentic AC Milan Jerseys Discount Arsenal Jerseys Wholesale A.S. 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