HOCKEY Thrashers hire Anderson After coaching in the minors for 13 seasons — and winning five championships — John Anderson finally landed a coveted NHL job when the Atlanta Thrashers announced him as the fourth coach in franchise history Friday. Anderson led the Thrashers’ top affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, to the American Hockey League title. General Manager Don Waddell didn’t start the interview process until the Wolves had beaten Scranton-Wilkes Barre in the Calder Cup final on June 10. Still, Anderson wasn’t taking anything for granted after being passed over for jobs in Anaheim, Toronto and Boston. After Waddell made the offer late Thursday, the new coach returned to his hotel room and cried. “Sometimes you question yourself,” Anderson, 51, said. “But I really think things happen for a reason. Being in the minors for 13 years made me a better coach, a stronger person, a better person. I thank my lucky stars for all those years.” The Thrashers finished far out of the playoffs with the league’s third-worst record. They have made the playoffs only once since entering the league in 1999 and have never won a postseason game. Anderson takes over for Waddell, who served as interim coach most of last season. The Thrashers dumped Bob Hartley after losing their first six games and went 34-34-8 the rest of the way to miss the playoffs by 18 points. Anderson, who played in the NHL for a dozen seasons with Toronto, Quebec and Hartford, had plenty of playoff success as a minor league coach. He won a Colonial Hockey League championship with the Quad City Mallards in 1997 and spent the past 11 years as coach of the Wolves, winning two Turner Cup titles when the team was in the International Hockey League and two more after a shift to the AHL. Anderson’s regular-season coaching record is 506-283-99, and his playoff mark is 105-60. He guided to the Wolves to the playoffs in 10 of his 11 seasons in Chicago.
The Tampa Bay Lightning selected Steven Stamkos, an 18-year-old Canadian center, with the first pick in the NHL Draft. Stamkos led the Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League in scoring during the 2007-2008 season, with 58 goals and 47 assists in 61 games. The 6-0, 176-pounder also had one goal and five assists for the Canadian team that won the gold medal at the 2008 World Junior Championships. Stamkos was ranked as the top North American skater by NHL Central Scouting.
BASEBALL Auburn names coach Auburn hired John Pawlowski as coach Friday, hoping the former College of Charleston coach can end the Tigers’ three-year postseason drought. Pawlowski, 44, led the College of Charleston to three NCAA regional berths, one super regional appearance and four consecutive Southern Conference titles in his nine-season tenure. His 180-67 record over the past four seasons set a school and league record for victories during a four-year span. Pawlowski replaces Tom Slater, who resigned after the Tigers failed to make the postseason for the third consecutive season. Auburn hasn’t made the SEC Tournament during the past five years and had only one regional appearance in Slater’s four seasons. “This is a tremendous opportunity, and I’m looking forward to helping bring the Auburn baseball program back to national prominence,” said Pawlowski, who was 338-192-1 at the College of Charleston. “There is a rich history and tradition here at Auburn, and I plan on working tirelessly to make this a national contender.” Pawlowski was the conference’s coach of the year in 2004, 2005 and 2007. He is a former pitching coach at Arizona State and Clemson, where he was a pitcher. A sixth-round pick in the 1985 amateur baseball draft, he made his major league debut in September 1987. Pawlowski spent eight seasons playing pro ball before returning to Clemson and completing his degree. BASKETBALL
Suns complete staff The Phoenix Suns hired Alvin Gentry, Bill Cartwright, Dan Majerle and Igor Kokoskov as assistant coaches to Terry Porter. Gentry, a 29-year coaching veteran, is the lone holdover from Mike D’Antoni’s staff. Gentry will return for his fifth season with the Suns. Majerle, a former Suns player who is in the team’s Ring of Honor, hasn’t coached before. He had been a Suns broadcast analyst for the past four seasons. Cartwright spent 10 seasons as an assistant, including the past four with the New Jersey Nets. He also was the Chicago Bulls’ head coach for parts of three seasons. Kokoskov spent the past five seasons on the Detroit Pistons’ staff and served with Porter the past two years.
The New York Knicks added three assistants to Coach Mike D’Antoni’s staff, retaining Herb Williams from Isiah Thomas’ crew and signing former Suns assistants Phil Weber and Dan D’Antoni. Dan D’Antoni, Mike’s older brother, was an assistant in Phoenix for three seasons. Weber, from Northport, N. Y., was an assistant in Phoenix for nine years, including 1 4 / 2 under Mike D’Antoni. He was an assistant coach at the University of Florida, Chaminade University and Iona College before joining the Suns in September 1999. Williams has been with the Knicks since 2001. He served 44 games as the interim head coach, including the final 43 games of the 2004-2005 season after Lenny Wilkens was fired.
TENNIS Top seeds up, down Top-seeded David Ferrer defeated Juan Martin Del Potro 7-6 (4 ), 6-1 to set up a final against Marc Gicquel in the Ordina Open in Den Bosch, Netherlands. On the women’s side, French Open finalist Dinara Safina upset top-seeded Elena Dementieva 6-3, 6-2. Safina will play Thai qualifier Tamarine Tanasugarn, who defeated Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-2, 6-4. Gicquel rallied to beat Guillermo Canas 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 for a chance at his first ATP title in a nine-year career. The 31-year-old Frenchman reached a tournament final only twice before, but has beaten Ferrer in their two previous encounters, at Metz in 2006 and at Lyon in 2005. Gicquel won four of five break points against the seventh-seeded Canas. Ferrer, ranked No. 5, never dropped serve against Del Potro, hitting six aces. The final will be the first on grass for Ferrer, who has six career titles. Safina was the 2006 runner-up in Den Bosch and a semifinalist last year.
Defending champion Ivo Karlovic of Croatia beat Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (4 ), 7-6 (4 ) to reach the Nottingham (England ) Open final. The fourth-seeded Karlovic will play thirdseeded Fernando Verdasco of Spain, who beat Marin Cilic of Croatia 6-3, 6-1. Monfils struggled with a shoulder injury but broke the hard-serving Karlovic twice during the match. Monfils, seeded eighth, hurt his shoulder before the match and had to change tactics. Nadia Petrova defeated Samantha Stosur 6-3, 6-3 to reach the final of the Eastbourne (England ) International Women’s Open. The eighth-seeded Russian will face fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, who upset No. 2 Marion Bartoli 7-5, 6-3. Petrova will appear in her first final since August in Los Angeles. She is seeking her first title since winning the Paris indoor event in February 2007. She has lost her opening match in 7 of 11 tournaments. Radwanska benefited from Bartoli’s seven double-faults. Radwanska will be bidding for her third title of the year after winning in Pattaya and Istanbul.
DIVING Dumais leads Olympic trials Two-time Olympian Troy Dumais put on a dominating display in the semifinals of the 3-meter springboard at the U. S. Olympic diving trials in Indianapolis. Already spotted a 30-point lead because of his international success, Dumais scored perfect 10 s on three of his six dives to build a commanding advantage with 1038. 30 points heading to today’s final. Chris Colwill was second at 961. 00. Mark Ruiz, who retired after the 2004 Olympics but returned nine months ago, was sixth in the afternoon preliminaries, but dropped to 11 th at 742. 80. TRACK & FIELD Judge rules for Gatlin A Florida federal judge says banned sprinter Justin Gatlin should be allowed to compete at the U. S. Olympic track and field trials. U. S. District Judge Lacey A. Collier’s temporary restraining order is only in effect for 10 days, and the trials don’t begin until June 27 in Eugene, Ore. Collier set a Monday hearing in Pensacola to discuss the order. Gatlin’s complaint alleged that penalizing him for a 2001 doping violation, which involved medication he was taking for attention deficit disorder, violates the Americans With Disabilities Act.
ODDS & ENDS MSU hires new associate AD Incoming Mississippi State Athletic Director Greg Byrne has recruited another new hire away from Kentucky. Scott Stricklin has been named associate athletic director at Mississippi State. He will replace Byrne, who officially took over in Starkville last Friday. Like new Mississippi State baseball Coach John Cohen, Stricklin comes from Kentucky where Byrne was an associate athletic director. Stricklin will handle fundraising.
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