Pacers fire McMillan as coach after 4 years
The Pacers fired coach Nate McMillan on Wednesday less than three weeks after announcing he would keep the job for two more years.
Team officials made the announcement 48 hours after the Pacers suffered their second straight firstround sweep in the NBA playoffs.
McMillan went 183-136 in four seasons with the Pacers, going to the postseason each season. But the Pacers never reached the second round and endured the first three four-game sweeps in the franchise’s NBA history. His playoff record with the team was just 3-16.
“This was a very hard decision for us to make; but we feel it’s in the best interest of the organization to move in a different direction,” said Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard, who has a long relationship with McMillan. “Nate and I have been through the good times and the bad times; and it was an honor to work with him.”
McMillan finished his tenure with Indiana ranked No. 3 in victories in the team’s NBA history.
Colleges: North Carolina State football’s season-opener at Virginia Tech was postponed from Sept. 12 to Sept. 26 because of a cluster of COVID-19 cases among Wolfpack athletes. The ACC and the two schools announced the delay two days after N.C. State paused athletic activities. Both teams are now scheduled to open the season with instate ACC matchups Sept. 19.
Golf: Phil Mickelson shot a finalround 5-under 66 to secure a wire-towire, four-stroke victory in his PGA Tour Champions debut at Ozarks National in Ridgedale, Missouri. Mickelson became the 20th player to win on the 50-and-over-tour in his debut. The 50-year-old five-time major champ finished at 23-under 191.
NFL: Larry Michael, a former Washington team executive and lead team broadcaster, instructed employees to create a behind-the-scenes video for owner Daniel Snyder featuring clips of partially nude team cheerleaders pulled from a 2008 swimsuit calendar shoot, The Washington Post reported. Brad Baker, who previously worked for Michael, told the newspaper in an interview that Michael told members of his staff to make the video for Snyder. Michael denied the allegations. Snyder issued a statement that said he was “unaware” of the allegations and denied any knowledge of “10-year-old videos.” ... Bengals CB Mackensie Alexander was jailed on a charge of misdemeanor battery after deputies said he beat up a man shortly after returning to Florida to help search for his missing 65-year-old father.
The NHL league stripped the Coyotes of their 2020 second-round pick and 2021 first-round pick for violating the scouting combine policy by conducting physical tests of drafteligible players. ... Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko may miss the start of next season because he’s facing shoulder surgery for the third time in less than three years. Next season is tentatively scheduled to begin Dec. 1.
NHL:
Tennis: No. 3 seed Serena Williams fell to No. 13 seed Maria Sakkari of Greece 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-1 in a third-round match at the Western & Southern Open on Tuesday night in New York.