FYI: Lobel on Pitino

["Thomas Murphy" <tfmiii@worldnet.att.net>]

http://www.bostonherald.com/bostonherald/sport/bake02142000.htm

Lobel stokes coaching fires 
                by Jim Baker 

                Monday, February 14, 2000

                Bob Lobel isn't confining his coach-firing speculation to
the Bruins' Pat Burns. He says
                Celtics owner Paul Gaston would can Rick Pitino if the
price were right. 

                ``I'm not an apologist for Rick,'' insisted the Ch. 4
sports director who hosts Pitino's
                weekly show. ``He's a big boy. And I think if Gaston had a
chance to fire him, he would -
                but it's too much of a payout, $15-to-$20 million.''

                Lobel even said he'd advise Pitino and Burns: ``Get out of
here as soon as possible. It's
                a no-win situation for you.''

                Call it Lobel's Valentine's Day Massacre because ``there's
a lot of meanness in the air.

                ``Pitino's in the bull's eye because people's patience has
run out,'' he said. ``They
                thought it would be a lot easier to build a winner than it
is and Pitino did, too. He's
                pretty much discouraged as well. He told me it's the first
time in his career he ever felt
                failure. And he doesn't know what to do.''

                Lobel said the $7 million-a-year coach has become the fans'
target ``because they see
                him as a conglomerate. Those bank commercials don't flatter
him. They don't like him
                unless he wins. He's seen in a different light than Larry
Bird, but is Bird a better coach
                than Pitino? If Bird came in 21-28, they'd give him slack.
It's much more personal with
                Pitino.''

                Lobel noted a quest for a new Celtics general manager,
which has been rumored, would
                need Pitino's blessing - unless he's fired. And he
acknowledged Pitino mistakes - ``he
                overpaid Walter McCarty and Vitaly Potapenko. But he's in a
catch-22 when the Knicks
                will spend $70 million and don't care if they're fined for
going over the salary cap and
                the Celtics are spending $45-46 million.''

                Lobel aroused Bruins GM Harry Sinden's wrath for predicting
Burns would be gone
                with the all-losing weekend that materialized.

                ``I should have known better because there's no way he'd
fire Burns now and put
                anyone else behind the bench to take the heat,'' Lobel
said. ``(Sinden, assistant Mike
                O'Connell and owner Jeremy Jacobs) are paying this guy to
take that heat.''

                A week ago, Lobel blasted that the Bruins would never be a
Stanley Cup team with
                Jacobs as owner.

                So the message is Burns is the fall guy for Jacobs'
frugality and the front-office mistakes
                of losing key players and turning off others.

                O'Connell would hear hoots galore. Lobel agreed that Ray
Bourque, were he to become
                interim player-coach, would not feel the heat. But Bourque
supports Burns.

                Will both coaches be gone next season?

                ``Chances are excellent with Burns, which is too bad
because he's a very good coach,''
                Lobel said. ``But I'd say Pitino probably won't be gone.''