Scotty was a great coach (probably the greatest NHL coach ever), but he was a tough son of a [unprintable]. I remember him riding Federov by forcing him to play as a defenseman for long stretches. I remember an incident in which Shanahan was on the verge of tears because of the way in which Scotty was treating him. Yzerman reportedly could not stand him as a person or coach in the first couple of years after he became coach. Some players said that Scottie rarely talked to them at all. But he brought the Cup to that team after many years of futility, and all of these players bought into his system and came to respect him as a great coach.

But he was even better as chief engineer of the Enterprise.

ESPN - Bulls, Suns assistant GM Del Negro agree on deal - NBA

this artice claims that Del Negro wasn't Bulls top choice, D'Antoni and Collins were.

Was Curry Dumars' favourite choice?

I never anything about Dumars seriously considering anyone else. It was Curry all the way.

I hope I am wrong here but the more I watch Curry in the media, the more skeptical I become. No fault of his own but he appears really naive, as he should. I'm sure in time he probably will be a really good coach if Dumars is that high on him. But right now he is an apprentice. I really wish we would have brought in someone who has already experienced the learning curve, a master craftsman. Avery Johnson, Zeke, Van Gundy, all would have been better picks in my opinion.

He did seem tentative in his interview with Rome today...it may depend now on who the assistants are, not that they made a big difference or had an influence on what Flip did last season...

I get the same feeling. Hopefully Curry is the right man for the job.

Curry says he will bench players who are not producing. How difficult is that for a coach and the clubhouse when a fallout happens in the media. Managing egos and keeping players in check is a tough job even for the likes of LB. Plus I am not sure what to expect from him in terms of X's and O's and game management. Under Flip, the inmates were running the asylum but he is recognized by his peers as having in depth knowledge of the game. I am not sure what Curry is really good at.

Yeah, I wasn't specific but that interview is exactly what I was refering to. A little bit of the deer in the headlights look. Somehow, I was catching negative vibes and not positive. Kind of scary. No matter, what skilled occupation you choose, there is a learning curve. Curry has to match wits with the best of them. Hopefully he will get some competent assistants and learn quickly. I do feel very uneasy.

Yeah yeah yeah, I know it's time to move away from this topic but I just had one more thought. I would have loved to have Mike Woodsen of the Hawks too. The guy has done a remarkable job. In fact, he did a better job than our Pistons this year. He scared the mess out of the 2008 World Champion Boston Celtics by taking them to seven games. Something we could not do. No small feat!

Just read where Michael Curry just hired Pat Sullivan as an assistant. He has been an assistant with the Nets the last three years.