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. Cheap Marlins Jerseys .Derrick Rose scored 23 points, and the Bulls pulled away from the Nets for a 105-80 victory on Wednesday night. Chicago held Brooklyn to 29 points on 26. Marlins Jerseys 2019 . The bout served as the headlining matchup of Saturdays "UFC Fight Night: Brown vs. Silva" event, which took place at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati. It was Silva who looked well on his way to victory in the early going, delivering a pair of crushing kicks to the body that sent Brown crashing to the floor, doubled over in pain. https://www.cheapmarlinsjerseys.us/ . Specifically, thumbs up to the Canadian-based teams in the NHL, or at least most of them. Miami Marlins Shirts . Pretty good hitting, too. Dan Haren pitched six innings and sparked the go-ahead rally with a single, leading Los Angeles to another win over the skidding Atlanta Braves, 4-2 on Tuesday night. Marlins Jerseys 2020 . Francis told several hundred members of the European Olympic Committees that when sport "is considered only in economic terms and consequently for victory at every cost .LIVERPOOL, England - Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge is closing in on a return to action after more than four months out injured but Mario Balotellis exile from the first team is set to continue.Sturridge, who has been out since August, will make his comeback in next weekends home match against West Ham in the English Premier League, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said on Saturday.He starts training tomorrow with the team, Rodgers said. Hes in his final rehabilitation with the medical and sports science guys today. He joins in with the group now, and its just about getting football fitness and game fitness.Rodgers said the second leg of the League Cup semifinal against Chelsea on Tuesday may come too soon for Sturridge.Balotelli has been out of favour with Rodgers because of the Italy internationals lack of work rate, with the manager preferring a more mobile frontline in recent weeks.Balotelli was available after illness for the FA Cup fourth--round match against Bolton, which finished 0-0 at Anfield, but wasnt even selected in the matchday squad.ddddddddddddIm judging it every day in training. Mario is exactly the same as every other player, theres no special treatment for anyone, Rodgers said.Weve made a change structurally in the team for the pressing and creativity to come back. He is a player that will work very hard now to get back in, but it doesnt matter who the player is or what he was bought for; this is a collective that is about the team, and if you want to contribute then you have to be at it every single day in training in order to be in the squad on matchday.Hes naturally been a box player, Rodgers said about Balotelli, whom he spoke with for an hour on Friday. There is much more asked at this team and in the intensity of the team.Balotelli hasnt scored a Premier League goal for Liverpool since joining from AC Milan in the summer transfer window in August. ' ' '