YOU PUT ON THOSE AYERS, AND ACT REAL COOL... Ditched by Larry Brown, spurned by Maurice Cheeks and Jeff Van Gundy, and apparently uninterested in Rick Carlisle and Mike Fratello, the Philadelphia 76ers today hired former Ohio State coach Randy Ayers as their new head coach.
As usually happens in big, Northeastern cities when a team names an unknown as coach, the move will likely be looked at with derision from FU Center regulars and WIP callers. But I think we heard the same thing from Philly fans when the Eagles hired Andy Reid, and that's worked out fabulously.
However, whether Ayers can get along with Allen Iverson is another matter entirely. My only question is whether Ayers plans to keep his name when he marries ABC analyst Ahmad Rashad.
(And I'll be very, very impressed if anyone got that last joke).