Added on:2008-04-04

BY FRANK ISOLA DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER (www.dailynews.com) Friday, April 4th 2008, 4:00 AM Donnie Walsh has the keys to the franchise and is about to face the toughest challenge of his professional career. Over the coming weeks and months, the new Knicks president will evaluate every member of the organization - players, coaches, support staff - and make some difficult decisions about who stays and who goes. Removing Isiah Thomas as coach is one of the easiest moves Walsh will make. Finding a replacement will not be as simple. Former Knick Mark Jackson is emerging as a favorite to succeed Thomas. Jackson has no previous head coaching experience, but Walsh did give Larry Bird and Thomas their first head coaching jobs. However, there is some sentiment that Walsh may look to hire Jackson as his general manager, according to a source close to Walsh. Last year, Jackson interviewed for the GM job with the Memphis Grizzlies. If Jackson - who had two stints as a player on Walsh's Pacer teams - joins Walsh in the front office, there are several coaching candidates that could appeal to them. Walsh admires Scott Skiles, an experienced coach who could achieve Walsh's first goal: making the Knicks competitive every night. Another name that cannot be ruled out is Louisville's Rick Pitino, the former Knicks coach. Jackson considers Pitino the best coach he played for and the two have remained close throughout the years. Whether Pitino would leave college and return to the NBA for a third time is not known. The fact that Pitino would be answering to both Jackson and Walsh might also keep him from taking the job. Walsh will allow his head coach to hire his own staff but Walsh will make suggestions. It is believed that former Bucks coach Brian Winters, Pacers scout Jimmy Powell and Spurs assistant coach George Felton - all three native New Yorkers - could end up with the Knicks in some capacity. Walsh says he is also willing to embrace the Knicks' past but that he isn't about to give "every Tom, Dick and Harry" a job. However, a new administration would open the door for Patrick Ewing to return as an assistant coach. Three current assistant coaches - Brendan Suhr, Mark Aguirre and George Glymph - were hired by Thomas. Dave Hanners was brought in by Larry Brown, and Herb Williams was retained from Don Chaney's staff, while strength and conditioning coach Greg Brittenham originally was hired by Pat Riley. Walsh will determine the futures of those assistants as well as the fates of GM Glen Grunwald, the scouts, training staff and media-relations officials.

Added on:2008-04-04

BY MARK FEINSAND DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER Friday, April 4th 2008, 4:00 AM Cataffo/News Phil Hughes pitched well on Thursday night, but settled for a no-decision. Cataffo/News Scott Downs' bobble in the eighth was a critical miscue for the Jays. When Joe Girardi took the Yankees' managerial job, many expected the Bombers to have a different look this season, playing a "National League" style of ball that was largely unseen under Joe Torre. Girardi's team small-balled its way to victory over the Blue Jays on Thursday night at the Stadium, using a pair of sacrifice bunts to set up Bobby Abreu's go-ahead hit in the eighth inning, leading to the Yankees' 3-2 victory. "In our division, we're going to face some pretty good pitchers. We're going to have to battle to score runs, and it's not going to be easy," Abreu said. "Those little things, they're going to help us. We don't have to just wait for homers." The Yankees have scored just eight runs this season, yet they managed to take the three-game series from division-rival Toronto and its rock-solid top-of-the-rotation starters. "When our guys start warming up, everybody knows what this lineup can do," Hank Steinbrenner said. "(Thursday night) couldn't have been better." Phil Hughes started the game and gave the Yankees six strong innings, but it was fellow young stud Joba Chamberlain (1-0) who picked up the win after pitching a scoreless eighth. Mariano Rivera survived a leadoff single in the ninth to earn his second save. With the score tied 2-2 in the eighth, Melky Cabrera singled leading off, prompting Girardi to put the bunt sign on for Johnny Damon, who laid it down the first-base line. Lefty Scott Downs raced over but bobbled the ball, allowing both Cabrera and Damon to reach. Girardi called for a second bunt, which Derek Jeter put down perfectly, nearly beating the throw to first. With runners at second and third and one out, Abreu blooped a single to center, scoring Cabrera to give the Yankees their first lead of the night. "You get in tight games, you're going to have to be able to execute and score runs to tie the ballgame or take the lead," Girardi said. "You work on it, do extra work and guys are willing to come out and do it. Tonight's a night where it paid off." Girardi admitted that he's "not going to do it with A-Rod and (Jason) Giambi," but the rest of the American League was served notice on Thursday night that the Yankees have no plans to be a team solely dependent on the longball. "We have to win as many games as possible," Damon said. "If it means we have to bunt, then so be it." For much of the winter, Hughes' name was at the center of the Johan Santana talks between the Yankees and Twins. Thursday night, he got his first opportunity to show everybody why the Yanks made the right move by keeping him in pinstripes.