Will anyone listen to new controller?
What won what whereESPN.com is reporting that Lakers coach Rudy Tomjanovich has already had enough and will pack it in before tonight's game. He missed Sunday's game and yesterday's practice, citing a stomach virus, and health is said to be part of his reason for resigning (though not a recurrence of his bladder cancer.) ESPN also says "dissatisfaction with the way the Lakers are playing contributed to the decision." Rudy T is in the first year of a five-year contract worth a reported $30 million. The site says that assistant coach Frank Hamblen will become interim coach.
* Reaction: MSNBC columnist Mike Kahn says Tomjanovich "wasn't physically nor mentally prepared for the Lakers." Kahn notes that insiders with his former team, the Houston Rockets, thought the coach had lost focus and were glad to see him go.
** Didn't happen tonight: But it might tomorrow, the Lakers say. They are trying to talk him out of it—and really are talking to Jackson about taking his place.