Parker took charge of Burnley in July 2024 – signing a three-year contract – and led them back to the Premier League at the first time of asking with a second-place finish in the Championship.
“It has been an immense privilege to lead this great club over the past two years,” said Parker.
“I have enjoyed every moment of our journey together, but feel that now is the right time for both parties to move in a different direction.
“I reflect back with great pride on what we achieved during my time at the club, especially our unforgettable promotion season in 2024-25, and it was a true honour to lead this team into the Premier League.”
The part of a lawyer, walking down his opposition in the open court. He delivered an airtight opening argument that was stunning for how much stronger it was than opposing coach Ime Udoka’s. And evidence of how far Redick has come.
Now, look, your honor: The short-on-star-power Lakers winning both games at home to take a 2-0 series lead over the heavily favored Houston Rockets in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs? That’s a compelling start.
But Redick, James and Associates are only halfway there; they’re still proving their case.
They still need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that their top role players can perform as persuasively on the road as they have at home.
And they’ll probably have to prove they can effectively rebut the Rockets’ adjustments, though those are merely conceptual at this point, they’re so overdue.
Two games into this series it looks to us, the members of the jury, as though Redick has taken this allegedly open-and-shut case, this slam dunk of a trial — and thrown down a reverse.
The Lakers look like the better team. Like the better-constructed team, even. And that’s without injured stars Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, who are hustling back as fast as their bodies will let them from hamstring and oblique injuries, respectively.
They look like the better-coached team.
It’s the opposing counsel who looks dressed for the part, Udoka in a sweatsuit like a dad at a Saturday morning youth league trying to get his players to get along, with just one play in his pocket: Give the ball to Kevin.
Meanwhile, the legal team minding the game in the Lakers’ huddle is running laps around the guys on the other bench.
Coach JJ Redick and forward LeBron James have helped the Lakers earn a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven playoff series agains the favored Rockets without injured guards Luke Doncic and Austin Reaves.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Exhibit A: One of the game’s greatest scorers, Kevin Durant, has been forced by his own team to do a lot of ballhandling chores too. So the Lakers have been double-teaming and blitzing Durant all over the court, compelling him into nine turnovers in Tuesday’s 101-94 Game 2 victory at Crypto.com Arena. Using the same strategy, they’ve turned him over 20 times in his last three meetings with the Lakers, going back to the regular season.
Exhibit B: By playing drop, hedge, man and mixing zone defenses, the Lakers also have been, according to Marcus Smart’s postgame testimony, “throwing different packages” at the Rockets. It’s working: Houston has failed to score 100 points in either game of the series.
Exhibit C: The Lakers are putting the ball in Smart’s hands, using him in a way that forces the Rockets to defend honestly, instead of sagging off him. They’ve also been intentional with how they leverage Luke Kennard, running actions that overrule his reluctance to shoot. It should please the court to see the man shooting 65.4% (17 for 26) from the field in the first two games!
With these tactics and others, the Lakers seem almost to be creating new precedent for the laws of basketball, because what do you mean the Rockets have taken 44 more shots but have been outscored by 16 points?
What makes it so wildly impressive is that before the Lakers brought this thing to trial, it looked as though it would be thrown out on the grounds of insufficient star power.
With just 41-year-old LeBron James to carry them without Doncic and Reaves, Houston seemed so much stronger. Physically, on the boards, in just about every way — except in terms of chemistry, camaraderie and communication.
Even Udoka’s record seemed superior. In 2021-22, his first (and only) season as the Boston Celtics’ coach, he led them to the NBA Finals.
Redick, in his first playoffs as a coach last year, showed such contempt for his own team and made an absolute mockery of the game plan that got the Lakers to the postseason in the first place. Remember how he panicked, refusing even to approach the bench to give his preferred five a breather for a full losing half in Game 4 against the Minnesota Timberwolves? The little tantrum he threw when asked about it before the Game 5 finale?
The Duke graduate and self-proclaimed “basketball sicko” has appeared much more prepared this time, much more composed.
He seems to be in his element, problem-solving alongside his former podcast host, James, who has stepped right up with 47 points, 20 assists and 16 rebounds — including some highlight-reel dunks and passes — through the first two games. We are all witnesses.
Still, this thing is going to last at least two more games, and possibly more, before we get a verdict.
And if it goes the Lakers’ way?
Congratulations, JJ, you will have earned the reputation as a coach who can take on the toughest cases and win them. And do we have an impossible challenge for you next on the docket.
The top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder are young, deep, and up 2-0 in their first-round series against the Phoenix Suns. The defending-champion Thunder have run the Lakers out of court in every meeting this season, beating them by an average of 29 points. And they’re clever too; referees — those judges on the court — always seem so sympathetic to OKC.
Would the Lakers have any chance? Redick is proving he might be able to make a case.
Head coach Scott Bemand says Ireland are “ready” for the pressure of facing France in Clermont on Saturday after learning from a string of big-game experiences.
Ireland began their Women’s Six Nations campaign with a 33-12 loss to England in front of a record 77,120 at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium.
Bemand’s side also faced New Zealand and France in front of near-capacity crowds at the World Cup last year – and the coach feels those days will stand to his squad as they bid for a first win on French soil.
“We’ve got the benefit now with our group having come through the World Cup piece where we had full stadiums, a lot of noise and a lot of expectation, internal expectation,” said Bemand.
“Going away to France is a class experience. We were away in England two weeks ago so we’ve had a recent opportunity of stepping into that sort of arena.
“I saw a completely different group to two years ago walking into that space, so as we continue to evolve, continue to get more confident in ourselves and our performances, I think we’re ready for this one.”
Bemand, who has made one change from last week’s nine-try win over Italy, added the team feel “excitement and anticipation rather than nerves”.
“We’re ready for this, we’ve trained well this week,” he added.
“We’re now recovering, we’ll travel, we’re going to enjoy it. The weather looks good over there and we’ll be absolutely gunning to start and get out of the blocks when the whistle goes on Saturday night.”
England’s new head coach Brian McDermott has offered Man of Steel Jake Connor a path back into the national squad for this autumn’s Rugby League World Cup.
McDermott, confirmed in the role on Thursday, has described the Leeds Rhinos half-back as a “game-breaker”.
Connor, 31, was controversially left out of Shaun Wane’s squad for last autumn’s Ashes home series against Australia, which England lost 3-0.
At the time, Wane said the decision to omit Connor was “not really difficult” and that he had made it based on the player’s form, adding that: “When picking a squad, the thing you will never hear from me is: ‘He’s won the Man of Steel.’ I don’t pay attention to stuff like that.”
Wane stepped down in January, with former Leeds head coach McDermott taking over until the end of the World Cup, to be staged in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea this October and November.
McDermott played down questions over Connor’s temperament and said the half-back is part of England’s World Cup plans, saying: “Yeah, he is for sure. Absolutely.
“I think the rhetoric and the narrative around Jake was tremendously unfair.
“I understand where Jake Connor comes from in that he’s liked by some and disliked by others. OK, that comes in the nature of the game.
“We could sit around a table and debate whether he’s a nice person or not.
“I just don’t think that’s a fair narrative to be made public and that was the rhetoric around him.
“What nobody can argue is that he’s a tremendous player. He’s a fantastic player. He’s a game-breaker.”
McDermott won four Super League Grand Finals, two Challenge Cups, the World Club Challenge and the League Leaders’ Shield in eight years as Leeds head coach.
The 56-year-old, currently working as an assistant coach at NRL club Gold Coast Titans, has taken the England role on a part-time basis, in contrast to his full-time predecessor Wane.
“I would be interested in taking the job beyond the World Cup,” McDermott said.
The Yorkshireman was selected by the Rugby Football League from a five-man shortlist, which also included current Leeds head coach Brad Arthur, Warrington’s Sam Burgess, St Helens’ Paul Rowley and former England head coach Steve McNamara.
England’s World Cup campaign in Australia begins against Tonga in Perth on 17 October, with games against France and Papua New Guinea to follow.
Sources have told BBC Sport that Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola, Fulham head coach Marco Silva and former Dortmund boss Edin Terzic are under consideration as possible replacements for Rosenior.
Iraola, 43, announced last week that he will leave Bournemouth at the end of the season, while Silva’s contract at rivals Fulham is due to expire in July. Terzic, meanwhile, was under consideration by Tottenham to replace Thomas Frank when the Dane was sacked earlier this season.
Calum McFarlane will take over as interim manager until the season of the season.
McFarlane, who was Rosenior’s assistant, was in charge for a 1-1 draw against Manchester City and a defeat at Fulham in January after previous boss Enzo Maresca was sacked.
“As the club works to bring stability to the head coach position, we will undertake a process of self-reflection to make the right long-term appointment,” Chelsea added.
Rosenior won five of his 13 games in the Premier League and led the Blues to four victories in the FA Cup – all against lower-league opposition – to reach the semi-finals.
McFarlane’s first game in charge comes on Sunday when Chelsea face Leeds at Wembley for a place in the FA Cup final (15:00 BST).
Billy Donovan has resigned as head coach of the Chicago Bulls, ending his six-season tenure, after missing out on the play-offs.
The Bulls wanted to retain Donovan’s services despite parting company with vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley on 6 April.
Donovan, 66, held an option in his contract for next season but has decided to step down to allow a new coach to rebuild.
“After a series of thoughtful and extensive discussions with ownership regarding the future of the organisation, I have decided to step away as the head coach of the Chicago Bulls, to allow the search process to unfold,” Donovan said.
“I believe it is in the best interest of the Bulls, to allow the new leader to build out the staff as they see fit.”
Martin Dugard is a prolific author and writer. He’s also an assistant cross-country coach at Santa Margarita after being head coach at JSerra for 15 years.
His newest book is “The Long Run,” which discusses the 1970s running boom and is a narrative history of four who sparked the marathon boom: Steve Prefontaine, Frank Shorter, Joan Benoit Samuelson and Grete Waitz.
He’s going to have a book signing on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Barnes & Noble, 26751 Aliso Creek Rd., Aliso Viejo.
Don’t be surprised if he tries to run from Rancho Santa Margarita to his book signing.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
