We have our third "Pocket Square of Death" this season …

Raptors President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo announced Wednesday afternoon that Sam Mitchell has been relieved of his duties as the team’s head coach. (Relieved. I love that.)

Here’s the official press release.

Doug Smith of The Toronto Star reports that Jay Triano, one of Mitchell’s assistants and the longest-serving member of the coaching staff, takes over on an interim basis, becoming the first Canadian-born head coach in NBA history.

You’re next, Wittman!

UPDATE: Needless to say, they’re excited over at FireSamMitchell.com.

UPDATE, 6:30pm: Just finished eavesdropping in on BC’s conference call and thought this little tidbit was worth sharing: When asked if last night’s humiliating lose to Denver was Smitch’s pink slip tipping point, Colangelo stated that the blown lead in Boston and the heartbreaking loss to New Jersey factored heavily into his decision.

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A look around the league and the web that covers it. It’s also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren’t always listed in order of importance. That’s for you, dear reader, to figure out.

C: Game On. Luke Walton has turned Jordan Farmar onto alternative, rock and roll and old school music.
PF: Kings.com / YouTube. The Donté Greene Show can’t get here fastest enough. (Thanks, Andrew.)
SF: The Court Reporters. Teams like the Thunder are making Tas and I sound like fools. Or are they?
SG: Dan Shanoff. Sorry, Phelps. The DanShanoff.com Sportsman of the Year is Barack Obama. Ballin’.
PG: Canis Hoopus. They’re at Witt’s end in Minnesota; Wolves fans don’t know what to do.
6th: Deuce of Davenport. Kareem’s jacket lives!
7th: The Wages of Wins Journal. Is Russell Westbrook similar to Derrick Rose? Break it down, Berri.
8th: Khandor’s Sports Blog. The person responsible for the Raptors’ current slide is not Sam Mitchell.
9th: The Sport Count. McGrady’s rehab diaries: "11:00am - Yeah! The rehab centre: this is comfort."
10th: Sac Bee, via SLAM. "Asked if he could have conserved García’s minutes to have his sharpshooter at the end, Theus said it wasn’t that simple. ‘If I was writing a script, if it was (his former television show) ‘Hangtime,’ then maybe,’ [Kings coach Reggie] Theus said."

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Hey, look who’s back!

Don’t seem too enthused about it, guys. Sheesh. You think we could at least get a smile out of you. Look at the nice lady wearing boots, standing behind Manu! Think happy thoughts! Remember what Coach Pop used to do to Beno’s Buick? Did you already forget about the time Michael Finley accidentally
shaved half his soul patch off? Are you sort of bummed out about Hump Day?

Then swing on by for a chat, TP, Manu, even you, Timbo. Yeah, "Timbo." Don’t cut me with a sword. Just drop by, around 3 p.m. Eastern, after the jump.

TIMBO!

(ducks)

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Nothing fancy here. Just a quick reminder to get in your motivational Phoenix Suns collage posters for the Ball Don’t Lie Photoshop contest. TBJ t-shirts and/or sports video games are on the line. You can find all of the contest details right here.

And oh, just to give you a sense of what we’re NOT looking for, check out this freaky deeky submission from a mysterious BDL reader named "Thody." Please make sure to finish your lunch before viewing.

Dear Lord. That has to be the exact opposite of motivational.

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‘Phenomenal Swag’ searches high and low across the Internets for
NBA-related goods you never knew you needed. E-mail us any quirky
products you find here.

Yao Ming Transformer
Cost: Priceless

You’re ten years old and it’s Christmas morning. Hallelujah! You race downstairs — taking two and three steps at a time — to count your presents under the tree. A quick tally shows one, two, three-four-five … six. Nice! Six presents. We’re in a recession, my Ash Ketchum!

All right, time to go to work. You start ripping through presents like a coke fiend and to your surprise you’re getting exactly what you asked for. Odd. This never happens.

iPod? Check. iPhone? New bike? Check. Remote control car? Check. Surfboard? Check. This is incredible.

And now, down to your last present, you fully expect to end the greatest Christmas pull in history by adding that cool Optimus Prime Transformer you begged for. The box looks about the right size. It’s got the right weight to it. And hey, Prime was at the top of your list. Highlighted. There’s no way this isn’t Prime …

Unwrap, unwrap, unwrap …

HEY! WHAT THE HELL!?!?!

Thanks to ShareBro kevcops for the tip.

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