FIU Reportedly Hires Worst Coach/GM/Human Being in NBA History. Welcome to Miami, Isiah!

So, Florida International University canned its basketball coach yesterday after a 13-20 campaign, reportedly so the school can replace him later today with a man more hated in New York City than the Red Sox and Patriots combined: the one, the only... dramatic pause... Isiah Thomas! Riptide hasn't seen FIU's...

By Tim Elfrink

April 14, 2009

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So, Florida International University canned its basketball coach yesterday after a 13-20 campaign, reportedly so the school can replace him later today with a man more hated in New York City than the Red Sox and Patriots combined: the one, the only... dramatic pause... Isiah Thomas!

Riptide hasn't seen FIU's job listing for the coaching vacancy, but if this hire is true, they were apparently looking for that special someone who:

Did his best to destroy the premier franchise in the NBA, coaching the New York Knicks to a 56-108 record after mangling the roster with mind-numbingly awful trades as GM.

Lost one of the most expensive sexual harassment suits in history, when Madison Square Garden reached an $11.6 million settlement with a former employee who accused Thomas of harassment.

Bankrupted an entire basketball league, as president of the CBA, when he rejected an $11 million deal from the NBA to become a minor-league affiliate.

Overdosed on sleeping pills last October and then tried to trick the media into thinking it was actually his teenage daughter who OD'd.

Sounds like a winner! Oh yeah, he also dissed Larry Bird, saying he got so much attention only because he was white, and charging that "if he were black, he'd be just another good guy."

In the interest of good blogging, Riptide is 1,000 percent behind this decision. F! I! U!

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Tim Elfrink is a former investigative reporter and managing editor for Miami New Times. He has won the George Polk Award and was a finalist for the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting.

Contact: Tim Elfrink

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Twitter: @timelfrinkmia