Wake-up call: Brian Burke, Lane Kiffin, Pete Carroll, Baron Davis

First things first: Where will Brian Burke end up? How about Boston? Now that he has stepped aside as Ducks GM, Burke will soon be negotiating freely with other teams. He wants to be on the East Coast for family reasons. The Toronto Maple Leafs already came after him once but were denied access. We know they want him. But what about the Boston Bruins? The Toronto Sun's Steve Simmons reports that his sources are saying the Boston Bruins will make an offer. With family in the Boston area, and having attended Providence College, Burke seems a good fit. He also is a close friend of Bruins icon Harry Sinden and could plant the Bruins back at the top of the NHL heap, given his bigger-than-life personality and how he turned the Ducks into a Stanley Cup champion. This is something current Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli seems unable to do. Even the Boston Globe agrees. Boston has the renewed Celtics, the still-strong Patriots and the Red Sox. And Boston loves its Bruins, who are currently 9-3-3 and sit atop the Northeast Division. Here is a compilation of Burke with the press. Kings fans should note the one on goalie Dan Cloutier*, then with Vancouver, at the end. We'll miss Burkie here in Southern California.

Back to school? ESPN is reporting today that former Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin interviewed with Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips last week for the Tigers' head coaching job. Clemson is looking to replace Tommy Bowden, who resigned under pressure a few weeks ago after the Tigers lost three of their first six games. Apparently, Kiffin is in play at a couple of different schools. He's also on Tennessee's list of candidates. Before the Raiders, he was at USC, where he replaced Norm Chow as Offensive coordinator. Is Kiffin worth this much attention? I'll bet Al Davis would say no.

Speaking of USC: Pete Carroll was on the radio today with Dan Patrick, who suggested the coach get together with other big-time coaches (Nick Sabin, Bob Stoops) and complain to someone at the BCS. Wouldn't the BCS listen? Carroll didn't think so. "I wouldn't even know how to go about that," he said. "I think we'd be kind of flapping in the wind to tell you the truth. ... I think they're pretty well set on what they want to do. ... I'm gonna disagree that it's the best way but I don't have any other way to do it."

Speaking of flapping in the wind: Baron Davis, a true star in the NBA, has been talking about how he and Coach Mike Dunleavy don't do things the same way. It's a problem. And Baron is worried about it because he likes to "freelance," as he calls it, when he is on the court. Dunleavy doesn't do freelance. As Times' NBA columnist Mark Heisler writes today, there is a disconnect every which way after the Clippers lost to the lowly Sacramento Kings. And Baron? Well, Beno Udrih, the guy Baron was supposed to be guarding, outscored him 30 points to 12. Final score, 103-98. Maybe Dunleavy should relax and let Baron freelance. It couldn't hurt, could it?

-- Debbie Goffa

Photo: Brian Burke, seen here watching a Ducks practice last season. Credit: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images

*Spelling of Cloutier's name corrected at 2:35 p.m.

Comments

[stacey]

If USC had beaten Oregon State, there would be no discussion about where USC should be. They would be NO. 1 or 2 in the BCS. This USC squad is not as polished offensively as their national championship teams of recent history. Pete Sanchez is pretty wild and overly excitied at times, Mcknight is bitten with the turnover bug, and Sarkasian doesn't seem to be interested in pounding the ball and wearing down the opponenet. Against poor teams they can light it up. Against good teams, this squad is always on a tightrope.

[patrick parsons]

Sorry to see Brian Burke step down but I understand his family obligations. Boston would make sense but Toronto is a better option with his good friend Ron Wilson already there as Coach.

Boston does love its renewed Bruins and Chicago is quickly falling for the new-look Hawks. Could the Times actually have underestimated the importance of the NHL to the national landscape?

And by the way, our ex-goalie was Dan Cloutier, not 'Clouthier.' The 'h' is silent, much like the impact he made while here in L.A.