Dad Scha No Fan Of Mascot

As the Miami Heat were beating up the Orlando Magic in the third quarter Sunday at Miami, one fan of note fought back in the stands.

Dolph Schayes, father of Magic center Danny Schayes, threw a rabbit punch at Burnie, the Heat’s mascot, after the furry creature sprayed water at several Magic fans sitting in the lower bowl of Miami Arena.

Security personnel quickly intervened, doing their best to calm Schayes as Burnie was escorted away.

“He was shooting water at us,” said Schayes, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame who played 16 seasons in the NBA and will turn 69 on May 19. “That’s a (expletive) thing to do. If it was confetti or something like that, that’s one thing. Do they think that’s (shooting water) funny?

“This is basketball. Let’s just play basketball.”

Sixers land Brown

Larry Brown will be named the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers today, The Associated Press has learned.

Team sources confirmed that Brown, 56, has agreed to become the 76ers’ sixth coach in the past seven seasons. He will replace Johnny Davis, who was fired after the team finished 22-60.

Vice president Dave Coskey said the team would have “a major announcement” today at 8 a.m. PDT, but declined to confirm it involves hiring Brown, who quit as Indiana’s coach on Wednesday.

Although Brown wanted some say in the team’s personnel decisions, sources indicated he will not have the general manager’s job, which remains open following the dismissal of Brad Greenberg and Davis on April 20.