Fast Break

NBA

No playoffs, no job for Carlisle

Rick Carlisle was fired Wednesday after four tumultuous years as Indiana Pacers coach, following a season in which the team failed to make the playoffs for the first time in a decade.

The Pacers finished the season 35-47, their worst since 1988-89. Indiana was 29-24 shortly after the All-Star break, but lost its next 11 games to fall out of the top eight in the Eastern Conference. A loss to Detroit on April 3 clinched the Pacers’ first losing season since 1996-97.

Team president Larry Bird said Carlisle can return to the team in another capacity.

Basketball

Q&A with U-Hi’s Bjorklund

University’s Angie Bjorklund was a first-team selection on the USA Today All-USA girls basketball team. The following is an excerpt from a question and answer session with USA Today:

•Why do you wear No. 12? “Same as John Stockton. He’s the man.”

•Favorite class: Art. “I love to draw.”

•Favorite teacher: Miss Walters, math.

•In 10 years, I want to be doing what: “Playing in the WNBA.”

•Favorite food: Chocolate chip cookie dough.

•If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be? Dwyane Wade.

•What’s in your iPod? Jack Johnson.

•WNBA player I admire most: Shanna Crossley (San Antonio). “She’s my role model.”

•What’s your ride? 1997 Ford Expedition.

•Text or e-mail? Text. “It’s handy.”

Olympics

Chinese plan weather change

Chance of showers during the 2008 Beijing Olympics: 50 percent. But Chinese meteorologists have a plan to bring sunshine.

The meteorologists say they can force rain in the days before the Olympics, through a process known as cloud-seeding, to clean the air and ensure clear skies. China has been tinkering with artificial rainmaking for decades, but whether it works is a matter of debate among scientists.

The forced rain could also help clean Beijing’s polluted air, said Wang Jianjie, another meteorologist with the bureau.