DETROIT -- Even by the Detroit Pistons recent standards, this was an abrupt change. Courtland Sutton Womens Jersey . Detroit fired coach Maurice Cheeks on Sunday after less than a year as coach, with the Pistons languishing well below .500 despite off-season moves aimed at putting the struggling franchise back in contention. Detroit is 21-29, and although the Pistons still have a decent chance to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference, their new roster has performed erratically. "This was a difficult decision for the organization to make but we needed to make a change," team president Joe Dumars said in a statement. "We have great respect for Maurice and appreciate his hard work." A person with knowledge of Detroits plans said assistant John Loyer will take over as interim coach. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced an interim coach yet. The Pistons havent made the playoffs since being swept in the first round in 2009 -- in Michael Currys only season as their coach. Since then, Detroit has gone through two seasons under John Kuester and two under Lawrence Frank. After neither of them could make any real progress, Cheeks was brought in as Detroits ninth coach since the 1999-2000 season. In addition to hiring Cheeks last off-season, Detroit signed forward Josh Smith and traded for point guard Brandon Jennings, trying to bolster a roster that already included young big men Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe. But the mix has been uninspiring for the most part. The Pistons have had problems defensively and have struggled to close out games in the fourth quarter. The poor attendance thats become commonplace at The Palace hasnt really improved -- and Detroits 11-15 home record hasnt helped. "Our record does not reflect our talent and we simply need a change," Pistons owner Tom Gores said Sunday. "We have not made the kind of progress that we should have over the first half of the season. This is a young team and we knew there would be growing pains, but we can be patient only as long as there is progress." Detroit is only a half-game out of the final playoff spot in the East, but thats largely because so many teams in the conference are having similar problems. The Pistons are only three games better than they were after 50 games last season. Cheeks became the first coach to leave or be fired after 50 games or fewer with an NBA team since Bob Weiss, who coached only 30 games for Seattle in 2005-06, according to STATS. That does not include interim coaches. "The responsibility does not fall squarely on any one individual, but right now this change is a necessary step toward turning this thing around," Gores said. "I still have a lot of hope for this season and I expect our players to step up. I respect and appreciate Maurice Cheeks and thank him for his efforts; we just require a different approach." The Pistons have won four of six, including back-to-back blowouts at home against Brooklyn and Denver on Friday and Saturday. They host San Antonio on Monday night, and the team has not made any announcement about who will coach that game. Cheeks previously coached Portland and Philadelphia, a team he won an NBA title with as a point guard. The Pistons gave him his third shot to be an NBA head coach in June. Gores was in attendance at a recent game and said he thought the team was better than its record. "Im not satisfied. Our job is to make sure that our players are at their maximum," Gores said after that Feb. 1 game against Philadelphia. "Im not satisfied with the job Im doing. Im not satisfied with the job anyone is doing." At that point, speculation centred around the upcoming trade deadline and the possibility that Detroit might shake up its roster again. Now, the Pistons are hoping another coaching change can improve the franchises outlook. Detroit made the conference finals six straight years from 2003-08, but the teams fall was swift after that, and rebuilding has been difficult. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Pistons championship in 2004 -- and the atmosphere at The Palace could hardly be more different. "Were focused on how to make our players the best," Gores said earlier this month. "I dont think weve done our best job of making sure they are at their best. They are working at 100 per cent, but these are young men who need a lot of preparation." The Pistons became the third major pro team in Detroit to make a coaching or managerial change in the past six months. Jim Leyland of the Tigers stepped down and was replaced by Brad Ausmus after last season, and the Lions fired Jim Schwartz in late December, eventually replacing him with Jim Caldwell. So Ausmus, who has yet to manage a game, is now the second-longest tenured manager or coach of the citys four major pro teams. Yahoo Sports first reported Cheeks firing. Von Miller Jersey . - The Oakland Athletics say they are stopping negotiations to extend their lease at the Coliseum. Dalton Risner Womens Jersey . Neither made it that far in 2013. Not even close. Federer lost his second match at the All England Club. Nadal exited in the first round, a year after bowing out in the second. http://www.broncosrookiestore.com/Broncos-Brian-Dawkins-Jersey/ . Bradwell was scheduled to become a free agent Tuesday. Born and raised in Toronto, Bradwell is entering his sixth CFL season, with all six played for his hometown Argonauts.BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins rink is 200 feet long by 85 feet wide, just like all the others in the NHL. So much ice. But in the playoff opener with the Detroit Red Wings, so little room to skate. Pavel Datsyuk managed to find enough space in the tight-checking game to score with 3:01 left and give the Red Wings a 1-0 win on Friday night. Now Boston has to create more room in Game 2 on Sunday or it could be looking at a 2-0 deficit with the best-of-seven series shifting to Detroit. "We thought that the game was actually faster than it was," Bruins centre David Krejci said. "We just have to hold on to the puck and make some confident plays." The more physical Bruins are usually the ones crowding opponents. They allowed the second-fewest goals during the regular season. But the speedy Red Wings stepped up their checking and limited the opportunities for the NHLs third-highest scoring team. "We did a fairly good job of boxing out and playing quicker on the defensive side of things," Detroit defenceman Niklas Kronwall said. "In our zone when we got the puck we were able to get it out fairly quick. We were able to get the pucks deep and go after their defence instead." The top-seeded Bruins won the Presidents Cup with the most points in the regular season, 117. The eighth-seeded Red Wings had just 93. But Boston coach Claude Julien knew going into the series that the disparity would not be nearly as great in the playoffs, which usually feature tighter checking and physical play. "I think we were physical enough" in the opener, Julien said Saturday. "We still had a lot of good hits. They do a good job when it comes to our forecheck. They get there, they like to have bodies in front of us on the forecheckers to kind of slow us down and we have to find ways to get through that." Five more things to look for as the Bruins try to gain a split: PAVEL PRODUCES: Datsyuk averaged 23 goals in his first 11 seasons with Detroit and had 17 this year despite playing in just 45 games. He missed 16 games with a knee injury and played just six moore regular-season games after returning April 4. Bradley Chubb Youth Jersey. But he came through as he has so many times to score the winning goal. "Ive had him for a long time and, obviously, hes a world-class player and hes coming back from an injury, which is obvious when you see him out there," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said, "but he can still do some very good things." STINGY GOALIES: Bostons Tuukka Rask had the better numbers during the regular season with an NHL-leading seven shutouts while Detroits Jimmy Howard had just two. And both were impressive in the opener despite not facing many challenging shots. Rask did make an outstanding pad save on a rebound shot by Darren Helm early in the third period, and Howard knocked aside a deflection by Milan Lucic less than 30 seconds before Datsyuk scored. Expect more of the same stinginess as the series goes on. "Tuukka is a great goalie and we are going to have to keep finding ways to go to the net and get screens in front of his eyes because if he sees it, hes going to stop it," Howard said. POWER PLAY: The Bruins had the NHLs third-best power play, but the Red Wings committed just one penalty. The Red Wings were 0 for 2 on Friday after finishing 18th in power-play production. BRUINS DEPTH: Boston had 10 players with at least 10 goals and has four solid lines. But left wings Chris Kelly on the third line and Daniel Paille on the fourth were sidelined Friday and could miss Sundays game. The Bruins also were without two of their top six defencemen, Matt Bartkowski and Kevan Miller. Julien said he didnt know if Bartkowski and Miller would play Sunday. JUST ONE GAME: The Red Wings arent likely to get overconfident after winning the first game, even if it was on the road. In the second round last season, they led Chicago 3-1, then lost the next three games. The Blackhawks went on to win the Stanley Cup in six games over the Bruins. "You dont win the Presidents Trophy for not being a good team," Detroit forward Drew Miller said. "So weve got to be prepared." ' ' '