OAKLAND, Calif. -- A foot-long dark burn scar going from Mike Browns right quadriceps down his lower leg reminds him each day of his good fortune.There are also the dozen or so round burn blotches on his right arm, and a tiny spot on his lip that would go unnoticed except that the new Warriors assistant knows its there.The old coach of stars like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant during stints with the Cavaliers and Lakers endured quite a memorable couple of years out of the NBA spotlight. He worked informally for Gregg Popovich in San Antonio. He found a place in Albuquerque so he could regularly watch his oldest son, Elijah, play basketball for New Mexico. Then, Brown survived a frightening May kitchen fire at his Cleveland home with his younger son.He has moved forward and found himself in an ideal situation that might just lead to another opportunity to be a head coach down the line. He replaced former top assistant Luke Walton, now coaching the Lakers.NBA Coach of the Year with the Cavs in 2009, Brown realizes he landed in a great spot with Golden State, next to reigning Coach of the Year Steve Kerr and up close to MVP Stephen Curry and prized offseason acquisition Kevin Durant.Brown is thrilled to be talking basketball again, back to the daily routine of practice, meetings, film study and scouting opponents. He was fired in May 2014 by the Cavs after a second stint as coach.All of the scrutiny he faced there seems so minor now.One scary day in May, Brown was upstairs in his Cleveland home packing for a fun weekend away in Florida with a buddy when son Cameron screamed from the kitchen below that there was a fire. The 19-year-old was frying pecan dessert he had made before when the oil caught fire. Brown rushed down, stepped in to stop the flames and slipped on some oil. He found himself on the kitchen floor, his right side burning.It was May 27, Brown says. Ill never forget the day. Thats my youngest sons birthday.Brown was wearing shorts. Had he been in long pants, it would have been far worse. His right foot burned, too, the flames going right through a good pair of sneakers.They didnt call 911, driving to a hospital five minutes away. Brown walked into the emergency room and was immediately hit with two shots of morphine. He spent the night.You just react, Brown recalled of the terrifying ordeal. And then when its over you realize, `Boy, I cant believe that it happened. I could have died, my son could have. You think of stuff like that after its over and you just realize how precious your time is here. ... It was a crazy experience to say the least.Brown walked around Warriors media day last month with a big grin and distinctively dressed in long basketball shorts with a suit jacket and tie, clearly comfortable and thriving in his new surroundings.Its pretty hard not to with the vibe Golden State has going. After capturing the 2015 NBA championship, the Warriors set NBA records with a 24-0 start last season and a 73-win finish before losing to the Cavs in Game 7 of the Finals.Its very refreshing to see the true relationships everybody has, Brown said. From top down, its been refreshing, its been fun, its been a learning experience. You always want to be able to contribute something.And it is the defensive-minded Brown who recently proposed a new substitution pattern to Kerr with the idea of keeping two starters on the floor at all times -- meaning Curry, Durant and fellow All-Stars Draymond Green and Klay Thompson will get their much-needed breaks throughout the course of a 48-minute game.Mike is very detail-oriented. Hes brought me a lot of good stuff in terms of Xs and Os but also substitution patterns. Were really revamping our substitution look this year, said Kerr, who played in San Antonio at the end of his career while Brown was an assistant to Popovich. Mike was better in math than I was, so Mike is very methodical and sort of numbers-oriented. Hes been great in practice, hes fun to be around, so hes doing a great job.Brown spent part of the past year observing and offering input to Popovich in an unofficial capacity.He hopes to do something to repay Popovich someday for the opportunity.Pop is obviously a great coach but hes a great man. I cherish the relationship that I have with him, Brown said. This past year for me was fantastic because it gave me an opportunity to be involved in the game but to get close to my boys in the same breath. Whenever they werent playing or I wasnt visiting with them, I was with the Spurs. I was traveling with them, I was in their meetings, I was at all the practices. I didnt do any on-court coaching because I wasnt working but again hes open. He would ask me my opinion, I would sit in the coaches meetings, sit in the locker room before the games, halftime, the end of games. It was a great experience for me just being connected to the game again.With all Brown went through over the past year, he is enjoying every moment of his new gig.Now Im here in the Bay Area, Im a Warrior, Im hanging with Steve, the rest of the staff, Draymond, KD, he said. Its good.Sports Jerseys From China . LOUIS -- Lance Lynn was one of the more enthusiastic participants as the St. Clearance Sports Jerseys . -- Five former Kansas City Chiefs players who were on the team between 1987 and 1993 filed a lawsuit Tuesday claiming the team hid and even lied about the risks of head injuries during that time period when there was no collective bargaining agreement in place in the NFL. https://www.discountsportsjerseyscheap.com/ .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. Wholesale Sports Jerseys . -- Charline Labonte couldnt have asked for a better homecoming. Cheap Sports Jerseys . "Thank you for the warm welcome," Beckham said on an 80-degree February morning. In this case, it was soccer weather. The sport moved a step closer to returning to South Florida on Wednesday, when Beckham confirmed he has exercised his option to purchase a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in Miami.SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly says he intends to make four of the five players arrested by state police on marijuana possession charges available to play when the 10th-ranked Fighting Irish open the season at Texas on Sunday.Wide receiver Kevin Stepherson and linebacker Tevon Coney were listed on the depth chart released Tuesday and Kelly has said he expects running back Dexter Williams and cornerback Ashton White to contribute this season.Kelly said athletic department policy states that the first marijuana offense is an educational process and he has never suspended a player for a first offense. He said the school could still discipline the players, but there is no deadline for such a move.If something changes, the university will let us know, said Kelly, who noted that the players will be in a program that will include random drug tests.We think thats appropriate. We think thats an important part of the education process as well, he said.Kelly dismissed a fifth player, safety Max Redfield, who also was charged in the saame Aug.dddddddddddd 19 incident with a misdemeanor charge of carrying a handgun without a license. Kelly said Redfield, who was sent home early from the Fiesta Bowl last season for violating team rules, was kicked off the team because of the gun charge.Thats what caused the dismissal. And as an upperclassman, not really living up to the standards that I set, Kelly said.Asked for comment outside court, Redfield said: I wish the best to them.The five players were formally charged on Monday. Coney, Stepherson and Redfield appeared in court Tuesday in Rochester, 45 miles south of South Bend, where a judge entered not guilty pleas for them. Attorneys for Williams and White filed motions to waive initial hearings.The five were arrested after their car was stopped for speeding and an improper taillight. Police say they found two bags of marijuana. The five players told police the gun was not theirs, court documents said. ' ' '
