New York ? Larry Brown no longer is the NBA’s dead man walking. His “dream job” as coach of the New York Knicks is over, finally ending what may have been the most drawn-out firing in sports history.

Now Isiah Thomas gets the job of coaching the overpriced, underachieving roster he created.

The Knicks put Brown out of his coaching misery Thursday, ending weeks of uncertainty by firing the Hall of Fame coach and replacing him with Thomas, the team president and general manager.

Brown has four years and a reported $40 million left on his deal, but may have to fight to see all of it. The Knicks are expected to claim they’re not obligated to pay the full contract.

“I won’t discuss the contract terms with anybody,” said Joe Glass, Brown’s longtime agent. “The contract stands on its own two feet.”

In Brown’s lone season in New York, the Knicks stumbled to a 23-59 record – second worst in the NBA and matching the most losses in club history. But Brown’s public feud with Stephon Marbury and criticism of other players may have angered owner James Dolan more than the losing.

The day after the season ended, Thomas said Brown would return next season. But less than a month later, reports surfaced that Dolan was looking to buy out Brown’s contract.

Glass had said he wouldn’t accept a buyout, so the Knicks began biding their time. That created an awkward situation in which Brown – who called himself a “dead man walking” because of the uncertainty – was running the Knicks’ workouts of draft prospects without knowing his ultimate role.

He showed up to run another one Thursday at the Knicks’ practice facility, where Dolan already was waiting and eventually fired Brown.

Brown coached the Pistons to the NBA title in the 2003-04 season. He missed 17 games the following year with the Pistons because of hip-replacement surgery. That led to a bladder problem that required surgery.

Brown is 1,010-800 in 23 seasons as an NBA coach, making previous stops in Denver, New Jersey, San Antonio, the Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana, Philadelphia and Detroit. He also coached four seasons in the ABA and won a national championship with Kansas University in 1988.

It’s not known if he will seek another NBA job next season.

NBA

Ratings up for finals

New York – Ratings for ABC’s coverage of Miami’s victory over Dallas in the NBA finals were up 12 percent over last year’s series. The six-game average rating was an 8.5, surpassing the 7.6 the network drew for San Antonio’s victory over Detroit last year. The games drew an average of 13 million viewers, 13 percent higher than last season’s average of 11.5. The 10.1 rating for Miami’s series-clinching victory Tuesday night was up 15 percent from the 8.8 that Game 6 drew last year.

Jordan goes to work

Charlotte, N.C. – Michael Jordan went to work for the Charlotte Bobcats on Thursday, overseeing a pre-draft workout as part-owner of the team. Jordan, who has been given decision-making power on personnel decisions, helped conduct on-court drills during most of the workout.

Jordan has yet to speak publicly in his home state since acquiring the largest individual stake in the team behind majority owner Bob Johnson. Jordan hasn’t worked in the NBA since he was fired as the Washington Wizards’ president of basketball operations in 2003.

NFL

Saints to train in Mississippi

Jackson, Miss. – The New Orleans Saints are marching to Mississippi. The Saints announced a four-year agreement Thursday to hold training camp at Millsaps College in an attempt to broaden the team’s fan base and help new coach Sean Payton build team unity.

Financial terms weren’t disclosed, though the announcement had been expected for weeks, ever since Benson and other team officials toured the Division III campus a month ago.

The Saints will hold 35 practices July 28 through Aug. 25, the day before they play the Indianapolis Colts across the street from the downtown Jackson campus at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in their third preseason game.

College Football

Huskers, Vols plan meetings

Lincoln, Neb. – Nebraska and Tennessee football teams will play each other in 2016 and 2017, Cornhusker athletic director Steve Pederson said Thursday. Nebraska will play host to the Volunteers on Sept. 10, 2016, and then play at Tennessee on Sept. 9, 2017. The 2016 game will be their first regular-season meeting.

Golf

Curtis’ 62 tops Booz Allen

Potomac, Md. – Ben Curtis is still searching for the elusive victory that proves his 2003 British Open title wasn’t a flash in the pan. A career-best round at the Booz Allen Classic might have him on his way. Curtis shot a 9-under-par 62 Thursday, topping a lackluster field in the first round of an anticlimactic tournament following the U.S. Open. He took advantage of the impeccable conditions at a TPC at Avenel course that looked especially inviting after last week’s brutal challenge at Winged Foot.

Curtis led Jeff Gove by one shot and Jose Coceres by two, with Steve Flesch and Will MacKenzie three back.

Ahn leader at LPGA event

Pittsford, N.Y. – Shi Hyun Ahn bested the swirling winds and opened with a 7-under-par 65 Thursday to take a one-stroke lead over rookie Brittany Lang in the Rochester LPGA. Soo Young Moon was third with a 67, one better than Korean compatriot Gloria Park.

Bjorn fires 65 in Scotland

Gleneagles, Scotland – Thomas Bjorn shot an 8-under 65 Thursday for a two-shot lead in the first round of the Johnnie Walker Championship. Bjorn led Paul Casey, Andres Romero and Andrew McLardy, who all had 67s.

Olympics

List cut for 2014 Games

Lausanne, Switzerland – A traditional Alpine setting in the heart of Europe. A burgeoning winter sports center in east Asia. A lush sea and mountain resort on the Black Sea.

That’s the lineup for the 2014 Winter Olympics after the IOC executive board pared the field Thursday to three finalists – Salzburg, Austria; Pyeongchang, South Korea; and Sochi, Russia.

Eliminated from the race were Almaty, Kazakhstan; Borjomi, Georgia; Jaca, Spain; and Sofia, Bulgaria.

Salzburg finished first in the IOC’s technical ratings and is the clear early front-runner.

While the cut was made by the Olympics’ 15-member ruling body, the full 100-plus IOC assembly will select the host city in Guatemala City on July 4, 2007.

Hockey

Thornton wins NHL MVP

Vancouver, British Columbia – Joe Thornton edged out Jaromir Jagr again. Thornton, who beat out Jagr for the scoring title by two points, took the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP on Thursday, with Jagr again relegated to runner-up.

San Jose’s standout center already had the Art Ross Trophy tucked away as the league’s top scorer, thanks to a 125-point regular season. Thornton won the MVP in a close vote of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Assn., finishing with 1,058 points to Jagr’s 974. Calgary goalie Miikka Kiprusoff was a distant third with 561 votes.

Kiprusoff won his first Vezina Trophy as top NHL goaltender, ending Martin Brodeur’s run at two in a row. Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin beat out fellow freshman scoring sensation Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguin and hard-hitting Calgary Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf for the Calder Memorial Trophy as top NHL rookie.

Tennis

Champ gains Ordina semis

Den Bosch, Netherlands – Defending champion Mario Ancic beat Fabrice Santoro of France, 6-4, 6-0, Thursday to reach the semifinals at the Ordina Open.

Clijsters wins at Eastbourne

Eastbourne, England – Defending champion Kim Clijsters and third-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne won quarterfinal matches in the Hastings Direct grass-court tournament Thursday and will meet for the 21st time in the semifinals.

Clijsters needed just 44 minutes to beat sixth-seeded Francesca Schiavone, 6-2, 6-1, and Henin-Hardenne overcame Russia’s Elena Likhovtseva, 6-2, 6-4.

Track & Field

Stadium evacuated twice

Indianapolis – Severe thunderstorms wiped out most of the opening-night schedule at the U.S. track and field championships on Thursday. Events, including the preliminary 100-meter heats, were rescheduled for today. The stadium was evacuated twice. USA Track & Field officials called off the night’s session after about a two-hour wait.