The streets of downtown Los Angeles were transformed into a sea of purple and gold Wednesday as tens of thousands of joyous Los Angeles Lakers fans joined their team in a raucous but mostly peaceful celebration of its 15th NBA championship.

Taking a time out from work or unemployment, 95,000 people filled the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to give a hero’s welcome to players and coaches, who were showered with purple and gold confetti as the Randy Newman song “I Love L.A.” blared from loudspeakers.

Tens of thousands more fans lined a 21/2-mile parade route, standing 20 or more deep beneath bright sunshine to cheer as double-decker buses carried the team to the stadium.

“Thank you for all the support, baby. We love you. Let’s go, Lakers,” veteran guard Derek Fisher, one of the heroes of the NBA finals, shouted to fans along the route.

Reserve Sasha Vujacic happily snapped photos, and star forward Lamar Odom tweeted, “Wow! This is crazy!”

At the stadium, the Laker Girls danced on a hardwood floor that was moved to the Coliseum from Staples Center, the team’s home court.

NBA

Wolves dump McHale

Minneapolis — During 15 years in charge of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Kevin McHale forged two distinct reputations.

There was McHale the gifted teacher, beloved by players and staff for his relentlessly positive demeanor and an unending eagerness to share his wealth of basketball knowledge. Then there was McHale the mistake-prone executive, vilified by fans for a series of blunders and the failure to make his team into a consistent championship contender.

New president of basketball operations David Kahn dumped McHale as coach Wednesday, praising him as a “great man” who deserves respect. But Kahn offered no specific reasons during a news conference for his decision, saying instead that “this is going to be a transition period. And with the changes that have occurred, and with the changes that are still going to come, it would have been difficult to put (McHale) in the middle of that again.”

baseball

Congress to look at Sosa

Washington — A congressional committee will look into former baseball slugger Sammy Sosa’s denial that he used illegal performance-enhancing drugs in light of a report that he tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug in 2003.

Mel Hall gets 45 years

Fort Worth, Texas — Former major-league outfielder Mel Hall was sentenced to 45 years in prison Wednesday after being convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl he coached on an elite basketball team. Hall was convicted on three counts of aggravated sexual assault and two counts of indecency with a child.

La Russa All-Star coach

New York — Cardinals manager Tony La Russa will join Dodgers manager Joe Torre as an NL coach for next month’s All-Star game in St. Louis.

Torre said last month he had been selected by Philadelphia’s Charlie Manuel, the NL manager.

AL manager Joe Maddon of Tampa Bay picked Kansas City’s Trey Hillman and Seattle’s Don Wakamatsu as his coaches, the commissioner’s office said Wednesday.

The game is July 14.

College basketball

UCLA’s Gordon hurt

Los Angeles — Drew Gordon of UCLA has partially torn the patellar tendon in his right knee during tryouts for the U.S. team that will play in the Under-19 world basketball championships.

The sophomore forward was hurt Tuesday in Colorado Springs, Colo., the university said Wednesday. Gordon was scheduled to return to Los Angeles on Wednesday night, when he will be further evaluated.

There were no immediate details about his prognosis, the school said.

BYU coach has cancer

Provo, Utah — BYU basketball coach Dave Rose has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

The university said on its Web site Wednesday that Rose’s family announced that tests from emergency surgery he had earlier this month to stop internal bleeding were positive for cancer. Rose had his spleen and a portion of his pancreas removed during the surgery.

College football

Alabama to appeal

Tuscaloosa, Ala. — The University of Alabama plans to appeal a ruling by the NCAA Committee on Infractions that forced the football program to vacate 21 wins.

University President Robert Witt, who announced the decision Wednesday, said the penalties were excessive.

NFL

Ex-QB Leaf arrested

Dallas — Former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf posted a $45,000 bond Wednesday in Washington for drug and burglary charges out of Texas after being arrested by customs agents as he returned to the United States from Canada.