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Coach K invokes Bill Belichick’s rough UNC debut when asked about Michael Malone’s Tar Heels hire

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NBA champion or not, legendary Duke Blue Devils head basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski isn’t too worried about Michael Malone, who was reportedly hired to replace Hubert Davis with the UNC Tar heels, getting the program back on track.

After all, Krzyzewski’s biggest rival during his illustrious Duke tenure was UNC. And he invoked Bill Belichick when asked about the Malone hire during his appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Monday.

“They had an NFL champion hired as the coach, and Duke beat Carolina football this year,” Krzyzewski told McAfee and A.J. Hawk with a smirk on the program. “That doesn’t mean coach Belichick isn’t a great coach, but there is time for adjustments. It takes longer coming from the pros to college.”

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Belichick learned that firsthand last season, his first in college football with the Tar Heels. While Duke finished with a 9-5 overall record, and won the ACC title, UNC was a paltry 4-8 with a 2-6 ACC record.

Also, as Krzyzewski mentioned, Duke defeated Belichick’s UNC crew, 32-25, to end his first season with a loss.

FORMER DUKE PLAYER DESCRIBES COACH K’S WAY OF DUMBING DOWN MARCH MADNESS BRACKET INTO MICRO TOURNAMENTS

Of course, the college game has completely changed now, with name, image and likeness (NIL) deals paving ways for richer programs to pay for the cream of the crop in the transfer portal as well as out of high school.

Belichick and his staff will need to be more creative, and perhaps open the checkbooks more, as this new college system continues to stay in place.

But football isn’t king at Chapel Hill – basketball reigns supreme. Krzyzewski knows this, as the Blue Devils were usually pitted against the Tar Heels as top teams in the country fighting for not just bragging rights, but national titles.

Malone coached the Denver Nuggets for 10 seasons, which included an NBA title in 2023. However, he was fired in April 2025, quickly taking a sports media role with ESPN one month later.

The Tar Heels, who fired Davis following UNC’s crushing loss to VCU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, are taking a similar route as the football program – a coach with a great track record in the pros, but no head coaching experience in college.

Malone was an assistant at Oakland, Providence and Manhattan before transitioning to the NBA with the New York Knicks in 2001. His first NBA head coaching gig came with the Sacramento Kings before cementing his spot in Denver.

“Mike is a terrific coach and a terrific guy, there’s a learning curve,” Krzyzewski added. “Whatever the reasoning is, maybe they’re changing; they now have two pro coaches coaching in college. The infrastructure of their athletic department is now going to become more of a pro-organization, which I think everybody should be doing that. He knows how to do that, and so does coach Belichick. Maybe it’s a sign that they’re moving in that direction organizationally.”

Malone is hoping for a better inaugural season in Chapel Hill than Belichick, who returns for another football season looking to turn the tides on the gridiron.

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Dave McGinnis, former Cardinals head coach and beloved Titans assistant, dead at 74

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Dave McGinnis, a former Arizona Cardinals head coach and Tennessee Titans assistant coach, died on Monday. He was 74.

The Titans announced the death of McGinnis, who died after being hospitalized for an illness in early March. The Titans’ news release said that he passed away at Ascension St. Thomas Midtown Hospital with his family by his side.

“My heart aches with the loss of Coach Mac, who was so much more than a coach and broadcaster – he was family,” Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk said in a statement.

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Cardinals owner Michael Bidwell also released a statement on McGinnis.

“As Dave often said, he was a ‘ball coach’ through and through, and no one ever filled that role with more passion, enthusiasm and charisma,” Bidwell said. “Coach Mac truly loved the game and everything – and everyone – associated with it, especially his players. He was one of a kind and will be greatly missed.”

McGinnis found himself in an interim head coaching role during the 2000 season with the Cardinals, the team for which he served as defensive coordinator in 1996. He was retained in the head coaching post from 2001-03.

KIM WOOD, NFL’S FIRST FULL-TIME STRENGTH COACH AND WEIGHT-TRAINING PIONEER, DEAD AT 80

In 57 career games, McGinnis went 17-40 with the Cardinals, ultimately being fired after a 4-12 season in 2003.

After he was fired, McGinnis landed with the Titans as a linebackers coach under head coach Jeff Fisher. He would become a mainstay in Nashville, holding that role and eventually being promoted to assistant head coach until 2011.

“Coach Mac gave so much of himself to this organization over the years, and his passion, loyalty and love for the Titans never wavered,” Strunk added. “He cared deeply about the people around him, and that kindness and authenticity left a lasting impact on everyone who knew him. He held a very special place in our family, and his presence in our lives and within this franchise will never be forgotten. We will miss him dearly, and we will always be grateful for the legacy he leaves behind.”

McGinnis’s coaching career began in 1973 when he was an assistant with TCU. He also held posts with Indiana State, Missouri and Kansas State until the 1986 season when he broke into the NFL with the Chicago Bears.

McGinnis served as linebackers coach for Chicago from 1986-95 before getting a promotion with the Cardinals. He also held roles with the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams before leaving coach after the 2016 campaign.

McGinnis returned to Nashville to join Titans Radio in 2017, where he served as a color announcer for games.

“I love Dave McGinnis, and I don’t know that I’ve met anybody who was created for football, and a football life, more than Coach Mac,” said Burke Nihill, president and CEO of the Titans. “He just loved the game. Obviously, he played it for a long time and coached it for longer, and with everything he has done for us over the years as color commentator and a Titans personality. He lived such a special football life. He was such a special guy.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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US military kills 2 suspected cartel operatives in latest Eastern Pacific lethal strike, SOUTHCOM says

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The U.S. military carried out another lethal strike targeting suspected cartel operatives in the Eastern Pacific on Monday, killing two individuals believed to be involved in narcotics trafficking, according to U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM).

“Applying total systemic friction on the cartels,” SOUTHCOM said in a post on X. “On April 13, at the direction of #SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations.

“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” the post continued. “Two male narco-terrorists were killed during this action. No U.S. military forces were harmed.”

The strike comes two days after SOUTHCOM conducted similar operations against two other suspected vessels operated by designated groups.

US, ECUADOR LAUNCH JOINT OPERATIONS TARGETING NARCO-TERROR GROUPS: SOUTHCOM

Officials said intelligence confirmed those vessels were traveling along known drug trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and were actively engaged in narcotics operations.

Two men were killed in the first strike and three in the second, while one individual survived the initial attack.

SOUTHCOM said it immediately called on the U.S. Coast Guard to conduct search and rescue operations for the lone survivor. No U.S. forces were injured in either operation.

US MILITARY LAUNCHES DEADLY STRIKE ON DRUG-TRAFFICKING VESSEL IN THE PACIFIC, LEAVING 2 DEAD AND 1 SURVIVOR

The operations are part of a broader U.S. military effort to disrupt cartel-linked trafficking networks at sea, with officials increasingly describing such groups using terrorism-related designations.

The strikes were carried out under Joint Task Force Southern Spear, an ongoing mission focused on targeting transnational criminal organizations operating along key maritime drug routes in the region.

The Eastern Pacific remains a major corridor for narcotics trafficking, where cartels frequently rely on small, fast-moving vessels to transport drugs north toward the U.S. and Central America.

US KILLS 11 IN 3 STRIKES ON ALLEGED DRUG-RUNNING BOATS

The use of the term “Designated Terrorist Organizations” reflects a more aggressive posture by the Trump administration, which has expanded the use of military force against suspected narcotics traffickers beyond traditional law enforcement approaches.

SOUTHCOM has not released additional details about the identities of those killed or the specific groups involved.

The command is responsible for military operations in Central and South America and the Caribbean, including counter-narcotics missions aimed at disrupting drug trafficking networks that threaten U.S. interests.

The U.S. has carried out dozens of strikes on suspected drug-smuggling vessels in recent months as part of a broader campaign to dismantle cartel-linked trafficking operations and increase pressure on transnational criminal organizations.

Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.

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Los Angeles hotel industry ‘struggling’ under wage mandate signed by Mayor Karen Bass, new survey finds

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Hotels in Los Angeles, California are struggling, a new report from industry researchers claimed in a new report.

“Hotels are struggling to keep up with rising operating costs coupled with falling demand,” the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) researchers said last week.

According to AHLA, the city’s minimum wage mandate and other policies led to increased “costs without flexibility to reflect market conditions and demand levels.”

A phased-in minimum wage hike in Los Angeles mandated up to $30 per hour for airport and hotel workers. The law was signed into law last year by Mayor Karen Bass, mandating that their hourly wage must be raised by $2.50 each year until they reach $30 in 2028.

DAVID SPADE WONDERS IF HOLLYWOOD CAN RECOVER ITS MOVIE INDUSTRY AS PEOPLE FLEE LOS ANGELES

The AHLA is the largest hotel association in America, representing more than 30,000 members from all segments of the industry nationwide. Its methodology stated it was a “member survey of Los Angeles hotel operators and owners” that featured “16 questions in multiple-choice, select-all-that-apply, and ranking formats.”

The report claimed that the policies led to reduced hiring and cuts in labor hours. Other issues that arose included delayed or canceled hotel investment and development, reduced airline operations and restaurant closures.

“The report finds that hotels across Los Angeles are facing increasing financial and operational pressure as rising labor and operating costs outpace revenue growth, noting that development is slowing, investment is shifting to other markets, and some hotels have closed or delayed expansion plans,” the report stated.

The report found that none of the members believe Los Angeles is a favorable environment to make investments and 80% said that the city is not a good place for long-term hotel investment. Almost all the members surveyed said that rolling back the regulations would make the city’s market more attractive. 

TAX AND RUN: HOW NY AND CALIFORNIA ARE BLEEDING PEOPLE AND PROSPERITY

AHLA said that hotels are the backbone of Los Angeles’ tourism economy, investing millions of dollars in the city every year.

“Los Angeles hotels generate $12.5 billion in annual economic activity, support nearly 64,000 jobs, and produce more than $1.1 billion in state and local tax revenue that funds essential public services,” according to the report.

This isn’t the first time the AHLA has released a report showing adverse effects of the minimum wage mandate after Bass signed it into law. The AHLA previously commissioned another study that found hotels have eliminated or expect to eliminate 6% of positions, roughly 650 jobs, since the Hotel Worker Minimum Wage Ordinance took effect in September.

CALIFORNIA ADVOCATES INSIST ON RAISING MINIMUM WAGE TO $30 DESPITE RESEARCH SHOWING ‘NEGATIVE OUTCOMES’

The Los Angeles City Council and Mayor Bass’ office did not respond to Fox News Digital‘s requests for comment.

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