Minnesota fires its head coach

MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- The Minnesota Timberwolves Saturday fired Coach Flip Saunders and said Kevin McHale, VP of Basketball Operations, will take over for the rest of the season.

The Timberwolves were 1-7 mark in their last eight games and are 25-26 this season.

Minnesota, advanced to the Western Conference finals last year, but is currently 11 1/2 games behind Northwest Division leading Seattle.

Saunders, 49, has coached the Timberwolves since replacing Bill Blair after 20 games of the 1995-96 season. Last year he led the club to its best-ever mark of 58-24, the NBA's top record.

McHale, a former Boston star, joined the Timberwolves in 1993-94. He has served as a special assistant to the coaching staff (1993-94), broadcast analyst (1993-95) and assistant general manager (1994-95) before moving into his current role in May of 1995. This will be the first time he has been a head coach in the NBA.