Sixers chairman Ed Snider can deny the Larry Brown rumors all he wants, but does anyone really believe him?

You can’t. Not when the Suxers are the laughingstock of the Philly sports community. Not when Larry Brown is the only man who might be able to take us from the brink of NBA purgatory. And, certainly not when Brown has a history of leaving cities after just a few years.

Denials usually mean one thing — there’s truth to be found.

If Snider really is not considering pursuing Brown to return as President, GM and coach of this godforsaken franchise, then shame on him. LB would be the ideal man to get the team on the right track while grooming his successor in the process. More on the second part of that plan in a bit.

The Sixers have to put the full court press on Larry Brown.

First, Brown sounds like he’d jump at the opportunity to return to the City of Brotherly Love. A city, mind you, that his wife and children have never left.

The Daily News’ Phil Jasner quotes Brown as saying, “I’ve said I’m not coaching anywhere but Charlotte. Now am I going to go home and talk to my wife and kids? I’ll be 70 years old . . . two young kids . . . Am I going to go talk to them? And find out what I need to do? And am I going to talk to Michael? Yeah . . . absolutely. But I’m not coaching anywhere but for Michael Jordan . . . if he wants me . . . and if I can work it out with my family.”

Anyone with an ounce of literary skills can make plenty of inferences here. The most obvious is that Brown is going to leave the Bobcats to be closer to his family. The Sixers have to be the leader in the clubhouse. Snider has remained very close with Brown. It’s a marriage that has worked and can work again.

The report also mentions Brown wanting Mike Woodson as coach if he doesn’t resign with Atlanta. Hogwash. Brown is a coach and will coach the Sixers if he comes here. The question is, at his age and with his propensity for leaving teams after three or four years, what will his exit strategy be?

How about Eric Snow as the coach in waiting. Think of him to Brown as Avery Johnson was to Don Nelson in Dallas. Snow was a hard nosed player who made a living by being a coach on the floor. He had the respect of Allen Iverson and LeBron James.

Snow will make an excellent coach someday if given the chance. Put him and Aaron McKie on the coaching staff and you have a bright future with two gys who know how to win. Brown can mold them into solid, if not great, head coaches.

Irregardless of Snow — which admittedly is a personal pipe dream at this point — the Sixers are dopes if the don’t fire Ed Stefanski yesterday and replace him with Larry Brown.

Mr. Snider: Time’s yours.

Eddie Jordan is finished as head coach of the Sixers by Friday. This much we know.

The fate of General Manager Ed Stefanski is still up in the air. Or is it?

Speculation and rumors are all over the place, and I have no issues adding to it. During the second quarter of tonight’s game on Comcast SportsNet, a member of the Sixers front office joined the broadcast to discuss the upcoming summer and the moves the team may make to get better.

Only problem is, your GM wasn’t the spokesman. Instead, it was assistant general manager Tony DiLeo. You remember him, right? The guy who replaced Mo Cheeks last year, only to be relieved of his duties in favor of Jordan.

Tony DiLeo points ed Stefanski toward the unemployment line.

Say what you want, but at least DiLeo took this team to the playoffs.

OK, so how does this all relate to Stefanski?

DiLeo has basically been in hiding most of the year, presumably embarrassed about the end of his coaching reign. Now, all of a sudden, he’s being put back in front of cameras?

Meanwhile, the supposed GM is nowhere to be found and hasn’t been heard from since the trade deadline?

Looks fishy to me. DiLeo is a company man and has been here long before either Eddie joined the franchise. Ed Snider undoubtedly has some loyalty to DiLeo. Plus, DiLeo worked well with Larry Brown, who may be on the Sixers radar after the season.

Bottom line is this could be just one more sign that Stefanski is getting canned and already knows his fate. Otherwise, wouldn’t he want to be out there fielding questions in an attempt to put his spin on the team’s future and salvage some credibility with the fan base?

Stefanski hiding on Fan Appreciation Night is almost as bad as the Allen Iverson-Chris Webber debacle a few years back.

For Stefanski’s sake, we hope he doesn’t live in New Jersey so he’s not stuck in a huge unemployment line with the state’s teachers thanks to Gov. Chris Christie.

If reports and rumors are accurate about Larry Brown wanting to find a job that gives him coaching and GM duties, the Sixers would be idiots not to pursue the well-traveled coach.

Brown, who has taken the Charlotte Bobcats to their first playoff appearance in franchise history this year, apparently wants to go somewhere closer to his family, who just happens to love the Philly area. Kate Fagan points out a report that Brown would be a good fit for the Sixers.

Larry Brown may be the only man capable of helping the Sixers recreate this scene in South Philly.

We couldn’t agree more. The Sixers have been searching for an identity since Brown left in the middle of the night to coach the Detroit Pistons. He brought a tough, defensive-minded presence to the team and is the only coach to get an Allen Iverson-led team to the NBA Finals.

The fact is, if anyone can turn this franchise around, its Brown.

Eddie Jordan is a goner when this pathetic season ends this week. GM Ed Stefanski should be right behind him. The question is, how long will Brown be coaching in the postseason, and will Ed Snider decide to go after and recruit his friend.

We’ll explore this situation more when the Sixers have played their last game, as well as an exit strategy for Brown when he is ready to retire. Let’s just say some of his former players are part of our plan.

The soundbite. It’s the thing that drives all broadcast media journalism.

With limited time, television and radio newscasts rely on brief, 10-second soundbites to tell stories. That is really nothing new. However, in this day of the race to be first with news, and not necessarily accurate, news outlets will take a statement and run with it. The fallout for those speaking to the media can be devastating.

Pro athletes must now be as careful as a political candidate or a company CEO. Say the wrong thing, and your reputation or approval rating will drop quicker than a Brad Lidge sinker (when he’s Lights Out).

Cole Hamel's postgame comments on Saturday demonstrate that pro athletes must receive more media training.

Cole Hamels proved this point with his postgame comments after Saturday’s loss in Game 3 of the World Series. The Phillies 2009 postseason LVP was quoted as saying, “I can’t wait for it (the season) to end. It’s been mentally draining. It’s one of those things, a year in, you just can’t wait for a fresh start.”

These quotes set off a firestorm in Philly among fans, traditional media, social media and talk radio.  Many, including your Daily Philadelphian, called for the end of Hamels’ season even if the team went on to force a Game 7. How do you wish for the season to end when your team is in the thick of World Series battle?

Hamels is lucky he’s not an NFL quarterback or he’d have had the Ray Lewis and Brian Dawkins of the world battling him in practice the next day.

However, it now appears his comments were taken out of context. According to media members such as Comcast SportsNet’s Leslie Gudel, Hamels was first asked about the game and answered those questions. He then was asked if he couldn’t wait for the season to end so he could reflect on it. That is when he made the absurd statement heard around South Philly.

Hamels is honest and always has been, sometimes to the detriment of his reputation. Of course, win, and his reputation will regain its all-time high status.

All the 2008 World Series MVP did was answer a question honestly in an era when athletes don’t talk frankly. However, Hamels and other athletes need to learn when to, and when not to, answer questions. They need to learn how to answer certain questions.

Hamels simply should have said something such as, “You know, we’re still in a battle to defend our world title, and I’m going to prepare to pitch a Game 7, if I’m called upon to do so. I’ll have plenty of time to reflect on the season when this series is over. Until then, we have nothing to think about except how to win the next ballgame.”

Deflect the question on reflection until after the season is completely over.

Chad Ochocinco is an athlete who may benefit from additional media training.

To avoid these situations, Hamels and pro athletes need media training. They need the same workshops and lessons that CEOs and politicians learn from their public relations professionals.

Many athletes are paid higher than the leadership of Fortune 500 corporations, and they need to be trained as such. They are the ambassadors for professional sports franchises. A frontline pitcher, hitter, quarterback, defensive back, or point guard is the spokesperson for the organization.

That’s not to say that pro teams’ public relations staffs haven’t worked with the athletes. The NFL and MBA conduct rookie symposiums, and media relations is likely part of those programs.

However, more must be done as young players enter franchises. Unless the players studied communications and public relations in college, this is a topic and a skill they know very little about.

Athletes must learn how to avoid making inflammatory statements. They must learn how to work with the media.

Pro teams should not be as overzealous as the New York Knicks who insisted that Larry Brown only talk to the media when a member of the PR staff was present.

However, they do need to teach athletes basic PR rules such as:

• Always talk in good times and bad (Mitch Williams himself will tell you this);
• Never say “no comment;”
• Don’t lie;
• Never say something you do not want to see in print;
• Remember to speak in 10-second soundbites, which means simply to keep in mind a long answer (or the preceding question) may be left on the cutting-room floor. Had Hamels known or thought of this point, he may never have made the statement he did.

There are many more points to media training, but these basics would help deflect any potential controversies in a number of situations.

With ESPN, Comcast SportsNet, Fox Sports, Sirius Radio, and countless Internet sites and blogs, athletes will continue to be under scrutiny unlike any faced by athletes throughout time. The microscope they are under will only get bigger with time.

Media training should become a necessity with periodic workshops throughout the season and offseason. Then, you won’t risk the chemistry of a team based on what is said and reported in the media.

Frank Ward is a public relations consultant and freelance writer. To contact him, please send an e-mail to dailyphiladelphian@gmail.com.