Kenny Dalglish is out as Liverpool manager. (AP)

Fenway Sports Group, headed by Red Sox owners John Henry and Tom Werner, announced the firing of Liverpool soccer coach Kenny Dalglish on Wednesday morning.

Dalglish, who spent stints with Liverpool both as a player and a manager, came back to the Anfield club to manage in 2011. He led Liverpool to a Carling Cup victory but watched the team sink to eighth place in the Premier League standings.

Dalglish’s departure means Henry and Werner must search for a replacement manager for Liverpool along with handling any problems the Red Sox have. Boston is currently on a five-game winning streak, but the team has been struggling this season and is last in the AL East, 5½ games out of first place.

“Kenny came into the club as manager at our request at a time when Liverpool Football Club really needed him,” Werner said in a Liverpool release. “He didn’t ask to be manager; he was asked to assume the role. He did so because he knew the Club needed him. He did more than anyone else to stabilize Liverpool over the past year-and-a-half and to get us once again looking forward. We owe him a great debt of gratitude.

“However, results in the Premier League have been disappointing and we believe to build on the progress that has already been made, we need to make a change.”

Dalglish began playing for Liverpool in 1977, later changing his role to a player manager. He stayed with Liverpool until 1991 and returned in 2009 as an ambassador.

Welcome to Thursday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.

THURSDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
NHL: Flames at Bruins, 7 p.m. (NESN)
NBA: Heat at Hawks, 8 p.m. (TNT)
NBA: Lakers at Trail Blazers, 10:30 p.m. (TNT)
College basketball: Pittsburgh at DePaul, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
College basketball: Michigan at Indiana, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)

AROUND THE WEB:

Red Sox owners (from left) Tom Werner, John Henry and Larry Lucchino are very concerned with media perception, according to a former PR adviser. (AP)

♦ A former media strategist for the Red Sox ownership group spilled some secrets to Boston Magazine and is getting some attention for his claims. Doug Bailey, who was a senior vice president for Rasky Baerlein, shines a little light on the Theo Epstein-Larry Lucchino feud and claims John Henry is “distant and aloof” — although his explanation makes Henry sound more senile than anything else.

He told of a day he spent with Henry at a Lowell Spinners game, when he bonded with Henry and talked about a range of topics.

Writes Bailey: It was a really enjoyable day, and my impression of Henry changed dramatically because of it.

Two weeks later I ran into my new friend at an event at Fenway Park. Walking toward me, he extended his hand and offered a limp handshake. “Hi,” he said, introducing himself, “I’m John Henry.”

Bailey also revealed an anecdote about Nomar Garciaparra and his interaction with an astronaut who was at Fenway to throw out the first pitch. The shortstop questioned the astronaut if the moon landing was faked during an arrogant exchange in the dugout.

♦ LeBron James can’t seem to avoid controversy. This time, it’s over a birthday cake. A Boca Raton baker was asked by the Shelborne South Beach hotel to produce a five-tiered cake for James’ 27th birthday party, for which the Passion for Pastry bakery would receive publicity instead of financial compensation. However, the cake was replaced by one from another bakery at the last minute.

Bakery owner Alethea Hickman went online and only discovered the switch when she saw photos of the other cake.

“I don’t even know where my cake went,” she said. “I was mortified. They had me do it in the middle of the holiday crush and I hired additional people. Someone needs to pay.”

Hotel official Jared Galbut did not appear to be very sympathetic.

“It just wasn’t was expected,” he said. “When LeBron’s people saw it, they just didn’t want to use and decided to bring their own cake. I can’t tell LeBron James what birthday cake to eat. It’s LeBron James, for Christ’s sake.”

♦ Cavaliers center Samardo Samuels missed Wednesday night’s game against the Raptors in Toronto because he lost his passport. The Jamaican actually misplaced the document a few weeks ago and was unable to get a new passport in time.

“I’m going to chalk it up to youth and inexperience,” Cavs coach Byron Scott said. “Hopefully, he learned his lesson and it never happens again.”

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Jan. 5, 1974, which Bruin became the oldest NHL player to score four goals in a game when he recorded his ninth career hat trick in a 6-2 victory over the Islanders?

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Just when John Henry appeared ready to move past all the controversy involving the Red Sox, the English soccer team he owns has an embarrassing problem of its own.

Liverpool soccer player Luis Suarez was suspended eight games and fined $62,000 Tuesday for racial insults he allegedly yelled at Manchester United defender Patrice Evra during a Premier League match on Oct. 15 that ended in a 1-1 tie.

Evra, who is black and of French and Sengalese descent, told a a French TV station after the game, “There are cameras, you can see [Suarez] say a certain word to me at least 10 times.”

Suarez denied the charges. On Twitter Tuesday, he wrote: Today is a very difficult and painful day for both me and my family.

The penalty is pending an appeal from Suarez, and comments from his team make it sound as though that’s a certainty. In a statement, the team said that Suarez is from “a mixed-race family background as his grandfather was black” and noted that his accuser even said he didn’t think Suarez was racist.

“It is our strong held belief, having gone over the facts of the case, that Luis Suarez did not commit any racist act,” the team said, adding: “It seems incredible to us that a player of mixed heritage should be accused and found guilty in the way he has based on the evidence presented. We do not recognize the way in which Luis Suarez has been characterized.”

Welcome to Friday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.

WHAT’S HAPPENING LOCALLY FRIDAY:
NBA: Thunder at Celtics, 7 p.m. (CSNNE; WEEI)

SATURDAY:
NHL: Kings at Bruins, 7 p.m. (NESN)

SUNDAY:
NBA: Celtics at Raptors, 1 p.m. (CSNNE; WEEI)
NFL: Colts at Patriots, 4:15 p.m. (NBC)

AROUND THE WEB:

♦ Red Sox owner John Henry has hired Damien Comolli, a friend of A’s general manager Billy Beane, to do a “Moneyball”-style analysis of his new soccer team, but there is skepticism that it will work with Liverpool FC. “I don’t think there’s a business anywhere in the world which is not using metrics, not as a template for success but as a tool,” Beane insisted. “All sports are about numbers, and it’s just a question of finding which ones correlate to a particular sport.”

♦ With Dwight Howard shooting just 53 percent from the free throw line, Mike Bianchi in the Orlando Sentinel questions why the Magic center won’t consider taking Rick Barry‘s advice to shoot underhanded, which Barry guarantees would make a dramatic improvement.

♦ In The Oregonian, John Canzano looks at how Greg Oden needs to mature if he has a chance to resurrect his basketball career after his latest major injury.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Nov. 19, 1996, Jimy Williams was named manager of the Red Sox. Which team had Williams previously managed?

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Welcome to Monday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.

WHAT’S HAPPENING LOCALLY MONDAY:
No games scheduled

AROUND THE WEB:

♦ Bengals receiver Terrell Owens has hired a matchmaking service, according to the New York Post. The paper reports that the controversial Owens is paying Kelleher International to find him a woman who looks like Kim Kardashian, “who I happen to think is gorgeous,” he said. Kelleher International has 18 international offices and charges between $15,000 and $150,000 for its services, the Post reported.

♦ With John Henry‘s New England Sports Ventures finally moving forward on its deal to own the Liverpool soccer team, Gabriele Marcotti in The Wall Street Journal looks at what Henry’s first moves are likely to be. He also touches on the topic of racism in European soccer.

♦ In the Chicago Sun-Times, Rick Morrissey wonders why the Cubs could be waiting to name a manager unless they were waiting for the Yankees’ season to end so they could go after Joe Girardi. And in The New York Times, Harvey Araton takes a look at the challenges that await the next manager of the Yankees, should there be a change.

♦ Lakers center Pau Gasol, who many thought should have been the MVP of the finals against the Celtics, will have an opportunity to prove his worth at the start of the season, with Andrew Bynum injured and out of the lineup. Mike Bresnahan in The Los Angeles Times examines Gasol’s situation.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Oct. 18, 1994, who was named to succeed Butch Hobson as Red Sox manager?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I’m used to being in the situation in this game with [Tom Brady]. I haven’t felt this way in four years.” — Deion Branch, after helping the Patriots beat the Ravens on Sunday, 23-20 in overtime, in his first game back with the team after being acquired from the Seahawks

STAT OF THE DAY: 6-0 — The Patriots’ all-time regular-season record vs. the Ravens

‘NET RESULTS: From Pennsylvania high school football, Girard High’s Joe Sobucki throws a pass, then runs over and takes a lateral from the receiver and races to an 82-yard touchdown. Then Sobucki, a receiver who was filling in for an injured quarterback, puts on a show with three other touchdowns.

Steve Nash tortures Landon Donovan in a Hummer limo hot tub in this funny commercial for the FIFA Soccer 11 video game.

From Major League Soccer on Saturday, the Crew put goaltender William Hesmer on offense in a desperate bid to score the tying goal, and it works.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Kevin Kennedy, who lasted two seasons

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Chuck Berry is 84 Monday.

Say what you will about the passing of George Steinbrenner, if you haven’t said enough already, but it certainly is difficult to argue that he wasn’t one of the most successful and overall best owners American sports has ever seen. He led the Yankees to seven World Series titles and 11 pennants during his reign as owner. He turned a franchise that he bought, along with several others, for less than $10 million in 1973 and turned it into an entity worth nearly $2 billion today. The quality of an owner can be determined by two things: championships and dollars earned, hopefully in that order. Steinbrenner had plenty of both.

So in his honor, let’s take a look at the best owners who remain in each of the four major sports.

John Henry/Tom Werner/Larry Lucchino, Red Sox

Tom Werner, John Henry and Larry Lucchino (left to right) have played key roles in bringing two World Series titles to Boston in the last decade. (AP)

Sure, this may be a bit of a homer pick, but again, just look at the resume. Since the three men led the group that bought the Red Sox in 2002, they’ve won two World Series championships, something no other Sox owner had done in 86 years. In the eight years since they arrived, no other team has won more than a single title. What’s more, they also saved one of the game’s treasures in Fenway Park by deciding to renovate the park rather than relocate as had been the plan under the previous ownership. Sox fans have many reasons to be thankful that Bud Selig allowed this team of owners to take over rather than infamous Knicks owner James Dolan, who had actually bid over Henry’s group but was blocked by Selig.

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This morning we learned through Kevin Love’s Twitter that Timberwolves head coach Kevin McHale would not be returning. Last weekend Shaq tweeted congratulations to Kobe and Phil Jackson for the Lakers’ Championship win.

It was only a matter of time before the Twitter explosion made its way to the Boston sports scene. Now some of our favorite players, managers and even owners Tweet to keep you busy when you should be working. Let’s take a look at some of the most animated Boston Tweeters in the Boston sports world:

John Henry

You can always count on the Sox most vocal owner to add his two cents. Just a few weeks ago when the Sox were sweeping the Yanks at Fenway, he got a little too excited with his Tweets, causing a ruckus with Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira. Henry’s Twitter account revealed a post on June 11 with the words “the MT curse?”, an intimation the Yankees had been cursed since their acquistion of Teixeira — they’ve lost their first eight contests against the Sox this season. When Teixeira was informed of the Tweet, he said he didn’t want to become involved in a war of words with a “seventy-something-year-old-man,” referring to the 59-year-old Henry. Henry’s response the next day, “Hope I didn’t hurt Mark’s feelings!” May the drama continue…

Curt Schilling

Surprise, surprise — Did you really think Curt would pass up an opportunity to share his thoughts with everyone? This is Curt’s dream come true. The ever vocal Schilling mainly posts about the Sox, his own Fantasy baseball team and his family. Last Saturday he tweeted, “Don’t blink, or you’ll miss Lester rising into the top 3-4 pitchers in baseball in the next 30 days.” You can be sure he’ll have something to say about the recent steroid allegations laid on Sammy Sosa.

Vince Wilfork

Who would have thought the big man had so much to say? Wilfork updates his Twitter almost daily, even while skipping the Patriots’ organized team activities in the beginning of June because of a dispute over his contract situation. He took time to Tweet about the departure of former teammate Rodney Harrison, saying, “rodney is a great guy on and off the field he will be missed.” Wilfork recently posted about his BBQ raffle to raise awareness for diabetes and his early Father’s Day gift to watch the US Open at Bethpage Black this weekend.

Laurence Maroney

Still no Tom Brady Twitter as of yet — that would have been an interesting offseason to follow. But maybe one of his favorite running backs can persuade him to create an account. Maroney Tweeted about his excitement for camp at the end of May, “Just got done wit day 3 of camp…. I got a to keep working hard to get ready for the season.”

Paul Pierce

After updating his Twitter almost daily during the season about the Celtics playoff run, Kevin Garnett’s health (“Looks KG gonna b out another week or two but have no fear 34 is still here” on March 31) and Ray Allen’s play (“Man what a Game and Jesus Shuttleworth comes thru again” on April 1), Paul’s tweets have slowed up lately, but he unloaded with this gem during the NBA Finals — “Lakers vs orlando. Looked like a german sherperd vs a poodle that’s ok the rotwieler celtics will b back in 2o10.”

Sports Illustrated released its annual rankings of the owners in each sport. Locally, the Red Sox ownership group of John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino landed at the top of the Major League Baseball heap, while Robert Kraft ranked second among NFL owners, behind the Rooney Family.

The rankings, by the website’s own admission, were unscientific.

The method was not scientific but based on numerous factors, some of which are indisputable and some of which are intangible. Among the criteria used to evaluate owners was the willingness to spend money to improve the team; the stability and capabilities of the front office and management; the amenities at the team’s venue; and the club’s culture and interactivity with fans. Of course, weighing heavily in the decision was the team’s success or failure on the field.

The Celtics’ owners are not listed, but given how unflattering all of the pictures of their hoops colleagues are, that might not be a bad thing. Bruins owners also didn’t make the list.

It should come as no surprise to anyone in New England that Patriots owner Robert Kraft is considering among the most powerful and influential people in all of American sport. Now, there’s a poll to prove it, thanks to the folks at the SportsBusiness Journal. Kraft comes in at No. 12, Red Sox owner John Henry is No. 20, Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs comes in at 43, just one spot below baseball’s most famous agent, Scott Boras.