HOCKEY

FLOUNDERING ISLANDERS FIRE STIRLING The New York Islanders fired coach Steve Stirling last night, a person familiar with the decision told the Associated Press. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the official announcement wasn’t scheduled until today.

An interim coach will be in place before the Islanders’ home game against Calgary tonight, and it won’t be general manager Mike Milbury, the person told the AP.

Stirling went 38-29-11-4 during his rookie year of 2003-04 and guided the Isles to their third straight playoff appearance after taking over for the fired Peter Laviolette. But a recent skid dropped the Islanders out of the playoff picture and sealed his fate. The final blow came Tuesday when the Islanders lost in Nashville to fall to 18-22-2, fourth place in the Atlantic Division.

Stirling, who ran practice yesterday morning, was hired as the 11th coach in Islanders history in June 2003 and became the eighth dismissed by Milbury in his 10 years as general manager. He is the second NHL coach to be fired this season, joining Pittsburgh’s Ed Olczyk. Devils coach Larry Robinson stepped down.

LAWMAKERS ENDORSE NEW PENGUINS ARENA Eighteen state, county, and city lawmakers endorsed a plan yesterday in which a casino company would build a new hockey arena for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Isle of Capri Casinos would pay $290 million for the arena if the gambling company gets a license to operate a slot machines. The Penguins have said they may sell the team or move to another city if another arena is not built to replace 45-year-old Mellon Arena, the oldest and smallest in the NHL. The Penguins are worth more than $100 million to Pittsburgh’s economy, said City Council President Luke Ravenstahl, citing a recent Carnegie Mellon University study.

FOOTBALL

USC’S WHITE DECLARES FOR DRAFT; BUSH TO ANNOUNCE TODAY Southern Cal running back LenDale White declared himself eligible for the NFL draft yesterday, saying he had accomplished everything he wanted to for the Trojans. The 6-foot-2, 235-pound junior leaves USC as the school’s career leader with 57 touchdowns. He had 541 carries for 3,159 yards in three seasons, during which the Trojans won two national championships.

Meanwhile, Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush will announce today whether he’ll return to Southern California for his senior season or enter the NFL draft. Bush has kept a low profile since USC lost to Texas 41-38 for the national championship in the Rose Bowl game January 4. Underclassmen have until Sunday to apply for the April 29-30 draft.

Bush has been projected for months as the no. 1 overall pick, and it will be surprising if he returns to the Trojans. Texas quarterback Vince Young inserted himself into the mix Sunday, declaring for the draft four days after his amazing performance in the Rose Bowl.

running backs have far shorter professional careers than top quarterbacks.

Bush rushed for 3,169 yards and White 3,159, helping the Trojans go 37-2 the past three seasons. USC has won 34 straight games before losing to Texas.

AIKMAN, WHITE LEAD HALL OF FAME FINALISTS Troy Aikman and the late Reggie White were among the 15 finalists yesterday for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. They joined Thurman Thomas and Warren Moon as finalists in their first year of eligibility. Results of the vote will be announced February 4, the day before the Super Bowl in Detroit.

The two seniors candidates, former Dallas offensive tackle Rayfield Wright and former Oakland coach and current broadcaster John Madden, were chosen by a special committee last August and went straight to the finals. The other 13 were selected from a list of 25 semifinalists.

The other finalists are: linebackers Derrick Thomas and Harry Carson; defensive ends L.C. Greenwood and Claude Humphrey; offensive linemen Russ Grimm, Bob Kuechenberg and Gary Zimmerman; and wide receivers Michael Irvin and Art Monk. A 39-member panel will vote on the finalists.

TENNIS

KARATANTCHEVA SLAPPED WITH TWO-YEAR DOPING BAN French Open quarterfinalist Sesil Karatantcheva was banned for two years after twice testing positive for the steroid nandrolone. The 16-year-old Bulgarian, ranked 41st, failed one drug test after losing at Roland Garros on May 31, then failed an out-of-competition test in Tokyo on July 5,the International Tennis Federation said yesterday. Both tests were treated as a first offense by an ITF tribunal that met December 14-15 in London.

The ban took effect January 1, and the ITF said she has three weeks to appeal.

Last year, Karatantcheva beat Venus Williams in the third round at the French Open to become the seventh youngest quarterfinalist in the Open era. Her results at Roland Garros will be nullified and she will forfeit prize money and ranking points won since that tournament. The ITF said its tribunal “rejected the player’s defenses but determined that the two offenses would be treated as one single first offense for sanctioning purposes.”

In December, Argentine player Mariano Puerta was banned for eight years for his second doping offense, in effect ending his career. He was the first tennis player to receive a ban of more than two years.

Karatantcheva’s parents are champion Bulgarian athletes – her father in rowing, her mother in volleyball.

INJURY MAY KEEP CLIJSTERS OUT OF AUSTRALIAN OPEN Kim Clijsters withdrew from the Sydney International yesterday after injuring her hip and may not play in the Australian Open.The injury occurred on Clijsters’s first serve during a warmup for her quarterfinal match against Italian Francesca Schiavone. The second-ranked Belgian planned to have her left hip muscle examined further in Sydney today to determine its severity.

Clijsters, who won the U.S. Open last year for her first Grand Slam title, will still travel to Melbourne for the Australian Open if scans only reveal a strain, her official Web site said yesterday. If the scans show a tear, she will return to Belgium.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

VILLANOVA SQUEAKS PAST RUTGERS IN OVERTIME Kyle Lowry scored a career high 28 points and Randy Foye added 24 as no. 3 Villanova rebounded from its first loss of the season with an 84-78 overtime win over Rutgers last night.

Lowry, whose previous high was 20 earlier this season against Rider, missed two free throws with 1:44 left in overtime and the score tied at 76. But teammate Will Sheridan tapped the rebound of the second miss back to him and the guard scored and was fouled. He completed the three-point play to give Villanova (11-1, 2-1 Big East) a three-point lead. After Rutgers’s Marquis Webb missed the front end of a 1-and-1, Allan Ray and Mike Nardi each added a free throw to extend the Wildcats’ lead to 81-76 with less than a minute left.

Rutgers (11-4, 1-1) trailed 70-67 with 19 seconds left in regulation after two free throws by Ray. But little-used center Jimmie Inglis, who hadn’t even attempted a 3-pointer in his one-plus seasons at Rutgers, threw one in off the glass with 2.5 seconds left to send the game into overtime.

BASEBALL

REPORT: ASTROS READY FOR BAGWELL TO RETIRE Jeff Bagwell intends to play for the Astros this season, but the team isn’t sure that’s the best financial decision, according to a report by ESPN.com. The first baseman has played his entire career in Houston and leads the franchise in home runs (449) and RBI (1,529), but missed much of last season after shoulder surgery.

“Nothing is going to keep me from attempting to play baseball next season,” Bagwell told the Houston Chronicle. The team, however, wants him to announce he can’t play anymore, he and agent Barry Axelrod told the paper. Then the Astros would be able make an insurance claim for $15.6 million of the approximately $17 million he is owed in 2006.

– Associated Press