FOOTBALL

SCHOTTENHEIMER FIRED BY CHARGERS PRESIDENT

Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer was fired last night in a shocking move by team president Dean Spanos, who cited a “dysfunctional situation” between the coach and general manager A.J. Smith.

Less than a month after San Diego’s NFL-best 14–2 season was wrecked in a playoff loss to New England, Spanos cited the exodus of both coordinators and other assistants in firing Schottenheimer, who had a year left on his contact.

“The process of dealing with these coaching changes convinced me that we simply could not move forward with such dysfunction between our head coach and general manager,” Spanos said in a statement. “In short, this entire process over the last month convinced me beyond any doubt that I had to act to change this untenable situation.”

The firing was first reported by ESPN.

BASKETBALL

RILEY SET TO RETURN TO HEAT AFTER ALL-STAR BREAK

Pat Riley will resume coaching the Miami Heat following the All-Star break, an official within the NBA said yesterday.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because Riley has not formally announced his plans. Riley is expected to announce his return at a news conference this morning in Miami. His first game back would be February 21 at Houston.

Riley’s decision was first reported by WTVJ television and on the South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s Web site.

SHOULDER INJURY SIDELINES NASH FOR ALL-STAR GAME

Steve Nash withdrew from Sunday’s All-Star game because of lingering inflammation in his right shoulder.

The league’s two-time defending MVP has missed the last 3 1/2 games because of the injury. The Phoenix Suns said yesterday he won’t play at Seattle on tonight, the club’s last game before the All-Star break. The decision means Nash will have had two weeks to rest and treat the shoulder before the Suns play their first post-All Star contest February 20 against the Clippers in Los Angeles.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

DUKE FALLS OUT OF POLL FOR FIRST TIME IN 11 YEARS

Duke’s Top 25 streak is over. Saddled by its first four-game losing skid in 11 years, Duke fell out of The Associated Press poll yesterday for the first time since the end of the 1995-96 season. The Blue Devils had been in the poll for 200 straight weeks — the second longest streak behind UCLA.

The Bruins’ run lasted 221 weeks, from the 1966-67 preseason poll to Jan. 8, 1980. North Carolina is third all-time with 172 straight weeks from the 1990-91 preseason poll to Jan. 17, 2000.

“If you do it for a long period of time, it means you’ve been good that long,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said of his team’s streak that began in the 1996–97 preseason poll. “We never bring it up. It’s a nice stat thing.”

UCLA and Memphis are now tied for the longest active streak at 34 straight weeks in the Top 25.