Struggling Bucks give Stotts the boot

Milwaukee Bucks management was grading Terry Stotts on a curve because he had to handle so many key injuries this season. That still wasn't enough for him to keep his job.

The Bucks fired Stotts on Wednesday after less than two full seasons with the team. Milwaukee is last in the Central Division at 23-41 and among the NBA's worst defensive teams.

His replacement is assistant Larry Krystkowiak, who agreed to a multiyear deal and will be introduced at a news conference today.

Krystkowiak's first game as an NBA coach comes tonight against San Antonio.

In other Bucks news, the league fined center Andrew Bogut, the top pick in the 2005 draft, $25,000 for directing an obscene gesture toward fans.

MISSED TIME UNLIKELY Hornets guard Chris Paul was diagnosed with a stress reaction in his left foot but is not expected to miss any playing time, team officials said.

Hornets general manager Jeff Bower said Paul went to a hospital for a "routine" magnetic resonance imaging exam after practice.

FINE APPEAL Bobcats guard Brevin Knight accused a referee of bumping him in a game Saturday and plans to appeal a $25,000 fine he received in connection with the incident.

PALMER OFFER Arnold Palmer might tee it up at the Masters - as an honorary starter.

The four-time Masters champion said he has given "careful consideration" to a request from Augusta National chairman Billy Payne that Palmer hit the ceremonial tee shot to open the Masters.

TAPIA RECOVERING The condition of five-time world champion boxer Johnny Tapia was upgraded to fair as he begins to recover from an apparent cocaine overdose.

Teresa Tapia, the boxer's wife and manager, said her husband has been improving but he's "not out of the woods yet."

FRANCE JR. HOSPITALIZED Former NASCAR chairman Bill France Jr. was hospitalized at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, Fla., where he was under the care of his personal physicians. His condition was not known, and NASCAR officials confirmed only that the 73-year-old had been admitted.

TWO OUT FOR MICHIGAN Michigan running back Mike Hart will miss spring practice because of a medical procedure and receiver Adrian Arrington is out for unspecified reasons.

Coach Lloyd Carr said Hart, who finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting, had "a minor arthroscopic procedure."

MILESTONE NEAR When University of North Dakota senior Chris Porter steps onto the ice Friday afternoon, he will tie a Western Collegiate Hockey Association record for consecutive games played - 171.

And, barring an injury that he has avoided throughout his four-year career at North Dakota, he could become the sole record-holder Saturday.

DURKIN RESIGNS Duquesne women's basketball coach Dan Durkin resigned after a 7-20 season that included a 2-12 record in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

METAL BAT BAN New York City's legislators voted 40-6 to ban metal bats for high school teams, sending the measure to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who isn't sure whether he will veto or sign the legislation.

Sponsors say nonwood bats produce faster and harder hits that can be dangerous for young players.

CHELSEA RISING Chelsea beat Manchester City 1-0 to move six points behind of Manchester United atop English soccer's Premiership and put more pressure on City manager Stuart Pearce. Arsenal beat Aston Villa 1-0 to move into third.

ARGENTINA FIRST Argentina claimed the top spot in the FIFA rankings for the first time since it began in 1993, displacing World Cup champion Italy.

HEFTY FINES Valencia defender David Navarro was suspended for seven months for his part in last week's Champions League brawl with Inter Milan - one of the harshest penalties ever handed out by European soccer's governing body.

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