ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, October 22, 1996 TAG: 9610220099
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From Associated Press reports
Bill Curry, who has a 23-51 record in his seventh season as Kentucky's coach, will be fired at the end of the football season, athletic director C.M. Newton announced Monday.
Newton said Curry was informed Sunday night that Kentucky would be making a coaching change at the end of the season. He said wanted Kentucky football fans to ``rally behind the football team and finish this season with dignity and class.''
Newton said the decision affects the entire coaching staff and there was no timetable to find a successor.
Defensive coordinator Rick Smith said Curry told the players of his impending departure at a meeting following his regular weekly news conference.
Smith also said the assistant coaches were asked to stay until end of the season. But Newton said he didn't expect the coaches to take on a ``lame-duck status'' and that Curry remained in full control of the program.
Curry's best season was 1993, when the Wildcats finished 6-6 after losing to Clemson in the Peach Bowl.
Curry declined to comment on his impending dismissal during his news conference Monday morning.
``Anything in that area will come from the athletic director or the [Kentucky athletic] board,'' Curry said. ``And that's the way it should be.''
BASKETBALL
The operators of a pager service that gives updates of NBA games are trying to reverse a ruling that could prevent them from selling their beepers.
Less than two weeks before the start of the NBA season, lawyers for Motorola Inc. and a statistics provider STATS Inc. were in court to appeal a ruling that could prevent them from selling the service, called SportsTrax. The NBA also is suing to block an online version provided by STATS and America Online Inc.
The issue looms large as wireless communications and the Internet allow quicker, and more lucrative, access to live game information, which the leagues claim is their property.
``We're dealing with new technology here, just like television was new and radio was new, and we are competing with them,'' the NBA's lead attorney, Jeff Mishkin, told the three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
In July, U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska issued a permanent injunction against the SportsTrax product, saying it ``crosses the boundary from mere media coverage of the NBA games.'' She later agreed to stay her order, enabling Motorola and STATS to continue the service while they appeal.
LENGTH: Medium: 54 linesby CNB