Sports briefs 1/13/06

Hockey

• Not only do the New York Islanders have a new coach, they're going to get a new general manager, too.

A shake-up in the making finally occurred Thursday when assistant Brad Shaw replaced fired coach Steve Stirling, and GM Mike Milbury said he'll step aside after helping owner Charles Wang pick a successor.

The biggest surprise was the fall of Milbury, who seemed untouchable after an eighth coaching change in the past nine years.

Stirling, in his second season, was dismissed Wednesday night, a night after a 2-1 loss at Nashville -- the Islanders' eight defeat in their last nine games. The Islanders aree 19-22-2 and were fourth in the Atlantic Division.

* Gary Joe Kinne, the East Texas high school football coach critically wounded in a shooting last year, has been hired to coach linebackers at Baylor, his alma mater.

Kinne lost 80 percent of his liver in the April 7 shooting, but returned to coach Canton to its best season in school history.

Jeff Doyal Robertson, father of one of Kinne's players, is charged with aggravated assault on a public servant. The trial is set to begin Feb. 21.

Kinne was a standout linebacker at Baylor from 1986 to 1989.

Motorsports

• Michael Schumacher will announce his retirement midway through this year's Formula One season if he feels he can't win another title with Ferrari.

"I will decide at midseason whether to continue or not in 2007." Schumacher said. "It depends on how competitive we are."

Schumacher's run of five straight world titles ended last season when Ferrari struggled to compete with champion Fernando Alonso's Renault and Kimi Raikkonen's McLaren-Mercedes.

The 37-year-old Schumacher finished third in the 2005 championship standings, 71 points behind Alonso. He denied reports that said he may move to another team when his contract expires at the end of this season.

* NASCAR asked a federal judge Thursday to throw out Kentucky Speedway's $400 million antitrust lawsuit, arguing the track's true intention wasn't to beat an alleged monopoly but join it.

The case, being heard in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, alleges auto racing's governing body conspired with International Speedway on which tracks should be host to coveted Nextel Cup races. Kentucky Speedway, located in Sparta about halfway between Louisville and Cincinnati, was left out.

Judge William Bertelsman said he would act soon on NASCAR's motion to dismiss the case.

-- From wire reports