Norv Turner to coach San Diego Chargers
SAN DIEGO, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- Norv Turner has been hired to be the head coach of the San Diego Chargers.
Turner replaces Marty Schottenheimer, who was fired a week ago after the Chargers went an NFL-best 14-2 in the regular season but lost their first playoff game.
Schottenheimer was given a one-year contract extension after the season but was let go apparently because of friction between the coach and Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith.
Turner was most recently offensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers. The Chargers mark his third head coaching assignment, having led the Washington Redskins for seven seasons and the Oakland Raiders for two. He has a 58-82-1 record.
The Chargers interviewed six candidates to replace Schottenheimer, including Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, 49ers assistant Mike Singletary, Baltimore defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, New Orleans defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs and Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer.
Federer ties Connors' No. 1 mark
LONDON, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- Roger Federer has tied Jimmy Connors' record of 160 consecutive weeks as the world's top tennis player.
Federer tied the mark with the release of Monday's rankings. He's been atop rankings since Feb. 2, 2004. Connors reigned from July 1974 to August 1977. The ATP began ranking players in August 1973.
Considering Federer has 8,120 ranking points -- 3,415 more than second-ranked Rafael Nadal of Spain and 5,295 more than No. 3 Nikolay Davydenko -- it will be some time before he loses to No. 1 ranking.
The latest rankings find Andy Roddick in fourth place followed by and Fernando Gonzalez. James Blake is sixth and Tommy Robredo is seventh. Ivan Ljubicic, Tommy Haas and David Nalbandian round out the Top 10.
Survey: Sports may not build character
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- Conventional wisdom holds that sports builds character, but a new survey suggests U.S. high school athletes cheat more than classmates who don't play sports.
The two-year study of high school athletes -- conducted by the Josephson Institute of Ethics in Los Angeles -- also found growing acceptance of cheating as a way to gain competitive advantage, The Los Angeles Times reported.
Michael Josephson, president and founder of the institute, told the newspaper the report -- based on interviews with 5,275 high school athletes across the United States -- found that many coaches are "teaching our kids to cheat and cut corners."
"There is reason to worry that the sports fields of America are becoming the training grounds for the next generation of corporate and political villains and thieves," said Josephson.
James Staunton, commissioner of the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section -- the governing body for most high school sports in Southern California -- told the newspaper he "hopes" ethical deviance hasn't "gone that far."
"What this points out to me is that we still have a tremendous amount of work to do with our athletes, parents and coaches," Staunton said.
Zetterberg again NHL player of the week
NEW YORK, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- Detroit left wing Henrik Zetterberg has earned his second consecutive top NHL player of the week honor.
The NHL selects three players each week as the league's players of the week. This week Zetterberg is joined by Anaheim right wing Teemu Selanne and Colorado center Joe Sakic for the awards, the league said Monday.
Zetterberg piled up eight points in helping the Red Wings to a 2-1 record last week. Detroit scored a total of eight goals during the week and Zetterberg, with four goals and four assists, was involved in all of them. He collected his first career hat trick last Wednesday during a 4-1 win over Dallas.
Selanne also had four goals and four assists, with all eight points coming in the last three Ducks' games of the week. He is 10th in the league in scoring with 36 goals and 35 assists for 71 points over 60 games.
Sakic also had eight points, with his coming on two goals and six assists. He had two goals and three assists in a 7-5 win over Calgary. One of those goals was the 600th of his career.
