UNC FIRES BUTCH DAVIS

NORTH CAROLINA fired football coach Butch Davis yesterday, saying the past year of turmoil amid an NCAA probe into improper benefits and academic misconduct was doing too much damage to the school's reputation.

The school issued a statement announcing Davis' dismissal 9 days before the start of preseason practice. Chancellor Holden Thorp said the decision was not prompted by any changes in the ongoing NCAA investigation but said he "lost confidence in our ability to come through this without harming the way people think of this institution."

"Our academic integrity is paramount, and we must work diligently to protect it," Thorp said in a statement. "The only way to move forward and put this behind us is to make a change."

Davis compiled a 28-23 record in four seasons with the Tar Heels after taking over for John Bunting. His program looked ready to contend for an Atlantic Coast Conference championship and a BCS berth last year before NCAA investigators arrived on campus last July.

In all, 14 players missed at least one game and seven were forced to sit the entire season. Last month, the NCAA sent a notice of allegations to the school outlining numerous potential major violations.

That included unethical conduct of former associate head coach John Blake, whom the NCAA accused of trying to steer players to late NFL agent Gary Wichard.

In other college news:

Boise State football players will no longer sport their all-blue uniforms for conference games on Bronco Stadium's iconic blue turf, the result of a concession school officials say they made last year as part of the team's entrance into the Mountain West Conference. League commissioner Craig Thompson said coaches believe Boise State gets a competitive edge when players wear blue helmets, jerseys and pants at home.

The NCAA said it will use instant replay on an experimental basis to review certain calls at the College World Series next year. Reviewable plays would be limited to deciding if an apparent home run is fair or foul, whether a batted ball left the playing field for a home run or a ground-rule double, or whether there is fan interference on apparent home runs.

After losses in his first two events at the world championships in Shanghai, Michael Phelps won the 200-meter butterfly for a record fifth time, in a time of 1 minute, 53.34 seconds. Italy's Federica Pellegrini made history on the 4th night of the 8-day meet at the Oriental Sports Center. Pellegrini won the 200 freestyle to become the first woman to sweep the 200 and 400 at consecutive worlds, joining Australian great Ian Thorpe.

The Milwaukee Bucks are in discussions with franchise icon Sidney Moncrief about returning to the team as an assistant coach, a person with direct knowledge of the deal told the Associated Press. Moncrief played 10 of his 11 NBA seasons in Milwaukee and was a two-time defensive player of the year.

Kasey Kahne will take his longtime crew chief with him to Hendrick Motorsports next season. Team owner Rick Hendrick announced that Kenny Francis will crew chief the No. 5 Chevrolet that Kahne is slated to drive starting with the 2012 season.