Fast Break

College basketball

Giacoletti won’t return to Utah

Utah basketball coach Ray Giacoletti will leave at the end of the season, the school announced Friday.

The Utes (11-17) are mired in their worst season in decades and are just 6-9 in the Mountain West Conference.

“Obviously, our vision three years ago was not the way it has gone – especially this year,” said Giacoletti, who left Eastern Washington University in 2004 to coach the Utes.

Giacoletti is 54-38 in three seasons at Utah, but just 25-32 since he took the Utes to the NCAA tournament’s round of 16 in 2005. Utah said it will honor the four remaining years on his contract and pay him $175,000 a year.

Giacoletti had gone 69-50 in four seasons at Eastern Washington and led the Eagles to their first NCAA tournament berth in 2004.

Hockey

Chiefs could get some help

The Spokane Chiefs will travel to Everett for a Western Hockey League showdown with the first-place Silvertips tonight.

The Chiefs are hoping that Burke Gallimore, their second-round draft pick last year, can join them on the road trip. He arrived in Spokane this week as a call-up, but caught the flu. Meanwhile, Mike Reddington’s B.C. team is done at the Canada Winter Games and he should be back in Spokane this weekend.

The Chiefs are also waiting to hear word early next week about whether injured players Drayson Bowman and Justin Falk are ready to return to the ice in the near future.

NFL

Titans lock up former Coug

The Tennessee Titans agreed to terms with three of their players who had become unrestricted free agents, including former Washington State defensive tackle Rien Long.

They also agreed to terms with offensive tackle Seth Wand and linebacker LeVar Woods.

Long, a fourth-round draft pick in 2003, tore his right Achilles tendon in training camp last year, was placed on injured reserve and missed the entire season.

He has played in 39 career games with 99 tackles and 9 1/2 sacks.