Bill Parcells retires

After 10 days of contemplation and mulling over the decision, Bill Parcells has decided to walk away from football once again.

Parcells and the Dallas Cowboys suffered through another disappointing 9-7 season before suffering a season-ending playoff loss to the Seahawks on Jan. 6. In a game where his team lost by just one point on a bobbled field goal hold in the last minute, Parcells admitted afterward that the loss would be tough to swallow.

Probably just as hard to endure were the training camps and long, tumultuous seasons. In his four seasons as the Cowboys' coach, Parcells compiled a record of 34-30 to add to his previous total of 138-100-1 in 15 seasons.

The future Hall of Fame coach has now "officially" retired from coaching four times; from the New York Giants, New England Patriots, New York Jets and now the Cowboys. He led the Giants and the Patriots to the Super Bowl — winning twice, both with the Giants in 1986 and 1990.

The Cowboys are now left searching for a coach once again, with most of the big names having already accepted jobs. Some of the reported top candidates are San Diego defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops and Arkansas coach Houston Nutt.

Chilean Gonzalez cruises into semis

Fernando Gonzalez from Chile rode his huge serve and dominating forehand to send fifth-seeded Rafael Nadal packing from the Australian Open (6-2, 6-4, 6-3). In doing so he made his first semifinal appearance in a Grand Slam.

The 10th-seeded Gonzalez had been vastly inconsistent in the past, but so far in the Australian Open Gonzalez, he has played completely different and has been extremely dominant.

After beating Lleyton Hewitt in four sets, he beat the rising American star James Blake and Nadal, in straight sets. Against Nadal, Gonzalez had 41 winners, almost triple Nadal's 14 and 10 aces to give him a tournament-leading 76.

Gonzalez has apparently turned a corner in his career and admits that he is probably playing his best tennis right now.

"I played really unbelievable tennis," he told ESPN.com. "I hope to continue this week. I am trying to slice more, trying to run more. I used to just hit, hit, hit and maybe I win the point."

Gonzalez moves on to face German Tommy Haas (seeded 12th) in the semifinal match-up with the winner to draw either American Andy Roddick or the Swede Roger Federer in the Championship match.

Vick not on block, team says

Atlanta Falcons' quarterback Michael Vick will return to the team next season and be the starting quarterback when the season starts, according to the team's ownership.

"There are no plans to trade him or cut him," Kim Shreckengost, executive vice president of operations for Arthur M. Blank Group, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Michael is our quarterback and the leader of our team. We have a new coach who is anxious to start working with him. Everyone has high expectations of him going into next season. Michael has those too."

Vick has come under scrutiny during the past season and most recently on Jan. 17 when a water bottle he was carrying through airport security smelled of marijuana and had a secret compartment. He has been cleared of any charges as lab tests showed that the water bottle contained no evidence of any drugs.

Earlier in the season after a tough loss to the New Orleans Saints at home, Vick was seen making an obscene gesture to some fans as he left the field.

While the team is committed to Vick as a starter, there are financial reasons for keeping him as well. The Journal-Constitution reported that if the Falcons were to trade or cut Vick, they would take a hit of roughly $23 million against the $109 salary cap in 2007, probably forcing additional roster cuts and limiting the team's efforts to sign free agents and draft picks.

In 74 career NFL games, Vick has completed 930 of 1,730 passes for 11,505 yards and 71 touchdowns with 52 interceptions. He had career bests of 20 touchdown passes and 1,039 yards rushing in 2006.

Reach reporter Anthony Dion at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.