PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE NFL : Montana Denies Retirement Story

With four games remaining in the regular season and the Kansas City Chiefs fighting for a playoff spot, Joe Montana said this was not the proper time to raise the issue of his retirement.

The usually calm Montana became angry Friday after the New York Daily News reported that he had decided to retire.

“We’re right in the middle of a race to make the playoffs and get to the Super Bowl,” Montana said. “Why would I want to distract from that even if I had decided, and I haven’t?”

Montana suffered a sprained foot in Kansas City’s 10-9 loss at Seattle on Sunday.

Rumors had circulated since Monday that he had played his final game, in part because initial X-rays showed a fracture of the foot. Further tests showed only a sprain, according to Montana and the Chiefs.

Montana probably won’t play Sunday when the Chiefs play host to Denver in a game important to both team’s playoff hopes.

But the retirement story had Montana attacking the media.

“I think first of all, you guys are going to have to start standing up to what you write,” he said. “I think it hurts the credibility of your field. That’s the sad part about it.

“Why should I have to answer to this only because somebody feels like I’m going to retire? It’s ridiculous.”

Daily News reporter Gary Myers quoted league sources and said he stood by his story.

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Kansas City cornerback Dale Carter has been charged with beating a season ticket-holder in a bar restroom while on probation for weapons and alcohol charges.

If Carter is convicted, his third brush with the law in less than a year could land him in jail, either for assault or for violating probation. Carter’s one year of probation in Jackson County, for his role in a Westport shooting last year, expires today.

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Barry Foster, who has a bruised lower back, will not play for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.