Morris Avoids Jail Time With Probation

Bam Morris, a former Pittsburgh Steeler running back who pleaded guilty to marijuana-possession charges, was spared prison Thursday when a Texas judge gave him a six-year probationary sentence.

Morris, 24, was sentenced to six years deferred adjudication, which will be erased from his record if he successfully completes the probation period.

He was also fined $7,000 and ordered to do 200 hours of community service. Morris was arrested in March after police found six pounds of marijuana and 1.5 grams of cocaine in his car.

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Although three people were with Dallas Cowboy receiver Michael Irvin the night of March 4, only Irvin’s fingerprints and those of police officers could be identified on drug paraphernalia found in their motel room, Irving officer Kelly Morrow said at Irvin’s trial for cocaine possession.

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Receiver Lamar Thomas of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was charged with two counts of aggravated battery against his pregnant fiancee, Ebony Cooksey, and spent a night in jail in Plantation, Fla.

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Four University of Miami football players pleaded not guilty in three cases.

Receiver Jammi German and linebackers James Burgess and Jeffrey Taylor were charged in the beating of a track hurdler at the victim’s campus apartment last month. They remain under house arrest.

Offensive lineman Ricky Perry was arraigned on charges that he put a loaded gun to a man’s neck and beat him in November. Perry also faced charges that he beat his 17-year-old girlfriend last month.

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He boasted he would be freed “like O.J. Simpson,” but LeVonnie Wooten was got life in prison in Phoenix for murdering the pregnant girlfriend of his cousin, former Phoenix Sun Jerrod Mustaf. Althea Hayes was killed in 1993.

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Rookie receiver Terry Glenn of the New England Patriots pleaded not guilty to failure to control his car and driving with a suspended license after his car went off a street and hit a tree on Saturday. . . . Two Louisville football players, Jeryl Tyson and Ikem Maduaka-Cain, have been stripped of their scholarships and suspended indefinitely after a drug arrest. . . . Sports collectibles dealer Anthony Alyinovich, 29, pleaded guilty to mail fraud in Chicago and, according to authorities, will cooperate in exposing a nationwide scam. . . . The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that U.S. women’s figure skating champion Nicole Bobek was improperly excused from two years’ probation she was serving for home invasion and ordered the probation reinstated.

Tennis

Top-seeded Stefan Edberg beat qualifier Lars Jonsson, 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, to reach the quarterfinals of the Swedish Open in Bastad. . . . Top-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia easily defeated Karim Alami of Morocco, 6-3, 6-3, to move into the quarterfinals of the Swiss Open in Gstaad. . . . Lindsay Davenport of Newport Beach will face Kimiko Date in today’s opening match of the U.S.-Japan Fed Cup tie in Nagoya, Japan.

Hockey

Defenseman Milos Holan of the Mighty Ducks, hospitalized since April with complications after a bone-marrow transplant, returned home after his leukemia was found to be in remission.

The Mighty Ducks promoted Alain Chainey to chief amateur scout and Paul Fenton to chief pro scout.

Pro Football

Tight end Keith Jackson signed a two-year free-agent deal with the Green Bay Packers, reportedly for $2.3 million plus incentives worth up to $475,000 each year. The Packers also signed receiver Desmond Howard, who played for Jacksonville last season. . . . Defensive back Walt Harris, the Chicago Bears’ first-round draft pick, signed a five-year contract for a reported $6.1 million. . . . Tight end Rickey Dudley, the Oakland Raiders’ top draft pick, agreed to contract terms . . . Cincinnati offensive lineman Bruce Kozerski, 34, retired after 12 seasons.

Because of sagging sales, the Oakland Raiders will make some season tickets available without having to buy a personal seat license. They, however, will be sold only to current PSL holders.

Miscellany

The Western Athletic Conference will be co-host with San Jose State of the 1997 NCAA men’s basketball West Regional on March 20-22 at the San Jose Arena.