Morris Gets Probation On Drug Possession

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.

The cocaine charges were dropped and prosecutors said they would not push for a prison sentence when Morris agreed to plead guilty on the felony marijuana charge.

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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 battery against his pregnant fiancee and spent a night in jail in Plantation, Fla.

Details of the incident were not disclosed by Plantation police and Thomas’ lawyer disputes the allegations.

Thomas, 26, was charged with two counts of aggravated battery for separate incidents on July 4 involving Ebony Cooksey, 22. He was released on $10,000 bond.

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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. Those charges were reduced to misdemeanor simple battery and criminal mischief.

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Rookie receiver Terry Glenn of the New England Patriots pleaded not guilty to traffic citations filed after his car went off a street and hit a tree on Saturday.

Glenn, 21, was charged with failure to control his car and driving with a suspended license.

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Two Louisville football players, Jeryl Tyson and Ikem Maduaka-Cain, have been stripped of their scholarships and suspended indefinitely after a drug arrest.

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Sports collectibles dealer Anthony Alyinovich, 29, pleaded guilty to mail fraud in Chicago and, according to federal authorities, will cooperate in exposing a nationwide scam.

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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.

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, Switzerland.

Hockey

Defenseman Milos Holan of the Mighty Ducks, who had been 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. . . . 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 the restriction of having to buy a personal seat license. Those tickets will be sold only to current personal seat license holders, however.