Phillips Responds to Suspension

Running back Lawrence Phillips, suspended by San Francisco for conduct detrimental to the team, said he didn’t deserve such a harsh punishment and hopes to play for the 49ers again.

“The turn of events . . . has surprised me,” Phillips said in a statement released through his agent, Mitch Frankel.

“I don’t have a lot more to say about it, to be honest with you,” said Coach Steve Mariucci, who Monday declared Phillips was finished as a 49er.

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Panther wide receiver Rae Carruth failed again to talk to police about a Tuesday shooting that left his pregnant girlfriend critically wounded in Charlotte, N.C.

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Initially expected to be out three to six weeks, Dallas Cowboy running back Emmitt Smith expects to return ahead of schedule Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. He will wear a padded glove on his broken right hand. . . . St. Louis Ram free safety Keith Lyle could be sidelined a month because of a bruised nerve in his neck and shoulder.