Browns’ Draft Pick Pharms Arrested

Cleveland Browns’ draft pick Jeremiah Pharms has been arrested on charges he shot and pistol-whipped a man for $1,500 worth of marijuana last year.

The fifth-round draft pick from Washington was released Wednesday on $250,000 bail in his hometown of Sacramento, where he was arrested Tuesday night by Seattle detectives.

If convicted of first-degree robbery, Pharms could be sentenced to as long as 8 1/2 years in prison. The father of three, who has not yet been signed by the Browns, could face additional charges because he was the shooter at the robbery near the Washington campus, King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng alleged.

An arraignment was scheduled for May 9. Pharms’ lawyer did not immediately return calls for comment.

Cleveland Coach Butch Davis said he called Washington’s coaches and Pharms’ agent and mother after hearing of the arrest.

“This was kind of a shock to everybody,” Davis said. “But one of the most horrible things you can do is jump to a conclusion.”

Pharms, a 6-foot-1, 250-pound outside linebacker, played on the Huskies’ winning Rose Bowl team in January. He was taken by the Browns 134th overall last month.

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Nashville police questioned Tennessee Titans Fred Miller and Zach Piller about a weekend barroom fight they are accused of starting.

Pro Football

The New York Jets denied a published report saying they might move to Los Angeles if they do not get a stadium built in New York with the help of public funding.

“It’s the New York Jets. The only place we are trying to move to is New York,” Jet spokesman Frank Ramos said.

Ramos added: “As Woody Johnson said from the day he purchased the ballclub, it is his goal to get the Jets their own stadium.”

The Jets’ lease at Giants Stadium runs until the end of the 2008 season.

New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has been wooing the Jets with proposals for a billion-dollar stadium on the west side of Manhattan, but the plan has been fiercely opposed by local leaders.

Two days before he was due a $200,000 roster bonus, linebacker Glenn Cadrez was released by the Denver Broncos. The move came less than 24 hours after the Broncos reached agreements with linebackers Henri Crockett and Antonio London.

College Basketball

Michigan Coach Tommy Amaker dismissed guard Maurice Searight for “violation of team policies.”

Searight had been suspended for the final month of last season by Amaker’s predecessor, Brian Ellerbe. Ellerbe indefinitely suspended Searight with six games left, reportedly for missing practice.

George Washington sophomore guard SirValiant Brown made himself eligible for this year’s NBA draft, forgoing his final two years of college eligibility.

Vanderbilt Coach Kevin Stallings agreed to new contract that extends through the 2005-06 season and pays him $700,000 annually.

Tennis

Second-seeded Thomas Enqvist’s comeback, after surgery on his shoulder and foot, hit a snag when he lost to Jiri Novak in the second round of the BMW Open at Munich. The Swede was eliminated, 1-6, 6-2, 7-6 (2), at the $400,000 clay-court event.

Yugoslav Jelena Dokic reached the third round of the Betty Barclay Cup at Hamburg, Germany, with her father watching from the stands for the first time since his six-month ban from women’s tennis ended.

Dokic got past German qualifier Barbara Rittner, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, at the $565,000 event.

Damir Dokic was banned from women’s tennis until the end of April, both as a coach and as a spectator, after being tossed from Wimbledon and the U.S. Open after arguments with authorities.

Top-seeded Kim Clijsters of Belgium beat Emilie Loit of France, 6-1, 6-3, to reach the quarterfinals of the $170,000 WTA clay-court tournament at Bol, Croatia.

Miscellany

Two days after telling NASCAR he was going public with concerns about driver safety, racing-equipment manufacturer Bill Simpson said, the organization told him that his seat belt contributed to Dale Earnhardt’s death in the Daytona 500.

Simpson wants to be exonerated by NASCAR.

Mike Beam, crew chief for Ricky Craven, was fined $5,000 and suspended for two races by NASCAR for not having dated seat belts in Craven’s Ford Taurus last Sunday at California Speedway.

Clint Mathis had a hat trick to lead the New York-New Jersey MetroStars to a 4-1 Major League Soccer victory over the Kansas City Wizards at East Rutherford, N.J.

The USC football team will play a home-and-home series against Arkansas in 2005 and 2006, university officials said.

The U.S. tied Sweden, 2-2, at Cologne, Germany, to clinch a second-round berth in the World Hockey Championships.

In other games, Canada beat Russia, 5-1; and Finland beat Slovakia, 5-2.

Texas Tech running back Shaud Williams will appeal Coach Mike Leach’s decision to attach restrictions to his release from a football scholarship.

Williams was told by Leach that he won’t be released unless he agrees not to transfer to any Division I-A school in Texas, any other team from the Big 12 Conference or the University of New Mexico.

Terry Holland is stepping down after six years as Virginia’s athletic director to become a special assistant to the university president.