Jury rules Faulk did not abuse girlfriend

CLAYTON, Mo. -- A jury deliberated less than two hours Monday before ruling in favor of St. Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk in a civil case accusing him of domestic abuse.

Meanwhile, the jury ruled against Faulk's former girlfriend, Helen Dunne, 27, who is also the mother of three of Faulk's children.

Dunne had accused Faulk of domestic violence. The jury rejected those claims and found in favor of Faulk's accusation that Dunne abused the legal process by filing suit against him.

The jury awarded $125 to Faulk, though he had sought only $1 in symbolic damages.

Faulk's family and his supporters burst into applause as the verdict was read in the St. Louis County courtroom, according to stltoday.com, the Web site for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Jurors on Monday heard about 90 minutes of closing arguments by Dunne's lawyer, Charles Todt, who accused Faulk of beating his client out of anger; and Faulk's attorney, Scott Rosenblum, who accused Dunne of extortion.

"You cannot extort the truth, you cannot blackmail reputation, and you cannot exploit a man for your own gain," Rosenblum said.

Miller advised to retire

Former Cleveland Browns linebacker Jamir Miller has been advised to retire by a doctor who examined the free agent's surgically repaired Achilles' tendon.

"He got a very discouraging medical report," Miller's agent, Leigh Steinberg, said Monday. "The Achilles' injury is very serious. He's seriously considering retirement and is in the last stages of making a decision."

Miller, who made the Pro Bowl after recording 13 sacks in 2001, ruptured his right Achilles' tendon in the Browns' exhibition opener against Minnesota last August and missed the entire season.

Steinberg said Miller had been bothered by soreness in his heel the past few weeks, and he visited a specialist in Los Angeles on Friday.

"He has been medically advised not to play football," Steinberg said. "He had been hoping it would improve. The last time he played, he was a Pro Bowler. It's sort of sad."

-- From wire reports