Sports briefs 1/26/05

Colleges

* Police made an arrest in the death of a former Eastern Kentucky University basketball player found with stab wounds and a cord tied around his neck.

Louisville Metro Police charged Richard Spellman, 35, with murder in the death of Laronzo "Ronnie" Griffin, 25, whose body was found in an apartment Sunday.

Basketball

* Ron Artest and four other Indiana Pacers who clashed with Detroit Pistons fans in one of the most violent melees in NBA history appeared in court Tuesday and were released on $500 personal bonds.

Artest, Stephen Jackson, Anthony Johnson, David Harrison and Jermaine O'Neal each appeared separately for about three minutes before District Judge Lisa Asadoorian, who met extensively with each of their lawyers before the hearing.

The players are allowed to leave the state because they do not live or work here. The judge barred them from the Palace "except for employment-related purposes."

Each was told they must attend the next hearing scheduled for April 8.

Four fans also charged in the Nov. 19 brawl were scheduled for a pretrial conference Tuesday afternoon in 52nd District Court in Rochester Hills.

Football

* n Jeff Thomason put down his hard hat, grabbed a helmet and joined the NFC champions. The veteran tight end is going to the Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles after being out of the NFL the last two seasons.

"It's incredible. I'm probably the luckiest guy in the world," Thomason said Tuesday after he signed with the Eagles to replace injured tight end Chad Lewis, a three-time Pro Bowl selection.

Lewis, who hurt his foot on the second of his two touchdown catches in Philadelphia's 27-10 victory over Atlanta in the NFC title game, was put on injured reserve to make roster space.

Thomason was working as a project manager for a construction company in New Jersey when the Eagles called Monday. Lewis actually made the first call, telling Thomason he was recommending him as a replacement.

Thomason said he's using his two weeks' vacation to moonlight as a football player.

Thomason spent three seasons with the Eagles but hasn't played since 2002. Seven of his 25 catches with Philadelphia were touchdowns.

* New York Jets quarterback Chad Pennington has a torn right rotator cuff, an injury he played with for the final six games of the season.

Pennington was hurt Nov. 7 against Buffalo after he was hit hard following a scramble. An initial MRI exam showed the tear, but the team announced Pennington had a strain. After sitting out three weeks, Pennington returned to play.

Team doctor Elliot Pellman revealed the extent of the injury Tuesday. Pellman said the team is hopeful Pennington will be ready for the start of training camp in July but made no promises.

He said Pennington came back because there was a minimal risk to damaging the shoulder further.

* Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Eric Crouch signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in another attempt to make the NFL as a defensive back.

The Chiefs will look at Crouch as a safety and plan to send him to NFL Europe this spring. Crouch, who won the Heisman in 2001 at Nebraska, is committed to defense, Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil said.

Horse racing

Smarty Jones finished second again -- even with a big head start.

Ghostzapper, who capped an unbeaten season with a stunning Breeders' Cup Classic victory, easily beat out Smarty Jones to win Horse of the Year honors at Monday night's Eclipse Awards dinner.

Smarty Jones became a household name last spring, winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness before his Triple Crown bid ended June 5 with a narrow loss to Birdstone in the Belmont Stakes.

That turned out to be his final race.

While that was going on, Ghostzapper was a relatively unknown 4-year-old getting ready for his first race of the year, which came July 4. But by the end of October, Ghostzapper was clearly the top thoroughbred in the world.