IN BRIEF
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. - Investigators are looking into a party attended by several Minnesota Vikings players that allegedly involved drunkenness, nudity and visible sexual activity on a pair of charter cruises last week.
No criminal charges had been filed, and it could take a couple of weeks before investigators finish interviewing people who were on the boats, said Sgt. Haans Vitek of the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office. A police report was filed Sunday.
Stephen Doyle, an attorney representing the boats' owners, has said cornerback Fred Smoot paid for one of the cruises last Thursday on Lake Minnetonka. He said about 90 people were on the boats, which returned to shore more than two hours earlier than scheduled when crew members complained about lewd behavior.
Smoot said he was planning to take legal action against whomever "put my name in there."
DAVIE, Fla. - Ricky Williams practiced with the Miami Dolphins for the first time since 2003 and will play Sunday at Tampa Bay.Coming back from a one-year retirement and four-game suspension at the start of this season for violating the NFL drug policy, Williams took some hits from the defense, and his conditioning seemed good, coach Nick Saban said.
BEREA, Ohio - Browns wide receiver Braylon Edwards was released from the hospital but might not play for a month while recovering from an infected right arm.The rookie underwent surgery Saturday and was discharged after four nights at Cleveland Clinic.
NEW YORK - Tampa Bay's Ronde Barber was fined $30,000 by the NFL for punching an official during last Sunday's game with the New York Jets.Two other prominent players, Baltimore's Terrell Suggs and Ed Reed, were fined $15,000 each for making contact with an official during the Ravens' game in Detroit.
LAKE FOREST, Ill. - The Chicago Bears cut veteran kicker Doug Brien and replaced him with Robbie Gould.Brien missed three out of four field goal tries this season and sustained a back injury during the Bears' bye-week practices. The injury kept him out of last week's 20-10 loss at Cleveland.
BALTIMORE - As a reward for guiding the Baltimore Orioles through the most tumultuous two-month stretch in franchise history, Sam Perlozzo had the "interim" label removed from his job title and signed a three-contract as manager.Perlozzo takes control of a team that has suffered through eight straight losing seasons, the longest such run since the Orioles moved from St. Louis in 1954.
PHILADELPHIA - Two days after one of the best games of his career, Penn running back Kyle Ambrogi committed suicide, the university and police said.The 21-year-old senior, who died at his suburban Havertown home Monday, had been battling depression, the Daily News reported, quoting the player's family.Ambrogi, a backup, carried five times for 18 yards and two third-quarter touchdowns. His brother, Greg, is a defensive back on the team.
STATE COLLEGE - Penn State will look into claims by a gay rights advocacy group that women's basketball coach Rene Portland discriminated against players she believed to be lesbians.Spanier said he received a letter of complaint from the National Center for Lesbian Rights regarding the case of Jennifer Harris, who transferred from Penn State last spring after two years on the team.According to the center, Portland had repeatedly questioned Harris about her sexual orientation, threatened to kick her off the team if she was a lesbian, and told other players not to associate with players who Portland believed was gay.
