NFL
LA LA'S TEAM: After trying for five years to bring an NFL team to Los Angeles, Michael Ovitz believes he is closer than ever."I feel good about it for the first time in years; feel we have the best shot we've ever had," Ovitz said Thursday. "I'm bullish, but it's not locked up."
Ovitz said he and his backers, who hold an option on land at Hollywood Park, have met all the NFL's criteria. But the Hollywood dealmaker noted that the proposal still must be approved by 24 of the league's 31 owners if a deal is to be completed. The NFL's expansion committee is scheduled to meet Tuesday in Atlanta, with the owners convening the following day.
MCNOWN PLEADS GUILTY: Chicago Bears quarterback Cade McNown, admitting he made a mistake nearly three years ago, pleaded no contest Thursday to a misdemeanor charge of illegally possessing a handicapped parking placard.
Current UCLA safety Eric Whitfield and former Bruins fullback Craig Walendy entered the same pleas before Municipal Judge Sam Ohta, joining 13 other current and former UCLA football players who previously agreed to a plea agreement.
DOLPHIN INJURED: Miami Dolphins wide receiver Yatil Green, plagued by injuries during his three-year career, sprained his left ankle Thursday and is listed as questionable for Monday night's game against the Buffalo Bills.
SPIKES PLEADS GUILTY: Former Miami Dolphins running back Irving Spikes has pleaded guilty to federal drug and firearms charges.
Spikes entered his plea Thursday in U.S. District Court in Biloxi in the presence of a judge, attorneys and his parents.
Spikes faces at least five years in federal prison when he is sentenced Jan. 12.
In exchange for his plea, federal prosecutors recommended that the court dismiss a charge that Spikes helped others run a cocaine business in Alabama and Mississippi.
Spikes also faces two federal cocaine trafficking charges in Florida for trying to sell a piece of sheetrock disguised as a kilogram of cocaine to a Gulfport drug dealer.