Football
SHARPE GOES TO TV: Denver tight end Shannon Sharpe is retiring, after all.
The NFL's career leader in receptions and yards at his position will replace Deion Sanders on "The NFL Today" pregame show, CBS spokeswoman LeslieAnne Wade said Monday. She said the official announcement will be made Tuesday.
Sharpe had wavered on whether to return for a 15th NFL season before announcing last month he would be back. The seven-time Pro Bowler will be 36 in June and had expressed interest in a TV analyst job. The CBS job looked promising because of the network's concerns about Sanders' contract.
The Broncos have prepared themselves for the loss of Sharpe, signing free agent tight ends Byron Chamberlain, Jed Weaver and O.J. Santiago and re-signing Patrick Hape. Also on the roster are Jeb Putzier, Mike Leach and Dwayne Carswell.
Sharpe is the NFL's career leader in receptions (815) and yards (10,060) for tight ends and last season he passed Jerry Smith for most touchdowns with 62.
He has won three Super Bowls — two with Denver, another with Baltimore — and was part of an NFL-record 12 straight playoff wins from 1997-01. Last season, Sharpe caught 62 passes for 770 yards and eight touchdowns, second only to Kansas City's Tony Gonzalez in the AFC.
Sharpe was scheduled to make $760,000 next season.
CROWDER ARRESTER: Florida linebacker Channing Crowder was arrested for fighting with police outside a nightclub.
Crowder, the Southeastern Conference Freshman Defensive Player of the Year, was arrested early Sunday along with junior safety Jarvis Herring, police said Monday.
According to the police report, Crowder got into an argument outside the club. After police told him to leave, Crowder stopped in the middle of the street, held up traffic and yelled at another man.
When police finally caught up to Crowder, he refused to put his hands behind his back when they tried to handcuff him. Herring interfered with officers, the report said. Crowder was charged with disorderly conduct, and Herring was charged with resisting or obstructing without violence.
Florida coach Ron Zook said no immediate team punishment will be issued to either player.
Last year, Crowder was suspended for the season opener after pleading no contest to misdemeanor battery for allegedly beating a man unconscious.
RAVENS LOGO DISPUTE: The Supreme Court passed up a chance Monday to settle a multimillion-dollar dispute between an artist and the NFL over a logo for the Baltimore Ravens.
Frederick Bouchat had sued and won a jury decision, claiming the NFL stole his idea for a logo for the Ravens. But at a follow-up trial two years ago, jurors said he was not entitled to a share of the team's profits from logo merchandise. He had sought $10 million.
Bouchat's lawyer had contended the verdict against him provides "powerful and savvy market entities with a license to steal." Justices declined without comment to consider the case.
Bouchat, a security guard and amateur artist, had drawn the design of a bird and shield in 1995, before the expansion team's name or logo were chosen. The Ravens' initial logo featured outspread raven wings flanking a shield bearing the letter "B."
The attorney for the Ravens and the NFL said the logo did not boost sales of merchandise.
EX-HOLY CROSS COACH DIES: Dan Allen, who coached the Holy Cross football team from a wheelchair all of last season, died at 48.
He died Sunday at his home in Westboro after his health deteriorated in recent weeks. He was with his wife and children when he died, the school said Monday.
Allen said last August he had multiple chemical sensitivity, an illness that robbed him of his mobility from the neck down.
During the 2002 season he took a medical leave but returned to coach the final four games. His career coaching record was 61-97 over 14 years. Allen was fired as head coach in November after a 1-11 season but remained employed by the college.
VICK FACES DISCIPLINE: Virginia Tech quarterback Marcus Vick and two teammates convicted of serving alcohol to minors will be punished by the school, athletic director Jim Weaver said Monday.
The brother of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, receiver Brenden Hill and tailback Mike Imoh were fined and sentenced to jail time Friday.
On Monday, Weaver said the players would be punished for their role in a party in which they were accused of giving teenage girls alcohol and telling them to strip.
"We are deeply disturbed by the criminal charges against our three student-athletes," Weaver said in a statement.
Weaver would not disclose what kind of disciplinary action he'll take, but said even if there was no resolution in the case by the start of the football season, he still would enforce the disciplinary measures.
Also Monday, Vick's lawyer, Marc Long, appealed the player's 30-day jail sentence and $2,250 fine. No court date was set for the appeal.
The lawyers for Imoh and Hill said they also would appeal.
Boxing
BOWE RELEASED FROM PRISON: Former heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe was released from prison Monday after serving 17 months for kidnapping his first wife and their children in 1998.
The 36-year-old boxer left a federal prison near Cumberland, Md., and will be under home detention until his sentence ends June 8, said his attorney, Steven Silverman. Bowe was released early for good conduct.
Silverman said legal disputes over Bowe's health and management have been resolved, clearing the way for a possible boxing return. Bowe has no manager, he added.
At one point, a North Carolina judge issued an order barring Bowe from boxing because of possible brain injury. Silverman said that order has been withdrawn.
Silverman said Bowe was in his best shape in 10 years after losing 50 to 100 pounds in prison on a regimen that included daily 3-mile runs.
Bowe, of Fort Washington, had a 40-1 lifetime record and was a silver medalist at the 1988 Olympics. He became the undisputed heavyweight champ after beating Evander Holyfield in 1992 but lost the crown to Holyfield the next year.
Bowe was serving time for kidnapping his estranged wife, Judy Bowe, and their five children in 1998 from her home near Charlotte, N.C. He forced her and the children into a car and set out for his Maryland home. At a restaurant in Virginia, Judy Bowe called her sister, who summoned police to the restaurant.
Bowe's lawyers called the boxer's actions a misguided attempt to reunite his family.
Hockey
KEN DRYDEN TO POLITICS: Ken Dryden left the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday to pursue a career in politics.
The Hall of Fame goalie will run for Canada's governing Liberal Party. He announced his plans at center ice at Air Canada Center, home of the Maple Leafs. A federal election is expected to be called within days.
Dryden, 56, played for the Canadiens from 1971 to 1979, earning six Stanley Cup rings. He won the Stanley Cup six times with the Montreal Canadiens, as well as the Calder Trophy as top rookie, five Vezina Trophies and the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. He retired as a player 25 years ago and has spent the last seven years as an executive with Maple Leafs, serving as their general manager, president and, most recently, its vice chairman of the board of directors.