Sports Briefs

Penn State quarterback indicted on assault charge

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) - Penn State quarterback Rashard Casey has been indicted by a grand jury on an assault charge in the alleged beating of an off-duty policeman, according to published reports.

Casey was indicted by the grand jury investigating the May beating in Casey's hometown of Hoboken, N.J., the newspapers said.

Casey and high school teammate Desmond Miller both pleaded innocent to aggravated assault charges in the case earlier this year.

Reports of the indictment, based on anonymous sources, were carried in Wednesday's editions of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Centre (Pa.) Daily Times, the Daily News, The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pa., and USA Today.

USA Today said Casey was indicted on third-degree felony assault and could face five years in prison if convicted. It said his trial was expected to begin next year.

The Patriot-News and the Daily News said Casey was indicted with second-degree assault, which could bring a 10-year prison sentence upon conviction.

Terrence Hull, first assistant Hudson County prosecutor, said he could not disclose results of the grand jury proceedings for at least a week. But he said he would be permitted to speak about the case if no indictments had been made.

Casey's lawyer, Dennis McAlevy, refused to comment.

Strawberry back in jail for violating court sentencing

TAMPA (AP) - Troubled slugger Darryl Strawberry is in jail after leaving a treatment center for a weekend drug binge with a friend.

Strawberry was taken into custody yesterday after testing positive for cocaine and saying he left the center where he's serving house arrest to use drugs, according to Joe Papy, regional director for the Florida Department of Corrections.

Strawberry left the facility about 11 p.m. Saturday night and his probation officer was notified. He returned at about 3 a.m. Sunday. Strawberry admitted smoking crack cocaine and taking 10 Xanax, a mood-lifting prescription drug.

Papy said Strawberry told him he used drugs because of emotional distress. The one-time baseball star has colon cancer.

"Needless to say, we are always disappointed when an addict relapses,'' Papy said. "Darryl Strawberry is an addict.''

Joseph Ficarrotta, Strawberry's defense attorney, could not be reached for comment on the latest charges.

Strawberry was less than two months into a two-year term of house arrest for his conviction on drug and prostitute-solicitation charges. He was serving his house arrest at a private drug-treatment center that state officials declined to identify.

Under his house arrest, Strawberry was prohibited from going anywhere without his parole officer's permission. He is now charged with two violations of his house arrest, violating curfew and using drugs.

Timberwolves stripped of next ve rst round picks

NEW YORK (AP) - NBA commissioner David Stern came down hard on the Minnesota Timberwolves for the secret salary agreement with Joe Smith, fining the team $3.5 million and taking away their next five first-round draft picks.

The issue of possible suspensions for owner Glen Taylor and general manager Kevin McHale have not yet been decided, the NBA said in a statement Wednesday.

The penalty is one of the stiffest in league history and reflects how seriously the NBA considered this offense.

Stern also voided Smith's contract, making him a free agent.

Under an arbitrator's ruling announced Monday, Stern had the right to void Smith's one-year, $2.5 million contract. Stern went even further, voiding Smith's last two contracts and thereby stripping Smith of his Larry Bird rights, which would have allowed him to sign a lucrative extension with the Timberwolves next summer.

"They don't have the ability to do that. They're definitely trying to rewrite the arbitrator's ruling," said Smith's agent, Dan Fagen.

The NBA also asked the players' association to "impose appropriate discipline" against Eric Fleisher, Smith's former agent. A hearing must be held to determine which Timberwolves' personnel had knowledge of the agreement.