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Blades avoids incarceration

MIAMI -- Former Seahawks and Miami Hurricanes receiver Brian Blades accepted a plea deal Tuesday that allows him to avoid jail time for charges stemming from a brawl at a bar.

Blades was charged in July with resisting arrest with violence and battery on a police officer, both third-degree felonies. He also faced charges of disorderly intoxication and obstruction of a police officer, both misdemeanors.

As part of the deal, Circuit Judge Cecilia Altonaga sentenced Blades to two years probation. He also must perform 100 hours of community service and make a $500 contribution to a children's organization.

Blades, 37, also must take an anger control course, have a substance abuse evaluation and avoid the bar where the brawl occurred.

Also, the Seahawks gave outside linebacker Chad Brown, a three-time Pro Bowl player, a five-year extension that begins when his original six-year deal ends after this season.

BENGALS: Offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski was ordered to serve four days in jail and pay $560.50 in fines and court costs after pleading no contest to driving under the influence of alcohol in Georgetown, Ky. Bratkowski had a 0.18 blood-alcohol content when he was arrested at 1:38 a.m. on Aug. 15. The blood-alcohol limit to drive in Kentucky is 0.08.

CHIEFS: Tackle Willie Roaf, arrested over the weekend for driving under the influence, will face no disciplinary actions from the team. Roaf, a seven-time Pro Bowl player with the Saints who is in his first season with the Chiefs, was stopped by police early Saturday in Kansas City, Mo. He still may be disciplined by the league.

CHARGERS: Free safety Keith Lyle signed a one-year contract and will be reunited with coach Marty Schottenheimer. Safety Jason Perry was released. Lyle played for Washington last season under Schottenheimer.

GIANTS: Matt Bryant, who hasn't kicked in a game that mattered since playing at Baylor in 1998, will kick in the regular-season opener because second-year pro Owen Pochman was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury.

JETS: The league forced the team to fire 78-year-old adviser Tony Veteri because his son is a head NFL linesman. Veteri, a former on-field official who worked four Super Bowls, was hired to help decide when to ask for an instant-replay review of referees' calls. The league told the team Veteri had to go because his son Tony's job might pose a conflict of interest.

PANTHERS: Defensive end Mike Rucker signed a five-year contract extension.

Rucker set a team record for linemen with nine sacks last season. RAMS: Safety Chad Cota signed a one-year contract. In his eighth season, Cota spent the past three with the Colts, who released him in February.

TITANS: Defensive end Jevon Kearse, a former Gator who has been bothered by an injured left triceps muscle, plans to play in the opener Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.

OBIT: The father of former quarterback Art Schlichter was found dead after he drowned in a pool at his Columbus, Ohio, home. Officers found the body of John "Max" Schlichter, 65, when they responded to a report of a drowning. Art Schlichter, a former Ohio State quarterback, is in prison in Indiana for violating his probation from a 1997 conviction for forgery and theft. Schlichter pleaded guilty in 2001 to money laundering, forging securities and unauthorized use of his father's credit cards to pay gambling debts.

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