College football

Penn senior back commits suicide

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 senior, 21, who died at his suburban Havertown home Monday, had been battling depression, the Philadelphia Daily News reported Wednesday, quoting the player's family.

"I knew my brother had been having some problems," Ambrogi's brother, Greg, a sophomore defensive back on the team, told the paper. "I thought he was getting better. I can't believe it happened. I can't cry yet."

Haverford Township police chief Gary Hoover said Ambrogi's gunshot death wasn't being investigated as a criminal matter.

Quakers coach Al Bagnoli called the player "one of our shining lights."

"Kyle was a remarkable young man, a true scholar-athlete, an ambassador for Penn, a tremendous teammate and leader on and off the field, as well as a caring and outstanding brother," he said. "His loss will be felt for a long time. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family during this time."

The brothers had a big day Saturday in a 53-7 rout of Bucknell. Kyle, a backup, carried five times for 18 yards and two third-quarter touchdowns. Greg scored a touchdown after recovering a fumbled snap in the second quarter.

"Afterward that's all everybody was talking about," Greg said. "How great it was that we, as brothers, got to score in the same game and did so on different sides of the ball. It was awesome."

DISMISSAL SOUGHT: Time Inc. asked a judge in Birmingham, Ala., to throw out its settlement and dismiss defamation claims of former Alabama football coach Mike Price over a Sports Illustrated article recounting his night of drunken partying at a Florida strip joint, court documents showed.

In a motion filed in federal court, Time claimed Price and his lawyer, Steve Heninger, violated an agreement to make only limited public comments about the deal, reached last week to resolve Price's $20-million defamation suit against the magazine, which Time publishes.

Heninger denied violating the settlement's terms.

U.S. District Judge Lynwood Smith made no immediate ruling on the motion, filed late Tuesday, but he did grant Time's request to seal court documents related to terms of the settlement.

BOSTON COLLEGE: Defensive lineman Mathias Kiwanuka is "highly unlikely" to play against Wake Forest because of a right knee injury that may have happened when he was hit after the whistle against Virginia. Kiwanuka said he has a sprained or slightly torn MCL.

[Last modified October 13, 2005, 01:11:19]