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Around the NFL

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 10, 2001

Gator-rooting officer didn't know Janikowski

TALLAHASSEE -- A Florida State University police officer says he had no idea a drug suspect he had detained was former Seminoles placekicker Sebastian Janikowski, now with the Oakland Raiders.

"I'm not an FSU fan, believe it or not," officer C. Roy Wiley said during a pretrial deposition in court records. "I are a Gator fan."

The Florida rooter said he found out it was Janikowski, 23, who goes on trial Wednesday for possession of the "date rape" drug GHB, only after two other campus officers arrived and recognized the burly, baldheaded Polish immigrant.

If convicted, Janikowski could be deported under U.S. immigration law.

Wiley arrested Janikowski shortly after midnight June 21 in a fraternity house parking lot after the two-time All-American and two other men pulled up in a silver Lexus.

Janikowski's companions are listed as state witnesses. All were arrested but prosecutors dropped a charge against Jay Hoffman, 25, and granted him immunity.

The charge against Jessie Harris, 20, has been referred to drug court, which likely will result in dismissal, said Stephen Dobson, one of Janikowski's lawyers.

The maximum sentence is five years, but state guidelines would recommend no prison time for Janikowski if convicted. A six-member jury and two alternates were selected Friday.

The trial, expected to take one day, will be held in the Leon County Courthouse, a familiar place to Janikowski. His arrest came a week after a jury acquitted him on an unrelated charge of trying to bribe an officer to let his roommate go after a nightclub arrest.

Court records from the time of the drug arrest describe Janikowski's net income as "doesn't know yet." The first placekicker to be a first-round NFL draft pick since 1979 later signed a five-year, $6-million contract.

Although Dobson insists Janikowski is innocent, he said efforts to reach a plea agreement with prosecutors proved futile. "We've attempted to have some dialogue," Dobson said. "They have not been very receptive to that."

Assistant State Attorney Robin Freeman did not return a phone call Monday. She earlier said the charge could be dropped if Janikowski completed a counseling program, but he would have to remain in Tallahassee.

NO DRAFT FOR HENSON: Former Michigan quarterback Drew Henson is not eligible for the upcoming draft, league officials told cbs.sportsline.com. Henson left UM to sign a professional baseball contract with the Yankees last month. The Internet site said Henson would have had to petition the NFL by Jan. 10 for inclusion as an underclassman in this year's draft.

BENGALS: Cornerback Tom Carter agreed to a one-year deal with the team that released him March 1.

RAIDERS: Owner Al Davis testified that it was never his preference to leave Los Angeles for Oakland in 1995 and that he considered other possible sites for a new stadium before focusing on a facility at Hollywood Park. Davis took the witness stand for the first time in his $1-billion lawsuit against the NFL. "I wanted to be here, in Los Angeles. I wanted the Raiders to be here," Davis testified as the trial entered its fifth week in Los Angeles County Superior Court. In the lawsuit, Davis insists that the right to the Los Angeles football market still belongs to him.

REDSKINS: Unrestricted free-agent receiver Kevin Lockett signed a two-year, $2-million contract.

SAINTS: Owner Tom Benson, 74, was released from a hospital, six days after heart bypass surgery.

SEAHAWKS: The team plans to hold onto Ricky Watters, 32, as its starting running back. "I would never say never ... but I fully expect Ricky to be here next season," coach Mike Holmgren said.

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