Receiver Ingram Goes From Dolphins to Packers

The Miami Dolphins closed an expected deal Tuesday, trading wide receiver Mark Ingram to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the upcoming draft.

By trading Ingram, the Dolphins got enough leeway under the salary cap to re-sign linebacker Chris Singleton to a five-year contract and reach a two-year deal with running back Irving Spikes and a three-year deal with tight end Ronnie Williams.

The Dolphins didn’t reveal the amount of those deals. The Miami Herald, quoting unidentified sources, reported that Singleton’s contract is valued at $5.275 million.

Ingram is a candidate to start opposite Robert Brooks, who will take over at Sterling Sharpe’s flanker position. The Packers also remain interested in free agent wide receiver Andre Rison.

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The Rams signed linebacker Roman Phifer to a four-year deal worth about $8.5 million and agreed to terms with former Raider cornerback Torin Dorn.

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A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., ruled that unions can’t file antitrust suits against employers and reversed a $30.3-million judgment against the NFL.

The 2-1 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia also impacts the baseball strike talks and the tense labor relations in the NBA.

Tuesday’s case was filed after the NFL unilaterally implemented a rule in 1989 establishing developmental squads of six rookie or first-year players per team. The league fixed their salaries at $1,000 per week.

On May 9, 1990, Antony Brown of the Buffalo Bills filed a class-action suit on behalf of 235 developmental squad players against the league and its teams. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ruled for the players on March 10, 1992, and a jury awarded damages that were trebled to $30,349,642.

Tennis

Monica Seles asked a Hamburg, Germany, court for a stronger penalty against the man who stabbed her in the back during a tennis match almost two years ago and “destroyed my life.”

In a letter read at the retrial of Gunther Parche, Seles said her convicted attacker deserved more than the suspended two-year sentence originally imposed.

Rachel McQuillan, ranked 88th in the world, upset fourth-seeded Lindsay Davenport, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2, in the Lipton Championships in Key Biscayne, Fla.. Second-seeded Steffi Graf defeated Judith Wiesner, 6-0, 6-1.

Unseeded Mats Wilander advanced to the men’s quarterfinals by defeating Jan Siemerink, 6-4, 6-2.

Motor Sports

The National Transportation Safety Board concluded the helicopter crash that killed stock car driver Davey Allison in 1993 probably was caused by Allison’s mistakes and inexperience in piloting the aircraft.

Jurisprudence

Ram cornerback Darryl Henley had absolutely no reason to be involved in a cocaine trafficking ring and is the victim of a “big con” by others who took advantage of his name and generosity, his lawyer told jurors.

“Darryl Henley is a hard-working man who has accomplished his goal of playing in the National Football League, not an easy goal to accomplish,” defense attorney Gerald Chaleff said during closing arguments of Henley’s trial on drug conspiracy charges.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Deirdre Z. Eliot told jurors they should not be “dazzled” by the football player’s fame or be fooled by his “public side.”

Former Wisconsin running back Brent Moss admitted violating conditions of his probation on a drug conviction, a state prison official said.

Moss, 22, who was jailed Friday, acknowledged in an interview with Division of Probation and Parole staff that he had violated probation, officials said.

No decision has been made on punishment for Moss, the MVP in Wisconsin’s 1994 Rose Bowl victory over UCLA who was kicked off the team last November after his arrest in a Madison drug bust.

Two former Utah State football players who beat up a clerk and stole beer from a convenience store last year have been sentenced to 30 days in jail. Scott Moore and Jorge Muoz also were fined $1,550, and ordered to pay $260 restitution.

Sailing

High wind and waves forced the abandonment of semifinal races in the America’s Cup. . . . Rich Devos’ Reichel/Pugh 74 Windquest and Neil Barth’s Whitbread 60 America’s Challenge, both tuning up for bigger tests, were expected to finish one-two by early this morning in Newport Harbor Yacht Club’s race from Newport Beach to Cabo San Lucas.