Jail For Panthers' Steroids Doc

July 18, 2006
 

The doctor who pleaded guilty to conspiring to illegally prescribe steroids to several Carolina Panthers was sentenced to one year and one day in prison Monday in federal court in Columbia, S.C.

Dr. James Shortt pleaded guilty in March to one federal count of conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids and human growth hormone. Prosecutors have said current and former Panthers were involved.

As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped 42 other counts against Shortt. He had to pay the minimum fine, $500, and a $100 special assessment. He also will serve two years on supervised release. The maximum sentence was five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Shortt, 59, also faces a state criminal investigation in the 2004 death of a Minnesota woman who died three days after receiving intravenous hydrogen peroxide to help her multiple sclerosis. The South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners revoked Shortt's license in May. Anderson will not have to report to prison until he has exhausted his appeals.

Davis out of hospital: Cowboys safety Keith Davis was released from a Dallas hospital after being shot twice in a drive-by shooting early Sunday morning, the team said on its website. Davis, 27, was driving on Interstate 635 when the two shots grazed him in the thigh and head. He was not seriously injured. The Cowboys said they expect Davis to be ready for full contact when the team begins camp July 28 in Oxnard, Calif.

Eagles sign Justice: Second-round pick Winston Justice signed a four-year contract with Philadelphia, leaving only defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley, the team's first-round pick, unsigned heading into camp. Justice, an offensive tackle who started 36 games at Southern Cal, was All-Pac 10 honorable mention twice. Rookies and selected veterans report for camp Thursday in Bethlehem, Pa. Half the league's 32 teams have yet to sign any of their picks and only 10 players selected in the first three rounds have negotiated deals. ... The Saints signed Josh Lay, an All-Big East defensive back at Pittsburgh drafted in the sixth round.

Namath's doctor dies: Dr. James Nicholas, whose pioneering work on sports injuries included four operations on Joe Namath's knees, died Saturday of colon cancer in Scarsdale, N.Y. He was 85. Nicholas founded the world's first hospital-based center for sports injuries at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, now known as the Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma. A brace Nicholas developed for Namath became widely used.