Patriots Boost Pass Rush With Signing of Colvin

The New England Patriots signed free-agent linebacker Rosevelt Colvin on Tuesday, apparently improving their pass rush.

Colvin had 10 1/2 sacks last season, tops on the Chicago Bears and tied for 12th in the NFL.

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Safety Matt Bowen became a Washington Redskin when the Green Bay Packers declined to match Washington’s four-year, $6-million offer sheet.

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Jacksonville agreed to a one-year contract with former Patriot receiver Donald Hayes.... Backup safety Shawn Wooden was released by Miami.... Safety Bracey Walker re-signed with Detroit.... Houston re-signed defensive end Corey Sears and safety Kevin Williams, both reserves for the team last year.... Fullback Jim Finn, who spent the last three years with Indianapolis, has signed with the New York Giants.

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A limousine driver filed a $5-million lawsuit against New York Jet offensive lineman Jumbo Elliott and accused the player of assaulting him outside a Long Island steakhouse last December.

The driver, Donald Matinsky, 60, said Elliott pushed him to the ground, causing a slight fracture of his left knee, after he’d asked the player to leave the limousine.

A Nassau County grand jury, after hearing testimony from Elliott last month, chose not to indict him on criminal charges.

Jurisprudence

Former boxing champion Pernell Whitaker was sentenced to 27 months in prison at Virginia Beach, Va., for violating probation on a cocaine conviction. Circuit Judge Thomas S. Shadrick said Whitaker “arrogantly thumbed his nose” at probation rules after he was given a four-year suspended sentence in August.

Former Dallas Cowboy cornerback Dwayne Goodrich was indicted by a Dallas grand jury in a hit-and-run accident that killed two men.

Miscellany

Ramy Brooks grabbed the lead in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race after battling strong headwinds on the way to Koyuk on the Alaskan coast.

With the Nome finish line only 170 miles away, Brooks, who finished second last year, made his move, overtaking Norway’s Robert Sorlie, who has led much of the 1,100-mile race.

Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) introduced a bill that would protect Title IX from modifications the Department of Education may apply to the federal law requiring equal opportunities in men’s and women’s athletics.

Education Secretary Rod Paige announced two weeks ago that he would consider only the unanimous recommendations made by the 15-member panel he commissioned to study the 30-year-old law.

The law being proposed by Slaughter would allow Congress to “restore the intent of Title IX” should Paige decide to rewrite the law’s regulations.

Badge Of Silver, who lost for the first time in Sunday’s Louisiana Derby, will have minor throat surgery sometime this week. Trainer Ronny Werner said Badge Of Silver was still on target for the Illinois Derby on April 5 at Hawthorne.

Defensive end Shawn Johnson, who led the Atlantic Coast Conference in sacks last football season, is transferring from Duke to Division I-AA Fordham.... Cyclist Andrei Kivilev of Kazakhstan suffered a skull fracture when he tumbled from his bike during the Paris-Nice race. He is in a coma.... Floyd Mayweather Jr. has a new opponent for his World Boxing Council lightweight title fight April 19 in Fresno: Victoriano Sosa of the Dominican Republic. Sosa replaces Raul Balbi, who lost Saturday in what was supposed to be a tuneup fight in Buenos Aires.... Damian Costantino’s NCAA-record hitting streak ended at 60 games, one day after he broke Robin Ventura’s 16-year-old mark. Costantino is an outfielder for Division III Salve Regina of Newport, R.I.

Passings

Hoover John Wright, who coached track and field at Prairie View A&M; for more than 40 years and led the school’s football team to its last winning season in 1976, died Friday at Prairie View, Texas. He was 74.