Hambrick Sentenced to Five Years

The former Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals player was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday.

Hambrick pleaded guilty on Feb. 26 to one count of distributing 50 grams or more of crack cocaine.

Court documents show Hambrick sold the drugs in 2007 to a confidential informants near his home in Lacoochee, about 40 miles north of Tampa.

Rodriguez Contests Buyout Clause: Former West Virginia football coach Rich Rodriguez says Gov. Joe Manchin and three members of the university's board of governors pressured him into signing a new contract before the start of the 2007 season, even though it had a $4 million buyout clause he didn't want.

In a deposition taken last month and released Tuesday, Rodriguez says board members Steve Farmer, Drew Payne and Perry Petroplus also assured him that his outstanding demands for the football program would be met when Mike Garrison became WVU president.

The deposition is part of evidence collection for WVU's lawsuit to recover the $4 million from Rodriguez, who quit in December for the job at Michigan. Rodriguez first agreed to the buyout in a December 2006 term sheet, then accepted it again by signing an amended contract on Aug. 24, 2007.