New York ? The agent under investigation by the NFL Players Assn. for his role in the housing arrangement of Reggie Bush’s family says he has had nothing to do with the Southern California star.

David Caravantes told The Associated Press on Friday that he was unaware of the investigation, adding: “I have had no involvement with Reggie Bush. The truth will come out.”

Gene Upshaw, executive director of the NFLPA, confirmed Friday that the probe of Caravantes had begun.

“I can’t comment on specifics of the investigation while it is going on, according to our organization’s regulations,” Upshaw said. “Until the process is completed, we can’t comment, other than the investigation is ongoing.

“Things like this are about the integrity of the game and our sport, and we have to make sure it is dealt with sufficiently. The number of agents has grown every year and it’s become increasingly difficult to keep a net over some of these (agents).”

The NFL, meanwhile, has alerted some teams about a potential extortion of Bush’s family after the Southern Cal running back didn’t sign with marketing company New Era Sports & Entertainment LLC tied to Caravantes.

“I wasn’t even aware of the money asked of the Bush family until yesterday,” Caravantes said. “They (New Era) recruited me.”

The NFL’s security department contacted several teams about the situation. The Houston Texans, whose have first overall selection in Saturday’s draft, passed on Bush on Friday and signed North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams.

A San Diego attorney for the two principals in New Era Sports said Bush’s family defrauded his clients out of $300,000 over 11â2 years using “the carrot” of Bush’s future football career as an enticement.

STEROIDS INVESTIGATION

BALCO supplier pleads guilty

San Francisco – A noted scientist in the field of sports nutritional supplements pleaded guilty Friday to supplying the BALCO lab with the performance-enhancing drug known as “the clear.” Patrick Arnold pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute steroids. He’s scheduled to be sentenced in August and most likely will face three months in jail and three months of home detention.

track and field

Sprinter Montgomery charged

New York – Olympic gold medalist Tim Montgomery was arrested Friday on charges he was connected to a multimillion-dollar bank fraud and money laundering scheme.

A grand jury indictment unsealed in New York accused the star sprinter, his gold medalist track coach, Steven Riddick, and 12 other people of being involved in a conspiracy that deposited $5 million in stolen, altered or counterfeit checks over three years.

Some of the money was laundered through two businesses owned by a New York couple accused of being behind the scam, according to the indictment.

BASEBALL

Ex-pitcher Howe killed

New York – Steve Howe, the relief pitcher whose promising career was derailed by cocaine and alcohol abuse, died Friday when his pickup truck rolled over in Coachella, Calif. He was 48.

Howe was killed at 5:55 a.m. PDT about 130 miles east of Los Angeles, said Dalyn Backes of the Riverside County coroner’s office. He had been in Arizona on business and was driving back to the family home in Valencia, Calif., business partner Judy Welp said.

The hard-throwing lefty was the 1980 NL Rookie of the Year with the Los Angeles Dodgers, got the final out to clinch the 1981 World Series and was an All-Star the next year.

But for all of his success on the field, Howe was constantly troubled by addictions – he was suspended seven times and became a symbol of the rampant cocaine problem that plagued baseball in the 1980s. Howe was 47-41 with 91 saves and a 3.03 earned-run average with the Dodgers, Twins, Rangers and Yankees.

Rockies’ Mesa suspended

San Francisco – Colorado Rockies pitcher Jose Mesa was given a four-game suspension by Major League Baseball on Friday for intentionally throwing at San Francisco Giants shortstop Omar Vizquel.

GOLF

Durant grabs Zurich lead

New Orleans – Joe Durant had a bogey-free 8-under 64 to take a two-shot lead Friday over Brett Wetterich in the Zurich Classic.

Durant, winless since taking the Bob Hope Classic and Doral in consecutive starts five years ago, had a 12-under 132 total on the English Turn course. Wetterich closed with an 8-foot birdie on the ninth hole for a 65.

Two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen sputtered at the start and then steadily improved for a 3-under 69 that left him in a group of seven players at 9-under 135.

Kim leads Ochoa by one

Reunion, Fla. – Lorena Ochoa made one poor decision Friday. It was the only thing that kept her from topping the leaderboard. Rebounding from a triple bogey, Ochoa shot a 2-under 70 to finish a stroke behind Mi Hyun Kim (66) after the second round of the Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open.

Dakoda Dowd, the 13-year-old golf prodigy who was invited to play the event to fulfill her cancer-stricken mother’s dying wish to see her compete on the LPGA Tour, followed her opening 74 with an 82 to miss the cut. Nonetheless, tournament officials gave her a replica of the winner’s trophy.

Kite among Kinko’s leaders

Lakeway, Texas – Tom Kite got off to a fast start in his bid to win a PGA Tour-sanctioned event in Texas for the first time, birdieing the final hole for a 4-under 68 and a share of the first-round lead in FedEx Kinko’s Classic.

Kite, the Austin resident who is winless in Texas in 98 starts on the PGA Tour and 10 on the Champions Tour, was tied with Jay Haas, Bruce Fleisher, Craig Stadler, Curtis Strange and senior newcomer David Edwards. The six-man tie for the lead is the largest after the round on the Champions Tour since the 1999 Cadillac NFL Classic.

AUTO RACING

Yeley takes Busch pole

Talladega, Ala. – For a guy who cut his racing teeth on the Midwest’s short tracks, J.J. Yeley really loves the big ovals. On Friday, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver added the NASCAR Busch Series pole for the Aaron’s 312 at Talladega Superspeedway to the one he earned in the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway – the first of his Busch career.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

K-State QB to transfer

Manhattan – The quarterback race at Kansas State was whittled to four Friday, after redshirt freshman Kevin Lopina announced his intentions to transfer.

Lopina will be released from his scholarship pending the completion of necessary academic requirements, coach Ron Prince said in a news release.

“Kevin has expressed an interest in returning to the West Coast to continue his education closer to home,” Prince said. “We wish him nothing but the best of luck.”

Lopina, a 6-foot-3, 220-pounder who played at De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., took snaps with the first-team offense during spring practices but was the No. 3 quarterback on the purple squad in the April 22 spring game.

His defection leaves seniors Dylan Meier and Allen Webb, sophomore Allan Evridge and freshman Josh Freeman to compete for the starting job entering the fall.

Ex-QB faces court-martial

Annapolis, Md. – Lamar Owens, Navy’s former standout quarterback, will face a court-martial for allegedly raping a female midshipman, the U.S. Naval Academy announced Friday.

Vice Adm. Rodney P. Rempt, the academy’s superintendent, made the decision to seek the most serious form of military trial, which could send Owens to prison for life.

COLLEGE NICKNAMES

NCAA rejects appeals

Indianapolis – Despite a letter from one tribal leader in support of the Fighting Sioux nickname, North Dakota lost its appeal to the NCAA on Friday, and Illinois and Indiana University of Pennsylvania didn’t fare any better.

The governing body’s executive committee rejected appeals from all three schools that would have allowed them to use Indian nicknames or images without penalty. Bradley, the fourth school with an appeal, became the nation’s first to appear on a five-year watch list.

The NCAA’s message was clear: It would not retreat from its policy banning the use of “hostile” and “abusive” Indian nicknames, mascots and imagery at championship events.

North Dakota president Charles Kupchella was surprised by the rejection after the university included a letter from Archie Fool Bear, chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s judicial committee, in its documentation.