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FOOTBALL

Pats get Welker from Miami

The New England Patriots acquired wide receiver and kick returner Wes Welker from the Miami Dolphins yesterday in exchange for an undisclosed draft pick. Welker, a restricted free agent, was the Dolphins' leading receiver in 2006 with 67 catches for 687 yards and a touchdown. He did it despite starting only two games. The 5-foot-9, 195-pound player also had led Miami in both punt returns and kickoff returns in each of the last three seasons, and was the Dolphins' all-time leading kickoff returner in yardage and total returns. Welker was originally signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent out of Texas Tech just before the 2004 season. He was released by the Chargers and signed by the Dolphins in September 2004.

The Boston Globe suspended without pay for two months a veteran sports reporter, Ron Borges, after allegations that he had plagiarized a portion of a football column from another sportswriter. The Globe's editor, Martin Baron, said Borges had included in his "Football notes" column last Sunday material written by a reporter for the News Tribune of Tacoma. "The Globe does not tolerate plagiarism," Baron said in a statement. "Extensive passages written by the Tacoma reporter were used verbatim in the column by Borges, and that is prohibited." Borges will also be barred from broadcast appearances over the next two months, Baron said.