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--> --> NFL suspends Hawks' Springs KIRKLAND, Wash. (AP) - Seattle Seahawks cornerback Shawn Springs has been suspended for four games for violating the NFL's policy banning steroid use. Springs will not be eligible to play again until the Seahawks' second to last game of the regular season Dec. 30 at San Diego, costing him about $376,000 out of his $1.6 million base salary for the year. Coach Mike Holmgren called the suspension "unfortunate." "The league has very stringent rules about what kind of supplements or body enhancers you can use," Holmgren said on Tuesday at practice. "When you choose to follow your own routine ... you run the risk of unintentionally violating the league's policy. "It hurts the team, it hurts Shawn and it's a lesson to be learned." Springs was not reachable for comment. Taken by Seattle with the third pick in the 1997 draft, Springs made the Pro Bowl after the 1998 season. Since then, he's been battling injuries. The fifth-year player is a former Ohio State star and son of former NFL running back Ron Springs. "I've done some good things," Springs said in an October interview. "If you really want to be honest, the only thing really stopping me is me being injured. If I'm not injured, I actually feel no one in the league has the defensive tools to do what I do. That's the God's honest truth." He missed his team's first three games this season because of a hamstring pulled in the exhibition opener in August. He started 16 games last season, but struggled to be average because of a hamstring injury. In 1999, he didn't miss a game but was bothered by a shoulder injured in a collision with quarterback Jeff Blake of the Cincinnati Bengals. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing