The Associated Press

A handgun was found at an apartment complex where a Baylor basketball player lived, and police are investigating whether it is related to the disappearance of a teammate, authorities said Friday.

Waco (Texas) police Sgt. Ryan Holt said a maintenance worker at the apartment complex found the gun Thursday and turned it in to police. Holt said detectives are tracking the serial number to see if the gun was one of the weapons purchased by Patrick Dennehy, who has been missing since mid-June, or any of his friends.

The gun was found at an apartment complex where Harvey Thomas, who recently transferred from Fredericksburg, Va., to play basketball for Baylor, lived.

According to an affidavit, Dennehy's girlfriend told police that he had been threatened by a man named Harvey. One of Thomas' relatives has said that police have questioned him, though basketball coach Dave Bliss has said Thomas is not a suspect and had nothing to do with any threats.

Rory Guajardo, who works for a landscaping company, told Waco TV station KWTX he found the gun when he was mowing and hit a rock. The gun was underneath in a partially buried plastic bag.

Dennehy was last seen in mid-June, and his Chevrolet Tahoe was found abandoned June 25 in a Virginia Beach, Va., parking lot.

On Thursday, former teammate Carlton Dotson went to Dorchester County Sheriff's Office near his hometown and said he wanted to discuss Dennehy's disappearance. But at a briefing Friday, Holt played down the development, saying that what Dotson said "is not going to change the course of the investigation at this time."

OHIO STATE: OSU formed a special committee to investigate allegations of academic misconduct in the football program and whether players have gotten preferential treatment in classes.

The university's actions follow a New York Times story last Sunday that reported that star running back Maurice Clarett received assistance from a professor who allowed him to take two oral exams to pass a class.

Athletic director Andy Geiger and interim provost Barbara Snyder, who are heading the investigation, appointed 10 people to assist them in their probe of football players' academic conduct.

NORTHWESTERN: NU doctor Mark Gardner, testifying for 61/2 hours Thursday, acknowledged burning records of a physical he gave Rashidi Wheeler three weeks before the football player died during a 2001 training drill.