San Diego Chargers rookie running back Curtis Brinkley was hospitalized in stable condition yesterday after being shot at a suburban Philadelphia intersection, authorities said.

Brinkley, 23, was shot multiple times early yesterday morning as his car was stopped at an intersection in Cheltenham, police said. Investigators are looking for a gunman who fled the scene in a car. They did not have a motive.

Brinkley was able to drive himself a short distance then was taken to a hospital by a police officer who responded to the shooting, according to Cheltenham Township police.

He was listed in stable condition at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, hospital spokesman Rodney Yancey said.

In a statement, the Chargers wished Brinkley a speedy recovery but said they would have no further comment while the shooting was under investigation.

It was the third time in six years a Chargers player has been shot. In September 2006, linebacker Steve Foley was shot three times by an off-duty police officer in Coronado, Calif., who suspected him of driving drunk, ending his career.

In July 2003, rookie safety Terrence Kiel was shot during an attempted carjacking in Houston.

Brinkley signed with the Chargers as a rookie free agent following this year's draft. As a senior at Syracuse last season, he rushed for 1,164 yards and seven touchdowns.

NOTES

Not guilty plea: An Ohio man has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder 27 years after he fired a gunshot that investigators say caused a former NFL player's kidney-infection death this year. Victor Gomez, 44, was arraigned yesterday in Cleveland in the death of Michael Woods, 54, who played for the Baltimore's Colts from 1978 to 1981. Woods lost use of his arms and legs when he was shot in 1982. He died about six weeks ago.

Structural problems denied: The company that built the Dallas Cowboys' indoor practice facility that collapsed this spring is telling its customers that the ill-fated fabric structure got a new roof last year because of team concerns about "aesthetics," not structural problems. Nathan Stobbe of Summit Structures LLC included the explanation in a letter sent to customers. The Cowboys' 80,000-square-foot facility collapsed May 2, the fifth Summit building known to have fallen in the past seven years.