Of the legal stories involving South Florida athletes, few have taken a stranger twist than that of Eddie Rios, the once coveted point guard recruit who won a state title at Miami High and had a brief, disappointing career at UM. Arrested twice in the past seventh months, Rios is expected to be released from jail this week after another person took responsibility for the marijuana charge that has kept Rios behind bars the past seven weeks. That person?

Rios' father.

Here's the background: Rios Jr. was arrested June 11 at a home at 9421 SW 58th Terrace. Police found a hydroponic lab with 54 live marijuana plants inside a northeast bedroom, 11 high-intensity bulbs and 11 light frames. The younger Rios, alone in the house at the time, was charged with possession with intent to sell and has been jailed since, not permitted to post bond because he was awaiting trial on previous charges of burglary and grand theft.

But on Friday, Rios Sr., 39, convinced the state attorney's office that he was solely responsible for the grow house. Charges against the son were dropped, but he won't be free until paperwork is completed.

The father, who works in medical administration, posted $5,000 bail Friday night after being arrested and charged with possession of marijuana with intent to manufacture, a third-degree felony. He has a prior criminal record, including 4 ½ years in state prison in the 1990s for several robberies.

Rios Jr. has ``mixed emotions,'' said his attorney, Philip Reizenstein. ``He loves his dad. He's appreciative. A large part of him wouldn't want his dad to come forward.''

The state attorney's office became convinced the father was solely responsible for the grow house because of specific details he offered. The son's attorney said Eddie had been living in a different house, with his mother.

``The state wanted to make sure the dad wasn't taking the fall for his son and that he knew what the grow house consisted of and how it was set up,'' said Edwin Sr.'s attorney, Brian Kennedy. ``Edwin Rios looked at his son and his own life and recognized the mistakes he made shouldn't get applied to his family. He speaks glowingly of Eddie. He's a very loving father.'' A prison sentence for the father is possible, Kennedy said.

As a sophomore at UM, Rios was suspended Jan. 12 for violation of team rules, then left school after his Jan. 28 arrest for allegedly stealing more than $6,000 worth of equipment from other UM students, including four laptop computers. Reizenstein said Rios and his family compensated the victims for everything stolen but that could not be confirmed.

Reizenstein said several small schools are interested in giving Rios a basketball scholarship -- but likely only if he is placed in a pretrail diversion program.

CHATTER

• Why is Dolphins receivers coach Karl Dorrell confident Ted Ginn Jr. is ``going to have a tremendous season''? Because ``he's really eager about doing things much better than he was a year ago,'' Dorrell said.

Dorrell's emphasis with Ginn has been ``getting the ball up the field as quickly'' as possible after catches. ``This offseason, you notice when he has the ball, he's gone. He's being decisive. He's getting more explosive because he's stronger from the weight room and able to fend off people better in coverage. He's always been a hard worker. But his focus and mental approach are so superior to what it was.''

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• Trade-deadline postscripts: Cleveland's Carl Pavano was made available, but Florida wasn't interested. . . . San Diego asked for Cameron Maybin and Sean West or Andrew Miller for closer Heath Bell, but Florida justifiably balked. . . . Florida pursued reliever George Sherrill, who was traded to the Dodgers, but withdrew when Baltimore asked for West or Maybin. . . . Josh Willingham interested the Marlins, but Washington wanted less for the player Florida acquired, Nick Johnson.

• Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said he's comfortable with the team's closers (Matt Lindstrom, Leo Nunez) and manager Fredi Gonzalez said he hasn't decided who will close games the rest of the season. He wants to gauge ``how Lindstrom's arm reacts'' after elbow problems.