IN BRIEF

FOOTBALL

Raiders sign former Jaguars safety Darius

The Oakland Raiders signed former Jacksonville safety Donovin Darius on Tuesday, bolstering a unit that was the strongest on the team during a difficult season last year.

The Raiders had the NFL’s third-ranked overall defense and No. 1-ranked pass defense last year, despite finishing with an NFL-worst 2-14 record.

Darius could challenge incumbent starter Stuart Schweigert for playing time, adding veteran leadership to a young secondary. Michael Huff, the team’s first-round pick in 2006, is at one safety position, while 2005 first-rounder Fabian Washington and 2003 first-rounder Nnamdi Asomugha are entrenched at cornerback.

Darius, who turns 32 next month, had been a mainstay in Jacksonville’s secondary since he was the club’s first-round pick in the 1998 draft.

Also: The drunken driving charge against Baltimore Ravens quarterback Steve McNair was dropped in Nashville, Tenn., because a related DUI charge against his brother-in-law was reduced to reckless driving.

McNair was a passenger when Nashville police stopped his pickup truck May 9 for speeding. The former Tennessee Titan was charged because police said McNair allowed his vehicle to be driven by someone who was inebriated, brother-in-law Jamie Cartwright.

A former Northern Colorado punter accused of stabbing the starter lost his bid in Greeley, Colo., to suppress statements made to investigators.

Mitchell Cozad, who is charged with attempted first-degree murder, wanted the statements made to investigators thrown out partly because his implied requests for a lawyer were ignored.

The case is set to go to trial July 30.

BASKETBALL

NBA salary cap rises to $55.63 million

The NBA set next season’s salary cap at $55.63 million, paving the way for teams to begin signing free agents.

The new cap goes into effect today, when the league’s moratorium period ends and trades can be made. Teams have been allowed to negotiate with free agents since July 1, but the deals couldn’t be completed until the new cap was determined.

The salary cap will rise about $2.5 million from last season’s $53.135 million figure.

Also, the mid-level exception is rising from $5.2 million to $5.36 million, and the tax level is $67.87 million, up from $65.42 million. Teams will have to pay a $1 tax for every $1 they exceed that figure by.

The minimum team salary is $41.72 million, 75 percent of the salary cap.

Also: The Minnesota Timberwolves signed first-round draft pick Corey Brewer.

The 6-foot-9-inch swingman from Florida was the seventh overall pick in last month’s draft. He got a two-year deal worth $4.4 million with team options for two more years.

Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss pleaded not guilty in Vista, Calif., to two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence.

Buss, 74, was stopped May 29 after he was seen driving his car on the wrong side of the road in an unincorporated section of Carlsbad, according to the California Highway Patrol.

TENNIS

Serena Williams to miss tournament with injury

Serena Williams has withdrawn from next week’s Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open because of a hand injury she suffered at Wimbledon, tournament officials said.

Also: Russia’s Maria Sharapova withdrew from the Fed Cup semifinals against the United States because of a right shoulder injury.