IN BRIEF

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Douglas-Roberts will leave Memphis for NBA

Memphis All-America guard Chris Douglas-Roberts will enter the NBA Draft, joining teammate Derrick Rose as an early entry to the pros, the school announced Friday.

The 6-foot-7-inch Douglas-Roberts led the Tigers with 18.1 points a game as a junior and helped them set a Division I record with 38 victories. He was named Conference USA Player of the Year.

Also: Junior forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute said he will enter the NBA Draft, joining teammates Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook. Mbah a Moute, who averaged 8.8 points and 6.0 rebounds a game this season, said he won't hire an agent immediately, keeping him eligible to return to school.

Pat Flannery, 50, retired after 14 years as Bucknell's basketball coach. He twice led the small Patriot League school to the NCAA Tournament, highlighted by a victory over Kansas in 2005 and a Top 25 ranking the next season. Flannery, 234-178 at Bucknell, will remain at the school as a fundraiser.

New Oklahoma State basketball coach Travis Ford will receive $1.3 million a year for seven years in a deal approved in a unanimous vote by the Oklahoma A&M Board of Regents. Ford, 38, succeeds Sean Sutton, who resigned under pressure April 1 after going 39-29 in two seasons.

TENNIS

Serena Williams beats Sharapova in quarters

Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova for the fourth straight time, winning 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 to advance to the Family Circle Cup semifinals in Charleston, S.C.

Williams has not lost to Sharapova since 2005 and is 5-2 overall. This was their first meeting on clay.

No. 9 seed Vera Zvonareva also advanced to the semifinals, upsetting defending champion Jelena Jankovic, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.

Also: Top-seeded James Blake advanced to the semifinals of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship in Houston with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Agustin Calleri. Blake needed 67 minutes to eliminate the Argentine, ranked No. 53.

Blake will try to reach his first ATP clay-court final when he plays eighth-seeded Oscar Hernandez of Spain today. Hernandez beat No. 3 seed Mardy Fish 6-2, 7-6 (5) to reach his first ATP semifinal.

Roger Federer struggled again with unforced errors but defeated 146th-ranked Frederico Gil of Portugal 6-4, 6-1 in an Estoril Open quarterfinal in Oeiras, Portugal, twice interrupted by rain.

Two-time defending champion Nicolas Almagro defeated second-seeded Juan Monaco 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the semifinals of the Valencia Open in Spain. Top-seeded David Ferrer advanced with a 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 win against seventh-seeded Fernando Verdasco.

NFL

Bears' Urlacher denies report that he may quit

Chicago linebacker Brian Urlacher disputed a report that he has threatened to retire if the Bears don't reward him with more guaranteed money.

"I never said that I was going to quit," Urlacher told the Chicago Tribune. "That's just a gossip column. Reports like that is why I choose not to speak to the media."

Urlacher, who is seeking a multiyear contract extension that would pad the nine-year, $57 million contract he signed in 2003, has not attended the Bears' ongoing voluntary workouts. He said he is unsure if he will attend the team's mandatory minicamp May 30 to June 1 if a new contract agreement is not reached.