In Brief

PRO BASKETBALL

Agents of NBA owners, players
to resume negotiations today

They don't have a deal yet, and they are just about out of time.

After two years of on-and-off negotiations, that's about all NBA players and owners agree on. The gaps in their financial proposals have been so great that they sometimes decide it's best to just talk about something else.

Now they have to figure it out quickly. Without at least getting very close to the framework of a new collective bargaining agreement this weekend, hopes of the 2011-12 season starting on time would be all but lost.

The owners' labor relations committee and the union's executive committee -- perhaps joined by some All-Stars -- will meet today in New York and have committed to keep talking throughout the weekend.

Both sides have cautioned that bringing back the large groups after a series of discussions among smaller parties doesn't mean they are close, but rather that more voices are required to consider the crucial decisions.

Also: Detroit Pistons center Ben Wallace was charged with drunken driving and unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon after a traffic stop in suburban Detroit.

Bloomfield Township police said Wallace, 37, was arrested about 3 a.m. Saturday after officers observed a Cadillac Escalade being driven erratically. Police said they found an unloaded pistol in a backpack.

Officers said Wallace was given a blood-alcohol test and he was above Michigan's legal limit of 0.08 percent.

Miscellaneous

Tennessee's athletic director
sees further SEC expansion

Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart said the Southeastern Conference will expand again and that officials at each school need to have a number of frank discussions before moving forward.

Hart said Thursday that the addition of Texas A&M as the SEC's 13th team was a good one, but the league's leaders must take their next steps deliberately because the SEC will expand again. He said those conversations will take place "in short order."

The SEC announced Sunday that Texas A&M will join the conference in July after leaving the Big 12. SEC commissioner Mike Slive later said that the league's presidents and chancellors are not currently considering any other schools for admission and that he anticipates having no additional members for the 2012-13 season.

Also: Boise State and Brigham Young announced a 12-game home-and-home football series that begins next year and runs through 2023.

The two schools signed a four-year agreement in January 2008, with games in Boise, Idaho, in 2012 and 2014, and in Provo, Utah, in 2013 and 2015.

The new agreement includes those four games and adds eight more, with the home team alternating each year. The schools will exchange guarantees of $225,000 each year.

Ohio State's student newspaper is reporting that reserve running back Jaamal Berry was treated and released at a hospital after what a police report termed an "assault" on another student.

The Ohio State Lantern, citing information from Ohio State police, reported that Berry was confused and disoriented after "wrestling" with another student Wednesday morning on campus.

Ohio State spokesman Jerry Emig told The Associated Press, "We are aware of the situation yesterday. ... No legal issues are involved."

Emig said he could not say whether Berry would be available for Ohio State's game Saturday against Michigan State.

The UNLV volleyball team pushed No. 21 Colorado State to five sets but came up just short, losing 25-20, 23-25, 25-19, 24-26, 15-12 at Cox Pavilion.

Stephanie Thelen led the Rebels (8-6, 1-1 Mountain West Conference) with 42 assists and 11 digs. Daryn Glenn had 21 of UNLV's 64 kills, and Madeline Westman added 12 kills.

Al Unser Jr., a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, was arrested on charges of drunken driving and reckless driving in New Mexico after he was seen going more than 100 mph, an official of the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department said.

A sheriff's spokeswoman confirmed that Unser, 49, was arrested around 3 a.m. just outside of Albuquerque, where he lives. Jennifer Brown said Unser was drag racing another car in his Suburban and was going 101 mph before sheriff's deputies caught up to him.

He was charged with reckless driving and aggravated driving while intoxicated.

Louis Oosthuizen, the 2010 British Open champion, put himself in contention for another memorable victory at St. Andrews, taking a share of the lead after the first round of the Dunhill Links Championship in Kingsbarns, Scotland.

The South African shot 6-under 66, tied with Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Markus Brier and Michael Hoey.

Dustin Johnson said he doesn't begrudge Tiger Woods for hiring away his caddie, saying such decisions are part of the business of golf. Joe LaCava left Johnson on Sunday to become Woods' third full-time caddie.

"I spoke to Tiger about it. There's no hard feelings at all," Johnson said.