in brief

UNLV BASKETBALL

Willis pleads not guilty to misdemeanor coercion charge

UNLV basketball player Tre'Von Willis has pleaded not guilty in Henderson Municipal Court to misdemeanor coercion stemming from allegations he choked his girlfriend last month.

A local court judge set trial Sept. 22 on the misdemeanor charge after Willis submitted his plea through his attorney by fax Monday.

Willis, 22, also is due for arraignment Aug. 3 in Henderson Justice Court on a felony domestic battery-strangulation charge stemming from his June 29 arrest on a complaint that he attacked Skye Sanders at her Henderson apartment.

Willis is free on almost $19,000 bail. He told police he and Sanders, 28, had a verbal argument, not a physical altercation.

NFL

Former BYU star Unga signs four-year contract with Bears

The Chicago Bears signed running back Harvey Unga to a four-year contract.

Unga, taken in the seventh round of the supplemental draft, is Brigham Young's all-time leading rusher with 3,455 yards on 696 carries. He also caught 102 passes for 1,085 yards in four seasons and had 45 touchdowns.

Also: Baltimore Ravens Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed said he expects to miss the start of the regular season while he recovers from offseason hip surgery.

"I had to reconstruct my whole hip," Reed said. "It's not something where I can say, 'I'm going to be back.' I'm not coming back until I'm well and ready."

miscellaneous

Latest feud between Edwards, Keselowski results in probation

NASCAR docked Carl Edwards 60 Nationwide Series driver points, fined him $25,000 and placed him and Brad Keselowski on probation through Dec. 31 after their final-lap antics in a race won by Edwards at Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis.

Jack Roush, owner of Edwards' No. 60 Ford, also was docked 60 owner points after the latest run-in between the feuding drivers ended with a chain reaction accident that left Keselowski's No. 22 Dodge in tatters and another nine cars sustaining damage last weekend.

Also: Pierrick Fedrigo denied Lance Armstrong a stage win in the American's final Tour de France. The Frenchman won a sprint finish in a group of nine that included Armstrong.

Alberto Contador of Spain still owns the leader's yellow jersey, followed by Andy Schleck of Luxembourg.

Also, the Los Angeles Daily News reported that Armstrong has hired a criminal defense attorney to represent him in the federal investigation for possible fraud and doping violations.

No. 2 seed John Isner fought through another final-set tiebreaker with a 4-6, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (7) victory over Gilles Muller of Luxembourg in the second round of the Atlanta Tennis Championships. Isner became a household tennis name after winning a three-day, 183-game match at Wimbledon last month.

Michelle Wie suffered heat exhaustion during the pro-am of the Evian Masters at Evian, France, but is expected to play in the first round of the tournament. Wie went to see a doctor after playing in 90-degree temperatures.

The nation's top youth boxers will compete for national titles at the Junior Golden Gloves National Championships, beginning today in Mesquite.

The competition, which runs through Saturday at the Casablanca Events Center, is for boys ages 9 to 16 and will feature 64 divisions in five age groups.