Briefs | Quarterback Tuiasosopo re-signs with Raiders

NFL

Former Husky back on West Coast: Quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo is returning to Oakland after spending a year with the New York Jets, giving the Raiders the veteran backup they were looking for to help former No. 1 draft pick JaMarcus Russell.

Tuiasosopo signed a contract Thursday to return to the team that drafted him in the second round out of Washington in 2001.

He played sparingly as a backup for six seasons in Oakland before leaving to sign with the Jets as a free agent last season. Tuiasosopo will compete with Andrew Walter as the second-stringer.

Saints DE posts bond: New Orleans' Charles Grant posted $10,000 bond after his indictment on an involuntary manslaughter charge stemming from a February nightclub fight in Georgia in which a woman died.

Grant, who pleaded not guilty, was charged by a grand jury that also charged Laquient Macklin with felony murder and killing a fetus in the shooting death of Korynda Reed, 23.

College basketball

Hoosiers forward dismissed: Indiana coach Tom Crean dismissed forward Brandon McGee from the team, leaving the Hoosiers with just three returning players for next season. McGee was kicked off the team because of academic and team-guideline violations.

Gamecocks cut Gray: South Carolina forward Chad Gray was dismissed by new coach Darrin Horn because of repeated violations of team rules.

College football

Paterno wants playoff: Penn State coach Joe Paterno is lobbying again for major college football playoff, calling the reasons against it "bogus" less than three weeks after the Bowl Championship Series decided to maintain its current format for the foreseeable future.

The 81-year-old coach said he doubts a playoff system would be enacted soon. "I don't know why," he said. "I'm only going to be a head coach another 10 or 15 years, and I don't think it will happen by then."

Former Sooners QB dies: Jack Mildren, a former Oklahoma lieutenant governor and the first quarterback in the Sooners' vaunted wishbone offense, died of stomach cancer. He was 58.

Tennis

U.S. falls to Sweden: The United States lost 2-0 to Sweden, which advanced to the World Team Cup final in Duesseldorf, Germany, in the Red Group. James Blake lost 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 to undefeated Robin Soderling, and Thomas Johansson stopped Bobby Reynolds 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.

Dementieva stops Craybas: Top-seeded Elena Dementieva defeated American Jill Craybas 6-1, 6-4 to advance to the semifinals of the Istanbul Cup.

Soccer

Earthquakes come out ahead: Kei Kamara and Ivan Guerrero scored second-half goals, and San Jose beat visiting Houston 2-1 in a match between the current and former editions of Major League Soccer's Bay Area franchise. Brian Ching, a former Gonzaga and Seattle Sounders standout, scored in the 88th minute for the Dynamo.

Cycling

Bennati wins 12th stage: Daniele Bennati won the 12th stage of the Giro d'Italia in a sprint finish. Giovanni Visconti retained the overall lead, 5 minutes, 50 seconds ahead of Gabriele Bosisio.

Doping

Pettigrew passed tests despite drug use: Olympic sprinter Antonio Pettigrew admitted publicly for the first time that he used performance-enhancing substances during a long career in which he passed all drug tests.

The admission came during the last day of testimony for the government in the trial of his former coach, Trevor Graham, who is accused of lying to federal authorities investigating doping in sports. Graham has pleaded not guilty.

It was also revealed that Olympic sprint champion Justin Gatlin worked undercover for authorities investigating doping in sports, according to the testimony of IRS agent Erwin Rogers.

Seattle Times news services