Congress Summons NFL

The congressional committee that investigated steroid use in baseball will turn its investigation to the same problem in football. The panel said Tuesday it will ask NFL officials and union representatives to testify at a hearing next week.

Invited to the April 27 hearing are Paul Tagliabue, NFL commissioner; Gene Upshaw, vice president of the NFL Players Assn.; and Harold Henderson, the NFL’s executive vice president for labor relations.

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Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig told members of Congress that he may hire an outside investigator to look into steroids in baseball, the New York Times reported.

Pro Football

The Oakland Raiders traded disgruntled cornerback Phillip Buchanon to the Houston Texans for two draft picks.... Washington acquired the No. 25 overall pick in Saturday’s draft from Denver. The Redskins gave up their third-round selection (No. 76 overall) in this year’s draft and picks in the first and fourth rounds in 2006.

Jurisprudence

USC cornerback Eric Wright, who was arrested last month on suspicion of rape, is scheduled to appear today in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Former baseball player Jose Canseco denied hitting anyone in a 2001 bar fight in Miami as testimony opened in a lawsuit filed by two men. Canseco’s twin brother, Ozzie, said he did most of the hitting out of fear for his safety.

Tennessee officials must reconsider former heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe’s application for a boxing license, a judge ruled in Nashville, saying they acted arbitrarily without considering new medical information.

Fired St. Bonaventure basketball coach Jan van Breda Kolff has agreed to settle his lawsuit against the university that claimed he was wrongfully dismissed in 2003 after a player eligibility scandal.

Marion Jones’ defamation trial against Victor Conte was stayed until after the criminal case against the BALCO founder is completed.

College Basketball

Taylor King, a 6-foot-7 sophomore forward for Santa Ana Mater Dei, has rescinded the non-binding commitment he made to UCLA one month before beginning his freshman year and reopened the recruiting process, Monarch Coach Gary McKnight said.

Junior guard Deron Williams will skip his senior season of eligibility at Illinois and enter the NBA draft. Williams said that he has signed with an agent, which prevents him from returning to the Illini next season.

High school shooting guard Gerald Green of Houston’s Gulf Shores Academy said he has applied for entry into the NBA draft. Green, 19, a 6-foot-8 senior, hasn’t hired an agent so he can withdraw from the draft before June 21 and retain his college eligibility and enroll at Oklahoma State.

Dominic McGuire, a 6-8 sophomore forward from San Diego who started 23 games for California last season, has been given permission to transfer.

Wooden Award winner Seimone Augustus of Louisiana State was named the top collegiate player by the Collegiate Women Sports award program.

Soccer

U.S. national side teammates John Harkes, Tab Ramos and Marcelo Balboa, who helped guide the United States from soccer minnow to World Cup regular, were elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame and will be inducted Aug. 29.

Miscellany

Defending national champion UCLA increased its lead to seven strokes over USC after the second round of the Pacific 10 Conference women’s golf championships at Ruby Hill Golf Club in Pleasanton, Calif. Washington State senior Kim Welch shot a 66 to take the individual lead.

Top-seeded Andy Roddick needed only 58 minutes to beat qualifier Matias Boeker, 6-2, 6-3, in the first round of the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships at Houston.

Third-seeded Carlos Moya of Spain advanced to the third round of the Open Seat Godo, beating Jarkko Nieminen of Finland, 7-5, 5-7, 6-2, at Barcelona, Spain.

NHL and NHL Players’ Assn. representatives met for 6 1/2 hours in New York, but reported no progress in resolving the six-month-old labor stalemate.