Veteran running back Laurence Maroney is hoping to catch on with another team after his acquittal of a misdemeanor marijuana charge in St. Louis, his attorney said Wednesday.

Bengals running back Cedric Benson has begun serving a 20-day jail term in Texas to settle two misdemeanor assault cases. Benson was sentenced Monday in Austin and had planned to surrender Oct. 17, during Cincinnati's bye week. But Travis County Jail records show Benson was booked late Tuesday. Benson's lawyer said the running back decided it would be best to serve his sentence before the NFL season begins.

Former Bengals defensive end Antwan Odom was shot in the leg during a home invasion in Alabama early Monday. Police reportedly have identified a suspect and are currently looking for him. Odom suffered a minor flesh wound in his thigh and is in stable condition, according to an official.

Albert Haynesworth pleaded no contest to a charge of simple assault on Monday. He was accused of touching a waitress' breast while having drinks with friends at a Washington hotel. If he stays out of trouble over the next 18 months and completes 160 hours of community service, prosecutors have agreed to drop the charge entirely.

The 49ers and Raiders will end their annual exhibition game against each other as a result of the violence at Saturday's game, the San Jose Mercury News reported Monday, citing a high-ranking NFL source. The source told the newspaper that both the NFL and local police are in favor of ending the preseason rivalry game.

A man wearing a shirt mocking the 49ers was seriously wounded as gunfire erupted in the parking lot after a preseason game against the Raiders. Another man also sustained lesser injuries in an earlier shooting, according to police. A 24-year-old man was treated at San Francisco General Hospital for life-threatening injuries, and a 20-year-old man was hospitalized with less serious wounds.

Albert Haynesworth's lawyer has repeatedly offered money to a waitress so she would help convince the government to drop her sexual abuse case against the defensive lineman, prosecutors said Thursday. Haynesworth is accused of sliding his credit card into the waitress' bra and touching her breast at the W Hotel where he was having drinks with friends in February. Prosecutors wrote in a court document filed Thursday that on "numerous occasions" after the allegations, Haynesworth's lawyer approached the waitress' attorney and offered money. Haynesworth's attorney, A. Scott Bolden, denies the money offer. "Just not true," he said in a telephone interview Thursday.

Seven former players have sued the NFL in Philadelphia over concussion-related injuries, the first potential class-action lawsuit of its kind. The players accuse the league of failing to protect their health and of trying to conceal any links between football and brain injuries. The players include former quarterback and two-time Super Bowl champion Jim McMahon.

The Los Angeles city council has unanimously passed the financial framework of an agreement between Anschutz Entertainment Group and the city to build Farmers Field, a $1.2 billion football stadium and events center in downtown Los Angeles. The 68,000-seat roofed stadium would be attached to a new $275 million wing of the Los Angeles Convention Center next to the Staples Center, which is also owned and operated by AEG. "This is a significant project for our city and it will bring football back to this city," said councilwoman Jan Perry, the committee chair on the proposed stadium and events center. "This sends a very clear message we are serious about bringing football back to Los Angeles."

Vikings quarterback Rhett Bomar has been arrested on suspicion of drunken driving. Blue Earth County Jail spokeswoman Amber Carlson says Bomar was booked about 5:15 a.m. Sunday on third-degree driving while intoxicated. Carlson says Bomar has been released.