BRIEFLY : ELWAY: L.A. INVOLVEMENT UNLIKELY.

Byline: Daily News Wire Services

It's been two months since John Elway expressed interest in getting back into football as part-owner of a future NFL team in Los Angeles, and still no word.

``Am I optimistic? Probably not,'' said Elway, who met separately with billionaire Eli Broad and Hollywood agent Michael Ovitz in May. Broad and Ovitz are two potential owners of an expansion franchise awarded to Los Angeles.

``I haven't talked to them in two months. That's the last time I've had any contact with them. . . . It's still preliminary. I just talked to them. Other than that, there hasn't been any progress,'' he said Thursday.

As the Atlanta Falcons' three-day mini-camp concluded, coach Dan Reeves issued a deadline in the team's contract negotiations with Pro Bowl running back Jamal Anderson.

``If it isn't done before training camp, then the offer's going to be off the table,'' said Reeves, also the Falcons' executive vice president.

Anderson is due to be paid $2.6 million in the final year of his contract. He is seeking a deal that includes a $10 million signing bonus.

A judge denied a prosecutor's request to move the rape trial of San Francisco 49ers reserve quarterback Jim Druckenmiller out of the community where he was a Virginia Tech star. Druckenmiller will stand trial July 19 in Montgomery County Circuit Court, one week before he is scheduled to report to training camp.

Rob Murphy, an All-American offensive lineman at Ohio State, signed a two-year contract as a free agent with the Cincinnati Bengals. Murphy, who would have been a senior this fall, was dropped from Ohio State for poor grades. The 6-foot-5, 300-pound guard was passed over Thursday in the NFL supplemental draft.

TENNIS: After announcing she had played her last French Open and last Wimbledon, five-time champion Steffi Graf has entered the U.S. Open.

Graf's name was included in a list of entries submitted by the WTA Tour to the United States Tennis Association, which will run the Open from Aug. 30 through Sept. 13. It could be her final Grand Slam event.

Second-seeded Tu Meilen of Northridge defeated No. 5 Lucie Ahl of Britain, 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the semifinals of the $25,000 Boomerang Challenger women's tennis tournament in Edmonton, Alberta.

HOCKEY: The Mighty Ducks and Detroit Red Wings have agreed on an arrangement to help stock the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks roster next season. Cincinnati is Anaheim's primary development affiliate in the American Hockey League. The Red Wings have agreed to loan Cincinnati up to eight players next season.

The Red Wings signed free-agent goalie Ken Wregget as a backup for starting goalie Chris Osgood.

BASKETBALL: Former NBA coach Bob Hill is close to being named coach at Fordham University, The New York Times reported.

Erik Brown, who led the nation's Division I freshmen in scoring at Morehead State before leaving in May, intends to play at Louisville.