Muhammad Undergoing Counseling

Rookie defensive back Steve Muhammad of the Indianapolis Colts is undergoing evaluation and counseling to help him cope with charges he battered his wife just days before she died.

“It’s a professional psychologist who looks into the situation and makes recommendations to the club on what should happen,” team owner Jim Irsay told television station WISH.

Meanwhile, authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding a Nov. 4 car crash that’s being blamed for Nichole Muhammad’s death three days later, Marion County Prosecutor Scott Newman said. Newman is pursuing three counts of misdemeanor battery against Muhammad, stemming from an Oct. 28 incident at the couple’s Indianapolis apartment.

Muhammad is free on $30,000 bond and is scheduled for a Dec. 21 hearing. If convicted on all counts, he could be sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined $5,000.

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Defensive end Chris Mims of the San Diego Chargers pleaded not guilty to four misdemeanor charges in an attack on a man outside a fast-food restaurant.

Mims’ attorney entered the plea during the arraignment, which Mims did not attend. A readiness conference was scheduled for Dec. 28. Mims can then change his plea or a trial date will be set, said Deputy City Attorney Joseph Sanchez.

Mims is charged with assault with a deadly weapon, battery, petty theft and urinating in public.

Michael J. McKinney, 23, told police that Mims attacked him early Sept. 27.

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Quarterback Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins received a $78 traffic ticket in Cooper City, Fla., one day after rear-ending an Isuzu Rodeo on his way to work in his Chevrolet Suburban.

Marino was cited Thursday for failure to use due care. Marino wasn’t ticketed at the scene because Cooper City police feared tying up traffic at rush hour.

“The last thing the officer wanted to do is have people say, ‘That’s Dan Marino out there,’ ” spokesman Capt. Marvin Stoner said.

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A Sacramento County judge delayed a trial that would resolve when the Oakland Raiders can abandon their lease at the Oakland Coliseum. The trial had been set for Feb. 15. But that date was vacated Friday by Judge Joe Gray to give all sides more time to argue various motions. A new date won’t be set until Feb. 7.