VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Former Buffalo Bills star Bruce Smith was convicted of drunken driving Thursday by a judge who rejected his claim that old football injuries, not alcohol, were responsible for his poor performance on field sobriety tests.

Smith declined to answer reporters' questions after his trial in Virginia Beach General

District Court. He promptly appealed the verdict to Virginia Beach Circuit Court, which set a

hearing in the case for Aug. 27.

"We just hope for a better result in appealing," Smith's lawyer, Larry Cardon, told

reporters.

Smith also was convicted of speeding and refusing to take an alcohol breath test. Judge

Teresa McCrimmon gave Smith a 90-day suspended jail term and fined him $350 for DUI. She also

suspended his driver's license for a year for refusing the breath test and fined him $90 for

speeding.

The appeal is scheduled less than three weeks after Smith's Aug. 7 induction into the Pro

Football Hall of Fame. Smith, 46, ended a 19-year career with the Bills and Washington

Redskins as the NFL's all-time sacks leader. The defensive lineman played in 11 Pro Bowls and

was a first-team All-Pro selection nine times before retiring after the 2003 season.

Cardon said during the trial that 11 knee surgeries during Smith's career made it difficult

to complete sobriety tests that included walking a straight line heel-to-toe and standing for

30 seconds on one leg. Smith was stopped on Interstate 264 in Virginia Beach in May.