Jayson Williams

Jayson Williams, acquitted in April of aggravated manslaughter in the shooting death of a limousine driver, worked out with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday. The 6-foot-10 forward retired from the New Jersey Nets in 2000 because of career-ending leg and knee injuries. "He wants to play," said Cavalier Coach Paul Silas, who spent three seasons with Williams when he was an assistant with the Nets. "We worked him out a little bit, and he can still play."

Former NBA star Jayson Williams was sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday for fatally shooting a hired limo driver in 2002, ending an eight-year legal odyssey by tearfully apologizing to the victim's family. He will be eligible for parole in 18 months. Williams, avoiding a retrial on a reckless manslaughter count that deadlocked the jury at his 2004 trial, pleaded guilty last month to aggravated assault in the death of Costas Christofi on Feb. 14, 2002. At the same 2004 trial, he was acquitted of aggravated manslaughter but convicted on four counts of covering up the shooting.

The brother of former NBA star Jayson Williams told a police dispatcher that a limousine driver shot himself, according to a newspaper's account of the 911 tape released Wednesday. Earlier in the day, a state appeals court ordered the release of the 911 tape, made after the Feb. 14, 2002 shooting at Williams' home. Williams, 35, is charged with first-degree manslaughter and other offenses in the death of driver Costas Christofi.

Galaxy and U.S. national team forward Landon Donovan was named Major League Soccer's most valuable player for 2009. Donovan finished ahead of New England Revolution midfielder Shalrie Joseph and FC Dallas striker Jeff Cunningham to win the award for the first time. He is the second Galaxy player to take the honor. Guatemalan striker Carlos Ruiz won it in 2002. A nine-year veteran of MLS, Donovan won league championships with the San Jose Earthquakes in 2001 and 2003 and with the Galaxy in 2005.

Young, gifted and frantic.... Jayson Williams played everything for laughs, from his NBA adventures to the fortune he made and the mansion he built on 65 acres of New Jersey farmland, with a bronze plaque of himself on the stone wall out front, in his No. 55 Net uniform, his palms up, looking perplexed.

MILFORD, N.J. -- No one here is sure how to reconcile the two Jayson Williamses. There's the fellow who rides a gleaming chrome beast of a motorcycle and walks into a local joint and tells the bartender: I'm buying drinks for the house. He's the 6-foot-10 bon vivant, a pool-shooting pal of carpenters and electricians and celebrities, too.

New Jersey Net forward Jayson Williams will be sidelined eight to 10 weeks because of a dislocated left ankle and a broken leg.

Former NBA star Jayson Williams needs help. He needs a lot of legal help. And from the looks of his grand estate [May 10], he greatly needs the help of a landscape architect. Charles McClure Santa Barbara

Jayson Williams, the league's second-leading rebounder, will have surgery on his right thumb, perhaps as early as Monday, and will sit out at least eight weeks for the New Jersey Nets. "It's unbearable," Williams said of the pain. "I can't palm the ball. I'm still young. I'm only 28 years old and if I keep playing on it, I might not have the use of my thumb any longer."

Jayson Williams is out for now as an NBA analyst for NBC Sports. The former NBA All-Star has been charged with second-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of a limousine driver. Williams surrendered to authorities Monday and is free on $250,000 bail. "NBC Sports and Jayson Williams have reached mutual agreement that it's best for Jayson to focus on his personal issues and to not be on the air until those issues are resolved," the network said Tuesday.

Jayson Williams made his return to pro basketball Wednesday night, scoring two points in limited play hours after signing a contract with the Idaho Stampede of the Continental Basketball Assn. The former NBA All-Star, who faces a retrial in March on reckless manslaughter charges related to a 2002 shooting at his New Jersey mansion, has said he hoped to use the CBA as a springboard for his return to the NBA. Williams, who turns 37 next month, quit pro basketball in 2000 because of knee problems.

Jayson Williams, acquitted in April of aggravated manslaughter in the shooting death of a limousine driver, worked out with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday. The 6-foot-10 forward retired from the New Jersey Nets in 2000 because of career-ending leg and knee injuries. "He wants to play," said Cavalier Coach Paul Silas, who spent three seasons with Williams when he was an assistant with the Nets. "We worked him out a little bit, and he can still play."

Former NBA star Jayson Williams will be retried on a charge of reckless manslaughter in the death of a limousine driver two years ago, prosecutors said Friday. The announcement was made three weeks after a jury delivered a mixed verdict in Williams' trial. The judge set a tentative date of Jan. 10, 2005, for the new trial. Williams was acquitted last month of the most serious charge, aggravated manslaughter, but the jury was deadlocked, 8-4, on reckless manslaughter.

Jayson Williams, a onetime NBA All-Star, was acquitted of manslaughter Friday in the fatal shooting of a chauffeur in his palatial New Jersey home but was convicted of trying to make the 2002 death look like a suicide. A jury in Somerville, N.J., found Williams guilty on four lesser charges, those related to evidence tampering.

A judge ruled Thursday that the Jayson Williams manslaughter trial would continue, turning aside a defense request to dismiss all charges against the retired NBA player. The defense is appealing. State Superior Court Judge Edward Coleman rejected the defense argument that evidence withheld by the prosecution made it impossible for Williams to get a fair trial.

Lawyers for Jayson Williams asked a New Jersey judge in court to dismiss the manslaughter case against the former NBA All-Star, saying that withholding of evidence by prosecutors precluded a fair trial. Defense attorney Joseph Hayden Jr. asked Superior Court Judge Edward M. Coleman in Somerville to throw out the charges and prohibit prosecutors from retrying Williams, a former New Jersey Net. Coleman said he would rule today on the defense request.

What: "SportsCentury: Jayson Williams." Where: ESPN Classic, tonight, 5. Bigger stars have been profiled on the "SportsCentury" series, but few with a life as complex and intriguing as Jayson Williams'. And not only because of the shooting incident at his home one year ago today that left limousine driver Costas "Gus" Christofi dead and Williams charged with aggravated assault. Williams, whose father is African American and mother is of Polish and Italian descent, always tried to fit in.

The judge suspended the Jayson Williams manslaughter trial for a week Monday after lawyers for the retired NBA player said they needed time to review new evidence they received from prosecutors over the weekend. Defense lawyers said they might seek a mistrial over the evidence dispute, which started last week when the prosecution said it had discovered 25 photographs and notes from its weapons expert that it was obligated to send to the defense months ago. Superior Court Judge Edward M.

The basic facts in the case are undisputed: Jayson Williams, a one-time NBA All-Star, pulled a loaded shotgun from a cabinet in the master bedroom of his palatial New Jersey home after a night of drinking. He flipped the weapon upward, snapping its open barrels closed. The gun discharged, sending a load of shot screaming toward chauffeur Costas "Gus" Christofi, who stood a few feet away. Twelve pellets struck Christofi and opened a wound in the right side of his chest.