4B THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
TUESDAY,FEB.26,2002
Former NBA player charged in murder of driver
The Associated Press
KINGWOOD, N.J. — Former NBA star Jayson Williams surrendered yesterday and was charged with manslaughter in the shotgun slaying of a limousine driver at his mansion.
The 34-year-old NBC sports commentator used a back entrance into the state police barracks, and had no comment as he entered or left the building. He was freed on $250,000 bail.
If convicted, Williams could face 5 to 15 years in prison.
Costas Christofi, 55, was found
shot to death at Williams' 65-acre estate in Alexandria Township on Feb. 14. Published reports have said Williams was playfully twirling a shotgun while giving a tour of his mansion when the weapon went off.
Acting Hunterdon County Prosecutor Steven Lember declined to comment on details of the shooting yesterday.
"The death of Mr. Christoff was a tragic accident but it was an accident," Williams' attorney Joseph Hayden said. "We are very confident that after a full, fair and thorough exploration of all the
facts it will be clear that Mr. Williams is innocent of recklessness and innocent of any criminal conduct."
Initially, some of his guests reported the death as a suicide. After an autopsy, the medical examiner ruled the shooting a homicide.
"We are most interested in getting to the truth in this case. Those witnesses should come forward and do the right thing. If they do, they have nothing to be concerned about." Lember said at a news conference yesterday.
Earlier, Lember told the New
York Daily News that his office also was investigating whether Williams allowed Christoffi to bleed to death before authorities were notified.
Hayden has denied there was any horseplay prior to the shooting, and has not commented on who was holding the gun.
Christofi had been hired to drive Williams' friends from a charity event in Bethlehem, Pa., to William's home, about 30 miles northwest of Trenton.
The 6-foot-10 Williams was once among the NBA's best rebounders, but leg injuries
ended his basketball career. He retired from the New Jersey Nets in 2000 and now works for NBC Sports as an NBA analyst.
"We've been unable to get in contact with Jayson's representatives and feel it's inappropriate to comment until we do so," NBC Sports vice president Kevin Sullivan said.
Williams has freely admitted past mistakes, describing them in a 2000 autobiography as "a lot of beers and barroom brawls and some scrapes with the law and too many fights and some yelling matches with coaches and $^a$
bunch of headlines."
In 1992, he was accused of smashing a beer mug over a patron's head at a Chicago bar. Two years later, he was accused of firing a semiautomatic weapon into the parking lot at the Meadowlands sports complex.
He wrote in his autobiography that he almost shot New York Jets wide receiver Wayne Chretbet while firing a shotgun on his skeet-shooting range. Williams also faces a hearing this week on a charge that he pushed a police officer last November in a New Jersey bar.
Knee injury could put Jordan on injured list
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — For 17 years, the only thing that has kept Michael Jordan off the court for an extended period of time was his two retirements. Now a chronic knee injury has him thinking about a spell on the injured list, and it couldn't come at a worse time for his slumping Washington Wizards.
Jordan's knee was so sore he couldn't play the final 6:27 of a 92-80 loss Sunday night at Miami — even when the outcome was still in doubt. After the game, Jordan seemed resigned to his fate and even talked about the
possibility that the injury could force a "closure" to his career.
"My mind is still consistent," lord said. "But my body isn't."
Jordan said. Barrymysss had Jordan and the Wizards had the day off yesterday, with their next game tomorrow at home against Portland. He said there was a "very strong possibility" that he would go on the injury list, which means he would miss a minimum of five games.
"He looked like he was aliling a little bit," Miami coach Pati Riley said. "Everybody is going to have injuries. He's not indestructible. He probably needs a little rest. I think he has been absolutely remarkable in that he has played
Jordan has been bothered by tendinitis in his right knee since he began workouts in preparation for his second comeback. He has had fluid drained from the knee at least three times this season and banged it in a knee-to-knee collision with teammate Eton Thomas two-and-a-half weeks ago. The injury has caused him to miss two games — Dec. 4 at San Antonio and last Wednesday at Detroit.
A combination of knee, wrist, back and rib ailiments made durability the No.1 question regarding Jordan's effectiveness
all season and missed only a few games."
when he announced his comeback, but he has always been remarkably injury-free. His only major injury came in 1985, when he broke his left foot and missed 64 games in his second season in the league. Since then, he has never missed more than four games in a season — and he missed none his final three years in Chicago.
Jordan has tried to ignore the pain in his knee, and his competitiveness overrode coach Doug Collins' suggestion that he not play Sunday night. He scored just nine points, only the third time in his career he has failed to reach double digits.
Baseball veteran retires after 16 seasons
The Associated Press
Bobby Bonilla, who set the National League record for career home runs by a switch-hitter and helped the Florida Marlins win the 1997 World Series, officially retired yesterday.
A six-time All-Star during his 16 seasons, Bonilla turned 39 Saturday. Slowed by bad knees and other injuries, the outfieldderfielder saw limited playing time in recent years.
Bonilla hit .213 with five homers and 21 RBIs in 174 at-bats as a reserve for St. Louis last season.
The free agent finished his career with 287 home runs, 1,173 RBIs and a .279 average for eight teams. His 247 homers in the NL marked the most by a switch-hitter.
"Early on, a couple of teams contacted us," agent Dan Horwits said. "It was in Bobby's hands whether he wanted to continue in the role he'd had or retire. In the end, he decided he
wanted to get on with some other things in his life."
Bonilla was in Arizona yesterday working for a children's charity set up by the players' union.
Bonilla began his major league career with the Chicago White Sox in 1986, playing for La Russa, and hit his first homer off Phil Niekro. Bonilla was traded to Pittsburgh that summer, where he teamed up with Bonds.
Behind Bonds and Bonilla, the Pirates won NL East titles in 1990 and '91. Bonilla hit .280 with 32 homers and 120 RBIs in 1990 and finished second to Bonds in the NL MVP voting.
"We were best buddies all those years there," former teammate Barry Bonds said at San Francisco's camp in Scottsdale, Ariz. "Everyone has to retire sometime, we all do."
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said he thought Bonilla could have a future in the game if he wanted it.
"He's had a great career," La
Russa said at Carinas camp in Jupiter, Fla. "He could still contribute to baseball — either in the front office or on the field as a coach or a manager."
In December 1991, Bonilla became the highest-paid player in baseball history when he signed a $29 million, five-year contract with the New York Mets as a free agent.
Bonilla hoped his return to his hometown would be a happy one, but his time in New York was tumultuous. He did not duplicate the numbers he put up in Pittsburgh, feuded with the media and was booed at Shea Stadium.
Bonilla fit in well with the veteran-laden Marlins, batting. 297 with 17 home runs and 96 RBIs. He was productive in the playoffs and saved his best for last.
Traded to Baltimore midway through the 1995 season, Bonilla later became a free agent and signed with Florida before 1997.
In Game 7 of the 1997 World Series against Cleveland, Bonilla hita home run in the seventh inning
that cut the Indians' lead to 2-1.
The Marlins tied it in the bottom of the ninth, and Bonilla's leadoff single in the 11th set up the run that gave the Marlins their only championship.
After the season, the Marlins writers gave Bonilla their "Good Guy" award for his pleasant dealings with the media.
Bonilla returned to the Mets for the 1999 season, but his stay was marked by disputes with manager Bobby Valentine. In the Mets' final game of the year, he was accused — by unidentified team personnel — of playing cards in the clubhouse with Rickey Henderson during a tense National League Championship Series matchup at Atlanta.
Bonilla closed out his career with Atlanta and the Cardinals. Last July, he became the 219th player in history to reach 2,000 hits.
He finished with 2,010 hits and scored 1,084 runs.
BASEBALL
Arizona third baseman injures ankle, fibula
The Associated Press
TUCSON, Ariz. — Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Matt Williams broke his left leg in practice yesterday and is expected to miss the season opener.
Williams was fielding ground balls on a side field at the Tucson Electric Park complex when he rolled his ankle. Taken by ambulance to the University Medical Center, he was found to have a fracture in his left fibula — the long, thin outer bone of the lower leg — about six inches above the ankle.
Williams also dislocated his left ankle, damaging and stretching ligaments, head trainer Paul Lessard said.
"I worked hard to prepare myself, so needless to say I'm disappointed," Williams said. "I can't do anything about it except heal up and do the proper rehab on the field as quickly as possible."
Williams said he slipped in the dirt and got his foot caught underneath his body. He said he immediately realized his ankle was dislocated.
"The extent of the damage is shocking considering how quickly it happened and how innocuous it looked," manager Bob Brenly said.
An operation was scheduled in Phoenix yesterday. Such injuries usually take 4 to 6 weeks to heal—the World Series champion Diamondbacks open the regular season on April 1 at home against San Diego.
Brenly said Greg Colbrunn,
Danny Klassen and second basemen Jay Bell, Craig Counsell and
"I can't do anything about it except heal up and do the proper rehab on the field as quickly as possible."
Matt Williams Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman
Junior Spivey were candidates to replace Williams at third base.
"Our versatility is one of the strong points of this ballclub." Brenly said. "A number of people could enter into the mix. We feel very comfortable with anybody that we play over there. Obviously, we wish it was Matty, and we're going to miss him. But, that being said, I think that with the versatility and the experience we have we'll be OK."
Williams has been the Diamondbacks' cleanup hitter and regular third baseman all four years of its existence.
But this is his second serious injury during spring training in three years.
Williams fouled a ball off his right foot on March 29, 2000, breaking the foot in an accident similar to one he experienced in 1995, when he was with San Francisco. Williams didn't get off the disabled list until May 25, but was troubled by a strained quadriceps until September that year and played just 96 games.
Last year, Williams was healthy coming out of camp, but strained his left hamstring early and missed 47 games while on the disabled list for the third time in two years.
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