Jayson Williams surrenders in shooting
FLEMINGTON, N.J., Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Former New Jersey Nets star Jayson Williams faced a charge of reckless manslaughter Monday in the shooting death of a limousine driver.
Williams was accused in the death of Costas Christofi, 55, who was found shot at Williams' 65-acre mansion in Alexandria Township on Feb. 14. The 34-year-old Williams did not speak with reporters before entering state police barracks to turn him self in Monday morning, but his attorney has denied the allegations.
"After a full and fair investigation, it will show he was innocent of reckless manslaughter," said attorney Joseph Hayden. "(The investigation) will show that it was a tragic accident."
The Newark Star Ledger reported earlier this month that Williams was playfully twirling a shotgun during a tour of his home when the weapon went off. Christofi had been hired to drive Williams' friends from a charity function in in Bethlehem, Penn., a to Williams' home.
Once of the NBA's best rebounders, Williams retired in 2000 due to a series of leg injuries. He is currently an NBA studio analyst with NBC Sports.
Kansas strengthens hold on No. 1
ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Kansas has strengthened its hold on No. 1 and the top seven remained the same in the latest coaches' poll.
Kansas (25-2) and Maryland (23-3) barely survived with one-point wins on Sunday, but remain 1-2 in the poll.
Kansas extended its winning streak to 12 games and clinched the outright Big 12 Conference regular-season title with a 14-0 record, although the Jayhawks struggled to beat Nebraska, 88-87 on Sunday afternoon.
Maryland rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit and edged Wake Forest, 90-89, when Josh Howard called a timeout when Wake Forest had none left and Juan Dixon converted 1-of-2 technical foul shots with one second left.
Kansas received 25 of 31 first-place votes, four more than the previous week, and 768 points from a panel of Division I coaches. Maryland has six first-place votes and 746 points. Duke (25-2) remained at No. 3 followed by Cincinnati (26-2), Oklahoma (22-4), Alabama (23-5) and Gonzaga (26-3).
Pittsburgh (23-4) extended its winning streak to five games and rose two places to eighth. Marquette (23-4) stayed at No. 9 while Florida (20-6) slipped two spots to No. 10.
Kentucky (19-7) topped the seconde 10, followed by Oklahoma State (22-6), Oregon (20-7), Arizona (18-8), Georgia (20-7), Illinois (21-7), Ohio State (19-6), Miami (21-6), Stanford (17-8) and Southern California (19-7).
Arizona's Williams breaks ankle
TUCSON, Ariz., Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Matt Wiliams suffered another serious spring training injury when he fractured his ankle during a workout on Monday morning.
Williams was hurt while fielding ground balls at the team's spring training complex and also may have endured ligament damage. He will return to Phoenix to undergo surgery, and the extent of the injury will be determined after the procedure.
The 36-year-old Williams hit .269 with 16 homers and 85 RBI last season for the World Series champion Diamondbacks.
Two years ago, Williams fouled a ball off his foot during a Cactus League game, breaking the second metatarsal bone. He returned to the team in late May but later was plagued by a strained right quadricep and appeared in just 96 games in 2000.
Ivanisevic makes early exit at Dubai
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Reigning Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic made an early exit from the Dubai Tennis Championships on Monday.
Ianisevic, the seventh seed, fell to Germany's Nicolas Kiefer, 6-3, 6-4. The Croatian had been 3-0 all-time against Kiefer.
Second seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia had no trouble on Monday, posting a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Greece's Vasilis Mazarakis in the first meeting between the players. Eighth seed Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic cruised into the second round with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Dominik Hrbaty.
Defending champion Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain is the top seed seed. Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson of Sweden is the third seed, followed by France's Sebastian Grosjean, Britain's Tim Henman and Switzerland's Roger Federer.
Venus Williams ascends to No. 1
STAMFORD, Conn., Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Venus Williams offically moved to the top of the WTA's computer rankings on Monday.
With 4,790 points, Williams owns a six-point lead over fellow American Jennifer Capriati. She became the 10th woman -- and first African-American -- to be ranked No. 1 in the history of the computer rankings.
Williams lost in the semifinals of the Dubai Women's Open on Friday. But the 21-year-old knew she had rise to the top spotfor the first time with Capriati remaining idle since her dramatic victory over Martina Hingis in the Australian Open final.
After winning her final three events last year, Williams continued her impressive form in 2002. She won three of her first four tournaments, capturing the Gold Coast, Paris Indoor and Antwerp titles.
Williams' lone defeat prior to last week came at the Australian Open, where she had a 22-match winning streak come to an end with a quarterfinal loss to Monica Seles.
Capriati back in action in Arizona
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Australian Open champion
Jennifer Capriati returns to action this week at the $585,000
State Farm Tennis Classic.
Capriati, the top seed from the United States, has not played
since her thrilling three-set triumph over Martina Hingis of
Switzerland in Melbourne last month. She saved four
championship points and rallied from a one-set, 0-4 hole to win
her second straight Australian Open title and her third career
Grand Slam crown.
The 25-year-old Capriati, who trails new world No. 1 Venus
Williams by just six points in the WTA Tour rankings, was a
semifinalist here last year.
Seeded second this week, Hingis put her Australian Open
disappointment aside earlier this month by winning her second
title of the year at the Pan Pacific Open and is 14-1 this
season. Third-seeded Serena Williams will participate in her first
tournament in more than a month.
