Long before Jayson Williams’ life devolved into the violent, mentally ill horror show it appears to be today, and long before he pulled the trigger on the shotgun that killed limo driver Gus Christofi in 2002, the ex-NBA forward has had a long and complicated relationship with violence and weapons. Despite a pre-shooting reputation as a gregarious character who raised millions for charity, the dark side of Jayson Williams popped out throughout his college and NBA career - bar fights, gun mishaps, assault charges, etc.

Most of them could be shrugged off at the time as the immature revelry of a careless pro athlete; plenty of his coworkers had been down that road before. But yesterday, when former NBA player Dwayne Schintzius joined sports radio station WDAE 620 in Tampa, he told a horrific story about his former teammate that suggests it’s almost a miracle Christofi has been the only person to die at Williams’ hand.

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• Erin Andrews spends the NFL Draft surrounded by Cosbys (Quan & Dr. Bill, respectively), and hilarity ensues.

(Can’t you just feel the excitement?)

• Jacoby Ellsbury steals home, Red Sox steal three straight from Yankees.

• It seems that NASCAR won’t be happy until somebody gets killed.

• Beer pong? Budweiser wants in on the upcoming table tennis craze.

• Kobe wanted complete creative control over Spike Lee’s day-in-the-life documentary about him.

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Remember Jayson Williams, the former New Jersey Nets forward who shot and killed a limo driver back in 2002? Well, it turns out he was never convicted for it (thanks to a hung jury), and has been living his life quietly while waiting for a retrial on second-degree manslaughter charges. Who knew?

As it turns out, living life with the guilt of killing people and the specter of an impending manslaugter trial doesn’t necessarily make for all fun and games, no matter what the OJ Simpson saga would lead you to believe. In fact, if you’re Jayson Williams, living such a life leads to barricading yourself in a New York hotel early this morning and threatening to kill yourself. Say what you will about OJ, but playing golf seems like a better outlet for post-killing frustrations.

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As a public service, TMZ takes the time to gives a full update on one of the truly good guys in sports: Jayson Williams. After being acquitted of murdering his chauffeur (he’ll soon be retried), you’d think Williams would try to lead a quiet life as he prepares for that future, protracted court battle.

But, if you believe Williams’ wife Tanya, that apparently isn’t the case. Read more…

• COED keeps the Cold War alive with pom-poms, spandex and flexible females with their Cold War Cheerleader Challenge.

• Is that a “W” next to Carl Pavano’s name in the box score? MY PINSTRIPES thinks that it was all a dream.
• Former New Jersey Nets forward Jayson Williams may or may not have shot his limo driver but he definitely butchered his kids’ names - Whizdom and Tryumph. HOLLYWIRE has more examples of what happens when celebrities are given free range to name their children.
• WIRED takes a look at the Olympic Village that didn’t cost $40 billion, just 300,000 Lego blocks. Photo after the jump. Read more…

The exodus of mid-level NBA free agents to pro leagues around the globe continues, as THE MIAMI HERALD is reporting that Jason Williams is considering signing a deal with an Israeli League team. But apparently he’s having trouble coming to terms - most Israeli teams are offering around $1.5 million a year, about what NBA teams were offering and half of what White Chocolate expects.

I think you can join me in praying that there’s a way to make this work. Other than Ron Artest, I can’t think of another NBA player with the higher comedic potential when heading off to Israel to play pro basketball than Jason Williams.

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CELEBRITY (IN)JUSTICE WILL PRESIDE OVER VICK’S TRIAL: To the dozens of overheated cranks who emailed us about our assertation that Michael Vick will never see the inside of a cell block, we’re well aware that Vick is facing Federal charges and that those charges are considerably more serious than those Qyntel Woods faced.

Our opinion was in no way based on the evidence at hand. Instead, it is the demographic makeup of the jury which will determine the outcome of the trial. And based on the jury pool available in Richmond, VA., what demographic do you think will be sitting in the jury box? And do you think those Virginians will be admirers of Hokie hero Vick?

Also, we all know the impressive conviction record of Federal prosecutors, who enjoy a 90%+ success rate. But in this case, what portion of our celebrity obssessed population does Michael Vick represent? Like it or not, the NFL star resides in the our society’s most-protected class.

If evidence in celebrity court cases was important, O.J. Simpson, Jayson Williams, Robert Blake wouldn’t be walking amongst us. We’re as disgusted as anyone with Vick’s criminal activities, but that won’t change the nature of our broken legal system.

The NEW YORK POST reports JAYSON WILLIAMS recently sold his 27,000-square-foot mansion in New Jersey. Someone named John Lionetti, who is president of a New Jersey-based oil company, bought the scene of Williams’ crime for $8M.

Our prayers have been answered here in SoCal. The TORONTO SUN reports that the National Lacrosse League (NLL) "will announce this week that the New Jersey Storm will move to Anaheim next season."

To provide even more family fun and entertainment for our friends in Orange County, former NBA player Jayson Williams also happens be majority owner of the franchise.

Williams continues to face charges of recklessly handling the shotgun that killed Costas Christofi on Feb. 14, 2002, at Williams’ home in New Jersey. He faces 55 years in prison if convicted on all charges.

Leno: "Former NBA star Jayson Williams may come out of retirement and play again. He’d be perfect for the Lakers. Well, they need a good outside shooter."

"CBS has now been fined $550,000 by the FCC for airing Janet Jackson showing her breast during the Super Bowl. How ironic is that? All the trouble CBS got in for fake documents, the one thing they show that’s real they get into trouble for."