Sports Log
Police use Taser to subdue Williams
April 28, 2009
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BASKETBALL
Jayson Williams was stunned with a Taser by police in his New York hotel suite yesterday after the reportedly suicidal ex-NBA star resisted attempts by officers to take him to a hospital. Police were called to the hotel in lower Manhattan's Battery Park City around 4 a.m. when a female friend reported the former Nets player was acting suicidal. When officers arrived, the 6-foot-10-inch, 325-pound Williams appeared drunk and agitated, police said. There were empty bottles of prescription drugs strewn around his disheveled suite and several suicide notes. Williams, 41, was convicted in 2004 of trying to cover up the shooting death of his hired driver Costas "Gus" Christofi at his mansion in Alexandria Township, N.J., in February 2002 . . . Lakers forward Luke Walton is out indefinitely with a partial ligament tear in his left ankle. He sprained his ankle during Game 4 of the Western Conference first-round series against Utah Saturday night . . . A federal judge in Las Vegas ordered former NBA player Dennis Rodman to pay Sara Ure, a former casino employee, $225,000 for grabbing and humiliating her at work in March 2006 . . . Mississippi State forward Jarvis Varnado declared for the NBA draft but won't hire an agent.BASEBALL
Romero sues supplement company
Suspended Phillies reliever J.C. Romero filed suit in Camden County, N.J., against a nutritional supplement manufacturer alleging an unlisted ingredient in one of its products caused him to test positive for a substance banned by Major League Baseball. The former Red Sox pitcher, who was suspended for the first 50 games of the 2009 season, says he tested positive for steroids last August because a supplement he was taking, 6-OXO Extreme, did not specify it included androstenedione, a banned substance . . . The Padres purchased righthander Chad Gaudin's contract from Triple A Portland (Ore.). Gaudin will start tonight against the Rockies . . . Former Yankees pitcher Hideki Irabu ended his retirement and signed with the Long Beach Armada of the independent Golden Baseball League. Released by the Hanshin Tigers in 2004, the 39-year-old righthander is set to return to the mound in May for his first competitive game in five years.AUTO RACING
No changes planned for Talladega
NASCAR officials are not considering changing the racing surface at Talladega Superspeedway following a spectacular last-lap accident that sent debris flying into the grandstands. Vice president of competition Robin Pemberton said NASCAR will study several safety standards, including the height of the fences surrounding the track. Carl Edwards's car sailed into the frontstretch fence, which bowed but held, before the battered vehicle returned to the track. Debris from the crash injured seven fans. An eighth fan was treated for a medical condition. NASCAR officials also said they may have to be stricter in policing blocking and aggressive driving during restrictor-plate races . . . Mike Skinner won the rain-delayed O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 truck race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, marking the first NASCAR win as an owner for Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss.SOCCER
Klinsmann sacked by Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich fired coach Juergen Klinsmann, ending his two-year contract with the defending German champions after less than a season. Klinsmann, who coached Germany to third place at the 2006 World Cup, leaves with Bayern Munich in third place in the Bundesliga . . . Concerns about swine flu prompted CONCACAF to cancel the rest of its under-17 soccer championships in Tijuana, Mexico. Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, and the United States had clinched spots in the semifinals. CONCACAF said it was abandoning the tournament "to safeguard the health of players, officials and fans."MISCELLANY
US skates into second round of worlds
The United States broke open a close game with four goals in the third period, beating Austria, 6-1, in Bern, Switzerland, to reach the second round of the world hockey championship. Dustin Brown had a goal and two assists, and Patrick O'Sullivan and Jason Blake each added a goal and an assist for the Americans. The US (2-0) finishes Group C play against Sweden tomorrow. Sweden lost to Latvia, 3-2, in a shootout . . . Trainer Jimmy Jerkens scratched Quality Road from the Kentucky Derby after the 3-year-old colt missed a workout at Belmont Park because of a quarter crack injury. "We couldn't train him so we decided we couldn't run him," Jerkens said. "He just isn't sound enough." Quality Road won 3 of 4 starts, including the Fountain of Youth Stakes and the Florida Derby, where he beat another top Derby contender in Dunkirk . . . James Blake struggled with the windy conditions and lost to Romanian qualifier Victor Crivoi, 7-5, 6-3, in the first round of the Rome Masters . . . Greg Page, a former World Boxing Association heavyweight champion who had been in a wheelchair since a 2001 fight left him brain damaged, died at his home in Louisville, Ky. He was 50. Obituary, B14.
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