Monday's sports briefs

Former NBA star Jayson Williams, his personal life in shambles, took responsibility for accidentally shooting his limousine driver to death eight years ago by pleading guilty Monday to assault and agreeing to serve at least 18 months in prison.

Williams was awaiting retrial on a reckless manslaughter count but pleaded guilty to the lesser aggravated assault count for the 2002 death of Costas Christofi.

Williams remained poised during the hearing and mostly answered yes and no questions, though he did tell the judge that he had not fully checked a shotgun he was showing off to friends before snapping it closed.

Alabama's McClain to turn pro Alabama All-America linebacker Rolando McClain says he is skipping his senior season to enter the NFL draft.

McClain made the announcement Monday at a news conference in Tuscaloosa. A defensive anchor for the national champion Crimson Tide, McClain is projected as a first-round pick.

He led Alabama with 105 tackles and 14.5 stops for losses. He also had two interceptions and two sacks.

Alabama beat Texas last week to claim its first national title since 1992.

Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart will remain with the national champion Crimson Tide. Coach Nick Saban announced that Smart chose to remain at Alabama after being offered the same position at Georgia.

Smart was an All-SEC defensive back at Georgia, where he began his career as an administrative assistant in 1999. He was the Bulldogs' running backs coach in 2005.

Florida, Georgia Tech players opt for NFL

Florida has two more underclassmen headed to the NFL and one junior sticking around another season.

Defensive end Carlos Dunlap and center Maurkice Pouncey announced their intentions Monday, joining cornerback Joe Haden and tight end Aaron Hernandez in leaving school early. Guard Mike Pouncey, however, plans to return for his senior year.

Coaching moves

Oregon State football coach Mike Riley has agreed to a three-year contract extension through 2019. ... Washington Redskins running backs coach Stump Mitchell has accepted the head coaching job at Southern University. ... Arizona has hired Colorado assistant Greg Brown as its co-defensive coordinator. ... Former South Florida football coach Jim Leavitt has hired an attorney and wants his job back, insisting his dismissal for allegedly striking one of his players and then lying about the incident was unwarranted.

Olympic hockey: Cloquet, Minn., native Jamie Langenbrunner of the New Jersey Devils will be the captain of the U.S. hockey team at next month's Olympics. USA Hockey also said the alternate captains will be Devils teammate Zach Parise, Nashville's Ryan Suter, Los Angeles' Dustin Brown and Detroit defenseman Brian Rafalski.

College hockey: Amo Bessone, who coached the Michigan State hockey team for 28 years and led the Spartans to the 1966 NCAA title, has died in New Mexico at age 93.

World Cup skiing: Lindsey Vonn says Austrian coaches have apologized to her for suggesting she had an edge over other skiers because of her weight. Vonn said she takes pride in being fit and fast, and "if weight were the key to success in ski racing, then everyone would be stuffing their faces with food." ... Swiss skier Dominique Gisin, one of Vonn's main rivals in the downhill, is likely to miss the Vancouver Olympics following knee surgery.