Ex-NBA ref Donaghy released from jail

BROOKSVILLE, Fla. - Disgraced former NBA referee Tim Donaghy was a free man Wednesday after serving most of a 15-month sentence in a gambling scandal.

Pat Berdan, a consultant working with Donaghy, said he was released from Hernando County Jail in Florida. Donaghy had been jailed there since August after officials said he violated travel restrictions while living at a halfway house in the Tampa area.

A New York judge sentenced the ex-referee in July 2008 after Donaghy said he took thousands of dollars from a professional gambler in exchange for inside tips on games - including games he worked.

The 42-year-old pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and transmitting betting information through interstate commerce in the tips-for-payoffs scheme.

Donaghy served 13 months of a sentence that began in a federal prison in Pensacola. He was transferred to a halfway house in June and wound up in the Hernando County Jail in Brooksville after being accused of violating his probation by not showing up for work.

- Washington Wizards guard Mike Miller sprained his left shoulder in the fourth quarter of the Wizards' game against Miami on Thursday night. Miller returned to the bench a few minutes later with his shoulder taped and re-entered the game with about four minutes left in the quarter.