(AP/usat) Ricky Williams is getting another chance to play in the NFL, which presumably means he hasn't been lighting up lately. Pacman Jones hopes for another chance, which means any community service he's planning in Las Vegas won't be done in an outreach program at one of the local topless clubs. Williams got in trouble because he liked to hit the bong instead of the line. Jones' playing privileges were suspended partly because he liked to cover strippers with dollar bills as much as he enjoyed covering wide receivers. You can't lump them together as NFL bad boys because their offenses were strikingly different. Williams hurt no one but himself, while Jones, at best, was an integral part of a scene that ended with a man being forced to live the rest of his life in a wheelchair. The one thing they do have in common is that both bring a lot of baggage to any team that wants them back. The Dolphins likely will end up with Williams again because they're 0-9, in desperate need of someone who might be able to make a play, and don't have anything to lose by giving Williams a uniform. The worst that can happen is the drug rehab doesn't stick, he tests positive again, and a lousy team remains lousy. Jones is another story. He's got issues that go far beyond those that trouble Williams, and he's got no guarantee either the NFL or the Tennessee Titans will welcome his return. Jones is doing his best to force the league and the team to make a decision, beginning with an appearance Thursday in a Las Vegas courtroom where he is expected to plead guilty to the odd charge of conspiracy to commit disorderly conduct. The charge is a gross misdemeanor, but Jones will stay out of jail under terms of a plea bargain. Assuming that happens - and Jones clears up his legal issues in other jurisdictions - it will be up to commissioner Roger Goodell to decide if he has earned the right to play in the NFL again. With one set of charges out of the way, Jones will have a better case for reinstatement than the one rejected by Goodell earlier this month.

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