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Coroner: Wheldon died of head injuries

LAS VEGAS, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon's death in a Las Vegas Motor Speedway crash was the result of head injuries, medical officials ruled Monday.

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The 33-year-old Briton was fatally injured in a fiery, 15-car pileup Sunday at the IZOD IndyCar World Championships.

The Clark County, Nev., coroner's office said Wheldon died of blunt force trauma to the head at University Medical Center in Las Vegas shortly after being transported there by helicopter following the spectacular accident, KLAS-TV, Las Vegas, reported.

The death was the first at the oval Las Vegas track since 1996 and the first IndyCar fatality since Paul Dana died during a practice run at Miami Homestead Speedway in 2006.

Also Monday, IndyCar drivers J.R. Hildebrand and Pippa Mann, injured in Sunday's multiple-vehicle mishap, were discharged from the same hospital.

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Hildebrand, 23, who suffered a severely bruised sternum, and Mann, 28, whose burned little finger was surgically repaired, left UMC one day after the crash.

Mann's finger will require another operation within 2-3 weeks but she is expected to make a full recovery.

Will Power, whose bid for a series championship was cut short by the crash, was treated for lower back pains and released.

He was seeking to make up 18 points on leader Dario Franchitti in the IndyCar season finale but Franchitti instead went to claim his record third straight and fourth overall title.


Mediator meets with NBA adversaries

NEW YORK, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- A federal mediator met separately with NBA team owners and locked-out players Monday and will host a follow-up bargaining session, multiple reports indicated.

George Cohen, director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, met separately with owners and players Monday and is set to attend a bargaining session Tuesday, ESPN reported.

Negotiators for the NBA Players Association will meet league officials at a New York hotel for the first time since talks broke off Oct. 10, Newsday said.

The NBA has canceled the first two weeks of the regular season -- its first loss of games since 1998-99 -- and has lost a total of 100 games.

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Commissioner David Stern said last week a continued failure to reach a new collective bargaining deal soon could jeopardize games through Christmas and possibly the entire 2011-12 season.

"If there is a breakthrough it is going to come on Tuesday," Stern told NBA TV. "If not, I think that the season is really going to potentially escape from us."


NFL won't fine Lions, 49ers coaches

NEW YORK, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Detroit Lions Coach Jim Schwartz and San Francisco 49ers counterpart Jim Harbaugh won't be fined for their post-game altercation, the NFL said Monday.

The incident followed San Francisco's 25-19 victory over the Lions Sunday during which Harbaugh shook Schwartz's hand following the game but then slapped him aggressively on the back.

Schwartz responded by chasing Harbaugh down the field and yelling at him as a group of players, officials and other coaches milled about near an end zone.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello indicated in a Twitter posting Monday no fines would be assessed because the two didn't come to blows.

"However, both coaches told [NFL discipline chief] Ray Anderson today that their post-game conduct was wrong and will not happen again," Aiello wrote.

"We believe their response is the correct one and that their post-game conduct going forward will be more appropriate."

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Southern U. chancellor apologizes for fight

BATON ROUGE, La., Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Southern University Chancellor James Llorens apologized Monday for an on-field brawl after a game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Pine Bluff, Ark.

A fight broke out between members of Southern's team and UAPB players Saturday after the final play, in which Arkansas-Pine Bluff's Jarvis Webb blocked an extra-point attempt to preserve a 22-21 victory.

Police were called in after fans jumped into the melee, which began as a shoving match and quickly escalated into punches. A Southern player was caught on tape swinging his helmet at a UAPB player.

Authorities used pepper spray to break up the fight, which produced several arrests and one hospitalization.

"Southern University apologizes to our fans, our alumni, the Baton Rouge campus, the city of Baton Rouge and Arkansas-Pine Bluff for the horrendous events that occurred at the conclusion of Saturday night's game," Llorens said in a statement. "This is not representative of our student-athletes, coaches and Southern University and A&M College. We will review video footage of the incident. No further comments will be made until that review is completed."

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