Autopsy Shows Kansas State Player Died of Heart Attack

Kansas State defensive lineman Anthony Bates died of a heart attack that led to a car crash, an autopsy shows.

He suffered from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, pathologist John Bambara told the Manhattan (Kan.) Mercury after the autopsy was completed Wednesday.

Bates, a 20-year-old player from Tempe, Ariz., crashed Monday. His pickup truck swerved into oncoming traffic, hit the side of one car, went back across the road and hit two parked cars.

A memorial service for Bates will be held today on the Kansas State campus.

Olympics

Donovan Bailey’s latest injury is of so little consequence that the Olympic sprint champion from Canada guarantees he’ll compete in Sydney.

The gold medalist at 100 meters in 1996 started training only two days after suffering a small tear of the hamstring muscle in a race in Stockholm. He’s day-to-day.

“I’ve had a lot of obstacles in my career. This is just really a bump,” he said.

The Sydney Olympics are expected to break a record by reaching about 3.7 billion TV viewers.

Projections by the International Olympic Committee say enthusiasm is highest in Japan, with 88% of people questioned saying they are “very” or “somewhat” interested in watching the Olympics on TV, an IOC-commissioned poll found. The figure is 78% in Australia, and 72% in the U.S.

Meanwhile, the European Union threatened to take action against Australia at the World Trade Organization unless European TV crews have greater access to the Sydney Olympics.

The EU wants to reverse a decision by state authorities in New South Wales stating that only Australian broadcasters and the international rights holders should have guaranteed access to areas around sports arenas where broadcasters are traditionally allowed to interview athletes or cover news stories.

Tennis

Second-seeded Pete Sampras breezed into the quarterfinals of the $2.95-million Tennis Masters Series-Canada tournament in Toronto with a convincing 6-1, 6-2 victory Thursday over Armenian Sargis Sargsian.

Also advancing to the quarterfinals was 14th-seeded Patrick Rafter of Australia, a 6-4, 6-2 winner over unseeded Sebastien Lareau of Canada.

An ankle injury forced No. 6 Thomas Enqvist of Sweden to retire in his third-round match against Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic while trailing 2-6, 6-1, 1-3. And fifth-seeded Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov defeated No. 12 Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.

France’s Jerome Golmard continued in his role as giant-killer, defeating Chile’s Marcelo Rios, a former world No. 1, 2-6, 7-5, 7-5.

Hockey

Guy Carbonneau returned to the Montreal Canadiens to take the loosely defined job of supervisor of prospect development. Carbonneau, 40, who retired from the Dallas Stars in June and turned down a job as a pro scout, will work with and follow the progress of young players in the Montreal organization.

The New York Islanders signed left wing Taylor Pyatt, the second of four first-round draft picks from the 1999 draft. It is believed Pyatt, who was chosen eighth overall, signed for the maximum rookie salary under the cap, $1.025 million, plus bonuses. . . . The Detroit Red Wings re-signed three restricted free agents. Defenseman Maxim Kuznetsov signed a three-year deal, and defenseman Yan Golubovsky and forward Marc Rodgers agreed to one-year contracts. . . . Forwards Matthew Barnaby and Rene Corbet have re-signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins. . . . The Boston Bruins agreed to a two-year contract with goaltender John Grahame, avoiding salary arbitration.

Miscellany

Lawsuits have been filed in San Diego federal court against the NBA, NHL and DirecTV accusing them of conspiring to keep prices high for television viewers who wanted to watch blacked-out games.

The suits, which seek class-action status, claim that DirecTV subscribers were forced to purchase an entire pay-per-view package of games in order to view games outside their viewing area.

The suits accuses the three of anticompetitive practices and seeks compensation for viewers and commercial establishments who purchased NBA League Pass and NHL Center Ice.

After battling an extended illness, 1984 Olympic boxing gold medalist Steve McCrory died Tuesday night. He was 36. It was unclear what McCrory died of and calls to Detroit Receiving Hospital were not immediately returned.

A heavyweight title defense by champion Lennox Lewis against David Tua has run into a stumbling block--Tua’s purse. America Presents, Tua’s promoter, wants $4 million after the No. 1 contender by both the International Boxing Federation and the World Boxing Council was offered $3.25 million.

The XFL’s as-yet-unnamed New York/New Jersey franchise hired three-time All-Pro receiver Drew Pearson as its general manager.

The U.S. Under-21 women’s national soccer team won its third Nordic Cup title with a 1-0 win over Germany in the championship game at Weismain, Germany.

The UCLA women’s volleyball team is ranked No. 1 in the preseason top-20 poll by Volleyball Magazine. Long Beach State is ranked No. 2, USC is No. 4, Pepperdine is No. 9 and UC Santa Barbara is No. 18.

Former USC quarterback Craig Fertig will be the guest of honor at a roast Thursday at the Sun Theatre in Anaheim. Former USC coach John McKay is the featured speaker. Details: (714) 385-1769.