Police Believe Booster’s Death Was an Accident

A University of Alabama football booster died when he hit his head in an accidental fall at his home, rather than being slain as first thought, police said Thursday in Memphis, Tenn.

Police initially described the death of Logan Young, 65, as a bloody slaying after a fierce struggle but stopped calling it a homicide a day later.

“We treated it as a homicide, the most serious, and put the puzzle together,” Police Director Larry Godwin said.

Homicide Lt. Joe Scott said police believe Young tripped while carrying a salad and soft drink up a set of stairs and hit his head on an iron railing. The fall opened a large gash across the top of Young’s head and he dropped to the floor bleeding heavily, Scott said at a news conference.

After lying on the floor for some time, Young got up and walked bleeding through several rooms of his spacious, two-story house before ending up in his second-floor bedroom, Scott added.

His housekeeper found the body beside his bed Tuesday morning.

Young, a multimillionaire and longtime Crimson Tide booster, was convicted last year of bribing a high school football coach to steer a top recruit to Alabama. An appeal of the federal conviction on money laundering and conspiracy charges was pending when he died.

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COLLEGE SPORTS

Several Schools Await Tough NCAA Sanctions

Men’s basketball teams at Arizona State and Texas A&M; and football teams at Arizona, San Jose State, San Diego State and Northern Arizona could face the loss of scholarships next fall because of poor academic results.

On Thursday, the NCAA announced the Academic Progress Rates for eight schools that had not reported results in time for the original announcement March 1.

Teams would lose scholarships for one year only if their APR scores fall below a certain threshold and then have an academically ineligible athlete leave school. No team can lose more than 10% of its total scholarship money.

San Jose State was hit hardest, with its men’s cross-country, baseball, football and soccer teams all making the list.

Baseball and football teams at Arizona and San Diego State also face potential sanctions.

Arizona point guard Mustafa Shakur has made himself available for the NBA draft but has not hired an agent and may return to the Wildcats for his senior season. Shakur, a 6-foot-3 junior, averaged 11.2 points and 4.7 assists last season.

Connecticut women’s basketball Coach Geno Auriemma was hospitalized for what the university called a minor condition and is expected to be released this weekend.

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TENNIS

Henin-Hardenne Wins Again at Charleston

Top-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne extended her unbeaten streak at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, S.C., to 13 matches, defeating Karolina Sprem, 6-4, 6-4, to reach the quarterfinals

Henin-Hardenne will play seventh-seeded Dinara Safina, who defeated qualifier Julia Vakulenko, 6-7 (6), 6-2, 6-2.

Third-seeded Patty Schnyder defeated Mara Santangelo, 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3, and next plays eighth-seeded Nathalie Dechy, who defeated 11th-seeded Katarina Srebotnik, 6-2, 6-3.

Fourth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus retired in his second-round match against Vince Spadea because of lower back pain at the U.S. Clay Court tournament in Houston.

Spadea plays Mardy Fish in the quarterfinals today. Fish’s second-round opponent, Rainer Schueltter, defaulted because of a stomach ailment.

Lleyton Hewitt has pulled out of next week’s Monte Carlo Masters to avoid peaking too early ahead of next month’s French Open.

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PRO FOOTBALL

Doctor: LenDale White Has Hamstring Tear

The Denver Post reported that results of an MRI exam on running back LenDale White’s troublesome right hamstring came back Thursday showing a moderate tear near the pelvic region, according to Dr. Randall Eldridge, a Denver chiropractor.

The report said the hamstring tear would sideline the former and USC star until mid-May, which means White will not have a personal workout before the NFL draft April 29 and might not be ready for the mini-camp of the NFL team that selects him.

Linebacker James Harrison signed a $5.5-million, four-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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MISCELLANY

Hammer Wins Women’s World Cycling Event

Sarah Hammer of Temecula won the women’s 3,000-meter individual pursuit event at the Track Cycling World Championships in Bordeaux, France, the first American track cyclist to win a world title since Marty Nothstein won the men’s keirin in 1996.

It was the first women’s elite track world title won by an American since Rebecca Twigg won the individual pursuit title in 1995.

Hammer, who rides for the Southbay Wheelmen, won in 3 minutes 37.227 seconds to edge Olga Slyusereva of Russia.

Allyson Felix of Los Angeles, the Olympic silver medalist and world champion at 200 meters, and 400-meter Olympic and world champion Jeremy Wariner have agreed to compete in the Adidas Track Classic on May 21 at Home Depot Center in Carson.

-- Helene Elliott