McKeever in coma after fall at home

Former USC All-American end Marlin McKeever was in a comatose condition and in intensive care at St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach after falling and hitting his head at his home Tuesday night, longtime friend John Papadakis said.

Papadakis said McKeever, 66, a two-time All-American who played offensive and defensive end as well as fullback and punter for the Trojans from 1958 to 1960, had a blood clot removed from his brain Wednesday night and that physicians were “trying to find hope.”

McKeever’s twin brother, Mike, was an All-American guard at USC who died at age 27 in 1967 after spending 22 months in a coma after an automobile accident.

USC Coach Pete Carroll left campus and went to the hospital when informed of McKeever’s condition. He returned for practice and spoke fondly of McKeever’s passion for the program and the connection to the past that he and the late Marv Goux had provided after Carroll was hired before the 2001 season.

-- Ben Bolch and Gary Klein

TENNIS

Pierce suffers injury to her left knee

Mary Pierce was carried off the court on a stretcher after hurting her left knee in a fall while on the brink of beating Vera Zvonareva in the Generali Ladies at Linz, Austria.

Pierce led Zvonareva, 6-4, 6-5.

Top-ranked Roger Federer advanced to the quarterfinals in the Swiss Indoors at Basel with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.

Fourth-seeded Richard Gasquet beat Dick Norman, 6-3, 6-4, to advance to the quarterfinals in the Lyon Grand Prix at Lyon, France.... Third-seeded Mario Ancic defeated Raemon Sluiter, 6-3, 6-4, becoming the only seeded player to advance to the St. Petersburg Open quarterfinals at St. Petersburg, Russia.

MOTOR RACING

Sprint car showdown at Ventura Raceway

The USAC/CRA sprint car series makes its final appearance of the season at Ventura Raceway on Saturday night, with Damion Gardner of Concord, Calif., holding a one-point lead over Cory Kruseman of Ventura.

At the Orange Show Speedway in San Bernardino, the ASA Late Model series expects to crown either Jim Conklin of Big Bear City or Anthony Mainella of Palmdale as champion.

Late models also headline the program at Perris Auto Speedway in Riverside County, which also will include super stocks and sport compacts.

Forsythe Racing said that 2004 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Rice would replace A.J. Allmendinger in the Champ Car World Series season finale Nov. 12 in Mexico City.

Allmendinger, of Hollister, Calif., this week moved to the NASCAR Nextel Cup series for Team Red Bull.

-- Jim Peltz

HORSE RACING

Compromise reached on racing schedule

A contentious struggle between Hollywood Park and Santa Anita Park for racing dates in 2007 ended in a compromise by the California Horse Racing Board when it awarded six extra days to Hollywood Park and one to Santa Anita.

Hollywood Park officials argued that their dates should not be cut after the track became the first to comply with a mandate to switch to a synthetic surface, potentially saving horses’ lives. Hollywood Park officials also said fewer dates could hasten the closure of the track, which is committed to racing through 2008 but ultimately could be closed for land development.

Santa Anita, which will open Dec. 26 for an 85-day season, argued it deserved more dates because of better average attendance and handle numbers than Hollywood Park, which will have a 63-day spring/summer season and a 33-day autumn meet that includes three added days the week before Christmas.

-- Robyn Norwood

MISCELLANY

Klinsmann in talks to coach U.S. team

Former German national team coach Juergen Klinsmann is engaged in informal talks with the U.S. Soccer Federation that could lead to his taking over as coach of the American national team.

“We’ve had a couple of conversations. I’m evaluating everything that comes up.... It’s a very casual and relaxed correspondence,” Klinsmann said.

Houston Rockets center Dikembe Mutombo got into an argument with a fan who he said yelled racist slurs at him during an exhibition at Orlando, Fla.

Mutombo yelled at the man and gestured back. The fan was ejected. No action was taken against Mutombo. A Magic spokesman said the matter was turned over to NBA security.

Marvin Williams, the No. 2 overall pick in last year’s NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks, broke a bone in his left hand during practice and will be out up to eight weeks.