LPGA player's death ruled a suicide
The Clark County coroner's office ruled yesterday in Las Vegas that 25-year-old professional golfer Erica Blasberg's death was a suicide.
The Clark County coroner's office ruled yesterday in Las Vegas that 25-year-old professional golfer Erica Blasberg's death was a suicide.
Blasberg died May 9 at her home in Henderson, Nev. She was found with a plastic bag secured over her head.
Henderson police said that while no foul play is suspected they have issued a misdemeanor arrest warrant for Dr. Thomas Hess on obstruction charges. Police said Hess, who discovered Blasberg's body, removed items from the scene, including a suicide note. The contents of the note haven't been disclosed.
Hess turned himself into authorities, was booked into jail and released about 35 minutes later, after posting $637 in bail yesterday afternoon, police said.
David Mincavage, an assistant city attorney in Henderson, said the nonviolent misdemeanor charges against Hess carry a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and 6 months in jail.
The coroner's office said Blasberg died of suicide due to asphyxia, coupled with the presence of toxic levels of prescription medication in her system, including prescription headache, cough, pain and anti-anxiety medications.
Her best year on Tour was 2008, when she earned more than $113,000 in winnings.
Pro Basketball
* The Charlotte Bobcats signed 6-11 Kwame Brown to a 1-year, $1.3 million deal.
* Houston Rockets center Yao Ming is confident that he'll be ready for the start of the regular season after a team doctor declared his surgically repaired foot fully healed. Yao missed last season after undergoing complex surgery on his left foot in July 2009.
* Denver's Carmelo Anthony and Orlando's Dwight Howard will star in "Amazing," a basketball film by Chinese director Hu Zuehua. The filming will take place in New York, Beijing and Shanghai through November and feature actors from Asia. The movie is scheduled to open next summer.
Sport Stops
* Hawking his new book, former Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden made it clear that he did not start his retirement voluntarily. "Fired might be a little too strong," he said. "Pushed out ain't bad. I was pushed out, no doubt about it. I didn't want but one more year. Gosh, I'm 80."
* Defenseman Aaron Ward, a member of three Stanley Cup championship teams, retired from the NHL at 37. He finished last season with Anaheim.
* Caroline Wozniacki, of Denmark, was seeded No. 1 for the U.S. Open. Play begins Monday.
* Former Olympic ski-jump champion Matti Nykanen was convicted in Helsinki, Finland, of attacking his wife with a kitchen knife in their home on Christmas Day last year. He was sentenced to 16 months in prison.
* The last member of an Oregon high school football team to remain hospitalized with a rare and painful upper-arm ailment was released, according to Willamette Valley Medical Center in Portland.
* Usain Bolt signed a 3-year contract extension with Puma that is said to be the biggest for a track and field athlete. Financial terms were not disclosed.