Sports Death

A La Crescenta boy who died several hours after he was hit in the head with a baseball had a fatal heart condition, officials said Friday, confirming his parents' suspicions that the accidental blow did not contribute to his death. Autopsy results showed that Timothy Richard Herman, 9, had an enlarged heart and that several tumors were present in the heart muscle, said Scott Carrier of the Los Angeles County coroner's office.

Notable sports deaths of 2009: Preston Gomez The longtime Angels scouting consultant who had been a third base coach for the Dodgers when they won the 1965 World Series died Jan. 13 at 86 after being seriously injured in a freak accident at a gas station. Ingemar Johansson The Swede stunned the boxing world by knocking out Floyd Patterson in 1959 to win the heavyweight title. He died Jan. 30 at age 76. Jeremy Lusk The star of freestyle motocross died at 24 on Feb. 10 of head injuries after a crash in a competition in Costa Rica.

Notable sports deaths of 2009: Preston Gomez The longtime Angels scouting consultant who had been a third base coach for the Dodgers when they won the 1965 World Series died Jan. 13 at 86 after being seriously injured in a freak accident at a gas station. Ingemar Johansson The Swede stunned the boxing world by knocking out Floyd Patterson in 1959 to win the heavyweight title. He died Jan. 30 at age 76. Jeremy Lusk The star of freestyle motocross died at 24 on Feb. 10 of head injuries after a crash in a competition in Costa Rica.

* Kirby Puckett: Baseball Hall of Famer, 45, stroke. * Floyd Patterson: Heavyweight boxing champion, 71, Alzheimer's disease and prostate cancer. * Curt Gowdy: Preeminent sportscaster, 86, leukemia. * Steve Howe: Former Dodgers reliever, 48, car accident. * Byron Nelson: Golfing legend, 94, natural causes. * Red Auerbach: Longtime Boston Celtics coach, general manager, 89, heart failure. * Bo Schembechler: Former Michigan football coach, 77, heart attack.

Remembering . . . " Cancer can take away all my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart and it cannot touch my soul. And those three things are going to carry on forever. " --JIM VALVANO In some way, that spirit applies for some of the sports people who died in 1993, either in their prime or still at the height of their influence and popularity: --Davey Allison, 32, NASCAR driver, of injuries sustained in a helicopter crash July 13.

* Kirby Puckett: Baseball Hall of Famer, 45, stroke. * Floyd Patterson: Heavyweight boxing champion, 71, Alzheimer's disease and prostate cancer. * Curt Gowdy: Preeminent sportscaster, 86, leukemia. * Steve Howe: Former Dodgers reliever, 48, car accident. * Byron Nelson: Golfing legend, 94, natural causes. * Red Auerbach: Longtime Boston Celtics coach, general manager, 89, heart failure. * Bo Schembechler: Former Michigan football coach, 77, heart attack.

It was a day made for the madmen of surfing--20-foot walls of water rising into the clear skies and then collapsing with the power and speed of a locomotive. By the time Mark Foo had slipped into his wet suit and started stroking into the cold water, a crowd had gathered beneath the rocky bluffs that tower over Maverick's Beach.

In 1996, the Food and Drug Administration warned against using products containing ephedra -- a message that failed to resonate with much of the public. Then, in 2001, football players Rashidi Wheeler, Korey Stringer, Devaughn Darling and Curt Jones collapsed and died. Ephedra has been under scrutiny ever since. When Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler died Feb.

Pop & Jazz Previews by August Brown Million Dollar Revival Jackson Browne, Olivia Newton-John, Whispertown 2000 and the Bird & the Bee are some of the eclectic artists from L.A.'s top shelf of pop on offer at this round-robin of music and comedy at the revitalized downtown theater. Million Dollar Theatre, 307 S. Broadway, L.A. Today, 6 p.m. $30-$100. (213) 473-0720. Aimee Mann's Christmas Variety Show The singer-songwriter's annual tongue-in-cheek music-and-comedy fest is as warm-hearted and goofy as a reindeer sweater.

What is it Lance Armstrong wants from us? News reports are saying that the fallen hero of cycling and of cancer patients may be about to confess to doping over the course of his extraordinary cycling career. I hope he's heard the adage about keeping your mouth shut and being thought a fool instead of opening it and removing all doubt. PHOTOS: Lance Armstrong through the years A confession would remove all doubt, but it couldn't be a wink-and-nod confession just to get back into the cycling game, the charity game, the headlines.

In 1996, the Food and Drug Administration warned against using products containing ephedra -- a message that failed to resonate with much of the public. Then, in 2001, football players Rashidi Wheeler, Korey Stringer, Devaughn Darling and Curt Jones collapsed and died. Ephedra has been under scrutiny ever since. When Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler died Feb.

It was a day made for the madmen of surfing--20-foot walls of water rising into the clear skies and then collapsing with the power and speed of a locomotive. By the time Mark Foo had slipped into his wet suit and started stroking into the cold water, a crowd had gathered beneath the rocky bluffs that tower over Maverick's Beach.

A La Crescenta boy who died several hours after he was hit in the head with a baseball had a fatal heart condition, officials said Friday, confirming his parents' suspicions that the accidental blow did not contribute to his death. Autopsy results showed that Timothy Richard Herman, 9, had an enlarged heart and that several tumors were present in the heart muscle, said Scott Carrier of the Los Angeles County coroner's office.

Remembering . . . " Cancer can take away all my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart and it cannot touch my soul. And those three things are going to carry on forever. " --JIM VALVANO In some way, that spirit applies for some of the sports people who died in 1993, either in their prime or still at the height of their influence and popularity: --Davey Allison, 32, NASCAR driver, of injuries sustained in a helicopter crash July 13.

Just in from Boston: glub, glub, glub In the (only) good news lately for the Celtics, they probably can't fall much further. Last week's loss in Orlando left them tied for No. 2, with one prize left to contest: home-court advantage should they play the Magic. Bad as that is, they'd give anything if that were all, but it isn't. They may have to shut down Kevin Garnett again after his knee flared up after four games back. "Our guys don't care," insisted Coach Doc Rivers.

A federal safety agency Tuesday recommended that youth baseball leagues begin using softer balls and new kinds of batting helmets and bases, saying that they could significantly reduce the more than 100,000 injuries American children suffer in games every year. The step by the Consumer Product Safety Commission focuses attention on a growing nationwide debate over an annual American rite of spring: the Little League game.