Sports Deaths

There were two minutes left in Friday night's football game between Garden Grove and host Westminster High School. In Garden Grove's last offensive play -- a long pass -- senior fullback Kevin Telles, 17, charged up from the 30-yard line to block his opponents. Then he abruptly fell, face down and motionless, on the 25-yard line. Several witnesses said he collapsed without sustaining a hit from another player. When he didn't get up, coaches from both teams rushed onto the field with the team physician as Telles began to convulse.

Two more horses broke down and were euthanized over the weekend at Santa Anita, bringing the number of fatalities from racing or training to seven since the meet's traditional Dec. 26 opening. The issue has remained heated with the ongoing controversy over the introduction the last two years of mandated synthetic tracks at Santa Anita, Del Mar and Hollywood Park. Dr.

On the Monday after, when it should have been just the opposite, the sport of horse racing was riding low in the saddle. Saturday, at the grotto of the sport, a star named Big Brown was born into public consciousness by storming down the homestretch, under the twin spires of Churchill Downs, and winning the Kentucky Derby in dominating fashion. It was what racing wanted, needed, lusts after.

BORON, Calif. -- Inside the school cafeteria Thursday night, Boron High receiver Joshua Glass moved with a sense of purpose as he delivered plates of spaghetti, salad and garlic bread to members of the Mojave Mustangs. Less than a week ago, the senior had considered anyone who played for the neighboring school a fierce rival. Not anymore. "There is no enemy this year," Glass said somberly.

As the runners, one by one, crossed the finish line at last year's Los Angeles Marathon, Terry Reyna waited for her husband, Raul, to join them. But there was no Raul, and each passing minute fueled her uneasiness. "He was going for the five-hour mark. At about 1 p.m., I knew he had to have been in by then," she said. "It's easy to get lost in that crowd, though, and I was just about to go to try to find out where he was, when I got the phone call."

A 16-year-old football player died early Friday after collapsing during practice at Arnold O. Beckman High School in Irvine, police said. Kenny Wilson, a junior lineman, fell ill at practice and lost consciousness during a team workout shortly before 11 a.m., Irvine Lt. Henry Boggs said.

The California State Athletic Commission on Monday said it will conduct an inquiry into last week's death of boxer Jackson Bussell after his sanctioned, six-round bout outside a Calabasas restaurant. Bussell, 28, a light-welterweight from Reno, fought opponent Javier Garcia to a draw in an undercard bout Thursday night, a decision that was announced just after Bussell collapsed in the ring after congratulating and hugging Garcia.

NEW YORK -- Five-time U.S. distance running champion Ryan Shay collapsed and died during the men's U.S. Olympic marathon trials Saturday, leaving race winner Ryan Hall mourning the loss of a friend and former training partner whose wedding Hall had attended four months ago. "I can't think about the race right now," Hall said. "I've trained with him, and he has inspired me. I will dedicate my race in Beijing [the 2008 Olympics] to him and Alicia [his wife] and his family."

A high school freshman who collapsed during a 3-mile cross-country race in September died from an inflammation of the heart, the Orange County coroner's office said Monday. Megan Myers, 14, died from multifocal myocarditis, said Cullen Ellingburgh, supervising deputy for the county coroner. An autopsy performed the day after Megan's death was unable to determine the cause. Dr.

A surfer's biggest worry in large waves, such as those that have been pounding Southland shores this week, is getting caught in the impact zone and held under for an excruciatingly long time. Many have wiped out, then flailed mightily against the downward churning surf, thinking they might drown, only to poke their heads above water at the last possible moment, gasping for air. Perhaps because of this fear, most surfers know their limits.