Coroner: Wheldon died of blunt head trauma

Autoracing Betting Lines

10/17/2011 - Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon died of blunt head trauma sustained in Sunday's fiery 15-car crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the Clark County Coroner's office said.

Results of an autopsy performed on the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and former series champion were released Monday.

The corner's office ruled Wheldon's death accidental and said the driver was pronounced dead at 1:54 p.m.

Wheldon was killed after his car became airborne, hit the outside wall and burst into flames early on in the scheduled 300-mile race. He was airlifted to University Medical Center in Las Vegas, but died of his injuries.

The wreck, which sent several other drivers to the hospital, left broken cars and pieces of flaming metal scattered about the track in a scene that one driver likened to a war movie.

After learning that Wheldon had died, officials canceled the race and drivers made a five-lap tribute around the 1.5-mile track.

Wheldon, who was 33, had started from the rear of the field as the only driver eligible to split a $5 million bonus with a lucky fan if he could have won the race.

The coroner's office said in a news release that it would work closely with race officials, safety equipment personnel and the physicians who attended to Wheldon to fully review the case in an effort to help increase safety for other drivers.

Wheldon is survived by his wife, Susie, and two young sons, Sebastian and Oliver.

Wwsportszone Autoracing Betting News

<< Frank McCourt gets Dodgers in divorce
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Frank and Jamie McCourt have settled their divorce and she has relinquished an ownership claim of the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to a report. Jamie McCourt will get around $130 million in the

<< NFL Inactives (Monday, October 17, 2011)
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The following is a list of inactive players for tonight's game. MIAMI DOLPHINS AT NEW YORK JETS, 8:30 P.M. (ET) Dolphins - RB Steve Slaton, S Chris Clemons, LB Ikaika Alama-Francis, T Will Barker, C Rya

<< NBA and players set to meet with mediator
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The federal mediator who sat with the NFL and its players during their labor dispute will try to push opposing sides of the NBA lockout closer together in the latest bid to save the season. George Cohen, who

<< Seahawks place CB Trufant on IR
Renton, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Seahawks placed veteran cornerback Marcus Trufant on injured reserve Monday. Trufant has not played since suffering a back injury in a Week 4 loss to the Falcons. The longest tenured Seattle

<< NFL won't fine coaches Schwartz, Harbaugh
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NFL will not fine Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz or San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh for their altercation after Sunday's game. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello tweeted Monday that there was no basis for a fine becau

Avs finish five-game road trip unbeaten with OT win over Leafs >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Jones scored the game winner 1:11 into overtime as Colorado finished a five-game road trip without a blemish thanks to a 3-2 win over Toronto. After opening the season at home with a loss to Detroit,

Inside the CFL: Call to the Hall >>
Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Damon Allen knew the question was coming. The Cal State Fullerton product played 23 years in the Canadian Football League, with stops in Edmonton, Ottawa, Hamilton, Memphis, BC and Toronto. Allen is a

Vanderbilt's Ezeli suspended six games >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vanderbilt center Festus Ezeli has been suspended for the first six games of the season for accepting improper benefits. An internal compliance review by the university uncovered that the s

Panthers ruin home opener for slumping Tampa >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kris Versteeg and Stephen Weiss scored twice and had two assists, while Brian Campbell added four assists as the Florida Panthers defeated the Lightning, 7-4, in the home opener for Tampa Bay. Tomas Kope

Jets defeat Pens, win first game of season >>
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Wellwood's goal in the opening seconds of the contest helped the Winnipeg Jets earn their first victory of the season with a 2-1 decision over the Pittsburgh Penguins at MTS Centre. Tanner Glass notch

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25

NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.

No. 1 always seems to fit USC.

Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.

Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.

Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.

"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."

Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.

"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."

The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.

"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."

Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.

"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"

USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.

"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."

While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.

As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.

But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.

Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.

The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.

The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.

The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.

No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.

Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.

Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.

Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.

The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.

South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.

The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.

Get free Sports Betting lines RSS feeds from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com