Herschel Walker Found Unconscious, Blames Song

-- FOOTBALL

Herschel Walker, Minnesota Viking running back, says a favorite song made him sit in his car in a closed garage, causing him to suffer carbon monoxide poisoning.

The former Dallas Cowboy star was taken by ambulance to Irving (Texas) Community Hospital about 3 a.m. Sunday after his wife, Cindy, found him unconscious in the garage of their home, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.

"He was treated in the emergency room about 3 a.m., and released at about 6 a.m.," hospital spokeswoman Sharon Peters said. "It is not a serious thing at all."

Walker said he started his car in the closed garage and was preparing to leave when he paused to hear a favorite song on his cassette deck. A tiring weekend of travel may have contributed to his falling asleep, Walker said, adding that he also has been under stress because his grandparents are ill.

"I think I fell asleep, but to be honest, I don't know how long I was out of it," Walker said.

". . . It was just a good tape."

-- Cedric Figaro, Indianapolis Colts rookie linebacker, was arrested early today in Indianapolis on drunken driving charges, Indiana state police said. The former Notre Dame player had a blood-alcohol content of .20, twice the legal limit for driving, police said.

-- Tom Porras, former University of Washington quarterback, has signed an Arena League contract with Albany, N.Y. Porras, who completed his Husky career in 1979, most recently played in the Canadian League.

-- New York Giant Coach Bill Parcells has auditioned with NBC Sports as a football analyst, The New York Times reported.

-- Bill McPeak, 64, director of professional scouting for the New England Patriots since 1979 and former head coach of the Washington Redskins, died at his Foxboro, Mass., home of a heart attack.

-- AUTO RACING

Stock-car driver Chris Gehrke, 25, of Lincoln, Ill., died of head injuries in a Birmingham, Ala., hospital three days after his vehicle was involved in a five-car wreck in the ARCA 500-K race at Talladega Superspeedway.

-- An autopsy showed that Gary Neice, 36, of Candler, N.C., was dead from a heart attack when his car smashed into the third-turn wall during the Car Quest 300 last weekend at the South Boston (Va.) Speedway.

-- TENNIS

Top-seeded Michael Chang beat unseeded Niclas Kroon of Sweden 6-0, 7-5 in his first match in the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Charlotte, N.C.

-- Renzo Furlan, 20, an Italian qualifier, upset second-seeded Ivan Lendl 7-5, 6-4 in the second round of the German Open in Hamburg. American Pete Sampras, the third seed, outlasted Austria's Horst Skoff 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

Sixth-seeded Jim Courier fell to Argentina's Horatio de la Pena 6-7 (3-7), 6-2, 6-4; Cristiano Caratti of Italy upset seventh-seeded Jonas Svensson of Sweden 6-2, 6-2 and eighth-seeded Emilio Sanchez was ousted by fellow Spaniard Francisco Clavet 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

-- Top-seeded Monica Seles defeated Australia's Nicole Provis 6-3, 6-1 and Martina Navratilova overcame a slow start for a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Elna Reinach in the second round of the Italian Open in Rome. Sixth-seeded Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere beat Argentina's Florencia Labat 6-2, 6-1 and eighth-seeded Leila Meskhi of the Soviet Union ousted Italy's Linda Ferrando 7-6 (7-5), 6-0. -- GOLF

Defending champion Jerry Minor of Portland moved into the semifinals of the Oregon PGA Championship with 1-up victories over Steve McPherson and Dan Hixson, both of Portland, at the rain-soaked Astoria Golf and Country Club.

Joining Minor in this morning's semifinals were Mike Davis of Portland, Rob Gibbons of Molalla, and host pro Mike Gove.

-- SAILING

Dennis Conner, nearly 10 minutes ahead of Italy's Il Moro di Venezia III, was denied a sure victory when the wind gave out, forcing abandonment of the fourth race of the International America's Cup Class (IACC) world championships in San Diego. But Conner's Stars & Stripes all but clinched a spot in the match-race semifinals.

-- HORSE RACING

Fly So Free, the 2-year-old champion in 1990 and a favorite in the Kentucky Derby who finished a disappointing fifth, is being withdrawn from the last two Triple Crown races, trainer Scotty Schulhofer said.