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Bullet fragment taken from Duquesne player's head

By TIMES WIRES
Published September 26, 2006

PITTSBURGH - Doctors removed a bullet fragment Monday from the head of Sam Ashaolu, the most seriously injured of five Duquesne University basketball players shot on campus.

The fragment, initially thought to be an intact slug, was removed from behind Ashaolu's left ear, Duquesne officials said. The player's medical team thinks Ashaolu has three bullet fragments remaining in his head.

Ashaolu, fighting for his life a week ago after the early morning shootings Sept. 17, moved from his Mercy Hospital bed to a chair Monday - the first stage of rehabilitation efforts to get him back on his feet. Ashaolu remains in serious condition.

Stuard Baldonado, who was hospitalized until Friday, planned to resume classes Monday. The other three players who were shot - Shawn James, Kojo Mensah and Aaron Jackson - all have returned to class.

William Holmes and Brandon Baynes, both 18, are charged with the shootings, which took place on campus after a Black Student Union dance.

Duquesne student Brittany Jones, 19, is accused of helping six men gain admittance to the party. The university has suspended her.

ET CETERA

SOCCER: The shattered right leg of Uruguayan soccer player Dario Silva was amputated after he was thrown from his car in a highway accident, hospital officials said Monday. The 33-year-old forward, a member of the national team, was driving early Sunday along a road in Montevideo, Uruguay, when his car struck a light post on a center divider, police said. He hurtled through a side window, and his right leg was caught and badly broken as the light post toppled over the car, authorities said.

WRESTLING: The U.S. men's Greco-Roman wrestling team dominated the opening day of the world championships, winning three medals. Joe Warren, competing at 132 pounds, rallied to defeat Georgia's David Bedinadze 1-1, 4-1, 2-1 in the gold-medal match in Guangzhou, China. U.S. teammates Lindsey Durlacher and Harry Lester each earned bronze. Durlacher defeated Bulgaria's Venelin Venkov 4-0, 2-0, and Lester swept Turkey's Seref Eroglu 4-3, 4-3. The United States, the only nation to earn more than one medal, leads the point standings.

WEIGHTLIFTING: Nine Iranian weightlifters have tested positive for doping, forcing the national team to withdraw from the upcoming world championships. The World Anti-Doping Agency tested all 11 Iranian weightlifters Sept. 10, and nine failed, the Iranian weightlifting federation said. The team was supposed to leave Monday for the Dominican Republic, where the world championships start Friday in Santo Domingo.

[Last modified September 26, 2006, 01:31:11]