British racer SEAN EDWARDS, the son of the man who helped to pull NIKI LAUDA from the wreck of his burning Ferrari in '76, "was killed" in a crash in Australia. Edwards "was a passenger in a Porsche sports car that hit the barriers at the Queensland Raceway during a private test session." The 26-year-old "died on impact in the crash at the circuit near Brisbane," but the driver, a 20-year-old Australian, is "in intensive care with life-threatening injuries after being pulled from the wreckage of the Porsche 996," which "burst into flames." Edwards portrayed his father, GUY, in scenes from the film "Rush," the movie that "tells the story of Lauda’s rivalry" with JAMES HUNT and the Austrian driver’s "infamous crash at the Nurburgring circuit in Germany" (LONDON TIMES, 10/15). ... Spain's Referees' Technical Committee President MANUEL DÍAZ VEGA "defended Spain's footballing integrity and the work of its referees." Vega: "I'd bet my right arm on the integrity of our referees and that there is no match-fixing in Spain. We're all working to make the game as clean and as honest as possible" (MARCA, 10/13). ... Former NBA player JOE MERIWEATHER died at the age of 59 on Sunday. Meriweather also played for Spanish Basketball League (ACB) side Joventut (MARCA, 10/15). ... Peru President OLLANTA HUMALA congratulated Peru's National Olympic Committee for "its brilliant work in winning the bid for Lima to become the host of the 2019 Pan American Games" (LIBERO, 10/15). ... On Monday, five men were inducted into the Mexican Baseball League's Hall of Fame -- players JESÚS RIOS, CORNELIO GARCIA, JUAN SUBY and ALFREDO MARISCAL, and umpire JESÚS MONTER (LA AFICION, 10/14). ... A-League side Melbourne Victory's new Chilean center-half PABLO CONTRERAS has "picked up a two-match suspension" from the Football Federation Australia's match review panel for "an off-the-ball foul" on Melbourne Heart's MATE DUGANDZIC. The Match Review Panel ruled that the 35-year old Chilean int'l had committed the offenSe of ''assault on a player (eg, violent conduct when not challenging for the ball)'' against Dugandzic, and "hit the defender with a mandatory one-match suspension, plus another game" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 10/16). ... DAVID MILLAR, the "most controversial British cyclist of recent years and the most high-profile anti-doping campaigner in the professional peloton," has "confirmed that he will bring his career to a close" at the end of '14--17 seasons "after he joined the elite racing ranks" (GUARDIAN, 10/14).
