Fast Break

Baseball

Coach dies from line drive to head

A Colorado Rockies minor league coach died after being struck in the head by a line drive as he stood in the first-base coach’s box during a game in North Little Rock, Ark.

Tulsa batting coach Mike Coolbaugh was knocked unconscious by Tino Sanchez’s line drive during the ninth inning of Sunday night’s game against the Double-A Arkansas Travelers, according to a statement on the Drillers’ Web site. The former major leaguer was taken to Baptist Medical Center-North Little Rock, where he was pronounced dead.

North Little Rock police Sgt. Terry Kuykendall said Coolbaugh was alive when he was put in an ambulance but stopped breathing as the ambulance arrived at Baptist Medical Center-North Little Rock. The 35-year-old was pronounced dead at the hospital at 9:47 p.m. CDT.

Travelers spokesman Phil Elson said Coolbaugh was hit on either the right side of his head or the forehead and immediately collapsed.

Coolbaugh is survived by his wife, Mandy, and two young sons, Joseph and Jacob, all of San Antonio. Mandy Coolbaugh is expecting another child in October.

“He was a great guy. I just feel bad for his family. Just a sad story,” said Detroit outfielder Marcus Thames, an ex-teammate of Coolbaugh’s.

College football

Pac-10 adds two more bowls

The Pac-10 Conference said Monday that it has pledged teams to two more college bowl games, the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego and the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu.

Following the 2008 season, the sixth-place team will play against a Western Athletic Conference school in the Hawaii Bowl and the seventh-place team will face a Mountain West Conference opponent in the Poinsettia Bowl, the conference said.

The next year, the Pac-10’s sixth-place team will play in San Diego and the seventh-place team in Hawaii.

Couch slouch

Chad on vacation

Syndicated columnist Norman Chad is on vacation. His Tuesday column will return next week.