WWE wrestler, family found dead in home

World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife, and son were found dead Monday in Fayetteville, Ga., and police said they were investigating the deaths as a murder-suicide.

Detective Bo Turner told television station WAGA that the case was being treated as a murder-suicide, but said that couldn’t be confirmed until evidence was examined by a crime lab.

The station said that investigators believe the 40-year-old Benoit killed his wife, Nancy, and 7-year-old son, Daniel, over the weekend, then himself on Monday. A neighbor called police, and the bodies were found in three rooms.

Lead investigator Lt. Tommy Pope, of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department, told the Associated Press the deaths were being investigated as homicide, and that the causes of death awaited autopsy results today. Pope said the bodies were discovered about 2:30 p.m.

Benoit was a former world heavyweight and Intercontinental champion. He also held several tag-team titles during his career.

“WWE extends its sincerest thoughts and prayers to the Benoit family’s relatives and loved ones in this time of tragedy,” the federation said in a statement on its Web site.

Horse racing

Jockey suspended

A jockey who kicked his horse in the stomach before a race was suspended for 30 days and fined $1,000 by Philadelphia Park officials.

The decision against veteran jockey Victor Molina came three days after his 40-minute disciplinary hearing for kicking 2-year-old colt Yes Yes Ohyes. Molina, a 27-year veteran who’s been racing at Philadelphia Park since 1988, hoped for only a fine and was surprised by the severity of the penalties issued by the track’s stewards.

“The penalty doesn’t warrant what I did,” Molina said.

“I got punished a little harder than other ones.

“I think most people around the track, if you asked them, would say it was a little too harsh.”

•Ralph J. Morano, a longtime horse trainer and driver who made a second career fighting for harness horsemen’s rights as the track representative at The Meadowlands, has died in Secaucus, N.J., of complications of several heart-related surgeries. He was 74.

Miscellany

ESPY nominations out

The Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts lead the way with six ESPY nominations this year.

ESPN has announced the nominees. Fans will vote for the winners in 38 categories, and the awards show airs July 15 from Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre.

Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James, who will co-host the event with ABC late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, is nominated in three categories, including Best Male Athlete.

The national champion Tennessee women’s basketball team has the second most nominations with five, including Best Team.

•Nebraska volleyball star Sarah Pavan won the 31st annual Honda-Broderick Cup as the nation’s female college athlete of the year after maintaining a 4.0 grade-point average while leading the Cornhuskers to a 33-1 season and the NCAA title.

•The Champions Tour will follow the PGA’s policy on steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs.

“We’ll adopt whatever policies the PGA Tour does,” Champions Tour president Rick George said.

•A crowd of nearly 30,000 soccer fans came to Barcelona’s Nou Camp to greet Thierry Henry, who completed his $32 million transfer to Barcelona from Arsenal. Henry agreed to a four-year contract.