Sad news out of Charlottesville, VA. One lacrosse player for the University of Virginia, 22-year-old Yeardley Love, was found dead in an apartment near campus. Another, George Huguely, has been charged with her murder.

George Huguely, 22, a fourth-year student from Chevy Chase, Md., is in the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail, according to a statement from police.[..]

Officials haven’t determined a cause of death, but Love’s body, which was found at a 14th Street Northwest apartment, showed physical trauma, according to the statement.

Witnesses told police Huguely and Love had been in a relationship, according to authorities. –Charlottesville DP.

I think we’ve learned our lesson about jumping to conclusions about allegations made against lacrosse players. That’s just unreal. Maybe one of these days, something interesting will happen in lacrosse that doesn’t involve sexual assault or a dead body. That’s my wish for the world today. That, and free OREOs.

Venezuelan champion boxer Edwin Valero was jailed on charges of going O.J. Simpson on his wife in a hotel room, but he figured out a way to avoid trial. He hung himself in his jail cell using his clothes. Yeah, that was probably a bad way to set that up.

Valero had two children, a 7-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl.

Valero’s manager, Jose Castillo, said the boxer should never have been allowed out of the rehabilitation center.

“This is a huge tragedy for the world of boxing, we are so sad,” he told reporters. –WaPo.

Before the incident, Valero was in rehab battling an alcohol addiction, which is a phrase I never really understood. If I eat a ham and cheese sandwich, I’m not battling the sandwich. I’m eating it. But I guess it’s different when one fights other people for a living, and, really, is the hero of his countrymen. I feel bad for the kids. To lose both parents in such a sudden and bizarre way is truly sad.

The Mexican National Team is ready for action.

Odd news out of South Africa today. No, Nelson Mandela did not get cornrows, although the awesomeness of such a possibility cannot be overstated. Actually, some guy waited in line for 20 hours to buy tickets for the upcoming World Cup in Johannesburg. He collapsed and died. I blame TicketMaster.

Cape Town police spokesperson Ezra October confirmed to CNN that 64-year-old Ralph van Heerden collapsed and died while waiting to purchase 11 World Cup tickets on Thursday morning.

He was certified dead by paramedics when they arrived on the scene at around 7:15 a.m. local time (0515 GMT). It is believed that he had a heart problem. According to police, paramedics tried to resuscitate him but failed. –CNN

Those tickets must be in short supply, right? Not exactly; there are about half a million tickets remaining. Although, one could argue that this was better than dying of boredom from watching international soccer. Aw, I’m just kidding. I like all the Cups. But those Italian league teams can stick it. I don’t like the cuts of their jibs one bit.

Big ups to sexy reader Alexander, who sent in this unfortunate screencap of SI.com earlier this morning. The cracked windshield on the face of a man who just died from falling out of a pickup truck is probably the last thing anyone wanted to see, especially the people that run that fine website. And really, there’s nothing that they could have done to prevent such a random confluence from happening. Except for, you know, keeping those damn ads in the sidebar windows where they belong.

Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry has died from injuries that he suffered from falling out of the bed of a pickup truck late Wednesday evening. He was 26. Several outlets have confirmed.

As a Bengals fan that was loathe to see Henry return to the team in 2008, this is just really sad. I really thought that Henry had finally arranged his life into a manageable state coming into this season. But then he underperformed, went on IR, and now this. Just brutal. Also.

Former IBF and WBC champion Arturo Gatti, 37, was found murdered by strangulation over the weekend in Brazil, where the Italian-born Canadian was vacationing with his family.  His wife, 23-year-old Amanda Carina Barbosa Rodrigues Gatti, has been detained as a suspect after inconsistencies in her story.

Police believe he was drunk and went to sleep, was first struck in the back of his head and then strangled with a purse strap, He may have been dead for 10 hours before authorities were called…

Amanda Gatti denies any connection to the murder and has blamed a third party.  She could not explain why it took 10 hours for authorities to be notified.  Police believe a third party involvement would be almost impossible because they were on the second floor with a key card security system with only one window.  [Examiner]

People who watch boxing say that Gatti was a highly entertaining boxer, winning Fight of the Year honors three times on his way to a 40-9 record during a career that ended in 2007.  Which makes me feel even worse about my reaction.  A friend told me Saturday night that “Arturo Gatti” had been murdered in Brazil in what may have been a mob hit, and I said, “AWESOME!”  I thought Arturo was one of the Gotti brothers.  My bad.