NFL | Steelers defensive tackle Dwight White dies at 58

PITTSBURGH — Dwight White, the Steel Curtain defensive end known as "Mad Dog" who helped lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to four Super Bowl titles in the 1970s, died Friday. He was 58.

The Steelers said White died at a Pittsburgh hospital. The cause was not disclosed. The team said White was released from the hospital after having back surgery, but then was readmitted with complications.

White is the second member of the original four-man Steel Curtain to die this year. Defensive tackle Ernie Holmes died Jan. 17 in a car accident in Texas.

White, a two-time Pro Bowl player, was chosen as one of the 33 members of the Steelers' 75th anniversary all-time team last season.

White was best known for climbing out of a hospital bed to play in the Steelers' first Super Bowl victory, 16-6 over the Minnesota Vikings in 1975. White lost 18 pounds after being diagnosed with pneumonia and a lung infection, yet played nearly the entire game.

White, who played at East Texas State (now Texas A&M-Commerce), gained his nickname because of his intensity.

White's death follows a trend in which former Steelers players have died at an uncommon rate. At least 38 former Steelers players have died since 2000, with 17 of them 59 or younger, as was White.

White retired after the 1980 season and became a prominent Pittsburgh stock broker and one of the most successful former Steelers in business.

Funeral services are scheduled for Wednesday in Pittsburgh.

Steroids dealer killed himself, police say

DALLAS — A convicted steroids dealer who claimed to have sold drugs to pro football players killed himself, authorities said, and the mother of a woman found dead in his home said she believes he killed her.

The Dallas County medical examiner ruled 35-year-old David Jacobs' shooting death a suicide, but police in the Dallas suburb of Plano aren't saying whether he shot his on-again, off-again girlfriend.

Both bodies were found in the master bedroom of Jacobs' Plano home. He was shot in the abdomen and head, and 30-year-old Amanda Earhart-Savell was shot several times. A .40-caliber Glock was found next to Jacobs, police said.

Jacobs was sentenced to three years' probation and fined $25,000 on May 1 after pleading guilty last year in federal court in Dallas to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute anabolic steroids.

He met twice with NFL security officials and gave them names of players he said bought steroids.

Notes

• Versatile running back Darren McFadden and the Oakland Raiders avoided a training-camp holdout and in two days finalized a $60 million, six-year contract.

• Buffalo authorities believe Bills running back Marshawn Lynch was driving the vehicle involved in a hit-and-run accident that injured a pedestrian last weekend, Erie County District Attorney Frank Clark said. Clark said Lynch and his attorney have still not scheduled a meeting with him or police investigators.

• Rookie running back Tim Hightower has signed a three-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals. Financial details of the deal weren't announced.