PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh Steelers team neurologist who challenged autopsy findings that Terry Long died of football-related head injuries once advised another team doctor that Long suffered a concussion, according to team records reviewed as part of the autopsy.

Dr. Joseph Maroon sent a letter to another team doctor after Long had a head-on collision with a Houston Oilers player in 1987, Dr. Bennett Omalu, the neuropathologist who worked Long's case for the Allegheny County Coroner's Office, told The Associated Press Thursday.

The Dec. 22, 1987, letter said Long became lightheaded, had difficulty concentrating and walked unsteadily. Maroon recommended in the letter that Long not play for at least a week, according to Omalu, who said the symptoms signaled "massive concussive injuries."

Omalu released the letter's contents after Maroon, a renowned expert on concussions, challenged the autopsy results in Thursday's editions of a Pittsburgh newspaper.

In that story, and in his initial interview with The Associated Press on Thursday, Maroon questioned the autopsy findings partly because he said Long never suffered a concussion playing for the Steelers.

The nasty tug of war between the bosses of the international cycling union and the World Anti-Doping Agency over who leaked documents accusing Lance Armstrong of doping claimed its first casualty: any chance of a comeback by the seven-time Tour de France champion.Armstrong, who said just days ago that this latest fight to clear his name had stoked his competitive desires, made clear Thursday he wasn't interested in returning to the sport he dominated.Armstrong, who has repeatedly denied ever using banned drugs, said he was the victim of a "witch hunt" after the report came out last month in L'Equipe, France's leading sports daily.

NEW YORK - Nine players were fined Thursday for their roles in a fight before Monday night's game between the Eagles and Falcons, with Atlanta defensive tackle Chad Lavalais drawing the biggest fine - $7,500 - for a hit on Donovan McNabb during the game.Lavalais was fined for using his helmet on McNabb, who hurt his chest on the play. McNabb is questionable for Philadelphia's game Sunday against San Francisco because of the injury.For the pregame fight, which resulted in Falcons cornerback Kevin Mathis and Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter being ejected before kickoff, both players got $5,000 fines. Also receiving a $5,000 hit was cornerback DeAngelo Hall for unsportsmanlike conduct for grabbing an opponent's facemask and then throwing the opponent's helmet.