Ex-Dallas Cowboys player Ron Springs dies

DALLAS -- Former Dallas Cowboys running back Ron Springs, who spent the past four years in a coma after losing oxygen during a 2007 operation, has died without regaining consciousness. He was 54.

Former Cowboys teammate Everson Walls says the Springs family informed him that his friend died about 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Medical City Dallas hospital.

Springs slipped into the coma in 2007 after undergoing surgery to remove a cyst from his forearm about seven months after receiving a kidney transplant. Springs had suffered from diabetes for 20 years, and the disease caused his kidney failure. He needed dialysis three times a week before receiving the transplant.

He was drafted by the Cowboys out of Ohio State University in 1979 and became a starter in 1981. He left in 1985, finishing his career with two seasons in Tampa Bay. He ran for 2,519 yards, had 2,259 yards receiving and scored 10 touchdowns in his NFL career. After the transplant, he and Walls formed the Gift for Life Foundation, a group raising awareness about kidney donation. -- AP