NFL committee backs Raiders/Chargers LA plan...Cards lose two...Blackhawks extend Quenneville

HOUSTON (AP) — A person with knowledge of the vote has told The Associated Press an NFL committee looking into relocation to Los Angeles has backed the combined stadium proposal involving the Raiders and Chargers in Carson, California. Owners meeting today and tomorrow in Houston will use that nonbinding recommendation as they consider whether to end a two-decade absence from the nation's second-largest media market.

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Outside linebacker Alex Okafor and defensive tackle Cory Redding will miss the Cardinals playoff game Saturday against Green Bay. Okafor has been placed on the non-football injury list with a toe injury while Redding has been placed on injured reserve with a high ankle sprain. Each is done for the entire post season.

CHICAGO (AP) — The Blackhawks have worked out a three-year contract extension with Joel Quenneville (KWEHN'-vihl), locking up the only active coach with three Stanley Cup titles. The move comes with Quenneville a win away from tying Al Arbour for second on the NHL list for regular-season coaching victories.

NEW YORK (AP) — Edmonton's Matt Hendricks has been suspended for three games by the NHL for boarding Florida's Aaron Ekblad Sunday. Hendricks was not penalized for the hit. He'll miss Edmonton's games at Arizona on tonight and at San Jose on Thursday, and at home against Calgary on Saturday.

HOUSTON (AP) — Hall of Famer Monte Irvin has died at the age of 96 from natural causes. The power-hitting outfielder starred for the New York Giants in the 1950s. He batted .300 or more three times with a high of .329 in 1953. He finished with a career average of .293 with 99 homers and 443 RBIs, numbers that would have surely been far higher if not for the game's racial segregation.

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