NFL

• Blackout lifted for Raiders-Chargers season-finale: SAN DIEGO (AP) — The San Diego Chargers say they have sold enough tickets to lift the local blackout for Sunday’s season-finale against the rival Oakland Raiders.

The sellout snaps a string of three straight blackouts for the Chargers, who will miss the playoffs for the third straight season. Overall, the Chargers had four games blacked out this year.

The sellout is likely due to interest by Raiders fans in seeing their team’s only Southern California appearance of the season.

San Diego is 6-9 and the Raiders are 4-11.

San Diego is expected to fire coach Norv Turner and likely general manager A.J. Smith.



• Cowboys’ Brent indicted in crash killing teammate: DALLAS (AP) — A grand jury in Texas has formally indicted Dallas Cowboys nose tackle Josh Brent on one count of intoxication manslaughter.

Brent is charged in connection with a Dec. 8 crash that killed his friend and Cowboys practice squad member Jerry Brown. He is out of jail on $100,000 bond.

Dallas County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Debbie Denmon says the indictment was returned Wednesday.

Police in the Dallas suburb of Irving say Brent was speeding when his vehicle struck a curb and flipped. Brown was pronounced dead at an area hospital.

Intoxication manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Brent could be eligible for probation.

Denmon says no court dates have been scheduled.



• Jets’ Tebow insists he never asked out of wildcat: FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Tim Tebow says he never asked out of running wildcat plays last week, but the New York Jets backup quarterback acknowledges that Rex Ryan may have misunderstood him.

Tebow says Wednesday that he told Ryan last Tuesday that he was “definitely disappointed” he wasn’t going to be the starting quarterback in place of the benched Mark Sanchez and added that he told the coach he wanted to play “regular quarterback.”

Tebow says he realized that Ryan might have misinterpreted his comments when he wasn’t in wildcat packages, and reiterated to the coach last Friday he would do anything the team asked of him.

Tebow, who didn’t play in Sunday’s loss to San Diego, says what bothers him most is that his reputation and character were criticized.



COLLEGE FOOTBALL

• Central Michigan edges Western Kentucky 24-21: DETROIT (AP) — Ryan Radcliff threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Cody Wilson with 5:11 remaining to give Central Michigan the lead, and Western Kentucky was stopped on fourth down when a field goal would have tied the game in the final minute, giving the Chippewas a 24-21 win in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl on Wednesday night.

Lance Guidry, coaching the Hilltoppers on an interim basis before Bobby Petrino takes over, decided to play for the win on fourth-and-2 from the 19 with 51 seconds left, but Kawaun Jakes threw incomplete.

Western Kentucky (7-6) fell just short in its first bowl since joining college football’s top tier in 2009.

Avery Cunningham blocked a punt for Central Michigan (7-6) to give the Chippewas a short field before Wilson’s TD.



MAJORS

• Red Sox get All-Star closer Hanrahan from Pirates: BOSTON (AP) — The Red Sox have acquired All-Star closer Joel Hanrahan from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a six-player deal.

Boston completed the trade Wednesday, also receiving infielder Brock Holt. The Red Sox gave up right-handers Mark Melancon and Stolmy Pimentel, infielder Ivan DeJesus Jr. and first baseman-outfielder Jerry Sands.

Over the past two seasons, the right-handed Hanrahan had 76 saves, fourth most in the National League, and a 2.24 ERA. Last season, he was 5-2 with a 2.72 ERA and 36 saves.

Holt spent most of last season at Double-A Altoona, then hit .292 in 24 games with the Pirates, all in September.

Melancon was 0-2 with a 6.20 ERA in 41 relief appearances in his only season with Boston. Pimentel spent the season at Double-A Portland. Sands and DeJesus were obtained in a trade that sent Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 25.



HOCKEY

• Canadiens’ Gorges holds outdoor game with fans: MONTREAL (AP) — With the NHL lockout grinding through its fourth month, Montreal Canadiens defenseman Josh Gorges looked to an unusual source to find his next hockey game: Twitter.

The 28-year-old Gorges extended an open invitation to his followers on the social network to join him at a Montreal rink Wednesday afternoon, during the Boxing Day holiday.

Fans responded in droves.

The scene didn’t look much different from those playing out at countless parks and ponds across the country — except for the high turnout.

Dozens of players, ranging widely in age and skill level, packed into a rink in the city’s Verdun neighborhood for a chance to skate alongside an NHL player.

In recent days, Gorges had been joking about the upcoming game in messages sent out to his 23,000-plus followers on Twitter. A few hours before the game, he mused that he may be a little slower than usual on the ice after having Christmas dinner the night before.