Sports briefs for December 16, 2003

Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2003 | 10:55 a.m.

Magnuson killed in automobile crash

Keith Magnuson, 56, a former defenseman and coach with the Chicago Blackhawks, died Monday in an automobile accident in suburban Toronto as he was returning from the funeral of former NHL player Keith McCreary.

Magnuson was a passenger in a car driven by former Toronto Maple Leafs captain Rob Ramage. Police said the car crossed into oncoming traffic and hit two vehicles.

Ramage, 44, who was hospitalized with multiple injuries, was charged with impaired operation causing death, police said. No details on the charge were immediately available.

A 39-year-old woman in one of the cars that was struck was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

St. Louis signs Suppan

Right-hander Jeff Suppan, 29, signed a two-year, $6 million contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. He was 13-11 with Pittsburgh and Boston in 2003.

Bullet found in player

A bullet was discovered lodged in the armpit of Colorado sophomore forward Chris Copeland more than 24 hours after a gunmen fired about 15 shots early Sunday at a party Copeland had attended. He won't play Friday when Colorado plays Tennessee State.

Robinson gets stars

UNLV's John Robinson and Pitt's Walt Harris were named to coach the two teams in the East-West Shrine Game Jan. 10 in San Francisco.

Curtis joins Europeans

British Open champion Ben Curtis is joining the PGA European Tour, making him only the second American to belong to both the the European and U.S. tours. John Daly is the other.

Ebersol returning

Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Sports & Olympics, signed a nine-year contract that will keep him in charge of the network's sports programming through the 2012 Olympics.