Chargers beat Raiders for 11th straight time

LaDainian Tomlinson had 91 yards rushing and a three-yard scoring run and Philip Rivers threw three touchdown passes, including a 59-yarder to Vincent Jackson, to give the Sam Diego Chargers a 34-7 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Thursday night in San Diego.

The Chargers (5-8) beat the Raiders (3-10) for the 11th time in a row.

San Diego’s Darren Sproles caught two touchdown passes. His 87-yard touchdown on a punt return in the fourth quarter was called back after rookie Antoine Cason was called for an illegal block in the back.

Two of Oakland quarterback JaMarcus Russell’s passes were intercepted by linebacker Stephen Cooper, and Russell also lost a fumble. Those plays led to 17 points for the Chargers. Russell didn’t get up right away after throwing his second interception and was later taken to the locker room on a cart with an injured right ankle.

The Raiders reached double-digit losses for the sixth straight season. They are 22-71 since being routed by Tampa Bay and former Raiders coach Jon Gruden in the Super Bowl in San Diego on Jan. 26, 2003.

Judge to decide on suspended players

A federal judge in St. Paul, Minn., will be asked to decide today whether five suspended NFL players deserve a chance to play this weekend.

At issue is whether the league had a duty to notify its players and their union that a dietary supplement the five took contained a banned ingredient.

The NFL Players Assn. filed the lawsuit to block the suspensions of five of the six players who were benched this week for violating the league’s anti-doping policy. The union wants Kevin Williams and Pat Williams of the Minnesota Vikings, and Charles Grant, Deuce McAllister and Will Smith of the New Orleans Saints, to be eligible to play Sunday.

Pierce to talk to investigators

Antonio Pierce and the doctor who treated his New York Giants teammate Plaxico Burress after he accidentally shot himself at a Manhattan nightclub will talk to investigators today. Pierce and Dr. Josyann Abisaab will be accompanied by their lawyers when they meet with the authorities, said Paul Brown, NYPD deputy commissioner for public information.

Police are trying to determine whether Pierce tried to cover up the shooting.