• Merlin Olsen passes away: Hall of Famer Merlin Olsen, who helped form one of the NFL’s greatest defensive lines before embarking on a successful career in television, died Thursday after a battle with cancer. He was 69. Olsen was a member of the Los Angeles Rams’ “Fearsome Foursome” along with Deacon Jones, Lamar Lundy and Rosey Grier in the 1960s. He later starred on NFL broadcasts, commercials, and as Jonathan Garvey on the TV series “Little House on the Prairie.”

• D.C. school hires female coach: A high school in Washington, D.C., has hired a woman to coach its varsity football team. Natalie Randolph will be introduced Friday as the head coach at Calvin Coolidge Senior High School. She is believed to be the first woman to coach a high school varsity football team in the U.S. The 29-year-old Randolph was an assistant coach at another D.C. high school, H.D. Woodson, from 2006-08.

• Man convicted in slaying of Broncos player: Suspected gang member Willie Clark was found guilty of murder Thursday in the drive-by shooting death of Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams. A jury returned the verdict after an 11-day trial and a day and a half of deliberation. Clark faces a sentence of life in prison. Williams was killed on New Year’s Day 2007.