NEW YORK -- NFL owners likely will consider expanding the playoffs by two teams, beginning in 2015, when they hold their spring meetings in Orlando next week, but a vote on the subject is uncertain. Jerome Robinson Jersey . A groundswell for raising the number of playoff qualifiers to seven in each conference figures to get plenty of support from the 32 owners. Most notably, Arizonas Bill Bidwill, who saw his Cardinals go 10-6 and not get in, while Green Bay (8-7-1) qualified by winning the NFC North. The current format of four division winners and two wild-card teams has existed since 2002, when Houston joined the league as an expansion team, bringing the membership to 32. "There will be a report on the potential of expanded playoffs," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Wednesday. "We dont know if there will be any vote at this meeting." Also on the agenda will be alterations to extra points, changing who oversees video replay reviews, and further clamping down on the use of racial slurs by players during games. A change in the playoff structure would be needed if 14 teams qualify, with the top seed in each conference still getting a first-round bye. The next six teams would play in what is now the wild-card round, with the second seed facing No. 7, the third seed taking on No. 6 and the fourth and fifth seeds playing each other. But the NFLs influential competition committee is not presenting a proposal to the owners. One reason the league is looking at more playoff teams is a stalemate in talks with the players union about expanding the regular season from 16 games. Another is the added revenue stream two more post-season games would provide, with those matches up for bidding among the current network partners -- Fox, NBC, ESPN and CBS, which just grabbed an eight-week Thursday night package -- and potential new broadcasters such as Turner Sports. Scheduling of the extra wild-card games also would be dicey, although Monday night would seem logical for one of them. Of course, adding two more playoff teams enhances the chances for teams with .500 or losing records to get in. Commissioner Roger Goodell has suggested a change to the one-point kick on extra points might be needed because they have become so automatic. New England has proposed moving the line of scrimmage to the 25 for a one-point try, but leaving it at the 2-yard line for a 2-point conversion. "There are a lot of different views in respect to the extra point," said Falcons President Rich McKay, co-chairman of the competition committee. "There were 1,267 tried and 1,262 made (in 2013), and so there is that thought with the extra point maybe we need to add little more skill, and one of the ways to do it might be the way New England proposed." But its a long shot that anything will be done next week, except perhaps experimenting with longer kicks for one week of the preseason. The Patriots also proposed extending the height of the goal posts 5 feet to make it easier to determine whether a kick is good. New England also suggested allowing coaches challenges on everything except scoring plays, which are automatically reviewed. Replay as an officiating tool always is in the news, and owners are expected to discuss having the NFLs director of officiating, Dean Blandino and his staff at the league offices be involved in some review decisions. The league saw several inexplicable replay decisions made by referees last season, although McKay and Rams coach Jeff Fisher, the committees other co-chairman, praised the overall quality of officiating. As for the use of racial slurs and verbal abuse, there already are rules on the books to deal with the issue. But an emphasis on stronger discipline will be discussed by the owners, and McKay noted that taunting fouls went up significantly from 2012 to 2013. "We are going beyond the field of play, we are going to the workplace," Fisher said of trying to eliminate such language. "This is going to be a very significant point of emphasis." Chris Paul Clippers Jersey . -- The Los Angeles Angels have agreed to a minor league contract with reliever Brandon Lyon that includes an invitation to their big league camp for spring training. Patrick Beverley Clippers Jersey . So much so that even a simple foul pop up to the first baseman turned into a run. Houstons four-run rally in the ninth inning to beat the Seattle Mariners 6-4 on Monday night was capped by a bizarre play that started as Crowe fouled out to first baseman Justin Smoak with runners on second and third. https://www.clipperslockerroom.com/Wesley-Johnson-City-Edition-Jersey/ .Stanton suffered fractures in his face and other injuries when he was hit by a pitch Sept. 11. The Marlins are confident hell fully recover and be ready for spring training, and they hope to reach a long-term agreement with him.SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras, a 22-year-old slugger who was regarded as one of the majors top prospects, died Sunday in a car accident in his native Dominican Republic.Taveras was driving a 2014 Chevrolet Camaro at the time of the crash on a highway between the beaches of Sosua and Cabarete in Puerto Plata, about 215 miles north of the capital of Santo Domingo, said Col. Diego Pesqueira of the Metropolitan Transportation Agency.He wasnt carrying documents at the time of the accident, but his body was identified by family members, Pesqueira said.National police spokesman Jacobo Mateo Moquete said he was told by the mayor of Sosua that Taveras lost control of his vehicle and went off the road. Edilia Arvelo, 18, who was in the car with Taveras, also died in the accident, said Pesqueira.Taveras made his major league debut this year. He hit .239 with three homers and 22 RBIs in 80 games for the NL Central champions.I simply cant believe it, Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said in a release. I first met Oscar when he was 16 years old and will forever remember him as a wonderful young man who was a gifted athlete with an infectious love for life who lived every day to the fullest.Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said the organization was stunned and deeply saddened by Taveras death.Oscar was an amazing talent with a bright future who was taken from us well before his time, DeWitt said. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends tonight.Taveras was a teenager when he signed with St. Louis as an international free agent in 2008. Before this season, Taveras was ranked as the No. 3 overall prospect by MLB.com and Baseball America, and had a.321 average over six minor league seasons.He homered against the Giants Yusmeiro Petit in his major league debut on May 31. He also had a big solo drive in the seventh inning of Game 2 in the NL Championship Series against San Francisco.All of us throughout Major League Basseball are in mourning this evening, baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said in a release. Landry Shamet Clippers Jersey. Oscar, a young member of the baseball family, was full of promise and at the dawn of a wonderful career in our game, evident in his game-tying home run against the Giants exactly two weeks ago.Taveras held a Canadian passport. He spent four years as a teenager living in Montreal with his father, Francisco Taveras, and played for the Marquis de Montreal of the Quebec midget triple-A league before moving back to the Dominican Republic.It looked as if Taveras was headed to the majors in 2013, but he had surgery for a high right ankle sprain last August for an injury that did not respond to treatment. He then got off to a nice start at Triple-A Memphis this season, earning a promotion by batting .325 with seven homers in 49 games.Oscar had a very promising future, on and off the field, and this news is heartbreaking on many levels, Tony Clark, the leader of the players association, said in a statement. Its never easy to lose a member of our fraternity, and to lose one so young is devastating news.Giants outfielder Juan Perez heard about Taveras death during Game 5 of the World Series. He hit a big two-run double in the eighth inning of San Franciscos 5-0 victory and dedicated the hit to his fallen countryman.Hes a really close friend of mine, Perez said. I know his family pretty good, I know his mom, his dad, his brothers, we were really close. Its a huge loss for all his family, his teammates and the people that care about him.Several of Taveras Cardinals teammates took to Twitter to express their condolences.Last 30 minutes Ive been sick to my stomach. Keep thinking about Oscars big smile in the dugout whenever we made a big play/got a big hit, All-Star reliever Pat Neshek posted.Rookie second baseman Kolten Wong tweeted: RIP you will be missed buddy.___AP Sports Writers Antonio Gonzalez in San Francisco and R.B. Fallstrom in St. Louis contributed to this report. ' ' '