ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals have signed free-agent second baseman Mark Ellis. The Cardinals announced the one-year deal with the 36-year-old veteran on Monday. Terms were not disclosed. Ellis is a lifetime .265 hitter for three teams. He hit .270 with six home runs and 48 RBIs for the Dodgers last season, and is considered a strong defensive second baseman.

Rookie Kolten Wong is expected to get playing time at second base in 2014, but Ellis will provide a right-handed hitting option. Matt Carpenter, who played second base last season, is moving to third base following the trade of David Freese to the Angels.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Drake introduced Rick Fox as its 26th head football coach on Monday in place of Chris Creighton, who last week accepted the Eastern Michigan job. Fox spent the past six seasons on Creighton’s staff as the offensive line and special teams coach. He also served as Creighton’s assistant head coach for the past three years.

Drake athletic director Sandy Hatfield-Clubb says the Bulldogs could have scoured the country and not have found a better fit than Fox. Drake went 44-22 under Creighton, including two titles in the FCS-affiliated Pioneer Football League.

BOYS BASKETBALL

• A-H-S-T 70, Heartland Christian 47
• Bedford 53, Clarke 44
• Boyer Valley 48, Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton 39

GIRLS BASKETBALL

• A-H-S-T 46, Heartland Christian 41
• Bedford 51, Clarke 42
• Bishop Heelan Catholic 70, Kuemper Catholic 47

w/ Jim Field

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The Iowa women had a six-game winning streak snapped last week with the 83-70 loss at Iowa State. Coach Lisa Bluder says dealing with the loss is compounded by an extended break. “Ten days to sit on a loss is awful and to go through finals week on a losing note is really hard,” Bluder says. The Hawkeyes face another in-state rival this coming weekend. Drake and Iowa tipoff at 4pm on Saturday in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes are 10-2. The Bulldogs are 4-4.

“We need to come back and play our best against Drake,” Bluder says. Before the Iowa game, Drake will host SIU-Edwardsville in a noon tip-off tomorrow (Tuesday) at the Knapp Center in Des Moines. The Bulldogs haven’t played since December 5, when they beat Idaho State 78-59. The Iowa State women, now 9-0, are off until December 28-29 when they host the Cyclone Challenge. The Northern Iowa women are 3-7 and travel to DeKalb to play Northern Illinois on Saturday.

(Radio Iowa)

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Jamaal Charles tied a franchise record with five touchdowns in a game, Alex Smith threw five TD passes and the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Raiders 56-31 on Sunday to clinch at least a wild-card spot. The Chiefs (11-3) became the fourth team ever to make the playoffs a year after losing at least 14 games. Kansas City is tied for first place in the AFC West with Denver but needs help to win the division because the Broncos swept the season series.

Charles gained 215 yards from scrimmage as the Chiefs put up the highest point total allowed in Raiders’ history. Matt McGloin threw four interceptions and lost a fumble while sharing time with Terrelle Pryor. Oakland (4-10) lost its fourth straight game.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Hawkeye 10:

• Carroll 63, Kuemper Catholic 42
• Glenwood 66, St. Albert 39
• Harlan 74, Blair, NE 46
• Ralston, NE 46, Lewis Central 35
• Clarinda Academy 89, Red Oak 70
• Shenandoah 91, South Page 33
• Creston 70, ADM 57

Rolling Valley:

• Adair-Casey 52, Glidden-Ralston 48
• Ar-We-Va 65, Charter Oak-Ute 43
• Boyer Valley 58, West Harrison 53
• Coon Rapids-Bayard 65, Woodbine 36
• Boyer Valley 58, West Harrison 52

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Hawkeye 10:

• Glenwood 57, St. Albert 51 (OT)
• Red Oak 78, Clarinda Academy 13

Rolling Valley:

• Adair-Casey 54, Glidden-Ralston 25
• Ar-We-Va, Westside 56, Charter Oak-Ute 25
• Coon Rapids-Bayard 37, Woodbine 25
• Paton-Churdan 69, CAM 35

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — K.C. Ross-Miller scored eight points in the final minute of regulation and added four more in overtime as New Mexico State defeated Drake 81-69 Saturday night. Ross-Miller was 8 of 8 from the line on his way to 14 points. Sim Bhullar scored a game-high 22 points, including seven in overtime. New Mexico State (8-5) outscored Drake (6-3) 14-2 in overtime.

Drake trailed 57-47 with 8:47 remaining. Chris Caird hit back-to-back 3-pointers, capping a 17-8 run to pull Drake within one, 65-64 with 24 seconds to play. Two Ross-Miller free throws stretched the Aggies’ lead to 67-64, but DK Eldridge fouled Jordan Daniels on a 3-point shot with 4 seconds left. Daniels made all three free throws, tying the game for the first time to send into overtime.

Richard Carter scored a team-high 21 points, Daniels added 18 and Caird 13 to lead the Bulldogs in Des Moines.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Nate Buss scored 16 points to lead a hot-shooting Northern Iowa team over Virginia Commonwealth 77-68 on Saturday. Northern Iowa (5-5) shot 53.1 percent from the field and held off VCU (8-3) down the stretch. The Panthers led 27-20 at half and never trailed in the second half. VCU tied the game at 44 midway through the second half, but Northern Iowa responded with a 7-0 run, sparked by a Buss 3-pointer.

VCU trailed 63-60 with 3:10 left before Wes Washpun was fouled and hit two free throws for Northern Iowa. The Panthers made 8 of 10 free throws in the final 2 minutes to maintain the lead. Jeremy Morgan had 13 points for Northern Iowa and Deon Mitchell added 11. Treveon Graham and Jordan Burgess each scored 18 for VCU.

The Rams lost in December for the first time since 2010, snapping a streak of 17 straight December wins.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Chiefs wide receiver Dexter McCluster has been ruled out for Sunday’s game in Oakland after developing an infection in a small cut on his ankle. The Chiefs were wary that McCluster may have developed MRSA, but trainer Rick Burkholder said tests came back negative for the serious strain of staph infection. McCluster has been receiving antibiotics to treat the infection.

McCluster, who’s returned two punts for touchdowns this season, had been listed as questionable for the Raiders. A team spokesman said Saturday he will not make the trip. He sustained the cut last week in the mud and snow at Washington. The Chiefs had already ruled out left tackle Branden Albert with a hyperextended knee, tight end Anthony Fasano with a concussion and linebacker Justin Houston with a dislocated elbow.