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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs signed veteran offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz on Friday in an attempt to bolster their depth. Schwartz, who can play both guard and tackle, started 16 games for Carolina in 2010, but missed the following season with a hip injury. He spent last season as a backup in Minnesota.
The former seventh-round pick could compete with Donald Stephenson for the job at right tackle, which came open when the Chiefs released Eric Winston. But Schwartz admitted he’s more adept at guard, where he could compete with Jon Asamoah and Jeff Allen for playing time.
Schwartz said on a conference call with reporters that he’s been told by the Chiefs there will be open competition, and that “the best five will roll.”
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs have been active players in free agency, already luring more than a half dozen players in an effort to overhaul their roster.
One of the big reasons for their arrival has been new coach Andy Reid.
The longtime coach of the Eagles was fired after 14 seasons, and Chiefs owner Clark Hunt made the quick and decisive move to hire him as a replacement for Romeo Crennel.
He earned a reputation as a “player’s coach” with the Eagles, and that appears to have carried over to Kansas City. Newcomers such as tight end Anthony Fasano, wide receiver Donnie Avery and quarterback Chase Daniel said Reid played a part in their signing with the Chiefs.
Daniel called him “one of the best offensive minds, in my opinion.”
CHICAGO (AP) — Devyn Marble scored 19 points to help Iowa hold on for an important 73-59 victory over Northwestern in the first round of the Big Ten tournament on Thursday night. Mike Gesell added 11 points, including a clinching three-point play with 1:41 left as the Hawkeyes (21-11) continued their late-season push for a spot in the NCAA tournament with their eighth victory in 10 games.
Reggie Hearn powered a late Northwestern’s rally after an awful start, scoring 14 of his 19 points in the second half. He drove inside to trim Iowa’s lead to 50-43 with 8:27 left, but Marble and Gesell each hit a big 3-pointer to help the Hawkeyes hold on for their third consecutive victory.
Melsahn Basabe had 10 points and 12 rebounds for Iowa, which shot just 37.1 percent but enjoyed a 48-31 advantage on the boards. Alex Olah scored 12 points for Northwestern (13-19) and Tre Demps finished with 11.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs have agreed to terms with cornerback Sean Smith on a three-year deal to help shore up the secondary. Smith has spent the past four seasons with the Miami Dolphins, starting every game each of the past two years. He has 177 tackles and five interceptions in his career.
The Chiefs have been bold players in free agency under new general manager John Dorsey and coach Andy Reid, revamping their offense by trading for quarterback Alex Smith and signing wide receiver Donnie Avery, tight end Anthony Fasano and backup quarterback Alex Smith.
They’ve also signed defensive tackle Mike DeVito and veteran cornerback Dunta Robinson, who is expected to provide depth. But the addition of Smith solidifies the cornerback spot opposite Brandon Flowers.
JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Joe Kelly allowed three hits and one run in four solid innings Thursday to strengthen his claim on the fifth spot in the St. Louis Cardinals’ rotation in a 5-4 win over the Atlanta Braves. Matt Adams broke a 4-all tie with a two-out single in the bottom of the eighth inning. Kelly has had an impressive spring training. He has allowed just five hits and two earned runs in eight innings over three starts. Shelby Miller, his main competition for the last rotation spot, allowed six hits and three earned runs in 2 2-3 innings.
Mike Minor allowed six hits and four runs in five innings for the Braves. He retired 12 of the first 14 hitters he faced and allowed just one hit prior to the fifth — the Cardinals batted around and scored four runs on five hits off the lefty in his final inning.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Drake has not retained basketball coach Mark Phelps after five seasons. Athletic director Sandy Hatfield Clubb announced the move Thursday, a week after the Bulldogs were knocked out of the Missouri Valley tournament. Phelps was hired to replace Keno Davis, who led the Bulldogs to the Valley title in 2008. But Phelps couldn’t keep Drake near the top of the league standings.
Bulldogs star Rayvonte Rice transferred to Illinois before the season, and Drake stumbled to a 15-17 finish. Phelps leaves Drake with a record of 77-86. The Bulldogs never posted 20 wins under Phelps and only twice finished above .500 overall.
Drake has always been one of the tougher jobs in the country, combining high academic standards with a spotty history in basketball. Phelps is just the latest in a long line of Drake coaches who failed to overcome those challenges. Phelps, who spent 12 seasons as an assistant under Herb Sendek at N.C. State and Arizona State, was hired to replace Davis in the spring of 2008 after the program’s first NCAA tournament appearance in 37 years.
Davis, now the coach at Central Michigan, parlayed a spectacular one-year run that included The Associated Press Coach of the Year award into the job at Providence. Many believed Davis’s heroics in squeezing 28 wins out of the Bulldogs would prove to be fleeting. Those critics proved to be right. Phelps’s teams finished 7-11 in the Valley four times, save for a 9-9 record in 2011-12 behind Rice.
Drake showed flashes of improvement this season, beating league champion Creighton at home and winning at Indiana State. But the Bulldogs were very inconsistent as well, losing by 30 on the road at Northern Iowa and against the Bluejays.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Melvin Ejim had a double-double and Will Clyburn fueled a 12-0 second-half run, helping Iowa State survive an uncharacteristic 3-point drought to beat Oklahoma 73-66 on Thursday and end a seven-year losing streak in the Big 12 tournament. The Cyclones, who led the country and set a school record with 309 3-pointers, missed 11 of their first 12 from behind the arc and fell 14 points behind. But they found the range in the second half and hit six 3-pointers while chalking up their first conference tournament win since 2005.
On Friday, the fifth-seeded Cyclones (22-10) will meet either top-seeded Kansas or No. 9 seed Texas Tech. Ejim had 23 points and 12 rebounds, Clyburn had 17 points, and Georges Niang and Chris Babb each had 10. Oklahoma (20-10) was led by Romero Osby’s 18 points. Cameron Clark had 17.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs have cut ties with quarterback Matt Cassel, who lost his starting job to Brady Quinn last season and then watched Kansas City trade for Alex Smith to be his replacement.
The move Thursday came less than 24 hours after Smith was introduced at Arrowhead Stadium.
Cassel was the first major acquisition by the Chiefs under previous general manager Scott Pioli, and he was quickly given a six-year, $63 million contract. But after leading the Chiefs to the playoffs in 2010, Cassel struggled to live up to the same expectations.
He sustained a season-ending hand injury two years ago, and then lost his job to Quinn after sustaining a concussion last season, spending the rest of the year as the backup.
Cassel had two years remaining on his contract.
JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Cardinals manager Mike Matheny returned to the club Thursday after undergoing back surgery Monday in St. Louis.
Matheny dealt with severe pain for several days stemming from a ruptured disc in his back that caused particles to come on contact with a nerve. Surgeons found and removed four particles during the 90-minute procedure, known as a microdiscectomy.
The second-year Cardinals manager missed games on Monday and Tuesday before returning Wednesday evening.
Matheny doesn’t expect to miss any additional time but said he was told not to lift anything heavier than five pounds for the next eight weeks. It’s unclear whether or not he’ll be able to throw batting practice in the near future.
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