Rams begin overhaul of QB spot, sign A.J. Feeley
ST. LOUIS, MO. (Associated Press) - The St. Louis Rams have signed free agent A.J. Feeley as part of what could be a big shakeup at the quarterback position. Terms of the deal announced Saturday were not disclosed, but media reports said Feeley got a two-year contract. Feeley, who turns 33 in May, was a backup for Carolina in 2009. In 10 seasons he has completed 372 of 665 passes for 4,070 yards, 27 touchdowns and 29 interceptions. His lifetime quarterback rating is 69.6. Feeley was drafted by the Eagles in the fifth round out of Oregon in 2001, and spent his early career in Philadelphia at a time when Andy Reid's staff included Steve Spagnuolo as a defensive assistant and Pat Shurmur as an offensive coach. Spagnuolo is now head coach of the Rams, and Shurmur is offensive coordinator. "A.J. has an understanding of our offensive system and will be a valuable addition for our team," Spagnuolo said. How valuable is to be determined because the quarterback situation in St. Louis couldn't be more unsettled after the Rams went a league-worst 1-15 in Spagnuolo's first season. Starter Marc Bulger and backup Kyle Boller may not be back. The Rams' short list of candidates for the No. 1 overall pick includes two quarterbacks - Sam Bradford of Oklahoma and Jimmy Clausen of Notre Dame. They also have Keith Null, a third-string rookie forced to start four games at the end of the 2009 season due to injuries to Bulger and Boller. That means Feeley could end up being anything from a starter until one of the younger quarterbacks is ready to a backup to a third-stringer. "I have a great deal of respect for coach Spagnuolo and coach Shurmur and I'm looking forward to working with them again in whatever capacity it might be," Feeley said. Feeley has spent most of his career as a backup, starting 15 games and appearing in 23. He started the final five games of the 2002 season for the Eagles after injuries to Donovan McNabb and Koy Detmer, and won four of those games, helping the Eagles earn home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. He was traded to Miami for a second-round draft pick before the 2004 season and started eight games for the Dolphins. He was traded to San Diego midway through the 2005 season, re-signed with Philadelphia in 2006, and was a backup for Carolina last season. Feeley hasn't thrown a pass in a regular-season game since 2007. The Rams also announced the re-signing of safety Craig Dahl, who started 10 games and was fifth on the team with 71 tackles. He had two sacks and recovered two fumbles.

Avalanche rip Blues snapping 5-game win streak
DENVER, CO. (CBSsports.com) - Chris Stewart savored his first NHL hat trick, both for what it did for his team and how far it showed he has come since a brief demotion to the minors last October. Stewart completed the hat trick with a penalty shot, and Milan Hejduk scored twice in his return from a seven-week injury layoff to help the Colorado Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 7-3 on Saturday night. "It will be one of my lifetime memories," a beaming Stewart said. "I'll never forget it." Stewart was speaking from the perspective of a player given a vivid reminder of how tenuous a career in the NHL can be. After making an Opening Day roster for the first time, an ineffective Stewart was demoted Oct. 20 to Lake Erie of the AHL before being recalled after a three-day stay. "I'm kind of thankful that happened. It was definitely an eye opener," he said. "You've got to work for everything you're going to get in this league and it definitely made me that more hungry. I've still got some memories of the bus rides in Cleveland. I love the way they treat the players up here. I'm not going to be satisfied. I'm trying to get better every game." Certainly, he was at his best Saturday in boosting his season total to 24 goals. "He's a big man," Avalanche coach Joe Sacco said. "He's got good speed and he's got strength. When he skates, he's very difficult to contain. And he's playing with confidence right now. You can see that." Stewart's speed set up his final score. He had crossed the blue line on a breakaway when beaten Blues defenseman Erik Johnson tripped him in a desperate attempt to stop him, leading to the penalty shot. Stewart slowly skated down the middle and put a shot into the upper right corner above Ty Conklin's glove hand with 57 seconds remaining in the second period. "I noticed he was deep in the net, so I knew I had to make a move to get it up," Stewart said. "I went glove-hand, and it went in." The hat trick was the first by an Avalanche player since Hejduk had one on Dec. 9, 2007. The 199-game span was the longest active drought in the NHL. Craig Anderson made 39 saves in his team-record 20th consecutive start for Colorado. The Avalanche beat St. Louis for the third time in three meetings this season, snapping the Blues' season-high winning streak at five games. St. Louis goalie Chris Mason, who was in the net for each of the Blues' wins during their five-game run, was pulled in favor of Conklin early in the second period after giving up four goals on 15 shots. "You definitely have to give them credit, but we didn't play up to our standard," Mason said. "They simply outworked us. We knew these guys were a hard-working team, they've been playing that way all year, so it's on us for being outworked. We got away from our game." The Blues struck first, getting a goal from David Perron at 8:35 of the first. But in a matter of 11 seconds, the game turned. That's how long it took for the Avs to tie it up on Hejduk's first goal, the catalyst in a string of five straight goals by the Avalanche. Hejduk, sidelined since Jan. 16 because of knee and back problems, took a pass from Peter Mueller as he skated in from the right wing and knocked a shot past Mason. Just 1:12 later, Colorado took the lead on Stewart's first goal. From behind the net, Paul Stastny passed the puck to Stewart in the slot and he one-timed it into the net. Stewart and Hejduk then scored 1:18 apart in the second to make it 4-1. With an assist from Stewart, T.J. Galiardi gave the Avs a 5-1 advantage with a backhander at 10:07. "It felt good. I felt good. The whole team played well," Hejduk said. "I thought we skated well. We had a lot of jump. We had a lot of scoring chances. It was a fun game to come back." St. Louis finally broke up Colorado's flurry with Alexander Steen's goal at 10:38 of the second. Steen scored a second goal at 4:23 of the third when he redirected Carlo Colaiacovo's shot past Anderson. Matt Hendricks completed the scoring for Colorado with an empty-net goal.

Steven Jackson's take: trade #1 pick
ST. LOUIS, MO. (ESPN.com) - St. Louis Rams general manager Billy Devaney says he has not decided what to do with the first pick in April's NFL draft. But the Rams' top running back didn't hesitate when asked what the team needed with the top choice. "If we don't feel someone is hands-down the number-one pick, I think we should trade down, try to get an extra second-rounder, an extra second- or third-round pick, 'cause we have so many things that we can use as an organization," Steven Jackson said Friday on ESPN "First Take" from Orlando, Fla. Devaney, who said Friday at the league's annual scouting combine that the Rams were still gathering information to make the right choice, maintained the team was not interested in trading Jackson and, in fact, they would like to acquire more players like Jackson this offseason. "We have to wait on the combine to see how the guys pan out," Jackson said. "But I'm definitely a fan of Ndamukong Suh. I hear he's a great person, his family is unbelievable, and he's definitely an impact player."

McGwire disappointed over brother's book
ST. LOUIS, MO. (CBSsports.com) - Mark McGwire said he's saddened his estranged brother wrote a book that chronicles their use of performance-enhancing drugs and reiterated his claim that he only took them to heal from injuries. McGwire said Thursday he's so upset with his brother, Jay McGwire, that he doesn't believe reconciliation is possible. "I don't plan on ever seeing him again," said McGwire, the new hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals. The youngest of the five McGwire brothers and Mark's junior by more than six years, Jay McGwire lived with Mark and was a frequent clubhouse visitor during McGwire's time in Oakland. His book, Mark and Me: Mark McGwire and the Truth Behind Baseball's Worst-Kept Secret, is scheduled for publication Monday by TriumphBooks. Mark McGwire used the word "sad" seven times to describe the book in his eight-minute question and answer session with the media on Thursday. "You try to be a good person, you try to take care of somebody, be a good brother," said McGwire, trailing off. "It's sort of sad. It's a sad day for my family. I don't know how a family member could do something like that." Last month, McGwire admitted taking steroids and human growth hormone during the 1990s, but said he only did so to recover from injuries -- not to improve his performance. Jay McGwire says recovering from injuries was the primary reason for his brother's decision to use drugs but that Mark McGwire also knew the steroids were helping him gain size and strength. "He had to do something to try to sell a book," Mark said. "I know the reason why I did it. I know it from the heart and I told you guys that already back in January." Jay McGwire says in the book that he persuaded his brother to start using steroids regularly in 1994 and set him up with a supplier. He says Mark regularly used an array of drugs through 1996 that included Deca-Durabolin, human growth hormone, Dianabol, Winstrol and Primobolan. McGwire later used androstenedione, a steroid precursor that wasn't banned by baseball until 2004, when it became a controlled substance. "I've already come out and said what I've done and apologized," Mark said. "As far as I'm concerned there's really nothing new. It's kind of sad as a brother what he's done, but I've moved on from it." Jay McGwire, a former bodybuilder who turns 40 on May 5, said he was introduced to steroids by friends in 1989, beginning with pills of Anavar. He says his brother only gave in to using steroids after an injury-filled 1993 season. McGwire hit 70 homers for the Cardinals in 1998, shattering Roger Maris' record of 61 set in 1961. At Phillies' camp on Thursday, Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt commended McGwire for his apology, but he isn't sure if the public fully accepts it. "He needed to clear the air, sort of pave the way for a smoother year for himself. It's not going to be smooth by any means," said Schmidt, who is serving as a guest instructor with Philadelphia. "He's going to have to talk about it wherever he goes, but I'm happy for him. It was a great start for his new career as hitting coach. "He stated that his usage of steroids didn't help his power output. He may believe that and it may be true, but I don't think that's what the public wanted to hear. They probably wanted to hear an admission that his numbers were increased and his position in history was probably elevated to some degree by the use of steroids. Again, I think that's what the public wanted to hear." The brothers haven't spoken since 2002. They fell out after Jay McGwire's stepson, Eric, tickled Mark and caused Mark to spill coffee on himself. Mark then swatted Eric on the backside. Jay's wife, Francine, then refused to attend Mark's wedding. St. Louis manager Tony La Russa received an advanced scouting report on the book and didn't expect the release to disrupt the Cardinals' camp. "Somebody I knew read an advanced copy," La Russa said prior to morning workouts. "He said that [Jay] said some stuff -- it wasn't really first-page-to-last-page damning stuff about Mark." Neither Mark McGwire nor La Russa plan to read the book. "What's the point?" La Russa said. "It's stuff that's already been gone over a bunch of times. I don't know what it's going to change."

Ineligible players results in forfeiture of 5 games
PARK HILLS, MO. - The Mineral Area College Athletic Department announced on Saturday the forfeiture of four recent women’s basketball games and one men’s game, due to the academic ineligibility the department discovered among one player from each program. The women’s victories were over SLCC-Florissant Valley, Crowder, Iowa Western, and Moberly. The men’s game was against State Fair. Athletic Director Tim Gray said he discovered the issue on Wednesday and self-reported the violation on Thursday afternoon to the NJCAA Compliance Director, Brian Beck, and on Friday to Region 16 men’s director Bob Bottger and to the women’s director Darren Pannier. Gray said since the incidents were self-reported, he has been informed there will be no probation for the school and the team can participate in the postseason. However, the five games will be forfeited. Gray commented, “Athletes have to be in full-time status of 12 hours to be able to play. We have a report that arrives in the Student Services office every Friday to ensure that our athletes are enrolled in 12 hours. The two students had both made changes in their schedules without consent of anyone in athletic or student services administration that showed them still enrolled in 12 hours on the report, but included an eight-week course that does not start until March. These courses cannot be counted toward the full-time status. The athletic department never approved these schedule changes, but they occurred and there is a price that will have to be paid. The students did not realize that they were doing anything wrong. We have subsequently corrected their schedules, and they are eligible to play for the remainder of the season. Quite honestly, this is a bad rule because in an age when students can change their schedules online, this is very hard to monitor.” “We apologize to our community, our fans, our faculty, and our alumni,” Gray said. “Nobody was trying to cheat. Our athletes were academically eligible at semester and thought they were playing under full time status. One of the athletes will be an academic all-American at the end of the year. This is very frustrating, but we complied immediately to the rules upon discovering this issue.”