National Sports

The new Rams coach was a big enough draw in free agency that Pro Bowl center Scott Wells left the Green Bay Packers to join the rebuilding effort in St. Louis. The Packers were 15-1 last year, five more wins than the Rams' total the last three seasons.

The recently retired manager of the St. Louis Cardinals spent two hours speaking and taking questions from fans at an appearance at Jesse Hall.

Carpenter, who went 4-0 in the playoffs last season en route to a World Series title, has been dealing with a bulging neck disk and has not yet played in any spring training games.

Pitcher Lance Lynn, 24, will make his first spring training start Wednesday and is being considered for the rotation if Chris Carpenter is unable to recover from a neck injury.

Adjusting to longer timeouts during the tournament proves more difficult for small schools than it does for big ones. 

Chase Daniel, a former Heisman trophy finalist for the Tigers, got a one-year contract with the New Orleans Saints. He has been with the team since 2009.

Columbia native Carl Edwards finished fifth in Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The last time Carl Edwards won a race that counted was last year in Las Vegas. He still managed to tie Tony Stewart for the Sprint Cup, but he lost on a tiebreaker. He's hoping for more race wins this year.

In a deal that includes three first-round selections, the Redskins get the No. 2 overall spot in next month's NFL draft from the Rams, which Washington is expected to use to take Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III.

The living managers who led the Cardinals to Series titles: Red Schoendienst, Whitey Herzog and Tony La Russa will be honored at the Baseball Hall of Fame in July.

David Freese, MVP of both the National League championship and World series will earn $508,000 — just $28,000 more than major league minimum.

NASCAR President Mike Helton made the announcement Monday morning when it became clear that steady rain at Daytona International Speedway made an evening start the best option for NASCAR's marquee event. Helton also said Tuesday has not been ruled out.

The NASCAR Daytona 500 Sprint Cup series auto race was postponed from Sunday to Monday evening due to rain. The race was red-flagged after Juan Pablo Montoya's car struck a jet dryer, which burst into flames. Later, Matt Kenseth won the race. Columbia native Carl Edwards finished in eighth place.

The 34-year-old pitcher was inconsistent last season, but lost 20 pounds in hopes to give depth and experience to St. Louis' rotation this year.

The contract has the possibility for a three-year extension and could be worth up to $26.75 million over eight years.

The Columbia native, who lost last season's championship, thinks he's driving the best race car he has had at Daytona.

The slugger earned a petty fine on his first day when his cellphone rang in the clubhouse during manager Mike Scioscia's first team meeting.

Kansas City's bullpen is crowded as spring training starts.

St. Louis' ace enters spring training with optimism, calling last year a "speed bump."

The catcher is entering the final year of his contract, and he's seeking a long-term extension.