Newsmakers

Died Popular, homespun coach Charlie Spoonhour, who took Saint Louis to three NCAA basketball tournaments behind a prolific offense, has died after battling a lung disease. He was 72. Spoonhour, who also coached at Missouri State and UNLV, died Wednesday in Chapel Hill, N.C. In 19 seasons as a Division I head coach, Spoonhour was 373-202. He built his reputation at Missouri State, then known as Southwest Missouri State, where he was 197-81 with five NCAA tournament appearances from 1983-92.

Hired Oakland Raiders coach Dennis Allen made the first hire for his new staff, bringing back Greg Knapp as the team’s offensive coordinator. Knapp spent the past two seasons as quarterbacks coach in Houston but was coordinator in Oakland under Lane Kiffin and Tom Cable in 2007-08. Knapp has 17 years of experience as an NFL assistant, including stints as a coordinator in San Francisco, Atlanta, Oakland and Seattle.

Retired Longtime NFL assistant coach Bill Muir followed through on his plans to retire, informing the Kansas City Chiefs that he wouldn’t return for a 35th season in the league. Muir joined the Chiefs in 2009 as offensive line coach under Todd Haley, and was elevated to offensive coordinator last season. The 69-year-old Muir is considered one of the best offensive line coaches in football, though he wasn’t expected to remain as the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator if he stayed on the staff.

Signed Reliever Francisco Cordero and the Toronto Blue Jays finalized a $4.5 million, one-year contract. The 36-year-old right-hander was 5-3 with a 2.45 ERA and 37 saves in 43 chances for Cincinnati last season, reaching 30 saves for the seventh time. He held batters to a .198 average, the lowest of his career.

Resigned Georgia Tech athletic director Dan Radakovich accepted the resignation of assistant football coach Todd Spencer after the school discovered the coach broke NCAA rules during recruiting. An investigation showed the coach sent impermissible text messages to recruits.