Running back Jamaal Charles is set to announce his retirement from the NFL after 11 seasons and sign a one-day contract with the Kansas City Chiefs to retire with the franchise, 610 Sports Radio reported Tuesday.

Charles, 32, played nine seasons for the Chiefs after being selected in the third round (73rd overall) of the 2008 NFL draft and was a four-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time first-team All-Pro with Kansas City. He is the franchise's all-time leading rusher with 7,260 yards.

Kansas City released him in February 2017 and he played for the Denver Broncos (in 2017, appearing in 14 games) and Jacksonville Jaguars (2018, for two games) the past two seasons, rushing for 303 yards on just 75 carries.

He finishes his career with 7,563 yards, 56th on the NFL's all-time rushing list. His career average of 5.4 yards per carry is ranked first all-time among rushers with at least 1,000 carries.

Charles twice had to overcome ACL injuries, in 2011 and 2015, missing 14 games in '11 and 24 games in '15 and '16 combined. He bounced back nicely after the first ACL injury, setting his career high with 1,509 rushing yards in 2012. In 2013 he set his career high in touchdowns with 19 (12 rushing and seven receiving).

However, he was unable to fully rebound from his second ACL injury. He played just three games in the '16 season before being placed on injured reserve with knee soreness and later undergoing arthroscopic surgery.

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- A federal judge threw out former Penn State President Graham Spanier's misdemeanor child-endangerment conviction on Tuesday, less than a day before he was due to turn himself in to begin serving a jail sentence.

The decision by U.S. Magistrate Judge Karoline Mehalchick in Scranton, Pennsylvania, gave state prosecutors three months to retry Spanier under the state's 1995 child endangerment law, the version in place in 2001.

Joe Grace, a spokesman for the attorney general's office, said the decision was under review. Spanier's defense lawyer declined to comment.

Mehalchick agreed with Spanier that he was improperly charged under a 2007 law for actions that occurred in 2001, when he was responding to a complaint about former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky showering with a boy on campus.

"Spanier submits that this retroactive application is unreasonable and far more extensive than anyone in 2001 would have been able to reasonably foresee,'' Mehalchick wrote. "The court agrees.''

Spanier had been due to report to jail early Wednesday to begin serving a minimum sentence of two months.

Spanier, 70, was forced out as Penn State president shortly after Sandusky was arrested in 2011 on child molestation charges. A year later, Spanier was accused of a criminal cover-up, although many of those charges were dismissed by an appeals court. The jury acquitted him of what remained by the time of his trial, except for the single count of child endangerment. Lisa Powers, a university spokeswoman, said Tuesday that Spanier remains a tenured faculty member on paid administrative leave.

Spanier's lawyers argued that the application of the law to acts that occurred years before the measure was passed violated the U.S. Constitution.

But the judge did not agree with their argument that the statute of limitations had been improperly applied.

Spanier was convicted for how he and two of his top aides decided to respond to a report from graduate assistant coach Mike McQueary that he had seen Sandusky abusing the boy late on a Friday night in a team shower.

Spanier has said the abuse of the boy, who has never been conclusively identified, was characterized to him as horseplay.

Spanier and two of his top lieutenants, former athletic director Tim Curley and former vice president Gary Schultz, agreed to notify The Second Mile, the charity for at-risk youth where Sandusky met many of his victims, but not to call police.

Spanier gave his approval to his deputies in an email, warning that ``the only downside for us is if the message isn't `heard' and acted upon, and we then become vulnerable for not having reported it.''

Curley and Schultz were also charged criminally for their actions regarding Sandusky, but on the eve of trial they both pleaded guilty to misdemeanor child endangerment and testified for the prosecution. Both have since served similar jail sentences.

Spanier did not testify at his trial and told the judge at sentencing that he regretted not intervening more forcefully.

Sandusky is doing 30 to 60 years in state prison and recently won an order for a new sentence.

Monday in San Francisco, Houston Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni and stars Chris Paul and James Harden spoke in front of cameras about officiating, rebounding and adjustments.

There was not a single question or mention of the cloud that's hanging over their team as the Rockets face a 1-0 series deficit in the Western Conference semifinals.

Across the Bay Bridge in Oakland, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr and Stephen Curry spent more than 20 minutes talking about officiating, Kerr opening his media conference with a vaudevillian fake flop, mocking the Rockets.

Kevin Durant's name was mentioned one time -- by Kerr, referencing his technical fouls.

All this handwringing, posturing and video analysis of the officiating is one giant misdirection. The Western Conference and perhaps the NBA title aren't hinging on the whistle, they're hinging on the superstars.

Durant is red hot and absolutely dominating. Harden is in another ill-timed postseason slump.

All the last-two-minute reports in the world don't mean anything compared to that reality. If it doesn't change, the Warriors will be moving on and the Rockets can start their summer.

Over the Warriors' past five games, ever since Durant ripped off the mildly pompous but deadly serious quip "I'm Kevin Durant," he has been a killer.

Here are the numbers: 55 percent shooting, 40 percent on 3-pointers, 91 percent from the line and 40.2 points per game. In Sunday's Game 1, he had 24 points in the second half to carry the Warriors home.

"I think I'm starting to put everything together out there," Durant said Sunday.

Whether it's the trick defense he saw against the Utah Jazz, some sort of issue with his left wrist that he has dismissed, or that he has been more focused on drawing fouls on 3-pointers than actually making them, Harden has been unable to keep up his torrid pace from the regular season.

Over the Rockets' past four games, here's what it looks like: 32 percent shooting and 28 percent on 3-pointers and 28.3 points per game. That's 8 points per game less than his regular-season average, and he has gotten there only because he's still averaging 11 free throws a game and hitting 88 percent of those.

In this four-game stretch, the Rockets' juggernaut offense is averaging only 98.8 points a game and shooting 40 percent. Their offensive rating, the Holy Grail for the analytically obsessed Rockets, during that span is 100.8 points per 100 possessions. That's about 12 points less than their season average and a number that would've put them dead last among all teams during the season.

The Rockets have been wheezing because Harden, at the most important time of the season, hasn't been playing like the MVP the Rockets assert that he is. His midrange game has lost some touch and his 3-point shooting has collapsed, perhaps thrown off by the Jazz's efforts to trap him and take him out of his comfort zone.

Last season, during the conference finals loss to the Warriors, Harden lost his shooting touch and his efficiency. He shot a miserable 24 percent on 3-pointers in that series. The 27 consecutive team misses in Game 7 -- Harden was 2-of-13 on 3-pointers that night -- is what many remember, but he had another game where he was 0-of-11 on 3s. When it truly mattered, he just wasn't able to deliver.

Meanwhile, Durant led the Warriors in minutes and scoring in the conference finals. In the closeout game, he had 34 points. Durant has a wonderful safety net -- for example, he struggled shooting when the Warriors faced elimination in Game 6 last year, but Klay Thompson put in 35 to erase the issue -- that Harden doesn't enjoy. But he also doesn't seem to get the proper spotlight at times.

Durant hasn't finished in the top five of the MVP voting since he came to the Warriors. Last season, when Harden won, DeMar DeRozan was on nearly as many ballots as Durant was. He probably won't finish in the top five this season, either, when Harden is a serious contender to win again.

It's one of the taxes Durant has paid for being on a superteam: Recognition for his individual greatness has been somewhat diminished. He has walked away with the past two Finals MVPs, but for whatever reason that hasn't earned him the respect it should. Perhaps because those Finals were so lopsided, it has been unfairly undervalued.

During the 2017 Finals, Durant's performance made the case that he'd taken the mantle from LeBron James as the best player in the league. Paul Pierce, under some scrutiny because of his long-standing personal rivalry with James, said as much during television coverage of that series. Pierce declared it the dawn of the Durant era, and that was even before Durant's Game 3 dagger over James cemented him as the eventual winner of the Bill Russell Trophy.

Two years on, the Warriors are two rings richer and Durant is right on pace to back up Pierce's proclamation as he searches for his third. Regardless of regular-season recognition, Durant is built for the postseason because his phenomenal size plus his range make him invaluable in half-court possession games. It has showed the past two years and, after a hiccup game during which the LA Clippers' Patrick Beverley succeeded in getting under his skin in the previous round, it's happening again.

"Kevin can get his own shot at any time he wants," Kerr said. "That's what makes him so impossible to guard. He understands what we need from him and he's been delivering game after game."

In 2016, when Harden lost to the Warriors in the playoffs (he shot just 31 percent from 3-point territory in that series), he wasn't ready and didn't have the team to compete. Last year, he was at the top of his game and had a loaded team, but an injury to Paul derailed the bid. This year, the Rockets are healthy and they had a rest advantage coming into Game 1. Some believe, despite a lesser record, that this team is better equipped to beat a thinner and more unsteady Warriors squad.

Beating a historically great team is truly an all-encompassing challenge. Just ask James, who lost three times in four years to Golden State and eventually tapped out to start over elsewhere. The assembly of talent the Warriors have is hard to beat even if you're at the top of your game, as Jerry West was when he repeatedly failed to beat the Boston Celtics in the 1960s.

But West and James went out to the dynasties at the top of their games, valiantly fighting to the end each time. Harden hasn't been able to say that just yet.

It's just 1-0; there's lots of time left for Harden to change the story. But Durant has owned the edge for the past few years, and he owned it again in Game 1. In the end, that's the issue at the heart of this series.

Once Gregg Popovich formally commits to return for his 24th season as San Antonio Spurs coach, he's expected to sign a three-year contract that will keep him as the highest-paid coach in the NBA, league sources told ESPN.

A Popovich contract extension has been a foregone conclusion for months, but the deal won't change the fact that he will continue to take his coaching future year to year, league sources said. Spurs ownership believes he's entitled to manage his future the way he wants, sources said.

Popovich, 70, told reporters on Monday that he was negotiating a new contract and suggested that he would see them again in the fall. His five-year contract ended with the Spurs' Game 7 loss to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

Popovich will coach Team USA in the FIBA World Cup in China in September and in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. There's a belief that he could use the Olympics as a final coaching act, but that remains unclear.

Popovich has 1,245 victories, third on the all-time list behind Don Nelson and Lenny Wilkens. He's won five NBA championships as Spurs coach and has advanced to the NBA playoffs a league-record 22 consecutive years.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Golden State Warriors star forward Kevin Durant doesn't think Houston Rockets guard James Harden is "cheating" the game by playing the way he does.

"I wouldn't say that he has an advantage," Durant said after the morning shootaround before Game 2 on Tuesday night. "I think everybody, once they get into the lane, they use little tricks to try to get their shots off. I don't think he's any different.

"He may bump guys off going to the rim, but everybody does that. I wouldn't say that he's found a way to ... cheat the rules. I wouldn't say that. I just think that he has his style of play. It might not be what everybody likes to see, but it's been effective. And I don't think he's been cheating the game at all."

Golden State leads the series 1-0 after a 104-100 win on Sunday.

After Game 1, much was made of Harden's ability to initiate contact from a defender with the way he sometimes jumps forward after releasing a shot. Warriors coach Steve Kerr opened his news conference Monday by flopping on a reporter -- a shot at how Harden and the Rockets try to induce a whistle from the officials.

Though Durant understands the conversation surrounding the series has been engulfed by questions about officiating, he brushed off the notion that Harden was breaking the rules of the game.

"I don't think he does that," Durant said. "I think he plays inside the game, plays within the rules of the game. S--- happens. I think referees aren't going to be perfect all game -- just like players aren't -- so I think more so than just the talk of calls or officiating, it should be about how great all of these players are on the court. How they uniquely bring something different to the table. It's been a fun last couple of days."

The spotlight on foul calls will intensify heading into Game 2, as official Scott Foster will be part of the officiating crew at Oracle Arena. Foster, who has been an NBA official for 25 years, has not worked a game involving the Rockets since Feb. 21, when Harden fouled out against the Los Angeles Lakers. Afterward, Harden said Foster shouldn't officiate Rockets games anymore.

"I think both teams are going to try and play their best tonight," Durant said. "I think the officials are going to try to ref the best game that they can ref. That's all we can ask for going forward. I think that's what will dominate this series: just how great both these teams are."

Durant, who has known Harden since they played together as members of the Oklahoma City Thunder, said Harden has "always been clever" at getting into the paint and putting pressure on the defense, something the Warriors expect to see going into Game 2. They just want to try to stay in front of him as much as possible.

"Just try to get a good contest," Durant said. "We practice contest and closeouts. We've been practicing that stuff since we were in elementary, you know what I'm saying. So there's a certain way that we tend to contest shots, close out on shooters. So it's not just James, it's all their guys we got to have proper technique on. Make sure we are out there on the catch. Making sure they see a hand once they get up and shoot the ball. Just having proper technique, I think, is the most important thing, no matter who is in front of you."

MILWAUKEE -- Eric Bledsoe was fuming.

He knew better than to be baited by Joel Embiid -- one of the league's most notorious trash-talkers -- but the game was physical. It happened so quickly: jostling for the rebound, the shove, Embiid tossing the ball at Bledsoe, who fired it back into Embiid's gut, the whistle. Just like that, Bledsoe was ejected.

The Philadelphia crowd taunted him as he walked down the corridor and back to the visitors locker room in Wells Fargo Center, flanked by two security guards. Bledsoe understood that the Milwaukee Bucks pride themselves on being a team that is calm and collected. But his teammates call him a pit bull for a reason.

Days later, in a secluded corner of Carnevor, a dimly lit steakhouse in downtown Milwaukee, Bledsoe and Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer rehashed the play. Over cuts of medium-rare filet mignon, Budenholzer reminded his starting point guard why he needed to keep his cool. In the first round of the 2018 playoffs, Bledsoe became embroiled in an extended back-and-forth with Celtics guard Terry Rozier, and he later admitted the war of words got in his head. For the Bucks to reach their goal of winning a title, Budenholzer explained, they couldn't afford for Bledsoe to lose his temper.

"He wasn't pissed," Bledsoe said. "He was just saying in the future, especially in the playoffs, you can't make it personal."

Between bites, Budenholzer recalled the fate of the Golden State Warriors after Draymond Green was suspended for Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals, which the Cleveland Cavaliers won en route to making history by overcoming a 3-1 series deficit. They discussed how Amar'e Stoudemire's suspension hurt the Phoenix Suns in the 2007 Western Conference semifinals. There were times, Budenholzer said, that teams will just try to beat you by playing mental games.

"He said sometimes teams may not be more talented than us, but they might try to get in our heads," Bledsoe said.

Which brings us to Friday -- two days before the Celtics-Bucks postseason rematch.

"Look," Bledsoe said, spinning a basketball between his hands and leaning up against the padded wall of the Bucks' practice facility. He knows the questions about Rozier are coming. He knows all eyes are on him. He admits he is nervous and fully expects to be taunted and ridiculed when the Bucks play in TD Garden. And he is sick of talking about it.

This series, for Bledsoe, is a mental test. He must maintain his composure and handle the nerves that can creep up, particularly early in games. He wants to prove to himself that he is a more focused player than he showed last season.

"I'm just trying to move on," he said.

IN THE DAYS after the Bucks fell to the Celtics in Game 7 last season, Bledsoe spent a lot of time watching film. He didn't watch film of Rozier splashing a clutch 3-pointer over him in Game 1, or film of Rozier scoring 23 points in Game 2, or the interview in which Rozier accidentally referred to Bledsoe as "Drew." Those things, particularly Rozier's 3, are seared into his memory.

"I can't downplay it," Bledsoe said. "He made a hell of a move. I could've still contested it, but I just stopped. I didn't think he was going to make it. That comes back to respect. I didn't respect him at the time, but he made a big shot. I have to tip my hat."

Instead, Bledsoe dusted off film from 2013, his first season with the Suns. It was the first time he had been a starter. Back then, he said, he was having a lot of fun.

"I went back and looked myself in the mirror and reminded myself that a lot of people said I couldn't be a starter," Bledsoe said. "I watched film of what took me over the hump -- I wasn't worried about what so many people thought of me. I was just focused on myself back then."

That Celtics series revealed weaknesses he knew he needed to address, such as his bouts with overconfidence and his occasional habit of being complacent.

Bledsoe spent the summer of 2018 in Arizona, where he got back into the gym immediately. He would go in the early morning and sometimes again late at night, convinced his conditioning played a role in why the Bucks lost. He flew to Las Vegas and Milwaukee to work out with Charles Lee, a Bucks assistant coach. He took yoga classes to help with his nerves, balance and flexibility. He worked on breathing techniques. He would later employ that deep breathing as a way to calm the frayed nerves he has battled for more than a decade.

A new season began. With a new coach, a new offensive system and Giannis Antetokounmpo playing at an MVP level, Milwaukee got off to a blazing-hot start. The Bucks played the Celtics for the first time Nov. 1 and lost. Bledsoe missed a key free throw down the stretch of that game. Instead of going home when the Bucks' plane landed in Milwaukee that night, Bledsoe and Lee went to the practice facility to work on the shots Bledsoe missed.

Reminders of the Boston series popped up sporadically. During a Dec. 12 game in Indiana, Pacers fans took a page out of the Boston crowd's playbook, chanting, "Who is Bledsoe?" when he shot free throws.

The Bucks beat the Celtics in their next two matchups, with Bledsoe posting 16 points in the first meeting but just five in their second. At the time, Bledsoe wasn't concerned about the five-point game. He chalked it up to shaking off some rust because it was the first game after the All-Star break.

In March, Bledsoe signed a four-year, $70 million extension to remain in Milwaukee. The Bucks marched along to clinch the No. 1 seed in the NBA with a league-best 60 victories.

They swept the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the playoffs and had six days off before facing the Celtics. They held three practices and two days of individual workouts. The time off felt like an eternity. Antetokounmpo joked that it was long enough to take a mini-vacation to the Bahamas.

The days crept along. Arrangements were made for the Bucks to get a private screening of the new Avengers movie. Bledsoe attended with his family.

"I just want to play already," Bledsoe said two days before the second round of the playoffs began. "I'm ready to get the first one out of the way."

GAME 1 WAS not the redemption Bledsoe was seeking.

The Celtics came out strong -- Bledsoe was expecting that. Kyrie Irving, who sat out injured during their meeting in the 2018 playoffs, scored a game-high 26 points. Bledsoe was expecting that, too. Bledsoe was nervous, but that's nothing out of the ordinary. He has been battling nerves since he was in junior high school.

The nerves usually kick in when Bledsoe arrives at the arena, and he often tries to manage them by playing with his kids before games. They don't care how he plays; to them, he's just their dad. Sometimes, Bledsoe brings his son, Ethan, out to the court to warm up with him.

The butterflies reappear when he is in the Bucks' layup line 10 minutes before tipoff. During the national anthem, Bledsoe meditates. He is usually the first person to break from the line of his teammates -- usually several seconds before the final notes of "The Star-Spangled Banner" are sung.

He takes a big, centering breath before the public-address announcer booms, "A 6-foot guard from Kentucky -- Eric Bledsoe."

"I am nervous all the way through the national anthem and the first play," Bledsoe said. "Once I get up and down the court a few times, it fades."

The San Diego Padres placed rookie shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with a strained left hamstring.

The move was made retroactive to Monday.

Manny Machado will move from third base to shortstop while Tatis is out, allowing Ty France to take over at third. The Padres called up right-handed pitcher Phil Maton from Triple-A El Paso to fill Tatis' spot on the roster.

Tatis left Sunday's game against the Washington Nationals in the bottom of the 10th inning after he did an awkward-looking split while trying to stretch for a throw at second base. He was unable to keep his foot on the bag on the play. He moved around gingerly while umpires reviewed the play, and he could not continue.

The 20-year-old entered this season as one of the top prospects in baseball and is hitting .300 with six homers and 13 RBIs for the Padres. The son of former major leaguer Fernando Tatis had a career-high three hits Sunday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Seattle Mariners demoted struggling outfielder Mallex Smith to Triple-A Tacoma on Tuesday and recalled outfielder Braden Bishop.

Smith, acquired by the Mariners in an offseason trade that sent catcher Mike Zunino to the Tampa Bay Rays, is hitting .165 with two triples, one homer, five RBIs and eight stolen bases in 27 games this season.

The 25-year-old outfielder had a breakout season in 2018 for Tampa Bay, hitting .296 and tying for the American League with 10 triples. He also had two homers and stole 40 bases.

Bishop, 25, made the Mariners' Opening Day roster and went hitless in one at-bat before being optioned to Triple-A on March 23. He was hitting .267 with three homers and 13 RBIs in Tacoma.

NEW YORK -- The Cincinnati Reds could bring up top prospect Nick Senzel before Friday's homestand opener against San Francisco, putting the 23-year-old outfielder in position to make his major league debut against the Giants.

Reds manager David Bell says the decision has not been made yet and he has not determined whether Senzel will start Friday.

Senzel is ranked as baseball's No. 6 prospect by ESPN's Keith Law.

"He has what I would call like an edge to his game that would allow him to compete at this level," Bell said Tuesday. "He's talented. He's always hit and when he does play, reach the major leagues, there's going to be adjustments, just like there is for any player, but because of his makeup we believe it will happen for him quick."

Senzel was the second overall pick in the 2016 amateur draft from Tennessee and signed for a $6.2 million bonus.

He sprained his right ankle during a minor league spring training game on March 25 and did not make his season debut at Triple-A Louisville until April 23. He entered Tuesday hitting .296 with one double, one homer and two RBI in six games and 27 at-bats, including three hits, including a two-run homer, on Tuesday night against Toledo.

Senzel played third, shortstop and second before transitioning to the outfield this year.

"He's been an infielder his whole life, and to make the adjustment to being someone we consider that could play a major league outfield in that short a period of time, it just says a lot about his athleticism and his determination," Bell said. "He believes in himself and he's got a seriousness about him. He expects a lot of out of himself and he enjoys the competition. From what I saw, just in a brief period of time, the better the competition, the better response from him."

Senzel hit .310 with six homers and 25 RBI in 44 games at Louisville last season before season-ending surgery on June 28 to repair a broken right index finger. He returned to play in the instructional league, then had surgery Oct. 16 for bone spurs in his left, non-throwing, elbow.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

MIAMI -- Miami Marlins outfielder Lewis Brinson was optioned Tuesday to Triple-A New Orleans, the latest setback for the team's centerpiece in the Christian Yelich trade.

Brinson is hitting .197 with 28 strikeouts in 76 at-bats for the Marlins, who have the worst record in the majors. He batted .199 last year in his first season with Miami and missed two months because of a hip injury.

"There's no doubt in my mind that I can play up here, and that I can be one of the best players in the big leagues when I do get back," Brinson said. "I've just got to go down and find myself again. I'll be back soon."

The Marlins reinstated outfielder Garrett Cooper from the 10-day injured list. He has been their opening day right fielder the past two years, but because of injuries, Tuesday night's game was just his 18th since the beginning of 2018.

Brinson will be an everyday center field for New Orleans.

"We felt it was best for him at this time to go down and sort of clear his head," Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill said. "We're still immensely confident in Lewis and his ability and how he will help this organization in the long term."

Brinson, now 24, was a highly regarded prospect when acquired in the trade that sent Yelich to the Milwaukee Brewers for four prospects before the 2018 season. Yelich was the NL MVP last year and ranks among the major league leaders this year in batting, home runs and RBIs.

Hill disputed the idea Brinson felt pressure from comparisons with Yelich.

"It wasn't a one-for-one deal," Hill said. "There were a lot of other pieces that make up that deal."

None of the other prospects acquired has reached the majors yet.

The Marlins put no timetable on Brinson's return from the minors.

"I wasn't getting it done," Brinson said. "It's about results up here. I've got to go down there and regroup."