Jamaal Charles' 56-yard touchdown run and Dexter McCluster's team-record 94-yard punt return gave Kansas City a two-touchdown lead and the Chiefs held San Diego on four downs inside the 6-yard line in the final minute for a 21-14 win Monday night.

The teams played most of the game in a pounding rain, and the Chiefs turned it into the confidence-building coming-out party they had been hoping for since the schedule came out in April.

By beating the four-time defending AFC West champions, they proclaimed an end to a three-year period that was one of the darkest in team history.

Philip Rivers outplayed Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel and drove the Chargers to a first-and-goal from the 4.

But a pass was incomplete, Darren Sproles lost 2 yards and another pass sailed high.

Then with 39 seconds left, Rivers missed again.

CHIEFS-FLOWERS HURT Chiefs' cornerback Brandon Flowers limps off field

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs regained one player and lost another in the same series of downs Monday night.

Cornerback Brandon Flowers walked off the field on what appeared to be wobbly legs early in the third quarter of the Chiefs' game with San Diego. He returned in the same series when defensive end Tyson Jackson left the game favoring his left knee.

Jackson had his arm around a trainer as he was helped back to the bench.

Just after Jackson left the game, Philip Rivers connected with Legedu Naanee (LEG'-a-doo nah-NAY') on a 59-yard TD pass to cut Kansas City's lead to seven, with the score 21-14.

CHARGERS-CHIEFS-INACTIVES Chargers without Shawne Merriman, Darrell Stuckey

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Linebacker Shawne Merriman was on San Diego's inactive list for Monday night's game against Kansas City, along with rookie safety Darrell Stuckey and linebacker Brandon Lang.

The Chiefs listed eight inactives for their first Monday night home game in six years, including tackles Ryan O'Callaghan, a starter, and Mike Cox, last year's starting fullback.

Also out were wide receiver Jeremy Horne and linebacker Cameron Sheffield.

STUNNED 49ERS 49ers know they have to get on track in a hurry

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers, so confident only days ago about their playoff chances and the opportunity to win the NFC West, have been brought down a notch.

No touchdowns in an embarrassing 31-6 season-opening loss at division rival Seattle. Miscues and poor execution -- down to problems getting the offensive plays to quarterback Alex Smith in time. A late meeting back at team headquarters led by coach Mike Singletary, who had some brutally honest criticisms afterward.

All this after such high hopes on the heels of a perfect preseason, the franchise's first unbeaten exhibition campaign since 1992.

The Niners know they had better get things figured out in a hurry with the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints coming to town for a Monday night game next week.

STOUT SEAHAWKS Seattle's defense stands strong in season opener

(Stations: Note California interest.)

RENTON, Wash. (AP) — It was a play in the first quarter that spoke to the determination of Seattle's defense.

On a third down inside the Seattle 10, San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore caught a short swing pass out of the backfield. Gore had only slender cornerback Kelly Jennings to beat for a first down or potential touchdown.

Jennings wouldn't let that happen, wrapping up Gore for a 1-yard gain.

After tormenting the Seahawks in the past, Gore was held to just 38 yards rushing and 45 yards receiving in Sunday's 31-6 Seattle win.

The effort controlling Gore was a big reason why the 49ers offense never got started.

SAME OLD RAIDERS Raiders plagued by same old problems

ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — All that offseason optimism in Oakland was erased by a season-opening blowout that brought up the same problems that have plagued the Raiders the past seven seasons.

There was an offensive line that gave quarterback Jason Campbell little time to throw the ball, receivers who struggled to get open down the field, a run defense that once again got gashed by the big play and 10 penalties that hurt the team on both sides of the ball.

It added up to a 38-13 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday that showed the Raiders have plenty of work to do if they want to end a streak of seven consecutive seasons with at least 11 losses.

RAMS-CHAMBERLAIN Rams linebacker sidelined with toe injury

(Stations: Note California interest, 4th paragraph.)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Rams linebacker Chris Chamberlain will be sidelined six to eight weeks with turf toe on his left foot, an injury that's forcing him to wear a cast.

Chamberlain is one of the Rams' top special teams players. He was hurt in the first half of Sunday's season-opening 17-13 loss to Arizona.

Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo (spag-NOH'-loh) said Monday that Chamberlain has already seen a foot specialist and may be placed on injured reserve.

Cornerback Kevin Dockery has a left hamstring strain and may not play next week at Oakland.

Rookie tight end Michael Hoomanawanui (hoo-MAH'-nuh-wah-noo-ee) has a high left ankle sprain that could sideline him a while.

T25-UNDISCIPLINED USC Coach Lane Kiffin will tone down penalty talk at USC

LOS ANGELES (AP) — After coach Lane Kiffin spent last week haranguing his Southern California players about their 11 penalties in the Trojans' season opener, they went out and committed 13 more.

So Kiffin is done discussing it. The first-year coach says he won't mention penalties as No. 18 USC prepares to visit Minnesota on Saturday.

The Trojans' 240 penalty yards are the most in the nation after two games. They're just part of the reason USC has dropped two spots in the AP Top 25 football poll after each of their unimpressive victories.

Kiffin posted the Trojans' penalty statistics in the locker room after their season-opening win at Hawaii.

That didn't stop the Trojans from repeatedly hurting themselves in a 17-14 win over Virginia.

HEISMAN-BUSH Heisman Trust expected to meet Tuesday

NEW YORK (AP) — The Heisman Trophy Trust is expected to hold its monthly meeting Tuesday, but there's been no indication from the group about whether a decision on Reggie Bush and the 2005 award is imminent.

Heisman spokesman Tim Henning said Monday that the eight-member trust had no plans to make any announcements at this time.

Yahoo! Sports cited unidentified sources in reporting last week that the former Southern California running back was expected to be stripped of the Heisman by the end of the month.

The report also said the award would be left vacant.

The Heisman Trust denied the report, saying no decision had been made.

The NCAA found major violations in USC's football program and ruled Bush ineligible for 2005 for accepting improper benefits.

UNEASY UCLA UCLA worried after 0-2 start

LOS ANGELES (AP) — UCLA has lost the first two games of coach Rick Neuheisel's (NOO'-hy-zul's) third season, and the Bruins' new Pistol offense has been more of a cap gun.

Neuheisel is disappointed but insists the Bruins have enough time to turn around their season and the program's direction in a benchmark year for any coach's rebuilding project.

The Bruins knew their September schedule was tough, yet they must face the possibility of an 0-4 start with No. 23 Houston visiting the Rose Bowl on Saturday before the Bruins' trip to No. 6 Texas.

At least Neuheisel is certain Kevin Prince will start at quarterback despite a poor performance against Stanford.

Prince will participate fully in practice this week after missing parts of last week's workouts to rest his arm.

MISSOURI REINSTATEMENTS Will Ebner, Beau Brinkley return for Missouri

(Stations: Note California interest.)

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri linebacker Will Ebner and long snapper Beau Brinkley have been reinstated from two-game disciplinary suspensions for alcohol-related arrests.

Coach Gary Pinkel said Monday both players were participating in all team activities in preparation for Saturday's home game against San Diego State.

Ebner was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated on Aug. 22 after failing a roadside Breathalyzer test, and Brinkley was charged with DWI a week later.

Ebner was third on the team with 78 tackles last year and had 3.5 sacks.

Brinkley is also a reserve tight end.

ATHLETICS-ROYALS Bobby Cramer's path leads to 1st MLB win, A's beat KC 3-1

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Bobby Cramer, a former substitute teacher who started this season in the Mexican League, won his big league debut Monday by pitching the Oakland Athletics over the Kansas City Royals 3-1.

Cramer held the Royals to one run and four hits in 5-and-a-third innings. He struck out four and walked one.

The left-handed Cramer (1-0) started his pro career in 2003 in the Tampa Bay system.

He was a high school math teacher and worked in pipeline maintenance while out of baseball in 2005-06, and played in an independent league in 2008.

PADRES-ROCKIES Padres cool off Rockies, 6-4

DENVER (AP) — Miguel Tejada (tay-HAH'-dah) tied a season high with four RBIs to help the San Diego Padres remain on top of the National League West, cooling off Colorado with a 6-4 win Monday night and halting the Rockies' 10-game winning streak.

The Padres have a half-game lead over San Francisco. San Diego had lost three of its previous four and entered the game percentage points ahead of the Giants but in danger of falling out of at least a share of the division lead for the first time since June 16.

Tejada made sure that didn't happen.

He hit a two-run homer in the first inning and drove in two more with a two-out single in the fifth.

PADRES-HAIRSTON OUT Scott Hairston a late scratch from Padres' lineup

DENVER (AP) — San Diego Padres outfielder Scott Hairston was scratched from the lineup against Colorado with a sore left shoulder.

Chris Denorfia took Hairston's place in the lineup Monday night.

Hairston was slated to play left field and bat seventh when the Padres opened a crucial three-game series at Colorado, but he aggravated his shoulder during batting practice.

Aaron Cunningham was moved from center field to left, and Denorfia played center.

Hairston was batting .217 with 10 home runs and 35 RBIs.

PADRES-GWYNN Padres activate outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. from 15-day disabled list

DENVER (AP) — The San Diego Padres have activated outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. from the 15-day disabled list.

The move occurred Monday before the start of a three-game series in Colorado.

Gwynn missed 23 games with a broken bone in his right hand. San Diego manager Bud Black says Gwynn will be limited to a late-inning defensive replacement for now.

Gwynn is hitting .212 with 17 stolen bases in 103 games this season.

PADRES-LATOS At 22, Latos showing maturity on mound for Padres

SAN DIEGO (AP) — In the middle of a pennant race in sunny San Diego, 22-year-old Padres ace Mat Latos (LAY'-tohs) thinks back to a cold December day in Virginia.

He and his younger cousin, Josh Branick, were hanging out at Latos' parents' house, watching a movie. Latos remembers the snow piling up outside, his two dogs at his feet and the lights shining on the Christmas tree.

More importantly, he remembers what his cousin told him — "God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason: you can listen twice as much as you talk."

Latos was once considered abrasive and hotheaded on the mound, but has taken his cousin's words to heart.

In a sign of how he's matured, Latos went nearly five months between bad starts.

ANGELS PITCHER KILLED Opening statements to begin in Adenhart case

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — Testimony will soon be under way in the murder trial of the man accused of drunken driving in the crash that killed Los Angeles Angels rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart and two of his friends.

The Orange County district attorney's office said Monday that opening statements in the second-degree murder case will begin at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in Orange County Superior Court.

Twenty-three-year-old Andrew Gallo has pleaded not guilty to three counts of second-degree murder and one count of felony hit-and-run.

The 22-year-old Adenhart died just hours after pitching six scoreless innings in his 2009 season debut with the Angels.

Twenty-year-old Courtney Stewart and 25-year-old Henry Pearson were also killed.

BASEBALL DRUG LIST Court again says feds wrongly seized MLB drug list

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal appeals court in San Francisco has reaffirmed its ruling that investigators illegally seized a list of baseball players who allegedly tested positive for steroids during a 2004 drug lab raid.

It's the third time the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled on the issue during six years of litigation. Three trial courts also have issued separate rulings in the case.

On Monday, the 11-judge panel again ordered investigators to return the list of 104 players to the labs, effectively barring them from using the players to expand their sports doping investigation.

The 9th Circuit also closed its doors to any further appeals.

The government still could appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

A phone message left for a Justice Department spokesman was not immediately returned to The Associated Press.

BAYLOR-MORGAN TRANSFER J'mison Morgan eligible to play right away for Baylor

WACO, Texas (AP) — Dismissed UCLA player J'mison (JAY'-miss-sun) Morgan has been granted an NCAA waiver that allows him to play at Baylor immediately without sitting out a season.

Baylor coach Scott Drew said Monday that the 6-foot-10 junior center from Dallas will be eligible to play once he completes the necessary NCAA compliance paperwork.

Morgan is already enrolled in classes at Baylor and will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Morgan was dismissed from UCLA's team in March after being suspended a game for missing a team meeting and was held out of the Bruins' two Pac-10 tournament games. He also missed seven games recovering from a partially torn quadriceps.

The 20-year-old Morgan transferred to Baylor to be closer to his ill grandmother, who was his legal guardian.

WARRIORS-AMUNDSON Warriors add veteran forward Louis Amundson

(Stations: Note Arizona interest, 4th and 5th paragraphs and throughout.)

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The Golden State Warriors have signed free agent forward Louis Amundson to a two-year contract, with the second year being a player option.

Golden State general manager Larry Riley says the team has been interested in adding the well-traveled Amundson for several weeks, and that he adds key depth to the Warriors' frontcourt.

Amundson could provide a key rebounding presence inside that the team has lacked, too.

He averaged career-bests of 4.7 points and 4.4 rebounds in 14.8 minutes per game for the Phoenix Suns last season. He appeared in 79 games as a key reserve.

He also played in all 16 of Phoenix's postseason games in a run that ended in the Western Conference Finals, averaging 2.9 points and 3.5 rebounds in 12.1 minutes of action.

WPS COMMISSIONER WPS commissioner stepping down after season

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Women's Professional Soccer Commissioner Tonya Antonucci is stepping down at the end of the season.

Antonucci said Monday that she would leave after having run the San Francisco-based league since its inception.

She was named commissioner in 2007 and ran the league for its first two years of competition. She will step down following the championship game Sept. 26.

WPS general counsel Anne-Marie Eileraas will take over as chief executive officer of the league.

The owners on the WPS board of governors will guide the league's strategic direction.

AMERICA'S CUP America's Cup to be held in 2013 with catamarans

VALENCIA, Spain (AP) — America's Cup organizers say the next regatta will be sailed in 2013 with 72-foot catamarans.

Early indications had been that the 34th America's Cup would be held in 2014.

But organizers said Monday that the competition would take place a year earlier and feature a new class of boat: the AC72 with a wingsail catamaran.

The venue won't be announced until the end of the year. The leading contenders are San Francisco, Valencia and a port near Rome.

The switch from traditional monohulls to catamarans should make for faster, more exciting racing.

Catamarans and trimarans have been sailed in the America's Cup before, but only because of lack of mutual consent for a class rule.

MARIOTTI ARREST Mariotti's attorney says allegations are false

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The attorney for ESPN personality and AOL sports columnist Jay Mariotti says her client is innocent of domestic violence charges being filed against him.

Los Angeles city attorney's spokesman Frank Mateljan said Monday that seven misdemeanors are being filed against Mariotti, including domestic violence with injury, false imprisonment and grand theft.

Each count carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail.

Defense attorney Debra Wong Yang calls the allegations against Mariotti "inaccurate and sensationalized."

Mariotti was arrested last month on the city's west side.

Los Angeles police sources have told the Los Angeles Times that Mariotti got into an argument with his girlfriend at a Santa Monica club and they were seen exchanging harsh words before leaving in a car.