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HOUSTON - Super Bowl or bust has turned into bust for the Houston Texans. Six games into the season, the year has quickly soured for a supposed championship contender. The Texans have lost four in a row and the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs await. Houstons biggest problem has been turnovers. The Texans are allowing the fewest yards in the NFL (252.8), and are gaining the seventh most (395.7). But they have 12 more turnovers than their opponents, second most in the NFL. "Turnovers get you beat in this league and theyre getting us beat on a consistent basis," coach Gary Kubiak said. And the status of quarterback Matt Schaub — battered by criticism — is unclear because of an injury he sustained on a sack in the third quarter Sunday. "Obviously hes very sore and beat up on the leg, ankle — everywhere," Kubiak said. "So obviously well have to see where hes at — probably got a little bit lucky there." Kubiak said Schaub was receiving injections for his injury Monday afternoon. Schaub left after Sundays game before talking to reporters so he could have tests done. Schaub didnt have a turnover Sunday after throwing six interceptions, three of them returned for touchdowns in the past three games. "I thought he stepped up and improved," Kubiak said. "You can always play better, but I thought he was doing things much better." Kubiak said hell prepare both T.J. Yates and Case Keenum this week in case Schaub cant play. Fans have been clamouring for Schaub to be benched in favour of Yates as he struggled. But when Yates got a chance to play Sunday, things didnt go well. He threw two interceptions, the first of which was returned 98 yards for a touchdown. Whoever is at quarterback for Houston on Sunday will face a Kansas City defence allowing the NFLs fewest points a game at just 10.8. The Chiefs also lead the NFL in sacks with 31 this season. "Theyre exceptional and even better at home with the crowd and what theyve got going there," Kubiak said of the Chiefs. "Theyve been pretty special." The Texans have already lost the same number of games as in the entire 2012 regular season, which has some wondering if Kubiaks job is in jeopardy. He said he has plenty of other things to concern himself with and isnt thinking about that. "I think Ive probably been asked that a few times in my eight years," he said. "Ive got a lot of people to worry about, a lot of players, a lot of coaches. I think it would be very selfish if I worried about myself, so no, I do not." Another problem for Houston has been penalties. The Texans had 95 yards of penalties on Sunday and have 46 penalties for 459 yards this season. Kubiak is trying everything to get the Texans to clean up their play. "Youve just got to emphasize in every possible way what you can on the practice field, in the meeting room," he said. "Thats about all you can do. Just paying as much attention to it as you possibly can." Also injured in Sundays loss to St. Louis was safety Danieal Manning, who Kubiak said has a "significant knee injury." He said they are still evaluating the injury. Shiloh Keo will fill in for Manning. Keo was a fifth-round draft pick in 2011 who spent time on the practice squad that year before appearing in 14 games last season. Kubiak also said cornerback Brandon Harris could move to safety if they need more help. ___ AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org Discount Balenciaga Canada . The deals were announced on Friday. Beckham will receive $4.175 million in base salary, while De Aza will receive $4.25 million. Beckham hit .267 with five home runs and 24 RBIs over 103 games last season, his fifth with the White Sox. Balenciaga Canada Cheap . Right-hander Todd Redmond took the loss. Jose Bautista hit his second home run of the spring. 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The world and its opportunities should belong to him: Hes 23, 6-foot-6, and a recent graduate of Iowa State — and oh, this Brampton boy is headline news in Des Moines, Iowa. And if this was Des Moines, and the young man was sitting inside the Hilton Coliseum - where the Iowa State Cyclones play - hed be affectionately crushed by so many wearing so much cardinal and yellow, because they know him. Hes Melvin Ejim: No one has played more basketball games for Iowa State (135). Few Cyclones have ever been as successful on a basketball court (12th in scoring with 1,643 points). But this isnt Des Moines, this is a big gymnasium on Chicagos west side. Its the second day of the NBA combine and in this large gym are plenty other large, young men with huge reputations from other corners of America. And they want to steal Melvins dream. Because in front of NBA general managers and scouts there are no pep bands to proclaim Ejims college achievements; all he has are his broad shoulders and a basketball - his tools to answer the crucial question: Who is Melvin Ejim? But dont they not know him already? "I dont think they knew as much about me," Ejim says, and his smile turns into a sneer. "If anything, people knew about me more in the Big 12 (NCAA conference), and everybody appreciated what I did, but it was still kind of downplayed. "But I think once I got the Big 12 Player of the Year, and I beat out Andrew Wiggins - who is a phenomenal player - people started to realize: Wait, Wiggins was in that league? Marcus Smart was in that league? Joel Embiid was in that league? And THIS guy got the Big 12 Player of the Year? It solidified for people: Well he might actually be pretty good, but it still left some doubt in people." Doubt? What kind of doubt? There was Ejim on Day 1, fluttering along the true NBA 3-point line, hitting more shots from distance than any other prospect. Then on Day 2 hes screaming on the court, communicating, waving his arms, exploding from one end to the other, making himself too loud and too energetic to be forgotten. Meanwhile, his fellow high-ranked Canadians, Tyler Ennis and Nik Stauskas, decided to participate in only selective drills. And Wiggins, Embiid, and Jabari Parker, the provisional Top three prospects ahead of June 26s NBA draft, decided to skip the event entirely. Doubt? There cant be any doubt of Melvin Ejims passion and potential. Does he really have to sell himself so hard to get drafted? "I think he does," says Matt Kamalsky, director of operations for the college prospect website DraftExpress. "When you look at guys getting drafted who are significantly older than their class, its very rare for guys over 23/24-years old to get picked at all, let a lone make a team, and then be successful at all in the NBA. "But just because it hasnt happened doesnt me it wont work for him." Its not a unique perspective: Too old and too small are ubiquitous descriptions of Ejims flaws in most scouting reports. He spent four years at Iowa State, while Wiggins, Ennis and Stauskass immediate talent created immediate hype. The highest Ejim is projected to be selected is somewhere in the mid-to-late second round. After the Top 30 draft picks, however, there are little-to-no guaranteed contracts. But criticism and long odds wont blunt Ejims smile. Defiance somehow makes it brighter. "People say Im too old, because on the paper it says Im 23 and the other guy is 22 and were born in the same year— its silly," Ejim says. "They say stay in college for four years, and I wasnt going to get any younger by staying. Its part of the process. "The undersized thing, Ive been hearing that from Day 1. That has kind of been overplayed now. Theyre saying Im undersized because they have to, because there is nothing else to say.dddddddddddd. Can you say I cant shoot well enough because I think I proved that [on Day 1 of the combine]. What are they going to say? That I didnt do well enough on the perimeter? Thats what they do here, they criticize—they want to evaluate." And Ejim wants to be evaluated. He wants to be poked and prodded and tested, again and again. He graduated with a history major and business minor, and in the future he wants to go to law school. But thats tomorrow. Today, he measures his growth with every shot he attempts, and every defensive challenge. He can feel himself growing into an NBA player. "A lot of people dont think I can shoot from the perimeter, and a lot of people dont think I can defend the perimeter," he says. "Im just trying to prove them wrong, and I think that is just the first step. Letting them know I can be a knockdown shooter. I can space the floor. I did it in college and being able to translate that to the (NBA) 3-point line — just showing people that I have the capability to do that, the capability to play on the perimeter as a [small forward] and it was gratifying." "Just listening to him talk its very obvious - and its not with all these guys - he knows what he needs to do in order to put himself in the best position to get drafted," Kamalsky says. "Guys dont have that kind of degree of self-awareness and maybe that maturity is a positive." And maturity, and perspective are Ejims greatest strengths. He came to the combine not just to show, but to tell. He wonders: Why would a general manager just obsess over a freakish, young talent that needs constant work? When here he is, learning, adapting, and thriving. Ejim remembers those early, early mornings - sometimes 6 am - walking or biking or busing to the Brampton or Mississauga YMCA. Sometimes hed have to bring his brothers health card and pretend to be someone else, because money was too tight for a membership, and one person can only have so many guest passes. And most of the time young Melvin wouldnt even get on the court; hed be off to side with a ball, watching his uncle and his uncles friend play, listening whenever he was told to: "Melvin, work on your handles." And he grew bigger and stronger and better, but he was still often an inch or inch and a half shorter than many others. So he worked and worked, from Amateur Athletic Union basketball to the NCAA. He counts his uncle, David, AAU coach Mike George (now his agent) and Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg, as part of his inner circle because they ingrained in him the everlasting directive; and if you listen to older, wiser Melvin long enough the mantra hits you like his smile: "I still think I can do a better job of being a better player. Solidify in peoples mind that Im a player, that Im good, that Im good enough." Those ranked higher than Ejim completely agree. "Ive worked out with him," says Ennis, projected to be selected in the Top 20. "I think he really shoots the ball better than people expect. At Iowa State he was playing more (small forward), going forward I think he has the ability to dribble the ball well enough to move to the wing." "We (Michigan) played Iowa State this year - Melvins a beast," says Stauskas, also potentially a Top-20 pick. "Hes a little bit undersized. Hes a guy I feel is going to go to workouts and really impress some people." Only when asked about workouts and meetings with NBA teams does Ejim become skittish. Dig deep enough and he reveals a meeting with the Utah Jazz next week, and then maybe three or four other teams after that. But each session is like a little secret, meant only for him. "My dream is to play in the NBA, to be a contributing part of a NBA team and continue to work, and be a solid player - the best player I can be. However I get there, time will tell." Maybe its why hes smiling: This is Melvin Ejims moment, after all. His big shoulders can bear it. ' ' '