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The Patriots released receiver and six-time Pro Bowl selection Chad Ochocinco on Thursday, Fox News reports. Ochocinco, 34, played in 15 games in his only season with the Patriots. he caught one pass in the Super Bowl as New England lost 21-17 to the New York Giants.

"Thoroughly enjoyed the oppurtunity to play for the 'Patriot' organization… fans were f***ing wicked awesome, I wish all of you the best," Ochocinco, a prolific Twitter presence, tweeted. "I'm healthy n living life, I'll be fine," he wrote, and exercised his sense of humor by changing his job profile to "UNEMPLOYED BLACK GUY."

Ochocinco's agent Drew Rosenhaus said he is "in the process of gauging interest from potential teams."

Read more about Chad Ochocinco here:

ENGAGED: Chad Ochocinco and Evelyn Lozada

Chad Ochocinco Booted from 'Dancing'

OKLAHOMA CITY — Say it with me Oklahoma…your pro basketball team is going to the NBA Finals to play for a World Championship!  

In only it’s fourth year of existence, since moving here from Seattle, the Oklahoma City Thunder advanced to the title round with a come-from-behind 107-99 win over the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday night to win the series 4-2.  

It’s astonishing in so many ways, but none more so than the fact the Spurs, after taking a 2-0 series lead, had upped their amazing winning streak to 20 games in-a-row.  

But the Thunder closed San Antonio out by winning four straight to officially notify the basketball world there’s a changing of the guard and the OKC kids are here to stay.  

Three-time NBA scoring leader Kevin Durant played all 48 minutes in the game for the first time this season, and he responded with 34 points and 14 rebounds including 14 points in the crucial third quarter.  

The Spurs lit up the Thunder with incredible shooting, especially from back-up guard Stephen Jackson, to take an 18-point first half lead on three different occasions.  

Jackson hit his first six shots, all from behind the 3-point line and when the Spurs led 63-48 at halftime, it felt like a seventh and deciding game would be up next, Friday in San Antonio.

But the Thunder stormed out with an 11-2 run to begin the third period and finally took their first lead since 6-5 early in the opening quarter on a Durant “3″ to make it 79-77 with 1:30 left in the third.  

When the period was over, the Thunder had outscored San Antonio 32-18 and they were back in it, trailing by a single point.  

The Spurs last lead was 84-83 with just under 10 minutes remaining when James Harden scored off the drive on the next possession and the Thunder rolled from there.  

Russell Westbrook finished with 25 points and 8 rebounds while Harden tossed in 16.  

Veteran Derek Fisher was huge off the bench with nine big points in almost 23 game minutes to help push the “Comeback Kids” through to the next round.

Tony Parker was on his way to a monster game with 17 first quarter points, 21 points and 10 assists at halftime.  

But the Spurs all-star was held in check in the final half with just eight points and two assists as OKC clamped down on San Antonio, holding the high-octane Texans to just 36 points in the final two periods.  

Tim Duncan was brilliant in defeat with 25 points and 14 rebounds while Jackson ended up with 23 points as the Spurs watched OKC become only the 15 team in league history to come from 0-2 down to win a best-of-seven series.

Since the Thunder had a better regular season record than either Miami or Boston, OKC will enjoy home court advantage in the NBA Finals, which will start Tuesday at the Chesapeake Energy Arena downtown with game 1 at 8 p.m.  

- Bob Barry Jr. at “the Peake”

ARLINGTON — Roy Oswalt grew up admiring Nolan Ryan as a child.

when Oswalt was playing for the Astros’ Double-A team in round Rock, Ryan, the team’s owner, vouched for him. in the more than nine years Oswalt spent playing for the Astros, he won 143 games and was named to three All-Star teams. now, Oswalt is playing for Ryan once again.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Nolan,” Oswalt said. “He was actually kind of an idol of mine growing up. to get a guy like that to stand up for you and put their stamp on you as a young player, especially being someone that wasn’t a high draft pick… I just had a really good relationship with him. and I love Texas. I got to play there for nine and a half years with the Astros.”

Oswalt, 34, cited Ryan as one of the main reasons he signed a one-year, Minor League deal with the Rangers on Tuesday. He will also be reunited with Rangers bench coach Jackie Moore, who was Oswalt’s manager in round Rock 12 years ago. Mike Maddux, the Rangers pitching coach, held the same position in round Rock when Oswalt was there in 2000 and went 11-4 with a 1.94 ERA in 18 starts.

“I think of [Round Rock] as the place that made me who I am now,” Oswalt said. “Mike Maddux was there. He’s the guy that I give credit to for teaching me how to get deeper into ballgames. Before then, I was a six-inning guy trying to strike out 12 a game to try to prove a point instead of throwing eight or nine innings and getting through a game with 100 pitches. That’s two guys there that mean a lot to me.”

He said he has been throwing bullpen sessions of 65-75 pitches every other day for the last six weeks and expects to be ready to join the big league team after about four starts in the Minors. Oswalt, who suffered from lower back inflammation last year, will start for Triple-A round Rock Saturday at home against Albuquerque. He aims to throw between 50 and 60 pitches in his first outing of the year.

“My arm feels great. my body feels great,” Oswalt said. “I know where I am health-wise and I think I can help the Rangers get deeper into ballgames. a lot of people talk about age and stuff. I talked to Nolan about this. when he left the Astros and went to the Rangers, people kind of gave up on him. and he pitched another five years.”

Oswalt, who went 9-10 with a 3.69 ERA last year with the Phillies, said that playing close to his Mississippi home was not a big factor in his decision to play for the Rangers. He claimed that he even considered signing with the Dodgers. the Orioles, Phillies, Red Sox and Angels also showed interest.

“It doesn’t play into effect a lot, actually,” Oswalt said. “The way I look at it, if you’re six hours away from home or 20 hours away from home, you’re still away from home. that really didn’t matter much.”

Oswalt will also have the luxury of playing for the team with the best offense in baseball. the two-time defending American League champion Rangers lead the Major Leagues with a .287 batting average, 283 runs scored and 76 home runs — 21 of them from Josh Hamilton. the Rangers bullpen also boasts a Major League-best 2.33 ERA.

“I thought (the Phillies) were going to be the ones competing against them in [the World Series] the first year,” Oswalt said. “One thing that stands out with the Rangers is the lineup. the Rangers have great power from one to nine. They also have guys that put the bat on the ball. you don’t find that in a lot of lineups.”

Oswalt has not pitched in a Major League game since the end of last season. Oswalt pitched with the Phillies in 2011 and was 9-10 with a 3.69 ERA in 23 starts and 139 innings. Over 11 Major League seasons, he has a career record of 159-93 with a 3.21 ERA. He won 20 games for the Astros in both 2004 and 2005, and is a three-time All-Star. He has also finished in the top six in voting for the National League’s Cy Young Award in six different seasons. Christian Corona is an associate reporter for MLB.com.

Philadelphia (CBS) —  Within a few days after Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski lost one of those forgettable dagger-to-the-soul games to Lehigh in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the coaching legend was on a plane to the Philadelphia area to see Amile Jefferson.

Apparently, the trip meant a lot to the 6-foot-8, McDonald’s All-American, who made an oral commitment to Duke Tuesday afternoon to a basketball scholarship to the Blue Devils.

The small Friends Central gym began filling about 45 minutes before Jefferson even stepped toward to the table already positioned to face the stands. The 6-foot-8 Jefferson was the last of 2012′s major recruits to commit.

It was a long, back-and-forth process, before Jefferson took the podium and make his choice official—that it would be Duke, which Jefferson choose over North Carolina State, Kentucky and Villanova, about five miles up the street from where Friends Central is located.

“this was a really tough decision for me, and at the end of the day, I made my decision based on and off the court. I think Friends Central has prepared me greatly for the next step of my life, and without adeu, I’m proud to say I’ll be attending Duke University in the fall,” Jefferson said. “I think it was the great combination of academics and athletics that led me to Duke. going to a school like Friends Central, it emulates everything Duke has to offer, in the end, Duke was the best choice for me.”

Jefferson finished a distinguished career at Friends Cantral, where he averaged just under 20 points and 8 rebounds a game this past season. He led the Phoenix, who are not PIAA affiliated (Pennsylvania’s high school governing body), to two Friends Schools League championships, was selected as a three-time all-state player, and a two-time Pennsylvania Player of the Year. He finished his career scoring over 1,500 points and blocking 800 shots.

“I made the decision two days ago, when I said to myself, ‘This is where I want to be, and this is the school that I wanted to go to,’” Jefferson said. “It was the right decision at the end. It’s the right school for me. I considered North Carolina State, and it’s a great school and a program on the rise, and it was definitely between Duke and NC State. but at the end of the day, Duke seemed to be the best fit for me. It’s going to be a challenge, academically and athletically, but I think Friends Central prepared me for this. It took this long because I wanted to make sure I made the right choice.”

Having Jefferson be the first player Krzyzewski visited in person scored serious points with Jefferson and his family.

“That meant a lot, and Coach K’s reaction after the Lehigh loss was pure class, and to come and visit Amile, and say how much they wanted him, and how much Amile going there meant to Duke was very, very important,” Friends Central coach Jason Polykoff said. “To immediately come and talk to Amile right after that loss, that really meant a lot to Amile.

“That to Amile showed how much Duke and Coach K wanted him. It boiled down to Duke and NC State, and he was having a tough time between the two. He made the decision a few days ago, but he wanted to make sure and be as diligent as he has been throughout the process. I’ll tell you for a fact, Amile will graduate with a degree from Duke. That was an important part of the process.”

Jefferson, who admitted was extremely nervous before going public with his choice, was finally able to to relax. He beamed a wide, big smile and shook hands with the many, many well-wishers who made sure they were there to witness his long-awaited announcement.

“I’m happy it’s over and happy with my choice,” Jefferson said. “I’m happy with my decision and this next phase I’m about to begin. I know I made the right choice. anything Coach K will need me to do, I’ll do. I know I have to get stronger, work on my jump shot a little more, and I like the way Coach K coaches. It’s a great fit.”

One of my dearest and closest friends here in Texas is having a baby, she already have two grown up boys that is why we were all really happy and so excited when we found out that she was pregnant and is having a baby girl. On June 2, my friends and I are going to give her a baby shower party and we are all super excited about it.Me and my beautiful friends have already started planning about the baby shower. each and every one of us has already been assigned with our respective task, I will be the official photographer for that party which is really an honor for me because I know that each and every pictures that I am going to take will be part of the baby and the whole family’s greatest memories forever. And like what I have said each of us have been assigned to different tasks and one of my dearest friends was assigned for the baby shower invitations and games. She has been looking for the best baby shower invitations but has not purchased any thing yet, she said she has not found the one that she likes just yet. I wanted to help her so I did my own little research about baby shower invitations online and came across with the web site invitationbox.com. I really fell in love the first time I saw their affordable yet so fabulous and unique baby shower invites, I cannot wait to tell my friend about this web site and to let her know how wonderful their baby shower invites are.if you are looking for the best and stylish baby shower invitations, wedding invitations, graduation invites, birthday invitations, fiesta invitations, engagement invitations, baptism invitations, holiday invitations, barbeque invitations, bridal shower invitations, bachelorette party invitations and many more, I would suggest for you to check out the web site Invitationbox.com as soon as you can.

As someone who dreamed of playing on the MCG as a child, Sydney defender Alex Johnson's first AFL game at the venue was a tad underwhelming.

Of the 26 matches Johnson has played, his side's 43-point loss to Richmond in round 21 last year stands out as one of the most disappointing.

“I grew up in Melbourne so the `G was the home of footy and that's where I loved to go on a Saturday afternoon and watch footy,” Johnson told AAP.

“To go down there last year and get beaten pretty convincingly by Richmond was pretty disappointing.

“It's a great opportunity this weekend to redeem ourselves from that and get one back.”

Like teammate Luke Parker, Johnson hasn't sighted the second-year blues this season.

The pair, who combined for 33 games in their first season on the Swans' list, show maturity beyond their years on the field.

And off the field they sound like veterans – take Johnson's explanation for why other second-year players have dropped off after outstanding debut seasons.

“Kids might play 20-plus games in their first year – similar to me – and get complacent,” he said.

“Think that `I've sort of made it. And that's it. Everything will keep rolling into place'.

“And if you let that happen – whether it's your second year or your sixth year, it's going to affect you pretty badly.

“So that's been my goal … to be happy but not be overly happy with it.”

Swans coach John Longmire couldn't be happier with the 20-year-old, who looks like a key defender but boasts the pace to keep up with small forwards.

“He's a second-year player who is doing an enormous job for us every week,” Longmire said.

“He's learning all the time and he's playing almost every minute of every game.”

Johnson's unassuming and hard-working character underpinned his junior career and was a trait noted be plenty of recruiters prior to the 2010 draft.

As for his football nous, it's easy to see where it came from – hundreds of Saturdays spent in the MCG stands.

“I've grown up with it and I just love the game,” Johnson said.

The Celtics’ point guard seems to play his best when the most eyes are tuning in, and yesterday afternoon against the Miami Heat was a clear example of this. from the Boston Herald: “Rondo toyed with the Miami Heat in a 91-72 victory yesterday at the Garden with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists to record his fifth triple-double of the season. Fourteen of Rondo’s 18 career triple-doubles have come during nationally televised games. He has accounted for 35 percent of the 14 triple-doubles in the NBA this season. ‘We’re just going to tell him we’re playing on ABC every day,’ Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. ‘We told Rondo that we needed him to be a scorer, not necessarily a playmaker, a scorer.’ The production yesterday was no statistical match for his Garden show against new York last month, when he had 18 points, 17 rebounds and 20 assists, but it was more proof Rondo seems to save his best for when more eyes are upon him. ‘I don’t know what it is,’ Rondo said. ‘my teammates put the spotlight on me more than the media. They tell me to be aggressive and just show them what a great point guard is.’ [...] these virtuoso performances are not lost on the other veterans. ‘He’s been picking up where others have been slacking,’ Kevin Garnett said. ‘I know there are other point guards out there, but this kid is something special. I hope this city and fans gravitate to who he is. The same thing that makes you great is sometimes what makes people hate you.’”

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — the success of the Chiefs’ draft will ultimately be judged sometime down the road. In the meantime, general manager Scott Pioli has a few things he will use to measure it by.

One of them this year and every year is that the Chiefs use one of their picks on a quarterback.

“every year if possible we’d like to find a way to draft a quarterback because it’s just good business and it’s smart business,” Pioli said Monday. “Now, who that is and when we do it and how we do it, you never know.”

The first of the Chiefs’ eight picks this year will come 11th in the first round. there, the player generally regarded as the third-best quarterback in the draft, Ryan Tannehill of Texas A&M, could be available to them.

The Chiefs have spent significant time investigating Tannehill, who spent the first half of his collegiate career as a wide receiver and started just 19 games at quarterback. they met with him at the NFL scouting combine, worked him out at Texas A&M and had him in to Kansas City for a visit.

None of which, of course, means the Chiefs will draft Tannehill if he slides to them at that 11th pick.

“I’m not going to get into all the specifics of a player,” Pioli said when asked about Tannehill. “but I know this: I know he’s a competitive, young player, a smart player, a tough player. He’s a guy I have a lot of respect for.”

Whether it’s Tannehill or a lesser prospect taken later in the draft, Pioli would like the Chiefs to find another quarterback to go with the three they already have: starter Matt Cassel, Brady Quinn and Ricky Stanzi.

The Chiefs have sent mixed signals on Cassel during the offseason. Both Pioli and coach Romeo Crennel were less than enthusiastic in their support of Cassel on Monday.

Pioli: “we like Matt Cassel, and we think Matt Cassel is a good quarterback.”

Crennel: “Matt has proven he can get a team to the playoffs. Now it’s up to us to get him to do it again.”

If the Chiefs are eventually in a spot where they have to make a decision on Tannehill, the key factor could be what they think about Cassel’s long-term prospects. it may be years before they again will be in position to draft a so-called franchise quarterback.

“I think the numbers say that 50 percent of first-round quarterbacks don’t make it,” Crennel said. “Now, if you said you’ve got a 50-percent chance of the guy you pick making it, you wouldn’t feel all that good about it. but the quarterback is a position that you have to have.”

During his time as personnel director for the Patriots and general manager with the Chiefs, Pioli has largely been associated with two starting quarterbacks — Tom Brady with New England and Cassel in Kansas City.

It’s worth noting that both players entered the NFL as low-round draft picks. Brady was chosen in the sixth round in 2000 by the Patriots and Cassel in the seventh round in 2005, also by New England.

The Chiefs have selected one quarterback in three drafts with Pioli as their general manager, taking Stanzi in the fifth round last year.

So, using history as a guide, the Chiefs will find their 2012 rookie quarterback in a later round.

“Quarterback is a really difficult position to play in this league,” Pioli said. “This league’s history shows there are a number of quarterbacks that have played in this league … that given time to physically develop, emotionally develop, they become good players in this league. the other thing is if you get a good player at that position and you develop him and you are (otherwise) set at that position, you can (trade) that player and they have a lot of value around the league as long as you pick the right one. I’ve been a part of teams where we’ve picked the wrong ones and we’ve picked the right ones.”

The Chiefs, and other NFL teams, are still waiting to hear from the league how many players they will be allowed to bring to training camp. the number will be somewhere between 80, where it’s been the last few years, and 90.

“That’s going to have a lot to do with how many people we take (to camp) at any position, quarterback being one of them,” Pioli said. “Ideally, and we talked about it, we’d love to have four quarterbacks going into training camp. but you don’t want too many quarterbacks because if you’re going to develop players or even have them compete against one another, there are only so many balls that can be thrown in practice.”

Valencia’s slump continued tonight as they were defeated 3-1 in the capital by Getafe. Unai Emery’s men have won just three games since the turn of the year and were humbled by Real Zaragoza in midweek, leaving all eyes on them tonight.

They failed dismally, though, with their defence parting on three occasions as Jaime Gavilan’s delivery proved too hot to handle. he laid on goals for Pedro Rios, Miku and drew an own goal out of Bruno – all after Roberto Soldado had given Valencia an early lead.

Valencia’s fragile confidence was visible from the off as Getafe looked to get at them. Diego Castro tried his luck from distance and then, with four minutes on the clock, Pedro Rios took aim from inside the box and saw his effort smothered by Vicente Guaita at his near post.

The visitors clearly decided attack was the best form of defence and took the lead after five minutes. Jonas’ reverse pass found Soldado and the former Getafe man crunched a drive into the top right-hand corner for his 16th league goal of the season.

He opted not to celebrate at his former home, but his old supporters were cheering themselves with 12 minutes gone. Gavilan’s cross stood up nicely for Rios and he arrived right on time to nod an unstoppable header beyond Guaita.

Soldado went back on the offensive and dribbled his way into the box, but just as he was about to pull the trigger he was foiled by Miguel Moya and the ball sprayed away from goal. The missed chance was a costly one, with Miku putting Getafe 2-1 up with 24 minutes gone.

Again it was a cross into the box that proved to be Valencia`s undoing, with Gavilan’s ball in finished off by Miku’s head. Two quickly became three as some more shambolic defending cost Valencia.

Gavilan’s looping free-kick was being shepherded out by Bruno, but he somehow got his body in the way, the ball hit him and ballooned over Guaita for an own goal.

The pressure continued after the break, with Mehdi Lacen taking aim from distance and nearly making it four. Seemingly tired of setting up others, Gavilan then looked to score himself but saw his 35-yard effort kept out by Guaita.

Valencia’s fortunes were summed up by the normally lethal Soldado nodding wide from six yards and when Jeremy Mathieu wildly side-footed away from goal when well set – it was clear it was not their night.

By Eric Stephen – Managing Editor

The Lakers lead the Clippers by 2.5 games in the Pacific Division.

Mar 26, 2012 – The Los Angeles Lakers showed flashes of brilliance, especially offensively, with new point guard Ramon Sessions. But poor defense and poor effort slowed the week, which ended up with the Lakers treading water with a .500 record.

The Lakers began their week in Houston, where they held a 12-point lead over the Rockets with six minutes remaining. But the hometown Rockets stormed back for a 107-104 win to hand the Lakers another embarrassing road defeat, especially since Andrew Bynum was back in the locker room in the final period after getting ejected with a second technical foul in the third quarter.

The next night in Dallas, the Lakers looked like a different team, playing for 48 full minutes and setting season highs in field goal percentage (58.4%), effective field goal percentage (64.3%), and true shooting percentage (65.9%) in a 109-93 pasting of the defending champion Mavericks on their home floor.

Week Record: 2-2Season Record: 30-19Points For: 103.0Points against: 99.5Offensive Rating: 115.9Defensive Rating: 112.0Field Goal %: 49.7%True Shooting %: 58.0%Effective FG%: 54.1%Tuesday: Houston 107, Rockets 104Wednesday: Lakers 109, Dallas 93Friday: Lakers 103, Portland 96Sunday: Memphis 102, Lakers 96

The Lakers returned home to battle the Portland Trail Blazers, which marked the first start for Sessions as a Laker. He didn’t disappoint, with 20 points and 11 assists, leading the Lakers to another home win in a game in which they had 33 assists for 40 made field goals.

But Sunday against the Memphis, a lackluster effort and poor defense doomed the Lakers, who lost at home for just the fourth time all season. Andrew Bynum had a stellar game with 30 points, but he also had just four rebounds in the loss, a new season low.

Bynum had no double-digit rebound games for the week.

The Lakers offense as a whole was humming for the week, scoring on nearly 1.16 points per possession. But their defense struggled, allowing 1.12 points per possession.

Even with the offense clicking, Kobe Bryant struggled during the week, shooting just 42.9%, though he did make 24 of his 25 free throws and had a 54.0% true shooting percentage, boosted by his 11-for-18 performance against Dallas.

Pau Gasol had an up-and-down week, with hot shooting against Houston and Dallas (23 for 30 field goals, 76.7%) but poor rebounding at 6.5 boards per game, then cold shooting against Portland and Memphis (nine for 29, 31.0%) while cleaning up the boards with 15.0 rebounds per game.

The Lakers have 17 games remaining, and will need to play better if they hope to hold onto their Pacific Division lead and third seed in the Western Conference.

Here are some individual numbers for the week:

• Ramon Sessions: 17.3 points per game, 7.3 assists per game, 78.6% true shooting percentage, 7-for-11 on three-point shots.
• Andrew Bynum: 20.8 ppg, 6.8 rebounds per game, 1.5 blocks per game, 68.8 TS%
• Kobe Bryant: 23.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.8 assists per game, 54.0 TS%, 24-for-25 from the free throw line (96.0%).
• Pau Gasol: 18.5 ppg, 10.8 rpg, 57.6 TS%

For more news and notes on the Lakers, be sure to read Silver Screen and Roll.

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