NASHVILLE, Tenn. Jamie Collins Patriots Jersey . - The CJ2K era is over in Tennessee, just the latest step by the Titans in their franchise makeover. The Titans told Chris Johnson they are releasing him Friday after six seasons to avoid paying $8 million the running back is due in 2014, along with the final three seasons left on the $53.5 million contract he signed in September 2011. His release comes before the Titans start their off-season program Monday with new coach Ken Whisenhunt. General manager Ruston Webster said the Titans thank Johnson for his contributions, setting so many franchise records and being durable over his six seasons with Tennessee. "We have had an open dialogue with Chris agent, Joel Segal, over the last few weeks, and we appreciate the patience and professionalism they have shown throughout this process," Webster said in statement. "We made an effort to trade Chris but were unable to do so." The Titans have been busy working to replace Johnson, who turns 29 in September. They agreed with Dexter McCluster on a three-year deal at the start of free agency after signing Shonn Greene in March 2013. The Titans also re-signed Jackie Battle recently, along with reaching a one-year deal for kick returner and running back Leon Washington on March 11. Adding another running back in the May draft also is expected. It didnt help that Johnson repeatedly said he wouldnt take a pay cut. The Titans didnt face a deadline that would have guaranteed the $8 million Johnson was due in 2014 until the first week of the regular season, but Johnson planned to report for the start of the off-season program Monday. He flew into Nashville late Thursday night to meet with the Titans on Friday. "Id like to thank all of my teammates, the fans, the staff and the coaches who have supported me throughout my journey with the Titans," Johnson said in a statement." I have grown so much as an individual and as teammate over the past few years, and I am excited about the opportunity to bring my experience and talents to a new organization. Im looking forward to the next chapter and cant wait to contribute to my new team." Johnson got that big contract in 2011 after holding out through the preseason, calling himself a playmaker who deserved to be paid. He does have the most touchdown runs of 80 yards or longer in NFL history with six — twice the total of anyone else in a group including Adrian Peterson, Barry Sanders and O.J. Simpson. He also has 12 career TD runs of at least 45 yards, trailing only Sanders (18) and Jim Brown (13) in that category. He is just the sixth player to rush for 1,000 yards in each of his first six seasons, along with Sanders, Curtis Martin, LaDainian Tomlinson, Eric Dickerson and Corey Dillon. But Johnson has fallen far short of the 2,006-yard season he posted in 2009, the sixth man to rush for at least 2,000 yards. He earned the nickname CJ2K for such exploits, but last season he went until the final game to top 1,000 and finished with 1,077 yards — the second lowest total of his career. He also had a career-low 3.9-yard average. He was at his best catching 42 passes for 345 yards with four TDs, including a long of 66 yards. Greene, speaking on SiriusXM radio Friday, called Johnson a great teammate he had hoped would be back. Greene credited Johnson with teaching him a lot. "I still think he has a lot more, and hes going to prove that," Greene said. The Titans have been remaking the franchise this off-season since owner Bud Adams died in October. His son-in-law, Tommy Smith, took over as president, and the Titans fired coach Mike Munchak in January. Whisenhunt was hired to get this franchise back into the playoffs after a five-year drought, and he kept Sylvester Croom as the Titans running backs coach. Durability remains Johnsons best attribute. The 24th pick overall in 2008 out of East Carolina, Johnson has never missed a game because of injury. He had surgery after the season to repair a torn meniscus that he played with most of the year. Rob Gronkowski Patriots Jersey . The Kings have gone 6-0-3 over their last nine games despite having been held to three goals or fewer in eight of 10 contests this month. Los Angeles has failed to score more than two goals six times in that span. Tom Brady Jersey .C. -- Cameron Gaunce scored in overtime to lift the Texas Stars to a 4-3 win over the Abbotsford Heat in American Hockey League action Wednesday.TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Denny Hamlin started his full-time career at Joe Gibbs Racing with an upset victory in an exhibition race at Daytona. Over the years, he added three more wins in races that didnt count, including a sweep this season in the buildup to the Daytona 500. But when it came to the restrictor-plate races that paid points, Hamlin came up empty time and again. Until now. Hamlin, who opened the season with two exhibition victories only to finish second in the Daytona 500, was again sitting second in the closing laps Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway. But he won a drag race with leader Kevin Harvick on a restart with two laps remaining, and was out front when NASCAR froze the field because of debris from an accident. Hamlin let out a deep sigh when the yellow flag waved. "Superspeedway win," he said on his radio. "With points! With points!" "I think Ive gotten better. Ive come close. When you drive as aggressive as I drove early in my career on superspeedways, youre going to have a huge risk, huge reward," he said after the win. "I was either wrecking or finishing in the top three every single superspeedway race and was wrecking most of the time. I think this way of driving and the way Im doing things now kind of lends itself to being a little bit more consistent on these type of race tracks, and really you learn from the guys that are good at it." Hamlin became the eighth winner in 10 races this season as drivers jockey to grab the 16 spots available in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. A victory conceivably gives a driver an automatic berth, and Joe Gibbs Racing now has both Hamlin and Kyle Busch eligible for the Chase. "I wasnt ever worried, but you get a little bit more panicked when its, Win a race and youre in Chase, " he said. "You see all these guys logging wins, wins, wins, and the next thing you know theyre running out of Chase spots. Now we can be a little bit more relaxed." The win came at the track where Hamlin made a brief return last year -- he ran just 23 laps before turning his car over to Brian Vickers -- after missing four races with a broken back. Hamlins return to the car briefly built some momentum for the No. 11 team, but as his back continued to ache, the season fell apart in late summer and it took until the season finale for Hamlin to score his first win of the year. He also missed the Chase for the first time in his career. It didnt appear that Hamlin had enough to beat Harvick, already a two-time winner this season, until the final restart. Harvick didnt get the help he needed from behind, was hung out without any drafting partners, and Hamlin pulled out to a comfortable lead. "We were in a good spot there at the end, and what you would want to put yourself in a position to win," Harvick said. "Our line just never formed up." As Hamlin pulled away, an accident deep in the pack scattered debrris, and NASCAR was forced to throw the caution when a bumper was seen laying on the surface. Rob Ninkovich Womens Jersey. The yellow prevented Greg Biffle, who led five times for a race-high 58 laps, from pulling out of line in an attempt to grab the victory away from Hamlin. "I just didnt want to pass too early. I was going to be the lone soldier on the outside lane," Biffle said. "So I was just waiting. I was setting up to go by him but just never had the chance." Clint Bowyer finished third and was followed by Michael Waltrip Racing teammate Brian Vickers as Toyota took the victory and three of the top four spots. AJ Allmendinger finished fifth in a Chevrolet, followed by Paul Menard and then Harvick, who faded to seventh. Kasey Kahne, Kyle Larson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rounded out the top 10. Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished a disappointing 26th despite leading three times for 26 laps, second most in the race. Danica Patrick led two times for six laps, and the crowd roared its approval when she drove to the front early in the race. She finished 22nd. "It was nice to lead laps," she said. "It was a fast, fast car so well be happy to take this one to Daytona." It was a rough day for Brad Keselowski, a two-time Talladega winner, who darted to the lead on Lap 14 but appeared to not have cleared Patrick before squeezing in front of her car. She tapped the back of Keselowskis car, sending him for a spin through the grass that caused enough damage to drop him six laps off the pace. "We werent clear enough to make that," crew chief Paul Wolfe told his driver. "Ill just call it at that: We werent clear enough to make that move." Keselowski raced in the heart of the pack after the first incident in an attempt to get his laps back under caution periods. But he was heavily criticized for triggering a 14-car accident with 51 laps remaining. The accident began when Keselowski spun in front of Trevor Bayne, and among those collected were Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson. "Brad made a pretty bold move early, a mind-boggling move, in going in front of Danica and spun out in front of the field and got away with it," Kenseth said. "This time we werent so lucky. He was driving really, really, really aggressively to try to get back up there. "If it was the other way around and it was anybody else except for him, wed all be getting lectured." Gordon also chastised Keselowski. "I had seen him for several laps driving over his head being pretty aggressive," Gordon said. "I knew he was laps down, but he wasnt doing anybody any favours, nor himself." Keselowski took the blame for the late accident. "I just spun out in front of the whole field," he said. "I dont know why, if I just busted my butt on my own or lost a tire, but I feel bad for everyone that got torn up." ' ' '
