Lions' Delmas, Bengals' Ochocinco share in trash talk

Louis Delmas shares the same agent with Cincinnati wide receiver Chad Ochocinco. One day, the agent put the players on the phone together. Naturally, they started talking trash.

“It was fun then, so I know it’s going to be fun now,” Delmas said.

The Lions drafted Delmas in the second round in April and visit the Bengals on Sunday. Delmas will go head-to-head with Ochocinco, a dangerous player and the league’s most outgoing personality.

“Tell him he’s going to get an earful, so wear some earplugs,” Ochocinco said Wednesday in a conference call with Detroit reporters.

Delmas might be a rookie safety on the NFL’s worst pass defense. But he has shown he won’t shy away from anyone. He delivers big hits. He talks big smack. He is often on the edge —sometimes drawing a flag, sometimes not.

Ochocinco offers a unique challenge. Delmas spoke highly of him as a receiver and a wordsmith.

“He’s very fast, and he’s smart,” Delmas said. “He talks a lot. I think one of his professions outside of football, he could be a rapper. He rhymes so good.”
Delmas has been preparing for Ochocinco on both fronts.

“Watching film on him, I’ve been thinking in my mind so much, little things I can say to try to compare to him,” Delmas said. “He’s got so many things that come out and pop out of his head. I’m just going to try to go in there and get in his head as much as possible, even though I know it’s probably going to be impossible to do that.”

“Tell him: Sit down,” Ochocinco said. “Don’t do that … because he’s going to end up having a bad day. You’re not going to beat me at my game.”

Ochocinco game-plans for trash talk, too. He researches hometowns, high schools, family history — whatever might throw someone off. He won’t give a preview for Sunday. He won’t give any great lines of the past. But he will give a rating.

“Remember, I never disrespect an opponent — ever,” Ochocinco said. “So you know it’s PG.”

Ochocinco declined to take shots at the Lions — not even their secondary, an easy target the Bengals likely will exploit Sunday. He called the secondary “beautiful.” (Perhaps beauty is in the eye of the opponent.)

People in Sports | Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant: He's just 21, but the Oklahoma City Thunder star sounds like a grizzled veteran when he notes that for all the potential his team has with himself, Jeff Green, Russell Westbrook and James Harden — all among the top five picks in the past three NBA drafts — there also comes peril.

"You're going to have highs and lows, especially with us growing as a team, us being young," he said. "But we've got to make up for that with working hard and playing hard in games. I think that'll limit that. It starts with me being a leader."

Durant averaged 25.3 points — sixth in the NBA in 2008-09 — but the Thunder led the league in turnovers.

The glimmer of hope comes from the end of last season, when the Thunder — in its first campaign since moving from Seattle — finished 20-30 after a horrid 3-29 start.

Knicks offload Randolph and Crawford

The New York Knicks offloaded Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford in deals on Friday to clear salary-cap space for 2010 when the potent free-agent class of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh hits the market.

Power forward Randolph, along with guard Mardy Collins, was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers for Cuttino Mobley and Tim Thomas while guard Crawford was exchanged for Golden State Warriors forward Al Harrington.

By dispensing with their two leading scorers in Randolph and Crawford, the Knicks will clear salary-cap space of around $27 million for 2010 as they pursue Cleveland Cavaliers standout James.

"I drafted Al back in 1998 and I think his talents are a great fit for our style of play," Knicks President Donnie Walsh said in a statement.

"This trade also gives us more long-term flexibility while enabling us to remain competitive this season.

"To acquire a player of Al's caliber we had to give up someone we all really liked in Jamal. We thank him for his contributions both on and off the court and wish him all the best in Golden State."

Harrington, a first-round pick by the Indiana Pacers in the 1998 draft, has averaged 13 points and 5.8 rebounds in 660 NBA games. This season his average is 12.4 points and 5.6 rebounds after five games.

"Zach is an extremely talented player who produces numbers that few players can and we thank him, and Mardy, for their efforts as Knickerbockers," Walsh added.

The Knicks lie sixth in the Eastern Conference standings with a win-loss record of 6-5.