ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - The NFLs officiating chief has cleared Broncos receiver Wes Welker of any wrongdoing for his hit that knocked Patriots cornerback Aqib Talib out of Sundays AFC Championship. "It was a legal hit," Vice-President of Officiating Dean Blandino said on the NFL Network on Wednesday night. On Monday, New England coach Bill Belichick blasted Welker for the hit, calling it "one of the worst plays" hed seen in nearly four decades of coaching. Without mentioning his former player by name, Belichick said it "was a deliberate play by the receiver to take out Aqib, no attempt to get open." He added, "Ill let the league handle the discipline on that play." There will be no discipline for Welker; Blandino said there was simply no infraction of the rules. Welker, coming from the right, collided with Talib, who was running from the left to stay with his receiver, a split-second before Peyton Mannings pass went off the hands of receiver Demaryius Thomas a few yards away in the first quarter Sunday. No flag was thrown. Talib left the game with a knee injury and didnt return, and Manning threw for 400 yards in Denvers 26-16 win that sent the top-seeded Broncos to the Super Bowl. "The first potential foul would be for offensive pass interference; a receiver cant block downfield before the ball is touched, so the timing is important," Blandino said on his weekly appearance on the NFL Network. He noted that as "contact occurs, the ball is touched almost simultaneously. We dont have a foul for pass interference." "The other thing, is it unnecessary roughness? Under the current rules it isnt," Blandino said. "Its not late; Talib wasnt out of the play." Given that an injury occurred, Blandino said he expects the leagues competition committee to examine the play in the off-season "and determine if there needs to be a change. But under the current rules, this is a legal play." Welker, who had a cool relationship with Belichick before leaving New England as a free agent last off-season, hasnt been available for comment this week as the Broncos wont practice until Thursday. But after the game, Welker said, "it was one of those plays where its kind of a rub play and I was trying to get him to go over the top, and I think he was thinking the same thing and wanted to come underneath and we just kind of collided. ... It wasnt a deal where I was trying to hit him or anything like that." Broncos coach John Fox responded to Belichicks stinging criticism on Monday by saying Welker is a "a great player, high integrity. I can say that we were not doing anything with intent." At 5-foot-9 and 185 pounds, Welker is 4 inches shorter and 20 pounds lighter than Talib. Hes also wearing a special helmet to guard against further head injury after missing the final month of the season with his second concussion. Hes also never been known as a dirty player. Patriots safety Steve Gregory said he didnt think Welker would deliberately try to hurt a player, saying, "I dont think anybody plays that way, especially at this level of football with two great football teams in the Broncos and ourselves." Blandino said he has spoken with Belichick this week about the play "and obviously there is a difference of opinion there and something that well continue to look at during the off-season." ___ AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org ___ Follow AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton Arjen Robben Netherland Jersey . Catch all the action on TSN2 at 11pm et/8pm pt. 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Paul Verhaegh Netherland Jersey .Y. - New York City has been selected to host the NBA All-Star weekend in 2015, with the game played at Madison Square Garden and the slam dunk contest and other skills events held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said he is ready to return to coaching just three days after a procedure to have two stents placed in his heart. Clifford said he will coach Monday night when the Bobcats host the Atlanta Hawks. "I feel fine," Clifford said following Mondays shoot around. "I havent had any pain, even minor pain, since the incident." Clifford, 52, said he was taken by ambulance to the hospital Thursday night after experiencing chest pains while dining at a Charlotte restaurant. The following day doctors inserted the stents to prevent blockage to the heart. "I had significant pain in my chest and I was having trouble breathing," Clifford said. "So it was scary enough where I had them call 911. And I was lucky that I did. ... Once I got the hospital I felt good." Clifford said he feels lucky that he acted as quickly as he did, knowing the incident could have been worse had he ignored the warning signs. "At least I got a warning signal," Clifford said. "Things worked out well. The doctors have me on a good plan and Im going to follow it." He said he will need to change his diet. "I will have to, but its only been two days and obviously it hasnt shown up yet," he said with a laugh as he rubbed his stomach. Clifford only missed one game — a 101-91 loss Friday night tto the New York Knicks.dddddddddddd Associate head coach Patrick Ewing filled in for Clifford. Doctors advised Clifford to take it easy, which wont be easy considering the Bobcats have four games in six days. Clifford is in his first season with the Bobcats. He was hired to replace Mike Dunlap, who was fired after the Bobcats finished 21-61 last season. Clifford isnt the only one returning Monday night. He said centre Al Jefferson, who missed five games with an ankle injury, will start against Atlanta. Jefferson could give the Bobcats (3-3) an added boost in Cliffords return. Jefferson, who signed a three-year, $41 million contract with the Bobcats this off-season, first injured his ankle in the teams second preseason game against the Miami Heat. He sat out to remainder of the preseason and returned to play in the regular season opener at Houston. However, he re-aggravated the ankle and hasnt played since. "I dont know how many minutes hell play, but he feels good and didnt have any soreness from practice," Clifford said. "Well start him and try to integrate him into our play as best that we can." When Jefferson was told he was starting he replied, "Thats music to my ears." 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