Welcome to Wednesday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.

WEDNESDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
NBA: Knicks at Suns, 9 p.m. (NBATV)
College football: Little Caesars Bowl, Western Kentucky vs. Central Michigan, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

AROUND THE WEB:

Kevin McHale heads to Minnesota after guiding Jeremy Lin and the Rockets past the Bulls on Tuesday night. (AP)

♦ Rockets coach (and Celtics legend) Kevin McHale is set to make an emotional return to Minneapolis on Wednesday night. McHale, a Minnesota native who spent 16 years working for the Timberwolves as a TV analyst, executive and coach, raised his children in the area. This is his first visit to Target Center since the Nov. 24 death of his 23-year-old daughter, Sasha, from lupus. McHale’s wife and four remaining children will attend the game as well.

Following Tuesday night’s victory over the Bulls, the Rockets are 6-3 since McHale returned to the team for a Dec. 8 game against the Mavericks. That includes a Dec. 14 victory over the Celtics, after which former Timberwolves star Kevin Garnett gave McHale a long embrace.

“Everywhere we go, somebody comes up to him to give him a big hug,” Rockets assistant coach J.B. Bickerstaff told the Pioneer Press newspaper in Minnesota. “Over the last 33 years or so, his touch has been felt all over the NBA. It’s hard to find people who don’t like Kevin McHale, who weren’t touched by him in some way.”

♦ Former Patriots receiver Chad Johnson admitted that a sex tape making its way around the Internet is of him with two women, but he denies that he wanted it to go public. Johnson, released by the Dolphins before the season, said the tape was shot in a Florida hotel room about three years ago. He said he’s exploring legal options to have the tape removed.

Johnson, 34, had an unimpressive 2011 season with the Patriots (when he was known as Chad Ochocinco) after 10 productive seasons with the Bengals. He has said he wants to return to the NFL.

♦ Former Braves and Yankees outfielder Andruw Jones was arrested in suburban Atlanta early Tuesday morning on a battery charge following a domestic dispute with his wife. He released on bond later in the day.

Jones, a 10-time Gold Glove-winner for the Braves who has 434 home runs in 17 major league seasons, played last season for the Yankees. He signed a one-year contract with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan’s Pacific League earlier this month.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Dec. 26, 1976, Bruins forward John Bucyk scored in a 6-3 victory over the visiting Cleveland Barons, giving him 545 career goals and moving him past which Canadiens legend for fourth place on the all-time list?

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Chad Johnson

Chad Johnson, who was an extremely marketable player only a week ago, continued his downward trend on Wednesday.

The coconut water company Zico severed ties with Johnson as a result of the wide receiver’s domestic battery arrest on Saturday. The endorsement deal lasted less than a month as it was originally announced on July 27.

“In light of recent events involving Mr. Johnson, we have decided to terminate our relationship,” the company said in a statement. “The values we espouse, through our employees, our customers and our brand, are central to our mission. We have taken this proactive step to demonstrate just how important those values are.”

The 34-year-old was arrested on Saturday after reportedly head-butting his wife Evelyn Lozada. He was then immediately cut by the Dolphins on Sunday and Lozada then filed for a divorce on Tuesday.

The Celtics Kevin Garnett is also endorsed by Zico.

Evelyn Lozada is divorcing former Patriots wide receiver Chad Johnson just 41 days after the couple got married. Johnson was arrested for head-butting Lozada in their home on Saturday night.

Lozada said that Johnson “needs help” and that he was lying when he told police she was the one who head-butted him on Saturday night.

Johnson made his first statement following his recent domestic battery arrest, apologizing in a statement released via the Ocho Cinco News Network.

“I would like to apologize to everyone for the recent events that have occurred,” Johnson said. “ I would like to wish Evelyn well and will never say anything bad about her because I truly love her to death. I will continue to be positive and train hard for another opportunity in the NFL. To all the fans and supporters I have disappointed, you have my sincerest apologies.  I will stay positive and get through this tough period in my life.”

Johnson was cut by the Dolphins on Monday following Saturday’s arrest.

Not everyone in Miami is thrilled with the Dolphins’ decision to dump Chad Johnson following his arrest Saturday night.

Middle linebacker Karlos Dansby, appearing on 640 Sports in Ft. Lauderdale with Sid Rosenberg, said he disagrees with the decision to cut ties with the former Patriot.

“It’s going to be a bigger distraction because we let him go,” Dansby said, via excerpts of the show disseminated by 640 Sports. “He didn’t get that third strike. That’s just me personally. …  We’ve been through worse. We’ve seen worse.”

Citing a source with knowledge of the situation, Mike Florio of NBCSports.com writes that Johnson was actually working on a one-strike arrangement.

While Dansby, who said he believes he speaks for the entire team, acknowledged that the front office likely had more information than the players, he said it’s “tough to lose a good man.”

Dansby specifically said he’s “upset” that Johnson was cut and added that, despite his colorful persona and on-field antics, Johnson took his job seriously.

“The man don’t drink, the man don’t smoke,” Dansby said. “He may clown around, but when it comes to football, he’s all about football. That’s his life. For him to be in this situation, that’s unfortunate. And it’s out of character.”

Chad Johnson

The Chad Ochocinco experience has come to an end. Not just for the Patriots, who released the 34-year-old receiver in June, but for the player himself.

The former Pro Bowler announced his intention to change his surname back to Johnson earlier in the year, in anticipation of his marriage. Now a member of the Dolphins, Johnson was married on July 4, a few days before he first began the legal process to change his name.

On Monday, Johnson was in the Broward County courthouse to finalize a process that allowed him to legally change his name back to Johnson. The name change cost him a $401 filing fee.

He changed his name to Ochocinco on Aug. 8, 2008, when he was a member of the Bengals.

The days of Romeo Crennel and GM Phil Savage in Cleveland certainly appear to be waning. From the fine folks at Pro Football Talk, candidates are starting to line up as the team suffers through a remarkably disappointing 4-9 season. Then there’s that OTHER team in Ohio that has NFL membership and licensing privileges. Gotta love Chad Ochocinco. Only he could draw attention to a 1-11-1 team by predicting his team will be better next season. What Detroit wouldn’t give for a guy like that? Maybe they will in the off-season.