Patriots waive two undrafted rookies

The Patriots waived rookie defensive lineman Remi Ayodele and rookie wide receiver Jakari Wallace yesterday. Both were signed as undrafted free agents in May. Ayodele, 23, was signed May 8 out of Oklahoma. The 6-foot-2-inch, 300-pound defensive lineman collected 22 tackles in his two seasons with the Sooners. Wallace, 23, was signed May 15. The 5-8, 170-pound wide receiver had 40 career receptions for 603 yards at the University of Minnesota . . . San Diego Chargers center Nick Hardwick, responsible for calling out blocking schemes for an offensive line that has helped its backfield gain 2,000 yards each of the past two seasons, signed a six-year contract through 2011 . . . Southern California receiver Dwayne Jarrett violated NCAA rules by not paying enough rent for the apartment he shared with Matt Leinart and was declared ineligible -- though the All-America receiver might not miss any playing time. Jarrett must apply for reinstatement with the NCAA before he can play this season and he might have to repay several thousand dollars to Leinart's father, who paid most of the rent on the apartment.

Albert Pujols, who's eligible to come off the 15-day disabled list early next week, was optimistic he'd return from a strained side muscle sooner than St. Louis officials had originally predicted. The Cardinals slugger was on the field for drills at first base several hours before last night's game against the Rockies and after the workout, last year's NL MVP said he felt surprisingly good . . . The Cardinals signed their top draft pick, Northeastern righthander Adam Ottavino. Ottavino, the 30th overall selection in the June 6 amateur draft, will be assigned to the Single A short-season State College Spikes in Pennsylvania . . . The Seattle Mariners signed righthander Brandon Morrow, the fifth overall selection in the draft . . . John Maine allowed two runs in five innings, and Michael Tucker and Chris Basak drove in two runs each as the host Norfolk Tides beat the Pawtucket Red Sox, 10-3 . . . Chris Smith scattered five hits over seven scoreless innings and Luis Jimenez and David Bacani homered to help the visiting Portland Sea Dogs rout the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, 8-0 . . . Andy D'Alessio hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning to highlight the biggest late-game College World Series comeback in 20 years as top-seeded Clemson beat Georgia Tech, 8-4, in Omaha. The Tigers scored all of their runs in the eighth in the CWS opening game . . . Josh Horton broke a tie with an RBI single in the 13th inning and North Carolina beat Cal State Fullerton, 7-5, in the second-longest game in College World Series history at 4 hours 53 minutes.

Twenty-six straight opponents couldn't do what a sore left shoulder did to Rafael Nadal. It got the better of him. The French Open champion lost for the first time in nearly three months when he retired in the quarterfinals of the grass-court Queen's Club tournament in London. The top seed won the first set, 6-3, against Lleyton Hewitt, who won the second by the same score. Nadal needed treatment on his serving shoulder, and retired after the second set. Nadal said he planned to be back for Wimbledon, which begins June 26. Andy Roddick defeated Fernando Gonzalez, 6-4, 6-3, to move into the semifinals against James Blake, who advanced when Gael Monfils retired with a back injury. Hewitt will face Tim Henman, who defeated Russian Dmitry Tursunov, 6-3, 7-6 (7-1) . . . Roger Federer saved four match points and overcame 57 unforced errors to beat Olivier Rochus, 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (11-9), 7-6 (7-5), at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany, for his 39th straight win on grass. The top-ranked Swiss will play Tommy Haas, who defeated Robin Soderling, 7-5, 6-4, in the semifinals . . . Top-seeded Maria Sharapova defeated Mara Santangelo, 6-2, 6-2, to advance to the semifinals of the DFS Classic grass-court tournament in Birmingham, England. The defending champion will face American Jamea Jackson, who upset Elena Likhovtseva, 6-4, 6-3, to reach her first WTA Tour semifinal. American qualifier Meilen Tu defeated Marion Bartoli, 6-4, 6-4.

Former University of Connecticut star Diana Taurasi scored a career-high 35 points as the host Phoenix Mercury overtook the Sun, 91-86, and snapped Connecticut's five-game WNBA win streak . . . Tina Thompson scored 22 points to help the Houston Comets pull away for a 72-58 victory over the host New York Liberty . . . Cheryl Ford had 15 points and a season-high 18 rebounds to help the host Detroit Shock end a two-game losing streak with a 71-63 victory over the Indiana Fever . . . Shannon Johnson hit her first seven shots from the field and scored 21 points to help the San Antonio Silver Stars snap a 10-game home losing streak with a 90-60 victory over the Minnesota Lynx . . . Villanova point guard Kyle Lowry will remain in the NBA draft and forgo his final two years of eligibility . . . Three-time Stanley Cup-winning goalie Andy Moog was given a player development role with the Dallas Stars, and his spot behind the bench as assistant coach will be taken by former player Ulf Dahlen.