RENTON, Wash. - The Seattle Seahawks are continuing efforts to keep core players from reaching free agency, signing defensive end Cliff Avril to a four-year extension on Friday worth up to $28.5 million.Im happy to know that Ill be back in Seattle with such a great group of guys, Avril said. The talent on this team is amazing and Im glad to be a part of it.Avrils deal came a day after the Seahawks signed linebacker K.J. Wright to a four-year extension worth $27 million. Seattle made it a priority to keep the pair from becoming free agents after the season.Cliff has been instrumental in what weve been building on the defensive side of the ball and we are excited that hell be with us for another four years, Seattle general manager John Schneider said in a statement. He has been relentless in his approach to the game and his passion for winning is contagious.Avril is in his second year with Seattle after signing a two-year deal before the 2013 season. Avril has started all 14 games and has 4 1/2 sacks this season. He had eight sacks last year playing in more of a rotation on Seattles defensive line.Avril said he didnt want to be a free agent again and didnt enjoy the process two years ago that ultimately brought him to Seattle. Avril told his agent not to inform him of a deal until something was close and promising.Avril has already won more games with Seattle (23 regular season, 26 with playoffs) than he did in his five seasons in Detroit (22).I love what coach (Pete) Carroll is doing with the guys here, Avril said. I love the scheme. The guys that we have in the locker room make it so fun to play here. Just being in Seattle and the environment we have going, I just want to keep the party going.While his sack numbers are down this season, Avrils success in pressuring the quarterback has increased. Hes already exceeded last years total in quarterback hits and combined with Michael Bennett to help the Seahawks pass rush improve throughout the season.Weve found the core guys that we really like and were trying to keep them here and keep them together, Carroll said. .We have a chance to be together for a long time and thats a big statement and a big commitment and were really happy to do that.Seattle had a season-high six sacks last week against San Francisco. The Seahawks have 16 sacks in the past four games. They had 13 sacks in their first 10 games.The Seahawks have now locked up several of their core players for the future. Strong safety Kam Chancellor was first before the start of the 2013 season. All-Pros Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman, and wide receiver Doug Baldwin, were all extended following Seattles title last season. Bennett also chose to stay with Seattle, signing a three-year deal last off-season.Notes: Carroll said tackle Russell Okung (chest), centre Max Unger (ankle/knee) and defensive end Demarcus Dobbs (ankle) wont play against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Okung is listed as out while Unger and Dobbs are doubtful on the injury report. . Tight end Tony Moeaki (shoulder) and receiver Chris Matthews (hamstring) are expected to be game-time decisions.___AP freelancer Curtis Crabtree contributed to this report.___Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFLDiscount Yeezys . The whole deflation of New England Patriots footballs is like a murder mystery without the violence or significance. On one side, this is a ridiculous issue. Discount Yeezy Shop . -- Jonas Hiller is cautiously confident he has kicked his vertigo. http://www.wholesaleyeezy.com/. Solomon Elimimian did not make the trip with the team after suffering what appeared to be a right leg injury in the teams regular season finale against the Calgary Stampeders. Wholesale Yeezy Replica . Bayern winger Franck Ribery marked his league return after recovering from a cracked rib by scoring two goals and setting up two more as the league leaders inflicted the heaviest home defeat on Bremen in the Bundesliga. Wholesale Yeezy Boost .J. -- The New York Jets have promoted Tony Sparano Jr.DALLAS -- Monta Ellis is headed to his first Game 7, and DeJuan Blair gets a chance to play his old team in San Antonio one more time after all. Dallas star Dirk Nowitzki will return to the site of one of the best moments of his stellar career. Ellis scored 12 of his 29 points to lead a fourth-quarter comeback that also got an energetic boost from Blair in his return after getting suspended, and the Mavericks forced a deciding game in their first-round series with top-seeded San Antonio, beating the Spurs 113-111 on Friday night. "Put all of our chips on the table and see what happens," said Ellis, whose 3-pointer put eighth-seeded Dallas ahead for a good at 94-92 with 5 minutes to go. Tony Parker matched Nowitzki with 22 points to lead the heavily favoured Spurs, who are stuck in a tossup series after they won all four games against the Mavericks during the regular season and had a 10-game winning streak against them after taking the opener. The only other time these teams played a Game 7, Nowitzki had an improbable three-point play to force overtime in San Antonio in 2006. The Mavericks went on to win the second-round series and reached the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. "Well, its the ultimate thrill," said Nowitzki, who is 4-0 in Game 7s in his career. "Nothing matters anymore. Just this one game." And Blair will be there. He missed Game 5 in South Texas after the league suspended him for kicking Tiago Splitter in the head when he was called for a foul when the pair got tangled up and fell to the court in Game 4. He never said he was mad that the league suspended him, but he showed it, knocking Parker the court with a hard screen that led to a three-point play at the end of the first half for Devin Harris. Then, he had four rebounds and two steals in the fourth quarter -- and finished with 10 points and 14 boards for his second double-double of the series. "His energy was great," said his old coach, San Antonios Gregg Popovich. "He was a man possessed on both ends of the floor. Thought he was really super." Blair had plenty of time to think about Game 6 after watching the previous game alone in his hotel room in San Antonio. "Winning on their court would be the best revenge," said Blairr, who spent his first four seasons with the Spurs and was with them for a heartbreaking loss to Miami in the NBA Finals last year.dddddddddddd "We just have to bring it next game." The Mavericks handed the Spurs their first road defeat when leading after three quarters this season on the same floor where Vince Carter had given them a 2-1 series lead and sent the crowd into hysterics with an improbable winning 3-pointer. Fans were standing the entire fourth quarter this time, when the Mavericks trailed by five points to start the final 12 minutes before a 14-2 run for an eight-point lead. Parker got the Spurs close again and had a duel of driving layups with Ellis in the final 2 minutes. Parker, who had 13 of his points in the fourth and added six assists, spun through the lane before shovelling one up over Nowitzki with his left hand to get the Spurs within 106-105. The Mavericks pushed the lead back to six before the Spurs made it interesting again with 3-pointers from Danny Green and Patty Mills. It wasnt over until a shot by Mills on an inbound play with 0.4 seconds left was ruled to have been late. It was short anyway. "I thought we just made too many mistakes tonight," said Tim Duncan, who had 16 points and nine rebounds. "Giving up 37 points in the last quarter is just too much for us. Defensively, weve got to be a little more solid than that." Both teams had six players in double figures, with Splitter making 11 of 12 free throws for a playoff career-high 19 points. Danny Green had 17, matching his total for the first five games of the series combined, and Tim Duncan had 16 points and nine rebounds. Carter finished with 13, and Jose Calderon had 12 points and six assists. NOTES: The Spurs were 25-0 on the road when leading after three quarters before this game. Theyre now 55-2 overall for the season. ... The Mavericks had seven turnovers in the second quarter, and the sloppy stretch helped the Spurs cut an 11-point deficit to two at 41-39. Dallas had seven more turnovers in the third, when a six-point lead turned into a five-point deficit. ... Mavericks C Brandan Wright did not play for the first time in the series after playing a series-high 26 minutes in Game 5 when Dallas pick-and-roll defence was shredded. ' ' '