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PRETORIA, South Africa -- The judge in Oscar Pistorius trial ruled out a murder conviction for the double-amputee Olympian Thursday in the shooting death of his girlfriend but said he was negligent, raising the possibility hell be convicted of culpable homicide. The verdict in the case that has riveted much of South Africa and the world is expected on Friday when Judge Thokozile Masipa reconvenes the judgment phase, climaxing the trial that began in March. If Pistorius is acquitted of murder, he could still be sent to jail for a maximum of 15 years if convicted of culpable homicide, which is the killing of someone through reckless or negligent behaviour, although five years in prison is a guideline when a firearm is used. The red-robed Masipa, sitting in the dais and looking down at Pistorius and the packed courtroom, said she felt Pistorius acted negligently when he fired four times through a toilet door in his home in the pre-dawn hours of Valentines Day last year. In a moment of high-drama, Masipa then stopped reading out her verdict in the six-month-long trial and adjourned until Friday. Because there is no trial by jury in South Africa, Masipa is expected to explain exactly why she and her two legal aides came to the decision they have before the judge issues the verdict. "I am of the view that the accused acted too hastily and with excessive force," Masipa said of Pistorius actions on the fatal night. She said the prosecution had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Pistorius committed premeditated murder. She also ruled out a lesser murder charge. As she spoke, Pistorius began sobbing quietly on the wooden bench, his shoulders shaking. Murder is an illegal, intentional killing. A premeditated, or planned, murder would carry a heavier sentence in the event of a conviction. The world-famous athlete has acknowledged firing the shots through the toilet door in his home, hitting Steenkamp in the head, arm and hip area with hollow-point bullets from his 9 mm pistol. He said he mistook her for an intruder and denied murder, but the judge said Pistorius still could have taken other action, like calling the police or security at his housing estate. "Did the accused fail to take steps he should have taken? Yes," Masipa said. "He failed to take any steps to avoid the death." The prosecution alleged that the athlete intentionally killed his girlfriend, a model and budding reality TV star, after a loud nighttime argument heard by neighbours. Masipa said there were "just not enough facts" to support the finding of premeditated murder or the lesser murder without pre-planning. "The accused cannot be found guilty of murder," the judge said. At the start of the judgment hearing, Masipa told Pistorius, 27, that he should remain seated on the bench while she read her findings out and until she asked him to stand for the verdict. In her hours-long assessment of witness evidence, she called Pistorius a "very poor witness" who had lost his composure on the stand and was at times "evasive." But Masipa emphasized that did not mean he was guilty of murder. The 66-year-old judge also cast doubt on witness accounts of hearing a womans screams, a key part of the prosecutions case. The defence had argued that it was Pistorius who was screaming in a high-pitched voice after discovering he had fatally shot Steenkamp. Masipa also cited testimony of an acoustics expert called by the defence, saying it cast "serious doubt" on whether witnesses who were hundreds of meters (yards) away in their homes -- as some state witnesses were -- could have differentiated between the screams of a man or a woman. At one point, Masipa said: "I continue to explain why most witnesses got their facts wrong." Masipa also said she was disregarding text messages between Steenkamp and Pistorius that had been entered as evidence. Prosecutors had submitted text messages that showed tension between them while the defence submitted messages that indicated mutual affection. That evidence, the judge said, doesnt prove anything. "Normal relationships are dynamic and unpredictable most of the time, while human beings are fickle," she said. Pistorius faced 25 years to life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder. He also faced a minimum of 15 years in jail if found guilty of murder without pre-planning. Pistorius is charged with murder, two counts of unlawfully firing a gun in a public place in unrelated incidents and one count of illegal possession of ammunition. Before Thursdays session began, Pistorius hugged his brother Carl, who was seated in a wheelchair because of leg injuries suffered in a recent car crash. The parents of Steenkamp were also in the packed gallery. Other members of Pistorius family, including his father Henke, sat behind him. If Pistorius is convicted on any charge, the case will be postponed until a later sentencing hearing. Adidas Nmd Dk . He still wanted out. "It just seemed like the direction they were going didnt fit what I thought my career was going to be," Kesler said. "At the end of the day I want to win a championship and I want to win it now, and four years is a little too long for me. Adidas Nmd Herre Sort . 3 Ohio State. Amedeo Della Valle had 15 points, Marc Loving scored a career-high 13 and the bench provided 38 points as the Buckeyes sprinted past Nebraska 84-53 on Saturday. http://www.dknmdskotilbud.com/. - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going to meet with Richie Incognito to determine if one of the central figures in the Miami Dolphins bullying scandal can help their struggling offensive line. Adidas Nmd Herre Sort Tilbud .Y. -- A month ago, Syracuse was unbeaten, ranked No. Adidas Nmd r1 Herre Sort . Bookies were offering odds of 13/1 before kickoff that the home team Houston Dynamo would prevail by three goals to nil.LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The Portland Trail Blazers are hoping theyve put all the bad habits behind them with the playoffs on the horizon. And with a healthy LaMarcus Aldridge providing his usual numbers, they are confident that they can make some noise in the post-season — with or without home-court advantage. Damian Lillard scored 34 points, Aldridge had 31 points and 15 rebounds, and the Blazers beat the Los Angeles Lakers 124-112 Tuesday night. "We had a rough stretch, but now weve kind of picked it back up and were going in the right direction at the perfect time," Lillard said. "Now that were close to the post-season, we want to have that rhythm going into the playoffs — because thats what we play the regular season for." The Blazers fourth straight win, coupled with Houstons loss at Brooklyn, moved Portland within 1 1/2 games of the Rockets for fourth place in the Western Conference and home-court advantage in the opening round of the playoffs. The Rockets have three games in hand. The Blazers have six games left on their schedule, five of them at home. One more win will give them their 12th 50-win season in the franchises 44-year history. But the last four times the team won 50 or more games, they didnt make it past the first round of the post-season. "We dont have a lot of control over that. Right now, its about winning every game and gearing up for the playoffs," coach Terry Stotts said. "Its that mindset thats the most important thing. Whatever happens with the seedings and all that — I mean, we havent even clinched a playoff spot yet." Nick Young, the fifth and last player off the Los Angeles bench, made his first eight shots and finished 15 for 26 with a season-high 40 points. But it wasnt enough to prevent the Lakers 10th defeat in 14 games. They slipped to 25-49 — the most losses by the club since finishing 33-49 in 1993-94. The franchise hasnt lost 50 games in a season since 1974-75 (30-52). "I didnt know I made my first eight shots," Young said. "I just got into a zone. I got into a rhythm kind of fast." Youngs point total was the highest off the bench by any player in the league this season, surpassing the 37 Jamal Crawford had for the Clippers on Jan.dddddddddddd. 25 at Toronto. Youngs high-point game in the NBA was 43, for the Washington Wizards against Sacramento on Jan. 11, 2011. "Nick Young had a lot of easy shots in the first half," Aldridge said. "Hes a great scorer, so hes going to score. But we did a better job in the second half of making his shots harder." Aldridge, playing his fourth game after missing the previous seven because of a bruised lower back, hit a 13-footer to cap an 18-9 run that extended Portlands two-point halftime margin to 81-70 at the midway mark of the third quarter. Young kept the Lakers within striking distance with his 3-point shooting, draining one with 10:47 left in the game to pull them within 93-86. But Lillard responded with a pair of 3-pointers 28 seconds apart to extend Portlands margin to 13 points, and Los Angeles got no closer than nine the rest of the way. "Coming in, we felt this could be a trap game against a team thats not in the playoff race. But we knew coming in that they were a dangerous team," Lillard said. The Lakers were bolstered by the return of Xavier Henry and two-time MVP Steve Nash, who played in only his 13th game of the season and came off the bench for just the third time in his 18-year career. Nash, who turned 40 on Feb. 7, had 10 points and 10 assists in 22 minutes. The eight-time All-Star has been plagued most of the season by nerve root irritation following his comeback from a broken left leg, which led to issues with his back, hip and hamstrings. NOTES: Lillard became the first player in Trail Blazers history to make 200 3-pointers in a season when he connected with 8:07 left in the first quarter. Wesley Matthews is close behind him with 186. ... The Lakers played before their eighth non-sellout crowd. Before this season, they had sold out every home game since Dec. 6, 2006. ... Portland C Meyers Leonard was ejected after his flagrant 2 foul on Kendall Marshall with 39.9 seconds to play. ... Portland C Robin Lopez had 10 points and 10 rebounds on his 26th birthday. ' ' '