Atlanta grabbed a quarterback to help ease the loss of Michael Vick and Oakland snagged star rusher Darren McFadden with some of the top selections in Saturday’s National Football League draft.
Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan went third overall to the Falcons, who lost Michael Vick to prison when the star signal caller was convicted of financing a dogfight scheme.
The Raiders chose McFadden next, ignoring off-field incidents to pick perhaps the top offensive player available in the field. McFadden ran for 1,830 yards last season for the University of Arkansas.
The collegiate star scoring threats were taken after linemen went with the top two choices, although the usual suspense was swiped from the No. 1 selection thanks to offensive tackle Jake Long signing on Tuesday with Miami.
The University of Michigan standout will be the key blocker protecting the blind side of the Dolphins quarterback after agreeing to a five-year deal worth US$57.5 million that includes US$30 million in guaranteed money.
Long became only the third offensive tackle selected with the top pick, following Ron Yary in 1968 and Orlando Pace in 1997.
The St. Louis Rams made Chris Long, a defensive end from the University of Virginia, the second selection. The son of NFL Hall of Fame defensive end Howie Long made 14 sacks and 79 tackles last season.
Other top selections saw defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey go fifth to Kansas City, defensive end Vernon Gholston chosen sixth by the New York Jets and defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis selected seventh by New Orleans after a trade with New England.
Jacksonville made a deal with Baltimore for the eighth pick, taking defensive end Derrick Harvey, while linebacker Keith Rivers went ninth to Cincinnati and New England tabbed linebacker Jerod Mayo 10th.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
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