first time since 2005. They won three in a row at from zgr123's blog
BEREA, Ohio -- Johnny Football fell and landed in the Dawg Pound. Jeff Teague Pacers Jersey . Johnny Manziel, college footballs most entertaining player with the reputation for pulling off magical plays, was selected with the No. 22 overall pick in the NFL draft on Thursday night by the Cleveland Browns, who hope they have finally found their franchise quarterback. Manziel sat patiently in the wings at Radio City Music Hall, waiting nearly three hours for his name to be called as everyone from Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers to the leagues official Twitter account tweeted about him squirming in his chair backstage. Then the Browns, who made two earlier trades, made another one with Philadelphia and selected the polarizing and electrifying 6-footer. Manziel walked onto the stage to meet Commissioner Roger Goodell and rubbed his fingers together, a signature "money" gesture that endeared him to some fans and annoyed others. In Cleveland, some Browns backers celebrated Manziels selection like the team had just won the Super Bowl. Of course, the Browns have never even made it to the NFLs showcase event and havent won a title since 1964 -- a golden anniversary that will arrive in December. But Manziel brings hope to a city that has witnessed little but losing since the Browns returned as an expansion team in 1999. Manziel now must back up the hype around him. "The team obviously wants to win and wants to win now," Manziel said on a conference call. "Ive been a winner everywhere Ive been. Im ready to work extremely hard. " Manziels size scared away some teams, but he believes his playmaking skills translate to the pro game. "Im used to that by now," Manziel said. "Ive been scrutinized and nitpicked. Ive proven it from my first year to my next and I always get better." Manziel is expected to compete with starter Brian Hoyer, who showed promise last season before suffering a knee injury. Manziel brings an instantaneous buzz and national relevance to the Browns, who have made the playoffs just once since 1999 and have lost at least 11 games in each of the past six seasons. Cleveland is on its third coach in three years, but Mike Pettine is inheriting a team with potential and five Pro Bowlers on its roster. And now, hes got Manziel -- and the circus that will come along with him. The Browns have to hope the No. 22 pick doesnt haunt them again. Thats the pick they also used on quarterback Brady Quinn, whose first-round slide in 2007 was similar to Manziels drop, and they also drafted Brandon Weeden two years ago. He was released in March. Theres no doubt Manziel will help sell tickets and his jersey will be coveted by every young Cleveland fan. But what remains to be seen is if he can win. Earlier, as Manziel waited, the Browns made two trades and selected Oklahoma State cornerback Justin Gilbert with the No. 8 pick. With the first deal of the draft, the Browns moved down five spots and acquired Buffalos No. 9 pick and first- and fourth-round picks next year. Cleveland then swapped picks with Minnesota, acquiring a fifth-rounder before taking Gilbert, who they plan to play on the opposite side of Pro Bowler Joe Haden. "Hes long. Hes fast. Hes explosive. Hes a playmaker," general manager Ray Farmer said of Gilbert. "Hes got great arm length. Hes got the speed. Hes got the ball skills. I know some people have questioned his tackling. We cover like Browns, tackling was good, but it doesnt necessarily need to be great." Gilbert scoffed at critics who say hes a weak tackler. "Ive heard it before," he said. "Its something that doesnt bother me at all because I know I can tackle." Gilbert wasnt sure the Browns were that interested in him until he was getting ready to head to New York. "Its a dream come true," Gilbert said in a conference call. "I became friends with him (Haden) not too long ago and hes a great guy and Im looking forward to playing with him." The 6-foot, 202-pound Gilbert had seven interceptions last season, returning two for touchdowns. "I pretty much can do it all," Gilbert said. "Im an all-around cornerback." Cleveland entered the most important draft in its expansion era with 10 picks, ample ammunition for Farmer, promoted when president Joe Banner and GM Michael Lombardi were fired in February, to add talent and depth to a team that went 4-12 last season and fired coach Rob Chudzinski. During the winter, the Browns, who entered the draft with five of the first 83 picks, did an exhaustive study on quarterbacks with Louisvilles Teddy Bridgewater reportedly emerging as the top candidate. In the end, Manziel was their man. Paul George Jersey . LOUIS -- David Ross never expected to be on a World Series podium. Rodney Stuckey Jersey . According to the Red Wings Twitter feed, Zetterberg plans to practice with the team on Thursday and is aiming for a second round comeback.BALTIMORE -- It was one of those rare days when everything went right for the Houston Astros. Houston took an early lead and added to it late. The starting pitching was solid. The bullpen was nearly perfect. The result was a 5-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday that enabled the young Astros to avert a three-game sweep. "Overall, a good team win," manager Bo Porter said. Jason Castro and Marc Krauss homered to account for all of Houstons offence, and Jarred Cosart (2-3) allowed two runs over six innings for the Astros, who had lost seven of eight before ending Baltimores five-game winning streak. Castro hit a three-run homer off Chris Tillman (3-2) in the first inning, and the Astros made the advantage stand up. "When we can come out and score early, thats really when were at our best," Castro said. "It kind of gives some of the young staff a little bit of a breather from the beginning." It was 3-2 before Krauss connected against T.J. McFarland with a runner on in the seventh. "Those are the runs we have not been able to get," Porter said. "Those tack-on runs that give you an extra cushion, make it a three-run lead instead of a one-run lead. That was a huge home run." Houston is 11-11 when it hits a home run and 1-15 when it doesnt. Although the Astros bullpen came in with a 6.21 ERA, Tony Sipp struck out five in two perfect innings and Chad Qualls worked a hitless ninth for his second save. "I have confidence no matter who they put in behind me that they can get the job done," Cosart said. Jose Altuve had three hits for the Astros, who improved to 6-12 against the Orioles -- including 2-10 at Camden Yards. Everything seemed to fall into place for the team with the worst record in the major leagues. "Weve played some good baseball the last two days," third baseman Matt Dominguez said. "Pitched the ball well, got some timely hits. Hopefully that can give us a jumpstart." Adam Jones drove in both Baltimore runs, giving him 501 RBIs in 981 career games. Tillman gave up three runs, four hits and a season-high five walks in fivee innings. Reggie Miller Jersey. The right-hander settled down after issuing three walks and a home run in the first inning, but needed 105 pitches to get 15 outs. "It was a struggle for me. Fastball command wasnt there for me from the get-go," Tillman said. "It was a battle all day." Before the game, the Orioles activated Chris Davis (strained left oblique) from the 15-day disabled list and put catcher Matt Wieters on the DL with a strained right elbow. Davis went 2 for 4 in his first game since April 25. "Felt good," Davis said. "Timing is a little off, little in-between. But it was definitely good to be in there, moving around again." Houston took a 3-0 lead before Tillman retired a batter. After Altuve and Dexter Fowler walked, Castro hit the right-handers next pitch over the centre-field wall. Tillman has yielded seven first-inning runs this season, his most in any inning. "He kept us in the ballgame and threw some zeros up after that," manager Buck Showalter said. "But it wasnt what hes capable of or what weve come to expect. Or more importantly, what Chris has come to expect." Jones hit a two-run single to get Baltimore to 3-2 in the third. A double by Davis in the fifth put two runners in scoring position, but Jones struck out before Nelson Cruz flied out. NOTES: The Orioles were denied consecutive three-game sweeps for the first time since 2005. They won three in a row at Tampa Bay before facing the Astros. ... The game drew 45,944 fans, the second sellout of the season at Camden Yards. ... Baltimores Nick Markakis singled in the third inning to extend his hitting streak to 18 games, one short of his career high. ... Tillmans 399th and 400th career strikeouts came against George Springer in the first and third. ... Houstons Alex Presley snapped an 0-for-14 skid with a sixth-inning single. ... Bud Norris takes the mound for Baltimore on Monday night in the opener of a three-game series against Detroit. The Astros return home to face Texas. ... Since coming to Houston from the Padres organization, Sipp has retired all 12 batters hes faced with seven strikeouts. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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