01-08-2020, 02:34 AM
BEREA, Ohio -- Johnny Football fell and landed in the Dawg Pound. Custom Astros Jerseys . 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. Lance Berkman Jersey . -- Pinch-runner Rajai Daviss decision to steal third base just as Oakland catcher Derek Norris was throwing the ball back to the pitcher caught most everyone by surprise -- including several of his Detroit teammates. Custom Astros Jersey China .The seventh-seeded Raonic was scheduled to play U.S. Open finalist Kei Nishikori of Japan, but was replaced in the Group B pool by Spanish substitute David Ferrer.Raonic, who was 0-2 at the year-end event, said he suffered the injury late in the first set of Tuesdays 6-3, 7-6 loss to Murray. http://www.customastrosjersey.com/custom...1396y.html . Both had to wait out a rain interruption lasting nearly five hours before taking comprehensive third-round victories to join Carling Bassett-Seguso (1983, 1986), Patricia Hy-Boulais (1996-97) and Daniel Nestor (1999) as Canadians who made it into the second week of a major. SAN ANTONIO -- The previous time the Spurs and Golden State Warriors squared off, it was all about sharp shooting from both teams. That was in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs last season, which San Antonio won in six games. On Friday night, defence took over, particularly in the final 2:23, when the two teams were a combined 0 for 8 from the field. Tony Parker provided a late surge for the second consecutive game by scoring 18 points, including the last seven for the Spurs as they held off the Warriors 76-74. "Again, Tony made some huge buckets to keep the lead when we were dry," Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said. Parker, who scored 15 of the Spurs final 16 points in a victory over Phoenix two nights earlier, left the AT&T Center immediately after the win and was not available to the media. Golden State star guard Stephan Curry did not play after bruising his left ankle Wednesday night against Minnesota. Minus him, the Spurs won their 30th straight regular-season home game against the Warriors. But they still had a chance to end the streak after Parker missed two free throws with 16.4 seconds remaining. Andre Iguodala drove to the basket and tried a layup that rolled off the rim at the buzzer. "I got a decent shot off," Iguodala said. "Tim (Duncan) did a good job of making me alter the shot a little bit." After Golden States David Lee hit two free throws with 2:23 left, both teams failed to find the basket. "Were two teams that lay a solid foundation of solid defensive principles," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "It was a grind out there. It was tough to score on both sides." Golden State entered the night ranked second iin the league in field goal percentage at slightly over 50 per cent. Chris Devenski Jersey. But a stout San Antonio defence held the Warriors to 40 per cent. "Overall, theyre a hard team to guard, so I thought the defence was some of the better defence weve played this year," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "(We) did a lot of one-on-one on the post and one-on-one on the perimeter. We certainly couldnt put it in the basket, so the defence was really important for us tonight." Kawhi Leonard added 13 points for the Spurs, who improved to a conference-best 5-1. Toney Douglas came off the bench to lead Golden State with 20 points. Lee added 13 and Clay Thompson had 11. The Spurs shot 39.2 per cent from the field, marking the fifth time in six games this season that Golden State held its opponent to under 40 per cent from the field. San Antonio jumped out to an early double-digit lead, but struggled in the second quarter, hitting just two field goals in the first seven minutes. Still, the Spurs managed to maintain the lead by plugging their big men in the middle and forcing Golden State to take outside jumpers. NOTES: With the win, Duncan and Parker are now No. 4 all-time in league history for victories by teammates with 597. ... Harrison Barnes, who missed the Warriors first four games of the season with left toe inflammation, made his first start of the season, filling in for Curry. Barnes scored five points. ... Spurs F Matt Bonner missed his second straight game with tightness in his left calf. ... The Spurs regular-season home winning streak against Golden State is their longest active string against any team. The Warriors, however, won at San Antonio in last seasons playoffs. ' ' '