ekansekans's blog: "df"

Get a complete breakdown of the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Randall Cobb Authentic Jersey . NEW YORK -- Andrew Luck knew exactly where he was heading and the daunting task he faces. So did Robert Griffin III. What the NFL draft lacked in surprise and suspense with its top two picks, it certainly delivered in challenges for the leagues newest stars. Luck, the Stanford quarterback and overall No. 1, heads for Indianapolis where he must replace Peyton Manning, who merely won four MVP awards and a Super Bowl. RGIII answers the call in Washington, where he will try to soothe a devout but highly critical fan base. "You dont really replace a guy like that," Luck said. "You cant. You just try to do the best you can. Obviously, he was my hero growing up." His selection as the top pick was hardly a stunner. The Colts informed Luck last week that Commissioner Roger Goodell would announce his name first. Right behind him was Griffin; no suspense attached to that pick, either. After being loudly booed at the outset, Goodell told a raucous crowd at Radio City Music Hall that "the season begins tonight, so lets kick if off." Then he did, congratulating Luck while the crowd chanted "RG3, RG3." Luck left the stage, slapped hands with some fans in Colts shirts and headed to the interview room. "I realize you could go crazy trying to measure yourself to Peyton Manning every day. That would be an insane way to live," Luck said. "I know his legendary status, really. Huge shoes to try and fill if youre trying to do that. ... If one day I can be mentioned alongside Peyton as one of the football greats, that would be a football dream come true." To get Griffin, Washington dealt a second-round pick this year and its first-rounders in 2013 and 14 to St. Louis to move up four spots. But they wound up with the Baylor QB who beat out Luck for the Heisman Trophy. Dressed in a light blue suit that didnt quite mesh with Redskins burgundy and gold -- and wearing socks that fit the teams colour scheme and proclaimed "GO CATCH YOUR DREAM" -- Griffin had some trouble getting the Redskins hat over his braids. He ended up wearing it just a tad crooked while he flashed big smiles for photos. "Go catch that dream -- because a lot of times when you chase something you never get to it," he said. "So if you say, Hey, Im going to go catch my dream, youre already telling yourself that youre going to get it." RG3 also sang the teams fight song during a conference call: "Hail to the Redskins! Hail vic-tor-y!" Griffin said. "Thats how I felt. It felt that good." Less than an hour before Goodell began the draft, Cleveland and Minnesota pulled off a trade in what would become a virtual swap shop, with eight deals on opening night. The Browns moved up just one spot, from fourth to third, to ensure getting running back Trent Richardson of national champion Alabama. Minnesota received picks in the fourth, fifth and seventh rounds and still was in position to get one of the elite prospects in this draft with the fourth spot overall, Southern California offensive tackle Matt Kalil. Like Griffin, Richardson was treated to lusty cheers from the crowd. Unlike Griffin, he had less trouble placing the Cleveland hat over his impressive dreads. "This team really wants me," Richardson said. "They aint going to let me slip out of their hands at all." Lucks good fortune put him in a similar position to Stanford predecessors Jim Plunkett, who won two Super Bowls for the Raiders, and John Elway, who led Denver to two NFL titles. He is the fourth consecutive quarterback chosen first and 12th in the last 15 years, dating back to Manning. Elway now runs the Broncos and recently signed Manning as a free agent after Manning missed all of last season following neck surgery. Indianapolis was the only team in the first seven picks to stay put. After Minnesota took Kalil, Jacksonville jumped up two spots, trading with Florida neighbour Tampa Bay to get Oklahoma States Justin Blackmon, the top receiver in this crop. "It just goes to show you that anything can happen," Blackmon said, referring to the Jaguars going after him. St. Louis must have liked dealing down because the Rams did it again, trading with Dallas, which was 14th overall. The Cowboys selected LSUs Morris Claiborne, the top cornerback, adding him to free agent signing Brandon Carr and shoring up what was a Swiss cheese secondary. St. Louis got a second-rounder in the deal. Tampa Bay finished off a wild 30 minutes of bartering by grabbing Alabama safety Mark Barron seventh overall. A third quarterback went eighth where Miami -- can you believe it? -- stayed put. The Dolphins took Texas A&Ms Ryan Tannehill, who played wide receiver for most of his time in college. His coach at A&M, Mike Sherman, is the Dolphins offensive co-ordinator. Carolina selected Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly, the nations leading tackler. Buffalo chose cornerback Stephon Gilmore of South Carolina and Memphis defensive tackle Dontari Poe went to Kansas City before the next trade occurred. Philadelphia moved up from 15 to 12, giving Seattle two later picks, then took Mississippi State defensive tackle Fletcher Cox. Notre Dame receiver Michael Floyd went to Arizona, then the Rams finally got involved, taking LSU defensive tackle Michael Brockers. Three more defensive players followed: West Virginia end Bruce Irvin to Seattle, North Carolina end Quinton Coples to the Jets, and Alabama cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick to Cincinnati. New England made two deals later in the first round, with Cincinnati to get Syracuse DE Chandler Jones, and with Denver to draft Crimson Tide linebacker Donta Hightower. Minnesota also traded back into the round, getting Baltimores No. 29 slot and selecting Notre Dame safety Harrison Smith. Tampa Bay also got back into the first round at No. 31, dealing with Denver, then taking Boise State running back Doug Martin. The Super Bowl champion Giants concluded a swift but hectic round by choosing Virginia Tech running back David Wilson. A.J. Hawk Jersey . However, it was Everth Cabrera who was the talk of the Padres locker room. Richard threw a commanding eight innings and Maybin drove in three runs as the San Diego Padres snapped a five-game losing streak with a 7-1 win over the San Francisco Giants on Sunday. Casey Hayward Jersey . Thornhill, Ont.s, Milos Raonic and Laval, Que.s, Aleksandra Wozniak won their respective singles matches earlier in the day. The Canadian duo held off the Romanians in a lengthy second set, eventually sealing the game in a tiebreaker on the fourth match point. http://www.greenbaypackersgears.com/jordy-nelson-jersey/ . 2-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland under Wimbledons retractable roof. Goerges beat this years Wimbledon runner-up 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-4. Showers delayed the start of play and prompted tournament officials to close the Centre Court roof for the match, which began only five minutes late. Clay Matthews Packers Jersey . They knew what they needed to do to keep their AL East lead. Russell Martin led off the bottom of the 10th inning with a homer off Sean Doolittle, and New York maintained its one-game division lead by beating the Oakland Athletics 2-1 Friday night for its sixth straight win. Aaron Rodgers Packers Jersey . The New Orleans rookie, in his first game back from a concussion, showed the poise of a tested veteran after a brief but punch-free feud with Charlotte big man Byron Mullens late in the second quarter. PORTLAND, Ore. -- Chris Paul joked that the Trail Blazers near-comeback against the Clippers made for good television. "You always gotta make it interesting," he said with a smile. But only to a point. The Clippers built a 25-point lead in the first half then held off a second-half rally by the Blazers for a 103-90 victory on Thursday night. Jamal Crawford scored 25 points off the bench while Paul and DeAndre Jordan had 21 apiece. "We all knew what we were supposed to do. We came out a little flat defensively in the third quarter, so we all got on each other," Jordan said. "We knew in the fourth quarter we had to come out and play." Nicolas Batum had 23 points and nine rebounds for the Blazers, who ultimately couldnt catch up. Rookie Damian Lillards pull-up jumper and Batums 3-pointer helped Portland trim Los Angeles lead to 75-69 late in the third quarter. Batums driving layup at the buzzer made it 77-71 heading to the final period. Portland closed to 86-82 on Meyers Leonards alley-oop dunk from Batum, but the rally fizzled and Paul sent fans streaming for the doors when his jumper with 2:51 left extended the lead to 98-85. "We cant wait until were down 20 points to say, Man, weve got to play now," said Batum, who had success in the second half when he was put on Paul. Clippers star Blake Griffin had 10 rebounds and seven points while playing with a sleeve covering his right arm for the third straight game because of fluid in his elbow. "I wouldnt really say its affecting my play. Once youre out there its just a matter of playing," Griffin said. "Its gotten better each day so a few days off will be good for it but its not something Im worried about." Los Angeles improved to 4-2 in its first game away from the Staples Center. They had a road win over the rival Lakers last Friday. The victory over Portland came on the second night of back-to-back games. The Clippers handed San Antonio its first loss with a 106-84 victory on Wednesday night. The Blazers (2-3) were coming off a 1-2 road trip that concluded with a 114-91 loss at Dallas on Monday. Lillard said the fact that the Blazers came back from such a deficit was encouraging. "We know when we play like that, with a lot of energy and when werre flying around, playing hard and moving the ball, we know that we can play with one of the best teams in the league," he said. Cedric Benson Jersey. . "At the same time, we cant put ourselves in that hole, because were not that level of team to be able to fight back every time." Willie Green hit a 3-pointer to give the Clippers a 24-16 lead in the first quarter, and it quickly got ugly. The Clippers grabbed a 43-28 lead on Matt Barnes fast-break basket. Portland struggled offensively and Los Angeles led 53-30 after a 22-2 run -- much of it with Griffin taking a break on the bench. Luke Babbitt hit a 3-pointer for the Blazers at the halftime buzzer, but it didnt make much of a difference and the Clippers led 60-39 at the break. Portlands reserves, averaging an NBA-low 12.8 points per game, had just eight points in the first half. Their Clippers counterparts scored 25. The Blazers outscored the Clippers 32-17 in the third quarter, shooting 71 per cent for the floor. Batum led the way with 12 points in the quarter. For the game, Los Angeles shot 53 per cent and Portland shot just under 43 per cent. "The first half skewed the whole thing," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "The shooting percentages in the first half were very disparate. The third quarter obviously made up for a lot of that in the final tally, but on the whole, we didnt offer much resistance in the first half." Stotts said the before the game that he anticipating an interesting matchup between perennial All-Star Paul and rookie Lillard, the "old guard and the new guard." Lillard, quickly building a reputation for his poise in his first year, finished with 16 points. He said Paul spoke to him at times during the game, but it wasnt trash talk: Paul complimented him. "He can play," Paul said of Lillard after the game. "Portland better hold on to him because they definitely have a prized possession for the future." NOTES: The Trail Blazers collected donations for the Red Cross to aid victims of Hurricane Sandy. Fans donated over $10,500, while Wells Fargo and the Paul G. Allen foundation each pledged $10,000 for a total of $30,500. ... The Clippers have won seven of their 32 games in Portland. ... The Clippers have won three straight against Portland. ' ' '