NEW YORK -- For nearly three years, Jadeveon Clowney couldnt wait to get to the NFL, and the league was just as eager to add the player some called the best defensive prospect in a decade. No surprise: Clowney is the Texans man. But Thursdays first pick of the NFL draft didnt come without some intrigue about how it would all turn out. There had been criticism of Clowneys work ethic last season and questions about whether the Texans would hold or trade the No. 1 slot. "I just been proving a lot of people wrong throughout my life," Clowney said. "Growing up, I grew up hard. I always said Im going to do something great. Hopefully, Im going to be a Hall of Famer one day." Houston will take that. This drafts other big name, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, sat with a sullen look on his face until Cleveland made its third trade of the round and grabbed the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner at No. 22. To rousing cheers and chants of "Johnny, Johnny," Manziel smiled widely as he walked onto the Radio City Music Hall stage. "If you call it a slide, I wouldnt call it that at all," he said. "I was drafted in the first round of the NFL draft. "Its a great story. Its great for me to end up there, at a team that has fans that are as passionate as I am on the field." Manziels wait added plenty of suspense nearly three hours after the Texans took their time selecting Clowney. Rarely does a team not reveal the top overall choice until it is announced, and there was wide speculation the Texans had soured on the defensive end, whose junior season at South Carolina was accompanied by criticism he played it safe to stay healthy for the pros. After Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the pick, fans filling Radio City Music Hall to capacity applauded Clowney as he held up his index finger, his eyes moist, a relieved look on his face. Just like the 30 prospects on hand, the fans were extra eager to see who would wind up where after the draft was pushed back from late April because the theatre was unavailable. "Its been a long time. It just kicked in at the end there, man, Ive been drafted," he said. Clowney, 21, brings size, speed and power to a lineup that already has 2012 NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt. His diligence had been questioned after he slipped from 13 sacks to just three in 2013. Critics said he was protecting himself from injury in his junior year before declaring early for the draft. He is the first defensive player taken first overall since Houston selected another end, Mario Williams, in 2006. Williams now is with Buffalo. Houston also made the top pick in its first season, 2002, taking quarterback David Carr. He never lived up to that billing; the Texans hope Clowney has more of an impact. Tackle Greg Robinson, whose blocking helped high-powered Auburn make the national championship game last season, went second to St. Louis. The Rams owned the pick as the final payment for a 2012 trade with Washington that allowed the Redskins to draft quarterback Robert Griffin III. St. Louis is concerned about the health of starting left tackle Jake Long, who is coming off knee surgery. The first quarterback to go went to Jacksonville in the third slot, but it wasnt Johnny Football. Blake Bortles of Central Florida, whose stock shot up last season and in subsequent workouts. At 6-5, 232, Bortles drew comparisons to Ben Roethlisberger because of his combination of size and mobility. Jacksonville missed the last time it took a QB in the first round, Blaine Gabbert in 2011. The Jaguars gave up on the inconsistent Gabbert, who struggled to read defences and was benched for journeyman Chad Henne. Gabbert is now a backup in San Francisco. "Hes a down-to-earth guy, a self-made guy, a blue-collar guy and he wants to be the best he can be," said Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell, who added a word of caution: "He just needs a little bit of time." Seeing a chance to grab playmaking receiver Sammy Watkins of Clemson, Buffalo swapped spots with Cleveland, also sending a first- and fourth-round selection next year to move up from ninth to fourth. "Dynamic playmaker, and thats what this game is all about," Bills GM Doug Whaley said of Watkins. "Hes automatically going to make our quarterback (EJ Manuel) better." Texas A&M tackle Jake Matthews, the son of Hall of Fame offensive lineman Bruce Matthews, went to Atlanta with the sixth overall pick. The Falcons leaked so badly on the offensive line in 2013 as they plummeted from NFC South champion to 4-12 that Matt Ryan was sacked 44 times. Another Aggies star was chosen next, receiver Mike Evans to Tampa Bay. The 6-4, 231-pound Evans is durable, versatile -- and quite emotional. He also couldnt hold back the tears when Goodell called his name. The crowd thought Manziel might go eighth when Cleveland traded up one spot to get Minnesotas pick. So when the Browns took cornerback Justin Gilbert of Oklahoma State, there was a loud groan from the fans. Gilbert smiled wryly as he shook Goodells hand. Minnesota grabbed UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr, Detroit selected North Carolinas Eric Ebron, by far the best tight end in this crop, and Tennessee filled a need on the offensive line with Michigan tackle Taylor Lewan. Finally, a local team was on the clock and the audience approved lustily when the Giants chose LSU receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Beckham was followed by Pitt DT Aaron Donald to St. Louis, Virginia Tech CB Kyle Fuller to Chicago, Ohio State LB Ryan Shazier to Ohio State, Notre Dame G Zack Martin to Dallas, Alabama LB C.J. Mosley to Baltimore and, as fans chanted "J-E-T-S," Louisville safety Calvin Pryor is New York-bound. Minnesota finished off the opening round by trading with Seattle to select Louisvilles Teddy Bridgewater, the third quarterback taken. Bridgewater was an early entrant into the draft, but already had graduated. Jose Reyes Jersey . Ribery terrorized the Schalke defence throughout and put the home side ahead in the 36th minute when he chipped the goalkeeper before stroking the ball into the empty net. The French winger struck again after the interval, combining with Thomas Mueller on the left before firing a deflected shot beyond the helpless Timo Hildebrand in the 55th, as Bayern bounced back from Wednesdays 1-0 loss at FC Basel in the Champions League. Ron Taylor Jersey .K. Subban and Matt Duchene will be the two skaters sitting out the teams opening game. https://www.cheapmetsjerseys.us/810l-john-mitchell-jersey-mets.html .com) - Calgary Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau has been selected as the NHLs Rookie of the Month for December, the league announced Friday. Ray Knight Jersey .C. -- Colin Kaepernick raced into the end zone, then pretended to rip open his shirt with both hands imitating Cam Newtons Superman touchdown celebration. Jose Bautista Jersey . With the win, the Marlies complete a three-game series sweep of the Admirals and move on to the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs. T.J. Brennan added an empty netter with less than 25 seconds remaining for his second of the playoffs.KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Every time that Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins heads north of the border and the subject of Canadian basketball players is broached, one name always comes up: Vince Carter.He was the star with amazing leaping ability for the expansion Toronto Raptors in the 1990s, doing things that many kids growing up in a hockey-mad country had never thought possible. Carter was a scoring machine, sure, but he did it with a certain flair that endeared him to youngsters.Now, those kids are starting to come of age.Led by Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins, the past two No. 1 overall picks in the NBA draft, the Canadian pipeline has begun to gush with talent. Eight players from the nation have been picked in the first round of the draft in the past four years, a number made even more remarkable by the fact that very few players had even played in the NBA before the 1990s.You know what people up there tell me changed everything? They attribute it to Vince, Dawkins said. It inspired kids in Canada who used to play hockey to play basketball. More kids means more growth for the game, and youre seeing that spill into higher levels of the NCAA.Bennett was among those kids who grew up watching Carter with awe-struck admiration.The young Timberwolves forward learned the game around the Jane and Finch Boys and Girls Club in Toronto, and every once in a while the club would take field trips to Raptors games.Thats when we seen him doing all these types of dunks, Bennett said. We just had a love for his game.Bennett eventually moved to the U.S. and played high school basketball at Nevadas Findlay Prep. After one season at UNLV, he was chosen first in the 2013 draft by the Cavaliers.His path has become a familiar one for young prospects from Canada.While prep schools there are becoming better and better, and the summer AAU circuit gives them plenty of exposure, the best players still tend to head south for school. That includes Wiggins, the son of former NBA player Mitch Wiggins, who also grew up watching Carter in Toronto but wound up at West Virginias Huntington Prep for high school.Wiggins was so dynamic that he actually reclassified to graduate a year earlier, and was still the No. 1 prospect in the country. He ultimately went to Kansas for a year, setting several records at the tradition-rich school.Now, after he and Bennett were traded from Cleveland, they are together in Minnesota.Its been getting bigger and bigger every year, Wiggins said of basketball in Canada. Plaayers started to get a chance to go to the States and go to prep schools down here.ddddddddddddThat has made it even easier for them to get on college coaches radars, and helps to explain why so many Canadian prospects have turned into first-round draft picks.Its certainly not like it was in the 1950s, when Ernie Vandeweghe arrived out of Montreal and played several seasons for the Knicks. Its not even like it was in the 1980s, 90s and early 2000s, when Bill Wennington was winning titles on Michael Jordans Bulls, and Rick Fox was winning championships alongside Kobe Bryant and Shaquille ONeal.Youre always fighting against hockey, said Sidney Lowe, who coached the Grizzlies when they were an expansion team in Vancouver. But the thing about the Toronto area is they withstood the tough times. Their support is unbelievable and the result is you see more kids from Canada playing basketball and making it to this level.Guys like Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph, first-round picks in 2011, and Andrew Nicholson, a first-round pick the following year. Bennett was joined by Kelly Olynyk in going in the first round in 2013, and Wiggins was joined by Tyler Ennis and Nik Stauskas this past spring.At the grassroots level, theyre extremely organized, Arizona coach Sean Miller said. You watch some of their teams on our travel circuit that we have here in the United States, their teams are participating in that. You can tell theyre very well coached.Arizona is among numerous high-profile schools pursuing the top-ranked prep player in the class of 2016, 7-foot centre Thon Maker. Duke, Kansas and Kentucky are also in the mix.His teammate at Ontarios Athlete Institute, five-star guard Jamal Murray, is considering Michigan State, Ohio State and Missouri. On the other side of the country in British Colombia, 6-foot-6 guard Jermaine Haley is looking at Louisville, Memphis and Gonzaga.Canada is producing good players and they seem to be more abundant than maybe in the past, said Arizona State coach Herb Sendek, who lured 7-foot-2 Jordan Bachynski out of Calgary a few years ago. Bachynski graduated last year and now plays professionally in Turkey.Theres very few guys that fall through the cracks anymore that are unknown, Sendek said. Those kids come down and play club basketball and schools have a way of finding out about kids. The good players in Canada, like Jordan and others, theyre heavily recruited.And the pipeline doesnt look like its going to run dry anytime soon. ' ' '