NFL
The often overlooked men in the trenches took center stage in the first round of a NFL Draft bereft of glamor quarterbacks and lacking star power at Radio City Music Hall in New York on Thursday.
Three of the top four picks, headed by Kansas City’s No. 1 choice Eric Fisher of Central Michigan, were offensive tackles and a massive eight of the first 20 players will be manning offensive lines in their new professional careers.
Photo: AFP
Only one quarterback was taken in the first round at the art deco palace and even that pick was a surprise, as Buffalo took E.J. Manuel of Florida State at No. 16, rather than West Virginia’s Geno Smith, who was considered the best of the signal callers in the draft.
The first offensive skills position player taken was Smith’s collegiate teammate, wide receiver Tavon Austin, who was also selected by the Bills with the eighth pick.
Austin and Manuel were the only featured offensive players chosen through the top 20, before a pair of wide receivers and a tight end joined them. Not a single running back managed to break into the first round.
Another potential shining light of the draft, Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o, whose stock dropped after a fake girlfriend hoax and disappointing workout performances, was a no-show as he slid all the way out of the first round.
The Chiefs, selecting first by dint of having the worst record in the league last year at 2-14, made the 2.01m, 139kg Fisher just the fourth offensive tackle ever tabbed as top overall pick of the draft.
Fisher added his name to a select list that included Jake Long (2008, Miami), Orlando Pace (1999, St Louis) and Ron Yary (1968, Minnesota).
“This is so surreal. This is a dream come true,” Fisher said from the stage after being congratulated by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
Picking second in the worst-to-first order of the draft, which is the primary way NFL teams build their rosters, the Jacksonville Jaguars made it back-to-back tackles at the top by taking Luke Joeckel of Texas A&M.
Joeckel, winner of the Outland Trophy awarded to the best college football interior lineman by the Football Writers Association of America, was followed two picks later by tackle Lane Johnson of Oklahoma, taken by the Philadelphia Eagles.
“Three tackles in four picks. That’s a lot of love for the big boys up front, which we usually don’t get,” said Fisher, who rocketed up draft charts with his late season performances and eye-catching workouts.
When tackles were not tabbed, teams looked to pass rushers at the start of the draft.
Miami traded their first-round pick (No. 12) and second-round pick to Oakland for the third choice, which they used to snare defensive end Dion Jordan of Oregon.
The fifth and sixth picks were also on the defensive side, with Detroit taking defensive end Ezekiel Ansah of Brigham Young, a native of Accra, Ghana, followed by Cleveland’s selection of defensive end/linebacker Barkevious Mingo of LSU.
Ansah, who began playing the sport just three years ago after coming from Ghana to attend college, was flabbergasted at how far he had come.
“I can’t be any more humble than I am today,” he told reporters. “I never envisioned myself five years ago being here talking to everybody here.”
While offensive players floundered, two other international players also received first-round notice.
Star Lotulelei, a native of Tonga and a defensive tackle from Utah, was taken 14th by Carolina, while German defensive end Bjoern Werner was the 24th selection by Indianapolis.
By the end, nine offensive linemen and nine defensive linemen had been taken, and just five offensive skills players.
Manuel was emotional after his surprise selection as the first quarterback taken.
“That’s something I can always tell my grandkids years from now,” he said.
Asked about those that described it as a weak draft for quarterbacks, who had been made the top overall pick the previous four years and in 12 of the last 15, Manuel said: “I think we’ll all definitely carry that chip on our shoulder.”
Rounds two and three were scheduled for yesterday, with the final four rounds today.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB