NEW YORK -- It took a few hours on the final day of the NFL draft for A.J. McCarron, Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger to finally hear their names called. It took much longer, but Missouri defensive end Michael Sam, the first openly gay player to enter the draft, heard his in the seventh and final round. Sam was taken 249th out of 256 picks, by St. Louis. There was applause at Radio City Music Hall from the slim crowd on hand. Scouts had pegged him to be a mid- to late-round selection, but he didnt perform well at the combine; some questioned whether he would be drafted at all. The star quarterbacks of the SEC went earlier, but will be long shots to become early starters in the pros. McCarron led Alabama to two national titles, but had to wait until the 164th overall spot to be selected by Cincinnati. Georgias Murray went one pick earlier Saturday to Kansas City. LSUs Mettenberger didnt go until the sixth round, to Tennessee. Virginia Techs Logan Thomas, not nearly as accomplished as the SEC passers, was the first QB chosen on the last day, by Arizona in the fourth round. Murray had a penchant for big plays with the Bulldogs, but the SECs career passing leader tore his ACL on Nov. 8 and did not work out during the NFL combine. He figures to compete for a third-string job this year. "Theres no restrictions, no second thought when Im running, cutting," Murray said. "Its full-speed, full-go ahead." McCarron expects to learn behind Andy Dalton, who led the Bengals to three straight playoff berths for the first time in franchise history. "Im confident in myself, but at the same time, I know Andys the QB out there and I respect that," McCarron said. "All I want to do is go in and help us in whatever way I can. If that means me holding the clipboard for a couple of years and giving Andy reports during the week and watching film with him and helping him in any way I can, Im just ready to do it." Thomas comes out of school healthy, but the inconsistency that plagued his career hurt his draft stock. Thomas never really improved to the level expected with the Hokies after a strong debut. Hes big, with a strong arm, but is turnover prone. "Ive grown as a quarterback in this off-season," Thomas said. "Everybodys basing it off the season, which I understand. Thats whats on film. But this off-season was a chance I was able to really go refine some things." In all, 14 quarterbacks were selected. Early Saturday, many picks had ties to Clemson star receiver Sammy Watkins. Watkins, the fourth overall selection in the first round by Buffalo, saw his older brother, Florida cornerback Jaylen Watkins, taken by Philadelphia to open the fourth round. Philadelphia acquired the selection the previous day from Houston, trading its third-round pick (No. 83) for the Texans fourth- and fifth-round spots. "Today is a very big day for our family," Jaylen said. "I texted him (Thursday) before he went on stage and he just texted me ... were both excited for each other. We cant complain about anything that happened this year for us." The next pick, by Washington, was Sammy Watkins college teammate, cornerback Bashaud Breeland, who went up against the nations top wideout in practice for several years at Clemson. Watkins fellow receiver with the Tigers, Martavis Bryant, also went in the fourth round, to Pittsburgh. Andre Williams of Boston College, the nations leading rusher, went to the New York Giants, whose backfield has been plagued by injuries. Williams rushed for 2,177 yards and won the Doak Walker Award as Americas top running back in 2013, but he is considered a weak receiver. "Patience is a really valuable thing," Williams said. "It worked out the best possible way it could, no matter what round it ended up being." Arizonas KaDeem Carey, like Williams, an All-American runner, was taken four spots later by Chicago. Oregons DeAnthony Thomas went to Kansas City, ostensibly to replace departed Dexter McCluster. National champion Florida State had two players go in the first five picks Saturday: running back Devonta Freeman to Atlanta, and centre Bryan Stork, another All-American, to New England. Big 12 power Oklahoma, which was blanked in the first three rounds, broke through when the New York Jets drafted receiver Jalen Saunders. Another powerhouse program, Texas, did not have anyone taken, although its former quarterback, Garrett Gilbert, who transferred to SMU, was chosen at the end of the sixth round. While the Longhorns were looking for someone to be picked, Duke had a drafted player. When Buffalo made cornerback Ross Cockrell the 109th overall selection, it was the highest a Blue Devil had gone since offensive lineman Lennie Friedman went to Denver in the second round in 1999. Cockrell thought Duke making the Chick-Fil-A bowl helped his stock. "I think it opened a lot of eyes that this guy from Duke can actually play a little ball and will be able to compete at the next level," he said. The final player chosen, dubbed "Mr. Irrelevant," was Memphis safety Lonnie Ballentine. He was taken by the Texans. There were a record 102 early entrants into this draft, and 61 were selected. AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi, College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo, and Sports Writers Will Graves, Joe Kay and Dave Skretta contributed to this story. Marlon Mack Jersey . The Rangers centre left early in Game 1 with an upper body injury after being checked by Canadiens defenceman Mike Weaver and has not played since. Brassard told reporters after practice that he was good to go. That brought a smile to the face of Rangers coach Alain Vigneault. Jon Bostic Jersey . The veteran fighter will be squaring off with Henderson in a five-round lightweight bout as part of another network televised card at the United Center on Saturday night. http://www.nflcoltsgearsshop.com/TJ-Green.html?cat=874. City has reached new heights under manager Manuel Pellegrini as they transition from big spending/immediate impact to perennial contender. Yaya Toures seeming discontent Tuesday may complicate that, as does the little issue of Financial Fair Play. Indianapolis Colts Jerseys . Van Slyke drove in a career-high four runs with two homers off struggling left-hander Tony Cingrani, and the Los Angeles Dodgers pulled away to a 6-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night, a rare comfortable win in their pitching-dominated series. Clayton Geathers Jersey . The team announced the defensive coordinator will not be offered a contract extension.ATLANTA -- When Andrelton Simmons botched a grounder, the St. Louis Cardinals seized their opportunity. For the Atlanta Braves, it was another night of missed chances. Matt Carpenters two-run double that helped carry St. Louis past the slumping Braves, who shook up their lineup but still lost their seventh in a row, 4-3 on Monday. The Cardinals scored three runs in the fifth inning, taking advantage of shaky defence by Atlantas Gold Glove shortstop. In fact, Simmons had a couple of plays that couldve been scored errors but were initially ruled hits. The second one was changed to an E-6 and turned out to be especially costly, leading to a pair of unearned runs. St. Louis built a 4-0 lead and barely held on to win the series opener. "It was big," Carpenter said. "Especially when we got out to a big lead, to be able to hold them off, that was big for us." Desperate for more offence, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez batted pitcher Aaron Harang eighth and put second baseman Ramiro Pena in the ninth spot. Pena had two hits, including a seventh-inning homer that brought the Braves within a run, but they couldnt overcome a 4-0 deficit. Juston Upton took a called third strike from Trevor Rosenthal to end the game with the potential tying run at second base -- Uptons fourth strikeout of the night and extending Atlantas woes with runners in scoring position. The Braves were 1 for 12 in those situations and are 6 of 51 during their losing streak, though Freddie Freeman saw some encouraging signs. "We hit some balls hard with runners on," he said. "We were in the game the whole game. We couldnt say that the past week." The last time the Braves had such a lengthy skid was May 21-28, 2012, when they dropped eight in a row. Their longest losing streak last season was four straight. Shelby Miller (4-2) got a shaky win, giving up six hits and two runs in five-plus innings. Trevor Rosenthal pitched out of trouble for his ninth save, giving up a leadoff single to Simmons. Jordan Schafer bunted the runner to second, but Pena flied out to right before Upton whiffed. Harang (3-3) took the loss, though he pitched much betteer than his previous start, when he was pounded for nine runs by the Marlins.ddddddddddddThis time, he gave up four runs in six innings but only two were earned. The game was scoreless until the fifth, when Peter Bourjos led off with a single before Mark Ellis grounded one off Simmons glove. The shortstop, looking to make a force at second, appeared to take his eyes off the ball as it skipped past him. After Miller bunted the runners to second and third, Carpenter doubled to right-centre to bring them both in. Matt Holiday followed with a hard liner past third baseman Chris Johnson to make it 3-0. "Those things happen," Harang said of Simmons error. "I told him not to be too hard on himself. Hes probably going to save my butt plenty of times this year." St. Louis added another run in the fifth on Bourjos RBI single, but Gonzalez challenged a call at third base that had seemingly given the Cardinals a 5-0 lead. Yadier Molinas bases-loaded grounder ricocheted off Harangs leg, right to Johnson at third. He caught it and blindly stepped back in search of the bag and managed to barely nick it, as the replay showed. The called was quickly overturned after a review of only 37 seconds. The Braves knocked out Miller in the bottom half of the sixth, the first three hitters reaching safely. The Cardinals went to the bullpen after Evan Gattis RBI single, and B.J. Upton followed with a sacrifice fly off Pat Neshek. Neshek escaped the jam by striking out Simmons. NOTES: The Cardinals sent pitcher RHP Joe Kelly back to St. Louis to continue his rehab from a strained left hamstring. "Joe just wasnt to the point where they thought they could push him, so keeping him around the rest of this road trip didnt make any sense," general manager John Mozeliak said. "I dont know Id call it a setback as much as he just wasnt progressing as quickly as we wanted." ... Atlanta RHP Gavin Floyd will make his season debut when he starts Tuesday against LHP Tyler Lyons (0-2) of the Cardinals. Floyd is coming back from Tommy John surgery and will start in place of Ervin Santana, who has a bruised right thumb. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '