Pacioretty while crossing the blue-line to start the play, fan

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. Torry Holt Jersey . The Pope greeted Klose at his general audience Wednesday and the pair had a long chat. Klose is German like the pope, although he was born in Poland. In Sundays derby, Lazio took the lead in the seventh minute after Maarten Stekelenburg brought down Klose, resulting in the Roma goalkeeper being sent off and a penalty that Hernanes converted. Custom Los Angeles Rams Jerseys . The Argentine midfielder made the announcement himself on Twitter on Tuesday and posted a picture of his swollen left foot. His message said he would be out "at least three weeks. http://www.officiallaramspro.com/Kurt-warner-rams-jersey/ . Louis Cardinals are one of Major League Baseballs model franchises. Jared Goff Jersey . Patrice Bergeron and Daniel Paille scored 20 seconds apart a few minutes after Stamkos was taken off the ice on a stretcher with a broken right leg, and the Bruins beat the Lightning 3-0 on Monday afternoon. Aaron Donald Jersey . With Bernard hurt, the second-round pick has emerged.Hill ran for 152 yards during a 27-10 win at New Orleans on Sunday, his second big game. He also ran for 154 yards against Jacksonville earlier this season.MONTREAL -- Head coach Michel Therrien called Carey Price his "closer," referring to a baseball pitcher whose job it is to preserve a slim advantage late in the game and secure a win. With the Canadiens leading by one to start the third period, Price turned away 16 shots by the Panthers in the final frame to give Montreal a 2-1 victory over Florida on Monday night. The Panthers (16-21-6) outshot Montreal 16-10 in the final frame, but were repeatedly frustrated by Price, who made 26 saves on the night. "The Panthers gave a big push in the third," said Therrien. "Again, Carey Price was solid. He shut the door. There was no way in his mind the Panthers would score another against him. I really liked his reaction. "He played really well. He was like a closer in baseball." Price frustrated 11 different Panthers players in the third period, including four shots by Sean Bergenheim, who was Floridas lone scorer on the night. "We relied on him a little more than we would have liked to in the third," said Brendan Gallagher of Prices 16-save period. "But hes done that all year. Hes there for us when we need him." Before the barrage of shots in final period, the Canadiens (25-14-5) took the lead for good at 15:46 of the second when captain Brian Gionta beat Tim Thomas in the roof of the net. Panthers captain Ed Jovanovski started the play by giving the puck away softly behind the Florida net to Tomas Plekanec, who fed a wide-open Gionta for his seventh goal of the year. Jovanovski was back in the Panthers lineup after undergoing hip surgery last April. He made his season debut on Saturday in a win over the Nashville Predators. "Its his second game since March," said Florida head coach Peter Horachek about Jovanovski, who missed 83 games with the injury. "Its late in the game, he fanned on the pass. That stuff is going to happen sometimes. "I think hes done a good job for the amount of time hes been out. Its a process. I think he would like to have (that pass) back." Montreal opened the score at 6:23 of the first period on the teams first shot on net. David Desharnais took aa pass from Max Pacioretty while crossing the blue-line to start the play, fanned on the initial shot, but recovered to score his sixth goal of the year, on the backhand.dddddddddddd The fan on the first shot forced Thomas out of position for the second. "I tried staying with the puck, to get any kind of shot I could," said Desharnais. "Usually the goaltender will be well positioned there. He was a little off. I know he wasnt where he was supposed to be. I tried bringing it back on my backhand, and (Thomas) was already on the ground." Montreal gained momentum after the goal, outshooting Florida 9-0 over the next 10 minutes. But it was the Panthers that equalized against the run of play. Bergenheim beat Price at 17:09 with a backhand goal similar to Desharnaiss earlier shot. Rookie Aleksander Barkov had an assist on the goal, his team-leading 15th of the year, to extend his point streak to six games -- the longest point streak by a rookie in Panthers history. Bergenheim almost gave the Panthers the lead a minute later, but his shot rang off the crossbar. The win was Montreals first against Florida this season. The Panthers beat the Habs twice last month -- a 4-1 victory in Florida, and a 2-1 win at the Bell Centre. "We generated a lot of chances, but nothing went in," said Tomas Fleischmann. "We won our last two games against them, and we felt that we could get the points tonight too. "Tonight they were fresh, and you could feel they were a different team than before. We expected that. But it took us a little longer to get adjusted to it. We felt like we could get the points tonight." The Panthers and Canadiens meet for the fourth and final time this season on March 29 in Sunrise, Fla. Notes: Ryan White missed the game due to an upper-body injury sustained on Thursday against the Dallas Stars. He is expected to be out two weeks. a Pacioretty finished the game with nine shots on net. a Hockey Canada will announce its Olympic roster on Tuesday. Montreals Price and defenceman P.K. Subban are expected to make the cut. a The Canadiens head to Philadelphia to face the Flyers on Wednesday. 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