(SportsNetwork. Nike Roshe Run Solde .com) - Sometimes regal lineage isnt so easy to prognosticate. With the 24th pick of Round 2 of the 1998 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots chose Rod Rutledge, a 6-foot-5, 262-pound tight end from Alabama - making him the fourth selection in a three-round haul breathlessly labeled by the New York Times as great, pretty impressive and a talent stockpile. The Patriots had the best draft of any team this year, according to five general managers, read an April 20 draft recap penned by Times sportswriter Mike Freeman, under a headline that suggested the team had drafted superbly. One general manager said that the Patriots draft may have been the best in the last three or four years. Needless to say, Freemans next-day assessment of Rutledge and fellow early- rounders Robert Edwards, Tebucky Jones, Tony Simmons, Chris Floyd and Greg Spires inspires little beyond an ironic chuckle these days, as a then-moribund franchise preps for its sixth subsequent Super Bowl participation. Only Jones, a lanky defensive back, started more than two seasons worth of games for the Patriots. And only he and the 6-foot-1 Spires, an undersized pass-rushing defensive end, managed a career whose duration exceeded the six-man groups collective averages of five-plus seasons and 38 games started. Spires, though, made just three of those starts with New England before finding a niche in Tampa Bay, where he started 87 games across six years and won a Super Bowl ring under Jon Gruden. At any rate, though, when kickoff comes on Sunday in Glendale, Ariz., its the long-since anonymous Rutledge wholl have the most direct link to this years dynastic personnel. Though hes not appeared in an NFL game since 2002 and not caught a pass since 2001, the now 39-year-old was on the receiving end of the first completion thrown by the now-veteran quarterback wholl arguably enter University of Phoenix Stadium within 60 minutes of billing as the games all-time best. These days, everyone knows that quarterback as Tom Brady. The guy ex-NFLer Heath Evans places atop the historic list, regardless of this weekends score. You look at the collection of talent that was consistently around Joe (Montana) - and this is no knock on Joe, its just the era he played in, Evans said. And then now, the constant mixing and matching. Tommys done it with a defense and without a defense. Hes done it with a running game and without running games. Hes done it without Pro Bowl wide receivers and with Pro Bowl wide receivers. Whether he is or isnt better than Montana is undoubtedly a hot sports radio topic now. But back then, in the midst of mop-up duty that wrapped up New Englands 34-9 Thanksgiving Day 2000 loss at Detroit, he was just another late-round wannabe (Round 6, 199th overall) trying to impress a coach (Bill Belichick) whose first season on the job was careening toward a 5-11 disappointment. Belichicks starter that day, Drew Bledsoe, completed 17 throws for 148 yards before an errant toss to Bryant Westbrook with less than five minutes left yielded a 101-yard pick-6 for the Lions cornerback - and a late-game opening for the Michigan rookie, who, at the time, nobody mistook for a king. In reality, Brady hadnt so much as taken a snap through the seasons initial 11 games while sitting behind the likes of Bledsoe, John Friesz and Michael Bishop, and to say his arrival in Week 13 was instantly interpreted as a sign of Belichicks genius would be an overstatement of mythical proportions. Not even Brady - whose Canton inclusion is now certain - was convinced his ascension was imminent. I wasnt prepared to play my first year. Thats all that would have happened, I wouldve gone out and get beat and lost a ton of confidence in what I was doing, he said. I was lucky to really have a chance that whole first year to be in a situation where I wasnt forced to play and lose a bunch of confidence. While the six-yard toss to Rutledge - Bradys lone completion in three tries - got him on the official stat sheet for posterity, it was only worthy of a space-filler mention in Nick Cafardos Friday morning post-mortem in the Boston Globe, and a one-line inclusion in the Patriots notebook piece the same day. Then came the Westbrook interception, on a pass intended for Glenn, Cafardo wrote. Bledsoe gallantly fought to make the tackle but had no chance to catch Westbrook, who danced into the end zone. Bledsoe got a handshake from Bill Belichick and was told Tom Brady was taking over. Brady wound up making no more appearances for the duration of the 2000 season, and his lingering presence on the roster the following fall -- with former No. 1 overall pick Bledsoe still firmly entrenched as starter - generated literally no mention when it came time for James Alder, an occasional blog Times blog contributor and football consultant for BBC Radio, to issue his 2001 season forecast. Instead, when it came to the AFC East, Alder and others dismissed the whole team entirely. (The East) will be a three-team race this season, and one of those teams will not be the New England Patriots, he wrote in an Aug. 10 preseason preview. They still have Drew Bledsoe running the offense, but this team has a shortage of impact players on offense and defense. If they manage to put together a decent running game, they may win as many as six games this year. Needless to say, by the time Alder prepped the next years follow-up, the horizon had changed. The frequently-recited version of the Brady legend began in Week 2 of 2001, when Bledsoe was splattered along the sidelines by New York Jets linebacker Mo Lewis. The Patriots wound up losing to Vinny Testaverdes Jets and fell to 0-2 as Brady went 5-for-10 for a pedestrian 46 yards, but 11 wins in 14 regular- season starts followed -- as did a Super Bowl win against St. Louis that made Rutledge a trivia footnote, Bledsoe an offseason castoff and Brady a superstar. Its fun to watch him. Hes poetry in motion, Washington coach Jay Gruden said. Obviously a Hall of Famer and the best of all time. Nike Roshe Run Femme . "I like the toughness factor in certain situations where last year and two years ago wed get bumped, get hit [and] wouldnt respond," Casey said an hour and a half before facing the league-best Thunder, a team that hadnt yet lost at home. Nike Air Max Thea Pas Cher . An excellent start from Drew Hutchison and the return of Jose Bautista helped provide a little breathing room in the divisional race while ending a three-game losing skid at the same time.CALGARY -- Basketball players swept the Canadian university sport awards in keeping with the buzz the sport is creating in Canada. Justine Colley of Saint Marys University and Carletons Philip Scrubb were named the BLG Award winners Monday as the top female and male athletes respectively in Canadian Interuniversity Sport. With the Toronto Raptors in the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2008 and Torontos Andrew Wiggins touted as a possible first overall pick in the NBA draft, Colley and Scrubb hope the momentum continues for hoops in Canada. "Theres a lot of excitement over basketball, which is pretty exciting since were a pretty hockey dominant country," Colley said. "I hope more people get out to games, support all the different teams across Canada, obviously support the Raptors and hopefully they make it all the way to the final. "Its amazing to see basketball starting to flourish in Canada." Colley and Scrubb were just the second basketball players to sweep the BLG Awards in its 22-year history. Windsors Jessica Clemencon and Carletons Tyson Hinz -- a Ravens teammate of Scrubbs for the past four seasons -- were the 2011 winners. "You see all the athletes down in the States playing in the NCAA tournament and the Raptors have finally made the playoffs and the CIS is really improving in terms of basketball as well, so I think people are starting to care a little bit more about basketball and theyre recognizing our talent up here," said Scrubb. Colley and Scrubb each received a $10,000 post-graduate scholarship. They were chosen by the Canadian Athletic Foundation, which administers the awards, from a group of eight finalists. Each nominee received a gold ring and a watch. Colley from East Preston, N.S., took home the Jim Thompson Trophy that goes to the top female athlete and became the first athlete from Saint Marys to win a BLG award. "Huge honour for not only myself, but also my university," the 22-year-old guard said. "Tons of support goes into Saint Marys athletics and not just Saint Marys, but throughout the whole Atlantic area." Other finalists for the Jim Thompson trophy were McGill hockey player Katia Clement-Heydra, York sprinter Khamica Bingham and University of British Columbia volleyball player Lisa Barclay. Scrubb, from Richmond, B.C., claimed the male athletes Doug Mitchell Trophy ahead of nominees Liam Heelis, a hockey player from Acadia, Bishops football player Jordan Heather and University of Saskatchewan hockey player Derek Hulak. Scrubb follows Hinz and Osvaldo Jeanty (2006) as BLG Award winners from Carleton. The Ravens captured their fourth straight CIS mens basketball title this year. "Coming in, I was young and didnt really know what was going on, but Ive learned from passt teammates to be more unselfish and try and give back because theyve all done so much for me at Carleton," Scrubb said. Carbone grise Fluorescent vert bleu Carve Homme Femme Chaussures Nike Air Max 90. "Overall, I think Ive improved as a person and obviously basketball has helped has well." Colley capped her fifth and final season as the all-time leading scorer in CIS womens basketball with 2,376 points. She scored 38 points in a semifinal win over Saskatchewan in the CIS championship en route to a silver medal for the Huskies. Colley also earned her second straight CIS female player-of-the-year award averaging 20.8 points per game. She was a finalist for the Jim Thompson trophy last year. "Her impact on our team and a basketball game go far beyond stats," Huskies coach Scott Munro said in a statement. "She is simply one of the best leaders I have ever been around. Her desire to compete and win separates her from any other student-athlete I have coached." Colley played last summer for the national womens team that qualified for the world championship Sept 27 to October 5 in Turkey. She wants to wear the Maple Leaf again at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil. "Olympics are on every athletes radar," she said. "Next year, we would have to qualify for the Olympics on the national team and from there go on and play in Rio. Obviously I would love to be a part of that group." Scrubb, a fourth-year commerce student, led the Ravens in points with (18.6) and assists (4.9) per game as the Carleton went 33-1 versus CIS opponents. The six-foot-three guard was named the most valuable player in CIS mens basketball for the third time. When Carleton downed archrival Ottawa in the CIS final, the Ravens avenged their only loss of the season, which was to Ottawa in the OUA final. Scrubb, 21, intends to return to Carleton and win another national title with the Ravens. He was the only university player invited to the national mens team camp last summer. "His ability speaks for itself in his success," Carleton head coach Dave Smart said. "He is a humble and selfless individual regarding the team. He is an extremely good student, balancing his dedication to the team and sport with his academics." CFL football player and Olympic bobsledder Jesse Lumsden, Olympic womens hockey team goaltender Kim St. Pierre, Olympic heptathlete Jessica Zelinka and Olympic swimmer Curtis Myden are among previous recipients of the awards, which are sponsored by the law firm Borden Ladner Gervais. The Canadian Athletic Foundation that chooses the winners is a board of 21 business people from five Canadian cities. Doug Mitchell is chairman of that board. Student-athletes must compete in CIS sport a minimum of two years to be eligible and cant be a previous recipient of a BLG Award. cheap jerseys from chinacheap jerseys ' ' '
