out the side on nine pitches.

HOUSTON - The first two times the Houston Texans had the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, they chose quarterback David Carr and defensive end Mario Williams. Odds are that theyll use this years top choice on one of those two positions again. South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney is widely considered the best player available in this years draft. Pairing him with 2012 Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt could give the Texans the best 1-2 pass-rushing punch in the NFL. The problem is that while Houston could use another game-changing defensive player, the need at quarterback is more dire. The Texans traded Matt Schaub in the off-season after a terrible year in which he was benched after six games. The Texans signed veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick in the off-season, but he probably isnt the long-term solution to their quarterback woes. Several talented quarterbacks in this draft have questions attached to them concerning whether they are cant-miss prospects worthy of the No. 1 pick. Considered the best of the crop are Texas A&Ms Johnny Manziel, Louisvilles Teddy Bridgewater and Blake Bortles of Central Florida. Some worry that Manziels size will be a detriment in the NFL. Bridgewater had a bad pro day. Bortles has taken criticism because of his limited mobility. Manziel is somewhat of a folk hero in Texas after winning the Heisman Trophy in 2012. Billboards imploring the Texans to "Keep Johnny Football in Texas" dot the freeways around Houston, and Manziel, of course, has said hed love to play here. Though the team is under different management than in 2006, Houston is unlikely to let public sentiment about not letting the homegrown player get away sway its decision. The Texans passed on former Texas quarterback Vince Young, who grew up in Houston and led the Longhorns to a national title, in favour of Williams the last time they had the first pick. Houston general manager Rick Smith did say this week his team would consider trading out of the top spot. "If we take the first pick, we know who we want," Smith said. "(But) we are obviously open to moving out of the first pick, if in fact there is an opportunity for us to do so and if we think that is in the best interest of the organization." Five things to know about the Texans heading into the draft: LATE-ROUND QBs: If the Texans do use their first pick on Clowney, recent history has shown they could still pick up a solid (or better) starting quarterback later in the draft. San Franciscos Colin Kaepernick was chosen in the second round in 2011, and Seattles Russell Wilson was taken in the third round a year later. "I think theres an idea of a traditional quarterback that is successful in the NFL and I think those two examples are guys that dont necessarily fit the ideal mode. And I think theyve also given people some confidence that you dont necessarily need to have a traditional type of quarterback to be successful in our league," Smith said. CANT GET ENOUGH: Though Smith shied away from discussing specific needs of his team on draft day, he did acknowledge one thing. "There are two positions that I never think you can have too many of: corners and tackles," he said. NEW PROCESS: Smith is adjusting to new coach Bill OBrien after working on the draft with Gary Kubiak, who was fired in December, for the last seven seasons. "The opportunity to step outside of that comfort zone, and learn something, gives me a chance to grow personally and professionally," Smith said. "That was a fun part of it." NO LOVE FOR Defence: Williams was the last defensive player selected with the first overall pick when Houston chose him in 2006. Before that, the last player on that side of the ball to go first was Penn State defensive end Courtney Brown to the Browns in 2000. The Texans have overwhelmingly gone with defence in the early rounds, choosing defenders with 14 of their 17 first- and second-round picks since 2004. FINE WITH THE MOVE: This years draft was pushed back from its usual time in April to May because Radio City Music Hall was unavailable. Smith was perfectly happy with the change for at least this year. "To have the first pick, the extra time has been good," Smith said. "I think that I enjoyed the schedule and the rhythm of the draft in April and would probably want to see it moved back, but Im enjoying it the fact that its in May this year for our selfish purposes." Adidas Shoes Australia Sale . Both the top-seeded Djokovic and sixth-seeded Fish took relatively easy paths, with the Serb winning when opponent Jo-Wilfried Tsonga retired in the second set with a sore arm and Fish dominating Janko Tipsarevic in two quick sets. Cheap Adidas Shoes Online Australia . Infante hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning and had an RBI single in a four-run fifth against former teammate Justin Verlander, helping the Kansas City Royals beat the Tigers 11-8 Monday night. http://www.cheapadidasaustraliashoes.com/ . The 23-year-old Woods, Tiger Woods niece, closed with a 4-under 69 at Royal Pines to finish at 16-under 276. Lee also shot 69 in the event sanctioned by the European and Australian tours. Woods birdied the par-5 15th to open a two-stroke lead, hitting a wedge from about 120 yards to 4 feet. Cheap Adidas Shoes Online . Louis Cardinals for the National League Wild Card, are in the drivers seat as they open the final series of the regular season, but they face a large task in the form of the Philadelphia Phillies. Custom Adidas Shoes Australia . Then Klay Thompson put his foot on the gas. Thompson scored 19 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and Harrison Barnes scored 14 points in his season debut to help the Golden State Warriors to a 106-93 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.There could be some history made on Friday night in Buffalo. Mike Hessman of the Toledo Mudhens needs one more homer to break the all-time International League career home run mark. Before you say "big deal" as I was tempted to do, you should know who Mike Hessman is and how he made this journey over a long and varied career. First off he was born in Fountain Valley, California, and grew into the dimensions of a true slugger. He is 65" and 215 pounds. He was chosen in the 15th round of the 1996 MLB draft by Atlanta. He made it to the "Show" with the Braves in 2003. He had a long looping swing and struck out too much and generally over a short-lived big league career, the 3B/1B also seemed to be stuck behind better players such as Chipper Jones. Besides Atlanta, Hessman also made pit stops in Detroit and with the New York Mets between 2003 and 2010, hitting .188 with 14 home runs. Over time Hessman became a fixture in the International League. Now 36, he has slugged 258 homers in the "I" to tie the late Ollie Carnegie, who spent the bulk of his career playing in Buffalo. Carnegie played his final season with the Bisons in 1945. These two were a study in physical contrasts. While Hessman is 65", Carnegie was only 57" and weighed 175 pounds. Surely the Major League home run record is more impressive and more prestigious. Babe Ruth broke Roger Connors career mark of 138 back in 1921. The Bambino ran that total up to 714 by 1935, and that mark endured until Hank Aaron broke it on April 8, 1974 at Atlanta against Al Downing and the Dodgers. So Babe Ruth held the career home run record for 53 years. Carnegies mark of 258 has stood since the year he retired as a player in 1945. If you do the math, thats 69 years. Oddly enough Carnegie never played in the Majors, largely because he didnt start playing pro ball on a regular basis until he joined Buffalo at age 32 in 1931. Before that he played mainly semi-pro or amateur ball and held down a regular job. Nowadays 258 home runs doesnt sound like all that imposing a number. But remember today, its all about player development. If you dont make the Majors by your mid-20s or maybe late 20s if youre lucky, youre going to be out of a job. You have to have a special talent and be a unique individual, as Mike Hessman must be to stick around until the age of 36. Hessman had a bit of a scare about a week ago. He had to have some tissue removed from his nose and his forehead. Luckily it proved to be non-cancerous. He missed three games this week waiting for the swelling on his face to go down, then went 0-for-3 at Coca-Cola Field on Thurssday afternoon.dddddddddddd Friday night is the series finale at Buffalo and it would only seem fitting that he would hit his 259th homer in the city where Ollie Carnegie spent the bulk of his career and is enshrined in the Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. When Hessman ultimately does break this record, he has other mountains to climb. He is also third on the all-time list of homers hit in the minors. Buzz Arlett is number one with 432, Nick Cullop has 420 and Hessman checks in with 403. Scoring Big Pitching and defence may win championships, but you cant deny the fact that the Blue Jays offence could carry them a long way. Theyve scored 311 runs in 61 games and slugged 87 homers, tops in the American League in both categories. You can add the total home runs for the Royals and Yankees and get 77, 10 fewer than the Jays, or the Rangers and Red Sox and get 85, still two less than the Blue Jays. In the runs scored category, the Jays have rung up 57 more than the second-best team in their division - Baltimore (254) - and then you drop off to Boston and the Yankees at 240 and Tampa Bay at a paltry 228. Boston was the runaway leader in runs scored in the American League last season with 853 and ultimately won the World Series. Im just saying. Unusual Moments This is something that happens so rarely in baseball, yet it happened twice in the last week. The Angels Garrett Richards and Clevelands Justin Masterson both struck out the side on nine pitches. Another oddity came on Wednesday when the Phillies 35-year-old shortstop Jimmy Rollins struck out four times in a game for the first time in his career, earning the famed "Golden Sombrero". The opposing pitcher though was Washingtons Stephen Strasburg, so well cut Rollins some slack. Rollins incidently is up to 2,226 hits now for his career. He needs nine more to pass Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt as the Phillies all-time hits leader. Since the Phils are having such a dismal season, the feeling is growing that Rollins will waive his 10-and-5 rights and will agree to a trade once the record is broken. The Tigers would be a perfect fit. The Atlanta Braves lead the National League East. Yet strangely enough, they have been held to 0 or 1 runs in a game a Major League-high 18 times. At the Draft If youre wondering why the Blue Jays used their ninth-overall pick in the Draft Thursday night to take a pitcher who just had Tommy John surgery in May, consider this. Veteran baseball writer Danny Knobler has seen Jeff Hoffman out of East Carolina pitch and said this of him: "He could be Justin Verlanders brother". Say no more! ' ' '