, and seven grandchildren. Another son, Kenneth Stanley Adams

NEW YORK -- For nearly three years, Jadeveon Clowney couldnt wait to get to the NFL, and the league was just as eager to add the player some called the best defensive prospect in a decade. Jerseys For Sale . No surprise: Clowney is the Texans man. But Thursdays first pick of the NFL draft didnt come without some intrigue about how it would all turn out. There had been criticism of Clowneys work ethic last season and questions about whether the Texans would hold or trade the No. 1 slot. "I just been proving a lot of people wrong throughout my life," Clowney said. "Growing up, I grew up hard. I always said Im going to do something great. Hopefully, Im going to be a Hall of Famer one day." Houston will take that. This drafts other big name, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, sat with a sullen look on his face until Cleveland made its third trade of the round and grabbed the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner at No. 22. To rousing cheers and chants of "Johnny, Johnny," Manziel smiled widely as he walked onto the Radio City Music Hall stage. "If you call it a slide, I wouldnt call it that at all," he said. "I was drafted in the first round of the NFL draft. "Its a great story. Its great for me to end up there, at a team that has fans that are as passionate as I am on the field." Manziels wait added plenty of suspense nearly three hours after the Texans took their time selecting Clowney. Rarely does a team not reveal the top overall choice until it is announced, and there was wide speculation the Texans had soured on the defensive end, whose junior season at South Carolina was accompanied by criticism he played it safe to stay healthy for the pros. After Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the pick, fans filling Radio City Music Hall to capacity applauded Clowney as he held up his index finger, his eyes moist, a relieved look on his face. Just like the 30 prospects on hand, the fans were extra eager to see who would wind up where after the draft was pushed back from late April because the theatre was unavailable. "Its been a long time. It just kicked in at the end there, man, Ive been drafted," he said. Clowney, 21, brings size, speed and power to a lineup that already has 2012 NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt. His diligence had been questioned after he slipped from 13 sacks to just three in 2013. Critics said he was protecting himself from injury in his junior year before declaring early for the draft. He is the first defensive player taken first overall since Houston selected another end, Mario Williams, in 2006. Williams now is with Buffalo. Houston also made the top pick in its first season, 2002, taking quarterback David Carr. He never lived up to that billing; the Texans hope Clowney has more of an impact. Tackle Greg Robinson, whose blocking helped high-powered Auburn make the national championship game last season, went second to St. Louis. The Rams owned the pick as the final payment for a 2012 trade with Washington that allowed the Redskins to draft quarterback Robert Griffin III. St. Louis is concerned about the health of starting left tackle Jake Long, who is coming off knee surgery. The first quarterback to go went to Jacksonville in the third slot, but it wasnt Johnny Football. Blake Bortles of Central Florida, whose stock shot up last season and in subsequent workouts. At 6-5, 232, Bortles drew comparisons to Ben Roethlisberger because of his combination of size and mobility. Jacksonville missed the last time it took a QB in the first round, Blaine Gabbert in 2011. The Jaguars gave up on the inconsistent Gabbert, who struggled to read defences and was benched for journeyman Chad Henne. Gabbert is now a backup in San Francisco. "Hes a down-to-earth guy, a self-made guy, a blue-collar guy and he wants to be the best he can be," said Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell, who added a word of caution: "He just needs a little bit of time." Seeing a chance to grab playmaking receiver Sammy Watkins of Clemson, Buffalo swapped spots with Cleveland, also sending a first- and fourth-round selection next year to move up from ninth to fourth. "Dynamic playmaker, and thats what this game is all about," Bills GM Doug Whaley said of Watkins. "Hes automatically going to make our quarterback (EJ Manuel) better." Texas A&M tackle Jake Matthews, the son of Hall of Fame offensive lineman Bruce Matthews, went to Atlanta with the sixth overall pick. The Falcons leaked so badly on the offensive line in 2013 as they plummeted from NFC South champion to 4-12 that Matt Ryan was sacked 44 times. Another Aggies star was chosen next, receiver Mike Evans to Tampa Bay. The 6-4, 231-pound Evans is durable, versatile -- and quite emotional. He also couldnt hold back the tears when Goodell called his name. The crowd thought Manziel might go eighth when Cleveland traded up one spot to get Minnesotas pick. So when the Browns took cornerback Justin Gilbert of Oklahoma State, there was a loud groan from the fans. Gilbert smiled wryly as he shook Goodells hand. Minnesota grabbed UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr, Detroit selected North Carolinas Eric Ebron, by far the best tight end in this crop, and Tennessee filled a need on the offensive line with Michigan tackle Taylor Lewan. Finally, a local team was on the clock and the audience approved lustily when the Giants chose LSU receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Beckham was followed by Pitt DT Aaron Donald to St. Louis, Virginia Tech CB Kyle Fuller to Chicago, Ohio State LB Ryan Shazier to Ohio State, Notre Dame G Zack Martin to Dallas, Alabama LB C.J. Mosley to Baltimore and, as fans chanted "J-E-T-S," Louisville safety Calvin Pryor is New York-bound. Minnesota finished off the opening round by trading with Seattle to select Louisvilles Teddy Bridgewater, the third quarterback taken. Bridgewater was an early entrant into the draft, but already had graduated. China Jerseys For Sale .com) - Mikko Korhonen carded a 5-under 67 on Thursday to claim medalist honors at the European Tours Final Qualifying Stage tournament. Discount Jerseys For Sale . -- A deflected pass that landed in DeSean Jacksons hands. https://www.jerseysforsalechina.com/ . -- Down to 10 men and behind on the scoreboard, Toronto FC displayed its perseverance. NASHVILLE -- Titans owner Bud Adams, who helped found the American Football League and whose battles for players helped lead to the merger with the NFL, has died. He was 90. The team announced Monday that Adams had died, saying he "passed away peacefully from natural causes." The son of a prominent oil executive, Adams built his own energy fortune and founded the Houston Oilers. He moved the team to Tennessee in 1997 when he couldnt get the new stadium he wanted in Houston. The franchise, renamed the Titans, in 2000 reached the Super Bowl that Adams had spent more than three decades pursuing. Coach Mike Munchak said Adams was willing to spend money to help his team win, remembering how he ordered the Titans to chase free agent Peyton Manning in March 2012. The Titans also spent more than $100 million this off-season on players, and Munchak said their challenge now will be winning the Super Bowl in his memory -- the one item missing from Adams legacy. "Thatll be our challenge going forward," Munchak said. Funeral plans have yet to be announced. Munchak said the Titans will decide later how to remember their founder. Adams 409 wins were the most of any current NFL owner. He notched his 400th career win in the 2011 season finale when his Titans defeated the team that replaced his Oilers in Houston, the Texans. His franchise made 21 playoff appearances in 53 seasons, eighth among NFL teams since 1960. "I consider Bud one of the founders of the game of professional football because of his role in helping to create the American Football League," Dallas owner Jerry Jones said in a statement. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell called Adams a pioneer and innovator. "As a founding owner of the American Football League that began play in 1960, Bud saw the potential of pro football and brought the game to new cities and new heights of popularity, first in Houston and then in Nashville," Goodell said in a statement. Kenneth Stanley Adams Jr. was born in Bartlesville, Okla., to the future chief executive of Phillips Petroleum Co., K.S. "Boots" Adams. Adams joined Dallas oilman Lamar Hunt on Aug. 3, 1959, when they announced the AFL would begin competing with the NFL at a news conference in Adams office. Adams founded one of the new leagues charter franchises. The NFL retaliated by placing the Cowboys in Dallas and tried to get into Houston, but Adams held the lease to the one available stadium. "I wanted to be the only pro team," Adams said in a 2002 interview with The Associated Press. He won a major battle with the NFL in June 1960, shortly before the AFLLs debut, when a judge ruled Louisiana State Heisman Trophy winner Billy Cannon -- who signed with the Oilers underneath the goalposts after the Sugar Bowl that year -- was their property despite having later signed with the NFLs Los Angeles Rams. Jerseys For Sale Outlet. "It was a big step for us," Adams said. The Oilers won the first two AFL titles and reached the championship game four times during the 1960s. In 1968, the Oilers became the first indoor football team when they moved into the 3-year-old Astrodome. Meanwhile, Adams quietly became one of the nations wealthiest oilmen as his ADA Oil Co. evolved into the publicly traded Adams Resources & Energy Inc., a Fortune 500 company based in Houston. His business interests included farming and ranching in Texas and California, cattle feeding, real estate and automobile sales. He also was a major collector of western art and Indian artifacts and maintained a private gallery at his corporate headquarters. "He was very passionate about his football team," Rams coach Jeff Fisher said of his former boss on 104.5 The Zone WGFX-FM. Adams convinced Tampa Bay owner Hugh Culverhouse to trade him the rights to Heisman Trophy-winning running back Earl Campbell in 1978. The Campbell-led teams reached two straight AFC title games, only to lose to eventual Super Bowl winner Pittsburgh each time. The Oilers flamed out of the playoffs early in 1980 and Adams fired popular coach Bum Phillips, a move that permanently alienated him from many fans of the teams "Luv Ya Blue" era. Phillips died Friday, also at the age of 90. Adams complained about the Astrodome in 1987 and toured the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville scouting a possible move before getting the 10,000 extra seats he wanted in Houston. The Oilers had their longest run of success in the late 1980s and early 1990s after signing Warren Moon in 1984. They became best known for blowing a record 32-point lead in a playoff game at Buffalo on Jan. 3, 1993 -- Adams 70th birthday. Adams began railing about the aging Astrodome shortly afterward. When he moved his team, Adams continued to live and work in Houston. Renamed the Titans, his franchise reached its lone Super Bowl after the 1999 season only to lose to the Rams 23-16 when Kevin Dyson was tackled at the St. Louis 1-yard line as time expired. The Titans made a second AFC championship game after the 2002 season as part of six playoff berths, the last in 2008. His wife Nancy died in 2009. He is survived by daughters Susie Smith and Amy Strunk, and seven grandchildren. Another son, Kenneth Stanley Adams III, died in 1987 at age 29. ' ' '