Off Topic » avoiding arbitration. Strasbur

INDIANAPOLIS -- Johnny Manziel shed the Hollywood image Friday -- maybe for good. The brash-talking, Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback from Texas A&M entered and exited the Lucas Oil Stadium media room through a back door. He ignored the television screens around him, monitors that provided live coverage of his media availability and that had been showing his college football highlights prior to his arrival. And it seemed Johnny Football had suddenly transformed himself into Johnny Business. "This is a job now. There are guys families, coaches families and jobs and all kinds of things on the line," he said in a stern, deliberate voice at the NFLs scouting combine. "For me, it wont be a hard thing to kick. Im extremely focused on whatever organization Ill be at and really pouring my heart out trying to be football 24-7 with that team." What he has to prove now is that he means every word. Since bursting onto the national stage in his Heisman-winning freshmen season, Manziel has been living large. Hes been courtside at NBA games, played golf at Pebble Beach, partied in Cabo and become a feature attraction for memorabilia hounds. Hes participated in dunk contests, publicly complained about life in College Station, Texas, developed a friendship with Tom Brady and never been shy about -- anything. But in Indianapolis, none of that stuff means a thing. Here, scouts and NFL front-office executives are treating Manziel as just another draft hopeful in the standard blue-and-green warm-up suit. Theyll see how he runs, how he tests and perhaps most important, how he answers questions. Most teams want to know whether this 21-year-old, fun-loving football star is mature enough to handle millions of dollars and live up to the tag of franchise quarterback. Fridays media availability may have been a good start. Rather than showcasing his bravado, Manziel, at times, sounded almost apologetic for some of the things hes said and done recently. "The main thing I wanted to portray that was more in the subplots of the article," he said, when asked about a story in which he seemed to warn Houston about bypassing him with the No. 1 overall pick, "was that whatever team I do end up with, whenever I do get to that team, whenever I am in that organization, each one of those guys is now my teammate, my brother and if Im on the field with those guys, Im going to try to be the best football player I can be." Other times, he sounded almost defiant. "I knew who I was meeting with, but Im not sure of his official title. Something along the lines of just a counselor," he said when pressed about reports he was being treated for alcoholism and anger management while at Texas A&M. When it became clear the 2012 Heisman winner measured in at 5-foot-11 3/4 inches, 207 pounds, shorter and lighter than his listed college measurements of 6-1 and 210, and shorter and lighter than many NFL teams seek in a starting quarterback, he wouldnt confirm the measurements. Instead, he explained that he more heart and passion for this sport than anyone in the draft. Not all the news was bad for Manziel. Though he stands about five inches shorter than Blake Bortles, another quarterback vying to wind up in Houston, Manziel came in with bigger hands -- a potentially big advantage on draft weekend. "I think it (hand size) is something that is highly underrated," said Arizona coach Bruce Arians, who has tutored Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Andrew Luck among others. "It depends on where you play. If you play in Lucas Oil, not too bad. Now, if you play in Green Bay and you struggle with controlling a football when its cold and wet, thats a problem. That goes into the evaluation process hard." Theres little doubt about Manziels skills. In 2012, he broke the SECs single-season record for total offense (5,116 yards), became the fifth player in FBS history to throw for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in one season and then set an all-bowl rushing record for a quarterback (229 yards). After his jet-setting offseason and an NCAA investigation into autographs on memorabilia, critics contended a distracted Manziel regressed. But he actually threw for more yards (4,116), more touchdowns (37) and wound up with a better passing efficiency (172.9) in 2013 than he did in 2012. The Texas native believes he will only continue to get better on a bigger stage. But what scouts and team executives must determine between now and Mays draft is whether Johnny Football is for real or whether this personality change is just one more part of his ongoing act. "Im from a small town of Kerrville, Texas, 20,000 people. That gets lost when people make me out to be a big Hollywood guy," Manziel said. "Sometimes you get caught up in certain things, but at the same time its about continuing to learn and continuing to adapt to everything thats going on in my life. Im not saying its always easy, but continuing to be who Ive always been is a big thing for me." Cheap Nike Jerseys .com) - World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, Wimbledon champion Andy Murray and four-time Australian Open titlist Roger Federer were among Mondays fourth-round winners at Melbourne Park. Fake Jerseys For Sale . Sam, who joined the Cowboys in early September, has spent the entire season on the practice roster. https://www.fakejerseyswholesale.com/. The Raptors general manager has his list of possible draft selections whittled down to a handful ahead of Thursday nights NBA draft in Brooklyn, New York. The Raptors, who have auditioned dozens of players over the past couple of weeks, have the 20th overall pick in the first round, as well as the 37th and 58th picks in the second. Wholesale Jerseys . Kerber will next play Estonias Kaia Kanepi, who beat American qualifier Victoria Duval 6-1, 6-3. In other first-round matches, Lucie Safarova beat 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 6-4 and American Bethanie Mattek-Sands had a 6-4, 6-3 win over Canadas Eugenie Bouchard. Cheap Jerseys From China . The Gatineau Olympiques head coach will lead Canada in its quest to end its gold medal drought at the 2015 world junior hockey championship held in Montreal and Toronto at the end of this year.Washington, DC (SportsNetwork.com) - The Washington Nationals agreed to terms on one-year contracts with right-handers Stephen Strasburg and Drew Storen on Friday, avoiding arbitration. Strasburg will reportedly earn $7.4 million in 2015 after going 14-11 with 3.14 ERA in 34 starts last season. His 242 strikeouts tied with Johnny Cueto for most in the NL. The 26-year-old Strasburg is 43-30 with a 3.dddddddddddd02 ERA in 109 career starts with the Nationals. Storen, who is set to be Washingtons closer in 2015, allowed just seven earned runs all year. He went 2-1 with 11 saves and a 1.12 ERA. The 27-year-old Storen, who will reportedly make $5.7 million in 2015, is 19-11 with 66 saves and a 2.94 ERA in 297 career games with the Nationals. ' ' '