THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, APRIL 24, 2008
SPORTS
7B
》NFL
Dolphins sign Wolverines tackle
Five-year contract guarantees Jake Long $30 million
ASSOCIATED PRESS
University of Michigan offensive lineman Jake Long goes up against Eastern Michigan defensive lineman Eric Young on Oct. 6. If Miami makes Long the top selection in the 2008 draft, he will be the first offensive lineman to be the No.1 pick since 1997.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIAMI — The spotlight will be elsewhere Saturday when the NFL draft begins, and that's fine with the Miami Dolphins and Michigan tackle Jake Long.
"My understanding is St. Louis is on the clock," said Long's agent, Tom Condon.
The Dolphins opted to dispense with any on-the-clock drama by signing Long to a five-year contract Tuesday with $30 million guaranteed. They'll select him with the top pick in the draft Saturday.
"Jake Long was on the top of our board for a long time," general manager Jeff Ireland said. "We thought it was a very good fit with the Miami Dolphins."
Both sides were pleased the deal allows them to avoid a possible holdout.
"I'm real glad we got the contract done so I don't have to worry about any of that." Long said.
"It's really important for us to know Jake is going to be on the field for us on time when training camp begins in July," coach Tony Sparano said. "That was critical."
Long's total contract package is for $57.75 million, said a person familiar with the negotiations who didn't want to be identified because the Dolphins declined to reveal terms. Last year's top pick, JaMarcus Russell, signed for $61 million with the Oakland Raiders but missed all of training camp before reaching a deal.
Long becomes the highestpaid lineman in the NFL and a 6-foot-7,315-pound cornerstone in a rebuilding project for the new Miami regime led by Bill Parcells. Last season the Dolphins went 1-15,and the offensive line has been a chronic problem in recent years.
They have many other needs as well, and were interested in trading the top pick for multiple lower choices. When no suitors surfaced, Miami began negotiations last week with Condon.
The Dolphins said they didn't conduct contract talks with any other potential pick.
"It was a very straightforward negotiation," Condon said. "They didn't leverage us with other players, and we didn't tell them we wanted to be on some different team or any of those kinds of things."
Reaching a contract agreement before the draft isn't unprecedented. The Houston Texans signed defensive end Mario Williams as their No. 1 pick on the eve of the 2006 draft.
In the past 40 years, only two other offensive linemen have been taken with the No.1 choice - Ohio State tackle Orlando Pace by the Rams in 1997, and Southern Cal tackle Ron Yary by the Vikings in 1968.
Pace made the Pro Bowl seven consecutive times, and Yary made the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Dolphins would be thrilled with comparable achievements by Long.
"Jake has all the qualities we're
looking for in our linemen," said Sparano, who coached the offensive line with the Dallas Cowboys. "He's very tough, smart and disciplined. Those are the people we want to surround ourselves with here."
Long started 40 games at Michigan and was Big Ten offensive lineman of the year in 2006 and 2007. He finished second to LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey in balloting last season for the Lombardi and Outland trophies.
"Coach Parcells and I have had several conversations during the
last few weeks," said Lloyd Carr, who coached Long at Michigan. "I know this: Jake Long is his type of player."
The Dolphins decided to use the top pick on offense rather than take Dorsey, Virginia defensive end Chris Long or Ohio State linebacker Vernon Gholston. It turns out Ireland's comment last week about drafting "a pillar of your defense" was a slip of the tongue — or a smoke screen.
"That's for me to know," a smiling Ireland said, "and you to guess about."
》 MLB
John Smoltz, sitting on 2,999 strikeouts, had two strikes on Felipe Lopez. With the home crowd cheering, Smoltz went with the pitch he still credits for helping win the '96 NL Cy Young Award: the split-finger fastball.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Smoltz throws his 3,000th out
Lopez whiffed, and Smoltz became the 16th pitcher in major league history to reach the 3,000-strikeout plateau.
The 40-year-old was outpitched by rookie John Lannan in the Washington Nationals' 6-0 win over the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night.
Smoltz got two standing ovations and a video tribute. About the only thing he didn't get was a victory.
The crowd at Turner Field gave Smoltz two ovations, and the huge Mitsubishi TV screen flashed many of his career highlights.
"Today, for one single moment," Smoltz said, "it was an incredible feeling."
Lopez will now forever be a footnote in baseball history, the answer to a trivia question. Against the split-finger pitch Smoltz first debuted in the 1992 NLCS, Lopez felt he had little chance.
In other NL games Tuesday, it was: Milwaukee 9,
St. Louis 8; Chicago 8, New York 1; Pittsburgh 3, Florida
2; Cincinnati 8, Los Angeles
1; Houston 11, San Diego 7;
Philadelphia 8, Colorado 6; and
Arizona 5; San Francisco 4.
"That guy is good," Lopez said. "He's freaking nasty. He's tough. He never follows a pattern. He changes it up."
Smoltz got a congratulatory text message from his friend Greg Maddux, already a member of the exclusive club.
"I already got a text (message) from Maddux," Smoltz said, "He said I've lost one hair for every strikeout I've made."
Smoltz's two teenage daughters watched the game from the front row behind the Braves'
dugout. His parents were in Arizona but left a message on his cell phone.
Nationals team president Stan Kasten, who used to work in the same capacity for Atlanta, walked through the Braves' clubhouse to shake the pitcher's hand.
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Among the 15 pitchers ahead of him on the 3,000 strikeout list, Smoltz reached the mark faster than all but Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, Nolan Ryan, Curt Schilling and Roger Clemens.
is worth two or three losses," Nationals manager Manny Acta said. "It was nice regardless of the score."
Maddux is the only other active pitcher with more strikeouts (3,287).
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The Braves' five-game winning streak ended.
Lannan, a rookie, allowed five hits in seven innings and the Nationals snapped a three-game losing streak. Washington had lost six of seven and is just 3-15 since winning its first three games of the season.
Smoltz (3-1) allowed a run and five hits in seven innings, and didn't walk a batter. Still, his ERA rose 22 points to 0.78. He got no run support from an offense that came into the game leading the NL with a .286 average.
"A win like that, with John Smoltz chasing 3,000 strikeouts;
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Willie Harris' RBI double in the second gave the Nationals a 1-0 lead. Washington added five runs in the ninth off reliever Jorge Campillo, who made a throwing error in the inning. Four of the runs were unearned.
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Smoltz was quick to acknowledge Lannan's performance in the face of history.
"Ive got to tip my hat to Lannan," Smolz said. "He outpitched me."
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