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First-round draft choice Devin McCourty

Blog: lcy
Posted by: Saturday 4th February 2012, 3:03am

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. Ahmad Bradshaw Youth Jersey . -- First-round draft choice Devin McCourty signed a five-year deal with the New England Patriots on Wednesday as the team reached its goal of having all 12 picks under contract by the start of training camp. The contract for the cornerback from Rutgers is worth US$13.2 million with $7.825 million guaranteed, according to his agent, Andy Simms. Rookies were due to report on Sunday, but the first full-squad workout is set for Thursday morning. McCourty, taken with the 27th overall pick, is the second first-round choice to sign. Dez Bryant, the Oklahoma State wide receiver chosen 24th by the Dallas Cowboys, is the other. McCourty, who is expected to compete for a starting job, was eager to report by Wednesday, when veterans were due at 7 a.m. Simms said McCourty signed his contract at about 7 a.m. \"We worked pretty late (Tuesday) to get to this point,\" Simms said. \"We know whats important in New England and thats to get to camp on time.\" The deal signed by last years 27th pick, running back Donald Brown of Connecticut who was chosen by the Indianapolis Colts, was a factor in the McCourty talks, Simms said. Brown signed a five-year, $12.835 contract with $6.845 million guaranteed. The negotiations took place with the possibility of a lockout in 2011 if management and the players union cant agree on a new collective bargaining agreement. \"The pending labour situation is something we had to consider. We worked with the Patriots on some of the issues,\" Simms said. McCourty is expected to challenge Darius Butler, the 41st overall draft pick last year, for a starting spot. Butler started five of the 14 games he played in with three interceptions. In four seasons at Rutgers, McCourty had six interceptions and started the last 39 games at cornerback. He also blocked six punts and a field goal attempt. Leigh Bodden, going into his eighth season and second with the Patriots, is the other starting cornerback. Aaron Hernandez Jersey . Moving to a hockey hotbed from one where the sport was rarely in the spotlight, the Thrashers are expecting a little bit of culture shock now that theyve landed in Winnipeg. Danny Woodhead Jersey . Seven-time Tour de France champion Armstrong is currently weathering the storm of a US federal investigation into claims his former team US Postal used public money to fund a comprehensive doping program. Authentic Rob Gronkowski Jersey . Not a manly enough injury, apparently. And, yeah, it would probably sound cooler if he had a broken thumb or a broken index finger. But a broken bone in your hand is a broken bone in your hand. Hakeem Nicks Super Bowl Jersey . After coming to terms earlier in the week with forward Boyd Gordon and defenseman Jeff Schultz, the team put the finishing touches on a deal for Fehr, who at 24 is coming off a breakout season despite averaging only about 12 minutes of ice time per game. Antrel Rolle Super Bowl Jersey . Rafael Furcal and Casey Blake had a pair of hits and an RBI each while Manny Ramirez was 3-for-4 and scored twice for Los Angeles, which has been scuffling with losses in five of the last seven coming in. Martin had also been on a bit of a downswing as his four RBI eclipsed his total run production over the last 21 games.LONDON - A senior UEFA official warned clubs with heavy debts on Wednesday that they could be excluded in future from European competitions. UEFA general secretary David Taylor said clubs face the ultimate sanction if they failed to deal with serious debts. There would be forms of communication, even warnings, even reprimands before one would ever get to a situation of exclusion - but its absolutely possible, Taylor told the Leaders in Football Conference at Stamford Bridge. The first meeting exploring how to overhaul the licence requirements to enter UEFA competitions will be held Monday at the organizations headquarters in Switzerland, although there is no timetable for its implementation. Let there be no doubt - we are not sitting idly by, Taylor said. We are looking at strengthening the minimal financial criteria and other forms of self regulation that may impose greater standard on clubs that want to compete in European competitions and beyond that club football. The whole concept of financial fair play is about living within your means and your resources which can also mean having debt but being able to service that debt. Liverpool is one club that needs to play in the Champions League to help meet the interest payments on its debts, but the Reds face the possibility of being banned from the lucrative competition. Football Association chairman David Triesman said Tuesday that debt in English football topped three bbillion pounds (C$5. New York Giants Super Bowl Jersey. 8 billion). Taylor expressed concern that clubs are putting their futures in jeopardy by exposing themselves to debt that would require a white knight to bail them out, a situation made more urgent due to the current global financial meltdown. This is an attempt to find greater financial stability, especially at a time when banks are failing. Governments might bail out banks with 50 billion pounds, but they are not going to bail out a football club, Taylor said. The current system needs to be looked at, it needs more transparency. We need to look at which areas we regulate to ensure the long-term stability of the clubs. It is not something that will happen overnight, we are still at the stage of investigating and developing solutions, but we are concerned about the longer term. Taylor said UEFA is looking at Major League Soccer in the United States for inspiration. How they handle matters of debt and manage the financial stability of their leagues and their clubs is very interesting, he said. Salary caps and certain other financial controls ensure that they have a system whereby none of their clubs or franchises is in any particular financial difficulties. In fact, most of them make considerable profits all the time. Is this because of closed leagues or because of certain finances measures they have in place? Its those financial regulations and control we are investigating. ' ' '

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