Linebackers Jaylon Smith and Myles Jack saw their NFL dreams stay alive on Friday after both were selected on the second day of the draft despite ongoing concerns over knee injuries. Smith was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys with the 34th overall selection, a higher spot than many expected because of the major knee injury he suffered playing for his college side Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl on January 1.And Jack, out of UCLA, was picked up when the Jacksonville Jaguars added to their off-season overhaul on defence by drafting 36th overall. Jack, ranked one of the five best players in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com, missed most of last season at UCLA after undergoing knee surgery.He learned during medical evaluations with NFL doctors that degeneration in the joint could mean hed need microfracture knee surgery. Myles Jack of UCLA was selected 36th overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars I would understand if I fell, Jack said, although he was so upset at not going in the first round that he left draft headquarters in Chicago before the second round began on Friday.Fridays second round opened with the Cleveland Browns drafting Emmanuel Ogbah of Oklahoma State and the Tennessee Titans picking Clemsons Kevin Dodd before the Cowboys sprung a surprise with their gamble on Smith.Smith tore his anterior cruciate ligament and lateral collateral ligament against Ohio State, a dark cloud on an otherwise standout third-year season. Also See: Rams select Goff at No 1 First round: Pick Six Rookies guide NFL Video Kelly Tripucka Jersey . What general manager Dave Nonis called "short and productive" negotiations ended with Kessel signing a US$64-million, eight-year contract on Tuesday. George Yardley Jersey . - Derek Wolfe says hes finally healthy after suffering a seizure in November that doctors now believe was related to the spinal cord injury he suffered in the preseason. https://www.cheappistonsonline.com/ . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. Chauncey Billups Jersey . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. Blake Griffin Jersey . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- Phil Kessel returned to work on Friday hoping to talk about his blessedly short summer after helping the Pittsburgh Penguins to their fourth Stanley Cup in June.Instead, the forward ended up walking back a critical tweet about Team USA following its disappointing performance in the World Cup of Hockey. Kessel, the leading scorer for the Americans during the 2014 Winter Olympics, was not invited to join this time. While he said all the right things last spring after getting passed over, his frustration bubbled up while watching the U.S. lose to Canada on Tuesday.Just sitting around the house tonight w/my dog, Kessel posted on his account. Felt like I should be doing something important, but couldnt put my finger on it.Kessel didnt delete the tweet even after some members of the U.S. team took exception. But he made clear on Friday, as the Penguins reported for training camp, that it wasnt a personal attack on the group that went winless in three games and failed to advance to the medal round.Obviously I meant no disrespect to any of the players, Kessel said. I have a ton of respect for all those guys there. I played with a lot of those guys. Theyre great players and great guys. I know this game is hard. I know its not an easy one to play.Kessel would rather focus on the 2016-17 season as the Penguins try to become the first team in nearly 20 years to repeat as champs. Hell spend the early days of camp seeing how his surgically repaired hand is responding after undergoing a minor procedure in July.Just going to take some time here, he said. Just kind of get back into it.Pittsburghs summer lasted all of 103 days, barely enough time to make sure everyone involved with the teams six-game victory over San Jose in the Stanley Cup Final got to enjoy some one-on-one time with their sports most valuable hardware.Its like we never left each other, defenseman Trevor Daleyy said.dddddddddddd. Looking around, didnt we just see each other the other day?Not that Daley is complaining. Theres a sweet reason for the short break, after all.Were the champs, obviously, Daley said with a laugh.Ones who insist theyre just as hungry as they were last spring, when they raced through the playoffs behind a mixture of speed, grit and the precocious goaltending of rookie Matt Murray. Pittsburgh did little to mess with its formula in free agency, keeping the core intact for what it hopes is another season that bleeds from spring until the edge of summer.Coach Mike Sullivan, however, is taking great pains during camp to keep his squad from getting complacent. He divvied the players into three groups hoping to keep things fresh.I think we have competitive guys by nature, Sullivan said. I think they like to compete. Its our job as coaches to put them in an environment where theyre allowed to compete. It took a lot of players for us to go through the playoff run that we did.Captain Sidney Crosby and center Evgeni Malkin are still in Toronto competing for their native countries in the World Cup. The two will meet in the semifinals on Saturday and are unlikely to return to their regular gig until the middle of next week. Their absence, however, will give others an opportunity to impress Sullivan and the rest of the coaching staff.Whats exciting from our standpoint is that we have the type of depth that we have and we have players that are competing for jobs, literally, Sullivan said. Thats going to keep everyone at their best. That internal competition is a critical component to drive our team to the level that it was at last year.Pittsburgh opens the preseason on Tuesday in Detroit. The Penguins exhibition home opener is next Friday against Chicago. ' ' '