SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - St. Louis Cardinals rookie outfielder Oscar Taveras was drunk at the time of his fatal car crash last month in his Caribbean homeland, an official in the Dominican Republic said Wednesday.Tessie Sanchez, a spokeswoman for the Dominican attorney generals office, told The Associated Press toxicology reports showed Taveras had a blood-alcohol level five times the countrys legal limit when he lost control of his car Oct. 26 on a highway in the tourist region of Puerto Plata.The 22-year-old Taveras was legally intoxicated when he crashed, Sanchez said.Until we have the opportunity to review the official report, we cannot confirm details, Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said in a statement.While we are still working to obtain the facts, it wont change the fact that this is a terrible tragedy. We have an obligation to use this as an opportunity to educate our players that they must take responsibility for themselves both on and off the field, he said.Taveras hit .239 with three homers and 22 RBIs in 80 games this year. He homered against the Giants in his major league debut on May 31. He also had a big solo drive in the seventh inning of Game 2 in the NL Championship Series against San Francisco.Taveras held a Canadian passport. He spent four years as a teenager living in Montreal with his father, Francisco Taveras, and played for the Marquis de Montreal of the Quebec midget triple-A league before moving back to the Dominican Republic.Taveras was a teenager when he signed with the Cardinals as an international free agent in 2008. Before this season, he was ranked the No. 3 overall prospect by MLB.com and Baseball America.He was buried late last month in a cemetery near the Dominican Republics north coast.Taveras 18-year-old girlfriend, Edilia Arvelo, was in his 2014 Chevy Camaro when it ran off the road. She also died.A month into the 2007 season, St. Louis pitcher Josh Hancock was killed in a car crash and tests showed his blood-alcohol level was nearly twice Missouris legal limit. The Cardinals subsequently banned alcohol from their clubhouse. Kevin Gausman Braves Jersey . -- The Minnesota Vikings have signed Jerome Simpson, the former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver recently convicted on a felony drug charge. Bob Uecker Jersey .Impact president Joey Saputo confirmed Thursday that he is part of a group of investors whose offer to buy the 105-year-old Italian club was accepted by the teams board of directors. http://www.baseballbravesproshop.com/sea...-braves-jersey/. Louis still looking for a way out of Tampa Bay, the 38-year-old NHL veteran isnt showing his cards. Deion Sanders Jersey . Cox started the season with San Francisco, but was released by the team on Nov. 12 before being signed by Seattle, where he appeared in two games and tallied three tackles before being released on Dec. Darren ODay Jersey . Thats when the eight-time champion revealed that a painful back is slowing his serves -- and, all in all, giving him more trouble than his opponents so far.A quarterback will be selected with the No 1 pick of the 2016 Draft. Whether it will be North Dakota States Carson Wentz or University of Californias Jared Goff, we as yet dont know, but Los Angeles Rams have traded up from the 15th pick to top spot for the privilege of picking their franchise quarterback of the future.For every success story like Peyton Manning - taken with the top pick in the 1998 Draft - there is a cautionary tale like JaMarcus Russell, taken No 1 in 2007. Here we take a closer look at the quarterbacks taken with the first pick since the turn of the century…Jameis Winston (2015) Jameis Winston impressed during his first year as quarterback for Tampa Bay Buccaneers Much like this year, there was little separating the top two quarterbacks in the 2015 Draft, with much speculation as to whether the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would pick Winston, or Marcus Mariota.They ultimately plumped for Winston, who rewarded them with 4,042 passing yards - the third-most by a rookie in NFL history - in his first year. Mariota didnt fare too badly either mind, becoming the first rookie QB to record two games with at least four touchdown passes, for the Tennessee Titans.Andrew Luck (2012) Andrew Luck won three of four encounters against Peyton Manning, the man he replaced at Indianapolis Colts Once again, quarterbacks were taken with the first and second picks, although this time Luck was predicted to be the top pick by many over Robert Griffin III, and so it proved.There had even been a Suck for Luck campaign the previous year, with many hoping their team would lose, get the top pick of the draft and pick Luck. He was seen as the surest QB prospect coming out of college since Manning in 1998, and as luck would have it, thats who hed end up replacing at Indianapolis Colts.Cam Newton (2011) Cam Newton struggled against a dominant Denver Broncos defence in Super Bowl 50 Arguably, Newton is the one on our list to have tasted the most pro success, with SuperCam proving an unstoppable force both in the air, and on the ground.His rookie season saw him throw for an astonishing 4,051 yards and rush for 14 touchdowns. A couple of quieter years - by his standards - followed, but he was back to his best last year, leading Carolina Panthers to the Super Bowl with 35 touchdown passes, and 10 scores on the ground. Sadly, the season would end in defeat to Denver Broncos.Sam Bradford (2010) Could Sam Bradford (left) be set to follow former coach Chip Kelly (right) out the door at Philadelphia Eagles? Bradford is the toughest of the No 1 picks to grade. Is he an overrated player, afforded more opportunities - like the one he was given but failed to grasp with Philadelphia Eagles last year - than his talent deserves? Or is he endlessly unlucky, troubled constantly by injuries or coaching/system changes?After four such seasons with St Louis Rams, the Eagles traded for Bradford, looking to build Chip Kellys explosive offence around him. But after a poor 7-9 season, Kelly is gone and Philadelphia have traded up to the second pick of the 2016 Draft, where they will take a quarterback.Matthew Stafford (2009) Matthew Stafford was benched during a 42-17 blowout loss to Arizona Cardinals in 2015 The bullet-armed Stafford arguably possesses the strongest throw of all the names on our list, but has been plagued by inconsistency during his pro career.Staffords peak was undoubtedly in 2011 when he threw for 5,038 yards and an incredible 41 touchdowns. He has passed the 30-mark only once since, when notching 32 scores last year, but that belies a woeful start to the year as Detroit Lions went 0-5 with Stafford benched after three interceptions in a blowout loss to Arizona Cardinals.JaMarcus Russell (2007) JaMarcus Russell was criticised for being overweight and under-prepared during his time with Oakland Raiders Undoubtedly the biggest draft bust on our list, and maybe of all time. Russell posted a 7-18 record during his three years with the Oakland Raiders, tallying 18 touchdowns to 23 interceptions.ddddddddddddAfter ultimately burning out of the NFL due to weight and drug issues, Russell attempted a comeback in 2013 but was not signed. To make matters worse for Raider Nation, they passed on such talent as Calvin Johnson, Adrian Peterson and Marshawn Lynch taken later in the draft.Alex Smith (2005) Alex Smith (far left) was selected first, ahead of Aaron Rodgers (third left) in the 2005 Draft Once again, the debate ahead of the 2005 Draft was which of two quarterbacks would be selected No 1 overall by San Francisco 49ers. They picked Smith, but the biggest surprise was to then see future NFL Hall-of-Famer Aaron Rodgers slide all the way to the 24th pick, where Green Bay Packers gleefully snapped him up.Smith took a long time to settle in comparison to Rodgers, but has ultimately carved out a decent NFL resume, first with San Francisco and now with Kansas City Chiefs.Eli Manning (2004) Eli Manning holds aloft the Vince Lombardi trophy after one of two triumphs in the Super Bowl with the New York Giants Another QB tussle for the top two picks, although this one was more personal. San Diego Chargers selected Manning, but there was a problem: he didnt want to play for them. He wanted to go to New York and play for the Giants, which he ultimately did after the two teams agreed a trade - Philip Rivers in turn heading for the sunshine coast of California.Eli hasnt matched his older brother Peytons career in terms of stats, but did for some time hold the Super Bowl advantage, with two wins to one until Peyton evened things up with Denvers win in Super Bowl 50 before retirement.Carson Palmer (2003) Carson Palmer took Arizona Cardinals to the NFC Championship game in 2015 but then struggled in defeat to Carolina Panthers Much like Bradford and Luck have been since, Palmer was the first to be touted as the best college QB since Peyton. He didnt disappoint, throwing 32 touchdowns in only his second season with the Cincinnati Bengals and then topping the 4,000-yard mark in his next two.A torn elbow disrupted his 2008 season and he failed to reach the same stratospheric heights following surgery. An unsuccessful trade to the Raiders followed and Palmers career appeared to be drifting until Arizona Cardinals picked him up. Personal bests of 4,671 yards and 35 touchdowns last year have seen him return to the top tier of NFL QBs.David Carr (2002) David Carr suffers one of his record 76 sacks for Houston Texans in 2002 Houston Texans came into the NFL as an expansion franchise in 2002, and chose Carr as their first draft pick. Sadly though, the burden of that tag weighed heavily on Carr, as did multiple defensive lineman, with the quarterback sacked a staggering 76 times in his rookie season behind a woefully put together Texans team.Carr never really recovered from the experience, suffering a further 68 sacks in the 2005 season and spent much of the rest of his career as a back-up. His brother Derek is at least faring a little better as a Raider, picked in the second round in 2014.Michael Vick (2001) Michael Vick explodes into the endzone and into the NFL for Atlanta Falcons in 2001 Commonplace in the NFL now with the likes of Newton, Russell Wilson, Colin Kaepernick etc, but Vick was a true pioneer as a duel threat quarterback, astonishing the league with his passing and running ability in his first few years with the Atlanta Falcons.Just as he should have been peaking, Vick was jailed for 21 months for his involvement in an illegal dog fighting ring. He had moderate success with the Eagles upon release, but is now serving as a back-up with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and its a case of what could have been for his NFL career.Follow the 2016 NFL Draft on Sky Sports 1 from midnight on Thursday and via our live blog here at www.skysports.com/nfl Also See: NFL Draft: Beginners Guide Making sens of the NFL Combine 2015 Draft: Non-first round surprises 2015 Draft: Hits and misses ' ' '