Chat » acceptance among Americans, Sams entry into the NFL

Newport Gwent Dragons secured derby bragging rights with a 36-21 victory against the Scarlets in the Anglo-Welsh Cup at Rodney Parade. Tries by centre Sam Beard (two), lock Nick Crosswell, full-back Carl Meyer and flanker Harrison Keddie secured a bonus point success for the home side.The Scarlets led 16-10 at half-time but the match turned on a red card for flanker Jack Condy after an off-the-ball incident five minutes after the restart. The west Wales side scored tries through hooker Dafydd Hughes and wing Corey Baldwin but were always up against it when reduced to 14.The hosts responded to a 42-3 hammering at Leicester to ensure they will be in the mix for the semi-finals when the tournament returns in the new year, staying in touch with Northampton and Saracens in Pool One, while the Scarlets failed to build on their excellent victory against Bath as they hunt down the Tigers in Pool Four. Six months half price Upgrade to Sky Sports to watch Man Utd v Arsenal on Saturday and get the first six months half price In the competitions other Friday night game, Ospreys picked up their first Anglo-Welsh Cup win of the season by thrashing 14-man Cardiff Blues 31-7.Blues prop Anton Peikrishvili was shown a red card following an altercation in the second half which turned the game on its head.Tries from Rhodri Davies, Brendon Leonard, Tom OFlaherty (two) and Dan Evans ensured Ospreys bonus-point victory over their Welsh rivals.Upgrade to Sky Sports now to watch Man Utd v Arsenal this Saturday and get the first six months half price! Also See: Rugby on Sky Follow @SkySportsRugby Pundits Fixtures and results Adidas NMD Wholesale China . They signed their first kicker. Ottawa inked Nick Setta, a 32-year-old native of Lockport, Illinois, to a contract. Cheap Fake NMD . 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Emmanuel Kone pulled one back in the 80th and Levadiakos missed several chances to level in the last 10 minutes.NEW YORK -- Michael Sam was picked by the St. Louis Rams in the seventh round of the NFL draft Saturday, becoming the first openly gay player drafted by a pro football team. Sam played at Missouri, and came out as gay in media interviews earlier this year. His team and coaches knew his secret and kept it for his final college season. He went on to have the best season of his career: He was the Southeastern Conference defensive player of the year. "Thank you to the St. Louis Rams and the whole city of St. Louis. Im using every once of this to achieve greatness!!" Sam tweeted with a frenzied typo moments after he was picked, including a picture of himself wearing a Rams cap and a pink polo shirt. The pick came after several rounds of suspense. The first round of the day came and went, no Sam. Then the second, and the third, and finally, the day was down to just a handful of picks. When Mike Kensil, the NFLs vice-president of game operations, walked to the podium at Radio City Music Hall in the drafts final minutes to announce the Rams second-to-last pick, the crowd got a sense something was up. Very few of the last day picks were announced at the podium. Twitter lit up with suggestions the Rams were about to make news. When Kensil said: "The St. Louis Rams select ... Michael Sam..." the fans gave a hearty cheer, chanting "Yes! Yes! Yes!" and "Michael Sam!" Sam was in San Diego watching with friends and family at the home of his agent, Joe Barkett of Empire Athletes. ESPN and the NFL Network had cameras there and showed Sams reaction. Sam was on the phone bending over, with his boyfriend hugging him and rubbing his left bicep. When Sam got off the phone, the tears started. He gave his boyfriend a big kiss and a long hug as he cried and his eyes reddened. After, they shared cake -- and another kiss. Sam will start his professional career not ffar from the place where he played his college ball, with three former Missouri teammates.dddddddddddd The 6-foot-2, 255-pound Sam was considered a mid-to-late round pick, far from a sure thing to be drafted. He played defensive end in college, but hes short for that position in the NFL and slower than most outside linebackers, the position hell need to transition to at the professional level. He was taken with the 249th overall pick out of 256. Players from Marist, Maine and McGill University in Canada were selected before Sam. "In the world of diversity we live in now, Im honoured to be a part of this," Rams coach Jeff Fisher said during an interview on ESPN. The impact of Sams selection goes far beyond football. At a time when gay marriage is gaining acceptance among Americans, Sams entry into the NFL is a huge step toward the integration of gay men into professional team sports. Pro sports have in many ways lagged behind the rest of society in acceptance. Publicly, most people in and related to the NFL have been supportive of Sam. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said Sam would be welcome in the league and judged solely on his ability to play. A few wondered whether teams would be reluctant to draft Sam because of all the media attention that would come with it. Fair or not, the NFL -- coming off a season in which a bullying scandal involving players on the Miami Dolphins was one of the biggest stories in sports -- was looking at a possible public relations hit if Sam was not drafted. He would likely have been signed as a free agent and given a chance to make a team in training camp, but to many it would have looked as if he was being rejected. Now that hes there, it could be seen as an opportunity for the NFL to show that crass locker room culture is not as prevalent as it might have looked to those who followed the embarrassing Dolphins scandal. ' ' '