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NEW YORK, N.Y. - Michael Sam waited and waited. Hours passed, rounds came and went, and eventually, there were only eight more picks left on the third and final day of the NFL draft. For just a moment, it looked as if his chance of being picked by a pro team and becoming the leagues first openly gay player might take a detour. Or at least be delayed. The call finally came Saturday from the St. Louis Rams, the team right down the road from where Sam played his college ball at the University of Missouri. Sam was selected in the seventh and final round and admitted it was a frustrating wait. He said teams that passed on him chickened out and he should have been drafted sooner. "From last season alone, I shouldve been in the first three rounds. SEC Defensive Player of the Year, All-American," Sam said. He stopped short of directly saying his stock dropped in the draft because he came out. "You know what, who knows? Who knows? Only the people who sit in the war room know," he said. "They saw Michael Sam, day after day they scratched it off the board. That was their loss. But St. Louis kept me on that board. And you know what I feel like Im a (Jadeveon) Clowney, a first draft pick. Im proud of where I am now." Sam 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 year of his career: He was the co-defensive player of the year in the NCAAs best football conference and had 11.5 sacks. The pick came after several rounds of suspense. The first round of the day, No. 4 overall, came and went, no Sam. Then the fifth and sixth, 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. "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, with a picture of himself wearing a Rams cap and a pink polo shirt. The six-foot-two, 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 Canadas McGill University — Redmen tackle Laurent Duvernay-Tardif went in the sixth round, 200th overall to Kansas City — were taken ahead of 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 NFL had no comment on Sam being drafted. 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. "Michael Sam wouldnt have been drafted five years ago," said former Viking punter Chris Kluwe, who has accused Minnesota of cutting him in part because of his vocal support for gay rights. In the last year, NBA veteran Jason Collins has come out publicly as gay, and is now playing for the Brooklyn Nets. Collins said before the Nets playoff game against the Heat that he was watching the draft and texted Sam after he was picked. "Its a great day for Michael and his family and for the NFL," Collins said. 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. But all the reaction to Sams news wasnt positive from the league. Miami safety Don Jones posted a one-word tweet, "Horrible" shortly after Sam was drafted. It was later taken down. The teams general manager said he was aware, and was disappointed. Wade Davis, a gay former NFL player who is now the executive director of the gay rights advocacy group "You Can Play," said Sam only needs to do his job to have an impact beyond the field. "Michael Sam doesnt have to be a vocal advocate (for gay rights)," Davis said. "His visibility is his advocacy." Zapatillas Asics España . "This doesnt end anything," he said. "Weve got 10-1 in our last 11 games, and were going home in first place. We just have to keep playing the way we are right now. Asics Baratas Chinas . Weise will have his hearing with the NHL head office over the phone, while the league has requested an in-person hearing with Kassian. Oilers centre Sam Gagner suffered a broken jaw after getting hit with a high stick from Kassian in Edmontons 5-2 win. http://www.baratasasics.es/ . Yahoo! Sports columnist Marc Spears says that the Boogie Smooth album may have been an elaborate April Fools prank. Comprar Asics Baratas .Y. -- The "for sale" sign is up at the Buffalo Bills with the hiring of financial and legal advisers who may begin talking with prospective buyers within the next month. Zapatillas Asics Baratas . -- The Val-dOr Foreurs made it to the Memorial Cup semifinal thanks to their workhorse goaltender and their ability to hang around like a bad cold.Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week they discuss Olympic hockey jerseys, Canadian soccer coach Jon Herdman, soccer phenom Jordan Spieth and Denver Broncos LB Danny Trevathan. Bruce Arthur, National Post: My thumb is down to the leaked version of team Canadas hockey jersey for the Sochi Olympics, If they are the jerseys, which since Getty Images pulled the picture of Jonathan Toews looking dubiously at the camera after a brief kerfuffle, they may be. Ok, so its just a jersey and its not as bad as Buffalos new third jersey - which looks like it has duct tape on the sleeve - and it might not be final, but the white band on just one arm, the dull corporate font, the fake laces, Cmon. Canadas Olympic hockey jersey should evoke our hockey heritage; they should evoke the excitement and hopes and dreams of a nation, in red and white. It should not, under any circumstances, look like a Petro-Canada station. Dave Naylor, TSN: My thumb is up to the Canadian Soccer Association for extending the contract of Womens National team coach John Herdman through the 2020 Olympics. The Canadian story in international soccer has included more than its fair share of frustration, but under Herdman, the womens program has soared to new heights, capped of course by a bronze medal at last summers Olympics. When whispers began recently that Herdman might return home to coach Team England, it seemed he might be too good to be true. Nice to see thats not the case. Micchael Farber, Sports Illustrated: My thumb is up to the next rival to Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth.dddddddddddd. While two-time major champion Rory Mcilroy undergoes his existential and equipment crisis, the 20-year-old Spieth has emerged as the latest prodigy. At the urging of Phil Micklelson and others, Fred Couples made Spieth a captains pick for the Presidents Cup. Last year, Spieth couldnt get past the second round of Q-School. This year he beat Zach Johnson in a playoff at the John Deere Classic and had seven other top 10 finishes. With Saskatchewans Graham Delaet on the international team and Spieth on Team USA, the October event will be about more than boring old tales of Tiger. Dave Hodge, TSN: My thumb is down to Denver Broncos linebacker Danny Trevathan, and though I will try, there are no words that can add much to the pictures of his interception return for a touch…back. A touch…down is what he thought he had after intercepting Joe Flaccos pass and returning it to the end…one-yard line. Yes, a touchdown requires the player and the ball to cross the goal-line, and Trevathan forgot to take the ball that far. It travelled, on its own, far enough to record a touch…back. Al Michaels said, "You would swear that everybody would learn by now". Yes you would and Denver fans did....swear, even though the Broncos were ahead by 25 points, when Danny Trevathan apparently decided that a 25 point lead was big enough. ' ' '

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