NEW YORK, N. Taylor Stallworth Jersey .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." Cheap Saints Jerseys Free Shipping .Kessy tried to show what he can do playing left wing for the Oilers in 5-0 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday in pre-season action. David Onyemata Jersey . Switzerland faces Belgium or Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals in April. Serbia dropped into the World Group playoffs in September. A confident Chiudinelli and Lammer defeated veteran doubles player Zimonjic and young Krajinovic 7-6 (3), 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2. http://www.cheapsaintsjerseyssale.com/?tag=michael-thomas-jersey-sale . While plenty of statistics illustrate Torontos turnaround in the second year of manager Ryan Nelsens tenure, stopping goals is not one of them.After our Top 10 offensive draft picks , we thought it was high time to do the top defensive draft picks. So heres Alex Ferguson on who the selectors should get defensively… Top offensive players View From America... Myles Jack (OL, UCLA) Myles Jack [right] in defensive mode Myles Jack was such a terrific athlete that he also played running back for the Bruins when they really needed one, and was pretty successful. Unfortunately, a knee injury this year caused question marks about his future. But if Jack stays healthy, hes going to be a bona fide NFL hit. Joey Bosa (DE, Ohio State) Joey Bosa shines in the snow Described by college football expert Sean Fitz as a future first round pick, Bosa didnt do anything to make people think differently in his final year. Hes the sort of guy who can control offensive lines at the line of scrimmage - although there are questions about how well he turns a corner to get at a quarterback. Still, hes a fine tackler (five sacks, 51 tackles) and was highly thought-of by the college football gods (two All-American selections).Jalen Ramsey (S, Florida State) Jalen Ramsey [right] dives through the air to make a tackle When I first saw Ramsey play in college I thought that he was a future star, and things havent changed since - apart from his production fell a little bit this year as the ball was thrown away from him towards his other secondary colleagues. Hes 60, and has incredible jumping skills. Cant wait for him against the Odell Beckhams of the NFL.Vernon Hargreaves (CB, Florida) Vernon Hargreaves #1 defends a pass Like Ramsey, he didnt see a lot of offences go anywhere near him in his final year - but when they did, it was generally a schoolboy error (he had four INTs and earned an All-American spot).Reggie Ragland (IL, Alabama) Reggie Ragland #19 knocks an opponents helmet off Ragland was the linchpin of Alabamas National Championship victory, and he was a brilliant tackler (102 tackles) and could also get to the quarterback (2.5 saccks). Sam Mills Jersey. He could also put the pass away (seven passes defended) and was a huge leader on an Alabama team full of leaders. Some teams will be begging Ragland to drop further.Shaq Lawson (DE, Clemson) Shaq Lawson #90 attempts a sack When Lawson was missing for Clemson, you knew it. That was how good Lawson was. Armed with great brights, a 63, 270lbs frame and he led the NCAA in tackles for loss. So he was pretty good at getting through offensive lines, then.DeForest Buckner (DE, Oregon) DeForest Buckner #44 battles two opponents Buckner shone on one of the worst defences in college football (117th out of 128) which gave up 62, 55, and 47 points in just three games. It was that awful defence because the 67, big-handed Buckner was double-teamed all the way through the season and still managed 80 tackles. His biggest game was when it mattered in the showdown with Stanford when he had 10 tackles and a sack in a freakish performance.Sheldon Rankins (DT, Louisville) Sheldon Rankins makes a tackle Called an interior disruptor by the US media, Rankins biggest game was against the ACCs best team - Clemson, in which he had eight tackles and a sack. He had five tackles and a sack in the bowl game against one of the next best teams in Texas A&M, too.Eli Apple (CB, Ohio State) Eli Apple dives in for a tackle Another of the very talented players coming from Ohio State, Apple was another cornerback who found himself thrown away from - grabbing just one interception and 33 tackles all season while the year before he had three and 53. Hes a physical defender that might need some coaching-up before hes the real thing. But hes still very good.Robert Nkemdiche (DE, Ole Miss) Robert Nkemdiche grabs onto his man Nkemdiche is an intelligent ballplayer whos going to destroy offensive lines when he gets to the NFL. Arguably, hes better than Joey Bosa, but questions over his character issues mean that he gets a 5 on talent but a 5 on the Worry Factor, too. Also See: How to watch the NFL Draft Sky Sports Digital mock draft NFL Draft: Beginners guide WATCH: Dreaming of the NFL Cheap Soccer Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Hockey Jerseys Nike NFL Jerseys China Cheap Nike MLB Jerseys China Wholesale Baseball Jerseys China Wholesale College Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Wholesale Jerseys Near Me Cheap Jerseys Online Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap NCAA Jerseys Authentic Cheap Nike NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic MLB Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Throwback Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China ' ' '