NEW YORK -- Michael Sam was picked by the St. Chad Kelly Jersey . 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 far from the place where he played his college ball, with three former Missouri teammates. 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. Ronald Leary Jersey . Yup, he definitely needed this one. Craig homered twice and had three RBIs Wednesday night to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Craig went 4 for 5 and Yadier Molina added three hits for the Cardinals, who salvaged the final game of a three-game set in hopes of staying within shouting distance of front-running Milwaukee in the NL Central. Jamaal Charles Jersey .Y. -- The Montreal Canadiens have had few reasons to celebrate this season as they have been mired near the basement of the Eastern Conference. http://www.broncosproauthentic.com/Black-Friday-Shaquil-Barrett-Jersey/ . -- Get a flow chart ready to follow the Packers quarterback situation.LONDON -- Mohamed Salah scored one goal and played a part in the other two as Chelsea strolled to a 3-0 victory over Stoke to recover from back-to-back losses and reclaim the provisional Premier League lead Saturday. Even though Jose Mourinho downplays Chelseas title prospects, his team remain in the mix with a relatively undemanding run-in, apart from a trip to Liverpool. And its Liverpool that can ensure Chelseas stay at the top this weekend is short-lived by winning Sunday at West Ham. This was a routine victory for Chelsea against a Stoke side that presented little attacking threat, and Salah profited on his first start since joining from Basel in January. Salah was left unmarked when he netted the opener in the 32nd minute, and after the break the Egypt winger won the penalty that Frank Lampard first saw saved before netting the rebound. Salah set up Willian to curl in Chelseas third in the 72nd to wrap up a fifth consecutive home win, with the team scoring 17 unanswered goals during a formidable period at Stamford Bridge. The problems are away, having lost the last two league games on the road to struggling sides Aston Villa and Crystal Palace, and at Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their quarterfinal on Wednesday. "Away we have some matches where we must change our profile ... and adapt to the situation," Mourinho said. "If I go to a wedding, I dont go in jeans," he added. "And if I leave my house to go for a walk in Hyde Park I dont go in a smoking (jacket)." Mourinho accepted that it took at least 15 minutes for his team to "recover self-esteem and confidence." Not that Fernando Torres seemed to have any. The misfiring striker started up front again after being dropped for the 3-1 loss in Paris, but did little to convince Mourinho that he should be part of the team for next season. After two early efforts there was little danger from the player whose career has been in a downward spiral since joining Chellsea in 2011 for 50 million pounds (then $80 million) from Liverpool. Paxton Lynch Jersey. Torres first struck wide, then had a low close-range effort blocked by Asmir Begovic after Stoke defender Marc Wilson inadvertently chested the ball to him. While Torres has just one goal in 2014, Salah now has two since joining Chelsea in January. From a throw-in, Nemanja Matics cutback reached Salah, who was left completely unchallenged by the Stoke defence to power the ball into the net. "We bought a kid from a different habitat, an Egyptian player playing in Switzerland, we knew the kid was going to take time," Mourinho said of the 21-year-old Salah. "You feel it immediately the connection between him and the crowd." Although Branislav Ivanovic had the ball in the net again for Chelsea before halftime, the goal was ruled out for offside. Instead, the lead was extended after the break, with substitute Eden Hazard involved in the two goals. The penalty was won after the Belgium midfielder flicked the ball onto Salah, who was then brought down by Andy Wilkinson. Although Lampards penalty was saved, he reacted quickly to stab the rebound into the net in the 61st. It was his 250th goal in club football, encompassing his time at West Ham and Swansea before joining Chelsea in 2001. Stokes defence was cut through again with ease for the third goal. Hazard brought the ball forward from inside his own half and squared to Salah. Willian then collected the ball and had time to move forward unchallenged before bending the ball into the top corner. "He was so sharp on the ball," Lampard said of Willian. "The goal was the epitomy of what he does better than anyone I think Ive played with." Whether Chelsea players end up with Premier League winners medals this season remains unclear. Now its about hoping Liverpool slips up at West Ham and then overturning the deficit against PSG on Tuesday and advancing to the Champions League semifinals. 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