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ST. LOUIS -- Not long after Michael Sam waved to an adoring crowd at Missouris season opener, he looked down at his cellphone. It was 3 p.m. CT, the deadline for NFL teams to pare rosters to 53 players. And the Rams coach was talking to the players who didnt make the cut. He headed into the locker room. At some point, his phone rang with the bad news: He didnt make the cut. Twenty others were cut by the St. Louis Rams on Saturday, all of them mere footnotes. For Sam, it meant a roadblock in his journey to become the first openly gay player to make an NFL roster. Over and over, coach Jeff Fisher said, it was purely a football decision. "I will tell you this: I was pulling for Mike," Fisher said. "I really was, and I dont say that very often. Mike came in here and did everything we asked him to do." The seventh-round draft pick projected confidence while scrutinized at least as closely as Browns rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel. Hes been cheered by athletes and celebrities, denigrated by just a few. In the end, the defensive end couldnt make a team stocked with pass rushers and lost out to undrafted Ethan Westbrooks, who proved more productive and more versatile. Fisher believes Sam has an NFL future, and it still could be with the Rams. If hes not picked up by another team, he could land on the St. Louis practice squad. "I cant go there right now," Fisher said. "Coaches dont talk about practice squads because we have to see what happens. Well know better tomorrow afternoon." Wherever he lands, Fisher said "there will be no challenge, no challenges whatsoever." "Hes not about drawing attention to himself," Fisher said. "He kept his head down and worked and you cant ask anything more out of any player for that matter." On Twitter, roughly an hour after he was cut, Sam wrote "The most worthwhile things in life rarely come easy, this is a lesson Ive always known. The journey continues." He also thanked the Rams and city of St. Louis on Twitter, adding that he looks forward to a long and successful career. Sam was introduced to the Missouri crowd in the end zone alongside defensive E.J. Gaines, a sixth-round pick who made the team. He blew a kiss and waved before returning to the sideline, then posed for a few pictures before starting to look at his phone, and then headed for the locker room. Fisher personally delivered the news to the 20 others released in meetings Friday and Saturday, but didnt seem to mind that Sam was out of town, visiting his alma mater. The conversation was perfunctory, with plans for a face-to-face meeting on Sunday. "He said Yes sir, and he said, I understand. He said, Thanks for the opportunity, and I said, Mike, Im looking forward to visiting with you tomorrow, and he goes, I am, too." Sam was the SEC co-defensive player of the year at Missouri and had been projected as a mid-round draft pick. His stock fell after a poor combine showing not long after he came out as gay in February, and the Rams took him with the 249th overall pick out of 256. He kissed his boyfriend as a national television audience looked on, and arrived brimming with confidence and with a quick retort for anyone who contended he was in the NFL only because he came out. Fisher was proud to have made the landmark pick, but made clear from the start that Sam would be judged on talent. The cameras followed, but the extra attention did not seem to faze Sam or his teammates. Veteran defensive end Chris Long noted rosters are always made up of players from different backgrounds. Players said Sam was part of their family. Sam shed weight before training camp to be faster for special teams duty, reporting at 257 pounds. But after the preseason opener, Fisher said hed have to make the team based on defensive end play. Sam came out publicly following his final season at Missouri, though he had told his teammates before it began. It was no distraction. Missouri tied the school record with 12 wins and won the SEC Eastern Division and Sam had 11 1-2 sacks. Sam was lightly regarded out of Hitchcock, Texas, a town of about 7,000 along the Gulf Coast about 40 miles southeast of Houston. His first two years at Missouri, Sam backed up Aldon Smith and Jacquies Smith, both of whom are in the NFL. From the start, teammates seemed to like having Sam around. His energy was infectious and, if there were problems, they stayed behind closed doors. Publicly, Sam was just another late-round pick trying to make the Rams, which, like other NFL teams, held sensitivity training early in camp. The Oprah Winfrey Network put off a planned documentary on Sam, saying it would allow him to focus on his dream. At one point, Sams Rams jersey was the No. 2 seller among rookies online, trailing only Clevelands Johnny Manziel, and Sam was among just 10 draftees selected by the NFL to be featured on commemorative coins. Sam headed to the ESPY Awards to pick up the Arthur Ashe Courage award. He got a hug from Hall of Famer Jim Brown on his way to the stage and fought back tears throughout his speech. He told the audience: "Great things can happen when you have the courage to be yourself." Jusuf Nurkic Jersey . -- Brandon Hope stopped 46 shots and Kurtis MacDermid scored with 27 seconds remaining in overtime as the Owen Sound Attack edged the visiting Kingston Frontenacs 5-4 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Jusuf Nurkic Nuggets Jersey . With the Pirates in the thick of the race in the NL Central, the timing couldnt be better. Liriano struck out a season-high 11 in seven innings to win consecutive starts for the first time this season and Pittsburgh beat the San Francisco Giants 3-1 on Tuesday night. http://www.nuggetsproshop.com/Gary-Harris-Nuggets-Jersey/ .L. - Defending womens champion Alberta improved to 3-0 at the Canadian junior curling championships with a 10-3 win over Ontario in Sundays afternoon draw. Will Barton Jersey . According to the CFL Scouting Bureaus January rankings, four of the top five Canadian prospects line-up on the offensive side of the trenches, which is good news for Bombers general manager Kyle Walters. With only one selection in the first two rounds — Walters sent his second-round pick to Saskatchewan in the days ahead of the 2013 trade deadline — the No. Jamal Murray Jersey . Gaborik was acquired in a trade with Columbus on Wednesday and skated on the top line with centre Anze Kopitar and right-winger Justin Williams. "We created some things," said Gaborik, who logged 16:38 of ice time. EDMONTON -- Swedish golfer Caroline Hedwall, fresh off her perfect performance at the Solheim Cup, is the one to beat heading into Sundays final round of the CN Canadian Womens Open. The 24-year-old from Taby carded a six-under 64 in the third round Saturday to vault from a tie for 12th to the top of the leaderboard at the Royal Mayfair Golf Club. Sunday will be mark the first time Hedwall will tee it up as the final-round leader. "It will be exciting playing in the last group," said Hedwall. "I won on the European tour. Now Im just waiting for my first LPGA victory." Norways Suzann Pettersen and Lydia Ko of New Zealand, the tournaments defending champion, are just one stroke back after a round under clear skies and little wind. Hedwall sits at 68-68-64-200 to sit at 10 under par. She birdied four holes on the front nine and three after the turn, along with one bogey. At last weekends Solheim Cup, Hedwall became the first player in Solheim history to win five matches as the Europeans dismantled the Americans 18-10. She said Solheim is still with her. "I was a little tired on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, but when the tournament started I think (the) last week just gave me a lot of energy and self-confidence," she said. Hedwall joined the LPGA tour in 2011. Ko, 16, bounced back from a so-so second round to notch a three-under 67 on Saturday. "I was overall really happy," said Ko, who sits nine-under at 201. "I was eight-under coming into the final round last year, so (now Im) one shot better, which leaves me in a good place." Ko was just 15 when she defeated Inbee Park by three strokes to win the 2012 CN Canadian Open at the Vancouver Golf Club. Ko is still classified an amateur so, just like last year, if she wins the tournament she wont be allowed to accept the US$300,000 first prize. It would instead go to the second-place finisher. Pettersen, thhe third-ranked player in the world, has been getting better every round.dddddddddddd. Her card is 69-67-65-201. She shot six birdies on Saturday after making just seven total in the first two rounds. She, too, said the recent Solheim experience is helping her game. "From a general standpoint usually coming off Solheim -- where your mindset is in such an aggressive mode -- you usually feed off (it) the following week because you want to keep making putts," said Pettersen. Pettersen, 32, has 11 LPGA wins and captured the CN Canadian Open in 2009. The most dramatic drop of the day belonged to world Park, the worlds top-ranked golfer. Park shared the lead with Cristie Kerr of Florida heading into Saturday but saw her game collapse. The 25-year-old South Korean logged 12 birdies over the first two rounds, but shot only one on Saturday against three bogeys and one double bogey to finish four-over 74 and six strokes back. Kerr, the 2006 winner of the Canadian Open, bogeyed the last two holes and is tied for 20th, seven strokes back. The two Canadians still in the field did not fare well. Samantha Richdale of Kelowna, B.C., shot five over 75 to sit tied for 60th, 15 strokes back. Richdale had her worst day of the tournament, logging seven bogeys after making par in each of the first two rounds. "My ball striking has been a little bit sketchy this whole week," said Richdale. "Ill just try and work on that on the range, and hopefully go out there and hit it a little bit better tomorrow." Jessica Shepley of Oakville, Ont., shot an eight-over 78 and sits 19 strokes behind. She took a triple bogey on her first hole and it was downhill from there. "It was just a horrendous round of golf," said Shepley. "Theres not a whole lot I can do. I kind of blew this one." The other 18 Canadians, including Lorie Kane of Charlottetown, did not make the cut. 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