Sam declined to offer specifics about

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ST. LOUIS -- Now it starts to get intense for Michael Sam and the rest of the St. Louis Rams rookies. The first openly gay player drafted in the NFL is enthusiastic about the challenge. Twice on Tuesday, he mentioned how enjoyable it was being back on the field and trading wisecracks with teammates. "Im so excited to be back with the guys," Sam said. "Footballs fun." Sam hopes there will be less attention about his sexual orientation, but added his focus has to be on making the team. He said hes in the best shape of his life, dropping 13 pounds in the month since the last OTA workout, weighing in at 257 pounds. "Feeling great," he said. "Its just where I want to be speed-wise, so I can run fast and make plays. I want to be as fast as I can." Sam declined to offer specifics about his 40-yard dash time, adding "Im not worried about the combine." He didnt have much to say about his experience at the ESPYS, where he received the Arthur Ashe Courage award. Sam got a hug from the Hall of Famer Jim Brown on his way to the stage, and teared up throughout his speech faltered at times. "You know, it was a great award and I had a great time in LA," Sam said. "But thats over and Im focusing on football now." Just as they did after the draft and during OTAs, teammates didnt seem to care that Sam was gay. Offensive lineman Demetrius Rhaney, taken the pick after the Rams created a stir by selecting Sam, had only compliments. "Hes a football player, hes not a bother," Rhaney said. "Hes laid-back, funny, jokes a lot. Pretty good." Quarterback Garrett Gilbert, drafted in the sixth round out of Southern Methodist, said there was plenty on his plate without worrying about Sam. Gilbert said this will be the seventh offence hes had to learn in eight seasons counting high school and college. "When Mike got drafted he became part of our team, and thats what he is," Gilbert said. "Were both here competing, our jobs arent guaranteed. "He as well as the other guys in our rookie class are members of this family." Coach Jeff Fisher will address the media for the first time on Friday after the first full-squad workout. Sam knows he must improve across the board to make the team. The Rams already had one of the best pass rushes in the NFL, with stars Robert Quinn and Chris Long at the ends, before taking Sam in the seventh round. Long was among those observing on Tuesday. "Its not college anymore," Sam said. "Thats childs play compared to this." A little more than two dozen newcomers participated indoors. Sam thought it felt much like another OTA, but noted no one had pads on yet. On Day 1 his biggest concern was mastering nuances of playing right end. He was the SEC co-defensive player of the year at Missouri rushing from the left side. "I thought I did pretty good," he said. "Not totally satisfied because I havent been on the right side in a few years." At times, Sam had to try and get past Greg Robinson, the No. 2 overall pick of the draft who played a little tackle on Tuesday. Robinson, wholl begin his NFL career at guard, left the first workout feeling pretty good. "It was definitely a positive feeling to have a jump start on camp," Robinson said. "I was kind of familiar with a lot of the plays that we went over today and it helped with the speed of the game. "It helped me play a little faster." Tyson Ross Jersey . Louis Cardinals placed outfielder Allen Craig on the 15-day disabled list with a right knee contusion on Sunday. Adrian Beltre Jersey .com) - Hassan Whiteside scored 20 points with nine rebounds in the Miami Heats 83-75 win over the Boston Celtics on Sunday. http://www.authentictexasrangersgear.co ... us-jersey/. The former central defender calmly nodded it down and quietly went about celebrating a win with his staff. For a man who has had a lot on his shoulders this season, it was an appropriate moment. Joey Gallo Jersey . With his father watching from the stands, Harrison homered, doubled, single and drove in a career-high five runs to lead the Pirates to a 8-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday. Prince Fielder Jersey . The fourth-year guard from Carleton University kicked off his varsity career with rookie of the year honours in 2011, before racking up three straight Mike Moser Memorial Trophies for outstanding player.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca! Hello Mr. Fraser, In the Leafs and Pens game Wednesday night, it appeared that Evgeni Malkin pushed Leaf netminder Jonathan Bernier into the net before putting the puck in. Should this have been called goaltender interference resulting the goal being disallowed? Thank you!Andrew Shirtliff --- Hello Kerry, Was the game-tying goal by Malkin a good goal in your opinion? It looks like he pushed Bernier into the net with his forward motion before slapping the puck in the net. Not sure what the rule book says here and would like some clarification. Thank you! Ryan Sneek, Toronto Andrew and Ryan (and a vast multitude who submitted a question on this same play, I thank you), Evgeni Malkins game tying goal should have been disallowed by the referee(s) on two counts. (i) The puck slid under the pad of Leafs goalkeeper Jonathan Bernier as he established a butterfly position and made the initial save on Sidney Crosbys skate to stick redirection at the top of the crease. The puck remained trapped under Berniers pad (did not continue to slide toward the goal) constituting not only a "save" but a frozen puck with players crashing the crease. The whistle should have been blown to stop play in this instant or at the very least "intent to blow the whistle!" In fairness, a quick whistle was an unlikely option since the referee in the corner had a severely obstructed view looking through the backs of Crosby, and Leaf defendders Paul Ranger, Carl Gunnarson and Nazem Kadri.dddddddddddd What followed was a clear violation of rule 69 - Interference on the Goalkeeper. (ii) Rule 69.3 states, "If an attacking player initiates contact with a goalkeeper, incidental or otherwise, while the goalkeeper is in his goal crease, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed." (See also 69.6 - In the event that a goalkeeper has been pushed into the net together with the puck by an attacking player after making a stop, the goal will be disallowed) Evgeni Malkin used his stick intentionally and deliberately to push Berniers pad off the covered puck and in the process deposited both Bernier and the puck into the net. A conference should have been conducted by the four officials (standard operating procedure) and concluded from their various angles that goalkeeper interference had occurred and Bernier and the puck were illegally deposited into the net. While a minor penalty could have resulted to Evgeni Malkin for his deliberate and intentional contact with Jonathan Bernier (69.2) an argument could be made that Malkin was digging for what he thought to be a loose puck and no penalty would result. Either way (penalty or not) a clear violation of goalkeeper interference took place and the goal should have been waved off. This dirty goal is just another example for the ongoing need to allow the referee(s) to conduct a video review when goalkeeper interference is suspected. If a Coachs Challenge was allowed, Randy Carlyle would have rightly tossed the flag instead of just blowing a gasket to no avail.