ST. LOUIS -- Michael Sam and the rest of the St. Louis Rams

zhanjiao1212 · Movie_Lover Geregistreerd op: 23 Mrt 2019 Berichten: 154

ST. LOUIS -- Michael Sam and the rest of the St. Louis Rams rookies were on the field for the second straight day in what the team referred to as a skill development period. The workouts are part of the rookie orientation this week, and were held Friday on distant fields at Rams Park. Besides the 11-man draft class, there are 14 undrafted free agents. Another workout is set for Saturday and on Monday the rookies will join the rest of the team in the off-season program. The first openly gay player to be drafted by an NFL team was among the last four players to leave the field after a workout that lasted about 1 1/2 hours. He got extra special teams tutoring along with a trio of linebackers -- Tavarius Wilson, Johnny Millard and Aaron Hill -- all undrafted free agents. When the Rams drafted Sam, coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Les Snead both said excelling on special teams will help Sams chances. The Thursday session was not open to the media and the Friday session was open but without interview access to coaches or players. Oprah Winfreys cable network is filming a documentary about Sam and was among those training cameras on the workout, all far away from the practice. The network announced later Friday it was postponing the documentary. "Whether its one camera, two or three, youve still got to have a protocol and process," Snead said earlier in the week. "Well have that." Just one quarterback is participating, sixth-round pick Garrett Gilbert. No mere seventh-rounder, Sam was the star attraction Tuesday when the Rams introduced their draft class, getting a solo session after sharing the podium with the rest of the third-day picks. He discussed rising from adversity and emerging from tiny Hitchcock, Texas. "I wanted to get out, I wanted to do some great things, so I played sports," he said. "I got better at football. I got better with my grades. I went to college. I was the first person in my family to graduate, and now Im the first person in my family to go to the NFL. So, I just keep on fighting. Keep fighting the good fight." Players took physicals Wednesday before hitting the field for the first time. The Rams cleared roster space to make room for some of their high draft picks, releasing running back Daryl Richardson and defensive tackle Jermelle Cudjo. St. Louis took Pittsburgh defensive tackle Aaron Donald in the first round and running back Tre Mason in the third round. Donald and offensive lineman Greg Robinson, the second overall pick and likely to start the season at guard, worked out together before the draft. Donald was the 13th pick. Richardson was a seventh-round pick in 2013 and rushed for 475 yards with a 4.8-yard average as the change-of-pace backup behind Steven Jackson as a rookie. He entered training camp as the starter last season but was hampered by foot injuries while rookie Zac Stacy emerged, falling just shy of 1,000 yards. WASHINGTON -- For nearly four years, Washington Capitals fans have watched video clips of Evgeny Kuznetsov playing in Russia and imagined what he could do in the NHL. On Friday night, Kuznetsov began compiling the North American version of his greatest hits -- posting three assists for his first NHL points in the Capitals 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks. Kuznetsov assisted during a power play as countryman Alex Ovechkin finished with a slap shot for his NHL-leading 45th goal. Less than five minutes later, Kuznetsov faked a slap shot from the wing and fed the puck to Tom Wilson for his third goal. In the third period, Kuznetsov started a sequence that led to Mike Green putting the Capitals ahead for good with 9:41 left. Green scored with a slap shot off a feed from Nicklas Backstrom from behind the net. "(Kuznetsov) did a great job battling down the corner and keeping control of the puck," said Green, who scored his ninth goal. "He made a great play to Nicky, and I noticed when Nicky was wheeling the net that he saw me before he even looked up." It was the third NHL game for Kuznetsov, the Capitals first-round pick in the 2010 draft. He signed with Washington last week after five years in Russias Kontinental Hockey League. "You get your first point on the power play, which is kind of an easy point, but it still counts," Washington coach Adam Oates said. "You get your juices going. Great play on the second goal, and then protecting the puck on a cycle (on the third goal), which is kind of something you dont necessarily expect." Kuznetsov played on Washingtons fourth line with fellow rookie Wilson and Jay Beagle, who contributed an assist. "He is such a creative player and a lot of fun to play with," Wilson said. "The first couple of games he wasnt sure, and hes really finding his groove. Hopefully we can have some chemistry for years to come." Kuznetsovs performance helpedd the Capitals forget the 12th time this season theyve blown a two-goal advantage.dddddddddddd Washington led 3-1 early in the third period before Shawn Matthias and Nicklas Jensen scored for Vancouver to tie it. The goal by Jensen, a rookie playing in his sixth game, was the first of his NHL career. "I just felt we were just going to keep on coming," Vancouver coach John Tortorella said. "Theyve given up some leads here. We got that third one, I thought we were just going to take off. We had some chances." Vancouver outshot Washington 41-21, but the Capitals killed all seven Canucks power plays. Jaroslav Halak made 38 saves in his fourth start with the Capitals. "He had a fantastic night," Oates said. "We left him hanging." Jordan Schroeder scored Vancouvers first goal, and Chris Higgins and Christopher Tanev both had two assists. Eddie Lack stopped 17 shots as Vancouver fell to 3-12-1 in its last 16 games. "Its frustrating. I thought we played really well all game," Matthias said. "To tie it up there and let that happen, its upsetting." The night got off to a difficult start for the Canucks, whose bus broke down. Players then took cabs to the arena. Joel Ward opened the scoring for Washington, but the second period belonged to Kuznetsov. "Hes sort of got that young mentality where you know youre not afraid to make a play and do these things that youre capable of," Green said. "Hes going to be a great player." NOTES: The Canucks learned on Friday they will be without C Ryan Kesler for two weeks. Kesler, who leads the team with 22 goals, injured his knee in a 3-2 shootout victory on Wednesday over Winnipeg. ... The International Olympic Committee ruled that Backstrom wasnt at fault for his positive drug test before the gold-medal game at the Olympics, in which he didnt play, and he will receive the silver medal he earned with Sweden. ' ' '