NEW YORK -- Michael Sam was picked by the St. Drew Brees Youth 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. Bobby Hebert Womens Jersey . Not sure yet. #livetweetingthegreatuntangle — Strombone (@strombone1) April 17, 2014 Stage three, coping: I feel like I could use a cigarette or something. Taysom Hill Saints Jersey .com) - Jimmy Butler made four key free throws down the stretch to lift the Chicago Bulls over the Boston Celtics, 109-102, on Friday. http://www.saintsrookiestore.com/Customized/ . - IndyCar racing officials expressed confidence on Monday that the NOLA Motorsports Park will be able to complete more $4. PRETORIA, South Africa -- An expert witness for the defence at the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius was supposed to help the athletes assertion that he killed his girlfriend by mistake last year, but he ended his testimony on Thursday amid blistering attacks on his credibility by a prosecutor who accused him of slipshod analysis and fuzzy explanations. Roger Dixon, a former forensic scientist for the South African police, was frequently on the back foot as he tried to fend off sharp questions from chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel, who says Pistorius is lying and fatally shot Steenkamp on purpose after a nighttime argument in his home. For nearly a week, the double-amputee runner was subjected to the same kind of harsh scrutiny when he testified that fear led him to fire four shots through a toilet door at what he thought was an intruder. Legal analysts say Judge Thokozile Masipa will review the mass of testimony in its totality, which is said to be almost 2,000 pages so far, and that it can be misleading to assess the course of the trial by a single witness. Defence lawyer Barry Roux, for example, hounded police witnesses with questions about alleged mishandling of evidence at the house where Pistorius killed Steenkamp in the early hours of Feb. 14, 2013. Masipa, who will deliver a verdict on the premeditated murder charge against Pistorius, adjourned the trial until May 5. Dixon, now a geologist at the University of Pretoria, was forced to acknowledge Wednesday that he had no expertise in light and sound measurement, as well as pathology and ballistics, despite his commenting on those topics while testifying about the circumstances of Steenkamps death. On Thursday, Nel resumed his attack, criticizing Dixons work after the geologist did not use Pistorius exact height when standing on his stumps. The prosecutor questioned why his measurements were 20 centimetres (eight inches) shorter in a test to see if Pistorius head and body would have been high enough to be seen by a neighbour through a window of his bathroom. "It is something I omitted. I overlooked it at the time," Dixon said, adding that he was not trying to "mislead" the courrt. Drew Brees Saints Jersey. . Nel also questioned Dixons statement that he conducted tests showing that Pistorius bedroom is very dark at night and with the curtains closed, a conclusion that would support the athletes contention that his inability to see his girlfriend on the night that he killed her contributed to the shooting. Nel noted that Dixon judged how dark it was without using any light-measuring equipment. "What one can see using your eyes is a very subjective thing," Nel said. "I wanted to see what I could see," Dixon replied. "A measurement doesnt translate to me into what Im actually seeing." Nel also said Dixon was giving convoluted responses, addressing the judge: "My lady, may I just ask the witness which question hes answering at the moment?" Another time, Dixon picked up a prosthetic leg of Pistorius that had been included as trial evidence while discussing varnish traces that he said were found on the prosthesis and he matched to the door varnish. The defence has cited that as proof that the Paralympic champion tried to kick down the door to get to Steenkamp after realizing, according to his version, he had shot her by mistake. Then the prosecutor chided Dixon for not bringing the varnish sample to court. Dixon appeared serene throughout the rough-and-tumble of his cross-examination. Asked if he knew the states case and other trial details, he said: "I am not like most people. I do not have a television set. I do not have a radio at home." His Twitter handle reads: "I am a mineralogist and forensic scientist, I grow clivias and other plants, have a landrover and a Trans Am. I live in a forest I planted myself." He acknowledged the pressure from the feisty prosecutor in a message on his Facebook account that was apparently posted on Thursday morning. He confirmed its authenticity when questioned by journalists. It read: "Third day in court today. Lets see how much of my credibility, integrity and professional reputation is destroyed. It is difficult to get belief in those who will not listen because it is not what they want to hear. After that, beer!" ' ' '